Ends of Magic

Now that she had a working spell, Stella made a series of rapid breakthroughs, optimizing her spell to function on a battlefield. It would always take too long for a close-range fight, but the range and instantaneous power were incredible for longer-range combat. She also streamlined the nitrogen-purification spell and used a few jars to store the product. It still wasn’t a fast or efficient process, though she’d figured out how to pressurize the gas down far enough that it only took two jars to fuel the spell. She was muttering about designing a new spell that would specifically work on nitrogen, but that would take longer than they had.

After a few more attempts, Stella figured out how to build the laser-spell to trap the plasma after each firing. There was still some amount of loss, and the efficiency really fell off after about seven shots. She also streamlined the magic to guide all of the emitted photons to bounce back and forth between the two ends of the tube, increasing the power-on-target and decreasing the collateral damage from each shot.

All of this was accompanied by a flurry of skill-ranks, and the red-haired mage was bouncing around their campsite well into the evening as she worked on scaling up the spell. She also experimented with using the path of the light as a conduit for electricity mana.

That culminated in an attempt where Stella spent five minutes carefully channeling mana into an oversized laser spell with an attached lightning capacitor. She unleashed the two spells simultaneously and the lightning followed the path of the laser in a flashing instant. The resulting one-two punch blew away a distant mountaintop in a rolling detonation that took a few seconds to reach them.

Sarah spoke into the silence after the thunderous spell. “Now we need to move camp again.”

Aarl shrugged. “Maybe not. I bet dragon bones to stalker teeth that anybody coming up this pass just decided to turn around.”

Stella sure does get enthusiastic with her new spells. Kind of reinforces my reluctance for nuclear Insights.

“Don’t smother my fire.” Stella said, pouting slightly. But nothing could suppress her self-satisfaction for long, and she continued playing around with a smaller version of her new spell as they moved their camp yet again. They were expecting the order to withdraw back to Halsmet at any point, so their new campsite was partway back towards the city, though it still watched over the pass. It also took them farther from the Fortress of the Face. The fire elemental hadn’t made a peep, but it didn’t seem like a great idea to tempt it with all of this spell-experimentation.

They were about to go to bed when the tiny magical laser pointer in Stella’s hands flickered out, and she looked up with sudden seriousness. “Just got a [Message]. The army of Giantsrest marches tomorrow morning.”

The Heirs inhaled as one, but everybody stayed quiet to let Stella communicate the rest of the missive.

“We’re to stay here until midday tomorrow, then head back. We might catch an advance party, but they don’t want us to get isolated. That might change if the army comes this way instead of taking the main road. Sudraiel expects the battle will happen the day after tomorrow. They’re sending out the Seven Fools to harass the army and slow it down.”

“All we gotta do is sleep well for three nights before an endings-damned battle?” Aarl said sourly.

Khachi chuckled, then spoke with divine mana lacing his voice. “Bank the fire in your hearts, for we are promised righteous battle soon enough. For now, we rest peacefully.” The blessing flared to life in each of the Heirs once more, the energy soothing their emotions instead of inflaming them.

Then Khachi turned to Nathan. “Except for Nathan. You’re on first watch.”

Nathan sighed and gave a lazy salute. “Sure. Sleep well, mon capitan.”

The night was quiet, and Nathan tried not to second-guess himself as he watched over his sleeping teammates. He kept his eye on the pass, but cast just as much attention upwards.

I think the true threat would look like a floating haze that was a flying invisible mage. That’s twice now I’ve spotted an invisible flier and dismissed it. At least there were some powerful skills backing it up the most recent time or I'd be pretty embarrassed about the whole thing.

He almost hoped Badud would show up again. This time, Nathan could fight back. Between his waiting development of [Airwalking] and his extendable aura, he would be able to break the Questor’s flight spell and keep him surrounded by antimagic. Nathan tried to decide if he would go for the immediate kill or try to use his new ability to drain mana pools to imprison the man and ask him some pointed questions about the Endings.

Seems risky. I don’t want him to pull out non-magical bullshit or whatever the Questor travel Talent is to escape. If I get my hands on Badud, I go for the kill. That’ll probably break up the army into infighting on its own. Maybe I can use the achievement to push Brox for answers if I find him again.

Imagining killing Badud comforted Nathan, and helped him avoid second-guessing his decisions over the past few days. Brox was gone, and Nathan had decided he wasn’t going to go out of his way to try to hit level 243 in [Implacable Antimage] before the battle. He was at peace with those things, even if he did hope another Giantsrest group attacked them so he could get those last few levels.

Nathan frowned at that thought, reasserting the calm serenity that was so easy to find under the world-sky of Davrar.

It’s the unnecessary battle that kills you. Six levels isn’t a trivial jump.

A few hours later, Nathan woke Sarah and Khachi for second watch, shaking them gently. Then he wrapped himself in his bedroll and slept.

—

The camp was still tense the next morning, but there was an air of excitement as well.

“Hear me, I can’t wait to see Badud fall.” Stella said, oozing confidence. “Between Sarah, me and my parents, he won’t last a moment.”

Aarl chuckled. “Don’t get burned by your own fire. I’d trade a grand Insight to kill a Questor of Giantsrest, but he’s not just a strong monster. He’s a dragon of the ancients and he’s survived longer than Gemore has existed.”

“Sudraiel has planned this battle for decades. The plan will be solid as steel.” Khachi said. “We will fight them as we have always fought them, with ambush and deception before the final stand.”

The tall wolfman’s eyes flashed, and his face grew grim. “To win, we must simply be more willing to die than they are. That has always been the way of the wars against Giantsrest.”

The rest of the Heirs nodded, but Nathan noticed that nobody talked about how this fight was different from those in the past. For the first time, the Adventurers of Gemore were fighting in enemy territory, without as much terrain to bleed the approaching army as they’d had in every war in the past.

Additionally, the [Message] spells had made it sound like the army marching their way was larger than any Giantsrest had ever dispatched. It was led by a Questor, along with a half-dozen archmages. The camp appeared unified, with a minimum of the sort of inter-faction tension that usually marked a multi-archmage army.

Granted, the Adventurers of Gemore are also stronger than they’ve ever been. But we might not have a Questor of our own. It frustrates me to no end that the fate of Halsmet and Gemore - this continent’s future - might depend on the emotional maturity of that man-baby.

Nathan exhaled again, trying to rein in his disdain for Brox. He was aware that he wasn’t… fully objective when it came to the Questor. He was still pissed at the man, and if Brox did reappear, Nathan had to be able to talk to him without provoking the arrogant asshole.

There I go again. It’s just that it would be so easy for him to be reasonable. He would need to spend literally five seconds thinking about this from our perspective and he’d understand why we didn’t want to challenge the dungeon. But if he did that, then he wouldn’t need handling in the first place.

They waited for a few hours, keeping a close watch on the pass for any advance parties. That grew less likely when it was confirmed that the Giantsrest army was heading down the main road and not in this direction. The Heirs were ordered back to Halsmet not long after that [Message].

Sarah cast one last look at the Fortress of the Face. “Blasphemous shame, I’d love to wake that dungeon as the army passed by. No regrets to be found seeing that elemental burn an army.”

“Badud can read a map, and he knows the danger of the dungeons.” Khachi said with a wry twist to his mouth. “The light in my eyes says that the true mission of Cala dha Drex was to eliminate any ambush teams waiting to wake the dungeon against them, to clear the unexpected path to Halsmet for the army. It would have let them bypass the planned ambushes along the main road.”

He shrugged, gesturing back towards the campsite where they’d buried the Archmage’s stripped body. “With her dead, he must know it is a prophecy of death to take this pass. So they go along the main road and accept the toll of death.”

Aarl eyed the wolfman. “Pardon my ax, but when did you read those books Nathan talked about? The ones on warfare, and predicting your enemies.”

Khachi huffed out a breath. “The conversations on predicting our foes help. But I feel that my mana is guiding me towards these decisions. It seems an extension of [Battle-Sense]. I am near to Developing the skill once more, and I wonder if it shall move towards prophecy or at least battle-prediction.”

Stella interrupted the conversation, having just received a [Message]. “The Seven Fools and some other stealth-focused teams are already baiting the castlebear. They've killed the first enemy.”

Khachi nodded. “I hope they are safe. It is a dangerous thing to draw blood and drain resources against so large and dangerous a foe.”

Stella grinned. “It’s the kind of fight Gale’s built herself for. She’ll keep them watching the shadows for ghouls and the sky for arrows. I bet only mages who cover themselves in [silence] spells will sleep well the next two nights.”

“Faline will be in that army. I doubt she’ll let such chaos go to waste.” Nathan said, ruminating on what he could do in that kind of environment. How many mages of Giantsrest could he kill if he was in the middle of a camp that was being harassed around the clock? Where the sounds of combat might go unnoticed, and every mage presented a clear and present danger to Halsmet?

“Sudraiel hasn’t given any details on the battle?” Aarl asked, cocking a curious eyebrow at Stella.

Sarah flicked her hand dismissively. “She’d rather wake every dungeon. The plan is more valuable than a dragon’s hoard.” She gave a wide grin. “But we’ll be among the first to know.”

“I’m glad she won’t smother our fire, but why would she tell us?” Aarl asked, turning his raised brows on his sister.

The [Headshot Gunslinger] first pointed at Stella. “Powerful ranged magic, ideal for a blasphemous first strike.” Then she pointed at herself. “Pinpoint killing blows, able to pierce [Mage Armor] from a mile away.” Next was Khachi. “Defense against counter-attack, capable of blocking a [Disintegrate].” Her finger moved to Nathan. “Protection from scrying, as well as the stalker in the nursery to archmages and Questors.”

Finally her hand came to rest on her brother’s shoulder. “And finally, your idea. I expect Sudraiel to help us in every way she can, and a few she shouldn’t.”

“Is on us to win the battle?” Nathan asked, suddenly reconsidering his decision not to look for a fight to try to push [Implacable Antimage] over the top.

Sarah tilted her head back and forth uncertainly. “Maybe we’ll need to deal with one or two archmage’s worth. But the Adventurers are ready.”

“Ah, the archmage. A wonderfully precise unit of measurement.” Stella’s voice was dry.

—

They pushed on into the evening, camping once more high above the valley floor to use the slope as camouflage while the height allowed them to watch for anybody in the pass below. Nathan made more progress on what he was starting to think of as a skill-book item, that he hoped would let people learn [Regeneration].

The trick to writing it was that he could argue from authority. He didn’t have to build things up from basic principles. He could just say things like ‘Your body is made up of many tiny individual parts, and every single one of them contains the information to recreate your body. They can divide into more of themselves, and you can prompt them to do that with Stamina.” And since he could demonstrably regrow limbs, people would believe him.

There was a lot more to the Insight than that, and he included the basic description of what a cell was, how they divided, a fair amount of anatomy with some description of what each part of the body was for sprinkled in. It was background information that Nathan thought would deepen the understanding and help the resulting Talent be more powerful. He didn’t want to give people [Accelerated Healing], he wanted them to have [Regeneration], even if it only started at low-Tier. It would probably take somebody a while and a few leaps to learn the Insight from what he was writing, but it would be possible.

Nathan had explained some amount of anatomy to Khachi before, but the wolfman continued to press for more knowledge on how bodies worked. Nathan couldn’t name the important blood vessels or draw a map of the nervous system, but he could tell Khachi what organs were necessary for which things.

“I should direct magic to the liver to cure poison, true aim?” Khachi asked, examining a list of the major organs and their various functions.

“About right, though poisons come in many different varieties and can target nearly every organ.” Nathan said. He sighed and capped the inkwell he’d been using as the sun went out. He was being careful with his writing, thinking carefully about his explanations and making sure to write small and legibly.

He blew on the most recent page to dry the ink. It described how bone marrow was the reservoir of the most potent regenerative cells, and he’d gone off onto a bit of a tangent on how it replenished lost parts of the blood as well. He handed the page off to Khachi, who carefully checked that it was dry before tucked it away with the rest.

“What will you ask in return for sharing this grand Insight?” Sarah asked the question accusingly, as if daring Nathan to say he would give it away. “Will you act as Gale Shullet, and start a school of antimagic, shaping those who learn your lessons to follow your Path?”

Nathan chuckled, trying to guess how the Heirs would respond to his next words. His guess was firmly on amused exasperation, hopefully followed by grudging approval.

“I’m going to try to set up an Insight library, so there’s a pool of Insights that are freely available to Adventurers. I was thinking about making people contribute an Insight of their own to gain access, but the entire point is to make it so people don’t need to inherit powerful Insights or trade favors to become Adventurers. I want to give a kid from the villages a reasonable chance to protect their home."

Like Nornan and the Dusteaters. They didn’t have much, but were determined to protect their village with Insights that originated from hunting. If they'd been better prepared he might still be alive.

The Heirs weren’t mocking the idea yet, so Nathan kept going. “I want there to be a lot of different Insights available, so that people can choose their build. Right now most Adventurers follow in the footsteps of their parents,” He glanced around at the other Heirs significantly, “but what if they could experiment with other powerful Insights?”

He raised a finger to make his final point. “My goal isn’t to develop a codified set of ‘powerful builds.' That’s what the Agmon empire does, and it means that they all have the same weaknesses. Brox said it before. Part of the strength of Gemore is in the diversity of our builds. I want to increase that diversity by letting people mix and match different Insights together.”

He shrugged. “It’ll make the guild stronger, and means that if somebody dies without heirs, their Insights aren’t lost.”

On the shoulder of Giants...

The Heirs looked around at each other hesitantly, trying to figure out how to respond. After a moment, Aarl spoke. “Pardon my ax, but haven’t you already sworn to defeat the Endings? I’m not sure a library of Insights will be an easier target.”

Nathan sighed in exasperation. “Yeah. But I’ve got a few things going for me. First, some pretty powerful Insights of my own. Not just those I’ve used, but more besides, from Earth. I have hefty favors from the Bhos and everybody else they’ve ever sold a gun to, and I plan to cash those in for Insights in the library. Also, I don’t have much need for money or powerful artifacts. Anything valuable I loot or steal can get traded for more Insights. Eventually I hope people will see the value and give Insights freely.”

“Such a library would be a greater target than a dragon’s hoard. The enemies of Gemore would wake dungeons to plunder it.” Khachi spoke warily, but not dismissively. He was thinking through the implications. “By the divine, Sudraiel would champion such a thing. Her training course already shares some basic Insights to help new Adventurers. When will you start, after the battle?”

Nathan shook his head, sighing as reality reasserted itself. “I don’t think so. Not only would I be worried about some Nails breaking in and taking everything, but there’s not enough time. I want to explain the idea to Sudraiel and get her support. I’m hoping to leave the manual with her and try to give some people the antimagic Talent before I go to Giantsrest with Faline.”

“Yes. That.” Stella’s expression was downcast. “Does this mean you’ll put magical Insights into this library? The same ones you’re teaching me.”

“Some of them?” Nathan hesitated. “Not many, at least not to start. I’m a lot more scared of mages learning how to blow up cities than I am of people learning to heal themselves. Don’t worry, I won’t put in nearly as many Insights as you’ve learned. Besides, do you think I want to write down lessons for all that math? That’s more powerful than any explanation of light or lightning, because it lets you figure out more Insights on your own.”

Nathan shivered at the thought of writing a mathematics textbook that took somebody up through multivariable calculus. He’d been able to tutor Stella on the topic because she was a fast learner and he had a skill for it, but writing it down so people could learn without him was a much harder task.

Maybe if I had taken that student class Davrar offered me at the beginning and Developed it into teaching. But I don’t even think I can gain that as a third class anymore. You can’t gain classes you were offered on the first class selection, or anything on the same Path. I turned down classes on the Paths of science, learning, exploring, martial arts, and magic. What else? Oh yeah, lying and anarchy. But I think science and learning are probably close enough to teaching that I won't be able to get a third class in teaching.

Aarl unrolled his bedroll and shot Nathan a meaningful look. “I'm tired. You’re on first watch. Don’t let us get killed in our sleep because you’re daydreaming of a library fit for the Kalis Conclave.”

Nathan raised his hands in defeat. “I won’t, I won’t!”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 7

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 8

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10

Class: Implacable Antimage level237

Deepened Stamina:7402/7410

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Magekiller level 89

Regenerative Focus: 990/990

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Antimagic Stealth

Spell Redirection

Lethal Index

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 9

Leadership 6

High-tier Sprinting 8

Magical Perception 9

Alertness 2

Magical Intuition 8

High-tier Dodging Footwork 10

Mental Fortress 4

High-tier Lecturing 7

High-tier Tumbling 8

Mid-tier Noticeability 8

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 3