“They chose Faldor, he being the youngest of them and the wisest. Faldor’s apprentice was also chosen to stay behind and support him in defending the keep. The next day the remaining nine wielders gathered in a large circle in the great hall and created the other nine might stones, giving up their lives.
“Faldor and his apprentice gathered the might stones and studied their magical properties. Several turned out to not be of any use in protecting the keep, but several others proved to be invaluable. With the help of the might stones, Faldor and his apprentice were able to protect the keep against the invasion and even kill the three dark wielders. With their leaders dead, the army returned to their lands, leaving Faldor’s Keep, with its treasures of knowledge, untouched.
“Faldor and his apprentice were left as the only known wielders in all the land. Faldor knew that although they would have longer life spans than most, they would not live forever. Knowing of the importance of having the keep protected after he died, he devised a plan to preserve it. His visions foretold of a time in the far distant future when a wielder would return to the keep. He felt that it was essential that the keep be preserved until then.
“Faldor wanted to enlist the help of both humans and elves in protecting the keep. To accomplish this, he fashioned special gifts using two of the might stones. First he crafted a beautiful sword using the ambience. In its hilt he set the ‘loyalty stone’. This stone would return to a wielder who called it. In the hands of a regular person, the stone would allow the sword to mold to his grasp and become almost an extension of him. Faldor then made an armband with the ambience. He set in it the ‘stone of endurance’. The endurance stone had allowed Faldor to continue wielding the ambience against the keep’s attackers long past the point where his normal strength would have given out. On the arm of a non-wielder, it would give the wearer greater strength, endurance, and longevity.
“With these two special gifts, Faldor left the keep in his quest to enlist the help of both humans and elves. He first traveled to a small, remote village at the base of the Parched Mountains. He met with the village council and formed an agreement. The village would send four men to be guardians of the keep. For their service, Faldor gave the village the ‘loyalty sword’ that he had crafted.
“He then left the village and journeyed to the base of Mount Morian. There he sought out the king of the elves. The king was very reluctant to continue any dealings with the humans after the great loss of his people in the Wielder Wars. However, he could not deny that Faldor’s cause was a noble one. He committed to send four elves to the keep to be guardians and accepted the ‘armband of endurance’ as a token of their agreement.
“Faldor returned to the keep, passing the village along the way and bringing the four chosen young men with him. They would spend their time training and studying. After they had served as guardians of the keep for twenty years, they would return to their village and four other men would journey to the keep to take their place. In ten years, four elves would arrive at Faldor’s Keep and follow the same type of twenty year cycle as the four humans. Thus, there would always be eight guardians, four of which would have at least ten years of experience in protecting and maintaining the keep.
“The first four guardians trained extensively in all manner of arms. They also spent time every day learning with Faldor as he studied. When the first four elves came to join their fellow guardians ten years later, the human guardians had become skilled warriors and disciplined in the mind. The elves soon acclimatized to the routine of the guardians of the keep. Faldor’s wish of having eight guardians to safeguard the keep was realized.
“Faldor also devised another way to protect the keep and the writings that it housed. He chose three might stones that he felt would be of the most worth to the keep and to those who remained within its grounds. In the center of the keep’s courtyard he built three stone pillars and melded them together at the top. Towards the top of each pillar he embedded one of the might stones. The first would give longer life to all within its range. The second would cast a cloak of invisibility over the keep and its inhabitants keeping them safe from unfriendly eyes. The third would amplify the effects of the other two.
“Once his monument was completed, Faldor left the keep in the hands of his apprentice and the eight guardians. He ventured back into the outside world in search of a human who was devoted to learning and could take care of the keep’s library. He found someone worthy and returned with the keep’s first ‘keeper’.
“However, to Faldor’s dismay, his apprentice had left the keep, taking six of the might stones with him. Two of the guardians had discovered Faldor’s apprentice at the top of the monument prying out a might stone. When they confronted him, he had killed them. By the time the other guardians discovered the foul deed, it was too late. The apprentice had fled the keep with Faldor’s golden chest and six might stones. Only the two remaining stones in the monument were left.
“The betrayal angered and hurt Faldor deeply. The remaining guardians wanted to go after the betrayer, but Faldor knew that his apprentice would be too powerful with the six stones in his possession. He convinced the guardians that it would be best to stay and protect the library of the keep. That was the true treasure they had been enlisted to guard. Faldor spent the next twenty years teaching and training the keeper.
“He then prepared himself to make one last journey. Before he left, he let the keeper and guardians know that he had a vision that made it clear to him a wielder would someday come to the keep and return the golden chest. When this happened, the keep would serve its purpose of expanding the knowledge of the ambience in the land once again. Faldor then left his keep, never to be seen or heard from again.”
Traven and Studell sat in silence as the keeper finished his tale of the great wielder Faldor. Traven didn’t know how to respond. The story had answered many of his questions but left many more unanswered. In fact, the tale had created numerous new questions in his mind that he hadn’t even contemplated before. Eldridge smiled at the two of them.
“So here I am today, the eighth keeper of Faldor’s Keep,” he stated.
“The eighth?” Studell exclaimed in surprise. “But you said the first keeper was here nearly a thousand years ago.”
It took a second for Traven to realize why Studell was so surprised. Then it dawned on him. If Eldridge was only the eighth keeper that would mean that each keeper had been at the keep for over a hundred years! People didn’t live that long. The oldest person he had ever heard of was in his eighties. Often people would live into their late sixties and early seventies. Some lived to their early eighties but to live beyond that was unheard of.
“You heard me correctly,” Eldridge said with an even bigger smile. “I am one hundred and forty years old.”
Traven and Studell cast unbelieving glances at one another. Was that even possible?
“You have no doubt heard that the wielders had longer life spans than regular humans,” the keeper continued. “Some of the greatest wielders lived to be almost two hundred years old. When Faldor created the monument in the courtyard and embedded the ‘longevity stone’ in it, it created a time womb around the entire keep. Those of us who live within its reach somehow only age one year for every two that pass by. I was brought to the keep when I was thirty years old. Since then one hundred and ten years have passed by, and I have only aged to the ripe age of eighty-five. Unfortunately, I don’t believe I will live much longer.”
Traven just stared at the ancient man in silence. It was difficult to imagine that someone could live so long.
“I think it is well past the time for me to find my successor,” Eldridge muttered. He then turned a penetrating look directly at Traven. “I feel incredibly blessed to be the keeper to see Faldor’s vision fulfilled.”
The keeper’s intense gaze made Traven feel uncomfortable. He still didn’t understand what was expected of him. Eldridge thought he was this master wielder that Faldor had seen in a vision a thousand years ago. While he was a wielder, he was definitely not a master wielder. In fact, it seemed as though he could hardly wield the ambience at all without passing out.
“I’m sorry,” Traven replied while shaking his head. “I wish that I was this master wielder that Faldor said would come to the keep, but I’m not. I don’t think I’ll ever be a master wielder. I can’t do much more than create a flame without blacking out.”
“Nonsense boy, nonsense,” the ancient keeper said. “You don’t have a clue as to what you are talking about. Professor Studell told me last night that you haven’t even been wielding the ambience for more than a few weeks. Do you realize what you created in the great hall last night?”
Traven just stared back at the keeper. He had passed out in the great hall the night before. That was what he had done.
“You created a ball of liquid fire!” Eldridge seemed incredibly excited about that fact, though Traven didn’t know why. “Only very powerful wielders could create something with substance and hold it for as long as you did. And even those powerful wielders wouldn’t have been able to do what you did without months of training first. Sure, you did pass out, but first you created something incredible.”
Traven wondered if it was true. Did he really have the ability to become a master wielder? If what he had created the night before was as difficult to create as Eldridge had suggested, perhaps there was hope for him. However, it was always hard for him to do anything more than create a flame. When he created other things, he was always left exhausted or would pass out.
“Why do I keep passing out?” Traven asked.
“The ambience draws upon the strength of the wielder. Wielding the ambience is in a sense like using a muscle. You have to exercise a muscle in order for it to grow stronger. The more you wield, the stronger your ability to wield the ambience will become. For now, it will be best for you to practice on things that are not too demanding.”
“That’s the problem,” Traven responded, slightly frustrated. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what’s supposed to be easy and what’s supposed to be hard.” Eldridge let out a chuckle.
“That’s why you are here Traven. While you could probably learn best from a fellow wielder as his apprentice, I am the next best teacher. For over a hundred years I have been studying the books in the keep’s library that explain what the ambience is, how to control it, and what can be done with it. I know all of the theories and specifics of how the ambience is supposed to work. I will train and guide you.” He paused and looked into Traven’s eyes, very directly once again. “I will guide you, giving you the knowledge I have been entrusted with. This keep and the sacrifices of the council that once resided here will fulfill their purposes. You will become a master wielder!”
All three sat in silence once again as Eldridge finished speaking. Traven still had his doubts, but now there was also a growing sense of excitement welling up inside. He would soon be able to understand the power that resided within him. He would learn to control a magic that most people didn’t even believe existed. He would learn to wield and control the ambience.
13
“When would you like to begin your training?” Eldridge asked.
“Why not right now?” Traven responded eagerly. The keeper began laughing.
“How about after lunch?” the elderly man said. “Meet me in the great hall at midday. After we have eaten, your training can begin. For now, I think it best that we rest.”
Traven stood up to show that he was strong enough to start immediately. He kept a straight face, refusing to cringe at the pounding in his head.
“I’m fine,” he said. “We can start right now.”
“I wasn’t as worried about you as I was about myself,” the keeper replied with a small smile. “I’m a fairly old man. After telling such a story I need a rest.” Traven’s face reddened as he helped the ancient keeper to his feet.
“Midday it is,” he said with an apologetic smile.
He followed Eldridge to the door as the keeper shuffled out of the room. He then closed the door and slumped back down in a chair with his eyes closed. He hoped the headache would go away soon. He wondered if Eldridge might know how to take care of the headaches. That was one of the first things he should ask about when they started to train. For now, he would do as the keeper had suggested and rest.
“It’s all just so fascinating!” Studell exclaimed, startling Traven. “It really is all true. I knew it. I always knew it! We are so lucky to have found Faldor’s Keep. Do you have any idea how much lost knowledge there is in the library here?”
Traven smiled and opened an eye. It was obvious that the excited philosopher was eager to get back to the library and look through the books there.
“There’s no need for you to wait here with me,” Traven told him. “Go ahead and go to the library.”
“Oh that sounds like a great idea,” Studell said as he hopped up and headed to the door. “I’ll see you later.”
Traven smiled to himself as the door shut. It appeared that Studell’s dreams had come true. He had found a treasure trove of knowledge. He had found the treasure he had been looking for. Traven was happy for the philosopher.
He closed his eyes again and leaned back in his chair, pondering his situation. He was excited to learn how to use the ambience but still confused and nervous about what the future held for him. A year ago he had been nothing but a simple woodcutter living with his grandparents in a tiny village at the edge of Kalia. He had been nothing special, just a commoner trying to earn a living. Over the last year he had traveled across Kalia, fought bandits, become an excellent swordsman, had brief stints in a merchant academy and the army, rescued a princess, and found out that he was a wielder. Just recalling all that had happened in the past year caused his head to swim.