Author's notes:
This is an Alternate Reality story, where Atlantis, which the inhabitants called Baylon, was real and inhabited by a powerful humanoid race called Baylons.
About half the story happens in the bronze age and I've researched a lot for this story. If you find anything that looks like a mistake in the story, please double check to be sure that you're correct and then PM me about it. :)
A slight warning: This is erotic action adventure, meaning that there will be both sex and violence, but I don't mix the two.
P.S. I haven't gotten an editor yet, so any mistakes are mine. Interested editors are welcome :) Just be warned that this is a LONG story :)
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Chapter 2 -- Flashback: The Quaestio (No Sex)
The city of Grove, Baylon.
I was five when my father took me to attend the Quaestio: The standard pre-school examination all non-noble kids in the Baylon Empire were subjected to, so the Administratum could figure out what their potential talents were and where they should and could go to school.
Since almost all Baylons had the ability to wield magic and mental powers to some degree, there were many schools to choose from, but to most people, only two places mattered: Schola Magia and Schola Mentalis.
If you were extraordinary talented with magic, you could enter the Schola Magia, become a Magi and eventually join Ordo Ars Magica (Baylon: Order of the Magical Arts), the most powerful and prestigious organization in all of Baylon.
The other school was the Schola Mentalis, where they educated Mentats. Of course, you would only be accepted there if you had an exceptional potential for the use of mental powers, also known as Ars Mentalis. Most people who graduated from Schola Mentalis would join the Ordo Ars Mentalis (Baylon: Order of the Mental Arts), which was the second most prestigious organization in the Baylon Empire.
To have your kid entering any of those two schools was the fulfilment of many parents' dreams for their kid, but my parents were more relaxed about it.
Perhaps because both had changed carriers later in life and for that reason didn't see the Quaestio as the all-important day that some other parents do.
The start of the Quaestio was done by a Magus from Ordo Ars Magica, which in this case was a stern elder man assisted by a younger woman, who noted down everything the Magus said.
The magus looked to my father "Your name and occupation?"
"Gaius Chila Emilian, Teacher and Sage." answered my father.
"Boy's name?"
"Ivah Chila Emilian."
The magus nodded, while the assistant wrote down the names.
Then I was handed an ancient looking twelve-sided cube and was told to hold and concentrate on it. A moment later, a lot of small light in different sizes and colours started to appear on it. Instantly, I knew what I was holding. It was a
Judex
: A magical item that, according to general knowledge, could judge the user's inborn ability to anything and everything.
Most of the twelve sides lit up in different colours and intensities. I had no idea what most of them meant, but two of them glowed like small magical lamps, the colour so bright it was almost white. However, one of the sides barely lit up and my heart sank when I recognized the symbol on the side from the stories: It was the one showing my ability to learn and do magic.
The Magus blinked a few times as he studied the Judex, but the smiled widely and said, "Please note, that the boy has the ability to enter Schola Mentalis, but not Schola Magia."
The assistant tore her eyes away from the Judex, nodded and made a note on his paper.
That message was a bit of a let-down, since my twin sister had taken the Quaestio the week before and had been told she had the ability to become a mage.
The magus handed my father a written note with some numbers on it. "Emilian, please take your son to the Ordo Mentalis right away." For some reason, he smiled. "I think they would love to see this."
I looked at my father and much to my relief there was a big and proud smile on his face. When he saw, I was looking at him, he gave me an approving nod.
I smiled back and knew whatever happened in the rest of the Quaestio wouldn't matter: My dad's approval was enough for me.
As the Sage had told us, we walked directly to the area where Ordo Mentalis was located, but before we reached it, my father said, "When you're tested by Ordo Ars Mentalis I want you to forget about how to behave and just speak your mind."
That caught me by surprise since my parents were normally very insistent on politeness. "Why?"
"Because you have a swift mind and I want the people from Ordo Ars Mentalis to see that." He explained and handed me some stuffed dates. "When you are trying to be polite, it slows you down."
That made sense, so I nodded as I chewed on the date.
At the Ordo Mentalis, we were greeted by a smiling young man, wearing ordinary clothes, but the mark of the Ordo Mentalis was prominently shown on the right side of his chest.
"Hello there and welcome. I'm Titus Fabius." Much to my surprise, he kneeled down so we were at the same height before he continued. "Don't worry. It's gonna be fun and it won't even hurt a bit. What's your name?"
"Ivah Chila Emilian." I answered and with a nod, he stood up again and looked at my father, who handed him the note. Titus looked at it, eyes widening a bit, before he nodded. "Please have a seat and a cup of cider while you're waiting, Sir. This usually doesn't take long."
My father sat down, and I followed Titus Fabius to a circle on the ground where he sat down and looked at me. "Now young Emilian. I'm going to try to make you do as I say, and your job is to try to stay where you are and not leave the circle. Do you understand?"
I nodded. "Will you say when the test is over?"
With a smile, he nodded. "Yes, I will."
"No cheating?"
"No cheating." He promised, "We start now."
I nodded again and then he said, "Come over here."
His smile became wider when he saw that I stood still.
"Good.
Come over here
." He ordered again and this time I could feel the mental power in the command, but as it always did when my mother tried the same, it washed over me like water on a duck and I kept standing where I stood.
Nodding slightly to himself, he tried again. "I said
