From his lessons with Colius, Alaster learned how to manipulate mana. But knowing how to do something was vastly different from experiencing it yourself. It did, however, give the boy a much needed boost.
Colius had explained that all mana was different for each user. A Light mage felt warmth and bright from their mana. A Fire mage felt burning heat. A Water Mage felt soothing coolness. In fact, just about the only thing that was the same across all users of Mana, was that their own unique feeling they received from theirs, felt comfortable to them.
Even if they would normally hate the feeling. Such as Alaster and his mana. When he touched his mana with his will, it reacted violently. Alaster felt a sense of cold that seeped deeply into his very being. However, it moved slowly, until Alaster gave it a direction, then the mana moved like a tidal wave actively seeking to destroy.
Alaster struggled to control his mana. Colius had taught that mana was naturally free. He had said numerous times that mana, and therefore magic, does not suffer fools. One had to keep a tight grip on it, or it would run wild, damaging everything it touched.
Colius had also compared mana to a War Horse. Completely stubborn and outright violent to those it deemed a threat. But if you could tame it, make it see you as its master, it would be a staunch ally.
Being a brand new Novice, Alaster was currently dealing with the War Horse side of mana.
It wanted to escape. Had it been mana from a Fire Mage, it would want to burn everything it touched. Had it been Ice, it would have wanted to freeze everything it touched. But the feeling Alaster got from his mana, was that it simply wanted to destroy.
Alaster struggled to control his mana, and this was apparent even from the outside. Anyone watching Alaster would have seen the young man, huddled against a tree in a snowy pit, with his eyes closed, and thin streams of sickly green fog faintly glowing, exiting his body from his eyes and mouth.
However, Alaster did manage to fight against his mana enough to power the Ring of Holding.
Alaster was not quite sure what to expect, and it surprised him. As his mana filled the Ring, in his mind, a two by two meter box appeared in his mind. The boy could 'see' all the items Colius had put in the ring. Most of them were the gifts of that night, but not all.
Besides the gifts that Alaster expected to see, he also saw a small hatchet.
'Why would that be in here?' Alaster thought to himself as he willed for the cloak to appear in his hands.
The cloak appear instantly, the only hint as to its appearance coming from a few extremely faint particles of mana that dissolved almost instantly. The mana was Alaster's own. The Ring required it to access the Dimensional pocket.
Alaster quickly put it own and almost sighed in relief. It was just as Lukas had promised. The Cloak, itself, was not warm, but it completely blocked the near constant wind that seemed to sap the heat from Alaster's body. And it was insulated. The heat any living mammal gave off around them, was instead trapped by the cloak and used to help heat the boy.
However, he did not just pull out the cloak. Alaster also put out the shield, and propped it up in the snow. Instead of blocking attacks, the gift was now used to shield Alaster even further from the wind.
Alaster then took out Isabella's amulet and put it around his neck. He wished he could take out Alice's book about the Classes, but he had no light to read with, nor was he in a rush to start a fire. Despite the more than welcome heat it would provide to the young man, it would also be like a beacon to the monsters, as well as the masked men hunting for him.
Alaster put the hood of the cloak up, finding it large enough to cover his entire head. He tried to get comfortable, before settling down and closing his eyes. The day, and the events of the night, had exhausted the young man, and he was soon asleep.
But it was not a restful night. If he was not woken by every little sound of the forest, fearing for a monster to attack him. Then his sleep was disrupted by the constant nightmares of the masked men finding him and chasing him through the forest.
*****
Lord Siphas rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair.
'Why tonight?'
The night had started off so well. He was tired from his paperwork, but that was nothing new. But all he had to do was show up to the party. His wife had taken care of everything. Lord Siphas had genuinely been glad to see Alaster smile and laugh.
He did not know it himself, but he had started to see Alaster as a son. Always seeing the boy in such bad spirits had dwelled on him over the years, so seeing the boy enjoy himself for once was like finally losing the weight of an anvil off his shoulders.
"Elliot," Lady Siphas called for her husband's attention, "I finally got Isabella to sleep. Do you need any help before I retire for the night?"
"No, my darling. I'll be to bed in a moment."
They both knew that was a lie, but neither brought attention to it. Elliot's wife, Nora, had long realized that trying to drag him to bed while he was working was practically pointless. Even just dragging him away for tonight's party had been a struggle. And now, his work had just doubled overnight.
The short battle between the masked men and the Guards had been a vicious one. However, none of the injuries were too horrible. Luckily, it seemed, that none of the masked men were Mages, or the Siphas Estate would likely be missing a Banquet Hall.
The battle had been a losing one for the Guards the entire time. It was almost certain they would have broken through given time. And yet, the moment the Portal had closed behind Alaster, they ordered a retreat and quickly disengaged.
Lukas, and the Daughter's Guards, had stayed behind while the rest of the Guards pursued, and were quickly joined by the rest of the Guard and eventually the City Guards. They had chased the masked men as they split up and ran throughout the city. A skirmish here and there had been conducted, however it seemed the masked men were more interested in escaping than battle. None were seriously injured.
However, unknown to the people of Onigas, the masked men were not escaping. Instead, they immediately realized that the Warp Mage was weakened by both age and drink, and that he would not have been able to send Alaster very far. They were not escaping, but continued to hunt.
While Nora had comforted the terrified children, Elliot had been managing the situation as best as he could. It had been going well, at least as well as it could, until the City Lord arrived.
The City Lord of Onigas was a fair and just man, even the criminals had to admit, but he could turn into a terrifying tyrant when it came to his children. So being woken in the middle of the night, and being told that a large group of skilled men had drawn weapon and blood near them... The City Lord would be needing a new bed and several doors.
Luckily, Iris had calmed herself down enough to yell at her father, and like a dog caught in the act, he hung his head and apologized. However, before he took his daughters back with him, he promised that his personal Guards, the City's version of Royal Guards, would be assisting.
As the masked men searched for Kilometers around the City, hastened by the people of Onigas chasing them, no one, not even Lord Siphas himself, expected that Alaster would be so much further. Colius had been drunk enough not to know quite where he sent the boy, but not enough to impair the distance. A distance that had been dramatically improved after he became an Expert.
It had been several hours since the portal closed, and the pursuit had been mostly called off as the majority simply could not keep up. The Royal Guards of Onigas were the only ones still chasing, and even occasionally engaging, but each time, the masked men managed to escape.
Even the Siphas Estate was calming down. In fact, besides the usual servants and guards that stayed up, only Elliot and Colius were awake. While Elliot fought to retain order, capture the masked men, figure out how they got in, and create a way to prevent this from happening again. Colius was beating himself up for losing Alaster.
Even when Elliot finally joined his wife, Colius was up in his study, desperately searching through his vast amount of research for a way to find Alaster, and bring him back.
But, Colius was not the only one. Deep underground, a man whose face was hidden by shadow, was receiving constant updates from his agents, who had failed to capture their target and were forced to flee. Another person in the room shook her head.
"I'm sorry sir, but I told you, that was the only chance to find the boy. It'll take me another decade to gather enough power to locate him again."
The man sighed, "I know. Thank you anyway."
"How is she?" The woman asked.
"She talks about him almost constantly. If he has even half the connection to her as she does to him, He will never let her go."
"Why did you not eliminate him the same night, then?"
"The agents that night were not aware there was a sibling. It was not until they returned, they learned otherwise."
"Sir, if I may, you are looking too deep into this. He is just a boy from some random village, he will most likely end up just like any other random peasant. Forgotten."
"Perhaps you are correct. I truly hope so. I just can't get rid of this pit of worry. Something is telling me that this boy will be crucial in someway."
"What does she know?"
"Nothing. We told her that her parents had given her to us, so she could amount to something greater. She believes us."
"Why wouldn't she? She is but a child. What about the boy's mission with her?"
"I have not needed to even tell him. He has taken a shine to her, and her to him."
"Then let us hope we succeed, for Lissura!" The woman decreed.
"For Lissura," The man agreed, "May the Gods forgive us."