Interlude IV

The Sad Life of Grand Master Sage Rikt

In the beginning, the lands were bare, or so the legends go.

In order to use the lands man drew upon powers of the voids and beyond to alter the state of the world. Those first mortals who could interact and wield the powers of the voids were granted power to change the world.

The Void was power, and that was where the gods obviously resided. As such it soon became assumed that anyone who was able to wield the powers of the gods had to also receive the blessings of the gods.

Foolish beliefs, but it is what the world that formed the greatest society that Grand Master Sage Rikt grew up in.

Over time powers gained from the void, or the natural power of the void seeping into the world were broken into three tiers.

The first Tier of power was the most basic of powers. These were the natural powers of a world that had been awoken by magic. In Rikt’s time, he had come to find that these were acceptable as there was no interaction with the void, and thus no chance of causing major disturbances in the veil that protects the world from invading demons and greater beings of the other realms.

The second Tier, were the powers that were seen as the pinnacle of creation. These were the powers that people of the void, those who first touched the void and helped conquer the land had available. Those that had performed such a feat had their blood forever altered, making it so any child born from them would be able to access this tier of power at the very least.

For the last two thousand years, it had been grand Rikt’s family’s heritage to pass down the ancient knowledge of the world. To eventually find a suitable partner that had the traits of a void touched in their blood, and to have an offspring with them, so that he might continue on the family line and legacy.

For over half a century Rikt himself has waited for a sign.

For the longest time, he assumed that it would be his task to die old and alone. That after countless generations, he would be the last of his kind.

There were others that were void touched.

Others that he was able to track down from the ancient continent. Unfortunately, most of those he found in such a way were males, that or those that were females were either claimed and locked away, or so weak that having a void touched child powerful enough for his needs would be impossible.

Sadly, Rikt thought that he would die alone.

He even went out of his way to prepare for such an occurrence. Knowing that he would soon be past the point when he could train the next generation of Void Purifiers, he decided to at least cut down on the possible future sources of corruption to the world. Those who would utilize powers beyond their comprehension, and thus wear away the sacred veil between this world and the world of demons.

With this goal in mind, Rikt found himself following a recent incursion.

Lingering scents of the void were faint, not nearly enough to set off his true detections. These were the alerts that would warn of a truly corrupted being on the continent. Rather these were the more subtle wisps of corruption that Rikt could only now identify at his old age.

That was how Rikt found himself following a void corrupted minion out in the woods to the east of the ancient magical city.

The fact that the old city still stands at all today is both a testament to faith, but also the fact that everyone, both void purifiers like Rikt, and the void corrupted still see the place as sacred.

Rikt kept the city safe as it was one of the few self-charging hubs still active. This meant that Rikt himself could use the network relay system that would transport him almost exactly where he felt the source of corruption and stop.

Trails of void corruption are hard to detect while in a dormant state.

Fortunately for Rikt, the traces of void he had tracked down were active.

For a moment Rikt thought that he had been found, that the void minion that he had been tracking had identified him and began laying out an ambush.

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This was why he was shocked when he found signs of a battle.

Not just any battle either, but a corruption free void awakened user, against a corrupted minion.

Most shocking of all, was that despite the uncorrupted void user being outclassed, they still won. Or what one could consider a draw at the very least, as the instigator, the void corrupted minion had to flee.

Finding the traces of blood left by the uncorrupted void user, Rikt noticed that they survived, though they too had to flee the area. Though a scan of the area showed that a remarkable healer had worked hard to stabilize the void awakened.

At this Rikt was left with a choice, either try to follow the dying corrupted minion, or search out for this powerhouse of a void awakened.

Could there have been a second cabal?

No, that made no sense, after so many centuries of looking and trying to continue family lines and legacies, Rikt would know.

In fact, it was such a cross-pollination of cabals that led to Rikt being born.

Unfortunately, when Rikt’s parents reached out to the same cabal, for Rikt’s turn, the cabal had been killed.

At least, that is what Rikt had been led to believe.

Though now, he saw the signs of a clear master at work. A fact that was confirmed by the fact that the old outpost had been awoken by a registered user. Better still, after observing the area, Rikt was astonished to find that the facility was not only awakened, but fully charged and powered. Something that should have been impossible, if not for the fact that nine completely charged batteries had been refilled.

Seeing the work, Rikt almost found himself having a heart attack right there.

The void user had been careless, forgoing the much-needed work of being a Void Purifier like him to being an Arcane Repair Crafter.

Though given the way the facility lit up in a way that was undeniable, Rikt could see the importance of an Arcane Repair Crafter.

However, that still begged the question of where and how this awakened prodigy learned the magic that she did. And it was a she, the access records confirmed this finding.

Purifying Void Master Sage Rikt, welcome. Please enter your requested information.

This was how, Rikt found out about an as of yet uncorrupted and awakened void bloodline holder.

Tier I Arcane Master Crafter Lady Karen Laurain. Age: 14. ...

Fourteen, such an age to receive recognition as a Master, even if it is only at Tier I spoke volumes of the type of person that Rikt was now chasing.

For a moment, Rikt wondered if this was a long lost daughter of the lost cabal, the one that apparently died off before Rikt had a chance to sire a child of his own.

While the child he was now finding out about was nowhere near ready for possibly spreading on the void awakened bloodlines with him, he still found himself wanting to reach out and protect such a wild flower growing in the wild lands.

Just as he found his time an chance to continue his family legacy dying off, he found one last chance. A long shot, and one that would require years of effort to nurture and watch prosper.

Still, this might be the answer that he had been begging for, for so long.

That is why, Rikt decided to find out more about this girl, a system recognized lady and master.

This was how, Purifying Void Master Sage Rikt found himself following the last fast travel point used by the awakened void user and her entourage, and found himself standing outside the gates of the last great city of magic, and current home to the greatest magical university on the continent.

Poof.

Just appearing outside the hollowed halls, Rikt found a mixture of nostalgia and hope filling him as he first stared at the walls.

Then walking in, he felt a slight pull as energy nodes that had long since been dead and drained, suddenly sprang to life with noise and fanfare.

Hidden Trumpets Billow the Arrival of A Grand Master Sage.

Hearing the songs, Rikt was momentarily taken aback, as he had been here countless times over the years. Often under cover of darkness, but even still he remembered the stories his parents would tell about how the city would light up when a Grand Master Sage finally set foot in the city.

For a moment Rikt wondered exactly what happened.

But then Rikt remembered the suddenly charged station to the east, one that would feed its auxiliary power directly to the old city.

For a moment Rikt wanted to kick himself, for he saw all the clues. He saw the hints written on the walls. The fact that a master tier level Arcane Repair Crafter had passed their first test. A test forcing them to power and charge multiple batteries.

Rikt even knew that a single fully charged battery would be enough to charge a city like the great magical city for a hundred years.

Again, the writing had been everywhere that this was what he should expect, but it somehow slipped his mind. So engrossed was he in his pursuit of this Lady Laurain, that he didn’t even bother turning off the broadcast of his arrival a trick he had been taught to do, but had never had a chance to do.

Now after feeling the scan for what it was, and realizing what happened when his Master Tier Sage markings interacted with the scan, he knew not to allow the connection in the future. Unfortunately for Rikt, the damage had already been done.

Poof, poof, poof.

As would be expected of such a powerful city. As soon as Rikt’s presence was broadcast for all to hear, a myriad of magical guards and practitioners appeared before him. Most had weapons out and ready to be used at a moment’s notice, but no one seemed to know what exactly to do.

Finally, an elder male mage with a long flowing beard arrived, along with an attractive female wearing form fitting leather that clearly arrived via the same portal spell.

Just feeling the power levels of everyone around, it was clear that the two that just arrived were on a vastly different power level than those guards who first arrived.

For the moment there was a building surge of emotional energy.

At this moment everything was calm, but it was clear that things could escalate quickly if not addressed appropriately.

Fortunately, most of the tension was immediately dropped when the older male practitioner spoke first.

“Hello, Grand Master?”

Hearing the greeting for what it was Rikt smiled and bowed, “close enough.”

Then to try to help ease any growing tensions, Rikt held up his left hand and revealed his marking as a maxed three tier expert of the ancient void magics.

Gasps.

Seeing the symbol, one that was still glowing brightly thanks to the connection he had with the wards of the city that were now fully activated again, everyone grew quiet for the moment.

Almost no one knew what that symbol meant. At least none should know, as it had been many centuries since the city last was capable of identifying and acknowledge true Grand Masters like himself.

“To what do we owe the presence of such an accomplished master as yourself?” The old master spoke.

At this Rikt looked around, trying to take in the measure of everyone around him.

If he was attacked, he was more than prepared to defend himself, though that would mean he would likely have to call upon traces of the void that could be dangerous for the sacred balance of this city. This was something that he was strictly forbidden from doing, but had no clue why. Though if it came down between saving himself, or following the tenant of not using more devastating form of void powers here, he would go for survival. Particularly as doing so now would mean he might be able to fulfill his birthright and legacy.

“I am searching for a fellow Master Caster.” Rikt began.