Ash swung the black cloak over his shoulders, pulling it taut and clasping the ends to the front of his newly donned shoulder armour. It was comfortable, the light cloak was made of a soft breathable linen that draped and teased against his bare right arm. He wondered if the design, segmented like feathers, had meant anything to former inhabitants. Was it symbolic or simply a themed piece? Ash hoped that it wasn’t a costume piece.

Ash looked back across the store, the cobwebs that hung from the corners of the ceiling and the dust that had accumulated on every surface. Given the state of disrepair, he was lucky to find any items of clothing in the ruins. Ash tied his tattered shirt to his waist, looping it around the belt of his new breeches. He figured it would make a decent makeshift pouch, slipping the the small blue mana potion he still had inside.

Ash placed his torn shorts on the countertop of the front room. He had no use for them now but felt an odd pang leaving them. He felt a sense of gravity to it, as if he were leaving a part of himself, however minor, behind. He wondered if any of his friends had done the same in other parts of the abandoned city; would he find any as he made his way towards the tower? Without noticing, Ash had crossed his fingers in hope

--

“Let’s get going” Ash announced.

Proxi trailed behind as Ash stepped out from the old storefront and into the quiet street. He looked up to the sky, noting the bright orange of the sun. It hung high in the west, casting long shadows across the streets and buildings. It must have been mid-afternoon now. If this was anything like home, they had a couple of hours before nightfall.

Ash spied a shadow creeping across a building on the other side of the road, a good vantage point to move on. With a silent blip, he vanished, stepping out from the shadow across the way. leaned against the stone chimney jutting out from the new building’s purple tiles. The spell was becoming reflex now; the disorienting drop in his stomach each time he shadowstepped was less and less noticeable. He had stopped needing to conjure a clear mental picture too.

Without breaking momentum, he bounded across the rooftop and leapt off, blinking across to the next building, appearing in the middle of light paced jog across yet another rooftop. He would repeat this several times; shadow step, jog, jump from the edge and shadow step again. Accounting for the cooldown, Ash could do this four times before needing a small break to let his mana recharge.

--

Ash came to a stop after repeating this cycle some 3 times, having zig-zagged his way across 8 blocks and counting upwards of 20 stone golems below. A few had spotted him mid jump, the red aggressive glow of their mana crystals tracing him in the air. Ash had been careful with his timing, making sure to avoid any chance of being nabbed from the sky. The growing number of shadows had made that task easier. Proxi caught up as he came to a halt at the edge of the building.

“How does it feel?” Proxi asked, their voice enthusiastic.

“Good” Ash replied, his gaze set forward, “it’s nice to actually have something covering my feet now.”

Ash was looking out across the vast city expanse city. Closer to the centre, he realised just how enormous the tower truly was. It stood unfathomably tall, proud despite the wea and age, like a slumbering colossus that dwarfed the smaller blocks of buildings around it.

Ash wondered just how tall it was. It reminded him of skyscrapers back home; but could this tower be as tall as 60 plus floors?

Ash rubbed his chin, maybe it was even taller?

He could see windows that dotted the exterior; a spiral of holes that flowed around the circular structure from top to bottom. He couldn’t quite make out if they were open or not though; he was still about 20 blocks away. Ash hoped that they were, that would be his best bet to make it inside.

As they had gotten closer, Ash noticed the number of golems patrolling each block had; 3 sometimes 4 groups surrounded each block now. Ash looked over his shoulder, trying to spot the church like hall where he had started. He couldn’t see it anymore, lost amidst the ocean of colourful tiles. He wasn’t sure he could backtrack either. The only landmark of note was the looming tower, and it pulled all focus. Even the roads led back to the tower, as if the entire city had been built around it.

Ash felt small and insignificant beneath the overbearing presence of the mage tower. A sliver of fear invaded his mind, coiling around his resolve. Ash didn’t know what awaited him inside. The golems had proved challenging enough, what danger lay in wait behind those walls?

Perhaps that’s the point, he thought, to test his mettle.

He had apparently been chosen after all, maybe the quest was a formality of sorts? A tutorial for this strange situation.

Just like a game.

Ash breathed slowly, letting the thought fade away as he felt the cool breeze of the waning sun lap against his skin and weave through his hair. He stepped forward into shadow and opened his eyes, his feet finding purchase upon another new building.

--

Over the next half hour Ash kept steady pace, shadow stepping his way closer and closer to the growing form of the arcane tower. He was now only a few blocks away from structure. He had needed to take a longer route, looping around the edges of the dark shadow the tower cast across the cityscape. Along the way, Ash had spotted a small fountain as he jogged along the shadowy path. The glint of a small rainbow had caught his eyes; formed in moist air that hovered around a still working water fountain.

“It’s so pretty!” Proxi exclaimed.

The pair veered away from the main path to the tower, hopping down from the rooftops to get a better look at the water feature. Ash smiled at Proxi’s enthusiasm. It made him feel a little lighter as the quests climax drew near.

The fountain was hidden within a small courtyard in the middle of a block of buildings.

I guess they’re not all the same, Ash thought.

The water spouted from an intricately carved statue of what appeared to be a hero. The figures pose belied someone of great import, the long robes not betraying their feminine figure. Their left hand was raised skyward from which the water flowed, while the right hand held an open book. The figures face had long worn away, the grey stone moss laden with age.

“Do you think that’s meant to be magic?” Ash asked.

He was pointing to the sculpted figures hand, the long arc of sprayed water a focus of the statue.

Proxi floated in close, hovering above the pool of water collecting in a deep basin surrounding the sculpture.

“The book they’re holding definitely has engravings that look magical” They replied, their voice excited, “Maybe they were like you?”

“Someone else chosen and plopped into a city with no clue what to do?” Ash said dryly, his words laced with a hint of sarcasm.

“I mean, why not?” Proxi replied with snark, “Definitely magic though”.

Another form of magic, Ash wondered.

The golem Ash felled had used whips of electricity, like controlled lightning. Ash himself seemed to be able to use shadows and he apparently had a void affinity; whatever that meant. Water magic would make three. Wait.

“Proxi, is void an element here?” Ash asked through knitted brows, “Like an element of magic?”

“Yep. That’s why you can shadow step” they answered.

“So, water is also an element?”

Proxi hummed as if thinking.

“Yep”.

“And the golem used lightning?” Ash continued, his questions leading, “then lightning is an element?”

“Actually it’s called Arc” Proxi corrected.

“Wait… you knew this?” Ash was staring at Proxi quizzically, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I assumed you knew”

“Why would I know, I’m not from here!” Ash grumbled. He was taken aback. He was shook.

“That’s… a very good point” Proxi conceded, “I’m sorry Ash. I always knew, so I assumed you did.”

Ash sighed, Proxi always seemed to be helpful when it was too late.

“Can you tell me if there’s more elements? Fire? Earth? Etc.”

Ash was probing now, lest Proxi forget to mention anything important.

“That I don’t know sorry” Proxi hovered over to Ash, “I think there’s 3 more though. At least according to this.”

Without warning, Proxi morphed into a rectangular shape. Ash stepped forward, displayed within the inky surface was a series of six circles.

Just like the six platforms, Ash noted, why six?

There were three blank circles and three coloured circles. The three coloured circles were blue, purple and orange with a runic symbol emblazoned within each.

“These are the elements?” Ash guessed, asking for confirmation.

“The ones I know” Proxi replied.

Ash assumed the blank circles were undiscovered elements. Ash was surprised to see three discovered, amused that the water fountain had somehow ‘counted’ towards that.

As Ash’s eyes flicked back to the coloured circles, he realised he was able to read the runes. The slight shock led him to wondered if his awakening was why. Of the three discovered elements, Ash read Arc in the orange circle, Void in the purple and Water in the blue. They were the bottom 3 of the circles that formed a ring.

Three more then, Ash thought, wondering when and how he might encounter them.

Ash thought back to the various RPG manuals and rulebooks he and his friends used, making a mental list of candidates that could fill the blank spots. The clearest answers were fire and earth, Ash expected those. The last one however could be one of several possibilities: Light? Poison? Metal? Maybe Air or Ice?

Ash scratched his head, too many choices.

Void was new to him but seemed to relate to shadows and darkness, based on the spells he had acquired. He twisted his mouth, pulling it to the side out of frustration. Realising that trying to guess would get him nowhere, Ash focused back on what he did know. There were 6 elements; That he could work with.

“Thanks, Proxi. Next time though, assume I know nothing you know” Ash said, half joking.

Proxi chirped in agreement, taking the jab in stride

“Can do.”

--

Ash walked over to the fountain, cupping his hands and submerging them. The water was cold, sending a chilling sting through his fingers. As Ash lifted his hands to his mouth, he became keenly aware of just how dry his throat felt. He hadn’t had anything to drink; or eat for that matter, since he had woken up. The health potion seemed to have kept the need at bay, but he had been growing weary and lethargic with each block of buildings he hopped.

Ash guzzled the cool water slowly, savouring the refreshing liquid. His head made an involuntary shake as the cold chill ran down his throat, numbing the hoarse dryness.

Proxi injected as Ash tipped his head back, letting gravity pull the last drops of water to him.

“You must be really thirsty!”

Ash answered with a gargled mhmm, not stopping to reply as he bent forward and cupped another handful of water to drink. After repeating this several times Ash felt much better. Refreshed, though his thirst had now been replaced by a nagging rumble in his stomach. Luckily, that could wait a little longer than dehydration.

Ash turned away from the fountain, wiping his mouth with the single sleeve of his navy jerkin. He had rested long enough; he couldn’t stall entering the tower any longer. He had a clearer grasp of the potential magic he might encounter. That gave him a little more confidence, however slight. Ash turned to Proxi and nodded his head, signalling it was time to move on.

“Let’s go” he said, flashing an unsure smile, “Let’s finish this already”.

Proxi bobbed in agreement and chirped.

In an instant, Ash shadow stepped up to the roof and broke into a run.

Now or never.