A few minutes later the four of them, minus Dar, had set up in the center of the tiled training area. With Sierra’s help Elena had retrieved a number of curious implements from the cabin; a violet candle on a silver candlestick, a trio of glittering green geodes and a rolled leather bundle.
“Sierra tells me that she gave you some basic instruction, during your time away.” Elena began. “Summarize what you know and we may be able to save some time.”
Alarion carefully considered the words before speaking. It had only been days since that conversation, but so much had happened that it felt like weeks or months.
“All Awakened have Affinities. Some more than others up to… four, I think?” At Elena’s nod he continued with a bit more boldness. “They’re set up on four lines, three to a side, and the ones on each side oppose the ones on the other side.”
“And what does an Affinity do?” She pressed.
“You’re better at things you have an affinity for. And worse at things opposite that.” Alarion thought about his own words briefly, then added. “I’m not sure what better means. Specifically.”
“It is a general improvement,” Elena explained. “Lower MP costs, better casting time, higher damage. All things being equal a spell cast within your affinity will simply be better.”
“And this is going to tell us what mine are?”
“That is exactly what this codex is for.” Elena looked to Sierra and with a single gesture the girl unrolled the final item.
It was a square leather mat a few feet in width. Crafted out of a dark leather, it was intricately inked with a series of lines, circles, words and icons. Alarion instantly recognized it as the same general design that Sierra had scrawled in her notebook. This one was simply of a much higher quality.
image [https://i.imgur.com/7YjC3qk.png]
“As Sierra told you, Affinities are divided up by axis. Each axis is named. The vertical axis is called Creation and covers Force, Life, Nature, Decay, Death and Void. The horizontal is Primal and includes Emotion, Illusion, Time, Gravity, Enchantment and Mind. The downward diagonal is Esoteric and includes Sound, Moon, Water, Fire, Sun and Sight. Finally you have Arcane which includes Body, Reality, Earth, Air, Dimension and Spirit.”
“They are also commonly known by another set of names,” ZEKE said to Elena’s clear dismay. “Creation, Challenge, Riddle and Magic. After the four mothers.”
“You do realize those names are frowned upon by the Houses?” Elena asked dryly.
“I’m only informing the young Master insofar as he may encounter the terms in the wild,” ZEKE replied in a tone that was far too chipper for her liking. “Alarion, you see the space where all lines intersect? Place your hand there and pulse mana into the guide. It should do the rest.”
The boy tilted his head. “Pulse my mana?”
“Did you directly bind any of your items?” When Alarion shook his head, ZEKE instead tapped the inside of his own wrist, mirroring where Alarion normally kept his Shifting Greatsword stored. “Think of how you shift your greatsword, only more involved.”
Alarion looked to the leather laid out on the ground before him, then at the expectant faces surrounding him. A slight sense of stage fright gripped at his stomach, but he pushed it away and kneeled down next to the item. He placed his hand at its center, closed his eyes and pushed.
Nothing.
Learning to use his greatsword had been incredibly intuitive. The sword had an active hunger for mana, which meant that he wasn’t expected to push mana into it, so much as to lift the barriers and let it flow naturally on its own. When the sword had gained its second ability, the only change had been that there were two connections that he had to manage.
This was different. There was no pulling sensation. For all Alarion was able to tell, the dark leather before him was just that, regular leather scrawled over in silver ink.
“Ahh!” He grunted, his abdomen clenched, his arm tensed.
“No, no.” ZEKE swatted at him with the back of one hand. “Channeling should never be a task more difficult than breathing. You need to relax and let it happen.”
Alarion nodded and tried again.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
After a few seconds he peeked out through one half opened eyelid. The same faces looked down at him expectantly, and the young man winced visibly. His body tensed once again as he tried to force the issue, which earned him another swipe from ZEKE and a sigh from Elena.
“It is fine Alarion,” She said in a voice that made it sound like anything but. “Provincial awakened often struggle with such things. You do not have the depth of education or the familial background. We have other tools we can practice on first.”
With that the elegant dark haired woman stooped to pluck the candlestick from the ground. It lit the moment her gloved hands touched its silver surface, then the flames died the moment she handed it to him.
“This is what is known as an everwick candle. They used to be used for household lighting, but these days they mostly serve as an excellent beginner training aid. The wick will light with even the slightest drop of MP. Not even a full point.” She reached out and tapped the side with her finger, causing the candle to light and burn out in the space of half a second. “All you have to do is relax. Focus on the silver in your hands, and flow your mana into the item.”
Alarion looked at the candle with a frown. He’d felt a jolt through the silver when Elena had touched it, but without her it felt inert. It was dull, lifeless metal and he was being asked to bring it to life. “I’ll try.”
He leaned back on his ankles, his eyes fluttering closed again as he focused on the cool metal beneath his fingertips. He felt the indentations where a craftsman had stamped their workers mark into its base and the slight dent on its left side. He felt the repeating pattern that circled the lip, but he felt no magic within it.
For minutes they sat in silence, watching him. Every so often he peeked through his lashes and saw as they studied him, or exchanged confused glances with one another.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Something was wrong.
“I’m not sure I’m doing it right.” He admitted at last.
“Take your time, Alarion.” ZEKE insisted. “We are in no rush.
—
An hour later, the mood had shifted somewhat.
Frustration was in the air. None of them were angry at him, at least not openly, but they were confused and upset. This was, as Alarion had come to learn, the lowest of bars. A primed item, on an island suffused with ambient magical energy. They’d skipped down half a dozen steps, to the easiest training aid imaginable, in order to help him build confidence.
And still he’d failed.
He’d managed to light the candle only once, and that one by accident. The wick itself, as it turned out, was even more sensitive than the candlestick. It had sapped his mana against his will and immediately burst into considerable flames. Apparently that was not supposed to happen, indeed ZEKE seemed perplexed by the fact that it had. But fortunately, they had brought spares.
They spoke now in hushed, animated whispers. He might have heard them, had he strained his ears. But he didn’t want to hear them. Watching ZEKE and Elena bicker with harsh gestures, some of which pointed back toward him, brought up foul memories he preferred to leave buried.
But they weren’t the only ones losing their patience.
“What is taking so long?” Dar growled as he stormed into their conversation without an ounce of tact. The bearded man had a hand around his wrist, massaging it as he walked, his free hand opening and closing in careful, measured movements.
“The young master is… struggling.” ZEKE was quick to answer.
Dar looked to Alarion and squinted. “It is an Affinity test. Boy. Light the candle.”
Alarion closed his eyes tightly, focused… and nothing happened.
“Is he…” The elder man was rolling his eyes as Alarion opened his. “A savant. That is what you said, machine? What kind of savant struggles to-”
“Husband.” Elena said sharply.
“My bones ache being here and this one can not find the magic to light an everwick?” Dar shot back, voice brimming with rebuke equal to her own.
“He lit one.” Sierra snapped, surprising Alarion with her defense.
“Oh?” Dar shot Sierra a withering look, then turned to Alarion. “Show me.”
Alarion glanced to Elena and Dar immediately spoke again, his voice just shy of a shout. “Do not look at her. I am instructing you, not her. Light the candle.”
With a frown, Alarion lifted his thumb and forefinger to the wick. He tapped it as though he were putting it out, and the candle immediately burst into an enormous peaked flame double its own height. Alarion threw it away, ignoring the burn notifications and precipitous loss of MP as he focused on Dar.
The man’s scowl had somehow deepened. He looked to ZEKE then to Elena expectantly, but neither had any insight to give. “None of you have any insight? Well, boy, you are not the only one getting a lesson today.”
Dar paced toward Alarion and the leather Affinity map still laid out on the ground before him. He picked it up and touched it, letting the boy watch as some of the lines began to grow silver. They illuminated Air and Decay, then dimmed as the man withdrew his hand.
“That is what should happen when you invest mana into this device. You are unable to do this, but you can use your magic items, and you can destroy an everwick. The question is, why?”
Alarion had no more answer now that he had an hour ago, but the question proved entirely rhetorical as the Governor shoved an open palm into his face and said, “Gale Slash.”
The attack struck him like nothing before. He was immediately blown off his feet and sent skipping across the stone tiles, then the harsh rocks beyond them. A stun warning flashed in his vision, a health warning coming alongside it as the raging wind cut deep gashes into his chest, arms and legs.
When he finally rolled to a stop, he heard screaming. Elena was furious. ZEKE was marching toward the Governor an accusatory arm outstretched, but Dar’s voice rose above all the others. “Why is he not naked?”
The absurdity of the question did nothing to quiet down the observers. Nor did it stop Alarion’s counter attack.
His greatsword raced through the air in its smaller form, aimed unerringly at Dar’s throat. The man caught it with the sort of contempt that one usually reserved for an annoying insect, then turned it in his hands, holding it as he grinned at Alarion.
Bssht.
Alarion shifted into close quarters and attempted to wrench the weapon from Dar’s hand, only to fall short. The governor was holding it between his thumb, index and middle fingers, but the grip could have been a vice for how firm it was. Even with all of his body weight devoted to wrenching the weapon out of Dar’s hand, Alarion could not so much as move the limb.
Not that he had much of a chance. Dar had given him just long enough to try before he grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground.
“No one is answering. Why is he not naked?!”
Bssht.
Alarion flickered again, appearing in a sort of handstand upon the hilt of his weapon. It was an awkward position, but he made the best of it, swiveling about to land a vicious kick to the side of Dar’s head. He might as well have kicked the manor house wall, for all the good it did.
Dar got hold of him again, and Alarion flickered once more. For the last time. He appeared on the ground, Dar’s boot firmly on his wrist and the sword beneath. The older man grabbed a handful of Alarion’s white hair and jerked his head back, forcing him to look at the path of destruction that the [Gale Slash] had left in its wake.
Tiles had been shredded, stone obliterated, the very earth itself torn up into a concave path that tracked the line of the attack. The damage was devastating and absolute. It was a wonder that he had survived it.
And it was impossible that his clothes should have.
“There it is.” Dar said with a note of approval. He shot a warning look to ZEKE as the Steelborn approached to intercede, and gestured to the pathway of destruction. “That was stone and reinforced tile. This is silk and cotton. How did it survive my attack.”
“Because an Awakened physique isn’t just ‘tougher skin’,” Sierra answered, her voice frightened but resolute. “Our bodies are naturally enhanced by the magic within them, and we extend that magic to things we hold or wear.”
“Very good.” Dar jerked Alarion’s arm roughly to stop him from struggling, eliciting a stiffed grunt of pain in the process. “The same reason an Imperial Greatsword is an Awakened only weapon, it is not just heavy, it is so heavy that it would snap under its own weight without reinforcement.”
Elena’s tone was seething. “What is your point, Dar?”
“My point is that he nearly blew up the everwick at a touch. It drained almost all of your MP, did it not?”
Alarion clenched his jaw defiantly, then let out a sharp yelp as Dar wrenched his arm again. “Yes!”
“And his clothes are barely damaged. Even with his vitality, that is unusual. Unless he has a deformity in his Mana Circuits. Which you do, right boy? I understand it is not uncommon for Awakened that undergo starvation. Your body eats its fat and other stores of energy, and when you get hungry you cannibalize your own potential.”
You have recognized your flaw!
> Splintered Mana Circuits
>
> Description: Whether through birth defect, attack or neglect, your Mana Circuits have been permanently damaged beyond repair. While they still function in part, your ability to project your mana and restrict its flow has been forever stripped from you.
>
> Requirements: None.
>
> Type: Flaw, Passive.
>
> Severity: Major
>
> Effect: You are incapable of voluntarily externalizing your mana. You are unable to voluntarily use any skills, items or spells that require MP to be channeled to an external source. Items, skills or spells that automatically drain mana will drain the maximum amount possible on contact.
“Sad to see the genius child turn out to be somewhat of a dud, but there is nothing for it.” Dar mused as he dragged Alarion the short distance to the leather codex. “This should still work. Give me your arm, don’t make me take it.”
Alarion forced his body to relax as Dar pushed his hand down onto the center of the Affinity map. At first, there was nothing, then the man pushed harder, digging his knuckles into the back of Alarion’s own until it hurt. Silver light began to leak out from beneath their combined hands, flowing down on four lines.
Time.
Sun.
Body.
Void.
“There. I do not match any of these, and since I will be sleeping alone tonight regardless, I will leave you in her most capable hands.”
Dar stood, but Alarion did not. He lingered in the midst of three all too familiar feelings. Pain. Despair.
And helplessness.