Mages of Avios 1. Spear of Humanity Read online

  by Adam Sea Klein

  - Crescent Roads Publishing -

  Find more titles by this author at:

  www.AdamSeaKlein.com

  Cover and map created by

  Adam Sea Klein

  Copyright

  - All Rights Reserved -

  This eBook is legally protected

  from all unlicensed distribution

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapters:

  1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

  7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

  13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18

  Newsletter

  “The ever-tightening grip of conviction

  can force a state of great decision.

  Challenges arise as changes to

  the state of mind must be endured.

  Reality forces an evolution of thought,

  one way or another.

  'Forge on' the primal urge insists."

  Adam Sea Klein

  1.

  A cracked dim light loomed outside the open window, as a frenetic glow peaked far beyond the pale horizon. Elias gazed beyond the weathered frame of the Azben Tower, as the dry breeze held no reserve from the tepid heat. He searched his mind for answers that would not arrive, every moment a puzzle cast and torn apart.

  A distant ruckus lingered below — the mire of rumbling beasts. They writhed in waves, skirmished, then resolved to rest in a constant cycle. Elias stared at the monstrosities, a nightmare army of perilous creatures. He was alone, surrounded by the infestation of summoned darkness: 10,000 beasts of coarse magic, a number that continued to grow.

  The relentless wastelands held no other human life, no aid was to follow. The chamber of knowledge held within Elias’ mind was the only guard against the rampant overflow. He sensed the pending decimation and envisioned the break of blood and violence as the army flowed onto innocent lands.

  As the sun passed around each day and night, the low gray clouds seemed static, a foreboding ceiling that lay across the air. Elias was imprisoned by sheer risk in that looming spire, a relic born long ago. The young mage caught a ray of light from time to time. Such warming light reminded him of years gone by, days when magic seemed unreal, when peril was unknown, when he lay in fields and felt the sun upon his warming face.

  Elias understood he must accept his death. He could not fight 10,000 beasts alone, nor with 1,000 men. As he tried to understand his unfolding death, he milled his years of training. The power within him was immense, yet newly found.

  Elias reached through his memories one last time to feel the past, the years before he met the gifted Evelyn, the Savator.

  2.

  The mage’s life begins with uncertainty.

  Among the simple beauty of the nation Tavos lay the outstretched hills of the Barinj Mountains where Elias was born and raised. It was in a town like Yorn where true peace and solace still remained.

  While Elias wondered of deep things even at a younger age, he relished the days of friendship among his years of schooling.

  “I believe this place might be strange — the rules have become too stifling,” said Elias to his friend Jacob once. “We hear tales of the rising age of light, yet we hear or see nothing of this magic.”

  “Aye,” said Jacob, “the elders will hide it from us until we are choked by it. The Brakkish Tomes are worthless; that age has come and gone.”

  “I’ve been through Tavos, but still not beyond,” said their tall friend Bovi, “but, I believe what they say about the banshees of Marin Hill. They slayed the Orbak family and their herd of 18 nalions — such calm creatures, their little horns were still in place, but their skins were ripped to shreds. No one would do such a thing, by treachery or by waste. Those horns are worth…”

  Elias interjected, “Mira of Danwood seems different. Maybe an enchantress. Maybe a witch. I know it. Where does she get those incredible things?”

  Jacob said, “She never tells. I ask her all the time.”

  The Kova Book Store run by Mira was formed from cast clay and hung with rough copper shingles. The walls and windows were filled with chimes, bone sculptures and feathered things. The boys decided to arrive and press Mira for the smallest bit of wisdom.

  Mira was alone in the store as the door opened, setting off the clicks and clacks of hollow wooden chimes. Mira slowly welcomed the boys and offered them some dried and sugared terango fruit.

  “Mira,” asked Bovi with an unusual tone mixed with coyness and directness, “will you tell us of the real world… The world behind the lies?”

  Mira replied, “You ask again… do you not see? Tavos is not yet wrapped in the gore and glory that forms across Avios. This is good, and was meant to be. The protection here is strong. Many hold the borders so that you do not see such treachery.”

  Elias was surprised that Bovi had gotten Mira to say so much already. The few times he tried, it was quite easy for Mira to shove him off.

  Bovi smiled mischievously to the guys and turned again toward Mira. “You see Mira, we will not be young forever. The adults are hiding our true wealth. I’ve overheard the elders speak of the dawning age for years.”

  “Which is why I’m willing to say anything at all,” said Mira.

  An old man broke through the backroom doorway, “Do you truly believe the fullest depths of the tales of magic?” It was Mira’s husband Dahl, his crooked brow and friendly smile thwarted his ardent tone. He went on, “The energy is real and it can be manipulated — but the myths of magic ages that come and go… who can prove such things? Where are the bones of beasts and the artifacts of such great wars? All we have are Brakkish writings, and worse than that, Teronist scribbles from some magic age when human beings must have been like primitive dwellers!”

  Mira chuckled as though she heard his ramblings far too many times, “Get back to your leather shop, Dahl. Let me handle the ways of old.” She pulled him by the shoulder of his shirt as he moaned, “Fine, fine!” he conceded, “I’ll keep my opinions to myself.”

  Mira said to the boys, “The tomes are real, and I know for certain the energy is real. We are banned from casting in the townships. This is for good reason.”

  Jacob said, “When will things change? We are getting older so how can I prepare?”

  Mira said, “I don’t believe it’s wrong to show a sign, but I cannot bear the repercussions. A shop full of squabbling parents and the town committee will be the end of my stay. I’ve enjoyed the last four years of peace far too much.”

  Bovi’s mind seemed reeling to find his next cunning phrase. As Mira saw his shifting eyes her openness came to a close. “You will be men soon enough, and the terrors of Avios will be yours. Why race to that end? On with you boys, it’s time to head out.”

  Jacob and Bovi began to leave, but Elias said, “I’m in town for the day guys, see you tomorrow.”

  Mira tipped her head, as Elias made himself alone. When the door closed, he stared right at Mira. He wasted little time.

  “I’ve studied the tomes,” he said. “I read them all the time. I can’t do what they say, it never works.”

  “That magic is old, but the stories are good,” said Mira.

  “It’s all I want… to know more of the energy and the life of a mage. I have to know what’s real.”

  Mira paused for a while. She gazed at Elias indirectly and seemed to reach a tempered thought.

  Leaning forward she almost whispered, “No one will believe you if you tell. I’ll make sure of that.” Mira held up her hand, palm outstretched, and she began to focus.

  The flesh of her own hand began to glow with a subtle yellow light; a glow that expanded.

  Elias gawked without a blink unti
l the glowing faded.

  Mira said, “I have seen you at the library scrounging through tomes for years. I imagine you will push your fate into the energies of Avios. These are no parlor tricks, Elias. The energy can kill, and I see it running through your bones.”

  Elias said with great longing, “I need to know more, Mira.”

  “It will not happen here. You will have to find your way. This energy takes time to develop… and your time will come.”

  Elias turned away to the far shop corner and went to grab a set of chimes as he uttered, “I need a gift for my sister, this will save me hours of wandering around.”

  The door barged open and a man came through gibbering, “Mira, they’ve found a man sheered in half just outside of Yorn. They say it’s Omar the merchant. His clothes were burned right off his body, and…”

  “So near!” lamented Mira. Her eyes shot up, “It’s time to go, Elias. Take the chimes you hold. They’re yours.”

  Elias puzzled as he nodded and walked toward the door. Mira stared at him with a petulant gaze and added, “Remember what I said — you’ll find your way. It cannot be stopped.”

  3.

  As Elias grew older, sixteen then seventeen, he tried to see the reality he desired. The books fell away, and his walks in nature expanded. His experiments, while fruitless, were something always on his mind.

  His friends were growing wild as their schooling was coming to an end, but Elias longed for deeper knowledge every night he lay in bed. He grew determined to extract an experience with magic.

  One afternoon, Elias walked among the eastern woods. He traveled again through fields riddled with flowering grass, and felt the whirring air surround him. He pulled his awareness within himself. It was an idea he tried many times, without a strong effect. On this day, he noticed something different. As he relieved his tensions, the wind around him seemed to move. It seemed beyond mere coincidence, so much that his pulse raced.

  Elias found a place to sit on the broad hillside, and as he felt the shining warmth of the sun, he gazed around with great intent. A state of thoughtlessness overcame him. He tried to see the ways of energy hidden behind the world he knew.

  For the first time he saw a subtle glimmer, a vague translucent wave of air seemed to surround the tall fields of grass. He stared for hours, adjusting his eyes, wanting to see more clearly. The energy seemed an illusion within his vision, but still, the appearance was different and it gave him the first true hope of possibility.

  It was a moment that changed Elias forever.

  When his attention was spent, he ran home and charged through the door of his family’s home. In a ruckus evening he packed his things and endured a troublesome goodbye before he set out into the world to learn the truth.

  As the cooling evening closed around him, Elias fled into the Ezian Forest toward the eastern border of Tavos. He wandered the hills and valleys for days to see what nature could reveal.

  4.

  In the fresh thin forests Elias was able to survive quite easily somehow. He focused on his ability to see through the world, and the paths of tiny fortune began to unfold. Food and water seemed to find him easily. He ate large orange tibin fruits, or makka berries, and with bow and arrow, shot small animals for food.

  Elias slept well beneath cool night skies, and the warming morning set him free of the damping dew. His journey continued along the Barinj Mountains for weeks, as he walked along broad slopes that exposed the great expanse of Tavos. The crisp mountain air kept him quite revived and hopeful as he watched the furry little bouyo sprint quickly around the tree trunks — their limber nature was impressive in the wild. As he moved below to the open forest, he trekked smoothly across the strangely perfect forest floor.

  It seemed by sheer luck that he found the smallest signs of a subtle trail, which he wandered down through ridge and fallow. For quite a while he longed to kill a boar which would feed him for a week, if dried.

  Elias pursued the trail for hours until he saw rubbed bark, broken twigs, and fresh droppings. He found cover and waited for a young boar to cross the path again. He spent the afternoon in daydreams, as the brisk evening began to settle in.

  As the rustling and snort of several boars culled through the crisp evening air, Elias leaned on point, his heart thudded as the hunt began. “ Wait until they pass the nearest tree. Hit the roundest pig .”

  The boars plodded quickly and soon crossed the nearest tree. Elias’ bow was drawn and remained moments from release.

  The forest shook with a horrible, guttural growl — a sound no animal could make. Elias froze with fear; his eyes caught the large dark shape that bounded through the forest and swept through with outlandish speed. The boars squealed and turned around in full sprint. The dark mass screamed forward and scooped up a boar and pounded it into a tree.

  The boar fell and rolled as the dark being hunched over it, and chewed on the flesh.

  Elias was frozen. He could not blink.

  The creature devoured the skin of the boar with great speed, as the sound of ripped flesh and gore crippled Elias. He watched the primal feasting of a creature he never thought to exist. The bones of the boar began to crack. Elias was a mere second away from turning to run.

  “Adiisi Vi,” yelled the voice of a woman.

  The beast shrieked and seemed to pull back several yards in an instant. The woman was cloaked in dark violet, she held a staff of twisted mire wood.

  The woman hollered again, “Adiisi Vi Malactaa.” The beast surged backward seven feet, its ambient eyes stared another moment before turning to shriek as it sped into the forest once again.

  Slowly Elias revealed himself from behind the musty fallen tree. He uttered while trembling, “Hello there.”

  “Hello,” said the woman, “Lucky evening for you.”

  “I suppose so, indeed,” replied Elias, “I’ve been out here for weeks, but I’ve never seen a beast like that.”

  The woman approached, “I venture you’ve not seen much of anything, a child of Tavos.”

  “Well, I’ve come out here to learn.”

  As she came closer, Elias saw she was a rather beautiful older woman with incredible poise.

  “I suppose I need food to learn anything,” said Elias, “So I was hunting that boar.”

  The woman said, “I’m Evelyn of Wadoria, and if you would like to chop some wood for me, I’ll cook you dinner and give you 15 starchy voh roots to take with you.” She gazed at Elias until he agreed.

  The two walked through the forest with little to say, and ten minutes later they approached a quaint cabin in a clearing of trees.

  “It’s warmer in there, and I’m sure a soft couch will be a nice break for your back,” said Evelyn.

  Elias agreed as he looked around, noticing round mossy circles randomly present in the otherwise dry, tan wild grass that surrounded the cabin.

  The warmth of the cabin was enveloping and Elias soon felt a deep calm overcome him. As the evening unfolded Evelyn said, “I prefer to live a humble life in nature. Wadoria grew too large for me and it cluttered my mind.”

  Elias felt the woman seemed deep of thought; she seemed sound and unshakeable. He said, “I am impressed, you seem secure for an isolated person toward a stranger in a forgotten forest. I am grateful for your kindness.”

  As Evelyn prepared a simple dinner of breaded sauced vegetables, Elias struggled to think of what to say to the mysterious woman who just saved his life.

  As he sat on the long bench at the thick wooden table he noticed an open book that held intriguing diagrams and drawings. He finally asked, “So Evelyn, what are these wonderful images? I’ve never seen such things, and I’ve read many books before.”

  Evelyn said, “Those are my studies, books I write… for the good of all.”

  Elias asked, “What is the study at hand?”

  “The depths of the world, I suppose.”

  “Well, how deep does the world truly go?” Elias replied.

  W
ith a moment of pause Evelyn offered, “As deep as you are willing to look.”

  Her expression was a bit beyond, thought Elias, she clearly knew something profound, but what that knowledge was seemed no longer profound to her.

  Elias found that Evelyn’s mysterious air became so enticing it began to haunt his thoughts, even as they spoke. He wanted to unload one question after the next, but he paused to avoid looking needy or dumb.

  The want for knowledge nagged on Elias as the minutes passed; with every bite he took, he almost asked to know more. As the wonderful meal went down quickly, and while he quietly sipped the mala soup, trying not to sound like a wild beast sucking air, the urge for further requests became irresistible.

  Evelyn finished eating her small portion and she stood up and looked out the front window, and as Elias finished eating his last bite, he wiped his mouth and prepared to talk. Evelyn aimed her gaze straight toward Elias.

  She said, “That feeling you have right now is energy. Energy within you.”

  Elias felt strange, as though prodded or peered within — like she knew his want for more. He wondered if he looked timid or ruffled and said, “What feeling is that? Which energy do you mean?”

  Evelyn looked back out the window and began, “Where do you want to be? You are traveling, and searching. Where are you going? To a place… or to a state of mind?”

  Elias’ brows raised and fell, and he let out a single quiet laugh. He said, “I am moving through the world to learn of nature… I saw something… rather… I see something.”

  Evelyn said, “You see some things, do you?”

  Elias replied, “I saw this… energy… around some plants, and later, around me. I can see it still if I look. It’s just there; it does nothing, but it sort of breathes. It seems to be a part of the plant or me, but that’s all I can grasp. Since I saw the look of energy, I wanted to know more, but it never happened. I began to journey to look for answers.”