When ZEKE had said that he had prepared a few other items for them to practice on, Alarion had imagined three or four, perhaps five at the outside.
The actual number was forty-three.
The spells within ran the breadth of basic sorcery. One was a wand that could slow time in a given area, another a ring that allowed Alarion to create and direct a source of light. He learned to create bolts of fire and freezing winds, to defend his mind from mental attack and to drop an enemy into an unanticipated pit. Most importantly, over the course of a month he learned the true value of an affinity.
Alarion took to spells within his affinity, such as [Void Slash] like a fish to water. Even with the limitations of his flaw, he was proficient with most within a day. Spells that fell outside his specialization were harder. It took him three days of intense focus to create even a passable illusion, and nearly as long to take command of what should have been a simple [Vine Trip] spell. Yet those struggles paled in comparison to his one and only attempt at oppositional gravity magic.
Owing to his stubbornness he’d only been permitted two days to spend in the attempt. Learning what not to do was important, but dwelling upon it was not, as ZEKE had said. In the end, he spent only one.
It wasn’t a challenge. Battling in Elena’s [Void Arena] had been a challenge. Sparring with ZEKE or Sierra was a challenge, because there was a chance of success, however infinitesimal. Trying to grasp Gravity magic was like trying to fist fight the Governor. Like trying to beat back winter.
It was nonsensical, paradoxical. Energies that flowed so freely to his affinities balked at the suggestion that they be used for something so contrary their nature. What was once a smooth flow of mana became a chaotic mess that shattered the flimsy structure of the spell formula over and over again. It was so pointless, so counter-productive, that even Alarion was willing to take no for an answer.
After it had blown up in his face a few dozen times.
In the end, they decided on four spells for Alarion’s repertoire along with trinkets containing the basic clean, mend and light cantrips most mages knew by heart:
Void Slash
Requirements: None
Affinity: Void
Type: Projectile
Cost: 75 MP
Range: 100 Yards
Duration: Instant
Effects: Creates a vacuum blade of up to three feet in length that strikes along a predetermined path.
—
Mend Body
Requirements: None
Affinity: Body
Type: Healing/Channeled
Cost: 10 MP/Sec
Range: Self
Duration: Channeled
Effects: Heal a slight amount of HP per second while channeling this spell.
—
Quicken
Requirements: None
Affinity: Time
Type: Enhancement
Cost: 5 MP/Sec
Range: Self
Duration: Channeled + 5 seconds
Effects: Raise AGI a slight amount while autonomously channeling this spell.
—
Solar Burst
Requirements: None
Affinity: Sun
Type: Burst
Cost: 180 MP and 100 HP
Range: 15 Yards
Duration: Instant
Effects: Burns a portion of the caster’s life force to create a spherical burst, reminiscent of the sun. This spell deals major damage, reducing with distance from the epicenter. This spell deals substantial additional damage to fiends.
Each spell was considered a basic staple of its respective affinity, the sort of spells any mage specializing in that affinity would be expected to learn as part of their apprenticeship. Of the four, only [Mend Body] and [Quicken] were spells that Alarion could claim he truly knew, with the other two contained within a dagger and a broach respectively.
Learning spells directly hadn’t proven difficult, so much as time consuming. Spell formulas, such as the formula for [Void Slash] contained within his dagger, were simple to pick up and use, but they offered no real insight into the magic itself. Consequently they were of only moderate value when it came to his ultimate goal of developing a class. There were magi out there focused entirely on the use of external spell formula and magic items, but it was not a path ZEKE wanted Alarion to walk. That meant learning spells, with the caveat that for the time being Alarion could only learn spells that were contained within his body.
Fortunately, teaching Alarion how to channel his mana internally had proven surprisingly painless. Despite the many problems inherent in his flaw, he was able to channel mana within his body as readily as any pupil ZEKE had taught. A few days of visualization practice had been enough, which left only the tedious process of learning the intricate mental exercises and patterns of each new spell.
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The final remaining issue was overspecialization. Most beginner spells that focused on internal channeling were some variant of enhancement magic. Learning too many ran the risk of the System offering him a class specialized in enhancement magic. Not necessarily a bad choice under other circumstances, but ZEKE had his sights set much higher.
It was unlikely that Alarion’s flaw could ever be made into a virtue, but with enough practice, the Steelborn hoped to develop a class that could take advantage of its peculiarities. The System rewarded struggle, and with luck, which Alarion had in abundance, they aimed for something beyond the common [Enhancement Mage]. To obtain such a class, Alarion needed to push against his limits.
Which was what had led to the most recent iteration of what had become a very old argument.
“Why not?” Alarion asked from across an empty table. It was well into the evening, late enough that they spoke mostly by moonlight. Sierra had retired half an hour earlier, and ZEKE had left to do… whatever it was the Steelborn did while the others slept. Only Elena remained to argue over his perpetual request.
“Pick one of an infinite number of reasons,” sighed Elena. “We have not captured the Revenant, for a start.”
“I cou-”
“Even if you were now strong enough to defeat him, which by Sierra’s telling you most certainly are not, you are basing that information of how strong he was when you confronted him over a month ago. Why would you assume he has not improved?”
Alarion’s sullen look could not debate her logic, though it tried its best.
“Even excluding that, you would get little from obliterating most of the fiends on the island. Remember, stress and challenge are keys the System looks at for progression. Your magic is not strong enough to kill more powerful fiends, and the weaker fiends that you can kill would not pose a considerable threat given your physical attributes. If we had a class suppression item, then perhaps-”
“A what?”
“It is a…” Elena gestured meaninglessly with her hand as she struggled to recall a technical definition that would not come. “… thing, usually a collar. They suppress all attributes and skills from a given class, allowing you to gain considerably more experience, especially if there is a gap in Rank.”
Alarion raised his eyebrows. That sounded amazing. “Could we-”
“No,” The older woman scowled. “They are fragile and prohibitively expensive.”
“Ah.”
“You just need some patience. You have over a month before we need to reassess. Plenty of time.”
He nodded glumly. “I know. It is just so slow.”
“I see why Sierra wished to strangle you,” said Elena with a roll of her eyes. “You would think by now you would have some grasp of how fortunate you are. How incredible your progression is compared to the norm.”
“Fortunate.” Alarion said the word like an ugly curse, but he took her meaning all the same. “I understand. I just want to be stronger. To be useful.”
That drew the slightest frown from Elena’s ruby lips. The woman leaned forward in her seat, massaging the thumb of one gloved hand into the palm of the other as she spoke. “Do you know why I took you in? Rather than sending you for induction?”
“My Aptitude?”
“That was the proximate reason, yes. But not the underlying one.” Elena was fixated on her hands as she spoke. “I know what we are Alarion. I have spent years in the Empire’s holdings. I see the reports. I know what happens to the children and the adults I send away to service. I am not naive. We can be wasteful. Cruel. Violent. But we can be good as well. At least, I have to think so.”
Alarion turned away. It felt wrong to look at Elena when she was so vulnerable. It called to mind ugly memories. A sobbing conversation around a kitchen table.
“Some part of me thought ‘Oh, this one I can save’. But I’m not sure if that part of me was what won in the end, or if it was the part that thought ‘this one I can use’.” Elena’s voice was wry and bitter as she continued. “Whatever my reasons then, I value you now, Alarion. I will do everything in my power to make sure you remain safe. That you can grow, whether you are useful or not.”
There was a pause as Alarion consumed her words. When he spoke at last it was with a quiet voice, as timid as she had ever heard him. “Then why did you not stop him?”
“What are you-” Elena started to ask before the realization struck her too late. Alarion was already up, pacing away from her, though she caught up to him quickly. “Alarion, stop.”
He pulled once on his wrist, but her grip was tight and strong. He wasn’t going anywhere unless she let him, but it didn’t mean he had to look at her.
“I am sorry, about my husband. I am sorry that it took me this long to say that I am sorry. That sort of instruction can be… typical.” Elena’s words swam in sympathy, or guilt, as she held him at arms length. “He means well in his heart, I think. I have seen him be good and generous and kind. But like all of us he can be wasteful and cruel and violent.”
“Am I going to be?”
“No, my dear boy. No.” Elena could take no more as she closed the distance and pushed an embrace along the young man’s shoulders. He stood stoic for several heartbeats, then sagged as a slight shudder ran through him. “Mothers forgive me if I let you turn out like him.”
They stood there until Alarion’s tears stopped, until his breaths were no longer wracked with sorrow. Only then did Elena release him, though she kept a hand on his shoulder.
“Tomorrow-”
“I can!?” Alarion blurted out in surprise.
“No.” Elena scowled even though it could not fully cover her laughter. “I have one option I was holding in reserve. ZEKE will not like it. He will say it is too early, that we should wait until after your induction. Listen to him, consider his words, and make a decision on your own training.”
“What sort of option?”
She answered his question with another question. “What do you know of Lal Viren?”