《Modern Mage》


 1. The Cane

    Lights fading, sounds muffled, lungs pressing down and a sudden need to breath more than ever before but there is no air, the disorienting effects of the dimming lights being refracted and the loss of sense ¡°which way is up?¡±


    Everything going dark and the cold setting in, the numbness taking over as things are turning peaceful¡­


    Beep beep beep accompanied the usual bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt of vibration as the phone alarm indicates that it was time to wake up.


    When the nightmares first started they made him jump out of bed when he woke up, disoriented and not knowing where he was but now Alex was used to this. This was his life for the past 8 years every since his 14th birthday. Not a night without the same drowning nightmare.


    In the first few years that it started he did wonder why me, why do I have to suffer this condition. Hi parents took him to all kinds of doctors and healers but all they were told was that this was a very rare illness, a form of Parasomnia nightmare disorder doesn¡¯t really have a cure. There are treatments but they never worked in his case they had no effect which even baffled the doctors, the healers claimed that his chi and spirit was out of balance and all manner of rituals was performed but as time went on it started to seem like this would be something that he would need to live with for the rest of his life and he had made a promise to himself that he wouldn''t let this condition get in the way of his life.


    He got out of bed and made his way into the bathroom to get ready only to remember that it was Friday and he didn¡¯t have any classes today, he only had to meet his best friend Aiden at noon to get started on their class project. After going through his morning routine and having breakfast he decided to kill some time by going though what criteria they need to meet to get the marks from this project.


    That is the kind of person Alex is one who likes to make plans and factor in all possible outcomes so that he would be ready. He needed all the possible marks to pass with 1st class honours and he was gonna get them with this assignment, he already looked into a few antique shops online and had found a few that might have an item interesting enough to do the job.


    Time flies when you do what you love, this little bit of research occupied him enough that he almost missed his time to leave to make it to the bus stop so he had no choice but to run there and despite being so close to the bus stop he almost didn¡¯t make it and all he could think about was thank god that this bus driver is one of the nice ones and didn¡¯t drive off while clearly seeing him running in the side mirror.


    As he arrived Aiden was waiting for him, this must be a sign that today is gonna be a good day as Aiden was always late, ¡°are you feeling good bro?¡±.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± responded Aiden confused.


    ¡°Your early, you are never early for anything that matters¡±


    ¡°My flight was moved forward to this afternoon so our plan is of no use now so I came early to let you know that you pick the object and I be back a week early to get the project done¡± he said with an apologetic smile.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Why did I have to be paired with you¡±


    ¡°Just because you are not going home for Christmas doesn¡¯t mean we all should give up on everything and study, you passing with all the possible marks and me passing with a bare minimum, we both will have the same degree at end, ohh and there comes my Uber. Consider this me win quitting on you, Have a highly jolly Christmas¡±


    ¡°I knew he was gonna pull something like this¡± thought Alex, but deep down he was happy as had full control over this part and he would be the one to choose the antique that they would be researching as god knows Aiden would have picked the first item in the first shop they visited as he had no patience for this kind of things.


    Now alone he walked into the first antique shop on the list and by no means this should have been the first shop he visited if he had done things the way he always did as this wasn¡¯t the closest or furthest shop and not the biggest or smallest so there was no order to this but he didn¡¯t notice this as he always felt drawn to this antique shop whenever he walked by this place for this past few years that he passed here on his commute to university.


    As with all antique shops this shop was also over flooded with junk. Paintings, clocks, chandeliers but what caught his attention was a box of vinyl records but he pushed down the urge of checking them out as he was on another mission and it would take some serious rummaging to find an item with an interesting history to do a research on so he couldn¡¯t waste time on looking at anything else.


    As he walked through the narrow pathways of the shop among these so called antiques he was analyzing every item to see if he could spot anything that might have an actual historical value that might be of use for this assignment. As he was walking through the shop there were a few items that grabbed his attention, there was a Faberge egg a replica for sure of the Cherub with Chariot, there was another replica this one of the painting the concert a Vermeer but the item that would be perfect for his project would be what appeared to be a 15th century Ming dynasty dragon shaped jade.


    ¡°There is no way thats real¡± is what Alex thought, and he would be right this was a 18th century replica of a 15th century jade but even still it would be the perfect item for the assignment. Having made his mind he walked towards the shopkeeper to see if he can get the price down from the ¡ê300 asking price.


    Just when he turned the corner in the pathway he caught a something shining out of the corner of his eye but when he turned to see better nothing was shining but there was canes that were put in a cane holder. Out of the 7 canes the one that drew his attention had a black orb for a handle and for whatever reason when he looked at it he had peace of mind he had never had before like nothing else mattered in this world.


    It was weird and he couldn¡¯t explain it but he felt like he needed this cane if it could help him the way it has now then he would consider it money well spent, and with his mind set he picked up the cane to buy it.


    ¡°How much for this cane?¡± asked Alex trying to keep cool not to let the shopkeeper realize how badly he wanted this cane.


    ¡°¡ê20¡± said the shopkeeper with a flat tone that indicated there is no room for bargaining.


    ¡°How much if we add the jade dragon statue on top?¡± Alex couldn¡¯t help himself, at the end of the day he was living on student finance so if he could save money on anything he would.


    ¡°You buy the dragon for it¡¯s full price and I throw in the cane for free¡± responded the shopkeepers still with the flat tone.


    ¡°Deal¡± Alex snapped happily as he had saved ¡ê20 today.


    After he paid and took the items and walked out of the shop he decided to go for lunch with the ¡ê20 he had just saved and then walk home as he was in no rush to get started on the assignment.


    As human beings almost all of us at one point in our lives have thought ¡°if only I knew¡± and for Alex this moment was today, if only he knew.

 2. The Dream

    Later that Day after having worked on the assignment for a few hours and having thoroughly scrutinized the jade dragon for every detail, it was already late and time to go to bed. As he climbed the bed he picked up his other acquisition of the day, the cane. It didn¡¯t look anything special, not the whole cane but the orb looked so black that if it broke it could cover the whole world in an eternal night.


    After inspecting the cane for a bit Alex was too tired to notice that for some reason he didn¡¯t have the usual dread towards going to sleep, as he lay in bed he drifted off to his first dreamless sleep in eight years. The next morning when he woke up way past his alarm he realized that he didn¡¯t have the usual nightmare. And he felt like he had slept for years, he couldn¡¯t believe it as he sat up in bed he saw the cane leaning against the side of his bed he decided that this cane was his lucky charm and that going forward from this day on this cane shall be a treasured item to him and he thought that it will be funny to pass this down as a family heirloom.


    As the Christmas break had just started he was the only student left within his dormitory and he decided that he will commit his full time to the assignment, days passed and he didn¡¯t have the nightmare even once. At first like anybody who might have bought something new he treated the cane with utmost care and respect but after a few days of getting used to it he started to treat it like the rest of his possession.


    After  one week of owning the cane he had a dream for the first time. ¡°why does it have to be water¡± he thought as he woke up wondering if his lucky item was losing its effect. Last night he had dreamed that he was standing in a lake that was rising slowly and he realized that he prefers dreamless sleep.


    Unsure of what to think as he got up to get out of bed and he accidentally knocked over the cane that was leaning on the side of his bed and it falls on to his other foot with a bang and an excruciating pain flares in his foot.


    ¡°Fuck¡± swore Alex as he held on to his foot and tried to rub his foot to alleviate the pain he was feeling, he was a bit surprised as at the moment of impact he felt that the skin on his feet had broken and there should have been blood everywhere and yet all that was on his foot was big red circle to show that the orb had made clean contact.


    Alex rushed into the bathroom and filled a small tub that he had with cold water and put his foot in, in hope that he could avoid his foot swelling. And after the unlucky start to the day he carried on with the plan for this Christmas break which was to finish the assignment before Aiden was back.


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    To avoid another accident he decided to wedge the cane between the night stand and his bed so that it would be more secure than it was when it was leaning on his bed. Hoping that the nightmare wasn¡¯t back he climbed into the bed.


    As he drifted off this night he didn¡¯t know that his life as he knew it was about to change forever. This night his dream was different there wasn¡¯t any water, he was standing on a flight of stairs leading up to a huge building with the exterior full of pillars and an imposing red double doors that was almost as tall as the building itself.


    Alex being a university student whose major is Heritage and Archaeology thought that this is probably the best dream he has ever had, everything is so vivid full of details and he was looking around to burn this sight to into his mind he spotted markings next to the doors that were up ahead. He climbed the stairs 2 at a time to reach the top so he can see the markings more clearly.


    ¡°This is an ancient language¡± thought Alex Lamenting that they hadn¡¯t covered ancient languages yet so he was unfamiliar with the region or time period the writings might be from and there fore he couldn¡¯t be sure where or when this palace might have been from. His curiosity got the better of him as he walked up to the door to and tried to push it open but it wasn¡¯t going to open.


    As he pulled away from the door Alex turned around to see what else is around as he thought ¡°I can¡¯t push it open¡±. As soon as the word open entered his mind the scraping sound of a heavy door being dragged on the floor entered his ears so with a bit of doubt he turned to see that one side of the red doors opening just enough for him to be able to squeeze into this grand palace looking building.


    After thinking through all the possible outcomes Alex decided to enter the building after all this was his dream and the worst thing that could happen in ones dream is to die and most the time when that happens one wakes up. So having made the resolution to enter he didn¡¯t dilly dally any longer and entered.


    The inside of the hall looked simple with red banners hanging from the walls that depicted a bird drawn in yellow, having made a note of this Alex decided to look for anything else that might be of interest and all he could find was another much smaller red door on the opposite end from where he had entered the hall.


    With nothing else to do he made his way to the smaller red door to carry on as he wanted to explore as much as he could before he inevitably wake up from this wonderful dream of exploring an ancient palace.


    As he reached the door Alex turned to take one final look at the hall to burn the sight and details into his mind and all he could think about was ¡°I really hope this is not one of those dreams that you can¡¯t remember when you wake up¡±.

 3. The Stranger

    What greeted Alex through the smaller doors left him speechless for this appeared to be a throne room, the wall filled with ancient carvings of men hunting, of men kneeling before another who sat upon a throne. The light being cast down upon these carvings from imposing lanterns hanging by long chains from the high ceilings and the bottom of the lanterns filled with patterns that were casting a beautiful Shadow on the marble ground.


    In the center of this room sat the throne from the carvings on an elevated platform with nine steps to climb to reach the throne, on the sides of the nine steps stood nine small lion statues as if to guard the one who would sit up on the throne from all in existence. There was so much more detail in this throne room compared to the hall that preceded it.


    Alex was in awe of this and a part of him wished that he could stay here forever as this throne room felt the most peaceful place he had ever been in dream. Not wanting to squander what little time he might have had left of this dream, he approached the steps to the throne for a better look and realized that at the bottom of the steps the same bird as the one on the banners in the previous hall was made on the marble floor using red and yellow tiles.


    Having made a note of the bird so that he could look it up once he awoke from this dream he climbed the steps to the throne, with each step his heart was beating faster and faster as he couldn¡¯t contain his excitement despite knowing that this is a dream and probably no throne room like this ever existed.


    After reaching the top of the steps what caught Alex¡¯s undivided attention was not the gold ornate throne but the small pedestal in the same design as the buildings tall pillars and what lay on top of the pedestal was the black orb that was the handle of the cane he had bought a week prior, but here the orb rested upon the pedestal.


    ¡°Why is it here?¡± thought Alex as he was confused why something fairly insignificant would appear in his dream.


    ¡°Because that is where the soul stone used to seat¡± came an answer to his question which he didn¡¯t ask aloud.


    Alex panicked not understanding what is going on as he looked in the direction that the sound came from only to realize that there was a man sitting upon the throne that was empty a few moments ago.


    ¡°Relax no one can harm you here¡± said the stranger perceiving Alex¡¯s panic.


    As Alex observed this man he couldn¡¯t help but spot a sword handle on the other side of the throne and unconsciously he took a step back, realizing that the sword had added to the young mans fears with a smile from the stranger the sword disappeared.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Better now?¡± questioned the stranger as he remained seated with a calm smile on his face.


    ¡°Where did the sword go?¡± Alex answered the strangers question with his own.


    ¡°No where, it just ceased to exist¡± responded the stranger.


    ¡°I¡¯m still sleep?¡± probed Alex as he was starting to feel calm again.


    ¡°Yes¡± came the answer to his question. Having heard this Alex calmed down considerably, after realizing that there is really no threat here to him and that he will most likely soon wake up.


    Realizing that the stranger seems to know a lot about what is going on Alex chose to ask ¡°Where is this?¡±.


    ¡°Inside the soul stone¡± Came another response.


    ¡°What¡¯s a soul stone?¡± Alex inquired.


    ¡°You already know, just like you know it¡¯s not important so start asking the important ones¡± another response came from the stranger, short and to the point.


    ¡°Who are  you?¡± Alex was gazing into the strangers eye to see if he might spot any dishonesty.


    ¡°When I was alive I had many titles but it doesn¡¯t matter now, hundreds if not thousands of years should have passed since I was alive¡± responded the stranger with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.


    ¡°If I am still sleep then, this is a dream?¡± Alex asked as he wasn¡¯t sure what this stranger wanted him to ask.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything about where this is or who I am?¡± it was the strangers turn to answer a question with a question.


    ¡°No¡± responded Alex as he felt a bit more confident that this stranger truly meant him no harm if he didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°How did you acquire the soul stone and why is it attached this piece of wood?¡± there was a hint of authority to his tone as if it was his god given right to question others.


    ¡°I acquired this cane last week and I just felt a weird connection to it¡± Alex decided to tell the truth after all this cane had helped him with his sleeping situation.


    ¡°I will stop wasting anymore time as it appears that you truly do not know anything, I will make you an offer and I want you to consider this offer with utmost care and importance as during my lifetime people would have done anything to have this opportunity presented to them and you will only have this opportunity offered to you once¡± The stranger said as he sat up on the throne with a more serious look in his eyes.


    ¡°To start you are one of my families descendants, we were once one of the nine magical families that existed in this world. The members of the nine families are sensitive to the magic that exists in nature, over time each family developed their own way of using this natural power that is all around us. Due to a certain incident my families line of succession was cut off and I believed that was the end of us, but now I see that I was wrong. The opportunity that I am going to offer you is that I would take you as my student and teach you the ways of magic¡± The stranger announced.


    ¡°But before you make your decision you need to consider that there are 3 blood rules that all the mages of our family have adhered to since the very first mage of our family the progenitor, and if you choose to learn the magical arts from me, you too will be bound by these blood rules¡± Continued the stranger with a very stern look.


    ¡°I do not need your answer now, as the sun is rising it is time for you to return to your body. Use this day to think of the opportunity that lies before you, I will expect your answer when you sleep next¡± said the stranger with a smile as Alex sat up in his bed looking around only to realize he had woken up at dawn.