Chapter 12 Shadow

Shadow sighed in frustration. A few days ago, she had received instructions to head out ahead of schedule to meet up with the young charge that she was assigned to protect. The problem was the tracking device tied to the child would only work in a certain radius as the many tons of dirt and materials blocked out the signal sent. The reason she was frustrated however is because the charge had gone missing from his planned route and now, she would have to do whatever she could to find him, or it would be her head.

Her Sun elves didn’t need any more tragedies to befall their family their numbers were already low as it was. If she had the power and resources, she would move her family deeper into the forest. If she had the power, she would never let them look down upon her clan again. The Oath made her chest tighten and she felt the tracking stone shift. Her charge had arrived.

It was weird although there were a few caverns into the second level of the Catacombs. There was a massive, long dead magma pocket that most if not all caverns led too.

The boy had appeared behind her far from the direction he was expected. She would have to hurry and get into position to make their meeting seem natural.

Tara brandished her sword as she faced her father determination evident in her eyes. Akash was already moving sweeping his sword towards their father’s legs and Tara moved in quickly to support her brother. She stabbed her sword forward aiming for her father’s crotch just like her older brother taught her. Currently the twins were 3 and had been training with their father just after the day their brother disappeared.

Although the twins weren’t told why their brother went away, they knew it had something to do with their father. What confirmed it was their mother’s treatment towards the man. A few weeks ago, their mother had destroyed the castle and much of the surroundings. At the time the twins were having lessons with their teacher Rue when a scream rang out. Their teacher instantly cast protective spells around them and the twins although frighten remained calm and proceeded to get closer to Rue.

“Teacher?” Akash turned to her questioning.

Rue just shook her head and pulled the children close to her body while her senses spread out. A frown appeared on her face after she realized the source of the scream.

“That sounded like mothers voice.”

Rue glanced down at Tara and gave her a smile before refocusing. The twins were perceptive and very fast learners taking after their older brother.

“Keala please, calm down the boy is ok.

Lord Vasu voice rang out over the city and Rue frown. This was not good, not good at all. She quickly wrapped the children up in even more of her magic and started to move out of their study.

“Boy? Calm down? That is our SON!”

Keala’s voice whispered across the city shouting the last bit and Rue knew there would be big trouble. She just hoped her, and the children weren’t implicated by this. The power that a rank 2 being welded could change the landscape. If not, careful they could even affect the entire continent. That's why most would move to the boundary. Although most wouldn’t be this strong at Keala’s age. Breaking through the ranks took decades for most people and Keala was still considered very young for a magi human. Young, foolish, and powerful did not mix yet Rue was only a teacher and not someone in charge. She could only hope she instilled the right values into her students to hope they didn’t turn out like their mother.

“Please.”

Vasu voice came out in a strain and Rue knew he would not last long in holding his wife at bay. She moved quickly grabbing the children and teleported outside to the inner-city barracks. Not a moment too soon as she felt the raw power Keala welded. Her eyes widen in astonishment and her heart rate went through the roof.

“Holy shit.”

Those words pulled the guards who were all paying attention to the inner city to her, and she gave out a small weak wave. She wasn’t exactly sure what Keala did but whenever that type of magical power was thrown around the consequences would not be good.

“Lady Rue.”

A guard captain, one that she had taught long ago came up to her with concern apparent.

“I’m getting too old for this shit.”

The children just stare in the direction of the castle with wide eyes. Even they felt it and they’ve barely begun their path to power.

“Listen to me children. You must never weld your power like that.”

Rue made sure to look into both of their eyes to get the meaning across. Power like that was dangerous and in the wrong hands catastrophic.

*

Since that incident the twins went into their training with twice as much motivation and ferocity. Surprising even their father.

Dodging their last attacks. He held his hand up for them to stop.

“You’ve done well. It is enough for today. You can take the rest of the day off,” he said before disappearing.

Akash sighed and dropped to the ground exhausted. They had recently broken into the first tier and getting used to their newfound strength took a toll on them. Akash studied his sister. She looked exactly like him except more feminine. Both children had dark hair with the tips being red just like their brother. The children also inherited their mothers features when it came to their eyes except this time instead of random white dots the children’s eyes each looked like a spiral galaxy.

On the day they were born an apparition appeared in the sky and bedroom of their delivery. Sometimes the gods paid extra attention to their followers and the ones that shine the brightest were nurtured and rewarded. This attention would usually appear in the form of an apparition in the sky the day of their birth. The entire western region was covered in starlight for an hour even though they were born in midday.

“Do you think we’ll ever catch up?”

Akash tilted his head at his sister. He understood what she was questioning but was confused at the reason why the question came out in the first place.

“Yes, but it will be hard. Our brother is a genius. The type of genius they said our grandfather Apollo was. The way he’s moving through the tiers is faster than us and were supposed to be prodigies.”

“They call us the star prodigies, but I don’t feel like one.”

Akash laid back on the grassy field and looked up towards the 2 suns. The midday heat beat down upon them and Akash closed his eyes in pleasure.

“I don’t know what they had big brother do, but I’m going to follow in his footsteps.”

Tara looked at her brother in surprise. Usually, she was the headstrong one amongst the two. It surprised her that her brother would be the one to say something like that. She smiled and used her brothers lap as a pillow as both studied the sky. Looking for hints of starlight.

We had arrived.

I opened my eyes up to a vast cavern with both stalactites and stalagmites rising from their respective areas. The ground was covered in a soft green glowing moss and different critters made themselves known by their calls. The area was huge easily able to fit cities into here. We came out one of the many holes that dotted the walls of the cavern.

I gently climbed down Kalix and the stalagmites in front of me appeared like giant trees in a forest. On the ceiling the stalactites seemed to concentrate individually in a blue glow before releasing a single drop. This place seemed alive. Not just by the sounds of the forest but the cavern itself. Like I was in a living breathing creature. A childlike wonder overtook my mind and I just stared in amazement for a few minutes.

“Beautiful.”

‘Isn’t it? Welcome Aegis, to the Everchange Forest. The gateway into level 2. I will be leaving now that I have set you back on the right path.’

“Thank you for saving me!”

With a playful tone Kalix replied. ‘Oh, whatever do you mean?’

Then she was gone. If not for the daughter who was still on my shoulder, I would have thought it was all an illusion. Although Kalix didn’t admit it I was still certain this mother daughter pair saved me from certain death. For what reason only time would tell as I traveled with Malix. From here on out I would encounter unknown creatures and the undead. In the last tidbit of the survival guide it warned me of the dangers to come to get the reader to purchase the next volume. Even if I wouldn’t know what type of creature I would face. My heartbeat in excitement and anticipation at the adventure to come.

‘S-So why are you traveling alone? Do you mind if I travel with you? I’ve always wanted to see the human lands. I’ve heard stories from my mother, but stories are stories nothing like the real thing. The tales of your heroes sound so cool. I-’

I laughed as Malix droned on and on. Now that her mother was gone, she seems to become a complete chatterbox and with excitement in my heart and a partner on my shoulder I proceeded into the Everchange Forest.

*

Shadow swiftly moved through the forest gaining on her quarry which seemed to move at a lackluster pace. Well lackluster for her standards. The Everchange Forest was massive and a tiered would take months of traveling to travel the distance from one end to another. Shadow hoped her charge was at least in the 3rd tier so they could decrease the 3 months of travel time into weeks. She was hoping to complete this mission within 2 years although a full 5 were given out. As a rank one being moving such distances could happen in days and regardless of the charge’s success or failure, she would be getting paid either way.

She slowed down her pace as she grew nearer to the young boy before stopping and taking after her moniker she hid in the shadows. She observed a young boy that appeared to be just entering his teenage adolescence. He stood around 170cm and had dreadlocked hair just touching his shoulders. The hair itself was black with the ends being a fiery red. His skin was smooth without blemishes and was a dark brown in color. Lastly were his eyes. The same eyes of her employer, eyes pitch black with white dots spread randomly. This was her charge. Slightly taller than she expected but the tracking stone pointed straight at him.

Shadow drew back and looked for suitable creatures to set up an ambush with. She would be playing the role of a damsel in distress to ingratiate herself to the boy. From there she would offer herself as a hand for hire and follow the boy along his journey. She would also claim to be on a pilgrimage to Redcoomshi further solidifying her claim. With a smile on her face, she chose a few beasts and locked them in place before changing her attire and waiting for her charge to get close.

Keala’s energy churned as she struggled to get control over herself. She explored her mind and body to recognize the problem in her cultivation. Once she found the source, she focused her mind on calming the unstable element. She had recently broken through into a rank 2 being right before she had her first child. This was the breakthrough of the body as her family focused on magic in their cultivation first. Which it was why it came as a surprise to her when her little shield disappeared, and the instability needed to be expressed.

Keala was mad yes, mad at her husband and his family for imposing stupid rules on their descendants for them to become the next head of the family. She was also mad at herself for not forcing more protections on her child. The Hukku Clan had many far-reaching abilities and options when it came to getting something done yet Keala did not want to rely on her clan. She had lost the fight for the throne after all.

Keala couldn’t say she wasn’t still bitter about the loss however that loss gave her the opportunity to become a mother to someone who Keala could see shaking the Empire. At the age of seven the boy had already advanced into a tier 4 mage which was unheard of for the young scions of the nobility. At the most if a prodigy was produced and recourses were really poured in, they could manage to propel a child to a 4th maybe 5th tier mage by the time they were 7/8 but moving through the tiers was not easy. Comprehension was required for each spell and each stage and a mana pool big enough must accompany one as well. This didn’t include the fact that he kept up with his physical cultivation as well. A 4/5 tier mage maybe but to have that mage also have the basic strength of a knight?

Keala chuckled, if not for the strength of her family and the Kans who knows what would have happen to her child. The power that her child was showing was dangerous and inquiries had already been made as each force spied upon another. That didn’t even put the Watchers into consideration. So, it was a wonder Keala lashed out in anger. The biggest genius the Empire would ever see was produced by her and her husband wanted to send him on some silly quest for the honor of their family.

Just thinking about it made her stomach churn in anger and her eyes turned to the 150 soldiers that was the beginning force of her son. She would break them, then mold them into a fighting force that could keep up with her son.

Keala’s eyes wandered to those of her husbands who was busy overseeing the construction of their new family home. If Aegis died, this relationship would not be ending on pleasant terms. War would be waged.