A solid rock, twice the size of the average human, exploded into a thousand pieces. Dorvan grinned, his hand outstretched, and a dozen similar rocks exploded moments later. His power was growing quickly. He had become much stronger since arriving here, and all the students were growing more powerful by the day.
Next to him was Aurora, her attention focused as the ground and the large boulders next to her all exploded at once. Her power was far beyond his and that of any other student. Dorvan suspected she might be stronger than Qidan himself. She did a lot of training in private, with no one coming close to her power at this little... He didn’t even know what to call it. Academy? Despite all their time here, nobody had come up with an official name. The closest was calling this place the academy, but that didn’t seem right either.
“Dorvan, you’re against Tol'Solie,” Qidan said.
“Yes, sir,” Dorvan replied, snapping out of his thoughts. Dueling against fellow students was exciting. The first time he had done this, it had been terrifying. Qidan watched each duel closely, making sure to intervene before someone could get killed or seriously injured.
Tol'Solie was around his skill level, though sometimes he wondered if she was holding back. She acted clueless at times, but he couldn’t tell if it was an act or not. Dorvan felt the power flowing in his veins. That invincible feeling made him think he could do anything. Each breath was exhilarating. Tol'Solie was on the shorter side and was in her mid-twenties. Dorvan could feel the power flowing within her.
“You know the rules. Begin!” Qidan commanded.
Dorvan focused the power around his feet and put up a protective barrier, preventing Tol'Solie from blowing the ground out from under him. At the same time, he focused on multiple points around his opponent and attacked. Aurora had used this technique on him a couple of weeks ago, and it had taken him this long to learn how she did it.
The result was the same. Tol'Solie tried to prepare a defense but couldn’t and was pummeled by invisible blows all over her body. Dorvan stopped when he saw Tol'Solie kneel. When Aurora had done that to him, he had felt like a group of fists had pummeled him endlessly.
“Well done. Aurora, you’ll face Dorvan and Khalia at the same time,” Qidan announced.
If Tol'Solie was disappointed in her loss, she didn’t show it. She got to her feet, rubbing her chest, and returned to her position next to the other students.
No rest for the weary. Dorvan thought. Not that he was surprised; Qidan pushed them all to their limits and beyond. He was serious about them being used in the upcoming war. He took his stance, glancing over at Khalia as she stood next to him. Aurora was calm as ever, her dark red eyes fixed on them, standing completely still.
Power swirled around Aurora like an ocean. He wondered how many power users it would take to overpower her. “Begin!” Qidan commanded.
Dorvan and Khalia attacked at once. Dorvan focused on the ground, while Khalia launched flames from her hands. Aurora raised her left hand, and the flames evaporated as if they had never existed, and the ground didn’t budge an inch. She motioned with her hands, and large chunks of dirt erupted from the ground, flying at them both.
Khalia tried to destroy the dirt and was unsuccessful as an invisible shield protected it and slammed into her chest, sending her to the ground. More dirt converged on her, binding her legs, feet, head, and torso to the ground. She struggled with all her might and couldn’t use her power to free herself, then slumped to the ground as a white mist began dripping on her face.
At the same time, Dorvan attempted to dodge the first attack, but an invisible force smashed into his stomach, sending him flying toward the ground. He tried to sever the invisible grip and it was like hitting a stone wall. Nothing happened, and he was quickly overpowered, forced to the ground, much like Khalia.
“Enough!” Qidan said.
The force disappeared from Dorvan’s body, and he gasped for air. Sweat was dripping down his face, and he looked up at Aurora, who appeared as if she hadn’t even tried. “You’ve got a fifteen-minute break; enjoy it,” Qidan said and walked away.
The students watching the duels began talking among each other, while Dorvan leaned back and sat down properly. Aurora took a seat next to him. “Nice fight. You almost broke out of my grip this time,” she said.
Dorvan laughed. “That was more one-sided than last time. How do you do it? You learn all these techniques so quickly; I don’t get it.”
“It’s focus,” Aurora said, leaning back. “The power is a wonderful thing. It's like this was my destiny, and a part of me was missing before.”
“What did you do before?”
“I was working for an innkeeper. Feels like a lifetime ago now,” Aurora said. She turned to him, her face breaking out into a big grin, and got up. “You should get something to drink. We have a lot of training to do.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Dorvan agreed, standing up. He was about to move when Aurora bumped into him and almost fell.
“Jeez, almost knocked myself over,” Aurora said, giggling. They walked over and drank some water.
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The cool liquid was relieving, and Dorvan felt his energy start to come back. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until now. “Could you describe to me how you approach a new technique?”
“Of course,” Aurora replied, her expression changing from happy to serious, her tone unnaturally calm. “The first thing I do is calm myself. The power reacts to our emotions, but it makes it harder to control. I find I am at my most powerful when I’m in control of my emotions. Let me show you something.”
Red lines appeared ten feet away from them, circling them, and then giant flames erupted from the ground, surrounding them where they stood. The heat was intense, and Dorvan stared in awe at how easily Aurora had summoned the flames. A few seconds later, the fire disappeared, and the ground looked untouched.
Her expression returned, and she gave him a sly smile. “That’s how I approach the power. If you can get to that state of mind, you’ll do incredible things,” Aurora said.
“That’s amazing,” Dorvan said, shaking his head as he stared at her. “Does it ever bother you that some of the students resent you?”
“No,” Aurora said. She took a seat, and Dorvan joined her. “Pillapine is resented for her lack of skills, yet she doesn’t seem to mind. No matter how good or bad you are, someone will dislike you. That’s something I learned a long time ago. Wasting your energy on other people’s thoughts is a waste of time. I want to get as powerful as possible. That way I can help people and hopefully drive the invaders back to where they came from.”
“I’m sure you will. You’re too strong not to,” Dorvan said.
Aurora opened her mouth, then shut it, her expression growing serious once again as she turned to the left. “Someone opened a portal.”
“What?” Dorvan looked in the same direction and felt the same thing. He stood up and saw a man, wearing a crown and dressed in fancy clothing, walk towards Qidan. That had to be King Talon. The first students to arrive liked to talk about Talon and how he could use the power, but this was the first time Dorvan was seeing him.
Qidan nodded his head and turned away from Talon, beginning to speak to each of the students. Aurora grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the mage, who turned to them as they approached. “Spread the word to meet in the courtyard. We’re having a meeting,” Qidan said and walked off to tell the next students.
A meeting? Did the invaders attack? Dorvan wondered. He, along with a bunch of other students, began pouring into one area. On top of a rock, which looked like it had been moved, was Talon. He was looking over each of the students as if judging them. Dorvan felt nothing from the king, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t strong.
“Wow,” Aurora said quietly.
“What?” Dorvan asked.
“The king, he’s very powerful,” Aurora said.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“I do. Trust me when I say that he’s strong.”
There were roughly fifty or so students gathered now. Dorvan didn’t think anyone was missing, and Qidan said something to Talon. Then he felt the power gather around Talon and almost gasped. Aurora wasn’t exaggerating; Talon was powerful, easily stronger than Aurora. If the king was this strong, how powerful were the mages of Mortham Tower?
“Greetings. I am Talon, king of Azzellia. I am the reason you are gathered here, learning how to use the power.”
So, it is true. Dorvan looked at the others and saw excitement from a few of the students. Most of them had probably never seen a king before, and here they were being spoken to by one. He worried about Talon’s true intentions with this group of power users. Eventually, Mortham Tower would discover them, and what would they do? Go to war with the most powerful power users alive?
“We’ve grown much since I started, and I expect to get more of you shortly. We will be the guardians of Aidris since the mages of Mortham Tower won’t be. That is why you come from various nations. I anticipate great things from all of you in the war to come. That being said, there will come a time when the mages discover us. I hope we are big enough to prevent any conflict, but the future is uncertain. I can only hope no conflict happens between us, as that would benefit the invaders greatly,” Talon stopped, clasping both arms behind his back.
This was reassuring. Dorvan found himself letting out a sigh of relief. Talon wasn’t using them for some secret agenda, at least from what he could tell. The king sounded sincere about wanting to protect the continent. That was all he could ask for. The other students were listening intently, and nobody else was so much as uttering a word.
“I think it’s time we come up with a name for you all. I’ve thought long and hard about this and read up a bit on our history. Before Mortham Tower, when all the nations had their own mages, we called ours Ashtari. I am bringing that name back. When you are ready, you will be promoted from a student to Ashtari and stand as one of the most powerful power users alive. I hope that you all can achieve the rank of Ashtari. I want you all to work hard, for you’ll need all the practice you can get before the war begins. That is all I have to say for today,” Talon finished.
From what Dorvan could tell, the king meant every word he spoke. That was relieving, though time would tell how Talon would use them. The other students began talking to one another excitedly, and Qidan spoke with Talon for a few moments before the king created a portal and vanished from sight.
“King Talon is exactly what the world needs,” Aurora said.
“You can say that again,” Khalia added. “It’s been far too long since we’ve had a great king.”
Dorvan said nothing and listened to the others speaking. Nobody had anything ill to say, at least regarding Talon’s speech. Some were disappointed they weren’t going to war with Mortham Tower. The fools didn’t realize how costly that would be for both sides, even if the mages somehow lost.
“You’ll be our greatest Ashtari,” Dorvan said to Aurora and almost laughed when he saw her blush. It was hard to get a reaction like that from her.
“That’s my goal right now. To become an Ashtari,” Aurora said, clenching her right fist. The blush faded away. “You’ll be one too, you know. You might not see it, but I can tell you’ll do great things.”
It was his turn to blush, though Dorvan was able to hide his a bit better than her. “I hope so.”
“I have a job for you,” Qidan said, appearing out of nowhere and almost causing Dorvan to jump.
“What do you want us to do?” Dorvan asked.
“You, Aurora, Khalia, Tol’Solie, and Lewis are going to work on a special prison that can hold a power user. I have a book that you’ll follow,” Qidan took the book out of his inner robe and handed it to Dorvan. “If you have any trouble, let me know.”
“Why do we need a prison?” Dorvan asked.
“Never know what will happen. Besides, Talon wants one created,” Qidan said.
“Understood,” Aurora said.
“Get to it,” Qidan said and walked away.
Dorvan opened the book and felt his face pale. This wasn’t going to be easy. The instructions were detailed enough and described what the result should be. Any person in this prison wouldn’t be able to access the power. The technique looked complex and would take a lot of effort from the four of them.
“This looks fun,” Aurora said. “You ready to begin?”
He looked at her and nodded. This was going to be a good experience, and besides, it must be a good sign that Qidan entrusted him and the others to build this prison. Perhaps he would be an Ashtari sooner than he thought.