Anthony the son of the Erebus family, from the Empire of Neoptolemus in the second continent, has always wanted to be mage. Born the only son of the House of Erebus, everyone believes he is destined to succeed in the family house even above his more talented sisters, especially Helena who is the youngest and by far the most talented mage of them all. However, even though Anthony has amazing intelligence and potential in the first circle of magic, he has never been able to break the other circles that manifest an element like Fire, Earth, Water, or Wind. Still, determined, he sets on a long tradition known as the Rite of the Crusade embarking on a 5 year journey with the somewhat impossible task of bringing new magic to strengthen the legacy of the Erebus name.
In two years, Anthony has moved to the Duchy of Aster, the other half of the second continent, under Empire rule but broken up into four specialized sections known as the Luxury, Middling, Lower and Slum States. By managing to earn a wage as a hunter, a hired chaser of Greater Beasts that contain rare elemental minerals, he tracks down the whereabouts of his mother’s, old retired teacher Zoe Gaia. While Master Gaia was once a powerful Fire Mage, an Imperial veteran, and professor from the prestigious Pryo-kinetic university she had since opened up a pharmacy in the Gourd, a town on the border of the Lower States and Slums, selling soaps and home remedies. Secretly she is practicing Healer, a profession normally dominated by Wind mages, but has learned new techniques using a combination of special teachings and ways that no other mage has ever conjured.
Reluctant at first to take on another pupil at her age, and also her disability of one missing leg, Master Zoe decides to help him in mage craft, since she needs a hunter to procure her rare and sometimes unobtainable materials for her practice. Upon arriving at the pharmacy Anthony meets her fellow associates, Clio, a self trained water mage, Jason, a former farmer and now clerk, Iris, an expert in fine minerals and other elemental devices, and Selene, a financial manager from the Middling states. After getting to know his new co-workers he learns that his first task is to go to the local hunter’s guild and require all of Master Zoe’s back orders, which have gone unreceived.
While at the local Hunters Guild of Gourd, Anothony meets Philomela the local guild manager, along with Leandor the best hunter in Gourd, who recommends he take up orders from the more popular Boreas Group, a prominent medical group in the Duchy. This same group has made it their mission to use any methods to stop any competing healers from encroaching on their practices, which is why Master Zoe only practices in the Slums under the veil of secrecy. After a friendly match between Leandor and Anthony to prove his worth, he earns their respect and a warning that these orders will be more trouble than he realizes.
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The next day, while training with Master Zoe, the duo receive an emergency request for aid in the Slums from a regular client. Clio meets them at a farm of Niles, a denizen who lives with his family near the slum town of Dotys, where Master Zoe helps heal his son’s broken leg. After witnessing Master Zoe’s healing abilities first hand using precious elemental minerals to mend and repair, they set off to collect payments from a secret herb field near the farm lead by Ida the farmer’s daughter. Upon returning with a large amount of Emerald Leaf, an herb that could awaken spiritual force, they find that the farm is being raided by thugs from the Boreas Group.
They plan on burning the secret herb field of Emerald Leaf, in retaliation for her perceived encroachment on the Boreas Group and a battle ensues between the bandits. Castor, a fire mage, faces off Master Zoe, while Oceanus, a water mage, handles Anthony, and the youngest, a wind mage named Notes watches from the sidelines. While Master Zoe holds her own against Castor, Anthony is horribly mained by Oceanus from a surprise attack that leaves him wounded. With Anthony at their mercy, they convince Master Zoe to surrender but do not let Anthony go unless she reveals the location of the secret herb field.
Seeing the wounded Anthony suffer the farmer’s daughter, Ida, hands over the bag of herbs she was holding onto, but is captured and threatened to be tortured instead. Just as Anthony is at the mercy of Castor’s lightning abilities, he makes a risky play to take the full force of his shock revealing a hidden talent to not only absorb his power but use his own ability to repair his body. This new ability awakened, Castor is disable while Oceanus is quickly defeated by Castor who has awakened a power to use electricity against him.
Oceanus is down and Castor, although heavily wounded, eats a large amount of Emerald Leaf and begins going into a powerful rampaging state. Notes flees the scene, while Castor begins to fight Master Zoe with fire abilities greater than ever before. Master Zoe tries to protect the farm but her prosthetic leg begins to break. At the time, Clio, who had gotten the farmer’s family to safety, returned to help Master Zoe sedate Castor before he destroyed the farm and everyone in it. Using his newly acquired abilities, Anthony manages to help Clio prepare a powerful medicine that will render him unconscious.
After some interrogation, the bandits are kept tied up until they are retrieved by a physician of the Notus group, Master Icarus and his associate Alcyclone who quickly take them away to parts unknown. Now further mysteries await as they return to Gourd, such as the origin of Anthony’s ability, the strange transformation of his special dagger and what is the connection of this mysterious Ion that Master Zoe theorizes about? Will Anthony be able to summon and control it again or will things take a turn for the worst for the would-be mage?