Chapter 273: Fire in the Water
11th February 2013, Sayre Manor
(Selene Gallio POV)
The Morrigan didn’t seem to be convinced so Selene continued, “but with how large the population has grown, and with it the number of dangers they involve themselves with. It’s time to let go, remove the kiddy gloves and let them take care of themselves. You need to focus on dealing with Entropy and your deal with the Asgardians, and you can’t afford any distractions.”
Reluctantly, Morrigan nodded, “Fine, I’ll try to let things go a little, but I will get involved if things go too far. As for the Court, I’ll try to come up with something. I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.”
Selene’s wife walked up the stairs to their bedroom, leaving a disappointed Selene. She knew that tone. Morrigan was just going to let things be until the Court does something drastic. But no, not this time, Selene is going to take care of things before her wife gets hurt once more. And if she feeds on a few of her enemies along the way, well, no one has to know about it.
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I will admit that my talk with Selene was very enlightening. My wife had a point, after all, I needed to prioritize my efforts. The magical world, no matter how much effort I put into it, was never going to be involved in a large scale conflict such as the one against Entropy, so it was better to focus on my deal with Asgard, which could end up making a difference in the coming fight.
People often forgot that the magical world was mostly made up of civilians, and were not a warrior race like the Asgardians. It seems silly for people to have the power to alter reality in their grasp, and to not use it to conquer the world. This is why the Statute of Secrecy was created, and I supported it. Muggles and mages think in a way that is fundamentally different from the other. Muggles grew with conflict. It was how they motivated themselves, through greed, suffering, and Death. Looking back to the last century, the most impactful advancements in the sciences were involved in the creation of weapons.
Wizards and Witches, who can already use a few spells and become self sufficient, rarely experience the despair that the muggles used to push themselves further. You would never see a starving mage, or a homeless one. All the necessary needs are met, and when that happens, most mages just become satisfied with their lot in life. Why would they need to fight, if their needs are met? That’s not to say that greed and crime do not run rampant in the magical world, only that an average civilian isn’t desperate to earn more gold and glory. Humans were creatures of greed and violence, but that’s out of necessity to survive. Magic showed us that giving everyone the means to enjoy a simple life, with the means of taking care of their basic needs, will result in them not developing the greed and brutality that is often seen in unpowered human beings.
It was also why it was so understandable that mages look down on muggles and call them savages. Seeing them constantly fighting wars and killing themselves over petty resources and worthless titles would make anyone look down on them.
It had also backfired, in a way. The progress in magical studies has diminished ever since the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. The presence of muggles in their lives had motivated wizards and witches to push themselves, to make new inventions, and to find new ways of using magic. Seeing a motivated wizard nowadays was a very rare event, and they were almost all Muggleborns, which does make sense, in a way.
Another disadvantage of the Statute was the mass disinterest in the affairs of the country. As long as it doesn’t involve them, magical folk just tended to not care about anything. It was why so few people had fought against Voldemort, which would have killed his movement before it even started.
Yes, the magical world was not ready to fight a war on the scale of the one that was coming.
As for my relationship with the Asgardians, I’m pretty sure that Odin’s goals were hinging on Thor’s current education. The old man obviously wanted to retire and let Thor succeed him, and I could understand that very well. Being a king could be fulfilling for a while, but afterwards, you just get tired of the people whining about their problems to you, while you just wanted them to go away and bother someone else. I have tried being in charge a few times, and it quickly ended up being a very troublesome endeavour.
Now, for Odin to retire, his son needed to grow out of his reckless phase, something that I was slowly hammering into him while teaching him how to use his power. And while he was adept at strategy, there was something else I needed to teach him.
I looked at the God of Thunder who was still training in the training yard. He was attempting to create a version of Mjolnir that was made up of lightning. He was getting close, and I was curious as to how far he could push this if he was successful. Would he be able to throw it and summon it, as he did with his own hammer? I didn’t know, but I was ready to find out.
I walked towards him and he straightened up immediately, “Lady Morrigan, is it time for our training to resume?”
I had asked him for a couple of days off after the whole mess with the Court of Shadows, and my grieving sister. Nathan’s death had really hit her hard.
I nodded, “Yes, young Odinson, it’s time to resume our training. But I believe that there is very little left I could teach you regarding lightning manipulation without teaching you things that do not suit your powers. I have taught you the basics, and you only need to apply them and use them creatively to create your own spin on your powers.”
Thor nodded, understanding. Damn, the kid was growing up; from what I heard of him, a few years back, he would have thrown a tantrum because I would have refused to teach him everything he wanted.
Instead of doing so, he looked at me, expecting me to continue before asking, “Then what are we going to work on?”
I gave him a slight smile, “Well, before we can get started, can you tell me what your godly domain is, Thor?”
It was funny, calling Thor’s magic a ‘Godly Domain’ but it was fitting in a way. He wasn’t a true god, a being of pure energy that represented a domain. But Asgardian magic was different to that of Midgard’s. It was all based on the Odin force, which is what provided the energy that they call magic. Asgardians were often just given physical magics, which ensured their immortality, gave them some sort of magical resistance, and enhanced their physical attributes, but Odin could select a type of magic, and gift it to anyone he wishes. These magics are called Domains, and can only be used by one user at a time.
One of the biggest advantages of such a magical system was the fact that it was based on the Odin Force which is connected to Yggdrasil. This means that, unlike Midgardian mages, Asgardians could use their magics everywhere in the known universe, even if it was less flexible than the ‘mortal’ magics. However, the All-father also had absolute control over all the magics, which was shown when he removed Thor’s magics, his domain and physical might alike, in seconds when he banished him to Midgard a few years back. The King of Asgard even bound his powers to Mjolnir, so that should it ever consider him worthy, his powers would return.
It was curious how Odin was able to get the rudimentary conscience in this Mjolnir to make an active decision on something as vague as being worthy. I’ll have to ask him about it later. Although, managing such a heavy magical system by himself, is probably why he goes into a healing coma, or the Odinsleep, when he gets too drained to continue to power the Asgardian magical system.
People really underestimate how powerful Odin really is. The man is actually responsible for the magic of his entire kingdom. That’s insane when you think about it.
My internal grumblings about Odin’s bullshit powers - yes I can see the irony of me saying it - were interrupted by Thor’s answer, “I am the God of Thunder. My father said so when he revealed my domain.”
I snort, “Then why are you only focusing on your lightning alone? Thunder and lightning do seem interchangeable, but they are different. Observe!”
I point at a large rock by the end of the training grounds and punch the air in front of me. A very loud booming noise happened during the action and a veritable shockwave came from my closed fist and raced towards my target. My target was turned to smithereens when it was hit.
I gave a smug smirk to the gaping Prince of Asgard, who was staring dumbfounded at my attack, “How did you do that?”
I shrugged, “What is thunder but the sound generated by lightning? Yes, your powers allow you to control lightning, but you forgot what else it does. You used it by instinct through Mjolnir, channelling your Thunder to create shockwaves when you hit someone with it. That’s not it, you’ve often generated storms during large scale attacks. The winds flow stronger when you are angry or frustrated. Your potential is almost limitless, I will guide you to understand it, and you'll finally become the man that you should have been, a true ruler of Asgard.”
“I don’t understand. How have I never realized it until now?”
I shrugged, “Because lightning was flashy, and you weren’t challenged enough to push yourself to be better. You need to take a look back and think things through. How did you ever think of becoming a king, to being in charge of an entire kingdom, including its inhabitants, if you didn’t keep looking for every angle from which to approach a problem? Violence might be a great approach in battle, but it rarely is one to a monarch.”
Thor nodded sagely, but then grinned at me, looking strangely excited, “Can you teach me the trick with the Thunder?”
I burst into laughter; sometimes Thor really acted like a child, “Fine,” with a wave of my hand, the rock repaired itself and a few seconds later, it looked as if nothing had happened, “I want you to listen very carefully. You need control to achieve this technique. You’ll start slowly, and then, you’ll get better and better until it’s almost instinct.”
Thor nodded and I continued, “The trick lies in what Thunder actually is, and that’s the sound of lightning. I want you to picture a bolt of lightning in your hand. Make it completely under your control, it should look like it was frozen in time. Then I want you to accelerate it and freeze it once more very quickly.”
He looked at his hand for a moment and it was enveloped in lightning before he tried to use my trick. He was surprisingly very successful with it, a little too successful even. The Prince of Asgard does seem to be a surprising genius when it comes to his magics, when he tries, at the very least. A shockwave originated from his hand and instead of going forward, it sent him flying back.
Suppressing my laughter, I commented, “You’ve got the idea, but try to control it a bit better next time. When you can do it properly, I want you to keep doing it with less and less lightning, until you finally grasp the technique without any lightning all together. That’s when you should consider yourself to have mastered the technique.”
Thor nodded, confident in his abilities. He spent the entire day trying out the Thunder Punch. It was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a very long time. It was a welcome surprise with how horrible the last few days were.
Alright, this is it, we're finally caught up to the current events of the story. This means that there will be no more mass uploads. I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I tend to be consistent (I have been for more than a year now) but I will let you know if I miss an upload day.
On the other hand, if you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
Chapter 273: Fire in the Water
11th February 2013, Sayre Manor
(Selene Gallio POV)
The Morrigan didn’t seem to be convinced so Selene continued, “but with how large the population has grown, and with it the number of dangers they involve themselves with. It’s time to let go, remove the kiddy gloves and let them take care of themselves. You need to focus on dealing with Entropy and your deal with the Asgardians, and you can’t afford any distractions.”
Reluctantly, Morrigan nodded, “Fine, I’ll try to let things go a little, but I will get involved if things go too far. As for the Court, I’ll try to come up with something. I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.”
Selene’s wife walked up the stairs to their bedroom, leaving a disappointed Selene. She knew that tone. Morrigan was just going to let things be until the Court does something drastic. But no, not this time, Selene is going to take care of things before her wife gets hurt once more. And if she feeds on a few of her enemies along the way, well, no one has to know about it.
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I will admit that my talk with Selene was very enlightening. My wife had a point, after all, I needed to prioritize my efforts. The magical world, no matter how much effort I put into it, was never going to be involved in a large scale conflict such as the one against Entropy, so it was better to focus on my deal with Asgard, which could end up making a difference in the coming fight.
People often forgot that the magical world was mostly made up of civilians, and were not a warrior race like the Asgardians. It seems silly for people to have the power to alter reality in their grasp, and to not use it to conquer the world. This is why the Statute of Secrecy was created, and I supported it. Muggles and mages think in a way that is fundamentally different from the other. Muggles grew with conflict. It was how they motivated themselves, through greed, suffering, and Death. Looking back to the last century, the most impactful advancements in the sciences were involved in the creation of weapons.
Wizards and Witches, who can already use a few spells and become self sufficient, rarely experience the despair that the muggles used to push themselves further. You would never see a starving mage, or a homeless one. All the necessary needs are met, and when that happens, most mages just become satisfied with their lot in life. Why would they need to fight, if their needs are met? That’s not to say that greed and crime do not run rampant in the magical world, only that an average civilian isn’t desperate to earn more gold and glory. Humans were creatures of greed and violence, but that’s out of necessity to survive. Magic showed us that giving everyone the means to enjoy a simple life, with the means of taking care of their basic needs, will result in them not developing the greed and brutality that is often seen in unpowered human beings.
It was also why it was so understandable that mages look down on muggles and call them savages. Seeing them constantly fighting wars and killing themselves over petty resources and worthless titles would make anyone look down on them.
It had also backfired, in a way. The progress in magical studies has diminished ever since the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. The presence of muggles in their lives had motivated wizards and witches to push themselves, to make new inventions, and to find new ways of using magic. Seeing a motivated wizard nowadays was a very rare event, and they were almost all Muggleborns, which does make sense, in a way.
Another disadvantage of the Statute was the mass disinterest in the affairs of the country. As long as it doesn’t involve them, magical folk just tended to not care about anything. It was why so few people had fought against Voldemort, which would have killed his movement before it even started.
Yes, the magical world was not ready to fight a war on the scale of the one that was coming.
As for my relationship with the Asgardians, I’m pretty sure that Odin’s goals were hinging on Thor’s current education. The old man obviously wanted to retire and let Thor succeed him, and I could understand that very well. Being a king could be fulfilling for a while, but afterwards, you just get tired of the people whining about their problems to you, while you just wanted them to go away and bother someone else. I have tried being in charge a few times, and it quickly ended up being a very troublesome endeavour.
Now, for Odin to retire, his son needed to grow out of his reckless phase, something that I was slowly hammering into him while teaching him how to use his power. And while he was adept at strategy, there was something else I needed to teach him.
I looked at the God of Thunder who was still training in the training yard. He was attempting to create a version of Mjolnir that was made up of lightning. He was getting close, and I was curious as to how far he could push this if he was successful. Would he be able to throw it and summon it, as he did with his own hammer? I didn’t know, but I was ready to find out.
I walked towards him and he straightened up immediately, “Lady Morrigan, is it time for our training to resume?”
I had asked him for a couple of days off after the whole mess with the Court of Shadows, and my grieving sister. Nathan’s death had really hit her hard.
I nodded, “Yes, young Odinson, it’s time to resume our training. But I believe that there is very little left I could teach you regarding lightning manipulation without teaching you things that do not suit your powers. I have taught you the basics, and you only need to apply them and use them creatively to create your own spin on your powers.”
Thor nodded, understanding. Damn, the kid was growing up; from what I heard of him, a few years back, he would have thrown a tantrum because I would have refused to teach him everything he wanted.
Instead of doing so, he looked at me, expecting me to continue before asking, “Then what are we going to work on?”
I gave him a slight smile, “Well, before we can get started, can you tell me what your godly domain is, Thor?”
It was funny, calling Thor’s magic a ‘Godly Domain’ but it was fitting in a way. He wasn’t a true god, a being of pure energy that represented a domain. But Asgardian magic was different to that of Midgard’s. It was all based on the Odin force, which is what provided the energy that they call magic. Asgardians were often just given physical magics, which ensured their immortality, gave them some sort of magical resistance, and enhanced their physical attributes, but Odin could select a type of magic, and gift it to anyone he wishes. These magics are called Domains, and can only be used by one user at a time.
One of the biggest advantages of such a magical system was the fact that it was based on the Odin Force which is connected to Yggdrasil. This means that, unlike Midgardian mages, Asgardians could use their magics everywhere in the known universe, even if it was less flexible than the ‘mortal’ magics. However, the All-father also had absolute control over all the magics, which was shown when he removed Thor’s magics, his domain and physical might alike, in seconds when he banished him to Midgard a few years back. The King of Asgard even bound his powers to Mjolnir, so that should it ever consider him worthy, his powers would return.
It was curious how Odin was able to get the rudimentary conscience in this Mjolnir to make an active decision on something as vague as being worthy. I’ll have to ask him about it later. Although, managing such a heavy magical system by himself, is probably why he goes into a healing coma, or the Odinsleep, when he gets too drained to continue to power the Asgardian magical system.
People really underestimate how powerful Odin really is. The man is actually responsible for the magic of his entire kingdom. That’s insane when you think about it.
My internal grumblings about Odin’s bullshit powers - yes I can see the irony of me saying it - were interrupted by Thor’s answer, “I am the God of Thunder. My father said so when he revealed my domain.”
I snort, “Then why are you only focusing on your lightning alone? Thunder and lightning do seem interchangeable, but they are different. Observe!”
I point at a large rock by the end of the training grounds and punch the air in front of me. A very loud booming noise happened during the action and a veritable shockwave came from my closed fist and raced towards my target. My target was turned to smithereens when it was hit.
I gave a smug smirk to the gaping Prince of Asgard, who was staring dumbfounded at my attack, “How did you do that?”
I shrugged, “What is thunder but the sound generated by lightning? Yes, your powers allow you to control lightning, but you forgot what else it does. You used it by instinct through Mjolnir, channelling your Thunder to create shockwaves when you hit someone with it. That’s not it, you’ve often generated storms during large scale attacks. The winds flow stronger when you are angry or frustrated. Your potential is almost limitless, I will guide you to understand it, and you'll finally become the man that you should have been, a true ruler of Asgard.”
“I don’t understand. How have I never realized it until now?”
I shrugged, “Because lightning was flashy, and you weren’t challenged enough to push yourself to be better. You need to take a look back and think things through. How did you ever think of becoming a king, to being in charge of an entire kingdom, including its inhabitants, if you didn’t keep looking for every angle from which to approach a problem? Violence might be a great approach in battle, but it rarely is one to a monarch.”
Thor nodded sagely, but then grinned at me, looking strangely excited, “Can you teach me the trick with the Thunder?”
I burst into laughter; sometimes Thor really acted like a child, “Fine,” with a wave of my hand, the rock repaired itself and a few seconds later, it looked as if nothing had happened, “I want you to listen very carefully. You need control to achieve this technique. You’ll start slowly, and then, you’ll get better and better until it’s almost instinct.”
Thor nodded and I continued, “The trick lies in what Thunder actually is, and that’s the sound of lightning. I want you to picture a bolt of lightning in your hand. Make it completely under your control, it should look like it was frozen in time. Then I want you to accelerate it and freeze it once more very quickly.”
He looked at his hand for a moment and it was enveloped in lightning before he tried to use my trick. He was surprisingly very successful with it, a little too successful even. The Prince of Asgard does seem to be a surprising genius when it comes to his magics, when he tries, at the very least. A shockwave originated from his hand and instead of going forward, it sent him flying back.
Suppressing my laughter, I commented, “You’ve got the idea, but try to control it a bit better next time. When you can do it properly, I want you to keep doing it with less and less lightning, until you finally grasp the technique without any lightning all together. That’s when you should consider yourself to have mastered the technique.”
Thor nodded, confident in his abilities. He spent the entire day trying out the Thunder Punch. It was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a very long time. It was a welcome surprise with how horrible the last few days were.
Alright, this is it, we're finally caught up to the current events of the story. This means that there will be no more mass uploads. I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I tend to be consistent (I have been for more than a year now) but I will let you know if I miss an upload day.
On the other hand, if you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
