Ralgaban: The Age of the Wizards Trilogy, #1

By Wayne Ellis

"We, meaning the Wizards, are descended from a broken past," said Neldon. "The original order that we were, is unknown. I only know that we were once great."

Markul, a seventeen year old boy from a moon halfway across the galaxy is leading a very simple life, when one day his whole life is turned when he meets an old Wizard.The Wizard who introduces himself as Neldon, saves Markul from the wrath of an evil Sorcerer and leads him on a dangerous quest in search of some very special rings. Each of the five rings and a bracelet contain specific qualities and the Keeper of all of them have the powers to unlock the gateway to a very sacred place…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne Ellis
• Release date: Mar 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386339564

Wayne Ellis

Wayne Ellis grew up in Victoria before traveling around Australia and finally settling in Cairns, North Queensland. He currently works for a Electricity company. His love of writing begun at school and has continued until today. He's currently working on two series projects, The Transformation Chronicles and The Age of the Wizards Trilogy.

Book preview

The Bracelet of Wisdom

It was dark and forbidding; it had been a very long time since any light had touched this desolate place. No living thing, even a wretched rat, dared to come here.

This place was Zelron, a moon that orbited a planet called Ralgaban along with six other moons. It once hosted the most beautiful lands in the entire realm, but many cycles ago a foul creature made its home here, putrefying not only the moon of Zelron but creating a darkness that eventually crept into the rest of the moons. Zelron was very important to the realm of Ralgaban. Without Zelron returning to its former glory, Ralgaban would rot like a fruit that had gone bad on the tree.

This early morning on Zelron started like any other day.

Suddenly, a light started sparking as if from nowhere. Bigger sparks cracked the dark lands around, before a huge vortex appeared. It was very white and rotated in a clockwise direction as more and more sparks hit the land around it. A tunnel eventually formed in the centre of that vortex, and if you’d happened to look down it, you would have seen a figure walking toward you, becoming bigger and bigger.

There was a subtle flash of light as a symbol appeared, and the figure stood on Zelron as the vortex and symbol behind him became smaller and smaller before finally disappearing. Sparks continued to hit the ground here and there as he looked around.

The man wore a hooded cloak and held a silver staff with a diamond stone on the top of it. He had a short grey beard, and his face, inside that hood, was very hard to read. Although he’d never been on this world before, he began walking immediately, heading in the direction he knew to be the correct one. He walked for many days without much rest and little to eat before finally standing in front of one of the largest trees anyone could ever imagine.

Indeed, it was monstrous, but there was good reason for it being so. It stood for the base of all the moons of Ralgaban. It was known as the Foundation Tree. The tree was the support of an extensive network created to balance, nurture and nourish all the seven spheres. However, with a dark creature smothering the tree, the only thing that it was currently supporting was the darkness of these spheres.

The Wizard studied the black slimy parasite around the tree to determine its weaknesses. He could see a lot of movement within the black goo and soon realised that it was harbouring many smaller forms within.

He stepped back a few steps in anticipation and raised his staff. Suddenly, black projectiles began popping out from the host body, and black squirming forms came out all over the place. The black squirming coils transformed into deadly black vipers, with large gleaming fangs but no eyes. They were more like killer worms than snakes. Hissing and baring their fangs, they began to charge at the Wizard.

The diamond on top of the Wizard staff suddenly became really bright, and a clockwise energy began spiralling. The spirals became larger and larger and soon they’d created a circle of light around the bearded figure.

The deadly worms struck the perimeter of that field and were instantly fried. They flew back onto the ground, sizzling and wriggling, like a handful of their smaller cousins in the midday sun.

The Wizard ignored the dying black horrors. He stared at the host creature and raised his staff.

Suddenly, a mass of tentacles shot out from the blob of a creature and came at the Wizard from all directions. The sharp ends of the tentacles headed directly at him as some of his powers struck the main part of the creature.

The Wizard turned his staff around to the other end, which wielded a deadly blade. The blade struck, and a pile of black tendrils were severed. He jumped around, doing somersaults as his blade cut through each assault. It was almost like a mass of knives had been thrown, with ropes tied to each of their handles.

Eventually, he found a moment among the barrage to invoke his powers. He sent a widespread field of power toward the creature, thus singeing most of the remaining tentacles.

The creature had become much smaller now on the tree, and the Wizard knew it had expended a lot of its strength. He also noticed that the object he had come for was now exposed.

He could see the small horseshoe-shaped object inside the wood at the base of the tree. From where he stood, it seemed to be very tiny. Even though he was very old, and a person much younger than he was would normally require glasses, his powers gave him better than normal vision.

He held up his staff and watched as the rotating power spiralled around his staff, but instead of firing at the creature, he fired at the bracelet. The bracelet began shining, and the powers surrounding it started spiralling in a clockwise direction around the trunk of the tree. As that happened, the tree behind the powers started being restored to its natural wooden colour, and the blackness was disappearing.

The creature tried to move up the tree, but the rotations became stronger and stronger, and eventually the creature was consumed.

Finally, the tree was restored, but the lands around the tree still had a dark hue. The Wizard touched the trunk of the tree, like he was touching an old friend.

Now you can work with Selta to bring back the beauty of these lands.

He reached down and put his hand over the bracelet, and the tree released it into his palm. He ran his finger over the red gemstone and slipped it into his cloak, satisfied. The Wizard walked off then, heading into the light of dawn.

In the sky, Ralgaban shone like an over-sized moon. He watched the first beams light the sky, as the Foundation Tree emitted its first healing rays.

The Ring of Knowledge

Markul had been on many of these expeditions. Each time was the same: they nearly always came back with nothing. However, his father was determined to find the ultimate prize: one of the rings of Ralgaban.

It was told, from the legend that, the one who bears the ring will bear the fruit of knowledge.

But that was all it was, thought Markul. It was only a legend ‒ legend, meaning myth. Ralgaban was, after all, a place where no one could possibly go.

His father translated the fruit part as wealth a long time ago and was hell-bent on his prize.

Markul was seventeen and at the age where he could almost say goodbye to his father and his mad schemes. He wore dirty pants and a coat that looked like they came out of England’s past, but this world was nowhere near Earth.

Keep your pick moving, ordered his father.

They were inside a cavern at the top