Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

Lost Tales of Power:

Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

Published by Vincent Trigili

Copyright 2012 Vincent Trigili

Cover Art by Lynz

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Editors:

Kristi Trigili

Elaine Kennedy

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ISBN: 978-1-3013-5761-1

EBook Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Lost Tales of Power is a collection of novels that describe an immense persistent multiverse. The books are a mixture of standalone and miniseries all set in the same universe with overlapping and intertwining story lines. While the books are a mixture of classic science fiction and pure fantasy, some effort is being made to keep the books in the realm of the possible, or at least theoretically possible given some basic assumptions.

Lost Tales of Power Series:

Volume I - The Enemy of an Enemy

Volume II - The Academy

Volume III - Rise of Shadows

Volume IV - Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

Volume V - The Sac’a’rith

Volume VI – Spectra’s Gambit

Volume VII – The Sac’a’rith: Rebirth

Volume VIII and beyond - TBA

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I hope you find as much enjoyment in reading these stories as I had living them. If you enjoy the books, please post a review and spread the word about them. As an independent author, word of mouth is the only marketing I can afford. Thanks!

IE = Imperial Era (similar to BC, counts backwards)

EM = Era of Magic

12/01/01 IE – Enemy of an Enemy starts

01/20/02 EM – Enemy of an Enemy ends

02/01/02 EM – The Academy starts

08/30/42 EM – The Academy ends

05/15/55 EM – Rise of Shadows starts

12/30/58 EM – Rise of Shadows ends

01/31/59 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness starts

03/15/59 EM – The Sac’a’rith starts

08/11/62 EM – Spectra’s Gambit starts

10/31/62 EM – The Sac’a’rith ends

01/25/63 EM – Resurgence of Ancient Darkness ends

02/01/64 EM – Sac’a’rith: Rebirth starts

08/25/64 EM – Sac’a’rith: Rebirth ends

01/01/65 EM – Spectra’s Gambit ends

While I waited for Mantis to pay his regular visit to my study, I reflected back on how I had come to be where I was. It seemed many lifetimes since I was serving on the Dragon Claw and trying to impress my fellow command officers in a desperate attempt to prove worthy of my promotion. Back then I used to believe the Emperor was a god and that he came from a long line of gods. I could not have been more naïve.

However, that was long ago, and I was now a very different man. I surpassed the Emperor, and indeed the entire Empire, in power and sat dangerously on the precipice of declaring myself a god. It might have happened too, as there was none who could match me in power. I was truly godlike in my ability to command the raw energies that make up reality as we know it.

I rested my hand on the one thing that stopped me and quite likely saved the entire realm from destruction at my hands. I picked up my father’s old book and turned to the front page. On that was a note Kellyn had penned decades ago. It said, “My Dearest Love, in these pages you will find real truth and meaning and finally be set free from that which threatens to destroy you.”

Before I could think more on that, I felt the energy build up that I recognized as Mantis traveling to my realm. I turned and faced where I knew he would appear moments before he did.

“Greetings, Grandmaster,” he said.

“Hello, old friend,” I said. “Please have a seat. I have some spiced mead warmed up and waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile as he took his seat. “I have seen your reports on Operation Show of Force. It seems congratulations are in order.”

“Perhaps, but it is somewhat bittersweet,” I said.

“How so? It was a success, was it not?” he asked.

“Oh, in some ways,” I replied.

“Grandmaster, it pushed the Korshalemian sorcerers out of your realm, broke the back of the pirates, and gained you a mundane navy. That sounds like a wonderful success to me,” he said.

“Yes, and it revealed that we have our own sorcerers to worry about,” I said.

Mantis took a deep pull from his spiced mead. “True, it puts us into the four-way stalemate we had hoped to avoid: two groups of sorcerers and two groups of wizards.”

“If that were only the case, I would be overjoyed. Sorcerers I can handle. For all their darkness, at some level they want order, which limits them. No, things are far worse,” I said.

“I know the Korshalemian council has been very concerned about something. I assume this is related?” he asked.

“No, I have not spoken with them in a long time. They have come to fear my realm greatly,” I said.

“Ah, yes. They see what we all see: sooner or later your technology will make its way into Korshalemia and destroy our culture,” he said.

“Yes, and what they fail to realize is that it is already too late to stop it,” I told him.

Mantis leaned back in his chair and sipped on his mead. He had an aura about him that never seemed to be quite at rest, no matter how calm and relaxed he was. The magic that was wrapped around him constantly jumped and danced. It was as if he was just barely in control of his powers, but nothing about his voice or physical appearance ever betrayed that.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“The Korshalemian sorcerers. They already know our technology and have brought that knowledge back to your realm. It is only a matter of time now before they realize they can use it to build an army of mundanes that can defeat anyone in your realm. When that time comes, the Korshalemian council will blame me, and our alliance will probably end,” I said.

“I would not allow that to happen,” he answered.

“You are not exactly well-trusted either, Mantis.” I had learned over the years that the council feared him more than any other magus alive. I did not know why, as I could never imagine him being anything other than a trusted ally and friend.

He laughed at that and took a drink. “What is it, then, that has you so worried?”

I refilled his mead from a pitcher I had been keeping on a warmer. “A fresh shadow has fallen over the realm, and we are on the verge of a new era of darkness.” After pouring his drink, I walked over to the counter where I had left my coffee. Since it had cooled down since I had last held it, I used my power to warm it back up to its proper temperature.

“You mean a new grandmaster sorcerer for Vydoria?” asked Mantis.

“I suspect that one has already arisen, but no. It is something darker. There is a shadow over my entire realm, yet I cannot directly see it. It is there, just out of sight. It is as if it can only been seen when you are not looking right at it, but it is there, and it is growing,” I said.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I do not know. Only Shadow and the other spellweavers can sense it, but none of us likes to speak of it,” I said.

He sat there for a while just looking at me, lost in thought. I slowly sipped my coffee in silence, as I really had no desire to say much more about the topic. I did not even like thinking about it.

“Were you ever able to verify Darius’s research?” asked Mantis.

“Some of it, enough to know that he was right in his belief that this is magic’s second life here,” I said and returned to my seat. “Everything is changing now that Shadow has healed reality, and we are a long way off from seeing the end result.”

“I can imagine so. The weave itself is still a bit erratic, but it is definitely stabilizing. This is likely to mean some changes to what you think you know about the nature of this realm,” he said.

“We have already seen some: the basic powers have become weaker, and many spells have had changes to their range and impact. It is just difficult to predict the extent of the changes,” I said.

We talked for a while after that, never once returning to the subject of the darkness that had come upon Vydoria, and for that I was glad. I knew that one day I would have to face that darkness head-on, but for the moment I preferred to bask in the light.

Soon I would be meeting with Shadow to debrief him from Operation Show of Force; while it had been a great success, I saw war coming. Those nations which had been set up to take over on the failure of the Empire were faltering. All around the galaxy, tribes and consortiums were rising up to stake their claim.

As Master Shadow and I approached the entrance to Grandmaster Vydor’s office, Master Shadow said, “I am proud of you, Dusty. You did very well out there.”

I did not respond, but I was glad to hear him say that. At that moment, my mind was focused on this meeting with Grandmaster Vydor. I had only seen him from afar, and I really did not know what to expect. Figures of authority had never taken to me, at least until I met Master Shadow. He was different somehow; I was not sure why, but he genuinely seemed to care about me and want to help me succeed.

I had little chance to think on that because the door to Grandmaster Vydor’s office opened as we approached, and I could see him waiting for us. In the room with him were Master Mantis, Master Mathorn and Master Kellyn. They stood as we approached, and Master Kellyn called out, “Hi! Come in!”

Master Shadow smiled and greeted everyone. I did my best not to say anything at all while they got the pleasantries out of the way. I found a chair to sink into and tried not to be noticed. However, Master Mantis noticed, and he winked at me.

Once everyone was settled in, Grandmaster Vydor said, “Shadow and Dusty, first let me offer my congratulations on a very successful mission. You certainly proved that we can build a vocational arm of our school while having a positive impact on our region of space. Now, I have some news to share with you. The president of Aleeryon contacted us while you were fighting at the station; he said that the nation was about to go bankrupt. Apparently they bought all those stealth bombers and supplies purely on credit, and now the private investors are threatening to take control of all government assets, including their navy.”

Master Shadow called out, “That is ridiculous!”

“Rest easy, Shadow; I have no intention of letting that happen,” said Grandmaster Vydor. “What we are seeing happen here in our region is being played out all over the galaxy. The power structures of the mundane nations are shifting into massive consortiums. Tribal groups are countering this to some extent, but it is questionable if that is better or worse. I do not want to see our region fall in the same way, so we have agreed to pay off the Aleeryon government’s debt, and we are in the process of absorbing them into our nation.”

“Grandmaster, with all due respect, I thought we were not going to get involved in local politics,” commented Master Shadow.

“After much debate, the Council has decided that our realm and our current situation have altered to such an extent that we are justified in changing some of the original rules set up under Mantis,” responded Grandmaster Vydor. “This means that we now have borders to defend and citizens to protect, which will affect our ability to stay neutral; but the time for neutrality has passed. We must build up our forces quickly, far more so than our previous path would have allowed. Absorbing the Aleeryon nation gives us a mundane navy; supplemented by even a small number of our wizards, this will be more than sufficient to keep peace in this region of space and buy us the time we need to grow our forces.

“Alpha Academy will remain a training center for wizards; but you, Shadow, will lead the Battle Wizards as our military branch. The Academy will focus on research and development while your forces will focus on battle tactics and integrating our technology with our magic.”

He paused there, got up, and walked over to a counter where he had some drinks set up. “You must understand that we are only now starting to comprehend what it means to be wizards in our realm. We have discovered that the rules that work in Korshalemia do not work well here. We have to forge our own way now. Those rules have served their purpose, which was to help us learn to walk. The reality we face is that chaos has broken out around us, and we will continue to become more and more involved. This move gives us control of how that happens instead of merely reacting to events. In any case, we have not seen the end of the changes that are coming. Reality itself is in flux; the very laws of the universe are no longer stable. The future is as uncertain as it can get at this time.”