Adamant Blood

Grand Mage Rekaro Solari looked pretty much like Mark remembered. Aged and wiry, but not old. White and blue hair; dual colors being common among most nobility of Daihoon. Dignified, but also miffed. Specifically miffed about Mark.

The 'overseer' of Mage Society in the settlement stood up from his desk, politely saying, "Greetings, Mark. Thank you for the escort, Tombsigh."

Tombsigh bowed politely and then backed away, all the way out of the room. He closed the door as he left to stand watch outside.

"Hello, Grand Mage," Mark said.

"Tea? Coffee? Soda?" Rekaro offered, as he stepped to a little bar in his office.

It was a nice office. Mark had never been here before. There were books on the shelves, most of them in languages that were not the shape-based language on the directional signs out there. Nor were they the secondary languages underneath that shape-based language. That big book looked to have some sort of runes, while there was a looping script on another one. The rest were just as different, though the looping-script-option repeated more often than not.

Rekaro had pictures on the walls and magical diagrams full of shapes… oh. That was interesting. A great big diagram of shapes and colors, and it looked almost like the periodic table of elements, but it was organized in a way that Mark didn't understand at all—

Before too much time lapsed, Mark answered the question, "I'll take whatever you're having."

Rekaro nodded, his surprise hidden a little bit, but not entirely. As he began making tea, he said, "It was always partial to tea, but I learned to like soda on Earth. Memphi has a few good ones. Cream-space soda… Have you ever tried that one?"

"Can't say I ever have, sir."

Rekaro grinned a little, his slight displeasure eroding away. Mark was playing by the Xerkona Etiquette book rather solidly, and in a way that put him below the Grand Mage. The man was grateful for a return to proper order. Rekaro prepared the tea and allowed Mark to forgo traveling further down that path of obeisance, by saying, "You've killed kaiju, Mark, and you fight my son at his insistence, which does him a lot more good than it does you. Please, call me Rekaro."

"As you wish, Rekaro."

It was all about give and give, in Xerkona Etiquette. One person gives ground, and the other person gives ground, and then you find out where boundaries are and you work to see what works, and what each other's actual needs are.

Rekaro set the tea pot onto the tea table, and then he sat down on the low seat, legs almost on the ground.

Mark took the opposing seat and settled the weight of his backpack onto some small, soft-balled adamantium dots. He did not remove his adamantium or set it aside at all, and Rekaro would never ask him to do that if he wanted to remain polite.

Rekaro waited for the tea to steep, and Mark waited, too. No one said anything.

It was a polite little ceremony to see if all parties were willing to let each other simply exist. This was, of course, true. So the ceremony happened. Time passed politely.

Eventually Rekaro poured in one cup and then the other, and then he allowed Mark to pick whatever cup he wanted, first. Mark picked the second pour. Rekaro picked the first pour and he sipped it first. Mark sipped second.

They finished off a whole cup of tea each.

It was quite good tea, really. A little bitter, citrusy, and floral, but only in the tiniest of ways. Mostly, it was sweet-ish. A good, green-tan tea.

Rekaro set his cup down, and Mark did the same.

Perhaps, if Rekaro's son Tartu hadn't stolen Mark's adamantium and dosed him with shavallian months ago, and if Rekaro hadn't told Mark and Isoko to fuck off back when Mark punched in Tartu's teeth in reprisal, then Mark and Rekaro would have had this meeting months ago. They would have talked about learning magic through Mage Society. But reality had shaken out differently from plans.

Rekaro was hoping to have that original conversation, anyway.

Rekaro began, "It has come to my attention that you are trying to learn magic."

"I am attempting as much, yes."

"Is it going well?"

"About as much as can be expected when most learning is behind strong walls."

"There are reasons for that, you understand."

"Yes. Unknown and improper magic can cause Magefalls, which are the greatest horrors known to mankind on the Two Worlds. The last Magefall was technically the Reveal, even though it wasn't caused by a mage at all. It was still caused by unknown magic, and it was an event that transformed Daihoon, killing many and changing everything. For Earth, the Reveal was the only Magefall that any of us have ever heard about, though there had to have been a big one 7,000-ish years ago, when the Two Worlds split. Those are Magefalls, and they are horrific, and they never happen how you expect them to happen. Sometimes it's as big of an event as one man dying and becoming a dragon or demonspawn, which is where the name comes from. 'The Fall of an Archmage', is the mostly-accepted full term." Mark continued, "The history of Mage Society is a response to Magefalls. Before the paladins and Inquisitors of the Pantheon, Mage Society was charged with policing its own, but after the Ascension and the Pantheon, there was a split, and now most of the physical policing forces of Mage Society are outside of Mage Society."

Of course Mark had gotten some of it wrong, but the broad strokes were there.

Rekaro said, "Mage Society has issues, as does any secret society. But it's less monolithic than a lot of people think. That is why Inquisitors and others are able to move and interact in Mage Society like they can. It is not, as you say, Mage Society's task of policing itself that fell to the paladins. It was more like the usual people who would have chosen to become the police force in this or that organization instead chose to follow a force that could not be corrupted by demons and cultists, which is true of all mages, and never let them tell you otherwise."

Mark was surprised and appreciative to hear that last part.

"That transition to exterior policing started when Seventh Star, which was the largest Mage Society policing force at the time of the Ascension, transitioned to godly oversight, with Drakarok as their patron. You would call them Executioners of Drakarok these days. A hundred years ago we still would have called them the Executioners, but of Seventh Star. Not of Drakarok.

"The Inquisitors are a wholly Pantheonic invention, though, born on Earth and choosing only to interact in Mage Society in an antithesis sort of way. Earth is all about solid, known powers, and a general dislike of magery, and for good reason. I know a lot of paladins these days say that magery is outdated, and all mages should give up their power and pick a god, but I believe that is not your specific stance, is it?"

Mark hadn't known that particular history of Drakarok, but it made a lot of sense. Sally had talked once about signing a Mage Secrecy contract with the Executioners, which seemed weird back then but Mark had never questioned it. But, yeah; if the Executioners were originally a mage organization responsible for, well, executing mages, then it made sense that they had some big magical knowledge in their libraries.

As for Rekaro's question about Mark's stance on people giving up on pursuing magery...

Mark said, "I don't believe the gods have all of the answers, because if they did then the monsters and demons would be dead. They had 80 years, right? So why didn't it happen? I don't know. I assume I'll either find out eventually, or… do you know?"

Rekaro hummed a little, the difficulty of Mark's question probably needing a lot of background that was allowed under Mage Secrecy laws. He eventually figured out what he could say, though, and he said, "Broadly, it is not known entirely why the Pantheon has not killed all demons and fixed the worlds. But we have reasons. Thrashtalon is a big reason. Other reasons include demons being unkillable, the problem being so much larger than the Two Worlds because Endless Daihoon is there, too, and monsters being a natural response to mana poisoning. Expecting some new gods to solve all of humanity's problems is asking a bit much, in my opinion, especially when one of them is history's greatest traitor."

Rekaro had not asked a question, or led the conversation in a particular way.

They had arrived at the soft-sell part of the conversation.

Rekaro asked, "Would you be interested in learning more about that, from sources that pull from all the information available, instead of only what the Inquisition knows?"

"I am interested, but I thought Mage Society wasn't a monolith, so how is your information more valid than the Inquisition's?"

"I am a Grand Mage of the Aluathan Imperial Society, here in this settlement. Our people include the Imperial Family, heads of state all across the Empire, and even people such as my son, Tartu. We are the power alongside the Empire, and the people who sign with us will be the next generation of powers in the Empire, the Two Worlds, and also Endless Daihoon." Rekaro added, "Elaria Valen, your current teacher of magic, is one of our people. She could continue to be your teacher, if you wish, and you could have access to this arcanaeum, just how you and your friend Isoko desired, before various incidents conspired to cull that possibility before it could come to fruition."

Mark asked, "And what's the cost?"

"Induction into the Aluathan Imperial Society, my personal oversight on your projects which means strict adherence toward not doing something if I say don't do it, and a single donation of 50 kilos of adamantium, payable whenever you wish to begin," Rekaro said. He added, "There are a few variations of this arrangement we're willing to accept, but those are the general stipulations."

Mark knew exactly nothing about Aluathan Imperial Society, but there was no indentured servant contract in all of that so this was probably a good deal... The contract was probably hidden in the details, but… maybe not? That amount of adamantium was NOT a small ask. That was 4.3-ish billion goldleaf. But it was also the same amount of adamantium that Mark could make in around 25 days, if that was all he did. 50 kilos of adamantium was also just 2 kaiju days. Mark currently had 187 kilos of the stuff and he needed to get rid of some of it, anyway.

Mark asked, "50 kilos of adamantium, huh? That seems like an inordinate amount."

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"It is," Rekaro said, without any humiliation or recognition that his request was crazy.

… Mark waited.

Rekaro did not elaborate.

"Okay, well…" Mark asked, "What does Aluathan Imperial Society look like?"

"A hierarchy where you gain prestige or shelter based on who inducts you. As I would be inducting you, you would be at the same level as Tartu, and 6 steps removed from the Royal Family of Aluatha. Rank 7. I'm rank 6. Elaria Valen is a direct subject of the Royal Family, at Rank 3-D, and so she is higher than me, but as she is a protected class she is technically lesser. Everyone is connected up the chain or down the chain, and everyone knows everyone else. There are mandatory parties every other month, and if you're requested to be there, you are there, or they collect you. Depending on the severity of the transgression you either pay a fine, or are stripped of your rights as a mage.

'All of Mage Society works in a similar manner. That is the harsh truth of Mage Society. That is how we prevent Magefalls; by always being up in each other's business. If you see a mage and wonder about what they're doing, you can tag them through various systems in place and talk to that mage's boss to see if they're doing illegal and dangerous things, and if they are then Mage Society takes care of the issue.

'By the same token, Mage Society protects its people from zealous outsiders when the situation warrants, and being nosy might make you unwelcome enough to be ousted by your particular Society.

"You also gain access to great minds and mages, and you, personally, will likely have many libraries opened to you, because here is another harsh truth: You will never be a great mage. They can tell you everything that you want to know because it won't actually hurt you, or anyone else.

"The real reason we're offering you this lenient of a contract is so that you have more eyes on you, to prevent a Magefall through your accidental experimentation with adamantium."

… Mark was disappointed, but also, he already knew what Mage Society was about, and yeah, this was Mage Society. To be sure everything that needed to be said, was said, Mark first asked, "Is that everything that your higher ups told you to say?"

"Yes," Rekaro said, without compunction.

Mark said, "Before I give my answer, I would like to know the lowest you will go with requirements and such."

Rekaro easily said, "We'll increase your oversight from me, to direct oversight from Second Princess Walaria Aluatha, who will show up whenever she feels like it for an evaluation. That would put you at the same level that Aurora Valen is at, when she came out of the Tutorial at age 12. I urge you to ask the General how she feels regarding that oversight before you deny Aluathan Imperial Society.

"As for traditional learning, I will merely be your guidance counselor here at the Arcanaeum, and Elaria Valen can be your teacher here. Isoko will have to negotiate her own Secrecy, but she will likely gain favorable conditions if you choose this. It will be normal classes, given by normal teachers. I had planned on a smaller settlement-style arcanaeum, but we're rapidly ballooning up to a full arcanaeum, so expect a lot more classes than what's actually listed online. Take as many or as few as you want; it'll be free of charge for you, as long as you live here.

"And 100 kilos of adamantium." Rekaro said, "Yes, 100 instead of 50. That is correct. The offer got better and worse."

Mark was a little less sure about his answer after hearing all of that. Mainly it was that name. Second Princess Walaria. That name tickled some memories—

Oh.

The Princess that had walked onto the Grey Whale, when they were headed to the settlement site. Second Princess Walaria had met with Aurora and Eliot and someone else from the settlement down in the basement. Walaria had someone else with her, too… Oh! The Ambassador, Iliandra Snowstepper. And someone else. Some big shots from Crytalis…

… So this seemed like a better deal. Mark just had to ask about it and pressure in the right way to get it, because he was very, very close to walking out, and Rekaro knew that. But an 'upgrade' from having Rekaro as his oversight, to the Second Princess? Seemed… good, right?

Or it was actually really, really bad.

The last time Mark got his hopes up about someone in high power helping him, it was Addashield… And that had turned out… Well.

Hmm.

Mark felt a bit scared, now.

Mark asked, "If I walk away, what happens?"

"I don't know, Mister Careed. This is a great offer. If it were me starting off, and without the adamantium requirement, I would be willing to walk through sewers, upstream both ways, every morning and evening to get to class, to meet with my oversight, to do whatever they wished. Scribe spells 10,000 times over, every day? Done. Shave my head and be a monk for 5 years? Also done. Make breakfast and dinner and clean the Emperor's Castle? Do you KNOW what simply being allowed in the Emperor's Castle will get you in life, Mark? I do not think you do, otherwise you wouldn't be asking this at all. And sure, it'll be difficult at first, but then there's a certain point where you're not a liability anymore, and you can be trusted to know what is the right thing, and then to do the right thing. And then the world opens to you. It already is, a little bit."

This guy was so, so much unlike Mark, it was crazy for Mark to hear him. He wanted… all of that? For all of that? It seemed… Mmmm.

"… Will being an Inquisitor be a problem?"

"Not a problem," Rekaro said, shaking his head. "I understand Sentinel/Executioner Walter is in town. He has multiple loyalties as well. There are others just like him in Mage Societies all over the place, and you could be one of those people as well. There are, however, requirements that you submit paperwork to Society before or shortly after you carry out your execution targets, though."

Mark almost sighed. 'Execution targets'. Yeah, he supposed he would have those, eventually…

Suddenly, dread overwhelmed Mark.

Everything seemed darker than it had been before. The world seemed cold.

Mark said, "This isn't what I wanted in my life."

Rekaro didn't know what to make of that.

Mark continued, "What I wanted was… I want to kill big monsters, kill small monsters, save people, friends and family. Learning magic came secondary, and as a means to an end. But stuff sort of ballooned out of my control, and a lot of people assumed that meant that they were in control now, because that's how it worked for them so far. And so here's Second Princess stepping into my world, and she's planning on controlling me, isn't she? Because that's who she is, right?" Mark stood. "I don't think so."

Rekaro was disappointed in Mark. Rekaro stood and said, "This is an amazing offer, Mister Careed. You would be a fool to walk away from it."

Mark felt flippant. He rhetorically asked, "Am I walking away? Or am I going to talk with Aurora?"

"It's 150 kilos of adamantium if you walk out that door."

Mark nodded, saying, "You do what you have to do, Rekaro, and I will do the same."

Rekaro stood there, evaluating. And then he bowed politely, and said, "A pleasure to meet with you, Mark."

Mark bowed as well. "Thank you for the invitation into Mage Society. I will take your invitation under consideration."

And then Mark walked out of there, right into a pair of guards who politely escorted Mark out of the arcanaeum. Tombsigh stood to the side, not willing to be involved in kicking Mark out of Mage Society. He had only been there if Mark had accepted, it seemed.

The guards would have escorted Mark all the way out through the tram, but Mark dropped his illusions, transformed his backpack into scale armor and a flight blade and rotor, and spun his way up and out of the place. Just to be an ass. He cracked through the illusions covering the whole place like a ripping stone through highly-visible water, causing a flicker of light and air to surround him as he left, highlighting him for the world to see. The highlighting magic was not a special action on the Mage Society at all; just a basic defense measure to highlight everyone who went in or out the wrong way.

Someone tried to break into the place every other week, it seemed, and now it was Mark's turn to be greeted by automated turrets flying into the sky, aiming at him. They yelled 'Halt!' and various other words.

Mark waved at the turrets and kept flying.

Quark said, "That's a sliding scale fine of 1,000,000,000 gold leaf."

"Tell them 'fuck you'."

"Done."

Mark aimed toward Castle South, directly to the west, asking, "Is Aurora in her office? Can I get an appointment?"

"Requesting… Yes. She is in her office. Requesting an appointment. Her algorithm will be a moment."

"I'll land by the offices and walk inside."

Mark had no idea what had happened back there at that meeting. He was already kicking himself. He had gone into that meeting expecting to say 'yes', right? So what the fuck was all of that!

It had probably been an Addashield-related trauma response.

"Fuck," Mark muttered to himself.