Chapter 12 of Rich Boy:Growing Pains has been posted. Have a great weekend!

I'm going to go read it! Thanks Mike!

Bah! Getting the announcement up in here before I have time to post it in the Announcement forum! Makes me feel like a slackard!

Baloney! You are no slackard, Dan. This was an exciting and very interesting chapter. It appears help is on the way.
That line made my day.

Colin needs a channel? I'm thinking Dechaun. Anyone agree?

Now everyone is calling Worthington "boss man".

Reason for edit: Removed spoiler tags; I got carried away.

Actually Dechaun is a little young. Isn't there some kind of sexual element? The kid is only 12.

I agree! That was a good chapter. The action is really heating up!

Dudes, Dechaun is not a mage....ergo...he'd make a lousy channel.

Great chapter, Dan!

So this gray path is alive in Jamie and Worthington. That is oh so It would make sense that there are others on that path as well. We'll see, I guess.

Elves are sexy!

Conner

Ahh hmmm where is all the 4th of July fireworks ??

Is this what we get out of Gray magic? A few sparks... Yes. it was powerful and mature but without much gusto!

I don't want to sound ungrateful but I had hoped for more fight and see Wothington on the ground before he fought back and won (with or without the help of lokal elves and dwarves).

Ahh right, so what's up. Is Worthington and Jamie maturing too fast? Or is it really something special about Gray magic thats not to be found in White or Dark magic?

I don't think we have met Colin's Channel yet. And will Coling find any interest in the Gray path?

So now that the elves and dwarves are into this fight lets hope next fight will sparkle in all of the colours of the rainbow.

Wonder how confused the Government mages will be of the elf magic in the sleeping soldier.

I think you are right, Conner. Or is there such a thing as a closeted mage? Can adepts like Worthington and Jamie always spot a mage? Even if the mage (Dechaun) doesn't know himself?

It is always heartening to see so much discussion on a story. You guys really make me want to get more chapters out to you quicker. Bad news is that I was busy re-writing 14-30 so Emoe just got them yesterday. Good news is that he will be getting them back to me as quickly as possible, so if he's fast enough I might be able to sqeak out an extra chapter.

A couple of things between now and then, though. If Dechaun were a mage, Worthington and Jamie would very likely sense the potential in him. Now, have they said anything one way or the other? I've never really decided one way or another. Were he a mage, or a channel, we wouldn't see it develop for another year or two, so we might find an answer in the next book: Rich Boy: Inheritance.

Chapter 30 isn't the last chapter. Originally it was, but with my rewrite, a few extra chapters became necessary and I'm going through those last couple of chapters very carefully.

The three (now!) paths of magic are Dark, Light, and Grey. Grey is the most recent, and is essentially a newborn child. As the years go by, it will be shaped by and grow with the mages that follow that path. The paths are not sentient, per se, but they are close. All of them have some intelligence, but are largely shaped by the mages that participate in that path. They are a creation of the mages, not vice versa. Were all mages to suddenly decide to follow NO path, they might all wither and die, but as long as one or two mages follow them, they will continue in some form.

In the past, outcasts of Dark and Light have sought to create their own Path, but have always failed. There are reasons for this, and if you spend a few minutes thinking about it, you might be able to see why Jamie and Worthington succeeded so easily where no one else has in thousands of years. It is something special they have done, and yes there will be more Grey path as time goes by in the days ahead. Certainly you can count on Carl and Brandon to be part of the Grey path, although Colin will likely never belong.

Colin's about as Dark as you can get...

Don't forget the other mages back at Clairville. Their numbers keep growing as time goes by, and many of them will be willing members of the Grey Path.

Oh, and this book has two main story arcs and several minor story arcs. The major story arc of Worthington's struggle against government mages pretty much ends with the next chapter (although a new struggle is born from that).

Enjoy.

Hooray!
Go, Dechaun!

Dan, I notice you spell it "Gray" in the story (American spelling), but spell it "Grey" here in the Forum (British spelling). Is there a reason? Also, if the Gray/Grey Path is a creation of the mages themselves and other mages have a choice of which path they will follow, isn't it also possible that other mages will create their own paths? Shades of Gray/Grey at least if not other colors altogether?

Interesting chapter Dan! I'm still curious about who is behind the government Mages but I guess we'll find out eventually.

I wasn't disappointed with the lack of action in this chapter but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who's itching to see Rob come to the rescue and see what he can do (since Worthington has been training him as some sort of warrior mage). Don't know exactly why but I'd like to see Rob brought to the fore front and get some more character development. I think he has the potential to become a really interesting character.

Steve

Sounds a little too Jordanesque for me!

So, if I understand the explanation correctly, Jaime and Worthington feel stronger because they are the only two tapping the Gray 'Source'? (oops, that's Jordan's wording, huh?)

I personally use the two spellings interchangably. I think it's a personal choice thing. It's the one word we seem to use that seems to be spelled two ways no matter where you are in the US. In fact, I didn't even remember which one was the British one and which one was the American one. Personally, I favour the British one for that word. I wish we would just adop the British spelling for all words except for words like realize. It should be the opposite for those.

I think the Grey Path is the best of the three. I have always favoured those who are a little naughty yet a little nice. Traditional heroes are so 50 years ago. Batman has always been one of my favourite superheroes. That's what I love about this story. Jamie and Worthington are anti-heroes. It gives them more of an edge, one that I really like.

Um, as for spelling, Worthington can't make up his mind. No, wait, I know! Worthington and Jamie are still arguing about which spelling to use. That's it, yup, yup, that's what I'm going with...

I read through the chapter yesterday but could come online only today...

Dan, again a beautiful chapter. I was wondering why someone from Claireville didn't come sooner and here they are, in this chapter. Colin is really intriguing me and I wonder how Worthington would handle him. The creation of a new path was awesome and the way it has enhanced both Worthington and Jamie's abilities (albeit a little slightly now) is great.

I am sure, we as well as the heroes would find out more about this new path that would be quite shocking...

As far as Dechaun is concerned, I don't think he's a mage. Worthington has mentioned far too often that he'll be successful in the mundane world and I don't think that he would have said that if Dechaun were a mage. Perhaps as Dan mentioned, his abilities haven't developed yet, and that is why Worthington hasn't got to know of his mage-ness. But that is highly unlikely...



Thanks for the chapter.
BeaStKid

I really don't see how Dechaun being anything other than a mage is even possible with what we know about him so far. I think they're born that way, and only certain families have that trait. If I have missed something about someone being the first mage in his or her family, someone please let me know. It would be interesting to find out it is possible and why. Can it skip several generations? I know of another magical story in which that occasionally happens, although I do not believe it is mentioned specifically in the book. I think the author mentioned it in an interview.

What I am wondering is if Colin can be trusted. I know the Dark path doesn't necessarily mean evil, but there's something off about him that makes me think he may be predispositioned to evil. Only time will tell though.