Shadow Mage

by John Forrester

  Talis chuckled as Nikulo blushed. “I didn’t mean to do anything, really.”

  “Liar.” Mara started giggling.

  “Will we be able to see each other when we’re all invisible?” Talis said.

  “Yes, of course. But others unaffected by the spell will not.”

  Talis spun around as something tickled the back of his neck. The next moment someone pushed behind his knees, and he started tumbling down. But just as he fell, he caught that someone’s wrist (he knew it was Mara), and she landed on top of him.

  “Cute, Mara.” He could feel her squirming on top on him, but he held her with one arm, and tickled her with the other.

  “Stop it!” she gasped, and squirmed even more, squealing and shrieking the more he tickled. Talis couldn’t help but notice that she only slightly tried to resist him. It was almost like she enjoyed staying put where she was.

  Palarian cleared his throat. “Perhaps we continue now? Are you next, young master?” He flicked a finger at Nikulo, and he disappeared in a vaporish flash. “Cast the portal spell, if you’re finished tickling her.”

  As Talis rose, he let his hand slide down her arm until he grasped Mara’s hand, and lifted her up. He spun around and faced the rune setting on the floor. He closed his eyes, pictured a favorite corner in the archives, and cast the spell.

  The swirling silver and black portal sprung to life in front of him, a dark eye inviting them inside. The sorcerer flicked his wrists at Talis and himself, and Mara and Nikulo reappeared, ghostly this time, as the world went grey. The sorcerer raised his hands towards them.

  “One last spell, so others won’t be able to hear us, but we’ll be able to talk amongst ourselves.” He cast the spell and it was done.

  Talis motioned Palarian and Nikulo towards the portal. Mara clasped hands with Talis, and pulled him through.

  10. THE DARK ARCHIVES

  Instead of finding the archives dark and cold, as one would expect at this late hour, they discovered the chamber illuminated by a pale-blue magical light, and filled with the low murmurs of voices deep in conversation. Talis held his breath for fear of being discovered. Mara pulled him over to where Nikulo and the sorcerer stood against a wall lined with paintings of dour-faced wizards from years past.

  “They can’t hear us,” Mara said. “You can breathe now.”

  Palarian nodded in agreement, and pointed towards a gathering of wizards from the Order. Talis recognized Master Jai, Master Grimelore, Mistress Cavares, and several other older members he had seen from the assembly earlier that day.

  “We must tread carefully, a cautious approach in dealing with the boy will yield us the best results.” Master Grimelore clapped his hands together, startling Talis.

  “I disagree,” Master Jai said. “I’ve seen the boy in action and it’s a terrible sight to see. If we don’t act decisively, I fear disaster will once again strike our city… Perhaps they will lash out again?” He lowered his voice at the word “they.” Talis thought maybe he was referring to the gods. Were they talking about attacking him directly at the temple?

  Mistress Cavares cackled softly. “You’re a fool. You think you’re a match against the power of the black crystal? You feel confident of your new found dark power… Yet what you fail to realize is that the boy possesses mastery over a greater art, which you lack. And he’s on the road to discovering another, thanks to my little lesson out in the swamplands. Quite unfortunate that House Lei decided to pursue an unannounced hunting expedition in the same area. Poor Ralakh Lei. Couldn’t have happened to a more suitable pompous ass.”

  “Be wary of your choice of words, Mistress Cavares.” Master Grimelore frowned. “These walls have ears.” The other wizards nodded, and narrowed their eyes at her. “You understand that with Master Viridian and many of the wizards gone, House Lei will most likely impose its will on the city.”

  Talis wanted to protest, but kept himself calm. House Lei ruling Naru? Why would the king and House Storm ever allow it?

  “Yes, indeed. With the king ill over the news of Master Viridian’s death, the shock is taking its toll on the king’s already weak heart. And there are rumors that House Lei is preventing the healers from doing their proper work on the king.”

  “What!” Mara said, and curled her fingers in anger. Talis looped his arms around her waist to keep her back.

  Palarian put a finger to his lips. “Be calm, child,” he whispered. “The magic subdues sound greatly, but I imagine these sensitive wizards can feel waves of emotions around them.”

  Talis knew it to be true. He’d seen Master Jai sense anger, intentions of violence, and lies. Out of the corner of his eye, Talis swore he glimpsed Mistress Cavares glance over in their direction. But then she turned back to the other wizards and continued talking about what to do now that the Order was weakened.

  After a few minutes, the wizards of the Order finished talking and left the room, the pale-blue magical light following them out until the chamber went dark. Talis could hear Mara breathe softly next to him, but other than the ghost images of the wizards talking moments before, he couldn’t see a thing.

  “Do you think they all left?” Mara said, and placed a hand on his back.

  “We’ll need to see without creating light,” Palarian whispered. It sounded like the sorcerer rubbed his fingers together, and the next moment the room was visible in a kind of ghostly grey and silver light.

  “Much better… Where did you learn all those spells?” Talis glanced at the old man.

  “Oh, I’ve have years to pick up bits and pieces here and there from very talented wizards and mystics of all kinds.”

  “Yet you don’t know Light Magic or Shadow Magic?”

  The sorcerer furrowed his brow, and averted his eyes from Talis. “I’ve never been inclined to learn either art. Let’s just keep it at that, shall we?”

  Something was odd in the tone of Palarian’s voice, but Talis didn’t push the sorcerer further. He followed the old man into another chamber, down a stone spiral staircase, and into the vast expanse of the main collections chamber. Piles of vellum scrolls were stuffed into wooden cubbies filling an entire wall from floor to ceiling twenty feet up.

  “How is it you know your way around the archives so well?” Talis wondered who Palarian was and what he really wanted….

  Palarian sniffed. “I arranged to meet the master builder who designed much of Naru, including the archives. He was most gracious to lend me a copy of the blueprints.” The way the sorcerer said this made it sound like the master builder had no choice in the matter.

  The old man trudged down a long narrow corridor, to an area of the archives off-limits to Order apprentices. The way split left and right, but the sorcerer lifted a wooden trapdoor, and ducked down inside another staircase. This was all new to Talis. He’d heard there were many hidden and locked chambers within the archives, but they’d been warned by the Masters to avoid even thinking of what might lie within. Not that that had stopped Talis from being curious.

  Mara placed her hand on Talis’s shoulder as they descended the steep stairwell, stone steps placed irregularly as if to trip unfamiliar feet. They wound their way left and right, straight, and curved left again until they finally reached the bottom, following the sorcerer down another narrow stone corridor.

  They reached a dead end.

  “What do we do now?” Mara said, peeking around Talis.

  Palarian remained quiet for a moment, as if lost in thoughts. “This wasn’t in the blueprints.”

  “The Masters probably changed it after the builder left Naru,” Talis said. “Be careful about touching anything.” Since Talis had learned about magical wards, he suspected their use by the founders of the Order of the Dawn. Or even more recently, by Mistress Cavares….

  “You might have warned me before we went down here.” The sorcerer’s voice held a tinge of fear. He stared down the corridor behind Talis.

  “What is it?” Mara glanced back, following Talis as h
e turned around.

  “We’re extremely vulnerable down here,” Nikulo said, twisting around uncomfortably. “What exactly are we looking for, anyways?”

  “The Dark Archives…” Palarian raised his hands, still staring down the corridor where they’d come from. “So why shouldn’t have I touched anything?”

  “Magical wards…I’m guessing one of the wizards might have set them, as traps or to warn of intruders. If this is a forbidden area, that’s what I’d do.” And Talis guessed that’s what Mistress Cavares would do as well.

  “If someone comes down here they’ll find us…it’s too narrow.” Mara squeezed herself against the wall.

  “How long would it take before they’d arrive?” The sorcerer’s hands trembled as he aimed them down the corridor.

  “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes at the most.”

  They waited in silence, staring down the corridor and listening for any hint of movement. But no one came after what seemed like an hour.

  “Safe?” Mara said, and glanced up at Talis.

  He nodded, and turned back to the dead end. “Search for any levers or loose stones.”

  “I doubt they’d make it that easy.” Palarian searched the stone wall. Talis joined in, but the surface revealed nothing. Mara and Nikulo found nothing either after minutes of searching.

  “So what do we do now?” Mara said.

  “I wish I could say I had a spell to aid in this, but I can’t think of anything.” The sorcerer frowned at the wall. “Any direct elemental assault would most likely be guarded by magic.”

  Talis had an idea. “Whatever is down here was probably only accessible by Master Viridian, and maybe only one other wizard as backup.”

  “Why do you say that?” Nikulo said.

  “Who are the two wizards in the Order that possess the only knowledge that none other in Naru have? Master Viridian knew Light Magic, and Mistress Cavares knows Rune Magic. May I?” Talis gestured towards the dead end. Palarian and Mara moved aside, allowing him to pass.

  “I doubt we’ve activated any magical ward.” There was still magic resonating along these walls, perhaps some kind of ward that was permanent? He closed his eyes, imagining Master Viridian and Mistress Cavares sneaking down to the dark part of the archives. He pictured Master Viridian illuminating the way with Light Magic, and coming here, to this very spot, and having the way magically open for him. That was it. Light Magic.

  He stepped back and cast a spell summoning a small amount of Light Magic. With the golden light burning knife-edge shadows across the stone wall, Talis heard a rumbling sound as the end of the stone corridor opened before them. Mara beamed and flung her arms around him. They did it, the spell had worked.

  Talis stepped down into the dark chamber, allowing the orb of light to illuminate the massive room. The door scraped closed behind them. The ceiling was made of stone blocks held up by enormous pillars, but parts of the walls were exposed earth mottled with rocks and crystals. The center area contained hundreds of wooden cabinets stacked atop broad stone tables. A thick layer of dirt and dust covered the surfaces, as if no one had ever cleaned in the last hundred years.

  “We’ve found it…the Dark Archives.” Palarian sauntered over to a cabinet, and ran a finger across the thick dust. “Unused, perhaps? Kept and stored, but not taught or practiced. I wonder if any of the masters have even learned Shadow Magic?”

  “I think at least one. I suspect Mistress Cavares has spent time down here learning a few of the spells. At least what she taught me seemed infused with dark magic.”

  “But wouldn’t she have been required to come with Master Viridian?” Mara said.

  Talis scratched the back of his head. “Not necessarily. Either she also knows Light Magic, or she set a different opening ward on the door to allow entry using another spell or possibly a spoken password.”

  “It’s likely that she came on her own,” Nikulo said. “Master Viridian hated dark magic, I doubt he would have allowed any wizard of the Order to study it unless there was a pressing reason to do so.”

  “Like an invasion from the Jiserian Empire? Whose sorcerers have mastered Shadow Magic?”

  “They’re just as bad.” Palarian searched for a way to open a cabinet. “They practice dark arts but fail to master the light. They go mad as well. The Jiserians exploit that madness to their advantage. Driving them to even more ruthless acts of war. No sane person could ever be compelled to do that.”

  “Can’t open it?” Mara said, and inspected the cabinet the old man was trying to open.

  “Doesn’t seem to want to let me open it.” Palarian stepped back and thrust his hands on his hips.

  “More locked doors down here,” Nikulo said, and poked his head around a stone block. “I’ve found six other stairwells.”

  “So this is the main chamber?” Talis glanced around the huge, shadow-infested room.

  Mara shrugged. “Let’s explore. We can always come back later.”

  “Keep together, you never know what’s lurking down there.” Talis pictured the shadow creatures from the Underworld.

  “You’re telling me the archives have some kind of shadow guards?” Mara said.

  “Who knows what your Order placed down here.” Palarian sniffed the air like he caught a hint of some secret. “Could be magical wards with all manner of spells behind them, or perhaps the young master is correct, there might be shadow creatures farther down, guarding their secrets.”

  Talis furrowed his brow as he ran a hand along a cabinet. “Or the Dark Archives themselves, the scrolls and tablets and runes, they might be so infused with Shadow Magic that the creatures are compelled to be near them.”

  “I’ve caught a hint of something important down this corridor.” The sorcerer stalked towards one of the stairwells off to the far corner of the chamber. “Be on guard.”

  As Talis followed Palarian, stepping quietly, Mara flanked along his left side. Her face held the expression of pure terror and her arms trembled. The room seemed to darken as they approached the stairwell. They took several steps down, and a wind gusted up, smelling of rotten corpses and sulfur. The same smell as the Underworld.

  Mara gripped his arm, and glanced up at him like she didn’t want to take a step further. Palarian had entered a large, misty room with a massive, swirling shadow portal lying flat in the center of the floor. Lightning charges struck the air above the portal. There were four white crystals on each cardinal corner. This was a World’s Portal, similar to the one created by Aurellia at the Temple of the Sun.

  “Ah…here it is. The one spoken about hundreds of years past.”

  “What is this portal?” Talis gaped inside, catching glimpses of other worlds and other places within those worlds.

  “This is known as the Portal to Many Worlds.” Palarian fingered a stone altar in front of the portal. “If you have the appropriate runes, the portal will take you to your destination of choice. The runes are placed here, in these slots. Unfortunately for many wizards in the past, who’ve placed incorrect runes, the portal only led them to their deaths.”

  “And right now death is stalking you,” Mistress Cavaress said, stepping out from the shadows.

  Talis spun around and raised his hands defensively. How did she know they were here?

  11. THE MISTRESS DISAPPROVES

  “Relax, young apprentice, I mean you no harm. This one, however…” She inspected Palarian up and down, an expression of disgust and curiosity on her face. “How did you ever convince these children to grant you access to the Temple archives?”

  The sorcerer spread his arms wide in a gesture of supplication. “The young master must have balance in his instruction—”

  “Yes, yes, or he’ll go mad. Do you take me for a fool? Why do you think I’ve been teaching him Shadow Magic?”

  “You have?” Talis said, and stared at Mistress Cavares.

  “Runes are often disguised for teaching the dark arts, and of course the other wizards avoid Rune Magic. Our
little outing in the swamplands? Dark magic combined with summoning the shadow gods.”

  “But why did you do that? Ralakh Lei was killed because of the ward we cast, and now Naru is at war….”

  “Was that truly the reason?” Mistress Cavares puckered out her lower lip and placed a hand on her chin. “I think not… Ralakh Lei tempted fate many times and the gods called their just due…his life. Internal strife amongst the Royal Houses has been brewing for months now.”

  “And Master Viridian?”

  “He refused to acknowledge the dark gods he secretly worshipped. And they struck him down for it…and many others in the Order like him. Fear not, child, you’re not at risk. At least not by the gods.” Mistress Cavares glared at Palarian.

  “I mean the boy no harm.” The sorcerer bowed low, a look of mock humility on his face.

  “Then why have you led them here?” She aimed her gaze at the rune slots in front of the portal. “Planning to go somewhere? All who have tried in the past have failed, and by failure I mean their total disintegration.”

  “Ah, but they lacked my extensive knowledge of runes.” Palarian flashed a hideous grin. “I daresay vaster than your meager knowledge.”

  “You claim superior knowledge? Prove it.”

  The sorcerer flourished four rune tablets and placed them in the rune slots. Without hesitation, he leapt inside the shadow portal and disappeared.

  “Has he just killed himself?” Mara studied the portal for signs of movement.

  “Oh, we can only hope that’s the case.” Mistress Cavares rolled her eyes, and glanced around the room.

  Moments later, a shimmering silver portal appeared on the side of the room, and Palarian stepped through, his eyes beaming.

  “Did you miss me? As you can tell, the portal failed to disintegrate me. Why do you suppose that is the case?”

  “Do enlighten us…” Mistress Cavares sighed icily.

  “Those four runes returned me to my study amongst the snowy pines of the Island of Tarasen. Of course since I’ve now been to the archives, it was simple for me to return using a portal.”