Chapter 372: Magics Consumed
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Chapter 372: Magics Consumed
START OF BOOK 10
Tala came back to her physical body in a rush, feeling power flooding through her as the cheshire core and Kit finished combining with her bloodstar.
She sat in a testing room beneath the Archon Complex of Bandfast, her soul-binding with Kit: Complete.
Her magics consumed the spellforms on the floor, causing it to appear as if the precious metals were being drawn inward before vanishing altogether.
As the last specs of gold disappeared along with the power contained within, she felt Kit click into place in relationship to her soul.
Mistress Elneametaphorical holder of the Bandfast City Stone, Paragon, head of the local Archon Council, and expert in soulbonds with dimensional storageswas engrossed in the information her magics had garnered during Talas bonding of Kit.
Master SimonFused and research assistant to Talawas similarly enthralled by what his own artifacts and magical measuring devices were telling him.
Refocusing on that which was currently critical, Tala looked to her newest soulbond.
Power poured into Kit through the bond, and Kit guzzled it down even as the pouch vanished, seeming to fade from the physical world.
Talas eyes were closed, but that was hardly a barrier given her sixteen bloodstars each mirroring her perspective to give sight along each direction of each axis from two points. Thus, she was looking up, down, left, right, forward, back, starward, stoneward from two clusters, one starward and the other stoneward of where she sat.
Additionally, each cluster was rotating to give sweeping fields of view, and hopefully maintaining as close to perfect awareness of her surroundings as possible.
With a flick of thought, a hatch opened below Flow where the knife sat on a shelf, dropping it seemingly through the wood upon which Tala had left it.
Tala watched the magics respond to her will, connecting the superficial to her sanctum, which rested where it had before, connected to the core of magic that was Kit.
The little devourling had grown considerably.
Ill look into that in a moment.
An instant after Flow began to fall, that hatch was gone, and Tala opened her hand, allowing Flow to pop up out of a portal in her palm, which closed instantly, allowing her to grab the weapon already properly positioned for her use.
Oh, I like that.
-That is quite nice.-
With Flow back in hand, she had her iron in contact with her once again, and that felt good.
On a whim, she let her iron flow back over her inscriptions, sandwiching each and every line within the spatial dimension of magic. She then caused her iron to pool out over her skin, beginning the pressure-cooking process as the torrential inflow of power through her gate quickly filled her to capacity without slowing in the least.
This time, however, as the magic reached uncontainable levels, the power was bled off into Kit, preventing any spillage.
Even so, she still felt the manifestations seemingly carved of light appear across her form under the illusion of her through-spike
Her through-spike!
The illusions were fading, and her false outward facing aura was dispersing. There simply was no magic for it to work with since Kit cleaned up the dregs before they could go to any other purpose.
With a thought, Tala forcefully directed some of her power to the item.
Kit didnt approve, but they were able to come to a compromise. They needed the through-spike functional in order to get access to more things to eat, after all.
WIthout it, shed have a hard time entering human cities.
Tala felt herself smile at that line of reasoning. It was going to take a bit to adjust to her newest bond.
Focusing back on the manifestations of her magic within reality itself, she was satisfied with how they seemed to be working, adding yet another layer to her power.
Her newly conceptualized sight also showed that she had similar echoes and manifestations both starward and stoneward as well.
But that had brought Kit back into her notice, and so she focused her attention there.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
Stoneward of Tala rested a core of magical power, a knot of natural magics that were now wholly Talas.
Where before theyd been fraying channels formed of Kits own magic but filled with Talas, now both channel and power belonged to Tala.
Just as both belonged to Kit.
The damage was repaired, not leaving a trace of anything undesirable, and the magics, themselves, had changed.
Where before there were thick cables of knotted power, there was now an almost incomprehensible tapestry of thread skillfully interwoven to form complex and potent magics.
Needless to say, the newly advanced Kit was powerful.
The artifact had undergone a qualitative reworking as the Mage-level magics had been drawn up to Refined by the mere fact of bonding to Talas Refined power and body.
Tala couldnt really tell what that meant yet, but she knew that Kit would be even more capable than before.
Maybe she can consume faster?
-Devour.-
Tala huffed a laugh. Right, devour.
-Probably. I would bet that sheand wecan now control the matter within the sanctum to a much greater degree, and with much more fidelity, but that would require testing.-
Agreed.
Tala hesitated before a realization came to her, You know, I didnt notice any of our other soulbonds trying to influence this merging. Do you think its because both Kit and I had a mind, so there wasnt really room for other interference?
-Thats as good a theory as any.-
Tala shrugged internally, focusing on her new bond with Kit. I wonder if I can finally lock Terry down, and prevent him from teleporting around, at least within the sanctum?
The idea pulled her attention to the terror bird, who was still in his corner, one taloned foot resting on his chicken.
The chicken seemed to have exhausted itself in its terror, as it wasnt even trembling anymore, and its eyes were glassy and unfocused, even while its feathered chest still rose and fell in a regular pattern.
Tala felt a mischievous grin spread across her face.
-Thats probably not the best oh, youre already doing it.-
A hatch opened beneath Terry, causing the chicken beside him to drop through with an almost relievedbut still terrifiedsquawk.
Terry flickered to Talas shoulder before dropping even a fraction of an inch, already chirping irritatedly before headbutting her cheek much harder than was strictly necessary.
Tala chuckled. Sorry to have lost you your friend, Terry. I was just testing the limits of what I can do.
Terry chirped again in a descending series of notes, then looked around grumpily.
It took Tala a moment to realize that he was looking for Kit. Oh, here you go. You can go inside.
A swirl of vapor opened a miniscule connection to her sanctum.
You are me, least you forget. So you are happy to assist even when we make bad puns.
Alat groaned, but it was obviously good-naturedly.
Master Simon cleared his throat, Well, with that minor scare out of the way, I think we should get to work.
Tala bowed to each in turndeeply toward Mistress Elnea and a nod of acknowledgement to Master Simonbefore departing. Ill watch for your communications. Please keep me up to date!
Yes, Mistress. Enjoy your time in the city. Master Simon bowed deeply.
Well keep good notes, stay safe,Mistress Elnea smiled playfullyat least until we have the teleportation functions working. Then, at least, we could get out if you died.
Tala laughed, waving over her shoulder without turning around, Ill keep that in mind.
-He responded; I can lead us to him.-
Then by all means, my Alat, let us away.
* * *
Tala arrived at the arena where she and Rane used to train with the other Archons, and instead of entering the combat area, Tala made her way up to an observation deck, looking down on what was happening below.
It was a sight to see.
Rane was fighting Master Cazor, and the experienced Mage Hunter was actually on the backfoot.
Rane was practically bouncing off of the stone walls, sandy floor, and wire-mesh ceiling to avoid the sweeping rivers of iron.
It was most clear on the sand and with the wire mesh, but Rane wasnt putting any pressure on that which he launched from.
Hes getting better every day.
He even somehow managed to redirect off of the very iron he was avoiding, though Tala had seen Master Cazor grab onto Rane with the clouds of particles in bouts in the past.
Force flickered and flashed throughout the dizzying acrobatics, blowing apart clusters of iron, sending plumes of sand to distract and disrupt, and even landing blows on hastily raised defenses, causing Master Cazor to struggle to maintain any semblance of control in the arena.
Rust me, hes gotten better.
-Yeah; that he has.-
She continued to watch what was obviously a forgone conclusion. Regardless, both men continued fighting until the end.
When it came, it came quick.
Rane redirected off of the ceiling, spearing straight toward Master Cazor with Force held before him like the tip of a lance.
Master Cazor tried to sweep Rane from the air, but Rane pulled out something new.
From his leather loop, Rane drew forth a handful of magically powerful magnets, throwing them out to spread around himself.
There had to be further magics involved, because while they werent drawn to each other at allin fact they even seemed to repulse one otherthey obviously completely changed the magnetic landscape of the battlefield.
Master Cazor saw and corrected like the expert that he was, but the moments delay and reprieve was all that Rane needed.
He stopped, his sword resting against Master Cazors shoulder in a pull-cut that would have forced the Mage Hunter to move toward Rane in order to mitigate the damage.
Taking the blow would have thrown the smaller man into Ranes embrace, where it would have been a quick end to the fight as well.
Master Cazor laughed, the iron in the air freezing in place, then dropping to coat the sand in beautiful, swirling patterns of dark gray on tan. Well fought, Master Rane.
Rane grinned in return, And you, Master Cazor. I think if I didnt have the ceiling, Id have lost long ago.
The other man waved that off, Some battlefields favor me, some favor others. I would be a poor opponent if I complained after such a well-earned victory on your part. Besides, having so much iron readily available in the sand has to be taken into account. If anything, I gained more from this arena than you did.
I disagree, but thank you.
I have to ask, though, did you specifically get magical items to counter me?
Rane shrugged, his smile widening, Among others, yes.
Are they monopoles?
Thats right.
The man shook his head. Magic is amazing. They must have been expensive.
Somewhat. They were actually harvests off of a truly fascinating metal elemental. There were two of them, found in near proximity to one another, and each had more than a hundred monopoles.
The other halves in those within the other?
Exactly.
Huh, not necessary, but an interesting way for them to have been formed.
Thats what I thought. Rane nodded in agreement.
Then, in the brief lull in their post-fight conversation, both men turned to look up at Tala.
She waved, smiling in return.
Master Cazors lip curled in wry amusement, See anything you like?
She chuckled, Id love to fight you both, but thatd be a bit unfair.
Rane nodded seriously, and Master Cazor grimaced, We dont have enough Fused friends to even the odds against a Refined, battle-hardened Defender, let alone you.
She laughed happily at the obvious compliment, Well, thank you, but it could still be fun
He laughed. True enough. He looked to his previous opponent. What do you say?
Rane didnt look to Master Cazor, instead meeting Talas gaze with one of determination, Im aways game for a round.
-Youre not very nice some times, Tala.-
Im not going to humiliate them. Besides, Ive been working on controlling my iron despite competing forces. If anyone can test that properly, its Master Cazor.
-True, and Rane?-
Hes always enjoyable to spar with. Even when he isnt a true opponent, hes good enough to press me to be better.
-And he seems to be hunting for ways to counter you as well.-
Talas smile grew as she dropped down into the sandy pit. Lets see how well hes done, then.
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Chapter 372: Magics Consumed
START OF BOOK 10
Tala came back to her physical body in a rush, feeling power flooding through her as the cheshire core and Kit finished combining with her bloodstar.
She sat in a testing room beneath the Archon Complex of Bandfast, her soul-binding with Kit: Complete.
Her magics consumed the spellforms on the floor, causing it to appear as if the precious metals were being drawn inward before vanishing altogether.
As the last specs of gold disappeared along with the power contained within, she felt Kit click into place in relationship to her soul.
Mistress Elneametaphorical holder of the Bandfast City Stone, Paragon, head of the local Archon Council, and expert in soulbonds with dimensional storageswas engrossed in the information her magics had garnered during Talas bonding of Kit.
Master SimonFused and research assistant to Talawas similarly enthralled by what his own artifacts and magical measuring devices were telling him.
Refocusing on that which was currently critical, Tala looked to her newest soulbond.
Power poured into Kit through the bond, and Kit guzzled it down even as the pouch vanished, seeming to fade from the physical world.
Talas eyes were closed, but that was hardly a barrier given her sixteen bloodstars each mirroring her perspective to give sight along each direction of each axis from two points. Thus, she was looking up, down, left, right, forward, back, starward, stoneward from two clusters, one starward and the other stoneward of where she sat.
Additionally, each cluster was rotating to give sweeping fields of view, and hopefully maintaining as close to perfect awareness of her surroundings as possible.
With a flick of thought, a hatch opened below Flow where the knife sat on a shelf, dropping it seemingly through the wood upon which Tala had left it.
Tala watched the magics respond to her will, connecting the superficial to her sanctum, which rested where it had before, connected to the core of magic that was Kit.
The little devourling had grown considerably.
Ill look into that in a moment.
An instant after Flow began to fall, that hatch was gone, and Tala opened her hand, allowing Flow to pop up out of a portal in her palm, which closed instantly, allowing her to grab the weapon already properly positioned for her use.
Oh, I like that.
-That is quite nice.-
With Flow back in hand, she had her iron in contact with her once again, and that felt good.
On a whim, she let her iron flow back over her inscriptions, sandwiching each and every line within the spatial dimension of magic. She then caused her iron to pool out over her skin, beginning the pressure-cooking process as the torrential inflow of power through her gate quickly filled her to capacity without slowing in the least.
This time, however, as the magic reached uncontainable levels, the power was bled off into Kit, preventing any spillage.
Even so, she still felt the manifestations seemingly carved of light appear across her form under the illusion of her through-spike
Her through-spike!
The illusions were fading, and her false outward facing aura was dispersing. There simply was no magic for it to work with since Kit cleaned up the dregs before they could go to any other purpose.
With a thought, Tala forcefully directed some of her power to the item.
Kit didnt approve, but they were able to come to a compromise. They needed the through-spike functional in order to get access to more things to eat, after all.
WIthout it, shed have a hard time entering human cities.
Tala felt herself smile at that line of reasoning. It was going to take a bit to adjust to her newest bond.
Focusing back on the manifestations of her magic within reality itself, she was satisfied with how they seemed to be working, adding yet another layer to her power.
Her newly conceptualized sight also showed that she had similar echoes and manifestations both starward and stoneward as well.
But that had brought Kit back into her notice, and so she focused her attention there.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
Stoneward of Tala rested a core of magical power, a knot of natural magics that were now wholly Talas.
Where before theyd been fraying channels formed of Kits own magic but filled with Talas, now both channel and power belonged to Tala.
Just as both belonged to Kit.
The damage was repaired, not leaving a trace of anything undesirable, and the magics, themselves, had changed.
Where before there were thick cables of knotted power, there was now an almost incomprehensible tapestry of thread skillfully interwoven to form complex and potent magics.
Needless to say, the newly advanced Kit was powerful.
The artifact had undergone a qualitative reworking as the Mage-level magics had been drawn up to Refined by the mere fact of bonding to Talas Refined power and body.
Tala couldnt really tell what that meant yet, but she knew that Kit would be even more capable than before.
Maybe she can consume faster?
-Devour.-
Tala huffed a laugh. Right, devour.
-Probably. I would bet that sheand wecan now control the matter within the sanctum to a much greater degree, and with much more fidelity, but that would require testing.-
Agreed.
Tala hesitated before a realization came to her, You know, I didnt notice any of our other soulbonds trying to influence this merging. Do you think its because both Kit and I had a mind, so there wasnt really room for other interference?
-Thats as good a theory as any.-
Tala shrugged internally, focusing on her new bond with Kit. I wonder if I can finally lock Terry down, and prevent him from teleporting around, at least within the sanctum?
The idea pulled her attention to the terror bird, who was still in his corner, one taloned foot resting on his chicken.
The chicken seemed to have exhausted itself in its terror, as it wasnt even trembling anymore, and its eyes were glassy and unfocused, even while its feathered chest still rose and fell in a regular pattern.
Tala felt a mischievous grin spread across her face.
-Thats probably not the best oh, youre already doing it.-
A hatch opened beneath Terry, causing the chicken beside him to drop through with an almost relievedbut still terrifiedsquawk.
Terry flickered to Talas shoulder before dropping even a fraction of an inch, already chirping irritatedly before headbutting her cheek much harder than was strictly necessary.
Tala chuckled. Sorry to have lost you your friend, Terry. I was just testing the limits of what I can do.
Terry chirped again in a descending series of notes, then looked around grumpily.
It took Tala a moment to realize that he was looking for Kit. Oh, here you go. You can go inside.
A swirl of vapor opened a miniscule connection to her sanctum.
You are me, least you forget. So you are happy to assist even when we make bad puns.
Alat groaned, but it was obviously good-naturedly.
Master Simon cleared his throat, Well, with that minor scare out of the way, I think we should get to work.
Tala bowed to each in turndeeply toward Mistress Elnea and a nod of acknowledgement to Master Simonbefore departing. Ill watch for your communications. Please keep me up to date!
Yes, Mistress. Enjoy your time in the city. Master Simon bowed deeply.
Well keep good notes, stay safe,Mistress Elnea smiled playfullyat least until we have the teleportation functions working. Then, at least, we could get out if you died.
Tala laughed, waving over her shoulder without turning around, Ill keep that in mind.
-He responded; I can lead us to him.-
Then by all means, my Alat, let us away.
* * *
Tala arrived at the arena where she and Rane used to train with the other Archons, and instead of entering the combat area, Tala made her way up to an observation deck, looking down on what was happening below.
It was a sight to see.
Rane was fighting Master Cazor, and the experienced Mage Hunter was actually on the backfoot.
Rane was practically bouncing off of the stone walls, sandy floor, and wire-mesh ceiling to avoid the sweeping rivers of iron.
It was most clear on the sand and with the wire mesh, but Rane wasnt putting any pressure on that which he launched from.
Hes getting better every day.
He even somehow managed to redirect off of the very iron he was avoiding, though Tala had seen Master Cazor grab onto Rane with the clouds of particles in bouts in the past.
Force flickered and flashed throughout the dizzying acrobatics, blowing apart clusters of iron, sending plumes of sand to distract and disrupt, and even landing blows on hastily raised defenses, causing Master Cazor to struggle to maintain any semblance of control in the arena.
Rust me, hes gotten better.
-Yeah; that he has.-
She continued to watch what was obviously a forgone conclusion. Regardless, both men continued fighting until the end.
When it came, it came quick.
Rane redirected off of the ceiling, spearing straight toward Master Cazor with Force held before him like the tip of a lance.
Master Cazor tried to sweep Rane from the air, but Rane pulled out something new.
From his leather loop, Rane drew forth a handful of magically powerful magnets, throwing them out to spread around himself.
There had to be further magics involved, because while they werent drawn to each other at allin fact they even seemed to repulse one otherthey obviously completely changed the magnetic landscape of the battlefield.
Master Cazor saw and corrected like the expert that he was, but the moments delay and reprieve was all that Rane needed.
He stopped, his sword resting against Master Cazors shoulder in a pull-cut that would have forced the Mage Hunter to move toward Rane in order to mitigate the damage.
Taking the blow would have thrown the smaller man into Ranes embrace, where it would have been a quick end to the fight as well.
Master Cazor laughed, the iron in the air freezing in place, then dropping to coat the sand in beautiful, swirling patterns of dark gray on tan. Well fought, Master Rane.
Rane grinned in return, And you, Master Cazor. I think if I didnt have the ceiling, Id have lost long ago.
The other man waved that off, Some battlefields favor me, some favor others. I would be a poor opponent if I complained after such a well-earned victory on your part. Besides, having so much iron readily available in the sand has to be taken into account. If anything, I gained more from this arena than you did.
I disagree, but thank you.
I have to ask, though, did you specifically get magical items to counter me?
Rane shrugged, his smile widening, Among others, yes.
Are they monopoles?
Thats right.
The man shook his head. Magic is amazing. They must have been expensive.
Somewhat. They were actually harvests off of a truly fascinating metal elemental. There were two of them, found in near proximity to one another, and each had more than a hundred monopoles.
The other halves in those within the other?
Exactly.
Huh, not necessary, but an interesting way for them to have been formed.
Thats what I thought. Rane nodded in agreement.
Then, in the brief lull in their post-fight conversation, both men turned to look up at Tala.
She waved, smiling in return.
Master Cazors lip curled in wry amusement, See anything you like?
She chuckled, Id love to fight you both, but thatd be a bit unfair.
Rane nodded seriously, and Master Cazor grimaced, We dont have enough Fused friends to even the odds against a Refined, battle-hardened Defender, let alone you.
She laughed happily at the obvious compliment, Well, thank you, but it could still be fun
He laughed. True enough. He looked to his previous opponent. What do you say?
Rane didnt look to Master Cazor, instead meeting Talas gaze with one of determination, Im aways game for a round.
-Youre not very nice some times, Tala.-
Im not going to humiliate them. Besides, Ive been working on controlling my iron despite competing forces. If anyone can test that properly, its Master Cazor.
-True, and Rane?-
Hes always enjoyable to spar with. Even when he isnt a true opponent, hes good enough to press me to be better.
-And he seems to be hunting for ways to counter you as well.-
Talas smile grew as she dropped down into the sandy pit. Lets see how well hes done, then.
Chapter 372: Magics ConsumedSTART OF BOOK 10Tala came back to her physical body in a rush, feeling power flooding through her as the cheshire core and Kit finished combining with her bloodstar.She sat in a testing room beneath the Archon Complex of Bandfast, her soul-binding with Kit: Complete.Her magics consumed the spellforms on the floor, causing it to appear as if the precious metals were being drawn inward before vanishing altogether.As the last specs of gold disappeared along with the power contained within, she felt Kit click into place in relationship to her soul.Mistress Elneametaphorical holder of the Bandfast City Stone, Paragon, head of the local Archon Council, and expert in soulbonds with dimensional storageswas engrossed in the information her magics had garnered during Talas bonding of Kit.Master SimonFused and research assistant to Talawas similarly enthralled by what his own artifacts and magical measuring devices were telling him.Refocusing on that which was currently critical, Tala looked to her newest soulbond.Power poured into Kit through the bond, and Kit guzzled it down even as the pouch vanished, seeming to fade from the physical world.Talas eyes were closed, but that was hardly a barrier given her sixteen bloodstars each mirroring her perspective to give sight along each direction of each axis from two points. Thus, she was looking up, down, left, right, forward, back, starward, stoneward from two clusters, one starward and the other stoneward of where she sat.Additionally, each cluster was rotating to give sweeping fields of view, and hopefully maintaining as close to perfect awareness of her surroundings as possible.With a flick of thought, a hatch opened below Flow where the knife sat on a shelf, dropping it seemingly through the wood upon which Tala had left it.Tala watched the magics respond to her will, connecting the superficial to her sanctum, which rested where it had before, connected to the core of magic that was Kit.The little devourling had grown considerably.Ill look into that in a moment.An instant after Flow began to fall, that hatch was gone, and Tala opened her hand, allowing Flow to pop up out of a portal in her palm, which closed instantly, allowing her to grab the weapon already properly positioned for her use.Oh, I like that.-That is quite nice.-With Flow back in hand, she had her iron in contact with her once again, and that felt good.On a whim, she let her iron flow back over her inscriptions, sandwiching each and every line within the spatial dimension of magic. She then caused her iron to pool out over her skin, beginning the pressure-cooking process as the torrential inflow of power through her gate quickly filled her to capacity without slowing in the least.This time, however, as the magic reached uncontainable levels, the power was bled off into Kit, preventing any spillage.Even so, she still felt the manifestations seemingly carved of light appear across her form under the illusion of her through-spikeHer through-spike!The illusions were fading, and her false outward facing aura was dispersing. There simply was no magic for it to work with since Kit cleaned up the dregs before they could go to any other purpose.With a thought, Tala forcefully directed some of her power to the item.Kit didnt approve, but they were able to come to a compromise. They needed the through-spike functional in order to get access to more things to eat, after all.WIthout it, shed have a hard time entering human cities.Tala felt herself smile at that line of reasoning. It was going to take a bit to adjust to her newest bond.Focusing back on the manifestations of her magic within reality itself, she was satisfied with how they seemed to be working, adding yet another layer to her power.Her newly conceptualized sight also showed that she had similar echoes and manifestations both starward and stoneward as well.But that had brought Kit back into her notice, and so she focused her attention there.The debut release of this chapter happened at Nvl-B1n.Stoneward of Tala rested a core of magical power, a knot of natural magics that were now wholly Talas.Where before theyd been fraying channels formed of Kits own magic but filled with Talas, now both channel and power belonged to Tala.Just as both belonged to Kit.The damage was repaired, not leaving a trace of anything undesirable, and the magics, themselves, had changed.Where before there were thick cables of knotted power, there was now an almost incomprehensible tapestry of thread skillfully interwoven to form complex and potent magics.Needless to say, the newly advanced Kit was powerful.The artifact had undergone a qualitative reworking as the Mage-level magics had been drawn up to Refined by the mere fact of bonding to Talas Refined power and body.Tala couldnt really tell what that meant yet, but she knew that Kit would be even more capable than before.Maybe she can consume faster?-Devour.-Tala huffed a laugh. Right, devour.-Probably. I would bet that sheand wecan now control the matter within the sanctum to a much greater degree, and with much more fidelity, but that would require testing.-Agreed.Tala hesitated before a realization came to her, You know, I didnt notice any of our other soulbonds trying to influence this merging. Do you think its because both Kit and I had a mind, so there wasnt really room for other interference?-Thats as good a theory as any.-Tala shrugged internally, focusing on her new bond with Kit. I wonder if I can finally lock Terry down, and prevent him from teleporting around, at least within the sanctum?The idea pulled her attention to the terror bird, who was still in his corner, one taloned foot resting on his chicken.The chicken seemed to have exhausted itself in its terror, as it wasnt even trembling anymore, and its eyes were glassy and unfocused, even while its feathered chest still rose and fell in a regular pattern.Tala felt a mischievous grin spread across her face.-Thats probably not the best oh, youre already doing it.-A hatch opened beneath Terry, causing the chicken beside him to drop through with an almost relievedbut still terrifiedsquawk.Terry flickered to Talas shoulder before dropping even a fraction of an inch, already chirping irritatedly before headbutting her cheek much harder than was strictly necessary.Tala chuckled. Sorry to have lost you your friend, Terry. I was just testing the limits of what I can do.Terry chirped again in a descending series of notes, then looked around grumpily.It took Tala a moment to realize that he was looking for Kit. Oh, here you go. You can go inside.A swirl of vapor opened a miniscule connection to her sanctum.You are me, least you forget. So you are happy to assist even when we make bad puns.Alat groaned, but it was obviously good-naturedly.Master Simon cleared his throat, Well, with that minor scare out of the way, I think we should get to work.Tala bowed to each in turndeeply toward Mistress Elnea and a nod of acknowledgement to Master Simonbefore departing. Ill watch for your communications. Please keep me up to date!Yes, Mistress. Enjoy your time in the city. Master Simon bowed deeply.Well keep good notes, stay safe,Mistress Elnea smiled playfullyat least until we have the teleportation functions working. Then, at least, we could get out if you died.Tala laughed, waving over her shoulder without turning around, Ill keep that in mind.-He responded; I can lead us to him.-Then by all means, my Alat, let us away.* * *Tala arrived at the arena where she and Rane used to train with the other Archons, and instead of entering the combat area, Tala made her way up to an observation deck, looking down on what was happening below.It was a sight to see.Rane was fighting Master Cazor, and the experienced Mage Hunter was actually on the backfoot.Rane was practically bouncing off of the stone walls, sandy floor, and wire-mesh ceiling to avoid the sweeping rivers of iron.It was most clear on the sand and with the wire mesh, but Rane wasnt putting any pressure on that which he launched from.Hes getting better every day.He even somehow managed to redirect off of the very iron he was avoiding, though Tala had seen Master Cazor grab onto Rane with the clouds of particles in bouts in the past.Force flickered and flashed throughout the dizzying acrobatics, blowing apart clusters of iron, sending plumes of sand to distract and disrupt, and even landing blows on hastily raised defenses, causing Master Cazor to struggle to maintain any semblance of control in the arena.Rust me, hes gotten better.-Yeah; that he has.-She continued to watch what was obviously a forgone conclusion. Regardless, both men continued fighting until the end.When it came, it came quick.Rane redirected off of the ceiling, spearing straight toward Master Cazor with Force held before him like the tip of a lance.Master Cazor tried to sweep Rane from the air, but Rane pulled out something new.From his leather loop, Rane drew forth a handful of magically powerful magnets, throwing them out to spread around himself.There had to be further magics involved, because while they werent drawn to each other at allin fact they even seemed to repulse one otherthey obviously completely changed the magnetic landscape of the battlefield.Master Cazor saw and corrected like the expert that he was, but the moments delay and reprieve was all that Rane needed.He stopped, his sword resting against Master Cazors shoulder in a pull-cut that would have forced the Mage Hunter to move toward Rane in order to mitigate the damage.Taking the blow would have thrown the smaller man into Ranes embrace, where it would have been a quick end to the fight as well.Master Cazor laughed, the iron in the air freezing in place, then dropping to coat the sand in beautiful, swirling patterns of dark gray on tan. Well fought, Master Rane.Rane grinned in return, And you, Master Cazor. I think if I didnt have the ceiling, Id have lost long ago.The other man waved that off, Some battlefields favor me, some favor others. I would be a poor opponent if I complained after such a well-earned victory on your part. Besides, having so much iron readily available in the sand has to be taken into account. If anything, I gained more from this arena than you did.I disagree, but thank you.I have to ask, though, did you specifically get magical items to counter me?Rane shrugged, his smile widening, Among others, yes.Are they monopoles?Thats right.The man shook his head. Magic is amazing. They must have been expensive.Somewhat. They were actually harvests off of a truly fascinating metal elemental. There were two of them, found in near proximity to one another, and each had more than a hundred monopoles.The other halves in those within the other?Exactly.Huh, not necessary, but an interesting way for them to have been formed.Thats what I thought. Rane nodded in agreement.Then, in the brief lull in their post-fight conversation, both men turned to look up at Tala.She waved, smiling in return.Master Cazors lip curled in wry amusement, See anything you like?She chuckled, Id love to fight you both, but thatd be a bit unfair.Rane nodded seriously, and Master Cazor grimaced, We dont have enough Fused friends to even the odds against a Refined, battle-hardened Defender, let alone you.She laughed happily at the obvious compliment, Well, thank you, but it could still be funHe laughed. True enough. He looked to his previous opponent. What do you say?Rane didnt look to Master Cazor, instead meeting Talas gaze with one of determination, Im aways game for a round.-Youre not very nice some times, Tala.-Im not going to humiliate them. Besides, Ive been working on controlling my iron despite competing forces. If anyone can test that properly, its Master Cazor.-True, and Rane?-Hes always enjoyable to spar with. Even when he isnt a true opponent, hes good enough to press me to be better.-And he seems to be hunting for ways to counter you as well.-Talas smile grew as she dropped down into the sandy pit. Lets see how well hes done, then.
