Chapter 12, structural advancement.

(Reskeme)

Reskeme pushed through the bustling throngs of traffic towards the three large buildings comprising the Academy. Now in the inner courtyard, students of three different colours moved about. For Darentar, the colour was blue. For Lytheria it was black, and Thanadar it was green robes. Most were heavy cloaks covering themselves, but they're ostentatious bright robes we're still quite obvious.

A bitter chill reminiscent of the night's activities wash throughout the courtyard. Snowflakes fell from the sky, covering the courtyard in a fog like haze. With the left most building insight, Reskeme pushed through the bustling crowd until he arrived at the large double doors.

His face burned from the cold as he entered the academy, feeling warmth for what felt like the first time in an hour. He rushed down the hallway, receiving a glare from one of the orderlies. The bell to start class tolled and Adam cursed himself. It took him several more minutes of rushing down the hallway and up a flight of stairs before he arrived in front of Professor Nijel's classroom.

Taking in a shaky breath, Adam pushed open the door. Nijel, who was at the moment giving a lecture, paused and all forty of his classmates looked up, staring down at Adam from their seats.

Professor Nigel gave him a glare that could peel paint. One amongst the audience waved, signalling to an empty chair beside him. Flushing a deep read, Adam walked between the aisles until he found his seat beside Tony.

"Now that everyone is here, we can start."

The professor twirled a piece of chalk between both fingers and gestured to the chalkboard. Just like in his book, a drawing of a person stare back at him. Several lines snaked throughout the body, denoting mana channels. That all too familiar diagram of a human had a separate edition right underneath where his heart should be.

" Mana is the foundation of our power. Without mana, we would wither and die. As a mage we draw mana from the world, bending it to our will. However, when we are new to its touch, mana is poison to us. We must repeatedly use mana in small quantities and over time, our body develops resistance to the substance.

For over a thousand years, we, the followers of Darentar, have worked to unravel the secrets of mana. It is our duty as followers of Darentar to uncover all the mysteries of the magical arts so that our race can move from under the heel of the monsters in our world.

After all, how can we possibly stand up to the Darva without the monster's heart? Cultivating this power inside our bodies has helped us hold the enemy at bay for over one hundred years.

" But professor, didn't they destroy the city of Drent and nearly take Wyndham as well?" Asked Adam, cutting off the professor.

"Well, just because our mages posses the monster's heart does not mean the Darva are any weaker. They are smart, powerful and ruthless. Unlike humans, every single one of them can utilise mana to some degree." reply Professor Nijel. He took in a deep breath.

" As I was saying, the monster's heart is vital to our survival. However, even with the advantage, some monsters are just too powerful to fight. For example, an elemental is more than a match for a grand master mage. We are lucky they have no desire to conquer our lands." said Professor Nijel.

Adam knew a bit about the elementals. He had even posed as one when he was being taught by Kellar. Elementals were beings of mana. Despite their human like appearance, they were still monsters. They would slaughter any human entering their land without an escort.

" The monster's heart is a construct of mana created by the mage. It is formed in a way to fit with the human body. Despite the name, a monster's heart is not the same as those used by the Darva or even the Elementals. It's a construct designed to fit the human body and our mana channels." Said Professor Nijel.

Adam's excitement came to a crashing halt. He wasn't a human anymore. Would this monster's heart even work? Sure, widening his channels worked, but would the monster's heart work? He needed to ask the professor, but didn't know how to approach the question. Demons were more of a myth than an actual monster. Well, Adam was willing to bet the professor was aware of demons. Sure, amongst the peasants it was a secret, but amongst nobles and mages, demons were a genuine threat.

" Hey Tony, do they teach about demons here in the academy?" asked Adam, in a too loud whisper. Tony smiled and opened his mouth to answer.

" Adam, did you have something to say to contribute to the lecture?" asked Nijel, pausing in his lecture. Flushing, Adam glanced around, noting the surrounding people that must have overheard him.

" What about demons? Do they have a monster's heart of their own?" asked Adam. Nijel smiled tightly.

" Well, I suppose that is on topic. The topic of demons generally comes up." said Nijel, using his chalk to draw a horizontal line on the board.

"Every creature, whether they are monster or considered one of the intelligent races, fits on this on this scale. For example, the Darva can be ranked above the line next to humans. In fact, most races can classify as positive." said Nijel, writing human and Darva above the line.

" That can't be true. Darva are evil, they kill for no reason." Said a dark-haired woman near the front of the class.

" Sure, the Darva are vicious, but we are talking about their magic. If they wanted, the Darva could heal us better than our own healers. In fact, there are records of their healing skills in the past. Just because they don't heal us doesn't mean they can't. That is where demons are different." said Professor Nijel, writing demon beneath the line.

" Now this is not an accurate representation of the difference between humans and demon but you get the idea. For example. If you have two healers, a demon and a human, and somehow you convince both to heal a broken leg. For the human, they would infuse their mana into the muscle and bone, knitting the flesh together. However, the demon, even if you somehow convinced them to heal the broken leg, it would end badly. Their negative alinement doesn't allow them to heal anything but themselves." said Professor Nijel.

" And what about the monster's heart?" asked Reskeme, a weight settling in his chest.

" From what we have learned from history, demons posses something like a monster's heart. In the past, some humans have attempted to use the superior monster's heart of a demon to ascend past the level of the grand master to their detriment. As far as i know no one actually succeeded." said Nijel.

" Thank you professor, sorry for the interruption." said Reskeme settling back into his padded chair. And suddenly, this entire lecture became meaningless. He fell into thought, no longer paying attention to the professor as the man continued his lecture.

He crouched in on himself, hoping to disappear, to go unnoticed by the curious stares of the other classmates. Tony elbowed him in the ribs and winked as a beautiful blond one row beneath them smiled up at him. She pushed her long hair behind one ear and grinned, displaying a full set of straight white teeth.

He sank into thought as she turned away, leaving him to his self ridicule. Of course, his progression would not be that easy. Just show up at the academy and Bam power. He sighed, well at least the classes on language and runes were going well. His runesmithing had ground to a complete halt when Michael went missing. He couldn't exactly learn runesmithing when his partner wasn't here. That meant he was only attending three classes. Learning runes, taking Dacian in language class, and mana manipulation.

Doubt and despair flowed through him. All of that reading and he couldn't use the monster's heart the humans were using.

He wasn't human anymore, but was he a full demon? He took in deep, calming breathing, receiving a concerned look from Tony. A horrible, yet exciting, idea hit him. If he was half demon, half human, did that mean he could have both? Or maybe he needed both? Reskeme had never heard of someone like him before, so anything was just a guess. The real question now was how to learn the demon's art of structural advancement? Ignoring Professor Nijel's lecture, he pondered the most likely suicidal rise to power.

After all, the most powerful demons were vastly more powerful than the most powerful humans. The class ended, cutting off his scheming.

" What has you so introspective, Adam?" Asked Tony rising from his seat. Not wanting to explain his actual train of thought, Adam lied.

" I was just contemplating how to sell some bottles of wine I found in the street." Said Adam, lying smoothly. Tony cocked one manicured brow.

" Wine you say? And what kind of wine is that?" Asked Tony, curiously.

" Well, I have some royal red, and royal blue." Said Adam casually.

Tony's eyes practically lept from their sockets. His face scrunched up as he assessed Adam.

" Did you say, Royal red, and royal blue?" Asked Tony, his face a controlled mask.

" Yes, I found a box of blue and red wine last night in the street. They must have fallen from a carriage." Said Adam.

" And how many bottles do you have?" Asked Tony, unable to hide his excitement. The forty odd other students were filing out of the classroom for other classes, but some remained talking to professor Nijel.

" Well four red, and two blue." Said Adam. He wasn't sure why the noble was so excited. Tony scrunched up his face in disbelief.

" I don't believe you. No way you have that much." Said Tony.

" Are you interested in buying them? I will sell you as much as you want." Said Adam. Several gold would go a long way for someone like Adam.

" I want to see the bottles first. I don't believe you have any royal blue." Said Tony.

" The royal red is worth around eighty silver coins. But I do not know how valuable the royal blue Is?" Said Adam.

" I will give you five gold a bottle for the Royal blue." Said Tony hastily.

" Who has royal blue?" Asked professor Nijel, having overheard their conversation.

"Adam has two bottles, but I already have first take." Said Tony.

" You are only offering five gold? That is a tenth of the price, if the wine is legitimate." Said Nijel, scowling at Tony.

" Wait, that's fifty gold a bottle? Why in the name of Lytheria would wine cost so much?" Asked Adam, shocked.

" Well, the wine is infused with mana. If you drink one bottle, you can speed up your cultivation to structural advancement by several months." Said Professor Nijel.

" Then I'm not selling them." Said Adam, having two could make him advance extremely fast.

" You will get mana poisoning if you drink more than one. I suggest you sell one bottle and save one for yourself." Said Nijel sternly. Adam's eyes widened in excitement. Wine could actually do that?

" If it's worth fifty gold for a bottle of royal blue, why did you only offer five?" asked Adam, glaring at Tony.

" Well, we are friends, right? You know the friend's discount." said Tony, smiling weakly.

"Bah, the friend's discount is half off!" reply Adam, sensing a kindred spirit in Tony.

" I will give you ten gold for a bottle." said Tony, pulling a heavy purse from his silver embroidered robe.

" I will give you fifteen." said Professor Nijel.

Adam waved them off. The amount was exorbitant, but that was not even half of what the bottles were worth. The real question was would selling the wine for so cheap broker him enough favour to be worth it?

" Sorry, I'm not going to sell them right now. Give me some time to think about it." said Adam. He waved Tony to follow as he left the classroom.

" Sorry about that five gold offer, I honestly didn't think you had a bottle of the stuff." said Tony as they strode down the hall.

" Thats alright. I was wondering about something. Would you be able to get me into the top floor of the library?" asked Adam, remembering that Tony's father was an extremely influential backer of the academy.

Tony paused at the obvious hint. He glanced around at the lingering students and pulled Adam further away.

" Only the professors have access to that section. And even then, most of the knowledge is Illegal. Like demonic blood rituals and forbidden runes." said Tony.

He couldn't exactly tell Tony that the language he was learning was the language of the demons. Sure, he was learning from professor Tanis, but demonic rituals were the end goal. Tony ran his manicured hand through his silky, disheveled hair.

" Ill tell you what, if you can get me in for the evening one bottle is yours." said Adam, almost immediately regretting his decision. His heart screamed at the sheer waste of gold, but Adam doubted Tony would accept.

"I will get back to you. Leave your schedule open tomorrow evening." said Tony. The young man, usually so unconcerned, turned on his heel and hastily made his way to their next class.

Even though Adam and Tony sat beside each other during rune class, they didn't speak to each other. Tony was clearly lost in thought, and Adam was far too tired to press the lanky young man.

His last class came and Adam trudged down the hall despondently, waving to Tony as the man walked towards the exit.

Professor Tanis waited for him in his empty lecture hall. Like always, the old man seemed perfectly content to sit and read all day without a single worry. Adam wondered why they kept the man around? If they wanted to get rid of the knowledge of demonic rituals, why not simply burn all the books with that knowledge?

He knew the answer to the question. If the humans lacked the knowledge, then they couldn't fight the enemy. Without the ability to decipher demonic runes, then how could humanity possibly fight demons.

" Ahh, Adam, you are back?" asked the professor.

" Well yes, I even brought you more translations from the journal." said Adam, pulling a page filled with Dacien and their Laurentian counterparts.

"Let me see!" said Professor Tanis, his bones popping as he stood from his seat and walked over.

" You better not have brought me more drivel."mumbled Tanis.

"I didn't translate much, but i wrote most of a page from the journal." said Adam, hoping the professor could speed up the translation. The professor held up his work, scratching his chin covered in grey stubble.

" A path to power, volume one. In my lust for power, I delved into corners left unchecked. There I heard a seductive promise from the dread lord Elemore Val Din. He promised the key to demonic structural advancement.. Month one, My fine control of mana and its esoteric principles have pushed me to try something new. I am growing old, and don't want to die. Dying seems so close. After all, I have lived past my three children. Even after all the death and destruction I have caused, I don't wish to die. So today I start my true journey to the peak of magic." said Professor Tanis, his face scrunched in confusion.

" You are right, that sounds like the ravings of a madman." said Adam, but his excitement was getting the better of him.

" Nonsense. you should bring me this journal. I want to see if I can decipher who wrote it." said Tanis, his intelligent gaze boring into Adam. Adam needed to be cautious or the professor might get to interested in the journal in his possession.

" There is not much left, only about thirty more pages. And besides, I want to decipher the journal. It is my inheritance." said Adam dismissively.

Tanis sighed, but dropped his demanding tone.

" Alright, but at least bring me in some more of the journal. I want to verify you are translating it correctly." said Tanis before giving Adam a book.

The book was a children's story written in Dacian. It had primitive pictures and was the documentation of a dog and a cat arguing.

By the time the class was over, Adam's brain hurt from the constant strain. He was required to read the words out loud to Tanis. Each time he got a word wrong, he was required to write the word on the board and repeat how to say the word.

Adam grumbled to himself as he walked through the dark street to Maybell's inn. His eyelids were heavy, but once inside his room with a plate of cold toast and a bowl of soup, he opened the journal. His excitement to translate more hadn't faded. He munched on buttery toast and flipped to the second page.

Year one, through vigorous study in the restricted section of the library, I found the tools I need to start the summoning process. If I can bring a demon in the flesh to this world and study it, then maybe I can copy its monster's heart?

Year two, I grow ever glum about my continual failures. My colleagues in the academy are growing weary of my interest and distance themselves.

Year five, today was my 150th birthday. I haven't seen my friend Taren in three years. After i was kicked out of the academy, he refused to even talk to me anymore. I seek to attain the unattainable. My goal is that of the archimage. Being a grand master is not enough. I need more. The power I have seen from the demons is amazing and I cannot wait to take it for my own.

Year Ten, I struck a deal with Methalgar. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next page was defaced. Nothing was even remotely legible, much to Reskeme's disappointment.

Year ten. It is done, for a price. I have received the first of the five steps. The deal was for the best, for none of them were my friends anymore. After not speaking to them for so much time, the price was much easier, but still I'm regretful of their fate. My dreams are filled with the memories of their screams. The demon swore they wouldn't suffer, but even now I can hear their terrified wails as Methalgar dragged them into the abyss. For the offering, he gave me what I had been searching for.

Fallen into madness volume one, the path to demonic structural advancement.

Reskeme shivered as he read those last words. His thoughts swam as he reread the words to make sure he translated them correctly. The distinctly ominous name, fallen into madness, sent a shiver along his spine.

Even with such a name that didn't deter Reskeme. Whoever the owner of this journal was, they were a grand master mage. And by the sound of it they were reaching for the rank of Archimage. Screw madness. He wouldn't let the fear of the unknown control him. He smiled, an insane idea came to him. What if he created a demonic heart and a monster's heart?