Ends of Magic

The Heirs gathered against the railing to inspect the horizon. It looked like a normal storm to Nathan. One that towered high into the sky, sure, but nothing about it screamed magic. But he wasn’t the expert. That was Eolinne, and he’d trust her when she said that the dark clouds were a sign of their enemies.

“Do we flee?” Khachi asked, eyes on the distant blotch of the storm.

Their captain’s expression was troubled. “No. I cannot play such a symphony of speed. Look at how quickly the cloud grows.”

All of the Heirs turned their attention back to the horizon, and it didn’t take long for them to spot what Eolinne had seen. The storm was getting bigger by the moment. With the distances involved that meant it was moving ridiculously fast.

“What do we do?” Nathan asked. “Try to lose the trail, or fight?”

Eolinne gave him her full attention. “I will cloak us in mists to enhance my evasion skills. But they have tracked us across the oceans already. This is a prophecy of conflict.” Her mouth twisted in grim humor. “I had not intended such a trial, but it will prove your power better than the sea cutters.” She strode back towards the throne she commanded the ship from, her arm flicking out to deposit the flute in her hand.

Nathan walked after her, the Heirs trailing behind. “Can you tell us more about them? If we’re probably going to end up fighting the Maelstrom it would be good to know what they can do. They control the storm, what else? How many ships are in there?”

Eolinne took her seat but didn’t raise her flute to her lips. She gave the Heirs a tight-lipped nod. “The captains of the Maelstrom are all and one powerful storm mages. One would be enough to summon that storm, though there could be any number hidden inside. It would be a deadly surprise for there to be more than two, and I expect only one. The captains of the Maelstrom are expensive hunters, for each one is tutored by the Maestro.”

She tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. “Their officers will be apprentices and heirs, each on the path of a similar power to the captain but not yet given the crucial Insights. The crew will be small, but each is said to be a different mélange of skills and Talents from across Davrar. All will be deadly.” She waved a hand idly as if to dismiss what she’d just said. “Their true power is the storm. They will batter us with the weather, and if we survive will emerge from the storm at a time and place of their choosing. On the seas they control the flow of battle.”

Nathan snorted through his nose. “Maybe I can contest that power.”

Eolinne nodded, though her expression remained grim as she raised the flute to her lips.

Stella cocked her head. “Why don’t the beasts of the deeps you warned us about attack them, if they’re throwing around so much magic?”

Eolinne let loose a sigh and lowered her flute again, answering sharply. “It is another Insight from the Maestro, to control and direct the beasts of the deeps. Their ships are not attacked by the monsters of the depths, and so they use their magics without fear.” She cocked an eyebrow to ask if there were any further interruptions, and when there weren’t she brought the flute to her lips and began to play a haunting melody. Silvery mist billowed forth from the ship, shrouding them in a sound-deadening blanket that seemed to make the world less real and more ethereal. Nathan could feel magic and wizardry woven through the mist and did his best not to disrupt it.

The Heirs retreated to the other end of the boat so they could talk without disturbing Eolinne’s music.

“Do we hope that she can escape?” Aarl asked to start them off.

Nathan shrugged. “If she can, great. If she can’t, then we’ll have to fight. So let’s plan for the fight.”

“I can make the attempt to control the storm, but I’m not a storm mage,” Stella said apologetically. “I can pour air and water mana into this target, but I don’t understand storms. I won’t win that fight.”

Nathan smiled. “I don’t think you’ll need to. I’ll break their control first, then you'll have free rein.”

She smiled at that, but still seemed uncertain. “What can I do with it? I can’t turn the storm against them.”

Sarah shook her head. “They’re used to fighting on a battlefield they control. Take that away from them. Calm the storm, and then we can fight them normally. On a calm ocean I could shoot their captain from ten miles away.”

Stella bit her lip in thought. “Maybe. This is a unexplored dungeon. I don't know the dangers.”

“We could take flight,” Aarl suggested. “Calm the storm and attack them directly from up close. Not an angle they’d expect.”

Khachi shook his head. “Too much risk. That would leave Eolinne exposed, and depends on Stella controlling the winds. We disrupt the winds, but then protect the Grace of the Mists and attack them from afar.” He gestured to Sarah. “Strike down their captain and the victory is half won.”

Sarah looked around the ship. “I’ll need to be up high to guarantee a shot.” She pointed up. “Atop the mast. But somebody will need to protect me from attacks.”

“I’ll go with you,” Aarl said, bumping his sister’s shoulder. “I’ll block anything that comes towards us.”

“Then Khachi, Stella and I stay near Eolinne. We keep her safe and disrupt the storm.” Nathan said with a nod.

“What if they board the ship?” Khachi asked.

“Eolinne can probably deal with that,” Nathan replied. “If she can’t, then we evict them however makes sense. We don’t know about their powers, but we know how to fight uncertain threats. I’ll prevent any crazy magic, Khachi can block or disrupt anything else and Aarl can beat any fighters once they're deprived of their tricks. Then Stella and Sarah kill them.”

He caught Stella’s gaze. “If what Eolinne said is true, then you can cast more powerful magic without worrying about calling up something nasty. I don’t know if I want to be near your new fire spell, but it’s an option.”

She smiled a crooked smile. “First let’s calm the storm.”

They talked through a few other minor refinements to the plan, then restlessly separated to get into position as the waves picked up. Before he ascended to the mast Aarl spoke a few wry words. “Don’t break all of the enchanted weapons with your aura.” He was being a bit serious.

Makes sense. His class - Relicwielder - revolves around taking and using powerful magic items.

Eolinne had kept up her flute music and the mist lay thick upon the ship. That meant Nathan could barely see his hand in front of his face, but through his magical senses he could feel Aarl and Sarah high above, waiting on the small platform atop the tallest mast. If it came to combat Sarah would have her shot – but he and Stella would need to clear the storm.

A constant breeze was the first sign that their ploy to escape had failed. It started to break up the fog that surrounded the Grace of the Mists, and Eolinne lowered her flute with a sigh. She sounded resigned. “They have caught us. Are you prepared to fight?”

Nathan nodded grimly. “We are. We’re going to try to neutralize the storm and take out the captain. They won’t expect us to sail straight at them, would they?”

“A melody of victory.” Eolinne’s uncertain tone didn’t match her words. But she swung the Grace of the Mists around and started sailing back into the way they’d come, straight towards the heart of the storm. She started playing again, this time a rising call to action.

Soon enough the encroaching winds had thoroughly dispelled the clinging mist to reveal the enormous storm towering overhead. It looked like a mountain poised to fall on them, with outriders of rain lashing the ocean all around. The waves grew even more turbulent as they dove towards the darkest part of the tempest.

Nathan felt mana winding its way through the storm, though it wasn’t pervasive. This wasn’t a spell whipped up from nothing by a massively powerful wizard. The magic was more like a puppeteer’s strings, guiding and encouraging a naturally existing storm. It was pretty much what Nathan had been expecting – anything else would have been a ridiculous amount of magic. This was why he wasn't expecting to be able to neutralize the storm on his own. The underlying weather would keep going even after he cut the spell controlling it.

He reached out with his aura, slurping up the nearest tendrils of mana as the Grace of the Mists bounded over the waves to the sound of Eolinne’s flute. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference to the storm, so Nathan cast his net wider. The magic grew thicker as they drove further underneath the towering thunderhead. The ship bucked against the waves just as tall as those off the coast and Eolinne’s magic fought to keep the ship steady.

Nathan burned Stamina to spread his antimagic, seeking not to saturate the area but to follow the tendrils of magic and cut loose as much of the controlling web as he could. His attention was split too many ways, so he sat crosslegged on the deck, closing his eyes against the driving rain and spending Focus to keep his aura under control.

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Stella took that as the signal to send out her own magic and attempt to contest the storm. Her air mana spiraled upwards in an elegant construct that forcibly suppressed the movement of the nearby air by creating hundreds of little vortices. The waves around them calmed as Stella sunk tendrils of water mana into the ocean and forcibly calmed it, though it was more of a brute force effect than a simple spell. Regardless, she sunk incredible amounts of mana into the two spells, and Nathan could feel the power rushing out of his friend in a torrent as she calmed the local storm.

That was a bridge too far for the storm mage controlling the spell. The knotwork of mana outside of Nathan’s range swiveled towards them, directing the full wrath of the storm down upon the bubble of calm that surrounded the Grace of the Mists. The waves swelled again, pushing against Stella’s spellwork. Lightning struck down at them and was diverted down a magnetic channel she’d set up beforehand.

Stella’s breathing grew harsher as she fought against the storm mage controlling the spell, even though they couldn't directly reach through Nathan to contest her. She spun out webs of her own through the air to turn the wind against itself, and generated waves to cancel the mountains of water surging towards them. She was getting better, but not quickly enough.

Nathan stretched his aura out even wider. He fought against the influence of the storm mage, trying to break their control over the storm as a whole. Their web of mana stretched for miles, beyond the range of Nathan’s magical senses. But by burning enormous amounts of Stamina his aura could reach that far, and he piggybacked his senses along his aura as it stretched ever outwards.

Mystical Discernment 3 achieved!

Nathan’s awareness expanded to encompass ever more of the storm. It was almost too much information, but he spent Focus to help digest the immense amount of data.

The weather around them calmed as Stella regained control and began pushing out the bubble of her spellwork. She wasn’t able to stretch her influence to the entire area Nathan had cleared, but it was still an impressive display of reach.

At the very edges of Nathan’s aura he caught a flash of magic emerging from a seemingly empty patch of ocean. A packet of magic sped in their direction and he called out a warning. “Incoming.” He tried to catch the projectile with his aura, but he was spread too thin and the attack was moving too fast. He managed to get a bit of his aura interposed and shredded a guidance spell.

Tranquility 3 achieved!

Eolinne’s flute trilled on a high note and the Grace of the Mists turned sharply. The hull dug into the water as the ship changed course and everybody had to grab onto something to keep their footing. The attack covered miles of distance in seconds before flashing past to detonate on a nearby wave like a naval shell.

Stella was already extending her magic in the direction the spell had come from, creating a tunnel of clear air in that direction. Nathan followed her lead, sending tendrils of antimagic to quest around the origin point. But there was nothing there, and his brows furrowed.

What’s going on? It’s just empty ocean?

Then he remembered how submarine combat worked on Earth. It was a stealth contest. If they could see you, you were vulnerable.

And if you fight in a storm, the same idea applies. The Maelstrom thrives on hiding themselves in a storm of their own creation. I bet it’s a standard tactic to use decoy spells or something to get your enemy looking in the wrong direction.

“It’s a decoy,” he said aloud, focusing his mind as he redirected his attention to locate the enemy's true position. He burned Focus to broaden his attention, allowing his magical senses to run through the cloud of aura spread multiple miles in every direction. He caught another spell as it was activating and his antimagic shredded the heavy-duty fire and force mana. He was burning Stamina much faster than he was gaining it, but he was winning. The enemy was losing control over the storm.

Aura Control 5 achieved!

Stella threw her magic out wide once more, seeking to dominate the whole area. She swirled the winds around to generate a bubble of calm. The waves subsided, and Nathan felt sunlight on his face.

We’re beating them. Stealing the storm from them. Once I find them we’ll be able to flip this whole situation around. I’m just on a time limit before I run out of Stamina from spreading my Aura this large.

Nathan scoured the ocean for anomalies, paying close attention to ensure he wouldn’t get tricked by a stealth skill that worked on his magical senses. There was nothing.

Am I sure they’re on the water? They could be underwater, or airborne. Surely that’s within the capability of a storm mage, and it would probably throw off a bunch of ocean-based skills. Likely airborne.

He looked for other abnormalities in the clouds. There were dozens of patches of calm air spread throughout the storm that circled around them. Too many to check each individually. Nathan spent Focus and cross-referenced the clear air with the nodes of mana controlling the storm, coming away with five potential options. Then he felt a pulse propagate outwards from one of those zones, spreading through the magic that held the storm together.

Congratulations, you have developed the [Alertness] utility skill into [Forewarning].

Utility skill: [Forewarning]

You will see every detail, and have early warning of danger.

He struck at that spot with his antimagic, ignoring layers of stealth skills that tried to convince him there was nothing there. His aura latched onto an object absolutely buzzing with enchantments, and his mouth curved into a grin. “Got you.”

The pulse that had alerted him to the danger finished propagating through every part of the storm his aura didn’t reach and it contracted like a punctured bubble. The storm fell upon the Grace of the Mists like a hammer of the heavens. He opened his eyes and looked up. They sailed in the eye of a hurricane, with a wall of fast-moving clouds in all directions. That wall buckled and gave way as he watched. The storm reached for them from all directions.

“Well. Shit.”

[Alertness]

This skill will help you consciously and unconsciously notice important details, and you will be very difficult to deceive with stealth skills or magic. Especially useful for rapidly detecting concealed enemies, magical effects and triggers.

[Forewarning]

You will see every detail, and have early warning of danger.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 8

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 6

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 8

Class: End of Magic level 759

Bottomless Stamina : 27327/76900

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 536

Regenerative Focus: 2883/5460

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Tranquility 3

Inspiration 8

Impulse 2

Mystical Discernment 3

Forewarning 1

Arcane Insight 3

Effortless Dodge 10

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 9

Parkour 9

Visibility Control 5

High-tier Disguise 5

High-tier Battle Cry 2

Aura Control 5