~Resthaven

The Black Magician Trilogy

- By Trudi Canavan

It began at the Purge, where the King ordered magicians to rid of the poor within the city. One slum-girl Sonea, whilst throwing a rock at the outer shield created by the gathered magicians, was first recognised when her rock penetrated the shield and hit a magician, knocking him unconscious. Sonea had magical ability. The Guild hunted her down in search for her. She & her friends thought they wanted to kill her so she ran away, multiple successful attempts at escaping them, until finally, Lord Dannyl caught her, not without a fight, and took her to the Guild where she was consulted, trained, and offered a place at the Guild University.

Lord Rothen, her guardian, taught her Control. It was necessary because her powers grew too fast and were on the verge of destruction of everything within sight, including herself. Sonea felt hostage at the Guild and insisted on not staying with the guild despite the opportunities she may have had, but slowly warmed up to Rothen until Lord Fergun, the magician whose head was hit by Sonea�s rock, captured her friend Ceryni and locked him beneath the university, threatening to kill him if she did not allow him to claim guardianship over her � inevitably attempting to remove her from the Guild. When the plot was discovered, Administrator Lorlen required Sonea to submit to a truth-read where Fergun�s story of deception and betrayal was evidenced. However, Lorlen also found Sonea accidentally witnessing their High Lord (and his closest friend) practising Black Magic. Fergun was sent to the Fort on the border of Sachaka where he was imprisoned. Lorlen, in the truth-read, found Akkarin drawing power from his servant Takan after he looked drenched in blood & spoke of a battle fatiguing him. In an attempt to plan his destruction, Lorlen pleaded with Sonea to change her mind about leaving the Guild (and not having her powers bound) so that he may gather up a sustainable defence against any possible attacks Akkarin may make.

Sonea�s years as a novice were neither enjoyable nor easy. She was tormented by her fellow classmates as she was the only novice outside the Houses. Regin, her arch enemy, especially enjoyed tormenting her. He created rumours of unsolicited favours between Rothen and Sonea. He attacked her in passages where nobody ventures. She finally grew angered when he attempted stunting her education � or rather, any success she may have at defending Kyralia if it came to that. She sought out a public challenge with him, and won very tightly. Regin discontinued tormenting her. Adding sand to the wound, Rothen was removed as guardian of Sonea and Akkarin claimed guardianship over her. The reason behind the change is that Akkarin discovered Lorlen, Rothen, and Sonea�s knowledge of his unlawful practises. He had to keep an eye on all three of them. He made a blood-ring for Lorlen (through which he would be able to sense his thoughts, see everything he sees, and communicate to him without anyone hearing). He disallowed Rothen and Sonea seeing one another.

However, there were pleasant experiences for her as well. Although she hadn�t felt anything more than friendship for Cery, Dorrien, Rothen�s son, had grown very fond of her. Sonea insisted on not starting a relationship with Dorrien because he was far away and she had two years of studying left. She also began bonding with her classmates not after she had become the High Lord�s Favourite, but rather after she had publically defeated Regin in the Arena. However all this in light of her dislike for her guardian prevented her from enjoying the socialism that attaches with bonding. She wanted to ensure he could not threaten any more people than he already had.

One day, Akkarin gave her special reading material for her classes. What she later discovered was that all of it spoke of the other and ancient uses of black magic, all used in a positive light. He wanted to show her that black magic is not entirely evil as the Guild has portrayed. Sonea declared to Akkarin that the material given to her by him was not convincing enough to portray such perceptions in light of the hostages he has claimed. On one night then, Akkarin required Sonea to travel with him to the city where she witnessed a messenger from a foreign non-allied land (Sachaka) being interrogated with harsh methods by Akkarin. The purpose of the visit was to show Sonea the truth, because clearly telling her would be insufficient. He taught her how to read an unwilling mind (lesson of black magic) so that he could show her what he had endured.

Akkarin�s story changed her life forever. He had been enslaved by outlaws of Sachaka, the Ichani, whilst backpacking after he graduated. He had been a source of power by the group�s leader, Davoka, and had been used for many unpleasant acts. On one particular night, he decided to defeat Davoka and release his many slaves. One person, once aware of his intentions, discreetly taught him black magic so that he may defeat him. It was the only way he was sure to win. Upon defeating him, the slaves were freed, but Davoka�s brother, Kariko, sought revenge upon his killer. Takan was a fellow slave of Davoka�s but had decided to remain a friend to Akkarin and follow him to the Guild where he willingly became Akkarin�s servant and confidant.

Eight years later, Akkarin was telling Sonea these tales of his journey. Five years prior to telling her, Akkarin became aware of Kariko�s mission. After Sonea heard his story, she became worried about his welfare and that of Kyralia. Kariko�s mission was not solely based on personal revenge. He planned on taking Imradin for his own as part of soothing past war wounds. Kariko�s gang consisted of very few yet extremely powerful black magicians with many slaves (and thus sources of power). The Guild would never be able to defend itself successfully against them. Thus, Akkarin had tried to kill every spy he had sought and read their mind to see the intentions of their master, Kariko. Time was running out. All this he did outside of the Guild�s knowledge (given that black magic which he had practiced was forbidden and punishable by execution). Kariko knew this and found it a weakness in the Guild�s defence � even more reason to extinguish them, he ventured.

Sonea decided bravely to help Akkarin in whatever way she could, from being Akkarin�s source of power to being his ally. Akkarin initially refused to take advantage of it but through convincing by both Takan and Sonea, he eventually succumbed and taught Sonea black magic so that she could help him.

As the two of them tried to secretly save the city, Lord Jollen and his entire household was murdered and incriminating evidence lead toward Akkarin being the murderer. Thus, Sonea and Akkarin were arrested and at the Hearing, Akkarin explained his story to everyone. Of course, to the Guild and the King, the story sounded woven, fabricated and implausible. The Ichani were unknown amongst most people. But, to be cautious, it was held that Akkarin would be exiled from the Allied Lands � which meant he would be forced to stay in Sachaka, homeland of the Ichani. Sonea�s punishment for being his accomplice was initially less severe due to her impressionability and history. It was held that she could remain in the University on three conditions. That she remain on the grounds at all times. That she never becomes a teacher. That she never takes up a higher-magician�s status and role. She was determined not to stay in the grounds and pretend as though Kyralia (and Akkarin) were not in danger. So she refused the punishment and chose to follow Akkarin. Her reasons were that he might need her as a source of power or ally in saving this country. Their banishment was made in a highly grandeur fashion.

En route to Sachaka, Akkarin refused to talk to Sonea. She has deliberately disobeyed his instructions where she promised she would follow. However, once in Sachaka, the two of them realised that fighting would not ensure survival. Whilst trying to escape the Ichani and survive, Sonea and Akkarin became very close � they became confidants and lovers.

After some time during their banishment, the Ichani announced their invasion into Kyralia triumphantly by destroying the Fort on the Northern Pass through Sachaka. There were over twenty magicians in there at the time, fifteen of which were higher magicians. Only eight Ichani invaded. All the Guild magicians were defeated, and none of the Ichani. It was here that the Guild and the Monarch realised Akkarin spoke the truth � and the extent of their strength, they realised, he had not exaggerated. In defiance of their banishment, Akkarin and Sonea returned to Kyralia and sought to protect Kyralia and defeat the Ichani. However, the Guild and monarch were unaware of this and it had to remain that way. It was discovered that Ichani were easier to defeat separated than together. Thus, by not disclosing their return, the Ichani would approach Kyralia with a less invasive strategy.

By the time the Ichani arrived at Imradin, the city was evacuated. In their progress toward Imradin, several units of magicians were sent out to many cities to try distract and destroy the Ichani. However, their attempts proved, if not futile, ineffective and expensive. At this time, Sonea and Akkarin sought assistance from the Thieves � and therefore Cery who was the headman of negotiations et al. Sonea and Akkarin made blood gems for one another in times of separations. By the time the Ichani reached the Guild, only three Ichani were left. The rest were killed by Sonea, Akkarin, the Thieves/slum-dwellers, and magicians.  However, on the last attempt before they reached the Guild, one of the Ichani took the underground passages and found Sonea. The Ichani sent out a mental image to all magicians of what she saw just before she and Akkarin killed her. They realised their presence was known by all now.

As Sonea and Akkarin approached the gates of the Guild University, the three Ichani arrived amongst them was Kariko. On the roof of the Guild entrance were Lords Balkan, Rothen and Dorrien, witnessing the Ichani approach and Sonea and Akkarin at the entrance. A fight began instantaneously. Sonea and Akkarin focussed their efforts on one Ichani � Kariko. They were weakened by the previous fights. They did not know how to shield one another therefore, to fight one by one proved effective. Eventually, Kariko grew tired of the battle�s formulaic fashion. He withdrew a Sachakan black-magician�s blade and magically seeped it beneath the ground. Sonea and Akkarin�s shield was reinforced in the front and back but lacked strength at the bottle and the top. The blade penetrated their shield, and pierced Akkarin�s chest adjacent to his heart. He was unable to fight, and his wound was clearly fatal. Kariko laughed and whilst he did that, Sonea tried to heal him but Akkarin insisted she finish him off. Akkarin gave her all his power and strength. She defeated Kariko and the three Ichani easily when she combined her strengthened power with her extreme anger for Kariko.

When the Ichani were defeated, she knelt down and found Akkarin dead on the ground. She wept for weeks on end. The guild had recalled their citizens and were summoned to choose new Heads of Academia, an Administrator (as Lorlen died), and a new High Lord. Sonea�s future was contemplated and was decided she would remain with the Guild but with those same restrictions as handed to her at the Hearing. However, she adopted a new role. She became the Healer she had always wanted to become, and held a Healers� house in the slums to help her fellows. Dorrien moved back and worked with her in the new Healers� place. Furthermore, as an unplanned surprise, she was pregnant with Akkarin�s child.

 

Thank you Trudi Canavan for such an adventurous story that kept me on my toes throughout!