The Lost King (A Sneak Peek)

This sneak peek is Chapter 2 of my new draft, in which my main character Alisa undergoes a very special ceremony.

It felt eerie on campus.

Alisa walked from Nixie House, the dorm where she had resided her entire four years at Rimehelm University, following the path that led to the main building. Usually the campus bustled with students rushing to and from classes or spending time on the green, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view of the Avonvista River as it flowed behind the school. Now, though, all the other students had left for the summer. Most of the faculty had left as well, no longer needing to hold office hours or teach classes. Only the head of each house remained behind to watch over the Graduates, who remained on campus to go through the rituals that came with the end of their academic careers.

She paused by the small stone barrier that formed the little plaza outside the library. Alisa had often sat in one of the chairs for a change of scenery, whether she was doing homework or just relaxing. One of her favorite times to go was in the evening so she could watch the sun set behind the main building. The sun made the Avonvista look like it was filled with diamonds rather than water. In a world filled with magic, nothing would ever compare to nature’s greatest spell.

There were many things about Rimehelm University she would miss once she graduated but she believed she would miss this view the most.

Reminding herself that she still had two more days to enjoy the view until graduation, she pushed herself away from the barrier and continued down to the main building. The schedule for her remaining time as a student at Rimehelm University ran through her mind with every step she took.

She was walking to her appointed time to receive her Determination. No one ever spoke about the ceremony beyond the fact that it occurred before graduation and would determine what her magical strength was. Alisa could then use that information to make decisions about her future beyond school – did she continue her education to achieve a more specialized field or did she go straight into a career in a more generalized field? But other than that, she didn’t know how the Determination occurred as a spell was placed on everyone who underwent the process that prevented them from talking about it. It was a precaution to make sure no one tried to manipulate the results.

Alisa guessed that made sense but she wished she knew what was about to happen. Maybe she would’ve been less nervous.

Feeling her stomach churn, she chose not to focus on the mysterious ceremony she was about to experience. Instead, she imagined what would happen once she had received her Determination. She would return to her house and share the good news with her friends, especially Sage. Maybe they would go out to celebrate and enjoy one last night out in Rimehelm.

Even if they didn’t, they would celebrate tomorrow. All the Determinations would be done by the afternoon and then the university would throw a festival to bid farewell to the graduates. No spell prevented people from talking about that and she had heard many stories from her siblings about it. Food and drinks – including alcoholic ones – were available while the graduates played games and rode rides set up on the campus green. The festival lasted until midnight, ending with a fireworks display over the river. It was their last hurrah before entering the real world.

Then the day after that, they would wake up and don their robes before picking up sashes that would correspond to their Determined field. They would all line up and walk down to the campus green one last time for their graduation ceremony. And after receiving their degrees, they would be dismissed one last time and would then leave campus to begin their new lives outside school.

Alisa wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the unknown but seeing as there was no spell to stop time, she had no choice but to do so.

The main building loomed ahead of her and she stopped, taking it in as she had the first time she came to visit her brother Ambrose when he was a student here. Even though it had now been about eight years, it still took her breath away.

Centuries ago, it had been a palace owned by the family that had once ruled their country of Aplaria until the reign of Magnus XII. At that time, magic was only used by those either of royal or noble birth as they were considered the only ones responsible enough to use the gift from the gods for the betterment of Aplaria. The kings and queens communicated directly with the gods and they instructed Magnus to build a school to expand those who were able to use magic. He did as they said and converted one of his castles into the first university.

Students then were invited to enroll at the school and they were trained in magical abilities, allowing the gift to grow and better benefit Aplaria. More and more learned to use magic and it soon became something that belonged to all people, not just the royalty and nobility. The gods gave rules for the next king to impose on the people so that everyone used their magic responsibility regardless of their position in life. Many in the upper class had not been happy about that but there was little they could do.

After all, who were they to defy the gods?

More schools were built and as more people were born with magic, education started younger and younger until they created the system Alisa and her classmates were close to finishing now. It likely wasn’t perfect but it was still good.

Though as she stood in front of the Great Hall, ready to head in for her Determination, Alisa suddenly had doubts. Why hadn’t they come up with a better way to figure out what someone’s magical strengths were in the last few centuries?

Perhaps it was just a case of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

She opened the door and entered the rotunda, a more modern addition to the Great Hall. It had been built over a courtyard that had stood between two buildings that had been separate parts of the castle, connecting the two while also serving as a lobby. Her shoes squeaked on the tiled floor as she entered, a blast of cooled air hitting her face. Beams of sunshine came through the glass ceiling and illuminated patches on the floor as she walked across it. Two staircases flanked her, one leading to the East Wing where there were classrooms and professor offices while the other lead to the West Wing, which mostly held administrative offices.

Portraits of the university’s past presidents hung on the walls in the Rotunda, all painted even after photography was perfected. All were male and had serious expressions in their portraits. It felt as if their eyes followed her as she crossed the room, judging her and already finding her wanting. She tried to tell herself that was just her nerves but she still couldn’t shake the feeling.

A crescent shaped desk sat in the middle of the Rotunda, staffed by a receptionist who smiled as Alisa approached. “Determination?” she asked, her tone warm.

“Yes,” Alisa replied, stopping at the desk. “Is this where I report?”

“This is just where you sign in,” she said, pushing a clipboard toward Alisa. “Sign next to your name and then you will go through that door.”

She pointed to a door at the back of the Rotunda. “There will be a path that will lead you to where you need to go.”

Alisa blinked a few times, certain she had never seen that door during her many visits to the Rotunda. Yet there it was – a regular glass door leading out to what appeared to be a garden. How had she missed that during her last four years at Rimehelm? Was she even more oblivious than her family told her she was?

The receptionist chuckled. “That door only appears for Determination Day. You haven’t missed it, you haven’t been blind and you’re not going crazy.”

Relief filled Alisa as she let out a little laugh. “I guess everyone reacts the same way?”

“Pretty much,” the receptionist replied. She then motioned to the door again. “You better get going. There are a lot of graduates so we are on a tight schedule. You don’t want to hold things up so get going. And good luck.”

Alisa thanked her as she signed next to her name before walking toward the door. She pushed the handle and the door swung open, revealing a perfectly manicured garden. A pathway cut through the green grass, flanked by different bushes and trees. Recalling the warning about being late, she moved forward while marveling at this part of the grounds hidden from students until their last hours at the university.

The path gently sloped downhill and she felt herself naturally lean back to maintain her balance. It also curved, leading toward the river as she heard its waves lapping against the shore. Magic and nature were tied together and many ceremonies involved nature so it didn’t surprise her that the Determination ceremony would take place by the river. Her stomach tightened as the anticipation and nerves grew. Alisa prayed she did not get sick or faint during the ceremony – horror stories like that had been exchanged in whispers over the past few days and she refused to become one.

She took a deep breath and a feeling of calm washed over her. Trees and bushes had now given way to flowers, including lavender and jasmine. She knew their scents alone often calmed people and she imagined they were there to relax graduates right before their Determination. It worked as the knot in her stomach loosened just as the Avonvista River appeared before her, water now aglow with the sun.

As she approached the end, a gazebo appeared on the riverbank. It was white and the Aplarian flag waved at the top – white, green and blue stripes represented the sky, the land and the water with a large silver circle in the middle to symbolize the crystal containing the magic given them by the gods. She licked her lips as she reached the gazebo, finding the head of her house waiting for her.

Professor Aura was one of the more popular professors at Rimehelm University, likely because she was one of the youngest and able to connect better with her students. She showed empathy and kindness to them when needed but could be firm when the situation called for it. Over the years, Alisa saw her be a fair leader who did not rush to judgment or just mete out punishments to everyone rather than determining who deserved them. Her door was always open and she was a source of comfort, guidance and support during the academic year.

Alisa also admired her professor’s sense of style. Today she wore a purple short sleeve dress paired with black heels and her professorial black robes. Her dark curls fell around her shoulders, which was a surprise – she usually pinned one side back with a comb. She also wasn’t wearing any of her jewelry. All students had been told they couldn’t wear any jewelry to their Determination but now Alisa wondered if that applied to the staff as well.

“Hello, Alisa,” Professor Aura said, smiling warmly. “Are you ready for your Determination?”

“Not really,” Alisa replied, rubbing her hands on the skirt she wore. “But I know the longer I put it off, the worse my nerves will get.”

Professor Aura nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Then I guess I’m ready,” she said.

“Okay,” Professor Aura replied. “I need to scan you first to make sure you don’t have any magical objects or have cast any spells in an attempt to manipulate your Determination.”

“Okay,” Alisa replied, holding out her arms and spreading her legs shoulder length apart. She was familiar with this process as all students were scanned before important exams to make sure they weren’t using any spells or objects to cheat. Her skin tingled with a familiar warmth as Professor Aura walked around her, muttering a spell under her breath as she held her right hand with her palm toward Alisa.

Professor Aura completed her circle and lowered her hand as she took a step back, nodding. “Everything checks out. Follow me.”

Alisa walked up the two stairs and stepped into the gazebo. She looked around and saw banners hanging in each opening, each bearing the different types of magic with the color associated with it. There were twelve in total – Alchemy (red), Binding (purple), Conjuring (blue), Divination (yellow), Elementalism (silver), Healing (lavender), Illusion (teal), Nature (green), Potion-making (orange), Rune Master (brown) Seeking (gold) and Shape-shifting (pink) – and in a few minutes, she would know which one would be Determined for her.

Her attention then shifted to the center of the gazebo. A white marble font stood next to a table with needles, gauze and a bottle she recognized as antiseptic on it. The sight made her stomach turn and she wondered if this ceremony was going to be painful. She wished people were allowed to talk about it beforehand so that she could’ve been more prepared for what was about to happen.

Dean Moriarty stood next to the table. She was always a serious woman and the joke around campus was that she was cursed to never be able to smile. Today was no different as she studied Alisa from behind silver glasses, her silver hair streak with the last visages of black pulled into its usual bun. She wore a black dress that also doubled as her professorial robes with their long bell sleeves and purple trimming.

“Please step forward, Ms. Osborne,” she said, sniffing. “We don’t have all day.”

“Maeve, how many times do I have to tell you to be kinder to our graduates? This is a nerve-wracking ceremony to begin with and you never make it any better,” the third person said. Alisa realized it was Eliphas Cane, the president of Rimehlm University.

Dean Moriarty scowled at him but didn’t say anything more. President Cane turned his attention from her to Alisa, his expression softening as he beckoned her forward. He was taller than both women with him and wore elaborate robes, black with red trim that matched the elaborate designs on the robes. As she got closer, she realized it was the school’s seal repeated over and over – an eagle perched on top an oak tree with its wings outstretched. It was certainly impressive and added to the solemnity of the ceremony.

Alisa stopped in front of the font as she tried not to glance at the table next to it. Her stomach churned as she asked: “What now?”

“Now, we will first fill the font with water from the mighty Avonvista River, whose source is the White Mountains, legendary home of the gods who once gave us our magic,” President Cane replied, raising his hands. Professor Aura and Dean Moriarty raised theirs as well.

Together they began chanting in a language that felt both familiar and alien to her. Alisa realized it was Old Aplarian, the language given to the people by the gods after King XXX united all the tribes to create Aplaria. Not many ceremonies still used this ancient language and she felt the air shift around her as they continued their chant. Time stopped and sweet scents filled the air as she felt they were no longer alone. It was as if the gods had been summoned to witness this moment in her life, adding a sense of gravity to the ceremony.

Water bubbled up and filled the font, reflecting the white of the marble and still holding the glow of the sun. Magic had surrounded her for her entire life but she felt as if she was witnessing it for the first time. Perhaps she was about to better appreciate the magic coursing through her once she knew how she was meant to use it.

Once the font filled, the chanting stopped. Lowering his hands, President Cane turned to Dean Moriarty. “Please add the crystal and the Determination mix,” he said.

“A crystal, much like the one that contained the magic given to us by the gods,” Dean Moriarty said, placing a small crystal in the water. It sank to the bottom, resting right in the middle of the basin.

She then picked up a jar and used a silver spoon to scoop up some powder. Holding the spoon over the font, she said: “This is a mixture of sage, parsley and peppermint to aid the Determination spell and keep any negative forces from interfering.”

Dean Moriarty sprinkled the powder over the water rather than dumping it or stirring it in. The particulates floated on top, clouding the water and obscuring the crystal on the bottom.

“Elpsbeth,” President Cane said, addressing Professor Aura. Alisa rarely heard her professors’ first names and so she kept forgetting how much she loved Professor Aura’s. It suited her perfectly.

“Now comes the moment you likely have been dreading since you saw the items on this table,” Professor Aura said, picking up a small piece of gauze and the bottle of antiseptic. “Magic is in our blood. So we must add a few drops of yours to Determine your specialty.”

Alisa swallowed by nodded, instinctively holding out her left hand. Legend said there was a vein that ran from the heart to the tips of those fingers, making the left hand more powerful than the right. There was no proof to support this claim but everyone still used the left hand when they wanted to add extra power to their spells and so she figured the ceremony called for blood from the left hand.

Professor Aura rubbed some antiseptic on Alisa’s middle finger. It felt cool to the touch and the smell of alcohol wafted up from it. Once it was clean, Professor Aura took a needle and looked at Alisa. “It will only hurt for a moment,” she promised.

“Okay,” Alisa said, bracing herself. She had been pricked for many medical tests in the past and knew the anticipation was the worst part. And so she closed her eyes, feeling the sting of the needle a few seconds later. Her body tensed and then relaxed as she opened her eyes again, feeling Professor Aura squeeze her finger to encourage the blood to come out.

A red dot appeared on her finger and Professor Aura gently guided her hand to the basin. “We’re now going to squeeze a few drops in to the water. Two should be good but three will be better,” she said.

“Whatever you need to do,” Alisa said, feeling some pressure as Professor Aura squeezed out the first drop of blood. It landed in the water and dispersed some of the powder still resting on top, creating a beautiful design like the spin art she had once did at a Summer Festival as a child.

Professor Aura managed to get two more drops before placing a fresh piece of gauze on Alisa’s finger. “Hold onto that and then I’ll get a bandage ready for you,” she said.

“Thank you,” Alisa replied, squeezing the gauze to apply pressure. She also raised her hand to help draw the blood away from it now so it could clot faster. “Now what?”

“Now I take over,” President Cane said, raising his hands again. “I will recite the spell that will act with the mixture and crystal to draw your magic from your blood and allow us to see what your Determination outcome will be.”

He again chanted in Old Aplarian, his tone low but even. Professor Aura wrapped a bandage around Alisa’s finger as the water in the font began to change. The blood began to absorb the powder as they swirled together like someone was stirring the water. A soft white glow filled the basin and she believed it was coming from the crystal still resting on the bottom.

As the glow pulsated, it changed colors with each beat in time to the rhythm of President Cane’s chanting. It cycled through all the colors representing the different specialties. Alisa guessed that the colors played a role in the Determination process and she focused on the glow, almost missing the change to the water.

The grayish-red color the water had taken from the mixture of the powder and her blood became white, almost like a bowl of milk set out for a cat. She leaned closer, noticing a little dot appear in the middle. It grew bigger, revealing it was purple. Alisa held her breath, wondering if her Determination would be Conjuring – one of the specialties Sage had said was possible for her.

President Cane’s chanting slowed and she took it as a signal that the ceremony was almost over. She nearly pulled back until she saw the water ripple, leaving behind streaks of blue in the purple. Did that mean her Determination was Binding instead? Or could someone have two specialties?

Before she could ask that question, the water rippled again. Now yellow appeared with the blue and purple colors. Did that mean she was also meant to be a Seeker? Did she get a choice and then someone made a choice for her? Or was she able to choose? If so, which one would she pick?

Flourishing his arms, President Cane stopped chanting and the water in the basin turned black. It startled Alisa and she took a step back, hoping that was just how the ceremony ended. She looked around at the others, hoping their reactions would confirm that. But as she studied their faces, her heart sank.

Professor Aura’s gray eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth as she stared at the black in the basin.

The color drained from President Cane’s face and his lips parted in a silent gasp.

Dean Moriarty trembled as she placed her hand on her stomach like she was about to be sick.

This was not part of the Determination.

Something was clearly very, very wrong.