"May I see your wand?"
Kane looked up from a book, taking notice of Medeya standing right next to him with an open hand. He quickly reached into his pocket and handed it to her, wondering how the appraisal was supposed to work—or if it would even be happening.
But more importantly, what are we looking for? he asked himself, watching her rotate it between her fingers as she studied the crooked twig. What is the connection that Maleagant was talking about?
"Have you ever casted a spell without a verbal component, using only this wand?" she asked, still getting a feel for the rough edges and its unusual curvature.
"Yes, but only once."
"That's fine. What element was it?"
Kane thought back to the day where Maleagant sacrificed himself to let him and Bauer escape, remembering the fiery sounds, the charred look on the militiaman's chestplate, and the bright flash that came with it. "Fire," he responded, remembering some important lessons he received in the form of Maleagant's parchments.
She nodded. "That means you have a connection with it. You brought out its innate enchantment."
"Its innate enchantment?"
"Yes. From what I've learned with Calus, one part of the wand's appraisal is finding out its innate enchantment, in the form of the elements."
Kane nodded as he rubbed his chin, thinking back to the parchments. I remember seeing those elements in the lessons. It's even in the grimoire.
"I'm sure you already know," continued Medeya, turning her blind eyes to meet with Kane's, "but I'll go over it with you again anyway... in the form of quiz! Are you ready?"
He smiled. "Sure."
"How many all-encompassing elements are there, and what are they called?"
This one's easy. "Four. Fire, earth, wind, and water."
She nodded. "Next question: What are the two derivatives of each element?"
"Fire has light and magma, earth has health and darkness, wind has sound and lightning, and water has ice and blood."
"Yes, that's correct! Now," she grazed her fingers along a large open tome, "which one of the twelve types is strictly forbidden?"
"Blood."
"Yes," she sighed, "that's why mages who delve into water sorceries must be incredibly careful... but either way, it's only a nefandite art. It's incredibly rare that you would come across it."
Kane lowered his gaze, feeling the grimoire resting in one of the pockets of his coat. He pressed against it, letting it burrowing into the side of his chest. And that's what I've been learning from. He thought back to the moment he used water magic to slay a nefandite assassin back in Thalamar, along with the other chances he took when performing missions for Frederick with Bauer.
Truly, if there was one element he really wanted to learn and master, it was water. Just like Medeya said, however, one would have to be incredibly careful, lest they dive too far into water sorceries and end up going mad in the power of blood magic.
"You're fighting nefandites," continued Medeya, her tone somber, carrying a hint of sadness, "aren't you?"
Kane held his silence for a bit, letting the question hang in the air. "Yes," he looked off to the side, observing every part of the dark study room, dimly lit by candles that barely revealed many bookshelves around the area, "though I never thought my life would come to it."
"Can I know why?"
Kane returned his gaze to her, his mind flooded with memories of the time Maleagant sacrificed himself so that he and Bauer could live, watching the nefandites slaying hundreds of guards, and watching the eventual fall of Thalamar. He still remembered how even Bauer, who was adamant on fighting the nefandites beforehand, wanted nothing more than to flee the minute he saw the army.
"They destroyed my..." Is home the right word?
It was a question that dwelled on his mind for a long while, especially after learning that he was the offspring of a nefandite. Perhaps the only life birthed within the depths of Nefandyr.
With a heavy breath and a strained voice, he convinced himself to call Thalamar home, for even if its people never treated him as their own, even if they hated him, even if they wanted him to die and be forgotten, there was always one thing guaranteed within its pillars.
A chance at life. With conviction, he looked at Medeya and said, "They destroyed my home, and a bishop killed the one who helped me grow when all rejected me... I have nothing else to do. I must fight them."
Though she could not see him, Medeya envisioned his face, bearing pain and anger in the form of a clenched jaw and a drawn brows. She felt sad for him, reaching forward until she felt his hand, gaining Kane's attention as she held it.
"Kane," she reached into her dress, taking out a slender wand that carried with it a sense of regality and elegance, "take my wand. It has been passed down in the Starfall Manor for generations to each daughter... but I have no use for it."
Kane stared at it for a bit, staring with tense eyes and a trembling hand that slowly reached out for it, gently taking it out of her grasp. He held it up studying its smooth and lustrous ivory surface. A gold filigree gracefully spiralled around it, creating an enchanting pattern, all joining at the end as a beautiful ornamental tip. A singular jewel, as dark as the depths of the ocean, was embedded within the handle, adding on to its regal appearance, putting the crooked twig he used to shame.
"Are you sure, Medeya?" he asked, returning his gaze to her, wearing a light frown and a hanging jaw. "This is a family heirloom, I don't think I can take something like this from you."
"My purpose was to give it to..." She paused, pursing her lips as she averted her gaze, blushing as she wondered how to say it. "To give it to someone who would need it most."
To someone who would need it most? he repeated internally, wondering if that was really the reason. Of all people, I would need it most?
"Are you sure?" he asked, raising a brow as he looked at her, then to her hand that clung onto his tightly.
"Yes. It's been appraised already, so that's why I'm giving it to you." She returned her closed eyes to meet with his gaze, opening them to let him see her jade eyes once again. "I'm not an artificer, so sadly, I'm of no use... again."
Her implication of being useless struck him deep, like a blade stabbing right through his chest, for he doubted it completely. To him, she was not useless, she helped rekindle some form of self-esteem that he had long lost. Something that was precious to one's identity, returned through a simple act of kind words, now a memory he'd never forget, all in her image.
"You're not useless," he said, feeling heart skip a beat. Not to me. He wanted to say those words out loud, but he lacked the courage. "You helped me in a way that I never thought I could receive help for... Something that I was always insecure about that was never there to begin with." I was never the monster in my head... and now it's dead.
Medeya forced a light smile, letting a tear fall down her face, pondering on his words. "Even in that sense, you were of greater help than I was. You are the only one who didn't see my blindness as a curse... and, you've given me reason to open my eyes."
Kane nodded, looking back at the wand she passed onto him, understanding that now his mission was just to sake a thirst for revenge: It was to protect, no matter the cost.
"Kane, I wish you luck on your journey through Teivel," she continued, squeezing his thin hand. "Go and find a way to forge your very own staff with this wand. It has a powerful water enchantment, as determined by an artificer who'd long left with his soul... If you need a place to rest from the horrors of this world, come to the Starfall Manor, as much as you want. The doors will always be open to you."
***
Not long afterward, Kane would find himself standing outside the manor, staring back into the dark of the night, wishing that he could've stayed longer; that he could live a life free of the worries of Nefandyr.
He looked up at the moon, seeing that it had reached the centre of the sky, a brilliant white brooch hewn into the starry night. He took one look back at the Starfall Manor, finding Calus standing in front of the doors, bowing with his eyes closed.
Kane nodded once, before walking away, ready to go back to the tavern and rest.