Just like that, Alistar’s anger dissipated like fog in the wind. All he felt now was an overwhelming sense of gratitude. They hadn’t known each other long, but Caedmon truly cared for him, and was willing to do anything to keep him safe and content. His uncle’s warmth reminded him of his mother’s, and he found himself endlessly grateful that it was Mister Alder who had found him on the side of the Winding Road, and not a danger beast or a band of bandits. His uncle often mentioned his savior, whom he looked forward to meeting.

Breaking contact, Caedmon dipped a hand into his tunic and removed a gleaming string of metal from around his neck. He held a locket of vibrant silver, which twinkled brilliantly even in the dim light of his study. It was an oval piece, the front shaped in a way that showed an elegant butterfly amidst a patch of wildflowers. His uncle opened it, which revealed a small compartment. This slot was empty, though it could fit a few coins or a miniature portrait, perhaps a small piece of folded parchment.

“This belonged to your mother,” he said plaintively. “She gave it to me the night before she was sent away. That was eleven years ago. Up until today, I’ve kept an artistic likeliness of my late wife within this compartment, but I’ve decided that you should have it. It’s the only true keepsake of your mother’s that I can give you.”

Alistar struggled to hold back his tears in the face of Caedmon’s kindness. Living a life as a slave, where possessing a single apple was seen as the peak of luxury, just being allocated a bedroom, being clothed and fed, was more than he could ever have asked for. Compared to the necklaces and lockets he had seen in the market, this piece was likely worth more than one hundred silver lucets. That was enough to feed a person for several years, so long as they ate their meals at the market. Even so, selling the locket was the furthest thing from his mind.

“Is it really okay?” he asked, unsure.

Caedmon smiled, placed it around his neck and fastened it in place. “This here is a locking mechanism”—he indicated a small switch—“which makes for a good place to hold a miniature likeliness, as I had up until today. Once the lock is set, nothing will fall out of this compartment.” Tucking it into Alistar’s tunic, he patted him on both his shoulders. “And now, a second piece, this one from my own collection. One of the only things my father ever gave me, after he discovered my passions for the arts.” He produced a simple bracelet with a small plate of silver as the focus.

“That’s for me?”

His uncle frowned for a moment, and then asked Alistar to hold out his left arm. “It’s about time we rid you of that unsightly thing.”

Alistar wasn’t sure why, but he was somewhat reluctant to part with the rough lump of metal that had marked him as a slave of Crystellum. While he wouldn’t have to hide it beneath the sleeves of his tunics any longer, he’d worn it ever since he could remember, and felt odd taking it off. Although it reminded him of harder days, it was still a symbol of the time he’d spent with his family.

“Come now, the sooner the better.”

“Must I?”

“You’ve got a strong bloodline, so we need to make sure that you don’t accidently hurt anybody when you come into your magics. You’re already nine, after all, and such a thing is very common among the Silverkins. This here will prevent that from happening, and above all else, we can’t have you wearing something like that anymore.”

Alistar hesitated. “Will that one be able to light up as well?” He knew that he was being rude. Caedmon was presenting him with a valuable gift, yet he was searching for a reason to stick with his old bracelet.

Caedmon’s eyebrow’s shot up, nearly meeting his hairline. “Light up, you say? Such a thing has happened before?”

“Yes,” he said, “several times.”

“Was this recently? When did it shine for the first time?”

Was it so surprising that his bracelet could light up? Many of the other slaves’ bracelets were able to light up as well, so it couldn’t have been uncommon.

“On my seventh birthday. And then again when I was eight, and then not too long ago, while I was still in the mines.” The bitter memory of being abused and beaten by those detestable guards drifted through his mind.

“S—seven, you say!” Caedmon looked at Alistar as if he might explode at any minute. “Are you certain?”

He nodded. “It glows quite frequently these days.” Several times since his arrival in Mayhaven, he had awoken in the middle of the night to find his room curiously awash in a red, incandescent light, always pulled from his dreams by the heat of the metal at his wrist.

“Perhaps it’s no longer able to…” Caedmon muttered. “No, that can’t be.” Coming back to himself as if staving off a daydream, he grabbed Alistar’s wrist and inspected the marker. “Then all the more reason. We must swap these, quickly.”

“Uncle, you’re not making any sense.”

“No matter. Quickly now.” He pulled a peculiar stamp from his pocket, its surface a circle of brilliant jade. It was a magic crystal, and a rare type at that. On Alistar’s slave marker was a small indentation, which the stamp slid into with ease. It was a perfect fit. A small blue light flared to life between the two objects, and then a chink in the metal glowed and separated, which caused the piece to fall to the floor with a clank.

Without warning, Alistar was overcome by a wave of nausea, and his body was assailed by a horrible stinging sensation. The unwelcome discomfort spread throughout his body like a terrible virus, which frightened him greatly.

Alarmingly, Caedmon doubled over with an anguished gasp, as if he’d just been struck in the abdomen by a strong blow. Looking up with the eyes of a cornered animal, he smacked the second bracelet around Alistar’s wrist and fumbled to seal it shut with the strange stamp.

The moment the bracelet was latched securely around Alistar’s wrist, the simple plate of lustrous silver began to burn blue, and then gave off a powerful surge of brilliant light. By the time the light receded, so too had all of his discomfort.

Caedmon remained on the ground for a few moments, as if suddenly sick. Eventually, he climbed back onto his feet, his clothes soaked through with heavy amounts of sweat.

“Uncle!” Alistar rushed to steady Caedmon, who had paled by several shades.

“My apologies,” said his uncle, who glanced at the scrap metal that used to be his slave marker. It was smoking lightly, its body aglow like molten metal. “It seems that I’ve mishandled the energies within the crystal. Forgive me.”

Even after spending the majority of his life in Crystellum, he would never have imagined that so much energy was stored within magic crystals. It was unlike Caedmon to miscalculate something, but Alistar was just glad that they were okay.

A harsh pounding resounded throughout the room. Someone was banging on the doors to Caedmon’s study.

“Caedmon!” called a man’s voice. “Caedmon, are you in there?”

Hurrying to the door on unsteady feet, Caedmon opened it to reveal a pale-faced man of similar age. His black hair was short and slicked back with grease, his chestnut eyes wide with alarm.

“The house servants—something has happened to them! That tremendous pressure just now, it left everybody on the estate unconscious.” The man glanced at Alistar, and then looked back at Caedmon with unfocused eyes, equally pale and drenched in sweat. “We should leave until we find out what happened. I’ll gather the girls, you—”

“Steady, Alder,” sighed Caedmon, who gave the man’s arm a weak clap to ease the tension. “If even we were reduced to this state, then of course the servants couldn’t handle it.”

“It? Just what the devil happened?”

Caedmon glanced at the marker that was still smoking on the floor, and then turned to Alistar. “That will be all for today. You’re free to go.” Turning to his friend, he said, “Come. Let us see to the servants. I’ll explain on the way.”

The two men hurried into the hallway, leaving a flustered Alistar alone within the wavering light of the study. He was shaken. Jade-coloured gems were undoubtedly rare, but they were far from the highest quality. Just what kind of crystal had Caedmon used, and why had its reaction been so violent?

Alistar retreated to the library, where he spent the rest of the day digging through all of the books that he could find on magic crystals, in a desperate search for information that might shed light on what had just happened. Though he skimmed through several reputable sources, he found nothing useful.