Progress:

Journeyman Tier 2

Task List:

1. Rend the sky with lightning! Burn the forests with flame! Summon the ocean depths with your will! Become a war mage candidate!

2. Feels good being alive, doesn’t it? You should keep it that way. Learn Mana Manipulation Advanced Technique and fake a spell model

3. Hey, you finally improved! Don’t get lazy…it’s bad for your health. Learn Mana Ball Technique

4. There be treasure! Polish those spelunking skills and explore the undercity

5. Friends don’t let friends become sorcerers. Train another pure mage to mana tier 3. Oh, and choose wisely or you’ll die

6. Just had to play with fire, didn’t you? Hope the priest you befriended was beautiful and rich and stupid. Write “I will not touch priests” 500 times. (Complete)

7. You’re finally taking your first steps into pure magic. Learn Magic Kinesis Technique

Zeek hummed happily while he read over the page. He’d gotten a little windfall for learning the mana therapy technique—Magic Kinesis, which was basically just telekinesis, but using the strands of mana he could make with his body now. He’d begun learning the technique over the weekend with the archmages, who were fascinated by it.

None of them mentioned his frequent bathroom trips to read the book; he blamed it on an excitable bladder. It was helpful to have experienced magic users to talk with, especially a research freak like Turgi. When he started practicing, he explained what he was doing while the earl sat next to him, enraptured.

He could now form a line of mana outside his body and manipulate it like a limb. If he curled it around an object, he could lift it. Anything within a foot of his body was fair game, although it took practice. It felt like trying to lift something heavy, and he’d feel strain as the objects got bigger. The longer he practiced, the easier it became, just like building muscle.

Turgi instantly came up with a host of exercises for Zeek to try. He speculated that the stronger Zeek’s mana core became, the farther he could reach and the heavier the object he could move. Irith thought he might be able to use it to scale walls, in a makeshift version of hovering, but Zeek was nowhere near that level of ability yet. Antone said the combat applications were limitless. With enough practice, he could use a sword to fight from a distance or catch knives and arrows. He forced Zeek to spar with him for hours to improve his swordsmanship while Irith threw sticks at him to see if he could catch them.

Sirius whined every time the archmages disappeared with Zeek and Penny, but Lady Yenson kept him busy running errands unless it was meal time. The young noble was stupidly trusting, so he never once questioned what was going on. Penny told him they were practicing magic, and that was true to a degree. Irith had the most unique set of spell models, and the highest skill in learning new ones. She couldn’t match the power of Turgi’s fire, or the sheer versatility of Antone’s style, but she made up for it in volume. Penny was well on track to learn her first spell model in a month or so using the exercises she’d learned.

The archmages, despite their zeal for pure magic, didn’t push Penny to become one. They’d been around long enough to see plenty of mages settle down comfortably in Lem, and they respected her choice. Well, Turgi did make comments now and again, but he was otherwise goodhearted about it. Zeek didn’t press either; he understood a life of danger wasn’t for everyone.

That left him with a task to complete that would be harder than he thought. He proposed teaching Sirius, which Turgi agreed to without hesitation. The shouting match between him and Lady Yenson was audible from the other side of the mansion later that night. The discussion was tabled till a future date. The weekend was otherwise peaceful and productive, and Zeek was loathe to begin pointless classes the next day.

The archmages agreed to meet again in a month to discuss progress. Antone and Turgi would focus on finding another way into the undercity, with Zeek’s help when available. Irith had business outside the city and had to travel for a few weeks, but she promised to arrange for Zeek’s war mage classes before she left. He just had to “learn” a spell model to be accepted.

He and Penny had spent the better part of the following week practicing between classes. Zeek, being a mage, was able to practice dusk till dawn. Penny had to take frequent breaks, something she grumbled about incessantly. When her mana ran out each day, she’d scurry off to meet with a few friends she’d made between classes. Zeek admired her persistence in having a normal life. But the unspoken words between them said she wasn’t sure what she wanted yet.

As for Zeek’s practice, it was confusing. He had no idea how the spell model actually worked, and neither did any of the archmages, librarians, or teachers. He remembered Archi talking about rediscovered affinities, and realized what an understatement that had been. There hadn’t been any new spells in centuries. Sure, an expedition or two had found new models when exploring ruins or dungeons. But no one had ever invented a spell in recent memory; spell creation was considered a lost art. The higher-level war spells were heavily guarded, and supposedly every country had a few the others didn’t.

Hence why Zeek found himself sitting on his bed staring at the book-sized spell model with eyebrows curved inwards and arms crossed. He used mana to levitate the model over his head as he looked through the lines again. It was a circular shape with a few channels jutting inwards at odd angles that concluded in a central point. It almost looked like someone had traced a solution to a maze, with the entrance on the edge and the exit centered on the manastone.

He ran a bit of his mana over the lines, tracing the shape perfectly. If someone looked with mana vision, they’d see a line of blue light extending out of his chest and coiling around the stone, then a strange pattern in the center. The exit point had a bit of mana sticking up but no stone ball. He resisted the temptation to just shove mana into the model and use it normally, since the book had warned him against that.

Zeek did notice that his mana was just barely visible outside his body , but it was fading as he improved. He suspected when his core was fast enough, any mana he used would be invisible to the naked eye. The book implied it had something to do with purity and resonance, but there wasn’t further explanation available yet. He floated the manastone onto his desk and lay back in the bed, extending a strand of mana above his face.

He went through his practice of trying to form a ball, but he was failing. He first tried clenching the end of the mana into a fist, but the ball he formed was misshapen. He could toss it at the wall, and a light thunk would sound out, but hardly any damage. He summoned the book and mentally flipped through the pages on the mana ball technique. He figured if he learned that first, the rest would become clear.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

As usual, the book made it clear he wasn’t being given everything. There were techniques to form strange shapes and circuits, similar to spell models, but they were for full mages and beyond. The journeyman tier, it seemed, was about gaining mastery over mana near his body, just as basic mana tier was designed for internal control.

While idly playing with the strand of mana, he started turning it slowly clockwise to examine the different sides. It was so uniform he couldn’t see any distinction between front and back.

He huffed and spun the end of the strand as quick as possible, when he noticed it expanded slightly. He tapped his chin and thought back to the fight with Irith’s shadespawn. Somehow, when he was angry, he’d been able to create mana shockwaves. But that moment was unique, since his core was spinning so quickly he was warping the air around him as mana drained from his body. He hadn’t been able to replicate the technique, and the book hadn’t given him any tips to do so.

Rotation seemed to be a big part of making his mana stronger, but he didn’t understand why. He considered it while trying to spin the strand of mana faster and faster, and his eyes widened as it began to expand into a sphere. He suddenly remembered being a kid and sitting on a swing near Granny’s house. She’d taken a few pieces of rope and a board and tied them to the branch of a massive oak in a nearby field. He liked to go there in the hot part of the day and swing.

She’d push him and chatter as he pretended to fly with his arms outstretched. When he got older, he still went to the swing now and again. The breeze was soothing during the Numeran summer heat. Once he tried to swing so fast he’d looped over the branch, which was a stupid idea in retrospect. He’d sprained his ankle and spent the next week limping around with Granny while she collected herbs and chastised him. Maybe mana was like the swing? If you spun it fast enough, maybe a big circle would form.

A few days later he confirmed his theory as he held a smooth blue orb in front of Penny. ”I did it!” he shouted.

She looked up from her spell model and gasped. “That’s amazing! Is that stone ball?”

“No, this is a ball of pure mana. I think I’ll be able to learn stone ball soon, though.”

“The earl will love this. Are you going to see him this weekend?”

“Yep, Antone’s supposed to come by too. What about you?”

She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. “I think so. Sirius promised to help me with the spell exercises.”

Zeek grinned. “You mean you aren’t interested in the undercity stuff?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to pester me like the earl now?” She frowned.

Zeek shook his head. “Not if it bothers you. But aren’t you at least a bit interested in what’s down there?”

“If it wasn’t so dangerous, I’d be excited. I don’t want you getting hurt chasing ghosts,” she replied.

Zeek winked. “Penny, I’d almost think you’d become my friend. What will the villagers think?”

She giggled. “I’ll deny everything. They’ll definitely believe me over you.” Zeek rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back. “You think you’ll find that adventurer wife you want in the sewers?” she teased.

“Maybe undead girls are pretty? I’ve never met one before,” he replied.

“Oh, now she has to be a pretty wife too? Getting high and mighty as a big mage.”

“I feel like I’ve outgrown the village girls after all,“ Zeek said a loud, exaggerated sigh. Penny grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at him. Zeek caught it with his mana and tossed it back into her face while laughing.

“That’s so unfair you can do that,“ she mumbled while laughing back.

Zeek shrugged. “Shame you don’t have a great friend who’d be happy to teach you.” Penny ignored him and threw the pillow back, and Zeek let it hit him, grinning.

She stood up and smoothed the wrinkles on her robe. “I’m out of mana for today, let’s go eat.” Zeek set the pillow back on his bed and followed her to the dining hall. They ran into Sirius as they reached the bottom floor, he was at the first step when he saw them and started waving.

“There you are! I was just coming to find you both.”

“Hey Sirius, what’s going on?” Penny asked.

Sirius motioned for them to follow while talking over his shoulder. “A few of the war mage candidates are having an early semester social event this evening. I completely forgot until class today. I want you both to come as my guests.”

Penny started running her hands down her hair. “What’s the dress code? I need to get changed.”

Sirius waved his hands. “Don’t worry. Everyone will wear school robes.” Penny relaxed since she was wearing the finely tailored one Sirius had bought for her.

They followed the young noble as he led them into the city. It was dusk now and the residents were busy lighting lanterns and candles. Zeek and Penny couldn’t help but look into each alley they passed, recalling their fight a few weeks ago. Penny nearly jumped when a fat rat scurried out of a broken crate and into the darkness. Zeek caught her before she fell as Sirius hurried onward. He was rambling about the participants in tonight’s festivities and the long tradition of war mage candidate gatherings.

“Are you sure it’s alright we come?” Zeek asked.

“Yes, everyone is allowed to bring friends. Especially if those friends are considering becoming war mages,” Sirius explained.

“How many of you are there?” Penny wondered.

Sirius whispered as he counted on his hands, “Six for now. The number will go up if we get another candidate or two this year.” He stopped abruptly before a shop tucked into a cobbled side street. Zeek could see crystal lights adorning the walls inside, and the front display window had masks of various kinds. Some were monsters he’d read about as a kid, others were famous figures like the king, queen, or archbishop. The rest fit into a category designated “other.” Penny asked why they were going inside.

“It’s a masked ball. It’s part of the tradition that all war mages are equals. We don’t want nobility or connections to be a factor. So you wear a mask and socialize about school or whatever you have going on,” Sirius explained.

“Isn’t it obvious who’s who then?” Zeek asked.

“Only if you want it to be. Even though there are only six candidates, plenty of alumni and others come by. Most people enjoy the mystery of it,” Sirius answered.

“Wouldn’t stark blonde hair be a dead giveaway?” Zeek pointed out. Sirius gave them his stupid mischievous grin and pointed to the wigs. “It would be. But tonight I will be in disguise. Father will be there too, he told me to get you both masks.”

Zeek waved to the shopkeeper, an old lady who was dozing off behind the counter. He couldn’t tell if she nodded to him or off to sleep, but he started browsing the masks. He could hear Penny asking questions as she browsed a selection with black wigs attached.

“You said others? Who else comes?” Penny wondered.

Sirius was busy tucking his hair under a brown wig and staring into the mirror as he replied, “oh lots of people. Merchants, teachers, current war mages, non-magical nobles. Usually even a few clergy participate in the fun.”

Penny’s and Zeek’s eyes met for a moment, but he shook his head. If it was just a short party, he’d be fine. Besides, he’d just found the perfect mask for the occasion. It was an onyx mask with a row of sharp fangs painted over the mouth. The teeth pinched into a wicked sneer and white cloth covered the eyeholes, obscuring view of his irises.

“What’s this one based on?” he asked the old shopkeeper. She adjusted her glasses and looked while Zeek held it up. “Oh, that’s one of the more unusual ones, sir.”

Sirius turned his head to look and nodded approvingly. “A dastardly choice indeed. You don’t know what that is?” Zeek shook his head.

Sirius chuckled. “That’s the devil.”