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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 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 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.”

“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 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 others. 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 Registrars 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.

--

Class Ability Quest!

Create a tier three spell with a mana cost more than 75% below base calculated cost.

Reward: 10% Spell Cost Reduction.

--

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.

- - - -

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.”

Ophiel, sitting upon Erick’s shoulder, hummed in unsure flutes.

Erick said, “Ah. But. Not yet. I need to contact Opal to see about learning that [Ward Destruction] spell she showed off when we were fighting against the Queen Daydropper. Poi? I imagine you know how to contact her?”

Poi nodded. “Understood.” He glanced to the air, then said, “Tomorrow morning? Or in two hours.”

Erick smiled. “In two hours, please. Tomorrow and the next day are platinum rain days.”

“Then she wishes you to recast your [Prismatic Ward] to allow her a space to bring her [Familiar] into the house.”

“Upstairs, third floor. Large room.”

Poi nodded, listening to the air. “Accepted.”

- - - -

Erick read ‘The Compendium of Summons’ while he waited in the third floor, open room. Without the dense air of his [Prismatic Ward] in the space, it felt like he was outside; exposed and vulnerable to the whims of fate and Shades. He didn’t get far in the book before the air glimmered with Opal’s arrival.  

“Erick,” said the rainbow orb of a white pearl. “Good to see you.”

Erick stood up, and set his book aside, as he said, “Hello, Archmage Opal.”

“Please, let’s drop some of the formalities. ‘Opal’ is fine.”

Erick smiled. “Opal, then.”

“So you wish to learn [Ward Destruction]?”

Erick nodded. “In addition to knowing how to coordinate better with you when it comes to defense of the city.”

“I appreciated your [Reflection] during the Red Dot. Saved me a lot of direct damage from that attack.” Opal said, “If my shield had failed, my secondary defenses would have been been a series of [Force Wall] like effects, meant to funnel the fire upwards, instead of letting it raze across Spur.”

“How close did we come to destruction?”

“As close as usual, but there’s no way to really know how close we came without more testing, and the same attack almost never comes a second time.” Opal said, “But that [Reflection] of yours was remarkable. If you don’t mind, I would like to know how it was done, after I give you what I came here to give you, of course.”

“Sure.” Erick said, “I can agree to that. Though it’s probably just as complicated as whatever you have to show me.” He added, “I’d also like to know if you have any tips for creating a tier three spell more than 75% below expected costs.”

“Ah. The Spell Cost Reduction Quest? If everything goes well, then you’ll get that done on the way to [Ward Destruction].” She said, “The spell is actually a tier five or six, depending on how far you wish to go with the working.”

Erick smiled.  

Opal’s opalescent orb turned to the left and conjured a black granite slab, three meters wide and as tall as the ceiling, joined to the rock of the room with friction and precise measurements that forbid it from falling. It was almost blackboard, but considerably more primitive. Another conjuring brought a piece of chalk, the size of a dagger, out of the air and into Opal’s telekinetic control. She began writing out math and angles and formulae, as Erick watched, and winced. Math. Always with the math.

With precised, practiced strokes, she did not take long to complete her writing. Soon enough, most of the black stone was written upon.  

Opal turned to Erick, and said, “That is the entire spell combination and linkage for [Ward Destruction], but I can speak it simpler, if you wish.”

“Please. Yes. I am not great with the math side of magic.” Erick said, “Please start at the beginning.”

Opal bobbed in the air, then said, “Most people believe [Ward] was actually the first magic created, since practically all subsequent magic is at least partially based in an understanding and application of [Ward]. [Ward], at its most fundamental, is about taking a space, and influencing that space with an intent. [Ward Destruction] is about erasing that intent, but not directly erasing that intent. Directly erasing intent is the work of [Dispel], which is thought to be the second spell ever created.

“Directly attacking [Ward] with [Dispel] requires that you tear down the entire structure, all at once, for that is how magic works under the Script. I’ve heard it was different in the Old Cosmology, but not these days. This means that you cannot cast a 500 point [Dispel] against a 1000 point [Ward] and expect anything to happen unless—” She interrupted herself, “We’re not going to discuss mana costs with Clarity and other minor numbers. That is a level of complication that is unneeded for the main discussion. But we can give some of that complexity a nod, right now: In the given case, both practitioners, the Mage with Clarity, and the Dispeller with Clarity and Favored Spell on [Dispel], would see that 500 point [Dispel] work against the 1000 point [Ward].” She said, “A thousand mana spent on a [Ward] produces a 2000 point [Ward], but 500 mana multiplied by 4 would destroy a 2000 point [Ward]. And that’s enough of that.  

“[Ward Destruction], is all about finding the intent cast into the opposing [Ward] and manipulating that intent until the entire structure fails. What we are doing, is essentially getting on the same metaphysical level as the caster of the [Ward], and giving the [Ward] the command to automatically collapse on itself, as though we are the caster ending their own spell. We find that intent, by this organization of magic:” She conjured another, smaller black wall, and began writing.

Erick’s eyes went wide. So that’s what [Ward Destruction] was! Cheating the spell into collapsing in on itself!  

As she wrote the spell combinations, she said, “I can tell that you think this is amazing, and your next question is probably how can you apply this thought in other ways. Good luck to you; I’ve applied this idea against thousands and thousands of different spells, and mostly, I just get a better, situationally useful [Dispel]. But against [Ward], for whatever reason, the application of this idea works wonders.”

Erick read the board, a little calmer than a moment before, as Opal finished writing.  

[Force Bolt] 5 MP + [Force Wave] 25 MP + [Detect Magic] 10 MP = [Intent Understanding] 10 MP

[Intent Understanding] 10 MP + [Dispel] 11 MP = [Intent Fracture] 10 MP

[Intent Fracture] 10 MP + Mana Shaping, 500 MP = [Intent Dispersal] 250 MP

[Intent Dispersal] 250 MP + [Ward] 50 MP = [Ward Destruction] 100 MP

Erick asked, “100 mana? That’s it?”

“That’s it!” Opal’s orb seemed to smile. “[Ward Destruction] is like using the key already primed into the lock of the opposing [Ward], and since you’re dealing with intent only, not true magic, it can get pretty cheep. It’s entirely possible that you could get an even lower cost than that.” She said, “I had one student, years and years ago, who’s [Ward Destruction] cost 60 mana.” She asked, “Any questions?”

Erick asked, “Can you explain a bit more? Step by step?”

“Of course!” Opal bobbed, as she said, “[Intent Understanding] is probably the easiest spell to get right, but it is a large hurdle for some, and if you fail that step, then you can try again once every day until you get it right. What you’re trying to do is align your own magic so it would appear to originate from the caster of whatever magic you’ve targeted. Anything else put into this spell means that you’ve failed this step.

“[Intent Fracture] is rather complicated. This is the beginning of the ‘canceling’ phenomena that any mage experiences each time they cancel their own magic. You might need to conjure and cancel your own magic for a few hundred times to achieve an understanding of what’s happening, there.

“You can actually use [Intent Fracture] to automatically cancel most any spell of minor or small size, or under 50 mana cost.

“[Intent Dispersal] is difficult to get right. Where Fracture is like a chink in the armor of the canceling of a spell, and is large enough to fully cancel most minor magics, Dispersal is taking that cancel order and imbuing it across a much large area, like a cascade of Fractures… sort of.

“Think of an enemy [Ward] like a house supported by a hundred pillars; if you don’t knock out every single one of those pillars, then you’re not knocking down the house. But if you knock the pillars just right, then you can have your tiny knock cascade down the length of pillars, and break every one at the same time.

“Anywho: The final step of [Ward Destruction] is taking Dispersal and attuning it to the entirety of [Ward]. And I mean the entirety of [Ward]. Each and every part. Easy to say, hard to do.” Opal’s orb bobbed across the two slabs of black rocks, asking, “Do you have any questions?”

Erick certainly had at least one. He asked, “Is this ‘canceling’ anything like how a Shade prevents [Teleport]?”

Opal chuckled. “Maybe. Or maybe not. I’ve tried to understand the Shade’s [Teleport Lock] for a long, long time, and have yet to crack that combo. If you manage to do so, I’d dearly love to know how.” She said, “But back to [Ward Destruction]. Mine costs 78 mana, which is a ways away from the expected cost of about 575 mana. If yours is anywhere near 500, then I’d keep it, and move on to another project. Took me years before I was comfortable enough with my [Intent Dispersal] to finally go for [Ward Destruction]. If you manage to make a good [Intent Dispersal], I’d hold onto that until you, too, get a good amount of experience breaking magic, before you try for [Ward Destruction].

“But if you wish to combine something much easier for your Spell Cost Quest, there’s always Force spells. Those can combine rather easily into something cheaper than the outcome, if you’ve a mind for it. I can’t really help you there, though. It’s only tier 3, though. That’s nothing. You can do that a hundred hundred different ways by simply focusing on the intent of your magic, instead of on the outcome.”

Erick smiled. “That’s fine. This has been a big help.” He asked, “Now for my part?”

“Please. No need for the diagrams or whatnot. Just the basic framework. I’ll come back with questions, if I have them, if you don’t mind. And you can do the same.”

Erick smiled. “Sure.” He said, “The [Reflection] that I used on the Red Dot was [Ward] and [Rebound], but done up with a Particulate understanding of mana, and the notion that magic is inherently unknowable, and possibly an energy at the same time it is a particle.” He brought out the box for [Pure Reflection Ward], and showed it to Opal’s orb, saying, “There’s also the notion of the physics of light and the use of the harmonies that exist between [Rebound] and [Ward] to make them attune to each other better.”

--

Pure Reflection Ward, instant, Personal Ward, 10 mana per second

Reflect spells cast upon you.  

--

Opal read the blue box, then said, “That’s a lot packed into a tier two combination.”

Erick said, “Yeah. It was. But it worked.”

“[Personal Ward], though… But… I suppose you have your [Familiar], so that restriction isn’t a large restriction.” Opal dismissed the floating box, adding, “You need to try to turn that into a [Shield] spell. Perhaps with [Force Wall]. Or perhaps with Mana Shaping, for 500. Whatever it takes to strip it down to its core functionality and attach that functionality onto some other useful spell.” She asked, “Have you made [Strike Reflection], yet? You should! That one has saved my life more than a few times. When you get that one right you need to take that spell and make is so that… hmm… Ah. You’re not a Warder, so that wouldn’t work for you. Never mind.”

“What were you thinking?”

“A secondary [Personal Ward] that turns on when you are attacked, without needing to be activated. I have a few of them. They’re useful.” Opal said, “But! You are not a Warder; you’re not able to have multiple [Personal Ward]s on at the same time.” She added, “But! You can get around that by wearing your [Familiar] like a cloak, or something, and have him react for you. It’s a weird thing, making a [Familiar] into clothes, but that is the best way around that restriction.” She chuckled. “But to wear such a cloak around town! How gaudy!”

Ophiel squawked on Erick’s shoulder, as Erick smiled.  

Opal said, “You are a pretty little thing. An eyeful, some would say.”  

Ophiel fluffed out with a few more eyes and wings.  

Opal seemed to turn back toward Erick, as she said, “It would also be possible to create a [Conjure Force Elemental] that could activate a [Reflection Force Wall] when needed, or when prompted. I wouldn’t bet your life on such a flimsy thing always activating when you needed it to activate. But you might be able to make such a spell that you could pin to your chest, or something, that you could activate with a mental command. You’d effectively multiply your mana a few dozen times over, if you do it right. [Store Spell] is the Script version of what I suggested, but that spell is unreliable, at best. The problem is getting the stored spell to recognize threats, and not activate for every little thing.”

That was a lot to think about. Storing spells for later use! What a nice idea. Erick had another question, though. “Now that you mention [Conjure Force Elemental], I was looking to make a defensive [Familiar], for the house. A tree, actually. Got any tips?”

“Good luck. I tried one of those, but after four years the damn thing got up and started doing what it wanted, and all it wanted to do was be a hermit out in the middle of nowhere! I blame myself, on that measure. It’s probably still wandering the forests north of the Wyrmridge.” She added, “I doubt any natural thing could kill it, but it doesn’t like to be near anyone else, so at least I raised it partially right.”

“What tier was yours?”

“Concerned about that? Mine was tier 3. It took a while to become a real being, but it certainly happened faster than I expected.” She added, “Tried a tier 2 years later, and I loved that little guy, but he... died… I don’t mess with [Familiar]s anymore. Heartbreak is a right terrible feeling.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you for saying such, but I know I’m being ridiculous.”  

Erick didn’t feel that she was being ridiculous at all, but he kept his mouth shut; besides, his face probably gave him away. Opal bounced a little, slowly, quietly.

She asked, “Any other questions?”

“Oh! Right. I have some rings I made, if you want a pair?” Erick went back to his chair, and picked up a small orange stone box he had prepared earlier. He opened it toward Opal it to reveal a collection of silver tori, as he said, “I didn’t know your size or anything like that, but one of these might fit you.”

“Kindly of you, but no. I don’t accept gifts from anyone. I used to do that, but I got traced back to my home. Nothing personal, but I will never do that again.” She added, “What you can do, is keep raining on Spur. I like seeing this wonderful little town all abustle year round.”

Erick smiled. “Then: thank you, Opal. If there’s anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“And you, too! Give me a call if you got questions.” She said, “I’m going to be working on my own [Pure Reflection Ward], but I’ve been working on that for forever, it seems like. The best I’ve gotten is dust and dirt compared to yours, so it’s time for this new methodology.”

“Good luck, then.”

“You too. And if your apprentice wants to know what I just told you, go ahead. From what I heard, she seems like a keeper.”

Erick smiled. “I think she is, too.”

Opal added, “Be sure to put your [Prismatic Ward] back up, too. It’s times 6 Variable, right?”

“I will, and it is.” Erick offered, “I could tell you how I made it?”

“No no no. Thank you, though. I made one like it, long ago, but the Solid Ward I use these days is the big one you saw covering the city.” She said, “It was a necessary sacrifice, so I didn’t mind paying it.”

Opal’s opal blipped out of the room in a flickering of rainbow light.  

Erick smiled. Opal seemed nice. Then he recast his [Prismatic Ward], covering the whole of the house. Then he recorded Opal’s writings into a small notebook. When all of those notes were written down, Erick broke the [Conjure Item], dispersing opalescent light into the room.  

- - - -

The next morning, Erick rained platinum over the Gardens of the Human District, while he read about summons, finished off an order of rings for Mog and the Adventurer’s Guildhouse, and practiced harmonizing his magic for [Intent Understanding].  

He managed to make [Discover Intent], which was not at all what he wanted.

--

Discover Intent, instant, long range, 51 mana

Discover the meaning of a magic.

--

It was a failed spell, but he still tested it against one of Kiri’s [Force Wall]s. In response, he got back a vague feeling of protection, like he was sensing the emotion of another person, or something, vibrating inside of his own body. Interesting, but ultimately an unwanted combination; the mana cost alone was proof that he had done it wrong. He needed to have the spell understand the intent of a magic, not understand the magic himself.

Erick ripped apart [Discover Intent] and began practicing with summoning and canceling tiny [Absorption Ward]s, over and over again, trying to see if he could ‘feel out’ what was happening there.  

After the platinum rains were done for the day, and lunch was over, Erick got a nice message from Poi.

“Sir. They’re ready for rain at the Lake.”

“Awesome,” Erick said, with a smile.  

- - - -

The land north of Spur was a blackened and grey stretch of sand a little over two kilometers across, surrounded by short, two meter high walls. Standing atop Spur’s ten meter high walls, Erick had a good view of the whole place, as the sun shown hot and brutal, and the northern wind rolled across the sands, and curled into his clothes.  

Roughly evenly dividing the right hand ranching land from the left, was a meter high stone wall. Gently rolling hills dominated the cattle side, along with a central stone barnyard and other smaller structures built atop a few of the larger hills. An off-center depression in that lumpy space had been carved down, below the level of most of rest of the space. From Erick’s perspective, that central depression was likely both the drainage field and water source for future cattle; they wouldn’t be drinking from the Lake, not with that wall in the way.  

To the left of the short, central wall, was a surrounding edge of black land that encircled a grey and orange clay bed that would eventually become the Lake. The depression was shaped like a squarish blob, with parts of it much deeper than the rest, maybe as much as five meters, while none of the future Lake was anywhere near the main walls of Spur, or the smaller walls of the exterior. If this entire new addition to Spur’s territory was three square kilometers, about the same size as the entire Human District, with the Gardens, then the Lake had to be just under a single square kilometer.  

Erick smiled, as he stared out across the land, imagining cows and swimming and fishing. He said, “I like that the cows get their own watering hole.”

Silverite, standing next to Erick, said, “Cows shit an awful lot, Erick. We weren’t about to have that runoff go directly into the main reservoir.”

Al, standing on Erick’s other side, laughed, and said, “Aye! Best head off that problem before it happens.”  

Erick was glad to see Al again. He hadn’t seen or spoke to his friend since the morning after Savral’s party. It had been a nice night, but Savral had grown unusually tired as the sun came up, and Al had to take care of him. Al had also promised to show up some time later for beers, but that just never happened, for some unknown reason. He looked happy right now, though.

Al continued, “The Ranch and the Lake are topographically perfect; runoff will go where it has to go, so there’s no need to worry about that. I expect, that after we get the whole thing set up and the plants are stable and the basins are soaked, that a rain a day will be able to keep the place properly under water.”

Apogee, the planar brownscale, and to-be Rancher, said, “It’s going to be beautiful. I’ve got clover planted everywhere, and Silverite planted something for the Lake—”

Silverite said, “Veil lilies. Great for water quality.”  

“Yes! Those!” Apogee said, “So start her up, Erick!”

“Not so fast!” Al turned to Erick, and said, “A single rain right now. Ten minutes. Just enough to prime the soil and dampen the clay so that it begins to stick together and create a barrier. Then more, later. As soon as the land stabilizes, then you can fill the Lake over the course of a week.”

Apogee said, “Use the silver rain to grow the field, first.” He looked up at Al, saying, “That’ll keep the ground in place.” He added, “And then break open the sky, Erick!”

“If you don’t give the clay a chance to soak up the water, you’re just gonna wash it all down into the desert sands below. That bedrock is not near the surface, Apogee.” Al said, “The clay needs a chance to prime.”

Erick cut a building argument short by raising white clouds from the ground, extending his [Exalted Storm Aura] forward, into the wind, making sure no clouds appeared over the city behind him. As Apogee and Al went silent, white mist roiled out into the northern sky. Crackles of white light flashed behind a now-cloudy air, as platinum rain began to fall upon dark sands, and the tiny seeds hidden therein, all across the Lake and the Ranch. In moments, grey sands turned black, water soaking into the land.  

Suddenly, green swept up hills and down into dips in the dirt, covering acres and then hectacres and more, filling out Spur’s new addition with twisting, tiny clover, like a green, shag carpet. The green mostly stopped at the edge of the lake, but here and there, tiny blooms of green appeared where there would eventually be water.

Erick cut the platinum rain. Clouds turned to back to mist, to blow away on the wind. He said, “You could do with some tree cover, too, for the cows and such. Chickens like to roost in trees, right?”

Silverite smiled upon the green land, and said, “I heard you want to make a tree [Familiar], so if you want to plant one out there, go ahead.”  

“Well— I didn’t mean… I kinda wanted it by the house.” Erick added, “But there should be some other trees out there too, ya know? Cows like to relax in the shade, don’t they?”

Apogee said, “Enough prattling. Bring on the rain!”

“Who’s the Stone Mage here? Who’s the Sewermaster?” Al asked, rhetorically. “Listen to what I’m saying, Apogee.”

“Bah!” Apogee said, “I waited a whole week to get this place up and running! I got cows to import.”

“We’re going to do it right,” said Silverite. “We’re going with Al’s plans.”

Apogee grumbled.  

Al said, “The clover needs to be turned over, anyway, and you need to plant real grasses on top of that. And why not Farmer’s Grass? It’s better than clover for soil preparation.”

“I like clover! Cows love clover, too.” He turned to Erick, saying, “So soak ‘er down!”

“The lake needs to be filled over a period of a week, with multiple growing cycles and much more than just clover. Some trees would do wonders for erosion. Apple, ribbon, arnnian, whatever kind you choose.” Al said, “This is brand new land, Apogee. You put cows on there now, and they’ll fall through the sand and break their legs while they’re at it.”

“I will never believe that, Al. You don’t need to do it that way, I’m sure.”  

Al laughed, loud.  

Silverite said, “We’ll go with Al’s plans, for now.”

Apogee grumbled, his tail tapping the walkway, as he said, “Fine,” before blipping away in a bronze flash.

Al said, “A good [Call Lightning] would be fine, right now, Erick.”

Erick smiled. Ophiel blipped off of Erick’s shoulder, and took his spot flying in the center, between the Lake and the Ranch. Erick shaped a [Call Lightning] from Ophiel’s position. Dark clouds spilled out of the sky, casting shadows across the land. Thunder rumbled above. Erick cast again, and the dark clouds began to rain, heavily.  

Al asked, “Was that one, or two?”

“Two.” Erick said, “Two casts makes the rain start immediately.”

Al grumbled.  

Erick teased, “What? Apogee seemed at least a little right.”  

“He was not,” Al said, with an air of finality. He sighed. He said, “It’s fine. I’ll fix it up tomorrow.”

Silverite stared outward, into the storm, smiling wide as stray drops of rain blew on the breeze and touched all three of them. She pointed to the Lake, almost squealing as she said, “It’s filling!”

It was filling. The deepest parts of the Lake, in the center and further north, began to layer over with a small sheen of water. Erick smiled.

Al grinned, as he said, “Looks like the topography is correct, too. Everything is draining as it should on the Ranch.”  

Erick looked to the Ranch. The land was draining onto the cattle pond. It was already showing at least a foot deep of water, but no more. Erick expected it to continue to fill up, but it wouldn’t.  

Al must have seen Erick’s disbelief, because he said, “When the basins are settled, I’ll remove the underground pipe from the cattle pond to the Lake.”

“This is great.” Silverite smiled, as she said, “I’m really happy for this.” She added, “Erick, if you want to make a tree [Familiar], the lake is a great spot. Don’t make it inside the city. Trees always turn into domineering beings, and I won’t have something like that living in my city, expecting people to respect its ‘sovereignty’ or ‘space’. But something like that living near the Lake? I can allow that, and even support such a choice.”

“But… It’ll see that the cows are being used for food?” Erick said, “It’s a strange concern, but exposing a nascent life to something like that seems like a bad idea.” Erick called Ophiel back to him, and set his winged, slightly damp [Familiar] on his shoulders, adding, “The Compendium of Summons says that exposing a budding life to death is a bad idea.”

Silverite smiled, as she said, “Direct exposure is bad, but I disagree that total censoring is the proper way to raise a tree. Placed by the Lake, your tree would merely see the same cycle of life it would see in any natural part of the world. It’ll see cattle, and then those cattle vanish and never return. It’ll probably see people fishing at the Lake, and grilling those fish. It will see murder and death, and mimics just beyond the wall that want it dead. It’ll see a lot about a lot, while growing up in a communal piece of land.” She added, “It would grow up knowing its place in the world, instead of as a master of its domain, which is what I think you would make if you put a tree by your house and gave it the task of raining on time.”

“… But what if I make him with [Gate]?”

Silverite lost her mirth. She thought. She said, “People would try to control this living being. Do not do this to your [Familiar].”

Erick felt a profound exhaustion. “Fine.”

“In other news,” Silverite said, “I heard that the Converter Angel entry on Candlepoint’s Monster Board was taken down. Which is just all sorts of weird.”

Erick flubbed a, “Huh? Wha? What does that—” He asked, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“We’re not sure what it means. The Angel might have just gone inactive.” Silverite said, “What has been confirmed, is that Candlepoint’s Monster Board tracks the existence of every single active monster and calamity on Veird. The most egregious entries have all proven existent. Ballooning Spiders were spotted leaving Quintlan, just yesterday.” Her silver skin rippled under her sundress, as she said, “Those things are awful.”

Al’s voice turned serious. “Where will they land first, this time?”

“Northern Nergal, near Eidolon, according to the Weather Witches.” Silverite said.

“What are Ballooning Spiders?” Erick asked.  

Al said, “Ballooning Spiders are an Underworld species, but when there’s enough of them, they break the surface and spin webs lighter than air, to ride the high winds of the upper atmosphere, around the planet. They drop when they see settlements and otherwise, consuming everything organic and laying invisible eggs, before they continue on the winds, or dig back down to the Underworld.”  

Silverite said, “The bigger ones are the size of a Shadow Spider, but all of them are incredibly venomous. It’s the tiny, slime-sized ones that will get you.” She added, “The larger ones mentally control the smaller ones, almost like a group mind.”

“… But they are monsters, right? With rads?” Erick asked. “Does Eidolon need help?”

Silverite shook her head, then said, “Even if they do… The wind tunnels and mana streams of the upper atmosphere go around the entire world in a few days.” She added, “We could have Ballooning Spiders dropping on our heads at any time between two days and entire month.”

“Oh.” Erick said, “That’s bad.”

Al said, “It can be, but if you see them coming they’re not too deadly.” He asked, “Are we buttoning up Spur, yet?”

“Tomorrow, we’ll begin.” Silverite said, “I’m having people put up announcements right now.” She added, “Might be calling on you for more [Withering]s, when the time comes, Erick.”

“Of course,” Erick said.

The clouds of [Call Lightning] up above began to break against the northern winds. The rain stopped. Sunlight shimmered across green fields and grey water basins.  

Silverite sighed, and smiled small, as she looked out across the land. “Work is never done! Not for me, not for you, not for anyone. Time to get back to it.” She nodded toward Erick and Al, then blipped away in a crash of silver light.  

Erick asked, “Hey, Al? Want to get a beer?”

Al smiled down at Erick, but said, “Sorry. Not if I got a day of buttoning up the city tomorrow. I still got work left over from today, too. Some rowdy kids demolished a section of the sewers this morning, but I wanted to be here for this.” He gestured toward the Ranch and the Lake, saying, “I’m going to do a once over, then get back to fixing the problems down below. Some other day?”

“Sure.” Erick said, “Whenever.” He added, “So I’m just supposed to rain… how? To fill the lake?”

Al said, “After an hour, after it’s soaked a bit, a single rain every hour thereafter should be okay. I gotta check it, now though. Fix small problems before they become big problems. See ya.” Al blipped away in a clear light.  

Erick stared at the spot where Al blipped away. What was all that about? Erick turned toward the Ranch, and saw Al standing by the cattle pond, his feet sunk into the sand and mud. Water flowed in minor creeks all across the Ranch toward the pond, but vanished into a hole in the center. Al stepped out of the mud, and walked across seemingly solid land, through green fields of clover. He didn’t fall into the dirt again, so he must have been using some sort of magic.

Erick watched Al for a second longer, then sighed out into the damp air, and said, “Whatever.” He turned to Poi, standing a meter away. “So Ballooning Spiders?”

“A problem every ten years, or so, though the last one was only eight years ago.” Poi said, “What they didn’t mention, because it doesn’t really affect us here, is that the spiders are all levels 10 through 40, meaning that in other parts of the worlds with lower level monsters, the spiders either get killed, and the other monsters level up, causing a monster rage, or the spiders win, and they dig back down to the Underworld to nest and wait for the next spawning.”

“So… Ballooning Spiders are not a large concern around here, I take it?”

“They can be, but not usually. The mimics usually eat any that fall here.”  

“Good to know.” Erick asked, “Care for a blip back to base?”

Poi took Erick’s hand.  

They departed Spur’s wall in a blip of white.

By the time he appeared in the foyer of the house, Erick realized he forgot to ask Silverite about the war against Candlepoint.  

And then he realized, and said, “Poi! Why hasn’t Killzone come and gotten his enchanted orb yet?” He added, “It might be plus 100 to all Stats!”

“I cannot say—”

Erick gave him a look.

Poi continued, “—Because I have told him, and he has not responded. I have also expressed your offer to Silverite, as well.”

“… To the Quartermaster, then!”

Poi, long-suffering, and to fend off a very possible upcoming problem, asked “Have you tried using it as a light slime, yet? That’s the idea, right? Give it to a gelatinous person?”

“… To the tower, then!”

- - - -

Erick flopped out of his clothes and to the floor of his mage tower. He was, once again, a bumbling ball of translucent goo with a glowing white core. If he was being honest with himself, it felt kinda freeing to be bumbling around, naked. Thankfully, he was alone, or he might have felt self conscious. … Well... Poi was there, but he didn’t count.

And just like that, and for about the hundredth time, he found himself wondering how Jane could possibly like being a—

...

Was his daughter an exhibiti—

NOPE. Not thinking about that. Nope. No.  

Moving right along.  

With an easy application of his Handy Aura, Erick pulled out a stone box from under the back of the stone bench, disturbing settled diamond dust into the air.  

He paused, as he watched light cascade through glittering showers of broken carbon, flickering and brilliant in the afternoon light. And then he got a grip of himself, and the box. ‘Seeing’ through the eyes of a light slime was a trippy, fun experience. Distracting, too.

Ah. Wait. That was what Jane liked about [Polymorph]. Duh. She wanted to see the world through a whole bunch of different eyes, and in the case of [Polymorph], that was easily accomplished.  

Erick pulled the lid off of the stone box, revealing a silver orb, a little larger than a softball, or possibly a grapefruit. It was almost large enough to use as a football, but not quite. It was actually about the size of Erick’s own glowing white orb in the center of his slimy body. He Handy Aura’d the ball out of the box, and held it up to the light. It was pretty perfectly spherical. He had done a good job carving away both the clear diamond core, to be perfectly spherical, as well as the outside, to be perfectly smooth.  

He plopped the orb against his gooey body.  

In a moment that he could have likened to a hundred uncomfortable situations, and because he did not want to eat it, Erick pressed the orb against himself, and gently —gently!— pushed it inward.  

Gods above! Pressing the orb into his slime body was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever done, and that included some wild parties of his youth that he looked back on fondly, but would never want to repeat. He was simultaneously too full and—

The world swam left and right. Erick briefly looked at his Status, and saw that the orb was actually Plus 108 to All Stats, but that elated moment was swept away by a deep, blossoming feeling, that came from his core and radiated everywhere but only inside of him, as the stone cracked and purple light soaked into his body, drowning his sight with violet highs and amethyst depths.  

He felt another painful pressure within, and it was too much. He involuntarily spat out the cracked and leaking orb.  

The orb exploded. Diamond shards ripped through a meter of air before the shards were caught by the [Prismatic Ward]. Erick rolled away from the falling shrapnel, right into Poi and the rod of [Treat Wounds]. Suddenly, a pale white glow suffused his body, driving out the purple bouncing around inside his thin skin, restoring mass he didn’t know he had lost.  

After a moment of blobbing there, seeing what had become of the purple orb, and wondering what had almost become of himself, Erick flopped over into his clothes, and carefully [Polymorph]ed into his original body. He adjusted his garments so that his legs went into the proper holes, and his shirt didn’t get turned around, and then he looked down at the mess in front of him.

“So. That was a failure.” Erick said, “Probably good thing I tested it out.”  

Poi said, “Probably.”

Erick walked over to the clear shards of diamond that used to be worth 108 All-Stats, and poked them with his Handy Aura. They clinked over themselves, exactly as a broken pile of diamonds were expected to clink over themselves. Erick didn’t know what he was expecting, there. Still using his [Handy Aura], Erick touched the pile, and cast [Mend].

The orb came back together, but different. Erick picked it up. The orb was still broken, but it was mostly whole. Cracks had spider webbed across the whole silver surface, revealing the dull, still-shattered interior. This was a well known enchantment failure, that he had seen many times before. He didn’t even have to consult his enchanting books. This broken gem had been so disrupted by magical forces that [Mend] couldn’t even repair it back to the way it should be, because the original item was no longer a common item.

--

Mend X, instant, touch, 10 mana.

Touch a complicated large object, or a small common magical item, and restore it to its prime.

--

Erick tried [Mending Aura], instead, keeping the aura close to his body.

--

Mending Aura, long range, 572 MP per second

Restore a very large, complicated location to its prime. Time since the structure was destroyed may alter final results. Automatically repair all objects in the area of effect.  

Minor ability to affect magical objects.

--

Slowly, over the course of almost half a minute and almost all of his remaining mana, the orb healed. Tiny cracks in the surface slipped shut from their edges inward, leaving Erick once again with the silver sphere he had started with. But was it enchanted? Probably not.

Erick [Stoneshape]d a tiny brush of silver dust off of a thumbprint-sized part of the orb, revealing the inner, clear diamond. No purple manalight at all. The magic therein had been destroyed.  

Erick said, “Probably best that it never got to Killzone or Silverite.” He asked, “Did they know something like that would happen?”

Poi offered, “I can ask?”

“Let’s just… never speak of this again. That was… very uncomfortable.” He added, “I’ll solve this problem, then give them the completed items.”

Poi nodded; a slight grin on his lips.

Erick checked his Status and [Polymorph], just to make sure nothing had happened, and sure enough, after he put his usual rings back on his fingers, his Status and his spell were unchanged.  

- - - -

Erick sent Ophiel out to rain over the Lake and Ranch every hour, while he took up a comfortable position in his library and continued to read about summons and tiers and what was okay, and what was not okay.  

The multiple authors of the Compendium had long ago figured out almost every nuance there was to [Conjure Force Elemental]. Sirocco’s bit about ‘the [Familiar] in the Script is a lock on accidentally creating sentience’, seemed to have come directly from this book; in fact, it was the preface for one of the beginning chapters.  

That sentence was proven to be a white lie in the very next paragraph, though. Apparently, even tier 2 [Familiar]s would achieve sentience if given enough time. The book gauged ‘enough time’ as 250 years, which was a bit out of Erick’s care. If Erick ever lived that long, which was a truly crazy thought, then Ophiel would become real.  

… It was an interesting thought.  

Ophiel was a good boy, but would, theoretically, living for 250 years alongside whatever awful things Erick got up to, be conducive toward remaining a good boy? Who would Erick be in 250 years?

… At that point in time, thinking of Ophiel as a ‘good boy’ would likely be too reductive of a thought to ever truly grasp the being that Ophiel could eventually become.  

Eh. Thinking of the future was good and all, but not if it meant failing and possibly dying today.  

As Erick read, he got the distinct impression that the authors had measured and timed and quantified [Conjure Force Elemental], and a great deal of the text was given over toward understanding what made a summon a ‘real being’ or not, but they didn’t speak too much about the underlying magics.  

Which was probably just as well. No one really knew why gravity worked, or how atoms functioned the way they did, or what dark matter was. Reality was how reality was. Sure, you could overlay names and theories over natural functions, and they might perfectly describe the systems they were meant to describe, but ‘Why?’ was an inherently unanswerable question. Might as well ask Rozeta to tell you how the Script worked.  

But there were guidelines to understanding the timeline by which a tier 2 summon became real:

Anything summoned at tier 2 to tier 7, made without [Telepathy] and [Scry], the two main parts of creating a [Familiar], would take anywhere from hundreds of years to become real, to several moments, and would almost always create a rampaging monster.

Anything made at tier 2, made with [Telepathy] and [Scry], and raised as a [Familiar], would take about 150 to 300 years to become a real being, depending on the mana cost of the spell, and if you could summon more than one, and if they were a group mind, and if—

There were a lot of variables.   

Erick got out a piece of paper and checked some boxes to complete the formula. He plugged in some easy math, and came out with…

“You have 170 years to becoming a real entity, Ophiel,” Erick said, unsure of the math.

Ophiel, sitting on a perch beside Erick’s chair, staring over his shoulder to ‘read’, sat up straight upon hearing his name. He trilled in violins and unsure guitars.  

“mm-hmm.” Erick said, “I hope you learn how to be a good person in this beginning life.”

Ophiel squawked a tiny note violins that seemed to say, ‘Of course I’m good!’  

Erick smiled, “I know you are.” He returned to his book with a sigh, saying, “Reading about summons is so much nicer than thinking about war.”

Any [Familiar] made at tier 3 would take the number from tier 2, and reduce that number by another varied set of variables. The end result was a number anywhere from one-tenth the original time frame, to one-half. Calculating Ophiel at a tier 3, put him at 17 years to becoming real.

At tier 4, the tier 2 number was further reduced anywhere from a hundredth to a tenth. Erick plugged in his theoretical tree [Familiar] as a tier 4, using the appropriate formula and an expected rough cost of 3000 mana, and got a three month pre-life time frame.  

Erick knew he would not be going that route for his tree [Familiar], but it was good to know how it would have turned out. Plugging theoretical numbers into the tier 2 formula, put a tree [Familiar] at 25 years, because trees were apparently one of a dozen special cases. The other special cases included humanoid summons of all possible kinds, and information gathering summons, like Erick’s theoretical [Identify]-based bookish [Familiar].

At tier 5, you were basically just creating a being with a soul, and as a created being, it was automatically either Matriculated into the Script, to quash any possible ideas of Summoners summoning slaves, or given over to the side of the Script used for non-sapients, whereupon it would likely try to kill you anyway. The book didn’t go into much detail beyond that—

Kiri entered the room. “Dinner time.”

Erick looked up. “Already?” He looked outside. The sky was slightly red with the beginnings of sunset. “I guess it is.”

Poi made a very nice meal of roasted red fish, fresh caught and delivered to Spur’s markets this morning, along with vegetables fresh from Erick’s own garden, and rice grown in the Garden, by Kip, the bluemetal wrought dragonkin. It was pretty good. Erick had seconds, along with everyone else.  

After dinner, Erick blipped back onto the wall overlooking the Lake and the Ranch. The lake was maybe a tenth full, or less. Erick had rained once every hour, or so, but only the smallest parts of the deepest reaches had any standing water in them at all. Long stretches of bare black sand had been carved around the green hills of the Ranch, though; the result of too much water and not enough of developed plants that could hold onto the soil properly. So Erick lifted silver clouds to the sky, and rained a bit of platinum. Green bloomed across the Ranch and the Lake, filling in holes carved by normal water, and spilling platinum swirls into the deeper parts of the Lake.
 

He cut the growing rain after a few moments; just enough to stabilize the problems he saw. Then he brought on the normal rain with a quick double cast of [Call Lightning], bringing normal rain down into the development.  

The air blipped bronze two meters away, on the wall beside Erick, revealing Apogee.  

“It’s looking good, Apogee,” Erick said.

Apogee smiled wide toward the Ranch, revealing sharp teeth. “Aye. Yes it is.” He added, “Al was right about one thing: that land looks nice, but it’s just a shapely facade. You take a step in there and you’ll sink down to your ankle.”  

“Get some long root grasses, yet?”

“I do. A trip to Eidolon and Greenville got me just what I needed. Fifty kilos of Soil Stabilizer and Cow Step grasses, along with a whole bunch of Bee Love wildflower seeds for Missoli’s bees.” Apogee said, “Soon as the land is stabilized, I’ve got an order of Aphid Reapers and so, so many different types of landworms to pick up. That should keep out the invasive glowbugs and brownworms from the Crystal Forest and keep the land healthy, but if I need to, I can get some hoppercatchers.”

Erick grinned, as he looked out at the green land. “Seems like you have a good plan.”

“I do!” Apogee said, “It wasn’t my idea to retire so early, but Fork is too ambitious for me to stand in his way any longer, and now was a good time.” He looked at Erick, saying, “I hope you do right by him.”

“I hope so, too.” Erick said, “I heard you know about [Gate].”

Apogee hummed, his attention fully focused on the green land.  

Erick waited.

As the rain fizzled out, the sunset caught in Apogee’s bronze eyes, turning his sight all aglow. He said, “I have the Quest for [Gate], aye. I could even complete it if I wanted.” He turned to Erick, and his eyes still faintly glowed sunset red and gold. “But I ain’t gonna be a part of any ‘connecting nations’ nonsense. I tried, but this world is a shitshow that don’t deserve what I could give it.” He looked away, and the fire died in his eyes. “Shades and angels and demons and dragons! Fucking dragons. I could take or leave the gods, but they smack of oversight, and I don’t like it.” He added, “Monsters are nice to fight and kill, though. No moral quandary, there. Some of them even taste good!” He frowned. “No moral quandary, because they’re mindless killers made that way by Mele...” He sighed. “Nope. Not gonna do that.” He went silent.  

After a moment, Erick asked, “Want to talk more about dragons? I don’t know much about them.”

“You met one, didn’t you? Eh! You probably met ten, and you didn’t know it.” He said, “But let me tell you this: Every single one of them was silently sizing you up, wondering the pros and cons of eating you.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

Apogee looked at Erick for a long moment, then face the green land again. “At least they’re not able to coordinate with each other, here.” Apogee said, “They…” He paused. He said, “It’s a good thing they fight each other on sight. That’s a welcome change. Makes ‘em much easier to navigate. All you have to do is know where one problem is, and keep track of that one, then if another one starts bothering you, you guide them together, and bam! Back down to one problem.”

The sky cleared of clouds. Moisture blew on the northern wind toward Erick, Apogee, Poi, and the trios of guards atop the wall, twenty meters to the left and the right of Erick’s position.  

Erick offered, “Want some cinnamon trees for your Ranch?”

Apogee breathed deep. He exhaled, then said, “Yes.” He rapidly added, “I’ll pick up clippings later.”

He blipped away in a bronze flash.  

Erick and Poi departed the wall a moment later, vanishing in a while blip.

- - - -

The next morning, platinum rains came down on time, all across the Gardens around the Human District. Erick toiled in his own garden, plucking weeds and organizing unruly vines back into position, using his hundreds of Handy Aura hands, while Ophiel sang into the gentle storm.  

He finished plucking and trimming well before the allotted times for the rains to stop, so he gathered up his haul and brought the good vegetables inside to the cold room, while he tossed the refuse into the compost pile behind the house. He went back to the library, and continued to read. When the Gardens were done for the day, at noon, Erick was ready to transition his platinum rain over to the Lake and the Ranch.

Apogee and twenty other mages, including Al, had worked hard all throughout the morning, all across the new development, turning over the land, ripping up clover and burying it under sand to promote the development of dirt. They had worked hard to finish just before noon; Erick had kept an eye on the place from the comfort of his library, using Ophiel.  

The land looked considerably different than the day before. Where once was green land, and clear lake water, now there was dark soil. It was black, but Erick knew it was not a healthy black. It was burned glass and a healthy amount of clay; not good soil right now, but it’d get better, eventually.   

So after a small mental poke at Apogee to see if he was ready for the next part, and Apogee said he was, Erick had Ophiel hover out into the middle, and bring the rain. Platinum drops fell across the dark land, soaking into the soil, and into the seeds scattered everywhere. Grasses and wildflowers and wide patches of thick leaved clover, denser than what Apogee had planted before, sprouted all at once, everywhere, like brushstrokes of green and colorful life slapped against a dark canvas.  

Erick let the platinum rain linger for a little bit more, then he cut it, and replaced silver clouds with dark clouds. Clear rain fell, but not too much.

And that was enough, for now. Apogee signed off on his connection, as he went out onto the Ranch, to the building set up in the center. He stood for a long moment, standing there atop grasses and clover, not sinking into the ground, staring out at the green land, as the northern winds toyed with tall wildflowers and kicked up tiny sprays of lakewater. And then he turned, and went inside.  

Erick returned to himself, in his library, and continued to read.  

After a while, he could read no more. It was time for something else. A day had passed, so it was time to try again for [Intent Understanding].

- - - -

Erick’s own [Prismatic Ward] would have maybe interfered with what he was about to do, so he recast the dense air around the house, and left the third floor classroom empty. He almost decided to just leave it like that forever more, but he’d make that full decision later. Once that was done, Erick stood on one side, and had Kiri cast ten [Absorption Ward]s in the air on the other. They were simple green orbs; like sea glass, but made of air and intent. Her arrangement reminded Erick of balloons at a carnival.  

Kiri stuck around to the side, while Erick worked.

He held out his hand and channeled mana through [Force Bolt], while activating [Detect Intent Aura]. The sound of the spell was one of clarity and purpose; a poke of harm against a target.  

Erick watched the glow around his hand, and the pinpoint of white light in his palm, as he varied the spell how he had varied Mana Altering, searching out for the intent and none of the other stuff, his [Detect Intent Aura] helping to ensure he was on the right track. With the effort of a thousand mana spent just poking around with the spell, he found what he was searching for.  

The stripped down dot in his hand was no longer white with the glow of damaging Force, but clear, almost like a spot of thick air, but only visible with [Detect Intent Aura].  

The goal was not to poke damage at the target, after all, but to poke a spell with his own spell. That was all, right now. Just to poke the targeted spell.  

Channeling [Force Wave] through his hand produced an expanding pulse of white light, and a much larger invisible intent wave to match. [Force Wave] certainly seemed like the spell with the most captured intent; that made sense, it was used in practically all expansive, altering or searching magics.  

Erick played around with [Force Wave] until he found the ‘gong’-like setting that he used to make [Prime Area]. [Force Wave], when used in this way, was not meant to damage. It was meant to vibrate through the whole of the targeted spell, and return with an understanding unique to whatever spell it was used upon.  

Channeling magic through [Detect Magic], while he used [Detect Intent Aura], was like looking down a hallway of mirrors. Intent layered upon intent, fractured and whole at the same time. An infinity of pathways taken and also not taken.

He had been wrong about the role of [Force Wave] in [Intent Understanding], or maybe only wrong in the context of scale. [Detect Magic] held a million times the power of understanding of intent that [Force Wave] was ever capable of achieving. [Force Wave] was just the vector by which [Detect Magic] was delivered across the targeted spell.  

Erick smiled; his own understanding solidified. He cast.

A pinprick of nothing came out of his pointed finger, to strike one of Kiri’s [Ward]s.  

Nothing visible happened, except for the appearance of a blue box.  

--

Intent Understanding, instant, long range, 8 MP

Fire a packet of intent at a target spell that becomes as though cast from the other spell’s caster.

--

“Ha ha!” Erick said, “Success! Eight mana.”

Kiri said, “My gods. This is such a cheating spell. I never imagined that you could cheat in the Script, but this certainly looks that way.”

Erick smiled. “You can try it yourself, you know. But don’t ever show it to anyone else. This was a gift from Opal.”

Kiri just shook her head a little, seeming to disbelieve the world and everything in it, as she continued to watch Erick work.  

Erick held up his hand and channeled mana through [Intent Understanding]. A dot of nothing appeared above his palm, like a twinge of thick air. Under the glare of Meditation, the dot became a swirl of gasoline color. With [Detect Intent Aura] active, the dot was a vibrant collection of light. It was, simply, the idea of understanding and becoming whatever it touched.

… So Erick tested out that theory, by bringing his hand over to one of Kiri’s [Ward]s. As soon as the channeled mana display touched the green [Ward], the channeled mana turned green; the exact same color as Kiri’s [Ward].  

“Huh.” Erick said. “It can’t be that simple, can it? Taking the exact color of the opposing magic, and pretending to issue the ‘cancel’ order, just like that?” He turned to Kiri. “Where do mana colors come from, anyway?”

Kiri said, “From your soul, I think.” She added, “No one really knows. And besides, you don’t want to make a one-off spell against green, or something, do you?”

“… You’re right. I don’t.” But it was something to think of, in the future.

Channeling [Dispel] above his hand, Erick got a howling void; a spot of darkness, with an edge of shadows that clung to his skin. [Dispel] was the absence of intent— Nope. That wasn’t it. Now that Erick was looking closer, [Dispel] seemed like intent focused on destruction of other intent. It was countless tiny teeth, eating away at whatever it could touch. As an experiment, Erick held up his hand with [Dispel] hovering in the center, to one of Kiri’s [Ward]s. The shadow teeth of [Dispel] tore at the green [Ward], but could only seem to ripple the green orb’s surface.  

Erick put away [Dispel] for a moment, and thought.  

He said, “I think I need to create and cancel some spells, like Opal suggested.”  

Kiri said, “I’m going to start dinner.”

“Sure. I’ll call you back, if I decide to continue before then.”

While Kiri walked away, Erick began creating [Absorption Ward]s in the air, like white soap bubbles. And then he popped them with a gentle, mental command. He made and popped bubbles until it was time for dinner. And then he made and popped more, trying to find the connection between himself and his magic that allowed him to cancel his own spells.  

After the a few hundred pops, or maybe a thousand, Erick had gone from [Detect Intent Aura]ing the pop, to [Hunter’s Instinct]ing the pop, to asking Kiri to watch, and see if she could figure it out, to asking Teressa, if her Mana Sense could see.  

Nothing seemed to work.  

There was no obvious connection between him and the orbs he made. Nothing exited his body. Nothing entered the orbs. The [Ward]s he made just popped when he wanted them to.  

Maybe he was coming at this from the wrong direction.

Erick asked, “When can people not cancel their own spells?”

Teressa said, “When people get brained they have a hard time casting correctly. I don’t know about canceling, though.”

Kiri said, “When they’re mind controlled, and someone else’s mind overlays their own.”

Poi just said, “The version I was able to make from Opal’s instruction was 10,000 mana. So all I know is that I got it wrong.” He added, “I got practically the exact same lesson as you did, too.”

Erick returned to the third floor classroom, and continued to make and disperse tiny [Ward]s.

When a [Ward] was cast, it came into existence all at once. When it was destroyed, as though from damage or canceling, it popped all at once. And what was more, was that casting an [Absorption Ward] did not seem to throw intent into the air and have it settle down into a protected space, but that was exactly what happened when casting a lightward.  

So Erick experimented with lightwards for a change. He had made quite a few of those in his time, so it made sense that he found his first workable clue in working with light. Lightwards were created quickly, but they started in a spot and then resolved across their whole, coming into existence in one flowing motion. But breaking apart, they just went ‘pop’, all at once, like everything else.  

Erick wondered if it was just a ‘spooky action at a distance’ kind of event. When these spells were created, did a ‘key’ get split into two, where one half was imbued into the spell and the other stayed with the caster? Was the intent with [Ward Destruction] to find and copy that ‘key’?

… Opal said that the purpose of [Ward Destruction] was to find the key to the spell, so Erick was obviously on the right track.  

… Maybe the creation of [Absorption Ward]s happened at the speed of light? Perhaps?

… But how would he test that theory? He’d have to get timers and other people to test the timers, because if casting magic happened at the speed of light, then certainly his connection with Ophiel would be subjected to the same issue.  

Erick brought up his thoughts with Kiri.

Kiri said, “I don’t think there’s a speed-of-thought involved at all. It has to be an internal key, right? But, like… I don’t really know how spells are ‘cancel’ed, but it has to be some intrinsic property to both the spell and the caster, that only the caster can access, and only when they’re of sound mind. You can’t mind control someone to cancel their own spell, which is kinda weird, when I think about it.”

Erick thought back to Poi’s 10,000 mana cost [Ward Destruction]. Poi probably approached the spell from a sense of control, but that didn’t work. Hence the high mana cost.

Maybe… All Erick had to do was trust in the magic? He had done that before, and it had never failed him. Yeah. He’d do that. That was a fine idea. Save the experiments with speed-of-magic for later.

He smiled.  

He pointed at a glowing, floating green orb, and cast.  

[Intent Understanding]. [Dispel].

A dot of invisible shadow flickered from Erick’s hand to impact the orb.  

The orb broke, like a popped bubble, as two blue boxes appeared.

--

Spell Crack, instant, long range, 9 MP

Trick a normal, minor spell into canceling. Has no effect on ongoing spells larger than 50 mana.

--

Class Ability Quest Complete!

Create a tier three spell with a mana cost more than 75% below base calculated cost.

Reward: 10% Spell Cost Reduction.

--

“Okay!” Kiri said, enthusiastically accepting of the impossible.

Erick smiled, and then he went back to the magic.

Channeling mana through [Spell Crack] produced a rainbow hum of a song long forgotten, but quickly remembered and cherished. But it also wasn’t that at all. It was a hum of multitudes. The song only came out when Erick let it take hold of his senses, when he didn’t look or listen too closely. But when he was watching, and listening, alert and active, the hum was just a hum. It was sleight of hand given magical resonance; a trick.

Using Mana Shaping to have that sleight of hand cover a much, much larger spell, was like pulling off a heist, or breaking into a password protected computer by trying every combination all at once—

Oh? Ohh.

Erick liked that analogy; it was much closer to his heart than Opal’s ‘pillars holding up a house’.

Erick lined up his magic, and—

Wait.

Why had Opal used that analogy, specifically?

… Was because the ‘key’ to the spell was not a singular key, but spread out across the whole spell, a thousand different times? Maybe? Or maybe spread out and dependent on the size of the spell?

Ah. Yes. That had to be it.  

[Dispel] only dispersed spells that were less costly than the mana used to cast [Dispel]. [Dispel] had zero effect on ongoing magic if the caster failed to spend enough mana on their [Dispel].

Erick had almost made a big blunder, one that would have cost him 100 days to try again.

Feeling much more secure in his understanding of [Spell Crack], Erick lined up his magic, and cast.

[Spell Crack]. Mana Shaping.

He imagined duplicating the spell into a hundred thousand smaller instances of itself, each fragment of his own magic transforming into that of the caster of the targeted spell, searching for and unlocking each and every ‘key’ of the green orb. As Erick’s packet of invisible intent touched the orb, the orb burst, like an invisible spider’s nest disturbed, sending countless buzzing motes of semi-invisible magic across the space, bursting five more of Kiri’s green [Ward]s as it washed outward, into the room. Erick’s spell crashed against his own body, and against the dense air of the [Prismatic Ward] covering the door to the house, and even washed over Kiri, standing in the back of the room.  

She quickly patted herself down, revealing that her green [Personal Ward] was still there, and active. She giggled a little, in relief.  

Erick turned back to Kiri’s orbs. Each and every one was gone. A blue box appeared.  

--

Spell Breaker, instant, long range, 301 MP

Trick a normal spell into canceling. Excess Spell Breaker might go on to cancel other nearby spells similar to the first targeted. Has no effect on ongoing spells larger than 1,500 mana.  

--

Kiri said, “Now I’ve seen everything.”

Erick breathed deep, then said, “I’ve made an anti-magic virus!” He paused. He said, “I’ve made an anti-magic virus. Oh… Biological magic? Treating magic as a living thing? It… makes sense? Oh. That’s… That’s an idea.” He almost rushed into the next spell, but he paused. He looked at [Spell Breaker], and thought back to how he had messed up his first attempt with an improper idea, how he had almost messed up this spell with a wrong-thought, and now another improper idea was rolling around in his head. He said, “Opal was right. No need to go for [Ward Destruction] right now. I should get used to using [Spell Breaker], first. I need to test this biological magic angle in a smaller way.” He asked Kiri, “You want to try? I can put up some small [Ward]s.”

Kiri huffed a laugh. “Nope! I have no idea what you did, and [Intent Understanding] keeps not working right. I won’t continue until I know more.”

Erick smiled, and said, “Sure.” He added, “I’m going to read for a bit, and then tomorrow morning, it’s more magic!”