by Edward Brody
Eden’s Gate
Book 6: The Ascent
Edward Brody
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Author’s Notes
Copyright © 2019 by Edward Brody
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Introduction
As a newly anointed member of the Mage's Guild, Gunnar begins his training under Darion and Eanos. Resistance, staves, and ranged fighting are all staples of any mage, but the pride of being a member of the guild is access to a strange device that helps its members locate areas of powerful magic.
During a routine outing with another mage, a group of mysterious Magi attack and know more about Gunnar than any outsiders should. They know he's a Reborn, and they know he stole the Fellblade from the Sparrows. Worse, they've captured someone he loves.
The Magi want a weapon—an ancient weapon—for her return.
Gunnar must ascend to new heights and come face-to-face with some of the most powerful creatures in Eden's Gate if he's to get another chance at a weapon like the Fellblade. Can Gunnar beat the odds, or is the likelihood of death too much for even the whole of Unity to overcome?
“Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time. It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other.”
-Leo Buscaglia
Chapter One
2/9/0001
“Keep channeling,” Darion ordered, standing about ten feet off to my side.
I was training in a clearing, nestled in the mountains somewhere north of Highcastle with a small waterfall a few meters ahead of us. Eanos was sitting nearby on a large tree stump, stroking Xandree’s head. She was perched on his forearm, drearily looking on as I trained.
I held a Firebomb out in one hand, allowing magic to pass from my fingers into the bluish ball with orange flames dancing inside. The globe grew larger and larger until it was the size of a basketball and felt like it could slip out of my palm if I weren’t careful.
“Now use both hands,” Darion said.
I adjusted my feet, careful not to drop the bomb. I moved it in front of me until both hands were cupping the ball from underneath.
“Try doing it like this,” Darion suggested as he strode closer, grabbed the base of my arms, and adjusted my grip so that my elbows were tilted out to the side—one palm under the ball and another over top.
Magic flowed from both my hands, and the ball rose a little off my palms, seemingly hovering in the air as I channeled.
I gulped as I continued releasing my inner magic, feeling a little nervous at the large amount of energy that I was producing. I knew that a normal-sized Firebomb was enough to sear flesh and throw people aside on impact, so a Firebomb of such volume seemed hazardous to hold so close.
“Almost out of mana,” I called out a few seconds later, when the Firebomb had reached nearly the size of a small beach ball.
“That’s good enough,” Darion said with a grin. “Now, give it a good throw.”
I adjusted my grip again, grabbing the Firebomb by its sides. Heat radiated through the arcane outer shell of the sphere, and I felt extremely awkward as I hobbled forward with the oversized ball in my hands. I pulled my arms back and tossed the bomb as hard as I could towards the waterfall.
The Firebomb flew in an arc through the air and landed in the center of the small pond directly beneath the falling water.
Boom!
Water from the pond splashed up and outward when the Firebomb exploded, spraying a large wave of water over us all. As Eanos was closest to the impact, he got particularly soaked by the blast.
You have gained 15 XP!
You have gained 15 XP!
You have gained 15 XP!
Several small, dead fish fell from the sky and onto the surrounding greenery. The few that survived the explosion flapped helplessly on the ground.
“Damnit!” Eanos cursed as he jolted up from the stump and flung his hands down, spitting water out of his mouth. He threw Darion a scolding glare. “Why didn’t you shield us from that?”
Xandree squawked, shook her head, and flapped her soaked, feathered wings.
Darion chuckled, pinched his water-splattered robe, and wiped a trail of liquid from his brow. “Relax, Eanos. It’s just a little water. We’ll dry off soon enough.”
Eanos gritted his teeth and snarled.
“Wow!” I said as I rattled my head, trying to shake all the water from my hair. “That’s a lot of power.”
Darion nodded. “Powerful but not always practical. Since Firebombs don’t rocket out of your hand like Fireblasts, in most cases, you’ll be better off using smaller ones that you can throw, but that was a good example of the amount of punch you can pack with your current mana limit. With a higher mana cap, channeled spells such as that can grow even more powerful.” He rubbed his chin. “I suppose you might be able to think up some ways to use Firebombs more creatively if you combine them with other spells someday. Think about that as you progress.”
“I will,” I said with a nod. I began to sit down to meditate, but Darion raised his palm to stop me.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “I want you to cast another Firebomb.”
I glanced up to the small sliver of blue in my status indicators. “I’m down to my last bit of mana.”
“Just a small one with whatever mana you have left.”
I stood up straight and shrugged. I had nowhere near enough mana to cast a normal-sized Firebomb, and I wasn’t sure what purpose a measly nugget could serve.
Again, I focused on casting a Firebomb, and energy began forming in my hands. Within a second or two, my mana was drained, but a small Firebomb, barely a third the size of a baseball, was in my palm. I glanced up to Darion and raised my eyebrows, a silent indicator that I was tapped out.
“Okay. That’ll do,” Darion indicated. “Now, gently place the Firebomb on the ground. Don’t throw or drop it, however.”
“Here?” I asked as I began to kneel.
Darion nodded. “That’s fine.”
I lowered my hand slow
ly to the grass and started to let the ball roll off my palm.
“Gently…” Eanos cautioned, warily eyeing my movement.
When the ball was safely on the ground, Darion and Eanos both took a step back.
“Now move away from the blast radius,” Darion commanded.
I stepped back several feet, ‘til I was confident that I wouldn’t be hit by the tiny bomb.
“If you place a Firebomb somewhere without impact, it won’t detonate unless it’s triggered,” Darion explained. “But, you can shoot it with one of your projectiles, giving you the ability to create bomb-like effects in unexpected places.”
“Like a trap?” I asked with a grin.
Darion tilted his head from side to side as he considered the word. “I suppose it can act as a trap, but unlike a real trap, a Firebomb won’t last if it’s not detonated quickly. Between ten and thirty seconds, a Firebomb’s energy will dissipate.” He pointed towards the tiny bomb on the ground which was starting to grow lighter in appearance. “Notice how the magic is already fading away.”
Eanos stuck his hand out and shot a Fireblast at the tiny bomb, causing a small explosion and bits of dirt to fly in the air. Darion and I ducked, covering our eyes.
“Enough with this!” Eanos barked. “Let’s get on to magic resist training!”
I groaned as I uncovered my eyes and looked at the tiny crater that had been left by the bomb.
Magic Resist training…ugh.
It had been a few days since I joined the Mages Guild, and most of my training with Darion and Eanos had gone toward repeating my basic spells over and over, mediation practice, and magic resist.
Magic resist training was the worst.
“Maybe we should skip resistance for today,” I suggested.
Eanos shook his head. “We just need one percent, Gunnar! Don’t be a wimp!”
I gulped, closed my eyes, and sighed. “Alright…”
“Go on,” Eanos ordered. “Get in the water.”
I began to pull off my robe and other gear.
“Are you still carrying that damn bow?” Darion asked as I unfastened it from my back. He beckoned his hand towards him. “Let me have a look at it.”
“I’m just hanging on to it in case I need it,” I said as I walked over to Darion and handed him my bow.
“The quiver too.”
“What do you want to see about it?” I asked as I unfastened the quiver and handed it over as well.
Darion grabbed the quiver by its strap and hurled it forcefully in the air.
“Hey! What the—?” I blurted as I watched the arrows spill out to the ground and the quiver ultimately splat in the water of the pond.
Darion gripped my bow by each end and slammed it across his knee, snapping the wood in two.
I jerked a hand out towards the bow reflexively, but the damage was already done. “What the hell, man? Why’d you do that?!”
Daron threw the broken weapon a few meters away, and it flopped weakly on the ground. “It’s redundant! To become the best mage you can be, you need to be able to solve every situation with or without a weapon. You’re overburdening yourself with that.”
“Well, I could’ve sold them…” I groaned.
Eanos laughed. “Quit fussing and get in the water. You’ll be fine without that cheap bow.”
I clenched my teeth, lowered my head, and continued to remove the rest of my gear until I was down to my underwear. I set my items in a pile away from the pond, then slowly made my way into the shallow end of the water. “Go easy this time, okay!”
“The higher your resist gets, the less it’ll hurt!” Darion shouted.
“Yeah, sure.” I moved to where the waterfall met the pool below and the water was just above my waist. When I was right in front of it, the loud crashing of liquid attacked my ears. I held my hands up and out to my side and yelled, “Ready!”
“Turn around!” Eanos shouted.
I swallowed, all too familiar with what was about to happen, and slowly turned until the cascading water fell right in front of me.
“Here we go!” Eanos yelled.
I clenched my teeth in anticipation, and a second later, I felt the scorching sensation of a Fireblast attack the center of my back. I cried out as my skin sizzled and lurched forward under the falls. I took a massive breath of air as the cold water quelled the flames.
Eanos’ Fireblast was much more powerful than mine and knocked a little more than 25% off my health with a single blow. I’m sure it would’ve done much more damage if it weren’t for the water.
“Again!” Eanos yelled loudly.
I pulled myself out from under the water, took a step back, and immediately felt another Fireblast strike me. I cried out again and leaned forward to extinguish the flames.
You have gained 1 point of Willpower!
“Again, Gunnar!” Eanos shouted. “The faster we finish, the less pain you have to deal with.”
I jerked back again, trying my best to ignore the scorching sensation, and when a third Fireblast slammed into me, my body wrenched at the pain. My knees buckled. and I groaned, nearly dunking my head into the pool. I turned, held a hand up and flailed it around. “No more! I need healing!”
“Catch!” Darion said and tossed a health potion towards me.
My eyes watched desperately as the bottle of red liquid flew through the air, and I willed myself up straight, catching it like an outfielder seizing a baseball. I popped the cork and immediately chugged the whole thing down.
The painful wounds on my back began to heal, and my health bar quickly rose.
“Again!” Eanos yelled. “Turn around!”
“Come on, Gunnar!” Darion cried as I hesitated. “We don’t have all day!”
I tossed the empty potion bottle onto the bank of the pond, took a deep breath, and turned until my back was once again facing them. A second later, I felt another hard blast of heat slam into my back that nearly knocked me off feet. I prayed that I would get my skill gain soon.
Chapter Two
2/9/0001
“Again!” Eanos yelled and unleashed another Fireblast towards me.
I cried out loud and shivered at the combination of water that was chilling my bones and intense heat from the attack.
You’ve gained 1% resistance to fire!
I held my hand up and out. “I got it! I gained a resistance point.”
“Finally!” Eanos yelled. “Now get out of there. That’s enough for today.”
Darion held his hands out to one side and clapped lightly as I trudged through the water and made my way onto the grassy ground. At least ten empty health potions were scattered about, so I knew I had been Fireblasted at least thirty times. Thirty burns or more for one measly point of magic resist.
Darion raised a hand to cast a healing spell, perking me up and bringing me to full health.
“Why don’t you just cast heal spells all the time rather than using all the potions?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be careless with my mana, just in case Eanos accidentally kills you.” He smirked as if he were joking and raised his finger. “And just in case we’re attacked in the middle of training. Someone needs to be fully prepared to mount a defense, and if I’m casting healing spells over and over, it may leave my mana pool dangerously low.”
I turned my head to the left and right, seeing nothing but a stream leading from the waterfall, mountains to our sides, and the empty valley that surrounded us. “Seems pretty safe here.”
“It’s always safe until it’s unsafe,” Darion countered. “If safety means wasting health potions, then so be it.”
Eanos chuckled. “I imagine it’s been years since you’ve put yourself in an unsafe situation, Darion. Unless the Upper Highcastle elite’s dinner parties have become dangerous somehow. When was the last time you went on a dungeon crawl?”
Darion snarled at Eanos. “I did my fair share of dungeon diving in my youth and earned my wealth honestly. There’s little reaso
n for me to put my life at risk now. And you should be one to talk! I’m sure you’re doing quite well for yourself after taking your collection of wares to Linden for trade.”
Eanos shrugged and lowered his eyes. “I do okay, but life in Linden is nothing like Upper Highcastle.”
I scratched the side of my head as I began to put my armor back on, considering Eanos’ unusual use of Upper Highcastle. “I thought it was ‘Inner Highcastle’? Or does ‘Upper Highcastle’ have another meaning?”
Darion chuckled. “Inner Highcastle, Central Highcastle, Upper Highcastle—They’re all used interchangeably depending on who you talk to.”
I nodded.
“And of course, there’s Outer Highcastle,” Darion muttered. “You’ll hear some people refer to the outer regions as ‘Lower Highcastle’, though I’d advise against it. Some who live there consider it derogatory.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Once my armor was situated, I placed my robe over my head and began fastening my sword and sheath to my back—a new position since I had started wearing a robe. I loosely tugged on the hilt of the sword. “Wanna break my sword too?”
