Bound to Survive (The Magic Within Book 1) (7 page)

They were amazed at the size of the Keep. Its regal towers rose up towards the sky and the many windows overlooked the gardens they passed through. They were both in awe as they travelled through the yard that led up to the entrance. There were wide expanses of lawn surrounded with garden beds and hedges had been planted here and there to give privacy to those who wanted to be alone. Men and boys walked around the grounds in groups or on their own. They wore simple linen trousers with loose cotton shirts and Gerard felt overdressed. The younger boys ran around as they played some kind of game, while others sat in the shade of a tree and read.

Upon the stairs a man in a long grey cloak stood and waited for their arrival. He’d been told a carriage approached and as they were expected he’d gone down to greet them.

The man in the cloak was none other than Hierarch Jacob. He was the senior Wizard chosen to lead all at the Keep. He waited patiently as the carriage approached and pulled to a halt in front of him. Gustov climbed down from the carriage and opened the door for Devon and Gerard. They stepped out into the bright sunlight and the Hierarch walked down the steps to greet them.

‘Welcome Lord Antrobus and Master Gerard,’ he said as he shook Devon’s hand. ‘We’ve looked forward to your arrival.’

‘Thank you,’ Devon said.

‘Good morning,’ Gerard said as he also shook the Hierarch’s hand.

Gustov nearly fell to his knees. A Lord...he hadn’t known, he’d thought they were well to do folk from across the seas. He bowed in their presence. ‘Forgive me, Sir, oh I mean me Lord. I hadn’t known of ya royalty.’

‘There’s no need for that, Gustov. I’m no Lord here, merely a father seeing off his son and besides I thought we were friends,’ Devon said.

‘Gustov, please get the lad’s bags and Samuel will take them to his quarters,’ the Hierarch said and Gustov hurried to do as he was instructed.

The Hierarch looked at Gerard with a strange smile on his face and spread his arms wide. He looked like an eagle about to take flight as he said, ‘Gerard Antrobus. Welcome to the Keep!’

Chapter Five

Brother Astern traversed the corridors of the Keep. He was headed to the reading rooms for his first classes of the day. As he pulled his cloak tighter to ward off the cold he belched to release the discomfort his breakfast had caused. First he needed to check the rooms where the Prophecy Books were kept, to make sure all was prepared for the morning’s lessons.

The room that held the Prophecy Books was located underground, deep in the Keep. The area where he was headed was out of bounds to all young Wizards. This was a private place where only certain scholars could come. Only when they were in their tenth year at the Keep were students allowed in the Prophecy rooms and that was only as long as the Wizards were in attendance.

He left the main building and worked his way down through the passages and stairwells to where the books waited. The halls were dark and torches on the walls burst to life as he neared to light his way. Brother Astern passed through the Wizard’s screen. It recognised his magic and allowed his passage. The Wizard’s screen looked identical to any other part of the wall but it had been impregnated with a spell of detection. The detection spell did exactly that. Unless the magic of the person was recognised it would trip an alarm in the Keep to alert the Wizards of a person or persons in an area where they shouldn’t venture. It was for the safety of the Prophecy Books and the person who read them. If untrained eyes should fall upon the books, the ramifications could be disastrous.

Prophecy was complicated. Just because one read the words didn’t mean they were enlightened about all the information they contained. One prophecy could mean several different things or needed to be read in conjunction with other prophecies to be properly interpreted. The books weren’t to be touched by just anyone. Only those assigned to the task of deciphering the prophecies were allowed to read the books.

Brother Astern walked up to an old steel door and from his pocket he removed a single key. It had worn smooth over the years and each notch no longer held the sharp edge it once had. At the end was a loop to hold onto and in this loop, moulded out of the same metal as the key, was an insignia of the tree of life. He slid it into the lock and turned the key. The bolt slid back and he turned the handle. As Brother Astern entered the room, the torches mounted on the walls burst to life as they recognised his magic.

The room was large, big enough to hold more than thirty students. Books lined every wall and were scattered through the room. Desks had been placed around the area and each held its own inkbottle and quill. Small steps were scattered about the room to allow access to the books on the highest shelves and on a desk near the door paper had been stacked for the students to write their ideas and thoughts upon as they learnt to decipher the prophecies that’d already come to pass. When a prophecy had been fulfilled it was written in detail in a corresponding book instead of being mixed and muddled.

Brother Astern entered the room and looked around. It was tidy and all desks had been cleared of books. He was just about to leave when he noticed something on the floor to the far left by the last row of shelves. He walked over and saw that it was a book. It lay open on the floor and the spine of the book faced up. As he bent over to pick it up, he noticed the title.
Prophecy from Gallad
. He remembered he’d read this book when he was a novice and back then he’d found nothing that caught his attention, apart from the fact all Prophecy Books were interesting and difficult to understand.

Brother Astern had two gifts of magic. He had the gift to read and translate ancient spells and it came easily to him as if it was his native language. His second gift was the Prophet’s Calling. If the prophecies he read were soon to be fulfilled his Wizard’s magic would tingle. He’d learnt from an early age to decipher this signal and his studies had jumped ahead by leaps and bounds. So much so, that in his twelfth year at the Keep he’d been allowed full access to the Prophecy rooms, even when the senior Wizards were not in attendance. Now he held the key.

He turned the book over and balanced it in his left hand. His right he used to dust the pages clean. As soon as his fingers touched the page, his magic began to tingle. Brother Astern began to feel nauseated. He could feel the bile in his stomach rise. He swallowed hard, closed his eyes and drew in a few breaths to settle his stomach. His fingers still rested upon the page and he began to read the Prophecy that lay beneath them. As he read, the sensation he’d first felt became stronger and he needed to sit before his legs gave way. He pulled out a chair from one of the desks and sat down.

He’d read this passage many years before, but back then it had never affected him like this. He read the prophecy again. It worried him that this prophecy was to come true. He didn’t know how or when, but he was convinced it was to unfold in the near future. He left the book open on the desk and retrieved a piece of paper. He sat and began to jot down the words of the prophecy. When he’d finished, he read his copy to make sure he’d written it word for word.

He swallowed as he felt the burning sensation rise in his throat again and his magic continued to tingle as he wrote down the title of the book. Brother Astern closed the book and he carried it to the far end of the room and slid it into its place on the shelf. As he left the room he rolled the piece of paper up and tucked it into the sleeve of his cloak. The sensation he’d felt eased and he no longer felt ill. He locked the door behind him and made his way on to his morning classes.

After the morning lessons, Brother Astern went into the great hall for lunch. He sat with the other Wizards and listened as they talked about their morning. He didn’t make mention of the prophecy he’d discovered and it still weighed heavily on his mind. He excused himself from the table and stopped to speak to the Hierarch. He wanted to meet with him after he’d finished his lunch.

When the Wizards of the Keep spoke to each other they used the word ‘Brother’ before their name to signify their status, but when they spoke directly to the Hierarch they made certain they used his title before his name.

The Hierarch agreed to meet with him.

Not long after, Brother Astern knocked on the Hierarch’s door.

‘Come in.’

Brother Astern felt comfortable as he entered the room where books studded the walls and the windows overlooked the garden below. Because the Hierarch’s study was located high in one of the turrets it provided a view of the rooftops of the common below.

‘Yes, Brother Astern, you wished to see me?’

‘Yes, Hierarch Jacob. This morning while I checked the Prophecy rooms, I found a book open upon the floor. When I picked it up to brush away the dust from the pages, my powers of prophesy ignited. They were so strong, they made me feel ill.’ Brother Astern reached into his sleeve and withdrew the prophecy he’d copied and handed it to the Hierarch.

The Hierarch unrolled the page and read the prophecy

Upon the land the snake will glide,

As it moves along it will slither and slide.

It will gobble up whatever it decides,

Wether it be skin, tooth or hides.

Then it will spit forth whatever it may like

On and on it will repeatedly strike.

It will come with vengeance and a false set of lies,

Offering much but holding with ties.

That of the Arts will lead its path

These two will both lead with splits in their hearts

Darkness will overtake the land, it will churn

So balance must be restored, or all upon the land, will burn.

But before they shall come

A child will be born

And seeing him so

You will know this be true

Whose passion for justice and peace will reside

Deep down in the depth of his eyes

You will know him this thing you should seek to hide

The shimmer, which lies there down deep inside

As he lays on the floor of the circle with fear

He may scream, he may wail but will not shed a tear

His will, will decide the fate of his race

And all of the four must be put into place

To banish this menace the head he must take

To bring balance back that’s what is at stake

The Hierarch was in his fifty-eighth year. He’d been brought to the Keep as a young boy himself and had risen within the ranks quite quickly. For the last ten years he’d governed as Hierarch. His long brown hair was streaked with wisps of grey and on his face he grew a beard which he stroked as he read the prophecy. The Hierarch read the prophecy several times before he looked up at Brother Astern.

‘This doesn’t tell us much, Brother Astern. What are your thoughts on this?’

‘Hierarch, I fear that this prophecy, too, will come to pass. Just as many others have that evoked my magic. I don’t know when or where, but in time, I believe the events are sure to unfold.’

‘This isn’t much to go by, Brother Astern. We’ve known no enemies and the land we live in has been at peace for as long as I can remember. I’m afraid we can do nothing,’ the Hierarch said as he read the prophecy again. ‘We shall not tell the others of the circle. This will stay between us. I want you to keep in mind that if anything else arises that you feel is related to this prophecy, then we shall meet about it again.’

‘But Hierarch—’

‘That will be all, Brother Astern.’ The Hierarch handed the prophecy back to him. He took the prophecy and knew their conversation was over. He thanked the Hierarch for his time and left the room.

Hierarch Jacob sat at his desk and he thought about the prophecy he’d just read. The reminder of it had sent shivers up his spine but there was nothing he could do for now. He'd just have to keep his eyes open for any sign that would lead him to believe the prophecy had begun to unfold.

Brother Astern returned to his own room, the prophecy weighing heavily on his mind. He placed the prophecy in his safety box. It was a long metal box that he kept on top of his desk. It held all the things that were dear to him. As he put it away, he decided not to obsess over it, but if the time came he’d be able to confer with the Hierarch again.

Tomorrow a new student would arrive at the Keep. Brother Astern set his mind to prepare for the boy’s arrival. He went about the rest of the day and attended to his classes. After his evening meal he retired early to his room and tried not to think about the events of that morning. Finally, as he began to tire, he changed for bed and blew out the candles.

In the morning Brother Astern went about his routine. He rose from his bed, washed, dressed for the day and attended breakfast in the great hall. After breakfast he saw to the Prophecy room. Everything was just as it should be and he looked towards the shelf where he’d returned the book yesterday. Nothing was out of order and when he left the room he locked the door and continued on to his lessons.

Just after lunch Brother Astern heard the news that a carriage approached the Keep. He made his way to the main hall’s entrance to greet the new student. As he approached the front portal he saw Hierarch Jacob on the steps as the carriage pulled to a halt. Brother Astern watched the man and his son step out of the carriage. The Hierarch greeted them and Brother Astern noticed Gustov bowed and hurried to retrieve the bags from the roof of the carriage. Hierarch Jacob then spread his arms wide and in a voice loud enough for Brother Astern to hear said, ‘Gerard Antrobus. Welcome to the Keep!’

A shiver rolled down Brother Astern’s spine. His magic began to tingle and he was unable to go forward to greet the new student. With effort he turned and walked away. His heart felt heavy and he was unsure why he felt so disturbed. Wearily he trod back to his quarters.