088, 1/2

Erick went to visit Anhelia after his creation of [Shooting Star], to see if there was anything else happening on her end of preparation for the upcoming war. Poi accompanied him, but Kiri went back home, to see if she could figure out her own version of [Shooting Star]; it looked like a great spell to have, even if the naming was a bit odd. She didn’t want to use [Conjure Force Elemental] in her version, though.

The iron wrought was not in the Guildhouse today, so Erick accepted an offer of meeting with Sirocco, instead. There were topics to discuss besides ensuring the war went in the proper direction, after all; there was the all important discussion of planning to win the war in the first place.

But once inside the Mage Guildmaster’s yellow and purple office, Erick’s train of thought was derailed, as he made a connection between color schemes that might not have actually been a connection at all. He looked around the room, asking, “Sirocco? Is the coloring of this room on purpose, to connect back to the Magisterium?”

Sirocco, all pale purple skinned and silent smiles, said, “I’ve extricated myself from the Quiet War, Erick. It would be wrong to use gold in my purple vestments.” She stood with perfect propriety next to her wooden desk with gold inlay, as she touched her silver earrings, saying, “Silver, as you can plainly see.”

Erick sighed a little, but smiled. “I didn’t come here to ask about that, anyway.”

At that, Sirocco nodded, and went to her liquor cabinet. “Care for a drink?”

“It’s barely noon, but absolutely, yes.” Erick stepped toward a pair of guest chairs by the window, where a matching pair of black and white cats lounged in the sunlight.

“It’s sunset somewhere.” Sirocco said, as she opened the cabinet, revealing a dozen gently glowing crystal decanters. She picked out a green liquid that sparked gold as she sloshed the bottle and poured two small cups, before recapping the bottle and moving to join Erick. She handed him a drink, asking, “What is Spur’s newest archmage up to these days?”

“Raining when necessary, crafting new light-based spells, wondering when the lake north of Spur is going to be ready for filling, and wondering when we’re going to fight Candlepoint.” Erick sipped his green and gold drink. It tasted of warm summers, cut grass, and clean fire. It was good, if a little odd. He asked, “How many people will we allow to be duped into Candlepoint’s trinkets before we strike?”

Sirocco sipped her drink, and sat, silent and thinking.

Erick waited.

Sirocco said, “I am ready for the upcoming war, and so is the Guild. But I will not rush into the jaws of fire and shadow.” She said, “They will come for you first, you know, as soon as this begins. Shadow spiders and everything they feel like wielding. Do you have plans in place? Or somewhere to run?” She quickly added, “Don’t tell me what they are, but do tell me that you have them.”

“… I have a slight plan, yes,” Erick said, not wholly lying.

Sirocco hummed, then sipped her drink, and said, “If we could figure out those new Stats and how to create or acquire them without the Shades, then a war could be undertaken much more rapidly.”

“Why wait? Is the lure of powerful trinkets really that attractive, when it comes with attachment to the Shades?” Erick instantly added, “Ah. Wait. Of course it is. I realized what I said the second after I said it.”

Sirocco smirked, then she dropped her smile, and said, “Make no mistake, Erick. We’re going to be there, participating in the war effort, when we won’t be crushed for being the only participant on the field. Silverite is already talking to both Frontier and Kal’Duresh, and through them, the Republic and the Kingdoms. Whatever is happening right now are just the overtures; open war has yet to be declared, because there is no need at the moment.”

“These new Stats are a long con. That’s almost the same as open war.”

“Possibly.”

“Possibly?!” Erick said, “Undoubtedly.”

She sighed. “The simple fact is that no one wants to kill the golden cow before they have a chance to milk her for all she’s worth. It is by this same principle that the nations of the world allow Ar’Kendrithyst to exist. That, and that if we ever truly stood up to the Dead City, we would likely all die in response.”

Erick sat, dumbfounded, but not not understanding.

She continued, “If nothing happens with Candlepoint, if the Shades truly do not wish to wage a war, and are truly giving out these ‘trinkets’, as you call them, to everyone, then take solace in this fact: They are never capable of truly working with each other for very long. Many Shade Wars end because they kill each other, and the nations of the world sweep up the directionless monsters they’ve unleashed. The Dead City might appear unified right now, but they will fall to their own backstabbing ways, soon enough.” She added, “Besides. A war is already being fought, inside Ar’Kendrithyst.”

“… What?”

“I can’t talk about it, but know that actions are being taken to ensure the triumph of civilization.”

“That sounds like propaganda to me, Sirocco.”

“If you must know, then know that Killzone and Silverite have endured these sorts of trials before, and they know what they’re doing. To say that the Shades fall to their own internal bickering is a half truth; the real truth is that Killzone and Silverite ensure those outcomes, as much as possible. We all do, really.”

“But they don’t always succeed.” Erick asked, “So what will you do, when the war actually comes here?”

“Hopefully it doesn’t, but I have plans.” Sirocco asked, “I hope you have plans, too. Dozens, if possible. Plans that you keep hidden until they are most needed.”

Erick realized, at that point, that he would get the run around for the rest of this conversation. He’d no doubt face the same sort of problems if he spoke to Silverite, and even Mog, if he chose to pursue such a conversation. He had suspected this would happen, which was why he came here wanting to talk to Anhelia. She would have likely had hard numbers and dates and people to talk to, in order to prepare for this war.

Talking to Sirocco about the war would get him nowhere, but this conversation was still salvageable.

“I’d like some more defensive magic, honestly.”

Sirocco asked, disbelieving, “You need something more than [Prismatic Ward]? And the ability to get around the restriction of only one at a time?”

“Of course I do.”

She chuckled. “Ah. To have that problem.” She said, “Have you considered directional shields? [Force Wall] can easily be Mana Shaped into something useful.”

“I haven’t played around much with that spell, yet, but it was on the list.” Erick asked, “Have you heard of rifts? Small areas of elemental influence?”

“I have.” Sirocco said, “They are of a middling difficulty to create and use. Rifts are highly disruptive to most organized battles, what with the color and the brightness, but they are widely used by some adventurers because the boons they supply are anywhere from twice to thrice as powerful elemental magics.” She suggested, “Creating a rift of pure intent, instead of elemental influence, is a bit better on the eyes and the organization, but it only provides a modicum of extra power. Though a personal modifier of 1.5 and an enemy modifier of 0.75 can be quite beneficial.” She added, “They have no effect on strength of arms, though.”

“How about a [Prismatic Rift]?”

Sirocco smiled. “Theoretical, but unconfirmed to exist. I’m sure it would be way too disruptive for normal battles, though.”

“I had another question. I combined a tier 2 spell into something with the same name as a tier 8 spell. Does that mean anything?”

“Probably not. What spell?”

“[Shooting Star].”

“… Are you perhaps referring to the tier 7 spell, [Shooting Stars]?”

“Is that how it is?” Erick said, “I guess I am.”

“Sometimes you get spells of the same name, but with wildly different effects. Mostly, the Script doesn’t like confusion. I’m sure you could try to make a [Shooting Star] at tier 8, but it would likely get called something else. [Shooting Blazer], perhaps?

“Anyway, [Shooting Stars] is a wider spread and all-together weaker version of [Comet Swarm], according to most people and versions I have seen. The simplest version requires producing your ‘star’, first, and then use [Force Crash] and Mana Shaping for 500 mana in increasing and alternating tiers till you’re happy with the range and the number of stars, and the mana cost. The downsides of [Shooting Stars] is that the final cost is usually exorbitant, and it’s a Force-based spell, so you lose all the physicality of stone. The upside is that you don’t have to have a good [Teleport Object] to produce a Super Long Range spell.” She asked, “Are you going to continue up to [Shooting Stars]?”

“No. I made the first ‘star’ with [Conjure Force Elemental], and I’m not comfortable with creating such a life.” He added, “And that leads me to my next question: I was thinking of creating a second [Familiar], too; a tree. But apparently trees always attain sentience sooner or later.”

“[Conjure Force Elemental] allows a wonderful targeting system, but anything above tier 2 risks the creation of a soul.” Sirocco said, “I have no problems with killing slimes, myself, but killing a child each time your spell ends is a rather evil act.”

“What is it, exactly, that creates that line?”

“There have been many studies over the millennia on the creation of living creatures through [Conjure Force Elemental]. Most of them highly unethical, as you can imagine. But there is one book that stands as the basis for all modern summoning magic, because it was written to ward people from crossing the ‘sentience line’, as the book calls it. ‘The Compendium of Summons’, was penned 1100 years ago, close by where we are right now, back when there were great nations living in this once fertile land we now call the Crystal Forest, before Ar’Kendrithyst raised from the Underworld, and mimics poured across the land.” Sirocco said, “That book has been written and rewritten and is constantly updated by the Arcanaeum Consortium, too, with a new version coming out every ten years. And I know we have a copy downstairs in the library.” She added, “We have more than that, too. More than most. Lords know how difficult it was to deal with Sizzi’s summoning back when I was a young mother.”

Erick smiled at that; he could relate.

They talked for a while longer about rains and the Gardens and smaller spells. Sirocco spoke of the happenings beyond the Wall, and of efforts to clear the remaining mimics. The task went much slower now that Erick wasn’t there, but their poison archmage, a woman known as Orenza, had soaked the land, and now, the only thing left to do was wait for their stone archmage, Peatrice Shallowhammer, to recover.

Erick was glad to finally know the names of their archmages.

What was not nice, and what he managed to stuff down the whole time he spoke with Sirocco, was the burning bile in the back of his throat, and the complete disgust he held, knowing that Spur’s major players were unwilling to take up direct arms because —and he was just guessing here— civilization was benefiting from Candlepoint’s new magics.

It was not lost on him that they acted basically the same way when he, himself, came to Spur, and started inventing new magics. But, still! Ugh!

Erick dropped by the library on the way out and picked up ‘The Compendium of Summons’, along with a few other books. He made sure to pick up books on the other languages he wanted to learn, too; [Language Acquisition] wouldn’t last forever, but it would last as long as he needed to learn Karstar, the language of human nobility and angels, and Inferni, the language of incani and demons. He left the Guildhouse feeling simultaneously better, and worse, about everything.

 

– – – –

 

At the fork in the road where heading left went back home, and heading right went to the Courthouse, Erick hefted his shoulder bag full of books, and said, “Hey, Poi.” He asked, “Is Irogh open for an appointment, now?”

Poi turned his head to the air, then said, “Yes. If you don’t mind waiting.”

A quick stop by Irogh’s office turned into a longer stop than expected. The line for the Registrar was already five people deep, so Erick turned around and headed to Silverite’s offices.

Hera, apparent lawyer to archmages and Silverite’s secretary, said, “I wish I had known you were coming, archmage. The paperwork from the Wayfarers has yet to come in, though I suspect it might be another two days.”

“I’m not here for that, but good to know.” Erick said, “I’m needing to take Silverite up on her offer of assigning a healer to my squad. But there’s going to be some dangerous magic coming up, so I’m going to need someone with [Greater Treat Wounds], [Regeneration], and [Blood Renewal], who is experienced with trauma care.”

Hera wrote down Erick’s request on a pad of paper nearby, then said, “A tall order, so it might take a while. If you have specific needs for specific time frames, we could see about a temporary assignment.”

“… Maybe.” Erick said, “If it helps, whoever you assign is going to get a great deal of bonuses.”

Hera smiled. “Of course.” She added, “I’ll let you know as soon as we find someone.”

When Erick returned to Irogh’s office, the door opened, and a young incani man walked out, doing a double take as he saw Erick. Erick smiled at the kid, then walked into the Registrar’s office.

After a few minutes, he walked out, Ability Slot Quest turned in, a new Ability Slot Quest started, and a new Ability Quest waiting to be completed.

 

 

He had not picked up Particulate Force, because that would only be useful when Erick had a healer, and he wouldn’t accidentally kill himself when combining Particle Magic and normal magic. So he went with the 10% reduced mana cost Class Ability, for now. The quest looked rather difficult, but 10% reduced costs would be useful all the time, because that would turn his daily 7400 [Personal Ward], from a 14,700 shield, into a 24,500 point shield.

[Prismatic Ward] would also get massively boosted, going from an 87,500ish shield around the house, to a 110,000 point shield.

… Now, if he spent his last Favored Spell on [Prismatic Ward], that would increase its absorption to almost 300,000 points of damage.

The only reason Erick didn’t do that, was because [Ward Destruction] existed. Most [Ward]s could only be [Dispel]ed by spending the same mana against them as the damage that they could soak. But Opal, and likely every other person who Erick actually had to worry about, could spend a few hundred mana and pop any [Ward] at all.

… Erick really needed to get in contact with Opal. She had offered to teach him [Ward Destruction] way back when he taught that particle magic class at Oceanside for the other archmages. Erick hadn’t followed up because it didn’t seem necessary. But maybe it was time to follow up on that promise.

Besides! He needed to be able to coordinate with the archmages of Spur when the Shades finally came knocking.

… Maybe it was time to follow up on all his bargains of trade gained from that lecture.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author’s consent. Report any sightings.

 

– – – –

 

Back home, over dinner, while everyone dug into their own portions of a chicken and rice, paella-like meal, and gathered for the first time in the day, Erick asked, “So it’s really true that no one is going to do anything against Candlepoint, unless the war is knocking down the front gates? Does that seem like what you’ve seen, too?”

Teressa said, “Being too proactive with Shades is a bad idea. They tend to get interested in people who do that.”

Poi said, “I’m sure that the Shades will fall to infighting soon enough.”

Erick quizzically looked at his head guard, and asked, “Are you forbidden from speaking about what you overhear in the minds of Shades, too?”

“Of course not!” Poi smirked. “But I can’t get a read on them, anyway. So the point is moot.” He said, “What I can say, is what I know of history regarding the Shades, and what I’ve seen in my time in Ar’Kendrithyst.” He added, “And based on that: They’ll fall to infighting soon enough.”

Erick frowned.

Kiri hummed, looking less than pleased at Erick, as her fork pierced a hunk of red chicken. She said, “No one is eager to wage a war against 30 archmages.” She added, “It’s basically death for whoever makes the first overt move, and if not for the person in charge, then for everyone else under them. Fighting a war without knowing if winning is possible is one of the most foolish things a person can do.”

“I guess… that is true.”

Teressa said, “If they have no target, and all they can do is pretend to play nice, then they will fall to infighting, soon enough, like Poi said. That, or they’ll start a real war.” She added, “It might take a year, though.”

Erick felt a chill. “… That could be true, too.” He said, “Shit. I have to do something, though.” He asked, “Would it be a horrible idea to visit Candlepoint?”

Kiri and Teressa’s objections jumbled, as one said, “Hell and Heaven, bad idea!” and the other said, “Gods forfend this evil thought.”

“Bah!” He added, “It’s not like I’m going to start the war.”

Kiri didn’t look so sure. Teressa, wide-eyed, stared at her paella, as she poked it with her fork.

Poi said, “Other archmages have already gone, but with their [Familiar]s.”

Kiri exclaimed, “What!”

Poi shrugged. “Scouting with a disposable [Familiar] is a perfectly acceptable risk.” He added, “Candlepoint has made a point of welcoming archmage [Familiar]s like they’re people, too. Normal [Familiar]s get [Dispel]ed on sight, though.”

Kiri grumbled a discontented hum.

Erick decided, “Then Ophiel can visit Candlepoint.”