The Children of the Light: Book 1: Spirit Summoner

by Matt Campbell

  Finally, in a burst of power from the Sephir, Darr and the Water Archon dove down into the depths of the waterway passage. They circled within the cavern where the source of the Lourcient River had been turned to ice. The Archon gathered in its magic, and in one swift pulse, the spirit creature liquefied the frozen waterfall.

  In an explosive rush, the Lourcient River surged into the waterway passage.

  The Archon’s presence became separate from him.

  --Thank you, Summoner--I am in your debt--

  “Who are you?” the Summoner asked, his question spilling out into the wisteria glow of the Currents.

  A soft blue light appeared before him, its color coalescing out of the ether until it had formed a body out of blue sparkle, small and feminine.

  --I am Ariswa--I am the Archon of the Water Sephir--

  The Archon came closer to him, her presence fluid and light, and Darr knew her in the same way he’d known Racall when they joined. As a nurturer and a healer, Ariswa exuded wisdom and agelessness. She adapted to change with barely a thought, moving along at whatever pace she set for herself, at one with her element.

  Ariswa reached out to him, the blue sparkle of her fingertips brushing across the white shimmer of his face. They touched, and a shock of memory and emotion rushed through Darr. While the images were indecipherable, they made him feel needed.

  --The service you have provided, Darr, is invaluable--With the Sephir of Water secured once more, the devoid seeking to envelop both our world and yours has weakened--

  Ariswa pulled her hand away. Sadness poured out of her.

  --A long journey awaits you, and this has been but its shortest leg--The days ahead will hold little joy for you--You will face uncertainties and doubts--You will see the many faces of death and destruction, and you will want to run away--

  The Archon’s words upset Darr. Nidic Waq and Racall had both told him his journey wouldn’t be easy, but Ariswa sounded more honest. She didn’t shade the truth of things.

  The emotions flowing from Ariswa changed, her sadness replaced by determination and pride. --There is always hope-- She reached out to him again, and this time, four blinding white lights erupted across his vision, obliterating any trace of darkness. --The Chosen, Darr Reintol--They are out there and they are waiting for their destiny--

  The importance behind the Archon’s words confused Darr. “Who are the Chosen? Where can I find them?”

  Ariswa laughed, a light feeling that warmed him despite his confusion. --Such questions matter little right now--The answers will come to you, but for now, you need only worry about the next Sephir--

  Darr moved towards the Archon, but Ariswa’s body of blue sparkle spread apart.

  --You have made us all proud, young Summoner--You will do well in the days ahead despite the challenges you will face--

  Darr couldn’t stop the Archon from leaving him. The questions and statements she’d posed to him were intriguing, but he believed her when she said the answers would come. Like Racall, Ariswa wasn’t prepared to give him any concrete explanations. He’d learn what he needed to learn when the time came.

  --We are forever in your debt, Darr Reintol--

  Ariswa’s final words. The Summoner knew the time had come to return to the physical world. The Currents and its mysteries would be waiting for another day...

  ...When Darr opened his eyes to the Glass Tower, the bright light of the Water Sephir had dimmed, replaced by a soft glow. The Sephir hovered a finger’s width from the top of its altar. It had the texture of a rough-hewn crystal plucked straight from the ground, but its shape was vaguely round, like an orb. With its blue surface, clear and unblemished, its shape imperfect. Regardless, the Sephir gave the impression of perfection.

  Darr found it to be the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

  At awe, the Summoner turned to Herdas and his siblings, but the entire fortress trembled as he did so. Horns blew in the city below, but from the height of the Glass Tower, they sounded far away.

  The rumbling from below the fortress grew thunderous, shaking them all.

  Herdas’s face glowed with excitement. “You’ve done it, Summoner,” he said. “We must leave now, the governor will be here soon. Those horns are warnings for the floodgates. The Lourcient River has returned!”

  * * * *

  As the Lourcient River awakened, Stern’s populace amassed in an uproar on the streets below. Darr and his siblings watched from a window in Herdas’s quarters. The old Divine had left them several minutes before. With the river’s apparent return, the governor would go to the Glass Tower, anticipating the Sephir’s return. With hundreds of citizens rioting before the entrance of the waterway passage, it looked as though many of Stern’s citizens believed the same.

  The people below fought with the soldiers, yelling for the governor and demanding information. From the deep rumbling underneath the city and the sound of the warning horn blowing in Dacon, no one could deny the state of the river was changing. The guards below forced the citizens away, ordering them to return home, but the people persisted.

  Don’t run away from what you believe.

  Darr heard his mother’s voice, the memory brought back with startling clarity while watching the people below. He’d been quite young when his mother had told him those words, but he remembered her as if it happened yesterday. Her body small and her face round, like Jinn’s, her hair brown and dark and curled about her face.

  He didn’t remember what had prompted the words, but he remembered being afraid. He remembered feeling uncertain. His mother had found him, comforted him, and told him--Don’t run away from what you believe. Face it, head on. The people of Stern embodied his mother’s words. They were certain, and they believed with their hearts, in the return of their river. He wasn’t sure he could remain in a situation when logic told him to turn away.

  Another quake shook the fortress, and Darr steadied himself on the window sill. The locks and dams within the passage were keeping the river’s massive flow in check, but before long, they wouldn’t be able to hold it. The engineers would have to release the river or risk damaging the system. What would happen when they opened those locks? He’d seen the amount of water released when Ariswa had freed the river.

  The guards along the edge of the waterway passage forced people back in a rush, desperate to get them clear. From out of the passage entrance, an explosion of water erupted, blowing its iron grating out of the fortress walls and sending it flying over the heads of the rioters, dead leaves in a gusty wind. The water of the Lourcient River surged down the channels cut throughout the city, overflowing onto its streets as it raced steadily for the city walls where it would become the Hondor Waterfall.

  Below, both citizens and fortress soldiers, picked themselves up from where the river’s eruption had knocked them down. They danced in the streets as the river’s channels overflowed around them. Their streets were flooded, and undoubtedly, some of their homes, but the people of Stern had their river back.

  And they would never know why.

  It was rewarding enough to watch them for a little while longer.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “A war against the Devoid and its Soul Seekers broke out. The massive, shining cities of the Ancients fell one by one, and as their population dropped away, their enemies grew stronger. The Elder Council tried to fight against the Devoid using relics both spiritual and scientific, but nothing could penetrate its defenses.”

  ~From A Current History of Ictar, as told by Nidic Waq

  After it became evident Stern’s population would be celebrating for some time to come, Darr and his siblings settled themselves in Herdas’s quarters and went to sleep. The old Divine stopped in sometime around noon and told them not to worry about the governor. No one suspected anything about their presence. Too tired to ask more, Darr rolled over on the couch and slept.

  In the late afternoon, Darr lifted his head and looked around the room. Jinn slept soun
dlessly on the low mattress, and Erec stood motionless, staring out the window at the shadowed cityscape below. Darr threw off his blankets and rose from the couch. Herdas had left plates of food on his desk. He grabbed an apple and walked to stand near Erec.

  Darr took a bite, chewed, and asked, “Are they still celebrating down there?”

  His brother nodded. “I don’t think it will end for a while.” Erec looked over, his dark eyes serious. “You know, I’m sorry for what I said this morning--for implying you should do this for the glory.”

  Darr dipped his head in shock. Erec rarely took back his actions, let alone apologize for them. “Thanks. If I’m being honest, I wondered the same thing about sending help to Father.”

  Erec smiled. “When I saw those people out there, they were so happy. I know there are bigger rewards...”

  The Summoner almost laughed out of pure astonishment, but he didn’t want to offend his brother. “It’s nice to see that you’re broadening your horizons,” Darr said.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” seriousness crept back into Erec’s tone, “I still don’t agree with what you’re doing. Magic is an outdated tool...but maybe in your hands, it’ll do better. It did some good here in Stern.”

  Erec turned back to face Darr and took a deep breath. “That’s why I’m coming with you. I’ve got to watch your back because I know you won’t, and you can’t rely on those spirits all the time.”

  Darr didn’t want to see his brother endangered, and more, he knew his brother had doubts about the entire effort. Erec’s life would be changed irrevocably by going any further. His brother wasn’t open-minded, and he wouldn’t accept a change in his beliefs easily. Darr studied the determination in his brother’s face, and he remembered something Racall said to him earlier. He would find strength from his brother and sister. Perhaps the Archon knew something about Erec that Darr didn’t.

  “Are you sure about this?” the Summoner asked. “Things will never be the same afterwards.”

  Erec nodded. “I know, but I think I can handle it.”

  “Well neither one of you is leaving me behind.”

  Both brothers turned towards Jinn. She hopped up from her bed, but Erec shook his head in protest. “You aren’t coming,” he stated resolutely. “Father is still alone back in Tyfor and none of us knows what his condition is. You have to go back. One of us has to.”

  Jinn stopped in front of Erec, pointing a small finger into his chest. “Don’t talk to me about obligation. You were the one ready to take off and leave us all to join the king’s guard. It was your obligation to stay, yet you chose to follow your heart.” Erec’s face darkened, but Jinn didn’t back down. “We don’t hold it against you, Erec, and you shouldn’t hold this against me. I saw just as much as you did down in those tunnels, and I think I have a right to see where all of this goes. Besides, who’s going to keep you two from killing each other?”

  Darr raised his eyebrows and a smile twitched on his mouth. Jinn would be the most understanding when it came to his abilities. He could talk freely with her about the Currents and the magic in ways he never could with Erec. It concerned him that he’d be putting her in danger by allowing her to come along. She possessed little experience of the world outside of Tyfor and no fighting skills. Then again, neither did he. Hopefully, between his summoning abilities and Erec’s adequate swordsmanship, none of them would be in too much danger.

  Darr raised his hands between his siblings, diffusing the fight before it erupted.

  “Jinn can come,” Darr said.

  Erec flung his arms up. “You’re insane.”

  “Jinn’s right,” Darr continued. ”She has a right to be here, and I think we need her. If the two of us go alone, we’ll end up arguing and fighting the whole time. I think since we started this together, we should end it together.”

  Erec bit his lip and nodded solemnly, holding back whatever almost came out of this mouth. “Okay, but I don’t like this. Now I have to look out for the both of you.”

  Jinn and Erec started bickering again, but Darr left them alone. He stalked off towards Herdas’s desk and the food that waited for them. After a few moments, his siblings dropped their argument, more interested in their hunger than their fight. The three gathered around the desk and ate the meal the Divine had left.

  Outside, the daylight waned, yet the sounds of celebration continued. When sunset finally arrived, Herdas returned to take them out of the city.

  * * * *

  Herdas and a few of his trusted guards had carefully arranged their departure. He dressed them in the white robes of the Divine, and had their packs taken down to the base of Dacon. No one suspected who the Reintols were while they made their way through the fortress. Anyone looking at them would see nothing out of the ordinary, only a few Divine on an evening stroll. They reached the fortress gates with no interference, but the guards on duty might upend their plans. Herdas explained to the gatekeepers three of his order were being dismissed to Darlholme. With nothing more than a casual shrug, the guard pulled the gates opened and released them into the night. Darr breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  The little company made their way down the hill leading from Dacon, taking back roads in order to bypass the celebrating crowds. The channels cut through the streets now flowed with water. Darr smiled. At the edge of the city, they found horses and fresh supplies waiting for them. The three mounted up, and with Herdas leading on his own horse, and his guards flanking them, they rode down the city thoroughfare towards the walls.

  “It wasn’t an easy matter revealing the Sephir’s return to the governor,” Herdas explained to Darr. “He’s a very strict man and doesn’t like secrets taking place within his city, not to mention within his fortress. Suffice to say, he was very pleased to see the Sephir had been returned, though he realized it couldn’t have gotten there on its own. The crowd at the base of the fortress distracted him for a time, but it didn’t allow me to escape his attention altogether.”

  A knot formed in the pit of Darr’s stomach and he asked, “So what did you do? What did you tell him?”

  The Divine smiled. “I told him the truth. I told him a Summoner came to me with the Sephir. This Summoner had found the means to locate it and had defeated the enemy who had taken it. When he asked where this Summoner could be found, I told him he’d already left--a very crafty fellow, that Summoner.”

  “The truth?”

  Herdas laughed. “I had much explaining to do. The governor didn’t think Summoners were capable of doing much more than hearing voices. I told him there are some that can do a little more.”

  Darr caught the hidden meaning in the Divine’s words. Herdas was aware of a Summoner’s potential, but Darr decided not to ask him about it. The answer he might get worried him.

  When they came to the city walls, the portcullis raised at their approach and the guards were blind to the four Divine passing underneath Stern’s walls to the plains beyond. Herdas led them a short way past the gates and brought his mount to a halt. He lowered his cowl, his billowy white hair sticking out in all directions.

  The Divine smiled warmly and said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done, Summoner. Your service to Ictar will never be forgotten, even if your name can’t be known.” He nodded in thanks to Jinn and Erec before fixing his gaze on Darr once more. “Keep your robes on until you reach the Lourcient River. We don’t want any stray eyes to fall on you. Do you know which direction to head?”

  The Summoner nodded. “To the Dwarves. They protect the Sephir of Earth.”

  Herdas nodded. “Yes. You’ll have to make your way to the city of Arcnor, deep within the Dwarf territory. I know the distance is great, but you’ll do fine, Summoner.”

  Darr turned away, but then turned back. “Herdas? Could you do me a favor?”

  The Divine nodded agreeably.

  “My father, Hydle Reintol, was injured in Tyfor before I left for Stern. I wasn’t able to stay and help him back on his feet. Could you send someon
e in my stead to help him and tell him Jinn and Erec have come with me?”

  “Of course,” the Divine said. “I’ll send someone tonight in fact, a young man among my order who’s used to running errands to far places. Don’t worry about your father. He’ll be informed.”

  Darr smiled and said, “Thank you.”

  Jinn and Erec also gave their thanks. Darr replaced his cowl, and gave a final wave to Herdas. With his brother and sister beside him, they rode down the hill towards the Lourcient River.

  * * * *

  They did as they were told and kept the robes of the Divine on until they were well out of sight of Stern. They reached the dark banks of the Lourcient within an hour of leaving Herdas, its powerful waters churning strongly through the night, falling from the heights of Stern’s wall at the Hondor Falls and winding through the plains back towards the Valimere Mountains. A sense of peace came over Darr when he heard the rushing water. A few days ago he’d passed by these plains and the river had been nothing more than a debris-clogged creek. Now the Lourcient’s place in nature had been returned, and the balance within Ictar had been strengthened.

  Erec found a spot close by the river secluded by a copse of hemlock. They tethered their horses, discarded their robes, and wrapped themselves in blankets within the shelter of the trees. For a time, they spoke about what had transpired the day before with the Ovid and the Archon, Racall. They talked about the revival of the Lourcient, and how strange it was Darr’s magic had brought it about. The Summoner didn’t tell them about his connection with the Water Sephir and its Archon when he touched with the altar. There were some experiences, he sensed, he needed to keep to himself.