The different stages of the magical Arts have been subject of discussion for centuries among researchers and Mages alike. This book aims to give the reader a rough understanding of each one, although documented knowledge decreases along the higher stages.

Being a Seeker is the starting point of any aspiring Mage. The name comes after the need of the practitioner to find the Inner Landscape, the source of one’s power. Although it is not known why its location seems to differ from Mage to Mage, researchers agree it is not something physical as believed by many pioneers of the field during the early centuries. Once the Inner Landscape is found, the Mage needs to gain access to it. This process is described by many like trying to force a door to open they previously hadn’t known existed.

From The stages of the magical Arts by Fenna Gronveld

After Edgar had finished his tale the three of them shared a moment of silence, thinking about the story and Elusco's fate.

“How lonely he had to be, being all by himself in the woods for years on end,” Hannah remarked.

“Yes. Many believe he went insane somewhere along the way, which I find to be quite believable,” responded Edgar.

The fire had mostly burned down by now. The darkness of the encroaching night was already closing in, surrounding the little clearing they used to spend the night in. One could hardly see farther than a few feet, so they decided to head into the tent they pitched up earlier to rest and continue their trek towards Bryme tomorrow.

Edgar then put a few warding runes around the clearing. These runes would warn them by emitting a bright flash of light, should any predators be either foolish or desperate enough to attack them. Meanwhile, Hannah looked at Silas who still thought about the story. His eyes had a pensive expression as they regarded the dying embers of the fire.

“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” his mother asked him.

“Elusco,” He replied. “He must have been a truly powerful mage.”

“Certainly. But think about it a little more, Silas. He spent his whole life hunting the one thing he hated, with nobody to share his grief with. I don’t think he lived a happy life, and I can’t even imagine all the things he had been through over the years. After all, what reason does one have to achieve power if revenge and hate is the only motivation?” she asked him.

Silas looked at his mother, pondering on her words. He wanted to join the Guild ever since he heard the story about Ignis, the royal fire Mage. Supposedly, he singlehandedly defended the pass to the mountains for days when the barbarians tried to invade Ceraviehl.

Now, for the first time, he asked himself what he wanted to do if he passed the test and became a Seeker. Seeing how her son seemed to consider her words, Hannah went inside the carriage to get their bedrolls. Of course, Silas knew that the majority of people trying to join the Guild were found to lack the talent to begin walking on the path of the magical Arts.

Nevertheless, he asked himself what he would have done if he were as powerful as the Mage in the story. He remembered the gigantic mountains he saw earlier today. What mysteries lay between them? What secrets held the vast marshlands to the west, where the Sadmoru originated from? Did the lost city of the Drakh really exist, buried somewhere in the endless desert?

Silas had heard stories about all of those things from his Father, similar to the one he told them today. Looking down at the remaining embers, Silas’ blue eyes shone with an intensity that would have surprised even his parents.

He made it his intention to tread where no one had been before. To discover the unknown and unravel mysteries people would tell stories about. To be sung about in the taverns, and maybe get a noble title for his efforts. Satisfied, he stood up to help his mother prepare the tent.

Suddenly a bright flash of light came seemingly out of nowhere, startling Silas.

The flash of light was followed by a sharp hissing sound as something sped towards his father, falling to the ground a few feet before him. An audible crack filled the otherwise silent clearing. The rune that created the barrier broke, leaving Edgar unprotected. His eyes widened as he turned around, taking out the offensive rune he always kept on his body.

In front of him lay a barbed arrow. Eyes going wide, Edgar immediately raised his arms to his face when the hissing sound repeated itself. Groaned in pain when the second arrow lodged itself into his left arm, Edgar chose to first warn Hannah and Silas before retaliating.

“Get behind the carriage, both of you!” he roared, trying to make out anything from the shadows hiding the unknown archer. Ignoring the pain, he prepared himself to use the offensive rune in his right hand at a moment’s notice.

A small metal reflection betrayed the position of the archer. Edgar immediately used one of the runes to release an arcane bolt, his right arm raised as he aimed towards the position of the archer. A surprised gasp followed by a dull thud confirmed the hit barely a second later.

The moment the archer fell two more assailants emerged from the woods, running towards Silas’ father with weapons raised. Edgar wasted no time and ran towards the carriage as fast as he could, well aware of the footsteps behind him.

Meanwhile, Hannah ran to her son who looked at the scene with terror. Taking him by the hand and dragging him behind the carriage, she stumbled once before taking a peek at her husband running towards them.

An arrow was embedded in the left arm he used to shield his face with. It pierced the bone and exited on the other side, the blood flowing down his arm like miniature rivers.

A dozen feet behind him were the attackers, a man and a woman in rough leather armor. It seemed to be more clothing than armor. Large bits of it were patched, while other parts were missing entirely.

The man was armed with two axes while the women held a long spear in her left and a small wooden shield in her right hand. Both had a skeletal, but lean appearance. Even if they didn’t stop their pursuit, they still had a wary look in their eyes after witnessing the quick death of their comrade.

Hannah clutched the rune Edgar had given her with frantic desperation, watching her husband approaching and trying to get a clear line of sight to use it. The two attackers came ever closer to the carriage. Hannah suddenly realized both of them were barbarians from the east, with tattoos covering large parts of their skin and even their faces.

Silas kept clutching his mother’s cloak the whole time, too terrified to do anything.

Not being able to use her rune right now Hannah began to search the carriage she and Silas used as cover. They always kept a spear there, somewhere hidden under the seats. She finally found it after a moment of hectic searching, holding it out to Edgar who had almost reached the carriage by now.

The barbarians were just a few feet on his heels. He took it and immediately turned around, blocking the path to his wife and son. The woman with the spear and shield was the first to reach him, using her spear to stab him in the chest.

Edgar barely managed to block the attack, clumsily swinging his own spear to divert the attacking weapon from its sure path to his heart.

Seeing an opening, Hannah quickly stepped forward and used her rune. It released a fist-sized projectile of stone that shot forward with blinding speed, passing straight through the abdomen of the spear-wielding woman.

Knees buckling, she fell to the earth with a grunt, not able to stand up again. Seeing the death of his comrade the remaining barbarian let out a roar of rage and tried to reach Hannah, swinging both of his axes with abandon.

But Edgar moved to block the barbarian’s path.

Intending to abuse the longer reach of the spear Edgar thrust with his right hand to keep the attacker at bay. However, the barbarian easily sidestepped the one-handed thrust. Parting the spear in two with a quick chop, he then swung his other ax across Edgar’s chest.

Silas’ father tried to dodge the swing but was too near to completely evade the attack. He stumbled backward a few steps before losing his balance, falling to the ground. Blood seeped through his coat where the ax had hit him.

With his father lying on the ground and his mother unarmed and helpless the reality of the situation began to sink in with Silas. He desperately tried to come up with something, anything that would save his parents from certain doom.

By now Edgar’s face looked white from all the blood he had lost, his coat stained a deep red. The arrow was still embedded in his left arm, its tip glistening in the dusky light.

Screaming in his impotence Silas’ eyes frantically darted back and forth, searching for a weapon to attack the barbarian with and help his parents.

Ignoring Silas’ scream the ax-wielding barbarian again moved towards Hannah, unbridled hate evident in his eyes. The female barbarian whom Hannah had shot with the rune lay a few feet away. Groaning, the barbarian futilely clutching the hole in her abdomen while she bled out on the ground.

Edgar, who lay a few feet away took the broken end of the spear to prop himself up, trying to stop the attacker from killing his wife and son. Scenes flashed before Edgar’s eyes as he stumbled towards the barbarian. He remembered his first encounter with Hannah and the birth of his son a few years later, filling him with joy.

Clumsily Edgar moved to stab the barbarian with the broken spear he held, already having acknowledged that there was no way he could possibly survive the ordeal.

The barbarian already saw it coming though and simply kicked the feeble Edgar to the ground. He did not even conceiving Edgar as a threat anymore. The barbarian then held both of his axes high, sending them towards Hannah’s neck with a hateful roar. Hannah, who was too close to dodge pushed Silas away while stepping forward at the same time, trying to reach the barbarian’s eyes with her arms.

With a scream born of pure desperation, Hannah used her fingers and nails to claw the barbarian’s eyes out.

She didn’t care about the axes descending towards her neck, promising death. The surprise was obvious on the face of the barbarian. With both axes in his hands, he had no way to protect his eyes except to turn his head.

Both of the weapons hit Hannah’s upper body, her knees buckling under the pressure. But even with both of the barbarian’s axes lodged deeply in her shoulders, Hannah continued to claw at the barbarian’s eyes. Cries of raw pain could be heard from the barbarian.

Hannah finally succumbed to her wounds a few seconds later, her arms still flailing about wildly as she collapses to the ground like a wet sack.

Silas’ whole body started to tremble uncontrollably. Not having been able to tear his eyes away from the grisly scene, Silas' gaze was fixed on the now dead body of his mother. Falling to his knees, his expression was one of sheer disbelief. He crawled over to his fallen mother, taking her head in his hands and gazing into her lifeless eyes.

Clueless about the barbarian a few feet in front of him, Silas kept pleading for his mother to wake up again.

“Run, Silas!” coughed Edgar, who still tried to stand up. But he was simply too weak, his body refusing to obey him.

Although the barbarian could hardly see anything with all the blood in his eyes, he still heard Silas who continued to talk to his now-dead mother.

“Run away, son!” Edgar repeated, louder this time.

Silas looked up and finally broke free of his trance.

The barbarian stood right in front of him.

Bending down to retrieve his axes, the barbarian looked directly into Silas’ eyes. The barbarian’s face was distorted with rage. With his bloody eyes and the two axes in his hands, he made for a truly terrifying image. Instinctively, Silas pulled the dead body of his mother closer to himself. He looked up at the barbarian, still unable to move.

Edgar propped himself up in a final act of defiance, refusing to see his son slaughtered as well. He threw the broken end of the spear towards the barbarian and hit him in the lower back.

The barbarian roared with pain and advanced toward Edgar, cursing in his crude language. Edgar who saw death approaching looked his son into the eyes for one last time.

Opening his mouth, Silas' father uttered his final words.

“Silas, you have to flee,” he managed to say just before the axes fell down, sealing his fate with a sickening crunch of metal against bone.

“Father no!” Silas screeched while looking at the mutilated face of his father, the tall barbarian standing over Edgar like an executioner.

The barbarian then began to scream at Silas, gesturing with one of his axes to his now dead comrade. The female barbarian lay still, a dark puddle of blood having formed itself around the gaping wound in her abdomen. Tears mixed themselves with the blood in his eyes as the barbarian began to walk towards Silas. His face was contorted by pain, the wooden shaft Edgar had thrown sticking out of his back.

Seeing the axes dripping with the blood of his parents Silas began to crawl backward, looking at the carnage with abject horror. He realized both his mother and his father gave their lives to save him. His vision became blurry as he stood up, stumbling away from the barbarian.

He came nearer to the edge of the clearing and the beginning of the woods, the dense trees and long shadows of the forest welcoming him. They seemed to offer him refuge from all the death he just witnessed.

Not intending to let him go, the barbarian ran towards Silas with weapons raised. Taking one last look at the corpses of his parents Silas let out a weak whimper, his throat too hoarse to scream. Turning around, he began to embrace the enticing darkness and fled the scene, the barbarian following a few feet behind him.