Realm of the Runes: Blood Right

Chapter XXXVII

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Ben ascended the steps leading up to Master Arcus's office in the tower, measuring his breathing as he reached the landing. Jack had let him in, and he'd brushed off the apprentice's perfunctory greetings with impatience, explaining his tardiness. He'd been pointed in one direction and told it was a short cut.

If only I'd known the shortcut was a hundred flights of stairs, he thought wryly, swiping a drop of sweat from his forehead. He took a deep breath before rapping his knuckles on the door.

The wizard's voice filtered through, the solid oak door opening on silent hinges as he was given entrance. He walked in, shrugging the cloak from his shoulders as he approached the Master's desk, boots silent on the rugs underfoot.

"Ahh, the terramancer, I see."

Master Arcus tipped back his chair and appraised Ben for what seemed like an uncomfortably long time. The Norwegian stood his ground, meeting the wizard's piercing gaze calmly as he withstood the silent judgement.

"Hmm." 

The older man stood, his fur cape swirling a little as he turned and beckoned Ben to the darkest corner of the office. Stacks of books hemmed in a small platform, a granite slab etched with patterns that reminded Ben of the portals.

"The training you need can't be had here," the wizard stated ambiguously. "Come with me."

He gripped Ben's arm with a surprisingly strong hand, stepped onto the platform, and after a moment everything faded to black.

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The ground was flat as far as the eye could see, nothing but an expanse of dirt that stretched brown and arid into the horizon. Ben did a double take, the speed at which they'd traveled leaving his head spinning.

"Here we are." 

The wizard sounded pleased, approaching from his left. 

"What do you feel?"

The heat in the air sent sweat to bead on his upper lip.

"Dizzy, mostly. Instantly thirsty."

The wizard tapped his foot impatiently, the tall boy's answer clearly not the one he was looking for.

"No. I mean, what do you feel?"

Ben scowled briefly, eyeing the older man with some impatience.

What in the seven hells does he expect me to feel? Some kind of magical revelation or some shit?

He blew out an irritated breath and forced himself to calm down, glancing around to see if anything had changed. Still an endless vision of brown dirt, as boring as boring could be.

I wonder if I can summon the aether here, he thought after what seemed like hours, the silence beginning to bore him even more than the endless wastes. Master Arcus was just standing there, his arms crossed, silent and unhelpful.

So far, hands down the worst lesson ever, he decided, taking a deep breath and forcing energy into his palms. The familiar blue hovered into view, forming solid balls that he could roll around his palms. He glanced up, seeing if the wizard showed any reaction.

Nothing. Okay. Just excellent, he thought sarcastically. 

He stared at the orbs in his hands, tossing them into the air and catching them with a satisfying rhythmic thud thud, the sound muffled by the uneven surface around them.

He was about to give up on anything exciting happening, his frustration with the stolid wizard growing as time ticked past. But something was beginning to niggle him, a persistent awareness growing as he juggled the aether orbs. He focussed on the unfamiliar feeling, trying to identify where it was coming from.