Fantasy Story Capter 3

Welcome to the third chapter of my book. If you want to read the previous chapters or follow along as I write it, go to this link. Please comment and provide feedback.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 3

Zane woke to Ed shaking him awake. He snapped open his eyes and looked around; it was still dark.

“It’s still dark out. Let me sleep,” he groggily said.

“We need to go. Now! Gadyar has sent out soldiers to go searching for you. You may be good with that sword, but you’re still no match for hundreds of armed soldiers. Let’s go.”

“Fine.”

They rapidly grabbed all their gear and ran into the woods. They ran until sunup. Finally, they stopped.

“It looks like we can’t take a direct route to the castle. They will definitely be guarding the roads. If we travel through the forest, we will reach the castle in around six days assuming no further complications. For now though, I will teach you a spell that will be useful. I couldn’t use it myself as I am not a half wizard, but I spent a lot of time learning about magic and can easily teach you. This spell will be a simple masking spell that should make our gear and us invisible. You will have to speak words from the ancient language of magic itself, like we did at the fire place. This time, however, the words are Factus latet.”

Zane instantly understood the words’ meaning. He remembered in summoning the sword that he spoke some words as well. Maybe that was a spell too. He chose not to tell Ed yet because he didn’t want to be embarrassed.

“Now, practice. You need to picture us disappearing as you speak the words. Never speak them without the intent of a spell as it could cause magic to escape. Now picture us disappearing and speak the words.”

Zane followed the instructions exactly as told and soon felt the magic wash over him. He knew that the spell had worked without even needing to look for Ed. He suddenly felt something on his back as a disembodied voice spoke.

“Well done. I didn’t think it would go that well on the first try. It took me a while to find you. We should proceed through the forest masked. This guise should help us in hunting; We need food. Also you should practice with sword fighting. That sword may amplify your abilities, but you should still be well trained in all kinds of combat. Your first practice will be to go get us some food without using your sword. Use you hands, traps, my dagger, or whatever else you come up with. Now go.”

Ed took Zane’s sword and sent him away. Zane wandered into the forest a bit and came across a deer drinking from a river. He tiptoed up to it and drew the dagger. Just as he was about to attack, snap, he broke a twig and the deer ran. He tried again and again, but still succeeded in catching nothing. After numerous failed attempts, Zane started to get frustrated. He tried to collect his thoughts and was preparing to summon a bow when he felt the presence again.

“I was wondering when you would start getting frustrated. I influenced Eduarow to send you out on this difficult task. He doesn’t know the half of how to train a wizard. To train a wizard, you must let the wizard learn on his own. You must show him hardship and have him overcome it. You however have been rushed into this, and already know some spells. If you want to be a fully trained wizard, you must allow the spells to come to you. You can use them as much as you want after that. Now you must resume your task, and don’t use a spell unless it enters your head as the only option. Also, the road to my dwelling is guarded heavily. Your only hope is to travel through the dust sea and approach my castle from behind. I fear our enemy has a warlock among him. I won’t be able to contact you again until you reach me. Tell Eduarow all I have told you and he will understand. If you need some extra help from now on, track down my associate in the town of Jerfud. He will help you. Goodbye.”

Zane felt the presence leave his head. That sure was a lot of knowledge he had received. He decided to do what the voice said, and resumed in his hunting task. Eventually night came, but Zane kept on trying. Finally, he spotted a small rabbit sitting in some brush and decided to pounce on it. Just before he did however, he felt some words enter his head. He instantly sensed their meaning to bend flame to his will. He focused on the rabbit and spoke the words.

“Flammam Parere”

The ground under the rabbit was set aflame. The rabbit almost instantly died and was cooked as well. Zane retrieved the rabbit and was about to return to camp when he saw a bright flash of light and heard a scream. He ran back to camp as fast as he could, completely forgetting about the rabbit. He arrived to see a bunch of soldiers looting their camp. He also saw someone dressed quite peculiarly. He was wearing a dark brown robe and was carrying a staff. This must have been the warlock. Zane remained hidden in the bushes. He considered using the hiding spell, but remembered that the voice had told him not to use it.

He remained crouching in the bushes while he snuck back into the forest. As soon as he was out of sight, he ran as fast as he could. He blazed through the forest, leaving Ed behind. He couldn't believe Ed was dead. Suddenly, he heard something. Looking around, he saw a soldier pursuing him. He started to run even faster. He jumped over roots, ducked under branches, and evaded the soldier at every opportunity. He looked back to check how far ahead he was, when the ground was pulled out from under him. He had tripped over a root.

The soldier arrived before Zane had a chance to get back up. He grabbed Zane by the shoulder and yanked him to his feet. He tied up Zane and started marching him back to camp. When they arrived, the warlock cast a spell on Zane and the world faded into oblivion.

He awoke to the voice speaking in his head once again. “It is a shame that happened to Eduarow. Luckily for you, they wanted you alive. I know I said not to accept outside help, but this is life or death. If no spells come to you in a time of need, then use one you already know. You will lose some of your training, but it will be worth it. Also, always try to use spells you learned by yourself before you try a different one. You will still need my help to escape. Allow me to fully enter you mind so I can persevere your surroundings better. Clear your mind and look around the room; I will do the rest.”

As suddenly as it arrived, the presence vanished. Zane took the instructions into heart and followed them. As he complied, he recognized the room. He almost always arrived here in the dreams. He almost never came out.