“So what now?” asked Myles.
“You’re about to partake on an ancient right of passage for new wizards. Do not fear your lack of magical knowledge, for everyone comes into this cave ignorant but emerges with newfound knowledge.”
“You mean you’re not coming with me?” pondered Myles nervously.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to meet me on the other side. However long this takes you, you must remember that in order to become a wizard you must see it through. If you leave the cave before gaining the ancient knowledge, you will never again have this opportunity.”
“Well that doesn’t make me nervous at all. But I suppose I might as well get on with it!”
“Rest for awhile first Myles, this ritual begins when the sun has fully set, and the moon has begun to rise.”
They waited at the mouth of the cave for about an hour longer until the sun had fully set. Myles had tried to ask Alfaron about his own experience in the cave, but the wizard mumbled something about not being able to tell anyone for fear of ruining his right of passage. Alfaron gave a cheerful goodbye and told his apprentice he’d see him on the other side, whenever that may be. On that note he disappeared in his usual fashion- with a puff of smoke and a blue shimmer of light.
“I guess it’s just me now. But I have to do this. I’ve dreamed of something like this happening to me for as long as I can remember. And now I have a real chance at making it a reality. I must complete this quest, so that I can continue a life of adventure and magic!”
Myles took one last long look at the night sky, soaking in the stars’ and moon’s light and thinking about the many nights he spent by a different cave- far, far away.
Chapter 3
The new apprentice felt like he had been walking forever. The only light available to him were the glowing crystals that made up the walls of the cave. He had to crouch and even crawl through several parts, and grew steadily less comfortable as the cave got narrower and narrower. This went on for several more minutes until Myles was literally forcing himself to squeeze between the cave walls. Eventually he thought he could see a light glowing around the corner.
“The path must open up ahead.” he said aloud.
He pushed himself to move quicker and sure enough he squeezed around the corner and into a glowing cavern. The light was coming from a large crystal in the center. It seemed to glow with all of the colors of the other crystals in the cave. Myles felt drawn to the strange rock in a way. It called to him as if it wanted him to approach. Instinctively he walked up and placed both hands on the the glowing stone. Suddenly the crystal’s light began to pour into his hands and filled up his entire body until he was glowing with the same light. He felt overwhelmed with magic, as if he himself was now generating the energy. Suddenly he fell back, banging his head on the cave floor and everything faded to black.
“Wake up young boy. Come on now.” a deep voice said as its owner shook Myles’ arm.
Myles opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself somewhere incredibly well lit. It appeared he was laying on a soft surface, almost as if he was on a cloud. White light surrounded him from every angle in a purifying sensation.
“Where am I? I was just in a cave and I saw all these colors and they filled me up and made me feel amazing. What happened? Who are you?”
Myles had now gotten a chance to take a closer look at the man who had awakened him. He looked a lot like Alfaron, only he dressed in white robes and his staff held a prism that released every color imaginable. He appeared to be quite a bit older than Myles’ mentor, however, and there was an intense sense of wisdom that seemed to be tied to his very being.
“You’ve come to the Apprentice’s Cave young Myles, and I take it that this means you are on the path to becoming a wizard yourself. Alfaron never was great at explaining things, I should now, for I taught him the ways of magic.”
“You were Alfaron’s teacher?” Myles asked in excitement. This made him realize he was probably speaking to a very powerful wizard.
“Yes indeed, and he was a very curious young lad, probably still is! But this is besides the point, allow me to explain what is going on.”
“I would really appreciate that.” Myles replied.
“The purpose of the Apprentice’s Cave is to give deserving new wizards the ability to produce their own magic from within themselves. So that he is no longer required to draw energy from the nature around him. Of course, one can still do this for especially intricate spells that require a wizard to combine his own magic with that of nature. Every wizard’s magic is different from another’s. But in order to gain this new ability, the apprentice in question must first pass a trialsome test. A test in which they will have to pass without the use of any magic at all. For if they can do so, they will fulfill their right of passage and be able to continue on the path of wizardry. So if you are ready and have no further questions, you must only walk through this door to begin.”
An ancient oak door appeared as the white wizard finished speaking. Myles had a million questions he wanted to ask, but decided to just get on with the task ahead. He gave the wizard a nod and a smile and approached the door. It opened slowly and Myles walked in.
Noise in the form of cheering seemed to come at Myles from every angle. He looked behind him and saw that the door had vanished. He appeared to be in an arena of some sort. It reminded him of movies he had seen about gladiators who fought to the death within the colosseum. The stands encircling him were filled full of people. And upon a closer look, Myles realized that they were wizards. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of wizards appeared to be cheering for him. The arena was filled all sorts of strange things. There appeared to be pits of fire, strange plants, several boulders, and chests laying around everywhere. The ground was comprised of white sand that glimmered with a pink hue. In the very center there was a boy, not much older than Myles himself. He was dressed in a white robe like the wizard that Myles had seen earlier. Taking a moment to get his bearings, Myles realized he too was now wearing the same robe.
A voice boomed across the arena, “Be silent.” It was the wizard who had let him into the gates. He was way up above the crowd sitting in a blue and white chair. He used no microphone that Myles could see and yet his voice easily silenced the crowd. He continued speaking “Welcome to yet another wonderful event. Today there are two young wizards, embarking on their right of passage. Just as you all once did, for some of you very, very long ago. They will compete for the opportunity to practice magic. They will each face a single trial to determine who is more fit to embrace the magical world. Whichever is chosen to be the winner, by myself Gardilon The White, will emerge as a full wizard apprentice. The other shall wake up back in the mortal world, never again with the opportunity to feel magic in their veins.”
The crowd seemed even more excited at the prospect of one of the challengers losing, and they cheered louder than before.
“SILENCE.” Gardilon seered.
The crowd once again fell quiet as the white wizard carried on his announcement.
“Myles, step forward and meet your opponent. This is Savalot, he hails from the mortal world just like you. He arrived here in a similar fashion, only in a different part of our lands.”
Myles approached Savalot and reached out his hand in a friendly way. The other boy glared at his hand and turned his head in a spiteful manner.
“I have no intentions of being friendly to you little boy.” Savalot spoke, revealing a voice that held much anger and loathing behind it.
Myles was taken aback by the rage that seemed to make up every aspect of the child. How could someone so young have so much hatred he thought to himself. The crowd appeared to love Savalot’s rude gesture and clapped for him. A few voices could be heard yelling above the rest about how disrespectful he was being.
“Very well.” spoke Gardilon, “Formalities are not required in this battle of abilities. Myles take a seat at the edge of the arena, Savalot remain where you are.”
Myles did as Gardilon instructed and sat with his back against the outer wall.
“Savalot will be going first. The Apprentice Challenge begins now!”
With this the crowd cheered once more and out of one of many gates a fearsome dragon emerged. It stalked in and shook the ground with every step. Chains could be seen shackled to its rear ankles. Its scales gleamed in a dark shade of red. Gardilon was about speak again when the dragon opened its gaping mouth to reveal an array of glistening needle-sharp fangs. It unleashed an enormous flame, so hot that Myles could feel it on the opposite side of the arena. It seemed to be protecting something beneath its soft belly. An egg lied below her impressive stature, it was goldish in color but had dark red accents like its mother’s scales.
“The task is simple- obtain the dragon’s egg by any means necessary and return it to the center circle. BEGIN!”
Savalot paused for a moment and appeared to be thinking of a way to complete the daring challenge. The mother dragon had laid down on her precious possession and glared seethingly at the boy. Savalot returned the look with one that equaled it in evil. He ran forward at full speed toward the dragon, it lunged at him viciously but he hooked a sharp left just out of its reach. He dove and scooped up a medium chest that had been nearby. Covering himself from any attacks behind a boulder, he scoured the contents of the chest quickly. Soon after he appeared on top of the boulder, a dagger in hand! Jumping from atop the rock he stabbed into the dragon’s neck, but his blade was deflected by its red armored scales. The dagger bounced into a far corner of the arena, and several wizards in the crowd gasped at the sight.
Savalot made quick use of his distraction however, and had slid under the belly of the dragon scooping the golden egg up into his arms in the process. The dragon swung its tail into his legs, knocking him to the ground and leaving his leg bleeding badly from its razor sharp points. He quickly crawled out of its reach and it lunged at him but to no avail. The chains that binded it in its place were infused with magic and could not be broken even by its marvelous strength. Savalot was now back on his feet. Myles almost gasped aloud when he saw the fury in the boy’s eyes. They seemed to burn with a fire hotter than the dragon’s flames.
“You nasty rotten animal, how dare you stab your dirty spikes into me!” his voice could be heard across the entire arena. “We’ll see how you feel when I smash your young to pieces!” with this he ran forward towards the center circle, raising the egg above his head. “He’s going to smash it into the ground!” thought Myles. Myles had loved animals his entire life, and the thought of the reckless boy killing an innocent creature infuriated him. Without hesitation he hopped onto his feet and ran towards Savalot. Myles dove into the boy’s chest, knocking him to the ground. The egg skidded across the sand a few feet away.
Savalot quickly shoved Myles from on top of him.
“What are you doing you ignorant little boy! You ruined my chance!” screamed Savalot as he placed his hands tightly around Myles’ neck.
Myles struggled against his force but couldn’t seem to get his attacker off of him. His vision was beginning to get morphed and black made up the edges of his sight. Just as he thought he might be meeting his demise a loud ringing could be heard. At first Myles thought it was just in his head but suddenly the pressure around his throat alleviated. A thud sounded beside him on the sand. He looked up and was shocked to see Myles frozen on the ground next to him. He was encased in ice, around his entire body. Myles suddenly felt something rubbing against his leg. It was a tiny dragon with an icy blue coat of scales. It looked up at him and let out a tiny screech. Myles patted its head affectionately and it pushed itself into him more, lapping his face with its tongue.
Gardilon appeared next to the frozen Savalot. He waved his staff and released him from his icy prison. Savalot remained limp on the ground, his angry eyes now closed.
“Is he-he dead?” stuttered Myles.
“He would be if he had stayed in that ice any longer, but I suspect he’ll be fine in a day or two.” answered Gardilon.
The crowd had fallen completely quiet and looks of worry and anticipation filled the faces of several wizards.
Gardilon The White’s voice rang out across the arena once more, “Due to the occurences in today’s trial, I proclaim Myles as the winner! Congratulations Myles, you shall now forever bear the ability to use magic, and it shall flow through your body endlessly.”
Myles was shocked, he didn’t know what to think. While he was thrilled to be chosen, it wasn’t the way he had wanted things to happen.
“As for this little fellow, I think you should take him back into your waking world. It is not every day a spirit dragon hatches and saves the life of a simple apprentice! It appears as if you two are now bonded in a way unforeseen. Haha, yes! I’m sure Alfaron will love the idea.” the last part seemed a bit sarcastic but Myles didn’t care.
He was too excited at the thought of his very own dragon! A few other wizards had now appeared and were carrying Savalot back through an arena gate. Myles looked at Gardilon in expectancy.
“What’s going to happen to him now?” he asked.
“He’ll wake up in your mortal world and will think this was all just a crazy dream. Now come boy it’s time for you to leave the Spirit World.”
The dragon was now perched on his shoulder, Myles lifted him off and carried him in his arms. The small ice-breather let out a frosty yawn and curled up in his arms. Gardilon touched his staff to the both of them and they disappeared in a poof of colors.
Chapter 4
Myles woke up feeling slightly dazed with a pain in the back of his head. It must have hit the ground pretty hard when he touched the crystal in the cave. The little dragon was on his lap still sound asleep. Myles got on his feet and began to make his way to a tunnel on the opposite side he had come into. After he had walked for a few moments the pain in his head had vanished. He realized he felt better than he ever had before. He could feel the magic in every part of his body, it seemed to be a part of him now. To give it a test he stopped for a moment and held out his palm. He didn’t try to draw any energy from the crystals in the cave at all. Instead he focused on the image of the fire-breathing dragon and suddenly his palm lit up with small flame! He was surprised to see that it wasn’t burning him in the slightest. His ice dragon, now on the tunnel floor, shied away from the flames. Myles instantly regretted scaring his new friend so he let the fire go out. They made their way out of the tunnel, with the dragon walking beside him. It was breathtaking to be out of the underground and Myles emerged feeling much more experienced than he had going in.
To his surprise Alfaron was sitting outside the cave exit on the grass.
“Well Myles congratulation! I fully expected you to come out on top, although I didn’t think you’d be returning with anyone else. Who is this little guy, if I may ask?”
Myles explained all of the prior events that had taken place in the Spirit World and how he had come to have his own dragon. Alfaron was oddly happy to allow Myles to keep his new friend. He had mentioned something about having a pet newt when he was a young wizard but Myles didn’t see how it compared. Alfaron gathered the three in a circle and slammed his staff in the center. They disappeared in a whiff back to Lavantala.
Myles slept soundly that night with the dragon curled up by his feet. They had picked up some ice crystals in the marketplace before returning home which it had gobbled up exceptionally quickly. Alfaron told him that these were a delicacy among ice dragons, and it seemed to prove true. They ate a fine dinner as well, in celebration of the new wizard’s success. His last thoughts before fading into sleep were filled with newfound confidence and a brightened sense of the adventure ahead.
Upon waking in the morning Myles felt refreshed. He headed down the grand staircase and into one of the many parlors to find Alfaron puffing away at his pipe. The wizard blew smoke rings that were a royal blue in color. It fascinated Myles and the dragon chased playfully after them.
Alfaron gave the beast an amused glance and proceeded to blow his smoke into the shape of an even tinier dragon. He made it dance around with the real one before it faded away.
“So what’s his name?” pondered Alfaron.
“Well to be quite honest I’m not too sure it’s even a he, um is it?”
“Yes Myles, male dragons always have horns besides their ears.”
Myles peered down at his companion and noticed that sure enough it had two little horns made of ice.
“Well in that case I was thinking about something mystical sounding, but still fierce, you know?”
“Ah, some good criteria indeed. How’s about Arkalon?” the wizard offered.
“Yeah, Arkalon! I like the sound of that and I suppose I could always call him Arky for short.”
Arkalon jumped around in excitement as the two wizards called him by his new name. He seemed pleased to have a title.
“Alright, we’ve sat around too long already, we must get on with your training! Grab some breakfast on your way out, the dragon can hunt as we walk.”
Myles did as he said and a few moments later the three were leaving the castle. Only this time they left the town square in a different direction. As they walked down a pebble covered path Myles was about to ask what they’d be doing today when they heard a carriage approach. It was an intricately dark shade of black and had large letters on the side of it reading “Yalaf’s Staff Shop.” The carriage was being pulled by what Myles could only assume was a three headed oxen, much greater in size than most oxen would be. Holding the reins was a funny looking man with a yellow pointy hat. He had on grey traveler’s clothes and revealed a friendly smile upon halting his carriage beside the trio.
“My word is that Alfaron THE Curious? You wizards always put too much into names, it’s always BlaBla The Something Or Another.”
Wizarded Away Page 2
