//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Mothers and children 
// Story: Souls Apart: The Apprentice 
// by GnollReader 
//------------------------------//

"Now, concentrate on the flow..." Aergad instructed the young foal. "The mantras I taught you will help you to get a grasp on your own reserves and get the mana flowing throughout you. With time and a bit of practice you'll be able to do it without the mantras, just concentrate on the feeling... try to sense its path as it travels through you."

Pipsqueak did as he was told, closing his eyes and softly repeating the mantras while concentrating on the slow and subtle motion of the mana that was now flowing through him. It felt strange at first... warm, tingling... but after a while it almost felt natural. 

He had yet to ask why the necromancer's robes had returned to black.

"Where were you?" Xhergis asked Aergad from atop Pipsqueak's head.

"I visited the paladin." Aergad gave her a short glance. "Quiet now, Buttercup. The kid needs to..."

"You went to see her?" Pipsqueak asked with curiosity, his concentration faltering the moment he did and the flow of mana coming to an end. "How is she?"

"She's fine..." Aergad sighed. "Even got herself a dog. Now, concentrate will you?"

"Yes, master." 

The necromancer watched Pipsqueak return to his chanting, every now and then squinting his eyes in thought as the mana once again began to flow through the young foal. "Good, keep it up." He held up the small rock in his palm. "Now returning to the matter at hand... do you see this rock?"

Pipsqueak eyed the small pebble in his hand, trying his best to keep the mana flowing. "Yes..."

"Okay... close your eyes and concentrate on the mana." Pipsqueak did as he was told. "Good. Now consider the following... and keep channeling the mana, you need to practice this daily."

"Yes, master." Pipsqueak was obviously struggling.

"Don't try to force it." Aergad warned him. "Just let it flow, make it match your breathing... in, and out."

"In... and out." Slowly, Pipsqueak's expression became more relaxed.

"Good..." Aergad gave a short nod. "As I was saying, consider the following; the rock is there whether you can see it or not. But you have more senses than just sight..." he paused. "Touch... smell... taste..." Aergad's voice became low. "Imagine the rock... what it's surface feels like... how it weighs in your grip... the smell of earth and the taste of soil..."

Pipsqueak let the necromancer's voice guide; Slowly, a picture of the rock started to form in his mind... it was so clear it almost looked like the real thing...

"Whoa!" Xhergis gave an excited shout from the top of Pipsqueak's head, making the young foal's eyes snap open and... there, in front of Pipsqueak's eyes... the little rock was floating above the necromancer's hand.

"Did I..." he started to say with excitement but the necromancer cut him off.

"Concentrate!" Aergad tried to warn the foal, but it was already too late. The concentration of the foal had been broken... the mana flow stopped... and the rock fell back onto Aergad's hand. "Okay..." he sighed. "That's lesson one for you; Concentration."

"Sorry." Pipsqueak cringed before raising an eyebrow. "I thought lesson one was perception?"

"I changed it." The necromancer replied with an unamused face. "Okay, kid. I want you to keep practicing what we just did. It will help you to naturally call forth the mana at will... without any of the silly mantras." He chuckled at his own joke and set down the pebble on the desk. "Once you get it to float, try giving it a little nudge with your mind, see what happens."

"Yes, master." Pipsqueak beamed him a large grin, happy to have made his first steps into real magic.

Aergad clapped his hands and started to get up. "You can practice in the tower if you want. There's enough space and nobody will disturb you. That's all for today..." he gave the foal a short nod and a smile of his own. "I still have work to do, but we will continue tomorrow, same time and place."

"Thank you, master." Pipsqueak started to get up himself and collected the small rock before him before a thought occurred to him. "Master? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, kid. What is it?" Aergad replied while making a scroll appear out of nowhere and letting his finger run over the list.

"Why did you want to learn magic?"

Aergad froze in his study of the list, a small sigh escaping him as he remembered. "I wanted to make people smile... one of them more than any other..." his shoulders sagging slightly and a small whisper escaping him. "And I still do."

"Master?" Pipsqueak asked with worry. "Is something wrong?"

"Never mind, kid." Aergad passed him a small smile. "Run along now, and be careful not to disturb the imps while you practice." He returned his attention to the list in his hand. "I still have a busy day before me..."





On one of the highest mountains of Equis, an adventurous pony named Luck Charmer was having a problem.

He was an explorer, courageous, well-looking, young... and stuck. He had been climbing, he had slipped, and right now he was hanging by a small ledge and couldn't get up or down. "Well..." he sighed after another unsuccessful attempt at finding a rock to hold on to. "At least the view is nice."

"I agree, there are definitely worse places to get stuck."

"Huh? Who said that?!" Luck Charmer turned his head and looked upwards; Standing on a ledge only a few feet above him, a black-robed figure with a skeletal face and little stars for eyes grinned and ever-lasting grin at him. "What in the world are you?"

"You're hanging from a slippery and crumbling rock on the side of a big mountain and you're likely to fall to your death any moment..." Aergad shook his scythe to emphasize his point. "Take your time. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Luck Charmer pondered on those words for a moment; the black robes, the scythe, the skull... "You're Death!"

"It's not my dream job but it's what I do... I wanted to be a sailor when I was four, you know." Aergad chuckled softly and checked his list. "Let me see, let me see... Luck Charmer; Kind of a stray... mountain climber..." he cast the pony an amused look. "You may want to rethink that profession..."

"Are you kidding me?!" Luck Charmer shouted beneath, trying to grasp that Death himself had come for him.

"Date and place seem right..." Aergad continued his check without taking notice. "Are you still there?"

"Of course I am!" Luck Charmer complained. "Lend me a hoof, will you?!"

"Sure thing, buddy." Aergad made a jab at the pony with the bottom end of his scythe, Luck Charmer barely dodging it.

"What the buck are you doing?!" Luck Charmer shouted and dodged another jab.

"Helping you to let go. Hold still, will you? I have a very busy schedule." Death chuckled. "Try to land on your head."

"Wait!" Luck Charmer frantically dodged another jab. "At least let me have one final request!"

"I am not playing chess with you..." Death grumbled before sighing. "But sure, what do you want?"

"I want to say goodbye to my mother."

Aergad was quiet for a moment. "Your mother?"

"I haven't seen her in years..." Luck Charmer replied glumly. "At least give me a chance to talk with her a final..." the rock he was holding onto broke off... Luck Charmer started to fall... only to hit soft ground a moment after. "What the buck?" To his surprise, he found himself on a small hill of grass.

"You wanted to see your mother..." Death said with a tired voice and pointed to a small cottage in the distance. "Here's your chance." In the little garden at the back of the small cottage, a female pony was tending the flowers. "Go on, I'll wait till you're done..." he took a seat on a stump with a tired sigh.

"Mom..." Luck Charmer whispered and felt a lump grow in his throat as he watched the smiling mare tend to her garden.

"Aren't you going?"

Luck Charmer continued to watch his mother for a long, lingering moment... old, warm memories coming to his mind and a sadness spreading throughout him he had not known before. "No... it's fine."

"Are you sure?" Aergad asked with surprise.

"Yeah..." Luck Charmer let out a heavy breath and a small tear escaped one of his eyes. "I guess I just wanted to see her smile one final time. It's still just like I remembered it..." he turned to Death. "I'm ready to go."

Aergad observed the pony's face, lost in surprise and silent as he pondered on his reply. Then, with a flick of his wrist he brought for a quill and his list and made a note; "Luck Charmer..." he gave the pony a short glance. "Couldn't be bothered."

He stood up and both the scroll and the quill vanished. He noticed Luck Charmer's blank expression. "What's with the long face? You've just been granted a parole. Be happy."

"You're... you're letting me go?"

"Let's say I couldn't find you..." Death chuckled and shook his head at the surprise written all over Luck Charmer's face. A weak laugh escaped him. "If I'm lucky they might even fire me for this one..."

He was about to leave when Luck Charmer extended a hoof towards him. "Thank you."

"No problem... just try to avoid mountains in the future." Aergad smiled as softly as his skull would allow him too and grasped the offered hoof to shake it in farewell... Luck Charmer falling over dead the moment he took it. For a few seconds Aergad simply stared at the dead pony in front of him in confusion while still holding the hoof in his hand. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me..."





Calindria stood before the alpha of the second tribe she had sought out that day, Buster several feet behind her. "Well?" She asked with slight impatience. "What is your answer?"

"We don't bow to any outsiders!" The diamond dog barked at her. "And that traitor behind you would do better to leave with you. Get out!"

The paladin remained quiet for a moment, her face hard as stone as she considered her options; She could give him a good beating... it had worked wonders with the first alpha. She could call for Tobie or the undead outside the entrance, or she could... She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a small box. Aergad had given it to her one his last visit, saying it would help persuade any stubborn dogs to listen to reason.

"What's that? Some sort of trinket that's going to make us change our minds?" The alpha gave an amused bark. "We already got everything we need down here, and you're not one of those things."

Calindria shook her head with a sigh. "Guess it can't be helped." Secretly, she had been curious about the contents of the small box. It was barely large enough to hold a ring. She held the box towards the dog and opened it with her other hand. "This should change your mind."

From her point of view she couldn't see what was inside the box, but much to her surprise the alpha's expression first became blank... then horrified as a set of huge tentacles shot out of the box and took a hold of him... immediately latching onto him and in an act that defied logic, pulled him into the little box and snapped the lid shut.

Everyone present, both diamond dogs and the paladin, watched lost in surprise and confusion as the box shook several times before giving off one short burp and going completely quiet.

Calindria stared at the box in her palm with a raised eyebrow. "That's what you understand under persuading someone, Aergad?" She whispered to herself and groaned. "I should have expected something like this from that maniac." She put the box away again, praying to the stars it wouldn't open inside her pockets.

Behind her, Buster gave a triumphant call. "Did you see that, brothers?! That is the power of the Pale Queen! She answers only to Death himself and our dead brothers follow her call! All hail the Pale Queen!"

The diamond dogs understood... and they bowed. "All hail the Pale Queen!"





Having returned the body to its meant place, Aergad gave a huff of dismay and made another note on his list. "I hate this job." Next to him, the scythe was scolding him. "Keep it to yourself, will you?" Aergad sneered. "He's dead, okay?" More words of malice. "I should get some freedom to make changes from time to time!" Another string of silent words. "Yes... yes, I know. For crying out loud, I know! I'm doing the best I can so give me a break!"

Aergad shook his head with a sigh and continued to check his list for the day, his skeletal finger tracing the names of those to leave that day. "Let's just hope I get some funny ones today... I don't know how much more of this crap I can handle..." he pointed an angry finger at the scythe. "There should be a safety on that touch-of-death thing, you know? Just because the universe thinks their time has come doesn't mean I have to kill them on contact! Have a heart! I wanted to make people smile, not cry!"

He returned his attention to the list. "Boring... boring... that one is just plain sad... that one could be amusing..." he froze as his finger traced the next line. "Oh... oh, no." his empty eyes lingered on the name. "How am I going to explain this?" He dropped his shoulders. "This day started so good too... So much for making people smile." He shouldered his scythe. "I hate this job."





In the kitchen of the Apple family, while preparing the meal for that day... Granny Smith had just suffered a heart attack.