"You're being impulsive, we need his help. You almost died fighting Branthor the first time. We couldn't really manage him the second time. What's your plan?" Lara said.
"She's right, Ashra must know a lot of useful information. Maybe there's strategies or special applications of your magic that will be key to our success," Certan said.
"He's just an arrogant loner who wants to show off. I don't have time for that. The sooner we get to the next trial, the sooner I'll learn something useful." Alrion increased his speed.
"We need to regroup, we cannot progress without proper water supplies and it's unwise to travel in the heat of the day," Certan said.
"I've left now, I don't want to go crawling back," Alrion said.
"We've come a long way, but we can't throw it all away now. Swallow your pride and don't risk our lives because of your childishness!" Lara shouted. She stopped walking. Certan stopped beside her.
Alrion stopped and looked back at them. He then looked ahead. Something was off. Alrion walked slowly forward. "Unbelievable," Alrion stopped and turned back to his friends. "Look at this wall. Does it look familiar?" Alrion said.
"That's the same wall that we came across at the mirage," Certan said.
"He's messing with us still," Alrion said.
"I'm impressed," Certan said.
"Clearly he doesn't want to let you go yet. At least talk to him again.” Lara had calmed down and looked Alrion in the eyes.
He could see the concern on her face. "Looks like I don't have a choice," Alrion said, and turned to head back. The other two followed close.
Certan marvelled at the illusion as they walked.
Ashra was seated casually on a pillow, and he appeared surprised that they had returned.
"Welcome back," he said.
"Nice trick," Alrion said.
"It's not a trick. How do you think I've lived here all these years?"
"So, I figured you weren't finished. What else was there to discuss?"
"I know I'm a little unorthodox, and you do seem a bit unsettled by my approach. But this is a necessary step. I must test you in the heat of battle, and you must hold nothing back. Can you do that?"
"I can. I just don't understand why," Alrion said.
"It's not a big thing, you won't be hurt. Is there something else troubling you?" Ashra said. He stared at Alrion, which made him feel as if the eccentric wizard could hear all his thoughts. Alrion felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
"I'm just a little nervous about my power. It's a little wild, and I've had very little training." Alrion found that very hard to admit.
"Don't you worry, that's what I would expect. Do you see an academy around here?" Ashra said, gesturing at the barren desert.
"No."
"Exactly. Here's an additional piece of information that may interest you. I have been in the Vault of Silence," Ashra said. Alrion was dumbstruck.
"How interesting. I was not aware of anyone doing that," Certan said.
"It's not something the monks advertise, perhaps contrary to what you have been told. But that's all I can say," Ashra said.
"You win. Let's get this over with," Alrion said.
"Excellent, follow me please," Ashra said. He jumped up from his seated position with startling agility and left the hut.
"Come everyone," Ashra said, and continued walking. They walked past where the mirage was, and continued down a tight winding path between sand dunes. There were rocky formations holding the sand at bay.
Just as the sun was getting to Alrion, Ashra stopped suddenly. There was a fork in the path. There was a branch off to the left.
"Your friends should go left, it will lead to a vantage point up on the ridge. We will continue down," he said.
"We'll be watching," Lara said to Alrion, and started off. Certan slapped Alrion on the shoulders and followed close by. Once they had left Ashra spoke again.
"I have been where you are now. I have seen the academy and what it can offer, and it's a fantastic environment. But I wrestled with my power the same way you are now. With persistence, and experimentation and seeking whatever knowledge I could find," he said. He poked Alrion in the head. "I don't know how that works up there, but I can sense your apprehension. You have started to do things that you are not aware of, correct?" Ashra said.
"That's right," Alrion said.
"Don't worry, your mind will protect you. You have to quiet it, and let it do its work. Where we are going is a safe place and protected. Don't worry about me or the environment. You must treat this like you are in a life or death battle. Otherwise I cannot help you," Ashra said.
"If you insist," Alrion said, and followed Ashra down into the natural arena. He wasn't sure if he was more nervous, or more excited. But despite his reluctance he knew Ashra was right. He needed to test himself before his next battle.
22
An Offer
Alrion stood still, watching his opponent. Ashra stood with a relaxed stance at the opposite end of the natural arena. A gust of wind pushed sand and dust along the hard ground.
"Whenever you are ready," Ashra said loudly. Alrion heard the man, but wasn't sure how to start. He thought back to how they had launched their assault of the shade version of Branthor, and how ineffective it had been.
"Forget about that, just let go," he told himself. Shuffling his feet, he adjusted his stance and started to gather his Spark. It was time to begin.
Alrion began by throwing some ripples of force at Ashra, hoping to unsettle him or at least make him do some defence. Ashra must have seen them coming, because a wall of earth rose before him and easily absorbed the attack.
"Earth too, how interesting," Alrion thought. Branthor had been strong with that, and it had proven hard to deal with.
"How about this then?" Alrion thought, preparing a fire spell. He focused an intense beam of fire and force and projected it at the wall of earth.
"There's no way it will withstand this," Alrion thought. He was curious how the other wizard would counter it. He didn't have to wait long for the answer.
As the fire began to hit the earth wall, it became wet. There seemed to be water seeping out of the wall, deflecting the heat, and turning it into steam.
"How?" Alrion wondered, confused by what he was seeing. He let the spell go and the area around Ashra was now covered in a haze of steam.
As Alrion was readying another spell the ground beneath him parted, causing him to stumble. As he looked down he saw a jet of water spray up. He had no time to dodge it and the force of the spray knocked him over. Alrion scrambled to his feet and watched the ground for more attacks. There was nothing else yet.
"I have to do more," Alrion thought. He paused for a moment, then stoked his Spark once more. He channelled it into a huge wall of fire, completely separating both halves of the arena.
"That should buy me some time," he thought, and started to move slowly to avoid being a sitting target. As he moved he had an idea of how to attack. First, he created a large ball of fire and threw it into the air, holding it high above the wall of flame.
"Show yourself, or are you scared of my next attack?" Alrion shouted. He could see Ashra's silhouette standing on the other side of the wall of fire. Then it began to move. Alrion stared in disbelief, Ashra was walking through the wall of fire. When he emerged Alrion let out a surprised gasp.
The figure before him was no longer Ashra. It looked like a Shade. The figure shrugged off the flames that had come from the firewall and focused its gaze on Alrion.
"This is not possible," Alrion said to himself.
In a panic Alrion increased the intensity of the wall of fire, then flung down the fireball at the Shade. The fireball flew fast, but stopped suddenly as if it were being held by another force.
"Now you go down," Alrion whispered to himself. He concentrated all the flames, heat, and power of the wall of fire into a wave that was half as high but twice as powerful and sent it forward. He saw his fireball deflected asi
de, but his wave of fire continued unrestricted.
"This may actually work," he thought to himself, ready to disperse the flames once they started to get too close to him. However, the flames passed through the shade and did no discernible damage. As Alrion prepared to extinguish the flames, a huge shift in the ground occurred. A large amount of earth rose up towards him. It was a dome of reinforced sand that not only smothered the flame, but quickly enclosed Alrion within.
Alrion furiously threw waves of force at the sand structure, trying to break a hole in it. But the sand absorbed each attack and stayed resilient.
"This is not happening," Alrion thought.
"You have lost," Ashra's voice said from outside the dome.
"No!" Alrion shouted. He channelled everything he had into one last attack. He poured his fear, frustration and embarrassment and the rest of his Spark into a modified wave of force. It started as a white hot glowing orb above him, and it expanded out quickly. It shimmered and exploded outwards, obliterating the sand prison and everything in the area. Alrion fell to the ground, exhausted. As the dust settled he looked around him at what had just happened.
A spherical shape was neatly cut out of sides of the arena and the surface was now perfectly flat like it has been swept and polished. On one ridge Alrion could see Ashra standing tall, and Lara and Certan were crouched behind him.
"What did I do?" Alrion thought to himself. He rose to his feet, and stumbled, so he dropped back to the ground and sat down, waiting for his friends to return.
Lara and Certan had concerned looks of their faces. Ashra had a blank look, that was undecipherable.
"You are not ready," he said to Alrion.
"I know."
"I don't think you do. Where did you learn how to craft a lightbomb?"
"I don't know, it must have come from the Pool." Alrion shrugged, it was as good a guess as any.
"Partial knowledge is incredibly dangerous. You very nearly killed your friends. Such a spell is not taught lightly, and much caution is used in its practice and application. You don't even know what you did do you?"
"I know enough to recreate it, but you're right. It was all instinctive."
"You have good survival instincts, that attack would certainly have destroyed your enemy or forced him to retreat. But the cost is too great. If I were not here to shield your friends, they would be gone," Ashra said. Alrion let that sink in.
"I'm sorry. But what are you?" Alrion said.
"I'm a wizard. What did you expect?"
"But the Shade?"
"An illusion to test you. It caused quite a stir I can see. I was actually up on the ridge with your friends for the majority of the battle. My instincts are pretty good too," Ashra said.
"He was commenting on what was happening, which helped us follow along. Lucky he was there to protect us. What about next time?" Lara said.
"I am really sorry. Maybe I can work on controlling this spell better for next time," Alrion said.
"You will not!" Ashra shouted.
"Why?"
"It's too dangerous, it cannot be easily controlled. You should forget that you even know it."
"What do I do then? I have no effective spells against Wraith, the creature that Branthor has become." Alrion felt incredibly frustrated.
"I will train you and show you how to harness the power of earth and water. You have too few tools at your disposal."
"You will then?"
"Yes, on one condition."
"Which is?"
"You never use a spell you don't understand when there is the potential for friendly casualties. I never quite understood what the legends of the Pool of Knowledge were about, but now I know for sure. You have everything ever used and recorded stuffed into that mind of yours. Anything could come out. You cannot let yourself lose control. The risk is very high. This is why I will train you. It would be incredibly irresponsible otherwise. Who knows what you could do," Ashra said.
"I accept your condition. But first I have a question."
"Yes?"
"How did you do water spells? And how useful will they be in the desert?" Alrion said. Ashra laughed and even Certan chuckled.
"There is much water in the desert. Some in the air, but most of it is deep underground. You just need to know how to harvest it. I imagine the desert wizard is quite adept at that," Certan said.
"You are quite correct. It's also a rather important ingredient in my illusion spells."
"Illusion spells require water?"
"Of course. Once I explain it will make perfect sense. But for now, let's return to the hut and rest," Ashra said. He leaned down and offered a hand to Alrion. The young wizard accepted it and rose again to his feet, a bit more steadily this time.
"Do you need assistance?" Certan said.
"No, I'm alright now. Each step I regain some strength," Alrion said.
"Very well, we are here to help," Certan said. They walked together, following Ashra back to the hut.
The hut was cool and comfortable compared to the intensity of the heat outside.
"How long have you lived here?" Alrion said.
"Many years. I don't fit in well with society. Your grandfather approached me back in the day and offered me a place in the academy. But I declined, and stayed here, living out my days in peace. Refining my spells and helping the odd traveller. Secretly of course," Ashra said.
"The stories are true!" Certan said.
"Yes, well some of them at least."
"What stories?" Lara said.
"Tales of travellers who are lost, thirsty and unable to move. They find themselves in a mysterious oasis and a voice tells them to refresh and guides them on the path out. They've even given a name to the voice."
"Which is?" Lara said.
"Caretaker of the desert."
"That's you? The man who doesn't like people?" Alrion said.
"I didn't say I helped everyone. Just the ones I come across that I can't avoid helping. It gives me a way to practice my craft," Ashra said.
"On your own terms," Alrion said.
"Exactly. I don't want every man and his dog wandering out here and forming an orderly line at my front door. It's more fun this way."
"When does training start?"
"Tomorrow. I know you are in a rush, but you need to recover today so we can do it properly."
"That's fine, I understand. Maybe you can at least explain a bit about the illusion spells then?"
"I may as well, and it may benefit your friends to know a little about it too. Have you ever seen a rainbow?" Ashra said.
"Yes."
"They're created by the light passing through water and splitting into distinct colours. Building upon this basic principle, you can make the light do whatever you want. With a few tricks to complete the illusion you can fool people into believing that your image is real."
"Wow, I hadn't thought of it that way."
"Knowledge is so important, as you are discovering. It is the gateway to the formerly impossible," Ashra said, giving them a wry smile.
"Sounds like something I could use," Lara said.
"I'm sure you could. Unfortunately, there's very little that can be accomplished by knowledge and will. You need the power of Spark to fuel these spells. But knowing the principles may help you to see through the illusions of others, and understand the limitations of what Alrion will be able to do," Ashra said.
"True, but I'm definitely disappointed," Lara said.
"Sorry, that's just how it is. The wizards get the interesting toys," Ashra said.
"Why don't you come with us? You can train me on the way and escort us to the desert temple," Alrion said.
"Absolutely not," Ashra said without hesitation.
"Why not?"
"This is my home here, and I feel a responsibility for aiding in your training. But I will not be pulled into your quest. It is yours alone. Besides, as I mentioned before I think there is already a wizard following your progress."
&
nbsp; "I can't convince you?"
"No. This is the way it must be. If you want more help figure out who that wizard is that's already involved," Ashra said. He gave Alrion a cryptic smile.
"You've figured something out, haven't you?" Alrion said.
"Maybe, maybe not. But all of you should rest and prepare. Tomorrow we begin," Ashra said. He gestured at the room, pointing out food, water, and cushions. Then he walked out of the hut.
"Such a strange man," Certan said.
"But he will help, in some way. That's what counts." Alrion pondered what kind of training he would receive. From early impressions, it would be quite different to what he received from Falric.
23
Impending Danger
Vincent put down his tools and wiped the sweat from his brow. John was sure working him hard.
"I guess he's trying to get back into the good graces for the guards. They seemed pretty persistent with their questioning before," he thought to himself. Thinking back, he realised that he hadn't seen Celes for a while either.
"It's not like her to dally. Maybe she actually found something?" Vincent mused. He wandered around to see what John was working on.
"Hello there Vincent, how are you going today?" he said.
"Great. I finished up those pieces you asked for." Vincent pointed over at his completed work.
"Really? You're pretty fast, I must admit I wasn't sure what to expect."
"I have a lot of experience, just not in these. It's been a good exercise," Vincent said.
"You've done way more than I thought. I'll have to give you some gold to compensate you."
"Don't be silly, you're letting me stay that's payment enough. Earlier, was everything alright? What ended up happening with that guard?"
"Oh, I really don't know what their problem is. Everything here is business as usual. I didn't like their tone either." John seemed quite hurt by the accusatory manner of the conversation.
"Yeah, they didn't seem particularly friendly, lots of accusations being thrown around. Are they always like that?"
Vault of Silence (The Hidden Wizard Book 2) Page 16