Entropy - TBATE

The small beast glades town of Ansmond bustled with morning life as streets teemed with locals scouring the freshest produce from the market.

Leather shoes clacked against the mottled stone pavement carving the paths through the relatively small village. Despite having a population of only about 25,000, Ansmond had one of the liveliest markets in the entire Glades. Many travellers come to visit the market town of Ansmond, simply to experience the majesty of the market. 

Dancers and musicians navigated through the crowds, locals occasionally joining in on the song and dance. 

The ballad throughout the town masked the presence of two figures cloaked in black.

Winding through the back streets between the cracked brick architecture of Ansmond, avoiding the market at the heart of the town entirely, the two figures navigated towards a partially run-down inn of wood that stood out from the rest of the brick buildings surrounding it.

A single sign hung unstably above two wooden swinging doors. It read, 'The Fool's Resort.'

"Ah, here it is. I was starting to think I'd forgotten how to get here." Regis called out, hands on his hips and a reminiscing smile on his face,

"I'm shocked it hasn't fallen to pieces. Must we really go to such a... well, shitty, inn."

"Trust me, kid. This place is more special than it looks. There's a reason it hasn't toppled over."

"Does this inn's special nature have something to do with my training? Will this take long?" Solis retorted in slight annoyance. Ever since his insight into Entropy gained further depth, allowing him to manifest his third rune, Saintess Sylvie Indrath had been waiting to meet him for herself.

"Getting impatient are ya? Sylvie can wait. I know you want to meet her, and she wishes to meet you too, but the time will come soon dear padawan. I assure you."

Entering the rather shabby inn, a place only fools would wish to go, the two were immediately greeted by the angry cheers of drunken adventurers, seemingly about to fight one another.

The barkeeper narrowly ducked under a flying empty bottle that shattered against the wood, and the various drunken parties of mages flipped tables, cracked their fists, and beat their chests in triumph before engaging any random who got too close.

"See why I brought you here? Utter chaos. Perfect for your growth." Regis turned to his disciple with a clown-like grin, "I want you to use a combination of your three runes - without interfering in the fight directly - to break it up." 

Regis's playful smile lingered as he presented two thumbs up, before stalking over to the bar.

--Solis--

Great. Just wonderful. One of the Saints themselves wishes to meet me, and Master Regis decided to take me to this shitty place so I can play around with aether and settle a bunch of grown children?

My powers are worth more than this.

Begrudgingly, I did as asked, knowing there was no convincing Master Regis otherwise.

Taking a final glance at my lazy mentor, reclining at the bar with a mocking glint in his eyes, I channelled my mana through my Arbiter rune.

My theft hasn't reached a degree where I can just steal everyone's weapons, and disorder is already present, leaving only the need for a reestablishment of order.

Chaos is the opposition to order, but in chaos there is order, and in order there must be a certain amount of chaos.

With a solemn, confident tone, I announced to the mages of the inn, 

"Fighting is prohibited here!"

The senseless brawl continued uninterrupted unaware of the aether shifting into place around them. Suddenly, all the adventurers who had been fighting fell to their knees and clutched their heads in agony. Anguished cries erupted, replacing the earlier cheers. Blood dripped from their noses softly onto the aged wooden floor.

This was one of the abilities granted by Arbiter - Prohibition, and by extension, Verdict!

Wielding the domain of order within chaos, Prohibition can create a verbally spoken law within a close vicinity. All who disobey must face the Verdict. In this case, Psychic Torment!

"If you wish for the pain to stop, please halt your senseless brawl." Conjuring a purple sable and stabbing it into the ground before me, placing both hands over its hilt, I stood before my audience with a subtle flex of my intent.

A slow clap resounded from the bar on the far side of the inn

"Very well done! I was secretly hoping you'd use Disorder and make the place even more chaotic, but no matter." Master Regis's sarcastic voice captured the attention of the inn as he finished his drink. He sighed softly at that moment. "Alright, I know you're eager to get outa here, so I won't make this long. Follow me."

Regis gave a quick glance to the barkeeper, who in turn opened a locked door behind the bar. Without hesitation, Regis stepped through the pitch-black doorway.

Immediately, I followed.

The creaking wooden stairs carried us down to an unknown depth, the only light being a small yellow handheld candle Master Regis carried with him. With a slam, the door shut behind us by an unseen force.

Despite this, Master Regis pressed forward down the steps, entirely unbothered.

"Where are we going, Master? What could be beneath a random inn?" My voice displayed my obvious doubt as we continued down the steps that felt like they would snap under my weight. The ancient stone walls of the mottled staircase shone with faintly visible aetheric symbols etched into the surface.

"Honestly, kid. You have no patience." Regis replied with a chuckle. "You're about to find out, so keep your eyes ahead."

After a few more moments of walking, we reached an empty doorway marking the entrance to a dimly lit grand hall. On either side of the wall, countless candles illuminated the large room. 21 candles clung to the left side of the room, and 24 on the right.

Stepping into the grand hall, feeling the soft red carpet beneath my shoes, and gazing up at the grand staircase on the far side.

"What is this place? It's incredible.." The hall was huge, made almost entirely of a beautiful purple-tinged white marble. The staircase far ahead leads toward the second floor composed of a balustrade walkway with many closed doors.

"This, dear disciple, is the remnants of the House of Blasphemy, the residence of the Duke of Disorder. An incredibly powerful aether scholar from the Era of Creation - the time of the Djinn.

This man was a highly respected arcane sorcerer of the djinn, a figure from almost 2000 years ago. He was the first to ever delve into the depths of Entropy."

"He was the first Entropy branch aether wielder? How powerful was he?"

"Unbelievably so. He was one of history's first-ever Saints. He dedicated his life to studying Entropy, searching for a way to truly accommodate it into his body and contain the chaos of the universe."

"What happened to him? Is he still alive? If he managed to accommodate Aether in such a way, a few thousand years shouldn't be enough to take him." My curiosity was palpable. This was the first person to study my branch of aether, the secrets lying in this castle are invaluable!

But, if such a powerful being didn't manage to survive until the modern era...

"He perished thousands of years ago. Despite being incredibly powerful - and if he had managed to truly accommodate Entropy - would have easily lived thousands of years, he met his end by the Hand of Order. Kezzess Indrath." Master Regis attempted to hide his grim expression, by immediately replacing it with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Sylvie can teach you the history later. I can't be stuffed. For now, we adventure! I'll take you through some of the rooms that haven't been cleared out. This grand hall is the main room of the Duke's manor, also the only room remaining. However, each of those closed doors hides a room behind it containing the insight, knowledge and secrets the Duke of Disorder spent his life uncovering."

"You mean like the Relictombs? they're not physical rooms, rather small pocket dimensions containing knowledge, or rather embodying knowledge?" If my theory was correct, then Master Regis had just brought me to my own personal treasure trove. These ruins contained secrets only I could come to comprehend, leaving me as the sole inheritor of Entopy's insight.

"Pretty much, yeah. Some will contain knowledge and insight, others a challenge only solvable using the branch of Entropy, and others more physical items like artefacts and weapons."

"And, you're just giving me free rein to go explore them?" I questioned, doubting my master would give me such a benevolent gift out of nowhere.

"In the future, yes. Right now, you're going to explore the first of the doors, one I've personally entered." I followed Regis' pointer finger a door on my left, closest to the entrance. The simple wooden door, identical to the rest, showed no obvious signs of the piece of history it contained.

Approaching the door only a few meters from me, I gently gripped the handle, looking over my shoulder one last time before twisting it. "Are you coming with me, Master, or is this a challenge to undertake alone?"

"You should be fine by yourself. I already know what's beyond that door. The point is it's supposed to be a blind adventure, and you must use everything at your disposal." My mentor's voice carried hints of excitement, as if impatient to see what would become of me.

"I understand." My simple reply came stern, my tone displaying my resolve. With a twist, I felt the door unlatch, and with a gentle push, the door swung open in front of me. 

Nothingness.

I stared into a void-like abyss of black, and before I had time to question, a strong kick from behind launched me deep within the unwelcoming darkness.