Callie's Heroes

PART II - WEAVING MAGIC

Natala took a centering breath, walking to take her instructing position by the tree and gesturing for those now standing to sit back down. “Okay, Recruit. Enough of me showing off. Let’s talk about your Sigil skill. As you can see from the description, it’s quite simple. Put it on yourself or another person, and the recipient’s voice is amplified. If you cast it on an object, such as a musical instrument like Recruit Vanis mentioned, it will amplify the volume of that as well. If you do get it ranked up over time, that volume can increase or be projected to greater distances, as well as other effects.”

“It doesn’t mention putting down that trap,” Callie said, having quickly reviewed the skill’s description.

“Remember, at Iron you can’t use it as a Glyph trap, but you’ll be able to do that if you ever get it to Bronze. As for normal uses, when ranked up, you’d be able to do a few more things with it, such as cast it on a podium, or even in midair, so any speaker behind it would be amplified. When I was still a kid, I used to use it to disguise my voice, too. As I got better, I was even able to mimic other people using it, which occasionally got me both into and out of a lot of trouble.”

“On the b-b-battlefield, too, right? To give orders?” Pixyl asked.

Natala nodded. “Amplification is probably my most commonly used non-combat Sigil. Once I became a corporal, and had to start leading people, it was one I used quite frequently. Even more so as I was promoted into the sergeant ranks and had to address larger assemblies or, yes, on the open battlefield, too.”

Callie nodded, catching a quick glance from Pixyl. She must have been right. Her Symbiote must have given her this skill for exactly that reason. Apparently it knew something she didn’t, or had some kind of high hopes for her. Callie wasn’t sure how to feel about that, honestly. She didn’t feel like a leader, and honestly didn’t really want to be one, but events kept pushing her in that direction. She needed to talk to the Symbiote again. “You hear that?” she thought loudly to herself. “We need to talk! Tonight!”

“Right,” Natala said, clapping her hands and putting on a stiff, get-down-to-business tone. “The first thing you need to do is determine the design of your Sigil. It should be a symbol or pattern, something that, as you draw it, will focus your thinking to that skill, and only that skill. Luckily, this one doesn’t need to be terribly complex, but again, it can’t be too simple either. Find a balance.”

“I … I have no idea what to draw,” Callie said, shrugging. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Natala frowned slightly, it had been a long while since she’d been in Callie’s position. “I remember the first one was the hardest for me. My best advice is to not overthink it. Just a symbol that is recognizable, personally meaningful and related to the skill. Take a moment. Show me when you have it.”

Callie nodded, and focused in on herself, even adding a few cleansing breaths. She needed a symbol or icon of some kind that was both complex, but also simple? That wasn’t a lot of guidance. Maybe a face with an open, yelling mouth? No, that didn’t feel right. An outlined shape of a bullhorn maybe? Cheering crowds? Explosions! Wait, she was getting off track. Focus, Callie!

As she pondered, Callie realized this quandary almost felt like when she was trying to decide on the design of her first tattoo. She’d agonized for months, if not years, about it, wanting to make sure it was the most-perfect and meaningful design and location. Her subsequent ones became much easier. They were all still meaningful, but the angst that went with deciding had faded.

Callie mentally shook her head to clear it. She needed to narrow it down. Maybe something music related? Yeah, that could work. Meaningful and complex, but also not complex. A musical note, since she could push it on to an instrument? No, one note wasn’t right and was probably too simple. Maybe a five-lined musical staff? Oh wait, using just lines was too simple, too. Then it came to her, almost as if she’d been smacked on the side of her metaphysical head by it. She grinned. “I think I’ve got one!”

“Good!” Natala said with a nod. “Now, start drawing it in the air. Don’t worry about magic yet, just get your hands and arms used to the movements. Over and over, keep repeating that motion, and then imagine cutting it in half to sever it, before doing it again. Show me.”

Hesitantly, feeling a little silly, Callie started to loop and swoop her design, imagining the symbol floating in the air in front of her. She kept repeating it, over and over, then imagining slicing through it each time she finished.

“Good! Actually, that’s perfect! Keep going.”

Callie nodded and continued waving her hand in the air. Next to her both Pixyl and Vanis, not really having anything else to do, were likewise doing the same, each with their own personal designs. Vanis was in rapt interest while Pixyl had a semi-bored expression on her face. Despite saying she wasn’t going to help them, Natala did correct Pixyl, suggesting she needed a bit more to the symbol, as what she was drawing likely wouldn’t be complex enough. The Pixie added an additional swoop with a little hook on the end, earning a ‘good job’ from Natala.

“Excellent,” the Dwarf said to Callie after several runs were completed. “Whenever you have a free moment, keep practicing. You want that honed so well that you not only get faster, but also get it perfect every time by instinct alone.”

“Got it. Muscle memory,” Callie said, swooping her hands in the pattern again.

“Stand up. Let’s add in the magic,” Natala said, moving to a safer spot behind Callie. She gestured to the other two, motioning them to move back a bit as well. “Simply call the spell as you start to draw, and then once it’s formed, keep channeling into it. The calmer and more-focused you are, the easier it will be. Don’t get frustrated when it doesn’t work at first. Remember, Sigil magic is hard. It’s delicate and requires near-perfect control, especially while learning.”

Nodding and taking a deep breath, Callie called forth the power, really having no idea what to expect. She focused, holding two fingers out as Natala had done and began to weave.

SIGIL OF AMPLIFICATION

She could feel the magic coursing down her arm and out her fingers, and as she motioned, a wobbly line of orange and green appeared. It didn’t last long, though. The brand-new-spell mana cost hit her full on, and even though Sigils were quite mana efficient, it was still a decent amount for this first casting, and a bit of a surprise. The line broke, and as it poofed from existence it made a loud CRACK in addition to shocking Callie’s hand.

“Gah!” Callie yelped, pulling her arm back and shaking it, before putting the end of her fingers in her mouth on reflex. “You didn’t tell me that would happen!”

“You wouldn’t have had the focus,” Natala said. She was smirking a little, and Callie was sure she enjoyed that a bit more than she should. “So tell me, what do you think happened?”

“Besides getting zapped? Nothing,” Callie said, shaking her hand again. “I seemed to have it, at least a little bit. It was just the mana cost was a bit heavy. First time use, I’m sure. I still have plenty of mana left.”

The Sergeant-Major made a considering face. “I’ve brought some blue potions if you need them, and a purple one as well, but if you’re still good, then go ahead and try again.”

Taking a deep breath, Callie glared at the end of her shocked fingers, silently ordering them to behave this time. Once again, she pushed the magic down her arm as she began to draw, the hazy line forming where she pointed. And … it failed. She got a little further this time, but still the unpracticed mana usage overtook her, and her fingers were zapped again as the Sigil broke and shocked her. “Dammit,” she growled, shaking her hand and flexing her fingers.

“Better,” Vanis said encouragingly, with Natala agreeing.

“You’ve got this,” Pixyl said, touching Callie’s arm.

It took nearly two-dozen attempts, eventually resulting in the end of Callie’s fingers completely numb from the constant shocks of failure, before she got the focus and mana usage under control enough to keep the Sigil from falling apart. Slowly, Callie drew with her finger in the air, the colored weave of magic holding form as she concentrated. Unlike all of her other spells, the Sigil required a slow, steady, controlled flow of magic. Too much, and the symbol would overload. Not enough, it would quickly unravel. Either would shock her. Finally though, she let out the breath she was holding, beaming proudly at the somewhat sketchy-looking symbol hanging in mid air. Her first, stable Sigil.

“What is it?” Pixyl asked.

“It’s called a treble clef. It’s used in music notation.” She looked up at her Elf friend. “It seemed like a good choice for this one.”

“Excellent, Recruit!” the Sergeant-Major said with a smile. You could sense just a tiny dose of pride in her voice. “My first Sigil took me one-hundred and twelve attempts before it was stable, and it’s even considered an easier one than Amplification. But I also didn’t have someone like me talking me through it.”

“Which Sigil was it?” Vanis asked curiously.

Not even bothering to look, the Sergeant-Major extended one hand to her side, weaving a quick pattern in the air with a finger before giving it a flick. Instantly, it started to glow with a warm yellow. “Sigil of Light. Surprisingly difficult to learn when you have the attention span of a fifteen year old.” With another wave of her hand, she dispelled the light, still having never looked at it. “Okay, so now you have a stable Sigil. What do you do with it?”

“Um, the description says I can push it onto someone. So I guess I do that?”

“Are you still channeling to it?”

Callie shook her head. “Honestly, I was so excited to get it right, I didn’t even think to do that.”

“Then it’s a dying Sigil. You won’t be able to move it, and you can’t regain control once you break the channeling. Go ahead and kill it. We’ll practice casting a few more times, but make sure to keep the channeling up after completing each casting. Then I’ll show you how to move a Sigil around.”

After drinking a potion to refill her mana, Callie used a small force of will to sever the Sigil floating in midair, it popping out of existence with a brief poof of light. With growing confidence, she created and destroyed a half-dozen more, getting the hang of controlling the exact flow of magical power required for the floating symbol to both be created and then remain stable. Natala was right, unlike her Ranger skills, which almost seemed brutish in comparison, Sigil magic was delicate and mentally intense, due to the focus required. Part of Callie was absolutely in awe of the Dwarf’s ability to so casually create her own Sigils. Sure, she was Emerald Tier, which was two tiers higher than even Thorn’s new Topaz, so an unmatched expert, but it was still amazing.

“Alright, Recruit,” Natala finally said, “kill that and we’ll talk about how to move it. This is going to be hard. Maybe harder than even creating it, so like before, you’re going to fail at first.”

Quickly, Callie did so and then focused her attention back to the Sergeant-Major.

“As long as your Sigil is still being channeled, or is alive as I call it, you can use the lightest touch of mana to move it. You can push it into another person, yourself or an object. To do that, though, you have to push perfectly even across the entire thing at once. If you don’t, it’s going to fly out of control and you’re better off breaking the channel and restarting. Once the Sigil reaches its target, it can’t be removed intact. If you do need to remove it before it fades, just kill it like you have already learned.”

Nodding again, ready for the next part of the exercise, Callie readied herself. With steady control, she called up another glowing treble clef, leaving it hanging in midair.

“Now, just the lightest touch of power. Hold your palm up to it. You don’t actually need to do that, but it helps visualize spreading the push evenly. Hell, I still usually do it out of habit.”

Even with her hand up to provide a guide, the first few glowing Sigils went careening out of control. Some were simply left spinning in the air until Callie ended them, while a few others went off in semi-random directions, including a couple that ended up stuck in the tree. Even a few others, especially after she started to get a little frustrated, were just blown apart, falling towards the ground in a brief waterfall of sparkles. But, after nearly twenty attempts, she started to get the hang of it. Both the feather light mental touch required, as well as the perfectly-even application of that touch, slowly became ingrained in her. She even purposely pushed it once into Pixyl, it landing on her forehead. After a quick boop to activate it, her amplified protestations sounded out loudly before Callie quickly killed the magic.

“Good. Good,” Natala finally said. “You’re getting the hang of it. As you learn the control, you can apply more power to the push to make it move faster.” To demonstrate, she again conjured up a Sigil of Light, not bothering to look, of course. Once she flicked the light on, the whole shape flew off at arrow-like speed, smacking into the trunk of the tree, where it remained stuck and glowing. “To apply it to yourself, simply push from the other side, don’t try to pull. That might be a little harder to perfect, as it seems counter-intuitive, but it’s the same principle. Just remember, the magic can push it in any direction, not only away from you.”

Callie tried a few times to move it to herself, which was far more difficult than it sounded like it should be. As Natala had warned, her instinct was to pull it, and you couldn’t do that. At the same time, the idea of ‘pushing’ it into herself was a little strange. A dozen attempts ended up either uncontrolled, or simply shattered the Sigil. Two eventually did manage to attach to her body. One ended up on her neck and the other her thigh. The aim wasn’t there yet, but they did, in fact, hit her. She’d need to practice.

By now, they’d been on the field for well over two hours, and Callie’s brain was beginning to feel a little mushy. While Pixyl hadn’t complained at all, she was obviously really bored. Callie suspected she really was only here to be the supportive girlfriend, which was sweet and made her feel a little flush with feelings. They’d need a good sock-on-doorhandle make-out session at some point soon.

“Alright. We’ll do one last exercise then I’m calling it an evening,” Natala said, mouth wide in a yawn. “I’ve been needing to get up way too damn early, this week.” She gestured to Vanis. “Let’s try putting it on that thing.”

Vanis picked up the lute from where he had set it down. “How should we do this?”

“Just hold it,” Natala said. Then, turning to Callie she continued, “Recruit, try to push it right here.” She tapped the front of the instrument, below the strings as you’d hold it, close to the neck. “You want it somewhere it won’t accidentally be tapped.”

After four or five attempts, Callie managed to finally get an intact Sigil to land in the right spot, apologizing sheepishly along the way for the out-of-control one that hit Vanis’s cheek. Vanis tapped the symbol and played out a few notes on the amplified instrument. It sounded to Callie a little like a slightly electrically-amplified acoustic lute or sort-of-guitar without any distortion effects, and it was easily loud enough to play to a room or small crowd.

“Alright, Recruit, you now know everything you need to know about Sigil of Amplification, at least at Iron Tier,” the Sergeant-Major finally said, dropping a heavy and strong hand on Callie’s shoulder. “From here, it’s all about practice, practice, and control. In particular, practice pushing it onto yourself and others by placing it right here.” She tapped the left side of her upper chest. “This is where everyone is trained to land it, and that way it’s in easy reach to mute and unmute. Don’t worry about speed when moving the Sigil yet, accuracy and not breaking it is more important right now. Get that perfected first.”

“Understood,” Callie replied.

“After Midsummer is over, and you’ve practiced a bit, we’ll get together to work on how best to use that Sigil on yourself; projecting your voice, assuring clarity on the battlefield, that kind of thing. This goes hand-in-hand with what we talked about before your Bogwump mission.”

Callie’s throat suddenly seemed to tighten as yet another force once again steered her toward leadership responsibilities. Why did this keep happening? “I …” Callie started to say weakly, her voice fading.

“... can’t wait to learn more, right?” Natala finished with a hard, likely knowing, gaze. “Don’t worry, we’ll make an excellent Field Sergeant out of you yet!” She gave Callie a hard slap on her back, sending the little Gnome stumbling a couple steps. “Let’s just get through the madness of the next eight days or so. It’s going to be nothing but chaos, hassle and people being stupid.”

Callie regained her balance with a little help from Pixyl, who gave the Sergeant-Major a bit of a glare. “Uh … sure,” was all Callie mumbled. “Looking forward to it,” she lied.

“That’s my girl!” Natala said again, a new pat on her back sending Callie stumbling the other way.