Chapter 133: Great…
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Chapter 133: Great...
Talas head was thrown back as she downed her fifth cup of coffee.
That really isnt healthy for you.
Tala set down her mug, giving Mistress Odera a long look. I was up til after midnight.
Would you be drinking less, if youd gone to bed earlier?
Tala didnt respond, instead simply refilling her mug as she munched on a few pieces of bacon. Out of the corner of her eye, Tala saw Terry flicker briefly, and the pile of sausages was a few links shorter. She grinned but didnt address the mild thievery.
I thought not. Mistress Odera pushed her plate back, having just finished her own, small meal. Now, how is your training progressing?
Tala shook her head. Nope.
No?
Nope. We talk about me every morning. Its time you answer some questions about you.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
Mistress Odera cocked an eyebrow but didnt comment.
So, why dont you go teach for the academy? Thats where some Mages retire, right?
She took a long breath, shaking her head. Aside from the rudeness of the base assumptions in your question: The Academy is for those who fear death more than they love magic.
Care to explain? Tala was using the opportunity to continue her breakfast.
The island is a natural fountain of eternal youth. Mistress Odera smiled. Well, in a sense.
Tala leaned forward, eating more bacon. Wait, is the fountain of youth a fount?
Hmm? No, no. It's just often referred to as a fountain of water in the tales.
Ah, ok.
Now, the legends are actually due to that place. It prevents the degradation of living creatures. You can grow up, but nothing will move past maturity, not while there. It wont reverse aging, however. Thats just a myth.
That sounds useful.
It is, it is.
So, whats the catch?
Mistress Odera nodded appreciatively. It suffuses you. Eventually, if you stay long enough, you dont even have to stay on the island to keep the stasis.
Tala found herself nodding. It imprints upon your magic.
Precisely, and conflicts with any inscriptions, slowly rendering them worthless.
She frowned. Then why put so many Mage initiates there? Wouldnt that cripple their foundation?
No, it doesnt act upon those who have not reached maturity. Your Magic cannot resonate with what does not act upon you.
Tala grunted. The teachers refused to explain, and even led me to believe they didnt know what was going on.
It is a shameful thing, Mistress Odera shook her head, to fear death so completely that you would cripple yourself.
Arent they doing a noble thing? Giving up magic to teach?
Mistress Odera snorted derisively. Hardly. The Academy is just a convenient use of the fearful old codgers.
Tala tilted her head in thought. So, why not offer it to mundanes?
The magic draws on your gate, and it takes more power than a mundane has available.
So, it only works for Mages?
Worse.
How could it be worse?
What happens if you use more power than your gate can draw?
It pulls from my reserves.
Mistress Odera nodded. And when your reserves are emptied?
The spell-working ends? Tala frowned. Right?
Yes and no. What would happen if the spell-working was an inscription?
It would burn through the metal, exhausting it to give the working a few more moments of activity, leaving the Mage uninscribed. Tala answered instantly and easily.
Yes, so, what is the equivalent of the inscription in this case?
The island?
Mistress Odera huffed a laugh. Then, would it need a persons power to function?
No Tala frowned, once again. Its enacted on their fleshis that the answer?
In this case, yes. She smiled. The history behind the island is thus: Humanity negotiated for a source of eternal life. We are one of the shortest-lived races, after all, but we were deceived. The trade was magically locked, and our partner was held to the letter of the trade, but thats all. We were given a poison pill, useless to the point of detriment to mundanes and Mages alike, while still, technically, doing as promised.
What did we give up in trade?
That is lost to history, as far as I am aware.
Seems like this is something that should be taught.
Oh, youve heard of it.
I have?
Who is the primary antagonist in all tales of the fountain of youth, among others?
Talas eyes widened. The Arcane King.
Precisely.
Tala sat back, thoughtfully eating a hash-brown patty. Wow rust that guy.
Mistress Odera laughed loudly before covering her own mouth, drawing the eyes of some customers at the other end of the restaurant.
Tala smiled as she continued to eat.
Truer words, Mistress. Mistress Odera shrugged. He did follow through on the entirety of the request: Humanity is safe there, from all outside threats. The gods and hostile arcanes are utterly incapable of setting foot on the island or affecting it in any way. She smiled. The protections are really quite ingenious, actually. From what Ive been told they extend to maintaining the surrounding environment, so that even when the sun goes nova in a few billion years, that island will remain perfectly habitable. Assuming that humans still live there, I suppose.
Thatsquite something, actually.
Theres a reason people still seek the Arcane King, despite his known duplicity.
Tala frowned. Arcane King She scratched her chin, remembering what Xeel had told her of arcane power rankings. Hes a Sovereign.
Yes? Kings are a type of sovereign.
No, I mean the arcane equivalent of a Transcendent.
Ahh. I suppose? Ive not really given him too much thought. She gave a sad smile. Well, not since my grandchildren outgrew fairytales.
Tala was frowning, considering. Are there any human Transcendents?
That is a question that I honestly thought youd ask weeks ago. Though it is a bit of a tangent, now.
Tala grimaced. Other things have been on my mind.
Thats fine, Mistress. Ill ask a question in return.
Tala sighed. I should have expected.
Mistress Odera grinned. Are there any adult babies?
What? No? But there are babies who become adults.
Precisely. Those who transcend have transcended. They are more. They are not what they were.
Tala rolled her eyes. You know what Im asking, Mistress. Are there any Transcendent who were human, then?
No.
No?
No.
I find that very hard to believe.
So? How did yournot-date go?
Tala grimaced. I have nothing to say to you.
Rane quirked a smile but nodded. As you say.
She sighed, stretching in a back-and-forth twist. I need to hit something. Spar?
I thought you said you need to hit something. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
She glared. You are testing me, sir.
Not yet, Im not. He drew Force.
Tala drew out two gravity-reduced balls, tossing them to either side and immediately beginning to increase their effective gravity towards Rane.
Mistress Tala? His eyes flicked between her and each of the balls, the previous nights events clearly still on his mind.
Tala growled, drawing Flow in its training sheath. She lunged for him, transforming Flow into a glaive even as she charged.
Rane barely brought Force across in time to deflect the strike, but Tala switched paths at the last moment.
Flow shifted into the form of a sword, causing Force to sweep through empty air.
Rane was too skilled to be thrown off balance by a missed block, but he was definitely caught off guard.
Tala capitalized by immediately returning Flow to the form of a glaive and driving it towards the left side of his chest.
His defense activated, spinning him out of the way, and Force whipped around in a tight circle towards her head.
Flows long shaft came up to parry Force, and a concussion of power radiated out.
Tala held the glaive angled down, so the blade was nearly between Ranes legs. With savage power, she ripped the blade upward.
Had he been without his defensive inscriptions, and if Flow had been unsheathed, shed have split him groin to crown.
As it was, he flipped over her, lancing out with strike after strike as he passed overhead, skimming the ceiling, a bare thirteen feet up.
She expertly parried each thrust with the staff of her polearm, causing consecutive concussions of power.
As his feet touched down, Tala flicked her anchor past him, transforming Flow into a sword even as she was forcefully pulled forward by the dimensional compression.
She gritted her teeth against the incoming nausea, set on her goal. I will beat him, today.
The anchor would have caused her to bypass Rane, but Flow was out before her, Tala holding it perfectly still.
Ranes defenses acted by matching his velocity to any incoming attack. Tala and her gear had no velocity of their own. Dimensionality was warping around her, causing her movement.
Flow struck his chest with a meaty thunk. Throwing him backward.
His eyes widened in shock, even as the wind was driven out of him.
Rane stumbled backwards, up against the wall. Talas dimensional travel ended less than ten feet from him, and she was already sprinting for him.
As he lifted his off-hand to his obviously bruised chest, Rane looked down and saw her anchor. He thrust Force into the circle of the spring clip and flicked it away.
Talas eyes widened, but she reacted on instinct, throwing Flow.
As the weapon flew, it transformed back into a knife, threaded the anchor, and pinned it in place, barely five feet to Ranes right.
Before he could react further, Tala closed, attacking him from the left to drive him towards her anchor.
She ducked and wove around his strikes with precision, speed, and skill that shed never been able to combine before. That, and he was moving slower than he was usually capable of, sucking in each breath.
As his next slash came in at shoulder height, Tala ducked and struck at the inside of his knee.
As he flipped out of the way, she stood, jumping with all her strength towards his center of rotation.
Ranes inscriptions moved him away from her, slamming him into the ceiling. He groaned, his hand spasming and allowing Force to fall towards the floor.
Talas anchor dimensionally expanded the space above her, preventing her own impact with the ceiling.
She slowed and lightly dropped to the floor just before Rane fell.
She called Flow to her, ripping it from the floor and transforming it into a glaive for a sideways sweep, again at Ranes center.
His inscriptions moved him out ahead of Flows strike, slamming him into the wall this time.
Tala stepped forward, feinting with thrusts threatening enough to cause his defenses to activate, jerking him against the wall and up just enough to keep him from returning to the floor.
His eyes opened, and something changed within them.
Force whipped up from the floor, clipping her leg on the way to Ranes hand.
A spray of blood splattered the wall, and she momentarily lost that support. She had no time to fully register the injury.
Without a moments hesitation, Ranes blade licked out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five strikes in less than a second, and Tala only blocked two of them.
The other three drove spears of force through her, painting the training floor behind her with her blood and bile.
Her leg returned to functionality, just as Rane hit the floor, his eyes a hard, solid blue.
Rane lunged for her; a rictus of concentration locked on his face.
Tala stumbled backwards, shifting her weapon fluidly between its forms to block every strike.
She wasnt able to regain her footing, even as she hit the edge of her anchors radius.
Sensing the dimensional energy, she dropped backward into what was effectively an in-place-roll, deflecting a downward strike from Force in the middle of the maneuver with Flows glaive staff.
The next exchange was too fast for thought.
Tala couldnt have said if they battered back and forth ten times or a hundred, but she managed to hold her own.
Rane was fighting with a ferocity shed never witnessed. That gave him speed and reactions near what she, herself, had, but his skill was proportionally lessened, making it much closer of a fight than it had ever been.
She tried to press towards her anchor, so she could get it and retreat, but she had no luck.
Finally, she growled out. Terry, I need the anchor.
The terror bird flickered into being beside the device. He picked it up in his beak and tossed it, then vanished back to his corner.
As the anchor sailed through the air, Rane saw it. Lancing out with Force, he struck the device, sending it streaking across the room and towards the door out onto the balcony.
Talas eyes widened, even as motion sickness overcame her, and she likewise shot across the area.
Terry flickered into being for just an instant, catching the anchor, and dropping it so it would land within the room.
Bless you, Terry.
Tala stumbled to a knee as the dimensional energy dispersed.
She kept her head up just enough to keep an eye on Rane.
He stood with perfect form in a middle, hanging guard. His eyes blank and fixed on her.
Master Rane?
He took one careful step towards her.
What happened to him? Master Rane. Enough.
One step became two, then three, then he was rushing her.
Rane, stop!
His foot hesitated for an instant, but his momentum continued, causing him to stumble and dropping him into a roll. He smoothly came up to a knee, just more than a dozen feet from her.
Master Rane?
His calm, even breathing broke, and he was suddenly panting, shivering, and heaving. Sweat broke out across his entire body, and a shudder went through him before he collapsed to the floor, seemingly unconscious.
Great
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Chapter 133: Great...
Talas head was thrown back as she downed her fifth cup of coffee.
That really isnt healthy for you.
Tala set down her mug, giving Mistress Odera a long look. I was up til after midnight.
Would you be drinking less, if youd gone to bed earlier?
Tala didnt respond, instead simply refilling her mug as she munched on a few pieces of bacon. Out of the corner of her eye, Tala saw Terry flicker briefly, and the pile of sausages was a few links shorter. She grinned but didnt address the mild thievery.
I thought not. Mistress Odera pushed her plate back, having just finished her own, small meal. Now, how is your training progressing?
Tala shook her head. Nope.
No?
Nope. We talk about me every morning. Its time you answer some questions about you.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
Mistress Odera cocked an eyebrow but didnt comment.
So, why dont you go teach for the academy? Thats where some Mages retire, right?
She took a long breath, shaking her head. Aside from the rudeness of the base assumptions in your question: The Academy is for those who fear death more than they love magic.
Care to explain? Tala was using the opportunity to continue her breakfast.
The island is a natural fountain of eternal youth. Mistress Odera smiled. Well, in a sense.
Tala leaned forward, eating more bacon. Wait, is the fountain of youth a fount?
Hmm? No, no. It's just often referred to as a fountain of water in the tales.
Ah, ok.
Now, the legends are actually due to that place. It prevents the degradation of living creatures. You can grow up, but nothing will move past maturity, not while there. It wont reverse aging, however. Thats just a myth.
That sounds useful.
It is, it is.
So, whats the catch?
Mistress Odera nodded appreciatively. It suffuses you. Eventually, if you stay long enough, you dont even have to stay on the island to keep the stasis.
Tala found herself nodding. It imprints upon your magic.
Precisely, and conflicts with any inscriptions, slowly rendering them worthless.
She frowned. Then why put so many Mage initiates there? Wouldnt that cripple their foundation?
No, it doesnt act upon those who have not reached maturity. Your Magic cannot resonate with what does not act upon you.
Tala grunted. The teachers refused to explain, and even led me to believe they didnt know what was going on.
It is a shameful thing, Mistress Odera shook her head, to fear death so completely that you would cripple yourself.
Arent they doing a noble thing? Giving up magic to teach?
Mistress Odera snorted derisively. Hardly. The Academy is just a convenient use of the fearful old codgers.
Tala tilted her head in thought. So, why not offer it to mundanes?
The magic draws on your gate, and it takes more power than a mundane has available.
So, it only works for Mages?
Worse.
How could it be worse?
What happens if you use more power than your gate can draw?
It pulls from my reserves.
Mistress Odera nodded. And when your reserves are emptied?
The spell-working ends? Tala frowned. Right?
Yes and no. What would happen if the spell-working was an inscription?
It would burn through the metal, exhausting it to give the working a few more moments of activity, leaving the Mage uninscribed. Tala answered instantly and easily.
Yes, so, what is the equivalent of the inscription in this case?
The island?
Mistress Odera huffed a laugh. Then, would it need a persons power to function?
No Tala frowned, once again. Its enacted on their fleshis that the answer?
In this case, yes. She smiled. The history behind the island is thus: Humanity negotiated for a source of eternal life. We are one of the shortest-lived races, after all, but we were deceived. The trade was magically locked, and our partner was held to the letter of the trade, but thats all. We were given a poison pill, useless to the point of detriment to mundanes and Mages alike, while still, technically, doing as promised.
What did we give up in trade?
That is lost to history, as far as I am aware.
Seems like this is something that should be taught.
Oh, youve heard of it.
I have?
Who is the primary antagonist in all tales of the fountain of youth, among others?
Talas eyes widened. The Arcane King.
Precisely.
Tala sat back, thoughtfully eating a hash-brown patty. Wow rust that guy.
Mistress Odera laughed loudly before covering her own mouth, drawing the eyes of some customers at the other end of the restaurant.
Tala smiled as she continued to eat.
Truer words, Mistress. Mistress Odera shrugged. He did follow through on the entirety of the request: Humanity is safe there, from all outside threats. The gods and hostile arcanes are utterly incapable of setting foot on the island or affecting it in any way. She smiled. The protections are really quite ingenious, actually. From what Ive been told they extend to maintaining the surrounding environment, so that even when the sun goes nova in a few billion years, that island will remain perfectly habitable. Assuming that humans still live there, I suppose.
Thatsquite something, actually.
Theres a reason people still seek the Arcane King, despite his known duplicity.
Tala frowned. Arcane King She scratched her chin, remembering what Xeel had told her of arcane power rankings. Hes a Sovereign.
Yes? Kings are a type of sovereign.
No, I mean the arcane equivalent of a Transcendent.
Ahh. I suppose? Ive not really given him too much thought. She gave a sad smile. Well, not since my grandchildren outgrew fairytales.
Tala was frowning, considering. Are there any human Transcendents?
That is a question that I honestly thought youd ask weeks ago. Though it is a bit of a tangent, now.
Tala grimaced. Other things have been on my mind.
Thats fine, Mistress. Ill ask a question in return.
Tala sighed. I should have expected.
Mistress Odera grinned. Are there any adult babies?
What? No? But there are babies who become adults.
Precisely. Those who transcend have transcended. They are more. They are not what they were.
Tala rolled her eyes. You know what Im asking, Mistress. Are there any Transcendent who were human, then?
No.
No?
No.
I find that very hard to believe.
So? How did yournot-date go?
Tala grimaced. I have nothing to say to you.
Rane quirked a smile but nodded. As you say.
She sighed, stretching in a back-and-forth twist. I need to hit something. Spar?
I thought you said you need to hit something. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
She glared. You are testing me, sir.
Not yet, Im not. He drew Force.
Tala drew out two gravity-reduced balls, tossing them to either side and immediately beginning to increase their effective gravity towards Rane.
Mistress Tala? His eyes flicked between her and each of the balls, the previous nights events clearly still on his mind.
Tala growled, drawing Flow in its training sheath. She lunged for him, transforming Flow into a glaive even as she charged.
Rane barely brought Force across in time to deflect the strike, but Tala switched paths at the last moment.
Flow shifted into the form of a sword, causing Force to sweep through empty air.
Rane was too skilled to be thrown off balance by a missed block, but he was definitely caught off guard.
Tala capitalized by immediately returning Flow to the form of a glaive and driving it towards the left side of his chest.
His defense activated, spinning him out of the way, and Force whipped around in a tight circle towards her head.
Flows long shaft came up to parry Force, and a concussion of power radiated out.
Tala held the glaive angled down, so the blade was nearly between Ranes legs. With savage power, she ripped the blade upward.
Had he been without his defensive inscriptions, and if Flow had been unsheathed, shed have split him groin to crown.
As it was, he flipped over her, lancing out with strike after strike as he passed overhead, skimming the ceiling, a bare thirteen feet up.
She expertly parried each thrust with the staff of her polearm, causing consecutive concussions of power.
As his feet touched down, Tala flicked her anchor past him, transforming Flow into a sword even as she was forcefully pulled forward by the dimensional compression.
She gritted her teeth against the incoming nausea, set on her goal. I will beat him, today.
The anchor would have caused her to bypass Rane, but Flow was out before her, Tala holding it perfectly still.
Ranes defenses acted by matching his velocity to any incoming attack. Tala and her gear had no velocity of their own. Dimensionality was warping around her, causing her movement.
Flow struck his chest with a meaty thunk. Throwing him backward.
His eyes widened in shock, even as the wind was driven out of him.
Rane stumbled backwards, up against the wall. Talas dimensional travel ended less than ten feet from him, and she was already sprinting for him.
As he lifted his off-hand to his obviously bruised chest, Rane looked down and saw her anchor. He thrust Force into the circle of the spring clip and flicked it away.
Talas eyes widened, but she reacted on instinct, throwing Flow.
As the weapon flew, it transformed back into a knife, threaded the anchor, and pinned it in place, barely five feet to Ranes right.
Before he could react further, Tala closed, attacking him from the left to drive him towards her anchor.
She ducked and wove around his strikes with precision, speed, and skill that shed never been able to combine before. That, and he was moving slower than he was usually capable of, sucking in each breath.
As his next slash came in at shoulder height, Tala ducked and struck at the inside of his knee.
As he flipped out of the way, she stood, jumping with all her strength towards his center of rotation.
Ranes inscriptions moved him away from her, slamming him into the ceiling. He groaned, his hand spasming and allowing Force to fall towards the floor.
Talas anchor dimensionally expanded the space above her, preventing her own impact with the ceiling.
She slowed and lightly dropped to the floor just before Rane fell.
She called Flow to her, ripping it from the floor and transforming it into a glaive for a sideways sweep, again at Ranes center.
His inscriptions moved him out ahead of Flows strike, slamming him into the wall this time.
Tala stepped forward, feinting with thrusts threatening enough to cause his defenses to activate, jerking him against the wall and up just enough to keep him from returning to the floor.
His eyes opened, and something changed within them.
Force whipped up from the floor, clipping her leg on the way to Ranes hand.
A spray of blood splattered the wall, and she momentarily lost that support. She had no time to fully register the injury.
Without a moments hesitation, Ranes blade licked out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five strikes in less than a second, and Tala only blocked two of them.
The other three drove spears of force through her, painting the training floor behind her with her blood and bile.
Her leg returned to functionality, just as Rane hit the floor, his eyes a hard, solid blue.
Rane lunged for her; a rictus of concentration locked on his face.
Tala stumbled backwards, shifting her weapon fluidly between its forms to block every strike.
She wasnt able to regain her footing, even as she hit the edge of her anchors radius.
Sensing the dimensional energy, she dropped backward into what was effectively an in-place-roll, deflecting a downward strike from Force in the middle of the maneuver with Flows glaive staff.
The next exchange was too fast for thought.
Tala couldnt have said if they battered back and forth ten times or a hundred, but she managed to hold her own.
Rane was fighting with a ferocity shed never witnessed. That gave him speed and reactions near what she, herself, had, but his skill was proportionally lessened, making it much closer of a fight than it had ever been.
She tried to press towards her anchor, so she could get it and retreat, but she had no luck.
Finally, she growled out. Terry, I need the anchor.
The terror bird flickered into being beside the device. He picked it up in his beak and tossed it, then vanished back to his corner.
As the anchor sailed through the air, Rane saw it. Lancing out with Force, he struck the device, sending it streaking across the room and towards the door out onto the balcony.
Talas eyes widened, even as motion sickness overcame her, and she likewise shot across the area.
Terry flickered into being for just an instant, catching the anchor, and dropping it so it would land within the room.
Bless you, Terry.
Tala stumbled to a knee as the dimensional energy dispersed.
She kept her head up just enough to keep an eye on Rane.
He stood with perfect form in a middle, hanging guard. His eyes blank and fixed on her.
Master Rane?
He took one careful step towards her.
What happened to him? Master Rane. Enough.
One step became two, then three, then he was rushing her.
Rane, stop!
His foot hesitated for an instant, but his momentum continued, causing him to stumble and dropping him into a roll. He smoothly came up to a knee, just more than a dozen feet from her.
Master Rane?
His calm, even breathing broke, and he was suddenly panting, shivering, and heaving. Sweat broke out across his entire body, and a shudder went through him before he collapsed to the floor, seemingly unconscious.
Great
Chapter 133: Great...Talas head was thrown back as she downed her fifth cup of coffee.That really isnt healthy for you.Tala set down her mug, giving Mistress Odera a long look. I was up til after midnight.Would you be drinking less, if youd gone to bed earlier?Tala didnt respond, instead simply refilling her mug as she munched on a few pieces of bacon. Out of the corner of her eye, Tala saw Terry flicker briefly, and the pile of sausages was a few links shorter. She grinned but didnt address the mild thievery.I thought not. Mistress Odera pushed her plate back, having just finished her own, small meal. Now, how is your training progressing?Tala shook her head. Nope.No?Nope. We talk about me every morning. Its time you answer some questions about you.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.Mistress Odera cocked an eyebrow but didnt comment.So, why dont you go teach for the academy? Thats where some Mages retire, right?She took a long breath, shaking her head. Aside from the rudeness of the base assumptions in your question: The Academy is for those who fear death more than they love magic.Care to explain? Tala was using the opportunity to continue her breakfast.The island is a natural fountain of eternal youth. Mistress Odera smiled. Well, in a sense.Tala leaned forward, eating more bacon. Wait, is the fountain of youth a fount?Hmm? No, no. It's just often referred to as a fountain of water in the tales.Ah, ok.Now, the legends are actually due to that place. It prevents the degradation of living creatures. You can grow up, but nothing will move past maturity, not while there. It wont reverse aging, however. Thats just a myth.That sounds useful.It is, it is.So, whats the catch?Mistress Odera nodded appreciatively. It suffuses you. Eventually, if you stay long enough, you dont even have to stay on the island to keep the stasis.Tala found herself nodding. It imprints upon your magic.Precisely, and conflicts with any inscriptions, slowly rendering them worthless.She frowned. Then why put so many Mage initiates there? Wouldnt that cripple their foundation?No, it doesnt act upon those who have not reached maturity. Your Magic cannot resonate with what does not act upon you.Tala grunted. The teachers refused to explain, and even led me to believe they didnt know what was going on.It is a shameful thing, Mistress Odera shook her head, to fear death so completely that you would cripple yourself.Arent they doing a noble thing? Giving up magic to teach?Mistress Odera snorted derisively. Hardly. The Academy is just a convenient use of the fearful old codgers.Tala tilted her head in thought. So, why not offer it to mundanes?The magic draws on your gate, and it takes more power than a mundane has available.So, it only works for Mages?Worse.How could it be worse?What happens if you use more power than your gate can draw?It pulls from my reserves.Mistress Odera nodded. And when your reserves are emptied?The spell-working ends? Tala frowned. Right?Yes and no. What would happen if the spell-working was an inscription?It would burn through the metal, exhausting it to give the working a few more moments of activity, leaving the Mage uninscribed. Tala answered instantly and easily.Yes, so, what is the equivalent of the inscription in this case?The island?Mistress Odera huffed a laugh. Then, would it need a persons power to function?No Tala frowned, once again. Its enacted on their fleshis that the answer?In this case, yes. She smiled. The history behind the island is thus: Humanity negotiated for a source of eternal life. We are one of the shortest-lived races, after all, but we were deceived. The trade was magically locked, and our partner was held to the letter of the trade, but thats all. We were given a poison pill, useless to the point of detriment to mundanes and Mages alike, while still, technically, doing as promised.What did we give up in trade?That is lost to history, as far as I am aware.Seems like this is something that should be taught.Oh, youve heard of it.I have?Who is the primary antagonist in all tales of the fountain of youth, among others?Talas eyes widened. The Arcane King.Precisely.Tala sat back, thoughtfully eating a hash-brown patty. Wow rust that guy.Mistress Odera laughed loudly before covering her own mouth, drawing the eyes of some customers at the other end of the restaurant.Tala smiled as she continued to eat.Truer words, Mistress. Mistress Odera shrugged. He did follow through on the entirety of the request: Humanity is safe there, from all outside threats. The gods and hostile arcanes are utterly incapable of setting foot on the island or affecting it in any way. She smiled. The protections are really quite ingenious, actually. From what Ive been told they extend to maintaining the surrounding environment, so that even when the sun goes nova in a few billion years, that island will remain perfectly habitable. Assuming that humans still live there, I suppose.Thatsquite something, actually.Theres a reason people still seek the Arcane King, despite his known duplicity.Tala frowned. Arcane King She scratched her chin, remembering what Xeel had told her of arcane power rankings. Hes a Sovereign.Yes? Kings are a type of sovereign.No, I mean the arcane equivalent of a Transcendent.Ahh. I suppose? Ive not really given him too much thought. She gave a sad smile. Well, not since my grandchildren outgrew fairytales.Tala was frowning, considering. Are there any human Transcendents?That is a question that I honestly thought youd ask weeks ago. Though it is a bit of a tangent, now.Tala grimaced. Other things have been on my mind.Thats fine, Mistress. Ill ask a question in return.Tala sighed. I should have expected.Mistress Odera grinned. Are there any adult babies?What? No? But there are babies who become adults.Precisely. Those who transcend have transcended. They are more. They are not what they were.Tala rolled her eyes. You know what Im asking, Mistress. Are there any Transcendent who were human, then?No.No?No.I find that very hard to believe.So? How did yournot-date go?Tala grimaced. I have nothing to say to you.Rane quirked a smile but nodded. As you say.She sighed, stretching in a back-and-forth twist. I need to hit something. Spar?I thought you said you need to hit something. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.She glared. You are testing me, sir.Not yet, Im not. He drew Force.Tala drew out two gravity-reduced balls, tossing them to either side and immediately beginning to increase their effective gravity towards Rane.Mistress Tala? His eyes flicked between her and each of the balls, the previous nights events clearly still on his mind.Tala growled, drawing Flow in its training sheath. She lunged for him, transforming Flow into a glaive even as she charged.Rane barely brought Force across in time to deflect the strike, but Tala switched paths at the last moment.Flow shifted into the form of a sword, causing Force to sweep through empty air.Rane was too skilled to be thrown off balance by a missed block, but he was definitely caught off guard.Tala capitalized by immediately returning Flow to the form of a glaive and driving it towards the left side of his chest.His defense activated, spinning him out of the way, and Force whipped around in a tight circle towards her head.Flows long shaft came up to parry Force, and a concussion of power radiated out.Tala held the glaive angled down, so the blade was nearly between Ranes legs. With savage power, she ripped the blade upward.Had he been without his defensive inscriptions, and if Flow had been unsheathed, shed have split him groin to crown.As it was, he flipped over her, lancing out with strike after strike as he passed overhead, skimming the ceiling, a bare thirteen feet up.She expertly parried each thrust with the staff of her polearm, causing consecutive concussions of power.As his feet touched down, Tala flicked her anchor past him, transforming Flow into a sword even as she was forcefully pulled forward by the dimensional compression.She gritted her teeth against the incoming nausea, set on her goal. I will beat him, today.The anchor would have caused her to bypass Rane, but Flow was out before her, Tala holding it perfectly still.Ranes defenses acted by matching his velocity to any incoming attack. Tala and her gear had no velocity of their own. Dimensionality was warping around her, causing her movement.Flow struck his chest with a meaty thunk. Throwing him backward.His eyes widened in shock, even as the wind was driven out of him.Rane stumbled backwards, up against the wall. Talas dimensional travel ended less than ten feet from him, and she was already sprinting for him.As he lifted his off-hand to his obviously bruised chest, Rane looked down and saw her anchor. He thrust Force into the circle of the spring clip and flicked it away.Talas eyes widened, but she reacted on instinct, throwing Flow.As the weapon flew, it transformed back into a knife, threaded the anchor, and pinned it in place, barely five feet to Ranes right.Before he could react further, Tala closed, attacking him from the left to drive him towards her anchor.She ducked and wove around his strikes with precision, speed, and skill that shed never been able to combine before. That, and he was moving slower than he was usually capable of, sucking in each breath.As his next slash came in at shoulder height, Tala ducked and struck at the inside of his knee.As he flipped out of the way, she stood, jumping with all her strength towards his center of rotation.Ranes inscriptions moved him away from her, slamming him into the ceiling. He groaned, his hand spasming and allowing Force to fall towards the floor.Talas anchor dimensionally expanded the space above her, preventing her own impact with the ceiling.She slowed and lightly dropped to the floor just before Rane fell.She called Flow to her, ripping it from the floor and transforming it into a glaive for a sideways sweep, again at Ranes center.His inscriptions moved him out ahead of Flows strike, slamming him into the wall this time.Tala stepped forward, feinting with thrusts threatening enough to cause his defenses to activate, jerking him against the wall and up just enough to keep him from returning to the floor.His eyes opened, and something changed within them.Force whipped up from the floor, clipping her leg on the way to Ranes hand.A spray of blood splattered the wall, and she momentarily lost that support. She had no time to fully register the injury.Without a moments hesitation, Ranes blade licked out.One.Two.Three.Four.Five strikes in less than a second, and Tala only blocked two of them.The other three drove spears of force through her, painting the training floor behind her with her blood and bile.Her leg returned to functionality, just as Rane hit the floor, his eyes a hard, solid blue.Rane lunged for her; a rictus of concentration locked on his face.Tala stumbled backwards, shifting her weapon fluidly between its forms to block every strike.She wasnt able to regain her footing, even as she hit the edge of her anchors radius.Sensing the dimensional energy, she dropped backward into what was effectively an in-place-roll, deflecting a downward strike from Force in the middle of the maneuver with Flows glaive staff.The next exchange was too fast for thought.Tala couldnt have said if they battered back and forth ten times or a hundred, but she managed to hold her own.Rane was fighting with a ferocity shed never witnessed. That gave him speed and reactions near what she, herself, had, but his skill was proportionally lessened, making it much closer of a fight than it had ever been.She tried to press towards her anchor, so she could get it and retreat, but she had no luck.Finally, she growled out. Terry, I need the anchor.The terror bird flickered into being beside the device. He picked it up in his beak and tossed it, then vanished back to his corner.As the anchor sailed through the air, Rane saw it. Lancing out with Force, he struck the device, sending it streaking across the room and towards the door out onto the balcony.Talas eyes widened, even as motion sickness overcame her, and she likewise shot across the area.Terry flickered into being for just an instant, catching the anchor, and dropping it so it would land within the room.Bless you, Terry.Tala stumbled to a knee as the dimensional energy dispersed.She kept her head up just enough to keep an eye on Rane.He stood with perfect form in a middle, hanging guard. His eyes blank and fixed on her.Master Rane?He took one careful step towards her.What happened to him? Master Rane. Enough.One step became two, then three, then he was rushing her.Rane, stop!His foot hesitated for an instant, but his momentum continued, causing him to stumble and dropping him into a roll. He smoothly came up to a knee, just more than a dozen feet from her.Master Rane?His calm, even breathing broke, and he was suddenly panting, shivering, and heaving. Sweat broke out across his entire body, and a shudder went through him before he collapsed to the floor, seemingly unconscious.Great
