Chapter 47 – Illumination Erudite Seven

Illumination Empire.

A workshop the size of ordinary palaces lay right next to the imperial palace of the capital city of White Frost. This city gained its name due to the almost year-round snow that fell on this northerly land.

Inside this massive workshop were countless work desks and people walking back and forth. Every person in here was dressed in long robe's that were of a specific colour.

Red, yellow, blue, white, silver and azure. These were the colours that were prevalent in this workshop.

Every work desk had a different individual with a coloured robe working on it.

Taking a closer look at one wearing a red robe. He was currently concentrating on a wooden stick. His fingers waved in the air in peculiar patterns and when he stopped a strange runic magic circle would form in the air and slowly fall down into the stick.

Formations. Everyone here in this workshop was a formation master. This was a magic tool workshop.

The man in a red robe from earlier was working on a very common torch tool that was used very often by adventurers in dungeons. It could ignite without lighting the stick on fire and run indefinitely till broken. Quite a handy tool.

Magic tools were expensive, to see them being created in the thousands in this one workshop alone was a marvellous sight.

Within this enormous workshop at the far back was an empty hallway with not a soul in sight. If footprints were not seen in the dust that accumulated, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that this corridor had never seen any life after its creation.

This corridor led to two enormous metal doors that were the entrance to a huge hall. Dusty curtain's hung all around this oval room.

In the centre stood six people in a circle. Within their encirclement, a huge magic formation had been drawn into the floor.

5 elements magic formations were drawn into a pentagram-like formation with a larger white light element formation that connected them all.

The six men were all wizened and old with white beards that reached their stomach or feet.

Incantations were muttered out from their mouth's as their hands made various hand seals and their fingers waved around fluidly.

Mountains collapsing would not be able to disturb them in their current state.

Hours went by as the men tirelessly muttered.

The metal door creaked open with a rusty sound.

A tall man with a sturdy build entered the room. His robes were luxurious with imperial dragons imprinted in gold all around. The black robe was outstanding and had not a speck of dust that tainted it.

"It has been 2 months since you began. Ho, how much longer will you keep this humble one waiting?" The man spoke very politely but a cold intent lay underneath his smooth words.

The man could only speak to himself in this empty room. The formation masters were too preoccupied to answer him even if they wanted to.

Just as his words faded away with an echo, the magic circle in the centre of the room began emitting glows of different colours.

A mist started to form on the floor above the circle. The colours were of the 6 elements that were used. It looked eery but also beautiful.

The old men's muttering of incantations sped up as they saw the phenomenon.

They were like marathon runners that had finally seen the end line.

Their haggard eyes seemed devoid of energy but still twinkled.

Moments later the mist than turned into a thick fog that condensed even more. With a light pop as if a bubble was burst the fog rolled out of the circle and the men stopped.

"Is it another failure?" The man in black robes said from the back. The disappointment was apparent in his expression.

The six old men were startled as they only now realized the man who had made his way into the room.

"Your Highness!" All six of them got on their knee and lowered their heads.

This man was an heir to the imperial family of the illumination empire. Even though the monarchy was abolished, the imperial lineage of the genius crown prince still lived on strong to this day.

The council of this empire almost always had 3 members of their total from the lineage of the imperial clan. Their power and authority were not to be trifled with.

"Stand up. Report." The man had lost interest.

"Reporting." The man in white was the leader of the group and so he stepped forward. His eyes held a hint of joy in them. This surprised the man in black.

"Our research into the portals that open up for dungeons and the findings of our ancestors from the portal of the fiends that opened in the great war a few centuries ago has finally culminated!"

"What?!" The man in black robes grew ecstatic. "What have seniors come up with to showcase to this humble one?" His tone was as polite as ever.

"What if we told your highness that we have found a way to transport a flock of mighty individuals from the surrounding realms?" The old man purposefully added mystery to his speech. His enticement was not in vain, the counterpart certainly grew more interested with every word he spoke.

"Do not deceive me anymore! Tell it to me outright!" The black robed man was impatient.

"Of course your highness." A crafty look in his old eyes. "We have succeeded in summoning lesser races from the surrounding realm's. They should all be geniuses amongst their races as they have all exceeded the capabilities of their world but have not lived long enough in it to be tainted by its nature. If a creature stays too long or is incapable of breaking the chains that hold it in its realm it would not resonate with our summoning. We have made sure of this!"

"Is this the solution for the Gordian champions arena that you spoke of? If they are as you spoke, then will they not be young? Will they even be grown enough to contend against the champions of the other empire's? What good is a bud if it hasn't bloomed?" The black robed man was not easily beguiled, he was quite meticulous. It only seemed right at how respectfully all these old men treated him. He had to have his qualification's.

"Take a look for yourself, your highness." The man gestured with his hand at the mist behind him. The rolling mist had finally grown thin enough to see through.

Seven silhouettes became visible in the multicoloured mist. As the mist cleared out seven young voices called out in disarray.

"Where am I?"

"Who are you?"

"Am I dreaming?"

"oooh, what was in this wine that I had."

Some questioning and others just plain out bizarre responses.

"Activate the light binding chains of destiny formation." The old man who had been conversing with the black-robed man yelled.

The five other old men got back into their position's and incantations began to be mumbled again.

White incorporeal chains shot out from the floor and attached themselves to the seven youths in the mist. They yelled and screamed but their fates had already been decided. They could not escape the second they were transported into the magic formation.

After hours of those yells, the chains that had seared the souls of the seven turned into different accessories like bracelets, headbands, bangles or earring's and attached themselves to each of them.

"You now belong to the imperial clan of the illumination empire. Prostrate before his highness and state your names.

The seven could no longer refute the orders due to their bindings.

One by one they got on their knees with great resistance. They all were prideful individuals in their separate realms with no equals from birth. They had never had to lower their heads before.

They all stood in a line in front of the man in black robes. The old men had tactfully taken their positions behind the man as their leader stood beside him and gave out orders to the youths.

"Speak!" The man in black robes said authoritatively.

From the left, a young man in his thirteens spoke up: "My name is Sharktooth" He looked up and grinned a menacing smile.

The teeth in his mouth were just like the jaws of a shark. Sharp teeth glinted with a hint of silver. His fingers were attached to each other with a thin webbing.

The sides of his neck had three slits that were his gills. He was most definitely of the aquatic shark species race.

"You can call me Gab, more importantly, does this world have any wine? If not then kill me now." With a hiccup and a gourd in her hand a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl spoke. She started taking small sips from her gourd as if she was doing her best to conserve as much as possible in case of her worst case scenario.

"Hmph, I am called Blackblood." Arrogance and disdain went hand in hand with this 15 or so year old boy.

Dressed in all black heavy armour, one hand held a black metal shield which was made in the design of a bear head. His other hand never left the hilt of the sword that was on his belt.

"My name is Judd," this boy was the youngest of them all at around 10 years of age. He acted timidly but anyone who was silly enough to trust him would have a dagger go through their back without a doubt. The light clothes that he wore jingled with the sound of the many daggers that he kept hidden on him.

"Gerbart." A tall and pudgy man said. His face showed that he was young, around the age of sixteen with a beard barely growing out but his body made him look like a giant child. He was 2 metres tall and had a bulging stomach. Fur grew out all over his arms and shoulders.

"I have no name, Whitefrost should do." An indifferent and apathetic girl stated. Dressed in all white, her skin was pale and her lips were pink. She looked like a fairy of snow. Untainted by the mundane world.

It was hard to tell her age but she looked just slightly older than Judd.

"Sergeret is the name. A pleasure to meet you." The last boy bowed in a very showy fashion. At twelve years of age, his spry behaviour of an elderly gentlemen really contrasted heavily.

He had no cap but when he made the gesture of tipping it, a blue cap formed in his hand. When he put it back on, it vanished. Fine blue gloves covered his hands at all times even though the rest of his clothes were ragged and dirty with holes all over.

A rat tail swished from side to side behind him.

Eccentric and lively with mystery unbounded. This was what his every action screamed.

"Summon more!" This was all the black-robed man said after the introductions were made.

"Impossible. We require all seven elements to barely accomplish the task. We used the blood and last heart of a Fiend general to barely substitute for the element of darkness in this last summoning." The old man in white said regretfully.

"Tsk." This was the first time the man in black robes seemed unrefined.

Each one of the individuals in front of him was not simple at all. They were all unpolished gems, just waiting to be extracted.

"I will inform this humble one's family of your accomplishment's. Expect your rewards to not be small. The arena is in less than three years, I am sure seniors will understand and forgive me for not sticking around longer."

"Hoho, of course, your highness. We will eagerly await for a response then." The old formation master in white said.

"You!" The imperial black-robed man gestured at the seven. "Follow me."