The secret kingdom path.., p.1
The Secret Kingdom: Path of the Apprentice mage, page 1
Secret Kingdom
Path of the Apprentice Mage book two
Barbara Ferrier
Copyright © [Year of First Publication] by [Author or Pen Name]
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, Places, characters, and incidents are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All Rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without express written permission of the copyright holder.
Cover and map design: Elena Krutenko
For more information about the author and to subscribe to the newsletter for updates, please go to www.barbaraferrierauthor.com
Contents
Fullpage Image
Prologue
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
About Author
Prologue
The magical world had failed. All that was left was blight and destruction. Everywhere she turned, the world was left in ashes and ruin. Shawnee stood fearlessly in her cave high in the mountains. She would never accept defeat. Committed to establishing a new path forward, she rifled through reams of sacred notes that revealed all that was known about the magic in Kalendra. Then she devised another plan to defeat power-hungry Kings obsessed with their own arrogance.
Shawnee knew the power belonged with the people and they must be protected from losing their innate wisdom. So, she traveled from village to village and got to know clans throughout their world. Shawnee learned more than historic tombs revealed. She developed an understanding of the lifestyle within each region. She saw what subjugation by the King had done to people’s lives while she took careful notes to protect their wisdom.
After speaking with hundreds of people, Shawnee brought her proposal to Sohm, the Protector of Magic for the ancient realm of Kalendra. He was the Voice of the Moons and viewed the planet from the long view. As a humble individual who wished to bring a thriving world back to life, she proposed a new future for those yet to be born.
“A moon made of pure magic, devoted to growing crops under all conditions, will solve our problems of famine, war, grief, and destruction,” Shawnee, proposed. As an empathic leader, it broke her heart to see what Kalendra had become in the hands of the tyrants and rulers who cared nothing for the people or the planet. She was certain of one thing. Reliable food would solve many problems in their world.
Sohm contemplated the idea as he and Shawnee stared into the fire together. They sat in the high cave overlooking the desert and assessed how each community would be impacted by the new Shaman Moon. The implications of her request were immense, Sohm knew. He found no downside. He nodded, slowly at first, then enthusiastically.
“I have already created sacred Talismans,” Shawnee explained. “I had each community create designs that held the wisdom of their region and their lands. I requested that the stones reside in the Original Twelve Kingdoms of Kalendra to restore guidance for the people. I blessed the stones to prevent the lands from falling into ruin again. At the very least, they will help people reconnect to the magic if ever a need arises.” Shawnee walked around the fire and showed a large teardrop crystal Talisman to Sohm. Inside was the image of a woman standing beneath three moons with her hands stretched above her head. He looked into the crystal and felt the seed of a new community ready to emerge. Sohm smiled as he experienced the magic within the stone.
“If all hope is lost,” Shawnee continued, “these will fall into the hands of sages. Instinctively they will know what to do. The stones will find them. The messages in the talisman will guide them. Hopefully this will provide a failsafe measure to avoid the famine and damage that we have known.” She bowed and Sohm returned the gesture.
“We shall have a Shaman Moon,” Sohm said in his deep gravelly voice as he stood powerfully. “I offer my sworn Protection and will provide a voice for that moon if she cannot speak on her own.”
The decision was made. A story was created to explain to all the people, even the smallest of children the importance of honoring the Shaman Moon. It was told that she was the little sister of the two Brother Moons of Kalendra. She had been brought into the sky to stop the arguments of her brothers, the wars of the past. As they focused on her wellbeing, she could focus on growing the food magically to ensure people lived in a world of abundance, and always provide the magic of a feast.
Chapter 1
One thousand years later:
At the top of the tall, jagged cliffs, to the east of the wide-open desert, lay the Enchanted Lands. They were hidden in a valley that used to be fertile and green. Now the region appeared uninhabitable on the surface. But silently, beneath it all, the secrets of Kalendra’s past were alive and well. Drought conditions worsened because the people had forgotten the Magical Laws of Kalendra.
The elegant old village stood dusty and abandoned. The beautifully designed and meticulously appointed town once held a thriving community. A stained-glass dome graced an ancient shrine. Streets and narrow passageways lay intact. The clock tower anchored the dazzling mosaic of the central plaza. The small town lay frozen in time.
“Hey Brutus,” Wesley said. “I’ve got an idea for our next job. Meet me in the Hall of Loot.” Brutus grabbed his notebook and ran down the dusty corridor to the room of magical crystals they had stolen from Kingdoms across Kalendra.
When he arrived Wesley was Pulling out the scroll he’d just acquired, laughing. “Can you believe that Gordon? I never saw anyone so easily hypnotized in my life. This is going to make our lives easier for sure. Look, it even has images of the Talismans from the original kingdoms.” Brutus leaned over to look at the parchment, but Wesley pulled it close to his chest. “No, no, no. It’s mine,” he didn’t want Brutus to see.
“Who’s Gordon?” Brutus asked.
“The leader of the Kingdom of Winds and Sand. He handed me one of their Dynasty Crystals when I told him we were experimenting to learn more about the unusual stones. That’s what the stones we’ve been finding are called.” Brutus looked at him with curiosity.
“I haven’t heard of those,” he said. “They sound powerful, and ancient.”
“Absolutely,” Wesley said. “And I want to own them all. I have an idea about how to acquire more from those Kingdoms with all the security. Help me work this out.” Brutus listened to Wesley’s idea for breaking into the Kingdom by the Sea.
“You’re sure all the kingdoms have them?” Brutus asked. Wesley waved the scroll.
“Of course. Says where they are right here,” Wesley was excited. “I want you to devise a temporary magic trail for me. It needs to be stealthy so nobody can see it. With all this loot,” he said gesturing to the rack of crystals, “we should be able to make one and take more. Piece of cake.”
Wesley and Brutus had been directing beams of light through multiple crystals at once hoping to combine and amplify their power. They’d had some success.
“I know we can do this. Jeez, we dimmed the sun in the middle of the day,” Wesley boasted. Heck, we caused a total blackout in the desert mid-afternoon,” he laughed. “You missed it, man. That was a good one. Scared the bejesus out of those little apprentices from the Ancient Kingdom.” Brutus looked at him and nodded curiously. “Today I need a stealthy magic trail to get into a Kingdom.” He looked at Brutus, pleading with greed in his eyes. Brutus nodded.
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do. But you know this makes me nervous. Do you think there could be consequences? It’s ancient magic. We can’t know what else it was intended for, or if something could backfire.”
“Oh, come on,” Wesley said rolling his eyes. “There won’t be any consequences. It’s just energy. We can do whatever we can figure out.” Brutus wasn’t convinced, but he looked through his notebook to see what experiments he’d run that might help to create a bypass through the enchantments that prevented break-ins in the Kingdoms. He walked past the rack of crystals and looked at the Talisman symbols inside. The cheetah got his attention. They were known for their stealth. That was the right energy. Perhaps he could mix it with a fox or wolf and add some scavenger energy to take them directly to the valuables. He consulted his notes to see what else he had learned about those crystals. There was one that could hold the energy of both creatures. He nodded and began to experiment with them.
Wesley was going over his notes too when rage flooded through him. He was reminded of the Ancient Kingdom, located in the northeastern desert. Remembering his recent trip there made his cheeks flush and he gritted his teeth. That magical land was lush an
They defied me and they are going to pay, Wesley thought to himself. I returned your apprentice, and you didn’t invite me inside, Manni. I was polite and brought the kid back. I promise I’ll snag one of your crystals, dude and it will serve you right! One day, you’ll be calling me Lord Wesley.
Brutus worked tirelessly on the project at hand for weeks. He was a large burly man with huge biceps and tattoos of serpents wrapped around his arms. Brushing his curly dark hair out of his black eyes, he experimented with the crystals and took copious notes. He also noticed that their own land was changing before his eyes. Surprisingly, the river dried up and their crops failed. Wesley said he’d handle it. So Brutus stayed focused on the task at hand, but it bothered him that something unnatural was happening around them.
Brutus successfully created the stealth magic trail and Wesley went through it into the lower reaches of the Kingdom by the Sea. Nearly in front of his eyes when he exited the trail, he saw a hatch in the wall. Inside he found a stone container. Inside there was a wrapping. As he took the object out, it was one of the Dynasty Crystals with the image inside. When he removed it and held it up in triumph, a squealing sound began, and the air was sucked out of the room. Without a glance backward, he pocketed the stone and bolted back through the trail. The second he arrived back at his hideout, the trail closed. The operation had worked.
“I was only able to get my hands on one before things turned strange, so I left,” Wesley explained his experience in detail. Brutus listened carefully. “But, hey, it worked, man. We can do this,” he was gleeful.
“You were lucky, man,” Brutus said, “I couldn’t turn off any of their protections or provide backup. Good thing I made a direct trail to the stash. That saved our hides.” He had a bad feeling. This strategy was too risky. Wesley could easily have been trapped by their enchantments. Brutus knew they’d been lucky. “We should quit while we’re ahead. It’s not realistic to think you won’t get caught. That was too close.” Wesley rolled his eyes.
“You receive what you believe. Therefore, you must ask big and always think positive. That means wanting it all and avoiding negative thoughts. It’s weak to ask for less,“ he chided.
“I don’t like this situation. Besides, we lost our water, man,” Brutus said. “And food’s getting scarce. We should be fixing that. I don’t know if it was that magic trail or the Dynasty Crystals. Something’s off.”
“Are you kidding? We live in a world where ‘what you believe you receive,’” Wesley insisted, quoting Kalendra’s most famous saying. “If you have enough faith, it will all work out.”
“We didn’t get our water back when we put the crystals away and eliminated that secret trail. We believed heartily in that solution,” Brutus said through gritted teeth. “This is riskier than you think. Be careful.”
“It’s just a little setback,” Wesley said dismissively. “Brutus was thinking about the day they broke the ancient, magical system in their own region. The riverbed dried up, and all attempts to find food failed. They’d been miserable for days now. Some in the community spent all their time scrounging to get by.
A few days later, Wesley came to Brutus to make an announcement. His obsession with Manni had grown and it was time to put an end to that mage. “Today, we create a faux Messenger Trail to get directly into the lower levels of the Ancient Kingdom and bypass the magical protections there. We snatch a powerful stone fast. Besides,” he reasoned, “the Ancient Kingdom banned prisons, so it’s not that risky to rob that place.”
The Ancient Kingdom in the Desert, legend told, could survive any hardship. They were known for adhering to the ancient guidance of the moons. They ran the Academy of Moon Magic and skilled specialists lived there. That kingdom had never faltered, and it had been there for as long as anyone could remember. It maintained a peaceful disposition, glorious gardens, and healing waterfalls.
“I’m going to pilfer that place,” Wesley insisted. “When I took that apprentice back, I scoped it out. There’s a stable for magical animals behind the castle. We can work from there. I saw a back entrance to get inside, but we’ll have to cross the river that surrounds the Kingdom. I don’t know where their power stones are, but I suspect they’re in the dungeon. That’s where most are kept from my experience. But they have layers of magic protecting the entire area. It’ll take some stealth to get in without being detected. I want to do this now.”
Brutus pulled out the crystals he’d used to rob the Kingdom by the Sea. “This one might take you to the castle, but it’s not reliable. You got that last crystal by pure luck.” Wesley looked closely at what his associate was doing, certain it would be easy.
“All we need is a stealthy trail for a little bit.” Brutus moved crystals into different configurations. but felt uncomfortable. Wesley insisted he just believe enough, and that was getting on his nerves. Historically, Messenger Trails and other magic shortcuts weren’t made. They developed when hundreds of mages traveled in a hurry on a set path. Eventually, the atmosphere opened into an expedited passageway saving time in transit. They were never intended for a single short-term need and certainly not for looting ancient magic. But Brutus had learned how to fake them. Hopefully this one would provide cover for a quick robbery.
“I should go,” Wesley said, getting tired of waiting for Brutus to fiddle. “Joe will back me up. Maybe we can work on the trail from the other end. We only need one of their power crystals, but if we get them all, better yet.” Brutus nodded, not because he agreed, but because he was tired of convincing Wesley use be careful.
“I’ll man this end, of course. This is a difficult operation. Harder than the last one.”
“I don’t expect interference.”
“Are you opposed to any precaution?” Brutus flushed with anger. “Is that your position? Think happy thoughts and all will be well? Try that with our water.” Wesley rolled his eyes at Brutus.
“If you keep looking for problems, or fiddling forever, we’ll never get this done.” Wesley yelled back.
“My problem-finding has saved our rear ends,” Brutus insisted. “I want the power crystals too but look how far we’ve come.” He gestured to the rack filled with just over half of Kalendra’s ancient crystals. “If we’re impatient now it could cost the whole operation.” Wesley ignored him and Brutus rolled his eyes.
“I’ll see you then. On my way to the Ancient Kingdom. I have two serpents on standby, and I got some eagles on backup. Joe’s going to meet me there. We got wind there’s a performance today. That’ll give us cover too, maybe even get us inside the castle. No time to waste.” Wesley walked out the door.
Chapter 2
“I’m happy to see you’ve made it back in one piece.” Manni said, bowing formally to his four apprentices. As their primary mentor he had taken great care to oversee their training before they went into Kai’s world on an emergency mission. They confronted problems created by the King and his Vizier there, three hundred years in the future. Manni and his team ensured their safe travel and return. He signaled for Kai, Senna, Ming li, and Rendon to follow, then turned and led them up the stairs in the back of the Ancient Castle. On the upper floor, he directed them to a large, elegant study. When they entered, he gestured and bowed formally, “Please, take a seat.” The four sat in the armchairs provided with elaborately carved headboards and comfortable cushions that surrounded a large central table.
Riya, another instructor, and maker of their sacred Talismans, stood silently in the room and waited for everyone to get settled. She had long dark hair and enchanting green eyes. Both instructors wore formal robes. Once they were all in the room, Manni closed the door behind them. Riya bowed formally to the four apprentices. They returned the gesture.
“Welcome back,” she said with a smile. “Before you tell me about your adventure, I’m curious if you remembered to make a ceremony to strengthen the Talismans we made together?” The four looked at each other. They had completely forgotten. They’d barely arrived in Wizandor Village in time to release the people from the dreadful spell King Okid and his Vizier had imprisoned them under. They shook their heads, looks of apology on their faces.
