A Talisman

         Malchaia looked at the talisman curiously. Although his friend Astinus had given it to him, he hadn’t said how it worked. He had learned about the stones that the deities gave their followers which allowed them to use magic, but he was sure he had never seen anything like this. As he inspected it, his suspicions grew that Astinus was a Free Mage—one who used power without the deities’ consent.

         His palms became cold and his mind started racing. Quickly he realized that Astinus was probably not only much more powerful than he had anticipated, but his magic was unchecked by the higher powers. He looked at the talisman again and feared what he might be doing by associating with Astinus and what great powers Astinus might posesess. The talisman’s faceted green gemstone seemed harmless enough, but even Malchaia, a trained magic user, didn’t understand what the markings meant. As fear gripped him, Malchaia cursed himself, ‘What a fool I have been for trusting him, I really have no idea—' he suddenly realized that a burning sensation was racing up his arms from the talisman. The gemstone which had just laid idly in its setting now seemed to dance with activity. The greenish color vaguely swirled into a translucent stream of colors, Malchaia had trouble focusing on it.

         He suddenly wanted to throw the thing as far away from himself as he could. He remained paralyzed, and stared into the depths that had been a gemstone. Malchaia closed his eyes and steadied his senses, trying to focus on the type of magic he could feel forcing its way into him.

         “Malchaia!” Astinus’ voice cried desperately into his mind. His eyes snapped open and he saw that the swirling colors had formed into a clear outline of Astinus and some vague figures moving behind him.

         “Astinus!?! What the, what are, who—” Malchaia struggled over his words, confused at the abrupt interruption and the fear in Astinus’ voice.

         “No, no time Malchaia, another Free Mage, Aerelnor, is—” Astinus’ visage wavered and his words were incoherent. Malchaia stiffened at that name, Aerelnor. His senses cleared and he felt terrible he had doubted Astinus. He thought back to the gemstone, if Astinus was a Free Mage, then this talisman was a free magic construct. He would figure it all out later, Astinus was in trouble.

         Malchaia trained his mind on the things he had learned about Free Magic. It was not different from regular magic; it was just used through different means. He knew a little about message spells and decided that the talisman was one of sorts. In his mind he quickly compiled the correct mantras, began whispering them and reached out through the talisman, feeling his way to Astinus.

         For what seemed an eternity Malchaia strained to steady his powers and played with different pitches and rhythms within the mantra to guide the spell to his friend.