Here is the link to the video. Click Here for the Book Trailer
_______________________________________________________
When Nagazi, the headmaster of the Nubian school of Wizardry, told him that he had zero talent for magic and he would never amount to anything, something broke inside of Scion. An invisible energy forced his head upward; his eyes squarely on the visage of the elder man, Scion silently spoke, “You are wrong. I will surpass you.”
The old man obviously sensed the
arrogance behind Scion’s eyes and sent the boy flying with a flick of his
finger. Scion was bruised and broken that day, but he held on to his solemn
vow.
It was true. He lacked any real magical
talent. A shame, but Scion would not live shamefully. Unfortunately, he had no
reason to believe he could keep his vow until he heard non-magical children speak
of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly…something they saw while in a
faraway land. There was no magical energy involved, yet magic took place. He
decided that he would learn about this magic.
He spent the next twenty years
traveling the world, strengthening his body and his mind—learning from others,
reading parchment both old and new.
Eventually, Scion returned to his
village, with only his cloak on his back and pouch on his side. He registered
for the Wizardry skills challenge. The competition had grown boring as of late,
but people still respected the winners. The skills challenge carried so much
respect that even the famed Druids attended.
The contest had three parts;
healing, destruction and wonderment. He had no desire to place in all three,
but he knew the healing and wonderment were both obtainable. At the contest, he
obscured his features with a hood. He would reveal himself when the time was
right.
Many of the magicians that came
before him failed the first tier of the competition. An elderly man on a small
bed was the subject of the healing skill. He moaned and pulled his knees to his
chest… Spell after spell, he continued to groan.
The problem lay in the fact that no
one diagnosed the problem. They simply went to their clans default healing
spell. When Scion’s turn came, he asked questions of the elderly man. Questions
about his habits, both good and bad. Scion rubbed the man’s stomach. This drew
murmurs from the crowd.
“Number eleven!” The headmaster
stood up and gazed down upon Scion. “There is a time-limit!”
Scion nodded, reached into his bag
and gave the man a small vial. “Drink this.”
“Is this a potion?” The man asked.
Scion shrugged. “It is a solution
to your problem.”
The man drunk the potion, squinted
one eye and rolled into a child-like position. Scion stepped back quickly. The
man burped and then released an inhuman amount of gas out the other end. Scion
held his breath as he slid out of range of the foul smelling results. The old
man stood up, let another round out and smiled. “I feel better!”
The crowd cheered.
He had done it, the first person to
win the healing challenge in five years. He had etched his family’s name in
competition history.
For the wonderment skill, Scion
simply dipped a judge’s cloak in a solution of water and alcohol, hung the
cloak on a thin wire and set it on fire. When the fire died, he gave the cloak back
to the judge for inspection. She seemed genuinely surprised that her cloak was
still intact.
Scion didn’t bother to take part in
the destruction. His magic was capable of such feats, but he was a man of
peace. The people still rewarded him for
his healing ability with the first place prize and honorable mention in the
wonderment. He stood on the platform of winners, seven other accomplished
wizards stood beside him. Each gave thanks and acknowledged their tribe.
Scion’s heart nearly burst as he removed his hood. “I am Scion of the Darazi
clan and I thank you for the opportunity to display my magic.”
The crowds whisper became a loud
rumble as his name brought recognition. The Darazi clan had no talent for
magic—they were born magically blind. The Nubian headmaster stood up. “How dare
you! You have no right to be in this competition.”
Scion cocked his head sideways.
“This competition is a chance to display different styles of magic. I am
displaying mine—a style I am willing to teach to anyone.”
“You are not a magician.” Nagazi
flipped his wrist and a strong wind pushed Scion.
Scion stayed on his feet. “I am not
a child anymore.”
Nagazi pointed his staff at Scion—a
challenge. Scion stepped down and walked toward the wizard, just as others
walked away—quickly. Nagazi fired blasts of fire from his staff, but Scion’s
cloak was treated with a protectant of his own making.
Scion continued to walk forward. He
reached into his pouch and pressed the special cap on a vial. He dodged more
blasts and danced around, seemingly summoning some great power. Truth be told,
the only power Scion was summoning was the power of misdirection. He spun and
pulled a fan from the land of one people out of his sleeve. When he was certain
that everyone focused on the fan, he rolled the vial near Nagazi’s feet. He
stopped at a safe distance and pointed the fan at Nagazi. “Protect yourself.”
The vial exploded, knocking Nagazi to the far wall.
It wasn’t until well after Scion
was ruled the victor, that Nagazi came to. He looked up to Scion who stood over
him, arms folded. “What happened?” Nagazi asked.
“I just surpassed you,” Scion said.
The End
NOTE:
You can buy my adult scifi novel Hearteless: A Journey to Second Earth @amazon or here.
For the Book Trailer for Heartless click Here for the Heartless Book Trailer. For email updates, please click HERE and feel free to leave a message.
Also, feel free to comment below and follow me on Google and Twitter @ Frank_D_Rogers
No comments:
Post a Comment