PROLOGUE
Life Forsaken
Loud, frantic footsteps came over the entire household as Nullam ran from one end to the other, desperately grasping at the documents and journals he'd been working on the past week. Every fibre of his being cursed him colourfully, shaming him for forgetting something so important. There were only a couple of hours before he'd have to present his first batch of findings to the township council, so he started working as soon as the revelation dawned upon him.
Now with less than three hours to complete his summarized report, he set to work on several different tasks. Though an invisible clock ticked away in his head, he still had a responsibility to his sleeping distraction. Nullam ran down the stairs and walked briskly to his kitchen, where he went about making a meal for his still-unconscious guest.
The kitchen was quite impressive, to say the least. The house he'd rented was owned by an up-and-coming chef who'd just left the island for greater pursuits. Naturally, his kitchen would be bristling with plentiful wares and utensils of professional quality, leaving Nullam with the ability to experiment pretty wildly with food. It helped that his guest was a big eater with a staggeringly fast metabolism, so he always had someone to taste-test his food for him.
The chef and his taste-tester would be sorely disappointed with Nullam's meal choice, however, as he unceremoniously picked out a pair of reheatable sandwiches from the cupboards and chucked them into the oven.
On a whim, Nullam decided to automate the process of cooking with his magic. This wouldn't prove to be much of a challenge to him, but it would serve as good practise if he did it more often. Making a mental note to consider refining his abilities at some point, he closed his eyes and began to focus on what exactly he wanted the oven to do.
Nullam rested his hand on the oven in front of him. The mental image of oven functionality took shape in his mind, and he willed its effects upon it. His hand began glowing red as it commandeered the knobs controlling it, and he felt the heat gradually rise as the knobs turned.
The red glow spread across the panel of knobs and the oven door. Prodding and tinkering with the controls, it awaited the trigger condition instigated by the next phase of its caster's instruction. Nullam smiled in satisfaction as he removed his hand from the oven, promptly returning to his room.
Walking back up the stairs, Nullam could very vividly feel the pressure in his chest as he took in the task ahead of him and how little time he had left. Now down to two-and-a-half hours, he hastened his pace and reached the door to his bedroom.
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Seven pages and two hours later, Nullam slumped onto his desk in relief. Finally, the work was done. Seven pages of summarized data crammed in just two hours. Nullam was quite impressed with the speed of his work, and even more so by its quality. It seemed like a normal report, after all – no trace of crammed or hasty work.
Quickly slipping into a breathable plaid shirt and some black slacks, Nullam tapped the slumbering woman in an attempt to wake her up. Ami grunted in response.
"Hey, Ami! Wake up," exclaimed the redhead, gently shaking his sleeping friend. "Breakfast's ready."
Grumbling, the curled-up ball slowly unravelled into the shape of a human being. "What's for breakfast?" Croaked Ami.
"A warm sandwich. Take care of the house, will you?"
She kept on making weird semi-moan sounds as Nullam put on a beige waistcoat and holstered an old revolver, making him look more like a lawman than any proper mage. He internally sneered at the image of an old bimbo who wore unwieldy robes and frilly coats wherever he went. What practical benefit does sacrificing your movement even have, anyway?
"Looking good, my guy!" commented Ami as she sat up and stretched further. Her head rested on a finger as if thinking about something as she scrutinized Nullam's get-up. She scowled at some point and got up, fixing some wrinkle on his collar.
"...and – there, that should do it." She said, looking up at Nullam with a very wide smile.
"Thanks, Ami."
"You're welcome," she said, pulling him in for an embrace. "You take care."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
They exchanged suggestive looks for a moment as the two held each other at arm's length. They broke the silence with a hearty chuckle and Nullam went on his way, grabbing his papers and a sandwich before he left. He was sure he'd refrain from procrastination like that in the future, yet equally sure he'd do it all over again.
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Nullam couldn't help but feel relaxed as he strolled along the forest trail leading down into the town. The pleasant smell of the local flora left a calming effect as he walked under the soft rays of the sun, through colourful blooms and vibrant foliage. The songs of local avians almost lulled him into sleeping on some patch of grass, until he remembered the reason he came out in the first place.
He kept walking at a sedate pace, idly marvelling at the sight unfolding before him. The place was so stunningly perfect – houses of sandy-white brick and rose-coloured roof shingles hugged the beaches, cascading upwards like stepping stones on the mountains further inland. The coastal town of Itania was a wonder of natural and architectural beauty, Nullam mused.
Nullam pressed on, entering through a welcoming arch built in the same style as the rest of the town's infrastructure, albeit with suspiciously aesthetic vines crawling up and around. Nullam swore this place was designed specifically to be perfect, though he couldn't find a trace of that perfection the people he met.
As Nullam walked through the picturesque town, he was greeted by more than just a few townspeople who immediately recognized him by his get-up. They bowed and wished him a good morning as he passed through the masses glowing with smiles and laughter. They all wore traditional Itanian attire, dressed in pieces of embroidered cloth around their waists and varying sashes draped from their shoulders.
Again, it came to mind how unsettlingly perfect this town was. A traditional, morally impeccable people residing in an equally impeccable and peaceful town was quite the stretch, even for one as isolated as this one was from the rest of the continent. Maybe there was an artefact of some sort controlling the way these people behaved very subtly, or maybe the whole town put up this front of perfection when faced with the Crown's inspectors?
He dropped his line of thought once he'd seen the people, much like he'd dropped his suspicions after actually spending an appreciable amount time around them. Some of them were just genuinely good people. Instead, he focused his energies on how he was going to present his findings to the city authorities, who'd called on the kingdom's inspectors to find out what's been spooking the local fauna lately.
Why a mage and royal investigator like Nullam was doing this sort of menial work was a matter of little relevance to his goals, whatever they were at that point. He was simply going wherever he fancied, honing his skills and exploring the world with his closest friend, and that was enough for him.
As he approached his destination, Nullam took in his surroundings one last time. The sheer beauty of the city never ceased to impress, and the town hall wasn't lagging in that regard. It peaked just above Itania, humbly towering over the small town. In keeping with the rest of the architecture, it kept its white walls and red roofs, with the addition of several stained glass windows that made it seem almost like a cathedral. Wide steps lead up to the front doors, which Nullam began slowly jogging towards.
A pair of out-of-place guards dressed in blue formals and peaked caps ushered him into the surprisingly utilitarian interior of the town hall. Although the furniture itself was quite expensive-looking, it wasn't extravagant in any way. Nullam liked it that way though, so he paid it no mind.
Walking through corridor after corridor, he eventually reached the meeting hall. Loud murmuring bled out through the walls as they approached, an observation that seemed to allude to there being a far larger audience than he'd been expecting. The guards entered before him, shutting the door behind them. Nullam cleared his throat before entering, feeling somewhat unnerved by the presumed larger turnout.
"Inspector Arcana has arrived!" Announced one of the guards as the doors swung open in unison, guards flanking both sides standing at attention. The crowd was indeed larger, with many more of the township's politicians than he'd expected. This was clearly causing quite a stir with the locals!
Rightfully so, he might add. The data he'd gathered was far from conclusive, but it had pretty damned severe implications. Only he didn't really expect the council to read his reports until today, but someone clearly took an interest and spread things around.
He would push through. Nullam mustered every piece of confidence he could from his time in public affairs and strode towards an elevated podium in front of the seated politicians.
Nullam cleared his throat. He drew on his knowledge of loud sounds, visualizing the vibrations in his throat. With this in mind, he applied its effects and magnified his voice.
"Ahem... Yeah, so uh..." Nullam started, fixing his posture and the small stack of papers in front of him. "Good day, members of the council, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Inspector Nullam Arcana, sent on assignment by the Crown Inspectorate to assess recent wildlife excursions into Itanian territory. This is, of course, at the request of local township authorities and its council."
Nullam quickly shuffled his papers until they were aligned and glanced to one of the staff members beside him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask for a stack of papers and ink. I count... uh, about twenty-four. Thank you very much."
He snatched the rim of paper from the nearby staff member and quickly animated the ink inside, producing twenty-four copies of the seven pages he'd written hours before. The entire process seemed to fascinate the township authorities quite a bit, owing to the floating papers and paper-thin streaks of ink flying about, suffused with the same red glow from earlier's cooking schemes.
He stacked all of the papers together and asked for it to be distributed among the crowd, and he decided it was time to unload. "Alright, if you would please turn to page three..."
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