Im a new member to Chorrol and love to write, so Id thought id toss this out there.
Years before Kaxt had watched the king fall, a small boy ran through the halls of the Battle Academy. Anyone could tell he was an elf, having fair skin and the long, pointed ears of his people. He ran through the halls of the Front Teir Academy, in the capital city of the elves, Lotherin. The Eternal Shards glowed a rainbow of colors-The king’s son had recently taken the throne and all believed a good future was to come from it.
“Master Shadowsong, I do believe you are late to class,” said the dwarven teacher as this child put down his books on the empty table in the back.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again” the child said, shrugging.
“I will make sure it won’t,” replied the teacher sternly. “Since you were the last one to arrive, why don’t you demonstrate the Aquarius spell?” inquired the dwarf, a smile cracking along the dwarf’s face.
“But…I don’t know how to do it,” the child mumbled.
“What? No one can hear you, Master Shadowsong. Speak up” commanded the teacher.
“I don’t know how to do the spell” replied the boy.
“So, you are late for class and you did not do your studying like you were supposed to?”
“No, but-“
“That will be one hundred after class, Shadowsong” said the dwarf, as the smile widened into a grin.
“Now, flip through your copy of Advanced Aquatic Spells to page ninety-three. Master Blackcrow, would you show Master Shadowsong how to do the Aquarius spell?” said the teacher.
“Of course” replied a student, apparently much older than the boy. He went to the front of the classroom and shouted “Aquarius Elementas” right at the boy, who was instantly splashed with at least a gallon of water.
“Come on Redbeard, you’re not going actually going to make me do one-hundred?” asked the boy when he was alone with his teacher. (One hundred refers to a punishment in the academy, in this case, casting the failed spell one hundred times and writing the spell one hundred times.) A smile spread across the dwarf’s face. “Of course not, but do try to not be late for once, will you Lahowyn?” asked the teacher, chuckling.
“I’ll try…oh, and for next class, can you not ask Lumiaris to splash me with a gallon of lake water?”
“Only if you’re not late again. Now get goin‘, laddie, or you’ll miss yer next class” said the dwarf as Lahowyn scurried away to his next class.
When Lahowyn reached his next class, he was late again.
“Get stuck in the dormitory, or did you become lost coming down the hall?” asked Lahowyn’s friend, Lumiaris, who had, as always, arrived before Lahowyn.
Lahowyn quickly put on his mail breastplate and leggings and took a sword from the weapons rack.
“Silvertongue?”
“Here ma’am,” replied one of the students, all lined up in a row in mail armor.
“Blackcrow?”
“Here,” Lumiaris said as the teacher, Fynnandrey, moved down the row of students. Some would think Fynn would be the type to teach herbalism, but she wasn’t head battle trainer and captain of the guard for nothing.
“Shadowsong!” she yelled as she was going down the line.
“Yes ma’am” Lahowyn replied as he ran up into line, just managing to strap a bow to his back.
“All right, everyone is here. Pair up with your partner and we we’ll duel. Lahowyn, you first” Fynn said. Fynn wasn’t one to be messed with. She was the most hated teacher in the academy by students, but was, indeed, a good teacher.
Lahowyn and another boy, named Arrion, lined up and saluted each other, as custom before duels.
Fynn whistled and Arrion charged forward, wielding his duel broadswords. Lahowyn quickly stepped aside, not wanting to taste Arrion’s blade, even if they weren’t sharp at the least.
The duel lasted the whole of four minutes. In the end, Arrion won. Lahowyn seldom attacked, for, according to his teacher, had “Some of the best parry work she’s ever seen.”
The last class of the day was Druidism, which Lahowyn always looked forward to. Druidism wasn’t one of those hard classes. All druidism is is healing, nothing special, though the teacher, an elf taught by Archdruid Kaxt named Melys, kept saying if you stuck to druidism you would learn things no normal caster would know.
Lahowyn also liked Druidism because his neighbor, Narcissa, was in his class. She was an orphan, just like Lahowyn. Narcissa, or Cissy, was adopted by the Ravenclaws, and it just happened that Lahowyn had been adopted by a man bearing the name Turgon Shadowweaver, who lived right next door to the Ravenclaws, so he and Narcissa grew up together. When Lahowyn was found at the door of the orphanage as a baby, he had a crumpled note in his hand which read “His father died in battle. His mother died of heartache. His name is Lahowyn Shadowsong.”
“What do you use when you are bitten by a snake?” asked Melys. Lahowyn’s hand shot into the air.
“Master Shadowsong?”
“Herum Poison” replied Lahowyn.
“Correct. Why does that spell work, Master Shadowsong?” asked the teacher.
“’Herum’ means 'Come to’ or ‘Leave’ and Poison is what is wrong with the target. Herum would draw out [and eliminate] the common poisons in the target” replied Lahowyn, who was out of breath after telling all of that.
“Correct. But are there other ways to heal others?”
This time Narcissa’s hand shot up.
“Miss Ravenclaw?”
“Yes there is. Esrond means ‘heal’ in old tongue, and that would heal the target of what ails them” Narcissa replied.
“Correct.”
“Lum, why do you always have to be the teacher’s favorite?” Lahowyn asked instantly as soon as they were in the Boys Dormitory.
“Is it my fault everything I do is perfect?” Lumiaris retorted. At this, Lahowyn laughed.
“You. Perfect? By any chance, did you bribe the scribes to change the definition of ‘perfect’?” Lahowyn asked, still laughing.
“Very funny…especially when you fail all the classes. You know, Decision Exams are coming up. I don’t know about you, but I can get into whatever school I want,” Lumiaris replied.
Lahowyn had forgotten about Decision Exams. Decision Exams were the exams that defined what you would do for a living- If you managed to pass in the Battle Training class, you could join the military academy. It was the same everywhere- if you pass you go to a same-gender school for you to spend the next four years mastering whatever talent that school taught you.
“Think Redbeard will let me go to the Arcanary?” Lahowyn asked.
“Sure, when the Eternalsoul crystals are black” Lumiaris replied laughing.
Two Months Later
“Ready….stabilize…..stabilize!” shouted Redbeard.
A flash of light went hurling past Lahowyn’s face, hitting the target square.
“Very good, Master Blackcrow. You will get you’re test score back in a week” Redbeard told Lumiaris.
“Hmmmm…..Master Redtalon, if you would mind” Redbeard said to the class.
Arrion stepped up, and Redbeard whispered something in his ear.
“Firrag!” Arrion shouted, and a single stream of flame sprouted from his hand, licking everything in the room, destroying a painting of what looked like Redbeard’s mother on the wall, completely missing the target.
“Arrion, I will get you your test score back to you tomorrow” Redbeard said
“Master Shadowsong, come up please” Redbeard asked Lahowyn. Lahowyn got up from his seat with Lumiaris, who had a grin on his face, and stood in front of the class.
Redbeard walked up to Lahowyn.
“A fire spell from Complex Flames of the World if you will” Redbeard said in Lahowyn’s ear.
Lahowyn tried to think of a spell from the book, but he had never been interested in fire…
“Master Shadowsong?”
Lahowyn whispered “Drakkius Blackflame.” He did not know what the spell was, or where he had heard it, and it sounded unnatural to him.
Fire spread all around the boy’s hand, a terrible shriek emitting from the flames. Something came from the spell, something old. The flames engulfed the boy as Redbeard swore…and then everything faded.
When everything came into focus, Lahowyn saw not his teacher or classroom, but a battlefield. A field of strife and death. Upon it, an army fell back, many dying to oncoming arrows. A person, Lahowyn had seen before but could not remember where, on an armored horse wielding a sword that shone as bright as the moon rode forward.
“Drakkius Blackflame” the figured shouted and a dragon of flame flew from his hand, shrieking. It tore down upon the enemy, killing the archers that kept the army on the run. It was made of flame, anything it touched
But then, another figure, one dressed in dark robes with a chilling look about him sat on a skeletal horse came forward, a deep mist around him.
An unearthly voice came from behind the hood that covered his face, and Lahowyn screamed, but he could hear nothing but the other’s chilling voice.
The sun faded and dusk was upon the field. Suddenly the person defending the fleeing army fell from his horse. The chilling one came up to the man lying on the dead grass of the field and drew a sword, a sword as black as night itself, and thrust it into the other’s body…and muttered “You should have died long ago, brother…” and everything faded yet again.
When Lahowyn arose from his sleep, Redbeard was next to him. He recognized where he was as the Druidic Chamber where he had been just yesterday for class.
“Are you awake, laddie?” Redbeard asked instantly as soon as Lahowyn opened his eyes.
“Argh….” Lahowyn said, barely being able to say anything.