Osar took out one of the gemstones, turning the finger-nail sized gem in his hand. “This is a spell stone. Specifically, it is a Light Beam spell, which allows the user to channel light mana into a single ray of concentrated light.”
“It’s a laser beam!” Cid exclaimed, staring at the gem in fascination before Osar handed it over to him.
“It’s called a Light Beam friend Cid,” Osar reiterated patiently as he picked up one of the other gems. “However, the requirements to use it are pretty steep; you’d need a minimum Light aspect score of four as well as having a Destruction aspect of one.”
“Which makes it a perfect spell for me,” Serra said, to which Osar nodded, but her tone did not sound enthused. “I’m just not sure I want to use up a spell slot for that.”
“How many spells can one have at a time?” Eric asked as a follow-up to Serra’s statement, stroking his chin in thought.
“The exact number often depends on your Type and some of the abilities you choose,” Osar answered. “But on the average most adepts have four spells at the peak of the Foundation Stage.”
“Which is better then, spells or abilities?”
Osar paused for a moment to think before answering Eric’s question: “Both have their uses Jad-Os, and many adepts debate for one or the other, although it is generally accepted that you choose spells to complement your abilities, and not the other way around.”
“Hmmm, what’s the difference between them though?” Cid asked.
“The main difference between spells and abilities, is that abilities may be used again and again as long as your aether is sufficient to activate it, while spells require a ‘cooldown’ period before they can be used again.” Osar raised his left forearm, using his other hand to show everyone a slight bulge underneath the skin. “This is why, although you’ve seen me use my lightning strike spell, I have not been able to keep on using it throughout a fight, since the spell has a thirty-minute cooldown.”
“Looks like a pretty large drawback,” Cid commented, raising up the spell stone he had been examining and holding it up against the hangar’s lights high up in the ceiling, admiring the way the light was refracted across the gem’s facets. “Is there a way to lower the cooldown period?”
Osar nodded as he turned back to take out more cases and small containers in a variety of styles and materials from the spatial chest. “Many abilities can modify certain aspects of a spell, including its cooldown duration. In fact, many of the Mage Type's abilities are geared towards spell manipulation and augmentation, making them one of the most versatile and dangerous Types one can go up against, therefore necessitating their early neutralization after combat is joined.”
Serra suddenly laughed out loud. “So, Geek the Mage is still a thing here, huh?” She managed to get out between her laughs. “Rome would feel so vindicated if he knew!”
“Again, I am unsure about what you mean,” Osar replied, though he was smiling at the young woman’s amusement. “But yes, it is standard small-unit doctrine to try to take out an opposing team’s Mage or Supports once identified, because these Types introduce the most variables to the engagement.”
Eric nodded in agreement, even as he walked forward to examine what Osar was laying out on the table’s surface.
“How do we use them though?” Cid asked as he placed the Light Beam gem back into the case that Osar had taken it from. “You seem to have placed it under your skin…”
“Spell stones are most commonly placed during the morning exercises: The adept opens up his Gens schema, locates a suitable channel nexus in the body area required by the spell and close to his skin surface and then begins his breathing exercises… Some adepts bind the stone so that it stays on the skin as it attracts aether filaments to itself which will eventually, and usually painlessly, draw the stone under the surface of the skin.” Osar grinned as he placed the last box down and opened the lid. “The stone will siphon off a portion of your circulating aether and store it until it is used… hence the need for a cooldown phase. It might take a couple of sessions though to get the stone fully connected.”
“Makes sense.” Cid said as he craned his neck to see all the stones that Osar had laid out.
“Except you can use your AI to actively connect the channels to the area,” Serra pointed out, flashing Osar a taunting smile that made the big Urgan shake his head.
“Cheaters.” The big man mumbled, drawing a smile from everyone else. Although he was amused at the by-play, Eric cut in to keep the meeting going forward.
“What have you got here for us, Mr. Baratuu?”
Osar’s smile brightened as he gestured at the open boxes, cases, and loose spell stones. “We currently have one of the most extensive collections of spell stones I have ever seen collected in one place, so I’ve taken the liberty to select those spells I think would be the most useful for all of your builds and narrow down your choices a bit… If nothing here looks good you can still look through the stock wands you all received to try to find one that is more to your liking. Then, once you have a spell, come over to me for another equipment matter.”
As the three Terrans converged on the table to browse, Osar moved away, pulling up a new table, placing it down and setting down a spatial ring.
It took less than fifteen minutes for all three Terrans to select a spell they wanted, and none of them had to resort to going through the stock wands: Osar’s selections had been perfect.
Eric had chosen a Void spell stone called Absorb Energy, which would allow him to intercept a spell or any aetheric emanation and try to absorb it before it could discharge its effect. The veteran soldier was already going through various ways he could utilize the spell, so much so that he almost missed what Osar was saying.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“This is what is known as a Battlesuit egg,” The big Urgan said as he held up the oval, metallic case that the damaged armor he had worn had transformed into when he had first encountered Serra and Eric. He then activated the ring on the table and pulled out a new case, this one cube-shaped and colored gray and maroon with a thick white stripe running down the middle of its smooth casing. “Each so-called egg contains a manufactured suit of aether-powered personal armor to enhance your capabilities.”
Raising the new cube, Osar grasped it in his hand, placed it in the middle of his chest and pressed the small button in the middle of the contraption. Moments later, with a brief thrum of displaced air, the big man was covered in a gray and maroon suit almost identical to the damaged one that he had been wearing. Unlike then, this new suit sported a helm with red crystal lenses and four thick ridges of what looked like bone running from the front to the back of Osar’s skull.
“Any adept worth his core would be well-advised to buy, steal, or manufacture his own battlesuit if he wanted to survive in this Era of Strife.” The voice coming out of the suit was a bit muffled, which was quickly remedied when the faceplate split into seven sections and folded out and back, into the cowling at the back of the neck.
“Power source?” Cid had unceremoniously taken hold of Osar’s left arm, leaning close to examine the joins where the material met.
“Aetheric glyph arrays carved into the inside of the suit take aspected aetheric energy directly from the user.”
“Then if your core runs dry?”
The big man shrugged and moved his free hand in a falling motion everybody understood.
Boom.
“Still,” Osar continued after a moment as Cid began examining the suit’s back. “As long as your aether reserves hold out you gain increased strength, speed, defense, attack power, and a certain degree of environmental protection… How much varies on the make, model, and compatibility of the suit of course.”
“Sounds like a sales pitch to me.” Serra said with a smile, her hands crossed beneath her breasts, but her body language showed keen interest in what was being offered. She had taken to the Hexguard armored suit training with something like unbridled glee, and as far as Eric could see, these battlesuits looked to be pretty similar, if considerably less bulky, pieces of equipment.
“You think you can grok the workings of one of these Jakobin?”
“I sure as hell can try, sir!”
“It functions like any other suit of armor,” Osar was going through several motions under Cid’s direction, patiently letting the scientist learn as much as he was able. “You wear it, and as long as your cores remain relatively full you gain all the benefits of the suit that I mentioned.”
Serra touched one of the articulated backplates that protected the Urgan’s back and behind, feeling the slight vibration of aether surging through the suit, admiring the craftmanship that allowed the metallic plates to slide smoothly without sound even as they allowed minimal exposure of the underlying glyph-carved leathers. It truly was less bulky than powered armor but could probably give the same protection as the suit of armor she had claimed before going up to battle the shardling. She badly wanted one of her own!
Eric too was fascinated by the suit, though he remembered the one he had kept in Vashanka’s Ring, refusing to place it in the common store. The suit he had in his ring was called the Amethyst Crown, an artifact-level battlesuit created specifically for the void dragon Vashanka, or so its description claimed. Eric had been unable to wear, or even claim the suit, having been notified that he lacked certain qualifications. What those qualifications were remained unspecified.
“Are suits mass manufactured or are they crafted by individual artisans?” Serra asked, tracing a small maker’s mark that appeared like a fire-breathing lion carved into the back of the cowling that protected Osar’s neck.
“Most of the suits used by adepts are mass produced by certain specialized Clans or affiliate companies of Clans,” Osar answered. “There are standards to follow of course, and the Imperial Ministry of Practical Artifacts makes sure every mass-produced suit adheres to strict quality guidelines and specifications.”
“Are there suits that are specially made for individuals?” Eric asked, still thinking of the Amethyst Crown. “I mean, I’d assume specially-made suits are better than the mass-manufactured ones, right?”
“Personalized suits are better of course Jad-Os, but they are also insanely expensive... For example: This one!”
Then, with the flair of a stage magician performing his final trick of the evening, Osar took a beautifully crafted storage box from the spatial chest he had prepared. It was made out of silvery wood, opal brass, and a fortune in sinqari silver, its polished surface gleaming under the bright hangar lights.
Osar opened the box and revealed an ornate, beautifully sculpted cube about four centimeters across. He pressed the central button and a deep black suit unfolded elegantly with the dry susurrus of hard scales shifting against each other.
The suit that was revealed was made of tight-knit black scales, looking almost unadorned, except if one looked closely, they could see the dark orange drops that tipped each tiny, individual scale. Even the helmet was plain, its only claim to decoration was the thin orange visor that allowed its wearer to view his surroundings.
“This is a highly-modified Ferrario original, its leather taken from the flanks of a Yrdan Sand-stalker and reinforced with blessed metal and alloys from the Forge-World of Asdan Verelas.” Osar looked almost awed as he extolled the virtues of the suit, reading from a hardlight window projected from a jeweled button at the side of the suit’s ornate storage box. “This was commissioned for the Princeps of Majeah Dive, Third in Line for the Throne of the Silver Maiden Clan. In the Foundation Stage, no battlesuit is its equal.”
Everyone gathered close, admiring the craftsmanship and stark, deadly beauty of the battlesuit. Serra whistled ruefully, running a hand over the silkily-smooth scales that formed the main body of the suit.
“But we can’t use this, can we?” She whispered sadly as Osar nodded his head sagely, while Cid looked at both of them with a confused look on his face. Eric thought about it a bit, rubbing at his chin, and realized why at the same moment Serra began explaining to Cid.
“It’s too unique and recognizable,” Serra began, regretfully stepping back from the artifact. “We use this anywhere populated and someone is bound to recognize it. Soon we’ll have the authorities trying to hunt us down for theft and even possibly piracy and murder. Or worse.”
“Worse?” Cid breathed, clearly trying to think about what could be worse than being wanted by the government.
“Kill squads,” Osar growled, pressing the button on the suit’s throat. Eric saw violet strands of spatial aether curl about the suit, melding at certain touchpoints on the artifact, coursing through the armor’s exposed surfaces. Then with mechanical precision the entire suit silently refolded and shrank until it was a cube once more, gleaming darkly with in the palm of Osar’s hand. “The Silver Maiden Clan, and possibly the House of Diskater, to which Ferrario owes allegiance, are sure to send ‘recovery teams’ to retrieve their lost treasure. They will not be gentle with whoever they catch using the suit.”
“Well, damn!” Cid exclaimed, scratching his head. “What’re we supposed to do about that then?”
“We use it as an introduction to the prince who commissioned it, saying we recovered it from some pirates.” The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested what Eric had said. “It might be a means to gain goodwill from what seems to be a powerful clan.”
“I agree, Jad Eric,” Osar said as he placed the battlesuit cube back into its case and into the spatial chest. “It should help us build a small tie with one of the region’s more established powers and may perhaps be even leveraged into sponsorship or even an alliance.”
When the big Urgan’s hands next emerged from within the chest, they held a handful of roughly square-shaped, differently-colored cubes. Then with a gentle flick of his wrists and a wave Osar used wind aether to suspend the three cubes in the air and then push one of them towards each of his companions.
“I think these ones would be a good fit for each of you.”