A faint dizzy spell gripped Alaric. He’d promised himself he didn’t know the bizarre things about himself back in Jack’s Fall… but the more he got into situations like this more his curiosity grew. Alas, there were still more important things than learning that. His past was irrelevant really, in the grand scheme of things.
Alaric was hungry for the information the Tower had to offer now more than ever. It was only recently that he realised there was more to himself than meets the eye and while that was something he wanted to learn more and more, it wasn’t as important as finding his friends or even defeating the Demon King.
Perhaps if he came to learn that information, his opinion of the priority of these things would change. If there was anything he learnt from his visit to Jack’s Fall, however, it was that patience was very important. He had very many questions but having them all revealed to him at the wrong time and in the wrong order could very well have bad consequences.
This was just a theory of his… but it was one his guardian had not refuted, so there must have been some truth to it. Now, all Alaric had to do was let the information that wasn’t his priority come to him. If he became a Keeper of the Tower of Seekers, then knowing how this man came to know about him would just be one of the perks of the position.
Before Elder Gregory could proceed with the conversation, there was a knock on the door. The man waved his hand and the door opened gently to reveal a girl dressed in light white armour.
Her armour, along with the outfit fitted underneath the ample breastplates and steel braces were far more unique than anything Alaric had seen so far. With her arrival came a presence much similar to the old man seated at the head of the table albeit much less oppressive.
Several things didn’t click together though. First of all, she was young and yet, she was glaringly beautiful. Alaric’s blood went cold… ‘Something’s not right here.’
Through the pretty face, smooth skin and intimidating presence, Alaric found a few details to be too bizarre. If he could put it into simple words, her circumstances resembled his immensely… Young, yet unreasonably powerful.
“Ah, Crystal, you’re here,” Elder Gregory beamed, “Meet Alaric… Alaric, meet Crystal, my daughter. She’s the only candidate for the position of Keeper I told you about. If you sign this, you’ll be the second.”
“Candidate?” Alaric blurted out.
[ I remember him mentioning something about trials. Hmm, just listen ] Alia pitched in for a split second. The guardian was always listening and ready to assist him at any moment.
“What you thought you’d become a Keeper just like that?” the girl scoffed.
Elder Gregory gave a tight-lipped smile, “One must first become a candidate, and challenge the Tower in a set of Trials before they can be granted the full power of a Keeper. I went through those Trials… and so did Master Galahad, the other Keeper of the Eastern Tower of Seekers.”
Alaric nodded in understanding. It was then that he noticed a neatly folded set of white and black clothes in the girl’s hands. Seated atop the clothes was yet another bracelet similar to the one he’d received the last time he’d been at the Tower. This bracelet, however, was complete with the logo of the Tower of Seekers engraved into it.
“Thank you for bringing Alaric’s clothes, Crystal. I’d like you to show him to his room, then give him a tour of the Tower… well, the parts that won’t get him in trouble, of course. Oh, and watch out for Elder Casper. Alaric and him seem to have got off on the wrong foot,” Elder Gregory explained.
“Meh! Casper hates everything he doesn’t understand,” the girl shrugged off the old man’s warning, “Has he finished signing the contract?”
“He still has to think about it. During that time, I’d like you to show him around. Perhaps take him for a meal. I imagine he hasn’t eaten since he got here,” Elder Gregory explained.
Alaric opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, turned to Garin, and walked up to him. Since Garin was by the window, Elder Gregory and Crystal were treated to an odd moment of silence as Alaric approached the Protector.
When he was close to the curious knight by the window he spoke in a low tone, “Where can I find the toilet?”
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There was a moment of silence before Garin covered his mouth and took Alaric’s hand, “Let’s go…”
“Garin…” Elder Gregory’s voice came quiet but stern, filled with encrypted messages Alaric lacked the experience to decipher.
“Looks like I have other matters to attend to,” the knight sighed. He switched his attention over to Crystal, “Princess! Take Alaric to the lavatory first, then take him to the Fried Duck. Only after he’s had his fill can you proceed to whatever else it is you’re planning for his tour.”
Crystal stared at the knight with an expression of indifference, “Since when do I get orders from…”
“Do as the man says, Crystal,” Elder Gregory calmly interrupted. Normally, he’d raise his voice when dealing with his daughter’s stubbornness… but this time, his eyes spoke more than she could stubbornly challenge the instant they locked eyes. The room turned a few degrees colder as the silence bubbled with flowing aether.
‘Woah!’ Alaric mentally mused. Being uniquely sensitive to aether, the silent exchange was a cool show of power unlike any he’d ever seen… as though the two Keepers were fighting for dominance.
Naturally, Crystal lost.
“This is no fun,” she grumbled before turning away from the group, “Come newbie. We’re burning daylight and I honestly don’t have all day.”
The door slammed shut behind the two adult men, leaving them in silence for a while. Elder Gregory walked back to his desk and flopped into his seat, his shoulders quivering as he rubbed his forehead with worry, “What am I going to do about that girl? At this rate, she’ll never pass the Trials.”
“She was never worthy of the position of Keeper in the first place,” Garin shrugged.
“She is worthy of it. I could tell from the day she turned three… but somehow, telling her that has eroded her personality into the brat you see today. Where did I go wrong?” the old man lamented.
Garin wasn’t sure what to tell the Elder, “Can I speak freely, Keeper?”
“You may, Lieutenant,” the Head of the Tower responded.
“Lady Crystal’s nature is just the reflection of her environment. She’s come to be the person she is because of everyone and everything around her. Growing up as the daughter of the Master of the Tower, she’s been spoiled by everyone around her. Not to mention the fact that she’s now a candidate for the position of Keeper, the most respected station in this place.
Everyone else works their way up the ranks of the Seekers and even then, they don’t ever dream of becoming Keepers and yet she gets to go straight to the top. I would behave like that if I were in her shoes,” the man responded.
Elder Gregory sighed, “I figured as much.”
Shifting his attention to something else, he stated, “While I still have you, Lieutenant, what do you think of the dead prisoner Alaric defeated?”
“You know everything I know. But I’m assuming you want my theories on the matter,” when the old man nodded, Garin continued, “Darth was a member of the Flame Vipers and had used Dark Magic to silence his guardian whilst bolstering his power in unconventional ways. He was already at the Stone Temper Rank and was still very young.
Someone like that had taken way too many corners to earn that power. What he didn’t realise, perhaps, was that the people who helped him get all that power would not accommodate slip-ups, so they had cast… contingencies on him. I bet he was killed by those contigencies to keep him from leaking information to the Tower. We are masters of information retrieval. Interrogation falls into that set of skills, so they couldn’t risk it. His masters are not done and I bet they have people even stronger than Darth.”
Garin’s analysis was thorough. So thorough in fact, that Elder Gregory furrowed his eyebrows with confusion, “That’s oddly a lot of information. How do you know the man’s name was Darth? The Flame Vipers don’t use their real names, only titles like Copy Viper.”
Garin smirked, “I didn’t want to tell you unless it was in person. Alaric’s Inborn Ability is as frightening as it is powerful. He looked into the memories of the man’s guardian and even retrieved another name. The name of that Slayer’s master was Jafar.”
“The Dark Mage, Jafar? Responsible for over a hundred new Dark Magic Spells?”
“He’s the only Jafar I know,” Garin replied with a sigh.
Elder Gregory felt shivers run down his spine.
“That raises the urgency of this matter. It appears Alaric’s enemies knew of his existence long before we did. Your theories are right, Garin. I had Seekers investigate the Copy Viper’s death and found out that he’d been ‘marked’,” the Elder explained as he thought, “This probably hasn’t been worked on before but I would like you to work with a Seeker called Licht. She specializes in holy magic and its power against dark magic. Figure out a way to cleanse someone whose been ‘marked’ of the dark magic that binds them to their master.”
Garin bowed in respect, “I take it I will be returning as soon as Alaric has settled into the Academy.”
The Master of the Tower nodded in response.
There was a brief period of silence as Elder Gregory stared at the mess of paperwork strewn across the desk. Explaining things to Alaric had turned out to be a far more daunting task than he’d thought… but now it was more vital that he did. Too much was happening unseen for him to waste any more time.
Alaric didn’t react to much of what he said… and yet his questions conveyed more emotions and understanding than expressions would have. It seemed Alaric was trying to be careful with his options, a quality that Elder Gregory admired.
“I would like Alaric to sign this contract. I’d be happy if the Tower fell into the hands of someone like him,” Elder Gregory sighed.
Garin nodded, “The boy is favoured by the world. Would you really want him to inherit something as dark as the Tower?”
“There are a few things in this world that come close to what we might call perfection. He alone stands at the top of those things. He’s a light that can never be extinguished… and that’s exactly what this Tower needs,” the old Keeper explained in a knowing tone.