The banks in Kosa were not like the slums or lower states, they were friendly, spacious, and the staff was always welcoming. It was a far cry from the Slums that Anthony had come to know where safety was only guaranteed by either hiding your valuables or holding them to a reliable source. The lower states had banks but mostly controlled by major companies and firms who had frequent habit or price gouging and “misplacing” a coin or two in the wrong account. The middling states prices were reasonable, and were frequently visited by the lower states bordering Kosa but most people couldn’t afford the luxury of living so close or commuting to the Kosa. The last time Anthony was here was when he dropped off some valuable commodities of his own in a special lock box.

He walked over to the desk clerk and offered her his official Hunter’s tag as proof of ID, along with the official seal of the Asterisk on the Brimstone Fang it also came with the name Anthony stapled on the opposite side. That key that he kept with him at all this time was all the proof she needed to lead him into the locked box storage area. She escorted him with a key of her own to activate the duel locks in place. She inserted her key into the slot of draw and allowed him to do the same.

“Whenever you’re ready, sir.” The clerk said.

A quiet nod was all it took for them to unlock the latches in sequence and the box was released like a large drawer upon a nearby table.

“Will there be anything else, sir.”

“Yes, I would like to close my account if you’d be so kind?”

“Are you sure about that, I understand you’ve already paid 6 months in advance and it’s only been...”

“I’m quite sure, if you don’t mind, I’ll need some time alone.” He looked at the box but didn’t open it, simply staring at it with an anxious eye.

“V-very well, sir, I’ll start gathering the proper paperwork.” She didn’t question his decision, but simply bowed her head at the stern look in his face.

When he could hear he was alone, he opened the box slowly as if it was a precious treasure he had long kept hidden and finally revealed it to low quality light stones that decorated this vault’s exterior. As he did he remembered great anger, fear, and uncertainty contained within the box. It had been hidden many times, but only now he had seen it once again like a dark secret known only to himself.

He gathered his nerves to finally reveal and opened the box to air out its contents. His hand reached out with trepidations as he pulled on the leather strap of what was contained inside. It was an old leather bag, commonly used in libraries for delivering letters and papers. At one point it had been practically discarded and left as trash, but Anthony had claimed it, restored it and used it feeling it could still serve some purpose. He pulled it out and placed it on the table to examine and spread its contents on the table.

It was a book that had no title, crudely tied with twine and bound in glued with a leather cover. At once it had been a collection of books, but now it contained the vital key to a collection of lost tombs he had personally transcribed. At once it’s only purpose had been to chronicle his personal observations and theories, but with new discoveries of himself, perhaps now it would be brought alive once again.

There was a second item as well, wrapped in an ordinary cloth. A round spherical object tied with string, it was something of lesser value to his views, but special enough that he had it hidden and covered so that nobody could see its contents. With these two items confirmed he tucked them back into his bag and waited for the clerk to return with the paperwork.

Selene was waiting outside with the carriage as Anthony walked outside the halls of the bank. Conveniently, close to their location was the local hunters guild where he saw a great commotion stirring as dozens of hunters gathered through the doors. Hunters gathered in groups, selected hunters formed special forces preparing nets, ropes, cages, and all manner of non lethal ordinance. Anthony knew there was only one cause for such a commotion, one he had not seen until he reached C rank.

“A trapping party?” He asked himself.

“I heard some of the hunters talking about spotting a Silver Stag near Kosa.” Selene shrugged. “The pay is pretty decent, twenty gold in total. Even if they make a party of ten people, two gold pieces is like twice the bounty of those Marine Horses herds you hunted on the way here.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“A lot of hunters are probably looking to advance to B rank second class.” Anthony added. “It’s a lot less feral than the Brass Boar but also a lot more elusive because it’s said to run so fast it can leap through lakes and rivers.”

“You certainly are well learned.” Selene smiled. “I bet you could probably capture the thing yourself seeing how you took down those Marine Mares with ease. They run on water like regular horses run on land.”

“That’s because they’re more related to fish than horse, essentially a larger species of the seahorse, but more amphibious. Still, we have more pressing matters to attend to.” He stepped onto the wagon without a second thought.

“Jason told me you got into a trapping part for a Brass Boar, I’m guessing trapping a sacred animal is not something that comes around everyday. I’m sure Ms. Gaia wouldn’t mind if you took this opportunity to...”

“...At the moment that is not my concern.” He said holding the old leather folder around his arm. “I must show this to Master Zoe, I believe she might be able to help me with some perspective.”

With that in mind, he entered the carriage and Selene quickly followed. Now it was a straight trip to Iasera, a two day journey with stops but they would reach there by the afternoon if they didn’t stop for hunting like Anthony had been doing they could reach there by the afternoon. It would require some overtime, but the extra money they had from selling the beast caucuses would offer added incentive.

The driver pulled as fast as he could, stopping only to feed and rest his horses and by the time night fell they were more than half way to Iasera. They stopped at a clearing to rest for the evening. Over a campfire, set up by the driver they slept, letting the horse rest near a tree. Selene was already asleep in the carriage despite the limited accommodations for sleeping arrangements. All the while Master Zoe and outside near the carriage reading the book Anthony had handed her to read by the fire.

“I must say it’s pretty impressive.” Master Zoe said careful skimming through the pages in the limited light. “You came up with all this on your own with only the first circle of magic to experiment with.”

“At the time it was the only circle I could access, however given our recent revelations, I thought it would seem somehow complete but if anything it just raises more questions.” Anthony lamented.

“We never did talk about that time you took that volt of pure electricity.” She closed the book and tucked it away carefully. “Tell me, what exactly went through your head when you absorbed that energy and repaired your wounds so quickly?”

“Honestly, it’s a little hard to describe.” He said, gazing into the fire. “It was like all the circles of the magic just started flashing all at once before my eyes and I suddenly realized that fire really was. It’s not merely a power of one force, it’s the power of all forces. Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, all coming together to create a controlled pattern. Then when I realized I couldn’t control it, I just let go and became part of it, like lightning running through every part of my body around me...and through me.”

“That sounds a lot like spirit forces.” Master Zoe rubbed her chin at this description. “Most Fire Mages consider lightning a source of heaven and that body guides down the earth simply by channeling it from one point to another.”

“I recall a similar explanation as a child.”

“My master Daedalus was Earth Mage, a blacksmith by trade focusing on the fundamentals of forging, breaking, dismantling and trying to find the pure essence of metals in the earth. When I saw the way he handled fire to forge them and shape them together I saw sparks fly as he twisted and turned molten metal into shapes. When I looked close it seemed every twist and turn of his hands was like a strike of invisible lightning hitting the metal, more precise than any hammer. Then I realized that heaven and earth forces were working together to create lightning, then why could earth reach out to touch the heavens. After training my body for a time, every strike of my hammer produced lightning with sparks until I started to create it without the use of a hammer. It’s also what inspired me to develop the Light Cleaning Technique that allowed me to enter as professor at Pryo-tech.”

“That was the same technique you used on my broach, yes?” He pulled out the object for her to see.

“Lucky that broach was high grade refinement or I might have risked damaging it in the process.”

“You mean that could have destroyed it?” He asked in shock.

“Ha, relax kids, the odds were pretty high since it survived a fireball.” She chuckled. “Still, we better get some rest if we’re going to pull out early tomorrow. You wanna take the wagon this time?”

“Outside the carriage will be fine for me, Master Zoe.”

“You’ve been sleeping outside since we started this trip, don’t you want to at least have a cushion to sleep on before we reach Iasera?”

“As I’m sure as you’re aware, I am quite adequate in sleeping in the wilds.”

“If you say so kid.” She turned to the sky to see the moon. “It’s a beautiful night, anyway.” Master Zoe hopped aboard the wagon leaving Anthony to sleep outside near the fire.

It’s true Anthony did not dream, he simply sat side the carriage gate and slowly drifted off into his resting state. As the fire died down, the stars grew bright and sounds of wild life resumed. Then there was just Anthony alone in the dark, and strange shine of translucent moonlight moving through the brush.