Chapter 23 Leaving a Legacy (Patreon)
Content
Author's Note: I'll be at DragonCon this year in Atlanta! Should be fun.
The door closed behind them, and Nathan appraised Egall. She was no longer wearing the robes of a Giantsrest mage, instead dressed in a fine but plain tunic of green and white. It reminded Nathan of the group of scribes whoâd started running the city.
He raised an eyebrow at the outfit. âAre you working for Myrla now?â
Egall gestured for him to take the lead. She followed him as he started winding his way out of the building. âYes - apart from the Adventurers, there are no mages left in Halsmet. Not even the meanest finger of the Giantâs will. If the Adventurers leave, there will be nobody to heal sicknesses, or recharge the enchantments that do not self charge. Myrla wants me to start training new mages.â
Wow. Sheâs taking on a heavy burden there.
He looked back at Egall, finding that her expression was troubled. âDo you think you can?â
She exhaled heavily. âBy the Giant, I donât know. Iâve only taught some low-tier students the first Insights of the Academy before. To train people as full mages - I never even graduated. That mana wonât flow clean.â
âI donât know the full story, but one thing is clear to me.â Nathan met her eyes, his tone serious. âYouâre a skilled mage. Iâve felt your magic, and youâre better than many graduated mages of Giantsrest Iâve met.â
If by met you mean killed.
He considered for a moment before continuing. âYouâre not a mage of Giantsrest - and you shouldnât try to be. Youâre a mage of Halsmet, and you get to decide what that means. Donât teach the same lessons you learned in the Ascendent Academy. You donât have the same students and you donât want the same results. Make the school you wish you had gone to.â
She didnât respond, so Nathan kept talking. âYou should talk to Gale Shullet - the crowfolk woman mage. She leads the Seven Fools - but she also runs the Tower of Trickery, which trains most of the mages of Gemore. I donât know if sheâd share magical Insights with you, but she might share teaching Insights with you.â
As if those are less powerful. I have a dream of getting a third class focused on teaching. When Giantsrest is destroyed.
Egall was breathing quickly, seeming overwhelmed by the choices in front of her.
Nathan turned around, reaching out for her shoulders before thinking better of the motion and withdrawing his hands. âStart small. You donât need to challenge the Ascendent Academy by yourself. You need to train a dozen students to cast [Curing], and teach them to use their magic responsibly. That would be a win.â
He eyed her, seeing her breathing calm. âIs that something you want to do?â
The ex-slave nodded slowly, then looked up. âYes. Fingers of a fist - I can do that. Iâll teach their Insights to those they once held as slaves.â
{Leadership 5 achieved!}
Nathan smiled, then was struck by a sudden thought.
I wonder if she can get a second class for teaching? Faline didnât swear me not to share that Insight - she just told me that learning it could jeopardize somebodyâs Path. But I donât think Egall wants to level as a mage of Giantsrest, a Nail, any longer.
He held her gaze. âIâm going to share the Insight for a second class now, because I think you can use it. Can you cast spells to block sound?â
Her eyes bugged out, and she stuttered a few times before successfully casting the spell around them. She still didnât step very close to him, even if it would have made the magic easier.
[Muffle]
Nathan kept his aura in close to avoid disturbing the spell as he spoke. âI donât know if this will work for you, and it carries the risk of destabilizing your current class. It might mess up your future class Developments, and I want to emphasize that thereâs no guarantee that it will work. Do you still want to learn this Insight?â
Egall grimaced at his words, and gave the question a few seconds of thought before responding. âYes. My class - it was preparation to be a Nail. I will use those lessons to survive, but I wonât be a knife in the dark.â
âOk. This might work, it might not.â Nathan cast back in his memory to remember how Faline had explained this Insight to him. âWhat is your purpose? Why did you follow the Path of a Nail?â
Her eyes darkened, and she snorted with dark humor. âTo keep myself safe, and hidden, though that truth is shattered. I was the daughter of a slave-artisan and a scribe, chosen because I was a bright child. I had no backers, no protection in the Academy. I hid from those who could squash me - especially Jaxis, whom I beat in an early lesson. The Nails found me, and they offered protection if I joined them. I liked their Insights - I was good at them. I thought I was weaving the same color as those professors who recruited me.â
She shook her head bitterly. âThen Exea tightened her fist, and I was made Jaxisâ slave.â
Nathan tilted his head. âDo you still follow that path - to use magic to keep yourself hidden and safe?â
Egall nodded sharply. âYes - if Halsmet falls I will escape the city and flee to Gemore, or Saltcliff.â
âBut you also want to teach the people of Halsmet magic, right?â Nathan questioned.
âYes. I will spread the Insights hoarded by Giantsrest. Especially those of the Nails.â She said frankly.
Nathan considered for a moment. âYeah. I think you can do this. The way to have a second class is to have two Paths, which is to have two Purposes. You need to genuinely follow both, and they cannot overlap too much. Your second class also canât be similar to one you were offered at level 9, on your first class selection.â
Egall was taking all of this in, clearly thinking at a mile a minute and starting to get excited.
But Nathan wasnât done. âThen, you need a deed thatâs significant enough it boosts you up to level 9 all at once. For me, that was killing Histol. I donât know what it would look like for a teaching class - maybe helping a dozen kids unlock the [Mana Shaping] Talent in a single lesson. You might need to drop a utility skill and pick up one focused on teaching to accomplish that. You should ask Gale, and Sudraiel. If you tell her youâre starting a school for mages in Halsmet she should make time for you.â
He eyed her furrowed brow. âDoes all of that make sense?â
{High-tier Lecturing 2 achieved!}
âYes - yes it does.â She started nodding rapidly, eyes distant. âIâm going to try. Iâll talk to Gale and Sudraiel. I need the palms of Myrla and Camran for this. Is the Insight of the second class mine to share?â
Nathanâs attention was drawn away from Egall when a thin middle-aged man came around the corner, looking peeved. His eyes locked onto them and he strode forward, saying something that they couldnât hear.
Egall hastily dispelled the [Muffle spell].
â...waiting! What in the Giantâs name is the delay?â
Egall shrunk back, but Nathan stepped forward. âSorry, just having an important chat. Letâs go.â
As they walked, Nathan turned back to Egall, answering her question vaguely. âJust be careful with it. I think if the Insight doesnât work, then it might hurt somebodyâs Path irreparably. Good luck.â
The man frowned at Nathan. âWhat occurs?â
Egall stepped between them, leading the way forward at a fast pace. âNothing, nothing. Iâll need to talk to you about this later, Camran. Nathan, this is Camran - heâs the person who trains new scribes.â
The pinch-faced man looked between Nathan and Egall suspiciously as they walked, then sighed. âThis is a time of ascension - I hope your conversation was worth hundreds of slaves suffering their bondage that much longer.â
You know, I think it was worth it. Halsmet needs power, not just freedom.
â
Nathan had an audience as he walked down the line of sickly laborers and broke their collars. It seemed like every Adventurer had heard Nathan was going to do this, and wanted to see his antimagic in action.
After all, this is usually something that takes a few hours of work from an enchanter skilled at cursebreaking - worthwhile to save a life, but infeasible to do across an entire city. Not to mention infeasible if being captured triggers the failsafe and kills the victim.
At least these enchantments werenât as paranoid as some - Giantsrest didnât value their farmers or miners very much, and only put the most rudimentary of safeguards on the enchantments. Nearly every single one of them needed healing, and several of the Adventurer mages were working ahead of Nathan, curing some of the most egregious ailments.
But all eyes were on him as he reached out and snapped the next collar, unweaving the magic beneath it with a touch before tearing the crude metal from the manâs neck. Several Adventurer mages were trying to surreptitiously see what he was doing, and Nathan waved them closer. âI donât think you can replicate this, but youâre free to watch what Iâm doing. If you can get an Insight out of it youâre welcome to it.â
They stepped closer and watched from feet away as he broke the next few collars, each of the newly-freed laborers quickly taken aside by the now-practiced volunteers. Nathan thought it was likely that a few had taken classes or skills to help them comfort and reassure others.
Sort of a proto-therapist - probably something that Halsmet needs. I wonder if I should try to help? But I really know nothing about therapy, just a bit of popular psychology stuff. That would probably hurt more than it helps. Itâs very much not designed for this circumstance.
One of the mages watching was Argan, the mage from Kozarâs team. He watched Nathan break a few more of the enchantments and grimaced. âMaw from the deep - the magic just unwinds itself and is drawn away. Thereâs no Insight to be had here. Just a blasphemously powerful Talent.â He walked away, sharing a few words with Kozar before they both left.
But more mages stuck around, wanting to try and wring every possible bit of information out of what he was doing.
âDragonâs breath - the magic just dissolves.â Ayen said excitedly. âCan you describe what youâre doing?â
I think this has moved on from people trying to figure out how to free people from mind magic to people trying to figure out how my antimagic works. Not sure Iâm comfortable with that.
Nathan shrugged, moving onto the next collared man. âUsing my Talent. I donât think I can replicate the necessary conditions, sorry to say.â
âHmm. Can you break this spell?â Ayen cast a diffuse orb of light, made of various layers of light and dream mana.
After a quick glance at the spell, Nathan shook his head. âNope. If you have questions about breaking mind magic Iâll answer. But Iâm not going to poke a spell designed to tease out how my Talent works.â
He turned away from Ayen towards the remaining slaves, working through them quickly.
Give an inch, theyâll try to take a mile.
Most of the other mages gave up quickly, but Ayen tried to tempt Nathan a few more times. âBy the blood we shed, will you do me this favor? I only wish Insight into my own spellwork!â
I donât believe you.
âSorry Ayen, Iâd rather not - thanks for your help. You do good illusions, I hope to work with you again someday.â
Nathan sped through the rest of the farmers, releasing them to their care as he ignored Ayen until the man huffed and walked off.
After he was done, Camran approached Nathan, making a note on a clipboard-like object before putting it in his armpit to press his hands together in a Giantsrest salute. âPraise the Gi⊠- thank you. That is every slave of Halsmet freed. The city is born anew.â The man tilted his head back, looking skyward and trying to pretend there werenât tears in his eyes.
âIf your hands are idle, Liluce has a list of magical locks to be broken, or enchantments we need destroyed.â The ascetic scribe wiped at his eyes surreptitiously, looking over at the group of work-worn men and woman sprawled in Exeaâs garden, the volunteer helpers bustling around to be sure everybody was comfortable and adapting to their sudden freedom.
Nathan felt warmth blossom in his chest at the display of emotion from the man. âMaybe later. Iâm headed out on patrol soon, and Iâve still got some people to talk to and preparations to make. Sheâs in the mansion?â
Camran nodded, then saluted again and turned to walk past the two Halsmet elites guarding the door and back into the mansion that was quickly becoming the seat of government of the new city.
A voice hissed from the side. âNathan!â
His head snapped around, and he saw a hooded figure standing in a shadow underneath a tree. Green eyes shone underneath the hood - then one of them flickered pink.
Faline. In hiding. Of course.
He walked over to her, spending a bit of Focus on [Noticeability] to be more inconspicuous. With the skill active he felt the instant he entered Falineâs zone of influence. All attention on him suddenly vanished. He stopped and stepped back across the transition, examining what his skill was telling him.
Itâs like a blind spot. Iâm just edited out of their perception as soon as I get close to her. Thatâs a powerful skill. I wonder how it works in combat?
{Mid-tier Noticeability 7 achieved!}
He stepped up to Faline, and she smirked at him. âHave you divined more of my secrets?â
He matched her expressions. âNot too many - but I wonât underestimate being able to blend in amongst your enemies. We would never have won this victory without your skills.â
Faline gave an affirming grunt and her expression grew more serious. She studied him, without speaking.
Nathan examined her posture, her expression, and came to an obvious conclusion. âYouâre leaving. Youâre going to Giantsrest, and you want me to come with you.â
She gave a deep sigh. âIf the prophecy had not been spoken, if the Questors were not here, then we could avert the coming smoke and blood. Together we could go to Giantsrest and strike every target. If you broke an adamant ward and escaped uncaught - every mage would cower within their homes, and the archmages would hurl abuse at each other.
âBut that is not the Path before us.â Faline looked down, her face suddenly lined with stress. âBy the heavy hand of prophecy this battle will be fought, and you will not abandon your friends. You do not have the skills to blend into the Giantsrest army. Your weight in this fight is too high for a risky infiltration.â
She looked up, bright green eyes boring into his. âI will go to Giantsrest, to follow my Path. I will give warning when the army marches. I will march in their ranks. Look for a pink mask.â
He nodded solemnly. âOk.â This felt different than any of his other conversations with Faline. Normally she was sly, joking and flirtatious. Now she seemed serious, and resigned. âBe safe.â
The corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. âWe have stared this Giant in the eye, and torn a city from its grasp. Bait the Castlebear, but do not become its meal.â The smirk extended across her face. âIf we both survive the upcoming conflagration, we move on Giantsrest.â She held up her hand for Nathan to grab. âIf this army is broken, then there is an opening. We can cast down the Endings-damned empire.â
Nathan reached forward and grasped her offered hand. âThatâs worth a heavy cost.â
But not every cost. I will do a lot to see Giantsrest destroyed, but there are still lines I wonât cross.
If Faline noticed any sign of his internal qualification she didnât react, squeezing his hand for a moment before letting go and stepping back. âThe Guardians have warned you of Brox. I add my weight to their word. Keep my name from his ears - he thinks me dead, and I would keep it that way.â
Nathan couldnât help but raise his eyebrows. âEverybody seems to have history with him, but nobody will tell me what it is. What happened?â
The assassin shook her head sadly. âWaking Giants is what happened. Brox wished to challenge a Kalis Conclave dungeon. The Guardians were with him. They say he woke the horrors within. We call it the Night of Living Light, and hundreds died - including Kosvel, Stanelâs wife and Aarl and Sarahâs mother. She was with him, on the walls.â
No wonder heâs so upset about having Brox around. But given that it hasnât been mentioned, I probably shouldnât bring it up.
Nathan frowned. âDid the dungeon need to go?â
She hesitated, then nodded. âIt is now the town of Grasmere.â
Nathan took a second to recall his geography. Grasmere was a village to the southwest of Gemore - and lay on the route to three more villages. Those villages had probably all been established after this dungeon fell.
So it was not worthless. Maybe Brox messed up - or maybe it was going to happen anyway and Brox was simply the one to bite the bullet. But given that everybody has warned me about him Iâm definitely going to be cautious.
He blinked, and turned back to Faline. âWere you there? Is that why he thinks youâre dead?â
âNo.â She said bitterly. âLater he asked me to deliver him to Giantsrest, that he might work to undermine their Empire.â
She shook her head sadly. âHe is not an [Assassin]. He is a liability.â
âJoy.â Nathanâs response dripped with sarcasm. âAny advice?â
âYou have true aim, to ask me.â She hesitated, tapping her lip with a finger. âIt is a narrow path. If he becomes bored he will seek out challenges without regard for their consequence. You must engage with him, entertain him - but without being impressed by him. All he meets are blinded by the light of his deeds. He seeks true companions, even if he says otherwise.â
Her smile turned wry. âHear me, but you do not wish to become the challenge he seeks. He might try to fight, seduce or recruit you. None will leave you free of regret.â
Good to know. I know heâs already interested in me. I hope he can take ânoâ for an answer if it comes to it.
âAlgoaâs luck ride with you.â Faline said, then faded from view
{Overall Status:
{Status of Nathan Lark:
Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 6
Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 7
Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10
Class: Implacable Antimage level 210
Deepened Stamina: 6524/6600
Antimageâs Impassivity
Antimagic Momentum
Raging Thrill
Implacable Inertia
Unarmored Resilience
Improved Antimagic
Strenuous Agility
Hand-to-hand Expertise
Class: Assassin of Gemore level 76
Regenerative Focus: 860/860
Catastrophic Blows
Stealthy Movement
Infiltration
Forgettable
Unsuspecting Strike
Utility skills:
Battle Meditation 8
Leadership 5
High-tier Sprinting 7
Magical Perception 6
High-tier Notice 10
Magical Intuition 3
High-tier Dodging Footwork 9
Mental Fortress 3
High-tier Lecturing 2
High-tier Tumbling 7
Mid-tier Noticeability 7
Low-tier Quiet Movement 4
Low-tier Disguise 4
Mid-tier Battle Cry 1}