Void no Tsukaima

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima and the original idea for this story came from SeerKing. I have been given permission to adapt it. I apologize if canons are OOC. I'm trying my best.

Kazi watched Louise with a raised eyebrow as the girl in front of him fell back onto her bed as she muttered about the ramifications of summoning a noble as her Familiar, before eventually sighing, causing her attention to snap to him.

"If the fact that you think I'm a noble is such a big deal, I can assure you I am not," said Kazi, though the fact that he had pulled a tea-set, complete with a table and chair, seemingly out of the fabric of his cloak of all things, was not supporting his claims in the Pinkette's eyes.

"But you can use magic!" exclaimed Louise, "That is the blessing of the Founder Brimir that decides who is of Noble blood and who is not!"

"That is according to the rules of this land," said Kazi, "in my homeland, magic is quite different."

"Really?" asked Louise, "How so?"

"Have some tea," said Kazi as a cup floated over to her, "it's quite good, plus this blend is known to calm the nerves."

Louise weakly nodded and sipped the steaming brew, finding the taste to be rather calming, as the man she had summoned began his explanation, "To start off, I am from a land far from here, and our culture has embraced a series of laws and systems involving magic. Through our system, anyone of any birth can study magic, but its secrets are only revealed to those that are able to advance."

"How is that different from here?" asked Louise confusedly, prompting Kazi to sigh and conjure a chart in the air in front of her as the gem in his earring glowed bright.

"You see, in my homeland's system of magic, there are seven different ranks one can advance through, with each rank holding a certain level of authority," explained Kazi, "all prospective magic users begin as Scholars trying to understand the workings of magic, and, should they receive an Awakening, where they unlock the spark, they are promoted to the level of Adept and begin actually learning their skills."

"But you said you were a Sorcerer?" said Louise.

"Indeed," said Kazi as he sipped his tea, "a Sorcerer one of the seven ranks of skill that magic users can achieve. Within each rank, there are seven levels, and upon completing the seventh level, the magic user is tested to see if he or she is worthy to progress to the next rank."

"I see," said Louise, "that is different from here."

"So how does this land classify magical power?" asked Kazi.

"Well," said Louise, "mages are ranked by the number of elements they can layer in their spells, with Dot Mages being able to layer only one and Square Mages being the strongest as they can layer four."

"People can use multiple elements here?" said Kazi in surprise, "In my homeland, they are limited to one."

"That's not exactly what I meant," said Louise as she sipped her tea. It really was a rather good blend, "while some mages can use multiple elements, layering elements usually means that they layer the same element to make it stronger. Water and Water for example."

"That sounds…uncomfortably redundant," said Kazi, "I mean, why have a second element if it's the same as the first?"

"It's not as simplistic as that," said Louise, "layering different elements can create spells of great power!"

"In any case," sighed Kazi as he stood, "we should get some rest for the night."

"Right," said Louise as she placed her cup down, allowing her familiar to vanish the tea set with a wave of his hand, "…I didn't expect to have a human familiar so I didn't prepare a spot…"

Trailing off, she glanced to the side where a pile of hay sat, clearly having been intended for a domesticated pet instead of a human, "I can see about getting you a place to sleep," she said in an embarrassed tone.

"It's not a problem," said Kazi as he pulled off his cloak, revealing a set of clothes that looked surprisingly well tailored, "I can make do."

The Sorcerer swung his cloak in a flourish, causing it to form into a large camping tent, causing Louise's mouth to drop open in surprise.

"I'm a traveler," chuckled Kazi, "I'm always prepared to sleep on the go."

"How…?" asked Louise.

"Magic," said Kazi with a wink, "care for a tour?"

"Won't it be a bit cramped?" asked Louise blankly.

"Come and see," chuckled Kazi, "you might be surprised."

"Perhaps another time," said Louise weakly, "I'm still getting over everything that has happened today. I dread to think about how I am going to explain this to the professors tomorrow."

"Explain?" asked Kazi, "What is there to explain? You summoned a familiar, like everyone else, right?"

"You're kidding right?" exclaimed Louise, "Summoning a human is one thing, but summoning a MAGE? That's practically blasphemous! Magic is seen as the blessing of the Founder, and if it gets out that I bound a Mage as my familiar, then I'll be lucky not to be strung up by the church!"

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," said Kazi.

"You have no idea," said Louise, "Magic is seen as the birthright of the nobility, being what allows us to stand above commoners. Because of that, using magic to bind another noble as a familiar won't go down well."

"Right," sighed Kazi, "maybe it would be best to sleep on all of this. I'm sure we can explain things better once we're all rested."

"Fine," sighed Louise, "but I am not looking forward to it."

xXsceneXx

Far away from the Academy, in a dark cavern buried deep beneath the Lagdorian Lake, a gaunt figure began to stir as a pulse of magic rippled through the chamber. The figure had white hair that had grown to an untidy mess and he was garbed in robes that had once been elegant and ornate, but now were dirty and disheveled. As the figure rose to his feet, metal bands around his arms and legs lit up as runes etched into them began to glow with an eerie light.

"So, I am awakened from the sleep that that bastard Brimir cast on me," he said as he rose to his feet and looked around, "I can feel the faint energies of the Dimensional Void lingering. Perhaps that is what broke the spell's hold on me. No matter, now that I am awake, I can finish what I started."

The figure walked towards the walls of the cavern, but the manacles on his arms and legs glowed bright and chains of light shot from the runes, anchoring the figure to the ground he stood on and revealing that he was standing on a stone spire in the middle of a vast abyss.

"…I see," growled the figure as he moved from the edge of the platform and walked back to the middle, the chains vanishing as he did so, "It seems that that bastard Brimir's seal was more elaborate than I gave him credit for. However, I still have my ways of getting what I want. I shall be free, it will just take some time…"

Sitting down in a lotus position, the figure closed his eyes and began to meditate, black designs that resembled twisting vines appeared on his body, as if they were growing across his skin. A faint aura of dark energy formed around him as the figure meditated, planning his next move.

xXsceneXx

The next day, the Academy students had been excused from classes so that the second years could bond with their newly summoned Familiars, and Louise and Kazi were taking advantage of this opportunity to speak to Headmaster Osmond about the former's unusual summoning of the latter.

"Let me see if I am understanding everything," said the elderly Headmaster as he steepled his fingers, "your familiar is actually a mage?"

"Yes sir," said Louise nervously.

"And not just a mage, an accredited one," said Osmond, "a…what was it again?"

"A Sorcerer," said Kazi, "Level Five to be precise."

"Fascinating," said Osmond, "to think that the Summon Servant spell could reach past the boundaries of our world and summon one of such magical skill. Tell me, do mages of your world have elemental alignments as we do?"

"It's a bit complicated," said Kazi, "while we also are all born with an attunement to a specific element, we do not have the ability to layer different elements together to form combinations. Also, in my homeland, there are nine Cardinal Elements."

"Nine?" said Osmond in surprise, "How can that be? And what do you mean by Cardinal Elements?"

"Let me explain," said Kazi as his earring glowed and a magic circle drew itself in the air in front of them with the names of the elements at the cardinal points, "in my homeland, the nine elements can be represented at cardinal points on a compass rose, with each element standing at a point opposite of its opposing element. The elements were chosen to represent the aspects of life, Earth, the ground we stand on, Fire, the warmth we feel, Wind, the air we breathe, Water, the liquid of life, Light, that which illuminates our day, Dark, the shade that soothes us, Lightning, the energy that fills us, Wood, the plants and trees, and Void, that which exists at the center of it all."

"Well," said Osmond, "if every mage in your world is aligned to a specific Element, then what is yours?"

This caused Kazi to smile and give a small bow, "I happen to be aligned with the elusive Void element."

This caused quite the stir amongst the gathered Halkeginians. Louise looked like she was about to pass out, Osmond snapped his pipe in his grip, and his secretary, who had just entered the room, dropped the refreshment tray she had been carrying, the porcelain cups shattering against the ground.

"Th-th-the Void?!" squeaked Louise.

"What's the crazy reaction for?" asked Kazi, "It's just one of the nine elemental alignments. While Void users aren't exactly the most common among those who receive an Awakening, it's nothing to act so surprised about."

"My boy," said Osmond seriously, "the element of Void is uncommon enough here to be revered as legendary. To that end, the last known holder of the Void element, was the Founder Brimir."

"In addition," said the headmaster's green-haired secretary, a serious woman named Longueville, "the Summon Servant spell is said to indicate the elemental alignment of the mage that performs it, and considering Miss Vallière summoned a mage aligned with the Void element…"

"Indeed," nodded Osmond as he stroked his beard, "it is an interesting development with significant ramifications."

"Wait!" exclaimed Louise, "You can't be seriously implying what I think you are! You can't be saying that I'm aligned with the element of Void?"

"The Summon Servant spell has yet to be proven inaccurate," mused Osmond, "and it might explain your troubles in the practical side of academics."

"Troubles?" asked Kazi curiously, noting the pinkette wilting a bit with her cheeks coloring in embarrassment.

"Indeed," said Osmond, "while Miss Vallière is quite adept in the theoretical side of her studies, she struggles in the practical side, with her various spells ending rather…explosively."

"Wait," said Kazi as he thought back to the spell Louise had cast that allowed them to understand each other, "are you saying the explosions are a regular occurrence?"

"That they are," nodded Osmond, "it has been rather unfortunate for Miss Vallière."

"Why is that?" asked Kazi curiously, causing Louise's head to snap towards him in surprise, "I mean, in my homeland, a spell exploding is simply the cause of unrefined magical energy being released without the proper control. That is why we work hard to develop our spells in order to better harness the energy."

"So, my explosions don't mean that there's something wrong with me magically?" asked Louise hopefully.

"Of course not," replied Kazi with a smile, "small explosions here and there are commonplace in a training environment for young Adepts."

An awkward glance passed between the faculty in the room, causing Kazi to quirk his head in confusion, "…is there something I'm missing?"

"Well," said Longueville, "to put it delicately, Miss Vallière's explosions not what I would call, small."

"Really now?" said Kazi as Louise flushed in embarrassment, "That's quite impressive."

"What?" said Louise as she blinked in surprise.

"As I said earlier," said Kazi, "according to my magic style, the explosions are bursts of unrefined magical energy that is released due to lack of proper control of one's powers. If your explosions are really that large, then it indicates that you might possibly have the largest amount of unrefined magical power that I've ever seen outside of Archmages."

Smiling, Kazi looked down at the surprised pinkette, "Kid, you could possibly be the strongest mage to be born in a century."

xXsceneXx

In the throne room of the Tristain Royal Palace, the doors were thrown open as a frantic figure ran in and fell into a rushed bow before the thrones, "Your highness!"

"Breathe," said the royal seated upon the throne of the Queen, "what brings you before me in such a haste?"

"Your highness," said the man as he caught his breath, "it's Brimir's Lost Prophecies."

"What about them?" asked Henrietta, "Have we made a breakthrough in deciphering them?"

"Well, no," said the man, "you see…they've started glowing."

Wow. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but this story is not dead yet. I have a decent outline for a plot, so I'll try to keep working on this.