The Phoenix Ring(11)

At about the same time the last bit of Sortiledge was being explored, and the three races began to search for new lands to settle. A dwarven ship named Destiny manned by human and elven sailors sailed north to the continent that we now know as the Nefarious Lands. This new land seemed to be a haven where the three races could live and prosper as Sortiledge became smaller and smaller. There was only one problem. It was already inhabited.

And so the conquest of the Nefarious Lands began. At first the council held back, but as time went by they became more and more involved in the offense. Thus began the first period of the war. For ten years the three races pushed further into the Nefarious Lands, with little regard for the goblins, trolls, dragons, and other creatures and races pushed out of their way.

Then the council made a mistake. More and more criminals were emerging everywhere, and there was not enough room to keep them in Sortiledge and there were too many to simply execute. So the council began to send them to the Nefarious Lands, in camps surrounded by walls with guards on all sides. A young wizard named Malcommer, a potential council member that had smashed his phoenix egg, was also thrown into the new world, but he was different. He gathered everyone in his camp together, and somehow they all managed to escape, leaving the guards with their throats cut. He then freed another camp, and another, until the council stopped the entire camp system.

But it was already too late.

The second ten year period began when Malcommer hired an assassin to kill one council member. In the first five years, ten of the twenty council members and their phoenixes were killed, as well as every phoenix outside of the council. Only one council member was initiated at this time, Marcus Thunderheart.

Over the next four years every council member was slaughtered except for Marcus, and Malcommer built an army that he used to almost take Sortiledge, but was stopped at a crucial point by Thunderheart. He retreated to the Nefarious Lands where he prepared another, much larger army. While the army was on the voyage to Sortiledge, Thunderheart's Phoenix, by unknown means, managed to expend all of its power to create a line of mountains in the ocean. Tragically, Thunderheart and his phoenix died in the resulting wave of power. The mountains that the phoenix created are now known as DragonBack Range. They form the most solid barrier between the Nefarious Lands and Sortiledge, and are also the home of the last known dragon clans.

There are rumors, however, that Thunderheart may have transferred his Arror, or life magic, to his ring, which currently resides at Fort Phoenix.

Malcommer himself was killed in the resulting inferno. There are rumors, however, that he had friends that will one day come back to take Sortiledge.



Aidan looked up from the book, the rest of the section was a detailed account of what he had already read. Timothy was snoring on top of his bed, with drool hanging out of his mouth. Aidan closed the book and blew out the candle.

He fell asleep dreaming of his mother, surrounded in flames.



The next three weeks were a blur for Aidan. He and Timothy spent most of their time in the library, and the rest of it in the training area.

Aidan also found that Timothy was extremely superstitious. He would throw a pinch of salt over his shoulder every morning, and Aidan even caught him laying coins around his bed at night so that he could "find" them in the morning.

Aidan began to realize that magic was far more complex than it looked when a village bard performed it as a show. Timothy, however, seemed to have no problem grasping the idea of magic.

The smaller boy mainly helped Aidan work on his coming evaluation. "I already have a master that has picked me, so I do not need to worry about it. You, on the other hand, need to impress. Every adult wizard and warlock is allowed to have three apprentices. Master Edwin already has three, but my master only has me, so maybe he will pick you too."

The most memorable event of that time occurred two weeks after Aidan arrived.

The two boys were going on one of their many walks through the camp when Timothy stopped short.

"You haven't seen Marcus Thunderheart's ring yet, have you?"

"No," Aidan replied, looking up from his book.

"Oh, you're going to love this," Timothy said, turning left.

The ring was in the center of the camp, on a pedestal with a huge glass bubble covering it. The Soulrock inside was a pulsating white, and the metal in the ring appeared to be red. The image of a phoenix was etched faintly across the top.

"Nine of the most powerful wizards and one warlock have tried to put this on since Marcus died. None of them made it. They finally put it here to end the temptation. This glass is enchanted not to be broken from the outside, but the inside is fairly fragile. If someone were to call the ring and it responded strongly enough, it would break the glass."