Chapter 14

A ray of light peaked over the windowsill. It was swiftly joined by another and then another as they advanced upon a lone figure. By the time the light reached the bed, half of the room was illuminated. The figure shifted. The scruffy face of a young man appeared as he pushed away from the blankets and rose.

He erected himself and clearly rubbed his eyes. Bang! Bang! The front door shook as someone banged on it. “Jack, it is I, Virtus. It is time for breakfast. We have ten minutes to reach the cafeteria before it opens.”

Jack rubbed his sandy eyes again for good measure and responded. “I’ll be right there. Just give me a few minutes to get ready.” The clothes he had set aside for today were sprawled on the chair. A glance at the clothes served to remind him that he had yet to wear one before and only then did it truly sink in just how complicated the uniforms were. On second thought, it might take a bit longer.

“We do not possess ‘a few minutes’. The cafeteria will be overrun by students if we are not there when it opens.”

“Ok, ok, I’m hurrying!”

Fifteen minutes later, a blue-clad Jack staggered out of his room. One shoe was on the wrong foot, the left one of course, and he was wrangling the sock on his other foot. Calmly, Virtus steadied him with an open hand. It took some finagling and Virtus’ support, but they solved his footwear problem.

“We have to run now if there is any chance to get a seat.” With that, the guardsman shot off into the distance. Jack cursed his luck before chasing after him like there was a demon in his wake. The one positive thing about this whole fiasco, which was his new life, was that he didn’t get winded for most of the trip. This new body wasn’t as bad as he thought.

They were soon in front of a squat building that could not be anything but a cafeteria. An air of mass production and streamlined meals surrounded it. It lay sandwiched between a giant church, or basilica as Virtus called it, with stained glass walls and a store that claimed to sell alchemical supplies and other magical goods. Chaos ensued as people of all ages vied for the doors in an attempt to beat the others in. Now, how am I going to get in? He pondered while scratching his chin.

Scratch that, how do I pay? Virtus had taken out a bag with some symbols embroidered on it. He had explained that it was the allowance that Laura had given him and that he would take care of all of the purchases and item storage for Jack until such a time that he could handle such things on his own. It rankled that for the first time in his life, he didn’t know the price for a loaf of bread, but trust had to be earned. What would he spend money on anyway?

“Hey Jack, over here!” A familiar voice boomed over the crowd from the side.

His eyes tracked the voice, only to find an odd group of people waving at him. Casper, Lillian, and a young blonde girl were each holding several bento boxes. The belated pair sighed in relief and headed over and joined them.

Lillian spoke up first. “I prepared a meal ahead of time for you. I warned you about the uniform.” She paused dramatically. “Maybe next time you should accept help when offered” She smirked at him with obvious satisfaction. Jack suspected that she was the type that loved to make people squirm. It didn’t matter that he knew, she had him dead to rights.

His neck turned a bright red. “I don’t need that kind of help. A man should at least be able to dress in the morning. It’s the principle of the matter.” He argued with little enthusiasm.

She just held out the boxes in her hands. “Keep telling yourself that. Here, this is for you. The box in Casper's hands is for Viscount Ferrum.” She gave a small curtsy to Virtus as she noted him and he returned her goodwill with an inclination of his head, Casper grimaced and surreptitiously put the box down on a picnic table.

Only a minute later, they were all sitting at the aforementioned table. Jack jumped in his seat as they clapped their hands together, eyes closed. He might have squealed a bit. Each of them mumbled some words in sync under their breath. It had all the hallmarks of a daily ritual as they spoke quickly and blended their words together. He had seen some religious families perform the Lord’s Prayer in a similar manner. All he could gather was that it was some kind of a mantra or prayer that ended as abruptly as it began.

When they were all settled, Lillian handed each of them a ceramic cup and poured a green liquid into each cup from a pitcher that she pulled out from seemingly nowhere. Jack immediately brought the cup to his lips and took a tentative sip of the pulpy drink. The thick nectar of some unknown fruit assaulted his taste buds. It tasted like something between a mango and an apple.

“This is delicious!” He exclaimed in joy.

Lillian blushed at his praise, which startled Jack, seeing as she was the type that liked to tease.

“Thank you. I pressed juice from the pompom fruit and mixed in my family's secret ingredient.”

The others eagerly took a sip as well and exclaimed in the same tune as Jack.

Lillian whacked Casper on the head with a cloth napkin and barked. “Enough of that, eat up before it gets cold!”

Lids came off and spoons went in. The meal was utterly foreign to him. A diet of PB&J on wonderbread did not prepare him for the taste of real food. The mix of sauce, meat, and vegetable made his tongue dance a jig in appreciation. That paled in comparison to the wild rice that served as the catalyst for the scrumptious fare.

“What is this?” He entreated. “I have never tasted anything this good in my life.” Everyone nodded vigorously in agreement. Too busy chewing to respond verbally.

Lillian blushed at his praise. “This is a meal from my homeland. The Starlight Imperium produces the best rice in the known world. The meal is one of our staples.” They kept eating.

After the food was finished and the drinks downed, the young blonde girl tugged on Caspers sleeve. Casper’s gaze swiveled down to the young girl, then to Jack. He worked his jaw for a bit before starting the introduction. “Good morning Jack, this is Aster. She is my newest sister and is also starting her first day at the academy.”

When the small girl heard her name, she dropped her fork and huddled into a defensive position. It seemed to be an instinctive response. Casper leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Tension bled out of her muscles but she didn’t move. When he straightened up, it was with a forlorn look. His hand moved slowly in a ‘go ahead’ gesture to Jack. It took a second for him to come up with a response. In retrospect, it became apparent that he had never learned how to interact with children. He just smiled at the girl and spoke softly so as not to spook her.

“Hello Aster, my name is Jack Hearth.”

She finally gathered up enough courage to look into his eyes. He marveled at them, deep blue with white accents, like the flower she was named after. “Hello…sir. Nice to meet you too.”

“Nice to meet you too. No need to call me sir, Jack is just fine. I chose it myself and it is special to me. If you don’t mind, I have a gift I would like to give you.” He displayed two fingers for her perusal. “Two gifts actually, Is that alright?.” He held his hands on the table palms up.

She glanced at them. Then she shifted to see behind him before nodding in ascent. It broke his heart to see street safety in a child so small but he knew the drill. “I am going to put one finger on the palm of your left hand. Is that acceptable?

She nodded, firmer this time.

One of last night's lessons came to mind as he prepared his new signature cantrip. A signature spell is aligned with the caster's foundation sigil whereas a cantrip is a simple spell for novices. He only knew one at the moment, Laying Down Burdens. It was the first spell the Sentinel had insisted he learn after indulging his whims with the Fireball spell. His master claimed that he would discover more with time and exposure. First, he constructed the spell form. In the center was the Hearth. Four smaller symbols, that he hadn’t asked about yet, attached to each of the corners. Ever so carefully, his index finger softly alighted on her hand and he willed the spell on his palm into her.

The world around this newfound pair, faded into darkness as they left the world of material things. Their minds came together in a new place, the realm of thought and purpose. At first, nothing was visible and Jack felt the small hand he was connected to spasm. His hand encompassed hers as he gripped comfortingly. A small Spark stoked to live. No sooner had it appeared than it began to traverse down an unlit channel, leaving a path of soft light. Soon, the small spark came across its first obstacle. A small blockage of oily rubble barred further passage. As these two forces collided, the blockage burned and the spark absorbed those flames. This continues for an unknown amount of time. It burned any dirt or grime it came across, leaving them sterile. One channel split off to become two and so too did the Spark. Two became four and four became eight. This continued until an image emerged from the glowing pattern they left in their wake.

When the Sparks got too big to squeeze into the next section, part of the power branched off from the channels and started to infuse muscle, bone, and blood vessels. The majority of the Fire continued down the mana channels as a human figure was silhouetted by thin inwardly spiraling lines. They finally reached the iridescent core after a time and there was a blinding flash.

Both Jack and Aster returned to their bodies simultaneously as they gasped for air. “Master did not tell me that the spell was so intense.” He managed to choke out. After a moment of fighting down a bout of disorientation, his attention returned to the small girl. She looked completely different. The small bags under her eyes were gone. Sallow skin had returned to a healthy hew and her hair shined like a wheat field in summer. Though, her eyes were still unfocused. “How do you feel, Aster?”

Her mouth opened. Nothing came out as she worked her jaw for a second. “I… I feel good. Like I did before mommy and daddy died. Only I feel better.” She reported in surprise.

He smiled. “I cleansed your body of all the built-up magical sewage that accumulated in your body. The effect is supposed to be mostly physical since you have yet to use magic. that energy will push your body a bit past your previous limit-”

A mischievous look that only a small child is capable of crossed her face. Then she was on her feet. With a heave and a ho, she jumped straight up almost six feet.

Jack whistled. That was beyond his highest expectations. Too bad most of the strength boost is only temporary. The gunk will come back if she starts casting magic... I think.

Jack had been so preoccupied with Aster, that he only noticed what had been happening around him for a while when his eye caught a flash of movement. Virtus was on his feet with Casper in a chokehold. Irritation framed his features and his body was taut. He kept looking around and noticed Lillian was a bit off to the side, paying attention to both situations at the same time. She had her hands at her side in a claw gesture.

Both men noticed that the pair had come out of their trance and simultaneously began to extricate themselves, expressions sheepish. That lasted as long as it took them to bump elbows, then they expressed only a deep desire to rip into each other. For a moment it seemed that they would clash again but it passed and Virtus turned towards Jack, hand out. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

Jack waved away the hand and tried to stand up. “I will be fine. Most of my mana supply was used up, so I need to figure out how to replenish my reserves in the next hour.” He pondered on that for a second. “Do I even need to have any mana for classes today?”

Casper chirped up then. “Most of your classes today are lectures and memorization. You will only begin using mana in your beginner Fire class, though you will only need a few SP points worth of mana.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Actually, I meant to ask earlier but would you mind terribly if you watched over Aster during your classes today? I checked your syllabi and you share all of your morning classes today.”

Jack turned to see the small girl with piercing blue eyes once more. It seemed that she had gotten her bounces out and started to pay attention, though her wide smile was still infectious. He directed his next words to her alone. “I will be glad to help you today, Aster. Just don’t ask too many questions because this is my first day as well. Okay?”

She nodded at his words impatiently. Once he was done speaking, she impetuously asked. “You said that you had two gifts. What’s the other one?”

Oops, almost forgot the other surprise. I hope I still have enough mana to do this.

Jack began the process of constructing the spell form of another of cantrips he had oh so recently learned. The form fell apart halfway through, splitting apart like a dried-out spider web. His muscles began to seize up as if he had run a marathon and then jumped in a lake of freezing water without stretching. It didn’t hurt, strangely, but he was unable to move much.

“Jack, What is wrong?” That was Lillian. From the sound, she was hovering a few feet to his left.

“He must be out of mana. His spell form collapsed midway, it would be disingenuous to expect him to behave the same to mana fatigue as the rest of us.” That was Casper, who was on his right.

“Here, allow me to assist.” Virtus declared from his back. A gloved hand alighted onto his shoulder. His sense of touch didn’t seem to be impaired, that was good. Warmth radiated from the hand and into Jack’s skin. For a second, Jack was back in the palace furnace; The comforting sensation streamed through his body and gathered towards his core. Then the retching began.

Jack hunched forward over the bench as he began to dry heave. Or at least he tried to. While he felt the nausea, his gag reflex didn’t engage. It irritated him that he somehow found that unsatisfying.

“Ohh!” Jack moaned to the universe. “Remind me to never run out of mana again. My whole body turned into a giant Charlie horse.”

“We noticed.” They responded as one.

Lillian crouched down on the side of the bench and leaned in close and stared into Jack’s eyes with professional detachment, her skirt flared around her. “You are one of a kind, Jack.” She breathed. Then with a twinkle in her eye, she grabbed his ear and twisted.

Expecting pain, Jack braced for impact. All he felt was a tug. Again, though he felt all of the discomfort, none of the pain he expected manifested. This fact was starting to concern him. The pain was one of humanity's greatest survival traits. It was how people registered wounds and knew how to treat them. If he didn’t subconsciously know whenever he was bleeding, then he would be constantly on wound watch like he had some rare disease.

“Let go.” He hollered as panicked as he could act. It was the least he could do for worrying them and Lillian had already proven the vindictive sort. She wouldn’t relent until she got what she wanted. The pressure on his ear released and he slumped on the table.

“Scare me again, and I will put itching powder under your covers.” She hissed like an enraged alley cat. Note to self, never mess with this woman.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” He pleaded.

“See to it that it does not.”

“I am going to cast the spell now that I have some mana. Fair warning.” Then he turned his attention towards his work.

Jack cupped his hands and focused on the spell he had been unable to finish earlier, Mana Forging. It was a general skill that anyone with enough control over their power could replicate. To him, the mana was a part of his body. It moved at his mildest whim. He just needed to learn how to use it properly. The Sentinel had told him that the spell was meant to be used as training wheels, created for those who were unable to manipulate the weft and weave of their power directly.

A small, wispy Flame appeared on his hand. His other hand began to weave symbols around it until it suddenly froze in place like molten glass. This gave him the ability to lock the Fire into the desired shape without any further direction. With a grunt, he focused on it and shaped it into what he desired. This process was awkward as it was his first time casting the spell in reality, so he had to use his hands to physically shape the flame into a rough outline before using his will to put on the finer details. When that was done he opened his hands. Lying there was a ruby red flower.

Her eyes grew wide and a delighted smile appeared on her lips. “What is it?” She asked.

“This is an oxide daisy. It is a flower from my home. Usually, it is white or gold like your hair, but every once in a while you can find one that is the same color as your eyes. In an older tongue, these were called Asters. Don’t worry about it burning you. It is cool to the touch.” Jack carefully placed the flower behind her ear like he had seen Vera do yesterday. When he returned his attention to the girl he saw that her eyes were the size of saucers and a look of unbridled wonder took up her entire face.

“Thank-you-Thank-you-Thank-you!” She squealed, all in a single breath.

“No worries, Aster. It wouldn’t be right to see you without your namesake. I have no idea how long it will last, so tell me when it wears off so I can make you something else. Ok?” Jack smiled as mildly as he could. He hadn’t had much opportunity to smile recently, so he wasn’t sure if it was working. He figured it worked when she returned a beatific grin and nodded.

A bell tolled off in the distance. It was time for class.

•••

Cassius Pov

Deep in the academy, Cassius sat luxuriously upon an elaborate wicker chair. He had been eating inside of his private courtyard when a messenger had barged in unannounced. That was fine though. As the messenger had been given certain liberties due to the importance of the information they carried. The news they had brought made Cassius cast aside any thoughts of leisure or sustenance.

Historically, whenever a Champion came to Terra Cognita Prime, the first thing they did was announce their cause and start flailing about. As a whole, they were idealistic dreamers with a god complex, but sometimes, they could be ‘convinced’ to abandon whatever stupid cause they served and instead support the Empire.

When Gaius’ summoning ritual had gone spectacularly wrong yesterday, spies and agents had been sent out to find this new interloper before he broke something too valuable. Every resource had been tapped and favors had been called in. The results confounded those in power. There was no trace of him anywhere in the city.

The Emperor himself had gone over the diagram in the summoning chamber with a fine-tooth comb and confirmed that it had worked. So the search had been expanded. To think it would be that moron Pomp that would find him. Where was I? Ahh… Right the message.

Several weeks ago, the Aureus family had ‘arranged’ for the Arborius family to have an accident. Everything had been arranged perfectly. Only, they had used an incompetent proxy. The operation was so messy that the daughter had gotten away and hidden in the orphan ward. It was so poorly executed that they had been forced to make a public example out of their agent's leader.

Now, dear little Aster was somehow enrolled in the academy, and what’s more, her companions were worrisome. Somehow, he needed to separate her from the Adjudicator and Laura’s flunkies. Who is her benefactor? Cassius snapped his fingers and his valet appeared. “Find out who enrolled our dear Aster into the Academy!”

The valet bowed slightly in acknowledgment. “I will have an answer before the end of the school day.”

Cassius grinned darkly. “Be sure of that! If her benefactor is one of ours, then buy her. If not, then I think the little darling is going to have a terrible accident, you have until the end of the month to accomplish this task.”

The valet bowed deeper. “Your wish is my command.”