Sometime 3AC
“This-“ Timothy held up a small fired clay bead. It was mostly spherical and about the size of a large marble. “-is either the most useful or most useless tool of our new age.”
“How can it be both at once?” Karen muttered a touch too loudly.
“It can’t Karen.” He gave her a warning glance, “But it can be one or the other depending on the time and your needs. You see, it measures mana.” Seeing a few eyes light up he continued. “Not quantity but flow.”
“It will react as you push mana through it in a visual and repeatable way. And mana, as you are beginning to understand, is a currency now. It takes time and effort to harvest and our burgeoning society always seems to need more than it has. Like electricity perhaps, but it’s not made by a powerplant somewhere else, each awakened is that potential plant.”
“So how do large-scale enchantments, civil ones like the Hold wards, get their power? The answer is currency. There is a standing, well let's call it a bounty, paid for mana. The price fluctuates a bit with need and a few other factors I won’t get into, but I’ve never seen a doner turned down.
“Because it’s not just the Hold that buys. If you had infinite mana, how many extra spells could you practice? You could hunt without spending a day recovering. Maybe keep your house at a temperature that doesn’t leave you sweating. I don’t know what you would do with it, but I’m sure you see the attraction.”
Timothy paused and pointed to the back row on the left. “Go ahead Count.”
“Teacher, how do you use someone else’s mana? The aspects won’t match and you didn’t claim it?”
“A good question, but one you have already experienced the answer to.” Timothy pointed to the small braiser on the edge of Count’s seating slab. “A single transformation applied to a pool of uniform mana is fast and easy compared to sieving it in bits and pieces from the Field. That should explain the other side too, correct? The mana will be claimed in the purchase. It actually makes it easier. With your smoke duels it’s a fight. There will contests with yours. But a sale is symbolic. A transfer of ownership in exchange for compensation. Make sense?”
Count mulled it over, and nodded before sitting down. His aura was spiking a bit. Eagerness and desire. He wasn’t alone either, the threads of floating intent felt down right avaricious. Heh.
“There are ways to streamline it even farther. The powerful or rich will have a basic isolation circle carved and enchanted somewhere. They'll pay for a specific mana type. Usually something simple but compatible to their path. So someone on the Fortress path might ask for Earth mana. Even if each seller has a slightly different flavor to the earth, it's still fairly uniform.”
“If they are really skilled, they might have the conversion built into the circle itself. Half automating it. If not, they can still just step inside to actively harvest it, and with a massively increased regeneration rate.”
“And that brings us back to this little marble. To sell a product, you need a scale and a way to store it.” With a gesture a ritual surface carved itself into the stone in front of him. Or perhaps it had been there all the time. The even curves were lined with runes that were already beginning to glow.
Timothy directed a very small tether of mana from his bracer through the bead and into the circle. A second passed and the bead pulsed a very mild white light. A second later, it pulsed again as he maintained an even mana flow and the circle below began to glow ever brighter as it trapped the discharged mana. “Each pulse on this particular type, marked here with a 1-” With a snap, an expanded image of the marble hung over his head with the carved 1 very prominent. “-is one mana. And as the price is listed as a stone coin for 20 mana today, then you know how much to give.”
“Yes Owl?” Timothy pointed to a raised hand. “Thank you Teacher, but how do you know how much 1 mana is?”
Timothy grinned, they were going to hate this one. “I just showed you, the bead pinged.”
“But why is that 1 instead of say, 4?”
“Because the bead says 1, not 4.” Timothy continued, grinning even wider, before laughingly waving away her protest. “You’re probably not going to like this, Owl. It’s one mana because that is the amount I decided was one mana. And since I made and distributed more beads faster, my choice stuck. It's arbitrary, just like nearly every other unit of measurement.”
“But!” Owl protested.
Timothy just shook his head. “A foot is the length of someone's foot, but as we all have different shoe sizes, is that anything other than arbitrary?”
“But a meter isn’t!” Shogath objected.
Timothy shrugged. “The metric system is more consistent about it. With length and mass being linked and easier to calculate between, but it's not any less arbitrary. The original meter was the length of a metal bar stored in France. I think they changed that to a fraction of the speed of light later. But it wasn’t a neat, clean fraction. Almost 1 in 300 million. Almost. The constant for gravity on the earth's surface was almost 10 meters per second squared. It was closer to it than my mana measure probably is, but still not some universal constant. It’s arbitrary.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not useful. As long as it’s consistent.”
“But… What if we find that Universal constant someday?” Shogath muttered, clearly unconvinced.
Timothy shrugged, “I’d like to tell you we’d shift over to using it. But history isn’t real kind to that idea. There is a social sort of inertia. When people get comfortable with an idea, with a system of measurements, they can be quite stubborn about any kind of change.”
“That’s stupid! Why wouldn’t you use it if it’s more accurate?”
Timothy sighed, “You should have seen the arguments over the Metric vs Imperial units. I really don’t want to resurrect that old foggy for you, but I’ll try to hit the highlights. First, it’s not more accurate, merely a bit easier to use. A base ten incremental increase for the most part, rather than trying to remember things like 5,280 feet to the mile or 16 ounces to the pound.”
“Second, let’s say you get used to this unit of mana. You internalize it and know how much each of your spells cost and how much you have stored at any given moment. Then someone comes along and says they have a better system. And they might be right! But do you have the time to retrain your instincts? To recalculate every spell and how much you can hold?”
“That’s… well that sounds like a lot of work.”
“Indeed.” Timothy pointed over to the other side. “Pepper.”
She stood up, tucking a red curl behind her ear. “Is the 10 rule for sub tiers the same thing? Just an arbitrary value?”
“Yes.” Timothy easily agreed. “We broke it up into a scale to make hunting easier and give people an idea of what they’d need to win a specific fight. Then we trained them to recognize mana densities. It’s not perfect, with considerable differences across species. But again, it’s useful.”
“But why is it perfectly 10 to 1 four times till you hit the next Tier?”
“It’s not.” Timothy shrugged. “At no point did I tell you that 10 top Tier 2s could take a Tier 3. It works within a Tier pretty well, but all bets are off once you move beyond it. There is a qualitative change there in beasts that is hard to describe or predict.”
“Oh.” She looked a bit frightened at the thought. And well she should be. Tier 3’s were scary
Timothy pointed again. “Go for it, Count.”
“Why does the amount of mana matter? Even if the units are consistent, you can get more effect out of one unit of complex mana than several of a simple type.”
“A bit of an oversimplification there, Count-” Timothy had a sudden urge to add ‘Ah, ah, ah’ but managed to suppress it. “-but a good question regardless. The type of mana is important, but additional complexity gives room for considerably more variation inside the type. It’s also way harder to transform. It already has a dense amount of specific meaning. Changing that is real work. Where basic elemental types like earth or water easily transform into nearly anything. Complexity is only useful if the spell you are going to cast uses that specific complexity, yes?”
He gestured in the other direction. “Teacher, your enchantments absorb their own mana infinitely, why don't you corner the market?”
“No Hummer, enchantments are not infinite. They wear out without maintenance like anything else. The more power that passes through them, the faster it happens. That works pretty damn well with a backup weapon. It might last a year under light usage. But something made to constantly harvest and transfer mana isn’t going to be lightly used.”
He waved her down when her face started to get the onery cast that meant she wasn't going to stop. “Yes, I’ve made a few anyway. It’s not just the durability. We call them Trickle Chargers, which should be a huge hint. They gather mana pretty slowly. Something like a hundredth of my active speed.
“That still works out in my favor considering I have way more than 100 enchantments out there, but if you think about the time and costs involved, I hope it puts things in perspective. A experienced hunter can pull in enough money in a high tier hunt to purchase a lot of money. Just because I can make tools to do it, doesn’t mean it’s the best or most profitable use of my time.”
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“Frankly, that’s true of most of the powerful awakened. Those willing to sell their personal mana, outside of an emergency, are often some combination of down on their luck, unskilled or unambitious.”
“That, umm, that sounds a bit harsh.” Karen broke in.
“You want me to list the most common reasons, Karen? It’s a decent way to make a few extra coins when you’re stuck on a healing-contamination cycle AKA down on your luck. A good hunter makes far more using his mana to hunt, but if they aren’t any good its safer to sell that mana. AKA unskilled. And finally, if you want to grow and become something more you use your mana for practice. You don’t sell it.”
He glared at her for a few extra moments, she really needed to stop interrupting, before letting it go.
“Now, even if it’s not a task I expect you to take, it’s still something you need to know how to do. Both to dump mana, to be able to estimate amounts of mana and to harvest from what someone else sells.”
He gestured for Owl to come up, and briefly ducked down to dig through a sack while he waited. Finally, he found what he was looking for and popped back up to welcome the boy to the dais. With a gesture he had him sit down and placed the marble in one hand and a head-sized quartz ball on the ground in front of him. The crystal ball was covered in very similar runes and shapes to the circle on the ground, only a dozen times more complex and 3 dimensional. With multiple interlocking circles and a chapter's worth of runes.
“I’ll teach you how to make a personalized isolation circle at some point, but until then you can use this. Careful with that orb, Owl. Unlike the marble, you can NOT afford to replace it.”
“You can fill it with mana, and it will loose less then 1% per day. That’s pretty damn good if you were wondering. That means that you can practice dumping out your mana then reclaim it without too much wastage. I want you to pump your mana through the marble and into the orb. Try to keep your mana flow steady and constant. Also since we don't want to be here all day, fairly large. You won't break either tool, trust me.”
Timothy paused for a second then visibly drooped. He let out a sad sigh and looked Owl square in the eye. “I shouldn't have to say this, but stop at the first signs of aural strain, yes? I've buried far too many students already.”
He sat down sadly, and had spend a few moments getting a handle on himself. But with a familiar twist of will, he pushed his way out of the funk and returned his focus to where it belonged. Owl was pumping out his mana at a decent speed, the small lights pulsing at a little better than once a second. Not bad at all for a first attempt. There was a bit of variation that he would have to work on. Timothy kept a close watch on the kids aura, hoping that he wouldn’t have to intervene.
At about 60 he started to slow down, dropping to 2 seconds per in the middle and over 4 as he approached then stopped at just shy of 70.
“Well done,” He handed the boy a small clay thermos of ginger tea and pushed him towards a cushion, “and don't be surprised if that took it out of you. Pumping lots of mana out will strain anything, person or enchanted object. Take a minute to catch your breath, then place your hand here-” He pointed to a open circle on the other side of the Orb with a single point in the middle. An arrow out symbol in effect. “-and reclaim your mana.”
“While Owl gets himself set, let’s talk about the results. For those who couldn't see he came in at 68 and a bit of change. That's about what I would expect considering natural variation and the state of your training. That is to say, he hasn't finalizing his personal mana type yet and is in the earliest phase of Aural Projection.”
“I expect some of you will hit in the 50's, others in the high 80's. I won't say it doesn't matter, because it absolutely does in a fight, but it’s not the be all, end all. Density of meaning, skill at casting and well-designed spells will have considerable impact on the outcome of any conflict. But the amount of mana you hold, and the speed that you regenerate it effects how much practice you get, which affects that skill and even how much experimentation you can do to create a new spell.”
“On the other hand, this is just your starting point. In a few years, I expect each of you to add at least 200 to that value. How hard you work matters more than what you start with.”
Timothy looked around with a smile and held up the marble he'd reclaimed from Owl. “And since I mentioned your growth, that leads me back to this little sucker. It can show you at every step how much you are progressing. You have no idea, not yet, how nice it is to have a simple little number to look at. Proof that your hard work is paying off. And if that isn't enough for you, just think of how much better you can do with your planning if you know about how much mana each spell will cost. No, you can't go casting all your attack spells though a marble, but you don't have to.”
“This,” he pointed at the Orb, “is 68 mana. I want all of you to extend your senses and feel it. As you fill the orb yourself, try stopping at known values. Every 5 or 10 mana maybe, and see how that feels. You’ll get pretty good at estimating quantities eventaully.”
Another hand went up. Karen. At least she raised her hand this time. It didn’t stop her from being a pain in the ass. He generally had some sympathy for bad nicknames, but she earned hers regularly. Still, he gestured to her with no change in expression. She stood up and whined, he stopped himself, she did have an unpleanant edge to her natural voice but the intent on her voice didn’t hold the same tone. It wasn’t deliberate. “Does anyone cheat with them? If lots of different people make them, can you make one that measures 10 mana for every 11 that goes through?”
Timothy grinned. Humans were humans. Of course, people tried it. She wasn't wrong to ask, but then again... “You aren’t the only ones who learn to estimate, Karen, and while not everyone will be able to catch the discrepancy if they keep it small, sooner or later someone will.”
She looked suddenly excited. “What then? What's the law say?”
Timothy shrugged. “It doesn't. Why do you need a law for something so obvious? If they get caught then word will spread. No one will do business with them, no one will hunt with them. No one will sell them anything. And that’s besides the ass-kicking they probably got at the start. We have a small enough community that you can't get away with bad acting on that level. It's not a matter of law, but of reputation.”
She wilted as he held in another sigh. With a tone that WAS decidely whining, she spoke again. “Why is there no true lines in the sand? No laws, no simple rules to follow? It's always this wishy washy custom, reputation and undefinable morals. Why can't it be clear?”
“My dear, sheep have fences. They don't work so well with people. Give out a rule and humans immediately start trying to find a loophole. Sure, that’s not every member of our race. But it’s a fairly large portion. A portion that includes most of the people sitting around you, by the way. Pathfinders as a rule, don't follow rules. We make them.”
He picked up a thermos and took a sip while organizing his thoughts. “Being a Pathfinder comes with some rights and privileges. Not just because of politics and our social structure, but a simple reality of how things work. Pathfinders. It’s in the name. We create the paths guardians must follow. And we control access to the tops of those paths. Every time you advance, there will be a stack of guardians behind you, waiting to be told how you did it. And the day you die, most of them will stall out behind you.”
“No matter how easy or tight you are with those instructions, with access to high-level spells and details on how to advance, you still control them. And to some extent the people who use them.”
“That is a long way off, but Karen, I brought it up for a reason. Guardians need to follow the social constructs. If a Pathfinder objects, they can go out and create a new hold. You can create the rules, for good, bad or indifferent. You hold the keys to shape what will be.”
“And when no one else can tell you what to do, what will you do? Much like magic, your morals, undefinable though you find them, will come only from within. I hope you find it in yourself to refrain from obvious forms of evil. Either from a pragmatic understanding of how far people can be pushed before they revolt or from some aspect of nobility or compassion.”
Karen stared at him for a bit in disbelief before dropping to her seat, muttering under her breath.
He considered ignoring it, then decided against it. She was the type to keep pushing until he slapped her. Better to do it now. With a gesture a much louder sound erupted in her voice.
“-is he to talk? He doesn't even know what's going on under his roof.”
“Hardly polite my dear, and you will speak with me later to make up for it, yes?” He stared at her, daring her to try to weasel out of it. After a few seconds, she looked down and muttered a quiet “Yes teacher.”
“Ignoring the first part, I can also say with complete confidence-” The light green aura of a truth spell erupted around him at the snap of his fingers, “-that I do in fact know what goes on under my roof. Or nearby it for that matter. From how Bets literally lost his pants to a bad bet-”
He paused and waited out the laughter and the sheepish look from a chunky boy on his right, “or how Brutal over there uses his size, threats and violence to make extra money.”
The laughter stopped cold, as if decapitated by an axe. Count in particular stiffened in shock, before shooting a vicious glare, promising some violence of its own at a suddenly painfully pale Brutal.
“You knew?” Karen shrilled out! “You knew and you did nothing?”
“Yes, and yes. When we talk later I’ll need to discuss interrupting me as well, hmm? You are, every one of you, leaders. You will have the lives and futures of men and women in your hands. And as such, you need to learn how to deal with bullies. How to protect yourself from intimidation, theft and violence. From your subordinates and your peers.”
“Protecting you from learning those lessons would be a severe discourtesy. Owl, Hanna, Bandit and Cort needed to learn how to stand up for themselves. And Brutal there needs to learn that actions have consequences. And I have a feeling each of you will indeed learn that lesson. And not just to hide your faults better.”
“Remember, it is my job to turn out leaders who can help humanity survive. The quality of that survival is less important then the event itself. And bullies, odious to your sensabilities or not, often go quite far in life. Raw aggression, ambition and a willingness to push boundaries are traits that often pay off.”
Timothy gestured, letting the clearly furious Count have the floor. “So you have no rules? No expectations of behavior from us? No minimum code that you expect us to live up to? Will you claim no responsibility if you turn a jackal loose on the people you are supposed to protect?”
“Haaa, Count. My dear boy, I have many expectations. But you were not listening. You, every one of you will make your own rules once you leave my tutelage. Forcing you to pretend, to play nice, will not prevent the jackal you speak of.”
Timothy pressed his intent outward, his understanding and his hopes, but also the stern reality that their would be bad apples, and as long as they kept more humans alive, they would be tolerated. Even Bensen did not rate an assassination.
“For all of that, I do actually have a rule. One. Pay your debts.” He gave them a toothy grin. Oh if only they could see now, exactly how far that rule could stretch. In fact...
“With that in mind I have a very entertaining show for you today. Brutal, please come down.”
Still pale, but with the aggressive snarl of a cornered wolf on his chunky, normally smiling face, the large young man floated down in line with Timothy’s pointing hand till he was pressed down on the pillow Owl had just vacated. The marble hopped into his hand while the now empty orb rolled to rest against his knees. “If you would do the honors.” The mulish cast to his features melted away immiediatly as Timothy let him feel, just for a moment, how unamused he was.
Timothy stood back with a smile while the boy struggled initially before pumping out a slow, unsteady 52 pulses. Shock bloomed on his suddenly bloodless face. Timothy had to forcefully stop him from continuing as red scars began to surface in his aura. Early signs of an over reach.
“Debts have debtors, and payments are not always paid in coin.” Timothy mused, glancing out at a few of the smaller children, already beginning to sport smiles a pack of Count's jackals would recognize. “Don't take things too far, a life taken will cost a life.” Looking up from the stricken young man he looked at the once bullied and probably soon to be bullies.
“Try to remember this. Top or bottom is often a factor of time. Don't create enemies that may one day come for payback. Debts must be paid,” Timothy reiterated, “but when you extract that payment, think of your own future.”
“Now, I think that's a nice stopping point. I hope all of you have a nice day!” Timothy gave a toothy smile and with a swirl of mana disappeared from the hall.”