An experiment in writing second person. Ideas? Comments? Tell me what you think in the comments tab!
Jaylan
Chapter 1
I’m writing this for you, Jaylan, because I know that you thought I never there. I was always there, Jaylan, I was always there for you. I just want you to know I never abandoned you.
It started when you accepted the position of Grand General Sorcerer. You know I’ve never approved of the use of magic in fighting. Magic is an art, and should not be used to hurt people. Its reputation of being pure and clean is being tarnished because of that school.
I was against you going there in the first place. “The School of Wonders,” the letter proclaimed, and of course your parents were falling over themselves to get in the enrollment papers. I told them, it’s a crass and downright wrong way to use magic. But they didn’t listen, and within a week you had packed your bags.
When I first saw you in that general’s uniform I almost cried. The Jaylan I knew was lost inside the tassels and medallions, drowning in a sea of dark green. Your sorcerer's color. I couldn’t let my feelings show, though. I couldn’t let them show.
When you left I berated myself mentally. How could I have let you go? Why didn't I push harder against the idea? Jaylan, I still think about that at night. I know that I could have kept you from going if I’d tried more. And then, through the letters, I heard of your aptitude in fighting magic and rapid advancement in the ranks. I was not proud of you. Your parents were, but I knew that if you had such a talent it should be nurtured and trained, not left untamed and fanned higher. Magic is like a lion you are trying to ride. One wrong move, and it’ll devour you. If you can train the lion, you can control where it goes and even what it does. If you encourage the wild inside it, and tell it to be even more ruthless and untamed, then it becomes all the more dangerous. One step closer to it eating you.
Then, that fateful day when we got the official letter.
The Garek Daryn School of Fighting Magic proudly announces the advancement of
JAYLAN H. TAAREL
to the position of
GRAND GENERAL SORCERER
of the sixteenth division
of the Great Army.
My heart tore as I read those words. I couldn’t believe it; how could I? You were always such a nice child. And now... this?
You came home for a few days, to get ready, to say goodbye. You were different, too different. Stiff. Uncaring. You looked down your nose at everyone, and you gave orders. That was all you could do, anymore. You gave orders. Oh, and you were always so, so... polite, you could say. Everything was stiff. Even your parents could tell something wasn’t right, even though they were delighted at your promotion.
You also used magic for everything. I was afraid you would use it up, like the First Four. Though it would mean you couldn’t be in this “Great Army” of theirs. Grand General Sorcerer. . . I asked you if you knew it meant going on the front lines. Your answer let me know how much you’d changed.
“I will sacrifice my life for the Great Army. I will never give in to the petty efforts of the enemy. They will fall under my hand. My training by the masters at the School of Fighting Magic will protect me. We will never fall."
Jaylan. You know I am a Arallin, like you are, half. This 'enemy' you are fighting. It could be your cousins. Your uncles. My friends. . .
Aralli. Aralli and Luna. Attempts at joining the kingdoms have always been strained. Marriages, treaties. . . Only one has been enacted, and it prevents all-out war. Which this school he was going to was all but violating. They were acting on a tiny loophole:
"Neither of the kingdom's armies shall attack the other as long as this treaty is in order."
This so-called "Great Army" of Gerek Daryn's was not the official army of Luna. In fact, the king and queen frowned upon the school slightly, though not many knew it. As it was, that loophole allowed the army of untrained Magical children to attack the Arallins. My people. Al ensera.
And now, I am crushed. Because you said goodbye. On that final visit, this is what you told me when I came up to greet you:
"Guess what, Uncle. I don't miss you anymore. Garek Daryn is my life now. I hardly think about home anymore. Thought you'd want to know."
And he brushed past me.
My sweet little boy, al petit barrin. I loved you. I still do. I gave you my life, my heart in my letters, I was your friend. Your 'dear uncle,' as you called me.
And after three years of separation, three years of letters, you brush me aside like a speck of dust on your spotless uniform.
Your parents are so proud of you.
Growing up, they say. You are a strong, independent young man. See his uniform! See his authority!
Garek Daryn is my life now.
I was crushed.
Believe me, Jaylan, I was crushed. Kulin'd. You left me. For an army. An army of barely trained soldiers.
I am sorry. I do not mean to ramble. I was slipping into Arralin. I must stop, for my goal is not to let loose my internal tears but to tell you of the story, the story of my side.
But I cannot keep them all in.
Let me begin again, with the front lines. You as Grand General Sorcerer. In Arrali.
It started when you accepted the position of Grand General Sorcerer. You know I’ve never approved of the use of magic in fighting. Magic is an art, and should not be used to hurt people. Its reputation of being pure and clean is being tarnished because of that school.
I was against you going there in the first place. “The School of Wonders,” the letter proclaimed, and of course your parents were falling over themselves to get in the enrollment papers. I told them, it’s a crass and downright wrong way to use magic. But they didn’t listen, and within a week you had packed your bags.
When I first saw you in that general’s uniform I almost cried. The Jaylan I knew was lost inside the tassels and medallions, drowning in a sea of dark green. Your sorcerer's color. I couldn’t let my feelings show, though. I couldn’t let them show.
When you left I berated myself mentally. How could I have let you go? Why didn't I push harder against the idea? Jaylan, I still think about that at night. I know that I could have kept you from going if I’d tried more. And then, through the letters, I heard of your aptitude in fighting magic and rapid advancement in the ranks. I was not proud of you. Your parents were, but I knew that if you had such a talent it should be nurtured and trained, not left untamed and fanned higher. Magic is like a lion you are trying to ride. One wrong move, and it’ll devour you. If you can train the lion, you can control where it goes and even what it does. If you encourage the wild inside it, and tell it to be even more ruthless and untamed, then it becomes all the more dangerous. One step closer to it eating you.
Then, that fateful day when we got the official letter.
The Garek Daryn School of Fighting Magic proudly announces the advancement of
JAYLAN H. TAAREL
to the position of
GRAND GENERAL SORCERER
of the sixteenth division
of the Great Army.
My heart tore as I read those words. I couldn’t believe it; how could I? You were always such a nice child. And now... this?
You came home for a few days, to get ready, to say goodbye. You were different, too different. Stiff. Uncaring. You looked down your nose at everyone, and you gave orders. That was all you could do, anymore. You gave orders. Oh, and you were always so, so... polite, you could say. Everything was stiff. Even your parents could tell something wasn’t right, even though they were delighted at your promotion.
You also used magic for everything. I was afraid you would use it up, like the First Four. Though it would mean you couldn’t be in this “Great Army” of theirs. Grand General Sorcerer. . . I asked you if you knew it meant going on the front lines. Your answer let me know how much you’d changed.
“I will sacrifice my life for the Great Army. I will never give in to the petty efforts of the enemy. They will fall under my hand. My training by the masters at the School of Fighting Magic will protect me. We will never fall."
Jaylan. You know I am a Arallin, like you are, half. This 'enemy' you are fighting. It could be your cousins. Your uncles. My friends. . .
Aralli. Aralli and Luna. Attempts at joining the kingdoms have always been strained. Marriages, treaties. . . Only one has been enacted, and it prevents all-out war. Which this school he was going to was all but violating. They were acting on a tiny loophole:
"Neither of the kingdom's armies shall attack the other as long as this treaty is in order."
This so-called "Great Army" of Gerek Daryn's was not the official army of Luna. In fact, the king and queen frowned upon the school slightly, though not many knew it. As it was, that loophole allowed the army of untrained Magical children to attack the Arallins. My people. Al ensera.
And now, I am crushed. Because you said goodbye. On that final visit, this is what you told me when I came up to greet you:
"Guess what, Uncle. I don't miss you anymore. Garek Daryn is my life now. I hardly think about home anymore. Thought you'd want to know."
And he brushed past me.
My sweet little boy, al petit barrin. I loved you. I still do. I gave you my life, my heart in my letters, I was your friend. Your 'dear uncle,' as you called me.
And after three years of separation, three years of letters, you brush me aside like a speck of dust on your spotless uniform.
Your parents are so proud of you.
Growing up, they say. You are a strong, independent young man. See his uniform! See his authority!
Garek Daryn is my life now.
I was crushed.
Believe me, Jaylan, I was crushed. Kulin'd. You left me. For an army. An army of barely trained soldiers.
I am sorry. I do not mean to ramble. I was slipping into Arralin. I must stop, for my goal is not to let loose my internal tears but to tell you of the story, the story of my side.
But I cannot keep them all in.
Let me begin again, with the front lines. You as Grand General Sorcerer. In Arrali.