Rise of Shadows

by Vincent Trigili

  I was happily flying through the air when suddenly I hit something, something hard. After I recovered my senses, I looked up and saw the defense screens around the school. Master Shadow had told me about them, but I had never seen them before. I slowly moved over to the screen and touched it. It was as solid as any rock surface I had ever felt. I then moved towards the ground and tried to touch a rock. My hand passed harmlessly through it. There was no sensation at all.

  Of course the school’s defenses would stop me, I thought to myself. I assumed that the spell would not last much longer, and I was a long way from the school, so I headed back. If the spell wore off while I was still out here, it would be a long, cold walk home.

  Chapter Two

  Once I made it back to the school’s entrance, I canceled Night Form and put back up my normal cloaking spell. I wanted to head back to my quarters, and I really did not want to talk to anyone as I went. Slowly and carefully, I moved through the school. It was a challenge sneaking around a castle filled with wizards of all ranks, but that just made it more fun.

  As I turned down the final corridor that would take me back to the wing of the school where my quarters were I saw Master Shadow. I tried to slip back, but he called out, “There you are, Dusty.”

  “Hello, Master. One day I will be able to sneak by you,” I said as I canceled my concealment spell. I could sneak past wizards with much greater experience and rank than him, but he always caught me.

  “Doubtful, but it is a good goal for you,” he said with a smile. “Now, the party is still in full swing, but I am partied out and, unless I miss my guess, you were partied out before it even started.”

  “Yes, Master, I was just heading back to my room to get some sleep,” I said.

  “Then, if you do not mind, walk with me for a bit,” he said.

  “Yes, Master,” I said. I knew I could say no, but I could tell he wanted to talk to me about something. We walked in silence for a while until we left the area of the school where students were allowed. I had a good map of the school in my head from my many hours of sneaking around while cloaked, but I had not attempted to go too far down this corridor because at the end of it was a pair of massive Zalionians guarding a stone door.

  As we approached the door, the Zalionians moved to the side to let us pass. Shadow opened the door with a wave of his hand and walked through. As I followed him through the door, I was struck immediately by the major difference. The corridor we came down was hewn from solid rock and lit mostly by torches. The area beyond the door was about as different as you could get. The walls and floor were made from a shiny high-grade metal; it was lit by modern lights and had all the trappings you would expect to see in a fully up-to-date facility. As such, it was completely alien to me. It had been a very long time since I had been off-world because I never bothered to take a vacation. The rock and primitive technology of the school had grown comfortable to me.

  Once the door was closed behind us Master Shadow said, “Dusty, it goes without saying that unescorted you are not allowed back here, and to try sneaking in would be dangerous.”

  “Yes, Master, I understand,” I said as I continued to follow him down the corridor.

  “I am bringing you back here because Grandmaster Vydor has tasked me with gathering some worthy apprentice-level wizards for a special mission, one that I think you will be perfect for,” he said.

  “Master, I am barely an apprentice. What kind of mission could I be good for?” I asked.

  He stopped at a door that looked like it might be an airlock. He turned to me and said, “As you know, pirates have taken over the region between us and Aleeryon. This has pretty much ended all trade with that system and completely wrecked their economy,” he said.

  “Yes, Master, but that is local politics. What concern do wizards have with that?” I asked.

  “Good question, and the answer is that we have a couple of concerns. First, these pirates are not only operating right on our borders, but in areas that we have plans to expand into. That makes them a problem for us. So far, they have not been foolish enough to attack anything with our flag on it, but they grow bolder with each passing year.

  “The second reason is that we have strong evidence that the sorcerers are helping them,” he said.

  “Then it is more than just local politics, Master,” I said.

  “Yes, much more,” he said as he turned and opened the door.

  Beyond the door was a hangar with several ships in it. With the exception of one, they were all under construction. There were robots flying around from place to place working on them and crews of men and women working alongside them. It was a horribly busy, noisy place.

  “Here you can see we are slowly building our own fleet of warships. In the past, we have not had much need for them, but soon that will change. In other hangars, we have various spacecraft that we have purchased, but these are special. These are being built to be flown and operated by wizards. They will have magical shielding, magically enhanced armor, and magically enhanced weapons. In general they are a mixture of magic and technology,” he said.

  He brought me over to the one vessel that was not under construction. It was the most beautiful starship I had ever seen. It had a pure black, almost frictionless surface that was clean of any markings. It was a flattened teardrop shape that should allow it to work well in both atmosphere and vacuum. It was floating just off the floor, held aloft by some unseen force. It was the size of an average cruiser, which told me that it was most likely intended for deep space operation.

  Master Shadow approached the craft, held up his hand, and said a command word. This caused a door to open in the side of the ship where there was previously no sign of one. A staircase materialized that ran from the door to the floor. It appeared to be made of the same material as the spacecraft, which worried me. I was not looking forward to trying to climb a frictionless staircase.

  “Follow me,” said Master Shadow as he started up the stairs.

  Taking a deep breath, I carefully put my foot down on the first step, and to my surprise, there was no slip. After gingerly taking a few more steps, I was confident it was after all just a staircase, and I followed Master Shadow into the ship.

  “Welcome aboard the Dust Dragon, the most advanced war vessel ever built,” said Master Shadow.

  I looked around the sleek ultramodern interior and was amazed at what I saw. Despite being a craft intended for war, the ship had a homey feel to it. From the shock-absorbing floors to the soft lighting, the entire vessel seemed to be designed with long-term comfort in mind. I could easily picture a crew living on this ship for extended missions.

  After a tour of the Dust Dragon, Master Shadow took me to the captain’s lounge. Once we were both seated he said, “Dusty, your native talent for magic is some of the best I have seen. Sure, you struggle with the academic side, but there is more to being a wizard than memorizing mnemonics. That is not to say that the academic side is not important; if I thought that, I would not have spent years helping you through it. I just do not want you to think you are not as good as some others who may excel at theory.”

  “Thank you, Master. I do try,” I said.

  “Grandmaster Vydor has given me the Dust Dragon. My mission is to break the back of the local pirates in hopes of drawing out the sorcerers. That means everyone on my crew will have all restrictions lifted concerning the use of their powers. Grandmaster Vydor said he wants people talking about what we did out there for decades to come, and I want you to be part of those stories,” he said.

  I did not know what to say to that. Master Shadow knew I had been sneaking around experimenting with far more advanced spells than I was allowed. He even provided the books for the spells, for which I assumed he was getting some flak. I had failed many of my classes, but it was those stupid useless written tests that sank me. I could handle the spells fine. Why did it matter if I could not remember Pazelarth’s fourth formula for command word
syllabification? It is not as if that was hindering me from advancement.

  “Master, what would that mean for my schooling?” I asked.

  “There are two paths that apprentices currently follow through the school. The main one, the one that most of your classmates will follow, is to continue through the school for several more years, maybe a decade or more depending on their aptitude. At some point, an advanced journeyman or elite wizard will then pick them up as their apprentice, and they will receive a more one-on-one type of training. This system works well for most of the students; however, there are those that do not fit the mold,” he said.

  “Master, like you and Flame?” I asked.

  “Yes, exactly. Those exceptions, the ones that do not fit into the normal school model, are moved into direct apprenticeship with a higher-ranking wizard. What I am suggesting for you is a new, third option. By joining my crew, you will learn the more advanced lines in your power through usage out there in the field. This program will be significantly less academically focused, and much more vocationally focused. If you come, then Flame and I will be your teachers instead of your present tutors,” he said.

  Wow. That sounded awesome. Finally free from the books and stupid tests! Surely, there must be some catch. “Master, that sounds too good to be true,” I said.

  “I can see why you would think that, but you are overlooking a key part of this. Here in the school, you are safe. If you come with us, you might well be captured, killed, or worse on any given day. It is the most risky plan we wizards have taken on since the Great War. This risk will force you to grow faster, but may kill you. Your death is not our goal, of course, but you will be on the front lines of the battle with the sorcerers, and out there nothing is guaranteed,” he said.

  Now that was a catch if I ever heard of one. “Master, how long would we be out there?” I asked.

  “No way to tell. It could be years. If the program is successful it could be a permanent assignment for you,” he said.

  That would mean no more stupid tests, ever. This sounded wonderful, but I should be careful. Anything carrying the risk of death probably should be considered carefully. “Master, I am not sure. It sounds wonderful, but I need time to think about it.”

  “Of course, take some time to think about it. This upcoming week is your vacation. In previous years you refused to take it, but this time take it so that you can think on this,” he said.

  After that, we headed back to the school, and I went back to my room to sleep on what he had said. This time I was not spotted and made it to my bed in peace.

  Chapter Three

  Master Shadow wants me to take a vacation to think about his offer, but that would be such a waste of the week. This was the best week of the year. Almost all the students and professors were gone. This made the school so much quieter, and I could get in a lot more time with my spellbooks and even have a good excuse to ignore my textbooks. What better vacation could there be than that?

  Still, Master Shadow’s offer floated like a dark cloud over my head. I could not stop thinking about it. Freedom from this school, freedom from all this chaos, and freedom from teachers’ disappointed looks every time I turn in an assignment.

  I picked up the advanced spellbooks that I had been working through of late and stuck them in my pack. I decided that maybe some fresh air would help, so I headed to the spaceport. I was not sure where to head, but I figured they would have information there on the nearby planets. When I walked into the spaceport the noise and the crowds overwhelmed me. I knew it would be busy since it was the first morning of vacation, but nothing could have prepared me for just how busy it was. I decided that the air on this world would be good enough and turned to leave when Phoenix walked in and saw me.

  “Hey, Dusty!” he called out.

  “Hi, Phoenix,” I said.

  “I never would have expected to see you here. Where are you heading?” he asked.

  “Back out to the hiking trails,” I said and started to walk away knowing what was coming next.

  “Nonsense, you should come with me. I am heading to Okeanos,” he said.

  Okeanos was a major vacation hotspot. When the Empire had first found the planet, it was completely devoid of life and covered completely with water. Some enterprising people decided to create artificial islands and build themed resorts on each of the islands. The result was a very expensive, but highly sought after vacation paradise. I was grateful this was his choice of destination because it would be easy to back out of.

  “Sorry, Phoenix, but I could barely afford the transport fare to go that far, never mind the astronomical cost of Okeanos,” I said.

  “What kind of friend do you take me for? You really think I would suggest a place like Okeanos if I was not gonna pay your way? Come on, it will be great! Besides, aren’t you part lizard, and need some sun?” he asked.

  I shook my head at that remark. He knew that being Parrinian did not make me part lizard. Sure, I slept under a sun lamp to compensate for the lack of sun on this planet, but that was more of a comfort thing than a health requirement. It would have been a waste of time to try to correct him again on that, so instead I said, “That is very generous of you…”

  “Great! Then it’s settled!” he interrupted as he grabbed my bag and headed to the ticket counter.

  That bag had my spellbooks in it; otherwise, I would have abandoned it to make good my escape. Instead, I found myself being dragged around the spaceport and eventually onto the shuttle. Once on the shuttle and strapped in, Phoenix started telling me about all the fun we would have when we got to Okeanos, which of course involved lots of food.

  The shuttle trip to the trade hub was uneventful. Once we arrived at the trade hub, I reclaimed my bag and followed Phoenix, who I assumed was heading to a passenger transport which would take us to a trade hub near Okeanos. I could have snuck away at this point, but he had already paid my way and would lose a lot of money if I did. This trip would likely cost him more money than I had ever had. There was no way I could back out now and cost him all that. We did not end up heading right to the transport; instead, he first took me to a store to get some clothes for the trip.

  “It is better if you stow that robe until our return trip. It will just draw attention to you,” he said.

  “Well, I don’t want that, but I just hate to waste your money. I have plenty of clothes back at the school. I will just go back for them…” I started.

  “Nonsense! Clothes are cheap here. We will just get you a few outfits,” he said.

  There was no arguing with him on this trip. He seemed determined that I would have a good time at any expense. Once that was settled we took the transport to our next stop, and then the shuttle to Okeanos’ primary spaceport.

  “Ok, Dusty, this is where we need to pick an island to spend the week. Each has a different theme, and I usually go to Gama because it has a great waterpark and awesome barbeque,” he said.

  “Waterpark? Really?” It occurred to me then that I had not seen water in almost two decades.

  “Oh, yeah! It’s massive too!” he said.

  “That sounds good, let’s go there!” I said. Against my will, I was starting to get a little excited about this trip. My homeworld was an ocean planet like this one, and I had forgotten how much I missed it.

  “That’s the spirit!” he said and walked over to the terminal to arrange our passage to Gama.

  While he did that, I walked over to the window and looked out over the ocean. The waves smashed against a rocky beach far below my vantage point, and while I could not really hear it, I could remember the sound, and it was soothing.

  Soon we were on our way to Gama, and Phoenix arranged for an open-air boat to take us. I stood in the front of the boat and relished the sun, wind, and saltwater spray. My mood was lifted higher than it had been in years.

  Chapter Four

  That week was the best I had had in a long time. Phoenix spared no
expense on our vacation package, and we were treated like kings the entire time. It was such a major change from the disappointment my presence in the classroom seemed to cause the professors.

  The waterpark was great, but my favorite attraction was the beach. I must have spent half the week there underwater exploring the caves and coral reefs that had been imported centuries ago. There was a vast marine ecology there, which was made up of imported aquatic creatures that were in danger of extinction on their homeworlds and were brought here to be saved. I did not see much of Phoenix during the week, as he could not breathe underwater like Parrinians could. Instead, he stuck mainly to the vast array of slides and restaurants.

  Gama was apparently a hotspot for Parrinians, as everywhere I looked I saw them. Because of this influx of Parrinians, Okeanos had apparently configured Gama to match the conditions of our homeworld. Humidity was kept at a steady pleasant ninety-nine percent, and the indoor attractions had an artificial sun that never set, just like home.

  When the week finally did end, I met Phoenix at the spaceport and said, “Thanks, Phoenix. There is no way I could ever repay you for this.”

  “Nah, don’t worry about it. It did you good, and that’s enough payment for me,” he said.

  Once we were strapped into our transport back to Alpha Academy’s trade hub I said, “I almost don’t want to go back, Phoenix.”

  “Yeah, I know. It has been rough for you there, but you have come so far. It would be a shame to give up now,” he said.

  “Oh, I know,” I said. My mind for the first time this week returned to Master Shadow’s offer. I was contemplating that as we entered jump space. When we came out I said, “How about you? Are you looking forward to another year of classes?”