Aether's Revival | Andrea Parsneau

Aether's Revival by Daniel Schinhofen

Aether's Blessing

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?

(This audiobook contains some adult themes.)

Aether's Apprentices

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.

This book contains some adult themes.

Moral Stand

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?

Aether's Guard

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, 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?

Note: This book contains some adult themes.

Mages of 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.

This book contains some adult themes.

Proven Strength

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.

Magi's Path

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.

This book contains some adult themes.

Magi Guard

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.