The old magician spoke with a deep voice and eyes staring far into the distance. "Courtenay Semel has always been a genius." As the cold wind blew against the old magician's beard, a spark of light flashed in his eyes at the mention of the topic…..
"The first time I met Courtenay Semel was at the celebration of the yearly blessing ceremony. Every person with status would attend the ceremony at the invitation of the Emperor and the Pope. During the ritual, these two leading figures would pray to God, asking for the blessing and prosperity of the Roland Empire. It was on that fateful year, I first laid eyes on Courtenay Semel. At the time, she was only turning 20 years old, but she was already recognized as a highly gifted Astrology teacher. And the previous year, she was even invited by his Majesty to become the Palace's Astrology master.
At that time, I have already inherited Aragon's magic and my position within the Magician's Association was very high up in the ladder. No one would have guessed this, but an elder of the magician's association was the sworn enemy of the Temple of Light. Half the time, I was practicing the knowledge left behind by Aragon; the other half is spent looking for a future heir to Aragon's magic. Due to the difficulty of Aragon's magic, by that time, I was already nearing 50 years of age. In order to pass on Aragon's will and knowledge, I must find more successors and spread the seeds in this world. Otherwise, if I were to be exposed one day, or pass away, then everything would be over.
In the end, the person I selected is Courtenay Semel.
I learned in many ways that she is naturally a genius. I've quietly gotten closer to her and tested her a few times on her magical talents. The results were very pleasing and good. Most importantly, her family background was very simple and clean, or you can even say it was a blank sheet of paper.
The profession of an Astrology teacher has always been respected by the mass, but that was all there is to it. Not many people of the empire would go to great lengths and effort to gain the help of an Astrology teacher. On top of that, the temple also didn't pay much attention to this group. Combining all of these factors together, she was the perfect candidate.
Finally, I went to meet her and befriended Semel. After teaching her some magic… Did you know at the time, Semel already had many interesting hypotheses regarding astrology? The only thing keeping her ideas back was the fact that her theories would be considered whimsical in the minds of others… Ha Ha, it just so happens that my ideas matched with hers, so the both of us had a very good relationship and the days we spent together were very joyful. Finally, inspired by my proposal, she brought forth a new idea: "Why can't the powers of the stars become a source for a new kind of magical power?"
Listening up to this point, Du Wei sighed.
So that's it. The suggestion made by Semel to use the powers of the stars in magic… was inspired by this old magician.
In order to satisfy her desire to study, I accompanied her across the continent in order to search for precious materials. For example, we would travel to locations recorded in historic documents where a star has fallen from the sky. Carefully examining the area, we finally found a few shards of the precious stone left behind by the fallen star.
"The several years I spent traveling with her across the continent was the happiest years of my life. Semel was a smart and savvy woman. Together with her, each day of my life was refreshing!"
The old magician's voice showed great affection…. Perhaps even he himself didn't notice this.
"And then what?" Du Wei whispered.
"And then... One step at a time, we improved upon Semel's idea. Finally, we created the so called Stars Magic." There was a hint of self-mockery in the old magician's voice: "In fact, everything was me deceiving her. The so called 'creation', was in many details, I, consciously implying her towards certain results. I took advantage of our meetings and during her studies; I slowly imparted certain key points of Aragon's magic into her. You may not know, but his Majesty Aragon's magic is different in many ways compared to the magic system used commonly across the continent. This is all because its source could be traced back to the lineage of the devils. With all these inspirations, Semel finally made a breakthrough and came up with the so called 'Stars Magic'... Oh, the naming was also named by me because her so called 'creation' of a new magic system was actually the exact copy of Aragon's magic system. So, I didn't even change the name and just directly named it Stars Magic. Stars Dou Qi, plus Stars Magic, all of these originated from Aragon. Luckily, Semel never heard of these names before and thought it was very fitting, so she accepted the names."
Speaking up to this point, the old magician paused for a moment. With a smile on his face and gentle eyes, the old magician's consciousness looked like it was sinking back into some happy and fond memories...
"At that time... We got along very well. She is my good friend, but at the same time, she was like my disciple. Together with her, I also felt like I became somewhat younger." The old magician then shook his head and closed his eyes: "But later on, I started thinking that I would eventually have to tell her everything….. Revealing all the secrets of Aragon to her because she is the one I chose to be my suitable heir.
"Did you tell her?" Du Wei asked.
"I… Was… Very hesitant." From the old magician's complexion, he looked like he was struggling to speak: "She was so happy... So simple. She liked simple things and liked living a free life in peace... I felt regretful. Pulling such a carefree and happy woman into this complex and historical grievance is a complete sin. So, I've been delaying in telling her. That is until…. We returned to the Imperial Capital..."
As if struck by an idea, Du Wei thought of something.
"After traveling for three years outside of the capital, we returned that year when a shooting star passed by the Imperial Capital's sky. This strange phenomenon caused his Majesty to call forth the best Astrologer in the empire to give a divination. It was after the palace banquet that Semel met your ancestor, Zach. Humph, this boy is your great-great-grandfather, Zach Rowling. During that time, he was the youngest high commanding general of his age."
"And then what?" Du Wei gave a wry smile.
"Then?" The gaze from the old magician caused Du Wei to feel a sense of chill down his spine. With a sneer, he continued: "Then I don't know what means your great-great-grandfather used, but he managed to deceive Semel and the two couples fell in love!"
It is clear from the old magician's gaze; there is a strong mixture of jealousy and resentment!
What else can be certain is that other than the feeling of friendship and apprentice relationship, the old magician developed a special sort of feeling in his heart!
What happened afterwards is easy to explain:
Seeing his talented female apprentice fall in love and marry off to the head of the noble Rowling family, Zach Rowling, highest military commander of the Empire. On one hand, the old fellow couldn't just tolerate his beloved woman falling into another man's arm. On the other hand, he is about to lose his future heir after spending the past few years cultivating. Wouldn't this mean that he ended up wasting all those times?
So, just before Semel married Zach, the old magician searched her out and had a deep conversation.
The old magician didn't explain the details of the conversation, but from his words and phrases so far, Du Wei could deduce two conclusions.
Firstly, the old magician must have confessed his love towards his beloved friend and unofficial genius disciple. What can be certain from this action is that Semel refused him. The truth was that Semel never considered this much older person to be a possible love candidate. (According to their age calculation, the gap is far too big) Her way of thinking was very simple; he was a good friend and played the role of a teacher in her heart.
Mainly because of this reason, it caused the old magician great sadness.
Unfortunately, once their conversation reached this point, the strong willed Semel also rejected all of this!Then, the saddened old magician finally revealed his original purpose of cultivating her and all the secrets surrounding Aragon.
"Her tone at the time was so similar to you, boy." With a gaunt expression, the old magician whispered, "Still remember two days ago when we had that talk? You said 'you are not a powerful expert of the continent, nor a Saint Knight, nor a magician, so what does all of this have to do with me?!' At the time, Semel said something very similar.
At that time, Semel was also very keen to put forward her own rage and anger.
"Whatever Aragon, god, or Devil... What relationship does all of this have to do with me? If the Gods and the Devils want to fight it out, then let them fight! It don't matter whether it is the Temple or Imperial power, I don't have any interest! I just want to live my own life! What right do they have to burden me with these already rotting and foul smelling historical problems? I'm not willing! I will not be a part of this rivalry! I just want to live my life, the life of Semel and not someone else's life!"
The end result is that the old magician left in sorrow and Courtenay Semel married into the Rowling Household, living a happy life for the next few years.
But a few years later, the old magician once again sought out Semel and secretly met up with her in private.
During those few years after leaving Semel, the old magician traveled in search of different hidden documents. In his search, the old fella even sneaked into the royal palace in order to search through the manuscripts left by the founding emperor himself. Even bolder, he dared to break into the Holy Temple multiple times!!
Finally, from a variety of information gathered, the old magician pieced together a startling message. The startling message required a powerful partner to complete, so in his desperation, the old magician sought out Semel once again.
Although they haven't seen each other for many years, Semel reluctantly agreed to lend a hand based solely on their years of friendship.
However, because of this one time, trouble soon followed.