bigger now than it was before then.”
He looked at me in amazement again, “How big is it now?”
I held my fingers in a circle about twelve to fourteen inches in diameter, “Yours is about two or three inches bigger than mine.”
“And you Pulled as hard as you could?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Hmmm,” he scratched his head as he thought about it. “This definitely gives me a lot to think about. And Kharl was right, there are no Mages who can actually see the Soulstreams. I can see where that would give someone an amazing advantage over the typical Mage. If I were you I would definitely keep that between us.”
“I will.”
“There are a few details we need to go over before going to the Dome. Your pay starts when you sign your papers. You receive $2,000 per month, payable at the end of training, until you are assigned your first post. There is a $2,000 sign on bonus, you receive that immediately after swearing the Oath. Kharl tells me that you swore the Oath years ago. The Oath is binding and the most important part of Soulguard training.”
I had sworn to use my Soulguard training to fight Demons long ago. We use our power to fight Demons, not Humans. It is the foundation that the whole Soulguard is built upon. With the knowledge and power that we gain when we knot our Soulstreams, we could seize control of the world altogether. The Oath is what prevents that from occurring. The Soulguard enforces the Oath. Not even the most powerful Mage could stand up to the whole Soulguard in a circumstance like that.
“Everything is provided for you until your release from the Academy. This is standard for any Mage in training. Once you reach your first post, you receive $3,500 per month. Depending on where you are assigned, there may be some other things you’ll be paid for such as housing and food. If you are in one of the larger stations there is housing already provided. I also need a next of kin to contact in case of emergencies. Kharl and Kyra, I assume?”
“Yeah,” that sounded ominous, but I’ll be fighting Demons so I expect I won’t be dying of old age. Having some money might be nice, though.
“Let’s get down to the Dome, then and you can show me some of this shield work. And we can test your weapon skills as well. Although, considering who trained you, you’re probably better than our weapon trainer. I’ll probably set your weapon training up with Tien Yueh, the Soulguard Weapon-master.”
Chapter 12
The Dome is a huge cavern located on the bottom level of the underground compound. It stretches at least five hundred yards across the bottom and is shaped like a dome. There are hallways leading off in three different directions from the Dome.
Two of them lead to locker rooms and showers, one for the men and one for the women. The other leads outside to where the Soulguard barracks is located.
The whole inside of the Dome is a giant shield with portals at the three hallways. As I looked around, I could see several massive tendrils leading down into the ground. The shield was fed by the Source with no one Pulling the power to do so.
“This is the Dome,” Gregor motioned to the area in front of us, “It took twenty five mages to build the shield that covers the whole area. It’s there so that Mages can use power inside without damaging their surroundings. Any power that hits the shield is absorbed and feeds its strength.”
As I looked around I could see a few Soulguards sparring and at the far end there were several Mages. They looked like they were shooting balls of fire at
He looked at me in amazement again, “How big is it now?”
I held my fingers in a circle about twelve to fourteen inches in diameter, “Yours is about two or three inches bigger than mine.”
“And you Pulled as hard as you could?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Hmmm,” he scratched his head as he thought about it. “This definitely gives me a lot to think about. And Kharl was right, there are no Mages who can actually see the Soulstreams. I can see where that would give someone an amazing advantage over the typical Mage. If I were you I would definitely keep that between us.”
“I will.”
“There are a few details we need to go over before going to the Dome. Your pay starts when you sign your papers. You receive $2,000 per month, payable at the end of training, until you are assigned your first post. There is a $2,000 sign on bonus, you receive that immediately after swearing the Oath. Kharl tells me that you swore the Oath years ago. The Oath is binding and the most important part of Soulguard training.”
I had sworn to use my Soulguard training to fight Demons long ago. We use our power to fight Demons, not Humans. It is the foundation that the whole Soulguard is built upon. With the knowledge and power that we gain when we knot our Soulstreams, we could seize control of the world altogether. The Oath is what prevents that from occurring. The Soulguard enforces the Oath. Not even the most powerful Mage could stand up to the whole Soulguard in a circumstance like that.
“Everything is provided for you until your release from the Academy. This is standard for any Mage in training. Once you reach your first post, you receive $3,500 per month. Depending on where you are assigned, there may be some other things you’ll be paid for such as housing and food. If you are in one of the larger stations there is housing already provided. I also need a next of kin to contact in case of emergencies. Kharl and Kyra, I assume?”
“Yeah,” that sounded ominous, but I’ll be fighting Demons so I expect I won’t be dying of old age. Having some money might be nice, though.
“Let’s get down to the Dome, then and you can show me some of this shield work. And we can test your weapon skills as well. Although, considering who trained you, you’re probably better than our weapon trainer. I’ll probably set your weapon training up with Tien Yueh, the Soulguard Weapon-master.”
Chapter 12
The Dome is a huge cavern located on the bottom level of the underground compound. It stretches at least five hundred yards across the bottom and is shaped like a dome. There are hallways leading off in three different directions from the Dome.
Two of them lead to locker rooms and showers, one for the men and one for the women. The other leads outside to where the Soulguard barracks is located.
The whole inside of the Dome is a giant shield with portals at the three hallways. As I looked around, I could see several massive tendrils leading down into the ground. The shield was fed by the Source with no one Pulling the power to do so.
“This is the Dome,” Gregor motioned to the area in front of us, “It took twenty five mages to build the shield that covers the whole area. It’s there so that Mages can use power inside without damaging their surroundings. Any power that hits the shield is absorbed and feeds its strength.”
As I looked around I could see a few Soulguards sparring and at the far end there were several Mages. They looked like they were shooting balls of fire at
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