Traverse The Fog

Cyrus had low expectations for the snow-feathered canary. He expected it to fly away or ignore him. But what a surprise: the bird met his gaze. There and then, the two silently realized they shared a similar longing—the desire to break free from their cages.

One second. Two. After a moment of silence, the canary gazed through the window one last time before hopping off its perch, fluttering its wings onto Cyrus' palm. Surprised, Cyrus hummed at the sight of it nestling in his hand, staring at him silently with those beady blue eyes. There was no melody, no chirping. Just silence.

"Well, someone's playing smart, eh?" Cyrus remarked, his finger poised to caress the canary's head, yet he hesitated and retracted his hand at the last moment.

Better not to grow attached to something destined to vanish. But that didn't matter. Considering his mission completed, Cyrus strode back to Dílis. Yet upon the sight of her, he paused. Before him, she stood, eyes closed, humming some unknown song. She had seemingly forgotten why she was here as a chorus of canaries joined her.

Cyrus coughed out loud.

"Oh, you're back." Dílis opened her eyes, unperturbed by his arrival. "Did you give up?"

Yet her brows creased once her emerald gaze shifted from his shaggy beard to the snowball perched in his palm.

"Is something wrong?" Cyrus held out his palm. "I managed to get a pet!"

"Companion," She corrected him, her gaze remaining fixed. "But Cyrus, are you sure?" —Dílis strode closer to him, the canaries perched on her, flying off— "This one is a troublemaker. And he's almost always trying to fly through the door."

The little criminal remained unperturbed by the Half-Elf's accusations and simply remained silent, watching the closed door. And Cyrus stifled a laugh. The little guy wasn't even trying to pretend. All the more to commit to his plans, no?

"Then what do you recommend?" He asked between chuckles.

"If you're serious about this one." Dílis turned her gaze to another door close by. "Then we'll have to use a portable cage."

Cyrus shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. I don't have a problem with that.

Hence, he waited as Dílis entered the storage room before returning with a bird cage.

Bare with it for the moment. Cyrus thought, glancing at the white canary.

Without hesitation, he clasped his hands like a cage, trapping the canary. It was easy to place it inside the cage as it struggled not. Yet once inside, Cyrus could see its demeanor worsen as it closed in on itself like a turtle hiding in its shell while remaining unresponsive to stimuli.

I know the feeling. Cyrus rose from the cage to meet it at eye level.

"Let's go," She said, then whistled a command, which Tuuli answered by landing on her head.

Out they went and toward the manor. Once under the misty skies, the caged canary appeared agitated while silence remained its friend.

Dílis sighed at the sight, feeling bad for the bird. "He's always been a loner."

"Well, why didn't you free him?" Cyrus glanced at the bird, who remained locked on the flying Tuuli.

Dílis looked towards the oncoming manor, her gaze lining the red vine overgrowth. "It's not that we will keep him locked in forever. But we were hoping that he'd connect with a Wayfarer instead." She met his gaze with a sweet smile. "Maybe that will be you?"

I doubt it. Cyrus masked himself with a smile. "I hope so, or it'll be awkward if it flies off the moment we're outside."

"Speaking of which," Dílis replied, returning her gaze to the manor. "Make sure to keep your windows shut, or the little guy will fly off."

"That's no problem," Cyrus said, hoping this conversation would end soon so he could return to his books. "Anything else?"

"No... I don't think so..." But then Dílis' gaze lit up, turning to him excitedly. "Oh! Have you thought of a name for him?"

A name? Why bother?

"No, not yet." Cyrus made up a lie on the spot. "Names have meaning. And I want to choose one that truly suits him, you know?"

Dílis nodded. "I get that." She then looked upward at her green-feathered friend. "That's the reason I named her Tuuli: She's as swift and powerful as the wind."

Tuuli responded with a joyful chirp, circling around the two. Once the two stood at the back entrance of the manor, they lingered for a moment.

"So, I'll see you later, Cyrus." She smiled at him. "I'm heading toward the Wayfarer's HQ to check if my team has sent an update on their patrol."

"Oh?" Cyrus responded, voice intentionally curious. "Will they return soon? Could you introduce them to me?"

He wasn't interested in meeting them, not really. But it would be good to see who Dílis keeps the company with and adjusts himself to their personalities.

With a smile, she nodded. "Team Breeze will return in a week. So, I'll introduce you then. Morgan is a great guy..." She hesitated for a moment. "But my team leader, Leal Anari is very... by the books. So just be warned."

Yeah, no kidding. Leal had definitely left an impression on Cyrus, and it wasn't just by her good looks.

"I can't wait."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

They soon went their separate ways. Once Cyrus was alone, he glanced at the caged canary, who remained listless and unmoving. Was it that miserable?

That will change soon enough.

On he went. Upon entering his room, Cyrus strode to the desk and organized the cluttering books and camera before placing the cage before him.

"From one cage to another," Cyrus sighed, lightly teasing the canary.

The bird offered no response, its pitiful gaze fixed on the outer world beyond the window.

Cyrus rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. You're making me feel bad." He opened the window and the birdcage in tandem, gesturing toward the window. "Go ahead. It's time to go." There was a pause between the two. Shocked, the canary remained within the cage, turning toward Cyrus. "I'm not playing any games, bird." Slowly, Cyrus sat down on the chair and waved him off. "Hurry up; I got things to do."

The canary stayed still, regardless.

Minutes soon passed. And a rather frustrated Cyrus lightly tugged on his beard. "Are you so distrustful? The door is open."

This time, the canary listened. Slightly hesitant, it hopped off its wooden perch and fluttered through the door, landing on the desk. And despite all this, it still hasn't taken the chance to fly away, even shifting its focus onto Cyrus once more.

"You're one strange bird." Cyrus tsked, his gaze moving toward his camera. "Oh, right."

Click

Within the screen appeared the image of a snow-white canary staring directly at its viewer.

"Hey, hey," Cyrus said, a faint smile tugging his lips. "Someone's quite the poser. Now, get out of here."

He then signaled to the bird by waving at the window. Meanwhile, the canary glanced at him one last time before fluttering its wings. It then quickly took off through the window and into the gray skies above, never to be seen again.

Cyrus observed this placidly. There was no sense of accomplishment or joy on his face or heart. And why would there be? All he did was open a cage. And to him, they were merely two entities crossing paths on the journey of life, destined to diverge in different directions—nothing worth noting.

Where was he? Right. Books. Although...

"I should go out to Avalorn on my own tomorrow," Cyrus muttered, gaze shifting through the pile of books before him.

There was an entire city before him, pulsing with life and stories. And where was Cyrus? Out here in the middle of nowhere. The three-day escort was nice, but it was too forced for what he wanted to witness. Chaos. Life's offers. The real Avalorn—these were what he wanted to observe.

And tomorrow, he shall go. But now, magic.

"The Basics of Domains." Cyrus traced the spine of a thin, black book, observing the gilded words. "By Horatius Gaius."

He then opened the cover and was greeted by a hexagon divided into six multicolored triangles enclosed within a green circle flanked by two outer rings—one gray and one purple. Having previously learned the elements, Cyrus could determine that each color defined a domain.

Although there is no orange. Cyrus frowned at the thought. Why was he still on this? And he knew that some things were just best left alone. "Maybe I should look for an academy teacher."

But he quickly gave up the thought. Weary of his own ideas, he chose instead to focus on the book. It delved into the fundamentals of runes and mana, offering a broad overview tailored for new apprentices or young readers. And despite Cyrus having heard of all this, he reread.

If anything, Cyrus should have read this earlier. But he chose to read Wayfarer guides on survival and foraging. After all, how would he survive without food? And it wasn't because Cyrus found it more interesting at the time. Surely.

In any case, Cyrus was limited by a lack of runes and a suitable teacher. So, he felt justified in taking his time with the subject. And while magic was incredible in its own right, it wasn't the end-all be-all. At least, not to him.

To explore the world, embrace diverse cultures, unearth the extraordinary, and, above all, discover meaning for himself—that was Cyrus' driving force.

Cyrus stopped his reading and furrowed his brow. Why am I defending myself?

He then shook his head and bypassed the introductory section. Today, he wanted to delve into the more esoteric domains like order, light, space, and darkness, with space holding particular significance for him. And there was his first disapointment—no section on space.

What kind of rubbish book is this?

Fine. If there were no information on the spatial domain, Cyrus would focus on another weird domain: order. He then turned the pages, enjoying the sounds of scraping paper until Cyrus stopped on the page he was looking for.

It began as such: If order could be comprised into a single sentence, then it would be this: Order is the reason everything works. Without order, a fire would not burn, nor would a sword cut. As such, every domain falls under the domain of order.

Cyrus furrowed his brows, pondering. "If everything exists because of order, then why isn't everyone born with the domain?"

Unfortunately, the book remained silent on that question, earning an annoyed tsk from Cyrus.

"Typical."

Disappointed, he read further: Order has a more common, ancient term: arcane. Order mages, or rather arcanists, use their runes to enforce the laws of reality. If an arcanist wishes, they could enforce the sturdiness of armor or the sharpness of the blade. In the end, arcanists are limited by their perception. More importantly, they run our society as the driving force of enchanters, creating magical circles, magitek, and arcane weapons.

"Fascinating." Cyrus recalled Blake's daggers and the memory shards. "Arcanists are the backbone of society."

Again, the lack of an enchanting section showcased this book's limitations. Shaking his head, Cyrus searched for the darkness section. To him, this one stood out as the strangest. What was once merely the absence of light had become a world of possibilities. Who knew it had rules and abilities? If only he had been born with such a domain.

There. Its passage read as such: Despite the academy's attempts to instill reason and logic into its students and the general populous, some still believe that dark mages are malevolent. To reiterate, the darkness domain does not corrupt those born with it.

"What a start," Cyrus scoffed.

Shaking his head, he continued his reading: The dark domain rules in the absence of light. Remarkably, dark mages possess an ability to mimic other elements—excluding light—within the realms of darkness and corrosion, resulting in somewhat inferior imitations yet still offering versatility. In the end, most umbramancers are known for seamlessly melding with the shadows and their corrosive abilities.

"Wow." Cyrus sighed in jealousy. "Now I really wish I had that domain."

As for people believing he was evil. Who cares? Now, onto light. Honestly, Cyrus hoped for some favorable insights on the subject for the future.

The passage read: Light. Without it, the city-states would not have survived this long. While scarce, photomancers are known to cleanse through the fog and its corruptive effects. There was once a time when one could see mages moving at the speed of light or purifying others down to their base components.

"Is that it?" Cyrus scratched the back of his head. "That can't be it."