Ends of Magic

It took most of the night and part of the next day to settle matters with Azamar. Nathan had hoped it would be as simple as freeing all of the slaves and telling them to go to Giantsrest, but of course it wasn’t that easy. To be fair, it was far easier than conquering a city should have been.

It took some argument to convince Hibril that he needed to abandon the city. He was attached to Azamar, but eventually accepted that an evacuation was necessary. Giantsrest had the space and farmland to absorb the population in every one of its child cities. None of them were even a tenth of Giantsrest's size, and they had all been founded by ambitious mages looking to expand Giantsrest’s territory and provide access to raw materials, not because the capitol had lacked food or space. But it would be significantly easier to defend one city instead of a half-dozen, and Myrla and the forces of the new Giantsrest would be unable to defend Azamar.

Not too different from the villages of Gemore. Except Gemore doesn’t have nearby farmland because of the ruined city, so they actually depend on their villages to provide food. And there's a ton of estates available for building, not to mention mansions that can fit a lot more than currently live in them.

After that, Nathan and Khachi had gone around and freed most of the slaves of Azamar, starting with the slave-soldiers and then moving on down to the artisans and domestic slaves. Remembering Myrla, he’d looked to Hibril’s scribes to find leaders and found a dour man named Blan who handled logistics for the whole city. He hadn’t shown any surprise at Nathan’s request that he organize an evacuation, just acknowledging his freedom with a long blink before getting to work directing thousands of people towards Giantsrest.

Hibril had tried to help but Blan had just given him a level look and ignored his previous master with a faintly satisfied smile. Nathan had been worried the ex-archmage would insert himself again, but instead he'd just watched the proceedings with a kind of dumbfounded bemusement, as if he hadn’t been aware just how unnecessary he was until that very moment.

Nathan sidled up next to him. “Will you be able to listen to ex-slaves when they tell you what to do?”

Hibril shrugged, though he didn't look entirely content. “I never liked organization. I was good at politics, playing the other Archmages off against each other. I liked being left alone to watch my city grow.” He turned to Nathan, baffled but not upset. “But I was never good at coordinating industry. I’ll listen to the experts on matters of organization and combat. But on matters of magic, none match my grasp but the Founders.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “I know some of the mages of Gemore might disagree with you. Dalo and Kullal Caxol in particular.”

A light lit inside Hibril’s eyes. “Oh, the Guardians of Gemore. They have some Insights worthy of the Giant.” He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I would like to trade Insights with them. Can you make the introduction?”

With a snort, Nathan called Stella over. “Stella, Hibril wants to trade Insights with your parents. We probably won’t be around long enough to do it ourselves, but can you introduce them via [Message]?”

“Their daughter?” Hibril’s eyes sharpened and his attention shifted fully to Stella. “Ah, that is the source of the wonderous [Fly] Insight! You are a mage of true Talent. Now, what element of your [Fly] spell is lacking refinement? I can see the mana leaks from here and would offer guidance.”

Stella was surprised by the offer but shot Nathan a questioning look before responding.

“He’s trying to get Insights out of you. Decide beforehand what you’re willing to trade.” He shot her a warning look, trying to communicate that she be careful of speaking about what he’d taught her.

She appeared to understand the warning, giving him a serious nod and pursing her lips in thought.

Hibril didn’t dispute Nathan’s statement, and soon the two mages were engaged in a spirited discourse on the nature of flight magics. The Giantsrest mage was providing a lot of advice without really asking for much in return.

I think he’s being somewhat political. If he's nice to Stella, she’ll say good things to her parents and that will be his way into Gemore high society. Not a bad play.

An hour later, Stella came and found Nathan with a dour look on her face. “We need to leave.” She’d already gathered up the rest of the Heirs, and they were all ready to go.

It looked urgent, so Nathan didn’t ask questions. “Ok.” He turned to the messenger who’d been directing him around the city to the as-yet-unfreed slaves. “We’re leaving. Tell Blan. There are more antimages in Giantsrest who can free the remaining slaves.” Moments later the Heirs were over the walls with Stella leading the way. She took them almost straight south. Once they’d gotten a few miles from the city she adjusted their path to the West, towards Aardglass. “I got a [Message] from one of the mages with Myrla. Camran was kidnapped and tortured, but not killed.”

Nathan blinked. “By a mage? You’d think they’d use mental magic to get whatever information they wanted.”

Stella shook her head. “They think it was an assassin looking for us. He doesn’t remember anything about the person who did it or even what they asked, but he’s one of the people who knew where we were going.”

“Alright. So they’re probably on their way to Azamar now. But if they couldn’t track us out of Giantsrest, they won’t be able to track us out of Azamar.” Nathan shrugged. “So we’ve got time to camp and get some sleep. Ardglass tomorrow?”

Sarah spoke up, sounding ambivalent. “Stella, you’re the one who needs sleep the most.”

The mage grumbled. "We need to get to Aardglass quickly, and get some distance from Azamar." She set a fast pace and they travelled for several hours before making a quick camp in a hidden glade. They sorted out the watch details, then crashed hard.

—-

They got moving quickly and early the next morning. Breaking camp was a routine they’d done dozens of times, but now everything felt more urgent. In the past they’d usually been moving at their own pace, on patrol or traveling on a mission. Even when they’d been in a hurry, breaking camp had been a routine.

But now they rushed. There was at least one assassin on their tail, and a siege awaited them at Ardglass. Notably a siege where both the attackers and defenders were presumed hostile, but they still wanted to protect the population of the city.

It’s all a mess. We’ve been running hard and need more than just a night of rest. We don’t really know what’s waiting for us, but we’re trusting our abilities to be able to carry us through it.

As they got moving, Nathan summed up his thoughts. “We’re in it, aren’t we? These are the times that make us elites. It’s not just winning the big battles, but going from one fight to another without pausing. It’s never stopping when there’s a problem to be solved.”

“That’s why they schedule delve days.” Sarah responded grimly. “To make sure the elite teams are ready for anything. They can’t fight every day. You need time to rest, repair. Heal.” She shot an aggrieved look at Nathan and Khachi. “Unless you have two madmen on your team.”

Nathan shrugged. “There’s stuff that needs doing. If you’re tired, take it easy. I can probably carry this battle if I need to. I don’t think there’s much that can challenge me.”

“I spoke truth before.” Khachi rumbled back. “I cannot be fatigued. I will fight without pause.”

Aarl sighed. “And we can’t let Nathan get all the levels. I’ll keep pace. And if I don’t, well. Khachi can restore the dead.”

The wolfman’s face turned down in a frown. “That is an ability I would not test. I do not know its limits yet, and I do not think I can yet heal terrible injuries. Be cautious.”

“Yet.” Sarah replied with a snort. “Then all we need to do is feed you levels, and then can't die as long as you are alive? Except Nathan.”

“I’ve got my own version.” Nathan said with a shrug. "Badud pretty much turned me to dust with the attack that destroyed the Academy, but I Developed [Regeneration] again so it didn't stick. But if an enemy gets the upper hand over you they can always figure something out. They could entomb me in stone, or a monster could tear me to pieces and swallow them, or they could throw me into a fire. Once you can’t die, it’s still important not to lose.”

“Hear me, that is a good problem to have.” Stella said dourly. Then she brightened up. “An attacking army of undead means hordes of weak foes. That seems like my problem to kill.”

“Unless it’s mostly giants, like that one monastery of Quaz.” Sarah replied.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Nathan’s eyebrows shot up. “You took down a monastery of Quaz?’

“We did.” Aarl said wryly. “Too close to some of the farms of Halsmet. It needed to go.”

“Can you tell me about it?” Nathan asked, curious about the adventures his friends had been up to while he’d been gone.

Over the next few hours as they traveled they told him about their adventures in clearing out the various dungeons and dangerous monsters around Halsmet. Giantsrest had kept a lid on the worst of it, but they hadn’t tried to maintain the buffer zone of safety like Gemore did. After all, if their farmers got eaten they could simply replace them.

As they traveled, the clouds grew steadily heavier until the sun was mostly blocked off. The day grew dim and oppressive, and Nathan probed upwards with his magical senses. He found death mana high in the air, shaping the clouds and blocking the light. Nathan called it out to the rest of the Heirs. "This weather's unnatural. Death mana."

“It confirms Hibril's tale.” Sarah said with a shrug. “We have a fight ahead of us.”

Khachi’s face was dour, and he redoubled his speed. “I pray that the city remains inviolate.”

Aarl merely nodded and accelerated to keep up, resuming his story. He was dramatically retelling how he’d cleared out a nest of earth-stalkers almost single-handedly. Right when he got to the fight with the patriarch, Stella interrupted him.

She was flying the highest, and pointed excitedly over the next rise. “Ardglass! And an army of undead.” She sounded positively thrilled by the latter.

Nathan came over the rise and his impression was decidedly less positive than Stella’s. Ardglass was to the west and looked like a rock in the ocean, with tides of bones and decayed flesh washing against its high walls and barely being repulsed by surges of flame and lightning. The land was flooded with undead of every size and description, from humanoids up through monsters of every variety. Giant stone statues seemed to be concentrated in the center of the army, silently gazing towards the city as smaller undead streamed past their feet. Occupying the hills to the south were a trio of towering monstrosities, each formed of amalgams of thousands of corpses.

Oh. Three Grave Tangles. That’s not good.

"Why aren't the Grave Tangles attacking?" Aarl asked, cocking his head as he studied the army from midair. "They could push through the walls without pain. But they're letting the smaller undead burn." He gestured to where thousands of smaller undead lapped against the walls and were pushed back by surges of flame.

Nathan responded with a frown. "They’re waiting until the mages defending Ardglass get tired and run out of mana." He pointed at the larger creatures in the army. "The statues and Grave Tangles are the important pieces, the smaller undead are incidental. They can make more. But this still suggests a lot of strategy for undead. That means we need to strike quickly, before they realize how much of a threat we are."

“Still a blasphemous number of undead.” Sarah spoke dryly, eyes flicking around to pick out targets. “Maybe it’s time to follow the light and leave.”

Khachi didn’t pick up on the sarcasm strode forward, propelled by divine light. “Do not let this enemy overwhelm you! They are a terrible foe, but we must defeat them, so we shall. This tide of death will wash all away unless it is confronted here!” A golden glow unfurled from his form like wings, grander than anything Nathan had seen from him before. He lit up the entire battlefield, banishing some of the gloom in the air as he arrowed straight towards the center of the enemy army, where the statues were. “I summon the strength to stand against this scourge!”

Aarl merely sighed and rolled his eyes as his helmet crept over his head. He leaned forwards and sprinted after Khachi, angling for some undead stalkers that were circling the battlefield like sharks on the prowl. They fired night-black bolts from their central eyes before darting in, just as fast in death as they’d been in life. It didn’t help. Aarl dodged most of the attacks before cleanly dicing the stalkers into pieces.

The dark magic never even reached Khachi, and the undead fell apart as his light illuminated them. They pulled back and circled around to attack his rear where the aura wasn’t so concentrated, but Aarl was there to cut apart the flanking attacks.

Would have been nice to make a plan, but they’re doing pretty much what I would have told them. We need to go for the heavies hard and fast.

Stella and Sarah looked to Nathan for direction, and he spent a few more seconds surveying the battlefield before spitting out final commands. “Stella, take everything smaller than the Tangles. Whatever will clear this valley the fastest. Go hard. If you’re running out of concentrations of undead, start on the farthest-off Tangle. Sarah, watch for anything dangerous. Champions, dangerous monsters. If you can determine the weak points of the statues, go for it. If any of the mages on the wall start to look our way, discourage them.”

“It’s time to unleash the dragon’s breath.” Stella said, light flaring in her eyes as she started channeling a truly impressive amount of magic.

“The grave tangles can hit you from here.” Nathan reminded her. “Don’t underestimate them. Keep your shields strong.”

Sarah gave him a curt nod. “We follow the light in your eyes.”

Then Nathan was off, darting for the leftmost Grave Tangle. It was the closest of the giant constructs, and his first target. The mass of smaller undead were dangerous, and the statues probably held the sarcophagi of the undead Sklian mages that commanded the whole army, but the Grave Tangles were the enemies that could crush cities and empower their armies. Even if they took out the leaders the Tangles would still be city-ending threats.

As if the thought had prompted it all three of the huge constructs bellowed as one, dark clefts opening up to release roars that shook the earth and the sky. Waves of dark energy surged outwards from each of them, sweeping over the battlefield like overlapping shockwaves. Where the energy passed the undead surged with energy.

Nathan slowed down and positioned himself to cover Sarah and Stella. He sent his aura out wide to make a shield and braced himself for the onslaught. He thought about trying to protect Aarl and Khachi, but they were too far in front of him.

Then the death magic hit. The energy attempted to drain the life out of everything it touched, and the three waves struck like ocean surges. But Nathan’s antimagic was perfectly suited to combat this threat. He stood firm against the tide of magic and prevented more than the barest edge from lapping around his shield to strike his friends.

The attack was simplistic, a simple outpouring of death magic. But Nathan could detect a faint wizardry to the magic. It didn’t strike at them, but rather sought to twist Davrar itself. If left unchallenged over time the magic would blight the ground into something incapable of supporting life, and change the ambient mana of Davrar into something that couldn’t be used by living mages.

Wizard’s Understanding 9 achieved!

Down below the waves of death clustered around Aarl and Khachi, seeking to drown their light in darkness and depth. But Aarl stood close to Khachi, guarding the wolfman as he fell to his knees and raised his arms to the heavens. His aura compressed under the pressure of the dark magic. He was definitely saying something, but Nathan couldn’t hear it over the continuing roars of the Grave Tangles.

Then, he could.

Khachi’s voice boomed out impossibly loudly across the entire battlefield as he finished his prayer, the words cutting through the boneshaking roars like a knife. “By my power, your evil is Ended.” He shone like a sudden star, rays of light stabbing outwards and vaporizing hundreds, thousands of undead.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 6

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 5

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 7

Class: Void of Magic level 654

Deepened Stamina: 19012/19920

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Spellslayer level 479

Regenerative Focus: 4734/4890

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Wizard’s Meditation 8

Inspiration 8

Acceleration 10

Wizard’s Detection 6

Alertness 10

Wizard’s Understanding 9

Effortless Dodge 9

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 5

Parkour 7

Visibility Control 3

High-tier Disguise 3

Mid-tier Battle Cry 10

High-tier Aura Manipulation 10