The Children of the Light: Book 1: Spirit Summoner

by Matt Campbell

  The spirits were not encouraging. Worse, their words confirmed Nidic Waq’s warning to be wary of the Currents. Racall had told him to be mindful as well, though he couldn’t remember what the Archon had shown him. Darr suspected his presense might be doing more harm than good.

  One more try, and then he’d retreat for the night.

  He quieted his mind, letting his Light drift through the spirit realm. The Lights of the physical world faded away, leaving the spirits to swirl around him. Soon, he quieted even them, and Darr was alone. He focused his thoughts, not on his father as he’d been doing, but on himself. If he couldn’t break through the befuddled Currents to find his father, perhaps there was something about his own abilities he could learn.

  For a long time, Darr paid close attention to his Light, noticing how it reacted to thoughts and feelings. He longed to make sure his father was okay, and some part of his Light resonated with that feeling. Is this feeling desire? Is my desire urging me to explore?

  “Show me…Show me what I can’t find…”

  The feeling emptied out of Darr, leaving him hollow, though the urgency of the feeling remained. His Light folded inward, compacting down into his desire.

  An aura of white appeared before him. The Light of another began to shine, cutting through the wisteria glow of the Currents. Darr struggled to reach out to this new Light as he continued to shrink down into himself. His concentration slipped, his mind lost its focus. The Light faded away, but Darr knew who it belonged to.

  “Jinn.”

  Darr’s Light unfolded, and he focused his thoughts back on the physical world. Jinn’s Light, as well as the Lights of Conra and Derec appeared around him. Nothing appeared out of place. Darr drifted closer to Jinn’s Light. What had he seen a moment ago? What was it about her that had drawn her to him?

  Confused and exhausted, the Summoner let the matter drop. He’d explore what he’d seen another day. For tonight, his Light was tired, and he went back to the physical world.

  * * * *

  The four set out determined to reach Oasis by nightfall. Darr trailed silently at the end of the procession. His mood had darkened since last night, having had no success in locating his father. He kept reminding himself of his inexperience, yet somehow that wasn’t enough. He’d summoned the Archon of Earth for spirit’s sake. Yet, every attempt at finding his father had failed. Last night’s attempt had created more confusion for him.

  When they stopped for lunch, Conra informed them they weren’t far from the edges of the wasteland. The flats would end at the Valley of Kaehn within a few hours. There they would be able to find safety with the city of Oasis, if they could gain entrance. The Kurflinese were suspicious of strangers, especially those coming from the Karahesian. They would have to be careful about how they approached the city guards.

  Less than an hour after they stopped for lunch, a stirring within the Currents came over Darr like a sickness growing in his stomach. Absorbed in his dark mood, Darr ignored the disturbance. When he finally noticed it, he didn’t have to enter the Currents to hear the spirits. Darr tried to pick out one of the crowded voices, but he could sense upset and anxiety. Darr went back to his ruminations, but the spirits returned with their same jumbled messages. He listened again, wondering if perhaps he’d missed something the first time. Nothing had changed in their urgings, so he dismissed them once more.

  A quick scan of the horizon revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The Karahesian’s blasted landscape was the same, except to the south where it sloped downward and disappeared into a wash of yellow and green that became the fields of Kurflin. Ahead of him, Erec, Jinn, and Conra walked down the slope towards the valley ahead, but no one appeared concerned.

  Maybe he’d lost his ability to communicate with the spirits since leaving Racall. Maybe his abilities were tied to the Archon, but that didn’t make sense. He dug through his memories in search of a different answer.

  While deep in his thoughts, the Currents ripped open. The feeling came swiftly then vanished, but Darr knew what it meant.

  A deep rumbling filled his ears and the ground beneath him shifted enough to cause him to stumble. Darr called out to Conra just as the Elf looked back in surprise. Jinn and Erec turned also, their faces reflecting a mix of fear and curiousity. Darr put his ear to the Currents and waited. Racall had told him about elementals, how the weak points between the Four Elements could break and form them. He was supposed to be looking for those breaks, and he’d failed in doing so. Whatever was coming would be a direct consequence.

  The rumbling turned to a roar, accompanied by tremors that shook the four to their knees. A knot formed in the pit of Darr’s stomach. The hard surface of the Karahesian broke apart, separating the Summoner and his companions. Two silvery-black spears, surged upwards through the earth. A pair of claws appeared, like those belonging to sea crabs, only much larger. The killing appendages lifted high above the four before crashing down into the earth, pulling the rest of the monstrosity up from beneath. What surfaced was a crab, only it stood ten feet tall, armored in a shell of tarnished silver covered in wicked-looking spines. The creature’s spindly legs didn’t appear they’d support its weight, but Darr doubted that would slow it down.

  The creature was an elemental, torn from the Light of the Earth Sephir.

  “A scattercrab!” Conra yelled, his face bright with wonder. He traced his steps around towards Darr. “I didn’t think these existed any...”

  “Get away, Conra!” Darr shouted, running to push the Elf away, but the scattercrab moved faster. The creature rotated its body and drove one of its claws into the ground between them, sending them both flying. It rammed its other claw out towards Erec and Jinn, but they were both quick enough to dodge out of the way.

  Ideas raced through Darr’s head, fragmented solutions to the problem he’d caused, but there was no time. Erec made a desperate attempt to draw the scattercrab away, but the creature turned towards him. Conra fired a bolt from his crossbow, but it bounced away, succeeding only in drawing the crab back towards them. Darr and Conra sprinted away as the monstrous claws tore into the earth once more. Erec ran beneath the scattercrab when its back turned, forcing his sword upwards between its metal shell. With a loud clang, the sword impacted and shattered.

  The crab shifted, aware now of Erec’s presence beneath it. Jinn ran forward waving her arms, trying to distract the crab long enough for Erec to escape. She narrowly avoided a claw swinging over her head, giving Erec the chance he needed to leap to safety, but the crab caught him during his retreat. Its claw swung out, and with a thunderous clap, it sent him flying.

  The sight of his brother tumbling across the flats was enough for Darr. The Summoner steadied himself...

  ...He’d expected to find the scattercrab moving in the spirit realm like the Water Ovid and Racall, but the elemental’s bright green aura stood motionless. Elemetals, it seemed, were timeless.

  Darr gazed through the wisteria light. He needed the Archon of Air and its permission to use its magic. Where would he find it?

  --You worry too much, Summoner--

  --Your fears eat you alive--

  The words of the spirits were reprimanding, but helpful. Racall and Nidic Waq had been telling him the same thing from the beginning. But how could he overcome his doubts when he hadn’t learned anything about himself?

  --You have learned much--

  --You have yet to utilize that knowledge--

  The light of the spirits swirled around him. Darr calmed himself. In the Currents he was somewhat safe from what went on in Ictar. The scattercrab and time itself had no meaning here.

  He fixed his gaze on the yellow star identifying the Sephir of Air. Its light flickered weakly. The Summoner flew to it with the thought of taking a single step.

  He hung in the air before the golden light of the Air Sephir, and reached out to the pulsating light. The Light of his body mingled with the Sephir’s. The Archon’s mercurial presence came to Darr as soon
as their connection was forged.

  --You are the Summoner who traveled with Racall, are you not--

  Darr concurred. “ Who are you?”

  --I am the Archon of Air--I was called Tamas by the Ancients--You are nothing like them--

  The Summoner ignored the comment, even though it was odd. “I need your help. An elemental has escaped on the Karahesian, and I need your magic to neutralize its own.”

  Arrogance flooded out of the Sephir.

  --I am aware of the scattercrab--What do you expect me to do about it--

  Shock roared through Darr. Didn’t the Archon care? “I need your help. Only the Element of Air can counter the imbalance that created the scattercrab. Isn’t there something you can do to help me?”

  --Not when you talk to me like that--

  Frustration welled up. The Archon of Air acted nothing like Racall. It was conceited to the point of being rude.

  A memory returned from when Darr first called out to Racall in the Currents. The spirits had dragged him down and tried to make him one of their own. Out of fear for losing himself, he’d called out to the Earth Archon, not by using his physical voice, but with his Light.

  “I need...”

  Darr stopped himself, hearing the words come from the part of himself that still perceived the Currents as a physical world. He concentrated. Light and mirrored images made up the Currents. Everything he perceived to be real only imitated the outside world.

  Darr didn’t breathe for there was no air. He didn’t wet his lips for he had no lips to wet.

  --Tamas, lend me the magic of the Air Sephir to counter that of the scattercrab--

  The light of the Sephir flared once where it connected with Darr, sending golden tendrils snaking into the Light of his arm. The arrogance of the Archon lessened, turning to mild satisfaction.

  --Well done, Summoner--Now let us see how well you handle that magic--

  Darr examined the golden light where it flowed through his arm when he was expelled from the Currents...

  ...When he emerged, Darr clenched his right hand into a fist, fighting past the burning sensation in his arm.

  As if sensing the magic he carried, the scattercrab turned on him. The creature let out a piercing cry and its spindly legs carried it forward in a rush of torn earth, its shining claws lifting high in preparation to crush him.

  Darr stumbled backwards, cradling his arm against his body as electric fire coursed through his flesh and bone. When the creature was a few yards away from him, Darr thought fleetingly of running. Instead, he released the light from his arm, and the magic of the Air Sephir took shape.

  The magic ripped the Summoner’s arm forward with a sharp thrust. White bolts of lightning surged out of his flesh and slammed into the scattercrab, picking it up and throwing it backwards. The magic of the Sephir didn’t stop. The lightning bolts surging from his arm tore into the crab, ripping off chunks of the metal shell. The scattercrab struggled and screeched, but the lightning pinned it fast to the ground, shredding it.

  It’s shell disintegrated and sand poured out of it, sending up clouds of dust. When the last bolt tore through it, the scattercrab was nothing but an empty metal husk atop a pile of sand. With the magic expended, Darr lowered his arm. Jinn and Conra’s stares lingered on him until they were drawn to Erec who layed sprawled out, face down.

  Colors and lines began to blur together and fade. Numbness filled Darr’s ears, and he collapsed to the ground.

  Chapter Twenty

  “The battle tore the world apart from one end to another as Caeranol and the Devoid fought in both the physical world and the Currents. Caeranol won, though he could not destroy the Devoid, only disable it. Caeranol released the Light trapped within the Devoid, and using the Sephirs, Caeranol imprisoned the Devoid within a place of nothingness. Caeranol hoped the Devoid would wither away and die, with no life to feed it.”

  ~From A Current History of Ictar, as told by Nidic Waq

  Darr opened his eyes in a lazy flickering motion that left him dizzy. Conra crouched over him with a smile on his seamed, wrinkled face. Darr lifted his head, but Conra eased him back down.

  “Careful now, boy. Don’t want you hurting yourself again. Here, take this.”

  Conra placed a water skin against Darr’s lips and poured cool water down his throat. The Summoner drank, gasping for air between gulps. When he finished, Darr slid himself up into a sitting position despite Conra’s protests. Still light-headed, from his fall or from the magic, Darr wasn’t sure. His summoning had taken a lot out of him, yet the particulars of the experience were still vague in his mind. He remembered nothing save the Archon of Air giving him the magic of the Sephir before being thrust from the Currents. Everything else he remembered as a blur of color and sensation.

  “How do you feel?” Conra asked. “You’ve been out for almost an hour.”

  Darr shook his head. “I’m a little confused and dizzy, but nothing hurts if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Conra was emphatic. “I’m not surprised if your brain’s a little rushed about,” he said. “That was quite a light show you put on. When I heard you and your siblings talking about magic, I had no idea you were gonna pull a trick like that out of your pocket.”

  Darr had no idea either. He thought by going to the Archon of Air and asking for the magic of its Sephir, it would come into Ictar the same way Racall had, a physical embodiment of its element. Instead, Darr received its magic and was sent back to Ictar to wield it.

  Darr started to speak, but Conra cut him off, his eyes bright. “I’ve never seen anything like that, and I’ve seen some strange things. The Summoners in Navda can’t do what you just did, boy, do you know that?”

  Darr gave a wan smile, hoping the Elf would sense he didn’t want to talk about this particular subject. “I know, Conra. This is something I only recently learned, and I’m not too confident with it...”

  “Incredible,” the Elf exclaimed, slapping his knee. “I never would’ve guessed the way you three were carrying on. I didn’t think magic could be channeled like that. Simply amazing. You were throwing lightning bolts at that crab for spirit’s sake.”

  Conra’s enthusiasm grew tiresome. Darr’s thoughts were too muddled. Behind Conra, Erec sat upright beside Jinn, his face stricken. Bandages wrapped his torso.

  “How’s Erec?” he asked Conra, desperate to change the subject.

  “Aw, he’ll be all right,” the Elf said, turning his head to look at Erec. “Your brother can take some punishment, that’s for sure. That scattercrab knocked him a good one, making a pretty good mess of his back, but I patched him up best I could..”

  Darr picked himself up off the ground, taking a moment to stand and make sure all his parts were working. His dizziness passed while he took measured steps over to Erec and Jinn.

  “Are you okay?” Jinn asked, a mix of fear and concern reflected in her eyes.

  Darr nodded his head, silent before Erec’s cold gaze.

  “Jinn said you used magic.” Erec breathed the words like a curse.

  Darr nodded. “Yes. We can talk about it on the way to Oasis. Do you feel up to the walk?”

  Erec’s expression told him ‘no’, but he bowed his head and tried to stand. Darr gave him his hand and levered him to his feet. Erec still needed Darr’s support in order to walk.

  “Conra, how far to Oasis?” Darr asked, his brother’s weight bore down on him already.

  The Elf scanned the horizon and the sky. “I’d say we have about two hours before we reach the Valley of Kaehn. Another hour after that. If we hurry, we can make it before nightfall.”

  Jinn and Conra split the contents of Erec’s pack to distribute the extra weight since he could no longer carry it. Satisfied with their new burdens, the four set out.

  With the sun setting behind the mountains at their backs darkness fell quickly. If not for the moon and starlight to guide them, they would have had to camp another night out in the open. Conra led the way
across the fields of the valley, taking them straight for the walls of Oasis. From where it sat between the edge of the valley and cliffs of the Barricades, the city took on a forbidding look. Towering walls stretched out of sight into the east, hiding the city behind it like an overprotective guardian. Faint torch light glimmered dully from battlements, marking the only signs of life. Darr looked at the walls and saw only paranoia of the outside world.

  As they approached the city’s gate, Darr saw there would be no getting in. No foot traffic moved through the gate this late at night, and a handful of soldiers guarded the walls both above and below--the militiamen of Kurflin. It would take a civil war before regiments of Cortazian soldiers patrolled Oasis, a free city in the minds of the southern territories.

  Darr slowed his pace, but Conra hissed at him and told him to keep up. The Elf slipped his hand into his pack and pulled a dark scarf free. He rolled it up and tied it around his head.

  “What’re you doing?” Jinn asked in a near whisper.

  “I’m hiding my ears. The Kurflinese aren’t very friendly to Elves.”

  They walked up to the city gates, and two of the guards moved toward them, an intimidating pair in their black uniforms. Darr looked up at the shadowy forms of several other soldiers watching from atop the walls. One of the approaching guards lowered a wicked looking pike, blocking the gate, while the other walked towards Conra.

  “Oasis is closed to visitors for the night,” the soldier called out, his voice stern.

  Conra kept his composure and walked forward a few paces. “We’re in need of assistance, sir,” he called out. “My friends here are the children of an old friend. We were hunting crater fox up in the Barricades. Young Erec there had a nasty fall, and we were closer to Oasis than home, so I brought them here. He needs medical attention.”

  Another soldier appeared from the gate house, a bear of a man. While his features appeared frightening, he had a kind voice. “Coming down out of the Karahesian on a night like this--you gave the men quite a fright, what with all the talk of Soul Seekers.”