Chapter 221 – Guidance

Jherica screamed the first time they went through the Elder Gate. However, at the same time, they found it fascinating enough that they subsequently took ten trips through the teleportation device in quick succession.

“Amazing!” they said, beaming.

“Are you quite done?” Mirian asked after the tenth trip, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I guess. For now.”

“You can always come back. I’ll make sure you have free access to anything in the Academy.

Once in Torrviol, Mirian set about setting up her experiments into conduits. In between her investigations into new crystals and artifice, she practiced her spellwork.

“Build me a tri-point detector that won’t get overloaded,” Mirian told Torres. “I’ll be back in a few days. I want to get something from the Frostland’s Gate Vault.”

Her former professor gave her a shocked look. Mirian was used to it.

The Vault up north held several Elder devices, some of which she knew the function of, some of which she didn’t. Critically, one of them could create perfectly formed crystals. Professor Jei had already shown it was possible to incorporate the magichemicals from jeweled lotuses into conduit crystals. Those crystals, in turn, had capacities that exceeded any other discovered conduit. If they were to control the leylines, it was research that had to be done.

It took longer to reach the Vault this time. She was at a different part of the cycle, and out of practice. Still, as she was floating back to Torrviol on a wyvern-wing glider, she began to consider the usefulness of mapping out the winds of the cycles. The weather each day was completely predictable. She might be able to find more routes where high altitude winds could speed her along in an extremely mana-efficient way.

“You’re back,” Jherica said when she landed, somehow surprised.

“I told you how long it would take me.”

“Yes, but I didn’t believe you. One thing you learn when you do research is that how long people say something is going to take and how long it actually takes are completely different. Once knew a wizard who said they could create an artificial magichemical that would replace chimeradase in three months. I believe he’s still working on it.”

Mirian changed the subject. “How is your training coming along?”

“Terrible. Arcane magic feels so much easier compared to soul magic.”

“Hmm. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to speed you along.” She turned to leave, but Jherica grabbed her arm.

“Wait. Why… are you so helpful?”

Mirian looked at them. From the rings around their eyes, she could tell Jherica hadn’t been sleeping well. They alternated between projecting a happy calm and a nervous suspicion. “Enteria comes first. I need allies, not pawns. And I need those allies to have the ability to change the timeline in critical ways. Allies who aren’t vulnerable to a well-timed curse or a few battlemages.”

Jherica narrowed their brow. “What do you mean ‘vulnerable to a few battlemages’?”

“I mean if you’re not an archmage by the time this thing is over, you’ve been doing something wrong.”

The wizard blinked, then gave a nervous laugh. “Spell intensity… hah… not really my thing, you know? Logically, every person should follow their strengths, and mine are more in research….” They trailed off, but seeing that Mirian was still fixing them with a stare, kept talking. “There’s only a few dozen archmages in the world at any given time for a reason. Not everyone has what it takes. Logically, if anyone could become an archmage….”

“Before this all began, I was hitting 36 myr. Barely enough to pass as an artificer. You have the opportunity to get trained by archmages. Manipulate them to learn their secrets. Consume resources like mana elixirs again and again at a rate you couldn’t normally afford. Steal spellbooks from all over the University. What you say to get all those things doesn’t matter, because it all gets erased. Your strength as a caster is one of the few things besides memory preserved by the loop, so we have to take advantage of it. Practice. Every day. You need to catch up. Liuan and Gabriel both can hit myr ratings in the high 80s. Ibrahim can’t really cast, but he can punch a desert drake to death with his fists.”

Jherica scrunched up their face and made a weird noise.

“The research and knowledge is critical too. But it won’t mean anything in the final cycle if someone like Tyrcast can just show up and end you with a force spear.”

“Ugh, Tyrcast,” Jherica said. “You know, it would drive him nuts if I could outcast him. Fine, fine, I know I need to. But I get to complain the whole time I’m doing it.”

“Great. Just make sure I’m out of earshot.” She walked off.

Jei and Torres met her north of Torrviol. Professor Cassius had also joined them. Mirian hadn’t talked with the professor of combat magic in a long time.

“I heard what they were up to and decided to see for myself,” he said.

Mirian shrugged.

“I’m also curious. How much have we worked together?”

“I took some of your combat classes, but most of the work we did was raising a militia. You also helped me assault an Akanan airship.” She didn’t mention stealing his eximontar, Winterblossom, dozens of times as she sought to conquer the Frostland’s Gate Vault.

“Assaulted an airship? That would have been something to see.”

He grew silent as they approached the clearing. It was just north of the catacombs entrance the Akanans had used to push into the underground. As they set up in it, Mirian could remember countering the Akanan attack here. She vaguely remembered the route she would need to take to end up back in Bainrose Castle, though it had been years now since she’d helped lead soldiers and militia members through the cramped passages.

While Torres set up the tri-point meter, Mirian stood by Jei. “We used to go into a grove north of the gardens to practice,” she told her old math professor. “You helped lay the foundation for me to build on.”

Jei nodded curtly. “Thank you,” she said, far too formally for Mirian’s taste.

Mirian gave a wistful sigh. There was too much to explain. Too many things they’d been through together. I watched you lay down your life for me. Without hesitation, she thought. She still had an ache in her heart where something was missing. The other time travelers helped soothe her isolation, but it was a companion she really craved. “I wish you could all remember.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“It would certainly be nice,” Torres said. “The rumors are spreading like wildfire among the students, and several of them think they can run around and do whatever they want without consequence. The guard isn’t too happy about it.”

“Yes, well, they’ll survive. Or rather, they won’t.” Mirian waved a dismissive hand. “If I spent too much time making everyone’s life better here, it distracts from the research efforts. I suppose I can try to make some small adjustments to how the announcements of class cancellations are made and so-on. Or…” She tapped her chin. “I could put a lot of them to work. Not sure on what yet. Busywork, at first, maybe, But eventually, we’ll need somewhere to test the prototype… yes, that’s a good idea. Thank you.”