The thunder clap woke him from a dead sleep. The fear shaking him to the core. The storm continued to rage. Rattling the window in his small, one room, wooden shack. As he lay in his bed thinking about why the thunder terrified him. It has been two years since his accident at the academy audition when he was fourteen. He still can feel the phantom pain of his lightening spell rebounding on him.
The professor who did his assessment warned him about trying to use an adept spell and one he was not attributed to. He was sure he could handle it. After all his grandfather was head mage for the count. He had been raised by his grandfather since he was three. His parents were mages before the accident that took both of their lives. So why shouldn't he be able to start with an adept spell. He learned, that day, about hubris. And it nearly cost him his life.
The Academy of Windswept City holds the auditions every year at the end of summer. This year's audition is happening in three days. Everyone between the ages of thirteen to sixteen may try out to be accepted into the only magical academy in this backwater territory. His grandfather insured he move here after his accident to stay with his close friends while he recovered.
His body was fully recovered by last year's audition, but his mind had not. Even still there are times, like tonight, when his mind betrayed him. Backlash from a spell causes serious injuries not only to the body, but to the part of the mind that controls magic. His body healed quickly with the help of the healer mages. His mind took sometime longer. it was nearly a year and a half before he could even feel magic again.
This year he was mostly recovered, and was determined to do it this time. This would be his last chance to get into the academy and become a registered Mage student. Without attending an academy, no one could become a licensed mage of any attribute. And rouge mages couldn't earn a honest living. Not to mention the disappointment of Head Mage Eric Drakesbane, his grandfather.
His name is Adonis Drakesbane. He is the last remaining descendent of Eric Drakesbane. The only one who could inherit his grandfather's magic when he passed. So he had to do this. Otherwise generations worth of magic would just spread out and dissipate. His mother should have inherited it the same way he did hers and his father's upon they're deaths. But because she died before her father, it would come to him. It was his inheritance of their magic that made him foolishly try to cast a spell well beyond his capabilities. He wanted to prove he was worthy of being the successor of his grandfathers magic. It was more than he could handle at such a young age. When he started to cast his spell the first time the academy professor tried to stop him. But his arrogance told him he could do it.
He could not. As he released his built up magic in an attempt to release a dazzling lighteningbolt, something immediately went wrong. The professor acted as quick as he could to shield the aspiring mage with a protective ward. It worked to prevent most of the backlash from reaching Adonis. Although it shifted it to the professor, ending his life in an instant.
Adonis refused to let the old man's sacrifice be in vain. He was going to be more careful this year. He was going to succeed. He was going to make his grandfather proud.
He had been exercising his mind and body for the past six months in preparation for this year's audition. He mastered the weak fireball and healing touch spells that would qualify him to enter the academy. He wasn't happy about using lower tiered spells to get in. This time he wasn't going to be a spoiled child who thought he knew everything. This time he was going to play it safe and get in. Since his recovery, he has been working hard at training and has mastered the standard fireball spell, which is the next tier up, but the disaster from last time still haunts his dreams.
By his best guess it was only an hour or two before dawn. Since sleep will not come back to him while the thunder and lightening was going on, he decided he would get a jump on his day. As he got up and stretched his five foot five inch frame in front of the mirror he frowned. He has always been short of stature. His face was average. Not ugly but not handsome either. His eyes, ears, and nose were wear they should be. His body was well muscled from his daily exercise. His only problem was he was short. His grandfather would always laugh when Adonis complained about his height. He told him to not worry about it as he was still growing. Eric Drakesbane stood at an impressive six foot three. And repeated that he would grow everytime Adonis would sulk about his height. Adonis walked over to his trunk that he kept at the foot of his bed, and pulled out one of the three tunic suits he owned. His grandfather had plenty of gold to take care of him, but believed he should grow up humble and earn his way the same as he made his mother do. As he got dressed in the more worn tunic, he noticed the light green shirt had a small tear in it. He grabbed his small sewing kit he used to make repairs and sat down at his table.
His shack wasn't much but he was proud of it. He technically lived with his grandfather's friends, but as he was healing his mind after his body had healed, he had convinced Mr. Jeb, his grandfather's friend, to let him work on building his own place on their property as a way to build strength and become independent again. He called it his shack, because that is what it was. It had one door and two windows. One room with his bed, trunk, a small table and chair he made himself aswell. The small fireplace and chimney was made by Jeb as a gift for the progress he made. the wood he used to build it came from the nearby forest that Adonis spent nearly three months in chopping down the supplies for it. The stone came from the quarry were Jeb worked and was just left overs so he was lead to believe. Adonis didn't believe it. He was sure Jeb bought the stone from the quarry manager. But wouldn't say anything about it because he was grateful. Last winter was tough, and his shack wouldn't have been as comfortable without it.
After Adonis finished getting dressed, he started a small fire in the hearth to cook some porridge for his breakfast. He didn't build it very big because it was still summer and even with the storm it was humid. He looked at the pot and fire and sighed. When he lived with his parents and then at his grandfathers house, when he was little, he would wake up everyday to the smells of different types of food being cooked. He was on his own now and porridge was all he could afford on his own. Because it was free. Martha, Jeb's wife, would bring him a sack of oats out to his shack once a week.
After he ate breakfast he started on his training. He had three more days he could train before the auditions. And he was going to be fully prepared to shine.
As he was starting his routine the storm started to fade. By the time he was finished the storm had already blown out and the sun was begining to crest the horizon. As he was just finishing someone knocked on his door. He wiped himself down with a sweaty rag before answering it. He wasn't surprised to see who it was. The only two who visited his shack was Jeb and Martha. This time it was Jeb.
"Good morning", Jeb bellowed as Adonis opened the door. "up early and at it I see. Martha was worried about you because of the lightening, but it seems your just fine."
Jeb stood nearly as tall as his grandfather but much wider. He had the strong arms of a man who worked manual labor his entire life. Jeb was of the majority of people who couldn't use magic. It didn't bother him as he preferred to do things the mundane way anyway. It was with his knowledge and experience that Adonis was able to build the shack he calls home.
"Yea, the storm woke me and I couldn't go back to sleep. So I thought I'd get started on my day." Adonis replied as he smiled at Jeb. "What brings you out here? Shouldn't you be at the quarry already?"
Jeb was already an imposing figure. With his pickaxe and various other mining tools on his belt and slung across his back he had to turn sideways a little to get in the door.
"Well with the storm going I figured I would just sleep in until it passed. And since I am going late anyway I figured I would stop by and chat awhile" Anytime Jeb said he wanted to chat awhile meant he had something on his mind and wanted to let it out. "So this week is the auditions at that academy, right?"
"It is. I have been preparing for it for awhile now as you know." Adonis knew Jeb and Martha worried about him. His last audition was a disaster. "I know what your going to say Jeb. I have learned my lesson and this time I am going to be careful. I plan to use the weak fireball and healing touch for the exam. I have mastered them as well as anyone can. I won't be foolish enough to try a spell my body can't handle again."
Jeb frowned as he thought about the boy that was brought to him a little under two years ago. When Adonis was first brought to him he was freshly patched and partially healed by the healers at the academy. But his mind was still hurt.
"I know. I know. But I can't help worrying about you. You have come along way since you first came to us. But when I look at you I still see the injured little boy who's worst injury was arguably his pride. I just wanted to make sure everything was fine with my own eyes." He laughed as he looked at Adonis' scowling face. "Don't look at me like that. You had your grandfather scared. And not just because your the heir to his magic. Your the only Family he has left as well."
Adonis rolled his eyes. He loved his grandfather. But sometimes Eric Drakesbane was a little rough. All of his time was spent in the capital, and the few times out of the year they got to see each other, Eric would treat Adonis as if he was a small child.
"And don't rolls your eyes, boy. You know he loves you. He is just busy. Hell he is my best friend and I hardly get to see him. With all the work the Count puts on him it's a wonder either of us gets to see him."
Adonis laughed at that. "That's the truth. The Count can be a hard taskmaster I'm told. And very few people have the skills as grandfather does. I know he is busy. It's hard being at the top." A light came into his eyes as he thought about his grandfather. Eric Drakesbane was a legend. He could use multiple attributes. And sometimes seemed like he had an inexhaustible supply of magic. He wanted to be just like him. Only he wasn't nearly as good as his parents who wasn't nearly as good as his grandfather.
"I can tell what your thinking there, boy. Quit it. Can't measure yourself against your predecessors at your age. Your young and just begining in this life. Take your time. You'll get there one day. Hell when you grandfather was your age he had a nasty habit of letting his fireballs get out of control because of his arrogance." Jeb eyed him like he was making a point. "Ha. There's something you can measure against. Your just as arrogant as he was at your age. The difference being that you learned your lesson quickly. I think anyway."
"I most definitely did. I intend to be a full fledged apprentice before I try to use anymore apprentice level spells." He wasn't about to let Jeb know he had already mastered the standard fireball spell which is an apprentice level spell. Especially after Jeb telling him about grandfather's fireballs.
"Well you had better not. You don't want to worry us anymore, do you?"
"I don't and I will do my best not to, ok?"
"Hmmm." Jeb stared at him with a penetrating gaze like he didn't believe him. "Just promise me you will be careful. You've become like a son to me and Martha, and it would break our hearts if something happened to you. Not to mention what Eric would do to me." He smiled and laughed as he said that.
"I promise I will do my best not to worry you guys. I can't promise anymore than that."
"Ha. That is really all I can ask for. Well I best be off. I have delayed long enough. What do you have planned for today?"
Adonis had plans but didn't want to share them with Jeb because of the promise he just made.
"Just some routine training. You know the usual stuff."
Jeb stared at him again like he was going to call him out on his obvious lie. But instead just said, "Ok then. Just remeber to be careful and don't do anything reckless." Jeb started out the door and turned to say, "Oh and Martha said to come down to the house tonight for dinner. She thinks all you eat is porridge."
Adonis smiled at that because porridge was his main meals. the only time he ate any thing else was with them or he was out for a few days training and he would hunt or fish. And sometimes he would bring some back with him. "I will for sure." He laughed as he waved goodbye to Jeb.
Adonis then started to prepare for his days training. Even after his promise he still intended to practice something Jeb and Martha would worry about. Adonis had some skill in the fire and light attributes. But today he was going to practice something else. And as he watched Jeb walk out of sight he immediately left for the forest.
The more the sun rose, the hotter it got. Adonis didn't really care, for now, due to his training in the fire attribute he had gotten used to heat. He had taken many burns while training to use the standard fire ball. His healing touch spell took care of them though. He had spent many nights wondering where he went wrong with his lightning bolt spell. He decided, other than his body not being strong enough, he figured it had to be because he lacked the essentials of the lightning attribute.
There are six basic attributes. Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and dark. When combined, they can create magic through a different attribute known as secondary attributes. Secondaries can also be learned by mastering a single attribute. Such as, sand magic comes from mastering earth magic. He figured because he had the fire and light attributes he would be able to handle lightning. Of course he was wrong. Since then he had settled down and started to study up on some of them instead of just relying on his bloodline.
As it turned out he only had two of three attributes needed to control the lightning attribute. The third one was wind. And that was what he was out to practice today.
Fire and light attributes came to his family easily. They were attributes that were controlled with primal emotion. Fire a raging emotion and light a calming emotion. Wind on the other hand didn't work quite like that. Wind had to be be willed and focused, but before he could will or focus it he must attune himself to it, to awaken the attribute within himself. And for that he needed a place where the wind blew constantly.
He knew just the place. Windswept City and Windswept Forest both got their name from the same phenomenon. The forest was a strange place. It is the only forest in the world where a breeze constantly blows, never ceasing. The closer you got to the southern edge, the stronger the breeze got. On the other side of the forest was a sheer cliff leading down to the sea. The wind is so strong past the center, nobody in the last few decades has been able to go any farther. With the exception of Eric Drakesbane and an associate of his.
Adonis has only been about a quarter of the way into the forest. Today was going to be different though. He intended to go as close as he could to the southeastern edge.
As he left his shack, he looked out towards his destination and thought, "today I am going to do it. I am going to get the wind attribute." He had spent the last month going as far in as he could. Soaking up the ambient magic from the wind. He could feel today was going to be the day.
As he started out towards the forest he saw Martha on her way back from going into town. She spotted him and waved. He waved back and as he got closer said, "Good morning Martha."
Martha was a pleasantly plump, middle-aged woman with a kind heart. Her demeanor was of a woman who was the mother of everyone she met.
"Where are you off to this morning?" she asked as she got closer.
"I am going down to the forest to do some more training. Only three days left until the next audition at the academy, and I have to pass this time."
Martha frowned as he said that. She was not happy about his decision but accepted there was nothing she could do about it.
"You will be careful, right?" she asked as she eyed him. "you know how I feel about this. But I understand."
"You know I will. I am not going to make the same mistake again. That is why I have been training so hard. This is my last chance. I cannot let Grandfather down this time." He said with a grimace.
"I know you think that passing along his magic is all your grandfather cares about, but that isn't true," Martha told him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Eric is more concerned with you being safe than passing it along. That is why he sent you to us instead of moving you back to the capital with him."
Adonis knew this but wasn't going to say so. He has had this conversation many times before. Instead he said, "I am going to do this for myself. To prove I am more than just Eric Drakesbane's grandson."
When he was little he was bullied a lot by the kids in his primary school. A lot of them felt that he was privileged because of his grandfather's position. Trying to prove himself was what lead to his hubris, and eventually, his accident.
"I already got the lecture from Jeb this morning about being careful. I will tell you the same thing I told him. I promise to be as careful as I can."
Martha smiled because in the last two years she has watched the injured little boy grow in to a young man. She knew all too well his motivation. "Ok. Ok. I believe you. But you know I worry about you. Do you need any supplies for your journey into the forest today?"
Adonis smiled and replied "No Martha. I have everything I need." Jeb and Martha are good people. They offer so much to Adonis. In his venture into humility, he has learned those of the working class are some of the most generous people alive. If his grandfather knew his thoughts on this, he would beam with pride. Eric Drakesbane was of common birth. Through hard work, and raw talent he has risen to be one of the most prominent mages in the kingdom. Which is why he chooses to make his descendents fend for themselves after a certain age. "I should be back before dark, do you need me to do anything before I leave?"
Martha smiled. Adonis was always willing to help her with the chores, but she knew he was busy with his training as the academy auditions were only days away so she just said, "No, dear heart. You go on about your training, and remember..."
"Be careful", he finished for her with a laugh.
She scowled at him half-heartedly before laughing herself. "Ok. When you're done this afternoon, come to the house for supper. I will make dumplings." She knew Adonis loved her dumplings. And it was true that he did. In Adonis' opinion it was the best food this side of the Shining River.
"I will for sure. I love dumplings. I'll see you later Martha." He said as he walked towards his destination.
Jeb and Martha lived on the southern outskirts of Windswept City. City is a strong word when referring to Adonis' current home. It is really just an oversized village with a stone wall and wooden gates.
The main avenues that lead in all four cardinal directions, converge into the center where the market and public fountain are located.
The southeast section of the city holds mostly warehouses, made of wood, for the merchants and a few private citizen's homes. What passes for the cities guard baracks and training yard is located along the southeastern wall.
The northeast section of the city houses the government buildings and artisans' buildings. The Count's mansion is in the center of this section and holds the court rooms in it. It is really more like a small castle, being the second largest stone building, in the city, after the Windswept Academy.
The northwestern section houses the more affluent citizens, and the only mage's academy in the county.
In the southwestern section lives the majority of the city's populace, in wooden houses. A couple of inns, and a few taverns are spread out through the area.
But that was not Adonis' destination. The place he sought was in the other direction.
Towards the south the forest was growing bigger as he steadily walked towards it. As the sun was beating down on him he was glad he wore his oldest outfit. It was a lot lighter and thinner than his other two. Being able to handle minor burns is different than enduring the oppressive heat from the sun coming down on the farm fields that stretched from the city halfway to the forest. Soon he was past the fields and through the open land before the forest, close enough to make out individual branches. He picked up his pace as he felt the beginning of the wind blowing out from the trees.
Windswept Forest dwarfed the city of the same name. It stretched the entire southern coast of the peninsula that was the Kingdom of Radaria. The Radarian royal family declared Windswept Forest to be a Royal Treasure for the wood that grows there. The trees soak up the ambient wind magic and can be used in a variety of items, such as armor and weapons, to increase wind power or resistance. The royal family only allows so many trees per year to be harvested. And the ones who harvest are obligated to replant new trees in place of the ones they harvested. Guaranteeing the forest life and profits to the kingdom for generations to come.
The royal family offers the contract in a raffle every year for the right to harvest. Tickets are a ridiculous five thousand gold crown. That being more than the average family makes in a decade. The sales from the annual raffle make up a full third of the kingdoms revenue. Many enter the raffle from all over Radaria, but only one wins. And from their major investment, they could reap rewards for years after.
By the time Adonis was walking between the trees, the wind was blowing in a steady breeze. The trees along the southeastern side of the peninsula, where Windswept City is, are mostly towering oak trees and evergreens reaching from seventy to one hundred and thirty feet in height, with a spread of thirty feet. The evergreens have greyish brown cones that grow up to a foot in length. At the northeastern edge, where he entered, there was mostly Redbud and ash trees reaching from fifteen to thirty feet tall with a spread of twelve to thirty feet wide. The Redbuds are a sight to see in the springtime as they flower with magenta pea-flower like blossoms, before their blueish green, heart shaped leaves begin to grow.
The wind here was blowing a steady fifteen to twenty miles an hour. Farther in before the center it reaches forty with gusts of up to sixty. The center reaches gusts of eighty to ninety miles per hour. The southern most edge, where the tallest trees are, the wind is too strong for people to move around without being blown over repeatedly. Reaching hurricane level winds. Normal trees, of this size, wouldn't be able to handle the constant high winds. Due to the high concentration of ambient wind magic, the trees along the southern coast of Radaria have become saturated with it making them highly resistant to wind.
As he got farther in to where the wind was blowing a stiff breeze, enough to make him work to stand straight, he stopped. He would need to soak up as much of the wind magic as he could before he could progress any farther into the forest.
He let his magic sense out of his body by willing it from the part of his mind that controlled magic. As it extended outward from him he could feel the wind magic in the air. Now he just needs to focus on condensing it and pulling it in to allow his body to absorb it. Every attribute has a different feel to it's magic. Fire magic has a rushing feeling with a quickening of the heart. Light magic has a calming feeling that puts one at ease. Wind on the other hand has a turbulent feeling. It made Adonis want to move as quick as he could. It was a struggle at first but he had been doing this for a little while now building up his tolerance to it. Today he was going to control it and join the wind with his other two attributes.
After over an hour he had absorbed enough to stand straight without any trouble. He started walking farther into the forest. He was about a third of the way into the forest, just east of the center when the wind picked up with more force. As he held himself up he decided to put his back towards a tree. After he leaned back against the tree, with his face towards the wind, he started to extend his magic sense once again. This time the magic was even more turbulent. He could feel it as it entered his body making him want to sprint as fast as he could. He endured it for over two hours until the seventy mile per hour winds felt like a gentle breeze. By now it was afternoon and he was getting hungry. In his studies he learned that if he ate foods with high concentrations of wind magic, it would help him grow the attribute within himself. It applied to all of the attributes. He hadn't made it this far into the forest before, but it was similar to the rest, so he figured he would search around for a bit to see if he could find some fruit trees or a stream to fish in.
He walked around for half an hour before stumbling upon a decent creek flowing southwest through the forest. As he stopped and looked at it he could see to the bottom of the roughly three foot deep water. Farther down stream he could see some silver sided trout relaxing in the current. At that moment he knew he was having fish for lunch.
He slowly crept down along the bank until he was within twenty feet of the trout. He slowly started focusing his will and started infusing his magic sense with the light attribute. As he filled it, he began to extend it outward. The same as when he was absorbing the wind magic, but in reverse with his light magic. The trout started to become restless. Instinct telling them a predator was near. Just as Adonis' magic sense washed over them, they calmed due to the effect of the light magic.
He took off his boots to step down into the water. It was cold as one would expect of a creek running through a shady forest. There was three small silver sided trout around five or six inches in length and one large one roughly a foot long. He reached out and picked up the large one. It didn't even struggle until it was out of the water. The change from it's natural environment, into the gusting wind, caused it's instincts to over power Adonis' light magic.
He grabbed it firmly and used his forefinger to tear the trout's gills, causing it to bleed out. After taking it back to the bank, he took a small knife from his belt pouch and sliced the fish open to remove it's guts. Then he piled dry twigs up and used his fire magic to start a fire by focusing his will through his fingers to make sparks from his fingertips. Sparks was the first sign that a person had the fire attribute. For something so simple it had its uses.
Breaking a stick and carving both ends into points, he stuck one end through the silver sided trout and the other end into the ground, causing the fish to rest gently over the now pile of coals.
Within the hour, the trout was nicely cooked. It's skin had a nice crisp to it, while the meat was tender and flakey. As he pulled it off the coals he wished he would have taken the time to get some lemongrass from Martha's garden before he left. Still, it looked delicious. Adonis sat down to eat his bounty, while softly saying a prayer, "thank you for this meal."