Last Updated: 12-02-03

Carpa

This is the sneak preview only and has been cut.

This is a story I actually have the entire outline to, so it'll probably be one of the first I finish. I actually wrote a few chapters, but then I had to scrap them because the pacing was too slow. This new start is much better, anyway.

The main character of this story is a girl named Carpa, who is a healer-apprentice to the Healer-Mystic Karlen. ("Mystic" is a term they use for those unusually in touch with magic and the nature of the universe.) She lives in a town called Kahred, which is located in a plains-like region which is subject to "funnel storms" (tornadoes), raiders, and such.

The story is a little complex to explain in a quick paragraph. especially without giving away too much of the plot. Anyway, after suffering an unusually sever funnel storm, followed by a raid, Kahred recieves a visit from a "Lord" named Laven, who offers Kahred protection from the elements and raiders, based on a new kind of "Mystic" magic he's discovered. There's a conflict between the town's existing Mystic, Karlen, and the new Lord about how to properly use a Mystic's powers, and when Carpa discovers she, too, is a Mystic, she must decide how she'll use her powers.

This, of course, is only the beginning of the first chapter.

Chapter One: Apprentice

“It’ll sting for a while,” Carpa warned as she handed over the small jar. “But it won’t last, and it’ll reduce the swelling.”

“Thank you, Carpa,” the woman said. “How much do I owe you?”

Carpa smiled. “Nothing. Master Karlen’s not charging for any injuries caused by the funnel wind. I’m sure he would include burns as well as sprained ankles.”

“Where is Karlen? I haven’t seen him since yesterday evening.”

“He’s outside, repairing the damage to the garden.” Carpa frowned slightly. “The walls stood, but the funnel uprooted some of the herbs. We’ll have to replant. There’s a whole patch of gether that’s missing. He’ll be going into town again later to check on those who can’t walk here.”

“I see,” the woman nodded. “Well, then, he’s lucky to have an assistant capable of handling the shop. My boys, they’re always too busy causing mischief. Good day to you, Carpa, and send my thanks to Karlen as well. Would you like me to take a message into town? It’s the least I could do for you.”

“Oh… well, since you mention it, would you mind asking my father to have Tressen or one of the other apprentices to see if they have any spare buckets we could borrow? Ours didn’t survive the storm. I’ll pick it up when I visit town later.”

“Of course. I’ll ask Smith Temal myself. Good day again.”

“Thank you and good day.”

The woman turned then climbed the few stairs that took her up to the door and back to ground level. Master Karlen’s grotto wasn’t dug as deeply into the earth as the rest of Kahred, on account that it often had visitors who couldn’t manage more than a few steps. Also, Carpa had noted, it made it a lot easier to find the place, since it formed a larger mound than most grottos.

Carpa returned to the task of cleaning out the grotto. There was a fine layer of earth on everything in the hut, including Carpa. Master Karlen’s hut hadn’t suffered the worst from the funnel storm, since his home was located on the outskirts of the settlement, the funnel had come close enough to rip the storm-shutters off the sky lights and topple the storage shed in Master Karlen’s garden. A few blankets draped on the roof kept the sun from shining directly into the room.

However, Carpa knew she would have the place relatively normal in just a few days; in town, it would be weeks before they’d finish redigging and rebuilding. Carpa sighed. Perhaps this time, more people would adopt her father’s new roofing method, which had prevented the funnel from blowing open his grotto, even though his home had been in its direct path. Funnels strong enough to do so came by so rarely that people forgot just how deadly they could be, but Carpa could never forget just how powerful they could be.

She had just come home from Master Karlen’s grotto, but back then it belonged to Lanar, Kahred’s previous Mystic. Lan wasn’t a healer like Master Karlen, but he had a gift for metalworking. Lan would help Carpa’s father by doing all the fine detail work that Temal couldn’t manage because of his Shakes. She and her mother Cadra had been at Lan’s grotto that day so that Lan could repair a clock.

Carpa got bored watching Lan work and listening to him and her mother talk, so she went home early. It was just after she walked into town that the warning came of an approaching funnel storm. It was a sudden powerful storm; even from within her family’s storm shelter, they could hear and feel their home shake. After it had passed, the town was in ruins. Several homes where completely buried in dirt and sand and they had to dig the families out; other had lost their roofs when the pressure dropped outside. No single grotto went undamaged.

Carpa and her father Temal immediately set out to Lan’s place to find him and Cadra. Lan’s grotto was destroyed. They found Cadra and Lan inside; neither survived. Carpa never forgot the shock of finding her mother’s body was Lan’s workroom. Lan was in the next room, his body draped across a strong box. It wasn’t clear exactly how they died.

Everything of Lanar’s was left in the grotto after his death, and the grotto was uninhabited until Master Karlen arrived and had the place rebuilt. As far as Carpa knew, Master Karlen still had the box. Carpa always thought it was odd that Master Karlen arrived only a week or two after Lan’s death, as if he somehow knew he was needed. In less than a month’s time, Carpa found her life completely changed. Her mother was gone, as was Lan. Furthermore, she no longer lived with her father, but found herself living as a healer-apprentice in Karlen’s rebuilt grotto. Her old room was given to her father’s new apprentice, Tressen, who took over doing all the Lan’s detail work. That was they way of a funnel storm, to toss everything in the air and rearrange it as the storm pleased.

Outside, the tea kettle whistled on the stove. Master Karlen enjoyed mug of tea after working in the garden, so Carpa made sure that there was always hot water available. It was also useful to have hot water on hand in case there was an accident as someone needed a wound cleaned. Carpa went down the steps through back door to retrieve the kettle.

Like the rest of the house, the outside cooking area was sunken below ground level, only deeper, so that the entire “room” was below ground level. Lanar had kept it with an open ceiling to the sky, but Karlen had wooden beams built so that plants could form a canopy for shade. Most of it had blown away, but it could be easily repaired. Through the gaps in the canopy, Carpa could see the wall of Master Karlen’s garden, on ground level. She thought she could hear him working; he was humming a favorite melody of his, “Varis Springtime.” He said it was taught to him as a child, but since he couldn’t sing well, he hummed it instead.