The carriage only made it a few blocks away from the estate before Alix gave a sharp knock on its roof, signaling the driver to stop. They hadn’t passed through the gate yet, but Alix wasn’t going back to his home in Cityside.
And he definitely couldn’t entrust his real location to a driver called by his mother.
He exited the carriage into an unremarkable street, waving for the driver to keep the fare for the entire trip. Alix hadn’t paid it, after all. There was still a light drizzle, but nothing to dissuade him. The water dripping onto his borrowed oilcloth coat only added weight to his every step, pushing up badly-paved streets to where his goal lay.
With clouds darkening the sky, the building was bathed in a grey light when Alix arrived. It was one of many houses in a large, compact cityblock—one of the types that would’ve had a park inside it if it were in Lacurna proper. All the housefronts looked decrepit and disused with boarded-over windows—his quarry included. But he knew better than to make assumptions based on the outer pretenses.
Now that he was here, he could check the address on a dirty marking-stone situated just at the front of the property. It matched. Isha had directed him well and she was none the wiser to his goal, he hoped. Still, It would pay to keep serruptitious.
So, gingerly, he stepped up and gave a knock on the decaying door of the establishment. There was a tense few moments as nothing happened. Alix could hear nothing at all behind the door. Then it whipped inwards, not letting Alix get a good look at the dark interior before something grabbed and pulled him inside. Alix barely had time to process the heavy slam of the door before he was plunged into the darkness.
Alix regained his feet quickly, keeping his backside off the ground. He’d been turned completely blind, though, and threw his head around wildly trying to figure out what was going on. I’ve been taken inside, obviously, and whoever assailed me has released their grip. They’re probably disoriented by the dark as well, though why they caused it… Nevermind, they probably don’t want to hurt me, not after inviting me here.
Unless it was all just some elaborate ploy to get him killed. Alix very carefully ignored that prospect. And besides, it wasn’t inkeeping with any of Karsus’ previous behaviour.
“Stop flailing around, you look like a fool.” The voice belonged to the person who’d taken him, of that Alix was sure. It was a distorted but vaguely feminine voice, coming from the darkness around him. But what made Alix freeze was that she could see him. Magic, once again operating completely outside what Alix believed was possible. He should’ve realised that it was normally impossible to get a space so dark, and that nobody would purposefully blind themself for an interrogation.
“I was told to come here,” he said hesitantly, unable to decide what direction to address the speaker in, “by a man named Karsus.” He could’ve explained more, but it felt prudent to simply state the most important facts.
“Oh, Alix Lanyura,” she said, seeming eerily amused by the sound of the name, “Of course. Though I imagined you would never show.”
What’s that supposed to mean? Though of course, whoever this was didn’t know him half as well as she thought she did, not if she had assumed Alix would give up the chance to redeem himself for the natural science Medallion.
Alix licked his lips, then spoke, “I have a deal to ask. With him—Karsus, I mean.”
There was silence again, then her voice came from further away. It made Alix further disorientated to realise he had no clue how large the room was. It could be just as wide as his armspan, or an entire stadium.
“That’s a stupid thing to say as one so firmly within our control,” she said. Alix tried to not let his wince show externally. “What could you possibly have to offer? Barely a child, completely ignorant. I shouldn’t have wasted my time to do this—”
The darkness flickered away. Alix’s eyes watered, suddenly blinded by the light pouring off crystals set in the walls. It was a spacious bottom floor that might once have been a house, much nicer than its outside suggested. Matt blue-grey walls made the place look more decorated, but it was largely empty. Aside from doors scattered around the room and the one about two metres behind him, there was a table and set of chairs. That was it.
And it was probably a good thing that the room was so bland, because Alix could immediately ignore it to notice the woman standing a dozen feet ahead of him, arm outstretched, finger pointed. She wore an expression of painted frustration on her dark olive face. Then he noticed the open doorway behind her, where Alix spotted a familiar face—Karsus.
He stood still, eyes drilling into the back of the woman’s head, mouth moving in silent patterns. The woman twirled around to stare at him for having interrupted. Alix watched it, unsure of what to do. His headache twanged. Alix had been ignoring it throughout the day, but now it forcefully inserted itself into the front of his mind, burning inside his head. He scrunched his face up but refused to close his eyes.
There’s some deeper magic going on here, I can tell. He didn’t know how he could sense the fact, but the tension in the room was palpable, roiling off the two participants—Karsus and the woman—in waves that washed throughout the building. Alix didn’t know how he knew, but he was even more worried about how he couldn’t notice any of its effects.
“Enough,” the woman spoke, a sharp and biting voice that reverberated without the dampening effect of the darkness, “You shouldn’t test me on this. What did this child do for your support?”
Alix bristled while Karsus just remained still, just staring at her. Then in a measured voice he spoke. “Alix Lanyura is in a unique position to benefit from our… program. And we can offer him exactly what he wants in return. Reyla, you of all people know the valuable of such willing students—the kind that don’t often come our way, due to the University and its… associated agencies.”
Reyla. I swear I’ve heard that name before… And then he remembered: The girl Fallon had mentioned it in passing during his kidnapping. Something about her ‘not taking responsibility.’ Alix didn’t know what that entailed, but understood some of what Karsus was saying. He was also willing to make a deal with Alix, something that Reyla wanted to interfere with.
His path was immediately very obvious. There were two in front of him, one who wanted to give Alix what he wanted, and one who wanted to take it away.
“I accept,” he said, cutting off what was bound to be an onslaught of verbal abuse from Reyla. She turned back around to face him, glaring daggers. Alix made a mental note to infuriate her as little as possible, but there was only so much he would just sit back and take. He would need to be delicate.
“Karsus, I think you know what I mean,” he continued, “I accept your proposition, in return for you undoing your interference in my natural sciences Medallion. I only want what I should have earned.”
“Nicely said,” Karsus seemed somewhat appreciative of Alix’s guilt-tripping, “Though I really don’t have any sort of misplaced sense of sympathy for you. We might not have found Asta, true, but falsifying documents for the University is a tall order, and with your knowledge, you can still be of a definite use to us. So tell me, how attached are you to attending the University after actually gaining your Medallion?”
More attached than anything, is what he would have said just a few days ago. But now Alix wasn’t so sure. The University was the massive institution for academia situated in Crownside Lacurna, and a natural progression after graduating from a high-end school like Camherst Academy. Their research was second-to-none in the country, but that was all. Alix had read about it plenty, even visited a few times for excursions, but nothing there had explained the world-shattering demonstrations of magic that Alix had witnessed recently.
So I suppose the University really doesn’t hold a monopoly on knowledge, he mused, nor even a complete record of it. And that was a flaw he would never forgive it for.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to an alternative,” he said. Karsus grinned.
“Sharp. Come, we can clean up the details in more civil environs.” Karsus gestured for him to follow him to a different door to the left of where Alix had entered. Reyla shifted out of the way as they moved past her, but when they lay hand on the brass doorknob, she spoke.
“Lanyura, I don’t hesitate to say that I could leave you with wounds to which musket shots pale in comparison. I’m sure that one of your inclination knows, it is best to be careful when dealing with unknown variables.”
A threat. “I didn’t think it was likely you’d kill me, seeing as I’d been called here for a service I can’t provide when dead.”
“Then you are an idiot. And your faith is severely misplaced. And Karsus, I am currently the eldest. If I learn of even a single iota of failure on his behalf—” she jerked a thumb towards Alix— “then he’s gone. Finished.”
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Karsus shrugged. “Tell it to him.”
Alix blinked, staring down the woman who could end his life with a handwave. “I understand.”
They left her behind in the entrance as Karsus led him up a staircase. Alix’s heart beat fiercely in his chest the entire way. It felt like everything should be worse quality—based on the look of the outside—but the wooden stairs didn’t creak once. I swear we’ve been moving for longer than should be possible in a building this small.
Passing through a corridor that might have once belonged to an old inn, Alix followed Karsus into a humble but practical office. A table sat in front of a window—opposite the street, so it must just have a view of the block’s interior—and the room was outfitted with the typical furniture of a workplace. Filling cabinets and other assorted storage units were positioned on both sides, which Karsus strode past to take a seat behind the desk. He gestured for Alix to do the same opposite him.
“Who are you,” Alix asked, sitting down. It was a much more comfortable meeting with the man who’d taken him just a night prior, but he still needed answers. All this talk of ‘us’ and ‘we’ had set Alix on edge.
“Straight to the chase?” Karsus gave a few short ‘tut’s with his tongue. “I admire your dedication, but don’t be stupid.” He fixed Alix a gaze with his dark chestnut eyes. “To be clear: neither Fallon nor I ever intended you undue harm. We were looking for… a friend. But found you instead. The fact that you seeked us out only a day after kidnapping you from Crownside makes me think that you’re either obsessive, or just plain insane. Possibly both, but I’m leaning towards the former.”
Those… are fair complaints. Alix mentally chastised himself. Maybe I’ve been too charitable in my opinions of criminals, which these people obviously are—for kidnapping alone and who knows what else. It worked out fine though. It wasn’t a particularly comforting thought.
“Reyla, though,” Karsus continued darkly, “You’ll need to be careful around her. You heard what she said, just moments ago. If you give her reason to doubt you, then you’re out like a light. And I won’t be able to stop her.”
The symbolism of the statement was made particularly poignant after Reyla sucking all the light from a room in an instant.
“Doubt me about what?” Alix exclaimed, “What am I supposed to be doing here? You promised answers, back in that warehouse. Mother damn me if I’m not going to get them. You’re not going to hurt me? Well my ignorance might, so some explanations, please.”
Alix had added on that final plead as a regretful gesture, wary that his outburst might not be well taken. Karsus simply sat there, hands steepled against the desk. He seemed almost contemplative. He’s not angry, at least. That’s good.
Then he gave a tiny hand gesture—more decorative than necessary—and by magic a cabinet opened just out of normal reach. The room seemed to grow darker as a sheaf of paper flitted up out of the drawer and dropped slowly onto the desk. Alix leaned over to see, but couldn’t read the spiraling handwriting from upside down.
Still no Beacon, Alix thought numbly, no evident power source. The list goes on. The magic seemingly comes from nowhere. Though it couldn’t, of course. That would be truly impossible.
“I can only tell you how it works if you sign this contract,” he says. Alix was immediately wary.
“What for? Why do you need to bind me to explain anything?”
He gives him a blank look. “Because it’s secret.”
Right, I think I already understood that, thanks.
“Let me elaborate,” Karsus continues, seeing Alix’s unimpressed look, “What you want to know—how, and why, our organisation operates—is confidential. But you’re not asking quite the right question. Think: you’ve already had hints.”
It’s the magic, Alix thought instantly, what else could ‘hints’ refer to? Is the nature of their strange magic related to the structure of whatever ‘organisation’ Karsus is referring to?
“Why is your magic different?” he asked eventually.
“Bah!” Karsus exclaimed, waving a hand dismissively, “No, still the wrong question!”
Alix had studied sorcery at Camherst—of course he had—but he’d still never even heard of such powerful, Beacon-less casting. Oh, right. It became painfully obvious.
“Why don’t I know about the type of magic you do—or how you do it—despite having studied the subject for six years?”
Karsus’ expression showed him that he’d hit the mark.
“Will you sign the document of secrecy to find the answer?”
A signature. Just a signature, to learn of major conspiracy that must stretch throughout all of Lacurna—maybe further. And what’s more, it’s a requisite for Karsus to help me continue studying the sciences. But despite how much the thought of refusing burned at his chest, he forced himself to consider every option before agreeing, and that meant one more thing:
“What does the contract entail?” He asked. Karsus slid the document around to let Alix read it.
“Simply that you won’t willingly reveal to uninitiated parties any knowledge you gain as a result of this deal, including all of your future education as a member of our organisation.”
Alix read it over twice. It was exactly as Karsus said: bland and nonspecific, unable to actually reveal anything even in the contract itself. It used vague terms about ‘programs’ and ‘locations’ without stating what it meant. And then at the very end, written as innocently as the rest of the parchment, was a stipulation that Alix had to surrender some of his blood.
“What’s this?” he asked, pointing suspiciously at that final line.
“Hmm. Yes, that. It’s an… incentive for those who have joined us to stay that way. Using blood as a reference, we can search for the person it belongs to.”
“That’s possible?” Alix hissed. He’d heard folk stories of strange mages named ‘witches’ using such a method to burn a man alive who’d tried to wrong them. They boiled the blood in his veins. Of course, Alix hadn’t believed them at the time, but if Karsus was saying it was possible—”
“Calm down,” he said, “It’s not like you imagine. Magic using blood is only able to locate a person, and only by an exceptionally talented mage at that. Make no mistake though, if you ran and tried to seek protection in the Civil Guard, you wouldn’t last the night. Even locked in a cell. But of course, leaving us would lose your education anyway.” Karsus shrugged.
After having seen the man plough a hole through stone, Alix had no doubt of his ability to access a supposedly secure cell. The thought created so many questions in his mind—where was safe?—but he pushed them aside. The logic was clear, anyway. Alix wouldn’t betray these people while they supported his education. It was a prize that money couldn’t buy.
A risk that was worth taking.
“I accept. I told you I would.”
Karsus rolled his eyes. “Slow down. This is just to get you in on the game, not your payment for the Medallion. But fine. I think you’ve been lectured enough. Here. Sign there and put a drop of blood on the inside of this vial.”
Alix took the proffered pen and signed the parchment—a neat, cryptic name that he’d enjoyed practicing until it looked like something worthy to put on documents. Then he took the pin. It might’ve been easier to take blood from somewhere else, but he felt suitably arcane pricking the end of his finger and letting the blood slowly pool, dripping into the vial after a sluggish moment.
“Sacrifice of oneself in pursuit of knowledge is the highest tributes to the Gods,” he mumbled, watching red spash the glass.
Gods. Not the Mother. It was something he’d read in one of his father’s old books about foreign religions. It came to his mind as the blood dripped into the vial. The statement was true—he wasn’t quite glad that he’d been kidnapped, but being in the position to learn as-of-now unheard of secrets filled him with a silent delight.
Karsus capped the vial. Then he stood up, manually putting it and the paper away as he gestured for Alix to look out the window.
“They should be starting around now,” The man said absently, gesturing through the surprisingly clean glass. Alix followed his gaze until he saw—the centre of all the conjoined houses was more than he’d expected.
Instead of dirty brick alleyways, the buildings in the block all joined together to surround a large courtyard. Around nine people were walking out from the back of a building—one across the courtyard from where Alix was—and settling into ranks. A figure stood in front of them.
There was talking. Maybe. Alix couldn’t hear anything through the glass and so far away. But he was kept there by Karsus’ anticipation. The first notable moment was when they began to move.
The one at the front—an instructor—threw out a palm. And a fist-sized ball of flame followed it. It shot across the courtyard while shedding orange light and slammed into some sort of target. Alix didn’t know what it had been originally, but now it was only a pile of cinders.
His awe mounted from simply shocked to downright amazed when the students began to follow suit. The burning projectiles shot across the yard and incinerated wooden targets. It was… Alix had no words. Then he checked again to confirm his suspicions. None of the students had Beacons.
“It’s good isn’t it?” Karsus said when Alix was speechless. “They call us rogue mages. Pah! Of course they try to restrict knowledge of real magic for the masses. Welcome to the White Hand. This is what true understanding gives you, Alix. I hope you can bear to hold its weight.”
I can, he thought. The light of fireballs illuminated his face. For this knowledge, there’s nothing I won’t do.