Matthias’ eyes adjusted to the darkness within the mage’s bedchamber.

  Strange objects, curios, ornaments and specimens filled the room: exotic fruits and colourful insects floated in crystal jars, preserved in silently bubbling liquids. Tapestries of jungles, cities, deserts and other faraway places hung from the walls: some places he knew, many he didn’t. He saw a painting of a towering spire standing over a colossal city.

  “Wonder where that is?” he whispered, moving past it.

  On the opposite side of a massive four-poster bed stood a single bookshelf free of dust and carved of ivory.

  Matthias squinted at it in the gloom. “I need some light.”

  He spotted a tall green candle on a dressing table next to a painted wardrobe, but no flint or striker were beside it.

  “Guess you wouldn’t need flint and tinder if you have The Gift,” he muttered, pulling out his flint, steel and char cloth.

  Placing the cloth against the flint, he struck it until a spark caught, then blew on the fabric until an ember flared. Quickly, he opened the small lantern at his waist, lighting the oil-soaked wick inside it.

  The room was illuminated with an orange light.

  “That’s better.” He looked around, searching for any bits of ash he might have dropped, but found none, though he did notice moist footprints near the door. “Going to have to wipe those up before I leave.”

  Turning away from the door, he moved to the bookshelf, running his fingers along book spines.

  “A History for Jarnium; The Elven Abandonment of the Culling and Their Expansion of the Artesian Empire; War in the Shieldlands; The Ruins of the Wolfwood…and all sorts of books written in tongues I can’t understand,” Matthias grumbled, finding nothing on The Gift, Life Enforcement or Divine Breath. “There’s got to be more books around here. No way a mage’s library is smaller than Bregindoure’s.”

  He spotted another staircase leading deeper into the tower.

  Matthias started walking toward it then froze partway there. Was that movement? Peering intently, he held up the lantern, his hairs standing on the back of his neck. “Hello?”

  Something had definitely moved in the stairwell.

  He reached for his dagger.

  A form blurred from the darkness with a high-pitched shriek, slamming into him.

  He reeled back as leathery wings struck his face.

  A large thrashing, fur covered body clawed at his shirt. He cried out, catching the creature, pushing it back as white fangs—gleaming in the lantern light—snapped inches from his face. Beady red eyes blazed.

  The creature shrieked again.

  Matthias roared in response.

  His shadow-tendril whipped up, swatting the beast’s back. It stiffened and with a low growl, he batted it across the room, sending it sailing through the air, landing in a heap then scrabbling to its feet.

  “What in all hells?” Matthias held up his lantern.

  Light fell on his attacker; its hissing filled the room.

  The bat-like beast arched its back. Its face was almost feline, with a body the size of a mountain lion and leathery wings spread wide to appear larger. Long, hooked, claws on its wings and feet scraped across the floor as it stalked toward him.

  “You’re one ugly mess—” He was poised to draw his knife but paused, noticing something glinting against its fur.

  A golden chain hung from its neck.

  ‘You’re one of Altaizar’s pets, so there’s no way I can kill you. He’d kill me if I did.’ Matthias thought, his hand moving away from the blade, eyes darting around the room; his gaze falling on the wardrobe next to the dressing table.

  A key lay in the lock.

  His mind began to work.

  The creature pounced, its screech stabbing his ears.

  Beady eyes focused on his neck, fangs snapping, wings spreading, claws poised…

  …then it was stopped short, flopping on the floor inches from his boots.

  The bat-like creature shrieked again, writhing as a sinewy shadow-appendage slithered around its body. Matthias’ tendril tightened like a snake coiling around the creature.

  Slashing, hissing, it raked its claws across the tentacle.

  Matthias yelped as a wave of hot pain burned through him, black mist pouring from the cut tendril.

  Clenching his teeth, the young warrior put down the lantern, grabbed the bat’s body, hoisting it up, charging toward the wardrobe. It kept struggling, fighting, snapping, shrieking until his ears rang. His tendril writhed away from the slashing claws until he ripped the wardrobe open and shoved the creature inside.

  Yowling, snapping, clawing, the bat struggled as the shadow-tendril quickly slipped from its body, grabbing the wardrobe’s left door.

  “Will you shut up!” Matthias snapped, trying to slam the doors. A wing broke free, but he quickly restrained it, shoving it back in the wardrobe, then pushing the other door closed.

  Bracing his body and the tentacle against the doors, he turned the key and pulled it from the lock. Matthias stepped away, catching his breath. The wardrobe rattled, shaking as Altaizar’s monster battered the inside.

  “What…the hells…” Matthias panted. He remembered the droppings on the parapet. “Well, I know why he left his door open: to let his pet come and go as it pleases.”

  He took the lantern from the floor.

  Luckily, no sparks had touched the carpet. “I wanted to be in and out of here without Altaizar knowing, but if he finds his pet locked up, he’ll know someone was here. Unless…I’ll open the wardrobe as I leave. It’ll make it look like the bat got in there on its own and wrecked his clothes.”

  Matthias glared at the shaking wardrobe. “I don’t have much luck with flying creatures, do I?”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Shaking his head as the creature screeched and thrashed in the wardrobe, Matthias entered the stairs leading down, moving quickly, eyeing his shadow tendril in the lantern-light.

  It had been damaged during the fight, but the cut and the mist had already vanished and—with it—the pain in his body.

  “Guess I know what happens when it gets cut now. Sort of,” he whispered. “Need to find those books to learn more.” He stepped onto the next level in the tower, cursing. “Nothing here.”

  A second bedroom lay before him, as opulent as the one above except no paintings hung on the walls, no tapestries…and the ivory bookshelf was empty.

  Matthias frowned.

  Long ago, Altaizar had worked beside his mother, Mistress Polla; she was a powerful mage in her own right, though Matthias could barely remember her. “Nice that he still keeps a room for her, I guess.”

  The boy moved to the next set of stairs, eyes darting around in case Altaizar had any other pets lurking around. He passed through a bathing area as well as a dining room before…

  “Aha!” he cried, emerging from the stairs. “This could be it!”

  There was a reading nook on this floor, with a writing desk, a hard-backed chair and a leather divan all beneath a shuttered window.

  Beyond the nook was a single, locked door.

  “That could be a library.” Matthias looked at the door, then at the writing desk, noticing a single golden key on it. He picked it up. “Let’s hope.”

  He put the key into the lock, turned it with a click, then pulled.

  There was a creak, but the door wouldn’t open.

  “Is it barred?” Matthias pulled at the handle again. “Probably is, and I bet he opens it with The Gift. So, what do I do?” He looked at his shadow tentacle. “I wonder…”

  He slipped the tendril between the bottom of the door and the floor. It compressed, slithering into the gap—he felt an odd, but painless sensation—and springing back into shape on the other side. Matthias raised the tendril in the room beyond the door, feeling it slide up the wood until it touched something heavy.

  “That must be the barricade. I bet I could…” The tentacle pushed it up from below, lifting higher and higher until…

  There was a clatter from the other side of the door.

  Excitedly, Matthias pulled the handle.

  it swung open with ease.

  “Yes!” he cried.

  He’d found Altaizar’s library.

  Shelves upon shelves rose high above Matthias’ head, filled with thick tomes, narrow volumes and other books of every shape and size. Scrolls packed into cases lined some shelves, and there were even stone and clay tablets set up in neat rows.

  “Breg would love this place,” Matthias murmured, stepping into the chamber. There were no windows—perhaps to prevent sunlight from bleaching the parchment and papyrus—so he carefully shone his lantern as he walked between the looming shelves.

  He soon found Altaizar’s books on magic.

  Volumes on The Gift and Life Enforcement filled the shelves, beside books on the history of the Vale of Magi and the Mage guard. Scroll cases were labelled, indicating studies on magical traditions from around Talekia and how different places in the world used The Gift. There were even books bound in skin with letters written in blood: studies of Old Magic rituals used by witches and warlocks.

  Finally…

  He stopped at a specific shelf.

  “This…this is it!” he cried.

  The shelf was lined with manuals on the practice of Divine Breath.

  “The Breathing Methods of the Tower of the Celestial King,” he began to name off titles. “Cultivating the Tower of the Ruler in Victory. Breathing Methods of Tower of the Night in Secret. Acolyte’s Manual of the Sect of Flaming Breath. The Bloody Cultivation Methods of the Demoneater Clan. Awakening the Tower of All Mystic. And—”

  He froze, his eyes falling on a particular title.

  “…Breathing Methods of Tower of the Wild in Shadow. Shadow! That’s got to be what I’m looking for!”

  He carefully took the black leatherbound volume from the top shelf, eagerly scurrying back to the reading nook. His shadow-tendril wriggled happily as he threw himself in the chair.

  With shaking hands, he laid the book in front of him.

  “Well, here it is,” he said. “This book could change my life. …probably. But, maybe it’s just some old history book.”

  He opened it, reading the table of contents aloud.

  “Chapter 1: On Towers and Divine Breath in General, Chapter 2: Lore on Nephyrean, God of Beasts, the Hunt and Nature and Lykosion, God of Thieves, Shadows and the Night; Chapter 3: How to Go About Awakening to the Divine Breath; Chapter 4: Raising the Towers–” he read. “This is what I need!”

  He remembered Kari’s smile.

  “I’m going to wipe that grin off your filthy face.” He vowed, flipping through the book, pulling out pieces of parchment he’d brought in a scroll case on his belt.

  Matthias stopped once he reached chapter three.

  Normally, he’d start at the beginning of a book, but—right now—he needed to make sure he copied the methods for awakening and building power with Divine Breath, as well as its dangers. If he got interrupted, at least he’d know how to use his power when he ran; he wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed.

  He looked around again, still nervous that there might be another of Altaizar’s pets nearby.

  All he saw was the open door to the library, the overstuffed divan, the staircase and shuttered window. After a moment’s thought, he opened the shutter, letting the moonlight in, then began to read.

  “Transcendence, immortality and splitting one’s enemies with a tempered fist all lie on the path of Divine Breath, ready for anyone willing to raise their Tower. Going to have to find out what a tower is. Divine breath is similar to Life Enforcement, but while the former focuses on empowering one’s life force through a careful regime of breathing, energy circulation, meditation and building a connection to the natural world, the Cultivation of Divine Breath uses the same methods to take in the energy left behind by the gods. It requires patience and care. Do not try to walk this path without a capacity for focus and the ability to quiet one’s spirit. If you wish to continue, consider the Awakening Method, which is common to most sects, clans and individual cultivators of Divine Breath.”

  Matthias took a breath, excited.

  “While Awakening to Divine Breath spontaneously can occur in beasts and other creatures closer to nature, mortals cannot awaken fully to Divine Breath by chance. Spontaneous Awakening in mortals is often temporary, incomplete, and far weaker than a full Awakening ritual. Further, powers gained from Spontaneous Awakening can be unstable, and their overuse could lead to death or—Okay, putting away the tendril now.” Matthias grimaced, his heart rate increasing.

  The tentacle disappeared in a puff of misty shadow.

  He looked around again.

  All he saw was the open door to the library, the overstuffed divan, the staircase and window.

  “Won’t be using that for a bit.” He continued reading, jotting notes as he went. “Awakening to Divine Breath is similar to testing one’s affinity for Life Enforcement. One requires a medium of pure conductivity like distilled water, blessed silver, pure copper, bane crystals or woven starlight. One must place their hands in the conductive material and use a method of stimulating their inner pathways of life energy while remaining calm and clear minded. If one is fortunate, their channels will begin to open and Divine Breath will rush in. Huh, sounds similar to Life Enforcement.”

  Matthias recalled all the rituals he’d undergone to test his affinity for Life Enforcement; the failures had been agonizing. Even the memories stung.

  “Awakening to Divine Breath must be conducted using the correct catalyst. A catalyst can come from a donation of energy from one already practising Divine Breath, from certain fruits or potions brewed with the correct stimulants or—in defiance of the heavens in the most primal of rituals—channeled from a bolt of lightning during a powerful storm. That sounds absolutely legendary.” The boy smiled. “Lightning will seek one attempting the Awakening, strike them and will provide a powerful catalyst that one can use to open their meridians to Divine Breath. Be careful, for lightning is among the most dangerous catalysts and is far more likely to slay than to awaken. In any case, once one begins cultivating a single deity or pair in combination, one cannot change their Tower. As such, it is advised to conduct one’s Awakening ritual in a place related to the deity or deities they wish to cultivate. Nephyrean, the God of Beasts, The Hunt and Nature, has his Divine Breath most commonly occurring in the wilderness and in the dens of predators. Lykosion, God of Thieves, Shadows and the Night most commonly has his Divine Breath occur in thieves’ guilds, in areas of shadow such as beneath forest canopies and under the dark of night.”

  Matthias continued reading and scrawling, excitement pumping through his veins. Nerves and anticipation coursed through him. Once he finished copying the ritual, how would he go about his awakening?

  It would have to be during a storm; which weren’t uncommon this time of year.

  He glanced through the window, seeing if there were any dark clouds on the horizon. Above, the mage’s bat screeched from inside the wardrobe, making Matthias wince.

  He looked around one more time.

  All he saw was the open door to the library, the overstuffed divan, Altaizar standing in the middle of the room, staring at him with bloodshot eyes; the staircase and window.

  He let out a sigh of relief, turning back to the book...

  ...then froze, slowly turning around.

  “Oh shit.”

  Altaizar was right behind him.

  “Hello, young burglar.” The mage cracked his knuckles. “I see you have broken into my home, terrorised my pet and are now stealing my knowledge. Care to explain yourself? And speak quickly. I am very, very enraged right now.”

  TFW you nat 1 a perception check then pass it later. :)

  Patreon. There's up to 24 advanced chapters ahead on patreon as thanks for support!

  https://discord.gg/A4M3CzfWBn