“I know what you expect of me,” said David, looking around the room, “but I don’t know how I can do it. I’m sorry…” he said, ashamed and averting his eyes from their gaze.
“Do not worry, my boy.” said Orin. He had just walked into the room and had quietly come up behind David, placing his hands on his shoulders in an encouraging way.
“We will find a way to get your powers back. In the meantime, stay positive. Your attitude has more to do with your powers than you might think! Come now, let the kings and generals worry about the defenses. We have our own matters to attend to!” he said, pulling David away from the table.
David got up and said his goodbyes to Erin and the others before following Orin out of the meeting room and down the hall. They made their way down the central stairway and to the second floor Library where Orin sat down at a desk that was piled high with several ancient tomes.
“We’re wasting our time here, Orin. We’ve looked through almost every book in the Library already.” said David, tired of spending day after day pouring over old textbooks that were getting them nowhere.
“Patience, David. You will find that it will only take but one book with one answer to change the course of this war. It is not our responsibility to question when the answer will come, but only to look for it, so that when it does come, our eyes and our minds are open and ready for what it has to tell us!” said Orin in his usual mentoring way.
David respected the old mage, after all, he had proved to be invaluable when it came to helping David unlock his powers the first time, but his incessant desire to look for answers in texts that were nearly as old as he was left David’s head spinning and his eyes heavy.
“Can’t we try looking for answers somewhere else for a day or two and give my eyes a break?” asked David, already feeling his eyelids start to close as he opened the first book Orin handed him titled Hurea: A Brief History.
“No! There is nowhere else that holds the knowledge of the ages, well…nowhere except my mind…” said Orin, chuckling. “But, alas, my mind fails me at the moment – so we must look to the books for our answers of what has passed, so we will know what is to come!”
David let out a sigh and admitted defeat, knowing he would never win this argument – Orin was as stubborn as an ox. Once he had his mind set on something, nothing was going to change it.
David walked over to the corner of the library and plopped down against the wall, resting the open book on his knees, and allowing the light from the outer windows to illuminate the pages.
He began to read a section about the start of the Mystic Wars:
The time had come when the Mystics of Creation could see that they could not sway their brother but would have to take up arms against him in order to stop him from carrying out his plan of destruction and to save the race of Man from extinction.
In the days leading up to the first battles, the Mystics began their campaign of recruiting the various races of the world in their effort to amass an army large enough to defeat the growing darkness of their brother’s creation.
Two Mystics traveled East to the Land of the Immortals where they aimed to convince the Elves of old to come to the aid of Man, while another two traveled to the mines of the Draconian Mountains, just South of Draco’s Pass, to meet with the Dwarves in their emerald halls to enlist their aid in the coming battles.
The final two Mystics of Creation, the eldest brother and sister, stayed with the children of Men, assisting them with their preparations, forging them magical weapons and armor that would protect them in the coming days against the evil of their brother – knowing he would be pouring his heart and soul into his army of demons, giving them weapons of unimaginable horror.
David paused for a moment while he rubbed his eyes, trying to fight away his drowsiness. As interesting as the history of Hurea was, he had been pouring over similar texts for days on end in a futile effort to find the key to defeating the Defiant One and his armies.
He looked over to see Orin pouring over a book of his own, seemingly lost in the pages within. He swore that old man could read from dusk to dawn without a break! He shook his head and renewed his focus back on his book before picking up where he had left off:
With the might of the six Mystics of Creation, along with the combined forces of Men, Elves, and Dwarves, the Mystics felt they were at last prepared to face off against their brother and his army.
When the attack finally came, they discovered they had been woefully unprepared.
Their brother had amassed such a force, that he outnumbered them a hundred to one. He had convinced some of the race of Man to betray their own and pledge themselves to him for the promise of power beyond their imagination – creating an order of dark mages. They possessed terrible black magic and fought alongside his ferocious demons, providing them magical protection and artillery that were cutting down the forces of men by the hundreds.
His army was led by terrible wolf-like beasts with the intelligence of men but the savage strength and ferocity of an animal, striking fear into the hearts of everyone they encountered.
Their armies were outnumbered and out matched, but together they fought bravely on while the Mystics waged war above the battlefield, clashing time and time
