10. Ten
Over the next week of classes, Professor Riggs grows on me. He”s energetic and passionate about the ancient legends and historical records of not only Tronovia, but Dalerin as a whole. Any question I have, he”s quick to have an answer for and for the first time since I was kidnapped, I feel like I”m on the right track. The hope to find out who I actually am is within my grasp, but he has also been extremely open and honest with me about his own journey in the magical world.
Though he”s been wheelchair bound most of his life, he still fought to attend the school of magic when he discovered he possessed rare and powerful blue fire, meaning he can conjure lightning to bend to his will. He dreamed of being on the front lines of battle should his affinity be needed, but because of his condition, he was denied that path. Instead, he was steered in the direction of academia. Fortunately, he fell in love with the history and legends of Dalerin and magic lore in general, but when I asked if given the chance to defend his people if they needed him, would he? He readily and heartedly admitted he would answer his nation”s call if asked.
I feel like I understand Riggs so much better now and I eagerly fire questions at him about history, legends, lore, the conflict between the Midorians and Tronovians, and the power of the Celestials, and he answers quickly and knowledgably. There”s no judgment, like there was in Master Kaius” classroom, for not knowing something. I can ask the most outlandish question here and not feel a hardened stare meet me. And each class that passes, I swear Nyx starts paying more attention, even throwing a few questions into the mix. It”s a shame Riggs wasn”t Nyx”s professor when he was in school. Maybe Nyx would appreciate all of this a little bit more if he had a professor looking out for him.
As we near the end of another exciting and informative class, when Riggs asks if I have any other questions, I don”t know what possesses me to ask, but I let the words spill out before I change my mind.
”Professor, has there ever been a case of two magic wielders amplifying each other”s powers?”
He stares at me, peels his reading glasses off, and sets them on his desk. ”That is very rare indeed. It”s only happened once before in our recorded history. Why do you ask?”
Part of me feels like a fool for admitting how I react toward Atlas but if I want to get some answers, Riggs is the only one to ask. ”My magic seems to be amplified when I think about or I”m around another wielder.”
Excitement overtakes Riggs, who rolls out from behind his desk and speeds to his shelves, searching through his tomes quietly until he”s located whatever he”s searching for. He points to the top shelf and instructs his assistant to grab the navy-spined book for him. Dane sets the book on the table and Riggs flips through the pages quickly.
He hasn”t said a word, and an uneasy feeling squeezes my heart. ”Is everything alright, Professor?”
Not bothering to look up at me, he continues scanning the book for the morsel of information I sparked a search for. ”It”s extraordinary! Never in my lifetime did I imagine I would come close to witnessing a Tethering.”
”A Tethering? What are you talking ab- ”
Riggs slams his hand on the table in glee before flipping it around so I can see a full-page drawing. There”s a man with blonde hair and fair skin haloed in light magic. He”s not alone though. Backed against him, fighting demons alongside him, is a woman with long black hair and brown eyes who is shrouded in darkness.
”Oryn and Naya,” he declares, as if I should know who the duo is. ”Oryn was a Celestial with powerful light magic. Naya was a mortal with rare shadow magic. Together, they were an unstoppable duo and shaped the known world as we know it.”
Though my stomach flips, I shrug my shoulders. ”I”m afraid I don”t follow.”
With an immense amount of patience, Riggs smiles and says, ”They were Tethered. One”s magic could not survive without the other. They brought balance to one another and subsequently, brought balance to our world. You cannot have light without darkness and vice versa. Their magic was ten times greater when they were together than when they were apart because their affinities were connected.”
”I”m sorry, Professor, I still don”t understand what being tethered means.”
”Tethering means two souls are bonded because of their powers. Oryn and Naya were lovers. Fated mates, if you believe in such a thing. In an ordinary life, they might never have found one another, but their magic called to one another, and together they did wondrous things.”
My mouth is suddenly dry. ”And this hasn”t happened since?”
He shakes his head. ”Like I said before, it”s only happened once in recorded history. And it”s not lost on me that you have Celestial magic and are being trained by the first Shadow Wielder in a thousand years.”
I feel all color drain from my cheeks. ”Are you trying to say that Atlas and I are…?”
Nyx chuckles when Riggs blushes and stutters, ”Oh, f- f- forgive me, Princess, I didn”t mean to offend you. I tend to get overly excited with history and other scholarly matters and forget -”
”No need to apologize,” I interrupt him. ”I just need to understand what you”re implying.”
Riggs takes a deep breath, clearly mulling over his next words carefully. ”Oryn and Naya were powerful individually, but their love strengthened their magic unlike anything the world had ever seen before.”
”What happened to them?” I glance down at the scene before me and run my fingertips across the page. I failed to notice upon first inspection that Oryn had white feathered wings and Naya had black feathered wings.
When Riggs doesn”t answer, I flick my eyes up to meet his and my heart skips a beat. He slowly turns the page and instead of the duo fighting demons, Oryn lies dead in Naya”s arms. ”Oryn was a Celestial, therefore immortal. When he met Naya, he petitioned the Father of Light to strip him of his immortality and grant him one mortal life. He didn”t want to live in a world where Naya was no longer a part of it. So, his request was granted, but that made him vulnerable in battle. As the forces of the mortal realm fought against the army of the underworld, Oryn utilized Lumos and fell in battle protecting Naya from certain death.”
”Lumos?”
”It was his Transcendent state.” Riggs reclines in his chair, as if remembering the tale has taken a toll on him physically. ”From the ancient accounts, it”s said Oryn was so bright, he sent out an enormous blast of light that destroyed the forces of the underworld. The overexertion of his magic in his new mortal form proved too much for him and cost him his life.”
”They were fighting Drogon?”
He shakes his head. ”No. Drogon isn”t the first demon king that has sought total domination of the realms.”
I let all this information settle before asking, ”So, if his Transcendent state was Lumos… what was hers?”
”The same one as Professor Harland, of course. Nox.”
”Nox?” My curiosity grows. Atlas has been so secretive about his Transcendent state, and even though this almost feels like a betrayal of his trust by asking Riggs about it, I shoo that guilt away because at the end of the day, I need answers.
A spark lights in Riggs” eyes and I ignore Nyx squirming beside me. ”The most fascinating thing! He transforms into a monstrous beast and can extend darkness across an entire battlefield where he preys upon your nightmares and makes you believe your greatest fear is upon you. The one and only time Professor Harland used it during his schooling days, three people took their own lives to escape the darkness, to escape the madness. To my knowledge, he”s not used it since. But surely, he told you this already.”
”No, he didn”t.”
By the brokenness in my voice, all the color drains from Riggs” face. ”Oh dear, I fear I have overstepped. I”m so sorry, Princess. I shouldn”t have told you this. I do not wish you to see Professor Harland in a different light.”
”What happened to Naya?” I quickly change the subject from Atlas and his beast form back to the first shadow wielder. ”After Oryn died in battle. What happened to Naya?”
When the bell chimes, signaling the end of today”s lesson, Riggs closes the tome and says, ”Perhaps, we should leave that for another class.”
I jump up from my seat and lunge toward his desk, slamming my hand on top of the book, denying him the ability to shelf it. ”I would like to know now.”
I make a conscience effort in day-to-day life not to pull my rank, but I won”t have information kept from me any longer because it makes someone else uncomfortable. By the tone in my voice, Riggs gathers answering isn”t optional.
”Naya helped establish Magikos Grammata before she…”
”Before she what?” I press.
”The pain of losing her other half was too great a burden to bear and she…” Riggs clears his throat, mustering the courage to finish the story I”ve already pieced together. ”She swam as far as she could into the bay and when she tired, she allowed herself to drown.”
Though I was mentally prepared for that to be the end of her story, when he finishes, it still steals my breath. Tears burn, begging to be released. A tragic love story. I can”t help but wonder how Naya must have felt. Not just losing the man she loved but losing her other half. If what Professor Riggs shared with me is true, when Oryn died, Naya would have lost the amplification of her affinity, weakening her. Her magic would have called out to find his and found nothing but silence.
Nyx slips his arm over my shoulders, startling me, but grounding me in reality. ”Are you alright, Kitarni?” he says so softly it makes me uneasy.
”One last question, Professor.”
”Of course, Princess.”
”Was it her magic, or the lack of his magic, that led to her death?”
”Some have theorized that their magical bond – their Tethering – had been severed when Oryn died and eventually, whether by her hand or someone else”s, Naya would have followed shortly after.” Riggs holds my watery stare and explains, ”Light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa. When Oryn”s light was snuffed out, Naya”s darkness could no longer survive.”
”So, since Atlas and I are the first light and shadow wielders since Oryn and Naya, if I died – ”
”Oh, Princess, you are safe here – ”
”If I died,” I interrupt Riggs with a firm tone that stiffens Nyx”s arm draped across my shoulders, ”what would happen to Atlas?”
He mulls over the question and for the first time I see defeat in his eyes. ”Honestly, I am not sure.”
”How does one become Tethered to another?”
”You don”t become Tethered. You are Tethered.”
”So, Atlas and I…?”
”I couldn”t be sure unless I observed both of you in action.” Riggs crosses his arms over his chest, processing his thoughts. ”If we look at the history of the rare Light and Shadow affinities, then you two have been tethered your entire lives.”
”But you said Oryn and Naya”s magic called out to each other – ”
”How long did you drink the magical suppressant your parents gave you?” His question throws me for a second, but I say, ”All my life.”
”Right,” he bobs his head, some excitement in his eyes. ”Your magic has been hidden, stifled. Though his magic has been searching for yours, he never stood a chance of finding you, until you stopped drinking the tea.”
”So, the reason my magic reacts differently, stronger, around Atlas is because…”
”Because your magic has found its missing half.” He confirms.
”Do you think Atlas and I are fated mates?”
His blush deepens. ”Oh, Princess, I can only theorize about magic – ”
”Your opinion as a neutral third party, please.”
”If I were a betting man,” he says simply, ”I would say without a doubt, you and Atlas are fated mates.”