Convergence (The Dragon Within Saga Book 1)

by Roberto Vecchi

  For the first fifty years of his life after his sister's death, the visions and memories of the event responsible for triggering his initial endeavor into his endless future of magical utilization were extremely fresh. As the ages passed during his magically enhanced numerous years now measured in lifetimes, the freshness of the rest of his memories dwindled to simply an emotional awareness. All of them, that is, except for those directly linked to the magic itself. Those remained as vivid as if he was still eight years old and existed within that specific moment in time.

  First came the awareness that he knew about trees. Not just that he knew about them, but that he knew how to use them. He remembered looking over to the trees and seeing inside them. All his father's lessons from his childhood regarding the various fruit trees on their property were made acutely visible to an eye that resided deeper inside him than he was previously aware of. He sensed it, felt it, and knew it. Beginning first as a slight prickling of the hairs on the back of his neck and arms, it built and swirled within him until it built and felt like an electric tingling that began to permeate his mind. When he felt it extend to the air around him, and when he could actually feel the trees, he knew something was happening. And even though he knew he was somehow causing it, he could not stop it, and he did not want to stop it. He focused all of the swirling dynamic energy upon the single huge yet dead Grudine tree on the outskirts of his long remembered home village and watched as an arc of invisible energy lept from his hands to its base exploding it from the inside out. Seconds later, he saw the gigantic, lifeless entity topple over and land on a few of the unsuspecting bandits now attempting to flee after they had brutally pillaged his village.

  In the days following the raid, there were many rumors and rumblings concerning what had happened; however, more were the rumors about how it happened and greater still, who had caused it to happen. It did not take long for the people of his village to find out it was little Intellos who caused the explosion in the tree. Nor did it take long for the Wizards of the University of Knowledge to locate him and come calling. There was no choice given the parents or children who displayed the talent regarding the next steps of their lives. It was clear, that while not involved in the direct ruling of the land, the Wizards of the University operated under laws and decrees of their own which carried as much, if not more, weight than the lord of the lands themselves. There were three of them that came, two wearing dark red robes and one, the apparent leader because he did all the speaking, who wore white robes. Intellos was not included in the conversation which was preferable to him because it gave him time to explore the scene of the fallen, or rather, exploded tree. As much as he tried, he was not able to feel the energy build within himself and could not duplicate the intricate awareness of his own knowledge.

  "Do not try so hard, my young Wizard, you will only hurt yourself," came an amused, confident voice from behind him.

  Startled, he turned around abruptly and saw a very tall, very thin man wearing all white robes. His hair was very short and a robust shade of silver. He had wrinkles around his eyes and corners of his mouth giving his facial features a very severe appearance. His nose projected downward as did his high set cheek bones and jaw line. When all of his facial aspects were taken together as single feature, he appeared to resemble the great, white feathered birds of the northern mountains. Not that he had seen any of these birds with his own eyes, but he had heard of their legend, as all children had.

  "The key to unlocking the tight set tumbles of your magical door, you have already found, but now you must learn how to keep those tumblers from resetting which will allow your door to stay open. I am Darkinian Froll, and I am now your instructor and mentor. You and I will have much to learn from each other little Intellos. And I sense, with the proper training, you may even surpass myself," Said the old Wizard as he turned and walked away into a future far surpassing anything the mind of an eight year old was capable of understanding.

  In truth, Intellos had surpassed his once mentor; but he owed his unequalled advancement directly to the mentorship of the late Great Wizard which is why he spent much of his time not with the Ascendants studying the more advanced corners of knowledge and magic as one might expect the Grand Wizard to do, but with the Initiates who had just begun their research driven journey. Many of his colleagues seated on the High Council and those occupying instructing positions within the University scoffed at his unique decision. They felt that, as a leader, he should spend more of his attention upon those who had advanced beyond the beginning and intermediate levels of magic leaving the lesser students to the lesser wizards. But that is not how Intellos understood the task of leadership and its responsibility. He saw the beginning influence of a student as the most opportune moment to ignite the flames of self-inspiration that would continue well past his direct influence into their formative studies. True, he could spend hours with the most advanced of the Ascendants, assisting them with the great complexities of their many tasks and help to sustain the fire for knowledge within, but he preferred to spend that time with the newly found Initiates and inspire them to keep and grow the fire on their own. However, he was not foolish enough to completely disregard the benefits of being present for the Ascendants, if for no other reason than to appease those who did not entirely agree with his appraisal of leadership characteristics.

  "Good morning, Grand Wizard," he heard the warm voice of his most trusted and longest friend say from the doorway to his study.

  "Yes, it is a good morning. And please, Bengrako, of all the people who address me as such, you are the one who needs not," Intellos answered the other Wizard.

  "As you wish, Grand Wizard Intellos," Said Bengrako in an amused and taunting voice causing Intellos to look up from his papers in a half grin.

  "If I did not know you so well, I could potentially interpret that as an insult. Hopefully you will one day take my place so you can have your best friend treat you with that same manner of insolence."

  "But you are my best friend, Grand Wizard."

  "Indeed. So tell me Bengrako, how comes your grand study of food? Are you still finding it difficult to study what happens to the food once it is in the body?" Intellos said, changing the subject of friendly banter to the more serious and productive nature of his friend's latest area of study.

  Bengrako entered the Grand Wizard's study and sat on one of the plush chairs. In appearance, he was quite the opposite of Intellos. Whereas Intellos was below average height, Bengrako was rather above. The Grand Wizard was not skinny by any means, but he was thin; conversely, Bengrako was robust and full bodied. Intellos's hair was short, cropped under his ears and dark, but the larger wizard's was a bright orange and fell well past his shoulders, with a thick and long braid hanging from his right temple. They were equally opposite in facial hair with Bengrako wearing his beard full and long, mimicking the bright orange of the hair on his head, while Intellos's was cut close to his skin showing only the faintest shadow on his cheeks and chin.

  "Interestingly enough, the study of how the body makes use of food has become somewhat of a moot point really," replied the larger wizard as he sat down.

  "What do you mean, 'has become a moot point'? I should think the consumption of a magical signature could have effects even you have not considered yet. Look at us. We have lived lifetimes beyond those of the rest of the world. How this happens, we do not fully know. We just know that it happen suggesting that releasing magic within the body alters its natural progression. Like it or not, Bengrako, we have become entirely unnatural."

  "Perhaps, Intellos, the unnatural aspect of our physical lives, having clearly been altered by magic into something beyond what those who cannot wield the talent can ever hope to become, has also had other effects upon us as you suggest. And what if those effects have been all beneficial? Really, when was the last time you heard of a wizard becoming sick, or anything else that can readily be blamed on the magic we wield? Consider this: Have you yourself seen
any ill effects of the talent? Because by all accounts, you wield the greatest portion and should, if you were correct with your concerns, be half insane, or completely insane and living in solitude in a dark cave on the top of a mountain somewhere," Bengrako retorted as he adjusted his position to recline just a little bit further in the plush, green chair.

  Bengrako had always been a very studious wizard, but often times would see only the benefits and never the challenges of wielding magic. While it is true that the use of magic has a numerous array of positive consequences upon the wielder, those effects were not applicable universally. Intellos himself was almost beyond the age of counting and had not suffered any of the normal declines associated with aging. His was mind was yet sharp, and with his age came the ability to focus on multiple elements of consideration at the same time. He considered and calculated possibilities in a fraction of the time of those who could not use magic and was able to see a much broader aspect of those possibilities. All but the most advanced people, including wizards, would incorrectly attribute most of these positive effects (besides the unnatural aging of course) to the direct effects of maintaining a life of constant study. But Intellos knew that his ability to access the magical reservoir within was responsible for his, and that of all wizards’, voracious thirst for knowledge. So any direct benefit derived from solely the effects of amassing a great wealth of knowledge could still trace its roots back to the talent.

  However, all of the effects one inherited because of the magic were the result of learning how to control one's own specific signature of magical residue. What Bengrako and the rest of the wizards, farmers, and various other administrators devoted to the new movement of magically enhanced food were ignoring was the effects the magical residue could and will have upon those who were never meant or equipped to bear prolonged exposure to it. What would happen to the child who was raised for years consuming a strict diet of food wherein resided a spell altering the nature of the very growth process of food itself? There has been some study into the effects of prolonged magical exposure to those who do not have it, but that area of knowledge is grossly inadequate to make any conclusions largely in part because there has been no means to gather subjects to study.

  "You know I would never seek to limit your advancement of knowledge, nor would I seek to limit the benefit magic can have toward the world. All I am saying is to be careful. You must admit, as anyone must admit, that we have not studied this topic long enough to exhaust any and every concern. There are many questions still left to be answered before it should be put into practice. Bengrako, you are a great Wizard, in the truest sense of its meaning; we have grown up together and progressed though the University together; we both sought to propagate the excellence of our future generations by seeking employ from the institution in which we were produced; we have known much of each other and for a very, very long time. So please understand when I say I am unable to endorse the active implantation of magic within food.” Upon hearing Intellos’s statement, Bengrako shifted quite noticeably in his chair, almost standing up. Intellos, seeing his friend's agitation, emphasized as he continued, "As of yet. I will, however, endorse your continued research in whatever manner you choose, regarding this area, as I believe it can and will lead to a wide array of new knowledge we have yet to understand, let alone master."

  Bengrako shifted slightly again, this time returning to his position of relaxed comfort. "You are aware, Grand Wizard Intellos, as your named Hecton Mangico, I do not require your endorsement to wield any magic in any manner I deem necessary. Though I have always, and will continue to always value your council. Apart from myself, yours is a wisdom I have heeded with all serious intentions of following. After all, it is you who are responsible for my continued life. Had it not been for your insight into the giants, I am not fully certain I would have returned at all."

  This produced a genuine laugh within the Grand Wizard's belly that was echoed by his counterpart still seated across from him. Indeed, Bengrako was a great wizard, having mastered several areas of knowledge as well as having a large reservoir, possibly only second to Intellos himself. His power was great and his personality was greater, but what he displayed as enthusiasm, Intellos saw as a small streak of recklessness. Which is not to say Bengrako was careless, because he was not; however, he did possess a little too much self-assuredness in regards to his own interpretation of situations and their subsequent events. Infrequently, though at the same time inopportunely, he would fail to recognize the possibility of failure did not depend on how strongly he believed he would succeed without regard to its antithesis, but rather that he indeed, out of necessity, needed to entertain the thought of failure to deduce the proper and correct course of action.

  Such it was with the Giants. Bengrako, while studying the Giants and their ability to speak to all animals, did not consider that the Giants would not appreciate the exclusive secret of their race being exposed to a wizard and possibly all of Avendia. So when he was brought before their Council of Kings, he was not prepared for the hostilities they chose to display. Neither was it productive when Bengrako cursed them for immature savages who lacked vision and wisdom. Moments before a grand battle was about to ensue, Intellos (who was keeping watch over Bengrako for precisely this possibility) intervened. After much apologies and promising to aid the Giants in their altercations with the Dwarves, Bengrako was allowed to leave the encampment and leave their lands but only with Intellos as his escort.

  "Yes, that was quite an interesting development. You still owe me for that one. I had to warn the Dwarves of the Giant's plans, pretend to aid them, while not actually tipping the scale of battle one way or the other. I never actually thought my study of illusions would be applicable in battle in either a singular effort or on as wide of a scale as it was in the Dwarven Wars," Intellos stated through a smile.

  "How did you manage to fool the entire Giant race into believing you were offering them aid?"

  "It was complicated," said the Grand Wizard with a slight wink.

  A slight pause in their discourse allowed Intellos time enough to check his hourglass. Seeing the sand was slowly but steadily dwindling, he again felt forlorn at its passage without his understanding to momentarily pause it. But again, seeing the late hour, he would have to suspend both his visit with his dear friend and research into the sands of time until his schedule allowed. His students, his charge, and his legacy necessitated his attention, and just as time relents for no one, neither does responsibility. Slowly standing, he addressed the wizard sitting across from him, "As always, My Friend, our discussion has given me a very nice reprieve from my daily duties and allowed me, once again, to revisit the more joyous days of my life. Yours are the troubles I will always endure if it means the continuance of our friendship." Bengrako returned a warm smile as he stood to take his leave allowing Intellos a return to that which occupied the predominance of his mind: time and all of its possibilities.

  Because his life had become rooted in the halls of The University since he assumed the dual mantle of Grand Wizard and Grand Master, he was able to walk the halls without conscious attention. To an outsider, and most insiders, the labyrinth of passages was seemingly created around a random, meaningless purpose for simple confusion; however, in reality, they were very intricately designed for a singular defensive purpose should the halls ever become compromised again.

  One of the University's best kept secrets was the invasion of the "Unyielding" in the First Age. When the propagation of magic was just being formalized, and at the behest of the very first High Council of Wizards, each nation sent its engineers, craftsman, and resources to assist in the building of the Great University of Knowledge. The basic premise necessitating the creation of a formal curriculum was that if allowed to progress uncontrolled, knowledge, and hence, magic could carve pathways into areas that were better left to only those who had advanced in their control. Soon after its completion, and in direct response to it, the "Unyielding" made th
eir existence known to the High Council. Nothing was known of the "Unyielding" prior to this visit, so when they threatened the whole of the High Council and the rest of Avendia without explanation or reason, the High Council responded by continuing along their pathway without deviation.

  Then the "Unyielding" showed exactly why they had been named such. Through sheer force of power, they infiltrated the deepest halls of the University seeking to steal the centermost research as well as exterminate all those within. Through the combined efforts of the High Council linked together by the techniques employed by Darkinian the Great (named such after his successful thwarting of the invasion), they withstood and repelled the "Unyielding". But their success had come at a great cost. Nearly all of the Initiates of that day were killed as well as nearly all of the Ascendants. The leaders of the University, while being successful at repelling the attack, showed that even the Great Wizards of Avendia were vulnerable; and while donating all of the resources as they had, the races and their nations began to feel they might have been more protected had they kept them within their own boundaries.

  Even though the damage on that day perpetuated the redesign of the halls he now called home, he found himself, year after year, turning this last corner into this all too familiar room. Though he was at the completely opposite end of the Learning Paradox, as named by Darkinian The Great, as the Initiates who were now seated and facing him with expectation filled eyes, his feeling of innocence, even if only momentary, never fully left him and always surprised him. Today marked a very significant day in the history of the University. Well, at least in the recent history. This was the first year where the numbers of new initiates exceeded those of the exiting class of Ascendants. In total, there were twenty and six new Initiates sitting in front of him. He could remember a time, not too long ago, when the classes numbered in the single digits. This year, however, as it had over the past several years, the numbers continued to grow.