“This is it,” Ivan said, jumping down off Zahara. He pointed to the stone tower, “This will be our dormitory for the next several months. There’s a large hall for dining and a library complete with every book ever written about magic and dragons. The fighting pit’s a new addition and looks like it will be a great place to learn how to battle with magic. And the cliffs are used for flight training.”
Anders and Zahara ogled at it all in wonder, drinking it all in. “Where do we begin?” Anders asked Ivan.
“In the library,” Ivan said as he walked toward the tower.
Anders was eager to improve on his battle skills and learn battle magic and flight maneuvers with Zahara, but he was not excited to read about them.
“Shouldn’t we start by working on my fighting skills?” he asked Ivan, jogging to catch up with him.
“We’ll start every day by going to the library to study. After lunch you and Zahara will practice what you have learned that morning,” he said.
When they entered the stone building, Anders looked around at the paintings and banners that covered the walls. They depicted dragons and sorcerers of the past. House banners with their slogans were interspersed among the paintings.
Ivan led them through the entryway, passing a large dining hall. Anders paused to admire the enormous room. Long tables ran the length of the hall. He marveled at the large doors and high ceilings, each big enough to accommodate all sizes of dragons.
“Follow me,” Ivan said, opening a door that led down a set of stairs into a sizable cave-like basement.
He lit a torch on the wall and held it up as Anders and Zahara entered the cave. The light revealed hundreds of books on shelves that lined the walls of the enormous cavern. Anders was taken aback by the size of this hidden underground library.
“Will I have to read all of these?” he said, looking around.
Ivan chuckled, “No, but you will need to read quite a bit if you’re going to gain enough information to take on Merglan.”
“Where should I begin?” Anders asked.
“Here,” Ivan said leading him to a row of books all stamped on their spines with a golden dragon wing. He pulled out one volume and said, “Start with this and let me know when you have completed it.”
Anders sat down on one of the many chairs within the cave.
“Zahara, I have something for you to read as well,” Ivan said, leading her across the cave.
But I can’t read your language in writing, Zahara said.
“You don’t have to,” Ivan said. “There’s a special kind of book created just for your kind.” He showed her a large bookcase and pulled open the doors. The cabinet held stacks of stone tablets. He attempted to lift one off the shelf but set it back in its place after trying to pick it up. “These are a lot heavier than I remember,” he said. “Why don’t you start with that one,” he pointed to the slab he’d attempted to lift.
Zahara grabbed it with her clawed hand and held it up, examining the front and back. It’s just a stone, she said confused.
“Oh, it’s much more than just a stone,” Ivan said excitedly. He spoke an elfish word and the stone slab lit up, the strange light illuminating from within the tablet’s core. “It’s a book for dragons,” he said, showing her how to use it. “You touch the side here to turn the images. Each image plays out the content of the story. The magic in the stone slab links with your mind and narrates what is happening. Pretty ingenious, wouldn’t you say?”
Zahara’s eyes widened as she held the stone.
For the next several hours they read separately about the workings of ancient magic written by the riders of old. When Anders finished reading the last line in his book, he closed it. He turned to Zahara, who was blowing out puffs of smoke. What are you doing? he asked.
I’m trying to breathe fire, she said.
I thought you already knew how to do that? Anders asked. You did it when we needed a flame before, he said referring to the sad burning of the bodies of the fallen dragon and rider.
That was the first time and I don’t know how I did it, it just came.
Oh, well I’m finished with my reading, let’s go see Ivan, Anders replied, standing up and stretching.
Zahara nodded and followed Anders out of the library. They found Ivan sitting on a bench near the entrance to the dining hall. “We’re finished with our readings,” Anders said. “What’s next?”
“I guess that means it’s lunchtime,” Ivan said. “After lunch, we’ll practice some of what you just learned.”
Ivan had their meals prepared for them when they entered the large hall. They ate a mix of dried fruits and nuts, a small loaf of bread, and a pitcher of water completed their human meal. Ivan had somehow managed to get several legs of lamb for Zahara. As they ate, Anders wondered if anyone else were using the facility. Chewing through his food, he asked, “Are there any others who will be using this place?”
Ivan shook his head.
“What about the cooks?” he asked.
“No cooks,” Ivan said.
Anders furrowed his brow and was about to ask where the lamb and bread came from but decided against it. Ivan was apparently not in a telling mood.
After they’d eaten and were back out in the heat of the day, Zahara and Anders were given separate physical tasks. Anders and Ivan practiced the basics of understanding magic, while Zahara practiced flight maneuvers and creating fire from within.
“You won’t have it this easy for long,” Ivan told the two new students. “Starting tomorrow, Natalia will be helping train you. She’s an excellent sword handler. In addition, we’ll begin to have several dragons come and train with Zahara.”
“Other dragons? Will we be getting hurt?” Anders asked.
“No, we place a magical buffer around the teeth and claws of the dragons so they won’t damage themselves. It’s much safer. I can teach you how to do the same with our swords. This way you can get used to fighting with the sword you’ll use in battle and at the same time you’ll avoid damaging the blade’s sharp edges,” Ivan said.
“I read this morning about how to close your thoughts off from someone who specializes in mind tricks,” Anders said. “Will we be learning about that?”
“Yes, I can show you how to block a mental probe after we clear our heads with some physical activity,” Ivan said.
“Excellent,” Anders said. “Let’s get to it.” He clapped his hands together loudly and heard the echo reverberating back off the walls of the training building and the cliff walls above.
“Right,” Ivan drew his sword out of the sheath that hung from his belt. Anders did the same. Ivan pointed to the cliffs and said to Zahara, “Why don’t you go get acquainted with the spires. You will need to know every nook and cranny to use to your advantage during the bouts to come.”
Zahara nodded and took flight, letting her large wings lift her body up to the spires.
“The spell was originally meant to create a seal around a person’s body before going swimming. It allows the person to breathe the air trapped inside, allowing them to swim much greater distances underwater,” Ivan said. He hovered his hand over the blade of the sword. Nothing happened. It seemed to Anders that the spell hadn’t worked. With a look of frustration, Ivan said, “This is one of the downsides to losing your dragon. Spells that once were as easy as lifting a finger become impossible to complete.”
“Maybe I could try?” Anders asked.
Ivan nodded, motioning him closer, “Here,” he said showing Anders what to do. “Put your hand out over the sword like this.” He placed his hand over his blade and Anders mimicked him. “There are two ways to cast a spell. First, with a word. Second, with an emotion. If you speak the correct word, the magic will come; likewise, if you emit the correct emotion, the magic will come. After years of using the speech, you’ll know which emotion accompanies the word. Some sorcerers continue to use the words while others use emotions. It depends on the magician’s preference.”
Ivan told him the word in elfish and Anders spoke it. A spark of light shimmered from his hand and reverberated across the blade. He felt the energy flowing from him stop once the blade was covered entirely. He glanced at Ivan and said, “Wow, did that work?”
“See for yourself,” Ivan said stepping back.
Anders took his sword, Lazuran, and brought it down toward the ground, half expecting it to slide into the dirt like it usually would’ve with such a motion. Anders was happily surprised to feel it bounce off like a stick hitting a rock. He smiled, “Neat!” he exclaimed, his mind racing with all of the possibilities magic could provide.
Ivan had Anders shield his sword in magic before they began to practice. While Ivan focused on Anders’ footwork while Zahara flew and examined the entirety of the cliffs, occasionally blowing puffs of smoke as she tried to recreate the power she’d used once before. When she had finished searching the spires, Ivan instructed her to practice some evasive flying maneuvers. He showed Anders how to create an image of a dragon, he called it a shadow dragon, to chase after her while she worked. If it ever caught her, it would run into her and disappear in a puff, then reset itself, forming again right behind her, ready to pursue once more.
After spending most of the afternoon sparring and flying, they were too exhausted physically to continue. Offering them a rest from the physical activity, Ivan instructed them in the mental art of closing off one’s mind. The task proved more difficult than Anders would’ve expected. He found it hard to know if they were sealing their minds correctly because Ivan couldn’t launch a mental attack and Anders’ link with Zahara was hard to differentiate.
