"How do data tablets store information, anyways?" Levin said, sitting alone in his room.
Nearby, his furnace was alive with heat, a glass vial full of liquid sitting inside. However, Levin’s attention was on the small pile of defunct data tablets Uki had given Cho. In one hand he held a tablet, and in the other a vial of black ink. Fortunately the data tablet recipe was easy, because Levin was out of money to buy the ink from the store.
He poured the ink onto the grooved lines carved into the wood, and the rune became full once more. There was no spillage – once a rune had been engraved, it would hold onto its ink, the form itself keeping each drop of the ink within bounds. Otherwise, Levin would have a very difficult time refilling the rune engraved upside-down on Cho’s belly and wings.
The tablet came to life, and the data flowed into Levin’s mind. He didn’t understand how – the ink had run out on these tablets, and Levin had assumed the information would have gone with it. But if the data wasn’t stored in the ink, was it somehow being physically carved into the wood?
“That’s a question for another day…” Levin murmured. He reined in his natural curiosity, but he did wish he could just pop over to the library and spend the day figuring it all out. There were more important things to focus on.
As it turned out, the data on the tablets was not one of the important things Levin needed to be spending his time on. But he couldn’t know that without refilling their ink and checking them over one by one, so he continued. He had to wait for the reaction in his furnace to finish, anyways.
There was experiment data on them, recorded by the mages who’s skeletons now decorated the Hunters’ new base. It painted a fairly clear picture of what happened down there – the mages had been experimenting with making Chimeras from the Sources of various species, and the dragon Chimeras had turned out far more powerful than expected.
Levin engaged his Y-Link, cross-referencing these lab notes with the books he had found down there. Dragons and their lesser kin – wyverns, drakes, wyrms – were one of the few creatures besides humans that could strengthen their Source and gain magical power. However, the method differed significantly between humans and dragons.
The core concept behind strengthening one’s Source was the same – take in external magical energy, and absorb it with your Source. Mages accomplished this with meditation, usually enhanced by runes or pills that provided plentiful energy. But dragons would hunt.
They would devour powerful creatures, and the unique physiology of dragonkin would consume their prey’s Source and use it to strengthen their own. It was even possible for them to experience growth and breakthroughs through raw combat itself. The books were vague on the specifics of it, but Levin pictured dragons all having personalities like Mei.
Which was why the researchers had so much difficulty. They created Chimeras from dragons, the rarest and most powerful draconic species, and those Chimeras were filled with the natural instinct to hunt and destroy. The researchers had been hoping that the greater intelligence of dragons compared to their lesser cousins would offset those instincts, according to the notes. There was no record from after the experiment.
To the side, his heat-giving furnace began to die out, hopefully with a successful batch of ink inside. Levin sat the tablets to the side, pushing them from his mind. These experiments in transplanting the Source of one living creature into the body of another were interesting, and similar to his own Chaos experiments
But they were ultimately irrelevant to Levin’s goals. Maybe if he had some beast Sources himself he could use this information to manufacture some Chimeras for the Hunters, but there was nothing like that amongst the Lethridge resources. And Uki probably wouldn’t support turning people into bloodthirsty monsters anyways.
So Levin decided to forget about them, and focus on what he could do right now. He carefully removed the vial of ink from his runesmithing furnace, holding it up and carefully examining it by eye and through his sensors, including the magic analyzing rune he had added to his suite of technological equipment. After a few moments of analysis, Levin let out a sigh as he set the vial to the side.
“These advanced ingredients are harder to work with than I expected…” he thought to himself as he looked over the resources stolen from Lethridge by the Mage Hunters.
These were almost all highly valuable Wisp-tier ingredients. The best Levin had done before acquiring them was Myriad Flame, a peak acolyte ink. Not only was there a major step up in how precise he needed to be in his measurements and Force analysis, the actual brewing processes were more complicated and contained many more steps, any of which could have something go wrong. And it wasn’t like Levin could get Pilip’s help with this.
But with his Y-Link’s ability to pick up on the tiny yet significant differences between individual batches of the same resource, he was able to learn recipes much faster than an ordinary runesmith would. And once he learned them, the consistency offered by the precision machine in his own head meant he could succeed at the inks every time.
It was essential he be able to succeed on each attempt at a batch of ink if he wanted to outfit an entire army with runes. Doubly so because the amount of resources stored at Lethridge had been far fewer than the size of the tower suggested. Silla’s rise of dominance in Trurok had clearly cut right into the Academy’s overall wealth and power. He’d have to budget his practice sessions carefully, or might run out of resources just learning how to use them.
“Damn, my head hurts…'' Levin thought as a pounding on the inside of his skull flared up.
Levin began rubbing his temples, losing focus. Instead of starting a new batch of ink, which he had been doing constantly since acquiring the Lethridge resources, Levin switched off his Y-Link. The pain immediately began to recede, but only a little.
It felt like just yesterday he had finished the headache-inducing calculation to produce Lethridge’s counter-ink, but he was already back at it. Between monitoring his new simulation and using his Y-Link in brewing Wisp-tier inks, the strain on his mind was quite severe.
“Should I just focus on one?” he thought. But no – that was a bad idea. They were marching into war. Levin couldn’t afford to be taking it easy on their preparations.
“…But a little break won’t hurt,” he thought, the headache persisting.
Levin sat his tools aside and got up, walking the few steps between his desk and his bed. He laid down, closing his eyes and letting his mind wander, feeling the warm metal of Kirima’s medallion against his skin. Even if he needed to be preparing, it wouldn’t help anyone if he fried himself in the process.
But he couldn’t get his mind off of his plan, and it felt like there was a thick knot in his stomach. He had told Uki of his desire to launch an assault on Mount Inuvik directly, but that would come later. He’d first need to do something about the central rune array, and that would mean getting access to the core of the Academy itself.
He could do that by killing Amaq and taking his identity token. He had seen Amaq open the door to the central rune array with his identity token on his very first day. There were probably other mages who had access, and maybe some easier targets, but Levin didn’t care to investigate that. He would kill Amaq. The token was just a nice bonus.
But how to go about it? Killing a Wisp rank mage was far from easy. But Levin had a plan, or at least the core of one, in the form of three pieces of magic. First was the ingredients from Lethridge. He could use them to upgrade Cho’s runes and add new ones, Wisp-tier runes capable of killing Amaq even through defensive artifacts. That step was well underway, but he still needed time.
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Second was Bolt. Master Pilip would soon be done learning the recipe, and then Levin’s Chaos magic would be complete. Between Wave, Blade, and Bolt, he would have the advantage against Amaq no matter what range they fought at.
And finally was the simulation filling his Y-Link’s computational potential. He had been inspired upon seeing the rune for Bolt to create his own Chaos spell, because there were still two major problems with fighting Amaq – his transmission tablet, and the central rune array. Levin couldn’t just kill Amaq. He needed to assassinate him, and ensuring Amaq could not summon any aid was essential to that.
He had begun that calculation even before acquiring the Lethridge ingredients, and so it was the closest to being done. Close enough he could start practicing the Chaos ink, which would also be made from his Lethridge ingredients. And a fairly sizable portion of them too – especially the Chaos Buds – but this was important. Uki and Takt would surely understand that not everything could be spent on their people.
Levin hauled himself up from the bed. That was enough of letting his mind relax, at least as much as was possible under the circumstances. It was time to get back to work.
***
Black clouds spread out for miles in all directions, roiling and seething ominously as they covered the sky and cast the ground in deep shadow. The center of these clouds looked down on one of the highest mountains in all of Trurok, a mountain that was completely level near the peak as though the top had been sliced off by a giant sword.
On this flattened mountain peak was a single grand mage’s tower, and surrounding it, two dozen men and women all dressed in white robes adorned with jagged black lightning sat gathered around, facing outwards. They were vigilant, maintaining an active watch, but the expressions on the faces of these men and women were all gloomy. They were the Lightning Corp, and these were their final moments.
Suddenly, the violently shifting lightning clouds above stilled, the bottoms rapidly flattening out like a black mirror. As they did, the gathered mages rose and turned towards the tower, waiting expectantly. At this point there would be little use for guards. Not that anyone else had even come close, anyways.
Nearly a minute passed as the assembly waited in dreadful silence, and then the door to the mage’s tower slowly creaked open. As it did, the circle of mages fell to their knees.
A man emerged from the tower, dressed in a black cloak streaked with yellow lightning that matched his long, flowing golden hair. Though the man was only of average height, he exuded an imposing aura that made everyone gathered feel as though he towered over them.
Immediately as he appeared, sweat coated the faces of all those presents, and they hung their heads even lower. Silla looked over them all coldly, as though they were no more than insects to him, stepping stones on the path he had just finished climbing.
He then turned his eyes upwards, to where the black clouds hovered high above them, still and silent as though it were another member of Silla’s Lightning Corp who wouldn’t dare to breathe too loudly in his presence. Silla reached his hand upward to the clouds, and as he did he brought forth his Force.
Silla squeezed his hand shut and the clouds shrank rapidly, folding over themselves in a mad scramble to obey the command of Silla’s power. As they concentrated into the air just above the mountain, denser and blacker than ever before, every other mage present shuddered in fear and awe. All it took was the extension of his Force, the Pulses of which washed over every man and woman present, and the mages felt like they were mere saplings during a hurricane, trying desperately to remain rooted to the ground.
As they experienced his Force for themselves, Silla’s newfound power was illuminated with frightening clarity in the minds of all those watching. There was only a single thought passing through each of their minds: “This is the power of a Cloud Rank!”
Satisfied with his control of the clouds, Silla retracted his Force, returning his gaze once more to those around him, locking onto one person in particular. This person wore a terrified expression, even more so than the others, and it had only deepened since Silla emerged. As Silla’s gaze locked onto him, he trembled in fear.
“Jaak,” Silla spoke in a deep voice. “What has happened in Trurok during my time in meditation?”
The shivering man slowly raised his head to meet Silla’s gaze.
“Senior Magus Azaadi continued to hunt for the Mage Hunters while you were in meditation. The Mage Hunters attacked Lethridge, and Senior Magus went in pursuit of them. He found them, however…” Jaak paused, his words getting caught in his throat.
“Speak,” Silla commanded, his eyes narrowing.
“The Mage Hunters… No! It was Takt! Takt has returned to Trurok! Senior Magus was killed by Takt and the killer of Tulimak! And the Mage Hunters were able to escape after that. Even Inuvik Academy has failed to find them in the days since, and Lethridge remains empty” Jaak spat out.
Silla frowned. As if expressing displeasure along with him, the concentrated ball of clouds rumbled as thunder washed over the land, paired with dark flashes of light from deep within the clouds.
“Dead…? And after an attack on Lethridge…?” Silla said slowly, anger seeping into his voice.
Along with his anger, Silla’s Force flared up, exerting Pressure on all the surrounding mages that threatened to crush them beneath its weight. The difference between a Cloud rank and a Wisp rank was so severe that Silla could viscerally affect them just by letting them taste his power. Sweat poured down the faces of everyone present as they experienced a painful weight pressing against their Sources, a pain that came from deep within.
“A pity. If he had survived, he could have ruled Trurok in my absence. I might have come back on occasion to claim whatever resources this pathetic land had produced. But without him…” Silla said slowly, keeping the Pressure on. “Tell me, what use are a bunch of Wisp ranks to me?”
Everyone present shivered in fear, and none dared to answer his question. After a moment, Silla scoffed and turned around, heading back into his tower. As he did, he calmed his Force, releasing the Pressure.
“Worthless region,” Silla muttered to himself quietly as he gathered a few things from inside the tower. “Why did I even consider plans to hold onto power here through a proxy? Azaadi and Tulimak were clearly trash, unable to survive against mere warriors. I’ve already wasted decades here, trapped by that god-forsaken desert.”
Silla kept muttering to himself as he climbed the tower, up to the highest floor where an ancient scroll lay on a pedestal. Silla waved his hand and it unfurled before him, floating in the air. It opened to a specific section, flipping by various depictions of black lightning magic until finally revealing the spell Silla sought.
The shape brought to life in the pages of the scroll was three-dimensional, and drawn from multiple angles, depicting a spell of incredible complexity. Not all spells took on a third dimension – this was a kind of complexity endemic to Cloud rank magic.
He had spent countless days burning the three-dimensional shape into his mind, but that was before reaching the Cloud rank. Only now could he truly comprehend it, and his prior work let Silla burn the shape into his head with ease.
When he was satisfied, he shut the scroll, placing it into a traveling bag along with every other valuable possession contained within his grand mage’s tower. Not that Trurok could produce many of those.
“What other mage could advance through the Smoke rank in less than half a century in a god-forsaken region like this? None! Not one! If I had been born the heir to a great magic family instead of a worthless peasant, I would already be the greatest mage in all of the Northern Reaches! My talent would have been noticed by the great mages of Ipeiros long ago, and they would already be escorting me over the Ascraeus Mountains!” Silla fumed as he stormed down through the mage’s tower, heading for the exit.
“Damn it! A genius like me, born to the most barren region in an area isolated from the rest of the world! Damn you, Nalep Desert! If it weren’t for you, I would never have been trapped on this filthy land! I could have had access to the quality resources I deserve! I wouldn’t have spent so many decades being small and insignificant! Why must I struggle in the dirt against warriors and the short-minded fools at Inuvik Academy, when my genius could accomplish anything?” Silla yelled, his rage-filled mutterings growing to a crescendo.
The gathered mages, still fearfully kneeling and waiting as Silla gathered his possession, could hear his shouting though they couldn’t hear his words, and it caused them to grow even more nervous. Moments later, Silla burst back out of the tower, belongings gathered in a scale-covered bag.
Silla spoke once more, but his volume returned to a simmer that none of his followers could hear.
“It’s about time I leave this place. At long last I can go to Severn, and then beyond. But first, the fools that held me back will get what they deserve…” he muttered.
With that, he closed his eyes, focusing his mind to form the shape of a Cloud rank spell for the very first time. It took a long period of concentration before he began to utter the chant.
“Spread Forth, Phantom Lightning; Wrap the Sky in Black Light; Surge, Take Flight!”
He recited the entire chant, needing its support as the complicated spell design tested the limits of his newly-advanced mind. But the spell succeeded, and moments later bolts of black lightning erupted from Silla’s back, arcing around and joining at the apex to form four wings composed of black lightning that gave off an otherworldly light.
A moment later, a loud rumble rocked the mountain of the Lightning Corp headquarters as Silla disappeared into the sky in a streak of black light, the concentrated storm clouds above racing after him.
The mages left behind finally relaxed. They had been abandoned, but at least they were alive.