Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) Read online

  Table of Contents

  • Rogue Magician

  Foreword

  Prologue

  Book 1: Apprentice

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Book 2: Master

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Rogue Magician

  The Magician Rebellion:

  Volume One

  By

  Curtis Cornett

  •Rogue Magician

  The Magician Rebellion: Volume 1

  Copyright: Curtis Cornett

  Published: 23rd December 2011

  Publisher: Curtis Cornett

  Copyright © 2011 by Curtis Cornett

  Cover design by Curtis Cornett

  Book design by Curtis Cornett

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Curtis Cornett

  Printed in the United States of America

  Foreword

  Before you lays the story of fledgling magician, Byrn Lightfoot, as he navigates through the dangers of being a magician in the kingdom of Aurelia- a place where magic is outlawed and those with the talent to cast spells are imprisoned or segregated from the rest of the kingdom to protect the populace. It is a story of action and adventure set in a fantastic realm filled with elves, dwarves, mystic creatures, monsters, and, oh, did I mention magicians? Lots of magicians.

  The reaction that I have gotten personally from readers has been mostly positive and it is a great feeling when someone contacts me to tell me how much they enjoyed my book. However, I also value the constructive criticism I receive and have tried to take that into consideration with this second edition, not to change characters or events, but to hopefully try and make the intentions of some characters clearer as well as to improve the book’s prose a bit.

  I’m sure you’ve heard this a hundred times from a hundred other authors, but please, please, PLEASE post a short review on your book website of choice (or two). It only takes a few minutes, but it also has the single biggest impact on an ebook’s success or failure, especially if there are only a few reviews.

  If you’d like to contact me directly, my email address is in the Afterword at the end of the book. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you enjoy your visit to Aurelia.

  Prologue

  In the beginning there were only the gods who came to our world and found it a barren, lifeless place. They looked upon this cold world with disdain and resolved to shape it in their images and so they began the great task of reforming our world. It was through their guidance that the rivers and the oceans were created and they judged their creation good for it would spring new life. Then they pulled some of the lands toward the sky and made them into mountains that the rich minerals deep within the world could be put to use. Then Waicossan planted the seed of life and it grew into lush forests and grasslands where only dirt had been before; again they judged their work to be good.

  Then the gods grew tired from the rigors of creation and made life to draw their strength from. Animals from the great mammoth to the tiniest of insects filled the woodlands and spread out across the lands into the valleys and the gods judged them to be good, but they needed more. They needed to be worshiped fore only through the love of their creations could they grow strong and unthinking trees and small minded animals were incapable of understanding the gods' greatness so they created those called the higher races.

  The wisest of the gods, Lerion, was the first to birth such a race and in his wisdom the dragons came into being. Seeking to make the perfect race, Lerion made the dragons so that they would not want giving them size and strength that matched their intelligence so that they would have no fear of the animals or the world they inhabited, but the dragons did not seek to rule over the lesser creations. Through their vast knowledge they became pacifists seeing no need to make war on the world's other inhabitants choosing instead to live in harmony with the world around them and take no more than they needed.

  This did not please Vailon who thirsted for battle and saw no honor in the dragons' peaceful ways. He created the dwarves who became fabled warriors and inventors, but were greedy in their lust for power and riches. Vailon then made the orcs who were stronger in body and had a more primal, but honor-bound nature. The two races fought each other ceaselessly and Vailon judged this to be good.

  The dragons, dwarves, and orcs who did not appear to have much room for love in their hearts saddened the god, Locklinigand. He created the long-lived and beautiful elves in his own image. The elves saw the wonders of the world around them and rejoiced in it becoming the first artisans of the world.

  Kassani believed that the longer lifespan of the elves would upset the balance of the life and death so she added goblins to the world. The goblins were the shortest lived of all the races and became bitter at the others races especially the elves who lived alongside them in the forests.

  The gods watched the races as they argued and fought amongst themselves and worried that they would eventually destroy each other. Though these were the higher races they could find no common ground so in a divine moment of wisdom the gods created humans taking traits from each of the other races and combining them to make a new race that could bridge the gap of the others and bring a relative peace to the world and so they did for a time.

  As the centuries passed the races began to grow distant seeking only the company of their brothers and sisters and looking upon the other races with distaste and mistrust. Life became filled with turmoil and war once more. Fearing that the higher races would again try to wipe each other out the goddess Ashura, who wished the races to survive more than any of the other gods, tried once more to bring the races together by giving them the smallest essence of the gods so they could bend the world to their will just as the gods did. Then they would not want for anything and there would be no need to fight anymore, but she did not stop at the higher races. She gave her gift to the animals and the trees too so that all life in the world was connected to the gods. In time this gift became known as magic and it flowed as freely as the air.

  The races grew strong again with the goddess' gift, but they grew arrogant as well, believing that they were like gods themselves and in truth th
ey were not far wrong as they held the keys to life and death in their hands. The races grew more powerful and the struggles of daily life became a thing of the past, but what should have been a cause for celebration only served to give the higher races more time to find faults with one another. War, it seemed, was inevitable, but this time they controlled forces of such great destruction that the world itself trembled in fear at the devastation they reeked.

  The gods banded together to correct Ashura's mistake. For a thousand years the wars between the mortals and the gods raged until the mortals eventually faltered and fell to the gods' might, but only just so. The gods were grievously injured and only possessed a shadow of their former power when they finally claimed victory. Likewise the higher races found they were cut off from the magic they had taken for granted and struggled to relearn the mundane skills of survival.

  Some members of the higher races found that they retained a glimmer of the gift of Ashura, knowing that it lived deep within all beings now and could never be fully removed. They became known as magicians- the wielders of magic. Though they were few in number they possessed power far beyond that of their brothers and sisters and with the gods' influence weakened there was no one to stand against them and they naturally rose to become war leaders and kings. For centuries the magicians ruled their lesser brethren with an iron fist until they eventually turned on each other in their lust for ever growing power.

  The magicians destroyed each other while their slaves watched joyously in silence and when their numbers dwindled and the fighting at last stopped the slaves revolted. Dragon, human, dwarf, elf, orc, and goblin fought side by side using special skills and weapons crafted using the blue flame to put the remaining magicians to death and they were victorious.

  Following the eradication of the magicians, the races resumed their old roles and the world knew balance once more. It would be centuries more before another magician would be born, but the knowledge and history of their ancestors had been lost so that they would never know the greatness that the magicians of old once possessed. The gods came back after their long rest and judged their creation to be good once again.

  And so the world was finished and the gods rested as they basked in the love and devotion of those they fashioned in their image and the higher races vowed to never allow those called magicians to rule over them again.

  -An excerpt from The Tale of Creation as told by Tomlin the Bard.

  Book 1: Apprentice

  Chapter 1

  The ogre slammed its clenched fists into the front door of the Sleepy Crow causing the wood to groan and splinter with each successive blow. It was utter panic as people ran for cover amidst the loud, deep bellow of horns blowing from the walls deep within the city as they fled the beast. After a few minutes of withstanding the rampage the inn's door finally gave in to the pounding as it splintered and then burst littering the doorway with its broken and splintered remains.

  One crafty barmaid scampered out of a window as the ogre tried to squeeze its way through the doorway. The ogre spotted her climbing out and before she was all the way through the monster had abandoned the door and snatched the barmaid off her feet. Lifting her up the ogre regarded its prize with some interest. Taking her in two hands, the ogre held her tightly so she could not wriggle free, and then it drew her in close. Its breath was hot on the woman's face and she could smell the rot and death coming from its grimaced maw.

  She shook in fear, as the ogre smelled her. “Do not scream, Trisha, do not scream,” the barmaid whispered to herself over and over fearing what might happen if she upset the creature.

  As if from nowhere her savior arrived in bright white armor that caught the morning sun and shone brightly. Brandishing his warhammer he strode toward the ogre like the great hero everyone knew he was.

  “Face me, you overgrown gray cow!” Kellen yelled trying to goad the monster into releasing its breakfast and attacking him instead. The beast squeezed Trisha in anger and she screamed in agony as her ribs broke and she was tossed aside as if she was no more than an afterthought. The ogre charged the proud warrior and it was difficult to guess which of them was more enraged as the conflict began.

  Even in full armor taking the brunt of the ogre's charge hurt the warrior knocking him off his feet and sending him sliding until he came to an abrupt stop against the Sleepy Crow's stable behind him. As much as Kellen was hurt the ogre felt the pain even more acutely. The creature was either too angry or too dumb to notice that the knight-captain had lifted his warhammer like a battering ram and braced himself just before the impact essentially using the ogre's own strength, weight, and speed to bury the hammer deep in its gut. Brought to its knees the ogre was on all fours gagging and heaving. If it had not just awoken from hibernation with an empty belly it would have vomited there in the street.

  Kellen got up and prepared to finish the ogre off with a bludgeon to the head, but he did not expect the beast to recover so quickly. Using its massive forearm the ogre blocked the knight's attack, but not without some cost as its arm made an audible snap and the beast snarled its outrage.

  The ogre hit Kellen in the side with the club it held in its other hand. The warrior was caught completely off guard and sent flying into the wall of the nearby stable a second time. Stunned and unable to fight back, Kellen received blow after blow denting and crushing the once glorious armor as blood dripped from between the plates in the chest piece.

  Kellen managed to roll free of the ogre's assault if only just barely and delivered a kick to its broken forearm forcing the giant beast back. Somehow the brave warrior managed to struggle back to his feet through sheer will alone. His warhammer was lost to him as the ogre now stood between the man and his weapon. Kellen knew he had to press what small advantage he had. Any hesitation would lead to his death at the hands of the mighty monster. He threw his plated fists into the ogre's belly aggravating its earlier injury with a series of quick, but powerful jabs, which caused more aggravation to the beast than actual damage. More out of anger than a sense of self-preservation the ogre grabbed Kellen by the arms and attempted to pull them free from their sockets. The pain was excruciating, but Kellen learned long ago how to block out physical pain. He swung his right leg up catching the ogre in the crotch with his steel plated boot causing the beast to howl and make a face that would have been almost comical if the situation was not so dire.

  It dropped its prey giving Kellen the chance he needed. This time it was Kellen who charged the ogre knocking it on its back and jumping on top of its chest. Having no weapon readily available Kellen dug his thumbs into the ogre's eyes. Its scream rattled the knight's eardrums and sent a shiver through his bones, but he forced himself to push even harder despite his own failing strength. The beast flailed like a fish trapped on a boat as it tried desperately to shake the knight loose. Kellen would not be bucked off and the ogre blindly grabbed at the knight in an attempt to pull him off with no luck.

  The battered knight punched the monster's face over and over again until his arms, still sore from nearly being ripped clean from his body minutes before, felt like wet noodles.

  No longer attempting to get up the ogre lied there, resigned to its fate. Its face was bloody and disfigured, but the beast still breathed. The once shining knight retrieved his hammer and marveled at how heavy it suddenly felt in his hands. Barely able to stand he stumbled back to the ogre after retrieving his weapon. Lifting the warhammer for the last time in his life, Kellen delivered the killing blow.

  Once Kellen was certain that the ogre would trouble his city no more he gave into his injuries. His trusted weapon fell useless at his side clattering on the stoned street. A second later his body collapsed as well. Kellen fell to his hands and knees before rolling over onto his back. The knight stared up at the sky realizing that this would be his final fight.

  His vision was clouded with blood and every inch of his body throbbed in agony, but strangely the world seemed to be at peace. For forty-seven years he served
as a protector to Aurelia and now his time had passed. Perhaps it was time for a new generation, he mused.

  Kellen smiled as he finally let go answering Kassani's song calling him to the underworld.

  ***

  Sane woke with a start. Sweat covered his face and chest. It dripped on the soft linen sheets in tiny pools. His body shook in a mixture of fear and rage at the impending tragedy he just dreamt of.

  Several minutes passed before his wits returned enough for him to move. He walked to the window to feel the cool morning breeze. It was cold against his wet skin sending a shiver down his spine. The sun was just breaking past dawn and Sane became keenly aware that he had little time to act before his old friend would die, but there was more. Something else eluded him. After Kellen died Sane saw a young man though it appeared to be some time later. He grasped at the image, but could not bring it fully to the front of his mind. It was a maddening feeling and Sane was sure this boy was the key, but whether for good or for ill he could not say.

  In his mind's eye he could see the city of Colum even though he was more than fifty miles away. The castle of Warlord Gustian Firebrand and the guardsman watchtower sat to the east atop a hill with the city built around it at its base. There was a wall erected around the area near the castle and watchtower, but most of the city sat outside the protection of the walls as the warlord deemed building a second larger ring an unnecessary expense. To the north was the market district filled with artisans of all manner of trades and goods. The majority of living quarters was located at the south side of the city which was further split into smaller groups by class with the wealthier citizens living closer to the center and extending outward to the poorest denizens on the outer edges of the city. The western region of the city was the center of trade with many inns for the traveling merchants. In the center was located the temple of Ashura, the goddess of nature and life. Her priests with their healing powers were the only ones in all of Aurelia that openly had any tie to magic, thought they called it the goddess’ blessing rather than run the risk of being labeled as magicians, because they knew nothing of violence and had taken a vow to never harm another person.