by R. W. Weston
"Wizard Petron, I bring a young man to be tested in the power. He shows great ability and now desires council with the masters," said Maglin, still on one knee.
"Stand and present your find," said the man sitting in the middle.
He got up and turned to Roland, calling him to his side with a node of his head. Roland still in amazement at what was going on slowly walked over next to him. Roland got down on one knee as he had seen Maglin do. "This is Roland der Causland, son of Gwenlyn lon Olean, Keeper of the Gate, Possessor of keys. He formally requests the opportunity to be tested for acceptance into training."
There was an audible sigh of shock that went through the acceptance council when Maglin presented him in that way. There was a long moment of virtual silence, with only the slightest conversation between the council.
"Can this be; Gwenlyn left us near twenty cycles ago when she went to assist with the war," said Petron to the others on the council. "If this is her son and if he can control magic then he may be the one we have been waiting for. Let's get some proof and then we shall consider his request for admittance."
"Wizard Maglin, have you any proof of who this boy is?" asked Ylian, one of the council members.
"Great council, I have. When I found the boy he didn’t know who he was. It was his father that told us the tale of his mother, meeting during the Great War," he answered. "He has been shown how to connect to the elements as all who are brought to be trained. He did find his personal element, it is Probability."
"Very well then, we shall adjourn to discuss the chance of testing, please return to your rooms until you are called for again." With that the council members stood and left through a hidden door behind the chairs.
"What was that all about Maglin? You said there would be no problem with me getting in," said Roland, shocked at what had just happened.
"I really don't know. The council usually accepts all that come to be tested. This is the first time they have needed a meeting, let's get you two back to your rooms and I will see if I can find out what’s going on."
The three of them returned back to their own rooms to await the council’s decision. This was probably the hardest thing for both Roland and Ty to do, sit and wait without anybody to talk with. Maglin didn’t immediately return to his room. Instead he went down to the great library to get some information.
The library at the house of learning was probably the second largest in the world. The keeper of the records fell to an older man named Telm der Solmeran. He had been the libraries curator as long as Maglin could remember. Surly he would know if anything like this had happened before. Telm was not a wizard, although he had come nearly ninety cycles back to be tested. Back then there were more wizards around, and as a result only the strongest were allowed to continue training.
Although he was not allowed to continue testing he decided to stay around and learn all he could. It had been nearly seventy five cycles since he was first put in charge of the library. The library in and of itself was amazing to just look at. The amount of history that it held was beyond ages.
Created to hold the history of the world and the dealings of the wizards, one could learn all there was to know, if only they took the time to sit and study. Maglin and Telm were long time friends. They had studied the great history of the making as well as all past prophesies from ages past. For this very reason Maglin was on his way to see his old friend.
"Master Telm, keeper of the books, are you in here?" shouted Maglin, the call echoing around the great room.
"Aye, I'm here, there's no need to shout youngling," said Telm, walking out from behind one of the large bookshelves. "Who is it that calls me thus?"
"It is I you old codger, Wizard Maglin," he replied, almost laughing. "If I remember right I am no youngling to you good sir."
"Maglin is it, I remember him," he said looking up from his book. Seeing Maglin there brought a smile to the old man’s face. With all the wrinkles it looked like a hundred smiles all at the same time. "So it is you old friend, how is the weather treating you these days?" he said finally reaching a comfortable seat. "Please come sit and visit with me for a while."
The two of them sat and talked for a few hours, catching up on old times, remembering back when they were younger and more mischievous.
"Telm, I have a very serious concern. I need your great knowledge of history. Today I presented a young man for testing. He is the son of Gwenlen lon Olean. When I told the council this they were shocked. Rather than letting him test immediately they have called a special meeting to discuss his future. Can you tell me has this ever happened before?"
"Aye, only once has it ever been recorded. It was with Hernel lon Quintisar. They could sense his power and were pleased thinking they had found the chosen one. He was the son of both a wizard and sorceress so who better to fulfill such a great prophesy. Alas they did allow him to be tested and he grew quickly in the power. And we see what came of that decision. My guess is the council can sense the power in this boy, and possibly they are afraid. I know they do not want another incident like that on their heads," he said solemnly.
"Thank you my old friend, you have been a great help. May the seasons treat you well till' we meet again," said Maglin, getting up and leaving. The two embraced in memory of their long friendship. Maglin returned to his room and waited for the summons.
Ty was feeling like he was going crazy, being locked up like an animal. He was used to being outside working at the mill. "This is crazy, why am I here?" he thought to himself. He tried to sit and relax, but his body wouldn't let him. He was pacing the room and talking to himself so he didn’t see the servant enter with a lunch tray.
"He is kind of handsome," thought Morlela. She had come to the house a few cycles back as a promise from her mother for assistance in helping her father. She was to work for four cycles, at which time she would be free to leave. She had been there now for almost three cycles. She enjoyed the work, the wizards were generally quiet, and most of the hard work went to the apprentices.
She guessed that he was only a cycle or two older then herself, and without many her age she thought he may be someone worth talking to. "Who knows maybe we can become friends. I know I could use a few," she thought. She was so busy thinking that she forgot she had brought him his noonday meal.
"Pardon me sir; I have brought your meal. Where would you like to take it?" she asked kindly.
He jumped at the sound of her voice, it was a pleasant one. When he turned around he saw the girl standing there with his lunch try. The brown robe she wore was pulled down over her face. He would have to remember to ask Maglin why they did that. He gestured to the small sitting table. She walked over and set the tray down.
"Is there anything else you require at this time?" she asked.
"Well I could use some company. I think I’m starting to go crazy in here by myself."
"I shall see what I can arrange for you," she said, bowing a little as she left.
He thought he caught a smile under the hood as she straightened back up. "Oh it would be good for her company," he thought, as she walked out the door closing it softly behind her.
When she got back out into the hall she had to grab a table and sturdy herself. "Does he have a great smile or what," she thought. "I can't be thinking like that." She had never felt something like this before, weak knees, sweaty palms. "Maybe I'm getting sick, I'll go see the healer," she said to herself out loud. But she couldn’t get the picture of his smile out of her mind.
"So what are we going to do? The boy's mother left us all those cycles ago; she was one of the most powerful, and at such a young age when she was found. That's why she was made the keeper of the gate. Did anyone get a chance to probe him to see if he can wield the power yet?" asked Petron.
"Aye, I did do the probe, and yea he do hold da power. Still locked inside it is but very powerful indeed," replied Terinal, "we must take caution wit dis un' in our midst. As da prophesies tell us, da time is neigh at hand
for da return. Only da bringer of light can call all dat he needs tew da aid ov da world."
After several hours the council came to their decision. It wasn’t easy for them to be deciding the fate of the world. They decided to allow him to be tested and accepted if he could prove himself. If they were right then he would be the means of success in banishing the dark lord for another thousand cycles. If not, then the world was doomed to live in the eternal shadow of the dark one.
They called Maglin back into the summoning room to explain their decision. They explained to him that in finding this young man it would be his responsibility to see that he understands the reason for this training. And that he agrees to do as he is commanded. He could see no problem with that. He knew the heart of the boy from his conversations in their travels.
“Very well then send for the boy,” stated Petron
Roland was laying down thinking about how his father was doing now. The winter seemed to be harder than he had imagined and his father would still be alone. He sat up when he heard a knock on the door and a servant came in.
"The council will see you know," he said.
He turned and walked down the hall, Roland had to jog a little to catch up. All the while he was walking he looked at everything he could. He didn't know if he would be allowed to train, if not he wanted to capture all he could. Thinking he would never see the inside of a castle again. They reached the summoning chambers to quickly, the servant left as they came to the great doors, the guards opened them, taking for hours it seemed. He was more nervous now then he could ever remember being before.
"Roland der Causland, approach and kneel," said the man in the middle. "We the acceptance council have made our decision, we will let you be tested. If you fail you will not be allowed to leave, if you pass your training will begin immediately. Do you have any questions?"
"No, sir," came his quick reply. He was using all his strength to keep from passing out.
When they offered him a seat he gladly took it and was able to relax a little more. They asked him questions about his family and the town where he came from. They told him more about his mother and the important role she played.
"Ever since she left we have not been able to find someone strong enough to take the responsibilities she had. You have impressed us thus far with your knowledge of what a why we were given the powers over the elements. As well as how our hierarchy works. Maglin has been a good instructor. He has told you the reason we must have order to overcome the chaos. But now comes the greatest challenge, we must see how well you can control magic," said Petron.
"Over the next while you will be tested in all the disciplines of magic. You must show control or you will not be allowed to continue. This could take days, some even takes months. We know you can see the elemental power now we will see how you work with it. You are prohibited to touch magic without constant supervision. Because you have only seen the elements and not controlled them we will show you how to pass the power to someone else that you may accomplish what we ask."
He was taken back to his room where he found a dinner tray waiting for him. He had not realized how late it was. After concentrating on the interview with the council he could finally sit down and relax. He thought after he ate dinner he would try and find where Ty was. He desperately wanted somebody to talk to and help ease his mind a little and to help ease the homesickness he was feeling. He asked the servant who had taken him back if he could take him to Ty after he ate. Unfortunately it was later then he realized and Ty was already asleep.
He decided it was best to just get some sleep, "Tonight might be the last good night of sleep I get in a long time," he thought.
"I have found him master. He sleeps within the dome, now what are we to do?" asked the Legion’s spy.
"We will watch and wait, let the sovereigns’ teach him, and then we will take him. He will be the means of their own undoing."
"Ah, very well my Lord."
When he heard the last voice he saw a creature coming at him. It was burned and scared, and when it smiled it looked like it enjoyed the pain of the freshly opened wounds. He jumped in his sleep, waking himself.
Chapter 6
Testing
nce again morning came all too quickly for him. His breakfast tray was already laid out for him with fresh water in the basin. "I'm going to have to get up earlier to see who brings this in," he thought. The smells coming from the tray were heavenly. There were fresh fruits, hot muffins with honey butter, and chilled juice. He dressed and ate not knowing what time his first test would begin. After last night he was not so nervous about his testing.
The first instructor that he met was Alrien lon Tikk, the water master. When Roland walked into the small office, Alrien stood to greet him. He appeared to be a plump man, well fed and taken care of. At second glace he noticed that most of his weight was in muscle. He was a friendly man; offering Roland a seat, which he took gratefully. He found that if he was sitting he didn't feel as nervous.
"So young man, tell me when you saw water the last time what was it like?"
"Sir, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It appeared to be like a rope of light, but made of something I had never seen before."
"Exciting wasn’t it? Let’s get started now, you must find your center. I will join you and together we will call upon the water element. When we have it, I will take it and pass it to you. In order to pass this you must concentrate to separate yourself and see into the world. You will then be required to fill this pitcher with water. You will be able to see the element as you command it. Are you ready?"
"Yes sir," he quickly found his center, entering into the magical abyss. Shortly after Alrien entered and walked over to him.
"Aqma," whispered Alrien. Roland could see the element form; he was still amazed at what was happening. Alrien reached out and held his hand over the light, slowly the blue mist that surrounded it was surrounding his hand.
"So that is how you connect with it, you don't grab it you let it take you," Roland said to himself. Alrein touched his arm and motioned him to put his hand next to his own. As he did he saw the element join itself to him, “This is amazing, it has no real substance, but I can feel it," he thought.
Slowly Alrein removed his hand from the mist and he could feel the power intensify once again. After he had the slightest control, he concentrated on seeing what was around him. While he held the power it was as though he was in his own world, everything around him was as bright as the noonday sun.
He finally saw the pitcher and took a step towards it, as he did his head spun and he lost control of the element. The separation was quick, and he barely felt anything, but in an instant everything was back to normal.
"You held on for a while there, I'm impressed. But you didn’t get the pitcher filled up, shall we try again?" said Alrien, now sitting in a chair.
They continued this exercise for most of the day, taking only a short rest to take lunch. By the early evening Roland wasn’t sure he could do it. He was able to take a few more steps with each try but he would still get dizzy. To beat all with every step he took, everything seemed to slide further away.
"Wizard Alrein, how do I get to the objects, they keep moving further away?" he asked now frustrated.
"That is all in your own perception my boy. You must find a way to bring the objects to you, remember that with magic not all things are as they seem. The truth lies within you," he said. "Now let's try this one more time, it is growing late and there is still much I must do today."
He had not thought of bringing the pitcher to himself. He just wanted to get to it so bad. After failing so many times, he realized that inside he felt the doubt of not reaching it. That’s when it kept getting further away. After he had control again, he focused not on reaching the pitcher but it reaching him.
With that thought everything flew at him at an incredible speed. He flinched a little, but concentrated on keeping control of the power. When everything w
as in focus again he thought of the pitcher being filled with water. When he looked down he could see the first signs of precipitation on the inside. He concentrated a little harder and soon it was full. When he released the water element and saw what he had done, he was extremely excited.
"Wizard Alrien, I did it," he said, carrying the pitcher to him.
"Well done, remember what you have learned this day, you may now return to your room," he said turning and walking out of the room.
A servant came and took him back to his room where he laid down and fell asleep almost instantly. He woke early the next morning before the servant brought in his breakfast. He went over to a window and looked out over the island. The sky was showing the first signs of morning. It had been a long time since he had been up before dawn, so he sat and enjoyed the sunrise.
It wasn't long before there were people up and moving. The first were what he assumed to be the apprentices, they were all about his age, mostly boys. They were all dressed the same in what looked like brown leather pants and white wool shirts. The girls were dressed in brown skirts with the same style of shirt. They were hard at work preparing breakfast or working the grounds. His breakfast arrived shortly and he requested a bath for that night, which the servant agreed to bring in.
He was called early that day by Ylien lon Wilern, fire master. His study was not as elaborate as Alrein's had been; the only thing that stood out was the massive fireplace that seemed to take up most of the longest wall.
Ylien was an older man; at that time Roland had no idea that magic would slow aging. He looked like he was eighty cycles or so. He had lost most of his hair, but appeared to have stayed in good health. When he stood up he surprised Roland, he stood a good two spans taller than him.
"Good morning young man, I trust you have found your visit pleasant," he said with a slight drawl.
"Yes sir, I thank you."