“We need to take Kedryn below!” Glade yelled into Bragden’s ear, the gusting wind making it difficult to be heard. “We’ll be swept overboard if we stay above deck much longer!”
An hour had passed since Glade had unknowingly given the Corporal that damnable potion. He had finally started to trust the simplicity of the system and had taken the described effects at face value. He should have known better.
As they had rushed to get Kedryn situated, Bragden had given him the short version of just how moronic he and the Kid had been. People who were planning to open a mana channel usually prepared for weeks, if not months, before facing the actual event. The potion created the ideal environment for the imbiber, providing enough mana to locate and unblock the channel. That meant a veritable wave of pure air mana was being constantly drawn from the surrounding environment and fed directly to their pool. Typically, one’s mana pool refined outside mana, but the potion apparently repressed this ability for the duration of its effects.
As if that weren’t scary enough, if the potion was a high enough grade, it provided more power to help the imbiber attune their channels. Apparently, a potion made by a grandmaster fell well beyond the levels of what the world considered high-grade. They could only speculate what additional effects it may have. Then again, Kedryn would need to successfully process the air mana in his system to realize those benefits.
Of course, only the ignorant or the insane ever did this type of thing alone. It generally took an entire staff of support with stamina enhancements to even have a chance at being successful. Which didn’t paint the best outlook for them.
Already, Kedryn’s mana pool was at its maximum capacity and it was evident by the Kid’s grimace that he was doing everything in his power to keep it under control this early in the process.
Bragden gave Glade a scathing look before yelling back, “That’s what the slagging rope is for!”
The dwarf’s voice was barely recognizable over the gusting wind as the bow of the ship crested one of the larger waves. Glade’s stomach dropped as the Dragonling went down the other side.
Glade double checked the ropes securing him in place.
Somehow, Crixus barked out orders loud enough for everyone to hear, his crew responding like a well-oiled machine as they trimmed sails, tightened ropes, and did whatever else it was sailors did when facing a burgeoning storm.
“The first mate said that we go below now or ride out the storm where we are,” he yelled in the dwarf’s ear. They had positioned themselves near the front, as out of the way as they could be from the scrambling crew. “If we have to choose between Kedryn suffering through the pain or the three of us being swept overboard, then I suggest we go below! He can take the second dose and try again when we get to shore! After we hire the specialists we need to do this right!”
Glade didn’t know how much it would cost, but opening channels had to be a common enough practice. They would likely be able to find the right people to help them once they arrived in Asylum.
“We don’t have a choice!” Bragden cried back. “Moving him below deck would draw the air mana to him, which could lead to damaging the ship! There be a reason we do these bloody things outside! Besides, if’n he stops now his mana pool will burst, which will kill him! Best to at least let him try instead of wasting one o’ his rebirths outright!”
Glade’s gut dropped at the pronouncement as he stared incredulously at Bragden.
“But you said he wasn’t in any real danger!”
“I lied!” Bragden cried back, double checking the many ropes holding himself and Kedryn in place. “No sense in scaring the boy further if’n we don’t have to!”
For the briefest of moments Glade considered punching the dwarf in the face. It was an understandable reaction seeing as this leg of the journey was supposed to be stress free. Instead, here they were, in yet another life or death situation of their own making. Why did this keep happening to them?
Glade fought down the impulse to blacken the dwarf’s eye, instead trying to think of anything he could do to help. The idea of going below and leaving both Kedryn and Bragden alone on the deck to face this tragedy in the making never even crossed his mind.
“Is there anything more we can do?” he yelled into Bragden’s ear, his mind coming up empty.
“Only air mages can direct the flows of this kind of mana,” Bragden called back. “The best we can do is be here when he dies and make sure he isn’t thrown overboard when he rebirths!”
Glade didn’t miss the wording of Bragden’s statement. When Kedryn died, not if. A gaping hollow in his soul that had been carefully patched over began tearing at the seams.
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No. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. Not so soon.
He was going to lose another one.
Only, this time it was so much worse. He was the one who gave Kedryn the potion. He was responsible.
A tiny voice echoed in the back of his mind trying to assuage his guilt. He hadn’t known. In fact, there was no way for him to have known without someone outright telling him. Then there was the fact that this was only one of Kedryn’s lives. He had plenty of rebirths left. There would be no lasting harm.
Glade crushed the tiny voice the instant it appeared. He would bear this responsibility. He would stand by his Soldier until the end. Except, the Kid was more than just a Soldier to him now. The long days of constant danger and overcoming death defying odds had changed them. More specifically, it had changed him.
He could admit it now. Kedryn, with all his quirks and frustrating personality, had wormed his way into Glade’s circle of trust. He was a friend.
"No," he thought to himself. "He's family."
The warm glow of Ember enveloped him, adding his approval.
“I might have to give him a new callsign,” Glade muttered, his voice lost to the ever-changing currents of the wind.
Minutes passed as the Dragonling rose and fell along the growing waves, the clouds over the horizon turning darker as the storm drew ever nearer. The idea that he could do nothing to help chaffed at him like a burr under a saddle. He had never been good at standing still. There had to be something he could do.
A nagging sensation tugged at the back of Glade’s mind as he replayed Bragden’s own words in his mind. Only air mages can direct the flows of this kind of mana. Only air mages…
Glade blinked in sudden realization. That statement wasn’t entirely true. He had never told Bragden about his astral spell, mana manipulation. A spell that was given to him by the adjudicators themselves. A spell that he had barely scratched the surface in understanding how to use. A spell that, quite literally, allowed him to manipulate any aspect of mana.
Maybe there was something he could do to help his friend after all?
With the idea firmly planted in his mind, Glade activated the spell.
Every other time he had used this magic his breath had been taken away at the stark beauty of the mana surrounding him. This time, he ignored the magical world around him and focused solely on Kedryn with every shred of will power he was capable of.
Bright yellow streamers of mana slowly built around them, creating an aura of power so dense it practically hid Kedryn from view. The flows were moving slowly, being drawn by the potion at a sedate pace. But even Glade could tell the mana was coming in faster than when he had last checked.
Not wanting to waste any time, Glade pushed his focus into Kedryn’s body, much like he did the first few times he had used the spell. A complex network of eight distinct colors ran throughout Kedryn’s body like a cardiovascular system, each channel connected to a ghostly ball that was filled to the brim with air mana.
Like last time, the brightest vein among them was an angry red, though he saw a trickle of yellow leaking into the vein like channels.
It didn’t take a genius to realize the ghostly ball was Kedryn’s mana pool and that the Kid was actively pushing air mana through his fire mana channels.
Curious, Glade quickly followed the mixed magic of air and fire out of Kedryn’s body to just below the railing of the ship, where it exploded into a fiery, gaseous mass.
If he were to hazard a guess, the Kid was likely trying to relieve the building pressure by casting magic just out of sight of the sailors.
The situation was far worse than he had originally thought. Not only was Kedryn risking their safety by casting fire magic, but he was pushing the wrong kind of mana through his fire channels. Even he could tell it was causing him harm.
Deciding that particular concern was a problem for later, Glade quickly returned his focus to Kedryn’s mana pool. It sat full of air mana like a translucent, miniature sun. It took all but a moment to locate the connected channels and their types. All but the fire channel was sealed shut, looking more like healed over scars than what he had originally imagined.
Of course, he wouldn’t openly admit that he had originally imagined the blockages to be tiny wooden doors. Nope, they didn’t need to know that.
He was rapidly approaching his time limit he could hold the spell before it would refresh. If he was going to do something, it would have to be now.
Imagining himself grabbing hold of the mana within Kedryn’s pool, Glade triggered the secondary effect of the spell.
Warning! If ever you were to pay attention to a warning, this would be it. You are attempting to manipulate mana within somebody else’s body. Not only is this beyond your skill level to do without express permission, what would you even do with the mana once you got a hold of it? Drag it out of Kedryn’s mana pool to spare him the pain? It would be replaced in moments. Would you try and use it to break through his blockage? You do not possess even a fraction of the requisite knowledge to appropriately shape and direct mana in order to complete such a delicate procedure! Even if you did, how long do you think you could keep it up with your level of skill? An hour? Maybe two if you stretched the time out? And then what? This will last days…
Branded, you have an intelligence attribute for a reason. Think before you act! If you continue along this path as you are, irreparable harm will come to Bei’Kedryn Serevilir.
The first drops of rain stung Glade’s exposed skin from the force of the wind as he read the warning. The same wind that carried away his roar of frustration as he screamed at the heavens. What kind of warning was that?! Don’t even try to save one of his men? He would sooner do a swan dive off the top of the Spines than stop. The Adjudicators knew that. It had been one of the many qualities that had attracted their interest in him in the first place!
A loud thump barely reached his ears as Glade drove his fist into the hard wood of the deck. There had to be a way. His gut was practically screaming at him that a way existed, if only he were smart enough to see it.
Absently, Glade let the spell fade out before the upkeep was due. Even in his frustrated state, he knew there was no sense in exhausting his MP for no reason.
There had to be something he could do.