Starting from the westernmost power, the School of the Desert Moon’s philosophy was that knowledge was power. Knowledge would deliver them through their crisis and provide them the strength to drive back the beasts overrunning the continent. This power of the public, conscious perception drove their magical abilities to assume the form in which it remains to this day. Through diligent study and practice, the Mages of the School can gain a number of magical powers from one of their magical disciplines. While just as old as the magical abilities of the other powers, the mages commonly refer to their own powers as ‘traditional magic’, much to the eternal irritation of the Order of the Solar Storm.
Excerpt: A History of Magic – Galen Cletus
Fortunately, Ashe didn’t have to take watch for the night as the fishermen each volunteered to take 2 hours and both Sammath and Erin decided to take two. With that taken care of, all Ashe had to deal with for the night were Cab’s incessant rumblings about being hungry.
When the sun hit Ashe’s face in the morning, he tried to place his hands like paws over his eyes but Sammath didn’t let him sleep any longer, “Come on, Ashe. Up and at ‘em.”
“No,” Ashe groaned, “let me sleep a bit more.”
Sammath pulled Ashe to his feet and, if Ashe hadn’t caught himself, he would’ve folded over and limply fallen into the sand. Blinking blearily, Ashe looked around and found that everyone else, including Lu who’d apparently returned at some point in the night, was moving around and getting the boat ready. Erin was carrying some roughly carved oars out of the forest to stow in the boat, and the fishermen were packing away what little they still had after the fight. Lu, covered in scratches and bruises but with little else ailing him, was lugging around a massive core with a big smile on his face.
“Hurry up if you don’t want to be left behind!” Talen called out. Ashe started slightly and hurried across the sand, brushing himself down to try and get the grains off him. If he hadn’t been so exhausted, he would have struggled with the immensely uncomfortable experience of sleeping on a beach. As it was, though, he’d slept like a log.
Clambering up onto the boat, he’d just gotten on board when the boat shifted beneath his feet and he nearly fell off. Lu, flaring with fire as he used a Technique, lifted the entire boat in front of himself, as though picking up a small box, and then hoisted it onto his shoulder before walking into the ocean to set it down. Erin let Lu place her on board before he returned to the beach, flared some fire Qi to dry himself off, and then jumped across to the boat, still holding the Core with a big smile.
“I don’t have any use for this core because I’m trying to stay at the fourth stage. I can’t advance too quickly, or I’ll be seen as an even bigger threat than I currently am. So, who wants a gift?”
Cab seized control over Ashe’s muscles with his energy, raising Ashe’s hand with a flash of red energy. Sammath glanced over to Ashe, “No, Ashe. You nearly just died from a second stage Core and that’s with losing a lot of the energy and wasting some in the conversion to Ink.”
“I don’t know, Sammath. I think that we have to trust that he knows what he’s doing.”
This time, it was Sammath’s turn to glare at Erin, “He’s just a kid and he just nearly died using a core to advance. Do you want him to kill himself?”
“I’m saying that we must all make our own decisions and live with the consequences. You aren’t Ashe’s parent, so you don’t get to decide what he does. Besides, we both know that he’ll be fine.”
“I’m doing it.” Ashe spoke up, surprised at the steel in his voice. While Cab had been the one to raise his arm, Ashe knew that he had to get stronger. If he couldn’t get stronger fast enough, then he wouldn’t be able to do anything when it came time to fight against the guards of the slave camp.
Sammath looked Ashe in his eyes, looking for… something. Ashe didn’t know what he was searching for, but Ashe held the gaze. Eventually, Sammath looked away, sighing and shaking his head, before heading to the front of the boat. Lu nodded and came over to Ashe, handing the massive Core to him, and Ashe’s legs nearly buckled at the weight. It had to weigh at least the same amount as Ashe and was a rough sphere the height of Ashe’s torso. Carefully, Ashe set the core on the ground and let himself rest on it for a second.
“Do either of you have enough wind stored in your Bloodlines to do anything?” Lu asked of the two fishermen. Glancing at each other, they both shook their heads and Lu sighed, “I was afraid of that. I’m down to about a quarter of my Qi, which means I can get us to the city, but we’ll have to wait a day for me to cultivate and regain Qi for the trip back, just in case we encounter a Cored.”
Hopping off the boat, Lu’s hands seemed to… expand as fire Qi burst out of them. While Ashe was expecting the wood to burn, he could only just feel a slight bit of heat from the Qi, and it was clear the Lu wasn’t going to let the fire Qi burn up the boat. “Hold on!” Lu yelled and Ashe frantically scrambled to the other side of the Core; he did not want to be squashed behind it.
Moving turned out to be a very intelligent idea as fire Qi flared up behind Lu, pushing out from the soles of his feet. Suddenly, the boat began accelerating and Ashe stumbled back, along with everyone else in the boat, and into the Core. Thankfully, Lu didn’t go nearly as fast as he had when he’d fought the serpentine Cored and limited himself to about twice as fast as the boat had been travelling when the fishermen had first started propelling them with wind. If he went much faster, Ashe thought to himself as he looked around at the shaking boat, I think the boat might’ve fallen apart underneath us.
‘Yes, it would have. Unfortunate that it didn’t, really. I would have loved to watch you all flounder around. Especially you, Ashe. You don’t even know how to swim.’
‘So, you’re listening into my thoughts, now?’ Ashe projected at Cab.
‘When have I not?’
That was… a remarkably good point, actually. Ashe couldn’t remember the last time the demon hadn’t been eavesdropping on his internal monologue. Most of the time, it was fine because the demon didn’t care enough about Ashe’s thought but, at times like this, it could get annoying.
‘I heard that, boy.’ Cab laughed and Ashe knew that the demon would intentionally butt in on his internal monologue for the next month or so before he got bored again.
‘What are we doing with the core, then?’ Ashe changed the topic, and he was sure the demon caught it, but it was better than being mocked for an hour.
‘To start with, you’ll need to section an area of it off. You barely survived the last one, and this one is a full two stages higher than that one. And, like the bald boy said, that’s with bleeding off a lot of the energy.’
‘How do I do that?’
‘I’ll tell you when you need it. After that, I’ll get you to slowly build a small, thin tunnel with no gaps between your Inkwell or the Core so none of it escapes and very little energy trickles in. Once those things are done, you can begin to advance your stage with the energy. Remember, you’ll need to continuously siphon energy or the advancement will revert. It doesn’t all need to be from the Core, but we’ll make sure there’s enough in the sectioned off area for you to advance.’
‘But how do I advance?’
‘Children are so impatient, these days. Do you not trust me to tell you when you need to know?’
‘No. I expect you to make me suffer a little for your hunger right now.’ Ashe replied to Cab, blatantly accusing him because he was tired of the demon’s tricks. Cab’s chuckle just confirmed what the demon had been thinking.
‘Perhaps you aren’t as stupid as I thought, even if you do foolishly trust those two. You can learn something, after all.’
‘Aren’t you the one who said you liked them?’
‘I said I liked the girl. That doesn’t mean I trust her, though. At least I know she will continue to do what’s best for her mission. She’s logical and as long as dealing with us will impact her mission, she won’t do anything. That boy, on the other hand is… emotional. I don’t always know what he’ll do.’
‘Fine. Stop avoiding the question, though.’
‘In order to break through, we’ll first need to wait for your Inkwell to completely convert the Ink you used in the last breakthrough to the material of the Inkwell. Based on the rate that’s going, you’ll need to wait another month. I think that actively using your Ink, though, will allow you to accelerate the process. After that, the first step will be to expand your Inkwell. As it shouldn’t be actively cracking, this time, you should be able to split it in half and push the two halves outwards, into two spheres with a gap between them. With that done, you’ll thicken your Ink and use it to fill the gap, letting your Inkwell expand far less painfully than shattering it and piecing it together again. You will then thicken the remainder of the Ink your expanded Inkwell can hold, and then comes the hard part. While this is an optional step, it will make you more efficient.’
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
‘What is it, then?’
‘Rein your horses in, boy. I was getting there. We need to absorb a small fragment of the thing that you plan to be writing on most and diffuse it through your Ink. What that will do is allow you to write more efficiently on that substance by partially convincing it that your Ink is a part of it. If you do this each time you advance, you’re Ink will eventually become so in tune with the substance that Enchanting will take almost no effort.’
‘But… I Enchant reality. That means that I would have to take a fragment of reality into my body.’ Ashe cursed the day that Cab possessed him. ‘Won’t that destabilise… something?’ Ashe could feel himself slipping, his heart beginning to beat faster and his breathing picking up pace, ‘Won’t that kill me?’
‘Yeup. It shouldn’t. Probably not. Though it will hurt worse than a feral dog chewing on your balls.’ Cab sounded positively cheerful at the thought that Ashe was going to be experiencing more pain in the near future. Instinctively clutching protectively at his testicles, Ashe began to mentally shout curses at the demon before the rest of his answers registered.
His tirade ending abruptly as he fully realised what Cab had just said, Ashe had to hold back his annoyance, ‘What do you mean probably not?!’ Ashe yelled at the Demon King, ‘We’re talking about the fabric of reality here and you want to risk the stability of all space and time on a chance?’
‘Someone’s got an inflated ego. No, of course not. At best, this would be a localised tear into another dimension or plane, maybe even summoning something that would give me a proper fight. Oh, I truly hope for that to happen.’ Ashe had the distinct impression that Cab’s mental avatar, wherever that was, was kneeling on the ground and clutching its hands together as though he was praying. ‘But, no. It’s unlikely that anything interesting will actually happen. Reality is… tough and, when it can withstand – and heal from – battles between Kings and Queens, it will almost certainly be able to withstand a wound as pitifully weak as whatever I need to deal to help you.’
‘Fine.’ Ashe radiated feelings of displeasure towards Cab, though it was a losing battle. If Ashe thought that he could get away with avoiding having a shard of reality shoved into his body and dissolved in his Ink, he would have done it in a heartbeat. As it was, though, he knew that Cab would probably forcibly shove it into him if he didn’t accept it. ‘But what about it probably not going to kill me?’
‘Well, of course it’s dangerous. I’ll be shoving a fragment of reality into the body of a human child, something that I don’t think anyone’s had done to them and survived. But with innovation comes risk, so we must soldier on.’
‘What do you mean no one’s survived it before, Cab.’ When the demon didn’t respond, Ashe began mentally screaming for the demon, hoping that he would answer the call. Ashe should have known better, though, and found that no matter how much he yelled, the demon didn’t respond.
After nearly three hours on the boat, sticking closely to the coast so that they weren’t attacked by another opportunistic Cored, Trillden city finally came into view as they rounded a small headland. Immediately, Lu slowed down and pulled himself into the boat. When Ashe and the two fishermen looked to him for an explanation, Lu said that he didn’t want to reveal his presence in the city. Strong people were conspicuous enough, let alone strong Cultivators from the sect and, well, Lu didn’t want to reveal his location to any enemies that he may have, particularly those from the Order of the Solar Storm or those from the School of the Desert Moon.
Hundreds of small boats and much larger ships were moving about in chaotic order. Somehow, none of them were crashing into each other despite appearing like they would crash. Dozens of different flags streamed from masts, belying allegiance to countries, trading companies, Noble houses, or even just personal designs registered to boats.
A long stretch of the beach before the city proper had dozens, if not hundreds, of small, personal fishing boats lying down on the sand, likely locked up somehow or anchored in place so that people couldn’t steal them. Beyond that, a large, artificial breakwater extended out from the shoreline. Made of nearly seamless stone, Ashe knew that it had been made with magic of some form, probably a Bloodline ability, and the breakwater was blocking all of the choppy made by so many boats moving in close proximity. Inside the breakwater, hundreds of piers extended out from the shoreline and the long, stone break to maximise the number of boats that could be crammed into the city’s harbour. At the harbour’s entrance, which was a large gap, perpendicular to both the shoreline and the direction of the breakwater, a small, squat hut sat.
Clearly the harbourmaster’s office, it was strategically placed right next to a large boom – a long chain, attached to a winch by the harbourmaster’s office that was trailing into the water but could be raised at a moment’s notice to block incoming or outgoing ships. Further inside the harbour, on the shoreline, hundreds of people from all manner of places milled about. Shinians strode next to Arikarans, who strode next to Cultivators, who strategically avoided Mages by walking on the opposite side of the street. Atra Oblorans, Stoelians, Druz, and more types of people were present, wearing clothes of every colour that seemed woven together to create a riotous tapestry of colour.
Behind the people, wooden and stone buildings lined the bustling roads. Taverns and food stalls were hawking catering to the milling sailors and residents in the harbour. Shingled and wooden rooves infrequently alternated across the rooves of the city, or at least that’s how Ashe interpreted the dark and light roofing on the buildings.
Still lacking too much wind to propel the boat for very long, the two fishermen pulled the square sail tight and angled it slightly to better catch the wind. Samor sat at the back of the boat by the rudder and, with a soft woomph, the sail caught the wind properly and they began to move towards the city, slightly lurching and far slower than they’d been travelling before, but it was still progress.
Soon, they were into the area around the city proper and Ashe was glad for it. While Lu’s speed had ensured that the boat had cut through nearly every swell in their way, the square sail with far less propulsion meant that the boat swooped and rose on the swells of the ocean and Ashe quickly felt his stomach roiling and protesting again. Pushing the point that Erin had shown him reduced the urge to throw up to queasiness, but it wasn’t pleasant either way.
With a whoomping sound, Talen and Erin released the sail and quickly lowered it, stowing it away as Sammath and Samor pulled out the rough oars that Erin had carved. With a small countdown, Samor timed himself and Sammath and the boat began to glide slowly through the water, dodging around other boats and much larger trading ships that flowed into and out of the harbour. Hundreds of masts stuck up into the air, tied to jetties that extended out into the artificial harbour.
Because it was small, the choppy waters made the boat rock from side to side and Ashe groaned queasily as it began to rock back and forth. Slowly, the two brought the boat in towards the harbour, moving past some boats exiting the breakwater. Thankfully, as they moved behind the stone wall, the chop began to diminish, and they pulled into a small jetty at the harbourmaster’s office. A man came out of the office and Erin began to speak to them in Arikaran. Samor, the older fisherman, joined in when Erin called him over and began to talk in Arikaran. Eventually, some coins were handed over to the harbourmaster and he began gesturing some directions.
Erin and the fisherman nodded and shook the harbourmaster’s hand, hopping back on the boat and making it gently rock from side to side. Pulling back out the oars, Talen and Sammath backed away from the small jetty and began rowing into the harbour proper. Slipping past massive trading boats, smaller fishing boats, and everything in between, the group eventually turned into a pier and slipped into a small gap, between some other small boats.
Erin hopped off the boat with ease and Sammath tossed her a rope, even as he stowed away his oar with a clatter. Faster than Ashe could see, Erin had finished tying the rope around a cleat and the boat was secured to the pier. Moving up to the front of the boat, Erin repeated the process to make sure that neither end of the boat would drift out from the pier in the middle of the night. Thankfully, because they were in a harbour, they didn’t have to leave anyone on watch as guards would be patrolling. Of course, if they’d had a bigger, more expensive boat, they’d still have left someone to guard the boat but, as it was, they weren’t very concerned. Unwilling to leave the Core on the boat, however, Erin made everyone close their eyes. Ashe did as he was told and Lu ensured no one would be able to see by flashing a wall of fire between Erin, in the corner of the boat holding the Core, and the pier. That drew some attention but, when Erin reappeared, the Core was gonna.
“So that’s how she does it.” Sammath spoke softly, with Ashe only just being able to hear him.
“How do you mean?”
Sammath glanced around at the crowd, “I’ll tell you later. When there aren’t so many people around.” Ashe just accepted it and took Sammath’s hand as the boy helped him onto the pier. As Ashe stood up on the wood, he stumbled as the ground seemed to sway slightly beneath him, “Woah there, Ashe. Steady.” Ashe thanked Sammath and tried to get his balance, finding that it was more difficult to stand than normal. “You gonna be alright, Ashe?”
“I… I think so. It feels a bit weird, but I should be able to walk.”
Sammath nodded in understanding, “The more you go out on a boat, the more you’ll get used to it. You just need to get your land legs back.”
“I hope I don’t get used to it. That means I go back out on a boat.”
Sammath patted Ashe’s back, sympathetically and sent him stumbling, even without putting much force into it, as Ashe’s world seemed to sway forward in time with the blow, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you’d be affected that much.”
Ashe, arms out to try and regain his balance, didn’t look back at Sammath as he spoke, fearing that he might be unbalanced by the action, “It’s fine. Just don’t do it again. You’ll probably hit me over if you do.”
Sammath responded, but Ashe didn’t hear him as Cab spoke up, ‘Well, now, boy. It’s time to eat.’
Ashe groaned, ‘Seriously, is food all you think about?’
‘No, but I’m very certain you don’t want to hear my other thoughts.’
‘You have a point there. I’ll… talk to Sammath about food. He said that Erin might have an idea.’
‘Hurry up, then, boy, or I will take feeding into my own hands. Or, well, your hands with my power.’
Ashe knew that Cab was being serious and, as quickly as he felt comfortable doing, sidled up beside Sammath, “I need food.”
“Alright, then. We’ll get you some on the way. There are plenty of places we can grab a bite to eat as we head to wherever Erin wants us to stay.”
“No, Sam. I need food.” Sammath glanced at Ashe, then, his eyes widening slightly.
“Alright, I’ll talk to Erin now so we can get you fed.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Sammath replied offhandedly as he moved away, to where Erin was talking with Lu. Ashe watched him move away, focussed on making sure that he remained upright, even as Sammath began talking in hushed tones to Erin, who nodded and turned to Lu, an air of finality in the way she did so. Giving Lu a hug, she seemed to be saying goodbye and she gave firm handshakes to the two fishermen.
Sammath did the same with the fishermen and went for a handshake with Lu, who pulled him into a bro hug. Ashe, disoriented as he was, chose to wave goodbye to the three of them and Erin handed some coins over to the fishermen, presumably to pay them for the trip but maybe so they could pay for a room that night.
Glancing one more time at the group of three, Erin nodded to Sammath and the two of them walked over to Ashe, “Alright. I think I have a way to get you fed.”
Cab chuckled, ‘Smart girl. She knows she doesn’t want a hungry demon on her hands.’
“But in order to do that, we first need to go shopping.”
Cab’s laughter was cut short, ‘No. No. Not shopping. Anything but shopping. Ashe, please. I’ll starve myself for another week to avoid this if I need to.’
This time, it was Ashe’s turn to laugh menacingly at Cab, ‘If you dislike it so much, then I’m sure shopping will be fun.’ As he would find out, Ashe was oh, so wrong.