Microstory 1193: Morick Dunbar

< > Table of Contents

When an individual wins their section of the mage games, one of the source mages will bestow their powers in a ceremony. Common knowledge is that sources are not capable of deciding which power any candidate receives, but this is not entirely true. Every once in a while, the source mages will determine that it’s time to create a town mage who has multiple powers. This could happen because of an influx in monster activity, or maybe the current mages aren’t picking up enough slack. Due to Morick Dunbar’s brilliant performance at the games, he was chosen for this honor, though he would never know it. Like everyone else, he would believe his time power to have been randomized. They transformed him into something with no conventional name, though there have been arguments for student, scholar, learner, and apprentice. On his own, he was unable to do anything. He could gain any power he wanted, however, as long as he could learn it from someone who already had it. He didn’t simply absorb, channel, or share their ability, but instead studied their use of it, and eventually figured out how to replicate it himself. Most town mages were given their assignments right away, but he spent years waiting for his post, all the while traveling all over the world, studying others. He wanted to be absolutely sure that he could protect people from an attack. He felt it was better to be late and safe, then jump the gun, and get people killed. Sometimes it was best to just watch another mage in action, but other times, that mage needed to think about their power, and vocalize what it was like to use it. He had dozens of teachers, some of whom had a power he had already learned, but perhaps thought about, and used, it differently. He was able to pick up some skills easily, while others took more work, and there were a few that he just never really understood. That was okay, though, because even without them, he was still one of the most powerful town mages of his day. When it wasn’t protecting his town’s border, he continued to practice the powers in his arsenal, for if he didn’t, he would lose them. No, an unpracticed power wouldn’t just disappear completely, but he would have trouble recalling the lessons, just as any student does, for any subject. He developed a reputation as a somewhat unpleasant person to be around, but only because he was often so focused on maintaining his capabilities that he didn’t have much time for socializing. If all else failed, it might have been all up to him to be the last line of defense against their enemies, and he took that responsibility very seriously. The truth was that he was perfectly pleasant when he wasn’t feeling the intense pressure of being so versatile, and in demand. And once the war was over, people around him were able to see that.