Chapter 130, 1/2

Particle Magic is now a part of the Script

Details to follow for concerned parties...

Erick bolted upright, launching himself out of bed. More boxes came through.

You have been granted the ability to purchase Condense Particle.

You have been granted 1 extra point.

One point has been automatically deducted in order to purchase Condense Particle.

Here is your new spell:

Condense Particle 1, instant, close range, 25 mana

Collect loose particles of a chosen type into a small area. Lasts 1 minute.

In most cases, Particle Magic now has a variant of the Physical Damage descriptor, instead of .

In most cases, Particle Spells have been finalized, based on what they were already capable of doing.

For almost all cases, and just how the same is true for all other magic, there is a [Ward] spell that will negate a Particle Spell, but it will not be as easy to negate Particle Magic as it has been. This was always a temporary solution. A more permanent solution has been found. Standard Absorption Wards will now work against Particle Magic with the Physical Damage descriptor exactly how they would work against all other physically substantive magic.

Particle Magic will now combine with other magics. Errors will no longer occur in such cases, but the resulting magics might not manifest in expected ways.

In most cases, the necessary language required to facilitate a true understanding of various Particle Spells inside of their blue box is woefully inadequate. Thus, prolific vagueness will continue to exist in all Particle Magic boxes.

Many texts have been updated.

You may, and are encouraged to, continue to invent more Particle Spells that lie outside of the Condense Particle spell line, but any such spells will be similar to Teleport Familiar or Duplicate, and will lie outside of the Open Script.

All currently invented Particle Spells also lay somewhere in the Condense Particle spell line. Experiment to find out where they lay!

In most cases, the spells under Condense Particle’s Open Access are minuscule versions of what is possible to make through one’s own power; as it has always been.

There will be no delay for many of your spells entering the Script. You still had some months for many of them, but that was an untenable solution. All of your spells are now a part of the Script. Yes, even your latest one, Control Weather. It was easier to work them all into the Script right now, instead of waiting a year. All of your major spells are still Particle Mage Only.

Many Class Abilities of Particle Mage that influence the Particle Spells of others have been eliminated. It is only through the practical, physical knowledge of particles that two Particle Mages, or other types of mages, will be able to influence the particle spells of another.

A few Class Abilities have been added to base Particle Mage. It is possible for mortals to add more Abilities to this Class. Seek out the Orrery if you wish to learn more.

All words stated here are for your benefit. Others will not receive the same notification.

Thanks for all your hard work, Erick.

~Rozeta

Erick read, reread, then checked his Status, looking over every single one of his Particle Spells. He saw the changes right away. Almost every single angle bracket was gone; his spells were now finalized.

And then he put all of those away and strode out into the living room, thinking.

It was time to start the day. To make breakfast, and such.

But…

What was going to happen? Erick sat down in the living room, waiting for something to happen. As the sun rose higher and dawn turned to early day, he was still waiting, and still thinking.

Poi spoke up behind him, “Sir?”

Erick turned, and smiled. “Sorry. Did I wake you with my thinking?”

“Yes.” Poi frowned a little. “That’s some announcement.”

Erick got up and went to the kitchen, saying, “Yup! So what do you want for breakfast?”

“I’ll make breakfast, today, sir. I’m sure something big is going to happen any minute now.”

“Eh! You do enough. I’m making breakfast.” He was on his way to making breakfast before he stopped to think while he was alone, but now Poi was up and about, too. Erick went to the cold box and started pulling out the good stuff that he hadn’t been able to make, but that he still wanted to eat. Candied and spicy sausage. The really good milk; 5%! The semi-magical flour, that was perfect for pancakes but cost way too much. “I feel like making a feast.” He sent out a light tendril to tap Kiri, all the way in her room, making sure to wake her as he yelled out, “Everyone up and awake!”

- - - -

Kiri jerked awake. “Wha—”

And then her eyes went wide.

A distant part of Kiri listened to Erick talk to Jane, telling her that there was no emergency, not yet, while Jane barked back that he shouldn’t have yelled out like that for no good reason. Erick had a good reason, though. The world wasn’t on fire, but something almost as shattering had happened.

Particle Magic had just become part of the Script.

She knew this well before the arguments started outside, for a notification hovered in front of her.

Particle Magic is now a part of the Script

Details to follow for concerned parties...

Notifications poured in.

Getting to sleep last night had taken way too much alcohol. Today was way too big of a day. But it was here! Finally, it was here! Kiri laughed as she got out of bed, reading as she moved. She listened to Erick and Jane and then Poi speak just beyond her door, but she didn’t listen very close. She was busy. She did not have time to go into the living room ‘for a nice spot of breakfast while they waited for something to blow up somewhere’, as Erick put it.

Because after the notifications for changes to Particle Magic, none of which were very surprising, there came another.

“Oh my gods.” Kiri’s eyes went wide. “I don’t have to go to a Registrar first?”

Class Quest! (Retroactive, Special Exception)

Create a perfectly constructed Particle Spell of tier 7 or higher. 0 / 1

Or

Create a Basic Tier Particle Spell. 3/1

Reward: Particle Mage

Reward: 1 Class Ability; Ability to Create Particle Spells Greatly Increased

Accept Reward? Yes / No

“Accept!” She laughed, feeling something expand in her core, in her very sense of self, setting her all aflutter like when she had gone flying for the very first time. Sudden, happy tears rolled down her face, then she wiped them away. Erick had warned her that she might not get [Particle Mage], even with all the work she had put in. He didn’t even tell her the qualifications; only that he would help if she didn’t qualify. And yet! She did! And retroactive!? Ha ha! She laughed again, whispering, shouting to the world, “Oh my gods!”

Kiri Flamecrash

Dragonkin, age 20

Level 82, Class: Particle Mage

Exp: 3.81 e18 / 9.19 e18

Class: 1/6

Points: 53

HP

2,460/2,460

2,460 per day

MP

3,360/3,360

13,440 per day

Strength

20

+62

[82]

Vitality

20

+62

[82]

Willpower

50

+62

[112]

Focus

50

+62

[112]

With a few quick casts, Kiri dressed herself for the day, [Cleanse]d the ick of sleep from her scales and her body, picked up Sunny to put around her neck, and then burst out of her room.

She called out, “I just got Particle Mage!”

“That’s great, Kiri!” Erick called back, “Come on down; I’m making breakfast.”

She laughed again as she hopped down the stairs, smiling. “What sort of notification did you get this morning? I got a wall of text that [Distill]ed into a bunch of changes that everyone knew was happening.”

Erick was already cracking eggs into a bowl, while Jane made coffee behind him. Poi sat at the window with tendrils of thought coming off his head, while Teressa grumbled as she came out of her room. Sizzi was still sleeping, which came as no surprise. That girl could party. Or at least drink.

Erick smiled, joking back, “You’ve [Condense]d all those notifications down to just that?”

“No bad puns yet, please.” Jane complained, “Too early.”

“It’s never too early for puns!” Kiri shouted just for Jane, “Aren’t you excited?!”

“No.” Jane gave Kiri a flat look —or perhaps a ‘Flatt’ look. Ha!— saying, “I am not excited.”

“Killjoy.” Kiri asked, “I’ve got to see a Registrar for all the rest of these Class Quests. Mind if I take off for an hour?”

Erick smirked. “If you don’t want breakfast, go ahead. We’ll be here. We’ve all got to get checked out for soul infections once more, then I’ve got to meet with Syllea… First, I need to ask for a meeting with her. She’s been avoiding me, I think. After that, I’m thinking of following the [Gate] quest into the Forest, looking for one of the Old Dragonkin Gates. I have yet to decide how I want to tackle that particular journey, but I’ll figure it out soon enough. Probably have to get hold of Tenebrae. Somehow.”

Kiri paused her current joy as an old focus came upon her. “I would greatly like to explore the Old Dragonkin ruins.”

Erick smiled. “I thought you might. Exploring sounds nice to me, too.”

Teressa perked up. “Exploring the Forest? We’re actually going?”

“Heck yeah! Proper exploring, too, down on the ground and into those mountain-sized lost-cityscapes out there,” Erick said, pouring batter onto a hot, buttered skillet. “Wherever they are. I didn’t really see any.”

Kiri said, “The ODEC keeps those locations as a loosely guarded secret. We could probably talk to a Knowledge Mage if Tenebrae doesn’t help, but then again, Archmage Syllea would know a location, for sure.” She added, “Probably.”

Jane asked, “Anyone have any leads on one of those ancient Gates?”

“No leads, yet.” Erick said, “I saw a lot of interesting places out there, but mostly from the air, and from way too far.” He looked to Teressa, adding, “We still need to visit your tribe’s land, too, Teressa. Say the word and we’re there.”

Teressa smiled as she looked away. “Yeah. I know. I just haven’t wanted to. Maybe soon.”

“You’ve been visiting your aunt, right? Arathani?”

“Yeah. It’s been nice.” She added, “Also, trying. But that’s family for you.”

Jane burst out with a little laugh. Teressa lost her smile.

Kiri would have commiserated with Teressa at any other time, but right now, she was too hyped up to talk about family problems. And besides, the only family she had ever lost over the years was a brother, and a few uncles and aunts. Teressa had lost her entire tribe because she had run afoul of the Witch.

“Jane’s certainly a handful some of the time,” Erick said, sagely, obviously attempting to make Teressa feel better.

Jane laughed louder. “Me?! I’m not the one who killed all the Shades, old man!”

“Hey now! I'm not that old. I could pass for 30.”

Teressa smiled, but said nothing.

Erick looked to Kiri. “So you’re not staying for breakfast?”

Kiri said, “On any other day, I would.”

“I understand, perfectly.” Erick motioned away with his hand. “So what are you waiting for? See you later! I want a full report!”

Kiri turned to Poi, asking, “Irogh still has those morning slots for soldiers in the Army, right?”

“He does.” Poi said, “You’ll have to wait in line, but you’re cleared for [Teleport]ing into the Courthouse. They got a new system set up. You’re aware of this?”

“Yes. I am. Thanks!” Kiri smiled wide. “I’ll be right back!”

She couldn’t help but laugh as she flickered away, into the sky, and then further, to the south, to where the sun was a little bit higher in the sky than it was in Treehome. Back to Spur! Directly into a small hallway in the Courthouse that was used as a [Teleport] destination for soldiers and otherwise.

Kiri stepped down onto white marble, right into the middle of a [Ward]ed space that had not been this protected the last time she had been here. Runes glowed on the walls. Soldiers up ahead, stationed beside protective runes, eyed Kiri. But Kiri hadn’t tripped any of the runes in the area, so they didn’t do much besides perk up for a moment, then settle back down. And then they looked at her, and perked up again. One of them stood at attention.

They recognized Kiri, and wasn’t that a trip! To be recognized! Of course, they only recognized her because she was attached to Erick, but one day, they would recognize her for her, for sure.

“Badge?” the unknown soldier asked, unsure.

“Hello.” Kiri turned the edge of her collar back, revealing her Army badge. It glowed with the exact same light as the runes all around; it was a resonance enchantment. If it didn’t glow, Kiri would have been on the receiving end of some powerful suppressive magics. This place certainly was a bit higher-security than it had been the last time Kiri had taken this path. “Just here for the Registrar, boys!”

The one that stood at attention, relaxed, then stepped back, saying, “Sure thing, Miss Flamecrash.”

Beyond those soldiers, was the door to the main Courthouse hallway. They opened that door for her, and Kiri happily went through. They closed the door behind her with a click as Kiri continued on, almost skipping across the white stone floor, toward the blue door down the way.

The Courthouse was barely busy at this early hour, but four other people were already waiting in line for Irogh; soldiers, every last one of them. She did not know them, for though she was technically part of Spur’s Army, she had not done much of anything routine or ‘soldier-like’ with any other soldiers, at all, except for that first month all those months ago. She was apprenticed to Archmage Flatt, after all, and his whims dictated her life.

And it was such a good life.

But one day, she’d be on her own. She almost wished that day was today, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she banished it. Be careful what you wish for!

The door opened. An older woman came out while a young man went right in.

Kiri had learned so much while apprenticed to Erick. Sure, he didn’t know much standardized magic at all, but that never stopped him from controlling the weather or killing every monster in millions upon millions of kilometers. Holy shit. Kiri took a moment to realize that that would be her, soon enough.

[Withering]! [Control Weather]! [Cascade Imaging]!

[Call Lightning], the base of Erick’s power! And what a basic tier spell!

Holy gods, holy gods, it’s actually happening.

Kiri searched for those spells in the Script, and she didn’t find them, but that didn’t matter. She didn’t think she would find them, anyway. They were too good. Too powerful. She would have to make them herself.

She thought for a second and came to the conclusion that [Call Lightning] probably existed outside of the Open Script. It had to be like [Duplicate], or [Teleport Familiar]. Accessible, if you knew how.

And then another thought occurred.

Oh.

Gods.

Could she get that Class Ability that let Erick effortlessly GAIN ALL PARTICLE MAGIC HE WITNESSED?!

Could she do that? Could she get [Control Weather], just like that?

TODAY?!

A tiny, maybe-crazed giggle leapt out of Kiri. She pulled it back in, stuffing that emotion down, down, down. Silencing that small, too-overjoyed part of herself back into something more proper for one of her station. She had a station, yeah? Yeah, she did. Erick could get away with being crazed, but she certainly could not; at least NOT YET!

Bwahahaha!

The other soldiers were looking at her.

She controlled herself. Mostly. That laugh had been inside her head, hadn’t it? Yes. It had. Mostly.

At least one being had been looking at her without judgment, though. Sunny curled up around Kiri’s neck, flickering happy greens, her little wings fluttering with rainbows. She was happy that Kiri was happy.

Kiri whispered to no one in particular, “Sorry.”

But she wasn’t really sorry. She was jubilant. Exuberant. Magnificently elated!

Another person shuffled into Irogh’s office as the person from before stepped out, and then away.

Soon, another person shifted through the registrar’s office.

Kiri was next!

The main hallway of the Courthouse was beginning to come alive with the normal business of the day. People from off the streets were beginning to step across the white stone, or talk to their clients in the hallway, or to argue in small voices with other lawyers standing just outside of the various courtrooms of the Courthouse.

Kiri didn’t care about any of that. Because she was next in line, and the door to Irogh’s office opened—

A voice came from the side; not from the open door.

“Miss Flamecrash.”

“Nooooo…” Kiri whisper-whined, as she turned to the person who had been approaching her for the last twenty seconds. Of course, Kiri had noticed Silverite, the sundress-clothed silver wrought Mayor of Spur. Or, actually, Sunny had noticed, and then poked at Kiri to get her to notice the silver woman walking through the crowd of not-wrought. She breathed, turned to Silverite, asking, “Can I please go inside and then come out and talk with you, Mayor Silverite? It’s a very, very big day for me. I promise I won’t take long.”

Silverite gestured away from the line, saying, “I promise I won’t take long, Miss Flamecrash. Come along now.”

Kiri reluctantly gave up her place in line. She tried to be professional about following along like a good little soldier, but that [Teleporting Platform] had already left the Guildhouse. She was most decidedly unhappy. She tried not to let it show and was mostly successful, in her own opinion. Silverite probably saw right through her. Immortals were like that.

… Erick was sort of like that. It was that Perception of his, for sure. But then again, he had always been fast on the social clues. Kiri had needed to take up [Sense Emotion] from a helpful Mind Mage to be able to do the same thing Erick could do without magic.

Silverite took Kiri down a hallway, then into one of the empty meeting rooms that any lawyer or judge could use for their purposes. She closed the door behind them.

They were alone.

Silverite began, “I need you to come back to Spur, today. Erick needs to stay away longer.”

Kiri almost shouted ‘no!’, but then she controlled herself. Erick had just spoken of journeying into the Forest, into the Old Dragonkin lands! The only reason she hadn’t gotten radically more excited when he suggested that, was because she was already at peak-joy. Today, she had become a Particle Mage!

Silverite narrowed her eyes. She waited.

“Can I ask why I need to return right now?” Kiri said, “We were planning on going to the Forest to hunt for Gates in the Old Dragonkin lands and I would dearly like to be part of that.”

“I need another person I can call upon at a moment’s notice in order to defend the city from over-sized assailants.” Silverite said, “There has been a monster attack every other night, and Archmage Wave, Obsidian, and Opal, are complaining to me over their massively increased obligations. Now that the Culling is done up there, I need you and Sizzi both to come back. Ask for something and let me give it to you, but in exchange, I need you here, and on-call.”

Kiri felt a flush of emotion. Silverite was asking for her help? And offering an exchange?

… This… This was also everything Kiri ever wanted!

Kiri rapidly said, “Of course, Mayor. I was not aware that the city was actually in danger. I will—”

But… Kiri really, truly did want to visit the Old Dragonkin lands. But, she didn’t need to visit those gravesites, did she? No; she did not. What she needed was a secure place of her own in the world. Until this very moment, Spur was not exactly that spot. Sure, there were far-off plans that were vague enough to include such a possibility. Part of her harbored the hope to someday return to Tower Town as some sort of archmage, or conqueror, but those were the dreams of a vengeful child.

A much better dream was staring her in the face, right now.

A place of power in Spur. Leverage for the future. Ever since she became Erick’s apprentice, those needs had always been nebulous stars to reach for but never quite catch.

But now?

Kiri saw her paths, and picked one.

Kiri said, “A promotion. Tax exemption—”

She almost added that she wanted to talk to the other Archmages of Spur, too, to learn from them, but that would have been asking for way too much. She had gotten exceedingly lucky with Erick, and that was only because of his own unique circumstances, and the fact that she was able to approach him in the training ring of Spur’s Adventurer’s Guild. You did not approach Archmages without due cause, nor did you ask of them anything that they were not already willing to give, unless you liked being set on fire or your world turned upside down. Such stories were common when it came to publically-available archmages like the Headmaster.

Erick might not set many people on fire, but he certainly turned their world upside down whenever he could, and sometimes without even trying.

Kiri added, “— And a path to being a power in Spur, Mayor Silverite.”

Silverite said, “You are now a Specialist. It’s outside of the normal command structure. The only ones you will have to take orders from are me, Killzone, or Liquid. If, in the future, you choose to stay with Erick, then you will still have to listen to Poi; he is much more trusted than you, though you are getting there. I offer you 50,000 gold in tax credit. If you stick around in Spur, then you will be a Power, and soon. But that all depends on you.” She asked, “Is this sufficient?”

“Fifty tho—!” Kiri returned her wide-eyes to their normal measures of openness as she stood tall and readily agreed, “Yes.” She added, “I am going to stay with Erick. But I’ll be in Spur. I have to go back and tell them that I have to return. We truly did have plans for exploring the Forest, Mayor Silverite. Erick wants to plunder the Gate network if we can find any left.”

“You have the day. I need you and your Sunny here before night falls. Let Erick know that I don’t believe he will find any Gates; they’ve all been plundered centuries ago.” Silverite added, “When you come back, you’ll be on a night-time schedule, so be ready for that.”

“Heard and understood, Mayor.” Kiri said, “I must get back to Irogh, then back to Erick. I will be back before nightfall.”

“Good.” Silverite walked to the door and opened it, saying, “Glad to have you here.”

“Glad to be here, Mayor.”

- - - -

Kiri sat down across from Irogh, the Registrar of Spur.

The greying orcol smirked, saying, “You look like you’ve gotten some good news.”

“It’s like everything is coming together, Mister Registrar. A hundred moving pieces, all at once, converging into something wonderful. I’m less than thrilled some parts seem to be happening out of order, but that’s life.”

“I’m happy for you.” Irogh asked, “Now what can I do for you, today?”

“Class Abilities!” Kiri said, “Please and thank you.”

Irogh nodded.

Blue boxes appeared.

All Spell Cost Reduction. 10%

More Mana. 2x

All Particle Spell Cost Reduction. max 20%

More HP. 2x

All Ability Cost Reduction. 5%

More Mana Regeneration. 2x

More Spell Damage Done, General. 1.25x

More Spell Damage Done, Particle. 2x

Less Spell Damage Taken, General. .75x

Less Spell Damage Taken, Particle. .25x

General Spell Duration. 1.25x

Particle Spell Duration. 2x

Particle Reinforcement. All Particle Spells deal in the physical, and you’ve imbued this power into yourself. Double your Health. Casting Particle Spells restores your Health.

Particle Power. All Particle Spells deal physical damage, and you’ve imbued this ability into all of your magic. Effect varies.

Particle Spell Creation. Your ability to create Particle Spells is greatly increased.

Mana Shield. Damage taken is split between MP and HP

Hero of Veird. 3x damage done to any monster.

Mental Defenses. Increases your ability to withstand mental attacks and to understand if you have been targeted by a mental attack.

Sculpt Spell. All Spells are always affected by Major Mana Shaping, for free. Greatly reduced cost to alter ongoing Auras.

Lesser Summoner Savant. Your summons gain minor access to your Skills and Abilities. 5% efficiency.

Light Dedication. Take much less damage from Light Sources. Do much more damage with Light Sources.

Light Efficiency. Greatly reduce the costs of all Light attacks and spells.

Force Savant. Your Force Spells do more and cost less.

Fire Savant. Your Fire spells do more and cost less.

Draconic Heritage. A glimpse of High Magic. Your magic is much more effective, and you are more vulnerable to all magic. Unchangeable once selected.

Draconic Denial. A denial of High Magic. Your magic is much less effective, and you are resistant to all magic. Unchangeable once selected.

Kiri had… Several questions. Some of them were much larger than the others.

She started with the smallest question, which until this moment, she had considered the largest, asking, “I don’t get the ‘see a particle spell and get that particle spell’, Ability?”

“No.”

Simple answer. No elaboration? No elaboration.

Maybe… Maybe she didn’t understand Particle Magic as well as Erick? Or maybe that Class Ability was Erick’s alone, and it would never be anyone else’s? Well… Whatever! Kiri had years upon years to gain more spells and power and Abilities. So what if she didn’t get what she was hoping for right away?

Kiri rushed forward, asking, “Why do I have Mental Defenses? I should not qualify for that one. They very clearly told me that if anything like that should show like it would mean that something bad had happened to me, without my knowledge.”

A shadow seemed to pass across Irogh’s face, as he said, “I can’t tell you why someone outside of this office would have told you to do something with regard to what you might see inside this office. That’s outside of my jurisdiction.”

“Okay… Okay.” She resolved to speak to someone else about that when she got back to Erick. Poi would Scan her if she asked. That’s what she would do. She would ask Poi for a Scan. Kiri moved on. She eyed the Draconic pair of Abilities, then ignored them, and asked, “How does Fire Savant work with Light Dedication and Particle Power, when it comes to infrared light?”

Irogh paused, briefly seemed as though he had never been asked that question before, which, fair enough, he probably hadn’t, then he glanced to the air. He narrowed his eyes at some invisible blue box, no doubt, then said, “They all stack.” He blinked, then looked to Kiri. “I’m not sure what you asked me, so I can’t help you more than that.”

“Okay.” Kiri asked, “What about Particle Power when it comes to fighting someone under a [Ward]? I read that the interaction of Particle Magic and [Ward] has been altered, but… What’s going on there?”

“The Script has fully integrated Particle Magic into itself.” Irogh said, “All this really means is that your [Hermetic Bolts] will now be able to strike a target under a non-solid [Ward], doing damage to the [Ward] instead of the person. Attacking a solid [Ward] with [Hermetic Bolts] will do damage to that Solid Ward. Normal interactions.”

Kiri nodded along as the man spoke, as she read the list of Abilities again and again. There had been a few surprises on there, but she knew what she wanted, so she said, “I’ll take the Class Ability Slot Increase Quest, four times, please. I can complete them right now, so keep ‘em coming.”

Irogh eyed her. “Just so you’re aware, according to my math and if you take the Mana Class Abilities I think you’re going to take, it would take you 320 days at 12 hours of regen each of those days, in order to complete the first Quest of the Slot Increase Quests. You don’t have to channel into the Quest for 12 hours every day. You might be able to get that channeling down to a single hour a day, split up however many times you can do it, over 12 hours.” He said, “You’re already level 82. You might never get new points from gaining levels ever again. Spending those points on this Slot Increase is a big decision.”

“I’m aware of the repercussions, but I do not have the time nor the desire to channel into those Quests and I’m sure the Abilities I want will save my life; I am sure of this decision.” Kiri said, “Thank you for your concern.”

“Very well.”

Blue Quest boxes appeared.

Kiri completed them, one right after the other, four times in total. 40 points vanished in the course of half a minute, before she could second-guess herself for the thousandth time. When it was over, she sighed. Those damn points had been staring at her, demanding to be used every single time she stared at her Status. And now they were gone! Thank the gods.

Irogh asked, “Which Class Abilities were you thinking?”

Kiri breathed deep, satisfied, then said, “I want the Quests for…”

- - - -

Erick lifted his eyes from his book as the air shimmered green on the other side of the living room.

Kiri popped in.

“Hey, Kiri!” Erick smiled. “How did it go? What did you get?”

Kiri giggled, saying, “So much! I got so much!” She looked around. “Is anyone else here?”

“Poi is in the bathroom, but everyone else went ahead to Nosier’s to get their soul checked out one more time. We can do that, too, now that you’re back, but what did you get?”

“I didn’t get that Ability you have that allows you to see a Particle Spell and copy it into your own Status. I don’t think anyone will ever get that one except for you.”

Erick winced. “Ah. Damn. There goes that easy idea. But hey! That means that no one else can copy what I put out there. Did you see that part in the notification about making new Class Abilities? I think a trip to the Orrery is in order!”

Kiri paused. “Uh. No. I did not get that notification.” Astounded, she asked, “Can you do that?” She rapidly answered, “I mean. Yeah! Of course you can. People invent Classes and Abilities all the time— Or at least they used to do that. Centuries ago! A thousand years ago, actually. That was part of my Magical History Class. I had forgotten about that.” She asked, “What were you thinking?”

“I don’t want to say it out loud before I invent the thing, but I’m pretty sure of at least one Ability that was missing from my list. Maybe more.” He said, “I checked out my own Status and Abilities while you were out and didn’t see much more than what I already had. Nothing of note, anyway. Particle Reinforcement and Particle Power seemed nice, but I’m not changing anything right now.” He eyed her. “So what did you actually get?”

Kiri pretended at difficulty and obstinance, but she could not keep the smile off her face, as she sent, ‘Double Mana. Double Mana Regen. 10% All Spell Cost Reduction. Particle Reinforcement. Particle Power. Light Dedication. Fire Savant. Sculpt Spell. Particle Spell Creation. And one more I can’t really talk about.’ She spoke aloud, “I’ve got to do all of the Quests for all of them, and that might take a while, but that doesn’t matter, because I finally got it!” She held up both of her hands, showing that she was only wearing one of her rings. “I had to take off your rings or else they’d have gotten absorbed, but I’m going to remake my own temporary ones for those Mana Quests as soon as I can.”

“I’m happy for you, Kiri.” He stood up, saying, “So if you can’t copy my Basic spells like I copied yours, then we’re going to have to do the ritual. [Call Lightning] is waiting for you! And then we can plan the trip to the Old Dragonkin ruins out in the Forest.”

Kiri was practically glowing, but then she dimmed. “Yeah. And I do want to go…” She breathed. She said, “But Silverite wants me back in Spur. They’re having monster problems at night and the archmages of Spur are getting angry that they have to take care of everything. Is that…” She asked, “Is that okay?”

Ah. Damn. That was disappointing.

“Well. If that’s what you want?” Erick decided, “Sure. Yeah. You can go back to Spur and help them— Wait a second. Does she need me back there?” Erick found himself with sudden questions, asking, “How did this happen? Is she ordering you to go back? I haven’t had Ophiel on many patrols in a while except to recast [Control Weather], but I was never asked to keep them around the city— Poi would have said something!” And then he looked to Kiri, and ignored his own questions to focus on his apprentice. As he had spoken, she had turned from joyful to miserable-but-hiding-it. She had likely been shoved into an awkward spot by Silverite’s request, too. But the Mayor’s request was also an opportunity, wasn’t it? Erick said, “Sorry. I don’t want to influence your decision. But...” He had expected Kiri to go all the way on his Worldly Path, because… “It’s easier to protect you when you’re near me, Kiri, and I like having you around. But. If you’re not near me, then you might not be in as much danger. Is this what you want? To go back to Spur? If Silverite is actually asking for you, directly, then this is an opportunity, yes?” He rapidly added, “I will go to bat for you if you don’t want to go back. I can field problems in Spur while we’re out in the field.”

“No. No. Thank you. But…” Kiri smiled softly, then she relaxed, as she said, “Silverite caught me in the hallway outside of Irogh’s office and asked me what I wanted in order to come back to Spur, to protect the city at night. They’re having monster troubles as the Dead City shifts into a new equilibrium. I asked for a promotion, some tax credits, and a path to power. She met my offer, so it’s the smart thing to accept her request. She specifically said that she doesn’t want you to come back yet.”

But why wouldn’t she want him back in Spur, if the city was in dange—

Ah… There was a simple answer to this question.

Not many knew what the Worldly Path meant, but Silverite would have known. Why hadn’t she told him what it meant, then? Maybe… She was probably keeping her interactions with him to an absolute minimum.

But she still had a city to protect, and because of that, she was poaching his apprentice.

Eh.

Kiri was probably safer in Spur, anyway.

“That’s fine, Kiri.” Erick said, “I’m glad for you. You’re still going to stay at the house, right?”

“Of course!” Kiri said, “And I don’t have to be back till dark, anyway.”

Erick smiled. “And now you have an excuse not to go with us to the Core.”

Kiri gave a nervous laugh, then asked, “You’re not actually going there? I thought that was a joke?”

“Not a joke.” Erick said, “We’re going to the Core, ya know, eventually.”

“Then I’m glad to have gotten out while I could!”

Erick laughed. And then he settled, with a sigh. “I’ll miss you on the rest of this Worldly Path. I don’t know how long it will take.”

Kiri said, “I’m absolutely sure that if you need me, I will be able to get away from Silverite, and Spur. I will be there whenever you call.”

“I’ll call you if I need you, but I’ll try not to call.” Erick decided, “You should work on a Domain while you’re at Spur. In fact, that’s your homework. Make a good Domain by the time I come back. Whenever that might be.”

Kiri paled, a bit. “Uh. I don’t even know where to start.”

“What were you going to work on, then?” Erick said, “Actually. Let’s you and I spend the next few hours going over whatever Particle Questions you might have, and then we can work on getting you [Call Lightning]. We don’t have to show up for the soul checkup at any set time, and your soul already looks normal enough.”

And it did. Kiri’s soul was a bright green roil of light and life just below her scales; her Shroud an ethereal existence of stabilized fire.

Kiri brightened. With a quiet joy in her voice, she said, “Absolutely. Let’s do that.”

“Jane and Teressa are out, but where is Poi… Oh.” Erick called out, “Hey, Poi! You didn’t fall in, did you?”

Beyond the closed door to the bathroom, Poi grumbled.

- - - -

The orange sands of the Crystal Forest lined the horizon like ocean waves at sunset. But this was the middle of the day, and the sky was perfectly blue. Cloudless, and getting hotter by the minute. Warm winds blew from the north. If one were much, much further north, they would feel those winds coming down from the Wyrmridge Mountains like cold rivers, but out here, those mountains were far out of sight, and the winds were like a warming ocean, sweeping across the land.

Heavy with moisture but devoid of clouds and rain for a variety of reasons, one of which were the invisible Cloud Giant cities that strolled the Crystal Forest, stray air flows kicked off of tall dunes, sending itself spinning as it curled sand into the sky, creating minor dust devils. A few of those dust devils might have been air or sand elementals. A few were moisture elementals, which were almost like water elementals, but lesser.

Here and there under the moving oceans of wind, sat crystalline monsters, pretending at being plants but failing miserably. The agave that those monsters pretended to be did not grow this far north, for the winds of the Water Season were upon the land, and the monsters here had to hold onto the ground and readjust their positions all the time. Their meters-long crystalline leaves chimed against each other, but the wind was not strong enough to break them. The wind was strong enough to break the land bit by bit, moving the ocean of sand, which, in turn, would have broken any true Crystal Agave, which was why there were no agave this far north; they’d get buried under such a breaking force.

Another breaking force appeared in a flash of white light; three people.

Less than a second later, more light flashed, green and white, and the people were suddenly surrounded by flapping not-birds and undulating not-couatls. There was a man dressed in robes of brown and tan, who was not as young as he appeared to be. Another was a young woman with green scales, dressed in greens to match those scales. The third was just there to watch; he held a magic rod in his hand. He was prepared for success, and also failure.

A few small words of encouragement carried away on the wind.

Both men stepped away.

The young woman stepped forward.

She stood under the heavy sky, alone, and yet not. She flickered with green light as her emerald eyes scanned the blue above. She had the words. She had the understanding. The sky held the promise of rain, just as it had in all Water Seasons of the past. Usually, this promise was broken because the land itself had been broken by millennia old monsters and magics. But today...

Today, the young woman just needed to find her voice. She needed to bridge a gap in the natural order.

She needed magic.

Magic came upon her like a friendly stranger.

Mana flowed across the land. She could feel it now, and it could feel her. She was but a pinprick of light in the brilliance of the day, while the friendly stranger was an entire world of possibility. A brush of foreign power that was at once both odd and familiar, touched upon the young girl, as if asking if this was correct. As if asking for permission.

As if asking for a promise.

The young woman had done much with magic, but never before had she felt the mana as she had that day. Maybe it had been like this, a bit, when she called her [Familiar] from the mana, or when she had seen that mage wrap that wyrm in fire, all those years ago, or when she had done this very same thing on much smaller scales in order to make her own smaller magics. She realized, now, that what she felt in this moment was the same thing she saw, as though from a distance, every time she saw her mentor create a new spell. He would not have flinched at the power she had prepared to call, for that power was ready to answer.

The force of that answer was frightening.

The young woman’s voice cracked on her very first word.

The mana roiled—

The woman laughed at her mistake; nervous and yet even more determined than ever. She tried again, her voice growing strong as she spoke to the sky in words that could never convey the entirety of her thoughts.

But she could convey her feelings.

In this case, those feelings were directed up and out, but also at a spire of stone in the distance.

“From ground to sky, and cloud to mount, from flash we mouth a subtle count!

“A strike of three from there to thee, marks the end of ancient trees.

“From ground to sky, and cloud to mount, from flash we mouth a subtle count.

“From high to low be now call’t, in this place, a [Lightning Bolt]!”

They were old words, spoken almost a year ago over a dinner between new friends. To those new and now old friends, they had been the words of a man who didn’t know how magic worked. To the man who had spoken them, those words were filled with ideas of electrons and charge differentials and the rubbing of moisture against moisture in systems so vast that no one person could ever hope to comprehend or control the whole; so he asked magic to fill the gaps.

The young woman had done the same, on this day, but she had the benefit of established magic helping her along.

As the original caster looked on with a dozen different viewpoints, preparing to intercede should something horrific happen, he watched as his apprentice recreated his first magic. He smiled, even before the magic took hold, for he saw the world respond to his apprentice, and it was good.

The sky shifted, but barely. Even if you were watching, you might have missed the wispy white brushstrokes of clouds that painted a part of the sky to something other than blue. The mentor noticed, but then he noticed something else: the shadow produced by that cloud.

That shallow darkness seemed a living thing. It was expected. It was there. It did not interfere.

Eyes turned fully to the sky.

The sky charged.

A brilliant bolt of green-white lightning flashed across the blue, to strike the distant spire.

The young woman collapsed, bleeding from her eyes, her ears, and her nose. She coughed up blood as she was tapped with a glowing rod. Her world was pain, but her mentor held her in his arms and told her everything was going to be okay. He listed her internal injuries to her; they were mostly burst blood vessels caused by something he didn’t quite understand, but the rod’s magic was already mending her body. He did not mention that her soul was slightly damaged, but that too, looked to be minor. She smiled, weakly. Then she held out a familiar blue box.

Erick smiled, overjoyed for his apprentice. “Good job, Kiri. I knew you could do it.”

Kiri groaned and laughed at the same time. Blood trickled from her mouth. A [Cleanse] cleaned up the blood, and her laugh turned pure for two moments. Then she groaned again. She tried to sit up, but only managed to collapse back into Erick’s arms.

Kiri closed her eyes, and said, “I feel like I got run over by a wyrm.”

“I was out of it for a while, too.” Erick said, “I only had access to [Treat Wounds] but you have [Greater Treat Wounds]. You should get better faster than it took me.”

Poi spoke up, “Congratulations, Specialist Kiri.”

Kiri opened her eyes, and said, “Thank you.” She leaned up, trying to stand. Erick helped her to her feet, then held her upright when she almost wobbled back to the ground. She breathed out, “Ohh... That’s an uncomfortable rush.”

Erick said, “You look like you’ll be fine. Maybe don’t attempt any of the other Particle Spells you’ve seen me make until you get better, and never without supervision and help. Maybe take a week? I’ll check up on you each day, but your soul damage is minor. As far as I’ve been able to tell, people walk around with similar damage and are fine for it—” He paused. “Or maybe… are they depressed? Or something? Oh. That’s an idea.” He shoved that thought away and said to Kiri, “You need to work on your mana sense. You need at least two, maybe three things to make it as a power in this world. You need a Domain. You need [True Sight] and all the other Sights, and those come from a mana sense, so you need a mana sense. And you need a place to call your own, along with allies.” He smiled, saying, “One out of three ain’t bad.”

“I will take your words to heart.” Kiri breathed deep, smelling the warm, moisture-rich air. She said, “I just want a moment, then we can go back to Treehome.”

Erick said, “Of course.”

The young woman stared out across the land, to spy the spire in the distance. A black mark adorned the tip, like a splash of ink scattered upon the orange stone. She sighed. She smiled. She was ready to go.

The older man who was not, the emerald woman, and the sapphire guard, all vanished in a flicker of light. The not-birds and the not-couatls vanished in the following seconds.

When everyone was gone, the shadow around the base of the stone spire became something darker, but only briefly. The Darkness left as fast as he had come, gifting a laugh to the wind that was almost too quiet to hear.