Noble Arcana

In hidden circles of mages I often found the most value in simply listening. It’s amazing how easily some drop secrets when they forget you’re even there.

Victor Morrow in his Journals

Solomon let out a sigh of nonexistent air and moved to sit on a nearby chair, gesturing for the Knight to do the same.

“Excellent guess,” he answered, his voice sounding higher pitched and slightly distorted from how it usually was.

“Not really. I only just saw you moments ago and all of the other pages, kings, queens, and knights are familiar with the way it disguises you. You’re the only one who it would be new to.”

“I’m still impressed,” he remarked as she sat across from him. “Since the gold is a given, all we need to discuss is which basic spells you’d want. I have five that you may choose from. They are spark, gust, disc, light, and mental fortification. I have a feeling that mental fortification won’t be one of your choices.”

She nodded her helmet. I believe disc, light, and spark would work best for me,” she said. “Those are Union spells, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Basic ones, but yes.”

“More and more surprises from you every time we meet.”

“For every surprise you get from me, I have forty I’ve had to deal with over the previous week.” He paused for a moment. “This method of subverting another’s will. What is it?”

“It’s a temporary geis that binds another to a specific action that can be summed up in a single word. For instance, one casting the spell could say fall and make another drop to the ground. The spell is called compel.”

Solomon frowned. “I had hoped for something more permanent or longer lasting.”

She nodded. “Given what you offered such a spell is beyond a price you could pay for it. To fully compel another requires a mixture of animancy and psychomancy along with an elaborate ritual or possibly a curse. Certain general emotional obsessions and compulsions can also be accomplished through alchemy. Such things exist, but you’d need to offer far more in order to make them work. Compel requires only your mana and your voice. It does tend to damage one’s throat though, particularly when used against someone with magical defences.”

Solomon drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair he was sitting in as he considered it. The spell was useful even outside of his plans for his sister’s betrothed, but it meant he wouldn’t have an option for the general himself and getting him to break off the engagement he clearly had no desire to go through with.

“Can the spell be used on a single target multiple times in quick succession?” he asked.

The knight tilted her helmet as if in thought.

“Yes, but it’s more costly each time. The mind of the target will work to protect itself.”

“Can the target tell that they’ve been magically compelled?”

She shook her head. “No. That’s a benefit of the lesser spells of psychomancy when used on another. The more minor spells act so quickly that the subject’s mind creates excuses for their own actions. Major geis can be more easily detected, especially by outside forces.”

Solomon nodded, thinking his way through the uses of the spell. There was a path here, but he’d need more.

“Deal,” he said, standing and holding out his hand. “World act as witness.”

Knight stood and shook his hand.

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After she left he waited patiently until the Six of Wands walked into the room. His mask was black and covered the top half of his face with the appearance of a cat, with six silver wands as its whiskers.

“Six of Wands. You answered my request for information regarding ancestral weapons and other items?”

Six nodded as he sat across from him. “Enchanted objects are my specialty. What is it you need to know?”

Solomon leaned back in his chair. “How about you tell me what you know until you feel you’ve earned the fifteen gold I offered.”

Wands swallowed, despite his throat not being real. He had no idea who the figure in front of him was. It could be a page, a king, or even a major arcana testing him.

“Well, ancestral weapons and objects are different from typical enchanted items. A regular enchanted item is created using the infusion of mana and placement of runes in complex weaves to create the desired effect. Some items, though, simply gain enchantments without these techniques. Sometimes the object was involved in a dramatic event, or touched by a god, or, in the case of ancestral weapons, wielded well by a long line of members of the same bloodline. Or used for a major event related to the bloodline. A regular enchanted item can actually become an ancestral weapon in the right circumstances, but it is rare.”

The man paused, looking at the whited-out form of Solomon as if to gauge how much gold he’d earned before giving up and continuing.

“Ancestral weapons can only be wielded by those within the same bloodline. Typically they need to be along the main branch of a family, but in some cases lesser bloodlines are able to use them. When someone who is not a member of the family holds them they… act out. Some might become too heavy to lift, others may seem to work until a pivotal moment and then fail the wielder, and I know of at least one that causes whoever holds it to slowly wither away and rot as if they were a living corpse.”

He paused again as if waiting for some indication he was done, but Solomon remained silent.

“There are ways to fool ancestral weapons. That is the main reason the Union and the Empire at large is afraid of blood magic. There are spells that allow one to change their blood completely to match their targets, or much simpler spells that use small amounts of the blood from that line in order to make the weapon function temporarily… I know that the King of Swords and Page of Cups have some kind of spells that work in this way, but I am unsure of which ones.”

Another pause, this time ending in a long sigh.

“Aside from the abilities these weapons and objects grant, they can also provide a link to those who have wielded them. It’s common for the one wielding them to have dreams or visions that relate to previous wielders, particularly those they share similarities with.”

He paused again, his mouth straining as if he was having trouble finding anything else related to ancestral weapons to mention.

“Are there ways one can access these visions more actively?” Solomon asked, finally breaking his silence.

“Yes. If one sleeps with the weapon close, or meditates with it they can sometimes bring the visions forward more often…If it is a bladed weapon I have heard that drawing one’s own blood with it can also increase their connection to it.”

“And there is no way to remove the enchantment on these weapons? Or transfer it?”

Six of Wands shrugged. “If there is, it is far beyond me.”

Solomon stayed silent, considering everything that Six had said for several minutes as he stared straight ahead. The minor arcana in front of him crossed and uncrossed his legs as he seemed unable to find comfort in the nonexistent chair he was seated in. It seemed as if direct study of Crimson Command may not yield him much magically, but the idea of having dreams or visions of his ancestors did interest him. The Crimson Command had been wielded by his family for generations, all throughout the bloodiest and most divisive conflicts within the empire. Seeing a first hand account of what it had been through would be a fascinating experience. There was also the chance he may stumble upon another secret or tool in the process. Given his track record, it felt rather likely.

“Thank you, Six. I believe what you have told me is of sufficient value.”

Six let his relief sit openly on his face as he stood.

“Thank you,” he said quickly as he made his way out of the room.

Solomon waited for a few moments before standing up. The trade for the curse of impotence was straightforward enough that it didn’t need a conversation. He walked out of the room, and found himself exiting a private room across the ballroom, far from the ledger room. He assumed it was not the same one the others had entered, though he had no way of knowing. He moved over to watch several auctions go by and at the end of the meeting he said a quick goodbye to the Knight of Pentacles before he found himself standing again in his room in front of the statue of the hermit.

He took a few moments to stretch, loosening his muscles as much as he could and then made his way to his desk to write out the spells he’d transacted and prepare the gold he’d offered up as well. After that was done he dragged himself to bed. He was exhausted, but in spite of that he found his mind far too active to allow sleep to come easily. By the time he finally managed to drift off, the sun had begun to peer through his curtains. What little sleep he did get, was of running through vast dark forests, hearing screaming in the distance.