“You’re saying our father is king,” Tanya said, repeating Mildrith’s words to make sure she heard them correctly.
Mildrith nodded. “It happened just a few days ago. The silent death came for the old king and our father was chosen as his replacement.”
Tanya dropped down on her bed feeling her room grow smaller by the second. Being a Bryer and the king’s niece among many was bad enough, but being the king’s daughter was much worse, so much worse.
People would start staring at her again. Now that she thought about the last few days, she was already getting more attention. Those who used to look at her with surprise and disdain but long since accepted that she was part of the Hall recently started giving her inquisitive looks once again.
Tanya hardened her resolve. She was not the same person that walked into the Hall three years ago. She was a terrifyingly powerful Bryer with many strong friends to call her own. The only thing she was lacking was height which mattered little when she stood upon a twenty-foot-tall lion.
“What does this mean for me?” she asked.
“It means I'll be here to protect you from now on,” Mildrith replied.
Tanya screwed up her face. “But I'm just as strong as you.”
“No, you're not.”
“Yes, I am!”
“Listen!” Mildrith said, bringing Tanya to a stop. “No matter which one of us is stronger, it's my job to keep you safe from basic threats like bullying and social mockery. Let's be honest, I am far more worldly than you are.”
“If by worldly you mean older then yes.” Tanya quipped.
Mildrith gave her a rude hand gesture, one she saw many times from Brand then continued. “The point is, every Bryer that comes to the Hall has a protector of some kind. Father set something up for you that I'm unaware of, but he now wants me to join in, so I'll be moving into your room.”
“And why is she here?” Tanya said pointing at Alda.
Alda shrugged from the corner she’d been waiting in. “I go where Mildrith goes.”
“And what if I refuse to let you protect me?” Tanya's said with a defiant glare.
“I don't really know,” Mildrith admitted. “Father would be furious with me, or at you, or both of us.”
Tanya visibly deflated as Mildrith continued explaining her new role as a protector. “It's not like I'll be around you all the time. I still have my own lessons to attend. I'll just be staying here and keeping an eye on you and your little friends. How is that brutish one anyway? Has he figured out some miracle to defeat me yet?”
Tanya was hesitant to mention the magic Brand was studying but figured she could just keep her explanation broad mostly because she knew nothing about it. “I don't really know how he’s doing. A few weeks ago, he tried a spell that left him-,” She took a long pause to find the words. “In a bad state. Since then, he spends every day with a monk practicing some new spell he won’t tell us about.”
“Well, I’m sure whatever it is won’t be enough to beat me,” Mildrith said with confidence.
Tanya shook her head refusing her claim. She had the feeling when Brand challenged her again, he would only do so after guaranteeing his victory.
****
Brand stood in a crater that’s edge was far above his head. He looked at his slightly bruised knuckles and frowned. “I can do better.”
His aura surged, its red glow growing brighter, his body roaring with power needing a release. Rune of strength dancing around him, more appearing until his magic was a swinging tapestry. Then, Brand jumped into the sky.
As he began to fall, new runes appeared increasing his weight tenfold. Just before hitting the ground, he threw a sharp punch and manipulated the power of his strike, spreading the force of his strike across a wide area.
The ground exploded as if hit by a meteorite. Hard-packed dirt and stone flew into the air creating a small mushroom cloud. Merwyn, who was protected by a very powerful mana shield, looked into the new crater Brand created with fascination.
His attempt to outdo himself had failed. The crater was only slightly bigger than the last, but he laughed all the same. Nothing about what he’d done hurt in the slightest. Not throttling his mana faster than what most people thought possible, not using several runic tattoos at once, or casting the structural reinforcement or the aptly named Ironsides spell on himself; a feat only thought possible by those that held the exceedingly rare focus.
He was now the walking incarnation of Byer Ironsides. More so, thanks to his aura and gravity magic.
After weeks of subjecting his mana channels to Ark Blast, they finally gave no resistance. The mana soared through him now with so little effort it was as If his flesh were intangible.
“Ok, now that you’ve finished playing around, how long were you able to throttle your mana this time?” Merwyn asked as she added notes to a book she held.
“I never stopped,” Brand said, still studying his slightly bruised hands.
Merwyn stopped writing as his words reached her ears. “What!”
“I haven’t stopped throttling my mana since yesterday. It takes so little effort and mana that I just didn’t stop, even while sleeping.”
Merwyn’s eyes glowed as she activated mage sight then turned to perfect circles as she saw the mana still swirling around Brand. She noted his mana resistance was the same as the last few days; near zero percent.
“I think that’s as far as you’ll get using that Arcane Blast,” she said.
“Arc Blast,” Brand corrected. “And I think you’re right. I can barely feel anything when I use it now.”
Brand looked over at the book Merwyn wrote in. “I’m still not sure how I feel about letting the Hall in on my little discovery.”
Merwyn laughed to herself. “It’s not like anyone would be willing to use it. It took almost three weeks for you not to pass out every time you used that ridiculous spell, and it would be worse for anyone with more mana than you, which is basically everyone in the known worlds. I want you to take this to heart. Your gods damned crazy for using that spell.”
“Thank you,” Brand said, unsure if he was being insulted or praised.
A shriek bellowed out from the nearby trees reminding Brand he was still in monster-infested territory. It was the most secretive place to practice his newly discovered mage craft but was subject to the occasional monster attack which he looked forward to.
Officially, Brand was out hunting by himself so Merwyn didn’t bother to help; not that he wanted any.
Out of the forest emerged a six-legged cat-like creature that's mouth seemed to extend into its chest. Half its body opened revealing rows of sharp teeth intended on swallowing its victim in one gigantic bite.
Brand waited for the creature to come close then hopped into its mouth like skipping a step. The monster bit down instantly but was prevented from closing its mouth by Brand’s foot resting on its bottom jaw and his hand holding the top with ease. Its teeth pierced his boot like wet paper but broke on the skin of his foot thanks to him using Ironsides.
The monster toppled to the ground with a shriek, its momentum forced into the dirt when Brand increased his weight using gravity magic. His body should have broken under the burden but held like a slab of steel.
The monster struggled in vain as Brand pointed his free hand down its gullet. “Arc blast!”
An explosion of red filled the beast forcing it to balloon in size before exploding showering the area in gore. The blast continued, further clearing the land behind the creature for several feet.
Brand did not escape the effects of his own spell. The attack used up the mana needed to maintain his incredible weight and the power he used to root himself in place. He was sent flying backward into a large tree and through it until he hit the ground rolling to a stop.
He stood, biting back a scream with his clothes completely shredded but his body was unharmed except for a painfully dislocated shoulder. “How Ironic. My armor isn't strong enough to handle me now.”
The next day, Brand went looking for Mildrith, determined to fight her. With a monk's permission, they could have friendly sparring matches as long as both participants agreed to it. To his surprise, he found her and Alda with the rest of his group in the training yard they usually used.
Upon closer inspection, he recognized, somebody he’d not seen senses his first week in the Hall. His right hand throbbed as he remembered what Aldhelm had done to him for no apparent reason.
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The urge to run forward and kill the man very nearly overcame Brand’s since, but he held himself back. Aldhelm was a Bryer with strong connections that could make his life difficult, so he changed tactics.
He walked past everyone he knew stopping in front of the noble with an outstretched hand. “Hey, my name is Brand. I have the strangest feeling we've met before.”
At Brand’s greeting and offer of a handshake, Mildrith looked shocked, Aldhelm looked confused, and Tanya began gathering mana to summon Leo.
Brand reached out with his invisible fortress aura covering Tanya and suppressed her power completely. She tried to cast something, her summoning by the taste of it but it failed, the power adding to Brand’s.
Aldhelm hesitated for a moment then gave Brand a beaming smile as he accepted his handshake. “I think I saw you fighting my sister in a bawling somewhere in the monster forest. Where you would have seen me, I have no clue?”
Just like before, Aldhelm increased the pressure of his handshake. Unlike last time, Brand's body was like a lump of steel strengthened by the power of his throttled manna and Ironsides that was all concealed by his focus.
“Quite a grip you got there,” Brand said, letting his hand be squeezed without putting up a fight.
With complete ease, he turned Aldhelm’s hand as if without any resistance, so it faced downwards in submission. The noble tried to fight against the movement digging into the ground with his feet as he kept his body rigid, but he moved all the same until Brand’s hand lay on top.
“Tell me, boy, what is your focus?” Aldhelm asked while trying to keep his face calm despite it taking on a feverish hue.
Brand tightened his grip by the slightest bit until a spark of pain ran across Aldhelm’s face. “Boy? No one has called me that in a long time." There was a clear threat in Brand's voice like the situation could turn violent at any second. "And my focus really isn't special. In fact, it's so useless I'm embarrassed to even mention it.”
Aldhelm flared and flickered, a clear sign that he was struggling. Luckily for him, Brand did not tighten his grasp any more than he already had. He just wanted to prove his strength and nothing more. Sadly, Aldhelm reacted rather violently to his restraint.
A winged woman clad in the most revealing armor Brand had ever seen appeared next to Aldhelm, seemingly from nowhere. She was surrounded by the dim blue light most mana construct emitted, the same light as Tanya's lion.
The woman's fist shot out at Brand's face missing his chin by an inch. Without letting go of Aldhelm, Brand struck the woman's chest releasing his focus to appear as if he brought his fortress aura to life.
Cracks ran throughout the woman's body emitting the blue light of concentrated mana. Brand grabbed hold of her when she tried to back away snapping her now brittle arm off as if it were a twig.
Aldhelm cried as he pulled away from Brand, holding the woman that was making panic sobs through her helm. He laid a hand on her chest pouring mana into her as fast as possible, but it all leaked out from the cracks that refused to heal.
Brand was thoroughly surprised by this... person Aldhelm summoned. she did not simply melt when he assaulted her with his fortress aura. She was smaller and built sturdier than Tanya's lions making her more powerful and harder to destroy, something the beast kin should look into for her own creatures. The more perplexing aspect of Aldhelm’s summoning was that Brand had the feeling she wasn't some mindless animal. The sobs she made were real and full of fear.
“What did you do to her!” Aldhelm yelled in an almost scream with filled desperation.
He stood glaring at Brand with hate and reached for a sword he forgot was not there. Not caring that he was unarmed, Aldhelm advanced on him until Mildrith stood in his way.
“Stop this right now,” she said, obviously taking Brand’s side.
A hurt look crossed Aldhelm’s face. “You're defending… Whatever the hells he is!”
“You're the one that summoned a Valkyrie. If he did not do what he did it may have killed him. And for what, because you couldn't break his hand this time?”
Brand coughed into his palm to get everyone's attention. “Can’t you just resummon that Valkyrie thing again? I’ve killed Tanya’s lion plenty of times and it's always fine."
“She’s not some animal you simpleton!” Aldhelm yelled. He cupped the Valkyrie’s head as if trying to make her comfortable before the end. “If you simply destroyed her, bringing her back would be easy, but you've unraveled the very heart of her being. If she dies in this state, she's gone for good!”
“And then you’ll try to kill me.”
Brand didn't bother with words. He slid a finger around Aldhelm and the Valkyrie leaving a circle imbued with magic. He then fetched a beast core from his pants, placed it within the circle, and broke it with a tight squeeze. The air inside the erected barrier began to glow as the ambient mana increased.
"There," Brand said. "Fix her before the mana dissipates. Won't even charge you for the fuck cores I just wasted."
Aldhelm looked back to his Valkyrie with astonishment. The cracks that oozed mana had indeed been slowed enough for him to stay ahead of the drain. He created a shield around himself keeping hold of the mana charged air and picked up the Valkyrie.
As she was lifted, Brand got a look at the Valkyrie's face that was only half covered by armor that broke away. Aldhelm made sure to conceal her features with a veil of magic but Brand saw enough through his perception magic to know who she was based on.
He took a moment to look at her scanty armor and suppressed the urge to say something. No matter what appetites Aldhelm had or for whom, revealing them was not worth the trouble.
“This is it not over,” Aldhelm said before heading inside with Mildrith lagging behind him. She gave Brand an inquisitive glance then turned to leave in earnest.
“I'd just like to state that none of that was my fault,” Brand said. “I even tried to be nice and not break his hand.”
“How about you tell me what you did to silence my magic,” Tanya said, coloring her words with indignant fury.
“I’ll tell you later, first I have to kick your sister’s ass,” Brand said as he started to follow behind Mildrith hoping he could talk her into a fight.
Alda appeared blocking his path followed by a gust of wind. “The only place you’re going is to an arena for our match.”
Brand groaned in annoyance repeating what he always said to Alda on reflex. “Have you learned how to turn yet?”
Alda answered by running circles around Brand creating a small tornado that lasted well after she came to an abrupt stop. She pushed out her chest with pride giving everyone a good look at her new armor. Most of her plate mail was gone, replaced by glossy leather and thin frictionless material.
“Well, would you look at that,” Brand said like he'd just won a great prize. “You opened your fourth gate and had some work done.” His eyes narrowed as he got a good look at her chest. “Did your tits get smaller?”
****
Alda hopped from foot to foot while punching at such speeds she blurred. The crowd of onlookers cheered at her display of unrivaled swiftness. She ran to each side of the ring stopping right at its edges just to show she could, urging their chares to a defining pitch.
Looking over at Brand, she saw that he was still relaxed so she ran up to him sped towards him touching the tip of his nose with a finger. She expected him to be outraged or at least intimidated by her newfound power, but he just nodded as if happy to see how strong she'd become. Impressed, but not all worried.
Alda was not getting the reactions she wanted. The augment she received after opening her fourth gate, a rarely used build simply known as Speedster, was incredible.
She could now could to an immediate stop without injury. There were adjustments made to her body and mind that allowed her to freely move with her focus instead of blindly charging forward. She put it all on display in hopes of intimidating Brand, but he seemed to not be worried.
The monk in charge of the bout, some woman Brand insisted be present, gestured for the fight to begin.
Alda raced forward turning away before coming into arm's reach. She circled Brand, waiting for him to make a move. Whatever he did would happen in slow motion to her, so she would be ready.
Without warning, Alda charged at Brand with gauntlet-covered fists to protect herself from his thorn magic. Her punch connected with the side of his head, but it barely seemed to faze him while it brought incredible pain to her knuckles.
She jumped back cursing. “How the fuck did you do that? I'm protected from your thorn magic.”
Brand rubbed the spot on his head he was struck in. “I'm not using thorn magic.”
Alda didn't think he was lying; it was just that punching his head felt like punching a wall, a very sturdy wall before she was given magic.
Alda huffed away the comment then closed the distance between them in an instant
Brand tried an attack of his own, throwing a punch squarely at Alda’s chest. She saw the attack coming like it moved through water dodging to the side and replying with an uppercut. The same pain from before radiated from her knuckles, but Alda bit down and continued to attack.
It almost seemed unfair how easily she dodged Brand’s pathetically slow attacks. For every punch he threw, Alda threw ten, all connecting with his face and stomach. Unless one of her fingers broke, she saw no reason to worry about the growing pain in her hands, and by purging her armor and body every few seconds Brand could not defeat her with hidden traps like last time.
Sweat soaked Alda’s underclothes as she continued her unrelenting assault. Brand stopped trying to attack entirely, instead, he tucked his head under his arms accepting every blow that came his way. For a moment, Alda worried that she'd kill him, but the monk in charge seemed to not worry because she never weighed in on the fight.
Alda finally backed away, the air around her rippling with heat and breath coming in a gasp. Her fist throbbed and the wetness of blood filling the inside of her gauntlets. But if she felt as worn out as she did, Brand had to be worse. That's what she thought until he peeked out from between his arms.
“What are you?” Alda yelled as she saw nothing, not even a bruised lip on Brand's face. It was as if she hadn't laid a hand on him.
Brand didn't bother answering her question instead he tried to break her spirit. “You gave me a headache. I didn't expect that.”
Alda roared as her magic swirled and stomped down shattering cobblestone. The ground spat out a large spherical stone right into her hands. Filling it with mana, she drew back an arm and threw it enhancing its speed with her focus. Before reaching its target, the projectile exploded into hundreds of shards like a hail of arrows.
Too late, Brand dodged to the side and was stoned in an explosion of dust.
To Alda’s shock, when the dust cleared Brand's tunic was torn to shred but he remained unharmed. All the barrage accomplished was throwing him back several feet within even scratch.
Now, even the onlookers knew something was wrong. Fire, lightning, and innumerable arcane forces were known to be useless. But for him not to be injured in the slightest from Alda’s attacks? Was he some kind of monster?
Brand banged his chest with a fist creating a sound reminiscent of a hammer striking an anvil. “You can call me Brand Ironsides now.” He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in and relishing in the look of disbelief Alda knew must be on her face. “You're the first person I've tested this on. Could you help me figure out its limits before I put you down?”
Alda freed a small piece of metal from her belt. It widened into a war hammer with a handle almost as long as its wielder was tall. “Don’t blame me if you die.”
She took one last look at the monk overseer to see if she would forbid the use of the hammer. One solid blow from it while being used by Alda was sure to kill any student. The monk just smiled ready to take notes for some reason.
Turning back to Brand, Alda was happy to see he was now looking nervous. She gripped her hammer in both hands then ran at super speed stopping at his back with a spin spinning. She put every ounce of speed and power into her swing slamming the hammer into Brand's head.
The room went deathly silent as the hammer shattered into several pieces with the sound of metal striking metal echoed in the air.
Alda looked at her destroyed weapon then back to Brand with shaking hands not feeling the vibration tearing at her. He was holding the side of his head in obvious pain as blood trickled down his cheek, but it seemed a superficial wound.
“Fucking hells that hurt,” Brand said continuing to wipe the blood away as it flowed anew a moment later.
Raising her broken hammer once again, Alda charged at Brands catching his smile too late and hearing him speak just before landing her attack.
“Arc Blast.”
Alda saw red then heard more than felt several bones break as she was tossed from the arena along with most of the stones used in its construction. Before she lost consciousness, she eyed Brand standing in a crater where the arena used to be and heard the crowd in an uproar of excitement.