Celestial Phoenix…Could it be true?

  No. It must be true. Adion doesn’t have it in him to lie to me.

  Narvar paced around his office, contemplating the words Adion had just told him.

  I need to tell Yelleda about this. Hopefully, there isn’t anything serious going on, and he’ll return soon.

  Narvar poured a glass of spirits for himself, even though it was still early in the day.

  Should I use the touban to report to the Soul mages in Valis? But that would be expensive. And it’s nothing urgent…

  Whatever, I’ll wait for Yelleda to return and leave it for him to decide.

  Perhaps the higher-ups are already aware of the Celestial Phoenix, and I’m just getting worked up over nothing.

  Narvar grabbed his glass and went to take a seat in an armchair in the corner.

  It makes one wonder what else that boy knows. Should I head over and ask him some more?

  No. I can’t be hasty. I will have all the time in the world once he has truly come over to our side.

  The hours passed, but Narvar didn’t move from his chair. He continued to think, and wait for Yelleda to return.

  He was close several times to get up and visit Adion. Just ask for a few more clarifications.

  But in the end, he decided against it. He recalled how Adion had looked unsure when he had left earlier.

  He might have noticed something. Now isn’t the time to push. I’ll have the tea work its magic for a few days, and get him to believe deeper in the narrative that I’ve constructed.

  Then I’ll test the waters again. If he reacts the same way, I’ll have to adjust. He might be harder to shake secrets out of than I had thought.

  Oh, well. In time, I’m sure I can explain away all these feelings of discomfort and have him tell me willingly.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, snapping Narvar away from his thoughts.

  How long has it been?

  “Come in,” Narvar called out.

  A maid stepped inside with a curtsy and reported, “Gold Narvar, Soft Soul Yelleda asks for your presence in his office.”

  So he’s back already? Everything should be fine then.

  “I’ll head over straight away,” Narvar said as he stood up, “No need to go back and report.”

  “Yes,” The maid nodded and stepped away.

  Narvar climbed up the many sets of stairs, not seeing anyone else on the way. He couldn’t help but wonder what this place was used for. He didn’t lie to Adion when he said he didn’t know much. He hadn’t been involved with Heavenly Light for very long, after all. He just knew there was some kind of research conducted, but he rarely saw other people except servants around.

  Maybe the war has pulled everyone away.

  Narvar soon reached Yelleda’s office. He knocked on the door and announced his presence.

  The door was soon opened, and Narvar immediately noticed the dirty robes Yelleda was wearing.

  He must have just come back.

  “Narvar,” Yelleda said with a tired smile, “Come in and take a seat.”

  Narvar did as asked. As he sat down, he looked to Yelleda and asked, “How was it? Any trouble?”

  “Well,” Yelleda said hesitantly, “Not at the moment. But I’m afraid it will become quite troublesome soon enough.”

  “What happened?” Narvar asked.

  “Haah,” Yelleda sighed, “It seems we’ve been discovered.”

  “Discovered? By whom? How?” Narvar asked, surprised.

  “It seems to be people from the Academy,” Yelleda answered, “According to the people by the docks, they seemed to have spotted us from the sea, and came into shore to question the people there. They were apparently from a task force sent out to find Adion.

  “One of my guys sent me a message as soon as he heard about people from the Academy asking around for signs of Heavenly Light. By the time I got there, they had already figured out that the docks were entirely under our control. They took a few of our people away to question and left before I arrived. I’m sure they are on their way back to Cyalis by now, and they will soon have information about this place.”

  “Is there no way to stop them? We should be able to intercept them, right?” Narvar asked.

  “I have already sent out information to the higher-ups, but this is beyond their control,” Yelleda said, “The people from the Academy had Diamond mages with them, and the closest Soft Soul mage to the south of the Empire is me.

  “Perhaps we could send some people from the Melorian Bay, but that would also be difficult, and would surely attract attention. Unless we give up on Valis, we don’t stand a chance against the Academy in that area.

  “Besides, a group like that surely keeps a touban aboard. I’m sure the Academy already knows everything. Stopping them now won’t change anything.”

  What about the people they captured? Narvar wondered, but he knew Yelleda probably didn’t care about them.

  “So what do we do? The Academy will surely send more people,” Narvar said.

  “They’ll definitely come here in full force,” Yelleda said, “Which is why I’ve been ordered to abandon this place.”

  “Abandon? When?” Narvar asked.

  “As soon as possible,” Yelleda answered, “I’ll gather what can be taken away and what’s most important. We’ll fill up as many ships as possible and leave this place behind.

  “As for when. Well, I’ll start cleaning out the place tonight. But I won’t be going anywhere for a while, it seems. I’ve been ordered to bury this place, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding desert. Even if we can’t protect it for the moment, it wouldn’t be good if the Academy found it. Hopefully, we can retake it once the war has settled down and we have more manpower at our disposal.”

  “What should I do? And what about Adion?” Narvar asked.

  “You two are a priority, of course,” Yelleda answered, “It looks like someone will come over from Valis to protect you as you make your way over there. They have yet to decide who, though. This is all new information, so it will take some time before a final decision on everything is made.”

  “That will take a few weeks, at least,” Narvar commented, “What if people from the Academy show up before our person gets here? The Academy could have someone stationed just a day or two away, for all we know.”

  “That’s what is worrying,” Yelleda said, his face etched with concern, “Cyalis has sent out a lot of people in search of Adion Remori. Some of them are sure to be at least as strong as me, and we have no idea where they are.

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  “That’s why you’ll need to start your journey alone. You can meet up with the Soul mage sent from Valis on the way over.”

  “I see,” Narvar said, nodding slowly.

  “Don’t worry,” Yelleda said with a smile, “There aren’t many things in the desert that can threaten a Gold mage. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  “Yes,” Narvar nodded. He wasn’t very worried about traveling the desert. He was just a little uncertain if Adion was ready to be let loose. “When do we need to leave?”

  “The sooner, the better,” Yelleda said, “How is your progress?”

  “I would be a lot more comfortable if I could have another week or two with him,” Narvar answered hesitantly.

  Yelleda furrowed his brows and answered, “Two weeks is absolutely impossible. They can certainly send someone over during that time. At most a week.”

  “I suppose that should be alright,” Narvar nodded.

  “Are you really worried? The boy seemed quite well-behaved when I saw him today,” Yelleda said.

  “He is,” Narvar agreed, “He hasn’t shown any hostility toward me since the first few days. I would even call our relationship amiable at this point. But he still wishes to return to his family. It will take a while before he forgets enough for me to be able to influence him.”

  “Give him a higher dose of the tea in the coming days,” Yelleda said, “We used it somewhat sparingly because we had plenty of time, but now that we are on a deadline, there is no use in saving it.”

  “But the sudden memory loss might have an adverse effect,” Narvar said, “You’ve told me it is best used in small doses over a longer period of time.”

  “Well, it should be all right if we don’t overdo it,” Yelleda said, “Try to keep him company during these days, keep his mind off his family and past. Try to convince him of the story you’ve prepared for him.”

  “I’ve been pushing my narrative as much as I can, but as soon as I say something he knows is false, he will panic and distrust me, setting the progress back. It can’t be rushed,” Narvar said.

  “Well,” Yelleda paused in thought, “I’ll just leave it to you. You know best. But no matter what, you have to leave within a week.”

  “Alright,” Narvar nodded.

  I suppose it should suffice.

  “That should be it, I guess,” Yelleda said, “I need to get to work. I’ll let you know if I come to know anything else. Oh, and don’t forget to have him practice his space magic, lest he forget how to use it.”

  “That’s fine,” Narvar said. He was just about to get up when he remembered why he’d wanted to meet Yelleda in the first place. “That’s right. Adion said something quite interesting earlier.”

  “Oh? What did he say?” Yelleda asked.

  “Have you ever heard of the Celestial Phoenix?” Narvar asked.

  Yelleda thought about it for a while before shaking his head, “Doesn’t ring a bell. What is it? Some organization here on Shiora I should be aware of?”

  “Not at all,” Narvar said, shaking his head with a light smile, “It would seem that it’s an actual Phoenix. Just like the Fire Phoenix, but with control over space instead of fire.”

  “What are you talking about?” Yelleda questioned, “From some storybook?”

  “No. A real creature. Apparently, Adion has seen it himself,” Narvar said and went on to explain the short but interesting conversation he had had with Adion earlier.

  “Could he be lying?” Yelleda asked.

  “Impossible,” Narvar denied.

  “But he might be confused,” Yelleda said, “He isn’t the most clearheaded, after all. It’s more likely he read about it somewhere and got the facts mixed up.”

  Narvar was at a loss for words.

  Isn’t he the least bit interested? This could be huge news.

  “Shouldn’t we send this information to the higher-ups? It might be important even for the leaders on Quemer,” Narvar said.

  “It’s way too costly to use the touban for something like that,” Yelleda said, “You haven’t even found out any details of it yet. Where did he see it? When? How does he know it was the Celestial Phoenix?”

  “I didn’t want to push him,” Narvar explained, “I will find out eventually.”

  “I’m sure,” Yelleda said with a smile, “So let’s wait until he’s more open. Everything will be clear in time. I’m sure he has a lot of useful information about space that we could use.”

  “Right,” Narvar nodded. Did I get too ahead of myself? Maybe he really was just confused.

  “I’ll head back for now, then,” Narvar said, getting up from his seat.

  “Let’s meet again tomorrow. I should have heard back from Valis by then,” Yelleda said.

  “Thank you for the trouble,” Narvar said, and headed outside.

  Was he really talking about some story?

  Narvar thought about it as he headed back down to his office.

  Maybe he managed to find some old book from way back in time. He might have misunderstood something.

  Narvar wasn’t usually an impatient man. But he knew this would bother him until he got a clear answer.

  Whatever. I’ll ask delicately.

  Narvar decided to go to Adion’s room to see how he was doing. He could try to clarify a few things while he was there.

  Adion’s room wasn’t far from his own office, so he got there quickly. He knocked on the door and called out, “Adion. It’s Narvar. Can I come in?”

  “Yeah, it’s open,” Adion responded.

  Narvar opened the door and spotted Adion sitting cross-legged on his bed, seemingly meditating. He stepped inside with a friendly smile, but he soon stopped as he noticed Adion’s bandaged arm.

  “Adion, my boy. What happened to your arm?” Narvar asked. He could see it wasn’t a light injury, as most of the bandage was red from blood.

  “I got injured while trying to come up with a spell,” Adion answered with a wry smile.

  “With space?” Narvar asked.

  “Yeah,” Adion nodded, “I thought since you said there were beasts outside, I should have some way besides freezing space to fight them. But it was trickier than I thought, and this happened.”

  “I see,” Narvar said, nodding slowly.

  He seems…alright.

  “You should be careful,” Narvar warned, “What if you had passed out from the injury? There might not be anyone able to find you in time.”

  “You’re right,” Adion said, “I’ll be more patient going forward.”

  Narvar was quiet for a few seconds, thinking.

  “What kind of spell was it?” Narvar asked.

  “I kind of tried to disrupt space,” Adion answered, “It’s still experimental.”

  “I see,” Narvar nodded, “Is this also something you saw from the Celestial Phoenix?”

  Adion seemed to think about the question for a second before looking at Narvar slightly…wary?

  What’s this?

  Adion smiled and answered, “I thought of it myself.”

  “Is that so?” Narvar said.

  Did I imagine it?

  Maybe I have been too hasty.

  “Well,” Narvar said, trying to activate his Gift as much as he could, “You should probably hold off on that kind of practice for now. We will be leaving in a week. It wouldn’t do if you were too injured to move.”

  “Really?” Adion asked.

  “Yes,” Narvar nodded, “I’ll be going to the Valis Kingdom to the west. That place is not far from your family, so we can travel together.”

  “Alright,” Adion nodded.

  Something is…a little off. He isn’t as relaxed. My Gift doesn’t have the same grasp over him as it did earlier.

  It was a subtle but distinct feeling. Narvar could tell pretty accurately how much sway his words had, and how they were received. Usually, there was no resistance in everyday conversations with Adion. Only when he touched upon Adion’s past, trying to alter it, did he feel him getting confused, and not so easily influenced.

  But now, even if he hadn’t told him a lie, or tried to convince him of anything but their departure, he could feel Adion getting confused when he should easily believe him.

  This Celestial Phoenix is certainly not from some storybook, to have startled him this much.

  I should give him some space. One step back, two steps forward.

  “Well, I just came to see how you were doing,” Narvar said, “You should rest. Let the body heal.”

  “Yeah,” Adion nodded.

  Narvar relaxed slightly as he felt those words get through without a problem.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Narvar said with a gentle smile, “I’ll send something for you to eat before you go to bed.”

  “Thank you,” Adion said.

  Narvar turned to leave, but happened to spot something on Adion’s desk. A few pieces of paper with writing on them.

  Has he been writing? That’s not good.

  Narvar realized that a lot of the effects from the tea could be counteracted if Adion were to write down information before he forgot it, such as Heavenly Light being an enemy who had abducted him.

  This is a massive oversight. How did he get ahold of pen and paper? I’ll need to do a sweep of his room once he’s gone to bed.

  He walked to the kitchen to have someone prepare a meal.

  Let’s spike his drink with double the amount of Persmytha tea leaves tonight.

  It would be for the best if this day faded entirely from his memory.