What stood before them were two giants with gryphon heads. For some reason, the two giants looked at each other and seemed to laugh silently at the other’s head. It was hard to really say if it was so because no words were said and everything right now seemed to be a little holy.

What was odd was that the Count seemed to be more than a little embarrassed by the image that these two presented. There was another story here but it was probably something that would not be shared now.

“We answer,”said Sosta as he hefted the horse-cutter on his shoulders. This was the custom. If the offering to the grinder of worlds wasn’t satisfied, the reward was the sword.

“Is he the one?” asked Ristera who wasn’t truly satisfied with what he had seen. A timid and scrawny child was no fitting offering to the arches that he defended. Surely the Count was only joking. “Is this the one, invoker of the way?” Ristera could not be the judge of the offering. That was not his job.

“He is,” said the Count whose heart suddenly began to beat a little more. Now, it was now.

“Come, approach us, little one and prepare to be judged.” Sosta was less rigid and more ‘human’ when compared to his compatriot because unlike the others he wasn’t a sensor like what they all thought but rather he was more of an empath of sorts. He sensed the heart and soul of the little child and the hurt was a little jarring. Surely, there wasn’t much wrong with one who felt this much, right? The little boy walked forwards without even the slightest hesitation. ‘There was no time to ‘lose’ he thought to himself as he trudged to the hulking guardians.

Despite Sosta speaking it would be Ristera who would judge. Ristera swung his horse-cutter and the sword wave passed the boy. The boy did not even flinch. Rather the boy could not. The speed of the slash was evident as was the force. Yet in that swing there was mana and not just force. There was disappointment as Ristera pronounced the results. “You are of the Radiant, child. You are suited for the Garden.”

“What? How could that be?” The Count was incredulous. Surely that wasn’t the case. Surely such a small amount of light was due to the child being an irregular and not because he was merely asymptomatic to the usual scrying of the elementals. This was bad, this was very bad news indeed.

“He is no irregular. Pity. Do you still wish to go to the far gardens? It will not be easy.”

“I will go.”

“Good, you might still make something of yourself. Begone Garek Count. Your request is completed.” Sosta waved his hands and the Count was gone, kicked out of this place with a spatial transfer. It was part of the invocation spell performed here. There was much to do and there was so little time. He wanted to do just that little more for this slip of a boy and it was imperative that no one other than Ristera saw it through with him. Also it might take the two of them to do it as well.

“Boy,” said Sosta as he bent to the boy’s level or tried to by bending forwards on one knee. “Take this as a gift from me.” He held up a small rock of brilliant black that was just like that of the arch. “This will help even the odds out a little in your favour. Will you accept it?”

“No, you really shouldn’t allow that brother. That is not meant for him.” A blade stopped in front of the child and the boy who seemed to want to reach for it saw his own reflection on the blade. He’s almost forgotten the lessons of his time with Her. All good things were entrapped in thorns. Being over eager was as bad as not reaching out as well.

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“Calm down, brother, I’ve thought about it. You might see his stats alone but I see more. I’ll do the same as our Count of rats, I’ll gamble on this little one.”

“Are you that sure?” The blade moved away as the boy reached for the stone. The black stone was enticing his mind, soul and everything. That was the draw of it. That was because he’d seen it before and if it was what he thought it was, he was blessed.

“Child,” said Sosta as he grabbed the left hand of the boy that reached for the fist- sized rock. In one swift motion, he stood up and the boy dangled for dear life. The boy began to yell but Sosta did not relent. “This is a form of Magicite. Usually the others use Magicite as a catalyst for spells. For you though, I can not provide the low class garbage that those fools use. Instead, I shall give you the Magicite from the arch of the Garden. Know that this is a secret. No one can know. No one will know either if you keep quiet. Now, grit your teeth. This Magicite needs to be part of your body. That shall be the sacrifice you provide to the arch. Ristera, brother, I need aid.”

“Understood.” Ristera knew what this would entail. The boy would not be crying. There was no point to the tears, was there. Sosta noted this even as a large finger made its way to the left hand of the boy and the flesh parted like butter in front of a hot knife. The boy screamed. Even as he did, Ristera grabbed the rock and placed it with along with the very rough mana of the metal into the open wound. The Magicite seemed to be like their armours, alive in that moment as it created tendrils and sank into the wound with ease. The Magicite sank into the flesh till there was only a diamond insignia on the top of his palm like a birth mark. The boy did not cry out despite the fact that the Magicite still hurt as it sent tendrils of power into every corner of his body. Each tendril felt like a few hundred ants biting down in that area. He wanted to cry out but he could not. However it was only now that Ristera knew that there was even more oddities to be had. This was no real transfer of magicite. There was so much more. He could feel that disgusting stone suck in his mana, the mana of Sosta and even the mana of the gate. “What have you done?”

“I took a chance.” Sosta smiled even as a gauntleted fist crashed into the side of his head. Sosta was sent flying backwards and the boy looked on impassive. The pain still coursed down his veins. The sight of two giants brawling was novel but the pain took centre stage. “This was my choice and if you dare to question it, you will have to see which of us has truly forgotten the skills of old.”

“Blast you and your troubled stats.” Ristera grumbled as he sat down in front of the boy. “I’m sorry that this has to be this way. The magicite my colleague gave you is slightly special. I would have rather you not have this disturbing piece of power but what is done is done. So, we’ll have to live with it. For now, it’ll hurt till we send you to the Gardens. The mana rich atmosphere should help stabilize your reaction to it. Remember, the magicite is to help you cast the non-elementally aligned spells. The only one built into your very soul is the ‘status spell’.”

“We can talk another day, Ristera. Boy, check out your status-board when you have the chance.” Sosta sliced apart the space between the arch as he made way to Ristera. The slice tore apart the air into a spatial tear. “It is time. The invocation cannot wait any longer. Stay safe. I want to see you soon. I can’t wait to see an elemental king meet me here.” It was with an easy grace then that Sosta picked up the still unsuspecting boy and threw him into tear. “And now, we can go back to waiting.”

“You sure about what you did?” asked Ristera as he began to disengage the mana that was coating the arch. With the mana the arch’s ominous nature came through. This was no mere benign place. The Monsters, trapped by the arch, got up and ran with all of their strength. This was no place for the living or the dead.

“I am sure. This was merely a sacrifice of a crystal seed of Radiance. That should be enough to brighten his path.” As soon as he said it, another gauntleted fist met his helmet.

“YOU HALF BAKED LUMP OF LEAD! THAT WAS THE SEED OF THE OTHER. I THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING. YOU LUMP OF…” The sounds of ringing metal rang out the entire place almost in competition with the now forming thunderstorm

Only the carriage that was headed back to civilization was silent like a fresh grave. The Count was not worried, not any more. What had to be done was done. A decade long game had begun/