Returning Home (A Short Magistream Story)

[MageLorelei]

A quick breakdown:
Lorelei: My main Magistream OC. A fire mage and healer. Owns an amulet that allows her to understand her creatures as though they were talking. Lives in the Etain Desert on the coast.
Tirian: An OC and Lorelei’s “uncle,” he found her when she was a baby and raised her. Earth mage and former explorer, he is now a professor at the Keep.
SnuggleMuffins: A Nandi Bear belonging to Lorelei. Her best friend and most beloved companion.

On with the story!!
—~—~—~— Returning Home
The blazing sun beat down around her, turning the endless dunes into a shimmering mass. While many of the Etain Desert’s creatures were tucked away in their dens to await the night, Lorelei continued to travel. She basked in the heat, feeling her magic leap as it hadn’t in quite some time. When was the last time she had been hot, truly hot? Not for years, not since she had left.

Oh sure, the roaring fires of stone halls were fine in the winter, but her magic could always feel the cold, just out of reach. And the summers had been warm, but not hot, not the way her magic craved. Even the long trip back across the ocean wasn’t enough. Some would argue that the Callisto Islands were hot, but there was so much water… No, the only places that had the temperatures she craved were the Etain Desert and Voltar.

Not to say that she was being foolish. Uncle Tirian may have raised her into a stubborn and fierce woman, but he hadn’t raised a fool. It was only mid morning, and despite her desire to continue on—continue home—Lorelei would have to stop soon. Even with her magic cloak and plenty of water, it would have been downright idiotic to keep traveling as the sun and heat continued to climb.

Just as well that there was a hidden well nearby. Or there had been one several years ago. The last three wells had all been there and been in working order, so it was likely this one would be fine as well. And if it wasn’t, well, that was fine, she had enough water to last until the next well, and the one after that if she was sparing. Hmm. Maybe she needed to find other words besides “well.”

“Well shit,” Lorelei hissed after a long moment. There really weren’t any substitutions. Maybe she needed to restructure her sentences. But how often did she end up using the word “well,” anyway? Why was she focusing on this? How did she get started on this thought tangent anyway?

Lorelei stopped walking to take a deep breath and refocus herself. The heat was getting to her, and the loneliness. It had been two weeks since she’d stopped at the Keep to check in with Uncle Tirian and Archmage Thane about what she had learned while away, but she’d been alone since then. Maybe she should have taken the offer of traveling with a caravan, or at least borrowed a griffin, but she had been impatient and restless and hadn’t even stayed the night.

Perhaps to her detriment, Lorelei thought. If she had been thinking more clearly she might have hired a boat. It would have been faster, but even now she balked at the idea. After spending months at sea, Lorelei wasn’t inclined to set foot on one again for some time. Which meant walking. Sighing to herself, Lorelei started forward once more. All of that was in the past, and getting lost in thought was a dangerous thing to do. The Etain Desert was full of dangers.

Like nandi bears. Not that Lorelei would run into any wild ones on her route. Or any of her tame ones, either. They kept far enough away from the nomads’ paths that they would never encounter someone following it, but close enough they could intercept anyone who wandered off. Their presence had the added bonus of keeping most of the other predators away, though nothing could stop a fire hydra from going where it wanted.

Just thinking of her bears made Lorelei’s heart ache. SnuggleMuffins was her dearest friend, and it had been physically painful to leave him behind as she went exploring, but Archmage Thane had been clear: no companions were to be brought along, not until they knew how the previous unexplored continent would react. They didn’t need a repeat of Alveus.

It was a good decision on his part. Magic had been viewed with suspicion, and some of the practices Lorelei saw the land’s mages use came off as downright barbaric in her eyes, and the few magical creatures there were hunted down. She might have been fine with Snuggles, because he looked enough like a regular bear, but anything more exotic would have been in danger.

Again, a good decision, but it meant that Lorelei had gone years without her most faithful companion. His soft fur, his gentle amber eyes, his unyielding strength, his curiosity and general good nature… missing him felt like a physical wound. Lorelei would give anything to be with him immediately. Okay, not anything, not even most things, but she’d be willing to give away an entire meal, so that had to count for something.

Thinking of food… Lorelei’s stomach growled. If she remembered correctly, the next well wasn’t far; in fact, she could just spot the ruins located around it. “Ruins” wasn’t the correct term, as there were actual buildings left standing, and nobody knew what it had been before, but nobody had been able to come up with a better term.

A shape wavered just outside the ruins, and Lorelei narrowed her eyes. The heat made it hard to see the exact shape, but Lorelei would have sworn it looked like a tiny sand dune. It looked like it was moving. Not just moving, getting closer.

That wasn’t a sand dune.

Running on sand was hard, but Lorelei surged forward, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. Closing in, SnuggleMuffins bellowed across the sand, and Lorelei didn’t need her amulet to translate what he meant. Not that she had it on her, that too had been left behind. Either way, that was her name.

“Snuggles!” She shouted back. SnuggleMuffins roared again, and then he was there, knocking her over and nuzzling her, growling and grunting. In return, Lorelei buried her hands into his thick fur and held on, relishing in the contact. After a minute of that SnuggleMuffins scooped her up as he sat down, letting her get back to her feet.

Once upright, Lorelei buried her face into his fur. “I missed you, I missed you so much,” she said over and over, arms wrapped tight around his neck. Neither of them moved for a while, basking in each other’s company after so long apart. All good things must come to an end, however, and Lorelei pulled away, rubbing at her eyes.

“I suppose you’re here to take me home?” Her voice was watery as she spoke, and Lorelei cleared her throat. In response SnuggleMuffins whuffed before nudging her towards the ruin he had been waiting at. Without even thinking Lorelei let herself be herded forward; it was getting hot, and she was feeling pretty hungry.

“Once I’ve rested and eaten, I guess we’ll be off,” she said, falling back a step to walk beside SnuggleMuffins. Yes, he radiated heat like a furnace, but she basked in the contact too much to care. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

It was a relief to know she’d return home by the next morning; riding would be much faster than walking. Lorelei could feel herself relaxing as they walked; it was so good to be back. —~—~—~— Feel free to comment if you enjoyed, or I made a spelling mistake; I don’t exactly have a beta, haha

[Foleo]

Oh my god!! This is such a sweet story and it really feels like coming home. Welcome back, Lorelei