Tale of Eldramir

It had been several weeks since Ezekiel had last seen Sasha, or Chester, Kurt, Casey, Tori, or any of the other people he had met during his first assignment.

At first he was confused, as he thought that he’d either continue to be involved, at least until the Hull Breaker they’d captured had been interrogated, or he’d have some additional missions assigned to him to keep him busy. More so than the paperwork he’d had to do, did, anyway.

However, after a talk with Scarlet, who was apparently on shore leave with her crew for a few days, Ezekiel found out that the mission they’d assigned him was a test to see how well he worked with the city guard. Apparently, when Carrian said it wasn’t a test, he wasn’t aware that the other Grand Scholars were worried about his ability to work with officials, given what had happened to him.

Ezekiel explained that his father was a guard, so he knew they weren’t all bad. Thus, he knew to await further information before judging people, and summarily telling them off if they were dicks.

As such, Carrian, Scarlet, and a couple of other Scholars were going to continue watching him for now. Something that Ezekiel didn’t mind, as the lack of missions meant that he could continue his training.

He managed to further refine his mana sharing methods with Shine, and the Void Spirit had risen by a full Step, thus getting closer to Ezekiel’s own. This was fortunate, since Shine’s progress had dropped from the amount of mana he’d managed to gather before their mission.

Ezekiel really hated the method of progress when it came to magic. It was good in how simple it was, but the fact that people had to take large amounts of time off if they wanted to increase their Step in their Tier was so frustrating.

He realized now why it was so difficult for those without a Spirit to make progress. Spirits could passively become stronger so long as they were in environments where their element mana was abundant. So, they could share and boost their partners, if given the right methods to do so.

But for Mages, the only way to progress with any sort of speed was to strengthen their Souls. Thus, allowing them to reach further when they meditated, as well as refine and sharpen their visualization techniques. Both of these things increased the speed at which a person could gather mana.

Were anyone else to hear Ezekiel’s complaints regarding the methods of gathering mana that existed, they’d likely slap him in the face. Given his own progress, when compared to others his age, and many of his seniors as well, he was progressing at phenomenal speed. Something that others were noticing.

As such, it was on his way to one of the Church training areas that Ezekiel was stopped by one of the supervising Scholars, and he was directed once again to Carrian’s office. A place he’d only been to once and had no desire to visit again so soon.

Yet, here he stood, once again in front of Carrian’s desk.

“So. I’ve noticed that you’ve been using the training rooms more often than not these past few weeks. Have you finally figured out what exactly it was that you did against that Hull Breaker?” Carrian asked after they had exchanged greetings.

“Only somewhat. But I have figured out the limitations of that spell.” Ezekiel said.

“And those are?”

“Well... First is distance. It seems that, at Tier one, ten feet per one hundred motes of mana is the hard cost. Second, it can be blocked simply by dodging the path of my blade, or by putting something in the way, this includes mana. Finally, it only cuts a maximum of one inch deep.” Ezekiel explained after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “But it cuts anything and everything the exact same. No exceptions.”

“Hmm. That is both surprisingly powerful, but also quite limited. The length of the cut is limited to the distance your sword travels?’ Carrian inquired.

Ezekiel didn’t answer right away, taking several seconds to think before answering Carrian’s question.

“I don’t think we thought to test that.” Shine chimed in from the back of his mind.

“No, we didn’t.” Ezekiel confirmed. Apparently, his thoughts reflected on his face as well, because Carrian couldn’t help but chuckle at his expense.

“Heheheh... You might be quite smart, but it looks like you’re still a way away from being a true Scholar.” Carrian stated.

“It seems so.” Ezekiel agreed. Age alone meant that Carrian and many of the other Scholars knew more than him. Let alone their different personal experiences.

“Well, that actually brings me to my next point. Your actions have caught the interests of some of our Scholars. They’d like to begin working with you to further your research into Void Magic. While they haven’t been sworn in regarding little Shine’s existence. Should you agree to start working with a team once more, then we’ll ensure that they are bound by the proper oaths before things proceed.” Carrian said as he explained why Ezekiel was called in.

For his part, Ezekiel was only partially surprised. He knew full well that the Church of Ten was extremely interested in furthering the advancements of Void Magic. But it seemed like they had previously been content with working on the meditation techniques for now.

Which made sense if you thought about it. Making more Void Mages meant that there’d be more people that could contribute to the study of Void Magic, which would also increase the rate at which said studies proceeded.

There was only one problem with this plan that Ezekiel could think of.

“Grand Scholar... You do know that the majority of what I do is instinctual, right? I can study the effects of what I do, but the actual act is mostly instinctual.” Ezekiel said.

Carrian looked somewhat amused at his worries.

“While that is a possible issue, the monitoring devices that we’ve created and acquired over the years can sense things that Mages and Spirits cannot. Or at least, non-Void Mages and Spirits cannot.”

Carrian sounded fairly confident in his reassurances. They might not be able to sense Void mana when it entered the environment, due to its nature changing right away, but by studying its effects, his hope was to back track, and one day discover some of the secrets of Void Mana.

“I believe that, with the expanded knowledge that we have acquired since the time of the Ancients, we should be able to make some accurate guesses, and proceed from there. Your own enchanting research seems to revolve around a similar idea, does it not?” Carrian inquired teasingly.

Ezekiel couldn’t help but bow his head. He knew he hadn’t been very subtle with his inquiries into enchanting materials and long-distance communication, but he hadn’t expected to be called out like that.

“... I’m working with some... esoteric knowledge, that I can barely make heads or tails of.” Ezekiel admitted quietly.

He was indirectly confirming, for Carrian, that he had knowledge of things in this world that the Church didn’t know. Carrian assumed that it was from the Void Relics and other messages left by the Ancient Void. Ezekiel and Shine knew that it was just relatively general knowledge that came from having passed high school in his previous life.

Most people had at least a basic idea of how a cell phone worked. Same with a radio transmitter and receiver. The problem mainly stemmed from the fact that knowing that a cell phone and radio send and receive signals via waves of some sort is very different from having an in-depth understanding of what those waves are, as well as how they are used to send and receive messages.

Shine seemed to be close to having some sort of insight when they meditated on the topic several nights ago, but it seemed like they either weren’t a high enough Tier or weren’t making the right connections to gain any instinctive insight.

The fact that they didn’t even know if all the rules of physics applied to this world was also a factor holding them back. The existence of Magic alone was already enough for Ezekiel to question just how many extra rules this world seemed to be working on. As well as how many were missing from his old one. If there even were any.

“‘Esoteric knowledge,’ eh? Well at least your subtle enough to not just come out any say, ‘the Ancient Void told me.’” Carrian said in a blunt and sarcastic tone.

Ezekiel dearly wished to roll his eyes, but he figured a bit of respect was owed given the situation.

“I don’t suppose I can get more information regarding this team you want me to be a part of?” Ezekiel asked.

“Well, if you’re agreeing to it, then all you really need to do is report to this workshop by noon tomorrow. We’ll be getting the oaths and contracts formed today, and most of the prep should be finished in the morning.” Carrian said.

“Given that there are oaths and contracts, does this mean that there will be full disclosure on my part? There weren’t any back in Harkem, and, well, we know how that turned out.” Ezekiel was referencing the number of traitors that had sold secrets to the Cult of Light.

Carrian’s eye twitched at the reminder of the Church of Ten’s greatest embarrassment in recent history. Ezekiel also felt that there was a bit of annoyance at his subtle implication when Carrian glared at him.

“I can assure you that such a thing will not happen here. But I can understand your worry. Just know this. At least in Sanafalls, the Cult of Light will not be permitted to exist.” Carrian’s voice had taken on a darker tone as he mentioned the Cult of Light.

Ezekiel couldn’t help but shiver as the sheer intent in Carrian’s voice made him feel just how serious the Grand Scholar was regarding this topic.

“Well, it’s nice to know that those fanatic monsters won’t be bothering us. They sounded really mean from what you said.” Shine said in relief.

“So long as you’re sure. I will get my notes and research organized and ready for distribution to whomever is on my team. Was there anything else that you wanted to address?” Ezekiel asked.

“For the moment, no. Was there anything on your part?” Carrian asked in return.

Ezekiel thought for a moment before speaking.

“What happened to Sasha? I... don’t actually know the procedures for legal punishments in Sanafalls... Actually, now that I think about it, other than being taken in by the guards, I don’t know what most punishments usually are.” Ezekiel said as his tone drifted off in thought.

“HA! Well, for Sasha, since she technically paid back everything that she cost the various businesses in the docks, as well as having been coerced by pirates, she’s been contracted to work as part of public service. In part because of her age. If she were an adult, or a Tier three Mage or Hunter, the punishment would be far worse.” Carrian informed Ezekiel.

“No death penalty?” Ezekiel prodded cautiously.

Carrian looked shocked and affronted at Ezekiel’s question.

“Of course not! She only cost some businesses some money, and it was money that was easily paid back. Had she not paid it back, and provided the city with new income, then she’d be working for a very long time. But as it is, she’ll only be working for a couple years, for punishment, not debt.” Carrian explained. “The death penalty is only enacted with the most heinous of crimes. Murder, destruction of ecosystems on a large scale, and the causation of casualties due to purposeful catastrophic spell discharges. Attempting to overthrow an island's ruling body is also sometimes included in that.”

“Where do pirates sit on that?” Ezekiel asked.

“Usually, one of all four. But even then, if we can take them in, to sentence them first, that is preferable. But due to the dangers involved in doing so for Tier threes or higher, such options are not a requirement.” Carrian said.

Ezekiel nodded his head in understanding. He figured things would be different depending on the severity of the crime, and the power of the person involved. Plus, magic contracts and oaths meant that it was possible to inflict punishments without having to keep people imprisoned for great lengths of time.

“Thank you for clarifying things for me.” Ezekiel bowed his head and turned to leave.

“Ezekiel!” Carrian called out.

Ezekiel turned back to look over his shoulder in response.

“The Empire... It is governed differently due to the power involved in said governing. You will not find such biases in the Archipelago. Not on the islands with a Church presence, at least.” Carrian told him.

Ezekiel wasn’t sure what exactly Carrian was trying to tell him. Was he warning him to be careful on islands without the Church? Was he saying that only the Church was trustworthy and unbiased? Was he saying that only power could determine one’s fate and freedoms?

There were several meanings to Carrian’s statement. Ezekiel wasn’t sure which one he should focus on. Maybe all of them?

Ezekiel decided that, for now, he would get ready for tomorrow. So, without another word, he nodded to Carrian, and left the office.

It was with a stack of folders and notes that Ezekiel found himself walking into the workshop area of Sanafalls’ Cathedral. He had only been here a few times. Mostly when he was given cleaning assignments during his first six months here.

At those times, he was only given the most basic of access to the facilities, purely so he could clean the grounds or on occasion act as a gopher, bringing things here and there for the Scholars. This time was different, since he now had a workshop dedicated specifically to himself and his new team.

It wasn’t his personal workshop, as only official Scholars got those, and he was merely an affiliate ward, but it was still much more than he had before.

Walking through the sector of the Cathedral, Ezekiel finally came to a stop in front of a door with a unique symbol on it. The primary rune for Void was engraved on the door, with a sword piercing through it vertically. Beneath it were five name plates, including his own.

George Leaf. Fiana Fare. Ally Ren. Marc Stone. The first two names had three bars in the color of their respective element engraved on the sides of their name plates, while the latter ones had two bars. Ezekiel’s name plate had just one bar, Indicating their individual Tiers.

Ezekiel stood in front of the door for a moment before reaching to open it. However, a loud ‘SLAM’ from inside brought back instincts he’d developed from his time working with the team at the Harkem Cathedral. Thus, he threw himself to the side, expecting the door to be blasted off its hinges, much like it often was when Quentin let things run without supervision.

Needless to say, Ezekiel found himself the target of a few strange looks as he flew nearly five meters away from the door in an instant. His papers went flying, and the folders he’d painstakingly prepared were made a mess of as his notes went scattering across the floor.

Hands over his head for protection, Ezekiel lay on the floor for a few seconds before he peeked back at the door he’d just been standing in front of. His face started turning red from embarrassment as he realized that there were a few acolytes staring at him.

Pushing up from the floor, Ezekiel began gathering the papers he’d thrown about during his unnecessary dodge.

“Wow! That was impressive. Don’t think I’ve seen anyone else that jumpy in a long time.” A somewhat rough female voice said to him as he grabbed a few papers.

Ezekiel turned to look at who was speaking to him. He saw that she was a Scholar with bright red eyes and hair. Her robes denoted her as a Scholar and given the rarity of Tier three or higher Flame Mages in the Archipelago, Ezekiel felt somewhat confident that this was Fiana.

“Well, the last time I heard a loud noise from behind a closed workshop the door blew up. Given the frequency of those events, you acquire certain instincts.” Ezekiel explained as he picked up the last of his papers. “Are you Fiana?”

The woman smirked at him, somewhat amused by his behavior.

“Yes, I am. I guess that makes you Ezekiel?” She said as her eyes glanced over him and his robes that had the markings of a Void Mage.

“Given that there haven’t been any other Void Mages around, especially ones as young as me, that guess would be correct.” Ezekiel snarked, under the impression she was teasing him.

He immediately regretted it, as he had wanted to make a good first impression on the Scholar’s he’d be working with. It seemed like he was still rattled from before.

“It’s not that big a problem, is it?” Shine asked as they felt Ezekiel’s regret.

“It might be. We’ll need to wait to find out.” Ezekiel replied.

They didn’t have to wait long, however, as Fiana let out a barking laugh as she spoke to Ezekiel.

“HAH! You’ve got spunk, kid. I think we might just get along.” Fiana held out a hand with a large smile stretching across her face.

Ezekiel looked at the offered hand in confusion but reached forward to shake it all the same. He figured that this might be a good time to make new friends. He’d had really bad luck with Flame Mages, and it took some time and meditation when he was in solitary back in Harkem before he managed to get over the fear of being burned again. He still didn’t like standing too close to fires though.

As his thoughts wandered to Aldor and his lost friend, Riley, his eyes couldn’t help but droop downward as he frowned in melancholy. Something that Fiana noticed right away.

“You alright, kid? You’re looking a little down. I didn’t mean to make fun of you, if that’s what you thought.” Fiana said.

Ezekiel shook himself out of his thoughts. He tried to make himself look forward instead. There was no use dwelling on the past, after all. Better to look forward and prepare for whatever comes next.

“I’m fine. I’ve just been on the receiving end of a crazy Flame Mage’s anger before. If it wasn’t for a lifesaving treasure, I’m certain I’d be dead right now.” Ezekiel said in apology.

Fiana winced at the thought of what he’d must’ve been through, as she knew full well the damage that an angry Flame Mage could do.

“Well, I won’t be attacking you anytime soon, and I hope the Mage in question paid for it.” Fiana said back.

“He did.” Ezekiel said. He didn’t feel like elaborating, and bringing up Riley hurt more, so he was hoping the conversation would end there.

Fiana, sensing that Ezekiel was wanting to move on from this topic, quickly gestured to the door. Though, she was somewhat confused as to why Ezekiel was making her so uncomfortable. She thought it might be because he doesn’t act like a kid his age should act but wasn’t certain yet.

“Why don’t we get into the workshop for now. We can see what facilities our team has been provided. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened to you that you obtained such instincts?” Fiana asked as she walked to the door.

“There was a, somewhat... quirky Scholar who I worked with at the Harkem Cathedral. If something didn’t blow up at least once a week, most of our team would start to get paranoid.” Ezekiel explained.

“The Harkem Cathedral? You know, I was an apprentice there, before I reached Tier three and went on my pilgrimage. I decided that Sanafalls was the best place for me to go to, given the proximity to several volcanic islands, and the empires' lack of volcanoes besides Mount Hurst. Are you talking about Quentin Rudy?” Fiana inquired.

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Ezekiel stated.

“Then you have my condolences. I never worked with the man myself, but my mentor often complained about him. Unfortunately, it seems like we’ll be working with ‘Quentin the lesser’ when it comes to this team.” Fiana said.

Ezekiel just raised an eyebrow in question, but Fiana stayed silent as they entered the room.

“Ah! Finally! What on earth took you so long to get here? You didn’t keep the kid held up by getting lost or something, did you Fiana?” A loud and rude voice called out to Ezekiel and Fiana.

Looking to the center of the room, there stood a man with green hair and eyes in front of what looked to be a chalkboard with numerous formulae and Runic scripts on it. In front of him were two more Mages. Apprentices, Ally and Marc, by the look of things.

One was a young woman with blue eyes, and the other was a young man with brown eyes, though they both looked like they weren’t too much older than Ezekiel was. Early twenties at the latest, but more likely late teens. The young man’s eyes seemed to brighten as he caught sight of Fiana.

“Shut it George! I haven’t gotten lost since my first year here, and that was nearly a decade ago. Besides, we’re both on time anyways.” Fiana shouted back.

“You were the last ones to arrive. I’ll call you later if I want to. Besides, unlike you, I know the importance of arriving early to a meeting. It gives you time to organize your thoughts and double check your preparations before meeting everyone. It lets you be extra prepared, while you look like you haven’t prepared anything at all.” The green haired man, George said in a somewhat rude tone.

One thing Ezekiel noticed as George spoke, it seemed like he was actually disappointed with Fiana. Like he wasn’t actually trying to be rude, but instead trying to help her be better at her job. Like his words just now were meant to be advice, not insults and beratements.

Fiana didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she just walked to the side of the room, reached behind a table, and brought out a briefcase with her name engraved on it.

“Ah... It seems you actually are prepared. Wait! How did you know that this was the room we would be meeting in? I only got the letter just this morning.” George asked.

“Unlike you, I actually stayed to ask Grand Scholar Carrian for more details. Rather than just jump for joy and dash out of the room the moment you signed your Mana Binding Covenant after finding out you were on this team.”

By this point, Ezekiel had made his way over to Ally and Marc. The latter of whom was snickering into his sleeve as he watched Fiana and George argue.

“Are these two usually like this?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Unfortunately, yes. But when the actual research begins, they tend to tone things down to snips and snipes, rather than yells and rants.” Ally said in a deadpan voice. “I’m Ally, by the way.”

“I think it’s entertaining, honestly. Especially since Fiana usually wins their arguments.” Marc said. “Oh, and the name’s Marc. You must be Ezekiel, right?”

Ezekiel nodded his head as Ally spoke up.

“It’s just a shame that George seems incapable of learning his lesson. No matter how many times he loses to her. Perhaps then he’d get a little bit more work done on his own, rather than me being his keeper for most things.” Ally couldn’t help but agree and sigh in exasperation.

Ezekiel figured there were stories there but didn’t think now was the time to get into it.

Before he could say anything else. The door to the room once again opened, and this time, it was Grand Scholar Carrian who walked in. He stopped briefly to activate some Runic enchantments that were hidden in the room. From what little Ezekiel caught a glimpse of, he assumed they were for privacy.

Fiana and George immediately fell silent and gave a slight bow to Carrian as he approached.

“It appears you’re all on time. Good. I was worried that George might have a legitimate reason to have grievances this time.” Carrian said as he gave George and Fiana a side-eyed glance.

“Since you’re all here, Ezekiel, I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that none of these people can willingly tell your secrets to anyone outside this room, nor can they discuss said secrets unless under the protection of privacy wards that they are certain are activated and working. So, with that in mind, can you please introduce your bonded Spirit, and allow us to get started.” Carrian got straight to the point, not holding anything back, and immediately put Ezekiel under the spotlight.

At the mention of Ezekiel having a Spirit, all eyes turned to Ezekiel, who couldn’t help but feel a bit of pressure from the intensity.

“A Spirit?! You have a Spirit! That must mean it’s a Void Spirit. Where on earth did you find a Void Spirit!” George exclaimed as he immediately started firing question after question at Ezekiel, trying to find out more right away.

“Calm down, you Spirit fanatic! Let the kid talk.” Fiana said as she slapped George up the backside of his head to make him shut up.

George glared at her but fell silent under Carrian’s expectant gaze.

Ezekiel took a moment to breathe, thinking about how he should word this.

“Just have them talk to me. We know it works, and maybe they can help us work on that one project we thought of. You know. The one that might let me talk to people.” Shine offered up as a possible way of doing things.

“That’s actually a good idea. So long as you’re okay with it.” Ezekiel said back.

“I offered, didn’t I?” Shine said.

“That you did.” Ezekiel said silently as he drew Shine from their sheath.

“Alright, everyone, it would be simpler to explain things this way, so sit down, and put your hand on the sword.” Ezekiel crossed his legs and sat down on the ground, laying Shine across his lap, as if they were meditating together.

The group shared glances, but Carrian, curious to experience this for himself, rather than just reading about it in a report, marched forward and sat on the ground. Placing his hand on Shine’s vessel.

The others, seeing Carrian taking the lead, followed suit.

For a moment, there was nothing, but then, they all heard a happy, but also very shy, voice calling out to them.

“Hi! My name’s Shine! I hope we can be friends and find out more about the Void together!”

Everyone but Carrian flinched backwards, not used to hearing voices in the back of their heads like that. Carrian, for his part, actually let out a melancholic smile. He’d not heard a voice in this manner since his own Spirit had died saving him from a Deep one several decades ago.

Slowly, the others placed their hands back onto the sword currently holding Shine inside it. Then, they spoke, and discussed what they knew so far, about Shine, the Mana, the Void, and more.