“Master Altaizar?” Matthias grabbed his notes, shooting up from the chair. “What…but how?”

  Altaizar folded his hands behind his back. “My protections are to leave your family unharmed, but my magics still alert me if someone finds a way through my defences: the wind whispered of mischief in my tower…and here I find you, looking very mischievous, Matthias Stonebreaker.”

  “B-but you were days from here!”

  Altaizar chuckled. “Powerful, clever mages have ways to move so swiftly they shame the very winds.” His eyes flashed. “And I am more powerful and clever than most. If you were a random thief, I would have commanded your clothing to constrict you until you burst like an overcooked sausage. However, in this case, I think I will let your mother conjure the punishment for you. She will do worse. But before then, answer me, I do believe I asked you to explain yourself.”

  Matthias backed up against the desk. “…why?”

  “What do you mean, ‘why’?” Altaizar asked.

  “You don’t have to bother having me explain myself,” Matthias pointed out. “So, why do you want me to?”

  The mage cocked his head like an owl looking down at a mouse. “Do you think you have any right to ask me questions?”

  “No,” Matthias said. “But I don’t care.”

  “What?” Altaizar’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean you don’t care?”

  “I don’t care if I have no right to ask you questions. I’m asking them anyway.”

  The mage’s face turned stony. “Arise.”

  The tower darkened.

  Stones growled like hungry beasts.

  Matthias’ heart pounded in his ears, his mouth growing dry as the tower trembled.

  “Are you not afraid of me?” Altaizar asked, his voice echoing off the stones. “Perhaps I won’t deliver you to your mother. Perhaps, I will cast you over a cliffside. You could simply seem to have slipped and fallen while out for a late-night walk. A tragic ‘accident’ that you might experience if you keep provoking me.”

  “I am not provoking you.” Matthias met his gaze, gripping the desk behind him with white knuckles.

  “I point out that you broke into my tower.” Altaizar’s voice was flat. “That’s somewhat provocative I would say.”

  Silence.

  “…alright, maybe I am provoking you." Matthias cleared his throat. “I’m sorry that I broke into your sanctum, but either tell me why you want me to explain myself, take me to mother, or throw me over a cliff.” Matthias would catch himself with the shadow-tendril if it came to that. “I won’t talk if it’s just for your amusement…Kari and Siegfried have been using me as their jester for too damned long.”

  Altaizar stared at Matthias for a long moment. Around them, the tower quieted and light returned. “You really don’t fear me, do you?”

  “I do. I just don’t care if I’m afraid.”

  “You don’t care if you’re afraid…interesting.” The mage’s eyes flashed. “Very well. Mages are inquisitive creatures, Matthias, and you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

  “What do you mean?” the boy asked cautiously.

  “You’re normally a trustworthy young man: you endure your bullying without causing trouble, you endure what your father did to your family with maturity beyond your years, you endure your brother’s imprisonment while caring for your sister…and yet you broke into my tower to look up Divine Breath even after I warned you of its dangers. I’m curious as to what drove you to do that.” Altaizar sat on the divan. “If you tell me, maybe this little act of burglary will stay between us.”

  Matthias paused for a long moment. “Do you know what happened with Kari, Siegfried and Petric today?”

  “They were awaiting trial and punishment. Did my letter help?”

  “Oh, Eklund punished them alright.”

  Altaizar brightened. “Oh, that’s good news—”

  “With a month-long stay in a temple,” Matthias grunted. “And then they get to come back here with no repercussions and a big reason for revenge.”

  “Oh…oh.” The mage’s voice dropped.

  “Yeah.” Matthias said simply.

  Silence fell.

  The boy sighed. “Master Altaizar, they’re going to kill me one day, either when they get back from the temple or when I’m assigned to a squad one of them will command in the Wolfwood.”

  “I see.” Altaizar sighed. “Why not run away, then?”

  Matthias nearly spit. “You mean let those three weasels run me?”

  “At least you would survive. You would also avoid any duty to the Wolfwood and—”

  “—abandon my family, my dignity, my pride, and my ability to choose what I want for my own life.” He ground his teeth. “No one is going to make me run away and no one is going to make me abandon my family and my home. You asked me to explain myself, Master Altaizar? Well, there it is: I’m willing to do anything to carve a path forward in life, period. A path forward that I choose. If I can’t, nothing will ever change. I apologise for breaking into your tower, but…hells, I’m not going to just sit around and live under someone else’s boot.”

  Silence returned as Altaizar studied Matthias’s face.

  No words passed between them; no more needed to be said.

  The mage was unreadable, but the boy held his gaze all the same.

  At last, Altaizar spoke. “Fine, I won’t take you to your mother.”

  Matthias’ heart leapt.

  “Really?”

  “Of course not. I can’t really tell her about this if I’m going to help you see if you have an affinity for Divine Breath.”

  “Yeah, okay—Wait, what?” The boy startled. “You are? But…but why?”

  The mage sighed, looking through the window, his silver hair catching the moonlight. “In my view, if a mission or a calling is important enough, one should do anything to achieve it. So, when you said that’s exactly what you would do…I have to admit, I was moved.”

  He chuckled. “I respect your family a great deal. Beggahasta tries to fight for her children, but she is chained by others and has been worn down over time. Bregindoure tries to support his family, but is caged by both his curse and his prison. Dagma tries to help her brothers, but she is still too young. And then there is you…always enduring, trapped by your lack of affinity for The Gift or Life Enforcement.”

  Altaizar’s snapped his fingers, whispering. A flame burst into life floating in mid-air above his hand. “There is a fire in you, Matthias, one that’s been desperate to burn. Yet it has been starved of air and fuel for your entire life. Well, I am curious to see what happens if I feed that flame.”

  “Yes…yes!” Matthias cried. “Thank you!”

  “Chances are that Divine Breath will kill you outright. Do not thank me until I have actually done something for you.”

  “I understand, Master Altaizar.” He reached out, shaking the mage’s hand. “So, what happens now?”

  The mage smiled. “You will go home and go to sleep, and I will finish my work in the Wolfwood’s outskirts. In two days, I will return and tell your mother I have found another method that might unlock The Gift in you. You will come back here to train under that pretense…but in reality, I will be teaching you everything you need to know to Awaken to Divine Breath, or die trying. Together, we will attempt that Awakening.”

  “This…this is great!” Matthias cried. “Uhm, so do you practise Divine Breath yourself?”

  “No, but I know a mage who does.” Altaizar smiled. “And I can guide you through an Awakening with ease; I know almost everything they do.”

  Matthias cocked his head. “Does that mean they wield both The Gift and Divine Breath?”

  “That they do.” Altaizar’s grey eyes seemed to sparkle.

  Matthias frowned. “But I read that—most of the time—Divine Breath destroys any chance one has of being a Gift Wielder.”

  “Aha!” Altaizar laughed. The fire above his hand flickered, seeming to laugh with him. “Listen to me well, young Matthias, for this is your first lesson: most of the time is not ‘all’ of the time. Divine Breath usually does destroy The Gift in mortals but, in rare circumstances, one can master both.”

  “Really, wow? I read it was basically impossible.”

  “Ah, and that brings us to lesson two. Don’t always trust something just because someone wrote it in a book. At times, words can be untrue.”

  “Right, I understand.” Matthias nodded.

  Altaizar patted the towering boy on his shoulder. “No, you don’t, not yet. But I think in time, you will. Now, let’s get you home. Remember, in two days, we get started.”

  Matthias wanted to leap for joy. “Got it.”

  “Oh, and before you go. You are to free Lord Bloodweep and apologise to him.” Altaizar frowned.

  “Who’s Lord Bloodwee-Oh…you mean the bat?”

  “Lord Bloodweep is not just a mere bat, young man!” Altaizar bristled. “He is a Flying Puma from the Teal Tower Mountains in the Upper World’s Belt! A rare and dignified species that you shoved inside a wardrobe to ruin my clothes!”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Oh, er, he attacked me…” Matthias defended himself. “Though I guess, I was burglarizing your home…I’m sorry?”

  “Don’t apologise to me, apologise to Lord Bloodweep!”

  “Right away!” Matthias took the stairs two at a time, Altaizar floated behind him.

  “I want you to know, Matthias.” Beggahasta hugged her son. “That no matter what happens, I will love you for all your life, without condition. You don’t have to do this.”

  “I know, mother.” Matthias hugged her back, pushing down a pang of guilt. “But I’m doing it for me.”

  Dawn’s rays shone over the eastern mountains on the morning he was to begin learning Divine Breath from Master Altaizar; Matthias and Beggahasta stood at the threshold of their home together, and she was packed for a long patrol in the Wolfwood. His mother thought he was trying to awaken to The Gift.

  He didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn’t let her stop him.

  Not now.

  He could tell her the truth when he was finished.

  “Listen, Matt.” His mother pulled away from their hug, gripping his arms. “I’m trying to see what I can do to get around Eklund. I will protect you.”

  Matthias smiled. “I know, mother. But are you going to be alright?” His smile faded. He looked to the east where the Wolfwood’s ominous trees clawed at the sun. “Your patrol’s starting today…”

  “I’ll be fine as long as my children are safe. Besides, my old dire bear cloak has seen better days.” She tapped the hilt of the two-handed sword slung across her back. Its scarlet hilt was shaped like a dragon; its wings being the cross guard and its head, the pommel. “Tallis will claim another for me. Would you like one too?”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “No, I think I’ll be fine. But be careful, mother. I hope I can show you something legendary when you get back.”

  She grinned, reaching up and tousling his hair. “Ugh, when did you get so tall? I know you’ll show me something ‘legendary’. You do it every day.”

  He blushed. “Mother…”

  “Just…” She continued, her grin fading. “Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I nearly lost you once, and I don’t want to risk that again. I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

  “I know, mother,” Matthias nodded. “But that just means I have to try even harder.”

  “Of course.” She looked at the door. “Dagma will be cross that I left before she was awake.”

  “Oh, you know how she is in the mornings. You said goodbye to her, me and Bregindoure last night, I just happened get up early,” Matthias said gently. “How long will you be gone?”

  “Not sure. This patrol will be a long one, but it'll fill our coffers again: the pay is good.” Beggahasta gave a wan smile. “We should be able to do something nice when I get back. Take care of yourself, Matt.”

  She looked above the door of their home.

  Way of Stone was inscribed there. “Matt, we always repay our debts in this family.”

  His back straightened as he heard the old familial words begin. “We do.”

  “Kindness?” she asked.

  “We repay with kindness,” he recited.

  “Loyalty?” she asked.

  “We repay with loyalty,” he recited.

  “And cruelty?” she asked.

  “We repay with greater cruelty.” His voice hardened to flint.

  “Very good. Be well, my son.” She kissed his forehead. “I shall return.”

  “I’ll be well, mother.” He looked toward Altaizar’s tower. “And hopefully even better than well.”

  “You’re early!” Altaizar called. “Good! I like seeing eagerness in a student.”

  Matthias looked up, startling part way through the courtyard gate.

  The mage was rising from the table at the top of the tower and stepping over the parapet. With both hands behind his back, he floated down, landing silently on the cobblestones. “So, are you ready, Matthias?”

  The young man took a deep breath. “Hard to say: I don’t know exactly what I’m getting into.”

  “Of course you don’t, that’s the point of me teaching you.” Altaizar polished the lenses of his spectacles before putting them back on the bridge of his nose. “Follow me so we can get you started.”

  He strode toward his tower as the door opened for him.

  Matthias quickly followed. “Right, so, how are we getting started?”

  He jumped when the door shut behind him, locking itself.

  There was a finality in the latch clicking.

  “You can start by taking off your boots and cloak, please. I’m not going to have you tracking mud into my tower again.” Altaizar gave him a withering look, jabbing his finger toward the cloak rack.

  “I-I didn’t track mud inside the last time I was here.” Matthias unlaced his boots and took off his cloak.

  “Oh yes you did, the stairs down to my room had more than a few nasty boot prints on them.” The mage hung up his own cloak and handed the young man a pair of sheepskin slippers. “These should be your size, but they might not fit anymore; you haven’t been here—by invitation—for a long time, and you’re growing like a weed.”

  Matthias sighed as he put on the slippers. It looked like his teacher wouldn’t be letting go of the whole ‘burglary incident’ for a while. “They fit.”

  “Excellent, come along then, follow me upstairs.” Altaizar glided across the foyer to the staircase.

  “Okay, but uh…where’s Lord Bloodsweep?” Matthias looked around cautiously, staying close.

  “It’s Lord Bloodweep and he’s asleep; he sleeps during the day like most bats do.” Altaizar sniffed. “And a good thing too.” He leaned back on the stairs, whispering to Matthias as though about to share a terrible secret. “He doesn’t like you.”

  “I could have guessed that.” Matthias grumbled.

  “Well just in case you didn’t, now it’s confirmed.” Altaizar’s voice was light and cheery. “Here we are.”

  The mage led him to a floor he hadn’t seen before and opened a thick door.

  Matthias stopped dead when he saw the room in front of him.

  Massive, and lit by flame blazing in scores of iron braziers, seeming like some sort of temple with two imposing statues towering high, one in front and the other in the back:

  Melakar and Laurahasa.

  It was so similar to the temple in his dream that Matthias’ shadow shuddered.

  The only difference was that this room was enclosed by walls, painted a cool, calming blue.

  “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Altaizar waved his hand over the room. “It’s my meditation chamber, and it’s where you’ll be doing most of your work.”

  “Right…” Matthias looked around slowly. “It’s a lot like a temple, isn’t it?”

  Altaizar smiled. “My own personal temple, after a fashion.”

  Matthias continued looking around before glancing down at his shadow.

  When he’d been caught by Altaizar, he’d been too startled to reveal anything about his shadow-tendril. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell him about it. As much as he was glad the mage was helping him, he still had certain reservations.

  Altaizar was working for the Stonebreaker family now, but—originally—he worked for both Matthias’ mother and father. He was kind enough, but it wasn’t lost on Matthias that there was a…sort of callousness in his offer to help him. It seemed Altaizar’s own curiosity about seeing him try Divine Breath was more important to him than any risk to Matthias’ life.

  The idea of sharing his secret with the mage made him a bit uneasy. He’d be far more comfortable learning what he could from Altaizar, while being on the lookout for any information on shadow-tendrils buried in his books.

  If he was lucky, he’d learn more without revealing anything about his shadow to Altaizar.

  “Now, before we begin.” Altaizar’s cheer faded. “If you die—which you most likely will—I will tell your family that you stole something from my tower which took your life. I’ll take no blame for anything that happens to you: you chose the risk, and you will also suffer the consequences, if things turn deadly.”

  Matthias nearly laughed at how quickly the mage had confirmed his thoughts. “I understand.”

  “Not yet, but you will. Join me in the middle of the chamber and we can begin.”

  Matthias followed Altaizar as he walked to the centre of the ‘temple’. When the mage turned around, looking his pupil up and down, he reminded him of the old man from his dream. “I want us to meditate together. You’re going to need a clear mind if you have any hope of surviving a Divine Breath Awakening.”

  “Will the meditation techniques that I learned while preparing for Life Enforcement do?” Matthias asked, sitting cross-legged in front of Altaizar.

  “They’ll be more than adequate.” The teacher assured him, sitting in front of his student. “First, I want you to find your calm. When you have a clear mind, tell me.”

  “Got it,” Matthias closed his eyes.

  He’d been taught meditation techniques from an early age: they were fundamental to mastery of Life Enforcement and The Gift.

  He took a deep breath to steady himself, then fell into a slow rhythm of breathing. He inhaled for a count of four, held his breath for a count of seven then exhaled for a count of eight. As he did this his heartbeat slowed and calmness came over him. When intrusive thoughts found him, he acknowledged each one before letting it pass over and through his spirit.

  Soon, he was fully present, in the moment and in his body, aware of every sensation…though he did notice something odd. He could feel his shadow lying against the floor behind him, matching the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

  He noted it then let the sensation go.

  All fell away, leaving a mind as clear as spring water.

  He opened his eyes. “I’m ready.”

  “Very good.” Altaizar’s voice was calm, his breath steady. “You are aware of what caused the Age of Wolves, correct?”

  “Yes.” Matthias slowly nodded.

  “Tell me what you know.”

  “The people of the Age of Wonder delved into their magics too greedily.” Matthias recited his old lessons. “They awoke nature, and she covered the world in an endless forest, tearing down the great civilizations of old. Her storvargs—the great wolves—ate the cities, leaving great beasts and a dark wilderness in their wake. The Wolfwood covered the entire world; this was the Age of Wolves.”

  “Very good,” Altaizar said. “And what ended the Age of Wolves?”

  “The return of the gods,” Matthias continued. “During the age of Wolves, the Pantheon of the Ascended had no contact with the world for forty thousand years: they wanted mortals to learn how to live without them. Once we did, the deities came back, burning away the Wolfwood from most of the planet. Only here, on the continent of Ergoth, does any of the Wolfwood still exist. Even the deities weren’t able to burn it completely away.”

  “Excellent, and what is the name of the day when the deities threw down the Wolfwood?”

  “Godsreturn.”

  “Perfect.” Altaizar nodded. “I see you paid attention to your lessons well. Now it’s my turn to speak: did you know that Godsreturn is the origin of the Divine Breath?”

  Matthias’ eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  “Really. In using their power to end the Age of Wolves, the Pantheon of the Ascended had to exert themselves greatly. What happens when you exert yourself, Matthias?”

  “Er, I sweat.”

  Altaizar snorted. “In addition to that? What are you doing right now?”

  Matthias thought for a moment. “I’m breathing, and when I exert myself, I breathe harder.”

  “That’s right: you pant, take in air then exhale. And that is what the deities did as they fought: exhaled—both literally and figuratively—bits of their divine power, leaving those bits to spread across the world, taking hold.”

  “And that’s why it’s called Divine Breath.” Matthias reasoned.

  “Indeed, and it proliferates naturally now, further strengthening each time one of our gods or goddesses physically walks the world. Long ago, some enterprising practitioners of Life Enforcement learned how to cultivate those powerful remnants of Divine Breath.”

  “And the deities hated that?” Matthias asked.

  Altaizar chuckled. “Yes, according to their priests. And yet—if our pantheon is truly so against us ‘stealing’ their power, then why do they not simply smite every Divine Breath Cultivator at once? There is more to the story, I believe, but that’s a discussion for a different day. The point is, breathing—like it is in Life Enforcement—is key to cultivating Divine Breath. You need a good set of lungs and a powerful soul, and you need to learn how to breathe with both.”

  “Got it,” Matthias said. “And how do I ‘breathe with my soul’?”

  “I’ll teach you,” Altaizar assured him. “It’s a key skill that’s very necessary for Divine Breath: it’ll be the way you’re going to heal yourself.”

  “Heal myself?” Matthias paused. “From what?”

  Altaizar’s chuckled. “In order to perform an Awakening Ritual for Divine Breath…we’re going to have to damage your soul.”

  “What?” Matthias’ eyebrows shot up.

  “Mortal and Divine energies are not traditionally meant to fuse into one. Divine tries to stay divine while mortal tries to stay mortal. Part of the process of Awakening to Divine Breath requires one to force their intermingling.” He pointed at Matthias. “We will cause a wound to your soul, and a deep one at that: souls can heal minor damage naturally over time, but the level of damage we’ll be doing will need to be just right. Not great enough to cause your soul to collapse, but deep enough so that it cannot naturally repair itself. Then, we will ‘patch’ it.”

  Matthias’ mind began working. “Divine Breath will form the patch?”

  Altaizar pursed his lips. “Go on.”

  “We’re going to hurt my soul, creating a big hole…then I’m going to breathe in Divine Breath to fill it, and since my soul will want to repair itself, it’ll fuse with the Divine Breath?”

  “Precisely!” Altaizar laughed. “Ah, a student with a sharp mind! Always a pleasure to teach one such as you. Now, do you see why an Awakening is so deadly?”

  “Yeah.” Matthias shuddered.

  “Still want to proceed?” Altaizar asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Brilliant!” The mage clapped. “Now, let us go over what the Towers of Divine Breath are, and how you will choose which deities to cultivate. Then we will teach you soul-breathing very quickly.”

  “How quickly?” Matthias asked.

  “You are to have a working ability to breathe through your soul in two weeks’ time.”

  “Two weeks?” Matthias flinched. “Isn’t that awfully quick?”

  “It is, but you want to defeat Kari and his cronies upon their return, right? In two weeks’ time there will be the perfect storm coming from the west. The wind told me that the storm will be powerful, raw, and wielding the kind of lightning that can strike down to the very soul. It will be our best chance for an Awakening for you: a dangerous method, but we don’t have the resources here to try anything else. Once you have Awakened, you will need to acclimatize yourself to your new abilities. That could take weeks.”

  Matthias swallowed. “Got it.”

  “Now, then,” Altaizar continued. “I will explain what happens after you Awaken, and what the pillar of power that is Divine Breath looks like. Allow me to explain the Towers of Divine Breath to you: they are the key aspect to how you will grow on this new path.”