Tre Lloyd Adventures Ch. 09

The next morning we got up and got ready to go to the Chapter house. When we arrived we put on our ID badges and made our way up to the top floor. We walked up to the door and as I reached to knock I felt a stirring of the power inside and the door opened. I gestured Arianna to precede me and stepped inside after her, another quick pulse of the power pushing the door closed.

"Welcome and good morning." Telemon said walking around his desk and gesturing us to some chairs at a large table. "I have Dana bringing coffee and some breakfast from a diner down the street. Their lunch is only so-so but their breakfast is excellent." We sat down at the table and Telemon took a seat on the side opposite us.

We spoke about nothing in particular until a knock at the door interrupted. Telemon called "Come", and the door opened. A young brunette stepped inside with a tray holding a pot and 3 steaming cups, coffee by the smell, and several bags. She walked over and set the tray down in the center of the table and, without a word, turned and left. Telemon said "Dig in, you two" and led by example, pouring the contents of the bags out, revealing croissants and biscuits of assorted kinds.

"I knew that some spirits enjoyed eating, but you seem to take it to an extreme, Telemon." I said with a laugh as I grabbed a cup of coffee and a ham and cheese biscuit.

He laughed and took a bite out of a biscuit. "Yes, but remember, I was once human. Now I can eat just for the pleasure of eating. And I take advantage of that every chance that I get. So I eat only the best tasting food I can find."

As we ate breakfast I filled him in on the situation that Heidi and Tomas had told me about in Green Bay with one of the Orders mages. Telemon listened as he ate and then nodded and told me that that was one of the reasons that he was in the States to begin with. Bob had apparently missed several meetings with one of the Inner Circle and finally a couple with Telemon and he wanted to know why. He promised to pass that information along as his preliminary report before investigating further.

Once we were down to the coffee I felt a surge of the power and Telemon said, "Now the room is warded against listening. We can get down to business." I nodded and poured myself and Arianna another cup of coffee.

"Tre, your searches into those kinds of spells worry some of the Inner Circle members, me included. Information about that kind of magic is kept out of the open databases for a reason. Those spells are among the worst kind to use. Many of the older mages know about this kind of magic but they do not use it."

I looked confused and interjected. "But I don't understand what is so wrong with them. I mean, Arianna explained some of it to me but I still don't see the issue. I used a spell to drain a vampire's life and convert it to magical energy to power some other spells that I then used in defense of my life."

Telemon nodded a worried look on his face. "That in itself is enough to worry some of us, Tre. While Hecate is the goddess of all magic, the Order officially frowns on necromantic spells. And that spell of life-draining does, as you know falls into that category. You drained the life from another creature." As I started to protest he held up a hand to stop me. "Yes that creature was 'only' a vampire, but it doesn't matter. Many among the Circle consider that a vampiric act as well. You drained another creature's life to give yourself power. That is the same thing that vampires do."

"Also," He continued. "The... connection... that the 'dark essence' of a vampire gives you with a new form of energy leaves a taint on your aura and marks you as a possible target for demons and evil spirits."

"A taint on my aura? What do you mean?"

"The use of that energy, dark energy as it is simply called, stains your aura. It mostly goes away in time but there is always that 'stain'." His eyes lost focus for a moment as they moved over me and I knew he was looking at me astrally. His gaze paused at my left hand and lingered there before snapping back into focus. "Yes, it is definitely there. It is faded but noticeable."

I held up my left hand and switched to the astral to look at it and could tell Arianna was doing the same. All I could see is the normal glow of a human since I masked my aura to hide the fact that I was a mage. Finally Arianna pointed to my left middle finger. "There it is, Tre. A slightly darker discolored patch." I looked and could barely make it out.

"As you use more of that energy, be it from life drained from vampires or just finding a way to tap into the dark energy without that assistance, the stain on your aura will grow ever larger. Once it gets where it is obvious, the darker entities, demons and evil spirits and the like, will begin hounding you."

"Why will they want me? Surely most of them know by now that I will have nothing to do with them." I said shifting back from the astral.

"Because, Tre, you will have a connection, an obvious connection, to the power they thrive on. They will not need to corrupt you because you will already be tainted. That taint will give them the inroad into your body that they need. They will use it to get in and either take over your body for their use, which is most likely, or to use you as a pawn to increase their power."

Arianna spoke up quietly. "Telemon, I did not see any 'marks' of an evil power on him. How is it that he could even touch that energy, much less manipulate it? He said after he drained the essence he felt 'queasy', but I have seen people drain vampires of their energy and be deathly sick for days."

Telemon nodded and looked at her. "I don't see any signs of him being marked either. I have looked closely several times since you got here and have yet to spot one in his aura. That taint is too small and faded to be a mark." He looked over at me. "She is right, Tre. Without some kind of connection to it you shouldn't be able to use dark energy. It would either be just untouchable, as it is with most people, or too damaging to use."

"What do you mean a 'connection'? You mean like a sprit connection or something like that?" I asked, growing more confused by the moment.

"It can be a spirit, or demon or some other entity. It can also be something as unexpected as a focus made by someone that used it or a spell book containing the spells or some other magical item that seems harmless. All of these things can open the access to that dark energy. All of these things also leave a definable mark on you as well. Did you find these spells in a book in your library? I know you have found many that have not been catalogued for the Order's libraries."

I shook my head. "No, as I told Arianna when she got onto me for using them, the spells to use the energy just came to mind out of the blue. I had come up with the draining spell beforehand, but the others just popped into my mind."

Telemon nodded thoughtfully. "I see. That is interesting of itself. I have seen people able to substitute one form of energy for another, sound for fire or lightning for water or whatever, but I have never heard of anyone being able to replace any of them with dark energy. As I have said before, the dark energy is near untouchable. So being able to replace them on the fly like that is surprising. I knew you had both power and skill but I don't think even you have fully comprehended what you're capable of."

He stopped to think for a moment, and then continued. "I remember your testing, Tre. I remember the notes taken on your potential. I remember my personal notes on your potential. I would like to run you through another evaluation testing. I have a good idea what I will find, but I want to be sure."

I looked from him to Arianna and back to him in confusion then shrugged. "Sure, I guess. When do you want to do it?"

He looked at his watch and frowned. "I have a steady round of meetings all day today. How about we do it tomorrow morning?"

I nodded. "That will be fine. Will it be like the original testing, just come prepared for everything?"

"Yes, Tre, it will be just like the original testing. You will need to be ready to draw on all of the power that you can unaided as well as show pinpoint control of your spells. Various other surprises will be included as well, just as they were before. There will be no repercussions if you fail; this is just for my enlightenment. Just as you are now more powerful than you were then, your test will also be suitably more difficult."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "I will be ready Telemon. I have the majority of my library loaded onto a pocket PC and can study tonight and prepare myself."

Telemon looked surprised. "A single day to prepare for a testing? Most mages, even powerful ones, like at least three days and nights to ready themselves fully."

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, but few of them live the constant battle that I do. They need the time to study and prepare. I have to be prepared all of the time." Chuckling I added, "I honestly think I could do the testing now and pass."

"Very well. Tomorrow it is." He rose and extended his hand which I shook. "I have to get to these meetings or Dana will start yelling at me." We shared a laugh at that and he walked Arianna and Me to the door. "See you tomorrow, Tre." He looked at Arianna. "You may come to the testing, but if you do you will not be allowed to interfere in any way."

She nodded. "Of course, Telemon. I would like to watch it. I have never seen a testing before. Only read Tre's notes on his testing over his shoulder when he wasn't paying attention." She smiled and we headed back to the hotel.

I broke out the pocket PC and my laptop and began studying as soon as we got back to the hotel. I thought back to my original testing and studied the same things for the most part, merely on a larger scale. I knew that I would not be allowed any focuses, either to increase my power or to help me with specific spells, during the test so I just practiced, drawing as much of the power as I could, releasing mana bolts, invisible to those who could not see the astral, into the sky. There was some danger of a mage or spirit seeing the astral light show but I was not too worried.

I went to sleep early that night, tired from studying and practicing and intending to rest fully for the testing. The next morning a worried-looking Arianna and I arrived at the Chapter house and were shown to a large room in the basement. I could see the telltale signs of observation rooms behind the mirrors and an array of mystical symbols along the floor, walls and ceiling. Arianna squeezed my hand reassuringly and made her way back to the door.

I walked around the room, studying the symbols curiously. Some of them seemed to be there to prevent the spirits summoned for the testing from escaping the room. Others seemed familiar to me but their composition was curious to me and I couldn't figure out what they were for. They seemed to be designed to generate a mana-less environment but were subtly different than what I had seen during my first testing.

Telemon's voice on a set of hidden speakers in the room snapped me out of my investigation. "Tre, this will be just like the original testing. You will first draw on all of the power you can for the testing spell to give us a gauge of your power. Then we will test on your control, your focus, your ability with spirits, both summoning and banishing. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head. "No, sir. I am ready." I began to breathe slow and deep, focusing myself for the testing, my mind and body both relaxing and tensing in anticipation.

"Very good. Then begin." At Telemon's order I drew heavily on the mana, keeping my eyes closed, feeling the surge of power rushing through me as I called to mind the spell the Order had created, most likely by Telemon himself, to test a mage's power. It had only one use and so it was just called the 'Testing Spell'. It would produce a bright aura of color surrounding me when it was done, the color of the aura showing the strength of the magic producing it. It wouldn't affect the rest of the testing because it caused little to no drain.

I kept drawing on my power, quickly drawing all of it that I could and focused it into the spell, a bright flash of light showing even through my closed eyes. I opened them in time to see the corona of light surrounding me beginning to fade down through the blue of the spectrum and going ever lower. I was surprised as previously my best had only produced a bright green on the scale. "Very good, Tre. Get ready for the next part of the test." I thought I heard a bit of surprise in Telemon's voice as well but it disappeared so quickly that I wasn't sure if I actually heard it or not.

Over the next several hours I was tested thoroughly. I countered spells that appeared out of nowhere. I disabled wards and created them. I fired spells through illusionary targets, some stationary some moving. I summoned spirits of various kinds and banished others that were summoned for the testing.

Finally I heard Telemon's voice over the speakers. "Prepare for the final phase of the testing, Tre. Good luck." I nodded wordlessly, covered with sweat and tired from the testing, even more so then during my original testing. I suspected that Telemon had been pushing the envelope between safety and curiosity a little.

"Beware." I blinked and looked around for the speaker before realizing that the voice had been in my head, a slippery thought sliding across my consciousness. I turned around and watched as a spirit began to shimmer into being. I took a chance and slipped to astral perception and groaned as I saw the power of the spirit.

I quickly began to draw on my power, focusing on the threads of the creatures summoning, trying to figure out how to unravel the 'knot' holding it on this plane. Unfortunately I focused too much on the threads and not enough on the creature itself and never saw the huge fist that slammed into my ribs and sent me sailing through the air snapping me out of astral perception.

Casting a spell to create a wall of air to slow my momentum and then lower me to the floor I took the time to look at the spirit. My ribs ached from the impact of the massive nine foot tall spirit's fist. I decided to see what its weaknesses were and began speed casting spells. I sent ball after bolt of magical energy at it. Lightning, fire, water, air, acid, sound, even pure mana were thrown at the spirit as it finally manifested itself fully on this plane.

The spirit roared as it rocked back under spell after spell. Breaking off my attacks I dodged as I saw it throw a fireball at me, one that quickly turned into a barrage of them, the spirit sending fireball after fireball flying towards me as I ran, muffled booms as they exploded sounding behind me. I felt the hair stand up on my arms and watched as the spirit sent a fireball one way and a lightning ball the other.

Unable to defend against both in time I quickly spun together a spell to protect me against fire. I dodged towards the fireball, feeling my body jerk from the impact of the lightning. Feeling the electricity coursing along my skin and through my body I screamed in pain. I felt the heat from the fireball but paid it no mind as I sent blasts of pure magical power back at the spirit. The spirit reeled back from my attack as I suddenly felt the last of the lightning play itself out. I returned the favor and sent a blast of lightning back at it, throwing a ball of acid behind it.

As the spells hit, the spirit also screamed a wordless shout of pain and anger. I saw the spirit turn its head towards me and felt the rumblings of the beginning of a sonic spell. I hastily erected a barrier against sonic energy just as the spirit unleashed its cone of sound. I felt the rumblings through my shield growing stronger as my barrier began to crumble under the assault. I drew on more power to shore up my defenses and quickly had to dive aside as a shaft of ice was sent hurtling my way. The sonic barrier collapsed as I dove but thankfully the spirit was ending its spell and the waves of pure sound only threw off the balance of my leap instead of shattering the bones of my lower legs and feet.

I landed heavily, groaning as my already bruised ribs absorbed more punishment. As I rolled and staggered to my feet I was rocked back towards the wall as I was hit with a shower of darts of pure mana. Again I screamed in pain, almost being spun around to face the wall as a fiery bolt slammed into my shoulder. I spun with the impact and sent a wave of fire surging from my left hand towards the spirit. The fire hit the spirit and I heard its cries of agony as the wave of fire spreading from my fingers washed over it. Before the spirit could react I began to send balls of lightning and acid alternately flying from my right hand at the spirit. I could smell the odor of its physical body burning begin to join the stench of my own damaged tissues as smoke began to rise from its charred body.

I saw my lightning surging over the spirits physical form and the acid splashing over it and, with an almost audible sigh of relief I let the wave of fire stop. I sent spells of fire and acid flying at the beast, drawing more roars of pain as my body began to shake with fatigue. Maintaining the wave of fire had taken its toll on my body, already tired from the rest of the testing. Looking at my hands as I sent spell after spell of elemental fire and acid at the creature I could see the bruising caused from the strain of the contest, blood vessels bursting beneath the skin.

I could see that the creature was weakening under the elemental assault. The only problem was that, at the rate I was going, I was going to run out of steam long before it did. And when that happened it didn't look good for me. As I threw another blast of acid at the creature it was my bad luck to catch a fireball it had thrown at me. I don't mean that I got hit with it. I mean that I threw the acid and managed to catch its fireball right on my hand.

I screamed in pain and almost blacked out as my entire hand and forearm were engulfed in flames. To buy myself time I cast two quick illusion spells. The first was a spell of chaos, overwhelming the spirits senses with a cloud of blinding sights, fierce odors and distracting sounds. As the spirit roared and began to flail at things that weren't there I cast the second spell. As the confusion spell settled in, the room was transformed and filled with shifting shapes and alternating pools of light and shadow.

While the spirit was distracted with my illusions I focused myself and cast a quick healing spell on my hand. As I watched, the flesh lost its charcoal look and began to resemble something vaguely human. I pushed some more power into the spell and saw a few drops of blood beginning to drip from my nose, a sure sign that I had started pushing my body to its physical limit.

I broke off the healing spell and, sparing a glance at the spirit, I began to draw on more of the power. I focused on the spell in my mind and began to shape it, pushing power into it, knowing that I would need the power to accomplish my goals. I ignored the increasing drops of blood from my nose as I continued to build the power, shaping it into the form of the spell I wanted. Finally I unleashed the power, the spell succeeding in wrapping the spirit in a crackling sheet of flame, igniting its physical body's very tissues, aided by its distraction.

The spirit again roared, a sound of anguished pain and anger. I slumped down to one knee, breathing hard. I ached with my entire being and I was shaking with sheer exhaustion. I looked back at the spirit, seeing it wrapping itself in a cloud of water to put out the fires and I groaned knowing the fight wasn't over yet. I forced myself to rise to my feet, struggling to focus my mind enough to let me choose a spell to end this quickly as the spirit, its entire body burned horribly, began to hurl spells at the images my spells were causing it to see.