I sink into unconsciousness as I cradle Teuila in the driver’s seat of the carriage. When I awaken, everyone else is still out, though Tim has at least lashed his dinghy and debris-raft to the carriage. He must have awoken for long enough to paddle around and snag the dinghy from The Drake. Whew, at least he’s alive. I feel horrid for being partially responsible for the destruction of The Drake. Gods of the four winds, I hope we can get him home to his family safely, to whatever location we’re able to evacuate them to.
While still almost completely non-functional, lamenting the danger we’ve placed Tim in, the world rocks. Or rather, the lake crests in a way that nearly bowls over our precarious makeshift flotilla. The rocking motion rouses Tiktik and Teuila at least temporarily. A familiar shadow forms beneath the waves, and I roll my eyes. As the lake itself seems to rise up I begin a mutter that turns into a rant, “Oh come on! We really don’t need this right now Lochsie. We’re just trying to get across the lake. If the people of Aasimovia, The Brook especially, mean anything to you at all, it would be great if you, and maybe the enormous mud crab could go keep an eye on the southern shore to make sure nothing evil swims around our blockade to go chasing down and killing the innocent evacuees.”
Without warning, the immense creature seems to spin, sending our carriage listing for a moment. Only for a moment though, as it appears to now be swimming away to the south. Wait. Did Lochsie just understand me? My expression contorts as I gaze between Tiktik and Teuila. They both shrug helplessly, both barely maintaining consciousness. That. That was weird. Right? I mean, Luna is one thing, but now Lochsie, a creature on an entirely other planet, appearing almost hostile, just deciding to do what I asked? I mean, Lochsie even just understanding me is stretching my incredulity. Let alone her being inclined to agree to a request. I worry once again that Rayileklia is just my dying fever dream.
I gulp back my worries and fears. The idea that I’m just experiencing one last accelerated thinkspace in the moments of my death on Can’Z’aas is horrific in some regards. Yet, still, even if that’s the case, the people here need me, even if they’re in my imagination. They bring me joy all the same. For Dawn, I’ll carry on, ever onwards, no matter my doubts. I think, I think I’m starting to accept her death. Whether or not Rayileklia is reality, or a reality, I experienced the death of someone I cared about, in my arms. I blame myself, but I wasn’t really at fault. Huff. I sigh as I try not to recall Dawn’s final terrified moments, crying fearfully in my arms. It happened. It happened, and it hurts. That’s not going to change. Some tiny traces of her may exist in some void of the multiverse, perhaps. Somehow I stopped the curse from taking the memories of her.
Trauma, pain, grief. They have a way of haunting you. Y’know? Oh Bud, I wish you were well enough to talk. I’m so worried about you. We’re stuck adrift only a mile or two north of The Brook on Lake Siempre, and I’m stuck alone in my thoughts. Hm, perhaps we might not be stuck. I mean, if nothing else, when Apheliotes’ enchantment recharges, he could get us out of here. I think Teuila could also get us out of here if she gripped the toe-line, and leapt horizontally. I’d have to be crafting minor water walking potions for her, en-masse, but Te would only need a few dozen to get us all the way across the lake, with her leaping power. I’m not sure I have enough ingredients for that though.
Hm. I do have spectral, phantom steeds that I can conjure. My vitality, my S P feels well enough to be able to summon the trio of them. Can they swim? Can I shape the spell ever-so-slightly so that they have fins or flippers or something? I could make them into, what are they, Kelpies? Yeah. I think that’s the name, and I think I can mess with the spell subtly enough to manage that minor change to their shape. Reggie, what is it with you and poking magic like a sleeping bear? Huff, whatever I suppose. Not like there’s anyone to teach me. Jarrah mostly taught me that I probably couldn’t be taught by anyone on Rayileklia anyway.
Alright, I’ll start working on figuring out the runostructure for the alterations, but if Teuila wakes up in the meantime, and feels well enough, I’ll float the water-walking-potion idea by her. I guess I can have my spectral hand working on those for me while I—. Wait. If I need to figure something out, and if I’m fairly sure I’m smart enough to actually solve it on my own, I can at least follow the mental trails in paused time. I need every advantage of every second of life I have left to stand a chance at finding the key to my survival. Even if it’s just a few minutes of time figuring out a solution before engaging in useful activities and allowing my brain to seek other avenues of thought, that could be all the difference in the end.
I exhale as smoothly as I can, which, unsurprisingly with nearly-punctured lungs, is rather haltingly and shudderingly. Focus Reggie. Breathe air, breathe. Find the absence of time between the moments. Reside within it. We’re back in here again, in paused time. It feels like it breaks several rules of reality to be able to still have conscious thought, to still -be- during a period of the absence of time. Wait. To still be am. I think, therefore I am. Descartes? Why do I know that? Why is the phrase to be am important to me suddenly? Existing in a place without space, in a moment without time that stretches beyond eternity. Something out there does that, is that. Crap, where does this thought train even go? We can’t hold time at bay for long, so let’s get back to the reason we hopped into this paused moment in the first place.
Alright Reggie, visualize all of the runotypes for the ghostly steed spell. What makes them appear as horses? How does magic know how to interpret what a horse is, what an eagle is, what a lion is, what a gryphon is? There have to be rules underpinning why shapes can alter applications of mana on a near-cosmic scale. Hm, secrets of the universe will have to wait, though they would be incredibly helpful with what I’m about to do. Instead of having to work backwards with trial and error, I could actually read the formula that the runes are supposed to represent. Regardless, here we are, and those are them. Ugh, my brain hurts on several levels. The physical strain of isolating myself in an absence of time psychically, the time spent alone in my own mind, and trying to wrap my head around the mental math of the magical universe.
I wonder if I can set up a subroutine for myself within this stopped time to have parallel processing occur without fully focusing on it. Let’s try—. Ow! Okay, okay, crap, no. No I can’t. I’m not sure if that’s because of being paused in time, or if it’s because of the damage my brain seemed to take over the course of tethering so many mana constructs to physical forms with semi-autonomy for longer than intended. Ow, even just thinking about conjuring mana constructs other than the horses feels like a cleaver shearing my brain. The horses seem to be an odd, special case. All of the monstrous mana construct spells leave my mind spinning and reeling. I’m so dizzy I’m nauseated, yeesh. Back on task Reggie. Right, right, runostructure.
Okay, huff, phew. I’ve been in here for a few hours, maybe a day or two worth of thoughts at this point. I feel like my cerebellum is going to blow out of my skull at any moment if I don’t drop this paused time. Still, I think I’ve actually just about got it. I can make the rest of the progress under the normal flow of time. Oof. Letting go of the dam against time is, hrlp, it’s so painful it’s nauseating. Hm, I’m positive that the herb granules were about to hit the water in that potion. I’m almost certain at least some time passed in the real world while I was mostly paused in time.
I guess it makes sense that some time probably passed. I suppose it would be impossible to continue perceiving if there wasn’t at least some kind of flow of time, even if it’s the slightest bit, right? I mean, unless you could just exist and comprehend outside of the normal flow of time. Then paused, forwards, backwards, time doesn’t really matter. Err, anyway, my shoulder is killing me for some reason. Should I wake Teuila and ask her how she feels about the water walking potions? Or should I just finish this last tweak?
Ow, oof. Or maybe I should nap. We’re all still recovering from The Brook, let alone the wreck of The Drake. If only I could—. What was I thinking about? I think I need to give in and rest, but it would be so nice if I could somehow conjure any sort of ally whatsoever to watch over us. Being awoken by even a mana construct warning me of incoming danger would be better than risking none of us wakening until it’s too late. Huff, I exhale a weighty sigh. It doesn’t seem like I’m going to have much choice in the matter though. My eyelids are so incredibly heavy. No, no Reggie, don’t go to sleep just yet. Satisfy at least one curiosity at normal speed in the regular flow of time. Make sure your brain still works.
I need to at least remember what day it is. How much of a headstart does Lil have? How far away could they have gone? Is there an obvious path to some place along the Spine of the World that we could some day catch up to you on? Or are we going to be searching forever. How long will our detour to slay the hydra of the Jaggedfen Bog be? Is the woman who lives there who I think she is? Is she Taylynn’s ancestor? Tabitha Lynnia Altross is someone I know from memories shared with me that don’t belong to me. Or at least, I think Taylynn and Tabitha are one and the same. Maybe Taylynn never even told anyone in her family her adventuring name. Or maybe Taylynn was the alter ego of Tabitha.
The person, and the identity, which is which? Was Taylynn so that her family wouldn’t know she was an adventurer? Or was that persona so that the common people of the land wouldn’t associate her with her family? Maybe it was both. It probably had to be both to be one or the other anyway. If she wasn’t disguised from the public, then eventually word of her adventuring would reach her family. Likewise if she told members of her family that she was adventuring, they could have made her life in public hell if they were so inclined, and then the public would associate her with her family, for better or worse.
Taylynn, are you alive? What was it that you—. I lost a thought there. What was I thinking about? Something about solving a curiosity to make sure my brain still works. I’m curious as to what’s still on our lists. I may as well take them out, and take stock of things quickly. I can let my magic hand cross off some of the things we used up or lost at the very least. That’s a useful conclusion to have come to in real time, isn’t it? Staying as prepared as we can be, by knowing our available assets and limitations? Yeah, I feel like my brain at least still functions at normal speeds. Despite the time-strain, and the exploded subroutine center for psychic management of multiple spells. That one I’m pretty darn upset about.
I know it was my own fault. I knew the spells weren’t meant to be handled like that. Somehow I think I even got off lucky. It’s like, because of my Can’Z’aasian semi-digital biology, certain parts of me are digital or psychic constructs. The piece of my brain that exploded from mental magical manipulation overload was one that existed only in digital space, like my inventory. If it had instead, or also, been a part with a physical form within my actual cranium, I don’t think I’d be alive right now. I’m pretty certain that most mages die when they break the rules of magic.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Anyway, let’s pop out those lists and take a gaze, or a gander. Hm, isn’t a gander a kind of duck or something? Wait, what? Err, stop getting distracted Reggie. Fatal flaw, remember? Yeah, yeah, lists, let’s go.
Reggie’s Spells mastered/currently studying:
* 05/05 runes mastered: Frost Ray,
* 05/05 runes mastered: Prestidigitative Legerdemain,
* 02/05 runes mastered: Light,
* 04/05 runes mastered: Mending,
* 00/05 runes mastered: Splatter of Acid
* 12/12 runes mastered: (Theorized, but not listed in any of the spellbooks, unknown, I presume 12/12) Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct (I surmise small animals, odd creatures)
* 12/18 runes mastered: (Theorized, but not listed in any of the spellbooks, unknown, I presume 12/18) Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct 2 (I surmise small small animals, odd creatures)
* 18/18 runes mastered: Scrying, Seemingly able to do this with physical runecrafting on a surface, not costing my own SP
* 18/18 runes mastered: Ghostly Steeds, Seemingly they do not require my own Sorc Points when these runes are crafted.
* 12/24 runes mastered: Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct III can conjure Celestial Dire Badgers, Celestial Fel Hounds, small Elemenals
* 03/24 runes mastered: Summon Swarm. Can conjure a swarm of bats
* 24/24 runes mastered: Telepathic Bond,
* 08/24 runes mastered: Blast Frost, a Dragon’s Breath cone-shaped cold blast
* 00/33 runes: Greatest Shadowy Conjuration, somewhere between an illusion, and a conjured manifestation of shadow given physical form.
* 33/33 runes mastered: Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct V can construct Celestial Griffons, Hounds of Shadow, Dire Wolverines, medium Elementals
* 33/33 runes: Steely Body, hardens my body for a short period to the point that I should be able to weather otherwise deadly blows.
* 00/33 runes: Greatest Shadowy Evocation, somewhere between an illusion, and a conjured manifestation of shadow given elemental or energy form.
* 48/48 runes mastered: Permanency-enhancement, has a weird mix of not costing my own Sorc Points to craft the runes themselves, but costs some of my vital essence in another way to finalize their empowerment, like giving up a little bit of myself permanently.
* 33/64 runes mastered: Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct VI large Elementals
* 33/99 runes mastered: Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct VII Angels known as Altivivorals, huge Elementals, whales, elephants, gargantuan or monstrously huge birds, pests, and other small animals
* 33/180 runes mastered: Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct VIII can conjure Naga Angels known as Liltivilends, greater Elementals, bigger whales, plesiosaurs, tyrannosaurus, monstrously gargantuan insects, birds, pests, and other animals
* 00/360: Theoretically a Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct IX should exist I’ve no idea if it would use any of the runes I’ve learned so far. 0/360 due to its theoretical nature, I hypothesize it could conjure constructs of elder Elementals, celestial Rocs, monstrously colossal insects, birds, pests, and other small animals, and perhaps other angelic creatures.
* Could a Conjure Monstrous Mana Construct X exist? How long would its runostructure be? What sort of conjurations could it muster up?
* 00/06 runes mastered: Gusty Wind, about what it sounds like, a strong, localized galeforce breeze
* 00/24 runes mastered: Squall Wall, similarly, a localized area of wind-pressure so heavy that it’s nearly solid.
* 15/33 runes mastered: Detect Thoughts, basically what it says on the tin.
* 012/330 runes mastered: Prescient Moment, this one is crazy by the description built into the runostructure. It seems to grant a single random moment of foresight at some point within four hours of having been cast. Whatever foresight is given, is the exact correct way to succeed at whatever brief event is being shown.
* 03/24 runes mastered: Growth/Reduction, basically what it says on the tin.
* 01/33 runes mastered: Fireball, everyone’s favorite deadly toy.
* 01/33 runes mastered: Lightning Bolt, everyone’s second favorite deadly toy.
* 02/33 runes mastered: Hailstorm, crowd control, and possibly the ability to ground flying creatures makes this a spell I should use more. I used it against Milbert of Navica outside Victo at the top of his tower, while mostly trapped by the soul-stealing light.
* 000/128 runes mastered: Dispellation, I badly want to learn this one in case more magic users begin to crop up. I’ve a feeling that, just like Can’Z’aas, stuff that seemed impossible, or at the very least, rare, will start becoming commonplace. I want to be prepared.
* 02/33 runes mastered: Minor History, a sort of identification spell that also glances at random points along an object's lifetime, displaying semi-pertinent information
* 01/05 runes mastered: Ghostly Hand, I kind of really like this spell. It’s free from the staff, so I don’t need to learn it, but it’s handy, and it kept Jarrah from taking my head off, and saved one of the Enochian Enclave kids.
* 05/66 runes mastered: Bypassed-Wall, at least this is in the staff, but I’d really, really love to have it personally mastered, so that I could cast it if, oh, say, a fuggin’ earth elemental rips my staff from my hand while shattering my hand.
* 03/99 runes mastered: Telekinesis, I’ve dreamt of having this ability since early on in Can’Z’aas, and it’s an incredibly potent non-lethal way of subduing people. Something I’m sorely lacking.
* 01/33 runes mastered: Incendiary Web, a way to ensnare things in possibly fatal flames without exploding a massive area seems like a decent spell to know. It’s cheap to cast from the staff though, so I should probably use it through that rather than spending time trying to learn its runes to the point of mastery.
* 01/33 runes mastered: Firewall, Similar to the Squall Wall, an area of intense heat and pressure is walled off.
* 002/660 runes mastered: Planar Traversal, Ugh, I truly, truly hope that we get enough peaceful time for me to study, master, and take apart this spell. It’s our first solid lead on returning to Can’Z’aas, sort of. We still don’t know if we’re on different planes of a reality, or in different realities entirely, or what.
* 01/33 runes mastered: Spectral Lock, it magically locks things, making them resistant to opening by any means other than the next spell.
* 00/33 runes mastered: Spectral Knock, the unlocking spell.
Reggie’s Permanent Buffs:
* Aura sensing(Detection of magic, souls, and runes)
* Telepathic Bond (Currently with Teuila and Tiktik only, bound sentient artifacts can come along for the ride, will try to add Luni, Lil, and maybe even Lucky if we ever catch up with the triple L squad.)
* Comprehension of all written Languages
* Quickening of runotypical spells metamagic available
* I’m fairly worried that I’ve destroyed something within my brain. Conjuration spells just feel like they’re going to be harder even just thinking about their runes now. Everything in me aches whenever I think about them, and my nose starts to bleed. Not exactly a buff, but an effect I need to remain aware of.
* Technically integrated lightning. I should have counted my reflex-enhancing electrokinesis before. Now it may be too late to count it. I may have gone overboard. I’m not sure such thorough nerve damage is recoverable even for Can’Z’aasian critterkin-adjacents.
Reggie’s Current Equipment:
* 1x Danger Wraps: Wristwraps that warn me and provide silent sonar
* 1x Billowy Cloak: Can’t be much more descriptive. It’s a cloak, it billows on command
* 1x Hyperdimensional Haversack: Sack that’s bigger on the inside
* 1x Enchanted scrollcase: As durable as me to survive a close-range explosion
* 1x Archsorc Staff. After having used it on Rayileklia enough, I’m getting a feeling for how to interpret its limitations. It is similar to me in that it can purify and store enough mana to perform 500 runic uses or sorc points or charges, it recharges up to approximately 250 per day, most spells take about 70’ish charges due to the staff’s quick casting nature. It resides in my secreted enchanted double-ended “drop-sheath”. It can be dropped into hand with the flick of a bottom-lid.
* 1x Griffon Figurine: expands into an animated statue similar to a mana construct. Goes by the name Apheliotes Zephyrus
* 1x Cap of Disguising Illusions: Pretty much what it says on the tin. Can project fairly strong illusions over the wearer in order to appear a number of ways.
* 1x Portable Hole (in my enchanted Scrollcase from Berinon)
* 2x Scrolls of Protection from Elementals (in my Scrollcase)
* 2x Earth Elemental summoning stones (in my Scrollcase)
* 1x Air Elemental Summoning stone (in my Scrollcase)
* 1x Blessed anti-vampire, silvered stake (in my Scrollcase)
* 1x Holy Halefire wrist-mounted double-barreled crossbow
* 1x Full Valkyrie armor set + dagger and buckler
* 1x Pied Pipes of Rodent summoning
* 1x Neckchain of the Ever-Breathing. No matter the atmosphere, or lack thereof, as long as this is about my neck, or anyone’s, that individual can breathe without damaging their insides at all. It projects basically a magical self contained breathing apparatus that either filters, or straight up conjures and creates air for breathing.
* 1x Starmetal Luckrock. I’m going to give this to Lil some day, if we ever reunite. I want it to be a gift that hopefully lets them think of their scalemate tongue-tie-er Dehlia fondly.
* 1x healing potion We used this one on Daffodil. Teuila has the last one in existence as far as we’re aware.
* 3x Minor Water Walking Potions. Single Step salvation in a bottle. Literal lifesavers when falling a tremendous distance if over water. Full kinetic dispersal. I used up something like a dozen of them, and have made the last few that I could with the materials we scavenged from Milbert.
* undisclosed/unidentified minor equipment from Milbert, as well as several unidentified potions from Can’Z’aas that Reggie, uh, I withdrew upon arriving on Rayileklia.
* 2x mysterious energy cells Eventually I’ll figure out what these are so that they’re understood, I swear.
* 1x Always-smoking bottle I almost hope we kinda forgot it near The Brook in the chaotic mess of everything. Maybe it would helpful to the MCD crew in keeping them out of sight while they were setting up the sinkhole beneath Autumn Brook. I think Tiktik might have it though.
* 1x Partially broken thunderstick of elemental lightning Fully broken now, and integrated into my body. It hurts to think about. Literally.
* 1x Box-like book left by the Sisters of the Mist within our Carriage. In haversack. Do not open until having collected 16 evil elder dragon hearts to consume their dragonforce. If I even live that long. I wonder what sort of knowledge is contained within. Maybe their bubble scrying spell?
Reggie’s Current Sentient Artifact Attunement:
* Lullaby, Requiem of the Windless Wilds. Powers include almost anything that can conceivably make travel at least slightly easier for his wielder, and their companions. Mostly involves vibrating stray stones off the path, burying roots to present a flattened footpath, loosing apples from nearby trees to roll towards the party, hidden berry bushes extending a branch towards the path, and so on. Most powerful in a Fae forest, specifically the Hidden Heart. Bud, oh Bud I hope you’re okay.
* Requiem, the Silent Song (Shared with Teuila)
* Shellcracker’s Iceflame Spark (Shared with Teuila)
Essie and Icey are people to consider too. I mean, sort of. They’re sentient armaments worth considering. Though I don’t like of thinking as anything with a personality as being an asset. Or, sapience, or something. You know what I mean, me. Anyway, these two have been patient, but they’re probably getting pissed about me not having tried to identify their current powers yet. I know, it probably would have been worthwhile to know them when we were defending Autumn Brook, but it’s not like I know how long it’ll even take to figure out. I doubt I could do it in an instant during battle, or I’d have done that to begin with.