Searching For A Guardian

There are many great stories to be told within the worlds of magic. Stories of myth and legend, of past, present and future. This may or may not be one of those stories but it is a story; and this story begins with some friends, allies, evil demons and a devastating war that will change the lives of everyone forever.

Chad Wizardman was a one-of-a-kind student at the Souvanence School of magic and formal education. He was the only mage alive with the ability to use fiery magic, a trait not seen since its banishment over a thousand years ago. Many fear Chad’s skills, some wish him dead. By some, Chad was believed to be the great Demon Lord himself waiting for the right moment to strike down his terror upon the unexpected world.

The fire wizard enjoyed scaring his fellow students with the theory of him being a dark lord, by burning things inside the classroom and outside. Girls found him attractive with his blond hair and deep blue eyes, but the fire burning for a heart was a sign for trouble as some would say.

His best friends, Greg Thornton, Rogue Lee and Kirsten Britton were all that stopped Chad from going completely insane. The group overcame every obstacle when together. At sixteen, Chad already had many stories to tell of life’s obstacles and complications.

Chad sat on his chair with his back to the blackboard, his arms folded tightly as if deliberately trying to crease his white shirt. He had lost track of the conversation he was having with Mark Brason sitting opposite him. Chad looked up towards the thick wooden beams supporting the ceiling then down at the wooden desk supporting Brason’s elbows. The room was bright despite a murky appearance. The wood interior had a burnt out bark effect, the tall windows let in a chilled late winter sun. The walls were also a dark brown colour

blending in with the wood. There was not much to look at in this room, which was why Mrs Claudio always had her class’s attention focused on the old dusty blackboard all of the time at the front of the class.

The more Chad looked around the more he had an overwhelming desire to burn everything in the room, he could feel the flames pump through his blood. His chest burned with delight where his heart should have been.

“Chad… Chad, are you alright?” Asked Brason, tired of repeating himself.

Chad blinked then answered coolly, “I just had a burning desire to crisp this room,” he laughed, mainly to himself.

“Ah right, ok, well anyway, what do you think about the tournament being held at the weekend?” Asked Brason sounding very eager.

“This weekend?” Chad raised an eyebrow, “I thought you would want time to practice?”

“I do, but I think three days will be enough. I’m gonna win this time,” replied Brason.

Chad kept his brow raised, “Fair enough, confidence doesn’t hurt anyone. But be warned, I won’t hold back. First heats will be in the morning.”

“That’s fine by me, one thing though, Chad.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

Brason was about to answer when the classroom door crashed open and a short plump woman gracefully swept in. Thick yellow curls fell short of her neck; she wore a frown that could have been close to smiling as sitting on a cactus. Mrs Claudio always walked with delicacy as if she could sweep over anything in her way. The classroom broke into silence instantly as Mrs Claudio made her way to the desk.

“Now class, do not stop on my account,” she said coolly, “Maybe you could share with me what was so importantly spoken rather than studying.”

There was a chorus of, “No, ma’am," and, “Sorry, ma’am.”

“Well then, shall we get on with today’s studies?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Right, is everyone wearing their gems?” Mrs Claudio stared directly at Chad as she spoke. He reluctantly pulled it out from under his shirt with a smirk to show he was. She glared at him in return.

Each mage, no matter of skill, had their own unique gem attached to ropes or chains around their necks. Chad’s was shaped like a flame. These gems controlled the magic flowing through the body, and it was important that it was worn at all times when not sleeping. Otherwise, magic could destroy the user and those around them. Chad had a more independent approach and tried to avoid wearing the gem where possible. His own personal view was that gems just got in the way of the user having full control of his or her magic.

Mrs Claudio faced the class, “We are going to start with the spherical orb…”

A chorus of moans and groans echoed around the room.

“…I know you all find this tedious but it is something that some of you still have trouble with.” Chad felt her gaze sweep over him again. “Now everyone, close your eyes and picture total darkness.”

Chad shuffled on his seat uncomfortably, he could hear, or possibly feel, others around him doing the same.

“Concentrate on the darkness, concentrate hard and the light will slowly peek through. Eyes shut, Miss Blackmore!” Mrs Claudio’s voice seemed to slowly fade as a small ray of light appeared in Chad’s dark space. The light came together to form a ball.

“Good… Good… Now concentrate… On the… Light… Everyone…”

The voice was gone, but Chad did not care, in front of him sat a large fascinating orb, a pure white ball glimmering in the darkness. He stared at it for a while before realising something was tapping on his right shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw a brilliant ball of fire floating in front of him. He could see Mrs Claudio looking at him from her desk then looked around to see Brason stood directly behind him. Other students were watching him too, including Tina Blackmore who clearly was confused as to why she did not have an orb. She showed more interest in his than anyone else. Many of the other students had beautiful white pearls floating in front of them. One by one they clicked their fingers and the orbs vanished.

Brason cleared his throat to tell Chad to do the same. Chad closed his eyes once more and saw the pearl floating in darkness then clicked his fingers to extinguish the flame.

“Extraordinary progress, everybody. I think you are all doing great,” Mrs Claudio beamed at the class, “Well done, vast improvement, Clare.” Clare Fennelstill beamed back delighted. Mrs Claudio then gave Chad an uneasy look, which he did not seem to notice, “Well done to you, young man, impressive display. Now let’s all try it again.”

For the rest of study Chad kept thinking back to that first orb. What was so fascinating about it? 'Pull yourself together, Wizardman,' thought Chad, 'It’s just a dumb ball.'

By the time Chad was walking through the brightly lit corridor he had forgotten all about the ‘dumb orb.’ Students nodded at him as they walked past. Others avoided him where possible; some even gave him a secret thumbs up, where you hold your thumb up and stick your little finger out indicating that a tournament of sorcery was going to be held and they were going to take part. A handshake of which Chad did not know whom started.

A white beam of light shot over Chad’s head from somewhere in front. He recognised the signature twists of the beam straight away. It happened again and again, 'Probably Rogue teaching fellow students her superior skills again,' he thought smiling to himself. Chad was the only one that thought Rogue Lee was strange; that kind of attention was usually on himself. Rogue had never been much of a reader of books, she usually picked up spells like fire burning through oil. Chad was the only one who thought it was bizarre that Rogue could do spells just as well as tutors after very few lessons. They were very good friends though and Rogue was one of few who did not flinch or scream at his fiery nature on first meeting him, which he had always been very grateful for. He followed the beams until he found her.

“Good morning, Chad,” smiled Rogue as happily as ever, “Is the halo still burning brightly?” she put her staff down and the glow faded.

'Halo?' He thought, 'Why does she like to talk in riddles?' “Does the wind still blow at your will?” Was his reply. Chad looked at Rogue expectantly. Her hair was blonde with a hint of hazel; it flowed down to her shoulders, her fringe nearly reaching her soft grey blue eyes. She had rose lips that could sweet talk anyone and she always smelled of honey. At seventeen she was beautiful but she was only a friend, a very good friend.

“Something bothering you, Chad Wizardman?”

“Me, no I’m fine. How was your trip?”

“If you call it a trip, I spent the night outside this enclosed city studying orc bones with Greg and Malk who would not shut up about the blooming ESS.”

“Oh right, how’s Greg’s training going? I heard he’s learning some fancy new trick.”

“Not bad, he seems pretty intent on the war reaching Souvanence very soon. I think Malk is preparing him for that nonsense now,” Rogue took a deep breath then drank some water from the silver pitcher on the desk; Chad did not even notice it there before.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“Those two are a little farfetched. Malk said it would never reach here. Still he likes to prepare for the worst.”

“Sooner or later we are going to be part of this fight. It’s possible it may come here rather than us go to it. I would like to be ready,” said Chad as calmly as possible.

Rogue smiled, she liked seeing her friend’s good side. Not many could say they have witnessed it. He was ready to die saving the people he knew, least of all, the ones he loved, “Well then, we better put extra effort into our training. I’m looking forward to the tournament.”

“You're going? You’ve never come before." Chad was shocked.

“Don’t worry, the tutors won’t find out about it. Besides, I heard you’re pretty much unbeatable,” smiled Rogue.

“Well yeah, I suppose I am in a way.”

“Good, I could do with a challenge after those two dimwits,” with that she left the room smiling.

“Oh Scenrio, I’m only one away from a straight ten,” said Chad aloud to himself, “This is gonna be tough.” He wondered if he should tell her that it had been moved to this weekend.

Chad had two hours until his next study. That was the best thing about being a higher-grade student. Pointless subjects were farther away than what they were for lower grade students. After that was music, a subject he took a liking to. Chad walked outside to get some fresh air, too many thoughts suddenly plunged into his head.

There was a war raging to the south; mages and soldiers were fighting bravely against the evil hordes of terror, led by the great Demon Lord, Lucrece. This war was the very reason why many of the mages were at the school, training for their part in the big battle to come. If the war were to reach the safe haven of Souvanence the results would be devastating. The thing that really disturbed Chad, even though he was not very popular among the older sorcerers, was that the likes of him and Rogue were being relied upon to one day lead squads, even armies, into battle.

The orb suddenly appeared in his mind again. He had seen the orb a thousand times before, but only today had it started playing in his head, as if trying to tell him something. Chad forced it out irritably.

He leant on the stone balcony and stared up at the two tall towers in front of him. The left one was the house of Yatzili, the other was the house of Scenrio. Students and tutors were split up into the two houses, each house had its own unique way of dealing with things. Firstly, Yatzili had a more offensive approach when it came to battles and magic. Scenrio opted for a more peaceful or political outcome if an outright attack could be avoided. It was the great God, Lizac Scenrio, who founded these houses. Together with his accomplice, the Dark Lord, Raigoll Yatzili. Both had fought wars and brought peace to Jerova before, and some await their return in the war fighting now.

Chad thumbed the fire gem around his neck; there was a shape of a Y engraved on the back showing he was from Yatzili. Rogue’s gem was a tooth, supposedly from some strange human-like creature known as a Banshee, a demon of death that travelled with the wind, although one had not been seen for hundreds of years.

A large plant sat in a pot on the wall beside him. The more he looked at the two towers and the cloudy sky, the more he thought about what awaited him in the not too distant future. The plant was getting hotter, but he barely noticed. It started to smoke. Chad glanced at the plant, sighed heavily and went back inside. The plant caught fire, it burnt quickly until there was nothing left but smouldering ash in the pot.

* * *

Later that day Greg Thornton and Malk Reece showed their passes to the guard at the Souvanence gate. No one was allowed to leave the city unless they had good reason to, or an Elite Sorcerers pass card. Malk had one; Greg had an apprentice sorcerer’s card, which meant he could leave with a tutor. Rogue had borrowed one from the school in order to do research out in the field. There were many foul creatures roaming the countryside of Jerova, it was no longer a safe place to be for even the most bravest of sorcerers. The Elite Sorcerers Squad (or ESS for short) were special; they had an array of weaponry and magic in their arsenal and could defeat many opponents without so much as splitting a hair.

Recently the ESS Split into two groups. One group, the majority ventured to the war in the South to offer their services. The rest remained in Souvanence, ready to protect the innocent and bring justice to those who broke the law.

Malk had been retired from the ESS for some time, although he was only forty-six, the ex-General led armies as far as Dekra’s frosty mountains and back in search of the Demon Lord, Lucrece. He now concentrated all of his time on training the young Greg Thornton. The kid that Malk believed would be a huge catalyst in the battles to come.

“Good fight back there wasn’t it, Malk?” Greg pushed his fingers through his jet-black hair, his eyes were also black. He liked to wear black clothes as well to match. Today he favoured a black cloak over a white jumper with black trousers and shoes.

“Good? That was careless. You jumping off that cliff into a horde of goblenites, sword swinging just to save me!” Barked Malk.

“It worked didn’t it?” Smiled Greg faintly, “I’m not going to let you die just yet! I haven’t finished my training.”

Malk turned to face Greg, “You are more ready than you know.” Malk studied him carefully, unsure whether shouting would really help or not, “Your friends are playing that game of yours this weekend. I suggest you get down there and show them what you have learnt today,” Malk pulled his own dark green coat over his shaven head and dispersed into a crowd of mages that did not appear to be there before.

Greg held onto the hilt of his sword, he felt pleased with his efforts in the rescue, 'Malk hasn’t been much of a talker lately.' He had to find out what was wrong with the man. 'How does he know about the tournament? No adult is supposed to be aware of it,' thought Greg briefly before also fading into the crowd and heading home. Why Chad would change the date and tell his mentor without notifying him baffled him.

* * *

One thing that calmed Chad was music. Being a natural born fire wizard affected himself as well as others. He had a fiery nature and could easily lose control of his temper if provoked. The principal of the school, Headmistress Avforin, studied Chad’s behaviour in his early years and introduced him to the piano. She told him to play it if he ever needed to clear his head of bad or unnecessary thoughts. The notes she played to him smoothed his mind and emptied his brain of unwanted troubles.

Chad learnt quickly, and enjoyed it more than he, or Avforin, thought he would. His favourite song was ‘Sun, shine on the sea.’ It was an old song, written by sailors on the Jerova sea back when it was safe to sail freely. He did not know why he liked that one, it was another of nature’s effects that he did not like large open spaces of water. He played it anyway when his head was full of stuff, like the war. Apart from Rogue, his friends found it hard to take it in that he, of all people, liked music. They accepted it eventually though and left him to it, ‘better him playing a piano than upsetting students,’ most would say.

The music room was enormous. There were three large grand pianos sat in the centre, with hundreds of strange wooden and brass instruments scattered around them on strongly built metal stands. Chad played one last song before the bell rang and the school closed for the day, ‘Moon in a wine glass,’ it was called.

There was a knock at the door and thick brown hair peaked through, “Are you ready, Chad? Time to go,” said Kirsten. Her brown eyes glistened.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go,” Chad stood up and closed the lid on the piano and walked to the door.

“You’re getting better with that thing. Does it still help you relax?” Asked Kirsten.

“It helps me take my mind off things,” replied Chad, “Let’s go now, I don’t wanna spend any more time in this place than I have to,” he smiled at Kirsten and put an arm around her. They left the school and walked home together.

* * *

By nighttime, the clouds had faded and the stars shone brightly. Rogue Lee listened carefully to the light wind outside her window, the dancing crickets in the grass, and the distant waterfall from the river that flowed straight through the centre of the city. She liked to listen to the sound of nature; the wind is where most of her power came from. It seemed respectful that she listened to it sing and dance whenever it blew.

Rogue fell to sleep easily that night, she had a way of pushing out the thoughts of war and other bad things if there was nothing at the present time she could do about them.

Rogue opened her eyes. She was standing in an open field, in her school uniform. The sun was shining brightly. There was no one else around, no humans, birds or insects. The sky was cloudless and the grass was as rich and green as ever. “Hello!” Rogue called, “What am I doing here?” She took a few steps but felt it was pointless. She knew no one or no thing was around.

“Rogue!” The scream came from far away.

'That sounds like Kirsten,' thought Rogue. She started running to what she thought was the location of Kirsten. It seemed useless though. The grass stretched for miles, and there were hardly any trees or hedgerows around. Rogue ran as hard as she could, but it did not feel like she was getting any closer to anything.

Rogue stopped suddenly, she never heard the scream again; in fact, she was not even sure she heard it the first time. She looked down at the ground beneath her feet and was shocked to see a pile of bones lying there. The orc bones she had studied at the camp with Greg, “What in Scenrio is going on?” She asked herself.

As Rogue studied the bones she felt the thin string around her neck loosen at the knot, she tried to grab it with her hand but it was gone, her gem had disappeared. Rogue jumped up quickly and noticed that her clothes had changed too. She now wore long ivory robes with a symbol of a rose laced on the front. A cool breeze blew softly under her silky garments, waiting to be called upon into battle. She could taste the sweetness of magic on her tongue and on her fingertips, flowing through her veins and touching the tips of her hair. The wonderful sensation surrounded her, making her one with the wind; it danced around her legs, waiting for a command. Rogue laughed, she possessed power beyond belief, but there appeared to be no use for it at all in this deserted baron of green grassy fields.

A figure appeared in the corner of her eye, she spun around to get a better look. The wind around her evaporated until she could feel nothing. The strange humanoid creature wore a dark cloak, covering it completely. It had its back to Rogue and just stood there motionless. Rogue tried frantically to feel the wind again but nothing came. She reached for her gem under her new robes, forgetting that it had already disappeared. The orc skull suddenly appeared in her hand, she flinched, “Wh-who are you?” She asked bravely. The robed figure did not answer, “My name is Ro-”

“I know you’re name, young mage,” it said suddenly. It had a male voice so Rogue assumed he was a man. “They are coming,” he spoke coolly, “Warn the others,” he began to walk away from her.

“What? Who? Who is coming?” Shouted Rogue. The robed man did not answer. He picked up speed and vanished behind a tree, “Who’s coming?” Asked Rogue softly. The robes she wore also vanished and were quickly replaced by her school uniform. The gem appeared in her hand, the S for Scenrio dug into her palm; she felt the pressure and knew there was a mark but thought nothing of it.

Rogue closed her eyes then opened them again. She was back in her room. The winter sun shone faintly through the clouds, the wind was chillier than usual of late. Her gem hung above the bed on a hook, there was no mark on her palm. Rogue’s five foot ivory staff with a rose entwined inside the head sat undisturbed by the window, ‘Catching the wind’ as Rogue liked to call it.

“It was a dream… A strange dream,” she said wonderingly as she got up to wash and dress. As she combed her hair, Rogue suddenly remembered the beautiful robes she wore, then the figure she met whilst wearing them, 'Warn the others, they are coming,' the voice whispered in her head. Rogue dismissed the voice immediately. She hated her imagination in the mornings, she felt that was when people were most vulnerable

to the power of their own minds. She picked up her staff and jumped out of the window to head to school. She did not feel like eating breakfast that morning.

* * *