Resurgence of Ancient Darkness (2 page)

“Grandmaster, you are concerned about the shadow that we sensed,” stated Master Shadow.

“Yes, very much so,” he said. “But it is more than that. When each rupture was closed, it sent ripples through space-time. Things are changing, and even the laws of nature are in flux. I cannot see far enough ahead to know what things will look like when they stabilize, or how long it will take.”

“What should we do?” asked Shadow.

“First, I should tell you that we have recruited some elite wizards from Korshalemia with many decades of battle experience to help you build up your ranks. They will be staying with us permanently, learning our technology and ways. No doubt you will be happy to know that Mathorn is among those who have chosen to move here to help us,” he said.

“That is great news!” said Shadow.

“I will give Alpha Academy the task of working out what changes we are facing as reality slowly stabilizes itself. I want you to lead the Battle Wizards and find out what you can about the shadow.”

“This all seems so sudden and so fast,” said Shadow.

“I know it does, but most of it has been in the making for decades. The reason I chose this solar system for our base of operations was that I foresaw that Aleeryon would be the most compatible nation for us. I did not expect to buy them out, but I knew we would end up working closely with whatever neighbors we had.

“Reality has been very slowly healing for ten thousand years now, but our actions over the last century or so have tremendously accelerated the process. I do not yet know what that means for our future, but at the very least I expect to see unaffiliated magi wandering randomly throughout the realm. It is likely to be centuries before we have a substantial number of them working as part of our nation. The new consortiums and tribal governments do not recognize my authority, and they will probably hunt down these magi to add to their own forces. This means our enemies will expand to encompass vastly more than merely sorcerers. It will no longer be a case of wizards versus sorcerers, as there will be many different groups which can call on magi. We will attempt to incorporate them all over time, but our realm is many magnitudes larger than Korshalemia, and I do not at this time foresee a single council of wizards uniting all wizards although I will try to achieve it
.”

“You say that you believe more powers are involved in this battle than merely ourselves and the sorcerers. Do you think this shadow is one of them?” asked Master Shadow.

“If we ignore the smaller groups, we know there is a united force of sorcerers in Korshalemia and a matching group here. All that is clear is that the shadow is not related to either of these. That means there is at least one more group in play, and it is that group which must concern us most.”

That last comment hung in the air for a moment with no one speaking. After a brief pause, Master Mathorn spoke up. “Dusty, during your time in my realm you interacted with the unknown sorcerer who appears to be behind the information leaked to us about the station. Can you tell me more about that, specifically the time you, Shea, and her brother met him on the hill?”

“Master, I really don’t know all that much. My head was so foggy at the time. I just couldn’t think straight,” I said.

“I see. Yet Shea seemed fine. Why do you think that is?” he asked.

I tried to think back to that battle, but my memory was still as fuzzy as the day it happened. “I’m not sure. All I remember is her standing between us holding me back. She kept telling me to run, but I couldn’t move or think.”

“But you eventually did. How?” he asked.

“Master, he moved to attack, so I cast Shadow Form and ran,” I said.

He thought about it for a moment, and said, “Dusty, you lost that battle and almost lost the two people with you. Have you thought at all about how to handle it next time?”

“Master, when I got to the wizard’s tower in Syncillia I read everything I could find in the “Defense against Charms”
section, but none of it made any sense.”

“Do you remember any of the titles of the books you were reading?”

“Yes,” I said, and proceeded to rattle off every one that I had read.

“I am impressed at your masterful recall, but tell me, Dusty, what do all those books have in common?” he asked.

“Master, they were all books on defense against charms,” I said.

“Yes, they were, but defense for whom?” he asked.

“Master, for magi?” I asked.

“No, actually for very specific types of magi.” He thought about something for a while, then said, “Dusty, I have reviewed all your records here at the school. Your academic performance is less than stellar, which does not reflect how well you did on this mission. Even your own log about your adventures in my former realm shows you to be far more advanced than your schooling would indicate. Why do you think that is?”

I sat in silence and did not answer. All I could think about was that my worst fear had come true: he was going to bounce me out of the school.

“
It is all right. You can trust him,”
sent Master Shadow.

I looked over at Master Shadow and back to Master Mathorn, who sat there waiting. “Master, I just don’t know. I tried really hard to learn all their formulas and such, but I guess I’m just too stupid to figure it out.”

“Stupid, Dusty, is one thing you are not,” said Master Mathorn. “Misguided is more like it, and your training has been poorly fitted for your peculiar bent.”

“My bent, Master?” I asked.

“Yes; for example, none of the books you read in Syncillia would have helped you at all. None of them were for someone with your spell line. Simply put, you could not understand them. They were the wrong fit.”

I sat there in astonishment. I had not considered that possibility.

He continued, “I will get you some material from my personal library that will help you so that you can be better prepared next time. Dusty, I think your problem has been that you’re trying too hard to fit stereotypical models of what you think you should be, instead of discovering your own nature. I think this mission has shown that when you focus on being yourself you do rather well.”

I could not fully grasp what that meant, but it certainly helped to bolster my confidence.

The rest of the conversation centered on making sure that the Council had all the current information about our mission, and they questioned me extensively on the old man. They did not know much about him, and that seemed to bother them more than anything else we reported.

They closed with a discussion about the structure of the new forces. Shadow proposed that we have two divisions in the military: one that would train wizards to work in groups of two and three among the mundane navy, and another as an elite force to work on ships like the Dust Dragon. Grandmaster Vydor liked this idea, and he gave Shadow permission to start building the force.

As Dusty and I left the debriefing, he said to me, “Thank you, Master Shadow.”

“For what, Dusty?” I asked.

“For believing in me,” he said.

“Dusty, you earned every bit of it. You are a fine wizard and a great friend,” I said.

We talked for a little bit more, and then I took my leave of him. I had two problems I wanted to solve. The first was my marriage to Flame. I had spoken with Grandmaster Vydor about it privately over a telepathic channel during the debriefing, and he said that he would be proud to perform the ceremony, but now that Aleeryon was becoming part of our nation our marriage was already legally binding and official. This meant I really needed to find a way to break the news to my mother that I was already married. That should be fun.

The other problem was how to select and train an entire army of wizards while trying to hunt down this new evil in our realm. I had a plan, and Grandmaster Vydor thought it was worth trying, but it would mean convincing my father to do something he had probably never before considered. He hated surprises, and I would be contacting him with two simultaneously.

Once I had returned to my personal office on the Dust Dragon, I made sure the room was sealed and called my father.

“Hello, son,” he said.

“Sir, it is good to see you. I am sorry I have not called for some time, but I was on a full combat mission with a stealth wing,” I said.

He smiled wistfully at that. “I understand. Did it go well?”

“Better than expected, sir. We neutralized the pirate threat and destroyed a major sorcerer stronghold,” I said.

“Excellent!” he said, his face beaming with pride.

We talked a little about the mission for a while. He was very interested to hear about it. Once I felt I had told him all I could about that, I decided it was time to move on to my first surprise. “Sir, I need to ask you something.”

“Of course, son; what is it?” he asked.

“Sir, I have been promoted to head of the Battle Wizards, the newly-formed military arm of the school. At present we have only seven wizards with any battle experience or training at all. Due to the political situation developing in our region, we believe we need to scale up our military as quickly as possible,” I said.

“I see. That is quite a problem. How many wizards will you have to work with?” he asked.

“Sir, I do not know yet, but I believe it will be a small number,” I said.

“I would imagine so, based on my understanding of how few graduate from your school. I assume you are looking for advice?” he asked.

Now it was time to spring my surprise. “More than that, sir. I want to bring you out of retirement.”

“What?” His tone and face betrayed a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

“Sir, I would like you to help me to build this new military wing as well as possible,” I said.

He sat back in his chair and said nothing for a while. “I assume that would mean moving out there, and I am not sure your mother would like that.”

“Well, sir, I think she will be more willing to move out here than you believe,” I said.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“Sir, because Grandmaster Vydor will soon be performing a wedding ceremony for myself and Flame.” I decided there and then that I would not mention it was indeed only a ceremony and that we were already married. I was fairly sure my parents would put no stock in Aleeryon marriage customs, so I should be able to avoid telling them; at least I hoped so.

To my relief, that brought a big smile to his face. “That is wonderful, son! Your mother is sure to be delighted.” He sat in silence again for some time. “So you want me to turn a group of green wizards into a fighting force?”

“Yes, sir. I am planning two divisions to start: one elite and one regular division. I would place you in charge of the regulars,” I said.

“Why me?” he asked.

“Sir, being here among these wizards has shown me that, while we all have great powers, most of us lack knowledge of warfare techniques. We are in the process of planning the defense of our region against many enemies, and less than a handful of us have any real training. We need the knowledge of men like you if we are to succeed. Besides that, I need someone I can trust completely with this level of authority and power. You are perfectly suited to it,” I said.

“Son, I am sincerely honored, but what do I know of magic?” he asked.

“I assume nothing, sir, but that is not a problem. I will have an elite wizard appointed to you so that magic is not an issue. You dealt with all kinds of specializations in the past of which
you knew nothing. This is no different,” I said.

“I see. When would you have me start?” he asked.

“As soon as you are ready. I can have a gate opened for you at very short notice. I assume you will want to come out for the wedding anyway,” I said.

“True,” he said. “Let me talk all this over with your mother. I will contact you sometime tomorrow.”

After that we ended the call. I did not need to wait for him to contact me; I knew his answer. I had seen it in his eyes: there was excitement in them when he thought about returning to duty. I was sure he would still be serving in the Imperial Navy had he not passed the maximum age of service.

He was well past his physical prime, but his mind was still sharp, and it was that mind I wanted. His knowledge of military operations and his centuries of experience would be invaluable to me as I tried to build a fighting force out of these schoolchildren.

After I left Shadow, I headed back to my old quarters. I had not seen them since I left Alpha Academy on our mission. It seemed like it had been years, but in reality Operation Show of Force had lasted only a little more than a month. As I was walking, lost in thought, Master Mathorn stopped me.

“Dusty, here’s one of the books I promised you.” He handed me an old book. The leather cover and binding was cracked with age and the pages had yellowed. “You can keep it. I have another copy for myself. When you finish that, see me and I will evaluate your progress; that will tell me which resources would help you most.”

“Master, thank you,” I said. The title of the book was “The Art of Deception: A Wizard’s Guide to Trickery, Shadows, and Other Tools of the Trade.” I wondered at that title. “Master, are you sure this is the right book?”

“Yes, Dusty. Your specialty is concealment, which means your defense against charms will have to come from that art. This book is the best on your line and should be very helpful in your studies. I suggest you defer all other studies for the moment and catch up on with what this book teaches. It will help you to understand yourself better.”

I looked again at the title and knew that, had I seen it in a library, I would have passed it by as unsuitable for me. As I traced the intricate artwork embedded in the cover, I tried to come up with a reason not to read it. I had to admit that it did sound interesting, but surely it was not the kind of book a wizard should be reading.

“Dusty, when you came here, what did you want to be?” he asked.

“I just wanted to help people, Master, and was hopeful that I could be like Master Kellyn.”

“I see, but you’re not the same person. Once you had learned which powers you were gifted with, what did you hope to get out of staying here?”