by Elon Vidal
ECLIPSE
DAWNBRINGER
Book 1
ELON VIDAL
This book is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed
in the novel are either products of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2020 Elon Vidal
Cover copyright © Light Age Media
A Light Age Media Production
All Rights Reserved
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s
Intellectual property. If you would like permission to use the material
from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact
[email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Light Age Media
Barcelona
First Worldwide Edition: December 2020
Version: 1. December 2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FREE GIFT
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
THE EAST GATE (DAWNBRINGER, BOOK 2)
ELON’S AUTHOR NOTES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OTHER BOOKS BY ELON
WITCHLIGHT
THE TIME WIELDER
THE ATTRACTION WIELDER
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR
REVIEW THE BOOK
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ONE
A recurring dream, always the same, from the very night of Dawn’s sixteenth birthday. It had not ceased since. It still scared her, even though she knew it was a dream. She couldn’t prevent it from replaying in her mind.
In it, the ruined castle walls were white but stained, with wildflowers growing in the cracks. Inside the castle walls, it reminded Dawn of the old library at the training center. It was full of old texts, and every aisle seemed to hide an untapped secret. Just like the library, the castle smelled like a mixture of mothballs and spoiled potions. She remembered how terrified she had been going in there when she was younger. She felt the same away in this ruined place; small and alone. The whole place seemed like an ancient battleground, full of the memories that disguised echoes of war cries and final breaths. Some could be perceived from the wind’s howls down corridors and through the cracks left by half-locked windows.
As she walked the halls, she could still sense she was imagining this place, that it was only in her imagination. Still, this place really felt all sorts of wrong to her. She knew not of its story, but an eerie sense creeped inside her.
Dawn felt shivering as she looked around, trying to find a way out before the girl appeared. That girl was her real nightmare, not so much the cold, abandoned place she haunted. In all her dream this girl never gestured much. She only stared. Her amber eyes never blinked. Was she trying to tell her something? Did her presence there have any meaning?
She was young, about sixteen or so. Much like Dawn, they shared a short pixie cut. Interesting really, since Pixies were known for their long white hair. The girl’s was indeed white, while Dawn had recently hers in a dark purple at the ends, with her blonde roots left untouched. The girl’s pale skin was covered in an intricate design, a combination of words curling as vines, while the flowers of the castle grew on them. Dawn had never seen the flower before, except in her dream. She had done some research in the library and even asked her teachers, but it seemed the flower only existed in her dream.
Long, white hair reached past her rear, braided in gold ribbons. She looked like a Pixie, except there was something about her that didn’t quite fit in with the innocence and playfulness that pixies exuded. Something almost regal, which made Dawn believe that perhaps she was the princess or queen of the broken castle.
In this dream though, something changed. Laughter reverberated in the empty castle. It started faint and then became overbearing, as if coming from all corners and openings, from the very walls even. Then it dimmed back again and once more increased the volume, in what seemed a wavy fashion. This startled Dawn who decided to pick up her pace.
When Dawn opened the door that she hoped would lead her out of the castle, the girl appeared in front of her. She looked at her in what seemed like time had frozen, and she suddenly extending her glowing hand. She had never done this before. Dawn stepped back. Suddenly, Dawn’s own hands began to glow.
Dawn sensed a bumbling panic within as her heart raced and sweat droplets emerged from her forehead. The glow spread up to her arms, and eventually the light engulfed her. It was blinding and seemed to be drawing energy from Dawn’s life force to glow even brighter. It didn’t hurt her, but she was losing herself within it. She couldn’t feel anything except the light.
In an attempt to take control, seeing she was not being hurt, she began to breathe and tried to remember what her teachers had taught her about light energy. Something about how everything was light, a reflection of some electromagnetic waves vibrating at different frequencies. She felt like every cell of hers was vibrating now. There was a warm, soothing feeling, not as terrifying as she had first imagined, yet she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She felt as if she ceased to exist and a new being was coming alive.
And for the first time since she had begun dreaming of the girl, Dawn’s scream did not wake her.
Instead, a wonderful aroma woke Dawn up from her deep sleep, and a wide smile greeted her. It took her a second to shake off the bad feeling of the strange dream and adjust to reality, but she did. Her dream faded into the back of her mind as she watched Elijah roast something over the fire. She might not have enjoyed anything about camping so far but she could appreciate that her friend was an outdoor master chef.
"Good morning. I was beginning to wonder whether I should dig a grave for you!" Elijah said, always a little bit too happy for her taste considering the time. “Everyone left early to go fishing, but I didn’t think you would like that.”
Dawn didn’t hate morning people per se, but they did annoy her a bit. Elijah was a part of this special group of people who wielded the magical power of waking up ready for the day, a power she certainly did not have and didn’t see herself acquiring anytime soon.
"What are you cooking?" she asked as she sat up, groaning when her back protested after sleeping on the ground for two days straight. No wonder she was having nightmares.
Elijah held up a snake's skin, making Dawn yelp. Now that had her full attention, and any lingering sleepiness she felt vanished in an instant.
"Surely you did not!"
"I did," he confirmed with a wink, then turned to tend
to the sticks with the roasting meat.
He had to be pulling her leg. That had to be rabbit meat or something; if rabbits had long, thin bodies. She resisted the urge to gag, knowing that Elijah would never let her hear the end of it. Being a Halfling already put her at a disadvantage, and she never wanted to show any weakness when she was around full bloods. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she decided that this was one weakness she would be glad to have. A girl had to draw the line somewhere.
"It was at your feet," Elijah said, "and before you refuse it, princess, you should try it. It is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world."
Just not the part of the world she was currently sleeping on.
Dawn raised a skeptical brow. "And you would know this?"
Her friend shrugged, "I do not fear much in this world. Especially food."
Elijah did seem fearless. He was a warlock, after all, and came from a long generation of powerful people. His grandfather even sat on the council of The Enlightened, which was the highest honor any magical being could receive.
“Easy for you to say, my stomach is on the human side. Which means it cannot tolerate snakes for breakfast.” No matter how good it smelled, she added in her head. “It’s not exactly pancakes and syrup.”
Or coffee. Dawn would have done anything to have the power to summon a Starbucks right then but she couldn’t even summon a mean enough glare to make her best friend take her seriously.
“But you get to have ssssss-syrup every day,” Elijah hissed, making Dawn shiver in response as she imagined what the snake had looked when it had been alive.
“That’s not funny.”
“Oh come on, ssssss-smile a little. Don’t be a ssssss-snob.”
She waited for him to realise that he was the only one enjoying the ridiculous joke and when he stopped and checked on the meat again, she breathed in relief.
“Remember when we were ten and you swore that you would never like toffee apples?”
Dawn groaned and closed her eyes, waiting for it.
“Because ‘fruit and candy have no business being together,’ you said,” Elijah continued. “Then you tried it and it was all you would eat for a week straight. You always say that and each time, I prove you wrong.”
She nodded, now feeling determined to show him that she could eat snake meat without dying, "Alright, but for the record snakes and apples are not the same thing. How did you even catch it?"
“It was on your leg,” Elijah replied as if he were talking about the weather.
Dawn screamed and jumped up, looking around as if the snake had come back to life. That particular one might be dead but she didn’t know for sure if he didn’t have a family lurking around.
“It’s dead already,” Elijah reminded her. “And it wasn’t poisonous.”
“I am never agreeing to a camping trip again,” Dawn declared, then sat back down to eat the snake that had made an attempt on her life. She didn’t care that Elijah had said that it was harmless, as far as she was concerned, an attempt had been made.
The camping trip had been meant to be a celebration of sorts as they moved on to the next chapter of their lives. They were no longer novices or trainees, but ready to take their place in the adult world. A big party would have been just fine by Dawn, but no one had asked for her opinion unfortunately. And their botanical magic teacher had taken it upon herself to make a class out of the so-called celebratory getaway, which made Dawn want to get away from the getaway.
Plant magic had always been one of her favorite classes because she felt a sort of kinship with trees and plants. She supposed it came from the Fae side of her DNA, giving her a natural drive to protect and nurture any type of flora. Still, she enjoyed studying plants within the comfort of an actual building.
“So how are you feeling about next week?” Elijah asked as he made two plates appear with a slight wiggle of his fingers.
They were not supposed to use magic on this trip, only use the things that nature provided them. Dawn could almost hear Mrs. Jefferson’s nasal voice ringing in her ear as she repeated ‘true warriors know how to use all the tools that nature provides, not just magic’. Their teacher was not here though, and what she didn’t know, wouldn’t cause any harm.
Elijah handed Dawn a plate, and she wrinkled her nose at the meat. It smelled really good, but just the thought of what the slimy reptile had looked like before had her hesitating.
“About that, I am not going to try out for First Guard.”
Silence of about thirty seconds ensued and Dawn chanced a look at her friend who was now clenching his jaw. Anger was not a good look on him, contrasting his angelic features. With his long white hair and babyish face, one would never think that he was a deadly warrior.
“What do you mean you are not going to try out for First Guard?”
Dawn debated whether to just fill her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer or avoid eating the snake and face the music. The latter was easier to stomach than the roasted reptile so she looked at Elijah. His blue eyes were focused on her as if he were reciting a spell, and she could only pray to whatever god was listening that he didn’t set anything on fire as he tended to do when his emotions got the better of him.
“It means that there is a selection for First Guard next week, and I’m not going to be a part of it,” she said with the most innocent smile she could muster.
“But the selection is by invitation only, and no one turns that down,” he argued, as if that made any type of sense.
She supposed it made perfect sense in his world; every young trainee grew up dreaming of getting that special invitation, after all. Maybe she had too, once upon a time when she felt like she had something to prove. She just felt differently now.
“Then I’ll be the first. Making history suits me rather well, don’t you think?”
“Stop playing around, Dawn. What is going on? You are top of your weapons class, and your potions are getting better. So what’s wrong?”
Dawn almost winced at the last part, her potions were actually not getting better. The only thing she had mastered was how to change her hair color, but not anything useful. She could easily identify plants to use for potions, but it was the spells she was bad at.
“I was asked to submit a final video for the Ecological Systems apprenticeship, and the interview is on the same day as the try outs.”
“Why can’t you do both? Magic is a part of you, why do you want to just give it up? And don’t start with the Halfling nonsense, you are a great warrior and you know it.”
Roasted reptile it was then. Dawn stuffed her face to keep from being part of the conversation. It was really good and it was something she could see herself eating the next time she was stuck in the woods. Which would be never.
Her friend glared at her for a second before standing up and grabbing their weapons. Elijah threw a sparring stick at Dawn, and she caught it easily. She looked at him in confusion, wondering what was going on in his head.
"What are you doing?"
"Showing you that you are not cut out for a lab coat and flower petals."
Dawn laughed, "Gee, you just described Botanical science to a T. They should put that on a brochure."
"Then prove me wrong," Elijah challenged, extending his stick and tapping at hers.
“I don’t see how fighting you will prove anything, or if there is anything to prove. I’m going to decline the invitation and go for my interview, end of story.”
“If I win, you get to do both.”
Dawn laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry? I think there’s a broken connection somewhere because I heard as if you just suggested that we fight for my future?”
“Yes, so come on.”
“Weren’t you the one who just mentioned how I am top of my weapons’ class?”
“That was before you mentioned that you were leaving that behind. Now, stand your ground.”
Dawn had never lost a fight and she wasn’t about to start
now. So she took several steps back and gave him room to attack. Elijah did the same before charging at her, leaping into the air and descending with his stick ready for a strike. Dawn blocked him, their sticks clashing with a sharp noise that showed just how much force they had put into their swings. So Elijah wasn’t playing then, that was good to know.
He came at her with fast blows, making her walk backwards as she blocked his every strike. He put too much force in his strikes, which only served to affect his temper when he didn’t succeed. When she tired of his boring fighting method, she spun with force and stopped when her stick was inches from his face.
"Let's see how badly you bruise, warlock," she winked, then kicked him.
Elijah stumbled backwards and threw his stick at her, waving his hand behind it and making it multiply. Dawn spun her own stick in a quick three sixty motion, blocking the sticks and making them turn into dust upon impact, save for the original one. The remaining stick fell to the ground, and she used her right foot to kick it towards Elijah.
"You're cheating."
"It’s just a few party tricks," he smirked, picking up his stick and charging again.
He spelled his stick to swing on its own while he quickly disappeared and appeared behind Dawn. She was faster than he was, though, and crouched as she swung her leg, effectively knocking Elijah off his feet. She placed her stick on his chest as he looked up at her, squinting at the sun.
"How did you ever pass weapons class with Malachi?" She asked with a huff, extending a hand to help him up.
He let her help him, before quickly turning on her with two new sticks conjured in his hands. Dawn leaped back, catching a small graze across her chest but nothing too serious. Dust rose all around her and she wondered if Mrs. Jefferson would show up any second now to see what they were up to. Everyone might have gone to the river to fish for breakfast, but it was still close enough for them to see all this dirt hanging in the air.
