A muted roar sounded, followed by fire billowing out from the windows. Alain rapidly placed two smaller fires within it, spending his strength recklessly, so that within moments the entire building was a roaring mass of flames.
Trying not to let his weakness from casting the spells so quickly be apparent to either group, Alain turned to face them. “Mages. You would fight with shadows over an illusion. Look upon it. It never stood and does not burn, for all we see is false. Yet you would have let that falseness control your actions. I have destroyed nothing. But seeking that illusion above all else would have destroyed our hopes to find a new wisdom, one free of the dogmatism of the Guild elders.
“Mechanics. You know these Mages have powers that are real.” Alain pointed at the bonfire which had been a building. “They are worthy of your respect, for they can do as I did. Master Mechanic Mari has shown me that a person does not need to understand something to respect it. I do not understand what you do. No Mage does. You create things with your hands as Mages do with our minds. Accept that we also can do things beyond your understanding, as I will try to teach Mages to accept the very different wisdom of Mechanics.”
Alain pointed to the building again, already collapsing into itself. “Mechanics. Mages. Look upon this. If you wish to fight over nothing, then nothing will remain. To create something new, to change what was, requires minds willing to see what could be, not simply the illusion of what was.”
He stopped, breathing heavily from the exertion of the spells and then the speech.
An alarm bell was ringing frantically, and commons were bringing a wagon designed to pump water onto fires while many others stared in the direction of the blaze.
The female Mage nodded to Alain. “A young Mage, and yet he knows wisdom better than those who have studied it longer. I sought a battle over nothing. I will not fight over an illusion given greatness only by one’s own lack of wisdom.”
The big Mechanic shook his head, then laughed. “You’re crazy, you know that, Mage Alain? But you’ve got guts, coming between us like that. And you’re right.” He looked at the flames dancing over the ruin of the building and shook his head again. “That building wasn’t worth what it could’ve cost all of us. Stubborn pride won’t bring us freedom or change this world to what we’d like it to be.” He switched his gaze to the female Mage. “I don’t know how to talk to you. I’m willing to give it a try.”
The Mage considered those words. “This one listens.”
“She does not know how to talk to you,” Alain told the Mechanics. “It is something Mages must learn.”
“I don’t understand that,” another Mechanic said. “How hard is it to talk to somebody?”
“Extend your arm from under your robes,” Alain told the female Mage. She did as asked, showing an arm laced with numerous old scars.
“What happened to her?” the big Mechanic asked.
“This is how Mage Acolytes are taught,” Alain said. “This is how we were made to forget how to talk to somebody not a Mage. The price for doing wrong was a painful one.”
The Mechanics exchanged embarrassed glances as the water wagon finally arrived and began hosing down the neighboring buildings to cool them. Little remained of the building Alain had set afire. “All right,” the big Mechanic said. “That’s… rough. It’s not like Mechanics are experts at social skills, either. We’ll… handle things differently while we figure out how to get along.”
Mechanic Bev ambled up, looking relaxed but carrying one of the Mechanic weapons and, to Alain’s Mage eyes, inwardly tense. “Any problems here?”
“Not anymore,” the big Mechanic said. “Do you know how to talk to Mages?”
“Sure,” Bev said. “One of my best friends is a Mage.” She nodded to Alain.
Reassured that Bev would handle matters from this point on, Alain began walking back to where he and Mari had been given a room, feeling worn out from the physical and emotional effort. He saw Master Mechanic Lukas approaching quickly, a thundercloud on his brow, and Mage Dav also hurrying in the same direction. “It is dealt with,” Alain said. “There was no conflict.”
“Whose fault was it?” Lukas demanded. “That hothead Mechanic Len?”
Alain paused to think, assuming that Len was the big man he had spoken with. “The fault lies with those who founded our Guilds and set us on paths of mutual distrust and contempt. Mechanic Len has seen another path, as have the Mages he argued with.”
“You got Len to listen to you?” Lucas said with a snort. “You’re a better man than I am. Thank you, Sir Mage. I should have been watching these goons but got called to handle something else.”
“I should have been present as well,” Mage Dav said, as Lukas walked onward at a more sedate pace, the Mechanic’s eyes searching for more trouble. “I neglected my duties to check on Mage Asha.”
“Mage Asha is your niece,” Alain said. “It is right that you care for her. But now is perhaps not the best time. Is she well?”
Mage Dav looked back at the Pride. “Our Guild insists that happiness is an illusion and love cannot exist. You know this. Like you, I have spent years trying to put aside feelings the wisdom of the elders declared were not real, and yet I could never find the answer to one question. Why do such things have so much power if they do not exist?”
“It is a worthy question,” Alain said. “But not one the Guild elders would ever accept.”
“I look upon my niece Asha and I feel something I cannot describe,” Mage Dav said. “It is more than satisfaction in her skills. There is a concern for her welfare and a pleasure in seeing her.” Mage Dav gave a most un-Magelike sigh. “Asha’s mother is my sister. A shadow. One of those the Mechanics call commons. Like you with your parents, Mage Alain, I could never in my innermost self believe that my sister was nothing. Asha’s father died before Asha was taken by the Guild. He was a soldier. Her mother still lives. If the opportunity should come, I will take Asha to her mother. I do not know why I am resolved in this, but I know it feels like wisdom.”
“I believe it is wisdom,” Alain said. “What of Mechanic Dav?”
“What of him? Mage Asha’s wisdom must decide her path with Mechanic Dav. I think Mechanic Dav has already decided on his path with Mage Asha, but she will doubtless take more time to consider which road is the right one for her.” Mage Dav paused again. “Do you go to battle tonight, Mage Alain?”
“This one does.”
“I will find more Mages to accompany you. We cannot let the Mechanics claim the victory as their own.”
Surprised, Alain was about to remind Mage Dav that such rivalries must end, when he spotted a hint of amusement on Dav’s face. “You speak a joke.”
“Was it done well?”
“Well enough. I understood.” Alain could almost see Mari rolling her eyes. “Mage humor,” she would say.
He hurried back to where Mari still slept.
Mari sniffed the air as they approached the docks, where the setting sun was painting red long-abandoned buildings now bustling with activity. “Was there a fire?”
“At the waterfront,” Alain said.
“What burned?”
“Only one building that meant nothing.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Mari pressed.
“No.”
“Good.” Mari gave Alain a suspicious glance. She had the sense that he was hiding something, but whatever it was probably wasn’t as important as what was going on now. “Thanks for letting me sleep. I really needed it.”