DISCLAIMER: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima/Familiar of Zero in any of its forms or shapes, nor do I own the inspirations for the add-ins.
Inspirations: Heroes of Might and Magic Series, Earthsea Trilogy, Underworld Movies
There's a picture on my profile for the armor inspiration
Now for the Draconic language (You will see later) I used the online translator at draconic . twilightrealm (remember to erase the spaces)
If you don't see the link I will also post it on my profile.
################## STORY ##############################
The Knight of the Silver Light
In the land of Anhew…
Saito sighed as he cleaved through another krashia. The ruthless monsters were coming at him in numbers that passed the horizon.
'These things just can't take a hint.' he sighed again as he blasted another thousand of them with a powerful silver beam of energy coming out of his left index finger. He looked around and he saw the people he came with before… his party.
They were down and out but, thanks to him, still in the land of the living: Oneas 'The Laughing Archer', 'Bewitching Blades' Kefala, Mika 'The Light of Salvation', 'Nature's Whisper' Sakurai, 'Bottomless Pit' Patosha, 'Honored Knight' Mokoro, 'Blessed Knight' Matoko and Corvine 'The Immortal'... eight of the most powerful S-class warriors that have ever lived in the twelve continents of Anhew.
'Nif wer fesiri di thurkiitu vur majak astahi martivir, SAVING LIGHT! ' he spoke, the language so powerful that it appeared as though a thousand voices roared at the same time, and with the last syllable his fallen comrades were whisked away by blinding flashes of light. 'Hopefully the healer will be able to save them…' he thought as he swung his sword in a horizontal semicircle creating a crescent blade of energy that ripped apart another thousand krashia.
These monsters were twisted and vile side effects of the 'Midnight of Krasha' where the twelve Chaosmasters of the Order of the Vile Dragon tried to expand their powers by draining the land of Krasha of life. They succeeded partially, where they did absorb all the life giving energies of the land but because it was too much they exploded afterwards sending the energies back to the land but corrupted by their own powers. Now the island continent of Krasha was a deathland where life failed to exist. A dark and swampy land with creatures from the most terrible of nightmares roamed and fought each other for the little life energies that managed to survive, their hunger for them driving them like drugs do an addict and among them the krashia were the top of the food chain; Twisted, horrible creatures without a stable form, twelve meters tall and vaguely orcish in general appearance that rushed anything with life it, swarming like disgusting insects their numbers never usually in the eight or nine figure range but never falling under six.
Even so they were no match for Saito as he cleaved through them like a hot knife through butter while he blasted another group creating a creature-free line as far as the eye could see that he zipped through. He then cut through another group before jumping high in the air and, sending a large fireball from the tip of his sword, cleared a small hill of monsters where he landed. He then gripped the handle with both hands and raised the blade to the heavens as his power started radiating from all of his being.
"Tiselaiw douhvya, kilith ti majaktor, relgr putole wer thurkiitu vur dronilnr wer gul, ssej vyth vur spol shio ekess wer drasonameko, BLADES OF OBLIVION!"
And with that he stabbed the ground and a ring of light traveled through the ground going further than the eye could hope to see. In its wake countless blades, each a thirty meters long and half a meter thick, shot out of the ground turning the battlefield in an endless sea of blood and steel, thus the battle… or should I say massacre was finally over.
Saito released a breath of relief, although not particularly tired he was still worried for his friends.
"I knew coming here was a mistake. Why did I let Patosha convince me? Oh yeah, I can't resist that girl's puppy eyes…" he said with a smirk as he took a seat on the cold ground besides his sword. He decided it was time to check on them. He waved his hand in front of his face and a mist like screen formed. It looked like a flying camera was going across the sea at high speeds. After three seconds it reached a beautiful green land and, zipping past some mountains, it showed a beautiful city that looked like something out of a sci-fi and fantasy book with gold and white tear-drop shaped buildings floating at different altitudes amongst the clouds. Going through them the ethereal 'camera' entered the biggest one, located at the center and finally showed the downed members being treated by top-class healers.
'Well they may not be at Mika or my level but they are good enough.' Saito thought and then saw the blond, long-haired Patosha jumping out of her bed at the sight of the food that was delivered to them making Saito chuckle 'Definitely safe…"
Meanwhile in Tristain, Halkeginia…
A young pink curly long-haired loli second year mage-in-training was next in line for the Summoning Servant Ceremony that was designed to bind a familiar to the summoning mage in front of her peer and the professor in charge.
"Hey Zero, try to summon something other than an explosion will you!" yelled another student.
Truthfully, until now she experienced only failures, her attempts at magic always ending up in smoke… literally. It was even a miracle that she managed to even pass the year but now she was determined to summon the most powerful, beautiful familiar.
She took position in the pentagon rune designed to amplify her power and started chanting:
„I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar!"
Back with Saito...
The said boy was ready to teleport himself to his comrades when an oval of light appeared in front of him.
„Well this is new..." he said in surprise. The thing seemed to be friendly, well at least it did not attack him like the rest of the mishaps in this forsaken land so he approached it gently.
‚I feel powerful magic from this thing." he thought as he raised his own energy and channeled it to his hand as he moved closer. When he took another step the power in his hand started growing exponentially ‚What the... Amazing! It seems to resonate with my mana.' and it felt warm, powerful and gentle while at the same time incredibly deadly, similar to the Sun.
As he reached arm's length to the strange construction he stretched his limb to touch it. Though as soon as he did, he was sucked inside of it in a blink of an eye.
Back at the Magic Academy…
Following the girl's chant an explosion rocked the grounds near her.
A red haired succubus-like tan girl broke out of her dust induced cough "Geez Zero, you couldn't forgo the boom at least once in your short magic career?"
Louise was already beginning to feel the weight of another failure when a voice was heard from ground zero.
"&^^*()^#...**#&&$ ?"
The voice, although clearly male, spoke in a language nobody could identify. Then the smoke began to clear and out of it appeared a long-black-haired boy who, although seemed to be no older than sixteen, had the body of Adonis, fact which was evident even with the strange armor that he wore. He was looking around, confusion written on his demeanor like the words in a book. His clothing was the strangest thing that they saw in all their life, and considering the wondrous things magic could do, that was saying something. Its arm and leg coverings were of the purest and most beautiful silver weave and its breastplate was black with sky-blue trimmings and in the center was a gem that looked like it was made of quicksilver, with ripples appearing inside. His gloves and footwear was of the same design as the breastplate but lacked the gems. All over the armor, predominantly the trimmings were thin, circuit like lines linking every one of his fingers and toes with the gem and flowing with, what appeared like liquid silver. On his hip was a sword that looked just as deadly as it was beautiful. The handle was silver with a feathered dragon coiled around the place where the handle met the blade, its wings creating the cross-guard.
As he turned towards them a couple of female students nearly fainted. He was the very definition of handsome with his dark ocean-blue eyes and sharp masculine face. The front of his hair was a little spiky but the rest flowed down his back like a waterfall reaching his shoulder blades.
"^&%$...%^&%...^&$...*%#&&…%&$#...&$$*…%^$*((*^$$...*^%&$...?" he spoke again and from the tone they discerned that it was a question but he still spoke beyond their understanding. Still the smile he flashed put the final straw on the girls that were watching and they boarded the train to dream land.
"Who are you?" asked Louise.
Saito was confused. "What happened?" he asked. After he was sucked inside that energetic globe he found himself surrounded by smoke. At first he thought it was another one of Oneas' pranks. For an old man that guy had a very young spirit and a sense of humor that could kill him one of these days. As the smoke cleared he noticed the huge castle-like building near him and decided to examine it from his position. As far as he knew it was not of Human, Elfish, Griholan, Enint, Suan or Vs'shtak architecture. If anything it resembled the old, medieval castles from his native land but with discreet but still noticeable differences. He sighed internally while thinking 'Another world maybe? Not again…'. Having had his fill of the scenery he turned to face the other way coming face to face with a short pink-haired girl that looked like a ten-year old if only a little taller but not very much as she barely reached his shoulder. He was instantly mesmerized by her face and although he didn't realize it at first, it was love at first sight.
"Excuse me miss, could you please tell me where we are?" he asked with a strained voice, barely managing to keep his composure while offering a kind smile so as not to frighten her. He didn't notice the girls who fainted.
"Qui es-tu?*" she asked.
'French? But it sounded different, similar to the old one but with a difference in accent. Great… I'm stuck in a place I don't even know the language of. Good thing I know a quick fix for this."
"N'ayez pas peur." he spoke as he gently moved his hand and very lightly grasped her head. He felt her tense under his touch but brushed it aside as he focused his magic.
"Demak wer treskriri erekess lexri, BRIDGE OF QUILLS!"
Louise was staring at her supposed summoned being. After she asked her question he got a puzzled expression etched on his face. He seemed to be in thought for a few moments before he spoke, this time the words were understandable albeit barely.
"Do not be afraid." she managed to understand before he touched the crown of her head. She flinched at the contact wondering if he was going to hurt her before he spoke again in a foreign tongue. The voice that exited out of his mouth were no louder than a whisper but she felt them in her very soul and his words came like a quire of a thousand of the most famous singers speaking as one.
"Do you understand me now miss?" Saito asked hoping nothing went wrong with his spell. It was a simple language transfer magic trick but with his power if he didn't watch it he could seriously hurt her.
"I-I understood you!" she stuttered in both amazement and wonder.
Saito sighed in relief "That's good! Well can you please tell me where we are?" he asked with a smile.
Louise nodded and answered "We are in the courtyard of the Tristain Academy of Magic."
Saito nodded in acceptance 'Well that settles it, it's a different world!' he thought. "I see! Thank you and if I may ask, do you know why am I here?"
"You are here because I summoned you to be my familiar!" she answered with confidence, having dreamed of summoning her familiar for a long time that the phrase was buried deep in her mind.
"Familiar?" Saito asked in confusion.
"Yes! All mages summon their familiars when at the academy! Didn't you know that?" she asked appearing a little irked.
Saito chuckled kindly "I am sorry if I offended you with my questions miss..." he said hoping to placate any situations that might arise from the lack of social and cultural discrepancies "I am not of this land."
Now it was Louise's turn to be confused "What do you mean by that?"
"I am… from a faraway place. You probably never heard of my land before as I never heard of a land called 'Tristain'." Saito answered kindly.
"Never heard of Tristain?!" Louise asked in surprise. She didn't know if she should be insulted or concerned "Every country in Halkeginia knows of Tristain! It's where the magic academy is and all mages in the continent study here!" she shouted like he was a child who didn't learn his lesson as ordered.
Saito smiled again "I am not from Halkeginia either."
Then a student started laughing "See he is not a noble at all! Zero summoned a commoner!" and started a chain reaction that spread through the students like a wildfire.
Saito noticed this and he also saw the distressed look on the girl's face. "We can discuss this later in private. You mentioned something about me being your familiar? What is a familiar?"
Louise frowned at his lack of knowledge "A familiar is a servant to the contracting mage."
"I see. And what does a familiar do?"
"A familiar must obey its master's every command and love doing it!" she answered but it seemed like she was telling herself more than she was teaching Saito.
The boy frowned "So a familiar is nothing but a glorified slave to a mage?"
Before Louise could answer a middle-aged nearly bald man in blue robes intervened "Founder no!" he said snapping both of them from their respective thoughts "I'm afraid miss Vallière is confused. A familiar is a mage's partner and protector, his or her other half. It is a servant of sorts but by no means is it a slave. A familiar is cared for by the mage and in turn the familiar cares for the mage." the man explained.
Saito then adopted a thinking pose "So it's a kind of symbiotic relationship?"
The man nodded "Indeed!"
The boy then asked "What happens if the master mistreats or abuses the familiar?"
The robed man was shocked by this question "Founder forbid! There has never been such a case in all of our recorded history! If such a thing happened the mage would become the laughing stock of the magical community and be considered unworthy of their magic! If it ended up to that the mage would be stripped of their noble status and maybe even cast in prison!" the professor answered scaring poor Louise.
Saito could only nod "Understandable… to some extent."
The man nodded with a smile and turned to the girl "Well, get on with it miss Vallière!" he ordered.
Louise nodded with regained confidence and motioned to Saito „Kneel!"
Saito stared at her with a curious look before he smiled and did as she ordered
„What's your name and how old are you?" asked Louise.
„Saito, Saito Hiraga and I'm sixteen years old! A pleasure to meet you... mistress?"
„My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar!" she chanted before she launched in and kissed him on the lips.
Saito for his part was very surprised but it only took a moment to get over it and embraced her, pulling her closer and increasing the passion in the kiss with Louise not fighting it one bit, herself being lost in the heat of the moment.
As they both pulled appart, blushes staining their faces Saito felt a sharp pain in his left hand. He laizily pulled the gauntlet off and saw glowing runes on it. A lesser man would have probably screamed his lungs out before fainting but he just stared at it like it was a nuisence, like a simple rash.
As they faded he saw the runes that were left behind ‚I am a bit rusty in runic but... G-ND-LF, two I don't recognize... maybe Gandálf or ‚gift - need day - water/lake – wealth' so the ‚Day that we need a gift related to wealth and water' or the 'Gift of the day that need will show us the day when water will be our wealth?' That makes no sense! That means that runes are read similar to those from my native land but have different meaning.'
Louise noticing her familiar's expression decided to break the silence „It's inscribing the familiar runes. It will be over soon."
Saito nodded and sure enough the light faded leaving the scar-like runes. He was about to put his gauntlet back on when the professor stepped in.
„Please wait a minute! May I see those runes?" he asked.
Saito looked at him with curioisty „It says Gandalf, unless this land reads them differently?"
Both Louise and the professor looked at him with curiosity „You know how to read them?" the man asked and Saito nodded.
„Ancient languages were part of my training although I don't recognize the second and fifth ones I tried to correlate them with what I knew of the ancient Nordic languages and took a guess and judging by your expression am I right to assume I was correct?" Saito continued.
The professor was even more intrigued by this boy "Yes, yes you were." he answered.
"That's good. Do you by any chance know what it means sir?" Saito asked.
The man took a mental step back and flinched at the question "Umm… n-no I don't!" he answered unconvincingly making the boy frown.
"I am sure you are very good at what you do although I am fairly certain it's not lying and I don't appreciate that. So if you don't want to tell me something please say so but do not lie to me! Although I would be grateful if you told me what it is since it concerns my body and I hope it's not something dangerous for my health." Saito said making the professor sweat and nod.
"I understand young sir but not here." The man whispered and Saito nodded. The professor then turned to the rest of the class "Anybody else?" he asked and nobody stepped forward "Then this concludes the summoning ceremony! Congratulations to everyone! You are dismissed!" he said and every student floated away from the scene.
Once everybody left the professor himself floated a little off the ground and motioned for Saito and Louise to follow.
The little mage started walking and her familiar followed at her side "Aren't we going to float like the rest?" he asked.
Louise looked really embarrassed by his question "S-shut it!" she ordered weakly.
Saito looked puzzled for a bit before asking again "Mistress, could it be that you are incapable of flight?"
Now she was angry "I said to…" she began but the words stopped in her throat as two black 'branches' started constructing themselves from his shoulder blades. As the skeletal rods finished building silver energy 'feathers' appeared below them giving them the general appearance of a large pair of wings.
She didn't get to ask anything as he scooped her up bridal style and gently parted from the ground before moving forward at a slow speed catching up to the professor.
"Y-You're a mage?" she managed to speak.
He on the other hand just looked at her with a kind smile and answered "No mistress, I am not!"
"But you're flying!" Louise countered.
"Oh this? This is just an advanced battle-armor. It is no more magical than a bird is. Think of it like something from hundreds of years into the future." he spoke kindly.
Louise decided to keep quiet for now seeing that they reached the headmaster's office and after knocking, the man entered and motioned for them to follow.
Inside there was an old, or by appearance 'ancient' man who's appearance was the textbook definition of a wizard. He was dressed in a black hooded robe and had long white hair complimented by a longer bushy beard of the same color.
Besides the old man was a young beautiful green-haired woman dressed in a black robe with white trimmings and a dark violet cape.
"Ah Jean, to what do I owe this meeting to?" the old man asked.
"Greetings headmaster! I've come here to discuss something very important concerning miss Vallière's familiar." Jean answered and then turned to Saito "Mister Hiraga, this is headmaster Osmond!"
Saito moved closer and did a refined bow to the man "I am honored to meet you Headmaster!" he then turned to Jean "And please, call me Saito, mister…?"
"Oh, I am professor Jean Colbert!" the man answered.
"An honor to meet you too professor Colbert!" Saito bowed.
Osmond on the other hand frowned "Ah pish-posh what's with this stiff atmosphere in my office? I will have none of that! My boy you can call me Old Osmond like everyone else does!" he continued in a comical fashion.
"Only if you act your age." His assistant responded calmly.
"And she is my cruel assistant Longueville…" Old Osmond continued with anime tears.
"I will stop being 'cruel' when you stop being a pervert.' she continued in the same tone.
"So cold…" a weeping headmaster answered "How is an old man supposed to live like this?" he began talking to himself.
Saito ignored the childish display and moved towards the woman. He then grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly before saying "A pleasure to make your acquaintance miss Longueville! I am Saito Hiraga!"
The woman just smiled "Likewise sir Hiraga!"
Meanwhile Louise was trembling with anger "W-w-what do you think you are doing familiar?!"
Saito looked at her confused "Just greeting miss Longueville mistress. Have I offended you with how I acted?"
"Headmaster I have some business to take care of so I will see you later! It was a pleasure to meet you sir Hiraga!" Longueville bowed and left the office.
Louise was surprised by his answer so much so that all her anger dissipated and she shook her head from side to side. After all he did have great manners and so far has not embarrassed her with how he acted… so far. She was so far in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Saito was already next to her.
Colbert then cleared his throat "Anyway I have come here because we may have found the missing link."
This surprised Osmond "You don't mean…?"
"Yes, apparently Saito is the legendary familiar Gandalf!" Colbert answered.
Louise was confused. Her familiar was legendary but how she didn't know. She decided to intervene "What do you mean professor?"
"It would take too long to explain it fully right now but you did you know that the Founder Brimir had four familiars?" Colbert asked and Louise moved her head for 'no'. "I am not surprised considering that Void magic is not studied at the academy. Well he did: Mjöðvitnir: The Mind of God, Lífþrasir: The Heart of God, Vindálf: The Right Hand of God, and… Gandálf, The Left Hand of God. Saito is a familiar of the Void which means there is a high probability that you are a Void mage miss Valliere."
Louise nearly fainted. She had the same powers as the great founder but she couldn't even do a simple levitation spell. She started losing what little self-confidence she had gathered feeling more and more as a failure.
The girl was about to fall over when Saito put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He had taken his gauntlets off before he entered the office and so Louise could feel the reassuring warmth of his grip. For some reason all her worries vanished.
Saito took this as his turn to speak "I am honored that you would consider my master and I as legendary but this is all terribly confusing. Would you please be so kind as to explain a few things for me?"
"Of course!" Osmond answered.
"Thank you sir Osmond! Now before I ask questions you must know a bit about me and my origins. I suggest you take a seat this could be shocking." Saito continued and they all sat on their nearest seats. "My name is Saito 'Etherion' Hiraga, Grandmaster of the Order of the Silver Dragon, Master of the Ether and the third Dragon-rank Warrior of the Knights of Truth!" spoke Saito, his tone changing from the kind teen to a powerful authority figure, sending shivers up even Osmond's spine. "Before you ask me what these titles mean I will be blunt and tell you: I am from another world!"
"Founder!" shouted Osmond, Colbert being too shocked to speak and Louise was on the boundary between confusion and disbelief.
Finally her disbelief won out "There is no such thing as another world!" she exclaimed.
Saito smiled kindly "Mistress, you don't know of something, doesn't mean it does not exist. After all when you were young you probably didn't know that even other countries existed but as you grew you found out from the people close to you. A closed mind is a fool's mind." Following his words the young mage could do nothing but nod.
Saito then returned to Osmond "And from my past experiences with world travelling I know that the dimensions are always connected and usually special, powerful open gates between them. Have you never experienced any unusual events, well unusual for a place where magic is real? Or have you never encountered strange objects that you didn't know how they came to be or how they worked?"
Osmond's eyes widened with surprise. Saito noticed this "You have, haven't you?" he smirked and gained the attention of everyone else.
The old headmaster nodded and took a deep breath "Indeed I have. It was a long time ago when I was still in my prime, thirty years ago actually. I was being chased by a dragon that was defending its territory and was at the beast's mercy since I had lost my wand. When I was about to be eaten I heard a loud 'whoshing' noise and the beast was defeated by a powerful explosion. When I looked to my side I saw a strange individual dressed in the weirdest of clothing holding a thick metallic staff that gave smoke from the rear. The fellow died from his own wounds before I could bring him medical attention. He had two of these staffs one of which was buried with him as per tradition and the other was locked inside the tower of the academy under powerful square-class magic."
Louise's doubts were crumbling with the headmaster's every words.
Saito on the other hand just nodded "Was this 'staff' by any chance green or dark gray and shaped like a cylinder except for small protruding parts like a firearm? I hope I do not offend you with my question but you do have firearms right?"
Osmond nearly chocked "I am not offended my boy and you are right on both occasions, we do have muskets and the staff you described to the letter! Do you know of this staff?"
Saito chuckled "That thing is no more magical than a musket." he said shocking everyone "It is a weapon from my native land. It is called a rocket launcher and it is for a lack of a better term, a hand-held cannon or a combination between a musket and a cannon. It is a tube that contains a relatively small metal projectile filled with explosive material like the powder that cannons use to fire. That projectile is then lit on the in the rear and the resulting force pushes it through the air towards the desired target. When it makes contact a small flint like device located inside the tip creates a spark that ignites the powder and makes a big boom. The 'whoshing' sound you heard was the propellant burning and the projectile flying through the air. A truly terrifying weapon." the boy explained.
Colbert being passionate by science digested this faster than anyone "So it's a weapon from another world?"
Saito nodded "It is from the junction world called Gaeia in ancient or either Terra or Earth in common language."
Osmond got curious " 'Junction world'?"
The boy nodded with a serious expression "It is a world that links many dimensions together, kind of like the center of the crossroad. It is not the only one mind you but one of many that creates the Multiverse. I'm guessing Gaeia links this world and my homeland Anhew. I was born in Gaeia by the way."
The professors were trying to lift their jaws off the floor. It all made sense and the evidence were undisputable.
Saito noticed this and decided to change the subject "Now I believe you owe me some information if I may."
Osmond shook his head to clear the stupor out and nodded "Yes, now what do you want to know?"
"I have never visited this world so I am for a lack of a better explanation, like a child who only knows how to speak. I want to know basically what would be useful for my life here like politics, geography, history, government , economics, culture, laws, technology and magic, oh and for the first three you can skip the details as I will check on them later."
And so an hour and a half later Osmond finally finished describing the world to Saito and cleared any questions the boy had. In the end Saito was satisfied.
"Thank you sir Osmond! I am quite surprised that even with the addition of magic this place is very similar to Gaeia."
Osmond frowned "What do you mean with 'addition of magic'?"
Saito smiled "With slight exceptions junction worlds do not have magic like link worlds do."
"No magic?!" screamed Louise "Then how do they live?"
"Do you use magic for absolutely everything master? Even eating or bathing?" he asked.
Louise was surprised "Well not for everything…"
The boy smiled kindly "Well in the absence of magic, technology evolved on a much higher level. By what sir Osmond told me your world is about three to six hundred years behind Gaeia. Remember the rocket launcher?" he asked and she nodded "Well that is just a small tickle compared to what evolved. There is light that is given by electricity which is the essence of a lightning bolt, there are metal constructions that fly so fast that if you blink you might miss them, metal carriages that don't need animals to pull them and go so fast that the best horse would be no match for them. Little boxes no bigger than your hand called phones that you can use to make pictures which are similar to paintings of you, send text messages like letters from one to another and even allow you to speak with another person even if that person is on the other side of the world and many other wonders that would be considered magical in a younger world."
"B-But how do you define nobility then?" Louise asked.
This time Saito frowned "You speak those words like it's impossible for things that differ from your standard to exist. I am slightly disappointed but not in you, but in your elders who no doubt desire to wash your personality away and turn you into a slave of the system."
"How dare you!" shouted an angry Louise. This familiar was getting cheeky and now had the gall to call her a slave. The nerve…
"I will rephrase, 'slave of the system' is not to be taken literally but like an expression. It means that you will refuse to accept any other truth that is not the 'truth' that they supply you with. Like what if I told you that commoners do not appreciate most nobles and their rule?"
"That's preposterous! Everyone loves nobles!" she defended almost mechanically.
"And yet rebellions happen, and people suffer, crushed under their noble master's rule. People are not so simple minded and everyone deserves happiness."
"But that's it's their duty to obey their masters!"
"Who set that duty? Was it not the ones with power? I told you that humans are not so simple minded and so long as one still has some degree of power, they can be corrupted by it. Don't tell me you haven't heard of some nobles engaged in more shady business or some who were even disgraced following their actions."
Louise swallowed her words and looked at the familiar in frightened surprise making Saito sigh.
"If you wish we will discuss this later as I am sure that the professors have some questions for me as well."
Colbert stepped up "While that conversation was very interesting to listen to I do have some curious issues that I wish to ask you about."
Saito nodded "Please ask away!"
"When you introduced yourself you said some titles, what do they mean?"
The boy smiled "To understand them I have to explain something about the beginnings of the worlds. At first there was nothing, no space, no time but absolute nothingness. You are imagining it as a complete darkness are you not? Well not even darkness existed then. We as creatures of creation with form can't even imagine the pure chaos that existed then since chaos has no form, no representation it just exists as a concept. Nobody knows how it happened, some say it was an act of God, others think that it was a spark, a chance that shouldn't have happened but creation finally burst into existence and with it the first universe, the primordial world was formed: Anhew. Anhew in draconic means 'jewel' for it was the jewel of creation. It had no land, no water, no sky or life but was just a mass of elements twisting and turning, stabilizing and annihilating themselves constantly. Then it happened. Two entities appeared with the power to control these random events and give them finality.
They were the Great Dragon Twins: Mikael, The Silver Dragon, and Lucifel, The Dragon of Light. They had incredible powers with Mikael controlling the Powers of Creation and Lucifel mastering over the Light of Destruction. You might think that Lucifel was evil, being the Great Dragon of Destruction but destruction is not by itself evil. Destruction is a requirement of rebirth and the other side of Creation. They exist together and cannot be apart, their domains rising when in close proximity to one another. Destruction clears the way for creation to take place. Without it creation would rapidly fill the world and there would be no more space for it to grow and expand leaving it to suffer.
For a long time the two brothers shaped and worked the chaotic infant world turning it into a vision of perfection. But surprisingly this perfection was by nature flawed. Being perfect meant that it couldn't expand and grow and the Great Ones felt like parents would for a child that didn't have the chance to learn and mature so they started over again and again but it would always end up perfect. Seeing this Lucifel decided to break out of the world and channeling his power into a single spot, ripped open the fabric of creation and entered the remnant chaos that circled the infant universe.
Nobody knows what happened to him but eons later he returned and he succeeded but it was at a cost. Most think that his search drove him mad while others think that the Chaos affected him but when he appeared in front of his brother even Mikael was stupefied. His brother, the most beautiful entity in existence was now a formless, twisted, disgusting existence. Even so Mikael welcomed him with all the love and kindness he had. He asked Lucifel how was his search.
That's when it started to crumble. Lucifel answered that he found the answer in the Chaos: The solution was to return all to nothingness!
Thus Mikael realized that this was no longer his brother. The Chaos had corrupted him turning him into the fearsome Rygat: The Vile Dragon of Chaos.
Mikael couldn't let his former brother destroy all that they tirelessly worked for so, with tears in his eyes he fought him, waging a war so great that with each blow the universe twisted and bent until, when the final blow was struck and the brothers annihilated each other, it broke like a droplet hitting a surface creating the Multiverse.
The Great Brothers disappeared from existence but their powers remained. The Powers of Creation: Ether, remained in Anhew, every once in a while surfacing in a gifted warrior. However the Might of Destruction has never appeared once and many thought it was lost. But like I said Creation and Destruction cannot exist without each other so later it was believed that it was somewhere in one of the countless worlds that were given birth by the First War.
I am the current holder of the Powers of Creation, and the third in documented history, the Third Master of Ether. This automatically gives me the position of Grandmaster of the Silver Dragon Order, an order that is dedicated to maintaining peace and protecting Anhew from all threats although the last is symbolical since the worlds have stabilized enough for there to be roughly no threats to it. I am also a member of the Knights of Truth.
Now the Knights of Truth are a society of battle-scholars that study the ancient Draconic texts. You see the first version of the world that the Great Brothers created was ruled by the Darastrixi, or Dragons in common language. These great creatures held the ability of truth gifted to them by the Brothers. Their words carried incredible powers, so much so even that they were incapable of speaking lies. If they tried the world would shape itself based on their words and spiritual power or mana. If they tried to 'lie' more than their powers permitted them then they would vanish from existence so they formed their language on misconception rather than actual negation and thus the Vs'shtak Xanalre or Draconic Language came to be, the Language of Truth. While the ancient dragons disappeared, their writings remained and from it we learned it. I am a master of it and can speak it just as well as an Elder Ancient Dragon can.
Because of this and the Ether I became the third Dragon-class warrior of the Knights of Truth which is a guild of Vs'shtak speakers that are in charge with protecting and nurturing nature as a whole. We are considered the most powerful warriors in the land of Anhew although we do have rankings."
Louise who until now was quietly listening like a child would for a bed time story interrupted "Rankings?"
"Yes, the rankings are based on the threat level each member is capable of reaching. It goes from the lowest D-class to the highest A-class for normal rankings and the special class S. From what I understood from your headmaster, D-class would be equivalent to your world's zero or Dot-rank mages however that is where the similarities end. Our rankings are exponential meaning that each increase in rank means a threat level five times higher than the previous until A-class with S-class starting from at least fifteen times.
Picture it this way a D-class can take on a couple of regular soldiers, C-class can fight with a decent sized squad, a B-class can easily tear through a battalion or two, and A class can fight head to head with an army of a couple of tens of thousands, and finally S-class are capable of conquering countries by themselves. S-class are so powerful that if they desire they can call a meeting with all the rulers of each of Anhew's lands and have them meet within the week and can even pass on laws in some countries without the ruler's permission."
"WOW!" slipped Colbert.
Louise on the other hand frowned "But you said you are Dragon-class or something like that!"
Saito just chuckled "Well Dragon-class is a different story. Like I said to become Dragon-class you need two things. One is to master Vs'shtak language and the second is to have a primordial power like Ether. Dragon-class warriors have enough power… to conquer the world many times over. We are a different existence than even S-class. I for example am the leader of a party formed by eight of the most powerful S-class warriors and they can barely make me sweat when we spar. All of them against me at the same time."
Once again the mages were trying to recover their slacking jaw from the floor. Well at least Osmond and Cromwell were. Louise on the other hand just scoffed. "Well at least you can make up a good story. I haven't heard a good one since my elder sister told me the one about the three Griffins."
Saito looked at her with disbelief before sighing. It appeared that his master was as dense as a brick wall.
Sensing the awkwardness Osmond cleared his throat "Well that was certainly unusual but it's getting late so I suggest that we turn ourselves in for the night. Miss Valliere, Saito, I suggest we keep this secret for now, at least until we find more materials for you to study. Void magic books aren't easy to come by and, founder forbid, could cause an international incident if something were to get out and you couldn't defend yourself, even war."
The mage-familiar pair nodded in understanding
Later that evening…
Saito and Louise entered the dorm room.
"Very spacious accommodations you have here mistress, and it feels very welcoming as well." Saito said being very impressed by the girl's living space.
"Thank you!" she answered.
"May I ask where I shall be settling?"
Louise then pointed to a pile of hey settled unceremoniously in a corner near the door. Saito frowned "I see… I take it you didn't expect to have a human familiar?"
"You are right, and for your information there has never been a human familiar in recorded history. Founder why couldn't I summon a dragon or a griffin! Instead I got a nut-job who thinks himself as powerful as the founder Brimir!" shouted the girl, obviously distraught by her situation.
Saito simply raised an eyebrow "I take it you didn't believe my words?"
"Of course I didn't believe you! Did you think you could fool me like that?" she responded quite furiously.
"I have no intention of fooling anyone mistress." the warrior responded calmly "But alas it is getting late so I suggest that you get some sleep."
"Are you ordering me familiar?" she growled.
"Please do not mix my words mistress, I simply suggested it. It is by your own will if you chose to follow my words." responded the boy after sighing.
"I thought so!" she scoffed proudly.
"What will you do now that you know you are a Void mage?" Saito asked with a concerned voice.
Louise looked at him with a combination of excitement and sadness "Honestly, I don't know. Void magic isn't exactly taught at the academy since it's very rare. Honestly I'm just hoping that knowing my element will help me cast magic better."
"I see…Do you have anything else you wish to speak with me?"
"Yes I do! I want to be woken up at dawn, and a fresh pile of clothes to be waiting for me then. But before that…" she interrupted her words and got undressed not caring for his presence at all. He on the other hand had the decency to turn around but couldn't help sneak a peek during her actions. He managed to see her slender and firm legs and very delicate arms because everything else was covered by her hair. But that was enough for him to cause a smile. "I want these washed before dawn!"
"Understood! Then I shall go and wash these and explore the academy grounds, see you tomorrow morning mistress!"
"Very well, good night familiar!" Louise mumbled through the coverings of her bed.
"Good night mistress!" Saito smiled and closed the door behind him.
He walked unceremoniously through the hallways looking everywhere so he could memorize the layout of the academy building. Even though he could have used an oracle spell he decided that the exercise would be good to calm his nerves. Although he seemed unaffected the events were slowly getting to him. After all if you were taken from your friends and family, from your world and cast upon a relatively speaking underdeveloped land you would have to feel something right?
As he was contemplating his situation he didn't pay enough attention to where he was going and thus crashed into someone.
Siesta was going about her rounds as a maid in an academy full of stuck-up noble brats when she turned the corner and hit something that felt like a brick wall. She recoiled and was heading for the ground when someone grabbed her in mid-fall.
Saito was surprised when the young girl hit his chest but recovered quickly enough to stop her from receiving a painful experience, the little maid not even managing to budge him a hair's width.
"Sorry for that miss, I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was walking!" he apologized.
Siesta opened her eyes and they were met by a sight that brought all the blood in her body to her cheeks. By the founder he was handsome and his armor appeared to be something out of those novels she reads in her very little spare time. But what attracted her the most, were his eyes. Those deep blue eyes that made her feel safe and comfortable, like she was strolling on the beach looking out to the ocean. She then realized something he could be a noble and that spelled trouble for her.
"I-I'm sorry milord! I wasn't paying attention!" she quickly apologized.
" 'Milord'? Oh by the stars, I hope you don't mistake me for being part of these pompous peacocks! I am certainly not a noble, well not of Halkeginia anyway. Oh but where are my manners, I am Saito Hiraga, and please refer to me as Saito, nothing more!" he said with a smile that nearly knocked her unconscious.
"Th-thank you mi… Saito! I am Siesta!" she bowed.
Saito took her hand and kissed it gently "A lovely name and an interesting choice from your parents!" he said raising her curiosity and excitement "Were I come from 'siesta' can form part of two sentences which loosely means either 'midday nap' or 'the hottest part of the day'. If your parents had any knowledge of this expressions then that would describe your personality as very energetic, but still as pleasant as a good day's nap."
"I-I had no idea about those words but t-thank you!" she said while doing a pathetic job at hiding her blush "M-may I ask what you were doing here?"
Saito on the other hand looked surprised "Ah! I almost forgot! I'm supposed to clean mistress's laundry but I don't even know where the nearest water supply is in this place." he said with a sour look.
The young maid looked at the clothes and instantly recognized them "Are you by chance miss Valliere's familiar?"
Saito nodded "News travels fast I see… Yes you are correct but how did you guess?"
Siesta just giggled a little "Well if I told you I could get into a lot of trouble with your mistress."
"Your secret is safe with me!" he said while holding his hand over his heart.
The maid giggled again and pointed at the blouse and panties "Well first of all there is a skirt but no chest garments not to mention the size of the blouse. So unless your master is a visiting child then there is nobody else to fill those clothes in the academy."
Saito nodded in acceptance "Well I do admit that she is a tad bit underdeveloped in the womanly department but that's what makes her adorable. Although she could do without the snotty attitude…"
Siesta nodded "Please let me handle those, it is my job after all!"
The warrior politely refused "No, I can't load you with more chores then you already have. Besides these are my master's orders, although I wouldn't refuse your help in touring the premises if you have the time. That is after I take care of my master's laundry."
Siesta smiled and led him to the washing area. "Well this is where we wash the noble's clothes. I hope I'm not insulting you Saito but you have to be careful with those. Silk must be dried in the shade."
Saito nodded "Although I already knew that I appreciate your help. I will be sure to repay the gesture somehow and I think I have a pretty good idea on where to start." he said as he unceremoniously threw the clothes in the air. Siesta nearly panicked when she saw this but boy was she surprised.
The clothes stopped their descent in midair and stretched and turned until not a single wrinkle could be spotted.
Saito then lazily stretched his right hand and a pinkish mist started forming just a little in front of his fingers. The mist then shot at high speeds towards the clothing and went right through them leaving them looking brand new and smelling like roses.
"You-you-you're a mage!" spoke Siesta in fright and wonder.
Seeing the poor maid's reaction Saito gently touched her shoulder "Listen Siesta, do not confuse me with the mages of this world. By definition I am not even a magus but a Spellsword, a different class all together but that is beside the point. I will not harm you in any way, neither physically or mentally no matter what you do so long as you don't harm the innocent. I do not wish to be neither your master nor your executioner but simply a friend. Yes I can do magic but by no means am I of this world's nobility so please don't be afraid of me!"
These words had gotten their desired results as the young maid smiled again and hugged him deeply. "You don't know how happy that makes me Saito! I don't have a single friend around my age here!" then the thought recoiled "You are my age right?"
"I am sixteen miss so I don't know if I am and it would have been rude of me to ask." he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Yes!" shouted siesta although it was muffled by her burying her face in his biceps. He held her like this for another minute before they parted. Siesta then noticed that Louise's clothes were already set to dry perfectly. "What now?" she asked.
Saito then smirked "Now I will show you the wonders of mixing science and magic together!" he spoke and then snapped his fingers. Immediately after he did that, small glowing particles began to rise from the earth and rotate around like a twister of light before heading back to the ground and forming a metal box with a lid-like disk at the top, half the size of an adult human. It was an interesting construction. On the right of the box was a vertical metal cylinder about fifty centimeters wide that had a small grill door at the bottom and at the top a metal rod protruded from it which was connected to another rod which in turn was connected to the lid-like disk. It had other strange protrusions that were too strange for the girl to explain.
"What is that?" she asked.
Saito chuckled at her puzzled expression "This, my dear, is a baby of science made possible here and now with the help of magic. Siesta I present you the steam powered washing machine! Now where do you keep the day's laundry?" he asked and she pointed to a nearby basket.
Saito picked up the basket and after checking the materials dumped the ones that would not stain the others or rip inside the box. He then conjured a large bucket of water and loaded it inside a side tank. He then conjured a rose and a large log and ripped the petals and then throwing them inside the box while inserting the log inside the cylinder and lighting it on fire by conjuring a simple flame.
"This big lever on it is how gentle or firm you want it to wash. To the furthest left is silk and to the right end is wool and the in between… well I think you can picture it. As for how long it should wash well basically when that log burns completely the washing should be over. I am truly sorry that this world hasn't discovered electricity yet but this should be just as good. I could have made something with a generator but if it breaks then nobody besides me could fix it. This on the other hand could be easily patched together by a blacksmith."
As soon as the words finished leaving his mouth, the cylinder hissed and the rod connecting to it started moving up and down while driving the connected components. Siesta watched in amazement as the 'lid' spiraled and plunged up and down into the box. Finally she got the courage to move to Saito's side and peeked inside to see the clothes being handled by the strange device, the grime being forced outside of them by the strong pressure of the metallic arm.
Saito then conjured a couple dozen more logs and a hexagonal piece of metal "If the logs run out and I am not here the one responsible should put the equivalent amount of lumber as that metal hexagon weighs. I think that with experience the weight will not be needed but it's good to keep that for beginners." he explained and saw the surprised and excited look on Siesta's face which made him smile.
"Happy?" he asked and barely braced himself as the young maid circled his neck with her arms and they started spinning around.
Saito and Siesta then spent a little time exchanging small talk why the steampunk washing machine did its job. Saito got to learn a bit more about this new world and Siesta listened to the Gaeian poetry that the boy knew so well.
Finally they parted with Siesta heading for the servant's quarters and Saito searching for a place to nap a few hours since his powers fed his body with energy he really only needed about an hour of sleep per day so that his mind would clear and sort itself out. Other than that he was as energetic as a normal person, perhaps even more during … bed activities but that is moving too much in the private zone.
Anyway as he strolled down the hallway he saw a blond boy who he recognized as one of the spectators from the summoning. He was sweet talking a girl and talking about a soufflé or something. Really, its guys like these that ruin a man's image. I mean it was as obvious as the sun during daytime that this guy thought more with his lower regions, meaning his stomach and … mini him. After all when males were created they were two headed but unfortunately they didn't have enough blood for both.
Anyway he decided that even this Casanova deserved his privacy, well at least the sucker… I mean female did so he went about his way. Finally he didn't find any other place to sleep so he did the next best thing. He climbed on the thickest branch of the tree nearest to Louise's room window and went to sleep.
In the morning…
"Wake up mistress. Come on Louise wake up." Louise was gently woken up by the kind and beautiful voice of a man.
"Ungh …five more minutes daddy!" she dug deeper inside the coverings.
Saito chuckled at the cute show he was getting "Come on dear master, you don't want to be late for breakfast now do you?"
These words snapped the girl out from her slumber induced dizziness. She put on a cute pout that almost made Saito loose his composure and asked "Who are you?"
The boy didn't answer but instead brought a moist towel and gently rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Oh yeah, I remember now… my crazy familiar Saito…" she said keeping the pout.
'You know if somebody said those words to me in my homeworld they would be stripped naked, coated in honey and thrown to the imperial ants by my subordinates. And those critters are the scariest family of goliath-ants in the two worlds and their venom is rivaled only by the bullet ant of Gaeia.' the boy shuddered at the thought of those things but then an unpleasant odor hit him square on.
*snif*"Mistress when was the last time you took a bath?" he asked.
"Well bathing days are Mann so seven days ago, why?" she answered.
Saito frowned "Great heavens, no wonder the air smelled like a dead fish!" he exclaimed.
Louise perceived that jab and her face went red with anger. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at Saito who simply slapped it away surprising her out of her rage.
"There will be time for magic practice later mistress!" he said as he scooped her up bridal style and flew out the window and headed for the Tower of the Void (as he heard it was called by Old Osmond) since he knew it was unoccupied.
He then flew through the window and landed near a huge pot filled with steamy water showing that it was hot, as he made his way to the cooking appliance.
"W-w-what are you d-d-doing?" stuttered Louise.
"Taking you to your bath mistress." he spoke with kindness.
"That's not a bath you moron, that's a pot!"
"I never said it wasn't improvised."
She then noticed some bubbles floating on top of the water and then the smell hit her "Why does it smell of roses?"
"That's from the rose soap I used to prepare the water." Saito explained
"Stop! I order you! Hot water combined with soap is deadly!" she screamed and struggled in his grip but felt him stop.
"How deadly is it master?" Saito asked faking ignorance.
"I would die as soon as I touched the water!" she screamed again.
Saito on the other hand smiled at her cute display "Well then mistress by your logic, I should have died countless times by now, ending with last night but as you can see I am just fine. I not only guarantee you that you will live but you will feel great after it. On my honor as your familiar!
The girl was absorbed by his words so much so that she didn't notice that he reached the edge. He then moved his hands in such a way that she slipped out of the pink nightgown and into the water, the clothing remaining inside Saito's hands.
She then appeared as though she was struggling not to drown and was frantically trying to get out of the pot when she heard Saito speaking "I suggest that you hurry up and wash yourself master or you will miss breakfast. Also you will not receive one article of clothing until I am satisfied with the state of you hygiene so unless you wish to run halfway across the campus in your birthday outfit you will calm down and comply with my words!"
On the other side of the coverings the young warrior felt her tension and the tears that were threatening to break loose in the back of his mind and he suspected the runes having something to do with this so he sighed and spoke "Louise, please calm down! I give you my word on all that is holy and sacred to me that you will not be harmed! So please breathe deeply and relax and enjoy the feeling of the heat on your body. Nobody that I know of has ever died from this and I know millions of people who partake in this kind of cleansing. Please trust me this one time!"
With that he waited a few more tense moments before finally felling her nervousness subside. After another amount of time he heard her sigh in happiness 'It seems that at least she trusts me.'
Ten minutes later and a little splashing of the water and Saito thought that it was enough. He didn't want her to catch a cold after all.
"That should be enough little master!"
Louise was finally enjoying the feeling of the heat taking away the strain from her muscles when she heard him speak. That brought a groan to her voice "F-Five more minutes…"
Saito chuckled "I'm happy to know that you are enjoying yourself but you will miss breakfast at this rate."
She then realized that he was right so now there was no choice "How do I get out?"
"There are steps on the other side of the pot so you can use those. I have also left a towel for you there. So dry your hair with that and then wrap your body in it and I will bring the clothes. Call for me when you are ready."
Five minutes later and she called.
He moved the curtain aside and came in with a fresh uniform set which she reached for but he stopped her.
"Not yet! First I need to dry you thoroughly so please secure your towel!" he said as the wings appeared on his back.
He started flapping them creating a gentle gust of wind.
Louise was once again surprised by her familiar's actions and was even more surprised by the fact that the air coming from his wings was very warm and relaxing and carried the same smell of roses that the bath had.
A few more flaps later and Louise was dry. She then dropped the bomb when she ordered her familiar to dress her.
"Excuse me mistress? Are you saying that I should dress you?" he asked.
She simply nodded with a cute royal expression.
"I would be happy to help you but I absolutely won't do the undergarments! I am still a man and I will be true to my code of honor, familiar or no familiar!"
"You dare disobey your master?" Louise fumed in anger.
"A master who is now as powerless as a lamb so I suggest you to keep your orders decent if you wish to see your wand again!" he spoke with the same tone of authority that had come in the headmaster's office.
Louise realized that he was right and she was at his mercy so decided to play it cool for now. Stupid familiar, she would make sure to discipline him later.
Later in the dining room…
Louise felt nervous as she ate her meal with all her fellow students looking at her. The reason for this was the fact that Saito stood like a bodyguard directly behind her in an imposing and intimidating stance as the silver hilt of his sword glistened in the sunlight.
"Familiar, sit down already!" she whispered.
"I already told you master, I will not be treated like a mindless beast so unless you invite me to sit on a chair I will stand right here." he spoke with a little annoyance.
Earlier when they made it to the dining room Saito pulled her chair and did everything he could to make sure she was comfortable and then tried to take a seat next to her but she stopped and pointed him to the floor. That's when things went to hell in a hand basket. From there on he simply stood like a statue behind her not even batting an eyelash. In fact if he didn't blink every now and then you would think that somebody cast some kind of petrification spell on him.
Louise finally gave in and let him sit on the chair next to her and surprisingly it made most of the students return to their own business making her sigh in relief.
After eating breakfast they made their way to the class room where Louise planned a similar scene from the dining room but having learnt her lesson let him sit this time without any opposition.
As he looked around the classroom Saito couldn't help to be amazed at the creatures that the students managed to summon. They all appeared to feature in at least one of Gaeia's legend or story.
Just as he was analyzing one strange floating eye a plump middle-aged woman entered the room. She had brown hair and purple robes and hat.
„Well everyone, it seems that the Springtime Familiar Summoning was a stunning success. I always enjoy seeing the new familiars that are summoned each spring." she said while looking around finally landing her gaze on Saito and Louise. "My, my, you've summoned quite an... unusual familiar, miss Valliere."
While the words held no malice the classroom exploded with laughter.
„Louise the Zero! Don't go around kidnapping random commoners off the street just because you couldn't summon!" a blond haird chubby kid barked making Saito frown deeply.
‚For that kid's sake I hope he shuts up!' thought the familiar.
Louise defended „No! I did everything by the book but he was all that appeared!"
"Don't lie! You can't do any spell, not even 'Summon Servant' properly, right?" and with those words Saito's patience damn broke.
"Madam Chevreuse! Malicorne the 'Common Cold' just insulted me!" Louise pleaded but it fell on deaf ears. She looked at the professor with surprise since the woman appeared to be stunned by something. Then she noticed the disappearance of her familiar and, following the professor's line of sight found Saito staring right into Malicorne's face, the young mage sweating with fright as the familiar's wings were spread menacingly above him.
"Tell me brat… have you ever seen the horrors of war? Have you ever fought for your food at least once? Or tell me… have you ever suffered pain of torture?" Saito asked in a sickeningly sweet voice "Looking at you I would say that you haven't even 'suffered' a morning's exercise but I would be more than happy to complete all those questions for you, and all you have to do is insult my master one more time and there will be no place on this planet where you will be safe! So tell your classmates that I send them a message. Laugh at my master's expense again and I promise you… " his eyes shined with red light as his sclera went black but only Malicorne saw this as Saito came in and whispered into his ear "I…will… slaughter you all!"
Saito then smiled kindly and returned to his seat while a strange stain appeared on the fat boy's pants. Malicorne quickly excused himself and rushed out the room.
The boy warrior then thought that a diversion would be in order "I am terribly sorry for the show earlier professor and I hope my method of restoring order didn't upset you in any way!"
The woman flinched slightly before nodding "Well it was unusual to say the least but you have got to show me how you did it. There has never been this much silence with people in this room." She said jokingly. "Anyway some of you may know but I am professor Chevreuse, my runic name is The Red Earth and I will be teaching you about earth magic. The magic of Earth is very important magic that governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic, we wouldn't be able to produce or process necessary metals, raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to everyone's life."
Saito nodded ‚So earth magic is like this world's technological field... Interesting!' the boy nodded.
The professor then produced some coal and waved her wand, turning them into shiny golden metal.
„Is that gold?" shouted one red-haired seductress.
Chevreuse smiled „Nope, it's brass! I am still a triangle mage. Gold can only be made by square class mages."
Saito nodded yet again ‚It appears that they suppliment their lack of basic chemical knowledge with raw power to force the transformation. With a little knowledge even a D-rank Elementalist can create gold although since the magical aura remains detectable it is only worth as a quick way to obtain materials for a project.'
The professor then turned to the class „Anybody want to try? How about you miss Valliere?"
The whole class erupted in protests with some running out the door and others ducking under their desks as the girl made her way to the coal pieces.
She then pointed her wand at them and more students tried casting their strongest wards, all in the gaze of a curious Saito.
Louise focused her magical power in her wand and channeled it to the rocks.
Saito smiled 'That's it Louise, nice and steady...' he began but the rocks started glowing violently 'Wait! Can it really be…? OH HEAVENS ,NO!' he thought and abruptly stood up "Louise! Think of diamonds!" he yelled as he reached out with a hand and started chanting an improvised spell "Origato sia vers erlelee wer Mitne di Bekilip!"
The girl was so much in focus that when she heard the familiar's voice her mind's eye switched instantly to the most beautiful image of a diamond one could think of as the light of her element covered her and the entire class.
When it was over the students who until then were praying for safety gently peeked out from underneath their desks.
What they saw made their jaws unhinge themselves. There was no destruction anywhere, no smoke or fire. As they focused their sight they followed the stupefied Louise and Chevreuse's lines of sight and looked towards the desktop.
Instead of the three pieces of coal that once stood there now a single flawless transparent sparkling gem stood there. Some of the more spoilt girls in class instantly recognized the piece.
"Is that a diamond?!" one blonde girl screamed as her frog familiar croaked above her head.
Chevreuse then took the gem in her hand and producing an eyepiece from her robes looked at it closely.
"No it's not." she said making poor Louise's hopes drop "It is not just a diamond but it's the most beautiful and perfect one I have seen in my entire life! Even square class mages would have great difficulty producing this quality!" she answered making the pink haired mage's heart skip a beat. "How did you manage something like this miss Valliere?"
Louise was surprised by that question "I don't know professor! I was trying to create brass like you but when I felt like I was losing control I heard my familiar scream to think of diamonds and everything became super easier after that." the girl confessed.
"Really?" the professor asked and then turned to Saito "Why did you shout at her to think of diamonds mister familiar?"
Saito then sighed in relief and smiled "Well professor, I noticed that the people of this land have limited knowledge of the makeup of matter. Particularly coal and diamond are roughly made of the same stuff called carbon."
"What do you mean mister familiar?" Chevreuse asked. If anything she was now even more confused.
Saito sensed this and sighed "Where I come from we have a science called 'chemistry'. It is the equivalent of alchemy but it studies more of the interactions between different forms of matter. Anyway, a long time ago someone invented a device that was essentially a very powerful spyglass and used it to look at mater. He found that even very smooth things were essentially rough once you saw them magnified. Years later it was discovered that matter is in fact formed essentially of three kinds of particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons in different forms or states. How these particles combined formed the final states of matter called atoms. Everything you see is made of atoms. Our bodies are formed of roughly ten to the power twenty-six atoms for your foot only. That's one followed by twenty-six zeroes, the atoms are just that many.
Anyway, carbon usually forms coal or graphite under normal conditions but when a huge amount of energy is supplied it changes its internal bonds, or simply said the atoms move in such a way that it forms diamonds."
The boy then fished underneath his breastplate and produced a brown simple-paged book "I have most of the simpler information written here on this book should you desire it. With the right information even a dot class earth mage should be able to say turn lead into gold." he said making the womanizer boy from last night look at him with attention. He then handed the book to the professor who read a few lines from it becoming more and more interested.
Saito chuckled "I guess class is dismissed?"
Chevreuse snapped out of her stupor and nodded before saying "And miss Valliere, you can keep the gem!"
Saito thought he managed to divert their attention when a small thin blue haired girl approached him "…Saw…you… magic…" and left just as quickly.
"Oh boy!" Saito thought "This could get troublesome…"