Extinguish by Jason Field

Jason Field

ENG218

Richards, Jim                                               Extinguish 

(Warning: This one is a little Dark)




Pronunciations:
'


Sakran: Suh - crawn



Karlok: Car - lock

A new dawn had just begun. Light flooded over the valley far below as the first beams of morning peaked over the horizon. Around the edges of the sun, the light gave off a crimson hue; which only served as a reminder to Sakran of the blood he still carried on his hands and wrists. He quickly tore a small piece of his cloak and rubbed the incriminating evidence off of his skin. Crushing the permanently stained cloth into a ball, he tossed it as far as he could off the mountain. No doubt they would find the body before they found the cloth, but Sakran still grinned to himself with satisfaction as he watched it fall. He waited until the fabric fell beyond his field of vision, and then spun around to continue on his way through the halls of the Academy.

He paused in front of a large wooden door and pounded deliberately three times on the surface. A deep, resonating voice answered back from inside.

“Enter.”

Sakran pushed on the door and entered the darkened room. The glow of light from outside did little to illuminate his surroundings, but he was able to make out the glowing silhouette of a hooded man, kneeling with his back to the door. All other aspects of the room were covered in a thick shroud. Sakran began walking towards the man.

“Who is it that seeks me?” the figure asked.
“Good morning, Master Karlok.”

Five feet behind Sakran, the door swiftly swung shut on its own accord. The air was stilled between them, and there was a long pause. Finally, the man spoke.

“You're early, boy.”

The words were calm, but Sakran sensed the unspoken question.

“I couldn't sleep.” he lied.

“I see. Would you care to begin now?” Karlok asked.

“Yes, Master.”

The man stood and moved into the shadows, exposing the only source of light in the room. A single candle, placed in a silver mount, rested alone on the floor in front of him.
“Then approach, and sit.” Karlok commanded.

Sakran did as directed and sat, facing the solitary flame.

“Your first task today is a simple one: Extinguish the candle.”

One of his eyebrows twitched upwards slightly. Extinguish the candle? That was it? How typical... Without a second thought, he reached out with his mind and the fire was instantly snuffed out. Darkness consumed the area around him and the whole room became deprived of light.

Somewhere to his right, came the voice, “Now, re-light it.”

What?! This was child's play! Why was Karlok wasting his time with this? Nevertheless, Sakran obeyed, and the space around him was once again illuminated softly by the flickering light.

“Extinguish.”

He had to restrain himself from lashing out in protest.

“Re-light.”

Rolling his eyes, Sakran mentally reached out to the candle again...

But, nothing happened.

Perplexed, he tried again; still nothing. The room continued to remain enveloped in shadows. He frowned and glared into the darkness ahead of him, focusing all his power to light the flame.

“I said, re-light, boy.”

“I'm trying.”

Suddenly, a glow sprang into existence. But, not ahead of him. He turned in confusion to see the same candle, now to his immediate left.

“What-”

“Your mind is not open.” Karlok said, standing near the fire. “You must be prepared for any changes or abrupt shifts in your target. This you must do if you ever want to even attempt the highest level of Psymagic: Mind Control. A person's thoughts are never stationary for long periods of time.”

So, that was his game. He wasn't trying to waste his time after all.

Mind Control...

The most deadly and lethal work of magic ever devised. It was the very reason that Psychic Mages had been strictly forbidden from the Academy. The consequences were claimed to be too great and it was decided that no one should have that much power over another. If either of them were ever discovered to be practicing Psymagic, the punishment would be dire.

“Now, Re-light.”

Sakran pushed out with his mind to all parts of the room, feeling for the candle. Magic always left noticeable traces, and the burnt wick from the magic-induced fire was easy to pinpoint. However, he also sensed several other candles scattered throughout the room. Concentrating as hard as he could, he forced all of his will upon them:

Burn.

The darkness cowered and shrank back as a massive wave of heat and light suddenly filled the length of the entire room. Karlok released a sharp gasp that was clearly audible over the sounds of the flames suddenly crackling to life.

“How-?”

Sakran never heard the rest of his question, as, at that moment, the silence of the entire Academy was penetrated by a single high-pitched scream.

The pitch was higher than anything he could have ever imagined. It was the unmistakable sound of panic, terror, horror... The sound of death.
Someone had found the body.

Karlok's expression rapidly changed from shock, to one of panic. His face began to whiten, as if gradually getting covered in snow. The screams continued to claw at the air, and were soon joined by more voices. Sakran sat patiently, listening to the agonizing sounds rend at the sky. Surely they had found the evidence he had planted, by now...

Almost on cue, the door sailed completely open. It slammed against the wall as two Academy guards marched into the room, swords drawn.

“Master Karlok, you are under arrest. Come with us, now.”

Karlok face paled further to an almost perfect white, and he backed up against the wall. “Wha... what? I've done nothing!” He said, his pitch rising. “What has happened?”

“Surrender to us now, or we'll be forced to subdue you.”

Sakran clicked his tongue patronizingly against the roof of his mouth and shook his head.

“Now, now... this won't do. I was only expecting one guard, not two...”

“What are you-”

Without any sort of warning whatsoever, the second guard lunged forward and plunged his sword through the back of his comrade's heart. The man stared at his attacker in horror as he collapsed to his knees and then toppled over, lifeless, onto the ground. The other guard removed the sword, with an emotionless expression, and then seemed to realize what it was that he had just done.

“There. That's better.” said Sakran, “And now I have a puppet for me to pin my second and third kill of the morning on...”

Karlok cowered back into a corner and gaped up at his student. “You...You did this?!”

Sakran fixed him with a malevolent grin as the fires from around the room reflected from his eyes. He released a malevolent laugh, and his master dropped to his knees in terror.

“You see, Master, I appreciate the pathetic attempt at a Mind Control lesson.... but, as you can see, I already have it mastered.”

With that, the soldier started forward again, his mind once again no longer his own, pointing his sword at Karlok and grinning wickedly.

“Wait!” he protested. “I'm your Master! I taught you what you know! You can't do this to me!!”

“Actually,” Sakran laughed bitterly, “I can.”

“But why me?!”

“Because you're weak... pathetic. You have no idea how long I've waited for this. I didn't have the aptitude for Mind Control. And, I couldn't just kill you myself and then make a run for it; too many suspicions. No, I needed someone to pin the blame on. This guard will do nicely. And, after he's finished with you, he can take his own life with your dagger. It will be the perfect triple crime, and I have you to thank for it.”

Petrified with fear, Karlok could only watch in horror as the mindless soldier raised his sword to strike. Sakran closed his eyes and listened as the screams of those here and elsewhere blended together in unison. He reached out with his mind, and felt as the glowing consciousness of, first his master's, and then the guard's were snuffed out, never to be re-lit. Sakran paused only to extinguish all the candles in the room for one final time, and then turned to go. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving only his first of many victims to come, in perfect darkness.