“Here’s your book,” Vincent tossed an old leather journal at Chandra’s feet. Quick, wheezing breaths accentuated the pain in every muscle in his body. One of his eyes had been swollen shut, and all that remained of his clothing was a pair of singed pants.
“You seem like you enjoyed yourself,” Chandra smiled as she collected the journal.
“There was a giant, fire-breathing anteater down there. Those aren’t natural.” Of all the things he had seen below ground, that was the thing that pushed him over the breaking point. “Now, take me to the Sanctum.”
“You passed the test, sure,” Chandra casually slipped through the pages of the journal. “But there’s something you forgot. You need the special, magic words.”
“Magic words?” Vincent threw his head back and closed his eyes. Picturing every nook and cranny of that forest. Each strange task he had needed to move forward. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember seeing any words or runes carved into the earth, trees, or what few structures he’d seen.
There had been a group of goblins guarding the key needed to get into the main chamber of the ziggurat where he found the aforementioned anteater. They had made various grunting noises at one another. Ones he was sure he would not be able to recreate no matter how he tried. “There were no magic words.”
“Oh, come now. You have to have learned them at some point.”
She can’t be serious, Vincent glowered at Chandra. Teeth grit as he spoke. “Can you please take me to the Sanctum.” Chandra closed the journal with a smirk. As she walked by Vincent, she was sure to brush a finger under his chin. Beckoning him to follow. With a sigh, he did so. “I hope the rest of the Sanctum members aren’t this difficult to deal with.”
“Oh, love,” Chandra looked back at him. “You’ll find we’re all to die for.” With a toothy grin, she revealed her slightly elongated canines.
Vincent thought nothing of it as they two of them made their way down toward Lake Illory. At the shore, Chandra whistled. Nothing happened at first, but when Vincent was ready to speak, spouts of water shot into the air. Spray from the sudden burst of water cascaded like rain upon Vincent. Chandra herself had created a dome around herself to stay dry.
“No water magic?” she smugly asked. “No wonder you needed my help to reach the island.”
Surface tension bubbled before a decrepit galleon rose from below. Vincent stared wide-eyed. “Is that how we’re going to cross the lake?” It was a wonder the ship stayed afloat with the holes dotting the haul. Tattered flags bearing the resemblance of a bat flapped in the breeze. No sail hug from the masts. “Seems a bit much for our trip.”
“That’s because it is,” laughed the Sanctum mage. “But then again, if you plan to do anything. Do it to the fullest of your ability.” A simple wave of her arm and a flick of the wrist summoned a gale beneath both hers and Vincent’s feet. Fluttering the pair to the deck of the ship. “Hold on and hold your breath.”
“Why do I—” Water collapsed in around the ship as he submerged itself back under the lake. Sweeping Vincent from the deck and knocking the air from his lungs as he had not heeded Chandra’s warning.
Gasping for air, he snapped back to consciousness. Logs crackled in the nearby hearth: the room kept warm, his body dry as a bone. Reaching for his chest, he was relieved to find that he still wore the pendant that May’uri gave him. Only the gods could tell what ways the dragon would torture him if he had managed to lose it.
Eyes adjusting to the dim light, he found himself on the floor in a small circular room. No furnishing but a chair by the fireplace. A pile of clothes left behind for him to replace his old ones.
A black vest paired with a simple brown shirt and black trousers. Not exactly uniform he had expected from a place teeming with mages. But when he thought back to the way Chandra dressed, it seemed they had went with a more simplistic and every day appeal rather than dressing in ways to show off that they were indeed mages. Unlike the Magius Monastery where they dressed in religious robes.
Stepping out the room, he found Chandra waiting for him by the door. “I told you to hold on and to hold your breath. You should feel lucky I thought you worth saving.”
“Why did you take us under in the first place?” Vincent questioned.
“Oh please,” she ran a finger under his chin. “The tunnels under the island are the best way to gain entrance to the Sanctum.” The more she spoke, the more Vincent was deciding that he did not care for her.
“Thank you for getting me here,” Vincent once more spoke through grit teeth. “Now then, how can I contact the mage in charge of this place?”
“Do you really think you can just ask to see the Grand High Mage, and I would just take you to him like that? You got spirit, that’s for sure.” With a clap on the back, she started to make her way down the hall. “Let me introduce you to the others. Then we can get started on your training.”
“I’m not here for training,” Vincent argued. “I’ve come here seeking help, and I wish to see something called the Draco Mirror Chamber.”
Chandra paused her gait. “The Mirror Chamber? How do you know about that place?”
Thinking on his feet, Vincent tried to concoct a believable lie. “When I was training at the Magius Monastery, I stumbled upon writing about such a place. Though I didn’t think it was real. Until a friendly man told me that the Sanctum was collecting things made from dragon parts.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Friendly man? What friendly man?”
“Well, he had bushy eyebrows. Said he fought a dragon, and he was able to completely stop my lightning and fire magic.”
Chandra once more moved forward. Stepping at a pace twice as fast as before.
Still hurting from Chandra’s test, it strained him to keep up. Thankfully, the hallway in which they walked was only a straight shot forward. Ending in twin doors as tall as three men.
With ease, she pushed them open. “Dimitri! One of your strays found their way here.”
As he passed the doors, Vincent couldn’t help but notice they were solid stone. At least three feet thick. And Chandra had moved them aside as though they were made of paper. They led to a triangular room that was furnished with nine chairs. Seven of which had mages sat within them. Of the seven there, one stood out to Vincent like a reddened thumb. It was the old man from the bookstore. Dimitri as Chandra had named him.
When she took her seat, Vincent noticed a patter alternating through the chairs. No man sat next to a man, and no woman next to a woman. All chairs were taken except for the one at the apex of the arch in the room. Following the patter, he noticed that the chair for the Grand High Mage was nestled between two men. Meaning the mage in charge was a woman—likely the one who Dimitri mentioned saving his life all those years ago.
If it weren’t for how old Dimitri himself was, he would think it impossible for someone else to live that long. But it had to be due to magic that he were still alive. And if he could live for so long using magic, the someone stronger than him surely could do the same.
“Who is he?” asked a man who seemed to be made from molten stone.
“Something about him feels familiar,” a woman spoke. Her voice an airy whisper that brought a chill with every word.
The name to speak was a man who looked more wolf than man. “He smells of the west. Are you sure he would not be more comfortable with a sword in hand?”
“All of you, calm down.” Dimitri was the one to speak now. He got up from his seat and made his way over to Vincent. “Yes, you would be correct that he comes from the west. You are looking at Vincent, one of Catharina’s sons. The only one who has shown any promise with magic.”
“Catharina?” spat Chandra. “Had I known he was her son, I would have let him drown.”
“You would suffer punishment from the True Master?”
Chandra stiffened. When she finally reacted, she let out a huff. “The Master wastes her time on such trivial things.”
“True Master?” Vincent cocked his head. “I thought your leader was the Grant High Mage. Are they one in the same?”
“The Grand High Mage wishes she were the True Master,” spoke up a woman whose skin reflected the night sky. “You had better show respect for the Master.”
“I apologize.” Though he was unsure what he was apologizing for, he thought it better not to cause any trouble during this time.
The entire room began to talk at once. Each mage speaking over another. Leaving the words they spoke a jumbled mess that Vincent was unable to understand. Though he thought he caught mention of magic once or twice.
They all fell silent as lightning crashed into the empty seat at the head of the room. Pressurized air shot through the room and pushed Vincent back several feet. Toppling him over himself a number of times. When his body came to a stop, struggled to raise himself back to his feet. It had been quite some time since he had put this much strain on his body. Vision swimming; Vincent nearly missed the new figure who took up the final chair.
Her slender form was draped in a violet dress. Silk crocheted to resemble spider webbing covered her corset. Raven hair cut short, and her eyes pure white.
He had expected her to appear old, but from what he saw, she only looked to be about twenty years of age. The air felt as though it shook when she spoke, “You have entered my domain, traveler. Speak your reasoning. Now.”
Awestruck, Vincent took pause. When he saw a vain pop on her forehead, he dropped to a bowing position. “I am Vincent Vickery, and I come seeking the aide of you and your collective wisdom.” He removed the pendant he wore and presented it for all to see. “This pendant I carry, it is made from dragon scales. I have been told it can lead me to a magical treasure, but I cannot get the spell to trigger. I was hoping to find someone capable of teaching me how to use the spell embedded into the pendant.”
“That is not all, is it?” questioned the Grand High Mage.
Sweat fell to the floor. Vincent’s legs quivered beneath him. “It is not. I also wish to make use of the Draco Mirror Chamber. I do not know why, but the one who taught me to use my magic commanded me to enter that place.” Looking up, he could see the astonished look on Chandra’s face. He was unable to tell if she was angry or just surprised to learn he had lied to her about how he came to know of the Chamber’s existence.
“Both your request are trivial matters,” the Grand High Mage spoke once more. “Tasks easy for any who gather here to fulfill. So trivial, it is not worth the effort on their part. We shall not awaken the spell for you.”
Vincent swallowed. “And what about the Mirror Chamber?”
“I will permit you use of the Chamber. Though your visit to the Chamber will be swift. And you shall only be granted entrance once. I hope you and your master find solace in this.”
Entering into the chamber a single time was no problem. However, the limited time to be within may pose an issue. Unsure why the dragon wished for him to enter the chamber, Vincent was unable to know how long he would need to be within the chamber.
The Grand High Mage continued on. “But you will not see the Chamber until you complete your training.”
“I’m not here to train,” Vincent argued.
“One must train if they wish to stay within these walls,” Dimitri answered. “Even if your intentions were not to be trained by us, you must undergo training. Otherwise, you will be evicted from the Sanctum immediately. And you will never gain access to the Draco Mirror Chamber.”
He would need to play by their rules. If there was no other way, then he would need to endure. “How long must I train before you grant me access to the Chamber?”
“You will need to spent a minimum of three months with us,” the night sky woman spoke.
“If he can handle it,” laughed the molten man.
A woman who had roses growing from her hair chimed in. “Not only must your train with us, but you must display a mastery level of one of the basic four elemental magics.” She held out her palm. A tulip bloomed, and the petals fell away to reveal a crystal orb. Upon the polished surface was displayed moments in which he had used magic within the chamber beneath Koldarell.
“His skills are rather impressive,” the wispy voiced woman spoke. “Fire, and earth seem to be the elements he shows the most promise in. With lightning skills as well. Much more advanced that I would have given him credit for.”
“Yes,” Dimitri made his way back to his seat. “The boy does show much promise. And I believe I have seen visions of his near future. If my dreams are to be believed, he will play a key part in the incoming conflict.”
“Then we will train him,” spoke the Grand High Mage. “Mold this boy into the mage he is destined to be.”
Vincent looked at the nine mages gathered before him. More magic than human. Defeated, he gave a non-verbal agreement to be trained. Knowing the dragon would plague his dreams that night. He put the pendant back around his neck, You’ll have to be just a bit more patient. Unsure if it was just his imagination, or if he could feel the dragon’s ire through the scales, but Vincent felt the sensation of claws around his neck.