The Realm of Austur Episode 1: A New Light

Arcturus felt Pearl's body growing more relaxed as she fell asleep across his chest.

We just need to get the steel for now. I wish dad wasn't so attached to Natasha, but I can't blame him. I feel the same way about Lenna.

Hamon stands at the foot of an enormous steel gate, which stood in the middle of the equally high granite wall, and formed the only gap through which the citizens of Kadath's lower quarter could view 'the luxury house'.

The only way inside was with a special 'key'. Or at least it was referred to as a key, while in reality it was a simple, spherical chunk of limestone conducting enough mana to power the spell held inside a copper receptical on the granite wall. The only way to attain one of these keys is to have an audience with the mansion's lord.

Which, as the machine can attest, I do. Hamon thinks to himself, placing his key in the slot. A clinking noise indicates that the key did its trick, further implied when a small emerald encrusted into the receptical's copper casing lights up. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman with tied back blonde hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin wearing a maid's outfit appears next to Hamon.

"Hello, Hamon." The illusory woman greets. "I was told to expect you. Shall I fetch Lord Kaim?"

"That'd be nice." Hamon says nonchalantly. "Not that it isn't talking to you, Elda." He's sure to add.

The girl gives a spritely laugh, although no emotion shows on the illusion's face. "You may become a gentleman, yet, Hamon!" She mocks. "Do hurry up so that I might rub it in my master's face."

"Forgetting the things you do in the bedroom for a moment, why don't you see about getting your master now...?" Hamon asks gruffly.

"Ah, it'll take time yet..." Elda's voice fades in perfect sync with her illusionary copy, leaving Hamon once more to his devices. He takes a look up at the wall before him, smirking confidently.

Being set up in the middle of Kadath's trade district, the mansion of El'Kaim, the Watcher had the best, most badass security system a home could have. And he needed it. Surrounded on one end by shady merchants who'd love nothing more than put a knife in his back, on the other end by aspiring young mages vying for his seat and with all the city's poor practically in his front yard, the Watcher needed something to watch him. Of course, what's the point in having a big-ass wall if nobody's going to try scaling it?

Hamon's cloak lights up a translucent silver, shaping into a pair of long arms, stretching to the branches of a nearby tree. Pulling himself up and climbing with the thread at his back, Hamon comes to the second highest branch and swings himself toward the massive stone wall. Getting good air, he lands on top, only to come to a slamming halt against the magical barrier. The barrier shocks him a few times, spitting him back down fifteen feet onto the dirt, where he landed with a thud.

A red haired man laughs at Hamon from above. "You can't just wait around a gate for five whole seconds, can you...?" The man asks.

"Oh, heya' Kaim..." Hamon says. "I guess I'm... How to say it? Falling over my heels to meet with you?"

Arcturus saw himself standing alone before Alucard in his dining hall, wielding Lenna in his hands.

"Are you prepared to die, demon!?" he shouted as he pointed the hammer at the vampire.

Alucard's only response was a playful grin spreading across his thin pale face. Arcturus charged in, quickly closing the gap between him and the vampire with a portal, only to be met by Alucard's sharp hand piercing his gut, spewing blood everywhere.

"Weak." the metahuman spoke with embitterment as his expression turned from one of excitement to one of disappointment. "You are not ready."

Arcturus fell to his knees in failure and regret as Alucard pulled his hand out of his abdomen. The vampire then gave a sharp kick to his rib cage, knocking him backwards. The expression of disgust on the creature's face at Arcturus' writhing form was enough to pierce the soul. 

"You are not fit to cross blades with me." the vampire snarled as it crushed Arcturus' head under his foot. "You are not even fit for a meal."

Arcturus awoke in a rush of adrenaline, summoning his hammer on instinct. His breathing then slowed as he took in his surroundings, realizing he was still in the courtyard. Pearl was lying on the ground, knocked over from Arcturus' rude awakening. He quickly set Lenna down and propped Pearl's limp body up against the tree.

"Pearl, wake up." he spoke as he tapped her forehead gently.

"It was just a dream." he told her as he hoisted her up by grabbing her arm.

It felt so real though. 

Arcturus gave Pearl a slight nod before slowly approaching the weeping student and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier." he spoke softly as he extended his hand. "Something was... on my mind."

I don't think she knows about the Type-4. It would be best if she didn't.

She doesn't remember? Maybe that's for the best too.

"My friend Pearl and I upset you, and things escalated." he told the truth to her as he sat down. "She kept dogging you about how she saw you in a cell. Anyways, don't worry about it. I think I understand your situation. Anyways, I was actually wondering if you could help me. You told me you were a Type-1 mage, and that's exactly what we need for our assignment. You see, we need to collect some materials from a cave, and a Type-1 mage would be perfect for the kinds of creatures that live there. I was a bit tempted to lie to you and tell you that you already agreed, but that wouldn't be very nice. That's why I'm asking you now. Do you want to help or not? I could also teach you whatever material you might have missed earlier in the school year. After all, you did join midway through."

"Doesn't matter." Arcturus said as he began to twirl his hair with his finger. "I'm a Type-3, so distances mean nothing."

They really don't. 

"Well, it's about twenty kilometers south, but it shouldn't take that long to get there." He continued as he stood back up. "The school does have a large number of receiver portals throughout Cleatia. So, are you coming?"

"Only one." Arcturus gave her a thumbs up. 

So whoever's holding her must be threatening her too. Whether the threats to her or her loved ones doesn't matter.

Kadath is a city divided into three districts, each ruled over by a lord or 'Elim' and further subdivided into quarters. The Herald's District is the most ancient part of Kadath, its earliest structures dating back millennia to when a messenger of the gods was said to inhabit the area. It's the central area of the city, composed of the Tabernacle Quarter, the Mason Quarter, the Wellspring Quarter and The Institute. The Residential district, as the name might imply, is where most of Kadath's citizens well, resided. It's composed of the Fire Quarter, the Air Quarter, the Water Quarter and the Earth Quarter. Hamon and Kaim were currently wandering the Merchants' Quarter of the Trade District.

"So I can't help but notice the lack of people openly staring at us." Hamon observes. "I have to wonder, am I really walking next to El'Kaim, the Watcher right now, or is he too good to be seen with a dirty beggar like myself?"

"Well, I can't be seen playing favorites with the dirty beggars, now can I...?" Kaim asks jokingly, noting Hamon's less-than-favorable reaction. "Well, if you had bought some better clothes with that gold, maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Is that what you say to Elda, too...?" Hamon asks gruffly. This seems to shut Kaim up, because neither of them would say anything else for a few minutes. As Elim of the Trade District, Kaim was a man who had to keep up appearances not just to his own people, but to the world at large. This was simplified somewhat by his being a master of type-4 magick, but it still ultimately set in stone his every action. The only times he could be himself were alone with Elda, Hamon or as the bartender of The Shepherd's Dirty Secret, a day job which Kaim took up under cover of his magick not long after his wife died.

As they neared the way to the Upper District, a strange man whose pale skinned complexion gave away his 'Decidedly Not Local' status. Ordinarily for people like Hamon, that meant 'easy target', but this man looked like anything but. Easily standing a head taller than anyone in Kadath, the man exuded a presence of wealth, strength and power that seemed to physically repel thieves rather than simply deter them. He seems to be yelling something to a merchant, so Hamon begins slipping closer.

"You know I didn't mean what I said about not being seen with you..." Kaim suddenly confesses, his attention seemingly locked to the ground a meter ahead of him. "I just can't be seen with someone who'd be mistaken for a petty thug. It looks suspicious, you kno-?"

"It's no problem." Hamon interrupts him casually. "I'm not worried about it anymore. Hey, more importantly, let's see what's going on over there!"

"Him...?" As Kaim finally turns his attention from the world's most interesting pebble ahead of him, he spots Hamon already running toward a familiar, pale skinned man near a merchant's stall. "Ah, Hamon, wait! That's...!"