The Dark Path

The Dark Path

James M. Bowers

Copyright © 2012 James M. Bowers

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictictiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Print ISBN:1470169479

Print ISBN-13:978-1470169473

DEDICATION

For Stacy LaRae McCandless, who tried to bring out the best in me.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements i

I Entry Tests 

II A Loaf Between Friends 

III Staff Training 

IV Run 

V The Dream 

VI The Challenge 

VII The Duel 

VIII The Journey Begins 

IX A Mysterious Book 

X The Village 

XI Duncan 

XII New Friends 

XIII The Green Candle Inn 

XIV New Beginnings 

XV The Forest 

XVI The Crow 

XVII The Summoning 

XVIII Dark Tides 

XIX Seven Years 

XX Chains of Command 

XXI Confessions 

XXII Elsewhere 

XXIII Darkness Rising 

XXIV Journey 

XXV The Devil Inside 

XXVI The Tests Begin 

XXVII Family 

XXVIII The Second War Begins 

XXIX The Army is Formed 

XXX Lessons Learned 

XXXI Homecoming 

XXXII No Mercy 

XXXIII Awakening 

XXXIV Epilogue 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Too many names to put here. This has been a project of mine for a very long time. Almost everyone I've ever known has helped me with this in some way. So thank you, to everyone. Without all of you, this book would never have been possible.

I

Entry Tests

A small, thin boy sat at the edge of the forest. A well trod path led away from him and to the high stone walls of the Schola. He had followed his Master's instructions and arrived here on time. A light mist fell from a mostly cloudless sky. The trees blocked a lot of the water where he stood. The journey through the wood had been uneventful. He had slept in trees for the most part, not wanting the attention a fire would bring. The few travelers he had seen hadn't noticed him. He took a deep breath and took his first step toward his new life. The doors opened slightly at his approach and he wondered who had opened them when he saw a woman in dark red robes standing inside the gate. He bowed to her and stood quietly.

“What is your business here?” The woman's voice was high pitched and slightly nasal. She looked down upon the small boy in distaste. His clothes were well worn and of cheap cotton. He bore a small pack upon his back and what looked to be a wooden sword in his belt, though she didn't recognize its shape. He wore no shoes and his feet were thick with dirt and callouses.

“I was sent here for training, Ma'am,” Gen stated flatly.

“Name and age please.” She withdrew a small book and a marking stick from a pouch on her belt.

“Gen Hothman. I am twelve years old, Ma'am.”

“Any previous training in magic?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“Very well then. Come with me.” She turned to the right and into a small building beside the gate.

The building held only one room and no windows. It was lit along the ceiling by what Gen assumed was magic. Most of the room was filled with a large, heavy, wooden table. Upon the table sat various objects, some mundane and others that Gen had never seen before. He studied them closely. The tall woman sat in the only chair in the room across from Gen.

“You may place your bag beside the door.” She straightened the objects, cleaning dust from them. Gen placed his pack beside the door then returned to resume his place. The woman finished her organizing and looked back up to him. “Can you read, Boy?”

“Yes, Ma'am.”

“Good, that will save us some time.” She chanted some nonsensical phrases and words appeared before each of the items. They seemed to use the same alphabet he was used to, but Gen had never seen words like these.

“Ma'am, I do not know how to pronounce these words.”

“I will tell you the purpose of each one and how to say it.”

“Thank you, Ma'am.”

“The first spell here, before the candle, is a simple one. Its purpose is to light the wick of the candle. I will read the spell to you and then you are to repeat it back while focusing on the candle wick.” She read the strange words and the candle lit. She snuffed it quickly with her fingers. “Now you do it.”

Gen repeated the words while focusing on the candle. He visualized the candle coming to light as it had done before. He felt a tingle as energy rushed out of him and to the candle. The wick first began to smoke then burst into a small flame. Gen sighed in relief.

“Good.” She snuffed the candle again and moved it aside. The next object was a glass globe, half full of water, with a small bit of cork floating in the middle. “This next spell will move the piece of cork.” She spoke more strange words and the cork inside the globe spun slowly. She squinted her eyes a bit and the cork came to a stop once more. “Now you.”

Gen repeated the words and again felt the energy trickle out of him. The cork bobbed up and down in the globe. He focused and visualized it stopping, and after a short time, it did.

“Good. You have shown to have some very basic talent. This next test will determine if you will be allowed to study here or not.”

“Very well, Ma'am. What is it that I am to do?” A bit of fear crossed Gen's mind. The Master had said nothing of tests. He must not fail. His orders said nothing of failure.

“This next test will be for focus and stamina.” She motioned to a metallic ball the size of Gen's head. “The next spell will levitate this ball into the air. The spell takes continuous energy and focus to keep it active. You are to keep it held off the table for as long as possible.”

“How long do I have to maintain it to pass the test, Ma'am?”

“Just hold it there for as long as you can. After, I will tell you if it was enough.” She chanted the spell and the ball rose up gently to hover a few inches off the table. A few seconds later she sat the ball gently back upon the table. Gen noticed she had small beads of sweat on her forehead, though she ignored them. She motioned to the ball and sat back in the chair, her chin held high. “Now you.”

Gen chanted the words and felt the magic start to trickle out of him, unlike with the other spells, the trickle didn't stop. He focused on the ball and saw it shake and rock a bit but it didn't lift. He re-focused and felt the trickle of energy flowing out of him grow stronger. The ball slowly rose off the table. It stopped after a few inches. Gen's head started to feel light. His feet started going numb. He blocked them out. He must not fail this. He let everything else fade away. Only the ball mattered. His vision began to slowly grow dark around the edges. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and he fought to keep them open. Sweat poured down his face and burned into his eyes, but he blocked it out. His eyelids stopped obeying him and started to close. The ball began to wobble in the air. “No!” He shouted and slammed his left hand, open palm, upon the table. He drew his eating knife from his belt and before he could think twice, stabbed it down through his hand and into the table. The pain did the trick. He used it to keep his focus on the ball. The ball stopped wobbling. He thought he heard the Mage across from him say something, but the only thing he could hear was the pumping of his heart in his ears. A few seconds later, the pain was no longer keeping his focus. He felt the energy in him lessening and saw the ball wobble again. He reached into himself for more of that energy. It was too soon. He would not fail this. He dug deep and found his anger. He hadn't let himself be angry for a very long time now. He ripped open the door in his mind to his anger and let it rush out, focusing it to the ball.

Something was going very wrong here. The boy should have failed this after a second or two. They all failed. No untrained child had the focus for this kind of spell. That was the purpose of it. Success was determined by the number of seconds the ball was in the air. Most topped out at two. Some especially bright students had been known to keep the ball aloft for five seconds. It had been at six seconds when this child had shouted and done something unheard of. The boy had slammed his hand on the table. This had been tried before to keep focus, and did not surprise her. Usually the students did some physical act around the four second mark. She had shouted to stop him when she saw him with the knife, but it had been too late. The boy stuck the small blade through his hand; she had no idea why. Pain should be a distraction from the spell, not a focus. At ten seconds, she had seen his eyes go distant. She expected the ball to drop, as it had started wobbling violently. It didn't drop though. The room started growing cold. She felt the energy start to be drawn out of her, and then the magical lights had gone out. She brought up her personal shields and stopped the drain. She got her light spell out just as the glass globe shattered on the table. The water flowed out of it and underneath the metal ball. Her light spell dimmed as the magic was pulled from it, and she had to cast it again and shield it. The boy's eyes had rolled up into his head and his mouth hung open in a silent scream. Silver and blue energy arced all around the child. It was channeled through him and to the metal sphere. The water under the sphere grew as moisture was pulled from the air. Finally, it solidified into shards of ice, starting at the table and angling up to the sphere. The ball settled down onto the shards and came to a rest. A second later the boy collapsed mostly to the floor with his hand still pinned to the table. It had all happened in just under a minute. In the next second, the door had burst open and an old man with a long gray beard stepped into the room.

“What happened?” His eyes took in the room. Master Elise stood back in the corner of the room, a look of horror on her face. He saw the metal sphere upon the table, suspended on its stand of ice. The boy, hanging from his impaled hand, lay crumpled to the floor. He walked to the table and withdrew the knife. A quick healing spell and the boy's hand was whole once more. The boy had a pulse and was breathing regularly. The Mage stood and crossed to Master Elise. He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and shook her. It didn't take long till her eyes came back into focus. “What happened? I felt this from my office!”