Sample Content:
Chapter 1:
A past long forgotten...
This story is dedicated to a forgotten land of magic; worlds apart from the monotony and routine which exists in most of our everyday lives. Indeed, ten thousand years ago magic was much more than the sleight of hand performed as a party piece; it was a well-established way of life, a bond for friendships, a means to do trade, and a pathway to a better future.
There was a small, yet significant continent residing somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic that was a twisted land mass of deserted scrubland, the occasional mountain range, and a vast and almost endless expanse of snowy tundra and jagged icecaps. Quite how anyone could survive these extreme polar conditions was a mystery shrouded by the mists of time.
Time however, does not flow at a constant rate; it tends to twist and turn into all sorts of shapes and its real nature is more hyperbolic than a linear straight line. Wizards of aeons past studied chronology and one such mage, a man named Mobius, could manipulate time’s flow as he pleased. With great skill and methods unknown to mortal men, he crafted a true wonder of the ancient world... A floating city named Kazana, which became the capital and centre for all the arcane arts. Sitting high atop the city was the palace of king Mephistolos; a largely benevolent ruler who ordained how the people were to use their talents. The business of the kingdom was conducted by nine masters who governed the land; each one in possession of a unique element or talent. Fire, water, wind, earth, darkness, light, transfiguration, alchemy, and time were the core types of magic controlled by these skilled magicians with the King of Kazana in charge.
It used to be that magic was used for the provision of goods and services; however, things were changing in the governing body of wizards... People now wanted rights; they were not as concerned with money and free trade as they had been previously. Whilst most of the inhabitants of this land lived in harmony, human nature being the thing that it was; the inhabitants of the land started to drift apart. Mages used their powers to rob and plunder from others; pillage and murder ensued throughout the lands villages, and the various negative facets of humanity began to erode the kingdom.
In a desperate act to try to save his domain, the King issued a decree, with support of the nine masters to outlaw magical discrimination; after all, people were all wizards. What did it matter that they were all different? Those who failed to obey the rules were imprisoned, executed or exiled to the outer reaches of the kingdom.
The chaos that ensued was unparalleled. People started to rebel against the law calling it magical equality discrimination. One such person was the king’s daughter, Elaina. She used her magic to help some of the people imprisoned for minor offences, and sent them far away beyond the reaches of the kingdom using the power of her mother’s bracelet. It was a legendary artefact of immense power that was said to open the doorway of time.
This was only the beginning of her deception however. The King had wanted her to marry the Darkness Master, Zefor Doomghast. A well established mage, with a legacy of money and magical skill, Zefor was responsible for overseeing the execution of lawbreakers and had in his possession the most destructive spell ever known; black inferno. Elaina was not enamoured with this man at all, and the thought of marriage to such a person was intolerable.
One day, when the kingdom was experiencing a particularly difficult level of turmoil some strangers appeared. They went to the royal palace, and stood up to the King and Zefor claiming that the law was barbaric and led to levels of suffering and torture amongst the people. Enraged, the King started a magical battle against these strangers who were able to defend themselves thanks to another one of the legendary artefacts... The sword of Elzor; a magical blade that could change its shape depending on the adversary.
The history books don’t say much of what happened next; only that Zefor cast the black inferno magic inside the castle walls. The city could not contain the force of the explosion, and it plummeted to the snowy tundra. The resulting imbalance of magical energy broke apart the continent, and it sunk to the ocean floor with most of its inhabitants.
Magic soon faded from the rest of the land as the people started to forget their talents. It was almost as if the source of all magic was somehow connected with the city of Kazana, and with the city’s destruction so too the gift was lost. As for the King and princess Elaina, it was believed that they had perished... Zefor was found washed up on a beach in an extremely critical condition, and vanished from sight into exile shortly afterwards. Before he left however, he prophesied that the kingdom would never truly be destroyed, and that in the future the human race would witness a revival of the magical arts; at which point he vowed he would return!
Jonas coughed.
“Still telling those wild stories Granddad?” Said Jason.
Chapter 9:
Infiltrate! Sky Fortress Kazana!
“Hang on a minute,” said Rothbury fiddling with a vial of fluid hanging around his neck, “What are you doing boarding Pearl? It normally costs three thousand talons to ride from here to Kazana!”
Harriet quickly jumped on the defensive saying they had saved his life, and that Sister Flossi had said that it was the least that they could do to give them a lift to the city. Rothbury looked uncomfortable about it, but relented eventually and they boarded.
A few minutes later, they were off. Rapidly climbing into the air, the group could feel the pressure of the wind rushing past their faces during the take off. It was almost sufficient to make them lose their grip on the dragon’s back, but clinging on for dear life they managed to defy the laws of physics long enough to reach a stable altitude. Marcus tried not to look down, he remembered that the last time he was on an aeroplane he had had some serious air sickness, and hoped that the queasy sensation he dreaded would not re-emerge. He didn’t have to worry about looking down however; all that could be seen down below was endless white fields stretching on into the distance in all directions.
Trying to take his mind off his motion sickness, he broke the silence and asked Rothbury a question...
“I noticed that you were playing with something hanging around your neck, what is it?”
“This?” Responded Rothbury as he fiddled with it once more, “This is a vial of water. You could say its holy water, but it really is water procured from the jar of life.”
“The jar of life?” Marcus answered back, “I don’t suppose I could have it, could I?”
“I’m afraid this is for the King.” Replied Rothbury, “What on earth do you want it for?”
“I’ve got a feeling that it will come in handy one day, that and the fact I was told to use it to save someone close to me.” Said Marcus.
“Well, this is for the king, but if for some reason I forget to give it to him, you can have it on the way back.”
“Are we there yet?” Queried Marcus childishly.
“No, not yet.” Responded Rothbury, “About another three to four hours at this speed.”
Jason didn’t say much, he was gripping hold of the dragons back tightly with his legs whilst laying hands on his shoulder to aid the healing process. Harriet was clinging onto his waist trying not to look anywhere but straight ahead whilst her hair whipped around and almost suffocated Marcus.
© Jack Sperring, 2013
The right of Jack Sperring to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
A past long forgotten...
This story is dedicated to a forgotten land of magic; worlds apart from the monotony and routine which exists in most of our everyday lives. Indeed, ten thousand years ago magic was much more than the sleight of hand performed as a party piece; it was a well-established way of life, a bond for friendships, a means to do trade, and a pathway to a better future.
There was a small, yet significant continent residing somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic that was a twisted land mass of deserted scrubland, the occasional mountain range, and a vast and almost endless expanse of snowy tundra and jagged icecaps. Quite how anyone could survive these extreme polar conditions was a mystery shrouded by the mists of time.
Time however, does not flow at a constant rate; it tends to twist and turn into all sorts of shapes and its real nature is more hyperbolic than a linear straight line. Wizards of aeons past studied chronology and one such mage, a man named Mobius, could manipulate time’s flow as he pleased. With great skill and methods unknown to mortal men, he crafted a true wonder of the ancient world... A floating city named Kazana, which became the capital and centre for all the arcane arts. Sitting high atop the city was the palace of king Mephistolos; a largely benevolent ruler who ordained how the people were to use their talents. The business of the kingdom was conducted by nine masters who governed the land; each one in possession of a unique element or talent. Fire, water, wind, earth, darkness, light, transfiguration, alchemy, and time were the core types of magic controlled by these skilled magicians with the King of Kazana in charge.
It used to be that magic was used for the provision of goods and services; however, things were changing in the governing body of wizards... People now wanted rights; they were not as concerned with money and free trade as they had been previously. Whilst most of the inhabitants of this land lived in harmony, human nature being the thing that it was; the inhabitants of the land started to drift apart. Mages used their powers to rob and plunder from others; pillage and murder ensued throughout the lands villages, and the various negative facets of humanity began to erode the kingdom.
In a desperate act to try to save his domain, the King issued a decree, with support of the nine masters to outlaw magical discrimination; after all, people were all wizards. What did it matter that they were all different? Those who failed to obey the rules were imprisoned, executed or exiled to the outer reaches of the kingdom.
The chaos that ensued was unparalleled. People started to rebel against the law calling it magical equality discrimination. One such person was the king’s daughter, Elaina. She used her magic to help some of the people imprisoned for minor offences, and sent them far away beyond the reaches of the kingdom using the power of her mother’s bracelet. It was a legendary artefact of immense power that was said to open the doorway of time.
This was only the beginning of her deception however. The King had wanted her to marry the Darkness Master, Zefor Doomghast. A well established mage, with a legacy of money and magical skill, Zefor was responsible for overseeing the execution of lawbreakers and had in his possession the most destructive spell ever known; black inferno. Elaina was not enamoured with this man at all, and the thought of marriage to such a person was intolerable.
One day, when the kingdom was experiencing a particularly difficult level of turmoil some strangers appeared. They went to the royal palace, and stood up to the King and Zefor claiming that the law was barbaric and led to levels of suffering and torture amongst the people. Enraged, the King started a magical battle against these strangers who were able to defend themselves thanks to another one of the legendary artefacts... The sword of Elzor; a magical blade that could change its shape depending on the adversary.
The history books don’t say much of what happened next; only that Zefor cast the black inferno magic inside the castle walls. The city could not contain the force of the explosion, and it plummeted to the snowy tundra. The resulting imbalance of magical energy broke apart the continent, and it sunk to the ocean floor with most of its inhabitants.
Magic soon faded from the rest of the land as the people started to forget their talents. It was almost as if the source of all magic was somehow connected with the city of Kazana, and with the city’s destruction so too the gift was lost. As for the King and princess Elaina, it was believed that they had perished... Zefor was found washed up on a beach in an extremely critical condition, and vanished from sight into exile shortly afterwards. Before he left however, he prophesied that the kingdom would never truly be destroyed, and that in the future the human race would witness a revival of the magical arts; at which point he vowed he would return!
Jonas coughed.
“Still telling those wild stories Granddad?” Said Jason.
Chapter 9:
Infiltrate! Sky Fortress Kazana!
“Hang on a minute,” said Rothbury fiddling with a vial of fluid hanging around his neck, “What are you doing boarding Pearl? It normally costs three thousand talons to ride from here to Kazana!”
Harriet quickly jumped on the defensive saying they had saved his life, and that Sister Flossi had said that it was the least that they could do to give them a lift to the city. Rothbury looked uncomfortable about it, but relented eventually and they boarded.
A few minutes later, they were off. Rapidly climbing into the air, the group could feel the pressure of the wind rushing past their faces during the take off. It was almost sufficient to make them lose their grip on the dragon’s back, but clinging on for dear life they managed to defy the laws of physics long enough to reach a stable altitude. Marcus tried not to look down, he remembered that the last time he was on an aeroplane he had had some serious air sickness, and hoped that the queasy sensation he dreaded would not re-emerge. He didn’t have to worry about looking down however; all that could be seen down below was endless white fields stretching on into the distance in all directions.
Trying to take his mind off his motion sickness, he broke the silence and asked Rothbury a question...
“I noticed that you were playing with something hanging around your neck, what is it?”
“This?” Responded Rothbury as he fiddled with it once more, “This is a vial of water. You could say its holy water, but it really is water procured from the jar of life.”
“The jar of life?” Marcus answered back, “I don’t suppose I could have it, could I?”
“I’m afraid this is for the King.” Replied Rothbury, “What on earth do you want it for?”
“I’ve got a feeling that it will come in handy one day, that and the fact I was told to use it to save someone close to me.” Said Marcus.
“Well, this is for the king, but if for some reason I forget to give it to him, you can have it on the way back.”
“Are we there yet?” Queried Marcus childishly.
“No, not yet.” Responded Rothbury, “About another three to four hours at this speed.”
Jason didn’t say much, he was gripping hold of the dragons back tightly with his legs whilst laying hands on his shoulder to aid the healing process. Harriet was clinging onto his waist trying not to look anywhere but straight ahead whilst her hair whipped around and almost suffocated Marcus.
© Jack Sperring, 2013
The right of Jack Sperring to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.