NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 – Change of Plans
Five Years Later
Chaos Year - 99,993
27th Day of the Month of Julius (July)
Time - 7:00 A.M.
Daybreak Continent, The Imperial Palace
***
Malikai and Maeve were on their way from the training hall to the dining hall for breakfast; having just finished their morning combat training 10 minutes prior.
At this point in time they were both only 14 years old, but they stood at 5’8” and 5’6” respectively.
Malikai had a head full of straight, yet untamed, pitch black hair, a caramel complexion, and the pointed ears elongated canines and vertical pupils characteristic of Faea; alongside a pair of majestic looking pitch black horns that demarcated his Draconian heritage. He was dressed in a set of pale gray robes that hung down to his ankles, and wore a piece of rugged cloth tied around the upper half of his face, but was noticeably barefoot.
Maeve on the other hand was dressed in a female suit of dark red armor that Malikai had finished forging for her just a few weeks prior.
She had long hair that was the same color as her armor that hung down to her waist, hazel colored eyes with vertical pupils, pronounced canines, an olive complexion, slender figure, and a pair of milky white Dragon horns possessing a slightly more delicate shape than Malikai’s.
As they traversed the palace halls, the rays of light radiating from the morning sun slipped through the windows, illuminating their figures in a corona like glow.
Malikai adjusted the piece of cloth covering a portion of his face as he stifled a yawn.
He then spoke to Maeve, “What do we have planned for the rest of the day besides breakfast?"
"Your father wants to see you around noon today, and you asked me to remind you to visit your older sister Veronica after lunch. You also wanted to visit the old bookstore on Cedar Street before our departure for Exemplar tomorrow afternoon." Maeve responded.
"Sounds good, but we its no longer necessary for us to visit my sister Veronica anymore; I wrote her a letter last night and had Ren deliver it. Also have you gotten a reply from my brother Rayleigh or his people?”
“Ok. And no I haven’t heard anything from their end.” Maeve shook her head.
“That is understandable seeing as this is Rayleigh we’re talking about. If Rayleigh is really unavailable we’ll just have to look elsewhere.” Malikai acquiesced as he continued to fidget with the piece of cloth,
“Loki?” Maeve asked.
“No. He’s already given us all the help he can when it comes to tracking down those responsible for the incident without violating the treaty between the Daybreak and Setting Sun Empires. And in addition to that I would prefer not to implicate him any further.” He responded.
“Then who?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?” Maeve gave him a probing glance.
“I’m not.” Malikai begrudgingly affirmed with a sigh before continuing on, “Quite a few of my siblings know a decent amount about the Setting Sun Empire, and the Samsara Continent as a whole; while also possessing ways to get us onto the continent unseen. But as with Loki I can’t have them involved beyond this point, or else it could implicate the Empire as a whole if certain parties look hard enough or we fail to cover our tracks sufficiently. I don’t think either of our sisters would have wanted that. The only reason I even considered involving Rayleigh is because his lack of involvement or interest in the Empire’s affairs is well known.”
“Then do you have any kind of work around in mind at all, or do we have to put our plans on hold for longer than we initially planned?”
“Well that depends.” Malikai responded with a sly smirk.
“On what?” Maeve asked.
“On a couple of things; chief among them being how well we place in the Entrance Exam as it correlates to how many credits we start off with, and whether or not my understanding of the Space-Time Element is deep enough.”
“You want to build a Gate?” Maeve quickly deduced.
“I do.” Malikai nodded once in affirmation before he continued on while thoroughly contemplating the situation, “I initially planned to focus on some other projects for the next few years, and just worry about constructing a Gate further down the road; but now it seems to be our best if not our only option to reach the Samsara Continent. Since the situation is as such I’ll have to put aside some of those other projects and focus on finding the materials for and actually building the Gate. This means that I won’t be going to the bookstore anymore either, instead the two of us we’ll be departing for exemplar immediately after I see my father.”
Maeve’s only question in response to the sudden change in plans was, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want check and see if any of the things were going to need are available in Exemplar’s shopping district, and if the are I don’t want somebody else to claim them first.” He replied concisely.
“Very well, I’ll let the rest of your guards know. Have you finished packing; if not I can finish up for you while you speak with your father later, assuming of course that you didn’t want to skip your usual round of morning Magic cultivation after breakfast and do it yourself.” Maeve offered.
“Thank you for offering, but I’ve already packed everything I need.” Malikai responded.
"Okay then.” Maeve spoke in understanding as they continued on their way to the dining hall in relative quiet.
***
When they arrived at the dining hall’s entrance they nodded to the Imperial Guards standing to either side and walked inside.
The hall had twelve long tables carved from a dark wood, each of them well worn and capable of seating twenty to thirty people comfortably.
Two of them sat on a platform with a small numbered of steps leading up to it along the back wall of the hall; and the other ten were lined up sequentially with the heads of each table pointing toward the one on the raised platform.
The tables on the raised platform were reserved for the use of the Imperial Family of the Daybreak Empire and only a few seats were taken as most of Malikai’s siblings, and his parents had yet to arrive for breakfast.
The other tables on the other hand were packed full, as the dining hall was opened all hours of the day to the Empire’s Ministers, Generals, and Imperial Guards who had just gotten off shift.
The two of them made their way through the hall and up to the table set on the raised platform.
These tables were slightly longer than the others and only had sets along their backsides, so that the occupants would be facing the crowd below.
Malikai made his way to the table on the right and pulled out the third chair from the table's far end to sit down.
The two chairs to his left having already been occupied by his two younger siblings, Ryder and Rebecca, who were twins just four years younger than him.
They both had the classically Faea features such as; vertical pupils, pointed ears with attached lobes, pronounced canines, and lean well-sculpted physiques despite their young age, and donned robes identical to Malikai’s, (as most of the current Daybreak Imperial Family typically did).
They also both had hair and eyes that were a vivid blue; but Ryder's eyes had emerald green Flakes, whereas Rebecca's had fiery red flakes.
"Good Morning Ryder, Becca," Malikai greeted them as Maeve took her seat to his left.
"Good Morning Kai, and Good Morning to you aswell Maeve." The two of them spoke simultaneously before continuing to gorge themselves on the food the servers had set before them.
"Good Morning." Maeve gave a classically neutral greeting as she poured her self a glass of water.
Malikai on the other hand continued to converse with the two, "How long have the two of you been here this morning?"
Rebecca turned to Ryder in uncertainty as she placed yet another piece of bacon in her mouth, and her brother answered for them after a moment of contemplation, "About an hour."
"I see..." Malikai turned his attention to the spread that a few servers had just placed before him after he sat down, before asking another question, "And how many plates have you eaten between the two of you."
Yet again Rebecca prompted Ryder to respond with a look and he contemplated briefly before responding, "Unknown."
"I can't say that's in anyway unexpected really, knowing the two of you that is. Though its not like I'm really one to talk, knowing that I could easily put the two of you to shame when it comes to the ability to put away some food." Malikai spoke in an almost off-handed manner as he prepared to dig in.
All of a sudden, an uncanny silence descended across the entirety of the the previously bustling dinning hall.
Both Ryder and Rebecca stopped what they were doing and turned to look at their older brother; while on the other side of Malikai, Maeve released an audible sigh of exasperation and asked "Why must you do this?"
The same question seemed to be on the minds of every single server and cook in the dinning hall as they quietly redoubled their efforts, while those seated below on the other hand seemed to prepare for a big show.
“You think so huh?” Ryder asked in a dismissive manner, while Rebecca acted as if she heard nothing.
“I do.” Malikai replied in a tone just as dismissive as Ryder’s.
”How about that.” Ryder stated blandly.
“How about it.” Malikai returned.
A period of complete silence then elapsed between them and as it did, Ryder’s cool demeanor began to slip in subtle ways.
Eventually he slipped up and used excessive force when handling his fork, snapping the handle in half.
As a result his body stiffened up in embarrassment/shame and a blush settled over his features.
In the following moment; before he lost complete control due to the mix of emotions and lashed out with magic, Rebecca put down her fork and reached over to grasp his hand nearest to her, causing his emotions to settle.
All the while, Malikai maintained an air of calm, as he consumed as much food as was placed before him, having worked up quite the appetite during his early morning combat training with Maeve which lasted from 4:00 A.M. to about half an hour ago.
A few minutes later as the mood began to ease and the dining hall began to slowly fill up with noise once more Malikai seemed to remember something and said in his characteristically both direct and easygoing tone, “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. There’s been a change of plans, I won’t be departing with the rest of the group tomorrow.”
The twins once more paused and looked over with Ryder being the one to ask, “Why?”
“Something came up and as a result I have to leave early. I now plan to depart today somewhere between 12:30 and 1.” Malikai replied.
“Oh, ok.” Ryder replied, and both he and Rebecca went back to eating, though they were now doing so at a more reasonable pace.
In the following moment a boisterous voice rang out as a sense of lively exuberance filled the dining hall, “This thing that came up must be quite the inconvenience for you of all people to change your plans Kai. Is it anything your big brother can help you with.”
Malikai smiled and shook his head gently, stating, “No, its nothing so important that I would need to disturb you with it Bellamy. Its just that some long-term plans of mine have been altered due to a few hiccups, and now I’m going to have to improvise. I’m going have to begin implementing that improvisation as soon as possible if I want everything to go smoothly. You understand that, don’t you brother?”
He then turned to his brother who was making his way through the dining hall as Bellamy approached replied, “Indeed I do understand that.”
Bellamy looked every bit the part of a Pureblooded Faea Imperial Prince; he was tall at 6’3’’, with a lean physique, pale green hair/eyes, vertical pupils, pronounced canines, pointed ears, and exuded an almost animalistic aura of vitality.
He soon made his way up onto the platform and sat in the chair next to Maeve greeting the twins when he passed by.
After sitting down he spoke to make as well, “Morning Maeve.”
“Good morning Bellamy.” She replied.
The group then settled into peaceful conversation as they continued eating.
Around 30 minutes later Malikai put down his silverware and began to rise to his feet, as he informed them, “Its about time I head off for my magic training. If I don’t see you guys later on today before I leave, I’ll see you sometime tomorrow. Just text me when you guys arrive and I’ll meet you outside the Administration Building.”
In response Maeve stopped what she was doing as well and and said her goodbyes as the two made their way out of the dining hall.
Bellamy and the others acknowledged the two’s farewells before returning to conversing.
After they departed the dining hall Malikai and Maeve split up; the former heading back in the direction of the training hall, and latter heading towards the Imperial Barracks in order to round up Malikai’s guards.
***
When Malikai finished up his session it was a quarter or so past eleven; and after three or so hours spent continuously preforming various spells ranging between levels 1 and 6 with relative ease, he had barely broken a mental sweat, which could be considered quite the feat for even an S+ Rank Mage Class individuals to pull off.
Malikai’s ease at completing such a task despite the fact that he had yet to reach that level himself was caused by quite a few things such as; the fact that he cultivated Chaos Magic, the severe mental stress that came along with constantly analyzing the flow/movement of Mana/Air/ and Sound Waves as necessitated by the theft of his eyes five years ago, as well as his harmonization with the Space-Time Continuum and Cha0s-Order Balance and all the information processing such harmonization necessitated.
Those three things had worked to both, familiarize him with the performance of magic to extreme degrees, and push his brain’s acuity to unparalleled levels.
After he was done, he made his way to his father's study.
He arrived just as the clock struck noon, nodded to Maeve, who was standing besides the door to study peacefully awaiting his arrival, and walked past her to open the door and walk into the study.
As he was crossing the threshold his father’s voice rang out with an authoritative air, “You come in as well Maeve.”
Maeve acted with minimal hesitation as she complied, following Malikai across the study’s threshold.