True Mastery

As the door to the headmaster's chamber opened, the acrid scent of something unknown wafted out of the room down into the halls.

"Headmaster! I've brought them!" Selene said, spotting an old grey man tending to a peculiar white tree, its trunk twirling like a knot into a fine point. She tilted her head, seeing he was not alone. 

Beside him was an elvish young woman with long, minty-colored hair knitted into a tail that hung down her right shoulder. In her arms, a binder pressed tightly against her chest. She turned then, catching sight of Zyila. Marveling at the tender features, moon-colored skin, and sapphire-like eyes. 

'She's like a doll,' Professor Avara thought. She bowed. "It's an honor, my lady, Zyila Ilva Lovisa. Have you fed?"

Zyila crouched behind the Silver Devil, tears forming in her eyes. 

A mournful smile tugged at Avara's lips. The girl had been spotless, but the damage to the mind had been great. 

With a wry smile, the Headmaster patted her shoulder. He turned to Selene and said," I thank you for your hard work, Professor." his gaze slid to Zariels, measuring the boy with narrowed eyes. 

'Nothing', Augustine thought. Despite his Nine Stars, his enhanced perception trained through the seasons of centuries on his side. He felt nothing. 

Every creature bore purpose in their lives. Driven by natural instincts that demanded life. Yet the boy didn't. 

'He feels so vaperious. Is he alive?' Augustine wondered, his eyes twinkling with great interest. 

"Welcome." He said, the lines of his aged face rising into a regal smile. " I am the Headmaster, Augustine Wright." 

"I'm Aurelia!" The little golden-eyed child shouted.

"That you are. Aurelia Morningstar." 

Aurelia pridefully giggled. She elbowed Zariel. "Introduce yourself." 

Despite not wanting to, Zariel studied the grey man, finding the acrid air emanating from him. From his hands, he was using to clip the leaves. 

He tilted his gaze towards the strange white tree. "A spell without a spell,' he muttered, trailing his gaze towards the man. 

In the midst of the strange plant, If he wished to speak his name, he would have to speak his true name. A name that carried a heavyweight in any world. The name Zariel was cursed. Once spoken by those not shrouded by his magic, he was bound to place them beneath the eyes of a vengeful God. 

He chose silence, lifting his finger, spelling out the name with nodes of Arcana: Malos Blackwater.

'So the name is not his true name,' Augustine thought. And he said, "Forgive the inconvenience, but Truth is king here. Neither I nor you can lie. The Oak of Viscarto will not allow it. Though I thought no one else knew of it." 

"I see. This Oak of Viscarto is quite strong. To touch the soul is quite a feat. How rare." 

Augustine grinned. "I found it fifty years ago beneath the crescent moon on a clear lake that reflected a full moon. Strange, isn't it? It's said the Goddess of the Moon blessed it. One cannot lie before its aroma. I was just tending to it when you guys arrived. I pray your trip was a safe one?"

A hum of intrigued escaped him. He wondered why such a man needed such a plant, though the answer seemed just as obvious. 

It was because he could. 

Augustine Wright was old. Carrying on for multiple decades. In his youth, he'd collected many artifacts scattered throughout the world.

"Hmmm." Zariel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He wondered if this was planned. If so, it would be foolish. If not, then all those who entered his office are knowingly allowing themselves to be bound by truth. 

"What do you think of my Academy?" Said Augustine Wright kindly. 

"It's so big!" Aurelia raised a hand to say. "How long did it take to make?" 

"Hundreds of years. My dear. I'd even go as far as to say thousands. Even now, we are still building. In perhaps another thousand years, we might finish construction of an orbiting ring around the planet to help enhance the purity of all Arcana." 

Aurelia was spellbound, her beady eyes sparkling with wonder. 

The old Headmaster laughed. "Now then. Mr. Blackwater, I hear you are quite the Transfiguration master. Might I ask what it is you intend to teach?" 

"Truth." The boy traced a finger through the air, collecting bits of the arcana that glistened quite brightly. "This place might just about double if not triple the rate of one Arcane absorption. It's the perfect place to cultivate and learn." he glanced at Aurelia, shifting his attention back to Augustine. "If the students have the mind, then I'll teach everything I can. I've no issue. After all, such knowledge is before us all. One merely needs to see it." 

And that had given him an idea. 

The Weave had always been so convoluted and dense, lined with so many strings intertwined with one another, he wondered if he could reduce them from his line of sight. 

The general idea made him grin. 

"I see," Augustine Wright responded mildly, not quite believing the boy fully. Yet the aroma around him told him otherwise. How many Arcanists were willing to teach their students everything? To give away their hard research for free? 

"What about the secret to transfiguration without a Transmutation Circle?" 

"Not really a secret. There are three ways to do it. One is to create A Transmutation Circle in the Mind. The other is to—" 

From the halls, he came barging in with dark, sullen eyes. "He truly is a boy!" Professor Vortis snapped. 

Professor Vortis Rivers was a lordling through and through, armed in thick black and white robes fitted with various arcane stones around the sleeve and chest. And, like all Tuvarians, he carried bronze-colored skin. He had bright hazel eyes, cornrows treading down his head over a handsome face. 

"Mind your tone, Professor Vortis," said Selene.

"I shall mind what I mind." He said, studying the boy the size of an orc shit. He sneered. "How old are you, boy?" 

Zariel lifted a single brow toward the Professor. And proceeded to ignore him. "As I was saying. The second method is the hardest, but the best method was to brand the mind with the true understanding of Transfiguration. Though looking at your faces, I'm sure you don't understand. The third method is to brand the bones or flesh with a Transmutation Circle." 

 "Brand the Soul?" muttered Augustine. "What do you mean?" 

"It means to have such an understanding of a fundamental Transmutation Circle. By doing so, the knowledge will integrate itself into the soul. It's called True Mastery. When one grasps the 'true' fundamentals, it will become a part of the soul. Hence the term Branded to the Soul." 

Professor Vortis gaped. "That… That's not possible." 

"Oh?" Zariel glanced at him, studying him for a second, and smiled. "Based on your spirit, you're a swordsman. Master stages, right? When you entered that realm. Did you not feel you're will become sharp, much like a blade? Did you not feel your vision heighten to a fine point? That is True Mastery." 

The chambers turned to silence, with none willing to speak. It had been a close secret Professor Vortis was a Sword Master. Aside from the Headmaster and the higher-ups in the Tulvarian Kingdom, no one knew or had been able to tell otherwise.

His face went red as he turned to the Headmaster, but Augustine shook his head, indicating he had not told him. And his disbelief turned to horror. 

'To be able to tell from my Spirit alone,' Professor Vortis thought. 'What a monster!'

"So you walk the path of a Battle Arcanist," said Seline, smiling a wicked smile. "A Sword Master… How rare." 

"What of it," snapped Vortis. He sneered. "That is my business, not any of yours." 

"We'll see." 

Professor Avara spoke then, "Please, no fighting. We've two students before us," she said, glancing between Aurelia and Zyila. 

"I agree," said the Headmaster mildly. "We needn't shame ourselves anymore before our students now. Malos will be in charge of the first and second years. Professor Vortis will handle the rest. Selene, might you bring Malos to his room? And Aurelia and Zyila to their dorm?" 

"Headmaster… Don't you think you're being a tad hasty? The boy is what, Seven, nearly eight? Should we not wait until he is of age? Most don't start at trinity until they are Ten." 

"You two seem like you've got a lot to talk about," Zariel cut in. "Selene, why don't we leave? I'm getting tired of standing." 

Aurelia mischievously giggled. "Aurleia could lift you up like a princess if Dumb-Dumb is tired."

 He flicked her off. 

Selene giggled. "Alright, come along, kiddos." Herding them out the door, she glanced at Vortis with such a bloodthirsty stare the man whirled to meet her blood-filled eyes. But by then, she had shifted her eyes back onto the kids. 

"Ah! I almost forgot. You two need to be sorted." 

Aurelia and Zyila both looked at the countess with curious eyes. 

"We have the House of the Golden Stags, the House of the Ironbloods, and lastly, the House of the Wolf. When you join one of these houses, it'll determine where you will live. And who you'll associate with." 

"What about dumb-dumb?" 

"Professors don't necessarily take sides. Though we have favorites."