The mage’s path
Book one of the age of legends series
Prologue
Kaylia stumbled over some uneven ground as she walked through the mountain pass, agitating the baby she was clutching in her arms and causing him to cry. She panicked as the noise echoed off the mountain walls. She and Elaine had been running for what seemed like hours, the Council of Shadows was not far behind.
“We have to keep the boy quiet,” pleaded Elaine. “If they hear him we are as good as dead.”
“I’m trying,” said Kaylia. She shushed and rocked the baby to soothe him.
Kaylia knew better than Elaine what would happen if they were caught. She also knew that regardless of the baby crying it was only a matter of time before the Council of Shadows found them. There was nowhere in the world that Kaylia could hide. The Shadows had her blood, and with it, they could track her to the ends of the world.
A horn sounded in the distance, a scout must have heard the cries. How can they still be this close, she thought to herself?
She looked down the path towards the sound of the horn, seeing only trees on either side of an empty path for as far as the eye could see. But, she could feel that they were close. Knowing there was only one option left, Kaylia turned and sprinted down the path, leaving Elaine no choice but to chase after her.
Kaylia ran until she was out of breath, then continued pushing herself further. She didn’t stop until she came to the section of the mountain pass she was looking for. It narrowed in front of her, with barely enough room for a wagon to pass through. The rocky walls of the mountain towered hundreds of feet above, standing close enough together that it blocked most of the sunlight. In the distance, you could see where the mountains opened back up.
Kaylia walked quickly into the mouth of the narrow pass, exhausted, but she kept moving. After making it almost halfway through, she stopped and turned to Elaine, the baby still wailing in her arms.
“I’m sorry,” said Kaylia, tears filling her eyes. “But you have to leave me behind. I will stay here and buy you enough time to get away.” She extended her arms to give Elaine the child. “Please, take him. He will never be able to stop running as long as we are together.”
Elaine looked up at Kaylia, frozen in shock. “I can’t do this without you,” said Elaine, still out of breath from running. She did not reach for the child, rather she held up her hands as if to refuse. “You are stronger than I am. I need you... He needs you!”
Kaylia smiled at Elaine, a very sad smile as a tear ran down her cheek. “We cannot allow them to get him,” Said Kaylia. “And if he is with me they will always have a trail to follow. You have to take him to a place far away from Ancalen, where he will be safe to live his own life.”
Elaine must see the truth, she thought to herself. They had been running for months now and no matter where they tried to hide, the Council found them.
“Where will I go?” said Elaine, still in shock as she slowly reached for the baby. “Their eyes are everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before they find me too.”
“I know,” replied Kaylia, reaching towards her side to grab a pouch of coins. “He will never have a chance with either of us with him.” She walked to Elaine and tied the pouch to her belt. “Find a boat that will take you both to Sartram. I had a meeting arranged with one of the traders. Look for a man named Flynn at the docks. He said he knows of a place that will raise him until he is older. That should be enough to pay for his passage.”
Elaine looked at Kaylia in disbelief. “Sartram is a city full of thieves and cutthroats!” she said. “How can you trust anyone there to look after him?”
“I don’t,” Kaylia said firmly. “But it’s a city that forbids the use of magic, making it the only place he will be safe. If he encounters magic with his abilities, it will draw attention. Even being around your magic is a risk. That is why we must leave him there.”
It is inevitable though, she thought to herself. The day will come when he finds Rizzo, my baby, and abuse the power resting inside him. The power is still a mystery, but he will grow and learn to control it. And maybe even one day defeat the evil that hunts him.
Elaine’s eyes bulged with fright and her mouth drooped open. Seeing the horrified look, Kaylia turned to see a long line of mounted horsemen, slowly coming into view. Close to the front of the group, she saw her worst fear. Zain, the general of the army for the Council of Shadows was leading the group himself. Kaylia knew him well as a ruthless creature who would stop at nothing to gain power. As the army spotted the two women, they spurred their horses to a gallop, charging towards the narrow pass.
Kaylia turned back to Elaine and shouted, “RUN!”
Elaine frantically bolted for her life, clutching the child in her arms.
Kaylia turned back towards the approaching army, calming herself and preparing to stand her ground to buy Elaine as much time as possible. Kaylia created an Earth Glyph, with a desperate plan in her mind. Tendrils of energy quickly streamed from her fingers to create a glowing green circle in the air, then a smaller circle inside, with the outline of a tree at it’s center. She then formed the symbols in between the two circles for the earth spell.
The horses were just entering the narrow part of the pass as she finished the glyph. She just had to wait until the right moment to release the spell. She took one last look over her shoulder to see Elaine getting further and further away. A smile crept over her face as she thought about Elaine escaping with the child. She snapped around quickly as the sound of the horses’ hooves hitting the ground drew near. It was time.
Kaylia held the Glyph steady until the horses were close to trampling her. She cast her spell at the last second, using it to rip into the sides of the mountain pass, causing the surrounding wall within a thirty-foot radius to explode. The blast killed the first row of horses instantly and stunned many behind it. The charge was brought to a halt as the horses getting hammered by rocks reared up, throwing their riders.
Kaylia was hit repeatedly by rocks as the explosions continued. Blood ran down her face from multiple cuts, but she kept her focus and continued to use the glyph to destroy the mountain around her. Kaylia could see Zain through the mass of horses trying to cast a spell of his own. She was unable to see another person’s glyph, except for the glowing energy it created. A yellow disk sprang up in front of Zain, letting her know what element he was about to use, an Air Glyph.
The air hardened around Zain’s men, stopping the rocks as if they hit a wall. The men and horses, having been through years of battle experience, where able to quickly recover and renew their charge. Kaylia continued to use her spell to blast away at the mountain walls, even though the explosions now had little effect.
The horses ran through with ease, covering the ground to Kaylia in a matter of seconds. The first of the men reached her and made a quick slash of his sword straight for her neck. She did not try to block or dodge, focusing her last few seconds solely on the spell. The blow struck true, killing Kaylia instantly. She maintained her spell until the very end, and as her body was falling to the ground, the mountain gave a tremendous roar. The walls surrounding the narrow pass shook and then collapsed in on themselves. Rock over rock came tumbling down, burying Kaylia and a large portion of the army.
Elaine didn’t look back, tears freely running down her cheeks, knowing she would never see Kaylia again.
Later that night, Zain paced around his tent, mentally preparing himself to tell his master of his failure. He feared his master’s displeasure more than anything, but there was no way around it. He couldn’t keep it a secret.
Zain stopped and raised his hand to create a Spirit Glyph. White magic poured out of his fingertips and almost instantaneously formed a c
ircle with the outline of the upper portion of a body in the center. Then, he summoned the symbols along the inner edges of the circle to cast the spell to establish a link between him and his master. His master was powerful enough that once the link was made, he had complete control over Zain. Normally, this would not bother him because he was useful to his master. But this time was different, he had made a fatal mistake. And that was not accepted without punishment.
Zain shuddered as the connection was made and he felt the energy radiating from the other side. The sheer power caused a wave of fear mixed with twisted excitement to wash over him, followed by a lot more fear as he remembered what he had to do. "We lost the boy,” said Zain, cutting straight to the point, knowing that prolonging it would not help. Pure rage shot through the other side of the bond. “Kaylia is dead as well.”
"You knew how important the boy was," a deep, inhuman voice replied inside his head. "How did you let this happen?"
Zain attempted to gather himself before replying. It was nearly impossible, his body jerking every few seconds as waves of energy assaulted his mind. It was like this every time the link was made. The power his master controlled was astonishing. "She used a spell that caused the mountain to collapse and block the pass,” said Zain, struggling to get the words out. “It killed most of the men I had with me.”
A sharp pain brought Zain to his knees. It felt as if his lungs were being crushed in a fist. Zain panicked, unable to draw breath as the fist started slowly turning. His eyes teared up, blurring his vision. When he was on the brink of losing consciousness, the pain disappeared.
"Recover the body and bring it to me," said the voice, showing no emotion.
Zain panted as he knelt there on one knee trying to get his senses back. "That may not be possible, she is buried underneath a mountain of rocks, we may not be able to recover..." Zain's last words were cut off as a force squeezed his throat and lifted him from the ground.
"She is the only link we have to the boy,” said the voice angrily. "He is the answer to everything. So, you will dig out her body, and you will bring it to me."
Zain dropped hard onto the ground as the link was severed. He gasped and struggled for air, quickly inhaling and exhaling repeatedly. Anger replaced fear as he slowly clutched the ground, trying to get to his feet. Zain despised being treated in such a manner. It filled him with rage, and yet he still had that presence of excitement from witnessing such vast amounts of power. No matter how angry he was, he had no choice but to do what was commanded of him. But he knew even with Kaylia’s body, they couldn’t track the boy. He had never seen his master want something bad enough to go to such lengths.
Chapter One
Seventeen years later
Rizzo was sitting against the wall of a tavern, staring out at the world, observing the people surrounding him. The docks were busier than normal today, with large crowds roaming the streets. No one noticed him as they carried about their business.
Most assumed he was just another beggar, and everyone avoided beggars. Rizzo didn’t mind one bit though. He preferred that people were oblivious to him. If he ever learned one thing while growing up on the streets, it was that being invisible was your best asset. He was a smart kid who learned that lesson early.
The city was divided into four sections. The northeastern section was the Noble’s District and the northwestern section was the King’s personal area in the city where he housed his family and the soldiers of Sartram. They were elite soldiers, hand-picked from the best fighters in the city.
The largest section of the city was the Merchant’s District where the common class lived. It included the road from the docks and the center section of the city. It also contained the town square where most of the stores were.
The southern portion of the city was called the Slums, housing almost two-thirds of Sartram’s population where they lived in poverty and broken-down buildings. The royal family cared nothing for the people of the Slum’s, letting them go with no law or government, making it so criminals ruled the streets. It was also the place that Rizzo had spent his entire life.
He had never left the Slums until recently, having spent most of his life under the care of an orphanage. Once he reached a certain age, he was forced to leave and find his own way to survive, as was the way with the orphanage.
Now that Rizzo was free, he spent as little time as possible in the Slums. Preferring to come here for most of his day and doing what he was doing now, sitting in front of Sten's, watching the people and the things that went on around him. The street in front of Sten’s was one of the busiest in Sartram, so there was always something happening. It was the only road leading from the docks into the city, making it so everyone getting off the ships had to pass by here. The more successful merchants in Sartram realized how profitable this street could be and set up their stores around it.
Sartram was the city to be if you were trying to make a fortune, attracting people from almost every part of the world. Its geographical location made it a center of trade for explorers sailing to the lands of Wyndlam and Lemuria. Wyndlam was northwest of the island that Sartram was built on and Lemuria was northeast, with each continent separated by a vast ocean. Fortune seekers would bring back items and materials from the two lands and sell them for a fortune. Then they would be sold for even more coin by traders sailing to Avlodon, a massive continent to the south.
Only a few centuries had passed since the lands of Wyndlam and Lemuria were discovered. There was little known about the two continents, as they had proven to be perilous and full of dangers. It took a brave soul to risk venturing to either place. But both continents had exclusively rare materials that people would pay fortunes for. Daring explorers sailed to Wyndlam and Lemuria in search of their own fortune from the new world.
Rizzo watched and learned from each merchant as they tried to sell goods and haggle with one another to get the upper hand. It fascinated him to see the different tactics people would use to attract customers.
Jane’s Cathouse probably had the most simple and effective technique. She would attract men by having some of her best-looking girls stand in front of the building, coaxing men inside. It took little effort, seeing as most men passing by had been at sea for a long time. Which probably had a lot to do with why it was so successful.
Next to Jane’s Cathouse there was Tarren, a well-known blacksmith who would buy the best quality metal from traders going into Lemuria and forge it into tools, weapons, and armor. He came from a long line of blacksmiths who took great pride in their work. Each father would teach their son how to smith from the day they were old enough to swing a hammer. And each time a son wanted to prove they were a master blacksmith and ready to take over the family business, they would create a unique piece of armor and present it to their father. If it was declared a true masterpiece, then the son could work the smith and sell their own items.
Each son had created a different piece of armor as their masterpiece, and they all added up to one complete set of armor. Tarren had been the one in line to make the last piece, which was the helmet. He was proud of the work his family had done and displayed each piece of armor in the center of his shop, in separate glass casings, giving credit to the craftsman for their work.
The pieces were put on stands that stood waist height, each in their respective places as if they were being worn. Enough space was left between the stands to allow a person to walk between them and admire the craftsmanship of each individual piece.
A little further down the road Rizzo could see Phil’s food store. Phil made a fortune from selling exotic foods found in Wyndlam and from selling the food that resupplied the ships. He would stand outside with stalls set up, displaying some of the more popular delicacies to attract customers. Today he had three long tables stacked with small crates full of fruits.
Rizzo watched as Phil held a strawberry in the air behind a stand. “Come, there is no better way to break your fast than with some fresh fruit! Look at how ju
icy this strawberry is,” said Phil as he bit into it and juice ran down his jaw.
Everyone was keeping a good distance, though, because Tarren, the giant blacksmith who owned a shop right next to Phil’s, was storming back and forth carrying crates from his wagon to his smith.
As luck would have it, Tarren had a wheel break down the street from Phil’s shop earlier that morning when he was trying to bring in some new materials. He muttered angrily to himself as he carried crate after crate into his store. No one dared to go near him for fear of having that anger directed towards them.
Unfortunately for Phil, this also kept customers from stopping at his stall to buy food because Tarren kept walking in front. Rizzo also had a reason to be upset, though. For a while now, he had been coming to this same street around this time of the day because people would crowd Phil’s stand to get breakfast before they went to the market.
Rizzo would sit in front of Sten’s every morning and wait until Phil was busy with customers, then walk over and swiftly snatch something and walk off. But now since there was no crowd, there was no one to distract Phil. And since Rizzo was a dirty kid wearing rags, it was obvious that he had no coin. Phil would know he wasn’t there to buy something and would be keeping a close eye on him.
Rizzo was stubborn and was never one to give up easily when there was something he wanted. So, he sat there, watching and waiting, trying to find a way to eat.
Phil was tall and had legs a lot longer than Rizzo’s, so he knew the chances were slim that he could just grab some fruit and outrun him. He would have to find another way to make a clean escape. But it did not seem like he had very many options. There was no easy access to the roof, no crowd thick enough to slip into, and no buildings large enough that he could lose Phil in.
He thought he had an idea when he looked at the small alley that separated Phil and Tarren’s stores, seeing it was only about three feet wide which would make it hard for a larger person to run through. Rizzo was skinny and could run through the alley with ease, but even though Phil was larger, it probably wouldn’t hinder him too much.
The Mage's Path Page 1
