Chapter VII

  As charged by King Markreas, Koroha spent the days following their return locked away within various libraries searching for any direct or indirect mention of the existence of lightning magic. At first, for convenience’s sake, she and her apprentice, Triston Mackella, remained in the Citadel, but after two full days of finding absolutely nothing, the Master of Wind decided they may be better off splitting up and researching two libraries at once, so she ordered Triston to continue in his search at the Citadel while she departed for the Academy of Erika. She hoped to have better luck there, for the Academy’s library was far more magic-centric than the more general one in the Citadel, so Koroha reached out to Headmaster Reddick Tykon for permission to have full access, then departed the following day to begin her search there. It was exhausting work, especially given that if she allowed her mind to wander or got too tired, then she ran the risk of missing something while skimming these thick leather volumes.

  To make matters worse, it truly did not seem like lightning magic existed, and had she not trusted Markreas the way she did, she’d have already concluded that he was mistaken somehow. Every book mostly said the same sort of stuff as they talked about how the main five affinities evolved during the Age of Ascension when spells shifted from wild and uncontrollable blasts of power to the more contained and optimized incantations that existed in the modern day. Everybody had those five types of mana within their bodies so long as they weren’t magicless, with the only known exceptions being the dark magic of the Noctis, the light magic of the Luz, and the even rarer mind magic. No other forms of mana had ever been proven to exist, with mind magic having been the most recent discovery over a millennia ago in the Age of Expansion. The only exceptions were the few complex arts such as erasure magic or pocket realms, but those were theorized to be unusual results of the interactions between the five affinities, though that explanation had never been accepted as concrete fact.

  That wasn’t to say there weren’t other mana types hypothesized to exist, but none of them had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. For instance, there were reports of prophets who could wield “time magic”, a form of a mana that allowed the user to see the future or travel through time, but every report Koroha read came to the conclusion that these self-declared prophets were frauds who merely manipulated the common people for money. Another hypothesized mana form was referred to as “realm magic”, which held even less basis for its existence and seemed to the Master to be merely written about with the hope that it might be real. These writings described the ability to cross realms without the aid of the daggers, and that some mages may have been able to tear open a portal with nothing but their hands. Koroha found it nonsensical, but it was given some credibility given that the man who discussed it was a very famous scientist from the late Age of Expansion, so she decided there may have been more evidence in some of his other writings.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anything relating to lightning magic, even within the Academy’s library. Of course, given the vast amount of magical research that had been conducted since the inception of Ijiria, she found those who talked about the possibility, but since the affinity seemed rather simple and unremarkable, it lacked the discussions that time magic and realm magic had. Instead, Koroha merely found the occasional comment about how it was strange that mages could not control electric energy the way they could with light. This did send her down a mental path of considering the similarities of light and lightning, but if she really wanted to attempt that link, she would have to either reach out to the Luz in Noctalus, or go there herself.

  But I suppose there could be something there. If Keskivaara’s using some unique form of light magic, it would explain why we’ve never heard of it. The Luz are very traditional, after all, and don’t often innovate with their affinity, so maybe Keskivaara is one of those rare individuals outside of the Noctalus that can control light magic, and he managed to tap into a form that was otherwise unheard of. He is a highly educated man, so it wouldn’t be surprising…

  That explanation didn’t satisfy her, though, for the chances that there had never been a single Luz who discovered lightning magic seemed low. The only way it could have avoided Ijirian discovery was if it was in its own affinity, and she didn’t think it could have merely mutated into the People’s Mind. Therefore, with her research into magic coming up with nothing, she turned her attention back towards another theory that had been posed when her old team had their discussion in the throne room.

  Could the affinity have come from another realm? Is Keskivaara of foreign blood? That’s my next line of research…

  Luckily, the Keskivaaras were a rather elite family back in Stellareid, so the likelihood that his family tree was recorded was pretty high. She imagined the Citadel would contain that information, so she told Triston to look for it and, if they couldn’t find anything, then he would go to Stellareid to request access to the records in Saientia from Lady Thea Cartigan. Meanwhile, while Keskivaara himself was left to her apprentice, Koroha decided to focus on the initial theory that there were magical civilizations beyond Ijiria—an idea that most believed was likely but had never actually been proven. After all, Omaruo, Hildegan, and Kaira were all magicless, and Cansi was a wasteland lacking evidence of any civilization to begin with. Magical civilizations may have been discovered beyond their four neighbors, but knowledge of those realms was severely lacking.

  Back in the Age of Expansion, the guild known as the Realm Forgers, who first discovered the means of creating realm daggers and were the primary authority on their usage, wanted to keep a certain amount of control of Calkorai expansion, so they limited travel beyond the neighbors to a very elite few within their ranks. However, when the Kairan Genocide led to Ijirian civil war and the overthrowing of that era’s monarch by his niece, the Realm Forgers dispersed with their knowledge and their daggers, fleeing Ijiria for good. Then, despite three daggers remaining in their realm, Oralia Iiji decreed that realm travel was dangerous and that the Ijirians could not be trusted with such power. She banned departure from Ijiria outside of select circumstances, thus resulting in the modern ignorance on what bordered Omaruo, Kaira, Hildegan, and Cansi.

  So if a magical civilization that could contain lightning magic exists, we have no means of knowing about it. The only lead I have…is this…

  Koroha took a seat in her privately rented room on the basement level of the Academy Library, a large and old volume sitting on the table before her. It was titled “My Argument For the Existence of the Supreme Beings of Cansi”, by Vellad Hin.

  Naturally, she had heard about the old theories that Cansi may have once contained a magical civilization that wiped themselves out before Ijiria ever reached them, which wasn’t a totally farfetched idea given the time differences between realms. If Cansi moved faster than Ijiria did, then she wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that a mage species rose and fell in the centuries before Ijiria united into a single civilization. The basis for the argument was that there was a faint mana residue discovered on its surface, and since mana can only be produced by a magical realm, that led them to believe that people must have lived there. In addition, it was strange that four of the five known realms had a dominant species evolve in nearly the exact same way with similar cultures and the same languages, as if their existence was predetermined, but Cansi did not. The chances of humanity appearing the way they did four out of five times was slim to none, so there was no obvious reason why Cansi would have been an exception. On top of that, there were records of relics found in the city-sized craters that dotted its landscape, but those relics had been either destroyed or lost in the centuries since the realms were closed, leaving modern mages skeptical that they ever even existed.

  So, we lack solid proof, which is the reason nobody has ever really given these hypotheses more than a passing thought. We humored them for a time, but even the cross-dimensional mirrors once used to communicate and observe between realms witnessed nothing but a wasteland in Cansi. Even now, I wouldn’t be bothering with this, but if Cansi did have a civilization, then maybe lightning magic came from there?

  It wasn’t impossible that somebody who lived in Cansi could still be alive today even though hundreds upon hundreds of years would have passed since its theoretical downfall, and that was due to the time discrepancies between realms. Most of the bordering worlds were relatively similar in time to Ijiria, but Hildegan was evidence that this wouldn’t always be the case. Hildegan’s time passed roughly twenty-six times faster, with one Hildegan year matching to twenty-six Ijirian years. Therefore, if Koroha went to Hildegan for fifteen years and then came back, three-hundred and ninety years would have gone by in her home realm. Hildegan was certainly an exception as far as they knew, but if there was a realm even slower than Hildegan that bordered Cansi, then members of that civilization could have survived, then made their way to Ijiria.

  That’s the only way Keskivaara’s magic could exist and we not know about it. He’s either directly descended from Cansi, or he’s descended from another realm. It’s my only lead at this point unless Triston finds something back in Citadel.

  The problem was that, after reading through a sizable part of Hin’s writings, she found that he didn’t really touch on anything she didn’t previously know, which she reluctantly could not be surprised by. They couldn’t even prove civilization existed, let alone know anything about what affinities they may have had, if any beyond the ones Ijiria did. It had been a shot in the dark, and she came up with nothing.

  Here’s to hoping Nakoma’s having an easier time than I am, she internally mused, abandoning the book as she folded her arms on the table and rested her head atop them. I hate what complications come with Keskivaara… Here I thought we’d get to relax a bit once the Kosah-Rei were gone, but now we’re facing something so unexplainable that I don’t think we can get an answer without overhauling some of what we thought we knew about our world.

  The Master of Wind clenched her teeth, but right as she was preparing to give up for the day and head back to the Citadel, she heard a gentle knock on the door of her room. Wondering if she had lost track of time and accidentally stayed until the library’s closure, Koroha sat up straighter and called for the visitor to enter. Pleasantly surprising her, it wasn’t some staff member there to kick her out, rather it was Alharo who walked inside with a broad smile as he raised a hand in greeting.

  “Evening, Koro.”

  She returned his smile, feeling a welcome sense of relief at the presence of a friend. “Good evening. What brings you here, old friend? I would have imagined you’d be swamped with work as well.”

  “Oh I certainly am,” he grumbled. “But when you’re the one in charge, sometimes you can get away with leaving work for another day.” Alharo chuckled to himself, then motioned towards the empty seat across the table from her. “May I join you?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Koroha nodded. “Of course, but I do wonder how you knew where to find me?”

  “Well, I stopped by the Citadel first and Young Mackella informed me you had headed off to the Academy,” he explained as he took his offered seat. “I then flashed my Vice Captain’s badge to one of the staff members here, and they told me exactly where to go.”

  “That’s a lot of work,” she mused. “So I imagine you must want something?”

  “Oh no, nothing at all. I just figured you’d be bored by all this tedious research and could use some company, or some help, for that matter.” Alharo then motioned towards the many books resting on the table, some still thrown open with bookmarks sticking out of every end. “Are you having any luck or is Keskivaara’s magic just as elusive as we suspected?”

  Koroha sighed, irritably shutting Hin’s book as she shook her head. “I’ve got nothing, Alharo. As far as I can tell, lightning magic is not real and it never was. There are a few texts that argue it could exist, but absolutely nothing that contains hard evidence. It’s truly concerning, for if it did evolve itself into existence, then that implies that mana types can just appear and begs the question of why it never has in the past and why it happened to Keskivaara of all people.”

  “But that answer doesn’t sit right with you,” he stated, understanding how she felt without needing to ask.

  “It doesn’t, but there isn’t a single solution that doesn’t beg a million different questions.” The Master of Wind leaned her arms on the table and pressed her hands to her forehead, feeling an annoying headache coming on. “It’s either foreign or a random mutation… Which one is less of a problem for us?”

  “A hard question to answer, indeed.” Alharo furrowed his brow with consideration. “I’ve been trying to give it my own thought, but I was never as booksmart as the rest of you, so I must admit I don’t have the knowledge base to form any worthy hypotheses. However, if we can’t learn anything through textbooks, then it may serve us well to determine where Keskivaara went after he vanished from Stellareid.”

  “You think so?”

  Koroha had pondered that option once or twice already, but she was really hoping it wouldn’t come to that. It would be far easier to find the answer in a library, but if they were forced to investigate Keskivaara’s actions during the years he was unaccounted for, then it could very well turn into a much grander investigation that may not bear fruit for years.

  “I do,” Alharo grunted. “I don’t know a lot about that man, so do we have any leads on where he was? Even if it’s just a direction?”

  Koroha grimaced. “We unfortunately do not. Before he disappeared, he was hardly a man of note. Many of Stellareid’s elite families are head researchers and scientists, so it’s quite rare to find a mage family in the area. The Cartigans may actually be the only one of any note. With that said, what happened to Keskivaara’s family and his subsequent disappearance wasn’t something we in Erika even knew about at the time. We only started looking into it when he returned to the city and began organizing against the crown.”

  She then paused, recalling the singular time she had ever met the People’s Mind prior to the Battle of Ankalla. Back when she was attending the Academy, King Markreas’s royal team was sent to Stellareid to attend a banquet and ball held by House Cartigan, a rather common diplomacy mission for them that served to keep strong ties between the Iijis and the monarchs of the other Great Cities. Because they had a lot of free time, one morning, Koroha headed out on her own to visit a nearby museum centered around the Age of Ascension’s multiple attempts at space travel. That field was where Keskivaara’s family specialized, and as it happened, Keskivaara himself was holding a lecture that day where he discussed with the visitors the type of research his parents were conducting to bring back the old space programs and get mages on the moon and beyond. She found it riveting, especially because of how important wind magic had been to the original programs, and afterwards, she got the chance to talk with Keskivaara.

  He was charismatic, intelligent, and seemed like an all-around nice guy. I wasn’t anybody of significance back then, so he wouldn’t remember me, I’m sure, but he left an impression on me. I liked him and I respected him, so I find it a pity what became of him. That being said…

  Anybody who had ever been in close proximity with Rickori Keskivaara could sense the power within him. Lord Eganno Cartigan had warned them of his strength, and Ilirianna confirmed it when she returned from the City of Starlight. Then, when Koroha found herself in his presence after Markreas defeated him, she could sense it as well.

  But back when we were younger, he was clearly a below-average magic user, as expected of Stellareid nobility. So…

  “You honestly may be right, Alharo,” she continued after a moment, then went on to explain to him everything that had just gone through her mind regarding that first meeting with the man who would someday become the People’s Mind.

  Alharo nodded. “I see… So between then and now, he became powerful. I suppose that could easily be chalked up to him deciding to train in combat while he was away, but…”

  “What if he gained lightning magic during that time. What if he not only trained, but actually became more innately strong?” Koroha narrowed her eyes with nervousness. “But then that only brings us to other questions. How could he have gotten that power…and who could have taught him how to use it?”

  ***

  “Personally, if Liri doesn’t want to talk to me like an adult, then I won’t show her that respect either. I can’t apologize for something if I don’t know what I did, so unless she reaches out, I’m not going to worry. That’s my decision, and you should make yours.”

  Even as Reigious mulled over Piura’s advice once more, he found himself no closer to a conclusion than he had been days ago when that conversation took place. Of course, he shouldn’t have been surprised by this since he had been ruminating on the situation for years now. It felt like Ilirianna was no longer a part of his life, like he hardly knew her even though they lived in the same suite, and that was painful to him. He loved and admired his eldest sister, and saw her as an icon for what a ruler should be. Should he ever find himself in a position of influence or power, he wanted to be like her. Once upon a time, she had been close to him, but those days were long over. He wanted to change that, to reach out to Ilirianna, but he also couldn’t deny the validity of what Piura said.

  Why should he have to reach out to her instead of the other way around? Why should he bear that responsibility when it was Ilirianna who had changed—who had placed the current distance between them?

  Then again, am I just making excuses to avoid talking to her? I mean, I want to be close with her like we used to be… I want to bridge this gap and find out why it ever existed in the first place.

  He was scared, though he couldn’t quite identify what was scaring him. He simply did not feel comfortable taking the initiative himself, but since his gut was urging him to take advantage of the victorious battle at Ankalla and the euphoric relief that came with it, Reigious wanted to make his move soon. That was why he departed the royal suite early in the morning and went for a walk around the upper corridors of the Citadel, hoping that doing so would clear his mind and allow him to think more critically. He wasn’t even sure where he was going, but eventually, he found himself walking towards the emerald doors of the throne room, only to notice voices coming from within. Reigious frowned, softly approaching the entrance and noticing that one of the two doors was still slightly ajar, so he pushed it open and poked his head in to find his mother sitting on her throne and Nakoma Taurus standing right in front of it.

  Both turned at his entrance, and wondering if he shouldn’t have interrupted, he muttered, “Oh, um, sorry. I was just going for a walk and heard you guys talking. Should I leave?”

  Toranei smiled warmly at him and shook her head, reaching out and beckoning for him to come inside. “Of course not. We were just discussing Keskivaara.”

  “Ah, I see,” Reigious said, walking into the emerald room as he turned to regard Nakoma. “No luck, Master Taurus?”

  Nakoma snorted with disdain. “None. He’s a strong-willed individual, that I must give him. As I was just telling your mother, I’m already getting close to suggesting to Markreas we execute him and focus our efforts elsewhere.”

  “Truly?” The Prince titled his head with surprise. “But, it’s only been a few days. Do you not think he’ll break eventually?”

  “I don’t.” Nakoma’s response was firm and confident, leaving Reigious fully trusting his judgement. “I won’t traumatize you with the details, but I’ve tortured many traitors down in those dungeons, so I’ve come to recognize certain traits that predict resilience. Keskivaara…” The Master paused, letting out an annoyed sigh as if it irritated him to even speak these words. “I can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, that he will never surrender. With anybody else, I may still continue, but with a man as dangerous as him, I believe we’re better off ensuring he never gets away than continuing to try and pry information out of him. It’s a lost cause.”

  Fully processing Nakoma’s reasoning, Reigious eyed his mother, interested in her take on the matter, but the Queen just gave a disinterested shrug. “I feel either decision has its risks and benefits, but at this point, I am beginning to feel like we’re better off with Rickori Keskivaara dead and gone.”

  “Very well,” Nakoma said with a brief bow of his head. “I’ll bring it up to Markreas next time I see him. Thank you for your advice, Tora.”

  “Of course.”

  With that, the Master of Fire turned, gave a bow to Reigious, then swiftly departed the throne room, leaving the Prince and his mother remaining alone. For a second, it seemed like an opportunity had presented itself. With Nakoma gone, he had a chance to speak with Toranei about Ilirianna, to get his mother’s opinion on the situation, and while he was a little hesitant to talk about it even with her, the Queen must have sensed that her son had something on his mind.

  Her voice softened, and she asked, “So what’s troubling you, Reigious?”

  The young man laughed, amused and slightly upset by how easily he was read, before turning back and looking up at his mother on her golden throne. “I’ve just been thinking about Liri, is all.”

  Toranei’s warmth evaporated at the mention of her eldest daughter, with the Queen’s expression rapidly shifting into one of anger. “And what about her? Has she said something to you?”

  “The opposite, actually,” he assured her. “She hardly looks at me, and I’ve grown to wonder if she even knows I exist anymore. I know it’s not personal, that she’s been behaving this way with all of us, but I guess I just…” Reigious stopped, trying to find the right words to express himself properly. “I had been hoping that the Battle of Ankalla would start a change —that Liri getting a chance to finish things with the Kosah-Rei could be a catalyst for everything to return to how it used to be. Nothing has changed, though…”

  Her voice now firm, Toranei learned forward and eyed her son sternly. “Listen to me, I understand why you would feel that way, but do not allow Ilirianna’s immature behavior to bother you. She is choosing not to talk to us. She’s choosing to throw temper tantrums and to waste her time galivanting around with Ryokumo Caeli instead of choosing a partner, preparing for the future, or anything worthy of her status. I do not know what sparked this attitude either, but blame falls on her, and her only.”

  “I know,” he whispered, almost more to himself than to her. “Anna said the same thing, and on paper, it made perfect sense. In practice, emotions get in the way. I miss my sister, Mother. I miss her more than I can articulate.”

  He could tell that Toranei was worried about him, and disapproved of Ilirianna’s behavior bothering him, but as he said those words, there was a subtle change in his mother. Her stern expression slightly faded, and in her blue eyes, he could see a flicker of sadness and longing that greatly resembled what he was experiencing. Her next words were oddly personal for the typically reserved woman

  “As do I. I miss my daughter, too…” And then, the calm and collected Queen swiftly returned. “But we cannot bother ourselves with that. She will either choose to grow up, or she’ll learn from her mistakes the hard way. Regardless, do not worry.”

  He appreciated her words, as well as that brief glimpse into her own feelings on the matter, but unfortunately, they did nothing to quell his concerns, for they were simply the same things Piura had said.

  Do not worry, huh? Easier said than done, unfortunately…