Hello all, this will be the last post in this book and I will continue writing Arc III in my other publishing!
This is a prologue for the first part of the first chapter of Arc III (Chapter 66)
This Arc will be far less combative and will involve a lot more intrigue than in the previous arcs which will present its own challenges writing wise.
It will also be truer to the world building elements in the literal sense as Illos and the universe at large is slowly revealed to you guys and there will be more science fiction involved in this Arc along with philosophical questions and moral decisions that may or may not be right (or wrong).
Without further adieu, please enjoy the post and head over to Odyssey of a Mage Part III where I have posted the rest of the chapter and where there is also chapter 2 (chapter 67)
Note: If you would like to read ahead, the next three chapters (68 to 70) are available on P^A^T^R^E^O^N / Boombox117 where we are now on the third final Arc of the story .
The discord channel is d^i^s^c^o^r^d^.^g^g^/^v^r^8^8^t^6^4^Y^e^7
-Break-
24th of June 1952
Fortie POV
"Oof" he said as tumbled onto the grass, almost falling flat on his face after jumping down higher than he had ever before.
It was a record, he knew for sure!
A scraping noise above drew his attentions and he snapped back to attention, his eyes wide at the loudness of the noise, knowing that his brother was going to wake everyone up!
He quickly got back up to his feet and faced towards the second floor of their home "Gaius, careful! You're going to wake everyone up!" he whispered, hissing the words more than saying them.
His brother seemed to hear him as the scraping noise of the chair disappeared and his brother's head popped out of the window and began to climb out of the window very slowly.
He took the chance to look around whilst his brother took his time. It was a little dark, the huuuge round lights that were as bright as the sun was during the summer time were now very dim, almost so dim that he couldn't see very far ahead of him.
They were always this dim when it was bed time.
He could see in the distance some of the lights were on in the buildings though, probably trying do all kinds of nice things!
He grew impatient, turned around and whispered again "Hurry!" he didn't want to get caught, not like the last time!
"Ok, ok" his friend said grumpily as he turned around, hanging on to the side of the building.
He looked hesitant, fearful, in the dim morning lights and Fortie knew his brother needed some courage "Come on Gaius, it's not that far, it only looks far!"
It didn't seem to convince him and Fortie was fed up, his face scrunching "Fine, I'll go alone!" he said petulantly, a little louder than he really should have but he didn't care and he turned around, stomping away.
He heard a thud and swiveled around and saw his brother groan on the floor. He beamed widely at his brother as he ran to him and picked him up from under the armpits "I knew you could do it" he whispered happily.
"My knees hurt" Gaius complained miserably whilst he hobbled along as distance between themselves and their home grew.
"It'll be fine" he waved the concerns of his brother away as he patted him on the back "Just think what we will be able to tell the others in class tomorrow!" he whispered excitedly, the lights around the home fading away as they continued to walk away from their home onto the very quiet street.
That caused Gaius to smile, he could see faintly "I hope it'll be worth it" his brother muttered a little worried "I don't want mama to be angry at us for nothing" but he waved it away.
"Mama Lysa won't be too angry. She'll only make us do boring chores which are not that bad!" he said easily. It would be worth it too!
"Yeah" his brother agreed "Mama doesn't make us do terrible things when we've been too naughty, not like Ms Kelly."
Fortie nodded furiously as he remembered Appia tell them what Ms Kelly did to Flavius and the others when they broke the rules.
"Our mama is the best" Fortie said resolutely. He felt a little bad that he was out past bedtime but this was a mission! An adventure!
She'd love to hear about it too, he was sure of it!
"Much better than their mama" Gaius agreed eagerly as the fading lights of their home no longer offered any more light than the dim lights that hung in the sky.
"When can we use our lights?" Gaius asked and he glanced at the dark face of his brother and knew he was likely biting his lip in concern. He did that a lot.
"When we're a little down the hill, not that far now" he told his brother, taking his arm and walked a little quicker.
Their home was on a hill overlooking the buildings on the far side with the biggest Mountain in all of Illos behind their home. But the biggest buildings were the best ones to see! They were like four really tall ones with the tallest building much much bigger and it was also where he stayed!
They were all very similar, buildings that had gaps in the middle and were almost like separate building but squashed together. Sometimes, these buildings had like a small light in the middle and they became like candles!
The Teacher showed them a picture of the city once it would be finished – he said that it was only a third complete! – and it looked really nice!
Apparently it would be finished by the time they were eleven or twelve which was a long time from now, almost double the ages they were now!
They were all like little islands with two big rings of water separating them with lots and lots of little water rings and water roads.
He hadn't been there before, until today!
Their home was not far from the first big ring of water, like maybe forty minutes walking or an hour if they were slow like some of the others.
Their home was on a hill with other homes that were also on hills not far from them. The hills were like big bubbles pressed together, all with streets that snaked around that became one big street with lots of green trees and plants of all kinds of colours and even purple flowers that lit up when you touched it! And they went downhill into the street that led to their school and also to the big bridge that connected to the tallest building in all of Illos!
There was no one else on their hill just like with the other homes and they had all kinds of things. They had a football field, hoopball, and many other fun things!
The other homes were the same but their hill was nicer, even mama agree and she does not lie!
Their school was kind of far, it took almost half an hour walking but it was OK! Their classmates had to do it too and they had all kinds of fun especially when they played games on their way to school!
Like catching others in a game of tag and lighting up their purple flowers that they'd pick from the side of the streets!
A lot of their games were really fun.
They just had to make sure they weren't late because no one wanted to get on Teacher's bad side! He remembered the last time they were late and he had vowed never to do it again! He had to stay in for like the entire weekend just to finish his homework!
"OK, we can use the lights now" he whispered to his brother as they walked downhill, far from any houses.
"OK" his brother said quickly and they both raised one of their hands "Light!" they said almost in unison and their hands began to glow though Gaius' was far brighter than his own.
"Gaius!" he hissed out, pulling on his shirt "Remember the breathing trick!" he told his brother as he looked around him, hoping that no one saw the bright light.
His brother eventually got it under control and now both of their lights were only little but enough to make sure they could see where they were going.
"Sorry, I forgot" his brother mumbled.
"It's OK, we only learnt last week anyway" he shrugged. It wasn't very difficult but his brother seemed to have a bit of a problem doing these kinds of things.
He had trouble with levitating before then too. He wasn't the only one, a few of their siblings and classmates had an issue too at first but they did manage to do it after a little while.
Not like him though, he was good at getting things on the first go!
After a long while, they arrived, finally, at the foot of the slope onto the street that would lead to the Bridge, past their school and it would be their biggest challenge yet!
They'd been there before, after school, but they never dared to go on it! It would take an age to pass and if they were caught by one of the Elders, they would be in a world of trouble!
But today they would be able to do it! Mama was away visiting other mamas and they could cross the Bridge without being worried about it taking an age! They could sneak past any Elders, he was sure of it!
They walked past their school quietly and sneakily and they finally got to the Bridge, oohing and aahing as they stared the dark buildings that were all like squished together into one big one. They were so so tall too! Much taller than they looked like from school!
There were a few lights on, even the one that he'd seen a lot of Elders go into!
Julia said that it was there were all Elders went to smooch each other.
He scrunched his nose.
He didn't really know what it meant, only that Julia said that she heard the older girls from the Pandrosion Institute talked about smooching a lot but she never explained what it really meant. Maybe it was like a daring game.
Anyway, they had to be careful and make sure no one saw them!
"Do you really think he'll be there?" his brother whispered as they turned off their lights and walked sneakily through the main street after having crossed the first section of the bridge, trying to hug the buildings as they crossed one side of the street into the darker side.
"Yes" he said to his brother, his eyes brimming with excitement "Fausta said she heard one of the Elders say that he always sat in the park by the main building after flying down from Mount Celestis! Every night! So that means he be there now too!
"I hope so" his brother muttered concerned but he paid it no mind.
He would be there, he knew he would be!
All their lives they heard about him, the man who built all there was to see in Illos, even Mount Celestis itself with only his lady friend!
He was really impressed when heard that he built Mount Celestis! He'd seen the Faceless Ones – Golems – working once on a small building and that took a few days to finish.
If he did the same with Mount Celestis then it must have taken forever!
Mount Celestis was the tallest mountain ever and the top was almost higher than the metal walls! One day he'd fly to the top on a skymobile or maybe even fly without one like he was said to do all the time!
They finally managed to walk past the buildings, almost having been caught by one of the Elders who had been walking on the other side of the street but they were clever and made sure to stick around by the walls and shadows where they could hide if they needed to!
They were past the second part of the bridge and now the tallest building in all of Illos was in front of them and they marvelled at it.
"Wooow" his brother whispered in awe and he agreed.
Even in the dim lights of the orbs it was amazing to see the waterfalls and the glittering stones that made it look like they were out of gold. It was all so big and pretty.
They stepped onto the railings as they came across a set of stairs and they saw that it led to a park nearby and they excitedly ran down the stairs, their lights now off as the street lights were bright enough.
The streets were very quiet, it had been a long time now since they had seen another Elder. Teacher had explained once that Illos didn't have many people yet but every year more and more were making it their home!
He didn't know a lot of Elders, but he did learn to recognise the ones that seemed really new! They looked funny with strange robes, nothing like the normal clothes that everyone else wore!
A lot of the older students from Pandrosion Institute who came from the Outside stayed in Illos after finishing school. They were apparently from families who he personally invited to their homes, to come and learn and even make Illos their home!
Teacher said sometimes they said no and he couldn't understand why! He'd seen the Holos of the Outside, it was so dirty!
They finally arrived by the gates of the big park and they walked through it, the path led them through dimly lit areas.
"What's that?" his brother said and he turned to him. His brother's eyes were squinted and he looked at where he was looking and saw strange lights that seemed to be dancing.
"It must be him!" Fortie exclaimed excitedly and he ran towards it.
"Fortie, wait!" his brother cried out but it was too late. Fortie didn't really what he'd do when he'd see his hero but that was OK, he'd think of something! He was always good at thinking of something to do!
He was off the path that snaked around the park and into the bushes and trees, weaving his way through them, hopping and jumping over roots and thorny bushes.
The lights grew brighter, the whizzing and twisting lights grew more obvious and his eyes goggled as he came to a dead stop, his mouth open in wonder.
Thousands, maybe even millions of lights danced in a very strange way but it didn't make it any more pretty. They were aglow, their colours a mix of golds and silvers and he couldn't help but stare in wonder.
They seemed to dance around the trees and in them as well, like when he and his siblings danced during Beltane in front of a camp fire.
His brother breathed heavily as he slumped over, holding his knees. "Fire-bees" he said with a slight struggle and Fortie looked at his brother with wide eyes.
"You sure?" he said in wonder before he looked again at the lights.
"Yes, I saw them in a Holo in the school Library" his brother answered, his voice now stabler though it wasn't hard to hear he was also really impressed by what they were seeing.
"Your brother is right" he heard a deep voice say and they both jumped.
"Aarrghh" his brother squeaked out, clutching his arm as he did so. Fortie didn't mind, he was also holding onto his brother as they swivelled around like a whip and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"Y-Yy-you're…" his brother stammered which was better than what he could manage right now!
It was him!
He wasn't looking at them but was looking at the fire-bees instead. His arms were behind his back and he looked very relaxed.
He was dressed like the other Elders but slightly darker. His hair was very long, like a girl's but he wouldn't say that to him!
"They're Japanese Fire-bees from the Hokkaido region. An endangered magical species. Well done child for recognising what they were." He turned his head towards them, a kind smile on his face. His brother flushed embarrassed but he knew his brother was very happy to hear it from him!
He felt a little jealous but it didn't occupy his mind too much as he couldn't help but be drawn to his eyes that seemed to be glowing like the fire-bees!
They were very purple and even the small drops of green were very green!
"You're far from your home, children" he said calmly with a raised eyebrow, one that reminded him a lot of mama when she was expecting an answer from them.
"I-I-I…" his brother stammered again and he elbowed his brother slightly and his brother's mouth audibly clamped shut. His brother was really smart, he knew a lot but he was really bad at explaining stuff, especially when they needed to get out of trouble!
He turned around and met his hero's gaze and he slinked into himself, his feet shuffling awkwardly as he grew more and more nervous.
"We wanted to meet you!" he blurted out suddenly, unable to come up with something else to say.
"Really?" he said with his eyebrows raised.
"Yes" he nodded rapidly "We heard that you always came to this park every night and we thought we could meet you!"
"Yes!" his brother piped up, seemingly finding the strength to speak coherently "We heard from Fausta who heard from the Elders that you were always here!"
"And you decided to leave your home, in the middle of the night, cross the Bridge completely, somehow find your way here in this park hours later all because of a rumour that could be wrong?" He said with a raised eyebrow.
"…yes?" his brother said in a small, subdued voice.
"Well it wasn't wrong! You're here!" Fortie said brightly.
The man looked at him for a moment and finally nodded "That is true enough. Doesn't mean it was a good idea." He said with a look that he'd seen mama give sometimes "You could have been hurt or lost."
He shook his head rapidly "We're fine, we know how to be careful!" he denied. "We're really good at finding our way!" it hadn't been all that difficult at all! All the lights in the distance helped them to avoid where not to go!
"It seems so" the man said a little dryly, a small smile on his face before he glanced at them both "Well you have now met me…now what?" he asked curiously.
The brothers glanced at each other, before they looked at the man blankly. Fortie wasn't really sure what to say until his eyes brightened up.
"Can you really fly? Can you teach us how to fly too?" he said quickly, words burst out of his mouth in quick fashion.
He really wanted to fly like him!
The man said nothing for a moment until he thought he'd seen him almost smile "Is that why you came to find me? To learn how to fly?" he asked them.
"Do we need a better reason?" Fortie retorted without thinking, his eyes wide at what he said to his hero.
"Fortie!" his brother said in a furious whisper, his brother's eyes wide in terror at his cheekiness.
Though it seemed like it wasn't something that made the man angry since he began to laugh.
He stopped laughing as he looked at them with a smile on his face "I suppose not. Flying is an understandable reason to break the rules like you have done tonight" the man said to them. "And to answer your questions…" the man said and their eyes boggled when he began to hover slightly, his eyes glowing more brightly as his hair began to sway like it was breezy but it wasn't breezy at all!
"WOW"
"That is so…! Teach us, teach us please!" the brothers spoke over each other as they looked at their hero with uncontained excitement, something that seemed to make the man smile a little wider before he set back onto the ground.
"Yes I can fly" the man said with a humorous voice "But no, I will not teach you how to fly" the man told them with a smile still on his face.
"B-but why?" his brother exclaimed in dismay.
"Beside the fact that you broke a lot of rules to get here?" the man pointedly said to them, quieting them down "For one, it is a difficult thing to learn, one that would many years for you to be able to do"
"We're really good at magic!" Fortie said defensively "Look!" he said as he brought his hands out. "Light!" he said and his hands began to glow before he scrunched his face up a little, and the glow began to become bright until a light began to form in front of his hands, an orb much like the lights that illuminated all of Illos during winter.
"See!" Fortie exclaimed "We were only shown how to make light last week and I did this all by myself" he said proudly.
His brother also showed what he could do, and though he couldn't yet make an orb like he could, his light was also really good!
"See, we are really good at learning magic. We can learn how to fly easily too" Fortie said after he let the light go out, staring challengingly at his hero.
The man only smiled in the wake of his stare and suddenly asked "What are your names?"
"I-I'm Gaius Volusenus of clan Hardy" his brother said nervously "And this is my brother Ju-"
"Fortie" he said sharply, sending a glare at his brother. He didn't want his hero to know his girlie name.
"Fortie?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Fortie" he said firmly.
"My brother doesn't like his first name, not ever since he was teased about it." His brother said much to his annoyance. "It's because it is very similar t-" he elbowed his brother.
"oof" his brother said pained.
"Don't be so mean to your brother" the man said disapprovingly and he looked down. He didn't mean to be mean to his brother, he was his best friend! It was just he really hated his first name.
Fortie was much better!
"So you chose the name Fortie for yourself?" his hero asked him. He looked up and met his gaze and nodded rapidly
"It's my surname shortened!" he answered brightly. He liked his surname, it was different to everyone else's!
"I won't tell that either" he said slyly. "Not until you teach us how to fly!"
The man looked amused at that and looked at his brother who suspiciously looked down and Fortie smiled widely at his brother for not telling on him!
"I see" he said with a small smile.
"How old are you?" the man asked.
"Seven!" Fortie answered immediately
"Seven, almost eight" his brother said.
"Very young. I'm impressed." he said appraisingly and Fortie felt a deep swell of pride.
"Just as I'm sure you'll be grounded for just as long when I take you back home." The man said and Fortie felt like a pin pricked his balloon from the way his stomach dropped.
"What?!" his brother said in a panic.
The man chuckled as he looked at them with a look that reminded him of when mama looked like she thought they did a stupid thing but he didn't think what they did was stupid at all!
It was brave and clever!
"Did you think you could break so many rules without a punishment to suit it?" the man said.
"But…but..but grounded?!" his brother stammered before he snapped his head towards Fortie "You said that we would only have to do homework!" he said accusingly, pointing his finger at him.
"Hey, don't blame me!" Fortie said defensively before he looked at his hero, his eyes entreating "You don't have to teach us how to fly, sir" he said nervously "I think that is punishment enough?" he said with a weak smile.
Their hero's lips seemed to twitch before he slightly widened his arms, the palms of his hands facing upward "Come on, let's get you back." He said as they began rise in the air much to their shock.
They were flailing as they lost control over their bodies, the ground looking more and more distance
"Fortie we're flying!" his brother said in fearful but excited shock before he also began to rise and they shot up in the air, and he laughed, brightly! His brother was wailing slightly at the growing distance they were from the ground but to him, it was the greatest thing ever!
They rose and rose and rose until everything was so small except for the tallest building which looked even bigger up on high. His eyes were wide with wonder, the whistling winds didn't bother him.
It was so so amazing, to see everything even if it was still very dark! The lights of the buildings, the lights of the dim orbs that were up so high in the sky, it still allowed him to see a lot!
He outstretched his arms like a bird as they flew past the first ring, then the second ring and then finally began to head towards their home, everything ending so much quicker than he wanted. It took them hours to meet their hero but they were almost home in what felt like only minutes!
They began to go down, the hill their home stood on came into view, the door of the house open, lights all brightly on and his stomach dropped when he realised their mama was standing outside the door.
'Oops' he thought miserably, knowing that they could be grounded for forever.
But…
A smile crept on his face.
He FLEW!
It was worth all the punishment he'd get! He glanced at his brother who looked a little green and laughed. He was sure Gaius would feel the same tomorrow!
Especially when their siblings and the others were told! They'd be so jealous! They met their hero and they went flying with him!
They landed in front of their mother with only a slight stumble but they didn't have any time to relax.
"GAIUS VOLUSENUS HARDY" his mother growled out as she stomped towards them.
He blanched at her tone, knowing that they were in it and he tried to distract her from using his full name but it was to no avail.
"JULIUS FORTENCHO HARDY" she growled out, her eyes showing a fury that made him gulp.
"I don't know what you were thinking" she harshly as she seized both of their shoulders, causing them to yelp at the firm grip. She looked down at him and he blanched under her gaze "I know it was your idea" she said in a furious tone before she rounded up on Gaius "And you! You should know better than to cater to your brother's foolhardiness!" she said angrily and he could see his brother shaking in unshed tears in his eyes.
Now he really felt bad. Gaius didn't like upsetting mother too much, he didn't either but Gaius was too nice like that "It was-"
"Quiet, Julius" his mother said sternly.
"Fortie" he mumbled under his breath but remained quiet when the growl deepened.
She twisted them around
"Thank you, My Lord, for bringing them back home." She said to Lord Sayre gratefully who only inclined his head to her.
She tightened her grip on his shoulder, startling him "And what do you say, boys?" she asked with a tight smile, her eyes still showing anger.
"Thank you Lord Sayre" they mumbled at the same time, their eyes fixed on the ground.
"Your welcome" the man said and Fortie thought he could hear a smile in the man's voice so he looked up and saw him stepping closer to them and bent down to them so they were on eye level with each other.
"Despite the…unwise" Lord Sayre said with an amused smile, something that Fortie couldn't help but sheepishly smile in return to "way we have met, I am pleased to have met such bright children such as yourself though I have to say you should spare your mother from worrying so much" Lord Sayre said with an expectant look.
They looked at their mother and saw that she was still angry but also upset "We're sorry mama. We won't do this again" they promised to their mother and she softened a little bit.
"I'm glad but it doesn't get you out of being grounded for three months" she said sternly.
Three months?! He bit his tongue as the urge to protest was almost too much.
"It may seem harsh" Lord Sayre spoke up again, drawing their attentions "But it is a fair one. You could have gotten hurt and then imagine how bad your mother would have felt"
Fortie looked down.
"Go inside boys, I will need to speak with Lord Sayre for a moment" she said, pushing them towards the open door "If you do anything other than head straight to bed…" she said warningly and they nodded rapidly before they turned towards the door.
Fortie stopped even as Gaius ran towards the door and he turned, his gaze on Lord Sayre "Thank you for showing me what it's like to fly!" he said with a bright smile before a determination set in him.
"I will also learn how to do it, no matter how long it takes!" he vowed as much as he could. It was amazing, to fly like a bird.
No matter how long it took, even if it took forever, he would fly just like Lord Sayre!
"Julius!" His mother said sternly, her expression thunderous. He gulped and all confidence fled him.
'Time to go' he thought to himself as he turned but before he could run out of hearing range, he heard Lord Sayre speak, words that he would carry for the rest of his life and live by.
"I expected as much, Mr Fortencho. I expect many great things from you."
It was a start of a journey that other children, many centuries in the future, would aspire to replicate or surpass.