Chapter 9: Personal Information

Charon’s holo-pad beeped the minute he returned to his room. Clicking one of the buttons, a screen appeared. "New items have been added to the registry: Class Schedule. Required Reading. Study Tips. Personal Information." Ignoring it, he turned the machine off and sat on the couch, placing the book on the floor to get it out of the way. What he had seen during the initiation kept running through his head. Part of him couldn’t help but get excited about the shared values they all seemed to possess. They all stood together, chanted together, and planned to learn together. Despite their differences, they all kept one god, and that guided them. On the other hand, it seemed to go against the heroism of the stories he loved. Heroes wouldn’t kill their classmates just because a trial demanded it, nor would they pray for the end of everything. It went against their morals, and so shouldn’t it do the same to Charon? ’I don’t know what to think anymore. The churches should know best, though, right? They are on the front lines, fighting the elves. But aren’t the heroes doing the same?’ He groaned and hit the cushion with his fist, annoyed at how confusing it was all becoming. ’Why do I even care? My goal should just be to survive this. Who cares if that means killing a few people? I can always stop later down the line and become a hero when it’s more suitable.’ The front door chimed before sliding open. Emerius walked in, long fancy robes trailing behind him. Hearing him, Charon kicked the book under the couch, deciding it was best not to let the high-born teenager access it. ’Serves him right for being a prick.’ The moment Emerius’s eyes caught Charon, his face lit up in a smile. "Well, would you look at you! You received your element, and a rare one at that! My father always says that elements are the greatest reflection of a man, so you must be quite the character!" Charon gave him a weak smile, not wanting to make Emerius think they were anything more than acquaintances. ’He just views me as a platform to boost himself off of, anyway. He probably is happy purely because it will look better to his dad.’ "Thanks, it was unexpected. How did you hear about it, anyway?" Emerius waved the comment away. "Don’t worry about that. What matters is what your root spell is!" Charon raised an eyebrow, growing a little sick of being ignorant of everything going on. "What is that?" His roommate moved to sit by him, his face split in a wide grin. "Long story short, it’s your first spell! You get it when you awaken your element, and it is usually the best representation of how your magic will develop! Now stop delaying and open your holo-pad!" Rolling his eyes, Charon withdrew the device and placed it on his lap. Staring at it for a moment too long without moving, Emerius grumbled before telling him what to do. His voice was slightly higher-pitched and shaky, as if he had a vested interest in the result. ’Gods, why is he being so pushy?’ "Turn it on and go to the personal information tab!" Pushing the first button, the screen lit up, displaying multiple icons to represent the different unlocked tabs. He quickly identified the ones he unlocked earlier, as well as the general search function and map. Pushing the one labeled personal information, a new screen appeared. [Name: Charon] [Rank: Novice 1] [Patron: Death] [Element: Soul] [Abilities: Soul Summon*] [Relics: None] He read the screen twice, making sure he was seeing it all correctly. Many of the terms listed meant nothing to him, like his rank and relics, but it all seemed pretty intuitive. ’It must just be my progression, my god, my element, my powers, and then items. It looks simple, but I have a feeling it’s anything but.’ Noticing the star in the corner of his Soul Summon ability, Charon pushed the button on the screen and began to read the new line of text. [Ability Name: Soul Summon] [Ability Element: Soul] [Ability Description: Using the most precious item to all living things, reach beyond this world and cross the River Acheron. Upon its cursed banks lie creatures banished from all other realms, waiting for a new purpose. The greater the offering, the further back you may go, unleashing powers long thought destroyed. Heed the warning of Death himself: The chains that bind are not made without purpose.] [Current Souls] [Novice: 0] [Acolyte: 0] [Apprentice: 0] [Journeyman: 0] [Mage: 0] [High Mage: 0] [Master Mage: 0] [Archmage: 1] Charon read slowly, his eyes gradually widening as he began to comprehend just what his ability did. ’It seems to be some kind of summoning ability using souls! I bet the better the soul I offer, the greater the creature I summon. However, it does warn me about the chains that bind. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds ominous.’ The list of souls that followed was a far more direct and welcome addition. ’Finally! A concrete ranking system!’ His eyes locked on the final rank, Archmage, and the unexpected number next to it. ’How do I already have one of those?’ He tried to think back on how he might’ve earned it, but it was as if his mind fought him for it. Deciding it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he shook his head to clear the unpleasantness and chalked it up to a normal part of earning his element. With this in mind, he glanced at Emerius, who was currently staring at him with bated breath. ’I forgot he can’t read the screen from this angle.’ Taking a deep breath, he turned to his roommate and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "You want to know what my first ability does?" Emerius seemed to notice his actions and straightened his posture, clearing his throat before responding in a half-controlled tone. "Yes, I am very interested to see what abilities would manifest from such a rare element." Shaking his head in exasperation, Charon decided to explain it rather than show it. He still felt a lack of trust in the man and didn’t know what the information could do in the wrong hands. ’Too many stories end with people dying from trusting the wrong person.’ "It’s a summoning ability. It’s pretty vague, but it seems to reference calling creatures from the Underworld. It mentions the River Acheron, whatever that is, and that it depends on me offering souls." Emerius gave him a quizzical look. "The River Acheron? My father hasn’t mentioned that before, and he knows everything about the God of Death. I doubt it’s part of the Underworld; otherwise, he would’ve taught me about it. Possibly it’s in one of the other realms?" A strange feeling of disgust lightly brushed against Charon’s consciousness, as if he was offended by the suggestion, but he quickly tramped it down, unsure where it even came from. ’Why would I be upset by that? He is probably right; it never explicitly says the Underworld. I just assumed from the context, and it being from the God of Death. Souls come from all realms, after all.’ Not noticing Charon’s look, Emerius continued. "Summoning abilities are pretty rare, but not unheard of. They usually take more resources to mature. Proper spells, abilities, and relics are all needed to bring them up to a proper standard. Once they reach that point, however, they can reshape battlefields on a whim. My father once told me he had befriended one during the last civil war and was always impressed by how he was a one-man army. Congratulations, this is very good. You must have done amazing things to earn it." Not expecting the compliment, Charon had to do a double-take. He scratched his head nervously, unsure how exactly to respond. "Thanks, I really didn’t do anything to earn it." "Nonsense! The God of Death does not base his gifts on luck. He only rewards those who deserve it. Revel in this knowledge: you get what you give." Coughing into his fist to hide the slight blush of embarrassment, Charon turned to look at his bedroom door. "That’s all good to know, thank you for telling me. I think I’m feeling a little unwell, though, so I’ll probably sleep." Emerius nodded knowingly, although he seemed slightly disappointed to lose a companion to talk about magic with. "Ah, that’s certainly a good decision. Classes start tomorrow, so I recommend you get plenty of sleep. In the morning, I can show you to your classes We share two of the three periods, so I will do my best to help you in those." Muttering his thanks, Charon stood up and left, using his holo-pad to unlock his room while making a mental note to retrieve the hidden book later. The door slid closed behind him with a click, leaving him in the darkness of his chambers. The tension in his shoulders slowly vanished as he lost his audience. ’Now that I have some time alone, I need to figure out what this Archmage soul is... and what it does.’