Initiation

 “Mhhh... so what is this excitement of yours about? I've rarely seen you outta your normal demeanor!”, Kael, a youthful 21 years old boy with shining emerald eyes and light gray hair, was sitting in a dimly lighted room.

The place remembered a study room as it was filled to the brim with carts full of dusty books. Their poly-chromatic covers gave a touch of color to the wooden walls. The space was very much cramped because of the disarray of things in there – not only books but also pens, papers from different manuscripts and even ancient scrolls.

“It's a fantastic thing... fantastic, very good!”, another guy, much taller and older-looking, walked across the room after closing the door, stopping right in front of a chalkboard. His orange hair and flaming red eyes shone thanks to the late noon light filtering through the large window.

“Yeah, fantastic indeed...”, he rolled his eyes with fake enthusiasm, “Are you gonna keep me in the dark or what? Like, what is this thing you're wailing about all day!?”, he banged his fists on the chair impatiently.

His friend turned around while fixing his black shirt's collar, “Shut up! And stop banging your damn chair! You look like a kid when you do that.”, he then took a chalk and drew something.

“Tch. Here it is... his usual demeanor.”, Kael mumbled to himself before looking at the chalkboard again, “What the...???”

He was perplexed to see a strange word on it.

“Null? What is that even supposed to mean, Ascarin?”, he asked.

“It's a mystical object... maybe even more than mystical. Here, I have a very interesting book... it's called Yimin gy Altas... mhhh, could this be an ancient dialect of some kind?”, Ascarin lifted a big book. Its pages were yellow and the brown leather cover was worn-out.

“Wait... isn't Altas that mage-king from over half a millennium ago?”

Ascarin clicked his tongue and pointed towards Kael, “Good guy... at last you know something about the history if this country!”

“What?!”, Kael gasped at the teasing.

“Anyway... in this book Altas mentions this object, almost defining it as an entity. He called it Null because... well, we know nothing of it except its one and only property.”

Kael leaned over, now that his attention was caught by the explanation, “And what is it?”

“As its written here...”, Ascarin flipped some pages of the thick book, “It is responsible for the existence of all the elements as well as the Cubes...”

“Seriously???”, he gasped surprised by the incredible power it held. “That's intriguing... but why telling me this all of a sudden, Ascarin?”

The friend turned around, putting the book on one of the carts, “There have been strange activities in the Great Void... sudden energy spikes, unusual winds from the East. No one knows why and no one is eager to find out. Hell! No sane man would even go into that grim pit voluntarily!”

Kael grimaced with annoyance, “So am I not a sane man to you?”, he asked with an exaggerated tone while putting his hands up.

“Mph... obviously you're sane! It's just that...”

“Ascarin, you have to go to the meeting! It's time.”, the delicate and soothing voice of a woman rang from the lower floor, putting their discussion to an end.

Ascarin smiled looking at the closed door, “I have to go.”, he said after opening it, “Anyway, tomorrow we'll go to king Mitir, so dress well!”

“Huh, wait! What do you mean???”, before he could finish the question, Ascarin was already gone.

Tch... why do we have to go to the old man?

He walked to the big window behind him and opened it. The evening air grazed his athletic features as he squinted his eyes to adjust to the light coming towards his face. The streets were packed with noises, carriages and people going on their daily lives. He leaned outside to take a good look of the city, which developed upwards, following the curve of the hill it was built on thousands of years ago. The skyline of the diverse buildings was colored by an orange hue that blended so well with the coral roofs and the rosewood walls of the houses. These shades were typical of the region were Uberdia, the capital of the Mitarsen Reign, was founded – it was, in fact, named the Rosy Region – and many visitors came to gaze the attractive summer dawn.

Up ahead, on top of the hill, standing tall like a giant, was the royal palace. The only substantial difference, other than the dimensions that dwarfed even the biggest nobles' villas, was in the color of the many tiles of the roof, which changed from a gentle and warm coral color to a colder and haughty dodger blue. The contrast between the dawn lights and the hard tiles brought to life many tonalities that gave a fantastic sighting to whoever was lucky enough to look at that view: hues of muted blue-greens formed in the upper areas; in the center, where the blending was more even, the shingles reflected an almost captivating combination of soft purples, ranging from a subtle lavender to a pure and bright violet; and to finish, on the glossy and bottom edges of the tiles, the weak sunlight had still the strength to create golden and peachy echoes.

The palace was positioned in a way so that the rising sun would've looked at the back of the building, while the front would've done the same when the star was beginning to set over the plain horizon.

Kael walked down that hill with his eyes, before stopping at the lower part of the inner city – the one where important mages and nobles, including himself and Ascarin, that also didn't participate in the active and busy political life of the city, resided.

I should go for a walk...

At this thought, he jumped from the window to a nearby roof, walking with attention on the tiles.

The Null... the Great Void... Haven't heard about that place in so long, but I couldn't even question Ascarin in the first place... He has mentioned the Cubes, which is intriguing.

His walk continued as the orange lights became more and more feeble, signaling the arrival of night. The tiredness began to catch him, making him yawn frequently. His steps were silent and gentle just as his agile jumps between ledges, which he completed without breaking a sweat. He looked behind his shoulders and gazed at the starry sky appearing behind the royal palace, as the moon began replacing the flashing light of the sun with its weak one.

In the middle of that contemplation, a gust of wind made him look back to where he was walking. There was a man, his features were hidden by a cape that covered his whole body. His head was turned towards an open window in a big and tall house. His stature was intimidating, nearly reaching two meters in height, and he radiated a merciful and cruel aura.

That sight made Kael stiffen and wary, both from surprise and his own instinct. He looked around and sighted the window with the lights open to which the figure's gaze was directed.

“Hey! You... who are you?”, he approached her while trying to look as less hesitant as he could.

“Mhh???”, his voice tone was low, reaching the lowest a man could go without sounding inhuman.

He turned slowly his head, followed by his tall body. It was an uncanny scene. All Kael's senses told him he was human, but his subconscious screamed something else. He clenched his fist, reading the right ready to act at any moment. Through the dark cape, nothing could be seen. Not even the light of the full moon could reveal that man's face, giving to Kael's gaze the sight of an empty void. That made him narrow his eyes and furrow his eyebrows with a “Tch” of uneasiness.

“The Reality Cube... only that could make this possible. But it can't be though...”

The man didn't respond and just turned around, walking with medium pace across the roofs until he disappeared from his sight in the cold, soundless night.

Kael only managed to watch the scene as no other words came out of his mouth. He stood still in the dark ambient for a while, looking back at the open window.

What was that and... who was he???

“Mpfh... gotta go back. I'm tired.”, he said to himself before walking back to his home.

The next day

In the busy streets of the higher part of the capital, the sun stood still almost at his zenith, casting almost perpendicular shadows on the ground. Many nobles and royal archmages strolled down and up parallel to the string of big houses, elite workshops and famous and luxurious taverns.

As the street continued, the noise went down and the crowd of people walking disappeared completely. Only a few of the richest and most powerful men of the reign could be seen there as if a sacred place was near. In fact, a few meters ahead, there was the royal palace, a structure so big that it could easily be considered the biggest thing humankind had ever built with their own hands. It resembled a cathedral, with white pearly walls, high and thick buttresses that ended with pinnacles and three immense steeples which culminated with a statue each, representing the three social classes in the reign – bourgeois, noble and mage.

The facade was ample, leaving space for decorations of all kind, ranging from bas-reliefs to whole statues. After a long three-lane staircase – at which bases there were four stylophorous lions – the three big wooden entrance portals opened up, guarded by guards day and night.

The insides were big and lighted perfectly by magic candles and crystal chandeliers. A long and well-cured red carpet with golden borders ran all over the floor where workers, nobles, archmages and functionaries walked while busy with their daily tasks.

“My highness.”, a soldier entered the throne room, which wasn't very different from the rest of the great palace's rooms, “They're here.”

King Mitir nodded as he stood up, playing with his well-cured white beard, “Thanks, you're free to go.”, his voice was rough and full of energy despite his advanced age.

He seemed lost in thoughts for a moment, “Wait, did he say they?”, he muttered, frowning as the door closed.

Slam

The massive door slammed open with force, reverberating through the throne room. The guards as well as the king got startled as a figure barged in.

“Hello!!! Good to see you, Mitir!”, Kael screamed with joy as he walked in with his arms open. His free-care behavior made it look like he owned the place.

“K-Kael!!! Don't enter this abruptly in the throne room! Show respect to the king.”, Ascarin hissed as he followed him, rubbing his forehead to massage away the embarrassment.

The king got up from his throne, “A-Ascarin and... you.”, he said annoyed as his gaze went to Kael and then back to his friend beside him.

“S-sorry for the sudden entrance... ehm.”, he apologized, “We thank you solemnly for your precious time, my Highness.”

“Very much thank you, my king!!!”, Kael suddenly shouted, taking everyone by surprise.

“K-Kael!!!”, Ascarin slapped his nape to shut him up, “Are you crazy???”

“Ehm ehm, anyway...”, king Mitir interrupted with a look of annoyance on his face, “What are you two here for exactly?”

Ascarin got up and cleared his throat again, “We were here to ask the permission to go to the Great Void to search the Null.”, he said after a long silence.

“Oh, so direct!”

“What!? That place and that object?”, Mitir as well as the guards got surprised by that question, “Do you want to die or what??? That land is is unforgivably dangerous and anyone, even the best archmages, would die there!”

Cough, cough...

“Huh???”, everyone in the room turned towards Kael, who was sitting with his legs crossed and had a sly smirk on his young features.

“Dear king, my king... forgot about me???”, his remark sounded exactly like his expression hinted, one of teasing and superiority, and it made his eyes glow.

Ascarin just watched him dumbfounded as Mitir clenched his fists furiously, “You damn...”, he muttered.

Crap, he's loosing his patience!

“I'm very so-”

“Fine...”, he was interrupted by the king, that got his hands up as if to resign. “I'll grant you permission. But just do me one favor, take the Null back here to me... Such a powerful artifact shall be in our royal treasury.”

Ascarin looked at him surprised as he sat back on the throne, “T-thank you... A-and we will obviously take it back to the reign, right Kael?”

“Sure will do! I know how much you crave that thing, ehehehe!”

The king gritted his teeth to resist the teasing as Ascarin scolded his friend once again, “Okay!!! You're audience has ended! Now go and may the gods protect you in your journey... maybe except Kael.”

“Hey! I can provide for myself even without the help of the gods!”, Kael protested while being dragged by the collar by Ascarin.

“Let's go, Kael. Let's do what the Majesty has told us...”, he said exhausted as both got out and the big door closed behind.

Once back outside, Kael looked at the clear sky and stretched while grinning excitedly.

“Why are you smiling like an idiot? You almost got us in deep troubles!”, Ascarin hissed poking the friend's temple repeatedly.

“Hey, hey! Stop doing that... anyway, everything ended up good and we're going to the Great Void!”

“Mhpf... you're way too excited for someone who's going to the most dangerous place on the planet. Well, you're still yourself so I guess you can afford to be...”, he descended the staircase before turning to Kael, “Go to inform Hulock... I'll go prepare everything and tell Mala about our success.”

“Kay, I'll catch you later!”, Kael sprinted down the street, off towards the postal office.

One day later

The sun was beginning his descending arc after being at his zenith for what looked like an endless amount of time. The shadows began stretching onto the brick road and wooden walls.

Kael was walking confidently towards a big gate, surrounded by very high and thick bedrock stone walls.

Five highly armed guards were surveying the place, checking the people and carriages that went in and out of the city. That was the East Gate of Uberdia, the Aurora, which wasn't only a defensive bastion for the city, but also a great touristic attraction to watch the sunrise.

As Kael walked towards it, a guard turned around and silently got one of his colleagues attention.

“Isn't he that famous archmage? The one who's called the Prodigy?”

“Yeah, you're right.”, the other answered clenching his halberd. “They say he surpasses in power and sheer fighting all the archmages in the Reign of Mitarsen... put together.”

“Look at him... he has such a fearsome stature and body for a twenty-one years old...”

At that point Kael arrived towards the entrance of the gate. The guards just gazed and let him pass as they directed him little bows of the head. He kept walking, ignoring the whispers about him. He knew his fame and reputation, not only in the capital, but in the whole continent. He was only eighteen and yet his power and skills were known to everyone.

Kael surpassed the walls and exited the city. His gaze was met with a seemingly infinite green plain, interrupted by some very small hills. There were forests and other types of vegetation to enrich the view as the vibrant green met the pale blue of the cloudless sky. A cold breeze from North blew his hair gently to the left, tingling his skin.

“All right!!!”, he opened his arms and stretched, “Time to go... Ascarin is waiting for me.”

He began his stroll on the bricks road, humming happily as various carriages passed by, going towards or away from Uberdia. The only other noises were the singing of birds and the chirping of the cicadas in the distance, as both animals were very frequent in those temperate climate zones.

He looked back, seeing the sun almost reaching for the horizon as the first orange hues began painting in the sky.

I should be near...

He looked back at the sun preparing to go to rest, understanding that he had to move quickly. He held a hand on his right and, not only after a second, light blue particles began forming a horse lasso while seemingly coming out of nowhere. The process continued with silence without decelerating. After roughly ten seconds, Kael was conducting a spectral steed, which was as high and muscular as the best horses that could be found in the capital. He mounted and petted it gently.

“Long time, huh...”

He began strolling along the horse, hoping to reach Ascarin and Mala in time for the start of the night.

A kilometer ahead

Ascarin leaned over the wheel of the covered wooden wagon. He had a well-cured notebook and little piece of charcoal in his hands. He looked South, where the terrain was a little bit more low and hosted a big lake, on which surface the last intense sun rays reflected with gentleness.

“Are you drawing, dear?”, a sweet voice from inside the wagon startled Ascarin.

“Yes...”, he said collecting the fallen charcoal from the ground and resuming the portrait. “I am. To kill time while waiting for Kael... good thing I've got time to finish this one.”

“Good for you! I already know it will be beautiful as always.”, she continued with a happier tone.

Ascarin smiled warmly and closed the notebook, “Yeah...”

As soon as he got up he heard Kael's voice calling for them.

“... ??? Oh, it's him. It was about time!”

“Ah.”, Mala got out of the wagon with a hop, landing softly while her silver hair bounced on her puny head. “Hey there! Hi, Kael!”, she bubbled as her platinum eyes lit up.

“You two! Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.”, he mounted off his spectral horse which disappeared in thin air right after.

“Don't worry. Now get on with Mala, we have quiet the journey to do.”, Ascarin went to sit on the driver's seat. “Are you on board?”

“Yes, dear!”

“Yup!”

The journey was indeed long, guided by the stars and the sun, which alternated nine times before they arrived at their destination: the coastal city of Lime. Over the course of the travel, sun, clouds and light rains had coated the ample the sky watching upon them, like a big spectator of their strolling.

The people were as few as they could've expected, being a busy season for both cities and villages, in which the harvest of many foods came to a peak and the many regional festivals were being prepared to show off the different and variegate costumes of the vast reign.

The flora and fauna were the richest at this time of the year, as near spruces and oak trees towered with their tallness and greatness; the distant yet visible cherry blossoms carpeted the grass with gentle yet vibrant petals. Birds, cicadas, bugs, stags, wolves, wild dogs and many other animals enriched the environment, making it feel more alive than the solitary mountains of the South or the dry desert of the East, where only a few impervious animals and signs of vegetation could be sighted.

As now the tenth sun of their journey was setting, they reached the town. It was big. Not as much as the ones in the hinterland, where their dimensions could be compared to hundreds of villages put together.

Its biggest peculiarity was the presence of only one port, lack caused by the rocky and unpractical rocky beaches of its littoral. Still, the inhabitants and well-known and respected governors of the city made the most of that outpost. They made it one of the biggest and most important ports of the whole continent, despite even the vicinity to the Great Void.

And that port was the one from where the three would made their way to that god-forbidden place.

“Uhm?”, Kael raised his head as the carriage stopped. He stopped cleaning a simple-looking dagger that quickly disappeared into hundreds of little orange lights. “Mala, we're here...”, she slowly opened her eyes and stretched.

“Ahhh... it was time!”, she got off the back and looked at both sides of the carriages. “Oh, there you are!”

She walked towards Ascarin on the left side, smiling while interweaving her hands in front of her dress. He flipped a few pages of another small notebook before looking at her. His serious and thinking face relaxed at the sight of her.

“How was the trip? Were you comfortable?”

“Yes, yes!”, she nodded enthusiastically her head, “So this is Lime...”

Ascarin turned to where she was looking, “Are you excited?”

“I am! I've never seen Lime, it looks so cool.”

“Pft... for someone who has lived for most of her life in the forest and in Uberdia, it's rare for you to say that.”

Mala raised an eyebrow, “Really? And why?”

Ascarin crossed his arms as Kael began taking the carriage to a safer place with two spectral steeds, “Well, people from bigger cities tend to describe Lime as... bland and without character.”

“Mhh... I'm not agreeing with them!”

“Ehehehe! Then me too. I find this place quiet intriguing after all.”

“Hey, you two!”, Kael said from behind, “The cart's safe, so let's head to the place we have to sleep in.”

“Sure! Let's go, Mala.”

“Yes.”

The town stony roads were full of peoples marching up and down towards the center where a big square full of shops was located. It was the cultural and social focal point of the town. There, nearly a hundred of people were preparing a big festival, decorating a pearly massive fountain and the houses nearby.

The architecture of this city was very peculiar when it came down to the totality of the East region of the continent. In fact, its Gothic style buildings resembled the solemn and strong ones of the warm North-West towns – which were, beside Uberdia, the first big cities that arose thousands of years ago, right when the reign was assembled after a long process of unification.

Kael, Mala and Ascarin passed through the crowd as if they were locals.

Mala was watching around in awe as a kid bumped in her running, leaving the grasp of a small terracotta toy. She immediately opened her hand and a vivid green root sprouted from in between the rocks floor cracks and saved the object from shattering.

“I-I'm sorry, miss!”, the boy excused himself, before bowing down and taking the toy with him, running away to his friends.

Mala looked at him go and then smiled before being called by Ascarin.

“Mala!”, he gently grasped her hand, “We're near the place where we'll sleep.”

She just nodded and looked as enthusiastic as ever.

“Anyway...”, he continued, “Try to use your power less frequently or they'll know who you are.”

Mala chuckled as they took a side road where Kael was waiting for them, “I'll be more careful. Don't worry, dear!”

The same day, Unknown location

It was a big crater. One with the shape of inverted cone, just like how many literary described hell. Nonetheless it was a different kind of hell, one that you could choose not to enter but, if you would've ever dared to try and step foot in it, it would've been a one way ticket to death.

Hundreds of meters of white limestone rock ran alongside the steep and coarse edges, reflecting beautifully the sun that was left entering from the gigantic mouth of the cone.

The soft yet pungent smell of sulfur filled the air – while still leaving it supportable for the majority of living beings to breath – and gave the idea of being in a real open sky mine.

On the bottom, an ellipse created an arena-like environment. Its huge pavement was uneven and pointy in some points and made of pure white granite. On one of its foci, there stood a throne of the same material and characteristics of the floor, which made it look like an extension sticking out of the ground.

In front of it, a tall man was standing in front of another guy.

“What do you want, Richec?”, his voice and bloody red eyes shone with disdain and disgust. He frowned as if thinking about something.

“Ehehehe...”, the guy with a young, almost feminine voice, chuckled menacingly, giving no sign of sanity from his yellow eyes, “Don't be so tense, Archdragon! Or else your hair will fall instead of just becoming white.”

“Tch, they were always like this...”

“Well...”, he looked around while keeping his hands together behind him, “... in tint with your cove.”

“...”, the man just hissed. He raised both hands and fell on the throne, “Are you here just to mock me, you crazy cultist?”

“Mhh...”, he hummed unsatisfied, “I wouldn't call ourselves cultists... We're the last glorious knights at the service of our queen!”

The Archdragon hardly held his anger and just clenched his fists, “Glory is the last word you should use to describe you genocidal, mentally-insane, bloodlust people!”

Richec just shook the question off with a wave of his hands, “Now, now! No need to get all political and stuff...”

“So I will ask you again...”, he interrupted, “... tell me why you're here.”

Richec smirked, his yellow ocher hair waving at a gust of wind, “It might come you as a senseless and meaningless phrase...

The chess game is close to beginning... the last few pieces are arriving on the board and yet... the black queen has already made her move.