All I can see is darkness, I am contemplating whether this darkness is real or imagined when a pinprick of light appears about a hundred meters away, I begin to walk towards it not knowing if it is good or bad. The light has grown to a ball about the size of my fist when I arrive and stop in front of it.

“I should not touch it, but it seems so mesmerizing.” I think to myself as I reach out grasp the glowing orb, I am holding it in my hand when this tingling feeling starts coursing around my body until it feels as if there is fire in veins.

“I have never felt such power” I say “what is this light to awaken such fire?”

A scream pierces my consciousness, it is a voice I recognize and it is my mother’s.

“Mother! Where are you? I cannot find you” I yell

“Run, Oredal, RUN! The Tenebrarum are here!”

A raging battle appears in my vision, the battle is between my people, the Nightsworn and the Tenebrarum dark mages.

“Tenebrarum” yells their leader “forward to victory and slaughter or you are not fit to follow me, Draven the Mage-king of the Tenebrarum sect!”

“Draven” yells Azurdinn, my Mentor and my friend “face me like a true warrior”

Draven twirls around and faces Azurdinn and says in the ancient Tongue “come Darkspear” a spear made of pure darkness and inscribed with runes shoots into his hand, he draws back his arm and casts the spear at Azurdinn who has no way to avoid the spear and seems resigned to his fate, but just before the spear hits him, a man shoves him aside and as the spear hits the man in the chest, I realize that it is my father. I hear someone screaming before I realize that I am the one is screaming.

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“NO! NO! NO!” I cry rushing towards my father’s prone figure and cradle his head as he lays dying.

“Son, you cannot save me it is too late” he gasps “Oredal, my Son remember that I love and I am proud of you no matter what.”

“I know, Father, I know” I sob pulling him close “I love you too, always”

With a contented sigh Damostri Khellaphine, father of Oredal, exhales his last breath and dies.

“You are next” Draven yells pointing with his spear “YOU ARE NEXT!”

The world fades to black and I wake in the Chamber of Results

My father, mother and the Nightsworn, Azurdinn and Myrea chief among them stand around me with faces of concern.

"what happened?" they ask in unison.

"I had a vision of the future" I shakily reply "Draven, the Mage-king" I stop to take a breath "He comes, in five summers from now, He comes"

There is an instant uproar when they hear the warning from my vision.

"what happened, Oredal, in your vision?" my mother asks.

"the vision started in darkness, this orb of light appeared and I walked up to it " I say then drink some offered awater, I take a breath and then continue "I grasped the orb in my hand and I felt this power like fire running in my veins, I suddenly heard this scream" I take a deep breath.

"Who was screaming?, son" my mother asks.

"It was you mother, you were screaming"

she steps back with a sharp intake of breath.

I continue speaking "That is not even the worst part, I saw Draven and the Tenebrarum razing our village and slaughtering our people" I breathe and continue "Azurdinn, Draven cast a Darkspear at you after you told him to fight like a true warrior. The spear did not hit you though, it hit father because he pushed you out of the way. I held him as he lay dying, rocking him to sleep while whispering I love you, until he breathed his last."

My father is looking at me with his eyes teared up and filled with love.

"You truly are my son" he tells me with pride "not even death will change that, Oredal"

Azurdinn begins to speak "Oredal, this is truly enlightening, no-one I know can summon a mana ball that large"

"so what can you tell me about these?" I ask spreading my wings.

"Holy Helen," my mother breathes "you have wings"

"Yeah, I got them as I walked through the testing arch and I guess that is the reason I can understand all the languages known to the gods"

The Xinthippi Cosmou and the Nightsworn councilmen and women were summoned, they had a rapid fire conversation too fast for me to catch, all of of a sudden they were silent.

"So..." I prompt "What is your verdict?"

"Our verdict" the council says "is that you will begin your mage training if you are to stand a chance at defeating Draven"

"I am to become a mage then?" I ask

"Yes and a winged one at that" they reply "go home and get some sleep, you begin in the morning"

As I leave, I realize what that fiery feeling was, it was determination.

"Draven will never win, this I swear" I proclaim