Archmage of Alasta (1/2)

Volume 2: Archmage's Apprentice

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After Freyya leaves the dazed Haalfrin and the weird old man behind, she hops in her metal carriage and recites her own Fate Name. She has the feeling she should take a look at the Fate rune inscribed on her soul.

Ever since she comprehended this mortal's Fate Name, then shared her own with him… the wording on her Name has changed slightly.

Looking at her Name, some of the excessive wording and redundant phrases were cut out… and consequently, her powers have changed a little – they've become more potent.

The scary thing about sharing Names between two people – especially when you're a god, is that any change to your Name is a change in your inner nature.

'Before,' Freyya thinks, 'I was outright hostile towards war as a child, then I was apathetic towards it as a goddess – treating it like background noise, really.'

She looks down and thinks of Haalfrin's own interpretation of war in his Name. 'War… can be a little hopeful and noble to… depending on the people fighting it. This Haalfrin… he fought all his life to put bread on the clan's table. To him, fighting was a noble act of serving his family.'

Freyya tears up a little at this thought since she realizes this is how her father must have felt when he went off to war. He didn't want his village to be subjected to being war slaves to a foreign tyrant. He died with a smile, thinking he'd helped keep his family safe.

She knows this.

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Haalfrin wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, and he immediately smells the stench of old people. 'Must be the archmage's residence...,' he thinks.

Sure enough, Haalfrin looks to the side, and the archmage is sitting on a chair beside his bed, dressed in more casual robes than before while reading a book.

Seeing the boy is awake now, the old man bows his head slightly and introduces himself. 'Hello, friend! My name is Kalastros… though you'd probably recognize me as the Alastan Kingdom's archmage. You're probably wondering why I came to rescue you…'

Haalfrin coughs and says, 'Don't bother; I already know. You saw Das in a dream, and he told you to keep me safe.'

The Archmage reels back a little; he'd only told some of his close aides… and if Haalfrin already knows this… doesn't that mean somebody leaked out the news when they weren't supposed to? Does that mean one of his best men is a spy?

Of course, Haalfrin knows this because Freyya told him before… but Kanus got the news legitimately from a spy. The Archmage is mistaken about Haalfrin being told by a spy, but this mistake would still turn out a real traitor; no harm done!

Seeing the amiable smile on Archmage Kalastros's face and his genuine trust in his men, Haalfrin notes the alarm in the old man's face upon learning one of them is a traitor.

Men who are hurt badly by betrayal are usually good people…

Haalfrin's reasoning for this philosophy is this: Most people are only able to understand what they're familiar with, and what everyone's most familiar with is themselves. This is why, when trying to understand others, most people tend to see themselves in others, above all else.

A person who trusts easily USUALLY (but not always) has good reason to be trusted. A man who sees the good in others is usually good himself. A cynical and selfish person will see the evil in others as well more easily than the good.

'Thinking back to how I cursed this old man out earlier,' Haalfrin thinks, '…I feel kinda bad for that.'

Kalastros blinks a few times as if shaking a thought out of his head. He then opens his mouth and asks, "So… If it's not private at all… Can you tell me what business the god of old age has for you?"

Haalfrin smiles with a little embarrassment and answers succinctly, "Das wants to claim my soul, so he wants me to die of old age. Freyya keeps bothering me and interfering in small ways, so I assume she's trying to get me killed so she can claim my soul. That's all. As for why they're interested, it likely has something to do with how I could see the death gods since I was a child."

This seems to send the archmage into deep thought… and after coming to some conclusion, Kalastros pats the "boy" on the head and says, "Well, you get some rest. Ha... You just finished healing from the battle at Gahl Ridge, yet you're already injured again. Is this going to be a habit?"

"Probably."

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Once the archmage leaves and Haalfrin is alone again, the boy sits in his bed and dwells on his situation.

'Obviously,' Haalfrin thinks, 'the gods care a lot more about my soul than I thought; Das was willing to get the most powerful mage in the land to act like my bodyguard… With these gods trying to interfere with my life, I won't be able to die the way I'd like to.'

He curls his fist in frustration. 'I'm going to have to do SOMETHING about these meddlesome gods!' Haalfrin starts tapping his foot in thought, 'The first step is to get more information… and Freyya's the best bet for that.'

'But…,' Haalfrin wonders anxiously, 'will the crow goddess be cooperative and tell me what I want to know? I am guessing she wants me to die in battle too, so our goals might align… but at the same time, she's at least been ACTING like she's cooperating with Das on the surface… so there's a slight chance she might tip Das off.'

After mulling over his options, Haalfrin finally concludes, 'Well! Even if she's against me and tells Das, it's not like Das will be learning anything new; he's already figured out that I'm trying to die in battle.'

Thinking of Das's meddling in his life, Haalfrin can't help but feel angry in his heart. 'Hmm…,' Haalfrin thinks, 'I'll also need to find out more of his limitations; in what way can the death gods actually meddle with the mortal world? I'll have to focus on finding this out from Freyya when I talk to her next time.'

'Then,' Haalfrin smiles, 'I can use this knowledge to circumvent Das's area of control… and he won't be able to do anything about my death!'

Abruptly, Haalfrin holds up his fist and mutters aggressively, 'I'm just a mortal right now, but Das… I'll humbly accept your challenge!'

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Within an hour of waking up and having his first talk with the archmage, a plainly dressed maid comes in with a serving of food for him. They give him changes of clothes, and they're overall helpful, yet professionally keeping their mouths shut and avoiding small talk around him.

Later that day, the archmage comes by and asks, "I heard you had a powerful fear spell during the battle. I've seen feats like that in the Threshold by the Rehkin tribes… but I never thought a human could use a spell like that."

The archmage's inquiring tone sounds more like small talk than it does an urgent interrogation, so Haalfrin isn't made to feel uncomfortable by the questioning.

Kalastros pulls up a chair and sits next to Haalfrin while Haalfrin answers, "It has to do with my compatibility with Death. There's an invisible black energy that people's soul release when they die. I'm just able to control it to a degree and use it as a weapon. It's not really a spell… It's just a power that was written in my Name."

Hearing this the archmage gets a childishly excited look on his face, and he and immediately leans forward. "Boy! I mean, Sir Haalfrin… How about becoming my apprentice?"

Haalfrin's first instinct is to think, 'Archmage Kalastros... This man is hundreds of years old, and he's a legend that's protected the kingdom for nearly as long. I looked up to this man as a child, and there's nobody who doesn't know of him... This great man is far above me, and I'm just an untalented peasant who became a mage in his old age.'

Then, Haalfrin remembers the conversation Freyya helped him overhear between Kanus and one of his aides. 'Hmm…,' Haalfrin thinks, 'Kanus mentioned that since I have a spell written in my soul that the archmage would definitely try to take me in as an apprentice. There must be something special about having an innate spell like this… special enough to interest a god, perhaps?'

Haalfrin's eyes glaze over for a moment while he puts a few pieces together...