I was swimming in a sea of agony, feeling scorching pain surge down my limbs that made the pain of my Awakening seem like a gentle wave. At the edge of my senses I could hear screaming and it took me a few seconds to realize it was my own voice. The feeling of my Channels and Core being slowly torn apart and reformed was indescribable, but the nearest sensation I could imagine was feeling molten glass being slowly pulled along the inside of my body. With a strangled shout, I managed to focus my will and turn off the chamber, feeling the pain shut off in an instant as the enchantment deactivated.

Without the flow of Mana, my body felt weak and I fell forward onto the ground in a heap, any sense of fatigue banished from my mind as tears streamed down my face. I felt a surge of nausea and turned to one side as my dinner came back up and splattered along the tiled floor. I barely noticed when the inscriptions on the floor shone and the disgusting mess disappeared in a puff of smoke, as I wallowed in self-pity.

What sort of monster would use this as training? I could barely withstand a few seconds, but Cortos had said I should use it for an hour to maximize the beneficial effects. There was no way I could do this anymore. This method was closer to torture than training. Besides that, simply by finding this place I was putting myself at tremendous risk. If researching his name was frowned upon, what would using his techniques and workshops bring down upon me?

I stood up and walked towards the transportation room, to use the teleportation circle and return to my room, but paused after a few steps. I had seen my future and refused it, deciding to forge my own path ahead. I had known of my destiny with the Esttons and turned away from the life chosen for me. I heard of Cortos’ defiance and felt a kindred spirit, not a villain to hate and deride. If I quit now and took the easy life, what did that say about me?

It said I gave up when adversity reared its head and the risks became real. It told me that I was not truly committed, but only pretended to be when it was easy. If I faltered now, I would only be remembered in the future as a footnote in the Estton family biography or a statue in the hallways of the Academy. A bump on my leg brought my attention to the floor and the kitten was standing next to my foot. Meowing loudly, he walked past me and sat next to the circle, with a flicking tail and an expression that seemed to cast judgement on me.

“I almost forgot that you are in charge of this place. I assume if I give up that means you are going to banish me and take back this ring?” I said, as I held up my left hand to punctuate my words. The kitten did not reply, only continued to stare at me with his golden eyes.

Walking back over to the circle, I sat down heavily and thought about what to do with this place. I still needed the Academy and its training to progress as a Mage so I needed to keep this sanctum quiet and hidden. I Intended to travel around the continent and find the other sanctums, but that stage was likely years away. This was the only one in Ferris, and the other two sanctums on this continent were far outside of Ferren borders.

One of the sanctums was located far to the south, deep into the lands of the Tinkerers of the Wandering Cities. I had read some about them and spoke their native tongue, but they were notoriously reclusive and hostile towards Ferris for most of our history which left information scarce. What little we did know came from banished criminals from their lands and nomads who managed to trade in their settlements. Their infamous cities were said to be effectively mobile fortresses, powered by technology well beyond our kingdom’s understanding and capable of repelling even an Archmagi’s efforts. More than that, they were well known to be highly territorial and I had no desire to get into a conflict with them any time soon.

The other sanctum was to the east, amongst the Jagged Peaks, massive mountains that were famously populated by powerful magic beasts. While humans may need assistance to use magic, there were many creatures in the world that had no such disadvantage and could naturally wield powerful abilities that would take Mages years to replicate. I had no real understanding of what sort of creatures may be there, but I had no desire to try my luck without proper preparation.

However, what filled me with both curiosity and fear was a notation in the corner of the map that said simply “Consider additional sanctums off the continent?”. While rumors and legends had often said that other continents lay across the vast Azure Expanse, our attempts to travel the deep waters had usually ended in disaster. Settlements dotted our coastline, which were used for trade and fishing in coastal waters, but powerful creatures were said to dwell in the deeper waters and stymied any attempts to search for other lands.

Regardless, I needed to grow stronger quickly and extend my lifespan as much as possible. Even if I trained carefully, took Yardley’s supplements and avoided any undue stress, it would likely do me little good. I had hoped my original future was caused in part by dangerous training, but now I was beginning to suspect a more leisurely path would only buy me a few more years, maybe a decade at most due to the ravages of Aether on my body.

I did not have the luxury of time, and if what Cortos said was true then this place was essential to speeding my tempering and extending my lifespan, at least to some degree. His words implied it was not a perfect solution and I knew as my Mana grew more powerful it would only grow more destructive. But it was an advantage I had no choice but to use.

“Any chance you can claw the hell out of me if I start smoking or something?” I said to the cat, smiling a little at the end to disguise my nerves.

The cat bared his teeth in a somewhat adorable mimicry of a smile, and walked a few steps away, out of the borders of the circle. Closing my eyes and bracing myself, I activated the enchantment again and dove willingly back into the fiery pain. This time, I did not bother trying to muffle my screams.

An hour later, I turned off the enchantment and collapsed forward again, my entire body throbbing in pain and twitching involuntarily as I laid flat on the cool tile. My throat felt raw and ragged, though my screams had mostly died down after around fifteen minutes. My body was drenched in sweat and my eyes ached with pain from near continuous crying during the tempering process.

I had hoped the agony would abate and I would grow used to the sensations, but if anything, the longer the tempering went, the worse it had become. I had spent my life studying and the worst pain I had experienced before my Awakening a few weeks prior had been papercuts and the odd headache or upset stomach. I could list economic concepts centuries out of date, or theorize the optimum position of a cavalry unit to flank an army, but weathering physical suffering was far outside of my training.

Even now, I could feel my Channels on the cusp of being over-stressed and sharp stabs of pain ran through them every few seconds. Using this chamber daily would be horrible, and if I continued with Yardley’s treatments as I intended, I would spend my days in silent misery. As I thought of the months I would need to spend repeating this process, I felt a shiver of fear and half-wondered if I should give up and become an advisor after all, before dismissing the thought. The die was cast, and what I had already done would likely leave me in a prison for the rest of my life if I was lucky. Or a head shorter if I was not.

I gingerly stood and began walking towards the transportation room, to return back to my room and finally get some rest. As I walked, I heard a pattering of steps and the cat leapt to my shoulder, digging into the meat of my arm with his claws. Apparently, he wanted to return to the Academy with me, probably to keep an eye on me and make sure I was the right choice as Cortos’ successor.

The teleportation circle was glowing gently and the crystals around the room now shone brightly, unlike how I left it a few hours prior. As I walked into the center of the circle and mentally focused on my bedroom, I felt the world around me twist dizzyingly and a strange pressure settled around my body. When these sensations passed and I could see clearly again, I found myself standing in my bedroom.

Hopping off my shoulder, the cat leapt onto the ground and began walking around my bedroom, examining my room casually as he went. He paused next to my closet and seemed particularly interested, before he sauntered away and continued his explorations.

“No please, make yourself right at home.” I said, shaking my head a little at the animal's audacity. His actions and Cortos’ words left me unsure what this cat was, though it was clear it was not a normal cat.

After all, it seemed the cat had lived at the same time as Cortos, which meant he was hundreds of years old at least and yet still looked like a kitten. He was clearly intelligent and seemed benevolent, but I still needed to learn what he really was, and soon. Magic Beasts suddenly went up in my list of priorities, amongst many other things. I had enough problems to deal with, without adding in a potentially dangerous, semi-immortal creature masquerading as a feline to the mix.

“If you are going to stay here, I have to give you some sort of name. I would prefer to not keep calling you ‘Cat’, that just feels rude. Do you have any preferences?” I said, staring at him for a reaction.

In answer, the cat stopped and looked over at me with a bored expression, which I had realized was his apparent default emotion before stretching.

“How about...Shadow? You are all black, but I guess that is a little too on the nose. Hmm...Killer? You did leave some nasty scratches on my arm after all. Snob would fit with your attitude, though I doubt you would appreciate that particular choice.” I mused.

The last name got his attention, and he bared his fangs at me with narrowed eyes before giving a loud hiss. I recalled he was in control of the sanctum and decided poking the metaphorical bear was a bad idea.

“Fine, sorry I will think of something more appropriate. How about...Fortuna? It means luck, and since good luck seemed to have brought me to you, I think it fits. Unfortunately for you, artistic creativity has never been my strong suit.”

The cat looked at me and began cleaning one paw, seemingly considering it before looking at me and giving another mildly unsettling nod. It seemed Fortuna was a winner in his eyes, at least for now.

I had originally planned to take my usual bath with star mint and have wiyote as a late-night snack, but decided to take a normal bath for tonight. Tomorrow, I could resign myself to perpetual unpleasantness, but I was only human and decided to enjoy myself for one last night. I drew a steaming hot bath and as I floated in the water, I felt my aching body begin to relax.

By the time I dried myself off and reentered my bedroom, most of my pain had subsided, though my exhaustion left me ready to fall asleep standing up. As I slid under the covers, Fortuna leapt onto the bed with me and sat on my chest before curling up into a tiny ball. While never a huge animal lover, I had to admit when he acted like a normal kitten, he was dangerously adorable. For the first time in weeks, I fell asleep with a hopeful smile on my face.