Magnificent Mage of Life

Future of the Continent

ANAKIN'S MIND WAS disturbed. Lord Bard's comment had hurt his pride, this was the pride of Kamizoel. The real Anakin would not have minded because he had gotten used to all the insults. Anakin turned to look at Arya. He disliked her father and tried to dislike her too, but he could not. She reminded him of the angelic nature of the female gods in Ethereal.

Daryth was making an effort to catch her attention, he was snapping fiery fingers and shooting the flames up in the air.

No other kid of his age in all of the capital could wield life as powerfully as Daryth could, and he made sure to let Arya know that.

Anakin scoffed and turned to look at Commander Arlen. "I'm going to go to my room. Walking like this makes me weak." He said.

Daryth scoffed and said, "You should see my training field. Taking a night stroll like this is nothing, especially not with the life pumping through my veins."

Anakin opened his mouth to reply, but he saw Arya looking at him. So he simply turned and walked away. "Commander Arlen, stay with them. I know the way to my room."

Commander Arlen looked distraught. He turned from the departing prince to the king's ward and the princess of the north, confused about which to stay with. Finally, he followed Anakin's advice, after all, the prince was simply going to his room.

But he was wrong. Anakin needed some self-reflection and he wanted to do it alone. He stopped underneath a very large, wide tree. The tree was short and stocky, but it looked very old.

Anakin sat beneath it, thinking about his inability to wield life from his body.

He examined his fingers closely. They were small and little with little stubs of fingernails.

"What is so different from me?" He asked himself, tracing a line on the sand.

Then he remembered scrolls he had read that afternoon. The scroll said that Life was all over Ansalon. The air contained life, the trees, grass, and sand were all made with life. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

He sat taking the sukhasana pose, cross-legged on the floor, and took a deep breath in. He closed his eyes and started to control his breathing.

If the sight is taken, one's body would be forced to depend on and sharpen the other more senses.

Life was tasteless, so he kept his mouth closed too.

Life was odorless, so he did not focus on his sense of smell.

But Life could be felt. After sitting in that position for 10 minutes, simply allowing the greatest sense organ of touch to do its work. He activated all the extra nerve endings all over his skin until he felt it. He felt life.

It gave him a slightly cold sensation, making goosebumps break out on his skin. He raised his arms slowly, not wanting to break his concentration. He could feel life swirling all around him.

And he realized too that Life could be heard. It was a light whispering of voices on inaudible words.

Anakin opened his eyes and was shocked to see a shimmering rope-like object twirling around his arms and snaking all around his chest.

"So this is Life," He muttered to himself, moving his hands and seeing the spectrum of Life twirl around. "So cool," He said. Then he started to feel a piling pressure all over his body, starting from his head and neck.

He felt like a pressurized bottle of soda.

And without thinking, he thrust his arms to the sky and immediately, a deafening clap of thunder boomed. The pressure left his body but suddenly, there was a very loud Crack! sound and the sky lit up with a blinding flash of lightning as the lightning traveled at the speed of sound and struck the tree where Anakin sat, blasting the tree to pieces.

The force flung Anakin aside, and when he stood up, he saw that in place of the thick tree, was a blackened char and a very deep, wide crater.

"What happened?" He asked himself. He knew that the light and sound of the lightning would attract the palace guards, so he ran up to his room and locked the door behind him.

His heart was beating frantically as he realized that he had just wielded life.

His heart was still pounding when he heard his door open. He quickly jumped under his bed covers and pretended to be asleep. It was his mother. She came to stroke his head once and then left him.

Anakin stood up and went to his window. His room was high up, so he could see a large expanse of the ground. He saw the spot where his lightning had hit. It looked Ike a meteorite from space had crashed into the ground and exploded.

He could see some men around the area, including his father and Lord Bard from the north. There were some other soldiers inside the crater, they were looking at the inside of the crater, trying to figure out what had caused the lightning.

Anakin was a bit glad that nobody would even think that it was him, but another proud part of him was angry. He would have enjoyed the look on their face when they knew that it was him.

He climbed back into his bed and genuinely fell asleep.

HE WOKE UP hours later with a painful ache all over his arms. It was a result of wielding that large amount of life at once and for the first time too. His body was not used to that type of power.

He took his bath and dressed in a silky material before walking downstairs to the dining table.

"I was starting to think you would sleep the day away," his father snorted.

His mother rubbed his hair as he walked past and sat beside Daryth.

"Daryth," King Hederick continued, "You will come with me. I have a meeting with the chief druid. She sent me a raven this morning concerning that lightning event."

Daryth bowed. "Yes sir."

Anakin was unconcerned as he piled his plates filled.

"Anakin, your tutor will be here. Take your studies seriously. That's the only thing you have." Lord Hederick said.

Anakin nodded. "I will."

Lord Hederick snorted again and their breakfast went on in silence.

After breakfast, Anakin hurried to the library to continue his reading. He was even more intrigued since last night when he wielded the life from his surroundings. No one had ever said something like that could be done.

A wizened old man on a walking stick hobbled beside Anakin and cleared his throat. He was Anakin's tutor for the day. Anakin raised an eyebrow arrogantly, "I am studying already, Almin."

The man chuckled and sat down beside Anakin. "What you are reading is not part of the scheme for today," He said, looking at the large book Anakin was reading. "Why are you suddenly interested in learning about Life? Your father gave clear instructions to teach you in statistics and linguistics," He asked his fingers and the books snapped shut.

"I was just – What do you know of a person wielding life from outside sources?"

Almin's old eyes widened sharply. "That is dangerous magic, boy." He scolded. "Don't say that out loud."

Anakin shrugged. "Why not? Someone has done it before?"

Almin examined Anakin's face, trying to decipher what was behind all this sudden interest. But he did not find anything suspicious, only curiosity and that was normal for boys of this age. So he sighed and started to talk. It was better for the lad to learn it from him than from another source.

LORD HEDERICK WAS a worried man.

He was worried for the future of the continent he ruled. He was worried about the very fragile peace that reigned now and what little shake would break it.

He was worried about the subtle rebellion that was starting in the north. That was why he wanted to marry the lady Arya to one of his sons.

He was worried about the message that the druid had sent him last night.

He was worried about his sons, he had taken Daryth as a son. And he knew there was a little dispute between the two boys.

Finally, he was worried about his biological son, Anakin, who had been born with almost no life. When the druid had tested him at birth and given the results, Lord Hederick felt like his world had been flushed down the drain so he had started planning his next strategic move by adopting Daryth from a tiny village outside the capital.

Their horses snorted and stopped. They had gotten to the grand coven of the druids. He looked at the coven. It was a low-built, long, wide structure. No one could be sure of what the walls were made up of because climbing plants covered the whole surface and top of the building. He climbed down from his horse and handed the reins to Daryth who rode by his side.

"I will be back soon," He called to his men. He removed his sword, dagger, and all the weapons on his body and handed them to his armsman. No weapons of any kind were allowed in the coven.

His crown glinted in the high afternoon sun as he walked through the stone arch.

The coven was dark, cool, and musty. And it was filled with tall, sweet-smelling plants. He walked around the maze and surprisingly found himself in the middle of the coven. There was a fountain of water shooting up spraying up weakly.

"Welcome, Your Highness," A voice said. The voice belonged to the chief druid of Ansalon. The druid pulled back the hood to reveal a female with a pretty but motherly face and red hair streaked with some white strands.

"I got your raven," Lord Hederick said. "And your letter."

The grand druid nodded and walked forward. Her feet barely made any sound as she walked. Only the heavy clunker her large staff made and the sprinkling of water from the fountain could be heard.

Lord Hederick shuffled slightly. He was unnerved by this place. "You said I should bring the future of this kingdom. And I have. He is waiting out–"

"It is said that the waters coming in this fountain flows from the realm of gods," the grand druid interrupted the king. "It used to be a bubbling gush of water."

Lord Hederick turned and looked at the weak sprinkling of water from the fountain. "What happened?" He said under his breath.

"Something changed," The grand druid said. "There is been a change in the energy flowing over the continent, Your Highness."

"What caused this? Is it related to the lightning strike that happened last night?"

The grand druid nodded.

"As an 8th-class warrior, the energy I felt from the crater caused by the lightning made my heart pound," The king admitted to the druid.

"You should be wary of the changes," the grand druid said. "For the fountain to reduce in its energy… that is something to be afraid of."

The king walked in circles, stroking his beard and thinking hard. "About my son. You wrote the one that holds the future of this continent. Daryth is outside waiting."

"Daryth?" The grand druid asked. "I was asking for Anakin."

The king stopped his nervous pacing and looked at the grand druid. "Do you mean Anakin holds the future of the whole continent?!"