Power coursed through Aria. Aether washed through her body, drawn in by an effort of will that pulled the energy towards her and circulated it throughout her entire being. It should have been a simple process, a warm up that would be a prelude to actual spellcasting to most. For her, who had yet to form a Circle, it was her main method of practice.
One that she was growing increasingly impatient with.
The Aether that ran through her circulated as it should have, for the most part. It flowed through her in a constant current, guided by her intentions to concentrate around her head. From there she would have to maintain the flow and allow the energy to start to condense, where it would then form a Circle that would hover around her temples. It would be her first step on a long journey of spellcasting, but it proved to be more and more elusive as a baser instinct compelled her to do otherwise.
The image that she saw before, of hands that were both hers but not hers, flashed through her mind constantly as she channeled Aether and a subconscious part of her directed the flow of power around her wrist, a clear intent of forming a Circle there prominent at the back of her mind. As it did, the energy flowing through her felt cold, sending a creeping chill across her skin. She pushed back against the impulse, forcing the flow towards her temples and keeping the image of fire in her mind to combat the cold. Her efforts only managed to split the flow, and she felt as if she was drifting down two rivers simultaneously, pulling her in opposite directions. In addition to that, she could feel the fire and ice within her clash, making her feel gooseflesh and a heat beneath her skin at the same time.
Under such split sensations, it was only a matter of time before Aria’s concentration broke, and the Aether slipped away from her, leaving her nothing but breathless and with a slight headache.
“The flow diverged again,” Jahora observed. The Mage was positioned on the bed across from Aria, peering at her with a searching expression.
The girl could only nod as she caught her breath.
Jahora hopped from her bed and walked over to Aria. She took the girl’s hand and gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s alright, you’ll get there in time.”
“How long?” Aria asked in a frustrated tone, “I feel like I haven’t made any progress at all.”
The Mage wore a mask of assurance, but Aria saw the brief flash of uncertainty that glinted through her eyes. “I can’t say,” Jahora admitted, “but, what is preventing your progression is not a lack of talent, but rather your focus.”
“I am focusing,” the girl grumbled.
“You are, but you are doing so with the wrong purpose,” Jahora said, her tone growing firm, “You spend so much time fighting how power naturally flows through you that there is little else to refine that energy into something tangible.”
“But…” Aria trailed off, the phantom of The Cold causing gooseflesh to trail up her arms. She remembered its chill touch, how it smothered all her emotions and left her in a state that could barely be called alive for almost all of her life. Her fingers trembled at the memory, and despite her clenched fists they did not stop shaking.
Jahora took both of her hands into hers, “It will be ok, Aria, there is no rush, but I will say this…” she shifted the girl’s face to focus on her, “You do not need to shy away from what is within. Shunning something to define ourselves against it still means that it controls us in some way.”
Aria tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
Jahora smiled. “You’ll understand in time. For now, let’s get you over to Serena’s house.”
The girl’s expression brighted at the mention of her new friend, and she pushed whatever doubts she was feeling to the side as she hopped from her bed with a newfound energy.
Jahora snorted at Aria’s excitement and straightened the girl’s dress. When the Mage was satisfied, she walked over to the burrow and grabbed Aria’s rapier. “Though I must be honest, I was not expecting training as a start of your play date.”
The girl scratched her head, “Serena wanted to show me what her father has been teaching her.”
Jahora gave her a knowing smile, “And you no doubt wanted to show off your fancy new sword some more, didn’t you?”
“...no,” Aria’s voice trailed off as she looked away from the Mage.
Jahora laughed, “There is nothing wrong with showing off a bit, everyone likes a little flair from time to time,” she winked, “and I’m sure Camilla will make sure you two don’t get up to anything too ridiculous.”
Aria raised her eyebrows, “You’re not staying with us?”
The Mage shook her head, “Helbram wished to discuss a few things with me and Elly,” she explained, “But I will be walking you on over,” a mischievous light glinted in her eyes, “I have to make sure you don’t get lost on the way there.”
Aria pouted, “It was only one time.”
“Certainly,” Jahora buckled Aria’s sword belt around her waist and patted her on the shoulder, “but let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
The girl fluttered her lips, but raised no further objections as they left the room and made their way to The Tree’s Root’s main hall. Helbram and Elly were seated at a table near the bar eating a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and cured meats. Elly herself had a pile of books next to her breakfast, but they remained untouched as she and Helbram spoke of something that trailed off as they noticed Aria and Jahora’s presence. Both of them flashed a smile in their direction, but that was overshadowed as the two wolf cubs sprinted out from under their table and began to hop around Aria in excitement.
“Calm down you two,” Jahora said with a chuckle, “she’s only been away for a couple of hours, the day is still young.”
Responding to the Mage’s words, the two cubs stopped hopping, but were wiggling in place as they panted up at Aria. Unable to resist the clear begging on their faces, she knelt down and petted them with an energy that only someone her age could possess.
“Productive morning?” Helbram asked Jahora.
“In some ways, yes,” Jahora said, “It would be better to discuss the details later.”
“Fair enough,” Helbram said, “we can speak when you get back then.”
Aria looked around the hall, noting that someone was missing. “Where is Leaf?”
“Out with Merida,” Elly explained as she drank from her mug, “they have begun their investigation with haste, and as of right now any extra hands will just get in the way,” a smirk quirked up one corner of her lips, “I would ask if you were ready to play caretaker, but I think you have a handle on that just fine.”
Aria looked down at the cubs, who were now on the receiving end of belly rubs. She looked back at Elly with a bashful smile.
“Well you can’t hog them all to yourself,” Jahora said, “Are you ready to see Serena?”
The girl’s smile stretched to a grin, and she nodded.
----------------------------------------
Helbram kept a watchful eye on Aria as she left. When she first entered the main hall, he could see there was a clear disappointment in her eyes, but that appeared to fade by the time that she was on her way. He was relieved at that, but he knew the next time that she went to practice that frustration would rear its ugly head again. It never stopped doing so with him, at least.
Elly, who had opened one of her books and was scanning its contents, caught onto his worries. “Aria just needs more time.”
“I know,” Helbram said, “but that does not mean I do not wish to aid her in some way.”
The Weaver tapped her bottom lip, “That is admirable, but despite her frustrations she has made steady progress. She is able to reach out to Aether more readily, for example, and even if she has not formed a Circle she is still able to cast a cantrip from the control over energy she has alone. For one who has trained for a little more than a month I would say that is quite a feat.”
“Yet the circulation of power through her body is her greatest hurdle,” Helbram said. “Typically, it is the opposite, is it not? I know it is related to her nature as a Shade and the fact that her current self appears to be at odds with her past self, but how to address that…”
Elly produced her notebook from the pile at her side and sifted through its pages, “I would say that whatever adjustment needs to be made is a matter of mindset…” she scanned over a page, “we have encouraged her to be her own person, but, as you discussed with Jahora, perhaps it is because of that her current struggles exist today.”
“And, as I said before, I do not think it was the wrong decision,” Helbram said, “but now we have the task of instructing her in how to reconcile the two.” His eyebrows raised as a realization came over him, “Perhaps we have been overthinking this.”
Elly tilted her head, “What do you mean?”
“Well, even if its nature and the powers it provides are extraordinary, the past of a Shade are really just distant memories. Like anyone, our memories and past play a part in who we are today, and I do not see why Shades would be any different. I have told her to learn and draw from her past, but I did not instruct her on how to do so. That is most likely the missing link.”
“That idea does hold merit… I assume that you have an idea on how to guide her through this?”
Helbram smiled, “That I do, but that will have to wait for when I next instruct her,” he looked at the pile of texts next to Elly, “Right now, I am curious as to what the purpose of all the books are.”
The Weaver flipped through her notebook some more, “Given Jahora and I’s recent responsibilities with Aria, it has been quite some time since I’ve done some proper research and it's high time that I do some catching up.” She turned the notebook over to Helbram, which was turned to a page marked by script that swirled and wrapped around itself.
“I recognize these,” Helbram said, “they were on the bridge just outside the shrine in Southsheer.”
“Yes, and from reading through these,” she placed her hand on top of the pile of books, “I believe there is a connection between them.”
Helbram quirked an eyebrow, “Those are books from Azator’s archives, correct? How would they be related?”
Elly pushed her notebook to the side and grabbed two separate books from the top of her pile. She opened one book, displaying a script that was composed of circles of various sizes and completeness interlocked with different lines.
“Runic script?” Helbram asked, “And of the Ruhian variety, it seems.”
“Yes,” Elly said, “but tell me if you noticed anything different.”
Helbram scanned the page and rubbed his chin, “The structure is different… shorter, and it appears that there are some symbols that are either incomplete or cut off.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Precisely,” Elly said, an excited light in her eyes. “As I’m sure you know, Runic Script is not necessarily used as an actual language, but the structure here suggests exactly that.”
“And Azator was the one that did this?”
“Given that it came directly from his archives, I believe so,” she snorted, “Well, this is just one of numerous copies that I made; gods help me if I actually tried taking the originals.”
“I cannot imagine that your mentor would have appreciated that very much.”
“Not. At. All. She’d scour half the Freemarks to catch us if I did such a thing.” A mischievous smile tugged at Elly’s lips, “Perhaps I should have, she could have done with the exercise.”
Helbram chuckled. “If such a thing comes to pass you will find me mysteriously absent.”
She smirked, “A shame, you are so large it would be quite easy to slip behind you for cover.”
“Cover that would be reduced to ash, perhaps, or at least have their pride dashed to pieces.” He ran his hand along the script on the pages, “But, there would only be one reason that Azator would go out of his way to write something in such a convoluted way.”
Elly nodded, “To hide something, but what that something is, I could not say… until recently.”
She took the book and pointed at a few of the symbols, “Given my studies, I am familiar with both Ruhian runic and traditional script, so I have been using that knowledge to steadily chip away at translating this for some time,” she pinched a bundle of pages at the beginning of the book, “much of what was written was pure nonsense, at first. Recipes that made no sense or ramblings of how terrible the weather happened to be on a particular day, that sort of thing.”
“Given our exposure to his…” Helbram cleared his throat, “colorful personality before, that does not surprise me.”
Elly frowned, “Indeed, our time in his trials was most illuminating, but it may have been that which spurred my efforts on.” She flipped past the initial pages, “While the tone is still flippant and its subject matter scatterbrained, there are a few sentences and passages that hold an unusual fixation.” She ran a finger along one sentence, “For example, this passage is about baking bread of all things, yet it spends much of its time on how to light a stove, a wood fire stove at that.”
“A bit odd, given that the Ruhians were so advanced.”
“My thoughts as well. Normally, I would have ignored it and attributed it to Azator’s eccentricities, but the details by which he laid out the process- how to pile the wood, how to set the kindling, how to feed the fire… all of it is written such meticulous detail and without any of his usual flippant tone.” She tapped a spot of the sentence that was just a straight line, “In addition, where there are more detailed accounts you will frequently find blank spots such as this, places where key words should be. It would be easy to guess a possible word that would fit the context of the passage, but I believe Azator has a specific one in mind for each blank spot.”
“I see… but he did not leave many clues as to how to discover such words.”
“That is what I thought at first,” Elly admitted, “but then I realized there was something off about the page’s formatting.” She tapped the edges of the paragraphs on a page, spots where there was a singular, half drawn symbol before the sentence flowed to the line below. “I initially thought these to be stand-ins for words such as ‘the’ or ‘an’ but you will notice that all these runes are slightly different from one another and with a different flourish to them. It would be easy to say that this was just due to Azator’s eccentricities, but take a look at this.”
She opened the other book she had taken from the pile. When she opened it, Helbram saw that this book was written in script that was more akin to rigid, branching paths that were scrawled into the semblance of what could only be letters.
“This is Saputan runic script,” he observed, “was Azator familiar with that as well?”
“Considering that both empires existed at the same time, it would not be a stretch to say so, though I am curious as to how you know this is Saputan script…” she shook her head, “Questions for a later time. Take a look here,” she flipped to a page that was the same number as the Ruhian book and pointed to the edges of the paragraphs. Much like the other book, there were half finished or incomplete symbols, but with a more flowing design as opposed to the rigid script that was written across the rest of the page.
“The formatting is similar.”
“Exactly!” Elly’s tone rose with her excitement, “Even passages touch the same subjects, just shuffled about a bit and missing those exact same blank spaces. Trying to figure out what it all meant drove me mad for a while, but then I happened to be looking at my notes from our travels and I noticed something…”
She showed Helbram her notebook again, still flipped to the page that showed the symbols from the bridge. Elly pulled the pencil from the notebook’s sleeve and drew one of the symbols from the Ruhian book, then overlapped it with the symbol from the Saputan book. When she finished, it was similar to the ones already drawn.
Helbram leaned back from the revelation and rubbed his brow, “So… does this mean that the Sword of Promise holds Ruhian and Saputan origins?”
A glint flashed across Elly’s eyes as she grinned, “Precisely, though with the Sword now at the bottom of the black Sea - for the better, by the way- what that implies is beyond my understanding at the moment. For now, I believe by combining the symbols and stitching together their implications from Azator’s writings, I may be able to decipher what exactly the Smiling Architect was hiding.”
Helbram shook his head, banishing his thoughts about the Sword and the events of Southsheer from his mind for the time being. He leaned in and looked over the rest of Elly’s notes on the page, noticing more of the symbols scrawled together. “It looks like you have made some progress on that front already.”
Somehow, Elly’s smile grew wider. “I have, and while it is only scratching the surface, one word has surfaced multiple times that gives me great interest,” she pointed to a gathering of symbols at the corner of the page, “Star.”
Helbram scratch jaw as he considered her words, but then widened his eyes as he realized that that could mean, “You mean that this may hold some information about the Star Method?”
Elly tapped the table with an energy that she could not contain, “Yes! That is precisely it. Despite the wealth of knowledge that scholars have gathered over the years, the Star Method, the Ruhian and Saputan way of magic, has had little documentation. We are not sure why that is, but this could be the discovery of a lifetime - if my assumptions are correct.”
Helbram could not help but feel excited from Elly’s energy alone, “Well, then you best get to it, odds are your mentor has caught onto something similar.”
The Weaver chuckled, “I know my teacher. She is smart and retains a sharpness that age nor time will ever dull, but she is also at the mercy of a bounty of information that is not so related to this. In addition, she did not happen to stumble upon the symbols that happen to be the key to all of this, so luck has favored the bold in this case.”
“Indeed it has, but I have to wonder… There are already multiple Methods of magic out there. This would no doubt be a grand discovery, but would it truly cause any major shake ups to what we know of magic as is?” Helbram held his hands up, “Apologies if that does take the wind out of your sails a bit.”
Elly shook her head, her expression growing serious, “Pay it no mind, such questions should be considered, and to answer yours… While magic has developed since the Second Collapse and many of our Methods are advanced in their own right, there is an aspect of the Star Method that has yet to be replicated.”
Helbram leaned forward, but said nothing.
“Typically, most spells are composed of one type of Aether, aspected or molded by the intent of the caster themselves. Some do utilize a combination of different types, but we can consider such things as layered on top of one another. The magic of the Ancients - according to legend, at least - was capable of blending the properties of different types of Aether together,” she snapped her fingers, producing sparks of electricity that danced around her fingers.
They were of a light blue color, and Helbram could see frost radiating from their form. “This is just an illusion to show an example, but imagine lightning that could freeze, fire that produced wind instead of heat, or even a barrier that retained the fluidity of water.” She flicked her hand, making the illusion disappear, “Now, we have managed to replicate some of these concepts through our own formulation, but there was something about the potency of the Star Method that allowed such things to be done with comparative ease.”
“But from what you have told me before, it is a much more volatile Method, correct?” Helbram asked, “Perhaps the stability of modern techniques would be much more preferable.”
“In most cases, yes,” Elly admitted, “but if we uncover the techniques of the Ancients then perhaps that will lead to our own methods to develop in ways we can only imagine. Besides, we have already tried to replicate such concepts,” she gestured to her wrist as the Circle around it appeared, “It was one of the reasons that Weaving was developed in the first place.”
Helbram drummed his fingers against the table, “I assume they thought that by ‘reaching out’ the Aether that it would be possible to manipulate it more precisely, therefore allowing the caster to combine properties as they see fit?”
Elly nodded, “Yes, though that never did occur. However, it was found to be a preferable enough alternative to many aspiring casters, so it took off on its own from there.”
“And you have your own variation of that,” he pointed out, “you are quite the pioneer.”
The Weaver laughed, “I can’t take much credit for that, Agatha was the one who prompted it, as you know.”
“I do, but that does not change the fact that you are the only one utilizing such a technique, as far as I know,” he tilted his head, “Though I do wonder, beyond wanting you to use something from your background as performer, did she have a reason to encourage the use of dance in your magic?”
Elly clicked her teeth, “Well, beyond her own considerations, it was also due to the nature of my family’s dances. Most of our movements were derived from observing the elements in action, and as such seek to emulate the movements of fire, wind, earth, and so forth. Agatha thought that by utilizing these dances my version of Weaving would have a greater chance of replicating the effects of Ancient magics,” she scoffed, “In reality, were it not for her guidance, I would be staggeringly behind my peers. I still am, really, most had progressed to the Third or Fourth Circle by the time I had left Orelia, and here I still am a Second Circle Weaver.”
“Do you regret using your current methods?”
“I don’t, but I cannot say that I am not without some envy. Using my family’s dances forces me to be quite particular with my movements, and I am less than half the dancer my sister is. I suspect that, and the fact that what I am doing is so unusual in the first place, is the reason my growth has been so slow.”
“Yet you move with a purpose that allows you to keep pace with those that would be more ‘advanced’ than you are,” Helbram said. “Power is all well and good but there is something to be said about precision and, more importantly, proficiency that is often underrated.”
She looked down at the table, doubt lingering in her eyes, “You say that, but in reality there are times where my spells are cast slower than other Weavers. Jutting one’s hand out to produce a gout of flame is a more efficient movement than twirling one’s hands to do the same thing.”
Helbram closed his eyes and scratched his neck, “Actually, this relates to what I wanted to speak with you about.”
“Is that so?” Elly flashed a coy smile, “I assume this has something to do with the constant muttering that you have been doing to yourself?”
Helbram frowned, “I have not been doing that.”
“According to Leaf, you have.”
“Damn that man’s ears… regardless I have been doing a lot of reflection as of late; within the dream that I have told you all about.”
“Yes, the one where you are able to replicate and train against the movements of those that you have fought before.”
“Indeed, and while it has been a great boon to myself I realized that I could use such things to study all of your techniques as well. Not to the extent where I would be able to replicate them myself of course, but to provide some insight from an outsider’s perspective. If you would allow me to do so, of course.”
“Helbram, while we know you to be reckless and often lost within your own thoughts, we have never thought you foolish… for the most part.” She snorted, “You do have your moments.”
He opened his mouth to object, but closed it when he could not find a proper rebuttal.
“But yes I would like to hear your input on my deficiencies.”
“I would not say they are deficiencies, but rather avenues for improvement,” Helbram said, “Despite your opinion of your own movements, I have only ever known you to glide with a grace that I can only envy, but from our discussion here I do believe I may have figured out something you could focus on the next time you practice.”
Elly did not say anything, but looked at him with clear interest.
“Your more potent spells require you to complete movements in their entirety to fully form them, correct?”
The Weaver nodded.
“And, when a spellcaster processes Aether into a spell, they either use it in its Aspected form or convert it to pure energy before completing the cast. What if we focus on what happens in the inbetween?”
Elly tapped her bottom lip, “Of my movements or the processing of Aether itself?”
“Both,” Helbram said, “Say you needed to use Water-Aspected Aether, but only one property of it - its ability to reduce friction, perhaps. Rather than trying to find the right amount of Aether or the correct movement to fully use the energy, you cut your movements in half and spend your will on pulling only that element of it. It would require less time than fully converting the Aether into pure energy and would allow a better expression of your intent.”
“And I would be able to utilize that very property in different ways rather than have it limited to the form of water…” her eyebrows rose as she further considered the possibilities, “perhaps this is the missing step to replicating the magic of the Ancients. With enough practice I could pull the properties of two types of Aether and then combine them to different effects rather than having to formulate an entirely new spell.” A light sparked in her eyes, “This could work,” she frowned, “though I am kicking myself for not considering that earlier.”
“Talent is a very useful thing to have, but it can make one overlook the small details from time to time,” Helbram said, “Not to mention that we have yet to try it. Perhaps there is a reason such a thing has not been attempted, but given that you have a unique method of your own…”
“Then I may be able to pull it off,” she rose from her chair, “I need to try this at once.”
Before Helbram could respond, she was out the door.