Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

The room was dimly lit and relaxing music was softly playing. Zeph was in his room meditating. His magical control, capacity, and endurance have come far since he first started. Now he was meditating while trying to keep himself afloat in the center of the room. The constant use of magic would help him fortify his concentration and ability to use magic for prolonged periods of time. It also had the added benefits of calming his mind.

Ghastly images of monsters and their victims still haunted him on occasion, but it had been getting better. Bianca recommended meditation and it helped immensely. She told Zeph that scenes like what they witnessed were going to be common if he wanted to continue down the path he was on. Her advice was meditation and talking. It was simple advice but it worked.

While they were swimming earlier, Zeph realized that Semara's d.e.s.i.r.e to go into the pool was as much for her as it was for him. The wolf-kin wanted to relax and get her mind off that night as well. Semara wasn't a stranger to violence, but that didn't mean she was immune to its after effects. Even the most seasoned veterans needed time to relax and get their head straight. Bianca was more than happy to join them, and the fox-kin even came up with some interesting pool games to help them cheer up. One involved a wardrobe malfunction by Semara, and Zeph couldn't tell if Bianca caused it or not. Semara, on the other hand, was sure that her friend did it.

The thought made Zeph chuckle, and he almost fell out of the air when he lost his concentration. He wasn't sure what Drew and the boys would be more jealous of, him being in the middle of all the action during the attacks or him being in a pool with two beautiful women. It would probably be a split vote. Drew would definitely be jealous because of the girls, while Jim would rather be in the fight. Either way, Zeph didn't really see any action. Zeph didn't fight any monsters, and Semara was too quick to give Zeph a glimpse of the goods. That didn't stop Bianca from teasing them.

His mind wandered and he was trying to think of a way he could help. If that night taught him anything, it was that he wasn't strong enough. The academy wouldn't help him. Not unless Bernard let him skip a few grades, but that wasn't really why he was going there. Bernard sent him to the school to help him adjust to society and make friends. While they were just children now, Zeph would grow with them and they would become valuable allies in the future. It was a little calculative, but Bernard was the lord of a territory. Calculative was in his job description.

Zeph sighed, and slowly lowered himself to the floor. His growth was dependent on time, but he wanted to be useful now. Those people, if only he had a way to save them. He walked over to his full-length mirror. "I guess I really won't get anywhere by thinking about it on my own," he said to his reflection. The young lord changed his clothes into something presentable and left the room to find his grandfather.

___________________

Keva was leaning in the back of her office chair while Alex stood behind her massaging his wife's shoulders. "You know I could just use healing magic to take care of this. That's what I usually do," she told the old butler.

"You make it sound like this is an inconvenience for me." Alex bent down and kissed his love on the top of her head. "Besides, you need to unwind after today.

Keva sighed. Her husband was right. Ever since the attack, things have been hectic. The city council was swamped with work trying to handle everything. There were the repairs, security concerns, investigations, the press and so many other things that they had to deal with. People wanted answers and someone to take responsibility. Blame naturally fell on Bernard because he was the Lord of the territory. No doubt that the unknown enemies were fueling that particular fire.

"How's our boy doing?" Keva asked.

"He's not taking it well. You know how he gets. I'm amazed he hasn't blazed a path of destruction against the less than reputable members of society while trying to find answers. Zeph's presence seems to have mellowed him out some."

The phone on her desk started ringing, so Keva picked it up. Alex focused on his task and didn't pay much attention to her conversation. After a few minutes, the call ended and Keva covered her face with her hands and g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"What's wrong?" Alex squeezed her shoulders.

"More of the same. I don't know how we're going to help reassure the people."

"Hmm. I actually have an idea, but I'm not sure Bernard's going to like it." Alex smiled. "But if I know Zeph, he'll be more than happy to go along."

"What is it?" Keva waited for an explanation. After Alex told her his plan, she was against it. Her husband took some time to convince her and she caved in. "Okay, but you have to be the one to explain it to Bernard, and if anything happens to that sweet boy I'll-"

"I know honey. Don't worry though. The boy is tougher than you think." Alex reassured her and then picked up the phone.

_____________________________

"Hey, do you guys know where grandpa is?" Zeph asked as he walked into the kitchen. Bianca was making dinner while Semara was helping her. The young lord's new bodyguard was under strict orders to make sure the fox didn't try and improvise a recipe.

"Oh hi peepers, he's in his office or study, or whatever he calls it," Semara answered with his new nickname.

"It's not peeping if you're looking at an exhibitionist." Bianca sang in a teasing manner. Semara's only response was a growl.

Zeph laughed. "Like I keep saying, I didn't see anything. If it bothers you that much I'll take responsibility." He smirked.

Semara looked at him condescendingly. "Pshh, maybe if you were ten years older." She heard Bianca let out a loud laugh. "I swear he's getting more like you every day. You two shouldn't tease people so much."

He shrugged. "Just saying. I'll see you two at dinner. I gotta talk to the old man."

"See you." The two waved him off.

Zeph left the kitchen and made his way to Bernard's. When he arrived in front of the door, he could hear muffled shouts. It seemed Like Bernard was talking to someone and he was busy, so Zeph waited a few minutes. He grew some fox ears and waited for the conversation to stop. After it did, he knocked on the door.

"Come in." Bernard just got off a call with Alex and was rubbing his forehead. His old friend's plan was a bit risky, but he had to admit that it had merit. He looked to the opening door and saw Zeph. "Good timing son, I was just about to call you over here."

Zeph walked in and sat down. "Everything okay? I heard you shout, and I thought this room was supposed to be soundproof.

"I forgot to activate it when I entered. My mind's been preoccupied." Bernard pulled out two glasses.

"Oh, so we're doing this again." Zeph gave his grandpa a small grin.

"Eli's idea, and I figure that we could both use a drink."

"Speaking of, where is Eli?"

"He's out chasing down some leads, and looking more into what happened." Bernard started to tell Zeph about the things that they discovered from their investigation.

"So he figured I'd provide a fresh perspective?"

"Is he wrong?"

"Hmm. I guess not. You know most of my ideas and conjectures come from movies and stories of my old world right?"

Bernard laughed. "I know, but that doesn't mean there's no wisdom in them."

Zeph rubbed his chin and swirled his drink around in its glass. "So the attacks in the capital were nowhere near as severe as the ones here. Relina thinks that it has something to do with demons and gathering negative energy, and you think they upped their game because they're getting close to the goal?"

"In summation."

"That's not a lot to go on. Did they only attack us and the capital?"

"No, there have been several other attacks."

"Well try looking at what they have all in common."

"They're all cities that house nobles."

"Is that all. If they were only after the nobles, then they would have attacked our house. You said the attacks took place in public areas. That means they wanted people to see. Terrorist attacks are called that because they spread terror, which Relina said demons feed off of."

"Valid point. We'll look more into what our city and those places have in common. What else?"

"I remember Relina saying that ripping a hole through our world and the ethereal plane takes a lot of energy. That ritual suicide they performed might have had provided enough for a short attack. The tears lasted less than an hour, but that's still a lot of energy. What have you got on the people who performed it, the ones that committed suicide?"

"Their bodies disappeared after they performed the ritual, and they were wearing hooded masks. We don't have much to go on."

"Well, that sounds like creepy cult crap if I've ever heard it. So I bet it has something to do with that anti-noble group Eli busted. If they were giving people power boosts, they might have done that to the guys who performed the ritual. I can't imagine there are a lot of mages willing to kill themselves to summon a demon. Fanatics, on the other hand, I could see them doing something dangerous like sacrificing themselves for a cause or for power."

"That won't help much. After the incident, there are many missing people. It will be difficult to link any of them to the people who performed the ritual."

"Well, that sucks. Hmmm." Zeph took a sip of his brandy. "I don't really have any more ideas than that. I'm not familiar enough with magic and spirit energy compared to you guys. If they're gathering negative energy from emotions, that means their plan definitely involves the material plane. The demons are a concern. Are the demons working because of a contractor or is a contractor working for the demons?"

"That's a good question. You know, you might have a future as an investigator." Bernard chuckled before taking a drink. "I'll share your thoughts with Eli and Relina tomorrow when we continue our investigation. Speaking of tomorrow, would you like to come to Aether Labs with us?"

"Sure, I've been wanting to see what you've been up to. Anything specific you want to show me?"

"Yes actually. Alex had an idea that he thought you'd like. He wants to-" Bernard was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on his door. "Who is it?"

"It's Semara sir, I've come with something concerning the young lord."

"Come in," he said.

Semara opened the door and the two Malston's eyes went wide with shock. Zeph started laughing immediately, but Bernard was able to keep it down to a small chuckle. The poor wolf girl was covered in white powder and holding a kitten covered in chunky dough.

Her eye twitched as she spoke, "Young Lord, your familiar found her way into the cookie dough while Bianca and I weren't looking. In the following scuffle to pry her away from the bowl, Rin launched an air-ball that hit a nearby bag of flower."

Zeph's laughter died down. "Thanks, Semara. I'll take care of it." Zeph motioned for the kitten and Semara let Rin go. The kitten floated towards Zeph with waiting arms. He looked at his grandfather.

"Go on, we can finish this later." Bernard couldn't hide his amus.e.m.e.nt.

Zeph looked down at the kitten in his arms. "You know this means you get another bath right?"

"NYAOWW!"