The characters and plot in this story are copyrighted by the author.
All the characters in this story are purely products of my imagination and are not based on real people. Any resemblance is purely coincidental and is not intended.
If you are looking for just sex this is not the story for you. Most of the romance will take place in later chapters if I continue the story
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like it. If you have any positive feedback I would love to hear it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com
I am going to try to get one chapter a week out but I am a university student so sometimes I might not have time
I would like to give special thanks to Bobby who is editing my work for me.
First I would like to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter done. I had a lot of work to do last week and still quite a bit this week and just couldn't seem to motivate myself to sit down and finish.
Secondly I want to point out that this chapter is a little different then the other chapters. So far you have only seen the world through the eyes of the main character. In this chapter I will show you many other people who are important in the realm or the future of the story and how they see the world. I will probably do a chapter like this every little bit just to give you a wider perspective on this little world I created.
Also in this chapter I reintroduce the name Aubrey again which appeared in the first chapter I wrote as High Lord Kinsin Aubrey and Jasrin Aubrey. While these characters are dead their descendants will play a role in this story. You might want to reacquaint yourselves with the history around them if you have forgotten them.
The Black Adept
Chapter 3: First interlude
By Matt
This land is known Ariktos even though most who live here simply call it the realm. It used to be made up of eight kingdom who fought bitterly and constantly against each other. Every kingdom had its own magic schools and their mages were loyal to the king (or the king loyal to the mages in some cases). That was until a demon mage made a play for power and tried to subject the kings to his will. He only managed to unite the kingdoms and their mages against him. After he was defeated, the mages, realizing the risk of black magic united, and formed the first Academy. From here you know the history of the Academy but not the world around.
The eight kingdoms suddenly deprived of their mages formed a weak alliance. As history went on, the alliance broke and reformed several times before a lasting peace settled. About eight hundred years before the present day Ariktos, in which the story takes place, they united. The Council was born and all kings became the High Lords of the Council, one for each of the eight original kingdoms, now called provinces. The High Lord still ruled in his province but now all important decisions had to be brought up in the Council. If there was a tie, then the head of the Academy was given a vote to break it. The provinces of Ariktos were Fasner, Kulnem, Tarestan, Repask, Sul, Nolundria, Zalti, and finally Aubrey. The city Molas grew around the Academy and since the Academy was roughly in the center of Ariktos it became the Council city.
There is far more to the world then Ariktos many rich and exotic lands and great empires. They wanted little to do with the primitive back water of Ariktos. Ariktos was a very large island separated from the rest of the world but not unknown. There was little of worth in luxury and tradable goods native to Ariktos, so few traders risked the voyage to trade. A few have gotten wealthy supplying the nobility with the trappings of wealth but otherwise there was no reason to visit. It also became quite the haven for those who are fleeing someone since, if you can get there it is not likely someone will follow you. The only thing that gave Ariktos any prestige was the Academy truly the largest body of mages united in the known world.
Mages have a natural tendency to try and gain influence and power, making it rare to see large groups of mages unite and work together successfully. The Academy was run by the Lord Adept, the most skilled and capable mage living. After the Lord Adept came the adept mages, a title few mages ever reached, who were responsible for assisting the Lord Adept in the running of the Academy. Next came the arch mages, then master mages who did most of the teaching at the Acedemy. Students at the Academy started as initiates until they could tap their natural power and control it. Then they became fifth rank novices who progressed through to first rank and were then eligible to become a master if they proved their skill. The transition from initiate to master usually took ten to twelve years of study but has been done quicker or has taken longer.
Lord Adept Terit Aubrey brother of High Lord Saljin of Aubrey was exhausted. He didn't know what was going on and, in the last three days, had barely had more than four hours of sleep. It all started with the energy burst that happened three days ago near Hiron. He had sent a team to investigate which should be returning soon with their findings. He almost feared the answer as to what caused it. He was a hundred and fifty two years old and had never felt a burst of power so great in his life. It seemed like every mage and person with potential felt it for over a hundred miles. If that wasn't bad enough, some of the people who felt it recognized what it was and came to the conclusion they had potential. This led to a flood of people suddenly arriving at the gates of the Academy wishing to learn magic. The Academy was built for a much larger population than it ever had and now looked like it might, for the first time in history, fill up. How he was going to have this many new students trained, he didn't know but he knew he had better figure out soon.
Many of the mages from noble families were outraged at the acceptance of so many peasants, but not Terit. His grandfather Jasrin had taught him the importance of respecting everyone, no matter their station or who they were. Jasrin told the story of what happened when he was a student and how he always felt responsible for the death of one of his fellow students. Jasrin wished they had punished him instead of saying it was an accident since he never felt he had made amends. Jasrin had also felt bad for the disappearance of the boy's lover who was never seen again after that night. He tried to teach the same lessons to his children who hopefully taught it to his grandchildren. At that thought Terit scanned the courtyard from his window to see if spotted his two grandsons causing mischief somewhere. He didn't see them but he did notice the commotion of the investigating team returning from the north. He guessed he would get his answers whether he wanted them or not.
Kinren Aubrey was watching the grim faced team return from the window of the north residence. He knew that something serious was going on ever since that thing happened in the north all the higher mages were jumpy and nervous. Also the fact that they sent forty mages to investigate it, many of them expert battle mages, suggested it was really serious. He turned to look for his brother and couldn't see him anywhere.
"Kai, get over here. The investigation team is back and they don't look happy." he yelled only to hear a laugh beside him as his younger brother removed his invisibility spell. "You jerk! Stop fooling around! It is the perfect opportunity to check out that secret tunnel we found the other night. Everybody will be busy waiting to see what the investigators say after they meet grandpa. We should be able to sneak in no problem."
That statement caused a frown across Kai's face. They had gotten in trouble too much recently and some of the instructors were beginning to get a little pissed at them. Kinren knew that, but loved a little adventure.
At twenty three Kinren was a little childish but that seemed to his benefit, since most thought it sort of charming. He used his good looks and charm to keep himself out of most trouble. He had ear-length, wavy, light brown hair that framed his face, and eyes that you could never tell whether they were green or blue. He had a good body and he knew it. He was training to be a Varshar, a mage who used might to enhance their senses, speed and strength in the martial arts and combat skills. He knew, while he didn't have the potential to be any more than a mediocre mage, he could still be a great Varshar. He was well liked and the girls loved him and his good looks and he loved them back every chance he got. His brother was a different story though. Kinren had his suspicions but didn't want to be nosy so left him alone.
Kai Aubrey was twenty one and, in looks, was just like his brother - except for a few things. First was that his hair always seemed to get in his face, a trait which a lot of girls though was cute causing his brother to blush and look away. He was a little shorter but not much and of a slighter build. He didn't have to go through the rigors of Varshar training so his muscles were not as well developed as Kinren's. Unlike Kinren, Kai had the potential to be a great mage - unlike anything the Academy has seen in centuries. He was a star student and was already, after only eight years, ready to be tested for master. That was another reason he was weary about getting in trouble, fearing it could set him back. Kai had never had a serious relationship and always had excuses, blaming his studies, but Kinren knew their was more to it.
The secret tunnel they had found was located near the restricted library and was quite an oddity. First, it operated on magic but required a physical trigger. Kai had guessed that that was because a magic trigger would be too easy to detect. It was impossible to find any trace of magic on it so I guess you would have to know exactly what you are looking for to detect it. Second, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to open the door since its switches are almost two meters apart and don't seem to respond to magic pushes. Last, it looks like it is not used very much since there was dust but not too much.
Kai and Kinren had found it about a week ago when they were in the forbidden library late at night or early in the morning, in the area where they kept the more advanced magic books and stuff that students shouldn't try. The two broke in because of Kinren's need for some adventure and Kai's love of knowledge. They were there for maybe two hours when they heard someone come in. They panicked and bolted down the hallway out of there until they realized that no one was chasing them. They collapsed against the walls across from each other in the hallway. Next thing they knew, a piece of the wall just disappeared beside Kinren. They just backed away and the wall returned to normal, completely solid with no trace of magic.
It took an hour of reenacting leaning against the wall again and again before they got it to happen again and another hour to locate the exact switches, which were nothing more than slight discolorations in the stone. They were not brave enough to explore it then especially since they had maybe two hours left until classes started and would be tired enough as was. Then that thing happened to the north and all the mages started acting funny and they couldn't move without someone looking over our shoulder. This, however, was the perfect opportunity. Kinren looked to see if Kai looked like he would follow and then took off towards the forbidden library. Kai followed dutifully, if not quite as eagerly.
Lord Adept Aubrey received Adept Falhom the leader of investigation team into his private meeting room and couldn't help but notice the grim face. "I take it the results aren't good." He stated to his old friend.
"Well it could be worse, but I don't quite understand what we found myself. When we got there people were already looking through the area, meaning some evidence was destroyed and some rendered almost worthless. What we did find was not that positive." He looked nervous and a little scared as he said, "It was a battle between only two mages."
The Lord Adept's chin had dropped at the idea that two mages could have created so much energy. "Are you sure? How do you know it was only two and is their any evidence of who they were?"
"The were two distinct energy fields present at the site. I never encountered ones like it before but I believe they were from a demon mage and a void mage. There is further evidence that one was a demon mage. The Hiron guard were investigating a series of brutal murders outside the city that sound like what I have read of demon mages. There were also what appears to have been two circles drawn on the ground, a larger and smaller one, but much of them were destroyed by people before we got there.
"We found a few unrecognizable symbols on the ground. I tried to write them down but for some reason, I could never get them quite right. Strange since they were just lines and dots. My guess is the battleground was a trap set well in advance and it was for the demon mage. If it was a void mage, I don't know what to make out of it since I never read anything mentioning a written language. The guards reported that there was a skeleton in the large circle but it seems to turn dust within a day. That is really the strongest evidence of void magic we have since they are reported to drain all the energy out of their opponents. That would leave nothing left to even hold together the bones. That means if I am right the void mage won.
"We questioned the locals which got us mainly reports of noises and flashing lights in the area of the battleground and one report a young man not showing up for work at a farm near the city. I doubt it could be related unless he was the last victim of the demon mage before the battle or maybe even the void mage gathering energy for the battle."
"Is there any good news?" the Lord Adept asked hopefully.
"Only if you consider the fight that they were fighting each other."
"I am glad of that much at least. I fear dark times ahead for the Academy."
Lolin was a wreck. She didn't tell her father about she witnessed or even about Korin, if that is even his real name, which she doubted, leaving. When the mages showed up to question her father she was sure they were going to take her away for knowing a void mage. They left without incident but her thoughts stayed. She always thought a void mage would be evil - not kind, quiet, young, and cute. He did protect her from the demon mage though, and she even found herself sort of missing him. Further thought was interrupted by her father calling her to the family room. When she got there her mother and father were both there both had sad expressions on their faces.
"We decided that it is time you go to a private school somewhere safe. You are not meant for running a farm but something much greater, so I contacted your aunt in Molas and she will take you in and you can go to one of the good schools there and figure out what you want in life. Also we want to know you are safe and where could be safer then the Council city in the shadow of the Academy."
She broke down crying and hugged her parents tightly. She had always pushed them to let her go to a school in Hiron but they wanted her to learn to run the farm and home schooled her. Now they were sending her to the best city in the realm for schools. She was almost twenty two it was time she do something with her life and prepare for the future.
In an old abandoned tool shed near the back of the Academy grounds three novices stood chanting in a circle. They all had great potential and were intelligent but also ambitious and impatient. They wanted power now and they finally thought they found a way to get it. They didn't realize how wrong they were and never would in their last few minutes of life.
To be continued...
Next Chapter is called "Things that go Bump in the Night"
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like if you have any positive feedback I would love to hear it. Send me some feed back on whether this story has the potential that I should continue it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com