The three entered through the monastery gates. The large, imposing doors, having resisted much wear and tear, had to be reinforced by metal on its sides. Nevertheless, it was already open.

They were greeted by silence. The courtyard’s stone pavement basked beneath the heat of the sun, so they had to go through the sides. There were people slowly walking around their vicinity: Attendees, monks or pilgrims, perhaps. As they walk, Fein decided to give Mido some insight.

“Mido, since you rarely got out of your town, by any chance, are you familiar with these monks?” His question ushered a definite ‘no’ from Mido.

“Gris. Fill him in.” He winked at Gris. He built up the boy’s curiosity just to hand the explanation to his colleague.

“Wha— Fine, fine…” He sighed as they walked in the creaking wooden planks.

“This is a monastery of the Primal Monks. These people dedicated their lives to studying the Primal aspect of the tones, a study that might take a lifetime to fully comprehend. For a normal human, that is.”

“Primal?” Mido asked.

“That is one of the tonal alignments. Watcher Enzo will fill you in about his knowledge, but generally, there are four alignments. Primal, Astral, Stellar, and Lunar. Primal, in particular, has something to do with the natural elements: the earth, wind, fire, and water, basically anything that can shape you and the world.”

“Me and Gris are supposed to be Primal Vassals, but it is said that all sentient life has a natural tendency to be aligned to the Primal tones.” Fein added.

Mido was fascinated. He understood that there were many levels of intricacies when one is pronounced as a Vassal. Alignments were a new concept for him, as no one spoke of it in his town.

As far as he can remember, that is.

“Hmm… I’m getting the hang of it…” He mumbled. Still, the unease in his chest was still there. If he cannot prove he is a Vassal, much to his disbelief, that might be the end of it. He does not know how these good people will treat him if he fails. Will they still be with his company as a special exception? Or will they disregard him and be set off to the city as just one of the commoners? Reality soon kicked in. These ‘what ifs’ made him realize he will be powerless if he was truly just a normal person. Should he dedicate his life in studying this ‘Primal’ tone, if it were the case?

He tried to set his mind into the right. The world offers new chances.

Exhaling, he went with his companions into another door.

“Is this it?” He asked.

“Yeah. I already informed him of our business.” Fein answered.

“Give me the cheese. I’ll whisk the perfume.” Gris voluntarily took the bottle and slowly open the wooden sliding door. They got inside the room. No one was there, but the incessant smell of wood caught their noses. Strangely, it had the smell not of rot, but of freshly cut bark, giving it a slightly cozy feel. The ambience was strange. The room itself was indeed old, but the slight wooden décor that was meticulously polished told otherwise, unexposed to even the slightest of damage. It was like this room was not opened to the outside elements for a long time.

“Once we are finished with this, he’ll appear at that door.” Gris noted as he whisked the scent around the room. Fein also started to set up their occasion. He put the cheese into the only table in the room and sat cross-legged into the tatami mat. Mido wondered how they procured such material, because there was no local straw production at the district they were on, and Henwales, for that matter.

Fein motioned to sit beside him, and so did he and Gris.

They waited…

And waited…

And waited.

The blood in Mido’s legs started to strain.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. It was hard to tell where, because it sounded like it was coming from every direction. After a few seconds have passed, the footsteps stopped. And then came a sneeze.

“Brace yourself, kid.” Gris whispered. He looked at Gris, and he was indeed serious.

“Ooh! Lavender gets me, after a long while~” A raspy voice came from the door. It slid open, and they were greeted by an aged man, much older than both Fein and Gris. He wore a white monk garb outline woven with shades of intricate dark green and was of astute posture. His hair was long, but tidy, and he had a beard that reached to the base of his neck. He had an insignia on his chest: a black and red inverted triangle, and within it, a symbol Mido is not familiar with. The old man’s face wore a satisfied expression as he ogled the wheel of cheese that was humbly sitting on the table.

“A whole wheel?! You do know I don’t share this with the others…” He eyed both Fein and Gris. They just smiled, eyes closed.

“Please do, Watcher Enzo. But do not let it distract you from our reason of coming here.”

“I know…” Enzo grunted as he hid the cheese out of their sight. Looking back to his visitors, he stared at Mido, who in turn stared back at him.

“Your stare looks through the soul, kid. You’ll pierce me with this eye of yours.” He jested.

“Now then!” He clasped his hands as he sat across them. “I am Watcher Enzo, an old, humble Primal Monk and an official appraiser for this city, Henwales. I keep my guests at eye level, though, so don’t think too high of me. Hahaha!” He laughed as he tapped the insignia on his chest. That must be the insignia of a Vassal appraiser, Mido thought.

“I finished with the formalities, now you do it, kid.” He handed the speaking to Mido.

In truth, he was still not trusting of other people, evident in the fact that he needed to warm up to the others through Wiz in order to speak to them normally.

“I’m… Mido…” He said, while looking at both sides.

His companions must have noticed this, and thus helped him out.

“This is Mido, a boy we saved during an investigation of a destroyed and isolated town days ago. He is still coming to terms with this new world he’s in, so bear with him, if you will.” Fein said.

Enzo’s face came to an understanding tone. “Ah, what horrible experience he had to endure. I trust that he was blessed by the tones because of this?” No one answered. Even Mido was not certain, of course.

“Well, you did not come all the way above here just to waste an old man’s time, didn’t you?” He complained after waiting for someone to open their mouth.

“Mido here is curious about the tones, first. Can you enlighten him?” Gris asked.

“Why, sure I will! It is the natural job of the elderly to teach the young’uns!” He cleared his throat, but not before Mido promptly bowed.

“Thank you very much.”

Enzo chuckled. “Hold your horses, kid! I’m just starting to talk!”

“He wants to know, but only talk about the alignments, please. We already taught him the basic tonal ideas.” Fein commented. Enzo immediately frowned and brushed his beard.

“Did you? Then why let me continue? Oh! Is it possible you are also curious about the different tonal alignments?” They just sat there, timidly, and nodded slowly. Enzo was amused.

“Well then! Listen, students…”

“The world is permeated with its tones. Its harmony and our sole existence is its own music, sung by existence itself, ironically. However, just like any composition, a monotonous song is a boring and uninteresting tone to hear. Music must be ever-changing, to evoke its true identity.” Every word etched into Mido’s mind. It was interesting as it was enlightening, being exposed to new ideas he did not grasp before. In his eyes, Watcher Enzo was like a cozy grandfather telling his grandchildren a wonderful and captivating story. A feeling which, surprisingly so, came to Mido’s heart almost immediately.

“…So, the world came to an impasse, and thus gradually manifested the Tonal Alignments. It is said that the pinnacle of the tones is the Primal aspect and is the natural settling point of all life, but other aspects soon took form. They were:

The Astral,

The Stellar,

And the Lunar.

“Some Vassals were born that way, but as eras passed, no one knows for sure on what exact circumstances or phenomena these alignments are manifested, but those who had endured too much suffering, guilt, or sheer loss of hope, had been the host of abilities that show their wills. Every ability, be it mine, Gris’ or Fein’s, are borne of our will to do what is right for our own sake. But it is possible that through devotion, be it for a deity, god, or science, a person may manifest their belief as a Vassal.”

“Just like that girl you brought here about a year ago, also for appraisal. She’s a rare occurrence, wasn’t she, Fein? She was tough to deal with, I say so myself.” Enzo commented. The captain smiled and nodded.

After a brief pause, the old man continued with his story. He was visibly enjoying it himself and had no hints of exhaustion.

“First, the Primal. It is the tone of life, as it mostly ties itself to all life. Primal Vassals control this world, Alto’s physical elements and aspects. To be blunt, Fein here controls lightning, and Gris manipulates gems.”

“Care to entertain the pupil?” Enzo smiled. Both of them stood up, leaving Mido in the middle.

“You should stand up too.” Enzo said as he stood. Gris and Fein looked at each other, and after a pause, the latter sighed.

“I guess I’ll go first.” He concentrated. After a while, Mido noticed the air vibrate, it was something akin to a dynamo revving up. Fein clasped his hands, and conjured up wafts of electricity, arcing between his hands.

“It’s nothing special.” Fein commented.

A child might marvel at this sight, but Mido had so much seeing abilities like his, some often stranger than not. After ceasing the tricks, Fein composed himself and gestured for Gris.

He simply pulled out a gem from his pocket. Inhaling, he uttered and incantation.

Chromatic Seal: Handgun.

The gem vibrated, and soon coalesced and formed into an intricate handgun, which laid perfectly into his hand. Gris soon realized what he did and tucked away the piece into his coat.

“shit~ I consumed it. My ability is a one-time use; when I undo the seal, I have to re-seal the item again.”

“Good luck hiding that gun, Gris.” Enzo smiled. He also revealed that Gris can fortify weapons or metal using his gems, essentially a convenient ability for a metallurgist or a blacksmith.

“Well, enough with the show, and let’s continue!” They resumed their seating, promptly so. Mido was all the more interested.

“It is a common alignment, but to us Primal Monks, this tone is the perfect rhythm to grasp on, as our very lives hug it. Leading a good life in harmony with the elements, ahh it brings me joy!” He mused for a bit, cleared his throat, and soon continued.

“Now, the Astral Alignment. It infers the mind and soul of a person. They are known for their inept ability to influence minds and touch the souls of people. There is a single well-known faction composed of these Vassals, who were each named ‘Illusionists.’ They were the pacifist kind, as they swore to never abuse their power, and soon slid behind the cracks, never to be praised as much as their glory days let them a long time ago. You will know you are Astral, if you take control of your mental mind more than your emotions.”

“Third is the Stellar Alignment. The space is its domain. Most Stellar Vassals that I encountered were of intellectual and religious background, so it is their devotion to their work or belief that manifests into abilities. These people have high tonal affinity and capacity, and have abilities that heal, make materials out of the very tones they weave, and simply abilities that at most benefit their work. But in some cases, Stellar Vassals can become weapons of death. Their high command over the tones is not to be trifled with.”

“Fourth is the Lunar Alignment. I will not trust you have this alignment. It is rare enough for them to be with the Organization.”

“Why is that?” Mido asked.

Fein decided he’d answer. “Lunar Vassals do things on their own terms and isolate themselves from the Organization. Rather, they are sellswords, offering their abilities to the highest bidder. It is also speculated that Lunar Vassals came from another continent altogether…”

“Ehem!” Enzo purposely cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Interrupting my story?”

“I’m sorry, Watcher.” Fein apologized. The Watcher continued.

“As Fein was saying, yes, Lunar Vassals are sellswords, and that other fact might be true. But they come from a single bloodline, with high affinity to the celestial body. They acquire their full potential according to the moon phases, and when the sun is up, or the moon is waning, they store these tonal energies into their ‘moonlit waters,’ mediums of liquid specially bathed in the moonlight. They are a mysterious bunch, even a man as old as me cannot grasp their true power.”

Before all seemed to be over, Enzo shot out another information.

“There is one alignment…”

“Are you sure to tell him?” Gris asked.

“Knowledge, even it is taboo, must be passed. I said it now; the kid won’t sleep well if he doesn’t know.”

Mido was even more curious this time. He leaned in a tad closer to the old monk.

“This is the alignment of evil. The Void. It is not of this world, not of Alto, not even from the moon and the stars. It is a malevolent power, consuming every tone and digesting it for its own existence. Humans are not naturally aligned to the Void, and they’ll never will, but upon discovering a glimpse of what it can do and change, some brave few altered too much of their body, mind and soul just to achieve synchronism with this alignment. Very few survive, but some rose up to be formidable subjects of the Void. Bear in mind, kid...”

“Never tackle with the Void. When you see a purple aura emanating within them. Run. Run, and never look back. Run until your heart races with your feet.”

What is this? Enzo’s voice echoed with another. Mido felt he was being pulled back into his own subconscious.

Purple aura. Purple flames.

Purple flames.

The flames that consumed his town. Those very flames were consuming the room they’re in.

Mido wanted to inform the old man, but he knew he had to let him stay away from this. His heart raced, and paranoia reached him. If the reason for his town’s downfall is a Void Vassal, he is not sure if he can level that kind of otherworldly power.

But, the world offers new chances. If that single chance grants him the power to have his revenge, he’d gladly take it.

Incessant doubt tugged his mind back and forth. He tried to calm himself down with this surge, but to no avail. Suddenly, a booming voice interrupted his thoughts and pulled him back to the real world.

“Stay true, child.”

When he came to, Enzo was still talking. Both of his companions were busy listening to the old monk. His position was still the same, albeit his hands were soaked with sweat, and red from the clenching of his fists.

“Kid… Are you, all right?” Enzo was concerned. He visibly saw Mido’s anxiousness.

“If you are feeling unwell, we should rest for a while.” Fein consoled him.

“I’m fine… It’s… nothing.” He said.

He looked at Watcher Enzo with eyes filled not with enthusiasm, but with fire. Determination relentlessly reaching out to get what it deserves to.

“Watcher Enzo. If you may, I will proceed with the appraisal.”

Watcher Enzo raised an eyebrow. Mido’s sudden determination proved to be unnatural, given the tone of the room was a rather casual discussion.

Nevertheless, he slowly stood up and vigorously exclaimed.

“Right! To the courtyard, then!”