Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Emery

I've created a total of thirty-two new Casters in the past two weeks. Six last week, mostly servants and castle workers; and ten this week. Two of those ten were random people off the street, requesting to be made a Caster. At first, Nicholi denied them. But I insisted he let me do this. By insist, I mean I didn't give him any other choice.

I step out onto the field where the thirty-two new Casters are meeting with their personal trainers, one of which is Theo who was more than thrilled to study these new Casters. Along with the new Casters and their trainers, there have also been booths set up near the barn where the horses are kept. Underneath that barn is where Nicholi once held me and my sister prisoner in the dungeons he swears now he doesn't ever use.

"Your arrival was a special occasion," he said. As if he couldn't have just kept us prisoner in one of the million rooms in the castle.

Each of the six booths are made of a long wooden table, a series of laptops and tablets, and papers that have a list of information we have learned so far about the new Casters. On those papers it explains what we believe or define ectoplasm as, what we know an Energy Caster is, and a few side effects some of the New Casters have experienced. Things like headaches, bursts of hyper-energy, and lack of control of powers, obviously.

As I walk onto the field, I hear Mateo giving his little speech to the new people coming to be transformed.

"What we know about these new type of Casters is that they can manipulate energy in a new way. For example, the King and princess can transform the energy they absorb into heat energy, but the new Casters absorb the energy  and can materialize it in a physical form that we can actually see and touch. These new Casters can take this energy and infuse an object, making it kind of like a battery for any type of Caster to use to strengthen their own magic, and they can also project it into a form we have decided to call ectoplasm. With this ectoplasm, these new Casters can create ball of pure ectoplasmic energy, which we've seen destroy thick walls, blast holes in trees, and so on. Some users can use this ectoplasma to cut through things. The strength of the cut or balls is based solely on the user. An addition to ectoplasm infusion: powering things up, ectoplasmic balls and cuts, we have also seen some users able to form ectoplasmic blasts, spikes, bullets, force fields, waves, and pillars.

"There is a list of all the powers we have seen so far. Once you discover the extent of you abilities, report back to the booths you signed in at. We want to know as much as possible about these new powers, so we plan to study them and you for the next few weeks. You will be required to report here every day for at least two hours, but during this time we will also be providing training so that you can understand and control these new abilities. We will be available twenty-four seven, seven days a week. Thank you."

Mateo turns and sees me, and as he approaches, he begins rolling his eyes. "I have a feeling that speech is going to get really old really fast."

I shake my head at him. "I'm sure... Doesn't it feels weird requiring people to come back though? Why can't we just ask them to?"

"We have to keep track of all the new Casters... Since they were once humans, many of which were abused and probably hate us Casters."

"But we are freeing them... giving them magic and power over their lives."

"You've lived with humans... do you really think they are the forgive and forget type?"

I consider it for a moment. "No, not many of them."

"Exactly. So," he gestures to the field filled with humans, Elemental Casters, and New Casters before us. "We monitor them for a few weeks. Once we're sure they aren't planning anything and they have control over their new power, they are free to go and do whatever they want."