Beyond?

by Andur

  Inside I find Olivia on a bed. Talia and Karsen, Mr. Pendragon and a guy in a very expensive looking dress are surrounding her. All of them turn towards me as I enter.

  Mr. Pendragon has a few classes at the university too, so his presence isn't that strange. Though I still want to know why he is here? His greying hair looks a little messed up and his two straight horns look similar to Olivia. Don't tell me that he is actually a relative?

  Talia wears her brown hair in a pigtail. Her horns form two crescents, which are pointing backwards from her forehead. She has the same height as me and her eyes always look a little sleepy because they are slightly angled. Nonetheless, it's not making her look bad. It... fits her type. That's the right way to say it. She waves her hand at me.

  Karsen wears his blonde hair a little longer than me. His facial features became harder with time, but there is still a childish touch to them. His horns run straight forward from his head and take a sharp turn backwards. He gives me a nod.

  I think Louise mentioned that they were here. Probably they saw Olivia carried in on a stretcher and became curious. Wasn't Karsen's horn supposed to be broken off? The healers did a fine job in reattaching it.

  “Now, who have we here?” ExpensiveGuy looks expectantly at me while scribbling something into his notebook, he doesn't even look down while doing so. He is about thirty and his face looks like he is an evildoer. I can't describe it in any other way. His horns fan out into three staggered spikes above his head. “I am Ryland, chief investigator for all strange events on university grounds. Don't concern yourself with them. I just interviewed them because they seemed to know her.” He gestures at Karsen and Talia.

  I step closer. “Azir Zait. I just wanted to take a look at my self proclaimed rival.” I take a peek at Olivia, who is just staring upwards at the ceiling while holding with both hands onto her bedsheets. “Looks like they put her back together.”

  “So you knew about what happened? Did you see something?” Ryland looks me over from head to toe. “I heard that the two of you injured each other frequently?”

  Raising a finger, I correct his information. “That's wrong. The one who got injured was always her.” I point at Olivia, who is still staring at the ceiling. “What's wrong with her?”

  “She doesn't react. The healers don't know what's wrong.” Mr. Pendragon answers a little devastated.

  Ryland mumbles and takes a look at his notes. “The healers said that someone brought her very skilfully to the brink of death while avoiding to kill her. According to them it had to be done by someone who is very knowledgeable in the field of anatomy.”

  I walk up to Olivia and poke her cheek with my finger. “Shock? Someone mistook her for a puzzle after all.” No reaction. “Should I wake her up?”

  “You can?” Pendragon looks at me hopefully. Ryland's expression is doubtful. “Why should you succeed where the healers failed?”

  “Why?” Because I am an evil practitioner of the dark arts? “Because I am a prodigy?” Because I am an evil summoned demon from another world? “And because I probably know more about magic than all my teachers together?”

  I wriggle my fingers in front of me. “First step. Shock treatment. Just to confirm her status!” I concentrate mana in my fingertips and focus on creating two rotating poles of power. A spark starts to flicker between my index finger and my thumb.

  Without hesitation I ram my hand into Olivia's side, who shudders under the electrical current.

  “KYAAA!” She sits up, panting, looking left and right with wide eyes.

  I grumble. “Aw... how boring. And I thought I could do some of the more advanced stuff to her.”

  “Olivia!” Pendragon hugs Olivia from the side. So he really is a relative? Uncle? Too old to be her father.

  Ryland steps up to Olivia. “Do you know what happened to you?”

  “Of course! That bitch...” Her eyes widen and she holds both hands in front of her mouth. Then she looks around once again. Looking at Pendragon, Talia, Karsen, Ryland and me, her eyes widen for a second. “... found me.”

  Then she seems to calm down and clears her throat. “I don't remember.”

  Ryland stops scribbling and looks up. “What do you mean? You don't remember.”

  “What I said. I don't remember. I was walking in the park and then I woke up here. What happened?” Olivia shakes her head.

  “You just said that someone found you? So you remember at least something.” Ryland points with his pencil at Olivia.

  She tilts her head. “Yes, I remember waking up and everything was hurting. That commoner bitch Stella was leaning above me. Then she ran off, calling for help.” Olivia nods while focusing on her bed sheets.

  “Hmmm. I already talked to that one. Please refer to people by their names when speaking to me in future.” Ryland returns to his scribbling. “You can all go now. The victim needs some rest and I don't need you here.”

  18. ~Look the other way.~

  “The Veit aren't known for their offensive abilities. Instead they are highly regarded for their support enchantments in large scale battles. An army which is supported by their enchants can easily take on an enemy twice its size. Of course it takes a while to apply all those enchants to the soldiers, but that weak point is negated by their duration.

  A good enchant can keep its effect up for three to four days. So once an army is enhanced there is enough time to reapply the spells at any moment of opportunity.

  With the proper amount of time and effort the Veit are even able to apply permanent enchants to equipment and artefacts. Like making them lighter or less affected by rust.”

  -Sahandra Veitares

  Free City States of Nict, Tri

  Azir

  I barely block my father's thrust with his quarterstaff and try to counter attack, but his weapon is already blocking my line of attack. His staff and mine collide and we both retreat to get out of the other's range.

  Stepping forward again, I start a series of stabs. Knee, face, chest, thigh, all of them get diverted or evaded. There is no opening in my father's defence.

  It's infuriating. Even though stabbing with a staff or spear is a very fast motion my father doesn't seem bothered at all.

  Now he starts a series of swings which I block. I wish I was fast enough to get past his defence. If I was training with Stella, I could at least use some magic to even the odds. I wonder what she is doing right now. And that stupid Ryland got very annoying recently, I have to think about a way to divert his attention from me and Stella.

  Yoran moves in without hesitation and places his knee in my guts.

  The impact takes my breath away and I fall down. Father doesn't know how to hold back. This is just training! I wish I hadn't agreed on not using magic during his training lessons. But it would defeat the point of training my body to stay fit. But just once! I am itching to use magic just once to blow him away.

  It would be satisfying. Probably. My father isn't a good magician. All he can do is conjure a small flame and other mediocre spells.

  “I can tell that your thoughts are somewhere else today. Is there something that's bothering you? You would block an attack like that easily on a good day.” He walks back into his half of the training circle. His dark hair is wet from his sweat and sticks to his long horns which are pointing backwards from his forehead.

  We are training inside our property's training hall. The fighting circle is six metres in diameter and whoever steps outside loses the fight.

  “Nah. It's nothing.” I sit up while applying healing magic to myself.

  “It's not nothing, Son. So tell me. Or I'll beat it out of you, so that we can continue with our training. There is no point in training if your mind is somewhere else.” Yoran pokes me with his quarterstaff.

  Should I tell him? Can I tell him that I suspect that Stella was the one who beat up Olivia like that? I think she has the required medical knowledge. But I didn't know that she had the strength to do something like that to
Olivia.

  And she was the one who found her. What I don't get is why Olivia is covering for her now. Or my suspicions are completely incorrect. But Stella acted strange and disappeared for three whole days.

  Ryland sought me out a second time and interviewed me regarding Stella's skills. It was very clear that he wanted to know if Stella was capable of defeating Olivia and intimidating her into keeping her mouth shut.

  I lied. I listed him a whole set of reasons why Stella couldn't be the offender. My greatest point of defence was that Stella might be able to defeat Olivia, but not without getting hurt herself.

  Though by that time, I wasn't sure of that. Being a suspicious man, I bugged Stella when she returned from her little vacation. But all of my bugs were disposed of without fail. She is really good at turning around corners and disappearing. I always found the bugs on the ground where I lost sight of her. It's a little disturbing to say the least.

  “It's just. I am not good with people. And I have reason to believe that one of my friends hurt someone at the university very badly.” I mutter.

  Yoran raises an eyebrow and looks at the ceiling. “Ah, that case.”

  Shit. “So you know about it?”

  Yoran raises his nose high into the air. “My son seems to forget that his father is the governor of Tri! But don't fear, I have no reason to interfere in the affairs of the capital. So you have reason to believe that your friend is that mysterious person. And?”

  I look up. “What 'and'? Isn't that bad? I had no idea that my friend is capable of doing something like that.”

  “But the victim was someone who offended you several times. And isn't it also true that your friend called the healers in time. It doesn't look like she intended to do permanent harm.” Yoran shrugs his shoulders and grins at me.

  I freeze up. “How?”

  Yoran chuckles. “Your father may be bad at reading and doing calculations, but he is no idiot." He holds four fingers up. "You have just four friends at the university. So it isn't hard to guess whom you are talking about. But like I said, it's not my business.”

  I try to smile. “You seem awfully relaxed. There is a real investigation going on you know?”

  He frowns. “Look. Your friend isn't telling you everything for a reason. Of course there is always the chance that you misjudged her. Do you want to tell me now that you aren't sure of your friend's character? After knowing her for more than ten years? In that case...”

  I interrupt him. “I am sure of her character. She must have had a reason!”

  Yoran pokes me again with his quarterstaff. “Then let it go and don't stick your nose into other people's business. It she wants you to know, she'll tell you. Can we continue with our training now?”

  Frowning, I take up my staff again. “This time I'll beat you up.”

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Stella

  “You are so nice to take me out on a date.” I take another bite from the honeyed bread while I let my feet dangling from the bridge we are sitting on.

  Azir nods. “I would take you out on more occasions. It's just really hard to find some casual clothings and sneak away. And even then we have to disguise ourselves as normal townsfolk.”

  I snicker. “But that makes it really exciting. The two of us being alone is the best. And I actually find this more relaxing than having a date in high society.” I lean myself against him and enjoy the warmth of his body.

  “I heard that there is a circus in town. Maybe we should go there next. I heard they have some strange beasts from far away with them.” Azir suggests.

  I place my tail around him. “Or we could find a quiet place and kiss each other.”

  Azir grabs my tail and inspects the scales on it. “Actually that sounds quite nice too. Hoh. Those scales are fascinating. They change their colour if you tilt them.”

  Placing both hands in front of my mouth, I try to keep myself from crying out loud. “Azir... grabbing my tail. So bold!”

  He looks at me without the slightest hint of understanding. “Is there some kind of taboo against grabbing your girlfriend's tail?”

  I recover my tail by yanking it forcefully out of his hands. “Sometimes you still amaze me with your non-existent social skills. Listen, grabbing a girl's tail is equivalent to inviting her to bed.”

  Unfortunately I am very sure that he had no idea of what he was doing. He is simply that kind of character.

  Sometimes he says or does strange things. If I hadn't known him for so long I would come to the conclusion that he is some kind of foreigner who is travelling through a foreign country. “Honestly. You should really try to work on your basic knowledge. Someday you will trip over it.”

  He shrugs. “I guess, I'll stay uneducated as long as nobody tells me about stuff like this. Is this something you learned from your parents?”

  I arch an eyebrow. “Huh? No, I think Louise said that?”

  “Airhead.”

  “Why?”

  “Louise is Louise.”

  “She is my friend.”

  “A pervert.”

  “A nice girl!”

  “Who taught you to tongue kiss as a sign of gratitude.”

  I blush. “Fine. She is a pervert.”

  “Can I have that tail now to take a look at the scales?”

  I place my tail in his waiting hands and look away, pouting.

  19. ~Just a part.~

  “Nict is a strange place compared to Quinn. It's confusing to see that the people who once ruled a vast empire are now focused on their own business, not caring for anything outside their country. Don't misunderstand, they were friendly and tolerated my presence on their streets. Though I always felt that I didn't belong there. The people of Nict seem very cold and calculating compared to what I am accustomed to.

  Their clothes differ only slightly from city to city. Plain trousers and shirts for men and dresses with long skirts for women are a common sight. Their buildings are all made out of red bricks. There are only very few decorations and the streets are all straight without curves, looking all the same to me. I walked their cities for weeks, even using their Gates. By now I have to say that the big cities of Nict are just one big city in reality. The Gates blur the differences between their cities and since their use is free, going from one city to the next takes just a step.

  When I entered this country I still believed in the rumours of the evil magicians who suppress the people without magic. But I've been travelling Nict for over a month now and I have to say I have yet to meet a single practitioner of magic. I saw no poverty or slums and even the poorest seemed well fed. The only contact I had with magicians was when an expensive looking carriage drove past me and everyone on the streets suddenly knelt down. This startled me and when I asked for information I got the answer that it was one of the protectors of peace.

  So despite the rumours I heard in Quinn, I have to admit that the rule of the magicians in Nict is by no means evil. I even asked what would happen if a magician attacked someone without magic. All I got was a stupid expression and the answer that the offender would be severely punished by his clan head.”

  -Touri, Citizen of Quinn.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  “So how does the magic circle for teleportation magic look like?” Professor Agate Eddin asks me with knitted eyebrows. She points at the chalkboard while she watches the rows of students inside the auditorium.

  I sigh and take a piece of chalk to draw the answer onto the chalkboard. This stupid hag is the only teacher who still insists on my presence during lessons. She even tests me regularly, making her questions more and more complicated.

  Agate is in her thirties and has a staggered set of horns on her head. She wears her red hair at shoulder length and always has a set of spectacles around her neck. I already deduced that the colour of the spectacles she wears on her nose represents her mood .

  Sometimes I have the feeling that she wishes for m
e to fail. Hopefully the time will come when she asks me a question she herself doesn't know the answer to. Then I'll simply return the ball to her and ask if she can give me the answer.

  I am eighteen now and my chosen field of study is to be an artificer. Karsen and Talia chose to join the military, so they are going down a different path than me. Louise is studying the mysteries of magic and Stella is now completely committed to her research in medicine and chemistry.

  Finishing the magic circle, I turn towards Agate and wait. She continues to look at the board for several seconds. Finally she turns to the table and ticks off my name from her list. “Fine, you won. You are free to go.”

  I bow to her and skip out of the auditorium while the other students glare at me. It became a daily ritual to bet my knowledge against hers. If I succeed to answer her question, I am free to go for the rest of the day.

  Outside it's already dark. Whoever thought that it is a good idea to hold classes that late in the evening should be shot. No wonder that there are still people going missing. There were seven new cases of missing students. All of them happened at night, right before a favourable star constellation to hold a summoning ceremony.

  So it is reasonable to assume that someone is dabbling in something that's forbidden. I don't have any hopes to find the missing people alive. It's not like I care for them, but since my friends are also at risk I've been trying to stop it.

  For that reason I'll patrol the streets again tonight. I've been doing this for quite some time now. Unfortunately I never encountered the abductor. I close my eyes and use my skill to sense the mana all around me. There are street lights in this world, but their light is by no means sufficient. Someone could hide in the shadows of dark corners or off the streets.

  I start walking while staying away from the lights. Whoever caught those students was skilful enough to make them disappear without a trace. So he either had their trust, or he completely overpowered them.