Adrian was so tired. He had long ago forced his soul into a state of permanent Battle. Still, the object was to exit the maze, and the Arch-mage was very adamant about him finding the exit. So here Adrian was, trudging through the familiar darkness that had lost its sense of danger some time ago, now that he could sense the beasts and dispel them with light. The hallucinations, visual and auditory, had stopped for the most part, though the Man That Wasn't There still trailed behind him at every step.
He could scarcely tell whether he was awake or asleep anymore. Everything felt distant and muted. Even pain had lost its edge, though he could at least feel that better than anything else. Sometimes he would find himself digging his nails into his arm hard enough to draw blood, but he could at least feel that. So he kept doing it, even as his arm became numb and red.
"You know," The Man That Wasn't There said in his disinterested, airy voice, "I'm just trying to drive you to insanity. You should just give up now, it would save you a lot of suffering in the long run. But you can't do that, can you? You have to fight and struggle just to save your poor, dear mother."
Adrian didn't respond. He rarely ever did anymore, aloud anyways.
The hallucination scoffed. "I should have killed her when I had the chance."
Adrian flinched, but knew better than to lash out at the apparition. It was just too much energy for accomplishing nothing.
He just wanted to leave this pain, this special breed of torture the Arch-mage entertained himself with. But the more he focused and mapped and explored, he found this wasn't simply a maze, but a labyrinth, constantly shifting and turning silently around him.
He stopped as he felt more shadow beasts ahead, feet aching and soul tired as he maneuvered his ball of light forward to chase down the opposing magic. As much as he wanted it all to stop, he also wanted to prove something to the Arch-mage. Adrian wasn't really sure what- maybe that despite his hatred and belittling attitude toward his son, Adrian was still capable or maybe it was because of Adrian's own resentment that made him want to push forward to prove to anyone watching he was good enough. Maybe if Adrian ever managed to kill the Arch-mage, he could return home and tell his mother about how he had triumphed over this particular sort of evil. The thought drew out a sad smile from the boy's lips.
"What are you smiling about?" The Man That Wasn't There snapped, scowling. In a childish moment of clarity, Adrian decided that was a mouthful. He decided to name the ghost John.
"Love, family." Adrian replied with a little shrug. "Things you wouldn't understand."
John scowled, moving in front of him in a motion caught somewhere between a backward stride and a glide. "Where do you think you came from then, if I'm so awful?"
"You didn't love Mother." Adrian said firmly, or as firmly as his squeaky, exhausted boy voice could manage. "You liked her body, but you never loved her. I'm sure of it."
"Ah, yes." John quipped, returning to his usual place hovering just behind Adrian, face barely visible over his shoulder. "You know so much with the short ten or eleven years of wisdom you've gathered."
"Well, you're not even real." Adrian retorted, trying to stop being embarrassed by a snide comment that came from his own mind. "So what would you know?"
"More than you certainly." John grumbled loudly. "A pig would know more than you, you stupid, disappointing boy."
Even coming from a fake, the statements still stung. Adrian didn't want them to, he wanted to ignore anything and everything his father said that wasn't directly correlated to learning magic, but that singular thought was stuck in his head. The Arch-mage was his father. And even though Adrian hated him and wanted him to die a fiery death, he wanted to make him proud in a pathetic, childish way.
Needless to say, Adrian had a lot of conflicting, confusing emotions about the Arch-mage that was a lot for a ten or eleven year old to sort out. And he didn't want to be left alone with them anymore. He never had, really, but now he was willing to cheat to escape.
When this had started, the magic dampener spell placed on this place was too much for more than a trickle of Adrian's magic to escape. But his soul had grown stronger over the time he had been here, and he could fight against the spell more, even if it wasn't much. He didn't know how to fly with blue magic, but even if he did it probably would be too much magic for what Adrian had at his disposal. He tried to summon a couple of shields to form stairs that moved with him, but he could only summon one shield at a time that would support his weight.
A flickering memory in the back of his mind surfaced, a boy sneaking out to learn magic he should not know. Stretching, swirling possibilities branching from one singular fact. The law of equivalent exchange and an imitation of a false science.
Adrian brought his little light closer, shining on his pale hand and wicked fingernails as he ran his hand over the concrete wall. Concrete, made by the Romans from sand, rock, limestone, and cement. It's components, mixed together and molded into something greater than the sum of their parts. Unlike a cake, where its ingredients went through dramatic changes to make the product. No, these ingredients were more or less mashed together, like what Adrian saw other children do when it was raining and they stuck their hands in the ground, taking grass and mud and clay and making little balls of mystery they would throw at each other.
Adrian clawed at the back of his mind until he remembered the correct runes. He was fairly certain he could make this work if he could just channel his magic into the runes instead of just casting the spell like how Edgar had shown him. The 'monster' way of casting magic that didn't require runes but took more magic as a consequence. But it wasn't like he just had some paper or anything lying around, or even a spell to carve into the stone that didn't require more magic than what he could draw out.
Adrian stared at his hand that seemed like the hand of a stranger. Pale as a ghost with frighteningly long, gnarled nails, caked with blood. No wonder his arm hurt so much. His gaze slid from his hand to his arm, scratched and bruised like the body of a soldier right after a fight with a pack of wolves. No infection though, the magic in his soul fought against that even if he couldn't use it for spells. It was only his left arm, which meant his right arm was a sickly white. A canvas, or in this case, a parchment.
Adrian didn't need to take a deep breath or mentally prepare himself in any way. He felt too detached from reality to really feel the pain as he began digging his nails into his arm, carving out the runes. Sticky, jarringly warm blood spilled from the cuts and dripped down his arm. For some reason, Adrian had expected it to be cold so that it matched his clammy, white skin.
The runes were a little crude, but not bad, all considering. Better than nothing at least. Adrian pulled away the excess blood with the little blue magic he could conjure, making the runes clearer and ready to use.
This was the moment of truth. Adrian took a deep breath, placing his left hand on the wall and staring at the fresh wounds on his right forearm. He hesitated for just a moment before willing magic into the runes, watching and feeling as a slight tingling he could barely feel spread in his limb as the runes glowed a soft white.
The wall crumbled beneath his touch, dissolving into a pile of sand and fragments of stone to create a hole as big as his head. Adrian gave a satisfied grunt, moving his hand around the wall to make the hole bigger until it was big enough for him to climb through. He repeated the process over and over, carving a path in the direction he was pretty sure the exit was. John followed him with a dark scowl as a long buried spark of hope blinked into life in Adrian's chest. This... this was really happening. He was finally getting out of this hell.
"You're cheating." John growled.
Adrian actually had the nerve again to laugh. God, he almost wanted to curl up and cry in relief, but he would wait until he was actually out of here for that. "I don't care." Adrian smirked as he continued. "All paths lead to Rome."
John didn't say anything for a moment. "Was that a pun?" He asked in a mix of disbelief and disgust.
Adrian glanced at him slyly, the smirk quirking up a little more. "Was it?"
John sighed heavily. "My God, I knew you were an atrocious little goblin, but that's just too much." His voice was somehow disinterested and sharp at the same time, like a sentient and bored sword. "And even if this is just another way of getting out of the maze doesn't mean it's the way you should take."
"I really don't care." Adrian chirped back as he felt the slightest draft come from somewhere above. He stopped, summoning a new ball of light- he had to dispel the other to make room for alchemy- and sending it up to explore his surroundings. Instead of the wall stopping about twenty feet up, the wall kept climbing until his ball of light showed that it wasn't a wall at all but a staircase. This was it. He was so close he actually dared to think of how nice sunlight would feel on his skin, that kind of rich warmth that seemed almost foreign to him now.
He followed the wall until he came to the beginning of the staircase. He fought against the sobs rising in his throat, but lost the battle as they wretched their way out. He couldn't help it. This was finally going to be over. Adrian didn't even spare a thought for what the Arch-mage would subject him to after this. It didn't matter, it couldn't be worse than this.
One step at a time. His ball of light floated in front of him, illuminating his path to freedom. His feet ached, and his already sore legs protested against the movements. But he ignored it, just like he had ignored the other pain. He would not falter now, not when he was so close.
He hesitated for a moment, sensing something up ahead. It wasn't like the shadow dogs. This felt much bigger than that, like how Adrian imagined a dragon from legend might be like. Of course it couldn't be this easy. He took in a deep breath, not about to give up when he was right there. He was about to send his ball of light forward when two white circles snapped open above him. Adrian gasped, stepping back and narrowly catching himself before he tumbled down the steps. Light exploded into the room, blinding him. When he could see again, it was just in time to see a massive shadow paw smack him. He barely summoned a green shield to catch him before he was a smudge on the ground. Even then, shields weren't exactly the softest cushion to land on.
Adrian gave himself no reprieve, scrambling to his feet to see what await him. It was a shadow beast like the dogs had been, but this one was giant and distinctly not a dog. This one had the body and head of a lion, its mane wispy black strands like mist. Its tail split at the base, and Adrian was horrified to watch as four more white eyes snapped open as the two tails became twin shadow snakes. The beast was perched precariously on the staircase, each paw as wide as the path was. It roared, shaking the entire underground room. Adrian shook his head as dust rained on him from above.
"You're dead." John said. He stood on nothing next to Adrian.
Adrian had only a moment to glare at him before the snakes hissed, striking out. He yelped, dispelling his shield and summoning a new one a short length below him. One of the snakes passed by him, just a hair width away from catching him with its wicked black teeth. The already chilly air turned to ice around it. Adrian shuddered.
What did he do? The shadow dogs had been easy enough to handle once he knew what to do to get rid of them. This one though, light didn't bother it one bit. Dozens of bright spheres of light floated in clumps all around the room. Adrian didn't have access to proper offensive magic, and he didn't have the time to carve any more runes into his arm. The snakes had unnatural reach, lengthening at will to attack him. He would have to deal with them first. The lion part of the beast blocked the staircase, so if Adrian could take care if the snakes, he could probably figure out a way to take care of the rest of the beast. It didn't move at all, staying right where it was on the staircase. Adrian took in a deep breath. He could do this. He was so close, he wouldn't be stopped now.
He dropped the rest of the way to the ground, breaking the fall into smaller segments with shields. The vipers lunged at him, but he could sense them coming now. He deftly dodged them, scrambling back into the maze.
"What are you doing?" John asked, glaring at the snakes that weren't doing their jobs even though Adrian knew he was talking to him. "I thought you were trying to get out of there."
"I have an idea." Adrian panted between breaths. Mushrooms were not a good enough food source for this kind of physical exertion.
"That's good." John replied after a pause. Adrian slid around the corner of a wall into the labyrinth. The boy glanced at the hallucination questioningly, uncertain if he had heard him right. "You're stupid, so any ideas you have will probably get you killed."
Adrian grunted, peering around the corner. That was the John he knew. One of the vipers caught sight of him, hissing. Its huge mouth unhinged, revealing two wicked black teeth and no tongue. It lunged forward.
Adrian ran out of the way just as the snake smashed through the wall. Rubble rained down on top of it, pinning it down. It hissed and thrashed under the stone, unfortunately still very much alive. Around the corner, the lion roared in agony.
Adrian breathed in sharply. He was hoping that would have killed it. After a moment, he summoned an orange weapon. It couldn't even be called a dagger; it had no hilt and was just a tiny blade pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Still, his soul naturally coated it with a yellow tint. He edged his way along the wall to where the beast was thrashed and hissed, trapped. John stood in front of it, arms crossed and lips turned down in a frown. He didn't voice his obvious dissatisfaction, for once.
Adrian plunged his little weapon into the viper's body with all the force he could manage. The snake cried out as it began to erode away, its black surface smoldering away from the touch of Adrian's Karmic Retribution. It was actually a good thing that the Arch-mage was the one creating this horror, otherwise Adrian's ability would be useless.
His magic corroded away the head of the snake, ceasing its cries of pain. His magic raced along the length of its body, but before it could reach the rest of the beast, the other snake reached around and bit off the rest of the other tail. It burned away into dark yellow magic particles like gold.
Adrian cradled his arm. Stabbing his weapon into the beast had sent cold trails of pain up his arm like spears of ice. The pain had mostly subsided, but it left his arm numb and cold.
The other viper stared at Adrian with its stagnant white eyes, hissing but not moving. Seemed the beast had learned. Adrian ducked back around the corner, closing his eyes and cursing. His arm hung useless at his side, though feeling was slowly crawling back into the limb. Very slowly.
"Should you be using that kind of language, you heathen?" John asked, inspecting his perfectly managed fingernails that never changed.
"Well," Adrian replied distantly as he racked his brain for another idea, " If I'm already a heathen I don't see why not."
He glanced around the corner again even though his soul could already tell the viper hadn't moved an inch. Think. He ordered his brain, smacking his head lightly. He couldn't pin the other snake, and he couldn't risk attacking it with an orange weapon. He was already one arm down as it was, and he would still have to fight the main body of the creature.
A soft hissing sound came from around the wall, not the snake but a sound like rushing water. Adrian watched in horror as the snake opened its mouth, black mist pouring out and tumbling its way across the floor toward him. He didn't know what it did, but whatever it was couldn't be good.
He turned back to the wall, pouring magic into the runes on his good arm. He touched the wall, but briefly this time, so that only a small dip was formed. Enough feeling had returned to his arm that he could at least curl his fingers a little and he could manage a controlled flail to move it. It would have to do.
He set his foot into the newly formed step, creating a new handhold above him and grabbing onto that. He created new ones for his hands as he went and set is feet into the ones left behind. He wasn't quite quick enough though. The mist raced across the ground, reaching for Adrian even as he tried to escape. It brushed against the bottom of his bare foot, sending more icy spears up his leg. Adrian gasped but forced himself to keep fumbling up and away from that cold weapon. He heaved himself on top of the maze wall, panting and tentatively poking his leg. He was doing great. Only his right arm and his left leg still worked. Just perfect.
He didn't have even a moment to catch his breath. The snake's body lengthened, stretching like the odd slime Edgar had shown him once. Adrian rolled out of the way as the viper sunk its long teeth into the spot where Adrian had been laying. It hissed, pulling back and breaking off that section of the wall. Its huge white eyes settled on Adrian once more, blank voids that reflected nothing.
This was it, wasn't it? Adrian was such a fool to believe that the Arch-mage wouldn't have one last trick up his sleeve, one more mountain to climb over. Without his magic, he had no way of defending it. There would only be that horrible, biting cold all over his body, swallowing him up like the frigid waves of the ocean, drowning him and dragging him deeper and deeper...
And he had been so close. Staring into the eyes of this thing that wasn't alive, he couldn't stop thinking of the injustice of it all. It just wasn't fair. He almost had it. And as the snake drew its body back to strike, Adrian couldn't help but think how he couldn't go through all of this again. He wouldn't go through this again. He was right here, he would not lose everything now.
He screamed, soul straining with everything he had until he felt something pop. He raised a hand as the snake lunged forward, fire billowing from his palm and enveloping the beast in its hungry grasp. There was no smell as the magic making up the creature cooked. The snake wailed in pain, and Adrian didn't stop spraying fire until those wails stopped.
He slumped in relief, too exhausted to manage much else. That was until the lion roared, pumping more adrenaline into Adrian's body. He climbed to his feet as quickly as he could with one lame leg, eyes widening as more surprises revealed themselves before him. The lion shook its massive body, wings unfurling from its sides where they were hidden. The lion flapped its giant wings twice, pulling it into the air. The spots on the stairs where its paws had been were shrouded in more of the dark mist, spiraling masses of icy pain. Even though the beast had moved, Adrian still couldn't take the stairs. He would have to carve his way up the wall, and for that he would have to slay the lion first.
Adrian hobbled along the wall as the lion descended on him, pouncing like a giant deadly kitty on the spot he had been standing. It lifted its paws, eyes fizzing around the edges slightly when it saw its prey had escaped him. It snapped its head up just as Adrian lifted his good hand and released a barrage of fire.
The beast backed up, the charred stub of one tail and the clean cut stump of the other twitching and its colorless eyes widening. Adrian actually felt a pang of pity strike through him, as cold and painful as any of this beast's attacks. He knew these things weren't really alive, that they didn't have a soul, but still. It could feel pain. It could feel fear. Attacking this felt like he was attacking a real cat, burning a real kitten to death.
Adrian fell back as the lion lunged through the fire, a light green hue glowing around it. Shield magic. It soared over the boy, landing behind him and whirling around to face him. Adrian rolled out of the way as the beast brought a paw down to crush him, catching himself with his good arm as he rolled right off the side of the wall. He cried out, blood rushing in his ears as he stared down at the ground that seemed so far away. The logical part of his brain knew that he could catch himself with a green shield, but the other human part of his mind just saw a plummet and landing that would kill him. He took a deep breath, tearing his gaze from the ground up to where the lion stood, looking down at him. It raised its paw again. Adrian closed his eyes and forced himself to let go, summoning a shield a short length beneath him. Chunks of the wall rained down past him as the lion slammed its paw into the side. Adrian had to summon another shield above him to avoid being crushed by the debris.
"You were ready to kill a person, but you can't dispel a conjuring?" John shouted down from above the boy, standing next to the shadow beast as it unfurled its wings once more. "Pathetic."
"I'm not pathetic." Adrian gritted out, climbing to his feet and ignoring the pain. "I'm not pathetic!" He waited for the beast as it flew up and swooped down to where Adrian was standing on his shield in the corridor of the maze. He raised his arm as it closed the distance, staring down those awful white eyes. It opened its giant maw, revealing black teeth bigger than him, and let out another roar. Adrian let himself be swallowed up by that horrible, gaping mouth, swallowed up by the cold.
It was almost too much. Everything was numb, yet everything still managed to hurt. Adrian clenched his teeth, forcing magic out around him. Warm, wicked flames that grew from his skin and his clothes, eating the beast from the inside out where it had no green shields to protect it. Its agonized roars were magnified by a thousand inside its body, so loud Adrian was sure his ears would start bleeding.
The shadows began to recede, and Adrian summoned a shield beneath him. The rest of the beast fell away as first the flames ate at it, then his Karmic Retribution. Its head, being at the end of its body, was one of the last things to go, screeching and wailing all the way. Adrian watched with tired eyes as it disintegrated into golden magic particles that rained down onto the slate gray ground far below.
He curled up, squeezing his eyes shut and hissing against the pain. His entire body felt so cold, like his blood had been replaced with slush and his flesh with ice. He didn't know how long he laid there, fighting to stay conscious, but eventually the brutal beginning of the spell passed and just left him exhausted. He summoned a slide down from where he was, slipping down it to the closest part of the staircase that wasn't covered in mist. He muttered a spell and wind blew down, sweeping the mist away into the rest of the room. He slowly trudged his way up, focusing on each step, on just moving one leg at a time. He almost didn't even realize when he reached the top of the stairs, where the heavy door stood. It was locked, but blue magic swiftly had it unlocked and swinging open.
It was night outside, and Adrian might have been disappointed by that if he wasn't so tired. Waiting for him was the Arch-mage and what Adrian thought was a different healer, but he couldn't remember the last one's face exactly. The man looked down his nose at his son, expression utterly indifferent. He didn't even say anything, no praise, no criticism, just signaled for the healer to help him with a wave of his hand. The girl didn't say anything, hurriedly rushing forward and pouring magic into Adrian. It washed away the remaining pain and cold, like sitting next to a warm fire, though it couldn't do anything about his exhaustion. Once the girl had stepped back the Arch-mage nodded curtly, turning and striding away. Adrian stood for a moment before bringing himself into a stumble after him.
"You cheated." The man eventually said as he led Adrian back to his room. "You used a spell you should not have known and broke through my magic dampener."
"What else was I supposed to do?" Adrian mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open.
He didn't expect the slap that threw him to the ground. He glared up at the Arch-mage, cheek stinging. The man glared back like he was a worm who had crawled from his perfectly kept lawn and tarnished his unblemished ground. "Speak clearly or do not speak at all. I'm in no mood for your games."
Once the man had whirled back around, Adrian cradled his cheek that had just finally been healed. He climbed back to his feet, forcing himself into a run to catch up with him. "What else could I do? There wasn't exactly another way to get through that."
"A sufficient punishment will have to be executed." The Arch-mage snarled as if he hadn't heard him. "But there is time for that yet. You will go to sleep now, and you will be woken up at dawn for your next leg of training."
Adrian stifled a groan, deciding that he did not want to be slapped again. He just bowed his head and walked past the Arch-mage into his room when the man opened the cellar door. The brief moment of fresh air had been nice, but already he was being stuffed underground again. Adrian quickly summoned a ball of light just in case, even though he knew nothing was hiding in the darkness. He swept his gaze around the room. It hadn't changed much, there was just a fine layer of dust over everything now. With a sigh the boy had it cleaned up, the mess piled up into the far corner.
There was a sense of dread growing in his chest, eating at his insides as he sat down on the edge of his bed. He didn't want to be underground again. What if they didn't let him out? The Arch-mage had said he would be punished for how he had escaped the trial. What if he kept him down here to punish him? Adrian could feel his breath quickening, heart racing. Even though he was so tired, he found he couldn't just sit down. He got onto his feet again, pacing around the room while trying to calm himself down with deep breaths.
"It would serve you right," John observed, walking around the edges of the tiny room and inspecting every crack and blemish, "If they simple left you down here to rot. I told you that you were cheating, but being the stupid, insolent child you are, you didn't listen."
Adrian just shook his head, burying his face in his hands and continuing to walk back and forth on silent feet. He needed to go to sleep. He didn't have the time to be dealing with these emotions right now.
He forced himself to plop down on the edge of his bed again, taking deep breaths. He eyed his newly healed arm for a moment before digging his nails into the flesh and curling in on himself as the pain washed over him. He closed his eyes, breathing out a shaky sigh of relief as the emotions dissipated a bit.
"Kill yourself."
Adrian snapped his gaze up, staring at the apparition in shock. His mouth worked, but no sound came out.
"It would be easier than this." The man said, motioning to the room with a broad wave that somehow encompassed much more than the drab stone around them. "It would be an escape. After all, you have no idea what I'm going to subject you to, and it would be so easy." John snapped his fingers and an orange dagger appeared in his other hand. Even though Adrian knew it was just a hallucination, he eyed it warily. "Besides, it would be just so much more convenient for me if you died. So be a good boy and do as your father asks." The ghost leaned forward, offering the weapon like it was a sweet treat.
Adrian would be lying if he said the idea didn't sound a little appealing, but he couldn't. His mother was counting on him. And if he died, who would be around to remember Edgar?
He laid down on his bed, turning onto his side so he wasn't looking at him. "No."
"Well, it's always an option." John said with a sigh. After a moment, he grumbled, "Should have known it wouldn't be so easy."
A part of Adrian's mind wondered why it would be better for John if he died, since if he died so did the hallucination. But Adrian had come to learn that John had all sorts of backward thoughts like that, and if he questioned him on it, he wouldn't get an answer. He stared at his wall, thinking for a while before deciding. He cautiously let his soul out of Battle, holding his breath. A moment passed, then two, then ten, and nothing happened. He slowly let himself relax, crawling under the blanket- he never realized how much he had missed that- and savoring the cushion of his bed and pillow. At least he didn't have to sleep on the hard floor anymore. His eyes drifted closed, and he let himself fall asleep, body and soul relaxed for once.
He woke up to biting teeth in his shoulder. He screamed, thrashing against the threat until his sense returned to him and he summoned a new ball of light. His other must have fizzled out without him paying attention to it. Immediately, the shadow dog faded away into black magic particles. They sparkled away into nothingness.
Adrian panted, clutching at his shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound, running down his arm and staining his blanket. He looked around when he realized it was silent, but John was nowhere to be seen. At least he was leaving him alone. The boy ground his teeth, stumbling to his feet and testing the door. It was locked again, but blue magic had it open soon enough. He trudged his way along the side of the Arch-mage's manor, walking to where he thought he remembered the infirmary being. Sure enough, the small building was there at the far end of the yard. Adrian grunted, his arm yelling at him to hurry up.
As he was walking past the front doors, they flung open. Adrian stopped, cringing back in fear. The Arch-mage was standing there, trailed by two servants and a fat man in black robes. Adrian thought he looked like the priest back home before realizing that was what he was. The group didn't seem to notice him though as the two men in front continued to argue.
"This is not under negotiation." The Arch-mage said sternly, crossing his arms. "I will receive double the original payment this year. The boy is progressing at a much faster rate than anticipated, so I will be compensated for it."
"I should think you should be paid less." The man argued back. "If you don't have him for as long."
"Pay me for the vast inconvenience of dealing with you sorry lot then." The Arch-mage snapped, turning. The moment he did, he caught sight of Adrian and he scowled. "What are you doing?"
Adrian gulped. "I-" He began, but the Arch-mage cut him off with a dismissive wave.
"No matter, I'll deal with you in a moment." The man turned back to the priest. "Double. I will not budge on this. You can do whatever you want with our other agreements beyond that."
The priest sighed. He was an older man with a bald head and bushy eyebrows that pinched together when he talked. His flesh drooped from his bones and trembled with every movement. "I suppose that can be worked with. How are your other students coming along?"
Even though the Arch-mage had spoken to Adrian with his usual indifference, he kept glancing back at him while the priest spoke. "They're coming along at pace. The girl shows great potential in illusion magic, and the boys show promise in elemental magic. I'm sure they're be great assets to you once they're ready."
The priest nodded, motioning to his servant. He scurried past him and down the steps, passing by Adrian without even looking up. He raced over to where a carriage was waiting by the fountain, opening the door. The priest began to amble toward it, the Arch-mage still following with his own servant right behind. "Good, good. The war is very stagnant right now, and we think some more mages will help turn the tide of battle. Get them out as soon as they're ready. Are their families paying you adequately?"
"Quite." The Arch-mage replied, staring dagger at Adrian. The boy cringed away, his shoulder completely forgotten in the face of the Arch-mage's wrath. Oh God, he couldn't go through a whipping like the last one again. "That is of no concern."
The priest nodded vigorously, skin flopping up and down. "Well then, I will see you next year for the next checkup." The man stopped as he was walking past Adrian, gazing down at the child curiously. "Be a good boy, wouldn't want anything to happen to your poor mother, now would you?"
Adrian stared back at him, unable to speak past the fear clutching at his throat.
The priest continued on, climbing into his carriage and rolling away. Adrian braced himself for whatever the Arch-mage had in mind. The man peered down at him, like a crow eyeing a grub before gobbling it up. "Well," He said after a few moments, voice clipped, "I see you let your soul out of Battle. I would not recommend that if you don't want to be surprised." The man smiled cruelly, gleefully. "And since you're so eager to be up and about, why don't we start your training now? I'll start teaching you how to fly."
While the idea would have sounded nice, the way the man said it made the blood drain from Adrian's face. He turned with a flourish of his purple robes, motioning for him to follow.
"I told you," John whispered into Adrian's ear, "It'll only go downhill from here."
(A/N): And we're back! Sorry, I actually meant to get out a chapter sooner but then well, video games happened. Um, what else..?
Uhh, I'll post the song I listened to on the tumblr. I'll try to keep getting out a chapter a week, but it may not work out. I'm going to have more schoolwork this year since I'm taking a language and music theory instead of relaxing electives. I'll continue talking about updates on the tumblr, when to expect them and whatnot.
It's good to be back! I noticed the writing style for this chapter is a little different. I hope you guys don't mind.