Ends of Magic

The door closed behind them, and Nathan appraised Egall. She was no longer wearing the robes of a Giantsrest mage, instead dressed in a fine but plain tunic of green and white. It reminded Nathan of the group of scribes who’d started running the city.

He raised an eyebrow at the outfit. “Are you working for Myrla now?”

Egall gestured for him to take the lead. She followed him as he started winding his way out of the building. “Yes. Apart from the Adventurers, there are no mages left in Halsmet. Not even the meanest finger of the Giant’s will. If the Adventurers leave, there will be nobody to heal sicknesses, or recharge the enchantments that do not charge themselves. Myrla wants me to start training new mages.”

Wow. She’d be taking on a heavy burden there.

He looked back at Egall, finding that her expression was troubled. “Do you think you can?”

She exhaled heavily. “By the Giant, I don’t know. I’ve only taught some low-tier students the first Insights of the Academy before. To train people as full mages - I never even graduated. That mana won’t flow clean.”

“I don’t know the full story, but one thing is clear to me.” Nathan met her eyes, his tone serious. “You’re a skilled mage. I’ve felt your magic, and you’re better than many graduated mages of Giantsrest I’ve met.”

If by met you mean killed.

He considered for a moment before continuing. “You’re not a mage of Giantsrest. You shouldn’t try to be one. You’re a mage of Halsmet, and you get to decide what that means. Don’t teach the same lessons you learned in the Ascendent Academy. You don’t have the same students and you don’t want the same results. Make the school you wish you had gone to.”

She didn’t respond, so Nathan kept talking. “You should talk to Gale Shullet, the crowfolk mage who was at the meeting. She leads the Seven Fools, but she also runs the Tower of Trickery, which trains most of the mages of Gemore. I don’t know if she’d share magical Insights with you, but she might share teaching Insights with you.”

As if those are less powerful. I have a dream of getting a third class focused on teaching. When Giantsrest is destroyed.

Egall was breathing quickly, seeming overwhelmed by the weight of the task in front of her.

Nathan turned around, reaching out for her shoulders before thinking better of the motion and withdrawing his hands. “Start small. You don’t need to challenge the Ascendent Academy by yourself. You need to train a dozen students to cast [Curing], and teach them to use their magic responsibly. That would be a win.”

He eyed her, gratified to see her taking slower and deeper breaths. “Is that something you want to do?”

The ex-slave nodded slowly, then looked up. “Yes. Fingers of a fist. I can do that. I’ll teach their Insights to those they once held as slaves.”

Leadership 5 achieved!

Nathan smiled, then was struck by a sudden thought.

I wonder if she can get a second class for teaching? Faline didn’t swear me not to share that Insight. She just told me that learning it could jeopardize somebody’s Path. But I don’t think Egall wants to level as a mage of Giantsrest, a Nail, any longer.

He held her gaze. “I’m going to share the Insight for a second class now, because I think you can use it. Can you cast spells to block sound?”

Her eyes bugged out, and she stuttered a few times before successfully casting the spell around them. She still didn’t step very close to him, even if it would have made the magic easier.

[Muffle]

Nathan kept his aura in close to avoid disturbing the magic enshrouding them. “I don’t know if this will work for you, and it carries the risk of destabilizing your current class. It might mess up your future class Developments, and I want to emphasize that there’s no guarantee that it will work. Do you still want to learn this Insight?”

Egall grimaced at his words, and gave the question a few seconds of thought before responding. “Yes. My class was preparation to be a Nail. I will use those lessons to survive, but I won’t be a knife in the dark.”

“Ok. This might work, it might not.” Nathan cast back in his memory to remember how Faline had explained this Insight to him. “What is your purpose? Why did you follow the Path of a Nail?”

Her eyes darkened, and she snorted with dark humor. “To keep myself safe, and hidden, though that truth is shattered. I was the daughter of a slave-artisan and a scribe, chosen because I was bright, and learned easily. I had no backers, no protection in the Academy. I hid from those who could squash me, especially Jaxis. I beat him in an early lesson and he always raised his hand against mine after that. The Nails found me, and they offered protection if I joined them. I liked their Insights, and I was good at them. I thought I was weaving the same color as those professors who recruited me.”

She shook her head bitterly. “Then Exea tightened her fist, and I was made Jaxis’ slave.”

Nathan tilted his head. “Do you still follow that path? To use magic to keep yourself hidden and safe?”

Egall nodded sharply. “Yes. If Halsmet falls I will escape the city and flee to Gemore, or Litcliff.”

“But you also want to teach the people of Halsmet magic, right?” Nathan questioned.

Her nod was a little slower this time. “Yes. I will spread the Insights hoarded by Giantsrest. Especially those of the Nails.” She seemed amused by that last part.

Nathan considered for a moment. “Yeah. I think you can do this. The way to have a second class is to have two Paths, which is to have two Purposes. You need to genuinely follow both, and they cannot overlap too much. Your second class also can’t be similar to one you were offered at level 9, on your first class selection.”

Egall was taking all of this in, clearly thinking at a mile a minute and starting to get excited.

But Nathan wasn’t done. “Then, you need a deed that’s significant enough it boosts you up to level 9 all at once. For me, that was killing Histol. I don’t know what it would look like for a teaching class. Maybe helping a dozen kids unlock the [Mana Shaping] Talent in a single lesson. You might need to drop a utility skill and pick up one focused on teaching to accomplish that. You should ask Gale, and Sudraiel. If you tell her you’re starting a school for mages in Halsmet she should make time for you.”

He eyed her furrowed brow. “Does all of that make sense?”

High-tier Lecturing 2 achieved!

“Yes - yes it does.” She started nodding rapidly, eyes distant. “I’m going to try. I’ll talk to Gale and Sudraiel. I need the palms of Myrla and Camran for this. Is the Insight of the second class mine to share?”

Nathan’s attention was drawn away from Egall when a thin middle-aged man came around the corner, looking peeved. His eyes locked onto them and he strode forward, saying something that they couldn’t hear.

Egall hastily dispelled the [Muffle spell].

“...waiting! What in the Giant’s name is the delay?”

Egall shrunk back, but Nathan stepped forward. “Sorry, just having an important chat. Let’s go.”

As they walked, Nathan turned back to Egall, answering her final question vaguely. “Just be careful with it. I think if the Insight doesn’t work, then it might hurt somebody’s Path irreparably. Let me know if you need more help.”

The man frowned at Nathan. “What occurs?”

Egall stepped between them, leading the way forward at a fast pace. “Nothing, nothing. I’ll need to talk to you about this later. Nathan, this is Camran. He’s the person who trains new scribes.”

The pinch-faced man looked between Nathan and Egall suspiciously as they walked, then sighed. “This is a time of ascension. I hope your conversation was worth hundreds of slaves suffering their bondage that much longer.”

You know, I think it was. Halsmet needs power, not just freedom.

—

Nathan had an audience as he walked down the line of sickly laborers and broke their collars. It seemed that every Adventurer had heard Nathan was going to do this, and wanted to see his antimagic in action.

After all, this is usually something that takes a few hours of work from an enchanter skilled at cursebreaking. It's worthwhile to save a life, but infeasible to do across an entire city. Not to mention impossible if being captured triggers the failsafe and kills the victim.

At least these enchantments weren’t as paranoid as some, since Giantsrest didn’t value their farmers or miners very much. Nearly every single one of them needed healing from some untreated injury or chronic malnutrition, and several Adventurer mages were working ahead of Nathan, curing some of the most egregious ailments.

But all eyes were on him as he reached out and snapped the next collar, unweaving the magic beneath it with a touch before tearing the crude metal from the man’s neck. Several Adventurer mages were trying to surreptitiously see what he was doing, and Nathan waved them closer. “I don’t think you can replicate this, but you’re free to watch what I’m doing. If you can get an Insight out of it you’re welcome to it.”

They stepped closer and watched from feet away as he broke the next few collars, each of the newly-freed laborers quickly taken aside by the now-practiced volunteers. Nathan thought it was likely that a few of them had taken classes or skills to help them comfort and reassure others.

Sort of a proto-therapist - probably something that Halsmet needs. I wonder if I should try to help? I don't really know anything about therapy, just a bit of popular psychology stuff. That would probably hurt more than it helps. It’s very much not designed for this circumstance.

One of the mages watching was Argan, the mage from Kozar’s team. He watched Nathan break a few more of the enchantments and grimaced. “Maw from the deep. The magic just unwinds itself and is drawn away. There’s no Insight to be had here. Just a blasphemously powerful Talent.” He walked away, sharing a few words with Kozar before they both left.

But more mages stuck around, wanting to try and wring every possible bit of information out of what he was doing.

“Dragon’s breath, the magic just dissolves.” Ayen said excitedly, the illusionist from the Oath of Tulin bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Can you describe what you’re doing?”

I think this has moved on from people trying to figure out how to free people from mind magic to people trying to figure out how my antimagic works. Not sure I’m comfortable with that.

Nathan shrugged, moving onto the next collared man. “Using my Talent. I don’t think I can replicate the necessary conditions to pass it on, sorry to say.”

“Hmm. Can you break this spell?” Ayen cast a diffuse orb of light, made of various layers of light and dream mana.

After a quick glance at the spell, Nathan shook his head. “Nope. If you have questions about breaking mind magic I’ll answer. But I’m not going to poke a spell designed to tease out how my Talent works.”

He turned away from Ayen towards the remaining slaves, working through them quickly.

Give an inch, they’ll try to take a mile.

Most of the other mages gave up quickly, but Ayen tried to tempt Nathan a few more times. “By the blood we shed, will you do me this favor? I only wish Insight into my own spellwork!”

I don’t believe you.

“Sorry Ayen, I’d rather not. Thanks for your help. You do good illusions, I hope to work with you again someday.”

Nathan sped through the rest of the farmers, releasing them to the care of the citizens of Halsmet as he ignored Ayen until the man huffed and walked off.

After he was done, Camran approached Nathan, making a note on a clipboard-like object before putting it in his armpit to press his hands together in a Giantsrest salute. “Praise the Gi… - thank you. That is every slave of Halsmet freed. The city is born anew.” The man tilted his head back, looking skyward and trying to pretend there weren’t tears in his eyes.

“If your hands are idle, Liluce has a list of magical locks to be broken, or enchantments we need destroyed.” The ascetic scribe wiped at his eyes surreptitiously, looking over at the group of work-worn men and women sprawled in Exea’s garden, the volunteer helpers bustling around to be sure everybody was comfortable and had help adapting to their sudden freedom.

Nathan felt warmth blossom in his chest at the display of emotion from the man. “Maybe later. I’m headed out on patrol soon, and I’ve still got some people to talk to and preparations to make. She’s in the mansion?”

Camran nodded, then saluted again and turned to walk past the two Halsmet elites guarding the door and back into the mansion that was quickly becoming the seat of government of the new liberated city.

A voice hissed from the side. “Nathan!”

His head snapped around, and he saw a hooded figure standing in a shadow underneath a tree. Green eyes shone underneath the hood before one of them flickered pink.

Faline. In hiding. Of course.

He walked over to her, spending some Focus on [Noticeability] to be more inconspicuous. With the skill active he felt the instant he entered Faline’s zone of influence. All attention on him suddenly vanished. He stopped and stepped back across the transition, examining what his skill was telling him.

It’s like a blind spot. I’m just edited out of their perception as soon as I get close to her. That’s a powerful skill. I wonder how it works in combat?

Mid-tier Noticeability 7 achieved!

He stepped up to Faline, and she smirked at him. “Have you divined more of my secrets?”

He mirrored her smile. “Not too many, but I will never underestimate being able to blend in amongst your enemies. We would never have won this victory without your skills.”

Faline gave an affirming grunt and her expression grew more serious. She studied him, without speaking.

Nathan examined her posture, her expression, and came to an obvious conclusion. “You’re leaving. You’re going to Giantsrest, and you want me to come with you.”

She gave a deep sigh. “If the prophecy had not been spoken, if the Questors were not here, then we could avert the coming smoke and blood. Together we could go to Giantsrest and strike every target. If you killed the host of a party and escaped uncaught - every mage would cower within their homes, and the archmages would hurl abuse and blame at each other for weeks.

“But that is not the Path before us.” Faline looked down, her face suddenly lined with stress. “By the heavy hand of prophecy this battle will be fought, and I know you will not abandon your friends. You do not have the skills to blend into the Giantsrest army. Your weight in this fight is too high for a risky infiltration.”

She looked up, bright green eyes boring into his. “I will go to Giantsrest, to follow my Path. I will give warning when the army marches. Sudraiel will hear it. I will march in their ranks. Look for a pink mask.”

He nodded solemnly. “Ok.” This felt different than any of his other conversations with Faline. Normally she was sly, joking and flirtatious. Now she seemed serious and tense. “Be safe.”

The corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. “We have stared this Giant in the eye, and torn a city from its grasp. Bait the Castlebear, but do not become its meal.” The smile extended across her face. “If we both survive the upcoming conflagration, then we move on Giantsrest.” She held up her hand for Nathan to grab. “If this army is broken, then there is an opening. We can cast down the Endings-damned empire.”

Nathan reached forward and grasped her offered hand, looking into her eyes. “That’s worth a heavy cost.”

But not every cost. I will do a lot to see Giantsrest destroyed, but there are lines I won’t cross. If she asks me to nuke the city, I'm finding another way.

If Faline noticed any sign of his internal qualification she didn’t react, squeezing his hand for a moment before letting go and stepping back. “The Guardians have warned you of Brox. I add my weight to their word. Keep my name from his ears. He thinks me dead, and I would have that remain true.”

Nathan couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. “Everybody seems to have history with him, but nobody will tell me what it is. What happened?”

The assassin shook her head sadly. “Waking Giants is what happened. Brox wished to challenge a Kalis Conclave dungeon. The Guardians were with him. They say he woke the horrors within. We call it the Night of Living Light, and hundreds died. That included Kosvel, Stanel’s wife and Aarl and Sarah’s mother. She was with him, on the walls.”

No wonder he’s so upset about having Brox around. But given that it hasn’t been mentioned, I probably shouldn’t bring it up.

Nathan frowned. “Did the dungeon need to go?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “It is now the town of Grasmere.”

Nathan took a second to recall his geography. Grasmere was a village to the southwest of Gemore. It lay on the route to three more villages. Those villages had probably all been established after this dungeon fell.

So it was not worthless. Maybe Brox messed up, or maybe it was going to happen anyway and Brox was simply the one to set it off. But given that everybody has warned me about him I’m definitely going to veer on the side of caution.

He blinked, and turned back to Faline. “Were you there? Is that why he thinks you’re dead?”

“No,” she said bitterly. “Later he asked me to deliver him to Giantsrest, that he might work to undermine their Empire.”

She shook her head sadly. “He is not an [Assassin]. He is a liability.”

“Joy.” Nathan’s response dripped with sarcasm. “Any advice?”

“You have true aim, to ask me.” She hesitated, tapping her lip with a finger. “It is a narrow path. If he becomes bored he will seek out challenges without regard for their consequence. You must engage with him, entertain him, but without being impressed by him. All he meets are blinded by the light of his deeds. He seeks true companions, even if he says otherwise.”

Her smile turned wry. “Hear me, but you do not wish to become the challenge he seeks. He might try to fight, seduce or recruit you. None will leave you free of regret.”

Good to know. I know he’s already interested in me. I hope he can take ‘no’ for an answer if it comes to it.

“Algoa’s luck ride with you.” Faline said, then faded from view.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 6

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 7

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10

Class: Implacable Antimage level 210

Deepened Stamina: 6490/6600

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Assassin of Gemore level76

Regenerative Focus: 803/860

Catastrophic Blows

Stealthy Movement

Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 8

Leadership 5

High-tier Sprinting 7

Magical Perception 6

High-tier Notice 10

Magical Intuition 3

High-tier Dodging Footwork 9

Mental Fortress 3

High-tier Lecturing 2

High-tier Tumbling 7

Mid-tier Noticeability 7

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 1