Sage felt his cheeks burning brightly as he quickly left his childhood fort and Jason with it. That was way too forward, how could I say something like that! He thought as he tried not to replay what he had just said. Running away before Jason could respond seemed like the best course of action, and he quickly picked up the pace till he was sprinting towards the river. He has to know I care about him now, and after what he said to Highlin... He thought as he watched the trees flash past him. Taking a deep heavy breath, he realized how fast he had been running and began to slow his pace as he tried to keep his lungs from bursting from the sudden gust of exercise.

The sounds of panicked squawking stopped Sage in his tracks and he quickly dropped to a crouch, trying to figure out what creature was bothering the pippers. Seeing the river just breaking the treeline, Sage tried to look around the area, his spear held defensively as the sound of growling pricked at the back of his neck. The panicked sounds of the pippers began to rise louder and more frenzied as time passed. Stepping forward carefully, Sage crept towards the nest of pippers and tried to get a better look at whatever was scaring them. "Feed," a creature howled out, sending shivers down Sage's spine.

Gagkuts! Sage thought anxiously as he felt his grip on the spear grow tighter. I have to stop them, that's my food for our date tonight! He thought as he felt a knot in his stomach instantly form at the thought of getting into a fight. Trying to push it away, he crept closer towards the sound of the panicked birds. A sudden tap on his shoulder made him turn and thrust his spear. An older man dodged out of the way and glared back at him. What the hell, who is that? He thought as the man held his finger to his lips indicating silence. The man quickly began creeping closer to the pippers and passed Sage quickly. Turning around to look at the newcomer, Sage noticed the striking features that made up the old man. He was wearing a solid grey cloak, and it was emblazed with red and purple designs that left Sage awestruck. A sudden gust of heat blasted all around him, and a howl of pain quickly echoed into the forest.

Looking up towards the pipper nest, he saw a massive fire had sprung up on the corpse of a large gagkut body. The older man turned back around and looked at Sage with a strange fascination. "You there, may I ask you a few questions please?" He asked in a firm, yet warm tone.

"W-Who are you, and how did you make that gagkut burn?" Sage asked as he looked at the large muscled framed in front of him. Looking up, he saw that the man's eyes were glowing golden.

"That's actually what I came here to talk about. I've been looking for a person of magic out here, the other day one of our scanners in our headquarters picked up a spike in magical energy around here. The scanner said it was more than strong enough to be a magician, but it was wild and untrained magic." He looked down at Sage and squatted so that they were eye level. "I'm sorry, I've been quite rude. My name is Darvin, what's yours?"

Sage was taken aback by the man's stark contrast. His face was smooth and seemed like it had been gently sculpted into place with perfect rounded shapes, but the rest of his body seemed chiseled rock. "Sage..." He responded dumbfounded with the man in front of him as the golden glow around his eyes faded to a soft green. "I-I'm Sage, are you saying you made that fire with magic?"

"It's nice to meet you Sage, and yes, that fire was magical. I have the ability to cast fire magic. It's quite rare among magicians. I'm kinda in a hurry though Sage, are there any villages, or towns around here? I've been trying to find a gathering town around here that might have taken back a magical child that we missed."

"Well, there is one a little ways away, but there aren't any magic users there." Sage answered cryptically as a sudden mistrust began to bubble in the back of his mind. "Are you saying you're from the center lands?"

"The center lands?" Darvin repeated in confusion. "Is that what your people call Mavora?" He looked at Sage with a soft smile that seemed to melt his distrust as his tight grip on his spear began to loosen. "Yes, I am a citizen of Mavora, but like I said, I'm in a bit of a rush. Do you know of any strange happenings around anybody where something happened that wasn't supposed to? Anything that could be considered unnatural. Levitating objects, gusts of elemental power where it shouldn't be, control over animals, anything at all?"

Memories of the floating embers in Sage's home came to mind, then the memory of his hands beginning to burn as he fought the gagkut ambush. "I... No, nothing around here has been unnatural." He lied, trying to sound convincing as the Darvin looked at him.

"Are you sure about that Sage?" Darvin repeated with a hint of doubt bleeding through his soft tone.

"Yes, I don't know about anything fire-related happening-" Sage Covered his mouth, panic beginning to course through him as Darvin looked at him with a smile.

"I never said anything about any fire-related events," Darvin answered back smugly as he stood back up and took a step closer towards him. "Sage, can you tell me who has a fire ability? I would like to help them understand their power. I promise, I won't hurt you or this person, all I want to do is help."

"Well..." Sage started, unsure of what to do as he tried to decide what to tell this stranger. I mean, if I do have magic, he could help explain how to control it, but he could also try and take me away from Jason, and I can't risk losing him when he and I are so close to finally becoming a couple.

"Hey, I can understand your desire to protect this person, but I'm just trying to help." Darvin said casually as he tried to keep his tone even. "I don't have any desire to scare you, or whoever the wizard is. I was tasked to find them, and teach them how to use their magic, and if they wanted to come back with me to Mavora, then I would take them back." Reaching carefully into his cloak, he grabbed something that put Sage on edge, his grip on his spear tightened, and he looked at the man with distrust. "Don't worry, I have a small gift for whoever this mage is." He explained as he slowly pulled his hand back and revealed two thick black books. The significantly larger book had crisp, clean pages, the second was much smaller, the pages were worn, and the binding was tattered from many years of usage. "I happen to have two books that I was going to offer to the mage. The first is a book of simple spells, and then the second is more of a personal gift from one fire wizard to another. It's been with me since I was a child and it has been well-loved. When I was first learning magic, I put all the things I wish I knew into the side notes sections where things are not explained as well as they could be. It has information and tips that fire wizards will find helpful."

Davin slowly handed the books to Sage who accepted them with a cautious hand. "I'll uh, make sure that these books get to the person who might have this power." Sage answered, feeling the warmth from the books resting on his hand. "Is there a way that this said person would be able to reach out to you if they had any questions?"

A smile cracked across Darvin's cheeks, and he pointed at the books. "Tell this person to look through the books, there's a portal card in there that has a direct line to me. They just have to imbue their magic into the card, and I'll pick up." A sudden ringing sound echoed out from Darvin, and he quickly reached into his cloak once more and pulled out a large piece of what looked like paper. "I need to take this, it was an absolute delight to meet you Sage, and I really look forward to meeting this fire wizard as well, we will have a great time working together if they want to. Fair well friend, and be safe. I hear the things you call gagkuts are amassing for some reason." With that, his body burst into flames, and he began to dissipate as his skin burned and dissolved.

I have to tell Jason about this! Sage thought as he processed the idea of a large group of gagkuts forming. Quickly looking down at the two dark bound books, he pondered the possibility of magic. Looking up when he heard a rustle, Sage noticed the slaughtered group of pippers. He noticed a few of them had been killed by the gagkuts, but not bitten through. Quickly adjusting the books to his free hand, Sage picked up two of the less mauled birds and held them in his spear hand so that he could carry them all without issue. Rushing back towards his old campground, he wondered what amazing abilities he could possess if he really did have any magical. Getting close to the ancient undergrowth, he walked around to the side where the vines were, and his cheeks suddenly began to burn as he remembered what he had said before he left.

Crawling through the vines, Sage lay down his spear and put the birds down next to the small burn barrel before wandering over towards his bedroll to put the books down. For now, I have to start cleaning these birds. Otherwise Jason won't have anything to eat before it gets dark, and we can't have that! He smirked as he thought about cooking for Jason. I mean, I could take care of him every night if he would let me, and this might be my chance to give him the opportunity to ask! Turning back towards the birds, he quickly began to work on plucking the feathers. A rustling in the nearby undergrowth made him both excited and anxious as he continued to pluck feathers.

"Is anybody here?" Jason's silky voice called out as he made his way closer to their camp.

A soft crunch and Sage answered as he broke the necks of the birds and then took their heads off. "I'm in here, just started cleaning the pippers." The rustling of the vines made him smile as Jason drew closer. "Did you bring the stuff to make a fire?"

"I sure did," Jason answered as a pile of kindling and wood bounced off each other in the burn pile together. "Looks like your hunting trip was a success too, good job!"

"Oh I didn't catch these," Sage answered as he resumed pulling the feathers from the first bird. "I met a strange man out in the forest today. He was a magician from the center lands no less." He paused when he heard Jason let out a surprised gasp. Turning around, he saw a deep look of concern on Jason's face. "What's wrong?"

Jason remained silent for a moment before speaking up, his voice cracking in the process. "A magician, all the way out here? What did he want?"

"He said he was looking for a magician. He also said something that bothered me." Sage paused for a second as he picked at a particularly ruined piece of the carcass. "He said that the gagkuts were starting to amass. I know he was a magician too, I saw him roast a gagkut that was eating the pippers with fire magic, it was so cool!" Looking over at Jason, he saw a look of pain resting squarely on his face. "What's wrong, we can handle a swarm of gagkuts right, just get the defenses up, and make sure to shoot any that get too close with our bows. Eventually, they will lose interest and go split off again."

"What did the magician say about the person he was looking for. This other magician that he was looking for, did he have a description or anything?" Jason asked, his voice growing more and more concerned as he went on.

"Not really, he just said that their sensors had sensed a spike in energy that had led him out to this general area," Sage answered as he began to focus on Jason. "What's wrong Jason, is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah, everything's fine..." Jason answered quickly, his eyes beginning to dart around their hideout. "Hey uh, let's get this fire going huh, I want this one to be a roaring bonfire." He said, changing subjects.

"Sure," Sage answered as he watched Jason drop to his knees and place the spit on the grooved tops of the black burned ring. Their bodies only a few feet away, Sage felt a shiver of excitement wash over him as he tried to control his emotions. Another wave washed over him when Jason's body brushed against his.

"Let's get these pippers cooking before it gets dark; otherwise it will be a real late night, and I might fall asleep before they are done!" Jason joked suddenly as he began to rearrange the pieces of wood in the barrel to make a big base for the fire. 

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That's another chapter down y'all to enjoy! I hope y'all are enjoying the story so far! If you want to support me I would love to hear from you, maybe leave some comments and maybe a vote? Either way, don't forget to get some water in you. 

-Asted!