Besides being annoyed at playing guide, Rolland did guide them towards the alchemist complex. A large building and the second that Oliver had helped in construction, clear from the smooth mismatch of stone. Together with the Hearth, it was also the only building with guards. Whatever they did in there seemed to be of more importance than Clay initially expected. Striking were the collection of chimneys that spewed columns of smoke into the air, reminiscing of the forge district he had seen in passing.

  After giving the standing guard some instruction, Rolland quickly excused himself. He had to do something close by anyway, so at least the way guiding them wasn’t a complete waste of time. On his departure, he already plotted his revenge on Jake, leaving Clay and Mia oblivious to the fact that they became part of a war of petty rivalry.

  Upon getting entry from the guard, they were greeted by a man that acted as some sort of receptionist. The guard quickly informed him of their reason of visit and went back to his post. Without much conversation they were asked to follow and lead to a side door which upon opening revealed why the reception smelled so weird as a stench of iron assaulted their noses. They could have well been in a slaughterhouse, and it wouldn’t have smelled any better.

  Besides the smell, the place seemed very sterile, with freshly mopped flooring. It was a depressing building, with little to no furniture and with the flooring and ceiling sharing the same mismatch of stone as the walls, it lacked color. To rub salt into the wound was the only source of light, small slits carved high into the wall. They were the only connection to the outside, which helped little in air circulation, meaning the stench of blood was a mixture of fresh and stale. How pleasant for a nose as sensitive as Clay’s.

  At the end of the hall was a bare wooden door, that simply had, Finnian Voss carved upon it. Leaving them there, the receptionist left. They stood before the door of a so-called head alchemist, without being told much about what to expect or to do. Knocking on the door, a young voice beckoned them to enter.

  Entering the spacious laboratory, Clay was taken aback by the wide differentiation of smells, rows of tools he never saw in his life, letting him only guess for what they might be used for. Sitting on a swivel chair, was the only person in the room and when turned revealed himself to be a… child.

  Well not really, more like a teenager which had a boyish face, short trimmed black hair and bags under his eyes that rivaled his hair color. Slightly confused, Clay spoke without thinking, “Are you Finnian Voss?”

  Turning from neutral to immediately annoyed, the boy stood up. “Do you see someone else here, dimwit? Did you not read the sign with my own name on it before entering? What did you expect, some old grizzly man in a lab coat? Well, sorry to disappoint, as I’m the only Finnian Voss you will find. And don’t you dare to call me a child, I’m fourteen and have more knowledge than most adults you will find in this piss hole of a city.”

  Left at a loss for words, the only thing that came out of Clay’s mouth was air, as he mentally tried to adjust to the person in front of him. Seems like he had involuntarily hit a nerve, damn himself, for always being so direct!

  Before he could say anything, Mia chimed in, “What the fuck are you on about? He only asked after your name, not insulted your entire family. Did you start off with the wrong foot, or did your mother just forget to teach you basic manners, you wannabe professor?”

  Gasping for air, Clay saw the situation further escalating in a dozen different ways. He knew that Mia could get feisty in arguments and had a strong personality, but usually she was a bit more… restrained. Racking his brain for a way to defuse the tension while the two glared each other to death, Voss suddenly burst into laughter, while Mia couldn’t help but crack a smile.

  “I like you. What is your name?”

  “I’m Mia Hawk, it’s a pleasure to meet the great head alchemist,” replied Mia while giving a curtsy.

  “Finally someone with humor. You can call me Finnian,” said Voss while giving a deep bow, “at your service.”

  Still confused by the situation, Clay just gave up to understand in and moved on to their request. “Well it’s also my pleasure Finnian, I’m Clay–”

  “It’s Voss for you.”

  Giving him a look, he was about to argue when Mia said, “Let me do the talking.”

  Letting out a deep sigh, Clay turned his attention back to the tools, refusing to indulge himself into an argument which this boy seemed to so desperately want.

  “Excuse my brother, he isn’t good with jokes or humor in general.”

  “That is no problem, most people aren’t, but tell me what does such a lovely lady require from me?” asked Voss with interest.

  “Yes, you may have noticed the mask I’m wearing, which sadly isn’t of esthetic purpose. I have a horrible affliction that causes my body to produce poison, which gets through my breath into the air, endangering everyone around me. This mask prevents this from happening, but as you might guess, is this only a temporary solution.”

  Reaching into her backpack, she retrieved a jar of her condensed poison and handed it to Finnian.

  “I’m here to find a permanent one.”

  Breaking character of whatever role-play the two were playing, Voss turned serious upon getting the jar. He closed his eyes and felt the poison inside it. “How strange, I have never felt such a flow of essence.”

  Nodding, Mia explained, “It’s hard to explain, but I share a connection with the poison, yet I can’t control it, it also doesn’t flow but flickers, which shouldn’t be possible.”

  Opening his eyes, Voss leaned his head in confusion. “No, it does flow, there is no flicker.”

  Having listened the whole time, Clay joined back into the conversation, “What do you mean by that?”

  “You two haven’t been long in the city, right? We don’t share the same knowledge of essence, so allow me to indulge you in my wisdom,” declared Voss with a smile.

  Rolling his eyes, Clay still listened. “After the Shattering about two years ago and the formation of the new moon Galaz there was suddenly a constant flow of wild essence in our world. In the sky, the mountains, the forests and in living beings the Flow is everywhere and all encompassing. It is always there, but does by itself nothing. To gain power, you need two things, a soul and a Root.

  “The Root is needed to draw from the Flow, and turn it into your own essence, while the soul is needed to control and use this refined essence. Sadly, not everyone has a Root, like myself. I’m a normie, rootless – one of the forsaken!” exclaimed Voss while raising his hands for dramatic effect.

  Getting no reaction, he sighed, “Okay, serious it is. Those who awaken a Root are known as Vitalis and come in three variations. The most common are the Augmenter, who’s Root lies in the heart. Then come the Weaver who form a core at the spine that acts as their Root and lastly there are the Psyker. We don’t really understand them yet, their Root seems to lie in no physical form, it could be that their soul also acts as their Root, but we don’t know for sure.”

  “Wait, so you can perceive essence, but not control it?” asked Clay for clarification.

  “Yes, those without Root can still perceive essence as long as it holds Intent. We can perceive the wonders of essence without ever being able to wield it ourselves… Of course, not everyone feels essence the same way. I for example am highly sensitive to it, strong enough to even distinguish Intent through the masking of the Flow. Try to guide a tendril of your essence somewhere, and I will feel it,” proclaimed Voss with arrogance in an attempt to mask the bitterness in his voice.

  Obliging, Clay guided the smallest of tendril of essence he could manage over towards Voss. The moment the tendril left his body, Voss locked his eyes on it, as if he could see it with his very eyes, doing so they slightly widened as he began to smile. “How beautiful.”

  Letting go of his control, the tendril quickly dissipated into the atmosphere, causing Voss to raise his hand as if trying to catch it, before halting midair. Seeing the confusion on Clay’s and Mia’s face, he smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I just haven’t seen such a tender control over essence yet. You could also have told me you were an Ascended, there is no challenge in that. The Flow can’t mask your essence after all.”

  “Did you just call my control, beautiful?”

  “Oh, it’s just that each person controls their flow differently. Sir Degen wields his like a tool, forcing it to his bidding, Oliver’s flow is very orderly and efficient but lacks beauty. Your flow on the other hand feels… natural. It’s hard to describe, but you don’t force your river, you also don’t limit it to certain patterns, you just guide it, while giving it room to move on its own,” explained Voss while the smile on his face widened. “You may also call me Finnian.”

  Having a hard time to follow along, Clay nodded. “Thank you?”

  “You are welcome. Back to the topic of your poison. What I want to get at, is that essence always flows. It moves and never stands still, that will be nothing new to you, it’s a law that doesn’t change. So your poison doesn’t flicker, it also flows. The anomaly lies in the fact that it flows independently. I know why it confused you, because I wouldn’t even call it a poison.”

  Seeing that he only raised more questions, Voss tried to explain, “You can imagine the Flow as one big ocean, which you can’t really perceive, yet it is still there hindering your own flow of essence. You use your Root to draw from the Flow and turn it into something like a sea that you can use. For Augmenter, this would be Ichor.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “The blood which is stored in our heart?” asked Mia.

  “Yes, it acts as your sea, something unique to you. This sea stores your essence. If you want to use your essence, you’ll need to split a river – or even just a stream – away from this sea, channeling it into, for example, your body. That part will be strengthened for as long as the river flows. You could also guide this river outwards to carry your Intent, like you just demonstrated.”

  Interrupting him, Clay asked, “Oliver already mentioned Intent when we met, but I didn’t really give my aura any Intent, how would you even do that?”

  “As long as you control your essence, it will always carry your Intent. Most don’t do it consciously, but your essence always carries it, it’s yours after all. We only understand a fraction of Intent and its uses – you could, for instance, wield it to manifest bloodlust. With you being an Ascended, I’m guessing Oliver already used it on you. When you met, did it feel as if the mountains were growing around you? As if they could crush you with their presence alone?”

  Slowly nodding, Clay suddenly understood what happened so long ago when he met the ascended boar. He must have been overwhelmed by its Intent. And later when he forced the wolves away with his aura alone, this too was Intent. Or recently, he matched Oliver's Intent with his own.

  Seeing the understanding in Clay’s eyes, Voss continued, “You just mentioned aura. I don’t know that word, but I’m guessing you are referring to the flow outside of your body. To carry your Intent outward, you must separate a part from your sea – a river that flows beyond you and then returns, to maintain the circulation of essence. This also leads me back to your poison. It doesn't form a circulation like usual, but is an independent flow that keeps going until it runs out of essence. Meaning, Mia can’t control it because it isn’t connected to her sea.”

  “But that can’t…” stopping mid-sentence, Clay thought further, slowly realizing the credibility of this theory. “Wait, so Mia can’t control her poison because she loses her connection to it? To control essence you rely on your soul, which is linked to this sea, so without this connection there can be no control?

  Nodding, Voss began to stride through the room, “Indeed. Of course, this rises the question of who is controlling the poison if not Mia herself? The answer to that question is the poison itself. It has, for a lack of better words, a mind of its own.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” asked Mia, visibly disturbed. “My poisons doesn’t have a mind of its own, it’s not a person! It can’t think or speak or make decisions. It has no soul!”

  Not bothered by her small outbreak, Voss nodded. “That is correct, it has no soul because it doesn’t need one. I said that you need a Root and soul to control essence, but if you break it down, you only need the Root to refine essence and the soul to give it Intent. If you were able to give already refined essence Intent…”

  “It would act on its own,” finished Clay.

  “Theoretically,” confirmed Voss. “Well, it was only theoretical until now. Oliver has long ago tried to make spells that last without him consciously controlling them, but hasn’t really achieved any results. Your poison, on the other hand, is the first phenomenon that proves this theory.”

  Horror filling her eyes, Mia asked, “But doesn’t Intent have to come from me?! I didn’t give the Intent to just absorb more essence, endlessly! It just somehow – does!”

  “Precisely this is Intent. Like I said, it can come in many forms and most often doesn’t happen consciously. Think of it like a program. The poison is made with a certain Intent, let us say absorbing essence. Then the essence will follow to turn this Intent into reality. At its core is essence nothing but energy that if given instructions can do literally anything,” revealed Voss while tapping his chin.

  “The inherent problem with Oliver’s approach so far was that refined essence – even if somehow given Intent – would eventually be used up, there is no Root to refine more essence after all. Of course, if this poison absorbed already refined essence instead of refining it on its own, it could persist indefinitely – as long as it had a source to draw from…”

  Hearing this, caused Mia and Clay to exchange worried gazes. Noticing this, Voss asked, “Did this happen before?”

  Slowly nodding Clay recounted, “Well in the beginning we didn’t have the mask, so starting from a tree in a city named Churchville the poison slowly began to spread, when we left it had already assimilated one third of the city, not showing any signs of slowing down.”

  “What exactly happens when a living being comes into contact with it?” asked Voss cautiously.

  “If it can’t be purged with more essence, it slowly eats away until there is… well no more essence left,” said Clay with a flashback of his first encounter with the poison.

  Slowly swallowing, Voss lifted the jar in his hand and asked, “So if hypothetically this small glass jar broke and came into contact with any sort of essence, it would slowly spread until… there is no more essence left?”

  Scratching his temple, Clay said, “Well, if you put it like that, yes, but it spreads really slow.”

  Feeling his heart rate increasing, Voss carefully placed the jar on a table before asking, “Do you have any more of this poison?” Coming over, Mia opened her backpack, revealing a dozen different more containers that were filled to the brim.

  Shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation, Voss said, “If you look at it logically, this really is no poison but more like a virus. A virus only purpose is to replicate, just like your ‘poison’ does. It’s not inherently trying to destroy something, it just is programmed to absorb more essence.”

  “I guess so,” agreed Mia.

  “Okay, you can leave the virus with me,” said Voss with a sigh. “I will try to do what I can, but I can’t promise anything. I’m an alchemist handling plants, making potions and not some virologist.”

  “Right, I almost forgot,” said Clay. “What do you exactly do here?”

  “That is highly classified information…” stated Voss with his chin held high. Seeing the doubt in their eyes, he snapped, “It really is classified! But with you being ascended and all, you will probably be involved sooner or later anyway.

  “I make potions from plants who have a Root but no soul. Meaning that they accumulate, essence which is far easier refined than the one in the atmosphere. That’s it as far as the people know. In reality, I spent most of my time on something called droplets or officially named God’s Tears, but don’t call them that – It’s this.”

  After finishing, Voss pulled something that looked like a crystallized tear from his pocket. It was a small droplet that had veins of emerald green snaking through it’s surface like lightning. All around it danced wisps of sapphire and violet that curled and twisted, around it’s shimmering surface. It refracted light in soft, spectral glows, reminiscing of how the moons looked during the Conjunction.

  Not diverting his eyes he asked “What in god’s name it this?”

  “Like I said, a droplet. It’s crystallized Ichor and will be the most valuable thing in the world. What, in the past, may have been gold or oil, will soon be this small droplet,” proclaimed Voss with confidence.

  “Why?”

  “You will understand soon enough, we are closing our research at the moment and will begin mass production soon. Well I have a lot of work to do now, thanks to you two, so if you would excuse me,” turning to Mia he added, “It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  Still mesmerized by the crystal, Clay had to force his eyes away from it. “Thank you Finnian I hope you will have more luck than us.”

  “You are not half bad. I will grace you with my presence once again at a later time,” added Mia with a stiff chuckle before turning to leave, closely followed by Clay.

  Once they left, Finnian exhaled sharply, massaging his trembling hand, while his eyes were glued on the jar with Mia’s virus.

  ******

  When they returned to the Hearth it was long dark, yet the city was still filled with sounds of working, laugher and drinking from people unwinding from the day and a few straddlers making last deliveries for the day.

  Upon arrival, they realized that Jake still working. After greeting him, he decided to call it a day and led them out to the plaza, where they were almost run over by a guard who was way too hasty for his own good. He then led them, with the help of his crutches, towards one of the buildings on the side.

  “Why would we need a guide if you live right next door?” asked Clay, bewildered.

  “I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t knock on the wrong house,” replied Jake dryly. “With my legs being as they are, it’s convenient to live so close to your workplace. I own the whole house but only use the first floor, so you can make yourself comfortable on the second one. It should be furnished, if a little dusty.”

  Thanking him, they made their way upstairs, they were all exhausted from the long day and wanted nothing more than to sleep. As soon as Clay stepped into the bedroom, he felt his body release a tension he hadn't even known he was holding.

  They had finally found a city, a metropolis in comparison to what they came across so far. They somehow gained entry and weaved through seemingless, endless crowds of people, to the mayor of this city, who was also the second person Clay had met with power over an element. Then came the reunion between Mia and Jake, only to be sent to some head alchemist, who revealed that Mia’s poison was in reality a virus. It surely was a busy day.

  Getting ready for bed, Clay noticed Mia being lost in thought, “What’s up?”

  “I’m just wondering if it is even possible for me to ever control my power, this virus? What if I will never be able to?” replied Mia with a dead expression.

  Sitting beside her, he leaned her head against his chest, saying, “I won’t lie. After what Finnian told us, there is a real possibility that we will never find a solution, that you will never be able to control it. Don’t be too hopeful but also don’t despair, even if you can’t control it, with your mask we can contain it, and you can finally return to a somewhat normal life here. There are walls to protect us, and I’m sure there is a school you can attend. This is a new beginning for us.”

  “Mhm,” agreed Mia, absent-minded. Before he came up with something to cheer he up, there was a knock on the door. Jake hadn’t mentioned any guests.

  Going down, he reached the door before Jake could and opened it to be greeted by Oliver. “Ah, Clay. I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, but would you and Mia be so kind as to accompany me on a stroll?”

  “At this hour?” asked Clay, skeptically.

  “Yes, there was something I have to show you two, now that I know you are Ascended,” replied Oliver without concern. Jake was at the door frame having listened and looked just as confused.

  “Okay, just give us a moment,” replied Clay before going upstairs and whispering to Mia, “Grab your dagger and be ready for anything. Oliver wants something, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

  He was about to take his sword before deciding against it. It wouldn’t be of much help in a fight and would make it clear that he knew something was up. He still had his Eruption, which Oliver didn’t know of if it came down to the worst.

  Once against downstairs, Oliver guided them through the city in a leisure pace, doing small talk with them or exchanging a few pleasantries with the passing people. They passed the Hearth and moved further to the right cliff which it was closely built to. They stood before an inconspicuous cliff wall that looked no different from the rest. Oliver kept walking towards it and once his cane hit the ground once again the wall suddenly shifted open to reveal a small passage.

  Even though Mia and Clay stopped in hesitation, Oliver didn’t halt his stride or elaborated further. Exchanging glances with each other, they took a deep breath before following. They needed this city, and maybe Oliver really just wanted to show them something.

  The passage stretched for what felt like an eternity as it carved straight thought the mountain range without caring for any stone that might have been in the way. There were no twists or turns, just a straight, cramped passage with a gentle incline.

  Eventually they saw light from the moons shining at the end of the tunnel, and upon existing revealed itself to be a small and beautiful basin. It was a small pocket of nature that, if beautiful, didn’t seem to have anything inside it. It was maybe a few hundreds meters large and even with the vegetation filling some of the space he could see no building.

  Turning to Oliver, he asked, “What did you want to show–”

  “I’m sorry,” interrupted Oliver, as the stone behind him shifted and closed the passage. “There is no other way.”

  Finnian Voss - is the head alchemist of the Vanguard. With the tender age of 14 his genius is matched by few and even if incapable of influencing essence himself, pushed the understanding of it by leagues. Officially, he only makes potions, which are easier to refine into essence than drawing directly from the Flow, but spends in reality most of his time on working on a project called God's Tears. Despite trying to appear cheerful, is he deeply traumatized by the loss of his family and can't sleep without taking a sedative to prevent nightmares. He is overworking himself with his research to keep his head away from his trauma.

  The Flow - is the seemingless endless and all encompassing current of essence coming from the blue moon Galaz. Even if not possible to feel this current, can the Root of a Vitalis draw from it to refine essence. It also masks the Intent of any essence below its purity.

  Vitalis - are those who awakened a Root.

  Mia's poison - is in reality no poison, but similar to a virus directed by her Intent.

  Intent - is the will of a Vitalis conveyed through their soul. It's still poorly understood, but one use would be bloodlust, which is nothing but murderous or malicious Intent. Prolonged exposure to such an Intent, especially if you can't protect yourself, will induce uncontrollable dread, paralysis, nausea, hallucinations and loss of consciousness.

  Closing Note: From here on out, I will not mention the word aura anymore. I originally intended for people to have completely different terminology for my magic system, as different groups of people would name things differently. Like in the Walking Dead, where zombies have a dozen different names.

  The problem with this is that I have too many variables to name, which would only confuse the reader. We are still relatively at the beginning of the book, so I'm sorry if this confuses some of you. Aura will henceforth be described more metaphorically, like a river, for example. This is more accurate, as aura invoked this picture of a sphere around someone that follows them, which is not true. Clay used it in this way, but that doesn't mean that it's the only way of how to use it.

  I hope you have a nice day whenever you are reading this.