Part 1
From Atrox's perspective
I stood in the center of the training hall. This was the third training fight today. Master Denver in light armor attacked me with two one-handed swords. He moved quickly his strikes were light but unpredictable, he was testing my speed not my strength.
I did not raise my sword to block. My task was to dodge using gravity.
When Denver lunged aimed at my chest I instantly activated a minimal Vector Pressure under my left foot. Gravity disappeared at that point and I sharply flew three meters up like pushing off an invisible spring. Denver's swords passed through the air below me.
I descended but not to the floor. I held myself half a meter high balancing on Antigravity force.
Denver immediately changed tactics throwing a pocket bomb at me. It flew at enormous speed. I could not dodge physically. I activated a lateral shift. All gravity around me shifted to the right for a microsecond. My body abruptly moved half a meter sideways and the bomb flew past exploding four meters away from me.
I regained my weight. Denver lowered his swords.
— Good Atrox. You have almost completely mastered dodging through gravity magic. You can control your mass to such an extent that you ignore the laws of physics.
— Thank you master but what about the shadow soul armor and the ancestral sword? You should have found them by now, without them I cannot put my plan into action.
— I am doing everything possible for this. Wait a little longer and your sword and armor will soon be yours.
I stepped closer to Denver.
— You have been feeding me expectations for over a decade. Have you forgotten who I am? If I do not receive the sword and armor this year I will show you what happens to those who do not follow my orders and I will not spare you just because you are my master.
Denver was completely calm as if he was not afraid of me. Smiling he said:
— I understand. I promise you will get what you want this year my Lord. Your threats are unnecessary here.
Denver turned and left.
— Summon Malaxus for me, — I yelled to the servants.
Malaxus was my right hand but mainly he dealt with matters concerning my army.
— You called me my Lord.
— Has the letter from Morlok arrived yet?
— Yes your Majesty. Morlok agreed to your terms and has already taken the necessary measures.
Well at least some pleasant news. I cannot wait until I can take revenge for my people.
Part 2
From Airon's perspective
The first six months in the Guild were a continuous stream of boring routine work. I did not receive a single personal lesson from Kronos except for one: he gave me a thick ancient folio "Fundamentals of Pressure Vector: Gravity Theory" and ordered me to copy it by hand. This was my only training. I was Kronos' acolyte but in reality I was a servant. I washed flasks cleaned cauldrons and dealt with the endless copying of these damned scrolls. In my past life I was an invalid and did not work anywhere. Essentially this was my first real job in my almost forty years and I was not paid a damn thing for it.
Every day after work I sat for hours in the book repository. I read everything I could get my hands on. I studied history old maps and of course I read a lot about magic. But as before healing magic was incredibly boring to me.
My mind searched for a way to distract itself from this meaningless work. I found the answer in the Alteration Magic section.
I found an old dusty tome called "Fundamentals of Enchantment." The book was written in academic language but I quickly grasped the essence: Enchantment magic allows you to embed mana into an object and use runes to assign the object a specific function. I understood it this way: mana is electricity. The object is a battery. If you just stick a wire into the battery the energy will leak out. For it to stay and work you need a closed circuit that will keep the energy inside and use it for only one task.
The book also confirmed my earlier guess: mana cannot remain in an enchanted object forever. Over time the object loses its properties and needs to be recharged with magic. But the runes inscribed on the object can remain forever because they simply instruct the object where to pour mana. Roughly speaking the very property of the enchanted object remains forever but the mana inside the object is not eternal.
I found a chapter devoted to a simple spell: "Non-diminishing Heat" (a basic enchantment creating a slight heating). The formula was clear and tested, the book explicitly stated that the runes were working and optimized by a master.
I took a small smooth piece of polished granite from the workshop. Granite holds heat well and is dense enough. I secretly locked myself in my small room in the Guild dormitory.
Using an enchanted scalpel (a special tool for carving runes) I meticulously copied the Heat Rune onto the granite surface. This was easy. The runes resembled a beautiful yet complex pattern where each line led to the center.
I prepared myself. I stretched out my hand concentrated and began slowly pressing my mana into the rune. The mana obedient to the runes flowed into the stone. The granite became noticeably warm and I felt satisfied.
According to the book after the mana fills the circuit you need to use a sudden powerful mana thrust to seal it inside like putting a lid on a battery.
I gathered all my will and pushed sharply.
The mana inside the stone flashed green but immediately burst out with a quiet hissing sound. The stone cooled down.
— Damn it, — I muttered breathing heavily.
I repeated the attempt over and over. The rune accepted the mana but my sealing failed with a loud crack every time. I realized that this required not just will but the power of transmutation magic to change the stone's structure and lock the energy in.
I decided to act illogically and brutally. Instead of pushing the mana I tried to punch through the stone with it as if hammering a nail.
I closed my eyes. I imagined my mana was a heavy steel hammer and the stone surface was soft clay. When I felt the circuit was full I used the remnants of my strength and struck with all the power I had.
This time the mana did not burst out. The stone sharply heated up and I felt it vibrate. A tiny black perfectly dense point formed on the granite surface right in the center of the rune. A core!
The stone continued to glow with a faint orange light and felt pleasantly warm. I removed my hand.
— It worked! — I felt on the verge of fainting, my body trembled.
But a minute later when I stopped concentrating on the victory I heard a quiet click. The heat began to subside. I realized too late: the seal was broken. The rune was still there but the mana began to slowly leak out through my weak core. After five minutes the stone was cold again.
I collapsed onto the bed feeling completely exhausted. I had failed. But now I had a new hobby.
Part 3
My roommate Lorian turned out to be the only bright spot. He was eight years older than me an advanced earth mage and could have been arrogant but he was just an interesting guy.
He told me various legends of this world and even taught me a bit of earth magic.
But I was still dissatisfied with my new life. No practice or guidance from experienced mages. Of course in my free time I could go outside and practice magic but without Alak's guidance my progress significantly decreased.
— Airon I just finished working in the alchemy lab, clean it up please.
— Of course.
After another workday I returned to my room. Lorian was waiting for me there. He seemed to be in a good mood unlike me.
— Airon you look depressed lately.
— And what am I supposed to do? Rejoice that I am constantly burdened with work and not given time to study magic? — I threw off my stained robe.
— Every acolyte goes through this Airon. So stop whining.
— Don't tell me what to do.
— Ha-ha you are so angry Airon. Let's go today I will teach you how to make a copy of any key from a normal stone. It will come in handy later.
Lorian used earth magic to make a piece of moist gray clay which he brought from his training. He placed it on the bedside table.
— This is a very simple trick but useful, — Lorian began. — Do you have any key?
I took my closet key out of my pocket. Lorian took it.
— Watch closely. First you must make a perfect impression. To do this take a piece of clay and press the key into it gently but firmly. Don't be afraid to get dirty. The important thing is that the pattern of the teeth is clearly visible.
He showed me how it was done. I took the clay and repeated it. My impression was a little uneven.
— Now the most important thing. You must lock the form. To do this you take your mana and imagine it is very cold hard glue and pour it into the clay.
Lorian closed his eyes and directed a small flow of mana into his impression. The clay instantly darkened and became hard as a piece of rock.
— See? I spent very little mana but it froze the clay in this form. Now we have a precise impression.
I tried it myself. I gathered some mana in my hand and visualizing cold glue directed it into my uneven clay. My mana which resisted fire willingly turned into "glue." The clay became hard.
— It worked! — I said.
— Yes but you used three times more mana than I did, — Lorian chuckled. — You do everything too roughly Airon. You press the mana instead of asking it. But no matter. Now to make a copy you must compress this impression with mana and fill it. Earth mages have special ores but since you are an acolyte you can just use very dense earth or as one thief taught me lead.
Lorian although older treated me as an equal which was rare. I put away my clay impression and hid it in my pocket remembering every word he said.
Part 4
It was hard for me to fall asleep tonight so I decided to go to the toilet and take a walk through the empty corridors of the guild. I quietly left the room and walked down the wide corridor on the third floor.
When I turned the corner leading to the stairs I froze. In the shadow standing against the wall with his back to me was an old elf.
I tried to slip past silently so as not to draw attention but the old man sharply turned around.
— Acolyte, — his voice was dry.
— Sir excuse me I was going to the toilet, — I muttered.
The old man approached me. Now I could get a better look at him. Who was he anyway? I knew few mages here but I had never seen him before.
— You are new here right? What is your name?
— Airon.
— Nice to meet you Airon. My name is Enoch.
— I see.
Why does he need to know my name and what is he doing here anyway? All the mages must be asleep by now.
— It must be hard for you being an acolyte. The senior mages constantly make you do their dirty work instead of studying the world of magic.
— Yes it is hard. But I just need to be patient, hopefully next year I will be promoted to student.
Enoch laughed.
— And you want to wait that long?
— Of course not but what can I do?
Enoch's face suddenly became serious.
— You can become a student this month.
— What? — I said thinking I misheard.
— I have connections with Archmage Naum, if you do something for me I will ask him to promote you to student. But no one must know about this.
A very suspicious old man. I see him for the first time and he immediately suggests stealing a book from the guild's secret archive. But becoming a student is very appealing to me.
— But I do not have access to the archive.
— Your father does.
— How do you know about my father? — I asked with a shocked expression.
— That is not important. You just need to take the key from his room and copy it. After that at night you can enter the archive and steal the book. It is called "Grimoire of the Black Whisper," author Illan Silantes.
He took a magic ring out of his pocket.
— This is a magic ring called the chameleon seal. It allows you to precisely calibrate the light around you making you invisible. With it they should not notice you.
He put the ring on and became completely invisible. Although I could still feel the flow of his mana.
— If that is not enough I will also pay you two hundred golden elven coins.
Two hundred gold? That is enough to buy a good horse or a magic staff. I cannot refuse that.
— Okay I agree. Just give me the ring and the money now.
— Of course, — Enoch replied with a smile. — The money will be under your bed.
Under the bed? Why can't he just hand it to me?
— Fine.
— After you take the book out leave it at the end of the Latao River hide the book in the nearby bushes.
— Understood.
He gave me the ring then left. I turned and went to the toilet and then back to my room. Under my bed I found a whole sack of gold. Did he sneak into my room while I was in the toilet and put it there? How did he even know where my room was? I regret getting involved with this old man I have a bad feeling about this.
Part 5
Sunday arrived. Alak as always brought me home early in the morning. Elvarin immediately showered me with hugs and food. Sunday was the day I could forget about the guild. This was my only chance to get the archive key. The moment came after lunch. Alak full and relaxed went into the garden to check his medicinal herbs an activity he was fully engrossed in.
I quietly slipped into his office. I spent a few minutes trying to find where he kept those damned keys. Finally I found them, four different keys lying in the drawer under the desk.
— Which one do I need?
I did not know which one was the archive key or if it was even there. So I decided to copy all the keys using earth magic. Copying such a small object took quite some time. It took me about ten minutes to copy the first three keys.
But then I heard footsteps in the corridor. In a panic I rushed to hide in the closet. Thank goodness I had the magic ring with me so I put it on. The door to the room opened, I couldn't see who entered but by the sound of the footsteps I realized it was Alak. I just had to wait for him to leave. But suddenly he walked right up to the closet and opened it. My heart was beating faster than ever before. He would definitely notice the flow of mana around me. He looked for a few seconds as if searching for something. Then he closed the closet. What a relief.
I waited ten long seconds until his footsteps faded down the corridor. Then making sure I was alone I came out of the closet. I decided not to take off the ring yet just in case.
I returned to the drawer. Four keys lay on the desk. I had already managed to create three keys from hardened clay for the first three using basic earth magic as Lorian taught me. I picked up the last silver key. It was the thinnest and had the most complex shape.
I spent the last five minutes creating a perfect clay mold of this key. When all the keys were copied I quickly but carefully took the four original keys and put them back in the drawer exactly where they had been.
The next morning when I had a few hours of free time I took these keys to a master. Did you think I would just copy these keys and be able to open the lock with them? Not a chance. These keys were made of clay so they would break immediately if I tried to turn the keyhole so I needed to make copies of these copied keys but the copy had to be metal.
By Monday I had lead copies of these keys in my hands. So I could sneak into the archive at night.
Night fell. I did not know what time it was since they had not invented normal clocks in this world yet. But by my calculation it was about two in the morning.
I put the Chameleon Seal ring Enoch gave me on my finger. I directed a minimal flow of mana into it to activate it. I forgot to mention that any magic item is only activated when mana is directed into it. So I could only be invisible for a few hours but that was more than enough for my goal.
I went out into the corridor and descended the creaky wooden staircase that led to the archive.
The door to the Sealed Archive was massive made of enchanted black wood and seemed older than the Guild itself. I started picking the locks with the keys to open these doors. A quiet dry click sounded. The lock yielded. I immediately pulled out the key and entered the Archive.
I went straight to the central section and found it: "Grimoire of the Black Whisper."
I had a little time so I decided to see what kind of book it was.
First it described the author of the book. Illan Silantes was one of the first and greatest alteration mages in Lorelin who lived in the Age of the Guild's Founding. He dedicated his life to creating a weapon that could balance the chaotic power of the elements. For this he took the strongest steel the underground elves could mine and forged a massive wide Plate Sword from it. The blade itself was heavy but its true value lay in the enchantment that Illan applied for a hundred years.
Illan placed one but the most powerful controlled spell on the sword: Eternal Mass.
I became very curious.
The Eternal Mass spell forces the sword to maintain a fixed amount of mass regardless of how fast it is swung or where it is aimed. This contradicts normal laws of physics. When the sword meets armor or a shield it does not lose kinetic energy (i.e. it does not slow down). It retains its mass at the moment of impact which allows it to pierce virtually any obstacle.
Does such a sword really exist? It is hard to believe. Although in this world where there are gods and magic such a sword sounds quite plausible. Well I have lingered here too long it is time to return.
I closed the book put it in my travel bag which I had brought with me and left the Archive.
I walked out into the corridor and immediately stopped. It seemed I was not alone here.
A shimmer appeared a few meters from me in the center of the corridor. The mana in the air which always quietly hummed suddenly froze.
A humanoid figure emerged from this shimmering space. But this was clearly not a human. His eyes were white and emitted light. There were some runes and signs all over his body. Also he was naked and I did not see any genitals on him.
— Airon do not leave through the main door, Naum is waiting for you there.
— Who the hell are you?
— My name is Spherum.
— Spherum, isn't that the god of knowledge?
He laughed.
— Yes, I am the god of knowledge. But you do not have much time now to ask unnecessary questions.
— Does the Archmage know I am here?
— Not exactly. Detection crystals are located throughout the archive. When they detect the mana of a living creature they transmit a signal to other stones connected to them. Then they begin to glow. You apparently thought you could simply fake the keys steal the book from the guild archive and remain unnoticed. Although you are clever for your age you still make foolish mistakes.
— And... and what should I do now?
He folded his hands behind his back his glowing eyes were emotionless and the runes on his body flickered.
— Naum is a legend of electricity so you will not pass him easily. He will kill you in a second. But there is another way.
He pointed his hand at the farthest inconspicuous wall in the Archive.
— This wall, — he said, — was built more than five thousand years ago. Behind it is an old mine shaft that was used to dump alchemical waste into the river. The Guild has long forgotten about it.
— How can I break through a stone wall? I am too weak to break through such thick walls.
He smiled.
— I already know you are weak. But there is a scroll in the sixth section of the archive on the bottom shelf. Use it and then break through the wall with a fireball.
— Why are you helping me?
— That is not important. Do as I said.
Spherum began to melt dissolving in the flickering of runes and then completely disappeared.
I quickly rushed to the section where the scroll should have been. I did not have time to think why the god of knowledge himself suddenly appeared and decided to help me.
I found the scroll. It contained the spell of microscopic gravity zone. I did not know what kind of spell it was but I took the scroll and pointed my hand towards the wall. Then I poured mana into the scroll and it began to act. My hands lit up and went out. And what happened? Well now I need to break through the wall as he said. I created a fireball and shot it towards the wall. The wall which was half a meter wide shattered like glass. It seems the spell from the scroll weakened the density of the wall.
There really was some kind of tunnel there. Without delay I ran inside.
I ran for several minutes until I found an exit to the street.
As soon as I exited I found myself at the end of the Latao River. This was the very river near which I was supposed to hide the grimoire. How lucky I was. I put the book in the bushes as the old man asked. Then without removing the ring I rushed towards the guild.
Part 6
The next morning I started my usual work. I decided to return to the guild through the back door at night. Most likely they did not suspect me. Lorian was asleep when I returned. I was most afraid that he would notice my absence. After all I was gone for at least an hour.
But at lunch when I returned to the room Lorian suddenly asked me a question:
— Airon where were you last night?
I froze for a few seconds. I thought he had not noticed my absence.
— I went to the toilet. Why?
Lorian smirked.
— Did you go to the toilet all the way to Illushion?
— No but it is true.
— Does Alak give you pocket money? — He suddenly changed the subject.
— No. Why do you ask?
— I just cannot figure out where you got a whole sack of gold under your bed.
Damn it! Why didn't I take the sack of gold home with me?
I sat down on my bed and looked at him. I could not convince him but I could try to silence him.
— And what are you going to do Lorian? Turn me in?
— No I am not a snitch.
Lorian sighed.
— You are a genius Airon. But you also take risks like an idiot. I am not going to turn you in to Naum.
— Thank you.
I had become friends with Lorian recently so I guess that is why he won't turn me in. But I had a lot of questions about what happened tonight.
— Lorian listen. Does Spherum often help people?
He thought for a moment.
— I have heard that among all the non-absolute gods Spherum interferes the most in the affairs of mortals. Perhaps that is why he might help someone. But I think there must be a reason for it. I doubt the god of knowledge would just help mortals for nothing. And why are you asking?
— Oh nothing just curious.
So Spherum had a reason. But what benefit did he have in helping me? Was it all because of that damned book? But if he is a god why can't he just teleport into the archive like tonight and take what he needs? Or did he need me not the book? Maybe he has plans for me so he decided to save me from death. Maybe he knows something about my reincarnation?