Volume 1 Chapter 10 Walking down the path of Magic

Jack slowly awoke in a very dark place, water was going up to his knee, and he could hear waves crashing in the distance.

There was a single tombstone not far from him; he swam toward it.

Reaching it, the tomb read: “Here rest Vanessa Lynch.”

A deep sadness gripped his heart; he would have wanted something like this for his mother.

He continued swimming, more confused than when he had arrived. The darkness didn’t seem to affect his sight; he could see the same church as the one run by Father Alger back in Pavv.

After entering it, Jack couldn’t find anything abnormal apart from the lack of worshippers.

Continuing his trip; he reached the house he used to live in with his mother.

A wave of nostalgia hit him; Lynch took a moment to stabilize his mental state before continuing his path.

He finally arrived in front of an altar; however it was blank as a new sheet.

Jack remembered the Overseer’s words and started to explain his understanding of Light.

He said: “Light is the way the great Goddess expresses herself, she holds the Light in one hand and Fire in the other, Fire is her wrath and Light is her benediction as well as her wisdom. Light is the arm while Fire is the weapon, Light is what makes evil retreat. It’s retribution to the evil, one suffered.”

With this explanation, he solidified his principle of Retribution.

His body started to float as he was going back to his senses; the last thing he was able to see of the dark place was a large skeleton far away from the rest of the buildings.

If he ever came back to this place he would have to investigate the giant remains.

The boy awoke in the carriage, the Overseer was in a sort of trance, and Jack could see his friend Therio guiding the coach through the window.

Lynch felt drained from his escapade of reality, and so he swiftly fell in the clutches of dreams; in a real sleep this time.

Not long pass before he awoke again; fresh this time. He got out of the coach and took a deep breath.

The sky was starry, Jack saw his friend making fire not far from him, and he ran to Valte.

Without a word he sat down, Therio put a pot of water on the fire and sat down close to his little friend.

Therio looked at his little buddy and asked: “How did it feel?”

Jack answered: “Magical, I had a strange feeling in this dark place, how did it feel for you?”

Valte said: “Mine was not dark; it was a sunny plain, a heartwarming feeling came with it.”

He spoke again: “What principle you understood?”

The kid answered with pride: “Retribution.”

Therio hit him on the back of his head and said: “It’s fine because it’s me, but don’t tell anyone else, I don’t want to lose you as soon as I meet you.”

Jack answered with a grimace. The Overseer came out of the darkness bringing a bunch of leaves and herbs. She put the herbal bundle in the pot and sat down.

An unfortunate Ioloc was caught by the young knight and ended up being the main ingredient of the soup.

The Overseer started talking to Jack: “You understood a concept, remember that it isn’t the full grandeur of Light Path. What you have is a speck of it, you will face an arduous path to being worthy of the Saint title.”

Jack slightly nodded.

The woman continued talking: “Now you will have to absorb Chus, to expand and recharge your reserve, abroad your understanding and of course use spells.”

The Saint’s finder stopped for a bit before restarting: “Do you know what Chus is?”

Jack quickly thought: He didn’t think telling them about the Ring was necessary; it was his hidden card.

He shook his head to indict he didn’t know.

The Overseer spoke again: “It would have been strange if you knew. Chus is the fuel of magic, it is the energy of Emiprusixen, and some think it comes it’s the Goddess who creates it but I believe it’s the world that creates it. Other theories give it other origins,” such as the Dream’s Cultists or the believers of the Crow God.

Anyways it is the way we can use magic and it’s also the way we magic users can grow, it is needed to develop your existential power. Say, Chus is needed to upgrade our rank, to open the door to the next level and principles are the keys to that next rank.

You just started your way up the ladder as such you are a rank 1 Noga.”

Jack now had many questions but only asked one: “What comes after my rank?”

This time it was Therio who answered him: “The Noga level is divided in ten ranks, then comes the Bala level; rank one to five. The two next are the Tatum level and the Imperium level. And finally there is the Legend level but I’ve never met someone at this level.”

The Overseer said: “Now, since you already slept you may use this night to absorb as Chus, it will help you have a healthy body and will make you stronger.”

Therio gave the little Saint a bowl of soup and started explaining a meditation technique to Jack.

After three trials, Jack had caught the trick and started to absorb the Chus around him. The feeling he got from his cultivation technique was warm; it made him think of the soup he had just tasted.

With this thought his concentration was broken and a lot of the Chus he had accumulated without refining it into his was lost, dissipating in the wilderness.

Frustrated, the boy tried again and again, but each time his irritation would ruin his focus. After a full night of cultivation all he was able to gather was enough to create a slight glow that would die down in ten seconds.

His big brother from another mother, Therio, had told him that it happened to everyone but Jack was still frustrated by his failure to accomplish something that on paper seemed so easy.