Author's Preface
Sully turned on his flashlight and guided Casimir down the dark underground passage beneath the hidden door.
They carefully descended the moist stone steps. The walls around them were tight as they maneuvered down the one-person-wide corridor.
Casimir watched his breath rise and fall from the bitter cold. I hope wherever Tristan is kept is warmer. This feels like we are wandering into a morgue.
After what felt like an eternity, they made it to the bottom steps. The corridor opened up to a cavern illuminated by glowworms and a few torches. Casimir sensed several concentrations of Aether all in one place. He could tell that one was definitely human, curled up in a fetal position. The other, he was not sure because its Aether swelled and twisted in shape.
Casimir’s face turned grim. “I think I found them.”
“Let’s hurry.”
They followed a bend in the passageway that looked the most traveled. Casimir noticed the indentation of wheels in the dirt-covered floor. They finally came across a metal door.
Sully opened it and peeked inside. “Clear.”
When Casimir entered, the smell hit him, blood, industrial cleaner, and vomit. His surroundings blurred together and swirled like he was taken hostage on a carousel spun by his menace of a cousin, Corbin.
“Casimir, leave that be,” Sully’s order snapped him out of his daze.
After shaking his head, Casimir found himself standing over a table of surgical instruments, gripping a scalpel.
“Sorry.” He let it drop from his fingers and clanged against the metal tray.
Get it together. Remember where you are.
Casimir took account of the metal operating table in the center of the room over a drain. Next to it was a washstand and a wooden chair with leather restraints. On the back wall were several large steel drums with a hazardous warning label near a tub.
Acid. That is not a good sign.
“Casimir.” Sully pointed to a row of cells set on the interior right wall.
Casimir braced himself for what he was about to witness. Their footsteps echoed against the stone floor. They passed by two empty cells and found Tristan shivering in a ball, facing the wall in the corner of his prison. He was given a dingy little mat to sleep on and a thin blanket. His arms were bound with a rope.
“Tristan!”
“Casimir, is that you?” Tristan’s head popped up, and he struggled to look over his shoulder.
“Yes, I’m getting you out of here.” Casimir weaved Searing Hands and melted through the iron bars of his cell.
Tristan managed to sit up, revealing more of his disheveled appearance. His brown hair was slowly becoming a rat’s nest, and his work overalls were ripped and covered with dirt.
At least, he seems to be in good health. Casimir kneeled beside Tristan and started untying him.
“Thank God, you are here! Awldriver is crazy! She is turning students into mindless weapons.”
“That sounds like a dream for some folks at Needle,” Sully chimed in.
Tristan jumped.
“Don’t worry, he is with me.” Casimir removed the last of Tristan’s bonds.
“We have to go save Bryson, too!” Tristan left his cell and immediately ran to the one beside his.
Before Casimir could rise, he heard Tristan’s cry bounce around in the room.
“No, Bryson!” Tristan grabbed and shook the bars. He turned to Casimir with frantic eyes. “Come help him! Get him out!”
Casimir rushed over and finally caught a glimpse of what was in the cell.
Bryson lay lifeless on the floor, drenched in sweat with his eyes closed shut.
Casimir melted the bars to Bryson’s prison and immediately checked his pulse.
It was barely beating, but his Aether heart pulsed rapidly. Not only that, his skin was cold and clammy to the touch.
This is bad.
Casimir took off his coat and began wrapping Bryson in it. “I don’t suppose you know what they gave him?”
Tristan shook his head. “She stuck us with some drug. ”
He held his hand over his Aether heart. “I…felt weird. But Bryson…”
Casimir lifted Bryson onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. “Let’s get him to a proper doctor.”
They bolted out of the room, barreled down the corridor, and climbed up the stairs.
Bryson groaned in pain.
“Hang in there,” Tristan said between gasps.
They busted out of the hidden door and left the damp cave and into the crisp air of the forest.
And yet instead of the blinding white sun, they were greeted by a dull mist. All around him, he could sense that familiar foreign Aether in the mist. It clung to them like a leech and began sapping their Aether.
Casimir resisted the pull, managing to reduce the loss of his Aether. “Tsk!” It is just like before.
A thud alerted Casimir to Tristan dropping to his knees.
What little color that returned to Tristan’s face was quickly drained from him. “No, they are back.”
Suddenly, Casimir sensed the foreign Aether around them dissipate, and a light sprinkle of liquid fell upon him. It was absorbed into his skin and doused his Aether like water splashed onto a raging campfire. Within a twenty-foot radius, the mist cleared, and Casimir spotted a muscular figure retreat back into the remaining fog that surrounded the clearing.
Casimir glanced at Sully. This is like a double whammy of Aether suppression.
He felt relief when Sully lowered his field, and Casimir gathered more Aether into his core.
Sully narrowed his eyes. “Off-White C, what a mess.”
“What should we do?”
“I’ll take out the person responsible for the mist. You’ll defend those two in the cave.”
“Ye—”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Bryson screamed and thrashed on Casimir’s shoulders, knocking him off balance. A sudden burst of Bryson’s Aether slammed Casimir into the snow.
“Ow.” He looked up and saw Bryson stumbling onto his feet.
Something appeared to be pulsating underneath his frame, fighting to get out. Bryson howled as his body distorted to accommodate the overwhelming Aether rushing through him.
“Woow!” Sully outstretched his hand towards Bryson and focused more of his Aether-suppressing field on the boy.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Tristan cried, rushing over to aid his friend.
Bryson’s eyes bulged, and his face turned red and moist from sweat.
“Tristan! Get away from him!” Casimir shouted, readying his needle launcher.
Before Tristan could react, Bryson pushed him away with inhuman strength. He was sent flying through the air and was only spared from further injury by Sully catching him.
Casimir fired three needles into Bryson’s chest, which was now doubled in size and filled with fluid. The boy screeched again and fled away into the mist. The sound of bushes clued them in that he made it to the tree line and fled into the woods.
“Damn it!” Casimir hissed.
“We have bigger problems right now!” Sully pointed into the fog north of them. “Someone is gathering a large amount of Aether…”
“Jump!” Sully took Tristan into his arms, and they leaped from a massive fireball that vaporized the snow and dormant grass where they once stood. The rise in temperature further dissipated the mist in front of them, and they were able to see their attackers.
“I told you not to hit him!” Awldriver punched the biceps of a man clad in black, forcing him to stagger.
“My mistake, Madam.” The man recovered by flexing his muscles that bulged out of his black sweater.
Tsk, Aetherseeker is here.
Awldriver refused to remove her hateful gaze from the man and pointed a glowing red finger at him. “Singe a hair on them, and you’ll be snuffed out.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You should deal with them, then.”
Awldriver turned up her nose. “You stand no chance against that damn Inquis. ”
Aetherseeker’s voice quivered as if he stumbled across a hornet's nest when he continued, “Madam, I assure you that I can handle—”
“No.” She tossed him a potion and shooed him away.
Aetherseeker popped the bottle and raised it to his lips.
Oh no, you don’t! Casimir launched several needles towards Aetherseeker, and he sensed Sully extend his Aether Suppressing field towards the pair.
Effortlessly, Awldriver weaved a pattern that summoned a powerful gale that knocked the needles off target and ripped through the air towards them.
Sully muttered, “Crap.”
Before Casimir or Tristan could weave a shield or dodge, Sully extended his hands and shaped his field to block the Awldriver’s attack. It sounded like a bomb went off when it hit, kicking up snow and overturned dirt. By the time it settled, Awldriver and Aetherseeker had already disappeared into the mist behind them.
Casimir’s eyes darted around. I can’t sense them.
“W–where are they?” Tristan asked.
In a flash, Awldriver appeared behind Sully and aimed to drive her hand, sharpened with wind Aether, through his back. Sully ducked and countered with a backward sweep at her legs, but the woman evaded with a hop.
Casimir weaved Iron Sinew, coating his body with Aether, and moved to grapple Awldriver, but a fast-moving mass of muscle rammed into him. He was launched back several feet into the mist and recovered with a roll. Casimir shifted his body to his right and dodged an electrified fist that smashed through the ground, leaving a two-foot impression in the snow.
Casimir retreated with a Shadowstep and gazed upon his attacker. “Another cheap shot.”
Aetherseeker cracked his knuckles. “You should have left when I gave you the chance.”
“I wouldn’t be here if you had not broken your oath.”
“My oath…” Aetherseeker chuckled and then leaped towards Casimir with his right hand reeling back for a swing.
Dodging out of the way, Casimir retaliated with a punch to Aetherseeker’s jaw, but it was like hitting stone.
Drat, he is stronger than before. What tonic did she give him?
Casimir increased the amount of Aether around his hands and took another swing.
Aetherseeker deflected his blow with his wrist, countering with a punch that struck Casimir’s right cheek, knocking him off-balance.
He caught Casimir by his face and attempted to squeeze his head like grapes in a press. “I really did not want to piss that monster off by destroying his work, but you put me in a difficult situation.”
Casimir gritted his teeth, struggling to pry Aetherseeker's hands off.
Aetherseeker lowered his voice and looked at Casimir with cold eyes. “So, unlike the others, I’ll keep your body intact.”
He let loose a strong current of electric Aether that battered against Casimir’s shield.
Blast it. He is trying to fry my head like a fish.
The heat and pressure around Casimir’s skull became unbearable. Out of desperation, he weaved Body blow and tried to repel Aetherseeker’s Aether, but his opponent was the wiser and countered by flaring his Aether. Overwhelmed, Casimir’s defenses faltered, and a sudden stream of Aetherseeker’s Aether entered him.
Casimir’s Aether heart sputtered, and he bit down the pain as he attempted to weather the attack. Bit by bit, Aetherseeker forced him down to his knees, then his vision cut out.
The unbearable feeling of Aether ravaging through his system continued until Casimir gained an unnerving sense of deja vu, and his mind returned to a familiar place. Cold metal against his back, the stench of his blood, his rage, and…
Then they came into view, Sageman and Jett, looking down at him with amusement.
Float with the current…
Bah, this again, and he won’t stop that stupid humming…
I can’t throw it back like before, why?!
Float with the current, tsk…
Damn it, the bastard got what he wanted in the end.
The pain subsided, and the Aether rushing into him now felt like his thirst being quenched during a hot summer day. He rose to his feet, reached around for the back of Aetherseeker’s nape, and rammed his head into his in a punishing headbutt.
Aetherseeker’s grip loosened, and he staggered backwards.
Curse those blighters. Casimir forced back a smile from the exhilarating sensation of Aether coursing through him. He landed a kick into Aetherseeker’s shin, knocking him off his feet.
Aetherseeker recovered, Shadowstepped to avoid Casimir’s stomp, and retaliated with a Lightning Bolt aimed at Casimir’s chest. However, Casimir’s hand moved with the same precision as one would thread a needle and diverted the bolt back to Aetherseeker at double the speed. A blinding blue light flashed when the bolt hit its target, breaking through his shield and filling him with volts.
He cried out with a painful fury and withstood Casimir’s counter with the stubbornness of a bull that took a spear in its back. Seething as steam rose from his burns, he charged and engaged with Casimir again, fiercely swiping at him with electrified claw-like strikes.
He seems to be slowing down. Casimir eluded his jabs, then put all his weight behind a punch that clocked him dead center in the face.
After a snap, blood poured from Aetherseeker’s twisted nose.
Casimir looked upon him disparagingly. “Surrender, before I break something else.”
Aetherseeker roared and charged towards Casimir with eyes seeking blood, but his own was drawn again when Casimir landed an uppercut that knocked out his front teeth.
The man retreated into the mist with a Shadowstep before Casimir threw an Aether-infused jab with his left.
Blast it, he suppressed his Aether again.
Casimir listened and, with deft hands, weaved Icebolt and shot in that direction of crunching snow. Several loud cracks alerted him that the ice smashed against something. He waited and heard a low groan. Got him.
Casimir sprinted towards that direction and found Aetherseeker half frozen in a pillar mid-dodge. Ice encased all except for his chest and one arm that was glowing red like molten steel. Around them, the heat quickly rose, the mist dissipated, and the ice began to melt.
Casimir started weaving Icebolt, but Aetherseeker’s Aether raged upward into a plume of fire with the intensity of a sun, and his ice prison shattered. Shards flew out in all directions, forcing Casimir to block with Aether Shield instead.
Aetherseeker was gone, and in its place was a being made of flame, and his Aether heart burned like fuel. His eyes and mouth looked like the inside of a furnace as he looked at Casimir and spoke, “This is a failure already! Screw it! ”
He launched towards Casimir with his arms spread wide, ready to grab. Casimir evaded Shadowstep, only to have to dodge again when Aetherseeker was right on him. The heat Aetherseeker gave off alone was enough to make Casimir feel faint.
Drat! Did he actually weave Warm Embrace? Casimir retreated from another grab from Aetherseeker.
But since he isn’t a Master Salamander, he botched it.
Aetherseeker weaved a complex triangular pattern and breathed out a massive ball of fire with a roar. The smoldering projectile melted all the snow beneath it as it raced through the air. Casimir evaded and tried weaving Ice Bolt, but Aetherseeker Shadowstepped right next to him and lunged for a grab.
Casimir was forced to weave an Aether Shield to slow him down and retreat when the man smashed through it like a rock through a windowpane. This cat-and-mouse game continued, depleting his stamina. His muscles and ligaments ached from being enhanced by Iron Sinew, and his Aether Heart stung from the constant funneling of Aether.
Blast it, being near him is like being stuck in a sauna for hours . His Aether Heart is dying, but I don’t think I can last longer than him.
Casimir dodged another swipe from Aetherseeker by leaping back, and the skin on his face burned.
He is just too fast! I need something quicker.
Casimir weaved Quell and focused on the flames burning his opponent’s Aether Heart. Gradually, he sensed the heat of the man’s Aether Heart reduce several degrees.
Aetherseeker hissed out steam and leaped out of Casimir’s range. “Cocky little bastard! You thought I wouldn’t notice!”
After a murderous smile, he weaved a complex triangular and circular pattern, and steam began to form around them.
Frog Boil! Casimir quickly weaved a cooling mist, and when the two patterns collided, a blinding rain fell, turning the scorched ground to mud. Casimir weaved Wandering Breeze, sending the wind to blow the rain in Aetherseeker’s direction, then weaved Ice Bolt. Anything with a drop of moisture froze and cracked, including Aetherseeker, which got caught in the freezing rain.
“Arrrrrr!” Aetherseeker cried as he was iced over.
The glow in his eyes and mouth dimmed, and Casimir sensed the last bit of his Aether heart burn out.
Casimir panted. One down…
He could not sense his cousin’s Aether, and Tristan was a tiny blip on his radar, but Awldriver’s raged like a tempest, despite the vast distance between them. Casimir turned toward the direction of where he felt her, and by the leveled trees and the distant sound of splintering wood, Casimir could tell his cousin’s fight with her had moved out of the clearing and into the woods.
I need to assist him, but first.
He ran over to Tristan, who was still in the glade, kneeling down in front of a person stuck neck deep in the mud.
Peter? No, his head is twice the size of a normal person's, and so are his eyes. They stick out too much and look frog-like. Casimir observed the scar over his brow, and his mood soured as he shared the same solemn expression as Tristan. His mind is blunted as well.
“Do you think they could be changed back?” Tristan asked.
Casimir frowned. “Maybe, with the help of a Pennyroyal.”
Tristan turned to face him, eyes filled with desperation.
“I will ask. They are friends of the family.” Casimir looked away to the forest where a section of trees shook and then fell. “I’m going to help out Sully.”
“I’m coming too.”
They weaved Lightstep and blitzed through the trees to the fight. Casimir's skin crawled the closer they got to Awldriver. Every living thing paled before her Aether, except for one man steadily enduring her Aetherial wrath that ordered the wind to slice everything it touched.
Sully leaped from an air blast that reduced the tree behind him into wood chips, then his body flicked, and he slashed at Awldriver with his short sword. She shifted her body to avoid a mortal wound and got nicked in the arm instead, then countered with an Aether-infused chop at his shoulder. Sully, however, was too fast and she missed. The two danced a deadly shuffle, fighting to take the lead.
Casimir noticed Aether leaking out of Awldriver’s body faster than she absorbed it. He got her with Aether Emission.
Sully went for the kill again, leaping up in the air and spinning down like a buzz saw. She evaded, but he Shadowstepped behind her and thrust with his sword. Awldriver shifted her body again, avoiding a deadly blow, but still had to endure Sully slicing through her side. She staggered away, but Sully’s sword came down again and sliced through her hand. Blood sprayed as Awldriver screamed, and she shot out a large blast of Aether, knocking Sully off his feet. Holding her bleeding stump, she fled.
Casimir pursued her and saw the woman pull out a bottle from her pocket. He weaved Aether Arrow and smashed the bottle before she could drink it.
“Stay out of this!” Awldriver hissed and struck Casimir with a Wandering Breeze that flew him back and continued her retreat.
Tristan weaved a Stone wall blocking her path, and when she ran around it, her foot was caught in his Quicksand.
“You!”
“Yes, me,” Tristan said coldly. “Why—”
Awldriver’s lips quivered, and she raised her good hand to weave another pattern, but Sully's sword found her flesh first, and she lost her other hand.
“Why! Why! Why!” The woman fell to her knees, and crying over her stumps, she looked up at Sully with hate-filled eyes. “Curse you, imperial bastards! Your time will come! ”
Sully knocked her out with a blow to the head. “Thanks for the assist.”
Casimir nodded. “We need to find Bryson.”
Sully looked at Awldriver and shook his head. “You two go ahead. I’ll meet up with you once I finish up here.”
***
“Bryson!”
“Bryson!”
Casimir and Tristan called out for him while following a trail of mowing down small trees and bushes.
Gradually, Bryson’s foot impressions suggested that he developed an awkward gait from a foot that was twice the size of the other.
Tristan cried out more desperately when he saw the large claw mark carved into an old cedar tree. Casimir prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation by circulating his Aether through his body and back into his core. The trees became more sparse and spread apart as they left the forest for the mountains.
We are near the old quarry. Casimir sensed a large misshapen form of Aether lying listlessly in the snow and said solemnly, “He is just beyond this ridge.”
Tristan responded by lowering his head, and they continued their trek uphill.
When they reached the peak and looked down, Tristan’s eyes widened in horror, and he was filled with rage. “Get off of him!”
He lunged forward, ready to leap into the six-foot-deep ravine, but was caught by Casimir.
“Don’t!” Casimir pulled Tristan by the back of his shirt.
Tristan looked over his shoulder. “Let go, that bastard—” He paused when he saw the serious grimace on Casimir’s face and looked down at the brunette-haired man dressed in an emerald cloak, casually sitting on Bryson’s back.
“Man, finally, I was waiting all day!” Jett hopped off Bryson, and the boy remained face down in the dirt.
Bryson's milky white pallor and a bone sticking out from his oversized arm reflected his sorry state. Casimir’s gaze turned cold when it left Bryson to Jett, who walked towards them with a grin that spanned ear to ear.
Jett clapped and continued, “You certainly caused a mess for them, junior. Looks like I was sent here for nothing.”
Casimir’s gaze was affixed on the center of Jett’s forehead, and he gathered Aether to his finger.
“Un, un, un,” Jett tutted and aimed his finger at Bryson, glowing with purple Aether. “No needles, either. Hurry up and take them off.”
Casimir gritted his teeth and rolled down his sleeves, showing his bracers. Then slowly removed them from his wrists.
“Toss them down,” Jett ordered before Casimir dropped them to his side.
Fuming, Casimir hurled the bracers at Jett, and the man caught them.
“Good boy.” He crushed them between his hands and tossed them over his shoulder. “It's high time that you toss those toys away.”
Tristan looked at Casimir quizzically and asked, “What is this ah—”
“What do you want?” Casimir hissed.
Jett's eyes formed into slits as his glee intensified. “Master was just a little worried about you. That is all.”
The anger rising up in Casimir took over him, and he closed his eyes because the sight of Jett’s smug smile made him want to charge at him like a rampaging bull. “Then why bring Bryson into this?”
“Oh, him?” Jett mocked and glanced down at Bryson. “He was just dumb enough to attack me. Poor bastard. Those two lack any finesse. Just throwing anything against the wall and hoping that it would stick.” He paused and then caught himself. “Well…perhaps they were just having a bit of fun, but I expected more from my elders.”
“Fun!” Tristan shouted. “I don’t think what happened to us was fun!”
“Calm down. I had nothing to do with this, and by the looks of things, you got your revenge. So, rejoice.”
After savoring Casimir and Tristan’s furious expressions, he gestured towards Bryson. “Welp, junior seems fine, and this one doesn’t look too good. So let’s part ways, shall we?”
The wind picked up around Jett, and Casimir weaved Iron Sinew and leaped down the ridge, but was quickly blown into a rock wall when he landed.
“Another time, junior.” Jett disappeared into a gust of wind that carried him several feet away and out of the ravine in a matter of seconds. Off in the distance, he laughed, “Continue working on your Aether control between, then. Flow with the current, ha, ha. ”
***
No sirens and flashing lights disrupted the contained calm over the campus. Just four discrete black cars rolled up the front gates of the institute. Two from the Inquis and two from Needle, although Casimir agreed with Sully that there were probably more hidden away in the forest.
While Casimir’s seniors and Needle tied up loose ends and negotiated in the Chancellor’s office, Casimir lay in bed as Magnolia examined him. She felt around his side, then moved her hands up to his chest, next his head, and finally to each of his extremities.
“Just some bruises. I don’t see anything too serious.”
“Thank you, Magnolia.”
“Mind telling me what happened to you?” She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.
Casimir shrugged. “I lightstepped into a tree.”
Magnolia blinked and turned to Tristan, resting in the bed next to him, for confirmation.
Tristan cracked a nervous smile. “I was on his back if that matters.”
She smacked Casimir across the cheek and grew frustrated when he gave her a conciliatory smile. “Unbelievable! You only get a pass for finding him. Otherwise, you would have been officially banned from our club.”
After a groan, Magnolia turned away and retreated into the lab.
Tristan snickered. “You could have thought of a better lie.”
Casimir hand-waved his comment away. “I’ve dealt with scarier women.”
“Right,” Tristan said, looking away. “So… Do you know what is going to happen to Bryson and all the others? They can help him, right?”
Casimir bit his lip and looked near the door. Outside, he could sense Sully guarding the entrance. “Lady Pennyroyal agreed to take care of him and the other victims. It was her and the Sublime Weaver’s responsibility to look after your families, and they failed.”
Tristan nodded solemnly. “It is just unfair. I was the only one spared from this?”
Casimir’s face turned grim. “Another thing to look out for, Needle will approach you. Answer their question, of course, but if they offer you a favor, don’t take it. ”
“Uh…right,” Tristan paused before saying, “To be honest, I’m not sure if I want to continue being a Weaver. This entire experience left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Casimir's frown deepened from disappointment.
He lowered his head and sighed, “Alistair was right. ”
Casimir hopped out of bed and approached Tristan with a fiery gaze.
Clinching the covers, Tristan looked up at him nervously, but continued, “He is, it isn’t worth it for someone of my status, and I’m ruthless enough to claw my way to the top.”
“Are you willing to defend the sovereignty of the Emperor and make war against his majesty’s enemies without mercy–”
“Yes, I am. I am also willing to not abuse my gifts, will happily share knowledge, and will proudly help those in need without playing favorites.” Tristan frowned. “Yes, still I do believe in the Weaver’s pledge, but…”
“Then don’t listen to that prick! We don’t need any more cruel, self-serving people to become Weavers. We need more people like you, who hold the Oath to heart. ”
A small smile formed on Tristan’s face. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
Casimir nodded. “Take heart. Justice will come for them, including the ones we might have missed.”