Aqua- the Unforgiving Sea

by J. C. Ritchie

  “We don’t have time to talk about your dreaming, Cyrus is gone!” she shouted once more.

  It had taken a moment for Creo to process what she was trying to tell him, “What do you mean he’s gone?” Creo asked.

  “He had just disappeared, I woke up to get a glass of water and he was gone.” Emelia said frantically. “He had taken his evoker’s tome so I know he must have gone after Lust on his own.”

  “He’s a damned fool.” Creo said. “He won’t be able to stop that thing.”

  “He’s the only good thing left in my world; I don’t know what to do.” She began sobbing. “It’s my job to protect him.”

  Creo jumped up off the sofa and grabbed his robes and slipped them on. “Get your coat, were going after him.” He said.

  “It’s the middle of the night; we don’t even know where they are.” Emelia said through a break in her sobbing.

  She was right, it was dark and Levian was a large kingdom. He could have gone anywhere; it just didn’t make any sense why he would go after Lust without any leads on where to find her. “I know it will be difficult but we have to try and do something.” Creo said. “Sitting here waiting is not an option. “

  Emelia ran to her room and grabbed her coat and put it on, and together they both made their way towards the door. Creo opened it to find an unsettling surprise. Standing in the doorway outside was the strange cloaked man from before. The very same man that lead Creo through Levian when he arrived.

  “Hello Creo Naviae, we meet again.” The man said still hooded so Creo could not see his face.

  “You again? What do you want?” Creo asked curiously.

  “I’ve come to take you away; there are things you need to know.” The man said.

  “I don’t have time for this; we need to find our friend.” Creo insisted.

  “Cyrus is fine. He has no leads on Lust’s whereabouts, we have time to find him.” The man explained. “You have to come with me in order to do that.”

  Emelia glared at the mysterious man in her doorway, “How do you know Cyrus?” she question him. “Who are you?”

  “I’m a friend and apparently the only one you three have at the moment.” He said.

  “We aren’t leaving until you tell us who you are and why you’re here!” Creo shouted.

  Emelia tried to shut the door in the man’s face but was stopped by the man’s strength. He placed his palm in the middle of the door and held it open. “I’m getting really tired of both of you questioning why there is someone on your doorstep trying to help you.” The man said. “Baltier sent me.”

  There it was the words that Creo needed to hear. He remembered instantly that Baltier had told him to seek out a man in Levian once he arrived. He had forgotten until this very moment.

  “Baltier? Who is that?” Emelia asked.

  Creo turned to look at Emelia, “Emelia I need you to stay here in case Cyrus comes back. I’m going to go with him.” Creo said.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on?” she asked confused at the situation.

  “Please just trust me, I will be back soon. Cyrus will need you if he comes back injured.” Creo said knowing that his sister was an excellent cleric.

  “I don’t know what’s going on but Creo I trust you.” She said. “If you find my brother please bring him back to me.”

  “I will.” He said nodding, smiling at her.

  “Let’s go we don’t have much time.” The man said.

  Creo fled the house and out into the streets with the strange cloaked man. He led Creo down a dark alleyway as a shortcut through the inner city. The mysterious man led him to Levian’s Sanctorum Library.

  “The library is closed this late at night.” Creo said.

  “Closed to who?” the man asked.

  “Most people.” Creo said and gave the man a funny look.

  “Well I’ve gotta tell you kid, I’m not most people.” He said walking around the back of the building.

  Creo followed behind him still unsure of where they were going. He said that he was going to help him find Cyrus but somehow Creo got the feeling that he wasn’t telling the truth.

  “Where are we going there’s nothing back here but a brick wall?” Creo asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me find my friend?”

  “I am but there’s something you need to see first.” The man said removing his hood to reveal his sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. “I know why you are here in Levian Creo, I know everything.”

  “You know about my transfer, the floating island, the three-headed dragon?” Creo asked. “You know everything?”

  “Yep, that’s about the gist of it.” The man said.

  The man had held out his hand and placed his palm against the brick wall of the library. Creo could see some sort of marking etched on the palm of his hand. It was a picture on an eye inside a circle surrounded by a strange writing that Creo couldn’t read.

  “How do you know these things?” Creo asked.

  “Baltier got a message out before you left Lytos, he is very sorry that you had gotten into this situation.” The man said.

  The wall began to glow with a purplish aura and the bricks began to move one by one revealing a doorway and a set of stairs.

  “That was magic.” Creo said surprised and horrified at the same time.

  “Your right Creo it was magic.” The man said as they walked down the stairs into the black abyss. Creo could hear the wall closing back up behind them. The man had grabbed a sick off of the wall, “Ignis.” He said lighting the stick on fire.

  “You’re a mage?” Creo asked.

  “Yes Creo I am a mage. My name is Vaahn and I was the one Baltier sent to find you.” He explained.

  “Where are you taking me?” Creo asked his curiosity getting the better of him.

  “I’m taking you to the home of the mages, the Magusellum have requested your presence.” Vaahn said.

  Creo followed Vaahn down the long winding stairway in the pitch black darkness. Creo didn’t know if he could trust Vaahn to keep his secret but if Baltier had sent him to protect him then there must be some truth to his words. Baltier was Creo’s father’s best friend since they were infants; if he trusted Vaahn then it was only right for Creo to put his faith in him as well.

  Creo could see through the light from Vaahn’s torch that they had finally reached another doorway, this time the door was made of steel and had the same symbol as the one that was on the palm of Vaahn’s hand. “Secretum magica ego solus.” Vaahn said in a strange foreign tongue. After a moment the door was surrounded by the same purple aura as before and Creo watched as the door opened slowly. Creo followed him inside the doorway into a narrow pathway lit by torches on both sides of the stone walls.

  “What language were you speaking in?” Creo asked.

  “That was the ancient tongue of the magus, it is only known to mages.” Vaahn said leading Creo around the corner and into a large circular room. There were seven stone seats lining the walls of the chamber and sitting at them were seven cloaked figures.

  Vaahn and Creo stood in the center of the chamber, Creo had noticed that one of the seven stone seats were empty. “Masters of the Magusellum, I present Creo Naviae of Lytos.” Vaahn said making their presence known.

  “So this is the boy?” one of the cloaked figures asked. “He appears to be quite scrawny for a mage.”

  Creo could tell by the voice of this figure that she had been an older woman.

  “Now Arellda you know as well as any of us that a mage’s strength is measured by their intellect and not brute strength.” Another cloaked figure said, this time it had been an older man.

  “He is young but I sense potential in this boy.” A third voice said.

  Creo stepped forward, “Excuse me.” He said weakly. “I’m-, I’m not a mage I’m an acolyte.”

  Some of the figures in the room gasped at Creo’s rude interjection. Vaahn walked up behind Creo and placed his hand on his shoulders, “Y
ou must never speak to the masters unless you are spoken to remember that.” He said whispering to Creo.

  Vaahn stepped out in front of Creo, “Masters forgive the boy, he does not know our ways.” He said addressing the cloaked figures before him.

  “The interruption is not what shocked us, it is the fact he denies the fact he is a mage.” Master Ardella said.

  “I understand your concern Master Ardella, but the boy comes from the Sanctorum’s teachings. He knows nothing of magic or our ways.” Vaahn Argued.

  “Master Vaahn has a point Master Ardella. The boy has to be taught our ways.” Master Ruello said, Creo noticed that he was the voice of the older man from before.

  Creo looked to the empty seat to the right of him and then looked to Vaahn; it was hard to believe that in a room of elders that Vaahn had also been a master mage.

  “Step forward Creo Naviae.” One of the master said rising from their seat. Creo slowly walked towards the cloaked man stopping in front of him. “I will now test the boy’s magickal essence.” The man said.

  He had placed his hand over Creo’s head and surrounded Creo with a golden aura. The light shone through the circular room and down the hall. Suddenly sparks began to fly around Creo and the aura forced the master’s hand away. The other masters in the room gasped once again at the incident.

  “The boy is stronger than I had foreseen. His magical essence is that of master class.” The man said. “Tell me Creo Naviae, can you produce a spell for us?”

  Creo shook his head slowly, “No sir, I don’t know any spells. Like I said before I’m just an Acolyte.” He said.

  “Vaahn take the boy and train him, you have the Magusellum’s permission.” Master Ruell said.

  “We have not voted!” Master Tyrel and Master Fien shouted across the room.

  Master Fien removed his hood to reveal a man of darker skin, he was bald and in the middle of his forehead was the symbol with the eye that Creo had seen on Vaahn’s hand and the door from before.

  “I am not calling for a vote masters. You saw the boy’s aura yourself, the boy must be trained.” Master Ruello said sternly. “I will not let the darkness take him and use his powers to harm others.”

  The other master remained seated and hadn’t said a word, Master Ruello returned to his seat across the room. “As you command Master, right away.” Vaahn said leading Creo across the room into a different doorway this time.

  “Where are we going now?” Creo asked looking up at Vaahn.

  “We are going to my chambers, your training begins immediately.” He replied as they walked on down the narrow hallway.

  Chapter 8

  The streets of Levian were dimly lit during the early hours of the morning. It was nearly dawn and Cyrus still hadn’t found any sign of Lust. He wanted so badly to retrieve the aquacite from the daemon and prove to Chancellor Gato that he was just as powerful as any Knight of Mercy or Sanctorum Evoker. Cyrus was powerful, and he knew for a fact he was more powerful than any of them. The only thing he needed to prove that power was to acquire each and every Numina in Le’ Freya. No easy task of course but he knew that nothing would stop him from completing his goal.

  Cyrus used his summoning tome to track Lust’s magical essence to the docks on the outside of Levian. He hadn’t seen any sign of Lust or the stone; he walked around searching for hours to no avail. He was beginning to get discouraged; he fell to his knees and began to punch the ground in a blind rage.

  “Where are you daemon!?” he shouted punching the sand repeatedly. “Why do you hide?”

  Cyrus stopped for a moment realizing that he was allowing his anger to cloud his judgment. He had to keep a level head if he was going to fight something as powerful as one of the Seven Seins of the Infernum.

  “You have been following me for quite some time.” A voice said. “It’s quite annoying.”

  Cyrus recognized the voice to be Lust’s; he looked up to find her standing only a few feet from him across the sand. She was holding the Aquacite.

  “I see you’ve stopped running.” Cyrus said rising to his feet glaring at the daemon.

  Lust began to laugh, “You think I was running from you? A lowly high born evoker?” she asked. “Go on home little boy, I’m out of your league.”

  “I may not look it; but I can take you on, you filth.” Cyrus said with a fiery confidence welling up from within him.

  “I’m going to make you regret those words.” Lust said tucking the aquacite into the front pocket of her long black dress.

  Cyrus removed his summoner’s tome from his bag and opened it, “Guardian of the skies, lend me your wings! I summon thee, Valefore!” he shouted as a green magic circle surrounded him. A winged creature appeared and flew through the sky toward Cyrus. As it passed by, Cyrus jumped onto its back and took off into the blackened sky. The Numina had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It had large razor sharp talons to rip apart its enemies.

  “Valefore, the Aerian Numina eh?” Lust said. “A good choice to fight a grounded enemy.”

  “Enough! Fight me daemon!” Cyrus shouted from the back of Valefore.

  “As you wish!” Lust shouted firing a black surge of energy from her hand.

  The bolt flew through the sky and almost struck the winged Numina. “She can fire projectiles at an alarming rate, this could be bad.” Cyrus said to himself.

  Lust began to fire more bolts of energy trying to knock Cyrus out of the sky, however Cyrus and Valefore were not making it an easy task. When it came to flying there was no better than Valefore. Cyrus had at his disposal one of the most loyal and agile Numina in all of Le’ Freya.

  “Valefore, go in for the attack.” Cyrus commanded the Numina. Valefore flew in close and tried to strike Lust with its large talons and almost succeeded except for the fact that Cyrus underestimated the daemon’s agility. She quickly dodged the attack and fired another round of energy bursts. One of them had finally connected with Valefore disorienting the beast for only a moment.

  “Are you alright Valefore?” Cyrus asked.

  The beast shrieked and went in for another attack, this time its talons had struck Lust making a large laceration on her right shoulder. The attack had knocked her off her balance. “Now Valefore!” Cyrus said as the beast began to beat its wings causing a strong gust that had sent Lust flying across the sand. The daemon had landed hard with a loud thud. However it was going to take a lot more than that to finish her off.

  “I’m just getting started.” Lust said rising to her feet holding her shoulder.

  ***

  Creo walked inside Vaahn’s chambers and watched as Vaahn had closed the door behind them. “So, this is where you live?” Creo asked him curiously.

  “Yes, all mages reside underground in hiding.” Vaahn said. “It’s not the best conditions but it’s home.”

  Creo looked around the room at the shelves of old and worn out books. Vaahn hadn’t seemed like the bookworm type but when it came to mages anything was possible. On the table in the middle of the room sat a morter and pestle and bunches of herbs with a book open to a specific recipe.

  “Mages make poisons?” Creo asked.

  “No, I make poisons as well as antidotes to heal those who have been poisoned.” Vaahn replied closing the book on the table before Creo could look at it.

  “If mage’s have magic, then why would you need poisons?” Creo asked.

  Vaahn smiled, “Good question, well you see magic is all well and good in combat and to heal those who are injured but sometimes you need to remove someone without drawing too much attention to yourself.”

  “I see.” Creo said as his eyes widened swallowing hard and tugging at the collar of his shirt.

  “We are here because I am going to teach you how to harness and control your powers.” Vaahn said walking over to the small stove behind him and began brewing a pot of tea.

  “So, I will be your apprentice then?” Creo asked.

  “Exactly, the first r
ank of mage is an apprentice.” Vaahn explained. “I will be your teacher.”

  “Do you take many students then?” Creo asked trying to get his mind off the idea of being poisoned.

  “No, I don’t. In fact, I never have” He said shaking his head.

  “So why teach met?” Creo asked curiously.

  Vaahn grabbed two wooden cups from the cupboard above the stove and began to pour the tea from the kettle. “I believe that you are special Creo Naviae and so do the other masters.”

  Vaahn walked back to the table and sat down placing a cup of piping hot tea in front of Creo. The boy glared at the cup in disgust as his eyes widened.

  Vaahn rolled his eyes, “What is it?”

  “I’m not thirsty.” Creo said simply.

  “Do you really think I’d poison you Creo?” Vaahn asked. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “I don’t know, all of this is weird to me.” The boy said.

  “Trust me Creo, if I wanted you dead I would have never shown you the entrance to our home.” Vaahn said. “Now drink up while it’s hot.”

  He was right, Vaahn seemed like a genuinely nice person who had wanted to help him. He would have to trust his new master if he was going to learn more about his destiny.

  “You said that you believed that I was special, why is that?” Creo asked lifting his cup up off the table and began to drink his tea.

  “I was sent out by the masters to find you, they had already known about your situation.” Vaahn explained. “They told me that it was very important that I brought you here and now we are here. That is that.”

  “I see.” Creo said. “When will we begin lessons then?”

  “I thought you denied being a mage?’ Vaahn asked smirking at Creo’s sudden curiosity.

  “I do, I mean I did.” Creo said. “I just want to see how this all plays out I guess.”

  “Of course.” The master mage said. “Your lessons will begin now.”

  “Alright.” Creo said nervously.

  Vaahn held out his hand so that his palm was visible, “Do you know how magic is produced Creo?” he asked.