Ends of Magic

Nathan watched the magic burn in the distance, spreading farther and faster than any mundane fire should. The purple flames danced across the Oligarch’s palace and leapt to the military complex at its base and the cliffs on either side. It eagerly spread to the private docks underneath the palace where a trio of proud warships were preparing to launch. Their frames blackened before his eyes and then the fire jumped to the water, and Nathan worried.

This spell seems to be able to use anything as fuel - even water. Do I need to go back and put it out so it doesn’t consume the entire city - or the continent? There’s no way it spreads across all of Davrar… right?

He watched the flames like a hawk, hesitating as he thought about going back to the city that had just tried to kill him with dozens of siege engines.

They’ve got other worries. I can fly overhead, put out the fire, then fly back. The flames should give me more than enough Stamina to catch back up with the ship.

Then the fire on the outskirts of the conflagration started shifting from purple to a more natural orange and the spread slowed in correspondence. Nathan relaxed slightly and looked down to check on the Grace of the Mists. The boat had slowed from its headlong dash, though it still cut through the calm waters of the bay on its way towards the dark ocean beyond.

End of Magic has leveled to 748! Your party has faced the might of Litcliff and destroyed their most potent armaments!

Spellslayer has leveled to 532! Your party has escaped being hunted by the might of a nation!

When he looked back towards Litcliff the flames formed a complete gradient, with the palace still burning purple while the outer sections burned with natural flames. The fires on the water and the bare rock of the cliff quickly fizzled out, though the ships and several buildings continued to blaze. The area covered by the magical purple flames contracted by the second. But it wasn’t fast enough to save the central edifice of the palace, which slumped inwards as the blackened stone lost structural integrity.

It looks like it’ll burn itself out on its own.

He turned and sprinted to catch up with the Grace of the Mists, taking a few minutes to catch up and join the other Heirs standing on the aftercastle of the ship. They’d been watching him return, and Stella in particular had a white-knuckled grip on the railing of the ship as he descended towards her.

He blew out a long breath and landed gently on the white deck. Ahead of him sat the capitan’s throne, and Eolinne peeked around it with an expression equally surprised and furious. The anger might have had something to do with the thirty-foot-long shaft of wood sticking out of the deck halfway along the ship.

Nathan turned around to face his friends, and more specifically Stella. She was already wincing an anticipation of his words, but Nathan kept his voice level. “What spell was that?”

“A new one,” she replied quickly, the words spilling out of her as she rushed to explain. “Davrar rewards risk, and using new abilities in combat. I used the oxidation Insights we were talking about to enhance a fireball spell so it could draw on the energy of burning fire mana to sustain itself. I tied the spell to the Insight of oxidation so it would get more energy out of burning things. I thought it would make the spell burn harder and last longer.”

Stella gave him a guilty smile. “Harpy’s tits was I was right.” She looked around at the other Heir to gauge their reactions. Aarl was leaning against one of the wooden crenelations with a calm expression, while Sarah seemed mildly amused. Khachi was intent on the conversation, but didn’t interrupt.

She continued. “My design would make the mana in the spell burn for longer, make the spell draw energy from the energy of the fire to make more fire mana, though it should still lose energy over time. But I think it interacted with the oxidation insight and [Natural Mana], so that the magic is closer to the natural laws. That let it get energy out of burning anything even remotely flammable with the oxidation Insight. That meant that the mana could draw energy from fire and propagate itself if there was anything to oxidize.”

“So why did it burn out?” Nathan asked, more curious than anything at this point. He didn’t quite understand what she’d done, but the general details were coming across and he was plenty worried. But if he understood what she was saying, then the magic should have kept burning until all that was left of Litcliff was slag and smoke.

Stella responded with a shrug. “The spell destabilized. I built it as an expanded fireball, without the intention to do more than light a flame. My target was a fire that burned harder and hotter. I’m surprised the spell stayed together so long, though [Stable Spellwork] probably carried that burden.”

“That nearly was a prophecy of death.” Khachi spoke out, though he also didn’t seem especially angry. “My bones say that Nathan needs to be present for additional magical experimentation.”

Eolinne called back towards them, her voice piercing and sharp. “No magical experimentation on my ship. Especially not with those magics.”

Nathan met Stella’s eyes, but not angrily. “I agree with Khachi. Your magic is starting to get dangerous.” He said it like a compliment.

The mage seemed surprised they weren’t yelling, and a tremulous smile flickered across her face. “You’re not going to smother my fire? Stop teaching me your Insights? I burned down a city.” She gestured back towards Litcliff, where scattered fires still burned in the night.

Nathan looked back, judging their spread. The flames were concentrated on the ruined palace and the complex of barracks and armories underneath it. They didn’t seem to have caught or spread to the city proper. That made sense - most of the city was built in stone, though there were wood constructions here and there. The flames had been mostly restricted to the palace and the surrounding area. A couple of the richer-looking buildings near the palace has been burned, as well as the military docks, but it didn’t look like the flame had reached any residential districts.

He looked back at Stella and shrugged. “You didn’t burn down the city. You burned down the Oligarch’s palace. They attacked us after promising their hospitality. I think torching their palace is pretty good retaliation for that. I’m glad your spell destabilized or else I would have had to go back and deal with it. This is the kind of thing we fix by being more careful and talking about it, not by being angry.”

She still didn’t seem to understand, so he tried again. “I got mad before when you didn’t understand why blowing up buildings was a problem. But you already knew that this was very nearly a big problem, and that you need to be more cautious. You’re going to try and learn how to be responsible with your magic, right?” She nodded and he shrugged. “I want to help you do that. Did it get you any developments?”

“Yes.” She said, a wide grin spreading across her face. “I think I killed at least one Oligarch, and I got…” she was about to continue, but then the sun turned on, shining down upon them with a sudden brightness that had everybody blinking. Stella looked up at the sails and seemed to remember that they had an audience. She clammed up and shot a warning look towards where Eolinne sat in command of the magical ship.

Nathan and the rest of the Heirs turned to follow her gaze, eyes fixed on the back of the command throne. After a pregnant moment he addressed its occupant. “Eolinne. Let’s have the longer conversation we couldn’t have earlier. You are an agent of Sarya. Why are you here?”

“To find you.” Her face wasn’t visible, but Nathan could hear the eyeroll in her response. “Come forward, that we may speak without twisting my neck.” She gestured and the dimensional space attached to the ship opened briefly. Five wooden chairs appeared on the deck, all set before and below her throne.

The Heirs walked forward and took the indicated seats in front of Eolinne. Her throne dwarfed the smaller chairs, making Nathan feel like he’d been called into the principal’s office. She lounged in the seat, crossing her legs and looking down on them with a satisfied smile. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to explain herself.

Power dynamics, what fun. This seems like a test, but of politeness or boldness I don’t know. Likely both. She’s trying to see if she can cow us and how we react to authority.

Nathan tried again, moderating his tone to be polite. It seemed likely they’d be stuck with Eolinne for a while, and there was no reason to alienate somebody who could tell him more about Questors. “Do you know why Sarya sent you to find me?”

The woman leaned forward, looking less ghostly and more pallid in the sunlight. “Because she wanted to know what could make Badud fart an Endings-damned glacier.” The curses sounded especially shocking in her demure tone.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Nathan zeroed in on what she’d suggested. “What did he do? Did Sarya agree to a deal that would start the Endings on this continent?’

Eolinne’s delicate eyebrows arched upwards. “At every step you know more than your station should allow. Did you interrogate Badud before you killed him?”

“No, he hold me before I squeezed the life from him.” Nathan replied, keeping a tight rein on his temper. “Did Sarya agree to the deal?” All around him the Heirs were very intent on Eolinne, awaiting the answer to the question that could doom their home.

She tapped a slim finger against her painted lips, then sighed gently. “I do not know. I am a trusted agent of Sarya, but she does not share every secret with me.” Her eyes bored into Nathan’s. “But if she did, it was because she earned something of greater value. If she doomed your people, she did it to save three others.”

Aarl chuckled grimly. “But they are our people. It’s a cursed treasure to win our freedom and be rewarded with an Ending.”

Eolinne tipped her hand to acknowledge the point. “It would be a harsh melody. But such is the way of the games of the Questors. I have seen worse rewards for better service.” Her eyes grew shadowed and distant for a moment before snapping back to the present. “The games of the Questors are what determine life on Davrar, not the Endings. Sarya’s grid has fought Badud’s across this sector of Davrar for thousands of years, through three Endings. Their battlegrounds are nations and their pieces are people like us.”

“Does Sarya want us to become pieces for her?” Nathan asked, picking up the clues she was dropping.

Eolinne smiled faintly. “Perhaps, though I doubt her plan is so solid. I believe she is curious, and merely wishes to know more before she makes a move. She is likely to make you an offer of one kind or another. But I will not predict her actions, for I will surely be wrong in the specifics.”

“Why do you work for her?” Khachi asked, watching their host carefully.

“Because I believe in her.” Eolinne replied airily, but then her tone grew serious. “Because Sarya’s grid stands for freedom and sovereignty, while every nation Badud’s grid rules is magical tyranny that builds towards empire. I would fight Badud and his allies without Sarya, but she and her grid are the power that can beat them.” Her eyes landed on Nathan. “Though it seems you can carry that melody too.”

The Heirs sat for a moment, digesting her words. After a moment Stella spoke up in a small voice. “There are more slave-empires like Giantsrest?”

Eolinne’s eyes flashed. “Giantsrest was small. Esebus controls an entire continent, and Sangrad is a palace of wonders in a sea of corruption. But from what I know, none are in the same dungeon. Esebus is a hierarchy of enchanters, where magical wealth determines caste and the lowest are trapped in cycles of debt. Sangrad is a collection of guilds built upon magically-enforced contracts that range from generous to ruinous.”

“Those all sound like piles of stalker shit,” Sarah drawled out. “Do you spend your time fighting them?”

“Not openly.” The woman said, red lips curving up in a faint smile. “Or else I lose free passage across the seas.” One side of her mouth quirked into faint annoyance. “I will not be able to return to Litcliff for at least a century.”

She’s either immortal or very long-lived. Good to know. I wonder if that’s a part of her build, a magic item or a gift from the Questors.

“Unless the Ending wipes Litcliff out.” Aarl said resentfully.

Eolinne tipped her hand in acknowledgement, but did not reply. Her eyes scanned around the Heirs, seeming to ask if they had more questions.

Nathan had one he’d been chewing on, suddenly hungry for knowledge about Questors now that there was somebody who knew something. “What is a grid?”

Eolinne shook her head gently but answered regardless. “It is how the Questors refer to their alliances. There are four Questors in Badud’s grid, and four in Sarya’s.”

He followed up with another attempt. “What makes a Questor a Questor?”

This time Eolinne responded with a musical chuckle, nearly a giggle. “That is a mystery beyond Endings. Questors are. I have never heard the tale of somebody becoming a Questor. New Questors appear and rise to power, but it is as if they are born of Davrar itself.” She tilted her head at Nathan and blinked coquettishly. “If you should ever discover the truth of the Questors, I would give any favor to learn it. Many are those who have tried and failed to join their ranks.”

Nathan frowned, disappointed that Eolinne either didn’t know or wasn’t going to tell him anything new about the nature of Questors.

Well, she has. Four and four. And no stories of people becoming Questors does make it more likely they come from somewhere beyond Davrar.

He didn’t want to be impolite, so he didn’t push the issue. “The four Questors of Sarya’s grid. Sarya Pamaris, Brox Thastus. Who else?” He kept his tone light, but his eyes watched Eolinne carefully.

She returned the gaze for a moment without replying, considering his request carefully. “Knowledge of the Questors is a precious coin, for they are only known widely in their territories and to those who play their game. But you have delivered Badud a setback and have earned that treasure. The other Questors in Sarya’s Grid are Ushia Mur, the orcish seer, and Garna Stogel, the treasure hunter and administrator.”

Nathan had heard at least one of those names before. He scanned back through his memory, searching for the reference.

Brox made an offhand comment that he’d had a good bout with Ushia the last time there was a serious war between Gemore and Agmon.

“Ushia controls Agmon?” Nathan asked, confused. “Then why are Gemore and Agmon at war, if Brox and Ushia belong to the same grid?”

Eolinne nodded slightly, as if a student had just gotten a correct answer to a question. “Such is the way of Questors. I have no knowledge of that conflict, but Questors will often set up wars to polish both nations, to level their soldiers, drive Insights and motivate their expansion.”

“A tenth of the Adventurer’s Guild died when they attacked us,” Aarl said, looking troubled by this news.

Khachi’s voice was bitter. “But the war forged elites like your father and Kozar, and drove the founding of Bridgeguard and Tenby.” He didn’t seem happy to make the acknowledgement, and though none of the Heirs contradicted him they also didn’t seem too pleased about it.

Nathan pressed his lips together thoughtfully. He understood why the Questors had made the two nations fight. On Davrar anybody who fought emerged more powerful for it so long as they survived.

It’s probably a fine line between making the fighting fierce enough to get levels but not kill off too many of your prime combatants. I wonder if that’s another explanation of why the elites of each nation fight so rarely. They’re already high level, and they’re the most likely to kill each other when they fight. Sending out the Guardians of Gemore is like deploying a strategic asset and risking losing it.

He looked back at Eolinne, thinking about how to reply to this revelation. He didn’t know if she considered it a favor, but he wanted to be in her good graces. “Then I’ll repay your favor immediately. I didn’t just kill Badud, but I wrecked his enhancements to his magical casting. I don’t know if that lasts through a respawn, but I think it would. He shouldn’t be able to cast spells as fast or as powerful as he could before.”

Eolinne’s polite mask dropped into an expression of pure shock, and she pounced on Nathan’s statement with questions. “Did you damage his class?”

Nathan nodded. “I think so. I’ve done similar things to other mages before.”

The look of shock quickly became one of calculation. “What a welcome harmony. That would explain much.” She trailed off for a moment, seeming to do several calculations quickly. “This is information Sarya will much desire.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 7

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 6

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 7

Class: End of Magic level 748

Bottomless Stamina: 51693/75800

Indomitable

The Undeniable Strike of the Antimage

Stamina Burn

Momentum Mastery

Stoneflesh

Arcane Nullification

Galefoot

Close Quarters Mastery

Boundless Aura

Denial of Mysticism

The Ending of Magic

Aura Projection

Selective Dispel

The Living World

Class: Spellslayer level 532

Regenerative Focus: 4884/5420

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Tranquility 1

Inspiration 8

Acceleration 10

Mystical Discernment 2

Alertness 10

Arcane Insight 2

Effortless Dodge 10

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 7

Parkour 8

Visibility Control 4

High-tier Disguise 5

High-tier Battle Cry 2

Aura Control 4