Son of the Keeper: Book 1: Principles of Magic

by R. S. Merritt

  Chris knew she did what she did for him. He and Chuck had been Glenda’s whole life up to when she had lost Chuck that fateful morning. She was responsible now for key parts of the programs to find orphaned Xandians and bring them back into the fold. They were going to need every ounce of magic they could wring out of this world to cast out the horde. Chris was hopeful they’d become strong enough to not just kick the horde out but to chase them across the universe and destroy them.

  Thinking of the portals made him look down and he saw Brent was in the front of the crowd below with his parents. His father, Ryan, had come to meet with Chris the day before at Chris bequest. He had wanted to know what kind of material resources they could bring to bear. Ryan had shown him a vast portfolio of properties and companies and stocks and liquid assets and pictures of actual piles of gold. When Chris had asked if it belonged to all of Xandia or just the noble families Ryan had smiled and told him it all belonged just to Chris. Chris had known he had inherited an enormous fortune but the scope of it amazed him. Before letting Ryan go he had charged him with adding another person into the financial team to work up strategies for using a portion of the wealth Chris held to help the people of Earth.

  “We’re going to go to war and we’re going to need all those resources and more to win it. People are going to get hurt in this war and I think we may end up in the public spotlight. The wat might even spread to where it impacts regular humans and they get involved in it. I’d like to see funds set aside to actively help anyone whose family is injured due to this war. Also, setup charities to help children in any of the areas surrounding our noble families and this island as well. That’s a ridiculous amount of money to keep squirreled away from the world when so much poverty surrounds us. On top of it being the right thing to do it will help buy us some goodwill if this war exposes us.”

  Chris had met with the council within hours of the plane landing. They had met in the tower and prior to the meeting they had held a graduation ceremony. This was a semi-formal ceremony where the student who had passed their trials was given a token from the magical order they had just entered. In the case of royals they were given tokens by representatives of all three branches. Chris had been presented with a charmed silver dagger from Omasa. The dagger would slice through anything including being able to penetrate most shield and protection charms. Wessel had presented him with purple silk cloak. The cloak had been charmed to allow him to stay comfortable in pretty much any weather and at a word it would also camouflage him based on where he was at. It was basically perfect for the adventure they had just come back from.

  Penny stepped forward last. She pointed towards a covered picture on the wall and the cover fell down to reveal a portrait of Glenda, Chuck and Chris standing on the rocks out in front of the lighthouse. Chris well remembered the snapshot that had been taken of them as Glenda had it blown up and framed and hanging in the hallway of their old home. He’d seen it every day as he made a trip to the kitchen. Penny had explained the other values of the picture besides just the aesthetic piece of it.

  “Your majesty. The order of magic commissioned this to provide you a reminder of the world we live in and the world you came from. Bridging those worlds may be difficult but as this picture shows it is possible and very much worth the effort. We’ve imbued this picture with strength. We couldn’t add love to it as that is a power well beyond mere magic to emulate. If you focus on this picture you will feel the ebb of magic strengthening your resolve even as the picture reminds you of the great love that raised you.”

  Of the three gifts the portrait was the most perfect. The first two had obvious value and were items crafted with a high level of skill and dedication. He was moved by the portrait though and tears had threatened to spill down his cheeks when it had been revealed. The magical strength that had been imbued in it was the only thing that had kept him from openly weeping. He was supposed to be shown to his new quarters after his coronation so the painting would be placed temporarily in storage before being moved to what would become his private residence on the island.

  Standing on the stage now he realized he thought of these people staring at him as his family. They weren’t strangers any longer. There were many of them he may not know but he knew they all belonged to the same family. A family that was threatened now by an army gathering its forces in Central America to strike at them. An army they would defeat. Music started and everyone quieted down and stood in respectful silence to watch their king. The sun shone down brightly and the wind whipped through the crowd. The sharp smell of salt air hung over everything. Gulls screeched in the distance as everyone waited.

  The council filed up the stairs and bowed to the king. A lone man walked slowly up the stairs carrying a golden circular crown set with various colored gem stones. The man carried the crown over and handed it to Glenda on a silken pillow. Glenda stood up and walked towards Chris who smiled at her as she shook with the nerves of being in front of so many people. Standing in front of him she held the crown up for the crowd to see. Nicole’s uncle, Tazmin, stepped forward and began the coronation ceremony. Like most of the more powerful things in this world it was a deceptively simple ceremony.

  “Your majesty. You have been our king since birth. Now you have proven beyond a doubt your strengths through the trials. This crown represents a covenant you make with the Xandian people. You will rule them even as you serve them. You will be held above them but are still one of them. You represent them in all things. All here and scattered around the world have sworn their fealty to you. By taking this crown you swear your fealty to them.”

  Glenda took the crown and placed it on Chris’s head. Once the crown was on Chris raised his head to the cheers of the crowd in front of him. Many of them had dropped to one knee overcome by emotion and were renewing their oath of fealty to him. Chris waited until they had calmed down.

  “My people. Today I am your king. I accept this honor with great humility. There is an enemy who is gathering their forces to strike out at us and this world. We will defeat them.” Chris paused there as a low grumble of agreement rattled from the throats of those there. Most Xandians were no stranger to battle. They were a fierce and proud people. Once the growling had abated Chris wrapped up the speech.

  “We will go to war with them and we will win. We will forge new alliances. We will chase the darkness wherever it tries to hide and bring the light to it. Evil will know it is not safe as long as we breathe.”

  Chris raised his sword in the air and forces of magic swirled powerfully around him as the crowd hailed their new king. He looked down in the crowd and saw his friends smiling in the front row. Nicole was cheering and when she saw him looking down she winked at him and gave him a big grin. Chris put an arm around Glenda to support her and give her some shielding from the crazy amount of magic flying around the stage. Worked up wizards had a hard time maintaining control.

  After the reception and meeting an endless number of people Chris asked Omasa to get a council of war scheduled for the morning and they’d go ahead and figure out the attack on the Panama horde outpost. For now Chris went with a large group of friends and well-wishers to see his new suites. It turned out the royal suites were right across from where Glenda was already staying. Chris had multiple rooms for greeting people and meetings as well as several private rooms for himself and his inner circle. Everything was ridiculously richly appointed from the furniture to the artwork.

  Chris found Glenda standing in front of the portrait of them on the rocks. Glenda saw him coming and smiled with tears coming out of her eyes.

  “You ok mom?” He asked as he put his arm back around her shoulders.

  “I’m more than ok Chris. I was so worried when we were running and when you were taking the trials. I’m worried more than ever about these upcoming battles with people and monsters from places I can’t even understand. But I know you’re strong. I know your dad is watching us from above and I know we’re going to be all right.”

>   Authors Note

  This begins the saga of Chris and his people. Moving forward in book 2 Chris will struggle with his role as king as he pushes to eradicate the horde on earth and press outwards to the other worlds and universes. I imagine he’ll need to bring in lots of allies including the people of earth to pull off these grand ambitions of his but we’ll have to wait and see.

  I live these stories as I write them. I watched in my mind’s eye as Chris gets crowned on the edge of a beautiful bluff. I feel what it would feel like to get stuck in a giant spider (yuck!). I question my own sanity as Chris decides to go deeper into the pits to seek out and destroy his enemies. I live vicariously through my characters and try to pass that adventure on through my writing.

  If you are enjoying this series please leave a positive comment as it will help me to attract more readers and continue investing in writing these stories. Thank you so much for reading this work.

  Sincerely

  RS Merritt