Chapter 9: Sorcerer 1

As far back as he could remember, Savren Syrenasson always loved to watch his beautiful mother workout in the training hall. Nominally it was forbidden for those were not to take the oaths of the Dragon Kin to be present, but those who were of the blood were allowed to watch silently from darkened alcoves. The endless twirl and spin of his mother's spear cut a pattern through the air, leaving a trail of blurred silver as the spear's long silver blade sang its song of death. It was a perfect memory of his mother in her finest form: swift, silent, deadly. It was a memory that he would carry with him always.

As he reached puberty, he was tested according to Imperial Law by each of the Duchesses of the Empire. It was to the Black Tower he would go, to train and serve his Empress as a sorcerer adept. He tried to keep up a brave face as he said farewell to his mother, but held on tightly during the last moments they were together. He would not be allowed to see her again until he had completed his training and was ritually bound to a higher Adept. He was led by the hand to the portal by the Mistress of the Black Tower herself, and without a sound, gated them both to his new home.

He spent the first few years amongst the few male noviates in the lonely chambers that were assigned to them, quietly studying the basics and basis of magick and sorcery. Magick, he learned, came in several varieties. The first was High Magick, the manipulation of the world through the rituals and incantations of the Mages. The second was Elemental magick, which focused only on the elemental spheres. This was the purview of the Druids and Clerics of the Empire. The last was Sorcery, whose practitioners had the blood of Dragons flowing through their veins. High Magick was the most powerful of the schools, however, Sorcery allowed for more raw power, at the price of flexibility. It was said a well trained Sorcery Adept was more than a match of any Mage. Savren spent long hours in the library of the Tower learning all that he could. Upon his sixteenth birthday, he was called upon to make his Offering to the Lady of the Spheres, the Goddess of Magick and Patron of Learning. The Offering was something he was unsure of. His unease was not from the idea of making an Offering to the Goddess, but what would be considered appropriate. Ever since he was a child he paid homage to the same Gods and Goddesses that his Mother followed, the Lord and Lady of the Sky. Savren made his way through the silent halls of the tower until he reached the chambers of the Lady of the Tower, his master in the Art. He announced his presence and requested an audience, his mind clouded by his confusion. The doors of her chamber swung open, and he entered cautiously. He found the Grand Duchess of the Marches of the East at her vanity as she brushed her waist length hair. Her eyes flickered to him, and then back to her reflection. He stopped his progress as he saw a pair of slaves dozing in her bed.

"You may approach childe." She set her brush down.

"Forgive me for disturbing you Master."

"Yes?" She swiveled on the stool to face him. "Something troubles you, yes?"

"Yes Master. I am unsure of what to make as my offering."

"You do understand the nature of the ritual involved, do you not?"

"Yes and no." Savren frowned. "I understand the Oaths of the Dragon Kin, and the Blooding of the Nightfall Clan, but the Offering I don't understand."

"You have the blood of the Dragon running through your veins. You are not the first Sorcerer apprentice to voice confusion and misgivings about the Offering." She spoke. "The next moon is in an eight day. That is when you are to make your Offering to the Goddess Aria. Before then, I want you to bring me a report on the history and nature of the Offering. You are to include all the information that you think pertinent to the ritual. You will present this report to me in two days, is that clear?"

"Yes Master."

"Come here." She ordered.

Savren crossed the space between them and stood quietly before his Master. She reached up to stroke his face gently before slipping a small tag on the chain he wore around his throat.

"Almost a man," She whispered. "Your mother would be pleased to see how you have grown in her absence."

"I miss her." He whispered.

"I know." The half elf replied. "You will see her again after your noviate."

"Yes Master."

She removed her hand. "You are dismissed pet."

Savren bowed low, backing away. She resumed her brushing as he left. He returned to his chambers, his hand finally bring the small tag to his sight. It was a pass for the Tower Library. With a sigh he gathered his writing utensils and blank scrolls, then made his way across the Tower to where the Library resided. The Tower at its base was more like a pyramid than a tower, with actual tower extending from the pyramid's apex. The whole structure was carved from the living rock of a mountain, with several work rooms and training halls built into the mountain itself. Great storerooms and halls honeycombed the mountain and pyramid, with the living quarters and dormitories of the resident Magick users and their students' right below the tower itself. The Tower library was located at the base of the tower, where many of the instructors had workrooms and offices. Savren showed his tag to the guards that roamed the halls and finally to the Librarian, who said nothing as she ushered him into the chamber. The room was circular, with many levels. Desks and tables dominated the open center of the chamber, with bookshelves and scroll racks lining the walls. There were several mages present at this time of night, including a black robed Necromancer from the Nightfall Clan. Those that follow the path of the Dead always made him nervous, and her dead stare did not help his confidence.

He handed a request for books to the Librarian, who nodded and quickly retrieved them and set them on a table near the center. He sat and opened the largest tome, a history of the Empire and began to read.

The Empire, he read, was founded over a thousand years ago by Kalythi tro'Hellyn de'Hallias, a half elf from the shattered kingdom of Gilead. Wars were commonplace, and the borders and rulers changed with frightening regularity. Kalythi was a Knight of the Lady of Storms, and with the ever chaotic nature of the world, soon found herself without home or people. She gathered several followers to her, all females like herself, and led a grand crusade to try to stop the whole sale slaughter. Many tribes rallied to her banner as her victories grew, but there was discontent amongst her followers. Treachery and betrayal grew from several of the men under her command, and her forces were scattered and defeated. She gathered the survivors, mainly females and their children, and led them over the mountains into what would become the Empire. The capital was founded on the shore of the great inland sea, a huge freshwater lake from which the great Tiberion River linked it to the sea. There she established the first laws of the Empire. Males would be forever regulated to property, subservient to females. The capital city grew as more followers entered the Empire from the outside world, prominently the Moon Elf tribe. Harried from civil strife and near extinct, the tribe sought sanctuary amongst the Empire's growing population. The Empress greeted the Matriarchal tribe as lost sisters, giving them fertile lands to the south in which to build their enclaves. In time, the laws governing males were codified and in some cases loosened so that other races besides human and elf would not feel constricted. The Dragons that inhabited the mountains to the north made pacts and treaties with the newly arrived human population, and a symbiotic relationship that would become the Dragon Kin began. However, there were forces in the outside that would not see this new realm take form. A great army descended upon the Empire, intent on destroying it once and for all. The Empress led her forces into battle with her allies, emerging victorious at the Battle of Pyramid Rock. The Empire was secured. At the end of the battle, the Empress awarded each of her four Generals with Duchies, and the Empire was divided into five Prefectures, each ruled by a Grand Duchess. By tradition, the fifth duchy was the Imperial Prefecture and ruled by the Heir to the Empress. The other four Duchesses each made Offerings to their respective Goddesses, establishing the tradition of the Offering. Through the ages this ritual continued in remembrance of those who had fought for the Empire.