Ghost read the letter again with bitter disbelief. The Feast of Shadows, in his honor? It had to be a mistake. In his decade as a member of Solaria’s most notorious assassin’s guild, he’d attended the event only once.
This honor had all the dark machinations of a doublecross.
The letter was signed by the leader of the Unknown Souls, Kang, who had assured Ghost that he deserved it. The letter stated that Ghost’s dedication to the craft and to the fundamentals of the guild were something to be championed.
After the Feast of Shadows, Ghost would move to the rank of Shadowed Hand, which would give him access to elite contracts usually involving high-ranking officials. Nothing wrong with more money. But while it seemed like the next logical step, Ghost couldn’t shake his suspicions.
He rarely could.
This was why he got into a carriage bound for the outskirts of Solaria’s merchant district with a plan. Ghost would arrive at the event early and scan the building to look for an alternate exit. Once the Feast of Shadows started, he would let the other assassins eat first, and he wouldn’t drink anything at all aside from the wineskin he brought, which was filled with water.
Like usual, Ghost had his blade with him, the one gifted from his teacher, as well as throwing knives, and leather gloves with hidden reinforcements in the knuckles. He also had a couple of smoke bombs. Ghost had one more item, a final trick up his proverbial sleeve.
But he hoped it wouldn’t come to that…
After a long ride, one interrupted by the crowded streets of the capital city, Ghost arrived several blocks away from the restaurant.
Before stepping out of the carriage, Ghost adjusted his dark robes and collar that obscured the bottom half of his face. He looked out over the hilled city of Solaria, the largest in all of Dawncrest, and saw blue flashes in the distance from a battledeck academy. Ghost assumed these were preliminary mage trials. To his knowledge, the academies weren’t set to open for another week.
Ghost checked the restaurant. He located an alternate exit through a large rooftop window that was opened for ventilation. This would allow him to move to another rooftop, and from there to a courtyard, where he planned to park his carriage.
While no one was looking, he arranged some crates to make jumping down from the roof easier. Ghost placed a smoke bomb here as well, just in case he needed to access it quickly.
Once he was ready, sure that no one saw him, Ghost returned to the carriage. “The courtyard,” he said as he pointed his finger to the location in question. “Wait for me there.”
The driver, a thin man named Stuart who doubled as his assistant, nodded grimly. Next to Stuart was the mask that Ghost would wear later for the ceremony, as was tradition. “Do you plan to be long, my Lord?” Stuart asked as he handed Ghost the mask.
“I don’t yet know.” Ghost got back in the carriage and relaxed. Once his mask was on, he placed his hand over his chest, directly over the Card of Rebirth that was buried deep within his soul.
Later that night, as Ghost was betrayed by Kang and the rest of the Unknown Souls, as he was brutally killed by the other assassins through a type of Dracolich treachery that he hadn’t planned for, Ghost would die without fear.
Ghost would die knowing that he would be reborn.
And once he surfaced again, the Unknown Souls would pay dearly for what they had done.
****
Alistair Blackstar clenched his fists at his side. Just a few hours from now, he would encounter a very angry, and very recently murdered assassin named Ghost. But there was no way for him to know that at the moment.
“This is it,” Alistair said under his breath. “Time to prove yourself.”
Alistair stood with a group of would-be mages at the edge of an expansive forest near the mid-kingdom city of Lumina. Alistair knew he didn’t belong here. But fate had played its hand, and Alistair now had a chance to attend the prestigious Lumina Battledeck Academy.
His invitation letter was in the front pocket of his hooded black jacket, the parchment stained from his fingerprints after reading it numerous times.
Alistair still didn’t know how he had been selected, and he didn’t know why. An invitation like this hadn’t never happened before.
He opened the letter and read it again:
Alistair Blackstar,
You have been selected to attend the Lumina Battledeck Academy’s entrance exam in one week’s time. Please meet at the north gate of the Lumina Forest directly outside of the city of Lumina, where you will receive further instruction and begin the trial. Clothing, lodging, food, and Fledgling wands will be provided.
The exam will consist of two parts. Best of luck to you.
Provost Eldora Weaver
An address, a date, and a time were given, but nothing else. The words seemed to quiver on the page every time Alistair read them, a feat only made stranger by the voice that read it in his head.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The letter was clearly augmented by mana.
Alistair was just about to put the letter away when a legacy candidate shouldered up next to him. These candidates came from Dawncrest’s famous Houses. They were easily identified by the brooches they wore, each bearing House’s distinctive coat of arms.
“Who are you?” the boy asked, his eyes tracing over Alistair’s clothing in search of a coat of arms.
“Alistair Blackstar.”
“Alistair Blackstar?” It was a moment before the other boy spoke. “My brother told me about people like you. It’s the first year they’re doing this at the academy. People aren’t happy.”
Alistair didn’t know what to tell the boy.
“I’m Laertes Undergast by the way. Perhaps you’ve heard of my House.”
Alistair looked Laertes over. The two youths were polar opposites, Alistair with his choppy black hair; Laertes with his long, golden locks. Alistair was thin and hunched forward a bit; Laertes had wide shoulders and a slightly muscled form.
Polar opposites.
Alistair wore all black, and while his clothing was clean, it was threadbare in places and patched in others. Laertes confidently wore an outfit made especially for the entrance exam, one that was custom tailored to his body and featured silk accents. Then there was also his deep, velvety black cloak and the Undergast coat of arms, which featured a pair of lions in combat.
Laertes leaned in closer. “You’re one of the orphans, aren’t you?” He looked out at the other candidates and pointed to a girl with silver hair. “Hey, look, another one like you.” The girl was in a simple dress that looked like a set of robes, with no cloak and certainly no coat of arms.
A sudden glint at the treeline’s edge halted Laertes mid-sentence. The flash of mana swept across the forest, bathing the trees in a mystical luminescence.
“Good, you are all here,” came a new voice.
The candidates moved to the side to allow a man to pass through their ranks to the front. The man was wrapped in what appeared to be a blanket. It covered his body like a cacoon.
The newcomer raised a single hand and offered them a lackluster wave. “Hello, all. My name is Professor Meadris Humboldt. You may call me Humboldt or Professor. But not Professor Humboldt. That name is too long for my taste, and by the time you say it, I generally have lost interest. Now, now, now,” he said on the tail end of a yawn. “I will be conducting the entrance exam over the next several days, I’m glad you could make it, welcome.”
A few of the students fidgeted nervously.
“As you likely know, of five main battledeck academies, the Lumina Battledeck Academy is known for its experiential, and dare I say, experimental approach to learning about resonant mana.” Humboldt forced a grin that seemed to focus on Alistair. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
Wands appeared in the air. The floating wands circled around Humboldt as if they were soldiers on patrol. One of the candidates at the front reached out for a wand.
“Not yet. I will handle wand distribution, thank-you-very-much. You are all officially Fledglings. Congratulations are in order. Some of you will only make it this far, but at least you can say that you were once a Fledgling, even if it was for a fleeting weekend. And what is more important in our world than unnecessary titles? While some of you may have shown predisposition to mana, you likely do not know how to use a wand as a conduit.”
“I know how to use a wand,” Laertes said, the boy elbowing Alistair.
Humboldt gave him a sour look. “And I know how to tie my boot, Undergast. Actually, I do not wear boots, I prefer sandals, but you get the point. Your new Fledgling wands will come loaded with powers you will need for the trial to come. Please, take your wand and observe the powers that you now have access to. The system will guide you from there. First, you’ll see something like this.”
Magic words formed in the air in front of the professor:
{Ethereal Net} [2/2]
{Mystic Lure} [5/5]
{Resonance Pulse} [10/10]
{Arcane Snare} [1/1]
{Nova Strike} [1/1]
“You’ll then be presented with your base stats.”
“Base stats?” Alistair whispered.
The wands lowered in front of the candidates. Alistair touched his wand and nothing happened. The other teens mumbled as their wands seemingly activated.
Alistair squeezed his wand.
Nothing.
The professor continued: “Now, these powers should be self-explanatory, but I have been instructed to explain them to you anyway. Ethereal Net is what you will use to catch your summon. Mystic Lure will allow you to lure out your summon. Resonance Pulse is an attack spell, think low level damage here. Arcane Snare is a trap that you can set to capture your summon. And Nova Strike is an attack spell, think high level damage here.”
Kraak!
One of the candidates released a bolt of energy. It struck a tree and instantly caught it on fire. Annoyed, Humboldt turned toward the tree and absorbed the fire into the palm of his hand, leaving the limbs of the tree black.
“Sorry, Professor,” said a boy at the front.
Humboldt squinted at him. “Ah, Juniper Stonewind, it seems.”
The boy cleared his throat. “Juno, please.”
Humboldt had already moved on by this point. “Anyway, as you all can tell, some of us are already off to a rocky start.” He gestured to the tree. “An attack like that will likely slay your potential summon, and we can’t have that. Only fire at the summon if it is too strong and the creature could kill you. Which brings me to my next point. While {Nova Strike} can only be used once, there are recharge obelisk within the Glades of Experience—”
“The what?” asked the silver-haired girl, the one with no House affiliation. “That’s the Lumina Forest. That’s what it said in the letter.”
“Do not interrupt m—”
“Sorry.”
Humboldt’s right eye twitched as he looked the girl over. “Zola Landvik.”
“Yes, Professor!” she said with determination and a hint of nervousness.
“Landvik. Mind yourself.” Humboldt swept his hand toward the forest. “Behind me are the Glades of Experience. That is what they’re called during the trial. Yes, they are normally your average forest outside of our dear academy, but today, and tomorrow, and the next day, if you’re taking your sweet time, that is not the case. You will capture your first summon in the form of a Resonant Card in the Glades of Experience. Successfully capturing a summon will be the first step in joining your Fledgling coterie. What comes next? No, don’t tell us,” he said to both Juno and Laertes who looked like they wanted to talk. “You all can find that out later.”
“And if we fail?” Alistair suddenly felt as if he was the only one that had spoken up to this point. He dug himself a bit deeper. “I mean, if we fail to capture a summon. What happens then?”
Some of the students murmured. Humboldt waited until they were finished to answer this question: “Alistair Blackstar. If you fail to capture a summon, you won’t be admitted to the Lumina Battledeck Academy. It’ll be back to…” He looked like he was about to say orphanage but he changed the word last second. “Back to your home.”
“Understood, Professor.”
“Capture a summon first and we will go from there. I was going to provide further instruction, but you know what?” Humboldt grinned at the group as a portal opened up beside him. “I think I’ll hold back for now. If you are gravely injured, fire your wand at the sky. Remember, there are recharge obelisks and sanctuary zones where you can rest in the forest. I’d give you a map, but that would make this too easy. The Glades of Experience are all yours, Fledglings, good luck! Hopefully some of you make it.
Humboldt stepped into the portal, energy rippling all around him. He turned back to the potential students and offered them a grim smile. “Try not to die.”