Soon after Harks’ acceptance to stay at the Academy, an unofficial command was passed among all who stayed there. No one was allowed to speak about Harks, even within the walls of the Academy. Kolana could not be too careful with this news. If people started talking, soon enough the gates of the Academy would be stormed with male claiming their rights to learn the Art of Weaving.
Rumors still had a way of spreading themselves. Fortunately, Kolana’s worries were unwarranted. They treated weaving much like men treated giving birth to a baby, a woman’s task. There were occasional inquires but nothing as troublesome as Harks’ case. For a short while, there was rumor of a cult called the Brotherhood of Ancient Wisdom getting active on the news of a male weaver. But the Academy gave it little credit, much the same as the public viewed about the rumor of Harks.
Kolana had been toying with the idea that if the acceptance of Harks was made as a point of argument as the High Queen had said, her Highness should not have any problem if Kolana convinced the new Headmistress to reject his acceptance as an apprentice four years after his stay. She would then make a final statement that would show her generosity, the position of the Academy, and the mistake of High Queen Viona. She never had a chance to make that statement, however. In the lights of the agreement from the recent alliance between the Academy and the Crown regarding the future of Kolana and all those following her, the High Queen – the Crown, that is – had ‘kindly’ suggested a candidate to succeed her. Corelle La’Tor was as good as anyone else, Kolana supposed, although she lacked the kind of flair all Headmistresses had. For one thing, she has to work on her weight, Kolana thought, we don’t want any false image of the Academy projected to the commoners. Corelle was surprisingly supportive of Harks’ acceptance to the apprenticeship. Then again, if the ‘Crown’ recommended her so highly, nothing Corelle did should surprise Kolana.
As to Harks, the few months did not turn out as he had hoped. He was not taught any magic at all and was refrained from communicating with other people in the Academy. He began to blame himself for weaving in the first place. He thought his stay was actually a punishment for doing what he was not supposed to. Then he met Thoron Yedis.
Thoron, the librarian, turned out to be the only male other than Harks in the walls of the Academy. No one seemed to question his presence in the Academy. No one knew how long he had been in the Academy. It just somehow seemed natural that he was there. He knew the library better than another else and was very helpful. Since Thoron was the only other male, the only non-weaver, and the one Kolana trusted most for secrecy, it was natural that he was assigned to take care of Harks.
Under Thoron’s influence, Harks became interested in reading. At his age, he could not read most of the material in the library. Thoron was very patient and read to Harks anything the young one was interested in. It was then that Harks learned of the Lost Weave-Craft and the Mage War.
The Effects of Mage War – being a brief summary of the Mage War and its significance in the history on Avonova.
The Mage War is perhaps the most terrifying incident that has shaken Avonova to date. It has led to our limitation in the use of Threads, the primitive element where all matters are woven; thus, putting a setback to our culture’s advancement. In retrospect, however, the Mage War is not without its merits. Communication between kingdoms has flourished. It has also given Centa dominion over the eight kingdoms of Avonova.
Riyis Ebeno has become a name to scare our children. Riyis, the cause of Mage War, was an isolated, cold blooded human. It is said that he snared his first rabbit at three and brought it back home – or what was left of it – with a mouthful of blood. Not wanting to raise this evil child, Riyis’ parents took him to the Academy to be raised as an apprentice. The Academy then had no age restriction and Riyis was accepted at the age of five. Riyis’ interest, not surprisingly, lied toward that of the Battle-Weaver. The Academy saw the evilness in him and tried to persuade him to the field of Weave-Crafting. The Academy had, however, no authority then to dictate one’s interest in one’s field of learning. By the age of twenty five, Riyis had become the greatest Battle-Weaver – or Battlemage, as they preferred to call themselves – ever studied in the Academy. For ten years afterwards, Riyis had been secretly researching on diabolical weaves. It was also then that his plans for conquering the whole Avonova began to materialize. He first gained his station as the Headmaster of the School of Battle-Weaving. He then subtly tested each disciple’s loyalty and kept only those with blind devotion to him. He forced his ideals upon the remaining disciples; that the most powerful was meant by nature to rule Avonova. With a legion of Battlemage at his disposal, Riyis did not have much trouble seizing the throne from King Honth. The other seven kingdoms heard of the news but were not too concerned. All kingdoms were separated by land bridges and traveling on them then were very dangerous. A legion of soldiers would not get across without huge losses. Little did they know that Riyis had been weaving barriers to widen and mend any dangerous holes in the land bridges. Riyis’ armies met with little resistance as they crossed the land bridges to the other seven kingdoms. His reign, fortunately, was not long lived. Three months after Riyis’ ascendancy, he was banished by a pair of heroes from the other two schools of Weaving. Antarica Luth was the Head of the Chambermaid of Castle Wevis. She set a Marker in the King’s Chamber when Centa fell while keeping Riyis from knowing what she was doing. This was no small feat for Riyis was so powerful he could sense almost any subtle changes in the Threads. But Antarica was patient and she only made little changes everyday, minor enough not to be noticeable. At the same time, she secretly contacted the Julion Harid, a dear Weave-Crafter friend of hers and the Head Guilder then. Julion was outraged at her suggestion of destroying one of his art pieces but saw the sense in her plan. Honth Vintorus, the exiled King of Centa, heard of their plan and suggested they should extend the help to the other seven kingdoms, for Centa was and still remains the only kingdom possessing the Art of Weaving. When they were both ready, Antarica span the Portal Weave to the King’s Chamber. Julion, upon arrival, immediately set a piece of Live Picture in front of Riyis. Live Pictures were creations of dedicated Weave-Crafters that depicted alien landscapes. There were also gateways to these strange places. Since most Live Pictures were very small in size people could not pass through them. For the really rare ones created by really talented Crafters who dedicated their life’s work on one creation, experience was that the atomsphere in the worlds within the Live Pictures were not suitable for Avonovans and it usually ended up being a one way exploration. Before Riyis could react, they threw him into the Picture and Julion unraveled the art piece. Riyis was left in an alien landscape with no way of returning. And he would probably die from the atomsphere of the alien land. Other chief battlemagi met with a similar fate. Thus was the end of the Mage War.
The seven kingdoms petitioned Centa to ban the practice of Battle-Weaving. They assured peace with Centa by offering tributes. King Honth, fearing a second Riyis might arise, did not want to keep the School of Battle-Weaving either. Thus the Great Burning occurred. Centa confiscated all tombs and books on Battle-Weaving and burned them in the front yard of the Academy. Any Battlemage was caught and thrown into the dungeon. The Art of Battle-Weaving might have survived had King Honth not been careful and did not check the tombs they were burning. As it was, the King casually picked up a tomb from the burning pile and glanced through it. Although the King was no Weaver, he could not help but question the content of the tomb he was reading. It turned out that some Battlemagi were still underground and they tried to pass the tombs of Weave-Crafting for that of Battle-Weaving. A second search was conducted immediately and they found a secret cache in the library where all the banned tombs were hidden. Thus all tombs on Battle-Weaving and Weave-Crafting were destroyed.
In the days of the Weave-Crafter, the best of them could weave Live Pictures others could venture in. Some said they created worlds, others claimed they merely constructed a portal to an existing place much like the Weavers did with Markers. In any case, a Live Picture took a Weave-Crafter a long time to weave and to destroy one was like destroying thethe artist’s life mission. The Mage War had driven a few of them mad, and a few was too many in the School of Weave-Crafting. Those who remained felt that Battle-Weaving had tainted the Threads and they would not be able to Weave any art pieces anymore. They were not madden by the news that their tombs were destroyed by mistake. They did, however, stop to pass the knowledge of Weave-Crafting on. Thus was the end of the Schools of Battle-Weaving and Weave-Crafting.
The one thing Riyis would not have anticipated when he prepared for the Mage War was the facilitation of trade among the eight kingdoms of Avonova. The shields he had created for the land bridges were permanent weaves. Traveling through them became a lot safer. People did not have to worry about falling off or stepping on a weak part. This benefits Centa most as most land bridges pass through her. This, compounds with the annual tributes the seven kingdoms offer Centa, makes her the brightest kingdom in the whole Avonova.
“That’s what they say, lad,” Thoron concluded. “When you grow up, you’ll learn not to trust anything at face value.”
Thoron looked up the window. Evening was coming earlier and earlier. Fall was leaving. “We should move on now, lad.”
Harks usually had questions to ask, but somehow he was quiet today. Perhaps he sensed Thoron’s unhappiness in recounting the Mage War. Perhaps he just had a lot to think about; Weave-Crafting, after all, had a nice tone to it.
KenT the Author's Ravings 