The Lost Tales of Power: Volumes 4-6

By Vincent Trigili

The Lost Tales of Power is a collection of novels that describe an immense persistent multiverse. The books are a mixture of standalone and miniseries all set in the same universe with overlapping and intertwining story lines.

Included in this collection is the full text of Resurgence of Ancient Darkness, The Sac'a'rith, and Spectra's Gambit. In addition to the three complete novels, included is a brief introduction to each book.

Resurgence of Ancient Darkness:
When Shadow’s team healed reality by closing the last tear they paved the way for a new evil, one that has been patiently waiting for its chance to rise again. Shadow must build a navy out of his fledgling Battle Wizards and carry the fight to the enemy before it comes for them. Meanwhile, the old man and his steel-eyed partner are making their own plans, and the peace that once reigned throughout the galaxy has come tumbling down.

The Sac'a'rith:
Clear across the galaxy from where Grandmaster Vydor is building his kingdom of wizards, a new darkness is rising up. Soldiers who die in battle are standing back up and switching sides. Entire space stations are being wiped clean of life and the military is powerless. One man, perhaps more dangerous than the darkness itself, is all that stands between darkness and light.

Spectra's Gambit:
An old ally of Grandmaster Vydor comes to him for help because an enemy, perhaps as old as the Empire itself, has turned its sights on the Cathratinairian race and means to wipe them out. Spectra and Dusty are sent to find and stop this new threat, while Spectra begins her plan to change the balance of power for the entire known multiverse. Dusty must decide whether to follow Spectra as she uses this mission of mercy for her own gain, or stand with the Wizard Kingdom, which would put him in direct opposition to his wife.

The Lost Tales of Power is an open-ended series of Science-Fantasy books set in a vast multiverse.

Lost Tales Series so far:
Volume I - The Enemy of an Enemy
Volume II - The Academy
Volume III - Rise of Shadows
Volume IV - Resurgence of Ancient Darkness
Volume V - The Sac’a’rith
Volume VI - Spectra’s Gambit
Volume VII - TBA

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vincent Trigili
• Release date: Jun 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311745927

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

Introduction

The Lost Tales of Power is a collection of novels that describe an immense persistent multiverse. The books are a mixture of standalone and miniseries all set in the same universe with overlapping and intertwining storylines. While the books are a mixture of classic science fiction and pure fantasy, some effort is being made to keep the books in the realm of the possible, or at least theoretically possible given some basic assumptions.

Lost Tales of Power Series:

Volume I - The Enemy of an Enemy

Volume II - The Academy

Volume III - Rise of Shadows

Volume IV - Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

Volume V - The Sac’a’rith

Volume VI - Spectra’s Gambit

Volume VII and beyond - TBA

To be informed when new books are released:

Visit our website: http://losttalesofpower.com

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Sign up for Email notices via: http://bit.ly/1dtCSl9

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I hope you find as much enjoyment in reading these stories as I had living them. If you enjoy the books, please post a review and spread the word about them. As an independent author, word of mouth is the only marketing I can afford. Thanks!

Time Line So Far:

IE = Imperial Era (similar to BC, counts backwards)

EM = Era of Magic

12/01/01 IE – Enemy of an Enemy starts

01/20/02 EM – Enemy of an Enemy ends

02/01/02 EM – The Academy starts

08/30/42 EM – The Academy ends

05/15/55 EM – Rise of Shadows starts

12/30/58 EM – Rise of Shadows ends

01/31/59 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness starts

03/15/59 EM – The Sac’a’rith starts

08/11/62 EM – Spectra’s Gambit starts

10/31/62 EM – The Sac’a’rith ends

01/25/63 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness ends

01/01/65 EM – Spectra’s Gambit ends

Volume Four: Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

Released February 2013

Shadows seemed to be well received, so I took the next logical step and further complicated the story with more subplots and a larger main cast. In Darkness I also further explored the imperfections of the characters, and with the newest generation of wizards we start to see the breakdown of the moral high ground that Vydor and the others pushed so hard for in Enemy. My editor tells me this is my best work yet, but it is too soon to see if sales and reviews back that up.

This is also the first book where I added a pool of pre-readers who were not friends and family to the process. It was extra work and time to coordinate all of that, but I did get some great feedback and changed parts of the book based on that information.

When rereading my previous books (I do this regularly while writing my new releases in order to keep my mind in the universe), I found an error in the already released Shadows. None of my pre-readers had caught it before it went out, and it was too late to fix. I debated recalling the book, fixing the issue, and sending it back out, but decided against that. Instead, I enacted my powers as god of the Lost Tales universe and changed the laws of magic to make the error correct. Then in Darkness I put an explanation in for the original mistake.

This change should not be confused with the changes that the wizards discover with magic in this book. Those were always part of the story. In my mind there had to be some impact from the ripping of the weave and the sealing of the tears, so the instability of the laws of magic was that result.

Prologue

While I waited for Mantis to pay his regular visit to my study, I reflected back on how I had come to be where I was. It seemed many lifetimes since I was serving on the Dragon Claw and trying to impress my fellow command officers in a desperate attempt to prove worthy of my promotion. Back then I used to believe the Emperor was a god and that he came from a long line of gods. I could not have been more naïve.

However, that was long ago, and I was now a very different man. I surpassed the Emperor, and indeed the entire Empire, in power and sat dangerously on the precipice of declaring myself a god. It might have happened too, as there was none who could match me in power. I was truly godlike in my ability to command the raw energies that make up reality as we know it.

I rested my hand on the one thing that stopped me and quite likely saved the entire realm from destruction at my hands. I picked up my father’s old book and turned to the front page. On that was a note Kellyn had penned decades ago. It said, My Dearest Love, in these pages you will find real truth and meaning and finally be set free from that which threatens to destroy you.

Before I could think more on that, I felt the energy build up that I recognized as Mantis traveling to my realm. I turned and faced where I knew he would appear moments before he did.

Greetings, Grandmaster, he said.

Hello, old friend, I said. Please have a seat. I have some spiced mead warmed up and waiting for you.

Thank you, he said with a smile as he took his seat. I have seen your reports on Operation Show of Force. It seems congratulations are in order.

Perhaps, but it is somewhat bittersweet, I said.

How so? It was a success, was it not? he asked.

Oh, in some ways, I replied.

Grandmaster, it pushed the Korshalemian sorcerers out of your realm, broke the back of the pirates, and gained you a mundane navy. That sounds like a wonderful success to me, he said.

Yes, and it revealed that we have our own sorcerers to worry about, I said.

Mantis took a deep pull from his spiced mead. True, it puts us into the four-way stalemate we had hoped to avoid: two groups of sorcerers and two groups of wizards.

If that were only the case, I would be overjoyed. Sorcerers I can handle. For all their darkness, at some level they want order, which limits them. No, things are far worse, I said.

I know the Korshalemian council has been very concerned about something. I assume this is related? he asked.

No, I have not spoken with them in a long time. They have come to fear my realm greatly, I said.

Ah, yes. They see what we all see: sooner or later your technology will make its way into Korshalemia and destroy our culture, he said.

Yes, and what they fail to realize is that it is already too late to stop it, I told him.

Mantis leaned back in his chair and sipped on his mead. He had an aura about him that never seemed to be quite at rest, no matter how calm and relaxed he was. The magic that was wrapped around him constantly jumped and danced. It was as if he was just barely in control of his powers, but nothing about his voice or physical appearance ever betrayed that.

What do you mean? he asked.

The Korshalemian sorcerers. They already know our technology and have brought that knowledge back to your realm. It is only a matter of time now before they realize they can use it to build an army of mundanes that can defeat anyone in your realm. When that time comes, the Korshalemian council will blame me, and our alliance will probably end, I said.

I would not allow that to happen, he answered.

You are not exactly well-trusted either, Mantis. I had learned over the years that the council feared him more than any other magus alive. I did not know why, as I could never imagine him being anything other than a trusted ally and friend.

He laughed at that and took a drink. What is it, then, that has you so worried?

I refilled his mead from a pitcher I had been keeping on a warmer. A fresh shadow has fallen over the realm, and we are on the verge of a new era of darkness. After pouring his drink, I walked over to the counter where I had left my coffee. Since it had cooled down since I had last held it, I used my power to warm it back up to its proper temperature.

You mean a new grandmaster sorcerer for Vydoria? asked Mantis.

I suspect that one has already arisen, but no. It is something darker. There is a shadow over my entire realm, yet I cannot directly see it. It is there, just out of sight. It is as if it can only be seen when you are not looking right at it, but it is there, and it is growing, I said.

What is it? he asked.

I do not know. Only Shadow and the other spellweavers can sense it, but none of us likes to speak of it, I said.

He sat there for a while just looking at me, lost in thought. I slowly sipped my coffee in silence, as I really had no desire to say much more about the topic. I did not even like thinking about it.

Were you ever able to verify Darius’s research? asked Mantis.

Some of it, enough to know that he was right in his belief that this is magic’s second life here, I said and returned to my seat. Everything is changing now that Shadow has healed reality, and we are a long way off from seeing the end result.

I can imagine so. The weave itself is still a bit erratic, but it is definitely stabilizing. This is likely to mean some changes to what you think you know about the nature of this realm, he said.

We have already seen some: the basic powers have become weaker, and many spells have had changes to their range and impact. It is just difficult to predict the extent of the changes, I said.

We talked for a while after that, never once returning to the subject of the darkness that had come upon Vydoria, and for that I was glad. I knew that one day I would have to face that darkness head-on, but for the moment I preferred to bask in the light.

Soon I would be meeting with Shadow to debrief him from Operation Show of Force; while it had been a great success, I saw war coming. Those nations which had been set up to take over on the failure of the Empire were faltering. All around the galaxy, tribes and consortiums were rising up to stake their claim.

Chapter One

As Master Shadow and I approached the entrance to Grandmaster Vydor’s office, Master Shadow said, I am proud of you, Dusty. You did very well out there.

I did not respond, but I was glad to hear him say that. At that moment, my mind was focused on this meeting with Grandmaster Vydor. I had only seen him from afar, and I really did not know what to expect. Figures of authority had never taken to me, at least until I met Master Shadow. He was different somehow; I was not sure why, but he genuinely seemed to care about me and want to help me succeed.

I had little chance to think on that because the door to Grandmaster Vydor’s office opened as we approached, and I could see him waiting for us. In the room with him were Master Mantis, Master Mathorn and Master Kellyn. They stood as we approached, and Master Kellyn called out, Hi! Come in!

Master Shadow smiled and greeted everyone. I did my best not to say anything at all while they got the pleasantries out of the way. I found a chair to sink into and tried not to be noticed. However, Master Mantis noticed, and he winked at me.

Once everyone was settled in, Grandmaster Vydor said, Shadow and Dusty, first let me offer my congratulations on a very successful mission. You certainly proved that we can build a vocational arm of our school while having a positive impact on our region of space. Now, I have some news to share with you. The president of Aleeryon contacted us while you were fighting at the station; he said that the nation was about to go bankrupt. Apparently they bought all those stealth bombers and supplies purely on credit, and now the private investors are threatening to take control of all government assets, including their navy.

Master Shadow called out, That is ridiculous!

Rest easy, Shadow; I have no intention of letting that happen, said Grandmaster Vydor. What we are seeing happen here in our region is being played out all over the galaxy. The power structures of the mundane nations are shifting into massive consortiums. Tribal groups are countering this to some extent, but it is questionable if that is better or worse. I do not want to see our region fall in the same way, so we have agreed to pay off the Aleeryon government’s debt, and we are in the process of absorbing them into our nation.

Grandmaster, with all due respect, I thought we were not going to get involved in local politics, commented Master Shadow.

After much debate, the Council has decided that our realm and our current situation have altered to such an extent that we are justified in changing some of the original rules set up under Mantis, responded Grandmaster Vydor. "This means that we now have borders to defend and citizens to protect, which will affect our ability to stay neutral; but the time for neutrality has passed. We must build up our forces quickly, far more so than our previous path would have allowed. Absorbing the Aleeryon nation gives us a mundane navy; supplemented by even a small number of our wizards, this will be more than sufficient to keep peace in this region of space and buy us the time we need to grow our forces.

Alpha Academy will remain a training center for wizards; but you, Shadow, will lead the Battle Wizards as our military branch. The Academy will focus on research and development while your forces will focus on battle tactics and integrating our technology with our magic.

He paused there, got up, and walked over to a counter where he had some drinks set up. You must understand that we are only now starting to comprehend what it means to be wizards in our realm. We have discovered that the rules that work in Korshalemia do not work well here. We have to forge our own way now. Those rules have served their purpose, which was to help us learn to walk. The reality we face is that chaos has broken out around us, and we will continue to become more and more involved. This move gives us control of how that happens instead of merely reacting to events. In any case, we have not seen the end of the changes that are coming. Reality itself is in flux; the very laws of the universe are no longer stable. The future is as uncertain as it can get at this time.

Grandmaster, you are concerned about the shadow that we sensed, stated Master Shadow.

Yes, very much so, he said. But it is more than that. When each rupture was closed, it sent ripples through space-time. Things are changing, and even the laws of nature are in flux. I cannot see far enough ahead to know what things will look like when they stabilize, or how long it will take.

What should we do? asked Shadow.

First, I should tell you that we have recruited some elite wizards from Korshalemia with many decades of battle experience to help you build up your ranks. They will be staying with us permanently, learning our technology and ways. No doubt you will be happy to know that Mathorn is among those who have chosen to move here to help us, he said.

That is great news! said Shadow.

I will give Alpha Academy the task of working out what changes we are facing as reality slowly stabilizes itself. I want you to lead the Battle Wizards and find out what you can about the shadow.

This all seems so sudden and so fast, said Shadow.

"I know it does, but most of it has been in the making for decades. The reason I chose this solar system for our base of operations was that I foresaw that Aleeryon would be the most compatible nation for us. I did not expect to buy them out, but I knew we would end up working closely with whatever neighbors we had.

Reality has been very slowly healing for ten thousand years now, but our actions over the last century or so have tremendously accelerated the process. I do not yet know what that means for our future, but at the very least I expect to see unaffiliated magi wandering randomly throughout the realm. It is likely to be centuries before we have a substantial number of them working as part of our nation. The new consortiums and tribal governments do not recognize my authority, and they will probably hunt down these magi to add to their own forces. This means our enemies will expand to encompass vastly more than merely sorcerers. It will no longer be a case of wizards versus sorcerers, as there will be many different groups which can call on magi. We will attempt to incorporate them all over time, but our realm is many magnitudes larger than Korshalemia, and I do not at this time foresee a single council of wizards uniting all wizards although I will try to achieve it.

You say that you believe more powers are involved in this battle than merely ourselves and the sorcerers. Do you think this shadow is one of them? asked Master Shadow.

If we ignore the smaller groups, we know there is a united force of sorcerers in Korshalemia and a matching group here. All that is clear is that the shadow is not related to either of these. That means there is at least one more group in play, and it is that group which must concern us most.

That last comment hung in the air for a moment with no one speaking. After a brief pause, Master Mathorn spoke up. Dusty, during your time in my realm you interacted with the unknown sorcerer who appears to be behind the information leaked to us about the station. Can you tell me more about that, specifically the time you, Shea, and her brother met him on the hill?

Master, I really don’t know all that much. My head was so foggy at the time. I just couldn’t think straight, I said.

I see. Yet Shea seemed fine. Why do you think that is? he asked.

I tried to think back to that battle, but my memory was still as fuzzy as the day it happened. I’m not sure. All I remember is her standing between us holding me back. She kept telling me to run, but I couldn’t move or think.

But you eventually did. How? he asked.

Master, he moved to attack, so I cast Shadow Form and ran, I said.

He thought about it for a moment, and said, Dusty, you lost that battle and almost lost the two people with you. Have you thought at all about how to handle it next time?

Master, when I got to the wizard’s tower in Syncillia I read everything I could find in the Defense against Charms section, but none of it made any sense.

Do you remember any of the titles of the books you were reading?

Yes, I said, and proceeded to rattle off every one that I had read.

I am impressed at your masterful recall, but tell me, Dusty, what do all those books have in common? he asked.

Master, they were all books on defense against charms, I said.

Yes, they were, but defense for whom? he asked.

Master, for magi? I asked.

No, actually for very specific types of magi. He thought about something for a while, then said, Dusty, I have reviewed all your records here at the school. Your academic performance is less than stellar, which does not reflect how well you did on this mission. Even your own log about your adventures in my former realm shows you to be far more advanced than your schooling would indicate. Why do you think that is?

I sat in silence and did not answer. All I could think about was that my worst fear had come true: he was going to bounce me out of the school.

"It is all right. You can trust him," sent Master Shadow.

I looked over at Master Shadow and back to Master Mathorn, who sat there waiting. Master, I just don’t know. I tried really hard to learn all their formulas and such, but I guess I’m just too stupid to figure it out.

Stupid, Dusty, is one thing you are not, said Master Mathorn. Misguided is more like it, and your training has been poorly fitted for your peculiar bent.

My bent, Master? I asked.

Yes; for example, none of the books you read in Syncillia would have helped you at all. None of them were for someone with your spell line. Simply put, you could not understand them. They were the wrong fit.

I sat there in astonishment. I had not considered that possibility.

He continued, I will get you some material from my personal library that will help you so that you can be better prepared next time. Dusty, I think your problem has been that you’re trying too hard to fit stereotypical models of what you think you should be, instead of discovering your own nature. I think this mission has shown that when you focus on being yourself you do rather well.

I could not fully grasp what that meant, but it certainly helped to bolster my confidence.

The rest of the conversation centered on making sure that the Council had all the current information about our mission, and they questioned me extensively on the old man. They did not know much about him, and that seemed to bother them more than anything else we reported.

They closed with a discussion about the structure of the new forces. Shadow proposed that we have two divisions in the military: one that would train wizards to work in groups of two and three among the mundane navy, and another as an elite force to work on ships like the Dust Dragon. Grandmaster Vydor liked this idea, and he gave Shadow permission to start building the force.

Chapter Two

As Dusty and I left the debriefing, he said to me, Thank you, Master Shadow.

For what, Dusty? I asked.

For believing in me, he said.

Dusty, you earned every bit of it. You are a fine wizard and a great friend, I said.

We talked for a little bit more, and then I took my leave of him. I had two problems I wanted to solve. The first was my marriage to Flame. I had spoken with Grandmaster Vydor about it privately over a telepathic channel during the debriefing, and he said that he would be proud to perform the ceremony, but now that Aleeryon was becoming part of our nation our marriage was already legally binding and official. This meant I really needed to find a way to break the news to my mother that I was already married. That should be fun.

The other problem was how to select and train an entire army of wizards while trying to hunt down this new evil in our realm. I had a plan, and Grandmaster Vydor thought it was worth trying, but it would mean convincing my father to do something he had probably never before considered. He hated surprises, and I would be contacting him with two simultaneously.

Once I had returned to my personal office on the Dust Dragon, I made sure the room was sealed and called my father.

Hello, son, he said.

Sir, it is good to see you. I am sorry I have not called for some time, but I was on a full combat mission with a stealth wing, I said.

He smiled wistfully at that. I understand. Did it go well?

Better than expected, sir. We neutralized the pirate threat and destroyed a major sorcerer stronghold, I said.

Excellent! he said, his face beaming with pride.

We talked a little about the mission for a while. He was very interested to hear about it. Once I felt I had told him all I could about that, I decided it was time to move on to my first surprise. Sir, I need to ask you something.

Of course, son; what is it? he asked.

Sir, I have been promoted to head of the Battle Wizards, the newly-formed military arm of the school. At present we have only seven wizards with any battle experience or training at all. Due to the political situation developing in our region, we believe we need to scale up our military as quickly as possible, I said.

I see. That is quite a problem. How many wizards will you have to work with? he asked.

Sir, I do not know yet, but I believe it will be a small number, I said.

I would imagine so, based on my understanding of how few graduate from your school. I assume you are looking for advice? he asked.

Now it was time to spring my surprise. More than that, sir. I want to bring you out of retirement.

What? His tone and face betrayed a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

Sir, I would like you to help me to build this new military wing as well as possible, I said.

He sat back in his chair and said nothing for a while. I assume that would mean moving out there, and I am not sure your mother would like that.

Well, sir, I think she will be more willing to move out here than you believe, I said.

Why is that? he asked.

Sir, because Grandmaster Vydor will soon be performing a wedding ceremony for myself and Flame. I decided there and then that I would not mention it was indeed only a ceremony and that we were already married. I was fairly sure my parents would put no stock in Aleeryon marriage customs, so I should be able to avoid telling them; at least I hoped so.

To my relief, that brought a big smile to his face. That is wonderful, son! Your mother is sure to be delighted. He sat in silence again for some time. So you want me to turn a group of green wizards into a fighting force?

Yes, sir. I am planning two divisions to start: one elite and one regular division. I would place you in charge of the regulars, I said.

Why me? he asked.

Sir, being here among these wizards has shown me that, while we all have great powers, most of us lack knowledge of warfare techniques. We are in the process of planning the defense of our region against many enemies, and less than a handful of us have any real training. We need the knowledge of men like you if we are to succeed. Besides that, I need someone I can trust completely with this level of authority and power. You are perfectly suited to it, I said.

Son, I am sincerely honored, but what do I know of magic? he asked.

I assume nothing, sir, but that is not a problem. I will have an elite wizard appointed to you so that magic is not an issue. You dealt with all kinds of specializations in the past of which you knew nothing. This is no different, I said.

I see. When would you have me start? he asked.

As soon as you are ready. I can have a gate opened for you at very short notice. I assume you will want to come out for the wedding anyway, I said.

True, he said. Let me talk all this over with your mother. I will contact you sometime tomorrow.

After that we ended the call. I did not need to wait for him to contact me; I knew his answer. I had seen it in his eyes: there was excitement in them when he thought about returning to duty. I was sure he would still be serving in the Imperial Navy had he not passed the maximum age of service.

He was well past his physical prime, but his mind was still sharp, and it was that mind I wanted. His knowledge of military operations and his centuries of experience would be invaluable to me as I tried to build a fighting force out of these schoolchildren.

Chapter Three

After I left Shadow, I headed back to my old quarters. I had not seen them since I left Alpha Academy on our mission. It seemed like it had been years, but in reality Operation Show of Force had lasted only a little more than a month. As I was walking, lost in thought, Master Mathorn stopped me.

Dusty, here’s one of the books I promised you. He handed me an old book. The leather cover and binding was cracked with age and the pages had yellowed. You can keep it. I have another copy for myself. When you finish that, see me and I will evaluate your progress; that will tell me which resources would help you most.

Master, thank you, I said. The title of the book was The Art of Deception: A Wizard’s Guide to Trickery, Shadows, and Other Tools of the Trade. I wondered at that title. Master, are you sure this is the right book?

Yes, Dusty. Your specialty is concealment, which means your defense against charms will have to come from that art. This book is the best on your line and should be very helpful in your studies. I suggest you defer all other studies for the moment and catch up on with what this book teaches. It will help you to understand yourself better.

I looked again at the title and knew that, had I seen it in a library, I would have passed it by as unsuitable for me. As I traced the intricate artwork embedded in the cover, I tried to come up with a reason not to read it. I had to admit that it did sound interesting, but surely it was not the kind of book a wizard should be reading.

Dusty, when you came here, what did you want to be? he asked.

I just wanted to help people, Master, and was hopeful that I could be like Master Kellyn.

I see, but you’re not the same person. Once you had learned which powers you were gifted with, what did you hope to get out of staying here?

I had no place to go, Master. I had failed everything else already, so I stayed and made the best of it.

Do you still want to help people?

Yes, but I’m a failure there too, as always.

Why do you say that?

Master, because all I did for the last month was kill people.

Dusty, you helped free an entire nation from certain destruction, and you were pivotal in sealing a breach to the realm of the spirits while almost giving your life to prevent them from overrunning this entire realm. I’d say you are a success on a grand scale!

I just looked at him. I did not know how to take what he said. He had just recast my failures into successes, but I was not sure I understood how. I found it hard to believe that killing people could be the right way to help other people; it didn’t make much sense.

Dusty, you are trying too hard to be someone you are not. You’re not Master Kellyn, or Shadow. You are Dusty. Work through that spellbook and learn who you are. Embrace your powers and you will find that, by being you, you can help more people than you ever could before.

I looked back down at the book and contemplated its title again. Master, this title sounds so dark. How could that be me?

Dusty, there are two definitions for the word dark at play here. There is the dark which is a synonym for evil: that meaning of dark certainly does not apply to you. You are a grand wizard, but you do work in darkness; the kind of darkness that means lack of a light source. The concealment line of power in and of itself is just as amoral as are the rest of the powers. It’s what magi do with them that make them good or bad. That book could serve either purpose, as it is merely a guide on how to use your power, not a guide on why or why not to do things from a moral standpoint. Those you’ll have to work out for yourself based on your own moral compass.

I opened the book and flipped through the introductory and background material to the first spell. It was one to change your appearance so that you could pass unnoticed.

Before I could get far, Master Mathorn reached out and flipped the pages back to the very first one. No, start at the beginning. Starting in the right place is far more important than reading through it quickly, especially if you are saving time by going in the wrong direction.

Master, I will do as you ask, I said.

Good, he replied and then took his leave of me.

I continued my walk back towards my quarters, thinking about what he said. It sounded good, but was it right? I decided the only way to find out would be to start studying this book as he suggested.

I spent most of the rest of the night reading the section of the spellbook which I always skipped over in other books. I normally didn’t bother with it, as I couldn’t see how it would help me, and all I really cared about was learning the spells. Master Mathorn’s speech had convinced me to study it, at least this one time.

Chapter Four

It had been a year since Master Shadow asked me to take over as head of Black Ops for the Wizard Navy following our return from Operation Show of Force. He told me time and time again that I was more than ready for this leadership role, but I found it hard to believe him.

I looked over at Spectra who reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze. I was more nervous than I could ever remember being before. Master Shadow had asked me to lead this rescue operation as part of the training for my new position. "Is everyone in place?" I sent.

"Master Dusty, we are ready," came the reply from Darkstone.

"How about you, Spectra?" I sent privately.

"Just get me in, and I can get us out. We can do this, Dusty," she sent.

With the changes that had come to magic, Spectra could no longer gate to a place unless she had physically been there. That meant we had to get her in through more mundane means, but once inside she could gate us all out.

We were deep inside a space station in foreign territory. It had taken us over a week to sneak in and study the prison, but we were finally ready to make our move. Before us stood a multi-locked door that had a layered energy field covering it and four heavily-armed guards. "Darkstone, you have the two on the left. I’ll take the right, and remember that our goal is to disable, not eliminate. Everyone, we need to keep our cool, but move fast. Once we start our raid, time will be against us."

Black Ops was all about timing. I knew that in a few minutes there would be a shift rotation, and we could not move until that was complete. We needed as much time as possible between when we acted and when someone became aware of what we had done.

The shift change came right on schedule, and once I was sure it was clear I gave the signal to move. Darkstone and I silently moved towards our targets. Once we were in range, we both cast our freeze spell that temporarily immobilized the guards. They could still see and hear, but not react.

"Clear! Cymeion, you’re up next," I sent.

Cymeion headed to the control panel, and after what seemed like far too long, he was able to open the doors.

Move! I sent.

My team quickly and silently entered the prison complex. "Cymeion, seal us in. We won’t need that door again."

Once he had the door closed, he shortcircuited the control panel and summoned a wall of stone to cover it.

"We have at most ten minutes until those frozen guards are discovered," I reminded everyone and then led my team deeper into the complex. It was not long before we hit the next set of security barriers. As before, we froze the guards, slipped in, and blocked the door from the inside. We did the same with the next door.

We had almost made it completely inside when the alarms began to sound. We were at the last door when the halls filled with the sounds of men yelling orders and emergency locks being set. The guards at the last remaining door drew their weapons and spread out. We could no longer catch them all in one freeze spell as they were too far apart.

"More are probably on the way," sent Spectra.

"Take them down," I sent back to her.

She stepped out of the shadows as she cast her spell. Watching her work was almost hypnotizing. Her body flowed gracefully as if it were partly fluid. For a moment, all my attention was on her as she danced. Her movements were enchanting and enticing. I would have been happy to stay there all night watching her dance.

The guards saw her and were pulled in by the dance, and for an instant they were completely enthralled. As one, they turned ashen and fell to the ground as their life force was drained from their bodies.

"How long?" I asked.

"These men are fairly weak. It could be days before they recover," she sent.

Before I could say anything, Cymeion was already working on the door. "It’s no good, Master. They have the panel locked out."

"Then break it down," I sent.

Cymeion took a few paces back from the door and cast his mage bolt. As a terramancer, his bolt was something akin to a cross-forged iron spear with a diamond tip. It slammed into the door, easily piercing the energy fields and punching a small hole through it.

I tossed a flare through the hole so that we could see the other side. Now that we had a line of sight through the door I sent, "That’s good enough. Everyone, teleport through."

When we arrived at the other side of the door we saw a massive cat-like beast. His bright orange fur, spiked head, and massive claws were dulled with age, but the sight of him still struck fear into my heart. He was chained to the floor in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. He looked like he had been severely beaten, and his one remaining good eye stared right at me with malice.

I took a deep breath to steady my voice and said, Karathlathornka, Grandmaster Vydor never forgets those who helped him. Can you walk?

Yes, he said in a weak voice.

Cymeion, barricade the door. Darkstone, get those chains off him. Spectra, we will need that exit in a moment, I said.

As they moved to comply, Karathlathornka kept his eye on me in a way that made me very uncomfortable.

Master, they are activating the gas, said Cymeion.

It’s okay. Our armor will protect us long enough to get out. Just get those chains off him, I said.

Your armor will not protect me, said Karathlathornka.

Here, I said as I placed a mask over his mouth. I was kicking myself for forgetting that.

Okay, he is free, said Darkstone.

Spectra? I asked.

She nodded and cast her gate spell.

Everyone, out! I ordered.

Once we came out the other side of the gate, I sent, "Phoenix, we got him! Get us out of here!"

"On it!" he sent.

Karathlathornka, welcome aboard the Dust Dragon, I said.

He turned and gave me a hard look. Why are you helping me? I have ceased to be of use.

I told you: Grandmaster Vydor does not forget those who helped him. We’ll see to your injuries as soon as we’re clear of the defenses. Until then, try to rest.

Chapter Five

Hello, sir, I said to my father as he came on the observation deck. It had been several months since he officially joined Alpha Academy as a Battle Wizard Third Rank and over a year since I had originally invited him. We had spent that time studying the Imperial Navy’s structure and organization, hoping to use as much of that knowledge as we could as we set up our new military force.

Hello, Master Shadow, responded my father. It was still odd to hear him address me as one of superior rank, but he seemed to have adjusted well to it. Officially I was not supposed to call him sir but instead use his name, Douglas Dougherty; but I had been calling him sir all my life and changing that habit was very difficult for me.

It was not long before the recruits started to arrive. Each of them had eagerly volunteered for this new position once it was announced. I was surprised by the response and actually had to turn away quite a few in order not to drain the school too heavily too soon.

We watched in silence as they walked into the hangar. They had as yet had no military training of any kind, and I knew that meant that some of them would be in for a rude awakening. They had spent the last several decades living and working in a school which was fairly informal in structure, at least when compared to a military unit such they were about to experience.

My father looked over the ragged lines. Well, I certainly have my work cut out for me.

You would not have it any other way, I said with a smile.

My father turned to Starbiter, the elite wizard assigned to assist him, and asked, Are we ready?

Yes, I think we are, Master he responded.

I was still a bit unsure of their relationship. Starbiter was a quiet type who would stand in a corner and merely observe the world around him if he could. Master Mathorn had nominated him for this role, and I trusted Mathorn’s judgment. I wished, however, that I could get a better grasp of Starbiter’s character.

After a parting comment, my father and Starbiter headed down to the hangar. Twenty-five of the Dark Knights had already filed in and were attempting to group the wizards into formal lines.

As my father walked in to the room one of the Dark Knights called out, Attention! C.O. on deck! and all the Knights snapped to strict attention. The various wizards did their best to imitate the Knights, but could not help but bend and twist to see who was coming in.

My father, decked out in the full deep purple armor of his rank, walked on to the deck in a perfect military manner. His back was straight as a rod, and his shoulders were square. I had not seen him look so regal in a long time. Age had considerably weakened his body, and I knew it put a strain on him to march like that. Show them no weakness, he once told me. He knew that he was at a serious disadvantage being a mundane among wizards, and he wanted to make a grand first impression. Behind him walked in Starbiter, wearing the purple robes of an elite wizard.

A look of surprise came over the faces of the trainee wizards, as they presumably realized the truth of the rumors that a mundane would be leading them. I was not sure how they would take it. They were all good people, but more and more it was becoming apparent that mundanes and wizards did not get along. Both would be polite, but they preferred to stay with their own kind. This is something we were likely to struggle with until the end of time.

I watched silently as he barked out orders and cleaned up their lines. He gave them a powerful lecture on how hard the road was before them and how they were the first to pave it. I had never before seen him give a lecture like this to recruits, and to watch him in action was amazing. It was not long before they were all correctly standing to attention with a look of determination on their faces. The general attitude of the students was one of respect for my father. They would work hard to earn his respect in return. After a while, I left him to see to my own troops.

At my father’s advice, we had reserved the name of Battle Wizards for the regular forces, and named the elite forces the Dragon Guard. Their missions were distinctly different from each other. The Battle Wizards were more of a general standing army, while the Dragon Guard would be running special missions deep behind enemy lines. The names would keep that separation visible and eventually act as an impetus to prospective members of the Dragon Guard to take pride in its elite status and push them to higher dedication and excellence.

It took three years of training before we were ready to launch my new command vessel, the Nevermore II, with its crew of a hundred Dragon Guards taken from the best that Alpha Academy had to offer. There was some concern that we were taking too many wizards from the school and leaving it somewhat anemic, but I knew that would work itself out over time as more and more wizards continued to pour in. The bigger concern was making sure we had sufficient forces to defend ourselves and to secure the realm.

Chapter Six

I had been reviewing the training logs of my new crew when Master Shadow called me into his office for a special meeting. We had made great progress with our training, but now that the Nevermore II had launched it would become harder to fit in training missions, so I needed to make sure to maximize the little time I had.

Dusty, I have been reviewing your training reports, and I am pleased with what I see. It seems you have been doing a fine job preparing your crew for their future missions, he said.

He looked at me as if he expected me to respond to that, but I did not know what to say so I just sat there quietly. Eventually he continued, Dusty, as you know our borders are under constant threat from many sides. It is only through the work of the Battle Wizards and our mundane naval forces that our little section of the galaxy stays peaceful. It has been a little while since the last tribe tested our defenses, but that could happen again at any time, so we are keeping constant watch on the space around our borders. Recently we discovered a space station being constructed close to our region, close enough to be used as a base from which to attack us. I want you to take the Shadow Fox and destroy it.

When we first annexed the ailing Aleeryon nation we picked up some of their enemies who moved to try and take advantage of what they thought to be a state of weakness due to the transition of power. In response we sent elite and journeyman-level wizards to the borders to show everyone we meant business. In some short and very violent battles, we wiped out countless numbers of attackers. This turned many against us out of fear and resentment but brought an end to any active aggression on our borders.

Master, if it is outside our borders, do we have any grounds to attack it? I asked.

It is a threat to the security of our space, and we have sent many warnings, all of which have gone unanswered. At this point, the Council considers it as potentially an advance base being built in preparation for a new attack on our region. As such it cannot be allowed to stand uncontested, he said.

Master, why only send the Fox and not the Nevermore? I asked.

Unfortunately, we are being sent to investigate another section of our space. I do not want to risk delaying either mission, so we will split up and handle them both at the same time, he said.

Master, do we at least allow them the chance to surrender? I asked.

That chance has already been offered, and they gave their answer by destroying the messenger drones that were sent to them when they failed to respond to more normal means of communication, said Master Shadow.

I thought about that a bit, but I still had little liking for this mission. Master, things have changed a lot since we were in school together.

He sighed and seemed to think with care about what he was going to say next. Yes, Dusty, they have, he said. He stood, then paced a little. Sometimes I wonder if we would have been better off if we had not closed those tears. The original wizard council ended this war for ten thousand years, and we restarted it in a period of less than two months.

Master, the war may have restarted, but that does not mean we have to become cold, hard warriors. Could I not at least offer them one more chance to surrender when I arrive? They are likely to be less than eager to attack a living representative of the Wizard Kingdom rather than a robot.

The Wizard Kingdom? he asked with a smile.

Well, Master, no one thinks of us as just a school anymore, so why not? I said.

Why not? Maybe because it is not your prerogative to choose the name? he said with a grin. I think the Council is coming around to it, though, since it is what the rest of the realm calls us. However, with regards to the station, you may be right but the offer would be at great risk to you and your crew, as you would not be able to use stealth and surprise to your advantage.

Master, it’s an acceptable risk to prevent bloodshed, I said.

There certainly has been enough of that these past years, he said. Very well. It is your ship, your crew, and your mission; if you want to do this you have my permission. He paused there and said, Dusty, you must understand that, even with the addition of the mundane naval forces, we do not yet have the numbers to defend this section of space from a concerted attack on our borders. Our enemies these days are without limit, and the only reason they do not unify and attack as one is because they have not yet realized our limitations. If we fail to deal with this threat, they may decide to test our borders, and that could spell the end of what we have built here. They may hate each other, but their fear and envy of us greatly outweighs that.

Yes, Master, I understand. I really do, I said, and I did. The Wizard’s Council was the most powerful force in the known universe, but in the end, they were only seven people against trillions and trillions among our enemies’ forces. I had no doubt we would win, even against a united attack on our borders, but the death toll and devastation such an attack would cause was beyond my ability to imagine. Do I therefore have permission to do whatever I feel necessary to remove that base?

Dusty, we cannot win a war with darkness if we become darkness ourselves. We must keep fighting for light, no matter what the cost. As long as you can honestly say that you are fighting to bring light and not darkness, then do whatever it takes to crush that station. Even if they surrender, give them time to escape and then destroy the station. It cannot remain standing, he replied.

I understand, I said. When do we leave?

Tomorrow morning. Your crew is already due to assemble at that time for their review and the planning of the next training mission. You will do your review and give everyone four hours to prepare for the new mission, he said.

Wow! That’s one heck of a turnaround, I said.

Yes, I know, but we have let this stand for too long already. We must move quickly before that station is battle-ready, he said. At this time you should find it a fairly easy target to eliminate, but if we delay your launch even by a few weeks they might be able to bring main power online, and then more drastic measures would be required.

Master, what should we do if anyone interferes? I asked.

I do not know who would, but that station must be destroyed. If anyone gets in your way, you will have to deal with them in whatever way you see fit. We cannot risk looking weak at this time. We have to appear stronger than we are until our forces are sufficiently large that we need no longer keep up a pretence.

Understood, Master, I said and, after some parting words, I left to prepare for my first real mission at the command of the Shadow Fox.

Chapter Seven

I left Master Shadow’s office and headed to my ship, the Shadow Fox. The Fox was a new experimental design known as a Dark Conure Mark II. The Mark II was the next generation of the Dark Conure, created mainly to compensate for the areas that our combat experience with the Dust Dragon had indicated to be weak.

There was one key difference between the Mark I and the Mark II: this was the addition of an illuminescence battery array which Shea had created, based on the design of the illuminescence canisters we destroyed during Operation Show of Force. This battery array allowed several key systems to be removed from the traditional power grid, which extended the fuel efficiency of the craft by twenty per cent. The added power reserves which the illuminescence batteries provided allowed us to add a fully-fledged cloaking system, making the Shadow Fox a true black ops vessel. These batteries also allowed for advanced control systems that improved reaction time and control, but had the side effect that only a magus could operate them. The Shadow Fox was the next step towards truly merging magic and technology.

I was grateful that I was able to choose my own crew for my new vessel, and immediately named Shea and Spectra as crew members. I would have loved to have had Phoenix as part of my crew, but he took command of the Dust Dragon when Master Shadow was given the first command class vessel of the Battle Wizard Navy, the Nevermore II. Doctor Leslie was another person I wanted on my crew, but she elected to stay at the Academy and serve as chief medical officer, as our numbers had grown to the point that Headmaster Rannor could no longer run the school and the hospital at the same time.

Since taking command, I had been living on the Fox full time. During training exercises, my crew would also stay on the ship with me, but as we were currently between exercises, the ship was mostly empty. Shea would stop by from time to time to tend to her gardens in the hydroponics bay, but she was not on board at this time. Spectra stayed on board with me; at first I had not been happy with this plan because I wanted my privacy, but I had come to really enjoy her presence and was glad of the intrusion.

As I boarded the craft, Spectra ran forward to greet me, Well? What did he want?

He’s sending us on our first mission in command of the Fox, I said.

Her eyes widened and she said, But we’re not ready!

We are ready enough, it seems, I replied. She was right. Our crew was still struggling to make its marks. We were doing well based on the level of experience we had, which was none, but we were well below the level I had wanted to reach before launching from the Nevermore II.

What’s our mission? she asked.

Someone is building a secret base near our borders. We’re to eliminate it, I said.

That hardly seems like a job for a black ops cruiser, she said.

The base is still under construction, so it should be a fairly soft target, I said.

Her long black tail twitched a little, indicating that she was a bit nervous. Then we’d better get working on supplies for the mission. Gathering them could take a couple of days.

We leave by midday tomorrow, I said.

Ugh! I guess we’ll have a late night of packing and fetching supplies, she said.

Do we really need all that much? I asked.

That depends: do you want to fly out of here and try to destroy the station with training ammo or the real stuff? she asked.

Valid point, I said.

Spectra had changed greatly in her years as a Battle Wizard, and yet in some ways she had not changed at all. Around me, she was delightful, if a bit mischievous, but with most others she went back to being her dark and solemn self. In truth, besides myself I did not know if she trusted anyone except possibly Shea, but everyone seemed to trust her. She was one of those people you meet that seemed full of light. I could not figure out what it was about her that made her stand out, but whenever she was around everything just seemed better.

I guess we should call Shea. She’ll need time to get our food supplies organized, I said.

Yeah, good idea. Go ahead and contact her. I’ll head to engineering and see how badly off we are for supplies, she said.

"Shea?" I sent.

"Yes, Master Dusty?" she replied.

"I hope I am not disturbing you, but something came up that is likely to need your immediate attention," I sent.

"Master, I was just eating a late dinner. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"This will not be public knowledge till tomorrow morning, but about midday we will be taking the Fox on her maiden mission. I do not know how long we will be out there; probably weeks," I sent.

"Master, we do not