Gabriel's dreams E-Book

Samuel Kraus

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 338

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Gabriel's greatest dream has always been to become a magician himself and to dive into the worlds he has invented. Then the incredible happens: suddenly a portal to these fantasy worlds appears in front of him, and Gabriel passes through it full of curiosity. But he has no idea that these fantastic worlds are anything but benevolent towards him. When it finally turns out that there is no easy way out, he realizes: his dearest dream turns out to be more and more like the worst nightmare. Because this world is home not only to the Order of the Anti-Mages, who are on a merciless quest for revenge, but also to a monstrous villain whose primary goal is to kill Gabriel – no matter the cost...

Leseprobe

Part 1: Lightning heroes

Prologue

It was a warm spring day. The sun was shining down from the sky, creating a pleasant warmth on the skin. Gabriel stood in the playground of the elementary school and watched the young pupils play. A faint smile flitted across his face. Yes, his work placement here had been very unpleasant for him at first. A necessary evil if you wanted to go to a college of further education. But now he was enjoying his work at the other school to the full. It was fun talking to the children, sometimes even giving them extra knowledge and helping them with everyday school life. But the other work here was also very varied, so it never got boring, even if the internship was often exhausting. But what would life be like if everything was easy? Besides, he would soon be off work anyway. All Gabriel had to do now was look after the pupils at the after-school care center and then he could enjoy his free time. At last. Even though he loved his work here, supervising outside in the schoolyard was its own kind of challenge: you had to stubbornly keep an eye on the children, no variety, just be attentive most of the time. It didn't help, he had to get through it.

Gabriel brushed his dark blond hair out of his forehead with his hand and pushed the glasses on his nose a little further towards the root of his nose.

All of a sudden, he noticed a little girl looking at him shyly. "Can I help you in any way?" he asked kindly.

"I thought maybe you could tell us a story," the girl said quietly.

"Now?" Gabriel wanted to know. The girl nodded.

Gabriel glanced at the other primary school children. If he could sit down somewhere and keep an eye on the children playing at the same time... There, a few meters away, was a small bench. Perfect! From here, he could continue his duties as a supervisor and talk at the same time.

Speaking of telling stories: What actually? Maybe a fairy tale? Primary school children probably already knew all the child-friendly ones. A made-up story? He would probably make up something pointless. Maybe... But... All right. Gabriel closed his eyes briefly. If he told this story correctly, it would remain exactly what it was: a story. Nothing more and nothing less. And that was how it would remain in the students' memories. Gabriel looked down at the little girl. "Who wants to hear a story?"

"Me and a few other children," the little girl replied.

"Okay," said Gabriel. "Then tell your friends to come with you. I'll sit on the bench back there. You'd better get some cushions to sit on. The story I'm going to tell you is a bit long."

"Is it a wizard story?" the little girl asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, it is," Gabriel said with a smile. "And now off with you. The sooner you sit in front of me, the sooner I can start the storytelling."

Half a minute later, Gabriel was sitting on his bench opposite about seven primary school pupils. He was amazed. He would never have guessed that so many children wanted to hear a story. He looked at the faces, all of whom were looking up at him expectantly, and began...

Chapter 1: How it all began...

A long, long time ago, when the secret of magic had not yet disappeared and there were still true magicians, an order of wizards formed with the aim of protecting the world from evil. They first called themselvesthe Order of Thor, because they could use electricity, especially the power of lightning, which made them resemble the ancient god of thunder Thor, who in mythology threw lightning and thunder at his enemies with his thunderbolt. Through their gifts, the mages were able to unleash impressive magic and were revered by their allies and feared by their enemies.

Not just anyone could become a member of this magical order. Every potential new student of magic was subjected to a long series of examinations to test their heart for purity. Only those who failed a maximum of two tests were accepted. It was not required to be a truly flawless person. But one's heart and will should be on the good side, with the intention to help others. Selfishness, revenge and the like had no place in this order.

Then came the time of the witch burnings. Many wizards were caught and executed, and numerous magical orders disappeared forever. Only the Order of the Thor managed to survive this terrible age, probably because the magicians recognized the danger posed by the Inquisitors early on and retreated underground in time. Since then, individual magicians have only occasionally appeared in public, where they have become legends. Merlin, the teacher of the legendary King Arthur, had been a former member of the Order of Thor who had further trained his magic.

Things went on like this for several centuries. Magic fell into oblivion, but the Order of Mages continued to exist in secret. Over time, its name changed from Thorortothe Order of Lightning Magesto theOrder of Lightning heroes(this name came about due to the appearance of the first comic book superheroes) and finally to theLightning heroes. The magician community existed under this name for twenty years. Until the day came when too much ambition first split the order and then finally destroyed it. A single mage turned against his former comrades. He wanted change, wanted the order to reveal itself to the world and for the mages to follow their true destiny: as rulers of humanity. His ideology found supporters, and nineteen of the forty other mages became his followers. However, the rest of the order adhered to the old teachings, which stated that the order should remain a secret to humanity and that the mages themselves were only phantoms in the history of the world. Because the leader of the order at the time sided with the conservative wizards, nothing was changed. The renegade soon realized that words would change nothing. So he devised a diabolical plan: during a meeting, he and his followers suddenly pulled out their swords and attacked the other magicians. A battle broke out. The insurgents were completely superior to the rest of the order due to the surprise effect, but the other mages managed to defend themselves and push back their opponents with the courage of desperation. Finally, the leader of the Order and the leader of the renegades stood face to face, both already weakened but determined to fight for their cause. They fought for long minutes, with neither of them really gaining the upper hand. In the end, the renegade managed to disarm his opponent. While he waited for the final blow, he saw a young mage who had been on his side pick up his sword and try to throw himself at the renegade. But he shook his head and shouted: "Give this sword to a worthy person! The fate of the Order will be in their hands!" As his opponent struck the final blow, he shoutedat the renegade: "May you become one with the darkness you have let into your heart!"

At that moment, the insurgent struck. While the tip of the sword was still penetrating the leader, a bolt of lightning burst from his hand and struck his murderer full force in the chest. He did not notice how his clothes slowly darkened, making them look as if they were made of the black of the night. The darkness crept over him, covering everything about him. He cried out as it touched his skin. Wisps of fume rose up. His hands smoked as if they were made of coals. Blackness spread over them and transformed them until they looked like condensed smoke. But the curse did not end there. His face underwent the same transformation.

The young mage, who had picked up his leader's sword, realized with horror that the renegade had transformed outwardly into the monster he had already been inwardly. The Dark One's face was made of condensed smoke, though his features were still clearly visible. His hands also looked like clumps of smoke. With horror, the renegade realized. Slowly, he turned around until he was face to face with the young mage. "That wasn't the last time you met me!" he said quietly, his voice taking on a deep tone as if it came from hell. He turned away and ran off with quick steps.

The young mage blinked and tried to comprehend what had just happened. Slowly, he looked around him. Most of the renegades had been killed. The remaining followers of evil had probably fled like their leader. Of the other mages, two had survived the battle apart from him.

The young mage placed the leader's sword on the ground and looked at his two comrades. "I will find someone who can carry this sword here," he said.

The other two nodded. "I will find a place where the Order can start anew," one of them announced.

"And I will find allies," said the other. They drew their swords and nodded to each other. "So our paths will part for now," the young mage stated.

"But not forever," replied the second wizard. "We will find ways and means to restore the order."

"As soon as we have completed our tasks, our paths will merge back into one," the third mage finished.

"So may our light never fade and the fire within us never go out!" said the young wizard, uttering the words that formed the motto of the lightning heroes.

"So may our magic protect us," said the second mage.

"Whatever happens, may the good in us endure, may it guide us and lead us on the right path," said the third wizard, thus concluding the motto of the lightning heroes.

"So be it!" said all three magicians at the same time, turned away from each other and each went their own way.

Chapter 1: Follow me!

Five years later...

(Gabriel only started telling the story here, of course, because understandably you can't tell a primary school pupil any gory details).

"Once upon a time," he began, "there was a young pupil who went to a school like this one. He sometimes played alone in the playground during the break, but mostly he sat alone on abench and daydreamed. He was different from the other children, but he didn't know that at the time. He only knew that he was teased by several children, but he didn't know why. Because he was often teased, he often sat down somewhere on his own, also because he knew that the other primary school children wouldn't let him join in their games. This went on day after day, week after week, month after month. Until one day something happened that changed the boy's life forever."

We now leave Gabriel and the elementary school where he is doing his internship for a while and travel to this other school from the story.

"Break's over!" came the call from the teacher. Relieved, Tom got up from the bench and ran to his class. He was probably the only one who was happy to have to go back to the classroom now. But the end of the break also meant that it wasn't long until the end of the school day, so he didn't have to stay at school for too much longer. Fortunately!

None of his classmates said anything to him as he lined up with his class in a row of two outside the school gates. Everyone was talking to each other, only Tom was silent. What was he supposed to talk about with the other children?

Slowly, his class began to move. The classroom came closer and closer, and with it, exercise books and homework. The same thing every day... And then home, homework... and then, once all the work was done, out into the garden and onto the swings! You could make up such great stories there! Better than TV and video games together! Okay, maybe the TV was a bit better... but only a bit!

Now he just had to endure the remaining school hours more or less and then came... the way home! Oh no, how could Tom have forgotten that! This walk was the wahre hell on earth! Not that Tom hated walking, he didn't mind that much. But the fact that Florian and Dorian also ran this route turned it into a real gauntlet. No one loved teasing Tom more than these two boys. Devils, Tom sometimes thought to himself, his two classmates were like devils in human form. What did it help that he ran home? If they made fun of him, he couldn't run away fast enough. They always caught up with him, after all, he had never been the fastest. When they teased him, Tom sometimes wished he would grow a few centimetres and get stronger. Then he would give them a run for their money, and how!

But unfortunately he was just as he was: small, with dark blond hair and a very slight build, neither well-trained nor tall.

He often defended himself with words, teasing back at Florian and Dorian, but one against two, he never had the best cards. What's more, one situation had already shown that he was better at keeping his cheeky mouth in check. Back then, there had almost been a parental quarrel because Tom had told Dorian that even his parents thought he was a fool. Oh dear, what trouble there had been back then... Enough to make Tom think twice about what he said. But, he had to secretly admit to himself that Dorian was a fool, that was true!

The school bell rang. Now Tom had to get dressed quickly and start running. The sooner he got out of the school building, the bigger his lead over Florian and Dorian. The second shoe, now the jacket... and off he went! Tom dashed through the school building like a whirlwind, past the cleaning lady, who looked after him in confusion, up a few flights of stairs and then straight through the school doors to the outside. Tom stopped there briefly to catch his breath. As soon as he had caught his breath, the journey continued. Down the hill,to the traffic lights. Tom turned around and saw Florian and Dorian walking down the hill. Now, of all times, the traffic lights were red. Goodbye, beautiful peace...

"Did you think you could get away from us?" Florian shouted. Tom was itching to counter with a stupid remark, but unfortunately he couldn't think of anything to say. Just wait until it turned green...

"Tom, he's a stinker!" sang Dorian.

"I'm not!" shouted Tom.

"You are!" said Dorian. "Stinky shoe, stinky shoe, stinky shoe!"

"Leave me alone!" Tom hissed.

"Stinky shoe, stinky shoe, stinky shoe!" Dorian continued to sing, Florian joined in.

Then, finally, the little green man appeared on the traffic lights. Before Florian and Dorian could react, Tom had already sped off. But he had forgotten that the two boys were still faster than him. So they ran alongside him for a while, shouting "Stinky shoe, stinky shoe!" until Tom finally reached the road that led to his home. There, Florian and Dorian had to take a different route to him and Tom was left in peace.

When his mother opened the front door, she simply asked, "Have they been teasing you again?"

Tom just nodded and said nothing.

The next school day. Still three days left. Tom dragged himself sadly to school. And the same game again. Day in, day out, every day for as long as he went to this elementary school. It had been like this since first grade, so for a whole two years. Tom had hoped every new school year that the teasing would end at some point, but now, as a third grader, he had given up on that wish. They would never leave him alone! Never! Tom angrily kicked a stone forward with his foot. If only he had friends. Sensible friends who would play sensible games with himden. Pretending to be someone else was something Tom had never been able to do. He didn't see any point in these games either. What was the point of pretending to be a racing driver or a policeman? So he spent most of his time alone reading or swinging. While swinging, he could imagine that he was a hero who saved people. One person in particular: Cordelia from the parallel class. Ever since Tom had seen her for the first time in first grade, he could hardly take his eyes off her. Shoulder-length light blonde hair, blue eyes... a dream! The thought of her always made Tom blush slightly.

A glint at the side of the road brought Tom back to reality. What was that? Curious, he came closer.

Shiny metal, forged into a slender blade with a pattern of royal blue lightning bolts extending from the elegantly curved crossguard to the tip. Blue gemstones between the hilt and the blade sparkled in the sun like shimmering drops of water. Tom was very interested in the Middle Ages, but even a completely illiterate child would have recognized what the thing in front of him was: a knight's sword! In awe, he stretched out a hand towards the handle.

"Well, well, well!" a voice called out. Tom wheeled around, startled. A young man was standing behind him. He had short black hair that he had combed into a side parting. His eyes were brown and he looked at Tom with a slight smile. He was wearing normal everyday clothes: black shoes, jeans and an orange sweater. "Well, if it isn't a boy who's interested in swords!"

Tom nodded ashamedly and lowered his eyes.

"Don't worry, kid," said the man. "I understand you. It's a beautiful specimen, isn't it?"

Tom nodded again.

The man's smile widened even more. "Would you like to hold it for once?" he offered Tom. Tom widened his eyes, whereupon the man laughed. "So yes."

He grabbed the sword handle and picked up the weapon with ease. Then he took the sword by the blade and held the handle out to Tom. Hesitantly, Tom put his hands around it.

"Careful," the stranger warned, "it's very heavy." He loosened his grip on the blade and then let go of it completely. Then he watched Tom, who held the sword without much effort. "Wow," he said, "don't you feel any weight?"

Tom shook his head. "It feels so easy," he mumbled.

The man froze. "That can't be right," he whispered. Tom looked up at him. "What's going on?"

"The fact that you can hold the sword as if it were made of absorbent cotton shouldn't really be possible," the man explained. "Any normal person would have dropped it because it's so heavy, but you..." Something flashed in his eyes. "So you're the worthy person then!"

"What?" asked Tom, taking a step back.

"You have to come with me," said the stranger. "Right now!"

Tom dropped the sword. "I can't do that," he explained. "I have to go to school! Besides, I've learned that I'm not allowed to go with strangers!"

"If you don't follow me, someone else will come," the man replied. "I'm one of the good guys, kid. But this other one is one of the bad guys. He won't hesitate for a second to kill you!"

"But why?" Tom wanted to know. "What have I done?"

"Nothing yet," replied the stranger. "But you have power inside you. Great power! And power makes enemies!"

"What power?" Tom asked desperately. "What are you even talking about?"

"Of mages," said the man, "the lightning heroes. Once a secret order of mages with many members, today it consists only of me and two other mages. All the others were killed by the evil I told you about."

"Why?" Tom wanted to know.

"I can't tell you everything in a hurry right now," the man said frantically. "You have to come with me!"

"You said it was about an order of magicians. Are you a magician?"

The stranger nodded.

"Can you show me magic?"

"If I do some magic now, will you follow me?" the man asked.

Tom thought about it for a moment. What if the man was lying to him? That could mean the end for Tom. But if he followed him, perhaps he would finally become the person he had always hoped to be: a hero. And finally escape his old life. That weighed very heavily. So Tom nodded and replied: "Yes."

The young man sighed. Then he raised his hand and concentrated. All of a sudden, a glowing yellow sphere appeared on his palm, crackling with electricity.

"Wow," breathed Tom. The stranger immediately closed his hand and the sphere disappeared again. "We shouldn't waste any time," he said. "Follow me!"

The stranger ran quickly. Tom had trouble following him with his short legs. The strange sword was attached to a belt on his hip. On the way, the young man kept looking around as if he feared they were being followed. Finally, he stepped into a dark alley. Tom hesitantly stopped in front of it.

"What is it?" the man asked.

"My parents taught me not to follow anyone into dark places," Tom explained.

"They were right about that," said the man. "Unfortunately, we have no choice but to take this route. Don't worry, we'll soon reach our destination."

Tom hesitated. What if the stranger were to hurt him now or do something else bad to him? Tom had heard enough stories like this at school and from his parents. But now he had already followed the man so far,he couldn't back down. He swallowed and entered the alley.

In front of him, the young man raised a hand and screwed up his face as if he was thinking hard about something. Suddenly he raised both hands and clapped. A bright yellow spark sprang from his joined hands, flew through the air and stopped in the air in front of the man. There it spread out and deformed until it filled the entire alley. The man turned to Tom. "Now we have to go through it."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Tom asked anxiously.

The stranger shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Nothing will happen to you."

He took a step forward, right into the light, and... disappeared. Tom couldn't believe his eyes. The man had simply vanished into thin air! And there was still that bright yellow area. Suddenly the man's call rang out, seeming to come from nowhere. "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

Tom closed his eyes briefly. He could still escape. Now he still had the choice between the life he was used to and the uncertainty that would await him when he stepped out into the open. But it was like before the alley: he had already come this far. It was already too late to turn back now. Tom gathered all his courage and stepped through the area.

There was a crackling sound like electricity for a second, then the noise was gone again. Tom looked around... and froze. Instead of the walls of the house and the concrete floor around him, he now found himself in a huge hall. The floor beneath him was made of smoothly polished metal, as were the walls of the room. It seemed to Tom as if he were on board a spaceship. A little further away was a metal door set into one of the walls, which could only be distinguished from the rest of the room because its color was several shades darker than that of the walls.These were so smoothly polished that they shone and gleamed like mirrors.

"Welcome!" said the man standing a few steps away from Tom. "This is our destination."

"Where am I?" asked Tom, confused.

"That's a very good question," the young man replied. "First, please let me tell you why you're here."

At that moment, the metal door opened and another man stepped into the hall. The difference between him and the young man could not have been greater: This other stranger wore tight blue trousers and a close-fitting sweater in the same color, which blended together almost seamlessly. Hanging from a black belt around his hips was a sword similar to the one the young man had shown Tom, except that the gemstones on the crossguard of this weapon shimmered a dark green, the color of a leaf when rubbed between his fingers. The man's features looked stern and controlled, his eyes were brown like the young man's, a stubbly three-day beard covered his chin and upper lip. His brown hair, which he wore combed into a side parting, was slightly graying at the roots.

"Linus," he greeted the young man. "Then I take it you've fulfilled your mission."

"The sword has made the choice," Linus said. "Albeit a very unusual one."

He pointed at Tom.

The older man's eyes grew wide. "But he's a child!" he shouted.

"As I said, the sword has made the choice," Linus said.

"In what way?" the man asked.

"This boy could hold the sword as if it were as light as a feather," the young man explained. "That can't be a coincidence, can it, Lukas?"

The other man nodded slowly. "That would be a very big coincidence," he said. Then he turned to Tom. "Has Linus told you why you're here yet?"

"We've only just arrived," explained Linus.

"Then you must have a lot of questions," Lukas said, looking Tom in the eye. "We'll try to answer them."

Tom was uncomfortable with Lukas'look and almost reflexively looked down. "Could you please tell us everything from the beginning?" he asked.

Linus grinned. "That would be the easiest method, of course," he said.

"Wait a moment, I'll get us some chairs." Luke turned towards the door. "Or wait, let's go to the dining room! I think there's almost nothing that can't be discussed over a good meal!" He opened the door and held it open.

"Come on, kiddo," said Linus, making an inviting gesture with his hand. Tom followed him and Lukas through the gate. Behind it was a long corridor with several doors leading off. Lukas chose the first one on the left. When Tom entered the room, he found himself in a comfortably furnished dining room. Several tables were scattered around, and in one corner there was a kitchen with a stove, oven, fridge and several cupboards, as well as a shelf from which food could be served. Luke headed for this part of the room, opened the fridge and took out butter, yogurt and cheese, muttering under his breath. Then he went to one of the cupboards. He took out several jars of jam, honey and a basket of sliced bread. He carried them all one by one to a nearby table with four chairs around it. "It's only a snack, but it's better than nothing," he said.

Tom, Linus and Lukas sat down. The two adults began to eat, while Tom looked suspiciously at the food.

"Go ahead and eat," said Linus. "Don't worry, none of it's poisonous!" He frowned briefly. "That reminds me: I haven't even asked you what your name is yet."

"My name is Tom," Tom said quietly.

"Tom," Linus repeated and grinned. "Great name. Well then, Tom. The food here isn't just for looking at. Come on, help yourself!"

Hesitantly, Tom took a piece of bread and spread a little honey on it before eating it slowly. His face brightened with the first bite and he took another slice of bread. Lukas laughed. "He has a healthy appetite," he said to Linus.

Tom immediately stopped eating and turned as red as a tomato.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Linus explained calmly. "We'll be happy if you like it."

Tom ate quickly and then looked curiously at the two men. "Could you please tell me everything now?" he asked.

Lukas nodded. "But first: what you're about to find out must remain secret! No one must ever find out! Do you promise you won't ever tell anyone about it? Not even about us or this place?"

Tom nodded uncertainly.

"Good," said Linus. "I'd better warn you in advance: this story is not a children's story. It's gruesome and bloodthirsty. But it probably answers almost all your questions."

"Wait, Linus," asked Lukas. "Before you start the story, we'd better tell you what we are."

"What are you?" Tom asked curiously.

"Lightning heroes," Linus replied.

"The Lightning heroes are a secret order of mages," explained Lukas. "It's been around for so long that we've long forgotten when it was founded. Our magic is electricity. We can control electricity, hence the name. Until five years ago, we consisted of about forty Magicians. Today there's just Linus, me and one other magician, Janus."

"What happened back then that only three of you are left?" Tom wanted to know.

Linus sighed. "There was a traitor," he explained. "He had gathered followers around him and caused a massacre among us. In the end, he was defeated, and he himself was cursed and several of his followers were killed. The end of the story was that the traitor escaped and only Lukas, Janus and I survived."

"What do you mean by 'cursed'?" Tom asked.

"Exactly that," said Linus. "He's no longer human. More like a monster. Some of his followers have survived, but they've gradually turned their backs on magic and him after realizing how much suffering they've caused."

"He hasn't been seen since the massacre," added Lukas.

"And what does this story have to do with me?" asked Tom.

"Back at the skirmish, our leader gave me his sword," said Linus. "He told me to give the weapon to a worthy person. You know, Tom, I was actually looking for such a person the whole time. When you held the sword as if it were made of air, I realized that I had found a worthy bearer of this sword - you."

"Then... you want me to become a lightning hero?" asked Tom in amazement.

Linus nodded, while Lukas said, "In this case, the sword has made its choice. You are the rightful owner of this weapon."

Slowly, Linus pulled the sword with the blue gemstones on the crossguard from his belt and held the handle out to Tom.

Tom's head was spinning. Just a moment ago he had been a normal boy, and now he was supposed to be a magician whothat? He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that," he said.

Lukas looked at him sympathetically. "Give him some time," he turned to Linus. "This must all be a shock for him."

He stood up. "We'll leave you now," he explained to Tom. "If you're looking for us, just go down the corridor to the left and through the second door on the right."

Tom nodded slowly. Lukas signaled to Linus with his head. The two men left the room.

Chapter 2: What now?

Tom's head was spinning. The events seemed so unreal to him. Only a moment ago he had been a normal boy (although 'normal' wasn't quite right either), and now something he had only dreamed of before was about to come true: he was to become a magician. It was like this... Tom couldn't believe it. There were magicians! He himself, Tom, was to become one of them! A hero! It was as if one of his dreams had come true!

So why did he have this strange feeling? This urge to just get up and run away, to flee back to his old life. To pretend he had never met the lightning heroes.

But even if he decided against a future as a magician and for his old life: There was still that dark mage. He would find him, Linus had said. Then he would be dealing with a monster. A monster to whom he would be defenceless. If the story of the two magicians was true. But why would they lie to him? What reason would they have?

There was actually only one way to find answers to his questions: He had to train as a magician. 'But then I'll always be with them,' Tom thought. 'And if one of them wants to do me harm, he'll have plenty of opportunities to kill me...'

But he could at least ask why the dark one wanted to see him of all people. It didn't cost anything to ask. Tom stood up. Where had Lukas said he could find him? Oh yes, right, down the corridor to the left and through the second door on the right. Well, then...

Tom ran the directions through his head like a mantra as he stepped out of the dining room into the hallway. 'Down the corridor to the left and through the second door on the right. So, this should be it... Tom stood in front of one of the many metal doors in the corridor. He knocked cautiously.

"Come in, boy," Lukas' voice rang out from the room. Tom slowly opened the door... and was amazed! In front of him was a long room with dozens of swords hanging from brackets on the walls. Gemstones in every color of the rainbow shimmered on their crossbars: from cool blue to bright yellow to fiery red. The light cast by the lamps on the ceiling of the room refracted in the stones and was thrown onto the wall, where it created an impressive spectacle.

Tom struggled to tear himself away from the sight. Finally, he recognized Linus and Lukas, who were standing further back in the room.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked Linus. "All the swords of the lightning heroes are kept here. Each of these weapons has its own story full of triumphs and dramas. They have been saviors in times of need, lights in the darkness and have guided many a man through difficult moments..."

"It's all right, Linus," Luke interrupted the magician with a laugh. Turning to Tom, he said: "These swords are Linus' hobbyhorse, if you know what I mean. He didn't know that I had collected the lightning heroes' weapons and brought them here.Before the massacre, he was passionate about refurbishing the weapons. Woe betide anyone who took one of them without asking!"

"They're old relics," Linus defended himself. "You can't just 'take them without asking'!"

"Yes, yes," Lukas waved it off.

"I have a question," Tom began.

"Yes?" asked Linus.

"They told me the traitor would come to me eventually," Tom said. "Why is that?"

Linus sighed. "That's a bit difficult to explain. Look, Tom, it's like this: Normally, every lightning hero is given his own weapon during his training, which he carries for life and which comes here after his death." He pointed to the weapons around him. "There was one weapon for each mage, his personal sword. That's why there are so many of these weapons here. It's different with your sword: this is the sword of the leaders. Four of these swords were forged, three of which have disappeared over time. These swords are passed on from leader to leader. Whoever carries one of them can call himself the most powerful mage. He rules over the lightning heroes and commands a number of powerful spells in addition to their normal magic. This is what the traitor wanted: To be the leader and therefore more powerful than everyone else. But luckily I was able to grab this sword before the traitor did. It came to you through me and has obviously chosen you as its bearer. That means..."

"That I'm the leader of the lightning heroes," Tom whispered.

"Not yet," said Lukas. "We'll train you first. But as soon as you have mastered martial arts and magic, you will become our leader. That's why the traitor wants you: he wants to kill you and take the sword."

Tom turned pale. Linus put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll help you and protect you!"

"When are you going to teach me to fight and do magic?"

"Under normal circumstances, at the earliest when you're old enough," Linus replied. "But because the risk of the traitor finding you is so great..."

"What do you mean by 'big'?" Lukas interrupted him. Linus looked at him in surprise. "You didn't hear?" He lowered his voice as if there were other people in the room. "Some time ago, I heard rumors about a dark figure that moves around at night. If you speak to it, it is said not to react, but to simply move on. At first I didn't believe these stories, but then, when I heard them in several places in almost the same version, I became aware of them and looked into the matter."

"So?" asked Lukas.

"I stayed up late that day and went for a walk that night. I saw this shadowy figure. It was standing under a lantern. Luke, there were clouds of smoke swirling around it! As I approached, she turned to me. It was Claudius! I made a quick getaway, but I'm sure he recognized me because he ran after me. So I quickly created a portal and fled. He's after the sword, Lukas! Now that the weapon has found a carrier, I'm sure he won't rest until he's done away with Tom!"

Luke turned pale. "Oh my God!" he breathed.

"I think that's why it's absolutely essential to train Tom as quickly as possible," Linus continued.

Lukas nodded. "Of course, of course... Let's go to the arrivals hall. That's the room the portal brought you to. We can start training there."

He turned to Tom. "From the looks of it, you're in mortal danger, boy. We'll try to protect you, but you have to do your best too."

Tom nodded. "I'll try to learn quickly," he said.

Lukas smiled sadly. "Let's hope that's enough..."

"Of course we'll keep an eye on you, even if you're not here," Linus explained. "Don't worry: the traitor won't get you without a fight!"

They left the room with the swords and headed for the hall where Linus and Tom had arrived after stepping through the portal.The arrival hall, Tom remembered. That was the name of this room.

"What's this all about?" asked Linus on the way, making an all-encompassing hand gesture. "Where are we?"

"This is the new headquarters of our order," explained Lukas. "This used to be a disused military bunker. I bought it from the Bundeswehr straight after the massacre. And to the question of where exactly we are here: The bunker is located in the Alps on a slope of the Hoher Ifen mountain. There is also an emergency entrance and exit, which is located in a small wooded area a bit away from the hiking trails. It took me some time to turn the old facility into what it is today. You know: delivering things, getting them here secretly through a portal, building them here. The walls alone! Do you know how long it took me to get all the metal and install it here? Not to mention the electricity..."

"It's okay, Lukas," Linus interrupted him with a laugh. "We can see that you've really done a great job! Respect for that!"

"Oh, that wasn't all," said Lukas. "I also made sure that all the documents proving the existence of this place were destroyed. Fortunately, the bunker was abandoned before the Second World War. That's why there are only a handful of people who even know that there's something here." He grinned. "There's virtually nothing left that would reveal this facility, neither people nor documents. This place practically doesn't exist!"

"Brilliant!" Linus exclaimed.

"And how were you able to create a portal here if you didn't even know it existed?" asked Tom, who had calmed down a little thanks to Linus' jolly mood and was slowly building up trust in the two men.

"We'll teach you about portals later," said Lukas. "But one thing in advance: you can use a portal to target either a place or a person you want it to take you to. Linus probably targeted me, which is why you ended up here."

"And what about this Claudius?" Tom asked. "Couldn't he end up here in the same way?"