Forest of Illusions (The Broken Prism) Read Online Free PDF Page A

would my father have a clan symbol drawn on a piece of fabric hidden away in his house?”
    “Again, I have absolutely no idea, though it does confirm that he was interested in our northern counterparts’ magic at some point before his demise. I had always wondered.”
    “Do you think I can keep it?” Hayden asked. “If it isn’t dangerous, that is.”
    Master Asher arched an eyebrow at him and said, “Why do you want it?”
    “It’s the only thing of my father’s I’ve ever gotten,” he answered truthfully. “I’m trying to learn more about his life, because it seems like the first step in figuring out what happened to me the day he came to my mom’s house.”
    Asher considered him thoughtfully for a moment and said, “Not a bad place to start. You can keep this, but don’t show it to anyone for the time being. If you’re interested in tracing Aleric’s steps, you might consult the library for any books about the northern sorcerers. One of them might have an index of known siglas that may help you identify which clan it came from, though I’m not sure how that will help particularly.”
    “Thanks. I’m not sure what I’ll find, but it’s a good place to start,” Hayden acknowledged. Changing the subject he asked, “What’s going on with the war right now? I kept hearing different things when I was staying with Zane’s family, and we didn’t know what to believe. Oliver’s mom wouldn’t talk to me about it much because I’m not on the Council.”
    Master Asher frowned and said, “Our scouts have reported small numbers of isolated attacks at the Forest of Illusion along the coastline. So far our fighters have been able to repel the attacks.”
    This sounded like good news to Hayden, who couldn’t understand why his mentor looked so grim right now if they were winning.
    “Then what’s wrong?”
    “It doesn’t feel right,” Asher sighed, pacing the room without looking at Hayden. “They have to cross the Yrani Sea to get to our shores, which takes both time and resources. If you were going to take the trouble of outfitting a ship and sailing across the Yrani to invade another continent, would you only send twenty people at a time?”
    Hayden’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “They’re really only sending twenty sorcerers at a time?”
    “The exact number varies with each attack, but always seems ridiculously low to me. In the past they’ve sent hundreds—thousands—of sorcerers to attack us. Unless they’ve gotten dumber as time elapses, I think they’ve changed their game plan and are getting ready to snowball us, though my opinion is not the popular one amongst the Council of Mages.”
    “Why not?”
    Asher stopped pacing long enough to give him a funny look and said, “Aside from the fact that I’m not terribly popular with the Council, they don’t like being told that there’s something wrong when we appear to be winning.”
    Frowning, Hayden aske d, “What do you think the sorcerers are trying to accomplish, if not taking control of the Forest?”
    “Oh, I think they still want control of the Forest of Illusions very badly,” Asher explained, “I’m just not sure what their plan to conquer it entails yet. I’ve glanced at a few of the field reports, and it almost sounds more like they’re sending scouting parties than combatants…perhaps looking for an ideal spot to land their main force?” It wasn’t clear whether the Prism Master was asking himself or Hayden to answer the question. “Many of the others seem confident of a quick victory for us, but perhaps I’m just a pessimist.”
    “Do you think you might get called into battle?”
    Asher looked at him and said, “Perhaps, though it won’t be good sign if that happens.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Training the next generation of mages has always been the highest priority of the magical community, especially the Council of Mages. Our children are our future, so to speak. Without proper training, huge