Prologue
It was 100 years after the second fall of Orannis and the Kingdom was rising back up into its old glory. The second seven, as they had come to be known, had long since past thought the ninth gate of death to their ultimate end with their legend continuing only in their children. However their legend would soon be eclipsed.
Chapter 1
The young man lay crouched in the bushes, a bead of sweat dripping off his brow. His heart raced with the rush of a hunt, however he was the one being hunted. He looked around searching for a new hiding space, knowing that if he stayed in one spot for to long he would be found.
"There!" he whispered. And like an enchanted arrow he shot across the room, but he was to slow. His motion caught the eye of his stalker. He heard footsteps, click, clack, click, clack, closer and closer they came until…
"Got you! I win big brother. Now you have to show me your new mark."
Elizabeth was elated at her latest victory against Nick. She had always looked up to him not only as her older brother of 16, but also as a very skilled charter mage. He could do anything in the eyes of a twelve year old. He was particularly good at forming healing and protection marks, but these didn't interest Elizabeth. She wanted something spectacular.
Nick sat down on the floor opposite Elizabeth and reached into the charter, the soft and pleasant warmth flooding his body. He cast together a small string of marks for fire and light. He had found in his long hours in his study that if he cast these marks a sort of explosion of fire appeared all around him. He placed his hands on Elizabeth's and released the marks. He then backed up for it was a new spell and he did not know if the fire was harmful to an outside observer. Suddenly the hall lit up and the sounds of Elizabeth's laughter filled the castle.
This laughter was immediately silenced by the Great Hall doors swinging open with a terrible boom. They were thrown open with such haste that they were only stopped by the stone wall. The boom of the messenger sending's voice rang clear over the explosions with the help of charter magic.
"Sir Nicolas, your services are needed." That was all he said before he turned and ran back out the way he came. Nick knew by the blood stained apron that the sending wore that his healing spells were needed in the hospital. He sprinted out the door leaving Elizabeth with the fire. She was too young to assist with what was going on.
Nick came to a sliding stop when he saw who lay in the emergency bed. It was his mother, Surry. She had blood all over her but he couldn't tell what from. Her eyes were open staring at the ceiling, even as the medical sendings ran around here checking for any sign of physical harm. She just stared.
He placed a spell on her body so she closed her eyes and sank into a deep sleep until he could think of how to properly treat her. After he was finished, Nick heard the door swing open again. He looked down the medical ward to see the gruesome sight of his father lying on a stretcher covered in blood. The sendings laid him on the bed next to Surry's and Nick looked him over. He had gashes all over his body and Nick realized that it was most likely his blood that covered Surry as well. Mind overwhelmed, Nick thought about his options. The charter would be a dangerous path even with his advanced knowledge of healing marks, the skills required to perform such a large healing are very dangerous to the caster. However if he didn't act quickly his father would most likely slip beyond his ability to heal. He drew a deep breath to calm himself. Nick knew what he had to do.