The Arcane Tides

When Andre asked to hunt for the cave again, the memory had come flooding back to him. He'd done as Youichi wanted in his original time, choosing to turn down the rush of the sea and the adventure for what she wanted. The book store. While he would need to make a trip there eventually- there were some books he wanted to find about Aether, to see if anyone else knew what the King did- he definitely didn't want it to be today. No...he wanted to seek out this hidey hole of mages long past. It had been entirely forgotten in his original time.... If anything was there- an artifact of some kind or a pool of magical energy, perhaps- it could only benefit him.

Not to mention, he had the feeling that Andre just wanted to be with Youichi on the beach and far be in for him to stand in the way of young love.

Along with that, though….he didn't want to be entirely dependent on the demon King. He didn't totally trust him. Of course it seemed that he had no reason to lie and he'd willingly given up a lot of information but he had lulled people into false senses of security just like that time and time again only to close the trap and claim his prize.

As his feet hit the beach, Malakar hummed in his ear.

"Any idea what exactly we are looking for?"

Kael shook his head.

-Not a clue…however, I figured you could cast some kind of detect magic spell and we could go from there.- He felt the King roll his eyes. "I already told you I can't, boy. I can only make Aether appear, or dance around pointlessly. I can't cast spells. Oh-" he smirked, or so Kael felt. "But you can. I can just give you a spell like that if you want. Just ask nicely."

He rolled his eyes. He wasn't about to ask his enemy for a hand out...even if it was needed. This was a battle of wills and Kael would win whether Malakar liked it or not.

-What happens if i take the ring off?-

Malakar went silent a moment. "I would be left in the dark. No way to see the world, to see or talk to you. Why, is torture your go to tantrum tool?"

Kael slinked back a little, letting Youichi in front of him. She moved over to Andre who bumped her shoulder with his own. They started talking about school and whether this year would be any different than the last and he slipped the ring off. The stone stayed purple, but he could literally feel Malakar dissipate into the ring, shouting something before doing so.

He smirked and said aloud- "Yep, sure is."

He stuck the ring in his pocket and took a slow breath. Even if it wasn't efficient to a demon, his magic was still strong in its own right. In fact, it took the demon Queen to kill him- everyone else who tried got cooked. Breathing in the Aether while his friends were lost in their own world, he focused it on his eyes. The pupils began to glow a soft green, blending in with the color of his irises to make it look like he had no pupils.

Looking around quickly, he saw several small groupings of magic throughout the beach- probably over various lost objects. Every personal effect that meant something to someone and was often used held some residual Aether from their body. Their life force. So the Aether in the air tended to gather there. He tried to focus, sifting through the various pointless clustered lights while scanning the wall of the cliff he'd fallen off of in his other life. He couldn't see anything, yet. Turning out to sea, he could see similar beads of magic coagulating and dancing over the surface in a few places.

"What's up with your eyes?"

Kael blinked, shaking his head to clear the magic before looking up at Youichi.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

Youichi cocked a brow as she started toward him, Andre going silent and following suit.

"I don't know....They just looked weird. Like you'd gone blind or...or like you were Straying."

Straying was a term used for casting your mind into that of an animal. You couldn't really do much besides experience their senses with them and usually only one you were close to. Most major cities had Strayers, and though Ashwood didn't they usually saw them in traveling trupes or merchant caravans. They were sometimes used to find out murder suspects or things of that nature as a powerful Strayer could see into memories. Regardless of how good you were at it, the ability required a certain degree of Magic knowledge so Youichi seemed a little confused at what she saw. Kael tried to play it off.

"Pfffthaha or maybe, just maybe....you saw the sun reflected in my eyes."

Youichi hummed, folding her arms in annoyance that Kael didn't really believe her. Still, she didn't pursue it any further so she dropped the subject. Instead, she started in on their mission.

"Whatever- do you guys have any idea where we're going? Kuz we've already looked up and down this beach and still found nada."

Kael furrowed a brow, trying to come up with a way to look for the place without actually revealing he could do magic. Andre spoke up in the meantime.

"Well, what if its here but we can't see it? If the guy is a warlock I'm sure he'd hide his home with magic."

Smart kid. Kael sighed and nodded, answering- "Yeah...that's what I was thinking." He did some quick judgements since he was already close to making the choice anyway, and decided.

"Okay...I have a confession to make, but you guys can't tell a soul. Not your parents, not your siblings...not even pets." He gestured for them to lean in after they nodded, which they did. He continued. "I can do magic."

They both stared for a few seconds, then a smile slowly creeped on their faces before they laughed. Andre put his hands on his hips. "Riiiight, right. Kael, if you could do magic I'm pretty sure we would know." Kael scowled. He didn't like being laughed at by kids, like he was a joke. Youichi uncovered her mouth after laughing into her hand. "Yeah I mean...we're not trying to tease you, but why would you joke about something like that?"

Okay, that's it.

Kael took a quick look around, then lifted up his hand and a small flame burst into being right above his palm. It was about the size of an orange, and crackled as though burning fuel. Both Andre and Youichi's faces went slack for a few seconds, staring at it. Kael looked between them while making sure they got the message before he closed his hand, the fireball giving a small WOOSH as it snuffed out.

"That look like I'm joking?"

"WOOAAAH!" Andre shouted, excitement bursting out of him as he rushed forward, throwing his arms around Kael who seemed a little taken aback by the reaction. Youichi was a little more reserved but also seemed pleased. She turned away and took her chin in her fingertips thoughtfully as Andre kept up the excitement. "SINCE WHEN!? When were you gonna tell us!? Oh man- I don't think even Lirael learned magic at ten! Pretty sure you're like, the youngest mage ever! What the heck dude!"

"....academy..."

He heard a single word mumbled from Youichi before he gently pushed Andre away a little. "I...I only started using magic this week so...it's not a secret I've kept from you on purpose until just a moment ago." He scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly before clearing his throat. "When...when Youichi asked about my eyes. I wasn't going to say anything to you right away because I wasn't sure what it would mean but...I'm pretty sure I can use magic to find the door if I try hard enough."

Reaching into his pocket, he slipped the ring on his finger with one hand while looking at Andre, who seemed full to burst with questions about what all he knew regarding Magic. In fact, Andre did finally get out a question but this one came with his smile shrinking only a little. "Oh...right that...that fire...how did you cast it without the phrase?" Silent casting wasn't really common knowledge in these parts, but it wasn't entirely uncommon. He waved the question off. "It was in a book a read, apparently most mages can do it." Well...graduates could, anyway. He'd become an honorary one just before his ceremony announcing him as the archmage. His teacher, who had previously been mentioned by Andre as Lireal was the one who recommended him. She'd given him her grimoire- a book of spells from the academy that she'd learned, created or felt the need to put to written word.

He never carried one- mostly because he didn't really need it. When it came to using magic, he'd made up his spells on the spot by simply thinking of the magic he wanted to use and forming the Aether into that shape.

As the ring was finally pulled onto his finger, he felt himself reconnect with Malakar who was sulking.

"...Dick."

Kael smirked.

-Guess I'll just take you back off then-

He felt the spell he needed echo in his mind from the ring. He was hesitant, but slipped some of his own Aether into the power. It felt like standing in a great void. There, floating was the page that described the spell. As he took it he felt another presence. Looking up, two eyes the size of houses opened. Everything else around them had a deep shade of black but he could feel it stirring.

The Dragon.

He promptly jumped out of the ring, pulling his magic back. He was gone for maybe a second, but it had caused a slight sweat to form on his brow. That must have been Dragon fear. Malakar, for his part, seemed to have a much larger pep in his step. Kael sent him an aetheric middle finger before standing- douche had clearly done that on purpose. Payback for taking off the ring. The spell had been pulled straight into his mind, so he knew how to cast it. He closed his eyes, bringing the Aether back to his eyes in a way he'd done before when he wanted to sense the energy in the air. Rather than just use static energy though, he started turning the energy in his eyes and fanning out threads of it like a hurricane. When he opened his eyes, he gasped.

There, in the middle of the beach, was a large set of doors. About 3 meters (10 feet) tall and 2.1 meters (7 feet) wide, they had a golden handle on each door and hummed gently. How had he not seen or felt this before? The doors seemed to be made of solid obsidian and were intricately carved. He walked over to it, tentatively peering around it. He furrowed his brow.

-Malak, how many people know this spell?-

Malak thought a moment.

"Hm. Well, it's a spell for seeing the unseen- used for appraising items, peoples, spells, souls, Aether and more. So not many. In fact, including you, I think its just the three of us."

Only three people? Meaning Malak knew, Kael knew and...probably Ilyana being that she was his daughter. Andre and Youichi were watching their friend, slightly concerned as he started staring at something they couldn't see with his mouth slightly parted. Then he'd started walking around something. Andre fist pumped again. "Yesss he's found it! I know it-" but Kael couldn't really hear him. Youichi just told him that he didn't know that and kept watching the younger boy, who reached out to touch the door.

"I wouldn't do that."

Malaks warning came right as Kaels hand touched the door. He felt a sudden pull behind his navel like someone had thrown a rope around his waist. With a powerful THOOM he was lifted and blasted backward, about 10 meters (30+ feet) toward the sand. He landed rough, the wind getting knocked from him as pins and needles danced their way over his body. He sat up slowly as Andre and Youichi ran toward him, pale and with concern etched all over their faces.

An energy pulsed and hummed around the doorways "Frame" as Malak gave a little tsk tsk tsk.

"Told you. Now it's alert. You'll have to wait a few days before trying that again."

-What...what is that thing?-

"It's a living gate. A Black door, called by some. Using dark magic, someone put a spell on a soul and fused it with a magic doorway. They usually have protective spells on it too so...until you figure out how to take the shield down it's not gonna open. I'm surprised it's still active, though. Gotta be close to a thousand years old."

A thousand years....for as long as anyone could remember, there was a legend of a great mage who had lived here. One who had built the first house of Ashwood and lived in it before vanishing into history. Still, from his first house other people came to find this place and built around his home. Rumor had spread that a wizard lived in town and the kids swore they saw magical wonders in the house before a storm had tore it down. Now, this gate....He looked at Andre as the boy asked- "You alright!? Damn, what was that?"

Kael nodded, coughing and spitting out sand.

"I'm fine, only thing hurt is my pride."

Youichi began brushing him off, offering a hand to help him up which he gladly accepted. Kael groaned.

"I can't...really show you, but there's a door there. On the beach. Looks like its got a shield on it though so...I don't think we're getting through."

Just a small lie. Kael would definitely get through at some point. Just a matter of time. He looked up at the sky- they'd been gone for nearly an hour so he put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Lets figure this out another time- I hear the book store calling my name and a few copper coins begging to be spent. You in?"

They couldn't get into the door for now and they didn't have a way to get Kael to show them so they both just nodded. Still, as they went to leave, Andre sighed. "Dang...I really wanted to see what a wizards door looks like." He shrugged and half heartedly turned, slinking up after Kael (who had stopped to watch) and Youichi who was just grateful to be heading to one of her favorite places.

A few hours later, Kael sat down at his parents table and set the book he'd purchased on the surface. He'd tried to search the store for something relating to spells and Aether-craft but there was very little in that regard. The owner behind the counter had even shook his head, saying that books of that nature would only be kept in the national archives under guard. Instead, Kael had found this one- 'Myths and Legends of Ashwood, the Vale and the Rune sea'. It had cost him a full seven coppers, so it was nothing to sneeze at considering that was about his allowance for a month.

Perhaps with this, he could find out a little more about that door...or even the one who made it...

(NOTE: Copper is the lowest form of currency, Platinum the largest:

100 copper = 1 Silver

10 silver = 1 Gold

10 gold = 1 Palladium

25 palladium = 1 Platinum.

Platinum coins are very rare and usually only traded with royalty. Palladium is also pretty rare but isn't entirely uncommon to see when trading with high end merchants or nobles. A vast majority of the public use copper/silver/gold for exchanges).