The Mushussu was a Magical beast with the potential of an Ancient Dragon. After having reached the apex of prosperity during the Golden Era, these dragons had disappeared in unknown circumstances finally becoming extinct during the same period. The legend says that they had reached a higher rank than Deity before disappearing as if they had never existed at all.
Marduk was very excited because of the bond he could feel with the small blue creature. He could feel it because it was a bond forged with mana and blood, it was like the bond between a father and his child. The only difference was that unlike the child-parent bond, theirs felt much more like that of a comrade, a best friend he could trust with his deepest secrets. Feeling this unmovable trust, Marduk was happy and relieved, because he knew that now there was somebody who could understand him despite his strange behavior.
Days went by as Marduk was thinking of a good name for his new blue friend. His feelings for the young creature grew and he searched in old books and stories from the past, but nothing sounded as a proper name for his newborn comrade.
"The legend of Zarke…" Marduk read the title of a book he found in the library of the mansion.
"So Zarke is the name of the eldest of the ancient dragon race. He died by the hand of the Garus' sect, which is the religion that praises Garus, the god of War and Dominance." The more Marduk read the legend of Zarke, the more he felt that something was wrong, although he couldn't place what it was.
"I've made up my mind. From now on your name will be Zarke." He said talking to his little friend.
The Mushussu bent his head in confusion.
"Now that's done, let's go Zarke! Let's go to the forge to study my presents."
Amongst the books Marduk had received as gifts from the elders, there were three interesting ones.
"All there is to know about mana, part 1" This seems useful to help me better understand mana and its secrets, I will start with this."
Marduk started reading while Zarke curled up on his lap, so that Marduk could fondle his belly.
"Mana is the fuel of magic. Without it, magic is impossible to be activated, even the simplest and weakest of spells need mana to function. This is the first law of Magic. Mana flows in everything in the world, even soil and pebbles have mana."
Marduk read with Zarke softly snoring in the background.
"To activate magic you need three fundamental things: Mana, concentration and imagination.
The use of Magic has no bounds except for the "three fundamental laws of Magic". The first one we already saw, the second one is that every living creature is able to use magic and the last one is that a magician's worth is strictly connected to his talent."
A sneer escaped from Marduk's lips.
"Mana in its purest form is transparent like water, even if way denser. A magicians talent is born from his body's innate ability to split mana in the particles that compose it. A magician with an average talent needs an insane amount of time and concentration to split mana in its form, whereas a very talented one only needs a split second to do the same thing. Mana is composed of five parts in perfect balance, which are named after their colours: red mana, blue mana, green mana, yellow mana and white mana. Each colour is associated with one of the five basic types of magic: Fire magic (red mana), Water magic (blue mana), Wind magic (green mana), Earth magic (yellow mana) and Light magic (white mana)." Marduk went on reading and marking the interesting parts, finally reaching the last chapter.
" Finally the last and most intriguing chapter, 'Mana crystals': their uses and peculiarities'. This is what I was searching for." Marduk started reading with much more interest.
"Mana crystals are divided by colour and size. The size establishes the quality; the larger it is the lower its purity and density will be. So the smaller crystals are much purer and denser, making the mana flow easier to control and much more powerful. The colours establish the crystal affinity, and it is decided by the distribution of the various parts of mana." Reading this Marduk's face showed no reaction.
"There is a list of the various colours with their respective affinity."
Marduk took out the pouch which contained the mana crystals that Dorran had given to him only a few days before, and started, with the book's help, analyzing and classifying them.
He divided them for colour and size.
"So I have a black medium crystal, a medium size and a small size purple crystal, then for the basic colours there are one of small size each, two medium ones for blue and red, three medium ones for the green and yellow, and five large ones for all five of them. According to the book, the black crystal affinities are gravity and black magic, the purple one is space magic, and the sizes are divided in five categories: Very small (< 1cm), small ( <2,5cm), medium (<4cm), large (<10cm) and very large (>10cm)."
A little smile appeared on Marduk's face as he thought about all the possibilities those semi-transparent crystals opened for him.
At that moment Zarke opened his eyes and started tugging Marduk's sleeve, until they reached the door, outside it was already getting dark. Marduk picked Zarke up.
"Sorry you are hungry aren't you?" Zarke nodded.
"Then let's go and fill our bellies!"
On the next morning Marduk and Zarke were meditating in the boy's bedroom, well Marduk was meditating and Zarke was simply sleeping between his legs, when suddenly a loud explosion was heard in the direction of the forest. Marduk immediately broke off his trance and barged through the door with Zarke in his arms.
"Old man! What's going on?" Marduk asked while walking into Kayden's office.
"Marduk! Why are you still here?! You should have been evacuated with the other kids!" Kayden said in a worried tone. Marduk immediately spotted a man he never saw before in the corner of the room. The man seemed to be in his twenties.
'I can hardly feel his presence even though we are in the same room…' Marduk thought.
"Old man, I was meditating in my room when I suddenly heard a loud explosion in the direction of the forest. What's happening?" The flat voice of the child resounded in the room demanding an explanation.
Kayden's concerned face flinched at the sight of the stern look in the eyes of his six year old grandchild.
"Sigh… Alright, you would have found out soon enough, anyway." Kayden's explanation started.
"The Lord of the forest went on a rampage, and is attacking us with a lot of magic beasts following his lead."
"And why is this happening now? What is the motivation of his sudden rage?" Marduk asked.
"We don't know… I know him since when I was the head of the family, we had kind of a peace treaty. He normally is calm and reasonable. He isn't behaving like he normally does."
"What are we still doing here then? Shouldn't the three of us go to help the others?" Marduk complained.
"You are going to be taken to the underground shelter next to the forge with the other children! We will fend off the beasts from the village with the others."
"Alright then, I will defend the children in case of danger." Marduk said.
He understood that the situation was something much bigger and dangerous than his now regular stroll in the forest.
Kayden smiled, surprised by the maturity and understanding of his young disciple.
Before entering the shelter Marduk made a stop at the forge to pick up his pair of axes and a couple of spears he had crafted. While Marduk reached the refuge, Kayden and Shen teleported themselves to the area of the earlier explosion. There, Braum and the other elder were fighting hundreds of magical beasts each, using spectacular and eye-catching magic spells. Kayden immediately spotted the lord of the forest. He was standing on a hilltop watching the battlefield with a dignified look.
The lord was a raiju, a four meters shoulder-tall chimera magical beast with the body of a horse, a long dragon-like tail, and the head of a wolf with three horns, the two on the sides deer-like and the central one unicorn-like.
"That's not the Lord I know…" Kayden said in a voice full of concern for his old friend.
'Those eyes full of disgust and superiority, are not the eyes of the Lord. He has gentle and calm eyes and is always surrounded by an accommodating atmosphere. What has happened to you my friend?' Kayden thought while getting ready to fight a battle he hadn't expected nor wished to confront.