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28 years after the death of Himmel the Hero, in the Great Sanft Forest, located in the northern lands
Genau sat at the full stone fountain, picking at a yeast roll from the local bakery. He would pinch a bit of the bread, and pull it to his mouth, making this meager snack last as the two other mages he had brought with him performed the majority of the investigation.
As a first class mage, he was here for three reasons. The first, was to chaperone this second and third class mage, Spitz and Bericht. This fed into the second reason, to show the citizens of this village that the central magic association was being proactive in making sure things like this happened at such rare instances that it was effectively a freak accident.
The third, was in case this was not a freak accident, that the village would have three capable mages to protect them from another demon. It was not uncommon for them to perform smaller attacks to bring stronger mages to the fore and ambush them.
His gaze, while unfocused, was set on the two mages he had brought along. The third class mage, Bericht, was a short man with half curled hair that laid upon itself, this along with the smattering of freckles across his cheeks, giving him the look of a boy despite being an adult. He was dressed in a bundle of jackets and jumpers, chin hidden by a gaudy, handwoven scarf.
Spitz, the second-class mage, was a rail of a woman, all of her features guided to the idea of 'vertical'. Her facial features were sharp and angular, gaunt in the barest way one may consider still healthy. Her hair hung like a curtain, a drapery of dark brown that refused to reflect light on all but the most humid of days. She was dressed in a plain robe, likely also in layers as what wind blew through the streets barely moved the fabric.
Looking to the sky, through the overcast clouds, Genau made note of the position of the sun and went through the mental calculations. They had been here for three hours. In that time, he had seen the duo meander about, performing their investigation. Spitz, while being a fine mage, was known more for her deductive ability and leaps in logic than her spells.
Bericht, however, was brought along for the sole purpose of his spellcasting, having access to a "Spell that reads past mana."
Genau would admit that he lacked the understanding the broccoli-haired young man had for the spell, but he had explained it as "Like reading the footsteps in the snow, but the snow is mana, and the footsteps the spells."
As such, that had been their plan of action. While Spitz interviewed the locals, Bericht would cast his spell in and around the battleground, the town square, before relaying the information he got to Spitz, before they would begin again. Bericht went in and out of one of the buildings, its face stone except for a sizable hole in the second story.
Besides that, a small crater in front of the church was all that hinted at this being a fight at all, and not just an odd choice of decoration by a master stonesmith.
Genau let his gaze drift down beside him. There, chipped out of the stone, were two small grooves. A child that had been a victim of the demon, they had to be carved off the fountain where they had met their end. His gaze drifted back to the mages, Spitz waiting for Bericht to finish another casting of their spell.
The spell itself looked like several small balls of light, arranged around his head like a crown, rotating gently. When the spell eventually ended, he could see Bericht say something to Spitz, who nodded and moved towards him. Genau stood, wiping the crumbs from his roll off his clothes as she spoke.
"A single mage faced the demon," Spitz began. "A short battle. The opening move was the attack into the ground, Zoltraak. The mage took cover into the building with the hole in the second story, and was able to deduce the limit of the demon's curse, or got very lucky. Their battle pitched into the air, likely from a surprise attack from the mage again, before the demon made to finish the fight by descending."
"And the mage?" Genau asked.
"Alive. Son of the headman." Spitz answered. "Likely a prodigy of sorts. Known birth defects. Easily identifiable."
"Where is he then?"
"Left." Spitz's serious face relaxed some. "He wanted to become a great mage."
"Of course he does." Genau sighed, before hearing a grunt from behind him.
"You better lose that attitude," a stern voice said. "Talking about my little brother like that."
Genau turned half way, letting his gaze shift to look at the person speaking. His first, obvious impression was that she was tall. His gaze naturally hit the base of her neck, letting him see that she had a gambeson on, and a spear propped against her shoulder. Looking further up, her face was an intense, but feminine thing, her gaze narrow and eyes sharp. Her hair was a vibrant pink, which looked heavier at the crown and as it lowered to her shoulders it thinned and spread out, giving her a wild look.
"So you are his sister then?" Genau observed, turning fully to address her properly. "I am Genau, first class mage."
"Heben. Head of the village guard."
"I wasn't aware there was a village guard."
"There is now."
"..." Genau felt, in his frontal lobe, a small ache appear. "Where did your brother go?"
"He left to become a great mage."
"Right, I meant what was his destination?"
"No idea."
Genau pretended to not hear the stifled laugh behind him, likely from the third-class mage.
"So, your brother left, with no destination in mind?"
"He went north." Heben rolled her eyes, as if Genau should have known that was where he had gone off to. "You always ask a lot of questions?"
Genau didn't answer her, turning to look back at Spitz and Bericht. "You two are to move north. This mage isn't licensed, so he won't be able to get past the border to the Northern Plateau. Seek him out and tell him to get to Äußerst. Keep me informed of any developments along the way."
The two mages nodded, and as they made to leave, Heben spoke up again. "Why do you wanna find my brother?"
"Your brother," Genau stressed. "Defeated an unnamed demon wielding a curse akin to that wielded by Macht of The Golden Land, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction."
"It is imperative that he be found."
"Because that's good?" Heben asked
"...yes, because that's good."
The pink haired woman let her head lean back as she laughed. "Of course Senken is good! He's my brother!"
Genau could feel his headache starting to grow. Rural folk like her could get annoying at times.
He had left soon after, not willing to listen to the "Head of the Village Guard" continue to ramble about her brother. He would see in time if they had such merit to speak of.
It was only two weeks later, within his office at the Central Magic Organization Headquarters, that he received a report from Spitz and Bericht. His initial report to Serie had been met with her initial reserved reaction, asking that he simply keep her up to date with any developments.
The report was in the tight, cursive hand of Spitz, informing him that they had stumbled across another of this mages actions.
Five undocumented mages, and some sixty brigands under their control, had taken over the village of Azbug. Enslaved all capable farm hands and routed the local government.
From eyewitness reports, the mage, named Senken, killed them all in less than half an hour, liberating the village.
His feet were already taking him to Serie's chamber. His pace was brisk but unhurried. As he rounded the corner, leading him into where she enjoyed her days, sat within her chair, he caught her eye.
Serie was already grinning, cheek resting on her fist, propped against the arm of her chair.