Sac'a'rith

by Vincent Trigili

  The Lost Tales of Power:

  The Sac’a’rith: Rebirth

  Written and Published by Vincent Trigili

  Copyright 2015 Vincent Trigili

  Editors:

  Kristi Trigili

  Elaine Kennedy (elaine.p.kennedy@gmail.com)

  Cover Art by Vincent Trigili

  Cover designed by Cormar Covers

  ISBN: 9781311824431

  EBook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Introduction

  The Lost Tales of Power is a collection of novels that describe an immense persistent multiverse. The books are a mixture of standalone and miniseries all set in the same universe with overlapping and intertwining storylines. While the books are a mixture of classic science fiction and pure fantasy, some effort is being made to keep the books in the realm of the possible, or at least theoretically possible given some basic assumptions.

  Lost Tales of Power Series:

  Volume I - The Enemy of an Enemy

  Volume II - The Academy

  Volume III - Rise of Shadows

  Volume IV - Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

  Volume V - The Sac’a’rith

  Volume VI - Spectra’s Gambit

  Volume VII – The Sac’a’rith: Rebirth

  Volume VIII and beyond - TBA

  To be informed when new books are released:

  Visit our website: http://losttalesofpower.com

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  I hope you find as much enjoyment in reading these stories as I had living them. If you enjoy the books, please post a review and spread the word about them. As an independent author, word of mouth is the only marketing I can afford. Thanks!

  Time Line So Far:

  IE = Imperial Era (similar to BC, counts backwards)

  EM = Era of Magic

  12/01/01 IE – Enemy of an Enemy starts

  01/20/02 EM – Enemy of an Enemy ends

  02/01/02 EM – The Academy starts

  08/30/42 EM – The Academy ends

  05/15/55 EM – Rise of Shadows starts

  12/30/58 EM – Rise of Shadows ends

  01/31/59 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness starts

  03/15/59 EM – The Sac’a’rith starts

  08/11/62 EM – Spectra’s Gambit starts

  10/31/62 EM – The Sac’a’rith ends

  01/25/63 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness ends

  02/01/64 EM – Sac’a’rith: Rebirth starts

  08/25/64 EM – Sac’a’rith: Rebirth ends

  01/01/65 EM – Spectra’s Gambit ends

  Chapter One

  “Grandmaster Vydor,” said Raquel in greeting as she entered my office. Raquel was tall and carried herself with confidence. There was something in her eyes that told you she was not to be trifled with. The irises were yellow, an eye color I had never seen before. The tips of her pointed ears projected from her auburn hair. She was taller than I, standing at about two meters. Her aura was twisted and bent around her, indicating the burden she carried. When she has learnt to trust us enough to ask for help we will provide it, but that time has not yet come.

  She started to bow but stopped herself. When she first joined us, she had insisted on bowing to all the wizards of master level, but I refused to allow anyone to do this. For all our power we were just mortals, unworthy of worship; allowing others to bow before us led to a dangerous path, one I refused to walk.

  “Welcome, Raquel! Please have a seat. Would you like a drink?” I gestured at a beverage bar I had had installed in my office. It could make all manner of drinks but was mainly used for coffee. There was something calming about sitting back with a nice warm cup of coffee, just savoring the aroma.

  “No, Grandmaster, thank you,” she said. She did not sit down and I knew she would not. She had been trained in a different time, when wizards ruled the entire known realm and demanded more formality in their interactions. It was a time which would not have suited me. I hoped that one day she would learn to relax more in my presence, but for the moment I would have to accept her as she was.

  I smiled in my most disarming style. “Well, what can I do for you today?”

  “Grandmaster, I’d like to use the gate to travel to Hospital Station and find the Sac’a’rith,” she said.

  “For what purpose?” I asked.

  “Grandmaster, with your permission, I’d like to bring them into your … our kingdom and train them,” she said.

  Interesting slip there. I had hoped she would have seen this as her home by now, but it was probably too soon. “I see. When you first came to us, you mentioned that you wanted to take over from Narcion and restart the ‘noble order of the Sac’a’rith’. I assume this is the first step in that plan?” I asked.

  “Yes, Grandmaster,” she said.

  “You have reported five of them currently traveling together,” I said. “One of whom is from Korshalemia?”

  “Yes, Grandmaster, but only two of them are part of the order,” she said.

  “What of the others?” I was sure I knew what she would say, but I wanted her to voice it.

  “Ragnar and Crivreen are both good candidates to become wizards, Grandmaster, but not Felix,” she said.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Grandmaster, Felix owes a large debt to the Assassin’s Guild, which makes him untrustworthy.”

  “Then let us pay it off,” I said.

  Her eyes widened and she seemed to have difficulty speaking for a moment. “With all due respect, Grandmaster, why would we do that?”

  I smiled at her reaction. This could act as an example for her, indicating the true nature of what it meant to be a wizard in this era. “You have yourself reported that he risked his life many times in the quest to find and destroy the table, have you not?” I asked.

  “Yes, but – ” she began.

  I cut her off with a gesture. “And did he not charge in to the necromancer’s fortress carrying a backpack full of high explosives, knowing that a dire fate awaited him if he failed?”

  “Yes, Grandmaster, but he’s a hired mercenary,” she said. “And his wages were paid, all of which he has already given to the Assassin’s Guild.”

  “Is he a sorcerer?” I asked.

  “No, not yet, Grandmaster,” she replied.

  “Then pay off his debt and offer him a chance to be a wizard,” I said.

  “But that would mean giving a large amount of money to an evil organization,” she argued.

  “In reality, would that amount of money make any difference to their power base?” I asked.

  “No, Grandmaster, it wouldn’t,” she admitted.

  “I agree that paying money to the Guild is distasteful, but it is part of the cost of redeeming Felix,” I said.

  She finally sat down and considered the matter in silence. “Things are so different. I don’t understand how to behave.”

  Finally we were getting somewhere. “
What do you mean?”

  “I never met your predecessor, Grandmaster. No one could approach him except the other masters. I couldn’t even speak directly to any of the masters. I’d pass a message to my superior wizard, and if he thought it worthy he would bring it to one of the masters, who would in all likelihood ignore it. In your kingdom, not only am I allowed to speak directly with you, you even offer me coffee,” she said.

  Given the size of our domain, I had been forced to split it into six regions and set each master-level wizard over a different section of space in and around our kingdom. Had she been in a different section she would have reported to one of the other masters, but that was nothing like the rigid authoritative structure she was describing. “I see.”

  “And there was never talk of second chances. Had I come to my superior with this same request, and if it was granted, I would have been told to kill Felix first ,” she said, allowing that thought to sink in.

  “Well, that is quite unreasonable,” I said. She had made similar comments before, and I found them hard to credit. It was not that I thought she was lying; the thought was simply too distasteful to consider.

  “I used to agree with them, but I don’t know what to think anymore,” she said.

  “Did you not chase Narcion through the millennia in order to give him another chance?” I asked.

  “I was told to kill him,” she said. “To prove my loyalty to the council, that nothing would stand in the way of that, I was to kill my own husband. Those were the last orders I received from them.”

  She had not revealed that information before, and it certainly explained some of her behaviour. “That is why you said you must turn yourself in?”

  “Yes, Grandmaster. I disobeyed a direct order from the Wizard’s Council,” she said.

  “And what is the proper penalty for that?” I asked.

  “Death,” she said.

  “For a group of so-called wizards, they seemed to be very focused on killing people,” I said. “It is difficult to tell them apart from sorcerers.”

  “It was a different time,” she said. “Nothing is the same.”

  “Raquel, I gave you full amnesty when you came to me. As the current grandmaster, I have absolved you of all previous crimes,” I said.

  “Yes, Grandmaster, and I could never repay that kindness, not if I lived another ten millennia,” she said.

  “Then it should be easy to extend a measure of that same kindness to Felix.” I knew that would sting, but it was an important lesson. I did not understand the wizards of her era, but I needed her knowledge of that time in order to succeed in this one, and to obtain that knowledge I needed her trust. If she wrongly saw me as a merciless ruler like her prior masters, it would be hard to extract information from her.

  Her head rose and her mouth opened to say something, but she snapped it shut. “Of course you’re right, Grandmaster.”

  “Now, I am fully in support of you assembling these magi and bringing them under our wing, but I think it might be best if you stay out there with them. They would be safer here in our kingdom, but I need them out there.”

  “Why, Grandmaster?” she asked.

  “Right now the only wizards out there are directly connected to the hospital. There are no masters to assign to watch that area, leaving Dr. Leslie as the ranking wizard in the region. For all her skill in medicine, she is not qualified for that position.”

  “What about Master Dusty and Master Spectra?” she asked.

  “They will be leaving that region soon in order to pursue a mission and will not return to that area for a long time, if ever,” I said.

  “Grandmaster, are you thinking that it would be good to have a few wizards wandering around out there just to keep an eye on things?”

  “Yes, but more particularly I am thinking of giving you that region,” I said.

  “What?”

  There was no missing the look of shock on her face. She still saw herself as a disgraced failure, and I had to convince her that her past was long behind her and did not have to determine her future.

  “As you know, each region in which we currently have an interest has been assigned to a specific master-level magus. This area is in Kellyn’s care, and of course they all fall under me. That region of space is too far away to be added onto an existing area, so it needs a wizard assigned to it. Since you lived out there for a long time and have interests there, it seems reasonable for you to be assigned to it,” I said.

  “But I’m not a master,” she protested.

  “No, but you are one of the most experienced wizards in the realm. Nothing needs to be done in a hurry. Travel out there, find the Sac’a’rith, and see where that takes you. I can see change; it is hard to tell in what form, but there is definitely something coming. I need experienced and trustworthy eyes out there, Raquel.”

  Raquel stood up to reply. “Grandmaster, I am deeply touched. I know I’m not worthy of the honor, but I will strive to become so.”

  I smiled. I knew she wanted to spin around and leave but her training would not permit it. “Then may the God of Creation bless you and keep you on your journey. I will let the gatemaster know that you are coming. Godspeed, Raquel.”

  She started to bow again but turned it into a spin, sending her long thick hair flying around her, and left the room. When she was gone I refilled my coffee cup and sent to Kellyn, “She still does not fully trust us.”

  “No, but she will someday,” she replied. “Then I might be able to save her.”

  Chapter Two

  “Special Agent Zah’rak in position. Do we have a green light?” I asked over the comm.

  “Special Agent Zah’rak, hold there,” came the crackling reply from Command.

  Crivreen, Ragnar and myself were just outside a maximum-security prison. Our assignment was to rescue a political figure who had been taken hostage by one of the tribes attempting to take control of this system. They were using the hostage to try to force withdrawal of the Phareon military, but it was about to backfire on them in a big way.

  Felix and Shira were back on the Night Wisp in the sensor shadow of the moon, awaiting the signal to sweep in.

  “Are we sure about this?” sent Crivreen. Even after all this time serving with me, I could still sense the nervousness in his mental voice. That was good, I supposed; it was certainly better than him being cocky.

  “A little late to ask that,” I sent back. “Besides, this is our fourth mission with them. It’s not as if we don’t know what to expect.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t even know who we’re rescuing; we know very little about the situation,” he sent.

  “We know enough,” I sent back, but I understood his uneasiness. After Narcion died, we had drifted for a bit until Special Agent Byron’s handler contacted us and informed us of Byron’s death. Apparently, before Byron died he had turned in a report praising our service, and the handler needed someone to replace him and, more importantly, to replace Narcion. Phareon had many magi working for them; what they didn’t have was a skilled and experienced team of magi, and that was the niche we could fill.

  “Special Agent Zah’rak, move out and good luck,” came the order over the comm. It was hard to make out the command over the crackling. Being so close to the prison meant we were getting interference from the scramble field around the base. Once inside communicators would be useless, at least until the attack was underway in earnest and the scramble generators were taken out.

  “We’re on,” I sent. We silently approached the outer wall of one of the prison blocks. It was a massive metal structure, scarred from what I judged to be many failed attacks. In the gloom of the early morning the walls stretched up left and right out of sight. I couldn’t see them but I knew from early reconnaissance missions that there were sentry guns spaced out evenly along the entire wall. The area from where we were approaching had lots of natural cover and a narrow pass to a single door, guarded only by two human
s and a pair of sentry guns. This appeared to be a weak point in their defenses, one that we planned to exploit.

  Somewhere in the distance there was a loud series of explosions that shook the very ground under our feet. “They’ve begun their attack! Blast the doors!”

  Ragnar called out a command word and threw a rune at the fortified door. The two guards turned towards him as the rune exploded behind them. The soil on either side of the walkway was thrown into the air by the blast, momentarily obscuring the view. When it cleared, both humans were dead and the doors were destroyed, but the sentry guns were far enough from the blast to have remained intact. They hunted for targets, but we were still under cover just beyond their vision.

  “Crivreen, blast them!” I called out.

  Crivreen drew his wands and unleashed a wave of lightning. The electrical energy arced back and forth across the open doorway between the guns. The power cells that drove the guns overheated under the barrage and exploded, destroying both guns and a large section of the walls. Overhead, fighter craft raced back and forth defending bombers which were pummeling the colony in seemingly random places. The ground shook and the sky lit up brighter than midday as more and more bombs were dropped. The prison’s anti-aircraft defenses were failing to do more than annoy the naval fighters.

  Our target was several levels underground, which should be safe for a little while, but we had been warned: Phareon planned to leave no survivors. We had to get out before they broke through the upper level defenses or we’d be destroyed with the base. Phareon intended to show everyone the foolishness of taking hostages, even if they had to kill the hostage themselves which created an unforgiving deadline for us.

  I waved my team forward and ran into the fortress with my rifle in hand. I couldn’t throw lightning around like Crivreen nor make rocks explode like Ragnar, but my trusty assault rifle was more than capable of dealing death and destruction at the speed of light.

  “Which way, Ragnar?” I sent. Ragnar’s uncanny sense of direction and unerring memory of maps made him immensely valuable on these missions. In some ways he was the most valuable man on the team, but his lack of understanding of modern technology proved a big hindrance.