Nathan followed Julia out of the compound. He was finally going to move to new shores and start a grander life. Yet, the first thing he saw as a free man was a man bound by the same ice shackles which had bound him.

It was the musher, chained like a beast, sitting on his shins. His ankles were tied together, his arms chained to his chest, and his mouth stuffed with a cloth.

“Musher Fegni,” said Julia. “Do you recognize this young man?”

The man vigorously shook his head.

“I have already told you of your crimes. Now it is time for you to receive your punishment.” She turned to Nathan. “How do you want to deal with him?” Her tone was sharp and loud.

Nathan didn’t know how to react. He had long forgotten about this man and what he had done to him. In the time since their meeting, Nathan had met many others worse than him. And blood was the last thing he wanted to see after having killed the miner.

Nathan looked at the musher. His eyes, dyed red, pleaded for his life.

“It’s alri—”

“Here.” Julia handed Nathan a thin triangular blade with a silver handle. It was the same kind of knife he used to gut animals his father hunted.

The musher began to tear up and gag on the cloth.

“If you wish to be a mage, this is what you must do.”

“To punish?” Nathan asked. He hadn’t learned any of this from his father. Only the principles of mana and how to kill beasts.

“No. To redeem your honour, to not let yourself ever be put down or kept down. You are a noble mage; you are one who stands at the pinnacle of everything. For that reason, nothing, not even the smallest thing can be ignored, for even the smallest of cracks can lead to a tower’s fall. If you do not want to be the destroyer of humanity’s greatest achievement, you must carry this out.”

Nathan reached to the knife. He hesitated, but finally took a hold of the tool. “I have to kill him,” he told himself. He knew this would be his only chance to reach the Tower. Why else was he brought up hunting and dismembering beasts if not to kill?

To become a mage meant becoming a beast.

Nathan brought the knife to the man’s jugular. The musher tried to move away, but pulling on his dirty blonde hair, Julia held his head in place. Blood dripped down the tip of the knife pressed on his neck.

The musher’s muffled pleading diminished, as he avoided further pushing the blade into his neck.

But eventually, Nathan found his resolve, closed his eyes, and stabbed the musher’s neck. Warm liquid sprayed on his face and body. He heard a thud and wiped the blood off his face; after which he opened his eyes and saw the musher lying on his side, his blood seeping into the snow.

“Next time, don’t close your eyes, it’s a bad habit.” Julia bent down and picked up the knife Nathan had unknowingly dropped.

“You’ll understand the importance of what you’re doing once we reach the Northern Tower, and you see what is threatening its existence.” Julia looked up to the sky. “Know that even amongst the five Towers, it can be argued that the North is the most beautiful. After all, it is the newest Tower and has for that reason been the home of many eccentrics escaping the Central Tower's persecution. This tradition must be preserved at all costs.” She looked back down at Nathan with gentle eyes, Nathan had a hard time associating with such a cold lady. “And know that you who has lived such a unique life and has such a unique background will fit right in and be more than welcome.”

Speechless at his perceived value, Nathan followed Julia. They stepped onto a sled and another musher riddled with anxiety took them away.

#

As the sled approached the city and the hundreds of other sleds converged into a line, Nathan remembered the first time he had come here. He was famished, tired, but also accompanied by others: Gilja, Mailha, and Anfila. He wondered what had happened to them. After all, back then he wanted to help them escape, but now it seemed too late. Even if they were still alive, he felt like he wouldn’t want to confront them. For somewhere within him, he felt guilty.

That’s when their sled approached the representative’s building. His stomach churned, and he wanted to crouch down and hide amongst the mass of dogs, but he stayed upright, holding on to the musher’s waist as not to fall over.

Thankfully, as other sleds turned left to the warehouses, and others took a right into the city, none headed towards the Marilan building. After a few more instants, half the sleds had broken off and the rest came to a stop in the dock.

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“We’re here,” said Julia. She pointed to the largest ship, it had four sails and three masts which pierced the sky.

Nathan had never seen something so tall, and he couldn’t hold back his amazement.

Seeing this, Julia spoke, “This is nothing, don’t think it special. The Grival Island is no more developed than the poorest village on the Continent. Although this is where you lived your early years, remember that it was just that, a training ground for the young. You’ve lived here for fifteen years, but you will live on the Continent much longer. Although time is linear and always flows in one direction, you cannot put more importance to its start than its end. You must always look at it as a whole and give out your final judgment when it has ended.

Nathan was still too awed by the ship to respond. Regardless, he tried his best to compose himself and set his eyes on Julia. “Then do we leave now?” he asked, anxious to see the wonders of which he’d heard all his life.”

“I’ll lead you to the ship, but we can’t leave right away. It’s a long trip and our supplies need to be refilled. But while we wait for that, I can do something for you. As my contribution to the compensation, I’ll get you anything you want from this island. It can be anything short of the land itself. Do you have anything that comes to mind?”

“Anything?” Nathan asked. He had never been given a gift, so he wasn’t sure what to ask for.

“Anything say for what I stated before,” confirmed Julia.

Only thing which came to mind. “When I was travelling through the plains, a family helped me. Their names were Gilja, Mahila, and Anfila. Without them I would have starved and for that I believe they deserve a chance at a better life.”

“I’ll be sure to find them and see what would be best for them. But before I deal with that let’s head aboard. There are people you should meet.” She pushed Nathan up the ship’s ramp.

There, a dozen burly men pushed crates towards a hole in the middle of the deck. The sailors were tall, large, and had dark brown or black hair, larger noses and darker skin than the Daquo and Hilfa’s that were as pale as the snow.

“Over here,” called Julia. She was already at the cabin’s door.

Nathan ran over the deck’s creaking wood, entered the cabin, and followed Julia down into the deck of the ship. Here, it smelled of fish and sweat. And here, Nathan found the mage who had sent him to the mines, sitting in a cell, his hands in the same ice cuffs as he had been imprisoned with. There was also the clerk who’d spoken to him in Marian outside the cell.

As soon as she noticed them, she took a knee.

“You may look up,” said Julia before turning to Nathan. “This here is my assistant Margarette; she’s the one who reported the mage’s crime. If you need anything on this trip, ask her.” Julia redirected her attention to the mage detained in the cell. He was lying down against the ship’s wall, eyes closed. “Mage Brian!” The mage opened his eyes, he didn’t seem to have been sleeping. “Do you recognize this boy?”

“The mage looked Nathan over, but did not react, or talk.”

“Don’t act ignorant. The least the kid deserves is an apology,” she said, but her eyes weren’t filled with sympathy nor sadness, but cold gales.

The mage did not react.

She asked him these questions a few more times—Nathan had zoned out. He didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t even know why he was brought here or what he was to do. He had always anticipated the day when he’d take a ship and head to the continent, where he’d travel the lands before arriving at the Northern Tower's gates. But for months he’d seen nothing but blood and crystals. Even when a mage had come to save him, all he smelled was sweat and fish.

Even though he had yet to see the continent, he’d come to think that he had been duped into admiring something that wasn’t worth admiring. Something less than special—

“Nathan, do you recognize this mage?” Julia snapped him out of his thoughts.

Nathan glanced over the man once more, confirming that it was indeed him. “Yes, that’s the mage who refused me passage and cast the restraining spell on me.”

“Good,” said Julia, turning back to the mage. “Your power trip will cost you and your faction dearly. I hope you are ready for the consequences. Let this voyage be a taste of the next half of your life.”

When Julia finished saying what she had to say, the mage closed his eyes and let his head rest against the ship’s wall. He did not seem disturbed or angered. He looked to have come to term with his fate.

Nathan understood him. The resignation to a boring and useless life. And although Nathan had grown skeptical of the promises of the Tower, he wondered what had driven someone who had everything, lose it all just to persecute a worthless kid like himself.

Perhaps the walls of the Tower were no different from the walls of the mine.

Hearing Julia ascend into the captain’s cabin, he followed, leaving the clerk and the mage together.

“Over here…” she led Nathan into a room adjacent to the captain’s cabin. “Will be your room.”

The room was small, but it had a circular window out of which Nathan could watch the rolling waves.

“The trip should be about two weeks, I’d like to tell you to take a break, but as you are the victim of that mage’s envy, I will have to ready you for court. After that, you will have to be enrolled into a school, but I’ll see what I can do in terms of granting you a small vacation.”

As Julia kept talking about compensations and the like, Nathan grew curious as to what it would be. “What am I going to get as compensation?” He asked.

“That is up to the court to decide. However, if I am to guess it will be something like all of Mage Brian’s assets, and depending on whether they have a mentor or master, you might get a few thousand gold coins more.

But rest assured, whatever you get will at least be enough for you to have the wealth of a third or even fourth-ranked mage.

What Mage Brian did is nearly unheard of, but unfortunately, with the recent ideals spewed by some individuals, it may become more common, as such we must set examples.”

Nathan reached into his pocket and made sure his emblem was still there. Its smooth surface comforted him. He once thought he understood what being a mage entailed, but now he both knew he had overestimated and underestimated the title.

“You should get some sleep,” said Julia. “We’re departing tomorrow, so I’ll be spending the rest of the time with you after that. There are many things which you must learn. The Tower, although based on strength, also requires a mage to have a certain amount of elegance.” She said and stepped out the room, leaving Nathan alone.

#

Nathan stood alone in the cargo bay, say for the prisoner who could not move. “Mage Brian, tell me.” He needed an answer. He needed to know, “What ideal is so great that it is worth your freedom?”