The next morning, Kal wakes up with a start from the bed, and notes that Inala, Sin and Ella were sleeping by his side, then subtly he passes his hand over Ella's throat and without understanding anything that had happened, wakes his mother and asks:
"Mom, what happened to us yesterday?"
And Ella still slowly waking up says:
"Once again we were saved by..."
And before she could finish, Kal shouts:
"Today is the day I leave for the Imperial Capital, and I still haven't packed anything!"
Then Kal gets up and runs to prepare his things, meanwhile Ella wakes the others so they could help Kal and say a proper goodbye to their brother before he left.
A few hours later, a luxurious carriage arrives at Kal's humble home, it was the first time a plebeian from Suri Village would attend the Imperial Academy, and all the people came out of their homes to see the young Kal's departure. Before the limousine door fully opened, Kal saw that there was an old man inside wearing a red bandana around his eyes and a great magnificent robe of a mage. Helped by a servant guiding him, Tiberius descended from that carriage and said:
"I came personally to fetch you, young man."
The people were amazed by the presence of one of the 3 great mages of the entire empire in that very humble and lifeless place, and it didn't take long for the people to crowd around the carriage. And giving a strong hug to his whole family, Kal says goodbye to them saying:
"See you soon."
While Kal walked towards the carriage, Tiberius grips the servant's hand tightly and the old man whispers:
"I felt that in this house, there is someone with an even greater magical capacity than young Kal, his mana is still raw, but flows like a wave over this place."
"Keep an eye on that house for me."
The servant just nods his head in affirmation. And so Kal and Tiberius depart for the Imperial Capital.
After 3 days of travel, finally the driver announces they were approaching the imperial capital. Kal sticks his head out the window and admires a vast metropolis, with a gigantic palace perched on a hill at the center and waters gushing over its balconies. Amazed, Kal just sighs aloud while Tiberius simply says:
"Alnuum, the city of waters."
Kal's eyes shone brighter as the carriage approached the gates, and upon arriving at the gates the guards quickly approached the carriage. When the driver announced Tiberius was inside, the guards immediately bowed and allowed the carriage to enter the metropolis. Passing through, Kal sees for the first time the busy streets with many people, street vendors, a variety of diverse foods and many other things. Kal was admiring it all when from afar he saw a grand Cathedral, imposing and erected from carved stones and bathed by a waterfall descending from the Acuos hills and circling the Cathedral. Enchanted, Kal asks Tiberius what the name of that great church was, and he responds:
"That's the Cathedral of the Eternal Spring, abode of the 3 Divine Priests."
Tiberius was blind, but had lived 25 years in the capital and knew everything about that place, and the enraptured Kal took notes of everything the old mage said. Then the carriage entered the inner gates of the great palace and from afar Kal spots Relon training with his tutor and impulsively sticks almost his whole body out the carriage window, waving and shouting:
"Hey Morin, you got here before me!" - he shouts at him apparently without understanding who he really was.
On the other side, Relon was training with his tutor when he noticed his friend Kal had arrived at the palace. He waves back and before he could go meet his friend, a young blonde-haired girl with crystal blue eyes approaches Relon and says:
"So your useless brother has a friend, huh?"
Relon just stares dryly at her and retorts:
"You should find one too, you boring brat!"
Lilla tries to grab Relon's hair while he runs off to find Kal at the palace entrance.
"I'm glad you found a friend, idiot," the girl whispers before returning to training.
At the gates of the Grand Palace of Aquarion, Kal and Tiberius enter until they come before a great door. Then Tiberius says:
"This is where I leave you, the doors will open and when they do, you enter."
Tiberius leaves them and leaves Kal waiting before a huge door. There he waits for a time until finally the doors open. It was a large oval hall, where there was only a chair in the center. Relon came to the place but the guards prevent him from entering, and inside, a voice from above asks Kal to sit in the central chair. Kal looks up and sees several large galleries on the sides and a larger one in the upper part, and before Kal sits down, a voice echoes strongly in the hall:
"All hail Mordret Lucius Artal Aquarion I, great Emperor of Nannu and lord of the city of waters."
Immediately the people in the galleries stood up and bowed while the Emperor took his place in his gallery. After sitting down, the emperor orders everyone to take their places so the council could begin. Immediately, Tiberius, who was already in one of the galleries, stands up and begins to say:
"My Emperor, wise mages, priests and generals, I have convened this council to introduce Kal Launno to you. So far I have not been able to identify what makes him special, but I am deeply certain that he is extraordinary in every sense. I believe without a doubt that he is one of the legacies!"
After Tiberius' words, there was great turmoil and discussion, until the emperor extends his hand and all fall silent. He looks at Kal and asks:
"Who are you?"
Kal, not understanding what was happening, says:
"My name is Kal."
"Then Kal, what makes you so special?" asks the emperor again.
"Besides my different hair, I don't think anything," Kal replies with one hand on his head.
"What makes you so certain, Tiberius?" asks the emperor to Tiberius.
"I used my unique magic, the spirit probe!" replies Tiberius, once again astonishing everyone there.
"I know you have this special magic of yours, but it's still very hard to believe an old drunkard," retorts a man in another gallery wearing grand white robes.
"Watch your words, Arnom, Tiberius is the oldest of our order and this is beyond your mental capacities," responds Bernstain, the other mage beside Tiberius in a gallery.
"How dare you, you worm, I am a servant of Luminus, blessed with divine light, I will not listen to insults from old recluses and invalids," Arnom speaks with an aggressive voice.
"Enough!" says the emperor, immediately ceasing the conversation.
"We must be certain of what Tiberius said before anything else, if true we may be on the cusp of a new demonic era," the emperor completes.
"Let us do a test tomorrow with him in the heart of Nannu, if true I believe it will show something," concludes the emperor.
The Emperor rises and leaves, as all there begin to stand up and depart right after him. On the other side Kal exits through the slowly opening door, and from afar Relon waits leaning on one of the palace pillars. The two approach and greet each other in a friendly way:
"You seem stronger than before," says Kal jokingly.
"It's only been a few days, not years," responds Relon perceiving the jest.
The two conversed for a time until Tiberius appears again and says:
"Well, well if it isn't the young prince, why don't you accompany young Launno to the academy!"
"There is a carriage prepared to take him and someone I trust is waiting at the academy to show him his quarters."
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"And before you go..."
"Welcome to the Imperial Academy, Kal Launno."
And leaving from there with his servants, Tiberius simply waves goodbye to them.
"Unfortunately I won't accompany you there, I have to return to training," says Relon.
"Ahh training, I'd like to participate," replies Kal.
"I don't know, Master Tiberius' orders were clear," says Relon.
"Ah come on Morin, are you afraid to face me?" asks Kal.
Then almost out of nowhere a feminine voice says:
"It might be good for him to join our training."
Looking back, Relon says:
"Did you follow me, Lilla?"
"I think if he stays for a few minutes, it won't be a problem," says the girl.
"Who is she?" Kal asks Relon.
"I am the beautiful Princess Lilla Artal Aquarion, this idiot's twin sister!" replies the girl.
"Ohh, your twin sister is a princess Morin, that's cool. Now let's go!" says Kal as he walks away towards nothing.
Not understanding anything and thinking Kal was an idiot, Lilla guides him to the training yard while Relon just follows behind. In the yard, a man waits seated in an improvised wooden chair and stands when the princes approach. Tossing their practice swords and saying:
"Come on, we don't have much more time today."
Lilla steps ahead and asks to have a simulated duel against the boy who came with them, and the teacher just steps back, tosses a practice sword to Kal, and asks them to get in position. Kal grabs the sword and says:
"Hey Morin, you'll see I've gotten stronger too."
Lilla gives a small smile as she takes a combat stance. When the teacher orders the start of the duel, the girl merely concentrates her mana around her and it seems for an instant a blue light comes from her body, and it appears the ground beneath her feet was wet. To Kal, it seems she was walking on water, and with a leap, Lilla suddenly appears by his side striking him with her sword. Kal manages to evade and rolls on the ground to the other side. When he stands up he notices his clothes are a little wet, and as he looks forward Lilla is very close, ready to try striking him again, hitting him near the shoulder and throwing him further away this time. Kal stands up, smiles and says:
"I imagined the academy students would be strong, but I didn't expect someone like this on my first day."
"If you don't show more than this, you won't last a week at the academy," says Lilla, also smiling.
"I had a fight with some bandits a few days ago. I lost that fight, but I learned one thing," says Kal getting into an attacking stance.
"Then show me who you really are!" shouts Lilla.
Then Kal gets into a combat stance that caught the attention of the Teacher who was observing. He turns to Relon and says:
"Who is this boy?"
"He's my friend Kal Launno," says Relon impressed by the two's duel.
"Launno. Interesting!" thinks the teacher.
Once again Kal's eyes had a strong yellow glow. Then as Lilla came to attack again, in the blink of an eye she loses sight of Kal and realizes she is without her sword in her hands too. Turning around she sees that Kal is already on the other side of the yard. Frightened, Lilla thinks:
"I just saw two golden eyes, a yellow flash and my sword was ripped from my hand."
Both Relon and the teacher were also amazed by Kal's ability. While Relon stood agape, the teacher looks at Kal holding half a broken practice sword, and without even seeing what happened, Lilla's practice sword was now impaled high in a tree in the yard. Startled, he merely declares there was no winner, since Lilla was disarmed and so was Kal. Then Kal places a hand on his head, smiles again and says:
"It seems I can't fully control it yet, you won this time Princess!" says Kal extending his hand to Lilla.
"Hmm..." replies Lilla astonished, shaking Kal's hand.
Tiberius appears in the yard shouting:
"Kal you rascal, you should be at the academy by now, what are you doing here?!"
"Oh no, I'm going to get scolded on my first day!" says Kal running towards the exit.
While Kal runs off, Relon and Lilla accompany him to the door. The teacher approaches Tiberius:
"Master, who is this boy?"
"So you noticed?" says Tiberius.
"That was no magic power and certainly no divine power," says the teacher.
"We still don't know what this truly is, for now I can only ask you to keep it a secret," requests Tiberius leaving the place.
At the main gate, one of Tiberius' servants waited for the boy to say goodbye to Relon and Lilla. As Kal and Relon greet each other with a strong handshake, Kal remembers hunting with his father:
"Dad, some kids at school are making fun of me because of the color of my hair," says Kal.
"Oh really, and who are these people?" asks Laun.
"Some boys and a girl," replies Kal.
"With the boys, you can deal with them as I taught you," said Laun.
"And what about the girl?" asked Kal.
"It's complicated son, we must not be aggressive towards women," said Laun.
"Not even in war, Dad?" asked Kal.
"Are you at war?" continued Laun.
"No," replied Kal.
"Is this girl your enemy?" Laun asks again.
"No," Kal responds.
"Then you have no reason to treat her badly," says Laun.
"Well I understand there are differences, but in general as educated men, we should protect them and treat them well," Laun concludes, a bit unsure of what to say.
"What should I do to treat her well?" Kal asks, intrigued.
"Well you should start by..."
Kal gently holds Lilla's right hand, bows and kisses it, saying:
"Thank you for the time we spent here, it was a great pleasure." Kal says, with his father's voice echoing in his mind.
He gives her a charming smile and turns once more to greet Relon before leaving, leaving Lilla completely flushed and speechless - it was the first time anyone had touched and kissed her hand. After Kal withdraws, Relon looks at her with a mischievous grin ready to tease his sister. Before he can say anything, she turns and says:
"What audacity from that boy, acting this way towards a princess," fully blushing and embarrassed before running off.
That night, Kal goes directly to the academy dormitory where a girl was waiting for him. She introduced herself as Clara, a young woman with light brown hair, fair skin and brown eyes wearing glasses. She was Tiberius' youngest apprentice and said she would show Kal around the entire dormitory before taking him to his room. After some time exploring, they arrive at the room where Kal would stay, and when she opens the door, Kal's jaw drops immediately - it was an enormous room with a beautiful view of the Academy and two beds. Shocked, Kal asks Clara:
"What a huge room, there's another bed, will someone else be sleeping here?"
"Classes start the day after tomorrow, and by then your roommate will have arrived," responds Clara.
"Get settled in and sleep well, because tomorrow you will go to the Heart of Nannu for a test," she continues, leaving and closing the door.
Kal is so impressed he spins and jumps on the beds for a time. Then he stops and goes to a table to write a letter to his family, saying he is well and telling of the wonderful things he's seen in the Imperial Capital.
The next morning, Kal wakes up and goes to where Clara indicated the dining hall was. When he arrives, there are still no cooks or people, just Clara, who points to a spot with bread and milk for Kal to eat. After eating, Kal is taken to the carriage waiting to take him to the Heart of Nannu. Entering the carriage, he finds Tiberius sitting inside. They ride most of the way in silence, until the carriage stops. When Kal exits, he sees a large waterfall, and beneath the falling waters, a passage leading to a huge door covered in ancient inscriptions and magic runes. Tiberius lifts a stone he was carrying, which begins to glow along with the runes on the portal until it slowly opens.
Tiberius guides the young Kal down a passage until they reach another entrance, where the other two great mages Bernstain and Prios stand with the 3 Divine Priests Arnom, Ecleir and Leala positioned. Tiberius asks Kal to enter the room. Inside was like a paradise - a central stone surrounded by crystalline waters. Bright green mosses climbed the walls and plants glowed beneath the waters. In the center was a small beam of sunlight entering, which by natural law, should make the room dark. But the intense mana confluence there caused the waters, plants and mosses to shimmer and glow, illuminating the entire room. Tiberius asks Kal to position himself in the center of the sunbeam, then exits and closes the gate.
The Heart of Nannu was the essence of the entire capital. The pure mana flowing from it attracted spirits of nature, making the place mystical with the order of life. But the chaotic mix of magic created by living beings transformed it into a centrifuge, where only the strongest could withstand the forces of confluence between order and chaos as it extracted and revealed the roots of one's powers to the overseers when the gates were opened. In the process though, one's magic and spirit were brutally torn from their body, causing excruciating pain. Those without sufficient magic or spirit would die - it was brutal.
Outside, Tiberius chants the song of the Heart of Nannu as the earth begins to tremble. A powerful light illuminates the walls, heating them from outside too. Arnom gazes unconcerned and says:
"You're probably killing another innocent child, Tiberius. Your unrestrained quest to find the powers of the world will lead many to their deaths."
Inside, small lights like stars envelop Kal, circling him until he starts to feel their burn, intensifying by the moment. Kal feels terrible pain as if his very skin is being flayed. His screams of agony are terrifying. As Tiberius nearly gives up the test to open the gate, Kal's cries suddenly stop. Arnom says:
"Congratulations, old fool - you've killed another innocent child."
As Arnom and the other priests leave, the doors slowly open of their own accord. Looking afraid, Tiberius says:
"I gave no command for the Heart to open."
When the doors fully open, the room is in complete darkness. The glow of the waters has vanished. Terrified by what is happening, the men there do not understand until two bright eyes appear in the darkness, shining like suns. A great fear befalls the men. An absolute, overpowering presence emerges from the darkness, and as if automatically, they all kneel and prostrate before those eyes. From within emerges an imposing, divine voice like a voracious thunder - completely different from the one Kal heard before in the mountains. It speaks:
"What did you seek to find?"
"Who are you my lord?" asks Tiberius, face to the floor.
"I am the foundation of this land. I am the root of the World Tree. I am the first light and the final darkness. I am magic and spirit, order and chaos. Before me no light shines brighter, and no darkness remains pristine. I am what I want to be - god or man. Without me, time would not exist and the universe would implode. I am the pillar of all and creator of gods. I have no name and am unknown to men." booms the voice.
"Then you are more powerful than even the gods?" asks Arnom, filled with fear and prostrated.
"I am the gods. I am heroes and villains. I am warriors and mages. I am you, priest - I am what I want to be," responds the voice.
The bright eyes close. Feeling the overwhelming pressure disappear, the men rise terrified as the small beam of light returns, illuminating the waters that now no longer glow. The plants that once emanated light are now normal. All the old men there begin weeping abundantly, strangely relieved to no longer be before that presence. They could not speak more that morning. Taking the unconscious young Kal, they depart still feeling immense fear.