Ends of Magic

Nathan stared up at the crowfolk mage, who looked back at him with beady eyes. Then she flicked a wrist and Nathan was surrounded by a void of darkness, cutting off all sensory input.

It was really just a complex working of light and shadow, cleverly linked to his body such that he wouldn’t be able to escape it if he moved. Which wasn’t likely right now. Nathan absorbed the spell, using the Stamina he got from it to keep healing his abused body. He was pretty sure his internal organs were all back in the right places now, but he still had a lot of shattered bones, some of which were poking through skin.

He looked back up at Gale Shullet, the birdfolk mage looking down at him and chuckling in the back of her throat as she tossed a gnarled staff from hand to hand.

“Real quick at that, you are. Try this one out.”

The world flipped. Nathan couldn’t help but scrabble weakly at the ground to avoid flying up into the sky. His hands weren’t working very well, and he would have screamed at the shifting bones if it hadn’t been for [Juggernaut's Wrath]. He felt out the illusions and the more subtle working on his inner ear and tore the spell apart, glaring up at Gale and speaking raggedly. “Not funny.”

Mid-tier Spellsense 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to high-tier.

She looked down at him, beak slightly open in a faint grin. “Ah, is it not?” She looked up at the lip of stone Nathan had fallen from, far above. “I suppose not.” Then she poked towards him with her staff and began channeling a continuous flow of light mana into his skin, fueling his [Regeneration].

Her face took on a more serious cast. “You’ve declared your purpose here on Davrar a few times, haven’t you? Take down Giantsrest. Stop the Endings. Kia approves. But she would.” She snapped her beak together with a clack. “I don’t. Pick one. Either is a deathwish. And Giantsrest is here. The Endings are not. Do not waste your potential, boy. Fight that which can be fought. And don’t kill off a fine team of Adventurers while you’re at it.”

She leaned back a bit, sighing and seeming to deflate slightly, though the mana flow never wavered. “But you give an old woman hope, that the young generation has fire in it yet. Break this stalemate if you can, Nathan Lark. I want to see that city of spires fall before I die, hmm? The spells I’ve let you study, consider them a gift towards that purpose.”

The black-feathered woman looked up into the sky, watching the armored figure of Kia descending towards them. “And I’m glad you beat Simla. Fool needed a solid kick in the nethers, poking his fingers into secrets where they don’t belong. Your origin is your own, and you've proven yourself to me.”

Kia’s boots crunched down onto the street nearby, and she surveyed Nathan and Gale. He sat up to greet her, surprised to notice that his body seemed to be more-or-less working. He watched a few cuts on his arms close back up as bones settled back into place. Then he checked his stamina again.

Stamina: 255/650

High-tier Regeneration 8 achieved!

Nice. I really can’t wait to make a unique Talent out of that. Gonna be sweet.

Kia reached out a gauntleted hand to pull Nathan up, and he let the tall woman in shining armor pull him to his feet. She looked to Gale as the mage stopped channeling mana to Nathan. “Gale. Did Nathan answer your questions?”

The crow woman tilted her head back to look at Kia, not answering the question. “Kia. I’m surprised he jumped. Unless you pushed him?” She tilted her head, studying Kia’s stoic face. “You did! Ha! Well, I’m surprised he survived. Glad of it.”

Then she turned back to Nathan. “If you do take on Giantsrest, know that many of the Adventurers of Gemore will back you. We have not forgotten that part of our past so thoroughly. We just need an opening. A way for it to make sense to fight.” Then Gale Shullet turned and walked away, blinking out of view after a few steps.

Nathan looked around for the heat haze that would indicate an invisibility spell to [Magic Absorption]. He saw nothing. Kia sighed. “Look up. She likes to [Fly] when she goes invisible.”

Nathan looked up, spotting a faint bubble of haze vanishing behind a rooftop. Then he looked down, checking his clothes. They were a mess - bloody and torn. But they still covered most of his body. He’d pick up more when he got back to the Guild. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to walking around in torn and bloody clothes at this point. And the Gemore guard knew about him at this point.

I just hope I'm not getting a reputation for that.

“Let us talk outside of the city. There is more to discuss.” Kia gestured, and Nathan led the way towards the gate that let out into the killing field that lay outside the city. They passed through the long tunnel with a few words to the guards, promising that they’d be back soon and that Kia would keep a watch on Nathan.

Then they were back out in the sunlight. Kia led Nathan across the razed heart of Old Gemore, not heading to any of the Transit roads. They walked across the low rubble, seemingly headed in no particular direction. After a little while Kia shot a look back at Gemore and nodded. Her armor pulsed with light, which Nathan felt wash over him. Some kind of… anti-illusion divine spell?

Yay spellsense.

Then she turned back to him. “You have been offered the Talent?”

Nathan nodded, reading back the offered [High-tier Slow fall]. “...This Talent will allow you to use stamina to efficiently direct your fall. This is especially effective for controlling the rate of your fall.”

Kia nodded in return. “That is a good start, with the necessary requirement of spending Stamina to slow your fall. You should accept the Talent.”

Congratulations, you have accepted the ‘High-Tier Slow Fall’ Talent. It will become a part of your status and rank up as you use it. It starts at rank 1 and becomes more effective as it ranks up. Think about how you use your Talent’s functions to aid in Talent development at rank 10.

She started explaining, putting words together as she walked. “It is High-Tier as well, so you are closer to the Unique Development that is needed. And the ability to control not only speed but guide the path of your fall will make it easier to rank-up, for it will be more useful in combat. You must find chances to use the Talent to help you leap upon your enemies, for that is your surest path to Talent ranks.”

Kia turned and faced him, chewing on a lip. “Now listen closely, for [Slow Fall] is only the first part of this Insight, and not the most obvious part. When you have ranked the Talent to maximum, you should focus on the feeling of pushing your Stamina around. And direct that ability into the soles of your feet, kicking down and against the Stamina that is pushing back. It may be tempting to use your resource all over your body, to attempt to fly without the need for muscles.” Kia held up a single finger for emphasis.

“That would be much less efficient. Such a Talent would likely be possible, but it would require hundreds of your class resource for even a few seconds in the air. This Insight will guide the Talent Development to provide a force that you can push off with your normal body motions. That will both be more efficient and will provide a much more versatile Talent, which will allow you to make use of your strength and other movement skills that you acquired for use on normal footing.”

Kia nodded, considering her point. “I can help, when the time is right. But do not wait for me. As usual, Developments are easiest and most likely when you are engaged with a dangerous foe. So if you have the opportunity, take it.” She sighed. “Davrar enjoys such drama, it seems.”

She turned back to Nathan. “Any questions?”

I’ve got a few questions for Davrar. But let me think if I have any for Kia.

After a moment more of thought, Nathan asked. “Could I also push with my hands? I’ve only seen you pushing off air with your feet, but I’m interested in also using my hands. Is that possible?”

Kia frowned, looking down at her hands. “I had not considered such a thing, given that my hands are occupied by my sword in combat. But for you…” She nodded to herself. “Likely, yes. I believe the critical part of this Insight is that you are pushing off your class resource, not having it push you. This may make the Insight somewhat more complicated, but is not a significant difference in the resulting Talent."

Nathan thought for a moment, remembering each time he’d seen Kia using the [Airwalking] Talent. “Does the Talent retain the ability to slow your fall, or do you need to push with your legs?”

“You do lose the normal ability to slow your fall - and it takes practice to control yourself in the air while you are already moving at speed. You must imagine that the surface you are pushing against is moving as quickly as you are. But that is something you should practice if you can gain speed from another source. It is a common tactic among the Guardians of Gemore for Dalo to throw me at an enemy, as you saw with the Grave Tangle. I am able to control my flight and slow myself as needed using this Talent. Anything else, or are we done?”

Nathan cast around for any more questions. “What about further Developments? You have it Developed past [Airwalking], don’t you?”

Kia shrugged. “I do. But those Insights are their own, and I am not sure I should share them.” She saw Nathan’s sullen expression and clarified. “Not because I do not believe I owe you the Insight, but because I believe you may develop this Talent in a different way than I have, with a different resource than my own. I do not wish to constrain your growth. I will talk to you about this in time, when you’ve flexed the [Airwalking] Talent yourself. My further Developments are focused on efficiency and control, and I do not know if that is what you will need.”

Then she gestured at Nathan to follow her as they kept walking into the desolate ruins outside Gemore. “Come. I wish to show you something.”

They didn’t go far - just near the edge of the killing zone, where the rubble hadn’t been quite so assiduously cleared to form the killing zone outside of the walls of Gemore. Kia pointed to a specific mound of rubble. Nathan climbed over the pile of fallen stone, finding that there was a clear space in the middle. It looked like this building had been wrapped around a courtyard, and when the building had collapsed the inner space had mostly been spared of debris. Instead, the floor of the courtyard was decorated with an intricate mosaic of bright chips of tile shining in the sunlight.

It showed a flock of various species of birds in flight. Nathan didn’t recognize the exact types, though he did notice that one of the birds on display, the Silver Darter, had been noted as aggressive and venomous in his Adventurer Guild classes. The mosaic itself was gorgeous, and at first look seemed to show the myriad birds flying together in harmony. But the closer he looked, the more he saw the darker side of the art - the birds on the edges seemed to be trying to push their way into the center. One bird was in the process of attacking another to reach the peaceful center of the flock, faint chips of brilliant red marking shed blood.

The mosaic held no source of the danger that was scaring the birds, but that only made the piece more ominous. And the craftsmanship was incredible. As Nathan looked closer he saw that the birds near the edges were built of sharp, angular tiles whose irregularity seemed to convey their instability and panic. Closer to the center the tiles were laid in smooth rows and orderly curves that communicated an undertone of stability and calm.

Kia stopped next to Nathan, examining the mosaic for herself. “I am always impressed. I could not imagine creating such a thing.”

Then she sat down on the rubble, armor scraping on the stone. Nathan sat beside her as they both continued examining the mosaic. It was the sort of piece that you could keep finding details in the longer you looked. Truly a work of art.

Kia’s voice was soft as she continued. “This is art of a sort that I have never seen created. In Gemore we make beautiful things, but they are often arms, or armor. Or food.” She gestured to the mosaic. “This work would require a legacy. A skilled craftsman training for much of their life. Insights passed down. Imagine the kind of society that could support such a thing. For a floor.”

She looked over at Nathan, appraisingly. “Maybe you don’t need to imagine. I know nothing of your world, beyond its nature as a source of Insights. Did you have such things?”

Nathan looked down at the mosaic. “Yes. We did. Though this is special. It conveys a message.”

Kia nodded. “It does. It teaches of Old Gemore, and what they gave weight to. A society that loved beauty, and guarded itself so well that it needed to use that beauty to remind people that there was a cost to their safety.”

She gestured outwards, encompassing the enormous ruined city around them. “You have seen the Last Dungeon of Old Gemore. You know what Old Gemore considered basic internal security for inside a protected city, behind layers of walls. And still, they fell to the Ending of Elements. They had the Tale of Endings, and still they fell. They produced art like this for many buildings, and still, they fell.”

Kia turned to gaze into Nathan’s eyes, and he saw golden flames holding him in judgment. “That is what you have challenged. You have the Insights, and the fire, to challenge the Endings. But do not forget the weight of the goal you have set for yourself. You have seen what the Guardians of Gemore are capable of. We can protect Gemore. It is what we do. But to go forth and challenge the Endings… you and the other Heirs will need to be more powerful than we.”

Kia closed her eyes, and the consuming flames of her Faith were hidden. They sat there in silence for a time, and Nathan considered Old Gemore. All pieces of evidence suggested it had been a large, cosmopolitan city. He looked at the mosaic and wondered at what else had been lost. Did they have music? Theater? Poetry? It didn’t seem much of it had survived.

If what Sudraiel had said during the Tale of Endings was true, it couldn’t have survived. Even if the people had survived, could they have protected all of their culture? For three generations of an Ending? How could you keep alive the techniques involved in art, or all of the skills involved in opera? Or even the knowledge that such things had existed in the first place?

And so Nathan grieved for what had been lost so thoroughly that it couldn't even be catalogued. The beginning of a second ember of Rage kindling inside of his chest. He’d looked at the Endings academically, before. They were a threat to Gemore, and it seemed best to deal with them preemptively if possible. Much of the motivation behind swearing his Oath had been anger at the traditional Adventurers of Gemore and their acceptance of the Endings.

But now - Nathan saw that the Endings had destroyed an unknowable amount of lives, of society. Of civilization. And this was one Ending. In one place. There’d been seven before that one. Across all of Davrar.

Nathan looked up, past the sun. To the world which he knew lay beyond the sky. That was still considered part of Davrar, and presumably the Endings happened there too. How many people had the endings killed? How much civilization had been lost, over and over again?

Who am I, to attempt a task that millions have surely taken up before me? And failed at, again and again?

Nathan steeled himself. In a past life he’d dedicated himself towards making advances in science to help alleviate pain and suffering, to push the barrier of knowledge forward. That had felt like the best way for him to make things better.

The Endings are a problem that can be solved. Maybe all I do is leave a clue that enables somebody else to pick up where I’ve left off. Or find an Insight that enables a few more people to survive the Ending of History. But maybe I win. And I'll take either one.

Kia stood back up. “I will return you to the Guild. Now that your feet are upon the path to [Airwalking], you should discuss your build with the other Heirs, and talk about how to counter the most likely enemies you will face. Know what you must fight eventually, but focus on the enemy you will fight tomorrow.”

She again pulled Nathan to his feet, and he sighed, completing her point. “And I need to hit level 81 before I start thinking seriously about Giantsrest.”

Kia was silent for a time as they walked. She sighed before speaking. “Sudraiel wanted me to tell you that she will allow you a choice of missions from the board, instead of assigning missions as will be done for other newly graduated Adventurers. Be careful, Nathan.” She paused, then continued solemnly. “This period, before true responsibility, may be the happiest time for you and the Heirs. Level, and gain in power, but do not seek to leave it behind more quickly than you must. Do not speed along your path until you are ready to bear the burdens.”

She might be right. I expect fighting Giantsrest to be satisfying. But once I go down that road - then I’m committed. And it won’t be clean.

Talent text:

Talent: High-tier Slow Fall

You have survived falling an extraordinarily long distance by using stamina to control your plummet. This Talent will allow you to use stamina to efficiently direct your fall. This is especially effective for controlling the rate of your fall.

Overall Status:

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 6

Permanent Talent 2: High-tier Regeneration 8

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 1

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 53

Stamina: 266/630

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

High-tier Focused Mind 8

High-tier Earnestness 1

Mid-tier Sprinting 5

Mid-tier Spellsense 10

Mid-tier Notice 7

Mid-tier Identify 6

Mid-tier Dodging Footwork 4

High-tier Enhanced Memory 1

Mid-tier Lecturing 1

Low-tier Tumbling 10