Dorvan went flying through the air. He felt a sharp pain as he landed on his back. The air left his lungs, and he found it difficult to breathe for several excruciating seconds. He rolled over onto his stomach and gasped in that precious air. His wheezing started to die down, and he could hear Aurora laughing at him as she grabbed his right arm to help him up.

  “Told you that wouldn’t work,” Aurora said, still chuckling.

  “Yeah,” Dorvan got out and stretched. They had just gotten back from recruiting more students, bringing an additional forty this time. The numbers were astounding, and if given more time, the School of Power would be far stronger than Mortham Tower. “Think of it as a good demonstration for the other students.”

  “I’m sure they’ll see it that way,” Aurora said, her silver hair flowing in the wind. Her dark red eyes stared into his for a few moments before moving to look at something else. “Did you all watch what happened?”

  “I think so,” a student by the name of Bornavier said. A gifted young man who had joined a few months ago. “It looked like Dorvan tried to distract you while attacking in three different directions. You were able to set up a barrier while attacking at the same time, catching Dorvan off guard.”

  The other students looked at Bornavier with astonishment, clearly showing he was the only one who understood what happened. “That is correct. What I did is very difficult to pull off, but if you can learn to control the power to defend and attack at the same time, you’ll be very hard to beat,” Aurora said.

  It was more than that. Dorvan could attack and defend at the same time. The problem was his attack and defense were weaker than normal. It took a lot of concentration and power to do both at the same time. Somehow, Aurora was able to maintain a strong attack and defense, something he didn’t understand. A few of the other students could do it, but none were as good as her.

  “With that, you can go get some lunch now,” Dorvan said.

  The students didn’t need to be told twice and walked towards the temple. What a way this place had grown. What used to be a small temple was now gigantic. The temple was over halfway full, and there were private homes as some students wanted to bring their spouses, children, or other family members.

  Originally, Qidan had been against allowing non-power users to live here. Eventually, he relented when he saw how many power users would join if he allowed them to bring their families. Thanks to their security measures, the mages hadn’t discovered this place. Nobody was allowed to walk to the School of Power, and to go places required portals.

  Times like this made Dorvan appreciate how far he’d come since joining the School of Power. He wasn’t the most powerful, yet he felt confident in his abilities. It made him wish the invaders would attack already. He looked forward to paying them back for what they did to Arindall.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Aurora said.

  Dorvan didn’t need to ask to know what she was thinking. She had read his mind, something she had been increasingly good at even though that wasn’t possible with the power. “It is.”

  “We’ve grown so big. I don’t even know if Mortham Tower could threaten us now.”

  “Let’s hope we never find out,” Dorvan said.

  Aurora flashed him a grin and leaned on his left shoulder. “You are always the worrywart,” she said and got off him. “Things will be f—” she was interrupted when she tripped over a rock and fell onto the grass.

  “Graceful as always,” Dorvan teased, helping Aurora up.

  “Gotta cut loose sometimes; you should try it sometime,” Aurora teased back. She wiped some dirt off her shirt.

  “I don’t get how you can be so strong yet clumsy,” Dorvan said with a slight shake of his head.

  Aurora shrugged. “Perhaps I’m a little too carefree.”

  Yeah, that might be part of it. Dorvan thought. She never acted worried or serious, even when doing silly things like dropping a bowl of soup on her lap. Looking at her, you wouldn’t think she was one of the most powerful power users in the School of Power.

  “You’re looking at me funny. What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?” Aurora started rubbing her cheek and chin, trying to find something that wasn’t there.

  “No, there’s nothing on your face,” Dorvan said. He was trying to think of what to say next when he felt a familiar presence. What’s Talon doing here? He turned in the direction of where he sensed the portal.

  “Let’s find out,” Aurora said, as if reading his mind once more.

  They walked around a small hut and saw Talon talking to Qidan. Dorvan turned to say something to Aurora and stopped when he noticed her expression. All signs of playfulness were gone, replaced with a serious expression.

  “What’s the matter?” Dorvan asked.

  She didn’t respond for a moment as her gaze lingered on Talon and Qidan. “I think something serious is going on,” Aurora finally said and didn’t elaborate further.

  Dorvan couldn’t see anything on why she would think that. “What do you see that I don’t?” he finally asked.

  “Look at Qidan. He’s tense and I would say a little frightened,” Aurora said.

  How can she see that? Talon and Qidan were too far for him to read any sort of body language. He could feel the power in Aurora; was she using the power to see something he couldn’t? He decided not to ask.

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  More students began coming, for they had also sensed Talon’s arrival. When the king arrived, everyone came as there was usually a gathering. Either Talon would speak to them or Qidan, and the Ashtari and students wanted to be in place to hear what was going on.

  Several minutes passed with more students coming. Qidan said something to Talon and turned his attention to the growing crowd. Dorvan felt Qidan gather the power and begin to speak.

  “All Ashtari are to remain here. For everyone else, you are to go into the temple. If you are found outside the temple or trying to eavesdrop, you will be severely punished. Dismissed,” Qidan’s voice echoed through the crowd.

  Students began rushing to the temple. Dorvan had seen the type of punishments Qidan would dish out. Nobody was good enough to avoid some sort of punishment while training. Not even Aurora had been able to sneak under the former mage's notice. Her clumsiness had gotten her in trouble more than once.

  When all the students were gone, there were over one hundred Ashtari who remained behind. Some were missing as they were off on recruiting missions, but most of the Ashtari were in place.

  “This is it,” Aurora whispered.

  “What do you think is happening?” Dorvan whispered back.

  “Our first real mission.”

  That was when Dorvan noticed Talon stepping forward. There was tremendous power in the king. He had known how powerful Talon was, but this had to be the king at full power. It was overwhelming.

  Talon moved his arms, and Dorvan could sense something being placed around them. A barrier of some kind, though he couldn’t tell what. Some of the Ashtari looked around, but most remained still, awaiting further instructions like they were trained.

  “A sound barrier,” Aurora said to Dorvan’s unasked question. “No sound will leave this area.”

  Dorvan didn’t get a chance to respond as Talon began speaking. “The time has come for the world to see the Ashtari in action,” Talon said.

  Those simple words sent chills down his spine. Dorvan didn’t like the sound of that unless the invaders had attacked? He hadn’t heard any rumors of attacks. Then again, how would I? I’m out in the middle of nowhere, training to use the power.

  “It grieves me to say that Eshil Domain has declared war on Azzellia. Very soon, we will be meeting the armies of Eshil Domain at Elysian Fields. Although I wanted to save you all for the invaders, I have no choice but to involve you in this. You will be there to end this war with minimal loss of life. The goal will be to kill as few soldiers as possible and capture King Harold.”

  Dorvan’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Talon had told them they wouldn’t be used to take over the nations. The last thing he wanted to do was kill people of Aidris with the power, but he had no choice. He was an Ashtari, sworn to serve Azzellia.

  “I don’t know why King Harold has declared war. I wish he hadn’t, for you all are meant to take out the invaders, not resolve disputes such as this. However, we can’t afford a war that could go on for years, not when the invaders are preparing this very instant to attack us. We must be at full strength when the invaders come. With luck, this will be the only time you are used until the true war begins,” Talon said.

  There was a hint of, sadness? Dorvan wasn’t quite sure but kept listening.

  “I understand some of you came from Eshil Domain and must be conflicted or feel betrayed. I promise, this wasn’t my intention and I will not ask you to join in the battle. You will be allowed to remain here.”

  There was excitement from many of the Ashtari. Dorvan could see some whisper to one another in excited tones. While he didn’t like what Talon was saying, he wasn’t surprised many of the others were excited. They’d been cooped up here, learning to use the power for over a year. This was their chance to prove themselves, especially to Talon. He couldn’t tell how Aurora was feeling and made a note to ask her after this was done. A few looked distraught and he would have bet they were from Eshil Domain. Nobody liked their home to be attacked and he should know, he was there when Arindall was slaughtered.

  A part of him felt betrayed. Dorvan understood Talon’s reasoning, yet he couldn’t help being shaken up. Surely the kings could work something out, right?

  Talon reached into his pocket and took out a smooth figure. “The first thirty Ashtari who were promoted are to come up here,” he said.

  It took Dorvan a moment to realize he was one of them and started forward. He saw Lewis rush forward, along with Khalia and Tol’Solie. Not too far from himself was Aurora, who was walking beside him and he caught an eager grin on Zaldrone’s face.

  Once the thirty Ashtari gathered, Talon moved to Dorvan. “Put your power into the stone and pass it to the others. Once that’s done, give this back to me,” Talon said.

  What does putting my power into this stone do? Dorvan gathered the power and put it into the stone. He didn’t feel any different nor did the stone react. Shrugging to himself, he handed the stone to Aurora and repeated the instructions.

  It took about ten minutes, but the thirty Ashtari put the power into the stone and handed it back to Talon. “This will allow you all to create a portal to the battlefield,” Talon said and slipped the stone back into his pocket. “The others won’t be able to, so think of yourselves as leaders when it’s time to attack. You’ll get more details before the battle. You can all return to your posts; I must speak with Qidan.”

  As he began walking away, Dorvan heard some of the other Ashtari talking about how they would crush Eshil Domain in excited tones. “Aurora, what do you think of this... situation?”

  “Eshil Domain declared war. It is only right for Talon to protect his nation. Besides, this is going to save lives. If we don’t get involved, how many thousands of ordinary people will die fighting? We can save thousands, no, tens of thousands of lives by interfering,” Aurora said.

  She’s right. Dorvan hadn’t thought about that part. People were going to die in this war, so why not use the power gifted to him to prevent as much bloodshed as possible? A fresh look at what he had to do. This was all necessary. He had to believe it was, or he might find himself losing faith in the School of Power, and what would he do if that happened?

  There was no escaping the School of Power. Some had tried and were forced to work, not as slaves, but they couldn’t leave. Qidan had said the ones who wanted to leave would be able to do so, though that wouldn’t be until the mages knew they existed.

  And they will. Dorvan thought. The mages would know about the Ashtari, and that scared him more than he expected.

  If Qidan was speaking the truth, then the ones who wanted to leave should be allowed to soon, for the School of Power was about to be known across all of Aidris, and nothing could stop that unless Talon himself changed his mind about them being used against Eshil Domain.

  “Things are going to change,” Aurora said. “I wonder how Mortham Tower will react.”

  “Do you still think the mages won’t attack?” Dorvan asked.

  Aurora nodded, raising a finger as she spoke. “It would be catastrophic for them to engage us. Even if we lost, Mortham Tower would lose a lot of their mages, which would hurt all of Aidris. This would give the invaders our lands, as I imagine they’ll have their own power users, and I’m sure the mages will have thought about this possibility.”

  “I hope you are right,” Dorvan said softly. They were all going into uncharted territory. He hoped the mages didn’t do anything rash just because their power was being threatened. If Mortham Tower did attack, how many lives would be lost? It was something he had to force his thoughts away from. For now, he had to prepare for the upcoming battle. His first battle with the power and his first one since Arindall.