Heir to the Sundered Crown by Matthew Olney

light flitted and flew among the rafters in a rainbow of colours. The balls of magic were said to have been cast by Zahnia himself a thousand years ago as a test of his power. The mage lights had lasted for a millennia attesting to the long dead wizards connection to the power. Others said that the lights were simply created early every morning by the Masters as they warmed up for the day ahead. If it was them, then they kept it a closely guarded secret.
    A month had passed before the trial had finally been confirmed by the council of masters. With the war raging in the outside world the masters had been kept exceptionally busy tending to the city’s needs. Remaining a neutral party was proving hard, as each of the claimants were pressing to enlist the power of the mages to their cause.
    Luxon stood on a raised platform facing a long crystal table. Sat behind it, grim faced and serious were five of the city’s masters. Each was the leader of their specific school.
    To the far right was Master Dufran the head of Illusion. His bald head was tattooed in a plethora of mystical looking patterns; his piercing green eyes regarded Luxon with amused interest. 
    Sat at his side was Master Fy’odo, the Master of the school of Alteration. His big bushy black beard and raggedy hair virtually hid all of his features; only his small grey eyes could be seen poking through the hair.
    On the far left sat Master Enil of the school of healing. He gave Luxon a reassuring smile. For a master, Enil was remarkably young perhaps no older than thirty at the most. His head of red hair mixed strangely with his yellowish eyes.
    Luxon nodded to the master thankful to have a potential ally on the judging panel. Hannah had told him that Enil had taken a keen interest in him. When he asked why, Hannah had shrugged her shoulders, but something in her eyes made Luxon curious.
    Sat next to Enil was Master Kvar, the master of transmutation. The man had a reputation for being slightly mad and Luxon understood why. Kvar was the skinniest man he had ever seen, the masters robes hung loosely about his body. Under a head of long unkempt white hair Kvar’s eyes were always darting around as though he was looking for something. It was said that transmutation often had a strong impact on the casters mind; after all turning things into something else required a huge mental strain.
    The centre seat was empty and reserved for the Grandmaster.
    Luxon looked over his shoulder to see Hannah, Yepert and to his surprise master Ri’ges sat in the small gathering of folk who had come to watch the proceedings. Yepert looked petrified but Hannah gave him a reassuring smile.
    Luxon twiddled his thumbs nervously. Aside from himself and the masters the hall was filling up with other mages and to his surprise even a couple of Nightblades. His nerves were threatening to get the better of him, he itched to run away, but that thought was immediately quashed as he heard the heavy metal doors to the chamber close with a loud thud. He turned in his seat to see Thanos, the grandmaster stride towards the Masters table.
    Thanos looked remarkably young for the title that he held, no older than forty at most but as with all things magic not everything was at it seemed. The Grandmaster was tall and strong with a head of thinning black hair; his serious eyes were a bright blue as though magic flowed through them. Thanos stepped up onto the raised platform and raised his arms to signal that the hearing was about to start. Those in the small crowd stopped their whispering, their eyes all focusing on Luxon and the masters.
    Thanos spoke in a clear assertive voice; he pointed a finger at Luxon who shrank back under the grandmaster’s gaze.
    “We are gathered here in the tower of judgement to determine whether this student is guilty of committing the serious crime of attempted murder’ the crowd murmured at that, ‘and the crime of uncontrolled use of magic.”
    Thanos sat in the centre chair,