“Divination is a misunderstood art. Not even the gods had true omniscience and could only observe their subjects, temples, and arcane domains. We might be winning the war against them, but that doesn’t mean we should have the hubris to think we can overcome arcane limitations they couldn’t cross.
Clairvoyance tells you the most possible future and isn’t a confirmation of what is to come. The further one looks, the more unreliable it becomes.
Dowsing detects the last place an entity made an arcane or psychic impact on its surroundings. People might leave traces wherever they go but aren’t constantly doing so.
Psychometry seeks to unveil an object’s history but looks into the memories of its wielders. Objects don’t have the means to store such concepts, after all. Memories, much like their owners, are unreliable and distort with time.
Divination magic is meant to set its wielders on the right path to their destination and help guide them. Relying on it alone is folly.”
—Guide To Beginner Divination, A Woodson University Compilation
The relic Nox won at the auction house proved a better investment than the pouch.
“You can’t really rely on psychometry,” Sapna said as she looked over the artifact Nox had brought home. “Divination magic, on the whole, is pretty inconsistent and unreliable. The runework and scripts are forgotten. Even if the pouch belonged to Gwyneth ‘Lamplight’ Sen, there is no guarantee it was the spatial device. For all we know, the device's memories were recalling one of her other belongings.” She waved the belt Nox had brought back from the auction house. “For all we know, the psychometrists detected this.”
“Are you sure it's a spatial device?” Nox asked.
The older Ratra nodded. She placed the belt on her workstation and focused a magnifying lens over it. “See this set of runes?” Sapna ran her finger along a line. “These symbols are consistent with the bangle. If the pouch was scorched, stained, and ripped, as you claim, the scripts might not have been this intact. You would’ve wasted thousands on absolutely nothing.”
“That certainly makes me feel a lot better.” Nox sighed. “I was worried my pride might’ve screwed up our chances.”
“It’s good to have pride. Taking the gift would’ve left you indebted. You’d pretty much lose any choice on the matter. This Wyrd woman would have your testicles in a vice, and you’d have no choice but to work for her and join her blighted organization.” Sapna refocused on the belt. “The mana-absorption script is ancient. I’m not sure if I can figure it out, but the connectors are the same. It should be possible to do a scrub and fresh metal overlay to cover up the old section and replace it with a new mana absorption system. Perhaps even socket a gem.”
“I recognize these.” Nox leaned in as Sapna moved the magnifying lens to another section of the belt. “This set of runes is the same, too.” He went back to the last script and then compared the two. Nox didn’t just stop there but also double-checked everything in between. Next, he fetched the bangle Oleg procured for them and scanned it. “This middle section. We discounted it as regular syntax, but it's exactly the same. What if there is no set rune for something as ambiguous as space? It takes almost a dozen symbols to spell out zone and even more for mana zone.”
Nox pointed at the rune pairings they identified on the bangle. “Maybe these two don’t just relate to spatial magic but change the meaning of the runes they border?”
Sigil of the Artisan had already helped Nox memorize them. Yet he copied them into a blank length of parchment and broke the script into segments. Then he went about locating all unknown runes and rune sets on the belt. Next, he looked for the same on the bangle. Nox only copied runes when he found identical bordered sections.
“Good catch,” Sapna commented, looking them over. She highlighted all the common runes in each unique bordered set. “It will take a lot of experimentation, and I think it won’t be too difficult to figure out. Just a matter of time—”
“Hold on a moment.” Nox locked onto a section. He summoned Otis and got the familiar to retrieve his spell-weaving journal from spatial storage. “Look at this,” he said, tapping the refined version of his mana zone technique. Sapna had seen it before, but she didn’t have the benefit of his internal blueprint library. “Do you see a similarity? My mana zone cage is especially similar. What if this is the rune set for contained space or something similar?”
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“I was thinking the same thing. Let's start there.”
It was a night of incredible progress and extended into Seventhday. Nox missed brunch with Aria and his friends, but, as a result, they narrowed down the possibilities for the picked section. Then, Nox confirmed it following several hours of experimentation. But after they figured out the first, the rest became easy. By the time the new week began, the Ratra pair had identified the rune sets for contained space, folded space, pocket dimensions, and opening portals to them.
The pair agrees that it was perhaps the greatest arcane discovery of the decade. So, Nox let Sigil of the Artisan bank the knowledge while Sapna transcribed everything in a coded journal. Only she knew the key, and her inheritor would one day discover its secrets. Then they burned all their scribblings so the information would never get out—or at least until they had spell scripts, enchantment diagrams, or inventions to patent.
Nox ended up taking Firstday off from Advanced Dungeon Combat to work on himself and catch up on rest.
The Temporal Sphere spell, though potent, had an unstable foundation. Wild magic swirled in its heart, after all. Without concepts to grasp or runes for spell weaving, Nox had minimal flexibility or control besides switching between acceleration and retardation and their respective rates. So, Nox experimented with rune sets that fit into his star’s core. It took a few attempts, and his star rejected a few iterations, but eventually, a modified version of the contained space script snapped into place.
Nox felt immediate relief. It was like the pressure behind his eyes had suddenly lifted. The sensation reminded Nox of the last time he had a terrible cold. It was just before he received the Sigil of Immunity. Blocked sinuses had left his temples with a dull ache. Then, when his Pallav had him inhale a simple alchemical remedy, all the mucus drained from his air passages, and he could breathe. All the discomfort almost instantly melted away.
Following the arm surgery, the constant mana burn discomfort stopped for good. But the new relief didn’t compare. Best of all, Nox felt minimal resistance when reclaiming the mana flow around Temporal Sphere’s star. He channeled it delicately toward Crystallize Essence and held his breath. The arcane energy followed his will.
Fourteen months. Nox had spent fourteen months trying to make his old heavenly bodies take and hold mana for the longest time. He had imagined the moment when he finally had the breakthrough. Images of celebration, dance, and maybe even a drink had flashed through his mind. Instead, he only slumped into his chair as relief washed over him.
It was tempting to consume mana pills and accelerate the star and planets’ recovery. However, worries about shocking his system kept Nox from using such methods. Instead, he let his system recover naturally.
The overflowing joy and having no one to share to share it with frustrated him. Nox was too full of energy to sit still. So, he completed a task he had blown off far too long. He brewed an extra special and refined version of the Tincture of Sigil Awakening.
It was tempting to start formulating a spell for his next planet straight away, but Nox resisted. Unfortunately, he still needs to finalize his dissertation proposal for Advanced Mana Theory. Nox used it as an excuse to refine the script for his arcane technique before detailing the benefits, possibilities, and uses. For good measure, he also added how the Mana Zone Mastery could translate to spatial magic and the possibility of future research. He didn’t intend to include the latter in his dissertation but hoped the temptation of future development would intrigue the academic in his professor and win him some favor during the approval and marking process.
By the time dinner time came, Nox was physically and mentally exhausted. He had barely slept for the last couple of nights. It was tempting to push on and spell weave, but he resisted. Instead, Nox consumed the Tincture of Sigil Awakening before retiring early.
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The field of pillars in Nox’s dreamscape had significantly changed since his last visit. The structure dedicated to the Sigil of Immunity had especially changed. It felt complete. The runes and accompanying symbols were bolder and brighter than ever before. When Nox touched the structure, he couldn’t help but smile.
Mana Burn Immunity.
The pillar gave him options to evolve his resistance to specialized schools. Developing a resistance to Mind Magic was especially tempting. However, nothing compared to a flat immunity to Mana Burn. So he made his decision. A year of dealing with constant discomfort had paid off. Nox would never need to worry about the ailment again.
Meanwhile, his Divining Magic Resistance had also grown significantly. It made sense. He imagined the Cabal and competing businesses regularly attempted to check on his location and actions.
Sigil of the Artisan also had enough energy to upgrade an ability or pick up a new one. Now that Nox had the power to extend his mana zone and push Mage Hand further, he upgraded Nimble Fingers. He also enjoyed the bonus dexterity that came with the growth. Eye for Detail would’ve probably improved his observational powers, but the Sniper’s Eye concoction made it redundant.
Since Nox had an excess of funds, he wondered whether it was time he picked up another sigil. He had never heard of anyone with more than three of them and didn’t know whether his body would support more, but it didn’t hurt to try.