Three Years Ago

Thaddeus Verinitos stood at the center of a giant stone diagram in a ritual chamber far beneath the earth. He marked the end of his studies at the Mage's Academy in Telestria today. Or at least that's what he hoped for. The stone diagram was composed of seven nested circles around him. There were many ways to progress through the magical ranks, but the magisters at the academy only accepted one way—a display of mastery.

He fidgeted while he waited for the magisters to complete final preparations, wiping sweating palms on his school robes. The grand testing chamber was a monumental structure buried deep within an underground complex. He heard from some academy graduates that advancing to the higher circles of magic was not always a smooth process, so the testing chamber was under the sea floor, just off the coast.

The magisters stood around the stone diagram to observe and record the results. The senior magister spoke once all preparations were complete and a barrier snapped into place around the diagram, shielding the observers from him.

"Student Thaddeus. Today you test for mastery of the first circle. In order to progress and be recognized as a true mage, you must show your mastery at least seven cantrips associated with no circle, all seven spells within the first circle, and finally, you must reach into the second circle with a single spell. You may begin whenever you are ready."

All his time spent studying and practicing the intricacies of spellcraft was about to pay off. This moment was what he had been working toward. All he had to do was pace himself. Two years of study culminated in this moment.

First, he worked his way through the cantrips. There were a multitude of spell effects to choose from, but Thaddeus was more interested in flexible utility than he was in showing off. Many of his peers had chosen combat cantrips. They were truly short-sighted. A flexible, easy-to-cast spell would go much farther than a simple combat cantrip that was, in most cases, inferior to simple tools and weapons. Not to mention that there were combat spells in the first circle.

One by one, he cast his cantrips. Sparks of electricity appeared in his hands. A loud boom issued forth from his palms. He conjured a small jet of water. A small metal orb levitated around his head. He summoned a map of Telestria. A small flame appeared above his hand. A ball of light manifested over his shoulder.

As the orb of light faded, the stone platform he stood on in the center of the diagram lit up. It indicated he had mastered at least seven cantrips.

Next, he moved on to the spells of the first circle. Each one was far more complicated than the simple cantrips he had chosen. These seven spells were the only spells in the first circle. There were technically other spells in the same tier as the first circle, but these were the only seven taught in Telestria. Thaddeus had friends who went to different academies and learned other spells for their first circle advancement. When he had asked his professors about the differences, they had all spouted the same line about "proper foundations."

Each spell required focus to craft and a phrase or word to activate. Thaddeus spoke these words and wove these spells as he moved down the list with practiced efficiency. Each spell he cast lit a rune on the stone around him.

A fire bolt blasted into the stone with a muttered word. A physical barrier appeared on his skin. The counterpart to the previous spell activated, and he layered the effect with a magical barrier. A flash of light came next, and the defenses around the stone diagram flashed, protecting the magisters from temporary blindness. A glowing husk appeared over his right shoulder—the beginnings of a familiar binding spell. A wind from nowhere swept over the diagram with the sixth spell.

His breath was growing labored. It was hard to use this many spells back to back. He had two more to go, but they were the hardest yet.

He constructed the seventh spell of the first circle in his mind. It was unsteady and wavering, but he clamped down on his own will, and it stabilized. He grunted as he pushed mana into the spell. A hunk of rock appeared in the air in front of him. With another effort of will, he shot it away.

The rock hit the barrier surrounding the ritual diagram, and the first ring outside his platform lit. Thaddeus could have fallen over with relief. Summon Stone always seemed to give him the most trouble, even if it wasn't technically the most complex spell. His challenge wasn't complete yet, however, so he kept his resolve and focus alive. To complete the assessment, he needed to reach beyond the first circle and craft a second circle spell.

The second circle spell was the most difficult due to its complexity, but it was one he had a great affinity for.

He dug deep, drawing on the wellspring of power inside of himself. His mana was thin, but he had enough for one more powerful spell.

The second circle spell he had chosen combined wind and magical barrier effects. Its official name was "Wind Mantle," but many called it "Wind Armor" or "Storm Armor." Technically, "Storm Armor" was a fourth-circle spell, but not many people ever called upon the fourth circle.

He drew the spell together, focusing on the form in his mind. He forced every strand of imagined spell structure to solidify, pushing the dregs of his mana into it. Holding the filled spell tightly in his mind, he spoke the activation word.

Around him, the air spun into an invisible suit of armor. A magister obliged by sending a cantrip water spell at him. The short burst of water was pulled apart by his armor and scattered. Not a single drop made it to Thaddeus.

A single rune in the second circle lit up, indicating the mastery of that spell. With that, the first circle locked into a yellow glow. By taking components and concepts from first-circle spells and combining them into a second-circle spell, he confirmed his mastery of the first circle.

He released his hold on mana and sagged. Breathing hard, a thrill shot through him. He felt tired but victorious.

"Congratulations, student Thaddeus! Your hard work and diligence have paid off. We are happy to welcome you into the magical world as a first circle mage, with all the rights and privileges that entails," the lead magister said. "You are considered a graduate of the academy, and you may choose to continue your studies here to advance through the next circle, or you may take your learnings out into the world to make your own way. All we ask is that you consider the choices ahead of you before deciding."

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Thaddeus thanked the magisters and began the long walk back to his mentor, who was anxiously waiting in his office on the academy grounds. He passed a long line of other students waiting their turn for testing and nodded at a few he knew. Some students who finished successfully would pass the line whooping and celebrating, but he didn't want to rub his success into anyone's face. Not everyone had an easy time mastering all the spells in the first tier.

The problem was that the first tier encompassed a variety of effects, and it was rare to have an affinity with more than one. Thaddeus happened to have a wind-based affinity. It allowed him an easier time with the first circle wind spell and the Wind Mantle. At the same time, it made the first circle earth spell almost impossible. He wasn't compatible with something about the spell.

Many would-be mages couldn't overcome that incompatibility. It left them in an awkward position—capable of using magic but not officially mages. Only those who graduated from an academy and were formally recognized as mages were allowed to use magic for profit in the empire. Some left to try their luck at other academies, and some enrolled for a repeat of the first year with one or two more advanced classes. Some left altogether.

Thaddeus had never heard of anyone getting arrested for unlicensed magical practice, but he was sure it probably happened occasionally, given the number of failures each year.

It took a while to make it back to the academy. Walking to the magical platforms that brought him back to the city proper took time, and there was a wait to get on the platforms. Testing day was always a busy time. When he finally arrived, he found Professor Ti'el waiting in his office, reading a book.

He stood when Thaddeus entered. "Well?"

Thaddeus couldn't hold back his grin anymore. He barely made the entire walk back without breaking into a giddy run.

"I did it! Pulled off Wind Mantle easily!"

"Haha! Congratulations, my young student. You didn't have too much trouble with Summon Stone?"

"It was shaky, but I managed it on the first try. Once that first circle lit up, the relief was unbelievable."

The Professor patted him on the back and squeezed his shoulder.

"Well, you're a mage in your own right now! Come, sit. I would share a drink with our newest first circle mage."

Once settled, each with a drink in hand, Ti'el steered the conversation to the topic Thaddeus knew his mentor wanted to discuss. The man had invited him to be a magical research assistant, but Thad had other ideas.

"What are you doing next, Thad? I know you wished to return to a simpler life outside the city. Is that still your intention?"

"It is, ultimately. I think. But I was approached by a group from Amailesh. They've asked if I wish to study there for a time."

He hadn't told Ti'el about the offer, knowing that the Professor would jump on his consideration of that offer to redouble his own recruiting efforts. To his surprise, Ti'el responded quite positively.

"That would be a good opportunity for you. You won't find more powerful mages anywhere in the empire. The only complication is that most higher-circle mages in the City of Gold are priests."

"Yes...I'm not too keen on learning more about the Living God, to be frank."

Ti'el sat forward in his chair. "You know we are aligned on this. The religions, and even the school magisters, repress magical freedom and horde knowledge. It's one of the reasons I run my research the way I do. All findings were published for anyone in the empire to read freely—magician, magister, or pauper. I think it's a good idea to study in Amailesh, nonetheless. If you do go, I have a request of you."

"Something about overthrowing the tyrannical hold that the priests have over knowledge? Spread their knowledge to the far corners of the empire, perhaps? Teach those without magic what it is? Guide them to academies?"

Ti'el laughed. "All good guesses, but no. I want to change the world, but my plans are half-baked at best. I have something else for you. A project for your journey, if you're interested. It's something the mages and priests in Amailesh might be able to help with."

Now it was Thaddeus' turn to lean forward in his chair. He narrowed his eyes at his mentor. They had first bonded over a shared mistrust of the very organization they learned from and served, not to mention their suspicion about the motivation of the church of the Living God. In all the time they had known each other, Ti'el had never mentioned any extra projects that the priests might be able to help with.

"Now I have to know."

Ti'el smiled, reached into a drawer in his desk, and pulled out a lockbox. He removed a key from his shirt and unlocked the box. Inside that box was another box that opened with a whispered word. Inside the second box was a pouch, and inside the pouch was a key.

Thaddeus raised an eyebrow.

Ti'el inserted the key into the air nearby and turned it. A door swung open in the air, revealing the interior of a small metal container. Inside, on a miniature pedestal, was a black stone. Ti'el grabbed it and pulled it out.

It was black, and the size of a walnut, jagged with indentations like many objects had struck it many times.

"What is it?"

"This, my dear student, is a piece of history. Do you know much about the fall of Old Livia?"

"No sir, I've honestly never even been as far north as Amailesh, let alone the valley. I only know the barest history. It was a great magical empire that fell around 400 years ago. Destroyed by some great calamity."

"You have a great deal of it. One of the key mysteries has always been 'how.' How could such an advanced magical civilization fall so quickly? How was the entire valley destroyed? My colleagues and I think we might have discovered the answer."

Ti'el held out the stone for Thaddeus to take. Thaddeus took the stone with a bit of trepidation. Contrary to what he thought before, the stone was a hunk of metal and heavier than he would have guessed.

"You think this hunk of metal destroyed an entire empire, and you're just casually handing it to a fresh mage of the first circle?"

Ti'el laughed. "No, no, no. The metal is key, but we believe they were mining it. Under certain conditions, the metal can become extremely magically reactive. We believe that some kind of magical resonance through the metal essentially caused an entire mountainside to erupt. We're not interested in that resonance because it is only destructive. What little we know about Old Livia is that the empire was powerful and, most importantly, peaceful. They wouldn't have wanted or needed something that could so easily become a weapon. So, what we don't know and are very curious about, is what they used this metal for."

"And you want me to find out?"

"I want you to think about it. You may only be a first-circle mage, but you're one of the keenest minds I've ever taught, Thaddeus. Take the stone and see if you can figure out why the Livians mined the metal in the first place. Consult with some of the great minds in Amailesh, and make your own hypotheses. Someday, you can return to Telestria and tell me what you have discovered."

"You don't need it to study?"

Ti'el laughed again. "Once we discovered what this metal was and discovered the destructive resonance, we knew what to look for. It's all over the valley. I have plenty more to study; I just don't keep it in my office."

"Is it safe to carry around?"

"Quite! We've discovered that destructive resonance is only possible with a piece about two to three times the mass of that one. Besides, the resonance is not easy to induce. We're still investigating how they could have accidentally caused an entire mountain's worth to detonate at once. It should be perfectly safe for you to take."

Thaddeus shrugged and pulled out a spare empty coin pouch. He dropped the hunk of metal inside and put it in a pocket.

"Why the whole charade with the key inside a box inside a box thing?"

"That's a special dimensional space key. I need to keep it locked up so I don't open it accidentally. Most of the act is, admittedly, just for show," Ti'el grinned.

Thaddeus laughed. "Alright, Professor. I'll take it and see what I can figure out."

"Good, good. If you figure out anything about the stone, we'll include you in the paper on it. It could be your ticket into academia if you're interested."

Thaddeus liked teaching people and probably wouldn't turn down such a position if offered, but right now, he just wanted to explore the world a little. His first step would be a trip to Amailesh, the legendary City of Gold.