Aether's Revival Books

Every year, the empire administers the rite of passage into adulthood. That rite serves to identify those blessed by Aether to become magi. The new magi are shipped to the academy to learn the arts of magic. The academy is a dangerous place; the tournaments held twice each year can cripple or kill the students, and the clans of the empire will go to great lengths to recruit the students they want. Gregory had one dream: to become a magi like the legends of old. Though he was ridiculed by the residents of the village and his unsupportive father, he never wavered from his dream. Would his age day bring the fruition of his dreams, or would reality come crashing down on him?

Gregory’s life changed when his aether sparked to life during the Age Day ritual. He left his old friends and his old life behind, and was taken to the Magi Academy to start training to serve the Vela Empire. Suddenly alone and out of place, he prepared for the worst. When the beautiful novice, Yukiko Warlin, asked if they could be friends, his life changed again. After six months of duplicity from the people who they had thought of as friends, Gregory and Yukiko isolated themselves from all the other novices. Gregory chose a path considered impossible for his training, and Yukiko followed, pushing each other to strive ever harder. When Yukiko’s betrothal was annulled, the two friends were free to express the deeper feelings that had developed between them. The first tournament for the novices was brutal on the two young lovers. Both of them were pushed to the absolute limit, but they endured. When they took the top two spots, their fellow novices dropped the pretense of friendship, when neither would bow to the machinations of their peers. Now, the rest of their first year stands before them. It’s become clear that they should join a clan, but where can they find one that would treat them both fairly and equally?

Nearly everything in Gregory’s life had changed by the end of his first year at the academy. Alone at the start of his novice year, he’d gotten engaged to Yukiko Warlin and found a friend in Jenn Bean by the time the annual tournament was over. The three of them went on to join Aether’s Guard, bringing the name of the nearly dead clan back to life. Elder Lightshield, the leader of Aether’s Guard, gave them his support and backing and Magus Dia guided them. Their training with Armsmaster Gin continued, offering a safe haven and helping to shield them from the worst tribulations that academy life could bring. Nothing is perfect, though. Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn had also made enemies, and faced resentment and anger from the Eternal Flame clan more than once. Weathering the troubles that Nick Shun and his friends tried to bring down on them, the three magi rose to ever greater heights. Gregory’s second tournament included the unexpected, but welcome, arrival of Carmichael Pettit, as well as a mysterious bet between Jenn and Yukiko. At the end of the tournament, Jenn had bested Yukiko and Gregory, and the three of them held three of the top four places. With both of their families in attendance, Gregory and Yukiko wed after the tournament. The newlywed couple would face the academy and the world as one, and with their friends and their clan, they would strive to be at the pinnacle of their class once more.

Gregory was beyond happy when his second year in the Magi Academy began. Now married to both Yukiko and Jenn, Gregory had more love than he ever thought he’d find. It was also a time for friends. Daciana and Nessa, their novice friends, found another in Victoria, who also quickly became close with Gregory and his wives. Gregory found still more friends in Clover and Ling, two clanless apprentices who shared his tactics subgroup. The eurtik-blooded magi were earnest and eager to learn, so they were quickly taken under the Aether’s Guard apprentices’ wings. With so many friends around him, Gregory felt the year was bright. The hatred of the Eternal Flame still pressed down on them— although the clan seemed strangely quiet during the first half of the year, the threat of violence was still there. The friends trained hard to fight as a unit, intent on being the champions to raise the clan’s name and reputation. The first tournament of the year came quickly, with a few surprises. The biggest was because of the merchant, Carlisle, belittling eurtiks. Hao Warlin suckered him into a bet that grew and grew until the merchant lost a massive amount of money. Hao took it gladly, using it to purchase gifts for Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria. Those items allowed the three novices to not only survive the remainder of the tournament, but also to emerge as the victors. Gregory and his wives fought honorably and hard to advance to the finals, where their last fight was against the Eternal Flame. With their rigorous training and communication, they managed to defeat the arrogant clan, letting them stand alongside their novice friends as champions. The excitement of being the champions wasn’t the happiest part of their year, though. That came after the tournament, when all five of their friends— Nessa, Daciana, Victoria, Clover, and Ling— joined Aether’s Guard. The apprentices weren’t done yet, as they had other major events ahead of them. The tournament for their tactics class was first and, beyond that, the tournament against Buldoun.

Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were thrilled— not only had they won their first apprentice tournament, their friends finally joined them in Aether’s Guard. Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria were only halfway through their novice year, but had made an impact during their novice tournament. Besides the three novices, more friends joined their clan: Ling and Clover. They’d studied hard and were eager to prove that they could help, too. It wasn’t long before they had their chance, as the tactics tournament was held right after the winter solstice. The games proved the determination and resourcefulness of everyone in the group. The final game used tactics that Ling and Clover put forward, propelling them to the win. As the year drew to an end, it was time for Gregory and his growing inner circle to say farewell. Parting with the children was hard for all of them. Not only were Gregory and his wives leaving, but so was Elsa— Yukiko’s parents were going to take her in, training her to be a maid. When the day finally came for Gregory and the Aether’s Guard magi to leave for Buldoun, they said a final farewell to their novice clanmates, then followed Lightshield to the academy gates for a grand send off. They wouldn’t be back for years, and Gregory felt a bit of melancholy as he considered all that had happened in the two years he’d been at the academy. What would Buldoun hold for Gregory, his wives, and their friends? Even Gregory, with his foresight, couldn’t see what the future held, but he had a feeling that important events would unfold during the tournament.

At the end of their apprentice year, Aether’s Guard headed off to Buldoun for an international tournament. They had allies there in the Swift Wind and Iron Hand clans, but they also had to deal with the Eternal Flame; Nick Shun had no interest in letting go of his perceived grudge against Aether’s Guard. However, with the academy overseer on the trip, Nick had no chance to act out against them. The tournament brought both joy and grief. Mindie, the part-fox eurtik, found her resonance with her aether and was welcomed into Gregory’s slowly growing family. The other hopefuls also moved steadily closer to their hope of joining. The mages in Buldoun were surprisingly friendly toward Aether’s Guard, especially the Wolf House and Eagle House. Claudia Firetongue of Eagle House even turned out to be much more than just a friend. Once the first half of the tournament was over, Gregory was roped into protecting her, as she’d been targeted by assassins. While Gregory’s wives and friends played in the Empire’s Gambit tournament, Gregory stayed close to Claudia to protect her from any more assassination attempts. As the tournament drew to a close, he was able to thwart a concentrated attack from shadow magic mages and escape with Claudia, bringing them to Lightshield. The elder of Aether’s Guard gave his all in that fight, sacrificing himself to kill the shadow mages. His last words to Gregory were a reminder that even more sacrifices would be needed in the future. With the tournaments concluding on that somber note, it was time for Aether’s Guard to bid farewell to their new friends. Claudia was spirited away to a safer location by the Buldoun Archmage while Clover, Ling, and Roshana were taken back to Wesrik by Grandmaster Hemet. For their initiate and adept years, they were to help at the academy, away from Gregory and his family. Setting out for their magi guard training year as initiates, Yukiko, Jenn, and Gregory wouldn’t be alone. Armsmaster Egil Magi-killer was the overseer for the year, and Mindie would be his assistant. The family would get to visit intermittently, even if only a few times during the coming year. Gregory knew that he would need to walk a fine line between friend and commander with his men. He hoped to help shape them and himself into the best they could be. The future would certainly test him, and having a strong force beside him would make things easier.

With their initiate year over, the Pettit family dispersed to their separate adept postings: Jenn would be on the border with Krogga, defending against incursions. Yukiko was to patrol near Alturis, giving her the chance to see Gregory’s home and childhood friends. Mindy was going back to Grackle to help their younger friends with their troop training. Gregory was headed off to the far northern end of the empire, going to what was known as the most dangerous patrol for an adept magi. Gregory was sure that Sage Laozi Windfoot had set his posting there to make sure no one said he’d played favorites, but it made him worry for his men— it would take months to get to the town of Coldwood, and his year wouldn’t begin until he relieved the current adept. That would make it closer to a year and a half before his family could gather together in Krogga. To get there, Gregory would need to use his foresight and knowledge to survive. It wasn’t just the bane beasts that would make the post dangerous, but the eurtik who lived in the north, too. The free eurtik were hunted by slavers, but were also known to attack slavers and magi guard units alike to try to free their kin. If that wasn’t enough, Gregory would also need to play politics while in the twin towns of Coldwood and Icelake. Both had magus-tier magi posted to them, as incursions of eurtik and bane beasts were common. They were probably the worst kind of magi: those who loved eurtik slaves, or would willingly profit off helping the slavers. Gregory would need to make hard choices for his adept year. What would he let happen around him while posted to the most dangerous part of the empire? Was it better to turn a blind eye to get by as easily as possible, or would he stand in the way of the powerful people there?

Gregory’s year-long posting along the northern wilds was done. He’d had to face corrupt magi, assassination attempts, aether-using bane beasts, and even deal with the loss of some of his men. The year had left a mark on his soul. He’d accepted the burden of leadership fully, knowing that his men could and would die under his command. He might’ve avoided all of it if he hadn’t made his moral stand, using the empire’s slave laws to force the corruption to come to light. Because he had, it threw his posting into conflict. Gregory didn’t back down when assassins— magi and non-magi alike— tried to kill him. When the town magi tried to pressure him, he used his training and walking of all three paths to not just stop them both, but to force the higher-tiered magi to bend to him. In the end, he pulled down the men who’d corrupted the magi, even though it cost him three of his men. Gregory was unbowed by his trials, becoming far wiser from them. With his adept year done, he marched for Krogga— he was to be an assistant ambassador at the capital. What he was looking forward to wasn’t the position, though, but the fact that his wives would be there with him. Even better, it wasn’t going to only be his wives, but also three of his closest friends who wanted to marry him. Clover, Ling, and Roshana were waiting for their tea ceremony, the final step needed for them to be accepted into the family. As if that wasn’t enough for Gregory to look forward to, Darkness, the mysterious and powerful woman who shrouded herself in her namesake, had promised she would be laid bare before them when they became magus tier. She would not only be visible to them, but they would even be able to briefly touch each other, too. Krogga wouldn’t be an easy post— the warrior nation hated magi with a passion, which was why the Embassy posting wasn’t one most people wanted. Gregory and his wives were going to have to prove their strength if they wanted to have any peace during their five-year posting.

After a long march across the empire, Gregory finally made it to Krogga. Going through Krogga itself wasn’t wasn’t terrible, but it did come with the uniqueness of the country. Honor fights between his men and local Kroggian youths were sanctioned every night. Because the magi showed himself as honorable by accepting the duels and the local customs, Gregory fostered goodwill with the Kroggians, helping smooth his way to Krogheim. Ambassador Rudit Glowstone, Grandmaster of Aether’s Guard, greeted him upon his arrival in the capital. After a brief meeting, she let him go to his wives and friends, arranging for them to have the few days off that Yukiko had requested. That was why Gregory spent his first two days in Krogheim going through the steps required to marry Ling, Clover, and Roshana. Gregory had to fight his way to the temple as per tradition, even having to put down a berserker champion who had stood in his way— the locals accepted the match as being honorable, as the berserker’s bloodlust ensured that one of the two of them was going to die. Gregory was allowed to marry his three friends in a ceremony that barely deviated from local customs. He spent the next two days with his new wives, then all of his wives, making sure all of their desires were thoroughly met. Because Gregory had killed a champion on his way to the temple, the Krogheim council asked to speak with him. His prowess and acceptance of their local customs had them extend an invitation for the new year festival to the embassy, but specifically to Gregory and Jenn, as both had proven their strength to the Kroggians. The festival led to new connections with the other ambassadors, most of whom promised to visit after the week-long festival. Jenn and Gregory found themselves in the finals of the festival duels, but both would end up facing the newest high champion of Krog, Ragnar Ivarson. The massive warrior defeated Jenn with her chosen fighting style of speed and his skill with weapons. When Gregory and Ragnar fought, though, small problems crystallized. Ragnar wasn’t just a high champion— he was Krog reborn. Having found Aether again, he promised that they would talk soon, and he’d even bring his sister with him.

Finally in Krogga, Gregory found himself pulled into the solstice tournament to celebrate Krog. Invited by both the high priest and Council of Krogheim, Gregory and Jenn did their best to show that some magi had honor. While both of them lost to Ragnar Ivarson, the youngest High Champion in Krogga, that’d only set the stage for what the next year was going to be. The weeks after the tournament were a whirlwind of ambassadorial visits and discussions, but eventually, a key meeting took place when Ragnar brought his sister, Verka, to visit the family. Having three reborn gods in the same room required some secrecy so they could even attempt to have a conversation, but they managed it. Finding both Krog and Vera reborn was shocking to Gregory and his wives, but they accepted it. Verka didn’t balk at having to complete the steps to marry into the family, either, even if it would be years before they could wed… or so they all thought. Ragnar’s raid into the empire saw the city of Bloodrock become part of Krogga once again. That short war changed many lives; the most notable was General Ruzi, who, for the first time, lost a war that he’d been leading. The winner would be decided with an agreed-upon set of honor duels to end the stalemate it had become— following the empire’s loss, Ragnar invoked the clause he’d added to name Gregory as the one to marry Verka. Returning to the embassy, Gregory and his family knew that life was going to get busy before the solstice. They would have to attend their duties as assistant ambassadors, plus more. What they were really looking forward to was when Verka officially joined the family as a wife near the solstice. None of them knew what machinations had been put into play by others. Their lives had a lot of joy coming soon, but there was also hardship and pain hiding just out of sight… they’d be tested to overcome something they never expected.