The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll

by Kurtis Smith

  “Days passed to months while they stayed with me. Before long, Nataeli began to act strange, not herself. She carried on about how she had to ‘leave it all behind’. We didn’t know what it meant. We argued with her to stay and help us continue our research but she was determined. She grew wild and out of control, not in her right mind. It came down to a duel and Egan refused to fight her. He had to let her go.”

  Egan rose out of his seat at this point and stepped swiftly out of the room. Liam stopped for a second and bowed his head, looking troubled. Davin understood Egan’s reaction and felt for him. Egan was being forced to live the same pain he had felt twenty years ago as if it was the first time. Davin couldn’t image having to go losing his mother again. It would take a heavy toll.

  Still he wanted Liam to keep going and encouraged him on.

  “After several weeks of turmoil, he decided to go out after her. I did not see him for some time…several months I think. He finally showed back up on my doorstep a broken hearted man. After all that time, he told me he never found her or any of their kin. We picked back up our research, but he wasn’t the same. After about a year, he decided to try to return to his home. He said he stowed aboard a ship back to the Unknown Lands and I have not seen him again until now.”

  Davin was amazed at what Liam had said, though he hoped he didn’t show it too much. So Egan and he had both lost someone dear to them. Pity welled up in Davin chest as he turned to stare at the place where Egan had left the room.

  Egan came back around the corner after a few seconds of silence.

  “Major sections of my memory between those time periods feel like they have been, for lack of better explanation, wiped from my brain. When I was picked up in the North Desert military post and placed as prisoner, I don’t know I got there.”

  “That’s when you were brought to Daust, fought the governor, and escaped to Lemirre,” Davin finished the story for him lazily.

  Two people in the same room claimed to have the same type of unexplained memory lapses and he was supposed to take both of their words on everything. He felt Egan’s misery enough that he believed his story. It was Radash he wasn’t so sure he believed.

  Egan eyed him intuitively, seeing right through Davin blank expression. “I wanted you to trust me Davin. I didn’t think telling you about my past incompletely was the best was to go about doing that.”

  “I don’t think I do, honestly,” Davin answered. “It actually makes less sense now. But it doesn’t matter, I guess, you seem to be alright.” Shaking the confusion away, he decided it wasn’t worth the energy. He was getting sleeper by the minute anyways. The food had settled nicely in his belly.

  Liam clapped his hands together loudly enough to bring Davin back from his post meal stupor. He then put his arm on Egan’s shoulder and smiled warmly.

  “Well, my good friend, as much as I would like to believe this was just a social visit, I have entertained the notion that it is not completely so. Am I right to assume this?”

  Egan seemed to have forgotten all about their real reason for being here until now. He straightened and suddenly became more alert, not hiding his gladness at the change in topic.

  “Yes you are. I cannot deny it. Simply put, I wish Davin to be trained to use Driocht. I had hoped that you would be willing to help. You know as much about the Ancients as I do and your home would be a safe haven to instruct in. At least, for a short time.”

  Liam couldn’t contain his excitement at the idea. “Yes, yes of course,” he answered quickly as if he should have known that was what Egan was after. “I have a gymnasium that I use for fencing and other recreation. It will be perfect for you.”

  “Thank you Liam. Your friendship is most appreciated.”

  “I would expect nothing less from you, dear Egan.” He shook Egan’s hand, and patted it a couple times. Then he turned to Davin, his smile fading.

  “The real question is do you feel that you are ready, Davin? Leaning the skills of the Ancients is nothing to be taken lightly.”

  Davin had heard nearly the same thing from Egan. It made him a little weary, but he refused to show it. They were trying to scare him and it wasn’t going to work.

  “I will work hard. I don’t care how difficult it will be.”

  “Good, you will need to,” Liam replied, mollified.

  “I am curious though,” Davin admitted, trying to sound more casual then he felt, “what exactly does this training entail? Are there a lot of different things I must learn?” He hoped there wasn’t. The training would not take as long that way.

  Egan chuckled lightly, “We will begin more thoroughly tomorrow, but I will tell you that there is mental training, physical combat training, and then finally you begin to use Driocht. They all go hand in hand.”

  Davin thought about the steps. It sounded more complicated than he expected. He wasn’t going to let it bother him though. He used to trudge through the Ancient Forest all the time while others steered clear all together. That was courage to be noted, in his opinion.

  “Well as long as it doesn’t take too long,” Davin retorted lightly, only half serious.

  Liam gaped at him with his eyebrows raised. “Just how long were you expecting this instruction to take?”

  He caught Davin off guard. Davin fumbled, “Well, I don’t…I don’t know…I thought”-Liam cut off his rambling.

  “I must tell you. Your training is not over when your initial instruction ends. You will continue to be tested as time goes by. You must continue to hone your skills and grow stronger. It is the only way to achieve even a moderate level of power in Driocht, much less mastery.”

  Davin sat quietly and listened to his dreams of quickly avenging his godfather fade into the uncertain future. It had seemed so simple only a couple weeks ago. Now everything was complicated beyond anything Davin could imagine. He would be lucky to even live to see Roland again, must less avenge him. When he didn’t respond after a few long moments Egan and Liam resolved that the conversation was over for the night.

  Liam craned his neck around and faced Radash, “And what is your story my young traveler?” he asked lightly.

  Radash told him the story he had told Egan and Davin. Liam had curiosity written on his face when Radash was done, but didn’t say anything about it.

  Davin listened hazily as Egan and Liam joked and talked late into the evening, offering a sentence or two here and there when addressed. Radash sat back quietly, mostly listening as well. Occasionally, he offered comments too, so as to not seem disinterested. Davin accepted that he was simply less vocal than the rest of them.

  When Davin could no longer keep his eyes open, he decided to turn in. As if waiting for somebody to make the first move, Radash got up after him. Radash bade Davin goodnight as they went to their respective guest rooms in the eastern wing of the mansion.

  ***

  A few minutes later, Liam and Egan concluded their conversation and retreated toward the bedrooms. Spotting Radash standing in the hallway admiring a painting of a long meadow with a city and castle in the background, Liam stopped.

  “You look very familiar to me, young Radash, though I can’t quite place where I’ve seen you before,” Liam commented.

  Radash jumped slightly as if he hadn’t expected anyone to acknowledge him and looked bewildered. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. I have lost my memory as you can recall. I’m certain we have never met.”

  Liam looked at him skeptically, “Then how could you know for sure that we have never met? You do not remember any of your family or anything of your life before this befell you?”

  Radash stayed polite. “Yes. It is something that troubles me deeply. And I do hope to be cured of it soon.”

  “And you said you lived at the capital of this kingdom?”

  Radash shifted uncomfortably. “The capital of the great island of Isolanan actually.” He began backing away to his room. “If I may beg your pardon, I am very tired. May I reti
re?”

  Liam ignored the question at the moment. “How did you get caught by Governor Alanon today?”

  Radash hesitated. “When I arrived in town today one of the soldiers spotted me and asked if I wanted to be a part of an experiment. I accepted, not wanting to cause a problem. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

  “I see.”

  Radash nodded, backing away some more. Liam stood quietly gazing at him for a few uncomfortable moments, his brows furrowed in concentration. Finally, he gave up trying to figure out who Radash was where he had seen him before. A warm smile returned to his face.

  “Off to bed with you then. Have a good rest, my young friend. We shall talk more tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, sir.” And with that Radash parted into his room.

  Chapter 11 The Skills of an Ancient

  “There is breakfast on the table for you, sir. When you are finished, please make your way to the fencing hall. If you have any questions about the house, please feel free to ask,” the house attendant said to Davin early the next morning. Then he took off down a hallway on the opposite side of the dining room.

  Davin ate quickly. He wanted to get started with his lessons. Egan and Liam were probably already waiting and he didn’t want them to think he was hesitant.

  A short time later the fencing hall lay before him. The rectangular space was at least three times as big as the lounging room and minimally adorned. There was a long pad that ran the center of the room, and collections of all different varieties of Rapiers, Broadswords and Greatswords hung on racks along the wall. The elevated windows told him that the sun was just now rising.

  Egan stood in the middle of the room. The wooden floor creaked under Davin feet as he strode toward the older Descendant.

  In the middle of the room Egan stood with his sword in one hand and Davin’s in the other. Side by side, it was obvious the quality of Davin’s didn’t match up. Liam was standing next to a table that ran the length of the left wall, pouring over a rather large amount of parchment intently.

  Davin was about to ask what they were going to do first when, without a word, Egan thrust his sword at him. He caught it clumsily and got into a stance that Roland had taught him.

  Egan ran at him full blast and made a large swing. Davin brought his sword up in time but the force of Egan’s blow was too strong. Davin screamed out involuntarily as Egan sent him skidding along the floor several feet.

  Egan didn’t stop there. He advanced on the fallen Davin and swung again, this time knocking the sword out of Davin’s hand.

  His sword flew through the air and landed with a hard crash by the wall, far from where he lay. He followed his instincts and ran to get it. Egan was too fast. With a quick blast of magic from the wind orb, Egan slammed him against the wall. The breath whooshed out of him and he coughed loudly. His ribs felt like they should have been broken, but he knew there would have been a lot more pain if they had been. Davin struggled feebly and realized he couldn’t move at all.

  He was thrust from the wall and sent flailing toward Egan who had his sword pointed out in front of him, directly facing Davin. Egan stopped him just inches short of his blade. Davin exhaled in relief and Egan dropped his control over him.

  Davin lay on the ground breathing heavily. Egan stepped up to him and a fire blazed in front of Davin’s face, making him hot with discomfort. The fire dissipated as Egan stood over him, staring. They were both breathing heavier than normal. Davin didn’t understand why Egan was though. He had hardly moved since Davin walked in the room.

  Egan reached a hand down to Davin. “Good morning,” he said, grinning as though he couldn’t have been happier.

  “If you say so,” Davin mumbled as Egan helped him to his feet. “You mind explaining why you nearly ripped me apart?”

  Egan nodded and went to retrieve Davin’s sword. “I did this because you are likely to get discouraged at some point. I wanted to show you what kind of power you can wield as an incentive of sorts, to make you want finish what you started.”

  “You probably could have come up with a better way to do that,” Davin said.

  “True, but this way was much more fun.”

  Davin could still see Egan was still catching his breath as well. “Why are you breathing hard?”

  “It is the price of the magic. Although the orb,” he held up the familiar light green sphere, “is where the Driocht comes from, the initial mental concentration that it takes to release it takes a physical toll.”

  Davin wanted to learn as much as he could about everything related to Driocht. “There are consequences for using it?” he asked.

  Egan held up a finger in correction as he handed Davin his sword back. Davin took it and swung it a couple times to reacquaint himself with his blade.

  “Don’t think of it as punishment for using Driocht,” Egan elaborated. “It is no different than the price you would pay for getting into a physical battle. Driocht and physical combat drain your energy at the same rate, just in two different ways.”

  Davin thought he understood what Egan was getting at. “When you become stronger physically, can you sustain it longer?”

  “Yes and no.”

  Why did there never seem to be a straight answer for anything?

  Egan elaborated once more. “More physical stamina will allow you to use Driocht longer, but the magic has its limits. The orbs only contain a compact form of our ancestor’s power. The power can be used up temporarily and then the user is required to wait for it to recharge within the orb. This Gathering, as it is called, only takes a short time, but in the heat of a battle that is an eternity.”

  Egan motioned for Davin to grab a chair from the table asked him to sit. Davin offered a confused expression. He thought that Egan was going to have them fight again. But quickly deduced he was going to be told the process of Driocht first. This made him feel better.

  Egan walked over to Liam and put his hand on the Scholar’s shoulder. Liam nodded. There was another unspoken understanding. Liam took off his spectacles and then turned to Davin.

  “Liam will explain the basic idea behind Driocht before we officially begin today. If I may give some advice: pay attention.” He smirked and fell silent.

  Liam strolled up to Davin, his finger placed on his lips thoughtfully. Davin waited patiently for him.

  “Do you know what dark matter is, young Davin?” Liam asked at random. Davin’s face contorted visibly, but he didn’t ask why it was important that he knew what dark matter was.

  “I believe they teach of it at the Acadeems. I knew someone in my home town that came back from the capital after taking lessons on it. He never talked about that in depth, but I know some of the basics he learned.”

  Liam couldn’t contain a smile. Davin knew that Liam was only smiling because of Davin’s lack of knowledge about the world. Egan had done the same thing every time Davin spoke about something he knew little about. This bothered Davin only to the degree that it made him feel foolish and naïve, but then again, he probably was. This notion gave him no additional comfort.

  “Well, I am a least impressed that you have heard of it,” Liam continued. “Dark matter is a mystery of the cosmos. The best Astronomers in the kingdom have only discovered in recent generations the possibility that dark matter is more than simple filler in the universe.”

  He paused for effect, but Davin wasn’t full of suspense yet. He was unsure as to how it connected.

  “Your ancestors kept records of their accomplishments. After many years of searching, I was able to collect many of those records and the means to translate them. I have had many people help me over my lifetime, including Egan and other Scholars of Ancients’ Lore. From the writings and illustrations, we have discovered much about the race of Ancients.”

  Liam swallowed and took a deep breath, waving his hand in the air lazily. “That is not the relevant subject though. What I am getting at is this. The Ancients unlocked parts of their minds that normal men canno
t access, as Egan told you. But what you did not know was, with this ability, their increased intelligence alerted them to the existence of dark matter, long before the Masters of the college ever dreamed of it. And not only its existence, but also its true power. They were able to merge, become one with it, and bend it to their will. Dark matter was harnessed into an energy they named Driocht.”

  Davin’s jaw fell open involuntarily. The magic definitely made more sense to him now. He sat silently for a moment waiting for Liam to continue. Liam stared at him as if waiting for what he had to say. There was only one question Davin could come up with.

  “What’s the first exercise I need to practice then?” he asked.

  Liam raised his eyebrows, looking impressed that Davin was still eager to continue learning. He looked to Egan, checking to see what he had to say. Egan left the table with the parchment on it and walked toward the two of them.

  “For the remainder of this week you will spend sunrise to midday practicing physical combat. And midday to sundown you will be teaching yourself to release Driocht from within an orb. The latter is a mind exercise. After this point we will assess your progress and continue accordingly, barring any unforeseen interruption. Is this all understood?” he declared firmly, leaving Davin no real choice.

  Davin nodded, accepting this was the only way for now. He had to become proficient at Driocht before he could move forward with other plans, either with others or alone.

  “Good,” he answered lightly. Egan gathered up his sword and faced Davin. They were going to fight now? Davin hardly felt prepared to take Egan on again.

  “Wait a second-,” Davin started.

  Egan ignored him and instructed him to take a ready stance. Davin did so, his legs becoming straight and close together as he tensed. He pulled his sword back out and extended his reach, shaking.

  “Can we just hold on-,”

  Egan ignored him again and eyed him wearily. “How much instruction have you received in combat?”