Ar'Kendrithyst

Chapter 59: End of Book 2

Chapter 59: End of Book 2

Jane sat at the stone table in the underground bunker Erick had carved under the prairie, eating fruits and cheeses she had bought from some town some long ways away. Rats and Teressa ate, too, but Poi did not. Erick’s main guard stood to the side of the room, Meditation showing multiple lines of intent radiating around the man’s sapphire scaled head; a slight difference in the ambient mana, and not nearly as clear as how Jane saw through her spider’s eyes. Erick was slightly jealous of how a shadowspider saw the world, truth be told. Jane had thought that was hilarious, when Erick had mentioned it before.

Teressa and Jane both turned to Erick, noticing he was back in the room with them.

“Done with Ophiel?” Jane asked, “Ready to see the people in charge, then go home?”

Erick said, “There are a lot of undead out there. I could gather up a lot more.” He added, “And I could help them recover their farms… But I should probably coordinate that with them, if they even know how to coordinate.” Erick said, “This battle was a shit show. Wilhelmina showing up was great, but what happened after that?”

Jane nodded sadly, saying, “Assassins killed at least five high ranking army dudes that I know of, and all three of their Mind Mages. Most of the assassins didn’t get away, but they didn’t need to; the damage was done.”

Erick felt his heart sink.

Jane continued, “You don’t have to clean up everything yourself. In fact, you shouldn’t.” She added, “This isn’t your homeland and if you do more than what you’ve already done, your neutrality in the Quiet War is going to come into question.”

Erick felt the Silver Star pinned to his chest. It wasn’t hot or cold. Erick frowned, saying, “I don’t think that’s true. Besides: these people need help and I can give them that help, with practically no effort.”

Jane turned to Teressa and Rats, asking. “Do you think there’s going to be a problem?”

Teressa shook her head, saying, “Not with Silverite.”

Jane scrunched her face. “Really?”

Teressa added, “Not after today’s events, and probably not if Erick chooses to help with a recovery effort.” She looked to Erick, saying, “If he chose to stay, though. That would be a big problem.”

Erick shook his head, thinking about the people at the party last night, talking about him like he was some rube to be played like a fiddle. “I’m not staying in human lands.” And then he thought about being forced to fight incani, either because the rulers in charge declared it necessary, or because the incani decided he needed to die for choosing the humans’ side. “I won’t be a part of this war.”

Rats grimaced.

Jane looked to Rats, saying, “You look like you disagree with Teressa, Rats? Will there be a problem with the incani in Spur?”

Everyone except Poi turned to Rats; Poi was still in the midst of a lot of [Telepathy].

“I don’t know.” Rats said, “Those two leaders over in the Wasteland Kingdoms— King Porli and Queen Tiz— They chose to provide intel and aid to kill the Halls of the Dead, but only because of a Kill and Exterminate Quest, and that might have been a smokescreen. It’s happened before. Some big event comes along and one side or the other capitalizes on it, and then the response is all guile and treachery that makes the whole thing a lot worse.”

Teressa hummed, then said, “Yes. There is that. That king and queen likely helped to harm, didn’t they?”

“Uh?” Jane asked, “Explain, please.”

Rats stressed, “The Halls would have summoned a Breach Demon, and they could not have done that without direct assistance from Hell itself. You two must not know this, but the summoning of a Breach Demon is a massive, far reaching historical event.” Rats thought for a second, saying, “I think… Yeah. The prevention of a Breach Demon is a historic first. Once they get all the pieces together, a Breach Demon is summoned; I don’t think there’s ever been an interrupted summoning before.”

Erick asked, “Really?”

“I know that a Kill and Exterminate Quest is historic...” Jane asked, “But Breach Demons, too?”

“Yes! Even rarer, too. A lot of people have to die in a specific way for that summoning to happen.” Rats said, “What makes them so bad is that Breach Demons summon demons directly from Hell into mortal bodies, killing the person inside and replacing their soul with little more than a gesture. Entire cities fall overnight.”

Teressa hummed, then added, “And the Breach Demon would have been Parox Geller, but also not. Not technically.”

“Yeah!” Rats said, “That asshole would have gotten around the Kill and Exterminate Quest by already dying once. He would have been in the perfect position to lead a war through the Greensoil Republic. He already knew everything about this land.” Rats added, “All I’m saying is that those bombs in the Queen Vine? What if Parox had planned on detonating them and killing the Queen himself? With all those new levels he’d be unstoppable.”

Jane said, “I still don’t understand.”

Erick said, “Thank the gods I’m not the only one.”

Jane asked, “Explain demon summoning to me, please.”

Rats got a sudden desperate look in his eyes, but it vanished as Erick looked to him for an answer.

Teressa crossed her arms and looked at Rats, too; her helmet was off, she was frowning slightly.

Rats controlled himself, and said, “When demons are summoned to Veird they arrive with all of their Stats and Skills and Spells they had in life, but they can’t gain anything else because they’re not really here. But when demons are called with a high-tier summoning, they are granted a real, unused body that is their own. They can Matriculate again.” Rats said, “They start at level 0, but they have an entire previous life —all those Stats and Skills and Spells— backing them up at the start.”

Teressa’s frown deepened, but she nodded. “Yup. Breach Demons are bad news.”

“What?” Jane said, “No! Shouldn’t they get knocked down to level 0? All the way knocked down, I mean?”

Rats said, “What they tried to do today was a mish-mash of summoning a being with powers all their own, and creating a new person to integrate into the Script. I don’t know why this is the way it is, just that it is.”

Jane sat back in her chair, thinking.

Teressa grunted, saying, “One person with 300 points to their name can do a lot.”

Jane asked, “Can anyone reincarnate?”

Erick looked to Jane. She had just used the word Erick was thinking of, but while Erick was stuck trying to remember the corresponding word in Ecks, Jane had just used the English word, instead.

Rats frowned. “Reincarnate? What’s that?”

Teressa said, “Never heard that word before.”

“I don’t know the word for it in Ecks, but what you just described is reincarnation,” Jane said. “A process where an old soul is granted a new body, gaining the ability to grow again from the beginning but retain all of its former power.”

“You guys have a word for this? We just call it high-tier summoning.” Rats looked from Jane to Erick, saying, “Are you two reincarnated?”

Erick instantly said, “Doubt it.”

Jane looked to Erick, saying, “You believe all this mystical stuff in a way you never did before, but you don’t believe in reincarnation?”

“Magic wasn’t real back home, Jane.” Erick said, “Souls weren’t either.” He paused. He said, “But now… I don’t know. I guess souls would fit in new bodies custom made for them? Sure. And I guess undead are also soul-trapped people, or something. So sure? Reincarnation? Sure. Why not. How about resurrection, too?”

Teressa shook her head, mumbling some words in a language Erick had never heard as she made some fast warding sign with a hand.

Jane said, “I looked that up. They don’t have [Resurrection].”

Rats remained quiet.

Erick said, “They have to have [Resurrection], Jane. If all it is, is putting a soul back in a container, isn’t that [Resurrection]?” He added, “I bet its one of Phagar’s divinely restricted magics.”

“That is untrue,” Rats finally said.

Everyone looked to him.

Rats said, “In this specific area, I am a healer who knows what he’s talking about.” Rats stared at Erick, saying, “All souls begin to deteriorate upon death, with the larger level souls deteriorating faster than lower level souls. Unless care has been taken ahead of time to prevent this deterioration, and you’re not dealing with the rigid soul of an incani or a human destined for Celes, which is outside the scope of [Resurrection], the most you can hope for is to bring back something that looks and sounds like someone who has died. Souls deteriorate fast.” Rats frowned, saying, “Don’t ever try to bring back someone who has died; they won’t be the person you were hoping for.”

Erick sat in silence. Rats had some secrets, didn’t he? Well... Erick wasn’t about to go poking at what seemed like a rough subject for—

“How do you know all this? That’s more than I was able to uncover. They wouldn’t let me look at the locked up books on necromancy.” Jane asked, innocent as can be, “So you’re a necromancer?”

Rats huffed, saying, “Not everyone who knows how necromancy works is a necromancer.” He looked at Jane, saying, “You’re certainly pretty good with those shadows. Are you a Shade?”

Jane went utterly still. Rats just stared at her. The air charged, but a moment passed, and no one said a word.

Jane said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to— Sorry.”

Rats just looked away. “Don’t worry about it.”

More moments passed in silence.

Poi came out of his trance, saying, “We should go back home. As soon as possible.”

Everyone instantly turned to him, but Erick was the first to ask, “What’s happening?”

“There are telepathic pulses of people looking for us.” Poi said, “We’re not in danger; I think they just want to speak to you, Erick. They’re people from the party last night and they have paperwork.”

Erick leapt out of his chair. “Let’s get going!”

- - - -

“We apologize for not attending to you in a location appropriate for your station, Archmage Flatt,” Duchess Wilhelmina said, seated upon one of two plain, brown stone thrones, in a brown stone room. She added, “It will take months to sort through and repair the rubble of the actual White Palace, so we hope you don’t mind.”

Cyril sat beside his grandmother, upon a second brown stone throne a meter away from the Duchess. Yetta stood by Cyril’s side. All of them seemed to be wearing their best. Bright green for Wilhelmina, and white and gold for Cyril, while Yetta wore sunshine yellow [Conjure Armor].

This throne room was part of a larger castle-like structure built on the land to the north of the previous stone towers, north of the battlefield. The afternoon sun shone across the room, through large glass-less windows, as a cool breeze flowed through the space, bringing a slight scent of offal into the somber chamber.

Erick and company had walked through several large rooms, below this throne room, to get up here. Down there, the rooms were filled with bloody cots occupied with soldiers, while nurses and doctors and priests attended all those who managed to live through the battle, but who were still greatly injured. Triage had ended hours ago. Longer care came next. Cremations had already begun; the humans of the Greensoil Republic didn’t like to leave bodies lying around for necromancers to steal.

Erick stood in the middle of the throne room, with his people at his back and his daughter at his side, and said, “Sorry I couldn’t help more. I understand that there were assassins this morning, which made communications difficult.”

Cyril spoke, “We apologize for not including you more in the battle operations. I don’t think you ever met Captain Denarth. He was supposed to be at that party last night, but he was detained by readying the troops. He was the man in charge of the coordinated armies. Assassins got to him first.”

Yetta said, “That was the reason I burst in there this morning. I was… running off half-prepared.”

“I heard about the assassinations after the fact." Erick said, "I am sorry for your losses.”

“Thank you for your understanding.” Wilhelmina said, “But now that the battle is over and the enemy is routed, there’s still the matter of reconciliation for that unfortunate spot of almost-assassination that almost reached you in Spur. To that end, I invite you to my estates in Greendale, and to take audience with the Viridian King. You stopped a Breach Demon; this requires celebration, and if we don’t celebrate a victory then all we have is the horror of the event.”

“Ah.” Erick did not want to go to a party; probably not for a while. He changed the subject, “I was just hearing about those Breach Demons. That’s… Quite good that it wasn’t summoned, wasn’t it?”

Cyril said, “Yes. The danger posed by the Halls of the Dead had been underestimated at every turn.”

“You’re a Hero of Humanity, Archmage Flatt.” Wilhelmina said, “It would be wonderful if you would allow us to treat you as such.”

Erick lowered his head, slightly smiling, saying, “Thank you for the compliment, but I cannot accept. I can’t be a hero to the Greensoil Republic without becoming a villain to the Wasteland Kingdoms. And I live in Spur. I hope you understand.”

Yetta frowned, sadly, but saying nothing.

Wilhelmina calmly said, “I understand your answer, but it is dangerous to get involved with those incani. We sent an assassin after you, but they sent Shades. Until you were declared ‘planar’, they were working in concert to make your life hell, just because of who you are.”

Erick remained firm, “I would prefer to remain neutral in this Quiet War.”

Yetta blurted, “They tried to summon a Breach Demon! If they had their way, we would all be dead.”

A flicker of [Telepathy] passed through the air between Yetta and Cyril. She went quiet, though her divine inner fire of a Champion flexed outward. After a moment, the fire inside of her calmed. If Erick hadn't been looking with Meditation, he would have never have seen it flex outward at all.

Cyril changed the subject, “We wish to employ your [Exalted Rain] to fix some of the land around Odaali for a period of several hours a day for one month. Would you help us in rebuilding our nation?”

“Yes.” Erick said, “I can leave some Ophiel here and they can do the majority of rain themselves, but they will be raining over smaller plots of land than before.”

Cyril nodded. “That is acceptable. Five Ophiel, then? And how about those gems? 500?”

“Three Ophiel, who can hang out above this castle; just send me a message when you figure out exactly what you want out of this. I’ll send you some gems another day.” Erick said, “We’ll see from there.”

“Thank you, Archmage Flatt,” Cyril said.

Wilhelmina said, “We wish you safe journey, and to know that you will have friends in Odaali, should you ever need us.”

Yetta stepped forward, saying, “We couldn’t have won this war without you, Archmage. Your power was crucial; as well as your willingness to do what needed to be done.” She added, “I had severe doubts at the beginning, what with the Avowed Pacifist... stuff—” She paused. She half-shouted, “Those!—” She stopped herself. She blinking hard, her lips crushing against each other like she was holding back something that would shatter the tense moment into a deadly, cutting thing.

Erick saw her have this emotion, and it was easy to put together all the pieces of why she would feel the way she felt. Erick understood, in the vague sort of way that one understands history, exactly what had been prevented this day. He also understood, in a lot more solid way, and from seeing the bodies and the land and the war, how much Yetta had lost, and how much it had hurt her. When he looked to Cyril and Wilhelmina, he saw something similar to Yetta’s emotions, but much more schooled, try to hide away from their faces.

As the tense silence stretched, Yetta broke that silence, by asking, “Do you know why we came to you, for help with this Daydropper quest?”

There were a dozen reasons Erick could think of off the top of his head. He picked one, saying, “Because Atunir told you to?”

Cyril and Wilhelmina sat straighter.

But Yetta simply chuckled, and said, “Not many people would guess at the hand of a goddess right away, but you’re not most people.” She spoke through her emotions, saying, “Before Planter added himself to the Quest, Atunir told me to seek you out for guidance on the nature of the Daydropper, to ask after your use of Withering to improve our war effort. I failed to do this—” She held back angry tears, saying, “Because I failed to accept what was happening around me.” Her voice cracked as she asked, “If— If I had come to you, right away, would you have helped clean the land of Daydroppers?”

Erick answered honestly, “No. I would not—”

Yetta sighed in relief.

“—Because, as I have said, I will not join the Quiet War.”

“Why?” Wilhelmina asked. “You are not blind. You see what they did to us. You might be planar, but you’re still human. If you had landed on Veird in the Wasteland Kingdoms, you would have been dead in an hour.”

“That is likely true.”

Wilhelmina demanded, “Then why!”

“Because there are more dangerous things in this world than a war that only continues due to its own momentum.” Erick said, “Like the Shades. Like Melemizargo. Like the wyrms and all the other monsters out there that I don't even know about yet.” He added, “My eyes have been opened to a lot since living on Veird for this little while, but I don’t think I would ever approve of war just because my dead ancestors demanded it of me. It is very rare that both sides to an argument are equal in pain and truth, but as far as I can tell, this is one of those times.” He added, “What was the result of this war? Just death! Everyone lost. No one gained.”

Yetta laughed. “No one gained, but only because you were able to stop a Breach Demon.”

Erick said, “And next year when you get your own Particle Mages, you can buy [Call Lightning] and do the same.” He added, “Though I have no doubt that the Class Quest for Particle Mage is going to be crazy difficult.”

Wilhelmina’s face turned hard, but she just nodded, and said nothing.

Yetta stepped back, staring off into the distance for a long moment. She breathed hard, but then calmed.

Cyril said, “Thank you, Archmage Flatt, for your service.”

Erick said, “Glad to help.”

Yetta relaxed, asking, “Would you like a [Gate] back to Spur?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

Yetta glanced to the left, toward where the sun spilled into the room. A yellow [Gate] blinked open, like sunbeams gently parting. On the other side of the [Gate] laid a bright, sandy land of crystal agave, and a desert city in the distance, surrounded by green.

Yetta bowed. Cyril and Wilhelmina leaned over in their thrones; it was sort of a bow. Erick stood tall, but nodded.

His party moved through the [Gate]. Erick left three Ophiel behind, then followed Jane through the portal to Spur.

From there, Erick and his Ophiel [Teleport]ed everyone directly to the house.

- - - -

The house rose in front of them, two mage towers, one north and one south, with three floors, and one lush green garden out front. Greyscale Spice Lady Ratchet and Force Mage Ramizi were in that garden, picking lemons and tending to the tomatoes, respectively.

Ramizi noticed Erick and the others. He stood up from the dark soil, saying, “Hey! You’re back.”

Erick smiled, happy to be back in Spur. As the others began walking into the house, Erick said, “Do you like the red tomatoes more than the purple ones?”

Ramizi held a red tomato in his hand, saying, “They’re different. Can’t turn them into sugars, though that industry is being shoved aside in favor of cactus sugar, anyway. That plant loves the platinum rain.” He added, “These red tomatoes go great in cheese pies and sauces, though.”

“Glad to see you return to us in one piece, Erick.” Ratchet had come over carrying a basket full of lemons, saying, “These lemons are great. I haven’t been able to grow any of the other citrus I usually carry in that rain of yours, but I’m working on tweaking these. Gonna grow my own crop. Soon as I get the flavors right, I’ll give you some.”

“I’d like that.”

Erick smiled, happy that people were enjoying the food he had made. Enjoying his food was much nicer than enjoying his ability to kill. He didn’t want to be the guy that Champions asked to destroy a Particle Magic threat, but he had become that guy, and that was just the way of the world.

He did not blame Yetta, Cyril, or Wilhelmina for their positions or what had been done to their people. Their anger was, if not good, then at least righteous. But righteous people can do a lot of harm in their pursuit of ‘good’. Erick wasn’t going to judge how the people in Odaali chose to live their lives, or what they did in response to what had been done to them; it wasn’t his place to judge any part of the Quiet War, and he desperately hoped it stayed that way.

The Silver Star on his shirt hung there, cool to the touch and still pristine. Erick didn’t feel pristine, though. He had killed a lot of people, today.

He spoke a little while longer with Ratchet and Ramizi, talking about what was happening around town, and then asked if they wanted to come inside for a drink or a coffee. Neither of them could stay; they were just there to check on the plants and keep them tended while Erick was away. Ratchet left first, saying it was time to start dinner.

“I’d like to come over and talk magic with you, in particular, Ramizi, maybe some other day?”

Ramizi smiled, saying, “Anytime.”

“Have you caught that necromancer out there, yet?”

Ramizi suddenly frowned. “No. They’re still out there, somewhere in the north, but they haven’t made a move and our [Familiar]s haven’t picked up anything.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Eh. They’re not currently murdering anyone…” Ramizi paused. He said, “Probably. They could be creating summons with souls, but with all this downtime, we’ve been able to investigate what happened in Nergal. This necromancer doesn’t seem like that kind of necromancer, so whatever they’re doing out there, it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone.” He looked up, then toward his house. Eduard stood by the door. “Ah. Look. I gotta go. Talk to you later.”

“Later.”

Ramizi rushed off to his house with a basket of red tomatoes. Erick waved him farewell and went inside his own house.

Silverite showed up ten minutes later.

- - - -

Silverite and Erick sat around the stone table by the garden, beside the house, under a tall lemon tree. A breeze drifted through the trees and across the vines of red tomatoes and brown potatoes. The air nearby smelled of life, while the wind smelled of dry desert air.

The Mayor of Spur wore a comfortable, airy white dress, while her metal skin shimmered silver under the dappled afternoon light, shining through the trees.

“So.” Silverite started. “You prevented a Breach Demon’s summoning.”

Erick paused. He said, “That’s not where I thought this was going.”

“We’ll get there. I’m starting with this.”

Erick smiled a little, then said, “I understand that Breach Demons are bad, but I’m still at a loss for how bad they are.”

“They're horrific, but only for those who live in human lands. Imagine a Shade loosed upon the world. This is how bad they are.”

“… Is this going to be a problem? In Spur, I mean.”

Silverite was silent for a long moment. Erick let her have her time.

Eventually, she said, “Yes. But also no. This won’t be a problem for Spur, not immediately, anyway.” She took a moment, then said, “If some incani comes to you with a request on the level of Yetta’s, I urge you to consider all the angles, and then accept the request.” She spoke from what seemed like a personal, horrible experience, saying, “You might be required to kill humans to fend off the summoning of a Converter Angel.”

Erick felt a sudden, heavy tiredness come over him, as everything in the world seemed too difficult to bear. He slumped over the stone table, groaning. He wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. He stayed like that for a moment. The moment passed.

He straightened up, and groaned out, “A Converter Angel? Really?”

Silverite spoke without rancor, “You don’t think that the incani were the only ones with crimes of this magnitude to their name, did you? It’s all but proven that the Wasteland Kingdoms became the Wasteland Kingdoms due to the actions of a Converter Angel. It’s not explicitly proven, though, because Converter Angels are much more capable of subterfuge than a Breach Demon.” Silverite said, “Breach Demons bring incani back to Veird, while Converter Angels forcibly create new members for the regimented Celestial Army. Hell is people, but Celes is order and purpose magnified.”

Erick sighed out. He asked, “Don’t they know that there are more dangers out there than each other?” He immediately said, “Sorry. That was childish. Of course they know. They just don’t see it.”

“Not all are blind, but it only takes a few to start a war.” Silverite said, “It takes many to end a war. One of these many is Koyabez. The God of Peace is one of the major blocks to the Quiet War, and is one of the major reasons that total war isn’t always happening all the time.” Silverite cracked a soft smile, saying, “Koyabez likely saw that a Breach Demon was on the table, and guided you into stopping the summoning.”

Erick touched the Silver Star on his chest, saying, “Is that why it never heated? Even when I was killing incani for a human success? It still feels wrong that he was okay with this.”

“Many people make the mistake in thinking that peace is always peaceful.” Silverite said, “If it was just the Halls of the Dead versus Odaali-in-Exile, then I doubt Koyabez would have done more than try to facilitate peace talks through his clergy." She added, "He never would have accepted that the Halls of the Dead were not a part of the Quiet War. Your Avowed Pacifist status would have been ripped from you in a burst of molten silver the second you decided to step through Yetta’s [Gate] to Odaali. Your Star would have been hot whenever the subject came up.”

Erick felt a minor spike of panic. “Really?”

Silverite continued, “But when it comes to Breach Demons and Converter Angels...” She said, “The Silver Star stands between Celes and Hell, in many ways, Erick. One of those ways is physically keeping them from crashing into each other. Koyabez, the Silver Star, does this through pure, constant force.”

“I’m not sure I like being a pawn to the gods, even one as… benevolent as Koyabez.”

Silverite laughed, small and happy, then said, “You weren’t going to say ‘benevolent’, were you?” She added, “He’s a pushy prick, for sure. Especially when it comes to his Avowed Pacifists. All the gods are like that, when it comes to those who have been annointed with their highest ideals. But I believe they have our best interests at heart.”

Erick thought for a moment, then asked, “Rats said that Breach Demons are always summoned once they get the parts together. Is that true?”

“Rats is almost correct, though popular fiction would have you believe that he is completely correct.” Silverite said, “In all the stories you read about Breach Demons or Converter Angels, there’s always some Hero of Peace trying to stop it before it happens.” She sighed, small and sad. “They always end up a caricature of tragedy, though. They never kill who they should. They never see the reality behind the schemer’s eyes. They never succeed in any of the stories or the songs.” She stressed, “But in history? In history, they do succeed, every now and again.”

Erick frowned at nothing in particular, saying, “How did you kill the Participation around here, for incani versus humans?”

Silverite smiled, saying, “That’s easy, and now that you have directly asked the question, and I feel I can trust you with this responsibility, I can answer.” The silver metal of her hand parted, revealing a tarnished four-pointed Silver Star; almost black. “You’re looking at the Head Priest of the Black Order.” The blackened Silver Star vanished back into her silver skin, as she said, “It used to be silver, but then I became ‘The Mayor’ of this neutral town 550 years ago. I’ve had to kill a lot of minor angels and demons along with their summoners and necromancers in order to get the rest of them to back off. That’s the only reason that Quiet War Participation is 1% around Spur.” She said, “You Silver Stars are the face, but we Black Stars are the fists.” She added, “That’s an open secret, but you should probably keep it under your shirt anyway.”

Erick sat, stunned. Silverite was a Head Priest to Koyabez? Did that mean that she knew what Koyabez had said to Erick about Melemizargo?

Erick whispered, “Koyabez told me that Mel…” Erick looked south, toward Ar’Kendrithyst, saying, “That he used to be friends with him. Back before the Sundering.”

Silverite nodded. “True. And the plan used to be to kill all the Shades and knock some sense into the Dark Dragon. But that never worked, not once since the Rise of Kendrithyst and the transformation of that once great city into a dead home for Shades, 950 years ago. A hundred and four years ago, that plan changed with the Great Purge. We managed to knock some sense into him, though the toll...” Silverite paused. She resumed, “Now, we’re waiting for him to come to his senses.” She said, “It’s a hard wait.”

A spark of anger came to life inside Erick. He said, “But… They do all those horrible things!”

Silverite spoke solemnly, “Yes. It’s a hard wait.”

Erick demanded, “How can you live with this decision?”

Silverite spoke softly, “There’s no decision, Erick. You might as well ask me if I like living with the fact that the sky is blue. Neither I nor you can do anything to change the color of the sky, nor can we kill all the Shades, and we especially can’t kill Melemizargo. Not even if we wanted to. Peace in strife is the only option.”

Erick’s anger gutted. He asked, “And if I found a way to rid Melemizargo of his insanity and kill all the Shades… Would you try to stop me?”

“Only if it looked like you were going to fail.” Silverite said, “And from where I’m sitting, right now, you will. So, as of this moment: Yes, I would stop you, and it would start with a banishment.” She sighed, heavy and tired, as she asked, “And now I must do my due diligence, and likely fuck over every single farmer that has come to Spur, looking for a new, peaceful life, and ask you:” She brought out a green truthstone from her other hand. “Are you going to try and kill the Shades before you are capable of actually following through with your stated goal?”

Erick said, “I will not directly move against them. Not until I’m sure I’ll win. And that includes against Melemizargo.”

The stone stayed green.

“There’s a lot of leeway in that statement. But...” Silverite sunk the stone back into her body, and stood up saying, “Good enough.”

Erick stood as well, saying, “They need to die for their crimes and what they would do if given the chance, Silverite.”

Silverite ignored what Erick had said, saying, “After today, after revealing that the Halls of the Dead were working on a Breach Demon as their true goal, a Converter Angel response will be coming. That’s how they do things up there. One of them tries some shit, the other responds.” She stressed, “Be ready, because the incani will call upon your help to kill that angel, and you must do it, if you wish to remain neutral in the Quiet War, and a citizen of Spur.”

Erick asked, “Why would they come to me?”

“Not only did you stop their Breach Demon—” Silverite gestured to the flat land of the Human District all around, saying, “But you’re one of the easiest to find, most famous archmages on the planet, Erick! Did you know that Guardmaster Merit has the rookies run daily random ‘find the spy’ missions all around the border of this district?”

Erick paled. “No. I did not know that.”

“Ask her about it some time.” Silverite dropped her hands to her sides, saying, “Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that you’re here. Everyone does. But have you met any other archmages, yet? I don’t think you have, have you? Or at least not in person.”

“… I understand.”

Silverite paused, looking at Erick. She said, “I don’t think you do, but I pray to all the Relevant Entities that you will.”

- - - -

Erick went right to Rats.

Rats was getting ready for bed, sitting down for some tea by the window of his room, reading from a book. He noticed Erick stand by the door.

“Hello? Something wrong?” Rats asked.

“Will there be a Converter Angel response?”

Rats froze for a moment. Then he calmly set down his book, and said, “A very high possibility. Maybe years away. Maybe less. The humans of the Greensoil Republic will look off continent for a mass of incani to soul-kill to power the summoning.”

“What stuff and spells do they need to create a Converter Angel?”

“Relics of some sort. I’m not sure. And the spell itself. The spell is tier 9, but anyone can buy up to it if they know the recipe, and no, I do not know the recipe.”

“And here’s what I don’t get: What’s the difference between summoning a Converter Angel and a normal angel?”

“A regular angelic or demonic summon is like…” Rats looked up. He said, “It’s like you copy a painting you saw at a gallery. Your painting isn’t the real painting, but it looks the same.” He quickly added, “The analogy breaks down a bit because with a summon, if you do it right, the original demon or angel can activate that body at a distance as though it was their own. A high-tier summon is like reaching through Reality and stealing that painting from the gallery, while you’re at your house. It’s not a perfect analogy, but it works.”

“… So that Breach Demon summoning— That [Gate] in the sky reached all the way to the moon?”

“Yes.” Rats said, “Hence them using so many souls to power the spell.”

“… Zago said that mana is not souls, and that souls are not mana.”

“That is true.” Rats said, “Souls hold a different sort of power than mana.” Rats quickly added, “But that’s what people have told me.”

“… Thank you very much.” Erick walked away.

Rats sat there. He did not pick up his book. He cradled his head in his hands, and whispered to himself, ‘Why’d I open my big mouth?’

- - - -

Erick laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to come to grips with what had happened, and what would happen, bouncing around from one concern to another, to the next.

Who would come to him, and where would they try to create a Converter Angel?

Surely Koyabez would let him know, instead of just maneuvering him into position this time, right?

What sort of magics did the Shades use? Teressa had mentioned a few… But what was a [Comet Storm], and how would Erick counter that spell? How about a [Grand Abomination]? Was it a summon, or a twist of people into horrors? [Psychic Terror] seemed pretty straight-forward, but it also seemed like the most difficult to protect against; Erick had no idea how to defend against mind magic, and [Psychic Terror] had to be mind magic, right?

But Poi was likely a Mind Mage. Maybe? Could Erick ask him?

What was Teressa? A defensive person, for sure. Also rather defensive in general; she rarely talked, but she opened up rather well when they went wyrm hunting. Erick would have to go wyrm hunting again; not only to kill more dangers to the world, but to get Teressa to open up again. She was a lovely person all the time, but it was nicer when she talked.

And what was Rats? A healer, for sure; his healing spell was at range, granted False HP, and healed over time, so that had to be from a Class Feature. Maybe. What was his connection to necromancy? Erick wasn't worried, but he was curious.

…Erick’s repertoire of magic was sorely lacking. That was the main reason he had not spent any more of the points he had gained from…

From killing people.

Erick shoved that heavy emotion aside, and glanced at his Status.

Erick Flatt

Human, age 48

Level 63, Class: Particle Mage

Exp: 399,134,707,157,049/1,061,020,985,772,300

Class: 6/6

Points: 19

HP

1020/1020

1020 per day

MP

4440/4440

17,760 per day

Strength

20

+14

[34]

Vitality

20

+14

[34]

Willpower

60

+14

[74]

Focus

60

+14

[74]

Favored Spell waiting!

He would likely be creating more Particle magic and gaining more points that way, but 19 points was a good start to plumbing the depths of normal magic. What would he do first, though? He should probably take some normal magic classes, like how Poi suggested.

But first, he would go talk to Jane, and see if she was okay. She’d been through a hell of a lot more than him, lately. Erick got out of bed.

- - - -

“Knock knock.” Erick tapped on the stone archway to Jane’s tower.

“Hey, Dad.” Jane sat on a chair by the large window, flaring mana through her hand, producing glows of dark blue unrefined magic. “What’s up?”

“What’s up with you?” Erick walked into the tower, saying, “Are you okay?”

Jane sat a bit straighter. She let the glow fade from her hand, then asked, “Are you okay?”

“No. But I think you’ve seen more horror this last week than I have.”

Jane’s lips quivered a bit. She opened her mouth to breathe, then closed it. She said, “We already talked about what I saw. Tell me about what you saw. Today.”

Erick pulled up a chair, and sat across from his daughter, and began, “I saw a woman get torn to shreds by an undead horde. I was only in the sky for a minute. But the Halls of the Dead empowered their undead while I was still debating how to help. They killed dozens while I watched. But I was only in the sky for a minute.” Erick felt his eyes go watery. He sniffled, then said, “I hesitated, again. And someone died for it. It’s a problem, and I need to fix this problem, but I don’t think I’ll ever be used to combat.”

Silence filled the mage tower.

Jane offered, “We could move, Dad.”

“Move?” Erick asked, unsure if he heard her right.

Jane said, “I [Teleport]ed around some of the Greensoil Republic while I was there. I saw how normal people lived. Level 20 is high level. The most common monsters are slimes, and the people only kill the slimes when they get into things they shouldn’t. Like the grain, or the water. If monsters like oozes show up, the people message over to the larger towns, requesting adventurers to come to their town to take care of the problem." She said, "People use cow-driven wagons to get around, or cow-less, magical wagons if they’re rich. They grow things based on the season, instead of through magic. People are lucky to have one Stat in the 20s. Almost everyone levels exclusively through buying skills and leveling those through daily work.” She finished, “It’s a lot quieter.”

Erick thought for a moment, but already knew his answer. He said, “No. Even if I discounted my responsibilities here, I’m not retreating from this fight. I’m going to hunt wyrms… Try to get a feel for the combat. This is life on Veird, and I need to get better at it. I’m glad that the people in the Greensoil Republic can live that kind of life, but my eyes are open. I’ll never be able to ignore the horror out there, Jane. Not now. Not ever.”

Jane looked at Erick; really looked at him. And then a happy, singular laugh escaped from her. She smiled. She said, “Good.” She sighed out, “I’m glad for that, Dad. I want to stay, too.”

“I want to powerlevel the rest of these HP-cost abilities, too.” Erick asked, “Can you help me with that?”

Smiling, Jane said, “Of course I can help with that. You need to get [Silent Movement] too, though? You gotta get all of them for [Hunter’s Instincts]. It’s a fantastic skill. Saved my life so many times when I was escorting Yetta through Ar’Kendrithyst. And in Odaali.”

Erick went ahead and bought [Silent Movement]. “Yeah. I remember the memories you showed me.”

Jane scooted her chair closer to him, her finger glowing with a heal, as she said, “Go ahead and start whenever.” She added, “And tell me about the rest of what you saw.”

Erick started talking, using all of his HP cost abilities as his Health would allow. Jane listened, poking him with a [Rejuvenation] occasionally, renewing the heal as needed. It healed for 105 HP every second.

Erick talked for a long time, leveling his skills as he did. The sun dipped down in the sky by the time he was done. Health Fatigue crept up on him before the skills could finish leveling; he could feel his words getting harder to string together, well before he ran out of things to say. He had to stop the training, for now.

By that time, Jane had started talking about her own last few days. About what she saw during the battle between the Halls and Odaali-in-Exile. She had to stop several times, but it was good to talk; it was nice to listen to her.

A few times, Erick had had to fill the silence with a terrible joke to get a smile back on Jane's face. He was successful, most of the time, but even when he wasn’t, Jane deriding his bad jokes was okay, too.

They ordered cheesesteak subs and fries from ‘Meat! Bread! Cheese!’ for dinner, enough for everyone in the house, but Erick and Jane ate alone on the second floor veranda, overlooking the front garden and the sunset over Spur. The air was cool. It would be another cold night in the desert.

Jane coated her fries and her sandwich with a super spicy mix Ratchet had personally delivered while they were out getting dinner. Tears welled down her face as she ate, saying, “She got it spicy enough this time.”

Erick laughed as Jane took another bite.

She offered him the spice shaker. “Try it! You might like it.”

“I’d prefer my intestines intact, thank you very much.”

"You're missing out." Jane ate her sandwich, tears happily running down her face.

Erick said, “You know? I thought I’d miss television more.”

Jane laughed, saying, “I’m perfectly happy here, though I do miss playing D&D with a group. I don’t think anyone would want to do anything like that here; too close to reality.”

Erick nodded.

“I like rescuing people from the Shades, though.” Jane added, “But I can’t go back there; not yet. Killzone’s orders: I can’t return while the Shades want to toy with me.”

“You gonna get that unicorn?”

“And the rest of the full set.” Jane tapped her head with a clean finger, saying, “I’ve telepathically talked to more than a few people since then. Even contacted some Knowledge Mages and gotten some better information.” She added, “They’re like search engines but they’re people. Anyway: I figured out the animals I want.”

Erick scoffed, “Knowledge Mages?”

“Over in the Greensoil Republic; we have none in Spur.”

“What’s your plan?”

Jane set down her sandwich, and said, “I have the slime and the spider, for fire and shadow. I need to play around with the slime form more to get a feel for combat before I attempt the unicorn, but I should be able to consume more fire essences as a slime. So I’m going to visit some fire essence locations and get enough fire essences to upgrade —at least— to [Flame Step]. That’s like, four tiers above what I already have. That trip will take me to the Wyrmridge Mountains up north.”

Erick ate his sandwich while she spoke.

“And then there’s the unicorn, which will be a trial, for sure. That takes care of light essence. Stone is going to be a Kerikil. It’s a dog-like monster in the Underworld. Nasty thing equivalent to the shadowspider of Ar'Kendrithyst, but much easier to acquire, though [Stone Walk] is nothing compared to [Shadowalk]. Basil had a Kerikil…” She got a far off look in her eyes for a moment, before saying, “Air essence is a Bapuali. It’s a near-invisible super fast bird that swarms in groups and preys upon travelers in the Mondariska Mountains. The plan there is to spin a web to catch a dozen of those and pick the best one. Water is a prismatic octopus. Easy choice, that.” She stressed, “The oceans of Veird are terrifying, Dad.” She shivered. “Best to hide and have a form that is useful outside of the water, too.”

Erick asked, confused, “Octopuses can live outside of the water?”

“These ones can, and do; almost exclusively. They're an apex predator on the archipelagos of Nergal. That’s the farthest monster, so I’ll hit that up last.” She picked her sandwich up, saying, “Honestly, I could go the slime-route for all of them except the unicorn. Slimes are really versatile creatures. It’s no wonder they live everywhere.”

Erick joked, “When I get grandchildren, they better be humanoid.”

“Phbbpt!” Jane said, “You might need to get busy making another kid. I’m thinking spider babies.”

Erick laughed as he shivered, saying, “Please gods no, Jane!”

“A whole horde of them.”

Laughing, Erick said, “I’ll disown you!”

Jane scoffed, “What do you have for me to inherit, anyway?”

“Uh! Uh! How about a whole school of magic? Eh? Think about that!”

“Particle magic is for suckers.” Jane said, “Polymage is so much better.”

Erick laughed, happy that he could joke like this. But then he remembered all the people who died. He lost his smile. He sighed out a little.

Jane said, “I won’t leave right away.”

Erick smiled softly. Then he said, “I’m worried for you, sure. But only as much as any parent worries about their children. You’re doing a lot better than I am, Jane, and I’m proud of that. I was actually thinking about all the… the deaths… today.”

Jane breathed deep, then nodded, saying, “It was rough out there, for sure.” She asked, “I told you I got the Skill Quest for [Greater Treat Wounds], didn’t I? I completed it today, too.”

Erick put down his sandwich, shocked. “What! You can do that?” He quickly added, “I knew you could, but— How difficult was it? And congratulations!”

Jane smiled wide. “I got the easy version. I had to ‘provide great aid to 50 terribly wounded’.”

“That’s fantastic!” Erick felt light; weightless and joyful. “I feel… so much better about your chances out there.”

“I do, too.” Jane, still smiling, asked, “After dinner, do you want to keep going? With the skill grinding?”

“Heck yeah!” Erick said, “I’m feeling a little less stupid.” He added, “And I want to see about making a [Conjure Armor] that works like yours. That shit’s fan-freaking-tastic! Did you model it like kevlar, or like graphene?”

Jane paused. “I could try to make it like graphene, couldn’t I?” She leaned in, saying, “Invent a graphene spell for me, Dad.”

Erick laughed.

Jane added, “It’s basically like you did with the diamonds, isn’t it? Make me a space elevator, too.”

Erick laughed louder. "Whatever for!"

"I don't know! I just think it would be cool."

- - - -

Erick woke up bright and early the next morning. Jane made coftea, eggs, and pancakes; enough for everyone, including Rats and Teressa who were just about ready to go to bed.

Kiri Flamecrash showed up at the front door, half an hour into breakfast.

Erick pulled the door open, saying, “Kiri! Hello! Welcome back, Kiri! Poi said you were coming. Glad to see you!” He stepped aside. “Come on in; Breakfast is in the kitchen if you’re hungry. Are you ready for an apprenticeship— or was it a secretary position? I forget exactly what we agreed upon.”

Kiri Flamecrash was dressed in a fabric [Conjure Armor] that looked similar to Jane’s kevlar-fabric type armor, but vibrant green. Kiri herself glittered green in the sunlight; just as much of an emerald-scale as Erick remembered. She smiled, saying, “I have satisfied Killzone and Liquid’s requirements for archmage-duty, and would love to come in, take part in the duties of bodyguard, and also to begin my apprenticeship and all that that will entail, today.”

Erick nodded, “I accept. But I’m not exactly sure what you expect out of this.”

“Perfectly fine!” Kiri stepped into the house.

Jane stepped out of the kitchen. “You!”

Kiri froze, then glared at Jane, saying, “You!”

Jane softened, saying, “I won’t be able to torment you for a while, Kiri, so take care of my dad, will you?”

Kiri gave a slight bow, saying, “It would be my honor.”

Erick asked, suddenly worried, “You’re not going today, are you, Jane?”

“Definitely not now that Kiri is here.” Jane gazed from Erick to Kiri, saying, “Maybe I want to sit in on every lesson. For a week!”

Kiri tensed, gritting her teeth, saying, “It would be my honor.”

A telepathic connection twisted the air from Jane to Kiri, for the briefest of moments, Jane smiling the whole time, while Kiri forced a smile of her own. And then the connection broke.

Jane clapped her hands, saying, “Okay then!” She turned to Erick. “What’s the first lesson?”

Erick said, “Well...” He turned to Kiri. “Uh. Right into it? Don’t you need time to move in, first?”

“I would like to see you make a spell, as soon as possible.” Kiri touched the strap to her shoulderbag, saying, “I have everything I need in here, and will buy the rest when I can.”

Erick grinned. “Sure. We can have a lesson now, I guess?” He thought for a second. He said, “How about a normal spell? I haven’t tried for it yet, but I need a [Solid Ward]. It’s on the to-do list.” Erick added, “And you can tell me what you think afterward.” He brought out [Pure Force Beam Bolt] and passed it to Kiri, saying, “I made this the other day, and—”

Kiri stood straighter, her eyes going wide, as she read the spell.

Erick paused.

Kiri dismissed the blue box, saying, “I would love to participate in this training.”

“Excellent! Maybe you can help me get better, too? I’m sure there’s spells out there that I want, that I just don’t know about. Do you know a lot of magic?”

Kiri smiled wider, saying, “This is wonderful. Yes. I know practically every good spell up to tier 4, and the combinations to get to tier 6 for a few. But— Yes— I need to see how you combine them first.” She adjusted, “I would appreciate learning about your methods before I cloud your judgment with my own.”

“Sounds fine to me. You’re staying here, right? There’s plenty of room.”

Kiri nodded.

“Good. Uh. Just pick whatever room isn’t lived in.” Erick gestured toward the grand staircase at the back of the foyer. “Up that-a way.”

Jane rushed forward to Kiri, saying, “I’ll show her around!”

Jane took Kiri’s arm, and Kiri let herself be taken, though Erick could tell there was some friction in that action. But before Erick could say a contrary word, Jane had whisked Kiri up the stairs.

Erick stood in the foyer, smiling a bit, happy that Jane had made a friend; or at least that’s what Erick hoped all of that was. Jane was always hardest on her friends. Hopefully Kiri could handle it.

Erick needed to find out more about his solid [Ward] idea, though. He pulled that plan out of nowhere, after Poi had told him that Kiri was coming to stay. And speaking of Poi: Erick looked over to see Poi standing by the doorway to the kitchen.

“Ah! Good. There you are.” Erick said, “I need to see Al for a minute.”

Poi nodded, “I’m here and ready, sir.”

Erick rushed out the front door, Poi following close behind.

- - - -

Erick caught Al behind the rad counter of the Sewerhouse, all on his lonesome.

“What?” Erick asked, walking in the gold-colored building, “No Savral or Bacci?”

Al smiled as he saw Erick come in. He stood taller behind the counter, saying, “I heard you iced a city.”

Erick paused.

Al saw the pause, and said, “Ah? You think you did something wrong?”

“Well. Yeah.” Erick walked up to the counter. “But also no… not really.”

“It is good you have these morals.” Al shook his finger at Erick, saying, “But be sure to draw the line where it is good to draw lines.” He put his hands down. “Sympathy for the Shade gets you killed.”

Erick said, “I lost my sympathy for those people after Jane shared some images with me.”

“Bah! It is a multi-purpose saying.” Al asked, “What brings you here so early?”

“Apparently, I have an apprentice now— have you met Kiri Flamecrash? Green scales, young woman?”

“I have not.” Al smirked. “But it is amusing that you have an apprentice. Are you going to fill her head with knowledge of your magic from home?”

“I’m going to be learning more from her than she’s going to be learning from me.”

Al chuckled. “I felt the same way after having you as my apprentice for such a short while.”

“Always learning!” Erick smiled. “Anyway: I wanted to know how you made that solid [Ward], to see if I can duplicate it. You told me once but I forgot.”

“Easy request: [Ward], [Airshape], [Stoneshape].” He added, “But if you are shooting for the best, you need all the shaping spells, and [Ward], all together, all at the same time.” He smiled. “Good luck making that.”

Erick groaned. “I don’t even have all the shaping spells.”

Al shrugged. “Most people do not. And if you try to combine them, you will fail anyway. I know of only one being that ever managed to create that [Solid Ward], and you are no Champion of Rozeta.” He shook his head a little, saying, “Not all of those base spells are useful, anyway, so no one even tries for that [Solid Ward] except for people with the Class: Shaper. [Fireshape] is only useful for the firebugs already throwing around fire. [Lightshape] and [Shadowshape] are really good for non-[Invisible] invisibility, and some other edge cases, but they are also not great.” He declared, “[Airshape], [Stoneshape], [Ward]; this is all you need to make a great [Solid Ward]. Adding [Watershape] weakens the structure in all cases, so don’t bother with that one.”

“… But why those spells?”

Al paused. “What do you mean?”

“Could I make a [Solid Ward] out of [Ward] and… [Force Wall]?”

Al hummed, then wide eyed, said, “I remember now! This is [Force Cage]. [Dispel]able for 50 mana, or breakable for 100 to 500 damage. It doesn’t regenerate like a proper [Solid Ward] regenerates; this is why people don’t rely on this method.” He added, “I’m sure you could try? Though the [Solid Ward] I told you about can easily absorb a lot more damage than 500 before breaking. Thousands or more. And people can walk through it, too.”

“… Those are good reasons.”

“Yes, they are!”

Erick smiled, saying, “Thanks, Al."

"Any time, my friend."

Erick added, "And just so you know: I’m over level 50, now.”

Erick laughed, leaving Al to sputter as he walked away, out of the Sewerhouse, headed back home. He had a class to teach! He had substituted for gradeschoolers before, this would just be like that, wouldn’t it?

- - - -

On the way back, on one of the less crowded streets, Erick asked, “Poi? So Kiri cleared everything required of her, right?”

“Yes, sir.” Poi said, “She’s going to be the fourth guard at the house and under my command, but mostly she’s free to do as you wish.”

“And… Is she a good person? Or… I’m not sure. She has some mental magic, right?” Erick added, “But so do you and I trust you but… How bad can a mentalist be? Should I be worried about mind control?”

Poi smiled softly, saying, “Mind Mages are highly regulated by other mind mages and various regional powers. Kiri is not one of us; she only has [Sense Intent]. Though she’s very good at [Sense Intent], in all the time she has been observed she has never used her skills for selfish gain. She’s only used her mental spell to steer clear of life threatening trouble, which is one of the major tenets of proper Mind Magic.” He added, “Whoever taught her likely saw a young person in danger, and desired to give her the tools to rescue herself.”

A weight seemed to fall off of Erick’s shoulders. He said, “That’s great to hear.” He added, “But you didn’t say anything about dangerous mental magic?”

Poi frowned, saying, “[Psychic Terror]. This spell causes all sapient minds in a super long range to experience limitless fear as long as the caster concentrates. Mind control exists, but all the other Mind Mages out there work to ensure people are unaffected by this category of magic. In any case, you can resist all hostile mind magics if you have a resistance. [Telepathy] even helps you build that resistance.”

Erick glanced south as he walked home, glimpsing the walls of Ar’Kendrithyst through the spaces between the orange stone buildings. He said, “Good to know.”

Poi added, “People are usually more scared of Soul Magic, sir. That stuff changes who you are at a base level and is nearly impossible to fix once the damage has been done.”

Erick uttered, “Well that’s suitably terrifying.”

“I try not to think about it, sir.” Poi said, “Soul mutilation doesn’t really happen outside of human or incani lands, anyway.”

- - - -

When Erick got back home, Jane and Kiri were drinking coftea and laughing near the garden about something, but when he approached, they saw him and rushed over.

Jane said, “Come on! Get with the teaching, already.”

Erick smiled.

It didn’t take long to redo two of the third floor rooms into a studio space. Erick knocked down a wall with [Stoneshape], redid a few windows, and put up a blackboard with [Conjure Item]. He would have to buy a permanent one later, but for now, just having something to write on would be fine. He considered making chairs and tables out of stone, too, but he wanted those to eventually be permanent, and sitting or writing on stone was uncomfortable. So he [Conjure Item]’ed some combination chair/tables, like they had at the gradeschools back home.

Kiri eyed the strange chair-table, then, with a whispered apology, made her own, much more normal individual chair and individual table. With a silent smirk, Jane did the same. They sat down at what they had made. Erick dismissed his creations, and threw some [Distortion Ward]s across the inside of the windows. Sunlight still came in, but it came in as a Salvador Dali painting; all melted and soft-looking.

Erick said, “So I’m not sure how you want this to work, but it’s my understanding that you’re the fourth guard at this house and under Poi’s command, but are mostly free to do as I wish.”

Kiri said, “That is my understanding, too. Is there something in particular you would like to organize right now?”

“Yes, actually. Not right now, but I would like to continue our sparring, and I’m even thinking of taking up remedial magic classes at the Mage Guild in town… would you want to sit in with me for those, or…?”

Kiri’s eyes seemed to glow, but she controlled her obvious excitement as she said, “Through my unfortunate time under the direction of Archmage Quel of the Tower, he mentioned that the Headmaster was trying to woo you.” Kiri said, “I really, really, suggest you allow yourself to be wooed into classes at Oceanside.”

Erick smiled softly. “Ah. Yes. The Headmaster has had a lot of glowing reviews from a lot of people. Maybe I should do that. Would you like to go there?”

“Very much yes.” Kiri cleared her throat, then said, “Uh. Archmage, sir.”

“How is your family, anyway?”

Kiri nodded, smiling as she said, “Thank you for asking after them. They’re a lot better, now that Quel isn’t breathing down their necks. They’re actually thinking of moving to Odaali to help with reconstruction and to make a new life there.” She added, “I thought they’d never leave Tower town, but time makes liars of us all.”

Erick said, “Cyril seems like good people. I’m helping them with some platinum rain, but they have yet to ask after that resource.”

Jane spoke up, “Cyril is way out of his depth. Like. Way wayway out of his depth. Wilhelmina is going to be the one actually running that country for a long, long time.”

Kiri exclaimed, “Oh thank the gods. That’s good news." She giggled, relieved. "I was concerned when some nobody was slated to be the new Duke of Odaali.”

“You know her?” Erick asked.

“I know of her.” Kiri said, “Duchess Wilhelmina Dominair hates the nobility and strives to include the peasantry in all of her decisions, so that automatically makes her better than ninety percent of the rulers over there.”

Erick laughed.

Jane smiled, saying, “That’s a shining endorsement if I’ve ever heard one.” Jane teased, “Wilhelmina isn’t threatening your family now, is she?”

Kiri sighed out, “They should just move to Spur, shouldn’t they. I might have to convince them.”

“Heck yeah.” Erick said, “Spur’s great!”

Jane said, “It’s grown on me, too.”

Erick said, “Anyway. Glad to see you again, Kiri. I hope this thing you’ve embarked upon works out for both of us.”

“I do, too,” Kiri said.

Erick turned to the blackboard, then stopped, and turned back to Kiri and Jane. “Uh. So I’m going to make a [Solid Ward] with [Airshape], [Stoneshape], and [Ward]. I’ve heard its a good one. Is it?”

Kiri smiled, saying, “The base version of that [Ward] is called [Stony Air Ward]. Since you have the base spells, it should be available for purchase in the Script. Now that you know the name of the spell, you can look it up, if you wish.”

Erick did.

Stony Air Ward, instant, short range, 12 hours, Solid Ward, 250 MP + Variable

Create a solid, large barrier, that absorbs Variable damage before breaking.

Stony Air Ward regenerates integrity based on half of your mana regeneration.

You and people you touch while casting this spell are able to pass through the barrier at will, all others are blocked.

You may only have one Solid Ward active at a time.

Purchase Stony Air Ward for 1 point? Yes/No

No.

“Okay.” Erick asked, “Do you have a recommendation for a better [Solid Ward]?”

“[Stony Air Ward] is one of the best [Solid Ward]s known.” Kiri added, “Unless you’d like to try for [Prismatic Ward], which is all of the shaping spells and [Ward] combined? One of the easiest [Solid Ward]s is [Ward] plus [Force Wall], but not many people take that one; it’s very limited in what it can do. This is because Force, once cast, doesn’t like to change form. A [Solid Ward] made with a shaping spell can regenerate and absorb damage, rather than chipping and cracking and collapsing all at once.”

Erick grinned. “That’s some of what I've heard, too.” He almost went back to the blackboard, but instead, asked, “What kind of barrier is a Breach Barrier?”

Kiri answered as though reciting for an oral exam, “A Breach Barrier is created through [Ward] and vast, vast amounts of blood magic. I do not know the specific spells, but I do know that to create a Breach Barrier requires a highly secretive combination of spells that all stem from a variant of [Watershape], known as [Bloodshape]. What is most secretive and odd about Breach Barrier, is that it is not referred to as [Breach Barrier] in any text; which could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. It might even be a Skill, and not a Spell. But whatever it is, it is far out of my area of expertise.”

“Thank you, Kiri. I was just curious anyway.”

Kiri nodded.

Erick said, “Let’s begin.”

Erick began stringing mana through his spells, producing white lights and more from his hands. The first spell was [Airshape]; It hadn’t changed since he made Ophiel. [Airshape] was the sound of flying free across the land, playful and happy, and an extremely airy white light that flickered up from his open palm like a breeze given form.

Kiri looked confused, but she said nothing.

So Erick explained, “What I’m doing now is flowing my mana through the spells I already have. Not too much mana, but not too little; just the right amount. It’s different for each spell, but you should know when you reach the point where the magic really arrives, if you know what I mean. It’s like how you enchant gems, but instead of stringing through your Stats, you’re stringing mana through your spells. This is [Airshape], for example. Can you hear the wind, free and breezy? Playful, even?”

Kiri tilted her head, just a little.

Jane said, “I can hear it.”

Erick looked to Jane. She was smiling. She really could hear it!

Erick grinned, saying, “Good!”

Kiri said, “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

“Try it with your own [Airshape], or whatever.”

Kiri flickered green light above her open hand, like a flame nurtured and crackling in the grip of her well-manicured talons. It sounded of hearth and home.

Kiri dismissed the flame, saying, “This is all… very peculiar.”

“Yes. Poi said something similar when I talked to him about this method.” Erick said, “But it works! At least for me. It might work for you, too.” He strung the next spell through his hand, and it came out like a dense, singular hum, and a solid light. “This one is [Stoneshape]. Sounds like solidity, to me. But it also sounds like planets in gravity, too. Or at least what I’d imagine planets in gravity would sound like.”

Kiri tentatively asked, “Are you... Are you hearing emotions?”

“… Probably?” Erick said, “Does your magic not feel emotional to you?”

Kiri shook her head. “Would you allow me to use [Sense Intent] here?”

Erick shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Kiri went from looking at Erick, to gazing at him. She blinked. She went back to simple looking, as she said, “You’re… Very empathic, you know?”

Jane laughed, joking, “Is that his problem?”

Kiri shook her head, saying, “Not a problem. I would like to talk about this in depth, but later. It is unimportant right now. Continue, please!”

Erick strung mana through the final spell, producing a plasma ball of white light around his hand, and a static noise. He said, “And this is [Ward], of course. Sounds like… static? No— Ah ha! Sounds like white water in river rapids. A layer of distortion that hides the life in the depths.” He added, “A lot of magic has watery sounds. This one is more crashing-rushing than most.”

Kiri and Jane watched, saying nothing.

Erick thought as he said, “Now I have to figure out how to put them all together in a way that makes sense, and that the magic would appreciate. And I do mean that literally. They need to like being together, or else you get disharmony.”

Erick went up to the chalkboard, and wrote down some ideas.

Airshape

Stoneshape

Ward

Playful, exploratory

Extrovert

Breezy, windy

Immobile, contemplative

Introvert

Solid hum

Defensive, mystical

Homey

Rushing water sounds

“So that’s that.” Erick said, “I don’t usually do it this way, but here, you can see the pieces that need to come together in order to make a harmony.” He paused. He brought out the box for Ophiel, then handed it out to Kiri and Jane, saying, “This is a [Familiar] I made using this method. He actually likes music, so let’s have him help me on this.”

Erick summoned an Ophiel while Kiri’s eyes were bugging out at the spell, and Jane smiled softly. A dozen-winged, dozen-eyed Ophiel, three foot tall, appeared in the air beside Erick. Ophiel immediately trilled out a violin and flute sound as he hovered, light as a feather, beside the blackboard, a multitude of more eyes opening up across his body, taking in the new sights. There were already several Ophiel flying around out there in the world, but they were on hold, flying around in the sky near where they needed to eventually be…

Erick quickly checked on each of the ones he left out there. The Spur-Farm Ophiel was doing well; he was watching the farmers prepare for the morning rain. Some of the farmers looked at Ophiel, but most ignored him. It was almost go-time for Erick to bring the rain, but there was still half an hour before that needed to happen.

The Odaali Ophiels were doing okay, floating around the sky in formation. They weren’t anywhere near the brown castle, but that brown structure remained in sight, far below; some people were even in the process of [Special Ward]ing the stone castle to white.

Erick came back to himself—

Kiri shook the blue box in the air, saying, “This is amazing! And Ophiel is pretty, too, but wow. This! Now, this is a [Familiar].”

Ophiel trilled in obvious enjoyment of being praised.

Erick smiled, saying, “Okay okay. He’s amazing, yes, but I don’t want him getting a big head.” Erick patted Ophiel, and the [Familiar] pushed into his hand, happy to be touched, as Erick said, “Ophiel is very young, but he likes to mimic sounds. He picked up the violin and flute after hearing them for a few hours, though he prefers the violin, I think.” Erick lifted his hand away. Ophiel held in the air, near Erick, waiting for something more to happen. Erick pushed mana through his spells, asking Ophiel, “Help me figure out how to make these sound good together. It’s okay if you can’t—”

Ophiel immediately began singing and glowing with some arcane song of dense air, wrapped around him like a protective shell. A home made of structure and ease.

“… Perfect.” Erick smiled, saying, “What I’m hearing is a song about an easy home, where people come and go as they want, but it’s still a home. There’s still walls to keep out those who would do harm." Inspiration struck. Erick said, "A home of [Crystalline Air], that reforms as needed.” He began:

Erick stopped. He held out his hands to Kiri and Jane, saying, “I need to do this outside.”

Kiri and Jane each grabbed a hand.

In a blip of white, the three of them reappeared on the roof of Erick’s mage tower. The winds of the Crystal Forest flowed over the northern walls of Spur, twisting around the crenelated roof of the tower. After a moment, Ophiel joined them, hovering alongside Erick, unfurling to his full, three meter, two dozen winged height. Ophiel sang of magic; a duet with Erick, as Erick called to the sky.

“A defense against harm [Ward]

“Founds a home, solid lair. [Stoneshape]

“Add a sky twisting charm, [Airshape]

“Cast a [Crystalline Air].” [Ward]

The air shifted around the tower as a minor amount of magic flowed from Erick, into the surroundings. In a crinkling, all-encompassing rush of sound, ten meters out in every direction, a glint fractured the light, like a massive soap bubble frosting over. A layer of clear crystal formed a sphere with Erick, Kiri, Jane, and Ophiel at the center.

A blue box appeared.

Crystalline Air, instant, short range, 24 hours, Solid Ward, 50 MP + Variable

Create a solid, large barrier, that absorbs Variable damage before breaking.

You may increase or decrease the size of your Crystalline Air for an increase or decrease in Variable cost.

Crystalline Air regenerates integrity based on your Rested mana regeneration rate.

You and those you permit are able to pass through Crystalline Air at will. You may grant or revoke this permission at will.

You may only have one Solid Ward active at a time.

Erick smiled as he read the box. He handed a copy to both Jane and Kiri, then said, “I permit air to move through this barrier.”

Nothing changed.

Erick pushed mana and intent into the spell, repeating, “I permit air to move through this barrier.”

The usual winds over Spur had stopped after [Crystalline Air] went up, but at Erick's granting of permission, the wind resumed. Erick canceled [Crystalline Air], and the layer of clear ice all around him vanished. Erick recast the spell. Sure enough, the winds of Spur kept flowing through the barrier. Erick laughed, happy that the spell remembered his settings, because apparently that’s what permission meant, in this case.

He was also quite glad that he wouldn’t accidentally smother himself in his sleep, or something, if he ever forgot to permit ‘air’ into the bubble. It was a concern Erick had had ever since he learned about [Solid Ward]s, but he was glad to see there was no problem. Erick shivered at that gruesome thought, and tossed that concern away.

Kiri smiled as she read the spell, her eyes going back and forth from the box, to the spell hanging in the sky, to Erick. Jane had already read the box and tossed it away.

Jane said, “Good job, Dad.”

Kiri dismissed the box into the ambient mana, and said, “Thank you, Archmage, for allowing me this opportunity to learn from you.”

“There’s more where that came from.” Erick felt like being corny, and said, “But with great power, comes great responsibility.”

Jane almost groaned—

But Kiri bowed, saying, “I understand.”

Feeling even more melodramatic, Erick said, “I pray to all the Relevant Entities of the Script that you do.”

Jane glared at him. “Really, Dad?”

But Kiri seemed deeply humbled. She bowed again, saying, “I understand.”

Erick smiled, saying, “Sorry. Someone said that to me this morning, so I felt the need to pass it along.”

Kiri stood tall, saying, “It’s good advice.”

Jane asked Erick, “So you ripped that off of someone else, too?"

Erick laughed.

Kiri frowned at Jane. “It’s still good advice.”

“You are correct!” Erick dismissed the [Crystalline Air], then activated his Handy Aura and stepped off the side of the tower, floating down, saying, “Now go make a spell of your own. I’ve got farms to rain on. I’ll catch up with you later.”

- - - -

END BOOK 2