Chương 40: Chapter 39: The Imperial Bloodline (15)

Three days later, around sunrise, the airship that would take them to Othmir was already moored beside the palace tower. Teren could see it from the guest wing window. Its long envelope hung above a narrow hull with plated sides and rows of shuttered windows, while thick mooring lines stretched from the vessel to the stone arms of the tower. Faint light showed along a few rune bands beneath the hull. A servant had arrived earlier to pack Teren's belongings into a small travel trunk.

There still wasn't much to pack: two sets of plain but well-made clothes, his new boots, a travel cloak, and a few folded linen cloths, along with a sword and belt knife. The sealed letter case bearing Duke Ordaan's seal went in separately beneath his cloak. Everything he owned in this world fit easily into one trunk. Once the servant left, Teren checked the papers in the letter case again.

Edras had made him learn the important parts of his official history well enough that he would not have to stop and think before answering questions. His name remained Teren Marr. According to the papers, unusual magical aptitude had been discovered during a regular civilian review, after which he had been taken under Duke Ordaan's protection and examined by Master Edras.

It said the mage had recommended that the Imperial Mana Academy assess him, and the duke had agreed to cover his first term, with further sponsorship depending on his progress. It explained why he was going to Othmir without making Duke Ordaan's interest in him look greater than necessary. Nothing in the papers mentioned why Edras and the duke were actually interested in him. A knock came while Teren was fastening the case beneath his cloak.

Edras entered and closed the door behind him, with two palace guards waiting outside in the corridor. A narrow sealed envelope was tucked beneath one arm.

"You'll board within the hour," he said. Teren glanced toward the airship outside.

"Is there any chance you could come with us?"

"No. There is still too much I need to do here, especially while we know so little about who placed that trap. Duke Ordaan also needs every senior mage he can trust in Karthane, especially with rumors of a war in the future. So until I know who set the trap, leaving the palace would be wrong." Teren would have preferred having a twelfth-circle mage somewhere on the ship, but he had known Edras was unlikely to abandon Karthane simply to escort him across the continent. Edras held out the sealed envelope.

"The papers you already have will handle the ordinary admission formalities. This is for the headmaster from me. Give it to him unopened." Teren took it and slipped it into the letter case.

"You remember what to do during the assay test?"

"Use ordinary mana and don't reach for the bloodline."

"Good." Edras reached into his coat and produced a narrow ring of dull silver. Tiny marks had been cut along its inner surface.

"If you need to write to me, press this firmly against the paper before you seal the letter. It will leave a mark that my wards can recognize when the message reaches Karthane." Teren turned the ring between his fingers before putting it safely into an inner pocket.

"Thank you."

"As for your practice, you can continue working with ordinary fire as long as you don't exhaust your mana. Stop for the day when your control begins getting worse." Edras paused.

"Leave the purple fire alone until you have much more experience with ordinary magic. When you eventually try it again, make absolutely certain nobody is close enough to see or sense it."

"I will." A servant appeared at the door a short while later to tell them the porters were ready. Teren followed Edras through the palace, with the two guards behind them and a servant carrying his trunk. Dawn had begun to brighten the courtyards by the time they reached the airship tower. The stairs wound upward through the stone shaft. Narrow windows appeared every few turns, giving Teren a broader view of Karthane as they climbed.

By the time they neared the top, he could see rooftops stretching from the palace hill all the way to the distant outer walls. The outer walls stood beyond the city, with red, barren country stretching away on the other side. Wind caught Teren's cloak the moment he stepped onto the mooring platform. Up close, the airship was much larger than it had looked from his window. Metal plating covered much of the hull beneath the envelope, and crossbow mounts protruded from openings near the front and rear.

Crewmen were checking the faintly glowing rune bands along the lower frame with crystal-tipped rods while others carried supplies through the open side hatch. A wide gangplank ran from the platform to the ship's passenger hatch. Marshal Yaros was already there. He stood near the side of the platform with several crewmen and guards, checking the mooring arrangements while one of the crew pointed toward the lines securing the airship.

Yaros glanced up when Edras and Teren arrived, gave them a brief acknowledgment, then returned to the discussion. Teren wasn't the only Academy student leaving Karthane that morning. Three others were already gathered near the boarding area, all roughly his age. Each had brought a small trunk much like his. One of them also had a small wooden cage containing a brightly colored bird with a hooked beak that reminded Teren of a parrot.

Master Edras stopped before the boarding area rather than following Teren toward the hatch.

"Write to me when you reach Othmir. The Academy has its own way of sending messages back to Karthane quickly, and you'll be able to use it as a student."

"I will."

"Remember what we practiced and the safety measures we talked about." Teren nodded.

"Of course." Edras looked at him for a moment, then smiled.

"Have a safe journey, Teren. I can't wait to see how high you can reach as a mage." Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! Teren returned the smile and gave a bow. The old mage had easily been the most helpful person to him in this world. So just saying thank you simply did not seem enough.

"Thank you, Master Edras. I will do my best." Then the mage turned and headed toward Yaros while the servant handed Teren's trunk over to one of the crewmen. The two palace guards who had accompanied them remained on the tower platform. Boarding had not started yet. The crew were still carrying trunks and supplies through the hatch, and a few of the other students waited nearby while their luggage was checked and taken aboard.

Teren walked to another student nearby, while still glancing at the bird it shifted along its perch in the cage.

"Is that his pet?" The student beside him gave him a surprised look.

"What? No! Don't let him hear you call it that. That's his summon."

"A summon? What's that?" The student stared at him.

"You seem new here..." Teren shrugged.

"You could say that." That seemed to explain enough. The student nodded toward the cage.

"Well, a summon isn't just any random animal taken as a pet. Some animals and monsters which live in areas with high concentration of mana, like in the deep parts of a dungeon, sometimes absorb enough mana to become smart enough to form a bond with a mage. Once they're bonded, the mage can call them when they need them." Teren frowned.

"Can that thing even fight though? The boy shook his head.

"Not every summon is for fighting although that is still the major reason to get a summon. Still, most mages never manage to get a summon at all. Lord Cassian and Lady Elaryn both have a summon, but then they are also very talented mages." He looked longingly at the bird.

"I wish I would get a summon too..." Teren looked back at the bird. It still looked like a pet to him, but he decided not to say that aloud again. Elaryn stood near the railing with her maid beside her, looking out over Karthane. Her red hair had been braided for the journey, and she wore a dark cloak over her traveling clothes. The maid he had seen with her in the palace was standing next to her. All four of the red-haired elf's retainers were on the platform with the rest of her luggage.

Teren guessed they would be traveling with her to Othmir and probably staying at the Academy to protect her; she was a duke's daughter, after all. Two of them were speaking with the airship crew, while the others stood near a group of Duke Ordaan's guards. Elaryn's retainers wore a different livery from the duke's guards, making the two groups easy to tell apart. Cassian had not arrived yet, though Teren doubted it would be long before he had to deal with him again.

From this height, Teren could see almost the entire city spread below them. The palace buildings covered the hill beneath the tower, then there was the noble district, with streets and rooftops stretching outward until they reached the distant city walls. Beyond them, the red, barren land continued toward the horizon. Elaryn glanced back as Teren approached and smiled. Before he reached her, footsteps sounded from the tower stairs.

Cassian came onto the platform with a young man and woman Teren had seen accompanying him around the palace. Both wore the same badge pinned to their coats as Cassian, which likely meant they were Academy students as well. The young man was tall and heavily muscular and carried a long weapon case over one shoulder. Cassian noticed Teren almost immediately and walked toward him.

"Teren Marr." Teren tilted his head.

"Cassian." Cassian glanced briefly toward Elaryn before returning his attention to Teren.

"So my father really is sending you to Othmir with us."

"Yes." Cassian regarded him for another moment.

"Whatever arrangements my father has made for you are his concern. But you'll be arriving there from Karthane on one of his own airships. If you embarrass his name at the Academy, I will hear about it." Teren could hardly argue with that.

"I'll keep that in mind." After a while, a crewman in a dark coat with silver trim stepped away from the hatch. From the way the others moved around him, Teren guessed he was the captain.

"Everyone, we're ready to board," the man said. He looked toward Cassian.

"Lord Cassian, your luggage is aboard as well." Cassian gave Teren one last glance before turning toward the gangplank. The young man and woman followed him onto the ship. Elaryn went next with her maid. Teren waited until they were through the hatch, then followed with the other students. Once they were aboard, the guards and retainers began filing in behind them, along with several soldiers assigned to the airship itself.

The inside of the airship smelled of oiled wood, metal, leather, and something warm that reminded Teren faintly of the training crystals Edras had used. The passage was narrow, with ribbed supports along the walls and metal strips fixed across the floor. One of the crewmen waited until the students had gathered inside.

"The forward section is for the crew's quarters and navigation," he said, pointing along the passage.

"Passengers are not permitted beyond the marked door unless one of us takes you through." He turned the other way.

"The passenger quarters are through the middle of the ship. Lord Cassian and Lady Elaryn have the two private cabins. The rest of you have been assigned bunks in the men's and women's rooms. The guards and retainers have separate quarters. Your luggage has already been placed with your bunks." Teren had expected something like that. Whatever Duke Ordaan was doing for him, apparently it did not extend to giving him the same accommodations as the duke's son. It was fine by him though.

It made him look ordinary, which was what he needed to stay alive.

"If you brought swords, bows, staffs, or any other large weapons, keep them in the weapon racks beside your bunks during the flight. Small blades are fine to carry. The guards will remain armed, and Lord Cassian and Lady Elaryn may keep their weapons with them or in their cabins." Teren didn't like the idea of having his sword out of reach, especially when he had spent the last few days assuming someone might still be looking for him.

But refusing a routine security rule would only make people wonder why it mattered so much to him. He would still have the knife at his belt.

"The observation room in the rear is open for everyone throughout the journey," the crewman continued.

"You can stay there whenever you aren't in your quarters. The galley is near the forward end of the passenger section. We'll announce when meals are ready. There's no separate dining room, so you can eat in your quarters or in the observation room." He looked toward Cassian.

"Lord Cassian, the pilot asked to speak with you before departure." Cassian followed another crewman toward the front of the ship, with his two companions heading toward the passenger quarters instead. The other students began moving toward their assigned rooms. The student with the caged summon carried it toward the bunk rooms with the rest of his belongings. Teren had no particular need to inspect a bunk that would still be there later, so he continued toward the rear.

The passage opened into a relatively wider room with padded seats fixed along both sides and several larger windows looking outside. A table near the center had been bolted securely to the floor. Teren took a seat beside one of the windows. A few minutes later, Elaryn entered with her maid. She took a seat farther down the room beside one of the other Academy girls, greeting her with enough familiarity that Teren guessed they already knew each other. Her maid settled nearby.

Teren turned his attention back to the window. A bell rang somewhere toward the front of the airship. Crewmen called to one another outside, followed by the sound of boots overhead and a heavy clank from somewhere beneath the floor. Through the window, Teren could still see part of the mooring platform and the top of the tower. Edras had already left, probably returning to whatever work was waiting for him in the palace. Marshal Yaros remained below with several soldiers and crewmen.

A low hum started somewhere toward the front of the airship and quickly grew louder. Teren had not seen anything resembling a modern engine from Earth since arriving here, so whatever powered the vessel had to work through magic. Or was it called... manatech, since it used magic as technology for flying the airship? As he contemplated it, the floor began to shake beneath his boots. Another call came from outside, and the mooring lines were released one after another. Then the airship started to move upwards.