Millennial Mage

Tala sat upon her throne within Kit. She was surrounded by an eclectic mix of items that had, apparently, been within the ether hold. Even so, that was not where her mind was focused.

While so closely connected with her sanctum, sitting upon the throne, she could feel that the ceiling within Kit was noticeably higher than it had been.

We gained a few extra feet of sky.

-And took another step closer to getting home.-

We did at that. Just a few more protian weapons for Be-thric; then, we’ll head home and drop the might of a human city on his head.

-Yeah. That is definitely the obvious solution. As soon as we’re within a few miles of a human city, I’ll be able to connect to the Archive and coordinate, at least in theory.-

Tala felt a smile pull at her lips, and she looked down at the box across her lap. Until then, we just need to keep our head down, gain everything we can, knowledge and books included, and freedom will be ours without having to come up with or execute any crazy plan.

The weapon, contained on her lap, was an interesting one. I don’t suppose this could deal with the collar and let us go home sooner?

-I don’t see how it could.-

What about meshed with Flow, so we could take on the consuming properties?

-While that’s interesting, I think it would be incredibly inadvisable.-

Tala thought for a moment, then huffed a laugh and shook her head. Because my scripts aren’t a part of me, and would therefore be subject to the draining effects, too.

-Exactly, and even if we could aspect mirror its power to hit the collar all at once, I honestly don’t know what it would do. It would be just as likely to activate the collar, leading to a painful death, as disable or destroy the thing.-

Dasganachs have to be susceptible to magics, and this sword thing definitely feels like it should work.

-In theory, it might, but is it worth the risk, when there’s an upcoming, perfectly viable means of getting free? Besides, from the reaction to the sword, items like this aren’t unheard of. I can’t imagine the creator of the collar didn’t account for things like them.-

I suppose.

-I actually think that triggering a bunch of ending seeds around our neck would have a higher chance of success, but it would also blow away your inscriptions, likely even your active ones, if there were sufficient power to effect the collar quickly enough to be effective.-

Iron paint under the seeds? That would help direct the power outward.

-Again, it might work, but the risks are far, far higher than our current plan.

Yeah, to overcome a half-hallowed level of reinforcement, I can’t see iron paint doing more than helping a bit.

-And so, you’d still be affected.-

So, I’d be headless, without healing scripts.

-Most people just call that dead.-

Tala barked a laugh at that.

Thron, who’d been working off to one side, sorting through some of the loot, gave her a searching look. “Are you alright, Eskau Tali?”

“Tali.”

The dwarf gave a half smile, and his tone and bearing were both a lot less formal as he continued. “Right, of course. You alright, Tali?”

“Yeah, just talking to myself, thinking through some things.”

He grunted. “Must be quite the internal monologue.”

Tala shrugged.

“So, what’s it like in your head?” He grinned, lifting one hand to mimic a mouth. “Blah, blah, blah, aren’t I so lucky? Blah, blah, blah, I should give Thorn a raise.”

Tala chuckled, then decided to tease him in return, “Wait, you’re paid?”

He gave her a good-naturedly incredulous look. “Did you think I stay around because of your winning personality?”

It was her turn to grunt. Yeah, Tali’s the worst… “That’s fair.”

He hesitated, seeming a bit taken aback. Then, he laughed, seeming to take her statement as a continuation of the joke. With a shake of his head, he seemed to decide that the jokes were at an end. “In all seriousness, loyalty and pragmatism keeps me around, that’s for certain, but the pay makes everything easier.”

“Loyalty?” She smirked. He’d spoken a bit about his desire to repay debts, but that didn’t really strike her as loyalty, per se.

The dwarf shrugged. “You could have killed Gallof, but you gave me a chance to surrender. I owe him a lot, and you allowed me to repay his kindness. Beyond that, you accepted our request to serve. It is most often Eskau that block such pleas, and you did not.”

That made Tala feel a bit guilty on several counts. I didn’t really think of objecting, and I didn’t actually spare Gallof…

-Well, Tali was the one running the show at the time.-

Really? She thought back, and realized that she couldn’t really remember who’d been in charge. She knew that she’d been acting like Tali, then, but she couldn’t say with certainty that Tali had been in charge.

-She was.-

That made Tala feel even worse. If anything that made Thron loyal to Tali, not her. “Thorn?”

“Yes, Tali?” He looked up from the tome.

“Do you…begrudge my victory?”

He shrugged. “As I said, my previous master is alive, as am I, so no.”

She hesitated, grimacing slightly despite herself.

“Tali?”

Her grimace fully manifested. “Well…”

-Tala, what are you doing?-

I feel bad. He should know that I was bluffing when I threatened Gallof—well, Tali was bluffing.

-What purpose would that serve? She would never tell him.-

It would make me feel less awful for deceiving him, and I am not her. “Do you want to know a secret?”

-You are all over the place today, Tala. What is going one with you?-

I just fought through a not-swamp filled with not-zombies, Alat. Things are feeling a little crazy…

-Fine, fine. You do what you think is best. He probably won’t turn against us and make escaping harder.-

Tala ignored the sarcasm and focused on the dwarf.

He gave her a flat look. “Absolutely not.”

-Oh. I did not expect that.-

She hesitated, her mouth already open to tell him. “Oh…Okay.”

Alat laughed inside her head. -I take it all back. I like him.-

You liked him before.

-Yeah, I know. But you’re right. We should find a way to bring him along, if he wants. He’d be fun and useful to have around.-

Yeah, if he wants. Though, that might be really unlikely.

Thron seemed to see how off-guard his answer had taken her, so he took the initiative and moved the conversation along. “Back to the subject of pay. Even though I was joking, it is rather important that you know the details. I imagine you aren’t very familiar with power taxes and the benefit of working for a major House?”

“Aside from the honor of it?” Tali would be proud, though Tala had to fight off a grimace.

“That’s true too, of course.”—but he waved the sentiment away—”Now, members of houses are paid with power both directly and indirectly. Everyone in the city pays a flat tax to access the ambient magic in the air. For servants and members, that’s covered by the House of Blood. In addition, the power within the main hold is denser than that in the city at large, if only by a little. That within the holds of minor houses, and other organizations, usually lies between that of the city and the major House holds. Being in a higher density of power improves vitality, longevity, health, and a whole host of other things.”

Tala found herself nodding. That made a lot of sense. How much are those benefits worth on their own? Throw in food and shelter, and very little other pay would likely be necessary for most.

“For me personally, access to your sanctum and its resources is a boon, and then, there’s this guy.” Thron patted his pocket. “I have the use of this fount, though he still belongs to you, officially. His power has a richness, a uniformity that I’m not used to. I’m used to magic coming from multiple sources and blending all together. Even when I had a protian weapon, the power was solely used for the weapon itself, rather than being purified or attuned to me. Having a single source is a treat.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Yes and no. The power is just a bit…smoother. Most of the time, power takes a long, long time to fully deaspect, and it isn’t worth the time or effort to make it truly pure. The infinitesimal impurities can clash, but not harmfully so. Thus, having a single source is slightly more pleasant. That’s all.”

“Huh.” That was simply something that she would never have to deal with. I am my own single source. That did bring the fount back to mind, however. “How is Rob? I haven’t heard him this afternoon.”

“He’s holding to our agreement. I don’t let him be a toy, he stays quiet.”—the dwarf looked around—“Where is our terror bird, friend?”

“He’s off hunting. I expect he’ll be back soon, though.” Tala considered as she looked at the lump that was Rob in Thron’s pocket. “Really? He’s been quiet?

“Yes.”—he hesitated, then sighed—“Well, quieter. When the librarian told me that if I was too loud he’d have to kill me—obviously joking—Rob here started screaming and begging to be destroyed. He almost got me thrown out.”

Thron glared down at his pocket.

Rob made a petulant, whimpering grunt, but didn’t say anything.

“Managed to quiet ‘em, else I’d not have all those.” He gestured to the boxes of books he’d tucked in one section of the quadrant. “So, about your internal conversation, do you want to bounce ideas off of someone else?”

Tala considered the offer. She did need to talk through a few things, and as amazing as Alat was, talking to her meant that Tala was still literally talking with herself.

-Yeah, that’s fair.-

Pallaun had promised to send an artificer their way before he left Tala in her sanctum a few hours earlier, so they should be arriving relatively soon.

The entrance to Kit was now in one of the main gardens, and the servants were aware of its exact location. That meant that the artificer would have no trouble finding her.

While Be-thric had asked Pallaun to consult on the use of the void sword, he didn’t actually hold authority over the Eskau.

Pallaun had simple promised to send the expert and given one bit of advice before departing, “Most would say send items of the void back to the void. I say such a weapon unused is a battle lost before it’s even begun. You will never achieve true greatness without risk.”

Tala sighed, coming back to the moment at hand and addressing the dwarf. “What do you think about binding a void sword to my weapon?”

Thron stood and walked over. He looked at the ground to one side and in front of her. It was free of odd items, that space having been cleared earlier. “May I modify your dais, here? I’ll avoid the magics for reinscription.”

“Sure?” She really had no idea what he was planning on doing.

He smiled and sat a bit away from her, in front and to her right. There was the momentary sound of sizzling, and he sank slightly. “Ahh, there we go. That’s more comfortable.”

Tala cocked her head. “Did you just erode a seat into that stone?”

Thron shrugged. “Yeah. Flat stone isn’t very comfortable.”

Well, I suppose he did ask.

-Yeah, you’ve no call to be annoyed. What did you think he was going to do?-

I honestly have no idea. As funny as it was, with his legs crossed before him, he was so small.Like an oversized catapult stone.

-No one would use something so beautiful as a siege projectile.-

Tala had to admit that Alat was right. The almost iridescent green skin still struck her as resembling nothing so much as an unpolished gem, and his true-silver hair and beard made him closely resemble an expensive statue of a wise mentor.

Thron shifted slightly, ruining statue-illusion.

Well, I did just fight a bunch of moving statues.

-But the metaphor was a statue, not a moving statue.-

Fair, fair.

There was another sizzle, then Thron nodded to himself. “Now, your weapon is soul-bound, right? That’s the term?”

Tala checked and, yes, Tali knew that term. “Yeah.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I’d want my soul bound to the void, in whatever form. Magic is a grueling taskmaster, Tali, and the power we use can and does change us.”

She considered her Bound ceremony, and the choices she’d made while improving her equipment. Tala found herself nodding. “I know, Thorn. I really do.”

Terry chose that moment to return, flickering into being on Tala’s shoulder.

Rob gasped, but otherwise didn’t make a sound.

Terry cocked his head, staring at Thron’s pocket.

Tala tapped the bird on the beak. “Terry, leave the little orb alone.”

Terry squawked derisively, headbutted Tala, and curled up.

Thron grinned. “He’s under my protection, tiny terror. You’d have better luck hunting in the city.”

Terry lifted his head and looked between the two of them. He then looked towards the defensive bunker, in which the exit lay before letting out a questioning trill.

Tala quickly shook her head. “No, Terry. That’s not a challenge or invitation. Don’t hunt in the city.”

The terror bird squawked once and curled back up.

Thron gave Terry another searching look. “I don’t know if I should be concerned by that creature, or think his ambition is cute.”

Terry lifted his head, regarding Thron levelly, with a clearly implied assertion of superiority.

Thron met his gaze levelly. “You may be strong, little terror, but I’m betting you don’t play well with acid.”

Terry seemed to hesitate at that. Finally, he let out a collection of seemingly random squawks before curling back up.

The dwarf straightened slightly and seemed to be working to hide a smile. “Now, as you were saying, Tali?”

Right, the void sword. “I feel like it would be a useful tool.”

“Only if you could control it, and that depends on the exact nature of its magics.”

“How can it sustain itself, by the way? There’s no power source, and it’s contained, so it can’t be draining power from the environment.”

Thron shrugged. “Good question for the artificer, I suppose.”

Tala sat.

And Thron sat.

And they were silent.

For a long minute.

“Well, I’m going to look through another book.” He’d been alternating between sifting through the loot from the ether hold and the books he’d gotten from the House of Blood’s main library.

Tala nodded. “And I need to be practicing my aura-control.”

He smiled as he walked to grab a book. “It does seem to be getting better.”

“I haven’t made that much progress.” She sighed.

“You haven’t had that long to progress. You’re doing well.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

She felt herself smile in return. He really was a kind and useful servant. You know, I’m probably going to have to kill you, one day. I won’t spare you if it costs me my freedom.

-What the rust? That’s dark, Tala. Why would he oppose you?-

You’re the one who said we need to figure out how to kill him at need.

-But not right after he was kind! Who thinks about how to kill a man who just complimented you? Honestly, did you dye your hair at some point?-

Tala frowned. What? I don’t think I understand. What does the color of my hair have to do with anything?

-It doesn’t matter. So, what brought it to mind?-

I don’t know. I just feel like he’s going to be there when everything goes down.

-Time will tell, I suppose.-

Thron was looking around himself, at the piles of random items, then down at the book in his hands. “I should probably get back to it.”

“What have you found so far?” She found herself curious.

He tapped the book against his open palm, considering. “Quite a few silver bars, a handful of gold coins, a small mountain of copper, some mundane weaponry, a couple of books in languages I can’t read, things like that.”

Tala perked up. “Oh? What is generally done with the harvests from an ether hold?”

Thron gave her a level look. “They are generally very minimal and simply given to the Pillar of the House. In the rare cases where there is a substantial harvest, and this would likely qualify, the Eskau is entitled to ten percent of the haul.”

Ten…percent? Her eye twitched.

-Calm, Tala. Tali would be ecstatic to be adding to the wealth of the House.-

I know… She tried to portray sincerity as she said, “That’s amazing! I’m glad that the House will be strengthened, and that I will be granted anything at all.”

Thron smiled. “My advice will be to forgo all of your share, and ask for the void sword, assuming the artificer gives us good news.”

Tala considered. That was likely a wise course, honestly. At the moment, she had no need of material wealth, as Be-thric was showering her with anything capable of improving her in abundance. And the precious metals provided for my reinscribing would cover most, if not all of my debts when I get home.

-If you don’t use them up on the way.-

She looked back to the dwarf, and noticed he had a bit of reluctance in his eyes. He had been at the sorting and intermittent reading for hours.

I can offer him a break. I could probably use one, too. “Do you want to take a break and spar?”

He regarded her for a moment, then nodded, smiling. “That would be nice. We can see how well you’ve progressed in your control.”

“Oh?” She stood along with him.

“Of course. If you can’t break my hold on the space around me, you won’t land a single blow.”

* * *

Tala screamed through clenched teeth as part of her hand vanished again, spraying blood at the dwarf. That blood also vanished before it could land.

Her flesh knit back together as she pulled her fist back.

“I’ve told you, Tali. You must break my hold, else you’ll encounter corrosion that even your impressive physiology cannot withstand.”

How is he getting through my defenses? The magics involved should be precisely opposed to his own.

He’d proven his protection effective, time and time again. He hadn’t bothered to fall into a fighting stance or even raise his hands defensively, and yet he was perfectly safe.

Assuming I don’t use my weapon.

-Well, you aren’t actually trying to kill him, not now.-

Tala knew that; she really did. She also knew that this was good training, but that didn’t actually make it any more pleasant.

They were standing on Tala’s training circle, within her sanctum. Pools of slowly moving water surrounded them, save for a single bridge that allowed easy access.

In truth, she could have just left over the water, but it was nice to have the bridge all the same.

-Why don’t you ask him? He should know how his power works, after all.-

There was no reason not to, so she did, “How are you able to erode my flesh so easily? My magics are directly opposed to dissolution magics.”

“I embody the concept of corrosion.”

Tala waited for more, but it didn’t seem to be forthcoming. “What does that actually mean?”

He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t actually affect your flesh magically, not really. I simply magically expose it to the concept of physical corrosion. If I embodied true corrosion, I would be practically invincible, but magic can get through my aspected aura with ease.”

He grinned, then.

“That’s why I have other methods of defense, but that’s hardly important at the moment.”

“Does that mean that something uncorrodible would be able to get through?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. My aura would still show it how to degrade, and it would.”

“That seems broken.”

“Broken?”

“Too powerful. It doesn’t even seem like you’re expending power.”

“That’s because I’m not. I’m cycling my power within myself, allowing it to radiate with the concept of corrosion, or acid, and that permeates my aura, providing the effect.”

“See? That’s broken. That’s too powerful.”

He chuckled. “Do you mean unfair?”

“Yeah, unfair works, too.”

“Says the woman with an infinite well of magic within her very soul.”

Tala hesitated for a moment. “Ahh, that’s…that’s fair.”

“Hardly. I find it incredibly unfair that you effectively never have to be concerned about running out of power.”

“Fine, fine. We each have something broken about ourselves.”

“Thus, unfairness is fair.”

She laughed, and he grinned in return.

She then punched at him.

Instead of the hit landing, Tala fell back cursing and suppressing another scream.

“I did tell you that it was passively generated. Surprise is not a factor.”

She growled as her hand restored itself. “You might have been lying.”

“True, but I wasn’t.”

She sighed, shaking out her arm. It was worth a try…

“Again?”

She nodded, firming her resolve. “Again.”