The train stopped at Eidyn’s primary station in the late afternoon. Leith set his feet back on the concrete ground of the Eidyn land. As for Nadine and Gilmore, it had been eons since they felt the endless hustle and bustle of the metropolis, unlike the serene Trinketshore.

“So, where to go next?” asked Nadine to Leith.

“We’re going straight to the parliament. Papa should still be there for another hour and a half.

The hesitant Gilmore refuted him. “Straight to the parliamentary office? Bringing luggages? Can we not seek a hotel first or something?”

“No need,” said Leith. “My father has an official residence. But we can’t wait for my papa to be there too late. If we go now, papa might be able to act quickly.”

Leith had to load up his suitcase and start rushing. “Come on! Hurry up! Eidyn roads are going to be jammed at this hour!” he said.

The city of Eidyn was alive and kicking while dying at the same—same as Trinketshore, but reversed. Buildings spewed carbon fumes from chimneys. The exhaust of the engine carriages painted the city skyline with grey smudges that sometimes crept into the nostrils. This was the fresh air of the city! But yokels like Nadine and Gilmore could never stand the pollution here. The city was blazing. Even the rare trees seemed fabricated. They fought over the remaining pure air with tens of thousands of others, and it tortured their beings. Next time they went to the capital, they would have to bring some village airbags and a respirator to survive its arid.

Through the busy journey of Eidyn, surrounded by bland towers with a passenger carriage, they arrived at the so-called parliamentary office. An office that looked aesthetic and uncommon for a government bureau. The parliamentary office area was, in fact, divided into several buildings, forming a complex.

This was the very first time Alicia’s best friend witnessed the Eidyn parliament complex. A collection of buildings with absurd architecture made them continue to stare and understand the meaning behind their twisting shapes. On the other hand, Leith continued to walk toward the complex without their knowledge.

“Hey!” shrieked the Crimsonmane boy. “Why are you still standing there? Let’s go!”

The gasping couple immediately grabbed their suitcases and followed Leith.

“Are you sure we’re in the right location?” Gilmore was skeptical.

“Aye, I get it. I don’t know what the higher-ups were thinking, spending millions of king’s tokens to renovate the parliament building, and turn it into a circus compound,” said Leith. “After all, experts say the buildings won’t last for another forty years. So please, keep it to yerself.”

The three of them stormed the entrance. The security guards stopped them, saying, “What are you doing here, young man? The parliament hotel is over there.”

Leith casually replied, “Naw, we’re not seeking any lodging, gentlemen.” He handed the suitcase to one officer. Gilmore also cheerfully gave his luggage to another guard. Nadine did the same thing while muttering. “Excuse me, just wait for a minute, please, good sir? We won’t be long.” The three of them left the security guards confused.

Without a word, Leith made his way to the receptionist. “I would like to see Mister Donar Crimsonmane,” he demanded.

The receptionist looked at the fourteen-year-old boy, and answered him politely, saying “Excuse me, young master. Have you had an appointment with him yet?”

“Please just tell him Leith is here. It’s an emergency. If he refuses, we’ll leave right away.”

The young folks did not look like they were going anywhere, so the receptionist called the baron and gave the same message. After a long mutter, she hung up the telecomm and called the three of them. “Please come with me.”

Going up several floors via the elevator, they arrived at the door leading to the private office of the Crimsonmane MP (Member of Parliament).

“Please come in!” The voice came from behind the door after a few knocks. They ventured inside and found Donar sitting at his desk full of documents.

“Leith?” said the father. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at Trinketshore already?”

“Oh, I just got to there, papa, before a scunner forced me to be here. We have to discuss something,” Leith replied.

Donar seemed to see the urgency in Leith’s eyes, telling the receptionist to leave the room. Then he spoke again. “If it’s about black magic, I think the elite magi I sent have done their job pretty well.”

“Not that. I want to talk about that one, papa.”

Donar’s forehead wrinkled, his eyes darting to the outside. “And the reason you brought Gilmore and Nadine was…?”

“They’re involved.”

“Close the door, now!”

Gilmore closed the door and made sure it was locked. Donar immediately rose from his chair. The presence of Nadine and Gilmore made his normally relaxed face tense up.

“I thought this secret only existed between our families, Leith?”

“What you don’t know is this was an open secret at Trinketshore before we even attended the family gathering!”

Donar slapped his forehead. “I’ve heard rumours that the source of the power has been found. The owner has been arrested and will be tried in a closed magic court.”

“Closed magic court, huh?” said Leith. “They’re too afraid the factual information will spread out, but it still leaked anyway.”

“So it’s true then,” Donar replied, nervous. “Maybe I should report this to your grandfather—”

“Not yet!” His son interrupted, “In fact, we came here to discuss it with you. Well, and also ask you to do something about it. It’s still a rumour here, so let it be. No one should know about this other than the four of us.”

Donar was increasingly confused by his son’s behaviour. “Doing what? and what do you mean the four of us? I mean, I still don’t understand how come Nadine and Gilmore got involved.”

Nadine tried to explain. “If you may, uncle Donar,” she said. “I don’t know how to explain this, but we were the ones to discover that pure Arcane. But we are not the only ones. There’s the actual owner, and the Romans caught that person, so we ask you for help.”

“This ‘pure arcane possessor’ doesn’t just hold onto the powers, papa. The owner can even access it to cast magic. But I must admit that mage is still a dunderheid.”

Donar was still trying to fathom those statements. The children were sure too secretive. “Fine, enough. Can’t you tell me directly, who owns the pure Arcane?”

Prior to this meeting, Leith actually intended to tell his father face-to-face. Now he reconsidered his intentions. He tried to compose a sentence about who the owner of the Divine Grace was without making his father fall into a heart attack.

“I’ll tell you. But please, even though I know you can hold your temper, try not to be shocked or anything.”

Of course, his choice of words failed. Before Leith even told him, Donar’s eyes had already caught sight of Nadine and Gilmore behind his son. One could even surmise about who did not attend this little conference.

“No, don’t tell me…!”

***

It seemed Alicia tried all her might to ignore Mars—her new acquaintance who kept beguiling her all day—albeit the red hue still embellished her countenance.

Up until night came, the guard turned off the lights of the entire prison complex. Alicia was laying down with her glasses still attached. Her face was facing the starless sky of blackness. She still felt a little lost since Orb, who used to accompany her beside the bed, was not accompanying her at the moment. The prison was fallen into the gloom of hollow without the presence of her ball mate. She wandered in her own dream as she was awake about the trial. about how she could still have her beloved Arcane sphere.

The stubborn Mars still babbled in hopes of getting the girl’s attention. “May I ask before we go back to sipping each other’s slumber?”

The girl forsook the boy’s pleas.

“Say you still have the Divine Grace, what are you going to do with such boon?” he inquired again.

The girl didn’t reply to him still.

“Still cranky aren’t you? Listen, I apologise if I made you uncomfortable. I’m just a little lonely. Um…, not really. I often feel lonely. Maybe because I was alone all this time, I don’t even know how to speak with manner. Not to mention they placed me here, in a ghost complex too,” Mars chuckled. “Oh Fate, you are something else.”

Alicia was still hesitant to answer. But she knew Mars did not fabricate his emphasis on being lonesome. Mars felt that Alicia just wanted to rest for her trial soon, finally giving in.

“Well, silly me. You should rest for the trials later. Eternal sorry for disturbing your sleep once again. Hope you can get your Arcane source back.” Mars curled up in his bed and tried to sleep.

Several minutes passed.

“I want to save the world.” The Crimsonmane girl finally opened her mouth. Mars immediately turned his head towards Alicia’s chamber.

Alicia continued, “Since I was a wee bairn, I often felt that my mama and the Magisterium of Arcane are struggling to save all corners of the continent from magical conflicts. Magic is everywhere, but the world is at war and no place is ever safe. Magic should support life, ye ken? Noo look, they use it as their weapons for their war instead.”

Mars turned pensive after paying attention to Alicia’s story.

“Are you still there, M-Mars?” asked Alicia.

“I’m here, Alicia. Go on,” he murmured.

"I always dreamed with mama, that one day, I could give happiness and joy through magic. No more suffering and tears. War and conflict pass as time passes. As the proverbs from Eretopeion, ‘turn the whole world into the fields of Elysium.’ If only they could use magic for that purpose. But if they can’t, then I’ll do it myself! That’s what wee Alicia Crimsonmane would say back in the time.”

A sigh escaped as an interlude happened. “Of course, that dream was just a girl’s wishful thinking that had to run aground in time. Reality gave me a skelpit lug: I can’t cultivate my mana, I was ostracised by my own House, and mama….”

Her voice began to falter.

“My mama is missing. I don’t even know where mama disappeared to and why. Did she disappear while on duty? Or she deliberately did so because… she couldn’t stand my family situation… or couldn’t stand me.”

Behind her steadfast soft voice, there were pieces of sorrow piercing Mars’ soul.

“How long has your mother been missing?” asked Mars.

“Two years. More. Ah dinnae ken.”

Mars seemed disturbed by her words. “I’m sorry, Alicia. You don’t have to continue if you want to.”

“No, I just….” Alicia rubbed her eyes a little. “I’m fine. Well, that was my life. Empty. However, ever since I met Orb, I’ve felt… whole again. The dream that I buried deep inside rose from the dead. I was pulled back into that dream, and then I thought, why not? I have Divine powers with me. Maybe The Silent Divine leaves Orb to me to save the world from agony, away from the clutches of Khaos. Something the Romans should have been able to do, but they ignored it. I want to learn Orb more intimate to make it happen.”

“Turning the earth into the fields of Elysium, huh?” said Mars. “Your ambition is… very noble, Alicia.”

“If it’s too naïve and unreasonable, just say so. There’s no need to pretend to flatter me.”

Mars smiled on his bed. “Naïve? I don’t think so, Alicia,” he said. “Even if you do, it doesn’t matter at all. Keep it and keep chasing that dream.”

Alicia was curious about Mars’ answer. “You really think that?”

“I think the purest ambition of a human being is that of a child,” Mars replied. “Little children are not innocent, Alicia. They only have pure intentions. Divine seeds that have not been corrupted by the chaos of the world. The few who manage to keep them always carry a strong hope as the foundation of life on earth. I dare say so because very few could keep that to their death. If a child dreams of a happy world, believe me, it will happen. I hope you can make that dream come true.”

“Mars, that is….” Alicia didn’t expect the answer from the man across the cell. Not at all. “I don’t know what to say. But, I thank you, Mars.”

“And...,” he added. “Even if you’re going through a tough time, never think badly, especially of your mother.”

Hearing Mars’ words, Alicia was filled with regrets. Everything she said was affected by the fact that the girl was under pressure. Almost abducted, then locked up in a place miles away from her own home. The girl just nodded without Mars noticing. She diverted the conversation. “By the way, what was your dream as a child?”

Mars was silent for a moment. “Well, glad you asked. You could say my goals are the same as yours. Remember what I said about children being divine seeds? My mother always reminded me that we do have a divine nature. You’ve heard the story of the Thunderkeeper, haven’t you? Oh, or Ammon, the Sun’s Rower! They are the role models who developed their divine nature. The few magic practitioners who have reached Perfection! We can do that too, but we waste the gift on meaningless and momentary pleasures. She said that The Divine has granted me a grand design! That I was prophesied to inflate human potential with my strength, restoring all human beings to their divine nature. Thus, humans no longer need to be trapped in endless lust. The world will enter a time of peace and prosperity without ceasing. We can even share it with an infinite number of otherworldly civilizations! Sounds cool, right? I always thought it was cool back then."

“Sounds like a one heavy onus,” said the girl. “So heavy that you decided to give up, then took your troubles on other mages and ended up in a cage,” Alicia laughed out loud.

“Yes! Of course, a one heavy onus! Your fate is no different, right?” Mars continued Alicia’s allegation, then followed by giggling together.

“Hey, Mars. Since we share the same dream, what do you think if we work together to make world peace?”

“Saving the world together.…” Mars mused. “An interesting idea. Wait! Hey, that’s fantastic! Mars and Alicia, the lovebirds who save the world together!”

Alicia jumped out of bed. “What, wait! Hey, that’s not what I meant!”

“Mars and Alicia, Marslicia! Ooh, a pair in a bond of love. They shall navigate the realm full of evil, in order to guide the world to Eternal Peace! Heroic, romantic, epic!”

Alicia was disgusted at hearing the word Marlicia, and yelled back at him, “See! You start it again! I thought you had enough with flirting, you freak!

“Huh? When did I say that?” Mars replied, “Besides, who came up with the idea first?” Mars chortled again.

“Before you get too raunchy, I just wanted to let you know I’m only sixteen!”

“So? The age of consent of Camelot is sixteen.”

“Relating with girls at that age is not allowed in some parts of the world!”

“When in Roma, do as the Romans do.”

“Argh, forget it! I’ll just go back to sleep!” Alicia was coiled up facing the buttress, Mars still taking the time to giggle. Even though her face was blushing in the dark, Alicia could still smile a little. She enjoyed the conversation with Mars, giving her hope for the trial that awaits her and ever her path beyond.

***

Early in the morning, a guard knocked on Alicia’s cell and opened the cage door.

Both Alicia and Mars were awakened by the loud clanging. “Alicia Crimsonmane! Get up and clean yourself up. The trial will start in an hour!” []