Tale of Four

Stepping out of Tryak’s manor, Isis looked to Seth, who happily spread his arms and took a deep breath, basking in the sunlight like a prisoner freed from his cage after years of imprisonment. Shaking her head, she paid it no mind and walked forward, the old man following behind with a speed someone his age shouldn’t have. Strapped around his back, he carried a large bag full of belongings he had only told Isis they would find useful on their travels.

”I’ve heard stories of Oros. Is it true that there is always war and battle raging here?” Isis asked, wishing to have soemthing to talk about, finding the silence boring. Seth smiled and half nodded, trying to find how to truly describe the situation.

”In many places on Oros, Kings and whatnot don’t hold power, but merchants. Gold is king in most places, and wars are fought not out of personal grudges but for profit. It must be strange coming from Veston, where wars are only fought when the crown either allows it to happen or they are fighting the crown.” Isis shook her head.

”Many minor Lords fight all the time. Some houses have feuds that stretch back to even before the founding of the Kingdom.” Looking at Seth and his large bag, she couldn’t help but wonder what he brought along with him. Despite some of his claims, like being the student of a man who glimpsed Godhood, she was sure that he did at least have some training in the arcane, his assessment of her journal enough.

Seth noticed the gaze and smiled, ”Are you interested?” Seth smiled and flung his bag around, placing it on his chest. Slowly, he reached, pulling his hand back in jest, revealing nothing. After a while, he laughed and threw it back around, ”It’s more fun if you find out over time.” Isis rolled her eyes and groaned.

”Do you at least have soemthing to keep me safe?” Thinking about how to get him to prove it, she smiled, ”I showed you my journal, my most prized possession. It’s only right I get to see soemthing in return.” Unable to fight her words, Seth reached under his overcoat and pulled soemthing out.

Twirling it on his finger, Isis stared in amazement at the weapon, ”I call it a hand cannon. Soemthing yours truly created.” Handing it to Isis, she was surprised by how light it was. Seth saw and smiled, seeing a chance to boast. ”I had at first decided to make it out of metal, but with how heavy it was, it made carrying it around a pain, so I thought of the next best thing.” Taking the hand cannon back, he played with it ”Wood of the Deadlands in Veston. It is both sturdy and capable of withstanding the arcane. That’s the body. As for the barrel, it had to be made of metal, otherwise it would catch alight when fired.”

Holding it up to the sky, Seth beamed with pride. Isis saw the guards around frowning and approaching, seeing what he was doing, shouting for him not to. Placing a finger on the trigger, he pulled it. A second passed with nothing happening, but on the side of the hand cannon, Isis saw one of the ten crystals go dim, followed by a streak of light escaping the barrel, firing towards the sky.

”Touch the barrel now.” Holding the gun close to her, Isis did as told and yelped in pain, feeling it burn her. Seth laughed and took her hand, using it as a chance to play with her fingers as he reached into his pocket and poured a liquid on it, easing the pain, ”If that was wood, it would burn.” Seeing the guards approach with weapons drawn, Seth smiled and ran, dragging Isis behind him, running quicker than they could react.

”That... was.. rude...” Out of breath, Isis got the words out as Seth slowed down, seeing that they escaped.

”Here.” Handing the gun to her, he let Isis play with it, looking over the design. It was an ornate weapon, the wood carved with numerous runes, covered in thin silver to hide them. On the side, ten white crysatls, nine of them glowing bright, the tenth empty after the shot. From the crystals, large runes connected to the trigger and barrel.

After catching her breath, she handed the weapon back and looked at Seth with a confused look, ”You’re a Magi. Why do you need a weapon when you can cast spells?” Seth groaned and jumped up onto a nearby wall, looking to the sky.

”I never learnt to cast spells. Using the arcane for spells is a long and annoying process, and I never really had the talent for it. More than that, it is a boring lesson to learn.” Seth took the hand cannon back and stroked its cooled barrel, ”So I created this instead after a while. The crystals absorb arcane power when emptied either from the world itself or from me, and condense it into a near-solid form.”

Isis looked at him. Despite not knowing much about the Magi or artefacts, she couldn’t help but feel that Seth had done something that was much harder than learning a spell. Seth saw her gaze and smiled, shrugging. ”Did you know everyone has the potential to learn the arcane?”

”You’re lying,” Isis said, jumping up on the wall next to the old butler. Reaching into the bag, she pulled out some dried meat provided for the two and nibbled on it.

”I am not. It’s just that most people don’t have the talent to ever use it. It’s why evil sorcerers can use people as sacrifices for spells. I am one of those people, I have no real talent in the arcane itself, but my teacher said I have the mind that would let me excel at runecraft.” Seth smiled to himself. It was a childish smile, one filled with nostalgia, ”Of course, he hated that I was so terrible at the basics of the arcane, but I always pleased him when it came to runecraft.”

”Your teacher. Who was he? A famous Magi. You say he glimpsed Godhood. Surely he’s famous.” Seth let out a dry laugh and looked at Isis like she was an idiot.

”He was the worst human alive. Only someone as kind as I could put up with him. Every sorcerer despised him. I honestly can’t understand why? He was right about everything. They were all incompetent, not deserving of him or his knowledge.”Seth said with a thin smile.

”He is the worst person, yet you don’t seem to think so. What was he, evil or soemthing?” Seth mulled over it for a while.

”Depends who you ask. To me, everything he did was necessary for the truth, but to you, he likely was. But that’s not why I call him the worst. He was the worst because his personality and teaching style were just awful. Even now, I can see that mocking grin when he looked at me when I got a question wrong.” Isis laughed, watching Seth, seeing that despite his words, he held the time very fondly in his mind.

’Ironic you say someone else has a terrible personality. Does he not realise he is terrible in his own way?’

”But glimpsing Godhood. Surely you jest.” Seth’s smile fell as he turned to Isis, his gaze serious.

”I never lie.” His words were cold; offended, she would even suggest he may have.

”I meant nothing by it. You just must understand why I am doubtful about it.” Going to eat the rest of the dried meat, Seth snatched it from her and stuffed it into his mouth, forcefully chewing, getting revenge for her comment.

”I know.” Swolling, he ignored her betrayed look, ”But he was the greatest human to have ever walked this world, Isis. A man who could look at a God and laugh, saying they weren’t real. A man who understood nearly everything about the world but failed to reach the final hurdle. Probably for the best, if he became a God, then” Placing his palms together in prayer, he chuckled, ”Pray for the world.”

”Did he have a name?” Isis asked, and Seth fell silent. The wind blew past them, carrying the sound of cats’ meows, the ocean’s breeze. Lifting the hand cannon, he rubbed his beard with it before looking down at the weapon and faintly smiling.

”Of course, but he’s dead now, and didn’t wish to be known unless the person deserved to know.” Looking at Isis, his smile softened, ”Until I deem you worthy of that, you will only have to guess.”

”A shame.” Isis jumped off the wall, ready to continue their travels. ”He must be rolling in his grave knowing you are the last one to carry his legacy.” Seth laughed and shook her head, put the hand cannon away and jumped down, clasping his hands behind his back. Leaning over, he smiled.

”Who knows. He never told me everything. But he wasn’t the type to leave behind part and not all.”