The Time Keeper

Chapter 27 - Official Power

The weight of those words settled as I sat in silence, watching as Darius took another sip of the amber liquid.

"Fleur," he said after putting the glass back down. "Could you leave us for a moment?"

"It shouldn't matter, August told-"

"Fleur," Darius said, his voice more stern and demanding of her. Whatever we were to talk about, it was just for my ears alone.

Her eyes flickered with a mix of defiance and concern, but she ultimately complied. "Fine," she replied, her voice laced with disappointment. "I'll be outside if you need me."

As the door closed behind Fleur, a heavy silence settled upon the room. The air felt charged with anticipation, and I could sense that whatever Darius was about to reveal carried great significance.

A pause that felt like an hour passed before Darius finally spoke, his voice more casual than I expected. "Other than Jean, you'll be the only one to be officially inducted as an Arcanist by the church."

I sat upright, my heart pounding in my chest. The words echoed in my mind—Arcanist. It was a term I had heard before from both Darius and Fleur, individuals who possessed extraordinary abilities. But to be considered for such a role this quickly was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Darius reached over to his side and grabbed some papers. "Just to clear things up, it wasn't me that decided this, it was the church. Father August."

My brows furrowed in thought, "What do you mean by officially?" Since I knew this job would inevitably lead to magic of some sort, I was fully expecting it to be more criminal than humanitarian. "You never actually told me if this job was legal. Are you saying being an Arcanist is allowed?"

"Oh of course you wouldn't know," Darius sighed and put down the papers. "Yes the anti-arcanist law is still in place, but that doesn't overrule the likes of the church, which still possesses scrolls, artifacts, materials etcetera etcetera. Someone still has to keep them out of harm's reach."

"But what about us, this job?"

"The church are the ones that somewhat 'employ' us. We're the ones—along with the church—who once again officially are granted access to great power. We're the ones who have to go out there are take care of those who have gotten access to power unofficially."

Seeing how he mentioned the arcanist law so casually suggests it's likely to be a well-known law, as well as scrolls, artifacts and materials. The fact I've only just come to know things of the sort means I'm much farther behind than I realised.

While I was still in thought, Daius gave me a moment to ask anything else, but at this stage, I was just ready and waiting to gain access to these amazing powers I had witnessed.

"I have someone coming to teach you a few things from the other branch in the capital," Darius stated as he flicked through various pages. "Ah, here it is."

He pulled out a new contract, much more elegant yet dated than the one I had previously signed a few days ago.

"Yes it's another contract you'll have to sign but it's straight from the church. It'll be sent back to them to say you're officially an arcanist under their watch and care." Darius handed it to me and I felt the strange roughness of the page in my hands.

I looked over the contract, reading through all of the clauses binding me to the authority of the church and the Hunters Den. Nothing out of the ordinary except the mention that being an arcanist was an illegal practice if you try to leave or disobey the church and that you will be hunted down. Rather frightening.