The Aether God: Chapter 18 - A Final Bit of Business
Their feats, their fortunes and their fames are hidden from their nearest kin;
No eager public backs or blames, no journal prints the yarn they spin.
Caladrius School East District: Court 2
As Cerulean walked down from the stage, he noticed a small pouch on his chair. He picked it up as he sat down. As he opened it, a strong wave of Azurean Ether hit his face - it was Egwu Fur, the item that he had mentioned to the Frostbane Shopkeeper.
“Hah! What a guy…”
Triton was now sitting beside Cerulean, chatting with a female disciple to his other side. But soon after the pouch disappeared, Triton leaned over towards him.
“Are you ready to go?”
…………………
As Cerulean and Triton stepped out of the arena, they were greeted by a large crowd of disciples. It was the crowd that had been cheering them on during the duels. The two boys smiled as they walked towards them, and exchanged a number of high fives and greetings with everybody. The group included a large number of disciples who weren’t at the Saturday meeting. However, from what they had been shown since, they already valued Cerulean highly, as they knew he would be one to soon change their lives. Because they had resigned from the duels after only their first rounds, they had much time to spare. The sea of disciples soon split into a number of smaller groups as they left.
…………………
The Market District
Colorful stalls lined the cobbled streets, their wares on display like jewels in a treasure trove. Vendors were hawking their goods in all directions. The air was thick with the aroma of exotic spices and freshly baked bread amidst the hustle and bustle. Cerulean had quickly made his way over to the Market District after the duels. Because of the Latia Aurora Incident, the city was still in something of an upheaval. But business was going on as usual.
Cerulean continued through the district but very little was catching his eye. He could easily recreate any exotic elixir or artifact present among the stalls.
“What am I even going to do with all the extra money I’ve made?”
Cerulean was continuously reminded of what a financial monster he was. He had already practically cornered the market in all three trades - with very, very little work.
“I’m beginning to realize why rich artists love training… They don’t have to sit around and wait. All this negotiating is starting to get a little boring. After the garments, it’ll be out of the way for a little while.”
Although Cerulean had very many plans in motion, they required a lot of waiting. They would not be coming to fruition anytime soon. He had already realized this, but being way ahead of the competition was not quite as engaging as he thought it would be.
“I think I’m going to venture outside the valley sooner than I previously expected. There’s also going to be a lot to deal with when I return home for break… If I don’t start making progress toward the temporal plane, I’ll just be wasting more time later. Plus I know a little better what to expect there.”
However, Cerulean was extremely excited for a different reason. His duel earlier was the first time he truly battled or even sparred using the arts. It was his first real taste of action, and he was hungry for more. Though he was well versed in combat techniques and forms, he wasn’t even able to take on an average five year old in his past life. Ether was so far beyond the limits of flesh and bone.
“Maybe I’ll pay a visit to the South Haven tomorrow and see if any beasts are looking for some trouble… I don’t have to worry about conversion for a while, luckily.”
As Cerulean passed through the district, he noticed some familiar vendors. He had been here the day before to purchase assorted items for Latia. Now, he had an order to make.
“Hey if it isn’t our good friend Cerulean! How can we help you today?”
As Cerulean approached a certain market stall, his eyes were met by a young etherless salesman, not much older than twenty. His name was Rowan White, who worked alongside two of his close friends. They were tailors who weaved all sorts of fabrics. As soon as Rowan spoke, the other two men turned their heads and stood up.
“Hey hey!”
The other two men walked over and greeted Cerulean kindly. He mentioned that Latia loved the clothes he had bought the day before. Soon, he began talking about his next purchase.
“I’m interested in purchasing ten or so thousand form-fitting garments of different sizes. The color doesn’t matter much, but they’ll have to be woven from the wool of a venerable or above beast… I'd prefer they be equally distributed among the attributes, but it’s not necessary for now.”
Despite the hustling and bustling of the market district, it was as if crickets could be heard. The three men were struggling to take Cerulean seriously, as he predicted. They were at something of a loss. Garments made from a venerable beast’s wool were practically only worn to flex one’s wealth. They had no protective properties prior to being runed, but were hundreds of times more expensive than animal wool. They likely wanted to let out a distressed laugh, but were avoiding showing Cerulean any disrespect, as he was a valued customer. Ever-perceptive, Cerulean smiled as his hand dug into his robes, where he materialized two large bags of gold coins.
“Here’s my down… payment.”
Cerulean laughed smugly as he placed the two large bags on their table. Their eyes quickly widened.
“Oh wait… down is made from feathers, not wool… That’s embarrassing.”
As they undid the tethers holding the bags closed, they became immensely astonished. Bronze coins, maybe, but gold? This was more coinage than an average tailor would see in ten lifetimes. Despite being at another loss for words, Rowan spoke up.
“We’re sorry for doubting you… but can we ask who your purchase is for?”
A purchase of such magnitude most certainly had to have been requested by a legendary sect, or perhaps another sect or large guild. Cerulean seemed too simple a boy to be tasked with such an absurd capital venture.
“Please don’t worry about any of that. Just make them as you normally would. Also, if you accept the job, I expect that you three will keep my identity entirely secret.”
The three men nodded quickly, almost hurting their necks.
“Of course! Now… regarding the garments…”
Before Rowan could finish his question, Cerulean materialized and handed him a small notebook. It contained some guidelines and sketches of the garments he was requesting.
“There’s no need to rush the order. Just make the garments as is convenient. I’ll stop by regularly to see how things are going and provide more funds if need be. I just wanted to get this out of the way. Also the sketches I gave you are more of a guideline than an exact requirement. They just need to be relatively comfortable, and woven very thin - enough to not hinder any movement and stay hidden. Feel free to source the materials from wherever is convenient.”
Rowan was at an even greater loss now than he had been before, but in face of such a huge order, he refrained from prying any further. This was a once in a lifetime contract opportunity. He assumed quite heavily that Cerulean had a powerful benefactor, and any deviations from what they agreed upon could be met with a terrible fate. “Of course! I give you my word that we won’t share any of your personal details, nor accept any other orders for the time being. We’ll also begin work immediately! Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“That’s all for now! I have some other business to attend to, so I’ll leave the rest in your hands.”
Cerulean shared his farewells with the three young men before continuing North through the district.
“That may have been the biggest risk I’ve taken so far… Maybe I should have had them make a pact? No, I’ve been overdoing that I think. This ought to be fine, they’re good guys.”
Cerulean continued walking, and soon, he had reached the border of the market district. In front of him were many miles of hills and grasslands. However, he continued walking. Once he was far away from any eyes, he spoke.
Apprentice Conveyance Technique: Shuttle - Art 1: North
After he spoke, a light blue hue appeared under his feet, displacing them from the ground. It was a ring of Welkinean Ether. Though it was very thin, it glided northbound along the ground, carrying Cerulean. After a few moments, Cerulean sat, then laid down on the ring as it continued gliding, rustling the long blades of grass in its path.
“Welkinean Artists have it toooo easy.”
Cerulean relaxed with his hands underneath his head, gazing up at the sky. Evening, along with a small storm, was soon approaching. Large billowing clouds grayed the blue sky as wind rustled the abounding field of grass that extended far in each direction. The platform under his feet continued on, nonetheless.
“Even the gray skies are so pretty. I can see the clouds so much clearer using elucidation and magnification arts. Pretty soon I’ll be able to fly around them too. I hardly understood why artists always said that the world feels so small… Well… I’ll probably also understand that soon.”
Cerulean “understood” that being able to traverse hundreds of miles in mere moments would make the world feel small, but he had never really experienced that for himself. The power he had now was just enough to give him a greater wanderlust for the world, but not enough to make the world feel easily traversable. For this moment, at least, he wanted to enjoy what he had.
Nearly as soon as he was done pondering, the air had thoroughly cooled off - It was about to rain. But Cerulean stood up, and soon afterward canceled the conveyance art.
“Here we are.”
On either side of Cerulean were enormous walls, casting long shadows that stretched across the ground like grasping fingers. Before him, a closed gate rose, majestic and with intricate cerulean blue designs etched into its weathered stone.
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