Throne of Magical Arcana - Lazar’s Promise

The bright sunlight, the slightly humid environment, a faint fishy smell in the air, old but elegant buildings, a busy city—those were Lucien’s first impressions of the biggest costal city named Patray, in Holm.
    

A couple of coaches drove through the streets of Patray, in which sat Lucien, the apprentices and the sorcerer who picked them up, Lazar.
    

“How do you like Holm, Mr. Evans? Not bad, right?” Lazar still got a big smile on his face.
    

“Just call me Evans, Lazar. Well… the ladies are surely beautiful,” answered Lucien in a relaxed and humorous way, “And the dressing style here is quite different. Some of the dresses that ladies are wearing are sophisticated, and some are simple-designed; some have bright colors, and some are well decorated. The only thing that disappoints me a bit is that the ladies are all dressing in a quite conservative way, haha.”
    

“Ha, Evans…” Lazar clapped his hands, “I see… You do not appreciate the beauty of being conservative, but to me, this is another way of being sexy, which is more mysterious and can leave us with more space for imagination.”
    

Lucien slightly nodded, “Another thing is that… I think people here, no matter ladies or gentlemen, all like wearing hats. Is it right?”
    

In Aalto, only some of the clergy and senior citizens liked wearing hats.
    

“Good point, Evans. Good observation is very important for a sorcerer. In Holm, wearing hat is a manner, and you have to adapt to it as well. Ladies like wearing capelines with long ribbons and tassels and crape bonnets for formal settings, and simple bonnets decorated with flowers or feathers for daily life. Common guys wear round-top caps or men’s capelines, and gentlemen like us wear men’s bonnets or top hats,” answered Lazar. “Besides hats, ties, suits or double-breasted coats are also important pieces.”
    

After getting a bit closer with Lazar, Lucien switched the topic naturally, “I wonder if there’s any limit on sorcerers using magic?”
    

“Technically speaking, a sorcerer using magic to hurt people is just like an ordinary person using dagger or sword to hurt someone, hence we would be punished accordingly by law. However, because the male sorcerers here in Holm have noble titles, if the case is not very serious, they would only be fined… Look, Evans.” Lazar pointed at a middle-aged man in a gray suit.
    

Lucien saw that the man was standing beside a fountain on the square, surrounded by many kids. Holding his black top hat in his hand, the middle-aged man kept showing the kids all kinds of stuff from his hat, such as flowers, bread, stones and even a white pigeon.
    

“Is he an apprentice?” asked Lucien.
    

“Yes.” Lazar smiled and nodded, “Since the congress started sending apprentices to magic schools to let them receive formal training, we have more and more apprentices in this country. However, that also means that we have more apprentices who cannot become real sorcerers. Fortunately, these apprentices know how to read and are more knowledgable than common people, hence they can still make a good living. This guy, an apprentice, seems to like kids quite a lot.”
    

Lucien had already got the information from Astar and Tom, so he was not very surprised. He asked casually, “Then what’s the percentage? I mean… how many apprentices can actually become sorcerers?”
    

“Well… Comparatively speaking, the number has increased a lot compared to that of the ancient magic empire. In the ancient time, apprentices who did not have strong enough spiritual power could only rely their hope on precious magic potions or risky magic rituals. Therefore, among a thousand apprentices, maybe one could become a sorcerer, but now, due to the study of arcana, we have a lower requirement for one’s spiritual power, and right now the number’s around five out of a hundred.” Lazar looked at Lucien with his signature smile, “You don’t have to worry about it, Evans… I mean, since you’re a sorcerer already, as long as you can focus on learning arcana, I’m sure you can make progress very soon. By the way, what school do you specialize in?” asked Lazar curiously.
    

“I’m better at Astrology and Element,” answered Lucien honestly. “But I’m not sure what’ll be my mastery yet.”
    

“Ha, I happen to be a mage in the school of Element, and also a member of the Will of Elements. Did you ever hear the name of this group before?” asked Lazar.
    

“Mr. Astar mentioned it to me before. You want me in, Lazar?” Lucien smiled, saying in his mind that he actually knew way more about this group than just knowing its name, after all, he was even carrying the ring with himself right now.
    

“Come on, Evans! We’re not the Hand of Paleness,” said Lazar in a joking way. “The Hand of Paleness doesn’t care about the quality of their members at all, which I understand to some degree, after all, what matters the most to them is body. If a member is not really qualified, his or her body can still be useful, right?”
    

Obviously, there was indeed great conflict between the Will of Elements and the Hand of Paleness.
    

“So, Lazar… I take you’re also an arcanist, right?” asked Lucien carefully.
    

Lazar adjusted himself a bit to sit slightly more straight, and tried to make his smile look more casual, “The first circle element spell, Lazar’s Burning Hand, which I improved at the beginning of this year, has been approved by Arcana Review Board, and I earned another two arcana credits from it. Together with the previous eight credits that I had, I’m a level one arcanist and a second circle sorcerer now, and that’s why I’m a member of the Will of Elements.”
    

Clearly, Lazar was very proud of his accomplishment.
    

“How old are you, Lazar? You look quite young.” Although Lucien did not understand how hard it was for a junior-rank sorcerer to get arcana credit, he was still quite surprised with Lazar’s sorcerer level.
    

Lazar reached for the glass of wine resting on the small wood table in the coach, “Just turned twenty-two. Two years older than you, Evans.”
    

As Lucien often behaved in a quite mature way, most people thought that he was twenty something, hence Lucien also told other people that he was twenty to differ himself from the eighteen-year-old famous musician.
    

“You’re indeed a genius, Lazar.” Lucien nodded and praised him sincerely.
    

“I’m still far from being a genius, Evans.” Lazar slightly waved his hand, “For example, Mr. Ulysses from the Will of Power, he is a real genius in the school of Element. He was a level two arcanist and a middle-rank mage sorcerer when he was twenty two, and a level four arcanist, fifth circle elemental mage when he was thirty three, and there is still Mr. Larry and Mr. Timothy in our group.”
    

Lazar did not envy these geniuses, since these people’s accomplishment was beyond a common person’s jealousy.
    

“However, the person from the school of Element that I admire the most, except the grand arcanist, Hathaway, is Mrs. Meredith from Holm, who won Holm Crown prize when she was only twenty-three, and she was one of the very few geniuses whose arcana level was higher than their sorcerer level. After she had won this prize, Mrs. Meredith even became a level four arcanist when she was only a first circle elemental sorcerer! Unfortunately…”
    

Lazar released a sorry sigh.
    

Lucien secretly touched the ring named Mo in his pocket with a mixed feeling, “I heard about her story, too, and Mrs. Meredith is really admirable.”
    

Lazar raised his glass to show his appreciation.
    

“Although we haven’t been planning on inviting you to join our group, Evans,” said Lazar, “as a promising young man who is already a real sorcerer in his early twenties, by studying ancient magic system you should be able to gain many groups’ attention in the congress very soon.”
    

“I’m flattered.” Lucien nodded politely.
    

Lazard took it that Lucien did not really understand what did his words mean, so he added, “Being a member of our group can bring you many benefits: the instruction of the middle and senior rank mages, countless arcana books and journals, well-equipped labs, wealth, two secret rites for improving—one is owned by the congress, the Royal Magic Academy and the group called the Lord of Elements, the other is called the Creator, which is only available for sorcerers who study both Element and Alchemy. Anyway, representing Mrs. Meredith, as long as you can get a level in arcana by thirty, Evans, you’re welcome to join us!”
    

Lucien’s smile was still on his face, although he secretly thought that he himself, the person who was holding Mrs. Meredith’s ring right now, should be the best representative of that talented lady between them both.
    

Besides, Lucien still remembered what Astar told him. When he was still a junior rank mage, it was better for him to stay away from all those groups’ conflict and competition, and to focus on his own study first.
    

“I’m very interested in Astrology and Element,” said Lucien sincerely still. “The Will of Elements is for sure my ideal group.”
    

Lazar nodded in a satisfied way, “If your mastery is in Astrology, you can also consider Tower.”
    

It seemed that the relationship between Tower and the Will of Elements was not bad.
    

Then, Lazar looked out a bit and asked, “Do you want to stay in Patray for a few more days, or do you want to head for Allyn directly?”
    

“I can’t wait for going to Allyn anymore,” answered Lucien in a second.
    

Lazar put down his glass and grinned. Then, he asked the coachman to drive them into a house with a garden, which looked nothing special.
    

However, as soon as the coach went through the gate, the surroundings suddenly became blurry, as if there was heavy fog everywhere.
    

When the coach got out of the fog, what Lucien saw totally surprised him:
    

Four pairs of railway tracks and an eight-car black train were right now in front of him.
    

The apprentices in the coaches following Lucien and Lazar were also more than surprised.
    

“Welcome aboard the magic steam train to Allyn,” said Lazar.
    

It was delightful for Lazar to see Lucien and the apprentices’ surprised faces.