Day 3

Ever since I can remember I’ve believed. Believed in the unknown. Even when there was no proof, I believe it was real.

My mother used to tell me that magic was all around us. Flowing through the earth and every being alike. Only a select few had the will to us it. Those people could harness their power and become great. There was one who rebelled, he tried to help the people, he never changed because he ascended to a higher cause.

He was admired, worshiped.

The order of magic cast him out; they believed he went against them. He shared ancient secrets of magic with non-magic people.

The order captured him; they stripped him of his powers. They cursed him to an immortal life. Magical beings haven’t rebelled against the order since.

My friends, my family they all reacted badly when it came to me to be chosen. My family threw me out; I guess they didn’t want anything to do with a magical being. My mind was made up after my family abandoned me, I went to the only place I knew I would be welcome, the Monastery.

If it wasn’t for the journals I kept I swear I would have forgotten my life before magic. Almost 10 years later and I’m still learning new spells, new ways to perform a ritual.

There were times I hated it, times where I wanted to leave. One time I did leave, I got as far as the cliff at the edge of the forest overlooking my old home. Flashes of my past crept up on me, reminded me of the old days, the day I couldn’t go back to.

Today was my final day as an apprentice, tomorrow I will be more. I’ll officially be a Necromancer.
The eight elders had each taught me a different type of magic, one classification each. Abjuration the ability to protect and heal, Conjuration the power of transportation of all living and non-living entities after that there is Divination the power to gain information, Enchantment which is the power to influence one’s mind and emotions then we have Illusion which is the power to create illusions, followed by Nature which allows its caster to controls the forces of nature, my class which is Necromancy is the manipulation of death and the last type is Transmutation which is the ability to transform into anything living and non-living.

I did very well in the art of Conjuration but I was even better at Necromancy. I was too big headed for Illusions; I messed up really bad and was punished for it. I craved more power then what was available to me with Abjuration and Divination. Transmutation wasn’t the type of art I wanted to specialise in, sure taking the form of another person, animal or object was fascinating but still not something I would enjoy. That then leaves Enchantment and Nature, manipulation was something I’d grown to love over the years I’d spent in this Monastery but that is something that I can work on. Controlling the forces of nature did appeal to me but I wasn’t cut out for it.

Tomorrow I will have to face a number of challenges, stretching my abilities thin. Tomorrow will determine if I’m ready to ascend.

The other students talk amongst themselves as we dine. The feast is plentiful, to encourage us to relax and prepare for the morrow. Out of the sixteen of us still around I was the only one to delve into Necromancy.

There was one student who had shone brighter than all the rest, one who potentially best me. Her name is Clarice; she excelled in the art of Conjuration. We were at a tie for the power we harboured.
She glared at me from across the room. No one sitting beside her just like myself. The two strongest are both alone at a time like this. I can’t figure out if she is planning on attacking me or if that look is just her usual face. Something flickered in her eyes, something that I once saw, back in my village when my family cast me out.

With the blink of an eye she was standing in front of me, purple fire bound to her fists that she’d raised to hit me. In that second she’d teleported across the hall I successfully summoned an undead spirit.

I was mesmerised that I’d finally succeeded in summoning an undead spirit, a spirit in corporeal form, and even more than that it had grabbed Clarice’s raised fist to stop her touching me. The spirit as gruesome as it was, was completely under my control, green swirls of magic dissipated from the undead creature as its hold on the Conjurer weakened until it was no more than a flash of green light.

When I felt I could breathe again I then realised just how drained I felt after the summoning. Clarice dropped her fist, understanding evident in her eyes. She knew, my guesses is she knew just how drained I was feeling. It was only then I noticed how the noise had been siphoned right out of the hall. All eyes were set on the conjurer and me. Including those of the elders who stood watching from where Clarice had vanished.

The looks over masters gave us then said it all. We were ready, we would be ascending tomorrow. The woman still standing in front of me held her hand out to me then, a smile gracing her lips. Even though I had no clue about the future, what would happen after tomorrow, but right now I knew one thing. I’d just made friends with my enemy.

Clarice and I would be spending more time together after the challenges we are to face. Maybe now I can return home and take my revenge on those who wronged me all those years ago.

In one swift movement I took her hand, forcing myself to stand by her side, a smile tainting my lips as we observed those around us.

This was it; this was the start of something new. A new chapter in our lives.