Shannon hummed, carefree, as she walked alone, following the highway through the forest. The sky was clear as could be, and a gentle breeze stirred the trees around her. It was the perfect weather for traveling.
A month had passed since she’d left Eldoa, and she had yet to approach another large town. It was a good time to do so. She had been stopping at various small villages along the way, but she wanted to stock up on her dwindling daily necessities in a proper town. Also, she was running out of undergarments, which tended to get worn out while she was traveling. And that wasn’t even to mention how badly she wanted to wash up in a large bath.
If she followed the highway, she’d end up in a big town called Olfess. It was a remote place, but lots of travelers stopped there, and it had plenty of entertainment establishments. She figured she could get there in another half day of traveling.
Still walking along the highway, Shannon caught sight of someone’s bottom sticking out of the bushes. She paused. “A butt?”
The butt in question was practically fluttering about while whomever it belonged to did something on the other side of the thick bushes. Shannon stared, and after a moment, she heard a voice:
“Um, this one is chamomile, and this one is comfrey...”
Those were the names of herbs. It seemed that the butt’s owner was out foraging.
After another moment, the bushes rustled loudly, and a girl popped out. She had a head of bushy red hair that was full of grass and twigs—a testament to how desperately she had been searching. Her hands were full of herbs, and her cheeks swelled with satisfaction.
“This might be really good!” the girl exclaimed. “Maybe I do have talent!”
Her eyes sparkled and she spun in place. Shannon was standing right behind her, and when their eyes met, the girl came to an abrupt stop. Then, as if seeing a ghost, she let out a gorgeous shriek.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”
The girl flung her haul into the air as she fell backward, right onto the butt Shannon had spotted. The herbs came fluttering down around her.
“Whoa, are you okay?! Sorry about that. I guess I startled you!” Shannon offered the girl her hand and an awkward smile.
“Ouch... You d-did startle me. That’s bad for my heart, you know,” the girl muttered. Sulkily, she took Shannon’s hand and stood. There was a brief pause, and then she clutched at her head, and Shannon saw tears forming in her eyes. “No, the herbs! I just gathered them!”
“Ah, sorry again. I’ll help you pick them up.”
“You know which herbs are which?!”
“Of course I do. Let me help.”
“Th-Then please!”
Together, they gathered up the herbs that had been scattered on the ground around them. Shannon put everything she grabbed into the basket the girl had brought, then let out a “whew!” when they were done.
“Thank you,” the girl said. “It looks like we got them all.”
“No worries. It was my fault for startling you.”
“No, no, I’ve always been a scaredy-cat.” The girl paused. Now that she was more calm, she asked, “Um, what’s your name?”
“I’m Shannon. Nice to meet you! I was just passing by when I saw you. I got curious, so I watched you for a little bit.”
“Hmm? Curious?” The girl’s brows creased in confusion.
Shannon pointed to the girl’s clothes. “That’s a robe, right? And that hat that fell over there is a mage’s hat. So I take it that you’re a mage?”
While dirty, the robe and hat were likely new; they had no stains or tears. The wand holder on the girl’s thigh didn’t show any wear and tear either. She had to be a novice.
The girl gasped, and her mouth fell open. “Oh, that’s right! My teacher said that since mages are rare, I’m bound to have lots of people come up to me to— Wait. Are you...?” The girl pointed to the robe Shannon was wearing, which was similar to her own. “That robe means you’re a mage too, right?”
“Yup! You know, mages are really rare, so that’s why I was so curious. I wanted to talk to you!”
The girl raised both hands excitedly. “Oh, I want to talk to you too! The other mages my age are scattered all over the world, so I don’t have any peers nearby. It’s a bit lonely.” She rubbed at her eyes to wipe away imaginary tears. “I’m Sarah! I just graduated from a nearby mages’ school, so I’m still a newbie.” She giggled, sounding a little nervous, and scratched her head.
“Isn’t Evando the mages’ school near here?” Shannon asked. She wasn’t aware of any recently established magic academies, and she recalled that there was one called Evando in this area.
But Sarah shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure that one closed about thirty years ago.”
“Oh.” The passage of time was appalling. Did this count as a generation gap?
Sarah laughed. “Is that the kind of joke you like to make? It’s funny. I went to Ellemore.”
“Oh!” Shannon put her fist in her palm. “That one! I see. Mm-hmm, so many of them have closed down that I get them confused.”
In truth, she’d never heard of Ellemore (or, in fact, several other newer schools). While she was off on her journeys that lasted hundreds of years, the world changed at dizzying speeds. She was always able to find about as much information about nearby magic affairs as she found mages, but there were far fewer mages around now than there once had been, so she received much less news. As a result, she was out of touch with the current generation of mages.
“Wait, we’re around the same age, aren’t we?” Sarah asked. She scrunched her face in confusion. “Is it really that easy to mix up Ellemore with somewhere else?”
“Well, I’m actually self-taught. I don’t know much about the mages’ schools.”
Sarah pushed her face in close to Shannon’s. “D-Did you say self-taught?! That’s amazing! You m-must be a genius.”
“No, no. I mean, it’s not that rare to self-study, right?”
“What?! It totally is. The right way to become a mage is to go to a mages’ school! Even my mom and grandma did that!”
“Oh, well, um...” Shannon forced a smile. Was that how things were now?
Sarah was a fellow mage, so giving her a sloppy lie would backfire on Shannon. Mages were naturally curious people, however, so if she told the truth about being immortal, Sarah would want to know how Shannon had come to be that way. Shannon really didn’t want to mess up her words here. To the extent that it was possible, it was best for them to stay on the same page. She had to come up with something.
“Well, I am self-taught,” Shannon explained, “but I learned all the fundamentals from my master. He was the only mage in my town, and when he saw my talent, he decided to teach me.”
“Oh, I see! I guess that happens too. Then going to a mages’ school isn’t the only way to learn magic.” Sarah nodded, satisfied. “You know, I haven’t met another mage since I graduated! I’m so surprised—and happy—to see you in a place like this! We’re even around the same age!”
“The same age... Oh, yeah, we are! Glad to meet you.”
They shook hands vigorously, both gripping tightly.
“I live up the road, in town,” Sarah said. “I was just about to head back. Where are you headed, Shannon?”
“You live in Olfess?”
“I do!”
“I was just on my way there. I really wanna soak in a big bath.”
“Ooh, sounds nice! We can take one together!”
“If you’re comfortable with that, then let’s!”
“Yeah! Oh, wait, I need to get my things!” Sarah quickly put together her belongings and crammed them into her largish knapsack. When she was all ready, she grinned and gave Shannon a thumbs-up. “Let’s go!”
Shannon and Sarah talked about whatever came to mind. There were many things that mages couldn’t tell the average person, and it was rare for them to be able to let down their guard and talk to someone else who could use magic. People who couldn’t use magic knew very little about it, and that ignorance created a divide between mages and other people. Magic was also a very convenient power, and if a mage revealed any kind of weakness, they risked someone taking advantage of them.