All for the pursuit of knowledge, of the new world yet to be discovered, of the creatures the beings that should not exist, and of the extent to which magic could alter the strings of existence and pluck its own glorious sound. Victor could understand why such a ritual must go perfectly, tradition or not, and furthermore, he understood why so many magicians were required to perform it. The ritual itself required the incantations of old performed by the majority of magicians. These would then be amplified by other magicians channeling mana, the matter which allows for visualization to become magic, directly to those who perform the incantations.

Lastly, the set of magicians Victor belonged to this day would be those in charge of keeping the great mana crystal sealed during the performance of the incantations. Victor repeated his incantation of sealing to himself silently in his mind. This stone hovered just several inches off the ground and stood well over seven feet high. Each century, a new crystal would have to be excavated, as a gateway would emerge from the crystal’s center, effectively destroying it. The Magus Association would only appoint the greatest magicians to this task, and Victor reassured himself of his position.

The Sigure city infantry and even a group of royal guards would stand fast at the site of the summoning. While weaponry was at the ready to respond to any summon that proved malicious, a phasing incantation would be prepared moments before the summoning would be completed as another precaution. Again, Victor reaffirmed himself of his abilities and remembered the grueling nights spent studying the manuscripts for the ideal incantation of sealing.

From the city gates, the procession of royal guards took front and back, leading the pack of magicians and infantry. Wagons carried supplies in case the summon proved challenging to handle. Music sounded in the cities as the parade departed, though utter silence overtook the group mere minutes later.

Victor scanned around him, meeting eyes with several acquaintances who carried the same uneasiness as himself. It would make sense that those in charge of carrying out the summon would experience some level of anxiety, but to Victor, it was nearly overwhelming. His palms were clammy, cold to the touch yet soaked. His body began to shake, and his legs lost more and more stability with each step. The royal guards who took the front stopped and gestured forward. There, a collection of marble ruins stood, and there, the ritual would be carried out.

Victor held his hands steady, visualizing a magical seal over the crystal, chanting over and over again whilst trying his best to block out the others sounds echoing around him. It was nearly impossible to maintain focus without wanting to speak or break the rhythm, yet this would disrupt the ritual, and the summoning would fail. His knees were close to folding, and he thought about mystery which would emerge from the crystal. It could be a new organism never seen before, or perhaps a concentration of pure mana similar to the relics uncovered before.

A vortex swirled within the translucent crystal, and slowly, it began expanding. Upon the thoughts, the revelations of the possibilities, a sudden roar, high pitched yet ferocious, sounded and a typhoon emerged from the once fully-enclosed crystal. Before every magician had even gotten to see the occurrence, however, a sudden ripple in the center led the vortex back into the crystal, and soon, the stone had lost its color and the glistening of the crystal faded. The incantations around had ceased. Victor had dropped his hands to his sides.

*************************

Savo felt above, around, and beneath himself before trying to open his eyes, attempting to gather his senses. His proprioception was still groggy, and he felt phantom movements from his limbs, despite laying perfectly still atop a patch of yellow grass. Savo eventually managed to restore his vision, and such resulted in his fixed gaze upon a cloudless sky.

The edges of his vision were still blurred, and he attempted to rub away the grime, only to find himself paralyzed for the moment. A strong gust of wind swept through the grassland, forcing Savo’s body into a momentary stir, allowing him to wiggle in motion, barely. A bygone shiver later, Savo got up to his feet and stood still, surveying his surroundings. A completely empty grassland, save a few patches of flowers, paid him no ease of mind, though he felt unexplainable tranquillity there.

Such a moment of peace would be ephemeral, however. Savo felt yet another gust of wind, this time far more antagonizing than the last. It blew in from his backside, which he had yet to turn to. Upon doing so, his vision met a grandiose landscape, with little familiarity to anything remotely earthly. The grassland which extended seemed to abruptly end, encircling a body of water with no end in sight. In the distant waters, an ark of substantial size seemed to drift without course.

Savo’s eyes had not yet caught the skies above, but soon he witnessed moving figures of tremendous magnitudes, all in the form of clouds. A serpent of unfathomable length seemed the course through the waters and onto the land, and in front, a lion with a mane of flowing clouds traveled the same direction as the serpent. Following behind, a crane reached aloft with its beak, seemingly able to touch the clouds which coursed upwards. Lastly, an elk, with solid and almost lifelike horns trotted behind.

Savo blinked hard several times before assuring himself that this vision was a dream, yet a shocking slip of pain from a pinch led Savo into a near panic. Another gust of wind fell upon the solitary man, standing among what seemed like two different worlds, both of which he had no place in.

As he witnessed this scene, with such mysterious beauty in it, Savo could only recall the distant day of his past when he was atop his spire, his throne in that oval office, watching, staring at the downpour filling the skies. At this moment, the creatures had suddenly disappeared, and the ark had vanished from the waters, which now stood still. The atmosphere around echoed not a single breeze.