Fire crackled from the hearth of the mansion's living room. Once it was filled with warmth and smiles and laughter from its occupants, now replaced by the lingering cold air coming from its lord. Lanius sat by his grand chair, his gaze never leaving Damian ever since the incident at their training yard.
Catherine comforted Damian, her arms never leaving his sniveling body. She stroked his wavy black hair as every mother would. In her eyes, no matter how much power her children hold, they will always be her precious little babes.
Lanius let out a long, deep sigh before he spoke about the thoughts that stirred in his mind.
"You will tell me everything, boy." Lanius said, "And you will answer me clearly, and understandably. I won't scold you if you speak the truth."
Damian forced his reluctant head to face his father's hard, cold face. An hour ago he had clearly known what his fury looked like. The crushing grip of his iron fingers on his tiny shoulder ran a dark chill in his spine. Damian understood why his father lost control, he almost got Ivan grievously injured due to his Freeze spell that went out of control.
It is time for Damian to face consequences. Whether Lanius would permanently restrict him from using magic or ripping off his booklet to pieces, the outcome of today's questioning will decide the verdict.
"Damian," Lanius said, "you were having sword training with your brother, the weapons of choice are wooden swords made for this exact exercise. What part of it did you not understand that you had to use your magic?"
"Father- I- I thought it would be better to use everything that I have in order to win—"
"The point of a sparring is to test out and apply the principles of sword training," His father snapped, "Mana reinforcement, the sword techniques and everything the two of you had learned so far and you insist on casting spells because you were going to lose to your brother?"
"But father, if Ivan were to fight in a real battle, he would encounter enemies that are not swordsmen or warriors," Damian said. "Its not the first time I used magic whenever we fought, and even then he was beating me each time we fight."
Lanius glanced at Catherine, his eyes now curious of what she had to say in this. Afterall, she was the one who inspired Damian to learn magic and helped him awaken his mana radiance.
"Cath, you never told me of this."
"My love, you were already burdened with your paperwork at the office and I do not want to give you a lot more to think of." Catherine replied, "Children fight all the time, and I had already corrected their quarrelsome attitude last time. I truly thought it was over…"
"Still, Damian intended to use magic knowing it would harm Ivan. Had I not been quick on my feet, our son would have been lying cold in his bed." Lanius almost raised his voice with his reply.
Catherine's voice wavered upon hearing her husband's words. He was right, even if Ivan was strong for a child, the ice spell that Damian casted would have taken the lives of a hundred more people had they been within the spell's direction. How much more if it was a boy the age of seven?
Lanius on the other hand, is a man of Arcaedian descent, the only man alive to attain the Northernblade Conqueror title. Having a body of what normal people would call a demigod, he easily shrugged off the destructive Freeze spell that was too massive and wild.
Something was amiss. A child should not be able to do that feat, no matter how talented they were with magic.
"Uhm, father?" Damian said, "There's something I must tell you, about the ice spell I casted…"
"What of it? Speak."
"The Freeze spell wasn't supposed to be massive in scale. In fact, it should have been only the size of a grown man's lower body." Damian explained, "As stated on the notes of mana fundamentals book, the spell's purpose is to hold attackers from advancing further. It will let the caster decide to counter attack or flee safely. I only meant to restrain him, not hurt him terribly, father."
Damian waited for his father to think about this fact.
"Damian…" Lanius said, he paused for a moment before continuing, "You mean to say your spell output increased at an abnormal rate?"
"It could be."
"Tell me, since when did you feel your power surge all of a sudden?" Lanius wondered.
Since when…wait, could it be? Damian thought, his mind scrambling for every trace of strange occurrences that had happened before the incident at the training yard.
Then it dawned on him, during their time at the Mistypeak mountains, to the cavern that led him to a wide chamber pulsing with great and ancient magic.
The runes that were carved on each pillar surrounding a magic circle, and the etherites that powered the runes which must have granted him an ocean pool of mana responsible for the absurd mana or spell output…it all made sense. It's the only answer, the truth, and he was reluctant to tell his father of it.
"Father," Damian said, "The day before we left the Mistypeak mountains, in our camp, before you came back from your morning hunt, I discovered an entrance that led me to a cavern a few yards away."
"I assume you went inside, knowing how dangerous it might be?" Lanius sighed as he pinched his eyebrows.
"Some…force compelled me, I was drawn to it."
For every sentence Damian finished, his father's sighs grew deeper and longer.
"I had commanded Sir Elric to watch over you two, and strictly instructed him to never let both of you wander outside the camp." Lanius's frustration seemed to grow as the questioning went on. "Did Ivan follow you inside the cavern?"
"Yes father, but we never entered together," Damian said, "Ivan went inside when he heard me cry out his name. Sir Elric came with him to look for me, he was panicking, both of them were worried as they saw me laying flat in the circle. I chose to keep the truth of what had happened to me to avoid Sir Elric his punishment."
"You troublesome boy, and here I thought you were the smartest of my children."
"I'm sorry, father…forgive me and Sir Elric, it was my fault for being too curious."
"You have no business with what I must do to my sworn knight." Lanius said, before turning to face his wife. "Cath, do you have knowledge of this- is my son ill?"
"I don't know," Catherine said, "He was fine even with so much energy poured onto his body by the magic circle, only when he casted a spell that something came out wrong. Damian couldn't control too much power…"
"Then he is sick without a doubt." Lanius sighed once more, his elbows now rested on his knees. "Can you treat him? Make him learn to control this overwhelming magic?"
"To tell you the truth, it is beyond my ability to teach him the level of mana control fitting for his casting output." Catherine admitted and Damian understood. She can heal, but not suppress overwhelming magic.
Catherine is a master of channeling the Lord of Dawn's holy magic, a different category of magic that relies on one's faith and not mana. She does not use a spell, but an invocation of the Lord's will. Although she can use mana manipulation for elemental magic, her level is only that of an Intermediary-rank.
"Damian," Catherine said, cupping Damian's cheek and slowly turning his head to face her. "With your current state, the only thing we can do right now is to restrict you from using magic, but only temporarily. Not until you're old enough to control it."
Damian's eyes flickered, it hit him hard. Was age the great factor for mana control? It made sense if that was the case. Though even an experienced mage couldn't hold the abundant mana he currently possesses. That's what he thought. With only the exception of Archmages. They have everything, greater mana control and mana pool, as well age and experience mostly being centuries old.
"A wise decision, my love, I thought I'd be the one to say it." Lanius said, "But after hearing the truth of why Damian was able to cast that Freeze spell of large size, I could only say that he awakened his Arcaedian powers."
Awakened. The air shifted all of a sudden.
"He's not sick as I previously thought, no…" Lanius leaned forward in his chair, "Damian must have awakened too early because of the magic circle. Depending on which mana manipulation a person of Arcaedian blood is naturally proficient at, once he reaches a certain age, an awakening will occur. I was at the age of nineteen when my mana reinforcement had increased drastically through the countless day and night I train with my sword."
Lanius stood from his seat, and slowly stepped forward to kneel on one knee in front of Damian. "To your powerful mana radiance…there's nothing I can do to help you control it. But there is another way."
"What is it father?" Damian said.
"To the capital of Aisdel, there is an Archmage and the only man who became an Archmage in the history of the Northlands." Lanius said, "Archmage Ray Amarant, the master of gravity magic, and the founder of Northland Magic University located at the capital city. I wanted him to personally teach you how to control your absurdly strong mana radiance and large mana pool."
Archmage Ray Amarant, one of the seven great archmages of Terra. Thoughts swirled in his mind. A chance to meet one of the greatest magic users, and the archmage who made learning magic accessible in the Northlands.
Was he too blessed at this point? Damian could become the youngest archmage had he been trained with the great Ray Amarant. But his growth in mana had become so massive that his body couldn't keep up with the demanding mana control. He was half-excited for advanced magic lessons and half-worried because of the volatile nature of his spellcasting.
***
Servants prepared supplies and the stablemen readied the horses for the carriage outside the mansion's front yard. Sir Robin and four Vermilion guardsmen stood at attention from behind, waiting for their lord to leave the mansion doors and step inside the carriage.
Damian walked beside his father, and he gestured for his coachman to get the horses ready to move; they left the mansion as quickly as they possibly could. The time it will take to travel from the Vermilion estate at Melvor, towards the capital city would be a week or three. And that depended if the weather is clear for the following days, or arduous if a winter storm had struck them in the open field
As they moved outside their mansion, people had gathered at a respectable distance from the estate. Onlookers. Of course, news had already spread to the nearby villages about the massive ice that will not melt for the weeks to come. Sir Elric can break it, he's strong enough to slice a boulder, but Lanius only instructed him to watch over his family while they were gone for the capital.
For days that came by, the weather was surprisingly clear. A few snow drops from time to time, but no storm, not yet, and hopefully it remains the same once they head back home.
Twelve days have passed, almost two weeks of travel. Damian looked over the carriage window to watch over his surroundings. They were nearing the capital city. It is a port city with high walls of grey made of heavy stones spread over a mile, the defensive towers even higher. For almost seven hundred years, the walls protected the city from harsh winter storms of the north, and it will remain that way for more centuries to come.
The high hill of Ericus located at the cliff that overlooked the frozen bay, there stood the castle Emberhall. It loomed over the houses and structures of the city—even from afar it is clear that it was built to symbolize the Duke's overwhelming power. The color of limestone walls of the castle complements the red roofs and pointed spires that cover its top.
The city had three gatehouses. The main gate is where the travelers, adventurers and common traders pass towards the market and other establishments. It is guarded by the heavily armed Vermilion household warriors.
The left gatehouse is where soldiers enter and the army's attendants typically move to transport supplies for the city and castle guards. In times of war, the right gate will open for Ericus's warriors to attack an invading army and flank them. But there was no blood shed at the city walls, not since its founding. No armies dared to clash with the Duke of the North who the people thought of as god among men. Mountains shatter with a swing of his great axe, summoning thunder and lightning with him—a storm given form of a man. One of the last blood of Arcaedia.
"Father, am I to meet the Duke?" Damian asked.
"Not yet," Lanius said, "I must speak with the Archmage first."
The Vermilion guardsmen recognized the rampant red lion on a white field embedded on their carriage door. They signaled towards the traffic of carts and people to let them pass without delay. Such is the power of a Great House's sigil.
Compared to Kolberg, Aisdel City is already developed and tested to withstand a harsh winter storm. The cobblestone roads are swept clean of snow and the streets are wide to make it easier for everyone to walk around. There were no street vendors either, city laws forbid them. Everything must be orderly and clean within the walls.
Houses were built with whitewashed stones, others are mixed with concrete on their walls. The roofs on the other hand were red-colored tiles and sometimes even grey slates. They both have something in common, that they were strikingly similar to Lynerian architecture.
Their carriage passed over the main city road and turned towards the left. Commercial stores and inns lined the road towards the Northland Magic University. The stores commonly sell magic items and learning materials and grimoires. Though their prices are much higher compared to where Damian had bought his mana fundamentals book. He wondered if the old merchant-mage's business had been thriving at Kolberg. He wanted to visit the old man in his purple tent to thank him someday.
Boys and girls happily sat at the benches where Lumenstone lamp posts illuminated with a warm glow. They wore dark blue robes, and on their hands the books to study with. University students. Damian wanted to wear their uniforms someday too, make some friends perhaps? He had no close friends, and didn't know how to make one either.
Upon entering the arch gate of the university, there were unfamiliar faces entering and leaving the place. Students from different races and ethnicities chatted, laughed and mingled with each other. Beastfolks, olive-skinned boys and girls from the southernmost part of Talos, there were others with darker skin tones and members of northern tribes wearing traditional furs. The Archmage Ray had made his school of magic open for all, regardless of age, status and race.
The carriage came to a halt near the entrance of the main building. Damian looked outside the window and saw many students had gathered around—though they maintained a respectable distance—near the carriage, murmuring among themselves.
Lanius opened the door, with him his six-year old son and his knight clad in green and fur. The murmurs had stopped with the presence of the lord heir. Without ever looking at the students, Lanius walked with Damian and Sir Robin inside the building, headed towards the principal's office. Archmage Ray is the founder as well as the principal of this school.
They stopped abruptly by the office door. Lanius stood rigidly, with his fists tightened. Must he always grudge on mages all the time? His father had been bitter to anything related to magic and mages, with the sole exception of Catherine, Damian's mother.
Damian had thought of asking his father, there must be something deeper than just "magic is dangerous and volatile" reasons, or "it is not what a child should be studying". If that is the case, then why did Lanius train both him and his brother in swordsmanship and mana reinforcement? Aren't those disciplines capable of violence and destruction the same way magic does?
Lanius finally opened the door. The principal's office had a warm air surrounding it, mixed with the vintage and varnished shelves, tables and chairs. Though the welcoming from the man at the main table was somewhat delayed.
The Archmage, who is also the school's principal, is occupied with his paperwork that it took him a while to greet the lord heir. Ray Amarant is a man in his eightieth year, naturally he had wrinkles, but only it was in his forehead. He looked healthy for a man his age. His hair was dyed purple—yes, dyed, even the beard and mustache—Damian did not think anybody from House Amarant had natural purple hair, only dark brown. Archmage Ray must have dyed his hair to hide the greyness of it. He wore a blue cloak with gilded shoulder pads, and a pair of round, ornate gold-colored chain pins, a fine tunic and trousers of dark purple. His quill on the other side of the table moved by itself. Perhaps it is to help him sign petitions or written policies.
A soft snore caught Damian's ears. It wasn't grating at all, but a gentle summer breeze coming from a fair maiden. He looked to his right; a young woman had flopped herself onto the reading table so casually inside his office. She has a fine, long and flowing blonde hair on a lighter shade—silver-gold should be the proper term, and it was messy, with some strands sticking on her cheek and lips. Her skin was milk-white, and her ears are pointed like the tip of a spear.
An elf? Damian thought, An elf! his jaw dropped, forming an 'o' shape on his lips. He glanced on her sides and there were mountain-piles of books hoarded like treasures and gold of a dwarven mine. The bookshelves emptied like someone had scoured it and never returned the books.
Behind her was a red staff with silver accents; the top of the staff had silver dragon wings and a fiery red orb at the center. The young woman wore a simple reddish-brown robe that looked similar to monks. Even with such simple clothing, her gentle and peaceful face shines through, radiating a warm glow.
Ray Amarant glanced at Lanius, then down to Damian.
"Lord Lanius, welcome," Ray said, he stood casually and greeted them plainly, "and to your son as well."
"Mhm," Lanius hummed, "I have an important matter to discuss with you, Archmage Ray."
"Of course, please sit down." Ray gestured for Lanius to sit besides his table.
Damian took a while to sit down. He had been staring at the elf maiden for too long that his father noticed and called him out for it. The boy was struck by her otherworldly beauty, no doubt.
The father and son are settled at their seats. Ray spoke first.
"I assume that your son has magic potential and you would like me to take him as an apprentice?" Ray said bluntly.
Lanius's eyebrows furrowed, the Archmage spoke as if he is equal in power with the lord heir. And it is true. Archmages themselves are capable of shaping landscapes and leveling islands or even entire countries if they wanted to. They are not bound by political factions and countries of their origin but the Guild of Mages. The Northland Magic University is regulated by the guild itself.
"I would like to, and I have plausible reasons for it," Lanius said, glancing at his son. "Damian is a boy of only six years, and he has always been fascinated by magic. I would not allow him to study it, knowing the risks and because he's too young to be practicing it. But, of course, children are a curious bunch. He snuck up to buy a magic learning book without my knowledge on our visit to Kolberg. And before I knew it, he had already awakened his mana radiance just a week after buying it."
"Hmm, there are cases of young prodigies unlocking their mana radiance in just a week or two," Ray said, rubbing his beard as he spoke. "Those prodigies came from old lines of noble mages, I assume he had inherited that magic potential from his lady mother?"
Lanius only nodded.
"Then I won't be teaching him, there are other mages around the Empire roaming around to find tutoring jobs and I'm not one of them." Ray said. "Aside from that, the lordling will be living away from his parents. Won't he miss you and his mother—"
"Let me speak and finish my reasoning," Lanius's voice grew colder.
"Very well, speak, lord."
"Damian…he had also awakened his Arcaedian powers too early." Lanius said, "I was already a young man when I awakened mine, and my mana reinforcement has become more powerful than I could ever imagine. In Damian's case, he accidentally unlocked his power inside an old cavern, and a magic circle chamber of sorts. When we came back home, he recklessly casted an ice spell of intermediate tier, and it went out of control. Far too massive, towering over a small house and even broke the wall on our training yard. It turned into a trail of long, massive ice walls of jagged and grotesque points."
"Oh dear…" The Archmage's tone had changed, "A mana reservoir circle? It couldn't possibly do that. I have plenty of it in my training facility, but the mana inside those circles cannot awaken a boy of Arcaedian descent. And your son's spellcasting… It is absurd."
Damian raised his hand, wishing to speak. Ray gestured for him to do so.
"Lord Archmage, the cavern chamber I stepped into had pillars with runes carved onto them, and etherites on each stone. It responded the moment I stood in the middle, and the magic circle must have granted me a large pool of mana."
"It forced your body to awaken early, and you are not capable of handling it…" Ray grimaced, taking this matter seriously.
"Archmage Ray," Lanius said, "I wanted to hire you as his tutor to teach him to control his power. The payment shall befit a mage of your standing, as it should be."
"Very well," Ray stood, putting both of his hands onto the table. "I will teach him everything about spellcasting control, to stabilize this absurd nature of his magic. If I have the time, I should look for the magic circle responsible for Damian's second awakening."
"It would be an honor, Lord Archmage," Damian smiled. He will be taught by one of the most powerful mages and at the most prestigious school in the north. Although he would be separated from home, away from his dear lady mother, from his sweet Liana and even his wildfire of a brother, Ivan, it is for the better of all. The current nature of his casting output would put those dear to him in grave danger, it was the only choice to make. There is nothing to be sad for…
"I need to witness it myself," Ray stepped off of his table, headed towards the polished white brick wall. "Damian, these walls are made from mana-absorbing stones. Calicites as they are called. Activate your mana radiance and cast your freeze spell here."
"Cant we do it outside, lord? At your school's training yard?"
"Yes we can, but it will cause students to gather around to watch you and distract them from going to their classes." Ray insisted, "Besides, I can use both dispel magic and counterspell magic. But more importantly, I wanted to see the scale of your mana radiance.
Lanius stared at the Archmage, hesitant about what he was trying to achieve here. Ray might be too overconfident of his magic capabilities, his reassurance didn't fully convince Damian. After a brief moment, he and Sir Robin stepped aside, allowing Damian to focus.
If that is what you wish to see… Damian thought, taking a breath full of air and letting them all out.
Damian stood a few feet towards the wall, with his father behind him, and with Ray on standby. A faint blue glow surged out of him, it flowed like a flash of hurricane. Unpredictable. Spontaneous. Everyone in the room felt it, his mana radiance overflowing. He reached his right arm, hand gestured and aimed at the wall.
Ray Amarant looked towards Damian with near excitement, uttering a silent yes under his breath.
"The cold winds of winter gather to me, I call upon the biting chill that turns a warrior's fiery spirit into an ice-cold memory." Damian chanted, a winter storm whirling from his little hand as it howled across the room.
"Freeze!"
Icy winds stormed out from his hand as it hit the magic-absorbing calicite wall. Books flew, and tables and chairs got pushed back, the air around the office shifted as the storm continued to grow.
"Archmage Ray!" Lanius called the Archmage out, "The wall, look!"
Glowing blue cracks had spread to the calicite wall. It meant that the stone could not absorb too much magic. It will soon break.
"I know," Ray raised a finger to shush him down, "Let me witness this boy's magic for a few more seconds!"
The air had changed and it howled higher at which the men raised their voices to hear each other. Patterns of glowing bright blue continued to trail onto Damian's arms and cheek, and the longer the overcast, the brighter the patterns will glow.
Archmage Ray flicked his arm to dispel Damian's Freeze spell. A deafening snap was heard around the office. The air vibrated and shook the bodies of everyone that stood. Ray stood with his arm still raised, confused, Damian's intense spellcasting had been halted, but it wasn't him who dispelled it.
"I've heard enough…" An icy voice called behind them. "I've seen enough…"
Everyone turned to glance at the young lady sitting lazily on the reading table, her right arm stretched upwards and her hand gestured to an aftersnap. Her pointed ears wiggled once, sleepy eyes opened, but not fully, it was more of a cold squint. Light and bright blue eyes stared towards Damian. The boy froze in awe.
The elven lady stood, stepped out of the reading table. She found herself looking down at the boy, silently judging him. And although she stood no more than Damian's head reaching her shoulder, her presence carried a weight heavier than the Archmage Ray Amarant.
"I'm taking him…"