The Young Mage Ch. 03

"I suppose you want me to give you my sword now..."

"Keep it," Dinah said, locking eyes with him.

"All right. Can I get some answers now? There are so many unusual things happening here and I feel I am the only one who doesn't know what is going on."

"Theia will probably have a talk with you after I tell her what happened. She will probably give you all the answers you need," Dinah said, moving to go, but then she stopped and looked Magnus in the eyes once again.

"Magnus... I... Thank you... for everything. I don't know anyone who would have done what you did, especially after everything we had put you through..." Dinah said, watching him intensely for a second and then walking away before Magnus had a chance to reply.

Half an hour later, the summons from the chieftainess Theia came, and Magnus found himself sitting across from the beautiful Owl tribe leader.

"Magnus... thank you for coming. We owe you a debt of gratitude and an apology," Theia said.

"None of that is necessary. But I would like to understand what is happening, if you are willing to share it with me."

Theia nodded.

"The group you defeated comes from the Hatiti people. It is a group of tribes who have been pressing on us from the south for some time now," Theia said and then took a deep breath. Whatever she intended to tell him was clearly bringing painful and sad memories.

"A year ago, they came in force, intending to invade our territories. At first, we thought it was about land and possibly cattle, but soon we realized they had made a deal with slavers, who clearly promised them a good price for younger members of our tribe. My father, the chieftain, held a warrior council and they decided to meet the enemy and crush them in the open, rather than wait and suffer their raids and incursions," Theia said. Her eyes seemed very distant and thoughtful.

"He gathered the warriors and they rode out in force, hoping for a decisive victory that would stop any further incursions. Now, Wildlands tribes have always been involved in skirmishes and fighting amongst themselves, so when this outside enemy came there were no offers of alliance or help, although to be fair, they did refrain from attacking us, realizing we were fighting for them as well, considering that this enemy wouldn't have stopped at our tribe only." Theia said and then rose to her feet to pour some mead for Magnus and herself. She took a big swig and then paused briefly, getting a grip on her emotions.

"The battle did not go well?" Magnus asked cautiously.

"It was a disaster... They were lured into a trap, and even though they fought bravely, they all died there, with the exception of several warriors only..." Theia said with tears in her eyes. Magnus gave her a compassionate look and nodded.

"The only good thing was that the enemy suffered severe losses as well, so they had to give up on their plans... until now."

"What happened after?"

"We had barely any men of fighting age left... Other tribes had enough honor to leave us be, even though we were easy prey. There were so many arguments then, with some of our remaining warriors calling for retaliation even though it made no sense. We had to think about survival. Some of us were the voice of reason, but dissent kept growing, so I finally decided to step up. I demanded to be accepted as a new chieftain, as it was my right in a way. My only brother had died in that tragic battle so I was my father's only heir," she said with fire in her eyes.

"Let me guess, the men were outraged," Magnus said, shaking his head.

Theia snorted. "You have no idea. They were looking at me as if I was completely mad. The chieftain should be the strongest warrior! Some of them kept saying. Spirits! Why, I ask you, why?!" Theia said, her lovely face twisted by sudden anger. "Why should our leader be the strongest warrior?! Shouldn't it be the wisest among us?!" Theia said bitterly.

"I had learned a lot about being a chieftain from my father, who was a good and wise man... I knew I could lead our tribe and make better choices than those reckless fools! Yet they fought tooth and nail against it, and if it weren't for the support of the women, who suddenly became a huge majority in the tribe, I wouldn't have been able to take up the role... Well, to be fair, a few among men did support me, but most of them were strongly against it."

"Well, I guess it is hard for men to accept that women can be just as good in many things, better in some, worse in some other things, but overall, just as capable," Magnus said, shrugging.

"Oh, don't I know that... To this day, some of them still use every opportunity to resist and show their contempt of my position."

Magnus nodded sympathetically. Theia sighed and then took his hand suddenly.

"Magnus, tomorrow morning I will be convening a council and I would like you to be present," Theia said with a hopeful look on her face. Magnus smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I will be there."

Theia smiled back and started caressing his hand unconsciously. When she realized what she was doing, she blushed fiercely and got up quickly.

"Well! Thank you for everything, Magnus. I need to go back to my duties... I will see you tomorrow morning."

***

The sky was starting to change its color, showing a different shade of beauty, a kind of beauty Magnus always loved gazing at. He was sitting on a stump in front of his tent, watching the sunset and simply enjoying the moment. After a while, his thoughts couldn't help taking a different direction...

"The situation looks quite grim... I can only hope that those men were lying and that there is no big force coming our way..." Magnus thought, troubled by everything he had heard. "If only-"

"Magnus, Magnus!"

Magnus turned to see Mona running towards him with a big smile on her face.

"Magnus! Everybody is talking about how you defeated those Hatiti warriors! I knew you were on our side!" she said, jumping around him.

"Swush! Swish! Ha!" Mona exclaimed as she kept wielding her imaginary sword. Magnus watched her with a smile on his face.

"You will stop them, won't you?!" she asked, turning to him when she had dispatched all her foes.

"I will give my best, Mona."

"Good!" she said, climbing into his lap. "Will you tell me a story now?" she asked, giving Magnus her best puppy eyes. He couldn't help laughing.

"It is as if I got transported back in time... She is so much like Lina at her age..." Magnus thought, looking at the little girl in his lap.

"All right. Let me see..." Magnus said, trying to recall the stories he had heard as a child.

"Maybe I can tell her something new, though..."

"Here it goes... Once upon a time, there was a young man named... Tim. Tim lived on a farm, and he was a boy like every other until one day he realized he could do magic!"

"Wow... I have never seen anyone do magic... He must have been so happy and excited!" Mona exclaimed.

"Actually, he was quite worried. Magic can be dangerous if there is no one to guide you, and Tim was afraid of hurting the people he loved... So he decided to leave his home and search for someone who could teach him how to do magic properly."

"And did he find someone?!" Mona asked with a hopeful look.

"Oh yes, he did, but not right away... The wizard he first asked had rejected him as learning magic was so expensive, and our Tim was quite poor you see..."

"Oh..."

"But then, he ran into a really nice and beautiful sorceress named... Kim!"

"And she taught him magic?"

"Yes... but it took a long time for Tim to learn it. Doing magic is really hard."

"And did they go into adventures? Fighting lions and dragons and elephants, and other things?!"

Magnus laughed.

"They sure did. But their first adventure happened when they visited a wealthy countess."

"What is a countess?"

"Umm, a countess is a woman who is very rich and has many people obeying her orders..." Magnus said, scratching his head.

"So like a chieftain? Like Theia?"

"Well, yes, something like that."

"And then what happened?!"

"You see, the countess had a problem. Someone was stealing her secrets..." Magnus said, lowering his voice in a mysterious way, almost whispering.

"Oww... who was the thief?" Mona asked, her voice changing to whisper as well.

"That was the whole problem, she didn't know... So, she hired Kim and Tim to find the thief."

"They used magic to find him?" Mona whispered, her eyes going wide.

"Oh yes... but they couldn't catch the thief even with magic... and that is when Kim started to think that the thief was a mage..."

"WOO! Magic against magic... It must have been so exciting!"

"It was very exciting! They made a plan to make the thief reveal himself and Fi-, I mean Kim was waiting for him, while Tim tried to bait him to come... and guess what?!"

"What?!" Mona said excitedly.

"The thief took the bait!"

"OHH!"

"Yes, when he came to steal the countess' documents, Kim was waiting for him and she used magic on him!"

"HA! Did she turn him into a frog?!"

"No, she just used her magic to push him against a wall... but then the thief started fighting back! He used his own magic on Kim!"

"Damn! What did Kim do?!" Mona asked, full of anticipation.

"Now, you mustn't swear Mona."

"Sorry! But what happened?!"

"Kim struggled against his magic. They kept flinging their spells at each other, and the room they were fighting in soon became a complete mess!"

"But Kim won, right?!"

"No..." Magnus said, shaking his head and almost smiling at Mona's worried face.

"Kim realized that the thief was a stronger mage than her, and he kept pressing her until her back was against the wall, and he laughed at her while she stood there, completely at his mercy..."

"Spirits! What happened then?!" Mona asked, holding Magnus' hand.

"Tim showed up!" Magnus exclaimed victoriously.

"About damn time!!"

"Mona!"

"Sorry!" she said, giggling suddenly.

"Anyway, Tim appeared at the right moment, but he was still learning magic and he wasn't very good yet. He unleashed all the spells he knew at the thief anyway."

"And?!"

"The thief stopped his spells and launched a lightning bolt at Tim!"

"OWW! Tim dodged it, right?!"

"Barely! The thief was now pressing Tim but in the meantime, Kim recovered and she started hitting the thief with her spells and then Tim joined in with his own spells."

"OH, so two against one?! That isn't fair, is it?" Mona said, frowning.

"Well, the thief was so strong and he was a bad man and if they didn't attack him together, he would have won and probably even killed them!"

"Oh, I see..."

"Yes, and the thief was so afraid and he decided to run!"

"Where did he go?!"

"Now you won't believe this one. He jumped through the window!"

"Through the window? Dinah said that a window was a hole in houses of stone and wood," Mona said, pensively.

"That's right. The window is a hole, but it is covered with glass, to let the light in, but not the cold. Anyway, our thief jumped through the window, breaking glass with his magic!"

"WOW!"

"Yeah, there were shards everywhere... Kim and Tim rushed to the window, but he ran away..."

"So they didn't catch him?!"

"No. But the thief had been discovered and he ran away, so the countess was happy and she rewarded Kim and Tim." Magnus said, finishing his story.

"So as you see, Kim and Tim were both weaker than the thief, but fighting together, they were stronger! Weaker fighters can prevail against a stronger one if they work together," Magnus said, winking at Mona. Mona eyed him for a moment.

"Hah! Didn't you win today, fighting against five warriors?"

Magnus chuckled.

"She is such a smart girl. She misses nothing," Magnus thought, shrugging in reply. Mona smiled victoriously and then sighed.

"Ohhh... I want to be able to do magic..." Mona said wistfully.

"Maybe you will."

"Tell me another story!"

"Now, that is enough for tonight Mona, time for sleep," Dinah said, approaching.

"Just one more..."

"Another evening. Now, scurry off to sleep!" Dinah said with a smile as Mona climbed down from Magnus' lap and started to go, but then she turned quickly to give Magnus a peck on the cheek and then ran off.

"She is such a sweet little devil," Dinah said.

"She is a wonderful kid. Who are her parents?" Magnus asked.

"It's a sad story... Her mother was one of the women who died in the first Hatiti raids and her father died along with most of our men..."

"Poor child..."

"Yes... we all take care of her now. She even sleeps wherever she wants in the village," Dinah said, showing a loving smile for just a moment. She sat down next to Magnus. "About last night..."

"It's fine," Magnus said, shaking his head.

"It is not fine... although you seemed to enjoy it for a moment," she said smirking.

"Maybe... It was certainly not the first time someone tied me to the bed," Magnus said, smiling, "...but it was the first time someone did it without my approval."

"Sorry."

"I already said it was fine. I am intrigued about it though. It wasn't just about your arousal and lust... there was some aggression... some pain there..." Magnus said cautiously, watching Dinah's face for a reaction. Her face twisted, but she kept her silence and they just sat there for a while, watching the night take its grip on the village.

"I..." Dinah started, and then her voice faltered. Magnus took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"You are right about the pain...," she said, finding her voice.

"Someone hurt you..."

"Yeah..." Dinah said, taking a deep breath. "I was barely an adult when two men from the Fox tribe raped me... I was herding cows when they ambushed me and forced me to the ground..." Dinah said, the pain in her voice turning to anger. "They both had their fun with me and they even left me this sign of their affection," Dinah said, pointing to her scar.

"Damn..."

"Well, for a while I just wanted to die, but over time my despair turned into anger and I learned how to use sword and spear, swearing no one would be able to do that to me ever again... or to anyone I love," Dinah said with a steely look in her eyes.

"The funny thing is," Dinah continued after a moment, "...that I've never really seen those two again... We've had fights and skirmishes against the Fox tribe, but I've seen no trace of them. They probably died fighting against some other tribe, depriving me of my revenge," Dinah said, squeezing Magnus' hand hard.

"Is that why you wanted to force yourself on me? Were you... taking revenge in some way?"

"Yes... no... I don't know!" Dinah said in frustration. "I thought you were working for the slavers, for that lowest life form in existence... and also, ever since the rape, this aggressive, forceful way... it arouses me..." Dinah said with apparent shame.

"Dinah, I understand... life messes us up... but I would like to show you another way if you are willing..." Magnus said, looking at her with compassion. She met his eyes and after a moment of hesitation, she kissed him passionately, aggressively. Magnus returned the kiss, aroused by her aggression, but then he pulled away and took her hand.

"I was going to show you something different, remember?" he said, smirking. He led her into the tent and laid her down on the pallet. A torch was already in place and he lit it, basking the tent in yellow light.

"Just relax and let me do everything..." he said, moving to kiss her. Magnus felt the tension in her body, felt her chest rise and fall in shallow breaths. They kissed, wrestling with lips and tongues. Her breath was so hot, her arousal so obvious. Yet he wanted her to experience something different. He moved away from her lips, nuzzling her neck and then showering it with wet kisses. He took his time kissing her scar, gently, making her feel his breath as she shuddered with tension and arousal. He caressed her body, taking her shirt off slowly and kissing her shoulders as he was doing it.

"Ohh..." she moaned, her body relaxing bit by bit, her arousal building up. Magnus made his way across her chest, teasing her nipples with his tongue and then taking them between his teeth. Her eyes were closed but her smile was telling him everything he needed to know. He gave her nipples a gentle bite, and then he sucked on them passionately as her lips released a repressed scream of pleasure. He kissed his way down, marveling at her sculpted abdominal muscles that responded to his every touch. He pulled at her pants, never stopping his kisses.

"Mmmm!" A shudder passed through her body, and a sweet and musky smell hit him as soon as the pants were gone. Magnus smiled like an addict who had found his aphrodisiac. He kissed his way down her bush, getting a glimpse of her wetness. Dinah opened her eyes and looked down between her legs for the first time, waiting for Magnus to take off his pants and thrust into her. He smiled predatorily and licked her wet cave, his tongue scooping the wonderful juices.

"Spirits of ancestors!!" Dinah cried out, an intense shudder passing through her body.

"They aren't going to help you now," Magnus said, looking at her flushed face and wide-eyed expression. He dove in, eager to show his skills. The tongue swaths, the deep stabbing, the clit sucking... Magnus gave her his everything, while she watched in disbelief, her body spasming from waves of pleasure. He felt her orgasm build and he nurtured it, not letting it come too soon. He licked her pussy with vigor, stabbing his tongue deep inside, and as her body came closer to climax he switched back to gentle licks, while her passion and arousal kept building up with indomitable strength. He kept her on edge for minutes, and Dinah became almost delirious with pleasure.

Then he pressed his attack. He sucked on her clit, sliding his fingers inside her pussy and rubbing her sensitive spot, feeling her body twitch from all the incredible stimulation.

"AH!! Spirits...! SPIRIIITS!! AAAHHH!!!" Dinah screamed, her orgasm breaking through and taking her out of this world to a land where only gods could reside and where only pleasure existed. She arched her hips and shook wildly, all her muscles tensing, her face red and sweaty but with an expression of immense satisfaction.

"YEEESSSS!!" she screamed again while holding on to the incredible sensation provided by Magnus' tireless lips and tongue. She stayed there in that fantastic land for a while, until her body reminded her that she was just a mortal soul. She opened her eyes to see her chest rise and fall rapidly, her skin sweaty and her muscles tense, her thighs trapping Magnus in a beautiful prison.

"Ohh..." she sighed, relaxing her muscles, while Magnus kept gently savoring her juices. It took a full minute before she found her voice.

"Spirits! Magnus, that was... Ohh," she said, her words coming out in a barely coherent manner. Magnus smiled and rubbed his stiff neck for a moment, and then kissed her thighs passionately.

"What the hell did you do to me..." she said finally, looking at him with wonder. Magnus chuckled.

"I might have been showing off a bit."

"I have no words..."

"There will be more to come," he said, caressing her thighs and ass and licking only very gently for a while until he felt her respond once again and arch her pussy in his face, seeking more contact. He gave her a few tongue swaths, followed by a few stabs and then he rose for a moment, taking off his pants to show his cock standing at full mast. He eased himself between her legs, pushing inside her and coming face to face.

"Your face is all smeared by my pussy juice," she laughed.

"It is a battle trophy," he said and started pushing in and out of her. She brought her face close to his, their breaths colliding. She reached out with her tongue and licked his lips.