Aeden slowly opened his eyes.
It was morning, meaning he had spent an entire day sleeping. He checked the rest of the bed, only noticing a blanket he hadn't previously put.
His trunk sat next to him; he seemed to have been clutching it all night.
'How humiliating. What age am I?' he thought before getting up.
He felt much better than the day before. Perhaps all that crying and weeping had done it for him? He only hoped that he hadn't scared Vita.
"Oh right. Vita. I haven't told her about Aloysius yet…"
"Don't worry about that," another voice came in from the entrance. "Megissa took care of it."
It was Nihil
He leisurely entered the stone house, slouching on a random chair. "You look much better than yesterday."
"Was it that bad?" Aeden ran his hand over his forehead, still unused to the spellcraft's absence. "I don't remember much past coming here."
"Let's say that Vita was mortified. She thought that she did something wrong and went crying to Minerva," he recalled, swinging on his seat. "When we arrived, you were sobbing like a baby." Nihil grinned, teasing him.
His friend turned beet red from embarrassment, slumping his shoulders.
"Don't make that face. Everyone has a moment of weakness. Whatever the cause of yours was, it must've been linked to that, right?" he pointed his eyes, still abnormally shining with a crimson lustre. "You never took them off, even back in Numidea. That power… you waited so long to use it. I assume it had a price."
Aeden stayed silent. He noticed a nearby bowl full of water and used it to clean his face.
"You don't have to tell me. As long as I know you're alright, it's sufficient." Nihil added.
"I'm fine," he answered in a dry voice.
"I mean it, friend. Neither of us is human, so such superficial acts are useless. I'm not going to tell you to get over it, nor will I bother with a rehearsed speech. We need our leader back; we need Aeden the Sorcerer." The Homunculus' blue eyes glimmered with a cold light.
After a few seconds of quietness, his friend seemed to pick up on something and spun around, a determined look on his face.
"What happened?"
__
"Arshaka, Eleventh Purificator, was sent on an extermination mission to cleanse this land from the foul creature haunting it. Not only did the accursed entity manage to escape, but a devotee of the Great Puppeteer lost his life as a result." the adept put away his parchment, his eyes devoid of any emotion. "Reparation must be paid."
"We do acknowledge your claim, but the settlement is in shambles right now. Please understand our position; more than half our population has died because of Junia's acts, and we still haven't started rebuilding," Minerva massaged her temples, barely managing her headache. "Ample tributes will be presented to the Honored Whisperers. We only ask for more time."
The bearded disciple blankly looked at her before turning towards the veiled man accompanying him. The latter wore a plain pitch-black robe and a simple bone mask, yet his very presence oozed danger.
He was the leader of the Purificators, a particular Sakit Urusk unit that primarily dealt with Nightmares and Primeval Dreams.
Barely audible, he murmured some words in their obscure tongue, which his follower immediately translated:
"Let it be known that we originally lent you our aid in pure magnanimity. However, this failure is too big, and mere solatium wouldn't cover our loss. Thus, our demand is clear: as compensation, Cochlinia shall fall under the sovereignty of the Sakit Urusk."
"Hold on!" Megissa suddenly bellowed, and Minerva never felt so grateful for her presence. "What is this loss you're talking about, compared to Cochlinia's? Only one-third of their spellcasters remain, not to mention the rest of their population. Moreover, Aeden is the one who took care of the Devourer."
"If I recall, this settlement's previous chief, Curo, succumbed to the creature. And this 'Aeden', a Numidean spellcaster, hasn't made any claim. Hence, Cochlinia belongs to no one at the moment." his retort came fast. He was prepared.
"Cochlinia belongs to its people!" Minerva almost snapped, only then seeing the truth behind their so-called help: greed.
Their land was ancient, and the Prius Woods held incomparable treasures if one knew how to search. It was like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked with its current state.
"That's yet to be decided."
"I'm afraid it already is, Sakit Urusk." Aeden's voice suddenly came through as he entered Curo's old office.
The zealots turned towards him, and the bearded man showed a hint of emotion for the first time. It was fear.
The Sorcerer's body glistened with a vermillion sheen, enhanced by his intense gaze.
"I, Aeden, son of the Sorceress of Slaughter, declare this settlement my own as per the olden rules. Should you contest my claim, you would have to face me in a battle to the death." His scarlet Mana roared, shaking the entire building.
Minerva's eyes widened, and Megissa gasped. The only one unsurprised seemed to be Nihil, smiling near the entrance.
Stifling stillness followed his announcement, only broken when the Purificator muttered another incomprehensible sentence.
"The Sakit Urusk acknowledges your right," the disciple interpreted, sweat trickling on his forehead. "However, we still require recompense if only to honor Arshaka's death."
"It shall be paid, in time." Aeden walked forward, his bearing solemn. It was totally different from the one he had the day before. "Now that it is settled, I would appreciate it if you let my people finish rebuilding their destroyed city."
The masked man left another mumble before exiting the room without a single glance back.
"Thank you for your understanding, esteemed Sorcerer." Panicking, the adept offered a refined bow to the Sorcerer before scuttling away.
__
"This is not what I was given to expect." Minerva looked at Megissa, one eyebrow raised.
For her to say that was only natural. The Mathematician had assured her that whatever help they provided came with no cost.
"Aeden, when did you…-" The Mathematician started speaking before her friend cut her off.
"I'm sorry, Nihil explained the situation to me, and I had to come with something…" regaining his usual expression, Aeden tried to explain his reasons.
"It's fine, actually. I'm not against it." Her answer surprised everyone, even the Sorcerer himself. "This solves a lot of problems. We're in an extremely weakened position, especially with the lack of spellcasters. Having a Sorcerer claim Cochlinia as his own would deter any opportunist from trying something funny."
She approached Aeden, her gaze sharp. "I spent enough time with your friends to trust them with my life," Megissa and Nihil smiled at that remark. "And I hope I won't be proven wrong by extending that trust to you." she held her hand towards him.
He shook her hand. Her grip was tight.
"Rejoice, the settlement of Cochlinia is now yours."
The Sorcerer nodded as his expression turned serious. "How will the others react?"
"Badly," she answered with no hesitation. "But it's not a problem. I'm guessing that you'll resume your journey?"
"Yes."
"Then it won't be a big deal, as long as I stay here acting as your representative. It may be a stretch, but am I right to assume that we're tied to the famed Numidea now?" a gleam of childlike hope was visible in her eyes.
"You're not wrong," Megissa took out a golden pin from her hair, twirling it between her fingers. "Technically, you're now part of the Great Nation of Numidea. Since you're a territory annexed by Aeden, the son of a member of the Triscelus, you should be entitled to special privileges." she channelled Mana through the pin, revealing a set of white glyphs.
It was a spellcraft containing a particular Conjuration spell.
The Mana used for its activation was sculpted into the shape of a nightingale, aureate and flickering like a mirage.
Minerva looked at it with apparent curiosity. "What is it?"
"A messenger. It was given to me by my Teacher, also a member of the Triscelus. Anything sent through this spellcraft should be acknowledged as truth." She raised the pin again, writing the report in Numidean characters. "It'll speak whatever I inscribe in the air, so it's quite handy no matter where we are."
The symbols disappeared once recorded, and the nightingale took off at lightning speed.
"Envoys should arrive in a few weeks at most, so don't worry about the settlement. It'll survive."
"That's good to hear. When will you guys resume your travel?"
"It's for Aeden to decide."
"I feel that we should stay a little longer to help everyone."
"Don't worry about that," Minerva quickly added. "You've done more than enough, and thanks to Decima, we're already ahead of schedule. The Hiem Solstice is close. We won't be able to exit the barrier for a long time."
"It's when the atmospheric Mana reaches its maximum density, right? Nightmares will become more aggressive and powerful."
"We should be able to reach Umoja before if we set out as soon as possible," Megissa said. "Going by the most recent maps, there's a cluster of Mana biomes between the Sibylline Peaks and the Kiroho rainforests. I want to be able to safely cross in-between without having to worry about Nightmare attacks."
"Mana biomes?" Minerva had never heard of them.
"Even Scaevola's scholars know too little about them. They're obnoxious geographical traps where Mana is more concentrated than in the atmosphere. Literally the opposite of protected settlements." she sighed, already exhausted by the idea of having to get around them. "They're part of a group we call 'Mysteries' at the Academia, a bunch of phenomena we have no explanation for yet. No one entered a Mana biome and lived to tell the tale, so we should stay far away."
She glared at Aeden while clearly speaking her last sentence.
"Eh… Yes, I understand, don't look at me like that!" Aeden awkwardly laughed. "I'll go tell Deci to start the preparations."
He quickly left the office, leaving Nihil behind.
…
"I must say, I'm having a little difficulty figuring him out." the Cochlinian woman said, looking at the remaining spellcasters. "Sometimes, he acts as a Sorcerer should, but other times he seems like a total airhead."
"He's learning the ropes," Megissa chuckled. "Being the child of a Sorcerer, a previously thought impossibility, makes it difficult for him to adapt easily. Even coming from a nation ruled by three of them, they still seem like such mysterious beings."
"Aeden once told me that he only wanted people to be happy around him," Nihil interjected. "He spent most of his life surrounded by individuals that either feared or revered him. He might not show it, but he struggles a lot between the expectations imposed on him and his inner wish."
The boy slowly exited the room as well, talking simultaneously.
"He's a Sorcerer. Humans will either hold him in great esteem or shun him, but what he wants is far simpler than that... Friendship and amity, that's all he needs." He closed the door behind.
__
"Aren't you finished yet?" Damara complained, one naked breast dangling in the air as she was being auscultated. "I'm growing bored of this posture."
"I'm done." A black-haired man answered, putting away a set of spellcrafts.
His skin was paler than most Numideans, with facial traits almost identical to Nihil's. The sole difference was their eye color, which was deep purple for the older man. Despite addressing the Sorceress of Slaughter herself, he seemed stoic and indifferent, a rare thing in her presence.
He was Nihil and Decima's creator as well as the best spellcraftsman in Numidea, Archelaus.
"The results?" Cernunnos sat in a reclined chair near the terrasse, appreciating the view from his sister's chamber with a local beverage.
"She'll die in around a year or so. Faster if the child uses her power again," he replied in a detached tone while tidying up his toolbox.
"That's too long. Can't we speed up the process?" The Sorceress demanded with a straight face, which nearly made her brother spit his drink.
"Throw yourself from the window."
"Nonsense, that wouldn't kill me."
"You'll have to wait then," Archelaus' intricate black robe swayed as he left the room.
"Insolent brat," Damara spat, pouring herself some wine. "What should I do, elder brother? I want Aeden to mature as fast as possible."
"Perhaps clothing yourself would be a good start?" he half-jokingly suggested.
"You aren't helping!" she sighed, taking a sip from her cup.
"I received a message from Megissa. Your son annexed that human settlement; it's now Numidean territory." The Sorcerer of Knowledge dropped the news, making his sibling almost jump from her chair.
"I'm so proud of him!" she briefly entered a crazed trance, spinning and dancing around. "His first land! We should immediately send some spellcasters there. Perhaps rename the settlement after him? We'll rebuild everything from scratch, expand it to the eastern edges, and erect mementos of his glory! Maybe I'll incinerate those mute zealots and offer him the Sibylline Peaks as a congratulation gift…-"
Cernunnos exhaustingly shook his head, ignoring most of what she was saying. Even amongst their other siblings, his sister was an odd one, but she had become even more unstable after Aeden set out for his journey.
In that aspect, she greatly resembled their mother, the Witch. Both shared an absurd love for their spawn, an emotion he had never known nor wished to experience. Nevertheless, he still found himself unbearably sad whenever he thought about Damara's incoming demise.
Her son's conception was purely a crafting process, in which part of her Anima had been used. It established a link between them, letting Aeden draw upon her power whenever he wanted. Until now, it had remained dormant due to Archelaus' seal.
However, the boy got rid of it during his battle against the Devourer, reactivating his connection. With time, his Anima will gradually strengthen while his mother's would weaken, effectively killing her once he fully matured.
An inexperienced Sorcerer, this far from their reach… It was a recipe for disaster, especially with him being unable to predict his sibling's reaction. He didn't know what passed through Damara's head when she agreed to let him adventure on his own, but it was dangerous at best.
Breaking the current stability stirred many dormant forces. Those who were waiting for the slightest ripple in this long lull began moving, and Cernunnos didn't dare imagine what his sister would do if something happened to her beloved child before she died.
Most likely, a second Profane War would occur. The last one etched deep scars into the world and ended with the Gods' extinction. With different actors this time, he wondered if the Sorcerers would be fortunate enough to survive…