To Cheat Death

Chapter Twenty-five

"Generations passed and the ungifted grew powerful indeed. The magicians were legendary to all people, and many came to ask favors. Some were afraid the magicians would try and conquer the surounding nations, but the kingkillers and there children were kind. They did not wish war upon their people. It was three centurys of peace, before the first magician abused his powers. He was of the nation of Farthen and his choices would only be the beginning of the fall of the magicians into necromancy. He deceived and killed his older sister to take the throne. He drove his army against his mother the acting queen and the country fell into civil war. When the other magicians heard of such evil deeds they vowed to bring him to justice and they did. But only after most of his people had fled or been killed. Only after his siblings and mother were dead. When they came, all fourteen of them, he knew he could not keep his throne and ran to save his life. They hunted him, but he knew how to avoid the gaze of a magician. He fled to the far corners of the earth. And his magician kin gave up and divided his land among them. But he bided his time. He created his own hidden kingdom and he turned to necromancy. He used the same power that let him speak to the animals to meld them together creating great and terrible beasts. They roamed his land, killing. No one had really explored the limits of what a magician could do but he did. He wrote extensively about it and gave the knowledge to his sons when he died. They knew many things and stopped using there gift for its intended purpose. They fell, becoming necromancers. Instead of healing they sent plagues across the land. Instead of causing the rain to fall they kept it back causing droughts then let it go in huge storms. The magicians banded together and fought the three necromancers. But the magicians had not trained in the art of war. They knew not to harness the lightning nor steal the light from the sun. They used fire and five died but the necromancers were vanquished. There after the magicians knew of the greater power they had at there finger tips and one by one as generations pasted the magicians turned and fell into darkness. The ungifted scattered, killed in droves as they fled. The nations surrounding the necromancers died away or were conquered. Few uncorrupted magicians lived, about that time the drakgons, they werent called that till later of course, gained the power to change into a dragon. They allied against the necromancers and joined the remaining magicians, but it changed nothing. By now hundreds of necromancers and their children fought against the dwindling true magicians. The magicians save all they could but they were losing the war. Soon none who believed in the old ways would exist. Then something happened. Something that changed the course of the world. The necromancers powers faded. The winds no longer responded with wicked storms, but gentle breezes. And thus their powers waned just as the creator had promised so many years ago. But the necromancers were far more numerous than the magicians. Slowly, all true magicians were killed till one remained. He withdrew to the drakgons strongest city, the capital. About that time the drakgons power was stolen by the werewolves and a the last great battle erupted around the city. Necromancers attacked in droves, still powerful if somewhat diminished, the drakgon crippled as they were, were killed quickly and the few that fled were hunted down. Now enough of darkness and depression, let's go have dinner."

The vision faded from my eyes and to my surprise I found tears staining my cheeks. The wall still shifted enticingly but I stepped forward and opened the door. The paintings scattered like a candle snuffed out. A man with silver threading his hair yelled and pushed a younger blond man into the wall barely missing my door. A young girl with hands covering her mouth stood to the side.
"You stay away! Don't ever talk to my child again!" Said the silver haired man. He glanced at me.
"We will continue this later." He glared, pulled the girl inside a door and slammed it with a thud.

"What on earth?..." I said.

"Oh just some discrimination. Don't mind me." The blond said, angrily. Rubbing his bruised shoulder, he turned and took angry, quick steps to..somewhere.

..................

I tasted the strange rich food. Heavy pudding, Apple pie, fresh bread, Apple's as big as my fist, round orange fruit I have never seen before. All types of fruit and this was just the first table.

"Where do you get all this food?" I wonderusly asked Maria.

"Magic." She smiled.
"The tables are never empty, though thousands eat from them, and the food never goes bad. The magic here takes care of us."

"Who was that man? The one who opened the invisible door." I asked hesitant. It felt like I've seen him before, but couldn't for the life of me remember.

Maria looked down blushing.
"His name is Darien."

"You fancy him?" I asked, then her answer hit me like a stone.

"Yes, I do."

"But, but you cant!"

Her eyes came up to meet mine and the blush was replaced with a glittering anger.
"What would you know of it?!" She snapped.

"His is already promised to a girl named siren! You can't make him love you!"

Maria snorted, then quieted.
"My father told you nothing, then?"

"He told me many things-"

"But nothing that mattered. Dariens life out there is over. Only things here are within his reach. I have spent months telling him this."

"That can't be true, Siren will wait till she dies for him, you just can't take that away!"

Her eyes said stupid girl even as she spoke.
"Don't you understand? We can't leave. The magic that protects us also keeps us here. Don't you think my father would have gone back if he could? He had a family."
Neither of us spoke for a moment.

"But-" I tried.

"No look." She pulled a parchment from a bag at her side and a stick of charcoal. Sketching a light outline of shapes she pointed to the first.
"This is the castle layout." Her finger shifted to the outer line.
"This is the wall. We have doors everywhere in the castle. But none here. The closest door is here." Her finger pointed back at the inside line.
"The main gate is here." Her finger shifted again to the outside wall a mere inch away from her previous point.
"Between these two points are dozens of guards, checkpoints and magical wards. No number of people could escape. Let alone get past the first gate. An escape has never been attempted."