Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Baeshra opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that she was cold. It seemed that her small fire hadn't lasted very long at all, and she was suddenly more appreciative of the thick bearskin fur she brought with her from home when a few hours before she had contemplated throwing the heavy thing into one of the nearby ravines. She sat up and began to shake the frost from the large fur, wrapping her small cooking pot and a small bowl in the middle of it and tying it with a leather strap. Today was the day. When she had first come to the mages at age 6, it had taken a month for the guide to escort her north, losing time because of how much less ground a small child could cover compared to an adult. Now, at 19, the journey had only taken two weeks and five days for her to reach the mountain that marked the entrance to where the mages gathered to teach the next generation. She re-wrapped the warm, thick fabric bindings around her legs and tried to estimate how long the walk from her camp to the settlement would be. It had taken a whole day when she was a child, so she reasoned that since it was mid-morning now, she would be strolling into the large area they used for gatherings at just about sundown. As she stood and heaved the large fur bundle onto her back and secured it with a strip of leather, she grinned, feeling the scar tissue across her nose crinkle. She set off down the path. Her resolve was firm. Today, she would prove to the mages that she was one of them. They would have to accept her. She wouldn't stop until she was counted among their number, or died trying.

After cresting a tall hill the settlement was in sight. She paused for a moment to take it in, noticing that it had grown since she had last been here. With a frown she felt a bitterness trying to bloom in her chest, hot fingers wrapping around her heart, a voice in her mind that sounded like destruction and crackling fire grating out the words 'I should have been here all this time.' She closed her eyes and took a breath of the cooling air, trying to clear the voice and it's poison from her mind- ease away the hot tendrils of anger in her chest. When the tightness had faded she returned to gazing down at the orderly layout, reminding herself of the way to the great hall where everyone gathered for meals and events, to the huts where the mages in training slept. To the small building that held the records of all mages admitted to and graduated from their ranks- where Baeshra herself had been tested and found wanting, rejected after having the life she was to live if she was accepted dangled in front of her like bait. She found the bitter feeling trying to return and physically shook herself before settling off down the hill. The whole place was empty, which meant that everyone was gathered together in the meal hall. That was good, it meant her way into and around the buildings would be easy.

When she reached the large double doors she paused a moment to listen to the voices inside, and heard a very authoritative voice mention the treaty of Hillanhan. Tonight must be the graduation ceremony where new mages are paired with a dragon! This was not what she had planned, and her plan of just bursting through the doors and demanding the consideration of the elders would be extremely ill advised. She would wait until after the ceremony was over to approach them....but that didn't mean she was going to miss the chance to witness the ceremony. Settling her bundle lower on her back so that it wasn't easily visible, she cracked open the door and slipped into the hall, spying a group of mages that seemed to be about her age that she would blend in with. She walked quickly and silently over to the very back of the group, escaping their notice by how they were enraptured by the large man- no, dragon- standing before them. She grinned, thinking about how one day, if everything went well, she would be standing among those lucky enough to be granted a dragon companion in a ceremony just like this one.

As the dragon ended his speech, Baeshra noticed a commotion off to the side of the room and suddenly a wave of whispers and people craning their necks around overtook the room. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she glanced over to see an old man- one of the older mages by the looks of him- surging forward through the crowd, sight set on her. Just then, the crowd began to move as one, dispersing through the room and intermingling with the dragons. This was her chance to evade capture before she could do what she came here to do, and she took it, intending to keep her head down and cross the room to the far side where there was a small door leading to the kitchens that she could slip through.

She wove through the people casually milling about, every now and then passing a smiling pair- mages and dragons were already finding each other. She collected more that a few curious looks from dragons, and several suspicious looks from the other mages. That would be the fault of her rather noticeable hair; The bright orange locks were infamously hard to miss. The alarming color had often been the reason she had always been found first when playing hide-and-seek as a small child. A rather young looking dragon shouted to her left and barreled past her grabbing onto the arm of a human and pulling him close, exuberant in that he had found his rider, but nearly knocking Baeshra over in his excitement.

She stumbled and righted herself, readjusting her pack from where it had gone askew, and turned on her heel back towards the doorway but stopped in her tracks as she noticed a tall man who looked as though he had been made out of snow was standing in front of her. She had the sudden but faint realization that this man was a dragon- the most stunning dragon she had ever seen- and then something in her chest made itself known by snapping to attention and giving her the faint feeling of being bound to where she stood. In that moment the dragon looked straight at her and reached out his hand, placing it against her forehead and smiled.

Suddenly overwhelmed at the feeling that something very very dangerous was happening, she felt her face heat and small sparks of magic start to dance along her fingertips. The pale dragon pulled her into his arms and against his chest, and with a shock she realized exactly what was happening, and the previously unnoticed silence of the room became extremely obvious. She was simultaneously horrified, humiliated, and ridiculously happy. This couldn't be happening, this wasn't how this was supposed to go, what about the plan? No matter what happened now, though, there was no way the mages could turn her away. Being selected by a dragon was the ultimate confirmation that someone was, in fact, a mage.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the dragon's voice, sending a bolt of thunder though her heart, his words confirming what she already knew. Then the sudden fear that he would be furious when he realized he had selected someone who was not up for selection- that they would make history as the first mage to be rejected by their dragon. He continued to smile down at her, oblivious to her true thoughts and feelings- or perhaps mistaking them for awe and wonder?- and the room descended into chaos and outrage as the mages present realized that she was not one of them. He suddenly looked away from her and turned them to the side, shielding her from the very outraged crowd.

A loud, calm voice broke through the noise, and a grizzled mage stepped forward. The recognition in his eyes as he saw her face spurred an instant recognition in hers, this was the mage who had tested her and then sent her back to her village years ago. "This girl cannot be your rider. She is no mage. She is a scoundrel who wandered into a place where she doesn't belong because she knew the way there. Pick another rider, and let us deal with this outsider."

He had moved away from her to defend her to the old mage, and she suddenly felt exposed. There were so many there who were giving her downright murderous looks. She definitely didn't feel safe, and her magic was coursing through her, ready to lash out without her control should anyone make a sudden move. From what she could see of this dragon's face, and hear in his voice as he (surprisingly) defended her to the old mage, he was very steadfast in his conviction that he would not accept anyone but her as a rider. She pulled in a deep breath and held it when another dragon, older but identical to the one who had claimed her, stepped forward to object. Baeshra wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the door. She was bold and daring, but being the center of the attention in a room filled with the some of the most dangerous people in the world, and all but one being angry and upset that she was there, was too far out of her comfort zone. She closed her eyes and lowered her head to try and pull herself together, but at that moment she felt someone grab her hand and pull her forward, and her eyes opened to see the dragon who looked like hers staring her down. Her heart jumped into her throat, and her face turned even redder if possible, scar standing out in a stark white against her blush as the dragon beside her wrapped his arm around her waist. She almost let out a terrified squeak as his voice took on a pleading sound, and it was revealed that this dragon before her, the one glaring into her soul, was the father of the dragon who chose her.

As she tried not to collapse in on herself, the mage raised his voice again, but this time addressing her directly. "Baeshra, you were rejected from this place 13 years ago for being unable to show even the slightest magical aptitude. What purpose does it serve for you to return here, unwanted and in violation of our prior decision, when I and the rest of the council witnessed no magic from you? Your family couldn't even prove that magic and not a conveniently timed coincidence saved your life that day. You do not belong here. You have no magic, and you are not one of us. You are, however, disturbing a centuries old tradition between the Dragons and the Mages, and have somehow bewitched this one!"

Baeshra's gaze snapped to the mage and as he spoke, she quickly forgot being under any scrutiny at all. Her gaze narrowed and she clenched her fists, angling her body slightly towards the mage berating her. In her rising anger she completely missed the feeling of her hair standing on end and how silent the room had become. Through clenched teeth and a low but clear voice she ground out an acidic reply.

"You, in your infinite wisdom, asked a six year old girl who had just survived being attacked by a bear and ripped away from her family to likely never see them again to attempt to manifest a ball of fire. Just because I was unable after a very hard month long journey to summon one specific bit of magic did not prove I was unworthy! You refused to let me try anything else! You refused to acknowledge that just maybe trying to make a child who had only- unknowingly!- used magic once before in her life summon one of the most difficult to control elements at a moments notice was harsh and unfair to ask of a child!" She found herself stepping away from the dragons and pointing her finger in the face of the Elder Mage as she ground out the words, voice rising slowly with her rage. Sparks and bolts of magic that looked light lightening began to race along her fingertips, arching off of her pointed finger and reaching for the mage before her. Her very hair began to sway as if there were a breeze as she continued, unnoticed by herself.

"I will have you know that I have used magic innumerable times since that day, and I am just as much a mage as any other in this room! The fault is not mine that I am untrained! I merely came here to prove you wrong and to better myself. It was not my intention to be caught up in a choosing ceremony, and if I had thought for one moment that there was a chance that I'd have been chosen as I was trying to leave the building then I would have waited until tomorrow to show up!"