Valerian, The Legendary

The old man was shocked at how easily the questions were answered and Valerian’s speed on the stairs was also something that he did not expect. The biggest talent point that was displayed by this child was adaptability. He was able to get used to the spells and the sudden changes in the mana attribute of the stairs in a month or less while battle mages in even an older age would take a couple of months.

Fallax liked this young child, in his eyes, this kid was a gem with some rough edges. After Valerian was done with the test, he gazed at the old man, waiting for the result, even though he knew that he had passed, he did not trust that this old man would be fair to him.

Looking at his wary expression, Fallax almost spewed blood, this kid was looking down on his integrity. He said, “You pass. You are allowed to participate in the Academy Arena once a week from now on. This will help you accumulate fighting experience.”

Valerian thought about it and then shook his head. Fallax asked in surprise, “Why do you shake your head?”

The child rolled his eyes and said, ‘Can’t you see that I am a mute? You know what will happen if I cast spells without speaking?’

Fallax suddenly understood the fact. He chuckled and said, “I will give you something to help you with this problem.”

He then fished out a collar chain from his pocket. Fallax tied the chain to the tip of the collars of Valerian’s shirt. Then he said, “This collar chain is a magical artifact. In the following month, I will teach you about these things. To use this chain, you channel some of your mana from one end to the other. The material of this chain vibrates and produces human-like sounds.”

Valerian opened his silver eyes wide, they were sparkling with surprise, he never expected such a thing to exist and actually fall into his hands. Fallax smiled at him when the boy calmed down and asked, ‘How do vibrations sound like human voice?’

.....

“Mana is like water, and your thoughts are the color. When you cast grade one spells, you only use one rune in your mind. One rune can still do different things.”, replied Fallax, and raised his hand.

He condensed a small ball of shadow dark above his palm, and said, “This same ball of shadow can kill someone and also teleport something from one place to the other. Do you understand?”

Valerian nodded, Fallax said, “People imagine the effect of the spell when they cast it, but the amount of the runes needed to be manipulated in a lot of spells is the same. The effect of the spell changes because of the thoughts channeled inside the mana runes. Similarly, you can use this chain by channeling mana. Though it might not be able to conduct your emotions if you have too many things on your mind.”

Valerian understood and nodded, he closed his eyes and channeled his mana through the chain, and sensed it vibrate. After a few more tries, he said, “Thank Io.”

He meant to thank you, but it was because he was not very proficient with thought control. So, it sounded a bit slurry. Fallax looked at his face displaying so many expressions at the same time and found it amusing.

Valerian was still in disbelief that he could talk. He wanted to talk to someone, suddenly he said slowly, “I want to meet Princess Azula.”

Fallax nodded and took out a medallion from his waist. He said, “This is a pass that will allow you to go and meet the princess inside her accommodation. Go, you can take the day off.”

Valerian took the medallion and bowed to the old man, and he rushed outside the tower. Fallax stood there watching the small figure vanish as he mumbled, “Boo-too, this kid is indeed special.”

...

The mage towers were not as calm as usual. A lot of people were gathered in front of the water mage tower. Amidst the crowd, Azula stood with a frosty face, and a lot of people were watching her.

In front of her, Conixia was lying on the ground with a bruised face, and Consano was casting healing spells to heal her sister. Priscilla said, “It was Tyrant who did this. This is an utter provocation, Your Highness.”

Azula stood with a cold face, her fists clenched. She was enraged and wanted to go and find Tyrant to settle this account. Just as she wanted to charge out, she heard an unfamiliar voice from behind.

“Your highness!”, said Valerian.

Azula turned around and found a silver head poking out of the crowd. She was surprised and asked, “Valerian, what are you doing here?”

She did not realize that he called her out to get her attention. The crowd noticed her talking to the boy and opened up some space for him. Valerian walked out of the crowd and bowed his head to the people to express thanks and looking at Azula, he asked, “What happened here, Your Highness.”

Azula was shocked when she saw his mouth moving and the voice sounding in her ears. She opened her mouth and Valerian said, “Master Fallax gifted me this today.”

He pointed at the chain with a smile and the hand was also giving her signs that it was because of the chain that he could talk. Azula understood what was happening and said, “Conixia was injured.”

Valerian leaned to the side and saw past her, Consano was trying to heal her sister but the injuries were not light. He said, “I will lend her a hand and then we can talk about this.”

His pace was slow when he spoke with the artifact, gradually getting used to it. He came over to Conixia and raised his hands and said, “Curatio Lucis.”

A strong light fell over her body and the wounds began to heal. Consano was tired after she finished healing injuries on the internal, and Valerian healed the external wounds. He crouched down beside Conixia and said, “It will take some time for her to get up.”

Consano nodded, Valerian, carried the fainted girl in his arms and asked, “Your Highness, where can we take her?”

Azula nodded and then she took them all inside the water mage tower, where her accommodation was arranged. The structure of the academy was very minimalistic on the outside, but the internal structure of the mage towers was nothing less than a small city.

...

Valerian placed Conixia on the bed and asked, “Your Highness, what happened?”

He had just turned around and saw the three ladies looking at him with a confused gazes. Azula woke up from his voice and asked, “How can you talk exactly?”

Valerian smiled and retold her what Fallax had said to him about the artifact on his collar. Azula nodded and said, “Magnus Maestro surely is rich.”

She smiled at this. Valerian shook his head and said, “He is a cunning old fox. Anyways, Your Highness, what happened to Lady Conixia?”

He was thinking very clearly at this moment and the indifferent voice suddenly became serious. Azula said, “It is because they are trying to get you to the arena. Remember the conflict you had with Tyrant on the arrival?”

Valerian nodded and Priscilla pitched in, “That guy has teamed up with the Prince of Valkyria. They are getting more and more rampant. Last time they tried to attack me but I evaded. They interpret our silence as weakness. I will go and find them right now.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “You will not get things done, they need to be answered in kind. Also, have you informed Her Excellency, the empress about this? If we take action, then it will become a political event.”

Azula nodded and said after she exhaled heavily, “I have told her about this, and mother has given us a green flag. It is not only at the academy where the two people have allied but even outside. Stella and Valkyria are teaming up and they will be at war with us in as soon as a year.”

Valerian was surprised to hear such a piece of news. He could also deduce that things might not be as simple as just going to war for territory. The empires all have more or less the same distribution. He said, “I understand, then Master Fallax has allowed me to go to the arena. I would like to see what capital these two people have.”

The ladies were surprised and shook their heads, Azula said, “Don’t, the arena is not as simple as you might think. You can lose your life on that platform.”

Valerian smiled and said, “It is better to die fighting than to live in hiding. They have taken an action, now is the time for reaction.”