by A F Kay
Magic was easy! He closed his eyes and mentally flipped through the hundreds of books he’d read on Mages. He found the book he wanted: a memoir of a Fire Mage that included his time at the Mage Academy. The first part of the book had lengthy descriptions of how lonely it was at the Mage Academy, but it had also contained drawings of the spells the Mage had learned. Ruwen found the sketch the Mage had made of his first spell: Fireball.
Not surprisingly, the symbol looked like a burning circle. Ruwen let the sketch fill his mind. His whole body flushed, and it felt like a thousand bees were stinging him at the same time. Then it was gone. A dull yellow rectangle pulsed in the lower corner of his vision. He selected it, and a notification appeared.
Bing!
You have learned the Spell Fireball (Mage Level 1)
This was so easy! He was going to be the greatest Mage in history. He studied the details of the pell.
Spell: Fireball
Level: 1
Class: Mage
Range: Line of Sight
Damage: 48-64
Effect: Creates a ball of flame at the caster’s focus. Explodes on impact.
Cost: 50 Mana
Type: Area of Effect (15 feet)
Casting Time: 3 seconds
Recovery: 5 seconds
He closed the notification. Now there was only one thing left to do. Something he had waited his entire life for. His skin prickled with excitement.
Standing, Ruwen carefully looked around. There was no one in sight. He wiped his hands on his pants and stared at the stream. He must be really talented for all of this to come so easy. Maybe it was better he didn’t go to the Academy. They would only slow his progress down. Hope blossomed inside him, and he grinned. Things were going to be just fine.
Ruwen stared at the stream about thirty feet away. He just had to try the Fireball spell. It would make him an official Mage. He focused on the middle of the stream, not wanting to risk lighting anything on fire. He pictured the flaming circle and pushed it toward the water. He felt the pull of Mana from his body, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as when he’d cast Campfire.
A branch snapped to his left, and Ruwen glanced that way. A squirrel leaped from the broken limb to a nearby tree. Movement caught his attention, and Ruwen saw a man mostly hidden by the trunk of the maple tree. He was looking at the squirrel above him, and his neck was covered in a scarf. Ruwen gasped in recognition. It was one of the two men he’d seen that morning on his way to the temple and then again while he’d eaten his sandwich near the Lodge. Was he following Ruwen?
Ruwen opened his mouth to confront the man when the three second casting time of Fireball finished. In a whoosh, his Mana separated from him, and it felt like someone had flicked him on the forehead. Ruwen locked eyes with the scarfed man just as the Fireball materialized in front of him and exploded.
An immediate second explosion occurred, and a sphere of flame expanded outward, incinerating everything. The expanding heatwave threw Ruwen to the ground, and a one flashed on his Health bar. He stared at the inferno. How could his simple Fireball have done that?
“Uru help me, what have I done?” Ruwen whispered.
The trees, still dry from the winter, welcomed the flames. In moments, the entire area burned. Ruwen heard distant screams as others saw the fire. The man Ruwen had struck had collapsed to the ground, engulfed in flames. In fact, it seemed like the fire burned even hotter around the man. There was no saving him. But Ruwen needed to save himself.
He got up and ran.
Chapter 7
Ruwen stood at the back of the crowd that had gathered to watch the Water Mages funnel the stream onto the last of the flames. There were at least ten Order Enforcement soldiers keeping onlookers away and searching the area for clues. They’d found the remains of the man he’d killed, and there had been what looked like an intense conversation. One of the soldiers had been sent off running. Had the man he’d murdered been important?
Guilt smothered him. He had killed a man. He needed to turn himself in. It had been an accident. They would understand. Except how would he explain the fire? He was a Worker, not a Mage. Uru said it was dangerous to let anyone know about his dual ability.
And how could a level one Fireball cause explosions like that? He opened his log and scanned the encounter.
You have cast Fireball (level 1)!
Fireball (level 1) has ignited for 54 damage (AoE).
You have fallen.
50% defense reduction (Prone).
You have taken 1 damage
There was no indication in his logs that he’d attacked the man. But he’d seen the burning body. Indecision whipped his thoughts back and forth. Why had he been so careless? The sound had surprised him, and he’d looked without thinking. Maybe that’s what they taught at the Mage Academy. How to stay focused.
That man might have had a family. Ruwen’s stomach twisted in pain. What was he going to do? And what about the man’s friend? Had he been there as well? What if he’d seen what happened and told the Order Guild? It would go a lot harder on Ruwen if they had to come looking for him. He really should turn himself in. Even if the head priest didn’t like him, it would be a judge who listened to his story. This was a public matter, not a spiritual one. Yes, he needed to figure out a plausible excuse for the fire and then turn himself in before it was too late.
The judge would want to know why the man was following Ruwen. He didn’t have an explanation for that. In fact, it could have been a coincidence. This was the first time Ruwen had been to that park in months. For all he knew, this Worker might come to say a prayer to Uru every day after work. There was a good chance that Ruwen had not been followed at all. He had just killed an innocent man because of his own arrogance and ignorance. He grabbed his stomach as pain wracked him again.
Worse, even through the guilt, a question surfaced that Ruwen couldn’t seem to ignore. If he had killed that man, why had he not gained any experience? The thought of benefiting from this horrible accident made him feel disgusted, but the logical part of him remained curious.
The guard who had run off returned with someone Ruwen recognized, his friend, Head Librarian Tremine. Why would they bring him here? Did they already know it was Ruwen? Had they already figured the whole thing out and summoned the man responsible for Ruwen’s care this past year? But it might be because Tremine was a Master Mage, and they’d figured out it was a Mage spell that had caused it.
Ruwen dry heaved, and those around him quickly stepped away. He turned and ran for the only place he ever felt truly at peace: the library basement. He would hide there until he figured out what to do. Guilt and shame tormented him as he ran. He could imagine Tremine’s disappointment. Ruwen had believed this would be the greatest day of his life, and instead, it had been horrible. It couldn’t possibly get any worse.
The library’s stone walls had windows spaced every twenty feet along the two-story structure, which allowed some natural light into the stacks. Tremine had told him librarians tended to hate windows because the sunlight destroyed ink. They were also easy to break, allowing elements and occasionally thieves easy access. Ruwen avoided the double doors at the entrance and circled around to the rear staff entrance. He entered the alley behind the library and walked into the shadows cast by the tall buildings that blocked most of the afternoon light.
Tremine had taken him in shortly after it was apparent his parents weren’t coming back. Because of this, he’d been added to the building’s access list and could pass through the safeguards around the doors and rooms of the library.
Ruwen grabbed the handle of the staff door when a man stepped into the alley at the far end of the library. The first thing Ruwen noticed was the scarf. The man’s friend had come to confront Ruwen.
The man said something to him, but most of it sounded like clicks and barks. Ruwen only understood a few words. “You…kill…darkness…Naktos…pay now.”
Then the man brought his hands up to his chest and in a su
dden movement pushed them away from his body and at Ruwen.
Dark blue energy shot from the man’s outstretched hands and toward Ruwen. The energy struck him, and his hand, still on the door handle, grew burning hot. He looked down to see the blue energy swirling over some sort of film that covered his body and the library. The sound of glass being scraped down a chalkboard coupled with a terrible keening erupted from the library, and the man with the scarf shouted again. What had protected Ruwen from the spell?
Ruwen turned and sprinted back the way he’d come. He needed to make it to the main road where there were people who could help him. Whoever this man was, he clearly wasn’t the Worker Ruwen had assumed. That probably meant the man he’d killed wasn’t either, and they’d both been following him.
Ruwen made it to the main road and dashed to the front of the library. A spinning white oval eight-feet high appeared on the steps of the library. The library continued to make the awful noise, and everyone nearby covered their ears.
Ruwen realized he’d probably survived before because he’d been touching the library when the man attacked. The magic had triggered the library’s safeguards which had protected him as well. He should have run inside the library instead of out into the open.
Standing in the middle of the street, Ruwen started to turn toward the library entrance when the man with the scarf appeared at the opposite side of the library. He quickly found Ruwen and flicked his wrist like he was skipping a stone. Green energy shot toward Ruwen.
The spell had almost reached him when a black hole appeared in front of Ruwen. It swallowed the green light and then disappeared.
The man with the scarf turned toward the library steps and more blue energy shot from him. Ruwen turned as well and saw his friend Tremine exiting the spinning white disc. Another black hole appeared in front of Tremine, like a shield, and the blue energy disappeared.
Without looking at Ruwen, Tremine shouted. “To the library! Run!”
Ruwen couldn’t move, though, as the magical battle took his full attention. He had never seen so much magic and the sight overloaded his brain. Tremine slashed the air with his hand, and black energy whipped toward the attacker. The man in the scarf crossed his arms as the spell struck him. The impact threw him backward, but the black energy dissipated, and the man quickly regained his feet. The attacker’s scarf had been blown off, and Ruwen’s mouth opened in shock.
On each side of the man’s neck were gills. The man screamed again, slapped his hands above his head, and a shimmering bubble surrounded him. Tremine cursed and bolts of black energy shot toward the gilled man. Another sound began to drown out the awful noise from the library. A long deep sound, like the earth itself moaned, grew louder, and it seemed to vibrate every particle in Ruwen’s body.
“Ruwen, move!” Tremine shouted.
Ruwen forced himself to start jogging toward the library. He’d made it halfway to the double doors when he froze again, still in the street. Flying across the rooftops directly toward them were two oblong Guardians from the Temple. He could see the other two high in the air above the town. The deep vibrating noise emanated from them, and in moments, they stopped over the gilled man.
Twin beams of multicolored light struck the man at the same time. The man was sixty feet away, but the heat from the Guardians’ weapons made Ruwen turn away. When the Guardians stopped, he turned back, expecting to see charred remains. But while the stones below the man had vaporized, he was still alive. The man glanced around his bubble, smiled, and then jumped toward Ruwen.
The man flew at least thirty feet. Now that he was closer, much too close for Ruwen’s liking, he could see the man’s teeth were sharp.
More of the clicking came from the man’s mouth, and again Ruwen understood parts of it. “Naktos…root…sleep…”
One of the Guardians smashed into the top of the bubble, breaking the granite flagstones and pushing the man and bubble a few inches into the ground. The man closed his eyes and waved his hands in the most complex movement Ruwen had ever seen. A dark blue portal opened next to the man, but he didn’t step through it. One Guardian smashed into the top of the bubble again and then the other shot another beam of energy at the man. Ruwen’s face burned, and the smell of his hair melting filled his nostrils. His Health bar dropped as a thirty-five flashed over it.
The man locked eyes with Ruwen and then shot his hand forward. A dark blue rope of energy shot from the man and struck Ruwen in the chest. Coldness wrapped him like a wet blanket. He felt a small tug, and then the energy wrapped around him tighter and he lurched forward to his knees.
Ruwen looked up as Tremine appeared next to him. Fist-sized black orbs spun in a circle over the Master Mage’s head like a crown of death. Ruwen had never seen his friend use magic, and now he knew why. Tremine was a Void Mage. It was a type of magic so dangerous few tried to master it and most who tried killed themselves. Ruwen was in awe. This gilled man didn’t stand a chance.
Tremine slashed at the cord of blue magic with a knife made of black energy. A high-pitched whine joined the assault on Ruwen’s ears, but nothing else happened. Tremine cursed again and faced the attacker.
The Guardians continued their onslaught against the gilled man, and the bubble showed its first cracks. The gilled man pulled on the cord, and Ruwen felt for a moment like he’d separated from his body. He snapped back, and it felt like he’d been pinched over his entire body.
The gilled man shouted something that Ruwen’s Hey You didn’t understand. Tremine shouted back in the same strange clicking language.
Ruwen grinned in excitement. This gilled man was about to get a taste of real power. In a few moments, his bubble would break, and he would be destroyed by Tremine’s Void magic. Ruwen would survive, and he’d gotten to see all this rare magic up close.
The gilled man tensed, preparing to tug on the cord of energy he had attached to Ruwen.
Tremine cursed again and then slammed the black void blade through Ruwen’s eye and into his brain. The last thing Ruwen saw was the value sixty-five as it flashed over his empty Health bar. Then darkness took him.
Chapter 8
Ruwen stood at the top of the now familiar cliff. The same brown grass covered his boots and waves from the light blue sea crashed into the rocks below. Remembering how far the fall was, he quickly stepped backward.
“Back so soon?” Uru asked.
He turned to find the goddess sitting cross-legged near the cliff. She had taken a few of the longer pieces of grass and was braiding them.
“He killed me,” Ruwen said, still shocked.
He rubbed his left eye. The feeling of the blade entering his brain was still fresh in his thoughts and made him shiver.
“He killed me,” Ruwen said again.
“You already said that.”
“Why would he do that? He was my friend.”
“Is. Is your friend. And more.”
“Who were those guys?”
“They were not your friends.”
He ran his hands through his hair.
“The Guardians came, and the gilled man survived it. How is that possible?” Ruwen asked.
“Naktos has powerful magic.”
“Who is Naktos?”
“That is complicated. For now, just know Naktos is someone like me.”
“A god? Wait, are you telling me a god wants me dead?”
“I did warn you that your Class is dangerous.”
He sat down hard next to her. “Two hours into my new life and a god wants me dead. I’m doomed.”
“I will admit they found you quickly.” Uru paused for a few moments. “If it weren’t for that squirrel, you would already be lost to me.”
“You helped me at the park?”
“Of course not, that is against the rules. That squirrel didn’t aid in your fight, it was just moving from one tree to another.”
It might be true that the squirrel didn’t help him fight, but if it hadn’t broken that branch, he would’
ve never seen that man. “There are rules?”
Uru gave him an intense look. “Without rules, the world is chaos.”
“Well, it kind of feels like chaos right now.”
“But whose fault was that? How could they possibly know you were my chosen?”
“Well, I –”
Uru interrupted him. “No need to answer now. Think about it. I had hoped to leave the Hand hidden. But events have outpaced us. I have already contacted two of them. They will help to keep you alive until you can manage on your own.”
“The Hand?”
“Special people to aid my Champion. The most vulnerable time for a tree is when the roots are new and shallow. Such a tree is easily uprooted and destroyed. Naktos and others know this as well. The longer you live, the harder you will be to kill.”
A thousand questions popped into his head. “I’m your Champion? Others? How many people want to kill me?”
Uru twisted the last braid of grass together, forming a circle. She leaned forward and placed it on his head. The grass felt itchy against his forehead, and the smell of sage made him want to sneeze.
“Assume everyone wants you dead except those marked as your Hand,” Uru said.
“What mark? How will I recognize them? I don’t have anyone left I can trust. My parents are gone, and the only man I trusted literally just killed me.”
Uru stood, and Ruwen did as well. She stepped closer, reached up, and straightened the grass crown.
“It is good that you worry. Thinking is a strength of yours. Although you didn’t do a lot of it today. You were careless. You have made things more difficult for yourself, and for me.” She stepped closer, and he could feel the heat coming off her body. “However, you can’t let your worry and fear paralyze you.”
“But who can I trust?”
Uru grabbed his right hand and turned it palm upward. “Now that I have activated the Hand, you will gain a new passive ability. You alone will be able to see my mark on those I have chosen. Not all of them know yet, so care should be taken with those you identify.”