Born of Magic (Channeler Series) (32 page)

We reached the table and came out from behind the pillars
and sat down next to Tevon. “Nice of you join us,” Tevon said, a joking smile on his face.

Once we sat down, the General stood up. “People of Ordana, today we celebrate the fruits of our labors and the gifts of our new friends. In these troubling times, the academy of mages has opened their arms to those who had once turned a shoulder to them. We, the proud people of Ordana
, have graciously accepted their offerings of help for we take on a great task ourselves.”

“The enemy we face has been pushed back by the failure of their first attack, but they will not stop there. With Ordana acting as the gate to the rest of the North
, they must come through us first.”

“We have bravely taken on the task of fending these enemies off, assuring peace for the rest of the land. With the help of the mages you see here tonight at my side, we shall ensure that not one of these mages from the South makes it through our lands alive. We’ve never faced a foe like this before, but I can assure you, they’ve never faced a foe like that of Ordana!” As he spoke the room erupted in thunderous applause
. “Their army will spill against our walls like water to stone.”

He was about to continue when
a crying hawk slipped in through the main doors as they were being closed. Its broad orange wings carried it across the hall as it glided over to us. The General stared at it with discontent as it interrupted his speech all too perfectly. The hawk landed on our table in front of me. Its eyes glowed purple as it stared into mine, showing me an image.

I seemed to be
looking through its eyes. From high up in the air the hawk flew, the rough rocky terrain floating below it like a river. It came upon a canyon, which it crossed with ease. When it reached the other side, it dove down, it’s perfect eyesight now my own. Below me were tents, thousands of them, tens of thousands, if not more. They were setup all across the desert land just on the other side of the canyon.

My heart beat with a painful wallop of fear from the sight. My fists clenched as I saw them
. The mages from the South gathered from their tents into formation. They stood together in countless rows of perfect lines. At the very front stood a woman dressed in dark black robes that made it seem as if it were night.

She had long pure white hair that floated though there was no breeze; her eyes were dark red like her lips. The woman shouted to the massive army and they cheered at every word she said. As the hawk grew near, she looked up at it. Our eyes met and the vision faded.

The hawk was grabbed by a guard and taken off. As my sight came back to me I saw that I was the center of attention of the entire room. Everyone started at me in silence.

“What did you see?” Tevon asked.

“They’re coming, thousands of them,” I answered.

The General heard my response and shouted out to his people, “Let them come.”

....

An entire month had passed
since the banquet, and there hadn’t to be a single sign of the enemy’s army. I had spent every day since then working on my abilities. On most days, I would meet with several different mages and we would practice together. The elder mages all wanted to be familiar with the sensation of using so much magic. This seemed to make it easier for them.

The sun was half set behind the canopy of singed trees to my right,
but it was still warm here. From the edge of the farmland, South of the main castle, I could almost see the forest that lead to the canyon. The sight of that area sent a chill down my spine.

Helendra walked up behind me and sat down on the small wooden bench that I was sitting on. The wood creaked slightly from her slender frame. We had yet to try using my magic with her, and I doubted we ever would. There didn’t seem to be any point to it—she could do everything she needed to with the magic that she naturally had from Etherea.

“How do you feel, Jasminis?” Helendra said with a soft tone.

“Warm.”

She shook her head and smiled. “How do you feel about what lies ahead of you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed gently. “I do not think anyone ever truly is. All you can do is try your best.” She paused for a moment; looking down at the ground, then back up at me. “I’m proud of how fast you have grown. I do not know how ready I am, but I know that you are. More so than any of us.”

“I haven’t really done anything that great yet,” I said, thinking back to all of the challenges and struggles I’ve experienced while training with the other mages.

“Yes you have. You stopped the city of Ordana from falling, united the Mages Academy with the Kingdom of Ordana, and brought hope to everyone that we can overcome this challenge. You have accomplished much for your age.”

“Then why don’t I feel like it?”

“Because you know what is still left to be done, but you cannot look at it that way. You have to enjoy these moments of peace. Use them to focus your thoughts and grow. There will be many difficult days throughout your life, but there will also be good days. Days where you can sit down and watch the sunset in peace.”

With that, she stood up and left. Helendra had been constantly busy since she arrived here.
Her job was to stay in contact with all neighboring cities in case the Southerners attacked somewhere else instead of here.

I turned side
ways and lied down on the bench. With my hands resting behind my head, I stared up at the stars that had already come out for the impending night.

My peace was interrupted when I heard something rustle from behind me.
A hand grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me off of the bench. I landed on the dusty ground with a hard thud. The hand continued to drag me away.

I reached up and grabbed onto the person’s wrist
, then spun myself around and kicked at their legs, knocking them to the ground. I jumped back to my feet to see that it was Dhamlaic.

“I see you’ve been practicing,” he said as he stood back up and dusted himself off. “The stars and the moon will be enough light for our training tonight.”

Dhamlaic had been training me every night. The General had ordered him to protect me, and Dhamlaic had apparently decided that one of the best way to do that was to train me to protect myself.

“What will we be working on tonight?”

“Tracking,” he said with a grin.

The
idea of tracking was very appealing to me; I might one day be able to use it to track down Aton and find him, after the war is over. I had put that bit of my past behind me for now, for there were more pressing things that lie ahead, and more exciting things. Training with Dhamlaic made me feel in control, and powerful. I liked where my life was going now, even if it did frighten me.