Every time Orion settled on a new version of his equation, or believed he had finally grasped the full potential of gravity magic within his formula, an invisible rod rapped his fingers.
“Again,” Candra said, ignoring his grumble.
He re-wrapped the pebble in a gravitational sleeve, tightening the coupling constants to a narrow range, and reached for the Higgs interaction as gently as he dared, gradually increasing the pebble’s drag.
Rap. “Ouch.”
“You’re bleeding mana like a sieve trying to condense so many concepts into the spell.” She warned with a gimlet eye, “Settle on a few concepts you understand well, and have them do the work.”
Orion adjusted, still somewhat discomfited that she already seemed to know his casting method had little in common with the Sanctum’s, and that she had even developed an understanding of how he built his spells.
The CC followed his will, removing some layers from the equation and allowing his natural Attunement to handle more, while the spell became sleeker and more focused on concepts rather than detailed steps.
Rap.
“You’re still anchoring all that mana to the pebble, child. You need to affect it with your spell, not attach the magic to it,” she explained, tapping her walking stick impatiently. “Do not try to direct everything, but trust in yourself to translate your Knowledge into action.”
He flushed but did as bidden, not just wrapping the pebble with the spell's structure but integrating it into the spell itself. Surprisingly, this seemed to ease the difficulty of manipulating the Higgs Field by quite a bit, allowing him to shift resources elsewhere.
“Better. Now try casting,” she added, wickedly pleased.
Orion let the magic speak for him, more than eager to get to the practice, and cast [Gravity Cannon], much faster than his previous attempts.
There was a loud thud, and when he looked, the pebble had gone through the scale and post in a clean line, only to be stopped by the ward Candra had set up on the far wall.
About twenty percent more than my original spell. That’s not insignificant for half an hour of work.
“That was better,” Candra judged with a half-lidded gaze. "It’s strong enough to punch through any wyrmling, but I suspect you're aiming even higher, hmm?”
“Yes,” Orion replied, “I know real dragons are beyond me, but I want something to at least threaten the drakes and the adult wyrms.”
“Then you have to put some more work into that, don’t you?” She asked rhetorically. “Try to impart some more force now, rather than focusing just on the mass.”
Orion’s eyes widened, and he swore as he barely touched that part of the formula. He immediately adjusted it to fit the new sleek design he had created for the gravitational manipulation and took aim for another attempt.
CRACK.
The ward flared to full brightness, with hundreds of tiny runes crawling on its surface like ants, and a fist-sized crater was burned into the post.
“Much better,” Candra said, and didn’t rap him for once, which was higher praise than any word. “Again.”
Orion worked until his shirt was soaked with sweat, and his stone foot ached from the constant adjustments. Each iteration removed more waste, making sure his mana was used for specific goals, and his focus shifted from raw power to the finer details.
“Don’t waste time with fancy details,” she warned, immediately catching on. “This is a brutish weapon, useful only when you need to kill something.”
He obeyed, and on his seventh attempt, the ward rang like a gong, and the ground trembled beneath his feet.
Candra’s eyes lit up with delight. “Now that was warmagic.”
Orion exhaled deeply as his arms shook, but he still raised his fist in victory, especially when the System finally rewarded his efforts.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
+1 Attunement
+2 Mind
+61,500 Exp
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“Sit,” Candra told him, gesturing for him to join her on the stone steps. She waved a hand, and the broken ground and training post repaired themselves so quickly that he couldn’t even summon [Hypotheticism] to study the magic.
He sat, breathing deeply to steady his heart. It had been a while since he’d pushed himself that hard.
“Since you left the Sanctum before this lesson could be imparted upon you,” she began dryly, “let me teach you about spell ranks.”
Orion sat up straighter, suddenly interested. His experience with the old woman was that she never said anything without a reason, but in class, she’d cloaked her teachings in a layer of frailty and crotchetiness that made them hard to understand.
I prefer this direct version much more, though I wonder why she put on that pretense.
“Every faction,” she began, “sorts spells by rank, not just by element or school. You might think there's a direct link to a class’s rank, but it’s not that simple. A C-rank caster could manage a tier three spell with enough time or prep, but they will never truly master it. Not like they can with tier two spells.”
That much, Orion already knew. [Gamma Ray] had been much more powerful than he should have been able to cast, which had saved his hide more than once.
“Once a spell crystallizes in your Knowledge, the rank is set, and while that might not be permanent, it is very time-consuming to change, which is almost never worth the trouble.”
[Infinite Laser] is like that, he thought, grimacing. He could compensate by channeling even more mana, but the process was too inefficient against tier two creatures focused on defense, and even worse with tier three ones.
She nodded at his expression. “I see you understand what I’m talking about. Yes, most spells you might have come up with before your rank-up will not keep up with the battles you’ll face.”
Orion had known he’d hit a ceiling with his old spells, but it was still frustrating to realize all that effort had been for nothing.
“This doesn’t mean throwing everything away,” Candra added, reading him like a ledger. “A tier one spell, refined and used correctly, is better than a tier three spell used foolishly. I’m sure you already have enough coverage, and probably one or two spells that you have yet to master because of their raw power. Use those as your new foundation, and keep climbing. The sky is the limit, child.”
“I hear you,” he said. I really do. I just need to think of it as setting myself up for success. Now that I have a solid foundation, I can take the concepts that worked and carry them with me as I fully step into tier two.
Dinner was a private affair in a room just off the temple’s old library, where the local Magistrae had eaten their meals. They were served a block of soft cheese drizzled with local sweet sap, a pot of stewed leeks, bread, fish, and a bottle of shimmering wine that he wasn’t allowed to drink, much to Candra’s amusement.
Orion pouted, feeling that if he was mature enough to hunt dragons, he should have been able to taste some of the famous vintages the witches brewed, but his mother remained unmoved.
“I heard your latest training session was a bit more intense than your usual, which is saying something,” Asteria said, more to distract him from the bottle than because she was truly worried.
“Your son has a penchant for offensive magic,” Candra said, serving herself without waiting for the poor girl who was attending to them to do so. “Very brutish, for such a waifish child.”
Asteria smirked. “He has hidden depths, my boy.”
Orion ignored their banter, cutting himself a slice of bread and passing the basket to his mother. His eyes met the girl’s, and he jerked his head toward the door, silently telling her she was free to go.
She hurried away after bowing deeply to the two Veil Priestesses, but not before offering him a shaky smile.
“We’ll be ready at first light,” Asteria said as she cut into the fish. “The wardwrights have finished the preparations for the forward shelters, and the potion stocks are up to what we estimate will be the upper end of the demand. We really just need to complete the setup to allow those who will remain to hold Last Thaw.”
“Are you sure that will be enough?” Candra asked. “If you want to succeed in your punitive sweep, you’ll need the best fighters, and while our scryers haven’t found any powerful monster lurking south, that doesn’t mean one might not appear and take advantage of the lack of powerhouses to attack the city.”
Asteria’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t seem willing to alter her plans. “The wards we’ve put in place will allow many more contributors than the old ones.”
“I’m sure, but that still leaves them as sitting ducks, and no matter how many might sacrifice themselves, if we aren’t there to relieve them, they will eventually falter.” Though her words were dismissive, her tone was clearly building up to something, so Asteria waited for her to get to the point before speaking.
Candra lifted a hand and telekinetically opened the door without looking, allowing a woman whom Orion vaguely recognized to enter. She was dressed entirely in slate gray, with clean lines and a very wrinkled face. Her hair was tied in a simple knot, and she wore several necklaces, each adorned with a charm.
“This is Magistra Nell,” Candra said, “One of the best experts on defensive arrays in Silverpeak. She will ensure the city will still be here by the time we are done.”
“Elder,” Nell said to Asteria, which was quite funny considering that their looks would have suggested the roles were the other way around. "I have spoken with Elder Candra about your needs, and I believe I might be able to help you."
Asteria’s mouth flattened in thought, but tellingly, she didn’t refuse the offer.
Candra isn’t just offering help. If that were the case, this entire production wouldn’t be necessary. No, she’s requesting one of her people be put in charge of the defenses. It’s a tit for tat for coming with us on the hunt.
“I can hold the city for you,” Nell continued. “I've seen the work the local witches have been doing under your command, and it will serve as a great foundation, but I believe we could build even stronger defenses if I am given the leadership.”
Candra lifted her goblet in support. “She’s a talent, despite her young age,” she said, drawing an amused smile from everyone. “We’ll be able to hunt ourselves some dragons without worrying about the city this way.”
Asteria looked between them and finally nodded. “Very well. Magistra Nell, the responsibility over the city’s defense is yours in my absence.”
Nell bowed low, much lower than he could remember a witch doing outside religious ceremonies, and swept out, a determined fire burning in her eyes.
Man, they really are all battle maniacs.
Dawn was grey and foggy, and the rain had started pouring down from the sky again, but it didn’t seem to be more than a mild annoyance.
More than three hundred witches lined the square, floating just above the stone floor, waiting for the command to leave to be given.
Magistra Nell stood with the city’s commander at her side. House Voss’s banner hung next to the Sanctum’s, along with the sigil of Last Thaw, held up by three soldiers on each side of the square.
Asteria stood at the head of the avenue, her silver hair fluttering in the wind despite no rain reaching her. Candra was beside her, a small, almost forgettable presence now that she was keeping her aura tightly sealed.
Pauline flew beside Orion, once again ordered to watch over him. He wondered if she resented it, knowing she might miss the heat of the fighting.
“Remember what your mother said,” she murmured. “If you wander off, I will tie you up and drag you around like that.”
“I know,” he said sincerely.
He grinned despite the churn in his stomach, feeding the levitation spell he’d cast on the broom another trickle of mana in preparation for the actual takeoff. The artifact quivered awake, the dampening runes igniting, and he knew that at the slightest prompting, it would take off like a rocket.
“Formation!” someone shouted, and the spearpoint took shape. Then the second flight stood up, followed by the third, and so on.
Once they were all ready, Asteria lifted her fist. “For the Mother,” she called.
“For the Mother,” the coven answered, and they took off.
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