Chapter 018

Growth

It was a fine autumn afternoon and the atmosphere was getting cooler as the days passed. The trees around the Yarukok Dormitory Area were already affected by the spells of red and yellow. With the sun shining gently and the slow breeze whispering to the tree leaves, one could go out for a lazy afternoon walk, listening to the rustling leaves and watching the busy birds work on their nests, and if lucky, one may also witness small animals like squirrel and wild rabbits play in the yellow grass, full of autumn spirit.

But Alevier did not have time to waste on them. Although he was a person who truly appreciated the placid beauty of nature, he was fixed on something else at the moment.

“I want to enter the Student’s Council,” he had said to Jaysaun as he left the Rubrum Dormitory. He walked with confidence yet, he had the air of ‘do-not-approach-me’ around him. Maybe it was deeply engraved in his nature to avoid people. He trotted along the bricked road towards the Academy without stopping even once.

After a short walk, he reached Yarukok’s main building and went straight for the assigned training hall. It was easy to locate as he had visited it quite a few times already.

He opened the familiar wooden door to enter a wide hall. The white walls had no windows but that was not a problem since bright magical lights hung from the ceiling and enlightened the entire room. The hall was empty for the most part, except a few stone statues of sorcerers placed in its corners.

In the centre of the multicoloured marble floor stood Jarkiso in his emerald and black mage robes along with another man in similar attire.

“You are on time, good,” said Jarkiso as Alevier approached him. “Have you mastered mana signature suppression?”

Alevier nodded. “I practised that all night.”

“Show me,” said Jarkiso. “Redrik, tell me to what degree he can suppress his mana signature.”

"Go ahead, young man." said the bald man standing next to Jarkiso.

Alevier closed his eyes and willed his spiritual force to suppress the mana that he was emitting.

It is speculated that it is one's soul or the mana which is bounded to it which interacts with the ambient mana in the surroundings and results in a special aura around the creatures. And this special aura is called their mana signature. As the mana capacity of a person grows, the aura around them grows too. However, there are certain techniques through which one can suppress their own aura like using their spiritual force to mask it or suppress it.

At the moment, Alevier was suppressing his own mana thus, reducing the intensity of the aura around him.

"Interesting," said Redrik. "The boy can already suppress his mana to the upper 1st Star level. Well done."

Alevier opened his eyes. Although his face looked calm, he was internally struggling to maintain that aura. "So, did I pass?"

"No," deadpanned Jarkiso. "You should be able to unconsciously be able to hide your mana signature. Until you can completely mask it, you must practice.'

Alevier sighed as he loosened his spiritual force and his aura rose up to upper 2nd Star levels - he could unconsciously keep it at those levels.

"Don't be so harsh on him, Professor Jarkiso," laughed Redrik. "He is doing great for his age. I think it is enough."

"Times change my friend. And at the present time this is not enough," said Jarkiso. "Anyway, continue to practice suppressing your aura. For now, we will practice on your moulding skills and spell alteration."

Alevier nodded. Internally, he did think that he needed to practice more and his efforts might be falling short. After all, if the vampires did come for him, he must not be the puny Alevier who was tossed around by the Nightstalker.

However, despite that worry and fear, he did feel elated at his achievements, he was a proper 3rd Star Magus now. He had quickly got used to his grown powers in the past few days and gathered a lot of practical and theoretical knowledge. He put in a lot of efforts to practice every day and hone his skill.

He wondered if he was the best in his class now - there should not be any 4th Star mages in his class, but he had inquired Isella about everyone’s mana signature and he found out there were people who were tending towards 3rd Star levels at a frightening rate.

It would not be a surprise if they took the Mage Advancement Test and successfully got a 3rd Star licence. After all, the first four ranks of the General Mage Classification System were given according to one’s magical aptitude and technique - although the 4th Star also required a certain level of mastery over a particular magical discipline, it was none of Alevier’s concern at the moment.

“Begin with casting a greater snowball spell and weave a curving function to it,” said Jarkiso. “And do it without a Medium.”

“Okay,” said Alevier as a mana construct began to shape up in his palm.

“Also you have to dodge the mana missiles while preparing it,” said Jarkiso as he casually waved his hand and mana missiles began to pop up in existence.

Alevier’s primary focus was on creating the proper spell models so he half-heartedly dodged the projectiles. But all that morning training wasn’t for nothing, his limbs were more agile and his body was stronger thus, the missiles only grazed him.

Maybe Jarkiso was going easy on him but in those seventeen seconds in which he had managed to complete the spell, he was successful in avoiding all the missiles.

“Done,” he said as he held up the glowing spell model.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Hit me with it,” said Jarkiso as more of mana missiles shot from his hand

Alevier did not hesitate and activated the spell model, a three-feet wide ball of cold and snow condensed in front of him. It revolved about its centre producing icy breezes before shooting out towards Jarkiso. It curved outwards - towards the right - following a parabolic path.

Jarkiso erected a simple mana shield in front of him, while Redrik stood beside him. His eyes calm as ever traced the giant ball of snow which happened to head towards his shield. But just as it was about to slam into the wall of force, it suddenly twisted right. It almost drew a quarter circle around the shield.

It did dodge the wall of force but it completely missed its mark by simply flying past its target. Hell, it did not even graze them.

“Ah,” said Redrik. “Alevier, you missed.”

But Alevier continued to smile. The snowball had passed them and it was at this moment he activated the second curving function. The snowball twisted and turned towards the duo and with much more velocity, it shot forth.

Alevier snickered, he had also weaved an accelerating function in it that is why it had cost him so much mana and so much time. Hell, overloading ice Pike's was easier than this!

Redrik exclaimed as he felt the spell curve in. But the same did not apply to Jarkiso, he did not even look back as a strong mana shield sprang into existence behind him and tanked the spell. The snowball exploded into a white storm of cold.

Alevier eagerly awaited for the scene to clear. And as the cold air dissipated, he could see Jarkiso standing there stubbornly like an immovable boulder, Redrik was staring wide-eyed at the cracked shield which was coated with a layer of ice. The area which was not shielded by the defensive wall of force was frozen over with a smooth white layer of frost forming something like a two-meter-wide icy cake with a missing portion on the ground.

Alevier was for the most part satisfied with the spell. The mana shield that Jarkiso had cast already had numerous cracks running across it, his spell had clearly failed to break through it. But it was not that his spell was weak, it was the shield that was strong and Alevier knew it well that Jarkiso had already calculated the power of his spell and accordingly made the most effective shield to defend against it.

Jarkiso’s old eyes were fixed at Alevier who looked back at him with a resolute gaze. Then slowly, the corners of his mouth curved upwards. "Well done, Alevier. Even when it almost took you a week, the results are quite great."

Alevier smiled. “What’s next?”

“Well, Professor, he is quite eager to train,” said Redrik as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Let’s see,” said Jarkiso thoughtfully. “I have taught you the very basics of physical combat techniques, suppressing your mana signature and some spell alterations. We have progressed quite slowly taking into account that I am teaching you for such long hours and you are training day and night. But it is alright, a slow and steady start leads to a good foundation. So let’s continue with some mana shaping skills and unstructured magic.”

“Mana shaping? Fine,” he was not particularly fond of unstructured magic and shaping skills but he wanted to learn everything he could. He was determined to become better.

“But remember this well, Alevier,” said Jarkiso. “You are not ahead of your peers. They have been training for long and let me tell you, the experience is much more valuable than the ability. And I am not insulting you, but you severely lack a battle sense and you happen to be indecisive. Keep that in mind and do not let overconfidence hinder your path.”

“I understand, Professor.”

“Very well then,” the old man smiled. “I hope you had read those books on shaping exercises that I gave you earlier.”

“Yes, I did,” replied Alevier with a tone of reluctance.

“We are going to learn different variations of levitating pens,” laughed Jarkiso.

Alevier sighed, in all his life this was the most difficult task he had ever performed - levitating pens.

* * *

The day rolled on, Alevier had practised all afternoon and evening with Jarkiso as he had done in the previous days. For some reason, Jarkiso was more eager to teach him, but that was good, he was in a severe need of training.

Unfortunately, after the training, his spirit and mana were exhausted. And he had a new found hate for unstructured magic and shaping skills. He spent half the class to learn to rotate a levitating a pen in his palm.

It might sound simple but it was not. Even the heating or cooling magic which he knew best was a product of two months of intensive training; even then, he would occasionally lose control over them.

Unstructured magic or simply 'Magic' required immense concentration. And whenever Jarkiso distracted him by shooting small mana missiles that felt like a light punch, he would lose his control over the pen and it would either fly off in the distance or would fall down on the floor. It was really frustrating.

For an analogy, if one were to compare, Magic is like a muscle while the structure of the spell is like the bone. The muscle acts upon the bone to produce the desired effect.

Now, take the example of you lifting a box with your arm. Your muscles pull the bone which acts as a lever and pushes the box upwards. That is what a structured spell is - it is easy, simple, and efficient. Now take the example of your tongue which has only muscles and no bones. Can you imagine the effort required to lift the same box with your tongue?

That was what an unstructured spell/'Magic’ felt like - it was much more versatile but at the same time, it was inefficient and difficult thus, requiring immense effort.

It was said that unstructured magic is the purest form of magic for it had no structure and was essentially magical energy at work. And there were hundreds - if not thousands - of variations of such magic and Jarkiso said that by the end of this month, he will teach him at least ten.

Alevier shuddered. Maybe he will have nightmares about levitating pens.

He walked down the street, the sun had long since departed the skies and in its absence, the shining stars had occupied its domain.

Alevier walked under the sky, the moonlight was bright but, it was dim against the magical streetlights. There were a few people on the streets, most of them were young couples who were out for a romantic walk in the cool autumn air. Looking at them made Alevier even more frustrated.

He hastened his pace and walked past them. A group of his seniors - 4th-year students - was standing in front of him, as he walked past them, he could feel gazes of fear and disgust land upon him. Knowing such a thing only increased his frustration. It was all because he was Waelecia’s sibling. She was a known terror in the school, like an evil spirit out of folklore who would smite you if you dared to speak her name.

Well, that was an exaggeration of course. She only teleported near you if you speak something ill about her. She did not mind people speaking something nice about her as if to say, “I, too, am extraordinarily humble.”

But if you did speak something bad about her, you would have a mana missile mysteriously crash into your head. And if you spoke something that actually angered her, well, things might get ugly. There was a popular myth in the school that once a boy had spoken something lewd about her to his friends and her scrying spells had picked that up, the very next day that boy and his friends were found hanging from different trees in Ambrosio by their ankle, all of them in their boxers covered from head to toe in sewage.

That myth alone was to scare people to the point that they never talked about her, let alone mention her name.

Alevier snickered, it was almost the end of his first year when she did that. She had really gotten herself into trouble at that time, running from one parent to the other and apologizing to them and their children. But in all honesty, when Alevier had met those students, he had really thought they deserved that - all of them were arrogant sons of rich merchants or mages, they tried to sue her and when they had lost the claim tried to inflict bodily harm but, Waelecia was just too strong for her age and… had a strong backing so nothing happened to her.

As he walked, he thought that his sister was similar to him. She had no friends even when it was her last year, she was a person of few words and was quite a hard worker - he had watched her train once, and hell, she trained like a madman. But while they had similarities, she always had the power to protect herself. He wondered if he was born with such power, would he grow up to be like her too?

He felt a small hint of pity for her. Although she was weird and rude at times and always behaved indifferently to him, she had never once denied help when he asked her for it - though he hated to ask her for help.

Deep down, he knew, that there was some sisterly love which existed in her heart. They both shared the same blood, and he was well informed that such love will not surface except in dire situations, and even if it did, she would do her best to deny it afterwards. He wasn’t going to blame her for that; for he would have done the same - it was the kind of scoundrels both of them were.

As he walked immersed in his own thoughts, and someone who had been trailing him finally thought to make their presence more noticeable.

“Well, well,” said a familiar voice from behind Alevier. “Look who is here.”

Alevier had walked quite far away from the crowd and the area around him was deserted if one did not count the people in the nearby dormitories. He turned and saw Fobas standing there with a stupid grin plaster on his orc-like face.

Alevier gave him an indifferent look and continued to walk towards his dormitory.

“Hey,” yelled Fobas. “Where are you running off to?”

Alevier looked back, he was frustrated at the moment and he wanted to rest, Fobas was the last thing he wanted. Even by looking at his face, Alevier’s frustration had risen a few notches.

“Stop!” he yelled like a tragic romance hero who was watching his love interest walk away… Okay, it was just Alevier imagining that to lighten his mood.

Alevier stopped and gave him a sour look. “What is it? You aren’t worth my time, just go away or something.”

“Being confident again are we?” he said as he strode towards him. “Guess the Perdant Brawler is back.”

“Oh, you’re approaching me?” said Alevier.

“I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer,” he said as he cracked a knuckle.

Alevier sighed, “You want to fight me, again?”

“No one said it was going to be a fight,” said Fobas. “I am just going to warn you about a few things.”

“What is it?” Alevier chose to listen since he would love to avoid a fight if he could...

Wait, was he being timid again? Was this so deeply embedded in his nature?

“You are being too close to the new transfer student, hanging around her like an annoying fly on a sweet cake,” he said as he grabbed Alevier’s collar. “And a lot of people are angry because of that, Tuwymir. And that includes me!”

Was he going to stay low like always and forsake his friendship because of this? Was he going to let this oaf walk all over him again? Now that he had the power and the control. Now that he knew the extent of his ability.

Fobas pulled his other arm back, flexing his muscles and aiming his fist at Alevier.

No, he was going to not be toyed with anymore.

Instead of dodging or staying still as he usually would, Alevier suddenly thrust his fist into Fobas’s stomach. Caught completely off-guard, Fobas’s body convulsed, and he quickly took a step back to avoid the fist but, he could not dodge it in time, and the fist slammed into his unprotected stomach. A small scream left his mouth as a sharp pain erupted from his abdomen drawing the air out of his lungs and making his knees bend.

Alevier was much stronger now - not very strong, but stronger than before.

He quickly took out his grimoire which was strapped to his back and stepped back before beginning to cast a mana missile.

Before Fobas could straighten himself, a mana missile came hurling towards him and gloriously crashed into his face making him fall on his back with a painful thud. Alevier, having learned quite a lot from Jarkiso, cast a quick diagonal mana shield a foot above Fobas’s neck.

Fobas’s eyes were closed due to the pain and as he tried to sit up while saying, "Perdan- ouch!" His forehead clumsily bumped into the shield and he fell back on the ground.

Alevier could swear he heard a hollow noise.

“Ow!” Fobas groaned in pain and rubbed his forehead.

Alevier sniggered and ran off towards his dormitory before Fobas could regain his bearings and chase him.

He was not going to be their ragdoll anymore. He had the power to resist! Enough of being feeble, he was going to have things his way now! But he should not go overboard or get carried away, that was enough for one meeting.

He happily trotted back into the Rubrum Dormitory, for some reason the flowers in the garden seemed brighter than usual, even with starlight being the only thing that illuminated them.

Alevier casually walked to the door of the red mansion and knocked.

“Oh, Alevier it is you,” said Kriso the dorm manager. “Come in. Are you going to return every day at this time?”

“Yes,” replied Alevier.

“Very well then, I will leave the door unlocked for you from tomorrow,” he said. “I have dinner prepared for you, go to the kitchen and eat it while it is still hot.”

“Thank you Mr Kakol,” said Alevier as he merrily entered the dormitory. Today was a wonderful evening.

* * *

Although the evening was wonderful, and he was able to vent his frustration, the night was not exactly great for Alevier. The midnight pain - as Alevier had named it - was already gone. He was not pulling muscles or having seizures anymore but, he felt tiredness creep in his body and spirit and make him feel restless. He rolled in his bed staring at the ceiling and thinking of the best way to sleep.

He rolled again in his heavy blanket and stared at the empty bed on the other side of the room. He could still remember the excitement with which Jaysaun had said, “Hey Al, I will be going out for tonight.”

“Why, what’s the matter?” he had asked.

“Ah, my ex-girlfriend, Loia has asked me out today for some reason. If everything goes fine she might invite me to her dorm and…"

"And?" Alevier was sickened but curious.

"And she might bake her special apple pie for me. God, it was so delicious. I still wonder why I broke up with her. I am such a moron. I will probably bring some back with me, for you!"

With those words, Jaysaun had departed leaving Alevier alone in his room and he still hadn't returned. Maybe he was paying for the apple pie at the moment, with methods Alevier didn't want to know about.

He glanced out of the windows and stared up at the inky sky and he wondered if he were to journey from here to one of those stars, what all would he see during his trip. Some long-forgotten writer had said that it is the journey and not the destination which makes the adventure worth it.

Maybe, now he had suddenly gained the talent, just maybe, he would be able to become an Archmage and fulfil that promise before his life was over.

He suddenly thought of Fobas. He was one spoiled brat with some serious anger issues who picked on weaker students, but Alevier sure had given him a hard time in his first year, it was so bad that Fobas had to gang up with his friends to go against Alevier. He smiled at those memories when he used to carefully plan his vengeance on bullies by setting up ingenious traps - he was not a physical fighter of course.

But that smile died down as he remembered an old promise he had made with her. But she had left him all alone, so did that promise still count? Urgh, he really should not be thinking about her.

He shook his head and thought about his recent encounter with Fobas and how he could have avoided it. Maybe he should have not fought him but simply ran away. He hurt Fobas, didn't he? Wasn't he any better than him? In a way, this felt unfair to him.

Was this empathy or was it meekness?

Alevier sighed and cast these thoughts aside, what was done was done - he would be only troubling himself for trying to judge his own actions. To judge and to commit a crime are two distinct jobs which should not employ the same person.

He laughed a little. It was funny he could not see the world in black and white, sometimes he thought of wishing for ignorance. That way he would be happier.

As he watched the window restlessly, he thought to go out for a walk. There wasn't much to do so it was better to ease his mind with a serene walk in the morning silence rather than rolling around in the bed.

He got out of his bed and took out a cloak after changing into something warmer. And before long, he was already out of the Rubrum Dormitory with his grimoire. He glanced over at the courtyard and spent a good deal of time admiring the flower and the small trees before moving out of the gates.

Feeling a bit adventurous, he strolled in under the starry sky, keeping an eye out for something interesting. The streetlight had been switched off because of environmental reasons so few things were visible in the starlit streets, but it was not a problem, Alevier’s had a good night vision.

He walked to the gates of the Dormitory Area. It was locked and warded against Intruders but being a student of the school, his mana signature was registered in the ward's program hence he could just jump over the gate without alerting anyone.

He conjured few horizontal plates of force and stacked them one over the other in the form of a staircase. Heck, it cost him quite a bit of mana and before his growth, he could have not done it. He climbed the glowing staircase and jumped over the gates.

With a dull thud, he was back on the ground. He wanted to see the fields and the hills and the stream which meandered through Ambrosio. There was so much to see and so much to admire. Alevier's heart was thrilled with excitement.

He saw owls glide in the cold autumn air and small rats scuttle in the grass. He walked down the Kokru Hills. He was not heading towards the city but to the very opposite of it - to the large open fields. He looked to his left and saw the Academy built on the hill with its tallest tower standing erect in the sky with its five crystal towers floating around it. He wondered if someone was there on the top of the tower staring down at the world.

It was just for a brief moment but he felt something stare back at him from the blurry top of the tower. He quickly looked away and fastened his pace. Before long he reached the river which flowed through Ambrosio and under the stone bridge which connected the Dormitory Area and the School.

The river was not wide, in fact, it was occasionally called a creek by the townsfolk who had seen much bigger rivers. He neared the dark water of the river which occasionally sparkled in the starlight, soon he could see the reflection of the sky in its gentle waters. The grass broke under his feet as he slowly walked forward, with every step he could see more in the river’s clear waters. He stepped on the pebbly banks and stood beside the water. He saw a few water striders and a red and black crab which scurried to its sides on the wet stones.

He giggled and glanced into the river, under its starry surface and beyond the clear water, there was darkness. He stared hard at the darkness, not even blinking once, for some reason, he felt accustomed to it. Then, all of a sudden, something emerged from under it. With a flash of ghostly white, a fish whose milky scales lay in stark contrast with the river’s dark bottom swam up but did not break the surface. The fish was unlike any other, it was large yet very long for its tail had not yet emerged from the darkness. It swam in circles and danced in its element, it was strange yet at the same time, mesmerising.

“Hey,” said a voice making Alevier jumped who surprised at the presence of another person. He glanced to his right, and about ten metres away from him, a redhead sat at the banks with her feet in the water and her hand waving at Alevier, beckoning him to come closer. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Oh, it is you Isella,” said Alevier with a smile, he glanced at the water again but the white fish was nowhere to be found. He felt a bit regretful at losing the sight of such a strange fish.

With a small sigh, walked towards Isella.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I was out for a walk. I could not sleep,” he said.

“What?” she chuckled. “Are you anxious about tomorrow’s competition?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Ha-ha,” she giggled. “Don’t worry, I am confident that you will get into the Student’s Council. Why must you stand, sit, the ground isn’t all that dirty.”

Alevier folded his legs and sat down beside her on the cold gravelly floor. “May I know what you are doing here?”

“Oh, I come here every night,” she said. “I am a Dhampir so I require little sleep, so I usually spend my time walking in the fields or gazing the stars, it reminds me of my previous home.” She produced a leather pouch from the darkness. “Care for some Birute Juice?"

“Sure,” said Alevier. “Are Dhampirs resistant to cold too?” He gestured at her feet which were submerged in the river water.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said as she magically conjured a glass of ice from the air and poured him a pink liquid. “But the water isn’t all that cold, in fact, it is pleasantly cool.”

“Is that so?” said Alevier with a doubtful expression. “That is strange.”

”Go ahead, give it a try.”

“No, thank you. I am afraid I might catch a cold like that.”

“How much colder can you get?” she laughed as she handed him the cup.

“Urgh, I have had it with these joke on my ailment,” Alevier shook his head as he accepted the cup, a sweet fragrance wafted into his nose.

“I am sorry for that,” Isella quickly apologized. “I won’t make them anymore.”

“Thank you,” he said as he stared up at the sky.

Except for the occasional hooting of the owls and the cascading of the river water over the pebbles, there was no other sound. The two sat in silence staring at the dark sky and sipping Birute juice for a few minutes before Isella said something.

“Do you like stars?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I find them interesting.”

“What about constellations?”

“I recognize a few, but I believe seeing pictures in the sky by connecting stars is a drunkard’s job and not mine,” he deadpanned as he took another sip.

Isella giggled. “I don’t share the same views. I find constellations fun, they seem like the pages of a fantasy book in the sky with a vast amount of lore and thought behind them.”

“Oh yeah?” he said. “I never looked at them that way.”

“Yeah, for example, you see those five stars over there,” she pointed in the sky. “Connect them with those four and you get Bearhawk the ruler of beasts. It is said that he was an ancient beast which ruled the Great Southern Forests until the Swordsman of Nyx slew him.”

“Swordsman of Nyx?” Alevier laughed. “I still remember that tale of the Swordsman of Nyx and the Dragon of Shadows, my mother used to narrate it to me during bedtime.”

“Yeah, it is a popular folktale,” said Isella. “And look over there, see that triangular formation, so you connect those three with those five and you get Shuri the Cold. It is said that she was a human queen - long before the time of Trynat Empire - who was blessed by winter itself and grew extremely powerful. But because she grew so powerful, she was feared and condemned by her own people and in the end, her own sister exiled her to the Northern Mountains - to the place we now call Trifrost.”

"Well, that is something far fetched," said Alevier staring at the reflection of the moon in the water.

"They are meant for entertainment," Isella shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's your turn now, I am sure you can point out a few."

"It is?" Alevier sighed and looked up at the sky again. "I do recognize one. There - that one - Icesa the Elf."

For some reason, he felt weird in saying Icesa.

"Well," Alevier continued. "She was the Elf who liberated the Elsenguard continent from the rule of Trynat which consequently lead to the fall of the greatest empire Athea’s history has ever witnessed. That's all I know, only because it was so absurd yet at the same time proven by the ancient records. That is another reason for my interest in elves, a pity I have never seen one."

"Oh elves are lovely creatures," said Isella. "They are skinny and weak looking with their pale skin and all, but they have sweet voices."

"You have seen elves before? Where?" asked Alevier.

"Yeah, I had seen a few in a slave market," she lowered her gaze and played with the cup in her hands.

"What were you doing in a slave market?" Alevier took the last sip from his cup.

"I was being sold over there," she said quietly.

“E-excuse me?” he asked, surprised and almost choking on his drink. “You said, you were being sold over there?”

“Yeah…” she sighed and looked away nowhere in particular. “I was a slave for a small part of my life. It was almost eight years ago, during the Third Magus War.”

“I-I am sorry for that,” said Alevier.

“It is alright, it is alright,” she said and drained her cup. “Don’t you think this juice is too sweet?”

There was a pause, during which a hundred things went through Alevier's head. Then he smiled and lightly punched Isella on her shoulder.

“As a matter of fact, I was wondering the same thing,” said Alevier. “So, what kind of juices do you like?”

“Let’s see I do like diluted Thunderberry juice and-”

“Well, that is shocking that a gentle person like you prefers Thunderberries.”

“Ha-ha, you think that I am a gentle person?”

“Oh, I can’t think anything else for a Dhampir who was drooling over my neck a few days ago!”

She laughed. Maybe there was a lot of pain behind those amber eyes of hers, but all Alevier saw on her face was her smile, and he wanted to keep that smile over there - she was his friend after all.

* * *

Somewhere away from Ambrosio, a man wearing a long cloak was walking hastily in a lonely street of a small town. The cold wind blew making his cloak flutter but it did not bother him in the least.

He took a sharp right and walked straight ahead until he stopped in front of a grandly built house. He did not even bother knocking and opened the already unlocked door. Inside the dimly lit house, there were a number of people standing in the hall, all of them were strangely dressed in cloaks and talked in hushed voices. The man did not pay them any heed and continued to navigate through the house. He walked through the crowded hallway and reached the door of the cellar.

He took a deep breath and entered opened the door, an eerie aura crept out of the darkness which encompassed the cellar.

He quietly descended the stairs until he arrived on the cold hard floor. The cellar was wide, very wide, in fact, one could even call it a chamber. He quietly walked forward until a certain platform came into his view. He immediately knelt on seeing the stone throne on top of the platform.

“My master,” said the man. “I come with good news.”

“Speak.” An ancient voice echoed across the chamber.

“Our brothers from the Gudsenth States have arrived. At the moment they are stationed at one of our outlets in the other town. All the preparation have been made and everyone has been armed. We await your orders, my master.”

“Has anyone noticed us?”

“No, my master,” said the man his gaze downwards. Then suddenly he felt a powerful blow on his cheek which lifted him off the ground and sent him skidding across the chamber.

“You fool!” boomed the voice. “We have been noticed by prying eyes and ears! We must retrieve our objective immediately only then I can guarantee our survival. If the pulses of that life force are true, then if I get absorb all of it, I shall become the most powerful vampire history has ever witnessed. So powerful that I would be able to give that Selaix a hard time!”

“M-my master,” groaned the man as he tried to get up, he could feel the taste of blood in his mouth.

“My faithful servants, rise from your slumber!”

The dark chamber suddenly lit up with numerous pairs of glowing ruby eyes making the man of the ground quiver.

“We await your orders, my master,” came a hundred voices.

“We begin our operation at dusk, spread the word” came the voice. “Azriaz, we shall meet again at twilight. There you shall witness my true might, for it will be your last fight!”