"So! Ready to learn some magic??" Ode asked cheerfully, clearly recovered from the encounter with the rogue magician.
Not even a loss would slow him.. Thames thought to himself before responding. "Yes!"
"Good!" Ode reached into his coat, which was under his cloak, and pulled out a piece of paper. "You were listening to Ren right?"
Thames simply nodded, allowing Ode to continue.
"Magic comes from the deities! Like what Lin told ya! You follow Trem so your magic would be like art!" Ode passed the blank piece of paper to Thames.
"What would I have to do then? Ren mentioned something about giving my soul or heart or something?" He shook his head in confusion while examining the paper.
"Ah that's just him tryna get people to his cause! It's basically him saying that you gotta follow the deity's laws!" Ode rolled his eyes as he continued. "Which don't matter if you already follow them!"
Thames nodded. "So I just have to follow Mother Trem's laws?"
"Well not just that! I'll help ya find a spell from her when we get to the Flowery Tower. But off the top of my head I think there's a spell to draw?" Ode shook his head and scratched his chin, trying to remember.
"Draw..? So how do I do spells then?"
"Well that's what's complicated.." Ode pinched the bridge of his nose. "So ya first gotta really think of the deities laws.. Then pledge yourself to them..?"
Thames nodded slowly. "I think I understand.. How would I know if it worked?"
"Depends! Most people just feel different!"
Okay.. Pledge myself? What did dad always say? Create art, protect art, and display art? How do I pledge myself to that? I mean I'm an artist…
His thoughts trailed on as he sat back in the carriage chair, closing his eyes.
The image of the blank canvas on the easel in the middle of nowhere appeared in his head.
Oh Mother Trem..? I pledge myself to… Create art… Protect art… And display art?
O' Painter.. The harmonic feminine voice from his painted dream echoed in his mind.
You swear to this?
Yes..? His face displayed an unsure expression as he thoughtlessly agreed with the voice.
Then.. My painter.. Please paint this world.
The voice echoed on as he felt a tightening in his chest. Reaching for his chest quickly, he opened his eyes, and focused on Ode. "I think it worked."
"Oh? That quick?? Hey Lin! We got a prodigy!" He quickly shouted to Lin and she responded in laughter.
"So what do I do now..?" Thames asked, the tightening in his chest slowly fading.
"Well! With well known deities they usually got spells already written down, but since we're nowhere we can't do that!"
"So we have to wait until we reach Miss Rubes?"
"Nope! You can make a spell! Just imagine something that fits with Trem's style!" Ode responded halfheartedly while leaning back.
Style..? Well art is obvious.. She called me her painter..
"How do I preform a spell now..?"
"Ah! So y'know how when me and Lin do spells we sound different?" Thames nodded. "That's 'cause we're like.. Speaking with a deities energy!"
"Deities energy?" Thames grew more confused the more Ode spoke.
"Imagine Trem while ya talk!"
Imagine her? This guys a lousy teacher.. He grumbled as he focused back on the paper.
"[Draw..?]"
As he spoke the word, an image of a woman appeared on the paper.
She was taller and thicker. She had long brown hair covering her face. She wore an ordinary looking dress dotted in paint splatters.
"Not bad not bad! How's the first spell feel?"
"Uh.. New?"
"That's a way to put it!" Ode slapped his knee while glancing at the paper, a worried expression flashing across his face.
"So! Draw would be directly related to your deity! But I'm sure ya noticed that Lin can use Teleport." He waited for Thames to nod before continuing. "That's a spell left by past magicians! We can use em 'cause they've immortalized themselves as angels."
"Like Osir?" His eyes sparkled as he asked.
"Yeah! He would've been a magician for Trem 'fore he got turnt to a constellation."
The carriage began to slow down as they entered a small town.
"Speakin of Nowhere! We're literally in Nowhere!" Ode proudly proclaimed with a bright smile.
Small towns similar to Nowhere dotted the rolling plains. They were mostly made up of farmers or relatives of them and famously only had an inn, a bar, and a grocery store. Nira would have been one, but a lucky farmer struck it big finding a coal mine.
Lin tapped on the carriage door once it came to a stop. "We'll getta drink and then hit the hay! Tomorrow will be a long day." She began to walk into a bar.
Following after her, Ode and Thames entered the empty bar. The floor was crowded with seats and tables, but the only person there, other than the trio, was the bartender.
She was a mostly human looking girl, but had greenish purple scales around her eyes and neck.
All three of them quickly sat at the bar. Ode and Lin got a beer, but Thames got a water.
After finishing a bowl of stew each over idle chatter, they entered the inn and rented separate rooms. Thames quickly fell to sleep in his bed, greatly relieved that it was more comfortable than his last bed.
O' Painter..
A harmonious combination of voices whispered to him as he drifted into a dreamworld.
He slowly awakened, sitting in a stool in front of an easel. The easel had a blank canvas.
Again? He thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes, truly focusing on the canvas.
Be wary.. O' Painter.. These unfamiliar worlds shouldn't be visited by-
The harmony of voices scattered as the space around him splintered and broke. The void below him quickly swallowed him up.
As he continued to fall into the blank void of his mind, he found himself atop a hill. At the bottom was a man telling a story to an audience of hazy people.
What now..? He slowly rose to his feet and walked to the storyteller. Upon reaching the gathering, he could truly examine the persons appearance.
The being wore a black nightgown and its eyes were covered in a blindfold. Its features were obscured in a black haze, similar to the people it was reading to.
And when Osir slew the king.. Trem bestowed upon the angel the gift of immortalization.. Blessed to be looked upon by humans to come.
No that's not right.. It wasn't a blessing it was punishment.. Thames thought to himself sleepily, his eyelids struggling to remain open.
Inching closer to the reader, Thames opened his mouth. "Who.. Are you..?"
I am simply a reader..
The being bowed to Thames and the hazy figures, all but Thames faded away. Just as Thames reached out to grab the smoke which was once people, his eyelids closed, and his head crashed against the grassy ground of his dream.