Chapter 91: Plentiful and Free
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Chapter 91: Plentiful and Free
Tala gave a slight bow, once more, but this time, it was to give her a moment to think. When she straightened, she was still no closer to having a coherent response. She was still feeling quite overwrought by all that had happened.
Elneas grin shifted to a more companionable smile. It can be overwhelming, so many things changing at once, then to see yourself as others do? She shook her head. You are holding up surprisingly well. She leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. I wept, at my raising.
Terry appeared on Talas shoulder, giving Elnea a pointed, hostile look, before he settled down and closed his eyes in mock sleep. The Archon pulled back, though not seemingly in fear.
Lyn and Rane were working their way towards her, but Grediv reached Tala and Elnea first. Mistress Elnea! You cannot dominate the time of this guest of honor as well.
Elnea gave Grediv a long-suffering look. I tolerated your intrusions because yourpupil was being evaluated as well, but you did not tell me you had such a strong hand in this ones advancements.
Grediv shrugged. Ive told all I did. I gave her access to no forbidden knowledge. I didnt even inform her about the Ways. That would have been a breach for any Archon, who wasnt her master. He gave Tala a subtle wink. The only contribution I claim is doing my utmost to prevent her from killing herself or becoming a lich.
Tala cleared her throat. Ok. Im an Archon, now. Explain how I could have become a lich.
Elnea gave Grediv an irritated look.
I dont want to become one; I want to avoid it.
Grediv grinned. The biggest danger of that passed, with your elevation to Archon. Mages, in general, are in danger of all sorts of horrors, mostly volitional, until their body is bound to their soul Elnea was giving him a very unkind glare, so he tapered off. But you can read about those in the library, if you so wish. Or purchase the volumes yourself, but I imagine someone will be kind enough to gift you the basic texts. He gave her another, less subtle wink.
Tala smiled in return. Grediv had, in fact, given her such a set, though most of the volumes were sealed against her, until she was of sufficient stature to warrant the information. I wonder if Ill be able to read all of them, now, or just some? She was excited to check, but it was hardly the time.
Elnea cleared her throat. Certain information remains restricted by level of advancement.
Tala sighed. Do I, at least, get to know how I am supposed to advance?
Of course.
Tala blinked at that, surprised. Really?
Absolutely. Moving from being a Bound to a Fused is a simple matter of fusing your body and soul together, inseparably. To be clear, you are not making them one; that is impossible as they are now.
Thats not foreshadowing or anything. Ok, that explains the name. How do I do that?
Elnea smiled broadly. That you must learn for yourself.
Tala returned a flat look. Seriously, woman?
Grediv interjected. You, Mistress Tala, have a leg up on most new Bound. What youve accomplished with- Elnea was glaring at him once more, so he seemed to change what hed been about to say, -your items, proves youve some insight.
My items, eh? She contemplated that, glancing down at herself. Then, she started to smile. Right! I fused my elk-leathers into a single item. Its probably something like that. I see. Thank you, Master Grediv. She hesitated. Wait you never told me how one becomes a lich?
Elnea shook her head. Too late, it seems; your fellow new Archons are here.
Rane and Lyn finally got close to her through the now milling and conversing crowd. This seemed to be as much a social event for Archons as for the raising of new members.
Tala glared at Elnea, but then something moving around the perimeter of the room caught her attention.
Are those trays of food? It appeared that servants had come in while Tala was distracted, filling the three large tables with a banquets worth of food.
Tala! Lyn wrapped Tala in a fierce embrace. I knew youd be fine.
Elnea gave them an odd look, likely from Lyns lack of an honorific.
Lyn. Or should I say Mistress Lyn Clerkson, Diamond Archon? Elnea looked back and forth between them, then shook her head in resigned exasperation.
Lyn grinned. You could, but dont. Thats a mouthful.
Tala laughed.
Rane hung back, just a bit, until Tala turned towards him. At that point, he smiled, and gave a bow and extended his hand. Congratulations, Mistress Tala. Something looks different about him
Tala reached towards him, taking his offered hand. Thank you, and congratulations to you, too, Master Rane Gredial, Sapphire Archon.
He rolled his eyes. None of that, Mistress.
Its his scars. His scars are faded, somehow. She decided not to point it out, for now. It wasnt a huge change, but it was noticeable. She put on a mock serious tone. As you wish, Master.
Lyn snorted a laugh. Come on! This banquet is for all of us. Apparently, they didnt want to bring out all this food for any one of us, alone.
Tala glanced towards Elnea and Grediv, but they seemed to be having a heated argument, though Tala couldnt hear even a flicker of sound from it. From the brief glimpses Tala had gotten of the womans power and spell-lines, Elnea was a Material Guide, specializing in sound. Rare specialty. That didnt explain the mental image of Tala, which had been projected, but Tala supposed every Mage did have their secrets.
She shrugged, returning her attention to her companions. Food sounds great. She hesitated then, turning back to fully face Lyn. I am so, so sorry about the finger, Lyn. I was going to explain, but other things kept coming up, then Master Rane said we couldnt talk about our star formation. She gave a pained smile. I had to get it out and cutting off the fingertip was the only thing I could think to do.
The woman gave her a long look, then sighed. That does explain it. Lyn nodded once. Youre still buying me a new rug, though.
I suppose thats fair Her nose caught a whiff of the dishes now laid out around the room. Now, lets get to the food. Im starving.
The other two grinned jovially, clearly not surprised by the revelation.
As they moved towards the food, many gave them hearty congratulations. Though, all tallied, many more intercepted the other two, individually, than Tala, herself.
For Tala, some asked if shed be interested in collaborations, or in other opportunities; all of those, she gave noncommittal answers, which amounted to: Too much going on right now. Reach out later, please?
Everyone seemed to take that well, even seeming to have expected something of the sort.
He shrugged. Ill make no play at justifying the debunked theories of our ancestors. But it applies here, too. If we were to double the power capacity of the cargo-slots, we would get at most another hour out of the spell-form. Triple? Maybe another half-hour beyond that.
So, why arent bigger cargo-slots out of power much faster?
He smiled. Ahh, that is an excellent question. Simple: Magic, applied, only dissipates as its used, and the reservoirs rate of decay is directly correlated with the spell it is meant to supply.
She blinked, and shook her head, trying to process that. Wait, so if Im understanding correctly, then no spell-form could last longer than a day or so.
Without an external source of power, yes. He shrugged. It is a fundamental truth behind magic. Any item that doesnt need such regular influx is simply getting its power in some other way. As an example: harvests, used as a power source, are not reservoirs and dont suffer from this limit as a result. Well, they dont suffer in the same way.
Tala opened her mouth, but Master Himmal held up a hand.
We are delving at a very surface level into deep theory, and if we continue, I fear I will need to dominate your entire afternoon, and still, well have barely begun. If you wish to learn more about crafting theory, I am happy to take the time, but not here, not now. He smiled.
Tala hesitantly nodded, then smiled. Thank you. I just might take you up on that.
I hope that you do. He patted her shoulder, the one opposite where Terry rested. Ill not take more of your time, but it was a pleasure to see you, Mistress.
And you, Master Himmal.
As he turned to go, he hesitated, leaning back towards her and speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. You know, if you ask one of the staff members, theyll make up carry-out containers of any food youd like to request.
Talas eyes widened, but Master Himmal left, before she could respond, a small smile obvious on his face. Thats genius!
She immediately sought out staff members. First, she asked what would be done with the leftover food, when the event ended, and she was horrified to learn that it would most likely be thrown out. Madness, utter madness!
She put an end to that immediately, requesting that they pack it all up for her to take. The poor young woman that shed accosted didnt really know how to process the request, but after theyd found a more senior staff member, Tala was assured that no edible food would be thrown away. It rusting better not be.
Lyn and Rane worked the room much more readily than she did. As much as their initial enthusiasm for raiding the food table had delighted Tala, shed known it wouldnt last, not in the face of so many people focusing in on the three of them.
In Lyns case, Tala had expected the networking, glad-handing, and jovial relationship building. She is basically a recruiter and face for the Caravanners, after all.
Ranes acumen, however, was startling. True, most of the positive interactions that Tala witnessed from afar seemed to stem from him almost visibly restraining himself from speaking, but it still seemed unexpectedly successful. Several of the Archons who came up to him were younger looking women. All gorgeous, of course. If his blushing countenance was any indication, they seemed to be asking him to break his wordor something, Tala had no idea, and they never seemed to talk to Rane, while she was within earshot. Even so, the interactions never seemed to go anywhere.
As she thought about the afternoon in general, she realized that Rane, in his words, was often similar to her in her actions. The restraint he was demonstrating bore contemplation. Maybe, I could be a little less rash in my actions?
She thought about it for a full thirty seconds. Nah. Ill get good progress, or Ill die. Still, she would continue to avoid things she knew, for a fact, were deadly. At least those that would be deadly to me.
Even so, she knew that she would try to contemplate her actions and their repercussions more deeply. At least more than I have, previously.
If she kept that up, every day, she just might make significant improvement. One can hope.
She startled her current accoster by pulling a fully loaded plate out of her belt pouch and beginning to eat. Im running low.
So as I was saying, if youd be willing to allow a detailed examination of your blood, along with one of your Archon stars
The conversations, well-wishes, and opportunities were decidedly blurring together.
Congratulations!
I cant believe you drew a soul-bound weapon. Fantastic!
Once your current contracts run out, wed love to have you
Your talents are wasted with the Caravanners Guild. Let me buy out your indenture. Youd be much better served
Your companion is unlike any terror bird Ive come across. Would you be willing to...
Tala was not interested in joining someone elses research, nor subjecting herself or Terry to such. She was happy with her current contract and the terms. The work would be lucrative and leave time for her to pursue her own projects on the trips, even if the role as Mage Protector would take more effort than shed put forward, before. Plus, Ive seen three cities and the Academy. I want to see the others, and my work in the caravans will allow that.
After almost two hours, she was about to bolt for it, rust manners, when Holly found her.
Blood Archon, eh?
Tala turned at the familiar voice and smiled. Yes, Mistress Holly. I hope I still managed to surprise you, despite your earlier exposure to my form of Archon star.
Holly gave a nod and smiled. Decidedly. I do almost wish I could have seen you continue to resist the entirety of the council, attending here. She sighed, dejectedly. It would have been a wonderful look into what those inscriptions are truly capable of.
Tala cleared her throat. Well, I, for one, am glad that you arent all inhuman monsters, bent on subjugating anyone of potential power.
Holly hesitated, then shrugged. Fair enough.
Tala rolled her eyes but huffed a laugh. Thank you, again.
Hmm?
You have elevated my inscriptions to a level that I feel reasonably in my element here, among so many magical power-houses.
Holly snorted. Dear, aside from the two Head Archons, most of us are weaker members of the local council. Those of real weight dont concern themselves with new Archons. She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. And, if were being honest, the really powerful ones dont have interest in dealing with the others, at all, so the Heads arent the best, either.
Ouch, but I suppose thats fair.
Holly patted her arm. Youll get there, dear. Just keep from killing yourself, and youll do fine. She turned, her mind clearly already elsewhere. Now, where did I see those raspberry mousse cups?
Wait, theres dessert, too? How had she missed the presence of a dessert table? That was unacceptable. Im getting distracted by unimportant things.
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Chapter 91: Plentiful and Free
Tala gave a slight bow, once more, but this time, it was to give her a moment to think. When she straightened, she was still no closer to having a coherent response. She was still feeling quite overwrought by all that had happened.
Elneas grin shifted to a more companionable smile. It can be overwhelming, so many things changing at once, then to see yourself as others do? She shook her head. You are holding up surprisingly well. She leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. I wept, at my raising.
Terry appeared on Talas shoulder, giving Elnea a pointed, hostile look, before he settled down and closed his eyes in mock sleep. The Archon pulled back, though not seemingly in fear.
Lyn and Rane were working their way towards her, but Grediv reached Tala and Elnea first. Mistress Elnea! You cannot dominate the time of this guest of honor as well.
Elnea gave Grediv a long-suffering look. I tolerated your intrusions because yourpupil was being evaluated as well, but you did not tell me you had such a strong hand in this ones advancements.
Grediv shrugged. Ive told all I did. I gave her access to no forbidden knowledge. I didnt even inform her about the Ways. That would have been a breach for any Archon, who wasnt her master. He gave Tala a subtle wink. The only contribution I claim is doing my utmost to prevent her from killing herself or becoming a lich.
Tala cleared her throat. Ok. Im an Archon, now. Explain how I could have become a lich.
Elnea gave Grediv an irritated look.
I dont want to become one; I want to avoid it.
Grediv grinned. The biggest danger of that passed, with your elevation to Archon. Mages, in general, are in danger of all sorts of horrors, mostly volitional, until their body is bound to their soul Elnea was giving him a very unkind glare, so he tapered off. But you can read about those in the library, if you so wish. Or purchase the volumes yourself, but I imagine someone will be kind enough to gift you the basic texts. He gave her another, less subtle wink.
Tala smiled in return. Grediv had, in fact, given her such a set, though most of the volumes were sealed against her, until she was of sufficient stature to warrant the information. I wonder if Ill be able to read all of them, now, or just some? She was excited to check, but it was hardly the time.
Elnea cleared her throat. Certain information remains restricted by level of advancement.
Tala sighed. Do I, at least, get to know how I am supposed to advance?
Of course.
Tala blinked at that, surprised. Really?
Absolutely. Moving from being a Bound to a Fused is a simple matter of fusing your body and soul together, inseparably. To be clear, you are not making them one; that is impossible as they are now.
Thats not foreshadowing or anything. Ok, that explains the name. How do I do that?
Elnea smiled broadly. That you must learn for yourself.
Tala returned a flat look. Seriously, woman?
Grediv interjected. You, Mistress Tala, have a leg up on most new Bound. What youve accomplished with- Elnea was glaring at him once more, so he seemed to change what hed been about to say, -your items, proves youve some insight.
My items, eh? She contemplated that, glancing down at herself. Then, she started to smile. Right! I fused my elk-leathers into a single item. Its probably something like that. I see. Thank you, Master Grediv. She hesitated. Wait you never told me how one becomes a lich?
Elnea shook her head. Too late, it seems; your fellow new Archons are here.
Rane and Lyn finally got close to her through the now milling and conversing crowd. This seemed to be as much a social event for Archons as for the raising of new members.
Tala glared at Elnea, but then something moving around the perimeter of the room caught her attention.
Are those trays of food? It appeared that servants had come in while Tala was distracted, filling the three large tables with a banquets worth of food.
Tala! Lyn wrapped Tala in a fierce embrace. I knew youd be fine.
Elnea gave them an odd look, likely from Lyns lack of an honorific.
Lyn. Or should I say Mistress Lyn Clerkson, Diamond Archon? Elnea looked back and forth between them, then shook her head in resigned exasperation.
Lyn grinned. You could, but dont. Thats a mouthful.
Tala laughed.
Rane hung back, just a bit, until Tala turned towards him. At that point, he smiled, and gave a bow and extended his hand. Congratulations, Mistress Tala. Something looks different about him
Tala reached towards him, taking his offered hand. Thank you, and congratulations to you, too, Master Rane Gredial, Sapphire Archon.
He rolled his eyes. None of that, Mistress.
Its his scars. His scars are faded, somehow. She decided not to point it out, for now. It wasnt a huge change, but it was noticeable. She put on a mock serious tone. As you wish, Master.
Lyn snorted a laugh. Come on! This banquet is for all of us. Apparently, they didnt want to bring out all this food for any one of us, alone.
Tala glanced towards Elnea and Grediv, but they seemed to be having a heated argument, though Tala couldnt hear even a flicker of sound from it. From the brief glimpses Tala had gotten of the womans power and spell-lines, Elnea was a Material Guide, specializing in sound. Rare specialty. That didnt explain the mental image of Tala, which had been projected, but Tala supposed every Mage did have their secrets.
She shrugged, returning her attention to her companions. Food sounds great. She hesitated then, turning back to fully face Lyn. I am so, so sorry about the finger, Lyn. I was going to explain, but other things kept coming up, then Master Rane said we couldnt talk about our star formation. She gave a pained smile. I had to get it out and cutting off the fingertip was the only thing I could think to do.
The woman gave her a long look, then sighed. That does explain it. Lyn nodded once. Youre still buying me a new rug, though.
I suppose thats fair Her nose caught a whiff of the dishes now laid out around the room. Now, lets get to the food. Im starving.
The other two grinned jovially, clearly not surprised by the revelation.
As they moved towards the food, many gave them hearty congratulations. Though, all tallied, many more intercepted the other two, individually, than Tala, herself.
For Tala, some asked if shed be interested in collaborations, or in other opportunities; all of those, she gave noncommittal answers, which amounted to: Too much going on right now. Reach out later, please?
Everyone seemed to take that well, even seeming to have expected something of the sort.
He shrugged. Ill make no play at justifying the debunked theories of our ancestors. But it applies here, too. If we were to double the power capacity of the cargo-slots, we would get at most another hour out of the spell-form. Triple? Maybe another half-hour beyond that.
So, why arent bigger cargo-slots out of power much faster?
He smiled. Ahh, that is an excellent question. Simple: Magic, applied, only dissipates as its used, and the reservoirs rate of decay is directly correlated with the spell it is meant to supply.
She blinked, and shook her head, trying to process that. Wait, so if Im understanding correctly, then no spell-form could last longer than a day or so.
Without an external source of power, yes. He shrugged. It is a fundamental truth behind magic. Any item that doesnt need such regular influx is simply getting its power in some other way. As an example: harvests, used as a power source, are not reservoirs and dont suffer from this limit as a result. Well, they dont suffer in the same way.
Tala opened her mouth, but Master Himmal held up a hand.
We are delving at a very surface level into deep theory, and if we continue, I fear I will need to dominate your entire afternoon, and still, well have barely begun. If you wish to learn more about crafting theory, I am happy to take the time, but not here, not now. He smiled.
Tala hesitantly nodded, then smiled. Thank you. I just might take you up on that.
I hope that you do. He patted her shoulder, the one opposite where Terry rested. Ill not take more of your time, but it was a pleasure to see you, Mistress.
And you, Master Himmal.
As he turned to go, he hesitated, leaning back towards her and speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. You know, if you ask one of the staff members, theyll make up carry-out containers of any food youd like to request.
Talas eyes widened, but Master Himmal left, before she could respond, a small smile obvious on his face. Thats genius!
She immediately sought out staff members. First, she asked what would be done with the leftover food, when the event ended, and she was horrified to learn that it would most likely be thrown out. Madness, utter madness!
She put an end to that immediately, requesting that they pack it all up for her to take. The poor young woman that shed accosted didnt really know how to process the request, but after theyd found a more senior staff member, Tala was assured that no edible food would be thrown away. It rusting better not be.
Lyn and Rane worked the room much more readily than she did. As much as their initial enthusiasm for raiding the food table had delighted Tala, shed known it wouldnt last, not in the face of so many people focusing in on the three of them.
In Lyns case, Tala had expected the networking, glad-handing, and jovial relationship building. She is basically a recruiter and face for the Caravanners, after all.
Ranes acumen, however, was startling. True, most of the positive interactions that Tala witnessed from afar seemed to stem from him almost visibly restraining himself from speaking, but it still seemed unexpectedly successful. Several of the Archons who came up to him were younger looking women. All gorgeous, of course. If his blushing countenance was any indication, they seemed to be asking him to break his wordor something, Tala had no idea, and they never seemed to talk to Rane, while she was within earshot. Even so, the interactions never seemed to go anywhere.
As she thought about the afternoon in general, she realized that Rane, in his words, was often similar to her in her actions. The restraint he was demonstrating bore contemplation. Maybe, I could be a little less rash in my actions?
She thought about it for a full thirty seconds. Nah. Ill get good progress, or Ill die. Still, she would continue to avoid things she knew, for a fact, were deadly. At least those that would be deadly to me.
Even so, she knew that she would try to contemplate her actions and their repercussions more deeply. At least more than I have, previously.
If she kept that up, every day, she just might make significant improvement. One can hope.
She startled her current accoster by pulling a fully loaded plate out of her belt pouch and beginning to eat. Im running low.
So as I was saying, if youd be willing to allow a detailed examination of your blood, along with one of your Archon stars
The conversations, well-wishes, and opportunities were decidedly blurring together.
Congratulations!
I cant believe you drew a soul-bound weapon. Fantastic!
Once your current contracts run out, wed love to have you
Your talents are wasted with the Caravanners Guild. Let me buy out your indenture. Youd be much better served
Your companion is unlike any terror bird Ive come across. Would you be willing to...
Tala was not interested in joining someone elses research, nor subjecting herself or Terry to such. She was happy with her current contract and the terms. The work would be lucrative and leave time for her to pursue her own projects on the trips, even if the role as Mage Protector would take more effort than shed put forward, before. Plus, Ive seen three cities and the Academy. I want to see the others, and my work in the caravans will allow that.
After almost two hours, she was about to bolt for it, rust manners, when Holly found her.
Blood Archon, eh?
Tala turned at the familiar voice and smiled. Yes, Mistress Holly. I hope I still managed to surprise you, despite your earlier exposure to my form of Archon star.
Holly gave a nod and smiled. Decidedly. I do almost wish I could have seen you continue to resist the entirety of the council, attending here. She sighed, dejectedly. It would have been a wonderful look into what those inscriptions are truly capable of.
Tala cleared her throat. Well, I, for one, am glad that you arent all inhuman monsters, bent on subjugating anyone of potential power.
Holly hesitated, then shrugged. Fair enough.
Tala rolled her eyes but huffed a laugh. Thank you, again.
Hmm?
You have elevated my inscriptions to a level that I feel reasonably in my element here, among so many magical power-houses.
Holly snorted. Dear, aside from the two Head Archons, most of us are weaker members of the local council. Those of real weight dont concern themselves with new Archons. She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. And, if were being honest, the really powerful ones dont have interest in dealing with the others, at all, so the Heads arent the best, either.
Ouch, but I suppose thats fair.
Holly patted her arm. Youll get there, dear. Just keep from killing yourself, and youll do fine. She turned, her mind clearly already elsewhere. Now, where did I see those raspberry mousse cups?
Wait, theres dessert, too? How had she missed the presence of a dessert table? That was unacceptable. Im getting distracted by unimportant things.
Chapter 91: Plentiful and FreeTala gave a slight bow, once more, but this time, it was to give her a moment to think. When she straightened, she was still no closer to having a coherent response. She was still feeling quite overwrought by all that had happened.Elneas grin shifted to a more companionable smile. It can be overwhelming, so many things changing at once, then to see yourself as others do? She shook her head. You are holding up surprisingly well. She leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. I wept, at my raising.Terry appeared on Talas shoulder, giving Elnea a pointed, hostile look, before he settled down and closed his eyes in mock sleep. The Archon pulled back, though not seemingly in fear.Lyn and Rane were working their way towards her, but Grediv reached Tala and Elnea first. Mistress Elnea! You cannot dominate the time of this guest of honor as well.Elnea gave Grediv a long-suffering look. I tolerated your intrusions because yourpupil was being evaluated as well, but you did not tell me you had such a strong hand in this ones advancements.Grediv shrugged. Ive told all I did. I gave her access to no forbidden knowledge. I didnt even inform her about the Ways. That would have been a breach for any Archon, who wasnt her master. He gave Tala a subtle wink. The only contribution I claim is doing my utmost to prevent her from killing herself or becoming a lich.Tala cleared her throat. Ok. Im an Archon, now. Explain how I could have become a lich.Elnea gave Grediv an irritated look.I dont want to become one; I want to avoid it.Grediv grinned. The biggest danger of that passed, with your elevation to Archon. Mages, in general, are in danger of all sorts of horrors, mostly volitional, until their body is bound to their soul Elnea was giving him a very unkind glare, so he tapered off. But you can read about those in the library, if you so wish. Or purchase the volumes yourself, but I imagine someone will be kind enough to gift you the basic texts. He gave her another, less subtle wink.Tala smiled in return. Grediv had, in fact, given her such a set, though most of the volumes were sealed against her, until she was of sufficient stature to warrant the information. I wonder if Ill be able to read all of them, now, or just some? She was excited to check, but it was hardly the time.Elnea cleared her throat. Certain information remains restricted by level of advancement.Tala sighed. Do I, at least, get to know how I am supposed to advance?Of course.Tala blinked at that, surprised. Really?Absolutely. Moving from being a Bound to a Fused is a simple matter of fusing your body and soul together, inseparably. To be clear, you are not making them one; that is impossible as they are now.Thats not foreshadowing or anything. Ok, that explains the name. How do I do that?Elnea smiled broadly. That you must learn for yourself.Tala returned a flat look. Seriously, woman?Grediv interjected. You, Mistress Tala, have a leg up on most new Bound. What youve accomplished with- Elnea was glaring at him once more, so he seemed to change what hed been about to say, -your items, proves youve some insight.My items, eh? She contemplated that, glancing down at herself. Then, she started to smile. Right! I fused my elk-leathers into a single item. Its probably something like that. I see. Thank you, Master Grediv. She hesitated. Wait you never told me how one becomes a lich?Elnea shook her head. Too late, it seems; your fellow new Archons are here.Rane and Lyn finally got close to her through the now milling and conversing crowd. This seemed to be as much a social event for Archons as for the raising of new members.Tala glared at Elnea, but then something moving around the perimeter of the room caught her attention.Are those trays of food? It appeared that servants had come in while Tala was distracted, filling the three large tables with a banquets worth of food.Tala! Lyn wrapped Tala in a fierce embrace. I knew youd be fine.Elnea gave them an odd look, likely from Lyns lack of an honorific.Lyn. Or should I say Mistress Lyn Clerkson, Diamond Archon? Elnea looked back and forth between them, then shook her head in resigned exasperation.Lyn grinned. You could, but dont. Thats a mouthful.Tala laughed.Rane hung back, just a bit, until Tala turned towards him. At that point, he smiled, and gave a bow and extended his hand. Congratulations, Mistress Tala. Something looks different about himTala reached towards him, taking his offered hand. Thank you, and congratulations to you, too, Master Rane Gredial, Sapphire Archon.He rolled his eyes. None of that, Mistress.Its his scars. His scars are faded, somehow. She decided not to point it out, for now. It wasnt a huge change, but it was noticeable. She put on a mock serious tone. As you wish, Master.Lyn snorted a laugh. Come on! This banquet is for all of us. Apparently, they didnt want to bring out all this food for any one of us, alone.Tala glanced towards Elnea and Grediv, but they seemed to be having a heated argument, though Tala couldnt hear even a flicker of sound from it. From the brief glimpses Tala had gotten of the womans power and spell-lines, Elnea was a Material Guide, specializing in sound. Rare specialty. That didnt explain the mental image of Tala, which had been projected, but Tala supposed every Mage did have their secrets.She shrugged, returning her attention to her companions. Food sounds great. She hesitated then, turning back to fully face Lyn. I am so, so sorry about the finger, Lyn. I was going to explain, but other things kept coming up, then Master Rane said we couldnt talk about our star formation. She gave a pained smile. I had to get it out and cutting off the fingertip was the only thing I could think to do.The woman gave her a long look, then sighed. That does explain it. Lyn nodded once. Youre still buying me a new rug, though.I suppose thats fair Her nose caught a whiff of the dishes now laid out around the room. Now, lets get to the food. Im starving.The other two grinned jovially, clearly not surprised by the revelation.As they moved towards the food, many gave them hearty congratulations. Though, all tallied, many more intercepted the other two, individually, than Tala, herself.For Tala, some asked if shed be interested in collaborations, or in other opportunities; all of those, she gave noncommittal answers, which amounted to: Too much going on right now. Reach out later, please?Everyone seemed to take that well, even seeming to have expected something of the sort.He shrugged. Ill make no play at justifying the debunked theories of our ancestors. But it applies here, too. If we were to double the power capacity of the cargo-slots, we would get at most another hour out of the spell-form. Triple? Maybe another half-hour beyond that.So, why arent bigger cargo-slots out of power much faster?He smiled. Ahh, that is an excellent question. Simple: Magic, applied, only dissipates as its used, and the reservoirs rate of decay is directly correlated with the spell it is meant to supply.She blinked, and shook her head, trying to process that. Wait, so if Im understanding correctly, then no spell-form could last longer than a day or so.Without an external source of power, yes. He shrugged. It is a fundamental truth behind magic. Any item that doesnt need such regular influx is simply getting its power in some other way. As an example: harvests, used as a power source, are not reservoirs and dont suffer from this limit as a result. Well, they dont suffer in the same way.Tala opened her mouth, but Master Himmal held up a hand.We are delving at a very surface level into deep theory, and if we continue, I fear I will need to dominate your entire afternoon, and still, well have barely begun. If you wish to learn more about crafting theory, I am happy to take the time, but not here, not now. He smiled.Tala hesitantly nodded, then smiled. Thank you. I just might take you up on that.I hope that you do. He patted her shoulder, the one opposite where Terry rested. Ill not take more of your time, but it was a pleasure to see you, Mistress.And you, Master Himmal.As he turned to go, he hesitated, leaning back towards her and speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. You know, if you ask one of the staff members, theyll make up carry-out containers of any food youd like to request.Talas eyes widened, but Master Himmal left, before she could respond, a small smile obvious on his face. Thats genius!She immediately sought out staff members. First, she asked what would be done with the leftover food, when the event ended, and she was horrified to learn that it would most likely be thrown out. Madness, utter madness!She put an end to that immediately, requesting that they pack it all up for her to take. The poor young woman that shed accosted didnt really know how to process the request, but after theyd found a more senior staff member, Tala was assured that no edible food would be thrown away. It rusting better not be.Lyn and Rane worked the room much more readily than she did. As much as their initial enthusiasm for raiding the food table had delighted Tala, shed known it wouldnt last, not in the face of so many people focusing in on the three of them.In Lyns case, Tala had expected the networking, glad-handing, and jovial relationship building. She is basically a recruiter and face for the Caravanners, after all.Ranes acumen, however, was startling. True, most of the positive interactions that Tala witnessed from afar seemed to stem from him almost visibly restraining himself from speaking, but it still seemed unexpectedly successful. Several of the Archons who came up to him were younger looking women. All gorgeous, of course. If his blushing countenance was any indication, they seemed to be asking him to break his wordor something, Tala had no idea, and they never seemed to talk to Rane, while she was within earshot. Even so, the interactions never seemed to go anywhere.As she thought about the afternoon in general, she realized that Rane, in his words, was often similar to her in her actions. The restraint he was demonstrating bore contemplation. Maybe, I could be a little less rash in my actions?She thought about it for a full thirty seconds. Nah. Ill get good progress, or Ill die. Still, she would continue to avoid things she knew, for a fact, were deadly. At least those that would be deadly to me.Even so, she knew that she would try to contemplate her actions and their repercussions more deeply. At least more than I have, previously.If she kept that up, every day, she just might make significant improvement. One can hope.She startled her current accoster by pulling a fully loaded plate out of her belt pouch and beginning to eat. Im running low.So as I was saying, if youd be willing to allow a detailed examination of your blood, along with one of your Archon starsThe conversations, well-wishes, and opportunities were decidedly blurring together.Congratulations!I cant believe you drew a soul-bound weapon. Fantastic!Once your current contracts run out, wed love to have youYour talents are wasted with the Caravanners Guild. Let me buy out your indenture. Youd be much better servedYour companion is unlike any terror bird Ive come across. Would you be willing to...Tala was not interested in joining someone elses research, nor subjecting herself or Terry to such. She was happy with her current contract and the terms. The work would be lucrative and leave time for her to pursue her own projects on the trips, even if the role as Mage Protector would take more effort than shed put forward, before. Plus, Ive seen three cities and the Academy. I want to see the others, and my work in the caravans will allow that.After almost two hours, she was about to bolt for it, rust manners, when Holly found her.Blood Archon, eh?Tala turned at the familiar voice and smiled. Yes, Mistress Holly. I hope I still managed to surprise you, despite your earlier exposure to my form of Archon star.Holly gave a nod and smiled. Decidedly. I do almost wish I could have seen you continue to resist the entirety of the council, attending here. She sighed, dejectedly. It would have been a wonderful look into what those inscriptions are truly capable of.Tala cleared her throat. Well, I, for one, am glad that you arent all inhuman monsters, bent on subjugating anyone of potential power.Holly hesitated, then shrugged. Fair enough.Tala rolled her eyes but huffed a laugh. Thank you, again.Hmm?You have elevated my inscriptions to a level that I feel reasonably in my element here, among so many magical power-houses.Holly snorted. Dear, aside from the two Head Archons, most of us are weaker members of the local council. Those of real weight dont concern themselves with new Archons. She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. And, if were being honest, the really powerful ones dont have interest in dealing with the others, at all, so the Heads arent the best, either.Ouch, but I suppose thats fair.Holly patted her arm. Youll get there, dear. Just keep from killing yourself, and youll do fine. She turned, her mind clearly already elsewhere. Now, where did I see those raspberry mousse cups? Wait, theres dessert, too? How had she missed the presence of a dessert table? That was unacceptable. Im getting distracted by unimportant things.
