章 31: Beginning

"Well, what is the word? Has Malos been killed?" Darrian asked over the dinner table. A large bloody slab of red meat was on his plate. In his hand, a chalice of wine hung loosely through the fingers.

Eddis bowed. "The plan failed, m'lord. There was a complication."

Darrian lifted the chalice to his lips. Savored it. "What complications."

"A set of Drow slaughtered the Elves we hired among the Elven Council." He said. "They found the letter and, in turn, decided to attack Malos, seeking to gain something out of him. But…"

"Continue," said Darrian, lowering the chalice.

Eddis could hear the building rage, the anger swelling through the veins along his hand.

"We might have underestimated the boy. The level of skill he exhibited was enough that our scouts said they'd never seen a more skilled fighter. He kills like one cuts grass."

Darrian's fist grew clenched. His shoulders were trembling, trying to hold back the anger seething through his veins. The air sparked, cutting across empty space, striking at ornaments until they grew aflame.

"And the High Elf?" he asked.

"Taken by the boy," said Eddis, tendrils of cold sweat threading down his forehead.

"And the Drow? Did he kill them?"

"Not all m'lord," Eddis said. "He made a deal with them. Though what was said, not even our scouts could hear. But it was enough for them to retreat."

"What of Tommen?"

"Dead."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Darrian let loose a savage roar as the air turned into a geyser of flames penetrating through the ceiling, connecting to the heavens. "MALOS BLACKWATER!!!!"

***

Kicking his dangling feet back and forth within the carriage, Zariel lazily smoked in a hotbox of his creation. He had a silly smile on his face as he laughed. They tried to hold their laugh, but as they watched each other, they erupted alongside him in an elevated state of intoxication. Their eyes somehow focus on their feet.

"They're soooo small!" Aurelia muttered through bloodshot eyes.

"I'm like eight… or am I nine? What month is it?"

"Month? Shit, this is some strong stuff,' said Selene softly. "I think it's November…"

"I'm nine. Oh shit. Time sure does fly!"

In a moment of fleeting clarity, Aurelia raised her hand, "Dumb-Dumb, teach Aurelia about Necromancy!"

"I know Necromancy… Humans loathe the practice. Elves, too." Selene attested, wrapping her arm around the little elf that had long lost consciousness. She held her like a doll, rubbing her cheeks against Zyila's, enjoying the tenderness.

She felt like a teddy bear.

"Necromancy is about life and death, but more than that, it's about the Spirit, the Animus of all living things," Zariel began, tapping his cheeks at the sudden numbness spreading across his face. He paused, feeling his scattered thoughts coming together. "If you wish for immortality, Necromancy mixed with Transfiguration will grant you that. Someone can live a very long time like that. Hundreds of thousands of years, possibly longer, if they know what they're doing."

"I've noticed this before… but a lot of schools connect to one another," Aurlia mindlessly muttered, her mind as vaporous as the cloudy carriage.

Just then, a knock echoed through the carriage, and from the window, Jessica rode forward, sliding the door open and allowing the cool air to billow in.

Something of an odd expression fluttered the young knight's face as she said, "My lady Trinity is in sight. Shall I cast Detox? I'm sure they'll be welcoming—-" she froze when she saw her lady close her eyes, falling fast asleep alongside everyone else.

"Nobleman." Vash cursed. He glanced at Jessica. "You ever had ravane? I've heard it's a spice. Only nobles are allowed to have it."

"With my salary?" Jessica shook her head. "Though I know the smell well. Many people use it for healing or relaxing. It's very potent." She sighed, slowing her pace in order to cast [Detox] in hopes of clearing up her ladies' mind in time.

The Spell Detox was a second-level spell that targeted various poisons. Occasionally, allowing for one to clear the mind of negative ailments. It had been one of the key spells any captain needed to learn in order to gain their position.

However, Jessica noticed something as the fog of her spell swallowed the carriage in a dim radiance. Zariel was the only one who hadn't reacted. His eyes were dilated, his breathing even as if he were asleep, while his body didn't seem to sweat.

"Professor Blackwater, did you cast a spell to stop me?"

Zariel gave a light smile. "I've got a unique physique. Don't worry about me." He said, closing his eyes to the darkness for the first time in two weeks.

Jessica hesitantly nodded, glancing towards her lady, who opened her eyes. A sharpness that wasn't there before, radiating a dangerous sense of purpose.

***

The City of Baythorn had been one of the largest metropolises of the Three Great Powers of the realm. Guarded by a towering wall a mile tall, stretching on for several miles in a circuit that connected to three of the Powers: The Empire of Solaris, the Kingdom of Turvar, and the Republic of Zamar.

At the heart of Baythorn Trinity stood like a castle, silverly brilliant, stretching towards the skies. It stood like a fortress, surrounded by three floating platforms that seemed to carry various towers and monolithic structures. Each resting on a mechanical circle lined with complex runes and sigils.

It had been a sight no mortal mind could forget, having been crafted by dwarves, elves, and gnomes as a tribute to the God of Knowledge and Power, Azalea.

The streets of Baythorn had always been crowded, but on this day, the sun hung over their heads, glaring in fiery eyes upon the land. There at the northern entrance, the Silver Paladins, clad in the sigil of the wolf, stood poised in their studded leather armor and helms shaped in that of the wolf.

From the second they saw the carriage that bore the sigil of their house, they moved in tandem, surrounding the carriage in a defensive formation.

"To Trinity," Selene said from within the carriage.

The Silver Wolves roared.

By the time Aurelia had awoken in a groggy state, her eyes suddenly glittered as she propped her head out at the blistering city. There, she saw buildings tall as trees, and men and women of various races lined the city. Some were flying; others were riding on a magical beast as large as the carriage she was in.

She'd never seen anything like it. Though she rarely left her manar back in Salem.

Blown away, she poked and prodded at Zariel until he woke, pointed towards a beautiful structure of a woman standing on a fountain. Around her, a bobble of water droplets danced around her.

It was so ethereal Aurelia could not pull her eyes away.

Zariel yawned and glanced out the window lazily, not really understanding what he was supposed to be looking at. Still, he grinned, sensing her excitement.

Before long, the carriage was herded through the silver gates of the Trinity down the seemingly endless driveway until they were beneath the porte cochere.

The children felt small in comparison to the massive structure.

"Wow," Zariel muttered, a little impressed. "Why's it so big?"

"Some of the most intelligent individuals work and live here. We've hundreds of thousands of students who spend nearly twelve years to twenty years of their life here, learning."

Zariel hummed in response, sensing the abnormal density of arcana whirling about the air. It was so dense nodes of arcana danced over the material plane, alerting him to the benefits of cultivating here.

"Come, let's go meet the Headmaster. He's quite interested in you."

They followed Selene up onto a platform of light that bore a sigil beneath. A tinge of unease had been quick to fill the children as a few caught their breath, filling them with dread and then awe at how they were hurled into the air.

Suddenly, with a cry, Aurelia pointed up at the ceiling, but before she could move, she watched with elated surprise. Fascinated by the sight of her body phasing through solid ground and landing on a platform.

She gasped, clutching her raging heart. "Was that Transfiguration? Did you make the ground vaporous?"

That hadn't been something Selene expected to echo from a child. She nodded nevertheless, "Once the rune was activated, a circuit of mana was connected to the platform beneath our feet. What we got on was what people call an elevator."

Aurelia folded her arm, amazed by the level of innovation around her. She looked ahead, ogling the bridge of iridescent light. Along the bridge, several large shards of bright crystals lined with golden runes levitated in the air. She could feel the winds wrenching against her tunic. It all had been a sight that was seared into Aurelia and Zyilla's minds. Even Zariel showed mild surprise, taking in the breathtaking sight of the world touching the horizon in the distance.

Blinded rays shone from the skies, piercing through snow-white clouds, glinting off a large arcane train steaming through ethereal tracks made of arcana.

Again, they followed after Selene, journeying upwards, fascinated by another city hidden away, wrapped in a strange bubble orbiting the world much like the moon.

"Gods!" Zillya said in a jaw-dropping sight.

"You haven't seen anything yet. We've even got a world tree. It's what's powering most things here," Selene exclaimed. The sight of awe on the faces of children had never gotten old. No matter how much time passed. No matter how long she lived.

Finally, after the small detour, Selene brought them towards the Headmaster's chamber, knocked, heard his welcoming words, and entered.

"Headmaster! I've brought them!"

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