“Sir! Incoming!”

“Incoming what?”

“Seems to be massive energy balls fired from psybatteries.”

“Simeon, you really need to be specific about things like these. For all I know, it might be incoming cooked ham, which I will

gladly welcome with open arms. Now, repeat your report!”

“Sir! We have incoming enemy bombardment!”

“Nicely done. Shields up!”

A transcript of a conversation between General Gramatton Johnson

and his most trusted aide, Simeon Doronil

(Imperial Records on Accounts of the Unification Wars)

“Krysperia: The Legacy of a Dragon. Well, thanks author, whoever you are, for crediting me. I hope that I can find what I’m looking for in your book”.

He scanned the beginning part of the book. There was an introduction of the lay of the land, the surrounding kingdoms and city-states that were to become part of Krysperia, and the kingdoms that became vassals to the Emperor of Krysperia.

The book also noted several of the famed accomplishments of the First Emperor, especially his triumph over the dragon swarm living on the site of the future city of Krysperium. The mana node can be considered a treasure, the heart of the continent, that is the reason why a large number of dragons coveted it. The immense energy that it gives off attracted the dragons, like a lamp mesmerizing moths. Kingdoms also lusted over the mana node, but none of them succeeded. Their vast armies cannot wrest the node from the grasp of a thousand dragons. No hero dares to go against such a large number of dragons.

The entire continent was surprised when an unknown adventurer was able to drive away the dragons. It was only a matter of time before people started following such a powerful man.

“Heh, there’s nothing about me before I killed off all those dragons; that’s not surprising, though.”

A short piece on every one of the Dragon’s Chosen was also included, detailing their past exploits and achievements before they joined the Dragon Emperor in his conquests. He did not bother reading them, as he was sure they were froth with inaccuracies.

“Wait, there’s only eleven of them.” He tried counting the list again. “Huh, seems that guy was not included here, figures. Another question that needs an answer, I guess.”

He flipped forward a few pages. He came across the conflicts that were to become the precursor between the fight of the Union and the Coalition. Page after page, details of the past came floating back to him. These events seem so docile and boring now as they were reduced into a book. Just a thing of the past. He looked at the other persons in the library. The elderly librarian, a couple of lovers that seemed to be intent learning from other sources instead of the books in front of them, a young student, judging from his clothes. What he was reading surely would be meaningless to them. An oversimplification of history.

He sighed and continued flipping the pages. “Oh, the Blighted Multitude is coming now. There we go, just skip forward a few chapters then.”

Aya went forward reading the book and reached the point where he supposedly died. He skipped over those pages as well, it was just passages droning on and on about how the people rejoiced in their deliverance and sorrowed at the death of their savior. Reading about one’s own death, even if it did not really happen, was not a pleasant experience. Then he came upon the start of the next conflict.

“After the loss of the Emperor, dissensions and rebellion began to take hold in the kingdoms compromising the empire of Krysperia. Such treachery and traitorous sentiments were traced back to the Void Houses whose allegiance was always in question even before the conflict arose between the Union and the Coalition. The remaining Dragon’s Chosen led the war against these secessionists to preserve the integrity of the empire and, more importantly, the legacy of their master.”

Lies, Aya thought as he shook his head. He paused, but he really did not know what happened after he fell asleep. Did his Chosen actually lead a war against the Void Houses? Why in the world would they do that? The Void Houses have tremendous influence both politically and economically but Aya did not believe that the Void Houses would actually incite insurrection. Long before his rise to power, the Void Houses have been small islands of independent authority. They were never a part of any kingdom or city-state nor did they try to govern a territory. In Aya’s opinion, they were more of elitist snobs.

“But what would I know; I was already asleep at that time.” He wouldn’t know if they did try to carve out their own territory after the war against the Blighted Multitude. But he can see no reason why they would do that.

The page contained several void fortresses that the armies of the empire subdued, apparently under the leadership of the surviving Dragon’s Chosen. The book did not indicate how many of the Dragon’s Chosen participated in such military actions. Aya was sure Clement was not among their number. Unlike him, Clement was a member of the Void Houses, the Void House Tiberius of the Cabalcanun Peaks. Surely, he will not raise his hand against his kin. Even if they were to incite rebellion within the empire, Clement would not agree to eradicate their line.

Turning to the next page, he found the start of another chapter. There was no more mention of the battles against the void mages. He closed the book and set it aside.

“That’s it? What the hell was Clement doing at this time? Did he die?”

The people in the library looked at him. Obviously, they were disturbed at his outburst. He gave a slight nod in apology to the librarian and the student studying, and a thumbs up with a wink to the two lovers of books and lovers of each other.

He reached out for another book from the stack that he had borrowed.

“Magic at Your Fingertips: An Introductory Guide, there should be some mention of it here.”

The hardbound leather book was just about two inches thick, quite a light reading compared to most books on magic. Aya scanned the table of contents, and then he tried skimming over the book. Nothing.

“Novices’ Guide to Elemental Magic. Hmm, obviously not this one.” He began rummaging through the pile of books that he borrowed. The librarian noticed the noise he was making and shushed him.

After shaking hands on the deal he had with the Nephtalis, he hurriedly went to the library. He did not ask any more questions on void magic and the Houses of void magi. He sensed that it was considered a taboo topic, and pressing on the discussion would lead to suspicion. He could not quite put his finger on it, but there was a difference from the way the Nephtalis reacted to his mention of void mages compared to how people react when talking about necromancers. There is a certain prejudice abound in society against the raisers of the dead in the past and, most assuredly, even in the present, quite understandably so, but the current sentiments about void users seem to be much worse.

Researching in the library was the best option to obtain information without directly asking anyone. The books he requested touched on the history of Krysperia and basic introductions to magic. It was an innocent enough topic that would not arouse any suspicion; it would have been very stupid to directly ask for books about void magic.

He looked for contemporary readings on void magic to have a clue on the underlying reason for attacking the void mages. There was an anti-imperialistic spin on the story on why the void mages deserved to die. But if the reason for their purging was because of leading a rebellion, that does not explain why void magic should become a taboo. Void magic was not exclusive to the Void Houses anyway; although very rare, people that can use void magic are born without having any blood connection to any Void Houes- an example of which was himself.

“Nothing. Elemental magic and void magic are very much different from each other. If it’s still being taught then there should be at least some book about it.” It seems like the Nephtalis were not lying. There was no mention at all about void magic in the books that he read. All knowledge about void magic seemed to have been purged and repressed. But why? Answers to that question will most likely not be found in the library.

Aya began stacking the books that he borrowed, ready to return them. “I thought that Orvin was just joking about Clement being an Elemental magus. Rebecca was the one who could control the five aspects of elemental magic. Apparently, some parts of history have been rewritten.”

He carried the books he borrowed back to the counter. Clement was obviously held in high esteem by the people and hailed as a hero. He can’t be a user of void magic if he is to be idolized, that’s why they changed that part of the story of Clement. Who was ‘they’ anyway?

Aya scratched his chin; evidently, it was not all peace and prosperity after the war with the Blighted Multitude. Many more were bound to have perished if they waged war against the Void Houses. House Felarus, for one, lives in a heavily fortified island. Trying to land on the island would surely incur thousands of losses. And where was Clement? Was he killed? There’s no way they could have killed him, Aya assured himself.

“Why the frown young man? Girls will not go for a boy with a frowning face.” The elderly librarian peered down from her reading glasses. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Sadly, no,” Aya said, placing the stack of books by the counter. “It’s kind of an obscure subject matter on magic. I didn’t know where to start so I just scanned the basics for now. I will come back some other time.”

“Well, turn that frown upside down before you go.” The librarian gave him a smile.

Aya smiled back and was about to leave, then he stopped. He returned to the library counter and asked, “Sorry to bother you again, do you have any books on Roghinia?

A young man was lounging on a chair with an open book by the window. He preferred the natural light from the sun compared to the light from mana orbs.

“Felix, you’ve been stuck on that page for a while now,” Felixia said. She looked up from her parchment where she was scribbling designs for various seals. On her right was a mountain of crumpled paper filled with failed constructs. “You’re still thinking about that power interruption thingy?”

“It was ruled as a normal part of the process of upsurging.” Harvey was behind a mirror, arranging his golden locks like a bouquet of flowers.

Felix closed his book and sat up straight. “Well, we don’t really know what happens during an upsurge but why should the power be cut off? There should be no interruption in the supply of mana because the mana flow is supposed to get stronger.”

“You’re pretty serious about this situation dear brother, that’s not the normal you,” Felixia said.

“We can’t just believe everything the adults say.”

“They are not just some adults! They are actual sealcrafters, unlike us. Some of them are from my clan. They know what they’re doing, more than us.”

“Harvey’s right you know, dear brother.” Felixia crumpled the parchment she was writing on and brought out a new one. “So annoying, I can’t really can’t make a good design for energy distribution.

Felix walked over to his sister and peered over her works. “Try making a sigil that draws power first. Then superimpose the seal you are making.”

“You mean I sort of hijack the power from the other seal?”

“That’s what emperor Malvar did when he constructed the magical formations for the expansions of the city. He just hopped on the original citysigil of Emperor Krystfallen,” Felix said.

“Thanks, Felix! I keep having problems maintaining the connection from the power source”

Felix looked intently at his is sister and thought about what she said. Stroking his chin, he walked over to the table holding the data orbs. Settling himself down one of the chairs, he started activating the orbs. A green tinge washed over the rooms as the orbs began floating and projecting data.

“What are you doing?” Harvey came over, finished with arranging his curls into an immaculate tableau. “Are you just bored again?”

“I’m checking our recordings, there should have been something we missed.”

“What can you find that the adults haven’t found? We’re called apprentices for a reason, Felix.” Harvey sat down before one of the data orbs and started flicking through the projected panels. “You only discovered that gap in the mana flow accidentally. Perhaps it just happens all the time.”

“We still haven’t checked if the mana flow was cut off from the source, the mana node, or something interrupted it along the way while it was traveling towards the sigil. People have been assuming that the problem was with the node.”

“For that to happen, either there’s another sigil that’s drawing power the citysigil is connecting to, and there’s something wrong with it, or there’s something wrong with the citysigil itself,” Harvey said.

“There’s no way something there can be something wrong with the citysigil,” Felixia said. The mountain of rubbish beside her tumbled down her current work. She raised her hand in frustration. “That’s it, I’m done with this. Whatever you guys are doing seems more interesting.”

Harvey said, “True, there’s probably nothing wrong with the sigil of Emperor KrystFallen, but what if it’s superimposed on another sigil-”

“And there’s something wrong with that sigil,” Felix finished. “It could be the reason for the power interruption. The transmission, not the source, has the problem.”

“How do we know if there is another sigil?”

“We need to get our hands on the design of the citysigil. We can check the way it powers itself,” Felix said.

“Where can we find it?” Harvey asked.

Felixia gave him a skeptical look. “You’re going along with the plan of Felix?”

“Sure, why not? I’m quite interested in analyzing the design of the citysigil. I’m sure it will greatly help our studies if we’re giving the chance to look at it.”

“Felixia placed her hands on her hips. “Wow, you two are getting along quite well. Anyway, no one is going to let us see the citysigil blueprint. That’s top secret.”

“True, even full-fledged sealcrafters from my family are not allowed to see that,” Harvey said. Folding his arms, he continued, “Only top ranking sealcrafters know its exact design.”

“The Fahllyrs might know where to look. They are in charge of the crux rune after all.”

“We are really going to do this?” Felixia asked. “We are looking for the top secret blueprints for the citysigil?”

“Yep.”

“Of course, we will.”

“It’s a better use of our time than fixing our hair in front of the mirror,” Felix side with a sidelong glance at Harvey, who smirked back at him.

“You guys are just super bored. But I’m in! Let’s play detectives!”

It turned out that the library did not have much information about the magic and martial arts of Roghinia. Roghinian society was divided into castes. Fortunately, their warrior caste was very secretive. However, the books said that their warriors do use runes tattooed on their body to buff themselves during combat. It wasn't very surprising since there were warriors from other kingdoms who practiced this as well, the alternative being placing magic crystals on the armor they are wearing. However, the runes that Aya had on his body was very much different from the normal ones used in fighting. He hoped that he will not meet anyone who has fought with a Roghinian, for they will surely recognize that he is a fraud.

The name Roghinia sounded very familiar to him, but he can’t quite pinpoint on why it does so. No matter, he thought. He will visit that place someday anyway. Based from the map on the book, Roghinia was near Surga, the kingdom of lizardmen. He had vowed to visit the lizardmen and thank them for their sacrifices during the war, he might as well go over the other side of the Surgan Mountain and see for himself what kind of people the Roghinians are. For now, he will pass himself off as one of them.

There was a knock on the door. Orvin Nephtali was waiting outside. “Sir, I have already arranged the courtyard as per your instructions.”

Apparently, the Dolsworth academy was a very wealthy school for mages in the coastal city of Veratul. They were able to rent a small villa in the city for their students to stay in, which certainly did not come in cheap since there are a large number of people coming over to Krysperium for the festival and for the coming of age ceremony of the princess heir apparent.

“All of the hotels are booked and they can rent this place? Their students must be rich as well. I should have asked for more than just a room.”

Orvin led him into the courtyard of the villa. Six rocks of different sizes, ranging from the size of a head to bigger than a groof, were placed in the open space behind the fountain. Behind the rocks was a wall of earth conjured by Orvin. He had argued that they should find a more spacious venue for practice since he will be using fire spells. Aya, however, explained that his training does not require the use of destructive spells that affects a wide area. Aya did not mention that fact that he just does not want to walk far away from his bedroom.

“Alright, before we begin, tell me what went wrong in our fight. Why were you defeated easily?”

Orvin winced at the blunt statement but still answered. “I spent my mana inefficiently. Summoning a fire serpent along with the large stone prison ate up nearly three-quarters of my mana pool. With all of my spells not hitting their target, I set myself up for losing quickly.”

“So what do you think you should do?”

“Train to increase my mana so that I can fight longer?”

“Er, not exactly. Being able to fight for a longer period of time does not really mean that you're going to win. I have something else in mind.” Aya walked over to the smallest rock. “Can you melt this rock with your fireball?”

Orvin stepped forward with a swagger, fireballs are child’s play for him. He conjured a fireball and hurled it at the rock. Bits and pieces of the rock flew through the area as it was blown back by the force of the fireball. It collided with the protective earth wall behind it and was smashed to pieces. Grinning with pride, he looked back at his teacher.

“You didn’t melt it.” Aya kicked a piece of the rock that landed at his feet.

“But, I was able to destroy a rock,” Orvin said.

“Your fireball has the same strength as a punch from a greenhorn warrior. It is strong, but it probably won’t make a dent against a decent shield or armor. I’m guessing that you focused on memorizing and internalizing the flow of mana of spells, that’s why you can cast them without incantations, surely an admirable feat, but you actually forget to strengthen you spells.” Aya sat down on the bench beside the fishpond. He stroked his chin and tried his best impression of a wise old teacher. He actually enjoyed teaching the young mage. Technically, Orvin is his first actual student.

Orvin scratched his head. “Aren’t all fireballs the same? I mean it’s a ball made out of fire.”

“Quite an unenlightened statement from someone who can do chantless magic. Do you think your earth walls can stop a single fireball from Rebecca Ravenstone?” He looked sternly at Orvin and continued. “Of course not.”

Orvin looked down at his feet.

Aya chuckled. “Don’t be disappointed." Orvin gazed up and looked at him with an expectant face. I have a few tricks to teach you. Can you summon a cindertoad?”

Orvin’s beaming face fell as he heard the word ‘cindertoad’. Cindertoads were fire spirits of the lowest caliber, only able to cast a fireball. He probably expected that he was going to be taught secret fighting techniques that the great BasketSlayer knows.

“Why the long face?”

“Well, cindertoads kind of…”

“Kind of suck- yes they do. But they’re the trick to getting very strong fireballs.” Aya could understand the reaction of Orvin. Even a kid would want a snake pet rather than a toad. Of course, it was another question if a child should be allowed to have a snake pet. Anyway, elemental spirits should not be considered as pets. He said, “The fireball spell is the most basic attack spell of a fire mage, and you use it a lot. Even the most powerful fire mage uses it. So why won’t you use the fire spirit that corresponds to it?”

Orvin has an answered prepared for this. “It would be more mana efficient for mages to cast their own fireballs rather than to summon a cindertoad and have it cast its own fireballs, even though the cindertoad’s fireballs are stronger.” It was a lesson taught to all beginner fire mages.

“That’s true. But why are you going to do that?”

Orvin looked at his newfound teacher with a puzzled face. “Isn’t the purpose of summoning a fire spirit is to make it fight for you and help you fight?”

Aya groaned at the response of his student. What the hell are the schools teaching these days, he thought. Although he didn’t learn the trick he was going to teach from school but from an earth mage he fought when he was still an adventurer, he assumed that it was a widespread knowledge among the magic community- apparently it wasn’t. He can vividly remember when Rebecca used it against him to win a bet where he claimed that fire magic can’t hurt him.

“Why are the cindertoad’s fireball stronger than the fireball of the one that summoned them?” he asked Orvin.

“Mages can generally summon elemental spirits roughly their own level. However, elemental spirits can extract purer forms of the essence of such element out of nature and can then cast a more powerful form of a spell than their counterpart wizard who summoned them.”

“So you let them extract that essence and then use it yourself. It would not be a waste of mana then.”

“Sir, I don’t really understand?” Orvin said.

Aya sat on a bench by the fountain. He faced the rocks and sat crossed leg. “It’s really simple. You summon ‘bout half a dozen cindertoads, make them extract the fire element from nature, then you use all of it to make a fireball. I guarantee you, that fireball will make your fireball look like a firecracker.

“Use your sensitivity to the cindertoads to call out a few of them at the same time. Then summon a fireball, through your fire spirits. Through, I repeat, through your fire spirits. And not by making them independently cast their own fireball. By virtue of your contract of summon, you are practically bound together and considered as one entity.”

“Ah, I get it!” Orvin exclaimed. “It’s the same principle as the warriors skill of Forge Spirit using their bound beasts spirits.”

“Yeah sure, whatever you say.” Aya had no idea about this Forge Spirit skill . Fortunately, Orvin was too ecstatic with his newly learned trick to notice Aya’s confused face. “Try it with two cindertoads first. Then work your way up to six. Start with the first rock. Your goal is to melt the groof sized boulder with one fireball only.”