The Solomon Chronicle

Chapter 1: Caroleen

From the moment I met her, I knew I was doomed. She was pretty, young, pure, but so naive. She didn't know a thing about the real world. She was a sheltered soul and her mind was blocked by her former mentor. He was a hero among wizards and sorcerers everywhere and he was a hero to me because he saved her.

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I was in Paris for a few days with my mentor as we were heading back home to England. We needed a break from all of the commotion of the witch hunts. All around the world witches, sorcerers, and the likes were being hunted and hanged. My mentor and I were lucky, we kept ourselves out of trouble and out of the way.

I was walking down a small street with various shops, going to the patisserie when I saw her for the first time. She was so... "Magnifique"... as the French say. I had been around for a long time and had never met a woman more beautiful than her. She looked to be about 18 with long, wavy brown hair, a few shades lighter than my own, and her eyes were like light brown saucers of melted chocolate. I wanted to meet her and before I knew it my legs were already moving

"Bonjour!" Another young woman jumped in front of me with a basket of fresh pastries. "Would you like to try a fresh croissant?" She asked excitedly. "Uhm, no thank you! I was just-" I looked over to where the young woman sat, but just as quickly as I had seen here, she disappeared. It made me wonder if I even saw her at all. I sighed, took a random pastry from the basket, and paid the girl. "Maybe I'm just losing my mind."

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My mind was in a fog. I woke up in a cold sweat to a sorcerer's call, a sorcerer in trouble somewhere close by. The question was, do I do something about it or do I just stay hidden as we have been? Although I could hear the voice of my mentor in my head, telling me to mind my own business, I rolled out of bed and put on my cloak before I wandered out into the streets of Paris.

It was a chilly night. The wind was blowing and it had started to snow. I walked around the small town and with every step I took, the signal got stronger. I rounded the corner by the patisserie and ran into something...or someone! I heard a little squeak and looked down to see her. "Oh, goodness me! I am so sorry! Are you alright miss?" I asked as I helped the poor girl to her feet. "Oui Je vais bien. Merci."(Yes, I'm fine. Thank you). She sounded as sweet as she looked and she was in front of me, she was real.

"Que Faites-Vous ici?"(What are you doing here?) She whispered. "Same thing you are, I suppose. Following the call. You do hear it, don't you?" She looked at me wide-eyed for a minute before answering. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" (What is it?) She looked at me with complete confusion. Did she not know? "It's a sorcerer's call," I stated. "Comment puis-je l'entendre?" (How can I hear it?) She was kidding, right? "The same way you can hear and understand me. I'm not speaking French, love. We magical folk have no language barriers between us. This call you hear can only be heard by other sorcerers. It's a hidden language we use when one is in trouble." I could tell she had questions but there was no time, as we heard yelling in the distance and a bright light flickering. Fire!

I grabbed the girl's hand and rushed to where the flames had started. A man was laying outside of the building that has caught fire. Other men were surrounding him yelling profanities and hollering incoherent words. I heard the girl gasp loudly and before I could stop her, she was running out into the battlefield. "Bugger!" I muttered under my breath. This wasn't good! This is where the call was coming from and that man on the ground was the one who sent it. Did she notice the call had stopped? He was dead. They killed him for being a "magic-user" and now they had lured two more to them. This girl was going to be the death of me and we didn't even get the chance to be formally introduced yet!