The Rise of the Dawnstar (The Avalonia Chronicles Book 2)

back to this world. After you discovered Morgana was in pursuit of the keys, Silverthorne was to bring you here on your way to Elfi. I only recently got word from him that you had left Eldoren on your own.” He scrunched his eyebrows together as he assessed me. “Although many may think it was a wrong move on your part, I believe it was fate that caused you to flee Neris when you did. And it was the same fate that brought you to me, even without your granduncle. If you hadn’t left that night, you might be rotting in the dungeons along with Silverthorne.”
I nodded, sitting down in the nearest chair. “I may have saved myself by leaving the city, but my family is in trouble because of me and I can’t do anything to help them.” I felt so useless, and doubts about my ability to continue on this path were slowly creeping in.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Aurora, even you. But this is not one of them. The events taking place are not your doing. You are but a pawn in a much larger game you have not begun to understand.” The mastermage went over to his desk. “Destiny is a strange thing—it may shape our fate, but eventually we all have a choice as to how to use the opportunities given to us.”
“But Eldoren has joined hands with Morgana, and it’s all my fault. I should have been there to help them.”
“They are scared, and rightfully so. Morgana and Lucian have the Drakaar working with them. If you’d been there, what could you have done? Even your magic could not have held them off. All you would have achieved was getting yourself killed.”
“I could have fought them. I could have saved Aunt Serena and Erien. And what about Penelope? I don’t know what happened to her.”
“If you had learned to control your fae powers without your amulet, things might have been different,” said the mastermage sternly. “But you have barely scraped the surface of your magic, and there is still so much for you to learn.” He paused. “Silverthorne is safe for now; he may be in the dungeons, but he is still alive. He will never give Morgana the key, and as long as she doesn’t have it, she will not kill him. I have also heard reports that Serena Silverthorne and her son escaped and are not to be found.”
“But they could be anywhere. What if they need help? Someone has to find them.”
“I have my people looking for them.”
“There is something I need to ask you.” I paused to word my question correctly.
“I will answer you the best I can.”
“I have heard Morgana has a secret.” I told him what Lucian had said.
The mastermage shook his head, sitting down in the chair behind his desk, a weariness on his face making him look older than his years. “I do know she has a secret,” he said finally. “And your granduncle was also very eager to find out what it is. Unfortunately, I never discovered what she was hiding.”
“But what if it is something important? It could help us against Morgana. Shouldn’t we at least try to find out what it is?”
“The most important thing for you is to learn to master your fae magic. There is so much more to it you cannot begin to grasp. Going to Elfi should be your first priority.”
He was right, I had to stop being so impatient. I could not do everything at once.
“Can you explain to me why you disobeyed your granduncle’s orders and journeyed out into the world alone?”
I cringed at my stupidity and tried to explain about my mother and the Dagger. “That is the main reason I came here, because I need to ask you about the Dagger of Dragath and how I can get my mother back.” I couldn’t leave without answers.
The mastermage ran his fingers through his messy hair, got up from his chair, and started to pace the room. “I do not have all the answers, I’m afraid. But it is heartening to know Elayna is still alive, and I do believe you are on the right track. After controlling your magic, getting the Dagger out of Morgana’s clutches should be your highest priority. Without it she cannot release Dragath from his prison, even if she opens the Book of Abraxas. Dragath is an ancient being with powers that stretch back through time. He was the one who created the Dagger, and the only way to break his dark curse is with ancient magic.”
“But Uncle Gabriel said ancient magic doesn’t exist anymore.”
“That is the common belief.” He nodded, getting up and walking over to the crowded shelves. He came back with a large, worn leatherbound book. “But what Silverthorne did not tell you is there is still one last piece of ancient magic left in this world.”
“There is?” My eyes widened. There was a way to free my mother, and I had come to the right place.
“Yes.” The mastermage opened the book. “The Vironion Codex and other sacred texts and scrolls over the centuries speak of a weapon that contains the last of the magic of the ancients.”
“A weapon!” It sounded very powerful and a little farfetched. But if there was a way to combat Dragath’s magic, I had to find it. “What is it?”
“It is known as the Dawnstar. This legend has been told many times over in different ages and by different seers. Although this is not the original version but a copy of what is written in the Vironion Codex, it will suit our purpose.”
Flipping through the pages, he ran his fingers over some of the symbols, reading them and muttering to himself. “Ah!” he said, stopping and smoothing the page he was looking for. “Here it is, the legend of the Dawnstar.” He read from the page in front of him. “A weapon of unimaginable power, created from the blood of the ancients. The Dawnstar remains Avalonia’s