Ends of Magic

They bid goodbye to the people of Farfield, and especially Qinven. The wide Knuld wasn’t particularly thankful for their assistance, and demanded that Stella close the crevasse in her fields before they left.

Stella grumbled about it, but she flipped open a spellbook and started working on the wide pit in the ground. She complained vociferously about never wanting to work on permanent earth constructions. She didn’t want to build houses. She wanted to blow them up.

While they waited for Stella to work her magic, Nathan gestured Khachi aside. They left Sarah and Aarl in charge of Harthi. Their prisoner was still jumpy and upset, but she was remarkably functional after being captured and coming within a hair’s breath of being executed. She followed Khachi with her eyes, shying away from Sarah.

After they got out of earshot, Nathan turned to face his friend, trying to figure out how to explain his conflict. Nathan had been preparing himself to kill another person for months now. He’d fanned the embers of his Rage, telling himself that mind-mages did not get to live. And now there was one here, and Khachi was protecting her.

Nathan had struggled with his anger in the moments after Khachi had found a way for them to spare Harthi’s life. But his newly developed [Battle Meditation] made anger management easier than ever. So instead of shouting at his friend, Nathan made a simple statement, starting with an easier issue. “It’s a risk leaving her alive, much less traveling with her.”

Khachi gazed calmly back, eyes placid over his muzzle. “It is. It is not a great risk. Harthi has abandoned Giantsrest for the snake pit it is, and looks to a future in Gemore. She can make a life there, if only we give her a chance.”

“Does she have a future in Gemore? I cannot imagine people accepting her. Some Adventurer will cut off her head within a week.”

“Giantsrest mages have joined Gemore before, by desertion and capture. And she is an enchanter. I can only give her a chance. It will be her nemesis to slay.”

Nathan tensed. “If I’d struck her slightly differently, then she would be dead. Her friend Ruthal did die in the fight. Should we have captured her too?”

Khachi turned and looked over at the site of their battle, where Stella was laboring on the crevasse. “At the moment I am a follower of Deiman, God of Righteous Battle. In time, I will carve out my own piece of the Divine to shape how I will. To achieve that, I must first learn the lessons of the Divine, body and mind. In battle one must vanquish their foe. So long as the fight is righteous, that follows the path of Deiman. After the battle is done, it is no longer righteous to kill a surrendered enemy. This is not just a teaching of my god, but my own belief.”

He turned back to Nathan. “We can turn her from the path of a Giantsrest mage. Her life has been spent cloistered in the Academy. We can choose to give her the chance to choose. To live a better life. Is her life, her potential, worth so little?”

Nathan closed his eyes. He agreed with Khachi. Each person was a story. They existed as they did because of all the myriad experiences of life, and what they’d chosen to do with that. Every person was more unique than the most intricate gemstone, and deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.

But the mind-mages of Giantsrest trod all over that principle. They crushed people underneath them, dismissed the fact that their slaves had hopes and desires of their own and used them like objects. So Nathan had decided that those mages had sacrificed the right to be treated with dignity, like people. It was how he reconciled himself with his plans.

When Nathan opened his eyes, he had one last question. He asked it in a soft voice. “But what about everybody she hurt? The slaves who were crushed beneath her? What of their justice?”

Khachi smiled gently, the expression looking oddly natural on his elongated canine face. “What is greater justice? That she should die for her past crimes, assumed as they are, or live and contribute to freeing slaves of Giantsrest?”

Nathan nodded his acceptance, somewhat resigned. He didn’t fully agree with Khachi, but he’d trust him on this. And from what he’d heard, he guessed that sparing Harthi and helping her change into someone better was part of an Insight for his friend, and not a small one. They turned to walk back to the other Heirs.

And I know one thing now - I won’t hesitate to kill like I did with Taeol back in his mage-tower. It’s been a worry.

It took almost an hour for Stella to work out a spell that would let her undo the damage to the fields that the Enslavement mages had done in a hundredth of the time. She didn’t do much more than jam the pit closed, leaving an expanse of turned earth and ruined crops. But it was crossable now, and could be re-plowed and re-sown.

Qinven grumbled about the state of her fields, but the Heirs left Farfield with packages of rolls filled with sweet syrup.

—

They mostly walked in silence, their normal banter interrupted by the presence of their new guest. Nathan wanted to ask about Sarah and Aarl’s level 81 development options, but that was a bad idea right now with the extra ears present.

They’d removed the ankle bindings and tied Harthi’s hands in front of her, so she wasn’t hobbling along anymore. Nathan was a bit disconcerted by the reminder of the people of Pilriden he'd helped rescue from the slave raid so long ago.

Eventually, Harthi broke the silence, speaking to Stella, “How did youcreate the wonder of that lightning? Archmage Exea gave a demonstration of lightning magic once, but yours curved! It was other than any I’ve ever heard of or read about.” She shook her head in wonder. “Worthy of a Giant’s praise.”

Stella was smiling, basking in the compliment.

Harthi continued, “And the light! Some part of it went through the [Mage armor]. It was…” She seemed to be searching for words. “As if it was closer to true light than any light magic I’ve seen. Your magic is rooted in the world in a way the mages of Giantsrest cannot imagine.”

Nathan felt proud of himself. Those Insights had come from him. He’d been able to communicate the truths of electricity and light to Stella, and she’d been able to use them in her magic.

Harthi turned toward Nathan. “The things you must know - Insights to be tapped. My imagination overflows with the wonders that could be made.”

You have no idea. I wonder what kind of bioengineering would be possible with magic. Maybe somebody with specialized enchantment knowledge…

His chain of thoughts was interrupted by a caustic comment from Sarah. “Bet dragon bones to stalker teeth that she’s using a social manipulation skill.”

The statement threw cold water over Nathan’s excitement. He centered his mind, looking out into the forest and objectively considering his reaction to Harthi’s comment. He had been considering teaching her Insights from Earth. He probably would have reflected on it later, and not followed through. But given he’d been fine with executing her this morning, the difference was stark.

Then he looked back at their captive. Harthi was flinching as if expecting a blow. Everybody was glaring at her to one extent or another, and it looked like Stella was considering lighting her on fire.

I need to figure out a better way to insulate myself from social manipulation skills.

Nathan was furious, and certain that Sarah was correct. He wasn’t asking a question, he was demanding something he already knew. “What is the skill called?”

Harthi shook her head and opened her mouth, then saw Nathan’s expression and stance. She swallowed and spoke in a small voice, “[Appealing Flattery].” She rushed to defend herself. “Everybody in Giantsrest has one! I needed it in the academy. You can get yourself out of a mistake by telling a professor how clever he is for noticing what you did wrong. I’m not really a duelist, so I made nice with everybody…”

She trailed off, seeing Aarl stowing a sword in his bag of holding. His expression was grim, but he looked around at the other Heirs with a shrug. “Flattery won’t free her from this. Harthi, I’d recommend abandoning that skill. You won’t get away using it again on us, and Gemore does not react well to such things.”

Harthi looked around for any other opinions, but the rest of the Heirs were silent, nodding along with Aarl’s comment.

After a moment, Khachi asked a question, trying to change the mood. “Harthi. Tell us of Giantsrest. We know it as an enemy. Tell of it as a home.”

Fair enough. Know thy enemy.

Harthi blinked, then started speaking in a more natural tone, “Giantsrest is where I grew up. The Ascendent Academy… have any of you ever seen it?” When they all shook her heads, she looked off into the distance, as if gazing at something that towered high into the air. “It’s taller than you can believe. Many towers together, stretching to the sky. Every space is sized for Giants. They shouldn’t stand, but by a Giant’s strength they do.

“But I didn’t see it from the outside often. When I was young, I would go onto the balcony and watch it. There were always whorls of light floating around it. I told myself that’s where magic happens.” She waved her hand. “I was raised in the Pelogi family complex with my sisters. When we turned eight we went to the academy and were taught magic.”

Nathan interrupted, “Your father didn’t teach you?”

Harthi snorted. “I saw my father twice when I was young, and never on my own. He inspected the nursery once, checking on us. And he gave us a speech when we went off to the academy.” Her mouth curled bitterly. “Called us investments.”

“What about your mother?”

“Just a slave.” Harthi waved her hand dismissively, as if the topic was over and done with.

Nathan was a bit shocked, his mouth falling open slightly as he parsed Harthi’s last comment.

She kept going, “The Ascendent Academy is where I’ve been since then. I was top of my fraction, selected for advanced classes. Most of the others were spun out to be crafters and Enslavement mages. Menial mages.”

Stella cocked her head. “Aren’t you an enchanter?”

Harthi replied hotly, “I will not sit and repeatedly enchant golem cores for years on end! I will design new enchantments! Be a true heir to my father, regardless of what the standings are!”

This time it was Aarl who asked a question. “Standings?”

“Yeah. The standings. They’re based on duelist proficiency and displays of overt magic. And I’m twelfth among my father’s children.” She sniffed in a superior fashion. “But I’m the best enchanter. And so I should succeed my father, who is the foremost enchanter of Giantsrest.” She was proud of the title. “He’ll find that Insight when I ascend to Archmage on my own.”

Khachi spoke up, “You are blessed to leave these worries aside. They are not of concern anymore.”

Harthi blinked, wrapped up in her past strivings. Then she looked around and seemed to remember her position. “No. I suppose not.” She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as if to find her balance before she fell over.

Khachi prompted her again, voice leading, “Many things must change now. You most of all. Gemore is different from Giantsrest, and if you are to survive, you must leave behind the past.”

She nodded slightly, looking up to ask a question. Her face had that same calculating look on it.

Nathan was not inclined to be gentle about helping Harthi transition to her new life. He interrupted, “How many slaves are at the academy?”

Harthi wrinkled her nose at him. “I don’t know. A lot. Only the best for the academy.”

“What do they do?”

She shrugged, nonplussed. “Everything not done by magic. Cook. Clean. Serve.”

“What do you think of them?” Nathan was trying to keep his tone light, inquisitive. But he couldn’t stop a hard edge from creeping in as he spoke.

“They’re useful. Slaves are to be tended, not discarded. Is that what you mean? I don’t see them as valueless, like some mages do. They’re valuable, and I never saw the attraction to some of their baser uses. I treat the slaves better than most.”

“Did you ever imagine yourself as a slave?” Nathan’s line of questioning was drawing looks from the other Heirs, wondering where he was going.

“No. Why would I? I’m a mage, and a child of an archmage? They’re slaves.”

Nathan felt a cold anger suffuse him. The answer seemed so innocent - and so lacking in empathy. Harthi had just never considered what the life of an average slave was. She had her place, and they had theirs.

He rounded on her, restraining his rage. It was difficult because he couldn’t tell himself he was wrong. He wasn’t overreacting. This was one of Giantsrest’s ruling class. One of those atop the system, for all her descriptions of the Ascendent academy. And by failing to consider the system she existed within, she perpetuated it.

He was shaking with anger, and Khachi stepped forward. Nathan held up a hand to reassure the cleric that he wasn't planning on striking the mage. He stopped a bare foot away from Harthi, and she shrunk back, her hand going to her recently broken jaw. Nathan stopped himself from yelling, but his voice was harsh and pitiless.

“You should consider what their lives are like. A living hell, all for your convenience. If we were more like you, you would be a slave now, to spend the rest of your life submitting to our whims, existing for our convenience. Lacking any ability to act on your own desires or wishes. That is what you subjected others to."

Nathan had to pause for a breath, but he continued without giving Harthi an opportunity to interrupt. “But we are better, and I say that with certainty. You must change, to survive in Gemore. Learn to respect all, even those you consider your lessers.” Nathan spit that last word out viciously, thinking of how Taeol described people like Artha.

He said that Gemore was home to barbarians and intelligent monsters, only deserving extermination.

He continued his rant, “But you will get the chance to decide your own path nonetheless, because my friend has argued that you can become better. I have chosen to believe him, to hope that you don’t need to be put down to protect Gemore. We won’t strip you of all choice, like Giantsrest would if they captured us. That kind of domination is why I fled from Taeol, and will kill any Giantsrest mage who cannot change their ways. So this is my ultimatum. Abandon the ethos of Giantsrest. Or I will kill you.”

High-tier Earnestness 6 achieved!

Khachi frowned at Nathan, chiding him. “Consider her circumstances. She never knew another way.”

Nathan turned to his friend, releasing eye contact with the terrified student. He dipped his head in acknowledgement. “It would take an extraordinary person to question their upbringing and decide their entire society is wrong.”

Then Nathan raised his head and glared challengingly at the cleric. “And that person I will pardon. But any mage of Giantsrest that does not rebel against their society - I would kill for no other reason.”

Nathan dropped his gaze to Harthi, who had sidestepped until Khachi’s armored bulk lay between her and Nathan. His gaze softened slightly. She was still a person, and he’d chosen to believe that she could improve. He needed to reconcile himself with that decision. “But I can see the point in giving them the chance.”

Khachi gave him a slow nod, acknowledging and wanting to end the conversation. Nathan almost continued, but held himself back.

I’ve made my point. Continuing will only dilute it.

Instead, he turned back to the path and resumed the walk to Riverbank. The Heirs and their prisoner followed after a moment, and his [Notice] allowed Nathan to pick out a quiet whisper from Harthi.

“Is he always like that?”

Nathan could hear the smirk in Sarah’s response. “Yeah. But he means it. You’d best take it to heart. Hear me, but Nathan follows through on his convictions. Dramatic as they are.”

–

The mood thawed over the next hour or so as they ate a late lunch and talked of other things, like Aarl complaining that Nathan had messed up the enchantment on his favorite greatsword. Nathan offering to break it the rest of the way didn’t help.

The Heirs wanted to get back to Gemore as soon as possible and so they hadn’t stopped to eat, instead handing around the sweet rolls that Qinven had given them. Harthi eyed hers suspiciously before shrugging and choking it down.

They continued, pushing onwards into the night. Stella was checking in with the Adventurer’s guild every hour, both to report more details on what they’d learned and to reassure them that the Heirs hadn’t been attacked again.

Harthi complained about the pace until Khachi hefted her like a sack of potatoes. The uncomfortable carry convinced the mage it was worth it to keep walking. It was dark by the time they reached the shore opposite the village of Riverbank. They debated having Stella try to signal for a boat, but decided against it because they didn’t want to spend the night in the village with Harthi.

They set up an extra-paranoid series of traps and a watch schedule to match, with at least two of the Heirs awake at all times. The primary concern was Taeol coming back - but he would hopefully find it difficult to find them. He’d set a trap for them at Farfield instead of coming to find the Heirs at Bridgeguard, after all. That made Nathan tend to believe Harthi’s claim that Taeol didn’t have easy access to any scrying magic.

Oh shit, Davrar has scrying and teleportation? That’s… a scary combination. Scry-and-die is a valid strat. I wonder if I’m immune to scrying. Probably. But the Heirs aren’t. Not yet. Need to make sure nobody gets a scrying focus off them. Assuming that’s how scrying works! It seems like a rare branch of magic, at the very least.

The night passed without any notable events - except Harthi’s complaining about eating trail food and sleeping in the open. The Heirs didn’t have a lot of sympathy and she fell asleep quickly, exhausted by the long walk.

The next morning they got the ride back to Riverbank. It was from the same old man, who eyed Harthi and her purple robe with suspicion, but didn’t comment on it.

Nathan was tense as they passed through town. If Harthi was going to try casting a spell to cause chaos and make a break for it, now was the time. But she seemed relaxed, accepting. It didn’t stop Nathan from walking a few paces behind her, watching her every move.

She noticed, and shot paranoid looks back at him. He just gave her a blank look until they were out of town, and headed back towards the transit road.

Once more they ate meals on the move, aiming to make it to Gemore quickly. It was clear that Harthi hadn’t ever done long-distance travel by foot, and she started limping from sore legs and blisters until Khachi healed her so they could close the gap.

And just like that, they passed along the transit roads and entered Gemore.

Harthi looked up at the city built up the mountain, brows furrowed in confusion. “It’s so small.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 8

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 1

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 5

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 72

Stamina: 721/820

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 1

High-tier Earnestness 6

Mid-tier Sprinting 7

High-tier Spellsense 5

Mid-tier Notice 10

Mid-tier Identify 8

Mid-tier Dodging Footwork 6

High-tier Enhanced Memory 5

Mid-tier Lecturing 5

Mid-tier Tumbling 3