Poi approached the open door of Erick’s mage tower—
Erick turned away from his multitude of lists, to take in the sight of the sapphirescale soldier, and Mind Mage. The sun was barely up outside, turning the dark, wardlight-speckled night of Spur back into a land of orange stone and scattered greenery, and three hundred thousand people. Most people were still in bed at this hour, though. Poi, however, was dressed in his finest suit, as though he was ready for a very large day of very big things.
Erick needed to get ready, too, he supposed. He was still wearing a plain tunic and pants and shoes. Did he have time, though? Probably not.
“Is it time?” Erick asked.
He was to meet with Ascendant Prime today. Erick had no idea who Ascendant Prime was, exactly, only that they were high up in the organization of the Mind Mages. The very same Mind Mages who worked with the wrought and Kirginatharp in order to enact the Forgotten Campaigns of Veird’s history, in order to erase horrible magics from the world before those magics destroyed everything. They were also, as their names suggested, Mind Mages, which Erick was, perhaps, overly wary of meeting. It wasn’t too long ago that Fairy Moon had whammied him with mind control magic…
But Poi and the actual Mind Mages had always been honorable about that most horrible of magics. They routinely ensured that anyone caught abusing those magics were made to… Atone, or something. Erick wasn’t quite sure what happened to rogue Mind Mages, but it was probably the same thing that happened to all criminals of the worst sort. In addition to that, though, the Mind Mages saw to it that the mental monsters of the world were put down, ensuring the general safety of the populace in multiple ways, while simultaneously staying as far out of the public eye as possible.
Hopefully this meeting would clear up some lingering doubts Erick had about this whole Mind Magic thing, as well as pave the way to a less stressful future. Erick had plans to do a lot of good, but he was a Wizard, and much of the world would likely fall upon him for the crime of existing, as soon as they heard. Hopefully, the Mind Mages would not be a part of that conglomerate.
Hopefully, he could get them on his side.
Erick was already partnered with the wrought, after all. Or at least, before he had allied with Ar’Cosmos and Fairy Moon, he had partnered with the wrought of Geode Stratagold, and with Rozeta’s Inquisition forces who ran the Forgotten Campaigns. After he came out to them as a Wizard… That relationship was somewhat rocky, but it would likely repair with time and effort.
Poi heard and understood Erick’s concerns, without Erick needing to say a word. That was the power of a good Mind Mage, and Poi was certainly one of the best, as far as Erick knew. That fact didn’t used to worry Erick, but suddenly it did, and all because of fucking Fairy Moon and her disregard of the severity of Mind Magic.
And now, Erick was to meet with the Big Boss of the Mind Mages…
… His thoughts were going in unhelpful circles.
Poi cut through the spiral, saying, “Ascendant Prime will be ready to speak with you when you are ready to speak with him.”
“… I’m ready.” Erick steeled himself. He asked, “Through you?”
Poi nodded again. “He is already here.”
Ah.
Well if that wasn’t suddenly terrifying—
Erick gestured to an empty space on the floor of his mage tower, conjuring a chair with that same motion. “Welcome to my home, then, Ascendant Prime.”
Poi stood a little straighter. His gaze turned a little smoother. His breathing paused, and then restarted, as the irises of his eyes transformed from ocean-blue to iridescent gold that then spilled outward, completely filling his eyes with far-away divine fire. The constant tendrils of thought that always radiated off of Poi turned from several strands to several thousand, all of them laced with small threads of divine gold, spreading all up and down and across Poi’s entire surface, fanning out behind him, transforming his manasphere impression to that of a hedgehog, or a sea anemone. With the stiffness of a person briefly not used to having a body, and then suddenly remembering how everything worked, the person wearing Poi looked to Erick.
Erick got the distinct impression that the entity inside Poi was uncomfortable at being in such a small container, but that he would make do for as long as necessary. Probably not long, though. Erick was rather thankful that this conversation probably wouldn’t last more than half an hour; if that.
Just long enough to settle some nerves (hopefully!), lay some groundwork for future cooperation, and to pitch an idea Erick’s way, to see what he thought. Or at least that was the impression Erick got. It was probably a correct impression.
Not-Poi easily took his chair.
Erick sat down on his own.
Not-Poi said, “We Mind Mages desire freedom from wrongful persecution. To that end, we police our own and keep to strict codes of conduct. The reason for those codes is to prevent people like yourself from experiencing the horrors of Mind Magic, and thus feeling like you need to purge an entire population from the planet. Such an event has happened too many times before, and it is only through allying with the powers of this world that we have been able to step back from that brink of utter annihilation a dozen times over. Our situation is not too different from that of Wizards.”
Right to the heart of the matter, then.
This was good.
Erick nodded, and waited for the man to continue.
Not-Poi continued, “Since you have already allied with powers that we have already allied with —save for a conversation that still needs to happen with Kirginatharp— and since you are stepping out onto the world stage as a known Wizard, and since you have [Gate], we wish to officially offer our services and alliances to you, at this juncture. The unofficial alliances through Poi, and the work we have already done together to help rid some small parts of this world of mental monster threats, also bode well for future cooperation. What we desire is a continuance of non-aggression toward Mind Mages, to strengthen the bonds already formed, and to ameliorate the strife done to you by your recent experience with that fae, in whatever capacity we can, and which you will accept and participate in.”
Erick had a sudden thought. “She’s fucked up the equilibrium of your people several times, hasn’t she.”
“Yes. She has harmed our public image many times before.” Not-Poi was very good at hiding his emotions behind a body that was not his, and with the calmness of his words, but Erick could tell he was completely exasperated with Fairy Moon. He probably had some choice words for Erick’s decision to ally with Ar’Cosmos, but he could work the hand he was dealt— Not-Poi was about to say something, but then he changed his mind. He said, “I have to comment— Poi has made us aware of the phenomenon of your empathy, but experiencing it in person is altogether... different. This sort of experience is unnerving, but also rather novel to me, for I am usually on the other side of this situation. Physical language continues to be barely adequate, though, so some things will never change, it seems.”
Erick allowed himself a small smile. “I imagine you speak quite a bit faster when words are not strictly necessary.”
“A thousand times faster.” Not-Poi said, “Or deeper, depending on your perspective. Language is slow.”
Erick gave a simple nod, then decided that there was only one way for this conversation to have the best possible outcome. Luckily, it was an outcome that Erick already desired. “I accept your request for alliance, but I need to know what I get out of it, and what you want in return.”
Not-Poi nodded. “Our main desires are that you not create or enforce any rules specifically against Mind Magic that place a burden on those with Mind Magic capability. Rules against [Mind Control] and the like are acceptable and encouraged. The small rules you spoke of with the Darkness, That Fae, and Rozeta and her Inquisitor, are acceptable and desirable for us. No one should have to worry about mind control. We feel that your decision to allow that fae to use mind control to bring that Red Dot Dragon to court was a bad decision, but this is not a large issue right now; I only mention it so that it will not become an issue in the future.” Not-Poi said, “As for what you gain: Knowledge Mages are the least of our services. We can answer any historical questions you might have, and keep you up to date on all current events. We also provide anti-[Telepathy] services, of which Poi is already providing, along with coordination services.” He said, “As a note: It is our hope that we will continue to work together to erase many different mental monster threats from Veird.”
Erick almost smiled. This was great.
He had some reservations, of course...
“I need to know,” Erick asked, “If I hadn’t made [Gate], or Elemental Benevolence— If I was just a normal Wizard and was found out by Kirginatharp, or the wrought, or the dragons of Ar’Cosmos… What would have happened?”
For a moment, Not-Poi almost didn’t answer. He almost chose to deflect. Then he decided to tell the uncomfortable truth, “I will answer based on historical precedent, and not based on any personally gained knowledge. In all cases, they might have tried to work with you, first. But as that often fails… If you were a normal Wizard, with your level of power, there is a good chance that Kirginatharp would have sundered your soul and secured ten more easy years of life for Veird, for this planet does not run on wishes and dreams; it runs on mana. If the wrought would have gotten you then they could have attempted any number of controls, though they are more forgiving of foibles than Kirginatharp. I suspect that you could have won them over, completely, but historically, and based on percentages, this has not happened. A middle-road compromise would have likely taken place, and you would have been nullified, but you would have been allowed to live your own life however you wished. The dragons of Ar’Cosmos would have used you to make more of them, and then you would have been discarded or cherished, based on your own proclivities.”
The ‘sunder your soul’ part was unexpected, as well as the reason that Kirginatharp would have done so, but now that Not-Poi had said it, Erick could easily see why Kirginatharp would have sundered his soul. If a normal person’s soul made a small river of mana, a Wizard’s soul likely made a tsunami.
The wrought and Ar’Cosmos’s responses were already known to Erick, so those weren’t surprising at all. It did remind Erick of one more necessity he had to do, going forward, though. Erick got up, went to his chalkboard not a meter away, and added another bullet point to his lists of goals: ‘Get the former Wizards out of Ar’Cosmos.’
Not-Poi watched as Erick wrote, though his golden eyes had already taken in the entirety of Erick’s various lists.
Erick returned to his seat, saying, “Thanks. I had forgotten about that need. They didn’t let me see the Wizards in there, either, so this will be good… Maybe. As you can see, I have a lot of stuff that needs doing. Any idea where your people would like to fit in?”
Not-Poi seemed to relax. He gave a small nod, then said, “I have some people who would like to participate in your House Benevolence as secretaries and other general office work. In addition to those jobs —which we would consider more mundane uses of our people— I have some individuals who are interested in working with you on a more defensive basis, in order to ensure that hostile Mind Magic is never again employed against you. As for what this relationship would look like, you are aware of what we do for Kirginatharp, somewhat. We hope to enjoy the same sort of relationship with you.”
Erick paused in thought.
Then he asked, “Why does everyone say I have no ability with Mind Magic?”
Not-Poi blinked a bit, for he had not anticipated this segue. “Well… You…” And then he caught up to himself. “The term ‘Mind Magic’ is something of a false designation. To understand the truth of Mind Magic is to see the world through a mana sense of a different flavor. Imagine every living brain and soul as having a mental aura that showcases their ideas and thoughts and feelings; thought-slimes of various sizes, with brains at the center of each slime.
“When a person casts a spell, they put their intent into the mana, effectively spilling off a bit of their slime aura into the magical construct. That intent sticks around until the spell runs out... This gets very complicated, very fast, so I will move on.
“A proper Mind Mage instinctively sees these slime auras, and through viewing those auras and understanding them —for they don’t actually look like auras at all— a Mind Mage can understand what the minded-individual wants.
“All Mind Magic begins with the sight and feel of the mind; of the coloring, shaping, threading, murmuring, and other sorts of influencing of the mental space of one’s self, or that of another. The Mind Magic that the Script has structured into expressions of mana and blue boxes is barely a tenth of what Mind Magic actually is.” Not-Poi said, “And since you have zero ‘mind sense’ —which is different from mana sense— this is why you have been told you have no ability with Mind Magic. And this is true. The slime-aura around your brain is like a paralyzed, atrophied limb. It is there; you can use it when you make magic and when you use your own aura. But you can’t actually move your mind-slime.
“Therefore, you have no ability with Mind Magic.
“But with over 10,000 Health and a strong sense of self, even the strongest, most offensive Mind Magics out there will have trouble accomplishing anything at all against your mind that you don’t wish to happen. Unfortunately, That Fae is an uncommon enemy, and when you’re inside Ar’Cosmos you have no Health. To combat this lack, I offer soldiers to keep your mind your own.” Not-Poi said, “I still advise against ever going back into Ar’Cosmos unless absolutely necessary, though.”
Erick sat back, thinking. “… An entire branch of magic forever out of reach, eh?”
“You might eventually awaken your paralyzed mind-slime with enough time and effort, but I’ve seen a million cases like yours and I can confidently say that working on anything else is a more productive measure of your time than working on Mind Magic.” Not-Poi said, “Normal magic is much more versatile and useful. With the Script, you might even be able to create an anti-Mind Magic [Personal Ward]. We can help you to create such a thing, though such a magic has obvious drawbacks of preventing [Telepathy] and other methods of easy battle coordination.”
Erick thought for a moment longer, then said, “We’ll talk about that some other day. For now, I want to reiterate what I hope for, going forward: I hope to make the world a more connected, more peaceful, less warlike land. I hope I am able to achieve this by making a Gate Network that everyone wants to use, and which they are willing to play nice to get. And so, a lot of historically-antagonistic forces are going to be coming together in odd ways. I will attempt to stop all the wars that come my way, but know now that this is the sort of thing you are signing up for, when you ask to be allies.” Erick asked, “Can I count on your support? If not in war, then to at least prevent Mind Magic problems and to help foster understanding and growth in the coming era?”
Not-Poi’s eyes shone with prismatic gold fire. “Absolutely. We are also not opposed to war, but we will not be employing our Mind Magic offensively, at all, or ever.”
Erick breathed out a little, happy that this meeting was going so well. “That is perfectly acceptable. Do you have a name other than ‘Not-Poi’ or ‘Ascendant Prime’?”
“I gave up my name and my individuality long ago, back when I gave up my body. If it helps, you can call me ‘Prime’.”
Erick nodded, and as the sky outside turned gold with the light of dawn, he began, “How do you envision such an alliance looking? What sort of people…”
The conversation went a little longer than Erick had expected, and he thought that perfectly fine.
They spoke until the sun rose all the way, and everyone else in the house woke up and got to doing whatever they felt like doing. Teressa made breakfast, looking half-dead all the while due to lack of sleep. Kiri had much the same weariness and worried look to her as Teressa, as she sat there at the breakfast table, barely touching her pancakes. Jane had no problem eating what Teressa had made, but…
She was worried, too. Jane was just very good at ignoring her worries.
While Erick and Prime spoke of the future, and what cooperation looked like, the people of Spur began to show up outside of Erick’s property, to stand outside the short wall separating Erick’s property from the rest of the Human District. Some of those people were soldiers, keeping the peace, but in the distance, between the mansions of various nobles, Erick saw Silverite and Killzone walking his way.
Erick glanced outward, focusing on Ophiel’s senses for a moment, making sure that what he was seeing was what was actually happening. Then he looked back to Prime, and stood up, saying, “It’s been nice talking to you, and I wish to speak more in the future, but duty calls.”
“It was good to speak with you as well.” Prime stood up, saying, “Duty calls.”
Threads of divine gold fire slipped out of Poi like the unweaving of a basket, or the unwrapping of a thousand folded hands. The gold left his eyes. Sapphire blue irises returned as Poi blinked hard, slumping a fraction before catching himself. Small puffs of fire escaped his mouth as he steadied. And then he stood straight, and breathed deep.
“Welcome back, Poi.” Erick said, “Your boss seems nice.”
“I was still here,” Poi said. “Never left. Just… briefly subsumed.” He shook his head, as though clearing out cobwebs— He paused, then looked around. “Oh. It looks like Kiri is having… a problem. I think Ascendant Prime might have been too much for her.”
Erick scowled a bit. Something was wrong with Kiri—?
Downstairs in the kitchen, Kiri had been sitting next to her half-eaten pancakes, looking pensive and worried. She had likely seen a lot through Sunny’s eyes, or her own developing mana sense. But now, she held onto both sides of her emeraldscale head as though that would be enough to hold herself still in the middle of a massive storm. She groaned.
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A spike of worry struck Erick.
There was nothing wrong? No crisis. Ascendant Prime had moved on? Ophiel was steady on the outside corners of the house, sitting pretty right beside a slightly agitated Sunny, who had been agitated the whole night, so Erick mostly wrote off her continued agitation as nerves.
No dangerous looking people outside, either, aside from the various normal looking commoners and a few people in noble livery who had likely heard that Erick had made [Gate], or had seen that Ophiel was back in residence. Silverite and Killzone reached the gathered people outside of the walls, and began controlling that situation better than the guard were capable of doing.
Teressa moved to stand beside Kiri. She placed her hand on the young girl’s back, but her focus was divided between Kiri’s sudden change from pensive to ‘having an obvious problem’, and also Erick’s current location. Jane seemed to be talking about how it was all over now, and nothing was happening.
Erick took that all in in less than a second, then instantly started walking out of his mage tower, toward the newest development in his life, saying, “Everyone is still alive and a fight doesn’t seem to be happening, so let’s take it all as it comes and work toward the best.”
Poi followed, saying, “Kiri seems to be coming back out of it, too.”
And she was. Kiri dropped her hands away from her head and said some small words of ‘I’m fine’ to Teressa. And she seemed to be fine. Mostly.
Erick smiled, his own sudden worries flushing away like so much [Cleanse]d murk. “Good news all around!”
And then, from downstairs, like a raid siren, Kiri sounded off, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!”
Poi rapidly said, “Most people don’t know of Ascendant Prime and while that is likely to change in the immediate area—”
“Right right.” Erick understood. “Don’t mention it too much.”
Calming Kiri down didn’t take much. Just the knowledge that Erick was on the case and everything would be fine seemed to be enough. And besides that, Silverite and Killzone were here. Kiri had already righted herself for that very reason; no matter whatever trauma might happen, one needed to be ready to respond to all new changes in any current situation, after all. Erick thought that Kiri was being a bit harsh on herself, but he didn’t have time to address any of that; not right now, anyway.
Because he suddenly remembered another problem.
Where the fuck was Sitnakov?
And did the man’s absence have something to do with Killzone also being an adamantium orcol? There weren’t many of those in the world, as far as Erick knew. Rozeta had said that he would show up right after Erick woke up, and that was hours ago by now.
He was probably scared of Killzone, or mad, or… Something. Or maybe he just didn’t want to approach the house? There had been a shell of unknown protective magics surrounding the [Prismatic Ward] of his house earlier in the morning, preventing all people from directly interacting with that dense air, or with the house at all. Erick had no idea all of the effects of those spells (though they were clearly to prevent people from [Dispel]ing his [Prismatic Ward]), though they hadn’t impeded him from blipping inside, nor had they stopped any of his people from doing the same, and using the house as normal. But now…
Erick opened the front door of his house, and there was nothing but dense air separating him from the Mayor of Spur, and her General of the Army.
Silverite looked happy to see Erick. Her pleasant-yet-professional white sundress flowed a little in the breeze, while her silver dragonkin body looked almost gold in the morning light.
Killzone was the same dour black metal orcol that Erick had always known. But there was something different about him today. He was very good at hiding it, but he actually looked a bit nervous, like he expected someone to jump out from behind one of the bushes in the front garden, or out from behind an edge of the house. Maybe Sitnakov had made a small appearance, after all?
“Morning, Silverite. Killzone.” Erick stepped back, saying, “Welcome to my home. You should be aware that I have no idea where Sitnakov is, but he’s around here somewhere. Rozeta promised that.”
“Fuck. I knew it.” Killzone breathed deep, then he calmed, and spoke with a casual southern twang, “Ya know what? That’s fine. So we hear you got [Gate].”
Silverite’s eyes went a little wide at the mention of Sitnakov, but after a glance at Killzone and seeing he was… okay, the Mayor turned back to Erick. “There were some concerning developments in the missive you sent through Poi, but we’re glad to see that you’re okay. Mind if we come in and talk?”
Erick stepped back, happily saying, “Come on in.”
They did.
They closed the door behind them.
And then, safely behind the walls and their anti-sound spells, Silverite dropped the act.
The Mayor of Spur started talking, her volume increasing with every passing word, “Do you have ANY. IDEA. What it means to ally with Ar’Cosmos! What it means to ALLY WITH THAT FAE! I won’t have fairies in this city! Erick! I just won’t!— Why are you smiling! This is serious!”
Erick was smiling, and he knew this was serious, but Silverite was normal-mad at him. Not ‘exile or kill’ mad. It was easy to tell the difference. “I’m glad you’re taking this Wizardry so well.”
Silverite rounded on him, pointing a finger. “You think you’re the first Wizard I’ve seen walk through this city! I had you marked as a possible Wizard after that Particle shit!”
“Bah!” Erick retorted, “No you did not!”
“I can pretend! … Though it is likely better to be true about my ignorance… for a while.” Silverite calmed a fraction, saying, “Gods above. You know how many people are up in my mind about this development? The [Gate] stuff, I mean. Not all the rest. Everyone wants a piece of you. What are you going to do when they find out the whole truth? Because— If I am understanding what Poi told us.” She glanced at Poi, then back to Erick. “You’re not hiding your Wizardry… WHICH IS JUST SO! Incomprehensible. Gods! It feels so odd to talk about this openly. This is not the way this is usually done, Erick.”
“There’s going to be a lot of changes. For starters, I’m going to start some sort of House Benevolence—”
Silverite muttered, “Gods above.”
Killzone, who was pitch black adamantium, probably would have paled if it were physically possible.
“—north of Candlepoint.” Erick said, “That’s where I’m going to go, and remain, so that I’m not bringing the world down on Spur.”
And now Silverite looked embarrassed, but thankful. Killzone frowned a little for similar reasons.
Silverite said, “So you’re moving.”
“I am. I have to. I won’t put Spur in danger like that.”
For a long moment, no one said anything.
And then Silverite said, “Spur will always be open to you, though we know that the near future might bring too much turmoil for you to take advantage of this offer. If you need supplies, our markets are open. If you need help setting up land and sewers, or whatever physical structures might be necessary, I’m sure Al would love to help with that. He is a rather great Stone Mage, as you already know… And a sewermaster. He’s going to miss you; He had a party planned… But you can have that over at Candlepoint, or wherever. Though… I’m not sure how he would deal with you being a Wizard. Everyone is going to have…” Silverite moved on, “I’m here if you need someone to speak to about administration. I’d tell you not to get involved with… a lot of things you’re already involved with. Dragons, for one. But… You’re already doing that. This house and property remains yours, of course, and...” She ran out of easy words as thick emotions clamped her mouth shut.
She had been holding it together well, but she had grown fond of Erick, and Erick had grown fond of her. He was going to miss Spur and its people a whole lot, for any visits to this land would have to be diplomatic-oriented visits; no time for antiquing or bar hopping or anything like that…
Not for a while, at least.
Erick smiled the whole time Silverite spoke, though, for it was fantastic that this was Silverite’s response, and not anything else that it could have been. “I’d like to open up trade with Spur whenever I get [Gate]s up and running, if you’re amenable.”
“Yes yes, of course.” Silverite regained much of her composure as the topic turned to trade. “It’s going to be dangerous to associate with you in the near future, but if we ride the line then we should all come out on top of the world when things finally calm down. Just don’t expect a miracle of cooperation from all the rest of the world. As far as I heard, Candlepoint was doing well after you took over because a lot of people want a Gate Network. About 20,000 people there right now, last I heard, but 95% of them are not natives. I would not be surprised if almost all of them leave once it turns out that you’re a Wizard.”
Erick chose to look on the bright side, saying, “Then at least I’ll have fewer people to work around.”
“The entire world is going to have to work around you, Erick, if half the stuff I heard turns out to be true.” Silverite said, “I’m very glad to know that you weren’t changed by that fairy—” She scowled, but there was barely any heat to her sight, as she said, “A completely reckless thing to do, to ally with them.”
“But it prevented a war.” Erick said, “No one likes what I did, but if I hadn’t, then the war would have already started.”
Silverite frowned a little. “… Probably correct.”
Erick moved the conversation along, gesturing to the hallway and the sunroom beyond, saying, “Want to talk trade? Taxes per person, or tonnage? Logistics? I’m assuming that trade between Stratagold and Candlepoint and Songli would be the main users, at first. Do you know Tasar?— You have to know Tasar.”
Silverite joined Erick for a walk to the sunroom, saying, “I know Tasar. She’s a good sort. Not much like all the other grounders from the Geodes. Wish she would have opened her Teleport Stations to the greater world, though. Always mad at her about that.”
Erick perked up. “You know of those? I thought they were a great secret.”
“An open secret among the leaders of the Geodes and other approved users, more like.”
They sat down in the sunroom. Killzone followed, and sat down beside Silverite.
Silverite asked, “Can you actually enchant a Gate, yet?”
“I’m working on it, but I don’t see why not.” Erick said, “The larger problem, for now, is that I can’t actually reach Spur from Yggdrasil. There are some limitations of distance, which...”
Erick gave up some small secrets of his [Gate], such as how far it could reach from Yggdrasil, and how free it was for him to cast the spell. Silverite laughed loud when he said that a [Gate] was only 50 mana, and anything could go through it as long as Erick held it open. The [Gate] you got in the Script was a lot more restricted, and was known to collapse as soon as you tried to put too much through; too many people, or too much tonnage. Erick, of course, opened a [Gate] to display the truth of his words, for while he could not open a [Gate] to Spur, from Candlepoint, the reverse was easy.
Silverite and Killzone both stared at the glowing ring of white lightning, and at Candlepoint’s Yggdrasil, sitting in the blue lake like a distant green mountain, surrounded by a rainbow crown. A jolt of lightning struck the stone floor of the sunroom, even though Erick had conjured it high enough that it shouldn’t have done that. That tiny jolt left a sprig of green lichen upon the floor. Both wrought stared at that lichen, their eyes going even wider.
Neither of them had broached the topic of Elemental Benevolence, but at seeing it in action, at seeing the revelation that it really was a different Element than the ones they knew before… Perhaps it really was the Anti-Sundering Element that they had been informed that it was.
Silverite caught on to that truth first. She gasped in realization.
Killzone followed, blinking several times, trying to clear his eyes, even though he wasn’t really using his eyes to see, anyway. He did manage to prevent his tears from falling, though.
Both of them were wrought. Both of them had probably participated, or been party to, a Forgotten Campaign or two in their lives. This new Element was supposed to be capable of making sure no Forgotten Campaigns ever needed to happen, ever again. And that meant a lot to both of them.
Erick said, “Elemental Benevolence is very good at long range, deep effect prognostication. With it, I can see turning points for weal or woe. Sometimes the truth of those points is obvious, and the best solution to prevent apocalypse is a quick, small kill. But I expect to eventually find a few people who will be able to cause great, good things to happen, if I only give them my support. That’s what I made Elemental Benevolence to be, and so that is what it is. I’m still trying to figure out all the smaller quirks, though, like the spontaneous generation of plant life, or other effects.”
Silverite laughed, soft and true, smiling wide. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. If anyone can, it’s you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Erick said, “I hope I can live up to the expectations.”
“Y’ve already exceeded ma wildest expectations, Erick,” Killzone said, slipping into a happy southern accent. Then he realized that he had spoken with an accent, and simultaneously wondered why he had done that. He was usually a lot more put-together than this, since he routinely dealt with Shades. Perhaps he had gotten a similar vibe from Erick? ...Well wasn’t that shameful. He moved past it, and in a normal voice, said, “This is already a… A miracle.”
Silverite nodded, smiling gently. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling, either. A calm joy entered into her voice as she turned the conversation back to trade.
They spoke for a few hours.
Erick got a deep, yet quick lesson in Crystal Forest trade, along with a heavy caveat: He was going to destroy all current trade routes, so he needed to work with existing systems to ensure that as few people fell through the floor as possible.
“And I know you don’t like them, Erick. But you gotta be willing to work with Portal.” Silverite said, “They destroyed the Farms, but 90% of everything that comes into the Crystal Forest goes through Portal, first.”
Erick heard and understood, and yet… “You’re right; I don’t like Portal. I am going to start up another Farms at Candlepoint, since Valok Greentalon and Daetroi Ooragh were both there last I heard.” With perhaps too much sudden vehemence in his voice, he said, “If Portal comes after me again because I chose to rise up against their monopoly and create new systems of trade then I’m going to cut the head off of that snake this time.”
Silverite nodded, as though expecting everything Erick had said. With an air of stately countenance born of five hundred years of working the systems of the Crystal Forest, and knowing exactly what had happened to the Farms with much more detail than Erick ever could have known, Silverite spoke, “Usually, the Pearl Kingdom is much more accepting of other players on the market; they are ruthless, of course, but in the several hundred years I have known that royal line, they have never before resorted to hiring Hunters to kill a competitor. In the construction of our Farms, they attempted to shut us down through financial hardships, but when it appeared that their hardships would not work, they resorted to the worst sorts of actions.
“Of course, the Pearl Throne and its nobility all blame what happened to us on Caradogh Pogi, stating that they did not know the full breadth of his treachery, and thus, I easily extracted vast discounts from them on the next ten years of bulk shipments. In light of [Gate], though, their trade rates don’t matter.” Silverite turned harsh, saying, “If they do it again, Erick, then remove them from power, with my blessing, and with the blessing of the entire Crystal Forest behind you. There are always branch families that will take over the Pearl Kingdom’s throne, after all, and I already warned them once. Spur will not be trifled with again.”
Erick felt a deep kinship with Silverite at that moment.
And then Silverite turned back to how she had been; softer, but not actually soft at all. “However, I would suggest that you try to get concessions from them when they come to you and demand access to your network. If you sell through them, then they’ll get your products out to all the rest of the Letri Ocean, and that would be a better outcome than a war. Plus, Candlepoint will enjoy a great surge in population and prosperity. Of all the things to come out of this, I am most excited about the connection to Songli. The Crystal Forest has never had a stable, direct connection to that part of the world— We’ve never had a great connection to Stratagold, either… This is all so new, and I hope for the best for you, Erick. I hope for the best for us all.”
Erick felt a kinship at those words, too. He said, “You’re right, of course.”
“Another suggestion: start hoarding gold if you haven’t already.” Silverite said, “Mage Bank will shut down your accounts— Ah. Well. That’s what happens with normal Wizards. I’m not sure what they’ll do with you. The Headmaster will probably be the final arbiter of that decision, and since it doesn’t seem like you’re on his shit list then you might be good to go.”
“Yeah. I… Need to talk to him, I suppose. Rozeta said the same thing. Thanks, Silverite.”
Silverite blinked a bit, as though she had missed a step coming down a set of stairs. She reoriented fast, though, saying, “Just… directly talking to gods. Good to see some things haven’t changed.” Silverite smiled a little, then chuckled, saying, “In a century or two I’ll look back at these sorts of moments and be amazed that I got any time with you at all. I’ve had the same sort of experience with hundreds of adventurers before, but… You’re something special, Erick.” Silverite stood, saying, “And yet, that’s all the help I think I can give you, for now.”
Killzone stood, silently. He hadn’t said much this whole time, though he had had tendrils of thought coming off of his head, so he was obviously talking to someone. Erick wondered who, but he would not pry.
Erick stood as well, saying, “Thank you for the hospitality, Silverite. I’ll have Kiri keep up the rains like she has been, and when things start to calm down I’ll look into full scale crystal mimic eradication, and desert reclamation. I would like to help Spur with that, if you desire.”
“I look forward to seeing that day, but even before then, Spur wants you to succeed, for your success is all of our success.” Silverite said, “Don’t be a stranger, but… and I’m sorry I have to actually say this, but I do: Don’t get too physically close for a while, either. Letters and other correspondences are welcome.”
Erick mentally added another bit of magic to his ‘required magic list’; a long-distance viewing screen that allowed him to see a target, and which facilitated two-way communication. Kirginatharp had that sort of spell, exactly. Such an encounter had even been Erick’s first face-to-face with the Second to Rozeta.
Erick smiled softly, feeling good about this whole thing. “I’ll be seeing you around, Silverite, but not in person.”
Silverite nodded, then walked out of the room.
Killzone almost followed, but he lingered instead. He wanted to talk about Sitnakov, or something else serious, but he decided not to do that. With a normal voice, he said, “Thank you, Erick, for everything you’ve done for Spur. Good luck. If you ever need help; I’ll be there. Otherwise Poi, Teressa, and Kiri are going to stick with you, though I would ask for Teressa’s [Witness] services and Kiri’s widescale destruction services, when necessary.”
Erick smiled. “Spur has done a lot for me, and I’m thankful I was able to return the favor. Kiri and Teressa and Poi are free to go wherever they wish, of course, but I do know that they will be joining me at Candlepoint for the immediate future; we had that discussion last night.”
Killzone nodded, seeming relieved, and yet not at all; he still had yet to broach the topic he actually wanted to discuss. He decided to avoid speaking of Sitnakov again, and deflected toward something that actually did need to be mentioned, and which caught Erick completely off guard, “Shade Farix is likely going to want to move to Candlepoint in order to vacate Frontier, and to get away from the wrought takeover of Ar’Kendrithyst. I suspect many of the Shades you left living will try to move to Candlepoint as well. On one side, this means that war likely won’t happen, due to worries over retaliation, due to Candlepoint turning into the exact same danger that Ar’Kendrithyst used to represent. But on the other side… You’re going to be living near Shades. It might fuck up all of your plans for a Gate Network.”
Erick felt himself pale a little. But only a little. He was already prepared to deal with one Shade in his life, with Goldie, so he could probably fit more in there, somehow. “Thanks for the warning.”
Killzone said, “They’re exceedingly difficult to live with, and normally you’d find yourself wanting to murder them multiple times over. But they’ve been completely different since you Blessed them. Could be a scam— Well. It is a scam. But it’s a scam they’re willing to play out, so… Good luck with that, Erick.”
“Ahhh. Yeah.” Erick said, “Thanks, Killzone. Good luck with the transformation of Ar’Kendrithyst.”
Killzone gave an easy nod, looking relieved that he had discharged as much of his duty as he could, and then he left the sunroom, following Silverite out of the house.
Both wrought made it out the front door in short order, and then walked across the front yard to reach the gate that separated Erick’s property from the public lands just outside, where a rather large crowd was being held at bay behind a good twenty semi-nervous soldiers. Silverite started talking about [Gate], and the people started cheering even before Silverite got out half of her news. ‘It’s true! He made it!’ ‘I want to visit Songli!’ ‘I can see my cousin by Stratagold!’ And a bunch of other loud, happy words. Soon enough, Silverite was able to actually talk, and that is what she did.
Killzone simply stood beside Silverite like a black monolith, his senses peeled for sight of Sitnakov, or other dangers.
Erick put all of that out of his mind as he went to his daughter, and his people.