Eventually, Thavell came out of the Dark Age. Thavell conquered the rest of the human kingdoms and became the prosperous country it is today. However, the inhabitants of the six realms were lost. Magic was forbidden. With the passage of time, many people forgot magic and the races of the other realms ever really existed. Magic was feared and cursed.
Then, about a hundred years ago, strange things began to happen. Plants would sprout different colors, some would twinkle. There were sightings of strange creatures. But all these things happened so rarely and so far apart people didn’t connect them and they were just thought to be stories or anomalies of nature.
Then, two generations ago, Magic Wielders began to exist again. Sometime after their sixteenth birthdays, some people would realize they could do strange things. The smart ones hid their powers. Some were not so lucky. King Lewis, our King Bleddyn’s father, relentlessly hunted down suspected Magic Wielders. Many were killed and some were exiled from their homes and their families. It was a terrible time in our country. Many people still remember it. As King Bleddyn grew older, he saw what was happening to his people and realized magic wasn’t something that needed to be feared. For many years he worked around his father to protect Magic Wielders.
After the assassination of King Lewis by a Magic Wielder who grew up at court, King Bleddyn took the throne. He welcomed all Magic Wielders into his court and into his kingdom and made them free to live as anyone else. It is because of King Bleddyn’s acceptance and desire to always do what is best for Thavell, our country is prospering as it is today.
The letter ended with some endearing thoughts of a father to his daughter, so I quit reading. I carefully folded the letter and placed it and the rest of the parchment back on the shelf where I found them. The letter answered some questions I had about the way people regarded magic here in Thavell, but it didn’t help me with my more immediate problem of what I was going to do tomorrow. The day was catching up with me, though, and conjuring the fire for this long was starting to tire me out. I closed my hand to douse the flame, pulled the hood of my cloak up over my head and started the journey back out to my room without being seen.
33
When the next day came and the castle bell rang for us to get started, I was sitting on my bed awake and already dressed. After making it back from the library, sleep had not come any easier so by the time the sky began to turn gray with early light I was already up, dreading what was to come. My necklace with the red stone was tucked safely beneath my clothing. I followed Erin, Murphy, and John out of our rooms and to the mess hall for breakfast. They were chatting excitedly about seeing magic done today.
“What do you think, Lydia?” Murphy asked me as I was playing with my oatmeal with a spoon, trying to will myself to eat it.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.
“I said, ‘how many Magic Wielders do you think there are in this group?’ What’s with you this morning, anyway, you’ve hardly said two words,” he said.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night, I’m just kind of out of it today,” I told him with an apologetic smile.
“Well I slept like a baby,” Erin said. “I haven’t exercised as much as we did yesterday ever, I think. I woke up this morning and my whole body ached. I dread to think how I will feel tomorrow. At least today won’t be bad for any of us. How cool would it be to be able to do magic, though?” I nodded my head and grinned at her like I too thought the prospect exciting, but inwardly I groaned.
When breakfast was almost over, five people once again entered the mess hall. We all stood as Prince Aidric led the same group as yesterday minus King Bleddyn to the front of the hall. In King Bleddyn’s place was an odd man. He was very tall and skinny, hair so blonde it was almost white. He wore a long white robe. There were five stars arranged in a circle on the front of his robe and there were two bands around his sleeves next to his wrists. They were dark green and silver.
Aidric wasted no time in jumping right into things for the day.
“Everyone, no need to stand up. We want to get started, this could prove to be a long day. With each generation more Magic Wielders are appearing in our midst. We have learned that they can be helpful in battle, so we want each company in the army to be assigned at least one. All new recruits from this point forward will be tested for their abilities. Those with magical talent will all have classes with one of our Scholars during their time here in training. This is Lord Barwick, the Grand Wizard for the Scholars. He will be in charge of testing today. Please give him your full attention.”
The prince, Weston, Nadine, and Reynard all sat down at the first table. Barwick bowed his head toward the prince and turned to look at us.
“Thank you for that introduction, Your Highness. Recruits, today you will all learn the basics of magic and then each of you will be tested to see if you possess any magical abilities. We know our enemies use these abilities against us, so it is time we learn to train our abilities to use them to our advantage.” Barwick walked to the front wall of the mess hall and pulled back a curtain. What I thought had been a window was actually a blackboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the word Magic.
He also drew an eight-point star and put a circle around it. With a jolt, I remembered Gabrielle’s brand. Barwick began to talk as he started writing something at each point of the star.
“As most of you know, magic users are called Magic Wielders. Magic doesn’t appear until a Wielder’s sixteenth birthday. As far we know, magic use is passed down from generation to generation. If someone does not have magical parents, they themselves will not be magic users. But it can be inherited from either parent. Every Magic Wielder has certain affinities. There are eight in total.” He pointed toward the board where he had written them all around the star. Starting at the top and going clockwise he pointed at them as he spoke.
“These affinities are earth, aether, water, spirit, light, air, fire, and metal. They work together in a circle like this. Every Magic Wielder has an affinity for one of these elements. Some have two, and rarely one has three. The affinities a Wielder possesses always work together. Someone may have affinities for earth and metal, but you won’t see someone who had an affinity for water and fire. The four main points of the star are the most common affinities. The ones in between are rarer. Aether is the rarest of all.”
I looked at the diagram drawn on the board. Earth and light were on the top and bottom. Fire and water were on the left and the right points respectively. Metal sat between earth and fire. Air was between fire and light. Spirit was between water and light. And aether was between water and earth.
Lord Barwick held up his arm and pointed to the colors on his wrist. “These colors mean I have affinities for earth and metal. Yes? Can I help you?” He paused, pointing at someone in the middle of the mess hall behind us.
“What do each of the affinities mean? If you have an affinity for earth, what can you do?” a girl asked.
“Excellent question. An affinity will not manifest the exact same way in each person. So you can have two Earth Wielders who do not have the same abilities which makes categorizing things a bit difficult. We have learned that each affinity corresponds with a color and people will see their own magic as one of eight colors. We also know broad abilities that come with each affinity.
“Earth corresponds with green and it is like it sounds. Those with this affinity have the ability to manipulate the earth. Many of them can grow plants. Earth Wielders can also be bonded with different animals and speak telepathically with them.
“Water wielders have bluish green magic and can manipulate the water. Some of them can also make prophecies in visions or dreams. Many of them can also use the water to scry and see the future.
“Fire Wielders are orange and can create fire. Some can also scry into the fire to see different people and places and occasionally see future visions.
“Those with an affinity for light have yellow magic. They can manipulate light, and dar
kness which is really just the absence of light. Some light wielders can also heal people and animals of disease and injury.
“Air affinity is a gray color, almost invisible. They can do weather magic, some have great amounts of knowledge or wisdom, and some can even fly.
“Magic Wielders with an affinity for metal have magic of a silver color. They can obviously manipulate metal, they also tend to have great strength and endurance. Some can even enhance other’s powers.
“Spirit is an odd one. It’s associated with a mahogany color. People with this affinity have the power to connect to other’s spirits. We aren’t sure of all the ways this can manifest. We do know people with this affinity can sense other’s emotions, read people’s mind, and speak telepathically with other Spirit Wielders. It one of the more rare and interesting affinities.
“Aether is the rarest affinity. Aether can best be described as the substance between air. When you look at the night sky beyond our world, aether is what exists outside of our air. Here on the ground it exists in the space that cannot be seen in between air. It is the substance in which magic itself travels. Without aether there would be no magic. Fittingly, aether manifests in a black color. As far as we know those with an affinity for Aether can sense magic. We call them Finders. People can sense it in varying degrees from varying distances. Nadine here is a Finder if I remember correctly?” he asked, looking over at her, she nodded.
“And I believe Weston is a Fire Wielder?” Weston nodded. Barwick turned back to us.
“So you see, wielding abilities are common and valued. We are excited to see what you all can do. Now, let’s all go outside and meet down by the harbor shore. I have a fun challenge set up to test everyone’s abilities. Come along now.” We all stood and follow him out of the mess hall and down the hillside to the harbor.
34
The group was subdued as we all walked outside and down the hill. I had to stop myself from clutching at my necklace like it was a lifeline. I stared at the back of Aidric’s head as he walked at the head of the group. What was he going to say when it was my turn? I bumped into the person in front of me while I was lost in my thoughts. She was shorter than me with long mouse brown hair that was braided all the way down her back. She turned around to look at me.
“Sorry,” I said to her. “I wasn’t paying attention.” The girl smiled and waved her hand to brush off my apology before turning back to where everyone was watching Barwick as he stepped out in front of eight tables that were set up next to the shore.
“Here we have a series of tests designed to see if you possess any magic. Most of you will already know if you are a Magic Wielder and what affinities you are. You will tell my clerk what you think and then each of you will go through all eight tests. It has happened before that people were not aware of their magic until they tried to use it so that is what these tests are for. Now if someone would like to step up, we will get started. And please, do not try to hide your abilities if you possess them. As I mentioned before, Nadine can sense magic, so we will know if you’re holding out on us.”
A short and skinny boy I couldn’t believe was sixteen stepped forward first. He told the clerk at the beginning of the table he was a Magic Wielder with an affinity for air. The clerk made a note and then Barwick walked the recruit through the steps.
First, was a table with a pot of dirt on it. The test was to see if we could make anything grow out of the soil. Next, was a table with two cups, one full of water, one empty. The person taking the test had to see if they could move some of the water from one cup to another. The fire test was pretty self-explanatory. Some twigs lay on the table to see if anyone could make them burn.
For metal, a simple piece of metal lay by itself. Those with a metal affinity should be able to move it or change it somehow. For air, a flag was blowing toward us in the wind off the harbor, and the goal was to see if someone could get it to blow in the opposite direction. A small globe sat on the sixth table. Those will a light affinity would be able to make it glow.
The seventh wasn’t a table, but a chair with another Scholar sitting in it. He wore the same white robe as Barwick. Only his robe had a single mahogany stripe around the sleeve. To test for spirit, he would communicate telepathically with the person before him and tell them to do something. If the person could hear him they would complete the action. Lastly, was the test for Aether. Three cups sat on the table. One of them hid a rare magical amulet. Each recruit had to turn their back when it was their turn so the amulet could be hidden, then they had to try to guess which cup it was under.
I watched as the boy moved through each test. He was able to change the direction of the flag no problem but couldn’t do anything else. The next three people didn’t have any magical abilities at all. Everyone moving through the test one by one was going to take forever. Most of the recruits began to sit down.
“Why are they having these tests all the way down here by the sea?” The girl I had bumped into earlier asked her companion, a dark-skinned girl with close cropped black hair.
“My guess is they don’t want to test young Magic Wielders too close to the castle. You never know what might happen.” Her answer startled a laugh out of me. The girls turned to look at me.
“Maybe this day will be interesting, after all,” I said with a smile. “My name is Lydia, by the way.”
“Val,” the girl I had bumped into earlier told me. “And this is Rose,” she said pointing to her friend. They smiled back at me. “I think we room next to you guys,” Rose said.
“Oh yeah? Hey Erin, these are our neighbors. Honestly I was so tired last night I don’t remember much of anything after dinner.” Erin turned toward me and introduced herself to the girls.
“So, where are you all from?” Erin asked.
“Here in Windburn, actually. We were thinking about joining the army in a couple of years anyway so when the king’s offer came, we jumped right on it,” Val said. “What about you all?”
We were spared from having to answer by Val and Rose being called to the front for their tests. Both of them had spirit affinities. As the sun made its way across the sky, I began to get more and more nervous about my upcoming test. Eventually it was John’s turn. We watched as he went through the test. Nothing. Same thing for Murphy and Erin.
“Darn,” Erin told me as she came back by me. “I was kind of hoping I’d have something there.”
Then it was my turn.
“Do you have any magical abilities that you know of?” the clerk asked me.
“No,” I said. I dared a glance up at Aidric and could see he was staring at me, concern in his eyes. I looked away from him, determined to ignore him. I stepped up to each table and pretended like I was trying to make something happen. I furrowed my brow on a couple. Moved my hand like I had seen a couple other people do. I tried to look a little disappointed when nothing happened. I came to the fire and furrowed my brow as I stared at the twigs.
After a few moments Barwick said, “Appears to be nothing, move along.”
“Wait,” I heard Aidric say. “Lydia, are you sure?” I whipped my head up and tried to give him my best you better not look.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” I tried. The second we stared at each other felt like it lasted a lifetime. Was he going to say something and give up my secret? After the ball I would’ve said no way, but now I wasn’t so sure.
“Your Highness, do you have reason to believe this girl is a Wielder?” Weston asked him. The prince sat back in his chair and looked down at his hands.
“No, I don’t,” he finally said. “I’ve just heard most redheads have an affinity for fire. I’m just surprised Lydia doesn’t,” he said with a smile. Everyone lightened up and smiled back at him.
“Continue,” Barwick said. The spirit test was the only one that held me up. As I stared at the guy I heard something whisper in my mind. Lift up your right arm, the whisper said. I was filled with the urge to do just that. Resisting was hard, but after a moment t
he urge faded. The Scholar guy was staring at me oddly, but he let me pass. I got through the last test as quickly as I could.
35
After each of us had finished the test we were released for the day. I could feel Aidric’s eyes on me as I finished my test and walked to where Erin, Murphy, and John were waiting for me. I refused to look at him as we made our way away from the people still waiting. We walked up to the mess hall and found Rose and Val there as well. We all grabbed a late lunch and Rose and Val introduced us to a couple of their other friends, also from Windburn city. Erin peppered them with questions about Windburn and we spent the better part of the afternoon listening to them swap stories about the their home.
I tried to pay attention and listen. I really was interested in Windburn and what the city held. I remembered the lady who had given Erin and I our ribbons. I was using mine to tie my hair back now. However, as much as I tried, I couldn’t get the morning’s events out of my head. Barwick had said that magic was passed down through the generations, but that couldn’t be true. I was a Magic Wielder and from a different world. When no one was paying attention to me I tried to close my eyes and see what color my magic was on the inside. But that didn’t work either, the magic inside of me was gold. What affinity was that? Besides, everything that I had been able to do didn’t fit into just one or two affinities. Was my magic different somehow because we had traveled between worlds? But the lady in the woods told me I caused us to travel, so how would travel make the magic appear? Trying to make sense of it all gave me a headache.
As afternoon turned to evening, I finally begged off with my headache. I said goodnight to my friends and the recruits we met and headed to my room. I got in bed and pulled the covers up over me, but sleep wouldn’t come. I hadn’t expected it to. I just laid there and waited. After dark I heard Erin sneak into my room through the washroom. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I heard her lay something on my desk and go back to her room.
Gatebreaker: Book One Page 14
