Ends of Magic

Nathan spread his aura wide and started crossing over the crowd in a grid pattern, stripping enslavement magic from the hundreds of people in the caravan below. They’d clearly been ordered to “go south” and he could track who he’d already gotten by who’d stopped. Then he passed over the wagons in the center of the caravan and paused, frowning down at them in confusion.

They were covered with fabric and enchanted to move on their own, but that’s not what had drawn his attention. Each one was full of mages. Not particularly strong ones, but there were still sixty-some mages who'd done nothing to contribute to the fight hidden in the wagons down there. Nathan dropped behind one of them, tearing off the canvas covering the back of the wagon and coming face-to-face with a metal bar.

The artisan mages on the other side flinched away from him, piling up against the other side of the wagon. It wasn’t quite a cage on wheels, but it was close. The magical lock on the front gate was intricate in a way that suggested it would be hard to bypass.

They’re not slaves, but they’re still being held captive. What’s going on here?

They weren’t in a rush to attack him or the freed slaves around him, so Nathan jumped up in the air to check on the rest of the caravan. The last of the mages had been dealt with, and Khachi had gotten the bulk of the ex-slaves turned around and headed back towards Giantsrest with magically amplified shouts about respite and hope.

Below him there was a flare of very noticeable magic as one of the artisan mages cut their way out of a wagon. A pair of orange-robed mages spilled out, glancing around cautiously and trying to stay low. One of them cast a bit of illusion magic to hide themselves and they started sneaking away from the wagons.

Nathan landed heavily in front of them with a bloody palm held outwards. “Stop.” The illusion shattered with a flick of his aura.

The two young men recoiled, and one swore. “Giant’s ballsack.” The other mage turned to run, but the man who’d sworn grabbed him by the sleeve. “You idiot. That’s the mage-breaker.” He turned towards Nathan. “Please, let us leave.”

With a frown Nathan looked past the two men at the wagon they’d just broken out of. A couple of worried older faces peered out towards him from the broken gate. “Why were you in cages? You’re graduates of the Academy. Not slaves.”

A flash of anger spread over the man’s face. “We owe Vud for his sponsorship and trainings. With interest. He charges us for the enchantment materials, then ensures we can’t sell to anybody else. We’re slaves, just through coin instead of magic. He doesn’t let us off his estate, for our own protection he says.”

It doesn’t really surprise me that somebody figured out wage slavery of the one group they can’t dominate with mind magic.

Nathan considered the two men - and the mages beyond. “Vud dho Nam is dead. Where are you going?” The mages were unsure how to answer, so Nathan continued. “We’ve freed all the slaves and are taking them back to Giantsrest. If you want to come back with us, then you can. No mental magic.”

The mages were still unsure, trading uncertain looks. “What – but the slaves…”

Sighing, Nathan flexed [Inspiration] and raising his voice to carry to the other artisan mages still hunkered inside their wagons. “The freed slaves are striving to create a functional society, which means they'll need enchanters. They can't kill all mages and still survive on Davrar. They need you as much as you need them. Return, and earn a fair price for your skills. The Academy taught you to scheme and steal, but you can instead support your neighbors and be supported in turn.”

Inspiration 6 achieved!

The two mages gave him hesitant nods, and he evaluated them for a moment. “Go. Cut the locks on the other wagons, and join the group them moving back towards Giantsrest. Follow the caravan, and tell them I sent you. Can you do that?”

I always forget how dangerous of a skill [Inspiration] is. I can change what people want to do with their lives. That’s kind of terrifying.

The other boy, the one who’d been silent the whole time, spoke in a voice just above a murmur. “I built the Endings-damned carts. We’ll get them moving.”

“Good.” Nathan said, stepping forward to clap them on the shoulder. They both flinched, and he aborted the motion and gave them a grin instead. “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. See you back in Giantsrest.”

Then he took to the air once more, heading back towards the glowing figure leading the huge crowd back towards Giantsrest. Aarl and Stella were busy looting corpses, while Sarah kept high watch. Nathan passed over the crowd to catch up to Khachi and called down to him, “All good?”

The wolfman responded in a booming voice. “We are gods-blessed! The gate is our next target.” He pointed ahead to the gatehouse at the end of the road, the wide gates closed tight.

Nathan nodded. "I'll get it open." He sped forward and eyed the towers looming along the wall warily. They looked deserted, but even a single mage could trigger a slaughter among the approaching crowd with the tower enchantments. But he didn’t want to destroy the enchanted defensive towers unless he had to. They’d be priceless to the new occupants of Giantsrest.

He settled for running through the towers that had an angle to fire on the approaching crowd while spreading his magical senses wide to ensure that there weren’t any mages hiding. On the way he checked the enchantments, hoping to understand how Giantsrest had made so many copies of such powerful magic.

The enchantment that cast the destructive spells was fairly elegant, with multiple layers that built up the spells in a rapid cascade. The giant explosion earlier had likely been from Sarah hitting one of the stabilizers that held the magic steady while the cascade built. But more significant than the enchantment was the power source, and there Nathan found something interesting.

A thick bar of silvery metal stretched up the inside of the tower, connecting the enchantment at the top to an insulated tunnel that ran through the foundation of the wall. As soon as Nathan entered the chamber he felt the buzz of an enormous amount of mana. It was flowing through a rune-inscribed metal tube set into the center of the room. The whole thing reminded Nathan of a particle collider, but for magic.

There’s more mana in that than the metal should be able to contain. Wizardry? Yup, wizardry. It’s altering the properties of the metal to make it as good at storing and conducting mana as prismatic diamond. Wow. I should show Stella. Though I think the effect will break if it gets moved. Or if the loop gets cut. I guess the tower we blew up earlier didn't damage it.

Wizard’s Understanding 7 achieved!

With a start, he remembered he had other tasks - like getting the gates open before Stella blew them open. “Harpy tits.” Nathan raced back up the stairs, bouncing off the walls in his haste. He made it to the gate, finding the whole area abandoned. If there had been any mages here, they’d fled when Nathan and the Heirs had passed overhead and dismantled the convoy.

The gate itself was held closed by a complicated magical locking system accompanied by a broad bar that would require a half-dozen strong men - or a single mage with a force spell. Before Nathan would have struggled with the lock. But inside the Academy he’d grown adept at using his aura to unpick magical locks that contained wizardry, so this mana-only lock was a piece of cake. He braced himself underneath the bar, which was really more of a whole tree-trunk, and lifted with his shoulders and a judicious application of Stamina.

He had to stagger forward a dozen paces to drop the bar where it wouldn’t block the opening gate. Panting, he returned to the huge double doors. Even as he reached for them there came a polite knock on the enchanted wood, and Nathan grumbled. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He hauled open the gates a few feet to find Khachi on the other side, his fist upraised to knock again. Nathan grinned at him. “Welcome to Giantsrest! Now under new management.”

–

The afternoon was wearing on by the time they’d gotten the convoy back to the Chokiz estate and gotten everything sorted. There was a tense moment when Nathan revealed he’d brought back several dozen artisan mages to join in, but it wasn’t hard to resolve. Gasc was unsure at first, but Vhala quickly reassured him that the enchanters were both necessary and tolerable. They were sent to an isolated series of tenements and placed under elite guard, for protection in both directions.

At least they had the space - the Giantraiders had been leading patrols to expand the claimed zone. They’d walled off some intersections and posted guards on others, with the goal to clear a wedge of the city so they had the wall at their backs. There hadn’t been much resistance, with only a single golem causing problems until Wiam had used illusions to trick it into leaving the area.

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After a quick discussion, Nathan and Khach left to break the mind magic on thousands more people from the newly claimed territories. Night had fallen by the time they returned to the impromptu headquarters to find a hearty meal and heavy conversation awaiting them.

“The mages.” Gasc said as Nathan devoured the bowl of hearty stew that had been placed in front of him. “We’ve been letting them turn their heels to us, but that cannot last. You think they can join us. Despite what they have done.”

Nathan shrugged and finished swallowing before replying. “You can’t kill them all. They’ll get desperate and fight back. There are enough mages that don't want to fight that it would be a brutal fight. For now they're staying low, hoping to avoid my attention and figure out what's next now that the Academy is gone and the archmages are dead. But you need them. More than just the artisan mages. If you’re going to defend yourself against the monsters of Davrar, you need enchanted weapons and the firepower of mages.”

The elite scowled, not liking what he was hearing. But he didn’t dismiss it out of hand. “So we lock them away, and hope they don’t try to take over again?”

“It’s not a problem we can just kill, that’s sure and certain.” Aarl contributed from where he leaned against the wall. “But we’re not the ones to solve it. That’s Myrla’s problem. She’ll be here tomorrow?” He glanced towards Vhala.

The heavyset woman nodded. “Indeed. She should arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

Nathan nodded. “Just try not to kill anyone who doesn’t start it. The mages left behind aren’t the ones who controlled Giantsrest. The rich and powerful ones, the ones who owned thousands of slaves, have fled already. Or are dead. The mages that are left are the weaker ones that don’t have anywhere to go."

Khachi spoke in a low rumble. “These deeds establish the ethos of your people. Do you take revenge, slay the weak and the young? Are you their mirror or their better?”

The elite’s lips thinned, and he seemed to be considering a harsh rebuttal when Nathan waved a hand to grab everybody’s attention. “We’re not going to decide the issue right now. We also won’t dictate to you, because we’re going to be leaving soon. Think about it, talk to the artisan mages, talk to Myrla. She's done this before. But let’s talk about what’s next for us. If we’re only here for a few days, what can we help with that will help immediately?”

Vhala twisted her lips. “The golems. The mages have fled, but these stalker-shit golems just tear through everything in front of them. We’ve been avoiding them and baiting them away from anything important, but they’re dangerous and take a castlebear’s killing.” She glanced over at Gasc and arched a single dark eyebrow.

The elite rubbed his face with a hand and sighed. “Straight speaking. Those golems are lethal. But they are not so interested in killing as they were, and we have seen fewer than yesterday. We still can’t secure this city until they're gone."

“Sounds like our target.” Stella said from where she lurked in a corner. “Let’s get hunting.”

Sarah broke in with a frown. “Do we hunt, or do we sleep and hunt in the morning?”

“You can see in the dark.” Stella rebutted.

Sarah’s frown grew deeper. “I see better in the day. Let’s wait until tomorrow”

“If there’s nothing critical, I could use a rest.” Nathan admitted. “I pushed myself hard during the last few days in the Academy.”

“There’s nothing.” Gasc replied to his questioning look. He pressed his hands together in a Giantsrest-style salute “Gratitude once again, mage-breaker. Sleep, recover. We will wake you if needed.”

Aarl pushed himself away from the wall. “Not if we can kill the threat without his help”

“Don’t get yourself killed trying to let me sleep.” Nathan replied, getting up as they headed down the stairs and towards the house they were staying in. “I’m a member of the team, and I’m better at dealing with fatigue than you are.”

“Not anymore.” Khachi said with a wolfish grin as soon as they were walking down the street. “I don’t need to sleep since my level-up. Immune to all fatigue.”

Nathan blinked at him, and opened his mouth to complain. Then he closed it.

I don’t think I’m well-positioned to complain about that. My own build has some slightly more ridiculous things going on than merely not needing to sleep.

Instead he asked about their plans. “So, tomorrow we kill golems, say hi to Myrla. Then we swing by the other cities and punch out any archmages that escaped the city. Then we go to Litcliff. Does that sound about right?”

“We will need to go to Gemore first.” Stella said. “Our parents would track us to the ends of Davrar if we left without seeing them.” She looked around. “My parents.”

“No. Dad would join them.” Aarl said wryly.

“Yeah, I should check in on Beatred and Poppy. Maybe give them something new, if an Ending is coming.” Nathan grimaced. He’d intentionally limited what he’d told the two crafters, and warned them away from cannons and artillery. But it might be time to reconsider that stance. How could he justify holding back mundane weapons when spells like Badud's [Last Arrows of Olita] existed?

They walked into the home they’d slept the night before to find that the entire place had been cleaned to within an inch of its life. The floors were polished, every piece of metal gleamed and the sheets had been freshly laundered. The air smelt of herbs and wax.

“They replaced the cushions.” Stella said as she plopped herself down in a chair. “Somebody wants us to be comfortable.”

Khachi looked around as if expecting an attack. “There is much else that needs to be done. This effort is wasted on us.”

“Is it?” Aarl said, crossing to the kitchen and checking the pantry. “Hear me, but I appreciate this more than any thanks. Ooh, fresh kellfruit.” He busied himself by peeling some kind of spiky fruit and heating up a pot of water.

The wolfman harrumphed, but he didn’t contest the point. “We should rest, so we may fight in the morning. Tomorrow will be a day of prophecy, and we must be ready to face it.”

“Not everything’s an Ending.” Sarah replied, claiming the dining table and laying out a cloth. “Our parents rest in Gemore in between missions, but we won’t have a home if we leave. We’ll need to grab rest every chance.” The brown-skinned girl’s gaze stayed on Khachi, even as she disassembled her rifle. “This is the beginning of a long race. There is no need to sprint in the beginning.”

“Yeah!” Stella agreed energetically. “Aarl, is there any juice in there? I’m running low.”

“Come get it yourself.”

Nathan sat in the corner, and let the chatter wash over him. He relaxed a hair, feeling his hypervigilance slip ever so slightly.

I’m safe and among friends. I don’t need to hide who I am, what I want. Not every action needs to be guarded, considered.

He sat there for a while, suddenly feeling a bottomless tiredness. He hadn't let down his guard in... weeks. Eventually he turned to Stella with a mysterious smile as she returned with another mug of sweet juice. “So. Let’s talk about what fire really is. There’s this thing called an oxidation state...”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 6

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 4

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 7

Class: Void of Magic level 594

Deepened Stamina: 18120/18120

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Spellslayer level 460

Regenerative Focus: 4700/4700

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Wizard’s Meditation 7

Inspiration 6

Acceleration 9

Wizard’s Detection 5

Alertness 9

Wizard’s Understanding 7

Effortless Dodge 7

Mental Vault 3

Tutoring 3

Parkour 7

Visibility Control 2

High-tier Disguise 3

Mid-tier Battle Cry 10

High-tier Aura Manipulation 9