Chapter 10
The magic circle glowed but it was empty. The circle was comprised of four concentric circles with equal spacing and one small circle in the middle. The space between the innermost circle and the second innermost circle was more than any others and had four diameters drawn. In the middle of it were two antennae of a Papillion. Aiden started to fill the magic circle with runes and enchant the circle forming a circle of enchantment.
“I didn’t know potions included rituals.” Kylan stared at the circle as Aiden kept drawing in the blanks.
“It doesn’t, I am just procuring the material needed to make the potion”
“And you need my help with the potion making or the ritual.”
“Both.”
“Ok” Kylan nodded.
The circle of enchantment was complete. Aiden looked at it for a moment as if to make sure everything was in order and no mistakes were made. They were in the lab/store/living room and the large area was covered with the circle of enchantment. Aiden stared at it intensely for some more time and suddenly got up.
‘Just to be safe and sure’
Kylan watched as he walked up to the bookshelf and pull out two books, he opened them got down on his knees and started to match the circle with the book.
“Is something wrong?” Kylan asked.
“No, just making sure I did everything right.”
“Is it your first time doing this?”
“Extracting the essence form a Papillion antennae. No, I have done it before.” Aiden said replied while looking at the circle and the book simultaneously.
“How many times?”
“Hmmm.” Aiden thought for a moment. “60-70 times. Maybe.”
Kylan looked shocked. “60-70 time? Why are you still checking then?”
“Like I said, just making sure.” He had completed checking the first circle before and was looking through the second.
“After so many times?”
“It’s just for precaution.”
“You’re very paranoid.” And so was Curtin. Is that why Kylan felt they were similar. This little minute similarities drew him towards Aiden.
“Ok, everything is alright.” Aiden got up still looking at the circle. He looked some more and Kylan stood beside him obediently.
“So, shall we start? How should I help?” Kylan asked looking at Aiden still looking at the circle.
“Maybe I should double check.” Aiden got down and opened his book again.
“What, why?”
“Just being cautious.”
“You already checked it once and it was fine.”
“I like precautions, ok.” Aiden cut back sounding a little irritated.
“You’re being over paranoid. You have already done this so many times.” Kylan did not know why he was bothered by it. Maybe because he was comparing him with Curtin. Curtin was not this paranoid. But why did he care. Was he trying to justify coming with Aiden and abandoning his original purpose. But he wasn’t abandoning it, he was just going through a detour.
“Why check a second time?” Kylan asked again.
Flap
Aiden closed his book got up and looked and looked back at Kylan.
“Because Kylan. I was not blessed with amazing memories like some geniuses. In fact, I would call my memory quiet poor. Below average if you will. So, I would like to make sure there are no hick ups during the ritual. And getting a Papillion antennae in this condition is hard.”
Kylan was confused. If he had bad memory checking once was ok.
“But why check a second time.”
“Because I don’t trust myself ok.” Aiden roared back in frustration. “I don’t trust myself to just check it once and I am going to check it a third time and a fourth and a fifth. Because I don’t trust myself. Ok.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
When Aiden first decided that he was going to learn magic, he was very, very excited. But that excitement did not last long. When he wrote the book, he did not give much detail to magic. That was because book Aiden was not a mage, he was an aura master. Why? Because he was crippled. Crippled by his dear aunt, she destroyed his pathway through which magic flowed and he did not know for a very long time. Why did she do it. Because a crippled was easier to control and the one that control ordered her to. He was almost envious of book Aiden because to learn magic one had to study, study a lot and memories every single rune and their combinations and not just memorize, he had to understand it too. He had to understand the calculations behind it why it worked how it worked and at the end he had to feel the magic and how the magic flowed through the runes around the circle and produced spells. Spells were not made, they were discovered, by combining runes in a magic circle one discovers what certain combinations result it and it was very dangerous. Without prior concrete calculations it could be fatal, that’s why no many were spell weavers. But he was one, of course he was, he was willing to take that risk. He didn’t want to die but he was willing to take this risk or what was the point of all the studying he had done. Countless hours with his nose between all those books. Just thinking about is frustrated him and the best part he still had to study. And it would have been different if he was a good at studying, he was not. He hated it. He was not one of those geniuses that remembered anything just looking at it once nor did calculations come easy to him. They only thing he was good at was feeling the magic and drawing magic. Magic was everywhere. There was no set magic reserve for someone, it was all about how efficiently one drew magic and their stamina. He almost gave up, almost, if it weren’t for the fact that once one memorizes every rune and their position of a particular spell, understands everything about that spell, able to feel the flow of the spell and practice it for some time the spell gets etched into one’s mind then one doesn’t have to draw the circle of enchantment from scratch anymore, they can immediately call upon it and the circle of enchantment for that spell appears. But that was not the case for rituals, one cannot just etch a ritual in their mind and for a ritual to extract an essence from something every different ingredient had a different circle of enchantment. The base was the same but for every different ingredient it was slightly different. Aiden trusted himself draw magic and to perform the ritual properly, but to set it up, he did not. He maybe a little paranoid but it was justified.
Kylan stood still in shock and just nodded his head as Aiden glared at him. After glaring for some time he went back to check on the circle again. Kylan stood still for some time, he finally understood the familiarity he felt from Aiden, why he was comparing Aiden and Curtin. Aiden had always tried to be accommodating towards him so it was faint, the feeling of wanting to stay away for some reason. The same feeling, he had when he first met Curtin, but that was not it. He felt that way form some other people too, a feeling to not get in their way, and they were usually people of great caliber. Like when he ran into one of the elites of the Viatores once in one of their branches or when he met one of the top 10 mercenary in a party in one of their escort missions or when he saw a high-ranking knight passing by the street. They all had a presence, a presence that makes people be near them but at the same time stay away. Curtin and Aiden were the same, they had the same presence as them and they most defiantly would be as remarkable as them but they were insecure. They were insecure and their eyes showed it. They tried to hide it but sometimes it slipped, they did not only insecure but also like they searching for something, something they did not know. They looked like they were lost, and trying to find their way. Curtin proclaimed himself to be one of the best archers in the realm and he was justified. He was one of the best archers in the world even though he was not known, Kylan witnessed it firsthand taking down a legendary beast. But he was always unsure of himself.
Kylan finally knew what he was searching for. He found the similarity he was looking for and he did not know how to feel about it.
“Ok, I am done.” Aiden’s voice woke Kylan up from his thoughts. It looked like he was done. How many times
“Now all you have to do is hold that glass vial opposite me secure it.”
“That’s it?” Kylan looked at the medium sized glass vail Aiden was pointing at. “Do you even need my help?”
“Yes, I need your help. If the vail tips over during the process it will all be a waste. I usually secure it with books but a human is better. Now get in position.”
Kylan did as told and got in his position. The circle glowed more as the extraction ritual began. Aiden started to concentrate as magic flowed through the runes and reached the antennae and it stared to break down and shred turning into dust. A clear transparent liquid substance flowed out of the dust and headed towards Kylan and into the vial. The force he felt when it entered the vial was something that could tip it over so he understood why he needed his help. After all the liquid entered, it was finally over. Aiden slumped to the ground and lay flat. He looked tired. Kylan wondered what actually made him tired, the ritual or his meticulous way of checking the circle five times. It was probably the latter cause the ritual did not faze him a bit, not as much as making sure the circle was perfect did.
“You know what, I am tired. Let’s skip the potion.” Aiden said after laying flat for some time.
“You don’t need it anymore?”
“I have some on stock. And now that I have that.” Aiden pointed at the essence. “I can make it anytime.”
“Ok.” Kylan got up to secure the vial with its seal. Aiden followed soon after and went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a potion vial containing clear liquid.
“Here.” He offered it to Kylan.
“What is that?”
“The Tatam potion.”
“This is the clarity potion.”
“This is a high-level potion, very expensive and not very easy to make.”
“Well, we just got over the hardest part.”
“Is this what you wanted to make?”
“Yes, but like I said too tired and I had some on stock. I do not like going empty on my stocks but now I can make them anytime so you can have this.”
“Why?” Kylan’s eyes shook as he looked at Aiden.
“Thought you might want some clarity. Take it.”
Kylan took it with shaking hands and held it tight. This was the most sought-after potion in the world and no one wanted to pass on an opportunity to take it, him included. It was a kind of potion that made one’s mind clear. Enough to make them think rationally and every answer that one wanted flashed in front of them, new ideas flowed in like waves. It gave people new perspectives. It was like a drug but not addictive and it did not have any side effects. People taking it goes on a trance and comes back without any harm. He did need some clarity, he wanted to know if there were any other choices. Did what happened really had to happen. His mind had been jumbled since and he needed to clear it.