章 7: Blue Light

Chapter 7: Blue Light

As soon as Arthur fell asleep he found himself in a dark and empty space. The only thing that illuminated it was a bright blue ball of light right in front of him. He subconsciously touched it and the scenery around him changed.

He appeared to be in a spacious room similar to a classroom but more medieval in style. The walls were made of stone with no decorations and everything was properly lit by little white crystals that flowed near the ceiling.

Arthur then noticed many young men walking in and choosing a seat. They waited patiently for their teacher who was already present to start a lecture and Arthur had a strange desire to do so as well. He picked an empty desk and with the rest of the students he waited for the lesson to begin.

"Today's topic is the origin of magic. Most of you already know how to use it but probably have no idea of its source and potential. Do any of you recall the name of the first human mage that brought with him the Age of Arcane?"

The teacher looked around the room expectantly but seemed slightly disappointed with no one answering. He wanted to explain himself but stopped when he saw a student with long white hair and blue eyes raise an arm.

"Wasn't it my ancestor Tahim von Drachen?"

"Oh? Aren't you Olgierd von Drachen? I wasn't expecting you to be in my class"

Olgierd with a proud look stood up and slightly bowed towards his teacher and then quickly sat back. The teacher nodded lightly and continued.

"Then you should know the legend of Tahim quite well. Do you mind telling it to the class?"

"Of course. It all began when my ancestor witnessed the might of a dragon. The mythical creature used simple words in its native tongue to bend the rules of the world to its liking. Thunder listened to its commands and mountains collapsed when ordered to do so. Amazed by this, Tahim went to the dragon and asked how all of that is possible and for some reason the dragon answered. It explained that it was magic that made the impossible possible and that the core of magic was one's spirituality and language that could steer it and enhance it. The dragon then made my ancestor his student and taught him magic and its tongue. That is how the first mage was born and the surname von Drachen came to be"

As soon as Arthur stopped explaining this everything turned illusionary and the scene changed. Wait. Arthur? Who was that?

Anyway, Olgierd, who looked a lot younger than previously, sat at his desk with a book about magic arrays. It was titled 'The history of arrays and its uses' which he read many times but from a young age an idea of constant revision was installed in him so he had a habit of reading the same books from time to time.

Without frustration he opened the book and started to flip through the pages with great care since it looked old enough that it seemed like it could turn to dust if one wasn't gentle while reading.

He omitted the things he knew well and focused on other parts he had some difficulties recalling.

"...The first array was created in the year 401 of the arcane calendar and revolutionised the use of magic. By using a 'written' medium more precise and complex actions could now be performed. It changed how the magic itself was perceived and gave birth to new studies and inventions…"

"...In the year 403 of the arcane calendar, use of the dragon tongue in arrays was forbidden as an entire city was destroyed in an unfortunate accident. It was deemed too powerful…"

"...In the year 405 of the arcane calendar the great council decided that with the discovery of arrays the dragon tongue was too dangerous to pass down so from then on only the oldest archmage of the von Drachen dynasty was allowed to learn it as a form of preservation with an oath to never actually use it…"

"...In the year 547 of the arcane calendar a mage by the name Merlin von Weise achieved a breakthrough in the field of continuous arrays. He discovered a crystal-like mineral with a property of storing spirituality. He named them nora crystals in honour of his deceased wife and successfully created the first illumination crystal. From then on such crystals were used in a number of inventions such as…"

"...Nora crystals can be categorised by their ability to store spirituality and can be distinguished by their colour and so far five grades were established which are: white, blue, green, red and black with their strength in that order…"

"...Although the discovery of nora crystals brought about great change there was an issue with recharging them. White and even blue crystals could still be managed by a single person but anything above was deemed impossible and required a group of mages to recharge which practically put a halt to further developments. In his late years Merlin von Weise theorised that if a way to effectively recharge nora crystals without the involvement of mages is found it would bring such a change that it would start a completely new age. Sadly to this day such a method was not discovered…"

Olgierd stopped reading when he noticed his white illumination crystal dim. He closed the book and the scene once again changed.

The now old looking Olgierd stood on trial. He was on top of a mountain peak and was surrounded by twelve pillars that imprisoned him by forming a purple barrier. He committed the greatest taboo a mage of the von Drachen lineage could possibly do. He used the dragon tongue he learned when he was promoted to the archmage of von Drachen in an array.

"I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. Respectable elders please show mercy…"

His pleas did nothing as on top of each pillar an elder looking mage appeared one by one.

"Silence! Olgierd von Drachen for breaking the most sacred law your body will be turned to dust and your soul will be banished to the realm of the forgotten. To die but never perish shall be your punishment and a proper example for others who treat our laws as a joke"

As soon as this was said the twelve pillars resonated with each other and struck Olgierd with a purple lightning.

Nothing was left of him.