> Task > Miles
>
> I checked. Master Curious asked for you to go onto the directory after your visit.
Miles worked to dodge commuters passing through the Thouco Tower arrivals level. He made it to the next elevator to the Morning Star Corporation Lounge and started typing out a reply as soon as he was situated.
> Miles > Task
>
> So nobody will mind? I don’t want to get kicked out.
> Task > Miles
>
> You are a member of the enclave now. You won’t be kicked out. You are welcome.
Miles was so distracted by his comm that he almost missed his stop. He didn’t think he’d made that good of an impression on the senior Harmonizer at the enclave. Maybe they just let any mage in.
He jumped out of the elevator at the last second, finding a low padded stool to sit on while he replied.
> Miles > Task
>
> Okay, thanks for telling me. I might be down there later today if you’re around?
> Task > Miles
>
> I have duties today. Master Oron has sent me to help an industrial client. They want to test the performance of their armor against magical attacks. It will not do well.
Miles stayed sitting on the bench for a minute, staring at his comm, trying to think of something else to say.
He’d already told Task that he was planning on being away for two or three weeks while he dealt with something back home. He’d even told Fran, though she had no reason to care.
Eventually, he slipped the comm back into his belt pouch and stood up.
Miles was on edge as he stepped into the Morning Star office, and not just because of what he was there to ask about.
"Hello, again, you! Our valued customer," Polyp 44291 said, their fronds waving in greeting.
Miles had found out the clerk’s name since his first visit to the Morning Star Corporation Lounge. It was actually a number, which was customary among the Pulstreen.
"Hi. I was hoping to get six thousand seln converted into delta, please?"
"Yes! It will be a delight for me! The clerk of Morning Star Corporation."
Miles had been resisting dropping all of his savings on delta, but if he was planning a trip to Earth, then he had specific needs.
Most parts of the planet were still lawless, and even in the areas under control, they were under the control of glorified gangs, dictators, and military groups. The rule of law was a fond memory, and if its security forces had ever served justice more than power, then those days were gone.
He could get jumped for his clothes, never mind all the spiral tech he was carrying. If he was going back to Earth, he needed to be sure he could protect himself.
He’d already checked with the manufacturer of his striker pistol, and they had it listed as being compatible with Iteration 27,200 space. It was a simple device, compared to some spiral technology. Not much more than a glorified flashlight, and none of the physics it relied on were contradicted or occluded by Earth’s natural laws.
His own magic was an even surer bet. Earth had no native magical laws to start with, but even in iterations that did have their own magic, interacting systems tended to get on with each other fine. Magic’s universality was one of its selling points to Miles. Even if someone on Earth took or damaged his index, he wouldn’t lose access to his spells, now that he knew how to cast them from memory.
44291 brushed their blank tablet with a frond, then said, “Within the system, today! Six thousand exchange notes will purchase two thousand thirty-nine delta, for you! The mage of tools.”
Miles did some quick mental math. That was a similar conversion rate from seln as the first time he’d bought delta. If it was different, then it was off by an amount too small to calculate in his head.
He took a breath before answering. This was the largest purchase of his life so far.
“I’ll take it. Thanks.”
He handed over his comm and his index, watching as the clerk drained one and incremented the other. They passed both items back and Miles slipped them into belt pouches without checking them. He could handle his upgrades later.
He stayed at the counter, building up the courage to ask his next question.
Reaching into his belt pouch, he wrapped his hand around an irregular piece of crystal, drawing it out.
When the acclimatization program on Unsiel Station had given Miles his index, he’d learned that Harmonization was the only magical tradition cleared for humans to buy into. All of the others, a vast number, had been restricted.
Right now, in his hand, he had a way to gain access to one of those restricted traditions. The path of the Sky Quester.
He was pretty sure that having those spells was some level of forbidden for him. What he didn’t know was whether it was forbidden at a corporate level, like it was Morning Star’s internal policy not to sell it to him, or if it was forbidden in a way more like owning an unlicensed assault rifle.
Only the fact that he hadn’t actually absorbed the crystal via his index gave him the confidence to come here and ask. He surely couldn’t be blamed just for finding it and bringing it in to ask about.
“There was something else, actually,” Miles said. He placed the pink gemstone down on the counter. “I found this in the Ialis artifact. It had some weird influence on my index. Could you tell me what it is?”
Miles couldn’t tell if the clerk was looking at it, the flesh vase that was the Pulstreen had no obvious sense organs, but after a few seconds, they responded.
“Oh, yes. This! Crystalized delta.”
Miles looked from the clerk to the stone, then back.
“This is delta?”
“Delta! Filtered magical energy, here in solid form.”
Delta was the currency of the index system, and was commonly used by magic-leaning traders, but Miles only knew it as a number on a screen. And he’d never connected it to magical energy. He’d always thought of it as a kind of arbitrary second currency.
44291 reached out, one of their fronds hovering over the crystal. “May this one inspect it for you! Our valued customer?”
“Sure?”
The clerk picked the stone up, turning it over in their fronds.
After a minute of careful inspection, they reached out to place it back on the counter in front of Miles.
“Oh. Oh, how sad. This is the remnant of a mage of tools.”
“I’ve never heard of a remnant before,” Miles said, carefully. He could connect the word to something that was left in a corpse easily enough.
“Formed from active energy, when a mage is struck down. The spells in use freeze into this! Crystalline delta.”
When Miles had last checked the crystal with his index, it’d held a magical blade and shield spell. Did that mean Brisk’s former grenadier was using those spells at the moment they died?
If Miles died while he was healing someone, would he leave a little Hasten Renewal rock behind?
“Would it be illegal, or in bad taste, or anything like that for me to use it?” he asked.
He didn’t ask how he could use it, since he already had a good idea from the exchange on Delatariel Station. It would be as simple as index-casting one of its abilities while holding it. All he really wanted to know is whether it would get him ostracized or prosecuted if anyone saw him using the ‘forbidden’ spells.
Polyp 44291 reached over with their frond and pushed the crystal towards Miles.
“It is illegal! For Morning Star corporation to provide or encourage the use of this magical tradition, to you! The mage of Iteration 27,200.”
“But it wouldn’t be illegal if I got access to it on my own?”
“Beneath the stars, there is no law governing the individual’s study of magic,” 44291 said blandly.
Miles took that to mean that Morning Star couldn’t offer him advice on getting access to types of magic forbidden to him through the index, but that it wasn’t illegal for him to pursue them on his own.
“This one is authorized to purchase the crystalline delta from you,” 44291 said suddenly. “The price offered would be three thousand delta.”
Miles froze with his hand halfway to taking back the crystal.
Three thousand delta was more than he’d spent so far cumulatively. He didn’t even know what kind of upgrades would be visible to him if he had that much. He was tempted to accept immediately, even if just to get more visibility of the Harmonizer catalog.
On the other hand, the crystal was a way to access spells that he would probably never have any way of getting otherwise. Even if he became some kind of index junkie, trawling the spiral for crystalline delta remnants, he might not ever see those particular spells again.
“Can I think about it?” he said.
“Of course. The offer will fluctuate, but it is our policy to purchase such remnants.”
“Thanks.”
Miles took the crystal and thought about it as he crossed the room.
By the time he passed through the door, he’d already made up his mind.
***
The nameless tower at the edge of the city looked the same as the last time Miles had visited. Fragmented black metal skin over a skeletal frame, incomplete floors, and exposed wiring spewing out of padded insulation panels.
The black-green Ialis vines might have grown a few inches higher since his last visit, conquering a little more of the unfinished tower, but there was no sign that the building would ever be more than a derelict construction project.
Miles hopped off the transport platform. The mossy ground sank and squelched as he walked over it towards the exterior door.
On his last visit, It-who-strikes-decisively had opened the door with a spell, but when he tapped on the door access panel it slid open on its own just fine. He made his way down through the abandoned passageways to the top of the stairwell.
The code Iddris had given him, 918-dark-moon-luminary, still worked, and when he reached the bottom of the ramp, the inner door was opened for him.
He was let inside by a Purir apprentice, three feet tall with green-white skin patches, the same species as the senior Harmonizer he’d come to see.
He wasn’t challenged. Nobody asked what he wanted. It was weird to feel welcome in a place like this.
At the railing of the top floor, Miles looked down through the open space to the floors below. It was a lot quieter than before. Master Oron was missing, how did he get out? and a lot of the mages who’d watched his duel with Adept Shrikesong were absent as well.
He started to worry that Master Curious wouldn’t be there.
He had one last step before he could absorb the Sky Seeker crystal. He needed to check that it wouldn’t interfere with his Harmonizer tradition.
Adept Shrikesong’s tradition had seemed disharmonious to him, so he didn’t think every kind of magic was compatible with his own. He didn’t want to do something that would damage his authority, weaken his abilities, or possibly even cut him off from the tradition altogether. As far as he knew, anything could be possible.
He turned and went back to the mage who was guarding the door.
“Hi, do you know if Master Curious is here? I wanted to ask her advice.”
The robed Purir looked up at him for a few seconds with narrowed eyes, an expression that could have meant impatience or confusion.
Finally, in a curt voice, she said, “Fifth Sage Master Curious is in an important conference on the future of the spiral.” After a few more seconds of silence, she added with great benevolence, “One of Master Curious’ apprentices is here. Alan. Look for him below.”
The future of the spiral?
Miles refused to get sidetracked by asking about that. The apprentice probably wouldn’t tell him anyway.
“Okay. Thanks. What does Alan look like?”
“Brown skin. Pink belly. Square-ish. He’s probably meditating.”
“Thanks…”
Miles left before he could get any further onto the apprentice’s bad side. He might be relying on her to let him in, the next time he visited.
He kept his eyes open for anyone matching the description. He’d gone all the way down to the bottom floor, then back up to the middle balcony level before he saw a potential candidate.
He approached what he’d initially thought was an alien egg. A tear-drop shape about a foot tall, with brown skin that came together at a point at the top and four seams running down vertically around the edges. The pointed egg was sitting on a cushion next to the wall, set back from the edge of the balcony.
“Excuse me?” Miles said, hoping the egg really was a sapient.
After a few seconds of worrying silence, the egg began to unfold, the sides peeling down like petals to expose a pink interior, lined with fronds like a shag carpet. By the time the sapient had finished unfurling himself, he was sitting with his pink underside resting on the cushion, looking up at Miles with a pair of eyes perched on short eye stalks.
Miles realized what kind of sapient he was looking at.
He’s a Welven.
The pilot on the Starlit Kipper had been a white-skinned Welven, though Miles had never had a chance to talk to her.
This individual was a square of brown skin, two feet across and a couple of inches thick, with eye stalks growing from roughly the center of the square.
The sapient regarded him expressionlessly from the cushion.
“Hi,” Miles tried again. “Are you Alan?”
The front edge of the sapient’s body rippled in a sine wave, and they contorted one corner of their body into a complex gesture.
For all that he wasn’t using a spoken language, Miles’ Eyes of the Emigre translated the gesture into words he could hear, giving the apprentice a young male voice speaking in a refined accent.
“I am Alan, yes.”
“I was looking for Master Curious. I had some questions about the Harmonizer tradition, and how it worked with other magical traditions?”
“Politely-No. She is not here.”
“Oh. No, the apprentice at the door told me. I was thinking maybe you could help me?”
Alan’s body rippled for a second, then they tapped their two front corners together.
“Humbly-Yes.”
Miles looked around and dragged a nearby cushion up to Alan, sitting down on it with his legs crossed.
“Okay, thanks. My question is, I have the chance to learn some spells from the Sky Quester tradition. Do you think it’s safe for me to do that without becoming disharmonious, or impacting my Authority?”
He didn’t explain where that chance was coming from. If Alan was studying under Curious, then he probably wasn’t an index mage, and might look down on them himself.
Alan’s eyestalks turned down, looking more at his own body than the room around him. A corner of his body reached to touch the middle of the front side.
“Sky Quester, yes. Let me think.” Alan spent almost a minute thinking, during which Miles waited awkwardly. Finally, the Welven held up both front corners of his body, waving them from side to side in a way that made Miles think of jazz hands. “I remember. The Ashalai tradition, made to explore the spiral with. Happily-Yes. It is harmonious.”
“Okay. So it’s not going to hurt my Harmonizer tradition? That’s great, thank you.”
“It will not. Humbly-But, do not learn from more than several traditions. Splitting your focus too thinly is not harmonious.”
“I understand. Thank you, Apprentice Alan.” Miles turned to go, then hesitated. “Alan, do you want to swap comm addresses?”
Alan made a waggling motion with the tip of one corner, like he was waving goodbye.
“Politely-No.”
“Ah. Okay. Thank you!”
Miles walked back up the ramp and back through the stairwell, reaching the ground floor of the unfinished tower.
His transport platform was still waiting for him on the mossy ground outside, not yet called away by a competing traveler, but Miles wasn’t leaving the building just yet.
The nameless tower was huge, empty, and deserted. Unless he wanted to absorb and test the Sky Quester spells in his cramped apartment, he needed a wide space where he wouldn’t be disturbed, and where he wouldn’t accidentally hurt anyone. The vacant tower seemed perfect.
None of the elevators in the building were working, they were nothing but empty shafts stretching up hundreds of meters into darkness, but there were emergency ramps positioned around the containing wall.
Miles climbed up three levels before he compromised with the weariness in his muscles and stopped.
This level was half-walled, with the other side wide open to the elements. Outside, the afternoon sky was gray with hazy cloud, and the air was cool.
Miles crossed metal beams to reach a wide circle of completed metal flooring, then pulled out the Sky Quester crystal and his index.
His index acknowledged the presence of the former grenadier’s tradition.
Name: Miles Asher | Traditions: Harmonizer | Index Value: δ#1,2#0##
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Fundamental Properties:
Strength (0)
Durability (1)
Speed (0)
Reactions (0)
Will (0)
Authority (3)
Authority (0.19)
Spells (Harmonizer)
Seal Wounds (Grasping)
A weft of harmonizing energy brings together the free edges of a target's wounds, sealing closed a specific tear, or working to seal all tears.
Temporary Enhancement (Seeking)
A temporary matrix of harmonizing energy alters one of a being’s fundamental properties by an amount in accordance with the weaver’s authority.
Hasten Renewal (Grasping)
A weft of harmonizing energy spreads from the weaver to their target, greatly speeding the being’s natural recovery by an amount multiplicative with the weaver’s authority.
Strike the Disharmonious (Adept)
With a weft of harmonizing energy, the weaver rips the authority from a disharmonious target, degrading its existence and claiming the confiscated authority for themself. While held ready, discordant presences will ring loudly in the weaver’s awareness.
Purify (Grasping)
A temporary weave of harmonizing energy takes up residence in the target, degrading objects and substances inimical to the target’s existence over time.
Spells (Sky Quester)
Shield of Saints (Forbidd#n)
A plane of soul energy is drawn from the quester to intercept a physical object, reducing its speed and force by an amount in accordance with the quester’s conviction.
Core Effects (Harmonizer)
Eyes of the Emigre
Embeds a matrix of harmonizing energy within the being’s mind which will reveal to them the meaning of any plain text or spoken language.
Eyes of the Altruist
Embeds a matrix of harmonizing energy within the being’s mind which reveal to them the health and ailments of a witnessed being.
Core Effects (Sky Quester)
Sword of Souls
Expresses a fragment of the quester’s soul as an immaterial blade, with length and cutting power in accordance with the quester’s conviction.
Both new Sky Quester spells drew on something called Conviction. It sounded like another fundamental property that Miles just didn’t have access to yet. If he was lucky, it would be something he could upgrade through his index, even if the tradition itself was forbidden.
If he wasn’t lucky, then he’d have a more difficult task in making the new spells powerful enough to be useful. He’d have to learn what Conviction was on his own, and increase it the hard way.
He sat down on the bare metal floor plate, crossing his legs. He rested his index in his lap, in case he needed a free hand, and tapped on the listing for Shield of Saints before he could have second thoughts.
The crystal in his hand snapped against his skin and vanished. A moment later he felt energy building in his magical core.
The pulse of magic surprised him. He was used to the slow build-up of Harmonizer spells, and this was so fast it was shocking, sharp and bright. It felt like a firecracker going off in his core.
There was no litany ringing through his ears, just a single clear unambiguous demand for a Barrier.
Something clicked in the air in front of him, and the magic of his core died down.
When Miles opened his eyes, he struggled to see any change at first, but slowly noticed that there seemed to be a yellow tint to the room that hadn't been there before.
Looking around, he found the edge of the effect. The color was coming from an almost invisible plane of energy floating motionless in the air in front of him, about a meter square, a few inches away from his face.
This is the Shield of Saints, he guessed.
He reached out and tapped on it, testing its strength with his fingernails. It put up a little resistance, but as soon as he started to apply real force it shattered like a sheet of thin ice, and the sheet of color vanished.
The moment the spell broke, Miles felt a wave of dizziness and confusion strike him. He swayed on the ground, and if he weren't sitting down he'd probably have fallen over.
It was different from the hollow, fragile feeling that overtaxing his Authority caused, but it wasn't a leap for him to link this feeling to the destruction of the shield.
I guess I'm not going to be stopping any bullets with it.
When his head had stopped spinning and he was able to read again, he went back to his index.
The Sky Quester core effect, Sword of Souls was already there, absorbed at the moment he'd tried using anything from the remnant.
Miles didn't need to activate it to have it become part of him, but he needed to know how it worked.
He tapped on the entry under Core Effects, and felt the same starburst of light flash from his core. This time, the energy flickered around his body before coalescing in his arm.
Over the course of a few seconds, a yellow glow emerged around the front of his hand, more like a haze of light than a blade.
The Sword of Souls effect flickered around the fingertips of his free hand, no more than half an inch in length. It danced from one finger to the next as he shifted his focus, the energy rolling along the edge of his hand. It wasn’t much of a sword.
It’s more of a Craft Knife of Souls, he thought. He’d probably get more cutting power out of a craft knife, too.
He didn’t have anything he was happy destroying with him, but after great resistance, he brought the flickering light on his fingertips to the back of his hand.
He touched the energy to his skin. Blood immediately began flowing. The glowing light had cut right through his skin. It took him a second to process what had happened, since there was barely any pain.
Shit.
He immediately focused on Seal Wounds. He ran through the litany he’d learned from index-casting the spell, focusing on its truth; an expanded thought from the more limited Close Wound.
He felt the warm rotation of his core, and the hot, electric energy that spiked out through his body. White-yellow flames kindled to life on the blood-covered skin of his hand. The fire ran down the injury like a flame following a fuse, burning away blood as it closed the cut.
By the time the flame died out at the end of the tear, his skin was unharmed, unblemished, and clean.
Maybe it’s safer to treat it as a Straight Razor of Souls.
The Sword of Souls hadn’t burned away his ability to focus like the Shield of Saints. Maybe it was because nothing had really been expended. The magic had formed a blade, which he’d used, but it hadn’t been broken or degraded. Shield of Saints on the other hand had created something outside his body, and the backlash had come when he’d smashed it.
He’d need to work on casting both without his index. They didn’t seem as simple as his Harmonizer abilities. So much of the effort of those was recreating the litany, and believing it. The Sky Seeker abilities seemed a lot more focused on recreating specific mental images and states of mind.
With the spells at least absorbed into his body, he turned to his potential upgrades, starting with his Fundamental Properties.
Fundamental Properties — Alterations
Strength +1 [δ50]
Strengthens and reinforces contractile, pneumatic, hydraulic, magnetic, and somatic activator tissues in the mage’s body with weaves of harmonizing energy, resulting in increased strength.
Durability +1 [δ75]
Weaves of harmonizing energy implant biosomatic matrices within the mage’s tissues, strengthening them against temperature and chemical degradation, unwanted compression, and tearing.
Speed +1 [δ50]
A weft of harmonizing energy alters the mage’s body, supplementing frequently-used processing pathways with harmonic resonances and activator tissues with biosomatic matrices.
Reactions +1 [δ50]
A weft of harmonizing energy alters the mage’s mind, supplementing frequently-used processing pathways with harmonic resonances.
Will +1 [δ50]
Reinforces information-processing tissues in the mage’s body with a weave of harmonizing energy, insulating thought processes from extremes of external stimuli.
Authority +1 [δ150]
Deepens the mage’s connection to Harmonic Truth, increasing their ability to impose their harmonious will upon the world.
Soul Strength +1 [δ50]
Reinforces the mage’s soul with threads of soul energy, increasing protection against attacks on their soul, and mitigating the effects of overdrawing on it.
Conviction +1 [δ50]
Alters the mage’s information-processing tissues to enhance the purity of their intent and the force of their determination to see it done. This has the potential to be an identity-altering fundamental.
It seemed like just possessing Sky Quester spells was enough to give him access to some related Fundamental Properties. Soul Strength sounded like it would help reduce the backlash he’d felt when his Shield of Saints, and from the description of the Sky Quester spells, Conviction would directly contribute to the strength of their effects.
Miles had been planning to spend some delta to support his new Sky Quester spells with an enhancement to his Fundamental Properties, but on a second read-through, the warning for the Conviction upgrade had him feeling uneasy.
An identity-altering fundamental.
Fundamentals like Will promised to alter his mind, in that it would make structural changes to his nervous system that would help him ignore pain and other distractions. None of them so far had warned that they might alter his personality.
Could increasing the purity of his intent really threaten to change who he was as a person? Even if it could, would increasing his determination be a bad change for him?
He probably wouldn’t need to worry about it in the near future. The only thing every fundamental had in common was that, at least in the early stages, upgrades had quite marginal effects.
He couldn’t turn himself into a hulk by spending a few hundred delta on his Strength, and he probably wasn’t going to turn into a tunnel-vision psychopath with a handful of additional Conviction points.
He looked down to see what his increased delta could get him from the list of spells and abilities.
Spells — Alterations
+Dance of Harmony [δ150]
A weft of harmonizing energy takes up residence in the weaver, spreading out into their surroundings. Visible beings of the weaver’s choice will gain the aspect of harmony while the spell is maintained, increasing their precision and reactions by an amount proportional to the weaver’s authority.
+Strings of Discord [δ125]
A weft of harmonizing energy reaches out to touch discordant presences nearby, revealing their presence and authority to the weaver.
+Convict the Disharmonious [δ415]
The weaver's connection to universal harmony allows them to prosecute a target with an accusation of discord. If the weaver succeeds in a contest of reason, Will, and Authority, the target is diminished and is revealed as disharmonious.
+Song of Harmony [δ400]
A temporary matrix of harmonizing energy fills a space, allowing those within to experience the peace of a harmonious world. Chaotic emotions are soothed and Harmonizer spells are empowered within the space.
+Enhance Tool [δ380]
A lasting matrix of harmonizing energy affixes to an object, enhancing one of its fundamental properties by an amount in accordance with the weaver's authority and the item's harmony.
+Song of Reality [δ975]
A weft of harmonizing energy fills the weaver's mind, reflecting the song of the world in their thoughts, piercing walls, illusions, and occlusions.
+Deafening Song [δ1025]
A temporary matrix of harmonizing energy fills a space, forcefully attuning it to the truth of Harmony. The strength of other magical traditions are diminished in the area, and disharmonious spells are broken, to a degree dictated by the mage's Will and Authority relative to their disharmonious rival.
+Distant Resonance [δ1575]
Places a lasting matrix of harmonizing energy into a target or at a location to act as a conduit for the mage's spells.
Core Effect — Alterations
+Stance of Authority [δ150]
The weaver's existence is more deeply tied to the ancient tradition of the harmonizers, giving them an instinctive understanding of harmony and discord. Their authority will grow in line with their dignity and the harmony of their existence.
+Ears of the Diplomat [δ250]
Words spoken in falsehood will ring the gong of truth. A persistent weave of harmonizing energy will alert the weaver to spoken deceptions, piercing guile to an extent related to the weaver's authority.
+Eyes of the Imperious [δ410]
Embeds a matrix of harmonizing energy within the being's mind, helping them to identify the disharmony of their surroundings with greater distinction.
+Hum of the Enduring [δ925]
A persistent matrix of harmonizing energy empowers the mage, reducing their need for food and rest by an amount proportional with their Authority and eliminating it entirely at higher Authorities.
As Miles read over the list of possible options, he started to come to the realization that he was going to end up spending a lot of seln on index upgrades. Not just a lot for Miles, citizen of Earth, or a lot for a mage, but a lot for a high-income inhabitant of the spiral.
He’d already made thousands of seln from dungeon dives, and the vast majority had gone to Morning Star Corporation through index purchases. He could have been a quarter of the way to buying his own flying RV by now, if not for the need to upgrade his magical capabilities.
If he had a lot more time, the tedious but effectively free route of learning magic organically would have really appealed to him. If he hadn’t been so attracted to the benefits of magic, he probably could have been fully decked out in advanced tech by now.
He discounted Song of Reality straight away. He was pretty sure it was some kind of scouting spell, which wasn’t the role he was pursuing.
Deafening Song was more interesting. It seemed like a way to shut down the mages of other traditions, though presumably, it wouldn’t have any effect on other Harmonizers. If he had ever run into another mage he wanted to suppress, then it would have been an attractive option. So far everything trying to kill him had either been completely mundane, like the Orbellius ghouls, or completely something-else, like the giant in the Ymn city environ. In the end, Deafening Song was fairly easy to exclude as well.
The third new spell available, Distant Resonance, was extremely promising. With his current index, if he wanted to cast a spell to heal someone, he needed to be close enough to touch them. Distant Resonance seemed like it could address that weakness, planting an anchor in a person or a place that would let him cast a spell as if he were right there.
If only it weren’t so expensive. If he bought it, then he wouldn’t be able to afford any of the other new options.
There was only one new core effect at this price range, Hum of the Enduring, and it seemed like a useful one. It wouldn’t help him in his professional role much, dungeon dives didn’t last long enough for food or rest to become an issue, but it seemed like it could make his life easier.
With less need for sleep, he’d have more time. With less need for food, he’d have more money, and the effects would compound for the rest of his life. And if his Authority ever got high enough, he wouldn’t need to eat at all? It was effectively promising to free him from two of life’s most pressing survival concerns.
It was especially appealing, considering that he was planning a trip where the sleeping arrangements and meal schedule would be uncertain.
His final choices were Hum of the Enduring, for all its future potential, and especially because a long journey alone might need him to skip meals and hours of sleep; Ears of the Diplomat, since that seemed like a strong choice in the face of having to deal with untrustworthy people; and Enhance Tool, because he’d been responsible during his last upgrade, and he deserved something for himself.
Including the fifty delta he hadn’t spent at his last upgrade, that left him with 534 delta, which he was going to use to upgrade his Authority, as well as to grab the cheap early enhancements to his Sky Seeker fundamentals.
He selected his upgrades, then settled back for the sharp attention of his index to wash over him.
When it was done, he checked his index to make sure everything had gone through.
Name: Miles Asher | Traditions: Harmonizer, Sky Quester | Index Value: δ#6,##5##
Fundamental Properties:
Strength (0)
Durability (1)
Speed (0)
Reactions (0)
Will (0)
Authority (5)
Authority (0.19)
Soul Strength (1)
Conviction (2)
Spells (Harmonizer)
Seal Wounds (Grasping)
A weft of harmonizing energy brings together the free edges of a target's wounds, sealing closed a specific tear, or working to seal all tears.
Temporary Enhancement (Seeking)
A temporary matrix of harmonizing energy alters one of a being’s fundamental properties by an amount in accordance with the weaver’s authority.
Hasten Renewal (Grasping)
A weft of harmonizing energy spreads from the weaver to their target, greatly speeding the being’s natural recovery by an amount multiplicative with the weaver’s authority.
Strike the Disharmonious (Adept)
With a weft of harmonizing energy, the weaver rips the authority from a disharmonious target, degrading its existence and claiming the confiscated authority for themself. While held ready, discordant presences will ring loudly in the weaver’s awareness.
Purify (Grasping)
A temporary weave of harmonizing energy takes up residence in the target, degrading objects and substances inimical to the target’s existence over time.
Enhance Tool (Grasping)
A lasting matrix of harmonizing energy affixes to an object, enhancing one of its fundamental properties by an amount in accordance with the weaver's authority and the item's harmony.
Spells (Sky Quester)
Shield of Saints (Grasping)
A plane of soul energy is drawn from the quester to intercept a physical object, reducing its speed and force by an amount in accordance with the quester’s conviction.
Core Effects (Harmonizer)
Eyes of the Emigre
Embeds a matrix of harmonizing energy within the being’s mind which will reveal to them the meaning of any plain text or spoken language.
Eyes of the Altruist
Embeds a matrix of harmonizing energy within the being’s mind which reveal to them the health and ailments of a witnessed being.
Ears of the Diplomat
Words spoken in falsehood will ring the gong of truth. A persistent weave of harmonizing energy will alert the weaver to spoken deceptions, piercing guile to an extent related to the weaver's authority.
Hum of the Enduring
A persistent matrix of harmonizing energy empowers the mage, reducing their need for food and rest by an amount proportional with their Authority and eliminating it entirely at higher Authorities.
Core Effects (Sky Quester)
Sword of Souls
Expresses a fragment of the quester’s soul as an immaterial blade, with length and cutting power in accordance with the quester’s conviction.
He looked down the list, committing the entries to memory. There were no surprises. Everything had worked. His Authority hadn’t been diminished, and he didn’t feel disharmonious, at least not with only one additional tradition.
I guess I’m a Sky Quester now.
His index still hadn’t offered to let him purchase the new tradition’s spells as upgrades, but the two he had gave him options that he’d never get from the Harmonizer tradition. He just hoped the two upgrades he’d picked for his Conviction were enough to make them useful.
He locked his index, stood up on aching legs, and started heading back down to the transport platform.
His magical preparations were as complete as they were going to get. He still had enough seln to purchase some essential supplies, as well as some modifications to his existing equipment. He didn’t have forever to get ready, but he was prepared to be busy for the next few days.