Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

Relina and Ivy were standing with Eli and Zeph in the garden behind the boy's mansion. It was time for Zeph's first spirit magic lesson. Bernard was sitting nearby ready to record the lesson. He placed some sensors on Zeph so he could monitor any changes the Aether might have.

"The sun is shining, the birds are singing and-" Relina took a deep breath. "Magic is in the air. It's the perfect day to start you on the path of spirit magic."

"Sweet, when do we start?" Zeph asked.

"Right now of course." Relina looked at her granddaughter. "Show Zeph the basic spirit summoning circle."

The little blond half-elf held out her hand and created a glowing blue circle of light on the ground. She made the script and symbols slowly so Zeph could watch the process with his magic sense. Ivy started to explain, "This is the first step in spirit magic. It amplifies a person's ability to distinguish spirit energy from magic energy. Imagine the ethereal plane as an ocean, and spirit energy is the water. Spirts and mystical beings live deeper below the surface, where the energy is thicker and more abundant. This circle helps people 'Dip their toe in the water' so to say."

"Wait, so that circle helps me breach the divide between the ethereal plane and our world?" Zeph was surprised.

Relina shook her head. "No, it doesn't really breach it. It makes the border between our worlds thinner on our side. It's like a small leak. It would take a lot of power to make an actual breach."

"Then how does summoning work? Don't you have to rip a hole in the barrier so the summon can come out?" Zeph curiosity was getting the better of him.

Relina was trying to find the right words to explain how it worked. "A spirit mage creates the first half of a uhm... let us call it a bridge. The spirit we're contracted with will create the second half. Then the spirit will follow our magic power to cross over. However, they are still connected to the ethereal plane and haven't fully materialized. That's why they fade back into the other realm. This happens when the spirit or summoner stop providing power to the bridge. In some rare cases, spirits are able to create the bridge on their own and manifest in our world. Very powerful ones are also able to do that and create a physical body. These rare spirits can come and go as they please. And because I know you'll ask, nature spirits, and those similar, that stay in our realm do so because they cut their ties with the ethereal plane and live off of mana. To do that, they need to stay in a mana-rich environment or have someone provide magic energy for them."

"Is that why you keep bugging me about my cat? Because she doesn't need a bridge?" Zeph gave the woman a wry smile.

Relina's eyebrow twitched. "Yes, and you still won't talk about it huh?"

Zeph shook his head. "Nope, family secret."

Relina smirked. "Fine then. Hop in the circle and we'll start. Ivy knows this bit, so she'll help you out while I go take a dip in the pool with my boyfriend." She grabbed Eli's hand and pulled him away.

"Hey, I thought you were going to teach me this stuff. Are you just going to pawn me off on your granddaughter?" Zeph walked into the circle while complaining to the elven woman.

"No, if anything she can't handle comes up, Ivy will come to get me. Now you two enjoy your time alone together." Relina winked at the blushing half-elf.

Zeph shook his head at the elven couple and shrugged. "Alright Ivy, what do I do next?"

It's been two weeks, and Ivy wasn't as fl.u.s.tered by the boy as she used to be. Her face was only slightly red now. "Now that you're in the circle you need to close your eyes. There should be two energies in the air around you. The one you recognize is mana, and the one you don't will be spirit energy. You need to take that spirit energy and mix it with the magic in your body. It might take a while to get a grasp on it, so don't be discouraged."

It took over half an hour before Zeph could get a feel for spirit energy and start absorbing it into his body. To his surprise, it didn't want to mix in with his magic energy. Instead, it was being absorbed into his cells. The Aether was "eating" the energy before it could get to him. He kept trying to redirect it, and it was a struggle to get the energy to move how he wanted. After another half hour of effort, he finally mixed his first bit of magic with spirit energy.

While Zeph was doing that, Bernard's eyes were glued to his tablet. The changes going in the Aether were surprising, to say the least. It was, for lack of a better word, mutating or evolving. By the time Zeph had managed to create the first threads of spirit magic and circulate it through his body, Bernard wasn't able to distinguish the aether from a real body.

Bernard called out to the two children, "How about we take a break for a while? I'll have Bianca make us some snacks. Care to join me Zeph?"

Zeph realized something was up. "Sure thing. How about Ivy? You want something sweet like a pastry, or would you rather have a sandwich or something?"

Ivy felt it was a little abrupt, but the idea of something sweet was really appealing. "Uhm… do you have any more of those chocolate cheesecake brownies?"

"Sure do, I'll bring a plate over and some milk. Sound good?" Zeph gave the girl a bright smile. Ivy nodded happily.

Bernard and Zeph went inside, and the old man gestured for Zeph to go into the bas.e.m.e.nt. As they walked through the kitchen, they saw Tara, Semara and Bianca chatting. Zeph told Bianca about the brownies, and she decided to make some fresh. The leftovers from yesterday managed to disappear somehow. Both of the boys noticed a few chocolate crumbs on Semara's and Bianca's cheeks. Tara was subtly wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin, trying not to attract any attention.

Lili skipped into the kitchen and saw Bianca getting some ingredients out. Zeph saw her as they were leaving the room and told her about the brownies. He also asked to tell Ivy it'll be a longer break then they thought, and he would help his grandpa with something. They would be done by the time the brownies were cooked.

Once they made it into the bas.e.m.e.nt lab, Bernard activated his security measures so no one will know what they were talking about. Then he told Zeph about his findings. The first thing they did was make sure Zeph could still shapeshift. After setting up some sensors and monitoring equipment, they began. Zeph made his arm metallic, mimicked a shifter, and made his clothes turn into a short sleeve shirt and sweatpants.

"Yep, no problem. If anything, it's a lit bit easier." Zeph was bending awkwardly to look at himself.

Bernard was amazed, the readings he got from his sensors showed no sign of the Aether. He told Zeph to try shapeshifting more. After over ten minutes, it was apparent that his shapeshifting abilities had increased significantly. Changing forms was almost instantaneous now. When he was transitioning between each form, the sensors treated him as if he didn't exist. The most surprising thing was that half-way through the tests, Zeph stopped turning into liquid metal. Instead, he turned into a Silvery mist that expanded and condensed.

That was new. Bernard had Zeph separate a new sample from his body so they could try a few things. The boy was able to control it as usual, but there were some new findings.

With enough time and concentration, Zeph could make the aether separated from his body grow and shrink. While giving Zeph instructions on how to change the Aether, Bernard watched it and saw that it did increase and decrease in size and mass after. Bernard tried to figure out where the excess aether came from or disappeared to. It took the rest of the hour to figure out Aether broke down into a combination of spirit energy and mana. The Aether would also use spirit energy and mana to increase in quantity or mass. Memories of the accident that summoned Zeph flashed before Bernard's eyes. More tests were needed in the near future."

Bernard grabbed Zeph by the shoulders and shook him. "Do you know what this means?"

"Uhm… no." Zeph dispersed into silver mist and reformed out of Bernard's reach. They had a surprised look on their face. "Woah, I'm gonna have to get used to that. I don't know if it was cuz you shook me or what, but oof!" Zeph grabbed his forehead and tried to steady himself.

Bernard was stunned by Zeph's new ability but snapped out of it quickly. "Zeph, you're making new Aether in a way similar to how your body was made. If I'm right, the Aether changed when you added more spirit energy into it. Then it changed, even more, when you combined the spirit energy with magic. Your body is different and now you're more like a manifested spirit than a spirit that possessed something."

"Awesome, so I have a body is what you're saying. I'm not just some disembodied soul inhabiting a block of magic metal anymore?"

Bernard smiled as wide as physically possible. "Yes, you're well and truly alive now. In fact, you're a brand new species." The two hugged each other in excitement and jumped around.

Several minutes later, they heard a bell sound that interrupted their celebration. It was Bianca telling them that the brownies were done. Zeph looked at the clock and realized they had been in the bas.e.m.e.nt for an hour and a half.

They made their way back upstairs and to the dining room "Why didn't you get us earlier? I'm pretty sure the brownies were done a while ago?" Zeph asked.

"Well, we might have eaten the first batch without you and had to make a second. Alex and Keva got home and we all started talking and one thing led to another and…. sorry we forgot about you two." Bianca's ears flattened as she apologized.

Bernard patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We don't mind."

They entered the dining room and saw everyone. Relina looked at Zeph and her eyebrow rose. "I don't feel that spirit energy coming off your body anymore." She made a statement, but Zeph understood the underlying question.

Zeph held up his hand and channeled spirit magic into it. "Yeah, I got that stuff under control now. Thanks, Ivy."

Relina could tell something was up. "So what's got you two so happy?" she asked. Everyone noticed the look of joy on their faces.

Bernard answered, "We just finished a successful experiment. The findings were amazing. Before you ask, family secret." He winked at Zeph.

_______________________

At an undisclosed location somewhere on the outskirts of Asperitus City, two cloaked men were having a conversation in a dimly lit room. The first was a tall broad-shouldered figure sitting in a chair, while the second was a smaller man kneeling on the floor.

The kneeling figure spoke, "Sir, the initial groups that we sent and their recruits have all either been discovered or are in hiding.

"Damnit!" The seated man broke the glass in his hand. "This is why I told them not to let idiots into the fold. They were supposed to distract Malston, not alert him to our presence." He took a breath to calm himself. "At least we won't have to worry about those fools anymore now that Malston has a hold of them."

"Indeed my lord. They don't know enough to lead anyone to our true goals. However, our plans will be delayed without those mindless sheep. Without their hatred and malice to fuel the ritual, we won't be able to complete the ritual in time."

"Then gather fear. We are running out of time for subtlety. Do what you can and try to keep from being discovered." The cloaked figure stood up from his chair. "You have until the end of the year."

"But sir, can't we find another place. Surely there exists other-"

"Silence!" The large man sent a wave of chilling energy and stopped his subordinate mid-sentence. "Asperitus is the only city, aside from the others, that is connected to the capital by a ley line. The ritual must be done here to complete the spell." The tall figure started to fade into darkness. His voice echoing as he disappeared. "You have your orders."