Chapter 1: 1. Prologue: The Lightning Child

Reiki rubbed her belly and let out a sigh, “The baby will come out soon, I can feel it.”

Elira, Reiki’s sister, was a powerful ritualist among the dragons but even she couldn’t possibly hope to control the weather, “Don’t worry Reiki, I’m right here with you. You won’t feel any pain because of the rituals, but I can’t do anything about this damned storm!”

Reiki felt a tightness in her chest, it seemed like anxiety, “Where’s Jin? He said he wouldn’t take long, where on Zenith could he have possibly gone off to!”

After a few moments they heard a voice shouting over the rain from outside “I’m here, I’m here!” Reiki’s adoptive father came back into the house with a bundle of supplies. “We were missing some cloths and medicine, so I went to the storehouse across the farm to get some. I’m glad I’m not too late.” He was dripping wet from the torrential downpour that seemed to cover the whole mountain. “It’s getting worse out there you know, the rain won’t slow down, and the thunder and lightning seem to be getting worse.”

Elira turned to Jin, “I noticed the storm was picking up, the winds are fierce and the thunder cracks so often I can barely hear myself think.” The ritualist bore her emerald eyes deep into Jin’s wolf-like yellow eyes, “As her father you should be more reliable.”

Jin retorted, “You can’t possibly be starting an argument right now; Reiki is in the middle of giving birth and you’re having a go at me?!”

Elira was reaching the end of her rope, “If you hadn’t let her be with that piece of shit that came and went like the wind then none of thi-” Lightning crashed near the house with the storm becoming more and more powerful.

Reiki began screaming, “I THOUGHT IT WOULDN’T HURT!”

“It’s hurting? WHY IS IT HURTING, THE RITUALS...” Elira looked over the ritual markings she laid down prior, to find that they’d been cut apart. “Okay that’s not good, Jin hold her hand, we’ll have to deliver the baby the hard way.”

“On it. Reiki squeeze as hard as you need to help relieve the pain.” Is what he said, but he was surprised to see just how much force Reiki managed to let out. Jin felt as if his hands were being crushed as Reiki was in tears. He’d never seen the girl this strong before, though he understood little about the pains of childbirth.

Elira had to yell over the storm that seemingly became worse, which she didn’t even think was possible, “I can see its head! Reiki keep pushing, you’re doing well!”

“Please let this be over soon, IT’S UNBEARABLE!” Reiki sobbed into Jin’s arms. Jin embraced his adoptive daughter ever so lovingly so she wouldn’t feel alone at what could be the most difficult part of her life.

What felt like hours to Reiki passed, her normally clean auburn hair was drenched with sweat, and as the pain subsided she could hear “WAAH, WAH, HIC- WAAH!” She chuckled through her tears at the image of her baby hiccupping.

Elira beamed with joy, “It’s a boy, Reiki you’ve give birth to a healthy boy!” Jin felt the proudest he’d felt in a long time. Elira wiped the baby boy down with the cloths Jin brought in and took him to Reiki.

Reiki was to decide a name, and her mind drifted to the lightning and thunder that was never ending, and her baby wailing away in her arms. “Rai... His name is Rai.” She declared, followed by complete and utter silence. The rain, lightning, and thunder all stopped instantly. Her baby Rai stopped crying, and she would swear it until the day she died that he seemed to smile at her.

Elira noticed something was off. She listened for a moment, then whispered, “What the.. The storm stopped? Just like that? That can’t be right.” She stepped out of the house and looked around. The storm hadn’t stopped. It was just no longer hitting the house or its surrounding area, as if there was a dome stopping the rain and sounds from passing through. “How. How is this even-”

“ELLY!” Reiki yelled for her sister to come back in. As Elira went back into the house, she saw something that left her agape, even though it was such a simple thing. The objects in the room; books, medicines, pillows, even the quills and inkwell on the desk at the far end of the room, were all floating. The baby, Rai, seemed to have quietened down. Jin was so flabbergasted he was stuck mid-motion as he’d been preparing medicine just prior. For a time, all three of them in the room simply remained motionless and watched this spectacle in silence.

As if snapping out of a daze and bringing her wits about her, Elira focused on her visualisation of the mana in the atmosphere to find the reason for the inexplicable phenomena. Only to find that the mana in and out of the house drifted from a single point. It seemed like the mana was adhering to some kind of will. The source of mischief was the new-born nestled in her sister’s arms. It was common for new-borns to have a miniscule amount of internal mana and for that mana to grow over time as they learned to wield arcana. However, for the atmospheric mana to obey the primitive will of a baby without full presence of mind was unprecedented. She knew atmospheric mana to obey those with an abundance of internal mana, and even in those instances the mana would typically be verbally commanded.

Breaking the silence and freeing her sister and Jin from their state of shock, she warned them “Be prepared for a lot of noise after this” as she began preparing a ritual. She closed her eyes, placing her arms in diagonally opposite positions, and began drawing visible lines that followed her hands shimmering in the air. The glowing lines that seemed to be drawn onto a two dimensional plane in the air came together to form a diamond with a circle inside that seemed to target Rai. As she opened her eyes, Reiki and Jin were mesmerised by her eyes that were brightly glowing white in place of her normal jade eyes. An aura of white crackling energy surrounded her, then with a voice that reverbed in the whole house she chanted:

 

Signare canales intus et hoc unum vivere.

 

Reiki felt like the house was hit with a tremor, and Jin nearly stumbled as the ground shook. The sound of the rain and thunder continued on as if they never stopped in the first place, and the objects that were floating all stopped where they were and fell. A blue mark appeared around the belly of the baby, indicating the success of the ritual. Rai’s lightning blue eyes started to well up and he began crying again.

Elira rubbed her temples with a sigh, “The seal will last for about three weeks, so I’ll have time to go to the northern mountains near Zildran to have a permanent seal made for him.” Elira somewhat looked forward to meeting her old friend again, after so many years.

Reiki looked at the baby in her arms with a kind of emptiness behind her eyes, “... It doesn’t have to be a permanent seal does it? I don’t want him to have a poor childhood because of his abundance of mana.” Worried for her child, Reiki seemed to plead with her sister to find a way to let him live a normal childhood without being robbed of the joys of magic that most of the other children get. “I don’t want him to have a childhood as poor as mine because of his mana being sealed, which is just the same as my mana deficiency.” Reiki was born with practically zero mana, and had a worse childhood than most in Zenith. She found a home on Jin’s farm in her teenage years, but the years prior were extremely painful, to say the least.

As Jin cleaned up after the mess caused by the mana outburst, Elira assured her sister, “I have a plan in mind sister, it will cost a lot of materials, but the explorations I completed in the last couple years left me with a lot of resources that allow for an adaptable seal that you and I will be in control of, and Rai will have control over it once he reaches a certain age. I’ll even give him a gift within the seal, so he can store objects once he learns to imbue mana the correct way.” Elira understood her sister’s plea, and realised she could’ve worded her initial mention of the seal a bit more clearly.

Reiki turned to look at her sister, “The price will be high though, you must be out of your mind to use all of those materials, and will your exiled friend even be able to make the seals?” Reiki’s worries as a new mother turned this conversation into somewhat of an interrogation.

“I won’t end up using all of the materials I gathered, and you don’t have to worry about whether he’s able to make them or not. He’s the best smith in all of Zildran’s mountain ranges, there’s no one better to give this commission to. Think of this as my investment in the future of our world, I’ll take Rai under my wing to help him gain control of his mana when he’s old enough.” She hoped Reiki wouldn’t question it any further. Elira felt surprised initially when Rai had his mana outburst, but she recognised a potential talent in him that could bloom into a beautiful flower if she tended to him well.

“If you truly believe in his ability to make the seals as you’re describing then I’ll trust you, you’re normally right with these kinds of judgements. How long will you take to go to Zildran and back?”

“It shouldn’t take longer than two weeks, so the temporary seal I’ve imbued onto him will last long enough.” She plucked a couple hair from Rai’s head and placed it into her spatial storage rune, “I’ll need these.”

Jin eyed her questioningly but digressed, and chimed into the discussion, “Teach him to control his mana, but let him choose his own future.” Having raised Reiki from her teenage years, his wished for her child to have the freedom that he wanted to provide Reiki.

Reiki shared Jin’s sentiment, “I’ll second that, I know how proud you are of your own magics sister, but I want Rai to have his own choice in his future.”

“... Alright, I respect your wishes. Besides I won’t take him to the capital, I’ll just be spending more time here on the farm.” Elira began her preparations to move through the portal pathways set up in Acies, the town that leads from Mount Udra where the Life clan resides, to Aurum, the central city to Zenith. The town was only a day’s travel south-west from Jin’s farm, which was towards the edge of Mount Udra. She planned to go through the portal in Aurum to travel to Zildran – the home of the Creation clan – and then follow the mountain paths to find her exiled friend. “I should get going as soon as possible, will you be alright without me? You’ve always been a crybaby since I found you.”

Reiki giggled while she cradled Rai in an attempt to stop him from crying, “Of course I’ll be fine without you! I love you sister, but I think you’re forgetting about the other child in the family that I now have to tend to.”

Accepting the loss in the teasing back and forth between the two sisters, Elira conceded “Yes, yes, I should be focusing my energies on working with the Warden in the boring old political matters between the clans. Though I couldn’t bear to miss out on the birth of my nephew.” The Warden is the Aspect of Life and Death, the leader of the Life clan, and represents the clan in Zenith. Elira is supposed to be his chief advisor, but tends to shirk her duties.

After she finished her preparations, putting the necessities for travel into a knapsack, Elira was ready to set off, “Okay, I should have everything I need, the materials are in my spatial storage rune, so I’ll get going now.”

Reiki looked toward her sister, her ocean blue eyes softer than usual, “Elly, thank you. You’re always there for me, thank you for everything.”

“We still have a lot of work to do, and you know I’ll always be here for you. Take good care of her Jin.” As Jin nodded in confirmation, Elira left the house. She popped her head back in to mention, “Oh, I’m taking one of the horses, hope you don’t mind!” and promptly left before either of the two could respond. The storm raged on.

 

… … … … …

 

By the time she got there, the storm calmed down, and the twin suns were baring through the clouds on the horizon. She made it just before nightfall.

One might have mistaken Elira for a beggar if they were only to spare her a sideways glance, she typically wore her dishevelled charcoal hair down and kept herself wrapped in simple robes that were fitting for a mage, or a homeless woman depending on where you were.

“Well well well, if it ain’t de first advisor tae de almighty Warden, what brings ye down from de glorious capital tae this humble town, Sage Elira?”

As if she’d had to deal with this kind of greeting numerous times before, Elira sighed, “I’m just passing through, I have business in Zildran, you’d do well to leave me be, Narthir.”

Narthir spat on the ground in disgust, “Most of ‘em are brainwashed by them Aspects, but I see through de lies they been feedin’ us commoners. Ye’d do well tae remember the coldness dem nobles view us wit’.”

While she agreed with his sentiment about the nobles, Elira had enough of the stocky fellow and his need to let everyone know of his opinions. She simply glared down at him for a moment, from atop the chestnut mare, then indicated that she wished to move forward.

With a grunt, the gatekeep allowed her through to the town.

The town of Acies was one of Elira’s favourite places in the whole Udra region. It felt strangely like home. Due to her position, she knew that some within the town would not welcome her with open arms, but she’d made many long lasting friendships with some of the people in this town. The owner of Townsend, the inn where travellers gathered, was one such friend. Bort was a simple man, and seemed to help out her sister whenever she’d come to the town to sell her harvest, so Elira thought fondly of him. He was also in charge of the portal schedule, so Elira started moving towards Townsend once she entered the town.

As she guided the horse through the town, Elira was greeted by a multitude of sounds and smells from the commercial district that gave her a nostalgic feeling. Smells of baked bread and other cooked foods, heated furnaces, and another mixture of smells and perfumes that she couldn’t quite make out, all seemed to hit her at once. The town wasn’t large, but there were loud sounds that seemingly blended together; people chatting away as they walked the streets or were sat down at a restaurant, arrows hitting target boards as some hunters were training, or swords clanging against swords and shields as fighters sparred. Acies felt alive. This kind of feeling made Elira want to shirk her duties even more.

Without realising it, she’d made her way to Townsend. Her immersion in the fantasy of the town was abruptly broken as she was greeted by the gruff voice of a dwarven man, “Well, ain’t ye a sight fer’ sore eyes! How’ve ye been Elly?” She knew the voice as soon as she heard it. Bort came out to greet her.

She gave him a soft smile, and got off the horse, tying it to the horse-post after she landed. “It’s good to see you Bort, seems you’ve been doing a little too well for yourself.” She teased as her gaze shifted down to Bort’s not-so-hidden mountain of a belly, which she reckoned would have given Reiki’s pregnant belly a run for its money. “The mountains of Zildran would be jealous of that.”

Bort looked at her for a moment, his unassuming eyes seemed stalwart in their desire to give nothing away. Then he broke out in laughter. “Aye, I’ve missed ye lass.” He managed to eek out in the midst of his chuckles. As bort calmed himself down, he beckoned for Elira to come inside, “I reckon after the travel from the farm, ye’d like a little rest before going through to Aurum. The portal opens tomorrow early in the morn, so come and talk with an old dwarf for a while.” The two went into the inn.

Townsend was teeming with life; Elira could feel the jovial atmosphere that the inn seemed to exude. Travellers with armour and weapons by their sides were laughing and sharing stories while drinking, and families from the town brought their kids to listen to the tales of these ‘brave adventurers’. It was an atmosphere she could get used to. The two sat down at an empty table in the far end of the room.

“Tell me how Reiki’s been faring with that big ol’ belly o’ hers.” Bort began while readying himself to drink a mug of ale.

“You know that storm earlier this morning? She gave birth to a boy during that.” Elira didn’t want to be outdrank by the old dwarf, so she matched his cadence.

“How wonderful! She’ll get an extra pair of helpin’ hands round the farm as the lad grows up.” He took a swig of his ale. “The lass decided on a name fer’ the lad?”

“Yeah she decided.. On calling him Rai.” Elira remembered the extreme magical phenomena that came with the boy’s naming and anxiously gulped away at the whole mug of ale until there was nothing left. SMASH! She slammed the mug on the table, surprising Bort, and then called for another mug.

“I hope ye’re not plannin’ on drinking me out of me job.” Bort quipped as he followed suit and downed his ale, misreading the situation and accepting the challenge.

Bbbrrrraaapp. Elira belched, “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to win old man!”

“Bring it on then lass!” The two started to attract a crowd as their drinking battle began.

 

… … … … …

 

“Owww.” Elira rubbed her head as she slowly lifted herself from the surprisingly comfortable bed. She recognised the room as one of the rooms in the upstairs of Townsend. “I suppose I lost then.” She mused in a sombre tone. Her knapsack was leaning against the wall just under the window. She looked out to see the signs of daybreak on the horizon, then felt like she was smacked in the face ten times over. The migraine from the hangover would be a problem if she didn’t deal with it now. She closed her eyes and pictured a pool of liquid enveloping her, cleansing her body. Then she opened her eyes that were now glowing, though the glow was less intense than when she cast the ritual at the farm. She snapped her fingers, releasing a spark of crackling white energy, and chanted:

 

Da mihi subsidio.

 

Relief washed over her, and her migraine subsided. “Well, I came to check on ye, but ye seem perfectly fine.” She heard Bort’s voice from the doorway.

Turning to see him in perfect health, “How on Zenith are you fine?”

Eyeing her with a quizzical look, he said as if it were a matter of fact, “I’m a dwarf?”

Elira stifled a laugh, and started preparing to leave for the portal.

“... Would they be alright with you using magic like that? We know how them nobles tend to be.” Bort’s voice carried a hint of worry.

“I appreciate your concern Bort. But magic was never meant to be limited in the way they  want. Magic is supposed to be creative, to push the boundaries of mental acuity and allow people to evolve past their grounded understanding of the world.” She echoed the words of her teacher, whom she remembers with a warm heart.

“I wish I could be like ye. Us commoners may be a part of the same clan, but ye know how the nobles keep us under their boots.”

“How old were you when you awakened your Divine form Bort?”

“.. I was older than most, about 17 years I awakened my wyvern form. But those of us who live normal lives have no use for these forms.”

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“That’s what the nobles would have you believe, your divine form is a part of who you are, and almost every single person in Zenith has one unique to them. They may be offshoots of different species, or manifest in entirely different ways, but it’s your own and you can use it as you will. Many people choose to never use their divine forms, but... I believe that makes the world a worse place.” Elira spoke these words heavily, for her sister never awakened, and was one of the few people in Zenith who had no divine form.

“Yer’ words are much appreciated Elly, but most of us would be tough to convince otherwise. The portal is ready for the next few hours, so finish up yer’ business round here and get going.” His eyes looked defeated; his spirit already worn down. Elira wordlessly put on her knapsack and gave the old dwarf a big hug before leaving. “I’ll win next time old man.”

“Haha! I look forward to it, young Sage.”

Elira left the inn and got on her ‘borrowed’ mare. She guided the horse to the portal. Compared to the small town that was surrounded by a forest, full of wooden houses and little-to-no masonry, the portal to Aurum towered above the trees and had a marble outline inlaid with golden trimmings. The platform was made with the finest marble that a stoneworker could get their hands on. The Commerce clan always has to make them so flashy, she pondered about why they would spend so much. In the end, she decided that it was a power move on their part. The portal in Acies would take people to and from Udra and Aurum. She’d have to go through another portal on the other side to get to Zildran. She guided the horse through the portal.

Even though she was a renowned mage and ritualist in Zenith, Elira hated the sensation of teleporting. It always felt like her body was being torn apart and put back together on the other side, yet somehow the animals going through never exhibited any pain or discomfort from it.

As she exited the other side, she saw the giant portals to and from the other regions that allowed portal travel, the ones that led to different areas in Mount Zildran, which was home to the Creation clan and its quarters. There were a handful of other portals that led to other clan domains. The portal room was massive, and felt like a huge castle with its intricate stonework and regal theming. Each portal was the same, except the portal to the Justice clan, which was uniquely embedded with a number of magic gems, along with other expensive looking gems and metals. Elira always felt something... off about the Justice clan.

She didn’t want to spend more time in Aurum than she needed to, so she immediately went through the portal to Zildran’s Smithy Quarter, which was fortunately already in operation for the day. Surprisingly, there were very few people in the portal room today. How very curious, she noted. Once more, she braced herself as she guided the horse through.

The smell of burning coal and sweat hit her immediately. Elira was greeted by the uniform clangs she heard from hammers meeting anvils in the Smith Academy that was close to the portal. The ginormous mountain in front of her was Zildran, and this was the Smithy Quarter where members of the Creation clan would learn to become smiths. Some of them specialised in weaponry, while some would learn to smith furniture, or other miscellaneous goods. She knew the leader of the Creation clan to be the Tinkerer, who was the Aspect of Creation. An excitable fellow who mastered many of the different fields in creation, but for the life of him he couldn’t learn the art of smithing.

Elira’s goal was not to find a smith in this city, even though there were many talented smiths here, but to find her exiled friend. Luckily for her, he lived in an area surrounded by monsters that adventurers would sometimes go to hunt. Or maybe it was unlucky. She chose to be optimistic; this was the first time she’d see him since he was exiled.

She paid her total portal toll from Udra to Zildran, which amounted to a few silver coins, to the portalkeeper. The portals were designed such that the Commerce guild gets a percentage of portal tolls, but the majority of the fees went to the clan in control of the final destination. After paying, Elira guided the horse towards the southern mountain path, which led away from Zildran and towards the Shrouded Valley, which was where her friend was. She steeled herself, and embarked upon the path.

 

… … … … …

 

SCREECH! HISS! ROOOAAARR!

The noises in the Shrouded Valley came from numerous beasts in different directions. Elira carried a warding stone with her so she had little to worry about, even though she could probably eviscerate any beast that came upon her. She often loathed her position in the Life clan, but one of the benefits was easy access to artifacts such as the warding stone. In a twist that made her chuckle to herself, the warding stone protected the wild beasts more than it protected her. She saw on the far end of the valley through the trees a hole in the valley wall, that seemed like a cave entrance. That must be where he’s holed up. Elira guided the horse in that direction.

Coming up to the cave entrance, she noticed that it had no ledging, and she would have to leave the horse behind if she was to go inside. She got off the chestnut mare and tied it to a nearby tree, then began preparing an incantation. She closed her eyes, and pictured the horse vanishing from the mortal eye, and a protective field surrounding it. Raising her hand, pointing it toward the horse and opening her now glowing eyes, she chanted:

 

Abscondere. Tuere.

 

Her eyes continued glowing, and she began a second incantation. Elira pictured herself with the ability to fly for a few moments, and snapped her fingers. A circle around her on the ground formed from white crackling energy. She whispered:

 

Volare.

 

Then she floated herself up to the cave entrance and landed as the spell dissipated. She checked back on where she left the horse, and saw nothing. Checking for the horse’s mana signature, she could see it was still there. Success!  She hadn’t succeeded in a vanishing spell since she’d started learning them, so she allowed herself a moment of pride before venturing into the cave. An epic tier spell like this isn't so easily executed.

clang.

Clang!

CLANG!

CLANG!!

Hiss.

The further she walked, the louder the sounds of a hammer smashing into the metal on the anvil were, even the sound of metal cooling became more distinct. The orange hue of the walls became more intense, and the lighting flickered every now and then as she kept walking. Eventually, she could hear more than just the echoes, and laid her eyes upon her orange haired friend working away. “Bjorn.”

Halting his hammer mid-air, Bjorn waited a moment. A low rumble that shook Elira to her core emerged from deep within him, “It’s been how many years?”

“Too many.”

In a softer voice, tinged with remorse, he responded, “Better late than never, it’s good to hear your voice.” Bjorn continued his work without turning around.

Elira understood. She watched. Bjorn continued hammering away on the anvil and cooling the metal down intermittently. His right arm was essentially molten lava. He would breathe fire into the furnace to maintain its temperature every now and then. Bjorn was a Forged Dwarf.

The concentration of a master smith was not easily broken, and once they started their work they couldn’t stop until they completed it. It was like a trance. She sat on the ground, and simply waited and watched, patiently.

After what felt like hours in the dimly lit cavern, except for a single lantern, the furnace, and Bjorn’s molten lava-like arm, Bjorn stopped hammering. He moved to put out the furnace and held up the worked metal that looked like a blade. To Elira it looked like an elegant blade, and seemed perfectly balanced with a perfect edge. Such a blade would easily be a noble family heirloom in any of the clans, a swordsman would kill to wield such a sword. Bjorn laid down the worked metal. “Another failure.” He growled with regret in his voice.

“What?! How is that a failure? It’s perfect in every way.” Elira questioned with utter confusion plastered over her face.

“You may be a Sage in title, but you’ve a long way till you prove yourself a true Sage.”

The words her old friend spoke hurt, but Elira agreed with them for a number of reasons, there was clearly something she was missing if he considered the blade a failure. “Okay, tell me, why is this one a failure?”

Breathing a sigh, Bjorn gruffly began to explain, “The sword is simply that. A sword. It’s nothing special, there is no freedom in this blade. A swordsman cannot express their soul with this blade. It’s nowhere near a named sword, like Ghost, or Piercer.” Finally turning to look at Elira, “It truly is good to see you again, old friend.” He smiled.

As if she’d been blown away by an enlightening proverb, Elira was somewhat shocked for a moment, yet she still couldn’t understand. “I think you’re just a perfectionist.”

Rolling his eyes, “Yes yes, you have nary a creative bone in your body.” Bjorn chuckled to himself. “As much as I’m glad to see you, I assume you’re here on business. You can’t trust the other smiths with what you need made?”

“A master smith’s instincts? You hit the nail on the head, I need you to make me something. I can’t trust anyone else.” And so she explained the whole situation with Rai, with Bjorn listening attentively as they sat together after years apart.

“... So I need you to make a pair of soulbound adaptable mana seals for him, with a spatial storage option.”

“You understand what you’re asking for right? None of the councils would stand for this. Not to mention that acquiring some of the required materials would take some.. evil.. acts.”

“I know. That’s why I came to you, I have the materials already.”

Bjorn’s gaze widened as he glared at her, “What. Did. You. Do.” His orange hair, beard, and eyes flared on fire, and his molten arm glowed brighter.

She waved her hands at him, “Hey, hold on a second! I didn’t do anything necessarily wrong to get the dragon bones, I just snuck them out of my clan’s morgue for executed criminals. And the Fairy Tears are from a friend, I didn’t kill anyone! I promise!”

The fire subsided and the glow of his molten arm calmed down, and Bjorn continued his line of questioning, “That’s all well and good, but what about when the council finds out about the seals? They don’t approve of limiting one’s mana, it’s inhumane to them, even if it is for a good reason.”

“I’ll teach him how to control his mana flow, so he won’t be found out. And when he goes to Aether Academy when he grows up I’ll have instilled in him to not release more than a certain amount of his mana unless it’s absolutely necessary. No one will know unless he was to tell them.” She responded as if she’d thought a lot about this over the last few days.

After pondering for a few moments, Bjorn finally responded, “.. Alright, I’ll make them. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve made something that could get me executed if the council were to find out. Yep, should be fine. You have all of the materials?”

Elira nodded as she imbued mana into her spatial storage rune. As if smoothly appearing from nothingness, a pile of dragon bones, and a mound of obsidian ingots showed up on the ground. A small jar of Fairy’s Tears appeared in Elira’s hand, alongside Rai’s hairs that she plucked out at the farm. “I can imbue the spatial storage and bind the seals to his soul; I’ll leave the adaptable mana sealing to you.”

Bjorn nodded, “Very well, shouldn’t take longer than a week. Let’s begin!” The two began the creation of the seals.

 

… … … … …

 

After about a week of hard work, the seals were completed. They were two sleek black bands that Rai would wear on his wrists. When he wore them, they’d shrink or grow to fit him, and grow alongside him, as was the nature of being a soulbound item. In the end, they were capable of sealing just about 95% of his mana, and had ample spatial storage for whenever he’d need it. These are perfect! Elira knew she came to the right place.

“Might be one of my best pieces of work.” Bjorn mused as sweat dripped from his non-molten arm, and steam wafted off his molten arm.

Placing the seals into her spatial storage rune, Elira gave Bjorn a warm smile, “Thank you Bjorn, this child might seek you out in the future, so treat him nicely will you?”

“What do you take me for? I’m not a child hating monster, as long as he’s nothing like you I reckon we’ll get on well.” He let out a hearty chuckle that shook the cavern.

Looking at him deadpan, Elira pointed at the leftover pile of obsidian ingots, “You can have that as payment. I’m leaving now.”

Bjorn laughed even harder, “How kind and gracious of you, great Sage of Life! I’ll humbly accept this payment.”

Letting the stoic façade drop, Elira went and hugged her old friend, which she almost immediately regretted as he was still dripping with sweat. “Until next time, old friend.” She released the sticky dwarf from her embrace and waved him goodbye as she was leaving.

Returning the wave, Bjorn mirrored her and yelled, “Until next time, old friend!” He returned to his forge and picked up his hammer once more. He breathed fire into the furnace, and picked up an unworked metal bar. Placing it into the furnace, he started another project.

As she was leaving, she could hear the forge and furnace starting up again. Elira smiled to herself. Take care of yourself Bjorn. She thought.

As she reached the exit of the cave, she could hear the echoes of hammer meeting anvil once more, and thought she’d leave Bjorn with a small gift. She closed her eyes, and imagined the sound from the cave becoming silent past the entrance. She motioned her hands as if they were writing runes mid-air, then opened her brightly glowing eyes and boomed:

 

Locus iste taceat.

 

She also casted the flight spell on herself once more. Snapping her fingers and whispering:

 

Volare.

 

Elira floated down to the ground, and could no longer hear the echoes of hammering from the cave. She couldn’t hear anything at all from the cave. That should last him a few years. She went over to where she left the horse and swiped her right arm from her chest in a straight horizontal line to the point her arm was outstretched and simply said “Release!” The chestnut mare was once more visible. She untied the horse from the tree, realising it hadn’t been fed since she left it. Though, she noticed the lack of grass around the area where the horse was. Sorry young one, I was neglectful, I hope this makes up for it. She thought to herself with remorse. She took out some of the food she took from Bjorn’s cave, and a waterskin, and fed the horse.

After the horse seemed ready to go, she climbed atop it and started to guide it back to the mountain path.

Elira took a moment to look at the cave again. This is the start of something very interesting. She thought to herself silently, as she left to return to the farm.

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