Page 1 of Ruins of Magic
Chapter 1
“Arion!” Zallon yelled. “Where did that boy sneak off to this time?” he mumbled to himself.
“Back here,” Arion yelled from the deep bowels of the library. While searching for answers to save the unicorns after dark magic nearly annihilated them, he had found a page from a book hidden within another book. The page had gone missing and it hadn’t contained all the information they had needed to combat the evil plaguing them.
Arion couldn’t help but think that whichever book that page had come from might contain answers to other such issues that could arise. He had become obsessed with finding that book, spending countless hours of what little free time he received searching for it.
The impending threat to Gavalon was gone. The unicorns had been restored and they were thriving once again. There was no valid reason to suspect that sort of dark sorcery would return, but it had left Arion with the uncomfortable reality that it could. As the future High Keeper of Magic, he wanted to make sure he was prepared for the next time.
“Are you still hunting for that book?”
“Yes sir. I just have this feeling that it contains more answers.”
“Arion, the threat is gone. We haven’t seen anything like it in a thousand years. There is no reason to suspect it will return again for another thousand years.”
“But isn’t it our duty to be prepared if it does?”
“Perhaps,” Zallon said. “But not at the detriment of your regular studies.”
“It won’t, I promise.”
“Very well. Take the day off, but only if you get out of here. You haven’t left the House of Magic in nearly a week. It’s not healthy, Arion.”
“Yeah, sure. Just give me a few minutes to finish this up,” he compromised.
“No, now. Off you go or I’ll put you to work,” Zallon threatened.
Arion rolled his eyes at the old man, leaving out the books he had been reading through knowing he would return to them soon. He turned and stomped back up the stairs.
He didn’t understand why everyone wasn’t more concerned. There had been an attack of dark magic on the enchanted unicorns that roamed the lands of Gavalon. He had so many unanswered questions, like where did the dark magic come from and who was behind the attack?
As he walked outside, he squinted up at the sun letting the morning rays warm his skin. Begrudgingly he knew Zallon had been right. He had been cooped up inside for too long.
He walked around the property and chose a bench to sit on. It overlooked the valley to his left and the castle looming above to his right. It wasn’t long before an old friend joined him.
Callia nuzzled her large head against him and whinnied softly.
Arion smiled up to his unicorn friend, happy to see her.
“Hey there, girl,” he said running his hand along her smooth coat. “It’s good to see you up and about. How are you feeling?”
“You talk to her as if you expect she’ll answer,” a voice from behind startled him. He turned to see his friend Garron watching him.
“She always answers in her own way,” Arion assured him. “What are you doing here?”
Garron shrugged. “I was just passing by and saw you. You haven’t been around much since the unicorns were healed.”
It was Arion’s turn to shrug. “Been busy with training.”
“That’s so cool. I still can’t believe I’m friends with the next High Keeper of Magic.”
“It’s not that big of a deal, Garron,” Arion groaned.
“Not a big deal? It’s a huge deal!”
“Have you seen Valaria?” Arion asked, trying to change the subject. He was also curious as to how the princess was doing. He hadn’t seen her much in the last few months since they saved the unicorns. He just hoped Garron didn’t read too much into his inquiry.
Arion thought about the princess constantly, unable to stop thinking about her. Her face appeared in his mind all the time and often at the most inopportune moment imaginable. It was a small part of why he had thrown himself into the obsession of finding the missing book. That at least gave him something to focus on, some purpose and distraction that didn’t involve Princess Valaria.
