The Karzalean Key

By Seth Giolle

Angelina, Gordon, and Simon have found their safe haven in the north. For Angelina, having known those many trials they faced to find their sanctuary, quiet and serene is difficult to accept. Having lived such adventure, adventure’s in her blood. She’s being tested to unlock a greater stage in her magical training as StarBen’s apprentice, but does she want that greater responsibility? Or does her destiny rest elsewhere? This test will press more than her magical will. It will test her very soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329822412

Seth Giolle

Sono nato in una piccola fattoria rurale nel sud-est dell'Ontario, e da allora la mia vita è stata un continuo spostarsi tra cittadine e luoghi lontani, attraversando il vasto Canada. Ogni tappa è stata un'avventura, ogni esperienza ha arricchito la mia mente e allargato la mia anima. Ora, dopo tanti viaggi, sono tornato in Ontario, pronto a dedicarmi con serietà alla scrittura, un mondo che ho sempre esplorato solo superficialmente per troppo tempo. La mia serie di romanzi nasce pensando ai giovani adulti, ma anche i lettori più maturi possono apprezzarla. Con il progredire della storia, la mia scrittura ha cominciato a evolversi, abbracciando prospettive più adulte. I protagonisti ora hanno tra i ventidue e i trent'anni, e la narrazione evita di scivolare nei cliché dei romanzi per adulti, come lo spargimento di sangue o interminabili lamenti su amori perduti. La trama resta fresca e vibrante, incentrata sull’avventura e sul viaggio interiore. Mi piace spaziare dal fantasy medievale, presente nei miei romanzi, alla fantascienza, all’avventura e al dramma, come si vede nelle mie raccolte di racconti e novelle. Di recente, ho aggiunto anche una biografia al mio repertorio. Scrivere, per me, significa crescere continuamente: esploro ambientazioni nuove, mi confronto con protagonisti e situazioni che non avevo mai affrontato prima. La mia filosofia è cercare sempre nuove prospettive, per mantenere la mia scrittura viva e stimolante, sia per me che per chi legge. Purtroppo, non riesco ad aggiornare regolarmente questo profilo su Author Central. Tuttavia, il mio sito ufficiale, che seguo con maggiore frequenza, è disponibile all’indirizzo sethgiolle.weebly.com. La maggior parte dei miei libri è acquistabile su www.lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SethGiolle) o su iUniverse.com (http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000462750/The-Bonds-that-Bind.aspx). Potete seguirmi anche su Twitter (@SethGiolle) e su Tumblr (https://

Book preview

 Spell Circle

 The sounds of gongs rebounded through the chambers three times before Angelina found the nerve to gather up her staff and make her way into the Spell Circle chamber where her test was to take place.

Gordon had been urging her along when the first gong had sounded, but he was walking quietly behind her as he entered, fidgeting with the pockets they’d allowed him to sew into the front of his jacket.

The room’s general layout hadn’t changed much since Angelina had crept in to find out what the Council was up to a year past. The Spell Circle she’d activated and studied was still a wide circle carved into the stone floor.

Mind you, there were eight golden torch stands set equidistant around it now with brass burners and silver carven feet. The exact image carved into the spell circle floor was of a red and copper dragon winding its way around a green and white sphere. The sky behind the dragon as it twisted in flight was filled with falling stars against a brilliantly blue sky.

The rest of this room’s floor was common stone though the grates in this room were cleaner and thicker than most. There were extra vents built into the ceiling.

The tables filled with scrolls and parchment hadn’t changed in ages though they might be a tad bit neater from the change in administration. The general detail hadn’t changed, but the more important necessities were in a better state.

And Angelina didn’t have to sneak in this time. She could stand proud, albeit awkwardly where she was and try her best confident smile. She figured that was the best difference between then and now.

StarBen smiled warmly and motioned for Angelina and Gordon to step forward, more pointedly motioning for them to step up, one on either side of where he stood at the Spell Circle’s outer ring. Angelina saw the momentary glare at the staff at her side, but it had quickly passed.

The old wizard’s robes were beige. His hair was still white. Angelina mused how he hadn’t changed much since she’d come to know him. He was busier than ever of late, but even then, he’d been making the time to drill her and train her as his apprentice. In truth, she had no clue how he found the time to do so much since he was now helping run the place.

Clearing her throat, she bowed her head and stepped up to his left, bowing as well to the other seven wizards standing around the Circle in their own equally uncolourful robes. Two of them had brown hair. The one man was only forty for that matter. Angelina sighed. They needed younger members for these smaller councils they made. She kept this thought to herself.

From the side of her eye, she spotted Simon in his weathered old coat sitting against the back wall. The crystal he sat before was round with blue lines cut into it. A rounded diamond? For what use?

It was at this point she noticed a group of at least twenty junior wizards gathered under the arch to their right. She smiled anxiously. Great. They’d have an audience.

You worry too much, StarBen whispered. Gordon almost smiled. He caught the corners of his lips in time and avoided Angelina’s glare.

So I’ve been told, Angelina conceded politely.

StarBen enjoyed a short grin. Angelina swallowed what anxiety she could and prepared for the worst. At StarBen’s nod to one side, two canvas shoulder bags were brought forward. Angelina started opening hers, but StarBen stopped her hands.

When you get inside, he instructed.

Inside? she asked. I don’t understand.

He smiled knowingly. You soon will, child. He clapped for the benefit of the whole room, then, held his hands wide taking in the other seven wizards assembled around the Circle. Let’s begin!

No hints? Angelina tried as feet scuffled off to one side.

StarBen clasped his hands at his front. You’ll do fine if you keep an open mind and remember what we’ve been working on this last year.

We’ve been working on a lot of different things this last year, she quietly groaned.

Exactly.

Angelina so felt unmotivated. Why lined jackets and turtlenecks? she tried again. Why serious hiking boots at that? Are we going out into the mountains? Is that it? StarBen glanced patiently across. No clues?

His sympathetic smile came across almost patronizing, so Angelina glanced away. She swallowed up her anxieties again before looking back. She’d decided to stop talking to him until the test was over. Or until he started explaining himself. She allotted he usually did, just never as quickly as she always wanted him to.

Those scuffling feet returned with a group of three lesser wizards that stopped at the Circle’s edge. The central man held up a small wooden box, and StarBen stepped over lifting its lid. He withdrew a silver ball from inside and walked it into the centre of the Spell Circle. As he muttered quiet words making the ball hover at waist height in the middle of the room, those three lesser wizards scuttled off again. StarBen took his position between Angelina and Gordon once more.

What is it? Gordon asked.

There are lines on it, Angelina mumbled. Notched lines? They look like those maze walls in those books. She gave StarBen a wary side-long glance. It’s a maze? My test is to solve a tiny maze ball?

She felt a little cheated. Then again, nothing was ever simple with StarBen’s tests or training in general. There had to be a catch. She certainly didn’t need a staff for something this small. Then again, they didn’t need warm clothes for a maze ball either. She was definitely missing something big.

This, StarBen explained rather reverently, is a relic from old times. It is known as the Karzalean Trap. Angelina stood straighter. The fact that it was named as a Trap confirmed it wouldn’t be an easy task ahead! The fact that he spoke so formally told her she had to be formal too, so she checked that stance and wore a more sombre