Creators Guild: A Wizard's Beginning (11 page)

             
They crossed a small courtyard and entered into the wing with the living quarters. He was shown directly to his room where he was happy to find lunch had arrived.  After eating he found a book to read "The Rising of the Star."

*      *       *

                            Ty was not happy with the situation he was in, for three day's now he had been stuck in his room. He was growing extremely impatient, especially being able to see the nice weather outside and the people working out there and not being able to talk to any of them.  “That servant girl must have forgotten to ask them to let me out,” he thought.

             
He had tried a few times to leave but there were guards posted at his door, "What am I a prisoner, a common criminal?" he shouted.

             
"No son, but you should learn to control your temper, it could get you into trouble some day," said Maglin, walking into the room.  "I have arranged for you and Roland to get out and see the grounds today. I do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have felt, but we must protect ourselves with the strictest of measures. I do hope you understand."

             
With that he calmed down a little, they went to Roland's room and found him in front of the fireplace reading.  Ty crept up on him slowly and surprised him. Roland jumped out of the seat as Ty started laughing, which was truly the effect he wanted to see.

             
"What on earth are you doing here?"

             
"Well it's nice to see you too, Maglin has arranged for us to go outside and have a look around, you coming?"

             
"Of course, I have been testing like crazy the last two days, and I need a break."

             
"Boy's this is Morlela," he said bringing in a servant.  "She will be showing you around the grounds, please stay with her so you will stay out of trouble."  With that he turned and left.

             
The two boys' were excited to get out; they acted like little children on the first day of spring.  Morlela had volunteered for this job, more just to see Ty again. By doing so she knew she would be up late to finish her regular duties, but at the moment she didn't care.  The three of them started outside. The day was perfect; the sun was up with the wind blowing just enough to keep everything cool.  Ty imagined it was like this every day; after all, the place was controlled by magic.

             
The servants were tending to the grounds around the castle. Off to one side of the island they saw a small farm where there were cows, pigs, chickens, and a few horses.  They took a walk through the labyrinth formed from shrubs.  In the center was a large fountain, the figure was a wizard holding what appeared to be the world in his hands.  The three of them had a nice conversation. Ty and Morlela really hit it off; they talked about where she was from and why she was there.

             
The day was soon over and they headed back into their rooms for the night.  Dinner had been brought in along with a bathtub, there were a few large pots sitting next to the fire keeping them warm.  Roland ate and took his bath, after a long few days he slept like a log.

             
Ty was too happy to sleep for a while. He had finally gotten out of the room, he enjoyed the walk outside.  Now he could not stop thinking of Morlela.  While they were at the fountain she had taken the hood down on her robe.  She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her hair was raven black and the sun shined off it like a beacon in the night.  Her eyes were an emerald; her skin was a light tan, probably from working outside.

             
It took him a while to relax enough to get to sleep, all night his dreams were with Morlela.  Roland had dreams that night as well, but none as pleasant as Ty’s.  His were dreams of a war torn country. People dying by the thousands and he was not able to do anything about it.  He remembered it was a great contrast to his other dreams, where he was victorious in war, or when Ty was missing.

             
The next morning Roland was taken to meet with Brekon Lon Crol, earth master.  He was a middle-aged man, with brown hair, tall and slim with the appearance of a scholar.  His office was small and filled with a large amount of books.

             
"Please sit young man," said Brekon, "today we shall see if you can control the earth element. You must understand this is the oldest of all elements as the earth was created before any of the other elements.  It takes patience to understand and to control.  I imagine it will take a good part of the day.

             
"You know what to do, I am already there."

             
Roland took a seat and found his center, there he saw Brekon waiting with the earth element. Instead of surrounding his hand, he noticed that it was wrapped around his foot and leg.  He noticed that each time he was in his void, the real world and his new world would slowly combine.  He could now tell how the wizards would be able to control the elements and function in the real world.

             
"Take my hand and I will guide you into the power. Like I told you it is the oldest and it takes understanding to control.  When you are first joined you will feel a great peace and have a sensation as if something is moving through your body.  That is the power itself learning you and your body, it alone will know if you will have the strength to control it."

             
He gave him his hand and he was slowly joined with the power. Brekon was right; the element seemed to explore him a little at a time. With each search he would feel a little closer to the earth.  He was finally connected and to his surprise Brekon had already released it.

             
"Now with earth you can control and accomplish many things, one of these is to create stone. That’s what I am going to see if you can accomplish.  To do so, use this dirt that I have prepared.  I want you to concentrate on creating a brick that can be used in building a house."

             
It took him a while to figure out how to manipulate the dirt to do what he wanted it to do. He tried to think of it as a brick, like he filled the pitcher with water.  When that didn’t work he tried seeing the particles as he did with the fire.  He was quickly learning that every element behaved in its own way, the key was to find how or what earth responded to.

             
He remembered that Brekon had told him that he needed patience to control the earth, so he relaxed a little.  The sense of learning came over him, as it did when he first made contact with the element.  Rather than trying to master the element, he was letting it teach him.  He gained the understanding that the earth changes itself, it can't be forced.  With this new understanding he sat calmly and waited with the thought of a brick in his mind and a desire for it to be formed.

             
It was amazing to see, the particles of dirt that had been piled in front of him most of the day, were now beginning to move.  Slowly they would join, starting at the base and slowly layering themselves.  It took several more hours of sitting in patience, focused on what the end result would be.  While he was so focused he could see the slightest imperfections in the brick, and slowly altering what he saw the end result was a perfect brick.

             
Roland returned the brick to Brekon who examined it. He could tell that he had joined with the earth to see the very essence of the brick, to test for strength and imperfections.  He was pleased when Brekon congratulated him and was told to return to his room.  He quickly left and found his bed to be inviting. Although he had been sitting most of the day he was mentally exhausted from the test and sleep quickly took him.

             
Morlela had received permission from the head mistress to visit with Ty. She knew the girl felt an attraction for him, and not knowing how long he would be allowed to stay in the guest quarters because he was the friend of the new boy here to be tested.  Word had spread quickly throughout the house. Everybody knew that the council was weary of the power of this boy, and if he failed his testing they would be sent away quickly and without word, at least that’s what they would be told.

             
Ty was surprised to hear someone knocking at his door so late at night. He was almost ready for bed and found it bothersome until he found out who it was.  He was quite surprised to see her there at that hour, knowing of how early she would have to wake up too begin her daily chores.

             
"Is it alright if I come in for a while," she asked, nervous of his answer.

             
"Yes, please come in, here take a seat, would you like some tea or anything?"

             
"I'll have some tea, thank you."

             
They sat in front of the fire for a while talking and enjoying each other’s company. Both had missed just being able to talk to someone their own age someone who understood how the other was feeling.  By the end of the night they were sitting closer together holding each other in their arms. Not saying much of anything, just enjoying the quiet and the crackle of the fire.

             
Morning found the two of them still holding each other on a small sofa in front of the hearth. The fire had long since died down and all that remained of the night were a few glowing embers.  Morlela woke first, a little disoriented as to where she was, a soft smile crossed her lips when she realized that she was still in his arms.

             
"It wasn't a dream then," she thought to herself as she carefully slid out from under his arm and watched him sleep a moment longer before he began to wake up.

             
"Good morning sleepy head," she said softly.

             
Her voice surprised him a little. He was finally awake enough to see her standing in front of him, for him that was a great morning.  Before she left he had asked if she would be able to come back that night after all her chores were done. He wanted to see her again and talk some more, or better yet just be able to hold her again.  She agreed to ask permission and walked out.

             
Roland knew that today would be his last day of testing, so far he thought he had done pretty well. Even if he was not allowed into the training program he knew his life would never be the same.  That morning he was wondering how Ty was doing, having been stuck in his room the last three days.  He quickly ate the breakfast that was brought into him and prepared for the last test.

             
A servant came to take him to Terinal lon Jek, wind master.  He was surprised to find such a young man teaching and testing new wizards. From his appearance he could not have been more than ten cycles his senior.  Reflecting his age was his attitude, very friendly and open, this was a change from the others he had already met.

             
"Ello'," he said, as he walked in to meet Roland. "Oim Wizard Terinal, but eu can coll me Terinal, oi find it much mo pleasant."

             
He had to listen carefully because of his strong accent, one he had never heard before.

             
"Now let's see, what ave we ta do today?" he said looking around the room.  "Okay den, you know ow ta connect tew da powr. Oi'll shew you when we meet," with that he saw him enter the realm of power, he was still there physically but mentally he was different.

             
"Very good, yew came quickly, oi see dat yu's is learnin quickly.  Tew be able ta pass dis test yu need ta carry a small object wit da wind.  Watch en learn."

             
Terinal quickly manipulated the wind and a book came floating towards him slowly. When he placed his hand on it the pattern returned to normal.  "There is a litle more tew know on dis un; yew need tew cast a spell tew bring it to ya.  Da word is
Begnin
.”

             
Roland took the power from him and began to concentrate on a different book, when he felt confident enough he whispered
begnin
.  The power began to change. Because he was concentrating on the book it went right to it.  Slowly the cord of power surrounded the book much like a vine surrounds a pole.  He was surprised at how easily it worked, the book floated through the air softly and when he touched it the power returned to its normal pattern.  He quickly left the realm of power excited at what he had accomplished.

             
"Very good," said Terinal a large smile on his face.  "I knew yu could do it, now go back tew your room. Da council will be meeting dis afternoon ta see how well ya tested."

             
The rest of the day Roland sat in his room reading the book he had started. It appeared to be a collection of prophesies about the bringer of light, it told of the power that this person will yield to destroy all known evil in the world. They would also have the power to banish the Dark Lord for another century.  But to him it was more of a fantasy book to bring out his imagination, besides who would believe that one person could hold so much power.