The Library of Dimensions, book 1: The white mage 1/3

"I am a traveling mercenary."

"Looking back, it was a life where it wouldn't be weird to die anywhere, anytime."

"One day as the sun sets and the wind blows, my sword would be tumbling around like a leaf."

"Perhaps, that day would come a little sooner that I expected."

I paced through the Elin forest. The home of the faries and Aurora, the organisation that researched light and dwells in the deepest parts of the forest.

"…"

"Did you kill them all? The ones that trusted and followed you…?"

"…Is this all you can do? Was everything that you said just a lie?"

'…The story began when I first heard the White Mage's name.'

'I was always alone.'

'I picked up my sword before I even matured. I had to put my life on the line so that I wouldn't starve to death

'I was lucky to be alive for so long, but there were others that weren't so lucky.'

'War and famine, plunders and disasters… The world was surely falling apart.'

'However, the rich ones were the most lucky. Ones like Hatsar of Ariant.'

I started walking through the crowds of people, Ariant was busy at this time of the day, looking around I found him. The underling of Hatsar.

"Hello there young man, would you mind helping me defeat all these monsters so that I can return to my master?" The old man said. I looked at him. His camel pulling a cart filled with gold and riches. I envied Hatsar, not because of his riches and gold. People respected him and care about him, while I was the complete opposite.

"Whew, to think you took care of those monsters so quickly, you're stronger than you look!"

He led me through the palace to visit Hatsar. Who wanted my assistance.

Not wanting to make the chat I longer, I got to the point. "What do you want from me?"

Seemingly liking my obnoxious attitude, he laughed. "Have you heard of the White Mage?" He asked me in a serious tone. I shook my head, I've never heard of this person called the 'White Mage' what a silly name. And he began to tell the story.

"There was a magician who was called a genius. Even at his young age he excelled in magic and no one could be his teacher. However, after diligently climbing up all those stairs, the sadness and emptiness was too much when there was nothing at the end. I want to know more, I want to reach higher. He told himself. The magic in this world was too little to fulfill his ambitions. During the years, he depended on his staff and wandered around the world. Writing books, helping people, and leaving hundreds of stories behind. The White Mage, people started calling him that because of his white hair. 'The ultimate light, can only be found in the ultimate darkness.' Leaving those words behind, he disappeared." He ended the story with a sigh.

"What was he doing now?" I asked him.

"In between the stories and suppositions of nosy people, his existence was slowly being forgotten. He was last seen in the Elin forest. If you can bring him back to me alive, I would pay you handsomely, you can have all the riches in the world!"

"I don't care about money"

I began to wonder. I was curious about this White Mage. Did he feel the same way about life as I did? The emptiness. And did he find an answer?

Three months later in the Elin forest...

"Why are you here? I don't have anything to tell you rude humans. Get out of my sight." She said rudely.

'Wow, and to think the queen of the fairies behaved like that...' I thought to myself. "Have you seen a monster of darkness lurking around here?" I asked politely, hoping to change her attitude.

"A monster of darkness? Why should I care? Humans are far more scary than those creatures. They are kidnapping our people and stealing our treasures!" She started to shout.

"Have you seen this person called the White Mage?"

After hearing about the White Mage, Ephenia's face softens. "White Mage…? Why are you looking for him?". "He was the only human that I had a liking for. I liked to look at his face while he studied magic… He is an idealist. His ambitions are far more greater than anyone else. He wil surely create a better world than it is now... Okay, I'll make you a deal. If you can defeat 120 grave robbers and their dogs, I might tell you where is the White Mage." She said.

I walked back to Ephenia. "Did you vanquish the villains, or became one of them?"

I shook my head, when I thought that was the most ridiculous answer, as it may confuse her.

"So... Perhaps you're not as bad as I thought. You kind of have his eyes..."

I pulled the hood tighter over my head, casting a shadow on my face. 'How did she know?'

"Ahem. There are those that are even worse than the grave robbers, the people who come here and hunt fairies. And sell them as merchandise." She didn't make eye contact but looked at the forest.

"Merchandise?" I was shocked, not even I would hunt such delicate creatures.

"Their ultimate goal is to probably get me. How much do you think I'm worth? Its all so disgusting. Can you help me eliminate 180 evil poachers and their hawks?"

I was about to walk back to Ephenia after killing all of the poachers, before I saw a small orange figure. "Hey kid!"

"HIEK!" The figure screamed. "H-hey you scared me!"

'Why is this little kid holding a gun? Is she a poacher too?' I thought to myself

"What?! why are you staring at me like that? Scram if you don't want to be hurt. I need to do something here."

"Its not safe here kid, this is coming from someone who has experience. Go home."

"H-Home...?" The kid replied with a surprised look.

'I knew immediately from the look of her face'

'This kid doesn't have a home to return to.'

'Its not surprising, its just the way it is.'

"Don't harass the fairies, I'll let it slide this time, but get out of here."

"What?! I'm not trying to catch fairies, I'm trying to catch..."

I started to walk away, ignoring her, I needed to return to Ephenia. "H-Hey!" She shouted waving her hands.

"Hoho, it will be quiet for some time now. Peace has no meaning, only power can stop this situation."

"If I recall, you wanted to know where the White Mage is?" I nodded my head.

"Remember what he said before he left? The ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness. So he went to The Forest of Tranquility, the darkest depths of our wooded land. Daylight never reaches The Forest of Tranquility, leaving it in near-eternal night. I heard he was studying magic there. Surely that's enough information to keep you going.

'As I left the forest, my curiosity grew bigger.'

'The fairy queen was completely into the White Mage'

'What was he? To fascinate the fairy queen this much?'

'The fairy queen said. "The White Mage will make a better world."'

'Was that really true?'

As I continued to walk, I saw the kid from earlier.

'What?! That kid is still hanging around?'

"Hey, kid, what are you still doing here...!"

'That's a monster!' I was referring to the dark creature that was standing in front of the kid. "Run kid!" I shouted, but the kid didn't budge, she must have been to scared to move. It started to lift up its hand, trying to slash the little girl. I ran in front of her and took the shot.

"Shit..." I muttered, now my cloak was all scratched up and my shoulder was bleeding.

I took out my rifle and shot it, alerting its friends. I started to shoot more of those creatures. "They really are carrying some bad omens around here. Hmm... Omens... I should call those creatures that..."

After the coast was clear, I turned to the kid, who seemed frighted to death. Her face was pale and stared into space with her mouth open. "Hey kid, are you alright?"

"...I couldn't pull the trigger. I have to take revenge for mom and dad... But I was so scared... So scared..."

"..." I looked at the kid.

I agreed to camp in the forest with her.

'The kid's name was Airin.'

'She said that her family was killed by the same creatures we saw before.'

'Numerous of undead monsters crawled crawled around the parts where the Omens were killed.'

'Basically, it was all because of that monster.'

I sat down near the campfire, and took a bandage from my bag. Wrapping it tightly onto my shoulder blades. "Its seems like I can't fix it" I was referring to my scratched up cloak. Looking at Arin sleeping, I smiled. She looked more peaceful that way.

"Does the White Mage have the answer for this?" She asked me. Arin couldn't sleep and started to wake up.

"All the more reason to find him."

"You don't know lots of things. I thought adults were supposed to know everything... But at least you're strong."

"You're a mercenary right? Teach me how to fight! I want to become strong like you!"

"Go to sleep..."

It was morning, I packed my things and was ready to leave. "All right, ready to go..."

"Wait! Mercenary!" Arin shouted, running towards me.

"Where do you think you're sneaking off to? I coming with you."

"Its too dangerous for a runt like you. Don't follow me." I turned around and was about to leave.

"It'll be more dangerous for you to leave me here by myself." I stopped walking. It was true. She could get killed... Or worse...

"What are you waiting for? I thought you wanted to talk to the White Mage! Hurry up or I'm going without you."

"..."

'Will everything solve itself if we find the White Mage?'

'Nothing is certain.'

'The answers will surely be found in The Forest of Tranquility.'

Three months later, in The Forest of Tranquility...

"We're lost mercenary."

'This is The Forest of Tranquility... The sun is nowhere to be seen. It might be a good place to study, but not navigating.'

"WE'RE LOST MERCENARY!"

"I know, stop yapping and stay put."

"What now? There's no way to find the White Mage."

"Just wait here, I'll find a way."

"What? I'm supposed to WAIT while you do some insane heroing thing? You're such a jerk!" She folded her arms and pouted. "Don't try to run. If you do, I'm going to chase you to the ends of the world. I'll be waiting here."

I walked all the way to the right and stopped. A dead end. "This is awful, I can't find the White Mage... I have no choice but to go back to the start. This is so embarrassing."

"..? A gunshot?" I felt uneasy and headed back to where Airin was. I looked around. This place was filled with monsters. I started to take out my gun and start shooting them.

"Ugh... I shouldn't have left the kid alone!" I heard more gunshots from afar...

"Kid watch out!" This was like before, but more Omens this time, even if I use my jump boost to get there. It would already be too late.

"look at all these Omens, I'll blow their heads off this time."

"I knew this was a bad idea..."

"Disappear..."

Golden crosses surrounded the Omens, and started to burst into light.

"Idiot! Are you trying to get killed?"

"...What happened? There was this light..."

"Are you alright?" The white haired mage walked towards us. "It's been awhile since I saw outsiders here."

'White hair.'

'Intellectual eyes, a faithful voice. I knew him immediately.'

'He was the White Mage that we were looking for.'

'We told him everything that had happened.'

'He nodded as if listening to a great story. It was probably a habit formed over time.'

"I see... Poachers and grave diggers in the Elin forest... The greedy humans have a long range..." He said sternly.

"The fairy queen is disgusted by humans, but it seems that she liked you."

"I did make a promise to Ephenia. And I'm still working hard to keep that promise." He looked up to the sky with a genuine smile.

"Mercenary, White Mage! Wait for me will you!" Arin stopped beside me, and started panting. Leaning onto me to catch her breath.

"Come to think of it. That child?" The White Mage pointed to Arin

"... She said that she lost her family to the Omens."

"I see, you're calling these monsters 'Omens'"

"I wanted to ask you about that. You're a genius magician, aren't you? What are you doing alone in this forest?"

"I study about light."

"That's not what I wanted to hear... I..."

'I closed my mouth before I could say something stupid.'

'He didn't do anything wrong , but I was angry at him.'

The White Mage looked at me awkwardly. I looked on the ground to avoid eye contact.

'I'm just a mercenary, but you're not.'

'You have the power to save this world.'

'But you're shutting yourself in a forest and experimenting?'

'Those words lingered in my mouth.'

'However, as if reading my mind, he gave a thin smile.'

"I do want to answer all of your questions, but I need to make one thing clear. i'm not 'alone'"

I started following the White Mage.

"Are we there yet?" Arin huffed. "My legs hurt."

"We have arrived. This place is our home, the Aurora temple."

"Master, and these people are..." A hooded man with a brown mustache walked towards the White Mage.

"Mars, they are visitors that had traveled a long way. Please prepare a place for them to stay."

"Yes... But master, they're outsiders..."

"They're harmless. Let them stay."

I started to walk towards the magician that was called Mars. "My name is Mars, I'm the top magician of Aurora, as I am sure you are aware. You're free to look around. But please do not take, touch, handle, lick, smell, or stare at anything, I do not want our research to be disturbed. On your right. You'll see the master's lab. Alright, stop looking at it. You're fully prohibited from having anything to do with that lab. On your left, you'll see the guest room. The child you came in with is already resting. I suggest you do the same. And don't touch anything."
I walked to the left and saw a wooden door, I opened it and saw Arin waiting for me.

"Whew, it's been awhile since I got some real rest. I can't believe that there's a place like this in the middle of the forest!" She said happily.

"You know, it was really dangerous out there, you should be more careful." I was worr

"I know, I know. But all I really care about is getting rid of the Omens. I'll push myself to my limit if I have to."

"There's no point in risking your life if the Omens are too strong for you."

"Stop lecturing, you're a mercenary. You're not going to teach me how to fight, so don't tell me what to do. But why is there so much Omens in this forest? Is it because it's so dark?"

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! I have something to give you, come here!" She said holding out a small brown sack.

"These are all of the Omen's remains that I've collected. The White Mage uses them for experiments, right? It could be helpful to figuring out the identity of those Omens."

"Give these to the White Mage. He can get rid of all the Omens, right?"

I nodded and gave a faint smile. I walked out of the room and headed to the White Mage's lab.

"This is the White Mage's laboratory..." I opened the door, he wasn't there. His laboratory was stacked with books and paper, potions, runes and scrolls were all over the floor. This place is such a mess.

"The White Mage is not here, let me ask where he went."

"Yes? You're looking for master?" Mars appeared behind me, giving me a shock.

"I told you before, please do not go into the master's laboratory!"

"Please be careful from now on. The master's on the roof."

I walked up the stairs that was leading to the roof, I saw him there, staring at the stars.

"Oh, hello there. Is there anything you need?"

"Arin told me to give this to you. To get rid of the Omens."

He opened the small brown sack. "The Omens' remains... She is a smart child, to think of collecting these. Please tell her that I'm thankful."

"Nobody knows why the Omens appear, but please do not worry. When the experiment for the ultimate light ends, the Omens will be gone."

"I'll take it that you do your experiments on the roof?"

"Oh, heavens no. This is just my favorite place to be."

'His eyes were focused on something far away.'

'I was curious.'

'With all the world's honor on his back, what was he chasing after?'

"Elpidios, do you believe in god?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I know many things, Elpidios, a name originated from Greece, meaning hope."

"Do you hope that this world can survive? Do you hope that you can survive the harsh reality? Do you hope to live until the day where the world started a drastic change?"

"I don't hope. I know."

He smiled at my answer.

"Oh, where was I, Oh yes! Some believe in money, some believe in power. However, when all of those things are meaningless at the end, what will you believe in as you take in your last breath?"

"The thing I'm researching, its not just 'power'"

"The unlimited knowledge over the awareness."

"The knowledge that makes us complete, and creates the world that we are standing on right now. The root of knowledge that can create a city of a god."

"That is what I'm chasing after."

'I pictured the root of knowledge in my mind.'

'I also pictured the city of god he was talking about.'

'If humans could reach that stage, then surely it would create a world with sadness and pain.'

"I am someone that wants to jump over the wall."

"I am not a wise man nor a philosopher."

"I'm just curious about what there would be over the light."

'I had short talks with the White Mage.'

'But when we talked it always felt like going on a long journey together.'

'After that, I stayed in the Aurora temple and helped out with the White Mage's research.'

Three months pass, with no knowledge on what would happen...

"Hey, mercenary. You're helping out with the research, aren't you? You're really hooked on the White Mage. A person called Vieren was looking for you earlier."

"I can't trust the White Mage. He talks in ways that I can't even understand. He doesn't even come out of his laboratory nowadays. I don't like it."

"You'll understand when you're older Arin. But for now, enjoy staying here."

Re-edited on 19/8/2015