Tale of Eldramir

After greeting the guards of the Alkena manor, Ezekiel was invited in to see Allon and Sherra as soon as possible, as there were apparently several members of the Guild and Church of Ten that were looking to speak with him.

“Am I allowed to refuse?” Ezekiel asked when he heard word from the guards.

The members of the Guilds and the Church who were waiting outside the manor looked quite disgruntled after hearing Ezekiel’s question.

A couple moved to step forward before being held back by their peers as the Alkena’s guards continued to speak with Ezekiel.

“Of course, you can! But you need to be aware that it has been expressly stated that they are going to meet with you at some point, be it today or some other day.” The guard who waved him over explained.

“Then I will be back later when I have informed my parents. The last time I was with a Guild member without their presence led to me being knocked out for several hours.” Ezekiel said. “It was not a good time, and I’d rather not experience that again.”

Ezekiel turned away from the manor and started walking away.

Suddenly, Ezekiel felt like he couldn’t move as an immense pressure weighed down on him.

“I don’t think you understand what’s happening right now, kid.” A light and airy voice called out from beside him. “Your presence has been requested by the Roaring Ruins Guild, the Reaching Spires Guild, and the Wandering Titans Guild.”

Ezekiel’s blood was pounding in his ears as he heard the woman speak. Those were the names of the only Tier four Guilds with permanent headquarters in Harkem. All three were apparently meeting with the Alkena’s, and apparently all three were looking for him as well.

Turning around Ezekiel looked to his left to see a woman with silvery hair and eyes leaning against a wall. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and she looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties. On her shoulder was a gray sparrow that was glaring at him. On her arm was a black sash with a spiral shaped tower reaching above the clouds stitched into it.

There were three lines stitched into the sash indicating her Tier.

“If I am not under arrest, then I am not required to go anywhere with any of you. As per the laws of the Empire that dictate the allowable behaviors and actions of the Guilds within cities with official charters granted by the Emperor.” Ezekiel grunted out as the pressure on his body did not decrease. “So let me go, before your over-reaching actions get you in trouble.”

The guild members looked shocked for a moment before several of them let out laughs at the woman’s expense. The woman in question grew indignant as members of the other guilds laughed. The only ones not laughing were those with the same sashes as the woman.

“Why you little-” She started to say as the pressure Ezekiel was feeling began to increase.

The lines showing the enchantments on Ezekiel’s clothes began to glow as this happened. At this point, Ezekiel began to grow nervous, as he would certainly be on his knees if the enchantments broke.

CLAP

A sudden shockwave spread out and across the street as a man with brown hair and eyes, that had a powerful luster to them as he channeled his mana, clapped his hands together. Next to him was a relatively small bear, clearly his bonded Spirit, standing roughly at the same height as Ezekiel's chest.

He couldn’t help but wonder how big that Spirit’s true size was, if even in its condensed form it was still larger than most big dogs.

As the man approached him, Ezekiel immediately felt the pressure bearing down on him lessen.

The man was practically a giant, and Ezekiel noticed that on his arm was a humanoid figure that looked like it was walking. This was the symbol of the Wandering Titans Guild.

He stood at least seven feet tall and was as broad as a house. Yet he was not fat in any way. His muscles were practically tearing his armored clothes to shreds, and Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder if the enchantments that he could see were stitched into the man’s clothes “were for durability so they wouldn’t break just from the man moving around.”

“HAHAHAH” The man guffawed as he threw his head back in laughter. “I like this kid. Not many brats your age have the guts to talk back to a guild member like you just did.”

Ezekiel blushed bright red as he realized that he had voiced his thoughts regarding the man’s attire aloud. He felt like he couldn’t have helped it though. The man was just that ridiculously large, and he was genuinely shocked.

“Garrad!” The woman with the sparrow exclaimed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are the Wandering Titans defying the agreement?”

Garrad, the giant man, placed a hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder as he gave a great big smile in the woman’s direction.

“Ah, Mina, the fact that you’re talking like that means that you don’t get what’s going on here.” Garrad said, the smile never dropping as he spoke.

CRACK

The ground beneath Garrad opened up, splitting down the street and forcing Mina’s feet to part as the fissure ran right between her legs.

“Perhaps I need to smash your face into the ground once again, to see if the fact that you are not in charge will finally begin to sink in!” Garrad’s voice took on a deeper and more echoing tone as he spoke. The smile never left his face as these events occurred, but Ezekiel could tell that he was more than a little bit annoyed.

Mina didn’t say anything as she swallowed nervously.

“Now, I’m going to accompany this bright young man back to his home, so that he can inform his mother of what’s going on. If, and only if, they agree to the invitation to meet with the Guild’s heads, then I and the young man’s mother will return shortly. If they do not agree, then I will come back alone, and explain the situation to the heads personally.” Garrad said as he picked Ezekiel up and placed him on the relatively small bear next to him.

“We’ll be back in a bit. Don’t mess things up like you usually do, Mina.” Garrad said as they began walking away.

Mina just silently fumed as she stood next to the wall surrounding the Alena property. She knew that there wasn’t much she could do in this situation without starting a fight, which would utterly destroy the block of the city they were currently standing on.

As Garrad walked down the street Ezekiel came from, he asked the young man riding his bonded Spirit some questions.

“So, kiddo, did you really activate a Void Relic all on your own without any pure crystals whatsoever?” Garrad asked as they walked down the street.

“Yes. But how did you know? You’re not a member of the Roaring Ruins Guild?” Ezekiel asked.

“Yeah, but I was there when Ishkel managed to get the Relic, so I knew he had it, and when the old man got a bit too tipsy later on he let loose that ‘ a Void brat at the Alkena’s destroyed his Relic.” Garrad explained. “It didn’t take too much digging to find out more information. Especially with the changes going on with the Church of Ten.”

“Changes? What changes?” Ezekiel asked. He knew that new research was occurring at the Church, but he didn’t think that it had caused that much of a fuss. Especially since it was supposed to be kept a secret due to malicious elements not appreciating the effort going into training Void Mages.

“Not much, just some additional collaboration and expanded studies happening that have been shared between the Church and the top four Guilds in Harkem.” Garrad said.

“But what does that have to do with me?” Ezekiel asked, doing his best to feign confusion.

Garrad clearly wasn’t falling for it as he paused and leaned over.

“Heh, word of advice kid, at the higher Tiers, certain Mages and Hunters have the ability to sense the truth from other people. Your voice was steady, but your heartbeat tensed for an instant, something that Brucey could feel since you’re sitting on him.” Garrad told him.

Embarrassed at being caught, Ezekiel looked away with a glare. They started moving again as Garrad and Brucey began to walk.

“... That didn’t answer my question.” Ezekiel said quietly.

“No, it didn’t. To keep it simple, there’s someone in the Church who sold you out. Someone who thinks you’re either too good to be real, or that you need to be taken care of before you become a threat to certain people. People that I, personally, would gladly help you become a threat to.” Garrad stated grandly as they walked down the street.

“Why’s that?” Ezekiel asked quietly. “You don’t know anything about me, so why side with me?”

Garrad's smile fell for a moment, and he was quiet for several seconds as they continued to walk back to Ezekiel’s house. He ended up patting the bear on the shoulder to change directions when they came to a crossroad.

“I had a sister who was a Void Mage. She wasn’t much older than you when someone decided she was a problem.” Garrad said, his voice held none of the boisterous he previously displayed.

“... I’m sorry for asking.” Ezekiel said before falling quiet.

The rest of the walk was made in silence, and before long they reached the front entrance to Evelyn’s boutique.

“Alright, kiddo, go get your mom. We’ll see if we can get a message to your father as well. This talk that’s gonna happen won’t be fun, for anyone, so it’d be best if both your parents were there, rather than having to tell one another instead.” Garrad stated as he picked Ezekiel up off Brucey’s back and gently pushed him forward.

Ezekiel entered his mother’s shop quietly, ignoring the few customers that were mingling about.

Walking up to his mother, who was measuring a very well-dressed man who was being fitted for a suit of some sort, Ezekiel cleared his throat to grab her attention. Reya turned to look at him from where she was lounging on a shelf as he got closer to his mother.

Turning around, Evelyn was slightly shocked to see Ezekiel had returned after less than an hour.

“Ezekiel? What are you doing back so soon?” She asked as she finished placing a pin in the outfit the man was wearing. Reya had jumped down and joined her bonded partner on the ground.

Deciding to just tell her, Ezekiel blurted out an explanation.

“I got to the Alkena’s, but before I could enter, I noticed that there were Guild and Church representatives already there. They invited me in, but I told them not without you or dad, so mister Garrad brought me back here and is waiting outside. He mentioned sending a message to dad to get him there as well.” Ezekiel said as he pointed out Garrad, who was standing next to Brucey and looking into the shop with an inquisitive eye.

The man on the stool looked shocked and let out a small yelp of pain as Evelyn accidentally poked him. She apologized profusely before telling him that she would be just a moment. He looked slightly nervous as he heard Ezekiel mention something about the Guilds and Church. Reya’s hackles were raised by the time Ezekiel finished.

“Please give me a moment mister Holdar, I’ll be right back after I talk with Garrad.” She said as she stepped forward. She gave a quick look to Reya, who nodded and ducked into a shadow in the corner of the store.

Walking over to the entrance, Evelyn briefly spoke with Garrad, looking incredibly frustrated as she did. But Garrad did look apologetic, so it seemed like no bridges had been burned just yet.

As she came back into the shop, Evelyn spoke with Suzy, and Martha, who immediately got to work trying to deal with the current customers as quickly as possible.

“Alright, mister Holdar, let’s get you finished up, and I’ll make sure that your order is ready for tomorrow, okay?” Evelyn said as she got back to finishing the measurements and adjustments. “I understand that the delay of your order might be frustrating, but an unfortunate inconvenience has popped up. Perhaps a twenty percent discount will show you how much we value your presence as a customer?”

“Oh, but of course! I know full well that your services are beyond stellar!” Mister Holdar said.

He looked quite pleased at the offer of a discount. So, Ezekiel and Evelyn both felt that they likely hadn’t lost a potential customer with this incident.

Looking around the rest of the shop, it seemed like most of the customers were understanding as Suzy and Martha fulfilled every request they could, whilst taking notes and making promises in the few instances where they couldn’t fulfill a request in that instance.

Luckily there were only seven other customers at the time, so it didn’t take long before the store was empty of everyone but mister Holdar, who was also gently escorted out as soon as Evelyn was finished with him.

“Thank you again for your patronage. Your order will be fulfilled and ready for pickup by tomorrow at noon.” Evelyn said as she gave a small bow to the man as he left the store.

She gave a sigh of frustration and relief as she turned to Suzy and Martha.

“Alright, girls, I’m sorry, but it seems like work is already finished for the moment. I’ll pay you both for the full day, but for now you’re free until tomorrow.” Evelyn told her employees and friends as she finished closing up the shop.

Roughly an hour had passed since Ezekiel had returned, and it seemed like they were now in a rush to get to the Alkena manor. Something that Ezekiel noticed, however, was that Reya still hadn’t returned from wherever it was that she had run off to.

“Come along, Zeke, your father will meet up at the manor as soon as he can. Reya will likely meet us there as well.” Evelyn said as she and Ezekiel left the shop. “You, there! Garrad. Let’s get going. I need to finish whatever it is you Guilds need from us and go pick up my Girls, so the sooner this is finished the better it will be for everyone.”

“Ah, of course.” Garrad said as he rubbed the back of his head. He couldn’t help but wonder why he was feeling so nervous. He could tell that the small Obscurity Mage in front of him was less powerful than him, even though she was still quite high in the third Tier, but for some reason he couldn’t help but feel like he’d be regretting everything if he didn’t do as she said.

“Mom, could you be a bit nicer to Garrad. He helped me out when this lady tried to force me to come with her earlier, and he was kind enough to escort me safely back to you.” Ezekiel asked and explained. “If you should be mad at anyone, be mad at the Tempest Mage who tried to force me to the ground when I told her no.”

Evelyn looked utterly incensed as she heard what Ezekiel said regarding Mina’s behavior when compared to Garrad’s, and she was quick to apologize to, and thank Garrad for his actions.

Garrad was slightly embarrassed at the thanks, but his deflection of his actions helped cement him as a potential friend and ally at this time.

Eventually, the group made its way back to the Alkena manor, but unlike before, there were no Guild or Church representatives waiting outside, just Alkena family Guards. Instead, there seemed to be a bit of a commotion occurring within the manor boundaries.

BOOM!!!

A loud explosion ripped outwards as the sky filled up with rubble and fire.

“ENOUGH!” a voice from within the manor screamed as the rocks flying in the air suddenly ceased moving and gently floated back inside of the Alkena manor property.

The guards standing outside the property yelled in surprise as they ducked down. That explosion was at least Tier three in power. Fairly high in Tier three at that.

Ezekiel was so shocked he’d stopped moving even as his mother stood in front of him, shadows writhing, to form a shield. Garrad had also taken a defensive stance, his hands glowing with mana as he prepared a spell, just in case. Brucey also grew in stature until he was nearly the same height as Evelyn.

Seeing that the issues seemed to be dealt with, however, Evelyn and Garrad allowed their magic to dispel, but Brucey stayed the same enlarged size, and none of them let their guard down, tension remained as hackles were raised.

Garrad gave Evelyn a confused glance out of the side of his eye. Evelyn’s reaction had surprised him, as he hadn’t expected a seamstress to have such impressive battle instincts. He had been under the impression that she had reached Tier three solely due to her bonded Spirit, but now it seemed like she really was a Hunter worthy of the title.

“Well, this doesn’t seem good.” Garrad said with a forced chuckle as he tried to lighten the mood. “I’ll go first. You probably don’t want to be in the thick of it if a fight starts.”

Garrad marched forward as Evelyn and Ezekiel stayed back a bit. Brucey followed along, growing slightly more until he was shoulder to shoulder with Garrad. Meaning he was almost as wide as half the street they were standing on.

As Garrad walked away, Ezekiel turned to look at his mother.

“Is this normal for the Guilds?” Ezekiel asked.

“... Unfortunately...” Evelyn said with a frustrated tone. She immediately covered her mouth as soon as she said that, before looking down as Ezekiel.

“You don’t have to try and hide it, you know. Even if you haven’t explicitly told me, I’m smart enough to figure out what you and dad used to do before settling in Harkem.” Ezekiel explained to his mother’s embarrassed shock. “Does this mean that the Guild district is more, or less well built than the rest of the city?”

Before Evelyn can answer, Garrad comes back out from the gates, waving at them to come forward and calling for them to come in.

Evelyn and Ezekiel approached, and as they did so, the voices they could barely make out earlier were becoming clearer.

As they entered the property, Ezekiel saw that Mina, the Tempest Mage from before, was injured and cowering behind a woman with violet eyes and hair, which was going gray with age. She bore the same spire and cloud symbol on her armband as Mina did, but hers had four lines on it. A Tier four Lightning Hunter. A falcon with a similar coloring was perched on her shoulder. It was glaring at the man who stood across from her.

A man who stood just a half a foot shorter than Garrad stood in front of the violet haired woman. His hair and eyes were both brown in color, but unlike Garrad, who’s features were more solid, and stone like, this man was sharper, his build comparatively slimmer, and his eyes had a crimson sheen to them. In his hand was a war ax. On his shoulder was a dark red cat with slight orange and yellow highlights in the form of spots and stripes. He bore the symbol of a roaring lion with four lines on his shoulder. A Tier four Flame Hunter.

There were several other people standing around the courtyard, both from the Guilds and the Church of Ten, but everyone’s focus seemed to be on these two figures. Both of whom had caught sight of Ezekiel and his mother entering the property. Evelyn tensed even further as she saw the

“So, this is the little brat that talked back to his betters? He certainly doesn’t look like much, even for a Void Mage.” The violet haired woman stated as they got closer, not once leaving the relative protection that Garrad’s large figure provided for them.

“If you think that little bitch behind you is superior to anyone, then you are sorely mistaken.” The man with the ax said in reply. “So why don’t you take your pesky little chicken, and your worthless little stiff breeze and leave, Kameira? It’s not like the kid’s going to be working with you after your attack dog shit the bed.”

Kameira, the violet haired woman, actually growled as the ax wielding man finished speaking.

“Oh, and you think he’ll take up your offer instead, Reginald?” Kameira asked as she took a threatening step forward. “After Ishkel was practically broken in half by the boy’s father? After your Guild’s executive put the boy in a position where he could’ve died?”

Kameira and Reginald continued to go back and forth as they argued.

It was after a few minutes of this that Ezekiel noticed that there wasn’t a high-level representative from the Church in the courtyard, nor did there seem to be a Tier four member of the Wandering Titans Guild present.

Grabbing his mother’s hand, Ezekiel pulled her toward the building, figuring that there wasn’t much point in remaining there when they hadn’t even met with Allon yet. Garrad, seeing as he was right next to them, noticed where they were going, and decided to follow them as the Tier fours continued arguing.

As they entered the manor proper, welcomed by more Alkena guardsmen, who directed them to where Allon and the other representatives were, Ezekiel looked up at Garrad, feeling even more appreciative at how the man had behaved when interacting with him.

“Are those two usually like that?” Ezekiel asked.

“Yes.” Garrad stated with such certainty that neither Ezekiel nor his mother doubted him for a moment. “The Guilds are supposed to all have the same goal, reclaiming what was lost during the Age of Despair. But most Guilds nowadays only care about one upping each other, and eventually toppling the Prime Guild as number one.”

Ezekiel was confused at that. The Prime Guild was considered number one since it was the only official Guild that had a Tier five member. Most other Tier five beings had long since either forsaken their societal amenities, choosing to become closer to the Spirits, or were the current leaders of the more powerful countries and empires.

“That’s stupid.” Ezekiel said simply.

Evelyn and Garrad both laughed at that, not disagreeing in the slightest.

“Agreed.” Garrad said. “But unfortunately, few are able to overcome their selfish desires in the face of rewards and riches.”

Evelyn looked sad and melancholic as Garrad spoke. Something that Ezekiel noticed, but Garrad and Brucey didn’t, seeing as they were ahead of them in the hallway.

Finally, after walking through several halls, they arrived at the meeting chamber that the guards had directed them to. It was a relatively large room, with a circular table in the center that was big enough to fit at least a dozen people, with room to spare outside of that.

Sitting at one end of the table was an elderly gentleman with almost entirely white hair, but the streaks of brown here and there, as well as the startling bright brown eyes, denoted the man as a Cavern Mage. He wore an armband with the Wandering Titans symbol on it. Curled in front of him, on the table, was a curled up red ferret that seemed to be sleeping.

Next to this man was a Scholar from the Church of Ten, but this was the highest Tier official Ezekiel had ever seen before. Rather than the purely white robes with a badge denoting their elemental affinity, this woman wore White robes that were trimmed with blue linings. They represented a Tier four Glacial Mage, a grand Scholar. Someone who had reached Tier four as a Hunter, but due to the loss of their bonded Spirit, they had retired by joining the Church of Ten. Her hair was only slightly gray with age.

Allon was quietly speaking with both of them, Sherra stood behind him, acting like a personal bodyguard. It seemed like anyone else that was in the room previously had since left to deal with whatever was happening outside. As the door closed behind them, Allon, Sherra, and the two representatives looked over at the three who had entered the room. Brucey chose to stay outside, as he was still fairly big, and wouldn’t be able to sit in any of the chairs inside.

Allon nodded his head in greeting but looked both stressed and tired. He had clearly been sweating but considering the pressure that would’ve appeared had the much higher Tiered Hunters and Mages started arguing, this was nothing to be ashamed of, or surprised at.

“Ah! Garrad. I see you managed to convince the young man here to come. You even managed to find his mother as well! Wonderful. Just wonderful!” The old man from the Wandering Titans said with a smile. “You see, Naeri, I told you my boy would be best for this! No point letting those fools wreck everything like they usually do, right?”

Naeri, the Church representative, was only slightly amused at the man’s words.

“Indeed, Gerome, indeed. However, given the severity of the situation we will not be able to continue without Reginald and Kameira here to represent their Guild. This venture involves all four of our parties afterall.” Naeri said. “For now, please, come sit down. I believe we are just waiting for those two fools outside to finish their argument before we can begin.”

Garrad approached first, heading over to where Gerome was sitting and taking a spot standing behind him, much like Sherra was for Allon. Ezekiel and Evelyn sat down on the side of the table across from Allon and Sherra, and slightly closer to Garrad and Gerome, leaving much of the rest of the table open.

“If it is permissible, I would also like to wait for my husband. He is a captain of the Harkem City guards and should be able to arrive by the time the other representatives are here, if not sooner.” Evelyn said as she addressed Gerome and Naeri. “I would like for the both of us to be here, incase whatever this meeting is about runs late, so that one of us can pick up our daughters as the other remains to watch over our son.”

Gerome and Naeri both had a happy glint in their eyes at Evelyn’s request, while Garrad just kept smiling. At the same time, they tensed up briefly as the shadows beneath the table waved for a moment before Reya stepped out. She quickly leapt up onto the table and started nuzzling up to Evelyn.

Seeing what had set off their senses, the Guild and Church reps in the room calmed down. They also gave Evelyn appraising looks, as if she had done something beyond their expectations.

“Excuse me, but” Ezekiel spoke up, drawing the attention of the rest of the room’s occupants, “what exactly is this meeting about?”

Evelyn, Reya, and Ezekiel each gave the representatives in the room inquisitive looks. As far as they were aware, the only interactions with the Guild that they had ever had in this city was Warren beating up a Roaring Ruins Guild member for essentially conscripting and endangering Ezekiel without even considering speaking to his parents first. As far as they were concerned, the beating Ishkel got was well deserved, and roughly a month ago. If they were going to do something about that, they would’ve done it earlier.

“Does this have to do with whoever it was that sold out all the information the Church has regarding me?” Ezekiel asked.

Gerome and Naeri were both momentarily shocked, before they each sent glares towards Garrad, who was looking anywhere but their general direction.

They both sighed in unison before turning back to Ezekiel.

“Only in part.” Naeri said.

“Wait, what? I thought that my son had nothing to worry about. We specifically went to the Church because we were assured that he would be safe, and that his training wouldn’t lead to anything too dangerous!” Evelyn stood up in outrage as she threw accusations at Naeri, who was one of the highest-ranking members of Harkem’s Church of Ten cathedral.

Naeri held up her hand. A familiar pressure enveloped the room as she flexed her mana to get Evelyn to stop. A slight chill emanated outward from her as well, and the cup of water in front of her frosted over.

Evelyn fell silent, but her eyes were still glaring daggers at Naeri, daring her to dispute what she had claimed regarding the Church’s promises to her and her son. Gerome said nothing as he sipped his now cold tea, deciding that it would be best that he not speak up at this time. Although, the smile he’d had on his face was nowhere to be seen anymore. Garrad as well, was no longer smiling.

Naeri’s eyes lightened as an apologetic look settled on her face. She took a deep breath and sighed once again before speaking.

“Well, it seems like information regarding what Ezekiel has been studying and doing has gotten out. We’re still trying to find out who, exactly, released the information, but we don’t have any leads just yet.” Naeri explained. “Unfortunately, after the information was released, and the Guilds found out, it seems they wish to enlist his services in their next expedition to the newly found Ruins relating to the Ancient Void.”

Evelyn and Ezekiel were shocked at this news. They came here expecting to have to defend themselves from angry Guild members looking for revenge for their broken Relic. Not a job offer to go into some of the most dangerous areas of the world.

SLAM!

The door to the meeting room was thrown open without a care as Warren stood in the doorway, shining brilliantly as he channeled his mana through his body to move faster.

He was breathing heavily, and Theo was on the ground next to him, also panting from exertion, but not as much as Warren, who had clearly carried him at least some of the way here.

Looking around the room, he noticed that his wife and son were fine, but had looks of shock on their faces.

“What did I miss?” Warren asked, entering the room properly, and taking a seat next to his wife, who was now glaring at the representatives in the room.