Read Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) for Free Online

the long walk to the library easier.
    When he finally followed the street paralleling the lake around the emperor’s central spires, the sight of the library formed from one of the great columns was impressive. Designed to inspire awe in the beholder, the stone forming the spire was over two hundred feet across and dotted with windows on the northern face to catch what light it could during the day from the wide cavern opening, though the emperor’s spires cast their shadows across the library as the sun crossed the sky to the south. Eight steps were formed between the natural flows of the stone and led up to an opening between the rocks where two columns worked with glyphs held up an outcropping that was much like a roof over a porch. Unlike a man made roof, this one was rough hewn and more natural in shape, though from the landing in front of the pair of ten foot tall doors one could look up and see the stone was smoothed for the tops of the round columns to hold together flush.
    Large squared tiles lined the landing at the top of the steps leading to the heavy wooden doors with their fancily worked face. Nearly twice the height of most men, the library once more added the feeling of awe trying to make those who approached feel small before the accumulated knowledge of the massive library. The mage had been coming to this library for nearly an entire month. First brought to the huge building by his new teacher and master, Atrouseon, some of the wonder lessened as he made the pilgrimage to the center of knowledge once every day and sometimes more.
    Though the air within the cavern was not overly warm despite the late summer’s day, upon opening a door to let him inside the cool air within enveloped the mage immediately sending a brief chill along his exposed skin. Hands and face warned him as he felt a shiver run down his back. It would take him several minutes to acclimate to the cold, but the even colder stares of the apprentices and wizards he received as he entered the open lounge with dozens of tables and desks spread throughout the room were less likely to become comfortable.
    The younger men were the main culprits, while their elders seemed a little more forgiving or simply refused to acknowledge him. Though there were some women wizards in Ensolus, their numbers were far fewer than in Southwall. They were also less cold perhaps because they too received similar treatment to his own in a male dominated world. Such separations between the two sexes were things that he had come to notice and wonder if there might be an opening for a stronger relationship with such outsiders for him. So far none had approached him, but neither had Palose worked to meet them either. Outsiders tended towards caution when dealing with others. Joining with him could make their fight for recognition harder or maybe they worried that he would push them aside as inferior as so many others had.
    Walking up to the main desk where one of the librarians, who would have been called research wizards in Southwall; Palose drew out a thin, leather bound book. It had been one that Atrouseon had started him on following the basics of fire spells. While there was a little new information, for a mage that had made it up to the rank of falcon, it still held a few new surprises. One thing that it and the handful of other books entrusted to him by his master had begun to change for him was the way a warlock tended to cast their spells. Most had extra gestures or a short incantation to perform to draw out the magic. His use of single word spells would be over unless he could learn to convert the long winded processes like the mizard, Sebastian, had begun to do in Southwall.
    He placed the book in front of the gray haired warlock and said quietly, “Wizard Geerloc, Master Atrouseon has been impressed that I am no beginner. He wants me to see if I can follow him towards one of his specialties. Where are the books on necromancy located? I was hoping to begin