Augustinus was reading some letters he recently got. Recently, his workload increased a ton. With the war being over, he was tasked with keeping the population calm and distracted while Thurin worked to rebuild their economy through trades with the Kingdom of Elise.
In his dark office, filled with the light coming from a few candles on the desk. He took his time to analze the contents of the letter, looking for a clue or hint that pointed to something else or bigger.
As he was thinking of a fitting response he heard a knock on his door. Augustinus had a very strict schedule and rules enforced in his mansion. Every mercenary working for him followed those rules perfectly. This also meant that they wouldn't interrupt him unless absolutely necessary.
"What?", Augustinus asked as the door slowly opened. A rough looking mercenary with a stubble appeared. He was dressed in full armor and was ready to fight with his life, yet in front of Augustinus he didn't dare annoy the man.
"There's a guest for you, sir."
"As far as I'm aware we were only expecting someone at the end of the cycle."
"It's someone else sir.", Augustinus frowned, but the mercenary quickly spoke again to clear up any confusion. "He had a password as well, sir, he said: The Dark in the Light."
Augustinus's eyes opened wide as he let go of the letter. It was for a mere moment, but he was perplexed before his face quickly shifted back to his serious persona. "Bring him in, be respectful.", the man hurried towards the entrance to fetch the guest, leaving Augustinus behind.
"Hahaha, that crazy bastard. You're the only one that can still surprise me.", Augustinus laughed to himself as he waited for his guest to arrive.
It didn't take long before there was another knock on the door. Giving them the approval, the mercenary led the man inside. He wore basic clothing while adorning a mask. It was a simple mask, pure white with two holes for the eyes.
Closing the door behind him, the man sat in front of Augustinus as he took off his mask.
"I knew you were a very capable man, but I never expected you to cheat death."
"Did you not bribe the Hidden Order for clues?"
"I most certainly did, it's just that they're too tight lipped."
"That means the training was sufficient.", the man nodded approvingly.
"Tch, you really don't like doing me favors, do you?"
"If I recall you words, you said that you didn't need anything once you get this position."
"You and your outstanding memory! You approached me when I was at the lowest in my life. To take advantage of my situation to your own benefit, how evil you are.", Augustinus played his theatrics to the fullest, clearly enjoying himself.
"It was merely an opportunity I took advantage off, your situation had nothing to do with me.", the cold rationale, the calculated moves and the complete lack of mercy awakened something in Augustinus. He had missed this meaningless banter.
"Hahaha, my friend, you're finally back. You're the only one who dared to talk back to me so openly. I've missed our little spats, and while I'm glad to see you again, I can't help but ask why. Why come back?"
Augustinus got serious in an instant, he had plenty of conversations with the man in front of him. He never danced around a topic or exchanged pleasantries. To him, social norms were useles as a bath full of teeth.
"I'm bound under a contract to help Lucas."
"You? How did you get such a bad deal? I don't recall you falling for any easy trap.", Augustinus was being genuine, he had tried to swindel as much as he possibly could out of Aurelian at times, yet always ended up on the losing end.
"It was a fair deal. I have to develop the Empire back to its prime and train an army capable of fighting against mages."
Augustinus froze for a second before staring at the man in front of him. "Do you realize what you're saying or have I gone deaf?"
"You haven't gone deaf, and I am aware of my statements.", Augustinus had to facepalm. He had worked with this man for a very long time and knew how he thought. He actually enjoyed their partnership. But this also meant that he was able to tell that Aurelian wasn't talking bullshit, he never had and never would.
"There's no way to do that, even if you wanted to.", he had to state the facts to him. Augustinus had done a ton of research on everything there was in the Empire and outside it. He was aware of the existence of the world above and what mages were. He had a trump card to deal with a single mage, but that was only after searching for a very long time and cycles upon cycles of work.
Augustinus stared deep into the eyes of Aurelian with a questioning look. "You wouldn't have accepted this deal if you didn't have a way of keeping your promise. What's the plan?"
Aurelian pulled out a book, it looked shoddy and unkept. Basic and ready fall apart, anything but grand. Augustinus slowly opened it, trying not to damage it any further, and started to read through the pages.
"This is a spell book."
"Correct.", he stated matter-of-factly . Augustinus had to keep himself from frowning before he pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back. "You know we can't exactly learn spells like these so easily. It would take thousands of cycles to merely understand it, let alone practice and teach it to the army. Those guys aren't exactly bright minded."
"I am aware of their lacking capabilities.", Aurelian nodded, very aware of the lack of mental training his troops had. During his reign, he did open up academies to study war tactics, but the people who entered that institute never actually went to fight, but commanded from the back. It was a mistake to seperate the two, but he wasn't afraid to admit a fault.
"Then what are you proposing."
"A deal with the Kingdom of Elise."
"What do you mean?"
"Ever heard of a Quilltail?", an animal that was quite common but wasn't anything spectacular. It was often compared to a Gray Raccoon, for its similar body shape and behaviors. There was little of note and the creatures weren't studied that well in the first place. There was little room for such fields during war.
"Those raccoon-looking creatures? Why would you-?", Augustinus hadn't even finished his question before lightning struck in his mind. His mind was able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, forming a clear picture.
"You. How do you plan to do this?", he got suddenly very serious as his mind started to form multilayered plans. Creating connections where there weren't any, his thoughts raced to find a plan not too dissimilar from the one the man in front of him had.
Augustinus was only able to be surprised by Aurelian because he was the only one capable of thinking outside the box. Putting his human emotion and limited thought pattern aside, the man was capable of creating a fortress out of sand.
"Use the established relationship between the kingdoms to your advantage."
"Hmm, both countries surely need to regain their strength after the war. And the neighboring countries are looking at us like vultures, ready to pounce on us the moment we show any weakness."
Augustinus could create entire plans with just a single hint from the man. Plans were forming, ideas for certain meetings and cooperations appeared in an instant. And then it occured to him.
"You're not planning on revealing yourself?"
"Never was."
Augustinus's entire demeanor changed in a heartbeat. He was willing, excited even, to work with Aurelian again, because they understood each other.
"You expect me to work with Thurin? He's a mere fledgling that only survived due to that Starborn."
"I agree.", Aurelian nodded, which not only surprised Augustinus, but also enraged him a bit.
"What do you mean, you agree? Why should I work with him now?"
"Because I said so.", the room got cold as Aurelian didn't hold back his presence. Augustinus had also completed the final trial, but even he wasn't strong enough to beat Aurelian.
"Are you threatening me now? You, of all people?"
"Isn't this what you call negotiation?", Aurelian was always someone who put facts above all else, rarely caring for the feelings of others. This didn't mean he never acted emotional, it was just an extremely rare occurance.
Right now was one of those rare moments and Augustinus knew it all too well. "I'm not going to be able to convince you, but why should I invest my time and money into something I don't even need?"
"The Empire needs it."
"No, you need it."
"Do you believe you will fend off the Northerners with our current army?"
"Those beasts don't move often, the chances of them attacking us is low."
"Have you not seen the aftermath of the Starborns's fight?"
Augustinus needed a moment to think and knew he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. "You're not letting me fix it in time, are you?"
"No, this has to happen.", Aurelian wasn't someone who often changed his mind. He was quite stubborn in that aspect. If the right numbers and facts were provided, he might think differently, but Augustinus had neither.
"Fine, say we collaborate with The Kingdom of Elise, and create an army capable of magic. Then what? You want them all to study a bunch of spells?", Aurelian simply nodded as he spoke, which annoyed him.
"What are you going to do then? If you leave all the troublesome parts to me, I'm expecting you to pull your weight as well."
"I have a lot of work to do."
"Hah!"
Augustinus scoffed at him, but there was no reaction, there never was if he acted like that. It didn't take long before he gave in. In the end, he was doing this job to help the Empire prosper and if this was the route that had to be taken, so be it.
"Fine, I'll arrange everything with Thurin. Speaking of, he wanted to do the Third trial as well, what do you think?"
"That won't be possible, and he wouldn't be able to do it in the first place."
"What do you mean? As long as the crystal remains the trial works, or did he take that as well?"
"No, you can guide Thurin to it, but the trial isn't available any longer."
Augustinus frowned and shoved the topic to the side. He didn't really care that much in the first place. The conversation then went into detail on how the countries should interact and the deals they should make. Knowing the Queen, there were bound to be some loopholes and traps they would have to avoid.
Creating the different drafts in advance, Augustinus would be able to easily guide Thurin to the expected result.
-----------------------------------------------
Thurin was finally able to convince Augustinus to reveal the place of the final trial. He had Carian search for it for quite some time, sadly, all the books only contained basic information about it, no details were found.
This time he would be able to reach the highest point that any soldier could reach, a pinnacle among men. Traveling towards the place, Augustinus had joined him to improve their relationship a bit.
Using a carriage to travel, they could only go to the town most north before the massive woods. Well, now all those woods are gone, only having a landscape of destruction instead.
Thurin looked around the place and realized that if this was the level Lucas's enemies were at, it made sense for him to abandon them. They would die before they even knew it.
"So this is what Lucas is fighting against?"
"Well, more or less. There are records of mages destroying an entire kingdom with a single wave of their hand. But there are also stories about them not even being able to carry a heavy rock."
Thurin frowned upon hearing that, it didn't make much sense to him. "Can't they just create a spell to carry more things?"
"It's not that simple, besides, the only difference between a mage and us is the fact that they can use magic. It doesn't improve their physical strength."
"I see.", Thurin nodded as they traveled deeper on horseback into the newly formed valleys. Life wasn't return just yet, but the first signs of nature had appeared, meaning it wouldn't take that long before insects came again. Then it was only a matter of time before life flourished once more.
As they journeyed further north, Augustinus suddenly pulled the reigns off his horse. "Thurin, are you prepared to fight?", Thurin noticed the seriousness in his voice and nodded.
It was barely noticable, but their ears didn't play any tricks on them. The sound of people running towards them got louder and louder. Thurin got off his horse while Augustinus stayed on it.
Summoning his armor, Thurin looked like he wore the pelt of a wolf. A sword and shield followed not long after. Augustinus simply stayed the same, not caring in the slightest about his defense or preparations.
The noises got louder and louder until figures were visible in the distance. Three tall men rushed towards them, without bothering to hide their presence. "So he was correct after all, dammit.", Augustinus muttered under his breath as he got of his horse.
They wore a mix of hides and armor, with a helmet that protected their head and nose. They carried shields and axes, as they towered over them.
They yelled nonsensical words as they rushed towards them. Augustinus didn't even bother using shields or weapons at all. The moment his opponent raised his axe, he reached towards it with insane speed and simply broke the man's wrist.
Using that moment of hesitation, he punched the man's head. Even if it was covered in a helmet made from strong materials, a very clear indend was made, the man's head exploded from inside the helmet.
Thurin on the other hand took a more defensive stance, using his shield to block the attacks while swinging his sword the moment he had an advantage. Still, his opponent did the exact same, blocking Thurin's attacks when possible.
Seeing no quick solution he parried one of the attacks and got rid of his sword. Raising his hand, a small fireball shot out, landing on the shield of the barbarian. It caught on fire and he panicked as Thurin rushed to his side and stabbed a newly conjured sword in his gut. Slicing it open, his guts fell out, leaving the man no chance for recovery.
Thurin looked back towards the final opponent, but Augustinus had already taken care of them. "Are these people from the North?"
"Correct. These stubborn bastards normally never bother leaving their homes, only leaving when their lands stop producing any produce."
"So this means that they'll start harrasing us?"
"Indeed. They normally just raid villages, but the big woods and mountainous land that was located in the north of the Empire kept them somewhat at bay. But thanks to your good friend, there's neither for them."
Augustinus klicked his tongue before reaching for his horse. They travelled further north, eventually woods started to appear again. It wasn't far now.
"Augustinus, how much do you know about the trials?"
"Enough."
"That's a pretty vague answer."
"I know it was created by a mage or Starborn a long time ago."
"To what purpose?", Thurin wondered what a mage of such power would create a trial like that. It didn't serve them any purpose in the end.
"Well, that's not all that clear, but I have my suspicions. At a certain point the Underground had two Starborn on a level far above Lucas."
Thurin found it a bit shocking, Lucas was already quite powerful and after seeing the ravaged battle ground, he thought that had to be biggest attack possible. Yet there were levels of power far above even that.
"They argued on who the stronger one was, but if they fought, the Underground wouldn't last long. So they fought by proxy."
"A proxy?"
"They both formed a country and created ways for the people to gain power. Using that power they fought against each other until eventually one won. This was the creation of The Empire and The Kingdom of Elise."
"But, there was never a victor. Even now, both countries exist."
"That's true, if I interpreted the ancient records correctly, the mages got bored and moved on."
Thurin almost fell of his horse out of pure surprise. He was flabbergasted, they created a fued that lasted for ages between two countries who fought with their lives and they got... bored?
"What the fuck?"
"Never think a mage has any feelings for anyone besides themselves. To them, we were livestock, experimental fuel for their tests. If we all died out, they wouldn't care in the slightest about us."
"But why did they just leave?"
"They both waited for thousands of cycles yet nothing conclusive happened since they didn't intervene directly. Eventually, they left the Underground, leaving us in the everlasting war without any help or intel."
"They are the worst."
"I can think of something worse. Either way, we're here.", entering a small clear plain, they found a massive wall ahead. They couldn't tell if it was part of a massive mountain or perhaps the wall of the Underground itself. Either way, the trial was situated in a temple that was carved into this very wall.
But looking at it now, Augustinus couldn't help but shake his head. The entire entrance of the temple was reduced to rubble.
"What happened here?", Thurin asked as he inspected the rubble from up close. "Did Lucas fail?"
"Quite the opposite. If he failed, he wouldn't have been able to do this. I thought he was stronger, but it seems I miscalculated it. To have such an emotional response. He's not fit to be a mage."
"Says you, you don't even know anything about mages. You can't even use magic."
"Just because I can't use magic, doesn't mean I don't know anything about it. Anyway, let's clear this place up.", Augustinus moved some of the rocks out of the way with a single swipe, his strength clearly far above that of Thurin, who had trouble digging the rocks out.
Out of envy, he started to use magic to move rocks to the side, but Augustinus just put in more strength to keep up. Their rivalry, while petty, quickly cleared up the entrance of the temple.
Moving inside the temple, there was debris everywhere, as if someone rampaged their way out. Everything was destroyed. There were pieces of debris that looked like a part of a larger mural, but Thurin couldn't make anything out of it.
Down the hall, there was barely a wall that stood up right, there were cracks throughout the hall. Random holes in the walls that stretched far enough to make light shy. Marks of soot, ash and patches of ice were visible throughout the temple. Eventually, they found a larger room.
"Past this should be the trial, but I wouldn't -", Augustinus had to halt his speech when he saw the room that served as a small fighting ring. At the very center stood a single statue of a young woman. Light was emenating from it.
It was the only thing Augustinus hadn't expected in this place. Once he saw the entrance, he thought there would be nothing but rubble in here, yet the statue had such a level of detail that it almost seemed real.
"Judging by your reaction, this statue wasn't supposed to be here?"
"I've never seen this thing, nor do I know who it's meant to be. The woman is quite the beauty though, she'd make for a fine prostitute.", Augustinus said as he ogled the statue from afar.
"Stop it.", Thurin got a little closer and inspected it while keeping away. Thurin made sure to keep some distance between him and the statue. His face had a concerned look on it.
"Worried that it'll bite? Hahaha, why are you so afraid of a statue?", Augustinus walked up to it, raising his hand, he was about to touch it before Thurin suddenly grabbed it his arm and pulled it back.
Due to how unexpected it was, Augustinus was succesfully pulled back but he had a look of confusion and anger on his face. "What was that good for?"
"Don't touch it!", his voice was genuin, the concern wasn't faked in the slightest.
"I recently learned how to use Magic Vision, it allows me to see mana."
"So?", Augustinus felt a bit jealous that someone so much younger then him figured out something he still hadn't.
"That statue contains enough mana for this entire temple to explode."
Augustinus stayed silent for a moment as he looked at the statue with a grave look. "Are you saying that if we touch it, it'll explode?"
"I... I'm not certain, touching it might not be an issue, perhaps it needs to break. I don't know. Either way, I've looked at adult Black Griffons and they don't even compare to how much mana is stored in here."
Augustinus grinned slightly. "So he left this behind as a gift? Do you think this would be powerful enough to kill a Starborn?"
Thurin had to think about it for a moment. The total amount of mana was certainly enough to wreak havic in any place. Nodding, Thurin kept inspecting the statue from afar while Augustinus checked out the room where the trial was kept.
"The crysyals gone, so there's no way for you to experience the trial. Sorry, kid, you'll have to do without it."
Thurin didn't respond as he stared at the statue. He had conjured a few spells to compare the mana quantity. "Augustinus, do you remember the spell that Lucas used when he defeated Grok?"
"Yes, that was quite a spectacle, it was hard to think of a story to tell the public."
"I can still remember the feeling when he fired it off. I think this statue contains around ten times the amount of mana."
"What?!", Augustinus stared at the statue like it had murdered his family. Had Thurin not stopped him and was a bit rough with it, he probably, no definitly, would've died.
"That crazy bastard, leaving behind such a weapon. How are we supposed to use this now?"
Thurin stared at the face of the statue, it didn't resemble anyone he knew. She looked beautiful and kind despite being made out of stone.
"What a strange contradiction.", Thurin said to himself before leaving the statue alone. "We need to seal this place up and guard it thouroughly."
"If we do that, more people will know of this place. The more people know the more attention and problems.", Augustinus was well aware of how people worked. No matter the person or importance of secrecy, the chances that the information spread was inevitable.
"Do we leave it alone then? Taking it with us it out of the question.", thinking of having such a weapon of mass destruction in the basement of the castle made Thurin shiver.
"Agreed. We'll have to ask the Hidden Order to take care of this place."
Thurin nodded as he stared at the statue one last time.
'We'll have some use for you yet.'