The Orb of Souls

Chapter 4

The Orb of Souls

©2009 Teresa J. Goodman

Chapter 4

She entered Sylvan Springs under a cloak of darkness, attempting to shield her presence from prying eyes. She knocked sharply at the front gate of the mage school. A few minutes later a young girl in a long robe answered the knock. "Welcome, stranger, how can we help you?" Ember kept the cowl of her cloak pulled low over her face. She did not want to frighten the elven child. "I am here to enroll in the mage school. May I speak to the headmaster, please?" The girl shook her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but the headmaster is sleeping at the moment. But, I am sure we could give you a room for the night, and arrange a meeting in the morning." Ember nodded. "Thank you. That will be fine. I've had quite a long jouney anyhow, and I appreciate the rest." Ember followed the child to the room, and sighed with relief when she left her alone. The elven child had accepted her easily enough, but she wondered how an elven master mage would react to a draconic half-elf.

When Ember woke the following morning she was nervous. She put her cloak back on and made her way to the headmaster's office. The same girl that had previously greeted her greeted her now. 'She must be his assistant, or apprentis, or something,' she thought to herself. "The headmaster will see you now." Ember followed her inside the office, then the girl left and closed the door behind her. "Welcome, stranger! So you have come to learn the arcane arts. You will do well here. I can sense your magical energy, very powerful. I haven't felt that strong of energy in ages. You have magic in your blood," he sniffed at the air, "hmm, draconic blood! Just who are you, stranger? Remove your cowl, and show your face."

Ember lowered her cowl, revealing long braided black hair, elven ears, red hued snake-scaled skin, and golden reptilian eyes, and lifted her head to look the headmaster in the eyes. "My name is Lady Ember Lyndiri, daughter of Master Nadarius Lyndiri of Elmwood Village. Obviously, as you can see by my appearance, you are correct about my draconic blood. All my life I've trained as a warrior, now it is time I learned of the magic within my blood, and learn how to harness and control it." The headmaster laughed. "I have heard of your prowess, even here in Sylvan Springs, and I know of your family's legacy as warriors. I never dreamed I would teach a member of the House of Lyndiri the arcane arts, and a draconic half-elf at that. Life has not been kind to you, has it Lady Lyndiri?" Embers eyes went cold, and she averted her gaze. The headmaster pressed on. "Your familiy's legacy, alone, spared your life. You strived to prove your worth, as do you still. You have more than earned any honor bestowed upon you." Ember nodded. "Indeed I have, sir. Are you object to the idea of tea teaching a draconic half-elf?" The headmaster laughed once more. "Not hardly. I'm looking foward to seeing how well, and how quickly you will learn."

Just as it had been at the warcraft academy, the students at the mage school despised her as well, possibly even more. Where at the warcraft academy she had found solace in a friend, the mage school offered no such luxury. Many of the students already knew of her before she had even arrived, and had already formed their opinions about the abomination long before they met her. Where at the warcraft academy her fathers position as instructor of swordsmanship had afforded her reluctant respect from her peers, here, again, there was no such luxury. Blatant expressions of hatred surrounded her everywhere she went, and on several occassions she had even been spit upon as she walked past. Nevertheless, she took it all in stride, attributing their cruelty to ignorance and fear. However, she was beginning to get irritated with their hideous behavior. 'Enough is enough already,' she thought to herself. Up until this point she had still not even raised her voice in anger. It was time for that to change.

Ember finally reached her breaking point one day during a defense exercise in Headmaster Lyra's class, when a foolish classmate decided to work a little magic on her as a practical joke. Because of the magic in her draconic blood she was able to sense the spell in the working, and was able to deflect it before anyone else even realized what was happening. The entire classroom erupted with laughter as the spellcaster transformed into a rabbit, then ran off to hide. The headmaster was furious. "What trickery is this then? Who is responsible for this? I demand to know this instant!" Ember stood tall and spoke. "He is responsible, Headmaster Lyra. Had he not been attempting to cast a transfiguration spell upon me I would not have been forced to defend myself by deflecting the spell onto him. I am prepared to accept whatever punishment that you see fit, headmaster, but I will not sit idly by and be someone's fool. Not anymore. If I am to be attacked, then the attacker should expect me to defend myself," she answered before addressing the class as a whole. "Let it be known this very minute, I will no longer hang my head or cower, or be anyone's target for jest. I may be a half-breed, but never forget that I have draconic blood running through my veins. And I am as fierce an enemy as any dragon!"

Headmaster was very impressed with Ember, and her defensive display of power. She spent the following years learning from the headmaster himself as his apprentice. He already had one apprentice, but she was very young yet, and allthough powerful, nowhere near as powerful as Ember proved to be already. She was very astute, and very adept. Magic came to her like second nature. As Ember matured her power only grew stronger. Soon enough, she not only learned how to use her magical energy, but also of the maturation of dragons. Headmaster Lyra had accumulated whatever knowledge remained of dragons, and compiled it into a single leatherbound book that he kept in his personal effects. When the time finally came that Ember developed her breath-weapon she understood it for what it was, and knew what to expect. She soon lerned how to control it, and aim it with deadly accuracy. Once she mastered her innate abilities, she focused more on spellcraft. Headmaster Lyra trained Ember daily in the ancient Elvish tongue that brought the oldest spells to fruitation. Later he taught her powerful Draconic spells only she could speak. Draconic was an ancient language too difficult for elven vocal chords to utter. However, he could read them, and he recognized their sounds. Soon she had mastered both languages, and proved to be quite a gifted student. Headmaster Lyra came to prize Ember above all his other students. She had spent so much of her young life desperately trying to prove her worth, that she would not stop until she had mastered every skill she undertook, and she had done just that. There were students at the mage school that had been studying there their whole lives, and she surpassed them all in twenty-five short years.

Many of the students were envious of her, but they were all too afraid to oppose her openly. Instead, they went to their families and complained about her. Many of their families were of higher station, so they went directly to the headmaster, himself, to protest her further education in the arcane arts, claiming that due to her draconic blood she was a security risk to all of Elgyntavia. Headmaster stood his ground defiantly, and continued to pass on his knowledge, despite their threats to have the High Counsel remove and excommunicate him. He was not detered by their empty threats. No one in Elgyntavia had as much knowledge in the arcane arts as Headmaster Lyra. He had served as apprentice to the previous headmaster who had lost his life battling Draconius Dracusbane during the Great War.

As apprentice to the headmaster, Ember as privledge to knowledge kept hidden from the other students at the mage school. One day Headmaster Lyra called Ember into his office. "As you know, my dear, we elves have a very long lifespan compared to the other great races, second only to dragons, and I have lived a very long time, and seen many great and terrible things. After the Great War, a terrible magical artifact was recovered, and hidden away to keep history from repeating itself. I was charged with guarding the artifact at all costs, and have done so faithfully ever since, but now I am entering the winter of my life, and fear that I will no longer be around to protect it. As you are now my apprentice, I now share with you the most coveted secret of the elves of Elgyntavia, the location of the Orb of Souls. If this artifact should ever end up in the wrong hands, it would be the undoing of our world as we know it. Do you understand?" Ember could see the desperation in his eyes, and hear the fear in his voice. Over the years Ember had come to think of Headmaster Lyra like a second father. "Yes, master, I understand completely." He nodded in acceptance. "Very well. Now give me your blood oath that you will never reveal the orb's location to anyone, and that, after my passing, you will take it upon yourself to guard the orb from evil hands. Promise me!" Ember pricked her finger and swore. Ember knew enough about magic by now to know that a blood oath was unbreakable. She would be magically compelled to follow through with her vows. Headmaster Lyra then led her through a secret passage in his office, showed her how to detect and deactivate the various wards he had placed througout the passage, then he led her to the chamberroom where the orb was kept. "I show you this because, if the orb's location should ever be discovered, you will need to know how to deactivate these wards in order to move it to another location. May the gods never allow such a travesty."

Eventually, the time came to pass when Ember had learned everything Headmaster Lyra could teach her. She was reluctant to leave him behind, for he was like family to her now. She promised to keep in touch, and told him that if he ever needed her, to use a spell to call out to her telepathicly. Ember then left the mage school behind, and returned home with her newfound knowledge to demand the respect she rightfully deserved. She would bring honor to the House of Lyndiri if it were the last thing she ever did; she had a plan, a way to achieve just that.