Ardette�s mother, Edaine, was always one of the most beautiful women Ardette had ever seen. She had long golden brown hair, flawless alabaster skin, and absolutely stunning green eyes. Ardette was always in awe of how gorgeous her mother was. As she reached the head of the table, Edaine stood to meet her. Ardette literally flung herself into her mother�s arms and embraced her warmly.

�Someone is excited this morning,� Edaine observed gently. �Now what has you so happy?�

�Don�t joke around mother, you know that today�s my fifth birthday,� Ardette said with a warm giggle. �I am now five years old and I am ready to start my training. Now let�s go!�

�Wait a minute, Ardette. I think you should have breakfast first, don�t you?� Edaine gestured to the table of food. Ardette suddenly realized that she was ravenous. She sat down and attacked the food in front of her.

�So impatient,� Ardette�s sister Darienne stated. �At least I wasn�t in such a hurry for training that I missed breakfast. Of course being a year older makes me just a little bit wiser than my younger sister.�

�Now Darienne, be nice,� Edaine gave her a slightly reprimanding look. �Your sister is excited and as I recall you were just as excited when you started training. Now finish your breakfast and start your exercises, while I start with Ardette.�

�Now, my dear, it is time to start your training,� Edaine stated formally. With one statement she had gone from mother to instructor. �Before you actually learn how to channel and form the powers of the priestess, you must learn about the Arts. There are four great Arts in the universe. They are the Natural, Spirit, Will, and Arcaine arts. Each of these Arts have specific qualities that give the possessor wonderful abilities.�

�Mother, what does this have to do with being a priestess?�

�Patience, child, we have to take this one step at a time. Before anyone holds power, they must understand where those powers come from and the limits that have been placed upon them. Now, each user of the Arts has been given a specific name along with their powers. Those who use the natural arts have been given the power over the elements of the world. They can call on water and fire, along with wind and wood. They have power over the stones as well the storms. They have been named mystics, heralds, and sages.�

�What�s the difference between the three? I mean, why would they have different names?�

�Each one is named for how they use their powers. Mystics are very passive with their gifts. They use them only for protection and healing. Mages have learned to use their gifts as weapons. They make very effective soldiers. Sages are the most respected of the three. They use their powers to guide and teach others. They also study the Arts to learn what more can be done with them. It is because of them that we know the limits of the Arts. Have you followed all of this so far?�

�Yes, mother.�

�Good. The Spirit Arts are the most passive of all the Arts, yet they can also a very powerful asset. These Arts are our connection the Spirit Realm. A user of the Spirit Arts can communicate with spirits of the dead, time, the natural world, and magic. Each of these spirits has special gifts and each one can bestow us with their wondrous gifts. Those who use the Arts to summon spirits of the dead are known as necromancers. Users of the Arts that summon spirits of time are psychics, seers, and oracles. Psychics only have sporadic visions of future events without actually knowing what the visions mean or when they will exactly happen. Seers have learned to summon their visions and also derive the meaning of those visions. Oracles have even learned to use their psychic awareness to see events in the past and the present. They have become the most enlightened of the three. Some users of the Spirit Arts summon spirits of the natural world. They have been named diviners and have the ability to find specific items lost, commune with the earth itself, and even heal wounds. The most common use of the Spirit Arts is the Witchcraft. Witches and Warlockes, male witches, summon spirits of magic to infuse their incantations, potions, and even charms with a great amount of power. They are able to do almost anything, provided they can summon a powerful enough spirit. Now, as a priestess, you have been given the great privilege of learning to access both the powers of the Natural and Spirit Arts.�

�That�s all? What about the other two Arts? I thought I would be able to learn all of them.�

�No, dear, the power of the other Arts cannot be taught, one must already have the ability. Although, you will not be learning them, I am going to tell you of them just so you are able to understand their power and how you can co-operate with other users of those Arts to accomplish amazing feats. First of all, the most powerful of all users of the Arts are sorcerers and wizards. They possess the ability of the Will Arts. They are able to bring their will to bear through these Arts and make almost anything possible. Wizards are the weaker of the two. They cannot unleash their power without the use of a conduit. That conduit is normally a staff or a wand. The power in that conduit is nothing more than a boost to raise the wizard�s power enough to unleash his or her will. Sorcerers have enough power to unleash his or her will without a conduit. Last, but certainly not least, are the Arcaine Arts. These arts are the most elusive. They show up in people almost at random. Some people become Arcaine Mages, who can infuse objects and people with power that amplifies their normal abilities. Others become Arcaine Healers, who can heal almost any wound without leaving a scar. Arcaine Warriors are the most formidable because they can infuse power into weapons, which they use to strike at enemies. Lastly, there are the Arcaine Guardians. They can create barriers of pure force that no one can penetrate.�

�Aren�t there any users who can do more than just one thing?�

�No, dear, the powers have been segregated for centuries. Some people think that it was Meric himself who designed it that way.�

�Meric?�

�Yes, child, Meric, he was the vessel through which the Arts first flowed. His children each received a different part of the Arts. He permanently separated the Arts into the four forms we have today. Some think that he also separated the Arts in his eldest daughter, who possessed the Arcaine Arts. They think that Meric felt his daughter was too powerful so he made the separation of those powers as well. But there have been, on occasion, users who have been able to use more than one Arcaine Arts. They are called Enchantresses, mainly because only girls seem to have the ability to combine the Arcaine. In fact, the Dragetorien, the great wand we protect once belonged to a powerful Enchantress and its said that her magical heir will wield it once more.�

�All right, I get it Mother; can we please start training now?�

�Yes dear, we can� Edaine said as she laughed a golden merry laugh. �Now, your first lesson will be in the art of water-working. Repeat after me, Aqueous Bubberum.�

�Aqueous Bubberum.� With these words, a small bubble floated out of the puddle at Ardette�s feet and blew off into the wind.

�Very good, dear, but now lets try to make the bubble bigger.�

Her sister was also progressing at a rapid rate. If anything, Darienne had even better control over the Natural Arts. Every element was completely under her control and most of the time her thought alone was enough to create a huge thunderstorm. Darienne never seemed satisfied with her progress, though. She always wanted to be as powerful as Ardette was in the Spirit Arts but never really looked at her own gifts in the Natural Arts. She seemed obsessed by the fact that she could never summon her visions or see present events. She hated the fact that she could barely communicate with the dead and her location spells were only fifty/fifty. Though she seemed to be just as good as Ardette in witchcraft she still wanted to be more powerful. Darienne would pick fights with Ardette all the time about the silliest things. There seemed to be a major rift between them, a rift that didn�t feel at all natural to Ardette.

One day, shortly after her 18th birthday, Ardette noticed Darienne and Edaine arguing about something. She knew that eavesdropping was rude, but she had never seen her sister and her mother argue so she felt that she needed to know why.

�Mother, there has to be something more you can do!� Darienne was shouting at the top of her lungs.

�I told you, that my training is not the problem. If you feel that you don�t have enough power that�s because you don�t, not because I have neglected your training.� Ardette had never heard her mother speak in so cold a voice.

�Mother, I know there�s more you can teach me. You have more power than you�re letting on! Teach me!�

�No, Darienne, you�re wrong. I don�t know anything more than you do. Now, I don�t want hear any more from you about extra training,� She turned to leave, but stopped as if she remembered something, �Darienne, you are going to soon take over the role as guardian at the Tower. When that happens, you will have to be able to control your emotions. Nothing can come in the way of protecting the power held here. I would suggest that you stop this silly obsession with power, or it will consume you.� Edaine walked out leaving Darienne standing in the hallway with an outraged expression on her face. She then turned and seemed to calm down.

�All right, Ardette, you can stop eavesdropping. Come out here.�

�What is it with your obsession with power?� Ardette asked as she stepped out of the embrasure she was listening in.

�Power is key, Ardette. We have power so we have been given a great status. That status gives us the ability to do great things, but the only way to sustain that status is through power.�

�I don�t believe that Darienne. I think that our status is gained through respect, not power.�

�No our status is gained through fear. People fear us because we have power. Without power, there is no fear, and without fear, there is no status. It all comes down to that, Ardette. We have the power. We are feared. We have status. It�s as simple as that.� Darienne�s eyes had become filled with a hunger, Ardette had never seen before. She walked out of the hall and left Ardette standing there trembling in the memory of those eyes. Something didn�t feel right.

�Don�t worry about it, dear,� Edaine told her when she came with her concerns. �Darienne is just going through a phase. She will outgrow it, and her desire for power will dissipate.�

�Yes, Mother,� Ardette went back to her room, her thoughts quieted but her concerns still buried deep within her heart. She thought about that day many times over the next year as she watched her sister in her last year of training. Darienne�s lust for power had seemed to disappear and with it all of the stress and aggression she held in herself. In the last couple months before her graduation, Ardette and Darienne were closer than ever. Ardette was even regretting saying goodbye to her sister.

In the end of a priestess�s training, the priestess goes out into the world to gain perspective and experience in her powers from the outside world. After a year, she returns to begin her life in the priesthood. For Darienne, that meant returning to take over the family�s role of Guardian over the Dragetorien. Darienne was to protect this wand once she returned from her travels. Ardette felt that she would be the best watch over it and was hoping her time in the outside world would center her and give her strength for this task.

And so, in what only seemed like mere minutes, the months passed by and Darienne had graduated from her training. Her final test was spectacular. She summoned fire and water, which made steam. She then created a great wind to clear the air and raised herself on a pedestal of stone. She created storms and calmed them with great ease. She summoned the dead and located three crystal orbs. She used her visions to see a past event of the previous night. She then displayed her skills in witchcraft by using various potions and incantations to achieve feats varying from changing shape to instantaneously growing a giant oak.

After her graduation came the goodbyes. They were tearful, as can be understood. Edaine was saying goodbye to her oldest daughter and Ardette was saying goodbye to her sister and only friend. As Darienne passed through the gates of the Tower, both Edaine and Ardette had broken into tears. A great emptiness filled the Tower and Ardette, for the first time, felt the absence of her sister. In a sudden, sharp vision, Ardette saw that her sister would never come back the same. This feeling filled her with dread, not knowing how to interpret this horrible omen. She decided not to tell her mother. Edaine had suffered enough for now.

Back