Chapter 10 #2
Maxi could not help but be curious. The Mage Tower was located on Nornui, a sequestered island that outsiders were rarely allowed to visit.
Though Nornui’s port was frequented by merchants from the Southern and Western Continents, only authorized mages were allowed inside the Tower.
For generations, countless bards from all across the continent had sung of the enigmatic island.
Maxi had heard a few of them and developed her own fantasies about the place.
“D-Do all m-mages study in the M-Mage Tower?”
Ruth shook his head. “Are you not currently studying magic in Anatol, my lady? Learning elemental magic does require study in the Mage Tower, but basic magic isn’t as strict. In fact, most itinerant mages who work with mercenaries are unaffiliated with the Tower.”
“E-Elemental magic?” Maxi tilted her head.
Ruth ran his hand through his hair, evidently surprised that he had not explained the concept yet.
“As you learned in Introduction to Magic, mana is made up of six different elements: wind, water, earth, fire, light, and darkness. Mana is the perfect balance of these elements. While basic magic involves the accumulation of all six elements in equal proportions, elemental magic requires the extraction and accumulation of a single element inside the body in order to harness the pure energy of that element.”
“I-Isn’t it better to u-use all the elements than j-just one?”
“Not always. The more unstable the energy source, the more powerful a spell becomes. Hence, magic concentrated in one element is ten times more powerful than typical magic. As I mentioned, magic requires us to disrupt nature’s balance through meticulous calculation.
Let’s imagine that we have six bricks. If you placed these bricks in neat rows on the floor, it would be difficult to scatter them because they’re in a stable state—but if you placed them in a pile, you could easily topple them over. ”
Maxi nodded, recalling his explanation of mana and magic; magic went against the rules of nature, while mana adhered to the natural order. She began to understand, if only dimly, how the accumulation of pure elemental mana amplified the power of magic.
Pleased with her progress, Ruth smiled and rolled up his sleeve to expose his wrist. A small magic rune was inked in red on his pale skin.
“To learn elemental magic, a rune like this must be inscribed on your body at the Mage Tower. Through this rune, I can accumulate pure wind mana.”
“W-Wouldn’t it be e-easier f-for me to learn m-magic if I had something s-similar o-on my body?” Maxi asked with breathless expectation.
“These runes can only be inscribed by the high mages of the Mage Tower,” Ruth explained. “To receive one requires four years of training in the Tower. During that time, you’re prohibited from leaving Nornui.”
Maxi’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, and Ruth clicked his tongue.
“You’ve only just started learning the foundations of magic,” he said. “How can you be thinking about elemental magic already? I suggest you focus on learning basic spells first.”
“I-I was j-just asking,” Maxi muttered sheepishly, hiding her face behind a book.
Grinning, Ruth leafed through his own book, then stood to light some candles.
Though the day was still young, thick clouds darkened the sky, casting shadows in the library.
Using tongs, Ruth plucked an ember from the brazier and held it to the wicks of the candles and oil lamps.
Maxi returned to her reading, rubbing her tired eyes now and then.
When it was time for supper, Maxi gathered up her books and rolls of parchment.
“Will you be eating in the dining hall?” Ruth asked as she stood.
Maxi shook her head. Facing the knights after her drunken spectacle last night was out of the question.
“I-I plan to d-dine in my room so I can c-continue my s-studies.”
Ruth saw through her excuse. “Haven’t you ever seen a belligerent drunk? Behaving a little foolishly is nothing to be ashamed of. Why don’t you use this opportunity to get to know the knights better? I think they found you rather amusing.”
“I do not wish t-to be a-amusing.”
Contrary to her words, Maxi was a little comforted. Did the knights really look on her favorably? As she turned Ruth’s words over in her mind, the library door swung open and Riftan, still armed, strode into the library.
“Why are you still here at this hour?” Riftan asked brusquely.
Maxi flinched, wondering whether he was still angry with her, and studied his face.
“I would think what one does in a library is obvious,” Ruth answered flatly.
Riftan glowered at him. He scanned the contents of the desk—empty plates and trays from lunch lay next to chaotic piles of books and papers—and a deep crease appeared on his forehead.
“The maidservants told me that you’ve been here since noon,” Riftan said, looking dumbfounded. “Have you been reading all this time?”
“Some people enjoy reading, Sir Riftan,” Ruth said. “The same way you like to spend your days swinging your sword.”
A hint of displeasure flashed across Riftan’s face, and Maxi hastily gathered up her belongings.
“I-I was just a-about t-to leave…”
Riftan took the books from her. “Come. I’ve asked the servants to bring our meal to our bedchamber.”
“And not to the dining hall?” Ruth asked.
Riftan glanced over his shoulder at Ruth. “All the knights are lazing about in their quarters. They were grumbling about how exhausted they were, so I’ve instructed the servants to bring them their meals there.”
Ruth shuddered. “Those men have an endless reserve of stamina. What have you done to them? All they did was offer her ladyship some wine.”
Maxi looked up at Riftan in surprise, wondering if he had truly punished the knights for her drunkenness. Suspecting the answer, she hung her head in shame.
Riftan snorted. “I just happened to notice how undisciplined they’d become when I saw them staggering about intoxicated. An intensive training session was in order.”
“Of course you did,” Ruth said, sighing loudly.
Pretending not to hear, Riftan grabbed Maxi’s hand and pulled her toward the door. Maxi quickly said her farewell to Ruth and followed Riftan into the cold corridor, practically running to keep up with him.
“A-Are you…”
Riftan came to an abrupt halt and turned to face her.
“A-Are you still a-angry?” she asked.
He did not answer.
“I-I assure you, I w-w-won’t ever drink th-th—s-so much again. I-I didn’t know I’d g-get so d-drunk.”
“I’m not angry anymore,” Riftan said and strode forward again.
Maxi followed in silence, all the while stealing glances at his face. His lips were pressed together firmly, belying his words.
“Is Ruth always there with you in the library?” Riftan asked abruptly when they reached the stairs.
“P-Pardon?” Maxi eyed him, confused, before nodding slowly. “R-Ruth s-seems to spend m-most of his time i-in the library, s-so he’s almost always there w-when I am.”
Maxi decided to hide the fact that the mage had taken up residence in the library, feeling she owed him at least that much.
Riftan frowned. “Don’t you find the man exasperating? He’s wily as a fox and always roping people into doing things for him or using them for strange experiments.”
“W-Well, yes…But I-I’m the one wh-who’s a-always bothering him. H-He has a caustic personality, but he’s t-taught me so much. And h-he helped me w-when I first a-arrived at the c-castle.”
Riftan’s demeanor shifted, becoming unsettlingly subdued.
The strange tension made Maxi anxious, but she was not sure what had upset him.
Did Riftan dislike Ruth? She had seen the two of them bicker over the most trivial affairs, but she thought that they shared a sort of bond—that they trusted each other.
Not knowing what to do, she shifted her eyes nervously.
“Do you like intelligent men?” Riftan asked as they neared the door to their room.
Maxi blinked, astonished to realize that jealousy was the reason for Riftan’s discontent. She had never thought of Ruth in a romantic manner, so it never occurred to her that Riftan might find the arrangement displeasing.
“N-No, I don’t!” Maxi said, panicked by the thought that Riftan might doubt her fidelity.
“I r-respect Ruth, b-b-but I’ve n-never thought of him that way.
H-He’s overly critical and n-nags me every chance he g-g-gets.
His e-extensive knowledge has b-b—has p-proved useful, a-and I am grateful f-for his help, but…
He’s a-always got an o-opinion about everything!
S-So I w-w—I could n-never…I-It is you I—”
Maxi clamped her mouth shut and swallowed her next words. Riftan stared at her vacantly, and she opened and closed her mouth uselessly before hanging her head. Her ears and face burned red. When the long silence became unbearable, she hesitantly spoke again.
“I-If you’re c-curious about the kind of man I l-like…I like m-m-men who are d-dependable, ch-chivalrous, a-and g-g-good with h-horses.”
“Are you…”
Riftan’s words trailed off into a dull thud, and Maxi looked up in surprise. He had slammed his head against the door and now stood with his forehead pressed against the polished wood.
He sighed. “Haven’t you tempted me enough?”
“T-Tempted you?”
Riftan regarded her with narrowed eyes, then grabbed Maxi’s hand and opened the door to their bedchamber, pulling her into the room. When the door closed behind them, he scooped her up and pressed her against the wall.
Maxi gasped in surprise and Riftan captured her mouth with his, pushing his tongue inside.
Maxi gripped his thick arms to steady herself.
The sensation of his soft tongue against her own, teasing her, sent pleasant tremors through her.
He tasted of something untamed and exhilarating that Maxi could not name.
As he thrust his tongue in deeper, searching and hungry, she clung to him and nearly forgot to breathe.