It was after a week when Omari was released from the hospital. Besides minor pain, it was really just exhaustion that ailed him. After which, he was escorted by a very large and heavily armed procession. Cramped in between many security officers, the only familiar face there was Jessi who also looked just as uncomfortable. They were taken in a very secured carriage with soldiers riding horseback all around them, heading out early in the morning. The two friends peeked out the windows, but saw no one out on the streets, for it was cleared for their entourage. It did not take them long to reach their destination, which was situated deep within Vells.
It was a large stone building, palace-like, almost as big as the castle in the center of the Capital. But this building was the Institution of the Magically Gifted. This was a place where magical users travel from all across Malta, coming to learn the craft of sorcery, witchcraft, wizardry, necromancy, alchemy, and more. It was now legal for anyone to join the academy if they possessed such talents and must take an oath under contract to not use their powers to assist the Hóngyè Empire or intentionally harm a citizen under Maltan rule. If that oath is broken, that person will immediately be arrested under the acts of treason and be publicly executed.
Other than that, they may use their magic for their own purposes like to assist others, advance magical and scientific understanding, to create new inventions. But what Malta would especially value is if these magic users dispensed their power into the manufacture of Black Gold and sell it to the Maltan army.
Before they entered the walled school, they passed a large opening in the city where a lone statue stood. Omari and everyone in Malta recognized this statue. It was a memorial for the internationally adored Great Witch Varya who came from the small country of Alten. Omari gazed at her, nodding softly. Now there was a true hero.
As much as Omari knew, she was once a great and powerful witch that was ridiculed during a time when magic was hated and looked down on. But when a giant terrible monster called the Void Beast was released by the shamed military of Alten as a last ditch effort to apprehend and condemn the witch, it got loose and started destroying Varya's hometown Ethersburrow. Ethersburrow was a big prosperous city but also a place where it was common for her to be ridiculed and hated for her witchcraft. And once the Void Beast began attacking the large town, it used its tremendous power to create a black void, one darkening all the skies across the land, intending to grow so large it would swallow up the entire world. It would start in Ethersburrow, growing and growing until every living thing on the planet was engulfed and killed by its dangerous magic.
So it surprised everyone when the Great Witch Varya used all her powers to defeat the Void Beast by sending it to another dimension, but in doing so, she sacrificed herself and was sucked into that plane of existence along with it. She saved so many people through her acts of valor, everyone confirming that she saved the entire world since no one truly knew how to defeat the Void Beast. And here a statue of her stood as a reminder of her sacrifice and bravery. Inspiring the introduction for schools of magic and bringing in an end to the scrutiny of magic across the globe.
Omari heard that her only surviving family member, her younger brother, aligned a revolt in her name against Alten's military that released such the Void Beast and imprisoned all of those higher ups who were responsible. He was also seen as an admirable figurehead in the Maltan and Alten community.
Omari nodded, truly a commendable hero, deserving of that title. He just thought it was too bad that she didn't live to see the world become a better place for magic users thanks to her actions.
He remembered when he was young and magic wasn't completely illegal in Malta at least, but it was hated amongst the masses. Only the military was allowed to perform it, and any outlier groups would at best be ostracized, at worst be mobbed. In Alten it was even worse, magic was completely illegal and any groups being found performing said magic would be arrested. Thankfully for the witch Varya, she was deemed to be the most powerful magic user at the time that no one could even think to touch her. No one. And no one ever since has been able to match her power.
They finally entered the gates of the Institution of the Magically Gifted. A giant stone building, decorated in spiral towers and surrounded by large walls. Imagine a building for magical people and you'd be about right on what this institution looked like. Violet rooftops and tall windows. Omari absentmindedly did a small shrug with how slightly impressed he was. It mostly matched all his expectations so he wasn't too dazzled.
When their carriage got to the front, three people stood there, waiting for them. A wizard, a sorcerer, and an alchemist. They wore long robes, capes, and pointy hats. Omari gave a disbelieving blink at how accurate his imagination was of this place. The wizard stepped forward as the carriage stopped and Omari was escorted out. The wizard was a middle aged brown skinned lady with long curly black hair and angular face. The sorcerer was a very plump pale woman with fat cheeks and a rosy nose. Her hair was like wires that stuck out everywhere. And lastly the alchemist was a balding old man with a really long white beard and circular glasses. They were quite the trio.
The wizard approached Omari first, giving him a decent curtsy, saying, "Welcome to our school. I am Madeline Putni, headmaster of this institution. This is Mae Abebe, head of sorcery and Fennec Albany, head of alchemy." She gestured to the sorcerer and alchemist.
Omari wrung his hands for a second, then said, "I'm Juma Omari. Call me Omari."
"Omari, well, we have been informed of the situation, so please come in," she led them inside through the main doors into a large, tall empty grand hall. No one was inside, but it was detailed with all sorts of interesting things. Giant tapestries of famous magic users, engravings on the walls, murals, stained glass windows, and a fresco on the ceiling of wizards and witches long since past.
She brought him to the center of the hall and asked, "May I see the sword?"
Omari nodded, handing her the blade which she analyzed over. For a moment she examined it, but when she was done the head wizard gave a heavy sigh. Madeline explained, "As you may know, the king requested us to review the sword, but it was too mysterious to come up with any proper answers during the small window of time it was in our possession."
Omari listened, appeased that they didn't come up with anything. The longer the answers of the sword stay in the dark, the better he'll be off.
She noted, "You will be staying at this academy until its powers can be unlocked. We have a room ready for you in the high tower and during your time you will be tutored by Mistress Pallavi Kapoor. She unfortunately could not meet with us yet due to certain circumstances, but she will be here tomorrow." The head wizard snapped her fingers and traces of glowing magic emerged, spewing light that took the form of a small rabbit. "This Shining will guide you to your quarters. Please make yourself comfortable."
They nodded to each other as they split off in different directions. Omari, Jessi, and their entourage followed the glowing rabbit through the halls and up some stairs. They passed large tapestries and many doors until they climbed up a staircase that led to what Omari could assume was his room.
He opened it and his eyes widened to a large apartment full of strange items. There was a living space with many bookshelves stocked to the brim with magical text, huge golden pendulums that had bizarre carvings on them, pillars ingrained into the wall, a dome overhead that had a moving mural of varying light which swirled about. Starlight blossomed like nebulas and shooting stars passed over on the ceiling. It was a rather interesting enchantment to look at.
It was amazing, but then Omari noticed something in the corner of his eyes and gasped.
"KITCHEN!" he bolted over, heading over to a big grand kitchen containing everything he could possibly desire. Every surface looked like it was made out of granite, silver, and stainless steel, there were a million appliances to choose from and it was all so clean! It truly brought tears to this young man's eyes.
He loved cooking on the side. When he wasn't doing his job as a nurse, he always liked to treat himself with something warm and homemade. Though he didn't have much in the way of a home kitchen or a house for that matter and also the food the army stocked were mostly dried rations. But he loved it when he could prepare something, and this time it'll be in a kitchen all to himself without anybody butting in. Oh Jeez! Maybe this wasn't such a bad deal afterall!
Jessi scratched her head and said, "Well, you get yourself situated. I'll be finding my own room." She waved off and left. The soldiers broke off, leaving to fulfill duties outside the academy.
Omari was a little too excited. Okay, so he'll definitely take advantage of this situation and result in a bit of hedonism. If he was being forced to stay here, then if it was in this room it shouldn't be too bad. He also just wanted to peek around and see what else was in the apartment and what Omari found was not just one but two big bathrooms, a couple of walk-in closets, and a large bedroom with a king's size bed. Wow, Malta certainly treated their magic users well.
He made his way to the bed, placing a hand on it, then melting in. He sunk deeply into the bed with a pleased giggle, rolling around in the blankets and sheets. It had so much give to it, it was amazing and soft! He loved it so much… He lay there, his eyes growing heavy and comfortably fell asleep.
-
Omari blinked with an indignant snort and pulled himself up, forgetting where he was for a second. He quickly glanced around and saw that he was still in his new magical bedroom and was a little happy about it inside. Omari felt like he passed out for a hundred years with how good he slept. He didn't know how long it was, but it was awesome.
Omari felt fairly refreshed and ready to try out that new kitchen when he noticed something had fallen onto the floor.
It was the sword.
He grimaced at it, picked it up and shoved it in a closet. He'll look at it when he needs it.
For now, he wanted to try out the other little domestic pleasantries. Everything was so tediously dull and serious in the army, with the constant looming threat over their heads. But here, it was quiet and he could do things he wanted by himself with no interference.
So he lept over to the kitchen and found that everything was in stock. There was even a bowl of real fruit on the counter; how cool! Omari immediately started gobbling up some grapes since he only had them about five times in his life and started searching for cook books. He noticed that all the cabinet doors had odd writing on them, but he paid it no mind and just began digging in.
In his excitement, he prepared and experimented with three dishes. Risotto, rhubarb pie, and ratatouille. He randomly landed on the r section of a cookbook so he happily started making all those scrumptious things. Omari spent practically the entire day just cooking because he had no idea how long he was going to be staying here and if this comfortable lifestyle would be swiftly ripped from his hands too. He turned the kitchen over for ingredients and appliances, working through many hours to finish each dish.
After a good long while, he finally tasted them and to his enthusiasm, they were all very delicious. Especially for his first time! He had to make more.
Omari continued to cook while eating pie when somebody knocked on the door. He stopped, remembering where he was and decided to not answer. He didn't need to answer, he could pretend that he was still asleep.
So Omari remained quiet, waiting for the person to leave, which eventually he heard their footsteps walk off. He sighed an ounce of relief and continued going about making rotisserie chicken. He swore he was going to make and eat everything in this kitchen before they killed him off in this dumb war.
He was cleaning off the chicken when he felt something warm brush up against his cheek. He glanced to the side and saw a wispy white light in the form of a crow, perching on his shoulder. Omari stared at it in bewilderment until he heard the front door make weird noises with some odd lights and it was unlocked. Someone pushed it open and on the other side revealed a small middle aged woman in a violet silk headscarf. She had dark brown skin, a fat nose, puffy lips, and round cheeks. She huffed, saying, "Thought you wouldn't answer me, did you?"
Omari paled, looking at the woman who let herself in. Besides the scarf, most of her clothes were a black, her long sleeve shirt and long skirt. She stepped in with loud block heeled boots and looked straight at Omari. She sniffed the air and muttered, "What? You didn't think I wouldn't know you were awake with all this food you're cooking. I could smell it from all the way outside your door."
Omari flushed from that, a little embarrassed, but well intentioned.
She lifted her hand and the crow on his shoulder cawed, flew over to her, and rested on her fingers. She absorbed the magic back into herself, then said, "Juma Omari, right? I'm your teacher, Pallavi Kapoor."
"Pleased to meet you," he gave a strained smile.
She nodded and stated, "I'm a witch, but I also have a degree in both magical weaponry and archeology."
Omari's brow lifted, "Are you saying you are a specialist?"
"I'm the best specialist Malta's got," she sighed. "Because all our professionals were drafted in heavily heated battles like how I was just now, or they were killed off by Hóngyèse soldiers."
Omari gulped and fretted. She gave him a look then suggested, "I am a bit famished though. I'd love to eat before we look at that sword."
"Ah, yes!" Omari agreed, serving her up some delicious risotto.
She ate it and there was a glow to her cheeks as he was finished preparing the chicken. She grumbled, "Too bad there's a war. What a waste of cooking talent."
His face drooped, but he didn't pay much mind to it. They quietly ate, dragging it out for at least an hour, but she finally relented by saying, "Okay, bring me out that sword."
He regretfully nodded and went to fetch it. He pulled it out of the closet and let Pallavi look at the blade. She gave it a quick one over, burped from her risotto and cleared her throat, "This isn't Maltan made."
"It isn't?" Omari questioned.
"Yeah, no," she sighed. "Just looking at it, it isn't from any Maltan work. Looks more like ancient Hóngyè."
He blinked, "But the king said everyone he had looked at couldn't confirm where it could have come from."
"Well, I don't know," she huffed. "From sneaking in and out of Hóngyè for a good chunk of my life, to stealing weapons and investigating them, to trespassing on ancient ruins and determining what I find; I'd have to say this looks pretty Hóngyèse. Or!" He jolted from that, "It's from another country that Hóngyè took over. But what it was doing in some ruins in the region you were in, I got to say I'm unsure."
His hands tightened and he asked, "What else?"
"What else?" she repeated. "Well, it kind of reminds me of this tribe, but those people were cleared out by the Hóngyèse Emperor."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "I remember visiting the tribe when I was a kid, they were a big civilization back then and we were their distant neighbors. My tribe was smaller but it was enough. Though when they're tribe burned down, ours fled and joined up with Malta. We infused with their country and culture, gaining their protection, but we still relented under their rule. I guess it's better than having your whole family and life be wiped out."
"What was the tribe called?" Omari questioned.
"Oh, I don't remember anymore," she huffed. "It was a long time ago. A couple decades ago I think. I don't know if any members of my tribe will remember either, maybe some elders, though there aren't many of them left. I can look into it later."
"So you think the sword has traces of that tribe?"
"Maybe," she hummed. "It's really just speculation. They were completely wiped out, so I don't have any evidence that this belonged to them." Omari's hands tightened, so if the tribe is dead, then perhaps he really will never find the answer to this sword. Though it did seem that Tao Liu was getting a breakthrough with it.
"I'd go on and claim now that this sword was Hóngyèse oriented," she nodded. "But it being in a Maltan controlled area is a bit bizarre to me. I will speculate later." She looked down at it, held it and said, "No one else has been able to awaken its powers, just you. So it must have imprinted on you. Do you know why?"
"No," Omari replied.
"Hmm," she debated, then said, "Here, hold it." He did as he was told, holding the hilt as she looked him over.
He questioned, "What are we doing?"
"You are holding that sword and I am looking for your magical aura or your cultivation golden core."
"Cultivation golden core?" he had never heard of that before.
"Yeah," she noted. "Hóngyè studies magic differently than us. They call it cultivation and it can be pretty powerful. Some say it can make you immortal or turn you into a god. Maltan magic hasn't even reached that sort of capacity yet, though the king would love it."
"To become immortal?"
"Course," she nodded. "But I've looked him over. That man doesn't have a spark of magical potential in him, so it's impossible for him to even think of developing his golden core."
Omari thought then said, "But I don't have anything like that."
"Everyone has a golden core," she murmured. "Just many aren't strong enough to improve it."
"So… maybe he really wants me to learn how to wield this sword, someone who's never made magic before, so he could have a chance to wield magic too?"
Pallavi's eyes widened then nodded, "That's a valid theory."
He grunted, so the king was using him even in that sense. How annoying.
"No strong aura," she answered. "And not much of a golden core. No… not much magic in you at all."
Omari wondered why that was. This was all so strange.
"So if the sword is gone," he said, "I will just be magicless, like how I always was?"
"Yes," she replied. "But this sword is attached to you. I don't know what it holds, but it is brimming with power. I am just curious why it chose you."
"Don't know."
"Hm," she hummed, then tilted her head to the door. "Let's go to the training grounds for a bit, if the magic unleashes at least it can be bottled up in there and cause the least amount of damage."
Before they left, Omari grunted, "W-Wait! Uh sorry. Not as important, I know. But won't the food go bad, just leaving it there?"
She blinked then looked at the kitchen, saying, "See those carvings on the cabinets?"
"Yeah?"
"Those are runes," she explained. "They keep all the food fresh and preserved. You could leave your chicken in there for months and it will never go bad."
Omari's gaze grew from that and he mentally noted to at least learn that spell if he could.
While heading down to the training ground, Omari didn't think it would hurt to ask, "So why haven't I heard about cultivation?"
"Eh, it's more ignorance than anything," she answered. "Maltan soldiers just chalk it up to basic magic since they don't quite understand the supernatural either, and so we translate it to just call it magic to make it easier for the ignorant."
"I hear that only Hóngyèse generals can learn magic," Omari said, "So what they really know is the art of cultivation?"
"Mhm," she nodded. "Cultivation used to be a more broadly used practice before Hóngyè's current emperor took hold of the reins. Now all cultivation sects were ordered to be burned to the ground, with many members either resigning to the new leadership or being killed off. But the emperor didn't want to completely eradicate the art, so he made it so that only his most trusted generals who followed his every command could use it. So only eight people in all of Hóngyè are allowed to use cultivation and any others who use it will be imprisoned then shortly executed."
"How awful," Omari grumbled.
"It's just how their government works," she sighed. "Their people probably don't agree with it either."
Omari followed her to the training grounds which were cleared out; he supposed it was for the best. He didn't want to accidentally blow up a bunch of people.
They stood in the middle and Pallavi said, "Okay, let's start."
-
It was a waste of time. Omari would just be standing in that field, awkwardly grunting as Pallavi told him what to do. But nothing occurred and they just stood there fruitlessly. He turned to her, complaining, "Look, it's not working. Let's just head back inside and eat that rotisserie chicken."
He thought she would reject that offer, but instead she nodded. On the way back up, she casted a spell where that crow showed itself again. It flew off down the hall and she joined Omari in his apartment where they feasted on chicken until they found hidden in the cabinets was a whole loaf of rosemary olive oil bread that smelled like it just came out of a bakery. It was still warm. He put it in the oven and hummed as he bit down on another piece of chicken.
Pallavi patted her belly, "You have a bottomless stomach. I, on the other hand, am rather stuffed."
"More for me then," Omari songfully sighed.
That was when they heard a knock on the door and Pallavi waved a hand of magic to open it. On the other side was a bed head Jessi who muttered, "I saw this guy coming in."
The crow came back inside, carrying tied up books, and fluttered in as Jessi followed it. She looked over the mess of the kitchen and felt a bit broken hearted, "Ah, Omari… Why didn't you invite me?"
He gave her a glare, saying, "Nice food isn't for war criminals."
She huffed, "I'm not a war criminal."
Pallavi waved her off and said to Omari, "Read these. If you can understand the basics of magic, then perhaps we can work from there."
"Oh… uh thanks," Omari took the books, thinking they'd look nice forgotten on the shelves with the rest of the books.
Pallavi gave him a look then casted a spell on each book, "This will tell me how much you've read."
Omari paled and through gritted teeth, replied, "Thank you very much."
"Yeah, well, good luck with that," she burped again and walked out the room with her crow, saying, "Read up, or the king'll have you executed or something."
Omari's face became sour as she left, but Jessi tried to scoot over, adding, "She seems nice."
He groaned, "She's going to be my undoing."
"Ah, it can't be that bad," she awkwardly smiled. "Like look! You get this whole space to yourself! Isn't that cool?"
"For the time being," Omari glared at her, "Then soon I'll be in prison for not helping the king or for not wanting to go out onto the battlefield, getting stabbed."
Her smile faltered and she muttered, "But it really can't be all too bad. I mean, at least we have each other."
His face grew hot with anger as he spat, "Oh yeah? You really have my back don't you?"
"I-I do!"
"Then…" he hissed. "Then maybe you should have claimed that you had the power to wield this sword instead of forcing all this responsibility onto me."
Jessi's features became mournful and she whimpered, "Do.. Do you hate me?"
Omari's heart felt an ache at seeing her expression. Could they really still be friends anymore after all of this? She did come to save him, but now he's going to be used as a tool for war.
She whined, "I'm sorry. I didn't think hard enough about it at the time. … Maybe I should have."
Omari's gaze softened but he turned away, "Look, I just don't want to see you for a while, okay?"
Jessi's little heart broke, but she nodded, "Okay…"
She left the room, leaving bitterness in the air.
-
Tao Liu was resting on his bed, still in a lot of pain, but currently looking over battle reports. Sun Zhen was beside him, doing a thorough debriefing when the door to his chambers slammed open revealing a young teary eyed woman. She was in a militant uniform, hers a more dark blue and she wore long pigtails with bangs. Her face was round and her eyes were good natured, but at the moment her voice sadly shrieked, "GENERAL!"
The two blinked as the young lady zig zagged to his bedside, her eyes flooding as she whined, "I- I heard you died!"
Tao Liu looked at her then fondly smiled, saying, "No, I am quite well."
She sniffled, "I just- I was on a mission that I just finished and-and I heard you were killed! I was overcome with grief!" She landed face-first into his blankets, sobbing her little heart out.
He reassuringly rubbed her back, telling her, "There, there. I am alive, so no need to shed any more tears."
She blubbered, but wiped her eyes, trying to contain her relief.
Sun Zhen gave her a heavy sigh and said, "Control yourself, Su Hua. The general is fine."
"I apologize," she sadly muttered. "I was just told over and over again that you were no longer with us. I couldn't restrain my sorrows. It's the same with your troops, they all had such lost souls, but I came in their place to check on how you were."
"It's alright, Lieutenant," Tao Liu nodded. "But it was a close call."
"I heard!" she gasped. "It was some Maltan with strange powers."
"Yes," he responded. "He almost destroyed us all. But thankfully I was able to hold him back."
"Our general sure is powerful," she smiled.
"Mm, and with that being said, there is a new mission I want you to do, Su Hua," he said.
"Hm, new mission?"
"Yes," Tao Liu gestured to Sun Zhen who handed the lieutenant a map. "This is the general area where the Maltan nurse claimed to have found the sword that had all that magical power. Power which had brought me to my knees. He said he found it in some ruins, so I want you to take a small team and investigate this place. Find it and describe it. If you find any more weapons like that there, bring them to me."
She nodded with a grin, "On it, General!"