Towers of Seshin: Part 1
#3 of Towers of Seshin
I literally can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for you guys to read this story. I've had this idea in my head for so long and it's been driving me crazy. And now I can actually write it! Ahh!!!
Seriously though, this is gonna be epic (at least I hope so...) so hold onto your butts! Remember to read the Prologue to this. Kinda essential.
*WARNING: * This story contains homosexual interaction among characters, both romantic and sexual. If this is something that bothers you, please leave the page at this time.
The carriage gave off the soft churning sound of wooden wheels along the dirt path, traveling due west. It was pulled slowly by two horses, handled by a stout red fox as the coachman. The fox wore a flowing gold and blue royal robe with white, fluffy trim circling down and trailing by his ankles. Around his paws was a pair of black gloves and black dress shoes on his lower paws. A golden crown sat upon his head with a giant round sapphire fitted into the center. His name was King Alexander Solzhen of Desyria, the blue kingdom. With a loud, stoic voice he shouted, "My son, are you prepared? We will be reaching the Grounds in less than a half rotation."
Inside the closed carriage sat a much younger red fox, much skinnier in body shape. He wore a scarlet colored robe, though not as fancy as his father's, and two daggers sat along his body; one on his right and the other along his back. He was idling by as he twirled a small spark of flame between his fingers; a mage gifted with the powers of pyromancy by Tyto the Red, one of the many Gods of the world. The young mage continued playing with his fire spark, ignoring his father's call.
"Alexander, I know you can hear me," the elder fox called again.
The young Alex still didn't respond, instead deciding to form a second fire spark in his other paw. He hummed softly as the two flames danced around, occasionally throwing them both into one paw just to see how big the flame could get. The fox's eyes shined with joy as the flame kept getting bigger and bigger.
"Alexander!" the king shouted loudly, causing the young male to jump and the flames quickly extinguished.
"I heard you!" he called back, groaning in aggravation. He turned towards the front of the carriage and threw open the canvas to find his father looking back at him with an unappealing glare.
"You should respect your father and answer the first time he asks you a question, Alexander."
The young fox sighed. "I told you just to call me Alex. All this formal stuff is really annoying to me. And you know that I don't want to talk about these Magic Grounds. I don't see the point of going."
The king shook his head and turned back to the front to face the dirt path. "You are going because you need to learn to control your magic abilities, lest you want to burn down my entire kingdom."
Alex pouted and turned away, speaking under his breath. "It was one little fire in the courtyard on accident. No big deal..."
"A big enough deal to injure and nearly kill three workers and call in the kingdom's hydromancers. You are approaching adulthood, Alexander. You need to learn how to be more responsible."
"Well maybe they should have left me alone like I had asked."
"Maybe you should hold your tongue in the presence of your father," the elder fox said, suddenly much more stern. He didn't need to look to know that his son shifted passively. The two of them let out a simultaneous sigh before it was quiet once again.
-
After a few more minutes, the carriage reached the top of a large hill that overlooked the Magic Grounds. Alex hopped out once the carriage stopped and took a look for himself. His eyes grew wide as he looked down towards his soon to be home. A lone tower stood in the very center of the large field, surrounded by a massive stone wall. If one looked carefully enough, they could possibly see a faint shimmer every few seconds in the shape of a giant dome. Even a young mage like Alex could sense the powerful magic barrier that surrounded the Grounds. He figured it was arcane-based; it was the most primal and powerful magic in the known world, and only a handful of mages could use it without either killing themselves or going insane.
King Alexander let out a soft "Hmm" as he looked out as well. "I believe this is as far as I can take you. The carriage will not be able to pass through the magic barrier."
"I'm surprised you knew there was a barrier in the first place," Alex replied.
The king sighed and shook his head before commanding the horse to turn, carrying the carriage on its way back where it came. "Saryn, grant me strength... and perhaps teach my eldest son some manners," he groaned under his breath. In less than a minute, the carriage and the king vanished behind the hill.
Alex turned back towards the Magic Grounds and took a deep breath. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, though he still wasn't too happy about being forced to come here either. He began walking towards the tower, making sure to take his time. It was now halfway past the sixteenth rotation of the day, and the sun was still as relentless as ever in the late summer season. Alex ran his paw across his forehead, little drops of sweat flinging onto the ground below him. "By the Twelve, it's hot. Wish I didn't have to wear this stupid robe..."
"The robe is essential to knowing which house and element you belong to, young wizard."
"Ahh!!" Alex screamed and jumped up from the sudden voice coming from his left. He looked to find another fur, a feline if some sort by his muzzle, dressed in a black robe with silver trimming. Unlike Alex, this man had a hood covering all but the end of his muzzle and his whiskers. "The students of the Magic Grounds are organized into their respective elemental affinity." The cat spoke slowly with a deep, mysterious tone. Alex assumed that he was elderly. "Our abilities are a blessing from one of our twelve gods, each with a respective color and element."
"Tyto the Red, fire.
Saryn the Blue, water.
Ylda the Green, life.
Quny the Yellow, lightning.
Garyn the Brown, earth.
Fylli the Orange, metal.
Jyna the Purple, wind.
Herey the Teal, ice.
Riyou the Pink, mind.
Doxy the Gray, time.
Aisly the White, light.
Zygar the Black, darkness."
Alex turned away with a huff and kept walking. "I know who the Twelve are, old man. What's your point?"
The cat trailed behind him, walking with silent steps as if his paws weren't actually touching the ground. He grinned darkly. "You sound as though you don't want your magical abilities."
The young red fox turned back, hands on his hips. "I didn't say that. I just don't want to go to this stupid magic school. But my father forced me to come, telling me that I need to learn discipline or something." He threw his arms up and huffed again, looking off to the side towards the trees. "I don't understand why he wants me to change so much. I didn't ask to be a prince. I didn't ask to be the heir to the throne." With a gentle sigh he looked towards the ground. "I can't go home now though. I don't have a ship to cross the Eastern Sea."
"Do not fret, young one. In due time, you will understand what your purpose is. Granted you survive long enough to figure it out."
"Survive? What do you mean?" He looked back towards the creature and then blinked; the feline had disappeared without a trace. No trails in the dirt, no rustling in the trees, not even a scent to sniff out with his vulpine nose. Alex scratched his head curiously. "Man, the summer heat must really be getting to my head..." He turned back around and blinked once again. Less than fifty yards away was the Magic Grounds entrance gate, a massive iron grate meshed into the twin stone watchtowers. Four guards stood out front all holding spears. They were Spellbreakers, furs with the ability to bind magic from within another fur, rendering them unable to cast. Oddly enough, most Spellbreakers also receive a blessing from one of the Twelve. In some cases it was considered ironic.
"Am I going insane?" Alex thought aloud, scratching his head one more time. "I'm pretty sure I was just on top of the hill, but now I'm right in front of the gate..." He shook his head. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." He walked to the gate, approaching one of the Spellbreaker guards. He inspected the uniform, noting the plated robe of mostly blue with white and purple colors mixed in. His shoes and gloves were blue stained leather with steel toes and fingers laced together. A snake was printed on the outer side of the gloves that went up the sleeve to the elbow. He also wore heavy shoulder guards made of dragon scales aligned in three diagonal segments. The guard was an older male, a rather handsome otter with dark blue fur.
"Papers, please." He stated bluntly with his solemn voice and held out his plated paw towards Alex.
"Huh?" Alex tilted his head slightly. "Oh!" He dug a paw into his robe for a moment and pulled out two folded papers. "You mean this?"
The otter snatched the pages from the fox's hand, giving him a glare before skimming over the writing. There was a long awkward silence as Alex just stood there watching him. The otter might've looked good, but he sure had an attitude. He pushed the pages back into Alex's paw. "Come in," he commanded as he stood back upright. The gate behind him let out metallic churning as it rose high enough for Alex to walk through.
"Thanks..." Alex said coldly and started to walk while also tucking the papers back into his robe. As he passed the other three Spellbreakers, they didn't even blink let alone acknowledge him. The young fox rolled his eyes while making his way inside. "I sure hope everyone isn't such an asshole like him..."
-
The Magic Grounds entryway was a long cobblestone path leading to the gigantic tower in the center. To his left was a field of small ledges and protruding columns with open tops, speedy gusts of wind shooting out. He saw a few other mages running through, practicing wind magic in their purple robes. This was the field of Gyna the Purple, goddess of wind. To Alex's right was another field, but this one had large and small bodies of water in scattered areas. Mages stood near the edges of these pools, coaxing the water to move with fluid body motions. This was the field of Saryn the Blue, goddess of water. Alex watched for a minute longer before he was approached by another fur, a wolf in a brown robe with a dirt colored trimming and a large circular shield attached to his back. He was obviously young in the face, not showing any sign of wrinkles or scarring. His blue eyes shone with energy as he looked at the fox, a genuine welcoming smile on his fully black muzzle.
"Ah, so you must be Alexander. I was hoping you would arrive soon. The Archmage can't have any visitors past the eighteenth rotation," he spoke in a strong, yet slightly raspy voice.
Alex didn't reply. Instead he just stared at the wolf for a good minute or two as he admired his handsome face. Even with the robe on, Alex knew that the wolf had a muscular frame underneath. The pyromancer's eyes slowly drifted down along the wolf's front, down to his feet and then all the way back up. "Wow..." He said quietly.
"Are you okay?" the wolf asked.
Alex shook his head swiftly as he snapped out of his trance. "I'm fine, sorry. Who are you?"
"I'm Trevor Onison, third year student of Garyn the Brown. And you are Alexander Solzhen, first year student of Tyto the Red. I'm here to take you to the Archmage and then show you around the Grounds."
"Three years? In this place? That's some dedication." Alex replied with a chuckle.
"Oh no, it's very normal. Most students are here for five years or longer. There is a lot to learn before reaching Magister status."
"Five years?!" Alex groaned. "I can't be here for five years! I'll go insane!"
Trevor smiled wide. "Don't worry, little man. There's a lot to do here."
Alex crossed his arms. "Little man? You're what, three inches taller?"
The wolf smirked slyly. "Still makes you littler than me. Follow." He turned and started to walk down the cobblestone path.
Alex growled a little, throwing his left arm up and towards the wolf, a small fireball leaving his hand.
Trevor didn't even turn around. The earth itself rose behind him briefly to completely block the fireball before going back down and reforming into the cobblestone, leaving it looking as if nothing happened. "That's not following," he said with a light tone as he kept walking.
Alex's mouth was slightly agate as his arms limped down to his sides. He huffed before trailing behind the wolf. "Showoff..."
So it begins. And before you comment, yes I know Alex is kind've a brat... But I mean cmon, weren't we all when we were 15? I promise he'll develop.
Thank you for reading. Please leave your comments below :3