12 – Arrival

While her sister and brother left to attend to Master Elric, Ari had to figure out how to pack the extra clothes into her box. There was enough space, but she didn’t know what orientation to place things in. These were new clothes, with a new color scheme, and she needed to arrange them in a cohesive pattern that also matched the box’s dimensions.

Before she’d gone down, Celie had offered for Ari to take her box instead, but that didn’t make the problem any easier, because Celie’s travelling box was moss green instead of wood bark brown, and that was just too unsettling to deal with right now.

Eventually, though, Ari hurriedly packed everything and took a few deep calming breaths to keep from screaming.

She then washed up and went downstairs, where her mother was having a conversation with Elric, and her brother approached her with a large deer leg in his mouth.

“Ari,” he said. “Before you leave, let’s see your battle stance one more time.”

“Why?”

“Archmage Elric says the first years might be subject to some hazing. You need to know how to take them down,” he said. “You’re a Mossborne, so you’re sturdier than most, but those wizards are sneaky.”

“They’re not called wizards. They’re Ascendants. I’m one too.”

“Whatever. Show me.”

She didn’t want to, but she decided that doing it was easier than arguing with her brother.

After she’d assumed the stance and he’d adjusted her body to his satisfaction, Ari was finally free to eat breakfast. While she ate, her mother hugged her tightly and kissed her hair, her tears wetting the strands.

Her sister also hugged her again, and Brom managed a head pat.

When she was done, they walked her outside.

“We’ll see you soon, okay?” Thessa said, and Ari nodded.

“See you,” she said, heart heavy.

Celie raised an eyebrow. “Really? Not even a single tear, Ari?”

“I don’t like crying. It gives me headaches,” Ari said. “But I’m sad on the inside.”

“I’m sure. We’ll take your word for it.”

Elric stood to the side observing, and once Ari was done, she finally walked to him. “I’m ready.”

He’d brought the griffin carriage again, and as they climbed in, she stared at her family, who were all watching her. The ache strengthened in her chest, and she felt the need to say something. She wouldn’t see them again for months, likely not until school break.

“I’ll write letters,” she said. Maybe she could also get them a messaging scroll, so they could communicate more easily.

“We’ll wait for them,” her mother responded.

Ari waved one more time as the carriage rose in the sky. She watched her home become a dot on the ground.

This was likely how her father had felt when he was leaving, Ari realized. He knew he wouldn’t be back for a long time, and he probably felt all the emotions I’m feeling now.

She wondered how he would react when he came home and found her gone.

She couldn’t predict it. She could barely remember him at this point.

“Can you get them a messaging scroll?” she asked him. “So we could…” She trailed off when she realized that she was requesting a favor that might be too much.

“Yes,” he answered, regardless. “Of course. And here’s your messaging scroll.” He waved a hand in the air, manifesting a smooth notebook with sand-like, gritty pages that somehow had a distinct sheen to them. He handed it to her.

“You write on it with your quill, and once your message has been read, it will disappear from the page,” he told her. “There’s a special spell which you can use to preserve an old message, even after it’s read, and there’s another spell that can be used to recover all the messages that have been sent through this scroll. I suggest you also seal the scroll for privacy, which is done with another spell. Regardless, we won’t discuss anything too incriminating through this means. If you need to tell me sensitive information, simply send, ‘I need you on campus.’ That will let me know it’s urgent, I’ll teleport here, and we can talk in person.”

She nodded. “Are you going to teach me all the spells you just mentioned?”

“Yes. Starting with the sealing spell. [Warden Seal].”

Massa and Luxa essences arranged themselves in an interesting pattern that featured a circle of Luxa surrounding and loosely bonding with the outermost layer of a tightly packed Massa cube. The Massa particles buzzed but stayed in place thanks to the Luxa offsetting their negative charges, and also strong triple bonds between them.”

After the spell formed, a puff of current hit the messaging scroll book.

“Try to open it,” he instructed her.

She tried, and it refused to open as though the pages had been plastered together.

“What I just utilized is a multi-use adept-tier spell that locks any item and acknowledges you alone as the warden who can open it.” He took the book from her and opened it with ease. “The spell is pretty useful, but it can be counteracted by a master-tier spell called [Master Key] that allows one to break any basic adept sealing spell and gain access. That’s another reason why we have to be careful with what we discuss through the scrolls because [Master Key] can break in, and [Full Message Unveil] can reveal everything we’ve spoken about.”

“Is there a stronger spell that can’t be broken by [Master Key]?”

He pursed his lips, answering slowly. “Yes, but it would not make sense for you to know such a spell, and it could raise suspicion if the notebook is investigated and found to be protected in such a way. So I will not teach you.”

Ari was disappointed, but she chose not to show it.

“[Master Key]” Elric said, and she watched intently as the Luxa, Massa, and Vacu essences arranged themselves in a complex pattern holding multiple triple-bonded Massa particles, double-bonded Luxa, and Vacu interlinked around both, like keys on a keychain. The air around the book glowed, and when Elric prompted her, she opened it again. This time it opened freely.

“Alternatively, you can also use another spell, [Warden Unseal], to undo the first spell. However, that can only be done by the initial Warden, who is me.” He showed her the Warden Unseal spell, then handed his reservoir and asked her to practice.

Excited, she moved to repeat the first spell form, but he stopped her. “Use your wand. You should get in the habit of that.”

“Right.” She reached over and took her wandbox out of her sack, smoothing her hand over it reverently before opening it to reveal her wand.

It glittered at her, and she smiled.

“Let’s start with the first spell. [Warden Seal]. Now there’s something complex about the spell, in how close the Massa essences are packed together. They’re held there by triple bonds, but you have to arrange them and the Luxa in a very precise orientation at the right time and hold them there for the bonds to form. Focus and timing are key here, and it might take you a few tries to get the right–”

“[Warden Seal].” The essences pulled together, and despite the Massa particles repelling each other, Ari held them in place long enough for the Luxa to surround them. The Luxa presented an overall positive environment, triggering the bonding capabilities of the negatively-charged Massa, but remaining far enough away so the inner Massa bonds could not reach them.

That forced Massa to bond with itself.

It took her about two seconds to complete.

When she was done, she told Elric, “I did it. It wasn’t that hard.”

He sighed deeply. “Of course it wasn’t.”

Immediately, Ari got an alert from the system.

NEW SPELL DETECTED.

Name: [WARDEN SEAL].

Tier: Adept

Experience Points: 3

Would you like to incorporate it into your Grimoire?

“The system is asking me if I want to incorporate the spell into my Grimoire,” Ari informed Elric.

“Yes, it will ask you that every time it detects you using a new spell.”

“So what do I do?”

“Well, incorporating it into your Grimoire means you earn points from the spell. +3 points for learning an adept level spell, and an additional +3 points for executing it skillfully. Those points then boost your experience points and help you level up into a different tier.” He spread his hands in the air as he explained it. “There are two major reasons people incorporate spells into their Grimoire. One, because it makes it easier to recall the spell script, and the system can prompt you if you need it. Two, because that is essentially part of what the system calculates to level you up. But if you level up too fast, Ari, that might be problematic, so I caution against adding too many spells to your Grimoire at this time.”

She nodded. “I can still use the spells without the Grimoire, right?”

“Yes, as long as you have a good memory of the spell form. In fact, Ari, at your level, you probably don’t need to incorporate any of the lesser spells into your Grimoire at all, but you should probably do so to fake a more reasonable levelling.”

“Okay.”

He brushed his chin and pointed. “On second thought, Ari, you can add the warden seal and unseal spells. They’re adept-level spells, but you’re a highly skilled apprentice, so it’s normal for you to know them. Do not add the master lock spell, as that one is far more technical.”

She nodded. She performed the unseal spell, and after she incorporated the first two spells, she received two additional alerts.

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CONGRATULATIONS! [WARDEN SEAL] IS NOW IN YOUR GRIMOIRE. +3 XP

CONGRATULATIONS! [WARDEN UNSEAL] IS NOW IN YOUR GRIMOIRE +3 XP

TOTAL SPELLS EXECUTED: [WARDEN SEAL] (+3XP), [WARDEN UNSEAL] (+3XP)

CURRENT POINTS ACHIEVED: +12XP

TOTAL POINTS ACHIEVED: +12XP

Ari was excited by the numbers adding to her final count.

She wondered how many she needed to level up as she performed the [Master Key] spell–slightly more complex than [Warden Unseal]–perfectly. He also taught her the [Message Save], [Message Recall], and [Full Message Unveil].

She saved the first two and received more alerts.

CONGRATULATIONS! [MESSAGE SAVE] IS NOW IN YOUR GRIMOIRE. +2 XP

CONGRATULATIONS! [MESSAGE RECALL] IS NOW IN YOUR GRIMOIRE +3 XP

TOTAL SPELLS EXECUTED: [MESSAGE SAVE] (+2XP), [MESSAGE RECALL] (+3XP)

CURRENT POINTS ACHIEVED: +10

TOTAL POINTS ACHIEVED: +22 XP