God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,2

Hayao said, looking slightly worried.

“Will it be a problem if we practice in the village?” Cass asked trying to make his voice sound worried.

“I do not think so, my lord, but some of our younger clansmen might wish to challenge you. Most of them have never been outside of the village, so you will be an oddity and…” Hayao said, his voice trailing off as he fished for the right words.

“You are afraid that we might accidently hurt one of them or maybe the other way around,” Bren said, finishing Hayao’s statement. “I am sure that we can all act like adults. If we get injured, then it will just show how lacking in skills we are.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Hayao said, bowing slightly. “The young do tend to be a bit temperamental, and I don’t want any problems arising.”

Bren bowed his head back and turned his attention back to the front. They would reach the village tonight. That was good news.

Once they reached the forest, they found it too dense to pass with their horses. Bren didn’t like the idea of leaving them behind but could think of no way except using his magic to rip apart the forest and he didn’t want to go that far just for a little extra convenience.

The forest looked overgrown, and if Hayao had not been leading them, he would have sworn that no other human had passed through it in a century. There were no paths, but as he followed behind Hayao, he started watching him, observing Hayao as he looked closely at the trees they passed. Bren started to look too and began to notice small scratches on the bark of the trees they passed. Had he just seen one, he would have thought it was just a large mammal marking its territory, but as he began to see more and more, he began to understand that it was how Hayao determined he was on the right path.

After more than an hour of walking, they encountered a steep mountain face. Hayao walked along the face of the mountain, letting his fingers run against the cold stone. When he suddenly stopped, Bren and the others looked to the hooded man, who gave them a weak smile as he pushed against the wall, which gave way, swinging open to reveal a dark passage beyond. “Welcome to the village hidden within the rock,” Hayao said, signaling for them to enter the narrow entrance.

As soon as Bren entered the tunnel, he found himself in complete darkness. Without thinking, Bren called a ball of light to float in front of him. He could tell that the tunnel was not natural. The walls were too smooth, and he could see a faint light coming from the far end.

Chapter 2

As the tunnel opened up, Bren let go of his magical light and looked around him. The village was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was almost like something one might see in a dream. The houses were made of wood with thatch roofs, but that was not what caught Bren’s attention. It was the large building that sat in the center of the town.

Hundreds of young boys from the age of five up were sectioned off and training. It looked much the same way that the Katanga trained with the exception that it looked much harsher. Bren could also sense the use of magic in the air, though he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. Letting his senses narrow, Bren looked for any place where the flow of magic was concentrated.

Following a small stream of magical energy, Bren found a small group of older students sitting on the ground meditating. “What are they doing?” Bren asked Hayao, who looked at him with a worried look.

“I am not allowed to talk about things such as that,” Hayao said. “We need to first talk to the village elders and announce our presence.”

Hayao led Bren and the others to the large building. As the doors opened, Bren could sense a feeling of power coming from inside. It wasn’t overpowering but still made him feel tense. The feeling got more pronounced as they moved further in. When the last door opened, Bren found the source of the power.

Behind a large golden-edged desk sat four older men. Though old, Bren could tell that any of the four would be a challenge in a fight. Not only were their bodies well trained, they could also use magic, though the way that