?elare stares in awe at the majesty of the two colossal buildings far in front of him. The one on his right is intensely vibrant, with prismatic windows lining the pure-white walls that curve inward to meet over forty metres into the sky. At this point of convergence, it becomes a spire that reaches another thirty metres upwards. A continuous circle surrounds it, numbers marked equidistantly from one another. The spire casts a shadow that reaches the outer edge of the markings, showing a time halfway between fifteen and sixteen.

  The one on his left is entirely different, being a massive open-air ring with curved, stepped walls decreasing in height until they reach the centre. In the middle is a house, compact relative to the rest, but still large enough to fit multiple families. Despite not being visually impressive, a symphony can be heard emanating from it. He remains enraptured by the sight until Vis shakes his shoulder.

  “Carriage’s stopped. We're getting out.”

  After departing from the vehicle, it moves off and all four of them stand in front of the cathedral. Hunter looks at ?elare, who is obviously fascinated by it, and speaks.

  “Go ahead and check it out. Vis and I will be discussing plans, but I won't force you to stay.”

  He glances at Astraea before continuing, “You can stay or go with him.”

  Astraea notices ?elare’s poorly disguised hopeful look and sighs.

  “I'll go with you. We only have an hour.”

  The boy’s eyes light up and he grabs her arm, practically dragging her all the way to the building.

  Vis watches them leave and snorts.

  “They look good together, huh?”

  Hunter raises an eyebrow.

  “Plans,” he states bluntly.

  The interior of the church is as tall as it appears from the outside, and it is mostly a single chamber. The far end has a highly decorated gate covered in lustrous jewels of myriad colours, but there is no way to see the other side. Over three hundred men, women and children in elegant white robes are throughout various sections of the building. Most of the children sit at the side, looking to be learning the basics of light magic.

  As ?elare continues taking in the sights, a man looking only slightly older than himself approaches them, clad in the same extravagant outfit. He has a bright smile on his face and matches it with an energetic wave.

  “Welcome to the Church of Light! For what purpose have you decided to visit?”

  Astraea and ?elare look at each other for a moment, then the girl says, “We have been sent on a journey to the Great Dunes, and this place is on the route to the embassy. My friend was enamoured of this place and so we chose to enter.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  The man nods vigorously.

  “I see, I see! Perhaps it was meant to be. With the powers bestowed upon me by the Light Elemental, I can sense this boy is a fledgeling light mage. Perhaps he would like to remain here for training,” he says, raising his voice at the end.

  ?elare frowns and shakes his head. Moments later, the gate begins to open and everyone falls silent. The man’s eyes shoot open and he spins around with enough speed to stumble as a loud, booming voice speaks.

  “The male guest is to meet with the Elemental.”

  After insisting for minutes on end that Astraea would come with him, ?elare finds himself being ushered through along with her. The gate closes behind them, and so it is only the two of them. The room is significantly smaller, with a golden table surrounded by four chairs, two of which they are sitting in while the others are empty. After sitting in silence for a while, confused, ?elare speaks up.

  “What's… going on?”

  Astraea shakes her head and opens her mouth to talk, but before she can, the room is enveloped in a burst of light causing them both to shut their eyes, and ?elare groans in pain.

  “You're finally here,” a masculine voice calls out. As ?elare’s eyes focus once more, he sees the white silhouette of a human sitting across from him.

  “Are you the Light Elemental?”

  The figure makes no movements but can be heard speaking anyway.

  “Yes. I was promised your visit, along with…”

  The voice trails off, leaving ?elare confused, before he hears a chorus of voices descend upon him.

  “Hello! I don't normally do manifestations, but this situation is special enough to warrant it.” This newcomer speaks with between hundreds and thousands of voices in pleasant harmony.

  ?elare looks to the other seat to see, unlike the figure, a real human. It is a middle-aged woman wearing a flamboyant black dress with splotches of colour. She has an excited look on her face and turns to the silhouette, talking this time with a single voice.

  “Dear, you should assume a form more fitting for the environment. I doubt they appreciate being blinded.”

  A sigh can be heard, and the figure properly materialises into a man, looking to be of similar age to the one talking to him. Astraea, who had been sitting back and observing until now, decides to speak up, her voice confident.

  “I assume you are the Sound Elemental.”

  She grins and gives Astraea a thumbs up, saying, "You're a smart one. I can see why you've been chosen by both entities!”

  ?elare glances at Astraea who has a blank look on her face. The healer, with the overt assuredness stripped, says, “Pardon me? Both parties?”

  The Sound Elemental chuckles with a mischievous smile and shakes her head. The man interrupts her laughter, saying, “Honey, that's enough. We are here for business.”

  He turns to look at ?elare.

  “Young one, we offer you a deal. If you remain here while the other three slay the designated monster, my wife and I will train you.”

  The mage stares with his eyes open wide. He turns to his companion and frowns. Seeing this, Astraea interjects, “He does not wish to abandon his friends, no matter what you offer. Furthermore, there already exists someone who is assisting our growth.”

  Both Elementals sigh in unison, and the woman shakes her head, seeing the grateful expression on the boy's face. She stands up from her seat, and the Light Elemental follows her lead and says, “We will not push you further. As a reward for humouring this old man's wishes, I will bestow upon you one favour you can redeem at any point.”

  The man tosses ?elare a white gemstone, which he catches and inspects as he continues.

  “I do reserve the right to refuse if I so desire, but know I have your best interests in mind. A light-sound dual-mage is a combination we have yet to see in this world.”

  Astraea suddenly speaks up.

  “Dual-mages. How rare are they?”

  The Sound Elemental hums before pointing at her and saying, “Let us just say that they used to be one-in-a-million. I will not explicitly confirm or deny anything else, though. I don't want to meddle too much in mortal affairs, unlike someone else here.”

  Astraea gives her an appreciative nod as the man clears his throat.

  “This is goodbye, then. Thank you again for your time, and good luck on your quest,” the Light Elemental finishes.

  ?elare waves to the beings as they vanish unceremoniously, and the gate behind them opens.