Collapsing onto her bed, Amy let out a strained sigh into her bedding, finally back at the inn after a long day out. In the end she had spent longer than she would've liked at Janice's shop, making sure the hawks were all settled in before leaving, only extended after talking with Beatrice for a bit. As she found out, she was a regular there herself, helping around sometimes on days like this one where she was free. They all seemed nice, Amy thought, leaning her head to the side, glancing at the mirror. Matthew was a bit over the top, Janice too, but Beatrice was pretty nice. I'll make sure to bump into her again every now and again when I check on the birds, just to catch up.

Also... Amy focused in on herself, viewing her mana pool in its entirety, taking notice of the edges specifically. It's grown slightly, not enough to make a difference, but enough that I can finally see the changes. Just as I had felt a couple weeks ago, this is me attuning the mana I absorbed during the ascension. I... didn't expect it to be this slow though. When I first noticed the attunement, it seemed like it would be only a few more days until I'd be finished but now, it seems like it'll take forever. I wonder if there's a way to speed that up? Something to ask Felin about them, along with all the other questions I've been forgetting to ask.

Weaving the now familiar Spell into being, Amy summoned Felin into being over her bed, the Familiar looking to her as soon as his form finished building.

"I assume it went well then," He asked happily.

"Yes; met some new friends too, I hope."

"Good. Now.-"

"Actually, can I ask you some things?" Amy said tentatively.

"Of course, my Apprentice."

"Well, there's not that many but they're mainly to do with the mana from Tier ascensions," Amy explained, sitting up to lay against the headboard. "So, if I've got this right, I - for lack of better word - absorb the mana that I gather for my ascensions and assimilate it into me, replacing parts of me. When does the midpoint for this happen then? When does the time come that I'm no longer mostly flesh and blood but Elemental?"

"That step varies from Mage to Mage, for example you are much farther ahead in this aspect for your Tier, but it usually happens either at the very start of Journeyman, or at the Master Tier, approaching Archmage."

"I am?" Amy frowned, "Doesn't feel like I'm much different."

"Ideally, it shouldn't. It's only when you ascend too early that your body rejects the mana it absorbs, causing the dissonance that you expect. Mana portion - what this amount of mana absorbed is officially called - is a very deep topic to summarise in just a short description. It depends on a myriad of different factors, some of which we have no idea of to this very day; or at least to this day, a century ago. The biggest factor determining this mana portion though is the Mage's 'acceptance' towards ascension. Do you remember that feeling before Apprentice, where you felt like you almost had to ascend? That was, in a way, your instinct telling you to ascend now, as such a key time like that wouldn't come again soon. In that instant, you fully embodied the soul of the Mageling, and so when it came to your ascension, you, as you put it, absorbed a lot of mana compared to other Mages of your Tier."

"I do remember you saying that I took in so much, or something along those lines," Amy recalled, her enhanced mind bringing that memory to her in pristine condition, as if it had happened merely a moment ago.

"It's for that reason I got you to rest. Usually, for a typical ascension, Mages experience a... well, there's no better term for this, but some of the younger Mages called it an ascension 'high'. You both feel and are empowered, leading to a feeling of euphoria or enlightenment. And, as I said, this feeling isn't just psychological. You actually are more powerful during this 'high' so much so that it was a tactic used in and well before the Mage Wars."

"It can't be that much of a difference though, right? I hardly felt any different during mine."

"That was mostly because of the unusual circumstances of your ascension. Most people don't absorb so much that they end up fainting immediately afterwards because of their body struggling to adjust to the new mana portion," Felin smiled, a bit of friendly chiding in his voice. "The majority of Mages stay perfectly conscious after the ascension. Just like most things to do with Mage Tiers, the 'strength' of each aspect of a Tier increases absurdly the higher you go. At the Journeyman ascension, the 'high' is powerful enough to allow a beginner Mage to reach into the kind of power only the intermediate stages of the Tier allow. The most commonly used tactic was with the Archmage ascension, with a 'high' that allows you to almost transcend a whole Tier and reach into the peak stages of the Tier. Master Tier Mages were lined up at the front lines and made to ascend, whether they wanted to or not. They were then marched into battle, their strength rivalling that of Mage Lords, all because they chose to ascend just then. Another aspect of these 'highs' that scale with Tier are their duration. At Apprentice, for you, they would last maybe a minute at most, whereas at the Archmage ascension it could last hours, the longest recorded being a little under a day.

"None of the 'highs' are as ridiculous as the Monarch's however which, for a moment, allows the Mage to be as strong as an Ascendant. Strangely enough, or not for that matter, this 'high' lasts barely any longer than an Apprentices."

"Why?" Amy couldn't help but ask, a bit taken aback. "The 'highs' and their lengths don't seem to make sense."

"That's only if you view it from the Mage's perspective," Felin pointed out, flashing a grin. "From the mana's, view it like this. Mana likens onto mana, so in such a strong convergence of mana such as an ascension, the mana only wishes to gather more and be absorbed, granting that Mage more power with their Tier as their own mana portion grows. Of course, the amount truly belonging to that Mage isn't as much as what wants to be absorbed, so it goes away after some time, the Mage not strong enough to contain it all. This culminates at the Archmage ascension, the first time the Mage's mana portion is beyond half, which is the reason it's so ridiculous in the scale and duration of the 'high'. This is all seemingly contradicted though in the Monarch Tier until you realise what truly happens at this Tier's ascension.

"It is truly the last time the body has to fight back. Every ascending Monarch, no matter their 'readiness', experiences extreme dissonance after their Monarch ascension. Their body, if it doesn't fight back, would be utterly consumed in that ascension, the convergence of the mana too strong to properly overcome. If it didn't, then the Mage Tiers would be one Tier shorter, Ascendant being the next stage after Archmage instead. That is why Monarchs gain the strength of Ascendants during their 'high' and also why it's so short. It's artificially shortened by the body's final cry. Or, as it is known as, the 'Last Lament of Flesh and Blood'."

"What if you weren't flesh and blood then," Amy considered, her eyes glazed over in thought. "What if your body knew what was happening to you... and accepted it?"

"We... I... I don't know," Felin admitted, fiddling with his claws. "I only know what happens with Elementals, where the 'Monarch' Tier is simply the brief intermission between Archmage and Ascendant. Of the Elementals I've personally known, they all view it as a Tier still, even though they never truly experience it. They call it a time of establishment, similar to what is experienced by newly ascended Archmages of other species."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Really? There's no one out there whose body is... I don't know, different enough to not experience that Last Lament?" Amy said, a bit flabbergasted. "It seems... strange not to."

"If there is one, then I've never seen it. There are planes out there with worlds unseen, and people who do not know of the Last Lament and experience a true Monarch Tier ascension 'high' could exist, whatever that would entail. But, frankly, if I and no one else I've spoken to over my countless millennia of being alive do not know of a people like that existing, then it's unlikely that there ever has or will be one."

"What about, I don't know, evolution," Amy proposed. "You know of evolution right?"

"Well, yes, of course I do. I saw it," Fein said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, silly question then," Amy said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Then what if it didn't just happen in one direction, either mundane or magical. What if there were enough half-magical half-mundane people in a species' population that, somehow, people began being born half-magical? Then, their body wouldn't give a Last Lament because their 'being' is already inclined to go into a magical direction."

"That is possible, but what gives you the impression that mundane and magical could ever interact in such a way?" Felin asked.

"I mean, it's doing it right now with me, right? And every other Mage too?"

"Then why aren't humans evolving to that half-magical state? Why are they always born mundane?" Felin countered. "Fundamentally, the mundane and magical are opposed. Not in the way of two equal sides, fighting a war. But in that of the oppressed fighting against its overlord. Would you like to guess which is which?"

"I'm... guessing the mundane isn't the oppressor," Amy frowned.

"Indeed. Ultimately, mana is an empire. It conquers planes with its might, and some planes are more deeply subjugated than others. It cannot and will not coexist with something it cannot destroy or integrate. It cannot be reasoned with. It does not agree to diplomacy. It does not compromise. It is a force of nature, not to be reckoned with. It only wants one thing and one thing only. Untamed possibility. The mundane is, in a way, the opposite of that. It is determined. There is no true variation. If everything is known, then all is decided. The magical is what makes it uncertain. And thus, what you propose, existing for more than just an outlier, where someone made it so, is impossible."

"Alright, it was just a thought," Amy said, shaking her head. "We've gotten quite a bit off track anyway. That was supposed to be only one of my questions."

"Ah," Felin realised. "I'll try to keep it on track as well then."

"I guess after that... why am I finding it so hard to progress now?" Amy said before backtracking. "That's the wrong way to phrase it. I mean, just after I ascended I noticed my progress in Apprentice Tier quite well, and it was fast. Now, I notice it barely at all and can't see that much of a day-to-day difference."

"Well, many things contribute to this Tier attunement but a lot of it is to do with following the maxim. The "Mind to Wield" saying. You're close enough now to what is referred to as the equilibrium point too. Things slow down quite a bit after that point, even with following the maxim. After this point, you can actually start using your Apprentice Tier benefits to a greater degree, such as enhancing your mind, without it being too detrimental. So a mix of both of those are probably what's causing that slowness."

"I see," Amy said, nodding her head. "Then, I guess... one last thing."

"Oh?"

"Why aren't people told about the Ascendant Tier earlier? Like when they're an Aspirant, instead of Apprentice."

"Now that's... a trickier question," Felin said, looking down. "A lot of it has to do with tradition, when Masters took on Apprentices and began to teach them the closely guarded secrets of the world around them. Another has to do with... morals. Let's say you told every Mage that they'd become a god if they went down the path of a Mage. What would happen?"

"I imagine there'd be a lot more selfish people, but overall I'd think Mages would be more widespread, ignoring their personalities of course."

"Now, I'm not sure if it is still done nowadays, but back in my day Aspirants were giving a choice to become a Mage or not. If they chose not to, they went one of three ways. They could choose to have any magical potential sapped from them, forever cursing them to a life of mundanity. Others kept that potential but simply continued on with their lives as usual. And some chose to not become a Mage but work closely with the magical world anyway. Does this sound familiar at all?"

"I wasn't offered the choice to completely destroy the potential now," Amy said, "But I could choose not to, yes, although it was heavily discouraged. Mentioned almost offhandedly too, where they listed all sorts of lengthy benefits with taking it."

"Likely due to the Mage Wars being so recent, at least in the timeline of the magical world. They haven't ramped down their wartime regulations yet so are eager for more Mage 'troops'. Now, if you said that these people could become gods, the very people they likely knew of and worshipped on occasion, what would happen? Their choices would become a lot more extreme, I believe. A few would recoil from the choice, bury their head in the sand, and choose the mundane. The majority though would go for it; the life of a Mage. Even if they aren't ready for one. They don't have the knowledge you and other Apprentices do of what mana actually does to a person, so they wouldn't comprehend what it means to become a god in truth. They'd see only the fantasy, not the loss of mortality. This is another reason why Mages are told at Apprentice. It's just before Mages begin approaching the half-way point in mana portion. Close enough that they can see what it's like to be more mana than man, and far enough to turn away, with little to no impact on their regular lives if they do.

"Journeyman is where the first large change happens in lifespan after all. Where previous Tiers only had small increases, which would still be in line with a regular person's lifespan, though on the lengthier end of things. Journeyman is where it crosses firmly into the abnormal for whatever species they may be. Humans, from memory, have a normal lifespan of around 70 or 80, correct?"

"Roughly about that," Amy replied, thoughts churning.

"At Apprentice, where you're at now, I'd say the lifespan goes up to maybe the middle to late 90s. Still a long life, but nothing strange. You can still coexist with the mundane world, and live a normal life. Rather, at Journeyman, the shortest a Mage of this Tier has ever lived is around 120. At that age, any children you'd have had would be dead. You would start seeing you grandchildren grow old, and yet, you'd still be kicking. And it only gets worse."

"How... much worse?" Amy asked carefully.

"An Archmage can expect to live to 200, minimum. It's usually a lot more, but no higher than 300. Finally, at Monarch, this number more than doubles. The shortest lived Monarch I've known lived for around 620 years. The longest I've ever seen almost reached 800. Of course, at Ascendant, you have no lifespan, for you are immortal."

"It is kind of sad... when you put it like that."

"High Tier Mages are lonely, lonely, people. It's merely one part of the price they pay for such power. The other parts are a bit too difficult for you to understand just yet. Only know that, well, you might've already experienced a fraction of it."

"I have?"

"Your Fae affinity. When you become almost entirely mana, what do you think affinities would end up doing to you?"

"They'd... actually affect me. Physically, that is," Amy realised, eyes widening in consternation.

"All of that and more," Felin nodded sadly.

"And there's no way to counteract it?"

"There is, yet it can only help so much and sometimes it makes it worse," Felin said, choosing not to elaborate. Smiling slightly, he continued, "There's no use dwelling on it however. The time to worry is no time soon. Leave it to Monarch you to fret about such things. You do still want to continue on the path of a Mage, right? I don't think I have but I didn't dissuade you, did I?"

"It's... put a strain on things, but I'm still resolute. I'm still a Mage," Amy said gravely.

"Good," Felin grinned, getting up and into the air. "Now that I'm here though - and I do assume you're done with your questions - but I believe I have some things to teach you."

"You do?"

"Oh yes. You chose that path not often chosen, that between Fae and Unknowable. Normally, you'd have made this choice much later in your studies, and maybe even when you are a Journeyman, so all of this might be a bit advanced. However, I believe that you, my dear Apprentice, can handle it just fine."

"What is it?" Amy said eagerly, inching forward.

"Allow me to teach you your first taste of what high Tier Fae magic can do. Or rather, one aspect of it. Word Magick. And I suppose we'll begin with the simplest.

"Let's start with Command."