When night fell on the Academy of Alandria the head Administrar had always thought that the face of the place was truly revealed. It felt cold and harsh. The high walls belied a brutal architecture that was a testament to the brutal work that they did. Shaping boys into men. Girls into women. People into cannon fodder. To those exterior to the walls, they spoke of protection, of safety, of a school that was building the next legion of protectors. But those people didn’t know how badly the war was going. Not even the rumours gave it justice. No matter how many people they threw at the Shades it was never enough. The creatures ate through their men as if they were nothing… though, as long as their hunger was sated with the Power Divine, they wouldn’t attempt to encroach upon the kingdom’s lands any further. It was an uneasy kind of peace, one that the head Administrar had come to terms with many years ago. That was why he’d had to send the boy, Alexei, the weakling child away. H
In the past, Alexei had never been much of a morning person. But he had found that ever since becoming part of the Mage Temple mornings were one of his favourite parts of the day. There was something special about heading up to the loft space of the temple, sitting under the steadily brightening sky, and watching the sun rise over the observatory. Afterwards, he would head back to his quarters and wake Neave up with what had become her favourite breakfast food, pancakes and sausage meat. They would eat together in their room, and then part ways. They were both being instructed in the ways of magery, but seeing as Alexei already had a starting knowledge in the craft of weaving spells and enchantments they were placed into different groups. On the first day, it had been difficult for Alexei to convince Neave that it was fine for them to be split up throughout the day, and that she didn’t need to be watching over him every waking moment. It was clear that having him be unconscious
The energy of the gate washed over Alexei in a blue glow. For a moment he felt as if nothing were happening at all, and then it was as if the world itself were rotating around him. His body was made immaterial as it rushed through buildings, people, and the mountains that surrounded Alandria city. And then it was over just as quickly as it began. The world stopped moving and he stepped out of another warp gate at his destination. It was obvious that they were in another Mage Temple, but this one was nowhere near as big or as busy as the one they had left. This mage temple hadn’t had its internal dimensions expanded, as far as he could tell, and was about the size of a holy church hall. “Hey, move out of the way of the gate,” Risa said, “This place isn’t very well travelled, but you wouldn’t want someone to go crashing into you if you weren’t paying attention.” “And where exactly is ‘this place’?” Alexei asked, though he did as Risa had suggested and moved out of the way of the
“Not seen either of you ‘round these parts before,” The barkeep said as Risa and Alexei drew close to the bar. His voice was as gruff and weathered as he looked. The man was tall with thick shoulders, but looking at his face Alexei could tell that he was older than his built frame might otherwise suggest. His face was heavily wrinkled and his head was bald. “We’re from the Mage Temple in Alandria,” Risa said, “Just passing through and hoping to take a couple of rooms for a night or two.” “Mage Temple in Alandria, eh” The man said, “Don’t get too many of your types through here at all, for the dungeon out down south I take it.” “That’s right, we’re looking for some herbs and ingredients that can only be found there,” Risa affirmed, “Or so our records say, at least.” “Well, can’t say there’s much love for the mages out here, but I ain’t got no quarrel with either of you,” The barkeep said, “It’ll be two pieces a night per room, third night goes for one piece if you pay upfront.”
While the warp gate had taken Alexei and Risa to the nearest town to the dungeon, that didn’t necessarily mean that the town was actually all that close to the dungeon itself. In fact, the dungeon in question was still about an hour's drive by dragonhorse caravan, and they’d need a caravan to bring desert faring supplies with them. That of course all relied on someone actually renting out a dragonhorse and a caravan. The anti-mage sentiment in the town was strong enough that the locals may have refused to sell to them if their feelings on the matter were strong enough. Alexei had hope, though, that their need for coin would far outweigh their need for petty revenge on something that happened decades ago. “I’ve never seen a dragonhorse up close before,” Alexei thought out loud, “Well, we were transported in a dragonhorse train when we were taken to the Academy I suppose, but we weren’t allowed anywhere near the creatures.” “Nervous?” Risa asked. “Not nervous as such, quite
Stepping back out into the blinding heat wasn’t exactly something that Alexei enjoyed doing, but if it meant he got to meet and hang out with some dragonhorses? That was something else altogether. The Academy had its own fleet of dragonhorses, of course, but only a rare few Initiates ever got to interact with them. Those that truly excelled in combat would be called forward to train in the ways of dragonhorse riding, being able to ride through the legions of the Shades atop the back of a mighty beast did a lot for the morale of those around the rider. It was only those Initiates, and the Dragonhorse trainers, that were allowed to get close to the beasts. It wasn’t because the animals were dangerous at all, it was just another way for the Academy to limit the experiences of their Initiates so that they minded less when they were sent out on the front lines to die for their kingdom. Being able to go face to face with one of the creatures had always been one of Alexei’s dreams, and
For some reason, Alexei had expected it to be difficult to suit the dragonhorse up with a harness, but the creature seemed entirely accepting of the apparatus. When the old shopkeeper drew close and lifted the harness up, the beast simply knelt its front two legs down and presented its head forward so that he could throw the harness strap over its head and secure the fasteners around its sides. The temperament of the big beasts continued to surprise him when the creature simply followed after the old man as he walked toward a second shack, presumably where the caravans were kept. “Are they intelligent as well as tame?” Alexei asked, impressed by their behaviour. “Dragonhorses are some of the smartest creatures out there,” Risa replied, “They’re easy to train as long as you’re not scared of them and once they take a liking to you they’ll be loyal for life if you’ll let them.” The door to the second shack opened with a creak and a flurry of dusty sand. It was clear that the carava
Travelling across the dungeon was actually easier than Alexei had expected. The Dragonhorse cleared the sand dunes with no issue, the wide pads of its toes giving each foot more than enough surface area to stop it from sinking through the sand. The skis of the caravan worked on the same principle, which allowed their vehicle to easily glide across the surface of the desert. They needed to stop a couple of times to rehydrate the dragonhorse and give it some food, which it was always appreciative of, but within an hour they had made it to the entrance of the dungeon. It had been clear that they were drawing close to the dungeon long before they actually made it to the doorway that served as the entrance to the place. A chasm had opened up in the desert before them, leading down out of the harsh sunlight and into a shade-covered crevice. As they wove deeper and deeper the chasm got wider, and the sand on the grand grew thinner until it revealed a blue and red coloured brick path.