The young mage had been training just over a month at this point, so he was still in what the Magus had called initial training quarters. He was learning the basic spells but was somewhat frustrated at the moment due to a lack of any visible successes. Master Sheplin continued to embrace what he felt were the young mages accomplishments and assured him that he was progressing quite nicely. Today however, was the day Magus Sheplin brought exciting news.
"Well, it's enough coddling of you. I have taken this training slow due to your non-exposed background but understanding what the councils new plans, we must make haste in your training so that you are properly prepared", he said as he headed over to the door at the other end of the hall.
Once he arrived at the door, he looked down at Kyjus. "You have mastered summoning food, water, and light. But as you put it so eloquently to Master Syrus yesterday you can't go throwing summoned food at the enemy," he said with a smile.
Young Kyjus had been getting these feelings of late that if the Magus were a human and lived on earth, he would have been somewhat of a rebel. He would most likely have gotten along well with his mother he thought to himself. He smiled at this thought.
"You have even learned a bit of levitation although you are far from perfecting the spell. I will mention that levitation is not a basic spell and is not required in the initial or the following progression so the fact that you are becoming increasingly more successful with this spell is very encouraging indeed. Having said all of that I believe you have been waiting for this day", having heard this Kyjus now noticed another door on the other side of the room. He could have sworn it was not there a moment ago but there it now stood. He merely shrugged and continued on, following his instructor.
Entering the room Kyjus noticed four tables. The middle table was very small it was more like a podium of sorts with a magical light that seemed to radiate from the ceiling. It was a plain room, each of the side walls and the forward-facing wall had a desk. Each desk had containers placed upon them with each container appearing to have items placed within them.
Master Sheplin walked up to the podium, "do you have your Spellbook with you", Master Sheplin asked of Kyjus.
"Yes, sir it is in my robe pocket, I was told to keep it on me always", Kyjus said producing the text from within his robes. "I am afraid the book is still empty other than component information".
"Is it now, well I would not be too sure about that young master. Take the book and place it upon the pedestal," Master Sheplin said as he gestured toward the middle of the room where the pedestal set.
Without question Kyjus placed the book on the pedestal. Within seconds of its placement the light began changing, it now consisted of more a bluish tone then actually that of a normal light. Then the book began of its own accord to turn its pages, slow at first then with a pace that hastened exponentially. In about ten seconds all one hundred and twenty-eight of the books blank pages were turned and the light quickly dissipated.
Kyjus stood there open mouthed and somewhat surprised at what had just transpired. A second or so later the light returned to its state prior to him placing his Spellbook upon it. He looked over to Master Sheplin who nodded for him to retrieve the book.
With book in hand, he turned toward his instructor as if to say, OK now what. In anticipation to his students many questions Master Sheplin went ahead with an explanation to what had just transpired.
"We have come to the Room of Awakening. This is the room that will Awaken your mystical senses and provide you with the materials needed for a successful journey to become a mage. It has provided you with the spells you will need to survive as a mage and it will also provide you with the components and practices necessary to become accomplished in your craft," having said that the Magus went and pulled over two chairs.
Sitting down in one chair he directed his student to sit in the other. "It is time you know the entire truth of what is going on and what is too come," he began.
"You cannot go into this situation entirely blind to everything that is too come. I will lay things out for you as best I can with as much detail as I think you need. I may repeat things you already know but in the effort of completeness please endure this minor inconvenience. When I am done no questions for additional plan information you may ask, are we clear?"
Kyjus nodded.
The magus proceeded to tell Kyjus about the stolen Ancient text and about the suspected Dylonian plot. He told him of the Dylonian race and of the good within the council that have long been at war with this culture.
He informed him of the Briar Elves on Minlas' and of their enslavement to the Dylonian's and how this lasted for over 1,000 years. He informed him of how the Everhart's, with the help from Tunare (their Elven God), were able to overthrow the Dylonian's and set free their people.
"Now this is where it gets interesting, are you ready for more," Magus Sheplin asked of Kyjus.
Kyjus nodded eagerly wanting to soak in more of this traumatic yet fantastic tale.
Smiling at Kyjus, the magus continued. "At the time of the Briar Elves freedom, an Aura Prophet made an appearance to McKenna and the ruling council. She predicted many things for not only the elves but for all of Minlas."
"The magus then relayed prophecies that were related to the Everhart's most of which either already have or are in the process of coming true. The prophet predicted a successful rule and rebuilding while McKenna was the ruler of the Elves. She predicted that McKenna would wed to a squib (non-royal blooded elf) thereby requiring him to transfer his name to that of the Everhart's and thusly allowing the Everhart name, its continuation. And lastly, she predicted a long, healthy, and wise rule for McKenna. Her rule lasted nearly eight hundred years and during it rarely did the Elven people war. Neither of these accomplishments were duplicated prior to her rule nor have they been duplicated since."
"So, you can see the prophet had made some very specific predictions about the Everhart's that have come true but some of her better predictions are yet to come. Are you ready for them," he asked?
"Of course," Kyjus eagerly nodded.
"Well, here is the interesting stuff, much of this is not known by very many of Minlas' inhabitants and to be honest not many would believe you if you were to try and parlay any of this information, so it is best that you keep what I am about to tell you to yourself", the magus paused and Kyjus nodded that he understood.
"Ok then where do I begin", the magus pondered.
"Oh yes let's start with the last predictions of the Everhart's, I suppose that is as good as any", the magus cleared his throat trying to figure out how much of this story to tell.
"The prophet was very descriptive and adamant on what I am about to tell you so you must understand its importance", again Kyjus nodded that he did.
"McKenna and the council were told that the Everhart rule would last ten generations. And so it has, as Kelsee is eleven generations removed from Lady McKenna. Now I understand the look but before you ask, no the prophet did not predict the family's demise but remember Kelsee is the only Everhart child and the only way thier name can retain leadership would be if Kelsee were to marry someone of non-noble birth. This of course must be approved by the royal families, and this has only ever been permitted once and it took a prediction from a prophet to get that so you can see the chances of this being sanctioned for the Everhart's again are virtually non-existent. Everything making sense so far young master"?
Kyjus frowned at the mention of young master but nodded that he understood, nonetheless.
The magus continued, "The prophet has predicted many other events in the last five thousand years. She predicted the War of Aniquada, which was one of her non-Elven predictions. She also predicted the Elven rebellion. She predicted the building of Desmonia and also the races that would be involved including the first race that would serve as council leader. It was around this time that the Elves, who interestingly enough were not a member of the original council, decided that this information was too valuable to keep to themselves. So, they brought this news to the council and divulged the prophecy."
"At first as you can imagine the council was skeptical, but a copy of the prophecy has been kept under lock and key and since that time all of the predictions have come true. The most recent prophecy is that of the chosen. It is proclaimed that next year Earthen year 2019 will be the year of the chosen. This would be when an heir of the great wizard Merlin(that would be you), the last royal of a long line of a proud and prosperous lineage (this of course is Princess Kelsee) and a lone prince of Hybonia (this is of course Prince Skarnum), will unite and begin a quest to free all of Minlas from the scourge that has plagued nearly every race for thousands upon thousands of years. And those are the words of the prophet. A lovely story is it not", he asked Kyjus.
"So, your saying that not only is Merlin real but I am a distant ancestor of his", Kyjus questioned.
"Yes, young master you truly are Merlin's air and he truly was a great wizard but I swore you know all that"?
"Honestly sir it sometimes to ascertain the difference between fact and fiction anymore", the young mage said as he being to laugh.
The magus smiled and nodded his head in agreement and then continued, "well, that is a bit of background about the prophecy and why you are here but let's talk about what being here means and how we are going to make you a mage in the upcoming months, shall we", he asked Kyjus who all so eagerly responded with a nod.
"Let's start with some history from Earthen year 399BC. It was during the time of Socrates; he was one of the last of the great mages of Earth. It was also a time when there were fewer rules in regards to the use of magic on Minlas so some factions were able to take a liking to the comings and goings of magic on earth. Of course, only the most powerful of mages and wizards could create gateways too your world and the council kept a very close watch on those that could so all was perceived to be relatively safe," the Magus said while trying to stifle a yawn.
Standing up he now began to pace the room, an attempt to stay alert perhaps, he continued. "It was also a time when the philosophies of magic were coming under significant ridicule on Earth. Most of your society to this day believes that Socrates died a bitter man on Earth. Now I will tell you that it is true that Socrates was very disappointed with his life on earth and desired a better way for himself. That coupled with the deep inherent power sensed within him well quite honestly the council or at least many of those leaders on the council did not want to see such a vessel get squandered."
The magus stood there hands clasped and both index fingers perched upon his lips. What was he waiting for the young mage wondered? Just as he was about to interrupt the Magus, his teacher continued with the explanation. "It was decided by these factions that something was to be done about the situation. It was something that had never done before and up until about three weeks ago hadn't been done since. The leading sanctions of the Minlavian council knowingly interfered with an other worldly being, and with the use of a magical gateway they brought Socrates back to Minlas," the magus paused.
"All clear so far", he asked the young mage.
Kyjus nodded. "I think so but when you say the council did this again three weeks you are referring," he paused and let the question linger.
"I am of course referring to you young master", the magus answered.
"I thought as much," was his response.
"Admittedly your removal was much more critical than that of Socrates, but interference while not being strictly forbidden back then was frowned upon by many, including some of whom sat on the, then council. Of course, even given the fact that it is forbidden today there are certain things that can be overlooked when prophecy is involved. The council I believe has easily rationalized your correction to this planet and I will tell you young master that in politics rationalization is nearly everything", the magus said chuckling at the irony of it all.
The young mage returned his teachers smile, not entirely understanding what his teacher was talking about.
The magus sat back down and then continued. "Of course, back when Socrates was summoned the council did not exist as it does today, but it was still decided that treaties should be put in place to prevent this type of activity from occurring again. In the end all factions present gathered entered into a treaty vowing that they would never retrieve a member from another world (a correction is what it was called) again."
"OK, I am going to go through this next part quickly in the interest of saving time," the magus said to Kyjus. "To make a very long story short we learned of an Earthen child from the Elven prophet long ago, however the Queen of the Briar Elves, this of course would be Princess Kelsee's mother had a foreboding and this foreboding said the time of the prophecy was now. It was with this foreboding we were assisted in finding you, but I will not get into those specifics as they are not of import. We then confirmed our suspicions by using an Astral Telepath and the information provided to us in the foreboding."
The young mage had an inquisitive look on his face, and it was then that the magus realized the terminology he was using was of this world and not Kyjus', so he retraced a step.
My apologies master Kyjus "I am probably using terminology in which you are not familiar. Here let me explain. An Astral Telepath is a person that can talk to the dead or spirits of the dead. It is with this persons help we talked to Socrates and secured the names of two ladies. With those names it was just a matter of doing some tracking to get to the bottom of things," the magus the paused to take a drink of the spring water that Kyjus had conjured.
"And a foreboding,' Kyjus asked reluctantly while the magus had paused.
"Of course, of course I am truly sorry. A foreboding is an imminent prophecy or rather it is one that is about to transpire. Elven royalty have been known to be able to have these in times of dire crisis."
Kyjus nodded that he understood so the Magus continued.
"Ok now where was I oh yes Socrates and two women. Admittedly the records during this time period on earth were primitive but luckily the women's families were educated so the records that were kept seemed accurate. All of this searching led us to eight families during todays time period. Of these families only six currently had a male child and we knew from the prophet that the chosen from Earth was male. From there we narrowed three out because of their age as we knew if this was the time some of the male children were either too young or too old. From their Syrus and I dreamscaped to each of the male children and once I was in your dreams, I immediately sensed the power within you it was raw but immense. We checked the other two as well, but they had little abilities to speak of, at least as far as magic is concerned. So, from there you were prepared via dreamscaping, the safest and most secure method of communication known to the Minlavian Council. Are you still following Master Kyjus," the magus asked.
"So your saying I am a descendent of Socrates also then," Kyjus asked in disbelief.
"And others equally or perhaps more fascinating but that is a story for another time," the Magus said with a smile.
Kyjus was not wanting to wait but the Magus' look gave no room for conversation.
"Fantastic," the magus continued. "So, you're here and your being trained and will continue to do so for the upcoming months but let's skip the how's, why's and when's of training and go to the part of the upcoming expectations."
Kyjus sighed.
"Tsk tsk master Kyjus we will get to that part all too soon I promise. I certainly understand your thirst for this knowledge but I promise to be brief so we can quench it," the magus said to Kyjus who was now staring at his spellbook. He couldn't explain it, but it felt somehow changed since he pulled it off the pedestal. It was a weird feeling for him but nonetheless he shook it off and returned his focus back to the Magus.
"I can tell you that the council is worried. It looks like the Dylonian's are farther along in their plans than we had anticipated. And that is not the worst of it as it appears they have formed an alliance with several other factions.
Now these factions are not at war with the council as of yet, but I would dare say that they are not folks of whom the council would call friends either. In fact, several of the aforementioned races are on the watch list that is designated by the council. So, as you can see this is quickly spinning out of control. Assassins have already been dispatched to two of the factions and one spy has returned with confirmed reports of activity. This of course is not good news at all young master," the magus paused to catch his breath and partake again of some water.
"The confirmed reports come from the region of Mylok. A frozen tundra of ice with vast amounts of frozen wasteland, there is but one race of inhabitants in this region: the Mylokar a yeti type species with tough skin and thick fur, a brutal yet non-intelligent species. Often, they broker themselves out as mercenaries. This bunch as you may guess are physically as tough as any known species but how shall I say this, the are intellectually deprived. It is this deprivation however, that makes them virtually immune to psionic attacks and extremely resistant too all types of magic except fire. As I said it has been confirmed that contact between the Dylonian's and the Mylokar has taken place however our spy network has not been able to ascertain the extent both races involvement with the other".
The magus began to pace the room and it became increasingly aware to Kyjus that he was quickly becoming uncomfortable. He didn't let this keep him from divulging his information to his student, so he continued. "The next region in which we highly suspect involvement is Dracus. In this region are mostly Orcs and Worgs. There is of course much uncivilized wildlife but that is of no consequence to us it's the Orcs we must be prepared for. They will most likely be the lackeys in this war fighting for promises of riches. They are smarter than the Mylokar but not near as brutal. Their number of course will be far greater and could prove overwhelming. There weapons and armor are typically underwhelming but they can be somewhat adept at magic. But as I stated before the Dylonian's will finance this war and that could mean battalions of some of the orcs best warriors may be outfitted with better armor and weapons. That will definitely be bad for those of us facing the orcs on the battlefield."
"Always has the council been able to keep each individual faction at bay from the rest of the civilized world but with all of this evil joining forces under one rule and with the ancient Magical Text in the wrong hands, the council is rightfully afraid that this time could prove different. Not to mention the orcs, who have always despised the council as they ruled the orcs uncivilized and therefore it has been made against the law to trade or supply them with weapons of any type. There are other reasons but this one alone would be sufficient for the orcs to seek vengeance. Not much of a threat on their own but putting them with the Mylokar and the Dylonian's makes them potent indeed."
The magus really started to break up as he launched into this next part of his story. "The last region that is rumored to be involved but has not yet been confirmed is Cirius. Regrettably I must admit master Kyjus that it is rumored that my own people are helping the Dylonian's learn the truth of these spells and the text that lay within the ancient book. This of course is an abomination to everything I hold dear, and I am doing everything in my power to help the council to get to the bottom of this and to stop this atrocity. I would of course understand if you would request another teacher from the council Master Kyjus", he said with eyes that were brimming with moisture.
"I would not dream of making such a request", Kyjus responded. "The council obviously continues to put their trust and faith in you by not holding you accountable for your races possible actions so I will endeavor to do the same".
"A very intelligent and respectful young man you are sir. I appreciate it, truly I do", the magus said visibly relieved by Kyjus' response.
"The council is concerned and for reasons I believe I have hopefully made clear. So, before we move on is there anything I did not explain very clearly to you young master", the magus asked of the young mage.
"Well actually I do have one question Master Sheplin. What exactly is a worg, you had mentioned these inhabited Dracus with the orcs, but you didn't really explain what they were in any of your explanation"? Kyjus asked of the magus.
"Excellent question young sir a very excellent question indeed, to get a very detailed and in-depth synopsis on Worgs I would normally suggest a student read Albare Forshay's novel Inhabitants of Dracus. It gives very detailed insight of all of the inhabitants of Dracus, with specific attention to the Worg's. It even goes into great detail on the realm itself. Dr. Forshay nearly lost his life doing the research for his book. As you can well imagine the Orcs and Worg do not take kindly to trespassing in their territory. There are a few small factions of other humanoids in the general area though and they were able to help the good mage out of his spot."
"I digress; you wanted to know about Worg's." Kyjus nodded. "Well then how to describe them. Let's see well they are believed to be more beasts then animal but are smart for a beast yet still non-intelligent by humanoid standards. They are very large nearly comparable to that of a rhinoceros from your world. They have very thick skin but unlike a rhino it is topped by a thick layer of fur which helps protect and insulate them. Immune to most cold base spells they do however have an extreme dislike with a bordering on fear of fire-based spells. Little else is known of the Worg as most of the civilized races take caution in getting to close. It is my understanding that they are natural born killers and therefore not relished by much of the rest of civilization, best not to be tampered with, I believe is the most common belief by most of the civilized world. However as I mentioned before the orcs as a race are not civilized so they befriended the Worg, taking them as pets and often using them as horses," the Magus said with a grim smile.
"Well enough of the history let's get to your training and the here and now shall we", the magus said to Kyjus as he pulled his chair closer to him.