Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling

EPIC CALLING

The MAGI SAGA

By Andrew Dobell
The Magi Saga
Epic Calling: The Magi Saga Book 1

Shadows of Darkness: The Magi Saga Book 2
Black Dawn: The Magi Saga Book 3 – Coming Soon
The Magi Saga Book 4
The Magi Saga Book 5
The Magi Saga Book 6
The Magi Saga Book 7
The Magi Saga Book 8
The Magi Saga Book 9
The Magi Saga Short Stories
Desert Rose: The Magi Saga Prologue
His Love: A Magi Saga Short Story
For more of Andrews work, visit:
www.andrewdobellauthor.co.uk

EPIC

CALLING

The

MAGI

SAGA

Written & Illustrated

By

Andrew Dobell

Acknowledgements

For my Grandfather, who was a continual inspiration and support. I miss you and this is for you.

Thank you to my wife and family for their love and tolerance and help, you make everything worthwhile.

Thank you to my old gaming friends, you guys have inspired this story more than you can know. I have some of the best memories from those hours sat at the gaming table.

Thank you to my Editor Julie Hall, your input has been amazing, thank you.

Thank you to my Cover Model, Amy Leigh-Quine.

This story has long been in development. The character of Amanda has existed in one form or another since I was a teenager and has been though many changes and versions as she has jumped from one Role Playing Game to another as a recurring character.

But it was years later, after my days of running RPG's came to an end, that I felt I needed to do something with her, I needed to make her my own and build a story around her.

The first book and all the world building that came before it took a long time, years of research and writing to come to this book, and the outline for the following (currently) 8 sequels.

The world I have made is huge, and extends way beyond these 8 books, and so I have ideas for many short stories, Novels and other series that will expand this world into other areas.

I hope you enjoy this book and I hope I will see you in book 2 and beyond.

Would you leave me a
Review???
 

Thank you for taking the time to read Shadows of Darkness. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.

Thank you.

Andrew Dobell.

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Prologue 1

Rome, Italy.

AD 42

‘…all that I have prophesised will come to pass, when Ishtar gives birth.’

The voice was not her own, instead it sounded twisted and guttural, not the voice of a woman in her mid twenties. The crowd stood silently, in awe of all that they had seen, both Senators and aids alike stunned into silence.

Simon Gita went to his wifes side where she knelt in the centre of the senate building. She caught her breath and looked up lovingly at her husband through her matted red hair.

‘Are you well my sweet?’ he asked her gently under his breath, so the assembled crowd couldn’t hear.

‘Yes, I am fine,’ she replied, smiling up at him.

Simon came to his full height once more and addressed the dignitaries before him. ‘You have seen the foresight my dear Helena possesses, she has proved herself many times to you these past few months, passing every test you have, each and every prophecy you have asked her to foretell has come to pass, now do you believe this one?’

There was a mixed response from those assembled before Simon, some were clearly convinced, and were nodding even now, others looked unsure, while still there were those who clearly wouldn’t listen to his wife’s prophecy. Towards the back of the room a small group of men looked on with cold and stony expressions, amongst them stood a man Simon recognised, Simeon Cephas.

Simon had noticed him a few days ago when he had arrived in Rome, it sent a shiver down his spine seeing him here. It surely did not bode well. Simon could still remember the last time he had met Cephas in Tyre, it wasn’t a pleasant memory. Cephas watched with dispassionate eyes, utter contempt etched across his face.

‘Is it true, everything she has said, will it come to pass.?’

Simon turned to the Magi Senator who had addressed him, ‘I believe it to be true, she has foretold many things, each and every one comes to pass, and I believe this one will too, although not for many years.’

‘But she speaks of the Dark Ones returning, she speaks of the end of the world,’ the Senator said incredulously.

‘That is correct senator, but she also speaks of hope, it will not be the end of all things.’

Prologue 2
The Modern day.
Fragments from a BBC News report from 17 years ago

‘Seismologists are baffled by a freak earthquake that has hit the Oasis of Qatif near the island of Bahrain in Saudi Arabia today. The quake was localized with the Island of Tarut being the epicenter. Preliminary reports indicate a huge disaster for the islanders with experts predicting many deaths. Estimates of the death toll cannot be confirmed at this time, but experts are worried it could be in the hundreds. There are already calls for humanitarian aid to be brought to the area….’

‘…Isn’t there a connection with the Islands name and Ishtar, professor?’

‘Yes indeed, the island was named after the goddess Ishtar, an Assyrian and Babylonian God, the mother goddess of compassion, love, sex and war. In fact she had been known as the guardian of prostitutes. Related to the planet Venus, the embodiment of everything female in Babylonian astrology, and one of the most powerful gods in the Pantheon, she became known under a variety of names in a whole range of cultures. The island of Tarut had originally been known as Ish Tarout, taking its name from the Goddess Ishtar, before the name evolved over time to its current form. Some think the island of Tarut might also be the actual site of the Garden of Eden…’

‘…we’re just hearing now that the earlier estimates of the high death toll were apparently wildly inaccurate as it seems there were almost no serious injuries caused by the quake. The worst report so far is of a broken arm, everyone else, in what some are calling a miracle, suffered only cuts and bruises. This is incredible…’

‘…we can now confirm that the earthquake has indeed ripped open a huge chasm through the whole island which is, as we speak, filling with water from the Persian Gulf, effectively splitting the island in two. One Saudi politician was quoted as saying, “Ishtar has given birth.” earlier today.’

Revelation

New York

Late May

Amanda yelped as something big took hold of her, crushed the air from her lungs, and threw her down the alleyway. One minute she had been minding her own business walking down the New York street, then next second she found herself tumbling through space, the air howling past her ears as she went. The hard floor sped along, out of reach, and then suddenly rushed up to meet her. The asphalt crunched as she hit home and rolled sideways through the puddles and trash that littered the ground. Water sprayed up as she went, soaking through to her skin, before a wall brought Amanda to a sudden and painful stop. She found herself face down in the dirt and stagnant water, her red hair falling about her face and down into the glassy puddles. She pushed herself up with bleeding hands, catching her reflection in the mirror surface of the inch deep water she had landed in. Oddly, Amanda’s first thought was that her make-up looked a feckin' mess. It must have been the shock.

Something moved in the corner of her eye and she could hear footsteps, wet slaps and dull thuds as something approached up the alleyway she had been launched down. A hundred scratches and bruises called for her attention as she forced herself to move. With an effort born of fear, she pushed herself up into a sitting position to make herself look at whoever her attacker had been, and saw the impossible. Her breathing ragged, she just stared at it, as it moved up the alleyway. It stood on two legs, it even had two arms and a head, but this thing wasn’t human.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to focus and settle her mind as she must clearly be hallucinating, but when she looked again, the thing was still there. She wondered if she might be in bed, dreaming, and just maybe she would wake up and laugh at the silly dream. But it certainly felt real, it felt real and painful and the thing in the darkness grew nearer to her as she sat there not quite understanding what kind of world would allow such a thing to exist.

‘Amanda,’ called a voice from the street, and suddenly Stuart rounded the corner and sprinted into the alleyway, his cap flying off his head as the breeze from the alley caught it. ‘Amanda, are you all ri…’he called as he saw it, never finishing the sentence. Stuart skidded to a stop a second before he ran into the things leg, half falling over backwards as he stared up at the creature, and in the panic that suddenly gripped him he somehow managed to throw himself backwards against the wall of the alleyway. Amanda could see that his eyes were wide with shock, his mouth moving, trying to speak, but nothing came out. Amanda looked back at the thing, the demon that had been striding towards her, but it had stopped now and looked down at Stuart.

The demon looked huge next to Stuart as she peered at it through the tears welling up in her eyes, easily over twice his height the thing seemed to be made of layers and layers of veined muscle and patchy black hair, it’s inhuman head topped with a single cancerous horn.

‘Stuart,’ shrieked Amanda, desperation in her voice. She wanted to shout for help, but she also wanted to tell him to run. Panic had gripped her and she found herself unable to choose.

Stuart, madness in his eyes, glanced over at Amanda where she sat on the alley floor.

‘Amanda, run, get out of here,’ he screamed, pushing himself away from the wall.

The demon glanced back at Amanda before retuning its gaze to Stuart, and then it lashed out with its right arm and backhanded Stuart into the wall with the sickening sound of bone striking concrete. Stuart used the wall for support as he bent double. Holding the back of his head in his hands, he gasped for breath making agonised sounds as the demon more fully orientated itself on him. The slap from the thing looked to have been incredibly powerful; Amanda could only imagine the broken bones, internal damage and whatever else it might have done. As she watched, Stuart took one hand away from the back of his head and stared in shock at the blood stain there, before looking up and into the eyes of Amanda.

‘Stuart, run, please just run,’ she sobbed, but her plea came too late. Their eyes still locked, the creature slammed its fist into Stuart with a force that drove him deep into the wall and half buried the demons fist in the falling debris, with Stuart beneath it.

Amanda screamed. Her scream broke into wracking sobs, and she cried uncontrollably. Not Stuart, not now. He and Georgina had been her only friends, and now Stuart had been snatched away from her, just like Georgina would be soon enough. She couldn’t help the tears, with her world falling apart around her, and now this thing, this…nightmare, would kill her too.

*

Three months ago.
February

She stood before a shop window staring at her reflection in the dark glass given a mirror like sheen by the gloom within the store beyond. She teased her red hair with her fingers, pulling at the out-of-place strands and returned them to their rightful place. Seventeen and a half years old and slightly under five and a half feet tall (not counting the extra inches added by her heels) the exercise she did most days kept her in good shape. Her hair, slowly returning to the way she liked it from her preening, had always been long and an almost unnaturally bright auburn. Practically red in the reflection, it swept from her head and down her back, spilling over her shoulders like a waterfall. She had never dyed her hair in her life. It had been that colour from the day she had been born, a colour she loved.

              Her hair now in place, she straightened her pleated red mini skirt that showed off her toned legs and then adjusted her red top, pulling it straight where it had been pulled askew over her ample bust. Finally she pulled her black leather jacket straight and checked her handbag was in place. She was almost ready, but her critical eye saw that her lipstick had faded, so she pulled out a stick of strawberry crimson and reapplied it. Most people would consider her to be beautiful, with expressive, kind, emerald eyes, and soft enviable features. She had a girl-next-door look to her that people found both appealing and disarming. Her ‘job’ however, meant that her natural features were somewhat obscured by harsh make up and cheap slutty clothes, as was the case tonight. 

              ‘AJ,’ called a man a short distance away from her on the street. She turned and looked round at him. Dressed in baggy jeans and hooded top, the figure’s white trainers were bright and new. Next to him stood another man in a dishevelled suit that had clearly been worn sitting at a desk all day. The buttons of his suit were undone and he had his wallet out, swapping some money with the first man. Stuart had called out to her using ‘AJ’, the nickname she used out here on the streets in front of the John’s. You didn’t use your real name doing this job.

              Noticing her looking over, Stuart beckoned her towards him and went back to talking to the suit. She checked herself in the reflection one last time before smiling and walking towards them. Seeing the suit looking at her, she swung her hips a little more than normal and gave him a smile that promised unspeakable acts. As she approached, Stuart quickly patted the suit down checking for anything concealed, before gesturing to her as she closed the last few feet.

              ‘Just a straight fuck, nothing else,’ he said to her, before turning back to the suit. ‘Mike, this is AJ, have fun, I’ll be right here.’ Mike nodded at Stuart and smiled at her.

'No bother', she said in her lilting Irish accent that her clients seemed to find so appealing.

              ‘AJ, nice to meet you,’ he said, offering his hand. She took his hand in hers, shook it and smiled.

‘Like wise. Lets head over here shall we?’ She said, and indicated a nearby alleyway. She led him by the hand into the gap between the buildings. At a pile of boxes she came to a stop and pulled open her hand bag, taking out a handful of shiny foil squares. ‘Any preference?’ she asked. The man looked down at the selection of condoms, probably noticing the dozen used and discarded ones beyond her hands on the floor, before shrugging.

              ‘No, not really,’ he smiled at her.

              ‘Grand,’ she said, and with practised swiftness picked one while returning the rest, opened it up and pulled it out. ‘Right-oh, lets get this on you,’ she purred, squatting down while pulling at his zip.

Once they got going it didn’t last long, it never did. On the outside, she made all the right noises and expressions, and gave the man a languid look of satisfaction over her shoulder as she bent forward over a pile of boxes, but inside, she had withdrawn into her thoughts just like she did every time, keeping her emotional self separate from what was happening to her that very moment. She cast her mind about, thinking about the everyday things she would be doing the following day while she moved her hips, pushing herself onto him. Moments later he shuddered with pleasure as he finished, he withdrew from her and stood there catching his breath for a second before sorting himself out. AJ straightened up from being bent over the boxes that littered the alleyway and attended to her own clothes. He watched her admiringly as she did so.

              ‘You’re beautiful, do you know that?’ he said.

She smiled at him. ‘Thank you.’

              ‘No, I mean it; you really are, too beautiful for this.’ He indicated the area around him with a hand gesture. ‘Surely you could be doing something else?’ he suggested as he did up his belt.

              ‘I bet you say that too all the girls,’ she responded as she finished straightening herself out. ‘But thank you all the same.’

              ‘Do you believe in the supernatural?’

              ‘What?’ she said, a little surprised at this turn of conversation.

              ‘Psychic powers, do you believe in them?’

              ‘Em, I’m not sure, why?’ she said hesitantly, feeling a little worried by the direction the conversation had just taken.

              ‘Well, it’s just that I get premonitions sometimes, you know, see things, like the future, and…well, I think I’ve just had one about you.’

              ‘Give over ye gobshite, what are you talking about?’ she scoffed, incredulously.

              ‘I think you’re destined for great things. You’re going to do something important, I know it,’ he said with conviction.

              She looked at him quizzically for a moment.

              ‘This won’t get you a freebie mate, we’re done don't ye know,’ she said flatly.

              ‘Oh, of course, I didn’t mean to frighten you, I just thought you’d like to know,’ he said defensively, raising his hands in submission.

‘Yeah, well, thanks for the vision.’ Suspicion in her voice, she didn’t like it when her John’s turned weird. The man smiled rather sheepishly and walked out the alleyway with her, said his goodbyes and walked off into the night. Stuart ambled over and stood next to her.

‘You done for the night then? It’s been a busy one.’

She nodded absently as she gazed after the suit as he receded into the distance.

‘Hey, Amanda, you in there?’

She snapped out of the daze and looked at him as if realising he stood there for the first time.

‘I am, I’m fine.’

‘What’s the matter with you, did he do something to you?’

‘He didn’t do anything. Just something he said made me think a little, that’s all. Nothing to worry about,’ she said dismissively, although for some reason, what the man had said stuck in her mind, and it bothered her more then she had just let on to Stuart.

She thought back to her time growing up in the Orphanage in Ireland, to her dreams of living in New York, and the feeling that she had some kind of great destiny, an epic calling of some kind to fulfil. She hadn’t thought about that for a long time, not really since making it to New York, but the John had just touched on those half remembered memories with his comment, bringing them back to the forefront of her mind. It was probably coincidence, nothing to get uptight about.

‘Hey, Amanda-Jane, wake up. What’s gotten into you?’

‘Huh? Oh, nothing, I’m grand, seriously, stop worrying.’ Hearing her real name snapped her out of her reverie for the second time. She had always had a slight interest in the Occult, the unexplainable, but did she believe in it, like the John had asked? She didn’t know. She had never seen anything to make her believe in it anyway.  ‘Sorry Stuart, yeah, I’m done for the night,’ she said. ‘I need to get home to bed, it’s gonna to be a busy day tomorrow.’

‘Georgina?’

‘Yeah, she should find out tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m dreading the worst so I am.’

Stuart nodded. ‘Let me know won’t you.’

Amanda nodded back. She would let him know, it affected him just as much as it affected her. A short while later, her income for the night counted out into her handbag, she made her way back to her studio apartment, feeling well past ready for bed.

As usual Amanda had slept in and wasn’t up until late morning. She groaned when she saw the rain, work was never as much fun and never as busy in this weather. She padded around her apartment getting breakfast and watching some TV on her slowly dying set. She’d have to get a new one someday, but not today, Georgina would be here soon and they would be off to the clinic. She had no doubt it was going to be an emotionally charged day whatever happened, and depending on the results, good or bad, it might mean they wouldn’t be working later on. Since the news of her illness Amanda had been working for both of them, taking on Georgina’s regulars, but fingers crossed, today Georgina would be back to work.