Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 209, Season of the Setting Moon, Day 40 –

Terry was nearly out the door when he remembered to put on his cold wear. While the Academy had a mana-crafted system for temperature regulation, it would do little to warm him up on the trip to the family in the northern quarters. The Rising Moon had passed already and the Setting Moon’s wind could chill you to the bone.

Technically, Terry was still enrolled at the Academy, but by now he had been exempted from all classes. Everyone expected that he would be expelled at the end of the cycle, so no one really cared.

Of course, Instructor Samuel had held some reservations about the arrangement, but Instructor Brynn and the dwarven family persuaded him of a compromise: Every week, Samuel and Brynn would spend two afternoons and evenings at the dwarves’ home and instruct the teenagers there.

Terry was surprised that it took him more than a week to get the hang of internal mana cultivation. It was a unique challenge to guide mana through something as squishy, bubbly, and flowing as your own body. Even now, he was still getting used to the different densities and mana absorption rates. The goal of actively circulating mana while moving still seemed far away.

Despite the new challenges, the last season had been a lot more fun for Terry than the preceding double Season of the Sun. For the first time in the boy’s life, it truly felt like he was learning together with others. He was neither bored out of his mind, nor was he desperately struggling and beyond hope.

Of course, there were also Florine and Jorgen – Lori and Jorg as they told him to call them. They were extremely different from his fellow students at the Academy. There were many things, but one thing in particular stood out to Terry. The two dwarves looked at him differently. There were no traces of envy or pity. Only curiosity. Perhaps a bit of innocent mischief at times.

Other entirely new experiences had awaited Terry. He had gotten the first real scolding in his life after the three teenagers had accidentally created a hole in Lori’s wall. The incident might have involved someone throwing compressed mana at a mana crystal taken from the mines. However, the twins had instructed Terry that this never happened. Instead, they had clearly trained their mana sense while Lori was practicing her Polish Stone spell.

For some inexplicable reason, Isille had not found that story convincing. The twins believed that Terry’s face was too honest and easy to read. Terry, on the other hand, suspected that it had something to do with the claim that Jorg voluntarily practiced his mana sense. No matter, his dwarven co-conspirators emphasized that it was important to stick to the story – even if it was unconvincing.

Terry spent a lot of time with the twins, even outside their mana cultivation sessions. Following a suggestion by Instructor Samuel, Terry had started to help the two with their external mana control training. Jorg, in particular, was very enthusiastic about the idea. Terry quickly discovered that the dwarven boy’s enthusiasm was rooted in the fact that Terry was more easily persuaded to train with mana games.

Eventually, Samuel had even brought over his copy of the Path of a Mage so that Terry could do his reading at the family home. To Terry’s dismay, Isille and Bjorln were just as strict on the one chapter per fortnight limitation as Samuel and Brynn.

In contrast to before, Terry was now allowed to reread the previous chapters, though. It was an allowance made necessary after he had lent his fictionalized novel to the twins and then mentioned that the first edition historic account had originally belonged to their uncle Olgorn.

Every other week, the children took turns reading one chapter to the other two. Afterwards, they excitedly discussed, reenacted, or plotted how to get around the one chapter limitation. There just had to be some way to undo the Blank Pages spell applied by Samuel.

Jorg suggested, paying a mage from the Guild. Unfortunately, there were still too many unresolved problems for the plan to be ‘workable’. Terry stifled a snort-laugh when he remembered Jorg’s thinking face and how Lori had quickly mimicked her brother. Lori did not really have a beard to stroke on her chin and instead, she had used one hand to press her long sideburns together in front of her chin to gather some hair to stroke instead.

After Terry was properly outfitted with his cold wear, he checked his bag one more time and also ensured that the Guardian card was in his pocket. He stopped his hands for a moment on the card. He circulated some mana into the card’s magic layer and sunk his consciousness into it. He felt the registered links one by one – Lori, Jorg, Isille, Bjorn. Naturally, he skipped the link with the random stranger from Guardian management that had issued the card.

Sadly, Instructor Brynn and Instructor Samuel did not have Guardian cards, because they were only registered at the Guild. Even Brynn’s golem work went through the Guild with the Guardians as the client.

At first, Terry felt odd about having a card that tracked his location. He reminded himself that he already carried such a card from the Academy. That made the concern seem a bit pointless. Then again, the situation with the Academy’s card would sort itself out soon enough.

Technically, Terry could turn off the Guardian card. However, Isille had made it very clear that if any of them ever carried out missions as Guardians and she discovered one of their card links turned off, they might prefer getting eaten before she found them.

Terry did not completely understand what Isille meant, but the look on the twins’ faces suggested he should take Isille at her word. Normally, the two dwarven siblings did not seem to worry too much about consequences, like making their mother angry.

Terry had asked them about the notable difference. They had explained that their mother could be normal angry, angry angry, crying angry, or svipa angry.

According to them, normal angry was when someone did not do their homework or had caused ‘minor’ destruction in the house.

Angry angry implied that someone was bleeding, a limb was pointing in the wrong direction, or you needed to invite a mage to fix the damage.

Crying angry was when someone did something really stupid that put people in real danger – like having a dare contest involving icky insects with your sister and then discovering that the yellow slimy ones were more than a bit poisonous.

At this point into the explanation, Terry had grown suspicious that those were not just random examples. When Terry had voiced his suspicion out loud, the twins only replied that they would rather cuddle a pus weasel than to ever again face their mother when she was crying angry.

The twins had moved on to explain that svipa angry was the absolute worst. They stressed to Terry that he had never ever heard them say the word svipa and that, as far as he was aware, they had never heard it either.

Terry shook off the memories and made his way to the northern quarters…

***

“We have covered the basics of the first two steps for mana cultivation. While you are now familiar with the concepts, it will take time for you to truly master them,” lectured Isille.

Bjorln sat at a nearby table and watched from the side. The three children stood in front of Isille. Terry was in the middle and towered above Lori and Jorg.

“While you try to get the hang of it, there is more groundwork to be laid,” continued Isille. “You want to improve your mana-enhanced physical performance alongside your close combat techniques. The techniques should feel familiar no matter how much mana you use for enhancement. That applies to bursts, but more importantly, it also applies to times when you have run out of mana.

“Bjorln is going to incorporate unarmed combat into your physical exercises, while I am going to focus on weapon techniques. I insist that all three of you carry at least one dagger and one knife as side weapons. We will make sure that you know how to use them. As for your main weapons…” Isille looked her three students over. “Any preferences?”

Terry had no idea, but the twins had an answer immediately.

“““Daggers!”””

“Yes, you are going to use a dagger as a side weapon,” said Isille calmly. “But what about your main weapon?”

“Daggers!” “I want to dual wield daggers!”

Isille was dumbstruck and stared at them. She even forgot to blink. A snicker rang over from the nearby table. Bjorln was evidently enjoying the lesson.

“Hold out your arms, you two!” Isille ordered her two children.

Lori and Jorg did as requested. Their faces displayed a mixture of puzzlement and wariness.

“See?” Isille pointed. “Bit stubby, aren’t they? You have inherited the beautiful nose of your pa and the stubby arms of your ma. You need some reach!”

“But Pa does not even use a weapon!”

“Your pa has trained with a two-handed axe and used it extensively before he became an expert at aspected mana discharges,” retorted Isille.

“But I wanna dual wield daggers!” “Me too!”

This time, the snickering from the table was significantly louder. Bjorln was having fun.

“What are you laughing at?!” Isille turned grumpily towards Bjorln.

“The two chipmunks have been nagging about weapons training since they were eight,” said Bjorln. “We should have struck while the iron was hot.”

“And what would you know about blacksmithing? Your parents were druggists,” retorted Isille testily.

Terry grew concerned at the increasing irritation in Isille’s voice. Every second of the pause that followed felt extremely uncomfortable to him.

Bjorln looked at Isille, blinked twice, and then smiled warmly. “And a good thing they were or I would have never learnt enough about plants to cook my way into the heart of my beloved wife, my life, my Whaka Isille.” Bjorln’s voice was louder than normal but calm.

Isille seemed as if she had forgotten what she wanted to say for a moment. A flash of embarrassment rolled over her face, and she quickly stepped over to the table. She bent down, shortly rubbed the tip of her nose against Bjorln’s, and proceeded to give him a quick peck on the lips.

“Nama, my life,” whispered Isille warmly and smiled.

“Awwwww,” came the exaggerated voice from Lori. Afterwards, she looked expectantly at Jorg.

“Ewwwww,” added Jorg as if rehearsed. Both of the twins then looked expectantly at Terry.

Before Terry figured out what exactly they were expecting from him, Isille was already back at her original spot. With one hand on her forehead, she closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Okay… Why daggers?”

“Because Kivis used them!” Lori reenacted how she imagined dual wielding to work.

Oh oh, thought Terry.

“Who is Kivis?” Isille creased her brows.

“A badass hero,” replied Lori excitedly.

“The Slayer of the Deep.” Jorgen was clenching and pumping his little fists. “She’s awesome!”

“…”

Terry noticed these explanations were a bit lacking, but he had to struggle with himself to decide if he should clear up the confusion.

Okay, my fault. Waste it.

Terry interjected: “Kivis was a dwarven member of the Curseguard and one of the Veilbinder’s companions during the aftermath of the First Great Crisis. When the Wall Fortress was under siege and a second force was coming to attack the nearby city, she was the only companion to accompany the Veilbinder and rush to the city’s defense. Not only did they succeed, but immediately afterwards, they followed the tracks of the stragglers into the Deep and destroyed the local hive of the mana cursed.”

Isille was still trying to understand what she had just heard when a happy roar arrived from the table.

“Oh RIGHT, I remember HER,” exclaimed Bjorln excitedly. “My little brother spent months agonizing over which of the legendary dwarven ladies he should fall in love with.” He laughed heartily. “Olgorn even got into a small fist fight over it with one of his friends.”

“…of course he did.” Isille rolled her eyes, and a chuckle escaped her.

“I believe Kivis even made it to the finals, but in the end she lost out against the one that became the first dwarven mage – Dalia or something,” continued Bjorln.

Isille was happy at Bjorln reliving some fond memories. She sighed and turned back to her trainees.

“Ok then. I guess there could be worse role models,” admitted Isille. She caught Terry’s gaze. “But I will have to check the story myself. Anyway, Terry?”

“Y-yes?”

“If we are talking about the Veilbinder’s time, then that means most dwarves were still stone dwellers.” Isille pointed out and inquired: “Is that true for Kivis?”

“Yes, she was from a dwarven city in the Deep.”

Isille gave a serious look to her two children. “Fighting in narrow quarters differs greatly from fighting with space. Narrow quarters may not allow you to use long weapons. In narrow quarters with suitable hiding spots for ambushes, you may be able to make good use of daggers.

“Nevertheless, even in narrow quarters, you still want to have as much reach as possible. The traditional stone dweller equipment was a short spear and a tower shield. The most common alternative was a two-handed axe with a customized handle for thrusts. More importantly, we are not in the Deep. Your fights will be different.”

“But dungeons have narrow quarters, too!” objected Jorgen.

“It will be a long time before any of you set foot into a dungeon,” barked Isille sternly.

“But—”

“No buts,” came the equally stern voice of Bjorln. “Dungeons are unpredictable death traps. Some are considered safe for decades and then suddenly transform into literal gates to hell.”

“Aunt Sigille is working dungeons,” mumbled Jorgen unhappily.

“Your aunt Sigille has trained practically every day of her life,” retorted Isille. “In all the Tiv Empire there are at most a handful of Guardians that could match my sister in combat and even fewer that could match her in experience. Even the Divine Hammer did not start with dungeon work, either.”

Jorgen still looked as if he wanted to say something, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Your aunt Sigille could take on me, your ma, and at least another dozen Guardians like us without worry,” added Bjorln. “If you ever become that strong, then dungeon work is less of a dance with death. First, however, you need to live long enough to become that strong. That is all we ask. There are plenty of jobs outside of dungeons. You can worry about dungeon work later.”

Isille took another breath while looking at her children and sighed again. “Well… alright. My pa also used to say that the best technique is whichever one you keep training with…”

Lori’s eyes opened wide with anticipation.

“I do insist that you familiarize yourself with a weapon that provides some reach,” stressed Isille. “If you have no preference, then I suggest short spears because that is what I am most qualified to teach.”

Florine looked slightly disappointed. Jorgen was still sulking.

“Nevertheless, I guess we can find some time to do your dual dagger training.” Isille met her students half-way. “You are supposed to learn dagger and knife techniques, anyway.”

Both of the twins were grinning widely.

“However, that means that I will have absolutely no patience for you slacking off,” warned Isille. “If you insist on making risky choices, then I demand that you make up for your lack of sense with effort. Clear?”

Some reluctant nodding followed.

“Alright…” Isille moved her gaze to the figure towering over her two children. “Terry, what about you?”

“Short spears sound good,” muttered Terry with a nervous smile.

“Hold out your arms,” said Isille.

Okay? Terry did as instructed.

“See?” Isille pointed. “You have reach. What you lack is balance. Your legs are too long and your center of gravity is way too high.”

“Uhh…” Terry looked down at himself. He had never considered things like that about his body.

“Honestly, I am not overly familiar with human spear arts,” admitted Isille. She frowned slightly. “Too much twirling and not enough thrusting for my taste.”

“Still, I…”

Isille waited for Terry to finish his thought.

“I would like to train together with Lori and Jorg.” Terry finished somewhat lamely, but the twins immediately beamed at him while wielding imaginary daggers towards him.

***

“That was fun, wasn't it?” asked Bjorln with a teasing grin.

LIKE THE WASTES IT WAS! Terry screamed in his head. He did not even have the energy to mumble a response.

Terry’s only solace was that Lori and Jorg looked just as bad as he himself was feeling. As energetic as the twins were, they were no match for their first physical exercise lesson with Bjorln.

The three were spread out on the earth of the training grounds – panting and huffing and sometimes groaning in pain.

Jorg was the first to recover enough to vent his feelings. “Hellish… Wastes… someone… avenge me… tell Ma… loved her…”

Lori was second. “I… not sure… if… want… cultivator… anymore.”

“Open… bakery… instead?” suggested Jorg.

Finally, Terry could cough a few words at Bjorln. “How… often… this?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” replied Bjorln.

Three faces were displaying signs of relief.

“Only about three times a week.”

In perfect triple synchronization, relief was turning into horror.

“For now. Once your mana regeneration has increased enough for your muscles to recover faster, we can ramp up the frequency.”

The horror on the three faces was intensifying.

Oh my mana, here I thought Isille’s lessons were harsh. Terry gulped, but promised himself to persevere.

“Now that you are in such a perfect state for listening properly, I can lecture on a bit,” said Bjorln. “The mana flowing through your body serves you in several ways. Even if you never properly cultivated, you would still get some enhanced physical performance and recovery and a slowdown in aging.

“Longevity aside, the enhancements depend on how quickly you can consume and regenerate mana. We have mana regeneration covered by your group cultivation sessions. That leaves us with mana throughput, which means your safe rate of consuming mana – emphasis on the safe. Everyone can burn their mana as quickly as they desire, but it damages their body heavily. Even when bursting, you should be very careful to stay within your bodily limits.

“You have two paths for increasing your limits. First, increase your internal mana control so that you can more effectively guide the mana. Second, improve your physique, which means good old-fashioned exercise.”

Another chorus of pained groans reverberated as the teenagers were trying to move into a sitting position.

“Unfortunately for you, that exercise works most efficiently with an empty mana pool, which none of you are used to. Normally, it is a benefit to have your mana protect your body from damage, but it is a bit of a hindrance when trying to train your body.

“Your body needs to be stressed in order to become resilient and strong. Your mana impedes that. Therefore, I will pay close attention that you constantly drain your mana pool during our sessions. After we are done, you are free to accumulate mana again so that it can speed up your recovery.”

“Is that not… unhealthy? Empty mana pool?” questioned Terry.

“You will age quicker during that time, true,” admitted Bjorln. “However, you kids have barely started your fourteenth cycle. A bit of normal aging will do you good. Most spell flingers do not train their body and ramble on about the impact on longevity. Honestly, I believe they just don’t want to exercise.”

Good call. Frankly, I can’t blame them.

“All of them would probably grow a lot older if they had properly trained their bodies.” Bjorln pointed out. “First, there is the obvious reason that you become stronger and are more likely to survive into old age.

“Then, there is the fact that consuming mana beyond your bodily rate will do a lot more damage than this kind of training session. If they do missions, then ‌for them to run into danger. You can either prepare for it or damage your body when trying to deal with it unprepared.

“I guess some of them may not shirk from exercise, and it’s more to do with a desire to preserve their youthful appearance. A lot of forest elf folk are like that: impressive mana pools and smooth faces, but pathetic regeneration and throughput. Almost as if they have never in their lives emptied their mana pool before.

“While the likes of those can be strong, they will never be as strong as they could be and will forever remain limited by their own volition. It’s the wrinkly ones you really need to watch out for. If you ever face off against a wrinkly forest elf with prominent muscle definition, I suggest you make friends or be quick on your legs.”

***