The next watchtower took longer, partially because it was starting from scratch, but also because of the smaller number of Fwyn and Brecan.

Even so, they were able to complete it before the end of the day, giving Samuel time for a quick inspection that let him identify a few flaws.

The Fwyn could change things to how Samuel wanted them with little issue, and in short order, they were on their way back to the city.

“I must admit,” Jenkins said as they left the completed watchtower behind. “We’ve got people on standby to come out here, but I wasn’t convinced you’d get it done in time. After today, well, I’m pretty much convinced.”

“What can I say, I’m a man of my word,” Verdan said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “It wasn’t me, though. In fact, I don’t need to be here after this. The Fwyn need some oversight from Samuel and the others, but that’s all.”

“Good to know,” Jenkins said with a nod. “I think you’re selling yourself short, though.”

Verdan waved away the compliment. “Either way, the important part is done. If you have any issues with the rest, just let me know.”

Jenkins nodded before moving over to speak with Samuel and discuss their plan for the next day.

-**-

The next morning began with Verdan making his way down to the guard training hall for his scheduled session with the guard Sorcerers.

He’d come to terms with the implications of what he was doing, for the most part, so now it was time to follow through and train these Sorcerers as best he could.

Kai had gathered twenty of the best in the city that weren’t affiliated with a Sect already. A few more than Verdan had expected, but Kai was confident that they were all capable and the best in the city.

Considering that Verdan’s Essence tester had allowed several hundred new Sorcerers to be identified so far, that was quite the competition.

Having taught the Chosen recently, the methods were clear in Verdan’s mind, and so were the explanations for those who had never controlled Aether consciously before.

Thankfully, the Sorcerers Kai had chosen were all smart, capable people and they quickly picked up the initial idea of it.

Kai was doing quite well as well, but Verdan suspected that he’d been listening to a few of the lessons given to the others.

“So, what do you think?” Kai asked, taking a break from his own attempts.

“I’m not sure if I’m pleased or disappointed that none of them have the ability to split their focus,” Verdan said softly, running his gaze over the Sorcerers absently.

“Perhaps some of them could learn, like Magnus has?”

“No, that won’t work,” Verdan said, shaking his head slightly. “Countless researchers have tried different ways of doing it, and it never worked. If someone doesn’t show some innate potential with it, they can’t do it.”

Kai frowned, clearly unhappy with that answer. “But what if they have skill at the rest of Wizardy?”

“Then they can still become one, but only exceptional individuals could make headway with such a restriction.”

“I suppose I can see that, from how you’ve described being a Wizard,” Kai said with a reluctant nod. “Back to our trainees, though. I think that this has gone well.”

“Agreed, they’ve all picked up the basics quite well,” Verdan said with a touch of pride. “They’ll be settled in for a while. Care for some guided training of our own?”

Kai eyed the group, who were all sat quietly with introspective expressions. “I think we have the time. Could we use fire for this one?”

Verdan nodded and settled down into a comfortable position, Kai doing likewise as he started his usual breathing routine.

“Thanr.” Verdan conjured a small flame that he set to orbit around them before beginning to work on his gathering spiral.

As always, the extra layer of concentration pushed his abilities, but Verdan found the strain far more manageable than before.

A few more sessions like this and he might even be able to manage it without issue.

The only downside was that the added strain from doing it this way made the whole thing feel like it lasted longer.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Eventually, though, Kai tapped him on the knee to signal the end of their session before clapping his hands and doing the same for the rest of the group.

Dismissing the spell he’d been keeping active, Verdan shifted his spiral back to the partitioned part of his mind that worked on it.

On a hunch, he checked his Aether reserves and sighed, noting that once again, he had more than he should have.

It wasn’t that he objected to having more, but not understanding why was driving him mad.

“Everything okay?” Kai asked, holding out a hand to help Verdan to his feet.

“Yes, it’s just an annoying little thing I can’t figure out.”

“Want to talk about it?” Kai asked as the last of the other Sorcerers left the room. “I might not have your experience, but I’ve seen a lot of things.”

Verdan went to say no, but the memory of Natalia helping him see the obvious with the tester globes bubbled up.

“Alright, in short, I keep finding that I have more Aether than I should after some sessions like this. I just can’t figure out why.”

“Any commonalities between them, something that might be the cause?” Kai asked, his brow furrowing in thought.

“Actually, yes, you were there for all of them.” Verdan laughed and shook his head. “I’m not sure how that helps, though.”

Kai looked briefly surprised before cocking his head to one side in thought. “Show me.”

Shrugging mentally, Verdan sat back down and settled in to his usual method. He didn’t bother shifting around his gathering spiral and instead just actively focused on it.

Kai waited a few minutes before tapping Verdan on the shoulder. “Is it happening now?”

Verdan paused and checked before shaking his head. “No. It’s not an exact science, but I’m only seeing what I’d expect.”

“Keep going, let me try something,” Kai said, sitting back down opposite him.

Verdan did as he asked, settling in to their normal routine as he felt Kai begin his own meditation.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Kai said a few minutes later. “I think I know what’s happening. You have more Aether now, right?”

“I do, how did you know?”

“You were copying my breathing pattern. Not consciously, I don’t think, but enough to make a difference.”

“But that’s not possible, I tried your breathing technique before, and it didn’t work for me.”

Kai gave him a hard look and arched one brow questioningly. “Just how hard did you try, or did you just assume that whatever a Sorcerer knew wouldn’t be right?”

Verdan bristled and went to argue, but no words came out. Deep down, he knew that Kai was right.

He’d tried it briefly and without the dedication and testing that he’d used for working out what the new Sigils did.

“I’m sorry,” Verdan said eventually. “I hadn’t realised I was letting myself develop such a bias.”

Kai’s lips twitched into a vague smile. “I can hardly complain when I consider some of the examples you’ve seen. Not all of it is useless, though.”

“So I see,” Verdan said with a smile of his own. “Would you be willing to teach me more?”

“Of course. Now, the first thing we need to do is have you consciously aware of your breathing, to better let you adopt it over time…”

-**-

Verdan ended up spending another hour or two with Kai as the two took it in turns to help the other master their new skill.

Now that he was paying proper attention to what he was doing, Verdan could see that the breathing technique was making a difference.

It wasn’t a big difference, but it was a noticeable increase that worked well with the gathering spiral he had in place. The end result being that once Verdan could keep it going all the time like Kai, he would have a small but permanent increase to how much Aether he could draw into his core each day.

Eventually, though, they had to leave to attend a council meeting regarding their decision on the joint alliance.

Everyone who had been present the first time had come back for this meeting, and the security around the council building was as tight as Silver could make it.

Lieutenant Jenkins wasn’t present as he was overseeing the construction of the watchtowers, so Sergeant Auger was in charge of the outside perimeter.

Auger was a thin man with hawkish features and short brown hair, but more importantly, he was one of the first Sorcerers Kai had trained in the city.

Auger’s element was light and as an Enhancer, that focused mainly on visual and mental acuity as Verdan understood things.

As far as Verdan was concerned, there wasn’t any other guard in the city better suited to keeping watch and reacting quickly if anything went wrong.

Auger was carrying one of the pseudo-enchanted crossbows that Verdan had made, with a good supply of the piercing and light-emitting bolts.

“Remind me to make Auger a better crossbow, one that will accept his own Essence,” Verdan said softly to Kai before frowning slightly. “For that matter, do you want me to replace the work on your spear?”

Kai’s spear had been broken in his fight with the powerful Thrall that the younger Gormagyr had activated as it was dying. Since then, Kai had found a new spear of a similar style, but Verdan hadn’t got around to putting a new Aether construct onto it.

“Perhaps,” Kai said, absently rubbing his arm. “I’m concerned about the enchantment breaking again if I fight something of equal power.”

Verdan winced, remembering the state that he’d found Kai in. “Yes, a concern I know. It’s why Aether constructs were never used like this in the Imperium, but I don’t have a better option. I’ve made progress with the new Sigils, but nowhere near enough to use them.”

“The Imperium?” Kai echoed the word with a raised brow, and Verdan almost missed a step as he realised his mistake.

“Ah, we should talk about that later,” Verdan said with a sickly smile. That had been a stupid lapse on his part.

He’d been thinking about telling Kai and Gwen the truth soon, but that was no excuse for a slip like that.

Kai nodded slightly. “I’d appreciate that. I’ll come by tomorrow evening. We can discuss what to do with my spear at the same time.”

Verdan nodded, stuck for words as they entered the foyer of the building and joined those waiting to enter.

“Kai, Verdan!” Gwen called out from behind them and they paused as she and Hedda caught up with them. “I’m glad I caught you, I’ve had word from the other Covens. They’ve decided to help us and are heading here to Dresk to help protect the city.”

“That’s good news,” Verdan said, relieved for a change of subject. “Hopefully, they can help support the city and give the Sect there the edge they need to hold off any attacks.”

“Excuse me, the council is assembling now,” a guard said, pausing just long enough to make sure they heard before moving on to the next group.

“Alright then, let’s see what the council has decided,” Verdan said, leading the way deeper into the building.