Ethan Wright and the Alchemist's Order, (Book 2)

Ethan Wright and the Alchemist’s Order

Text Copyright © 2013 by Kimbro West

Ethan Wright Publishing Rights © Kimbro West LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any electronic system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

All characters and events are the original creation of Kimbro West. Any resemblance to actual people or existing characters is strictly a coincidence.

Young Adult Fiction

What lurks in murky waters of Black Lake? With a replacement alchemist urgently needed and a missing Mitan at hand, the alliance forged between Tirguard and Losalfar hangs delicately by a thread. Ethan and his friends search for clues to unravel the mystery.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9887870-2-5

ISBN-10: 0988787024

For Earl

A special thanks to:

Chief Editor, Heidi Lunderberg

Cover and Book Art, Manthos Lappas of LnC Art Studios LLC

Reading Panel, Jody, Julie and Jordyn

Follow Author Kimbro West at:

www.kimbrowest.com

EthanWright

and the Alchemist’s Order

Prelude

I can’t believe the alchemist is dead. He was an integral part of the Game … and a good friend. Believing there is an even greater purpose for such a distinguished individual that has achieved so much is difficult to conceive, but I have to believe that is why he was taken from us … or perhaps it was so they could be together again. He wasn’t the first to be sacrificed at the hand of Xivon, at the hand of the Game … and he won’t be the last.

Dimon grows more demanding of his pawns, pushing them to their limits for the sake of protecting his King. And as I look through this window made from time itself, I realize it was in my power to save the alchemist. For that reason, I sometimes wish I was simply a King and nothing more. To be ignorant of all transgressions, including my own, would indeed be serenity to my forsaken soul.

Why do I do this to myself? These are the rules … there is no stopping the progress of Dimon. There is no interfering in the Game … that has been made quite clear to me by the creature. In this play, I act as a King in costume but my true purpose is a pawn of the Oroborus.

If you ever read this … please forgive me, Ethan.

King Basileus

Chapter 1
Hypothetically Speaking

Things became all too familiar for Ethan Wright inside the Alchemy Academy of the Stone Sanctuary alchemists. Having been built before Tirguard itself existed, many of the building’s external details were slight, if not barely noticeable. But if examined closely, the craftsmanship that had survived the years was nothing short of perfection, of Losalfarian. It was just a year ago when Ethan watched Edison and Stanley walk through the stone wall of this very building, right underneath the overhang. But not carrying the status of Stone Sanctuary alchemist himself, he had been unable to do so. The walls were much thicker than he thought they would be — maybe six or seven feet thick. By any standards, they would be extremely difficult to penetrate if you were an outsider.

Inside those thick walls was a painstakingly detailed composition of Mitan design. The ceiling extended thirty feet high, trimmed in ornately carved stone and wood. The floor was worn and dirty, but one could tell it had been as ornate as the walls and ceiling at one time. Even with the musty smell, the Stone Sanctuary alchemists could not have asked for more excellent quarters than that of the Mitan-designed and Mitan-built structure.

Ethan pulled the tightly-wound bowstring back to his chin. The alchemy jacket covering his left arm remained intact, unlike the right sleeve which had been ripped when his stone skin formed during the battle with General Xivon’s trap; the trap that had almost gotten him and his friends killed. Ethan sighted in on his target, inhaled softly and exhaled steadily. He released the arrow.

“Another miss — look, Edison, at some point you have to realize that I’m just not good at this kind of stuff,” complained Ethan as he put the bow on a nearby table. He brushed his now-longer dark hair off his face. “Look at Auren, he is wicked strong and knows more about weird creatures than anyone I’ve met, Availia is brilliant with a sword and incredibly brave and Stanley … is super smart and can
make
armor! I can’t even get this jacket to fix itself properly — thought you said it would heal itself over time.”

“Just like the bow, the jacket takes practice. You cannot simply master it over night,” snipped Edison. He pulled his spectacles out of his pocket and placed them on the tip of his nose. “Now then, let’s have a look.”

Ethan removed his alchemy jacket and handed it to Edison. The professor examined the missing sleeve and the fibers that were jaggedly torn around the shoulder. He flipped the garment over, looking at the single stripe that ran down the center of the jacket. He brought it closer to his nose and then held it far away. He seemed satisfied and handed it back to Ethan.

“Well … it has repaired a bit — you need to focus while you wear the jacket. Let’s try it then.”

Ethan pulled the garment over his back and shoved his arms through the sleeves. He fastened the top clasp and, one after another, they closed down the front of the garment, bringing it tight to his chest. Not entirely convinced the jacket was capable of healing itself, he stood ready and awaited instruction.

Seeing his student’s confidence waiver, Edison sighed. “Just like people, or anything else — a need must be met. You’re not giving your jacket a
reason
to repair itself.” Edison pulled his spectacles off, folded them, and tucked them back in his front pocket.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when your stone skin formed and damaged the jacket … you had stone skin to protect your arm. So now that you have no protection — I guess I could threaten to cut your arm off,” stated Edison, reaching for his sword.

“What?!” exclaimed Ethan. As he gasped in disbelief of what his instructor was about to do, several fibers intertwined on his sleeve and began to mend. He stared closely at the mending sleeve and it quickly stopped repairing.

“Well … it appears you had a
need
to protect your arm — facilitating
that
need, your jacket reciprocated by repairing itself until you stopped having the need.
Or
… you could simply imagine your arm being cold — should work as well, as your jacket will also want to keep you warm. Anything you can think of, Ethan; create a need — the stronger the need the faster it will adapt and repair itself.”

Ethan thought for a moment and then closed his eyes. He thought of the coldest he had ever been, but he did not feel cold and the need to warm himself did not come. He attempted to invent a scenario in his head of himself falling into a frozen lake — nothing. He concentrated harder and suddenly he was remembering Auren lying in the mud, unconscious. Xivon was closing in on him and a soft green glow permeated his vision as a sword was raised high in the air. Ethan felt an overwhelming urge to deflect the death blow. He envisioned using his stone arm to stop the sword from killing his friend. Only moments went by before threads shot out from the shoulder area of his jacket. Fibers began to mend as the threads intertwined. Material seemed to form out of nowhere. Ethan’s concentration started to wane. Veins in his neck started to pop out as he gasped for breath.

“That’s enough!” exclaimed Edison as he jumped forward and grabbed his quivering student, who had begun to lose his balance.

Ethan’s eyes popped open as he gulped for air. He quickly looked down, hoping to see a full-length sleeve, but only a few inches had been repaired. He shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes again, determined to continue.

“Oh … no — hold it! That’s enough for today.”

Ethan opened his eyes, wondering what the problem was. He thought he was doing rather well considering the lack of progress he had made since the damage was incurred. He opened his mouth to complain, but was quickly interrupted.

“You don’t want to push yourself or the jacket too much. You want to build a relationship with the garment — like a new friend, you can only ask so much. Let the jacket rest until you learn its limitations,” said Edison, redirecting his attention across the great practice room.

The high walls of the training room facilitated a great contrivance. A wood frame extended from the ceiling, supporting two great pendulums which shared the same pivot point. Each bore a great mass of stone, which was affixed to opposite sides of the room. Etched on the tile in the center of the floor were precisely coordinated circles. Above the circles was a fist-sized stone sphere that was floating effortlessly a few feet from the ground. Availia and Stanley stood at either side of the room respective to where the stone pendulums were attached. They simultaneously pulled a metal lever that started moving a series of gears that were set into the wall.

Auren stood near the center of the room, just outside the pattern of circles. This ensured he would be safe from the impending collision. With his alchemy jacket fastened, Auren concentrated heavily on a single focal point, the fist-sized stone sphere that was floating in front of him.

Edison and Ethan were now both paying attention to Auren’s test. “Do you think he’ll pass?” asked Ethan, concerned.

“Well … it’s taking him a little longer, but at the same time, creating a life stone can be a challenging process. An interesting object … if used properly, you can tell if a comrade is in mortal danger, which is why I think this test is essential for a first year student. If Auren can complete the creation of the life stone as you, Availia and Stanley have, he’ll most certainly pass … most certainly,” replied Edison confidently, “but just the same, this task should be interesting.”

The gears clicked and clanked and finally a release mechanism was activated that freed both great masses of stone. But something was wrong; Auren lifted his chin, walked forward to the sphere and reached his hand out.

“No … what are you?” breathed Ethan in disbelief.

“NO!” yelled Edison loudly.

The two massive stones were released and hurled toward the floating sphere — toward Auren. With both feet inside the circles that etched the floor, he immediately froze.

Edison tossed two stones at his own feet and walked through the portal that immediately appeared. He vanished and quickly reappeared inside the circles, whipping his cloak around his alchemy student. The pendulum stones smashed together against the sphere, Auren, and Edison. A loud
CRASH
resounded through the room as bits of stone crumbled onto the tile floor. The two large masses fused together, with the professor and his alchemy student in the center of the madness.

“NO!” shrieked Availia.

“Auren….” said Ethan, shocked.

“We have to get these apart, NOW!” yelled Stanley.