Chapter 21

Though wary of the allure of power, he now wanted to delve into the magical arts in order to prepare himself for whatever confrontations awaited him. At least that's what he told himself. He had become bored with the books he had received from Arhyvhynne. In the past, they had proved too rudimentary to help him save Khyrhyelle or adequately defend against the SoulSlayer Ahrokh. There was real power in the pages of The Black Lodge for those willing to make the sacrifice to acquire it. The Path left little room for deviation and usually, the more one embraced the beliefs and methods contained on those pages, the less the distinction became between the user and the used.

And though a part of Uriel noticed his lack of control, still he craved the words of The Black Lodge, telling himself he would master the powerful spells. He was sent here for that very reason: to save Khaballe. And he would save the world through his magic, the magic he would soon wield.

But Uriel had not overcome all his fears. Reason had not totally abandoned him. At least not yet. Though he was dying to experiment with some of the spells and incantations he had read, he was reluctant to do so. On only a few occasions did he dare some minor conjurations.

Uriel's first attempt was to summon darkness. It took him days to secretly scrounge up the ingredients needed to perform the spell. During that time, his apprehension built. He questioned whether he should perform the ritual at all; wondered what would happen should he fail. But something, something that was now a part of him, compelled him to continue. He made his first attempt one night (early morning, really) in his room. As Uriel began the casting, he felt the growing tension and the expending of energy as he had when he performed the renascencies. But when he willed the darkness into being, he experienced unparalleled exhilaration. And though afterwards he was left feeling defiled and disgusted with himself, Uriel recalled the exhilaration that power brought him and focused instead on that.