Haven

The Apprentice
Mage

Part One
of "Haven"



1
Dragon Riders

He looked up and saw dragons overhead. Their metal sparkled in the autumn sun casting dancing shadows over the fields of Austriala.
The field was barren, covered with decaying grass, no green was visible. From where Stephen stood he could see the purple mountains behind the fields. The sun grazed the mountain tops, illuminating them.
The field was sprinkled with bodies of the previous battle. Thousands of bodies covered the field as if rained from the sky.
The Red Army was perched on a hill, their tents in neatly arranged rows. A town stood behind it churning out new soldiers to die for their country. The Kresh creatures would be foolish to attack them here.
The creatures, long sought after, looked vile and evil. Their hair, greasy and messy, covered their gray faces. Their hands were gnarled and their faces deformed with teeth were black and sharp.
They were the Kresh and have lived in silence for many years. But now, their army is built and they lay siege to the people of Anorthas.
In many places the Red Army fought back, but to almost always defeat. But the new army is ready, with technology like no other.

Explosions sounded and dirt flew into the air. The ground was ablaze in spots from the last battle. The field was burning.
“Forward!” the commanding Dragon Rider yelled.
Stephen was below them, serving as a 1st Class Scout. The other riders were all above him. Stephen wanted to be up there, it was much safer higher.
The fields and bodies sped by him, and out of the corner of his eye he saw an army. A Kresh army.

Kess walked up the stairs to the Tomb of the Old. She hated cleaning up there. It was a frightening place.
The Building was white stone and seemed to tower above the other buildings. It had a ladder that led to the top of the tower, a circle dome.
The door was made of a heavy wood and had the Red Army symbol burned onto it. It was still warm.
It was dirty and had a foul odor. It was circular with windows all around it. The stone floor was tiled and in the middle of the room sat a wooden casket.
She began cleaning as the tower tilted sideways.





2
Storm From the West

The Kresh army was approaching rapidly across the field.
“Kresh!” Stephen yelled and banked left. His Dragon followed his every will.
“What, scout?” the Dragonmaster, Hafil said hovering next to Stephen.
“Kresh Army! Coming from the west fast!”
“How many, scout?’ Hafil eyed the fields.
Stephen slowly answered. “3 times the amount of our army”
Hafil gradually shut his eyes. ”We know our duty,” he said gravely,”We fight to the end.”
“We cannot win!” Stephen exclaimed. He nevertheless loaded his canon.
“We must,” Hafil drew his bow and pointed to the Kresh. “Attack!”
70 Dragons swooped from the sky. Their Dragons spewed fire and launched the fireball canons.
The Kresh started to fire their arrows and catapults.
Stephen fired his canon launching thirty Kresh into the air.
His Dragon arched his back and went into a dive shooting fire at the Kresh.
“For Anorthas!” voices chorused as they rode to certain doom.
A dragon to his right was hit with 5 arrows and continued to fly. A canon ball hit the Dragons head crushing its skull. Dark red blood burst from his head and the Dragon plummeted to the ground.
37 dragons were left. The rest were scattered on the field.
“Fall back!”Hafil yelled. ”To the Austriala border!”

Kess swept the floor and dusted the walls. Dirt still remained. She walked over to the casket.
It burst open and a Kresh sprang to the ceiling. Kess staggered back.
The Kresh snarled and drew a short serrated knife. It hissed and pounced on Kess. She fell to the ground the Kresh on top of her. She screamed as the blade pierced her arm. They wrestled on the floor, Kess struggling free from the Kresh’s grasp.
The creature lost grip of the blade and it dropped his hands on her neck. Kess struggled for air and pulled the Kresh’s finger away. It bent back and the creature let out a shrill yell as she bit his finger.
There was a snap and the finger fell to the floor. Blood erupted from the wound and the Kresh stumbled backward. Kess flipped up the blade and threw it into the neck of the Kresh.
The creature stumbled around as she ran over and yanked the knife out. She whipped it around and beheaded the foul devil. It fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
“They will stop at nothing,” she thought looking at the fingerless headless Kresh.
BANG! the casket flew upward as hundreds of Kresh poured out of the hole. The tower tilted more.
She ran for the exit.


3
The Haven Attack

Kess bounded down the steps of the tomb. The hundreds of Kresh encased the tomb with their gray bodies. The wall crawled with Kresh. They continued to erupt from the hole and poured out like water down the stairs.
“Attack!” she yelled, running through the streets of Rohn. “KRESH!”
Kess tripped on a rock and tumbled to the ground. The Kresh encircled her, swords drawn. They hissed and shook with rage.
“ERIF NRUB ESACNE EHT SEIMENE!” a blinding light filled the street and the Kresh were lifted into the air. They burst into flame and exploded into tiny bits of flesh.
“Run Kess!”
She took off running and exited the city and entering the forest on the outskirts of the city. The old man dropped the remains of the Kresh and ran after her.

Into the forest they ran, sitting in a clearing of trees. The man healed her arm and they sat down to talk.
“So, who are you?” Kess asked as she looked at the old man. She felt her arm. The wound was gone. Night fell on Aromanth.
“Felix Stronghedge. Half-Elf as you can tell.” he pointed to his long ears.
“How can you run so fast?’
He waved his hand and a piece of wood lifted and set itself on the fire. “Haven’t you ever heard of the speed of elves?” he stared into the fire. “Immortal.”
She eyed his staff. ”You can do magic. You’re a wizard.”
He frowned. “A mage I prefer. A wizard makes me sound old.”
Felix looked it. He had a short beard that started at his mouth and went up to his ears. He looked old and worn but, had the energy of a child.
Kess smiled. “Why did you save me?” she asked.
Felix just smiled.
“Your last name is Estran?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
He stroked his beard. “I can see you don’t know,” he smiled and gave a soft laugh. “You’re a mage”
She stared at him.
“Your family has been magi ever since your grandfather’s father.”
“But my fathe-”
He held up a hand. “I know you think your mother and father are dead but, I can assure you they are not. In fact they are members of our nation’s army.”
Kess stared at him. “Why?”
He looked into her deep green eyes and said,”They are magi of the king.” he paused. “I’m sorry, you must have many questions, but there is no time. You must come with me and we will find your parents.”
“How do you know me? And my family?”
He grinned. “I am your grandfather. You are a half-elf.”
“But- I don’t have long life.”
“You will be,” Felix said
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Felix stood up. “You’re to become a mage. But, first you will be given elven life.”


4
The Well of Elders

Felix led her through the woods, pausing only to eat.
In a small clearing stood a well of stone, the letter “B” was prominently visible on the top of the well.
“What’s the letter for?” Kess asked.
“Byrana. Lord Byrana, King and Lord of the Elves. The master mage of this world.”
He led her to the well and they peered down. A silvery white substance filled it.
Felix dipped his hand into the well. His hand was soon engulfed in the substance. “Drink,” he said.
Kess leaned down and took a gulp. The silvery substance quickly engulfed her.
“What’s happening?!”
Felix smiled.
Kess was now totally encased in silver, shiny and bright.
“Immortality is wonderful isn’t it?” Felix asked.
Kess nodded.
The silver started to lift off her body and float into the sky.
“You now have elven life. You will live 3 times as long as a normal human.” Felix said. “Apprentice mage.”


The Kresh army moved up toward the city.
“They will not attack” Stephen asked the dragon commander. “Will they?”
The commander was silent. “They will stop at nothing to rule this world.”
“We need aid” Stephen said.
“No one will come!”
“The Dwarfs, Elves. Let me lead a group into their fortress and kill their leader. Without a leader they cannot function. They may be strong in numbers but, they are not smart.”
The dragon commander sighed. “They will be here in five days. You think you can do this?”
Stephen was already gone.









So Ends Part One