Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) Daniel Schinhofen (books to read in a lifetime .txt) 📖

There’d been a lot of debate over who had made it, what it meant, and why the symbol existed.

After the archive, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were in tactics class for the majority of the day. The basics had been covered, and Egil promised them they would soon begin to get hands-on time with Empire’s Gambit. The classes had been mostly peaceful— Magus Elkit would call them out for any infractions he could, as did Harrison, though not as often as Elkit did. Magus Erichson and Magus Klim both praised them for always having answers. Egil didn’t interfere at all. He seemed determined to teach the material and not get involved in the politics in play.

After class, they returned to the clan hall for training. Their group fighting was improving little by little, unless Bishop and Gin were paired up together. When that happened, they struggled to deal with the both of them without their aether. Yukiko and Jenn advanced with their magic training, and Gregory pushed his foresight off and on, trying to find new ways of using it or trying to look into smaller sections of the future.

With training over, they would get their time meditating on the Peaceful Fist. Dia, Bishop, Inda, and Indara would join them for that, and because all of them trained together, they used the front yard of the clan hall. That was followed up with their bath, dinner, and an hour of study before they went to bed.

~*~*~

The richly furnished room told Gregory all he needed to know. “Hello, Darkness,” he said, turning over in the bed to face the shadowy corner.

“Dear one,” the warm voice greeted him in return. “You grow in power, and that makes me happy.”

“I have a few things I wanted to ask about.”

“I know, dear one, but go ahead and ask them. Sometimes, you surprise even me.”

“Dia being able to walk two paths... was that you?”

“That is you. I merely help,” Darkness said. “You view Dia as a friend and want her to grow. Anyone close to you that you see as an ally can grow faster. She is only trying to walk two paths, so I thought it would be fine. I will only help those who might be… special to you walk all three. Once you grow more, you will be able to do this all on your own.”

“How much more?” Gregory asked.

“Grandmaster should be the start of it.”

Gregory chuckled. “So a ways off, then. Okay. The boots and gloves with the ryuite in them: what can you tell me about them?”

“They are old. Very old,” Darkness said. “You had one of your wives make them.”

Gregory digested that information. “What were they made to do?”

“Protect the wearer from harmful aether. You have seen them stop aether-infused attacks and even flame. They can only stop what touches them, though. You have two parts of a full set.”

“What does a full set look like?”

“Look behind you.”

Glancing over his shoulder, a full set of black leather armor stood, as if being worn by a person. Gregory took stock of the missing parts; pants, shirt, and a coif with a front flap to protect the lower face.

“Thank you, Darkness. I know what to keep my eyes out for. Can anyone use them?”

“No, though anyone of the elder tier or higher could, even without your blessing. Anyone under that can only if you allow them to. An important note is that it will not stop your aether. That was part of their creation.”

“But my aether now isn’t the same as it was then.”

“Of course it is,” Darkness said. “Your soul is the same, after all.”

“But Yuki can use shadow magic. Did her old life also use shadow magic?”

“You are confusing magic for aether,” Darkness said. “Aether is tied to your soul. Those who can touch it, can touch it again if they have been reborn. Magic type is based on wants, desires, and bloodline... well, except for you, but then again, you are very special, dear one.”

Gregory looked back to the dark corner. “How many sets of this armor exist?”

“There were nearly a hundred of them when they were first made. Time, greed, and stupidity destroyed many of them. A few dozen might remain. I have not looked for them in ages. Some were sealed in protected containers and hidden with the thought that you might need them when you returned.”

“Like the gloves were?”

“Very much like the gloves were.”

“Huh... The symbols on the temple in Waterrock. What does it mean?”

“You created it ages past. You called it the Magi’s Path. It was intended to show that aether can grow from any path or from combining them. You marked a number of buildings with it. Each of those buildings holds something special to you in it.”

“Like the medallion?”

“Yes, just like the medallion, dear one,” Darkness replied.

“What does it do?”

“Do? Nothing by itself. It is merely a storage for your aether, hence the aether flame of ryuite.”

“So it’s like Yuki’s earrings?”

“It could be used in that way,” Darkness said.

“It can be used another way…” Gregory trailed off as something tickled his mind, a memory that he couldn’t quite touch.

“Yes, but you should not do such a thing yet, though. It would harm you and your loved ones.”

Gregory blinked, the memory slipping away from him. “I don’t know what it is. The memory didn’t form.”

“That is for the best right now.” A bell began to toll, and Darkness sighed. “Go, dear one. Go and learn, grow, and rise up. We will talk again after you have advanced again.”

Gregory was about to reply but the room vanished, and he woke to the third bell tolling. Yukiko and Jenn both woke up at the same time.

As they got dressed, Gregory told them about