Mage Union

1

Class is as boring as ever. This is my sixth year attending the Royal Magic Academy and they
e still reviewing basic concepts of Magic. It should be an insult at this point. Its understandable why they
e doing it, there are still students here who can close a Magic Circle right. Just last week we had two people hospitalized with Mana Poisoning. But still, they should at least let the people who know what they
e doing have independent study or something.

I rest my head on my hand and look out the window. The Academy is near the center of the Land of Mages capital, Sun City. From this classroom, it has a good view of the castle.

”Ren, ” an old man calls to me. I look down at the teacher, hes an older balding gentleman. Hes wearing dark robes that scream that hes devoted his life to magic. ”Seeing that you
e spacing off, why don help out your classmate. ”

I look over to see another student standing. He has a panicked look in his eye. Was the question that hard? The boy is wearing a black coat, which means hes a commoner who got into the school through the merit of his abilities. Come on man, don disgrace your scholarship like this. I and others like me wear white coats to show that we
e of Noble descent.

I don really care about all that. In my experience commoners are more serious in class than the Nobles. I guess it comes from having to earn their stay here.

I try to wrack my brain about what the question couldve been. But this is a remedial class on how to close a Magic Circle because of those who got poisoned last week. Why must the failures of others drag down the successful.

”Im sorry sir, could you repeat the question? ”

”Why is it important to close a Circle properly and how is it done? ”

Thats the question? I look over to the other student again. How did he not know this? You
e a sixth year also, this is basic stuff. Of course, putting it into words is harder than doing it, so I can completely blame him.

”Mana is poisonous to living creatures, if it enters your body, it can cause the degradation of your organs. If too much enters it can lead to madness or death. ” If measured as a liquid, it takes 1 milliliter to start the Mana Poisoning process. Its theorized that half a liter can kill a man. ”To close a Magic Circle properly one must return their Vis into their body while pushing the Mana back into the earth. ”

Magic is the manipulation of the worlds energy known as Mana. To do that a Mage uses their own energy, Vis, to form a Magic Circle on the ground, which pulls the Mana up in order to be used. Magic and Magic Circles are separated into Tiers by how complex the Circle is and how much Mana is needed for the Spells. On average a Tier 1 Magic Circle pulls 3 liters of Mana, and a Spell can use anywhere up to 10 millimeters in order to cast.

Thats if you
e efficient with casting. Talent and effort come into play when using Magic. Two people can cast the same spell at different Mana usages based on how skilled they are at casting.

Of course, when going up Tiers you either need to increase the complexity of the Circle or its size. Those two barriers have stopped human advancement in Magic at 3rd Tier. There are some scholars who have made it to 4th Tier in one element, but the Circle is such an eyesore youd have to be crazy to try to remember it. As for increasing the size, the amount of Vis needed to do that is unfeasible for one person to possess. There are some rituals that require multiple people that have reached 5th Tier, but its too time consuming to use in any tactical way.

”Very good. Still try to pay attention. ”

”Yes sir. ” I take my seat again. The lecture continues for another half an hour before we are released for independent study. As always, I go to the south courtyard, hardly anybody goes there. Because its so far away from the main gate there aren any passerbys that the other students try to impress with their abilities.

I like the south courtyard for that reason, its quiet. And here I can practice my true abilities without the eyes of teachers or other students.

Though I said that the human limit for Magic is 3rd Tier, I lied. I am capable of 5th Tier Magic, I still have to charge it, but I can do it.

Living creatures can be born with Abilities, these are known as Skills. While Skills can be obtained later in life its most common for them to be set at birth.

The Skill need to be a Mage is called Mana Detection. Its possible to commit your Circles to memory, theres a Skill that most high Tier Mages have called Circle Comprehension that saves the Circles they want to keep so they can recall them easier. I have both of those Skills as well as a rare Skill called Magic Knowledge which allows me to see flaws in Magic Circles.

By studying the theoretical Magic Circles of higher Tiers, I alter their shapes in order to be actually usable. My Vis Capacity is fairly high for a child my age so opening them isn a problem either. As it stands, though Id never tell anyone, Im 5th Tier in all elements except Healing Magic.

I enter the courtyard and to my surprise theres people here. The student I helped out earlier and three students in white coats. They have orange trims on their cuffs which means they
e second years. Our cuffs, as sixth years, are purple. Really, both the cuffs and the coat colors only incite discrimination between the student body. Underclassmen like them have yet to understand that ability isn directly tied to bloodline. Because of that they target and pick on commoners.

”Excuse me. ” I shout at them, ”This is my training area, could you please move your debauchery somewhere else. ”

The boys approach me after pushing the other boy to the ground. They
e much taller than me, its to be expected. I started school way before others my age, though I am only 12 years old, a normal sixth year should be 18 or 19. Its because of this age gap, that underclassmen like them try to pick on me.

”What are you a first year? You got some nerve talking to your upperclassmen like that. ”

”I should be saying that to you. ” I raise my arm so they can see the purple band on my cuff. Immediately their eyes fill with confusion and fear.

”A sixth year? ”

”Yes, now then could you please leave here. Or should I get a teacher? ”

The boys walk out of the courtyard in a huff. Really, if they wanted to fight, theyd probably wouldve won. Seeing that it was three versus one and they
e older than me.

The other boy stands up and brushes himself off. ”T-Thank you. ” He bows. I wave him off. Really, I didn do anything, but fend off one beating. If he wants to protect himself, he needs to prove his ability. Though those underclassmen are unlikely to see his talents, so its unlikely that theyd stop. And he can fight back because its put his scholarship in jeopardy. Truly a sad place to be.

Now that everyone was gone, I could finally try out my new Magic Circle. I have been working on a 6th Tier Magic Circle for the past few months. Its a Land Spell, those are the easiest to learn so thats been the element Ive level first.

Thanks to my Skill, I was able to turn the theorical Circle from a pile of ink into a clean Circle. The edge of the Circle was a double helix with text connect each of the lines. It was a trademark of mine; the double helix doubled the amount of Mana that could be in one place. The center of the circle depicted a mountain range, though its lines were made of text.

Text gets introduced onto Magic Circles at 4th Tier. Its in Divine Script, a language that no one can read. Well not that they can read it, its just that outside of Magic Circles if its written it appears as blotches of ink to those who can read it. I can read it for whatever reason, because of that I can remember what the Circles says rather than the marking of the language. I believe thats the hardest part of getting to 4th Tier.

Once the Circle is opened, I raise my hands towards the wall of the courtyard. ”Create Golem. ” The ground begins to shake. Pieces of ground begin to float and gather around each other in order to create a large humanoid creature. ”Yes, it worked. ” I can help but praise myself. After all, this was technically a summon. A creature made of Mana, itll stay around until the Mana of the Circle drains, or I close it.

”Truly I am a genius. ” I continue to pat myself on the back. In recorded history there have been three Mages capable of summons. The first General of the 6th Division of the Royal Army, their Executive Officer, and the 6th Mage King. I entered the realm of a select few.

As I celebrate, I hear the chime of the school bell. At this time, it means we
e released for the day, well some students use their independent study time to mess around. Those who don are now allowed to leave the school ground if the wish.

Today is the last day of the Festival of the Crown, meaning it was the Tournament of the Crown. Because of school, Id missed the preliminaries. Luckily, because of the festival it was a half day. If I run, I could catch the finals.

2

Like I thought, as I arrive at the arena the final match was just about to start. The Tournament is used to select the new Mage King when the current one decides to retire. For non-retirement years, like this one, the contestants are usually military officers just showing off to each other. Even still, their talent can be scoffed at. I push my way through to a comfortable place where I can watch.

In the pit are two men the first was the Command Sergeant Major of the 2nd Division, Wilfred Lawson. He has light armor on and a short sword. His long brown hair is tied in a tight bun. Facing him is the Commander of the Royal Guard, Kin Sutton. In contrast his armor is heavy. On his right arm is a large dark purple shield which contrast his silver armor. In his other hand is a long sword.

The match begins and Wilfred charges at Kin. His first attack is parried by Kins shield which leaves him open for an attack. Kin slashes at his neck with the flat of his blade. Wilfred barely manages to block the attack but is still sent flying to the other side of the ring. Wilfred tries to recover his balance when something comes flying towards him.

Its a sword! Kin had thrown his sword at his downed opponent. Wilfred parries the sword out of his way, but in that instant Kin grabs his neck, and he is lifted off the ground. Wilfred taps Kins hand signaling that he gives. Kin drops him and the crowd cheers. Both combatants stand and bow towards a man sitting on a balcony.

That man is the 14th Mage King, Lloyd Namimori, my father. He stands up and praises the fighters. Father and I are a rare sight in this country, we have black hair for a start and our eyes are purple and almond shaped with an epicanthic fold which is not shared by our countrymen. Even among the foreign ambassadors Ive seen, none of them look like us.

”I once again thank you for honoring us with your skills. ” My father will admit that hes terrible at speeches, though his voice carries a weight thats hard to describe. Its neither intimidating nor comforting, its in the middle somewhere. If you didn know him personally, youd have a hard time figuring out his mood without a hint. ”I am glad that the festival has once again ended without any problem. I pray we have a blessed year. ”

His speeches are always short and to the point. Its something Ive heard him getting scolded about it by military leaders and even some council members. Nonetheless, having said everything he wanted he takes his leave and exits the arena.

I make my way out of the arena before everyone else. Someone of my size is likely to be trampled by all those people. Having been released from my classes I make my way to the castle. The building is massive. Its surrounded by a wall that forms a hexagon shape. Its built out of white stone with blueish purple bricks as accents and the roof tiling.

I head to the throne room, its the most likely place for my father to go after the Tournament.

The throne room was an oval shape with a stone path leading to the throne which is elevated by a case of stairs. On either side of the path are beds of flowers, far more vibrant than what could be found anywhere naturally. With the only exception being the Church of the Nature Goddess.

My father is sitting on his throne is a relaxed slump. His crown is hung over the arm of the chair. His cape draped over the top of the chair and his sword leaning against the side.

”Father you should sit properly, your clothes will get wrinkled. ” I joked as I walk towards the throne.

”Ah Ren, hows school? ”

”Boring. We
e having remedial class because of those people who got poisoned last week. ”

”Still? Youd think that theyd only need a day to remind you how to close a circle. ”

”Thats what I was saying. ”

Father looks over to the door to the room as if he heard something. He stands up and throws his shoulder cape on. He walks down the stairs and stops at me.

”Are you okay? ”

”Nothing to worry about. Take this and hold your breath. ” He hands me a folded sheet of paper sealed with wax and places his hand above my head.

In my confusion I didn hold my breath. I was suddenly engulfed in light and felt my body move violently, though to what direction I couldn tell. In the movement I felt my consciousness leave me. Whatever this is I hope it ends well.

3

My eyes open slowly theres something in beside of me. Not something, someone. My vision clears up, its a girl. Her hair is long, and silver and her eyes are light blue, almost like looking at water. Her skin is clear and pale like a doll. Wait, who is this?

”Excuse me. ” I say as I sit myself up. The girl looks to be startled by my words and shuffles out of the room without making a sound. ”Good morning to you too. ”

Looking at my surroundings Im in a small room of a wooden building. The window is made out of dirty glass. A terrible glass smith mustve made it. Then again, this type of glass, with impurities, is more affordable for commoners. Still, just to have glass on your home means you have a good deal of money.

Inspecting more, I was on a bed. The blanket was stitched together with what looked to be rags and torn up clothing. The comfort of the mattress was good despite the poor quality of materials. I sit up to the corner of the bed. My shoes are off and so is my coat. Whoever put me in the bed mustve taken them off.

As I am about to stand up the door to the room opens. A man is standing in the doorway, the girl from before is cowering behind his leg. Her father? I would think that, but the man has brown hair and grey eyes. Well, depending on the mother, it might still make sense. He has on gloves despite the room being relatively warm. Either way, I speak to the man, ”Where am I? ”

”You
e in Snarlava, and currently in my orphanage. ” The man has a deep voice, but it isn unsettling. Wait, Snarlava? Thats the northernmost city in the Land of Mages. How did I get there from Sun City? Its a week trip by carriage and thats not including delays like rest or the weather surrounding the town.

”If I may, how did I get here? ”

”Looks like Lloyd teleported you. ” The man pulls the paper I was given from his pocket. The wax seal was broken so he mustve read the contents. ”Lloyd and I go way back, so if hes in trouble he mustve sent you here to protect you. ”

”But teleportation, thats absurd even for my father. ”

”Thats just the tip of the iceberg. ” The man says under his breath and enters the room properly. He takes a seat on a chair that laid opposite of the bed. The girl followed closely to him. ”Perhaps introductions are in order. I am Jett and this is Reune. Im the caretaker here and shes one of the residents. ”

”I am Ren Namimori. ” The girls face seemed to light up when I said my surname.

”Another one of the residents, Vince, brought you here. You were passed out in the middle of the street. ”

”So thats what happened. ”

”Did you hold your breath? ”

”Eh? ”

”Lloyds Teleportation Magic, if you don hold your breath, you
e likely to pass out once you arrive. I don know everything about it, but its happened to me at least twice. ”

Hes friends with my father, yet I was never told about him. He doesn seem like a bad guy. Though his dark clothing and rolled sleeves make him seem like a playboy of sorts. Then again, anybody who takes care of orphans must be a good person. Father hasn told me the full extent of his power, every time I ask, he says something along the lines of, ”If you get close to me, Ill let you know. ” So, Teleportation Magic wouldn be something Id associate with him.

”If you were sent here that means on thing. ” Jett got a serious look on his face as he leaned forward. He spoke quietly so that I was the only one to hear him. ”Lloyd is dead. ” Before I could react, he presses the letter into my hands. He stands up, ”Ill give you some time to get adjusted, well be having dinner in an hour so be done by then. ”

I opened the letter and read it to myself.

”Hey Jett, its Lloyd. Sorry to drop this on you suddenly, but can you take care of Ren for a while. Looks like Kins after my head for real this time. I don think Ill make it out so yeah. Theres some money on the way there so don worry about that. Thanks in advance. ”

Wait Kin is going to kill father? Is that possible? Kin is the strongest the Land of Mages military has to offer. He has a recorded 29 wins in the Tournament of the Crown, 25 consecutive wins. The only person hes lost to was father when the 13th King retired. Even if Kin was going to kill father, its an uphill battle.

I look at the letter closer and notice a second message that was written in Divine Script.

”Ren, sorry I got to leave like this. Keep getting stronger and take it back from Kin if you want. If not you
e free to do whatever you want. My old cottage is outside of Snarlava, so you should check that out before you decide. ”

This is a lot to load on me all at the same time. For now, Ill trust in my father and trust Jett. As for what to do about Kin, Ill have to come to a decision later.

4

I put on my shoes and enter the main room of the orphanage. There is a large table and 3 children sitting at it waiting for dinner to be served. I make my way to the table and sit down. The kids look at me.

”Whoa you
e awake. I thought youd sleep forever. ” A boy with spiked blonde hair spoke to me first. His eyes were blue like sapphires. He had bandages on his cheeks and wrapped around his hands. ”Im Vincent Newman, nice to meetcha. ” A last name? He must be of from nobility, but whats he doing here then. ”

”You can sleep forever, idiot. Youd just be dead then. ” A girl with short brown hair yelled at Vincent. Her eyes were the same as Reunes yet a shade darker. Her voice had an authoritative resonance despite it being so high. ”Sorry about him. He can be a little dumb. Im Clair. ”

”You guys are smothering him, back off a bit. ” Another boy spoke. He has long red hair thats tied back. His eyes are black and mean. He has a permanent scowl on his face. ”Sorry to drop all these names on you, the names Emil. ”

Hes right this is a lot. These are the first kids my age that Ive interacted with. At school all my classmates were at least 2 to 6 years older than me. I was a little lost on how to continue the conversation. ”Im Ren Namimori, nice to meet you. ” I bow my head, which is customary to do when introducing yourself while seated.

”No need to be so formal. ” Jett enters the room holding plates of food. Reune follows him holding her share. Its cute how she shadows him. They set the plates of food in front of us. Its a brown sauce with meat and potatoes over rice. Rice is an import from the Vampires Domain. Considering how close Snarlava is to the border getting rice would be easy for this town. Father was obsessed with the Vampires. So much so that he had the castle chefs trained on their dishes. Dishes such as this, which was called curry.

”Thank you for the food. ” Everyone says in unison, I join in towards the end of the choir. I take my first spoonful of the curry. Wow! Its way better than what the castle chefs could come up with. If I had to guess, they
e distaste towards Vampires led them to not trying as hard on those dishes. But I didn know it could be this good.

After we finish our food, Clair and Emil collect the plates and proceed to clean them in the kitchen. Confused on what I should do, Vincent gave me the answer as he approaches me with questions.

”Your name is Namimori, like the king? ”

”He is my father. ”

”No way. So, like you
e a Prince. Did you have a Knight! ” This kid is super energetic.

”I had a bodyguard for a short time after I moved to the castle, but once I started attending the Royal Magic Academy, I didn have one. ”

Having a personal Knight is a privilege of being royalty. But there haven been many to assign one. Theres a high level of trust that one must overcome before even being considered for the position. And even then, most of the Mage Kings were far stronger than any Knight in the military.

”Thats too bad. Knights are the coolest. We only have the Royal Guard here, so I don get to see any Knights. ”

”Do you want to be a Knight. ” He looks at me with bright eyes. I take that as a yes. But that look wouldn suffice Vincent.

”Don you think they
e cool? They protect everyone and are super strong. My dad was a Knight, and he was the coolest. If I can be as cool as him my life would be complete. ”

His explanation was disjointed, but it makes sense for him to have a last name now. His father mustve been a high-ranking Knight. But if hes here, they
e probably not around anymore.

Emil and Clair come out of the kitchen. Emil smacks Vincent on the back of the head. ”If you
e going to rave about your dad, at least make it make sense. ”

”Come on, Emil, I was getting to the good part. ”

”There is no good part. Its just that on repeat for an hour. ” Emil said coldly. ”If we
e going through introductions, I want to be an adventurer. ”

”Thats rare of people of this country. Are there even Guilds outside of Sun City? ”

”There are, but you can only register in the capital. So, I need to go there to register. Of course, I got to be 18 first, so I have some time to get stronger. ”

”You could always go to the Kingdom of Man; you only have to be 15 to register there. ” Clair chimes in. ”I don actually know what I want to do. But being an adventurer gives me a way to make money and travel. ”

”What about you Reune? ” I turn my attention to the girl. She was reading a book. So, shes literate, thats good. Shes shocked by my words and fumbles her book closed.

”I, uh, want to, uh go to, the Magic Academy. ” She stutters through her words. She wants to attend the Royal Magic Academy. Talk about high aspirations, for a commoner you have to practically be a prodigy in either swordsmanship or Magic. And even then, theres no way an orphan would get a scholarship.

”I was a student there, a sixth year. If you have any questions let me know. ” I figure that anything I could teach her would be on the level of the Academy, so shell be on a decent level if she ever finds a scout.

”Wait you
e a sixth year? ” Clair breaks into the conversation, ”I thought you had to be 14 in order to attend. ”

”Normally you do, but if you show enough promise they can pull some strings. ” I also had the advantage of being the Kings son though that was an under the table thing. I used a different last name while I was there. There were a few people who assumed I was related to Lloyd because we
e the only ones who look like us.

”You must be really smart then? ” Emil raised his eyebrow in intrigue. Even Reune had devoted her attention to me. I don like showing off, its not something Im good at. Even on exams where you had to perform Spells for the teacher, Id get nervous, and my casting would slow down.

”Im not that smart. ”

”You
e doing better than Lloyd; he could barely read when I met him. ” Jett laughs as he reenters the room. Wait, my father couldn read? He didn seem like the studious type, but from what I heard of his Magic abilities I assumed hed been literate for some time. ”Sorry, I said too much. ”

”Show us some Magic. ” Vincent charges in.

”Please. ” Reune requests softly. Itd hurt my heart of I turned that down. I sigh and stand up. What Spell should I use? Most Spells would cause damage to the building, I don want to do that. If I rework Create Golem to another element it wouldn harm anything.

I stand there with my eyes shut as I try to make the new Magic Circle in my head. I can hear the whispers of the others as they wonder whats taking me so long. Finally, I finish the Circle and open it beneath my feet. Like the other Circle, its outer ring was a double helix and the image in the center was made of Divine Script. This time it was depicting waves. If this works, I wouldve made a 6th Tier Wave Magic Circle. ”Create Golem, Small. ”

I put my hands up and water appears in my palms. Wave and Frost Magic are the hardest elements to master because most of the Spells require the creation of the element. Flame Magic is similar in that regard. But it is slightly easier.

The water moves from my hands and takes the form of a small humanoid creature. It gives a wave and walks around the room.

”So cool! ” Vincent stares at the Golem.

”I agree with you for once. ”

”What can it do? ”

”If I made it bigger it would be able to pick things up or fight. But for a demonstration I didn find it necessary to make it full size. ”

I close the Circle and the Golem falls into a puddle of water. I grab a rag off the table and clean up the spot. Everyone here is nice. I suppose this isn too bad of a place to live until I figure out what to do.

***

Outside of the orphanage Jett sits on the roof and stares at the stars. A woman wearing a hooded cloak approaches him. ”How are you holding up? ” He says, not looking at the woman.

”Ive has better days. How is he? ”

”Hell be fine. Though I don know why Lloyd sent him to me. ”

”Hell still be in the Land of Mages so he can return to the throne if he chooses to. ”

”You think he will? ”

”Lloyd only became King to stop war. I predict Ren will be the same. ”

”Did you get his Clairvoyance? ”

”Nothing like that. ” She turns away. ”Thats all for now. Thank you, Jett. Ill be checking in later. ”

”No problem. ”

The woman disappears from the roof and Jett continues his stargazing into the morning.