In a seemingly endless dusky space, celestials set up a grand marble table in a council. In that council, only twelve of thirty seats were taken; the rest were vacant.
The gathering of heavenly beings commenced, each one of them bleeding a golden light out of their skin. With the wave from the oldest among them, a tall, faceless servant appeared, holding a giant artefact bigger than its height.
He continued in a bored tone, "Have you found an inheritor?" he said as he stroked his long white beard.
Another, a woman with purple hair like a storm cloud, said, "A boy." She paused and traced a line on her seat arm. "Although weaker than the last."
At the table's edge, another woman with golden hair snorted. Her laughter crackled like kindling catching flame. "Wasn't it not Shalia's disciple's job? Poor girl, she let the girl's heart rule her."
The elder Great pinched the bridge of his nose. "Enough. We've wasted ages on this." He seized the artefact and threw it away. It disappeared into the distance, seemingly out of the realm. "Let the mortals conquer it, or die. Either way, we reap the rewards."
The artefact disappeared and was long lost… Thousands of years passed. The world hadn't yet healed from the constant wars.
Then. It began to glow.
For the longest time, the mortal world had been dismissed as nothing but a writhing ant's nest by other worlds. And the consequences of human nature had plunged the world into endless conflict. War erupted for little reason.
On one ravaged continent, an empire loomed north, its borders barely holding on. But throughout the carnage, many began to write their legends.
Warriors whose names were known across the realm, each holding a unique place in the annals of history. And to protect their homeland, they shed endless streams of blood.
One man stood alone among the carnage—not for his skill alone, but for the name he etched into the skulls of his enemies: Ernos Zalanderi.
"Charge!"
With a thunderous roar, the man shouted his command. He surged towards his enemies with the speed of a bullet.
Thousands of red-skinned monsters, varying in shapes and sizes, were ruthlessly dispatched by the general and his formidable army.
No one would have thought this man was a merchant back in the day. In those days, he was but a mere heir to a dying merchant clan. It was a wonder how they held any significance into a new century.
The Zalanderi clan had much of its former glory stripped away from the wars that had plagued the continent of Qun. The continent, though united by the empire under the rule of its tyrannical emperor, still held many internal and external issues that crippled its ability and limited its reach.
"Hold!" he shouted. "Legion 2, 3, flank. Legion 1, hold back!"
Zalanderi's eyes shone with rage, barely contained. 'I never wanted any of this…' he would have said a long time ago. But now, 'This is the duty only I can perform.' That was his new line of thinking.
At the age of 43, Zalanderi could only muse on his life so far. Heir was no longer his position. Now he could only focus on his profession.
Years ago, for whatever reason, he saw something that had changed him. It was an experience he rarely shares, even with close ones, and those who heard it never spoke of it again. Not out of fear, but out of worry.
"Legion 4! Over the hill, cut the lines!"
And throughout the years, he gained much of his experience and rank through his ingenious moves. His specialised attacks and strategies, cutting off the supply lines and total isolation, began being taught to young generals. But that was never one of his prideful feats.
And then, two years of peace befell the empire. A relief to many, but not for this anxious general. Pacing around, he found himself walking the streets of his beloved city, capital of Qundunu, Qunulle (pronounced Kun-yul). It always did calm his mind.
Passing by, he heard, 'That backwater good-for-nothing mutthole!'. A loud shout, then another rant. 'Can't believe I waste time going up there. If you aren't buying, someone will!'
Curious, he further enquired. To the dismay of a merchant, some town up north called Kettlesville refused to do business. As Zalanderi scanned the shabby-looking man, he had his doubts.
'Sounds like calm…' He mused. 'Sounds peaceful…'
There was a hint of excitement on his face as he thought and thought more about it.
The next couple of days went by swiftly, and his duties concluded. One early morning, he readied his luggage outside his manor. Just then he heard familiar boots walking behind him.
"Ah~ Look who's finally leaving us behind…"
Zalanderi chuckled; he didn't need to turn back to know to whom this infuriating voice belonged. "Yerman", he said. "Did you wake up early for me? I'm touched."
Yerman, Zalanderi's childhood friend, and almost the most annoying mage you'd find around. But he would claim otherwise. "Don't flatter yourself, Zal. I'm just making sure you don't steal too much."
Zalanderi shook his head, amused. "Whatever you say. I'm heading out. Say goodbye to those I haven't, will you?"
Yerman nodded, but his hand showed restlessness, and he tugged at a loose string on his robes. "Seriously," he began. "Why Kettlesville? You can buy an entire duchy, but you choose a life in nowhere."
"It's not about extravagance," Zalanderi insisted. He placed a bag of coins in Yerman's hands. "I don't want to deal with certain matters any more. You'd understand, huh, grand mage?"
"Again, with that. I'm not a mage," Yerman sighed. "Just don't go full cultivator on us and spend your days meditating or whatever. Besides, I know you'll come back in a week."
Zalanderi laughed. "I'm used to boredom."
Yerman shrugged, then he gave Zalanderi a type of ring. "Here's yours. I promised I'd get you one, yes?"
Zalanderi took the ring and then, only momentarily, hesitated which finger to put it on. Ultimately, he chose the middle finger of his left hand. And then… Poof! His luggage disappeared inside the ring. "Ay. It works."
Yerman snorted, "Of course it does. I made it."
Zalanderi smiled, then gave a quick salute to his friend as he took off in the sky. Yerman sighed. There was a small tightness inside his chest at seeing his friend leave. But both knew the reasons. There were too many to count.
Zalanderi floated several metres above the sky, in the cloud-filled haze of the blue. He appreciated all the scenery below. It had been long since he had acquired a flight, more than ten years. This ability, seemingly a gift of the heavens, when someone reaches a certain power level. He could never think of it as dull or ordinary.
He only stepped on the ground to recharge his energy and rest. And it took a week before he noticed the change in the lands. He had been in flight on the grand marble road north and took an east side to the direction of the town. But the road itself wasn't being maintained any more. 'As expected, no one goes north after the migration,' Zalanderi mused.
And the change was apparent; the wide 3-kilometre road began to show its corrosion, and nature's already reclaimed much of it. But then, Zalanderi looked at the horizon and noticed a big town.
Surprised, he examined the perfectly engineered farmlands and the canals connecting each tile of tilled earth. This was not to his expectations. And only now he knew how deep the merchant's resentment was. 'This is quite impressive for a 'backwards' town.'
He decided to land a few paces away from a farm. As far as anyone's concerned, he'd be just a wealthy-looking man, not a noble of high status or a warrior. 'This suits me better…' he thought.
Using his heightened senses, he overheard some of the local farmers' talk. One of them sounded a bit gruff. "You think another one of them imperial couriers would come around?"
Another, softer-sounding man answered, "It'd be twice this season. What's left to tax anyway? It's almost frozen up here."
Zalanderi could almost feel his eyes rolling. 'From the looks of it, nothing is yet frozen. Hm…'
He shook his head. 'None of my business,' he thought. His thoughts got interrupted, though, by a huge booming sound coming from east of the farmlands. "The hell?" he started with his words.
He immediately headed there using his flight. Upon closer examination, it was odd how the damage seemed minimal when compared to the bombastic nature of that explosion. As the dust settled, Zalanderi could see the figure of a young adult, no older than 21, dusting himself and coughing.
Zalanderi examined the man. 'Brown hair, brown eyes, angular face…' as if committing his shape to memory. 'Seems familiar…' he mused for a moment.
Then, as he looked more at the experiment the young adult was conducting, he felt a small flame of anger inside him. He'd seen this before: one experiment that could wipe out an entire city…
"You, young man!" he shouted. Even though his shout sounded more quiet than angry. Like he was disappointed. "Were you trying to burn the entire northern plain?"
The young man looked at Zalanderi and then cooled his expression. "Ay sir, I apologise. I wasn't trying anything dangerous, trust me. This whole area has been contained within a tertiary zone."
"Huh. And that kind of advanced magic requires archmages to do. I doubt you're one," Zalanderi said. His eyebrow was noticeably twitching.
"No, I'm not," the man said with a chuckle. "Avonso Iveres, your local and second-best engineer." He waved a hand.
Zalanderi waved back, "Ernos Zalanderi, retired imperial. It's nice meeting young talent, but I do implore you to be cautious. I've seen first-hand how dangerous this whole magic business can get, even with precautions in place."
"Thank you for your concern." Avonso bowed lightly, then he looked around the place and stroked his chin. "Hm… It worked, I guess…? I'd have to study on that matter more."
"What worked?" Zalanderi asked. Thankfully, his cooled emotions hadn't let him express his earlier anger too much. "Looks like Jade and…"
"Exactly, Jade Growth Ritual."
"You're kidding…" Zalanderi's eyes widened slightly. "You attempted it, alone. This requires 3 Archmages to perform!"
"Yes, it does, as specified in the journals I studied," Avonso nodded. "I keep a thorough study, despite my shabby appearance." He smiled.
Zalanderi was vexed, but looking at the impressive damage control, he couldn't argue too much. "That much is clear. I'm surprised. How were you able to keep that reaction in control?"
Avonso's eyes shone with his enthusiasm. He went into a long-winded explanation, with the gist being the generous use of Mana Stones.
After some time, Zalanderi could only listen and be impressed. "You seem like a talented young man. It's so disheartening to see such talent wasted here."
Avonso laughed, "I don't see it that way. I keep happy doing my part around here. Engineering is a job and a hobby I enjoy."
Zalanderi extended his hand and then said, "I would like to keep in touch with skilled individuals. I'll keep you in mind then."
As Avonso took his hand and shook it, Zalanderi became confused all of a sudden. He hid his confusion until he had left.
Far away from that spot, Zalanderi's mind worked to explain something. 'Hollowborne… Impossible. I thought they died at birth.' He had felt nothing coming from Avonso. The normal vices of POWER control seemed to be missing from that young man, especially a Mana Heart. 'I'll keep watch.'
Some days later…
Zalanderi's new manor was on a cliffside of the mountain west of the town. He chose both for its view and as an observatory. The manor was built out of stone and wood and was unimpressive for someone of his status. Around the manor were high walls and beautiful gardens for his mind to keep at peace.
On a particular day, Zalanderi woke up dazed. He felt his mana heart depleted slightly. And like a broken vase, leaking out his Qi too.
'What's going on…' he mused. 'Ever since I've got here, I've never felt worse in my life. It's so sudden.'
A short while later, he wandered in his garden and mused over this occurrence. He felt the familiar aura of something but couldn't recall it. 'I'd ask around. It's worth a shot.'
The market buzzing with life meant little with those constant nagging thoughts in the back of his mind. He asked around:
"Weird energies? No, I don't think I feel that…"
"Hm… Maybe something sweet will refresh my memory…."
"Got a coin, pal? Pay for that, and I might just tell you."
'Great… Vendors are unhelpful wherever you go,' he chuckled inwardly.
He stopped before a small, cosy shop with all types of machinery outside and inside. He read the sign and smiled a bit.
·Iveres Family Shop: Your local engineers.
'Oh yeah. This is that young man's place, it seems. He's talented; he could tell me something.'
He entered the shop and looked around. 'Cogs. Wheels. Rods of all types. Seems normal. 'I'm impressed though; most of these machines don't use the least bit of power,' he mused. 'Hm… 'That old man's busy, it seems.'
His eyes landed on an old man working behind the counter. He looked as if he didn't hear the bell at the door. Zalanderi called, "Good morning."
The whirled around with a wide smile, and his hands flailed wildly, "Welcome! Welcome! Mattia Iveres at your service! Your local best engineer. What do you want, friend?"
'So that boy's just like his father. Only less eccentric, it seems,' Zalanderi thought. "Is your son Avonso around?"
Mattia twitched a bit, but nevertheless he maintained that smile. "You must mean my grandson. He's in the back. Are you a friend of his? I've never seen you around."
Zalanderi smiled back. "I'm new to town. I've met him before. There's something I'd like to ask of him."
"Help yourself out," the old man said. "He's in the backyard doing whatever new experiment he keeps busy with."
Zalanderi nodded and headed to the backyard again, seeing a similar experiment to the first one Avonso did when they first met. The Mana Stones, this time, were arranged in the shape of a heart. But around it, it looked like a barrier was set up in place.
"Careful, young man. That one could kill you," Zalanderi said in a slightly loud voice. His hands moved cautiously in expectation.
Avonso looked over his shoulder and smirked. "I expected it, but I'm confident it won't."
He moved the Mana Stones slightly, then he said an incantation under his breath, "And the one to—"
Boom!
Energies that could have created a crater in the backyard, but Zalanderi's precaution proved useful. He worked to contain the energies exploding out of the circle. Avonso stood in the middle of these energies with wide eyes.
Then suddenly, silence fell. A slight crimson glow was at the tips of Avonso's hands, if only for moments…
He smiles. "Heh…"