Zephyr Crowne stood before the broad stone chamber, his heart racing, as his eyes met the thick oak doors that sealed in the Guild's primary training hall. He had been summoned here for his first real test as a Conduit. After the intense training with Mira and Lyra, after hours innumerable spent honing his shadow manipulation, the day had finally arrived. Today was different, however; today he would step beyond practice to the cold arena where Conduits proved their worth-or fell short.
The doors creaked open, and Zephyr stepped inside. The chamber was a circle of grey stone with tall pillars lined by flickering torches. Kieran stood in the center, beneath an etching of a sigil in the stone floor, where Arcane and Abyssal energies swirled around each other. His arms were crossed over his chest, his face stern and unreadable. A few other Conduits watched quietly around him, Initiates and members alike. He could see Mira near the edge, her face taut with anticipation.
"Welcome, Zephyr," Kieran's voice boomed low, even across the chamber. "Today, you shall undergo your first test as Initiate into the Abyssal Arcana. There will be no light sparring, no light exercise. You will be judged upon your power, on your control, and on a few other capabilities, especially those against the lures of the Abyss.
Zephyr nodded-the words sank into him like weights. He had been warned, of course, but hearing it out loud in this cold ancient hall made it sound so much weightier.
Kieran gestured toward a small side door, and an elderly Conduit stepped forward. Her eyes shone with wisdom and power, draped as she was in the dark ethereal robes. Her voice was soft yet ran chills down spines.
Thus, the test is this: in this room is an Abyssal relic-a shard pulsating with raw chaotic energy. You must endure its energy and focus it into amplifying your shadow abilities. This shall be a trial of will for you as much as it shall be one of mastery.
She held out her hand and Zephyr saw, lying in her palm, a dark twisted gem alive almost as it pulsed to some strange rhythm, giving off the chill of something dread, an artefact which drank light.
"Remember, this artifact will try and unsettle you," she added. "The Abyss does not like to be wielded by mortals, and it will test your will. Fail, and you may be consumed by it. Do you accept the risk?"
Zephyr swallowed hard but nodded. "I do."
"Then step forward," Kieran commanded, his voice a steady anchor.
Zephyr stepped forward, into the heart of the room, under the sigil, and closed his eyes to ready himself. The elder Conduit placed the relic in his hands, and the instance it touched skin, an intense wave of ice surged through him, diving deep into his core. It was like plunging into a dark sea, where every fear, every doubt, each shadowed part of himself swirled around him.
"Focus, Zephyr!" Kieran's voice ripped through the storm inside his skull. "Don't fight the power! Guide it! Shape it as you would your own."
Zephyr shuddered; his breath caught in his throat as he reached inside himself and called out the shadows. He allowed the Abyssal energy to course through him, wove it into his own power. The shadows responded, thickening, solidifying around his hands, but with them came, too, the sensation of weight, of despair, and he felt the beginnings of the same seductive whispers he'd heard so many times before.
Submit, and I will make you unstoppable, "the Abyss hissed, the syllables dripping with an alluring promise. His doubts crested-in the power of the artifact-and he saw glimpses of his own failures: his family torn from him, the invasion that had laid waste to his village. He saw himself powerless, helpless, unable to protect those he cared about. It was a jab-twisted into some sort of distorted reminder of his pain by the Abyss.
Nay, Zephyr whispered, fisting his hands as he willed the shadows to behave and not at the discretion of his fears. I am stronger now, and I shall not let the ghosts of my past get to me.
The shadows quivered, hesitations it seemed, weighing his words, but he stood firm. Mira's cheer, Lyra's discipline, Kieran's caution-they held him fast, pushing back against the darkness, setting his determination: he was not alone, he had allies, friends that had faith in him, who'd seen his fight and stood by him.
He continued to mix the chaotic energy of the relic with his, molding it into the dark spear with every breath. In the spear, he could feel its wraith-like presence, an extension of his will-powerful and contained.
"That's it, Zephyr," Kieran said this time softer. "Channel it. Make the shadows an extension of your soul."
For one perfect moment, Zephyr felt victory surge through his veins. Then the Abyss fought back. His spear seemed to shudder in his grasp as he was smote by a wild, uncontrollable urge to strike out, to let the darkness flail out at anything that might get in its way. The whispers grew louder, begging him to let go-to wreak havoc-to make the world suffer with him.
His fingers tightened on the spear, and his breathing turned shallow as tendrils of corruption tried to seep in and overwhelm him.
"Focus, Zephyr!" Mira's voice cracked through the storm and reached for him like a lifeline. "Don't let it control you. You are stronger than this."
And with that, in his chest, a spark raged up anew, to light his will. Enraged, he gritted his teeth and forced the Abyss down, keeping the darkness inside the spear. Pained and slow, he regained control, panting to center himself.
Finally, he was standing, with the spear of shadows firm in his grasp; his heart was running with exhaustion and triumph.
"Well done," the elder Conduit said with honeyed respect. "You have passed the first test."
Zephyr lowered the spear, and he let the shadows dissipate in a pulsar of released Abyssal energy. In his hand, the relic grew cold-lifeless, at any rate-as its influence withdrew.
Kieran finally stepped forward, catching his breath as a faint smile finally broke his normally stern expression. "I expected you to succeed, but not with that resolve. Few can harness the Abyss with that level of control."
Finally, Zephyr looked up, feeling pride and relief mix together in him. "Thanks, Kieran. And…thanks all," he said, looking toward Mira, who nodded back with a beaming smile.
The elder Conduit took the relic back, her eyes in a moment of introspection. "You have potential, Zephyr, but never forget the nature of the Abyss. It will test you again, and with each time, it shall be harder to resist. Remember for whom and why you fight ."
He nodded, those words branding in his mind like irons. The Abyss was a double-edged sword: a power which could protect or consume him.
"You are dismissed, Zephyr," Kieran said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Take the time to recuperate. You will need it for what is next."
As he turned away, Mira ran up to his side, her eyes alight with pride and relief. "Zephyr, that was amazing! I knew you had it in you."
"Thanks, Mira. I couldn't have done it without your help," he said. The glow that was spreading in his chest dulled the chill that had been left by the relic.
The two stepped out into the sunlight, and with each step, Zephyr could feel a new confidence settle upon him. For the first time, it truly felt like he had earned his place in the Guild. Yet, even amidst such triumph, he knew this was only the beginning: The Abyss would come again, testing his resolve, tempting him around every turn.
As they strolled down the curving pathway toward the quarters of the Guild, Mira jabbed him and there was a saucy sparkle in her eyes. "Think you're ready to take another test tomorrow?"
Zephyr laughed and shook his head. "After today, I can stand a little rest first.
But deep in his heart, he knew better; he was ready for more, something beckoned him, his destiny calling him, his path in life. The Abyss might speak to him in a whispered tone, but it was not claiming him; he would be the one to control it, to use it, driven by anything but the chains of servants' nature: rather, the memories of family and a lost village, of a promise he had made to himself never again to feel at any moment so powerless.
And with Mira by his side, well, the shadows just didn't seem quite that overwhelming.