The Seventh Spirit

by Adam-Clay Webb

  Book One:

  The Seventh Spirit

  Adam-Clay Webb

  © 2013 Adam Webb

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher or author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, November, 2013

  Charleston, SC

  For Lex Leo, who has told me his amazing story. For all his friends who stood by his side through thin and thinner, sweat and blood and tears and hunger. For the antagonists, who have made his journey meaningful, who have made his feats possible and necessary, who have made him stronger.

  Acknowledgements

  All the thanks in all the worlds, and then some, to all those who have helped me in one way or another to complete Black Eyes Book 1. To my parents for supporting my pursuit of this dream of being an author, a novelist. To my little sister, Kayla, for listening to me rant endlessly about Kizer and Oga and Trium and Lex and ice and darkness and magic, and also for proofreading all 23000 something lines. Special thanks to cousins Jerry and Kyle, and to Sonouvio, my good friend from the high school days – these three, as my memory puts it, are the earliest readers, the earliest fans of Black Eyes. Not that I endorse truancy, but back in high school, sometimes I would write half a chapter just because I knew Sonouvio would even skip class to find me and read it.

  My praises to Jason-Craig Rose for making me such an amazing book cover. People do judge books by their covers, and you have made for me what has drawn people to look at and eventually read my book.

  To all those who journey with Lex through reading this story, it is impossible to thank you enough. Each of you adds life to this epic and makes it real anew. I beseech you to live through this tale and the others Lex will tell me of. I write because you read (and because I fear that if I don’t, Lex will come for me in my sleep).

  Black Eyes

  Book 1: The Seventh Spirit

  Prologue

  They were twelve. As they moved gravely across the path that parted the high grass, there was a might in their steps that made time appear to slow. The man at the front had thick yellow hair. A cold mist shrouded him, and diffused to envelop the other men. The very last of the men was the only of them to carry a scabbard. It was two-thirds the length of his body, and stretched slenderly across his back.

  The path led the grim and silent men to an elaborate shrine. Covering many acres, and built with incredible precision and detail, the giant of marble stood firmly on the grassy hill. As the men moved toward the massive bronze doors, they opened themselves eerily, and a whispery air flushed out from the shrine.

  Standing within the shrine, dwarfing the hundreds of exquisite ornaments and figurines, were two statues, that stood facing each other. They were of a refined metal that might have been granite, but they were moss-green. The streams of sunlight that hurried into the shrine made the giants appear animate. The statues stood close to the walls, and no doubt were of great men. The twelve men lined up and bowed slightly as they reached up to the statues, then walked between them, moving through a series of narrow passages.

  Within the shrine was a labyrinth that would easily seem like an infinity of repetitions to strangers. After minutes of walking between narrow walls lined with gold writings, the men entered through a small door. The man with the sword closed it behind him.

  Within this deep room was a weighted atmosphere, a blanket of ominousness that dampened the air. But even so, these men were unshaken.

  Maybe seventy meters before them was a cage that defined the other half of the protracted room. The cage was thirty thick rods of some gold-looking metal, reaching from floor to ceiling. Beyond the bars was an embodiment of monstrosity, probably a miscreation of whichever god was responsible for making demons.

  Its rough, thick body was likely in the field of sixty-thousand pounds. Its boulder-sized scales, being relaxed, were just grey outlines on its midnight skin. It lay asleep, and its back arched down into a spike-infested tail that was long enough to wrap around the dragon almost twice. Large dark-grey wings folded down at its sides and curled under its belly snugly.

  Eleven of the men remained at the back of the room, close to the door. Standing in a line that stretched from one end of the room to the other, the eleven bowed their heads with closed eyes.

  Meanwhile, the apparent leader of the group stepped forward and retrieved something that resembled a sponge ball from inside his cloak. He inspected it for a moment, as if making sure he had the correct apparatus, and then he squeezed it firmly, a spec of blue mist appearing about his now enclosed fist.

  The dragon’s terrible screech filled the room as it arose abruptly, fierce-eyed, wings outstretched. It paused for a moment, then bellowed another frightening roar, this time flinging massive orange flames into the air from its widened mouth, guarded by what looked like blade-sharp iron teeth.

  A blue-white mist formed itself visibly around the forwarded man, and the dragon’s raging fire was rendered completely harmless. He remained emotionless, and took a few paces back, lining up with the others. The men at the ends of the line took two paces forward, not seeming to fear the mighty dragon any more than the man with the icy mist.

  The angered beast, for a short moment, closed its eyes, and fell silent again. Then, it flung them open sharply with a hellish roar that shook the place. The eyes of the furious beast were now beyond ghastly – they were completely black, a pure darkness that was so deep, it seemed to glow out of the beast’s eyes.

  The two end men had in their hands identical egg-shaped vessels. They were round and golden, and had complex designs and tiny inscriptions all about them. Together, eyes still shut, they turned the upper halves of the spheres. They split open simultaneously with a unified click. In unison, they repeated a chant of an ancient and indecipherable tongue. What seemed like a black mist, maybe a spirit, or some power so great that it had a physical manifestation, came out from the dragon’s eyes. Becoming one entity after leaving the beast’s eyes, it split apart again into what seemed to be halves – each rushing into one of the small hand-held vessels.

  The place shook violently, and there was a great wind as this awesome entity was pulled from the dragon and forced into the vials. Militantly, the men slammed the vessels shut and turned the lower halves until they clicked again. The dragon’s eyes grew quickly pale, until they were entirely white. Then it fell, dead in the cage. The men with the vials smirked proudly. Sighs of relief came forth from the men behind them, although they had shown no sign of fear or stress prior. It was done.

  Chapter 1: Odd Dream

  Lex found himself knitting his brows, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He hazily rose to his bottom, noticing almost immediately that he was not in the room he remembered falling asleep in. He jumped up quickly, looking back at the strange bed. Timidly, the boy walked toward the closed door. He grabbed the cool knob and turned it slowly. His body retracted tightly as confusion and fright swallowed him up.

  “Finally!” cried out the old, wild-looking man running toward him. Lex couldn’t move; he couldn’t even think. The madman embraced Lex in a hurry, like the boy was his long-lost son. Lex struggled to push him off, the stifling smell of mildew choking him as the man’s robes were almost down his throat.

  “Who-- Who the hell are you?!” the frightened lad stuttered. “And where am I?! Where is this place?!”

  “I, my dear boy, am an oracle, a very wise man who studies the history and the prophecies of this world! I knew you’d be transported to this world this very minute, and I channelled all my e
nergy to bring you here!” The old man, still crazy-looking, now certainly sounding just as insane, used fierce, frightening gesticulations as he spoke. “It is necessary that I train you!”

  “Train me?!” An even more confused, more excited Lex asked.

  “That is right! And it is your fortune and the fortune of the world that I summoned you here, as you could have landed in an unending sea or in the midst of hungry lions! Or in the clutches of evil sorcerers!” Lex’s eyes were almost as wide as the old man’s, who seemed to be trying to frighten the life out of him with these terrifying ideas. “You will remain here for a season, and grow with my grandchildren, Kyle and Clover, who will also begin to learn the basics of the art I discovered, the art of Xashi! They are still young, but time is of the essence… Sit here!” The crazy old man pulled Lex by the arm harshly, forcing him down on a wooden chair around a small table. “By the way, my name is Ben!” he finally introduced. That was about the first thing he said that Lex actually understood.

  Before Lex could make anything of a response, the old man darted to a nearby window. He opened it and stuck his head through like he was a desperate man on a sinking ship grabbing at a final breath. “Kyle! Clover!” At the sound of the loud calls, a handsome chap and a pretty girl rushed through the front door, panting and sweating and laughing, obviously coming in from a session of play. The laughter seized as the kids finally noticed the now standing stranger. A smirk appeared on the boy’s face.

  “Hey,” he greeted, trying to sound smug, walking toward Lex with supressed panting. “So you’re that hero, eh? Didn’t imagine you’d be such a kid! Name’s Kyle, by the way.”

  “Hero?” Lex thought aloud, too frightened to grab Kyle’s outstretched hand. Lex’s attention, for a moment, shifted to the pretty girl that was still at the door. He took a bit of consolation in the fact that she looked even more nervous than he felt. Kyle’s face tensed.

  “Right!” Lex snapped, noticing Kyle’s annoyance quickly, and grabbed the boy’s hand in a feeble handshake. “Lex… Leo…” the boy introduced, stuttering a bit, like he wasn’t very sure of his own name.

  “Huh? Well which is it?!” Kyle asked jokingly.

  “Ha! Lex Leo,” the slightly less nervous boy clarified. Kyle offered up a friendly smile, or more of a simper that said, ‘you’re hopeless, kid.’

  “Girl!” the old man called abruptly, giving her a hardly discreet look. The slightly trembling girl walked up to Lex with small, quick steps, standing close to her brother, still not saying anything. Suddenly, Lex’s heart raced even faster than it did before. Kyle nudged her in embarrassment, keeping his cool with much effort, but the fair girl only smiled at Lex, her cheeks reddening, a slight giggle escaping her lips. Kyle sighed, his eyes making a nearly complete roll.

  “This here’s my little sis, Clover,” the boy said. “She’s not as shy as she’s actin’—she’ll come around,” Kyle assured. Lex, smiling back at the pretty girl, gave his hand to her. She grabbed it clumsily. A warm shiver instantly flowed through Lex’s body. Clover’s hand was so soft and smooth and delicate.

  “Alright, you can sit down now!” Ben came in, breaking the sudden tension. Kyle grabbed his seat quickly. Clover sat beside him, as she wouldn’t usually do, but he understood and didn’t make a fuss of it. Lex sat opposite the girl, and Ben sat beside him.

  He couldn’t help making quick stares into Clover’s eyes every now and again. She had green irises that were, to Lex, completely unique. Lex was pretty sure that she was unquestionably the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. Her hair had an impossible green colour, and rested on her shoulders, seeming too smooth and fluid to be solid at all. The thought even flashed through his mind that she might be an angel, or a fairy, or some magical creature.

  Finally, the boy had it all figured out. He sighed, a bit relieved, wondering how it took so long to come to the conclusion that he was having a strange and pleasant dream. He remembered the twelve men and the dragon, and for some reason, particularly recalled vividly the statues of the two men. He figured he simply hadn’t seen reality since then.

  “No one man can save the world,” Ben continued, rescuing Lex from his hazy stare, almost startling him. “You and my grandchildren will train together for a short while, then you will be on your way.”

  “What is this training you keep talking about?” Lex asked. “Ha! Y’all know you’re in my dream, right?” he asked like he was declaring instead. Ben and Kyle laughed. Clover giggled quietly, struggling now to break her stare on Lex.

  “At least with this thought of yours, you won’t be so nervous anymore,” Ben said optimistically. “Now listen for a moment so you might understand.”

  “I wonder if I can fly then,” Lex wondered aloud, “I’ve never been aware that I was dreaming before; I better make the most of this!” The boy sprang up from the table, making Kyle laugh even harder. Ben looked more concerned than entertained, though. Lex’s eyes flashed back at Clover. “Better yet!” he exclaimed, “I’ve never gotten to kiss a girl this pretty before, not even in my dreams!” he said, staring at Clover, whose eyes doubled in size instantly. Her cheeks turned red. Kyle stood from his chair suddenly, a now fierce, very annoyed look on his face. He grabbed Lex by his collar.

  “Hey, kid, stop being so stupid, alright?! You’re wasting grandfather’s time!”

  “That’s more than enough, Kyle!” Ben blasted, standing. The hot-tempered boy pushed Lex off. Clover just sat there staring up at them.

  “I was… just joking around,” Lex said softly, slowly taking his seat, staring down at the table, unable to look up at any of them. Clover glared at Kyle, stepping on his foot with unfriendly force. The boy clenched his teeth and avoided making an outburst. He hissed instead, knowing he was a bit hard on the stranger.

  “You’ll play no part in saving the world with a temper like that now, will you?” Ben scolded.

  “Saving the world?” Lex asked, sounding as excited as he was confused, and forgetting instantly about the scuffle.

  “Listen, Lex Leo… A long time ago, before the beginning of earth’s time, there were seven spirits. They were supreme, and were like gods, with the power to travel amongst worlds, the power to journey through the universe. Their power was incredible. These beings did not create earth, but they found it in its early stage. They saw the weakness, the inferiority of humanity, and decided to exploit it. These things, though, were spirit beings, and had existed in a spiritual realm. On entering this realm, they had to capture bodies to maintain their existence.

  “Bodies of weak races, like mankind, could not contain their power for long, so naturally, they must have roamed the realms for potent hosts. At this early period of earth’s existence, the most powerful, most magnificent creatures that existed were dragons. These creatures were even given the title ‘gods’, and were worshipped as the creators and supreme beings of the world. The seven spirits visited earth, and each captured the body of the dragon they were most fond of. They would now use these powerful, already feared creatures to rule over the human race. These seven dragons, the ‘black gods’ – as the dragons the spirits possessed had a mysterious black glow in their eyes – commenced earth’s first ‘Dark Age’.

  “To lessen confusion and eliminate competition, these gods wiped out the other dragons from the face of the earth. The destruction of the dragon race by the ‘black gods’ would also prove to the humans that these beings were clearly the most powerful things they’d ever seen, and were indeed the supreme beings of the world. These black-eyed dragons had the power to breathe black fire, which is said to have been seven times hotter than earthly flames, and could only be put out by these gods – water would turn to vapour if it came too close.

  “These dragons, which had the ability to speak – as they were possessed by intelligent beings – had a constant shadowy aura around them, as not even the dragons could fully contain the dark spirits. These godlike beings have been called a lot of names throughout history, ‘soul
eaters’ just one of them. They could turn ‘life energy’ into ‘dark energy’, into raw destructive power. In short, the more they killed, the stronger they became. So, their plan, probably, was to eventually destroy the human race and move on to whatever else, being even stronger beings.

  “Now, out of the seven spirits that ruled over the earth, six were said to be of roughly equal strength, and one slightly inferior to the rest. Since the beginning of the Dark Age, men had secretly been devising plans to destroy these dragons, though no one dared stand up to them. What good could swords do against such beasts? A few centuries into this first Dark Age, two geniuses collaborated, and together, in their efforts to devise a way to destroy the dragons, they discovered the two greatest sciences of all time, elementalism and magic.

  “Some versions of history tell that Mother Nature appeared to one of the men, Kizer, and gave him the power to manipulate the elements around him – fire, earth, water, air, ice, metal. Similarly, such literature tells that Father Time appeared to the other scientist, a man named Oga, and gave him the power of magic, the ability to do illogical things, and to break the known laws of science and nature. Also, Nature and Time gave these men great knowledge, that they might have had a chance of destroying the dragons.

  “Together, in secret, both men developed their newfound abilities for years. On various nights, Oga would see Father Time in his dreams, who would teach him a foreign language, the language of sorcery. He taught Oga that there were great amounts of invisible energy in the air, which magic relied on. Mana, a special kind of energy, was given to Oga and his seed, and this could react with this invisible, omnipresent energy. Sorcerers would be able to command this energy to do countless things using this strange language.

  “With decades of studies and training, they discovered that a particular type of a material, the rarest metal in the world, had special magical properties, and had the capability of restraining and containing dark energy. This metal was known as zarium, and was often confused with gold, due to their similar appearance.