Waiting for the Linas to return to Lionel’s room feels torturous. I’m almost positive I’ve worn a groove in the floor of the studio from pacing back and forth so furiously. As soon as they show up in the scrying image, I leap into action, grabbing the paired paper bird from Rakesh and blurting out the bad news.
“Get Uttara on his feet and get back here. Hurry! We forgot to create a second variant for Lionel.”
“One thing at a time. Let’s focus on what we can control first,” Melina says.
As usual, her steady demeanor helps me calm down. The surge of anxiety and energy doesn’t completely dissipate, but she shows me a clearer path forward. We can fix this a step at a time if I don’t panic. “All right. I trust you.”
“Maybe this is a dumb question,” Mikko says, rubbing the back of his neck. “But why on earth can’t we just give the potions to Uttara directly? I thought the wand was for Lionel.”
“We could administer the potions to Mender Uttara directly,” Rakesh says in a voice that sounds suspiciously like a lecture from Ezio. “The problem is that they are really only effective on minor wounds and illnesses. Chances are unfortunately quite high that we would accomplish very little, given the way he looks like a husk of his former self.”
“That’s precisely why we made an amplifier instead of reinventing the entire runic array,” Melina chimes in. The explanation seems to mollify Mikko.
Working together, Mikko and Rakesh gently shimmy Lionel over to one end of the bed, creating space so that he’s not caught in the crossfire when they activate the healing wand. In a few moments, they’re ready for their first attempt.
Mikko steps forward with a determined set to his jaw. He takes the glass wand from Melina with minimal resistance, staring her down as though he’s prepared for an argument.
“If anything goes wrong, I have the best chance of surviving. Everyone stay behind me.“
“You better not die,” Avelina huffs.
I lean over the scrying table, staring at my heroic lunkhead of a brother in equal parts admiration and fear. I can’t help but mutter in agreement with Avelina. If he dies, I’ll never forgive myself for not insisting on more rigorous testing. We’re skipping too many steps in the process in our rush to restore both Lionel and Uttara while also keeping our actions hidden.
Creased faces and worried frowns meet my gaze as I glance around the room. I catch myself chewing on the nail of my little finger. Then Mikko chuckles, breaking the tension.
“How do I do this, anyway?”
Melina walks him through the correct sequence for activating the linked arrays, and he dutifully repeats it back to her like a schoolboy reciting his lessons. When she’s satisfied that he understands what he’s doing, she backs up to the corner so he can shield her from the potential side effects.
To his credit, Mikko gets the sequencing right on his first try. He feeds a little mana into the runes, initializing them one at a time, and soon the entire wand glows with power as the odd hybrid of runes and enchantment pulls in ambient mana to power the inscriptions.
Wisps of visible energy curl up from the healing wand like smoke from a campfire. The glimmering lights waver before winking out, almost like a slow motion dance. It’s mesmerizing, but we don’t have time to simply admire the show. As the complex working intensifies, more and more lights flash throughout the room. I’m too far away to sense the flow of mana through my Domain, but the concentration of energy is dense enough now to clearly see with my naked eye through the scrying sensor.
Swelling to a crescendo, the magic brightens and takes hold. The healing potion in the built-in canister in the wand flashes pure white and evaporates into the ether abruptly. I hiss in a sharp breath involuntarily and gawk as a gorgeous wave of amber-gold energy, undulating like a stream of liquid honey glistening in the sunlight, envelops Mender Uttara body.
Color immediately seeps back into his cheeks. His eyes flutter, letting in a little light, and he flinches against the glare of magic on display. His eyes squeeze shut as he groans, but he finally opens them a crack and lifts a hand to shield his gaze. Something seems to catch his full attention, because he sits up sharply, drawing in a deep breath. Still, he blinks owlishly as he adjusts to the bright mana lamps.
“Why is my patient in my bed?”
If he didn’t seem so confused by the situation, his peevish voice would have been funny. As it is, I still find myself giggling, more from nervous relief than anything else.
Uttara glances down at his bandages, a peculiar look on his face, and quirks his brow in the way he usually does when he performs a Sounding. He coughs and lets out a weak laugh of his own. “What do you know? That the knock-off actually improved things for my poor student.”
As my friends whoop and holler, exuberant that Mender Uttara is no longer on the brink of death, a chill runs down my spine. With this invention, we just made powerful enemies. For the first time ever, a non-[Healer] can perform on par with the Menders.
Keeping my morose predictions to myself, I join the rowdy celebration. When the noise finally dies down, Melina explains the situation to the Mender. He looks increasingly alarmed as she matter-of-factly goes over the details of how we copied the Azure Rod, his near-fatal test, and our redesign into the current healing wand that can be operated by anyone, albeit for a heavy cost. Healing potions aren’t cheap, after all.
At last, he holds up a hand to cut her off. “I won’t pretend to understand how any of this is possible, but if your friend is really as powerful as the [Headmistress]’s loyal and aggressive bodyguards seem to think, then I won’t argue it’s impossible. But if we’re going to help Lionel, then I think it’s time we go about this in a more responsible manner.”
Avelina shakes her head, sparks dancing around her as her hair stands on end. “Not a chance we’re going to the Menders. We don’t trust anyone here.”
Defiant to the end, I think fondly.
“We trust you,” Melina corrects gently. “Are you willing to help us?”
“Are you kidding?” Mender Uttara throws his hands into the air in exasperation. “This is the biggest breakthrough of my life! I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Take me to your dangerous friend.”
=+=
I’m ready to forge another layered wand by the time they arrive. I can barely shake the strange sense that we’ve been here before. How many times has the team traveled back and forth, to and from the Menders Campus endlessly as we iterate over and over again? No matter. We’ll do it again in a heartbeat, as many times as it takes until our friend is restored.
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Mender Uttara eyes me warily when he enters the hot shop, as though he’s forgotten how meek I was when we first met. I’ll have to give him a reminder that I’m totally harmless.
Well. I’m harmless toward my friends.
Thanks to our recent practice, Avelina and I fall into a comfortable rhythm, assisting each other with each stage of the process. I bring over a gather of glass and create the foundation of the piece, while she uses her precise and flashy flameworking to shape it into something lovely. As the layers come together, far more quickly than our previous attempt, Rakesh and Melina are sketching out runes and modifiers, although our [Researcher] is significantly more subdued than usual. He still seems drained from using his grand Skill.
All the while, Mender Uttara takes it in, watching the glass fairly dance in our hands. I’m cheating, relying on the absolute control of my Domain to make up what I’m lacking due to my missing hand. It looks like the glass has a mind of its own, molding itself into a finished product that suits its whims.
“Where’s your [Enchanter]?” Mender Uttara asks finally, glancing around the studio with his eyes wide.
He looks so perplexed that I can’t help but chuckle, looking up from the work to offer him a toothy grin. “We need no [Enchanter]. They think too narrowly.”
He snorts, then realizes I’m not making a joke. Or at least my joke isn’t far from reality. If possible, his eyebrows crawl even higher up his forehead than before, and he shakes his head in amazement. “And that actually works?”
“Our methods are unorthodox,” Melina allows. A sharp smile stretches across her face in a mirror of mine. “That’s why our results are superior.”
“Consider yourself lucky we’re letting you watch,” Avelina breaks in. She tosses a lock of hair out of her eyes, shaking a finger wreathed in flames at the beleaguered man. “You’re in the presence of two Masters of glass—some might even say three, since I’m the most talented in the family—and you’re getting a behind the scenes peek at their secret methods.”
“Did . . . did you just claim you’re more talented than a Master?” Rakesh asks, looking up from where he’s scrawling out runes at a record pace. He starts to snicker, then yelps and jumps back as a tiny bolt of fire launches in his direction.
“She’s pretty amazing,” Mikko says through the paired bird. He’s the only one still back at the campus, since he insisted that someone needed to guard Lionel in their absence.
“Amazingly vindictive,” Rakesh mutters.
I didn’t realize that my brother could hear all of our banter, but a quick glance reveals that we each have a small paper bird in orbit above the crown of our head. Rakesh must have deployed them once he realized how limiting it is to only hear one conversation at a time. No wonder Mikko was so aware of what’s happening here.
Uttara regards us with increasing curiosity. He studies my work for a while, then asks, “You’re truly a glassmaker?”
“Truly.”
“And a Master of the craft? This looks like more than a hobby. Everyone says you’re a Second Threshold [Mage], though. Something doesn’t add up,” Uttara says, stroking his chin as he looks at me like I’m a puzzle to be solved.
“I’m not in the Second Threshold yet,” I say reflexively, then wince. I shouldn’t give away that kind of information. Ah well. For better or worse, Uttara is tied to our chariot now. I might as well be forthright with him; he put his life on the line for Lionel’s sake, after all.
He lets out a low whistle of amazement. “You’re not there yet, you say, as though it’s a foregone conclusion. From most people, I’d take that as a sign of arrogance. Something tells me that you’re simply stating a fact though.”
I shrug helplessly. “I’m a [Glass Mage]. Both a glassblower and a wielder of the arcane.”
“Never heard of that Class. Must be exceedingly strong for you to have come this far. Possibly unique,” he says slowly.
“You and Rakesh can figure that out later. He’s our very own expert on all things related to, well, everything. You won’t find a more educated man in Densmore, mark my words.”
“Hmph. Shameless flattery,” Rakesh says, grinning. “You should try it more often, Nuri!”
“I’d warn you not to praise him too much, or else it might go to his head, but you can see that he’s a lost cause,” I tell Mender Uttara in conspiratorial tones.
“A terminal case,” Uttara replies dryly.
Melina claps twice in imitation of Ember. Avelina and I immediately jump to attention, our responses honed by years in the Silaron Glass Works. “All right, enough chit chat. Ava’s done, so that means I’m up. Ready to update the runic arrays? We could use your help for this part, Mender Uttara. If you’re willing.”
“I’d certainly like to assist, but I’m hardly an expert on runes. Are you sure that you need me for this stage?” he asks, hesitating as he searches for words.
Melina smiles brightly. “Yes. We’ll need your help to test and activate the healing wand, but if you’re willing to let us look closely, then you’d be of great service to Nuri.”
I laugh, interrupting the mysterious air that Melina’s putting on, and step in to rescue the poor man from his confusion. “Can you keep a secret, Mender Uttara?”
“Of course,” he replies, sounding offended that I’d even ask. “Have I not proved the very soul of discretion thus far?”
“Well said!” Rakesh interjects.
Avelina rolls her eyes. “You just like that someone else has fancy language. What’s the point? Why use lots of big words when small ones work just fine?”
“We’ll discuss the merits of flowery language later,” I say to placate my fiery friend. “In the meantime, Mender Uttara, will you consent to allowing me View your core space?”
He startles. “Isn’t that an advanced Skill? Did you somehow learn that from Rashad?”
“Hah. No, it’s simply a technique. Anyone can learn with some practice,” I say casually, though I’m careful not to reveal that I learned it from the [Inquisitors]. Until Rakesh and I give the signal for the [Inquisitors] to swoop in and execute Operation Cut the Head Off the Snake, which I will totally convince Rakesh to call it, it’s better not to tip our hand.
“I suppose there’s a reason for your confidence that you’ll advance to the Second stage,” he muses. “Very well. Whatever it takes to save my student. I am an open book, Master Nuri.”
I reach out to him with [Arcane Domain: My Eyes Shall Pierce the Veil], and find that he’s spoken the truth. His resistances are lowered completely, accounting for the sweat on his brow, and he’s gently flaring all his Skills at once so that they glisten with the extra flow of mana and show up clearly, something I’ve never seen before. I didn’t know it was possible to do that, but I appreciate his helpfulness.
After cataloging the runes, I send a pulse of [Glass Animation] to a partially-molten bit of glass that’s already a half-formed golem. The knee-high, stool-like creature—a smaller version of the scrying table—takes shape in seconds, guided by both my will and my impressions of the runes I just saw.
As I hoped, the images are imprinted on the scrying mirror on its back, glowing with the energy of our connection. It’s the first time I’ve used all the Skills together in this combination, so I’m caught off guard when it works flawlessly. Usually, I have to try my crazy ideas multiple times before they become reality, but lately everything feels strangely easy. I’m not sure if it’s due to incorporating the [Mage] half of my Class into my soul, confirming that it’s part of my identity, or if it’s because I’ve gained a sufficient level of power.
Regardless, my crafting ambitions have leaped skyward. Nothing seems off the table for me anymore. No pun intended, I think with a private chuckle.
“Please show me how you used the rod before, but please don’t burn your vitality to fuel the healing this time,” I instruct Mender Uttara.
He doesn’t seem to hear me, gaping at the spiraling whorls and razor-edged fractals of his Skills displayed in runic script on the back of the golem I just created. I’m about to repeat my request when I notice the rest of my friends reacting in the same way. Even Rakesh is staring at the runes. He narrows his eyes and gazes at me like he’s never seen me before.
Coughing once to draw everyone’s attention, I wave at the original healing rod. “Please, we don’t have all day. I’d like to see what happens with your runes and mana flow when you try to initialize the inscription. That should help me figure out what to fix for the next iteration.”
“Of—of course!” Uttara stammers.
Spellbound no longer, the hush breaks as the team gets back to work. I faithfully record all the images, sending them to the newest golem along the connection I forged. To my great relief, I don’t have to [Animate] a new golem each time. That would soon exhaust even my considerable mana supplies.
Melina and Rakesh take careful notes, working off the runes on display, and faster than I ever thought possible, we soon arrive at a consensus. They remap the arrays on the original rod and add in the modifiers, borrowing from the multi-layered approach we took with the wand that uses healing potions. Emboldened by our unanimous agreement that the schematics will work, Melina transfers them to the new glass restoration artifact, then speeds up annealing.
Moments later, they’re ready for the first test. Mender Uttara is gawking openly, though I wonder how much is astonishment and how much is mortal fear. After all, the last time he used the rod, he was a hair’s breadth from death. Only a fool wouldn’t be terrified of trying again.