imhilien: Lady Riding (Lady Riding)
imhilien ([personal profile] imhilien) wrote in [community profile] fandomweekly2024-12-15 07:39 am

[#242] LOOKING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW (VALDEMAR SERIES)

Theme Prompt: #242 - Tragedy
Title: looking for a better tomorrow
Fandom: Valdemar series
Ratings / Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: No
Word Count: 279
Summary: The Mage Wars had ended, but at the cost of their homeland. Now they have to flee.

The Mage Wars were finally over but at such a cost - their homeland was now a deep, blackened crater they had fled from into the west.

Urtho, their wise leader had perished and so had Ma'ar, his enemy. His homeland had been to the north and was now no doubt also a deep crater. How many there had perished, not seeing the end until it was too late?

At least Urtho had made sure his people evacuated when things were looking dire, to make new homes elsewhere.

For now, this particular group are refugees.

Magic no longer works properly. If you are an Adept mage, you might as well be the equivalent of a low level mage right now. Attempting to tap into the lands power (if much is readily available) to work great magic would probably kill you on the spot. Or turn you into something no longer recognisable as human. It is a bitter pill for the mages to swallow, but it is more important for them to survive. They still have their knowledge. One day, things may be better.

For now, they keep moving west. It's too dangerous for stay somewhere for long. Vegetation looks warped, grows wrong. They have plenty of field rations but they won't last forever. It's never completely dark at night; the sky glows with unsettling colours sometimes.

No one makes much trouble - even those of darker natures among them know that focusing on survival takes priority. One day they will find a home when the land and skies look normal. Feel normal again, according to the mages.

For now, they keep traveling away from the ashes all they knew.

FINIS
badly_knitted: (Sad Jack)

[personal profile] badly_knitted 2024-12-17 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, that's bleak! I hope they do find a new home somewhere, so they can rebuild and make new lives for themselves.
badly_knitted: (B & W 1)

[personal profile] badly_knitted 2024-12-17 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
That's good to know. They've gone through so much.

[personal profile] yoshishisha 2024-12-18 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Any victory in war is always pyrrhic in some way. I love that here the consequences of war are very physical and impossible to forget because it literally affects their daily use of magic. The way humans are part of nature and all that
quicksilverfox3: (Default)

[personal profile] quicksilverfox3 2024-12-18 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
very tragic! those are some far reaching consequences for them and i hope things get better