Adelie pouts as he walks next to Lyzian; he wanted to see the guildhouse of White Tempest, Lyzian’s guild, but was told that it's in the opposite direction in the fourth ring of Unam. Unam’s unique territory required a different approach in land development. Each hill was turned into a plateau containing a section of the kingdom. The lower ring, the first ring, is the area that Adelie first saw originally. The rings are a great distance apart from each other so they use the massive spires as access points. “After the ceremony, let’s use one of those telespires and visit your guild,” Adelie says as they turn a corner.
“After your ceremony, you’re going back to Mwinda to pack and go to whatever school you fall into,” Lyzian replies. He and Adelie walk past a lively bazaar. A shopkeep tries to get his attention by wafting some gopfruit in his direction. The lilac scented citrine has no effect on Lyzian, but Adelie stops and walks towards the man.
“Ah, I can see you have excellent tastes my friend,” the shopkeeper says. He takes off his purple kufi and gestures towards his assortment of delicacies. “The smell of the gopfruit only attracts those with stellar tastes.”
“It does? Wow, I didn’t know fruit could do that,” Adelie says. He points to a green, oblong fruit with asymmetrical yellow spots. “What about that one, is it sick?”
“This? This is a yawa root. Very good stuff. Engravers like to use it during their bindings because it has natural ather in it. It’s good for the body!”
“Will it make you strong?”
“Incredibly so.” The shopkeeper looks in both directions before reaching over his stand and lowering himself. “Tell you what, since you look like such a nice kid, I’ll give it to you for 50 lym.”
Adelie gives him a quizzical look. “But if it’s so good for you, why not keep it for yourself?” He looks the shopkeeper up and down. “You should use it so you can get stronger. Your arms are really thin and your skin looks like dried seaweed.” The shopkeeper grits his teeth and breathes in sharply, but Adelie continues. “And how come you’re out here with a dirty stand instead of a shopping district? Lyzian told me that Unam had the best shopping districts in all of Grezia but your stand isn’t even better than the Iron Craw.”
The shopkeeper’s face goes white and he stiffens up. “Did you say Lyzian? As in, Lyzian the Storm-Eyed? Guildmaster of White Tempest?”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of me, glad to see that.” Lyzian looms over Adelie and the shopkeeper. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.”
“This guy was-”
“It’s nothing at all,” the shopkeeper says after quickly placing his hand over Adelie’s mouth, “ I was just telling this fine young man that he ought to be careful. There are people out here that wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of someone so...innocent looking.”
Lyzian holds his gaze on the sweating shopkeeper before moving to Adelie. “What part of ‘let’s go to the Awakening Ceremony’ do you not get? You’re the one who said they couldn’t wait to be a Gladius and yet you keep taking all these detours.”
Adelie manages to break free from the shopkeeper's grasp. “ I know, but he said if I had a yawa fruit then I’d get stronger.”
“He did, did he?” Lyzian glances back at the shopkeeper, who instantly flinches and shrinks behind his stand. “ Well, it’s not like you’ll need it after awakening anyways. Now come on, let’s go...actually…” Lyzian grabs Adelie and hoists him onto his shoulder.
“Hey! I’m not a sack of food, I can walk on my own,” Adelie protests.
“Yeah, but the problem is you’re walking everywhere but where we need to go.” Lyzian carries Adelie over his shoulder through the bazaar, enduring every remark of Adelie’s.
The pair finally make it to the Ceremonial Grounds and Lyzian lets Adelie down. “This is in the city?” Adelie asks as he gazes upon the flat, marble plateau surrounded by four gnarled blue roots on each corner. “ This is the ceremony? I thought there’d be a huge audience and the Royal Family and-”
“There are hundreds of ceremonies happening in Unam right now,” Lyzian interrupts, “ do you think the Unamin Royal Family has time to go to each one? Besides, Awakening Ceremonies don’t happen on this plane.”
Adelie turns to Lyzian, “ This plane? Also, where did all the people go? It’s so quiet in this forest.”
“Adelie,” Lyzian says in his ‘you’re starting to annoy me voice’, “ get on the plateau.”
Adelie scoffs but does as he’s told. The moment he steps onto the platform, his entire surroundings change. The bright, dual sun lit sky vanishes, only to be replaced by what looks like a painting of the dusk sky. The small forest of earlier has now grown to encompass Adelie’s entire vision. “Where am I?”
“Now that is a question indeed. You’re still where you were before, but you’re also here.” Adelie looks around to find the source of the voice, but sees nothing but the starless dusk sky and the infinite forest around him. “ Oh, I forgot to assume a form before speaking, one moment please.” The space in front of Adelie begins to distort. A small, unnaturally white humanoid appears wearing a sleeveless, all black dress with an innumerable amount of galaxies swirling across it. It opens its large, yellow eyes and blinks twice. “Is this better?”
“Whoa, what are you?” Adelie runs over and inspects the figure. “You don’t have any hair and your mouth didn’t move at all when you spoke.”
“Interesting, this is your first time seeing an Ith?”
“An Ith?” Adelie stops inspecting and takes a moment to think, “ I’ve heard of you guys...I think. You’re the children of the Atherials right?”
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“In a manner of speaking, yes. We Ith were created by the Atherials as a means to create warriors to combat the Nyl.”
“But there haven't been any Nyl attacks in thousands of years.”
“That is true.”
“So then why are you here?” Adelie resumes inspecting the ith. He tries to grab it but the ith goes intangible and Adelie falls to the ground.
“We are here because we were told to bestow the gift of the Atherials onto those that were worthy.”
Adelie turns on his side and sits up, “even though there aren’t any Nyl around?”
“That is irrelevant. As long as there are those to gift, we Ith shall remain in the Atherspace.” Sensing a deluge of questions, the ith preemptively cuts Adelie off. “Adelie, this Atherspace will be closing shortly. You took too much time sightseeing, behavior most unbecoming of a guildmaster.” The Ith floats around Adelie, leaving a small wave of distortion in its wake.
“How’d you know all of that?”
“I’m reading your history. Please no more questions, it will stop the process.” The Ith continues to fly around Adelie. “Hmm. Interesting. Your spirit screams Gladius...yet your ather pulls more towards Evoker. It’s too early for you to have Ather Specialization. Apologies, this will be uncomfortable.” Before Adelie can even question why, the ith flies into his body and Adelie immediately experiences a cacophony of pain, heat, numbness, elation, fullness, coldness and fear. The Ith pops out from Adelie’s back and floats in front of him. “Ah, it is now clear to me.”
“What did you do?”
“I’ve inspected your innate ather. It was buried deep, quite deep indeed. I can now perform the process.” The Ith extends its right hand to its side, and in one swift motion beheads itself.
Adelie jumps back.“What! Why would you do that?”
“It’s necessary for the Awakening,” the floating Ith head says, “ oh I see, you think because my head is separated from my body that I must be displeased.”
“Displeased? I thought you were dead!”
“It would take more than that to destroy an Ith. Now please hold still.” The body of the ith stands up and walks towards Adelie. “Once this joins with you, you’ll be sent back to your plane. You will understand once you return. Goodbye.”
“Hey wa-” The Ith’s body jumps into Adelie before he can finish and he immediately finds himself back on the plateau of the small woods. He quickly looks around, “ where’d the ith go?”
“Ah, you’re back,” Lyzian says, “ Arm or tongue?”
“What?”
“Which did your Ith cut off, its arm or tongue?”
“It didn’t do any of those things. It said I’d know everything when I came back, but I don’t feel any different.”
Lyzian walks over to Adelie and places his hand on his shoulder. “ That’s because the Awakening Ceremony is a two-step process. The Ith bestows part of its essence onto your soul, and then you need a direct amount of ather sent into your body...which is where I come in. Close your eyes.” Adelie does so and suddenly, he feels the ather rushing through his body again, but this time it feels less intense. The immense surge of energy he felt when Lyzian whisked him away to Unam is a far cry from the energy he feels now, but it feels more permanent. “So what are ya kid? Gladius? Evoker? An Engraver?”
Adelie opens his tear filled eyes, “I’m not a Gladius,” he says as his mouth trembles. “I practiced with my stick everyday after I finished my chores. I did it so much that I couldn’t lift my arms the day after and I lost all feeling in my hands.” Adelie fully breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably on Lyzian’s leg. “How can I be the guildmaster of the strongest guild if I’m not a Gladius like you?”
Lyzian places his arm around Adelie’s back. “Who said that Gladius were the only ones that were strong? The guildmaster for Black Seers is an Evoker. And the one for Silver Hoard is an Engraver.”
Adelie lifts his snot nosed face up, “But I’m not an Evoker or an Engraver either!”
“If you’re not a Gladius, Evoker or Engraver, then all that leaves is-”
“Its such a stupid name,” Adelie says, “ I’ve never even heard of an Auger!.”
Lyzian Udo Cuza has gone places few have even dared to venture. He’s fought against armies numbering in the thousands by himself and is one of 5 people in all of Grezia considered to be equal to the Atherking . Hearing the term Auger sends a sensation through his body that he hadn’t felt since his youth; excitement. “Did you say Auger?”
“Yeah,” Adelie replies as he wipes his tears, “ when you sent your ather through my body, a voice in my head said I was blessed with the power of an Auger. I think it was the ith’s voice.”
“Then why are you crying? Didn’t the voice tell you the history of Augers?” Adelie vigorously shakes his head side to side. “ Augers,” Lyzian said, “ are super rare. Only about 1 in every 100,000 Awakenings produces an Auger.”
“Really?”
“And each time an Auger is awakened, they are destined to make a great change!”
“R-really?” Adelie wipes his face, “changes like what?”
“Well, there’s a legend that it was actually an Auger that ended the 10 Millenia War, all by themselves.”
“Wow! They’d have to be really strong to do something that the Atherials couldn’t do! Maybe even stronger than you!” Adelie starts to beam. “ If Augers are really that incredible, then I’ll be the number 1 Auger and have the number 1 guild!”
“That’s the spirit kid,” Lyzian says as he stands up, “only one snag though; there aren’t any schools for Augers in Grezia.”
“What? That’s not fair!”
“Didn’t you hear what I told you, Augers are extremely rare. No one is gonna dedicate an entire school for a group that exclusive.”
“But then, where am I gonna go for the next 5 years?”
“Isn’t that obvious? You’re gonna be my page at White Tempest.”
Adelie points his finger at Lyzian, “ I already told you! I’m gonna have my own guild.”
“And who’s gonna give you a guild license if you don’t have a seal from any of the schools?” Adelie’s finger loses its rigidity as it hangs limply in the air. “You page for me for the next 5 years, I’ll show you the ropes of being a guildmaster and my approval is worth more than any of the schools combined.”
Adelie gives Lyzian a stern look, “ Ok, I’ll do it, but only for 5 years.”
“That was my terms.”
“And, I get to go on guild assignments with you.”
“You’ll get to go on the ones I say.”
“And,” Adelie continues, “ you’re gonna train me.”
“You’re not a Gladius so none of my techniques would-” Lyzian looks at Adelie and can see an intensity growing in his eyes. “On second thought, we might be able to figure something out.”
“Alright! I’m gonna be trained by Lyzian himself!” Adelie starts jumping around but suddenly finds himself momentarily unable to control his strength. When his foot touches the ground, ather gathers around his feet and he leaps up 10 feet into the air, hitting his head on a branch and falling back onto the ground.
Lyzian sighs, “This is going to be an interesting 5 years.”