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The sun hung low on the sky, but still ascending. It was a nice, breezy morning, as Erick walked across the flat orange land of the Human District, toward the Mage Trio’s house. He passed his garden, smelling the air, loving the smell of lemons and greenery on the breeze and the scent of a freshly baked lemon cake in the stone basket in his hands.  

He approached the front door, and it opened before he could knock. An icy fox appeared on the other side, like a child answering the door for their parent. Ophiel fluttered on Erick’s shoulder; eyes opening up to take in the sight of the other [Familiar]. The ice fox howled in tiny mews, calling backward into the house.

Eduard appeared in a blip of blue, next to his fox, looking at Erick with surprise on his face. “Uh! Hello?” He looked down to the basket in Erick’s hands. “Uh?”

Erick smiled, pushing the basket out to Eduard, saying, “As thanks for help with the Hydra, and to say that if you want anything out of the garden, that you can go ahead and take anything you want. Or Ramizi, can, anyway. He’s the only one of you that’s into plants, unless I’m mistaken.”

“You are not mistaken.” Eduard took the basket and lifted up the lid to look inside.

“It’s a lemon cake,” Erick said.

Eduard nodded, then shut the basket’s lid, saying, “You really should consider hunting Messalina with us. She is a menace.”

Erick smiled softly, saying, “I have no interest in denying someone her vengeance against those who killed her family.” He added, “But if you spot any monsters on Mog’s list, or any more aberrations like the Toxic Hydra: I’m only a [Telepathy] away.”

Eduard continued, undeterred, “As of right now, your potential Particle [Scan] spell is only one avenue for Messalina to use to find the Cinnabar Hand, but finding people in the Crystal Forest who don’t want to be found is exceedingly difficult. There’s no doubt in my mind, that the Hand are laying low. They will not be found; they know who is after them.” Eduard said, “Eventually, Messalina will grow tired of her fruitless pursuit. She will start to make real monsters.” He stressed, “These monsters will attack every single person they find, and eventually Messalina’s plan to find the Cinnabar Hand will mutate even further. She will kill every single person she finds outside of the major cities of the Crystal Forest.”

Erick felt a sudden lethargy. “Please don’t be hyperbolic at me.”

“I have every reason to believe what I say. Though a few centuries have passed, she is the same as always, according to everything we have found.” Eduard said, “Time will tell which one of us is correct, and I just want you to know, now, that when the time comes, we will welcome your help in giving Messalina the justice she deserves for the crimes she has committed.” He sincerely added, “Thank you for the cake. Please enjoy your time in Oceanside.”

A sudden anger overtook Erick. He asked, “Why don’t you help her find the Hand? You cannot possibly believe that her reasons for leaving her jungle are wrong.”

Eduard frowned. He kept his voice even, saying, “The Cinnabar Hand is a known enemy factor taken into consideration everywhere. City Guards take care of all of that; and civilians are forbidden from acting on suspected impostors. Messalina is an outsized threat, living outside of the city, that spawns other threats.” He said, “Dopplegangers are murdered on confirmation, but it is up to adventurers and mages like you and me to deal with those like Messalina.”

Erick breathed deep. He said, “I came here for a few other reasons, too. I need a [Polymorph] potion for Oceanside enrollment. I want to buy one from you, or however Jane went through this process. Is [Reflection] just [Rebound] and [Ward]? And… I understand what you’re saying, Eduard. Really. I do. She killed random people in anger, and she doesn’t sound like the best person in the world. But right now, she is hunting hunters.”

Eduard said, “[Reflection] is indeed [Rebound] and [Ward]. Good luck. Ramizi is selling a brisk market of [Polymorph] potions. I can get you one; they’re a thousand gold and a grand rad. Or two grand rads. Whichever you prefer.” He paused. He added, “Messalina’s balance of souls is hundreds of thousands in the negative. Whatever she does in the future— whatever good she accomplishes will always be tarnished by countless lives taken before their time.”

“Are you talking about murders, or reinstating people in other bodies.”

Eduard blanked, then said, “There is no difference.”

Erick stood there. Then he gave a mental push to Ophiel on his shoulder. Ophiel blipped away in a smattering of white light. He reappeared in moments; Handy Aura holding the bright red grand rad taken from the red [Ward] wyrm, and one of the eight green grand rads taken from the Toxic Hydra. Eduard’s eyes went wide as he looked upon the bright red grand-rad.

“Uh.” Eduard said, “Just the red one, is fine.”

“Nonsense.” Erick took the grand rads with his own Handy Aura, and set them on the front step in front of Eduard. “The price is two. This is two.”

Eduard looked down to his icy fox [Familiar]. The blue fox blipped away and right back, daintily carrying a dark glass flask in his icicle-filled mouth. Eduard took the flask and handed it over. Erick took the potion. Pearlescent black light flowed inside, like warm honey. It almost looked sinister.

Eduard said, “You must drink it all at once and then nothing else for an hour. It helps to Meditate while the potion takes hold, making sure the change settles in like a fine liquor. If you don’t get it right your guts will spurt out of both ends for about an hour, but Ramizi’s potions have a ninety percent success rate.”

Erick held the potion in his hand, then said, “Thank you.” He asked, “Is Spur treating you three okay? I saw some other humans out in the fields the other day, but not much else besides that.”

“Spur is a fine city. The Headmaster has wanted agents out here for a while, but no one was willing to take the post, and subject themselves to the disharmony of the city and its neighbors. And then you showed up.” Eduard said, “It has been a wonderful experience, getting to know this Spur.”

Erick nodded, and held up the potion, saying, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Archmage.”

- - - -

Erick sat in the sunroom. Poi stood to the side, watching. The rod of [Treat Wounds] and the [Polymorph] potion sat on the table in front of Erick.  

Erick asked, “Was it just me, or did that feel like a particularly awful talk?”

“He did not invite you inside.” Poi said, “He is exceedingly angry, but he is good at hiding it. He was exactly as polite as normal city-life demands, and not a touch more than that.”

Erick frowned. “I thought so.” Erick asked Poi, “This thing with Messalina… What do you think?”

“I think she needs to die for her crimes and that she is a threat to the security of this household. Taking into account her murder of murderers, and her… version of recalcitrance in her letters? I don’t know. She is an unknown factor, but many things are.” Poi said, “I cannot say, sir. But I do wish her the best in a speedy resolution to her vengeance.”

Erick breathed deep. He stared at the polymorph potion as he thought.  

He said, “You know, Poi? In my world, historically, revenge was almost never the correct, best choice of action. Accomplished revenge makes the person think that their actions were justified, and upon getting their pound of flesh, they realized they only want more, against other real or imagined slights. Violence begat violence.” He added, “And there’s the fact that just ruminating on revenge makes a person crave additional violence. And there’s the fact that revenge never restored what was lost in the initial act of violence.”

Poi listened.  

Erick turned to Poi, asking, “Is that thinking correct at all, here?”

Poi frowned slightly. He said, “I don’t know, sir. But even you had courts and justice, right? What are those, but revenge organized by the state? A community coming together to say that a person’s revenge is the correct action to undertake?”

“But there’s a degree of separation and communal judgment when a court is involved.”

Poi said, “I can tell you right now that if Messalina showed up and asked for Spur’s help in locating the Hand, we would be honor bound to execute her for her many, many, well documented necromantic crimes.”

Erick sighed out, saying, “Fuck.” He asked, “Is putting some willing person’s soul into a new body, murder?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Poi frowned. “Because they died.”

Moments passed. Erick stared at the black potion.

He asked, “How bad were letters Messalina sent us, warning us about the Headmaster?”

Poi said, “She is a self-involved cultist devoted to the temple of herself. But this does not make her wrong about at least one thing. The Headmaster is not Rozeta. He is not neutral. He takes a side, and never waivers.” Poi smiled, saying, “The Headmaster is rather famous for his desire to see both the moons of Hell and Celes destroyed.”  

Erick would have laughed, if the subject wasn’t so heavy. He said, “That’s one way to end the Quiet War.” Erick picked up the black potion. It had been sealed shut with [Stoneshape]. With a bit of his own [Stoneshape], Erick unfurled the pinched-glass bottleneck. “Here’s to good resolutions, whatever they may be.”

“I hope so,” Poi said.

Erick downed the potion, all at once. It tasted of licorice and body modification, which was a very weird taste. Erick Meditated. Tingles and touches flowed through his body, under his skin, along his bones. Through his guts and further down. Like an internal, gentle massage, the potion did its thing.

And Erick Meditated, feeling the mana all around him, like a warm ocean. His own mana flowed out, as new mana flowed in.

After 45 minutes, the potion stopped squirming. A blue box appeared.

--

Polymorph, instant, 500 MP

Change your physical body.

Familiar Forms: 1/12

~Erick Flatt

--

Erick breathed in, and left the skill at that. Jane once spoke of a slime body and the ability to remove unwanted invaders with a pluck of [Telekinesis]; maybe Erick needed to get a slime of some sort, too.

But that was enough of that. It was time to rain on the farms and to find the proper [Teleport] path to Oceanside.  

- - - -

Ophiel blipped across the empty sky, blue all around, wind under his wings. Far below laid the sands of the Crystal Forest. He blipped again, and still, the sky was blue all around, and the Crystal Forest stretched out in all directions. The sand here might have been a shade darker than before, or maybe not. Crystal Agave and Mimics plagued the land in every direction.

This place truly was an ecological disaster.  

Ophiel, and Erick, ignored the thousand year old environmental problem under them, and blipped again.

Sand met the sea; theoretically. Ophiel couldn’t see anything at that juncture of land and ocean, because the land was covered in Crystal Mimics. The jangling, blue-white monsters picked at the beach, stabbing green kelp that had washed up on shore, slicing it into bits and eating those bits. This was no place to have a nice picnic, but if someone was so inclined, they could probably get a lot of experience here. But only if they were at a level that could both handle this number of monsters, and still get something from the killing.  

A red mother mimic prowled among the rest.  

Ophiel stared at the monster, but then decided to ignore it.  

Another blip sent Ophiel deep into the sky above the ocean. Blue above; darker blue below.  

Blip.

Ocean.

Blip. Blip. More ocean.

… Blip. Blip. Blip

… Blip, blip, blip-blip-blip-blipblipblipblipblip—

Land!  

Now… if this was Oceanside, it would have… This was not Oceanside. This island was a tiny thing. Trees dotted the land just past the beach, and past that was a hill, but past that, was more ocean. This was not Oceanside. This was just a tiny, nowhere island.  

Ophiel blipped north. Then blipped again, and again. Then he vanished; dismissed.

Erick came back to himself, sitting in the sunroom, looking over the maps set on the coffee table.  

… Okay. Back to the original plan. Full [Teleport]s east, ten times, then three south. Fuck trying to find a shorter path. Oceanside really shouldn’t be this hard to find. It was a freaking two thousand kilometer long island, for Rozeta’s sake! Like, twice the length of New Zealand, but it was skinny the whole way from northeast to south-southwest. Erick might have overshot it, actually.  

It took Erick forty five more [Teleport]s to find Oceanside, but he finally found an ‘island’ which was absolutely covered in mountains, beaches, seaside cliffs, and trees hundreds of meters tall. Flying high in the sky over the center, Erick barely saw the ocean on one side, and after flying rapidly east, the other ocean came into view.  

Another blip took Ophiel north. Over the ocean. Nothing but ocean, in every direction.

… Another blip south repositioned Ophiel over the actual Oceanside academy. Elation carried through from Erick to Ophiel, and Ophiel reflected that happiness back to Erick; they had finally found their destination. It really shouldn’t have been this hard to find. The city was the size of the lower half of a ten kilometer-wide mountain, after all.  

Smooth cream-colored towers stretched up from densely packed city with roofs and buildings of every color. The city grew upon on the arms and back of a crescent of mountain that long ago must have been the site of a massive celestial impact, or a long dead volcano. The land of the city stretched out into the ocean, like arms enfolding the water, while cliffs stretched north and south of the city, separated a thin beach from the treelines above the water. Oceanside was the perfect, naturally protected harbor, in the middle of a coast of tall cliffs.  

Boats flying every color cloth and design sailed in and out of that harbor, while people flew around on [Force Platform]s, or on their own, from one place to the next.  

Erick spent the next hour plotting a better course to Oceanside, and making sure his mana still flowed to the Ophiel over the farms; it did, the farms were getting their rain. When Erick was done plotting that course, he came back to himself, sitting in the sun room across from Kiri.  

Erick laughed, happy to see Kiri; to have someone to talk to about what he had just done.

“Welcome back.” Kiri asked, “Did you find the path?”

“I did!” He exclaimed, “Magic is fucking amazing! I could go there right now, if I wanted. Back on Earth a trip like this would take planning and organization, and I’d have to pack myself into a tin can that flies and sit there with my legs cramping up for hours. But no! Not on Veird!” Erick gusted, “Wonderful.”

Kiri smiled, saying, “It boggles me how your people managed to live without magic.”

Erick switched gears. “It boggles me how a few bad apples in your societies don’t use the Script to just kill everyone they want.” Erick said, “Sure, you got killers on Veird, too, but if the average person on Earth had access to this level of weaponry we’d have had an apocalypse on our hands.”

Kiri paused. She scrunched her face at Erick, asking, “Really?”

“Yes,” he said. “Undoubtedly.”  

“But wouldn’t people like that tend to die early, and quickly? That’s what happened to the people like that back in Tower Town.” Kiri said, “We call people like that waywards; those who cannot maintain the politeness that city life demands. They usually become hunters living outside the walls, if they can live long enough to not get executed by the Guard.”

Erick said, “We just didn’t have access to this level of power, Kiri. Not on the individual level. Earth and Veird’s circumstances are vastly different, in almost every way. We didn’t live in walled cities. We didn’t have monsters outside those non-existent walls.”

“… Surely you still had violence?”

“Physical violence was a very small part of life.” Erick thought for a second, and said, “My life, anyway.” He thought for another second, then said, “Mostly.”

“Oh. Emotional violence, then? That’s pretty common.” Kiri seemed to speak from experience, “Very common.”  

Erick nodded. “The first time I ever killed anything was when I came here. Back on Earth, I was just a guy in the system, trying to get by and help others in the process.” Erick said, “Most people were like that.” He added, “But actual violence was rare; the State was supremely powerful. You couldn’t act against them; not really.”

“That sounds almost exactly the same as here, though.”

“Imagine only the state having the Script.”

“… Oh.” Kiri said, “Well. They’re the only ones that use their power inside city limits. So it doesn’t really sound all that much different.”

Erick smirked, saying, “Maybe so.”

Kiri nodded, then said, “I found my spell.”

“Ah!” Erick smiled wide. “Fantastic! So? What is it?”

Kiri conjured three sheets of paper onto the coffee table between them, saying, “I’ve had to pop seven [Scry] eyes today. I can see why you don’t write anything down.”

Erick chuckled, picking up the papers, saying, “Only seven? That’s pretty low.” He started reading. There was a lot of information here, and a lot of it was extrapolations from Erick’s own magics. “I don’t think [Crystallize Diamond] would be useful in this way. But I can see where you would get that idea.”

Kiri said, “Maybe not something like [Crystallize Diamond], specifically, but the idea of a solid matrix is an old standby. An extrapolation from [Crystallize Diamond] is only one possible way for this spell to work.”

Erick set down the papers and asked, “[Harden Wall], though? Surely someone has made this before.”

“It is true that [Harden Wall] is already a spell along the [Stoneshape] line, but I want a Particle version that makes [Unbreakable Wall] and is usable with any medium; even air. The name is a placeholder, mainly because it’s easy to rhyme with ‘wall’.” Kiri said, “I don’t actually have a [Solid Ward] yet, but I want to know if this is possible. If this works, it could trivialize [Force Wall].”

“This seems like an application of all the other Shaping spells, too.”

Kiri said, “Well… More like [Force Wall], and an Altering or a Shaping, and sometimes both. But: yes.”

“I almost had it correct.”

Kiri smiled. “Almost.”

Erick read over what he was looking at, and threw a hundred mana at the air, asking for Particular Insight into Kiri’s particular spell. No response came. Erick looked to the ceiling of the sunroom and saw orange stone lit by wardlights, and a normal enough manasphere; like soupyness to the air.  

He frowned.  

He threw another mana through Particular Insight.  

A voice came to Erick, along with a divine twist of the manasphere; Phagar spoke, ‘Oh hello there. Busy busy! Uh. This spell… It should work if you made it, not sure if it will work if she makes it. There’s obvious problems.’ A pause. ‘Already been made, though. Well… Mostly. I’m looking through the registry now, and it looks like… Oh. Over a thousand new spells.’ Another pause. ‘Looks like Rozeta is going to do some culling, soon. Go ahead and make this spell. If it’s different enough, and better, this spell might replace the one already out there.’

‘Thank you.’

A whisper of divine light left the room. Erick looked down to Kiri. Her emerald eyes were wide and unblinking. At Erick’s glance she looked down to stare, with her entire being, at her papers.  

Erick said, “Looks like a spell similar to this one has already been made, but a culling of excess magic will take place soon. If this one is better than the one already out there, this one will remain.”

Kiri’s eyes traced around the room, eventually coming back to Erick. She whispered, “How do you know that?” She instantly said, “Nevermind!” She stood, slightly frantic. “Let’s go make it?”

Erick smiled, remaining seated. “First, I want to talk about this part here...”

“Uh!” Kiri sat back down. “Sure!”

For almost twenty minutes, Erick worked with Kiri to perfect her spell.

- - - -

The sun held high in the sky, in a semi-random part of the Crystal Forest. Agave and mimics, and all that; it was still kinda beautiful to see, but after witnessing the tall trees of Oceanside, Erick wanted to spend some time in an actual green place for a while. Not just green farmland that only existed because of his own daily magics.

… When he got back, he was going to find some way to turn some part of the Crystal Forest back to green, without the mimics coming back to ruin the whole thing.  

Erick stood beside Kiri on a stone platform. “Go ahead and get in touch with the magic.”  

Kiri frowned a little but she schooled her face, and stared out into the sky. The air flowed across her body, ruffling her clothes—

“This is really stupid.” Kiri said, “I don’t understand this— this singing thing.”

“Okay okay.” Erick asked, “But? Do you really have to understand? Not everything has to be understood to work. I don’t know why electricity and gravity exist, but I know they work. Besides, there’s already a well established heritage of rhyming in enchanting. And this is what you’re doing: Enchanting a spell out of the manasphere.”

“… Enchanting and… this, are completely different.”

“They’re really not.”

Kiri breathed deep, the dry air. She said, “You… might be correct.”

Erick smiled. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. But what worked for me, was communicating with the mana, and working with it to create what I want. In this way, this process is exactly like enchanting. Only instead of communicating with the Script along predetermined lines, you’re communicating with the Mana.”

Kiri latched onto that, saying, “That is the difference, and it is huge.”  

“If you’re scared of an Error, both Poi and I each have—”

“I’m not!—” Kiri spoke calmly, “I’m not scared of an Error.”

Erick nodded, then silently stepped back.

Kiri said, “I’m just… never mind.”  

Erick watched as Kiri breathed deep.

Kiri stared north, at the blue sky. She held her head high, her green scales sparkling in the sunlight like dew on leaves. Her shoulders relaxed. Her arms opened up. She said a few quiet words; a prayer of some sort. She sang,

“Objects object to solid stable, where time seems froze as though a fable  

“but here be once where naught is moved; a picture snapped, a myth is proved.  

“But time’s not froze, it’s simply stabile; space can’t change, it is not able!

“A domain fast struck with heavy zeal, lock down this lot: [Hermetic Seal]!

Erick mostly noticed Kiri falling to the ground. He rushed to her, rod of [Treat Wounds] already out and glowing. He caught her before she struck the sand, his free arm catching her by her back, lowering her to the ground, as he knelt behind her to support her weight and tap the rod to her stomach. Magic flowed into her, as she sank to the ground. Her eyes fluttered. Erick held her upright, and tapped her again with the rod of [Treat Wounds].

She sighed out, “Fuck. Literally all my mana.”

Erick chuckled, supporting Kiri on the sand. Both of them looked up at the air.  

There was no wind. There was no visible wall. With Meditation, though, the air was solid green. For about ten meters to the left and the right, and maybe five meters up, a blob wall of green laid upon the sands of the Crystal Forest, like an unmoving slime. Erick flipped Meditation on and off a few times, and was amazed at the difference, and at the pure invisibility of the spell outside of Meditation.

A blue box hovering to Erick’s side was a small distraction from the sight in front of him. Erick almost read the spell Kiri had made, but he wanted Kiri to see it first, to understand what she had done, as soon as she stopped blinking and was able to actually look at the land in front of her.  

Kiri sat up and away from Erick, wonder in her eyes.

Kiri reached out, forward. She touched the invisible green air. She stood up, giggling, touching her spell with both hands now. She leapt to her feet and traced the invisible magic. She laughed loud, then said, “It’s not cold!” Kiri turned to Erick, one hand still touching the solid air, saying, “I thought it would be cold! Cold is zero molecular movement, right?”

Erick smiled as he stood and slipped the rod of [Treat Wounds] back into his pocket. “Heat and cold are more differentials than solid ideas. If something is able to warm itself by stealing your heat, that is cold. If something loses heat to you, when you touch it, that is warm.” Erick paused. “But I guess that’s all a little confusing. Anywho—” Erick stepped to the solid, invisible green air beside Kiri, and touched it; it was not hot, it was not cold. It was unchanging. Frozen in the moment, but not really frozen at all. Erick said, “This won’t impart or take away heat, therefore it is not cold, or hot. What it is, is probably the perfect insulator, though.”

Kiri exclaimed, “Oh! Insulators don’t allow changes to pass through them. You said that.”  

Her eyes trailed to the air; she was reading. Erick decided to read the spell, too.

--

Hermetic Seal 1, instant, medium range, <250 MP>

A <medium sized area> becomes unchanging, for 1 hour per spell level. <Damage dispels Hermetic Seal.> <Hermetic Seal fails when cast on living creatures.>

--

Kiri laughed again, happy to say, “Medium area! That’s the top of what’s possible!” She quickly added, “For me, for now.” She said, “That last bit is somewhat true of [Force Wall], too, but when [Force Wall] is cast upon a living thing it just fails to reach where the living creature had been; the spell doesn’t fail completely.” She read the air, then tapped the [Hermetic Seal]. Her eyes went wide as she pointed into the spell, saying, “Glowbugs did not make it fail, they just carved a minor-sized hole in the working.”

Erick looked where she was pointing. “You’re right.”

Tiny glowbugs were trapped by the spell, but as they moved, the spell disintegrated around them. One particularly industrious bug trapped near the edge had poked at enough of the air around it to crack a path outside of the spell. As Erick watched, that crack widened.

Kiri said, “They’re making it fail, though.”  

“Cast it again; trap nothing. See if you can shape it to expand from the center, and push out living things.” Erick said, “Though that would likely be an expensive shaping.”

“… I have no mana.” Kiri said, “I really need to pick a Scion.”

Erick chuckled. “I like Scion of Focus. No mana exhaustion! Endless mana. Class skills can double your mana, anyway, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Kiri said, “Valid points.”

Erick tapped the solid air again. The tapping made no sound, except the sound of his own bones and flesh vibrating from the hit. He said, “You know, this line of thinking could be used in a hundred different ways.” He added, “It’s completely invisible except through Meditation, too. You could shape this into rather deadly traps.” He considered, then said, “Or use this same methodology to create other spells. Like [Hermetic Whip], and [Hermetic Slicer]. Maybe even a [Hermetic Death Spiral Cutter], or whatever you want to call it. The word ‘Hermetic’ has some heavy religious overtones back on Earth, but it also means a space protected from outside influences, and that sort of insular protection can make a very fine knife.”

Kiri’s eyes lit up, sparkling green in the sunlight. And then great big drops of tears began to roll out, sliding down her face as she laughed and cried at the same time. She said, “Thank you.”

Erick sniffled, smiling as he looked away, then he exaggerated a previous joke, “With great power, comes great responsibility!”

Kiri laughed, happy tears rolling down her greenscale face.

- - - -

Erick stood alone in the Crystal Forest, with Poi several meters away. Kiri would have stayed to play around with her spell, and to watch Erick work on his, but her eyes were heavy; she needed to sleep off her spellwork. They would be going to Oceanside in hours, if Erick got this next spell right.  

… They’d be going in a few hours anyway, but the trip would be a lot more complicated if he failed.

He channeled mana through [Teleport], producing a sound of travel and an afterimage of light, as he moved his hand through the air. Next came [Stone Travel].  

--

Stone Travel, instant, medium range, 50 MP + Variable

A large area of stone stabilizes around you, then quickly moves at your discretion across or through other stone. Lasts 1 hour.

--

A solid, horizontal light flowed from Erick’s hand. The top was solid, like a disk, but the bottom trailed off into nothing, like stalactites or moss dissipating into the ambient mana. It was a sound of travel. Almost exactly the same as [Teleport], but different.  

[Force Platform] came next.

--

Force Platform X, instant, close range, 50 MP

Create a mobile, hovering platform of hardened mana that moves with you. Absorbs 100 damage before breaking. Lasts 10 minutes per level.

--

The mana display from his hand was very similar to [Stone Travel], if a bit more solid.

Three Ophiel around Erick, each 3 meters tall and fully feathered, each took up one of the sounds, becoming a chorus. Together, they created a song of travel, of vast distances covered, and heavy loads supported.

If that was all that happened, Erick would have felt good about the spell. But one of the spells was not like the other. [Stone Travel] was too solid. It was a methodical, singular sound; a walk from one point to the next, while the other two were airy enough to go anywhere.

Erick quieted the [Teleport] Ophiel, for now; it was the most odd of the two airy travel sounds. The music between [Stone Travel] and [Force Platform] joined into a beat, and a rhythm. A perfect harmony. Erick smiled.  

[Stone Travel]. [Force Platform].

For five meters in every direction, the yellow and brown sand under Erick’s feet turned to solid, flat stone. Ophiel trilled in violins as the three of him fluttered away, into the air. The ground shifted; Erick lurched to the side, but stayed upright, spreading his legs wide and throwing his hands around to catch his balance, as the flat land under his feet lifted, up, and up. Erick laughed as the platform moved through the air. He watched Poi, still on the sand, from his floating platform.

--

Stone Platform, instant, close range, 107 MP + Variable

Create a mobile, hovering platform of stone that moves quickly at your discretion. Supports a medium amount of weight. Lasts 1 hour.

--

Erick smiled as he flew around in the sky like a man on a giant, stone surfboard. Wind ripped at his clothes as the ground became a distant thing. The sun beat down, warm and bright, but Erick felt cold; the [Airshape] in his Handy Aura usually kept the wind off of him, but this spell had no such protections.  

Still, Erick laughed as he flew. Ophiel trilled out violins, happy to join in the flight, the three of him flying around Erick like an honor guard, flanking him and flying ahead.

Erick called out to Poi, still on the ground, “I don’t know which is better! [Cleanse], or [Flight]!”

Poi smiled, all the way down on the ground, giving no reply but a small nod of his head; Erick could tell with [Ultrasight].

When Erick was done experiencing his new spell, and spending another hundred mana on the Variable portion of the spell, flying around, Erick set back down near the ground, near Poi. He channeled mana through [Teleport] and [Stone Platform], and with Ophiel, he found a song of travel.

Erick cast, and magic combined. The stone under his feet crumbled and remade itself as Erick and the platform reappeared twenty meters to the right, but the platform looked different. A blue box appeared.  

--

Teleporting Platform, instant, 197 MP + Variable, 204 MP per person + Variable

Create a mobile, hovering platform of stone that moves quickly at your discretion. Supports a large amount of weight. Lasts 1 hour.

You and the people or objects on your Teleporting Platform appear in a known location, max 1000km distance.  

--

Erick read over the spell, then dismissed the box and looked to his feet. The platform was different than before. Where it had been sand turned into solid stone, now it was stone with white words carved into the surface, like a hundred slashes all jumbled up in a circular runic pattern. The words were Ancient Script. [Teleport] had been inscribed upon the platform, in deep, white lines of Force, in that same circular writing that Kiri showed him that formed the basis for modern mage training.

With a push at the spell, the platform moved through the air the same as before.  

With a deeper push, Erick and the platform [Teleport]ed again, down to the ground next to Poi.

Poi yelped, then complained, “Sir!”

Erick laughed, saying, “I got our ride to Oceanside. You ready to go?”

Poi breathed in, calming himself as he looked down at Erick’s [Teleporting Platform]. He asked, “It… can [Teleport] all of us?”

“Yup!” Erick said, “All at once, too. Might have to take a break halfway through, but I got a delivery to make to Odaali anyway.”

Poi frowned. “You’re really going to give them unwanted… artifacts? Sir?”

“I will not be seen as someone who reneges on their bargains.” Erick said, “I’m still mad at Tenebrae for failing to show up to kill the second Queen Daydropper.”

Poi said, “Very well, sir.” He looked over the platform. “So… We just stand on it?”

The platform was only a foot off the ground, but Erick dropped it all the way to the sand, saying, “Yup! Hop on up.”

Poi read the writing, but said nothing as he stepped onto the platform. Erick dismissed all but one Ophiel, and turned that last one small enough to sit on his shoulder. Poi set his feet a bit wider, then nodded.

With a crash of white, the platform, Erick, Poi, and Ophiel, all [Teleport]ed, back to Spur, directly in front of the house.

- - - -  

In the front yard, Kiri stood upon Erick’s [Teleporting Platform] and read over the Ancient Script for the third time, while Erick continued to step out of the way so she could read.  

Kiri spoke as she read, saying, “This is… As far as I can tell, it’s a perfect diagram of the [Teleport] rune.” She stood up, waving a hand saying, “The last time I didn’t know, but I looked it up.” She gestured at the [Teleport Platform], saying, “This is how we know of Ancient Script and of the Runes; sometimes they appear on uncommonly good spellwork. Higher tier [Teleport] spells almost always get the Ancient Script inscribed upon them.”  

Teressa stepping onto the platform and set down two huge bags, right where Kiri was pointing, saying, “Done inspecting the spellwork?”

Kiri frowned at the disrespect of the magic, moving aside for Teressa, saying, “You all really should respect this level of magic more.”

Rats followed Teressa onto the platform, plopping more bags where Kiri was reading, saying, “Time to get this show on the road.”

Kiri pouted, narrowing her eyes at Rats, as she continued to read the platform. Rats just smiled, as he sat down where she was reading. Kiri harrumphed. She folded her arms together and ignored the floor at her feet.

Erick asked, “Don’t you have bags to get, Kiri?”

Kiri sighed, then hopped off the platform to walk past Poi, into the house.  

Poi set his bag on the platform, saying, “Odaali has been informed, and they’re not happy.”

Erick frowned. “Yetta, Wilhelmina, and Cyril? None of them want what they bargained for?”

“That is correct,” Poi said.

Teressa said, “That’s disappointing.”

“They’re missing out!” Rats said. He looked at the platform, saying, “Doesn’t the Wayfinder’s Guild have one of these?”

Poi said, “Yes. Two of them. The Farmer’s Council has both of those mages contracted out for the foreseeable future, though. The Wayfinder’s Guild of Spur is happy. Usually this spell goes unused.”  

Kiri came out of the door of the house, carrying a bag, saying, “Ready!” She hopped up onto the platform, saying, “All good.” She turned to Poi, saying, “No important documents left.”

“Good.” Poi said, “Then I’m ready, too.”

Teressa stood tall on the platform, her grey armor glinting in the afternoon sun, saying, “Ready.”

“Good to go!” Rats looked up at the sun, shading his eyes as he said, “It’s going to be dark by the time we arrive if we leave any later than this.”

“Quite right.” Erick looked around at the flat, orange stone of the Human District, and his garden out front. Lemon trees swayed in the breeze, while the house stood tall, and firm. It was a good house; two towers, three floors. Plenty of space. Erick breathed in the desert air, and said, “Okay.”

Ophiel hovered over the platform, singing in soft violins in his tiny, tiny form, as he set down on Erick’s shoulder. He settled in with tiny, hidden talons gripping into Erick’s shirt, as his eyes winked open and shut, taking in the sights.

Erick said, “Okay!”

Blip.  

They reappeared a thousand kilometers to the east, a hundred meters up from the ground, exactly on track to where Erick had pathed earlier in the day. Wind blew, and Rats laughed as he looked out across the land. Teressa smiled. Kiri stared, while Poi was as calm as ever. Rats, Teressa, and Kiri each sat down, each with their own expressions of sudden surprise on their faces; Poi and Erick remained standing.  

Rats said, “I don’t actually have a flight spell.” He looked out across the land, saying, “But I can see the appeal.”

Erick said, “We should get you one! I can help, you know.”

Rats smiled, saying, “No thanks. This isn’t for me.”

Poi said, “You should get one. I forsee us traveling like this quite a lot.”

Rats chuckled as he edged toward the edge, looking down, “Maybe I should.”

Erick glanced at his mana. [Teleport]ing 5 beings and their stuff seemed to cost 600-ish mana, meaning he could do seven [Teleport]s until he needed a rest. Good to know. He said, “Here we go.”

Blip. Blip. Blip.

The Temporary White Palace laid in front of Erick and his people. Odaali-in-Exile had retaken the Kingdom City a while ago; almost everyone who had been here, was back in Odaali by now. This place was only left as a monolith to the lives lost.

It was a solitary building, now that the battle was over and the battlefield cleaned up. It was also empty, save for one person who stood at the entrance to the White Palace; Yetta.

- - - -

Yetta stood tall in the doorway to the Temporary White Palace. Yellow leather-like [Conjure Armor] protected her dark skin, and held back her curly hair. Bright brown eyes watched as Erick’s [Teleport Platform] descended to ground level.  

Erick hauled out an orange stone box from a bag at his feet, as Poi stepped down onto the grasses next to the platform. Kiri, Teressa, and Rats remained behind as Erick stepped down to the ground, carrying his stone box under an arm. Ophiel lifted up from Erick’s shoulder and took, gently, to the air, as Erick walked to Yetta.

Erick called out, “Hello, Yetta!”

Yetta said, “You should keep those gems with you, and leave.”

Erick paused. He was ten meters away from the Champion. He frowned. He kept walking to her.  

Yetta stressed, “Odaali rescinds their bargain struck with you. We need no further support. Please leave.”

Erick paused, again. He asked, “What’s going on here, Yetta?” He asked, “You are Yetta, right?”  

Yetta flared a twinge of Divine Fire, flickering the manasphere with an unseen heat. She said, “Of course I am.”

“Then why?” Erick stood three meters from her, now, holding the stone box of gems out to her, saying, “These are artifacts. You can sell them or use them, or what have you. I want to help your nation repair itself.”

Yetta’s eyes flickered from dark brown, to wheat-yellow. She spoke, “I want to accept your help. Odaali wants your help. But we cannot.”  

Erick relaxed his arms, holding the box to his side.

Yetta continued, “We have struck deeper bargains with stronger organizations than one singular archmage. A major part of those bargains is to cut ties with you.” She said, “If I were to accept those... artifacts… I would imperil my nation. I cannot do this.”

Erick held the stone box, frowning. He asked, “Who is doing this?”

“The rest of the Republic. From there, I think the true foe lies in wait, in Portal.” Yetta said, “Portal is not just the gateway to Spur and the Crystal Forest, but to almost every nation everywhere with a border on the Letri Ocean.”

Erick frowned deeper, saying, “Caradogh Pogi, the Lower-Trademaster of Portal. He’s a really big deal, isn’t he?”

Yetta facade cracked. She gusted, “Yes.”

“What the fu—” Erick looked over Yetta, his words cutting out when his eyes saw her waist. Yetta was missing the belt Erick had made her. The artifact belt, worth 60 Strength. At another look, her ring for 30 Vitality was also gone. Disgusted, Erick demanded, “Where’s your belt! I made that for you. What about the other stuff?”

Yetta sighed, saying, “I destroyed them; it was part of the deal.” She added, “All of that which you gave us we destroyed.”

Erick breathed deep. He exhaled, then he said, “Fuck that fucker!”

Yetta chuckled, then frowned again, saying, “Sorry, Erick.”

“I’m sorry, Yetta. I pissed off that asshole and now he’s denying you the ability to accept my help.” Erick said, “The plan to create a [Gate] network is going forward.” He asked, “Does Odaali want a permanent [Gate] to the Crystal Forest? To Spur? That’s what I’m going to work on, now.”

Yetta smiled, softly, and a little sad. She said, “Maybe.” She tilted her head. She looked at Erick then held out her hand, saying, “I’m being told to do this...”

Divine yellow light flowed from her brown hand, like [Teleport], but wider. She moved her hand through the air. There was no dual light, but a flow, a path; a tunnel, somehow. Erick stood straighter. And then the light cut, but the sound did not vanish. Ophiel hummed the tune as he floated beside Erick. His song was a reflection and recreation of Yetta’s —or rather Atunir’s— [Gate].  

Erick bowed, saying, “Thank you. Yetta. Atunir.”

Yetta nodded, silently.

Erick briefly looked back to the platform, before turning back to Yetta, asking, “If this box were to fall off the back of the [Teleport Platform], would that be a problem?”

Yetta said, “We would have to throw such a thing into a grinder and then heavily [Dispel] and [Cleanse] the remains, so that no stray magical corruption was allowed to flourish.”

Erick sighed, saying, “Sorry this couldn’t work out.”

“It is what it is, and nothing more.” Yetta said, “We are rebuilding. We are culling the growing banditry from our wounded nation and bringing scattered people back to their homes. Odaali is coming back. We will be fine without your assistance, though we will always appreciate your help in getting to this point.” Yetta said, “Atunir appreciates your contributions to the world, as well, but she would like to know when you’re going to try making that ‘chocolate’ you talked about.”

Erick smiled, a touch of mirth returning to the day. “Soon. Chocolate is not an easy thing to make.”

Yetta said, “Atunir wishes you to know that there is a tree that produces beanfruit in the jungles of eastern Nergal. You can likely find of this red and white striped fist-sized fruit in Eidolon. It is called ‘Tarip’, and every part of the fruit, seeds and all, are used to make a complicated, sweet and savory, oily jam. This might be a good start.”

Erick made a mental note of ‘Tarip’, and said, “Thank you.” He added, “Good luck with the rebuilding. If your situation should change, I’m not too far away.”

“Thank you, Erick.” Yetta stood tall, saying, “Good luck with your [Gate] network.”

Erick nodded, holding the stone box tight. He turned, saying, “Farewell, Yetta.”

“Farewell, Erick.”

- - - -

Liquid walked into her office, and paused. A stone box sat on her desk. She left her office, demanding, “Where the fuck did this box come from?”

Her secretary, Thom, said, “Archmage Erick’s [Familiar] dropped it off, just now.”

Liquid turned back to her office, and glared at the box, her grey metal skin rippling; it was another box of artifacts, no doubt. Did that idiot not understand what he was doing? He was just making artifacts! And then handing them out!

But maybe she was wrong? Maybe it was something else?

Another ripple of fear passed through her grey metal body. Maybe it was something worse than artifact rings. She tiptoed over to the box. She undid the stone latch, and opened it.

“Slag,” Liquid said, seeing row upon row of silver spheres, each the size of a pebble, each locked into a bar of metal, waiting to be [Metalshape]ed onto the fingers of their recipients. “More fucking rings. Dammit.”

“Oh?” Thom stuck his head into Liquid’s office, asking, “Can I get one of those this time? Willpower would be great.”

Injecting as much sarcasm into her voice as possible, Liquid said, “Sure! Would you like a million gold while I’m at it?”

Thom deadpanned, “I could use a raise.”

Liquid slammed the door in his face.

- - - -

Ocean as far as the eye could see. Clouds piled high. Wind blowing hard.

Rats shivering, saying, “Where the fuck are we? I’m so damned cold.”

“Okay okay!” Erick said, “Just give me a minute! I already pathed it once. I must have over corrected somewhere in the last two jumps.”

Blip.

More ocean. More clouds.

Kiri frowned, sitting down on the [Teleport Platform], saying, “If we die up here, I’m going to be very cross.”

Poi said, “We’re not going to die up here.”

“He’s right.” Rats said, “We’re going to die screaming, falling into the ocean.”

Erick frowned.

Blip.

Green forests stretched out—

“Oh thank the gods!” Rats said, “But it’s still too cold.”

… Green forests stretched out ahead of Erick, and everyone else. Pinks and golds painted the sky, as the sun dipped down in the west; Oceanside would have a lot of nice sunsets, wouldn’t it? Erick smiled.  

“There it is!” Kiri squealed.  

A kilometer away, rose the hundred-meter tall, cream-colored towers of Oceanside Arcanaeum, and the crescent-shaped bay and mountain that the school grew upon. The entire place was a study in pastel color, blues and reds and yellows; mostly on the roofs, but some of the smaller buildings were colors aside from cream, too. People flew in the air, in patterns, and with a bit of [Ultrasight], Erick saw that they flew along paths laid in the air that glowed; likely [Permanent Special Wards]. People flew from towers to ground, from the forest to the city— Oh!

Erick stepped to the side of the [Teleporting Platform] and looked down. In the twilight forest below, houses and lights lit up the spaces between the fifty-meter tall trees. The people and their places were mostly hidden from the air, but as Erick moved the platform toward the city, he saw more and more houses and otherwise down in the forest.

And as Erick looked forward, with Meditation active, his breath caught in his chest as he saw a dual meaning in the word ‘Oceanside’.

The manasphere moved like a second ocean over Oceanside; a solid rush of mana that rolled in from the west, but filled with eddies and swirls. As that intangible ocean hit the crescent harbor of the city, and the city itself, mana rolled up and over buildings and rock and into the woods, like a crashing wave; an intangible hydraulic jump. Compared to the manasphere’s gentle flow in the Crystal Forest, this area was practically a river.  

Erick stared into that river, and smiled.

“It’s beautiful,” Kiri said.

Poi said, “Incoming.”

Erick turned eyes-forward, ignoring the brilliance of the manasphere, just in time to see a trio of people in cream-colored robes flying up from the city. They flew directly at Erick’s platform.

Erick stepped forward, while Kiri, Poi, Rats, and Teressa, stepped behind him. He stopped the platform’s forward movement.

The lead person—

It wasn’t a person at all. It was a robe, and it hovered in front of Erick’s platform like it was a sentry. It was an animated, empty robe, with boots, and a mask, and it was all one color: cream. All three of the not-people were the same. All three of them set themselves in the air in front of Erick’s platform. They were magical constructs, and if Erick wasn’t wildly wrong, they were likely [Familiar]s.

The lead one spoke, “Name and business?”

“Uh.” Erick decided to answer, “Erick Flatt, here at Headmaster Kirginatharp’s… idea.”

The three not-people went still. Then the other two bowed as the lead one spoke with eloquence, saying, “You have been approved. Welcome to Oceanside Arcanaeum and City, Archmage Erick Flatt and guests. If you could please wait here, your appointed liaison will soon arrive to properly welcome you to our fair city.”

Erick said, “Thank yo—”

The world’s shortest orcol blipped into the air, ten meters away from Erick’s platform. She was the size of tall human, maybe 6’5”, while her long black hair was tied in a braid down her back. She wore a cream-colored tunic and breeches, with while a short green cloak wrapped around her shoulders, complimenting her seagreen skin. Erick knew this girl, but he had forgotten her name.

She immediately hovered closer, saying, “Greetings, Archmage Flatt! You might remember me? I’m Krigea Gadaroth. I was there during one of your original lectures.”

Erick smiled. “I remember, now. How have you been? Weren’t you on your way to a professorship?”

“It’s a process.” Krigea smiled wide, exposing her lower fangs, saying, “Welcome to Oceanside. For the duration of your stay, I have been appointed as your liaison.” The sunset turned her cream-colored clothes pinkish, as she asked, “Would you like to do some exploring before we go to Windy Manor? Or straight to the house? The Manor is always open and staffed with professionals, so dinner can either be provided, or you can seek sustenance in the city.”

Rats suggested, “Manor, please.”

Poi nodded.

Erick deferred to his companions, saying, “Manor first, if you could.”

- - - -

It was a short flight to Windy Manor. Krigea led the way, over the cliffs that stretched north of the city, over the tall forest, to a place where tall trees surrounded a well-tended property, and the crashing waves below were a distant, pleasant sound. Salt vaguely scented the air, but up here, the air was clean and clear, and moist.

The house itself was a wood and glass affair of several stories, set back from the cliffside by two dozen yards, and with no obstructions between the house’s tall windows and the ocean to the west. Sunlights illuminated the wood and stone interior, while the sun set on the horizon, painting everything a bit darker, a bit more red and gold. Erick stared out at that sunset, down on the water, for a good moment. He had never lived by the ocean; this would be a treat.

Krigea said, “Welcome to Windy Manor!”

Krigea set down on the space between the cliff and the house, on a granite stone walkway, amid a well maintained grassy yard. Erick set the platform down over the grass.

Rats immediately hopped off the platform, saying, “I love the ground.”

Erick followed, looking over the house, saying, “It’s quite lovely. Thank you.”

Krigea said, “It’s even better inside. Ah! And here comes the groundskeepers.”

A door to the side of the house’s main windows opened. A man and a woman stepped out, both of them wearing black and white outfits similar to that of a butler and maid, but from a culture Erick had never known. The man was incani with small horns and pink skin, while the woman was human and pale, with blond hair.  

While Teressa, Kiri, and Rats gathered the bags, Erick followed Krigea to the groundskeepers, while Poi stayed behind him.  

Krigea introduced, “Groundskeepers Vinsez, and Powell. They will be overseeing their normal maintenance of the house and the grounds, until you tell them otherwise.”

The groundskeepers bowed, then stood.  

The man, Vinsez, said, “Welcome to Windy Manor, Archmage Flatt.”

“Glad to be here!” Erick asked, “So this whole place is for us, for the duration?”  

“Correct.” Krigea said, “For however long you decide to stay.”

“It will be a little while, but not overly long.” Erick said, “My daughter is out traipsing around the world right now and she might be gone for months. I might decide to do the same.”

Krigea’s seafoam green eyes lit up. “That would be wonderful.”

Vinsez and Powell both bowed, but said nothing.

Teressa moved up with some bags. “Which way?”

“Right this way,” Powell said, quickly taking point, showing Teressa into the house.

Erick walked inside, following the flow. The immediate structure of the house reminded him of the Adventurer’s Guildhouse in Spur; with the large open room and multiple floors open to that central space. Erick turned around, happy that this central space had a veritable wall of windows, overlooking the outside, and the ocean.

Nice, heavy furniture dotted the room, in nooks and corners, while other open areas on the top floors held space for semi-privacy, while still allowing for the view of the ocean. The other end of the house was filled with rooms, both for sleeping and work. A small library held hundreds of books; most of them in Ecks, too.  

Erick explored, while Poi talked to Vinsez, and everyone settled in.

Krigea left soon after dropping everyone off at Windy Manor, and making introductions and plans for tomorrow. The groundskeepers stuck around a little while longer to explain some of the workings of the house, like the [Teleport] Blocking runes and the anti-[Scry] runes scattered around the house. None of them were powered, though. Erick was expected to do that himself, if he wished for such a safety measure.  

Teressa fired up the kitchen down on the first floor, quickly filling the central room with the smells of meat, testing the kitchen, as twilight crept into the house, and the groundskeepers departed to their own house, on the eastern side of the property. Wardlights were either cast, or revealed, as Kiri went around flicking open iron spheres in the corners of most of the rooms, allowing the radiance within to shine. Erick looked out over the darkening ocean, listening to Rats joke about scales rotting in the moist air, as Kiri told the redscale off, telling him he just needed to take care of himself properly.  

Erick thought, ‘This will be a nice place to stay, for a little while’.

- - - -

Soon, dinner was over, and the five of them were alone in the house. Erick surveyed the house and shaped a [Crystalline Air] around the property, while Poi did his detection magic and the other three went from room to room, scoping the place out.  

They soon discovered that while the place looked like the guest house of a king’s palace, it was fortified like a wartime installation. The walls were a meter thick in some places, and solid throughout. If there were hidden passages in those walls, Poi could not find them.  

Erick experimented with [Detect Magic] and Aurify, finding nothing but the magics of the lights, the rads they had brought with them, the magic on each person, and the rads in the appliances scattered in the kitchen, and in the bathrooms. This place had hot and cold running water. Erick could barely wait to take a real bath, but he would wait for the all clear from Poi.

After three hours of going over the home with all the magic at their disposal, they all gathered in the front room, beside the window overlooking the dark ocean, around a table with a large book upon its wooden surface. Kiri spoke of the anti-[Teleport] and anti-[Scry] runes she had found in the house, and declared them likely exactly what they appeared to be. If Erick wanted to use them, he could. Teressa and Rats found nothing untoward anywhere, either. Poi took that all in, and declared that the house was probably exactly as the Headmaster declared it to be: one of the finest places for visiting dignitaries to live, for an indeterminate amount of time.  

Erick looked over the book on the coffee table; it was a primer for the Arcanaeum, and he had already looked it over and decided what he wanted. He gestured to the book, asking, “Anyone know what they want to do, yet? I’m going for Spacial Magic 1-point-1, Enchanting 1-point-1, Defensive Theory 1-point-1, which should cover Mana Sense and Anti-Parasite defenses, and Esoteric Magic, which should cover everything else. That last one isn’t part of a series, but more a round table discussion on theory. There’s also Warrior Training for Mages. Might take that, too.” Erick looked to Kiri, and said, “And whatever you’d like to do, too. Did you pick any classes out, yet?”

Kiri had been smiling ever since she saw the cliffs and city of Oceanside, but now her smile went wide. She said, “Those sound like fantastic choices! I got halfway through the second year of all of those before— No matter. The point is, is that I can help wherever you want. Maybe not in Enchanting but—” She added, “I would like to attend Destruction Magic for the Potential Archmage. It’s not in that book, but they should have that class here; it’s not a standard class and we might have to go looking for it. I think you would benefit from it as well.”

“Sure.” Erick asked the other three people, “Rats? Poi? Teressa? You three want to do anything in particular?” He looked to Rats, “What about working on your [Greater Treat Wounds] quest?”

Rats said, “Eh! Maybe.”

Poi interjected, “We’re here to guard you, sir.”

Teressa agreed with a wordless grunt.

“But aren’t we in one of the safest spots in the world?” Erick asked, “There’s no Dead City right out the door. There’s just the ocean, and a forest full of people living and going to school.” Erick pointed at the huge glass windows, saying, “And there’s a hundred meter cliff between the ocean and us, too.”  

“Oceanside is one of the safest island nations in the world,” Kiri said, frowning at Poi. “The Headmaster’s Elite deal with any and all problems, including murder, and they track the offenders across the world.” She said, “I’m almost a hundred percent sure that Powell and Vinsez are Elites.”

Erick thought back to their groundskeepers, saying, “That makes me feel better.”

Poi sighed, saying, “If no single incident happens after a week, then we might think about relaxing our guard.”

“If nothing happens, I might go see about working on my quest,” Rats said. “They should have a hospital around here, somewhere.”

Teressa frowned, but said nothing.

Ophiel just watched everything and everyone from his perch on Erick’s shoulder.

Erick broke the silence, “I don’t want any of the anti-magic runes in this place on, because I would like to continue to be able to [Scry] and [Teleport] myself, but how would we go about charging all of that?”

Kiri piped up, saying, “Powell told me that they sold the potions for that sort of thing in town. Or we could crush up some of the grand rads we brought with us. One of them should provide a few days of [Scry] protection. If it’s not overly stressed.”

“I haven’t seen any [Scry] eyes since we arrived. It’s kinda nice, for a change.” Erick said, “Anyone seen any?”

“Nope,” Rats said.

Poi said, “None.”

Erick smiled. He had been popping a dozen eyes every day for two months, now.  

- - - -

Erick sat in a cozy corner on the second floor, surrounded by thick walls and nice wooden paneling, reading from Eduard’s [Familiar] training manual, while the night sky twinkled beyond the thick glass paneling of Windy Manor’s main room. Ophiel rested on a conjured pillow on the floor.

Poi walked up the wooden staircase in front of Erick, saying, “Sir. The Headmaster wishes to know if he can visit for a short while.”

Erick flummoxed Eduard’s book down onto the table in front of him, saying, “Uh! Sure!”

Poi said, “He has been informed, and will be here in minutes.”

Erick launched to his feet, as Ophiel launched into the air to land on Erick’s shoulder. Erick said, “Do we have any coftea left?” He mentally commanded Ophiel to stay in the front room, saying, “Not right now. You can watch, though.”

Ophiel whined as he went back down to his pillow.

“Teressa has been informed, and is already making some.”

Erick smiled, walking past Poi to step down the stairs, saying, “You guys are really good.”

Poi said, “Thank you, sir.”

Erick reached the first floor, just in time for a bright flash of gold light to fill the night, outside of the glass windows. Kiri eep’d next to the staircase, but Erick just continued to the door, beside the windows. For the absolute briefest of moments, a gold shadow illuminated the night, but then that shadow condensed to a point; to a person. The Headmaster was a small, old human man, who stood with a regal bearing, wearing gold and white embroidered robes like he was some Chinese emperor or classical dignitary. His hair was white, his skin was tan, and his eyes glowed amber. In the dim yellow yardlights of the front lawn, he looked almost like a golden ghost.

Erick opened the door to the front lawn, saying, “Hello, Headmaster! Thanks for the invite.”

The Headmaster smiled, saying, “Thank you for accepting.” He turned to the lawn. A wooden table and a pair of chairs were suddenly there. The Headmaster conjured them, certainly, but it happened so fast and so precise, that Erick never even knew he had cast a thing. “If we could please discuss your participation in Oceanside and the proceeding events of your stay?” The Headmaster sat down on one of his chairs. “It shouldn’t take long.”

Erick paused, then said, “Sure.” He sat down in his chair, asking, “So what’s the plan?”

Teressa walked out of the house, wearing immaculate grey clothes that she was not wearing earlier, and carrying a small tray with glass cups and coftea in a glass pitcher. Steam rolled up from the coftea; a warm mist in the calm light of the night, and the yellow wardlights scattered around the grassy lawn.

The Headmaster smiled wide, saying, “Oh, good! I was hoping for some of this.” His entire demenor went from quietly professional to gushing happiness, as Teressa set down the tray on the table. He asked, “This is that ‘coftea’, correct?”

Teressa bowed and nodded like a professional butler, saying, “Yes, sir.”

“And milk and sugar, too.” The Headmaster said, “I’m glad the house has been properly opened and someone is there. Haven’t had a guest in years. Are you happy with the location, Erick? Teressa?”

Teressa answered, “Full pantry, full wine cellar. It’s great.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Headmaster.” Erick said, “It’s all quite nice.”

Teressa bowed, and exited; back to the house.

The Headmaster served himself, but paused when it came to adding milk and sugar. He asked, “How do you drink it?”

Erick poured himself a cup, then added milk, saying, “I usually just do a bit of milk.”

“Then I shall try the same.” The Headmaster put milk in his coftea, then took a sip. He paused. He took another sip. He said, “Bitter, but there’s stimulants in here, and the milk does a lot to negate the bitterness. I take it you drink this for the perk of energy?”

Erick smiled, saying, “Yup. Everyone worked a lot of hours back on Earth, and coffee was a part of that culture.”

The Headmaster sipped more, saying, “I can see how that would happen.” He tentatively asked, “Would you, perhaps, [Grow] some of this, here? For us? Sometimes the students just are not prepared in the morning.”

“Of course.” Erick said, “Culture is best shared, and how am I going to get a cup when I’m out of the house if I’m the only one who has any?”

The Headmaster smiled, small and quaint, then said, “True.”  

They both sipped coftea for a little while. Erick waited for the Headmaster to speak; this seemed like that sort of scenario.  

The Headmaster said, “I heard Messalina wormed you.”

Erick frowned at nothing in particular. He set his drink down, and said, “Yes. But I pop dozens of [Scry] orbs every day. I think Poi intercepts and backlashes every [Telepathy] attempt made against me.” He looked to the air, saying, “I killed her Toxic Hydra, but her Flare Couatl is still killing hunters in the Crystal Forest. As long as her goals are to kill killers and there are no more incidents like with the Dream Worm, I can’t very well fault her for her methods of getting in touch with me.” He added, “If it would have actually gone away on its own.” He looked to the Headmaster, and said, “Well. I probably should fault her, for all of that. She mind controlled me, and was able to get a letter to me the next day. She had every chance to contact me without needing to enforce her will, first. She’s obviously not a good person, but she’s killing killers… So that’s that. For now.”

The Headmaster sipped his drink, then said, “Your unwillingness to involve yourself in the affairs of others is admirable, for power should never be used to inflict one’s self upon the world.” He said, “But power should be used to excise those who would do harm to others. Messalina is one such person, as you have already personally experienced, and will surely experience again.” He added, “Though I do not have to prove this to you; time will tell, and then you will become involved on your own volition.”

“Probably.” Erick said, “She wants me to make a Particle [Scan] spell that would work to find anyone without regard to how they hide themselves. She overestimates my capability.”

The Headmaster nodded, saying, “It would be a good spell, though it would certainly fall into a worldwide threat of a magic. You could uncover anyone hiding anywhere.”

Erick laughed, saying, “So even more surveillance than normal?”

“I take it that this was not the case on Earth?”  

Erick knew he was being pumped for information by one of the most powerful people on Veird. He knew this. But he didn’t want it to be this way. He wanted comradery. So he acted like a friend, and hopefully that would be enough to make it a reality.

Erick looked out at the darkness, and said, “Surveillance on Earth was pretty bad, but you still couldn’t just spend some mana and [Scry] anything you wanted to [Scry]. Information never vanished, though. Here on Veird you have books and ‘Knowledge Mages’, though I’m still not sure what those are, but your information goes cold. Someone could disappear if they wanted, and it would be difficult to find them without a starting point.”

“Are you looking to get lost in the world?”

“… It’s what Archmages do, right?” Erick said, “I certainly don’t want to vanish, but I am aware of the violence of your world. I’m here to learn how to defend myself from that violence so that I don’t need to go into hiding.”

The Headmaster nodded, saying, “You will have access to much knowledge, while you are here.” He added, “Dissuading others from their [Scry]ing ways is easy enough; any of the methods you will learn at Oceanside will provide you the privacy you seek. But you have provided many new ways of thinking, and magic, and even a whole new Class. You will need to prepare a great deal more for the trials of this world than most others.”

Erick smiled. “Got any tips?”

The Headmaster grinned out at the darkness, saying, “There are five people who have agreed to the terms of shared learning I have already outlined in the letter you received. It would have been ten, but the other five decided to be difficult regarding the bargain of trade.” He began listing names, “Tasar, Tenebrae, Ryul, Syllea, Hocni—”

“Tenebrae!” Erick said, “That asshole?”

The night shifted. The manasphere vibrated. Then the Headmaster laughed loud, three times, followed by a descending giggle. A sudden burst of mirth filtered out into the dark night, like a gong, much larger than the small man’s small body, reverberating through the forest, shaking the windows of the house. Erick felt both a reflection of that unbridled joy, and also like he would piss himself if the laughter went on for much longer. Thankfully, the Headmaster stopped laughing, but a brightness still filled the air.

The Headmaster said, “Tenebrae is certainly that way, but he is also one of the best Stone Mages to come along in four and a half centuries.”

“I’ll take your word on that,” Erick said, struggling to keep his voice even.

The Headmaster smiled, saying, “Tasar the Summoner. Tenebrae the Stone Mage. Then you have Ryul and Syllea; both Force Mages, though one is pure Force and the other is all for Alterings. Hocnihai is a Warder of uncommon ability. All of them are archmages. All of them have agreed to a bargain of trade. And I, too, will be sitting in, and trading.”

Erick joked, “I thought boarding and protection was a pretty good trade. Powell and Vinsez are part of your Elites, are they not?”

The Headmaster smirked into his coftea, saying, “They’re mostly here to knock down the students who decide to test you; Oceanside is a very safe place, even for famous archmages.” He added, “But feel free to knock down any wandering younglings that decide to bother you, though take care to not kill anyone. Lessons must be survived to be learned.” He frowned a little, adding, “Necromancy is forbidden in Oceanside.”

“Even for archmages looking to protect themselves?”

The Headmaster said, “Soulwork is for the advanced learners and those who have proven themselves a boon to society, who would not misuse such knowledge.” He added, “You are almost there, and that Silver Star helps your case a lot, so I will simply say that the option to learn soul magic will open up for you, but not right now.”

“Fair enough.”

The Headmaster finished his coftea and set his cup down, and stood up. Erick followed suit. As soon as he left the chair, both chairs, the table, and the tea set, vanished. Erick and the Headmaster stood alone on the grasses in front of Windy Manor, while wind blew through the tall trees outside of the garden-light lit property, and the stars twinkled in the cold sky. Erick spent a moment looking at where the tea set had been.  

The Headmaster said, “I cleaned and placed the tea set back in the cupboards.”

Erick smiled, saying, “Thank you.”

The Headmaster said, “Krigea will be here in the morning to attend to your scheduling. If it is alright with you, I would like to schedule your lecture for the morning after tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.”

The Headmaster nodded, asking, “Is there anything else you would like to speak of, before I go?”

“I’m interested in a renewal-type spell that would renew and strengthen whatever spells there are going on around me. The opposite of a [Dispel]; a [Renew]. Any ideas?”

The Headmaster scrunched his face, then said, “If it weren’t for Particle magic I would call this spell an impossibility, but we are living in a new age of magic.” His eyes twinkled amber, as he said, “I thought you were going to ask about creating a [Gate] network.”

“You can see how the parts would work together.” Erick said, “Unless I have that completely wrong.”

The Headmaster paused. He asked, “You don’t simply wish to use grand-rads to power such a device?”

“No.” Erick said, “Shouldn’t we be working to kill all the monsters, anyway? When they’re gone, how would we work the magic that requires rads to function?”

The Headmaster went utterly still, and then he smiled, as he breathed out. Sadness filled his eyes. “The impossible dreams of youth.” He said, “This is why I run a school, you know? To hear these dreams, and nurture those hopes.”

Erick felt the crushing weight of sorrow-filled years as he gazed at the Headmaster, in his immaculate white and gold robes. The man-shaped dragon was ancient. At least 1400 years old, but likely much older, since he was there for the Sundering and he was one of the ones to shape the plane into a planet; to set Veird spinning around the newly-crafted sun.   

Erick said, “Times change quickly once technology comes along. For my own world, we went from swords to starships in a hundred years. Would you like to see some of my world’s history?”

The Headmaster stood as tall as his body would allow. A tendril of thought connected him to Erick, as he said, ‘I would love to see some of the history of another world.’

Pure need flowed along that connection, and Erick obliged.  

The exchange was quick. Erick sent along pictures he remembered of the history books and shows he had seen over the years, giving small explanations here and there. He started with Ancient Greece, but quickly moved to Rome, then Great Britain bringing almost the entire world under their flag; almost never peacefully. Then came the printing press; books and words available to much of the world, speeding along ideas and information to the far corners of the globe. The industrial revolution came next, with brick towers belching smog into the air, but creating the wonders of cars and clothing and everything else on a scale never before seen on Earth.

A hundred years ago, people were dying to disease, but advancing microscopes and scientific study brought forth the cures from moldy cantaloupe, and antibiotics, and vaccines that managed to eradicate one disease forever, and hamper many others. People began to live longer, healthier lives. Food grew on modern farms, and everything got better. Computers made travel to the moon possible, and then humanity achieved that goal. Sure, missteps were made, and people suffered, but they also prospered.  

Erick said, “The computers came about seventy years ago. The people back on Earth are probably going to start a colony on either Mars or the Moon in a few decades.” He smiled. “Interstellar travel is obviously possible, too. So… Who knows what could happen from here?”

The Headmaster stared at the sky, his eyes wide, his shoulders relaxed. He chuckled. He rubbed a tear from an eye, as he said, “Our universe used to be much bigger than one living planet and seven dead rocks.” He sniffled. He said, “Maybe, if you live long enough and your people continue to advance, they might just arrive in our skies one day. Interstellar travel is obviously possible, as you say.”

Erick laughed. “Maybe!”

The Headmaster turned to Erick, and said, “Thank you. Good night.”

“See you later, Headmaster—” Erick added, “Before you go? Do you mind if I rain over this property? And garden, a bit?”

He smiled, saying, “Go ahead. This house and area are yours for the duration of your stay.”

The air blipped yellow. When the light dissipated, the Headmaster was gone.

Erick went inside. Tiny-sized Ophiel instantly landed on Erick’s shoulder. Erick petted his [Familiar] as Teressa, Rats, Kiri, and Poi, each nonchalantly stood around in the main room. But as the door to the front lawn closed behind Erick, they all spoke at once.  

Rats said, “Fucking hell he really is a dragon.”

“Of course he is, you dumbass!” Teressa said, “You heard that laugh.”

Poi asked, “What did you show him?”

Kiri asked, “Are we cleared for classes?!”

Erick smiled, saying, “Yeah. We are.”  

Kiri gave a high pitched, quiet squeal.

Erick added, “And just some Earth history, Poi.”

Poi said, “Okay?” He frowned a little, saying, “I was worried there for a moment.”

“You made him cry!” Rats said, “How the fuck?”

Poi said, “Leave it be, Rats.”

Teressa said, “I need a beer.”

Kiri rushed to the kitchen, saying, “I saw some good stuff back here!”

Erick said, “Crack it open!”

Poi told Teressa, “You’re still on night shift.”

“A little beer is fine, Poi.” Erick said, “We’re in a new place, with new people, and it’s supposed to be the safest place in the world, right?”

Teressa paused. She looked to Poi, saying, “A small drink.”

“Very small,” Poi agreed.

- - - -

Erick spent a long time relaxing in the tub. Hot running water was wonderful.

Eventually, Erick started to prune. He got out of the tub and [Cleanse]d the water before pulling the plug. He didn’t have to [Cleanse] the bathwater, but it seemed like the nice thing to do. Soon enough, Erick went to bed in his second floor room with Ophiel curled up on the pillow beside him. Erick slept well, even if it was in a strange, new bed, in a new land.

Nothing happened during the rest of the night.  

- - - -

Erick woke up late. The sun shown down from the forest on the other side of the house. After a late breakfast, Erick went out and found Vinsez and Powell. The groundskeepers were in their own house, separate from the main Manor, but inside the property walls.

After clearing it with them, and them showing him where he could plant his garden to the side of the front lawn, Erick planted the seeds for coftea bushes, lemon trees, potatoes, and corn. With a tall stack of [Exalted Storm Aura] reaching into the sky, his garden grew from seeds to mature plants, with platinum rain to speed them along and Erick’s Handy Aura to ensure that the trees grew tall and the rest grew in nice, orderly rows, ready for picking.  

Ophiel watched from Erick’s shoulder.

In a sudden blip of seafoam green light, Krigea showed up in the sky outside of the property two minutes into the platinum rain. She looked to the sky, watching the rain fall, as she hovered to the front lawn.

Erick finished up with the garden, asking her, “Good morning!” He cut the [Exalted Storm Aura]. The clouds overhead began to wisp away in the ocean breeze. “Time for classes?”

Krigea said, “I thought you might still be sleeping in; the timezone change is rather large.”

“Only five hours.” Erick turned away from his garden, saying, “As soon as Kiri and Poi are ready—”

A door opened behind Erick. He turned around to see Kiri, dressed in some of her nicest clothes, and Poi wearing his usual dress clothes; no armor. Kiri carried two bags; her’s, and Erick’s.

Erick said, “I guess we’re ready.” He turned to a plot of turned soil and [Stoneshape]ed some free stone from the ground. [Teleporting Platform]. A disk of stone coalesced from the dirt Erick prepared, three meters wide and laced through with the circular rune for [Teleport]. The platform hovered in the air; a solid step and a vehicle ready for transport. Erick stepped on, saying, “Room enough for us all.”  

Kiri immediately, soundlessly, got on behind Erick, while Poi took more than one second to do the same.

Krigea bowed in the air, saying, “This way, please.”

She flew into the sky, over the cliffs. Wind tugged lightly at her clothes, but whatever spell she used was keeping her safe from the vast majority of the wind. When Erick moved the platform over the ocean, the wind tore at the platform. Poi grunted as the platform shifted slightly out of Erick’s control.

Erick dropped a [Weather Ward] into the center of the platform. The windy weather went away, instantly.  

Poi said, “You could have done that yesterday, too.”

“And miss out on the experience of feeling the wind? No thank you.” Erick said, “Besides, it was fun to tease Rats.”

Poi deadpanned, “Is that the story you’re going with?”

Erick laughed as he brought the platform into the air, past the trees, to see the cream and pastel Oceanside Arcanaeum in the distance. Kiri quietly squealed again, as Erick followed Krigea through the sky, to the city.  

- - - -

In a hidden section in another part of the world, in a place where coral reefs stretched up from the ocean floor and islands dotted the surface, there laid a lair, in an unassuming section of that coral reef. Much of that lair was hidden, but two exposed parts were covered by complicated illusions; the entrance, and a larger location on the edge of the coral reef, that gazed out into the deep blue. The larger of the illusions by far, hid that viewing room on the side of the reef.  

The viewing room was a large amphitheater of flat stone and tall glass, a hundred meters wide and tall. It was a dry, air filled space behind glass and one-way illusions. The view of that room looked out at a deep blue sea of sharks and whales and sunlight. Most mortals would be scared to see nine-meter monsters floating right outside such a large, vulnerable pane of glass, but Headmaster Kirginatharp loved it. For others, the space was a viewing room, but for Kirginatharp, it was his larder.  

Two minutes ago, he had [Teleport]ed into those waters and plucked himself a juicy Great Black shark. The Headmaster was already halfway done eating the shark, but he contemplated grabbing a second one. For, you see, he had a problem.

A hundred meters long and covered in gold scales, Kirginatharp, Second to Rozeta, tossed the last fifth of the shark into the air and snapped it up, swallowing the remains of the beast in one bite. He savored the taste for a moment, then turned back to a conjured blackboard, to the side of his larder.  

… He went and got a second shark.

Dripping saltwater and blood onto the floor of his viewing room, Kirginatharp went over the list again.

--

PROS

More Particle Magic

Possible Scan spell better than [Eyes of the Goddess]

New classes and professorships

Gate network might be possible

Computers, technology  

Printing press

Knowledge of another world that is applicable to Veird

Space ships

He knows at least 2 more hidden magics, likely more

Jane is a good leverage, if needed

I want the Shades dead, too

I want his Scan spell

Kill all monsters

By the Light, a [Renew] spell! Maybe?  

--

CONS

Too much new magic

Upsets current politics

New classes and professorships

I have to teach him, personally

A lot of hassle  

--

Kirginatharp munched on his second shark, thinking. Contemplating. Debating with himself. Over the next hour, with a precise bit of [Telekinesis] and a tiny piece of conjured chalk, he added several more pros and a few more cons. And he thought.

He frowned. He sighed. That sigh turned into a deep groan of displeasure, rumbling the glass of his larder, scaring away a juicy shark on the other side of the glass. Eh! Whatever! He ignored the quickly vanishing meal; he was full enough, anyway. Best not to overeat. He turned back to his blackboard.

He read, and reread, still trying to decide.

A white and gold voice spoke to the side of the room, “The pros obviously have it. But...”

Kirginatharp turned slightly. Rozeta stood to the side of his larder, wearing her white wrought human-shaped body. Kirginatharp turned back to his lists.  

Rozeta stepped toward the blackboard, walking on top of saltwater puddles tainted red from sharkblood. She reached the board, and picked up the chalk, writing over the entirety of it all:

Melemizargo wants him alive and making magic.

She turned to Kirginatharp, saying, “That’s the crux of it, son.”

Kirginatharp sighed again, rumbling his lair, agreeing, “That’s the whole quandary, Mother.”