The journey can often be more enjoyable than the destination. It is the process of striving for more, of working to reach new heights that many of us take joy in. Once we achieve our goals, we are left with little to do, dissatisfied with our stagnation. And so we turn to create new goals and aim higher than before, because the process is what inspires and fuels us.

- Part of the last recorded speech of the final leader of the Ancestors

With a great sigh of relief, Lino opened the door to Tingrath’s house. He was pretty sure he had made it back without being noticed by anyone who would care. As he stared out the window, he admired the beauty of the sunset, the darkness slowly filling the land, while the sun, the source of the light, let out it’s final performance of the day in a beautiful display of multicoloured vibrance.

“D’you hear the news?” A voice reached Lino’s ears, weathered and tempered from many long days’ work on a farm. Tingrath was leaning against a bag of food resting on a ledge, having gotten up after seeing Lino’s approach.

“No, what happened? Is something wrong?” Lino was genuinely curious. It was a rare occasion that there was news beyond the ordinary.

“Some old bugger showed up at the gates around midday. Elders say he’s searching for something.”

Tingrath’s words reached Lino’s ears with the weight of a fully grown horse. For the first time since his birth, someone else was found outside the wall. For the first time, there would be someone who was more of an outsider than him. For the first time, he wouldn’t be the primary focus of the town’s negative energy. For the first time, they had someone else to stare at and he could be left in peace.

Then the other implications of the message hit Lino, and this time it was as if a glacier had shifted and fallen on the horse.

Where had he come from? How powerful was he? What was he searching for? Was he even searching for anything? Were there more people like him? How did he get here?

With a new revelation, Lino felt a mountain topple, crushing the horse and the glacier pressed against him.

This was his chance.

There were few resources in Ramaat for the purpose of training as a shadow mage, and that was because the entire town was made up of light mages, who saw any shadow as a threat to their safety. But why should the traveller or wherever he came from share similar beliefs? It was likely that he could give Lino more information and and help him along further with one sentence than the entirety Ramaat’s resources could.

So, Lino made it his mission to find that traveller and get out as much information as he could from him. Lino wanted to make the most of every opportunity that came his way, and this was certainly something that only happened once in a lifetime.

“Lino? You there?” Tingrath’s gruff tone broke Lino out of his daydream.

“Sorry, I just got lost in thought. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that he’s gonna be staying ‘bout a week. I offered to host him but they don’t want you giving a bad impression.” He paused for a beat, and a quiet grumble escaped his mouth. “If I’d known I wouldn’t’ve…” his voice trailed off, but a sigh brought Tingrath back to the present. “Also, it’s mighty strange that two people have come from the outside so recently, even if you was just a baby. Only two times it’s happened in my life.”

“Huh.” Lino knew how rare it was for something to come to Ramaat from the wilderness, but he hadn’t really considered the elders’ response to it. “I’m guessing they’re gonna do something about it then? Surely they ought to see this as a bigger threat for rebellion than I was.”

“I dunno, they’re still talking. Depends if there’s more like him and if he’s well off where he comes from.” Tingrath paused, thinking for a second. “But yeah, I’d think they’re probably gonna do something pretty big.” After finishing his thought, he nudged the bag of food he was leaning on forward, subtly motioning for Lino to leave.

“Alright, well, see you tomorrow.” Lino took the cue and scooped up his rations, heading towards the door. He would let Tingrath get back to his life, and his real family.

Lino pushed the door shut, then turned around and began lugging the bag to his room in the loft of the barn. After such an eventful day, the simple task was relaxing. In the time it took to reach his ‘home’, Lino had the opportunity to just think about what had happened, and make sense of everything. The diminishing light of a recent dusk acted as a calming agent to help Lino recharge. The absence of the moon highlighted the beauty of the few stars visible, and enhanced Lino’s recovery, reacting with the shadow mana stored inside of him.

When he got to the barn, Lino walked past the assorted animals to the back wall. He had set up a pulley system there, and he attached the bag to it with skill that reflected the extensive practice that he had had. Having stashed his backpack in it earlier, Lino scrambled up the ladder, and began pulling up his belongings.

With a book in hand, Lino collapsed onto his straw mattress and let out a long sigh. It was well deserved, but the extended period of time he spent lying down staring at the ceiling was perhaps not. Eventually, Lino won his internal battle against the part of his mind telling him to just stay there. He began to read A Basic Guide to the Differences Between Various Forms of Magic, one of the books the strange librarian had given him.

Lino reached for the light enchantment installed on the wall, but, before activating it, he noticed that he could almost see better without it. Testing his new theory, he compared the legibility of the book with and without the light. Lino smiled as he observed the greatly reduced differences in his vision, and decided to experiment with his newfound capability by relying on it to read for the night.

The book detailed the variations and discrepancies between shadow and light mana and their usage, as well as the many subcategories of each. Lino had no idea there were so many! He had only heard of a few variations of light, such as fire and life. Never mind the twenty or so of each category covered in this book, which claimed they were but a small subset of the most common variations! There was even an entire chapter dedicated to the differences between sleep, a subtype of light, and dream, and subtype of shadow.

It also covered the different ways that you could use magic, having sections on spellcasting with and without channels, enchanting, and organic mana manipulation. It only covered the very basics, but it was more than Lino had ever learned before. It seemed that the mysterious man had had good intentions, his gift had been incredibly helpful.

The part that most interested Lino was enchanting. It was his first real exposure to the idea, and he liked it from the beginning. It meant he could prepare spells and enchanted items ahead of time, and release it all in a short period of time. It meant he could essentially match the mana expenditure of others without increasing his mana pool, because he could enchant something with a spell, recover his mana, then release the enchantment later after he had recovered his mana to full.

The only drawback was that as you built up a bank of more enchanted items they started to interfere with each other and lose power. However, at Lino’s level, anything he could produce was unlikely to have that problem.

There were two main types of enchanting. The first involved carving runes into a magically conductive surface. There was a whole other book recommended holding the one thousand most common runes, and their meanings and uses. However, it also said that it was possible to just know what rune to draw.

Each rune represented a concept, and when these concepts were first created or discovered, the patterns or impressions they left upon the world determined what their rune would look like. With an understanding of the concept, the concept would guide your hands on how to carve it’s rune.

Different combinations of runes caused different effects, but if any incompatible runes were forced to interact, they could cause various negative consequences, such as explosions, or curses.

After carving runes, it was necessary to power them with the appropriate type of mana. Again, the wrong type of mana or opposite types near each other could cause disastrous results, as could too much or too little of any type. It was extremely complicated, but Lino saw the value in it.

The book briefly mentioned carving runes directly into the spiritual plane, as well directly channeling concepts without the need for written representations, but passed over them as too advanced. Instead, it moved on to the second type of enchanting.

An alternate, and, for most, much easier method was to carve a simple series of runes shown in the book’s appendices, and then cast a spell at them. As long as the material you carved them into could hold enough mana, the runes would absorb your spell, and then release it when you extended a thread of mana to them. Your personal mana signature was required to activate them, as a safety measure to prevent enemies setting them off them in your hands, before you got them into the right position. Sufficiently greater power could bypass this defence, however.

This second method lacked the versatility of the first, as not all effects could be cast as spells, but it was significantly easier. It was also more costly in terms of mana, but required significantly less research. The book clearly seemed to look down upon it and Lino too saw it as the inferior method, but until he had access to more materials and an encyclopedia of more runes, it was all that he could use for the vast majority of his projects.

As Lino glanced up from his reading and looked out of the window set into the slanted roof, he noticed the moon shining through and the position of the stars in the night sky. Sitting up, he finally closed the book and put it down next to him.

How late is it? Lino thought as he rubbed his eyes. He seemed to have lost track of time, he remembered that the moon hadn’t even risen when he had arrived. He let out a loud yawn and pushed the book onto the pile next to his bed. He would finish it later, but now, it was time for sleep.

* * *

A groan crept out of Lino’s mouth as he sat up in his bed. His eyes hurt, and the angle of the light beaming through the window didn’t help either.

Well, not doing that again for a while I suppose. Lino wholeheartedly regretted his decision not to use the light to read last night. But, he needed all the time he could get if he wanted to get something out of the traveller, and so he rose from his slumber and reluctantly put on his uniform once again. As he reached the exit to the barn, he spotted a note on the door.

It was from Tingrath. Meeting at eight bells this morning, you’ll miss the start of school. Probably about the traveller.

Well, that makes it easier to find him, Lino reasoned. Since it was already relatively late, he immediately began to make his way to the announcement square, below the elders’ village and at the edge of the market. No one would try to intercept him this time, it was an official event and they could be punished for not being there on time, or causing someone else not to be there on time.

Lino arrived and sought out Tingrath in the expansive gathering. They might have been required to be together, since Tingrath was his legal guardian. It only took Lino a couple minutes to find him, as he was predictable in his choice to seek out the pie stall.

The disparate chatter of the crowd silenced as the head elder walked out to address them. “Welcome to the third town gathering in the four hundred and fifty sixth sun cycle since the passing of the Founder. We have called this meeting because, yesterday, at precisely twenty-six minutes after the sixteenth bell, a traveller appeared at the north gate.”

Surprised exclamations erupted throughout the mass of citizens.

“There is no need to panic!” The elder attempted to calm the crowd. “We have spoken with him, and he brings us no harm. He arrived after a long and treacherous journey, having travelled to escape from a far away land.”

The elder stepped back as guards beckoned a new figure to the front of the stage. He spoke with an oddity in his pronunciation. “I come in peace. I wish only to search for one thing, the thing that will save me from my tormentors’ wrath, in my homeland. Leave me be, let me search through your town, and I will be on my way within the week.”

The crowd hung in silence, unsure of how to react to what was presented to him. They all turned to each other with wide eyes, surprised by the words uttered to them.

But Lino was staring wide-eyed at something else.

The man upon the pedestal, at the edge of the balcony. The foreigner, who had arrived only yesterday.

He was the same man who had helped him in the library the night before.

No way. Lino couldn’t believe his eyes. School ends at sixteen bells, I spent some time outside the library, and then…

The traveller had supposedly arrived in the town after Lino had entered the library.

No way. There’s just no way.

Sure, he was wearing different clothes, and had some bruises and dirt stains, but he was undeniably the same person.

Caught up in inner turmoil, Lino had zoned out much of the rest of the speech. However, now he broke out and refocused on the event.

“…must give him access to all buildings in the town. He will be treated with utmost respect, and you will all leave him be wherever he goes and whatever he does. Nerloth will provide reparations to any damage he causes to your property.”

With the repetition of the name of the traveller, Lino was forced to accept that the identity of the man standing up on the platform above matched that of the man he had met in the library. Lino glanced up at Nerloth again, looking for differences between the image in his memory and the one he was seeing.

It might have been a trick of the light, but as he stepped back to let the elder begin his lecture on the superiority of their town, Lino could have sworn he saw Nerloth wink at him.

* * *

Lino couldn’t focus.

He was trying to hone his willpower, in the same way he had done the day before. But unlike the previous day, this time there was too much going on for him to really dedicate himself to the craft. His thoughts kept drifted back to the strange traveller, and their encounter in the library.

What was his purpose? Why did he help Lino? How had he got there before he appeared at the gate? How had the elders allowed him into the library so quickly? What was he searching for? What were the elders playing at?

All of these were questions that drew Lino in and out of his meditation, hindering his progress. After hours of failure, he decided to give up, and instead began formulating a plan to meet the traveller and get information on his progression, and possibly answers to some of his other questions.

That was how he passed the meditative session set aside by the school’s curriculum, until the spiritual alarm buzzed again, signalling that the sixteenth bell had rung and permitting Lino leave of the classroom. This time his journey home was not nearly as eventful, and he soon arrived back at the farm. After leaving a note for Tingrath, he ascended to the loft of the barn and was soon back to his studies.

Lino began to put into writing his plans for the next day, both so that he could articulate them better, and to help him to remember all the details. His strategy was simply to visit all of the major points of interest in the town, anywhere with historical significance. He figured that those were the most likely places that the stranger would look. Hopefully he would be able to find Nerloth there, or at least some evidence of him having already been there that gave a hint as to where he had gone next.

While doing that, he would keep half an eye out for anything similar to the strange entrance he had found to the library. Maybe it had caught Nerloth’s attention somehow? The foreigner was still wholly a mystery to Lino.

Even if the two events shared no connection, which Lino highly doubted because nothing that big could ever be a coincidence, he would still definitely enjoy whatever opportunity a similar door presented. And of course, if there was nothing else similar in town, it wouldn’t have hurt to try.

In the event that he came up empty handed after searching there, he would adopt a systematic approach to scour the town, starting at the East Gate and spiralling inwards until he reached the centre. As a last resort, he could always just ask the elders, although with his reputation that was truly a last resort.

After figuring out what he was going to do, he opened back up the book he had been reading and continued where he had left off, remembering to use the light enchantment this time. Skimming past what he had already read, he reached the chapter that began to detail the advantages and disadvantages of using channels. It described how to use them most efficiently, what types of spells requires channels, what types were simply more effective with them, and what types were better used without channels or received no benefit from their use.

Channels were vessels that carried mana from your core out through your body and as such greatly improved any effect that enhanced the body. They also provided greater ease of use and efficiency with spells formed outside the body, because they allowed more direct access to the outside. In the vast majority of cases, spells originated in you core. Without channels, most spells have to travel through your body and lose potency as they travel through the dense, mana absorbent material of your body.

Channels carried mana and spells directly all over body with minimal loss of potency, meaning that they only had to travel through a very thin layer of flesh and skin, compared to the core, which was located in the very centre of the body.

Generally, channels improved spellcasting, and the more you had, the better, because you could be more selective with the position the spell is released from, and carry more powerful effects charged with more mana. More channels also allowed for more powerful self-enhancements because there were less and smaller gaps between channels.

Some effects, however, did not require channels or were even hindered by them. Anything that affected the core itself did not require channels, such as a mana regeneration spell. This example was mildly hindered by channels. With the introduction of more and more channels, the spell grew in complexity, having to regenerate the mana flowing through channels as well as the mana in the core. Other variations compromised with a less potent effect, simply choosing to only regenerate the mana in the core.

Unless a countermeasure or a crutch was prepared to bypass the effect, any spell with a destructive effect failed spectacularly without channels, detonating within the user’s body as a result of the reaction between the dormant mana used for vital functions and the fragile mana structure of the spell.

Some spells were simply too weak and fully dissipated before escaping the body, unless they were guided closer to the edge through channels.

Most other spells were merely more efficient with channels, but there were all sorts of complicated rules and exceptions, so it was best to learn the properties of each individual spell you learnt.

The book went on to list some more of the rules and exceptions, claiming that the ones they listed were the most common. To Lino, though, they looked extremely specific and most likely not relevant to whatever spells he chose to learn.

The next section listed some of the most common and generic spells, and the requirements for casting them. Lino was drawn to a spell called the “disruptor.” It was one of few spells that suffered only a minor penalty to use without channels, but that wasn’t the only reason it caught his attention.

The disruptor spell was a projection of your mana into another person’s mana system. It was intended to ‘disrupt’ their flow of mana and prevent them from using it for a short period of time. It had one of the smallest mana costs of all the spells in the book, at the small one mana, and had only the slight drawback of requiring only extra concentration to cast without channels and more through your body. After all, it was just your own natural mana composition and flow pattern that you were ejecting, natural to your body but toxic to others’.

The reason Lino liked it so much was because it had a stronger effect the more different the user and target’s mana were. The best case scenarios as to have a large difference in the pattern of inner mana flow, which was unique to every individual, similar to a fingerprint… and for the user and target to use polar opposite mana types.

And Lino happened to have a lot of targets with the polar opposite mana type to his.

Encouraged by the situationally useful find, Lino began to read into the specifics of how the spell was cast, but ultimately resolved to attempt a better understanding the next day. After another eventful day, he went to sleep with a positive feeling about the days to come, the first time he had experienced such hope in his entire life

* * *

The next day started like any other, with a regular morning routine and journey to school. This time, they had a shortened session for individual progress, with an informative lesson later in the day.

Lino began to attempt to create the spell he had read about earlier, pulling a small portion of his mana out of his core. He attempted to keep the natural flows of mana going, keeping it ‘alive’ after it was cut from the rest of his core. He failed miserably, the mana dissipating into the environment. It was worse than what he would have got if he had done nothing — inert mana.

But Lino kept trying, and over time he made tangible progress throughout the mana he was extracting. After a few hours of failed attempts, Lino had begun to extract pieces of mana that were flowing, albeit sluggishly. Over more time, he started to extract larger and larger pieces, progressively getting more advanced, but never reaching the required size that the spell had specified.

After hours of slow but steady progress, Lino was very familiar with his mana. He saw that every piece was different, but he also saw what tied them together and how they were all similar. He could predict certain aspects of the mana he was about to draw out, and how it would flow.

Then one time, he noticed something different about the mana he separated from his core. Something was unusual about this drop, it was more complex and alive than Lino had seen before. Curious, he viewed it with more scrutiny, moving his mind’s eye closer and focusing his inner senses on it more intensely.

Then, the all too familiar spiritual alarm was discharged at the front of the room. It travelled towards him in a wave of magical energy, and shattered the delicate structure he was working on.

Lino opened his eyes and glared at the horrid little device. His eyes remained fixed on that point through the confusion and dizziness that washed over him, a murderous look that threatened to obliterate the abhorrent existence.

Lino smouldered. I was so close, he thought. So close.

But before his anger could cause him to take drastic measures in his state of clouded judgement, he was distracted by the voice at the front of the room.

“I have decided to end your session early today because we have a visitor.” Their teacher seemed somewhat nervous. Glancing around the room, Lino found the source. It seemed that several others must have had a similar experience to him. “Before we begin our regularly scheduled lessons, Nerloth, the traveller you were all made aware of yesterday, would like to speak with you. I will now leave you with him.” Curiosity replaced contempt as the group looked to the door, unsure what he would have to say.

Lino was also curious what Nerloth could be doing. But, overshadowing that was the smell of an opportunity. Maybe he could catch Nerloth’s eye and get an explanation? Or at least grab his curiosity so that Nerloth would seek him out rather than the other way round.

As the teacher walked out, Nerloth walked in. His appearance had changed again, he looked more similar to how Lino had seen him the first time. If anything he seemed to look younger. He wore better clothes than what he had been wearing on the stage, no doubt provided by the elders. They had the town crest on them, and a more formal air with intricate patterns and decorations.

“Alright, I’m not gonna make any pretences here. Kids know where all the secrets are, you’re always poking about, and you’ve got more time to do it.” His voice seemed different this time as well. “Have you seen any anomalies or magical secrets, maybe a hidden door or something? Is there anything you remember from when you were younger?”

The class was silent. Partially because they were a bit startled, but more so because very few had anything to share. They had been raised to be very obedient and hard-working. While it was true that were many who weren’t dedicated to their magic, that was most likely because they were hard at work in another area, striving to be the apprentice to their mother or father. It was common knowledge that you had to contribute to the town in a meaningful way or you ran the risk of being banished.

So, there were very few who had gone out and explored to the extent that the traveller must have thought they had. However, with that question, Lino sensed an opening. He raised his hand.

Everyone turned around to look at him. Lino returned their looks of shock with innocent confusion. Why were they so startled? He hadn’t done anything weird.

Lino overheard a girl near him whisper to their friend. “Why is he putting his hand up now? He never talks.” She had a hint of disdain in her voice.

Lino thought about it. Surely I’m not that bad. Right?

Nerloth was waiting for him. “Yes? Go ahead.”

Lino cleared his throat, preparing his vocal cords after long disuse. “There’s a hidden door at the back of the library. Look for a square cut into the rock and then extend a thread of mana to it. It just opens up to the regular library, but there might be something further hidden there.”

He wouldn’t be able to use that entrance anymore now, but he figured it was worth it to get the stranger’s attention.

But, upon receiving his words, there was no outward reaction from Nerloth. If he was startled, he didn’t show it. “I already knew about that one. It doesn’t lead to anything. Anyone else?”

Nerloth turned to the rest of the class, but before anyone else could respond, Lino heard quite possibly the strangest thing he had ever experienced, and that was saying something considering the last few days.

Lino was glad that no one was looking at him, otherwise they would have been very confused, and potentially concerned.

What in the name of all great Ahken had just happened? He was relatively certain that no one else had heard what he had. The ‘voice’ had been the same as Nerloth’s, but different in a way. It was as if it had been implanted in his head, without the need for the air as a medium.

The content of the message was also shocking, albeit in a different way. Lino was ecstatic with the opportunities he might have with Nerloth. His calculated question had paid off better than he could have imagined.

Distracted by the voice in his head, Lino missed the rest of the small hidden locations exposed by his peers, and soon enough Nerloth made his exit. Lino thought he saw another wink on the man’s face as he closed the door.