Andar was silent after he heard those words from his Master’s words. The conviction in his tone was unmistakable, this was a man who understands the journey of a Mage, and the road to fulfilling their potential.

Andar suddenly had the urge to stay beside this man, after all, his Master had spent more than a decade finding ways to manage his condition, and he had asked for nothing more from him than his dedication and perseverance.

They could go to another place and begin life anew. With his talents, he would be able to protect his master in a short amount of time.

[Rowan was amused by this thought process of Andar and he let it play out, he would be doing similar things in the future to create a more natural growth of this character from a naive youth to a jaded Mage. Of course, Rowan was Andar, but he had perfectly duplicated the child’s consciousness.]

“Master, I know you have some Training Manuals, I can use them to become an Acolyte and embark on my path as a Mage, so I can stay by your side. You are the one responsible for most of my achievements, and I would rather be your disciple for as long as I live than to become an Archmage who forgets all who loved him.”

“Silly child.” The Alchemist cracked up, “The Training Manual I have on me can only get you so far. It would be the greatest waste of your talent, and I will kill myself first before I allow someone as great as you to destroy his future. As you know there are distinct levels to the Training Manual we have, and the best I have with me is at the Superb Grade. I found this Manual recently and I also included it in the possessions I will give you soon, but I hope you will do better than this, the danger ahead would be too great, and it would be impossible to hide from it. You can only face it head-on.”

Noticing his confusion, the Alchemist began to elaborate, “There are seven grades to each Training Manual, which are Ordinary, Outstanding, Superb, Legacy, Mythical, Heavenly Fate, and Supreme. The proper divisions for Training Manuals would be explained better at the Trial Ground, but their division is self-apparent from the lowest to the highest.”

Andar silently repeated the grades in his mind, “Master, would I find better grades of Training Manuals inside the Trial Zone?”

“Of course, that is one of the best places to find the perfect Manual for you. It is also a great reason for you to go to the Trial Zone because the place is a special region that intersects with many Great Towers, and it is a shared Trial Ground. You might be able to find a manual at the Mythical grade or even higher.”

They soon reached their destination and Andar saw a small port on the West side of the flowing river, his master took over the navigation of the boat and steered them correctly towards it.

They both got off and proceeded to a hidden lift that carried them upwards, on their way to the surface, the face of the Alchemist changed and he cursed,

“They just broke my Signal Disruptor, that happened quicker than I planned. We would need to hurry. Here, take this Spatial Ring, it contains all the necessities you might need, including the Training Manual, Origin Crystals, and all your Alchemy Tool Kits, books, and other minor things you will need along your journey.”

Collecting the Spatial Ring, he placed it on his left index finger and followed his master upwards until they reached the surface, and they found themselves inside an empty warehouse that was hundreds of feet wide.

His master brought out his staff from his Spatial Ring, it was made with a purple wood sourced from the rare Lightning Burst Tree. It was seven feet long and at the top of the staff were four purple flowers that resembled roses, the flowers were illuminated by lightning that shot out bright purple bolts that resembled wandering snakes.

He brought the end of the staff down and hit the ground thrice, sending bolts of purple lightning into the ground, the sounds of the staff hitting the earth were unnaturally drawn out, and Andar had to steady himself when the ground below him began to move.

His jaws dropped when the earth opened and a giant creature emerged, hundreds of feet long, it did not take long for him to figure out that this creature was, a sleeping Cloud Whale.

This was a famous beast that was reared by Mages for the purpose of traveling over long distances. They grew to massive proportions and could freely fly in the skies for long periods of time and at great speeds. Their Adults were even capable of moving through space, at that time they were called Void Whales.

This Cloud Whale was a juvenile as it was just three hundred feet from snout to tail, its skin was a mesmerizing blue and it had four pairs of eyes that were arranged from its mouth down to its massive fins.

“This is my gift to you, my dear Apprentice, it was to be my present to you when you awakened and reached the rank of Mage, but circumstances have forced me to present it to you earlier than I expected. Now open your left hand so I can attach its Spirit to yours while it sleeps. This is a powerful creature that is equal to a Mage, but with the aid of the Scripts I shall place on you, it would bear a major part of the burden.”

Now open your left hand so I can attach its Spirit to yours while it sleeps. This is a powerful creature that is equal to a Mage, but with the aid of the Scripts I shall place on you, it would bear a major part of the burden.”

Andar with no hesitation whatsoever stretched his hands forward. His eyes were trusting and filled with excitement at the possibility of owning a Cloud Whale.

His Master sighed, his Apprentice was still too trusting. He had warned him about the dangers his talent would bring to him when others discovered it, but, this child…

The alchemist began muttering the words to a spell while placing the Scripts on Andar’s arm.