Ends of Magic

Eolinne ushered them all to the seating area, politely gesturing for the Heirs to sit on the overstuffed chairs and sofas arranged around a large fireplace. She went to a side cabinet, opening it and reaching inside to pull out a few drinks while they took their seats. She paused with her hands inside the cabinet and seemed to come to a decision. She put most of the bottles back and pulled out one bottle that was a bright and sparkly pink and a second darker one. She poured out six small glasses of the bright pink liquid, adding a dollop of amber liquid on top of each. Then she distributed the drinks around the room and raised her glass. “A victorious mission earns an expensive toast."

Nathan took a quick sip of the drink, eyes widening slightly as spice overwhelmed his taste buds. It was quickly followed by a wave of numbness that traveled in the wake of the fire. Nathan burned some Focus and Stamina to quickly determine if there were any poisons in the drink beyond the high level of spice and the mild numbing agent, finding nothing beyond a few mild stimulants.

All of the Heirs looked to Nathan for approval. He fought to keep his expression steady and keep his nose and eyes from watering as he gave a sharp nod of approval. They all turned their attention back to Eolinne, raising their glasses to match her.

She rolled her eyes at the display. “You learn your lessons.” Then she gave a toast, words formal and a bit nostalgic. “May we evade the eyes of the Questors, and live lives in the spaces left between their footfalls.” She threw her glass back and drained the entire thing at once.

Nathan and the Heirs followed suit, and Nathan lowered the glass to look around with a guilty grin. Aarl coughed and choked while Khachi growled low and indignant. Sarah’s breath whistled through her teeth as she glared at Nathan. “Didn’t you taste that?”

He shrugged. “It’s not poisoned. I kind of like it, in moderation.”

Stella smacked her lips, examining the glass and swallowing a few times. “So did I?” She seemed uncertain about that, inhaling a few more times to feel the air flow across numbed teeth. “Yeah, that’s the dragon’s breath. Can I have another?”

Eolinne seemed thrilled. “I am pleased beyond song to have found another with the taste for fine things.” She took Stella’s glass and reached for Nathan’s, pausing and raising an eyebrow at him.

He shook his head. “No thanks. You were going to tell us the lore of the oceans?”

“I would,” she said, pouring another two drinks and coming over to sit near Stella. “For the oceans are a realm of their own. To truly understand them would be to know the history of Davrar. While the lands are swept clean with each Ending, the oceans persist. They have never started anew. The ocean of now is the same ocean that every monster has entered since the third ending birthed them.”

The Heirs didn’t have any commentary, but Nathan did. “Survival of the fittest,” he said, pressing his lips together as he thought about the implications. “The things living in the ocean now are the ones that killed all of the other ones to have ever entered. But it's still got to be a functional ecosystem?”

Their host seemed surprised at his answer, but gratified. “Indeed. They are dangerous beyond any monster of the land. The true powers of Davrar, such as yourselves, believe themselves beyond simple monsters. You respect dungeons, and intelligent foes. But the monsters in these waters have survived uncounted years of vicious fighting. They are to be respected.”

Nathan frowned at her. “Is that really true? That means they’re adapted for fighting each other, in the water, and scavenging food from the ocean. They’re probably excellent at underwater survival, but they can’t be particularly developed to eat ships?” There wasn’t a word for evolution, so he used developed instead.

“That is a new thought,” Eolinne said after a moment of contemplation. “It may be true, for I have survived centuries on the oceans with them underfoot. But the true monsters of the ocean are still beyond what you have faced on land. They are calamities to be survived, not beasts to be killed.”

Stella was sipping at her drink slowly, nose running from its heat. “But if we can kill them, should we?” Her eyes gleamed at the idea of a challenge.

Eolinne’s mouth took on a wry slant. “When appropriate. Some monsters are too large to notice us, and the danger is being caught in their struggles. For those we must avoid notice, for to sting a bear is to be swatted as an insect.” She waved a hand. “But others may take an interest in the ship, and those must be slain or chased away.”

“What can we do to help?” Aarl asked. “I can’t fight under water very well.”

“My own abilities can harm underwater targets with ease, and the ship is protected from underwater attacks.” Their host rolled her wrist around to indicate the Heirs. “But some monsters will try to escape my attacks by emerging from the water to attack us directly, and while you are aboard the Grace of the Mists, you must defend us from anything that directly attacks the ship. Kill them if you are able.” She swept her gaze across the Heirs and focused in on Stella. “Do not use large spells that would draw the attention of a larger monster. There are few leviathans, but to draw their notice is death.”

The Heirs all nodded in some degree of thought. Aarl smirked. “I wonder if the death-dagger could slay a giant sea monster.”

Eolinne sighed at Aarl's tone and opened her mouth to reiterate her point, but Nathan caught her eye and gave her a decisive nod to communicate that the message was heard and understood. He could also see Sarah and Khachi seriously considering what she'd said.

Stella spoke up, a grimace on her face. “If I can't use flashy spells, I need to acquire water mana. It’s a blasphemous insight to learn."

Nathan made a note to find time to chat with Stella about that later. It should be easier now that they weren’t constantly freeing cities, on the run from assassins and trying to finish a book to kickstart an industrial revolution.

Truly, this cruise will be a wonderful vacation.

“What of other ships?” Khachi asked with a faint grumble. “You spoke of enemies sent by Badud’s grid. Will they come for us?”

“Mayhap,” Eolinne responded, her expression troubled. “This ship is as hard to grasp as the name would suggest, but there are those who could follow our wake. None who would expect success…” She thought about it for a moment, then continued in a concerned voice. “There is one group that Badud could hire to sail against us. It would stretch even the wealth of a Questor, but the sailors of the Maelstrom have captains who could track me.”

“Pirates?” Nathan asked curiously.

Eolinne waved her hand to dismiss the term. “Everything. Traders, smugglers, delvers, raiders and yes, pirates. Wherever the gray sails roam, they gain treasure. They take what they can, and trade for what they cannot take. Everything can be found in the Maelstrom. Artifacts of Kalis. Immortality. Slaves of any species. ”

All of the Heirs tensed at that last comment, and Nathan sighed. “Not surprising. Is there a Questor who runs the Maelstrom?”

“Yes,” Eolinne replied grimly. “None of the Questors I know, but the ruler of the Maelstrom is named the Maestro, and is a Questor from the Aleph grid.”

Nathan couldn’t help but sigh. “The Aleph grid. Another group of enemy Questors?”

“Unfriendly to Sarya, but not outright enemies,” Eolinne responded, finishing her drink and allowing her hair to fall in front of her face. “They are a large grid, with dozens of Questors and their conflicts involve teams of Questors fighting together. Sarya and Badud are street brawlers to them. But Badud could hire a fleet from the Maelstrom if he was willing to part with a true treasure.”

The Heirs were quiet for a second, trading disquieted looks. They were all thinking about the idea of multiple Questors fighting as a team.

That sounds terrifying. Though once the Heirs hit level 729, maybe the playing field will be more even.

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After a moment Sarah let out an aggrieved sigh. “If we destroy this fleet will the Aleph grid seek our deaths?”

Eolinne shook her head minutely. “No. Few are so unreasonable as to expect us to die at their whim. I do not know of him, but from the tales on the wind the Maestro respects skill and self-defense. He will turn his anger on Badud, for hiring ships to a lost battle.”

Stella’s face lit up. “That’s a light in my eyes. How do they fight?”

“In a storm,” Eolinne replied. “They bring the winds with them and shroud their target in wind and spray before descending with magic and metal.” She shook her head. “I cannot best them. If we see a storm I will attempt to flee and hope they were not paid to chase us for long.”

Nathan raised both eyebrows. “Is their control of the storms magical, or skill-based?”

“Both,” Eolinne said bluntly. “The captains of the Maelstrom are storm mages, with magics and skills to control the ocean and summon their preferred weather.” She turned her gaze to Stella judgmentally. “Contesting a storm without water mana would be above your station.”

“We’ll see,” Nathan said noncommittally. “We might be able to give them quite a bit of trouble.”

She looked back at him and dipped her head. “Mayhaps. But I will still choose to run before their storm,” she trailed off, looking into the distance before sighing in annoyance. “We are attacked, though sea cutters are a pest, not a true threat. May I ask you to counter this irritant?”

This feels like a test. Not just of our capabilities, but of how agreeable we are. How much we’ll follow her direction while on her ship. And if we’re stupid enough to fight while tipsy.

Nathan gauged the other Heirs. They seemed ready and willing to fight, and Stella drained the rest of the glass she’d been sipping at, placing it heavily on the table. He faced Eolinne. “You are the captain aboard this ship, though we know our own abilities.” They all stood, and Khachi wordlessly pulsed healing through the room to sober everybody up. The stairs flowed down from the ceiling above and a faint whistling sound came from above. Nathan saw a flash of scales as something flew by overhead.

Are they jumping over the ship?

He spoke over his shoulder as he climbed the steps. “Let’s stay cautious. An easy fight taken lightly is just as likely to kill you as something more serious.” Another fish crossed overhead, fins spread wide and beady eye looking down at him.

“Beware the fins and save the meat,” Eolinne called up from her relaxed post on the couches below. She didn’t seem to be paying them any attention, but Nathan could feel her focus through the wizardry of the ship. She was paying very close attention.

It really is a test. What impression do we want to give her?

Nathan thought quickly as he finished climbing the stairs. So far their interactions with Eolinne had been driven by caution and necessity. But now he had a chance to tailor the image that the Heirs presented. Should they try to hide their capabilities in case they needed things in reserve later, or should they pull out all of the stops and try and impress Sarya’s agent?

We should try to impress her. All Sarya knows right now is that we killed Badud. But her next impression of us is going to be shaped by the report Eolinne gives. I want Sarya to see us as competent, not disposable assets. I have my own agenda, and she’s more likely to respect that if she respects us.

It would also help if the Heirs could differentiate themselves from Nathan. So far he was pretty sure Eolinne saw the Heirs as extensions of Nathan, useful but hardly relevant against Questors. In general he thought he detected a faint air of disbelief and condescension about the woman that he would like to dispel.

Decision made, Nathan murmured to his teammates as he cleared the deck. “Show off.”

The distraction nearly caused him to take a bladed fish through the torso. There was a quick twist of water mana from one of the silvery torpedoes arcing over the ship and it suddenly shot towards him like a bolt from a crossbow.

He managed to twist out of the way, thought an outstretched fin sliced along his sleeve. The appendage parted cloth and the skin underneath like a hot knife cutting butter, the edge sharp enough to cut Nathan despite his enhanced durability. The wound bled for just a moment before it sealed up seamlessly. His sleeve was a lost cause though.

The fish bounced across the deck and Nathan got his first good look at the attacking monsters. The sea cutters were the size of a large dog, covered in metallic scales that looked more like a suit of armor than skin. Three long fins and a tall, fan-like vertical tail flared from its sleek body, the leading edges narrowing to an invisible sharpness. The fish slapped its tail into the deck to launch itself in the air, leaving deep gouges in the wood as it propelled itself back into the water with another flash of water magic.

How is it moving so quickly with water magic? It’s not in water. Is it pushing on the water in its body? There's not enough magic for that.

Another fish shot towards them, but Aarl emerged from the staircase and cut the fish out of the air with the disintegration-edged greatsword, letting two bloody halves smear across the deck behind them.

The other Heirs emerged from the ship just in time for a cloud of fish to rise from the waters all around the Grace of the Mists, seemingly drawn by the presence of prey. Aarl had time for a wry jibe. “Pests, huh?”

Then the storm of scaled monsters descended upon them. Nathan dashed away from his friends, gaining distance and letting them form a smaller perimeter without him inside. He found himself ducking and dodging through the chaotic mass of scaled bodies, barely managing to evade the hundreds of fish darting above the deck. From behind him he felt the flare of magic and the boom of firearms as the Heirs defended themselves.

He kept dodging, focusing on the movements of the fish. They were still adjusting their movements sharply with strange flares of water mana. But beyond that there was a pattern to the monster’s maneuvers, a flow that allowed the fish to turn and swoop without hitting each other. With a few seconds of concentration and a couple more nasty wounds, Nathan figured it out and joined in with their dance. He flitted in the gaps of the flying fishes’ movements, slipping between the aggressive sweeps as they dodged each other.

Parkour 9 achieved!

He used the reprieve to study their magic, honing in on the mechanism they used to move. It was new and different - and he wanted to understand it. But each use of the magic only lasted a fraction of a second, and hundreds of them were going on all around him. And somehow they were allowing fish to jet through the air like they’d been fired from a bow with a tiny fraction of the mana that should have been required.

What is going on with this magic? It almost feels like a light touch of wizardry.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 7

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 6

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 7

Class: End of Magic level 748

Bottomless Stamina: 46384/75800

Indomitable

The Undeniable Strike of the Antimage

Stamina Burn

Momentum Mastery

Stoneflesh

Arcane Nullification

Galefoot

Close Quarters Mastery

Boundless Aura

Denial of Mysticism

The Ending of Magic

Aura Projection

Selective Dispel

The Living World

Class: Spellslayer level 532

Regenerative Focus: 5191/5420

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Tranquility 1

Inspiration 8

Acceleration 10

Mystical Discernment 2

Alertness 10

Arcane Insight 2

Effortless Dodge 10

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 7

Parkour 9

Visibility Control 4

High-tier Disguise 5

High-tier Battle Cry 2

Aura Control 4