"I beg your pardon. The vault has been moved to a pocket dimension that you received from Octiv Krand, who was a companion of King Istreid when he was human and later became a vampire."
In response, King Belreid only received a nod from Raghav, sitting to his left.
He then pointed across the table towards Eldrain. "And you are a half-elf and half-dwarf, grand master who delivered this dimension to Raghav. You and your wife will also be joining him on his journey to uncover Crimson."
Another nod.
King Belreid leaned back, supporting his head, before looking away. "I need water."
Just as he had asked, a glass of water was placed before him by Raghav. "Thank you."
Shifting his attention towards Mage Olda to his left. "So, I take you were in the vault when I moved it."
"Oh, I was, at first I thought the vault had entered The Fog, but as I looked out, I saw something else, a white void which I presume to be your pocket dimension now. So I exited the vault and alerted the King, and we rushed here, hoping you might know, since you maintain the barrier protecting the entrance to the vault."
He then paused as he massaged his long beard with his left hand. "But receiving your explanation has ended all the worries we had."
"Good, I will get back to getting these documents signed, and we can all leave together." Raghav then lifted the third sheet of paper and filled in his name and adventure ID under founding member number one and signed in his corresponding area.
Then the sheet was handed over to Eldrain, who did the same under founding member two and later An under founding member three.
Once it was done, Raghav collected the papers and stood up. "This marks the official establishment of our Adventure party called 'The Band of Heroes.' Mr. and Mrs. Exter, I look forward to going on this quest with you."
"Band of Heroes? Is that the name you picked?"
Eldrain looked to his left at Reinhardt and nodded. "It is a catchy name. Do you not think so?"
Reinhardt shook his head. "Of course, I think the name is good. It capitalises on Raghav's identity as The Hero of Prophecy and takes the people's trust and distributes it with the members of his party and tells the people that they can be trusted like Raghav is."
"I was thinking more about how my party members will be helping save the world, so they all deserve to be called heroes. But I like your explanation too." They all turned towards Raghav as he walked back from the stairs, after putting the forms in the Guild Master's office upstairs.
Aurelia looked between Raghav, An, Eldrain and her Father with her eyes, and a slow smile appeared on her face. "Father!"
"Yes, Aurelia?"
She sucked in her lips as she looked at Raghav.
He tilted his head and gave her an upward nod while smiling with his eyes closed. "I wanted to ask if I could also join Raghav on his quest."
The smile on her face grew as the two kept looking at one another.
"Why do you want to go?"
This response caught Aurelia off guard as she turned to her father with her mouth slightly open.
She looked back at Raghav, who had taken his seat between King Belreid and Mage Olda. He just sat there, his arms crossed, and all eyes were now on her.
"I am the heir to this kingdom, and I have to rule after you. Yet, I do not know this kingdom beyond this city. I want to see what lies beyond the forest and mountains. I want to see this world through the eyes of the common folk, live among them. I know I have travelled in this city in disguise, but that was it, travel. I want to stay among them and…"
Watery blue eyes moved to find their comfort in his black eyes as Raghav met her gaze, reassuring her.
"I do not wish to let this opportunity go. If you are worried about my safety, then don't be. I will be travelling with two Grand Masters. Even if the entire military might of the Istreid Kingdom was united here, I would still be safer beside Raghav."
Her face hardened to match the seriousness of her father as she gulped the saliva in her mouth.
"Hmmmm."
That was the only sound you could hear in the empty lobby as Belreid gazed into his daughter's eyes.
"Very well, I shall discuss this with your mother, and the two of us will tell you if we approve."
Silently observing the discussion, An leaned forward. "I can teach Aurelia, better control over her Mana reserves and make her a Master Rank warrior."
Aurelia turned towards An and smiled. "I deeply appreciate the gesture, but Raghav has already offered to teach me, and I accepted."
"Not to intrude, your highness. But I believe Mrs. Exter and Mr. Exter will be able to provide better teaching. I speak from a place of experience, having trained under them."
Shaking her head, she looked back at Raghav. "Sir Reinhardt. I know that Mr. and Mrs. Exter have centuries of experience, but Raghav is no less. I am fairly certain Mr. Exter and Raghav are equals."
Eldrain laughs as he looks at Raghav, slightly tilting his head. "Now that you mention it. It would depend on where we fight. Inside his pocket dimension, he has access to some skills that I cannot perform. Such as creation magic and reality warping."
Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head. "Outside, I will say, we are equal in terms of control and energy levels. I outclass him in terms of experience, being alive for 498 years compared to his 19, but he evens us out with his instinct, adaptability and his talent at utilising his power in the best way for the situation."
Then he took a pause, crossing his arms. "The scales would eventually tip in his favour. After all, he possesses the Primordial Force of Origin: Omniurja."
"The primordial force of Origin?" Mage Olda looked between Raghav and Eldrain.
Hoping to get an explanation about this form of power.
"Yes, the power I possess is the primordial force of origin, also known as Omniurja."
"I have never heard of it in my life…" He turned towards King Belreid. "Have you? Your grace."
Click
Clicking his tongue, Belreid looked at Olda as they shifted their gaze towards Raghav, sitting between them. "This is the first I've heard of it."
Clap
They looked forward at Eldrain, rubbing his hands together as he blew air from his puckered lips. "I always wanted to do this. Allow me to give you the best crash course of your life."
Everyone attentively focused on Eldrain to begin his explanation. "Now, what I will tell you is what I have learned from Octiv and other users of primordial forces. So I may make some mistakes."
He looks around, motioning everyone to lean closer. "As you all know, Mana is the basic power of this world. Everyone knows about it, even those who cannot use it. Then there are other mysterious powers. Only the elite warriors, mages and members of society know about them."
Aurelia looked down, her eyes moving left and right, before her head shot up. "Like Chaos Magic!"
Snapping his fingers, Eldrain pointed towards Aurelia. "Exactly, one point to Aurelia."
"Chaos Magic, a power that is received through a sacrificial ritual made to the King of Hell. That is propaganda, yes, you can receive this power through said rituals. But that is not the only way, see King of Hell is not the source of this power. Its origins predate even him. Because Chaos Magic is the primordial force of Chaos."
Then, pointing towards Raghav, he shifted their attention to him. "There are multiple primordial forces other than Chaos Magic and Omniurja. I know about one other, and it is called Necroshade. The primordial force of death. From what a user of Necroshade told me, these powers grow when their forces are present around them. So, in a battlefield, a user of Necroshade and Chaos Magic will be amped. Similarly, other primordial forces might get weakened, except Omniurja."
Now he leaned back, pointing upwards. "Omniurja comes directly from The One; this power is the pinnacle of power in existence. It is the origin of all others. Mana, Chaos Magic, everything."
Raghav looked down at his hands and clenched his fist.
He chuckled 'Huh.'
"This power is usually granted to random people when they are in a dangerous situation, and then it is taken away. I once saw a little boy harness it and save his mother from an attacker, and the next moment it was gone. From what I gather. This power represents the will of The One, hence it can be activated by anyone when they want. That is the power that most of the worshipable and highly respectable Saints and Sages possess. They also have Omniurja, but due to their detachment from normal household life, they never use it for themselves. Only acting on it when The One inspires them to."
Silence fell in the room as all observed Raghav.
All they received was a silent nod confirming Eldrain's explanation.
He chuckled and clapped his hands. "Moving on. The primordial forces here on Paneria are known to the users, us three Grand Masters, other than Raghav, people we shared this knowledge with, the ancient spirits and deities, mythical beasts and the planets."
"I beg your finest pardon, but what do you mean by planets?"
Eldrain looked at Belreid and raised his shoulder as he stretched his hands out. "The eleven planets in our solar system. Miton, Zurion, Grotia, Hempus, Paneria. The female planets and the male planets. Tresteria, Val, Imposteon, Luneos, Xelthar and Ydrex. The planets can physically manifest, and they descend to Paneria."
"You didn't know Father?"
Belreid shook his head as he looked around. "No, you are behaving as if this is common knowledge."
"Because it is, your grace."
Belreid looked at Raghav with his mouth open and eyes wide. "What?"
Raghav continued. "I have been here for two weeks, even I read about it in history and tale books. About how the planets affect life and history on Paneria."
"How come, my Daughter knows it, Raghav, who has only been in this world for two weeks, knows it, and I don't."
Stroking his beard, Mage Olda raised his hand. "These sorts of things happen, your grace. Through some miracle, you never came across this topic."
"There's a saying where I am from, 'Der aye durust aye.' Which means 'Better late than never' It fits perfectly with your situation."
This made Belreid laugh lightly as he nodded. "You speak the truth."
His eyes then landed on Eldrain, who was sitting with his arms crossed. Belreid raised his hand and gestured towards him. "My apologies, please continue."
"So, I will now tell you what I learned from Octiv. He told me that since primordial forces connect their users to the primordial concepts, it grants the users some form of divine and cosmic knowledge. Is that true?"
Raghav nodded. "It is."
Eldrain nodded and carried on. "Still, these powers do not make anyone a god. Just like there are differences in terms of power for Mana wielders. It is the same for users of these forces. Some get a few select abilities, like increased strength or lightning powers, maybe telekinesis. Others who are more fortunate get the raw energy, and they are capable of using it to enhance their body, use energy attacks, the more control and larger the reserves a person has, the more potential they have. Raghav fits the latter group."
"Everyone got that?" They all nodded, and he took a deep breath. "As for how one achieves it."
A hand was raised to his right as he looked at Aurelia. "Yes." "I know how, Raghav told me earlier today."
Raising his eyebrows, Eldrain leaned back, gesturing towards the group, and Aurelia smiled. "So these forces are granted to anyone, but those with the highest chances are those who either intentionally or accidentally jump universes, timelines or dimensions. After them, some people become agents of the primordial force. Like the King of Hell."
"That's better than what I was going to say. But that makes sense coming from the user of Omniurja." He looked at Raghav as he finished the sentence. "This is how the other primordial forces are granted, but Omniurja, as you know, is granted by The One, either temporarily and just enough to escape the life or death situations or to his worshipers, but they only use it when The One wills it, unlike Raghav, who uses it at will."
He leaned closer, raising an eyebrow.
"There must be limitations to this power? Because if there isn't, it puts you at an incredible advantage. Possessing the pinnacle of power in its purest form means, even if you perform the same spells, you apply the same amount of power as someone equal to you using another power. The nature of your power will make it better than the other."
Raghav exhaled sharply. "As King Belreid and Aurelia already know. I do have a drawback. The amount of time I spend using my power, I then have to spend the same amount, unable to move my body. I can go up to ten seconds and turn my power off, then I spend the next ten seconds like a statue. Any more than ten seconds, I start getting dizzy, and around twenty-five seconds, I lose consciousness."
"Is that why you kept your powers activated the entire time you were with Octiv. He told me it was hurting his eyes. I must say that is a fitting drawback for that amount of power."
Thump Thump Thump.
Raghav looked to his right and found Mage Olda, raising and striking the back of his foot on the floor. He leaned closer and whispered. "Are you alright?"
Olda shook his head and whispered back. "I have too many questions I need to ask him. I will do that later; otherwise, we will be stuck here for days."
Raghav leaned back, turning towards Reinhardt, who was observing Eldrain with a nostalgic look upon his face.
Instead of looking at An, he searched for her voice but heard nothing. 'I am certain she has heard this before.'
He closed his eyes and nodded. "But I have found a way to overcome that drawback, albeit. A little difficult and uncomfortable, it will be better than this. As of now, it's just a theory. I will need some time to test it."
Eldrain clapped. "Perfect, we are here till Monday. Let's train together and teach our students."
As he turned towards Reinhardt. Reinhardt bowed slightly. "I will be honoured to learn from you again, Master Exter."
Pulling his phone out from his pocket, Raghav looked at the time, and it read. 01:43 AM.
"That would be lovely. It would allow me to teach Aurelia, and maybe you can help Mage Olda study some of Istreid's spell books. But for now, we should head home and rest. It's a quarter away from two in the morning."
He then stood up and twisting his torso as his lower back cracked with an audible sound. An blinked repeatedly as she stared at Raghav. 'This man's only nineteen.'
Eldrain sighed as he smacked his lips. "I desperately need to fix my sleep cycle. I always sleep on the same day, even yesterday night I slept, today."
This statement made Mage Olda stop midway as he was rising from his chair, and he frowned as he looked at Eldrain. "I thought Grand Masters were self-sustaining."
Eldrain shook his head. "There has been a lot of false information about Grand Master, yes, we are strong, but a lot of it is just the common folk adding pieces of their imagination."
"Very well. It was a pleasure being here, gentlemen and ma'am. Do you have a place to stay, Mr. and Mrs. Exter? If you have not found an inn yet. I would be glad to have you stay with us in the castle."
An smiled and bowed down. "We accept, your grace."
Belreid nodded as he walked towards the door. "Then let us all depart together."
"Umm, Father, I will stay here with Raghav and help him close the guild, then we will return to the castle."
"As you wish. Goodnight."
And everyone left the guild except for Raghav and Aurelia.
They looked at one another and smiled as Raghav held his hand out for Aurelia. "Shall we?"
She took his hand, and the smile grew as she tilted her head. "We shall."