Cry For Help

            The Cry For Help Spell is only available to those Mages who graduated from the University.  This Spell alerts the University to the caster being in serious, life-threatening, danger.  The Mages of the University will attempt to send aid to the threatened Mage but there are no guarantees that this aid will be enough or that it will arrive in time.
        The Cry For Help Spell has a duration of 24 hours or until it is needed.  When the casting Mage finds themselves in a potentially deadly situation, the Spell will set off a warning at the University and this warning will alert any viewing Mage to the whereabouts of the caster and the general type of danger.
        The Spell will normally be used to alert the Mage’s tutor or master to trouble, but it can be used to warn anyone within the University grounds and it is not unknown for Matrix himself to answer a Cry For Help.

 Ackland Goodwin stared around himself at the encircling bandits and knew that he was in real trouble.  The path through the woods was notoriously dangerous but the young Mage was in a hurry, he was due to report back to the University within the next three days and it would take him at least that long to get back.  So, he had decided to risk the shortcut through the woods.
        Four of the bandits lay writhing on the ground, their faces ruined by the Magic Blasts that Ackland had directed at them, but it hadn’t been enough.  There were still eight bandits left and Ackland had neither the time nor the strength to despatch the others in this Magical fashion.
        The leader of the bandits, a small, slim man with a silvered shortsword in his right hand and a thick parrying dagger in his left spat on the ground.
        “Damn Mage,” he hissed.  “You cost me and you’ll pay for it.  I’ll make sure you take a long time to die and your screams will be payment for the lives of my men.”
        Ackland reached for the longsword at his belt and silently vowed that he would sell his life dearly when the air in front of him shimmered and a sure of pure power knocked the bandits from their feet.  Lightning crackled around the forest path and the bandits fled into the safety of the woods as soon as they had managed to scramble to their feet.  Ackland Goodwin started to back away when a voice sprang from the shimmer in the air.
        “Ackland, when are you going to learn?”  It was the voice of the Mage’s tutor and Ackland instantly relaxed.  “I warn you, if you’re late returning with my package I will not be happy!”
        With this, the shimmer vanished and Ackland was left alone with the dying bandits.  The Mage shouldered his bag and whistling to himself, he started the long walk though the forest back to the University.

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