Part 1

(Beginnings)

Chapter 1

Sareth personally, did not see any benefit to meditation. Phenrig had assured him that meditation, at least twice a day, allowed for spiritual as well as mental development.

Sareth, while not doubting the experience of his master, did not feel any wiser or more intelligent when he was finished. In fact, meditation kinda left him feeling weaker and a bit disoriented.

This he surmised was due to the fact that halfway through his regular meditation he tended to doze. Even he knew that getting a nap was not the point of the exercise but it happened involuntarily.

Outside of this snag, Sareth's life wasn't very complicated. When he was child, probably no older than five, he was sold into the service of the wizard Phenrig. He had grown up never knowing the face of his parents but strangely, that did not bother him as he supposed it should. Phenrig was neither a kind master nor a bad master.

In many ways, Phenrig was a substitute for the practical needs of a family. He had fed his young protégé well, clothed him and trained him in many arts. The body guards on the estate had taught him basic swordsmanship with Phenrig himself began schooling him in magical arts when he came of age.

"This is something you need to learn, Sareth, so please pay attention." Phenrig asked him. Sareth just leaned on his arm and yawned involuntarily.

"Forgive me master and as much as I appreciate you taking the time to teach me this… my duties around the estate amount to little more than a scullery boy. I wash pans and scrub floors. What use can I have for magic?"

Phenrig shook his head and sighed.

"Do you imagine that you'll be here forever?" He asked. "This is your education boy and education paves the way to the future. You'll never achieve your destiny scrubbing pans for the rest of your life."

"Destiny?" Sareth asked, looking up, now perhaps a little more interested.

"An over used term perhaps." Phenrig replied with a short smile. "I have plans for you Sareth. There's a great deal of potential in you that right now you can't even begin to imagine." He shook his head at the steady look of non comprehension that Sareth had on his face. "I think you've learned enough for today. It's time for you to mediate."

Phenrig was a man who seemed to be stuck in his middle ages. His hair was receding yet tied back into a small, dark pony tail behind his head. His eyes were just as dark and seemed to be oddly colourless. He wore the golden and red robes that marked him as a wizard yet Sareth knew that he was not an affiliate of the Silver Cities. Freelance wizards commanded respect in the rural areas between Grimheim and Irollan.

Sareth himself was, people observed, a man with short yet silky brown hair and dark blue eyes. He was so fare of form that he would attract the attention of very girl on the farmsteads around the estate.

Phenrig however banned him from enjoying the affects of his handsome face, preferring to direct his protégé's attention to his education. Still when the moon was clouded and the nights were dark, he would occasionally slip outside to meet the girls at a pre arranged location.

As half expected Phenrig eventually found out about it and then spoke to him quite harshly.

"While I am impressed by your mature outlook on women, I must deny you such delights until you come of age." He told him. "I was given very specific instructions about your upbringing."

This wasn't the first time he'd let stuff like this slip. Very now and then Phenrig would say something that gave little hints away about Sareth's past, about the time before the estate and the endless lessons.

"By who?" He asked.

"By a concerned individual, that's all you need to know right now." Phenrig stated bluntly, not even attempting to evade the question.

The estate itself was about an acre in size with the manor house directly in the middle surrounded by fields. The manor consisted of two side building with a main structure connecting them. The courtyard between them was a gravelled square where the merchant carts could enter and do business with the kitchen servants.

There was an old gate house with a rusty unworkable portcullis where the guardsmen slept but with the walls around it long since crumbled away, it was mostly for show.

Sareth had a room of his own just over the kitchens, kept warm by the baking pits. It was small but comfortable, with an slanted roof and a window overlooking the main square. Most of the space was taken up by the books and tomes master Phenrig gave him to study but there was just enough room left for a canvas hammock hanging from two corners.

There were rooms at the top of the manor, near the attic which Sareth was forbidden to go. The doors leading there were locked and magically sealed.

They would only open to a key Phenrig kept with him at all times and Sareth was quite sure they were immune to lock picks.

While not naturally curious, there was something about being denied access to those rooms that filled him chagrin. Some part of him, some deep territorial part, was anxious to get in there.

Those doors were the only way in and while Phenrig held the key whatever was inside was barred to him.

Sareth didn't have any real friends his own age. His duties around the estate and his lessons kept him very busy and whenever he did have free time, few boys from the homesteads wanted to be near him. This was either because of the jealously, caused by the attention the girls paid him… or there was another, deeper reason.

There was one farmstead on the far side of the fields, closer the Imperial cities, that Sareth couldn't go near. Its inhabitants would pelt him with stones the moment he showed his face, shouting angrily at him until he was forced to run away.

Sareth knew this not to be typical behaviour for the settlement as he had seen travellers go in and out without harassment.

"I don't think it's you, boy." Douglas, his swordsmanship trainer, told him when he asked about it. "Master Phenrig isn't popular there. He had a…hmm… a misunderstanding with the Priest who runs the village.

Since then, the pious old coot has been preaching to his congregation all sorts of things about him. Anyone who even associates with Phenrig is considered scum there."

Douglas had a near square face and angular features. His hair was chestnut and short, cut into a flattop military style so it kept out of his eyes.

"So you can't go there either?" Sareth asked.

"No. But even if I could I wouldn't. They're not a very nice bunch of people… too close to the cities so nasty ideas creep into their heads from time to time." He smiled ruefully. There was a sudden odd yet dark expression he was wearing that made Sareth feel a tad uncomfortable. "But they'll regret that piety."

"Why do you say that?"

"The wheel turns for everyone. They've had their day in the sun." He then looked directly at the boy. "You'll understand what I'm talking about someday."

As the years past in that quiet corner of the world, Sareth grew more and more to appreciate his studies. What had seem tedious at first was beginning now to give way and the appeal of magic and the power it gave him was now becoming a dominating drive.

Encouraging this trail of thought, Phenrig offered him new challenges to overcome and Sareth's newly acquired taste for power had him eagerly accepting each one.

"We'll be entertaining guests tomorrow Sareth." His Master told him over breakfast.

Tomorrow it would be the eve of his eighteenth birthday and during that time he would be expected to prepare himself for passage into manhood as the custom.

"A group of important people will be attending dinner and a conference here."

Sareth had noticed the servants preparing for a banquet for quite some time yet no one had told him why until now.

"Tomorrow is an important day, far more important that you might realise and it's crucial that we all be ready for it, you included."

His tone was ominously final.

"Now, once you're finished eating I want you to go down to the target ring and practise destructive magic." Phenrig continued. "Fireball spells and lightning blasts primarily, you still need experience in handing the energy flow." He reached over across the table and placed an item down in front of the young man.

It was an amulet, made of silver with a chain to match.

"What is this, master?" Sareth asked, picking it up. The second his fingers made contact with the cold metal, he shuddered, feeling something strange.

It was an odd sensation, like a shockwave that only he could feel passing through the air. His skin rippled and he let it drop back to the table.

"This is your birthday present Sareth." Phenrig continued as if he hadn't noticed. He picked up the amulet and then placed it back in his hand. Sareth braced himself but the sensation he had just felt was gone. "I might be too busy tomorrow and the day after so I'm giving this to you now. It's a special protective talisman, enchanted by only the most powerful of sorcerers.

I'd rather you not sell it, its practical value is far greater than anything you'd get for it in commerce. Should your life ever be threatened, then this amulet will summon aid for you."

Sareth looked the amulet over in greater detail. It was plain looking, apart from an image carved into its centre. Sareth was not familiar with the iconography of the image. There were runes around the outside yet they did not seem Dwarven. In the centre of the runes was the image of a woman, with her arms outstretched either side.

"Go on then, boy, try it on." Phenrig told him, gesturing with a smile. Sareth slipped the amulet's silver chain over the top of his head and the amulet came to rest over his chest.

The sensation did not return but something did feel odd. Not 'wrong' just…odd. It was similar from going from cold water to warm water.

"Ah it certainly makes you look regal." Phenrig added approvingly. "Keep it on for a while, for at least two days so the magic can bind itself to you."

"Err… yes Master Phenrig." Sareth replied sounding a little unsure. "Thank you, its very thoughtful."

"You're welcome lad. Well now, I've wasted enough of your time. Finish your breakfast and then get out there. I want to see you progress at least a little with you accuracy."

Sareth liked using magic. It was a great deal of fun and it was satisfying to know that he could do something the boys who shunned him could not. Still, he wished Phenrig would teach him spells that could aid him in his duties… such as a spell for cleaning floors or dusting shelves.

Instead Phenrig had diverted his education to the destructive and restorative arts. From what tomes he had read, Sareth knew there were many kinds of kinds and limiting his knowledge to basics spells was annoying.

Still, he supposed he should master one form of magic before moving onto the next.

What really upset him was the prospect of his birthday being overshadowed by this large event Phenrig seemed so anxious about.

The amulet was a nice enough present yet he still felt a tad ignored.

The target ring was a small ring of straw dummies held up by wooden harness a short distance from the manor in a small alcove of trees. The spot always had a golden glow to it and Sareth liked to come here, not just to practise but to clear his mind. If he HAD to meditate as Phenrig insisted he did, he would do it here.

"You still seem awkward." He remarked to the amulet around his neck when he reached the spot. The amulet did not reply.

Briefly Sareth mused on what he should practise first. His fireballs lacked power and his lightning blasts, while powerful, were horribly inaccurate and tended to miss their target.

Both needed work.

Decided on lightning, he took a deep breath and began.

Magic was not as hard as tavern talk about wizards and their great deeds made it out to be. While his own talent was raw and undirected, Sareth found that sorcery came easily to him and he could not understand why magic was not more widespread.

Cupping his hands, he directed the flow of mana within him forming it into elemental sparks between his fingers. The ball of lightning cracked angrily before he loosed it towards a waiting straw dummy. Not being made of a conductive material, the straw didn't make much of a display when the lightning hit directly into the mannequins head.

Sareth swore.

He'd been aiming for the stomach.

For the next few hours he practised the lightning, some bolts hitting close to the mark, others flying off at stupid angles and none hitting his intended target.

From what he had learned from his studies, what he was doing wrong came from the combination of mistakes his arm movement and clarity of thought. He needed his movements to be near perfect and his thoughts clear. The precise movement half of the equation was easy enough but the clarity of thought moved more difficult.

His mind refused to stay quiet and often when he tried to make it stay quiet, a billion thoughts would rush through and ruin his concentration.

He was about to try again when something caught his eye.

Glancing up, he saw a shape, fairly translucent, hovering nearby. It was sort of like mist, although very faint mist. What highlighted it were the shafts of golden light coming through the trees.

Almost as soon as he set eyes on it, whatever it was, disappeared as if it were only meant to be half seen.

Sareth shrugged it off and then began practising a spell called fire arrows. It was a very basic form of elemental magic that when used properly, could fire balls of flame from the finger tips. This spell Sareth found easily, although his accuracy with such rapid fire left a lot to be desired.

He got the desired affect however as the spell shot forth in the form of a swarm of waspish embers. It riddled the target, leaving small smouldering holes where they struck.

Despite the success of the spell Sareth sighed and relaxed his shoulders.

It will still just kid's stuff, basic spells that children in the Silver Cities mastered by the age of six. He couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Phenrig was holding him back. Surely the master was not teaching him everything about magic he knew.

There was an undeniable sigh but he did not make it. Blinking, he looked around. The mist was back, hovering directly beside him. Only now it had form, almost solidifying.

He stood there, transfixed at the sight of a young woman; properly no older than himself. She was so beautiful that Sareth was certain that his heart skipped a beat.

Her pearl skin was flawless and her raven black hair was long past her shoulders. It didn't flow but was more jagged, as if clumps of it were fused together. Her body was near perfectly shaped and her face was captivating.

It was as if very part of her were designed to induce heart break.

It was then that she noticed him looking at her. The girl glanced up, eyes wide in surprise.

"You… you can see me?" She asked in a voice that half trembled. Sareth just stood there, groping for something to say but any words he might have conjured up didn't make it to his mouth.

Without a moment's hesitation, the girl flung herself at him; her arms wrapping themselves around Sareth in a tight bear hug. Sareth half expected her to be insubstantial but more and more of her solidified and her presence was very real. She knocked him over and the two of them fell to the ground.

"Oh Sareth you can finally see me!"

Now frightened, Sareth pulled himself out of her grip and staggered backwards.

"Wha… who… what are you?"

Apparently unfazed by his dismissal of her, the girl straightened up and looked him in the eye.

All she wore to cover herself was a strange white, revealing, dress that Sareth had never seen the like of before.

"Forgive me for getting excited then my lord." She told him with a formal bow. "My name is Xana, I am your bodyguard."

"My… my what?" Sareth asked.

"Bodyguard." Xana repeated. "I was appointed your protector by the Wizard Phenrig." She gestured towards the amulet around his neck and smiled. "We are bound together, you and I, linked by the metal and the flesh."

Without even thinking, Sareth tired to remove the amulet but to his dismay he found that somehow the chain had shrunk. As if missing several links, it was now too short to fit over his head.

Desperate now he tugged at the chain but no matter how much he tried, it refused to break.

"I wouldn't bother." She told him. "The magic's already run its course. You'll never be able to take it off now." She took note of his distress and smiled. "You needn't be worried I am no threat to you. I've been watching over you for some time now."

"Why? What… what are you?"

"I'm a …" she hesitated as if unsure of how to phrase it. "…a guardian spirit. When you were first brought to Phenrig, he charged me with your care. Invisibly, I've been watching you for years."

Sareth had heard of guardian spirits. The subject had come up in his lectures with Phenrig. They were more common in the Silver Cities where they were considered a present for newborn children. Usually this task was given to Djinn but Xana did not have the characteristics of a genie.

"You needn't be so upset." She told him. "I am here to serve you as I am charged. To help you in any way I can." The formal way she delivered that gave hints that she was holding back emotion.

Judging by her emotional outburst when she realized that he could see her, Sareth imagined it was taking a great deal of self control in order to restrain herself.

"Well…" Sareth began slowly. "Does the master intend me to have a slave?" he shook his head. "I don't want that. I won't make any creature a slave."

Despite wizard schooling, Sareth had grown up in the Free City States and had inherited from them their pathos of freedom for all creatures whatever they may be.

Apparently indifferent, Xana shrugged.

"Slave, servant… it's all the same to me. I am in your service and that is all I need to know."

There was a flash of intense emotion in her eyes before she reluctantly quelled it.

"Why don't we start off our relationship with a little tutoring?" She asked suddenly.

"Tutoring?"

"I know a fair thing or two about magic as well." Her tone bordered on gloating but didn't cross that border. "Here…" She stepped closer, ignoring the rules of personal space and looked him right in the eye. "Why don't a show you a few… tricks?"