Chương 3: Questions

—Jason Newborn— Jason stared at Sara at the far end of the breakfast table the next morning, wondering what in the hell he had to have done to make her hold their relationship hostage. He also wanted to know what she slipped into her drink. He would've sworn it was liquor. Whatever it was, it wasn't on the table.

"Yo. What's good, man?" Raul asked, sitting beside him. Jason didn't like that Raul immediately looked at Sara after asking him that. Raul was the group's mediator—always coming in to "clarify" things Jason said. Jason put up with it, but ever since yesterday, Raul was justifying Sara's every word like she was in the right.

"If you're asking what's going on between me and Sara, check her backpack," he replied.

"Brought an apocalypse supply of pads with her."

"Bro," Raul said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't state the obvious. Got it." Raul rubbed his forehead.

"What?" Jason snapped.

"It's just… when you say things like that…"

"Oh, this is my fault. Right. Left Sara with a kiss on Wednesday; she hates my guts on Thursday morning. Must be my fault." Raul sighed.

"You try that?" he asked, pointing at the green drink in front of him. Jason snorted.

"You think I'd try that?"

"Do it." Jason rolled his eyes and sniffed it. He tried it. It tasted pretty good. Kinda like a vegetable juice if it was thinner. Nice.

"Right?" Raul asked. Jason didn't answer. Telling Raul he was right about the drink opened things up for Raul to be right sometimes, which means that he could be right about Sara. Getting him to try something was clearly just a tactic. Or not. Raul was too busy ripping into the Veridian equivalent of "steak" and "eggs" to get into an argument. Jason supposed this was a bodybuilder's version of coping. The guy survived on steak, chicken breast, and tortillas when he was home. Or carne asada or whatever.

He brought lunch to school. Jason realized he was irritable, so he decided to stay silent, barely even noticing himself drinking the juice Raul pointed out. Raul watched him with an annoying chuckle and said:"Do you think it's true? That we're heroes?" Jason laughed.

"Us? Probably. But them?" He scanned the other people at the table.

"You'd have to give half these losers a V8 engine to get them to run a mile."

"Does a six-minute mile qualify me to be a 'hero'?" Mary asked, flashing a smile as she sat down beside Jason.

"Sure," Jason drawled, not even looking at her. No one told her that Sara being a bitch gave Mary the right to sit in Sara's place. He was faithful, even if Sara wasn't. He snorted and cast a sidelong glance at his girlfriend, who was sitting with Emma and… Daniel.

"Wait, isn't that Daniel?" Jason asked rhetorically. Raul raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah… What's he doing talking to Sara?" In a bizarre twist, everyone looked at the spectacled kid who wore hand-me-downs and kept silent talking to Sara, the most (usually) sought-after senior at Henry Gunn. And the shocking part was that she was actually talking. She barely said a word to Emma all morning. Jason was watching. Just as he was about to say something, the "spiritualist" from last night approached the table.

Through images, she told a competent story about how everyone was a superhuman and would become nobles. The story prioritized everyone learning how to speak and write the local tongue so they could communicate and learn more about their situation. It was not the solution anyone wanted, but there were only so many things they could learn through images, so without much complaint, tutors appeared and Jason's classmates left with them. Daniel said goodbye to Sara.

Sara said goodbye back and then watched Daniel until the idiot disappeared. What in the hell was going on? —Sara Reece— Sara didn't like that Daniel chose to speak to her. He had said, Hey, you want someone to be quiet with? I'm great at it. It was a charming question—which is why she hated it. Sara was in a foul mood that morning, so Emma approaching her was merely habitual. Not even Jason would approach her to start an argument. So, hearing the quiet kid turn charming felt wrong. Out of place.

Could Daniel be involved? she asked herself as she wrote Krallen characters as sloppily as possible on her desk. No. There's no way someone can get that good at arraycraft. In the notes section of her Krallen study page—written in English—were the words: The array in the castle had the summoning circle as its core. The following lines read: Wouldn't reversing time send me home anyway? Causality, maybe? Hope I'd stay home? Daniel? This story has been stolen from Royal Road.

If you read it on Amazon, please report it Sara shook her head and scratched out his name. If Daniel were a godly arraymaster, she would've known about it. Sara was, after all, the queen of the now-Escaran kingdom for eight years. During that period, she amassed the largest army of arraymasters in history to fuel the army's teleportation network. If there were a hidden arraymaster, Sara's people would've found them. The only arraymasters she didn't find, or simply avoided, were those in "The Barrens."

It was a lawless section between their continent and Ansithiia, the land of the demons, where individuals fled to when their kingdoms had bounties on their heads. Assuming they survived the perilous trek to get there. Even when Sara's armies crossed the Skiimar Bridge to reach Ansithiia, they steered clear of the area. It was bad news. She wrote "The Barrens" on the pad. And then she wrote the word "Apprentice?" with a large question mark.

If a Chosen (as the summonees were referred to by the kingdom) was involved, there was an incredible arraymaster backing them. Considering that time magic was taboo, it wasn't inconceivable to think someone like that existed in The Barrens.

That said, the Skiimar Bridge was lethal during the spring and summer due to blinding light and poisonous flowers that barriers couldn't block out, and during the winter it turned into the "Crystal Bramble," which required someone to traverse a thin, slippery bridge full of ultra-sharp, freezing plants during a blizzard. Sara knew it well. She had crossed it. That's how the war began. There was no way in her mind that Daniel could cross it. Still… I should talk to him, Sara thought.

"Very good," her tutor said, clapping after she returned to writing messy Krallen symbols. Sara knew that the woman assumed she was new to Krallen, but she still felt patronized. Sara needed that excuse to explain her knowledge. Unfortunately, the nuclear excuse that she had planned needed to come after she learned the language. So, she sighed and kept writing and speaking in broken Krallen, trying to ignore the claps.

2 Sara sat in the Escaran Royal Courtyard in the second week, eyed curiously by Edico, who had started following her. The fact that a Royal Sycount and retired general was watching her was the talk of the kingdom, and Jason hated all the attention she was getting for it. He loathed it. He watched her incessantly and made sure to flirt with other women while she was near him. She found it all very childish, so she pushed it out of her head as long as she could.

Unfortunately, today would be a deciding factor in their relationship dynamic going forward.

"Today, I'll be teaching you mana circulation," Aelia announced.

"You've all probably noticed that there's a powerful aura that's clinging to your skin. Some of you have already experienced greater strength and speed. That's because all of you have open mana cores and are naturally circulating mana. Let's start with a basic demonstration." Aelia lifted her hand, and a whirlwind of mana around her sucked into her hand. A flame formed and when she shot it in the air; it shot about a thousand feet skyward before exploding like a firework.

Even seeing it a second time, Sara was quite amazed. Not because the magic was fantastical, but rather because Aelia got permission to launch a highly-militarized spell right in front of the castle, just to make a point.

"As ironic as this will sound, I'd like to draw your attention away from the magic, and more about what you just felt. That aura… that energy… it all sucked out of the atmosphere to feed my spell. It entered through my core, which changed it into another form, in this case fire. It sounds amazing to those without magic, but if you follow these lessons, you'll be using this spell in no time." Sara glanced at the students and realized that she had much to learn in the realm of teaching people.

That small demonstration earned Aelia more reverence than Sara ever earned showcasing devastating demonstrations of might. It wasn't what Aelia did that earned her so much respect. It was that she captured the student's imagination by making them feel like they would be able to do the same thing.

"You may wonder: why us? Why bring people from a peaceful world here to learn magic? I'll explain that now. Your ability to wield mana is determined by two things: the size and purity of your core. Let's start with purity. Over time, a powerful form of unrefined mana called aether stresses your core. By the time people in Veridia reach the age they can expand their cores and process aether, their cores are corrupted. That's why we summoned you.

Not only are your cores large"—she glanced at Jason—"but they are as pure as powdered snow. The combination between size and purity will soon make you the most powerful mages in Veridia." The tantalizing prospect of power crackled through the Chosen's minds like electricity.

"That said, before you can create fire at your finger tips, or mend wounds on the spot, you will have to learn how to circulate mana," she explained.

"To do that, we'll teach you how to use your core. Then, a week before the festival we will help you expand your cores to prepare you for the Markinoa Festival next month. We'll explain more about expansion then."

"What's the Festival?" Jason asked, competitive spirit flaring.

"The Markinoa Festival is where aspiring sycounts and adventurers compete to obtain patrons. It's a very important festival that will put you in contact with people who will support your rise to power. That includes giving you expensive resources to fuse mana with your body, and cleanse you. If you want to understand the value, you can take me. I may appear in my thirties, but I'm well over a century in age." If the fire captivated the males, talk of eternal youth captured the hearts of the women.

Aelia was no stunner. She was too hardened; too cut. Yet for whatever beauty or flaws she had, she looked like she was no older than thirty-five. She was a true spectacle to people who viewed thirty as a turning point that ushered young people onto the route to certain death.

"In between now and the war call, you will be able to choose your path. You may join the military, study with the top scholars, or be an adventurer with Jason—who outside of war"—she emphasized her last sentence—"will lead heroes to conquer legendary crypts, labyrinths, and lairs. So, while the kingdom aims to support your paths to power, gaining private patrons will have a profound impact on your life and prospects. So, take it seriously." She planted her foot.

"Alright, we'll begin with chanting the runic language. These words will unlock different areas of your subconscious. Focus on the accent as you chant them." Sara prepared to make a profound showcase of might, but the moment she finished the first cadence, a tornado of mana sucked into a person to her right. Sara froze, arms bubbling up with goosebumps. She slowly turned and saw Jason staring at his hands in a state of bewilderment. He chuckled and looked around.

"I get it!" he said.

"I… I don't understand how. But I just… get it!" Jason grinned at her, ecstatic. She wasn't amused. The fact that Jason had somehow regained some of his power was the worst case scenario. Sara wasn't the only person aggrieved. She turned to Edico instinctively, as he was her confidant, and saw the sycount staring at Jason like he was a fiend. They remember… Sara thought. Bits and pieces, but that face… Edico's eyes held no amazement. His eyes filled with a spark of confused hatred. What the hell's going on?

Sara wondered as she watched Raul and Emma show, albeit less dramatic, improvements. It didn't even matter that Sara gave a strong showcase of might anymore. It simply didn't make a difference. Sara's eyes drifted to Daniel. Using a weak version of Divine Eyes, she noticed something incredible. His core's… pathetic, she thought. Memories of him flailing during training flashed across her memories. Aelia suggested that he work in the Royal Library because he was a bookworm. That's right. He worked at the library…

Bookworms made great arraymasters. That said, if Daniel did become an arraymaster's apprentice, he would need crystals to activate his arrays. His core was just too weak. That meant that his road to power would be grimly expensive, and it would be limited. There was no way that he could learn arraycraft in twenty years, let alone fund it unless he was a powerful noble—which he wasn't. If someone like Daniel existed outside of The Barrens, she would know about it.

"That's it for the day," Aelia said.

"Try not to overdo it. If you overheat your core, you'll be out for a week." She looked at Jason, who was manic and self-absorbed. He wasn't going to stop. That was the problem. This is getting serious, Sara thought. I need to speed things up.