by R. W. Weston
Fourth and foremost is Discipline. Once you learn how to harness the power of the elements to the degree which can be done, it takes great discipline. Both the mind and body must be disciplined so that you don’t take on too much power, and to know when and how to use it. This is the hardest thing to learn, because if people know who we are they will be tempted to find ways to make us abuse our abilities for their own gain.
Remember these words that I have told you this night, for they are what will control your life from this time forth. Do you have any questions about what you are about to take upon yourself?"
"Not at the moment, that is a lot to remember, so when do I start learning?"
"Have patience; remember to start disciplining yourself now in self control."
The conversation lasted a little longer, but both were tired so they decided to retire for the night. The next few days they were unable to travel very much because of heavy snows. They had been traveling in a south easterly direction and the snow began to come faster and thicker. Fortunately they were traveling on the horses or they would already be up to their wastes. They found a cave to rest in for the next few days as the heaviest of the snows continued to come down.
* * *
"Master I have failed you, the boy has gotten away and he lives," whimpered Marcolin.
"Indeed, what happened? He was a young boy, with no knowledge of magic, or so you told me,” replied the dark voice, penetrating into Marcolins’ mind, tormenting him.
"He.. He had no knowledge; there was someone else with him. All I know is whoever it was that was with him controlled the magic."
"Very well then maybe I shall let you live to serve another day, please sit and have a drink."
"Thank you master," he said.
As he took his seat the floor beneath him opened, dropping him into a dark cavern.
"Well that was a waste of a slave now wasn't it," came a voice from the shadows of Maglons throne room.
"He was a waste, and now he will have time to think of his failure for a very long time. This is a secret that only two people know of now, it is a hole in time, or better said, a place where time forgot. It has no end that I know of, and because time forgot this forsaken hole, time does not pass as we know it. So as I said he will have a very long time to think of it. He will wait until the Dark Lord decides he is ready to take the miserable soul of the man."
"What is it you would have me do now father."
"Apparently, he has been found by the Order. Assuredly he is now under their protection; however we must find him, before he goes into hiding. I leave it to you my child, find him and bring him to me by any means that you must. Preferably alive, but if dead we can still consecrate his body to the Dark Lord, he can still serve his purposes."
* * *
"We’ll stop here for a few days,” Maglin said, “Roland, the next few days are going to be difficult for the two of us. Tylon, from you we will need complete silence; we need to be undisturbed. I am leaving you in charge of taking care of the animals as well as the camp, do you both understand me?"
"Yes sir," they both replied. Both had grown used to Maglin being short with them, each night he would take Roland just outside the camp and teach him. He was helping him to remember all the important information he needed to know.
"Tell me what are the five elements of magic, and what do they stand for."
"Earth is the essence of all that grows; with it a wizard can bring new life to the driest of ground. With magic it can be altered to destroy living things as well. I vow to never use it to destroy innocent lives, and to protect mother earth.
Fire, friend and foe as it gives us heat, but it can also destroy what has been created. With it a wizard can cleanse a person or the earth giving way for new life to form. It is the key element of magic to heal, for with fire comes purification, and with purification comes healing. I vow to never use it to destroy but only for the purposes of good.
Wind, with this a wizard can assist in the toughest of tasks. Wind appears to be the lightest, but it is deceitful because it is the strongest. I vow to use wind with caution, for I know it can destroy, and even the smallest of creatures depends on wind, as do I.
Water, this is a cleanser like fire, and creator like earth. It is also a way to look into the soul of a person, to find their true appearance. Water can be a barrier for we cannot survive in it long as the creatures of the sea do. I vow to treat water with the respect it deserves, for it can kill.
Probability is the strongest of powers. It can bring the past to life, and bringing the future to pass. To change an item with this is to change the destiny of all who it touches. I vow to protect myself from probability and all that is associated with it, if I use it, it is only for the purpose of learning."
"Very good, tonight we’ll be doing something new. Each person has a personal element with which they are tied to, and generally this will be their strongest element of magic. Most people are tied to the physical elements, very few to probability. Tonight we will test you for this. This exercise will take a great deal of your strength and much patience. To begin you must find your center, the very core of your personal essence. You will know when you find it when you can feel nothing around you. You will feel as though you are one with all the elements.
Once you have reached this stage, you will feel a pull; you must follow this feeling with your mind. It may feel like you have been gone for many hours, however you may only be gone but a few moments. Also there is something very important to remember. Anything you see or hear while in this trance you must try to remember. It’s usually something very important for your own future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I believe so," he said, reluctant to try.
It took him about a half an hour to finally get his nerves calmed down enough to concentrate on what he was going to do. He sat there with his eyes closed trying to concentrate before he started to feel the calm and peace inside. There was a sense that someone was there to guide him, even though he couldn’t see them.
He finally found his center, and as Maglin had told him, he could feel himself slipping into the elements. It was the strangest feeling, loosing oneself in what seemed to be oblivion. He soon found the peace that he was told about, and soon after came the small pull. It wasn’t strong, nor did it feel like something physical, more of something pulling at the back of his mind.
He slowly opened his eyes and he was back in his bed on the farm the sun just coming over the mountains. He thought to himself that he had just woken up from a dream. When he got up he was already dressed. He went out to the barn where he knew his father would be taking care of the animals. He walked over to talk to his dad when he heard a women's voice behind him. He quickly turned to see a tall slender woman, someone who looked just like his mother, carrying a small child in her arms.
As she walked towards them they started talking, she was bringing him their son. For a minute he was shocked, they were talking about him, he felt odd inside and it scared him a little. When his mother walked right through him as though he wasn’t even there it broke the trance he was in. At that moment he knew it was not a dream and started to concentrate on where he was, he remembered Maglin telling him to follow the pull.
He never realized how difficult it would be to leave his family like that, but he knew he had to find whatever it was he was looking for. As he turned to walk away the whole world spun, making him nauseated. When it finally stopped he was at the town festival that had just ended. He saw Ty and Bethamine talking, both of them seemed to be extremely sad. There were traces that they had both been crying. He decided to get closer to see if he could see what the problem was. They were talking of him and his father, as if they were dead, killed by an attack from a pack of wolves. He didn’t understand this; he and his father were both alive; they had won the attack.
He started to run trying to somehow communicate with Ty and Beth, the thought came to him that maybe he was dead and he just didn't realize it. Wit
h that thought a deep despair crept into his heart, weighing heavy on his mind. In the far reaches of his mind he knew it was not true, once again shaking off this new vision he was having.
As he turned around again, the world spun again, the dizziness brought him to his knees with the desire to vomit. Once the spinning stopped he was in some place he had never seen before, it was a giant castle, made from beautifully crafted granite. He decided to enter the castle now and use to the fact that nobody could see or hear him, he felt safe.
The inside of the castle was lit by giant lanterns hanging on the walls. The tapestries were the finest that he had ever seen. The floors were lined with carpets, and the halls were adorned with many fine trinkets. He reached the throne room; the doors stood twenty partels high, arched at the top. They looked as though they had been made from the finest of redwood trees, carved by a master carver. The mural was depicting what seemed to be a great battle with the victor standing on a giant hill. The looser appeared to be falling, the face contorted in what looked like the worst of pain.
The doors looked too heavy to be opened by a single person, but all that stood between him and entering were two guards. Neither was wearing any armor, their clothing seemed to be made of fine cotton, dyed a crimson red, and on the front was what appeared to be a crest. A man holding a scepter with a crown a few inches above his head, while he was standing there in amazement at the beauty of the place a small party approached. The crier announced them as Prince Trention and the Lady Bethamine of Nevel.
He turned his head and caught a glimpse of the party that was now coming down the hall, walking next to the prince was Bethamine. She was dressed in the most elegant dress he had ever seen. Made from the most beautiful blue silk he had ever seen. Her hands and neckline were traced in a white lace, the gown made to fit her body snuggly, with too low of a neckline for him. But it did accentuate all her finer qualities, while masking any imperfections. He was a little surprised to see she would wear something like that.
As they came to the door both the guards pushed on a single door, they swung open wide, with seemingly little effort. He walked into the room with them, looking around. In the middle of the floor was a giant symbol, an exact duplicate from the one he saw in his dream. The room was brightly lit from the giant windows on either side. The throne sat on the far side of the room; from the doorway he couldn’t see who sat on the throne. He could see that the thrones were made from gold, embedded with many jewels.
The room was circular making it easier to hear any sound. The ceiling was in the formation of a giant dome with a huge chandelier hanging from the center. In the middle of the dome was the picture of a sun, also gilt in gold the reflection giving off the appearance of sunlight. He slowly walked around the outside of the room, looking at all the paintings on the walls, most were of battles.
He saw all the people bow to the king, when they stood they heard a loud exclamation, "Long live King Roland, protector of the people," that made him stop. He slowly walked in front of the throne. He could not believe what he saw, sitting there on the throne was him, albeit a little older. He walked up the few steps to get a closer look; he saw the scepter that was on the doors, along with the crown, which appeared to be floating just above his head. He reached to try and touch himself, just to see if it was real.
The jolt that woke him up knocked him off the log that he had been sitting on. It took him a minute to realize where he was. He stood and was surprised that his muscles were tight and stiff; causing him to stumbled a little when he tried to walk. When he got back to the fire, Maglin and Ty were sitting there talking, both jumped when he came into the clearing.
"I didn't expect you to be done so soon, you were only entranced for half an hour, are you feeling okay?" asked Maglin.
"Yeah, can we talk about what just happened?"
"Yes, defiantly, let's go back to the log," he said, getting up and walking back the way he came.
They sat down together for several hours, Roland told Maglin about what he had seen. He was afraid that he missed whatever he was suppose to be looking for, or worse yet, that he may have to do it again. That alone left him with a feeling of unease, possibly having to see himself again, not only that but his family as well. Until that moment he didn't realize how much he missed his father. After he finished Maglin sat there, it looked to him like he was thinking and pondering about what to say and how to say it.
"Well done. I would have to say that you are tied to probability, in that vision you brought the past to life, saw a present that would have been probable, and a future although sketchy, still is very possible. You don't remember why you were made a king do you, or over what?"
"No, I still can't believe what I saw; it still seems more like a dream."
"Now that we know what your strongest element is, we can start your training with actual magic. Let me warn you, it will not be easy, so we shall only learn what you need know, and how to do it for the time being.
Where we are going you will meet many wizards, trainers of our order. They will teach you much more than you expect, the time will be difficult, but you will do fine.
Remember with wizards it is important to keep in line and to know the hierarchy and to be able to show proper respect, trust me you don't want to upset a wizard. You will first be an apprentice, basically learning what you have already learned, only now you will be taught how to control more magic with each use. As an apprentice you will also have many studies all under constant supervision from someone higher.
Once you have learned these skills you will be advanced to a patlin. Although you will not have so many of the daily house cleaning jobs, your training will be intensified. You will learn more about the elements and what is expected of you. At this time you will also be given a few apprentices to supervise. Remember we are teaching you how to help others; some skills are more easily gained than others.
The next advancement will bring you to journey status. This is the most fun of the three lower ranks, at this time you will be given the opportunity to leave; you must then choose a destiny or quest. You will be out in the world, exploring and helping all that you may, due to this you will have no supervision from the other wizards, so you must be very careful on how you handle yourself. At this time in the learning there are some who choose to seek out the Legion to join with their cause.
Once you have proven yourself worthy, then you will be given the choice, to become a wizard. This is the hardest to endure, not only because of the great stress and loneliness that it can bring. There is an awesome responsibility that comes with this calling in life.
As a wizard you will be sent out in the world to find others who possess the skills of using magic. I'm afraid to say of late there have not been many found. At the same time you will be charged with finding any member of the Legion and destroying them. If you train well enough you will be given some apprentices, and patlins to train. As I said this is the hardest calling to be given in life."
When the two of them returned to the camp Ty had already fallen asleep, the fire was now down to ashes. Roland put a new log on the fire and stoked the coals until a small flame caught and the fire was going again. When he finally went to sleep the sun was on its way up, "Yet another short night of sleep," he thought to himself before sleep took him.
When he awoke it was well past midday. Ty was up moving around taking care of the necessities of the camp. Such as tending to the horses and collecting fire wood. Maglin was sitting in front of the fire writing something in a little notebook. He was surprised that the two of them let him sleep so long, even though it did feel great.
"Good morning Master Roland," Maglin said, putting his book away, "I trust you slept well."
"Yes, better than I have in a long time, thank you for asking."
"Rest well today; we will have another long night tonight. Tonight you will learn the basics of magic," he said, "Tylon come over here please, I have something to show and tell the both of you."
&n
bsp; Ty stopped brushing the horses and came over to them. They followed Maglin deep into the forest, neither one of them knew what was going on. Maglin came to a short stop, they heard him whisper something, as he did the trees began to move. When they stopped moving, they saw a large clearing. A few partels in from the tree line was a large lake, and in the middle was an island. Sitting on the island was a large castle, made from black stone; it was hard to see from where they were standing.
What they both had noticed was that beyond the tree line it looked like spring, the lake was not frozen over, nor was there any snow on the island. Instead it had the greenest grass, and most colorful arrangements of flowers they had ever seen.
"Tomorrow boy's we will go there. This is our destination, The House of Learning." Maglin quickly turned back around and started to head back the direction they had come from.
Out of the corner of his eye Ty saw something moving, at first he thought it was just the wind, because there was no sound. As he looked closer he could see the figure of a man. He didn't say anything, but continued to watch into the woods for any other type of movement. When they got back to camp he pulled Roland aside to tell him what he saw. They both decided it would be best to tell Maglin, in case it was another attack from the Legion.
"Roland, Ty, I want you to meet someone, this is my guardian," he said, as a figure came into the clearing. His movements were so careful and skillful, that if you didn't look right he would seem to disappear.
"This is who you saw in the woods earlier today Ty, you must have a quick eye to have been able to see him he is what we call a Grolian, a wizard protector. All journeymen are assigned a Grolian, as a protector. They are or were normal people, but swore an allegiance to a certain wizard, in return they benefit with a longer life."
The grolian didn’t speak much, just watching him made them feel dizzy. He would take on whatever color that was behind him. All that day all Roland and Ty could think of was going into the castle they saw. That and the thought that they would at last be able to sleep on a soft bed instead of the ground as well as to have a hot meal and bath.
