This chapter has not been rewritten yet so this will be a severe inconsistency.

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Ieros left the throne room, breathing a great sigh of relief once the doors closed behind him. He slowly became aware of his beating heart, each beat thudding against his chest.

“Well, how did it go?”

He turned to face Meralia, then looked at the Court Mage badge and then shrugged helplessly.

“Good? I don’t know but I guess I’m a Court Mage now.”

Meralia was shocked for a moment and then she said, “Do you want to be a Court Mage?”

Ieros shrugged again.

“I don’t know really, I mean I guess it’s a great honor but I feel that it might be too much for me.”

Meralia nodded.

“Of course, you’re only fifteen years old. Honestly, what was the King thinking? If you want, I will try to get him to change his mind, I-”

Ieros shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.”

He looked down at the badge, saying, “Well, it’s not the worst thing that could’ve happened to me, and at least now I can enter the Imperial Library.”

Meralia asked, “Are you really sure? You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

Ieros met her eyes and said, “It’s okay, I might be a little uncomfortable with it but it’s not something I absolutely hate. I think I’ll be fine.”

Meralia opened her mouth to continue but finally decided against it. After all, to be made a Court Mage wasn’t too bad of a thing, to be made of a Court Mage essentially meant that they were the extension of the King’s power and as such, he would have the authority and protection of the King himself. The King was a powerful man, made so by the Ruling Magic that has been passed down from generation to generation. Ruling Magic, as stated in its name, is magic which allows one to rule, specifically the mana within the blood of mortal men.

This special mana type which ruled others was sapphire blue in color which happened to turn the blood of those who possessed Ruling Magic blue. And it was through this that royal families of various nations have remained in power for generations, for as long as they possessed Ruling Magic, none could rise up against them. For through the use of Ruling Magic, all other magic could be nullified, although of course, this magic was not without its faults. In order to be properly utilized, they must sit at the center of a magic circle, the circle designating an area which would be his mana domain, a place where his power rules supreme. And it was due to this authority that the King is absolute. An existence that held power in both name and physicality.

This was also of Light’s design, to create order so as to slow if not stop the spread of Night’s influence, to stop chaos. Kings are meant to rule, and rule they shall from their thrones. As such, ancient Kingdoms were founded on magic circles which were centered at the thrones. While not absolutely necessary, a King's powers are at their peak when he sits upon his throne, that is where he is able to utilize his abilities to the greatest effect. This is not to say that they are helpless without their thrones, Kings are quite capable of using their magic as long as they remain in the magic circle which the borders of their nation are roughly based around. 

However, the farther they were from the center of the circle, the greater the drain on their abilities. And while they may be practically impervious to magical damage, it doesn't prevent them from dying to a sword or a stray arrow which is why they use the Court Mages. The Court Mage is a representative of the King's authority, through them the King may spread his influence throughout his territory without personally going himself. They act as the King’s arms for while a King is powerful, not even they can be everywhere at once.

That was the Court Mage, the burden which now weighed on Ieros’s young shoulders. It would be up to Ieros to represent the King in matters of national importance, to serve his will, and—if necessary—carry out the King’s punishment. No longer would he be just himself but part of the King’s will. 

And Ieros was sort of aware of this in a way, because of that badge he now wore he would no longer be free to relax in deep in the forest, listening to the shadows. Those days were at an end now, he was going to be in the service of the King himself. He was slightly saddened by this, there were still so many stories for him to listen to, still so many things to learn. Perhaps he should’ve avoided Meralia back then, perhaps he should’ve refused and disappeared into the forest. But, he couldn’t do that. Meralia was like a second mother to him, he just couldn’t ignore her. He will do what he had to do, that was all that there was to it.

When he returned to the Academy, he spent his time wandering its halls, gathering a few curious looks but nothing serious. After all, hooded mages were seen all the time in the Academy, he was just one among many others. As he walked, he finally found himself before the Library, nostalgic memories of him as a child momentarily filling his mind, bringing a small smile to his face. As he opened his eyes, putting those nostalgic memories aside, for now, he stepped into the Library. 

The shadows within murmured hushed greetings, Ieros taking a seat in one of the chairs as he just listened to the stories these shadows had to tell. And unlike before, now he was truly able to appreciate these stories, understanding them to a far greater degree than he had as a child. 

While the shadows of the forest enlightened him to the existence of many magical properties, the shadows of the Library showed Ieros how these properties worked. For these shadows, unlike those in the forest, were shadows of tomes and the Library itself, having borne witness to the works of mages and their thoughts as they wrote down these books. Each tome held a shadow which knew everything there was to know about that tome, from the day it was put together, such as when the mage had accidentally made a small splotch of ink on the bottom left corner, and each and every thought that went into writing the words onto paper. 

They understood magic more deeply than any other mortal being, except for perhaps the dragons. And it was this understanding that was transferred to Ieros who just enjoyed listening to the voices of shadows again, remaining in the library as the daylight began to fade. He let his mind wander as he listened, imagining in his mind that he was actually casting the spells that the shadows spoke of, envisioning the concepts that they explained, and overall just understanding to a far greater degree than he had previously.

Things that had eluded him before he now understood with clarity, his once blurred sight now as clear as day. But, it was the magic of creation that still evaded his understanding, for it was something that not even these shadows knew how to do. All they spoke of was what Ieros already knew about, the conversion of the particles in the air into different matter. But, Ieros just felt that it wasn’t the answer, at least, not the complete one. There was something else, another piece of the puzzle that he just didn’t know.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

And then, he remembered something, something that he had seen long ago as a child. It was on his first day in the Academy, he had encountered something here, a shadow that was unlike any he had met before. With his school duties, he had never paid it too much heed and in the forest, he was too busy with the shadows, but now, he had nothing to stop him. And so, he stood, drawing the attention of some students that were studying. But they soon returned to their studies as Ieros left the Library, making his way to where the ancient shadow resided.

And he found it again, what was once the greatest mountain to ever grace the face of Agleon. First, he bowed to it before he took a seat by the stone, reaching out a hand to place on its cool smooth surface. As he closed his eyes, he called out to the shadow that slumbered, waiting for the shadow to awaken.

Then, a slow, sleepy voice spoke, Ah... the boy.

Ieros nodded.

It is me again, but I have come prepared to receive the knowledge you possess.

The shadow mused, Are you? The last time... your mind was... not strong enough.

Ieros said, That was before, I can handle it now.

The shadow seemed to chuckle, saying, Then... understand.

With those words, knowledge began to flood into Ieros’s mind, countless eons of memories rushing into his mind until finally, there was only one memory left. It was... darkness, darkness everywhere. But the darkness wasn’t empty, no, the darkness itself was matter. He was everything, yet nothing, everywhere, yet nowhere, he was all.

And then, in that darkness, there was a Word, at least, that was the best that he could describe it. It was... something full of meaning. And, although the language in which it was spoken was foreign, and possibly not even verbally communicated, he understood it. Stone. That was the word, stone, and then there was stone, no, he was stone. With but a word, that being had made the great mountain, just a single word which he could only describe as being the essence of what it was to be stone.

The being spoke more words, words of power which began to form the matter of this world, each word spoken equaling another material introduced to existence. And among the more mundane items, there were materials of the divine realm, things Ieros only recognized from ancient texts within the Academy’s Library such as Adamant, Orichalcum, and Mithril. Then there were even more words that Ieros didn’t know the meaning of, words that exuded an aura of great power. 

If he could master these words, Ieros was sure that he could walk farther down the path of Magic than any other mage to have ever lived. That alone filled his heart with excitement, so much so that he immediately tried to understand the words that the being spoke, replaying the memory over and over as he attempted to master them. However, unsurprisingly, each and every attempt was met with failure, again and again, no matter how many times he tried. But, Ieros kept on trying, the desire to master the words of Creation overpowering his frustration.

As he pursued the mysteries of this language, he was disturbed, someone was shaking his shoulder. As he roused himself from the trance he had put himself in, he whirled around in irritation and anger, although those feelings immediately lessened when he saw who it was that disturbed him. Taking a moment to rein in his irritation, he then noticed the darkened sky and Meralia’s worried face, Meralia asking, 

“Are you alright?”

Ieros nodded, sighing.

“Yeah, I was just very close on figuring something out.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Ieros, it’s just that I was worried, you were just sitting there for so long.”

Ieros shrugged.

“Well, I understand why you did it and I can’t blame you for it.”

Seeing that he was rather glum, Meralia offered, “Well perhaps you can continue doing whatever you need to do in my tower, there, no one will disturb you.”

Ieros smiled as he shook his head.

“No thanks, I have to stay here.”

Although she was confused, meralia didn’t press the matter.

“Oh, well then good luck.”

Ieros nodded.

“Thanks.”

As Meralia made her way back to her tower, Ieros returned his attention to the stone, once more reaching out a hand to touch it as he closed his eyes. Once more, he allowed the words that being spoke to resound within his mind, trying to understand how to utter those words with his limited mortal capacity. However, he was not able to master even the simplest word, the one representing Stone. The language was far too foreign for his mind to comprehend, it would only be acquired after dedication. But even so, this did not dampen Ieros’s excitement. It had been a long time since he had encountered something which stumped him and he was determined to do all that he could to learn it.

And that was exactly what he did, delving deeper into the knowledge of Creation he already knew to try and find the relationship between the word and the matter it represented, analyzing the memory to see just what the effect of the word was when it was spoken. Again and again, he replayed that memory, trying to understand the miracle he was beholding.

And as morning approached, he inched ever so closer to complete understanding, coming to the fundamental realization that this stone wasn’t just appearing into existence, it was being created from something else. But as to what, the only answer Ieros could arrive to was that it was some sort of invisible matter, something that was all around yet there. Was it air? No, that couldn’t be it, the word for Air was spoken later because right after, there was a great wind which buffeted the side of the great mountain. At least, that was what Ieros believed to be the word of air. But before there was nothing, there was only... only darkness. No, it wasn’t only darkness, there was that being too, whatever it was. Ieros sighed, there were just so many puzzling pieces to this mystery, he couldn’t make any sense out of it. 

Then, the shadow’s sleepy voice spoke once more, saying, The answer is... very simple. The two are one... and the same.

What? What do you mean? Ieros asked.

The shadow replied, From Darkness all was made... so Darkness is both matter... and Creator.

Still a bit confused, Ieros asked, But that doesn’t make any sense, are you saying that the darkness is alive? That it used its own flesh to make everything?

The shadow only answered, Darkness is all.

After that, the shadow refused to explain, only saying that the answers were there for Ieros to see. Seeing that he’d get no more help from the shadow, Ieros began to ponder those vague answers, finally coming to the conclusion that the “flesh” was the darkness all around him at the memory’s beginning, that was the “first matter” used to convert into other things. And that being, it also a part of the darkness, was it some sort of god? Somehow, he did not feel as if that was correct, it did not feel like a god.

He spent the rest of the night thinking and thinking but as morning neared, he still had yet to find a connection. And by then, frustration had won out over his initial excitement and so, for now, he decided to put it off. He’d return to it later when he felt better. As he took a breather, he cast his gaze upward and blinked, the sky wasn’t the black of night like he had expected, instead, it was the dawning light of a new sunrise. He then became aware of a slight ache in several of his limbs which he began to stretch, standing up as he did so. And then he remembered, he had to meet the King today, but he didn’t know the time. Panic filled his mind, he had to go now. So, he hurriedly left, leaving behind the stone whose shadow returned to slumber.