Read Online A Wizard's Tears by Craig Gilbert - Free Book Online

approach in strong, forceful strides. His appearance startled the Norfel. His robe was in rags, he bled through many old wounds. Yet his face seemed cast in stone – a deep, penetrating glare filled with fire and power. Alteus blanched in a sudden fear.
“Stop, and name yourself!” said Alteus, his voice cracking as his nerve faltered.
The sorcerer paid no heed, and carried on walking, his eyes not even looking at Alteus, but beyond, as if he was in some form of trance.
Several Norfel guards appeared, spears in trembling hands, looking to their leader for the command to attack this intruder. Alteus shook his head furiously, ordering the guards to back down. He did not believe the sorcerer could be subdued by their weapons. Again, he attempted to speak. His voice quivered now, the wizard was nearly upon him!
“P-please,” Alteus stammered, “We mean no harm to you. We only seek to protect our village-“
His voice trailed off as the sorcerer walked past him, not even glancing in his direction. Alteus looked in horror at the ground the man walked on: it was burning, grass dying – his very feet ignited the land in abhorrence! Alteus sensed the incredible power and aura around this man, and backed away from him. “Let him pass!” he spoke to his fellows. “Leave him be!”
Nobody argued. All eyes were on the stranger. All faces held frightened awe. Everyone could detect the dark magicks of the one before them. It guaranteed respect. Deep down, each Norfel knew that if they attacked, they would be dead before their body hit the ground.
Lorkayn ignored the scurrying of the creatures before him. They were of no importance. Vergail. The name pierced his mind, wrapped around his soul. The images had coursed through him: a great library, a city made of white and gold marble, a great cathedral with colossal spires arching towards the very stars themselves in their monumental height, and a road – a route to this great city. All these images and details embedded themselves in his brain, and although he did not understand their origin, he knew he must follow the map they had created. They showed him the way to this high priestess, and to his future. He could not deny any of this.
A growl stopped his reveries and brought him back to the forest. What was this? He walked past a lizard man, held captive by a gold chain attached to a statue.
In a rush his mind knew who the statue represented: Untaba, god of survival, the god Vergail herself served! He frowned slightly at his knowledge, and tried to sense the magicks spinning within him that told him all these facts. He snarled in anger and frustration. Something was leading him to this priestess; he was not in any control. This manipulation by an unseen hand irked the sorcerer immensely, but he knew he had to follow. The city and the priestess would have all the answers he sought.
Perhaps, he surmised, this creature would be of some use to him. It was chained by Untaba’s servants. If it was an enemy of the god, Vergail would be pleased to see it brought before her own eyes to inflict her own justice. It would be a gift, from him to her. The thought pleased him.
Lorkayn moved closer to the reptilian, chanting softly to himself. The creature hissed at him, forked tongue lashing out at him in disdain. His spell complete, Lorkayn pointed at the chain. It snapped in two, releasing the Slardinian from his captivity.
The Slardinian’s eyes narrowed, instantly suspicious. The mages of Elrohen feared and hated his kind. Why would this one aid him? Hissing, the lizard man crouched down, tail coiled between his legs like an angry snake, ready to pounce if need arose.
Lorkayn whispered words, casually walking toward the Slardinian. He was unconcerned by the threat before him, as if the reptilian was as harmful to him as soft drizzle was upon his face. Growling, the Slardinian bared its fangs, drool dripping from its vicious canines. It was his final warning to the wizard to stay back.
Alteus