Shifting Flames {Book 1 of the Black Mancer Series}

Gerald

Gerald flicked through the pages of his current read, Dragons and Mancers: An In-Depth Study. The book discussed the relationship between Mancers and Dragons, from when dragons were first used as mounts, to selective breeding, to the training for military purposes. So far, he'd learnt that the first recorded account of dragon riding, one hundred and sixty four years ago, was performed by a man named Levi. The account, an image of a man riding a ferocious black dragon, was branded carefully on pig skin. He wore no armour apart from a ram-horned helmet, and wielded a thin black sword. Of course, being literally burned into the pig's skin, the entire thing was black, so it was up to interpretation.

He'd also learnt about how Mancers affected dragons. Dragons naturally absorbed any Mancing used against them, which made them incredibly difficult to capture and control. That was why it was a momentous occasion when Levi had tamed the first dragon. Worthy of keeping the records in good condition. When Mancers absorbed Mancing, it changed their colour depending on what kind and how much they absorb. Gerald found it quite interesting, but he'd still never go near the beasts.

The door opened, causing Gerald to tear his eyes away from the book in his lap. It was a young girl with soft brown hair pulled into a braid and bright honey-coloured eyes.

"Hello?"

Gerald hefted the book onto the desk in front of him. "Hello. How can I help you?"

"I was looking for a book on dragons. I wanted to read up on them before my lesson on Tuesday."

"What a coincidence! I was reading about them myself."

Evie's eyes flicked to the massive tome on the desk. "Oh, no, I was just looking for-" Evie was cut off by the door opening again.

It was Ms. Black. She moved over to the smaller bookshelves full of textbooks and dozens of them floated off the shelves, organising themselves into a neat stack. "I'm taking forty copies of the Mancing Textbook for tomorrow." Gerald nodded and pulled the library ledger closer, making a note of the borrowed books.

"Yeah, so if there was anything like a textbook for dragons..." Evie said, now visibly more awkward.

"I'm afraid we don't have a dragon textbook but I do have something of a similar size." Gerald pushed himself off the chair and moved into the labyrinth of bookshelves that made up two thirds of the library's space. He recalled the exact position of the book he was thinking of and retrieved it for the girl.

"Can I get a name for the loan?"

"Evie. I'll have it returned by Tuesday."

Gerald held up a hand. "It's alright. Take as much time as you need with it."

Evie smiled and opened the door, but paused, wide eyed to stare at something. She quickly ducked under an arm, which was soon revealed to be connected to Silas.

"Ah, Silas! What did you find?" Gerald's smile faded at the solemn expression on Silas' face.

"We need to talk. Somewhere private." He pulled back his Mancer's coat to reveal the borrowed books hovering inside.

Gerald's confused face turned to one of concern and he led the way to the back of the library where his official office was. Here, he kept the most valuable books in his possession. The books were kept in separate metal lockers, which couldn't be broken into without damaging the item inside.

Gerald pulled a second chair from the corner to his desk, and Silas sat heavily on it. "What is it?" Gerald said as he sat.

"Black Mancing isn't what I thought it would be. It's..." Silas sighed, and put the three books on the table.