Hello everyone, here is the next chapter. I tried to fix the spacing problems. I hope you guys enjoy it! If you guys do like my story please, please, rate it, (the more ratings the better). Thanks for everything guys! :D
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Volume 1-Memories
Chapter 1-The Black Medal:
“Sorin, we’re stopping,” Matt gently shook Sorin’s shoulder.
Sorin opened his sleepy eyes and looked out the carriage window. They had been traveling with the Black Tower’s caravan since this morning and though they were supposed to arrive at sunset, the caravan had come into the town of Toira late; hence they would arrive late to the Tower.
As Sorin looked up at the sky he noted the position of the twin moons. Judging by the angle it was about 9 o’clock at night. Sorin turned towards Matt, “Have we finally arrived?” Because Sorin was a part of the Vei noble family, he was able to ride in his carriage with the rest of the caravan. Unlike the commoners who had to be in cramp wagons. Sorin had let Matt stay in the carriage with him.
“No, I think we’re stopping for dinner. Which is good because, I’m quite hungry.” Matt said happily.
Sorin sighed inwardly, he was anxious to arrive at the Tower already. He had skipped his magic and physical training and slept the whole ride simply to conserve his energy for the entrance test.
“Matt, did you get any sleep on the ride here?” Sorin asked as the two walked out of the carriage.
“None, I was too excited. My family has no history of spell casters, so it was a surprise for everyone that I passed the sensing test. If I can do well in the Tower I can bring wealth to my family,’’ Matt smiled. “Who knows I might be able to become a noble like you.”
“You do know that the entrance test will be difficult and you’ll need all the energy you can get.” Sorin whispered, as he watched all the possible students get out of the wagons.
“Yeah, you told me but, I just wasn’t able to get any rest. I think I’ll be fine though.” Matt smiled again.
He was always smiling, never getting down about anything; a man without a care in the world. But he was loyal to a fault, so Sorin was happy to have him as a friend in the Tower that would obviously be filled with dangers.
Matt conspicuously leaned towards Sorin and whispered, “Hey I know you told me about the entrance test but, don’t you think the others should know as well?”
Sorin stepped away from Matt and said, “My grandmother told me about the test, so I could I have an advantage over the others. Why should I tell anyone else about the test.”
“But, I feel bad for them. I mean they must be so relieved that they passed the sensing test, and they all think they’re going to be students now,” Matt frowned, “None of them know that there is one more test before actually joining the Tower.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Sorin said cheerfully as his slave went to fetch dinner. His grandmother, Sola, had given him two slaves to accompany him throughout his four years of training at the Tower. One male, who drove the carriage and who would
do any of the manual labor that would be needed. The other was a female, who would take care of any domestic needs. She was the one who had just gone to get Sorin and Matt’s food.
As Sorin watched his slave he noticed a peculiar carriage a way’s off. The carriage was the color black and had designs of green dragons etched across its entirety. Sorin had a hunch of what kind of person was in that carriage.
“Matt, you’ll have to eat without me,” Sorin said as he walked to the carriage.
“Hey wait! What about me?” Matt called out.
“Eat with the slaves,” Sorin shouted back.
As he neared the carriage two guards stepped forward and blocked Sorin’s way. A young woman, stepped out of the carriage, and haughtily looked down at Sorin.
“And who might you be?” The woman asked with an air of regalness.
As Sorin looked at her his suspicions became certain. The woman had pale white skin, to the point that it looked as if she was undead. Her eyes were a soft emerald. She had an oval face, which was complimented by her dark green hair. All in all she gave off an exotic deathly yet beautiful look. Her hair was in an intricate hair style held by two distinct hair pins.
Each pin was a long needle, half an inch diameter, with a dragon spiraling around it. The pins were colored soft green, jade, to be exact.
Sorin made a half bow towards the young woman, with his right hand extended outwards. “My name is Sorin Vei. I greet you, princess of the Jade family.”
The young woman looked at the black ring that was on the bowing man’s right hand. The ring was in the shape of a rose. It was the symbol of the Vei family, just as her hair pins were the symbol of the Jade family.
The woman smiled and called the guards off, “I welcome you Sorin. My name is Nefritis Jade. Please, have dinner with me. That should give us plenty of time to get acquainted.”
Sorin looked up and smiled, “It’d be my pleasure.”
As Sorin and Nefritis ate they spoke of their trip to the black Tower. Nefritis had been traveling with Tower caravan for over a week. She had joined them from the capital city Loi, it was where all the great noble families resided, including the Jade family.
The nobility was divided into two groups, the first were normal noble families like Sorin’s family. These families tended to live in different towns and cities all around the kingdom of Zance, normally ruling wherever they lived. Sorin’s family was an example of this.
Sorin’s father, who married into the family, was the mayor of the town of Toira, while Sorin’s grandmother, Sola, actually ruled the town. Every noble family had a symbol and each member of the family wore a specific kind of accessory to show they belonged to nobility. The Vei family’s symbol was a black rose, and each member wore an obsidian ring in the shape of a rose. Sorin looked at Nefritis, the Jade family used jade hairpins in the shape of dragons to show that they were part of the Jade family.
Nefritis was the second type of noble. She was a part of a great family. The great families were the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful families in all of Zance. There were only seven families but each of them was known to produce incredibly powerful spell casters. Many of those spell casters sat on the Obsidian council, the council which ruled all the kingdom of Zance.
Each of the great families had so many members that they made a way to be able discern if someone was a part of the main or branch family. A branch member of the Jade family wore only one hair pin, while a main family member wore two. Though Zance didn’t have a king or a royal family, the main members of the great families were customarily called princes or princesses.
Nefritis, being part of the main family, could potentially become a powerful ally. Or so Sorin thought.
“Sorin do you know of the entrance test?” Nefritis asked.
At the moment Sorin and Nefritis were sitting a ways off from the rest of the caravan, eating by themselves.
“Yes my lady, I know of the test.” Sorin responded politely.
“That’s good, we nobles have to stick together you know. Honestly, I’m so glad I met you. Though there are more than a hundred of us here, I was the only noble,” Nefritis smiled, “Until I met you of course.”
Sorin smiled, “I know exactly how you feel.” Though Sorin didn’t particularly care if someone was a noble or a commoner, he played along with Nefritis’ views.
“Though even I don’t know what the entrance test will be this year, I hope all those commoners fail,” Nefritis grinned maliciously. Sorin thought she looked cute, but he didn’t say anything.
After eating they said their goodbyes, headed back to their carriages. As Sorin waited in the carriage for Matt to finish his meal, Sorin opened up a chest that was under his seat. Just in case, Sorin thought.
After a few minutes the caravan continued to move to their destination.
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Only an hour later did they stop, Sorin looked at the blackened ground devoid of any life. From the stories he heard, he knew they had arrived at the Black Tower.
As Sorin and Matt got out, they noticed that all the participants were being rounded up into small groups by the Tower spell casters who had accompanied them.
“Alright everyone,” the casters shouted, “When you joined the caravan you were each given a small wooden token. Each token has a number on it, your job is to group up with the other three people with the same number as you. Once you have done this you will all follow me.”
“Well, I’ll see you in a bit,” Matt smiled nervously.
Sorin nodded and patted his best friend on the shoulder, “You’ll do fine, I promise.”
As they split up, Sorin went to find his group. The first member he found was a shy tall girl. Her name was Priscilla. Honestly, she looked more worried than anything. Then again, being a commoner she had no idea what was about to happen.
The second member Sorin found, was slightly upsetting. The man was tall like Priscilla, but he was also broad shouldered and had strong muscles covering his body. He called himself the Crimson Sword. The problem was the tattoo on his face. In Zance, the only people who had tattoos on their faces were thugs and thieves, the rabble of society.
Sorin was delighted when he saw that Nefritis was the last member of the group. They smiled as they saw each other. Though Nefritis kept giving Priscilla and Crimson Sword looks of hate. Something that Crimson Sword was giving back and surprisingly, so was Priscilla.
Once everyone had completed their groups they followed the Tower spell casters. After a few minutes they were led into a depression in the earth. It was about thirty feet deeps and a couple hundred square feet large. As they arrived they noticed that a couple of Tower spell casters were waiting for them. One of the new spell casters addressed the group.
“You may all call me Administrator, if you prove yourself worthy, I will tell you my name,” the spell caster shouted.
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The Administrator had snow white hair though he only looked to be in his forties. His brown skin was like papyrus and it was pulled tight around his face and his eyes were sunken into his skull, he would have looked like a corpse if it wasn’t for his sapphire eyes that flared with life.
“Survive at whatever the cost; for once you are dead you cease to exist. All your dreams of being something great vanish. All that is left is a corpse. Once you die you are but an object waiting to be used by some death spell caster. And believe me, that is the last thing you want. This is the advice that was given to me as I entered this Tower and I give it to you now,” the Administrator warned.
“I will be giving all of you the entrance test and this year’s test will be a bit special,” the Administrator smiled.
Whispers could be heard as the groups began to freak out with the sudden news.
“Now you may have thought that simply because you passed the sensing test that you are automatically Tower spell casters. You’re wrong. The sensing test was simply to tell if you were able to become a spell caster. The test you are about to take is to see if you are worthy of becoming a member of the Black Tower,” the Administrator looked around.
“The test is simple,” the administrator explained. The depression where they were all at was separated into different sections, one section per team. Every section had 20 foot spires all around the grounds. Each spire had a silver medal at its tip. The goal was to climb the spires and grab the silver medal.
Once you had four medals you would go to the other end of the grounds where the Administrator was waiting. Once you reached him you had passed.
“Each of you will be given a silver medal to start with. You will have ten minutes for the test. The first team to pass the test will have the best room on your floor of the Tower along with access to the entire library, not just the 1st year’s limited access.”
“However every person on the team must have four medals in order to pass. But don’t worry if you fail the test. Since this year’s test is special, as long as you’re not dead last you will still enter the Tower, just with fewer privileges.”
So it wasn’t really an entrance test, more like a contest. People who passed had an advantage over the rest, while the first place winners had a significant advantage.
Sorin recalled Sola telling him that the Black Tower was unfair and unbalanced in many ways. He was beginning to understand what his grandmother meant.
“Ah, yes. I almost forgot,” the Administrator smiled. “Each section has a spire twice as tall as the others. That spire has a black medal on its tip. Whoever gets the black medal doesn’t need any other medal to pass nor will he need the rest of his team to have medals, to pass.”
Sorin widened his eyes in shock. Everyone looked at the tall spires that were placed in each section. As Sorin looked around he noticed the greed in everyone’s eyes.
“Any questions?” The Administrator.
Everyone stood silent; the rules were pretty straightforward after all. Or maybe they kept quiet because of the intimidating aura that the Administrator was giving off.
A single person raised their hand.
The Administrator raised his eyebrow, “Yes, do have any questions?”
“Just one,” Sorin said. “Who will be on each team?”
“Obviously the people who you are in a group with already,” The Administrator responded somewhat irritated.
Sorin nodded in understanding.
Another spell caster shouted, “All right everyone go to your sections and get ready. The test will begin at the sound of the horn.”
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Sorin’s team went to their section. Sorin trailed behind them in thought.
“Why did I have to be stuck with commoners,” Nefritis said complained.
“I hate spoiled noble brats like you,” said Crimson Sword, “Though if you behave well, I might give you a treat,” he smiled lecherously.
“Pig, after this test, my guards will slit your tongue.” Nefritis responded in anger.
“Oooh I’m so scared,” Crimson Sword laughed.
“Bastard!” Nefritis shouted.
“No, Crimson Sword is right! It’s because of nobles like you that my brother is in prison!” Priscilla lashed out. “Oh and for your information, there aren’t any other nobles here! You would have teamed up with commoners no matter what!”
Nefritis glared at both of them, “Sorin here is a noble. And I don’t need anyone else but him!”
This was bad, Sorin thought. Nefritis’ hate of commoners was greater than he had thought. At this rate Sorin would be ostracized from the rest of the class, ostracized from potential allies.
They reached their section and waited for the horn to sound. Sorin began thinking of the test and all its implications.
The test was designed to make one fail. It was impossible for a person to climb three spires and reach the administrator in ten minutes. The team, realizing that they might fail would then go for the spire with the black medal. In which case everyone would fight while trying to reach the black medal, this in itself would waste the ten minutes and the group would fail anyway.
The only way to pass would be to somehow work together and help each other get the medals, only then would they be able to get all sixteen medals and reach the administrator in time.
Only problem was that to make such an efficient team would require trust and as Sorin looked at his team he didn’t think that was possible.
But there was a loop hole. Sorin weighed the pros and cons of the loop hole and decided it’d be worth it.
The horn sounded in the distance. The test had begun.
Sorin grabbed the twin daggers he had taken from the chest in the carriage. He had hidden the daggers under his shirt. Before anyone could realize it, Sorin proceeded to stab Crimson Sword and Priscilla in the back; he aimed the blades so that they plunged into their hearts.
Sorin pulled the daggers out of his victims as Nefritis turned around. As Nefritis registered what had happened Sorin quickly stepped forward and plunged both daggers into Nefritis’ sides.
Nefritis screamed in pain. Sorin twisted the embedded dagger in his left and used it as a hold, while he used the dagger in his right to continuously stab Nefritis. After a few seconds Sorin took both daggers out of Nefritis and watched her crumple to the ground.
Her green blouse was dyed red and blood continued to pool around her, she tried to speak but only a soft wheezing sound came out.
“Sorry, Nefritis,” Sorin said as he stooped down and grabbed Nefritis’ silver medal, “I weighed the costs and in the long run you’d only bring me down with your noble chauvinistic views.”
“Y-you b-bastard,” Crimson Sword weakly said as he tried to stand up.
Sorin kicked Crimson Sword to the ground. Sorin grabbed Crimon Sword’s face and slit his throat. Sorin grabbed the dying man’s medal. Sorin then looked at Priscilla.
“N-no, no, no, no,” Priscilla cried as she tried to drag herself away. She coughed up blood, “I don’t want to die,” she groaned in pain.
Ignoring the blood that drenched his clothes and the blood that covered his face, Sorin walked towards Priscilla. With his left hand he pulled her hair from behind and with his right he slit her throat.
All Priscilla could do was gurgle blood as Sorin grabbed her medal.
Sorin stood and looked at the three bodies. He bent down and grabbed the jade dragon hair pins from Nefritis’ hair and placed them in his pocket.
Sorin then began to run towards the Administrator. After a few minutes of running he slid to a halt in front of the glaring Administrator.
“What have you done, boy?” The Administrator spat out.
Sorin held out the three medals from his dead teammates along with his own medal, “I have completed the test.”
“Are you daft boy? I specifically said that your whole team had to have four medals to pass the test. But the rest of your team is lying in a pool of blood!” The Administrator shouted.
Sorin took a deep breath, “You’re wrong, sir. I am the whole team.”
The Administrator glared at Sorin, “You really are crazy. You just killed three of your teammates and you expect me to just let you pass!?”
“Yes. I do. After all you said it yourself,” Sorin countered, “Once you are dead you cease to exist, all that is left is a corpse. If that is the case then the dead are no longer people just corpses. And you said my team would consist of the people in my group. I am the only person in my group, ergo I’m the whole team.”
Sorin looked at the administrator, “You see, you have to pass me.”
The Administrator continued to glare and then he laughed.
“I never thought another person would have figured that out. Well done boy,” the Administrator smiled. “I’ll let you pass, and seeing as you’re the first one to do so you’ll get the best room on the 1st years floor and full access to the Black Tower’s library.”
Sorin sighed in relief, his gamble had paid off.
“But tell me boy, how do you expect to take care of that?” The Administrator pointed at the men running towards them.
They were the guards of Nefritis Jade.
The Administrator laughed.