A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1)

by D'Artagnan Rey

  “It’s probably the fanciest looking room in this castle,” Wulfsun told him. “My friend managed the decorations and renovations over the years, something of a pet project.”

  “Given that it might as well be my abode…” a steady, studious voice began and the boy turned. The speaker was a dryad, a male this time and taller than the female he had seen earlier. His pale red skin highlighted his bright yellow eyes. Flowing blue robes covered his form with white wrappings around his hands and what appeared to be wooden rings on two fingers of his left hand, but they were immaculately crafted. His hair was long and hung to the middle of his back. It was a snowy white but more vibrant than Vaust’s, and his white horn protruded from the top of his forehead with another wooden ring adorning the base.

  He folded his arms behind his back as he approached the two visitors to his domain and his gaze lingered on Devol for a moment before he turned his attention to Wulfsun. “I would argue that making it more homey helps with my work.”

  “And hello to you too, Zier!” The captain greeted him with a large grin and turned to his young companion. “This is Zier Nightbloom, head of scholars in the order.” He turned to the dryad and gestured toward the boy with his head. “This young Magi is Devol. He came looking for us.”

  “I see.” Zier looked at Devol, who saw a faint glimmer of white and green in his eyes. “Hmm…impressive for your age. You are here to train?”

  He nodded and drew his blade. “Yes, sir. I recently acquired this majestic and need help to determine its origin and abilities.”

  “A majestic? Are you certain?” the scholar asked.

  He shook his head but immediately nodded, a little confused by the question. “I’ve shown it to others like Wulfsun. They agree that is what it is.”

  Zier closed one eye and peered at the sheathed sword. He removed a hand from behind his back to stroke his chin. “To come here for that? It’s rather unorthodox.”

  “He’s here on good authority,” the commander explained and stared into his comrade’s opened eye. “Trust me. Vaust brought him in himself.”

  “Ah, so he has returned then,” the dryad commented. “Good, I need to speak to him. But before that—”

  At a loud clatter in a room behind him, the scholar sighed and looked over his shoulder. “Is something amiss in there?”

  “Everything is just fine!” a young male voice called in response. The speaker had an accent and stretched the j’s and i’s, but Devol could not place it. “I’ll be there in a second.” A moment later, a boy emerged through the doorway, dressed in blue and white robes. He had dark skin, sharp green eyes, and hair twisted together in long braids.

  The large tome under his arm looked almost flesh-colored from age and wear, and a newer book with a dark leather binding and a golden eye embossed on the cover was clasped shut and bound to his belt. “Is this what you were looking for?”

  Zier took the tome and examined it. “Indeed it is. Well done,” he said with a nod and opened it. “How you manage to find these long-lost treasures is astounding.”

  “You were reading that a month ago, Zier,” the youngster replied and shrugged with a small smile on his face. “Not long-lost so much as misplaced, although why you left it in the map area is a mystery to me.”

  “Humph.” The scholar sniffed and flipped through the pages. His assistant finally noticed the visitors.

  He nodded at the giant Templar. “Hello, Commander.” His gaze shifted to Devol. “Oh, someone my age.” He approached him and proffered his hand. “Nice to see another boy here.”

  “Nice to meet you,” he replied and took his hand. “I’m Devol Alouest.”

  “I’m Jazaiah Filsaime, but you can call me Jazai.” They shook hands and studied one another curiously. “So what brings you to the order?”

  “He’s here to train,” Zier answered before the others could. “He’s showing some initiative, unlike a certain someone.”

  Jazai frowned and rolled his eyes. “You know, Zier, when you’re that obvious, you can merely say ‘you.’”

  “I’m trying to leave you some dignity,” the dryad retorted and continued to flip through the pages in the book.

  His assistant sighed and focused on the newcomer. “My father and he were buddies in the academy or something. He brought me here to keep up with my studies when he had to go abroad.”

  “And have you done your part?” Zier asked. “Do remember I’ll be writing to him soon.”

  “You don’t write,” the boy replied. “You send him messages with an A-stone.”

  “We’re both busy men,” the scholar countered and peered at him for a moment. “And the question still holds weight. I’ll be testing you by the end of the month.”

  “You still need to teach me more about rune placement and functions,” Jazai retorted and smiled wryly.

  “Indeed so.” The dryad nodded and returned to his book. “I’ll make sure you can call yourself an expert by the test, so it will be no blame on my part if you fail.”

  “That hasn’t been a problem so far.” The boy chuckled, stepped beside Devol, and leaned closer. “I think he was hoping I was a wide-eyed know-nothing he could simply lecture all day. He’s become somewhat irritated about the fact that I’ve excelled in every trick and test he’s thrown at me.”

  “Certainly not, young Jazaiah,” Zier responded. “Your intellect is a sign of your talent and your father’s teaching. It’s merely the ego and personality around it that irks me.”

  The boy chuckled again. “He’s basically saying I’m a jerk but a smart one, at least.” He looked at Wulfsun. “So is he your new apprentice or something, Commander?”

  The giant shrugged. “We haven’t gotten that far. We came here to start the next part of the tests.”

  “Really?” Jazai’s attention turned to Devol. “So you just did the doors?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Did you take the tests too?”

  The boy nodded with a broad grin. “Yeah, little over a year ago. I got through using Vello on the keyhole and it took me less than ten minutes.”

  “Vello?” he asked and frowned when he recalled his attempt. “That was the one I couldn’t do.”

  Jazai nodded a little smugly. “It’s probably the hardest one, but I thought— Wait, the one you couldn’t do?” His smile faltered and he gave the newcomer a bewildered look. “So you got through with both Vita and Vis?”

  Devol nodded. “Yeah. I think Vis was the easier of the two.” He screwed his face up in thought. “Although I didn’t mean to open it with Vita. It simply happened.”

  The other boy’s expression was incredulous, and he looked at Wulfsun for confirmation. The Templar now wore a sly smirk as he nodded.

  “That’s…uh…well, it’s damn good,” Jazai acknowledged. “It looks like I might have some competition around here.”

  “Oh yeah. But you did say it was nice to have someone your age,” Devol recalled and gestured over his shoulder. “And I saw a girl—a wildkin—who looked about my age.”

  “Asla?” the young assistant frowned and peered in the general direction of the arenas as if he could see her through the walls “Well…she certainly counts, but she’s not exactly a very extroverted person.

  “She’s been staying in the order for a few years now, being looked after by her guardian, Freki. She’s begun training hard over the last year or so. Can’t say too much, partially because it’s not my place and partially because our conversations are usually pretty brief.”

  “Give her time,” Wulfsun stated with a small frown. “The reason she’s here isn’t as simple and comfortable as yours.”

  Jazai nodded. “I know. I’ve not pushed her.” He looked at Devol. “How old are you exactly, though?”

  He pointed to himself. “Me? I’m fourteen, turning fifteen in a couple of moons.”

  “Oh, then you are closer to her age than mine,” the boy responded, lowered his arms, and gestured at himself with a thumb. “I’m fifteen, turning si
xteen during the awakening moon.”

  “Let us hope that is the start of you earning some wisdom,” Zier remarked, shut the book, and focused his full attention on Wulfsun. “So I assume the reason you are here is that the boy is trying to learn about his majestic’s abilities, then?”

  The commander nodded. “Aye. The lad doesn’t know a damn thing about it.”

  Jazai raised an eyebrow. “Can I see it?” he asked and held his hand out. Devol nodded and handed it to him. The apprentice drew it and Zier studied it for a moment before his eyes widened. “Oh, that’s a majestic indeed,” the other boy muttered as he examined the blade’s surface and the light under it. “Have you seen something like this before, Zier?”

  “I believe I have.” The dryad glanced at Wulfsun, who nodded curtly. He thumped the book onto a nearby table. “Come with me.”

  Jazai seemed surprised by his mentor’s reaction. He turned to Devol and shrugged, slid the blade into the scabbard, and handed it to him. Zier took the group to the other side of the room and into a larger chamber, this one with a stone floor and a large table in the center. “This is where we will hold your kinship trial,” he stated.

  “Kinship trial?” the new young Magi inquired as he looked a little warily at the large cupboards, racks filled with various tools and scrolls, and a massive chandelier above.

  “It’s another test, basically,” Jazai explained. “This one will help you to discover its origin and ability.”

  “Oh, that would be useful,” he said, a little distracted by the numerous and very different objects on the table. “So will we have to look through books or something?”

  “Nothing that mundane,” Zier said and approached him. “You will speak to your majestic.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “The majestic will speak?” Devol frowned at his sword. “Are they…alive?”

  Zier's eyes closed for a moment before he turned his head slowly to look at Wulfsun, who shrugged with indifference. Jazai chuckled and slid an arm around the young Magi. “Nothing like that. He means resonation.”

  “Resonation?” That meant little and he felt more confused than ever. “Vaust said something about the fact that not everyone can use a majestic so I assume it has to do with that?”

  The scholar nodded. “Indeed, although in this case, we can see that you are already forming a connection to yours. What we will attempt to find out is what power it has.” He gestured to the table.

  Devol examined the items again and noticed over a dozen weapons and instruments, although none looked particularly ready for battle. “Are those training weapons?”

  Wulfsun shook his head. “Nah, boyo, those are the rivets I told you about.” He walked closer and selected one that resembled a mace but was almost all black and made of a rough-looking material. “I guess you can think of them as practice exotics. They use enough special material to contain the magical enhancements but aren’t practical for battle unless you are trying to show off.”

  “On occasion, we find someone who is worthy of a majestic,” Zier continued and stepped beside the commander. “We have several stored awaiting a master, but even in our current condition, we are not in a position to merely hand them to someone who shows promise. Majestics are powerful, and while they may not be sentient as you suggested, young one, they can connect themselves to another.”

  “Mr. Lebatt said something about that too,” Devol recalled. “He said that if it bonds itself to you and it gets damaged, that could affect you as well.”

  “Aye.” Wulfsun nodded. “And worse, if you try to force a bond with a majestic when you aren’t compatible or ready to wield one yet…well, people have lost things to the process.”

  “Lost ‘things?’” he asked a tad nervously, although he tried to not let it show.

  Jazai leaned closer. “Mana, limbs, lives, things like that.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, that’s unfortunate.”

  “Indeed,” Zier agreed and examined the other objects on the table. “This is a simple study. You are to try each weapon in turn and see which one resonates with you the best. In normal circumstances, this would tell us what kind of power the user will best work with. You see, while majestics and exotics are different, there are some similarities. The abilities of exotics and the Mana that fuels them are similar, almost like a person’s biological—”

  “I think you’re wasting your breath, Zier. Not the time for a lecture.” Jazai interjected with a glance at the other boy. “Basically, discovering which power works best with you might be a clue as to what your majestic does. It isn’t always right but as he said, it is a simple study.”

  “I see.” Devol sheathed his sword on his back as Wulfsun tossed him the mace he held. He caught it, surprised by how light it was. “Are all rivets this light?”

  “Many are.” The commander folded his arms. “Although they are made with the cheapest special materials, as much as that sounds like a contradiction. But that mace’s power is to increase and decrease its weight depending on the wielder’s control. Try it and see what happens.”

  Without hesitation, he let a trickle of Mana flow into the mace. He had some experience using exotics as his father had given him some lessons, although he never let him keep one until the sword appeared. He saw a small silver glimmer in the head of the mace and it became weightier in his hand as he connected to it.

  “You see the color of his Mana?” Wulfsun whispered to Zier.

  “I did.” The scholar nodded. “Another sign, it seems.”

  Devol swung the mace to adjust to the change in weight, then raised it and increased the weight as he repeated the arc. This time, it almost made impact with the floor and he grimaced. He did not doubt that he would have cracked the stone with the rivet if it had done so. He used both hands to lift it and noted how heavy it was now. As he struggled with it, he wished he hadn’t made it so heavy and it lost weight drastically so he was able to raise it easily over his head.

  “Well, that seems to work as expected.” The commander tapped the table. “Put it down and try another.”

  Devol nodded and complied. “I’m curious,” he stated and looked at the two Templars. “Do either of you have a majestic?”

  Wulfsun grinned. “Aye, both of us do.”

  Zier glared at him for a moment before he sighed. “Indeed, we are among a handful of Templars who have a majestic. Most here make do with exotics.”

  “Can I see them?” he asked excitedly. “I saw Mr. Lebatt’s. While I’m not sure what it does yet, it looked impressive. I want to see some others if I can.”

  “Don’t bother.” Jazai snorted and glanced at the scholar with an aggravated tone to his voice. “He’s never shown me, no matter how much I pester him about it.”

  “Mine is an orb,” the dryad responded and his apprentice’s jaw clenched. “My realm of Daosith holds majestics in high regard, as many do. We have about forty known majestics, and each noble family is blessed with one or more. In my family, I was chosen to take care of one of ours.”

  Jazai folded his arms as he stared at his tutor in exasperation. “Why do I have the feeling you did that to spite me?”

  “There is no need to be so vague, Jazai,” Zier responded cheerfully. “I did do it to spite you. Now go and fetch a kinship scroll, if you would.”

  The boy rolled his eyes and exited the room. “Perhaps I should write to my father about you.”

  “I’m sure he could use the laugh,” the scholar retorted before he returned his attention to Devol. “Now then, continue with the others. Once you have tried them all, we shall work on the next part of the trial.”

  He nodded and examined the different objects available—a shield, a pair of glasses, rocks in several different colors, a rifle, scissors, a doll made of cloth and one of plastic, a deck of cards, a long wooden staff, and a number of other odd objects as well. “Some of these would make poor weapons.”

  “Truly a warrior, aren’t you?” Zier sighed and
received a questioning look from the boy and an irate one from Wulfsun. “This is a world of Magic. Just because something may not appear to be practical…well, that falls into the hands of the user rather than the object itself.”

  The commander looked around the table and he frowned at the dolls. “Even I have to admit, some of these are weird choices. I did tell them to make the rivets simple, I suppose.”

  “Keep going until you try each one, young Magi,” Zier instructed. “And let us know if one appears easier to use than the others. Remember, we’re looking at the abilities and connection, not the items themselves.”

  He looked at the long table with a frown. This would probably take a while.

  Jazai returned to the chamber and watched in silence as Devol tried to resonate with what appeared to be a camera. He stopped beside Wulfsun with his arms folded and a scroll in one hand as he observed the attempt with a mixture of amusement and sympathy. “He’s still at it?”

  “Aye.” The giant Templar nodded. “Zier is making him try every last one of them.”

  The assistant shook his head. “He made me do the same thing, although I found mine after only a few different items.” He patted the book attached to his waist. “Kind of convenient that it turned out to be the same type of majestic.”

  Wulfsun nodded again. “We had that in the vault for a long while. I’m glad it finally found a user.”

  He smirked. “Glad to take it off your hands. However, Zier keeps making me use it for menial tasks.”

  The commander gave him a knowing glance. “It’s probably his way of training, yes? Besides, it’s not like you can keep it if you merely have it for appearances. Gotta get practical use out of it eventually.”

  Jazai sighed. “I know, I know.”

  “There are only a couple left,” the Dryad stated. “Finish this and we can continue.”

  “Hey, Zier!” his assistant called and held the scroll up. “I’m back.”