They settled into their routine after about two weeks. They started their days seeing their novice friends, doing Magi Squares, and catching up on how they were doing.
Gregory had found very little useful information about the ryuite. It was thought to be able to do anything any other metal or gem could, but it was also difficult to work with. The oddity was that it didn’t seem to follow any known rules for where it could be found or how rich any find of it would be.
Jenn and Yukiko spent their time studying about mythrum and the temple symbol. Mythrum was rare and prized for its ability to store aether. There had been a war with Krogga hundreds of years ago, over a mine that once held a rich seam of the metal— that mine became one of the defensive forts along that border. The symbol was said to have come from when Aether walked the planet, but other than being seen on a few buildings, nothing else was truly known about it. There’d been a lot of debate over who had made it, what it meant, and why the symbol existed.
After the archive, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were in tactics class for the majority of the day. The basics had been covered, and Egil promised them they would soon begin to get hands-on time with Empire’s Gambit. The classes had been mostly peaceful— Magus Elkit would call them out for any infractions he could, as did Harrison, though not as often as Elkit did. Magus Erichson and Magus Klim both praised them for always having answers. Egil didn’t interfere at all. He seemed determined to teach the material and not get involved in the politics in play.
After class, they returned to the clan hall for training. Their group fighting was improving little by little, unless Bishop and Gin were paired up together. When that happened, they struggled to deal with the both of them without their aether. Yukiko and Jenn advanced with their magic training, and Gregory pushed his foresight off and on, trying to find new ways of using it or trying to look into smaller sections of the future.
With training over, they would get their time meditating on the Peaceful Fist. Dia, Bishop, Inda, and Indara would join them for that, and because all of them trained together, they used the front yard of the clan hall. That was followed up with their bath, dinner, and an hour of study before they went to bed.
~*~*~
The richly furnished room told Gregory all he needed to know. “Hello, Darkness,” he said, turning over in the bed to face the shadowy corner.
“Dear one,” the warm voice greeted him in return. “You grow in power, and that makes me happy.”
“I have a few things I wanted to ask about.”
“I know, dear one, but go ahead and ask them. Sometimes, you surprise even me.”
“Dia being able to walk two paths… was that you?”
“That is you. I merely help,” Darkness said. “You view Dia as a friend and want her to grow. Anyone close to you that you see as an ally can grow faster. She is only trying to walk two paths, so I thought it would be fine. I will only help those who might be… special to you walk all three. Once you grow more, you will be able to do this all on your own.”
“How much more?” Gregory asked.
“Grandmaster should be the start of it.”
Gregory chuckled. “So a ways off, then. Okay. The boots and gloves with the ryuite in them: what can you tell me about them?”
“They are old. Very old,” Darkness said. “You had one of your wives make them.”
Gregory digested that information. “What were they made to do?”
“Protect the wearer from harmful aether. You have seen them stop aether-infused attacks and even flame. They can only stop what touches them, though. You have two parts of a full set.”
“What does a full set look like?”
“Look behind you.”
Glancing over his shoulder, a full set of black leather armor stood, as if being worn by a person. Gregory took stock of the missing parts; pants, shirt, and a coif with a front flap to protect the lower face.
“Thank you, Darkness. I know what to keep my eyes out for. Can anyone use them?”
“No, though anyone of the elder tier or higher could, even without your blessing. Anyone under that can only if you allow them to. An important note is that it will not stop your aether. That was part of their creation.”
“But my aether now isn’t the same as it was then.”
“Of course it is,” Darkness said. “Your soul is the same, after all.”
“But Yuki can use shadow magic. Did her old life also use shadow magic?”
“You are confusing magic for aether,” Darkness said. “Aether is tied to your soul. Those who can touch it, can touch it again if they have been reborn. Magic type is based on wants, desires, and bloodline… well, except for you, but then again, you are very special, dear one.”
Gregory looked back to the dark corner. “How many sets of this armor exist?”
“There were nearly a hundred of them when they were first made. Time, greed, and stupidity destroyed many of them. A few dozen might remain. I have not looked for them in ages. Some were sealed in protected containers and hidden with the thought that you might need them when you returned.”
“Like the gloves were?”
“Very much like the gloves were.”
“Huh… The symbols on the temple in Waterrock. What does it mean?”
“You created it ages past. You called it the Magi’s Path. It was intended to show that aether can grow from any path or from combining them. You marked a number of buildings with it. Each of those buildings holds something special to you in it.”
“Like the medallion?”
“Yes, just like the medallion, dear one,” Darkness replied.
“What does it do?”
“Do? Nothing by itself. It is merely a storage for your aether, hence the aether flame of ryuite.”
“So it’s like Yuki’s earrings?”
“It could be used in that way,” Darkness said.
“It can be used another way…” Gregory trailed off as something tickled his mind, a memory that he couldn’t quite touch.
“Yes, but you should not do such a thing yet, though. It would harm you and your loved ones.”
Gregory blinked, the memory slipping away from him. “I don’t know what it is. The memory didn’t form.”
“That is for the best right now.” A bell began to toll, and Darkness sighed. “Go, dear one. Go and learn, grow, and rise up. We will talk again after you have advanced again.”
Gregory was about to reply but the room vanished, and he woke to the third bell tolling. Yukiko and Jenn both woke up at the same time.
As they got dressed, Gregory told them about his dream with Darkness.
“So there’s more of the armor?” Jenn asked slowly. “Yuki and I can both use it, as well…”
“If we can find them,” Yukiko said. “Maybe once we’re done with the academy, we can find more.”
“Maybe.”
“What about the medallion?” Jenn asked. “What do you plan on doing with it?”
“Hold onto it for now. It can be used for more than just an aether-refilling item, but I can’t remember what it does, and Darkness warned me against whatever it might be. I think I’ll eventually remember, or she’ll tell me in time.”
“Should we keep checking the archive today? Or should we move onto different subjects?” Jenn asked.
“Well, we have answers on the emblem. Seeing if we can find more places it’s at would be good,” Gregory said. “I’m going to keep looking into ryuite. I want to know why it reacts to me like it does. I’m sure there’s a myth there, at least.”
“That’s a good point,” Yukiko said. “We need to get going, unless we want to be late seeing our friends. They’re going to be excited today.”
“Oh, right, it’s been two weeks. They should be starting sparring today,” Jenn grinned.
“Daciana will be beside herself,” Gregory chuckled, thinking about Daciana’s tail wagging in excitement.
~*~*~
They greeted Rafiq when they arrived at the archive.
“Morning to you, Apprentices. Did you want a new topic of study?”
“Are there any myths or legends about how ryuite came to be?” Gregory asked.
Rafiq blinked at him before he said slowly, “I will have to check.”
“I’ll keep with my current book, if not.”
“Very well.”
“I’d like to see anything about what buildings have the same mark as the temple in Waterrock,” Yukiko said. “Where they are, and the history of each, please.”
“I’ll stick with my current book,” Jenn was quick to add.
“Very well. I will see what I can do. The books should be at the table above when you are ready.”
“Thank you,” they said together.
“Your friends are already here. They are very excited for today,” Rafiq said with a slight grin.
“Their first day of sparring should be today,” Gregory said. “Probably glad for something other than laps and stretching.”
“As long as they keep it down, it’s fine.”
“We’ll do our best to keep them quiet,” Yukiko said.
“Thank you.”
A minute later, they approached the novices, who were working on making Magi Squares of their own. Nessa looked up and smiled, being the first to see them.
“We came earlier than we intended,” Nessa said.
Daciana’s head snapped up and she turned to look at them. “We get to fight today!”
“Softer,” Yukiko told her gently. “The archive is a quiet place. We know how exciting it is to do more than run and stretch.”
Daciana nodded vigorously to Yukiko’s statement, and she did lower her voice, though it was still full of excitement, “Yes! Finally!”
Victoria looked uncertain, and Gregory patted her shoulder as he went to his seat. “I know how you feel. I was in that same place, or maybe even a little worse off than you are. If you drill and strive, you’ll do well. They were taught by a very good instructor.”
“Do you think she’d be willing to give us some more training?” Nessa asked.
“We will ask,” Yukiko said as she took her seat. “How is your studying going?”
“Slowly,” Daciana sighed. “I’m pushing through.”
Nessa gave Daciana a smile. “We know. You’ve been doing well.”
“I can give the ring back,” Victoria said.
“No,” Daciana said, shaking her head, “not until you catch up to us.”
“Equal partners?” Gregory smiled, glancing at Yukiko before looking back toward the novices.
“Yes,” Daciana said. “We’re following in the footsteps of our seniors.”
“You don’t have to be so exact in that. If you do, then one of you will end up just barely making it into the final eight,” Jenn said with a smirk.
“Good point,” Daciana said somberly. “We’ll do better, but still as equals.”
Jenn blinked, then snickered. “Well done.”
Daciana gave her a wolfish smile. “Thank you.”
“Let’s focus,” Yukiko giggled. “Studying is important.”
“Yes,” the three novices said together.
