Anakin was thrust into a world of darkness.

But gradually, the familiar wisps of light flickering into his vision illuminated his new location. He was surrounded by stagnant crystal-clear water, again, but this time there were no forbidding swirls of darkness meandering within it.

He ran a hand through his hair, half-mystified, and glanced around himself, a part of his mind still processing the words the lordly voice had spoken.

The Chantry of Hermes

Why did it sound like some occultic shrine? Was it actually one? Were his family religious fanatics of some sorts? That would be a bit…strange.

And that name, Hermes. Wasn’t that some Greek mythological deity? How did that name come to exist here, in this foreign world? Was there a connection of some sorts?

Anakin furiously rubbed his hands together, cursing the sudden cold, then looked behind him. There was no cobblestone path in that direction— unlike the other—, just water.

He sighed, internally dumping the new batch of questions he’d just conjured within the depths of his mind, and marched along the cobbles, shivering every now and then from the cold’s persistent bites.

There was another large stone door in the direction he headed, and he soon reached it. This one was not as large as the first door he’d touched, but the two shared the same intricate carvings, albeit with a few differences.

Anakin reached out to touch the carvings, and the moment he did, there was a sudden click, followed by the appearance of what seemed to be the carving of an eye etched between the door’s handles. The eye was silvery, much like the ‘A’ on the first door, and when Anakin touched it, it shone before opening the door entirely.

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Anakin stepped through the darkness behind the door, descended a flight of stairs, and navigated a narrow stony corridor, only to stop once he’d reached its end, eyes bulging.

The sight was stunning, and he blinked several times to verify that he wasn’t dreaming.

Past the corridor’s opening was a wide circular platform, made of white marble and slick with moisture, and behind it lay a colossal silver statue of a man on one of his knees, with his face and hands reaching heavenwards.

The statue was easily thirty feet tall, and its eyes shone with a radiant white light. Its body was the epitome of the masculine physique, chiseled in ways Anakin hadn’t thought possible, and its back was covered in strange runic inscriptions.

But what truly took Anakin’s breath away was the waterfall that surrounded both the platform and the statue. It cascaded down the walls, and filled the basin encircling the platform. The water was so pure that it shimmered with a light-bluish glow, and as it fell, it caught the light raining downwards, refracting it in a plethora of dazzling patterns.

The sound of water was almost deafening, and the air was thick with the smell of wet stone and moss. Anakin felt as if he’d stumbled upon some ancient and sacred paradise. It filled him with a subconscious reverence, and for a moment, his breathing stalled.

“Heavenly, isn’t it?” A familiar voice tugged him out of his reverie, and his eyes immediately squinted at its source.

It was his father.

The Duke was sitting cross-legged at the center of the platform, with his eyes closed. He wore a high-collared cotton white shirt—soaked with water— that clung to his bare skin, emphasizing a physique that boasted masculinity in a voice just as loud as the statue’s.

The black trousers, and belt enveloping his legs and waist completed his outfit. He was bare-footed.

“It is..” Anakin resumed his breathing, and started walking towards the platform, suppressing a sudden surge of nerves. “I haven’t seen anything as beautiful as this.”

Adgar smiled, eyelids opening, and got to his feet, waving his hands to isolate the waterfall’s noise. Silence descended the platform.

“I had the same reaction as you when I had my own Ignition.” Adgar reminisced for a second, momentarily glancing at the statue, and waited for Anakin to reach him. Back then times were much simpler, and he too was filled with the same innocence he saw sparkling within his children’s eyes.

“I’m sure you have questions.” He began to speak once Anakin had reached him, and Anakin’s mouth instinctively opened.

More so than you could imagine.

But Adgar cut him off, “However, the ritual comes first. All your questions will have to come after.” he said, then took a deep breath. “Ready?”

Anakin took a quick glance at his surroundings, wondering why his mother and the elders were nowhere to be seen, then nodded in affirmation.

Adgar began his lecture, turning his back on Anakin and walking towards the statue. “As you’ve learned from your lessons, our family dabbles in the arcane. We’ve been studying it since the days of old, even before the Empire’s inception, and we are part of the minority that are able to use it to its full potential.”

Adgar paused for a moment, internally deliberating on how to phrase his next words, before discarding his reservations. There was no need for them. Any child with even a sliver of his son’s intellect would be able to grasp the meaning behind his words.

“Before we commence your Ignition ritual, I will give you a brief lecture on what exactly the arcane is, and how the Spark Ignition ritual is related to it. I’m sure you’ve already seen some of what I’m about to say in the magic books you’ve been reading, but I’ll nonetheless educate you. I know you want to learn about these matters specifically from me.”

Adgar smiled, and Anakin grinned inwardly. Finally, he was getting answers from the Duke himself. He’d longed to learn about magic from an actual practitioner, rather than from paper.

“The ‘Arcane’…” Adgar turned in Anakin’s direction, arms outstretched, “is just a term society uses to reference the secret, hidden, natural forces that govern reality as we see it. These forces act in every facet of our lives and are so mysterious that, even after studying them since antiquity, society has grasped merely a tiny fraction.”

He started strolling back towards Anakin, “Magic is what we use to harness the Arcane. To tap into it and command its forces as we see fit.”

“Magic…” Adgar stopped in front of Anakin and waved his right hand, causing a silver magic circle to materialize around it.

[World of Dreams]

Anakin, starry-eyed, watched the world around him spin and morph into something entirely different. A fresh, rosy scent assaulted his nostrils and bright rays of light pierced his vision, causing him to immediately squint his eyes as he took in the changes.

There was grass and flowers as far as the eye could see, rabbits hopping in the distance, bees buzzing all around him, and gargantuan trees not so far away. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun shone imperiously overhead.

“...is the art of harnessing the unseen, the inexplicable, the mysterious…” his father’s voice jolted his head to right, and he saw the Duke suddenly appear in a whirlwind of flowers.

“..It is the breath of our universe given form and purpose through the will of the magician…” he waved his hand, causing the world to spin and morph again, but this time to a lonely prairie surrounded by a starry night sky.

“...It is the spark of divinity within us all, waiting to be fanned into flame.” The bleak night sky suddenly lit up as hundreds, no thousands, of meteors began to streak across it. “It is the ability to shape reality itself, to bend the laws of the natural world, to transcend the boundaries of time and space…”

The world spun again, and Anakin noticed he was now standing on the hand of a…giant. He jerked his head to his rear, only to widen his eyes staring at it.

“It is the power to make the impossible possible, and light the darkness of the human soul with the brilliant radiance of hope.” His smiling, now-giant of a father spoke, and the next moment, the world spun and he was standing on the circular platform again.

“In short..” The Duke appeared to his left. “..magic is the very essence of the human spirit and it lies within us all, waiting to be unlocked and set free…” he approached him.

“The Spark is what allows us to perform magic. It is an inherent part of the human soul.” Adgar outstretched his palm, and Anakin—who had been fighting a losing battle with his amazement— immediately narrowed his eyes, seeing what was floating above it.

It appeared to be some sort of miniature sun. Except, the entire thing was blazing with silvery flames, shackled by an Indigo chain covered in runes, and surrounded by what looked like a glowing silver ring.

“This is what it looks like.” Adgar answered Anakin’s mental question. “Mine burns in a silvery flame because my natural attunement is Illusion, one of the innumerable forms of magic.”

He waved his free hand, enlarging it for Anakin to see more clearly. Anakin noticed something purple at the sun’s center.

“Solarian religion tells us that its divine lord, The Eternal Sun: Prometheus, blessed all sentient creatures with it when he created The First Domain.” He waved his hand, dispersing the Spark manifestation.

“However, this is nothing but a lie. The truth couldn’t be any further than that. As a scion of the Aldritch name, this truth is something you will eventually come to learn.”

He cleared his throat, and by now, Anakin was finding it impossible to pay attention. He had just gained a butload of important information that needed to be digested thoroughly.

“Now let us begin.” Adgar suddenly clapped his palms, grinning. “It’s time to Ignite your Spark.”