k_a_webb | September Surprise Story Week: 6: Heliopath: Heliopath's World: 1001 words (Reply)

It had been a long fight to the top for Heliopath and once he was there he didn't stop fighting. He wasn't fighting simply for the sake of fighting, although it had become something he was too used to for his own good, but because he had a vision. The town shouldn't be fractured the way it was. There was no need for the different groups of mages all fighting each other for a reason they couldn't even remember any more. Sighing he looked at the map. Getting everyone together was a lot harder than he'd expected it to be.

Falcon was the one that was most against the idea of bringing all the groups together and because his was the oldest house of magic everyone else followed him. They all knew that the Black Hollow had always belong to someone in Falcon's blood line so it made them more likely to follow Falcon's lead than the untested Heliopath. The black mage who had come from nowhere to take over the Grey Gardens. He didn't know if they would be more likely to follow him if they knew who he really was or if they were less likely.

Shaking his head he went to sit at his desk, picking up a quill and tapping it until he couldn't stand the noise any longer. It had been several days since he'd done a big enough spell to stop the withdrawal symptoms but he wasn't just going to give in to it. He knew he could cope for another few days, even though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to. The withdrawal symptoms weren't the reason. Spells were easily the most fun part of being able to use the power and he enjoyed making spells, especially for people who couldn't use magic.

What he needed to focus on was how he was going to convince Falcon to join him. That was the only way he could see of getting the other groups to also agree to join forces. He'd tried talking to Falcon about why he thought it would be better for all the groups to be together but unfortunately Falcon wasn't able to see beyond his back yard. Heliopath knew there were also mages in the outside world and that they'd get interested in their town one day. Maybe it wouldn't be soon but the timing didn't matter.

“Sir?” a male voice said from the door.

Heliopath looked up, startled. “Did you knock?”

“Yes, sir. I think you were lost in your thoughts, sir.”

“Is there a reason you want to talk to me?”

“News for you, sir. Someone saw Kestrel coming out of the library and used his initiative. She's currently downstairs under the influence of one of your sleeping spells.”

There was a moment when Heliopath couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kidnapping one of the Hollowers had been an idea that he'd written down when he was at his lowest point. It was just after he'd dropped the connection to Falcon after a particularly pointless argumant and he'd plucked at straws. He never thought anyone would take the idea seriously.

“Are you sure it's Kestrel?”

“Absolutely sure, sir. There's no other green level female mage in the local area.”

Nodding, Heliopath stood up. “Take me to her.”

“Follow me, sir.”

The mage, whose arm cuffs showed him to be an orange level mage, led him downstairs and into the meeting room. Kestrel was laying on the table so he walked over to her, still not quite able to believe it really was her. Even when he saw her he wasn't entirely sure but he could feel her green level power. He didn't know of any other green level female mage which meant he had to accept that it really was Kestrel.

No-one really knew much about her. He believed that was done on purpose by Falcon and that had always made him wonder why. When he studied her he thought it might possibly be because she was related to Falcon in some way. There was no real reason for the thought but he knew without a doubt that there was a reason why she'd been kept hidden as much as possible.

“Right,” he said, turning to his lieutenant, “I want you to go upstairs and empty out my bedroom. The only things that should be left are the quilt, the pillows and the curtains.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied before leaving the room.

Heliopath was left alone with Kestrel. It was strange. There weren't a lot of female mages and he'd never met one. For a moment he just looked at her, wondering why she'd stayed at green level for so long. Normally once you'd started learning how to use the power you continued going until you couldn't cope with the withdrawal symptoms any longer. Then he moved down to her feet. He'd never had a hostage before so he wasn't entirely sure what to do with her, but the first thing he was going to do was take her shoes off. That way she wouldn't be able to run away.

The boots she was wearing looked old. He didn't know whether that was choice or not. A lot of mages couldn't afford to have new clothes or shoes because they weren't working at a high enough level to be able to sell their spells to get money. Once the boots were off he checked her for weapons. Her only weapon appeared to be a dagger that was kept in a sheath on her arm, which looked to be positioned so she could get at it easily. It hadn't helped her against a sleep spell.

He couldn't think of anything else he needed to do. Sighing he sat down in the chair closest to Kestrel and wished that he had some sort of plan because he always worked better when he had a plan. Instead he was just going to have to make it up as he went along.