The dome was impressive from the outside, but the interior of this building had SEB lost for words. The walls were a pristine, marble white, etched in the same runic style as the pillars outside, which reflected the array of stained glass light beaming from above. He could spot subtle colourings of red, green, blue, yellow, white, black and even a tinge of purple in the many panes of glass over his head, and they all fitted together to create a near-spherical glass roof.

  In the centre of this room stood a large, round wooden table, its surface sanded and glazed with oil so that it too was reflective. Around this centrepiece were eight chairs, equidistant from each other; seven of them were sublimely colourful, mirroring the seven colours that he could ascertain in the glass roof, but one lonely chair felt completely out of place. It was made of stone, hastily put together, and didn’t compliment the room’s style at all.

  On each of the walls (excluding the eighth, open entrance to the dome) were seven different archways of seven different colours – he was starting to spot a pattern – but they didn’t lead anywhere. They were simply decorations by the looks of it, as if there used to be seven doorways before but they had all been filled in. Elder Kai positioned himself next to the red archway. His friendly smile beamed over to Seb from all the way across the room.

  “Come, good man,” Elder Kai said. “We must talk.”

  Making his way around the huge round table, walking slowly so that he could take in all of the features of this magnificent room, Seb wandered over to the red, decorative archway.

  “Now,” the Elder continued, “Before we can proceed, there are a few things I must first ask. What is your name?”

  The welcoming tone of his voice, that warm smile … I feel like I can trust this strange man.

  “Seb. Seb Teneki. Thank you so much for taking us in, Elder Kai. I don’t have any way of paying you right at this moment, but I’ll find another way to compensate for your generosity once I am able.”

  “Ha! Do not worry about such trivialities, young Seb! Your stay with us is only just beginning. You must be quite important if Ms. Daybreak here is willing to stake her reputation for you. So tell me – what do you know about us? What do you expect to obtain from your time here?”

  Seb glanced over at Karma, who gave an affirming nod.

  I’ve made it this far … Should I say what he wants me to say, or should I speak from the heart?

  “From what I’ve gathered from Karma, The Arbiters seem to be a community of magic wielders, one that she herself was a part of long ago. I can’t say for sure why she has put her faith in me, and I’d be lying if I said I knew what was going on, but I wish to learn more about your ways … And about myself, if possible.”

  Elder Kai smiled, his pristine white teeth glistening like the marble walls of the room. “An excellent answer. One final question before we proceed – what do you know about Flame magic?”

  “Um … I know that Karma seems to be very good at it, and if you’re the Flame Elder that means you probably taught her how to do it. It seems extremely powerful, strong enough to tear through even the toughest of enemies. I would be honoured if you also taught me how to harness this incredible power.”

  This response made the Elder pause. He took a moment to stroke his moustache in contemplation.

  “Hmmm … A less emphatic answer. If you are to learn our ways, Seb, you must let go of any predispositions. Magic is a powerful thing, dangerous if misused, and must be considered a tool rather than a weapon.”

  Elder Kai rested himself against the central wooden table, placing two experienced hands on its surface. He gestured towards the seven decorative archways surrounding him.

  “We are not the only ones, you know. Flame magic is but a part of the whole, a segment of the seven ideologies that intertwine to create balance on the Continent. Red is our colour, the Pathway we in the Flame Division choose to live by – The Path of The Flame. Those who walk our Pathway must understand the consequences of absolute power, and how absolute power can corrupt absolutely. We believe in a higher purpose, one far greater than we as a community can ever truly understand, and that purpose is what drives us.”

  He began circling the room, passing each of the decorative arches as he spoke.

  “There are other Pathways you can walk, Seb, that may very well reach the end goal you seek. The Piercing Path, like the mellow blue arch you see before you, can cut straight to the root of the problem. Those who follow this icy Pathway seek truth and purity. It is the facts, unblemished and honest in its entirety, which give these followers their resolve.

  “For those who are more open-minded, willing to let the wind guide them, trading directives for consequence and reason, The Path of The Howling Tempest may be more appropriate. That lies beyond this green archway.

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  “You could, of course, pursue the purple Pathway, The Path of Temperance, if you believe your mind to be unbroken, unbendable. You have already come across this Pathway, whether you realised it or not – their purple butterfly is what conversed with Karma over great distances and permitted you to discover our secret base. To those who can conquer their own mind, reality is mere suggestion.

  “You could stick to what you know, following the clear-white Path of Clarity, and understand what it means to bear that crystal in your chest. It is a solid, well-respected Pathway, one whose merits are understood by all in the Arbiters. The Path of Clarity would steady the ground beneath your feet.

  “Or, if it is truly just power over your enemies that you desire, the unfathomable might to strike down all in your path, to enact vengeance without the guilt of conscience to bind you, you could undertake The Path of Power – this electric yellow archway here – to smite your foes where they stand.”

  Elder Kai made it full circle round the whole room, passing each of the seven archways as he monologued, and returned to the red archway.

  “These are the Pathways available to us, the ones you can study to reach whatever goals you have in mind. Flame, Ice, Wind, Crystal, Mind, Electric … If you wish to understand our magical powers, those are the Pathways that are open to you.”

  Goodness me, that’s a lot to take in. I’m definitely going to forget most of that by tomorrow …

  “There is a catch, however,” Elder Kai revealed. “Though each Pathway may be enticing, with their own desirable advantages, you may only select one to pursue.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I can’t go into too much detail today, but just know that it would be impossible for you to pursue more than one Pathway. Is that understood?”

  Damn ... It would’ve been cool to learn them all, but I guess that’s not an option.

  “Okay, I understand. I must choose one to specialise in, and one alone.”

  One Pathway in particular rang the alarm bells in the back of Seb’s mind – Electric, The Path of Power. All those months ago, on that fateful day, Bez had been taken by a man who could shoot electricity out of his palm. Had his brother been abducted by these Arbiters? Was he being hidden by the Electric Mages who resided here?

  No, that seems unlikely. These people are far too friendly to be my enemies.

  Either way, Seb chose not to entertain the thought any longer than he needed to.

  “Before I choose … I think you missed one. That archway over there.” He pointed towards the black archway across the room, its pitch colouring reminiscent of the void of a night sky.

  “Yes, the seventh Pathway. That is not open to you. You may erase it from your mind. What is your decision?”

  Elder Kai had shunned that line of enquiry so quickly. Even Karma seemed to avert her gaze when the Elder spoke of that taboo archway. What sort of Pathway could it possibly be, one that didn’t even warrant an explanation?

  Seb had so many more questions … but none of them mattered until he made his decision. Each Pathway had something he wanted, something that would help him find the truth of his brother’s whereabouts and the doubts in his soul, but according to Elder Kai he could only pick the one. How could he make such an important decision so rashly, to decide which Pathway to specialise in for, theoretically, the rest of his days? Should he follow the Electric Pathway in the miniscule hope that Bez might be there? Or maybe the Crystal Pathway so that he could finally understand the crystal embedded in his chest?

  Above all else, Seb knew he had to put faith in himself, not the Pathway he chose. He would meet Bez again, he was sure of it. Fate had plans for them both. And this crystal in his chest would become second nature soon enough.

  “I choose Flame … The Path of The Flame,” he announced. “Karma was the one who saved my life all those months ago – I wouldn’t be here today if not for her determination to bring me here. She guided me here for a reason, and I trust her. That is my final decision.”

  Seb glanced over to Karma, who had a rare smile on her face. Elder Kai broke out into a hearty laugh and gave him a spirited slap on the shoulder.

  “Excellent choice!” The Elder exclaimed. “I don’t know what we would have done with you if you had chosen otherwise. We’re the only Division willing to take you in!”

  “Then … why did you make me choose? You could’ve told me Flame was my only soddin’ option!”

  “It had to come from you, Hotshot.” Karma spoke for the first time since they had entered the dome. “It has to be your decision to pursue The Path of The Flame. That is the only way to truly follow the Pathway – to commit with all your heart.”

  “Right then!” Elder Kai was much more jovial now. He dropped his professional fa?ade entirely. “Karma, do you want to do the honours?”

  “Actually, Elder Kai,” she smirked mischievously, “I think our guest should have the honours of goin’ first.”

  “Ha! Very well. Come now, Seb. It’s about time we showed you to your new home.”

  Elder Kai leant casually against the wall next to the red archway, his robes flowing from under his extended arm like a lavish tent. He nodded his head towards the archway, as if pleading Seb to go inside.

  “But … that’s just a wall.” Seb looked closely at the marble wall encircled by the archway, but could find no gaps or indication of where to go. “Surely not …”

  “Consider this lesson number one,” Elder Kai grinned. “Have a little faith.”

  Alright, I think I know what I need to do. But that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous!

  Taking a deep breath, and suspending his disbelief for a precious moment, he took a giant step towards the wall. He braced for his boot to clatter against the marble, but it never did. His leg disappeared through the wall, consumed by a thick mist, and the rest of his body followed.