Black Magus

Emeric Cole.

***

Attending an awakening ceremony was always an esteemed event within the Empire. Naturally, as Archduke, I was expected to attend from the start. But the excitement and nostalgia of it all meant I’d go even if I didn’t have to. The fact that not only my son, but the Grand Princess of Deapou and the Prince of Uplos were awakening their cores as well, made it all too good to be true.

I only wished Eved was here to see it.

“I must say,” His Imperial Majesty suddenly said. “If my daughter doesn’t receive magnetic magic as I did, I’ll truly be disappointed.”

Half unbelieving of what I’d just heard, I stared, wide-eyed at him until he seemed to catch his words and suddenly dart his eyes around to Grandpa Everandus and King Uplos to hurriedly add to his words. “Of course.” He amiably chortled. “Roheisa had been blessed with a greater form of our sorcery than even I have. Her Steel is nothing to take lightly.” He waved a threatening finger.

“So I’ve heard, Your Imperial Majesty.” I nodded. “I know how prideful it can be to sire a child with a higher form of magic than your own.”

“Ah, yes.” The Emperor gestured to Granddad while nodding to me. “I hear Amun’s void is quite the spectacle. What affinities do you suppose he’ll be granted today?”

“Who knows?” Granddad disgruntledly huffed. “Our history with affinities isn’t as... extensive as yours.”

“Tar. Acid. Bone. I remember.” Emperor Deapou dryly chortled. Then settled back into his throne to turn back to me. “Three generations, one core each. Is the Grand Duke of Odissi fated to continue such a trend? What say you, Emeric?”

“Only the Gods know.” I humbly shook my head. “But I am dying to find out.” Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. As the heirs to the Empires made their way to the base of the platform shoulder-to-shoulder. And with nothing but a nod to the others, Prince Abulot came walking up to the crystal.

“What type of magic do you think the young Prince will be blessed with, Auberon?” His Imperial Majesty asked.

“I’m not sure he’ll get any, I’m afraid I must say.” King Uplos sighed. “Abulot has always been the more scholarly type. He’s good with numbers and books. To him, magic is but an afterthought. A tool to aid in daily life, if anything. As such, he doesn’t seek the glorious life of a mage. He didn’t even want to attend the ceremony.” He begrudgingly admitted.

'Nothing wrong with that.’ I mentally retorted. I was much the same at his age. And as a result, I made my Grandfather’s empire twice as prosperous as it’d been in my father’s day.

Surely enough, the young prince inherited Sand Magic from his father and was awarded an advanced type of wind magic- Gust. Not only that, he was granted a core lined with jagged cracks along the surface. Judging from the parched feelings the energy left us with, we all agreed that it was drought magic that the young Prince had been blessed with. The ability to absorb and redistribute moisture into anything he desired. Though, as with any affinity, the applications of such magic were entirely up to his imagination.

Amun seemed to gesture for Princess Roheisa to go first upon the Prince’s return, causing the Emperor to comment on his manners before becoming awfully silent, leaning forth, and clutching the arms of his iron throne tightly enough for the metal to bend under his grip.

Once she touched the crystal, the gem displayed her diamond density within her well before the basin covered itself in a clean sheet of steel. Then, the mana field above began to change into something that brought about a sudden burst of excitement from his Imperial Majesty. The core was the color rust and exuded an effect that indiscriminately tugged on jewelry and other metal accessories found within the crowd. “Magnetic Magic.” The Emperor proudly declared. Following that, however, the next core began to form. Causing the Emperor to once again grip the arms of his throne and anxiously wait until the mana began to solidify and glow hot enough to turn into the viscous fluid everyone in the Deapou Empire knew all too well. The Emperor’s pride was nearly radiating light from my peripherals at the sight of his daughter’s Lava core forming. A pride that only compounded as a third mana field condensed into a field of flowering crystals before shrinking down and merging into her body.

“Steel, Magnetism, Lava, and Crystal Magic.” The Emperor almost sobbed. "Four cores! I've never been more proud."

I couldn’t focus on him long, however, as the princess bounced back down the platform and nodded to Amun as she passed him. Then, it was my turn to grip the arms of my seat.

Looking at Amun take to the stage was simultaneously the greatest and the most stressful moment of my life. As his father, nothing made me happier than hearing the praise coming from everyone present. As they were saying, he's surely become a fine young man. Though, that much was apparent from the start. From the moment I first laid eyes on him, I noticed a certain… maturity in him. A sage-like quality. A spark of intellect. I knew not the words to describe it. I was only aware of the strange sensations I felt when holding Amun of Odissi in my arms for the first time. The emotions that bloomed from stepping into fatherhood were nearly snuffed out by the studious look aimed at my tear-wrought face. Strangely, a part of me could only see him as Grandpa Everandus reduced to an elf-eared baby form. The cold gaze was there. The impatience was there. And obviously, the looks were there. But, Amun was more than that. At only a few hours old, Amun seemed to display all the signs of an intellectual. He appeared like an alchemist in a brand new lab, the way he studied his parents and his new environment. And though he tried to hide it, those signs became all too apparent once he started his education.

I couldn’t say I was surprised when Amun burned through Mr. Brook’s lessons; similarly, hearing of Amun camping out in the library for days on end was something I nearly anticipated. And so too did I foresee him struggling with elemental manipulation, at no fault to his own, might I add. What came as a shock to us all, however, was the efficacy of Amun’s training and the efficiency of his magical practice. To paraphrase the latter, it’d be apt to say Amun specialized in accomplishing a lot with very little, despite the vastness and potency of his mana reserves. As for the former, he not only brought his vassals up to a comparable level to his own, but he trained an entire class of Corvus graduates to boot. It was a first in the history of the Empire, everyone was aware of that. However, what was unspoken and possibly even unknown by everyone, was that Amun was the first person in history to have created a guild before coming of age. Unofficial, though it still was.

Scattered though they were, Amun’s banner of loyalists was over 500 strong. Looking at him now as he poured his mana into the crystal, I could only guess how high those numbers would rise over time.

A roll of murmurs and chatter spread through the chamber as the crystal projected a crackling field of the blue-green Arcana I’ve seen only a few times thus far. Though, before anyone could comment on it, the pit was consumed in the darkest field of energy I’d ever witnessed in my life. I’d seen it rarely, but the void was a type of darkness that made the shadows feel like twilight. It was logic-breaking darkness with no fear-inducing effects or malevolent auras. It was simply indiscriminate energy that destroyed all it touched. Living or dead, it was all the same to the void.

Looking at it now only made me imagine one thing: being trapped in an empty and infinite expanse. Alone for all eternity.

“So, this is the infamous void.” The Emperor muttered, seemingly in disbelief. “A divine power of destruction.”

Before I or anyone could even reply, the field of mana spreading over the ceiling demanded our attention. After a few moments, the field began to change into a deep purple- almost black field of energy that soon condensed into a core; and as it did, I felt as if a subtle… something, was pulling my entire being toward it. Even as it fell into a dance around Amun’s body. Similarly to me, my father had been fortunate enough to be granted a better affinity than his father, and so too did Amun, by the looks of it. Unlike my Bone Magic, I was certain Amun’s new magic was something truly befitting a royal. Though, I still had no clue as to what it was. Regardless, I knew it was a far cry from the crude or unruly affinities I and my progenitors had been blessed with.

Naturally, that alone caused my pride to rise to an all-time high. When the crystal flashed to life again, however, that pride had been usurped by the snuffing grasp of incredulity. With a hum, a second field spread over the ceiling and was soon attuned to a seemingly foggy type of energy. Upon condensing, however, I saw an endless slew of perpendicular waves perpetually wiggling out from the core at a myriad of paces until it merged into its new owner. Leaving the entirety of the crowd bemused until we were once again shocked by the ceiling lighting up again, causing a brief wave of joyous relief to overcome me before I became stricken once more.

This time, the attributed mana began to distort the ceiling above it. Or rather, it only appeared that way from where we sat. Floating before Amun in its consolidated form seemed to warp our visual perception of him, making it appear that half of his body was above the core, distorted like Solid Shade smashed flat while the lower half stood on the ground. Meanwhile, the innards of the core seemed to serve as a viewing port to… somewhere. An empty space that was undoubtedly not here. But neither was it the void, Under, or Shadow Realm either.

It was almost like-

“Spatial magic?” The Emperor exclaimed.

“Mhmm. It almost looks like-” Though his eyes had remained locked on the chamber before us, a sudden wave of chaos from the crowd below and behind us cut Grandpa Everandus’ words short.

“Four!?” The Emperor erupted from his throne with enough force to crumple it into the shape of a royal stool.

He was by the window in the next second, forcing me to join him in order to gaze upon the blue-green field above transition into a blinding, fiery energy that easily outshone all of the other fire-based cores awakened today combined. The intense pressure and radiant light ceaselessly bled out into the chamber. Forcing nearly all of us to shield our eyes or turn away until the core was finally absorbed in Amun.

“What… in the Seventeen Hells were those!?” The Emperor splattered simmering phlegm onto the window from his outburst. Despite his tone, however, there was only curiosity and pride instead of outrage or frustration on his face. More so, there was disbelief. An expression that the entirety of the crowd seemed to share.

“I- I don’t know.” I finally managed to gasp.

“I was surprised he got two, let alone four. But, that last one was unquestionably light. It was like the sun itself!” Granddad wryly gasped. Then muttered to himself. “A sorcerer of ancient darkness possessing light magic. It’s unprecedented.”

After only a second of silence, the Emperor ripped himself from the window and was before the door within the pace of a heartbeat. “We need to find out more!”

‘Shit!’ I cursed, fighting to raise myself from my seat. “Your Imperial Majesty! Wait!” But he was already gone.

Looking around, everyone seemed to be either shocked or outright scared. And as expected, Everandus Cole amiably sat in place, muttering or chortling to himself while he pondered whatever crossed the mind of a living lich.

Amun, however, simply stood in place. Distantly staring off into space as if he were mortified.