Chapter I

Tel’bestra

            “Stupid trees and their branches…,” A tall, rugged wolf hacked his way through the thick foliage of the Deepwoods with a heavy machete stained with the green blood of vines and leaves. The soil beneath his naked paws had become increasingly moist and soft, indicating that he was beginning to travel into the more swamp-like features of the woods. He grumbled to himself, knowing that it would take many hours of labor to get the mud and dirt out of his fur. It wouldn’t be visible due to his dark-ash fur, but the feeling of caked fur against his skin was irritable. The feline who said that mud was healthy for your skin could boil himself in the depths of The Burning Lake for all he cared! His peers would laugh at him if they knew that Zarr Ashen didn’t like getting mud in his fur.

            “I’m a mercenary for crying out loud. I don’t even know why I agreed to do this ridiculous task! Fetching a book… Hah! I’d rather be raiding a bandit’s camp or slaying some beast than traveling all this way to get a book for some spoiled noble.” Although against his usual tasks as a mercenary, Zarr couldn’t help but be enticed to take on the nobleman’s request when offered one-hundred and fifty gold coins. One-hundred and fifty! That would be more than enough to keep him going for two years! This book must be a pretty good read if the nobleman was willing to pay him that much gold, he thought. So from Edenclad did he travel west into the Deepwoods, the much dreaded area for travel to Tel’bestra. Not only did the woods become denser and wet the farther you traveled in, bandits favored it for their bases of operation. Merchants hired mercenaries such as the wolf all the time to escort their caravans safely between the two cities. It wasn’t too difficult of a task, and it paid good coin.

            After traveling for a good hour into the Deepwoods, the canopy above him slowly thickened and covered the last rays of sunlight that he would see for a while. He grabbed a torch from his pack, lighting it, and proceeded onwards. His client stated he wanted the book as soon as possible. If the wolf was to return early, then fifty more gold coins would be added to his reward. The fifty gold bonus was a great incentive to keep moving even if night covered the sky. Of course, in the Deepwoods one could never tell if the sun or moon reigned the sky. Eventually, Zarr came to a point where the ground descended a bit into what he could imagine would be more mud and thicker vines to cut through. He glanced behind him, only seeing darkness, and pressed on determined to get his task over with as soon as possible.

            It had been two hours of persistent walking before he settled himself down on a relatively dry patch of earth and set up camp. He decided against a fire for the smoke wouldn’t penetrate the canopy and bandits might be alerted to his location. Zarr could handle a few bandits, but he had no time to risk injuring himself and recovering any wounds. Climbing onto a tree, he laid out his sleeping bag on the widest branch and hung his possessions nearby on an adjacent branch. There was no way he was going to sleep on the ground with all that mud. He may be a mercenary, but he would rather keep himself clean and dry than try to be a man about sleeping down there.

            “Tel’bestra…not the most entertaining city…but it certainly has the best-smelling people!” He chuckled to himself, scanning his surroundings one last time, before letting sleep take over him.

            “Just relax Silnis…don’t panic…and don’t make a mistake! This is highly volatile and dangerous ingredients that you’re working with! You don’t want to create an explosion or toxic fumes accidentally…. I can’t imagine what the professors will say or do to me if that happens!”

            Pacing nervously outside in the corridor was a silver-haired human boy. His hands were clasped firmly together near his chest as he completed his twentieth lap of walking in circles. Brilliant rays of sunlight entered in through the openings of one side of the corridor, and a gentle breeze rustled with the human’s hair every so often. Silnis stopped himself and took a deep breath, banishing any thought of his exam going wrong. He was one of ten students to be in the top of the class! Not only that, but he excelled particularly well in alchemy over his peers! This was the Alchemy exam after all. He could do this! With confidence he turned and faced the door to the examination room, patiently waiting for his name to be called.

            No later than five minutes did he have to wait before the door opened and the previous examinee exited the room with a disappointed face. Silnis spared them a look of sympathy, but he wasted no time and entered the room right as his name was being called. In the grand examination hall he saw the panel of three professors, all of which he knew, with a simple table of alchemical ingredients set out a few feet in front of them. Immediately he recognized many, if not all, of the ingredients contained in the vials, flasks, and trays.

            “Last, but not least, Silnis Hearthglen,” one of the professors said with a grin.

            He smiled, bowing courteously before the judges, before taking his place behind the testing table. The professors were quickly filling in the grading forms and Silnis took that time to go through all the ingredients before him and predict what concoctions he would be expected to create. There were hundreds of possibilities, but he needed only to show his true skill with twenty of them. Feeling mentally prepared now, Silnis was ready to begin!

            “Whenever you are ready, please create a small sample of dragon gel and state its properties and uses.” One of the professors asked.

            “Dragon gel?” Silnis thought to himself, “That’s too simple of a recipe. Easy!”

            With quick, but steady, hands Silnis grabbed and mixed the necessary ingredients to create the desired substance. The exam was not timed, though if it was it wouldn’t have been too much of problem for him. What mattered to the professors was that the final product was of high-quality and prepared with the correct techniques and ingredients. Silnis knew that the professors were watching every movement of his hands to judge for accuracy. One misstep would result in a point or more lost! He could not afford to make even one mistake! He had been studying for ten years for this exam. Silnis would never forgive himself if he passed this exam with anything less than perfect!

            In a matter of ten minutes he presented a sealed flask of clear gel. Silnis stepped forward from the table and gently placed the substance before the professors. He waited both patiently and anxiously as all three took their time examining the flask and whispering comments between one another. When he felt that they were finished, he steadied himself and prepared to present the information about the dragon gel.

            “Dragon gel, a highly flammable substance capable of producing temperatures of up to 300°F. When exposed to oxygen in the air the gel will combust in three seconds, but if exposed to fire it will combust instantaneously. The flames it produces can burn for up to five hours regardless of the amount of gel. The gel and flames can only be neutralized by depriving them of oxygen such as exposure to other gases or containing the substance in an airtight container. Dragon gel has few practical uses due to its hazards, but it can be used as an effective substitute for wood or coal to start small fires.”

            Silnis breathed in a small breath, confident that he had spoken more than enough about the substance. Again, he waited for the professors to grade him before he would be given his next task.

            “Well done. Next, procure….”

            As far as Zarr knew, he was getting closer to Tel’bestra. The canopy above him was starting to recede and allow some light back into the darkness of the woods. The ground had also started to become less muddy and more solid with grass to hold it all together. He was particularly proud of himself for making it through the Deepwoods within only a day’s and a half time. He’d like to see those merchant caravans accomplish the same thing!

            In only a few hours would he arrive in Tel’bestra! First order of business when he would get there—find a room to stay and get something to eat. Knowing Tel’bestra, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Though the city was widely known for its schools and libraries, its buildings were some of the most beautiful and mind-boggling! Some of the buildings were constructed with revolutionary techniques that continuously out-performed the former styles. From what Zarr had heard traveling the world, the felines at Luxnox have been fiercely competing with the humans. Though at the pace the humans were producing new designs, Zarr knew it would take decades or a miracle for Luxnox to rival Tel’bestra in architectural beauty. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the thought. Luxnox was already competing with his homeland of Fros in theatre arts and he was confident Fros had the upper hand as well.

            “Those felines…always acting like they don’t give a damn, but when in fact that actually do!” Zarr said, grinning widely. He recalled a time when a band of felines had sailed into the harbor of Fros and performed at the Howling Hall. It would have been a marvelous performance if the felines had just raised their voices a bit higher. Living in the relatively warm climate of the Twilight Plains, the felines weren’t trained to perform in the cold of Fros. Where their voices would have been heard loud and clear in Luxnox, they were but mere whispers in Fros.

            “Hold it right there!” an unfamiliar voice commanded him abruptly. He stopped and glanced behind him, seeing a lanky human brandishing a dagger at him. The human was a young man, looking to be barely of age. His brown hair shined with excess oil and was tied back in a messy tail. He only reached up to Zarr’s chest at his height.

            “I don’t have time to spend on you, kid,” Zarr said not wanting to waste time with an amateur mugger. He only took two steps before he felt the dagger being pressed up against his back. He grinned.

            “Give me everything you have! If you won’t…I…,” The boy threatened, his words falling off at the end as he quickly thought of what he would do to the wolf if he didn’t obey.

            “Or you’ll what? You’ll kill me? Boy, I’ve fought bigger men than you. Heck, I’ve gotten into fist fights with humans stronger than you! What do you think you and your dagger are going to do to me? Huh?” Zarr had turned himself to face the boy and look him in the eyes. There was a clear sense of fear in the human’s eyes, but it was kept behind a wall of stubborn will and false security.

            “I-I warned you, you dog! I’ll kill you!” Zarr was amused now. He decided he’d play around with the human before taking care of him. Taking a slow step back, Zarr held his arms out and exposed his body for easy targeting. He wasn’t wearing much besides a leather vest and trousers. He liked to travel light after all.

            “If you think you have what it takes…then go ahead…kill me!”

            The human hesitated, never having a victim willingly let himself be open to attack. Not sure what to do, the boy decided to finish off the wolf quick before he changed his mind. Gripping his dagger, the boy charged at the wolf with the blade aimed at his heart. He was only a feet within striking before the wolf dodged out of the way. Zarr had seen the attack coming just from the way the boy had posed himself. All it took was a simple side step and that left the boy vulnerable to any counter strike. He didn’t want to kill the kid, that’d be too cruel. With a swift knock to the head the boy fell to the ground unconscious within a second. Zarr checked the boy’s vital signs just make sure he didn’t actually kill him. When everything checked out well, Zarr dragged the boy’s limp body behind a tree and laid him against the trunk. He may be mercenary, but that didn’t mean he had to be heartless.

            Zarr was about to continue on the path again when the nicker of a horse drew his attention to some tall shrubbery just off to his side. Was it another bandit? An equine? He might have to put up an actual fight if so. Drawing his sword, Zarr cautiously stalked his way towards the bush, careful not to make any noise. With one arm he pushed aside the shrub gently, prepared for an ambush, but was surprised to see a feral horse looking at him.

            “Just a feral horse…,” he muttered, sheathing his sword. The horse must have belonged to the human. Zarr, seeing no harm in doing so, decided he would take the horse and make his travel to Tel’bestra swifter than on foot. Untying the reins from a branch, Zarr discarded of the human’s belongings on the ground before climbing on. With a gentle nudge of the foot and a pull of the reins, Zarr steered the horse towards Te’bestra. With his newly acquired steed, he would make it into the city just after lunch!

            “Congratulations, Silnis, you passed with a perfect score!”

            After at least three hours of rigorous work Silnis finally achieved what he had studied all his life for. He was now officially a Master Alchemist! His body and mind, worn and tired from all the work he had done, gave one last burst of energy for him to embrace his professors in a hug. It was highly unprofessional, but Silnis nor his professors cared at this point. They all gave him their best wishes before he left the room and ran down the corridor with unbound energy. It was well past noon, but time was the least of Silnis’ worries! The grand foyer of the Academy of Science was sparsely filled with the few students who still had evening classes to attend. All of them gave surprised glances when Silnis literally jumped half way down the flight of stairs and shoved the main doors open. Silnis continued to run, not caring if anyone thought of him as strange or a criminal on the run from the authorities!

            After weaving his way through the many streets of the city, Silnis arrived to his family’s home sweating and panting like mad. The gardeners were busy trimming at the hedges and planting flowers, but they all stopped for a moment to acknowledge his arrival. One in particular, an older woman with salt and pepper hair, set her gloves down and hurried over to Silnis.

            “Young master! Are you all right?” she checked over his body for any signs of injury, but found none. Instead she was greeted to the brightest smile she had ever seen from her years of serving in the family.

            “Oh, I’m more than all right! I’m fantastic! I passed Elinor!” he exclaimed, jumping up and down while grasping her old hands. She was thoroughly confused.

            “Passed what Master Silnis?” she inquired. Silnis stopped for a moment, showing a face of shock for a brief second, before reverting back to his overjoyed expression.

            “I’m a Master Alchemist now! I passed the Alchemy exam!” Before Elinor could give her congrats to Silnis, he ran off towards the mansion just as fast as he did coming in. She simply smiled before returning to her work, shaking her head while chuckling at the young master's child-like nature.

            Silnis nearly collided into a maid, but he swiftly dodged under the stack of towels she was carrying and searched around for his parents. He needed to tell them of the great news! At this time of day there were only three possible rooms where they both might be in at the same time: the library, the family room, or the office. He didn’t want to waste any precious time by running back and forth through the house looking for them in the rooms! He quickly grabbed the attention of a nearby servant and asked them for the location of his parents.

            “They would be in the Library, young master,” the servant replied, bowing respectfully before carrying on with their duties. Wasting no time, Silnis climbed the stairs to the second floor and dashed down the luxurious hallways until he arrived at a large set of doors that led into the library. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door before turning the door knob. His father and mother were quietly reading to themselves by the cold fireplace, only glancing up when they heard the door open.

            “Silnis, dear, is everything all right? You’re sweating all over your school uniform!” his mother asked, setting her book aside on a table. Silnis, despite trying to remain calm and collected, couldn’t contain his excitement and told his parents about the results of his Alchemy exam. His mother beamed with pride as she ran over and embraced her son in a hug, disregarding the stench of sweat and moist clothing. His father embraced him as well, smiling just as widely as his mother.

            “My son, a Master Alchemist!”

            The three of them talked ecstatically about how the exam went and what concoctions Silnis had to create. Silnis went into great detail about everything, knowing that his parents loved hearing about his academics. A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and a servant girl poked her head in while bowing her head.

            “Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Hearthglen, but lunch is being served,” she said before leaving and closing the door.

            “Why don’t we go eat and celebrate this wondrous occasion?” his father suggested with glee. With that said the family moved themselves down to the dining room where platters of steaming, delicious food were being set down on the table. Silnis’ family wasn’t very large with only four members consisting of his father, mother, his older brother, Alec, and himself. Knowing Alec, Silnis could guess he was busy training in some new recruits for the city guard. Not many people were willing to become soldiers in the city that emphasized education over a military, though that didn’t mean Tel’bestra was defenseless.

            After a delightful meal, and an hour of casual chatting in the family room, Silnis excused himself from his parents and left the estate for an evening stroll through the city. The cool breeze from earlier still danced gently through the evening air. The city streets had begun to grow silent as many people were now beginning to return home and rest until the next day. It was this time of day that Silnis enjoyed the most when the tranquility of the evening sun and sky carried itself throughout the world. He took a moment to look high above him towards the towering monument that dwarfed all the other buildings in Tel’bestra. The orange glow of the setting sun shined beautifully on the pristine, white marble of the monument. It was the largest of the Seven Spires, and the focal point from which the city built itself around. The other six spires lined the perimeter of the city, built into the walls, into the shape of a hexagon. Each spire was constructed of white marble, but the apex of each spire was decorated with a different type of gemstone: ruby, emerald, topaz, sapphire, amethyst, and aquamarine for the perimeter, and diamond for the central spire. They were one of Tel’bestra’s greatest treasures.

            “Do you know where the nearest inn is by chance?” A stranger suddenly approached Silnis with a question. The human turned his eyes back down to be greeted by a tall wolf seated upon a feral horse. The wolf had dark-ash fur and was dressed quite plainly. However, Silnis noticed that the wolf carried a sheathed sword on his back along with a leather pack. By his rough appearance, Silnis could assume that the wolf was a fighter and had been in some battles. Despite how intimidating the wolf looked, Silnis would not deny him aid.

            “There’s one just two streets back there,” Silnis directed the wolf, gesturing back down street he had walked from, “It should be pretty vacant this time of the year so you shouldn’t have to worry about finding a room.” The wolf glanced in the direction Silnis had pointed, peering his eyes and glimpsing the sign of the inn from afar.

            “Thank you,” the wolf said.

            “You’re very welcome.” The two bowed their heads before the wolf carried on down the street, glancing back at Silnis with a small grin. Silnis smiled back, offering a small wave before resuming his evening walk.

            “Wolves, so much friendlier than felines…,” Silnis muttered to himself, recalling his time spent in Luxnox. He banished the thought, not wanting to recall bad memories on a happy day.

            Zarr heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he plopped down on his bed, enjoying just how fluffy and comfortable it was. The humans sure knew how to make a wolf feel like he was living in luxury! A platter of hot food had been delivered and set down on a small table adjacent to the bed, awaiting for the wolf to fill his famished stomach. For now, Zarr wanted a moment to just relax after having traveled all this way to reach Tel’bestra. Having the horse he borrowed from his mugger certainly made things easier towards the end, but nonetheless it was still a journey.

            Night had fallen over the human city and Zarr was enjoying his meal as he watched the streets from his sixth story balcony. The Diamond Spire, as it was widely known, towered over the rest of the city as a testament to the human’s marvelous architectural and engineering abilities. Of course, all those diamonds had to have come from somewhere! Zarr envied the humans a bit for their alliance with the dragons of Armore. They practically bought the diamonds from the dragons at half the price any other kingdom would pay! Fros had some economic benefits with Armore, but not as many as Tel’bestra did. The dragons and wolves were always at odds for more land in the chilly snow dunes of northern Omnis.

            As much as Zarr wanted to stay a bit longer in Tel’bestra, he knew he was on a deadline if he wanted a bonus from the nobleman who hired him. Tomorrow morning he would start his search for the much desired book and leave as soon as he found it. It was a bit of a disappointment for him as he really enjoyed the scent of humans. Though they often washed away their natural scents, it would always return in equal strength in an hour. Humans also produced an unimaginable amount of pheromones when they were aroused, something only the other species could detect. Zarr didn’t openly share it, but he has had his fair share of rutting with some humans. The cloud of pheromones from the humans would always rile him up enough for at least two more rounds. He was getting a bit aroused just thinking about those past encounters. Perhaps before he left the city he would find some willing human to spend the night with and relieve his pent-up lust? He would have to consider it.

            “What are you doing out this late?!” he heard from below him. Oh, this would be interesting!

            Of all the people he had to bump into on his way home it had to be his older brother. Of course, Silnis was expecting to see Alec at some point during the night, but not like this. He also knew that his older brother was quite strict on the city’s curfew and possible muggings. Basically, Alec was just the over-protective brother who wanted to see Silnis home before ten o’clock where it was close to impossible to be mugged. Silnis appreciated Alec’s concern for his well-being, but sometimes he took it too far.

            “I was just taking a walk around the city Alec! Besides, I was just heading home right now,” Silnis explained, about to walk past his brother and escape any unnecessary conversation. Alec, on the other and, had other ideas as he grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him back.

            “Do I have to tell you again? It’s dangerous out here in the night! You know just as well as anyone else in Tel’bestra that you could get mugged and killed! Think of what I would have to tell Mother and Father if you disappeared one night and never returned!? They would worry themselves to their graves!” Silnis only groaned and rolled his eyes, having heard this lecture a plethora of times in the past. He pulled his arm out of his brother’s grip before returning the favor.

            “Yes, I understand the dangers of being out at night, but I’ll be fine Alec! It’s still three hours before curfew and people are still walking the streets. Besides, even if I do get mugged, I can handle a few thugs myself,” Silnis said. Alec could only grumble to himself, crossing his arms as he recalled two years ago when Silnis had been mugged on his way from the academy but poured acid on his assaulters that ate a good portion of their skin. Silnis had been fortunate that the court considered it as an act of self-defense and pressed no charges. Still…it was quite the stressful time for Alec.

            “Let’s just get you home…,” Alec sighed, taking his brother’s arm again and leading the way. Above them, watching their little argument, Zarr had recognized Silnis as the one who had helped him earlier in the evening. The wolf had noticed, to his surprise, that Silnis had silver hair. Never had Zarr seen a human with such an unusual hair color, but of course it could have been dyed. It was an interesting sight nonetheless.

            On their way home, Silnis informed Alec about passing his Alchemy exam and officially becoming a Master Alchemist. His brother said a simple word of congratulations and nothing more. Silnis simply brushed aside Alec’s lack of enthusiasm as his typical personality ever since he enlisted into the military. He had to be so serious and uptight about everything now. No longer was he the older brother who Silnis could crack a few jokes with or depend on to bail him out of trouble. Even celebrations like birthdays or holidays Alec couldn’t lighten up a bit. It annoyed Silnis, but he didn’t want to confront Alec about it or risk starting a serious argument that he didn’t want to deal with.

            Once home, the two only glanced at each other before parting ways. Silnis let out a frustrated sigh once Alec was out of sight. Not wanting to brood on Alec any longer, Silnis went to his room and got himself ready for bed despite how early it was into the night. He sat on his bed with his balcony doors opened to let in the cool, night air. Several books sat beside him as he leisurely read through the pages and read aloud some words.

            “Fros…home to the wolves…temperature averaging about -12°F…city built into large glacier…Howling Hall is center for fine arts, but most noticeably performance arts….”

            Closing the book with an audible thud, Silnis walked out to his balcony and gazed over the city. His family’s estate was built on an artificial hill so he could see over a majority of the buildings. Of course, the Seven Spires would always be the highest no matter how tall of a hill was built! Silnis suddenly thought about the wolf from earlier, the warrior-looking one. Not many wolves came to Tel’bestra, and the few who did were from noble houses sending their sons or daughters to be schooled here. That wolf definitely didn’t look like a nobleman, especially with his sword and ruggedness. “

“Perhaps he was some kind of mercenary…? Wolves do tend to take up professions similar to a mercenary if they aren’t already in Fros’ military. Otherwise they’d become bandits with the whole pack mentality…,” Silnis thought to himself, “Bah…why I am even thinking about this? He’s just a stranger.”

Closing the doors behind him, Silnis climbed under his blanket and closed his eyes for a good night’s rest. Tomorrow he’d have to get up early and go to the Omni Archive to apply for his license as an official Master Alchemist. Receiving the title from the exam was good and all, but he needed the license in order to legally practice with more…dangerous…substances. After all, life’s no fun without some danger!

As night fell over Tel’bestra and all went to sleep, shadowed figures hustled themselves into the darkest corners of the city….

“Any word from the Mistress?”

“None…but time will tell. The messenger departed not too long ago. He should arrive by tomorrow night.”

“And for now?”

“Go about as normal. The Tel’bestran Order has been wary, but have not caught on to our presence.”

“Very well….”

“We shall meet here again when the messenger arrives. Keep your ears open for the signal. The Mistress’ order will be revealed then and we will act immediately.”

With no further word the group of shadows dissipated as quickly as they had formed. Only one figure remained as they gazed up at the Diamond Spire, grinning with malicious intent, before leaving without a trace of their presence.