The morning brought a measure of peace to Verdan, he’d always found sleeping on an issue helped process it, and this was no different.

Seating himself on the bed, Verdan started to focus on tightening his gathering spiral. The tighter the spiral, the stronger the pull on the ambient energy and the faster rate at which he would recover expended aether. It was a long and slow process, but every bit of progress he made on his spiral would make it slightly quicker.

Letting his mind drift a little, he considered what to do going forward. His primary choice right now was whether he wanted to try and change the world or just focus on what he wanted, which was an easy choice as far as he was concerned. He’d spent years fighting to change the world, only to find out that it was all for nought; no one even remembered the Grym Imperium, let alone what they’d done to advance humanity.

No, he was going to establish himself here and spend some time on his research, just like he’d wanted to do when the war ended. A slightly different situation than what he had expected, but life was about adapting to what it threw at you. Besides, even if he did try and bring wizardry back into the world, any students he had would only know what he knew. He had none of his more esoteric arcane devices to expand their knowledge. He’d not seen the need to prepare for this kind of situation when he sealed himself away after all.

Maybe it would be different if he had an Arcane Lexicon, but the chances of one of them surviving this long were slim to none. He could always make one himself, but it would be years to find out the right process to make them, years he just didn’t want to spend right now. Mind made up, Verdan headed downstairs to find the brothers, Kai and the, now awake, witch sat eating breakfast.

‘Morning,’ Bob called out cheerfully as he saw him come down the stairs, ‘breakfast?’

‘Please,’ Verdan nodded gratefully to the innkeeper as he took a seat with the others. Kai and the brothers seemed ill at ease but were trying to hide it. The witch looked distinctly uncomfortable as well, her gaze locked on Verdan as though waiting for the other shoe to drop. Verdan knew that the locals had some strange thoughts about witches, which likely explained her apprehension. ‘I’m glad to see you’re awake. Any lingering after-effects?’

‘No, thank you,’ she said hesitantly, ‘the whole thing is a haze, if I’m honest. I remember a fire starting in my house and running outside, but not much from there on.’ She looked down at the table and wrung her hands nervously.

‘You were bound with cyth hair. It was corrupting the natural energy in your body to weaken you enough for them to corrupt you further. It’s no surprise that your memories were compromised.’ Verdan didn’t disguise the disgust in his voice as he explained the cyth’s techniques. ‘If things went as I would expect, then you would have been left there until you were too far gone for it to be reversed. It’s one of the more horrific ways they create a new Cyth Bayne.’

‘Ancestors preserve me,’ the witch said in a whisper, her eyes wide and skin pale. The real implications of her situation were sinking in now, though Verdan regretted being quite so blunt with her. It was easy to forget how horrible the world could seem to those who hadn’t experienced it to the same degree.

Verdan had seen enough terror and horror in the war to be able to process it, but the same wasn’t true for everyone else. In some ways, he was happy that she was reacting so poorly to what he described. It gave him hope for the general standard of this current age.

‘Will I recover fully?’ Her tone was soft as she stared down at her hands, clearly fearing the worst.

‘Yes, I was able to aid your body in purging the worst of the corruption. The rest will simply take some time, but as a witch, you should have no problem at all,’ Verdan explained with his best attempt at a warm smile. Witches were naturally skilled at removing corruption, after all.

‘Thank you,’ she said again, falling quiet as she stared down at the marks on her wrists where she’d been bound.

‘So what do you all have planned now that we’re back in the city?’ Verdan asked, moving the conversation along to give her time to adjust.

‘Well, we wanted to talk to you about that,’ Tim said with an awkward shift in his chair. ‘Kai said that he’s staying with you for a month. We’re hoping you’d be willing to hire us on as well.’ Tim gave him an uneasy smile that faded as Verdan didn’t respond. ‘We’d guard anything you needed looking after, maybe do some errands and stuff for you as well. We owe you for the rescue and want to help.’

‘I see,’ Verdan said, sitting back in his chair and giving it some thought as he looked over the earnest guards. ‘I do need some local guides and advisers. I’ll take you on for a month, paying room and board only, and then we will review. Acceptable?’ Verdan put a hand out to Tim. He was happy enough to keep the two of them on. Verdan couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for them, and leaving them without work felt like a poor ending.

‘Yes, Sir!’ Tim reached over to shake his hand with enthusiasm, his brother doing the same a moment later.

‘Fantastic, then finish up your breakfast and let’s go for a walk to recap on a few things,’ Verdan said, starting to mentally prepare himself for the extended question and answer session that was coming. He needed to be honest with them and see how they reacted. He’d use that as a measure for what to do in the future.

‘I’m sorry to be rude, but could you tell me your name? I don’t like owing a debt to someone I don’t know,’ the witch spoke up, catching Verdan’s attention once more. There was a hint of resolve in her voice now, one that had been absent earlier. Verdan could tell that she was already recovering from the corruption that had built up in her body.

‘I’m sorry, that was my fault, my name is Verdan,’ he said with a shake of his head, admonishing himself for being so lax with his manners.

‘My name is Gwen. I owe you so much for rescuing me, I wish I had anything to repay you with, but I’m almost certain that the cyth destroyed everything I owned when they captured me.’ Her eyes fell to her hands once more. Her voice was filled with a thick layer of longing and despair, one that resonated with Verdan’s current feelings.

‘Well, it seems to be the done thing for those I’ve saved to work for me. Why don’t you join us for a month and see what happens?’ Verdan hated himself for offering, but he felt guilty about her lack of options. Not to mention that he’d saved her life once already. It would be a waste to just leave her out in the cold.

‘Truly? But I have no alchemy equipment, nor am I the best at creating unguents if I’m being honest.’ The hope that had flared in her eyes lasted only a brief moment before fading as she grimaced and looked away.

‘Of course, a witch such as yourself has plenty to offer besides alchemy,’ Verdan said with a reassuring smile. She wouldn’t be as powerful as some of the older witches he’d faced, but any witch was a dangerous foe in the right conditions.

‘I see. Well, you did save me,’ Gwen sounded somewhat reluctant to accept the offer but shook his hand in the end. Kai looked distinctly displeased by what he’d said as well, but Verdan chalked it all down to their odd attitude to witches. After all, back in the makeshift prison, some of the other captives had wanted him to abandon her.

Exactly why they felt this way to witches baffled him. It was just one more mystery for him to figure out, though they did seem to be racking up rather quickly.

His breakfast arrived a few moments later, Bob putting a nicely coloured omelette and some fresh bread down for him. Nothing extravagant, but simple and filling, which was what Verdan wanted right now.

Everyone had finished their food by the time he was done, so Verdan headed straight back to his room to grab his staff. Once he was ready, he made his way back down and beckoned for the others to follow as he left the Plucky Wanderer.

Chill air blew past as he opened the door to the outside, sending a shiver down his spine. It would take Verdan some time to get used to this cool mountain air.

‘So, where to, Boss?’ Tim asked as they came out.

‘Well, I have my first task for each of you. Tim, Tom, Gwen, I want the three of you to ask around and see if you find out some of the recent events here. I also want to know if there is a library and if there is somewhere we could set up on a more permanent basis. That could be anything from a house for sale to an abandoned warehouse. I don’t care. I just need as much space as possible. Meet us back here at mid-day with what you’ve found, and I’ll decide what to do from there.’ Verdan nodded to each of them in turn as he gave out the orders. To his surprise, they nodded and headed off without questioning anything. The brothers were more enthusiastic than Gwen, but he’d still expected them to question him a little.

‘What about me?’ Kai asked as the others disappeared off into the city.

‘We’re going to buy you a weapon. It’s entirely backwards that I’ve got something, and you haven’t,’ Verdan tapped the end of his staff onto the cobbled road in emphasis.

Kai had left his weapon behind to carry Gwen back to Hobson’s Point, but he still looked every inch the capable warrior and Verdan intended to equip him accordingly.

‘I can’t argue with that,’ Kai gave a small half-smile and inclined his head for Verdan to lead the way. ‘I will pay you back once I earn some funds of my own.’

‘No need, consider it a gift,’ Verdan said, waving away his offer of repayment. Kai didn’t look pleased but nodded and left it at that. ‘Besides, we have more important matters to discuss. You said yesterday that you knew I wasn’t a sorcerer. How?’ Verdan kept his voice low as they walked towards an area they’d passed the day before that had featured a market of sorts. He was taking a chance by discussing all of this with Kai, but he needed information, and the sorcerer seemed trustworthy so far.

‘You speak words in a strange tongue when you channel your magic. You also don’t seem to be restricted in element from what I’ve seen. You created fog and fire, as well as whatever those shields were. I’ve not seen anything like them before. Together with your strange actions and attitudes, it was easy enough to see.’ Kai kept his voice low as well as he rattled off his reasoning, his eyes on their surroundings as he stayed alert and aware.

‘I see,’ Verdan said before going quiet for a moment as his mind raced. If he were recognised as different for a simple shield, this would be more difficult than he thought. He had no choice but to place his trust in Kai and see how things played out. Going for the biggest part straight away, Verdan took a deep breath and spoke carefully, ‘I’m a Wizard.’

‘A what?’ Kai turned to give him a quizzical look, raising one eyebrow in question.

‘A Wizard? A manipulator of energy that casts spells using the language of reality itself?’ Verdan’s voice started to climb as he saw the lack of reaction on Kai’s face. Stopping and taking a breath, he made himself keep his voice low. He’d known that wizards were gone from everyone’s reactions, but for someone to not even recognise the word was painful.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of whatever that is. Is it like sorcery?’ Kai asked, a little confused but trying to engage on the subject.

‘Okay, let me explain from the top,’ Verdan rubbed his face in exasperation. He was just going to have to tell him everything, well, almost everything. ‘The easiest way to explain this is that I’m from somewhere where there are no sorcerers, and life is very different to this. It’s not a place I can get back to, so I want to make the best of my life here. I need to know where to put down roots, what sorcerers are and what a Rising is.’ Verdan kept it to the main questions he had. He didn’t want to overload Kai right now.

‘That would explain a lot,’ Kai said slowly, clearly trying to wrap his head around it. ‘I can’t picture how any civilisation could survive without sorcerers, but you’re proof that other methods exist, I suppose.’ He nodded to himself, reaching some sort of internal conclusion about the place that Verdan came from. ‘So you don’t know how sorcerers work at all?’

‘From what you’ve said, I know it involves elements, but I use the ambient energy of the world and shape it to have the effect I need. The actual energy itself isn’t dependant on any singular element.’ Verdan said, navigating them down a street that was basically empty. He didn’t want people listening in on this.

‘I don’t understand how that’s possible, but I can see the power it gives you,’ Kai said, looking at him with fresh respect in his eyes. ‘Sorcerers are those who have meditated on an element and have been blessed with Elemental Essence by it. By meditating on the element further, we are able to draw in energy relating to it and rebuild our essence, which we use to power ourselves and the abilities we have gained from it. I am a Fire Enhancer, so I use the essence to give myself the attributes of fire, such as short bursts of speed and power. I can use it for other purposes, but Enhancing is my speciality.’

‘Fascinating,’ Verdan said, his frustration falling away as Kai spoke. His first love had always been studying the arcane, and the things Kai described made no sense using his current frame of reference. That meant that either the nature of magic had fundamentally changed, or they were applying a veil of mysticism to magic and not understanding the base processes.

Given that his magic worked without issue, he could only assume that Kai’s ancestors had stumbled into a whole new way to manipulate the energy of the world.

For the first time since he’d awoken, Verdan felt a stirring of enthusiasm in his chest. A mystery like this would be so satisfying to solve.

‘Okay, so we’ll discuss that more later. What about the Rising?’ Verdan made himself move on from sorcery for the moment. There would be time enough for that later.

‘You may know it by a different name. It’s the term we use for when the monsters rapidly increase in numbers and attack every area of civilisation they can. Cyth, creatures from the depths of the world, foul things from the mountains, everything. The look you have says you don’t recognise this, just what sort of a place are you from?’ Kai had stopped and was looking at Verdan with undisguised curiosity now.

‘Somewhere very different, that’s all that’s worth saying on it. Just work on the assumption that I don’t know anything about how things work around here,’ Verdan said uncomfortably, not liking having to hold things back from Kai. It was a necessary evil, but one he still disliked.

‘Very well, then the first thing I should mention is that we should stay here in Hobson’s Point,’ Kai said as they started walking once more, heading toward the market stalls that were now in sight.

‘Oh, why?’

‘Many sorcerers are competitive and prideful. They would not like a powerful new way of wielding magic to emerge. The old days where sorcerers were only concerned with defending humanity are long gone. Power and pride are the new ideals that they aspire to.’

‘Ah, I see. I remember you saying that Hobson’s Point is one of the few cities not run by sorcerers. A fortuitous place for us to end up then,’ Verdan said as they approached the market.

‘Indeed it is. How much should I spend on my weapon?’ Kai nodded toward a nearby stall that was a permanent addition to a blacksmith. Several weapons, tools, and implements were on display, each with crude wooden signs that had prices carved into them. The spoken language was surprisingly similar to what he was used to, and the written language seemed the same.

Everything was slightly off, but it was close enough for him to recognise what it meant. Most of the prices were in half-darns, the fifty copper coin, but a few nicer pieces were priced in silver. Given that Kai would be keeping him alive, Verdan didn’t mind spending a bit more on his weapon. He had plenty left from what was converted after all.

‘No more than three silver,’ he told the sorcerer, picking an arbitrary number that he thought would let Kai have his pick of what was there.

‘Very well,’ Kai said with a nod, stepping forward to look over the items in greater detail. The blacksmith was clearly not a specialist in weaponry. The arms available were of standard design and average make, but Verdan was pleased to see that Kai went through them with a careful examination.

His new retainer settled on a dark wood spear with a flat leaf-shaped head and an iron-capped base with a spike. The whole thing was around six-feet long and was the most expensive item there at two and a half silver. Even Verdan, an admitted novice when it came to most weaponry, saw that it was a step above everything else on display. Kai also took a belt with a long knife for a half-darn, likely for emergencies and utility.

‘Anything else?’ Verdan double-checked, paying the blacksmith when Kai shook his head, taking out the three silver and getting a half-darn in change. As he was about to walk away, Verdan considered the brothers and the cyth weapons they had. Going back to the blacksmith, he bought a sword for Tim and a flanged mace for Tom. Kai checked both weapons to make sure they were of acceptable quality and seemed satisfied, so Verdan gave the blacksmith the half-darn back and added another silver.

Taking the weaponry back to the Plucky Traveller, Verdan got more information from Kai on sorcery and the Rising. He didn’t like what he heard.

It seemed that humanity was on the back-foot, living in walled cities and relying on sorcerers to keep local monsters, beasts and cults from becoming a problem. Every Rising saw at least one city lost, whether to starvation from a lack of farmland or from having their walls breached by one of the more organised groups of enemies.

In the days of the Grym Imperium, there were dedicated teams of wizards who subjugated known areas where monsters congregated. What was now called a Rising was originally known as an Aether Dawn, a period where ambient magic was temporarily boosted. Increased monster activity had been noted but wasn’t an issue with the subjugation teams hard at work. These days, with nothing keeping the darker things at bay, an Aether Dawn would bring about a much greater response from the creatures, causing a Rising.

Like everything, there was a natural ebb and flow to the Aether, the ambient energy that suffused all of reality. Verdan had seen delicate magi-tech machines constructed to measure the changes and then extrapolate the next Dawn. Sadly, he had never been able to spend as much time studying magi-tech as he wanted. The war had been all they were permitted to focus on.