A Journey

[Master do you think those are people wearing armor…. Or armor people?] Gaia asked as the trio of sleek armored guards remained silent and unresponsive even as Gaia floated over their heads. Asd's sensitive ears picked up the sound of someone coming towards his direction and he quickly recalled Gaia back into her Mana interface tattoo form. Sure at this point quite a few people have seen his stat page, and even laid eyes on the earth wisp, but until the proper questions start getting asked, it would be better for the earth wisp and her capabilities to remain a mystery, because in all honesty even he didn't know how to answer the origin of her existence, that knowledge has already been wiped from his mind.

"Those are very advanced battle golems Asd. I'm pretty sure you've noticed the lack of energy readings or signatures coming off their forms. Their bodies are made from Ionite, with runic pathways cast with Stellar Orichalum and Dark Mythril. They're very expensive and just the three alone cost the empire 30 million gold. They have been sent by the emperor for your protection, which is quite a measure of goodwill don't you think so." Professor Mona said as she stepped into the room, dressed in traveling gear rather than the teaching robes of the school.

Asd looked at the golems in front of himself and asked. "Can I make them?" Professor Mona chuckled as she turned to the golems and twisted her neck to the side to see Rhea coming into the room and out of breath, almost as if she had been hurrying to get back here. Asd noticed professor Mona narrow her eyes, his perception was at an all-time high ever since he became a 1st circle mage. He had a sort of magic awareness of his surroundings with a radius of twenty feet, and it meshed well with his natural senses of sight, smell, and hearing, it was too hard to not notice the flash of annoyances on the Moon elf's face.

"You might be able to do so Young Asd, assuming one of your classes would be the [Rune-Engineer] class, then without a doubt you would be able to build golems like this, and even ships that sail the seas and its depths, or one that will sail the sky. Or you might surprise us again and be the one who would discover the secret to sailing the stars in search of the secrets of the cosmos. It's fascinating isn't it, Young Asd? The things you can achieve with magic." Asd didn't have an answer for her than to just nod as his eyes took on a glittering, awestruck faraway look. Growing up in the solitude that he did had afforded Asd an overarching and hyperactive imagination, he could see even more than what Professor Mona was trying to sell him.

"But let's get down to business shall we. It would take two months by the fastest airship to get to the empire, and an another three months to even get to the capital. If we had a Sky-ship rather than an airship then perhaps we would arrive at less time, especially a Warship classified Sky-ship. But we don't have that, so we will travel by airship north east, past the mountains and the Reilin river till we get to Norkate. It's a northern Reich city, but it's also a trade city so we won't be harassed too much for being citizens of the empire, we can hire an airship captain from there that would take us straight to the capital."

Geography has always been one of Asd's strong suit, but its partner subject of navigation has been a sore spot. Nautical charts and Maps were a fiercely guarded secret of every person in power in the empire. All charts were magical, and no two charts were the same. They bonded with their owners, showing secret routes, through land, sea and air that said traveler has been through. Actively showing weather conditions, air and sea traffic and the maneuvering of enemy forces on the battlefield based on how advanced and powerful a chart it could be. These charts and maps or Chart-Maps as most would say were enchanted to use the Sun as a compass/ Satellite that saw all, and the moon in tandem with it. Which was also why these charts only ever show the current location of the owner that is covered by either the light of the sun or the moon. There's no complete chart of the world, and it never shows areas of twilight or dawn, not even when you're within it. Night and day were the rules of these charts.

But be that as it may, Norkate was a Reich city built after the northern empire won a series of incursions in an attempt to also take a few pounds of the flesh that was the mountain range of Reilin. They didn't get too far, but a compromise was made and that city became the only trade city that connected the east, north and west of the beast-men continent. Being awfully close to the Sand-Sea to the north, being about 7 days away, and two weeks away from the mountains, and right on the border of the great plains that served as Kitsune's Playground…. part of those plains, especially the mountains that border the west, belonged to the Werelions… or rather It used to. Now it was all just barren land being mined for ores and Mana essence, his ancestral home was now nothing more than a wasteland.

"That's an awfully long journey professor Mona, what about the academy and the military summons I received. In three months I and the other students are supposed to be heading for the San-sea to help the empire in its effort, is that not going against the emperor's orders?" Asd asked. Things were moving too fast, and the capital was the worst possible place to be for him right now, the prejudice against Weres there was at an all-time high, and for whatever reason he has suddenly become so important, he didn't think it was in his best interest to be anywhere near the emperor, the ruler of the empire that enslaved him. Asd had no, love for him or the empire, most of everything in his life has been out of his control, and now he felt that he was losing even more of it.

"The Emperor is the one who gave you those summons Young Asd, and now he requires your presence. I'm sure you can and will still serve in the military, the emperor will not go against his own decree and show favoritism. However, I believe you would stand a better chance by being in his good graces, and now that he wants to see you, there's nothing better that could be in your favor."

What she said made sense, it made a lot of sense, but he knew this was just an illusion. She was making it seem as if it would be in his own best interest, to nudge him in the right way so as to make it seem going to see the emperor was his own decision. But Asd could see through her, but beyond that he was still powerless to stop her.

"But what about my education? I'm supposed to learn magic and grow stronger, how can I do that when I'm traveling?" Asd asked, grasping at straws that he knew really won't make much of a difference to what was right in front of him.

"I will take full control of your education, at least until we get to the capital anyway. There's nothing to be lost here Asd, and I can give you more in depth study of runes with knowledge matched and surpassed only by the sages of the capital's collegium. You will be fine." Asd didn't think he would be fine, but there was no going back now.

"Now Young Asd, tell me, what classes have you been offered and which one would do you feel would suit you most… it's about time you decide just what sort of mage…. You want to become."