《The Awakening: Truth》


 Prologue:

    Standing amidst a pile of dead body''s an old man drenched in the blood of his enemies flicked his bloodied arm towards the ground, expelling blood dripping from his arm.


    Three daggers shot out at the old man, he quickly steeled his leg and kicked the daggers directly back to the perpetrators. He heard three grounds affirming the hits of each dagger. Swiftly he released the stored energy within himself and shot forward with unimaginable speed, appearing face to face with a group of men.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    He swept his hand filled with energy through the air. Three heads responded, falling towards the bloodied ground. Blood spewing from their headless corpses.


    Looking towards the sky the man whispered: ¡°Thalrin I¡¯ll be back...¡± Vanishing into the night the old man disappeared leaving in his wake a thick trail of death.

 Chapter 1:

    ¡°Hey Thalrin come on let''s go, it''s starting soon.¡±


    ¡°Coming,¡± yelling back to his friend Thalrin rushed out the door to greet him.


    ¡°So, you want to check out the arena today?¡± Thalrin asked his friend thoughtfully. His friend looked up and nodded, signaling with a sign of accepting.


    Looking around, the streets were bustling as usual. Today was the last day of their summer and thus most of the kids were making an effort to spend their last day of the summer doing the most fun thing possible.


    Nearing The Colosseum the thunderous roar from the crowd could be heard vibrating through the air. The combatants had most likely just entered the arena by the sound and severity of the crowd''s roar. Looking at each other they started into a sprint. There was a special fight going on today, and from the roar of the crowd, it seemed the fight had been pushed forward and was being held right now.


    Once they reached The Colosseum they ran over to the attendant, Matthew knew him and could get in for free nearly all fights, though they normally wouldn''t get seats of any quality or value.


    ¡°Two tickets for the main stage.¡±


    The man looked towards Matthew, smiled and handed him two tickets. ¡°Have fun guys, and stay out of trouble.¡±


    They both reached out and took their respective tickets for themselves. Looking down at his ticket Thalrin couldn''t help but smile when looking down towards his ticket.


    ¡°Seems we¡¯ve got quite the seats this time.¡± Looking over to a smiling Matthew it seemed that he clearly agreed with Thalrins assessment of the situation.


    [Zone: C]


    [Section: 4]


    [Row: 9]


    [Seat: 86]


    The Colosseum is a circular structure. Extremely large in size there are seats all around a stage, and there are ten stages. nine stages surrounding the Fifth and main stage, normally fights are held on one of ten smaller stages, but today was a special occasion, there were two Full Magister''s fighting today.


    The Colosseum divides up their seating in an effort to simplify the seating. There are zones up to E, and the zones decide where you are in accordance to distance from the fighting stages. Each zone from A to E also decides the quality of the seats, the service available, and also the availability and quantity of seats. Though there are booths, they are frequently reserved for the nobles. Then there are four sections within the zones. The sections don¡¯t really mean much, just where you are around the stage, from one to four, the first section is to the most left and the last section is the most to the right. The first seats from section one and the last seats of section four are right next to each other, it being a circle and all. The rows decide how high or low you are in each section, and the seat number decides your exact seat in which you will be seating.


    Upon reaching their seats they passed many vendors selling food, through the food smelled and looked absolutely delectable, it was overpriced and thus too expensive in comparison to their actual worth.


    Thalrin sat down in his seat and watched as the announcer continued to announce the fight. The two fighters were raising their fists and pumping up the crowd for the upcoming fight. Stalling the fight was the best course of action for fighters, though the crowd hates it. Stalling allows more people to place bets and that means more money to the victor. The champion of each fight gets a small portion of the bets winnings from their fight. They are also able to bet on themselves by using a friend then collect their winnings later. The winnings from their personal bet are respective to how much they bet, as it should be.


    From the red corner stood a tall handsome man caring a longsword. He had sharp features and toned, but not massive muscles clearly a skilled swordsman. On the other side of the stage stood a man in the blue corner shrouded in a black cloak. Not much could be seen from this man, but whenever you caught a glimpse of his face you saw a beaming and dashing smile. The man was carrying two swords unlike the fighter in the red corner.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Looking back towards the announcer he could see he was finishing up his speech for each fighter, telling tales of their overwhelming and immense power. ¡°Now who wants to see a fight?¡± Finishing his announcements of the fight and the fighters he nodded in approval at his job.


    The crowd went wild, as the announcer finished his speech like announcement. A rope fell from the sky and then announcer grabbed ahold of it and was pulled out of the stage towards the announcer''s box. The fighters from both sides held their swords high in the sky hyping up the crowd. The crowd had waited for a respectable amount of time, also in a way thanks to the announcer allowed us to get here in time to watch the fight.


    Within the announcer''s box, the announcer ushered towards the fighters signaling the inevitable beginning of the fight. Each fighter nodded back towards the announcer noting him of their readiness. ¡°Now let the fight begin!¡±


    As soon as the announcer finished his sentence both fighters exploded with a ferocious wave of energy. The aura coming from both fighters was astounding, he had only ever once felt a stronger presence. Waves of energy bounce throughout the stage as both fighters powered up.


    The man shrouded in black was the first to act, he shot forward with his two swords. Stopped in his tracks the other man had blasted several energy blasts at the man. Smoke covered the arena, nothing could be seen as the dust settled. Then two slices of energy came out from the middle of the cloud expelling the dust and showing an unscathed man standing amidst a deep crater. The cloaked man¡¯s two blades were glowing profusely with a dark but vibrant energy. It seems the man had channeled his energy into his blades and sent two slashes of energy out, cutting through everything in its path.


    Leaping to the side the handsome man narrowly avoided the two blades of energy, looking back to see two to see the energy instantly expelled as it touched the end of the protective energy dome, keeping their fights damage to a minimum. Turning his head back to face the cloaked man he was stunned to see him face to face with one of the cloaked man¡¯s swords, reacting purely on instinct the other man¡¯s sword came up instantly parrying the incoming sword. The air around them was blown back and a fierce rush of wind could be felt throughout the arena.


    ¡°So that is the power of a strike from a Full Magister.¡± Gazing intently on the fight Thalrin was intrigued with each contestant''s otherworldly power. Each fighter definitely had the power to face a full legion of 1000 fully armed and trained men.


    As they bounced throughout the air their speed increased as did the power and strength of their strikes and blows. Energy blasts hit everywhere throughout the stage and neither contestant was showing any sign of fatigue or drain. Waves of energy surged throughout the stage as the fighters surpassed their limits and reached new heights of power. Each fighter had everything on the line and they would not give up the fight that easily.


    The handsome man flew backward screeching to a halt just before the edge of the arena, looking to the sky the man could see the cloaked figure in his tattered and torn cloak with several cuts and lacerations across his body, wearing the usual devious smile.


    Tightening his grip on his sword he flew towards the cloaked figure. With blinding speed their swords clashed sending shockwaves that sent large tremors to the stage below, cracking the surface several pieces of the stage started crumbling away from the pressure of their blows.


    Blown back they each held their swords to the sky, collecting an insurmountable amount of energy. The cloaked figure brought down his two pitch black swords now covered in an endless void sending a large ball of pure dark energy at the handsome blond haired competitor.


    Stumbling up from the ground, his eyes were met with a huge ball of pure dark energy at him. ¡°I didn''t think I would need to resort to this.¡± Picking up his sword from the ground his body started to glow with a bright white light, ¡°I will cut through your endless darkness with the light and power of all those I love!¡± Shooting forward with even greater force than before, he clashed with the ball. *BOOM*


    Covering my ringing ears I writhed on my chair in agony. Slowly gaining my composure back I looked to the stage. Watching the dust settle I saw the handsome man in the wall of the other side of the arena. Clothes torn and missing an arm, a leg that was being held to his body by mear strands of muscle and tendons, as well as multiple lacerations strewn about on his body. Eyes wide I looked to the cloaked figure, holding the other man''s arm with the sword still clenched in its dead grasp. Standing in a puddle of the handsome man''s blood the cloaked figure dropped the arm to the ground and walked off the stage.


    Looking around everyone in the arena were in complete shock at complete disarray after what had transpired. Upon viewing the crowd closer, more than 3/4ths of the stadium had fallen unconscious. Looking to Matthew, Thalrin was surprised to see him passed out in his seat as well.


    Looking to Matthew with fear in his voice Thalrin tried to wake him from his unconscious state. ¡°Hey, Matthew wake up the fights over!¡±


    Shaking his head in complete confusion, Matthew looked to a fearful get happy Thalrin.


    ¡°Jesus dude, I¡¯m so glad you''re ok.¡± Thalrin pleaded with tears in his eyes and a huge smile spread across his face.


    Looking towards the stage Matthew''s eyes rested on the handsome man''s unconscious body lying in critical condition wavering from life and death. Four low-class healers rushed out, quickly getting to work they gathered their energy and proceeded to mend his arms and legs back onto his body, reforming his body back to working condition.

 Chapter 2:

    It had been weeks since the fight at The Colosseum. Throughout the town, the rumors spread like a wildfire. ¡®The Cloaked Devil¡¯, that''s what they were calling him.


    The blonde haired fighter had been restored back to health and he left the city soon after, his pride shattered he had no reason to stay.


    This week my parents are supposed to be back, so I will have to make an effort to come back over the weekend to great them. They haven''t been home for nearly three years. Tending to go on especially long business trips and coming back years later. They work for a traveling caravan that goes through major cities selling trinkets and valuables of all varieties and sorts.


    My parents found me outside their door on a rainy night and took me in. They have always said I was a miracle since my mother was infertile and couldn''t birth a child. After my parents found out I could use mana they were ecstatic with joy, they rounded up all the money they could muster to get me into the ¡°Roland Academy¡±.


    Most people in the world can''t use mana. Being pretty close to impossible for a commoner child to be born with mana. From the evaluations of famous mathematicians, they concluded that. There is nearly a one in a billion chance, for a commoner to be born with mana.


    There has only been one case of a commoner being born with magic. A legend from a millennia ago, a boy was born with large stores of magic, even in competing with distinguished noble families. Though, the boy was murdered by some jealous nobles on his twelfth birthday.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Most nobles don¡¯t even awaken their magic. There have been a multitude of cases where a  distinguished magic family births children having no mana or, mana stores so minuscule they are never able to use their magic. Nobles born without any magic potential are frequently ridiculed for their worthlessness by their family and friends. In this world where power is everything. Most commoners are stuck in an endless loop of absolute worthlessness.


    From outside my window, I could hear Matthew, ¡°Hey Thalrin get out here, I want to get there early.¡±


    Rubbing my eyes I leaped off my bed walking over to my closet I slipped into my uniform I had hanged up and prepared for the morning. Walking downstairs I slipped my feet into my shoes and laced them carefully and meticulously, making sure everything seemed perfect. Finally, once I reached the door I grab my cloak resting on the coat hanger. Swinging my cloak across my body, letting it sink over my shoulders, pulling down the hood and opened the door to embrace the world.


    Looking out the door I could see Matthew standing in front of the usual carriage sent by the headmaster to pick me up for school whenever I went back home.


    Face shining with happiness and excitement. Matthew was clearly excited for his first day at the academy, though I could tell he was also nervous.


    Walking into the carriage Matthew looked back to me asking, ¡°So are you ready to head out?¡±


    Nodding my head signaling ¡®yes¡¯ I climbed into the backseat of the carriage sitting down next to Matthew. Looking back at us the driver of the extravagant carriage shook his reigns and the carriage started to move. Exiting the city we came to rural streets and I shut my eyes trying to get some sleep before the commotion yet to come.

 Chapter 3:

    Soon the academy was in their sights, Thalrin looked over to gauge his friend''s reaction. At first, Matthew seemed excited for his first day at the academy. But over time as they neared the academy, it became more and more apparent that Matthew was filled with a multitude of emotions, excitement, wonder, and most distinguished, fear. Though Thalrin understood Matthews fear.


    Matthew was the child of a small deceased noble family which had lost all their power after the 100-year holy war. Their family was extremely lucky for Matthew to be born with mana. Though at school getting in wasn''t enough to gain the other students and teachers respect. Most of the kids thought it was a disgrace to have commoners in the same halls as them. This would result in a lot of predicaments within the academy, hopefully, we can make some friends.


    To add to all the insults and devious stares at school we would get. There was also quite the reputation to my name. Being the youngest kid ever to get into the school. When my family had first brought me to the academy I was only 6 years old. My exam results gained so much attention it eventually reached the headmaster who was astonished by my performance. He soon contacted my family and scheduled a one on one meeting with me.


    After the meeting he disregarded the recommendations from the teachers and staff and provided me with a full ride scholarship, providing for my first class, housing, classes, food, and anything else I could need or wanted.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    After my first year at the academy, I had progressed past all their advanced and was now just taking advantage of my position and was taking all the advanced classes I could fit into my schedule just to progress my mana control and various other mana based special abilities.


    Most of the teachers know about my situation and normally allow me to self-study, and experiment during class. This year would be my eight years at the academy, and this year the school was getting a fresh stock of children, most of the academy''s seniors and juniors had either graduated or dropped out.


    This year Matthew turned sixteen and was accepted into the academy. Under normal circumstances, the academy accepts young aspiring mages showing a great enough affinity over mana. Universally children awaken their mana around their sixteenth birthday. Though there have been a couple cases of mages awakening before sixteen, for example. My parents have said that since they found me I have always radiated a strong aura of mana. Near three I gained control over my mana and was able to contain it. Awakening before sixteen is normally a sign that the mage of question has an exceptional affinity for magic.


    ¡°Hey, Thalrin we¡¯re almost there.¡±


    Looking over to Matthew I could see most of his fear and nervousness had left and was replaced with excitement and wonder.


    Waking up from my daydream I looked out the window to see the familiar academy I had to spend eight years of my life attending. A multitude of emotions flooded my body, ¡®please just don¡¯t die¡¯ I thought to myself.