Feeding the Fyre

Prologue

Silas strode through the Ancient Forest, thoughts and spells creating a whirlwind of chaos inside his mind. Fallen leaves swirled around his worn leather shoes, dancing to music only they could hear. The cold wind pierced his summer work clothes, reminding him a new set of gear was needed before the first snowfall. He turned up the collar on his thin coat and put his hands firmly in his pockets.

He moved quickly, anxious to get home. His wife, Maia, had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, and he had gotten off work an hour earlier to be there when she got her Elemental Mark.

Silas and Maia were the proud parents of six young wizards. All but one had received their Marks from the nursemaid before he had come home from his work in the Ancient Forest. Getting one's Mark was a very special ceremony, and it was always a great shame to miss. He was determined to see his new daughter get hers. After all, she was the last child he'd be having with his beautiful wife.

Silas merged onto a well-trodden path, joining several other wizards. Passing the checkpoint bordering the Ancient Forest, he flashed his own Mark, an emerald leaf symbolizing his power as a Forest Mage. Hurrying along the busted cobblestone streets, he stopped at the crossroads between the seven territories. Perhaps I should stop at Kane's shop and get something for the kids, he pondered. After all, I still have an hour before the Ceremony starts.

Making up his mind, Silas turned onto the path leading into the Dark Swamps. He showed his Mark to the fatigued guards and entered with a strict hour time limit. Making sure to watch out for bandits, he followed the familiar path to his brother's store.

He was almost there when he caught wind of a sound you don't normally hear on the gloomy pathways of the Dark Swamps- a baby crying.

Silas rushed toward the sound, afraid of what other creatures might hear the cries of the vulnerable infant. The freezing wind bit at his face and clawed at his coat, but he struggled on. Dirty water splashed up his leg as he stepped in a murky puddle, but Silas merely cringed and continued.

Turning a quick corner, he rushed towards a crooked tree. Under its bare branches laid a small baby, swooned in a dark red loincloth. He reached for the child and cradled it tenderly. Checking its hand, he noticed it did not have a Mark. That meant that it had not been claimed by a family and received a name. The young child cried softly and snuggled closer to Silas, lips blue from the winter air. He held the infant tight to his chest, protecting it from both the deadly wind and prying eyes, and rushed back down the path he came. Visiting his brother would have to wait.

Silas managed to smuggle the baby undetected through the checkpoint, and hurried home anxiously, fearing the child would catch a cold and die. As he entered his house, he headed straight towards the magic room, pausing only to grab the spare hot water bottle and blanket they kept on a shelf in the kitchen. He found his wife sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, gazing out the window with his daughter in her arms. She had already drawn the Magic Circle needed for the ceremony and was just waiting for the nursemaid to arrive.

He smiled at his beautiful wife. She hadn't heard him come in, and wasn't expecting him home for another half hour. He watched as she turned her head to look down at their daughter, laughing as the infant grabbed at her nose. She lightly kissed the babe's head, love sparkling in her soft red eyes.

When she saw Silas, she jumped up to hug him. "I'm so glad you could make it!" she smiled. Then she noticed the squirming baby in his arms. "Si, how did you get this? Has it already been marked?"

He handed the infant to her and she soothed it, all the while juggling his baby girl in her other hand. Maia's fire Mark shone in the reflected light slowly trickling in through the windows as she thoroughly checked both of his hands for a Mark.

"I found him in the Dark Swamps, crying under this twisted old tree I've never seen before." Silas paused. "Feng, I know you're hiding over there. I can sense your presence."

A young boy with wind-swept gray hair and pale blue eyes poked his head around the door frame. He ran up to Silas and hugged his leg. Silas stroked his hair gently, "You know that you're not allowed to come down here. Please go back to your room and stay there."

"But Eira's being scary again!" Feng whined miserably.

"I'll come in there right after the ceremony, so just wait for me, okay?"

Feng nodded and raced out the door. The air quivered, as it often did when he left the room. Silas turned back to Maia and whispered something in her ear just before the nursemaid entered the room.

The nursemaid ushered Maia back into the Magic Circle. She noticed the second baby in her arms, but didn't ask any questions. Sometimes it was safer not to know.

The nursemaid took a deep breath and began chanting in an ancient language used only by a select few. Her Mark, a white circle showing she used Light magic, began to glow and throb mysteriously, almost as if it had a life of its own. The Magic Circle activated, matching the glow of her hand, then began to spin.

The room's curtains began to thrash in the growing wind spiraling around the room. A spare book that had not been secured or removed flew up into the air, spinning around before being caught and held down by Silas.

Silas stared at the process in wonder. He knew it would be a magical sight, but he never thought it would be this amazing.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light illuminated the small room. When Silas looked back, the Magic Circle had disappeared and the nursemaid was already packing up her few belongings. She then bustled out of the room, leaving Silas and Maia with the newly Marked children.

Silas peered anxiously over his wife's shoulder to see the two hands of his kids. He was proud to see his daughter had the pearly white circle of a Light Sorceress. Then he looked at the boy's.

His heart plummeted, smashing into pieces on the floor as his worst fear came true. He cursed himself for taking the child from under the wicked tree. But he couldn't change anything now. The Ceremony was over. The child was his.

On the little boy's hand was a black crescent moon, the symbol of a Dark Wizard. This meant the Elemental Requirements had been met. There was a magician of each element in Silas' family, and every one of them had powerful energy. You could feel it when you looked at them; like heat waves on a summer day, you could see the air around them ripple as they moved.

All families with six young mages wielding great magic power like this took great pride in themselves. But to have seven held a price that parents seldom want to pay. For when the Elemental Requirements are met, the children's fate is sealed. The offspring of Silas the Forest Mage and Maia the Flame Sorceress were destined to be part of the Academy.

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Pronounication Guide:

Silas: Sigh-lis

Maia: My-uh

Durge: Surge but with a D

Feng: Fehng

Eira: Ee-rah