The First Mage

For weeks, the idea of returning to Cerus had lingered in our minds. We spoke of it repeatedly, both out of curiosity and necessity, but we were constantly bombarded with distractions and emergencies, which forced us to put these plans on hold. However, on this fateful morning, the stars finally aligned in our favor. There were no emergencies, the camp was under Hayla’s capable watch, the caravan had gone back to Alarna for the time being, and even if they were to try venturing outside again, our Fighters had a good chance of keeping them in check. There were naturally still a myriad of things on my mind, but Cerus had finally climbed its way to the top of my priority list.

As we rode Hati through the forest, Riala’s joyous cries filled the air. “Woo! Faster!” She threw her hands up in excitement, unafraid of falling from Hati’s back. I held her tightly, wrapping my arm around her to ensure her safety, while my other hand clung to Hati’s fur. It was my first time experiencing his full speed, and I had to admit, it made me a bit nervous. Berla shared my apprehension, clutching onto me tightly.

Hati raced through the trees, weaving in and out with expert precision. The pace made me feel a little uneasy, but Riala’s cries for more speed drowned out any objections I might have had, and we were indeed in a hurry to get back by tomorrow. Luckily, Hati’s skill was unparalleled, not only evading any obstacles, but even avoiding noisy patches of leaves and branches with ease.

“Wha!” an endearing cry of panic escaped Berla as we seemingly just barely avoided a full-on collision with a low-hanging branch.

“I didn’t think you of all people would get scared by this,” I chuckled. As our resident speedster, I figured if there was one person in our group who would not be concerned about this tempo, it would be her.

“What!? This is horrifying!” Berla protested, her eyes squeezed shut as she buried her face in my back. “I don’t run through the woods at breakneck speed! Besides, I’m usually the one in control, but with— Eek!” Another branch whizzed past us, and Berla flinched in response.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, watching Berla frantically clutch onto me as we sped through the woods, though a playful pinch to my side signaled that she wasn’t as amused. “Sorry,” I said, holding back a grin.

The silver lining was that a journey, which would have taken hours on foot, had been reduced to a matter of minutes. As we emerged from the woods, a wide dirt road greeted us, winding its way through the forest. To our right lay Alarna, its wall and western gate still partially visible in the distance. To our left was the long path towards Cerus.

Hati came to a sudden halt on the road, and Berla exhaled a sigh of relief, loosening her grip on me. Looking out towards the town, I scanned the area for any signs of activity from the guards. Not a soul was in sight though, and the lack of tracks on the ground below revealed no evidence of anyone having passed by since we left earlier.

“Looking good,” I mused. “I don’t think they’re going to try again today, but Brie and Garn will be here soon anyway.”

Berla, however, did not share my optimism. “Miles, I’m starting to worry about the others,” she admitted. “For transportation purposes it’s useful that Asena didn’t need all of the mods with her, but seeing Hati run through the woods first hand like this... If they were to attack us after all, I don’t know if the others could handle it. Not in this environment. Maybe Riala should—”

Riala anxiously jumped in, fearing she might yet get left behind. “It’s fine! Right, Hati?” she said, patting his back.

“I think so!” he replied in his usual, carefree manner, while the back half of his body swayed as he wagged his tail.

Although we had discussed this, Berla remained wary. She had experienced the danger of fighting beasts in their natural habitat, and even if it didn’t handicap her anymore, her missing limb was a constant reminder. I tried to ease her fears, looking her in the eye. “They’re right. It’s going to be fine,” I said. “Asena seemed truthful to all three of us. Aelene is also still there, and the others all have magic daggers. It won’t get much safer than this, don’t you think?”

Berla hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I suppose...”

The others being relatively safe wasn’t the only point worth considering either. “We also don’t know what awaits us in Cerus,” I pointed out. “If the town is infested with beasts, we might need the additional firepower to load up on essentials.”

Berla nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, you’re right... I just can’t shake this bad feeling.”

“Don’t worry,” I said as I placed my hand on hers and donned a confident grin. “Besides, you heard Aelene, the purple sky is a sign of good fortune. What could go wrong?”

Berla shot me a skeptical look, knowing full well that I didn’t believe in such things. Acting as if I hadn’t noticed the look she gave me, I pointed westwards. “And on we go!” I declared.

“Yea! On!” Riala yelled, following my lead.

Hati obliged and turned left, beginning to move once more. Starting slow, he soon transitioned into a light trot, and finally a full-on gallop. Without the risk of a concussion looming over us, my slight anxiety over his tempo dissipated, and Berla also seemed more at ease as we charged westward on a clear road, under the fortune-bringing vista above us.

***

Saharl strode through the desolation of the Mid Realm, his face twisted with rage. His piercing eyes darted back and forth, scouring the purple-tinged expanse for one of his fellow gods.

“Celeth!” he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the empty void. “Where are you!?”

Despite his repeated calls, the only response was a deafening silence. But this did not deter Saharl. If anything, it only served to stoke the fires of his fury, as he knew nothing could’ve happened to Celeth in this realm. It was his choice not to show himself.

Finally, he arrived at the last place he had yet to search. A shimmering veil of energy rippled before him, revealing a surreal image of a cloud-made house. Like a hallucination, he saw it wobble half-transparently in the distance. Without hesitation, he stepped through the ethereal barrier and found himself enveloped by a sea of fluffy, white clouds.

Gone was the vast emptiness of before, replaced by a tightly-packed space that seemed almost claustrophobic. And looming before him was the house, a towering edifice that stood two stories tall. Its material was reminiscent of the clouds found in the skies of some corners of the world, but here they were solid and yielding to the touch.

This was the personal space of a certain all-seeing deity, who ironically valued her privacy above all else. It was a place where even Saharl’s voice could not reach.

“Shae!” Saharl roared, planting himself before the towering structure.

Out of one of the open windows, a distinct grunt could be heard. “Ugh! What do you want? I’m busy!” Shae’s annoyed voice rang out.

Saharl ground his teeth together. “Tell me where Celeth is and you can go back to whatever you’re oh so busy with!”

He had expected another annoyed retort, but instead, silence answered him, and suspicion quickly crept into his mind. Impatient, he began to weave a complex script in the air with all ten of his fingers, activating it with a snap. The facade of the edifice crumbled before him, and the cloud-like wall of the room Shae was in dissipated into thin air.

There, entangled in a compromising position on a bed of clouds, lay Shae and Celeth. Caught, Shae scrambled to her feet, her voice unapologetic. “You’re going to fix that, you hear me, brother? It takes me hours to pull up just one wall! And what are you thinking, barging in here while I’m like this anyway?”

Saharl’s eyes flickered over his sister’s divine form, lacking most of the defining features one would find in a normal human. “Like what?” he asked in exasperation. “You can pretend to still have the body of a human all you want, but I don’t care about your fantasies.”

Unsure what to do, Celeth looked between the siblings somewhat awkwardly as they bantered about Shae’s sex-life. As a born god, he didn’t understand her desire to play out scenarios of human reproduction without even the necessary physical components. Saharl, having long discarded his worldly desires, was equally baffled by it. But Celeth was fortunate Shae had this weakness he could exploit, distracting her with her own desires while Gallas tried to contact their creator.

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so stuck up all the time if you tried it!” Shae suggested to her brother.

Saharl’s patience wore thin. “And maybe you two wouldn’t have missed the sky turning purple if you hadn’t been distracted!” he snapped.

At last, both Shae and Celeth shot up, their eyes wide. “The magic system is up?” Shae whispered.

“Yes, and I would really like to know how that’s possible!” Saharl growled. “What happened to your beasts, Celeth?”

Celeth had done his job, sending the mods after Miles and the other awakened humans. But he and Gallas had expected their master to emerge victorious from that encounter. Celeth feigned ignorance, stuttering as he closed his eyes to search for his beasts in the Inner Realm. “I-I don’t know.”

“Then you better figure it out!” Saharl demanded before turning to Shae. “And you! I expect you to find me these humans. And next time you indulge in your fantasies, don’t run your privacy script!”

“Yeah... Sorry,” Shae muttered.

As soon as the words escaped her lips, Saharl spun on his heel and stormed out of her personal space with a silent fury. For once, he was right to be mad with her. She of all people shouldn’t have taken a break. Feelings of guilt washing over her, she gestured for Celeth to leave. “You should go, I’m going to be busy,” she said, her voice heavy with regret.

Celeth opened his eyes slowly, still feigning surprise. But a flicker of confidence danced across his face as he stepped away from Shae. “Very well. See you later,” he said, his tone laced with a hint of satisfaction.

Shae grunted in acknowledgment as she closed her own eyes, focusing on the task at hand. Only she had the ability to take in the world as a whole and locate anyone within it. But it would take time.

The bad news was that Gallas couldn’t risk getting close to Miles while she was actively searching for him, but Celeth still had reasons to be pleased. He had caught a glimpse of his master riding atop one of his creations. More of them were in a nearby camp, along with other humans, while others were out hunting anomalies, having just left that very same location.

The magic system being up might be cause for concern, but to the god of beasts, seeing harmony between humans and beasts was a delight. With a spring in his step, Celeth prepared for their next moves, eager to see what lay ahead.