The Girl who Eclipses the Moon Part 2: The Magi's Guild

“One more and it’s down!”

“Right!”

I shot a sphere of fire at the wolf-like creature in front of us. The flaming ball connected right in the charred spot where my last sphere had hit it. With a cry of pain, the beast fell to the ground.

“Perfect. I’d say that’s Fire Sphere accomplished. With that, you’ve gotten all the basic elements down pat. And just in time too. We’ve almost made it to Grandwood.”

Looking into the distance, I could see what was probably a city wall through the trees. My village and the towns nearby didn’t have any walls, so I had never seen any before.

“Is it bad that there are monsters this close to the city?” I asked.

“Nah, monsters this weak are easy enough for beginner magi or the guards to deal with. They’re perfect for practice for young magi as well.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

It had already been a week since I had started travelling with Erda. Thanks to the healing magic she had shown me, my arm was already usable again. It still hurt a bit if I moved it around too much though. Erda had also fashioned a dress for me out of one of her spare shirts. It was hard to imagine that I had been so hurt only a week ago.

Erda got a crystal from the monster and its body disappeared into light. It was still a bit weird to see a living being disappear like that. Erda put the crystal into her bag and then reached out her hand for me.

“Come on, let’s get you to Grandwood.”

As we approached the city, Erda waved to a guard standing out front of the gate. Since I didn’t have identification on me, we were told to travel through the guard checkpoint. They had us sit in the waiting room until it was time to check in.

“Miss Erda, are you sure it’s okay for me to come with you?” I asked.

“It’s a little late to be asking me that now, isn’t it? I’ve already brought you this far,” Erda said.

“Yeah, but...”

“Just remain calm and everything will turn out all right. You’re my protégée now, remember?”

“Right...” After I had finished crying, I had asked Erda to teach me more magic. She agreed on the condition that I joined her as her protégée. I honestly felt a bit guilty. I had already been hiding my identity from this woman, and now we were going to be lying to the guards as well.

“If you’re still worried about your potential, don’t be. I’ve never seen someone pick up on conjuring so quickly. It was like you were made to become a magus.”

On our journey here, I had been taught all of the basic elemental conjuring spells. I was able to create spheres of water, ice, lightning, stone, wind, light, and fire. I was impressed by just how much variety there was when it came to conjuration, but Erda seemed even more impressed. There were apparently four other elements, but they only had more advanced techniques that I wasn’t prepared for yet. Still, the “Sphere” series of spells was enough to prove to anyone that I was a conjurer.

I still couldn’t help but wonder how I was able to use these spells. I had always been told that there was a clear difference between conjurers and summoners—that it was something more ingrained than spiritual or physical. And yet, I was able to learn these spells effortlessly despite both of my parents being summoners. I couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

“Thank you for waiting.” A woman wearing a guard uniform opened the door and greeted us. She appeared to be a summoner judging by the small bird riding on her shoulder. I instinctively ducked behind Erda.

“It’s no trouble. I’ve heard things have been rough in the neutral cities lately.”

“Yes, but it’s not anything we can’t handle,” the guard said before turning to look at me. “Hello there, little one.”

“Um... Hi...”

“Now let’s see...” The woman pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. “Can I get your names?”

“I am Erda Sakura. I believe this should serve as proof of my identity.” Erda pulled out some sort of metal circle on a chain and handed it to the woman. It must have been a locket, because she was able to open it and seemed to confirm something that was inside.

“Understood, Miss Sakura. Welcome to our fair city. I take it this little one is the one without identification?”

“That’s right. I protected her village from monsters and she decided she wanted to join me as my protégée. It was remote enough to not have a guild branch, so I thought we would come here to register her.”

“My, is that so?” the woman asked me.

“Y-Yes! My name is Lunar. I’ve already learned so much from Miss Erda! I can use all seven basic elements!” I created a small ball of water in my hands as a demonstration.

“That certainly seems impressive,” the woman said. Just as I had suspected, she didn’t seem to know anything about conjuration.

“The kid’s got talent, what can I say?” Erda said.

“Well, if someone of your standing is vouching for her, then I don’t see any issues. That said, you’ll still need to pay the three silver entry fee for her. I recommend heading to the guild first thing.”

“You got it. Would you mind giving us directions?”

Erda handed over coins to the guard who in turn gave directions. Taking her advice, we started to make our way for whatever the guild was first thing. Erda decided to pick me up and put me on her shoulders. I didn’t mind since my feet were tired, but it was still a little embarrassing.

The city of Grandwood was massive compared to my home village. From the exit to the guardhouse there was a road lined with buildings leading to the center of town where a massive tree was sitting. I hadn’t been able to see it from the forest, but its branches alone were big enough to cover the entire city’s skyline. It almost felt like a cloudy day despite the sun being visible beyond the branches.

“Cities are really big, huh?” I said.

“You’ve not been to a city before then?” Erda asked.

“Nope. I’d never left my village before, other than to visit a neighboring town. What is a ‘guild’ anyway?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard of it? Most professions tend to have their own guilds, like the Merchants’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild. Think of them as businesses that make sure people are doing their jobs properly and are also getting paid fairly. We’re heading for the Magi’s Guild. It’s an organization for both conjurers and summoners who are professional magi.”

“For both conjurers and summoners?”

“That’s right. Though both schools are different, they’re both magic if you think about it. That’s why the guild appoints the best of the best as Grand Magi regardless of the means. Some countries are less welcoming of the opposite school and have separate guilds. Grandwood happens to be a neutral city though.”

“Neutral?”

“Yup. Long ago, a race known as the elves worshipped the large tree in the center of the city as a kind of god. No one is sure what happened to the elves, but the city here became one of the main hubs for the neutral countries to trade. The neutral countries don’t favor conjurers or summoners specifically, so both mingle together. There’s been a lot of tension lately, though.”

“Hmm. I don’t really get it.” I was pretty confident in not understanding adult matters. But my views of the world had changed so rapidly in the last week that I wasn’t really sure what to think anymore.

“Ha ha, maybe that’s for the best,” Erda said. “Look, we’re here.”

We arrived in front of a grand building made of bricks that had a staircase leading up to it. This was the Magi’s Guild. The building itself seemed almost magical as we approached. And actually, it kind of was. I found that out the hard way when the doors opened automatically as we approached, and almost fell backward down the stairs. Luckily, Erda was there to catch me.

“Whoa there! Sorry, I should have warned you about the doors. They’re enchanted using an earth attribute spell that allows them to move when someone gets close.”

“So conjurers can enchant things too?” I asked.

“That’s right. I’ll teach you eventually, but it’s best to learn the basics first.”

I nodded. It was exciting to think that my options hadn’t become limited now that I had switched schools. I had been worried about so many doors being closed to me now. But like this one before me, they seemed to be opening up on their own.

We walked into the building. It had expected it to be filled with a bunch of magi casting spells, but really it was filled with books. I had never seen so many books in one place before. The magi that were present were all hunkered down around tables with piles of books. It reminded me a bit of school. We approached a receptionist counter at the far end of the room. The woman there greeted us.

“Hello there, how may we assist you today?” the woman asked.

“I wanted to get this little one registered with the guild as my protégée. And I wanted to request a meeting with the guild master as well.” Erda handed the woman the same locket from earlier, and the woman’s eyes opened wide.

“Y-Yes! Um... Head upstairs and knock the third door on the right. He should be happy to see you. I’ll get her signed up.”

“That’ll be perfect,” Erda said. She then leaned down and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Follow this nice lady’s instructions and remember what I told you, all right?”

I nodded. It was going to be just like the guard house where I had to make a couple fibs. But I was worried whether I could do it by myself or not.

“You’re gonna do great. You’re my protégée, after all.” Erda ruffled my hair and then walked away, heading for the stairs to the second floor.

“All right, let’s get you all signed up. Come with me, please.”

I hastily tried to fix my hair back into place as I followed the lady into the next room. It reminded me of the principal’s office at my school. She sat down at a table in the center and offered me a cookie from the plate that was sitting there. I wasn’t going to say no to that.

“Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell me your name?”

“My name is Lunar.”

“Do you have a family name, Lunar?”

“No, I don’t have one of those.” My father had a family name, so I technically could have used that one. But my mother never took it, and I was worried that they would contact him if they knew. Surely he would have found me a disgrace for having failed to summon anything and turning to conjuration instead.

“All right. Next up is your age.”

“I just turned eight last week.” I held up eight fingers to help show the receptionist what my age was, but she just wrote down on her paper without even looking at them.

“Got it. And your home town?”

“I don’t have one anymore...”

“I see. Shall I put down your master’s home town then?”

“Oh, yes. She said it was called Yetta.”

“Yetta in the east, huh? All right. And I take it you’re a conjurer like your master?”

“Yes! I can use all seven basic elements.”

“All seven?!” The woman nearly dropped her pen. It seemed that, unlike the guard at the gate, she was impressed by this feat.

“Yup! Shall I give a demonstration?” I formed small spheres of each of the elements in turn.

“Y-You did that without chanting?”

“Oh... Whoops.” I had been so eager to show off to her that I had forgotten that most conjurers couldn’t cast spells without chanting an incantation.

“I can see why she took you on as her protégée...” The woman placed a hand on her forehead and sighed. “Very well, do you know what element your highest affinity is with?”

“Affinity?”

“Ah, it seems she really was teaching you things backwards. Here,” The woman pulled out an orb and placed it on the table. “Place your hands on this orb and channel your mana into it. Its color should determine which element you have the greatest affinity for. Basically that will be the type of magic that elementals will more commonly be drawn to you for, allowing you to use more powerful magic.”

“I see?” I didn’t see. Still, I placed my hands on the orb.

“I’ve...never seen this color before...” The woman got up and went over to a nearby bookshelf to grab a book. After flipping through it, she then placed her hand on her forehead once again.

“What’s wrong? Did my color give you a headache?”

“Well, Miss Lunar... It seems the element you’re most compatible with is the Eclipse element.”

“Eclipse?”

“Right. It’s a bit complicated, but basically it’s an element that can overtake other elements, but not much is known about it.”

“So, is it really strong?”

“Strong isn’t exactly the right word. Strictly speaking, there hasn’t been a Magus with this affinity in recorded history. You’re not likely to find any spell books or teachers who can teach you to use it correctly. Even most Grand Magi wouldn’t know more than basic spells for that element.”

“I see?” I didn’t see. “So it’s rare then? Is that special?”

“It’s special enough that we’ll need to inform the guild master right away. Come on, let’s—”

“That’s already been taken care of,” Erda said as she stepped into the room.

“Miss Erda!” I ran up and hugged her. I had been so nervous being in a room with an adult by myself. Seeing her made all that anxiety go away.

“So you knew?” the woman asked.

“Yup. I could tell by the color of her mana when I first saw her cast a spell. And she wasn't learning magic the normal way, either. She was just copying whatever I showed her without much need for instruction.”

“But that’s...” the woman looked at me. She gave me a concerned look.

“And that’s why I’m taking her as my protégée. I’ve already reported the important information to the guild master.” Erda picked me up to carry me. I grabbed on to her so that I wouldn’t fall off.

“Understood. Everything should be fine for her to have an apprentice-level license. I’ll just need your signature as her master.”

“Right.” Erda shifted my weight so that she could use an arm to sign her name on the paper. The woman then said to wait a moment before going into another room.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. I didn’t want people to be mad at me again. I would need to do everything possible to make sure I wasn’t cast aside like before.

“Not at all. In fact, I couldn’t ask for a more promising protégée.”

“Really?” I hugged her tight. “So you won’t throw me away? I’m not a failure?”

“Who would ever do something like that to you? You’re more amazing than the moon you’re named after.”

“Really? More than the moon?”

“That’s right. And one day you’ll shine brighter than it too. So bright they won’t be able to see it anymore.”

“Ha ha ha, no one could be that bright!”

“Heh, maybe not. But that’s still the kind of potential I see in you.”

The woman returned. She had a locket similar to the one Erda had before, but it was a much duller color.

“Here is your watch. It has your identity carved inside with magic, so it will be hard to replicate. Make sure you don’t lose it,” the woman explained.

I opened up the locket, but it appeared to be some kind of clock rather than having a picture inside. On the part that opened up, I could see my name as well as the words “Yetta, Conjurer, and Eclipse” written inside. Thinking back, I remembered papa and the mayor also having similar objects. That must have meant that they were also in the Magi’s Guild. Though I guess papa must have been to become a Grand Magus.

“With that, Lunar, you’re officially an apprentice conjurer. Make sure to call me Master Erda from now on, okay?”

“Okay!”

Despite being cast out and having nothing just days ago, I was now back on the road to achieving my dream. I still didn’t really understand everything that had happened to me. But thinking of how far I had made it in such a short time, maybe it was a good thing that the mayor had blasted me away.

Still though, I did miss mama and Famu. I put the watch in my dress pocket alongside the necklace and spell stone I had received from them. These would be my three precious treasures.

“Come now, let’s get you something to eat and some new clothes. I’ve been dying to have some real food,” Master Erda said.

“Yay food!” I held onto her tight. As long as I could stay by Master Erda’s side, I knew I wouldn’t be lonely again.