Chapter 006

What Lies Ahead

Alevier entered the classroom (which resembled a small lecture hall) along with Jaysaun and Sinchiya.

A nostalgic feeling lingered in the air. Alevier looked around. There were those large crystal window panes that let the sunlight in, the polished wooden desks and that big clean blackboard - it seemed that Alevier was going to relive his first class in this Academy. But in his heart, he wished for it to not happen - this was a fresh start.

“Hey, now you depressed nerd, let’s sit near the windows,” Jaysaun nudged Alevier and pointed towards the desks in the third row. “I will sit in the middle, Alevier, you will sit next to the window. And my sweetheart, would you sit beside me?”

Sinchiya giggled and said, “Of course, if you take my hand.” she stretched out her soft white hand. With a few envious stares on him, Jaysaun grabbed it without hesitation.

Alevier, who felt awkward by this development, immediately hastened his way to his seat. Jaysaun and Sinchiya followed him behind. The desks had enough room for three people to sit in comfortably. They were arranged in three columns: one adjacent to the windows, one in the centre while the last one was adjacent to the wall on the other side. Each column had four rows thus, the classroom had a total capacity of thirty-six, give or take a few. However, only twenty-five students comprised class 3Q leaving a few desks at the end empty.

Soon enough the students settled down being the disciplined people they were. A minute later, a person in long green robes walked in through the door. She had a grey brow that was barely visible underneath the weird black top hat. Her deep brown eyes peered through her half-moon glasses. On her breast was a golden badge with four lines on it signifying that she was a 4th Star Magus. She carried two thick books which she set down with a heavy thud on the teacher’s desk. She looked at the curious faces of her students and the corner of her wrinkled lips curved upwards.

“Good morrow students!” She said in a hoarse voice. “Welcome to your third year at the Yarukok Magical Academy. I am truly surprised to see that this year almost a hundred students had passed the 2nd Star Magus Test and were able to attend their third year here, unlike last year where only sixty students qualified. Congratulations once again, it is no easy task to become a 2nd Star Magus at such a young age.”

She applauded, the students followed.

“Now let me introduce myself, I am professor Kirbecka Uioque, your class teacher and your teacher for General Spellcraft. This year, you all have chosen subjects of your choice, I expect great things from you all for you will show your true potential. And for people who are adept at practical magic rather than theory, I have good news for you - since you all are in your third year, your exams will focus more on practical application rather than on theory. Moving on let me explain the rules for this year…”

She proceeded to explain the major rules and regulations of the school. Although all students were provided with a rulebook, it was something of a custom to explain the important ones on the first day of school.

“... So one should not remain in the school after midnight else it will result in dire consequences. Does anyone has any doubts?” she asked after ten minutes of a monotonous lecture. The students sat in silence.

“Good,” she continued. “Now let me make two special announcements before I begin my class - your third year’s Mage Cup has been added a little twist to.”

The students moved in their seats, these were probably the most interesting words that they had heard since the class had started. Alevier sighed, his mind was fixed upon that fact that his theoretical knowledge’ support will degrade further. Moreover, he always lost in the Mage Cup, it was more or less his annual humiliation day.

“Due to the fact that almost twice the number of students than usual have qualified for their third year, we will be doing an unofficial clean up at the Mage Cup. The losers of the Mage Cup will be assigned a solo quest in the Southern Forests. If they fail to complete the quest, they will be expelled. The quest will be of three-star difficulty this implies that if you are worthy enough and lose by mistake in the Mage Cup, you will have a second chance. However, if you are not-”

Her eyes lingered on Alevier for a moment who was looking at her with eyes of despair.

“-it is best if you work hard now and not become the 25% who lose in the Mage Cup.”

There was small applause, those gifted students were quite happy at this development. Being told by their seniors that the 2nd Star Mage Exam was terribly easy and anyone could pass it - something indicated by the fact that indeed a lot of students passed it - had hurt their pride. The scene where their ‘unworthy’ peers are expelled would surely heal their wounds.

Alevier moved uncomfortably in his seat. This was bad... very very bad for him - he who had got a 100% streak of losing in the Mage Cup. So a three-star quest was the only option? How in the damn world will he be able to complete a quest designed for 3rd Star Magus?!

Jaysaun noticed Alevier’s troubled expression. He knew that such a rule would bring much trouble to his friend. Out of worry, he raised his hand to speak.

“Yes?” Kirbecka responded to his gesture.

“Professor Kirbecka,” said Jaysaun loudly. “Is this change really necessary? I believe that more students graduating from this academy would surely be a good thing, why do we have to prune the already less student’s population?”

She stared at him with stern eyes. “If I recall correctly you are ‘Jaysaun Lumious’, right?”

“Yes, professor,” replied Jaysaun.

“Well, Jaysaun, this is the decision of the student council's president backed by the administration. I am afraid that your opinions on this policy do not matter.”

‘So Waelecia is behind all this?!’ Alevier felt even more troubled. ‘Doesn't she know that her own brother is the worst in practical magic in his class? What in the world was she thinking? I am truly doomed now...’

Jaysaun clenched his teeth and asked, “Prof-”

“Mr Lumious, I had already told you - your opinion in this policy does not matter,” Kirbecka cut him off.

“Are we clear now?” she asked. “Well then, let me make the second announcement. You all are in your third year now and hence you all are eligible to be a part of the student’s council. Although the president and the vice-president are nominated and elected by the academy, its members are not. The members are selected by the president and the vice-president themselves. There will be a competition next week where you all will exhibit your magical prowess.” She paused for a moment and looked at Jaysaun. “And being in the council gives you a say in the administration of the academy.”

Jaysaun quickly turned his head towards a depressed Alevier.

“You heard that Al?” he said as he nudged Alevier. “We have got some hope!”

Alevier broke out of dreams and looked at Jaysaun.

“Yeah...” he smiled weakly. Yeah, just have to overshadow everyone else with his magical skills, right? Easy task…

“Now that we are done with the announcements, shall we begin the class?” Kirbecka turned and grabbed a piece of chalk from the ones kept on the table. She wrote on the board ‘GENERAL SPELLCASTING’.

“Let’s do a quick revision of the basics before we begin, shall we?” she pointed at a male student wearing academy robes - there were two uniforms, the ‘modern’ shirt and trousers, and the traditional robes which could be customized to a certain degree. Most mage families with a long history enforced their children to wear robes (with their family symbol stitched to it) to carry on the tradition of wearing mage robes. Something which had the sole purpose of showing off one’s lineage.

“What is a spell?” she asked the boy who stood up to answer.

The boy was clearly bothered by the question. Such a question should be asked to a first-year student and not him!

He rolled his eyes and spoke, “A spell is a construct of mana which can perform work.”

“And what does a spell comprise?”

“It comprises nodes, channels, and/or planes,” he replied.

“Good, sit down,” Kirbecka pointed at another student, this time a girl in mage robes. “Define mana.”

The girl got up and spoke in a slightly irritated tone, “Mana is defined as a mystical source of energy. However, it can exist as energy as well as matter. Some people define it as a fundamental component of our world.”

“And what is the soul?”

“The incorporeal essence of a living being,” she replied.

“Yes, now will you tell me how does one form a spell?” asked Kirbecka.

“A spell is formed when one influences mana with their spiritual force and moulds them into a construct of nodes and channels - which are obviously made up of mana.”

“Yes yes. Good, sit down,” Kirbecka gestured her to sit down. “I will keep asking basic questions in the middle of my lecture so stay attentive. Very well then, let us begin with the Magical theory proposed by...”

Kirbecka began teaching her students about the theory of mana. All the students were listening attentively but one. Alevier had already studied all this, he did not need to pay attention - he wasn't an insufferable master-of-theory for nothing.

The crystal windows were as clear as a… crystal? Thinking about his future, his vacant gaze wandered off to the white clouds which drifted lazily in the open sky. Little did he know that someone far away was staring at the very same clouds.

* * *

In the grassy meadows far away from Alevier, a tall man in a black cloak was standing, staring at the distant clouds.

“Ah, I told you, I hate travelling,” he yawned, his hood let nothing but his pale square chin be visible to a spectator.

A woman in a similar cloak appeared out of thin air beside him. In a very seductive voice, she spoke, ”You were the one who wanted to see it for yourself!”

“But- I forgot that we had to travel here,” he said.

“Argh!” the woman made an annoyed sound. “Why do I have to put up with you! Anyway, let's walk a bit more, that thing is right in front of us.”

There was nothing unusual around, just some lonely but messy fields that stretched out endlessly in the horizon with a few roads, and a very peculiar, humongous chasm that one could not miss if they weren’t completely blind.

The four-kilometre-wide hole laid open a few yards away from the duo.

“Ah, I will have to walk again,” the man casually strolled forward. The woman moved too albeit, slowly as if something was retarding her.

After a minute of slow walking, the duo reached the edge of the abyss. The man knelt and peered into the chasm. The bottom was nowhere to be seen, there were a few clouds of mist floating in the abyss except for that it was empty, not a living thing in sight. The endless darkness ran deep, even the morning sunlight couldn't fill the hollow darkness which filled the abyss.

One remarkable thing about this chasm, except for its unbelievable size, was its smooth uniformly curved surface - it looked like the land had been gently scooped out of space resulting in the formation of this chasm.

“Funny, it has not collapsed till now,” said the man.

“It should have if we were not using weight nullification spells right now,” said the woman, her voice was as mesmerising as ever.

“But other people would have visited this too, right?” asked the man.

“Only the Archmages did and most of them can fly.”

“What about survivors? Animals? Natural disturbances?” the man asked in rapid succession.

“Very few survivors, all have been affected by peculiar ailments and all of them were found a hundred metres away from the chasm. Animals and natural beasts did not approach this area, they were said to be scared silly. As for natural disturbances? There were thunderstorms and tornadoes when this occurred, and winds from all directions rushed here, but someone or something prevented it from affecting the chasm,” replied the woman.

“Seems so,” muttered the man.

“And I am sure that you have figured out that space-time fabric in this chasm is missing,” said the woman as she leaned forward and looked into the abyss.

“Yes it is and it is under repair by the surrounding space-time. Except for its bottom, the fabric around here has already been repaired. And the loss of the space-time fabric has prevented the ground from collapsing, once it is fully repaired, the ground will collapse.”

“You know who did it?”

“Only a handful of beings can do this. However, there is someone I suspect - I think he walks on the Athea again...”

“So he has appeared at last?” the woman said in a serious tone.

“Yes, and it appears to me that he was hunting for something or someone,” said the man thoughtfully. ”At least that is what I can judge from this.” He gestured towards the chasm.

“Whatever he was hunting for should have not been able to escape,” said the woman.

“No!” snapped the man. “If he has appeared now, it is possible that he is very weak at the moment and he forcefully executed this... this spell. Given that a spell of this magnitude would have taken a toll on anyone, it is entirely possible that he would have failed in his endeavour and was forced to retreat.”

“Sounds plausible to me,” the woman agreed. “Now that he has made his existence so pronounced, I guess Selaix should make his appearance too.”

“Don’t say his name, it is dangerous,” warned the man.

“My mistake. Do you think that old man has found him?” asked the woman.

“I can't say for sure,” the man yawned.

“Whatever the case, we need to quicken our pace,” said the woman. “The Nightstalker our friend sent to greet prudentia seems to have died. I guess prudentia is worthy after all, we need to test the others too before making our move. And we have to gather forces too. Ah, so much work to be done. Let’s leave before the Archmages arrive, it will be a pain to hunt them down and erase all the evidence if we are discovered.”

“Indeed,” said the man thoughtfully. “But still this, ‘Vanishing Of Armi’ is probably the most interesting thing since the 3rd Great War...”

The bottomless chasm, which the man and the woman were looking at, was once a flourishing city - a prosperous trading centre, a hub of travellers with a population of almost 8000 people of all ages and trade. But now this lovely city in the middle of Ozyandous had disappeared into the void. Yes, this was where the city of Armi once stood.

* * *

‘Armi?’ a bored Alevier stared at his teacher. His melancholic eyes were deaf to what Kirbecka was teaching. That incident had changed his life, he had lost a lot that day.

He strained his memory. Yes, he was there - he had woken up next to that chasm. Yes, he had gone to Armi the day before it happened. But he could not remember what had happened in between - his memory was fuzzy from that time like someone had filled it with static. However, one emotion in those memories was very clear - fear.