Ezekiel never thought he could feel happier to see a familiar city than he had when he’d returned to Harkem after his first failed expedition. But as the Scarlet Glacier approached Sanafalls he felt his heart lighten and soar as he returned to his new home. It was a bit frustrating that he couldn’t say goodbye to Riker and the rest of the Guild Leader’s crew, but he was given a mailing address, and could contact him later on. Ezekiel still had to let him know if he’d accept the tutorship request after all.
However, there was a subdued atmosphere as they disembarked. Several caskets filled with the remains of those that had perished in this excursion were slowly brought out. Scarlet did not return to the Cathedral either. She decided to go directly to the families of the deceased. Those that had them at least. As the captain, she considered it to be her responsibility to inform them herself.
Ezekiel accompanied the other Scholars to the Cathedral. After reporting to the Grand Scholars that remained in the Cathedral, Scarlet’s crew was told to get some rest. Afterwards, a ceremony to honor the dead was held. Ezekiel attended as well, even though he wasn’t a part of the crew. He saw a great number of people in attendance, many who weren’t a part of the Church as well.
The ceremony spoke about the various contributions that each of the Scholars and Apprentices who had died had made for the Cathedral. People spoke about the deceased’s lives outside of the Church as well. Some wanted to be Hunters, others had wanted to discover the secrets of the Ancients, even more had expressed desires to break through to Tier four without a Spirit.
Even though he only barely got to know any of them on the few trips he’d been on Scarlet’s ship for, he couldn’t help but feel closer to them as he heard their stories and the dreams.
The one that struck the deepest though, was the words spoken for Tommy. The man was an orphan raised by the Church. He was one of the youngest Scholars they had, and was a Sanafalls local, but had studied at another Cathedral in the Archipelago. His dream was to find the Ruins of the Temple of the Void that was located in the Archipelago from before the Age of Despair.
Hearing the dream of the man who’d helped him when he’d first been forced to leave his family home, Ezekiel felt himself grow angry. He was frustrated at his weakness, even though he knew it was irrational. He wasn’t even in the fight where Tommy had died. But even so, he wanted to bring Tommy’s dreams to fruition. The man had taken care of him whenever they were on the same ship. Without him, Ezekiel might not know half as much as he currently does about the Archipelago.
Ezekiel swore to himself that he’d do his best to see Tommy’s wish fulfilled. It was something that a part of him wanted to do as well, so it only made sense.
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After the ceremony, there was nothing else for him to do, and he needed to have Carrian check over Shine. Given what they had both been through, and the injuries to Shine’s soul, Ezekiel had hoped that Shine’s recovery would mean that their soul had grown a good amount.
“Hmmm. Shine’s soul has certainly grown. Far more than I’d expected as well. You both must’ve really suffered on this mission.” Carrian said as he looked over Shine’s rusted blade. “I would say your soul could withstand reaching the sixth Step of Tier one at this point. But I would not suggest you try to rush reaching that level. Your soul was injured, and while you’re mostly healed, such injuries can leave scars. I would say that you should not progress another step until the new year at the earliest. By then, you should be able to start pushing yourself a bit more.”
Ezekiel and Shine were both overjoyed to hear that. It meant that they only had a couple of months before they could start trying to get stronger again. Ezekiel was already working on growing his own mana. He wanted to be at Step five himself before they attempted to get Shine to Step three. But for now, Ezekiel had more things he needed to ask Carrian about.
He wanted to see if the Grand Scholar had any ideas for a temporary vessel that Shine could use. Surprisingly enough, after the situation with the deceased was dealt with, and Ezekiel had finished explaining the situation, Carrian did indeed have a potential solution.
“Here you go.” Carrian said as he placed a humanoid statuette on the table between himself and Ezekiel. “It’s not much, but it should be good enough for the time being. We’ll get your sword fixed as soon as possible, but given the restructuring we’ll be doing, it may take some time.”
Ezekiel looked at the statuette in befuddlement. He had been expecting a dagger, or other trinket that could contain Void Mana. One of the things that he and Shine had discovered during their trip back was that Shine couldn’t inhabit just any vessel they were given. Their soul just wouldn’t transfer to any of the objects they had tried. Not even enchanted items worked. So, Ezekiel had the idea that the time in question needed to be enchanted in such a way that it didn’t use elemental mana or cast elemental spells. Like the Sword Shine currently inhabited.
“What is it? If it’s just a statue, then it’s not going to work. We already tried rocks, wood, metal, and other miscellaneous objects.” Ezekiel explained.
“It’s a puppet relic. It’s something I found on an expedition back when I was a Hunter. Put a pure mana crystal in here,” Carrian popped a latch off the back of the statue, “and it will do a little dance when you activate the enchantment. It doesn’t use elemental mana, so I think it should work for Shine.”
Hearing that it was fueled by pure mana crystals lifted Shine and Ezekiel’s hopes. So, after making sure it was alright, Shine and Ezekiel moved to the side of the room. Taking a seat, they both entered meditation with Shine’s currently rusted vessel touching the little statue.
Slowly, Shine channeled their mana into the statue. As they did, Ezekiel noticed that it didn’t seem to activate or separate from Shine’s control. Nor did it empower or reinforce the statuette like it would have if he had channeled his own mana. Instead, it seemed to stick to the statuette like glue. Small white tendrils extended from the mana back to Shine’s sword. This hadn't happened with the other objects. Then, just like with their spell, Shine instinctively knew what to do.
Mentally tugging on the tendrils of white light, Shine pulled on the statuette. But it didn’t actually move. Instead, Shine felt what they knew was a sense of weightlessness. The only things keeping them from floating away were the tendril connected to the statue. Slowly, they felt their soul pull itself in the direction of the tendrils. Eventually, Shine felt a squeezing sensation before they relaxed.
Shine’s awareness was now in a different position from where it was before. They could also sense the sword they previously inhabited. It was a strange feeling. Like looking at a mirror but knowing that what you were seeing wasn’t actually what you looked like. But it was because you had changed, not your reflection. The thought confused them, so they turned their attention to Ezekiel instead.
Ezekiel, for his part, witnessed what he could only describe as a bubble of white smoke making its way out of the sword Shine inhabited. That bubble then moved over to the statue before sinking into it. Like being sucked into a vacuum. Of course, none of this was actually visible outside their meditative state. Only a Death or Life Mage would be able to see this with their actual eyes.
“Are you alright?” Ezekiel asked Shine.
“Yes. It feels weird being like this. But not uncomfortable. Just different.” Shine said. “Like, clothes that are a size too small. How do I know what clothes feel like?”
“Probably from the knowledge you got from me when you were born.” Ezekiel said.
Opening his eyes, Ezekiel pulled the statuette away from the rusted sword. Thanks to his bond, he could distinctly sense Shine’s presence in the statue, not the sword. As he looked at the sword, he noticed that it had returned to its original appearance. Turning to the statue, it seemed that Shine’s new vessel had taken on their white opal appearance.
“Well, it looks like it worked.” Ezekiel said aloud for Carrian’s sake.
“Good. Tell me, can Shine move their new body around?” Carrian asked.
Ezekiel turned to the old man with a raised eyebrow. He felt like he was missing something here.
“Well, after being in a sword that could store and channel mana, Shine gained those abilities. I just wanted to know if they could use the innate enchantments in the statue like they did with the sword.” Carrian said. He tried to look innocent, but Ezekiel knew he’d been planning this as a test. The old man was still a Scholar after all. Of course, he would want to learn something new.
Shine sent a feeling of curiosity to Ezekiel, who mentally nodded to grant his consent to experiment. Taking a moment to spread their mana through their new body, Shine attempted to activate the features that they suddenly realized were sitting in the back of their mind. Suddenly, Shine fell over and onto the ground as all their limbs snapped outwards. They were sent flying from the force, and Ezekiel winced as a bruise would undoubtedly form from when Shine had accidentally hit him.
“Careful!” Ezekiel exclaimed as they leapt from their seat to see if Shine was alright. Checking Shine's new body, he found that there was no damage from the fall. “Well, at least we know you’re still fairly durable like this.”
“Yeah...” Shine was shocked by what they had done. They had never moved on their own before. “I think I’ll need to practice a bit. That was weird. But it was a good weird. Does that make sense?”
Ezekiel mentally agreed with his Spirit as he picked Shine up off the ground. Their body was now stuck in a different pose. It no longer looked like a human standing at attention. Instead, their limbs were splayed out in weird directions and bent in ways that a human would not find comfortable.
“Well. It seems my hopes were correct. Do keep a journal and let me know if you find anything interesting about your new body. Consider it payment for that Relic. Now, do you want to reforge your old sword, or make a new one entirely?” Carrian asked.
Ezekiel checked with Shine before answering.
“Can we get this one remade?” He said as he held out the rusted sword to Carrian.
“Of course. But it’ll take some time. And the materials will be coming from your pay.” Carrian said.
“I’m getting paid?” Ezekiel asked. As far as he was aware, he just got a stipend and some housing. He wasn’t aware that he was separately paid as well.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Indeed. Though I guess you would’ve never needed to access it. Here.” Carrian said. He took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it before giving it to Ezekiel. “Take this to the entrance and they’ll direct you to where you can access your money. I’ll take the price for the new sword from your most recent mission’s pay. Fair.”
Somewhat blindsided by the sudden information, Ezekiel just nodded his head leaving the sword on the table before leaving with the note and Shine.
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After Ezekiel found out that he actually had a large amount of money from working for the Church, he realized that working for the Church was actually quite a lucrative profession. He was not surprised that many Apprentice Mages tried to join the Church of Ten to become Scholars. But then he realized that, outside of the orphans and children who received patronage from the Church, the Scholars all had to pay for their own research.
The only exception was special projects that the Grand Scholars assigned other Scholars to be a part of. Like the research for the communication artifacts. Apparently, even though he’d only been gone for a week or so, the communication devices had been given priority for advancement.
Using the base enchantments that Ezekiel and his team had created, several other teams had been formed to attempt to create a more versatile messaging system. Further, he’d found out that several tests were being made to see if there was a distance limitation. So far, they’d managed to confirm that they could reach as far as the closest outlying islands that were satellite islands to Sanafalls.
They’d even managed to get a device working from the southmost point of the Tarquessa Desert. So, it seemed like they could reach the Continent. Even now, they were attempting to go further and further north, with the hopes of seeing if they could contact the Empire and other Continental factions.
This meant that, when he returned to his team, there was a significant amount of theories being thrown around. So, the team was able to explore a number of avenues to further their own research. But it also meant that there was less focus on their team. Instead, their research was becoming more and more subsidiary to other teams with more experience.
Ezekiel didn’t really have a problem with this. He only cared about whether or not the artifacts would be improved any time soon. For now, his main priority was helping Shine learn how to walk. Something that took nearly a week of practice before Shine could move without throwing their body halfway across a room from the speed and force of their movements.
“Yes! Look, Ezekiel! Look! I’m moving!” Shine called out as they sat up on the ground. Their little hands were waving back and forth erratically.
From there it was just a matter of practice to slow their movements even further, until finally, after a couple of weeks, Shine was able to move around somewhat normally. Of course, they also did their best to study the phenomena of Shine’s ability to move. As well as learn that Shine could use basically all of their previously used abilities in their new body as well.
They even did some tests when they got Shine’s sword body back. It was easy enough to transfer Shine’s soul back into the blade, but they quickly realized that Shine couldn’t move, since there were no moving parts. But when Shine moved back into the statue, they didn’t lose any of their experience with movement, and were still able to move properly.
At that point, they thought about commissioning a blade that had enchantments that would allow Shine to create gusts of wind that would let them fly. This was temporarily vetoed by Ezekiel.
“But why can’t we get me a sword that’ll let me fly?” Shine asked when Ezekiel told them no. “It would let me participate in fights more efficiently!”
“I checked the cost of commissioning a sword like that. It’s well beyond our budget.” Ezekiel explained. “Also, given the weeks it took you to learn how to control your new body, and the dents in the floor and walls of our bedroom, I don’t think I want to risk having a sword flying at my head at typhoon speeds.”
Shine didn’t have a reply to this, so they just pouted in their statue body in the corner while Ezekiel worked on a couple of projects.
From there, they decided that they wanted to advance their communication artifacts.
By using something similar to how they lit up different colored gemstones, they created mirrored enchantments that would mirror words written in a mana reactive panel. Ezekiel thought it was basically like having a drawing tablet that was paired with another screen. You drew an image on one screen, and it appeared on both. Afterwards, you activate a different enchantment to clear the image, or words, that were written on the screen.
Ezekiel thought that this was an enormous jump in technology, but apparently it wasn’t too surprising for the Church’s Scholars. Strange leaps in innovation were made all the time. Mostly through applying knowledge from the Ancients to different projects. Much like how Ezekiel and Shine imitated Shine’s new movement abilities from the statue Relic to this new communication artifact.
They had originally been trying for something like a keyboard, or a stationary writing arm. But theirs and another team shot that down. They figured that the mana reactive material would be better to use, and it was. So, Ezekiel and Shine were happy to have their help.
They were also happy to have the extra money in their pockets from the number of communication artifacts that were being sold. The newly dubbed ‘Com Slates’ became quite popular, if pricey, and many Guilds and Scholars were purchasing them to allow for quick communication between teams on expeditions or other missions.
The next project he was going to be working on was trying to figure out how to link numerous Com Slates so that you were able to communicate between more than just matching pairs.
Before he knew it, Ezekiel was drawn into more and more projects and research. As well as focusing on his own training, since he didn’t have many moments where he needed to expend his mana when he was doing research. Shine also helped with that, allowing Ezekiel to progress his meditation and mana gathering to the point where he broke through to Step five just before the new year.
He had ended up missing the new year celebration, though. But he didn’t have many people to celebrate with, so he wasn’t too worried. He also missed the Awakening Ceremony held in the city. Ultimately his focus on work had gotten to the point that he hadn’t realized he had been in Sanafalls for a full year now. Something that others also took notice of.
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It was as he was entering his team’s workshop, with Shine sitting on his shoulder in their statue body, when he nearly threw himself backwards in surprise.
“SURPRISE!!!” Several people that Ezekiel was well acquainted with all yelled out as he opened the door. The sudden noise had him channeling his mana and reaching for his ever-present sword. Shine had also flinched. They had dropped to Ezekiel’s side and were reaching for their sword before the realized what was happening.
Banners were strung up across the room. They read ‘Happy First Year At Sanafalls!’
A part of Ezekiel was confused, and another part was nearly choking up in emotion as he realized what this was.
“You guys decided to throw a party! Why?” Ezekiel asked. He hadn’t been to a party like this since well before he’d left Harkem.
“Well, we figured that given we missed your birthday, and you didn’t have a reason to celebrate during the annual Awakening Ceremony, that we would celebrate something different for you! Hence, your one-year anniversary of being a part of Sanafalls!” Marc exclaimed as he held out a plate with a small piece of cake for Ezekiel.
“Don’t let this brat deceive you. It was all his idea. Said you seemed to be getting bored and listless, so he wanted to liven things up for you.” Fiana said as she ruffled Marc’s hair. “Not to say we wouldn’t have done something for you if we’d known about your birthday and such.”
“Indeed.” Carrian, who was off to the side, spoke up. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to stay for long, as this was a surprise for me as well. But I wanted to give you this.”
Carrian handed Ezekiel a small envelope. Opening it, Ezekiel saw that it seemed to be an official document of some sort. As he flipped through it, he realized that it was a certificate, indicating that he was recognized as an official apprentice of the Church of Ten. Something that a Tier one Mage like him was very rarely given.
Along with this, was a document from the city, recognizing him as an emancipated minor, and citizen, or Sanafalls. This meant that he was no longer a ward of the Church, but also that he could now act with far more freedom outside the Church than he had before. He could even join one of the Guilds that operated out of Sanafalls or its satellite islands if he were to be accepted into one.
Ezekiel was so shocked that he didn’t say anything even after staring at the documents for nearly a minute. He had hoped that he’d get something like this sooner or later, but hadn’t expected anything to happen until after he had reached Tier two in a couple of years.
“Well, don’t you have something to say?” Carrian asked in a sarcastic tone. “I and the other Scholars broke several conventions for this, you know.”
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Ezekiel turned to Carrian.
“Thank you, Carrian. This... I really feel like this is more than I deserve.” Ezekiel said. He bowed his head in thanks.
Carrian just smirked. Reaching out he ruffled Ezekiel’s hair.
“Unlike nobility, and other government officials, and even some Guilds, the Church of Ten will always prioritize ability, knowledge, and dedication to the Ancients. All the Ancients.” Carrian said. “You’ve shown all three in spades. You’re an old soul with a young body, and I know that you’ll make great strides in the progress of magic. You already have, after all.”
Ezekiel felt his chest tighten up. His emotions were welling up and he was feeling somewhat embarrassed at the fact. He knew he was physically eleven years old, but he was still an old soul, like Carian said. He didn’t want to start crying in front of his peers.
“Right. I’ve got to be off. As a Grand Scholar, I’m not as free to party as you kids are.” Carrian turned to the door. “Ah! One last thing. Scarlet wanted to be here as well but couldn’t because of her missions. Pirate activity has picked up, and we need to snuff it out before it gets much worse. But she did want me to give you this.”
Carrian pulled a medium sized crate from his Void Pouch. Marc and the rest muttered about how he was making them look bad, as they hadn’t thought to get any presents. The party was fairly last minute, so they mostly got food and drinks. Even then, Ezekiel knew that birthday presents were a rare thing in this world. Usually only nobility and other richer families even bothered.
“She said that she wanted you to take up a hobby. Apparently, it’s good for keeping a person grounded. I agree, but I’m not sure how a bunch of dried-up logs is going to help with that.” Carrian placed the crate on a table before heading out. “I’ll see you kids around. Keep up the good work!”
There was some grumbling from the other Apprentices and Scholars as Carrian left.
“We’re not kids. I’m nearly twenty-years-old.” Marc grumbled.
“Compared to the old man, we’re all basically children in his eyes.” Fiana said.
“That’s no reason to treat us so disrespectfully! We revolutionized long-distance communication!” George exclaimed. “We might as well be Grand Scholars ourselves!”
“Once you reach the Legendary realm then maybe that’ll be true. I’m just glad the Grand Scholar recognized our abilities.” Ally said.
The rest all ignored George’s boasting and griping. Ezekiel, for his part, moved to take a closer look into the crate that Scarlet had sent.
Inside were numerous blocks of wood. All in different shapes and colors. As he stared at them for a long while, Ezekiel realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d bothered carving something. It was originally something he’d gotten into to make an apology gift for Shari. But he found that he’d actually liked it a fair bit. Unfortunately, it seemed like he’d forgotten all about it when he’d started doing missions and research experiments for the Church.
Inside the crate was a letter.
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Hey, kid, happy celebration!
I’m not sure what you’re celebrating, because I’m at sea right now, but I told Carrian to give you this when you finally have a party for something involving yourself.
Not sure what it will be for, but I figured these might be a good gift. I noticed you had a carving set when we first met. But I haven’t seen you carving anything at all. You should try it again.
Don’t obsess over your work, getting lost in the moment, and don’t forget where you came from. Sanafalls may be your home right now, but your family is waiting for you. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something to give them, to show them what you’ve seen in your time away from them?
Give it some thought and try to relax. You’re younger than me but act like you’re older than the old man. Stop it. Also, reach out to Riker. Some time away from the Church might help you learn some things. I know that was the case for me.
From, Scarlet.
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Looking at the letter a few more times, Ezekiel almost couldn’t believe that it came from Scarlet. The writing was far more elegant than her usual vocabulary and rough voice.
Placing the letter down, Ezekiel pulled out a few pieces of wood. Turning them over in his hands, he saw some shapes that he thought he could work with.
“Oy! Come on! This is a party, a small one, but still a party! Come have some fun!” Marc called out. “You can play with your wood later?”
Ezekiel put the blocks back in the crate. Marc was right. He could work with them later. For now, he was going to enjoy some time with his friends and fellow Scholars. But he made a note to reach out to Riker. Maybe some time outside of the Church would be a good thing. Especially if the Guild had anything interesting going on.