Chapter 30

The day was unusually warm and pleasant, a direct antithesis of the interaction happening in front of Kalex. “You are no son of mine.” Kalex’s mother scoffed. “You will be dropped from the Empire effective immediately and barred from using the Wounder name in any capacity. You will be tried to the fullest extent of the Empire if found otherwise.” Kalex’s mother turned to the Elder and regarded her with the same look she gave Kalex. “You may take him now, this meeting is over.”

Tora was a shining example of duty, giving no signs of being slighted. “A verbal response from both of you is needed to take the Seer into my custody. Please express your sentiment so I may convey your intentions to the Sages.” The Elder said professionally as Kalex’s mother rolled her eyes. “I, Illaxia Wounder, allow you to take charge of the Seer as I relinquish any and all custodial rights to you and the Council.” Young Kalex stopped his weeping as the statement fell on his ears, his expression a mask of disbelief. Unshed tears welled in Kalex’s eyes as his father took a step forward. “I, Emperor Phenex Wounder, denounce this man as a member of the Wounder Empire and surrender him fully into the Council’s charge.”

Hearing the last words of his parents for a second time caused deep emotions that he’d hidden away to begin to bubble back to the surface. Kalex worked past this meeting long ago, but seeing it again from the outside and witnessing how it affected his younger self wrenched his gut. Thoughts of his years of seclusion to finally understand his parent’s actions started to invade his mind. Luckily, the figure of himself and his parents fell away in a fog, leaving his world in darkness. His sullen mood quickly turned into fright as he blinked his eyes and found himself back in one of the most traumatizing places he’d ever been. He was back in the dungeons underneath the Sage’s Citadel.

The dungeons were Kalex’s home for only a few days, but since then, he’d never experienced anything as unnerving. The room he was thrown into was a damp affair that was draped in complete darkness when the door was shut. He remembered that during his stay, he was not given food or water and essentially left to rot. At this point, Kalex didn’t rely on sustenance as much as non-Seers did, but that had to do with his energy reserves being inflated compared to the general population. In the dungeon, however, his internal energy was acting as if it wasn’t his, with it seemingly wanting to evacuate his body anytime he attempted to use it. The pure willpower it took to keep his myst from flitting away ran his mind ragged but kept him occupied for the duration of his stay. Kalex cringed as he thought about what he had to overcome throughout the next couple of days as Elder Tora started walking towards the stairs leading to the main building, the memory following her.

The memory became veiled in darkness as the surroundings changed. A large room came into view as a dense fog dissipated leaving a vaulted ceiling adorned with various portraits of Beerian warriors engaged in battle. Although the artwork was pristine and regal, a half-moon table, carved from pitch-colored wood was the focal point of the room, with seven seats on its periphery. Each seat was occupied by an ancient being full of wrinkles and strands of grey hair that could be counted with two hands. Despite their feeble appearances, the aura they gave off felt domineering and discernably malicious.

Tora kneeled in front of the table in silence for longer than necessary. “Seer,” one of the Sages spat. “you come before us in an attempt to spare the Seer of his judgment.” Tora lifted her head, careful to not look directly at the Sage who spoke.

“Yes, honored Sage. I would like to use my title as the Elder Seer to establish the new Wounder Seer as the caretaker of my previous post.” The Sages became quiet as the six outer Sages looked towards the one sitting in the middle. “You know what that entails, Tora. To give up your post is to render your life forfeit. What are your motives to do as such?” Tora bowed her head in the direction of the Sages.

“I have lived as the Elder Seer for more units than I could’ve hoped for, but I fear my time is coming to an end. The Council has done well with a Seer of Wounder as its Elder, and I believe Kalex is the only one powerful enough to inherit the mantle. I request he be sent to my original designation to be vetted for the title; I do hold regret, however. As his educator, I feel remiss that I will not have the ability to see his growth, or continue to guide him through the treacherous road of becoming the Elder.” As the central Sage opened his mouth to speak, everyone looked upwards as a high-pitched tone rang throughout the room and the temperature dropped, showing plumes of shuttering breath leaving the mouths of all present.

Tora tried to avert her gaze as the central Sage began levitating a full rod over the table, but was unable to. With the scene in front of her and the ongoing sound that almost felt physical, she knew this was out of the ordinary and something to pay attention to. The spectacle ended as soon as it began, with the Sage falling the distance in an uncoordinated flailing of limbs. Gaining his composure a moment later, he spoke in a clipped and controlled way.

“Revelation has been received.” He said, turning towards Tora. “I will grant your petition with a caveat.” The Sage laced his wiry fingers together and nodded. “We still have use for you, so you will not be put down, but will continue your service to us until Kal is able to perform to our standards, which at that point will be your end.” The Sage exuded his presence, causing the air to thicken. “If Kal takes any false steps, you will be the one to clean up the mess and will take any and all punishments associated with any crime he commits. Those are the terms.” Kalex saw Tora blanch at the words of the Sage. Schooling her appearance, she bowed deeper.

“I accept those terms, honored Sage. May I return to the cells and escort Kalex to the Nurdle preserve?” The Sage frowned and sat down with the other Sages. “You may not, there is paperwork to be done. Now that he is detached from the Wounder Empire, I expect you to write and call him by his non-royal name. Without the backing of the Empire, he will be referred to as Kal Graves. I advise you to educate him on this change on your way to the preserve. Allow a few days for a messenger to gather you. This meeting is concluded.” Tora bowed again and turned toward the gilded doors of the room as the memory folded in on itself, covering Kalex’s vision in white light.

Kalex came back to himself in the same position he had entered the memory in and couldn’t help but gasp for air. It felt like he had been holding his breath for far too long. As he calmed down his breathing, the content of the memory came into the forefront of his mind. In his recollection, he had just stayed in the dungeons for a few days and was whisked to the Nurdle preserve, he didn’t know he was so close to death. The thought of the Elder saving him caused the dense ambient myst in the cave to swirl without direction.

Wild conflicted emotions stormed through Kalex. His killer had saved him on both planets he'd inhabited. Although the burl he held regarding his tutor and guardian remained wound tight, the memory he’d seen began to loosen it. Elder Tora had never called him anything other than Kalex which was directly against the words of the Sages. But the last name he was supposed to have made his heart skip a beat. Graves. The name given to exiled royals who no longer had the right to carry their family name.

Although Kalex was one of the smartest people on Diat, He’d never heard that name before. Being royalty had its perks, but also its demerits. He had full reign of the study material housed in the Empire, but he was oblivious to the workings of the world outside of royalty. When he escaped the Nurdles and made his way out in the world, he made it a habit to not talk to many others. One reason was that he seldom found conversation exciting. The majority revolved around money, which when spending most of your life surrounded by wealth, didn’t pique his interest. After coming out of seclusion and making his way into a town, he preferred to take the reclusive avenue of interaction, with speaking to the patrons of his artificer shop as his main source of conversation.

Thoughts of Lyla and Tora having the same last name that he technically had made his mind spiral. Kalex knew Tora was from Empire-controlled land, so there couldn’t be any other royalty in which she could be disgraced. “Could it be? No. It must only be a coincidence. She said that that name was given to her when she arrived here.” Kalex nodded to himself. “Definitely a coincidence.”

A hand with slightly disfigured fingers and old scars tapped Kalex on the shoulder. “Hey Kalex,” Timik spoke in a tone dripping with worry. “Your rock has been talking to me for the past few days, mostly telling me to prepare. He went quiet about a day ago, but asked me to tell you to take hold of the moist geyser and make a bubble around the Realm, or something like that. I couldn’t really pay attention, I was nursing a broken thumb.” Kalex’s eyes went to slits at Timik’s words. “Don’t look at me like that! Making weapons from scratch is hard work!”

Timik’s words made Kalex consider a few things. “Wait, making weapons? Who are you making them for? Actually, how are you making them?” Kalex looked around the walls of the cave and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “Did you find metal somewhere outside of the cave?” A grin adorned Timik’s face as his eyes gleamed.

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“Oh Kalex, you can tell that you grew up in the Realm of Seeds. I was pretty high ranking in the Anvils due to my abilities.” Timik held his hand out and squinted his eyes in concentration. Kalex could feel Timik’s myst congregating in his outstretched hand and cocked his head back as a hammer began to slowly appear. “From a young age, I was always able to conjure a hammer, it was almost second nature from the moment I felt the call of metal. With my hammer in my hand, I could find metal in almost anything. I could make eating utensils from a handful of dirt or a dagger from a few stones. Now that Lex gave me a window to my soul, I can now see that it’s called a skill.” Timik stepped forward so that the light beaming from the entrance of the cave could highlight the smug look on his face. As Timik tripped on his own feet, Kalex took a peek into his status.

Name: Timik Bysmorth

Race: Human (Enternia)

Rank: Silver Seer

Maturity: 133/200

Path: Omnismith (Adept)

Vitality: 700/700

Myst: 3,050/3,100

Strength: 50 (Wounder’s Embrace)

Wisdom: 4 (Wounder’s Embrace)

Agility: 26 (Wounder’s Embrace)

Charisma: 15 (Wounder’s Embrace)

Luck: 89 (Wounder’s Embrace)

Skills:

-Bound Hammer of Many: Using internal myst reserves, a hammer worthy of forging any metallic substance equal to user’s rank can be summoned at will.

-Dexterous Bloomery: Remove, filter, and condense pure metal from any substance containing metal. Amount and type of metal depend on the material used.

-Anvil of Retainment: Projects an anvil only the user can see and interact with. Durability matches user's rank and is repaired upon banishment.

Kalex’s eyes slowly wandered upwards from the window in front of him. Meeting his speechless look, Timik conjured an invisible anvil and leaned onto it. “Pretty neat, right? I used to only be able to bring up a hammer and taking metal out of things took forever and was tiring, but thanks to Lex, that changed! I can take metal out of anything and it happens in only a few swings. The ghost anvil is new though. Lex told me that I had always been able to do that and I just didn’t know how. After he dropped a piece of ice in my brain, I was able to figure it out!”

In his flabbergasted state, Kalex mentally asked Lex to give some information on the Skills Timik had. After a moment with no answer, Kalex asked again and received a strained response. “Mr. Wounder. If you would, please.” Turning towards the pedestal by the entrance of the cave, Kalex could see the glass-like Lex deep within a humming pillar of myst. Without a second thought, Kalex spread his presence into the glowing beam that had bore a massive hole in the ceiling and the stone above.

A weight similar to what he felt when in Everblade City immediately fell onto him. The weight wasn’t physical, but it was as if a mountain had been placed directly onto his wavering presence. A series of tones echoed throughout the cave as the strain was lifted from Lex. “Mr. Wounder, I’ve noticed multiple disturbances in the myst of the planet. I believe that the Lumen who ordered Scyris away is keeping his word. I manually removed you from the Elder’s memory so you could not only assist in the protection of your Realm, but all of Enternia. With the beacon at your command, you must generate a field of protection against the Lumen. If my estimates are correct, all four of them will arrive within an hour. Your new citizens are relying on you.”

Kalex’s mind was bursting with questions about what was going on, but although Lex’s words sounded calm and controlled, a spike of urgency shot through his body. Focusing on the beacon he was controlling, Kalex started to exude his presence through it, and because it was his own myst, the process went without issue. He could see more than he ever had before. It was as if everything on the entire planet could fit within a glance. Peering upwards gave him a sense of vertigo as the beacon didn’t stop at the atmosphere, but seemed to pierce the darkness beyond. With an odd sensation of having dirt in his eye, Kalex’s attention was directed towards four spots of incredibly potent myst.

Fear crept up his spine as he thought about the threat the Lumen boss had given him. In a similar sense to the fear he experienced when testing with the Eclipse Moon, he feared not for himself, but the others around him. With a flex of his willpower, an aspected shield of myst formed. He attempted to make it surround the planet, but was only able to cover his new Realm and the majority of the Realm of Seeds.

It would have to be enough, for the Lumen were already upon it.

—

The introduction of a new Realm had a resounding effect on the other Realms of Enternia, namely the Realm of Seeds in which the new Realm was taking residence in. There were droves of people who came through the various cities from other Realms hoping to be able to join. With the influx of people, merchants and royalty were the ones to make out like bandits. Everyone needed to eat and replenish supplies, but when they entered Grangardd, most were looking for something else entirely.

“Mix Bags! Get your Mix Bags here!” A crier yelled over the crowds in a bustling corner of the Grangardd exchange. “If bags aren’t your fancy, we can Mix something to your liking!” A large stand housing four individuals stood in the location everyone who sold their wares vied for, with a line stretching through the entire exchange. Not only did the long line assist with sales in other stalls, it gave the exchange an air of excitement. Buskers played music, bakeries wafted the scents of their delicacies into the street and laughter and smiles filled almost everyone’s faces.

A group of six men, draped in weather-worn cloaks were among those who didn’t let the upbeat atmosphere of the exchange damper their sullen auras as they walked towards the Mix’s storefront. Shouts were directed towards the group as the people patiently waiting in line noticed them skipping ahead. A glint of the eye of one of the people in the group stopped anything further than yelling at them from occurring. As they reached the stall and pushed the customers away, the man in charge of the group slammed a gloved hand on the counter. “Your bags. All of them.” The man demanded in a voice lined with gravel.

A young lady wearing common clothes and a smile greeted the group. “I’m very sorry sir, but you’ll have to wait in line like everyone else. I’ll be happy to serve you when it’s your turn. Just so you know, the standard Mix bags are 30 silvers each, and any custom order will take a day and cost an even goldie!” Sorene said with a smile that put most customers at ease when learning the price of her wares.

The five other men surrounded the counter and the leader spoke again. “I was not asking. Every bag. Place them on the counter. The bags or your life.” The cloaks the men wore began to shift as if the wind acted on their accord. Sorene took a step back to stand beside her mother while focusing on the man who spoke to get an idea of how powerful he was. The edges of her mouth gently curled into a small smirk. “Only a Silver. There’s one more Silver and the rest are Copper.”

Sorene spoke to the man who seemed to be sleeping upon a small barrel in the corner of the stall. “Elder, if you’d be so kind.” The Elder’s fists instantly gleamed. Polished metal encased his hands but didn’t hamper his coordination. The crier in the stall swiftly moved to cordon off the area and make sure none of the patrons were caught in the oncoming crossfire.

Arla turned to Sorene with a look composed of an equal amount of concern and knowing. “Lookin’ that this is the third group of ruffians we’ve had today, dontcha think it’s about time to take Lex up on that offer?” Sorene turned to her mother and gave a nod. “For sure. It’ll be a lot safer and who knows what would happen if the Elder didn’t offer to help with security. There are no more special orders, so once we get through this line, we pack and leave. The cart should get us there before mid-day tomorrow.”

The Mix’s finished their packing and started their journey towards the bright beacon that lit the Realm in a muted blue light. With both of them too excited to sleep, they zipped through the forest paths to their destination. The morning had come and gone as they approached the new Realm and were surprised at the number of people they could see gathered around an area in front of what seemed to be a small cave entrance. Most were working on felling trees and smoothing the ground and all looked content.

A blue shadow moved over everyone in attendance and the previously joyous faces turned serious. Sorene heard her mother scream as the cart came to a jarring stop. Standing in front of the cart was Lex, waving at them with a palpable looseness. “It’s a pleasure to see that you made it, but please stay in your cart for now as we are currently under attack.” Lex’s voice echoed like a soft breeze in their skulls. “There is nothing to fear as precautions have been put in place to assure the safety of everyone here.” Sorene nodded and her mother did the same. They trusted Kalex and the area they found themselves in felt safe. The blue shadow didn’t feel constraining or stuffy, but as caring as an embrace.

A high-frequency staccato marred that idea somewhat as the attack started. Ripples could be seen in the sky and the world around them shimmered as if heat was rising from the ground. Anxiety crept into everyone present as none could look away from the barrier protecting them. A tense moment passed before the hollow thumps abruptly ceased, immediately followed by a familiar voice that echoed through the dome.

“HALT YOUR ATTACK! THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER WARNING!” Kalex’s voice carried as if he was speaking directly in everyone’s ear. Sorene tapped her mother on the shoulder to get her attention. “He sounds powerful, but I didn’t realize how boyish his voice sounds.” Arla looked dumbfounded for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Sorene was only able to chuckle before the pounding resumed. As the air turned thick and the ambient myst became turbulent, Sorene and Arla ducked back into the cart and put a blanket over themselves, just to be on the safe side.