In the hushed aftermath of the Affinity Attunement Ceremony, the Kaid estate projected an illusion of undisturbed normalcy. The grand corridors reverberated with the familiar hum of daily rituals, creating an atmosphere of familial unity with every polished nod and dutiful greeting.
Yet, beneath this veneer of tranquility, elusive ripples disturbed the surface. Despite his esteemed position as a direct heir of the Kaid lineage, Abel traversed the well-trodden corridors as if a mere specter amidst the living. Once joyful greetings from the servants now transformed into averted glances and feigned absorption in duties—a thinly veiled charade concealing a poignant acknowledgment of a shifting reality.
Whispers lingered in his wake, subtle currents carrying unspoken judgments that saturated the air.
Words like shadows: Shame. Exile.
Elementless.
One morning, as Abel passed a trio of his younger cousins, their voices hushed, they exchanged furtive glances and stifled giggles.
"I wonder if he's cursed? When do you think he'll receive the Midnight Mandate?" one of them dared to ask, her eyes wide with curiosity.
The other two suppressed laughter, the youngest among them glancing back at Abel with a mix of fear and fascination. "I heard Papa say he's no longer family."
Abel quickened his pace, the weight of their words a leaden burden on his shoulders. With each step, he felt the isolation deepen, a stark contrast to the days when his cousins eagerly sought his company.
As the pervasive rumors enveloped him like a swarm of invisible tormentors, Abel's steps weighed heavier, entangled in the intricate web of despair.
What had I done wrong?
The question reverberated through his troubled mind as he traversed the resounding corridors adorned with the storied tapestry of Kaid history. Abel could sense his standing among the Kaid magicians diminishing rapidly.
This cannot persist, Abel thought, his desperation and eagerness mounting. The murmurs, escalating with each passing day, were poised to reshape Abel's reality.
Every echoing footfall seemed to pronounce the harsh verdict his family had pronounced upon him. The branding of "Elementless Magician" seared into his heart, while the anticipation of something more sinister loomed like an impending storm.
In the realm of Ayealon, every magician forged a bond, even a modest one. It was an anomaly for a magician to fail in forming any connection with the elements. If magicians with feeble bonds struggled to find acceptance in Ayealon's society, what fate awaited a magician without any bond?
Abel needed answers. With no allies, there'd be only one place in the Kaid manor where he could find them. The weight of his family's rejection and the murmurings of the younger generation pushed him beyond the threshold of the library's grand doors.
In the library, the librarian, a wizened figure who had observed the changing fortunes of Kaid family members for decades, greeted him with a sympathetic smile.
"Here again?" she inquired, her eyes filled with understanding.
Abel nodded, his gaze scanning the labyrinth of books that held the secrets of the Kaid family. "I need to find a way to change my destiny."
The librarian's gentle voice resonated with wisdom as she offered her counsel. "Sometimes, young one, it's not the destiny that needs changing, but our understanding of it."
"Thank you", Abel responded. "But if my destiny doesn't change, then I will lose everything."
As the weight of his situation bore down on him, Abel scanned the mountain of books before him. Each volume held the potential to unlock the secrets of element attunement, offering a glimmer of hope in the depths of his despair.
The librarian's expression softened, hinting at a deep contemplation. Her gaze then settled onto her desk, where a letter as dark as night lay, adorned with an intricate ocean wave emblem.
The librarian shook her head as she settled into her chair behind the desk. Neither she nor Abel dared to move until the sun had just begun to set.
The librarian rose from her seat, letter in hand, as she moved towards Abel. The once sprawling mountain of books had been sorted into two distinct piles—one neatly stacked, and the other comprising a few untouched volumes. Abel could be seen closing one book, placing it in the tidy stack, and selecting one of the remaining few from the other pile.
"Abel Kaid", spoke the librarian as she stopped at his table.
The librarian delicately placed the letter on the table before him. Abel had yet to look up from his book.
"This is for you," she whispered. "May it guide you toward the answers you seek."
With a reluctant sigh, Abel tore his gaze from the book and shifted his attention to the letter before him.
Abel studied the emblem of the illuminated blue wave against the dark backdrop, admiring its elegant design. The parchment was flipped to see if there was anything on the other side. The text on the back contained several symbols, each glyph pulsing with arcane energy.
This needed the invocation of a spell.
"Levite" recited Abel, commanding the glyphs to rise.
The glyphs acquiesced, lifting from the parchment and swirling around him.
With a faint whisper, the incantations entered his mind, unraveling their hidden message:
"Where shadows dance in the veiled night's attire,
In the hush of midnight, by soft moonlight's lyre.
Within the silence, secrets tightly bound,
A failure beckoned when midnight's reign is crowned.
In realms unseen, where darkened pathways wind,
A mandate whispered, in the hallowed midnight's bind.
Cloaked in mystery, a dance of shadows found,
The failure, displayed in full light, when midnight's reign is crowned."
Abel studied the letter further, trying to understand the meaning of these words.
The librarian disappeared, so it was up to Abel to decipher the message.
"Darkened pathways," he murmured, the words echoing through his consciousness. His brow furrowed as he grappled with their meaning, grasping at the fragments of his heritage. Abel rose from his seat, pondering each line.
The references to a specific location and time were evident. "Veiled night", "Under soft moonlight", "In the heart of silence", "the bind of midnight" – these were all unmistakable signs. However, the reference to the "failure" remained shrouded in ambiguity. Who sent this? What failure was going to be brought to the light?
"If this letter is meant for me", wondered Abel, "then I would already know the answer".
Abel pondered over the different possibilities until the answer crystallized in his mind. The realization struck him, and with it, a heavy, desolate sigh escaped his lips.
"Ah," he sighed, a tone of resignation coloring his breath as his eyes lowered. The unraveling of the riddle brought with it the weight of insurmountable despair. The meaning of the message had been before him all along.
The meaning was twofold. First, the failure being brought to the light meant that the failure was going to be questioned.
Second, Abel made a mistake, because the failure was not an item or object. The failure in this case, referred to a person.
The Elementless Magician.