“Welcome, Shadow. Today I will be testing you to see what point you have reached in the practice of your art. I expect you to fully use all the powers you have at your command. Do not hold back; I will know if you do. Now defend yourself!” he said, and tossed a ball of fire right at me. I dodged it and looked up at him in shock. Before I could speak he threw two more; when I had dodged those he followed up with a third which hit me in the chest, and the resulting blast threw me to the floor.
“Stop thinking in the merely physical. Your reflexes alone cannot save you from a competent opponent. You are a spellweaver; start thinking like one!” he called out as he tossed four more fireballs at me. As they traveled towards me, I remembered the meeting with the sorcerer in the park and how I had dealt with him. Reaching out with my power, I unwove the magic that held the fireballs together, which caused them to disperse.
“Better, but you are still thinking like an ordinary wizard. Stretch your mind beyond the physical world and start seeing the world of energy around you.” Then he waved a wand, and a creature of pure fire dropped from the air and charged at me. I was ready this time and immediately began to unweave it, and it dissipated before it could reach me.
“You are still thinking too much in this world. Expand your mind and see what is around you,” he said as four more creatures came at me. They were coming too fast for me to keep unweaving, and I was forced to dodge and run while using my powers. This pattern continued for quite some time as he kept increasing the number and rate of attacks to compensate for any skillful footwork I could manage. I was trapped in a corner with all the creatures bearing down on me when I had a flashback to my fight with the spirit at Flame’s house.
I reached out and seized some energy from the room around me and crafted it into a sword of pure energy. Then I used the sword to slash off the arms of the creature closest to me, and it fell back as if in pain. Finally I had something to fight with! I turned on the rest of the creatures and made quick work of them using the sword of energy.
When they were all destroyed, I turned to prepare for the next wave of attacks and saw Master Mathorn floating down from the balcony. I was suddenly struck with the question: why did he have stairs? I decided not to ask it right then.
“Well done. For a moment there you saw beyond yourself. It was only a brief moment, but more will come with time,” he said. Next he snapped his fingers, and a table with food and drink appeared on the floor. It seemed he had no qualms about using his powers to the fullest. “Sit, rest, eat.”
I released the energy that was in my sword and collapsed into the chair. As soon as I had taken my first bite, I realized I was ravenous from all that work. I did my best not to rudely wolf down my food, but I am sure I failed.
“Shadow, spellweavers are a class unto themselves, completely unlike the other kinds of wizard. We alone work in the world of pure energy, and you need to learn to move through that world. Think back to your fight with that spirit last year. Tell me, what did you see when Master Kellyn arrived?” he asked.
“Master, I was locked in a stalemate with the spirit. I knew I had lost, but I knew if I could hold out long enough that Professor Rannor would arrive with help. At the time I did not know that he had already come and gone, but it would not have mattered if I did. I knew he would not fail me. Suddenly a bright light broke through the dark gloom of the battlefield, and I saw what I first thought was a being of pure, white light, but I soon recognized as Master Kellyn. Her light overpowered and pushed back all hint of darkness, and she destroyed the spirit. My memory ends there,” I answered.
“What you saw is what we refer to as an avatar. You see, you are made up of three parts: a spirit, a soul and a body. The spirit and soul are often thought of as one and are contained in the body. Without all three parts, you are dead. However, as a spellweaver you need to learn to separate your awareness from your physical body to see the world of energy around you. Master Kellyn can enter into the spirit world and do battle directly with the demons and spirits, but she cannot bring that power to bear here in the physical world. You can. You will learn with time and practice that the world of energy and the physical world are intertwined in a complex weave. As you begin to understand that weave you will begin to see that you have nothing to fear from most sorcerers. Indeed, only another spellweaver will be able to challenge you. This is why only spellweavers can become grandmasters, as they are truly unique and masters of the realm.”
I had finished eating while he was talking and was beginning to slow my breathing. It was difficult to comprehend what he was saying. How could I separate from myself if the body, soul and spirit were inseparable?
“Now that you have finished eating, we will move on to the next part of the test. I warn you: this is much harder, and you will not be able to count on your physical skills to save you,” he said. He floated back up to the balcony and pulled out a scroll. As he read from the scroll it burst into a dark flame, and suddenly on the floor in front of me there stood a large and powerful demon. The demon was struggling against an invisible binding that was holding it in place. “Do you recognize this creature?” asked Master Mathorn.
“Yes, Master. It is like the demons that the sorcerers brought against us in the battle for Terrathan XV,” I said.
“Yes, it is. This indicates the difference between sorcerers and wizards. You see, this creature and others like it are the true power behind the sorcerers, while wizards draw their power from the armies of light and ultimately the weave itself. None of us ever stand alone. Sorcerers call on powers from creatures like this. Wizards call on each other and the powers of light, and even mundanes will call on these powers from time to time. Now, if a demon of this caliber was released on the school there would be a wide trail of destruction and bloodshed. Your task is to prevent that from happening,” he said. Then suddenly the demon was free!
It came at me with great speed and power. I could not move fast enough to avoid it. With one big claw it swiped me from the floor and tossed me across the room with great force. In mid-air I managed to teleport to the floor to prevent being smashed into the wall and killed. Then I created a slingshot of pure energy, similar to the sword I had formed earlier, and loaded it with balls of power.
I opened fire on the demon, which seemed completely unfazed by my attack. The creature again charged at me, but this time I knew I could not outrun it so I teleported out of the way as its fist came at me. It hit the wall behind where I had been standing and knocked out a large chunk of stone.
If a slingshot did not work, maybe a plasma cannon would! I crafted the biggest gun I could out of energy and started firing large bolts of power at it, but still it came. I do not know how long I fought the demon. We battled round and round the room. I had to constantly teleport to stay ahead of it, and would get at most one shot at it before I had to retreat again. All the time Master Mathorn watched in silence, but I knew he was thinking the same thing he had said to me all morning: “Stop thinking in such a physical way!” or “Start fighting like a spellweaver!”
Then a thought occurred to me: no wizard could summon a demon! Something was definitely wrong about this. That realization helped me to reach out with my awareness and I saw clearly for the first time. I could see right through the demon as if it were a cheap hologram. “AHA! I get it now!” I called out and unwove the illusion of my demon opponent.
“Excellent! I was beginning to worry you would never grasp the obvious,” said Master Mathorn as he floated down from the balcony. “Finally, at the end, you remembered you are a spellweaver.”
I wanted to be excited by this, but I was just too exhausted from a full day of this testing. I sat on some of the rubble and tried to gather myself. I was sore in places that I had forgotten I had, but by some means my robe was undamaged. I looked around the room and saw that the damage was extensive. Since the demon was an illusion, I knew that it was my spells which had caused all that damage.
“Grandmast
er Vydor was right about you; you are well advanced in your art. I must admit you definitely proved yourself worthy of being my apprentice. No longer should you think of yourself as merely a student. You earned your robes today,” he said.
“Master, I am sorry for destroying your entrance,” I said.
“This? This is not my entrance. Up there,” he said, pointing to the balcony, “is the entrance to my office. This chamber is my personal practice room.” He snapped his fingers again and black stone creatures rose from the floor and began repairing the room. “That is enough for today; tomorrow we will start your lessons. If you hurry now, you can still make it in time for dinner in the mess hall with your friends.”
With that he floated back up to the balcony, and again I wondered why he needed stairs. I was left alone with the stone creatures, and since they were not very talkative I took my leave, slowly making my way back to more familiar areas of the school. When I finally arrived in the mess hall most of the other students had left, but Flame and a few others still lingered.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Wow, man, you look really bad. What happened?” asked Phoenix.
“The first day of my classes was a test to see if I was good enough to wear these robes,” I said.
“How did you do?” he asked.
With a huge grin I replied, “Passed with honors.”
That brought a round of congratulations and backslapping. I tried to pretend it did not hurt much, but I knew Flame was concerned.
After eating a very large dinner I was preparing to excuse myself when Flame asked me to join her in a walk.
“Professor Rannor wants me to meet him in his office after dinner,” I said.
“Then I’ll come with you,” she said.
“Thanks. I would appreciate some friendly company after what I have dealt with all day,” I replied.
We made our way slowly towards his office, and she recounted what she had done all day. Once again, she was way ahead of all the other students in her classes and was frustrated with how boring the classes were without at least one person on her level. This was the role I used to fill, and I knew she missed me.
When we entered Professor Rannor’s office he was on the comm arguing with someone. Flame and I took a seat in his waiting area until he was free. Eventually he came out and asked, “Hello, what can I do for you?”
“Professor, you told me to come back so you could show me where I could practice, and I suspect Flame came along to be sure I got here,” I said.
“Rough first day?” he asked.
“Professor, you warned me about the Journeyman Trials, but I was not prepared for the Apprentice Trials,” I said.
“Ah. I suspected he might want to test you. I see you still have your robes, so you must have passed. Well done!” he said and laid his hand on my shoulder. I felt some of his power pass through me, and I was a bit stronger when he had finished.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Now then, I guess there’s no point hiding the location of these rooms from Flame, as you will no doubt show her at some point anyway. Follow me,” he said as we left.
We traveled back down the same corridors that had taken us to my first lesson this morning, through the same guarded archway, and stopped at a place where the path branched in four directions.
“Wait here while I see which one is open,” he said and went down one of the branches.
While we waited, a journeyman wizard came up to me and asked, “What is she doing down here? This area is off limits to students!”
Before I could answer a familiar voice called out, “They are with me.”
The wizard turned to see Professor Rannor coming back up the path and said, “Forgive me, Headmaster, I did not know.”
“It is all right. I was just planning to show our new spellweaver where he could practice, and our companion came along to see the sights.”
“Ah, then this must be Shadow and Flame. Headmaster, I highly recommend that you let her use these chambers to practice her own art,” said the wizard.
“You know that is forbidden for a student,” answered Professor Rannor.
“Yes, but we both also know that if either of these two leaves the planet the other is coming, and the sorcerers will attack the weakest link. She needs to be ready for that,” he said.
Professor Rannor seemed to think on that for a minute, then he said, “I guess you are right. Flame, you may come here to practice your art but only with Shadow, because the guards will not take kindly to you coming here alone.”
Then the other wizard left and Professor Rannor led us down a hall to a series of doors. Some had a light on over them and some did not.
“Each of these doors leads to a practice chamber. The ones with the light on are in use, and it would be extremely foolish to enter one of those, but the ones with no light are free to use,” said Professor Rannor. He showed us how to unlock and open the door.
Once inside he closed the door behind us and said, “The light will come on automatically and turn off when you leave.”
The room was a like a large, empty sphere of rock. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about it at all.
“Don’t worry about damaging the room. It will repair itself when you leave,” he said.
“Wait a minute, Professor. The wizard called you ‘Headmaster?’ ” queried Flame.
“Oh yes, that. I decided today to accept the position. Later in the week there will be a formal promotion ceremony and I will receive my new journeyman robes, but that is just a formality,” he said.
“Wow, congratulations, Profess- Headmaster!” said Flame.
“I should have known you would not turn it down, especially after all the work you were putting in this morning,” I said.
“Shadow, you knew!” exclaimed Flame.
“Flame, he only mentioned it to me this morning, but he was much more uncertain then. In fact, he seemed to have decided that he did not want the job,” I said.
“That is true, but your little pep talk convinced me to take it. Now that I am in charge, you will see a lot of changes around here. I plan to step up the pace of phasing out the wizards from the other realm and replacing them with our own. I also intend to do yearly testing of all students and higher levels to keep better track of their progress, and I want to break the students into groups determined by skill so that those who are ahead are not held back by those in need of more help. It will take years to achieve all this, of course, but I think our realm’s own rich history of education can be applied here with great success. Now I must get going; I have a lot to do. Goodnight,” he said and left.
“I think I’m gonna like him as headmaster,” said Flame.
“Flame, we will work out some kind of practice schedule here for you after I have found out more about my own schedule.” I looked into her eyes and said, “I hope to try to visit your family next year, and if we do I will need you at your best. It is practically guaranteed that we will be attacked there, so I need you to make as much progress in using your powers as you possibly can. I will help you in any way possible during our practice sessions, but the work you do between times will be the determining factor as to how far we get during a session.”
She matched my gaze and said, “Then with your help, Professor, I plan to be the next person in my class to become an apprentice.” I knew she meant it, and I also believed she was likely to do just that.
“Good. We should head back now; I really need to get a good night’s sleep, as I have no idea what I am in for tomorrow,” I said.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After a large breakfast I headed off to my lesson. I tried to smile and acknowledge the Dark Knights guarding the archway that led to the residence of the advanced wizards, but they did not indicate in any way that they noticed my presence. Had I not served for years in the Navy, I might have thought that rude; instead, I recognized that that was how guards were trained to be
have. They were not to draw attention to themselves unless needed.
As I walked back through the maze of corridors I passed numerous wizards of various rank. I did my best to stay out of everyone’s way and they seemed happy to completely ignore me. It was a marked change from all the attention I got amongst the students.
Eventually I found the door to my teacher’s office and as I approached, it swung open. The room was almost exactly the same as it had been the day before. All signs of the previous day’s battle were gone. The one difference was the addition of a table and chair floating in the center of the room about three-quarters of the way up to the ceiling.
“Good morning, Shadow. Today I have a puzzle for you to solve,” said Master Mathorn from his position on the balcony. “There are many ways to travel from Point A to Point B. Where you stand now represents Point A. On that table above you is a cup filled with juice which represents Point B. Without teleporting, I want you to get to that cup and take a drink.”
I studied the problem for a bit. I realized that, even without the ban, teleporting would not work well as I would have to grab the cup and take a drink while I was falling down from the table. It was apparent that he expected me somehow to get up there and sit in the chair. It was far too high to jump, and I certainly could not reach the cup from my present position. Then it dawned on me that in fact I could. I reached out with the minor telekinesis that I had learned in my Basic Powers class and started to bring the cup towards me.
As the cup drifted down it was hit by a blast of energy from Master Mathorn who said, “I said to travel to the cup, not bring the cup to you. Now try again, and this time do it by the rules.”
I saw a new cup appear on the table. I knew better than to try to argue about the fine details of the rules of the puzzle, so I continued to work on the problem. If I could only fly, that would solve my dilemma. I started to think about how shuttles fly; they push energy in the opposite direction from where they wish to go. Maybe I could do the same.
The Academy Page 14