A Darker Shade of Sorcery - - (leveled readers .txt) 📗

they’ve already been carried to this spot by other Novices, and when we’ve put them at the top of the hill they’ll be picked up by the pixie peddlers and delivered to the city inns.”

“Why go through all that?”

“Just so we can use the exercise to build our strength. It's Glarqing slave labour,”

said Jed, picking up a pod.

“Glarqing?” Evan asked.

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“Goblin swear word, I've heard a few Mid-Realmers use it.” Jed continued, “And it’s way too hot. The weather here is messed up. This one dude told me the seasons are crazy long.”

Evan stared up at the twin suns, undecided whether longer seasons was a good thing. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to longer winters. Mind you, he reflected, I probably won’t last that long.

“Oh awesome,” Jed said, noticing Evan’s sword.

“I picked this carnelian axe named Murga, crafted by trolls, obviously. Sucks that we can’t use ‘em yet though, it’s driving me nuts.”

Evan agreed as they got to work, picking the few smaller pods first, but even they took a titanic effort.

As they talked Evan revealed that he’d just arrived.

“Been here two months myself,” Jed said, “but all they’ve made me do is physical training. They say I’m not very magical, that I’ll learn in time. I keep telling them I can do it, but they want proof.”

Evan was intrigued. After all, hadn’t he himself performed magic last night?

“I was living in Australia when they found me. My dad’s Australian and I'd been living with him in the outback. One day there was this great big tarantula in my room.

As I stared at it, petrified, it just exploded,” Jed chuckled.

“It had to be sorcery. Best thing is me dad knew already, took me straight here afterwards. Told me he was a Venator too, been on an undercover mission on Earth for years. It explained why he always worked away for months at a time. Can you believe it? I thought he was a flaming accountant. I can’t do magic when the Masters ask me though, it just happens randomly, you know.”

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Evan understood perfectly. He explained to Jed how he’d used sorcery for the first time, but hadn’t been able to do it again since.

Jed’s mouth was hanging open by the end of his story. “Ushk. So you actually fought demons, and you’ve been to a demon realm? That’s amazing.”

Evan thought it was more terrifying than anything. “Ushk?”

“It means unicorn dung.” Jed grinned. “So how did it feel, using magic?”

Evan thought back. “When the flames shot out of my palms, it was kinda’ like a release of pressure. I took an archery class once and it felt similar, like shooting an arrow from a bow, only stronger.”

“So cool,” said Jed excitedly.

Evan soon learned that Jed was a troublemaker. Ever since coming to Veneseron he'd been shirking his responsibilities and had already landed himself in trouble several times.

“If it’s one thing I hate the most,” Jed proclaimed, lugging a particularly large pod up the slope, “it’s hard work.”

Evan found himself instantly liking the Australian.

After two hours of backbreaking work, as evening was blissfully beginning to descend, Arnvar returned. Evan and Jed sank to the ground, painted with sweat and dirt.

“You’ll continue this every day after your run, until all the pods are up here,”

Arnvar commanded. “You may go now, but I expect you back first thing tomorrow.”

“Bearded wombat,” said Jed under his breath.

“What was that?” Arnvar asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” said Jed, hiding his smirk.

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*

Evan settled into a routine by the end of his first week at Veneseron. A routine consisting of running until he thought his heart would burst and lugging pods up the hill with Jed. They were instructed to cook and clean too. Gettelung had said something about character building.

Evan was up at the same time as the suns for his run. The rest of the day he was building his strength, then his evenings were spent in the kitchen being bossed about by a gnome named Sniglog.

Despite all the physical activity Evan had to admit it was becoming easier. He was making the run in marginally better time and the pods were getting easier to lift.

While Jed complained how he'd been doing this for two months now, Evan was still mesmerised by everything he saw. He couldn’t help but enjoy the spectacles the other Venators were performing around them.

Evan even enjoyed working in the kitchens, where an armada of wonderful aromas perpetually wafted. Today it was a mix of cooked fruit and something that smelled like bacon, but better. Likely emanating from the creature, which resembled a mini minotaur, that Evan spied roasting in a giant oven.

Evan and Jed soon discovered they were appalling chefs however and Sniglog told them so. It wasn’t until Jed knocked the gnome into a vat of hot, sticky liquid, (which Jed swore was an accident) that Sniglog finally told them to get out of his kitchen and never come back.

By the end of their second week he and Jed managed to get the last and largest pod to the top of the hill. They celebrated loudly, before promptly collapsing.

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Arnvar arrived shortly after. He looked pleased, but to their horror he announced.

“Good job, boys. Now do it all over again.”

Evan couldn’t find words whilst Jed let out a stream of profanities at the dwarf’s retreating back.

Jed was the only friend Evan had made. With everything he was assigned to do, Evan didn’t have time to talk to anyone else. During the daily run he was always too out of breath to make conversation, and at the end of the day he was too tired to do anything other than fall asleep. Jed had mentioned a bar where Novices could go in their free time, but they hadn’t yet made the trip.

By the next week, he and Jed had managed to carry all the pods up the hill once again. Evan could now make the lap around the Fortress in an hour and a half instead of two and was pleased with his progress. He guessed all the running away from Ollie and his gang had given him an edge on the other Novices.

Evan found he didn't miss Earth at all. He’d had nothing there after Grandma passed away. Here at least he had one friend. He'd never had a best friend before and didn’t know how much fun it could be.

Jed’s grumbling was actually light-hearted and he happily cracked jokes which made Evan ache with laughter. Jed told him everything he knew about Veneseron, which he admitted was little.

“Veneseron’s Grand Master is a dude named Vanderain and he created this realm.

He’s an Eternal apparently, been alive for millennia.”

Jed also warned Evan about another Venator named Sintian. “Everyone says he’s mad. Sintian’s been here all his life, but has always been a loner.” Jed leaned in to mutter. “Apparently the Masters have stopped Sintian from doing dark sorcery loads of times. There’s a rumour he killed another Venator by accident!”

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“No way,” said Evan, almost dropping his pod.

“Yep, he’s been forced to wear Uqari bands four times too.”

“Uqari?”

“It’s a metal that disables magic temporarily,” said Jed. “It’s the biggest punishment for Venators who seriously misbehave.”

Jed also told Evan about the Fortress castles.

Castle-Coterie was named for the infamous coterie who hid in its underground depths long ago, using it as a smuggling den. Dragonrock Keep was named for the huge stone dragon perched atop its battlements, and for its main entrance door which was in the shape of a dragon’s maw. “The dragon was once real,” said Jed.

“Vanderain defeated it in battle for being evil or sumin’. Vanderain thought the dragon was beautiful, so he froze it in stone.”

Titantower was named for the Mandon giants who built it and Swordstone castle because it housed the biggest weapon-training courtyard and held the most gargoyles.

“Lastly, there’s the Master’s Citadel,” said Jed. “Where the Masters live, obviously.”

Evan enjoyed hanging out with Jed and hoped the other Venators were as cool. At the end of his third week however, Evan encountered Sintian.

As they returned to the hilltop, Evan spotted a young man sprawled in the grass.

He'd been watching them over the top of his leather-bound book as they struggled with the pods.

He looked a little older than them. His hair was dark as night and curled at the tips, framing a malicious face. He might’ve been handsome, but thin lips hooked into a vicious smile and eyes glittering with malevolence ruined the façade.

“So, Jed found himself a friend,” Sintian observed.

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His body was long and slim, like a sharp knife. He rose to his feet as they approached, his smile widening. He was much taller than them. His skin was a deep shade of bronze that only emphasized his obsidian eyes. His long fingers were bedecked with black and silver rings whilst his earrings resembled small black talons, encrusted with crystals.

“Haven’t you got better things to do?” said Jed.

He walked until he stood face to face with Evan, ignoring Jed entirely. “I don’t believe we've met. I’m Sintian Stray.”

“Say that with a lisp,” Jed chuckled.

Sintian looked Jed over lazily.

“Quiet boy, before you wet yourself again.”

“You just used water magic to make it look like I had,” Jed bristled. “Then he paralysed me with air magic and left me there until a passing Mid-Realmer released me,” Jed told Evan. “And he did it for no reason. The rumours are true, he’s a psycho.”

Jed then muttered so only Evan heard. “I’ll get him back though, if they ever decide to teach me magic.”

“You should be honoured,” Sintian sneered, “one of the most powerful Venators of all time stands before you. You must’ve heard of me?”

Evan shrugged.

Jed snorted, “How arrogant can you be?”

“But you must've heard of my brother Sypher?”

“The guy's scum apparently,” said Jed.

Fires flickered in Sintian’s eyes. “You dare impugn our honour,” he spat.

Jed stared back, unperturbed.

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“My brother and I could destroy you with little effort,” said Sintian. “You’re lucky he’s on a mission right now.”

He turned back to Evan, “Who are you?” It was more a command than a question.

“Evan Umbra.”

“I've not heard that name,” Sintian said, dismissing Evan as unimportant.

“Of course you haven’t, Evan just got here,” said Jed.

“Ah, an Earthling. Tell me, what’s it like living amongst so many non-magical, powerless beings?”

Evan could see they were like two aliens compared to one another, raised and educated in completely different worlds.

“Well, I didn’t know magic existed until recently.”

Amusement outshone cruelty in Sintian’s eyes. “Can you perform sorcery? Or are you like your friend here?” He shot a venomous look at Jed, “a useless imbecile, good for nothing except cleaning the floors I walk.”

Jed’s jaw clenched.

“I conjured fire once,” said Evan, already hating the arrogant Apprentice.

“Once,” Sintian repeated, disgusted. “I can manipulate fire at will. I’m the most skilled Apprentice in Veneseron, and my brother is one of the top Arch-Realmers here. I…”

“Good