My short story

It was one of those warm spring day that we can see in the end of the Month of the Evening Star. The flowers in the open valley have just begun to wake up from their winter sleep and life filled the once snowy landscape. With the appearance of the first flowers preparations begun for the Equinox and the entrance of the new year. This also meant that soon Kail's trial will begin.

Kail came from a poor family from Rivenhill, a small settlement not so far from the capital - Noor-Aylard. The long war against the Garrens took it's toll on the local population. Most of the men from the village were on war and came home rarely , including Kail's father who served as a formation commander. The families were paid for their service but this money was barely enough and the women and children left behind had to work in the fields. Now as the Equinox was upon them the villagers hurried to the big city to buy stuff for the celebration.

Kail went to the river to catch some fish for the celebrating. The women will later cook those and cut off their tails, as they say "so that the year will head forward and not tail backwards". He thought about the journey ahead of him: Soon he is becoming 16 which means he should leave his home for the trial like all men women of his age. They have to bring back something useful for their people and cannot return before their task is complete. Some head to the military, some research into a matter and bring the results of their work to the people, others bring money. Others prefer the older traditional trial, just like kail did. Pupils of famous teachers could be given special tasks to complete, usually they carried a lot of meaning and danger involved but at least you knew what to do. Kail knew his trial already and this knowledge bothered him even more.

Kail was a student of the famous Master Corus. This fact is quite surprising including the low status of his family, but luckily Master Corus didn't pick up students by money but by talent. His talent for Void magic was found in young age but his parents didn't have enough money to send him to a master. Instead they gathered the money the could and sent him to a gymnasium in Noor-Aylard. It was a place for the common people to achieve more than their parents did and so many parents collected their last money to send their children to study in gymnasiums.

One day he met that selfish bully , Darec son of Cartius. He was a son of a rich aristocrat. Was expelled from a bending school for his behaviour and from that day he bullied students in kail's gymnasium. He was called behind the back "Sewer Rat" for that time he was punished to clean the sewers in his bending school. As Darec went through the school crowd, pushing anything on his way aside, he stumbled across Kail. "Step aside worm" he told kail in his weird loud voice. Kail had to step aside that day, or maybe not. Darec approached to push Kail aside but he pushed his hand away. Darec, surprised by such development tried to hit Kail in the face but he moved back and his hand missed. " Heh you think you're tough ? I gonna teach you how to give respect !" he said. By this time all students around already gathered in a tight circle to see what's going on. " The sewer rat is gonna smash Kail" told whispers around as Darec prepared to strike. Kail being lighter than his opponent managed to evade Darec’s punches . Darec striked another time into Kail's face but he blocked and hit him fast in the stomach. Darec then tried to kick Kail but missed again , getting another punch in the stomach. "I'll smash you at the wall" he said and prepared to use his void magic . He sent a force wave at Kail, pushing him away and throwing him on the floor. Darec sent another wave that hit Kail. He stood on his fit and managed to evade the wave. Another wave hit his torso pushing him back and then another one. It looked like Darec is indeed planning to smash Kail against the wall. Darec who saw the victory on the horizon stroked again, hoping to throw his opponent on the floor. Kail saw the coming wave but instead of dodging he put his hands in front of him, and hit the wave, pushing it back into the surprised opponent pushing him back. Kail quickly rose his hand and created his own wave that hit Darec. He then stroke another wave in Darec's legs, sending him flying to the opposite side of the student circle that closely watched the battle. Darec prepared to stand up again but then fast footsteps were heard from behind "Step aside step aside" . Professor Aren, one of Kail's teachers stepped into the student circle. "What's going on here ?!" he said, "Kail Sceptii ... follow me". Kail followed the professor passing by the grimly smiling Darec, hearing behind him whispers "Kail got in trouble".

Professor Aren took Kail to the professors' halls. Kail guessed what would be his punishment as they approached Professor Aren's room. They entered the room "Sit down Mr. Sceptii “ said the professor. " You know how disappointed I am in your behaviour Mr. Sceptii and you know what awaits you" . Professor Aren was ready to tell his verdict "You know that in our gymnasium there are strict rules and those who breach the rules will be punished or expelled". Kail was afraid of those words "...expelled". " And yet I believe a single fight is not a reason to expel students" said a voice behind Kail's back. Kail turned around to see an old man in a robe standing in the doorway. "I believe you already chose the students you want Master Corus ? " . "Yes indeed" he answered. " There is no need to punish that student anymore, I will take him with me" he said. Professor Aren clearly didn't expect that, and Master Corus told Kail " follow me". Kail never actually knew what captured the Master's eye - they way he stroked Darec or the fact he stood against him.

The fish slowly filled Kail's basket as the thoughts slowly filled his mind. He knew what he has to do. He will go beyond the portal into the lands of the old people and find there the key to defeat the Garrens and end the war.



End of first chapter.

As the sun slowly set down the air filled with the magical smell of the holiday, literally as the food was almost ready. Happy children ran around playing tag, impatient to get their gifts. A big square of tables was put in the middle of the village with a big bonfire in the middle. As the first star appeared in the sky the whole village set down around the table. Elder Megar, the head of the village set in the middle. Usually the heads of the families set near him, including Kail's father but they were at war. Only the women, elders and children remained.

" As we sit here on the gateway top the next year our beloved husbands and sons fight in the war against the Garrens . Let's warm their night with our best wishes and drink for their lives so that they'll return home with the heads of our enemies !" , " for the return of our heroes !" the sitting answered elder Megar. After a short pray to bless the upcoming year the food was served. Kail haven't seen his father for a long time. Each meeting with him as important for him. He served as a formation commander in the diversionary cohort. As the war around the great wall became more or less entrenched the generals sent troops behind the enemy lines on board the Void Rays to disrupt enemy supplies, scout the area and strike at key points. This meant that they remained longer on the front line and returned home less frequently.

" This year we also part with our son who grew up and became ready for his trial. May the creator bless you and you will find your way back with victory, Kail son of Mark Sceptii !", " For the return of Kail Sceptii !" the sitting answered and another glass was drank. His thoughts drifted again to the task at hand.

Life wasn't easy under Master Corus. His mansion laid in the countryside not far away from Noor-Aylard. The mansion consisted of the Master's house, the students' rooms, a big courtyard and a nice green gaurden where the master liked to meditate. Even though it wasn't that far away from his home Kail had to move to the mansion and live there. As he carried his sack of items he was met by the gate by a smiling boy of his age. "So you're new here ? My name is Allen, son of Gyan Nectimii , cmo'n I'll show you around " he said smiling. Kail followed him to the Students' wing. "The boys live in this room, the girls are on the second floor. Here put your stuff here, this bad is empty." he said. "It's dinner time soon so you probably want to change that ... stuff you are wearing for something better" he said giving Kail pants and a tunic. The other students probably were not used for poor people .

Kail went with Allen to the dinning room in the master's house. Around the big table the student's already set. Kail took the seat near Allen as Master Corus entered the room. Some of the student girls entered the room with some dishes and after a short pray for the food the feast began. The table was a quite noisy as the students discussed all sorts of things. "So where are you from ?" asked Allen, taking another chicken leg. "Rivenhill , not far from the capital " , " I’m from the capital" he said chewing the chicken. "People come here from literally everywhere. I have no idea how the Master manages to find them all. Actually in which bending school have you studied before ?" He said. "I didn't, I was just a gymnasium student" Kail said. Allen looked a bit surprised but then smiled again "That's what I'm talkin about, I have no idea how he manages to find students in those places but if you're here means you're worth something". Kail actually didn't know if he should be in this place or this is some sort of a misunderstanding. The table was quickly emptied and the students started leaving the room. Master Corus stood up and walked towards Kail. "You will wash the dishes with today's team" he said and walked out. "Cool you're washin with me" said Allen ad pulled Kail's hand. "Cmo'n let's go". Kail was probably surprised with that duty on his first day, but probably he was more surprised by the pile of dishes in front of him. "Girls cook the dishes, we wash them" said Allen who noticed the surprise on Kail's face. After half an hour the dishes were washed and the Kail went to the boys' room.

There was still time left until lights off and the students were talking with each other. When Kail entered the room everyone stared at him. One asked "So what's your name ? ", " That's Kail son Mark Sceptii , he's a freshy " answered Allen before Kail could even say a word. "So you're from the countryside ?" another asked "Rivenhill yes". "How long do you practice void magic ?" , " I... I'm not. I studied in a gymnasium" . Kail was expecting a laughter but instead he just got surprised faces and more questions "If you're here probably you're worth something" one said. They asked him about what did he do to attract his attention. He told them about his fight with Darec. The conversation suddenly turned into discussion of the move he made. Kail felt some relief he won't have to answer more questions. The lights went off and the students went to sleep.

The next day Allen woke Kail early in the morning. The sun slowly rose from the mountains afar and the students went to the courtyard. Master Corus waited for them there. "Today we will practice our force waves " . A disappointed sigh was heard from the student line, from which Kail understood it was quite a basic move. "You cannot progress further in the art of the magic without perfecting the basics. I want two straight lines over there " He pointed. Allen went to the opposite line in front of Kail. "I said straight lines" Master Corus said pointing at a gap in Kail's line. Grudgingly one of the students filled that gap, which looked quite weird for Kail. "Now everyone to starting stance" he said. Kail tried to do what the others around him. Master Corus quickly went through the lines and fixed wrong stances. He closed to Kail, pulled his arms a bit further and his legs a bit lower and moved on. "Now remember that when you create a force wave you push your body energy through your arms, through the air into your opponent. Feel how the energy circulates in your body, to your hands and from them. Feel how it passes through your fingers and push it forward" he said, pulling his hands forward and unleashing a big force wave forward. " And remember that energy is flowing. You can direct it through your body as if it was water in a river. Now first row strike the second row, second row deflect the wave back into the first row. Keep deflecting it until I say stop". Kail tried to focus on the wave and pushed it forward. It appeared a bit small and went off course a bit, but Allen deflected it straight into Kail. The wave hit his hands and he was pushed a bit back. "Don’ worry it'll get better" said Allen. Kail sent another wave forward and then heard a falling noise. One of the students in his row just flew straight through the courtyard a few meters, it was the guy who stepped into the gap. In front of him stood a young girl. "oh that's Emily, she's the best student out here" said Allen. She was also around kail's age. She was beautiful. Many girls could be jealous of her perfect thin body, long light brown hair , glowing blue eyes, shiny mysterious smile and of course her talent for magic.

Another wave hit Kail and he almost fell down. "Yea focus on the training you can try to hang out with her later" he said laughing. Kail pushed a wave straight into him and surprised he almost got hit himself but managed to catch it and send it back into Kail. He actually catched the wave and barely managed to send it back. He felt exhausted after all this work. "Alright enough for now, I'll give you 10 minutes break and I will soon be back" . Kail had to sit down. "You're not that bad considering you never learned void magic". "I feel like my hands will soon fall off" Kail answered him. "Well I think you use your own energy to create those things so feeling like that is kinda natural" Allen said. "You don't look exhausted" , "yea basically it wasn't that bad ..." . Master Corus came back. "Alright the break is over. I want training pairs over there. No need to stand all together in the middle the courtyard is big I want free space around each pair" he said. "Emily follow me". Master Corus and Emily went towards Kail "Could you practice with him a bit ?" he said "Yes master Corus" she quickly replied. "So you're new here ? You need to keep a bigger gap between your legs like this so that your stance will be stable" she said pulling his leg a bit forward "Yes , now let's see what you got" . She pushed her arms to the sides and sent a big force wave into Kail. The wave hit him hard sending him flying back. Kail stood back and went into a starting stance again. Emily smiled slightly at him "Not everyone can get up after such a punch , here is a smaller one". Another wave hit Kail. He couldn't raise his hands on time and the wave pushed him back. The stance worked well and he didn't fall to the ground. Another wave went his way, hey catched it and barely managed to turn it around. Emily pulled her hand forward into the wave shattering it. "Not bad, try to use the wave's energy in your advantage. Let it flow through your body freely and exit on the other side, imagine it flowing". She sent another wave at him, he deflects it again. Though this wave went better than the previous one he still felt the whole weight of the wave on him. His powers ran out fast and he felt like another wave would crash him. "Alright enough everyone. Today's team goes to clean, the rest can rest". Kail went back to the students' rooms, barely standing he fell on the bed. His training was only beginning.


"As the new year descends upon us new challenges await us. May the fortune be on our side and may we pass all challenges awaiting us", "For the challenges yet to pass" the sitting answered him.


End of second chapter.

4 days of training and kail still barely made any progress. The pain in the back became a standard issue from the numerous falls and every single day he collapsed on his bad exhausted. He recalled a positive side in the situation as sleeping became sweeter than ever. Allen tried to cheer the him that everyone is that bad in the beginning but even he barely believed in what he said. Actually kail wasn't really listening to him at that point and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning Kail woke up relatively fresh. The pain in the back was gone and for some unknown reason his mood also improved, maybe because it was Saturday. Kail and the rest of the students hurried to the courtyard for morning exercises. Master Corus went out of his house and went to the court yard. " I want two straight lines here" he pointed. "Also Ralf, Kail and Eve follow me". Kail followed master Corus. He went to the garden behind his house. It was a quiet place. The path led to a small open square in the middle of the garden, surrounded by tree and shrubbery. On the other side Kail saw a small lake with crystal clean water. Master Corus entered the square and Kail and the other two students stood in a line in front of him.

"Sit down" he said, sitting on the stone floor of the square which was surprisingly warm. "Today we will practice Gravity fields with you" he said, pushing 3 balls in front on them. The ball slowly descended in front of kail and landed near his feet. "In order to move this ball from it's place you must first understand what Void Magic is " he moved his hand forward and lit it up in a purple flame " For centuries our ancestors practised the Void school of magic to understand what it's truly is. Many Great Mages searched for answers they seek in the nature surrounding them. When the void mage looked around him he couldn't find anything, he couldn't see the power he is manipulating, but he could feel how it floats in his body. He felt where the power came from - from his mind and soul. Unlike elemental magic we do not manipulate curtain elements, we manipulate the flow of energy around us and so we manipulate the rules of nature. We make things fly , move , appear and disappear. we use the most powerful energy source to power us and we use our mind to direct that power. A powerful void mage doesn't need his hands , he can effect his world with his mind only."

"Now have a look at the ball in front of you. Imagine that you pull it up with your hand, feel how the energy flows from your mind to your fingertips and from them to the ball. See how it warps around the ball in a strong field of magic. Now move this field with your hands and push the ball up". Kail slowly rose his hand. He focused on the ball and tried to feel the energy passing trough his fingers. The ball started shaking a bit and then going up into the air. "Good, feel the ball in your hands, and now throw it ". Kail pushed his hands forward and saw how the ball flew to the other side of the square. Master Corus moved his hand stopping the balls mid-air "And now catch them" he said throwing the balls back. Kail wasn't ready for this. He knew he to move a standing object but the ball closing on him was moving and fast. Kail closed his eyes pulling his hand forward. When he opened his eyes he noticed the ball flying in front of his hand. He breathed with relief and the ball fell down. "As you see you don’t need an object to create a gravity field. You can create it anywhere you want, just imagine and feel it in front of you."

Master Corus went to see how the training in the courtyard is going leaving Kail ad the students alone. A cheerful looking girl closed to Kail "Hey I'm Eve and you must be Kail. I'm not that good with magic actually because things tend to blow up in my face and go wrong but you get used to it I mean to the fact things blow up all the time and not the explosions because if I was used for the explosions they wouldn't be a surprise and I like surprises because they are so unexpected , do you get surprises often ?" . Kail looked at Eve . She was a cheerfully looking girl a bit younger than him with a light blond, almost white hair. She had a big and a bit awkward smile on her face. Kail didn't know what to say, or what she just said. Eve opened her mouth to speak but Kail quickly said "uhh I'm sure you will get better with it , it is something that needs some practice" , "Do you really think that ? Nobody said me anything like that since I went here or before that in the Grimstone Bending school or at home or ... " "Yea I got it" Kail replied nervously "Oh I was talking a lot again ? Sorry I just tend to keep going on and on about topics like that time when ... oh yes sorry ". "Eve will you ever let him to breathe ? " Said Ralf. He was a big muscular boy with a short brown hair and a bit square face. He looked tough but kind.

Master Corus came back inviting the three for lunch. Kail set in his place with Allen. Today they both had to clean the mansion's garden together with Mordin , Eve and Emily. After lunch Kail and Allen went to the garden. Eve was already there moving around a leaf with magic. Shortly after Mordin and Emily came. They had to clean the path and square from fallen leaf and garbage and clean the water in the lake. They were ready to start cleaning but then master Corus came . "Today you will not clean the garden, instead I have another job for you. near lake Romare not far from here there is a small field of purple flowers. Could you bring some for me ? " . "Yes master " Emily answered. "Good then get to work" he said and walked away. " So where is exactly lake Romare ?" Asked Allen "To the west from here " answered Kail "I know that area, let's go" . They went on the path that lead to the capital then turned to the Edged Mountains in the west. The entered a small forest. In the middle of it there was a small lake. "The river that passes near our village falls into this lake " said Kail "there are also strange howls coming from this forest so we better watch out".

The Purple flowers the master was talking about were on the opposite side of the lake. They went closer to the field. It was filled with flowers, much more than the master asked for so completing the task was easy. As they arrived in the field they started collecting those flowers. Suddenly they heard a strange howl. A few wolves appeared out of the bushes. They had a dark brown fur and big horns on their head and body. Those were Wolf-Boars. Kail quickly went into a starting stance even though his magic knowledge to that point was quite limited. The wolf-boars rushed forward towards the students. Emily quickly pulled her hands to the sides sending a huge force wave. The wolf-boars flew trough the bushes back into the forest but others were already around them. A wolf-Boar jumped towards Allen who quickly sent his own force wave towards it. Another wolf jumped towards Eve who pushed her hands forward creating a gravity field. The wolf ran into it and started flying helplessly around "My gravity field actually works ! " she said trying to create another one. As soon as she moved her hands away the wolf fell to the ground, and then pushed away by Emily "So my Gravity field still doesn't work " Eve quickly remarked. Another wolf jumped , now towards Kail. He focused on the wolf and slowly rose his hand up. The Wolf helplessly stopped mid air. Kail then pushed his hand throwing the wolf 6 meters away. After hitting the ground the wolf stood back and together with the other wolves slowly closed on the prey. They were surrounded. Emily started creating a slightly glowing ball between her hands "everyone crouch " she said, pulling her hands to the side , sending a force field all around her , smashing the wolves against the trees. All five then ran back towards the entrance of the forest "over there to the left, now to the right " shouted Kail leading them out of the forest. The hungry howls of the wolf-boars could be heard in the distance. They hurried back to the mansion.

Master Corus waited for them at the gate. He took the flowers and went with them into his house "Master Corus what are those flowers for ? " asked Eve "Those flowers, the Egonium flowers, have some very special healing abilities. Their Nectar can be used to treat many different poisons . It also has a very lovely taste " he said smiling. "You are going to eat them ?!" asked Emily "No , no, for now I will keep them but I have the feeling we are going to need them soon..."

That night in the students' room Allen told about the wolf-boars and how Emily tossed them around. People were always wandering how does she know those moves. They tended to remind her unusual force field tossing which became her signature move. She was crossing her arms and then pushing them aside like the wings of a bird, her smooth, fast and gorgeous movement was adored by the students. Master Corus tended to take groups of students and train them in person, only her he took alone. It was then when she probably learned those moves as they were too complicated for other students to perform. It was hard to tell because nobody has ever studied in a group with her. Kail also noticed that the lesson with Master Corus improved his magic and he slowly started getting it. Maybe he is not a lost case after all.


End of third chapter.

It was a nice Sunday morning. Master Corus gave the students a day off as usual and some money to spend in the capital. Kail, Allen and Ralf agreed to go to the capital together. The void people were quite talkative. In order to survive in the harsh conditions they faced long ago they had to be together. The students preferred to go together as they found the walk much more interesting this way. Kail was approaching the gate as he noticed a few men on horses. Those were the sapphire guards, the king’s personal guards. They wore a heavy curved Nepheline armor, similar to the one used in the Legion. They had a long black cape and blue feathers on the top of their helmet. Kail also noticed one of their horses was missing a rider.

It was hard not to ask what the personal guards of the king were doing in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly Emily appeared. She approached the sapphire guards. Allen noticing the surprise on Kail’s face noted “Yea we forgot to tell you she is the king’s daughter”. Kail noticed , by her manners, that she was part of the upper class but he didn’t expect a princess to get her hands dirty in the master’s courtyard. “Her father wanted to give her a private master but she refused and went here instead. She is sort of that bad girl that never listens to her father. He even sends his bodyguards to make sure she gets to the palace. ”

Their talk was interrupted by Eve "I sort of didn't really find anyone to go with, I mean I could go with the others but I sort of don't want to ... " "alright alright just don’t start all of it again " said Ralf. The Sapphire guards were already gone by then leaving a trail of dust. They could use a few horses thought Kail but he guessed they'll have to use their feet as the others. There were two paths to the capital. The first was to take the road to the north through Corinth and then join with the main road, the other was to go to the west through Woodville , pass Romare river and then join the main road near the city itself. "Hey my aunt lives in Woodville and I haven't visited her in a while. we might take the west road and maybe she will give us something nice" said Allen. There were no objections and the group went west.

Usually things are quiet in the outskirts of Noor-Aylard. The vast stone roads leading to the capital are well patrolled by the city watch to insure safe passage along the most important road of the void nation. The countryside around it , while not as heavily patrolled like the main roads, is still safe for passage. The small dirt roads connecting the villages to the main road are usually ignored by bandits and looters. The only danger that could probably be on those roads is the animals roaming the local forests. Usually those show hostility only when humans got too close to them so most conflicts can be simply avoided if the creatures are not provoked.

The road went through the forest. It was quiet and warm. The sunlight occasionally passed through the trees creating beautiful light rays. The road was a bit curvy so Kail couldn't see what's ahead. Eventually behind one of the curves a small village appeared. The void nation banners slowly waved on a small gate. The village was quite silent. People went to their duties without paying too much attention to the travellers. Allen went to a small house near the main square. He knocked on the door "Aunt Ellice, aunt Ellice ! It's me Allen". The door opened and an old woman appeared. She was in her 50's , with blue sad eyes and a white hair collected into a knot. She wore a simple brown dress and a white apron. "Oh it's you darling ? come in come in, and invite your friends of course".

She gave them a cup of tea and some bread she had left. "You know you shouldn't go this road nowadays" she said. "Why is that aunt ?" asked Allen "The road seemed fine to me". "People are recently disappearing around here. First it was that merchant that went around the villages and sold goods, then it was Lotius and Henry and others too. The went out for their Business through the Northern road and never returned. since then we go all the way around through the western road". "So how many people disappeared since ?" "Ten, nobody ever heard from them again. Poor families, if they don't loose their husbands to the war they loose them to the bandits. It is terrible ... ". "We got to find them, at least something to tell us where they are" said Allen "don't go there , please, we've lost enough people to this road already " said his aunt. "You better go the way you came, you won't be able to help them". Allen thanked his aunt for the warm welcome and all four went to the main square.

"We gotta do something about those disappearances, we can't just leave them there " said Allen. "Maybe but what can we do ? They are probably dead already" said kail. "Even their bodies, at least something " he said. "So what's the plan ? Are we going back to the western road ?" asked Ralf. "No we go to investigate" said Allen. "I have a baaaad feeling bout that" said Ralf. They went through the Northern gate. The Northern road was similar to the western one just less curvy. The four kept going. They watched carefully around them for any clues or ambushes. The silence of the forest accompanied them. Kail could occasionally hear a bird somewhere nearby but most of the time the forest was silent as if no one was there. Suddenly they heard a cracking noise. They turned around and saw some movements. All four jumped to starting stance , shaken. " Wait a second it's just a dear" Ralf gasped. It was indeed a deer. It stared at the travellers and suddenly he turned his head to the right and ran away. "There is someone there get down " whispered Kail and they all went behind a bush . "How can you tell ? " , "the deer must have ran from something and it wasn't us".

Three dark figures appeared. They were three men, relatively young in green tunics . " I'm telling you I saw someone coming this road" one said. " It was probably that deer there is nothing out here. I'm telling you we gotta go elsewhere those villagers are not using this road anymore" "and what's about the captives ?" , “we have no use for them anymore, we can leave them in that cave, end of story". The three men went into the forest. "C'mon we gotta follow them" said Allen and the four went after the men in the green tunics. "I guess we found our bandits".

The three man went to a small mountain nearby. near it there were a couple of tents and people. there was a cave in the side of the mountain slightly above the camp. "There are at least twelve of them here" said Ralf "too many for us, maybe we could sneak by ?" said Kail "those two guards near the cave ? no way we can do it" said kail. "So what we gonna do ?" asked Eve. There was a silence. " look there - she looks older than the others " said kail "Wow no way..." Allan cynically remarked. The woman was around 70 years old. she wore a green robe and looked quite distinct among the younger people surrounding her.

She spoke to the people around her "so you say there was nothing out there ?" , "yes
Master Merile “ “We will need new subjects soon enough, we will have to move on”. “Subjects ? are they doing experiments on them ?” “Dunno Eve, guess we’ll find out” answered Kail. “So any new bright ideas ?” . Two men in green tunics passed near them. They picked up a crate on the far end of the camp and moved it to the cave. “see those crates ?” said Allen “that’s our ticket. They quickly ran towards the crates. It seems like the bandits kept their loot in those chests. Ralf and Allen took one of the crates, quickly carried it to the bushes and emptied it there. They put it back and Allen got in. “now you kail”. They both picked up another crate, emptied it and put back, Kail got in. Suddenly they noticed the bandits coming. Ralf and Eve went to hide in a bush.

Kail heard the bandits outside of the crate, then he felt how he was picked up. “Damn those things are heavy, bet we had to open it and move in parts”. Kail’s heart beat like crazy, he felt every step in the tinny crate, suddenly he was dropped down. “Ahh my back hurts so much, let’s make a break before we pick the other crates”. He heard the bandits going away. He slowly opened the lead. He was in a cave. Around him laid crates, mostly empty. He could see the entrance to the cave . He couldn’t find Allen’s create though, he was alone.

On the other side of the cave he saw a door. He went towards it. It was locked by a wooden log between the door and the wall. Kail took the log out and opened the door. The room was pitch black, he could hear movement but couldn’t see anyone. He took a torch from the wall and went in. In the middle of the room there were four stone columns with a few people tightened around them. They looked exhausted and dirty. One of the prisoners turned his head towards Kail. “You … are not one of them …” “be quiet I’m here to help”. Kail quickly went back to the storage room. He took a sword from one of the crates and cut the ropes around the columns. The prisoners slowly stood up. “So what will we do now ? “ one of them said “Now ? Let’s get some revenge “ another said taking a sword from a crate. “there are twelve of them out there, and that old women . If we strike fast we’ll be able to take most of them down by surprise” said Kail “So let’s do it” a prisoner said and they went to the exit.

The two Guards near the cave entrance were talking among each other. Two prisoners quickly hit them in the head turning them unconscious . The other bandits noticed it “The prisoners are escaping !” the camp immediately turned into chaos. Two bandits were just on their way to the cave with another crate when suddenly Allen jumped out of it hitting one and sending a force wave at the other. Ralf and eve jumped out of the bushes too. Eve could land a successful wave on another bandit sending him flying into a nearby tree. Ralf just rushed another bandit and hit him in the face “Six down !” .

The bandits quickly reorganized themselves. They went into a stance and started casting something. A light green beam slowly flew out of a bandit’s hands towards one of the prisoners. He said some random things Kail couldn’t understand and fell to the ground. Another bandit in front of Kail started casting. Kail quickly sent a force wave in the bandit’s direction. His wave went off-course barely hitting the bandit. The bandits cape flew off, revealing the bandit’s face. It was a girl of his age. She looked differently than most girls he met in the void nation. She quickly casted her own string of green light hitting a prisoner near Kail. The prisoner turned towards kail and tried to stab him with his sword. Kail jumped back in surprise. The girl moved her hands as if she as controlling a doll. The prisoner went towards kail in unsteady steps. Kail sent a force wave at him laying him on the ground. The green light disappeared. The girl casted another string, now towards Kail. He jumped to the side trying to evade it but it followed him. Suddenly the world around him started to change. Different colors appeared and disappeared, shapes transformed and a terrible buzz was heard in the head. Suddenly it all stopped. Kail opened his eyes to see how Allen sends the girl flying in the air. Another bandit appeared in front of them. Allen was ready to strike his foe down when he suddenly casted a spell. The green light covered the bandit and he disappeared. Suddenly Kail turned around hitting the air behind him. The air suddenly transformed into a knife wielding bandit. The strike went straight at the bandit’s face stunning him. Kail quickly gave him a good kick to finish him off. He didn’t know how he knew the bandit was there but he was glad he hit him.

Ralf and Eve ran deeper into the camp. Two bandits appeared in front of them. They casted the light rays towards two prisoners. The prisoners suddenly turned towards Eve and drew their swords, preparing to strike. Ralf and Eve quickly pulled their hands up , picking up the prisoners into the air and throwing them aside “Oh sorry I didn’t mean to … “ Eve was suddenly interrupted by another light passing right above her head, hitting a group of prisoners. The prisoners slowly fell to the ground.

A quick glance at the battlefield revealed two persons standing in the middle of the ruined camp – the master and a bandit, the one Kail threw away. The student quickly stood between her master and the Kail. The master seemed calm. She smiled with her old face revealing missing teeth. She wasn’t preparing to cast any spells, she was watching her student as if she was facing a test. Kail and the others quickly went into starting stance, preparing to strike, so did the student. Ralf started first. He created with his hands a force ball and pushed it at the student. The student jumped to the side and cast her spell. Her body was covered in the green light and suddenly she disappeared.

The four starting circling around trying to find her. Suddenly Kail noticed a few leaves cracking on the ground. He turned towards the sound and sent a force wave. Though the force wave hit it’s target revealing the student it barely effected her. “it’s not the time for mistakes” he thought. The student quickly cast another spell, hitting Allen. He started wandering around, barely walking, talking about colors in his eyes. Eve reacted to it quickly by sending her own force ball at the student. The ball hit her target but her technique was flawed too. The ball barely effected the student. She casted another light, now at Kail. Suddenly his body became to move. He tried to stop it, tell it go elsewhere but he couldn’t control his body. Suddenly everything became bright. He could barely see anything in this light. He felt something weird, relaxing passing through his body, he couldn’t feel it anymore. Suddenly it all became black as he felt his body hitting the ground. His vision became better and he could see how the student is sending another light at Eve. She began to move heavily towards Ralf. Ralf casted another force wave towards the student but she was evading his strikes. Suddenly Ralf rushed towards her sending a wave on the move. This move took the student by surprise. The wave hit her smashing her into a tree.

Ralf no turned towards the Master. He picked up a sword from the ground and ran towards her. He closed on her and slashed her with his sword, only to discover his sword is actually passing through her. The master suddenly disappeared and reappeared right near him, striking him with a curved knife. Ralf noticed her and tried to evade but it was too late. The knife hit his left hand. Though the wound was quite shallow Ralf suddenly fell to the ground. “It is too bad I will have to kill you personally. This knife contains a very rare and powerful poison , there is no use in fighting back” . She prepared to strike as a powerful light beam stroke at her. She was hit by that light and sent flying into the mountain. Master Corus ran went towards Ralf. “It’s no use … you cannot cure the poison … “ she said. Her green robe was completely black now, burnt. “Egonium extract is always useful to have in stock” he said giving Ralf a yellow liquid. The effect was almost immediate as Ralf slowly stood up. Suddenly Allen’s Aunt has appeared together with other villagers “Oh thank good you are alright” she said running towards Allen who just got over the weird spell that was cast on him.

“How did you know we’re in trouble master ? “ Allen asked. “Your aunt went to me and told about your idea” he answered . “I just knew you won’t give up on this idea, I had to get some help “ Allen’s aunt said. “But how did you know we’ll need those Egonium flowers you told us to get ?” asked Kail. “One day you will answer this question yourself” he answered smiling. “and what was that magic ? I’ve never seen any element such as this”. “We divided magic into elements for hundreds of years, we learned to master one, to perfect it and use to our advantage but we never saw the whole picture. The division into elements is something that we forced on ourselves. There is no real boundary between the elements, they are all whole. Some areas of this whole were never studied , such as the illusion spells they used “. “So why did we force this division on ourselves ? Wouldn’t we be more powerful without it ? “, “one day you will answer this question too” he smiled.



End of fourth chapter.

While Kail couldn’t enjoy his Sunday his friends will sure enjoy it for the next few days as tails about it spread around. The terrible headache after that encounter lasted for the rest of the day and Kail didn’t want to do anything besides lying on the bed.

The headache was gone the next day. Early in the morning as always they went to the courtyard. Master Corus was waiting for them already. “I want two straight lines” he said pointing at the middle of the courtyard. The lines quickly assembled and he began the lesson. “Today we are going to practice force shields. This is the most basic and useful defence tool of a void mage. Now go to starting stance”. “You know how to create force waves. You create a force field in your hands and throw it as a wave at your opponent. Like the force wave, the force shield starts from the same force field, now create one”.

Kail raised his hands and a transparent ball appeared in his hands, much smaller than the others’ balls though, as it was always the case. Kail struggled to make it bigger. He focused as much as he could, tried to force all his energy into that ball but it didn’t respond. “Now, unlike a force wave, while using a force shield it is important to learn how to sustain it. Push the ball right outside of your body and hit it with your hand. Let the energy spread around into a thick shield”. Kail pushed the ball forward and then let it’s energy out. The ball grew into a round wall and disappeared.

“ Now as you saw your shields didn’t last long without sustain. Learning to manage your energy so not to waste too much of it is important. Pushing the force ball like you did will protect you from powerful blows but only temporary. In order to keep your shield intact for longer time there is no need to send the whole field. Imagine as if it was water. Direct this water with your fingertips forward and then hit it like you did with the field. The energy will form a shield in front of you.”. Kail did as he said. The thin flow of energy followed his fingertips and spread around forming a shield. It did not disappear immediately but started to slowly fade away. “Try to maintain your shields. Dedicate just enough energy to keep it up. The energy should freely flow through your body to your hand and into the shield “. Master Corus went through the lines to see the shields. Kail tried to keep the shield as long as he could but he felt tired and his shield slowly faded away. “Now lets see how well you use them in battle, first line sends a force wave at the second one, second one absorbs and sends her own wave”

Kail created another force field and pushed it forward with his hands. Allen created a shield. He had some trouble sustaining it too but quickly overcame the wave and sent his own. Kail focused on the shield, pushed his hand forward and prepared for the wave. The wave crushed into the shield and almost passed through. Kail sent another wave. Allen crushed it easily and sent his own wave back at Kail. He raised up his shield but it was too weak and the wave passed through, hitting Kail and pushing him backwards. “You do not feel the flow” noted master Corus. After what seemed to him like infinity the lunch break finally came. Kail felt tired. He fell on the ground more than any other lesson he had.

After lunch Kail went to get a short rest. Suddenly master Corus said “Kail, follow me”. He lead him to the backyard near the lake. There was a small wooden platform near the water. They went to it. “sit down” he said. Kail set down. “It is a nice day isn’t it ? The sun that warms the air and the water around us… a good day for thought and meditation. Tell me Kail, would you like to drink that water ?” he pointed at a dirty small pool. “Not really isn’t it ? It is tainted and possesses little value. Our soul is a great source of power. Unfortunately we didn’t quite learn how to use it’s most pure form. We have restricted ourselves with our thoughts and feelings that do not allow us to fully understand this power and use it, We put our limited experience and knowledge to limit the flow of energy to create a small tainted pool of energy we can actually use” “like that small pool” “exactly, but if we remove those obstacles and let the energy flow freely” he pulled out a few rocks that blocked the water in the pool “we will be able to use pure energy” as the water flowed through the pool the water slowly became blue and clean “Are you ready to try ?” “Yes master”.

Master Corus stood up and went to the square behind them. “The most basic thing you should know is that our energy is not physical but mental. It doesn’t come from our muscles . Now put two fingers on your arm, near the hand, can you feel the blood passing ? Follow the vein on your hand. Do you feel anything ? “ “I … I don’t know”. “ Create a small force field and now let your fingers absorb it. Move them again on your hand.” “I feel something going through me”, “now stop moving your fingers, do you still feel that movement ? “ “yes, it is hard to describe it” , “this is the pure energy. Now move it to your other hand , and now both hands. Now to your fingertips, and now to a force field” Kail created another transparent ball. It was significantly larger than the last one. “Again, move the energy through your hand, with your fingers. To the other hand, to the fingers and out. In, through, out. In, through, out.”

“When we guide the energy through our body we divide it into two parts – positive energy and negative energy. We tunnel our way through the flow of energy , separating it into two. “ “So if both the positive and negative energy is not there what it is then ?” “The void. The energy cannot sustain this state for long and collapses back into one, flowing forward through the path. The art of curving those paths is the core of the void magic, to manipulate the void, Now dismiss your force field”.

Kail lowered his hands and let the force field disappear. “ Now feel the flow coming through your body in. Good , in , through , out” . Kail created another force field, he felt how his whole body fills with strange feeling, he felt the flow, the guided the flow, the became the flow, or at least that’s how he felt. “Not many can that easily feel this energy, usually you need many years of practice to learn to differ the tainted energy from the pure one while you have learned to do it in a hour. Your technique still needs some work but with your new knowledge you will be able to keep up to the others.”

Master Corus and Kail went to the courtyard. The break was over and the students were waiting in there. “I want two straight lines”. He quickly pushed the lines and put Kail in a gap in the middle. It was an unpleasant surprise to discover the source of the gap standing in the line in front of Kail. “This is gonna hurt” he thought looking at Emily preparing her force field. He started preparing his own. Emily shot a force wave straight at Kail. He pushed his own force field and created a shield. The wave hit the shield pushing Kail back but the shield survived. He created his own wave and pushed it forward.
After a few hours of intense practice Kail felt he handles the shield technique more or less. His hands were still hurting as much as they did in the morning but this was considering he was repelling Emily’s waves. He went to the students’ quarters and set on the bed. Allen looked at him with approval. “Hey you are actually improving ! Told you not to worry too much” , “yea … I still do it wrong though”. The chatter in the room slowly faded away as the lights went off and the time to sleep came.

The following morning they went to the courtyard s usual. Master Corus was already waiting in the courtyard. “Today we are going to practice some more moves, I hope you slept well because from now on we are going to beat a hell of a practice every day”. The students started whispering and guessing the reason for the drastic change. “As you are wandering what is the reason for this change it is because from now on we are preparing for the Void Tournament “ .


End of fifth chapter.

Preparations were already on their way for the Ethanimus celebrations. The streets of Noor-Aylard were full of pilgrims and travellers. Kail went through the streets of the busy city towards the great market. It was a noisy place with lots of people. The market was overseen by the city watch. Formations of soldiers went through the main street and guards patrolled the market. The great market could have attracted a lot of thiefs and thugs but the city watch guarded this area well. They also ensured the fairness of the trade, checked the gears regularly and the prices themselves. The main street leading to the market square was surrounded by workshops. Kail's favorites were always the blacksmiths. The shiny legionary armor and the curved Palandros sword always filled his imagination with stories and adventures. This time though he passed by the blacksmith and went to the market square.

"So where the hell do we find Noorian Carrots here ?" asked Allen looking at the giant market square "I dunno, lets just go somewhere" Kail answered. "Yea we'll SURELY find something in here. It's just great - they have literally anything here and we still wont find what we need ... " . They went to the closest stall line and went through it. The line was perfectly straight and quite wide, allowing the crowd to easily pass through. Merchants offered their goods from the stalls trying to interest the passing crowd with their goods. They found the Noorian Carrots faster than they thought somewhere in the middle of the row. They bought a full sack of carrots. "So we have 1 golden coin left for the ceremonial wine and we have all we need" Allen noted.

The Ceremonial wine was sold near the great temple of light. They went back to the main street and took one of the ring streets going through the city. It lead to the western side of the city where the great amphitheatre and the great temple were. As they passed by the great amphitheatre they saw the preparations for the ceremonies and the void tournament.

It was in the times of old when their great patriarch Aladarn learned the ways of the void from the great void dragons. He set 7 months on the top of mount Ethan and learned the ways of the void and on the full moon of the 7th month he returned from the mount with the void magic in his hands. And for this they were said “7 days you will celebrate, from moonrise to moonrise of the full moon”, this was the meaning of Ethanimus. The void tournament was the closing celebration of the festival.

The giant amphitheatre was filled with the Aldarian flags – a big white dragon on the blackish background. Flower pots were put on the tribunes with thousands of colourful flowers, the remnants of the disappearing summer. One balcony in the middle of the tribunes was especially well decorated. It will be there where the king will watch the games. The sighting of the giant structure filled Kail with an awkward feeling . He knew almost nothing about void magic and he will be about to fight in a middle of that arena with tens of thousands of people watching.

They went by the great amphitheatre into the light square where the great temple was. Most of the other students got much larger shopping lists for the Ethanimus but Kail was given only two tasks for a reason: A giant crowd of people blocked their sight of the large podium where the ceremonial wine was sold. The best wine was sent to the temple for a rigorous check. Then it was sold at the great temple. Everyone needed the wine and so many went to the great temple to buy one. They weren’t cheap too. A few formations went between the crowd to keep a clear path to the temple doors. The crowd waited for their turn to the side of the temple. Kail and Allen took their place in the crowd. The crowd moved forward relatively fast but the process was still painfully slow. Kail wondered why couldn’t they build more podiums if this picture repeats itself every year.

Finally their turn had arrived. They stepped forward to the podium. A priest was standing there offering the wine. “We need two wine bottles “ said Allen. “25 silver coins each” the priest answered. Kail took out the golden coin and gave it to the priest who quickly took two bottles and gave them. “May the Creator bless your path” he said quickly and addressed the next buyers. They went around the podium to the other side of the square. The sun was already setting to their left so they hurried to the city gates.

When they returned back home it was already night. Kail already used to call this place home even though he spent a short time in there. The food was put into the basement storage room. It was a cold and dry place, perfect for storing food. This food will wait there until Ethanimus evening so this evening they will get the usual meal. The students set around the table. They were exited about the upcoming tourney and discussed many different matters.

“ So you think we have a chance ?” , “I dunno, I heard this year many schools signed up like the Taurus Banding school” , “You mean those guys who took last year’s tournament ? I heard they play really dirty” “and that they are one of the best too …” “I really hope we won’t shame our master” “We’ll be fine of nobody screws this up”. Kail’s heart fell to his stomach. He didn’t want to break it for everyone else.

They went to bed but kail couldn’t fall asleep. He imagined how he screws it all in front of the huge crowd that laughs at his pathetic tries, the face of his master, his father. His face filled in sweat as he turned around in his bed. He turned around again but still couldn’t fall asleep. He stood up and went outside, maybe some fresh air will help.

He went to the backyard. A bright crescent moon lit the dark sky and cicadas chirped in the forest. Some fireflies flew around. Kail went towards the lake when he suddenly heard a voice. “Can’t fall asleep Kail ? “ . Master Corus stood near the entrance to the house “Yes master”. He went down the steps towards kail and they went towards the lake. “What bothers you in such a quiet night ? It is the tournament isn’t it ? “ “Yes master … I don’t want to participate in it” “You do want to participate in it but you are not sure of your abilities. Don’t you want to put them to a test ?” “Yes but I’m not ready” “To be your true self ? Don’t you dream of an adventure ? Will you surrender your fait ? The future is in your hands.” “Wish I could master really” “I’ll tell you what, lets practise a bit and I’m sure you’ll change your mind.” Kail didn’t think anything could change his mind but he was ready to try.

“Go to starting stance, good. As void mages we influence the energy around us, manipulating the laws of nature around us and binding them to our will. What I’m going to show you now is a basic way bind gravity to our will. Create a force field like that” he created a large glowing transparent ball “Now extend this field, just like you do with a shield. Put one hand forward and one hand backwards like this” He created a large transparent ball around him. “Now let the energy lift you up, don’t be afraid to let it free. Now lean forward to fly forward “ suddenly master Corus began floating slightly above the ground. He leaned forwards and quickly flew to that direction. “Now you try”.

Kail created a force ball and began extending it. He put his hands as the master said. His body slowly rose above the ground. “Don’t be afraid of the energy, try to feel it and predict it’s behavior “ Kail leaned forward and he began moving forward, or falling. He felt like his body is being pulled forward as if he was falling forward. Suddenly he lost control and fell. “It will require some practice. You need to feel the force field up to the point you can control it intuitively. Try again” . Kail returned to starting stance and created another force field. He leaned forward and he started to move forward again, much faster than before. He leaned to the side to avoid a tree and flew towards the fence in a desperate attempt to turn. He crashed into the fence. ”try again”. Kail created another force field. He leaned forward and began flying around. He flew through the trees slowly along the stone path. He leaned to the right and began flying around the house. He slowly began to accelerate more and more. He turned around, make another loop around the house and returned to the backyard. He stopped near the master and dismissed the force field. “Very well, one day you will become a good mage “. He smiled and set down at the wooden platform near the lake. Kail went back to his bed, this time he fell asleep fast, mostly because he was so tired after this outburst of energy. Yet he felt much better.



End of Sixth chapter.

In the morning the students found that two stone pedestals were placed to each side of the courtyard. The stone pedestals were covered in carvings and had four dragon sculptures sitting on the sides of a flat bowl in the middle. Master Corus was waiting for them in the middle of the courtyard. “I want a straight line here” he pointed.

“Before you can go to the void tournament you will need to know one more thing. The energy that flows in us can wear different forms. We as void mages know how to convert this energy into useful forms. You already know how to use force fields, now its time to learn a bit about another of it’s forms – the lighting”

“The lighting is a much more pure form of energy. It behaves more like it’s origin than the force fields you used until now. We create a path for it separating positive and negative energy, just like we do with energy inside us. This time however you should learn how to do so with the space around you. move some energy to your fingers. Now imagine a line in front of you, this is the lighting. Move your hands to both sides of the line. Now pull them back as if you pull something along this line, in and push them as if you throw it out. Pull , push. Pull , push”

He went along the line to correct stances. “Very well Kail” he said and moved on. Those moves felt similar to what the master taught him about pure energy in his body. He could feel the flow between his hands but he couldn’t see it.

“Now lets practice a little”. He drew a long line in the middle of the courtyard. “Now I want two lines on both sides of this line”. Allen went to the opposite line. “Now everyone on each side of the line is a team. Your objective is to hit everyone on the other team, with this” He moved his hands and created a big lighting ball. And Kail thought they will just throw with Allen some invisible lightings at each other... Now they will throw big deadly lighting balls at each other. The teams went back from the line (Seems like the others think like Kail … ). Master Corus then launched the ball at the second team and the game has begun.

Emily was the first to jump on the opportunity. She caught the ball and launched it at Kail’s team, pull and push as the master said. The ball went at some unlucky student who simply jumped out of the way before he gets fried. The ball suddenly turned around and went back at Kail’s team. Ralf barely stopped the ball and redirected it at the other team. Emily didn’t miss this one too launching it straight at Kail. Kail wasn’t ready for the ball and barely stopped it mid air, turning it around and throwing as far away from him as he could. He could feel the heat when it passed between his hands. The ball went off-course, leaving the boundaries of the courtyard. The ball then turned around and went at Allen. Allen preferred to dodge. The ball went past him and almost hit the ground, then suddenly changed course and went back at the other team. “Faster faster ! Smoothly ! Remember that energy flows !” Shouted master Corus as the ball flew through the courtyard, smashing at it’s next target.
Suddenly it hit one of the students ain kail’s team. Everyone looked frightened at him, expecting him to burst in flames at any moment “Ouch, my chest “ was the answer, everyone could breath in relief. “Remember that as void mages we do not only control it’s direction but power too” said master Corus.

He made another lighting ball and sent it straight at Kail. Though the fact he wont burn to death was relieving he didn’t take the chances and dodged. The ball turned around and went back at him. He dodged again and the ball flew at the other team. Emily quickly caught it and launched back at kail’s team, hitting one of Kail’s teammates. Master Corus launched another ball, now at the other team. Emily caught this one too and sent it at Kail’s team hitting again.

Soon enough kail’s side became almost empty with a few people remaining. Kail was dodging all the balls, Ralf was catching them from time to time and sending at the other team but Emily was quickly intercepting them and launching back at them. Another ball flew right above Kail’s head. Ralf quickly went to catch the ball. He caught it barely and sent back at Emily hoping to hit her. She quickly caught this ball too and sent it at Ralf who didn’t have time to dodge nor catch it. Kail was alone now.

Master Corus created another ball and sent it at the other team. Emily took the ball and launched it at Kail, he jumped to the right. The ball turned around and went back at Kail, he jumped to the left. Emily caught the returning ball and sent at Kail again. He was jumping and dodging as the ball went back and forth as if someone is playing a bad joke on him, tossing the ball back to Emily’s hands. People were laughing slightly around, the sight was funny indeed. Kail was getting tired. Emily caught another ball and sent it at Kail, faster than ever as if she could smell her victory in the air. Kail was ready to dodge but suddenly he froze in place. He pulled his hands forward and prepared to catch the ball.

The ball flew straight between his hands. He created a path for it as if he was pulling it, suddenly pushed his hands forward and threw the ball at the enemy team. It splashed into one of their team who was still laughing at his attempts to dodge the ball. Everyone looked surprised at Kail. Suddenly his team burst in cheering. Master Corus created another ball and sent it at Kail. He caught the ball and sent it at the other team. In the back he could hear his team cheering “Kail ! Kail !” . The ball hit his target. Master Corus sent another ball at Emily. She caught it and threw it, but instead of throwing it at Kail she threw it upwards. Suddenly the ball turned around and started falling with a blazing speed at Kail. He jumped aside but instead of smashing into the ground it flew back to Emily. She was moving he hands as if curving a tunnel for the lighting somewhere away from her. The ball flew towards her obeying her commands. She caught it and launched at Kail. He prepared to catch the ball, prepared his hands but suddenly when he was ready to catch the ball it changed course and went to his left, taking a small turn back at him. Kail dodged to the side. He had no idea how to catch something like this.

The ball went around and back at him. He made himself as if he was ready to jump but instead quickly pulled his hands forward to catch the ball. He quickly redirected it back at the other team. It felt less obeying then before but he could still handle it. The ball went at Allen who jumped out of it’s way. The ball turned around and flew back at him. He didn’t noticed it and it hit him straight in the back. Master Corus sent the ball at Kail. He could notice a small smile on his face. Kail caught this ball and sent it as fast as he could. It felt natural to him when he overcame his fear from the ball. He could feel the energy flowing through him as the ball passed by. He didn’t notice the heat anymore, he felt the energy instead. The ball hit another one in the other team. Master Corus sent another ball at Emily who was ready to finish this game. She quickly caught the ball and sent it into the air. The ball went quite slow up and was weirdly moving in an inconsistent pattern. Emily was trying to do something with the ball. She was unsure of her moves but suddenly a slight smile appeared on her face. The ball started moving straight and suddenly split into two. The first ball turned down at Kail, the second one was following it from behind. Kail dodged the first ball. It went back towards the fence. The second ball corrected course towards Kail. He caught the ball and sent at Emily. Suddenly he felt something closing on him, it was the first ball coming back from the loop. He jumped aside as the ball passed a few Centimetres from him. Emily caught the second ball and sent at Kail. He caught the ball and launched at Emily immediately as he saw the first ball coming towards him. He jumped aside. On a positive note it seemed like Emily couldn’t control both balls but it didn’t prevent her from sending them at him again at again. He felt tired, his hands hurt and breath was unsteady. He sent another ball at her dodging the other one. The second ball was closing on him and he was ready to catch it but suddenly he felt something closing from behind, it was already too late. The ball hit Kail in the back and he fell down. He felt a slight pain as if he was stung in his back. He opened his eyes and went to stand up. Someone gave him a hand, it was Emily. He stood up. She smiled at him “Good game” . It was time for a lunch break.

The lunch went nicely for Kail. Everyone talked about the match and his comeback. Analyzed moves and shortcomings of each other and talked about the upcoming tourney. “Hey you did great out there “ said Allen. Suddenly he pushed Kail on his back “Heeey !” “That’s for the ball in my back” he laughed. While everyone discussed their things Kail thought about how natural it felt to him to redirect this energy and how he could feel it. It felt strange and new. He didn’t understand how he could catch this move so fast while the others took him so long. Maybe it’s because it felt similar to how the master taught him to use energy, or maybe those moves are not that terrible after all. He was glad he passed the force fail stage of his life so he probably won’t have to fly across the courtyard ever again, that’s of course if he won’t be put against Emily.

After lunch the master was waiting for the students in the courtyard. “I’m sure you all know about the void tournament, many of you probably saw it. Many heads nodded around. Kail never was on the void tournament. It was a privilege of the wealthy or at least the middle class. He couldn’t effort to go to this tournament. He didn’t know anything about it besides it was a spectacular religious ritual, and an expensive one. “The tourney comes from the great trial patriarch Aladarn passed on mount of Ethan. The dragons wanted to test his skill and courage. He was faced with a task – to transport what can’t be taken in a form that can’t exist. He had to take pure energy from the dragons and bring it to their podium, without loosing the energy. The bounds and laws of our world are not known to the void mage and so they were for Aladarn. He took the energy with his bare hands to the podium and was rewarded with knowledge. In the tourney there are two pedestals with two ball of pure energy This energy cannot be manipulated the was you are used to. Your task as a team is to bring the energy ball of the enemy team to your pedestal. The one who holds the ball won’t be able to use his magic and if the ball falls to the ground it will disappear , reappearing at it’s pedestal. As said, easy to get in, hard to get out “.



“On both sides of the courtyard there are two pedestals. I will create two energy ball and put them on the pedestals. Your task is to take the opponent’s ball and bring it to your pedestal. The teams that were before seem to be fine. Remember that teamwork is the key to Victory.”’

The team quickly gathered together to come up with a plan. “So we need a protecting team and an attacking one. Who’s going to attack ? “, “I will” said Eve, “And I will !” said Ralf “I’ll crush em’ !”, “I’ll go too “ said Kail. “Alright so the rest on the ball. How we gonna bring theirs’ back though ? “, “Just get in – get out huh ? Wish it was that easy” ,“I say all on the ball and get it done with ! “ said Ralf “so that they sneak behind us ? not a chance”, “We need everyone on front as Emily will give us hard time” “So that she sends us flying all together ? I told you we need two teams for this” , “Or attack and defend in the same time.” Said Kail. “And how do you want to do it ? “ . “Have you ever seen a Legionary Phalanx ? My father is a Legionary. The Cohort forms into a live wall of shields. Each man covers the man to his left with the shield, the small hooks on the sides of the shields hook those shields together into an impenetrable wall. They let the enemy to crash into the wall and throw all what they have on it. When they are exhausted the Cohort pushes them back, punching with the Palandros through the shields. Eventually the phalanx breaks up and slaughters the first battle line then forming again to move on the enemy. The whole formation keeps moving forward while covering the other troops, acting both as defensive and offensive units. What I suggest is t create one big Force shield tougher and push as close to their pedestal as possible. We can leave a gap in the middle so that they will have to focus on two different groups. If they try to pass through the gap we can strike at them easily from the sides. Once we close to the pedestal we can try another trick. When the legionary cohort closes on the target it separates into battle formations. Each formation covers itself with the shields, using the same hooks, to create a shield sphere. Each formation is 16 men in size. We can send the attacking team forward in that shield while the defending team will keep the phalanx and lay covering fire. We get the ball, the two others cover with the shield and we safely walk away.” “Sounds good on the paper …”, “Lets give it a try and if it doesn’t work let’s just do it the ordinary way “.

The two teams formed around their pedestals. Kail’s team stood in a line right in front of the pedestal. “remember to keep up with the phasing, I will count”. The team prepared their force fields. The other team was ready too. The other team stood in a chess-like pattern throughout the other side. “May the best win” said master Corus and the battle begun. The first two rows of the enemy team became to close slowly on them. “everyone prepare” said Kail. The first enemy line prepared their force fields, ready to fire. “Push it now !” shouted Kail and the team raised their shields which quickly connected into a big one, right on time. A shower of force waves crashed into the shield put it held. “On my go, now !” said Kail and the formation became to move. The other team looked confused. The second row became to throw force fields. “now separate the wall” said Kail and the wall split in two. “One , two , stop. One , two , stop !”. A shower of force waves hit the walls again. The other team was disoriented. They threw the waves inconsistently , sometimes at the left side, sometimes at the right. “Push through the gap” someone said on the other team and the first line began to run towards the gap. Kail and Ralf quickly stepped out of the shields sending a force wave at the incoming force. The strike landed well, sending some flying back, the others pulled their shields and became stepping back. The wall slowly closed on the enemy pedestal. The other team threw more and more force waves but the shields easily held them off. “Go back !” Said Emily “Around the pedestal !”. The enemy team quickly ran back towards the pedestal and formed a thick living wall around it. They quickly put their own shields and prepared to defend . “stop” shouted Kail. The wall stopped 2/3 of the way towards the pedestal. “Let’s go” he said.

He , Ralf and Eve quickly stepped out of the shields and formed their own big cone. They began marching towards the pedestal. Emily stepped out of the shield and began unleashing strikes at the cone. Kail and the formation stopped in place. The strikes hit hard and they couldn’t keep moving. Strike after strike she was closing to collapse their shield. “Go back “ said kail and the cone slowly moved back into the friendly shields. “It’s not working we gotta do it another way” said Kail. “Start stepping back “ he said. The formation slowly began to back off. The other team looked confused but suddenly jumped on the opportunity to begin an offense. The three lines formed again and they began throwing force fields, together this time. It became harder to hold the shields but still possible. “Stop “ he said again. The formation stopped half way to their pedestal. “I have a crazy idea , on my go unleash all what you have on them.” He stepped forward and raised a force field around himself “NOW !” He shouted. The shields broke up and a massive wall of force waves hit the enemy team. While they were still confused Kail suddenly leaned forward. The gravity responded quickly to his magic and he began to “fall” towards the enemy pedestal. He landed right next to it and took the ball.

A strange feeling filled the tips of his hands. It suddenly became to disappear and Kail focused all his energy to keep this ball up, it was obvious now why he cannot use magic with that ball in his hands. His team that saw what happens began to run fearlessly forward, striking force waves all around. Emily who first got what happens stood up and prepared to send a force wave at him. Kail saw it and began running like crazy. She crossed her hands creating a force field and pushed them aside like a bird flapping her wings. A giant wave appeared right behind him. He ran as fast as he could and the wave was right behind him when suddenly it smashed into a shield, it was his team. Emily wasn’t ready to give up and rushed forward with her own gravity field. Those who were around kail quickly formed a shield around him but Emily didn’t seem to be interested in him, she went for their pedestal. Kail began to run towards their pedestal. The enemy team send waves at him, his team tried to cover him and hit Emily , the courtyard turned into a total chaos. He ran as fast as he could, Emily was already half the way through, he was almost there , just a few more meters. He jumped forward onto the pedestal and threw the ball on it, he fell to the ground, right on time to see Emily doing the same. Both teams froze in place to see what happens. Suddenly a bright white beam appeared from their team’s pedestal “We have a winner “ said master Corus when he was interrupted by a happy roar from Kail’s team, they won.

“Well played “ said Emily, smiling at Kail. He caught a sight of her beautiful eyes. He could see he managed to impress her. That evening everyone talked about the game. Even the loosing team had quite a high morale, as after all it was just a preparation for the true battle awaiting.



End of Seventh chapter.

The sun was setting outside of the Master’s mansion. The students set around the long tables in the main hall. On the white bright tablecloth stood big plates filled with delicious food. The students ate quickly, talkative as always. Such was the nature of the people of Alderon. Their warmness helped them to survive the nights below the skies in their tents as they wandered the plains in search for their home. It kept them together and gave them strength to overcome the challenges the Creator threw at them and become what they are today. Is that the land he promised them ? Or will the Garrens win this war and they’ll become nomads again ?

The white moon shined high in the sky at it’s full glory. Tomorrow the moon will be full and Kail will step into the big arena. The students discussed in excitement what awaits them there. Kail set quietly, listening. The training they had daily gave him a slight confidence which quickly faded away when he imagined the huge stadium and their enemies. “Hey Kail are you going to finish that chicken or can I have it ?” asked Allen “I’ll finish it” he answered, taking a big bite at it, maybe the food will distract him from thoughts. The students quickly swallowed every edible object on the table and went to sleep. The great tomorrow was falling upon them.

In the morning everyone woke up a bit earlier then usual, a bit more nervous then usual. Master Corus who went down earlier too was surprised to see the students already waiting for him in the courtyard. “Sit down” he said. “You were preparing for this moment for quite a while now. I believe in each one of you, you have great strength and together you can overcome any challenge you’ll be facing. Kail, would you kindly repeat the plan for everyone, just to be sure” . Kail stood up and went to the master. He looked down at the sitting students, looking at him with interest, waiting for him to speak, it was his plan after all. Kail felt a bit awkwardly, he unsurely opened his mouth and began to speak. “The idea is similar to what we did in the first game. We divide into two teams, each team will create a shield and begin to push towards the enemy pedestal. Allen and Ralf will stand to the sides of each team right besides the gap to blow away anyone who tries to cross it. Me and Emily will stand on the opposite sides of the shields and give the pace. Once we reach two thirds of the arena me and Emily will dash forward from both sides while you throw some blasts at the enemy. Emily grabs the ball … “ “wait shouldn’t you grab it ? You are quite agile while I can cover you with my spells” said Emily “I … I don’t know …” “C’mon Kail” “You’ll do fine” “yea we’ll beat their butts !” some students said from the crowd “Alright alright … I’ll do it. Once we … I … get the ball, the walls throw as many blasts as they can while we get back. Don’t let your guard down even after we pass the wall as they might break through”. “Lets win this game ! For our master !” , the crowd answered with a roar. They were ready to go.

The way to Noor-Aylard was filled with travellers going into the city. The students passed through the big city gates. Two huge Alderian banners hanged down from the city gates. They went on the ringed street to the great stadium. Many people stood in front of the main entrance. The students went to the side entrance of the stadium. The corridors led to a large hall somewhere below the stadium. It was crowded with people , students like them. They were all talking among themselves looking with hostility at the other teams. Everyone in this room wanted their hands on the ball, most of them will actually get their hands on the ball but not many of them will return it to their pedestal as victors. A large group of students approached them. They wore black tunics with white texture on it’s sides. A man with a long, straight , black beard stepped out, carefully looking at them “So you think you really stand a chance against my students with this pity looking crowd ? I expected more from you Corus, but not much … “ he said with a cold smile “I see you are still trying to grow a beard, Ksardus, maybe you will win by the time it grows up “ master Corus answered, smiling at him. They moved on. “He still can’t forgive me the time I put his beard on fire, totally accidently of course” said master Corus, still smiling. Kail could spot a familiar face in there, Darec the sewer rat, seems like his father managed to buy his way back into a bending school, it might explain why the Taurus bending school earned it’s reputation …

The students set quietly waiting for their turn. Teams went in and out, they could hear the crowd outside, cheering. Soon their turn came. They were put against Lighwind bending school. The students stepped into a small room with two doors, one led back to the hall, the other one – to the arena. “I trust every single one of you will give today it’s best, you can overcome any challenge if you really desire to” said master Corus. The team quickly formed two rows in front of the door. It opened and the students went out. The sun was shining outside lighting the stadium. Tens of thousands of people set on the tribunes, cheering and shouting. In the middle of the tribunes on a special platform set the Royal family. Somewhere in the crowd set many from his village, including his mother. Kail asked master Corus to give a ticket for his mother, he gave him for the whole village. Kail had no idea where did he get those tickets from, it is hard to get that many even if you have the money to afford them. They set there cheering. “Here comes our boy !” said elder Megar. His mother set quietly, so excited for him yet so worried, she felt too much to talk. As Kail went further into the arena he realised how big it is. It was one of those times he hoped to become an earth mage and burry himself underground, this unfortunately won’t happen. They went to the middle of the arena and stood there in a long line. In front of them stood the rival team. They were as exited as they were. Both teams went forward to shake hands. “Good luck” said the guy who shook Kail’s hand “You too” he answered. They seemed to be quite nice but unfortunately there is only one winner. The teams went back to their pedestals and the game had begun.

“Arrange rows” shouted Kail and two rows appeared on the sides of the arena. “Formation prepare, on my go. One , two , one two …” The rows advanced forward fast. The other team divided into three rows, two of which went forward to meet the incoming team. “One , two , one, two… “ Kail counted, carefully watching the other side for even the slightest sign of aggression. The other team began to prepare their force fields. The rows passed one third of the way already, it seemed like they wait for them to come closer. He closely watched their moves, suddenly they stepped forward and launched force waves. “STOP ! NOW !” said Kail and a huge shield appeared, absorbing the damage. The other team looked slightly confused and continued to launch their force fields. Their attacks were not coordinated just like it happened during the training. “On my go, one two , stop . One, two , stop “ said Kail. Suddenly four of their team dashed forward towards the gap in the lines “STOP, Ralf NOW !” he shouted. Ralf and Allen stepped out and quickly launched force fields. The four didn’t have a chance to evade and the wave hit them straight in their faces. Not only this but they were flying towards it at a huge speed. The wave threw them backwards, knocking them out. “Forward, one , two , one , two” The other team began to slowly walk backwards towards their pedestal, throwing back force waves. Kail saw they won’t be able to pass two thirds of the arena in time “All stop, dash NOW” he shouted.

The force shield quickly broke up and the student launched a big force waves forward. The other team who were used to throw the waves barely put their shields on time. Meanwhile Kail and Emily were already dashing towards the pedestal while the other team was repelling the force wave. The other team didn’t even have time to react and when they notice Kail he was already by the pedestal. He took the energy ball. Their team suddenly switched to offense, throwing as many force fields as they could. The other team tried to organize defence, the row closer to the pedestal began to throw force waves towards Kail but nothing could pass through Emily’s shield. They began to run as the wall charged forward. The team quickly switched to force balls so that they won’t hit Kail and Emily. The force balls were more powerful and accurate, perfect for one vs. one close combat. A few of their team quickly ran towards Kail and Emily to help with the shield. The other team couldn’t do anything now. A big, organized strike could have hit through Emily’s shield or make a gap in the closing wall but they were all busy combating the enemy in close one vs. one. They shielded formation quickly ran through the arena, the other team tried to chase them down but it was already too late. Kail ran to the pedestal and placed the energy ball on it. A large light beam appeared from the pedestal and the crowed roared with approval. They won the first round.

The team went down to the big hall “So far so good” noted Allen. “So how’s the team holding ?” “A few people got thrown on the ground, nothing major “ “yea just like training with Emily” they laughed. They obnoxiously waited for their next match. The crowd roared above them as a bloody battle between two other teams took place. They hit and blasted each other almost to pieces. One of the teams won but it was in such a bad shape they decided not to participate further. With no enemy to go up against Kail’s team automatically qualified for the next round. They watched closely the other battle taking place. It was the Taurus bending school who fought above them now. Kail somewhat hoped they loose but it didn’t happen. The other team barely made it through and now they were against the old champions. One bright side was to this story – they made it to the final round.

The team quickly assembled in two rows and prepared to go out. The light hit Kail’s eyes and blinded him for a second, then he saw the huge arena again. He slowly went towards the other team. The two teams stopped one in front of the other and closed to shake hands. Kail closed to the student in front of him. He had a cold dead expression on his face. They silently shook hands, Kail could feel his disgust , he felt the same. “have a look at this sweetie” one of them said, laughing in a somewhat mocking way. It was Darec who was standing in front of Emily. She closed her mouth tightly and tried to ignore the comment. The teams silently turned around and went to their pedestals.

“Alright two lines quickly” said Kail. The lines assembled on both sides as before. “On my go, one, two , one , two” he counted and the lines began moving. The other team assembled in a triangle. “One, two , one , two” said Kail, closely watching for any hostility from the enemy team. The enemy team quickly created force balls and sent at the lines. “STOP STOP !” shouted Kail. The lines deployed the shields. The balls hit it simultaneously, Kail could feel all the weight of the strike. “One, two, stop” he shouted. Another strike hit the shields. They moved slowly towards the other pedestal. The Taurus team landed coordinated strikes trying to break the shield. The lines closed slowly towards the middle. The other team went forward too. They stroke at the lines again and again and their triangular formation threatened to cut them by half. The lines reached the middle. Kail saw they won’t make it to the mark again. “On my go strike , three, two , one, NOW !” he said. The shields broke up and a coordinated force wave went right at the triangle. They Taurus team quickly pulled their own shields. The wave was cut by the triangle with barely any effect. “We must do something now” thought Kail. “Close the gap between the lines “ he shouted and both lines connected together to one .

Emily ran quickly towards Kail “I have a crazy idea, remember the gravity fields the master taught us ? Launch me up, quick.” “You are crazy! You want us to launch you in the air ?!” “No, I want you to launch me directly at them” . Kail looked at her as if she was mad, another strike just hit the line. “we don’t have time, just do it. Once I land attack the triangle all together and you Kail grab the ball” she said. He and a few others surrounded her and created a force field. It slowly covered her whole bodey and she began floating in the air. “Do it , now !” she shouted, they raised their hand up and launched her forward. She quickly created a force field and landed right in the middle of the triangle like a meteorite, shattering it around her. Without giving them time to recover the whole team began to attack. Kail dashed around the broken triangle towards the pedestal. Soon force waves began flying towards him. He moved as quickly as he could towards the pedestal. He landed right near it and grabbed the ball. The triumph wasn’t long as he was quickly hit by force waves. He dodged them as best as he could. He saw another force wave closing but it was too late to dodge it. He fell to the ground, dropping the ball which quickly disappeared. His body hurt but he tried to stand back up as soon as possible, he should get out of there , fast. He stood up and prepared to run but suddenly he felt something closing , he dodged left as a powerful lighting bolt passed right where he stood. He tried to stand up again but he saw another lighting closing on him. “That’s it, this is the end” the thought. Suddenly the lightning changed course and hit the ground. He looked in front of him, it was Emily. More lightning began to fly towards them “Kail quickly get out of there!”. He dashed as quickly as he could back to the line, he flew right at it. The line split quickly to let him pass. He crashed into the floor and the line closed behind him, right on time to repel another strike.

“This is not good” said Kail. “C’mon we can still cut through them” said Emily. “They throw lightnings, freaking lightnings ! “. A lightning barrage stroke at the line. Kail could feel the hit and power from those lightning, they weren’t those small sparks master Corus was teaching them with. Yet he could feel something different in them. They weren’t even, their power was, inconsistent. “Do you feel that? “ he asked Emily “The lightning bolts? “ “yea , they are not even, something is wrong with them” “I dunno what you’re talking about, I can’t feel anything.” “I think they know how to create lightning but not how to control it. Do you think we can redirect them like we did during lessons? “ “Worth a try”. “Alright on my go catch the lightning and send it back. Ready ? Three , two , one, NOW !” . The shields broke once more and the students caught the lightning bolts, throwing them back at the enemy. The other team was quite surprised and barely had time to pull shields but those shields couldn’t save them from the lightning. The bolts hit the shields and pushed them back, exhausted . “Keep striking!” he shouted. The team began throwing force balls as fast as they could .”That’s our chance” he said and dashed towards the pedestal. Emily also dashed forward, right into the enemy. She landed a big shock wave at them and passed through towards the pedestal, catching up with Kail. “Kail grab the ball and I will launch you up” “You WHAT ?!” he shouted grabbing the ball but she didn’t answer, She created a force field around Kail. He felt as if he was in water, floating . She pushed her hands and sent him up. Kail looked down as he flew above the enemy team. Not only he is now flying 8 meter above the ground without any ability to cast spells the other team is also throwing lightnings at him. He began to decent right on the line. His teammates abandoned the attack, preparing to catch him. He prayed they will actually catch him or he will smash right into the floor. He closed his eyes preparing for impact when suddenly his body stopped and began floating again. Suddenly his body gained weight and he fell to the ground. He began to run towards the pedestal. The enemy team was already on their feet. The threw force balls at the unorganized wall and crashed it. They arena turned into a bloody brawl. 4 people ran around Kail with force shields. Soon force waves began to fly from everywhere. The enemy team dashed forward towards their pedestal . The stood all around the arena constantly throwing force balls and lightning bolts at Kail. The team was exhausted and slowly began to break down. The strikes at the shield broke down the shield holders one by one. Soon Kail was running alone. He saw to his right how the enemy runner passed by with their ball. He knew he MUST get there first at all costs. Someone dashed to his side, it was Emily. She stopped letting Kail to pass and prepared to repel the attackers . 3 Dashers went towards her fast, she pulled her hands aside and created her signature force wave, knocking them down. The force waves began to fly towards her. She dodged them one by one and sent force balls back, striking down the chasers one by one. Kail ran as fast as he could. Lightnig bolts were passing above his head, he saw the pedestal, it was so close. Suddenly a lightning hit his back. He shouted in pain and fell to the ground. He knew he had to stand back up. He stood up with the last of his powers and jumped towards the pedestal, throwing the ball right into it. He crashed on the floor and turned around. Everything became silent. The tribunes waited in tension to see who won, everything froze. A tinny beam of light appeared in Kail’s pedestal and suddenly it grew up and lighted the whole stadium. The tribunes roared and cheered, they saw the new champions.

This evening they had the great honor of lighting the pedestals one last time for the celebration of the last day of the Ethanimus. Kail and Emily were given a torch to light the pedestal as they were the true stars of the game. Kail stood there proud more than ever. He imagined his father sitting there among the crowd, how proud he would be if he just could sit there. His mother sure was, so does the whole village who came to see the game. For the first time he had time to look at the pedestals. They were made out of old, gray, almost black stone. It was covered with reliefs and 4 dragons set on each if it’s sides , holding the energy ball above a large bowl where he was about to lit fire. It wasn’t an ordinary fire. It had a white color and gave out almost no heat. He looked at the pedestal one last time and went back down to the big hall below the arena. Only now he began to feel the pain in his back. They went through the main corridor towards the exit. On their right stood the Taurus team. Master Corus kindly smiled towards Ksardus who didn’t hide his anger. The teams passed by looking at each other when suddenly Emily stepped out of the line and pinned one of their students to the wall. “NEVER call me sweetie again” she said and threw Darec to the ground. “Someone will need a new pair of pants now “ noted Allen, looking at Darec with satisfaction.



End of Eighth chapter.

As the sun slowly set down the air filled with the magical smell of the holiday, literally as the food was almost ready. Happy children ran around playing tag, impatient to get their gifts. A big square of tables was put in the middle of the village with a big bonfire in the middle. As the first star appeared in the sky the whole village set down around the table. Elder Megar, the head of the village set in the middle. Usually the heads of the families set near him, including Kail's father but they were at war. Only the women, elders and children remained.

" As we sit here on the gateway top the next year our beloved husbands and sons fight in the war against the Garrens . Let's warm their night with our best wishes and drink for their lives so that they'll return home with the heads of our enemies !" , " for the return of our heroes !" the sitting answered elder Megar. After a short pray to bless the upcoming year the food was served. Kail haven't seen his father for a long time. Each meeting with him as important for him. He served as a formation commander in the diversionary cohort. As the war around the great wall became more or less entrenched the generals sent troops behind the enemy lines on board the Void Rays to disrupt enemy supplies, scout the area and strike at key points. This meant that they remained longer on the front line and returned home less frequently.

" This year we also part with our son who grew up and became ready for his trial. May the creator bless you and you will find your way back with victory, Kail son of Mark Sceptii !", " For the return of Kail Sceptii !" the sitting answered and another glass was drank. His thoughts drifted again to the task at hand.

Life wasn't easy under Master Corus. His mansion laid in the countryside not far away from Noor-Aylard. The mansion consisted of the Master's house, the students' rooms, a big courtyard and a nice green gaurden where the master liked to meditate. Even though it wasn't that far away from his home Kail had to move to the mansion and live there. As he carried his sack of items he was met by the gate by a smiling boy of his age. "So you're new here ? My name is Allen, son of Gyan Nectimii , cmo'n I'll show you around " he said smiling. Kail followed him to the Students' wing. "The boys live in this room, the girls are on the second floor. Here put your stuff here, this bad is empty." he said. "It's dinner time soon so you probably want to change that ... stuff you are wearing for something better" he said giving Kail pants and a tunic. The other students probably were not used for poor people .

Kail went with Allen to the dinning room in the master's house. Around the big table the student's already set. Kail took the seat near Allen as Master Corus entered the room. Some of the student girls entered the room with some dishes and after a short pray for the food the feast began. The table was a quite noisy as the students discussed all sorts of things. "So where are you from ?" asked Allen, taking another chicken leg. "Rivenhill , not far from the capital " , " I’m from the capital" he said chewing the chicken. "People come here from literally everywhere. I have no idea how the Master manages to find them all. Actually in which bending school have you studied before ?" He said. "I didn't, I was just a gymnasium student" Kail said. Allen looked a bit surprised but then smiled again "That's what I'm talkin about, I have no idea how he manages to find students in those places but if you're here means you're worth something". Kail actually didn't know if he should be in this place or this is some sort of a misunderstanding. The table was quickly emptied and the students started leaving the room. Master Corus stood up and walked towards Kail. "You will wash the dishes with today's team" he said and walked out. "Cool you're washin with me" said Allen ad pulled Kail's hand. "Cmo'n let's go". Kail was probably surprised with that duty on his first day, but probably he was more surprised by the pile of dishes in front of him. "Girls cook the dishes, we wash them" said Allen who noticed the surprise on Kail's face. After half an hour the dishes were washed and the Kail went to the boys' room.

There was still time left until lights off and the students were talking with each other. When Kail entered the room everyone stared at him. One asked "So what's your name ? ", " That's Kail son Mark Sceptii , he's a freshy " answered Allen before Kail could even say a word. "So you're from the countryside ?" another asked "Rivenhill yes". "How long do you practice void magic ?" , " I... I'm not. I studied in a gymnasium" . Kail was expecting a laughter but instead he just got surprised faces and more questions "If you're here probably you're worth something" one said. They asked him about what did he do to attract his attention. He told them about his fight with Darec. The conversation suddenly turned into discussion of the move he made. Kail felt some relief he won't have to answer more questions. The lights went off and the students went to sleep.

The next day Allen woke Kail early in the morning. The sun slowly rose from the mountains afar and the students went to the courtyard. Master Corus waited for them there. "Today we will practice our force waves " . A disappointed sigh was heard from the student line, from which Kail understood it was quite a basic move. "You cannot progress further in the art of the magic without perfecting the basics. I want two straight lines over there " He pointed. Allen went to the opposite line in front of Kail. "I said straight lines" Master Corus said pointing at a gap in Kail's line. Grudgingly one of the students filled that gap, which looked quite weird for Kail. "Now everyone to starting stance" he said. Kail tried to do what the others around him. Master Corus quickly went through the lines and fixed wrong stances. He closed to Kail, pulled his arms a bit further and his legs a bit lower and moved on. "Now remember that when you create a force wave you push your body energy through your arms, through the air into your opponent. Feel how the energy circulates in your body, to your hands and from them. Feel how it passes through your fingers and push it forward" he said, pulling his hands forward and unleashing a big force wave forward. " And remember that energy is flowing. You can direct it through your body as if it was water in a river. Now first row strike the second row, second row deflect the wave back into the first row. Keep deflecting it until I say stop". Kail tried to focus on the wave and pushed it forward. It appeared a bit small and went off course a bit, but Allen deflected it straight into Kail. The wave hit his hands and he was pushed a bit back. "Don’ worry it'll get better" said Allen. Kail sent another wave forward and then heard a falling noise. One of the students in his row just flew straight through the courtyard a few meters, it was the guy who stepped into the gap. In front of him stood a young girl. "oh that's Emily, she's the best student out here" said Allen. She was also around kail's age. She was beautiful. Many girls could be jealous of her perfect thin body, long light brown hair , glowing blue eyes, shiny mysterious smile and of course her talent for magic.

Another wave hit Kail and he almost fell down. "Yea focus on the training you can try to hang out with her later" he said laughing. Kail pushed a wave straight into him and surprised he almost got hit himself but managed to catch it and send it back into Kail. He actually catched the wave and barely managed to send it back. He felt exhausted after all this work. "Alright enough for now, I'll give you 10 minutes break and I will soon be back" . Kail had to sit down. "You're not that bad considering you never learned void magic". "I feel like my hands will soon fall off" Kail answered him. "Well I think you use your own energy to create those things so feeling like that is kinda natural" Allen said. "You don't look exhausted" , "yea basically it wasn't that bad ..." . Master Corus came back. "Alright the break is over. I want training pairs over there. No need to stand all together in the middle the courtyard is big I want free space around each pair" he said. "Emily follow me". Master Corus and Emily went towards Kail "Could you practice with him a bit ?" he said "Yes master Corus" she quickly replied. "So you're new here ? You need to keep a bigger gap between your legs like this so that your stance will be stable" she said pulling his leg a bit forward "Yes , now let's see what you got" . She pushed her arms to the sides and sent a big force wave into Kail. The wave hit him hard sending him flying back. Kail stood back and went into a starting stance again. Emily smiled slightly at him "Not everyone can get up after such a punch , here is a smaller one". Another wave hit Kail. He couldn't raise his hands on time and the wave pushed him back. The stance worked well and he didn't fall to the ground. Another wave went his way, hey catched it and barely managed to turn it around. Emily pulled her hand forward into the wave shattering it. "Not bad, try to use the wave's energy in your advantage. Let it flow through your body freely and exit on the other side, imagine it flowing". She sent another wave at him, he deflects it again. Though this wave went better than the previous one he still felt the whole weight of the wave on him. His powers ran out fast and he felt like another wave would crash him. "Alright enough everyone. Today's team goes to clean, the rest can rest". Kail went back to the students' rooms, barely standing he fell on the bed. His training was only beginning.


"As the new year descends upon us new challenges await us. May the fortune be on our side and may we pass all challenges awaiting us", "For the challenges yet to pass" the sitting answered him.

End of second chapter.

4 days of training and kail still barely made any progress. The pain in the back became a standard issue from the numerous falls and every single day he collapsed on his bad exhausted. He recalled a positive side in the situation as sleeping became sweeter than ever. Allen tried to cheer the him that everyone is that bad in the beginning but even he barely believed in what he said. Actually kail wasn't really listening to him at that point and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning Kail woke up relatively fresh. The pain in the back was gone and for some unknown reason his mood also improved, maybe because it was Saturday. Kail and the rest of the students hurried to the courtyard for morning exercises. Master Corus went out of his house and went to the court yard. " I want two straight lines here" he pointed. "Also Ralf, Kail and Eve follow me". Kail followed master Corus. He went to the garden behind his house. It was a quiet place. The path led to a small open square in the middle of the garden, surrounded by tree and shrubbery. On the other side Kail saw a small lake with crystal clean water. Master Corus entered the square and Kail and the other two students stood in a line in front of him.

"Sit down" he said, sitting on the stone floor of the square which was surprisingly warm. "Today we will practice Gravity fields with you" he said, pushing 3 balls in front on them. The ball slowly descended in front of kail and landed near his feet. "In order to move this ball from it's place you must first understand what Void Magic is " he moved his hand forward and lit it up in a purple flame " For centuries our ancestors practised the Void school of magic to understand what it's truly is. Many Great Mages searched for answers they seek in the nature surrounding them. When the void mage looked around him he couldn't find anything, he couldn't see the power he is manipulating, but he could feel how it floats in his body. He felt where the power came from - from his mind and soul. Unlike elemental magic we do not manipulate curtain elements, we manipulate the flow of energy around us and so we manipulate the rules of nature. We make things fly , move , appear and disappear. we use the most powerful energy source to power us and we use our mind to direct that power. A powerful void mage doesn't need his hands , he can effect his world with his mind only."

"Now have a look at the ball in front of you. Imagine that you pull it up with your hand, feel how the energy flows from your mind to your fingertips and from them to the ball. See how it warps around the ball in a strong field of magic. Now move this field with your hands and push the ball up". Kail slowly rose his hand. He focused on the ball and tried to feel the energy passing trough his fingers. The ball started shaking a bit and then going up into the air. "Good, feel the ball in your hands, and now throw it ". Kail pushed his hands forward and saw how the ball flew to the other side of the square. Master Corus moved his hand stopping the balls mid-air "And now catch them" he said throwing the balls back. Kail wasn't ready for this. He knew he to move a standing object but the ball closing on him was moving and fast. Kail closed his eyes pulling his hand forward. When he opened his eyes he noticed the ball flying in front of his hand. He breathed with relief and the ball fell down. "As you see you don’t need an object to create a gravity field. You can create it anywhere you want, just imagine and feel it in front of you."

Master Corus went to see how the training in the courtyard is going leaving Kail ad the students alone. A cheerful looking girl closed to Kail "Hey I'm Eve and you must be Kail. I'm not that good with magic actually because things tend to blow up in my face and go wrong but you get used to it I mean to the fact things blow up all the time and not the explosions because if I was used for the explosions they wouldn't be a surprise and I like surprises because they are so unexpected , do you get surprises often ?" . Kail looked at Eve . She was a cheerfully looking girl a bit younger than him with a light blond, almost white hair. She had a big and a bit awkward smile on her face. Kail didn't know what to say, or what she just said. Eve opened her mouth to speak but Kail quickly said "uhh I'm sure you will get better with it , it is something that needs some practice" , "Do you really think that ? Nobody said me anything like that since I went here or before that in the Grimstone Bending school or at home or ... " "Yea I got it" Kail replied nervously "Oh I was talking a lot again ? Sorry I just tend to keep going on and on about topics like that time when ... oh yes sorry ". "Eve will you ever let him to breathe ? " Said Ralf. He was a big muscular boy with a short brown hair and a bit square face. He looked tough but kind.

Master Corus came back inviting the three for lunch. Kail set in his place with Allen. Today they both had to clean the mansion's garden together with Mordin , Eve and Emily. After lunch Kail and Allen went to the garden. Eve was already there moving around a leaf with magic. Shortly after Mordin and Emily came. They had to clean the path and square from fallen leaf and garbage and clean the water in the lake. They were ready to start cleaning but then master Corus came . "Today you will not clean the garden, instead I have another job for you. near lake Romare not far from here there is a small field of purple flowers. Could you bring some for me ? " . "Yes master " Emily answered. "Good then get to work" he said and walked away. " So where is exactly lake Romare ?" Asked Allen "To the west from here " answered Kail "I know that area, let's go" . They went on the path that lead to the capital then turned to the Edged Mountains in the west. The entered a small forest. In the middle of it there was a small lake. "The river that passes near our village falls into this lake " said Kail "there are also strange howls coming from this forest so we better watch out".

The Purple flowers the master was talking about were on the opposite side of the lake. They went closer to the field. It was filled with flowers, much more than the master asked for so completing the task was easy. As they arrived in the field they started collecting those flowers. Suddenly they heard a strange howl. A few wolves appeared out of the bushes. They had a dark brown fur and big horns on their head and body. Those were Wolf-Boars. Kail quickly went into a starting stance even though his magic knowledge to that point was quite limited. The wolf-boars rushed forward towards the students. Emily quickly pulled her hands to the sides sending a huge force wave. The wolf-boars flew trough the bushes back into the forest but others were already around them. A wolf-Boar jumped towards Allen who quickly sent his own force wave towards it. Another wolf jumped towards Eve who pushed her hands forward creating a gravity field. The wolf ran into it and started flying helplessly around "My gravity field actually works ! " she said trying to create another one. As soon as she moved her hands away the wolf fell to the ground, and then pushed away by Emily "So my Gravity field still doesn't work " Eve quickly remarked. Another wolf jumped , now towards Kail. He focused on the wolf and slowly rose his hand up. The Wolf helplessly stopped mid air. Kail then pushed his hand throwing the wolf 6 meters away. After hitting the ground the wolf stood back and together with the other wolves slowly closed on the prey. They were surrounded. Emily started creating a slightly glowing ball between her hands "everyone crouch " she said, pulling her hands to the side , sending a force field all around her , smashing the wolves against the trees. All five then ran back towards the entrance of the forest "over there to the left, now to the right " shouted Kail leading them out of the forest. The hungry howls of the wolf-boars could be heard in the distance. They hurried back to the mansion.

Master Corus waited for them at the gate. He took the flowers and went with them into his house "Master Corus what are those flowers for ? " asked Eve "Those flowers, the Egonium flowers, have some very special healing abilities. Their Nectar can be used to treat many different poisons . It also has a very lovely taste " he said smiling. "You are going to eat them ?!" asked Emily "No , no, for now I will keep them but I have the feeling we are going to need them soon..."

That night in the students' room Allen told about the wolf-boars and how Emily tossed them around. People were always wandering how does she know those moves. They tended to remind her unusual force field tossing which became her signature move. She was crossing her arms and then pushing them aside like the wings of a bird, her smooth, fast and gorgeous movement was adored by the students. Master Corus tended to take groups of students and train them in person, only her he took alone. It was then when she probably learned those moves as they were too complicated for other students to perform. It was hard to tell because nobody has ever studied in a group with her. Kail also noticed that the lesson with Master Corus improved his magic and he slowly started getting it. Maybe he is not a lost case after all.


End of third chapter.

It was a nice Sunday morning. Master Corus gave the students a day off as usual and some money to spend in the capital. Kail, Allen and Ralf agreed to go to the capital together. The void people were quite talkative. In order to survive in the harsh conditions they faced long ago they had to be together. The students preferred to go together as they found the walk much more interesting this way. Kail was approaching the gate as he noticed a few men on horses. Those were the sapphire guards, the king’s personal guards. They wore a heavy curved Nepheline armor, similar to the one used in the Legion. They had a long black cape and blue feathers on the top of their helmet. Kail also noticed one of their horses was missing a rider.

It was hard not to ask what the personal guards of the king were doing in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly Emily appeared. She approached the sapphire guards. Allen noticing the surprise on Kail’s face noted “Yea we forgot to tell you she is the king’s daughter”. Kail noticed , by her manners, that she was part of the upper class but he didn’t expect a princess to get her hands dirty in the master’s courtyard. “Her father wanted to give her a private master but she refused and went here instead. She is sort of that bad girl that never listens to her father. He even sends his bodyguards to make sure she gets to the palace. ”

Their talk was interrupted by Eve "I sort of didn't really find anyone to go with, I mean I could go with the others but I sort of don't want to ... " "alright alright just don’t start all of it again " said Ralf. The Sapphire guards were already gone by then leaving a trail of dust. They could use a few horses thought Kail but he guessed they'll have to use their feet as the others. There were two paths to the capital. The first was to take the road to the north through Corinth and then join with the main road, the other was to go to the west through Woodville , pass Romare river and then join the main road near the city itself. "Hey my aunt lives in Woodville and I haven't visited her in a while. we might take the west road and maybe she will give us something nice" said Allen. There were no objections and the group went west.

Usually things are quiet in the outskirts of Noor-Aylard. The vast stone roads leading to the capital are well patrolled by the city watch to insure safe passage along the most important road of the void nation. The countryside around it , while not as heavily patrolled like the main roads, is still safe for passage. The small dirt roads connecting the villages to the main road are usually ignored by bandits and looters. The only danger that could probably be on those roads is the animals roaming the local forests. Usually those show hostility only when humans got too close to them so most conflicts can be simply avoided if the creatures are not provoked.

The road went through the forest. It was quiet and warm. The sunlight occasionally passed through the trees creating beautiful light rays. The road was a bit curvy so Kail couldn't see what's ahead. Eventually behind one of the curves a small village appeared. The void nation banners slowly waved on a small gate. The village was quite silent. People went to their duties without paying too much attention to the travellers. Allen went to a small house near the main square. He knocked on the door "Aunt Ellice, aunt Ellice ! It's me Allen". The door opened and an old woman appeared. She was in her 50's , with blue sad eyes and a white hair collected into a knot. She wore a simple brown dress and a white apron. "Oh it's you darling ? come in come in, and invite your friends of course".

She gave them a cup of tea and some bread she had left. "You know you shouldn't go this road nowadays" she said. "Why is that aunt ?" asked Allen "The road seemed fine to me". "People are recently disappearing around here. First it was that merchant that went around the villages and sold goods, then it was Lotius and Henry and others too. The went out for their Business through the Northern road and never returned. since then we go all the way around through the western road". "So how many people disappeared since ?" "Ten, nobody ever heard from them again. Poor families, if they don't loose their husbands to the war they loose them to the bandits. It is terrible ... ". "We got to find them, at least something to tell us where they are" said Allen "don't go there , please, we've lost enough people to this road already " said his aunt. "You better go the way you came, you won't be able to help them". Allen thanked his aunt for the warm welcome and all four went to the main square.

"We gotta do something about those disappearances, we can't just leave them there " said Allen. "Maybe but what can we do ? They are probably dead already" said kail. "Even their bodies, at least something " he said. "So what's the plan ? Are we going back to the western road ?" asked Ralf. "No we go to investigate" said Allen. "I have a baaaad feeling bout that" said Ralf. They went through the Northern gate. The Northern road was similar to the western one just less curvy. The four kept going. They watched carefully around them for any clues or ambushes. The silence of the forest accompanied them. Kail could occasionally hear a bird somewhere nearby but most of the time the forest was silent as if no one was there. Suddenly they heard a cracking noise. They turned around and saw some movements. All four jumped to starting stance , shaken. " Wait a second it's just a dear" Ralf gasped. It was indeed a deer. It stared at the travellers and suddenly he turned his head to the right and ran away. "There is someone there get down " whispered Kail and they all went behind a bush . "How can you tell ? " , "the deer must have ran from something and it wasn't us".

Three dark figures appeared. They were three men, relatively young in green tunics . " I'm telling you I saw someone coming this road" one said. " It was probably that deer there is nothing out here. I'm telling you we gotta go elsewhere those villagers are not using this road anymore" "and what's about the captives ?" , “we have no use for them anymore, we can leave them in that cave, end of story". The three men went into the forest. "C'mon we gotta follow them" said Allen and the four went after the men in the green tunics. "I guess we found our bandits".

The three man went to a small mountain nearby. near it there were a couple of tents and people. there was a cave in the side of the mountain slightly above the camp. "There are at least twelve of them here" said Ralf "too many for us, maybe we could sneak by ?" said Kail "those two guards near the cave ? no way we can do it" said kail. "So what we gonna do ?" asked Eve. There was a silence. " look there - she looks older than the others " said kail "Wow no way..." Allan cynically remarked. The woman was around 70 years old. she wore a green robe and looked quite distinct among the younger people surrounding her.

She spoke to the people around her "so you say there was nothing out there ?" , "yes
Master Merile “ “We will need new subjects soon enough, we will have to move on”. “Subjects ? are they doing experiments on them ?” “Dunno Eve, guess we’ll find out” answered Kail. “So any new bright ideas ?” . Two men in green tunics passed near them. They picked up a crate on the far end of the camp and moved it to the cave. “see those crates ?” said Allen “that’s our ticket. They quickly ran towards the crates. It seems like the bandits kept their loot in those chests. Ralf and Allen took one of the crates, quickly carried it to the bushes and emptied it there. They put it back and Allen got in. “now you kail”. They both picked up another crate, emptied it and put back, Kail got in. Suddenly they noticed the bandits coming. Ralf and Eve went to hide in a bush.

Kail heard the bandits outside of the crate, then he felt how he was picked up. “Damn those things are heavy, bet we had to open it and move in parts”. Kail’s heart beat like crazy, he felt every step in the tinny crate, suddenly he was dropped down. “Ahh my back hurts so much, let’s make a break before we pick the other crates”. He heard the bandits going away. He slowly opened the lead. He was in a cave. Around him laid crates, mostly empty. He could see the entrance to the cave . He couldn’t find Allen’s create though, he was alone.

On the other side of the cave he saw a door. He went towards it. It was locked by a wooden log between the door and the wall. Kail took the log out and opened the door. The room was pitch black, he could hear movement but couldn’t see anyone. He took a torch from the wall and went in. In the middle of the room there were four stone columns with a few people tightened around them. They looked exhausted and dirty. One of the prisoners turned his head towards Kail. “You … are not one of them …” “be quiet I’m here to help”. Kail quickly went back to the storage room. He took a sword from one of the crates and cut the ropes around the columns. The prisoners slowly stood up. “So what will we do now ? “ one of them said “Now ? Let’s get some revenge “ another said taking a sword from a crate. “there are twelve of them out there, and that old women . If we strike fast we’ll be able to take most of them down by surprise” said Kail “So let’s do it” a prisoner said and they went to the exit.

The two Guards near the cave entrance were talking among each other. Two prisoners quickly hit them in the head turning them unconscious . The other bandits noticed it “The prisoners are escaping !” the camp immediately turned into chaos. Two bandits were just on their way to the cave with another crate when suddenly Allen jumped out of it hitting one and sending a force wave at the other. Ralf and eve jumped out of the bushes too. Eve could land a successful wave on another bandit sending him flying into a nearby tree. Ralf just rushed another bandit and hit him in the face “Six down !” .

The bandits quickly reorganized themselves. They went into a stance and started casting something. A light green beam slowly flew out of a bandit’s hands towards one of the prisoners. He said some random things Kail couldn’t understand and fell to the ground. Another bandit in front of Kail started casting. Kail quickly sent a force wave in the bandit’s direction. His wave went off-course barely hitting the bandit. The bandits cape flew off, revealing the bandit’s face. It was a girl of his age. She looked differently than most girls he met in the void nation. She quickly casted her own string of green light hitting a prisoner near Kail. The prisoner turned towards kail and tried to stab him with his sword. Kail jumped back in surprise. The girl moved her hands as if she as controlling a doll. The prisoner went towards kail in unsteady steps. Kail sent a force wave at him laying him on the ground. The green light disappeared. The girl casted another string, now towards Kail. He jumped to the side trying to evade it but it followed him. Suddenly the world around him started to change. Different colors appeared and disappeared, shapes transformed and a terrible buzz was heard in the head. Suddenly it all stopped. Kail opened his eyes to see how Allen sends the girl flying in the air. Another bandit appeared in front of them. Allen was ready to strike his foe down when he suddenly casted a spell. The green light covered the bandit and he disappeared. Suddenly Kail turned around hitting the air behind him. The air suddenly transformed into a knife wielding bandit. The strike went straight at the bandit’s face stunning him. Kail quickly gave him a good kick to finish him off. He didn’t know how he knew the bandit was there but he was glad he hit him.

Ralf and Eve ran deeper into the camp. Two bandits appeared in front of them. They casted the light rays towards two prisoners. The prisoners suddenly turned towards Eve and drew their swords, preparing to strike. Ralf and Eve quickly pulled their hands up , picking up the prisoners into the air and throwing them aside “Oh sorry I didn’t mean to … “ Eve was suddenly interrupted by another light passing right above her head, hitting a group of prisoners. The prisoners slowly fell to the ground.

A quick glance at the battlefield revealed two persons standing in the middle of the ruined camp – the master and a bandit, the one Kail threw away. The student quickly stood between her master and the Kail. The master seemed calm. She smiled with her old face revealing missing teeth. She wasn’t preparing to cast any spells, she was watching her student as if she was facing a test. Kail and the others quickly went into starting stance, preparing to strike, so did the student. Ralf started first. He created with his hands a force ball and pushed it at the student. The student jumped to the side and cast her spell. Her body was covered in the green light and suddenly she disappeared.

The four starting circling around trying to find her. Suddenly Kail noticed a few leaves cracking on the ground. He turned towards the sound and sent a force wave. Though the force wave hit it’s target revealing the student it barely effected her. “it’s not the time for mistakes” he thought. The student quickly cast another spell, hitting Allen. He started wandering around, barely walking, talking about colors in his eyes. Eve reacted to it quickly by sending her own force ball at the student. The ball hit her target but her technique was flawed too. The ball barely effected the student. She casted another light, now at Kail. Suddenly his body became to move. He tried to stop it, tell it go elsewhere but he couldn’t control his body. Suddenly everything became bright. He could barely see anything in this light. He felt something weird, relaxing passing through his body, he couldn’t feel it anymore. Suddenly it all became black as he felt his body hitting the ground. His vision became better and he could see how the student is sending another light at Eve. She began to move heavily towards Ralf. Ralf casted another force wave towards the student but she was evading his strikes. Suddenly Ralf rushed towards her sending a wave on the move. This move took the student by surprise. The wave hit her smashing her into a tree.

Ralf no turned towards the Master. He picked up a sword from the ground and ran towards her. He closed on her and slashed her with his sword, only to discover his sword is actually passing through her. The master suddenly disappeared and reappeared right near him, striking him with a curved knife. Ralf noticed her and tried to evade but it was too late. The knife hit his left hand. Though the wound was quite shallow Ralf suddenly fell to the ground. “It is too bad I will have to kill you personally. This knife contains a very rare and powerful poison , there is no use in fighting back” . She prepared to strike as a powerful light beam stroke at her. She was hit by that light and sent flying into the mountain. Master Corus ran went towards Ralf. “It’s no use … you cannot cure the poison … “ she said. Her green robe was completely black now, burnt. “Egonium extract is always useful to have in stock” he said giving Ralf a yellow liquid. The effect was almost immediate as Ralf slowly stood up. Suddenly Allen’s Aunt has appeared together with other villagers “Oh thank good you are alright” she said running towards Allen who just got over the weird spell that was cast on him.

“How did you know we’re in trouble master ? “ Allen asked. “Your aunt went to me and told about your idea” he answered . “I just knew you won’t give up on this idea, I had to get some help “ Allen’s aunt said. “But how did you know we’ll need those Egonium flowers you told us to get ?” asked Kail. “One day you will answer this question yourself” he answered smiling. “and what was that magic ? I’ve never seen any element such as this”. “We divided magic into elements for hundreds of years, we learned to master one, to perfect it and use to our advantage but we never saw the whole picture. The division into elements is something that we forced on ourselves. There is no real boundary between the elements, they are all whole. Some areas of this whole were never studied , such as the illusion spells they used “. “So why did we force this division on ourselves ? Wouldn’t we be more powerful without it ? “, “one day you will answer this question too” he smiled.



End of fourth chapter.

While Kail couldn’t enjoy his Sunday his friends will sure enjoy it for the next few days as tails about it spread around. The terrible headache after that encounter lasted for the rest of the day and Kail didn’t want to do anything besides lying on the bed.

The headache was gone the next day. Early in the morning as always they went to the courtyard. Master Corus was waiting for them already. “I want two straight lines” he said pointing at the middle of the courtyard. The lines quickly assembled and he began the lesson. “Today we are going to practice force shields. This is the most basic and useful defence tool of a void mage. Now go to starting stance”. “You know how to create force waves. You create a force field in your hands and throw it as a wave at your opponent. Like the force wave, the force shield starts from the same force field, now create one”.

Kail raised his hands and a transparent ball appeared in his hands, much smaller than the others’ balls though, as it was always the case. Kail struggled to make it bigger. He focused as much as he could, tried to force all his energy into that ball but it didn’t respond. “Now, unlike a force wave, while using a force shield it is important to learn how to sustain it. Push the ball right outside of your body and hit it with your hand. Let the energy spread around into a thick shield”. Kail pushed the ball forward and then let it’s energy out. The ball grew into a round wall and disappeared.

“ Now as you saw your shields didn’t last long without sustain. Learning to manage your energy so not to waste too much of it is important. Pushing the force ball like you did will protect you from powerful blows but only temporary. In order to keep your shield intact for longer time there is no need to send the whole field. Imagine as if it was water. Direct this water with your fingertips forward and then hit it like you did with the field. The energy will form a shield in front of you.”. Kail did as he said. The thin flow of energy followed his fingertips and spread around forming a shield. It did not disappear immediately but started to slowly fade away. “Try to maintain your shields. Dedicate just enough energy to keep it up. The energy should freely flow through your body to your hand and into the shield “. Master Corus went through the lines to see the shields. Kail tried to keep the shield as long as he could but he felt tired and his shield slowly faded away. “Now lets see how well you use them in battle, first line sends a force wave at the second one, second one absorbs and sends her own wave”

Kail created another force field and pushed it forward with his hands. Allen created a shield. He had some trouble sustaining it too but quickly overcame the wave and sent his own. Kail focused on the shield, pushed his hand forward and prepared for the wave. The wave crushed into the shield and almost passed through. Kail sent another wave. Allen crushed it easily and sent his own wave back at Kail. He raised up his shield but it was too weak and the wave passed through, hitting Kail and pushing him backwards. “You do not feel the flow” noted master Corus. After what seemed to him like infinity the lunch break finally came. Kail felt tired. He fell on the ground more than any other lesson he had.

After lunch Kail went to get a short rest. Suddenly master Corus said “Kail, follow me”. He lead him to the backyard near the lake. There was a small wooden platform near the water. They went to it. “sit down” he said. Kail set down. “It is a nice day isn’t it ? The sun that warms the air and the water around us… a good day for thought and meditation. Tell me Kail, would you like to drink that water ?” he pointed at a dirty small pool. “Not really isn’t it ? It is tainted and possesses little value. Our soul is a great source of power. Unfortunately we didn’t quite learn how to use it’s most pure form. We have restricted ourselves with our thoughts and feelings that do not allow us to fully understand this power and use it, We put our limited experience and knowledge to limit the flow of energy to create a small tainted pool of energy we can actually use” “like that small pool” “exactly, but if we remove those obstacles and let the energy flow freely” he pulled out a few rocks that blocked the water in the pool “we will be able to use pure energy” as the water flowed through the pool the water slowly became blue and clean “Are you ready to try ?” “Yes master”.

Master Corus stood up and went to the square behind them. “The most basic thing you should know is that our energy is not physical but mental. It doesn’t come from our muscles . Now put two fingers on your arm, near the hand, can you feel the blood passing ? Follow the vein on your hand. Do you feel anything ? “ “I … I don’t know”. “ Create a small force field and now let your fingers absorb it. Move them again on your hand.” “I feel something going through me”, “now stop moving your fingers, do you still feel that movement ? “ “yes, it is hard to describe it” , “this is the pure energy. Now move it to your other hand , and now both hands. Now to your fingertips, and now to a force field” Kail created another transparent ball. It was significantly larger than the last one. “Again, move the energy through your hand, with your fingers. To the other hand, to the fingers and out. In, through, out. In, through, out.”

“When we guide the energy through our body we divide it into two parts – positive energy and negative energy. We tunnel our way through the flow of energy , separating it into two. “ “So if both the positive and negative energy is not there what it is then ?” “The void. The energy cannot sustain this state for long and collapses back into one, flowing forward through the path. The art of curving those paths is the core of the void magic, to manipulate the void, Now dismiss your force field”.

Kail lowered his hands and let the force field disappear. “ Now feel the flow coming through your body in. Good , in , through , out” . Kail created another force field, he felt how his whole body fills with strange feeling, he felt the flow, the guided the flow, the became the flow, or at least that’s how he felt. “Not many can that easily feel this energy, usually you need many years of practice to learn to differ the tainted energy from the pure one while you have learned to do it in a hour. Your technique still needs some work but with your new knowledge you will be able to keep up to the others.”

Master Corus and Kail went to the courtyard. The break was over and the students were waiting in there. “I want two straight lines”. He quickly pushed the lines and put Kail in a gap in the middle. It was an unpleasant surprise to discover the source of the gap standing in the line in front of Kail. “This is gonna hurt” he thought looking at Emily preparing her force field. He started preparing his own. Emily shot a force wave straight at Kail. He pushed his own force field and created a shield. The wave hit the shield pushing Kail back but the shield survived. He created his own wave and pushed it forward.
After a few hours of intense practice Kail felt he handles the shield technique more or less. His hands were still hurting as much as they did in the morning but this was considering he was repelling Emily’s waves. He went to the students’ quarters and set on the bed. Allen looked at him with approval. “Hey you are actually improving ! Told you not to worry too much” , “yea … I still do it wrong though”. The chatter in the room slowly faded away as the lights went off and the time to sleep came.

The following morning they went to the courtyard s usual. Master Corus was already waiting in the courtyard. “Today we are going to practice some more moves, I hope you slept well because from now on we are going to beat a hell of a practice every day”. The students started whispering and guessing the reason for the drastic change. “As you are wandering what is the reason for this change it is because from now on we are preparing for the Void Tournament “ .


End of fifth chapter.