Millennial Mage

Tala and Thron talked for a little while about small things. But soon, it was just about time for Tala to leave so that she could attend Be-thric at the meeting.

As she stood to go, she noticed that, through her mage-sight, Thron was looking a bit…weak.

“Thorn, why are you running low on magic?”

He gave her an odd look. “Where would I be getting magic, in here?”

Tala looked around and realized that Kit was, indeed, devouring all the magic that she output, sequestering it away in a new, seemingly limitless, reserve.

“I need to spend some time in the main hold, while you are out.” He didn’t say that he had been virtually trapped in here with her for the last few weeks. He was due for a break, even if only to recharge.

Tala nodded, then smiled as an idea came to her. “Let me see.”

She held out her hand, and an orb appeared within it, screaming. “AAAAAAAAAA—oh. Hello. Will you break me, now?”

Both Tala and Thron had flinched back, away from the scream, even though it died off quickly.

Terry hadn’t moved.

Tala cleared her throat, ignoring the edge of happiness that the sphere projected at the idea of being broken. “Why, if I may ask, were you screaming?”

She somehow felt the orb direct its attention towards Terry. “I was buried alive.”

“But you aren’t alive.” You’re a trapped human soul, and I wish I could free you, but I can’t.

“Well, I’m certainly still here. Unless… will you break me?”

“No. I need you.” I can deal with the horror of using a trapped human soul later… Things aren’t ideal, and I have to work with what I have.

“That’s…just…wonderful…”

Thron’s eyes widened, seemingly understanding Tala’s idea. “Oh, no. No. I can’t use the power.”

Tala grinned, tossing the sphere to the dwarf. “Take Rob, get a magic purification item, or find another means of using the power that comes from him.”

“Rob?” The dwarf had caught Rob easily and was now examining it.

She shrugged. “He’s an orb; Rob is a nice anagram that makes sense to me. Rob, do you have a name?”

“Some insufferable creature has named me Rob, and I’ve no other name.”

“There; you see?” Tala ignored the grumpy false personality.

Thron sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good.” Tala called up the door out, and they exited.

Terry rode on Tala’s shoulder and Thron carried Rob.

They stepped out into the side courtyard, now empty of workers.

“The world beyond is but another world of limited capacity.” They both ignored Rob.

Absently, Tala reached back and grabbed the doorframe. Just before she pulled, she thought she saw a cat sitting on the table, watching them leave.

She was already pulling it off the wall, however, so the view through vanished. With a shake of her head, she hung Kit on her belt.

Thron gaped at her.

She froze. “Oh…wow. I… I didn’t even think before doing that. I wanted to bring my sanctum with me, and I acted without considering.”

He closed his mouth. “That’s…that will be insanely useful. You can keep the whole thing with you at all times?”

“So it seems.”

-Smooth, Tala. Really keeping the suspicion to a minimum.-

Hush, you.

They found Be-thric nearby, seeming just having finished his dinner, if the servants carrying empty dishware away from his table were any indication.

His eyes immediately snapped to Tala’s hip and the pouch there. “Interesting. It retained the ability to take that form?”

Tala nodded her head in acknowledgement. “It just felt right, and when I grabbed the doorframe…” She shrugged.

“That is a wonderful ability. I am glad it will be easy to keep with you.”

“Thank you, Pillar.”

Thron bowed. “My Pillar, Eskau Tali has granted me use of this fount. Would you authorize the acquisition of a means of purification, so that I can utilize the power source within?”

Be-thric considered for a long moment. “Yes, I think that would be a wise use of the thing.”

“I’m right here. Either talk to me or break me and set me free.”

Tala suppressed the unhappy feeling in her chest at the orb’s words.

The Pillar shook his head and continued to address Thron. “Find a way to muzzle it, too. It should have sufficient power to keep you in reasonable shape, even in sparselands, yes?”

“Yes, Pillar Be-thric.”

“Good, then be gone. See that it is done.”

The dwarf bowed to the Pillar, then to Tala. As he turned to depart, Tala had a thought.

“Thorn?”

He stopped. “Yes, Eskau?”

“Try to find the creators of that sphere. If you can, you might be able to make use of it more efficiently, as they will know the design intimately.”

Be-thric gave her an acknowledging nod. “That is an excellent suggestion, my Eskau.”

Thron bowed again. “As you suggest.”

Without another word, he departed.

“I am glad that my little gift has worked so well for you. The ‘defenseless human’ look suits you.”

I have no idea how I should take that… Tala looked down at her hands and nodded. “It will make me less conspicuous, thank you.”

“Of course. We can’t have you scaring away your targets before they are slain, now can we?” He smiled menacingly.

“No, Pillar.”

“Here. This is for you.” Be-thric tossed her a pouch.

She caught it.

“We really need to work on your lethality in general. Those should help.”

Tala hefted the bag, examining it on her palm. It was incredibly heavy for its size. There was a subtle power coming from the contents within.

“Well? Don’t just stare at the outside. Open the bag.”

Tala opened it and found it filled with one-inch spheres. By their coloring and weight, she would guess that they were tungsten. “Pillar?”

“They are impressed with a very simple working. They use practically no power at all. They do one simple thing: They magically mark every particle of a given sphere with a number impressed into the magic around them, unique from the others.”

Her eyes widened. “That means—”

“Precisely. You can simply target the material with that signature, and even if one of the spheres is massively deformed, or even split, your working will not fail. Begin untargeted ramp up on as many of those as you reasonably can.”

She did so, only trusting herself to implement the working on four. That is…genius.

-It really is a prefect compliment to how we use our power.-

Being able to ramp up four was an improvement, and she suspected she could have done more, but her control was the thing in question now, not her power. The escalation begun, she asked, “What is the nature of the meeting?”

“We are going to convince a candidate Eskau to defect from another House. After our attack on the first, he won’t come unguarded, and when he agrees, we will need to delay his guards and prevent them from killing him.”

And if he refuses, we will need to kill them all, quickly.

As they began walking, Be-thric continued. “I selected this candidate because our information indicates that he is unhappy with his master. He is also not favored to win in any potential succession. We offer a reasonably high-level position, protection, and luxury, and I am confident he will join us.”

As they reached the gate, he glanced down at her hand and hissed in irritation.

“They should have switched you out to a gold key-ring already. We’ll sort that out when we return. It’s a disgrace.’

Tala just nodded. “As you wish.”

He then looked to Terry, still on her shoulder. “I am glad that you’ve taken to your pet so well, but he should await you in your sanctum.”

Tala glanced at Terry, then held Kit open. “In, Terry.”

Terry trilled, a slightly grumpy note to his call before he hopped off her shoulder and straight into Kit.

Tala closed the pouch behind him.

Be-thric nodded, smiling once more. “His training seems to be coming along very well. It is gratifying to see your success in the taming of one lesser than you.”

“Thank you, Pillar.”

Their meeting was a little way into the city, and they set out through the streets without delay.

Tala held the four balls in her hands as they walked, two in each hand, continuing to pump power into them. She could tell that the compounding factor was greater than it had ever been.

-And with the untargeted ramp up? Almost any fight you can prep for is going to be a lot easier.-

That’s the truth.

-Assuming we remember to prep.-

Yeah, yeah. She did not dwell on her failure to do just that before the last encounter with an Eskau candidate.

That was then, this was now, and Tala would be ready for whatever this encounter brought.

As it turned out, the meeting was near the edge of a large park.

There were two stone benches, facing each other across a ten-foot-wide path. A young man sat on the far bench, flanked by eight armed and armored warriors.

The candidate Eskau was a species that neither Tala, nor Tali, had ever seen in person. He had no hair on his head, slick, almost rubbery skin, large eyes with exaggeratedly expanded pupils, and webbing between his fingers.

He didn’t seem like a beast-folk, but he could just be of an animal that Tala was unaware of.

The guards with him were a mix of various blue hue-folk and aquatic beast-folk. There was even one shark-man, who was terrifyingly gigantic, standing at least ten feet tall and looming over the rest of them from behind the group.

Tala made a call, then, and began a fifth ramp up within the bench beneath the candidate Eskau, making sure to reach through the ground and the dimensions of magic to get a firm lock, despite the auras of authority blanketing the area around the item in question.

-Oh, that’s clever, I like it.-

Her bloodstars were already in their combat configuration, two orbiting her head, her bar behind her neck with a third bloodstar locked into position above it, the sphere before her sternum, and her discs in staggered orbit around her. She called out a fourth bloodstar drop and raised it higher and higher, slowly gaining a better vantage. And a potential anchor.

-Well planned, Tala.-

Thank you.

Be-thric spoke first, even as the candidate rose to his feet. “Candidate Cuan, I am grateful that you were willing to meet with me.”

The candidate gave a slight bow. “Pillar Be-thric, there is no animosity between the House of the Turbulent Ocean and the House of Blood. Why would I refuse?”

Be-thric smiled as they both sat, Tala taking up a position behind and to Be-thric’s left. “Your guards’ presence says you are worried.”

Cuan didn’t dispute the statement. “You are a new Pillar, assembling your armaments. Every candidate in the region would be wise to step lightly.”

Be-thric nodded his acknowledgement.

Cuan turned his oddly dilated eyes towards Tala. “I have not had the pleasure of formally meeting your Eskau. She is human, yes? And she wears an illusion of surpassing quality.”

Tala glanced toward Be-thric as she knew Tali would have, and he gave her a nod of approval.

Be-thric’s written instructions, which came with the through-spike, had hinted at how she might turn off the illusion. She, of course, already knew how, but that inclusion gave her a reason for Tali to be able to do it.

She grinned at the candidate sitting across from them. “I am Eskau Tali.”

She nodded slightly in a sign of acknowledgement, and Cuan returned the gesture.

“As to my illusion?” Her grin widened maliciously. “I don’t wish to scare the populous.”

With a flex of magic, nearly identical to how she controlled her elk-leathers, she disabled the illusion.

Every one of Cuan’s guards instantly drew their weapons, but Cuan held up a hand, leaning forward. “Remarkable.”

Tala shrugged, pulling on Tali’s memories for the best responses. “An Eskau is merely a reflection.”

Cuan had grimaced at her words, just slightly, and nodded before completing the saying, “A Pillar is the mirror.”

Tala had no idea what the saying was meant to convey, and Tali hadn’t either, amusingly enough.

She released the working, and her illusion returned her to a normal appearance, a human appearance.

The guards reluctantly resheathed their weaponry.

Be-thric cleared his throat. “Now that the important parties are thoroughly introduced and greetings have been exchanged…?”

Cuan nodded. “We can discuss business. What do you want of my master?”

Be-thric shook his head. “No, no. That is not the way we should handle this at all. First, I will tell you what we are offering.”

That caught the candidate off guard, and he straightened, clearly intrigued. “Go on.”

Tala scanned the guards. None were of a higher race. They were low level enforcers, likely intended to keep lesser threats away from the candidate Eskau while Cuan dealt with other heavy hitters. That makes sense.

“We offer wealth, protection, advancement, and an honorary place in the House of Blood.”

Cuan frowned. “You wish to unite our Houses, somehow? My master is not yet a Pillar, and even if he were, a title in another House would not be…”—he shook his head—“You know all of this. What are you playing at? What do you want of my master?”

Be-thric grinned. “That is where there has been a…misunderstanding. We don’t want anything of your master. We wish you to leave your House and join ours, bringing your protian weapon with you.”

The guards behind Cuan froze, processing what Be-thric had just said, their eyes widening in shock.

Be-thric grinned. “Choose quickly, or I fear your guards might try to choose for you.”

Tala could practically see the calculations running through the candidate’s head. Then, a small smile pulled at his lips, fully revealing his pointed teeth for the first time, and he spoke quickly, “Advancement to Honored, and a hold of my own in another city.”

“Done.” Be-thric clapped his hands.

The sound seemed to break the general tension of the situation as everyone began moving at once.

The guards reached for and began to draw their weapons.

Cuan started to stand, moving away from the guards behind him.

Be-thric lowered his hands to his lap.

Tala targeted the fifth ramp up, the one she had been building in the bench beneath Cuan, at her bloodstar, some dozen feet overhead.

The slab which was the top of the stone bench ripped itself free, picking up the startled candidate and flinging him upward and towards Be-thric and Tala.

Tala immediately broke the working, and the bench dropped, slamming into and skidding across the ground.

Cuan had enough presence of mind, to tuck his legs against his chest as he and the bench landed heavily.

Be-thric had to lift his feet to avoid the stone hitting him.

The Pillar gave her an amused look, even as he rocked forward, placing his feet down and standing on the now stationary benchtop.

The guards had once again frozen in surprise.

Tala stepped forward, knowing her role.

There were eight guards, and she had four stones. She knew which for she’d kill with the stones, she’d even likely get a double-kill with one stone, as the guards were nicely lined up at the moment. Even so, she had one thing to try first.

“Guards of the House of the Turbulent Ocean, you have a choice: Return to your House and report the lawful defection of your candidate Eskau or die here at my hand.”

The guards looked at one another, her appearance under the illusion was clearly still in their minds. Well, and the fact that I just ripped a few hundred pound stone from the ground with seemingly no effort.

-They have no way of knowing if that was you or Be-thric, though.-

That’s… fair.

Behind Tala, she heard, and saw thanks to her mirrored perceptions, Cuan hand Be-thric a glove which radiated the power and magic of a protian weapon. Then, the two simply began walking back towards the House of Blood’s hold.

One of the guards called out, “Hey! You can’t just leave.”

Cuan didn’t look back, but Tala heard Be-thric reassure him that his Eskau had things handled.

She sighed. “Alright, make your choice. I don’t wish to stand here all day.”

The apparent leader barked an order. “Our charge is being taken by another House, defend! C group, breakaway and report.”

Tala shrugged. “As you wish.”

Even as two of the guards turned to sprint away, Tala directed her workings to their targets, and the balls were ripped from her hands.

The air snapped as the projectiles easily broke the sound barrier in the first foot of travel. She’d ramped them up incredibly high.

Six of the guards dropped in various states of death, including one of those who had turned to run.

One of the tungsten balls had been deflected enough off the spine of the shark-man that it had killed one of those Tala hadn’t accounted for.

“Huh.” She immediately began ramping up untargeted gravity on four more balls, just in case.

-That was a bit sloppy.-

Two heads had simply burst apart, one more had clean holes punched through, and the final three had lethal wounds through various parts of their chests.

I’m glad that vital organs are in generally the same places. To be safe, she’d hit the least human targets in the head. Brain obliteration is a fairly reliable kill.

Tala began walking forward, even as the last runner turned back in horror, having only taken a couple of steps before his friends fell. The shark-man made a particularly resonant thump as he hit the ground

The last man still standing to face her had skin of alternating orange and white, a more bulbous head, and several other clearly aquatic oriented features. Some sort of fish-man?

His sword trembled in his hand, but even so, he stepped to his left, putting himself between the runner and her.

That was brave, a little stupid, but still brave.

“Shoo.” Tala waved for them to go. “I had no ill will, here. I offered to let you go, so go.”

The runner took off, and when she made no hostile move, the final guard turned and followed as quickly as he was able, only occasionally looking back her way.

Tala dropped Kit on the ground, and it opened in the form of a simple square hole.

With relative ease, she dumped each of the bodies through that hole. That done, she replaced the pouch on her belt.

There was some blood on the ground and the bench was wildly out of place, but otherwise, things looked as they had before.

With a sigh, Tala bent and righted the stone blocks that had supported the benchtop.

Then, with a surprising strain, she was able to lift the slab and carry it back, returning it to its proper place.

“There.” Tala dusted her hands off on each other and turned, walking quickly, but not rushing, to catch up with Be-thric and Caun.

Two armor pieces down. Only seven more to go.