Wars of Heaven and Earth

Feeling of dread

The day peace died started as every other. All students in my year were called to the dining hall, food was handed out as well as the announcements for the day. Then it was onto classes, first, study of the lower mysteries. Elements such as Water, Fire, Earth and Air, a simple class really, normally all students that take the course can feel enough of the flow to manipulate simple matter. After studying until noon, we return to the dining hall and break for lunch. Any relevant announcements are once again read. Once we have finished, we head to the next class. Study of the medium mysteries.

An intermediate level class for some, for others, downright impossible. The core focus of the class is manipulating the body. Emotion, thought, memory, healing, even shape are all viable subjects for exploration, assuming no one causes an immense amount of harm to another student. Once the class block ends, we are moved for our final subject of the day. The upper mysteries, the most difficult and dangerous class allowed to be studied within the walls of the monastery. Bending the heavens and other intangible forces to your will, very few have the will-power to do this naturally, and even fewer have the knowledge required to know where to begin. 

Those that do almost always go down the wrong path and end up causing mass hysteria in the sorcery communities and monasteries. Although of late, a larger problem has cropped up. The neighboring kingdom of Atvaria has been sending its priests and priestesses. They preach the word of their god and are claiming that unless we repent, a crusade is imminent. Our elders ignored their threats. Although turning a blind eye to a problem, does not mean that problem disappears. No one was ready when they came, no one was prepared for the shock of having their peaceful world torn to shreds before their eyes.

Classes were nearly finished for the day. I was walked down the hallway toward the dormitory when a series of loud bangs erupted from the dining hall. Students came streaming down the corridor, panicked and shouting, others ran forward and began preparing shielding spells of whatever they could conjure at the time. I was at the front as well, having just finished casting my own shield. Unlike so many others, it was made purely out of force and the flow. 

This happened to be a good thing as several people wearing heavily gilded armor came charging down the hallway shouting spells. The resulting clash was short and brutal. Light raced from the hands and weapons of the armored group bashing against our shields, blasting apart others. Several students were caught in the cross fire, others went down as their shields splintered. I was thrown backward, my back colliding with the wall of the corridor. As I sat in a dazed heap watching everyone else run deeper into the monastery, one of the teachers from the upper mystery classrooms entered the hall, confused as to what was going on. The armored group lowered their weapons and began to exchange words with the teacher.

"Who are you that would come into this place and disrupt our work!?" The teacher called out, his expression turning grim once he noticed the students that had been unlucky in their attempt to escape.

"We have come to cleanse this place of your unholy teachings. Will you repent, or will you perish and join your kind in the eternal fires?"

He growled lowly in his throat and seemed to draw himself up to his full height. "Get out of our monastery." He spat out. Several of his wards flared to life, turning the air around him several different colors.

His hands moved in many different directions, creating the spell signs and symbols for spells of the upper mysteries. Several of the mages across from the teacher made quick signs and shot rays of light in order to interfere with his casting. However each attack rebounded off one of the wards that actively protected the teacher. As he finished his spell, the teacher punched through the diagram, the only sign that a spell had been cast was the ripple in space, right before the spell slammed into the opposing group,  each of them impacted the wall with a loud clang as their armor was crushed.

As he turned to look at me, his eyes maintained their angry cast.

"You should get to the sanctuary. It's no longer safe here." He said in a tightly restrained voice, as he whirled away from me and stalked down the hallway, stepping over the bodies of the soldiers he had just crushed.

As I stood in the now silent hallway, I did the only thing I remembered how to do at that point. I fled deeper into the monastery, the many twists and turns faded into a haze of ever present fear, the faces of my classmates seemed so far removed from my own little world as I tried to make sense of what had, and was going to happen.

After I had reached the sanctuary, the Grand-master gave the order, and students were ushered through a tunnel leading back into the mountains. His face seemed strained as he tried to move as many of us through the narrow entrance as possible. However we weren't fast enough, the armored assailants blasted down the sanctuary doors and fired indiscriminately. I barely made it out in the chaos, students screamed and teachers shouted the names of various attack and defense spells.

Not caring for anyone but myself, I blocked out the noise and charged forward into the tunnel. I don't remember how far I ran, but I do know that the tunnel was significantly damaged. Parts of it collapsed as I ran through it. Somehow I was one of the lucky ones, the others weren't as fortunate. Of the original seven hundred students and teachers at the monastery, twenty made it through the tunnels and managed to escape.

I remember staring up at the star filled sky after I exited the tunnel. I stood upon the mountainside for several minutes, already having tuned out the groans of pain and misery from those around me. I offered up silent prayers to the gods of my people, and asked them why they had abandoned us, why they had allowed this to happen.

As the old saying goes, "The stars have their plans, and we are unable to comprehend their full scope." I don't exactly recall what happened that night, but something answered me.

---------Authors Note---------

Sneak peak of a new book!!!! It's a little Christmas present from me to you! Full release will be a long while from now, so you'll have to be content with this little chapter. I know, I'm evil. Merry Christmas!

This chapter is dedicated to @Bjay26, thank you for giving me the motivation needed to continue writing!