A Darker Shade of Sorcery (Sample of now published novel.)

Chapter Thirty-Five

He and Jed expected to be able to use their magical weapons and couldn't wait to get started. However, it was two wooden swords that Arnvar passed to them.

When Jed voiced his opinion, Arnvar just bellowed with laughter.

They were in the biggest courtyard outside Swordstone castle, surrounded by Arch-Realmers wielding scintillating blades in a whirl of motion, too fast and bright to follow.

Neither he nor Jed had held a sword before and their sparring was slow and sloppy.

"Tyrell, Domnican," Arnvar yelled at the practicing crowd.

Two Arch-Realmers detached themselves from the fray and came over. Arnvar replaced their magical weapons with wooden swords too. "Show them the basics."

Tyrell paired with Evan whilst Domnican, a pale boy with long white-blond hair, trained with Jed.

Evan soon learned Tyrell was way out of his league. He moved with the fluidity of a dancer, his thick muscles adding strength to his cat-like agility. Evan realised Tyrell was taking it easy on him.

Domnican however was having great fun, whacking Jed whenever he left himself open, judging by the loud yelps. "Ow! Oi! Stop that!"

As Tyrell bested Evan for the umpteenth time, he said. "Don't think you're going to hurt me, attack like you mean it."

Evan increased his efforts, swinging wildly, but Tyrell again parried every blow.

"Attack hard, but don't be careless," said Tyrell, batting Evan's sword away as it swung for his head.

Evan changed his tactics yet again. As the minutes flew to hours, he thought he might've gotten fractionally better.

Arnvar returned from overseeing a group of Apprentices nearby.

"How're they doing?"

"He needs a lot of work," Tyrell admitted, "but he has determination."

Evan nodded gratefully.

"This one gets irritated easily," Domnican drawled, gesturing at the red-faced Jed.

"How would you like it if someone hit you repeatedly for hours?" Jed demanded.

"We didn't like it at all," Tyrell replied. "We all have to start off the same you know."

Jed grumbled, rubbing his head and grimacing.

"From now on you have a new schedule," said Arnvar. "You'll continue your daily run, but instead of a strength exercise you shall train in weaponry throughout the day. You may go."

Evan and Jed hobbled away, bruised but ready to do it all again tomorrow. Well, at least Evan was.

The next day Jed and Evan served other Venators their food for the first time. Jed complained heartily, but Evan was just glad Sintian hadn't been there to gloat.

Weaponry training was great, five days in and Evan was already improving with the sword and getting fitter with the daily run, but he was envious of the other Venators. He yearned to be one of the many he saw around the Fortress performing magic.

Late in his room one night, he sat on his bed, palm outstretched as he concentrated on trying to make fire appear in his hands again.

No matter how hard he tried, nothing happened.

*

By the next week Evan got his first glimpse of Venators in action. Monday morning a group of Arch-Realmers came hurtling down the corridor, almost bowling Evan over as they shouted commands to each other. Gossip around the Fortress was that they'd been called in on an emergency mission to Earth as a hiking group were perilously close to a wyvern nest. An Apprentice girl told Jed at lunch the Arch-Realmers managed to save the hikers and capture the wyverns, before taking the beasts back to their own realm.