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Chapter 21
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The Darkest Hour Chapter 22
In the strange land of her half-sleep, Phae screamed. All around her buildings burnt and people died at the hands of the dark mage's magic her magic that had caused so much death and destruction already. She couldn't help but think of poor Master Kulgrim and the cruel fate he had suffered because of what she had done.Because of herTheir trail of destruction had lasted for weeks now. Weeks and weeks of needless slaughter. Once word had started to spread through the region, some of the towns and villages they encountered were prepared and some even had a small garrison ready to meet them at the gates. No matter how hard they tried, they all met the same fate. And she was powerless to stop him. He had full control now, her indomitable will eventually sapped by endless days of struggle against the mage's dark magics that kept her trapped in a perpetual state of half-sleep. She had nothing left now to combat his evil spells save the hope that someone somewhere was looking for
The Darkest Hour Chapter 23
Phae's eyes snapped open. Something was wrong very wrong. She struggled against the bonds of magic that held her in place."There, there, little one, don't be afraid," Varrus called over to her from the bank. "I wouldn't look down if I were you."Phae did look down. She was suspended over the precipice is a massive waterfall. The waterfall was so high she couldn't even see the bottom through the spray. One thing was for certain: a single command from the dark mage and her life would come to an end.She closed her eyes and began to pray. "Oh, prayers won't help you my child," Varrus scoffed. "After all I have the gods on my side, look."Phae tried her best to ignore him but as she turned her head away visions of her father's face flashed inside her mind. A thin, cruel smile formed on Varrus' lips. "Oh, I haven't done anything to him yet," he said at last. He paused as he savoured in Phae's torture. "But he'll be here soon I can assure you of that!"Phae's expression changed. "He
The Darkest Hour Chapter 24
The storm raged as they led their cart up the steep ascent. All around them, thick, weather-beaten trees clung to the hard ground wherever they could. In more than one place fallen trunks crossed their path and they had to carefully navigate around them in what were by now treacherous conditions. Callum wiped his face with his sleeve. Streams of water ran down his face and dropped from his nose and his brow. He peered into the gloom."See anything Callum?""No, not yet," he replied. He paused. "So much for summer eh?"Behind him, Aaron laughed. "Well you certainly saved that one up didn't you!" Even Callum was forced to grin at his friend's remark. "I know you could do with a wash Callum but this is getting ridiculous!"Callum was about to respond when all of a sudden Lena called them to a halt. "I see a light.""A light?""Yes, a light up ahead look."Lena pointed into the gloom and Callum followed her gaze, squinting hard through the rain. Sure enough, there in the distan
The Darkest Hour Chapter 25
Callum hit the floor and rolled to the side. Beside him Aaron and Lena both had the wind knocked out of them. If it hadn't been for his quick reactions they would all have been hit by the wave of fire Phae had sent hurtling towards them. He helped his companions to their feet.Floating high above them, the fragile wraith-like form of Phae cackled wickedly. The voice of Varrus echoed from her lips. "Like that did you boy? There's more where that came from you know!"Another wave of fire flew from Phae's outstretched hands. In days gone by Callum or Lena might have been able to raise a shield to protect them, but now with the last source of magic fading, they were helpless against the onslaught. It was as if she drew power directly from the source itself.They dived to the ground again as the second wave of fire threatened to engulf them. Aaron swore as he hit the ground hard. A large gash opened up on the side of his face. "Callum, what do we do?"He shook his head wearily. "I don
The Darkest Hour Chapter 26: The Darkest Hour, Part 2
Varrus screamed. In the blink of an eye his whole world was turned upside down and he found himself floating within the star-god's prison. Skargyr's voice was a low rumble. "Great shall be the reward for your loyalty my servant."Varrus gulped. Something was different. The star-god seemed to have grown in power since they had last met.Varrus clutched the hilt of his sword to stop himself trembling. Adrenaline from his encounter with the boy and his friends still coursed through his veins. "What would you have me do next my Lord?"The star-god paused, as if to take a deep breath. The sound was as thunder rumbling in the heavens. Varrus clutched his sword even tighter. His fingers started to lose feeling."As the magic of the old world fades so I am able to extend myself further beyond the bounds of my prison. While I yet draw my energy from the sun, still there are those who would try to stop me."Kill the mages Varrus. Destroy their kind so none may thwart me."A cruel smile f
The Darkest Hour Chapter 27
The passageway ran on for miles. For further that he could ever have imagined. Mile upon mile of scorched black rock marked his path and guided him on his way. The further he went, the hotter his path became as he neared the mountain's core.After a short while Varrus paused to catch his breath. He was breathing hard and his robes were drenched with sweat. He desperately searched his memory for the words to a spell of cooling. As he did so, an involuntary impulse ran through him and the words of a spell unknown to him appeared on the tip of his tongue.At once his body temperature cooled and his breathing slowed. Even now, in the depths of the world's greatest volcano, his master watched over him. He felt the pull of the star-god's magic stronger than ever. Despite his weariness, he was pulled deeper into the heart of the mountain."Not far to go now my servant."The pull of the star-god's magic became almost inexorable. Varrus wasn't even sure he still retained control of his le
The Darkest Hour Chapter 28
"And so the light of the world goes out," Lena whispered. Beside her, Callum knelt weeping at the cliff edge. Standing a short distance behind her, Aaron was numb with shock."My sight," he murmured, "it's gone." Lena looked up to the heavens for some sign of hope but found none. Above them the thick black stain that covered the sun had grown to engulf the entire sun, casting their world in perpetual dusk. Not even she could find a glimmer of hope in this their darkest hour. She took Aaron by the hand and gave it a squeeze. She had to be strong now for all of them. Hers was the least burden to bear this dark day; the loss of her magic as nought compared to the loss of sight of he who was dearest to her, or the loss of a child, as Callum was now grieving. All their efforts it seemed, had come to nothing. And Varrus was gone. On the far side of the rapids, there wasn't so much as a trace of the dark mage who had vanished the moment his task was complete. Lena knew there was m
The Darkest Hour Chapter 29
In his small office at the heart of the Wizards' Citadel, Elidor paced. Ever since Callum had left to rescue his daughter events on the 'Isle had gone from bad to worse. It had started not long after Callum first went away, when the residents of the 'Isle himself included had noticed a distinct change in the world of magic. Casting had become difficult, and required an extraordinary amount of extra focus just to produce the simplest of spells. Many of the less experienced magic users had lost the ability to cast completely. That was when the panic began.It started slowly at first, with just a few of the more senior mages coming to him and asking for his advice. They came one, or perhaps two at a time to his office, knocking politely and waiting for the previous occupants to finish their discussion before being ushered in by an aid to have him do his "uncertainty" speech all over again. It had been fine at first, but as rumour spread of the death of magic, or in some cases, the
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