Chapter 25: Ranks

Four pairs of eyes looked at him with shock all over their eyes. The members of his family had finally shredded their happy-go-lucky personas and were entirely invested in the boy's words.

It was one thing if he broke a law and read some things about the economic status of the Empire, another if he learned of magic.

First, and foremost, it was considered taboo not only in their home nation but also all around the world for children to be initiated into the practice before they were deemed ready. Even the Clades couldn't save Ciaran if word of that got out.

Liam observed the staff who had all straightened their backs and corrected their posture. He knew that they would not betray him, as they had nowhere else to go, and even if they did they would not be treated any better than they were here.

Then he looked at his son. The boy looked calm, but as his father, he had learned to read what his child thought.

The boy was scared, frightened really. It seems he didn't know the exact scope of the mess he had found himself in, but he knew he was in trouble if people realized what he had learned.

"Who knows, and how much?" Liam asked, not a shred of humor in his voice.

"No one that I am aware of father. I learned from the Library itself." Ciaran said and continued, explaining in detail what had happened during the day.

As they listened, the reaction of the Clades went from surprise to wonder, and finally into terror.

"Are you sure the so-called Librarian spoke to you, boy?" His grandfather asked.

"Well that's what he said, he went from having no emotions in his voice, straight into being the sassiest clerk I have ever had the misfortune of speaking to."

"Misfortune is correct boy, that thing was the consciousness of Magus." The Colonel spoke, and this time even Liam turned to him In horror.

Ciaran looked confused so his grandfather decided to explain.

"Look boy, you remember the Martial ranks correct? From Rank Zero to Rank Ten, they each represent not only a massive increase in power but also an evolution to a higher form of life."

"Like I told you, the military uses those as one of the bases, on which soldiers are promoted. The Ranks there go, General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Brigadier General, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, and Sargent. Where Generals are usually Rank Ten and Sergeants are Rank Zero.

"Naturally, high personal power is not the only condition for a promotion, but it is one of the main ones. For example, all of us Colonels are Rank Six, but not all Rank Six military personnel is promoted to Colonels."

"As for the magic community, they base everything on power. For them to advance they need not only a decent level of power but also an understanding of the nature of their existence. Simply put, you need to know a lot more about magic than your previous Rank to advance. Their Ranks go Magus, Archmage, Grand Mage, Mage, Apprentice, and Novice."

"With the exception of the Novice Rank, which is equal to Rank Zero, the rest correspond to two Martial Ranks each."

"The thing about mages though, is that they don't really fit into a rank, not like we do Ciaran. Their bodies are a lot weaker than ours, but their strength is something else entirely. I have seen Mages wipe out entire Legions of the army. Legions commanded by a Major General."

"Those magic wielders are considered a natural calamity wherever they go. The only bright side is that very few people are ever born with the gift. Fewer ever learn they have it. And of those even less are allowed to mature enough to be considered a treat."

"So you see what you encountered in that Library was more or less a God. Magi are the scourges of Dyrta, Ciaran. They do as they please, they shape the natural laws of this world according to their will. Some even say they are immortal, the Library being direct evidence that that isn't exactly true."

"What you have encountered is the consciousness of one of our dead Magi. The Empire knows it exists, and one of the sworn duties of every headmaster is to try and make contact with it. Usually, by using the privilege of master of the tower, they are able to hear the voice you initially heard, but since its creation, you are the first to hear the real thing."

"I don't know why you were chosen. If I had to guess, it was because you are a manifestation of chaos boy. You would seek knowledge and would burn it down if you can't have it. That goes well with their philosophy, the one Mages of old had at least. Modern mages are a lot less destructive than their predecessors." The Colonel said and went silent. He and the rest of the adults wanted to allow their boy a moment to digest the information he was presented with.

"OK, but why is magically hidden from all of us then? If so few can become Mages, why hide it so thoroughly? I can make a guess, that you all use magic in your daily lives, maybe not directly but surely you can find some use for it. Why hide that from me,… from the children?" The boy asked, he was hurt by the fact his family would hide something so big from him.

It was to be said that the Clades had an honesty policy in their home. You can lie to outsiders all you want, you can hold as many secrets as you wish, but not within the family. Sure the excuse that he is a kid and he wouldn't be able to keep a secret could be used, but they had already told him so many things, which if word got out would lead the Empire to label them as traitors to the nation. So the boy just could not understand, what was so different with this.

"You don't understand boy. When it comes to magic talent, we still know nothing. For Warriors, we can determine if someone has talent or not at birth. Sometimes there are some miscalculations, and the talent becomes evident at a later stage of life." His grandmother said.

"For mages, however, there is no way to tell. Usually, mages are the quirky kids, the ones who would not sit down and could not follow a single rule to save their life. But sometimes, the most law-abiding adults awaken the talent in their golden years."

"Millennia of research and all we know is that magic talent is connected to a person's soul. That's it. And research on the soul is not something mundane humans could do. Hell, most Archmages struggle with it."

"So you can see why nations would restrict access to such knowledge. The idea is that by the time you are allowed to come in contact with it, you would already love your nation, and from there on out it would continue to support you and tie you to itself."

"Why we didn't tell you about magic is a different story. Unlike what you experience for your breakthrough in the Zero Rank, magic cannot be influenced by outside sources. Meaning, if you want to be a Mage, you are on your own. And as your grandfather has told you, the Martial path is the advancement of the body, painful and dangerous, but manageable for most. The magic one is the advancement of the soul. "

"Believe me Ciaran; you do not know pain until you experience your soul being ripped apart. And it happens every time you advance a Rank." She said, with pain and horror in her voice.

The boy wanted to speak, but the old woman raised her hand and interrupted him.

"Yes boy, I am. An Earth Mage, the only one in the family." She said and everyone looked at the boy. It was a lot of information to take in, especially when one was still trying to enjoy their dessert.

Ciaran frowned at her words. He seemed to be lost in thought for a solid two minutes.

"So if gramps is a Colonel, that makes him a Rank Six, and you being a Mage makes you, at most equal to a Rank four. This doesn't make sense; this man gets so meek when you scald him."

"Ciaran this is no joking matter! Your grandfather might be henpecked, but that does not allow you to speak less of him." Liam said in outrage.

Camille laughed, and the Colonel protested his status. It seemed it took more than a few world-shaping secrets to beat the idiots out of the father-son duo.

Edith sighed and allowed the mood to lighten. Inwardly though, she was deeply worried for her grandson. The others might not understand but she did, the boy would be a Mage, there was no way around it. People saw his dad in him, with both of them being so good at acting like clowns and all, but she knew better.

Her son was rebellious. From the moment he could walk he wanted to do things his way. Not fitting in the norms did not mean he was chaotic, not by a long shot. He had created one of the world's largest merchant organizations; you don't get to do that if you were capable of being a Mage.

Her grandson was different. He too disliked rules, but not because he wanted things to be his way. He just wanted things not to have a pattern; the rules themselves were the enemy. She could guess that he didn't even care what was on the damn Second Floor, he just wanted to be there so he could fuck with the people who said he couldn't.

'Magic is chaos and Ciaran, Ciaran is the most chaotic of all of us.'