The Cursed Phylactery

By Cleave Bourbon

Talk of war and devastation has the master wielders on high alert as Sheyna Namear graduates from Apprentice to Adept.

While continuing her studies Sheyna once again meets the flamboyant Gondrial, who immediately gets her into trouble with her master. Even though she is aware that Gondrial is trouble, she is fascinated by him u

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shadesilver Publishing
• Release date: Oct 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868927928

Cleave Bourbon

Cleave Bourbon is a native of Texas. His Texas heritage and his love of science fiction and fantasy allows him to write weird westerns among other fantastical stories. In fact, he has loved all things fantasy since he read the Belgariad by David and Leigh Eddings in High School. He says the word "fantasy" comes from fantasizing, so the sky is the limit on what fantasy can encompass as far as writing goes, so he isn't afraid to experiment and write new twists to liven up old tropes. Being that he holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in English, he writes full time and teaches in his spare time. He teaches Junior High and High School level grammar, vocabulary, and writing online. He says he will never stop writing and he will never stop teaching, unless he becomes physically unable to do so. He currently resides in Texas with his Tortoise Shell Cat, Khaleesi.

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The Cursed Phylactery

Copyright © 2023 by Cleave Bourbon

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic

or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval

systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use

of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events,

and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are

used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

events, or locals is entirely coincidental

Contact info: [e-mail]

Front Cover Design by Oliviaprodesign

Print Cover Design by Oliviaprodesign

Editor: Courtney Umphress www.courtneyumphress.com

SECOND EDITION : October 2023

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Visit my website: https://www.cleavebourbon.com

Editing by Courtney Umphress www.courtneyumphress.com

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The Cursed Phylactery

War of the Oracle Book 2

Cleave Bourbon

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Shadesilver Publishing

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Contents

1.The Oracle

2.Suspicions

3.New Arrivals

4.Two Troublemakers

5.Dangerous Travels

6.Sand Elves

7.Heartened Heart

8.Lurking Evil

9.The Sun and Moon

10.A Night at the Pit

11.Adept

12.The Unseen

13.Gods and Monsters

14.Strong Tidings

15.The Path to Decline

16.Secret Places

17.Darkness and Doubt

18.Fire on the Horizon

Also By

Dedication

Glossary

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Shey Namear, the only apprentice of the wielder Morgoran, slammed the dusty old book she was studying shut, producing a cloud of dust. The kings of Symboria were as dull as a bundle of wooden practice swords , she thought. She knew the real reason why she found the tome nearly impossible to study was because at any moment her best friend, Marella, would be arriving at the Vale of Morgoran. Shey’s friend would be staying, along with her master, indefinitely. She moved to watch the road from the tower windows. Shey was ecstatic! Both Marella and she would graduate from wielder apprentice to wielder adept together. There was also a distinct possibility that her mother, Sylvalora, might return soon. In fact, the tower would be home to a bevy of visitors soon. Morgoran hinted earlier in the week that Ianthill was also bringing his apprentice, Gondrial, to the Vale later in the season; of course, Shey was not too thrilled about seeing him again. She pushed the tome away from her. I can’t study! Not even if I wanted to! she thought before deciding to go down to the main entranceway and wait for her friend.

The summer sun burned hot against the tower, but somehow Morgoran’s magic kept the temperature inside cool and comfortable. Shey descended the tower steps from her room up on the third tier. When she was about halfway down, she heard Morgoran greeting someone out on the portico. She leaped two steps at a time, almost tripping herself, to hurry down the stairs. When she got to the open front door leading outside, she saw Dicarion taking down a trunk from his carriage. A moment later, the driver opened the carriage door and Marella stepped out.

Marella! Shey called to her.

Marella looked up, her face beaming in the summer sun. Her curly blonde locks bounced as she jumped to the ground running. The two girls met in the middle, in an embrace.

Dicarion stopped from his task of removing luggage. You would think they had been apart for decades rather than two years, he said to Morgoran.

To two young girls, years might seem like decades, Morgoran replied.

Shey pointed to the top of the tower. I had the room next to mine on the third tier prepared for you. The view is spectacular. Morgoran let me choose from any of the rooms in the tower.

It sounds wonderful! Marella said. I can’t wait to catch up. You’re going to have to tell me every detail about your training and how far along you are with it, and you have to tell me about meeting Ianthill’s apprentice. What’s he like? Has he been coming here on a regular basis?

The corners of Shey’s mouth curled in a grimace. There’s not much to tell, but all right I’ll answer all those questions once we get you settled. She brightened again. I hope you’re hungry; the kitchen staff is preparing us a delicious lunch out on the patio.

I am famished, Do I have time to put my things away and wash some of the road off before we eat?

Certainly, we’re not barbarians. This way. I will show you, she said, leading Marella through the entrance and up into the tower. The porters will bring up your trunk. Get comfortable and wash up. I will meet you down at the patio. Just go back down the stairs and go east at the foyer. The patio is just outside the eastern double doors. You can’t miss it; when you get there, the doors will already be opened to the outside.

I’ll see you there, Marella said as she found the washbasin.

Shey practically ran down the stairs. Morgoran and Dicarion were already out on the patio when she got there. She didn’t sit right way. Instead, she paced back and forth by the entrance. As she anxiously waited for Marella to come down to lunch, her stomach growled as she took in the sights and smells around her. The small patio was the perfect setting for a casual lunch. An overhang from the eastern battlements provided shade from the midday sun, but it still warmed the marble and stone, expelling the cooler morning air. The fragrances from the flowerbeds surrounding the patio and lining the circular tower walls smelled fresh, clean, and pleasant intermingled with the aroma of the food. She would smell flowers, then food, and go back to flowers again as she paced. Soon the two wooden tables, positioned under the shade, would be covered with even more trays of food and drink. After they would eat, the staff would also come and go as the afternoon wore on. Her stomach growled again.

Morgoran walked around the patio and seated himself on the stone bench downwind from the table and continued to smoke his morning pipe. A few moments later, Dicarion joined them. Morgoran put away his pipe just in time for the servants to make him his predefined morning meal from the trays of food they brought. The trays contained varieties of meats, breads, cheeses, and fruits. Shey felt her stomach rumble almost unbearably now, and she remembered she had been too excited to eat breakfast earlier. She was thankful when Marella arrived. To Shey, a former child of the street, a feast like the one before her was still a bit daunting. She almost felt like she needed to eat every morsel or it might go to waste, and she would not get to eat again for a long while, but she knew that to Marella, the feast was more commonplace if not a bit small.

When the spring water and juices were brought, Morgoran signaled it was time to eat.

We should have a guest just after lunch, Morgoran said to the group. I must warn you that he is a bit odd. He is under the impression that dragonkind are the only parties responsible enough to wield magic. He is proposing that all magic be outlawed except for a few of us.

That’s preposterous, Dicarion said after he took a drink of spring water. Why would he believe such a fool thing?

Well, the dragons did once look after man and elf alike as protectors. He would like to see life return to those simpler times.

Simpler times! Apparently, he didn’t live through them, then. There was nothing simple about them.

Morgoran chuckled. At any rate, I wanted to say something before he entered. We should remain cordial to him no matter what he says, no matter how ridiculous his words may seem.

What is his stake in the outlawing of magic? Dicarion asked as he reached for another piece of cheese.

He is some kind of Oracle. He claims he can see into the future and that magic, if not curtailed immediately, will wreak havoc, and change our way of life forever. He thinks magic and essence wielding is dangerous, and when magic is around people rely on it too much to solve all of their problems.

Well, they are both dangerous, Dicarion agreed. That’s why we take such pains to find and train those who can wield it on how to wield it. I shudder to think of what might happen if it’s outlawed and left without guidance. The very notion is incredibly irresponsible.

A knock on the door was followed by a servant announcing, Master Kambor has arrived.

See to it he finds us back here. Morgoran called after him."

The blond-headed, blue-eyed young man entered the patio. Forgive my intrusion. I am early.

Not at all, join us, Morgoran insisted.

Shey was immediately taken with Kambor’s charisma. He was so handsome; it was almost painful for her to look directly at him.

Kambor bowed before Morgoran. I am Kambor, Oracle of Aedreagnon.

Morgoran stacked some meat and cheese on a slab of bread and topped it with another slab of bread. Let me be blunt. Kambor, is it?

Aye, that is my name.

Please. He gestured for him to sit. If you are expecting anyone at this table to stand for you, you’ll be sadly disappointed.

Ah, yes. He found an empty chair and stood directly behind it.

As I was saying. I will be blunt. I have no interest in your predictions when it comes to the use of magic. You are trying to convince the butcher that meat is evil and should not be consumed.

Not at all, Morgoran, I am merely telling the butcher that he should leave the butchering to those who actually know how to butcher correctly.

So, you believe that only dragons, the onetime protector of man, should be the only users of magic and essence?

I do.

Dicarion shifted in his seat. Won’t you sit down? I hate eating in front of company who hover over me like some kind of buzzard.

Forgive me . . . He was searching for a name.

You’re the Oracle. You tell me who I am.

The Oracle smiled and seated himself. I am afraid it doesn’t work that way.

Nope, it never does, does it! Dicarion said before taking a bite of cheese.

Morgoran swallowed a bite. A butcher is a butcher. One who cannot butcher correctly swiftly goes out of business.

Enough of the metaphors. I am the Oracle of Aedreagnon, the god of prediction, and I foresee the use of magical essence will one day destroy this world and everything in it. Since I dwell in this world, I will see to it that such a prediction rings false and shall never come to pass. I am quite committed to it.

Shey watched Morgoran carefully and noticed he ate without a care in the world of what the Oracle was saying.

Kambor saw it too. I also saw you created a gem that suppresses the ability to draw upon essence.

Morgoran choked on his last bite. Where did you hear that? he said in between coughs.

I saw it in my visions.

I don’t believe for one second that you did. Who do you have spying on me?

I assure you there is no one spying. I am the Oracle.

Yes, of course, you have visions and such. He took a drink. Even if such a stone existed, you would never see it. I would make certain of that—you can bet your eye teeth!

Don’t get excited, Master Morgoran, I do not mean to overstep.

I don’t care what you mean to do, Kambor. I think you have overstayed your welcome. Morgoran snapped his fingers, and a nearby servant came to his side. Show Master Kambor out, if you will.

So much for being cordial, Shey thought.

Kambor stood. Think about what I have said. If you search your heart, you will know what I say is true. Magic by the use of essence will doom us all. Let the dragons resume their gods-given role as magical protector and renounce wielding.

I shall think on it as much as I think of why the sky is blue or the grass is green. That’s exactly how much thought I will give your felonious predictions.

An expression of anger, bordering on hatred, washed across Kambor’s face. You may one day live to regret your words, old wizard.

Morgoran mockingly put his fingers to his temples. I predict I won’t have to! Good day, Oracle of Aedreagnon.

Dicarion chuckled while Shey and Marella laughed out loud. Kambor’s eyes darted to them, particularly at Shey. She looked in his eyes and briefly saw something dark and evil. She shuddered and looked away.

The Oracle turned on his heels and pushed aside the servant as he made his way to the exit. A moment later, he had gone out the front doorway.

What a ridiculous fellow, Dicarion said in his usual whimsical speech.

Dangerous, Morgoran said. Spreading such lies and conjecture around the kingdoms. He comes to my home, to me one of the revered first trine, and insults me in my face, the arrogance. What frightens me is some foolish king or lord will believe him one day and decide to take up his cause. I need to speak with Ianthill about this Oracle.

When does he arrive? Dicarion asked.

He wasn’t planning to come for quite a while, but I will send word for him to come right away. Kambor is a bold one, coming to the Tower of Morgoran to preach the evils of essence use.

I thought that was odd too, like trying to tell the river that water is evil.

Precisely. Morgoran agreed. He rose from the table, wiping his mouth with his napkin. Shey, are you finished with your lunch?

She took a last bite and washed it down with water. Aye, I am now.

Let’s get the message sent and your lessons out of the way so Dicarion and Marella can get settled and do the same. You can meet back up with her afterward.

Shey went with Morgoran to send his messenger out with word for Ianthill to come to the Vale ahead of schedule, and then they went to Morgoran’s study for their lessons. The older wielder did not mention the Oracle again, and Shey was not about to broach the subject as long as Morgoran’s mood remained somewhat upbeat. He could have a bad temper on occasion, as evidenced by his outburst at the Oracle. He had intended to be cordial and failed, which means the Oracle had touched a nerve, bringing up wielding as if it were a blight on society. Marella went somewhere to study with Dicarion, and it wasn’t until late evening that the two were reunited in the commons of the tower’s ground floor. Shey had been waiting all day to talk to her friend about the Oracle and what had happened on the patio. Marella appeared