The Aether Theif | Arah #1 | [ ON HIATUS ]

Prologue [2] - An Urgent Meeting

Present Day

The bright summer day started out like any other for the headmaster of the Aether Council. As usual he was up early in the morning, sitting at his desk organizing and signing important paperwork from monarchs all over Arah. It was tedious work, of course, but it was his duty.

The peace and quiet of dawn was interrupted by a loud slam at the entrance to the room. A burly young man with ruffled, chocolate brown hair was at the door. His green eyes were wide with terror, and his chest rapidly rose and fell as he looked at the headmaster.

The headmaster clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes at the man. "You have an awful lot of nerve, Mr. Thorn, crashing into my chamber this early." He said in a stern tone as he stood up from his chair. After all, he figured that looking more intimidating would knock some sense into the frightened man. "You'd better have an excuse for interrupting my important business."

"Sorry about that, Headmaster Julius! I didn't mean to be so loud, I was just so worried that you were in danger and I had to check on you." He apologized quickly after taking a shaky breath of air. Julius raised an eyebrow upon observing the sweat that caked the armpits of his suit jacket, which suggested that he had been in quite a hurry to see him.

"In danger? What danger?" Julius scoffed. He was already irritated enough by the interruption. "Nothing was wrong last time I checked. You're being delusional."

Thorn rapidly shook his head, sending cool drops of sweat flying from his messy hair. "I swear I'm not making this up." He insisted. Thorn stepped out of the entrance, quickly scratching his poorly-shaved jawline as he appeared to recall something. "I-I'm sure it happened last night during my shift, sir! How else could it have happened?"

Julius heaved a heavy sigh. "What happened, you hard-headed dimwit? At least tell me what you're even talking about before you start running your mouth!" He snapped. "I have a lot of paperwork to do, so make it quick... stars, I don't have time for this..."

There was a moment of silence. Thorn took a deep breath as if to gather his courage. "It's about the Aether Element, sir..." He whispered. The man's words hung in the air as another long silence followed. "It's been stolen."

Julius couldn't believe his ears. His mouth gaped open and his eyes stretched wide as he tried to process what had just been said. The Aether Element? Stolen? It sounded so impossible, and yet Thorn's voice was filled with honesty that surpassed anyone he had ever met. Julius quickly realized how shocked he had looked and rushed to gain his composure. He awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to keep his body and voice from shaking.

"You... you said it happened just last night, Thorn?"

"I think so; specifically around my night shift. It was there last night, and then gone this morning."

"And did you see the thief?"

"Nope. The halls were empty all night, and I didn't see anyone."

    Julius took a deep breath to collect his rising panic. He looked at the clock, finding that it was around six in the morning. "Gather the entire council at once. I don't care who's awake and who's asleep. This is urgent." He commanded the guard, gesturing towards the door.

He watched as Thorn began to rush towards the exit, grimacing as the man slammed the door just as loudly as he had made his entrance. One last thought popped into his head as he fixed his tie. "Mr. Thorn, wait! One last thing." Julius called after him, hoping that he wasn't too far already.

Much to the headmaster's relief, Thorn reopened the door and poked his head through the crack. "Yes sir?" He inquired.

Julius felt a pang of guilt, absent-mindedly fixing his tie one last time. "Make sure you invite Jackson to this meeting as well. I think we all owe him an apology."