Vol 1-Chapter 2: Dispatch

Eighteen year old Luke Ryvia went through his usual morning routine with an accustomed haste. Like clockwork, he climbed out of bed after hearing the steady, waking knock of a servant on his door and proceeded to clean himself.

The almost evenly cut flagstones were cold on his bare feet as he made his way across the other side of the room, intent on reaching the basin of water sitting on a dresser near the wall. The black gothic curtains of the opened window near the dresser were drawn open, letting in shafts of sunlight and the crisp morning breath of spring.

Luke grabbed the fresh towel laying beside the basin of water on the dresser and proceeded to clean his face. As always, without fail, one of the many servants of the Magi Towers had prepared everything without him noticing. The servants were silent, more silent than a mouse could ever be. Luke never woke up when they changed the basin of water on his dresser and opened the windows in the morning. Not to mention the fact that he was a light-sleeper too. It made Luke think that the servants were some silent apparitions.

Taking particular care with his ears and eyes, Luke finished washing himself. For a good minute, he stood at the dresser, chewing the Whitetooth herb which helped brighten, protect, and freshen both teeth and mouth. Then he went to his cabinets, changing out of his night robe and into his black leather robe fashioned with both a mantle that cut across from his left shoulder to his right shoulder and a cowl. Except for the somewhat uncomfortable mantle—granted, it was impressive looking—the robe was practical and reached barely toward his knees. Underneath the robe, Luke also wore deep blue trousers which reached toward his ankles. Finally, he put on his boots and glasses, which were entirely black except for vine-shaped silver patterns on the temples.

“Not bad,” Luke muttered to himself halfway between a yawn while checking his appearance at the wall mirror.

His appearance reflected in the mirror was perhaps a little above average. Grey eyes, a fiery scarlet colored, messy hair that was beginning to reach toward his shoulders and a strong nose. The robes he wore also reflected his status as a rank 14 mage, specifically known as a Magus-Lord.

There were a total of 16 ranks for mages. Ranks one to five being known as a Novice Mage. Ranks six to ten as a Mage, and the next two ranks being known as a Magus. The last four ranks, however, were known to be exceedingly difficult to reach. They required an insane amount of mana pool and competence in all four systems of magic—

Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, and Elemental Evocation.

A basic competence in the four systems were relatively easy so long as one worked hard, but the insane amount of mana pool needed to pass the twelfth rank was known to all training mages as the Cliff. Passing the Cliff required years of accumulation of practicing magic, which would slowly and steadily expand the size of your intrinsic mana pool.

There was, however, an exception to passing the Cliff in your early years as a mage. And Luke was one of the few exceptions.

Pushing the bridge of his raven-colored glasses to a more stable position, Luke headed out of his room and cut across the length of the spacious hallways, descending down the spiral stairs. Heading down the stairs was an arduous, and exhausting task despite his years of familiarity with these stairs. They seemed almost unending.

But it was only to be expected, for the Magi Towers were the tallest and second most impressive looking building in the whole of Shail Kingdom. The most impressive building, naturally, belonged to Shail Castle, home to King Balan vis Shail the Prosperous, Protectorate of all Five Regions.

The Magi Towers looked ancient at some parts, yet at the same time, new and freshly built at other parts. It gave off a somewhat incongruous feeling, but at the same time, it only added to its stature. The Magi Towers had been renovated, repaired, and expanded countless times throughout the decades. It was home to many of Shail Kingdom's mages and also included five academies, two of which entertained Novice Mages, two of which entertained Mages, and one which entertained ranks eleven and twelve Magus.

The towers themselves, however, were reserved for mages who had passed the Cliff, reaching their thirteenth rank. This was why the Magi Towers felt so desolate and so old. Most of the mages residing in these towers, after all, were far older than Luke. But that was fine with Luke. He didn't particularly care much about for the company of others. Rather, he found company in the numerous books of the vast and famed library of the Magi Towers.

These days, especially after the Magi Wars involving numerous kingdoms, the label of Magi had been rewritten over to mages. Now, the Magi were simply called mages, though some still preferred to keep to ancient traditions and call themselves Magi after their Magi antecedents. The Magi Towers, however, still kept its name despite the long centuries.

The past was long done though. People were no longer as wary of mages as they were after the Magi Wars. That period of time was now just a fleeting history in the furthest backs of their minds. Likewise, it was the same for Luke. Nonetheless, he liked knowing about the mages who came before him.

Finally reaching the last flight of the spiral stairs, a lizard suddenly came crawling against the walls from down below, instantly jumping at his chest.

“Ashes,” Luke cursed, instinctively swiping at the dark green blur that was the lizard. He missed, his hand hitting nothing but air.

The green lizard, about one feet and a half in length, latched with small claws onto the chest of his robe. A second or two passed by before Luke regained his bearings. The green lizard was a messenger lizard, bound by a conjuration spell. It was a favorite tool of Arch-Magus Balthazar to use when summoning Luke to his tower.

It was just one of the more peculiarities Luke had gotten used to—well, somewhat gotten used to—in dealing with Arch-Magus Balthazar, a sixteenth ranked Magus, the highest of the highest a mage could reach.

The green lizard lashed out a red tongue that was almost longer than its entire body length. Curled around by the tongue was a small black coin with a portrait of a laughing old man with a tall cap on both sides. It was the personal token of Arch-Magus Balthazar, used for summoning people to his tower.

“You know, you old bat. You could have just asked a servant to send a message to me, instead of using your lizard to surprise me every time.”

Damn. Had he just said that aloud?

Luke shook his head once, twice, before clearing his mind. These past few months, he had been staying cooped up in his towers, reading books and practicing his magic, especially Elemental Evocation. Perhaps, Luke admitted to himself, he might just need some time outside.

With a steady hand, Luke took the token from the tongue of the patiently waiting green lizard. As soon as he had taken it, the small lizard unlatched his claws from the chest of his robe and jumped across, quickly crawling along the sides of the walls, before disappearing out of sight.

Putting the token into the side pockets of his black leather robe, Luke continued his descent, finally arriving downstairs at the first floor of the Magi Towers, which were a chain of interconnected hallways, buildings, and towers. A jumbled mess, frankly speaking.

The first floor consisted of a big kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and multiple rooms for the servants, cooks and caretakers. There were other rooms, of course, but Luke never frequented them, preferring to embrace familiarity rather than the unknown. It had taken quite a while to become familiar with these places and his own Magi Tower, but now, after eight years living here, Luke could think of no other home than this great, sprawling place.

Luke headed toward the dining room, and upon entering, instantly saw eight or so mages digging into their breakfasts. Most of them sported beards. Only one of them had a clean-shaven face. And almost all of them were at least twice as old as Luke. The few mages who were not reading books while eating their breakfasts looked up, nodding a hard acknowledgment toward the newcomer. Luke nodded back politely.

He picked the closest corner table, but before he could even sit down on the chair, the small figure of a girl tackled into his stomach and her arms hugged around his waist.

“Good morning, big brother!” Penny chirped happily.

Luke gave a half-smile toward the thirteen year old girl. She was small for her age. “Same to you, Penny.”

Luke patiently waited for a few seconds before Penny reluctantly released her hold on his waist. Penny giggled. “I think I may have left some flour prints on your robe.” She frowned a little, staring at Luke. “Ya look like a donkey's arse fallen in crap.”

“Hey now,” commented Jess from across the middle of the dining room, “what kinda way is that for ya to talk to the young Magus-Lord.”

“What?” Penny said innocently. “I am only being honest.” She grinned a little at Jess before turning back to Luke. “You should sleep earlier, big brother. Knowing you, you were probably up all night magicking.”

“Is it that noticeable?” Luke asked. It was true that he had went to bed a few hours after midnight.

“Of course,” Penny declared. “It's my bro sense.”

“Is that a new type of magic?” Luke said with a smile. He immediately regretted using that word.

Penny sighed a short sigh. “I wish I could use magic just like you, big brother.” Only a second passed by before Penny's energetic cheer returned, and she hugged him again. “It's alright, though. I have you.”

Luke simply ruffled her shoulder-length, short light-brown hair in response. In a way, both Luke and Penny were similar. They had both become orphans at the age of six. Out on an errand for Arch-Magus Balthazar in a small-sized city, he had found Penny shivering inside an alleyway, her small arms wrapped around her knees, and her face dirt-stained and tear-stained.

It was with only the greatest of persuasion and effort that Luke managed to make Penny follow him. Okay, it was with the greatest of persuasion, effort, and a bit of magic.

Now though, Penny had become his adopted sister and was working for fun as an apprentice cook. She had also been given an education and had been allowed to take the path of a soldier, training under a hired sword instructor, which Luke paid for out of his own pockets. For that, he was grateful to Arch-Magus Balthazar who had made an exception for Penny.

Usually, magic talents become developed at the age of nine or ten, sometime even eight, but for Penny who still had not developed magic at the age of thirteen, she was blocked from the path of becoming a mage. That said, it was rare for a mage to be born. Out of the over one million people in Shail Kingdom, there were perhaps only about four thousand mages. This meant that less than one percent of the people were born as mages, and even rarer were the people born with a large amount of mana pool a talent for accumulation of mana.

“I will see you later, big brother Luke,” Penny said. “I have to go meet with my instructor now.”

“Heh, go beat his ass up, Penny,” Luke replied. He caught himself then. “But wash your hands first, Penny and take off that apron!”

Seeing the small figure of the mousy, short brown-haired Penny hastily sprinting out of the dining room, Luke smiled inwardly to himself. Her cheerful, energetic nature was infectious. It always brightened his day to see Penny.

“Ahem,” Jess coughed.

Luke turned just in time to see her cough set her two impressive mounds trembling. Jess was a slightly plump, and long blonde-haired woman in her mid twenties who served as a cook in the kitchen. Her curves and figure, to be honest, were always startling to Luke, who had a somewhat lanky and tall appearance. “The usual, Magus-Lord Luke?”

Luke pushed the bridge of his glasses, taking extra vigilance not to stare below her neckline. “Yes, the usual please. Thanks, Jess.”

“I will be right back, Magus-Lord Luke.”

Even after two years, the title of Magus-Lord was still unfamiliar and somewhat unsettling to Luke. He was supposedly a blessed individual born with an extremely rare magic talent and an insane amount of mana pool. He was the youngest person to achieve the rank of Magus-Lord at the age of sixteen and was also under the wings of Arch-Magus Balthazar, one of the three Arch-Magus of Shail Kingdom.

It took only a minute before Jess came back with a huge tray of breakfast consisting of a glass of milk, two eggs, and sauteed bread with mushroom and garlic. There was also a warm potato soup loaded with strips of pork and some green beans.

Already putting a spoonful of soup and a bite of bread, Luke muffled a thanks and a nod at Jess. For now, food was the main focus of every fiber of his entire being. He was always extremely hungry in the morning, especially after an extensive use of magic the previous night.

Breakfast, then a visit to Arch-Magus Balthazar.

This thought only ran through a dim part of his mind as Luke was entirely focused on the food in front of him.

<><><><><>

There were three main parts to the Magi Towers, buildings which consisted of interconnected towers, hallways, and floors. All of these combined formed a triangular building where at each point, the tower of the Arch-Magus imposingly stood over the other towers. A total of three towers, all of them equal in height, for three Arch-Magus, the highest rank a mage could reach. Each tower, built with painstakingly tedious enchantments and skilled hands, reached close to 300 feet tall.

It was at the central tower that Luke was climbing the flight of stairs. By the time he reached the top, he was out of breath and cursing at the mages and workers who built these uselessly tall towers.

“Bloody ashen mages,” Luke panted, taking in a deep breath. It was times like these that Luke wished that he had a talent for teleportation, which went hand in hand with divination. Sadly, teleportation was not one of his talents. Most likely, whoever had decided to bless Luke with an enormous amount of mana pool had decided to forgo a talent with teleportation.

The door that led to the utmost top room of the central tower was a plain-looking brown door. And beside the door was a slit large enough for a small coin to enter.

From his right pocket, Luke pulled out the laughing old man token and inserted it into the slit. The token was specially enchanted and attuned to the door. Had Luke entered into Animus stance, he would have felt the mana of the enchantment coming off from the token. Normal people, of course, could also see mana but for stable and tight (not leaking mana) enchantments, they could not see it.

Mages could also hide their mana from normal people through careful concentration and accumulated experiences with working mana, but for the most part, most mages did not bother with such trivial things, especially since it took more concentration and mana to hide mana. This was of a paradoxical nature, taking more mana to hide traces of mana.

During battles, a mage would not bother to hide the mana of his Elemental Evocation spells unless circumstances called for secrecy, but even then, faint traces of mana would still remain in the air.

With the token eaten up by the slit beside the door, Luke immediately entered the room. The room looked small, even smaller than his own personal room. But appearances were deceiving. This room would have been much more spacious and larger were it not for the fact that the room was cluttered with books, assorted carpets, green lizards, potions, and strange looking weapons and paintings hanging on the walls.

Luke was used to this, however, so the “decorations,” of the room were not what attracted him. No, what attracted him was the middle-aged man with dark grey hair and a snowy beard that reached almost halfway down his neck sitting behind an enormous cluttered desk.

“Ah welcome, Luke my boy,” Arch-Magus Balthazar said in a warm, lazy tone, letting out circles of white smoke from his long pipe. “As always, you still wear those eyeglasses of yours. And here I was hoping that in the past three months I have not seen you, you would have grown up a bit.”

Luke arched an eyebrow at that. “I didn't think wearing glasses would entail maturity, Balthazar.” He paused for a moment. “And it looks like the past three months have been kind to you. You still haven't gotten senile on me.”

Arch-Magus Balthazar let out a laugh, his right hand stroking at the tail of the two feet long red lizard that sat with a proud look on his desk. “Your retorts have gotten sharper and here I thought your wits would have dulled from being cooped up in your tower room.”

Luke didn't bother to ask Arch-Magus Balthazar how he knew that. He knew that the old man had many connections, influence, and ears everywhere. Appearances, they say, are deceiving, especially this eccentric old man with a tanned, kindly-looking face that sported a snowy beard.

“How fares young Penny?” Arch-Magus Balthazar asked with honest interest. He let out a few smoke rings which dissipated in a few seconds.

“Quite well. Always energetic and troublesome. But instead of asking me, you should go see her. She has been asking me of your return for quite some time now.”

“Mmhm, of course I will spare some time for little Penny.”

“So what is the business you have with me, Balthazar?” Luke asked.

“Always so serious and on point, Luke. Oh, how I wish for the cute child Luke who still had wondrous and sparkling eyes.” Arch-Magus Balthazar feigned a sniffle. “This adult Luke does not even greet poor old me properly or ask how was my trip.”

Luke let out a small sigh inside his mind. “How was your trip, old man.”

Arch-Magus Balthazar frowned a little, taking another smoke from his pipe. “At least call me Uncle Balthazar.” He wagged a finger, before using that same finger to stroke the tail of his red lizard pet still posing proudly and calmly on the desk. “It was alright for the most part. I spent the time ogling at the bodies of scantily clad young girls in the Western Region. Ah, the majestic and blue sea. How it attracts beauty. Beauty to beauty, you know?”

“You do know that you are 152 years old and that you are at least nine times their age,” Luke retorted.

“Eh? Haven't you heard of the saying, look, but don't touch?” Balthazar said with a lecherous smile.

“With the experience you have with your eyes, I am sure that seeing is touching, almost stripping really, in your case.”

“Your words harm this old man, Luke,” said Balthazar. “Anyway,” he continued, his face and eyes becoming a little serious. “As you know, upon reaching the seventh rank as a mage and upon turning sixteen, you must serve in the army for at least two years. But you are now eighteen, and still have not served even one day in the army.”

“Ah. I figured your summons for me was about this,” Luke said, an edge of shakiness creeping into his voice.

Balthazar nodded. “Correct. With my influence, I have managed to hold this off for about two years, but I am afraid you will have to take up your duty as a mage of Shail Kingdom now.”

Luke could only dimly hear the last words of what Balthazar had said. He held up the palms of his hands, staring at the scarlet blood dyed skin, the red stains a bright contrast against his lightly tanned skin. They were the hands of a murderer, a murderer who had killed his whole family, including his little infant sister, barely a year old.

A sharp and strong voice interrupted the turmoil of the many past—bloody and fiery—images that flashed into his mind.

“It is not your fault!” Balthazar firmly and sharply said in a tone that would brook no objections. “It is not your fault,” he repeated.

“But I killed them...” Luke could only reply, looking at his blood-red palms. “...killed them all with my own hands,” he repeated.

“Don't be a fool. It was an unforeseen and unfortunate accident. No one would have dared dream that a six year old child would be able to summon such raw elemental fire and use such a large amount of mana.”

Luke breathed in and out deeply, sinking into Animus stance, more in tune with his mind, his magic, and the mana in him. With the increased concentration, he repressed those blood dyed images and soon, when he opened his eyes, his hands were no longer bloody. “Thank you, father,” Luke said toward Arch-Magus Balthazar—his adopted father.

Balthazar drew the pipe back in, letting loose a few smoke rings. “I think it will be a good experience for you, Luke. Two years in the army can give you new perspectives, and it is not wise to stay cooped up in your tower every day.”

Luke nodded hesitantly, unsure of whether new perspectives could even be found, especially in the army. The only perspectives he would find there would be of death.

“Sparkie, grab that letter of introduction, will ya?” Balthazar said toward the red lizard on the table.

The lizard immediately dug out a sealed and rolled up letter from the clutter of mess that was the desk. “Show this to Commander Respen at Nea City, and he will immediately assign you to a squadron that is lacking a mage.” Balthazar formed a small, playful smile. “And here is a personal letter to you, only to be opened once you are in the squadron. Henceforth, you are to depart for the Southern Region of our Shail Kingdom, home to Baron Haldur Arisfrost. His family is quite close to me, you know?” Balthazar winked. “This is effective immediately, so kindly ask a mage to teleport you there.”

“Thank you, old man.” Luke said with honest and plain gratefulness. He left the room then, leaving with the two sealed letters.

Arch-Magus Balthazar, one of the three most powerful and most influential mages in the entirety of Shail Kingdom blew out three rings of smokes. “Here is to hoping you will get over your fear and no longer blame yourself.”

<><><><><>

Having said his goodbyes to his few acquaintances and hugging both Penny and Jess due to their insistence, Luke finally departed for the Southern Region via teleportation by another mage. His inherent magical resistance (territory), which could be trained and which differed in strength by birth, was lowered by permission, will and mana manipulation, allowing the mage to teleport Luke to Nea City.

Each and every person, regardless of whether they could use magic, was born with an inherent magical resistance territory. Spells like teleportation, especially on another person who was unwilling, was extremely difficult to use and only the most powerful mages could overcome this hurdle. But even for these powerful mages, it would still take an extreme amount of mana.

This was just one of the more mysterious aspects of magic. Willpower, concentration, and the soul had many connections to magic, most of them still uninformative despite the research by many mages. Improving spells / chants, and exploring the unknown were always being attempted by mages who were usually rank 10 or higher.

It was why the Magi Towers took up an extensive amount of space and area in the Central Region of Shail kingdom and why the buildings had seen many renovations. Explosions and rebounds from spells were not uncommon to the people who lived here. There was not a week that passed by without Luke seeing one small explosion of fire magic or other sorts due to a chant for a spell gone wrong.

Chants, whether spoken out loud or in the mind, were necessary for mages to concentrate their mana from Animus, the place in the soul from which all mana stems from. The cadence of the words, the intonation of the words, and the inflection of the words all had varying effects on magic. But the centuries of research on magic spells and words had led to a standardization of magic spells, especially in the systems of magic such as Conjuration and Enchantments.

The teleportation was quick and easy—there was no disorientation or any side effects other than an almost instantaneous change of scenery.

The next instant Luke looked upon his surroundings, he found himself no longer in the Magi Towers with Jess, Penny, and the teleportation mage, but in one of Nea City's isolated room. This room was a teleportation chamber used especially by the mages who could teleport.

The walls of the room were a plain white color. The room was by no means small. It was spacious, bare, and empty, devoid of any furniture or accessories.

Teleporation was dangerous magic. If the rare mages who could use such magic attempted to randomly teleport to a place they had not been to or had not observed through various methods of Divination spells, they could find themselves merged into walls, furniture, or even trees. Ashes, a mage could even wound up merged with the ground itself, instantly dying a meaningless death!

Thus, in every capital city, major, medium-sized cities such as Nea, and even small cities, there was at least one building reserved for teleportations. In Nea City, this building called the Tele Dome (not that the building actually looked like a dome) was located near places of importance such as the governance domicile and the garrisons. The Tele Dome was also built for stability and would have enchantments that would stabilize and block interference from other spells.

Precise, careful and painstakingly tedious measures were needed for teleportations. Otherwise, none of the mages would ever dare entertain the thought of using teleportation magic to deliver messages or use for travel.

Quickly exiting of the Tele Dome, Luke found himself on the busy streets of Nea City, which was located near a major trading route and near the Bastil River that spanned for miles, snaking around the cities and towns of the Southern Region of Shail Kingdom.

The Southern Region was perhaps the most populated region out of the five regions of Shail Kingdom, which was home to a roughly estimated number of a million and three hundred thousand people. The Southern Region was known for its many snaking rivers and lakes. The region was mainly invested in agriculture, where vast areas of lands were farmed with crops in specialized places.

Out on the cobbled streets of Nea City, Luke hid a grimace. As was expected, his black leather mage garb attracted the attentions of many people. The color black usually signified a mage of above rank 12, and on a closer glance, people could tell from the two small triangles emblazoned at the center of his mantle that he was a rank 14 mage—a Magus-Lord.

Mages of over rank 12 were rarely seen and most people paused their conversations and stopped briefly, their curious gazes resting upon Luke. There were also interested looks in some of the women his age. Furthermore, to add fuel to the fire, he was the youngest Magus-Lord, an unexpected precedent that had not occurred in decades. The only Magus-Lord that was even close to Luke's age was a twenty-nine year old female mage, who had been hailed by the people and other mages as talented among the talented.

The stares made Luke grimace even further inside his mind, and he became uncomfortable. A shiver almost went up his spine. This was why he hated the outside. The tower was much more comfortable to Luke. The silence, the solace, the contentment.

Luke made further haste, increasing the distance each of his steps took. A few minutes passed by before he arrived at the garrisons. There was no need to ask directions even in such a big city, because there were usually signs posted on the streets toward the more important buildings and structures.

The garrisons was like a small town inside the city, walled off to the normal populace. Only soldiers, third grade officers, second grade officers, first grade officers, knights, knight captains, and ranks above were allowed inside.

There were four entrances to the garrisons and Luke was at the southern gate which would have allowed at least twenty people to go in at once. It was a huge thing and only befitting of the walls which scaled as high as fifteen feet. It also would have been quite impressive if not for the fact that Luke woke up every morning to see the face of the Magi Towers, which was the tallest building in all of Shail Kingdom.

The southern gate was guarded by four guards on each side and the massive, heavy wooden doors made out of Hoven trees, one of the toughest wood and comparable to that of steel, were wide open. From the looks of the sun and the enchanted street clock Luke had passed by, the day had just become afternoon.

It was probably why he was seeing the procession of soldiers heading into the garrisons, most likely for a change in shifts or for lunch break.

Quieting his uncomfortable state of mind and the stare of some of the soldiers around him, Luke headed toward the southern gate. He stopped before the officious looking guard stationed at the left side. He held a spear in his right hand and stood imposingly, sporting a rough beard.

“You must be Magus-Lord Luke,” said the black-haired guard, most likely the senior out of the four guards. He also seemed to be wearing a black armor that was different from the other guards. “I have been personally informed by Bronze Commander Respen that you would be arriving today. I can also see that you are wearing a mage robe, but I am afraid I shall have to ask to see your letter of introduction.”

His tone was polite, yet somehow still sounded curt. It was probably just due to his rough voice, Luke thought to himself. He was also the younger so he decided to pay the tone no heed, taking no offense at it.

Luke also wasn't sure of the guard's rank. He could not tell what rank the white tabard with the black longsword symbol dividing two black crescents facing opposite ways denoted. Each and every soldier, regardless of whether they were knights or commanders, were required to wear various colored tabards that would denote their ranks.

And to further complicate things, there were also soldiers from the Central Region mixed in among each of the other four regions. To Luke personally, the military ranking system with its denotation of tabard rankings were a mess. Well, not exactly a mess, but nonetheless, to Luke who held no interest in such things, it was a mess.

It was somewhat ironic though. Magic was even more of a mess, but Luke did not really think of it as such. Rather, he believed magic to obey some natural laws with some mysterious peculiarities.

From his right pocket, Luke took out one of the two sealed letters he had been given to by Arch-Magus Balthazar. This was the more officious looking of the two, being that the other letter was a personal letter from Balthazar to him.

The guard inspected the letter with a cursory glance, before returning it. “Good, everything seems to be in order.”

Luke politely nodded in return. “I will be on my way now...”

The short black-haired guard grinned, no longer looking as imposing as before. “The name is Knight Captain Theos and I am on guard duty today since a friend of mine is literally shitting himself in the crappers. I did tell that bastard not to eat too much of that pork meat. Never listens.” Knight Captain Theos shook his head as if mournful for his friend.

Stolen story; please report.

Luke formed a smile. “I hope your friend gets better.”

“That he will,” Knight Captain Theos affirmed. “He's a fat pig and it's almost time for a shift change. I doubt I will miss him at lunch. He's never late when its time to eat, and I think an hour or two on the crapper is enough to do his stomach some good.”

“Sounds painful,” said Luke.

“Oh right, Bronze Commander Respen is inside headquarters on the third floor. You can't miss the headquarters. Just head straight and look for the largest and tallest building. Then ask for further directions once you are there.”

“Thank you, Knight Captain Theos.”

Knight Captain Theos let out a laugh. “No need for titles with me. Just call me Theos, and I shall be seeing you around, Magus-Lord Luke.”

“Same with you then. You need not call me Magus-Lord.”

Luke thanked the captain again before finally entering the southern gate. It seemed to him that appearances were truly deceiving. Never would he have thought that the imposing face and stature of the rough bearded, closely-cut black haired appearance would have belonged to Knight Captain Theos, who seemed to be an easygoing man.

Inside the garrisons, Luke found himself faced with a few curious stares of soldiers who were hastily heading toward the mess halls to eat their hard-earned lunches.

Luke was somewhat familiar with the purposes of Nea City. One of its main function was to serve as a trading post due to its location near Bastil River. Its other function, and the more important one, was to serve as a military training place for all the new recruits. Attached to that function were also promotion tests for the aspiring soldiers that wished to become officers and knights.

There were, of course, other positions which were pertained to logistics, but the people holdings these positions were not truly part of the army. They were more of a separate division, more like scribes rather than soldiers.

It took a few minutes to traverse the wide opened courtyards and training grounds of the garrisons. Luke passed by many buildings such as barracks which were the sleeping quarters of the recruits. There were also many mess halls where soldiers were busy going in and going out through the entrances. What was most interesting to Luke, however, were the landing fields.

These were areas reserved for the Caverks, which were the enormous flying mounts the military used. The mounts looked exactly like birds with feathers shaped like a crown on top of their heads. The only difference, however, was that they had four limbs which could be used to sprint very quickly across the ground. With wings that spanned over a total twenty feet length and taloned paws that could crush rocks, they were predators of both air and ground.

Stopping every so often to look at these sights, it took Luke a few longer minutes before he arrived at the headquarters. Just like what Theos had said, the building was the largest and tallest building inside the garrisons. Its shape was rectangular with five entrances lined side by side and there was a front courtyard with lawns of grasses. In front of the stairs that led to the five entrances were two statues, one on each side. The statues depicted of a muscular, handsome warrior with a broadsword that reached almost toward his neck. The warrior was poised with the broadsword in front of him and a right hand held at the huge hilt.

Founder Kasnov Shail, the First King of Shail Kingdom, and one of the many fallen heroes in the Magi War which had spanned for 192 years. Gifted with talents in both magic and sword, Kasnov Shail had founded Shail Kingdom 2131 years ago during the Age of Reformation, only fifteen years before the start of the Magi War. It was also before the start of the Magi War that the entire Dwarf race disappeared, no longer walking hand in hand with the humans.

It was a curious thing, how the entire Dwarf race could disappear. Was it through some unknown form of magic such as teleportation? But a mass teleportation would take untold amounts of mana. Even thousands and thousands of mages would not suffice for such an extensive task.

This was one of the biggest mystery mages wanted to find out.

Then far to the east in the Southern Division were the light elves which lived alongside the southern kingdoms. They were interesting humanoid creatures that used a somewhat more refined and different magic from the humans. It was quite interesting to Luke and should he ever decide to travel outside of Shail Kingdom which was located to the furthest west in the Central Division, he would visit the home of the light elves.

Going through the middle entrance of the headquarters, Luke immediately spotted a female secretary sitting behind a counter.

“How may I help you,” the secretary said with arched eyebrows before continuing, “Magus-Lord, if I may presume?”

“Ah yes, I would like to see Commander Respen,” Luke replied while trying to dig out the sealed letter.

“No need to see the letter,” she interrupted. “Just head straight to the third floor using those stairs over there and head toward the door marked Commander Respen.”

“Thanks.” No longer bothering to dig out his sealed letter, Luke headed up the three flights of stairs, arriving into a hallway. At the same time, he avoided the stares of the people who were descending down the stairs.

Most of the people working here, it seemed to Luke, were part of the Logistic Branch. They were the ones who kept everything organized, calculating the wages, supplies, and other miscellaneous.

The hallway he had arrived, for the most part, was desolate. Most likely, people avoided coming here. It was only natural since seeing a commander or a superior usually spelled trouble. Passing by a few doors, Luke finally arrived at the door marked Commander Respen.

He only needed to knock once before hearing a deep voice that told him to enter.

Somewhat nervous, Luke fixed his spectacles, pushing the bridge of it for a more stable position. In reality, Luke didn't really need these spectacles. His eyesight was rather good and whenever he read the books in the library, he was always under good lighting. These spectacles were more of an accessory rather than a necessity.

But Luke never went anywhere without these eyeglasses affixed across the bridge of his nose. They were important to him, somewhat boosting his confidence. He had long familiarized himself with these spectacles ever since he was a child. They were enchanted to change the color of his eyes to a cool grey.

Upon entering the room, Luke found himself faced with four people staring at him, three of them women who stood imposingly side by side and one of them Commander Respen Mahvis who sat in his high chair with a calm, collected clean shaven face. An expression, no doubt, which was gained from years of experience. Commander Respen looked to be in his middle thirties with jet-black hair cut close to the skull.

“Let me see the letter, Magus-Lord,” Commander Respen coolly said.

Luke immediately went around the three women, avoiding their stares while trying to maintain a calm appearance. It was somewhat nerve-wracking to be stared, dare he say it, angrily at by the three women who looked to be beauties in their own rights. Taking out the sealed letter, he handed it to Commander Respen.

It took only a minute before Commander Respen set the letter down on his neat, organized desk. Judging from the spartan look of the room and the meticulously organized desk and shelves, the commander looked to be a strict and blunt person.

“I will be blunt, Magus-Lord Luke. You being a rank 14 mage brings unnecessary trouble. And to add to this, you are even two years late in attending your military duty. With these in mind, I have decided not to place you in along with the other rank 7 mages attending their military duties. I do not want to cause rifts in the squadrons.”

Commander Respen turned his head, and with cold emerald eyes, glared at the three women who stood stiffly side by side. “These three women are also headaches like you, Magus-Lord.” His voice turned even sharper, not that far off from a sharply honed dagger. “First Grade Officer Kali; First Grade Officer Elasha; Knight Lucy; and finally you, Magus-Lord. All four of you will be assigned to an independent squadron that does not belong to a centurion. I will be washing my hands off these troubles to a Knight Captain I have in mind. He has been wanting to form a squadron of his own and has been a thorn in my side for quite a while now.”

“You will be meeting the other six members, including the Knight Captain, in an hour in front of this building. As of this minute, effective immediately, you now belong to Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division.”

Commander Respen continued eyeing the three women, his glare never leaving their faces. It stopped their about-to-be-voiced objections cold. “I do not want to hear any more complaints from the three of you. That will be all now and I shall meet you in two hours in front of this building. Sharp.”

<><><><><>

With his stomach growling and outside of the building, Luke decided to visit the closest mess halls. While walking there and no longer minding the stares of the soldiers, most of them males, he sighed softly to himself. He hoped in his mind that the other six members of the squadron he belonged to were not as troublesome looking as the three women he had just met.

Luckily, the mess hall was still open despite the fact that lunch had already passed by. Luke entered the mess hall with just a small amount of hesitation, propelled by his growling stomach. He immediately spotted workers stacking up the wooden bowls and plates with learned efficiency. The mess hall was simple and effective with long rows of tables and benches.

“Excuse me,” Luke said to the closest worker, a dark blue-haired male that looked to be around his age. “Can you tell me if I can still get some food?”

“Bloody shit,” the worker replied, instantly turning around with a stack of plates in his hands. “Ya startled the donkey's ass out of me. I almost broke this plate. Damned me if I haf ta get yell at by the old hag, er I mean Cook Lizz, again.”

“Oh hot pig's arse. Yer a mage?” There was an excited look to the worker , who on a closer look, looked to be a boy. It seemed to Luke that his initial observations were off. The boy was tall for his age, much taller than Luke, but also much lankier. And to think he only looked to be fourteen years old or so.

Luke nodded a yes to his question. He decided to ask again. “Think I can still get some food?”

“Oh yea, sure sure man. Ya just need ta go into ta kitchen and ask Cook Lizz ta whip you up some stuff.”

“Thanks,” Luke said. But before he could head to the kitchen, a hand stopped him.

“Hey, I gotta ask ya a question, since you being a mage an all? What do I haf ta do as a mage myself? Don't tell me I gotta read all those stuffy books an all. That's just boring.” The tall lanky boy hugged an arm around Luke's shoulders and with a hand and and a secretive look around the mess hall, summoned a tiny sphere of water from the center of his palm.

Luke was instantly dumbfounded. Impossible. Why had none of the inspectors noticed this seemingly fourteen year old boy's talent with magic. In every city, town, and even villages, there was at least one inspector which went to and fro, looking for children with magic talents. Each inspector was equipped with a magic-seeking enchanted orb that could tell whether a child of eight to ten years old had manifested magic or not. By law, people were also required to tell the closest authority if a child had manifested magic.

It was almost impossible to escape detection and the benefits were great, especially for a poor family. The Magi Towers would give the family of the child which had manifested magic a tidy sum of gold, along with which would entail a free education for the child. The benefits far outweighed the losses, if there were even any.

“How old are you?” Luke asked, his voice becoming somewhat louder from his surprise.

“Thirteen years old. Why ya ask?”

Late. It was an extremely late manifestation of magic.

“When did ya manifest your magic?”

“Manifest? What ya mean by that? Sounds like a festival I sure would like ta go to,” the boy worker said.

“When did you start using your magic?” Luke rephrased his question.

An excited light lit up in the brown eyes of the fourteen year old. “Just yesterday. Pretty cool eh? Ya being the first mage I met an all, yer the first one ta know about this.”

Luke, from firsthand experience, knew exactly how dangerous a manifestation of magic was. He had first manifested his magic when he was six years old, causing a huge tornado of fire that had burnt his family into painful, fiery deaths. It was an unprecedented incident. To think that a six year old child could already manifest his magic and to think that it was manifested with such a large and primal amount of magic fire.

It was only through blind luck that he had been saved from suffocation by running away in time from the burning house, abandoning his family members and infant sister screaming. In the rare nightmares he still continued to have, Luke could still hear the fiery scream of his father telling him to leave them.

“Do you want to be a mage?” Luke bluntly asked the thirteen year old.

“Sure, it sounds like fun though I dun really wanna read any boring books.”

Luke freed himself from the boy's arm around his shoulders. “Good. You are a bit old for a rank 1 Novice Mage, but it is better late than never. Judging from how easily you seemed to have used an elemental evocation of water, I think you will catch up fine. You will also be given an extensive education, far more than basic writing and reading.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Just a bit, but it is certainly rewarding.”

Paying no more heed to the boy and his hunger forgotten entirely, thoughts whirled in his mind. Should he use a conjuring spell and summon a bird mana construct to send a message to the closest Inspect Building? Every city had at least one of those buildings and Nea City was no exception.

No, that was a useless thing. He didn't know the exact location of the Inspect Building and had never been there before, so it would be quite futile. The best thing, Luke decided, was to go to Commander Respen and leave the boy for him to deal with.

Luke became hesitant, before further expanding on his decision. Bringing the boy to the commander at this moment would only spell trouble and give the glaring commander another headache. No, it was best to leave the boy with the commander in about two hours' time.

Having made his mind, Luke noticed his hunger again. “Stick with me for about two hours, will you?” he asked the boy worker.

“Hmm, ya will haf to tell that to the old hag, I mean Cook Lizz. I haf to clean up all these bowls and plates, then wash them along with the others.”

“Alright, don't go anywhere,” Luke said.

“Dun haf anywhere to go other than here,” the boy worker admitted. “Been living at the orphanage all my life ever since I got left there. This is just my workplace an all.”

Luke stuck out a hand, showing a small grin while on the inside was smiling whimsically. Just like him, the boy was an orphan. Just what was with him meeting all these orphans?

And Penny...his adopted sister. She was at the age his real sister should have been had she still been alive.

The boy worker took his hand, shaking upon it.

“So what's your name?” Luke asked.

“I am Deidrich. No last name,” the boy replied. “How about ya?”

The name did not seem to suit the boy. This was what Luke instantly thought before filing it away in his mind. Most likely the people who had abandoned the boy at the orphanage had left a note with the name or something. It didn't matter for the moment. There would be time for these thoughts later. “My name is Luke Ryvia.”

Luke then showed a large grin. “And my goal is to be the greatest mage in the continent.” His words were said with purpose. They were to form a bond with the boy who had just manifested his magic.

Deidrich let out a laughter. “Then my goal is to be the greatest mage in the world!”

“Ashes, Diedrich, by the time you finish talking with that mage there, I will be old and greying,” a worker yelled out. “Hurry up and help us. I don't want Head Cook Lizz to yell at us again.”

“Hah, calm yer bloody shit there! With my super super super super fast cleaning speed, we will be done in no time,” Diedrich declared.

<><><><><>

In the kitchens, Luke sat on a tall, wooden stool, greedily digging into the small cooked chicken in front of him.

“Hmm, so you tell me that useless Diedrich is a mage?” asked Head Cook Lizz.

“Indded. His manifestation of magic was late, quite abnormal really. Three years late than the manifestation of a ten year old,” Luke said after swallowing a mouthful of chicken. “Most children usually manifest magic at the age of nine, sometime even as young as eight years old.”

“Hmmm...” Head Cook Lizz placed a bowl of soup on the counter Luke was sitting behind. “I think I have heard of you before. Judging from your robe and mantle, you are a Magus-Lord, eh?”

Luke wasn't surprised. The knowledge of what robes denoted a mage's rank was common knowledge. Rather, Luke found it strange that Diedrich didn't know that he was Magus-Lord. Otherwise, the boy would have been embarrassed trying to compete with a rank 14 mage like Luke.

“Furthermore, I do believe you are the youngest Magus-Lord. From the announcement two years ago, it was said that a sixteen year old had achieved the fourteenth rank.” Head Cook Lizz, a solid-looking happily married woman of around thirty years of age changed, her appearance becoming sharper. “I will leave it to you to guide Diedrich. I have known that boy for some odd years now.” Her tone became firmer and even more sharp.

“Umm...I promise to look in on him from time to time, but I am on military duties for two straight years.”

“Good, I will hold you to that promise.”

Head Cook Lizz then left, once more becoming a terror upon her subordinate workers. In the kitchen and in the mess hall, she was the mistress. No doubt, Luke thought to himself wryly, she was also the dominant one in her married relationship with whoever her husband was.

Rest. In. Peace. Oh poor husband of Head Cook Lizz.

No doubt she eats you alive, bones and all.

Having finished eating, Luke met up with the freed Diedrich. Time had quickly passed by while Luke had waited for the boy to finish his last, and probably final work. There was only about ten minutes before the meeting in front of headquarters.

It was early mid-afternoon now, and the new recruits were being drilled and trained extensively by gruff looking men on the training fields. Luke almost felt sympathy for them. He himself had remembered his early strict years as a mage. His training had been far more controlled and harsher than other mages due to the huge amount of mana pool he had been born with, and due to his high affinities with almost all the elements.

There were many elements for Elemental Evocation.

Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Light, Flora, Darkness, Plasma, Psion, Life, and other subcategories of these main elements such as shadow magic or poison magic.

Human mages, for the most part, stuck to Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Plasma elements. Any darkness based magic or poison magic were forbidden. In fact, there were also some other forbidden elements and subcategories that Arch-Magus Balthazar had hinted toward, but had never elaborated upon. As for the other elements, most mages, even Luke, had so little affinity that they could not grasp it or even use it.

The advent of the Magi War had left deep impressions upon the descendant mages of Shail Kingdom and the many other kingdoms in Valian Continent. Justice was harsh and fast. Death would be the only result for mages who practiced darkness and other forbidden elemental evocations.

Of course, it was not only Elemental Evocation that had its restrictions. Even the other three magic systems—Enchantments, Divination, and Conjuration—had their restrictions.

Arriving at the front of the headquarters, Luke and Diedrich awaited for the arrival of the other nine members in Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division. The name of their squadron sounded rather amusing to Luke. It sounded impressive in the beginning, before becoming a “what the ashes does that even mean” type of expression at the end.

Surprisingly or perhaps not surprisingly, Luke was not the first member to arrive.

Leaning against the statue of Founder Kasnov Shail was one of the three women he had seen in Commander Respen's office. If he remembered correctly, the woman with the long scarlet hair and cold grey eyes was Knight Lucy. She looked silent and very imposing with her black steel armor and the plain white tabard which denoted her rank as a Knight.

It was somewhat embarrassing, but now that Luke thought upon it, he regretted not trying to learn all he could about the military system and ranks before coming here. Judging from what he had seen, perhaps ranks of knights and above wore black steel armor. Luke wasn't too sure since Commander Respen had not been in his armor, and was only wearing a white tunic.

Some minutes passed by before all ten members of Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division were gathered in front of headquarters. To his surprise, the person who was to lead their squadron was Knight Captain Theos, the guard he had met earlier today.

And as was expected, Commander Respen arrived on time. Very, very sharply. With his cool face, the commander stood before all ten members of Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division, calmly eyeing all the ten members whom he thought were the most troublesome.

Luke quickly stepped forward, speaking in low tones with Commander Respen about Diedrich being a newly manifested mage.

“Very well, I shall take care of it at the next convenience.” Commander Respen turned toward Diedrich. “Wait for me inside the headquarters by the counter.”

Diedrich nodded, quickly obeying the imposing Commander Respen.

Luke went back into line, knowing that eyes were upon him. He was beginning to regret not imposing upon Commander Respen about Diedrich earlier.

“You are all troublesome creatures,” Commander Respen began.

Luke dryly smiled to himself in his mind, while on the outside appeared attentive and calm. It seemed to him that the ten members of the squadron had been lowered to creatures, no longer even humans. He wondered just how troublesome the other members of his squadron were.

“And I know all nine of you do not fit along with the members of the original squadrons each of you belonged in. All nine of you are always giving me headaches. Each morning I wake up, I think to myself. Will these nine people give me more troubles? What will today bring me? Will my hair turn white at this rate?”

Commander Respen continued. “Thus, I have assigned all nine of you, including the new troublemaker that has appeared into the newly created Miscellaneous Divison. For your first task, and be thankful for this, Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division will be helping the some squadrons of the Peacekeeping Division to get rid of a headache that has been slowly building up.”

He paused for a moment. “Your task, effective immediately, is to help the Knight Centurion that has been assigned near Valve City, about 50 miles west of here. There has been reports of dark elf raiders and goblins working together in that region—an unprecedented event. It almost makes me doubt whether the reports are true, but they come from genuine sources. Finally, Knight Captain Theos will be squadron leader and you may ask him for further information. That will be all.” Commander Respen left, without even one backward glance, heading into headquarters.

Knight Captain Theos walked forward from the line, before turning backward and facing the nine members of Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Divison. He gave a slight grin. “Well, you heard the boss. But before we get to work, introduce yourself out loud, since we have unfamiliar faces among us. We shall start from my left and then move to the right.”

Luke became somewhat regretful. If the introduction started from the left of the line, it meant that he would be the last one to introduce himself. He should have just lined up in the center, instead of lining up at the end.

The first three to introduce themselves were the three women Luke had seen in Commander Respen's office.

“First Grade Officer Kali, present!”

“First Grade Officer Elasha, present!”

“Knight Lucy, present!”

“Knight Mervin, present!”

“First Grade Officer Edward, rank 7 mage, present!”

“Second Grade Officer Safrik, present ~” he said lazily.

“Knight Tully, rank 8 mage, present!”

“First Grade Officer Bridget, present!”

Finally, it was Luke's turn. He was surprised at there being two mages in the squadron, and furthermore Knight Tully was a rank 8 mage but nowhere did she look like a sixteen year old. No doubt, she must have chosen to take a military path instead of advancing her mage ranks.

Luke nudged forward a little. He knew what to say for the beginning since every rank seven mage that took up their two year military duties began with First Grade Officer. As for the ending, he was somewhat hesitant. Oh well, it was useless to think of such things now.

“First Grade Officer Luke, rank 14 mage, present!”

Almost instantly, Luke could feel the energy of the curious stares of the other members in his squadron. It was one thing to see a mage in black robes, but a whole entire different thing to actually see your suspicions being confirmed.

A rank 14 mage—a Magus-Lord.

Just what was a Magus-Lord doing here?

No doubt, these were the thoughts churning inside the minds of the members of Independent Squadron 0 of the Miscellaneous Division.

With a finger, Luke rubbed at his chin as if that action could stem the tide of curious stares directed at him. He sighed inwardly to himself. This was why he did not like the outside world. He wished himself back in the Magi Towers and for the silent, familiar solace he was always used to.

“As you all know by now, I am Knight Captain Theos. It doesn't bother me if you are informal and just call me Theos.” He smiled at each of his nine subordinates. “Well now, shall we go kick the asses of some dark elf bastards, bitches, and some smelly green goblins?”

“A question, Knight Captain Theos,” Second Grade Officer Safrik asked lazily.

“Proceed, Second Grade Officer Saffrik.”

“Are you a virgin?” Second Grade Officer Safrik asked, his voice becoming serious.

“...”

Knight Captain Theos fell short, becoming silent for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter and grins. “That's a good joke, Second Grade Officer Safrik. I feel that you and I, we will get along fine like two bottles of wine.”

“No, no, captain. I am quite serious. I am deeply interested in you.”

“...”

A long moment passed.

“That was just a joke, of course, Knight Captain Theos. ~”

“...”

 <><><><><>

As each member were busy preparing to leave, gathering their personal items, armor, and weapons, Luke stood at the headquarters courtyard, his hand shaking. He was not shaking in fear, but in anger.

He had finally remembered to read the sealed letter given to him by Arch-Magus Balthazar.

Dear Luke,

My adopted and virgin eighteen year old son. Using some of my influences and connections, I have created a whole new division in the military just for you. It is called the Miscellaneous Division. I wanted to also add Virgin before the Miscellaneous Division, but sadly, I was harangued for that, and my idea was harshly rejected.

Nonetheless, I am sure the women in your squadron are quite beautiful, if a bit troublesome. Trust me, I personally checked. And were I younger, I would definitely try to court these women. Ohohoho ~

Anyway, I believe your time in the squadron and the military will give you some new perspectives.

PS: Don't come back before at least sleeping with one of the women.

PPS: It's not my fault if you get caught, since the military frowns upon such things.

Finally, at the bottom of the letter, as if to further his anger, there was a crudely drawn image of a lecherous, grinning face of an old man.

“DAMN IT, OLD MAN. SO THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT?” Luke shouted into the air, garnering the attentions of some of the passerby. With one hand, he had already crumpled the letter into a ball. 

<><><><><>

Author's Note: 

Yes, this is the second main character in my story. Bet you didn't expect that, eh? I have also reworked the entire magic systems, military structure, well, basically a whole lot of reworked and improved items.

As usual, hoped you enjoy reading the chapter.

Also to give you a measure of future plot, dragons and other Greater Races / Ancient Beings will be included later on in the plot.