88th Zi'da, 718
The Wilds
The Wilds
“You mean you got magical super-mail?! Does it communicate its message telepathically?! Fly through the sky in the form of a bird? Breathe fire?!”
“... No Tio, it's-... It's just a letter. Not everything we do has to involve magic.”
Tio had been a member of the Seekers for a while now; long enough to no longer feel like a new addition to the society. No longer did it all seem so new and daunting to him. He'd grown used to counting himself as a member of their ranks, and while the missions he was asked to perform on their behalf were still exciting the rest of his usual business felt far more natural.
And evidently the rest of the Seekers felt the same way, because when Tio arrived to his training session with Oz that morning his master was bearing a sealed envelope with Tio's name on it. It was a message directly from Seeker headquarters, and judging by the red wax used to seal it an important one at that. Contrary to what Tio was hoping for however the letter was not some magically encrypted super letter, but in fact just ordinary paper and ink.
Tio frowned at the letter as if it'd just insulted his mother. “You'd think that with all the alchemists in our ranks we could at least make our letters a bit more secret-society-ish. Even I've been able to make some cool invisible ink before.”
Oz raised a weary eyebrow at him. “And let me guess: it exploded?”
“...”
“...”
“Just give me the damn letter.”
With a smirk Ozbourne handed the envelope over to his pouting apprentice, and Tio cracked open the seal to read it. His one good eye widened in surprise as he read its contents.
Dear Acolyte Silver,
We are writing to request your assistance with a matter of great importance to our organization.
As you are no doubt aware the exploration and study of fractures is one of the Seekers primary duties. Since the fall of Arcanis we have been forced to focus our efforts on survival and have lacked the numbers to make any concentrated efforts into fracture research, however in recent arcs have slowly started to regain the strength we lost that day. It is time for the Seekers to begin recreating the experiments we once performed, to once more discover the knowledge our founders learnt.
On the border of the Eternal Empire lies the city of Yaralon; home to some of the greatest mercenary companies on Idalos. It is a tough land to live in, and the people there tougher still to live with, however it is also home to one of the most astounding phenomenons. For some reason the land, sea and sky is littered with fractures, so many in fact that they mottle the sky and warp the fauna and flora into all manner of unique beast. It is the perfect place to conduct experiments into the fractures and the new forms of tempered life they create. Yet it is also an unforgiving land, and those who cannot adapt to the vicious lifestyle quickly perish.
When your master Ozbourne first requested permission to take you as an apprentice there were many in our ranks who believed that your more eccentric characteristics made you a poor choice in a recruit. Since then however you have survived a fracture exploration, battled two coven mages and quickly developed your strength in a variety of magical paths. You possess a variety of skills and have experience in leading outlaws, and as such we believe that you are uniquely suited to carry out a task that will allow our order to once again make great strides into our research of fractures.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to travel to Yaralon and found a new branch of Seekers to research the fractures there and the effect they have on the native wildlife. You will need to find a safe, secret haven, and acquire the resources to set up a working laboratory there, but sadly will not be able to receive much assistance from us due to the dangers of traveling to Yaralon. It will undoubtedly be long, difficult and dangerous, but should you accept this task you will be granted the rank of Sorcerer, and full command of your newly established chapter once it is complete.
We hope that you will accept this request.
Regards,
Seeker HQ
Oz peered over Tio's shoulder to read the letter, and looked at him curiously as he finished. "That's quite an offer... and quite a responsibility. It is true that a new branch in Yaralon would be a great asset to the Seekers, and as the leader you would gain a tremendous amount of power. But I've heard of Yaralon, and it is in no way an easy city to live in. What are you going to do?"
Tio thought about it for a moment, scrunching his face up in a frown as a train of different thoughts crossed his mind. He'd have to leave Scalvoris, along with all the connections he'd made and the influence he'd obtained. He'd only been here for under two arcs, but in that time he'd really come to like the place. Scalvoris appealed to his free nature, and the pirate lifestyle here had suited him to a T. But on the other hand the opportunity to advance within the Seeker's ranks was not so easily passed up, and the chance to explore a whole new country filled with fractures and strange beast sounded incredible too. So should he stay, or should he go?
"I'll... accept." He decided at last, folding up the letter and tucking it into his inner jacket pocket. "I love this place, I really do... but I have an ambition to achieve. I believe in the Seekers cause, and I want to walk farther down the path of magic. This opportunity will help me to do both."
Oz huffed a small sigh. "Then it seems your training under me has come to an end. I'm too old for travel, and have my own duties to attend to running things around here. Yaralon is a dangerous place Tio; you'll need to keep training yourself if you want to survive out there, and discard your desires to keep your powers hidden. The Yaralese people love their weapons, and those who don't keep theirs at their sides paint a target on their backs."
"I'll keep that in mind master." Tio replied, offering him a bittersweet smile and a hand to shake. "Thank you for everything Oz. I couldn't have asked for a better master. I promise I'll come back to see you some day."
"Aye, you'd better... Sorcerer Silver."
