Kingdom of fire and shadows: Useless magic and Salamanders.

After negotiating with Aleum, Clinton soon returned to his room and examined the book. A real smile was drawn for the first time in a long time on his stone face.

'At last,' said Clinton to himself. The book was the right one. On the back of the cover was the hidden page. Clinton damaged the cover of the manual quite a bit, but this didn't matter to him at all; it wasn't his manual, and soon that would be the lesser of his problems if something went wrong. With this, he had achieved two goals: the material he needed for his spell and an escape goat for his actions.

Once he completed the guide to perform the enchantment and ritual, Clinton felt a little disappointed. From what he could deduce, the spell seemed to open a door to something. It had been difficult for Clinton to learn some arcane magic in secret all these years, but his knowledge was enough to understand the most basic things. One limitation of arcane magic spells was that they required a sacrifice of life, but Clinton had that part covered. From the moment he entered the tower, he devoted himself to seeking a probable sacrifice. He had been feeding a rat every day with the remains of his food. The stupid animal was already eating out of his hand. A piece of chalk for diagrams and the location to perform the spell, the hallway of the shadow mages living quarters. The place could not be more perfect; there were only two shadow magicians, and nobody wanted to be related to them. Besides, they were in the most distant area, both from the dining room and the library. There was little movement in that area at the moment. Xavier spent his days in the library trying in futility to conquer his traces of fire magic, and Aleum spent the days locked up in his room, studying or, for the most part, sleeping.

Clinton decided not to wait. The part he missed from the spell was just a couple of diagrams and the location; everything else he knew from memory. Already in the hallway, he walked to the area of the shadow mages quarters; it took him only a few minutes to draw the diagrams. He had to be quick; if someone found out, he would have a lot of trouble. Clinton placed the rat on the sacrifice diagram to his left. The animal was in a wooden box that the knights let Clinton keep as a personal item. It originally contained the seal of his family.

′Estero leguia no Vatnik' Clinton placed his hand on the invoker's diagram, to his right.

Around him, the magic energy disappeared, concentrating on the diagram he had drawn on the wall in front of him.

′Nal canto a gaw' The little rat screeched, and the box began to tremble.

'Rinner da lif.' The wall in front of Clinton was distorted, and inside it a hole appeared in which several pages were located. Clinton took the pages, and after that, the distortion on the wall disappeared, turning back to solid stone. He took the box and dropped the dead rat into the sacrifice circle. He dropped Aleum's shadow magic manual on the invocator's diagram and ran away. He went to the library, quietly entered the door, and sat in his usual place with his unexpressive face, as always. However, his heart was beating intensely, and he was very excited. He looked at the pages he had extracted from the wall discreetly. They were blank. This did not disappoint Clinton. Van Vatnik wasn't stupid; for sure, there was a way to decipher the pages. Now he just had to wait for the outcome of the situation.

The moment Clinton opened the secret compartment on the wall, all the magic around Liev's Tower was distorted like an expansive wave. The teachers felt it immediately.

'Arcane magic!' said Master Delfin, alarmed, raising his head to the ominous sensation. As a former regulator magician, he had been involved in various investigations involving arcane magic and had even fought against colonies of Warlocks. He knew from memory the discomfort that affected all living beings when arcane magic was used, that imbalance of the magical energy and the elements. The teachers around him became pale when they felt and recognized the feeling.

The young magicians also felt the change in the environment, but not knowing what it was, they did not pay much attention to it.

Liev's Tower went into chaos. The knights were mobilized, and all the halls of the tower were closed. The knights presented themselves in the library; it took several minutes to coordinate the response from the tower. Clinton had already placed himself in his usual place, avoiding suspicions.

'All the mage apprentices should return to their rooms immediately. Don't pick up your belongings,' said one of the knights, to the surprise of all those present at the library.

Clinton, Xavier, Astrid, and a few others rose up and walked towards the door to get back to their quarters. However, Xavier was stopped on the way.

'The rest return to your rooms; you, Mr. Xavier, will come with us,' said a second knight, who had just arrived at the library.

The dispatched knights immediately found the diagrams drawn on the wall and the floor, the dead rat, and Aleum's magic manual. Everything pointed to the shadow magicians.

Aleum and Xavier were taken before the masters by the knights. They had already examined the evidence. Xavier was found in the library, where he spent hours. Meanwhile, Aleum was sleeping in his room. He didn't have an alibi.

As soon as Aleum and Xavier entered master Delfin office, Master Amelia van Fursthe made a move with her hand. The marble rose as if it had life of its own, while the room trembled, the ground at Aleum and Xavier's feet became unstable, and the rocks grabbed their hands and legs; they were trapped. All the masters were present and alert. The warlocks were very dangerous magicians.

Emeral made a hand movement; the clothes of both young men burned and turned into ashes in seconds without hurting them; now they were naked. Delfin approached them and examined them.

'There are no diagrams; they are clean'.

'Is this your book, Mr. Aleum?' asked Master Robalt.

'Yes, sir,' answered the frightened Aleum. 'I didn't know it was forbidden; I only saw an opportunity to do something profitable,' Aleum apologized preemptively. Everything happened so fast that all they could do was scream every now and then.

The teachers looked at him with total disbelief.

'Profitable?' repeated Master Emeral. 'You still have the courage to call that abomination of magic that you have used profitable?' The firemaster was furious. The temperature in the room had risen considerably as her eyes turned red.

'Magic?' asked Aleum. 'Wait, wait, wait a moment,' cried Aleum. 'I have no idea what magic you are talking about; I didn't use any magic. I just rented my magic book to another magician.'

'Do you deny being a user of arcane magic?' asked Delfin.

'Arcane magic?' asked Aleum, astonished. The situation was worse than he thought. He was in a big mess. No, I've never used arcane magic; I don't know anything about arcane magic, nor do I want to know.′

'You are telling me that your shadow magic manual was found in the presence of several diagrams of arcane magic, beside a dead rat used as a sacrifice, a few meters from your room, and you know nothing about it?' asked Delfin, He didn't believe the boy lies at all. Warlock's were ruthless, treacherous lyers.

'That's right, I don't know anything; I swear, I don't know anything. All I did was rent my book of shadow magic to another student. I have done nothing else, I swear,' Aleum answered in a trembling voice.

'Who was that student?' asked Emeral.

'Clinton, Clinton van Ferra. I gave it to him today, and I still have the silver coin in my room,' Aleum answered, almost crying. His situation was desperate, and he knew it, being accused of using arcane magic could lead him to expulsion, torture, or any other form of punishment the masters agreed on.

While this was happening, Xavier looked at the teachers, and Aleum confused.

'Why would a fire magician need a book of shadow magic?' asked Emeral.

'To study without going to the library seemed like a good deal to me. A silver coin for a couple of days, easy money. I didn't know this would happen; I swear I have nothing to do with all this arcane magic stuff,' Aleum repeated.

Amelia made a move with her hand. The marble changed shape. Now it had legs and had turned into a golem, in which the rock that would form the torso held Aleum trapped. The golem and the teachers began to walk. Aleum was taken to a cell in a basement under the tower. The cell was round; there was nothing inside, only rock and a solid metal door; there were no windows. The golem positioned itself in the center of the cell and remained still. Master Amelia and Master Robalt remained guarding the boy, who had burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Xavier was released from the gólem, captured by the knights, and taken to a room for further interrogation. The room was empty except for a metal chair bolted to the floor. Xavier was naked, chained to the chair by his feet and hands.

Clinton was caught by the guards, escorted out of his bedroom, and taken to an office where one of the teachers waited for him.

'Mr. Clinton van Ferra, Where have you been for the last two hours?' asked Master Emeral.

'In my room and in the library, master,' answered Clinton with the same stone face as usual.

'Can anyone confirm this?' asked the teacher.

'Yes, my roommates, the knights, and those that are usually in the library,' answered Clinton calmly. 'Did something happen, master?'

'Don't worry, Mr. Clinton; you will know the details when necessary,' assured the master. Outside the office, other teachers were listening. They had already sent some knights to confirm Clinton's story.

Clinton seemed as calm and serene as ever. However, his heart was beating fast, and his mind was active. All his previous experiences to survive in his dysfunctional family had prepared him for this: lying, deceiving, blaming others, creating alibis, all of this was part of his day-to-day as the youngest son of a decaying high class noble house. No one knew of his pet rat; it was usual to see him in the library, and no one would hesitate to confirm that he was in one place or another all the time. Especially when Aleum was a bum who was sleeping all the time, he had no alibi, and everybody hated the shadow magicians. Moments later, a knight entered the room to confirm Clinton's coercion.

'What do you think has happened, Mr. Clinton?' asked the teacher.

'A student used some advanced magic that he could not control and ended up causing damage,' Clinton replied, being thoughtful for a fraction of a second before returning to his usual stone face mask.

The teacher put the silver coin that Aleum had seized on the table. However, Clinton showed no reaction. He looked at the teacher and then at the coin, confused for a few seconds, before returning to his inexpressive face.

'Mr. Clinton, have you rented a manual of shadow magic from Mr. Aleum?" asked the teacher.

'Why would I need a manual of shadows? that magic is useless; I am a fire magician, and, though I have reviewed the shadow manuals, they are available in the library,' answered Clinton. 'What's going on, teacher? Should I be worried? His face showed fear for a few seconds, which the master was able to notice. Clinton only showed fragments of emotion to dispel the teacher's suspicions. He could not break his usual attitude of coldness and seriousness or remain immune to everything.

'No, Mr. Clinton, that's all; you are free to go,' said the teacher, leaving the room, allowing the knights to escort Clinton back to his room.

His inexpressive face hid the smile in his mind; his performance had been spectacular. Meanwhile, in another detention cell, Delfin was interrogating Xavier.

'Where were you two hours ago, Mr. Xavier?' asked Delfin.

'In the library, Master, I have been there since lunchtime,' replied the nervous Xavier, with sweat running down his hands and his forehead.

'Mr. Xavier, your situation is delicate. You have been caught up in a very serious issue. It would be appropriate for you to cooperate and tell us everything you know immediately to avoid a catastrophic outcome,' advised Delfín.

'Master, I swear to you, I don't know what is going on,' assured Xavier.

'Your companion Aleum and you are very united, aren't you?' asked Delfin.

'We are roommates; we are shadow magicians, and we live together. But that's it. What happened? What has Aleum done?' Xavier asked.

'Mr. Xavier, let's stop the games; Aleum's situation is dangerous. If he declares himself guilty, maybe he could avoid the death penalty; the same could be said for you, so cooperate,' Delfín said, pushing the boy.

'Death penalty!' said Xavier, frightened. 'I've only been studying fire magic as much as I can, look. Xavier made the attempt to raise his right hand and concentrate his magic energy to create heat. One of the guards activated a lever. A compartment opened in the room, revealing a leech stone the size of a fist right under his chair. All the magic energy disappeared in an instant. Xavier felt dizzy and began to vomit. Between the high energy consumption required to use his fire magic and the leech stone, he entered a state of magic depletion.

"Now you have tried to attack a master? Have you no common sense?" replied Delfin.

'No, no, I just wanted to show you my progress,' Xavier tried to explain himself. 'Master, please, I don't know what's going on.'

Delfin knew that Xavier was not trying to attack him; he only used the boy's enthusiasm to show his progress against him. His repulsion toward the shadow magicians was never a secret, and now more than ever. He couldn't believe that one of the boys dared to use arcana magic inside Liev's tower, right in front of his nose; it was unforgivable. All the repulsion he felt towards his own existence as a shadow mage turned into contempt for the boys.

'This would not have happened if you had accepted your limitations and returned to your life, but no, you had to try by force to go beyond what belongs to you. All useless magicians are the same. I should have driven you out from the beginning; you shadow magicians are a disgrace,' Delfin reproached him, turning around without hiding his disgust towards Xavier.

Upon leaving the cell, Delfin met Master Emeral.

'I believe he knows nothing, and he has a good alibi. Even the knights confirm that he spends all his time in the library. It is possible that Aleum acted alone. None of his alibis make sense' Emeral commented.

'Clinton van Ferra had no motive, and he doesn't seem to know anything. We examined his belongings; nothing unusual. We looked at Aleum's book, and Clinton's magic energy was never used in that book. Clinton has never even taken a book from the library; why would he rent a shadow magic manual in the first place? and on top of that...' Emeral delivered an old leaf to Delfin.

'Arcana magic diagrams. Although the other half is missing, this... this is one of Van Vatnik diagrams!' Delfin was surprised.

'Are you sure?' asked Emeral.

'Absolutely. That monster is still a menace, even in these times.'

'These boys must know something more,' assured Delfin, turning on the mechanism of the leech stone. Again, the magic energy was drained from Xavier's body.

'Keep it active until we return,' Delfin ordered to the knight.

'But...' The master's gaze made the knight stay silent. The knight knew how unpleasant and harmful the leech stone was to the magicians, yet he could not oppose a master order. If the boy was innocent, this was too much. A leech stone of that size in such a young magician; this was torture.

The teachers gathered again outside Aleum's cell. They decided to give the boy some time to evaluate his situation. They went for tea, while the golem had turned into a rock that kept Aleum trapped. A couple of knights guarded the cell. A leech stone drained Aleum's magic energy constantly, keeping him in a state of discomfort. He was naked; the masters and knights had examined every inch of his body for tattoos or scars in the form of diagrams. An hour later, the teachers came back.

'Mr. Aleum, can we speak now, or do you require more time to think?' asked Delfin.

'Master Delfin, I swear by the heavens that I don't know what's going on. I don't know anything about arcane magic or anything related; I'm just a peasant with a little luck, nothing more,' repeated a pale and weak Aleum.

'Yes, yes, yes, you have already said it many times. However, your book was found in the area where an arcane magic spell was used, with a page of arcane magic that was obviously hidden in your book, an animal used as a sacrifice, and several diagrams of forbidden magic. You have no alibi; Mr. Clinton denies making any deal or business with you. The situation does not look good for you,' Delfín told him.

'Clinton, He...,' said Aleum, falling into despair. Things became clear all of a sudden. 'Clinton threw him into a trap. Nobles and masters hated shadow magicians. There was probably no arcane magic or anything. They just wanted to expel them. All these problems were nothing more than a way to get rid of them.

'Where is the rest of the spell, Mr. Aleum?' asked Delfin. 'If you give it to us, we could consider a softer form of punishment.'

'It wasn't me, Master. I don't know what spell you are talking about. I don't know anything about arcane magic. I've been framed. Please do not do this to me; if I had known, I would not have come to the tower. I only thought that it was a way out of poverty: three meals a day; I am not even a good student; I spend the day sleeping until the time for the meals; I don't want to have anything to do with this; I want to go home,' Aleum said, crying.

'I understand your position. We will let you rest a little now; we will talk later,' said Delfin. The master left the room.

The leech stone reactivated, and Aleum lost the little magic energy he had recovered. The dizziness and discomfort caused him to vomit again. After several hours, the teachers came back again. Aleum was even weaker than before, with the smell of vomiting in his feet, dehydration, and dizziness.

'Mr. Aleum, you don't look good. Is there anything we can do to help you?" said Delfin.

'Water, water, please,' supplicated Aleum in a weak voice.

'Of course,' said Master Gaelium. With a move of his hand, a jet of cold water fell on Aleum, bathing it from top to bottom.

Aleum didn't get much to drink, but he got some gulps. Now he was soaked and trembling from the cold. The temperature around him began to drop. Gaelium constantly reduced the temperature as Aleum trembled.

'Mr. Aleum, it seems you are very cold. Do you want to warm yourself up a little?' asked Delfin.

The temperature around Aleum rose abruptly. A few minutes later, he was sweating; each minute that passed, he was weaker from a physical and mental point of view. The teachers had broken his will hours ago, but they continued to torture him, just to prove a point. They switched from cold to hot over and over again.

'Now, Mr. Aleum, what spell have you used? Who are your accomplices?' asked Delfin.

'I don't care anymore; it doesn't matter. I'll admit whatever you want; just leave me alone,' Aleum replied.

'Do you admit to the use of arcane magic?' asked Delfin.

'Yes, yes, I used arcanal magic; just get me out of here; I don't want to see you again,' replied the tired Aleum.

'I'm afraid it's not that simple. Who are your accomplices? Who did you learn from? Who is your master? ' asked Delfin.

'No one,' replied Aleum.

Dolphin made a move with his hand, and the temperature began to rise again.

'Van Vatnik!' cried Aleum; he only wanted the teacher to stop torturing him. 'There were some Van Vatnik notes in the library. I used them out of curiosity; I didn't want to be a useless shadow mage.' Aleum was making up all of this; he had only heard the name Van Vatnik in Delfin's class because Glover mentioned it, but he didn't know what else to do. He knew that Delfin and the masters hated the shadow magicians; they would torture him to the end of the world and back. He only wanted them to stop, but without knowing it, he had confirmed Delfin's suspicions; the mention of Van Vatnik had sealed his future.

'Where are those notes?' Delfin asked.

'I destroyed them after using the spell,' Aleum lied.

'I see, Mr. Aleum. I'm very disappointed with you. I would never have thought it possible for a magician of our tower to commit such a sacrilege,' said Delfin, making facial gestures of disappointment. 'Master Amelia, let us take this criminal to the theater for his trial.' Delfin turned and spoke to the knights. 'Bring all the students to the theater. I want them to witness justice in action.'

Aleum managed to breathe more calmly. Soon they would use him as an example for the other students and expel him. He knew Clinton, and the Masters set him up, but there was nothing he could do. At least in front of the other students, they wouldn't torture him, or at least that's what he wanted to believe.

'What do we do with the other shadow mage?' asked one of the knights.

'Oh, that one! Bring him to the theater, too,' replied Delfin, not giving it any importance.

It was already early in the morning when the knights woke up all the students and forced them to gather in the theater. It had been about forty-eight hours since Clinton used arcane magic. Xavier was barely conscious when he was lifted from the metal chair. He was handed a change of clothes from his room and then taken in chains to the theater alongside the others. The leech stone used on him was as big as the one used against Aleum. After so many hours of having his magic energy drained, he could barely walk. He was sitting in a chair in front of his fellow magicians when the teachers began their improvised trial.

'Mages, you are the nobility and the pride of the dynasty and the world; it is your duty to protect humanity from the evil that threatens it. Having said this, we are going to prosecute Mr. Aleum de Taeria for a terrible crime. Mr. Aleum is accused of using an arcane magic spell.'

The master made a sign, and the knights brought a dead rat preserved in ice magic and Aleum's book. The diagrams had been erased. The Masters and Knights presented their findings to all the students and even told them about Aleum's attempt to frame Clinton, who had a good alibi and constantly denied his involvement in the matter. This caused the hatred of the nobles towards Aleum to increase even more, favoring the teachers and their accusations. Whenever the accused tried to defend himself against the masters or Clinton's accusations and lies, Master Amelia made the rock crush his hands to keep him quiet.

'There is plenty of evidence accusing him; the diagrams have been erased so that this shameful practice does not spread. Now, Mr. Aleum of Taeria, shadow magician of the Kingdom of Orphen, do you confess to the use of arcane magic?' asked Delfin in front of the class.

Aleum kept silent, stared at the students in front of him, looked at Xavier's deplorable condition, looked at Clinton, and his eyes were filled with rage. Aleum's jaw tightened, and his teeth screeched. Clinton remained impassive; his face was a stone mask without expressions.

'Yes, I did', he decided to answer in the end. He didn't have another choice.

'You have heard it. Mr. Aleum is guilty of a horrible crime, one of the most deplorable acts, a disgrace to all the magicians and our society,' concluded Delfin.

All the students had a face of surprise, including Clinton, who was smiling on the inside; his secret was safe.

'The punishment will be simple: the death penalty!' sentenced Delfin.

'No, I...' Aleum didn't have time to protest. He thought they'd expel him; he was just a boy; he wasn't a criminal; no one had died; nothing had been destroyed; but he didn't have time to say anything. He could only scream for a few seconds when Delfin raised his hands, and a tornado of flames covered Aleum's body, burning him until all that was left was the rock and ashes.

After this, Xavier's eyes were wide open. The fear and shock made him forget about the damage caused by the leech stone. His mind was flying, imagining that what happened to Aleum might happen to him. Delfin fixed his sight on him, he was about to raise his hand when Master Emeral approached. The students were horrified; a teacher from the tower had just murdered a student without even hesitating.

'Young man, your situation is very delicate. We believe you had something to do with Aleum acts. This is very serious,' said Emeral.

'I have nothing to do with it. I swear, I spend every day studying at the library; I didn't have time for anything else. The other students know it as well; I had nothing to do; I knew nothing about Aleum's plans,' Xavier explained desperately, looking at the other students. He was hated by everybody, but he had some hope that someone would speak for him. Although it was unlikely, he had no choice.

'Is this true?' asked Emeral, looking at the young magicians.

Clinton wanted to deny everything and for Xavier to suffer the same fate as Aleum, but Maurius' intervention ruined his plans. He decided not to interfere; he didn't want to create controversy.

'Yes, it is true; Xavier was always in the library trying to learn fire magic. I doubt he had time for anything else,' assured Maurius.

The teacher looked at Clinton, who afirmed with his head, while on the inside, he was cursing Maurius for his interference.

'The knights can confirm this too,' added Maurius.

The knights confirmed. This created the benefit of the doubt. The masters had already demonstrated their power and authority by executing Aleum; the boy had served as an example. Liev's Tower masters had absolute control within the tower; executing a warlock was something that no one would criticize, especially if it was a miserable shadow magician, poor, and a peasant. Now they should do something with Xavier, but it wasn't a good idea to terrorize their students to death either. They had already shown the stick; now it was time for the carrot.

'Very well,' accepted Emeral. It looks like you have an alibi, Mr. Xavier.

'However' objected Delfin, 'you have failed to identify the actions of your companion. All good magicians have the duty and obligation to stop the warlocks. You have put the kingdom in danger, and that is something we cannot let pass.'

Everybody knew that didn't make sense, but nobody protested.

'Xavier de Vonder, you are hereby expelled from Liev's tower for failing to protect the kingdom; you are no longer welcome. By my power as master of the Liev Tower and ex-commander of the Regulatory Units, I exile you from the tower and the Poem dynasty. If you step on the lands of this kingdom again, you will be executed in the act' sentenced Delfin. Then he approached one of the knights and whispered something in his ear.

Upon receiving his orders, the knight approached Xavier, removed his chains, and firmly grabbed him by the back of his neck. The armored hand tightly pressed Xavier as the knight dragged him through the corridors to the entrance to the tower. Xavier tried to get up and walk, but the knight's strength forced him to stay on the ground and be dragged. The knight continued until he threw him into the sand, where the Infinite Desert began. Xavier landed on the ground head first, his mouth and his face filled with cold sand. The sun was rising on the horizon; in the distance, in the direction of the east, the mountains were seen covered with snow. Xavier looked towards the knight and the tower without rising from the ground and then looked toward the horizon of the desert, only sand for miles. The cold winter wind made the hair on his skin rise. A few meters to his left, the jungle of Morr began, emanating that strange feeling that made him tremble in fear. The magic of the jungle allowed the contrast; it immediately passed from the desert sand to the leafy green of a lot of trees and shrubs, while to the south, the leaves of the grass were half frozen and covered with frost.

The knight who dragged him approached one of his colleagues at the door, said something to his ear, and entered the tower. The doorkeeper pulled out his sword and began to walk towards Xavier. Xavier understood what was going on; Master Delfin had no intention of leaving him alive. Xavier ran into the jungle. Seeing his course, the knight returned to the tower, took a crossbow, and aimed towards Xavier. The arrow hit a tree just as Xavier had passed it. He had escaped death by the hair. The knight was approaching the edge of the jungle with the crossbow. Without any other option, Xavier continued to run among the trees. He ran for several minutes in what seemed to be a straight line, but when he could not run anymore and stopped to breathe, he realized that he was lost.

The knight returned to his position and immediately forgot about Xavier. Morr Jungle had one peculiarity: no one but a few elite magicians had ever come out alive from it, and that did not include the shadow magicians. From the moment he went in there, for all reasons and purposes, Xavier de Vonder was dead.