Jeb debated whether or not it was worth going back. He ultimately decided that it somewhat defeated the purpose of visiting the Bard if he did not at least ask. Back inside the Inn, the Bard still hadn’t left the table.
“I assumed you had more to ask me than just when your lute would be Bound,” he said.
“I do actually have more questions about that,” Jeb replied.
The Bard gestured for him to continue. “Can I continue to Enforce it with Elementally Attuned Mana after it’s Bound to me? I really like the effects that the different Elements give the sound, and I am curious if there’s a limit to how intense the effects can be.”
“I have a number of questions that I will be asking you after you have Bound it, but yes. You can continue to Enforce your lute. If anything, it should be far easier to Enforce it once it is Bound.”
“That somewhat segues into my next question,” Jeb said a little more hesitantly. “Can I Enforce myself?”
The Bard mulled the question for a few moments. It seemed like he was deciding between the truth and a helpful lie. Ultimately, Jeb could tell that he settled on the truth.
“You probably can,” the Bard said meaningfully, “but I certainly would not, especially given your age and Tier.” In no way was Jeb expecting that answer, and it must have shown, because the Bard continued, “you are aware that your body improves with each Tier, correct?”
Jeb nodded.
“For many in higher Tiers, the gap of time between Tiers is too long, and they need to prolong their youth in some way. Enforcing your own body is a common enough method for doing so, especially if you have a Class that is capable of it.” Seeing that Jeb was about to ask what Classes were capable, the Bard quickly added, “more or less every Bard Class and a good number of Enchanting Classes are capable of it. Rumors say that Druids were also able to Enforce, though there is of course no way to verify those claims within the Republic.”
That was a little confusing to Jeb. Why was it that the most and least restricted forms of Magic could Enforce, but Glyphs could not? He apparently had asked the question out loud, because the Bard grimaced.
“Which book did you read that described the forms of Magic by how restricted they were?” he asked with a sigh.
“It was in an Enchanting Primer that the Librarian gave me,” Jeb replied, “is there something wrong with that?”
“Not explicitly, no,” the Bard replied, “especially in the Upper Tiers, Magic Users within each of the different Schools of Magic almost always use their Magic that way. Since learning is almost always done top down, that does end up resulting in the curricula we have now. I want you to consider, though, did you use the Wand of Fireballs Schematic to make a Wand of Fireballs?”
“Yes?” Jeb responded, a little confused.
“Really? You produced a weapon that produced distinct orbs of Fire with the explicit goal of harming others?”
“What? No!”
“What did you use the Wand of Fireballs for?”
“I made my mother a firestarter,” Jeb said, beginning to see what the Bard was getting at.
“Exactly,” the Bard said, “even though the Wand is only capable of making Fireballs, that does not mean that it only has a single use. Conversely, there are Bardic Songs that can only be used to destroy.”
Just like that, Jeb had lost the thread of the conversation. Seeing his confusion, the Bard stopped for a second and recollected his thoughts. “The way that the Enchanting Primer you read distinguishes how restricted Magics are based on the variety of outputs that can be produced from the same input. Another, equally valid way to define the question is how many inputs can produce the same output. In that regard, Enchanting is far more flexible than Bardic Magic, because anyone can use a Wand that you have produced, while only you can Sing Lute Enforcement to Bind a lute to yourself.”
“What does that have to do with the Wand of Fireballs being used to harm people?” Jeb asked.
“That was me attempting to explain the concept another way. It is harder to put in the same context as the input output analogy, but I can try if you would like.”
“No, I think I understand,” Jeb said, “but why does it matter?”
That was apparently the wrong question to ask. The Bard’s spirit clearly dimmed, and he slumped in his chair. “What does it matter indeed?”
The two sat in silence for a few moments, until the Bard spoke again. “Do you know the standard way that low Tier Bards are taught?” he asked in what seemed to be a non sequitur. Seeing Jeb’s head shake, he continued, “you would have been taught at least five different instruments. After that, you would have learned seven or eight simple Bardic Songs. By that point, you would be around Fifth Tier. Then and only then, you would begin to Bind your instrument of choice. Of course, many delay until Seventh Tier, when using an instrument for a Song is seen as gauche. At that point, Binding an instrument is a major setback in terms of a Bard’s progress. And yet, it is essential to have a Bound instrument in order to Sing most Songs that a Tier Nine or Ten Bard would use.”
“That’s not how you taught me,” Jeb said. “Is that because I’m not a Bard?”
“In part, yes. If you were a First Tier Bard to be, I am certain that a Seventh or Eighth Tier Bard would have been notified and you would have been instructed in the standard fashion.”
Jeb cocked his head. “Why wouldn’t you have taught me? Weren’t you in town already when I got my Class?”
The Bard considered that question. “The Librarian could have pointed you to me, that is true. If that had happened, I would have likely trained you in a very similar fashion to the method I am using with you right now. Of course, it would have happened more quickly, because it presumably would have been your primary focus, rather than a dalliance.”
Jeb nodded at that, for all that he wasn’t entirely sure he agreed. After all, even as a Least Mud Mage, he absolutely did not spend the majority of his time working on Mud Magic. That did bring up an interesting question, though.
“So why would you have taught me differently?” he asked.
The Bard seemed impressed, though Jeb didn’t know why. “There are a few reasons. Two stand out in particular, though. First, It feels horribly wrong to me that the lower Tiers of a Bard’s life are spent entirely learning by rote and performing Songs with no idea how they connect to each other. When you compound this with the fact that Higher Tier Bards are expected to be producing new Songs and weaving tapestries with their Music, the system we use to teach feels fundamentally broken to me.”
“And the other reason?” Jeb said, hoping to preempt the rant he could tell was coming.
The Bard smiled bitterly. “I already hinted at it, but the fact that Binding an instrument is generally reserved for after Fifth Tier, despite the fact that Bards who Bind before Third Tier do not hit the Ninth Tier Wall, feels like an act of active malice more than simple stupidity.”
“What’s the Ninth Tier Wall?” Jeb asked, confused.
The Bard stared at Jeb for a long moment. “If no one else has told you about it yet, I do not believe that it is my place to do so,” he finally said.
That was hardly a satisfactory answer, though Jeb had no way to dispute it. “Well, it looks as though it is time for me to play my next set,” the Bard said, clearly signaling that he was finished with the conversation.
Jeb made his way back to the farm, considering what the Bard and he had discussed. When he reached the farm, he saw that his Mana was nearly full. “Well, I guess I don’t have much else to do today,” he reasoned, making his way back to the hive.
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It was a struggle to decide which Mana he wanted to Enforce his lute with. On a whim, he tried asking the hive which they thought he should do. To his surprise, the hive did not hesitate.
All of the Air Attuned bees came rushing out of the hive and circled him. The air grew thick with Air Mana, and Jeb almost felt like a breeze was beginning to stir. Taking the hint, Jeb opened his case and began the Song.
It was normally a slight struggle to push the thread of his Song through an Attuning Glyph. With the bees swarming him, though, his thread immediately went through the pattern and started pushing the transparent white Mana he associated with Air into the lute.
As the Mana kept flowing into the lute, Jeb felt the Song grow louder and louder. The small part of his mind not focused on playing noticed that what few birds had been flying nearby suddenly left. That same part also saw that his Mana was draining far more slowly than normal.
The feeling of connection to his lute only grew. As the Song kept pouring from him into it, he felt the barrier between them disappearing. Even as that barrier fell, though, Jeb noticed another one falling with it.
The bees circling around him, which had only minutes before been visible as points of dense Air Mana to his Magical sight were no longer distinct to him. Now, he saw how they were all just agents of the hive. More than that, though, Jeb saw how connected he was to the hive.
Even as his Mana poured into the lute, Jeb saw the Mana in the lute reach towards him. He knew on some fundamental level that if that thread reached him, he would be bound. At the same time, there were strands of Mana reaching out from him to the hive and bees within it. The hive was reaching towards him even as it reached towards the lute. To his surprise, the lute was even reaching out towards the hive.
As Jeb debated about the wisdom of letting the strands connect, the choice was taken from him. The Mana in his core finally emptied out, and the Magic which was reaching to connect the three distinct beings broke. No longer could Jeb see the world as a hive of bees. No longer did he know how to sing out like a lute.
He tried to stand. The motion felt strange. Jeb had, just for a moment, connected his mind with a number of other beings. Bees may have limbs, but they id not move in any way similarly to him. Shaking the feeling away, Jeb stood.
As he went to leave, he turned and bowed to the hive. “Thank you for sharing your Mana,” he said. The bees buzzed in confused reply. As Jeb watched the dance, he understood the confusion.
The bees saw him as, though not the queen of their hive, still someone whose ends must be pursued. As a result, they would help him as they were able.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 6457/100
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Total Statistic Load: 352 Physical Load: 127 Strength: 29 Dexterity: 22 Endurance: 31 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 225 Intelligence: 47 Willpower: 52 Magic Affinity: 55 Mana Depth: 37 Charisma: 34
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Mana: 1070
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Glyph Attunement: 26 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)