Free The Tomes Of Magic by Cody J. Sherer

seat at her desk and began to rummage through the drawers.
    “One of the outlying islands is pushing for independence from you, my Queen. They claim that your consorting with dragons will not only lead to your own downfall, but to the downfall of the Gloomvale Isles as well.”
    “Who is their leader?” Janessa asked.
    “You will not be pleased,” Benjamin paused for a moment, afraid of upsetting her, “Your uncle, Sir Tarick.”
    The news hit Janessa like a dagger. She stumbled backward and nearly fell to the floor. The man who had been like a father to her was now completely against her. Benjamin stepped forward to assist her, but she pushed him away. This cannot be happening , she thought as she staggered to the window. Her kingdom lay stretched out before her. The people had always been more than fair to her. They loved her and made it well-known. When her parents had died, more than just her uncle stepped forward to take their place. Ultimately, Sir Tarick and his wife were chosen as her caretakers. Even when she started attending the conclave, they still saw to it that she was well taken care of. She needed to know why he had turned on her so quickly.
    “Let the people know that I will be making a trip. Contact the masters at the conclave, let them know that I will be seeking their council when I return,” she left the window with a renewed vigor.
    “Will that be all, milady?” Benjamin asked.
    “Keep your eyes and ears open, Benjamin. I need to know how my people feel. I’ve been too engrossed in my work. The conclave will be wondering why I haven’t visited. Towns will begin to suspect that I no longer care about them. When I return from speaking to my uncle, I must find assistants. Have Rodric meet me here when I return.”

A Time of Changes
    Emily stood in the middle of the giant room. The room was lined with students from several different groups. At the far end of the hall, Kadegar stood with the rest of the experts. They waited as Emily made her way toward them. It was strange to be at the center of such a ceremony. Rolin had made a point to stay away from such grand ceremonies upon acceptance of a single student. He felt that such things should be saved for more important events. It was, however, standard for him to recognize each student in some way or another. Often times, he would speak about students before or after another important announcement. It would take some getting used to before Emily could truly feel comfortable at the Isle of Magic. She pushed the feeling away and embraced the situation before her. Her father had always had a knack for making things grand and this helped her to remember the good times she shared with him. She looked up to see that Kadegar was preparing to speak to the crowd.
    “Today, we accept another into the fold. Her name is Emily and we’ve placed her in the Royal Wizards. It is our hope that, with our training, she will be able to bring some sense of balance to Canai. I know that many of you worry about the future of our lands, but I assure you that we are doing everything we can to see that things return to normal. We understand that your families are out there, as are some of ours. This makes it even more imperative that we stick together as Wizards. I have sensed that the future will be unsteady, but together we can make it through,” Kadegar gave a big smile when he finished speaking.
    The newly accepted student looked at the Supreme Wizard with much interest. He seemed to look much younger than he was. Emily would have guessed him to be in his forties, but the stories said otherwise. She knew that he was older than even Rolin. It was no surprise that this powerful Wizard looked younger than his age, but the extent of how young he looked gave her pause. Rolin had warned her that there were dangerous paths to lengthening one’s life and she began to wonder if Kadegar would go as far as to use one of them. She looked up at the Supreme Wizard for guidance