The characters and plot in this story are copyrighted by the author.
All the characters in this story are purely products of my imagination and are not based on real people. Any resemblance is purely coincidental and is not intended.
If you are looking for just sex this is not the story for you. Most of the romance will take place in later chapters if I continue the story.
You will see depiction of suicide which is not condoned by the author but is instrumental for future plot development.
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like if you have any positive feedback I would love to here it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com
Prologue: The Black Adept
by Matt
I looked out over the great expanse buildings below me with sadness knowing that all I had sacrificed might be for nothing. Below me stood the Academy of Magic the greatest center of magic in the world. The place I had spent most of his unnatural lifetime protecting from the forces that they tried to pretend did not exist anymore.
"Fools, arrogant fools!" I muttered looking down on the home of almost two thousand mages and students. For the last almost three hundred years he has fought a secret war to save these idiots like my master before me and master's master and so on had for almost two and a half millennia. I knew that if they knew I existed they would try to destroy me not realizing the onslaught me and those before me had held back. At that moment I contemplated just leaving and seeing how they do on their own against the dark forces that are once again beginning to gather. I knew I wouldn't leave though this was my sworn duty one I could never abandon until there was someone else to take up the fight and only then could I pass peacefully into the Void. I couldn't help but laugh to think about the panic that would arise if anyone of those blubbering old farts that call themselves mages heard that there was a Void mage in their midst.
You might be wondering during why a "Black" mage would be protecting a bunch of arrogant old idiots who would happily kill him if they knew he existed. It is a long story that starts over three thousand years ago after the building of the first Academy. First you should about the six schools of magic. Regular magic or "White" magic comes in three varieties the first being Wizardry which draws its power from knowledge and learning how to manipulate the world by bending the natural rules with your mind and takes many years of study. Secondly there is sorcery which is the power to directly draw upon and manipulate the five elements earth, wind, water, fire, and spirit. Lastly there is clerical or god given magic which is granted to those who devote their lives to the service of a god or goddess. Black magic also comes in three types Necromancery, Demon Bonding, and of course Void magic. Necromancery came about as a combination of wizardry and worship of the Nellin the goddess of death, disease, and decay. A Necromancer has the power to control the dead and inflict disease and decay upon their enemies. While in the modern or third Academy Necromancery is accepted if frowned upon in the time of the first Academy it was hated. Demon Bonding is perhaps the worst thing any mage can do. It means a mage sells their soul to a demon for the right to draw upon the demons powers. The more powerful the mage the more powerful the demon they can bond themselves to.
Void magic is complicated and first you must understand the nature of the Void. The Void is the absence of matter not like we know space but more like an infinite black hole. It is a hunger that can never be filled that would devourer anything that come in contact with it and all that exists in it is energy in its purest state. The void existed before the universe or gods came into formation and still underlays all the planes of existence. In the beginning the void just was but when the gods came and created the universe on top of the void it changed and on the most basic level developed intelligence in the form of a survival instinct. At first it tried to fight back and destroyed that was created and return everything to how it was but found that it couldn't fight back directly. To become a Void mage a mage must willingly give themselves completely and without regret to the Void and if they survive the become a Void mage. They worship the void like a priest worships their god and can live as long as they have to will to live. When they are killed or chose to die they are willingly turn over their souls to the void where they will continue to exist in a more basic form as a being of raw energy. The does not grant powers to its followers it allow the mage to channel their natural magic through the Void where the rules of the universe do not apply. This allows them to perform magic outside the bounds of the so called "rules of magic".
When the first Academy was founded its combined strength managed to destroy most of the Black mages in the land but not all. Suddenly faced with a threat to their survival the often warring black mages united and attacked the Academy burning it to the ground. The mages of the Academy were scattered but they didn't gave up hope they fought back and many Necromancers, who despised the demon mages, came to their side in a tentative alliance. Before the final battle a Void mage joined them pretending to be another defecting Necromancer. When the battle had started he summoned the a piece of the Void in the middle of the enemy mages, even though the effort nearly killed him, it fed off their power leaving them weakened by the time they had sealed it. With the black mages off balance the mages and the Necromancer allies were able to win a decisive victory. All the had left do was figure out what to do with the Void mage who helped them. In the end he was granted the title Black Adept and would help defend the new Academy from black mages. It was decided that Necromancers were not black magic users and would be part of the new Academy. Also it was decided that only two black mages would be allowed in the Academy at a time the Black Adept and his apprentice.
There were high hopes for the second Academy and it seemed to be living up to them. The Black Adept kept the black mages at bay and disorganized and watched for any threats outside the walls of the Academy. It was the forth Black Adept that got to realize the mistake when she was attacked from behind and executed by a group of mages who thought the Academy was now strong enough to not have to rely on black magic for their protection. Her apprentice was able to flee to safety before they caught him. Within a year the reign of the second Academy ended in fire and death, the black mages had a new leader. Again the battle raged with no side gaining the upper hand, it was then those seem mages who deposed the Black Adept came to truly regret what had did. It was then that the apprentice returned and offered them a way. Eight mages had killed his master and it was those eight would have to be punished to save the rest. The apprentice prepared a powerful spell that would hopefully break through their enemies shields and strike at the heart of the black mages. The power from the spell was more then anyone mage could supply and Void mages can't link magic with any mage. They could however draw the power from sacrifices and eight were sacrificed to save the whole. For the second time a Void had saved them and the third Academy was built. The apprentice was now the Black Adept but now he would work in secret out of sight of the rest of the mages free from persecution and hatred. In time people forget about the Black Adept or took him for a myth. They didn't connect that every so often a student would disappear with the legend of the Black Adept and the taking of an apprentice.
Then two hundred and ninety-three years ago something happened that would shake the foundation of the secret war between the Black Adept and the black mages. That is where my story begins.
The Academy was open to all who had the potential to do magic no matter what classes, nationality, or background, that is what they claimed at least. A mage has to be close to someone to detect their potential and mages worked mainly around the nobility and the rich so the majority of all mages came from those backgrounds. I was eleven and had no family and was thief, a pretty good one, on the streets of Sital when I got caught with my hand on the belt pouch of the High Lord Kinsin Aubrey. The normal punishment for a first offense would be a month serving in the coal mines but that wasn't enough for Aubrey he bullied has way around until I was sent to the gallows. I was standing on the platform with a rope around my neck waiting for my death when the event that would change my life happened.
"STOP THIS NOW!!!" came a shout from the back of the crowd that had gathered to watch me die. I looked up to an old man with knotted white hair charging forward.
How dare you interrupt this you old bas^.." High Lord Aubrey started to say until the man emerged from the crowd and he realized the old man was wearing the robes of an Arch Magus. While was happening I just stared in shock I had never seen a mage before they seldom came into the slums and Sital was far from the Academy so they seldom visited it at all. The Arch mage and Lord Aubrey were speaking quietly and Aubrey was obviously not happy about what they were saying. After a few minutes Aubrey stocked off towards his manor and the old mage approached me.
"What is your name child?" His voice had a harsh quality to it but it was not unkind.
"Truin" I answered nervously but he just looked expectantly so I added in barely whisper, "Truin Deskar."
I felt ashamed having to say Deskar meaning `the bastard' to someone so important as a mage. He simply smiled which made it almost look like he was some sort of wolf preparing to attack and said, "Don't be ashamed about who you are a mage should never forget that even initiate like you will be."
It took a few seconds for it to sink in what the mage had said, all he could say was, "I cant be a mage Im a thief I can barely even read."
"No you are not a thief now you are an initiate of the Academy and I will teach to read. Now if you are through worrying take that noose off your neck and follow me."
The next month was a daze for me learning to read, write, math, history, and to ride a horse. The mage's name was Keiran Seryt Arch mage of the school of Wizardry and one of the most feared mages in the realm because of his power, demeanor, and the fact that most thought him slightly crazy. By the time we got to the Academy I had showed a lot of progress and was coming to see past the old mans seemly mean exterior. I guess that I thought of him as the father I never had. For the next six years my life was the closest to happy I had ever been. Keiran was my mentor and taught me many things, I became one of the most promising students in the Academy. Keiran had found me because he felt more potential coming from me then he had seen in his lifetime, one hundred and eighty two years. My life was far from happy Jasrin Aubrey the son of the Lord who tried to kill me was a student there and tried to make my life miserable. He eventually figured out from my appearance, not obvious but there if you recognize the signs, that I was gay which was not well accepted. I was an outcast shunned because of who I was and where I came from.
When I turned seventeen I was showing signs of great power both in wizardry and sorcery but had no friends other then Keiran. I had developed well over the years and had piercing ice blue eyes and had a mop of almost shoulder length dirty blond hair that always fell haphazardly around my head often obscuring much of my face. I was thin but not skinny and was just short of average height. Then a new boy arrived his name was Jayden and he was the son of a wealthy merchant in the north. He was sixteen and a half and had the most adorable soft brown eyes and his hair was short with a slight curl to it. He was shorter than me and quite slim and it was obvious to anyone who saw him that he was gay. Unlike me though it didn't seem to bother him he shrugged off the snide comments of fellow classmates. He was always happy and loved life and I became drawn to him. One day I was in the great library studying alone like usual when somebody tapped my shoulder nearly giving me a heart attack. I turned around expecting some students playing a prank on me instead I found myself staring into the most beautiful brown eyes of an angel.
"Hi sorry about startling you I am Jayden."
For moment I was speechless staring at him, then I blushed and responded, "No problem, I`m Truin."
He just smile a sly smile and said, "I know." Which made me blush more. Before I could say anything else he surprised me again by asking, "Is it true what they say about, that you are gay?" He seemed really nervous all of a sudden. I just blushed some more and nodded. He surprised me again by what he did next. He kissed me, not a long kiss or passionate kiss it was more a peck on my lips but it was heaven to me. You guessed it I blushed more (by now I must be glowing red). He looked at me nervously and then giggles at the expression on my face. That was when I surprised both of us by pulling him to me and kissing him. Holding him like this was indescribable and the kiss was beyond imagination even if a little awkward at the start.
That started the happy period of my life my relationship with Jayden became more intense and intimate as time went on. Since we were both out we didn't need to hide any of our feelings for each other in public. We mocked and harassed but it didn't matter anymore we had each other. Keiran even surprised me one day by saying it was about time I found somebody and stopped moping around. For almost a year things seemed to be finally going right for me and then the saddest period of my life begin.
I had only just turned eighteen when I went to see Keiran but he didn't answer the door to his chambers. I snuck in thinking he was busy with an experiment and hoping to watch undetected what I found though was him laying on his desk. At first I thought he was just asleep until I realized he wasn't breathing. I knew he was old, old even for a mage but I never contemplated him dying. If it wasn't for Jayden I don't think I would have survived. I thought things couldn't get any worse I was wrong. It was almost three months after Keiran's death and I was slowly starting to put my life back together with a lot of help from Jayden. One night I was on top of the central tower waiting for Jayden. This was our place the highest point in the whole Academy where we would go to be alone with each other and talk or just think. He was late which was unusual for him I waited for what seemed like hours before I decided to go see what was keeping him. I went down the stairs but when I got to the courtyard it was abuzz with activity. I saw Jasrin Aubrey and he looked sad and guilty and them he saw me his face immediately took on two emotion the first was sympathy and the second was fear. I knew something was wrong I march up to him and demanded to know what was going on. He only shrank away and looked terrified, by then a crowd was gathering and my anger was surfacing. Then Jasrin said something that I couldn't hear and I made him repeat it louder.
He was whimpering as he said, "I'm sorry, I was chasing himit was a joke he was going down the stairs and he tripped. I tried to help him but he wasnt moving. I called for help but they couldn't do anything either. I'm so sorry I didnt mean for anything like this to happen."
Nothing he said seemed to click in my head it couldn't be what I thought he was saying. It was then I looked over and saw four instructors carrying away the lifeless body of the boy I loved. What happened next I can't remember but I found myself lying in Keiran's old room crying. I felt empty and lonely and I embraced those feelings and it was then that I saw Keiran's blood knife (Wizards and clerics use them when they have to perform a ritual or spell that requires their own blood. They are enchanted and magically sharpened.) I reached for it and without any hesitation or regrets and with complete comfort and relaxation drew the knife across both of my wrist. I embraced the approaching darkness and allowed its peace to slip over me.
to be continued....
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like if you have any positive feedback I would love to here it. Send me some feed back on whether this story has the potential that I should continue it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com