He continued to walk among hostile stares, afraid to ask what was the reason, since even his guide barely tolerated his presence. They arrived at a big dome-like building. The man knocked a couple times at the door and stood still. After a minute a woman came out and asked the man for the reason of arrival. He silently nodded in the direction of Sirius, receiving the approving nod in response. Then he left without saying a word, leaving Sirius in front of the entrance. The woman looked Sirius over from head to toe, frowning her brows in wonder.

"Sorry... The person who led me here said I could stay if I meet the elders..."

"Oh, you are an uninitiated one. Sure, come in. How can I call you?" She led Sirius inside, closing the door behind him.

"I have no title."

"Understood. For now you will be called Foreigner, or Traveller, until you will be given a public name to go by. Which tribe are you from?"

"I ran from Kingdom."

"Hmm... Criminal?"

"More like blasphemer."

"Same thing for them. Now wait here while I introduce your arrival to elders, then you may come in."

"Sorry... Why is everyone looking at me like that?..."

"You don't see?" She giggled. "You will learn everything inside, just you wait."

Sirius bowed with gratitude and stood in the foyer, observing the interior. The small room had a multitude of colorful banners on walls, big and small, each featuring some landmark or item. As he observed them, he was invited inside. After taking a deep breath, he walked through the door, entering the wide circular hall. In front of him were nine 'elders', despite some of them being rather young to be called like that. Either way, he stood in the centre and bowed deeply.

"Well, Eyes of the Forest didn't lie, when she said there is someone rather peculiar asking for an audience. The World. Lesses you path, kid. Who are you, and what brings you here?" Said a man with long grey beard, likely the head of the elders.

"Greetings, esteemed Elders. I travelled into the Betweenlands to run from the Kingdom's rule." Sirius began his rehearsed speech. "My thirst for knowledge went against their faith, so I fled. In my travels I got inhured and wanted to stay over until I recover enough to continue my path."

"You are not the first, and you are not the last, unfortunately." Said man with sharp eyes and black curly hair. "How long do you wander?"

"Less than a month. As soon as I got the Astral Body, I left my home."

"Less than a month? And how did you survive?"

"My master was used to living in the wild,so he taught me how to live alone. He also taught me magic."

"You are hiding something." Joined a man with sharp black beard. "Who is your master?"

"He died two years ago, killed by the churchmen. He... His name is Verden."

Suddenly the quiet reigned in the room. The elders glanced at each other, unsure how to react.

"I told you we should kill him right there an then!" A black-haired woman with runes on her face stood up in rage. She pointed her finger at Sirius. "He continued his accursed path and even took in an apprentice! Did he teach you the forbidden techniques?!"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Calm down, Rain of Fire. The kid did nothing wrong yet. The Blasphemer died long before the boy got his Spirit." Long bearded man soothed the woman.

"My apologies, Calmness of Storm." She sat back down, still staring at Sirius with anger.

"I learned about his exile after his death. To me he was my only family, since I am an orphan. He only taught me basics of spellweaving. The rest I learned on my own."

"I am interested to see what you leaned without the Spirit eyes." Said a young ginger woman with sun-touched face, her eyes shining with gold.

"I always had keen senses. On my own I understood the principles of circle diagrams and metallirgy. Also I layed out foundations for alchemy, but never managed to cast a spell with it. If I had better equipment and more time for research, I would achieve much more, but it is hard to experiment with vials on the run."

"That is unfortunate. Your achievements are praiseworthy, but there is also something on your person that attracted our attention."

"I am travelling with Seth, he is my friend." Sirius said, while lifting the edge of his robe to show the pearly manasnake underneath.

"Your friend is the only reason we allowed you to enter. In your left pocket, what is that?"

"In my pocket?..." Sirius tapped the pouch on his side. With a deep sigh, he began uncovering the contents. "It is something I invented to hide from the people from the church... It contains the cloaking spell that soaks the remnants of mana with my signature..." Inside the cloudy crystal he could see black dots swarming the purple center. "That is new."

"And you created it with...?"

"I made it in burst of inspiration with alchemical ingredients and a bit of my blood to pass onto my signature."

"We must banish him, like his predecessor!" Rain of Fire stood up again.

"The kid experimented with things he could not know. He is not to blame." Calmly stated other woman.

"I agree. He was taught basics, but it is not enough to grasp everything on your own." Other elders began joining in and discussing aloud.

"He even managed to tame the manasnake. He must be skilled."

"It consideres kid its friend. That is rare among them."

"His invention scares people, and his spirit does too. We cannot let him live here. He will be cast away by folk."

"He can't walk from tribe to tribe in search of place to live. The injury is deep, and he needs rest."

"So, boy." Asked Calmness of Storm. "Where were you going?"

"After the attack I met a druid. He asked to call him Friend. He told me about my master's magic and how Verden saved him. That was how I got the inspiration. But my crystal upset him. He took pity on me and told how to reach the Deepest Lake. Maybe she would be interested to take me in as an apprentice."

"Did Friend say his specialisation?"

"He said he had none."

Calmness of Storm sighed and looked at the elders, who displayed emotions ranging from fear to sadness.

"You met Friend of the Unkind. He practices rather dangerous magic, and still believes in old ways. He was one of the first mages in these lands."

"How old is he?"

"We... Don't know. Okay than the Kingdom, that is for sure."