The Battle With Shadows

The Battle
With Shadows

I A New Skill

It was a lovely spring morning with snow still on the ground and birds in the trees. None of this was noticed by Robbie Clayton however. Robbie was 12; he was an average height for his age. He had green eyes with hair as brown as an oak tree. He loved plants. He spent much time in the family garden. He had a very green thumb. He thought back to the time when he had once been planting some seeds. His mother had come in and chuckled slightly, “What?” asked Robbie. His mother had smiled “Those are bird seeds.” His mother had said. “I know,” Charlie responded “I am going to plant a bird tree.” His mother had laughed; so had his father and Charlie. But they encouraged him to try. They stopped laughing however, when next week, there was a little bright colored shrub growing right were the seeds had been. Charlie chuckled; right now however, he had to get back to his brother Charlie. Charlie was 14 and very skilled in their families “art”. You see, their entire family is made up of magicians. Their mom and dad were away in Florida on a business retreat. Robbie had missed them at first, but had really been enjoying his time with Charlie. Right now Robbie was heading home to show Charlie that he had finally figured out how to use his powers. He had been at the park, and on sudden instinct he snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. I don’t just mean nothing special; I mean nothing at all, not even sound. Robbie looked down at the ground and did it again. Then again and again and again. He did it over and over then slowly he began to notice a small shrub starting to sprout at his feet. This was what he had waited for all his life. It was a sign of what type of magician he would be. He couldn’t wait to get back to his brother and tell him he was an arbolist. His brother was a skilled pyrotonic. Robbie ran down the road barely even remembering to turn onto his street. By the time he got to his house he was over flowing with excitement. He knew Charlie would be proud. As soon as he got home he ran inside and shouted for Charlie. He waited but no one answered. The he heard people talking in Charlie’s room. He ran to the door, but stopped feeling a sudden urgent need for stealth. He put his head against the door crack and watched. He saw Charlie talking to a man in black. Charlie was five foot eleven, and had dark red hair. He was wearing his favorite brown leather jacket that went down to his heels. The other man was wearing a black jacket that resembled Charlie’s and a pair of dark sunglasses. Robbie listened closer to hear what they were saying. The man started talking “you know why I have come”. “I would never join you, I would sooner die” said Charlie. “You would waste your life, but would you waste your brothers?” “You can’t bring my brother into this. You know the rules as well as I do. You can’t bring a mortal into the affairs of magicians... “Unless they make themselves a willing part. Yes I know. But I also know that your brother isn’t a mortal, is he?” the man questioned. “He is until he has his powers.” Charlie countered. “Don’t kid with me, you can tell as well as I can that he has learned the art of plant manipulation.” The man stated. “But he’s just a child…” “He is age twelve which is all he has to be to be accounted in a magician affair.” Flames seemed to light in Charlie’s eyes. “You shall not pursue him” said Charlie. The man smiled “I won’t have to.” He waved his hand slightly and the door opened. It was so sudden that Robbie fell in to the room. He quickly ran over to Charlie. He thought his brother must be very brave to stand up to this man who seemed to radiate death. Robbie could tell right away that the man was practiced in necromancy, the art of the dead. The man took a step forward and instantly a circle of fire burst from the ground around Charlie and Robbie. Little golden mushrooms started to grow as well. Despite the flames the mushrooms seemed to be undamaged. The man in black smiled, “don’t worry” he said. “I don’t wish to fight you.” “For now” he added. Then the man walked into the wall and seemed to turn into a shadow. Once he was gone the circle around the two brothers faded away. The next morning Robbie awoke to the smell of fresh pancakes. He realized that Charlie must be in the kitchen cooking. He wondered if yesterday’s experience was real or if it was just a dream. When he went to the kitchen for breakfast he saw Charlie cooking in his usual fashion, holding a pan in one of his flaming hands while holding a spatula in the other. The only thing different about him this morning was that he appeared to be in an almost unnoticeable state of shock. When he noticed Robbie walking in he smiled, until that is, he saw Robbie’s questioning look. He sighed “it was real” He said. “Who was that man, he was a necromancer, wasn’t he. “Yes” said Charlie “He was a necromancer. His name is Shadow King. At least that’s what he called; no one knows his real name”. “And I don’t think I want to” said Robbie. Charlie chuckled “That’s what I said the first time I heard of him”. “What did he want?” asked Robbie. Charlie’s face darkened “he wanted me.”

II The Great Horn

“What!?!?” Shouted Robbie “WHY?” Charlie sighed “he gathers a group of youths to work for him. Some do his dirty work; others look for the great horn.” What’s the great Horn?” Asked Robbie. “The Great Horn” said Charlie “is a death horn. It can allow a necromancer to control death itself.” “Can’t they already do that?” asked Robbie. “No, well yes, er, to a degree. They can’t just make people die, nor can they bring them back to life.” “Then, what can they do?” Robbie asked. “It depends on their strength” said Charlie “though usually they summon spirits back to the land of the living, but not in their original or solid form. They come back almost like a mist, and serve the necromancer who brought them back.” “Why would they do that” asked Robbie” are they happy to be brought back?” “Not usually” said Charlie “often times it feels strange or even painful for them to be here.” “Then why would they obey the necromancers?” asked Robbie. “Because” said Charlie “that is part of their magic. The use their power to make the spirit obey them, but if the spirit they summon is too strong, it can stay or leave as it pleases. Most of the time it kills the necromancer, but some time, it absorbs their life force and make themselves stronger. Only the most powerful spirits can do this however, very few dead humans can.” “Wait!” said Robbie. “What other kinds of spirits are there?” “Tons” said Robbie “they are called demons. Only the more powerful ones are impressive however. There are imps, jinni, Afrit, Marids, ghouls, and Behemoths. All but the last of these are the most common demons, Behemoths however, are a force to be reckoned with. Marids are the most powerful of the common demons, however very few people have the strength to summon them. Ghouls are entirely different things; they are sand demons and have their own varying levels, though none so powerful as a high ranking jinni, or an afrit, and definitely not a Marid.” “How do you know all this?” asked Robbie. “Let’s just say I do my homework.” said Charlie. “He’ll back, won’t he?” asked Robbie. “Yes,” said Charlie “yes he will.” “Don’t worry” Robbie stated “we’ll be ready.” “NO, no we won’t.” said Charlie “don’t even try to fight him. Our only hope is to let him take me.” “When will he be back?” asked Robbie. “In two weeks if I don’t leave sooner,” said Charlie “oh and Robbie, don’t do anything stupid.” “Oh, I won’t.” said Robbie, disgusted. He started to leave, but in his head, he was already formulating a plan. The next day, Charlie left. After he left, Robbie also left. He went to his friend’s house. Shawn’s family was also made up of magicians. Shawn was an aquacentist. He had the ability to control water. After Robbie had told him what had happened to his brother he asked “you in?” He didn’t even have to tell Shawn his plan; he knew that he could tell what he was thinking. “Of course.” said Shawn. He told his mom that he would be camping with Robbie for a week. “You two have a good time.” She said. If she had known what they were actually doing, she never would have let them go. Robbie went an online magic shop (there are tons, if you just know how to look for them.) there he bought some supplies, a magic bag, and a magic atlas/information booklet. The bag could hold as much of anything that you wanted, well, as long as it fit through the lid that is. Once he clicked buy the screen said “payment?” Robbie clicked on cash, and then continued. The screen changed, getting fuzzy for a second, and then it said “please insert cash.” Robbie pulled out a wad of bills, and pressed them against the screen; they shimmered, and then disappeared. He turned around, and then a few seconds later, the objects he had ordered appeared in the middle of the room. He went over to check the items to make sure that they worked. After managing to fit enough food for the next two weeks of “camping” he was convinced that the bag worked. He turned his attention to the atlas. He opened it up, the said “Romania, Atlantis, Transylvania.” in rapid succession. The atlas instantly gave routs, information, and even the phone numbers of pizza joints for each of the three locations. He smiled, “Ogres, Trolls, and Pizza oh my.” Sounded like an interesting name for a pizza restaurant, but hey, who was he to judge. He put the atlas into the bag then turned around. He walked out of his room then went down the lobby towards the living. Shawn was in the living room playing on the game console. If you’ve never played magic games before, then a word of advice, always have the computer on easy, because the enemy’s may be simulated, but the fire balls and other weapons that they use, are quite real. Robbie walked in just as Shawn got taken out by a particularly large troll with a battle axe. “Oof, beat your high score.” said Shawn. Robbie smiled, even in the worst times, Shawn always seemed to be able to have fun. “Come on” he said “let’s go “camping”.”

III First Problem

Shawn and Robbie walked down to the bus stop by an old alley. When they were sure no one was looking, they walked straight into the wall. They walked right through it like it was made of jelly. On the other side of the wall, there was a shiny white bus. Shawn let out a sigh, “thank goodness it wasn’t a shadow bus.” Robbie shuddered. The buses depended on what type of magician the driver was. This bus was life magic. A shadow bus is death magic. That would have been scary enough, without the fact of what they were about to do. They paid the driver, and then sat down alone in the back. “Ok,” said Shawn “we go, find a horn, make a trade, then go back home with your brother.” Robbie rolled his eyes; Shawn made it sound as simple as going to the store and picking up a pack of soda. “You do relies” he said “that we don’t even know where to find the horn.” “Wait,” said Shawn “that atlas, doesn’t it also tell you about land marks?” “Yeah sure,” Robbie replied “but a horn isn’t exactly the Washington memorial.” “Well, its famous enough, we might as well try It.” said Shawn. Robbie sighed, but he reluctantly pick up the atlas and said “Land mark, historical item, death horn. He wasn’t very convinced that it would work, that’s why he was beyond surprise when the book flipped its pages over to a section marked “Death Horn”. “Ha,” said Shawn “told you.” Robbie rolled his eyes again; he knew he would be hearing about this for weeks. “It even shows a map and everything.” “But,” Robbie countered “it says that it doesn’t know where the horn is, just where we can find some guy that can tell us where.” “Big deal.” Said Shawn. Robbie looked down at the atlas and turned pale. “It is.” He said. Shawn looked down, then practically fainted. “Really,” he said “why does it have to take us to the land of the dead?!?!” “So much for easy” thought Robbie. They sat silent for the rest of the bus ride, both of them thinking about what they had read. The book had said that to find the horn, they must go to Hippodyron the spirit of a great magician.

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Texte: Israel Medina
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.04.2012

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