Rise of Shadows

By Vincent Trigili

In The Enemy of an Enemy, darkness came to the Empire, and magic was born from the bowels of men’s fears. The great and mighty Imperial Navy had to face and overcome unspeakable horrors. In The Academy, fledgling wizards were gathered and trained to fight back and keep the light, while the darkness laid in wait, biding its time and silently gathering its forces. Now as warriors of light, those wizards must begin to make a stand against the rising tide of darkness or watch their realm be overcome!
Shadow must build and train a team of wizards to venture out of the safety of their fortress to discover the source of the strength behind the powerful pirate forces that have taken control of the majority of space around Alpha Academy. This quest will put them on the road to discover a dark truth about their realm’s past that none had ever even imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vincent Trigili
• Release date: Feb 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465902030

Vincent Trigili

The Lost Tales of Power is a sci-fi fantasy cross over series written by Vincent Trigili. Vincent is a graduate student at Liberty University, and presently holds undergraduate degrees in Math and Computer Science. Currently, he is working as a senior software developer at Liberty University. Vincent owns and runs the highly popular astronomy forums, Our Dark Skies, and also maintains the associated Facebook page. He has published several astronomy journals, calendars, blog articles, poetry, and photo books over the years and now turns his hand to fiction. The worlds described in The Lost Tales of Power series were born out of Vincent’s long history of creating role playing games in the old pen and paper tradition. He uses the rich history of those worlds he created to imagine an entirely new world for this series. Vincent uses his exposure and history with science and technology to keep the stories in the realm of the possible while balancing that with an eye for fantasy. The early books in the series take place in a futuristic universe that has recently been discovered by a medieval realm; later books in the series will take place in either realm, or perhaps a realm that has yet to be discovered. All of the books are intended to be roughly equivalent to the movie rating PG. This means any teenager or adult should be comfortable reading them, but some of the material, themes and descriptions may be unsuitable for smaller children. Parents are advised to read the books themselves before deciding if their child should be exposed to the contents of the novels.

Book preview

Prologue

Shadow

Master Mathorn called both Flame and me into his practice room. We were not told much about why we were being summoned, only that he had a special lesson that would benefit both of us. Master Salsartazar, Headmaster Rannor, Master Kellyn, and Grandmaster Vydor were all also in attendance for this lesson. This was the first time I could remember that all of them were in one place at the same time. They all floated high above the floor looking down to see the lesson.

Flame, in the battle of Terathan XV, when Master Jerran teleported into the battle, how did he deal with the enemy forces he faced? asked Master Mathorn.

Master, he created a wall of fire and pushed it towards the sorcerers, responded Flame.

Correct, Flame. Master Salsartazar says you have a basic grasp of that spell, so please cast it and send it at the wall the same way Master Jerran did, responded Master Mathorn.

I knew this to be a very advanced spell, and as I watched Flame begin to cast it, I was again struck by the difference in her two powers. When she was creating illusions, she would weave and dance with her body as her entire body sculpted the power. With her pyromancy she was much more focused. Her movements more clearly mimed grabbing and channeling of the raw fire. Where there was intimate beauty in the crafting of illusions, pyromancy was all business.

It seemed to take excessively long for her to cast the spell. I could not help but think that if this was a battle she would have been gunned down by now. Slowly a wall of pure flame began to appear before her as sweat was beading across her brow. This was by far the most intense spell she had yet learned. Finally, just as the wall was completely formed, I saw her attempt the push.

Suddenly a loud CRACK sound came out of nowhere, accompanied by a brilliant flash of light. Flame only momentarily lost her concentration, but that was enough. The magic that held together the wall of fire failed, and the wall exploded. It was about to fill the room with raw energy when I quickly reached out and gathered the power, unweaving it before it consumed the room.

Flame, what just happened? asked Master Mathorn.

Master, I had almost completed the task when out of nowhere someone cast a thunderclap, said Flame, looking downtrodden.

Master Mathorn turned to face Grandmaster Vydor and said, Grandmaster, as you can see, one of the school’s star pupils was defeated by a minor illusion that any beginning student can cast. Then he turned back to Flame and said, Flame, distraction is one of a wizard’s greatest enemies. As you just demonstrated for us, it can have deadly effects. Master Jerran cast the exact same spell you just attempted, but he did it while under fire and surrounded by wounded knights. He was not distracted; can you tell me why?

Flame was quiet a long while and then responded, Master, is it because he had cast the spell so many times in practice that it had become second nature to him?

No, Flame, but that is an excellent thought on it. In fact that is the first time he ever cast that spell. From his perspective he invented it on the spot, responded Master Mathorn. Shadow, you were able to respond quickly to the resulting danger without being distracted yourself. So do you have a thought on this puzzle?

I was worried he would ask that. I knew the answer, but I did not want to embarrass Flame. Yes, Master, I do. Master Jerran was a Black Adder and had spent many months hiding from sorcerers where any slip in his concentration would have meant death and, prior to that, he would have had extensive navy training on maintaining his focus while under fire. I, also being a navy vet, have had the same training, and I have been in live combat many times. Flame has no such training or experience.

Master Mathorn turned to address the wizards above us again and said, Grandmaster, you have an excellent school here, and Headmaster Rannor has done a wonderful job with it, but it has a weakness. That weakness is that it is too safe. I fear we have sheltered those we wish to turn into guardians so much so that they may be unable to complete the task. Grandmaster, I called this meeting and demonstration not to criticize this fine school, but to offer a solution for its weakness. Shadow and Flame are among the best the school has, so I suggest they be the first to try my solution. Shadow’s combat experience will mitigate the risks that early adopters have, and they have already proven to work well as a team. Grandmaster, I suggest we send them out into the real universe on a combat mission. As I understand it the trade routes to the nearby colonies have been plagued with pirates. In my realm, pirates would never dare to operate so close to a wizard stronghold. This would make a good first test for our star students. Grandmaster, I suggest we give them a ship and send them to help the local navy clear out the pirates. This will not only open an avenue to teach our students combat skills, but it will also bring wizards and, by implication, the danger from the sorcerers back into the minds of the fine people of this realm.

Grandmaster Vydor turned to me and said, Shadow, what do you think of this plan?

Grandmaster, I would like nothing more than to help the good people of this realm in such a way, but until now we have had tight restrictions with regard to leaving the planet because of the risk from sorcerers. A mission such as this could not be conducted completely in secret and is sure to draw attention. However, whatever you decide on this matter, Grandmaster, that is what we will do, I responded.

Shadow, do you really think we can pull that off? asked Flame privately via our telepathic link.

Yes, but not alone. We will need to work with the Aleeryon Navy at the very least. Perhaps we can get Bill to help on that front. I sent. I was already beginning to think of plans for how this could work. I knew that we would need support out there. If we went at it alone we would risk running afoul of the navy, so at the very least we would need to keep them informed about what we were doing.

While I was working out a plan, the gathering above us was silent. They were in all likelihood debating the matter in private telepathic channels. In fact, I guessed the entire Council of Wizards was discussing this, even the members that were not physically present. All of them were former combat veterans, so they would be likely to understand the problem that Master Mathorn presented.

Finally, Grandmaster Vydor turned to me and said, "Shadow, Flame, if you are willing, gather three other wizards from our realm, and once they are trained head to Aleeryon’s major trading hub. Along that route it is a certainty that you will encounter pirates. I want you to use every tool at your disposal to crush them. Keep the Aleeryon Navy informed of all your actions. I will contact them before you leave and tell them we are finally in a position to assist them. They have been begging for help for a long time now, so you will be a great relief to them.

I do not see this as a lesson for you, Shadow, as you are already fully qualified to command. However, there are very few among our students that have seen real combat, so you will have to teach them and nurture them. You will have full authority to act as you see fit and will represent Alpha Academy as an ambassador. Once you return, Master Gafar will view your memories of the mission, and we will then determine if this is a wise course for our school. I would normally ask at this point if you were willing to take this mission, but I think Flame might truly explode if you said no.

I smiled and said, Yes, Grandmaster, we are willing. I paused here for a moment. I had to remind myself that this was Vydor I was talking to and that, while he was the Grandmaster, he still was the same Vydor I knew and could approach freely. Grandmaster, just to be clear, for this mission will the ban on using powers off-world be lifted for all who go with us?

Yes. While I think this operation will be a great training ground for your team, I see this more as a show of force. I want it to be a big showing, such that all who hear about it are amazed and cannot help but retell the tale. Master Mathorn is right; the realm is forgetting the danger we are all in. It is time to prod them back to awareness. I realize this will also draw out sorcerers and, in fact, I am counting on it. There is definitely some organized presence of sorcerers in this realm. Operation Foolish Hero proved that, but they have so far done their best to run and hide whenever we show up, said Grandmaster Vydor. Your primary public mission will be to address the pirate problem in our area, but your secret mission will be to act as bait so that we can draw out the real evil and deal with it in the light.

Thank you, Grandmaster. In light of that we will strive to be the best bait possible, I said, which brought a small smile from Grandmaster Vydor and a chuckle from Master Kellyn, but Master Mathorn seemed to disapprove.

Then may the real God of Creation smile upon your mission, said Grandmaster Vydor. Then, after a round of good lucks and goodbyes, Flame and I headed back up to the school to begin planning. I already had a few ideas about who I wanted to ask to join us, but we decided to hold off speaking to anyone until the next round of graduations was complete. That would give us a couple of weeks to work things out before bringing anyone else into the mix.

1

Dusty

H ey, Dusty! called out Phoenix as I left the graduation ceremony. Congrats, man! I knew you could do it!

Phoenix was a great help back when I was a prospect. Without him, I would never have made it through those history classes. Hey, Phoenix, thanks! I guess the party has started? I asked.

Start without you? Never! said Master Shadow as he and Flame walked up. He had been promoted to journeyman not long after he rescued Flame from the sorcerers years ago, and word had it that Flame was not far off from that promotion herself. The two of them spent a lot of time helping me with my classes. Really, this graduation was more theirs than mine.

Master Shadow! Flame! You know, between the three of you, there really is not much left of this promotion to apprentice that is due to me, I said as I gestured to my newly red robe.

Oh, don’t be so silly, Dusty! chided Flame. You earned those robes, every last thread of them!

Seriously, guys, I would not have made it without you all. Thanks, I said.

Aw, really there was nothing to it. Now let’s go eat, said Phoenix.

Phoenix could always be counted on to bring up food eventually. He was the perpetually chunky kind of person. His love affair with eating would prevent him from ever being a more normal size. They say that during the prospect stage he lost a lot of weight and got into decent shape, but deep down I know that could not have been possible. The Phoenix I knew ate at least three times as much as anyone else and enjoyed every bite of it.

I hadn’t planned to actually head into the mess hall and join the party, but I knew if I tried to back out now they would pull me in. The three of them were very socially oriented, especially Phoenix. I followed them into the mass of bodies, noises, and lights that they called a good time. In order to minimize my exposure to the chaos, I headed for the food table. I figured that if I had a plate of food and a drink, no one would try to drag me out into the crowds on the dance floor.

Once I had some food I found a seat where I could see most of the room. That would prevent anyone from being able to sneak up on me. Great orbs of multicolored light floated around the room bobbing along to the beat of the music. Fire and smoke appeared randomly throughout the hall while mythical creatures flew around the room and through the crowds. Everywhere I looked there was something going on.

Down on the dance floor I saw Phoenix making a fool out of himself and utterly enjoying the attention. He had somehow managed to turn his skin multiple colors and was attempting to dance. Dancing might not be the best word for it. It was more like attempting to flop around, but completely missing the beat.

Flame and Master Shadow were also dancing, but the contrast between them and Phoenix could not have been starker. They were in perfect tune with the music and each other. They danced as if they were in their own perfect little world, weaving around each other in a complicated set of movements that demanded much more in the way of strength and flexibility than I could ever hope to achieve.

With my only three friends distracted, I cast a cloaking spell and slipped away from the party. I felt a little guilty doing it since I was one of the guests of honor, but it was not as if they had asked me if I wanted a party or even a ceremony, for that matter. I would have been just as happy to go to bed with white robes and wake up with red ones. I did not understand this insane need for chaos to celebrate a promotion. It seemed even crazier here where we were being trained to be guardians of order and light.

I decided to head outside where I was sure no one would look for me. There I could practice the new spell I had found in some advanced books I borrowed from Master Shadow. It was a dangerous spell, and I knew that the school would not approve of me working on it, so I needed privacy.

The spell was called Night Form, and it was a more advanced version of Shadow Form, which I already knew. Shadow Form allowed the caster to blend in with any shadows in the area, becoming completely undetectable, as long as he stayed in shadows. The caster remained a solid person, but light bent around him so that he was always in shadow.

Night Form was a completely new level of concealment far beyond anything I had attempted previously. When cast, the caster’s physical form actually became shadow. He could move about freely, completely safe from physical attack and pass through solid objects. As a shadow, he would not be bound by gravity or any other physical reality. The caster, in a sense, ceased to exist in the natural world.

I pulled out my notes and reviewed the spell one more time. It started the same as Shadow Form but about halfway through took a turn and introduced gestures and power-words that I was not previously familiar with. I had spent the previous weeks practicing the command words and gestures, preparing as much as I could for this night. Once I was sure I had properly memorized the spell, I began to cast. Slowly I felt darkness move up my body as the beginning of Shadow Form began to take place, but then the spell switched, and I had a very disconcerting feeling of my body dissolving, but I did not let that distract me.

As I completed the spell, I felt an exhilarating wave of power pass over me, and I started to float. I looked down, and in the darkness of the night, I could not see my body at all. I had done it! I was incorporeal! I began to fly around just by willing it. It was the greatest freedom I had ever felt. I flew around at what must have been great speed, but I had almost no sense of motion.

I was happily flying through the air when suddenly I hit something, something hard. After I recovered my senses, I looked up and saw the defense screens around the school. Master Shadow had told me about them, but I had never seen them before. I slowly moved over to the screen and touched it. It was as solid as any rock surface I had ever felt. I then moved towards the ground and tried to touch a rock. My hand passed harmlessly through it. There was no sensation at all.

Of course the school’s defenses would stop me, I thought to myself. I assumed that the spell would not last much longer, and I was a long way from the school, so I headed back. If the spell wore off while I was still out here, it would be a long, cold walk home.

2

Dusty

Once I made it back to the school’s entrance, I canceled Night Form and put back up my normal cloaking spell. I wanted to head back to my quarters, and I really did not want to talk to anyone as I went. Slowly and carefully, I moved through the school. It was a challenge sneaking around a castle filled with wizards of all ranks, but that just made it more fun.

As I turned down the final corridor that would take me back to the wing of the school where my quarters were I saw Master Shadow. I tried to slip back, but he called out, There you are, Dusty.

Hello, Master. One day I will be able to sneak by you, I said as I canceled my concealment spell. I could sneak past wizards with much greater experience and rank than him, but he always caught me.

Doubtful, but it is a good goal for you, he said with a smile. Now, the party is still in full swing, but I am partied out and, unless I miss my guess, you were partied out before it even started.

Yes, Master, I was just heading back to my room to get some sleep, I said.

Then, if you do not mind, walk with me for a bit, he said.

Yes, Master, I said. I knew I could say no, but I could tell he wanted to talk to me about something. We walked in silence for a while until we left the area of the school where students were allowed. I had a good map of the school in my head from my many hours of sneaking around while cloaked, but I had not attempted to go too far down this corridor because at the end of it was a pair of massive Zalionians guarding a stone door.

As we approached the door, the Zalionians moved to the side to let us pass. Shadow opened the door with a wave of his hand and walked through. As I followed him through the door, I was struck immediately by the major difference. The corridor we came down was hewn from solid rock and lit mostly by torches. The area beyond the door was about as different as you could get. The walls and floor were made from a shiny high-grade metal; it was lit by modern lights and had all the trappings you would expect to see in a fully up-to-date facility. As such, it was completely alien to me. It had been a very long time since I had been off-world because I never bothered to take a vacation. The rock and primitive technology of the school had grown comfortable to me.

Once the door was closed behind us Master Shadow said, Dusty, it goes without saying that unescorted you are not allowed back here, and to try sneaking in would be dangerous.

Yes, Master, I understand, I said as I continued to follow him down the corridor.

I am bringing you back here because Grandmaster Vydor has tasked me with gathering some worthy apprentice-level wizards for a special mission, one that I think you will be perfect for, he said.

Master, I am barely an apprentice. What kind of mission could I be good for? I asked.

He stopped at a door that looked like it might be an airlock. He turned to me and said, As you know, pirates have taken over the region between us and Aleeryon. This has pretty much ended all trade with that system and completely wrecked their economy, he said.

Yes, Master, but that is local politics. What concern do wizards have with that? I asked.

"Good question, and the answer is that we have a couple of concerns. First, these pirates are not only operating right on our borders, but in areas that we have plans to expand into. That makes them a problem for us. So far, they have not been foolish enough to attack anything with our flag on it, but they grow bolder with each passing year.

The second reason is that we have strong evidence that the sorcerers are helping them, he said.

Then it is more than just local politics, Master, I said.

Yes, much more, he said as he turned and opened the door.

Beyond the door was a hangar with several ships in it. With the exception of one, they were all under construction. There were robots flying around from place to place working on them and crews of men and women working alongside them. It was a horribly busy, noisy place.

Here you can see we are slowly building our own fleet of warships. In the past, we have not had much need for them, but soon that will change. In other hangars, we have various spacecraft that we have purchased, but these are special. These are being built to be flown and operated by wizards. They will have magical shielding, magically enhanced armor, and magically enhanced weapons. In general they are a mixture of magic and technology, he said.

He brought me over to the one vessel that was not under construction. It was the most beautiful starship I had ever seen. It had a pure black, almost frictionless surface that was clean of any markings. It was a flattened teardrop shape that should allow it to work well in both atmosphere and vacuum. It was floating just off the floor, held aloft by some unseen force. It was the size of an average cruiser, which told me that it was most likely intended for deep space operation.

Master Shadow approached the craft, held up his hand, and said a command word. This caused a door to open in the side of the ship where there was previously no sign of one. A staircase materialized that ran from the door to the floor. It appeared to be made of the same material as the spacecraft, which worried me. I was not looking forward to trying to climb a frictionless staircase.

Follow me, said Master Shadow as he started up the stairs.

Taking a deep breath, I carefully put my foot down on the first step, and to my surprise, there was no slip. After gingerly taking a few more steps, I was confident it was after all just a staircase, and I followed Master Shadow into the ship.

Welcome aboard the Dust Dragon, the most advanced war vessel ever built, said Master Shadow.

I looked around the sleek ultramodern interior and was amazed at what I saw. Despite being a craft intended for war, the ship had a homey feel to it. From the shock-absorbing floors to the soft lighting, the entire vessel seemed to be designed with long-term comfort in mind. I could easily picture a crew living on this ship for extended missions.

After a tour of the Dust Dragon, Master Shadow took me to the captain’s lounge. Once we were both seated he said, Dusty, your native talent for magic is some of the best I have seen. Sure, you struggle with the academic side, but there is more to being a wizard than memorizing mnemonics. That is not to say that the academic side is not important; if I thought that, I would not have spent years helping you through it. I just do not want you to think you are not as good as some others who may excel at theory.

Thank you, Master. I do try, I said.

Grandmaster Vydor has given me the Dust Dragon. My mission is to break the back of the local pirates in hopes of drawing out the sorcerers. That means everyone on my crew will have all restrictions lifted concerning the use of their powers. Grandmaster Vydor said he wants people talking about what we did out there for decades to come, and I want you to be part of those stories, he said.

I did not know what to say to that. Master Shadow knew I had been sneaking around experimenting with far more advanced spells than I was allowed. He even provided the books for the spells, for which I assumed he was getting some flak. I had failed many of my classes, but it was those stupid useless written tests that sank me. I could handle the spells fine. Why did it matter if I could not remember Pazelarth’s fourth formula for command word syllabification? It is not as if that was hindering me from advancement.

Master, what would that mean for my schooling? I asked.

There are two paths that apprentices currently follow through the school. The main one, the one that most of your classmates will follow, is to continue through the school for several more years, maybe a decade or more depending on their aptitude. At some point, an advanced journeyman or elite wizard will then pick them up as their apprentice, and they will receive a more one-on-one type of training. This system works well for most of the students; however, there are those that do not fit the mold, he said.

Master, like you and Flame? I asked.

Yes, exactly. Those exceptions, the ones that do not fit into the normal school model, are moved into direct apprenticeship with a higher-ranking wizard. What I am suggesting for you is a new, third option. By joining my crew, you will learn the more advanced lines in your power through usage out there in the field. This program will be significantly less academically focused, and much more vocationally focused. If you come, then Flame and I will be your teachers instead of your present tutors, he said.

Wow. That sounded awesome. Finally free from the books and stupid tests! Surely, there must be some catch. Master, that sounds too good to be true, I said.

I can see why you would think that, but you are overlooking a key part of this. Here in the school, you are safe. If you come with us, you might well be captured, killed, or worse on any given day. It is the most risky plan we wizards have taken on since the Great War. This risk will force you to grow faster, but may kill you. Your death is not our goal, of course, but you will be on the front lines of the battle with the sorcerers, and out there nothing is guaranteed, he said.

Now that was a catch if I ever heard of one. Master, how long would we be out there? I asked.

No way to tell. It could be years. If the program is successful it could be a permanent assignment for you, he said.

That would mean no more stupid tests, ever. This sounded wonderful, but I should be careful. Anything carrying the risk of death probably should be considered carefully. Master, I am not sure. It sounds wonderful, but I need time to think about it.

Of course, take some time to think about it. This upcoming week is your vacation. In previous years you refused to take it, but this time take it so that you can think on this, he said.

After that, we headed back to the school, and I went back to my room to sleep on what he had said. This time I was not spotted and made it to my bed in peace.

3

Dusty

Master Shadow wants me to take a vacation to think about his offer, but that would be such a waste of the week. This was the best week of the year. Almost all the students and professors were gone. This made the school so much quieter, and I could get in a lot more time with my spellbooks and even have a good excuse to ignore my textbooks. What better vacation could there be than that?

Still, Master Shadow’s offer floated like a dark cloud over my head. I could not stop thinking about it. Freedom from this school, freedom from all this chaos, and freedom from teachers’ disappointed looks every time I turn in an assignment.

I picked up the advanced spellbooks that I had been working through of late and stuck them in my pack. I decided that maybe some fresh air would help, so I headed to the spaceport. I was not sure where to head, but I figured they would have information there on the nearby planets. When I walked into the spaceport the noise and the crowds overwhelmed me. I knew it would be busy since it was the first morning of vacation, but nothing could have prepared me for just how busy it was. I decided that the air on this world would be good enough and turned to leave