Leif Denien Chapter 4

Leif Denien
Chapter 4

Day after day Leif went out into the battlegrounds for hours on end to practice against anyone else willing to fight him. He wanted to be as ready for the trials as he could. The trials were a series of competitions that the aspiring guard were put through. They were prepared by the village elder and captain of the guard. In this case, Tei Marion and Henriton. Leif had no idea what they would be, but he would be sure he was ready.

Tomorrow would be his birthday and the trials would begin. He was lucky, for you must be sixteen to be in the trials. If he was born just one day later, he would have needed to wait until the next round of trials, which would have been a year later. Leif decided that he would go and talk to Tei Maryon about his discovery.

Leif walked confidently to Tei Maryon’s dwelling place. It was a small hut near the center of town. Leif knocked politely.

“Come in,” Maryon’s voice ushered.

Leif opened the door slowly. Maryon was sitting in a chair with a scroll open in front of him.

“Oh, Leif, it’s you,” he waved him in. “Please, sit down.”

“Thank you, sir.” Leif bowed politely.

“So, what brings you here?” Maryon asked.

“Well, sir, I don’t know how or why, but I found Cakron Yahrul’s hut.”

Maryon’s eyes opened wide. “You have found it! It has been undiscovered for years. Only I knew of its location. How did you find it?”

“Well, I had this impression to follow this owl, and-”

“You did now? You must be the one,” Maryon got up and hugged Leif. Leif accepted the hug uncomfortably.

“Leif, you will be the next magician.”

“You have always asked me about the stars, and I wondered, but I never was sure until now-”. Maryon went bumbling like this for several minutes, pausing, starting one sentence, then ending in another.

“Please, what does it mean?” Leif asked.

“Oh, of course, you must be so confused. Leif, there are currently five sorcerers in this world. I am one of them. Another lies in the castle of Yelek. One guards the Temple of Heroes. The other two are allied to darkness. They dwell in evil, and constantly causing problems for the good people of Emreika. It was only recently that we discovered a plot by the other two wizards.”

Leif couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Maryon? A wizard?

“They have opened a rift between this and the world of chaos.”

“The world of chaos?” Leif asked.

“Sorry, let me start from the beginning.” Maryon shook his head. “I am just so excited.”

“There is a world. This world is all around us, but invisible to our eyes. This world is filled with “Chaotic Matter”. These are the magics. This chaotic matter can do anything. You can animate objects without life. You can move the matter around you with your very mind. You can also summon elements such as fire, water, and air to fight for you. The way to harness the power would be to obtain a special stone, which is forged in the chaotic dimension, but is so full of power that it traveled to the world of people.

Though they were once common, wizards from all over took every chance they could to obtain these stones. They soon became rare and expensive. Wizards began creating guilds and wars were fought over who would be the protectors of the land. There were some wizards who were ambitious and attempted to obtain evil dominion over the common people of the world.

There were great and terrible wars over the stability of the seen world, because if some had won, this world would have become chaotic like the other unseen world. Long the wars raged, and now there are only five of us. Three who strive for good, and two for evil.”

Leif listened intently with amazement. Nobody had ever told him about any of this.

“The three of us that are good have recently discovered that the two evil are opening a rift between the two worlds, unleashing chaos that was once controlled. Now, evil is spreading, taking over the minds of men, and polluting the earth with blood-thirsty creatures.”

“Like wolves?” Leif asked.

“No, worse,” Maryon’s eyes grew sad. “Much worse. But there is hope! You are our hope!”

“How?”

“There was a prophecy made by Cakron Yahrul himself. This prophecy is hard to decipher, but was given to those who forced him here. It reads:

‘In the land,
shall rise up a young boy,
who should smite evil,
using his light to withstand that which all else fall to
He shall be guided by my spirit whence I am gone
He shall have more strength than all of us’

He has guided you with his spirit, in the form of an owl!”

“I don’t think so,” Leif doubted. He knew that many others could qualify better than him. Yurken, for example. He beat Leif in a fair fight.

“I know your thoughts,” Maryon winked. “You are looking at strength in the physical sense, but it is strength of heart which it implies! Think on it boy, you will find that you have more in you than you believe.”

“Thank you Tei Maryon,” Leif bowed and left in a hurry. This was more than he could comprehend. He needed some time alone. Leif ran home. He wouldn’t mention this to anyone.

His parents were waiting for him.

“Where have you been?” his father asked.

“I was training at the battleground.” Leif responded.

“Training for being a village guardian, right?” asked his father sarcastically.

“Yes, in fact I was!” Leif angrily barked.

“Tomorrow is your birthday, when you choose your apprenticeship, and I expect you to become a blacksmith!” Jason shouted. “And that’s not a question.”

“No, I’m going to go to the trials and become a village guardian! And that’s not an answer!” Leif ran out through the back door. He was done. Whether his father liked it or not he would be in the village guard. Leif ran into the forest and found Cakron’s hut.

He couldn’t find anything he wanted to read, so he wandered to the shrine of Cakron. The area was dimly lit. He would stay here for the night. He watched the stars, pained by every thought of his father.

Watching the stars comforted him. He searched the sky for anything new. A shooting star flamed across the sky, but didn’t disappear. In fact, it was coming strait for Leif. Leif jumped up and backed away. The light became unbearable and Leif shielded his eyes and looked away. Soon, the area felt cool.

Leif turned back around. Next to the shrine of Yahrul was a glowing stone. Leif’s heart jumped. This must be a stone of power! Leif edged nearer to it. He reached forward, and put a finger to it. Leif pulled his hand back violently. It was freezing!

He kicked it, and it shimmered strangely. He leaned closer, and saw that within the stone was a swirling cloud of white. Cloaking the light was a black shroud. Occasional bursts of red, green, blue, purple, and many other colored flames seared across its surface. Leif reached down and picked the stone up and found that it was now warm. Leif examined it closely in wonder.

Suddenly, without warning, the stone turned into a liquid. Leif jerked his hand back, but it was too late. The liquid had seeped into his skin. His whole body began to glow. He felt a burst of energy. He was breathing deeply. Leif looked at a stone. He suddenly knew how to move it. It was almost as if learning to walk, but without moving at all.

He picked it up with his mind. The stone hovered. He moved it over until it was above his hand. He then let it drop into place. This is crazy, I must be dreaming! Leif thought shaking his head. After the rock settled into place, Leif felt weak, as if he had pushed a boulder. His muscles ached. Leif sat down, and soon, he drifted off to sleep.