The shielded: Prologue

Prologue

         "Were going to live there?” Asked Eytwin in wonder, her voice a whisper. Her twin brother Gurst sat beside her his mouth hanging open, staring at the huge complex of white marble buildings that stretched for miles. The exquisitely clean buildings seemed to glitter in the bright afternoon sun. A low wall encircled the entire area, though few guards patrolled it, indicating that the wall was probably more for show then protection.
         When Gurst didn’t respond Eytwin reached over and gently poked his muscular arm. Gurst snapped out of his reverie, he quickly closed his mouth, flicked a strand of his shoulder length brown hair away from eyes and turned towards his sister. Eytwin’s blue eyes sparkled with wonder, her long light brown hair flowing in the gentle wind. Eytwin’s question finally registered to him, and he nodded in reply. Then he smiled “We should have plenty to explore.”
         Suddenly the small wagon in which Gurst and Eytwin were riding jerked forward. The horses pulling them seemed to have recognized their home and were looking forward to getting some rest. Their driver, Solat, a servant of the mages, spoke gruffly to the horses, in an attempted to get them to slow their pace. His voice rose with anger when the horses did not respond, then finally dropped off. He seemed to have accepted that he could do nothing about the faster pace.
         Gurst thought he could have gotten the horses to slow, if he wanted to. For the first fourteen years of his life - until a few weeks ago, when both he and his sister were told they had magical ability and would be trained at the mage guild – he had helped his father - the head groom in the large city of Kilsto - in the stables, and would most likely have taken over in his place. But he had seen the servant mistreat the horses throughout the ride, so made no effort to assist. He did not blame the horses for wanting to go home, get some rest and get away from their driver.
         As they neared the mage guild both Eytwin and Gurst rode silently, overwhelmed by size and beauty of the guild. Kilsto, where they had live, was considered rich among the realm, but even it couldn’t compare to the guild. The winding dirt track turned to brick as they neared, the street straitening out.
         Eventually they came to a marble arch, nearly twelve feet tall - about twice the height of the wall - and eight feet wide. Two guards stood in the way, they examined the two riders as the wagon neared. Both twins were shorter then average, Gurst stood slightly over 5 and a half feet, while Eytwin was a few inches under. Gurst made up for his lack of height with his muscular frame. Eytwin, was lithe and graceful, having snuck out to join her brother in the stables - or riding - whenever she had the opportunity.
         When it reached the gate the wagon slowed to a stop, Solat conversed for a while with the guards. Eventually the wagon moved through. Solat pulled the horses to a stop again a few minutes later, he turned and gestured for Gurst and Eytwin to jump off. As he rode towards the stables, he called over his shoulder. “Your stuff will be placed in your rooms.”
         A mage in flowing blue robes stepped out of a nearby building. The mages hand, nearly white from spending so much time indoors, gestured for Gurst and Eytwin to follow.