Chapter 2 :

After a good fifteen minutes of walking he finally arrived at his destination.

A huge tower of thirty meters high stood before him. Made of a smooth white stone, so smooth that it looked like water.

Over this smooth stone, a sort of blue veil surrounded the entire tower. The only opening in this veil was at the entrance to the tower where two hooded people in red robes stood.

They were screening each person who wanted to enter the tower.

Altair approached timidly. The closer he got, the more he felt a weight pressing down on him.

He finally arrived a few meters from the two people:

"The magic tower is reserved for the archmage Rémond and his apprentices. Go back to where you came from," he said in a loud voice.

Just hearing that powerful voice almost made Altair, who was just an ordinary civilian, faint.

He pulled himself together and continued his progress towards the two guards. Altair handed them his letter before the guards took drastic action to expel him.

The guard on the right took the letter and opened it.

Since Altair could not see his eyes, he did not know when he would finish reading it.

After a moment, the guard raised his head and gave him the letter back to get out of his way.

"You may enter" were his only words.

The passers-by who had been attracted by the noise left, disappointed not to see the usual spectacle.

Altair entered the tower.

The interior was exactly the same as the exterior, very smooth white everywhere.

At the back, a wooden desk was set up and behind it stood a young man in a white robe with a feather in his hand.

When he saw Altair enter, he waved his hand and asked him to come and see him.

Altair approached:

"You must be new to the tower and as the admission phases for new apprentices have been over for some time, I would like to know your name and the reason for your coming, please" declared the young man.

"Vespas Altair, I have to deliver a letter to Archmage Remond" replied Altair.

The young man looked at him with his black eyes, surprised. Delivering a letter to the archmage is something that happens very rarely.

Just as he had spoken his answer, a flash of light appeared in the room.

As Altair's sight returned to his senses, a stentorian voice rang out:

"Well boy, you're lucky I owe your father a favor or you wouldn't have even been able to put your dirty feet on this floor."

He snapped his fingers and Altair's clothes were changed. A brown robe now covered him.

"The brown robe means that you are a servant of the tower, you will have to answer all the requests of the apprentices or myself. If you try to escape you will be killed on the spot. Your life is mine, is that clear?" he asked as the pressure in the air increased and a huge weight fell on Altair's shoulders.

"Yes." he replied in a choked voice as he collapsed under the excess pressure.

His weak body could not bear it.

So began his new life. He cleaned the rooms, the toilets of the apprentices from the fourth to the second level.

He did not have access to the places above like the rooms of the main apprentices, the laboratory or the rooms of the archmage himself.

He honestly didn't care. He continued his lifestyle.

The apprentices despised him and didn't even hide it.

Other than that, everything was fine until one day:

"Altair, come with us".

Altaïr followed the young dark-haired man who was a head taller than him and his gang of four other boys.

The group headed to the training ground.

This was a special place outside the tower but the where only Reman's apprentices could access.

It allowed the young apprentices to practice their magic on puppets or machines that calculated the power of their spell.

"You will take a wooden target over there and you will be in charge of running back and forth while we send our spells at the target."

Altair looked at him for a few moments.

"But isn't that dangerous for me?"

"Since when are you allowed to answer us? Shut your mouth and do as you're told! You're a useless piece of fucking garbage," he said in a threatening voice as a glowing flame ignited in the palm of his hand.

Altair shuddered as he imagined himself being burned to death and quickly went for the wooden target.

He got into position and ran from one distance to the other.

The apprentices also got into position and threw their fireballs.

Curiously, none of the fireballs hit the target. It was as if the apprentices were aiming at something else.

A fireball exploded right in front of Altair. The heat burned the entire front of his body, from his feet to his head.

Moreover, the blast sent him flying onto the hard, dirt floor.

He groaned in pain and begged for help. With what was left of his strength, he turned his burned head towards the apprentices.

The young brown man and his gang laughed out loud at Altair's condition. He saw the four apprentices give a purse full of coins to the fifth.

No doubt the one who had managed to put Altair in this state.

"So this is the extent of the value of my life in their eyes? AHAHAH if only I could afford it... AHAHAH if only... He would know the meaning of the word suffer..." said Altair to himself as his anger exploded, sapping his last strength.

The darkness of unconsciousness coupled with the immense pain of the burning of his body that he was still feeling almost made Altair lose his mind.

After a while, the darkness suddenly faded and he found himself in some sort of large mansion.

He quickly hid behind a wooden crate, before spying on the people coming into the warehouse.

Altair saw the same young man who had burned him earlier.

"How is this possible?" he muttered in amazement.

[Ding]

A blue window appeared before him.

[Welcome to the world of dreams]