Veltyen checked his hip for the fifth time on the short walk to the guildhouse. Yes, the illusion on his new mana crystal sword was still intact; to passersby, the hilt of the blade was indistinguishable from that of the plain steel blade he normally carried. He, of course, could not forget what he was carrying, the crystal feeling absurdly light.
Veltyen let himself into the training ring behind the guildhouse. He sighed; even after all these months, he still half-expected Kiera to show up, ready to spar, but not only was she avoiding him, she seemed determined to beat his previous record of most time spent out of town.
He shook his head and focused. Today was no day for sparring, anyways; he had an unfamiliar blade to learn. He unsheathed the mana crystal blade and began basic maneuvers.
Immediately, he knew he would need to make major adjustments to his technique. The blade’s profile was closer to that of a very long razor rather than a sword or even long knife, and weighed so little he was tending to overswing and unbalance himself.
He set himself to making those adjustments. Light and quick, that is what he needed. With an edge so lethally sharp and indestructible so long as it retained some of its magic charge, he did not need to put much force behind his strikes.
Once he felt like he had mastered the blade as much as one could in a single practice session, he turned his attention to the magical properties of the crystal.
Devlin had truly outdone himself, seamlessly integrating four layers of crystal programmed with different magics. The outermost layer was a shell far thinner than the width of a hair, responsible for the illusion of plain steel. At the edges were strips set to be malleable to materials magic, allowing Veltyen to dull the blade at need, change its apparent weight, and even lengthen it to a limited extent. Just behind the edges were layers programmed with energy magic, allowing him to trigger bursts of light, sound, and heat.
The core of the sword and majority of its mass was crystal patterned after Sery’s Source magic, providing him with an extra wellspring of magic to draw upon at need, one that was over half the size of his enna. Devlin had only half been joking when he called the sword a four-star mage in and of itself. In one priceless treasure, the craft-mage had replaced the functions of every magical weapon he had managed to collect, and thrown in a bonus artificial enna expansion.
A corner of Veltyen’s mouth quirked up as he imagined telling Sery that she had ruined his hobby. She would probably apologize.
As if summoned by his thoughts, Sery’s figure appeared from around the corner of the guild hall. It had taken a lot of convincing on his part, but she no longer forced herself up at the brink of dawn when he rose for his workouts, her hours tending more towards night owl than early bird. Instead, she met him in time for breakfast.
Veltyen sheathed his sword and left the ring to meet Sery halfway. “Good morning,” he said, brushing his thumb across her cheek.
“Good morning. Do you like the sword? Is it easy to use?” Sery asked, clearly imagining a hundred modifications the blade did not require.
“It works very well,” Veltyen answered with a chuckle at the understatement. “I’ll need to get used to the lighter weight, but that’s no big deal. Let’s eat.”
***
There was something weighing on Veltyen’s mind, Sery knew, ever since he had returned from his job in Lettia. He had put it aside for his birthday celebrations – and had been quite distracted by the mana crystal sword – but she could see tension in his jaw and the lines of his shoulders when he was not making an effort to be cheerful.
Sery was not surprised when Veltyen asked her to accompany him on the short walk to the construction site. The new apartment block was taking shape rapidly, its eight-storey height towering above the more modest three- and four-story buildings around it.
“Sery,” Veltyen said quietly after a minute of silence. “Have you ever thought about going away to study at an academic institution?”
Sery shook her head.
Veltyen snorted and shook his head at himself. “What I meant was, think about it now. Do you think you would like to go away for more schooling? You could spend more time with students your own age, and have teachers who are skilled at experimenting in new fields of magic.”
Before she could automatically shake her head again, he added, “Don’t worry about being sent off alone. If you really wanted to go, I would go with you.”
Sery stopped walking, feeling like she was suddenly floating. Not lost or adrift, more like she was on a ship that had lifted its anchor and was ready to set sail. The anchor was still there, ready to secure the ship wherever it might end up.
Veltyen had already given her so many priceless gifts: safety, belonging, knowledge, friendship, and purpose. She saw that he was giving her yet another: the freedom of choice. If she wanted to experience the type of university education that Asher sometimes mentioned about his past, Veltyen would uproot himself to make sure she could do so without having to start over, alone and friendless.
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Sery wrapped her arms around Veltyen’s waist, breathing in his familiar scent.
“Sery?” Veltyen asked while stroking her hair. “Are you okay?”
Sery nodded. She knew that if she thanked him at that moment, he would not understand. Instead, with the feeling that she was setting anchor in her home harbour, she said, “I want to stay here.”
“Are you sure? You don’t feel like you’re missing out?”
Sery shook her head. She had Galen, Marielle, and Tasielle here for friends her own age, Foria and Asher as seemingly endless founts of knowledge, Devlin to help her figure out practical uses for her magic.
To help reassure Veltyen that her education was not suffering, Sery pulled out the new mage crystal device Foria and Devlin had made for her. “Foria said she can store any book in the Guild Association archives on this,” she explained, tapping the panel to show him the text she was currently reading.
“It can…” Veltyen trailed off, a stunned expression on his face. “Are there other devices like this?”
Sery shook her head. “Foria says it takes a lot of magic to store information so that people who don’t have dimensional magic can read it, so it usually isn’t worth it.”
Veltyen experimentally tapped the controls that turned the pages, sighed and returned the device. “Any other shocking innovations in the world of magic you’d like to share?” he asked half-jokingly.
Sery thought about it, then shook her head.
Veltyen chuckled. “For now, any way. Let’s go. You can read that at the construction site, right?”
Sery nodded, slipping her hand into his as they resumed their walk. Veltyen did not seem to notice, absentmindedly squeezing her hand and adjusting his stride to fit her shorter steps. That he did it so naturally set off a warmth in her heart.
***
Veltyen walked into Ariela and Devlin’s office, surprised to see the collection of individuals already gathered. Besides him and the guild heads were Asher, two of the three craft-mages who had recently joined Eterna, and even the healer Taine, who rarely left Nottagan for fear of medical emergencies occurring in his absence. The mages had nothing in common except for power level, all able to command four stars or higher.
“What’s going on?” Veltyen asked.
“Devlin and I have been talking it over, and we have a proposal that may head off some of the troubles brewing for the guild,” said Ariela. “We’re hoping that you all will lend your powers to the endeavour.”
“What’s the problem, and what’s the proposal?” Gaven asked. True to his word, the craft-mage had moved guilds to Eterna almost immediately after the Yule Ball. Less than a month after that, he had been re-tested and officially certified as a five-star mage.
“It’s regarding the guild, politics, and Sery,” said Devlin. “As you know, we’ve previously stayed beneath the notice of the more prominent guilds by not advertising our power and not competing in any of the more frivolous endeavours to gain fame and prestige. That strategy is clearly no longer working.”
“We’re in a position where the other guilds don’t respect our strength, but they feel threatened by our rise in rank,” Ariela continued seamlessly. “This leaves us open to sabotage attempts. We’ve already had some of our long-term contracts tell us they’ve had offers to underbid us. Thankfully, none of them have left, but I’m sure some guilds will come up with more underhanded tactics soon.”
“And what is the plan to rectify this?” Taine asked.
“We’ll start by reminding them that we do have power, and they have something to fear by interfering with us,” said Ariela. “I am planning on entering the Magic Games. I am hoping to recruit some of you to compete in the categories I am not suited for.”
The announcement generated a buzz of interest. The games, held every four years, drew mages from all over the Seven Kingdoms and beyond to compete in unique challenges that tested power, creativity, and strategy. The top guilds spent literally millions of Os training and equipping their members for the competition, relying on the fame they generated to bring in rich contracts from the huge audience it drew.
“Additionally,” Devlin broke in, “we are going to compete without Sery’s help.”
Hethin Smith, a craft-mage who had joined Eterna to help with his development of experimental materials, nodded. “You want them to know the guild is strong even without her power.”
“I’ll go,” Asher volunteered. “I can definitely win the Powerspeed competition in a really flashy way.”
“Oh, good,” said Ariela. “I could possibly compete in that category, but it wouldn’t be flashy. In that case, I will focus on the Fortress and Carving competitions.”
Devlin spoke to Hethin and Gaven, his fellow craft-mages. “I was thinking the three of us could take the Tower competition.”
Gaven seemed eager to compete. “Absolutely.”
Hethin was more reserved. “I certainly don’t usually do this sort of thing, but I agree that we need to change the current state of affairs with the other guilds. Count me in.”
Taine tilted his head thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t normally waste my magic on something like this, but assuming Sery can restore my reserves afterward, I suppose no harm done. I will endeavour to win in the Bloom category.”
Veltyen knew exactly what competition he wanted to enter, one that had tempted him ever since he had seen the Games as a child. “Magewhisper and I will take the Chase,” he said.
Ariela nodded. “We don’t have the numbers to field enough competitors to top the guild rankings, but I think if we win each of the competitions we enter, it will get the point across.”
“Please let us know if there is any equipment or training setup you would like to help prepare,” said Devlin.
The room was filled with chatter as multiple smaller conversations broke out. Asher nudged Veltyen with his elbow. “How are you going to practice?”
Veltyen shrugged. “I’m probably going to see if I can borrow the Silver Meadows facilities for a bit. I’m sure they’ll help me if Sery helps them. The champion for the last forty years has been partnered with a Silver Meadows horse, so they must know what they’re doing with training. You?”
Asher shrugged. “It’s going to be the exact same spell I use during most of my jobs, on a larger scale. Not much practice needed.”
It occurred to Veltyen that he did not know the particulars about how Asher earned a living. He knew dimensional mage had long-term contracts with several religious organizations, but what Asher did for them was a mystery.
Before Veltyen could ask, Asher changed the subject. “Are you going to get your license re-rated?”
“Pardon?”
“You heard me. Everyone knows you’re actually a five-star mage, and that’s without Sery running you constantly at 100%.”
“I…” Veltyen did not know how to answer. “I suppose if our guild’s strategy is changing, I should.”
Asher nodded. “I’m going to get re-rated, too. My enna is technically only three-star, but I think can store enough magic to just squeak over the five-star rating.”
“That would put our guild’s count at five five-star mages…” said Veltyen. It would put Eterna on par with the largest and wealthiest guilds in the Seven Kingdoms.
Asher nodded. “I foresee we’re going to get a lot of applicants after the Magic Games. It’ll be up to Ariela and Devlin to weed out the bad apples.”
“…We’re going to need quite a few more building projects, I think,” said Veltyen.