The Primordial Record

Andar suddenly had a thought, and he decided to test the intentions of this figure, "Apologies Steward, I have a burning question in my mind that needs clarification."

"Let me guess." The Steward answers, "You want to know why you failed to Engrave the Meditation Art."

Andar nodded, his eyes were wide open and filled with curiosity, and deeper within were pain, loss, and rage, but those negative emotions did not affect him as much, his heart was ultimately pure and unguarded, after all, Andar had lived a sheltered life.

The Steward sighed, "There are many issues that cannot be revealed to you at this time because knowledge of it would bring harm to you, I mean that quite literally. There are matters I cannot speak to you about, or else you would die before the words leave my mouth. It is the tragedy of weakness."

Andar eyes carried a hint of fright but also stubbornness. The Steward nodded inwardly once again in satisfaction, this child had a great temperament, ultimate talent, and power in the hands of sociopathic individuals was extremely common in the world of mages as that could serve as a factor to push further into the upper ranks as a Mage, and it was always a great thing when he saw people that broke that mold, great talent that was paired with a great heart, he continued speaking,

"Know this Andar, you did not fail because you were incapable of Engraving a Supreme Meditation Art, far from it, you are remarkably talented, you only failed because you were prevented from having it by a Tower Master."

Andar flinched, the figure of a Tower Master was shrouded in mysteries, they were figures so far off in the distance in terms of power, that nearly every living being that ever existed in the universe had no hope of ever reaching that level.

From the rumors he gathered from Rowan's memories that were collected by his Angels, a single Tower Master could crush the entire world of Trion.

Why would someone like that have any interest in him?

But he nearly laughed when he understood that he was just in the way of plans that had been set in motion for millennia. When he attempted to change their laid-out plan, he was shifted to the side, as easily as one brushed away an ant.

"I can see the questions in your heart," The Steward said, "But, it would be wise to leave them there for now. As you may know, there are six Great Towers in existence and each one of them has a mighty Tower Master as their backer and creator."

"What I did," Andar muttered, "Was it forbidden?"

"No, it was not." The Steward replied with a trace of pain in his eyes, "You were just in the way. That Art… It is desired… intensely. The reason the Supreme Meditation Art has not been seized by a Tower Master after all these years is because of the instruction given by the Supreme Magus, that its owner should be left to fate."

"If that is the case, that means a Tower Master broke the rules when they interfered in my Trial."

"Yes they did, and they paid dearly for it, but technically they did not break the rule, else it would be easy for a Tower Master to craft a Living Script and place it on a random mortal, which would give the mortal the strength and fortitude to reach the Meditation Art and therefore acquire it for themselves. No, they have to follow the rules, and any candidates that received the Meditation Art must do so without their interference. According to the information I gathered, the Tower Master claims ignorance of your plight, they claimed it was a mistake, that they wanted to sightsee and their presence destabilized your Ascension."

"Oh, so I was at the right place at the wrong time?" Andar chuckled sarcastically.

The Steward snorted, "You are a child of the Black Federation, and as a genius of our Black Tower, there is no fault with your actions or your timing, our enemies on the other hand need to pay for their actions against you, or else how would our Black Tower stand in the future? Who else would believe in our power and sovereignty?"

The Steward gestured around, "What do you think about this place?"

Andar smiled self-deprecatingly, "I don't understand anything I'm seeing here, but I would guess it is a realm of a sort."

The Steward nodded, "You are partly correct, and it would be strange if you could understand what this place is. Even I thought that this area was a myth, but as our Tower Master fought for this benefit for you, then it can be considered profiting through a disaster."

The Steward waved his hand and a thick rug appeared, "Come… sit, your education as an Apprentice of the Black Tower begins now. Because of this place and the destiny it carries, it means I can no longer become your Master, or I would have taken you as a disciple, but it does not mean I cannot teach you some specific knowledge."

Andar sat cross-legged, directly opposite the massive figure of the Black Tower Steward, he summarily began speaking with no indication," I will be giving you a simplistic explanation, because as a Mage, you will need to learn the in-depth rules of the universe by yourself, else my knowledge would corrupt your own, and you will be condemned to imitate my methods. That would be a waste of your talents and you would never surpass me in the future."

Andar nodded in assent and cupped his hands as a sign of thanks, the Steward smiled and continued speaking, "Meditation Art is the foundation of every Mage. It is through it a Mage can understand the true nature of reality, they can process Aether and unleash spells, enhance their knowledge base, and change their fate. As you know there are seven levels to a Meditation Art, from the Ordinary up to the Supreme Grade. The others below the Heavenly Fate can be disregarded because they were all created by Mages, but the Heavenly Fate Meditation Art was created by the heavens, and the Supreme Art was created by powers beyond the heavens."

"That is general knowledge, but the truth runs deeper than that, for not every Heavenly Fate Arts were created by the Heavens, some of them have roots beyond that."