The young rank three mage was bowing before Cykrus.
"There is no need to act this way, I am just a lord after all." Cykrus probed the young man's intentions.
"Not at all, this is the minimum of respect you deserve, my master always fawned over your abilities! And I had the opportunity to bear witness to them as well!" he proclaimed loudly.
Cykrus was even more confused now, "Your master?" he was not aware of any contacts who were a master to a rank three mage, or any relation he held towards this man.
"Yes! My master, Duchess Debora Vivienne. Oh! Where are my manners... my name is Daren, Daren Willfow." he smiled at Cykrus, secretly hoping that he would recognise him.
"...Vivienne? That Vivienne? Master of a rank three? And a Duchess?" Cykrus mumbled, he gazed into empty air, his eyes unfocused.
"Vivienne, huh? I don't think you ever mentioned her before...?" Agnes' voice came from behind him, alongside her walked Frey, who wore a white set of clothes with an accent of green throughout it, the Aventia family's crest was woven into it, Cykrus turned back to the eerie smile she was displaying.
Cykrus forced a smile, "She is... an old friend. One that I haven't heard from in over twenty years."
"Is that so?" Agnes asked.
"My master sends you her regards, to be precise her words were... 'I have dearly missed you and look forward to our reunion'..." now that he said it out loud, he kind of understood the underlying meaning.
"Oh..." he uttered; his eyes too landed on Agnes' not so happy expression.
"I, uhm..." Cykrus muttered, but then just sighed, "Let's just get on the carriage and head to the royal capital."
The armoured knight's mouth was wide open, only after Cykrus' last sentence did he manage to snap out of his stupor, "Yes, let's."
... ...
Agnes, Cykrus, Daren and Frey were sitting inside of a big and luxurious carriage, there were a total of three, aside from this one, the others were currently filled with soldiers who served under the armoured knight, acting as escorts and deterrents to bandits.
"So... tell me more about this Vivienne." Agnes smiled at Cykrus who felt a chill down his spine.
"I met her some years before our encounter." he looked back at Agnes.
"Pretty soon after I finished studying under my father's tutelage, I wanted to travel the world. I thought that it would help further my understanding of magic and my element."
"I still remember my mother, how she tried to stop me from leaving, but I was too stubborn to listen." Cykrus smiled as he delved into his memories.
"My father offered to pay for all of my expenses, but I wanted to feel what travelling was truly like, not to be pampered wherever I went because of my father's name."
"I went from town to town, using an alias, interacting with the locals, learning their customs and beliefs, most were regular humans, but I specifically sought out mages, and rumours of their sighting."
"I wanted to mess with those of equal and higher ranks, to feel the difference between us, and to learn from that experience."
"I suffered defeat countless times, but my name and my unceasing challenges travelled far and wide, inviting others to try their luck against me."
"I got to know a lot of people this way, but it was only after reaching rank two that my name became something others respected, I quickly rose in the rankings that people created for fun, and before I knew it, I was hailed as one of the strongest rank twos."
"Naturally, even more and even tougher opponents started to make their appearance, in an attempt to take over my spot and use my reputation to jump-start theirs... That was when a curious girl made her appearance."
"She was roughly my age, a little shorter than me, long blond hair, and a smile that-" Cykrus glanced at Agnes and stopped himself from continuing.
He cleared his throat and avoided her gaze afterwards, "Anyways, she had a very strange personality, odd is an understatement... She was rank one at the time and insisted on fighting me."
"I refused whenever she wanted to duel, which seemed to trigger something inside of her, causing her to follow me for months. Attempting different approaches to get me to fight back daily."
"Well, I just... couldn't. She wasn't a threat, and I wasn't going to harm an innocent girl."
"I'm sure you wouldn't." Agnes said.
Frey glanced at the two of them with confusion.
"Where was I? Oh, right... so after several months of her following me around, it was bound to happen that we learned more about each other. I learned her name, and the fact that she was a noble too, who ran away from her family because her upbringing was too boring."
"Sounds like master..." Daren added while nodding his head.
"I didn't initially know it, but she was still regularly sending letters to her parents throughout our journey, and one day while we were staying at an inn, I heard screaming and shouting coming from her room, I wanted to help, but tens of knights stopped and informed me that they were here to take Vivienne back to her parents' lands."
"I was sceptical of their words, but after hearing Vivienne curse at and threaten the poor men, I was sure that she would be fine."
"We didn't get to say goodbye, but that was how we first parted from another."
"Some years later my father ordered me to return to Aventia, to attend some kind of ball with him and mother, for the first time in a while under the name of Cykrus Aventia."
"And wouldn't you know it, there she was. We had both changed a lot in that time, but we recognised each other at first glance."
"I still remember my ears bleeding after her hour-long lecture of me having hidden my real name from her, and her having searched for me in vain."
"She had become a rank two mage and wanted to properly fight me. She even brought a young boy along, she lovingly called 'pet'."
"Ah, that would be me..." Daren raised his hand and smiled with embarrassment.
"Pet?" Frey asked.
"Yes, uhm, master disliked the fact that her family forced a student upon her, but we got along just fine, and still do." Daren explained.
"I see... well? What happened? Did you end up fighting her?" Agnes asked Cykrus.
"No, I-" Cykrus started, but got interrupted.
"Lord Aventia, if I may?" Daren interjected, and continued after receiving the go ahead, "The ball we attended was supposed to be a gathering of many young and outstanding nobles to find husbands and wives, to make powerful connections."
"As the evening progressed, and most people drank a little too much wine, some hooligans harassed master, some were rank two, but most simply rank one."
"Lady Debora was about to mess them up herself, but before she could, a young man trampled all over them and their pride. Yes, it was Lord Aventia. Even in a one versus seven situation, no one managed to lay a hand on him." Daren concluded.
"And that evening was the last time I saw either of you two, it's nice to meet you once more." Cykrus extended his hand towards Daren, who happily shook it.
Agnes just huffed, she appeared to lose all interest and simply stared out the window.
"How is she doing?" Cykrus turned back to Daren.
"Oh, master is doing great, although her position as Duchess is in her words 'lacklustre', she has long since reached rank three herself, and takes pride in defeating anyone that looks at her for too long." Daren answered.
"Wow, that's just... incredible... You both reached rank three. Congratulations." Cykrus applauded him.
"Thank you, but I am sure that you are just on the edge of breaking through yourself. Master too must be looking forward to the day she gets to fight you as equals." Daren appeared quite humble.
"Heh. Yeah, that does sound like her." Cykrus smiled, "Right, I wanted to ask about this slight bit of magic I feel all around us?"
"Oh, you could feel that?" Daren exclaimed, Agnes and Frey looked around themselves and noticed no such thing.
"It's a defensive array of runes. Combined they are able to repel spells, even those of rank three." Daren said, and as if he meant to demonstrate, a flash of yellow knocked against the invisible barrier outside of the carriage.
The attack was knocked in a different direction, and instead created a small crater on the ground.
"...Like that..." Daren mumbled, slightly in shock at the revelation of actually being attacked.
A loud horn bellowed at the front of the caravan, causing Daren to jump up from his seat and dash out the door.
Frey watched with excitement as Daren hovered in the air right outside of the still moving carriage.
The caravan stopped, and Daren floated higher into the air, to make himself visible from all angles.
"Know that the carriages you are attacking belong to His Royal Highness, your actions are considered treason, and I am authorized to mete out judgement to fools like yourselves!" his voice echoed loudly through the air, the speed of the wind picked up.
A lone figure stood at the peak of a small hill just across of the carriages, unmoving, and not responding to Daren's words.
They wore pure black clothing, and a mask that covered the entirety of their face, the mask's design looked like a frenzied wolf with bloody scars.
"Leave now, and I shall consider your offense an accident and will allow it to slide." Daren issued another warning, his voice sounded strangely confident, a stark contrast to his attitude throughout the ride.
The figure remained silent, instead raising their arm to a ninety-degree angle, their palm faced downwards, and there appeared a yellow sparking orb.
Many of the guards from the surrounding carriages gathered around Frey's, they wore full plated armour, a sword or a spear, as well as a shield in hand, ready to give their life in a fight to protect their designated targets.
"In the name of our ruler, I hereby judge you a heathen to be executed-!" Daren shouted, the yellow orb split into four equal parts, each of them zooming closer like lightning, "Hmpf!" Daren grunted as a thick wall of clouds gathered in between them and the attack.
Yellow flashed through from behind the clouds, but the attack itself was unable to.
Daren pointed his index finger outwards, and the clouds gathered into one place, they shot at the offender while turning frantically, like a drill.
The black figure did not make any effort to evade, the cloud drill shot right through their body, but there was no blood, and no flesh, like smoke the black garb made way for the drill before returning to its initial form.
"Huh?" Daren muttered, but there were more surprises awaiting him...
Three yellow orbs descended from above him, flashing through his vision, then striking against the carriage below him.
All of them were repelled, but each wiped out several soldiers.
"Rank two strength!" Daren noted as he gazed back at the figure.
"Should we go help?" Agnes turned to Cykrus within the carriage.
He shook his head, "No need, although the opponent is strange, you shouldn't underestimate a rank three. Daren being young doesn't mean a thing... any rank three mage is a force to be reckoned with."
Daren formed his hand into a fist, the fingers closed ever so slowly, like there was an invisible object that he was squashing, that required his full power.
Another yellow orb appeared at the black figure's hand, but by the time Daren's fist was fully closed, the tip of the hill the figure was standing on had disappeared.
The surroundings of its former location looked distorted, hurting ones' eyes if they looked at it for too long.
The hill was now deformed, with no sight of their attacker.
Daren stood still in the air for some time, but before long he exhaled and floated down to the soldiers, "Recover what remains of those that fell, we will resume our journey and bury them in the capital."
The soldiers quietly began to work, while he headed back into the carriage to join Cykrus and the others.
"I am sorry about that; the competition has given birth to unsightly infighting, both between families, but also within the royal circle. I am sure you have heard of the selection for the heir." Daren apologised.
"Has Vivienne taken anyone's side yet?" Cykrus asked, to which Daren shook his head, "Master doesn't care for politics, the two of us are... powerful additions... to any of the factions, I am sure you can imagine the headache we, especially she, is going through." Daren flashed a pained smile.
"Excuse me, does you being rank three mean that you are a Marquis?" Frey chimed in.
"Theoretically yes, but because I am still a student to my master, I am considered one of her followers. If I were to split off and start a family of my own, then yes, His Majesty would grant me the rank of Marquis, but I have no intention of doing so, at least not before I repay my master for everything she has taught me." Daren answered.
"Do you have any tips to reach rank three as fast as you?" Frey looked at the young man.
"I'm afraid not, it entirely depends on oneself, their experiences, and their luck. Some people are forever stuck at rank one, others rank two, and most never even become a mage in the first place." Daren explained.
"But you are the contestant, and Lord Aventia's disciple, eh?" Daren looked back at him.
"Just Cykrus is fine." Cykrus offered, but Daren raised his hands into the air, "Oh! I couldn't!"
"Yes, that's me... Frey, uhm... just Frey." he extended his hand towards Daren, who shook it respectfully.
"No family name? That's nothing to be embarrassed about; I know of many talented mages that stem from common origins. Some of them even were the reason their family became nobles." he smiled at Frey.
Frey thought back on his family, they weren't around anymore to benefit from his status, but they might just look to him from the afterlife every once in a while, he could still try his best to make them proud.
"Daren, do you know what that thing was?" Cykrus continued the conversation.
"No, it's my first time seeing such a sight as well. I know that there are mages who can create things akin to illusions, but I have never once met such a person before."
"An illusion? But weren't the spells real?" Agnes chimed in.
"That they were, otherwise, they wouldn't have triggered the protective array, nor killed several of those poor soldiers." Daren nodded, subsequently falling into thought.
"Could it have been an artefact? Are they capable of such things?" Agnes pointed out a possibility.
"They very much are capable of this and sometimes even more. They are objects imbued with long lost spells..." Cykrus agreed.
"That could be it. I propose we relay the matter to someone who is more knowledgeable on such topics." Daren followed up.
"Do you have someone in mind?" Cykrus questioned.
"Indeed, I do. His Majesty owns a giant collection of inheritances that span across many centuries, the person in charge of tending to this 'library' might know something. Forgive me, but I don't know their name, only that they exist." Daren clarified.
"That is plenty. I am curious though whether we were the only ones attacked..." Cykrus mused.
"The spells were aiming for us, or our carriage at least, it's safe to say that they wanted us gone, be that because of the competition or just in general, we won't know until we get to the bottom of this." Agnes said.
"But isn't a rank two too weak to defeat you two?" Frey looked at Agnes and Cykrus, causing them to smile.
"Of course, but you as well." Cykrus said, then winked at Frey.
Agnes raised her eyebrow but left it at that.
"We had several stops planned throughout the journey; would you like to remove them from the list? For the sake of your safety?" Daren offered, but Cykrus shook his head, "That won't be necessary. We aren't in a rush to get to the royal capital, and with you around there is no need to fear any sort of ambush."
"Though I wonder... who would be bold enough to attack someone that is escorted by the will of His Majesty?" Daren fell into thought again.
"Several people come to mind when I think of a rank two mage whose element is lightning, but this may as well be a trick to make us be distrustful and seek revenge on families that weren't even involved." Cykrus sighed.
"Sadly, there were no leftover traces for me to try and decipher. This artefact must truly be powerful." Daren too sighed.
"So, that's what you were doing while flying earlier..." Frey understood.
"Correct. Gathering information about your opponent is one of the most important aspects of a fight. Which is why rank three mages are that much more terrifying than rank twos... we can alter our spells, someone that spends all their effort to understand my spells would be completely out of date by the next time we met." Daren gave Frey a small lecture.
Frey breathed in deeply, information like this was very important, though he couldn't apply it yet, at least there was enough time to prepare until he did.
The competition was only some days away; Frey couldn't improve in such a short amount of time in any aspect, except information.
Knowledgeable people are always at an advantage.