Gideon cradled the new staff in his hands as he walked. Undoubtedly, it was the most powerful artifact he had ever touched. He’d seen staves like this while window shopping in the upper-class districts of Prospera, but they were not the kind of items he could’ve purchased on his EnviroCharm salary.
Though he could feel the Staff of Prismatic Remembrance’s energy responding with curiosity to his presence, he knew better than to try using it right away. He would need to attune to the staff and calibrate its crystal to the resonance of his mana core to use it safely for actual spellcasting. Otherwise, he risked either blowing himself up or having his spells fizzle without doing anything.
Thankfully, Kelvan said he knew just the place to go next. He led Gideon through a side passage that branched off from the main chamber. Unlike the cavern, this passage was not natural—it was perfectly rectangular and made of smooth stone bricks. After following it for a while, Gideon noticed it was gradually sloping downward, heading deeper into the mountain.
“So, Uncle Kelvan,” Gideon said. “Now that we’re hosting our first paying guests, have you warmed up to re-opening Castle Kastorus as an inn?”
Kelvan’s mirror rotated to face him without stopping so that it now glided backward. “I must confess that Berenyn and Shylvena’s financial assistance to our cause has eased our cash flow problem. So, good idea deciding to save them. But as a regular thing? I don’t know, Nephew.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Do we really want a bunch of slack-jawed yokels running around the castle, ruining the ambiance we have so carefully cultivated?”
“Well, Uncle, our first set of slack-jawed yokels appear to be elvish nobility. And second, what ambiance? The ambiance of the leaky roof? The gate that doesn’t close? Or are you referring to something else?”
Kelvan sighed. “I know you’re new here, Nephew, so you look at it differently. But the truth is, the castle has been ours for so long—mine, Grimsby’s, Clonk’s, Ondine’s—that I don’t know how the others will take it if we start bringing a bunch of new, living people in.”
“So far, they seem tentatively positive,” Gideon said. “Though Clonk doesn’t want to have to do any work.”
“Ah, that does sound like him.” Kelvan shook his head sadly. “An unfortunate temperament in a minion, isn’t it?”
“In any event, the main holdout appears to be yourself, Uncle.”
“Well, I’ll think about it,” Kelvan grumbled.
Gideon nodded, not wanting to push the issue any further. He felt like he’d made a little progress, at least. “Since Berenyn and Shylvena eased your cash flow problem, does that mean I’ll get a salary soon?”
“Uhh…” Kelvan’s eyes narrowed. “While they have saved us from destitution, I’m afraid our situation hasn’t yet recovered quite to the point where—anyway, Gideon, I think you should stay focused on your training rather than your earthly desires.”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “You know, you haven’t mentioned what kind of training I’m going to do—or what this ‘power leveling’ you mentioned entails.”
“Ah,” Kelvan replied as he gave Gideon a grin. “I thought you’d like to be surprised.”
“I really wouldn’t,” Gideon said with a sigh. “I’m not Clonk, okay? Give it to me straight.”
Kelvan sighed. “For someone not yet dead, you really must learn to live a little. But if you want to spoil the suspense, the power leveling is the part Clonk will help us with later. As for your training, it’s pretty simple. A proud wizarding tradition. You’re going to duel.”
“Duel?” Gideon asked, starting to feel even more nervous than he already had. He knew they did plenty of that at any proper wizarding school. But he couldn’t help but feel his selection of opponents around here was limited. “With you? Mirror or no mirror, I think you’re a little beyond my level, Uncle Kelvan.”
“No, not with me. I’m not trying to murder you, Gideon.” He stroked his beard. “Ah, I can’t bring myself to spoil it. I want to see your face when you realize what’s in store! We’re almost there. Just follow me…”
The mirror turned back around and flew forward. Gideon increased his pace, following closely behind. The sound of running water came from up ahead, like an underground stream flowing through the mountain.
Soon they emerged into a large, circular chamber with a domed roof. To Gideon’s left, a waterfall flowed down into a small pool beneath it. To his right, a furnace of coals blazed with fire.
Next to the waterfall, a small pile of stones hovered over a pedestal as if suspended in zero gravity. As Gideon’s eye wandered, he saw a small sapling growing in a patch of rich, dark soil. Next to it, a prism refracted a beam of light that shone up from somewhere beneath the floor. A desiccated, dismembered hand mounted to a podium rounded out the selection.
And up against the far wall was a large mirror twice as tall as Gideon. Strangely, he couldn’t see his reflection when he looked at it, nor did he see Kelvan’s. The mirror only reflected the room itself.
Kelvan spun around, looking quite pleased. “What do you think, Nephew? This was my meditation and training chamber back when I still needed such a place. Around you, you will find a variety of purified mana sources of different types.” He moved closer to the pile of rocks. “First things first. I imagine you will wish to meditate on these stones taken from the base of Mount Wyrmcrest and attune to your new staff. Once you feel comfortable with it, your dueling may begin.”
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“Mount Wyrmcrest?” Gideon said, staring at them in awe. Though they appeared unassuming, Mount Wyrmcrest had been the location of the capital city of the dragons over a thousand years ago.
“Oh, don’t tell me they didn’t even teach you—”
“No, I know about Mount Wyrmcrest, Lord Kelvan. I was only shocked by the fact you have these here.” Gideon looked around the room, his gaze again captured by the strange mirror. “What’s the mirror for, anyway?”
“That’s for later,” Kelvan said, and Gideon sighed. It seemed his Uncle didn’t want to tell Gideon much of anything in advance. But so far, it appeared Kelvan knew what he was doing. So Gideon figured he might as well trust him.
Did he even have a choice?
Gideon approached the floating stones. As he drew closer, a small piece of the floor rose of its own volition. As Gideon sat on it and crossed his legs, the platform adjusted its height until he was at eye level with the mana source. Whatever magic had gone into this room was like nothing Gideon had ever seen.
“Great. Well, have fun, Nephew! I’ll come back in an hour or so to check on you. I’m going to see how things are looking on the roof.”
Before Gideon could respond, Kelvan had already flown away. Muttering to himself, Gideon turned his focus to the floating stones. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and again tried to meditate. He felt the mana burning in his core, then tried to circulate it through his body. He held the staff across his knees, his hands gripped tightly around it. Tentatively at first, then with increasing confidence, he began to cycle his mana through the staff as well as his body.
When mana flowed into the staff, its crystal hummed with energy. He was careful not to overload the crystal—though the focus seemed to have an impressive capacity. When he’d used his first wand, he’d accidentally burst the crystal and needed to replace it. But this staff was made of much stronger material, and Gideon doubted he could damage the crystal even if he tried, considering his low level and relatively small mana pool.
Nevertheless, he proceeded carefully, testing the staff’s crystal structure, feeling how it responded to small drips of mana before he tried to cycle more. The staff, unused to the particular vibrations of his energy, felt overly rigid at first—as if he was trying to force a viscous liquid through a tiny straw. But with each inhale and exhale of breath and corresponding outflow and inflow of mana, the staff’s crystal structure gradually grew more pliable.
Gideon didn’t know how long it took. He lost all sense of time in that peaceful chamber, as his focus was utterly consumed by the feeling of mana flowing between him and the staff’s focusing crystal. He continued until the staff felt as natural as if he was channeling the mana through his own body.
But there was one last step. As Gideon expanded his awareness, he felt the mana being given off by the stones floating before him. These rocks, though humble in appearance, had once carried the might of dragonkind atop them. Such objects carried a memory of their significance. Even now, they had an unmistakable aura, waves of earth-imbued mana radiating from them.
Reaching out with his awareness, Gideon felt where the aura of the Wyrmcrest stones mingled with the mana produced by his own body. Weaving the two together, combining his mana with that of the rock, he channeled the combined energy into the staff’s crystal.
This time, the staff bucked, and for a moment, Gideon almost lost his grip on it before he wrested it back down into his lap. The crystal glowed with a bright green light as waves of energy cascaded outward from its tip.
Taking a deep breath, Gideon gradually released the energy, letting it flow out of the staff. It wasn’t formed into a spell, only raw mana—just power, without any direction or form, which he channelled back towards the stones, returning the mana from whence it came.
As a notification box appeared, he felt a surge of understanding and a deeper connection to the earth.
Skill Grade Increase! Your proficiency in Meditation has ascended to Silver Rank, Grade D.
Level Up! Your mana core has gained strength. Maximum mana increased.
Wait, he thought. Did I level up from meditating?
He hadn’t expected that, though technically, any accomplishment or practice could put one over the edge of the next level threshold. He must have been close from fighting the spiders and the Blight Tunneler the previous day.
The workings of advancement were known only to the gods, but mortals had devised methods of estimating how long it would take for someone to level up. However, none of those methods were available to Gideon, who could only work hard to improve and hope for the best.
He dismissed the notifications and opened his eyes. In his hands, the staff glowed with a faint light. Now, he only needed to try casting a proper spell with it.
“Went better than even I expected,” came Kelvan’s voice from right behind him. Gideon sighed but didn’t jump out of his skin this time. “You leveled?”
“Sure did. How’s the roof?”
“I expect they’ll need your help later,” Kelvan said. After a moment of silence, he added, “Don’t worry about it. So, how’s the staff?”
“It feels great,” Gideon said. “I think I’m ready to try it out, but I haven’t cast any spells yet.”
“Perfect. Well, don’t cast any in here. You’ll break all my nice things. To the mirror!”
Gideon climbed to his feet, and the platform where he’d been sitting sank back into the floor. Once there, it merged seamlessly with the stone around it.
The staff now felt like it fit perfectly in his hand as if it was an extension of himself.
To Gideon’s surprise, Kelvan floated towards the mirror and passed through its surface. Suddenly, Gideon could see him in the reflection. So it wasn’t just a mirror. It must have been some kind of portal.
Gideon took a deep breath, then walked into the mirror after Kelvan—and soon found himself in a reflected version of the meditation chamber. As he looked back through the mirror he’d just passed through, he again couldn’t see their reflections, only the room itself.
“What the hell is this?” he asked.
“It’s time for you to meet your dueling partner,” Kelvan said. He made a gesture, and the room around them shifted until it was a long, rectangular stadium containing a dirt field. Gideon and Kelvan stood on a raised platform at one end of the field, and at the other end…
“Oh, hell no,” Gideon said. “That’s spooky.”
“Meet your training partner,” Kelvan said, cackling. “I think you’ll find they’re a perfect match for you, my boy.”
Across the field, Gideon looked into his own eyes, staring back at him.
His dueling partner was his reflection.
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