-The 34th of Plantar, 1st month of year 3245-
Today was Shigeo's birthday. Unlike other birthdays, the academics left him alone to his room to study. At least that was the idea. Shigeo didn't study much as he curled in the pillow padded window nook and stared out at the city below the Imperial Keep. It was brightly lit and sprawled for miles in all directions. The jewel of the Empire. The city at the center of the world and at the center of the city was the Imperial Keep, the personal home of the Emperor.
The Keep sat on a tower of basalt and granite that rose several hundred feet above the city proper. The walls of the Keep were built in a way that it appeared to be growing out of the rock, adding another 300 feet to its impressive height. Grand walls, that if you tried to climb over bordered an imposing chasm that separated the central Keep from the city. It was a stunning 300 foot drop into an angry river below. Often birds of prey soar gracefully below for Shigeo to watch, they nested along the rocky cliffs pock marked with caves that had been collapsed generations ago. Shigeo loved to view the Keep from the outside. It's dark stone architecture was decorated with arches of gold and marble, and several waterfalls poured form the sides of the stone base into the river below. This has been his home for the last four years.
His focus shifted away from the outside, stopping briefly at his reflection in the window glass. Shigeo's red eyes shone as brightly as the full red moon above. He noted the sadness present in his eyes as they gazed back at him through the reflection, but he could live with that. He had to. Shigeo turned his focus inward as he reminisced about the homes he and his brother had. Their childhood home with his mother and father when he was still Un-Innervated. He doesn't remember much but it was small and it was good. Then, six years ago, when he found his Root, and his magic emerged, Claw mages appeared and took him and his brother away at the tender ages of six and five.
"So gifted that child and he doesn't even know it yet." They told his parents, "He doesn't belong in the world of the common man. The emperor personally requests for Shigeo Kageyama to join the academy. You have given The Divine Tree Empire a True Sorcerer, and we shall forever be in your debt."
High status, wealth, living in the best comforts and access to the finest luxuries, they promised the Kageyama household everything. And they delivered on those promises without fail. To this day, Shigeo, and by association Ritsu, had the best rooms in the academy. They had the best tutors and the best doctors when they were sick. The Kageyamas were given the respect and income of nobles. Everything the family could want was provided for them at their request.
It was a great deal until Shigeo was assigned to the Advanced Course four years ago due to changes in his magic. Shigeo was moved to this tower suite of the Emperor's Imperial Keep in the Capital, away from his family.
A dark feeling blanketed his mind as he thought of his classes. Being tutored directly by the emperor himself was an honor, but Shigeo had always imagined it would have been a joyful experience. There was no joy in the voice of that man, nor any joy in the classes or assignments he gave him. Although Shigeo often wondered if he was really a man at all. He never saw the emperor except from behind the dark silk veil of his… He didn't want to reminisce on that. Such lonely days its been without Ritsu in classes with him. When the academy saw the distress it caused Shigeo to be separated from his family, they relented and brought Ritsu to him. Ritsu had to continue his studies with a private tutor at the Imperial Keep.
Shigeo was overjoyed at his arrival, but as his brother's magic grew so did his fears that the Emperor would take notice. Shigeo hoped his brother's magic would stop growing, despite how much Ritsu's bright smile as he showed off new spells, warmed Shigeo heart. Shigeo regretted his wish when Ritsu fell sick. For weeks Ritsu suffered, bed ridden due to a rare genetic disease that caused catasphrophic Root degeneration. The doctors did what they could to keep him alive but at the end, when the fevers and pain stopped, Ritsu connection to his Root, his magic, was severed. He was happy no more.
Such guilty days having cursed Ritsu to the same isolation as Shigeo. So much guilt that Shigeo couldn't comfort his brother like he should have been able to, struggling to control his growing magic while his brother lost all of his. Yet, his guilt was never strong enough for Shigeo to ask Ritsu to be freed. Neither he nor Ritsu really belonged here at the Keep but at least Ritsu belonged somewhere before he came here.
Classes got worse, but their living arrangements were the highest quality they have had yet. Shigeo shared this room with his brother, but was hardly just a simple room. It was beautifully decorated, always warm in winter and cool during the summer, and had multiple antichambers bigger than most families' living rooms. The brothers even had their own separate side rooms for sleeping, relaxing, studying, and if they wanted, for dining as well. They always ate together though.
Ritsu never left his side, eventually he reclassified from Sorcerer to the purely academic class of Wizard to continue his studies of magic and spell theory in hopes of reversing his condition. Between study they often sat together and whispered of running away and returning home. In the last half year, Ritsu talked like he was serious. Like they would one day get up and leave and never look back.
No one leaves the academy.
This didn't discourage Ritsu. He discussed his plans, what he'd pack, where they might go, and how they would get there. It was a beautiful escape from Shigeo's hard days. Their conversations filled Shigeo with so much longing it hurt him. Once they packed a "runaway bag" together, to take their minds off of things. Shigeo never unpacked it. It sat under his bed for the last year in a little pocket dimension Shigeo had helped his brother create during their studies. That bag was packed and ready for a day that wasn't coming.
As the Red moon rose to among a chain of bright stars in the sky, sitting like a fat ruby on a diamond crown Shigeo's power surged under his skin and he curled in on himself while magic bubbled up like a geyser ready to blow. He clamped down on everything, his magic and his emotions, anything to prevent a surge from spilling out and destroying their room. Eventually, it passed leaving a dull ache behind. He rubbed his chest in slow circles to calm himself.
Shigeo then reminisced on times before the Advanced Courses when his power was still stable.
The door to their room opened and Ritsu gently closed the door behind him. He wore a heavy pack on his back. Shigeo smiled gently at his brother. Ritsu was the one thing missing from this uncharacteristically nice birthday.
"Big Brother?" Ritsu asked, his eyes had a determined edge to them Shigeo rarely saw this look. It usually preceded something big his brother had planned.
Shigeo wondered, a little bit selfishly, if Ritsu had a present planned for him. Shigeo greeted his brother, "Good evening Ritsu. Did you just get back from the library?"
"I did," He said and looked around the room, eventually closed the distance between them and pulled out a little grey and red striped rod hanging by a chain on his neck.
Ritsu twisted the top and bottom until the red and grey lines ran unbroken along the length of the rod. Shigeo recognized the feel of the magic as it activated, it was anti-scrying spell, the noise around them muffled as a magical barrier fell over them.
It was then Ritsu asked deathly serious, "Do you remember when I asked, that if the time came, and I said to go, you'd run away with me? You said you would, remember?"
"I do remember that Ritsu." Shigeo nodded, he crushed the hope rising in his chest. This couldn't be now, but that look in Ritsu's eyes and the seriousness in his tone brought that ache back to Shigeo's chest.
"It's time to go Big Brother." Ritsu declared. The finality in his voice left no room for questions or uncertainty in Shigeo's mind.
Shigeo's eyes widened and the surge of magic under his skin caused his eyes and skin to glow and his hair to float slightly around his head. No one leaves the Academy. Ritsu gasped and pressed a small bead into his hand and closed Shigeo's fingers around it. Shigeo felt his magic suck into it and the strange sensation made him woozy. He closed his eyes and fought against the vertigo that overtook him. Shigeo tilted forward onto his brother as he began to lose that battle.
"Brother?" Ritsu grabbed his shoulders and held them firmly, his voice was thick with concern, "Sh- My friend told me it would feel weird but it'll pass. Just keep it close to you. It- It suppresses your power… It'll make you harder to find."
Shigeo didn't fully understand. Who was this friend? How did they get an artifact this powerful? And from where?
"We can't use magic anymore either okay?" Ritsu said this more reluctantly. He loved magic, he loved learning about it, but that resolute look was still in his eyes even if it was tinged with sadness, "No- No more spells and you cannot go anywhere without that."
Ritsu squeezed Shigeo's fist that was still clutching the bead. Shigeo could slowly feel the vertigo pass and his eyes cracked open to look at this brother.
Ritsu gasped, a look of horror across his face, "Shige… your eyes."
Shigeo felt the vertigo pass immediately and he looked in the mirror on the wall nearby. His eyes were… black. Or at least they were such a dark, dull red they appeared to be a very dark reddish brown. It looked like someone else's eyes.
"Its looks fine. Really! It just surprised me is all." Ritsu's voice was apologetic and the look he was giving Shigeo was one begging for forgiveness as he tried to explain his reasons, "They have some kind of grid that they can sense when magic is used, but- but my friend he is going to take us somewhere outside of the grid where we will be safe."
"What about mom and dad? Will we be meeting them there?"
Ritsu shook his head no.
"Wait… What will happen to them if we leave?" Shigeo asked more desperately. They had talked about it running away but it was always back home to them, "Where are we going?"
Ritsu looked around anxiously, "We have to move… now. I can tell you more on the way. Where is that bag we packed? I know you have it."
"Oh." Shigeo reached out toward the bed and tried to pull on the power of his Root.
His power felt dull and sluggish. Nothing happened and he pulled his hand back to inspect it. Shigeo could cast spells just by thinking as long as he learned them once and understood what the flow of magic he needed for it felt like. It should be the same now, but his Root didn't respond, it felt like trying to touch water in a cup by reaching through the glass. He could see it, but he could not dip his hand in.
"What's wrong?" Ritsu asked.
"It's under the bed in a pocket dimension, but I can't seem to open it." Shigeo said. The bead pulsed dully in his hand.
"Um," Ritsu dug out his notebook and opened to the page on micro-dimensions, "Try with the incantation maybe?"
Shigeo swallowed but his mouth was dry. This was all too strange and it felt like he was in class again. He remembered the days in the strange classrooms, observed by so many people while they made his power fluctuate outside of his control. In those hours his magic was always either too distant or too close, sometimes it lashed out at the observers like it had a mind of its own. Blood. He had visions of blood. His hands shook. This really did feel too much like one of Sensei's assignments.
He still took the book when Ritsu pressed it into his hands and he still muttered out the incantation. As he finished, Ritsu found a little bit of white shell powder for Shigeo to rub between his fingers. His palms were sweating and Shigeo feared that the power would turn into a paste in his hands. It didn't, and there was a gentle pop under the bed as a portal opened. Ritsu reached under and pulled the bag free. He started taking the books from his smaller school bag and shoving them haphazardly into the central pouch.
"Lets go," Ritsu slung the bag onto his back and hiked it up high on his shoulders, "And keep that gem close."
Shigeo nodded and followed his brother through the door and down the tower. Without hesitation Ritsu ducked into hallways, following a strange intricate path that led them through the Imperial Keep. Somehow Ritsu knew which corridors were going to be empty despite the roaming guards. He navigated it like he'd done it a hundred times before. Shigeo was walking through parts of the keep he had never seen before and it was daunting how large this building was and he didn't even know it.
Shigeo's lung's started to burn slightly. How far have they gone? It felt like they have been going down flights of stairs for almost an hour. The Keep wasn't this tall was it? Shigeo kept his eyes down, watching his feet take each step. Of course he didn't see when this brother had stopped and stumbled into him nearly knocking them both over.
"Watch it!" Ritsu hissed, annoyed and tired.
That bag looked heavy.
Ritsu turned into a hallway and Shigeo looked around. It reminded him of a sewer. Not that he's ever been in one, but he'd seen dramatized pictures in the adventure books. His brother grabbed his hand and started to pull him along when Shigeo spent too long looking at the deteriorating walls.
Happiness welled up in Shigeo's heart and he squeezed his brother's hand. When Ritsu turned around to see what was wrong he was met my Shigeo's watery hopeful eyes. Ritsu returned the look and they both picked up speed down the tunnel. Their footsteps and ragged breaths echoed off the stone walls but they were soon drowned out by the roar of water. The brothers' path ended where two roaring currents of water, one from the right and from the left, crashed headlong into each other before tumbling out of an opening in the side of the keep.
"What?" Ritsu screamed, he paced along the edge looking for something to tell them the way.
Shigeo barely heard him above the sound of the water, and he barely heard the sound of the water over the anxious beating of his heart. Shigeo followed his brother's movement and when Ritsu turned around and saw Shigeo watching him. Waiting. Hoping. His expression broke and he stumbled to his brother.
"I swear I went the right way! I'm sorry Shige, I think I messed up." Ritsu rubbed the tears from his eyes, but he couldn't keep up with them and they started to flow freely, "It wasn't supposed to go this way. We were supposed to just walk out of here."
Shigeo hugged his brother and held him tight. Ritsu felt so small in his arms right than. Shigeo should have known better than to get caught up in Ritsu's excitement. No one leaves the Academy.
"If we head back now they won't even know we were gone." Shigeo said over the water.
"This was an awful birthday." Ritsu hiccuped into Shigeo shoulder.
He thought of his last three birthdays and said, "This is the best one I've had in a long time."
Ritsu didn't say anything but Shigeo felt him take in a deep breath and sigh. He nodded and they started to walk back down the tunnel.
"Where are you two going?" Asked a kid with red spiked hair and piercing blue eyes that Shiego had never seen before.
The boy looked at them both confused and disappointed. His features were distinctive and looked strangely familiar to a teacher of Shigeo's. The boy crossed his arms across his green mages robes. He wasn't an initiate, judging by decorations on the sleeves. He was incredibly young, maybe Ritsu's age, to have full mage status. But what was even stranger was the ivory strip of fabric along the hem of his robes. Shigeo had never seen that Root designation on anyone else except Suzuki-sensei.
"S-Shou?" Ritsu gaped at him. Ritsu eyes were still a little red from crying and Ritsu suddenly started rubbing them looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry things ran late with my Pops." He replied, shrugging his shoulders casually. He had a bright gleam in his eyes suddenly and posed smugly with his hands on his hips, "Like my new robes?"
"This is where your directions lead?" Ritsu ignored Shou's posturing as he gestured sharply back towards the water plunging into an open chasam.
Shou pouted slightly but he appeared to get over it, "What didn't I say to trust me and follow the triangle? I left you a path."
Ritsu glared at him.
"Yeah yeah, I know I was vague but I didn't expect to see you give up so quickly." Shou said and he walked forward.
Before the boys could stumble out of his way Shou, or at least Shou's illusion, past through them. A satisfied little smirk wormed its way onto his face when the Kageyamas gaped at him. Shigeo watched Shou walked along the edge and mist coming off of the two rivers passed through Shou's body. It was disorienting and Shigeo couldn't look directly at him for long.
"Here." Shou said and he faced the brothers than took a step backwards off the end onto thin air, "Come on, I got like a minute left before the other mages start thinking they're slick by fleeing my initiation party while I'm in the bathroom."
He punctuated bathroom with air quotes.
"There is nothing there." Ritsu said at last.
"I'm standing on the path right now?"
"You. Are. An. Illusion!" Ritsu yelled exacerbated, "You can float anywhere you want to!"
"After all the years you've known me, do you seriously think I would risk everything just to make you and your brother jump to your deaths?" Shou asked earnestly, he stepped farther back on the "path", as if it would prove his point and dissuade Ritsu's doubts.
Ritsu clenched his fist and looked down. Shigeo watched several emotions flicker across his face before he sighed, "No, you wouldn't."
Shou's chest puffed up with pride. Shigeo didn't know who this kid was but, judging by the happiness he expressed when Ritsu gave his lackluster trust in him was enough for Shigeo to like Shou.
"Listen, just one foot in front of the other straight across. Easy." Shou smiled, "The path is about five feet wide and as long as you are standing on it, no one should be able to see you."
Five feet? Shigeo looked over the edge. It wasn't a lot of room and the chasam had a powerful updraft and unstable winds. Maybe Ritsu's lackluster trust was well gauged.
"This is the last we'll be able to speak for a while. Once you are on the other side I won't be able to contact you, nor you me 'kay? It'll just give away your position." Shou said before a devilish grin spread across his face, "I'll be a little too busy throwing these guys off your scent here to be much help, but I got some people waiting for you that I trust to see you the rest of the way to the safe house. Just show them that charm and they will get it."
Shou pointed to the striped metal rod around Ritsu's neck. Ritsu gave Shou a determined nod. Then, Shou turned to Shigeo looking a little more somber.
"Shigeo right?" Shou asked in a strangely repentant tone.
Shigeo nodded.
"I'm sorry," Shou said and Shigeo straightened up, this simply made Shou more nervous but he pushed through, "I hope this makes up for everything you've gone through."
"I don't know why you are apologizing." Shigeo said, "Were you at my classes?"
Shou shook his head, "No! I didn't have anything to do with those classes, but… I'm just sorry. It shouldn't have been you who had to go through that."
It was confusing and a waste of time to apologize for something Shou had nothing to do with. Shigeo didn't say another word. It seemed like it was something Shou needed to say. People apologized for things they didn't do all the time.
Suddenly Shou looked to his left. His expression was dark. It sent shivers down Shigeo's spine because it was a look he'd seen before on Suzuki-sensei. Perhaps he had been apologizing for someone else.
"Move quickly." Shou said suddenly before he turned and yelled at the brothers, "Now!"
Shou's image disappeared. Ritsu and Shigeo looked at each other, fear creeping into their eyes. They approached the spot Shou was standing at. There was a triangle rune glowing dully on the stone pointing across the ravine. They didn't have the time to deliberate but Shigeo could see Ritsu struggling to put his foot over the edge and take that leap of faith.
Shigeo got the feeling that their escape was discovered if Shou's expression was anything to go by. The Academy would be upset with Shigeo but, they would forgive him in time. It was his brother Shigeo feared for. Knowing Ritsu he'd try to take the blame. He'd try to be the hero. Ritsu didn't know the head mages like Shigeo did. The punishments they threatened or enacted on Shigeo gave him nightmares. So maybe that is why Shigeo felt a swell of courage that filled his body and gave him the strength to boldly take the first step. They couldn't blame Ritsu if he was the one following Shigeo out of the Keep.
Ritsu watched slack jawed as Shigeo took a step off the end and landed roughly on open air. Shigeo's heart beat loudly in his ear as his wiggled his foot forward. The path kept going. He took another step and was standing with seemingly nothing below him. Shigeo sighed in relief. It was invisible and a little slick from the mist, but it was solid. He looked back at his brother unable to contain his smile. It was horrifying but it was also kinda cool.
It inspired enough confidence in Ritsu to follow. Shigeo waited for his brother to step forward and grab onto the back of his robe before they moved forward together. They scooted across the invisible bridge, but part way across the winds started to batter them and the brothers crawled on their hands and knees across the 80 foot gap. They crawled slowly, avoiding looking at the 200 foot drop below them and sneaking under the watchful bloody eye of the full red moon cresting in the sky above them. The cold and the fear made their progress slow and shaky. It took an agonizingly long time to reach the tunnel on the other side.
The brothers kept crawling until they were on visible solid ground. They dug their fingers into the dirt and gravel of the cave they crossed into. Shigeo looked back at the Keep, torch light flickered across the windows as room after room in the castle was lit.
"We should go. I think they are going to figure out pretty soon we aren't in the Keep anymore." Ritsu pulled Shigeo to his feet.
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the Keep yet. It was so beautiful, but it was no longer their home. Shigeo nodded to his brother and they disappeared into the dark of the cave.