134, 2/2

Tenebrae received Erick in the tea room. The sky outside sparkled with stars and the brilliance of the three full moons. Hot tea curled steam into the air as Tenebrae poured himself a cup. He did not pour Erick a cup; Erick had to do that himself. Which he did.

Tenebrae started, “You disturbed the Labyrinth.”

“Did you know it would draw Ophiel toward an active Gate if I used a Domain?”

“I know that’s not what happened.” Tenebrae said, “What happened, was this: You tried a Domain. Monsters came. You survived those monsters by inflicting damage and not being overly damaged yourself. Or rather, Ophiel survived the tribulation. Then Ophiel was pulled toward the active Gate.” He sipped his tea.

Erick frowned. “That’s… a marginally more correct list of what happened.”

“I have a question for you, Erick. Do you want to get involved with the dragons? Or do you want to learn how to make a Gate? The two options are not necessarily linked. In fact, choosing one might mean that you cannot acquire the other. The dragons that live inside the Labyrinth do not like people poking around at their Gates. But, if you are strong enough, you can bend that entire society to your will, and they will help you acquire the knowledge of the Gates. They’ve lived there for a long time, after all.”

Erick narrowed his eyes at Tenebrae. “What is your deal, here, Tenebrae? Are you getting something out of this that you’re just not telling me?”

Tenebrae seemed to weigh his options. Slowly, he spoke, “I… failed the Worldly Path long ago, when I was offered a choice that was not a choice. But I never stopped wanting [Gate]. That was the entire goal of my Path. When I fell off of it, I was lost. But I went back to the chalkboard. For twenty years, I chased down every [Gate] lead I could find.

“I met sycophants of rulers, with contracted [Gate]-mages who had completed the Worldly Path by paying points. When I could, I trained them in proper enchanting and proper magic. Often, I had to murder them, or their patrons, when they came to me looking for more than I was willing to give.

“I spoke to the Angel and the Demon of Oceanside, to ask them for their [Gate] magics. I quested and Quested for both sides for a decade, when they needed me. But still, they could not help me to understand [Gate].

“I visited the Orrery of Rozeta, in the Splinter Mountains, and reached untold heights of spellcasting, and yet, still, I could not fathom [Gate].

“Finding a Gate from the Old Dragonkin civilization was something I failed to accomplish on the Path. Afterward, I searched in my spare time, casually scanning the Forest as my Estate flew across the land.

“When I was on my Worldly Path, these things were just pieces of the puzzle, but after I fell off the Path, I tried to pick up the pieces, to see the grand design of it all, but all I did was retread old roads. It got harder and harder. And then, I got lucky. My Scans revealed the hidden [Gate] we walked through today; those twin trees. Fate and Ritual could not find that [Gate], but hard work could.

“I stepped in there with my Domain active, for I run that thing all the time even when I conquered other Visions, for why would I subject myself to the whims of a Vision? Why would I ever lower my Domain? I experienced a tribulation, likely the same as you. I survived, of course. Then the Labyrinth moved me to its very center and pushed me through a [Gate].

“I landed in the middle of their city. There was… confrontation. When the dust settled, they offered the opportunity to study their Gates and their [Gate]s, if I brought them what they wanted from this outside world, for despite all my power, I am not what they are looking for.

“I am not a Wizard, and they care nothing for Archmages. The power of this world is not their own. It is poison to all of them. While they are inside the Green Labyrinth, their Dragon Essence is… Different. While they are out here and fully contained by the power of the Script, they are subject to Idyrvamikor’s Curse; they are dangers to everyone they know.

“But Wizards can break this curse, and allow more of them to leave that place.

“I could not give them what they wanted, and so, I was banished. They gave no knowledge and I had no opportunity to steal any secrets. All I had was a quest from them. ‘Find us Wizards!’ they demanded. And so, I searched. I never found any. They never gave me any more answers. Since you say you are not a Wizard, and everything I have subjected you to tells me you are not lying, the same fate awaits you.

“And so, people like you and I must steal what we want from the Gates lying around in the Labyrinth, or else we will have to deal with the dragons.”

Erick sipped his tea. He sat back in his chair.

Tenebrae sat back, too, as he waited.

Erick glared at the older archmage, but there was no true anger in his expression. “Why are you continuing to scan me?”

“Because I think you’re lying to me about being a Wizard, and my leading you here would obligate the dragons to fulfill an old promise and hand over tome upon tome of [Gate] creation and Gate construction.”

Erick’s tone took an edge. “Are Wizards cows for the slaughter?”

“No, dumbass.” Tenebrae scowled, as he set his teacup down with more force than necessary, spilling tea onto the table. “A Wizard can break a dragon from the Curse, but they can only do it while they’re alive. This is not sacrificial magic.”

Erick saw through that lie. He said, “You’re guessing it’s not sacrificial magic. You don’t actually know that, do you?” That was just the kinder interpretation of what Erick saw. The more accurate interpretation was that Tenebrae was directly lying.

“I know what I’m talking about!” Tenebrae said, “They have living Wizards in there! It’s one of the only places in this world where Wizards aren’t murdered on sight! They’re treated like royalty!” He practically shouted, “I have met them!”

… All of that seemed truthful.

Huh.

Erick wondered at himself; did he read that body language wrong? Or the micro expressions? Maybe… his ‘lie detector’ wasn’t all that great? Or maybe he had gotten over sensitized. Tenebrae set his ‘lie detecting’ senses off a lot, after all.

Erick tried, “My mistake, then. Maybe it is as you say.”

“Damn right it is!”

“Sorry. I have zero experience with Wizards and the idea of them weirds me out.”

Tenebrae seemed to accept that. He cooled down. He said, “I know of no Wizards. The Headmaster always gets to them first. And so, I am forced to avoid the dragons and steal their [Gate] secrets.” He stared at Erick, asking, “Unless you have a secret Wizard that we can go capture and throw at the dragons?”

“I do not, and I wouldn’t do that, anyway.”

Tenebrae frowned, then nodded. “If we get caught and are forced to deal with them and with the Wizards therein, you will see that my suggestion of capturing and handing them a Wizard is not whatever foolish evil thing you are imagining. You are thinking of Blood Ritual cults and such, no doubt!” Tenebrae huffed in annoyance. “Wizards the world over all live in fear of the Headmaster for no other reason than that the Headmaster kills all the Wizards out there, which is a fair fear. That Old Dragon is truly dangerous if you are not an approved person. But I tell you now, that if you ever find a Wizard, and if you bring one here? You can get almost anything you want. All the dragons want is to be free of their Curse.”

While all that seemed fascinating, Erick contemplated what it would mean to erase the Dragon Curse. To break that Curse would be to unleash a whole new immortal population onto Veird, each of which had the ability to reach high, high levels, each of which could theoretically be a match for the Headmaster’s power.

It seemed like a bad idea to release dragons onto the world.

Erick asked, “If the Curse was gone, would the dragons fight the Headmaster to become the Second? The collateral damage would be… immense.”

Tenebrae lied again, “They’d just go into hiding.” And then he told the truth. “Even dragons die to a boulder to the brain. Killing is not hard, Erick. The Script ensures as much, both inside the Green Labyrinth, and in the world out here.”

Erick blinked a few times. He poked at the lie, asking, “Why would they go into hiding if they didn’t need to?”

In a huff, Tenebrae poured himself some more tea. “They’re hiding now, aren’t they!” He spilled the tea as he said those words. He scowled at the spill, then ignored it. He looked to Erick. “What say you? Which path are we taking? The one where you steal from dragons? Or the one where you talk to dragons and fail to get what you want, exactly like I have for years upon years?”

Erick asked, “Why not both?”

Tenebrae froze. He suddenly laughed, then laughed again. He breathed deep, smiling. Then he frowned, and scowled, saying, “No. Even with the two of us. No. Impossible. Foolish. No. Inside their part of the Green Labyrinth, they are practically unassailable. We will not do that. We will journey through the Labyrinth without the use of Domains and without partaking of any tribulations, ensuring that we do not alert the dragons. We will find those Gates and you will see whatever you need to see.” Relaxing a little, he added, “I have taken my own notes over the years, which you had already rejected once, but when you have done enough exploring on your own, you will look at my notes, and then you can help me to make [Gate].” As an afterthought, Tenebrae added, “And I will do the same for you.”

Erick said, “When I propped up my Domain in the Labyrinth, a pair of pink-green-white eyes appeared, and then a large smile. And then the tribulation happened. What was that about?”

Tenebrae flinched, but he controlled his flinch. Mostly. He lied, “That’s how it always is when you test the Labyrinth.” Then, he spoke the truth, “The Labyrinth looks upon you and tests you back. And since we would crush any test, we would then be dragged before the dragons! Hence, we do not confront the Labyrinth!” With his fuse already short, he demanded, “Your answer, now!”

Erick said, “Hiding and stealing.”

“Good.”

– – – –

Erick got back to the rooms. He gave an abbreviated, telepathic report to Poi, Jane, and Teressa, then he asked them for their opinions.

Teressa sent, ‘I’d rather confront tribulations head-on. But that’s not viable here, is it?’

‘No. Passing a tribulation would put us before the dragons.’

Jane smiled, saying, ‘Then we must be more sneaky! Anyone know how to make a [Shadow Clone] spell that can run off in wrong directions and draw monsters away?’

‘Never even considered that idea.’ Erick sat up straight. ‘How would you even… I’m going to have to consider that idea. It has to be linked to Elemental Illusion, I would think?’

Poi sent, ‘Time for sleep, anyway. Work on the magic in the morning. It sounds like we have a full day of downtime, anyway.’

Jane asked, ‘Tenebrae would know how to make a [Shadow Clone], wouldn’t he?’

‘Probably,’ Teressa sent.

– – – –

Over breakfast, Jane asked, “Archmage Tenebrae. Could I ask you a magical question?”

Tenebrae looked up from his pancakes as he poured caramelized cactus syrup on them. He set the pot of syrup aside, and regarded Jane. He said, “Sure. A small one.”

Jane smiled, then turned as serious as her happy heart could let her. “I have been considering a [Shadow Clone] for a while. Is there a best way to do this?”

“[Shadow Clone] could mean many things. What are you wanting this spell for?”

“For evasion tactics and minor hits versus large monster targets. Perhaps something that I can send running in one direction while I run the other.”

“Then this is a good spell to progress your understanding of gridwork, as it is a low-tier spell.” Tenebrae nodded. “There are many paths for this magic to take, but broadly, you can either have a few expensive clones, or many, many useless clones. 1500 mana cost clones, or 150 mana cost clones. Or you could pick a middle path. The proper spell is actually called Replication. With your Prismatic Class, I suggest you forgo this [Shadowy Replication] idea you have and instead attempt to work in Illusion, with [Illusionary Replication]. It’s a more difficult spell to create, but it’s still only tier three, which is doable through gridwork. You could even try it at Tier 2 if you wish to work in the remaking of [Shadowshape] and [Lightshape] into [Illusionshape] for every attempt at this type of spell, so you can try again every single day.

“To make this Replication, you start with [Conjure Force Elemental], Mana Alter for the appropriate Element, and the appropriate Shaping spell. This is the low-quality version, but if you get a ‘limit of 10’ on this version, you have failed. From this starting point, you apply [Strike] or [Conjure Armor] or anything else you wish to apply, and for that increased cost, your summon will have those— What is with that expression? I’m sure you can do this! All you need to do is do the gridwork.”

Jane had been highly attentive, but then she briefly frowned as Tenebrae mentioned ‘summons’. She said, “I don’t like the idea of summons… They’re not… going to grow up like Ophiel, or Rocky, will they?”

“Ah.” Tenebrae nodded in understanding. “I see. This problem. No. [Illusionary Replications] will not grow with you unless you add [Telepathy] and [Scry]. Adding those to the spells already listed will bump up the tier to four or five and thus you will have semi-permanent summons that might grow into real beings in forty years, or so. Just stick to tier 3 for your [Illusionary Replications] and you should be fine. It’ll be like killing a slime every time you cast this spell and create a very basic soul, but that is nothing to worry about.”

“What about leaving out [Conjure Force Elemental], completely?”

Tenebrae frowned. “[Conjure Force Elemental] is the basis of every rudimentary summon spell, and what you want to make is a summon spell. Get over your inhibitions and make the spell the correct way.” Tenebrae continued, “But as I was saying… Where was I?”

Jane supplied, “[Conjure Force Elemental], plus Altering and Shaping, and then adding [Strike] and whatever.”

“Yes.” Tenebrae said, “Altering is for the base summon, but Shaping will turn that mass of empowered Element into a better facsimile of yourself. Empower that mirror of yourself— Ah! Yes. Include [Rebound] in the first layer of your spell in order to give the Shaping something to Shape into and to make the whole working a lot less complicated. That way you can designate a target and the spell will copy that target. That’s a neat little trick. I had almost forgotten that. So: a four or five spell combination at tier 2. There’s some difficult gridwork for you, but wholly possible.”

Jane bowed at the table, saying, “Thank you, archmage.”

A quick smile passed across Tenebrae’s face, keeping mostly hidden under his beard, as he said, “You should consider making a Replication of each Element, but I suspect that if you make a good Illusion-based one, then you will not use any of the other Elemental versions. That’d be a five-spell combination. As I said: You need to turn [Shadowshape] and [Lightshape] into [Illusionshape] inside that first combination, unless you want to make that spell beforehand and bump the whole creation up a tier, and thus it will cost you ten days to remake it if you fail the first time. The gridwork to make a tier 3 is easier, in some ways, but larger and thus more time consuming.” He paused in thought, then said, “Eh! That book I gave you will steer you right. Once you have the basic forms down, all gridwork requires is properly executed methodology.”

Jane repeated, “Thank you, archmage Tenebrae.”

He waved her off. “We’ve got downtime. Have some fun with magic while we wait for the Labyrinth to calm. We’ll try another attempt tomorrow morning since your father set it off only 10 hours ago, and I am not going to go into any Twisted Vision at sunset.”

After breakfast, Jane hit the books. She didn’t come up for much, but she did make time for Tenebrae-enforced meals, and bathroom breaks. Erick liked that Jane was so industrious with her magic, and he liked that Tenebrae forced everyone to eat together. Erick even managed to ask his daughter after her magical progress without upsetting her, which was something Erick had rarely been able to do. Erick couldn’t help but feel some deep gratitude toward the older archmage, and for not the first time, he saw one possible future for himself.

He fervently hoped he would never have to experience the older man’s tragedy for himself, whatever it was.

– – – –

Erick did not go into the Green Labyrinth.

He did, however, stand just outside of the Twin Trees and their mutated space. Tenebrae stood beside him, along with a few Rockys. Poi and Teressa stood further back, while Jane was even further away, her eyes trained on the Forest, while Ophiels flitted about through the gloom. It was just past noon above the canopy, but it was barely twilight down here.

With his senses peeled to the max and a few Ophiel helping him, while they weren’t scouting for approaching dangers, Erick studied the [Gate] that made up the start of the Green Labyrinth. Tenebrae watched Erick.

Mana sense allowed one to become one with the mana, and to see the world as the mana saw the world. This sense could be focused in multiple ways. Focus it enough in certain ways, and one unlocked the ability to purchase some top-quality Sight spells from the Script. [Blood Sight], [Mana Sight], [Future Sight], [Witness], and [Soul Sight]. Get all of them, and one could purchase [True Sight].

Erick gazed upon the [Gate] with every single Sight available, switching as needed, trying to uncover something he hadn’t seen before.

Nothing helped him to understand what was happening in that liminal space, except that the mana was basically ‘ambient’ everywhere except for when it crossed a fuzzy threshold between both trees. Even around the outsides of the trees, the mana was ‘ambient’; it flowed with the natural world. A breeze moved it around, or the growing power of the trees of the Forest drew it upward, or the moss on the ground swirled it down into the ground.

At that fuzzy threshold, the mana went in one direction: into the Twisted Vision.

The threshold was most present at the Forest floor. Ophiel confirmed that the ‘[Gate]’ fuzzed out the further one got from ground-level. Ambient mana stopped flowing into the shifted space somewhere around meter 35, but from meter 10 to 25, there was still some ‘draw’ that pulled the mana into the Twisted Vision.

When Erick started inspecting the opposite side of the entrance, he saw nothing; the Forest beyond was perfectly normal, and the [Gate] was non-existent from this direction. He could even see Poi standing there, on the other side. But an Ophiel next to Poi could not see Erick on the other side of the [Gate].

Linking his own mana sense to the mana sense he was getting from that Ophiel was like seeing an impossibility. The mana flowed normally; the mana flowed into the [Gate]. Erick got an instant headache. He dismissed the multiple mana senses and his headache retreated.

Tenebrae suggested that he send an Ophiel through, or step through himself.

Erick stepped through the opposite side of the Gate.

Briefly, the entire [Gate] vanished, like he had disturbed a reflecting pool. Over the course of five minutes, the [Gate] reestablished itself, slowly; the ‘reflecting pool’ calming down enough to resettle into the space. Ambient mana flowed, once again, through the entrance to the Twisted Vision, like a river finding a new exit toward the ocean.

Erick stood back, stumped.

Tenebrae asked, “What do you see?”

“I see a [Gate] that connects to a slightly different but mostly the same reality as this one.” Erick said, “That can’t be the secret to [Gate]. I took a [Gate] once, and I know I did not shift into a different reality… Unless the multiverse theory is true and this is just how [Gate]s work? They do not connect one part of the world to another? They only connect realities to realities? Am I not in the same Veird as the one I fell to?”

Tenebrae looked at Erick, then looked off at nothing; thinking.

Erick continued to investigate the Gate and the [Gate] therein.

Tenebrae eventually broke Erick from his investigation, saying, “Interesting theory. I don’t agree with it. The Vision beyond this Gate is controlling that whole space with a very powerful Domain. That’s all that you’re seeing. The Vision is not actually on the other side of the twin trees, here. It is on the other side of that [Gate]. It only looks like it is connecting to another reality because that is how Visions are; they’re tricksters. Duplicators.”

“… Okay. I can get behind that idea. It’s not a separate reality beyond the [Gate], but an application of a Domain.” Erick gazed upon the [Gate], and then he turned his eyes toward the twin trees. “Have you ever poked at these trees?”

“Scans; yes. Very little actual poking, and I will not allow you to poke or take samples, either.” Tenebrae said, “They’re just copied trees as far as I can tell. I scanned all the way from the top to the bottom, too.”

“Fair enough.” Erick looked to the older archmage. “I’m going to Image them.”

“Non-damaging?”

“Particle Spells are physical spells, but this one isn’t damaging, as far as I know.” Erick said, “I can test it, first, with a smaller working. In fact. I will do that.”

Tenebrae nodded.

Erick held up his hand, shifting his [Greater Lightwalk] into a sphere upon his palm. With a thought, he shifted that light into radio waves. The sphere blinked out of sight. Nothing happened to the Twin Trees or the [Gate] between them.

Tenebrae gave a sudden sigh of relief.

Erick did too. “And now, the actual scan.”

With a few quick steps, he moved away from the Twin Trees, each of which was at least 10 meters wide. He gave himself forty meters of space from the entrance to the Vision, for this was going to be a large spell. Ophiels, Jane, and Teressa, moved with him, to make sure he was protected from every angle.

Everyone knew that this would likely alert monsters. It was a very flashy spell, after all.

“Just do it!” Tenebrae said, seeing Erick’s problem and eagerly waiting for the actual Imaging.

Erick shaped a [Cascade Imaging] into the air above, being sure to exclude stone from the Imaging.

A bright white orb took hold of the gloom, shoving back the darkness as it showered the air with bright white glows that raced off in every direction, then came back in like sand settling on the bottom of a pool. Ahead of Erick, between the orb and [Gate], a white mist flowed out of the air. Moments later, that mist began to carve away from itself, revealing an exact copy of the trees, except twenty meters in front of the trees, and completely penetrable.

And since it cost nothing and could easily image over a rather large area, Erick included four other nearby trees in the effect, creating ghostly copies of those trees in the air between them and the Imaging orb.

Erick had Imaged trees before. Most normal trees were uniformly denser than a person, except for a person’s bones. Bones were usually denser than trees. The trees of the Forest were all as dense as bones. The trees of this entrance to this Twisted Vision were even more dense than that. A great lot of the Image that appeared out of the mist was solid white.

But this spell could run for a hundred minutes, gradually refining itself as it went, and could be renewed with a cast at the same location. If the spell ran long enough, Erick would be able to see the entire inside of every nearby tree, from ground level to twenty meters up, without harming anything.

Erick had time.

And he wasn’t getting any further with mana sensing or Sighting the trees, so he ended his investigation here, leaving his [Cascade Imaging] to run as needed. Everyone hoofed it back the way they had come.

A trio of Ophiel remained at the site so that they wouldn’t need to come back the long way each time. One couldn’t just lightstep to the entrance of the Green Labyrinth, after all. If the entrance to the Green Labyrinth wasn’t approached properly, then you wouldn’t find it, and part of that ‘proper way’ was to arrive on foot; no blipping allowed!

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And besides that, Erick wasn’t about to let some monster come by and break his Imaging with some odd monster magics, or whatever.

If this didn’t work, he’d make a [Cascade Imaging] but with X-rays.

… Or maybe all he would have to do would be to Mana Shape [Cascade Imaging] into x-rays.

– – – –

When Tenebrae had mentioned to Poi that Elemental Ice was capable of inflicting Slow, Erick had filed that idea away in the back of his mind. Being chased by large monsters brought that idea back to the forefront. Obviously, he should have a Slowing spell of some sort!

Aside from Eduard, of the Mage Trio back in Spur, Erick had never really seen anyone use Ice Magic, and Eduard never showed off much of his spells, so while Erick waited for the Imaging to finish, he read about Ice in the Esoteric Elements book that Jane had brought along. Jane’s conversation with Tenebrae over breakfast had also given him some ideas about Illusions, but those were rather unformed ideas. Ice. Illusions. Hmm.

Erick considered what he wanted.

There was a temptation to throw a good ten ideas together into one.

Elemental Slow. Illusionary diversions. The stickiness of ooze. The slight intelligence of conjured elementals. The ability to pump out a good hundred of these at a time.

… Anti-[Dispel] tactics. Either something that would prevent [Chain Dispel], or something that an enemy could [Dispel], only to make the attack worse. Was that possible? The obvious solution would be to include a bit of an [Illusion Domain] into his working, probably though an aura, but Erick would need to make such a Domain first and that wasn’t happening today. Erick put the idea of an actual solution to [Dispel] on the backburner, too; that was too complicated for now.

… And then he separated out his desire for Illusions and Slow, too. He’d work on Illusions later. All he wanted was a Slow spell.

Now! If he was making a Slow Particle spell, he’d start with some ideas of gravity and the nature of time itself, and he would surely do that eventually. He could even ping Phagar to see what he would say about all of that. But for an Elemental Slow spell, he would work with Elemental Ice, for now.

Putting together the actual spell took less time than it took to figure out what he wanted.

Erick stood upon the staging area atop the southern wall of the Castle. He held his right hand forward and channeled mana through the idea of Ice, producing a prominence of white splinters that brought a mist from the air as they sang a song of endless stillness. It was the uncaring dark of winter. The solidification of an iceberg. The slow march toward permanence, and the uncaring death of all things.

With his Ophiel around him, he refined that chaotic rush toward the absence of life into something else. Something less deadly. Something less damaging. Splinters of mana became a mist, which then became a glow, which then became a faint orb of white light that completely engulfed his hand and his arm up to his elbow. A phantom sensation of cold had filled his entire being while he worked on this transformation of an idea, and now, at the end, he knew he had it right. Cold had become just stillness. There was no pain. No end. There was only calm.

He added Mercy to the mix.

Mercy and Slow went together like cream and coffee.

With Ophiel holding together the sounds of his working, Erick added another spell; a simple [Force Bolt]. And then he added another working; a bit of Variable Cost, for Variable Damage, but in this case, for Variable Effect.

He pointed at a target dummy made of cloth and hay positioned twenty meters down the Castle wall, and cast.

A white bolt surrounded by a nimbus of white light zipped forward, fast as it could go. It struck the dummy like a ball of cloying mist, soaking into the straw dummy. Frost flashed across the target and soaked into the stone wall underneath. Tiny icy burs spread over everything in a three meter space.

A blue box appeared.