A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1) by D'Artagnan Rey (best romance ebooks txt) 📗

“By the hells, what is all this?” the commander demanded.

Zier shook his head as he clasped the boy's hands. “I honestly have no idea. Devol! That’s enough. You need to stop.”

Devol opened his eyes and his eyes narrowed on the crystal as the light began to swirl rapidly inside. The flames formed a halo that began to rotate. He backed away hastily, along with the rest of the group. Even though he had cut the flow of Mana off, the Mana cell did not stop.

“Uh…are we in danger?” Jazai asked.

“Shield!” Zier called and an illuminated shield of green Mana formed in front of him.

Jazai frowned and reached a hand out to drag the other boy closer. “An unusual way to provide a hint, friend. Shield!” he snapped to create a barrier, this one of blue Mana.

Wulfsun remained in place with his arms folded as they continued to stare at the crystal. It began to glow even brighter and everyone wondered if it would erupt or collapse but awaited whatever would happen with bated breath.

It turned out they had been too anxious. After one final burst of light, the Mana cell inverted itself quickly and faded, surprising all of them. Jazai and Zier took a moment to observe it and make sure it would not have one last surprise in store before they dropped their barriers. The scholar stood, walked cautiously to the crystal, and prodded it a couple of times before he picked it up and examined it.

“So, does that tell ya anything there, head scholar?” the commander asked and looked from the dryad to Devol.

His fellow Templar nodded, silent for a moment before an amused laugh caught Wulfsun and Jazai off guard.

“What is it Zier?” the apprentice asked.

He gestured dismissively. “My apologies, but it’s been so long…” he muttered and turned to address the others with a smile. “I do indeed know what class he is now,” he revealed and smiled broadly as his gaze settled on the young Magi. “It has been quite a while since we’ve had a perplexion amongst us.”

Chapter Thirteen

Though Zier stated his words with the air of someone who expected a rather shocked reaction from those present, he instead drew an amused look from Wulfsun and Jazai and a bewildered one from Devol.

“A perplexion?” the boy asked, drew his sword, and rested the blade on his shoulder. For some reason, having it there brought him confidence. “What is that? Are you saying I’m weird?”

“No, no, not weird. Special would be more appropriate,” the dryad responded with a smile the young Magi assumed was supposed to be calming. Given his rather terse personality until now, however, it seemed more creepy than comforting.

“Well, if that’s all done and settled,” the commander began, stepped closer, and clapped the boy on the shoulder. “We can continue with the test—”

“Now, now, Wulfsun. No need for that, is there?” the scholar interjected. “There is so much more the boy needs to learn, and he came here for training if you recall.”

The giant regarded his comrade warily. “Aye, but the whole point of learning his class was to determine where we should start his training.”

“True, but that’s precious time we are burning,” Zier pointed out and placed a hand on his chest. “I propose that we begin his training immediately and I will, of course, lend a hand to—”

“Oh no, you don’t,” the commander snapped, stepped away from Devol, and jabbed a massive finger into the dryad’s chest. “I see your plan now. You found something new to play with, and you want to hurry this along for your sake.”

The other Templar frowned, grasped the finger, and jerked it aside. “This is far from ‘play,’ Wulfsun, and I don’t see how this is not beneficial to the boy. I might have my own interests, true, but that does not mean—”

“The boy is here for training, not to be your study specimen!” the giant countered and folded his arms obdurately. “He’s only learnin’ this stuff, and if he’s going to train, he needs to do it right.”

Zier’s scowl deepened and matched the furrowed, angry expression of the Templar commander. “Honestly, how often do we have a majestic in the perplexion class? We are not even quite sure what it does, so what use is there in conventional training right now?”

The two continued to argue and Jazai stood beside the bemused young Magi. Both boys watched the argument escalate. “So…uh, what’s happening, exactly?” Devol asked in a low tone that their superiors were unlikely to hear.

“Something you will probably get used to around here,” his companion admitted and gestured with his head at the bickering Templars. “I’m not saying Zier and Wulfsun hate each other or anything, but they are different enough that if they spend too much time around one another, they eventually butt heads over something.”

“I see…” he replied although it wasn’t entirely true. The opponents wagged fingers at each other and Wulfsun now looked a tad red in the face. “So can you tell me what a perplexion is?”

Jazai nodded. “It means you are special, but not in a condescending way. Although when Zier says it like that, I understand how one might be confused.” He chuckled and unlatched the book from his belt. “We were trying to discover your majestic’s power and perplexion is a rare class of Magic. The fact that the test reacted in such an odd way means you don’t fit into any of the normal classes, which makes it unique.”

“Oh, that seems logical.” Devol nodded and held his sword up for a moment to look at it. He released a trickle of Mana and the light began to float around it. “Is that a good thing?”

“Usually, but I could not tell you outright,” the other boy admitted. “You see, there are six classes as we know them—conjuration, evocation, transmutation, divination, manipulation, and constitution.” The apprentice opened his book and pursed his lips as he glanced at it. “I can give