Zero Redemption

Night Terrors…

Caleb followed Louise through the Academy grounds and into the dormitories. As Caleb followed Louise, he could feel mana flowing through the corridors. The history of this place, as well as it being a place for young mages to learn and hone their skills, meant it practically oozed the stuff that the stone and woodwork had absorbed naturally over the years.

"How old is the Academy?" Caleb asked, looking around while trying to memorize the route to Louise's room. If he was to serve as her familiar, for now, it would pay to make a mental note of where things were. The silence between the pair needed to be broken. "According to the text books, the Academy was built almost four thousand years ago by Square Class earth mages, originally as a fort for the army. The vast majority of the stone walls were built from the surrounding area, and were fitted with high level protection spells to resist effects of the wind and rain on them. After a few hundred years, the rulers at the time decided to transform it to an academy for teaching the next generation of mages. It's the oldest, and one of the most prestigious Academy in Halkgenia." Louise replied, with more than a little pride in her voice. Caleb nodded as they began to climb some stone stairs. "That explains the high mana concentration." He thought to himself.

"What did you mean by Square Class mages?" He asked, as they neared the top of final flight of stairs." Louise paused, as she thought about the best way to explain it to him. "Well… a mage's class is determined by the number of elements they can wield. A person who can use a single element is a dot mage, two elements are a line mage, three are a triangle, and square are the rare group of mages who can use Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. Square class mages are the most powerful, with dot class mages being the weakest." She finished as they came to Louise's room. As they walked inside, Caleb looked around. It was a fairly large room, with a great view from the window looking over the Academy grounds. There was a large double bed, a wardrobe and a dresser that had ink pots, perfumes and various magic books on it. In short, it was like a bedroom that you would find anyway…

Apart from the large pile of hay by the door anyway.

Caleb raised an eyebrow as Louise sat on her bed, letting out a deep sigh as she did so. Today had been a very long day for her; she was more than ready to get herself to bed. "Dare I ask?" Caleb questioned, pointing to the hay. Louise followed his finger to where it was pointing. "Hmm? Oh, that. That was for… well… the familiar I was going to summon." Louise responded, as the lay down. Again, Caleb's eyebrow was raised slightly. "You expect me to sleep on that?" he questioned, hoping this girl was not being serious. Louise sat bolt upright again. "Listen Familiar, it's not my fault I summoned a human. I've never heard of anyone summoning a commoner, nor does anyone know just what type of familiar their actually going to summon until it appears." Louise pouted. She'd hoped for something like a dragon or a griffon, instead, she got stuck with a commoner with a serious attitude problem.

Caleb groaned. This girl was going to be nothing but trouble. "First off, My name is Caleb, and I'd appreciate it if you used it. If you refer to me as familiar or "commoner", then you'll find I can make your life very, very painful." He said, his voice calm and collected. Louise sat bolt up-right in shock. "Are you threatening me?" she asked, wondering if her ears had deceived her. Caleb shook his head. "Far from it… I'm giving you some friendly, free advice. I suggest you take it." He replied, again, his voice calm as he drew up a chair and sat down. Louise sighed. "Fine… I'll humour you for now." She said, jumping off the bed. "Well then Caleb… Undress me." She ordered.

Caleb merely blinked. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, wondering if she had really just said that to him. Louise turned around to face him; Caleb could see fury beginning to write itself on Louise's face. "I said: Undress me." She repeated, as she began to grind her teeth. This familiar was driving her mad. Caleb shook his head. "No – I won't." Louise felt her blood pressure rising further. "And why not?" she asked. "A Noble does not dress themselves if there is a servant present to do so for them." Caleb nodded. "I am familiar with how nobility works Louise." Caleb grunted, he'd had more than enough of dealing with Nobles in his time, stuck up fools the lot of them. "However, I agreed to be your sword and shield, not your personal Butler, so I suggest you get changed yourself and remember that fact, otherwise, I'm walking. In the meantime, I'm going to explore the Academy, and find somewhere to sleep. I'll wake you at dawn, when maybe your attitude will be more respectful." And with that, Caleb left the room, slamming the door behind him. Louise's jaw dropped open. She just had to summon the world's most difficult familiar didn't she?

Caleb was fuming. It had taken everything he had not to break Louise's neck in there. While he knew killing her would free him of being her familiar, it had several draw backs, the chief among them being him being in a strange world, where he didn't know what was what… on the run. He admitted he was used to the last part of that… more than he'd like to admit to anyone. As he descended the stone stairs, he emerged in the large main hall, where he spied a couple of students, a blonde male, and a young brunette. Judging by the mood in the air, it seemed he'd wandered into a date between the pair and by the looks on the young ladies face; she was completely smitten by the man she was with. Caleb remained out of sight as best he could by leaning against a wall so the pair were behind him, lest he ruin the moment between them.

"You know Guiche… I would love to make you a soufflé… if you'd like one that is…" she asked nervously.

The guy named Guiche laughed gently. "My dear Katie, I would love to try anything that is made by your caring hands…" Guiche replied, waving his rose wand around. Caleb mentally face palmed. This guy was just about as corny as they come, not matter how truthful his statement.

Katie's face lit up. "Really? I'll bake you one for tomorrow to try." Katie then lent forward nervously and kissed Guiche on the cheek. "I'll get to baking it first thing in the morning, so I'll call it a night, for now…" she said, and walked off. Guiche admired the sway of her hips for a few moments, before grinning. God he loved being adored for his looks.

As Guiche went to leave as well, he heard a whistle from behind him. Jumping up, he turned around to say Caleb, looking at the corridor to which Katie had left down. "You… You're… Louise's familiar, aren't you?" Guiche asked, as he finally recognised the man in front of him. Caleb nodded. "Caleb Redspell, I didn't want to interrupt you and your… friend, so I stayed out of the way." He said, gesturing to where he'd been hiding. Guiche looked concerned, but relieved as well. "I see… well, nice to see a commoner has the decency to know not to interrupt a date between their betters. I'm Guiche, Guiche de Gramont." Caleb mentally cursed. This guy had a serious attitude problem, and would need taken down a few pegs. He needed to get people to stop thinking of him as a commoner; otherwise he'd end up losing his temper sooner or later. He'd think of a plan tomorrow, for now, he'd keep up the commoner act

"Just doing what's right." Caleb said, before scratching the back of his neck. "I don't suppose you know where I could find that man who was over-seeing that summoning ceremony thing do you? The one with the balding head? I had a few things I'd like to ask him" Caleb asked. He had questions that the Professor was going to answer. Guiche thought for a few minutes. "You mean Professor Colbert, right?" he asked, Caleb nodded. "I think he retired for the night, you'll probably be able to find him in the library tomorrow though." Guiche replied. Caleb groaned. "I see… well, thanks anyway." Looks like he'd have to bide his time for now. Still, it gave him an excuse to keep looking around the Academy grounds at least.

Caleb turned and started to walk away. "Oh, and enjoy that soufflé." He called back, waving his hand as he exited the main building. He found himself back in the courtyard, and gazed up at the night sky. His eyes fixed on the twin moons among the many stars out there. "Well…it seems those tomes about other worlds were right…" He thought to himself. The sight of two moons in the night sky did unnerve him a little, as did the fact that all the stars didn't match any of the signs he knew of.

Caleb heard a thud, and drew his gaze towards the source. There stood a young maid, probably around sixteen or seventeen, who was carrying a heavy basket filled with clothes to be washed. She looked exhausted. "Probably been working since the crack of dawn…" Caleb mused as he watched her lift the basket again, and walk off into a nearby building. He couldn't help but notice the smile on her face, and even when she was clearly so tired, she appeared to be giving it her all. Very impressive for someone so young.

Caleb noticed a nearby tree, and jumped up onto the largest branch, and rested his back against the trunk. It wasn't overly comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on hay like some wild animal, even he had standards. He gazed up at the night sky, and couldn't help but wonder where fate would take him… would he be able to finally move on here in this new world, or would the shadows of the past, and his old life, continue to haunt him as they had done, right up until his dying breath.

As Caleb's eyes closed, he wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Elsewhere, Louise had retired for the night a while ago, and was sound asleep and dreaming, though it was far from being a pleasant dream. She found herself slowly walking through the site of a major battle. Bodies were laying everywhere, for as far as the eye could see and in some cases, piled up on top of each other. The site made her feel sick, but somehow, she kept moving through the battlefield. Pillars of black flames rose high into the sky, and she could hear the screams of those trapped by them, slowly being burnt alive. She could almost smell the burning flesh on the air.

After what felt like an eternity, she came upon several figures. The first was a barely recognisable body of a woman, who was clutching the body of a dead baby tightly against her chest. Both were covered with holes made by swords, spears and arrows. Louise then saw another figure approach slowly, dropping onto its knees, and holding the pair close to his chest, as he wailed loudly. His face and body were masked by blackness, but she could make out his hair. It was almost like pure silver, it was like it was glittering under the blood red sky, she'd never seen anything like it. The figure seemed to sense that she was there. He gently laid the woman and child back on the ground, and rose to his feet. As he turned, Louise felt her body freeze in place as her eyes met his. They were blood red, full of malice and hatred. The pupils were no longer normal, like that of a human's, instead making the shape of what looked to be a Pentagon symbol. She felt the figure wanted her dead, it wanted everything dead, and it probably had the power to do so. The figure vanished from sight, re-appearing before her as it clasped its hand around her neck, and squeezed. She could see the figures lips move beneath the blackness that covered it, though the sounds didn't reach her ears. She felt her body go limp as a loud crack erupted, before blackness to over her…

Louise woke up, and sat bolt upright, her body covered in a cold sweat, she barely managed to supress a scream. She struggled for breath, and panicked as she looked around the room, trying to find out where she was. After a few moments, she began to calm down. She could hear her heart in her head as it beat so fast in her chest. As she wiped her brow, she looked out of the window and up at the moons. "By the Founder… what was that dream?" she muttered. She didn't want to sleep again that night… she didn't want that dream again.