Escape From Litchfield Page 13
"That is correct. Every being with a core has the potential to develop magic, although it is still a relatively rare occurrence. About ten percent of all Awoken will become a mage. However, it is thought that every being with a core has mana, even if they are unable to use the mana. Do not underestimate anything with a core, or it may be your last mistake." His last sentence ended with an ominous tone.
His face brightening, he looked at the seat chart to pick his next victim. "Auth, please tell us what is mana?"
Auth groaned inaudibly as he stood up, he was hoping to get through the class without bringing any attention to himself. His classmates murmured quietly as they realized they had a noble among them. "Mana is what powers our spells. As long as you cast your spell successfully and have the mana, you should be able to create magic. As for what it is, it's been highly debated. When we meditate, we see a vast pool of mana flowing like a river to our own smaller, personal pools. Through meditation and other techniques, we can widen the flow. However, it is known that your whole body produces mana and not just the core. There is still a great deal unknown how our meditation visions relate to our physical mana channels."
"Excellent answer! I want to point out that practicing to speed and slow down your mana has an effect on your spells, but I digress. Let's talk about incantations. Anyone want to volunteer?"
"Incantation is the verbal component of spellcraft and is one of the many ways to guide arcane power to produce a specific, repeatable phenomenon powered by mana. The Somatic component is another type of component to spellcraft, utilizing the movement of the body. Most mages will use one or both of these components for standard spells. Other potential components are special herbs and objects of power that can be introduced to produce a higher gain in power. Can anyone tell me what do these different components do?" This time the professor pointed to a blonde girl in the front row.
She didn't look happy to participate, but she stood up and said, "The somatic and incantations are designed to create a specific state that affects both your mind and body. Through technique, verbal, and somatic components, you open yourselves to the arcane and shape it to your will."
The professor nodded, then said, "Partially correct, but a good answer. Many students need to hear the basics many times. Once you've heard the theories, learned the spells, and practiced you gain an understanding of magic. This class is here to push you to the next level. You must reflect on your experiences to push through. You've all made it to this class, that means you are ready. Every day that you don't breakthrough, I expect you to come to class. However, once you've broken through, you're automatically passed for the class. Feel free to come back, but you are better off finding a party to raise your skills and levels."
"Magic flows throughout your body. However, the magic naturally converges into streams throughout your body known as magic channels. They correspond loosely to your body's circulatory system of blood vessels. What is important to note is that when a mage gathers mana to create spells, for instance, when casting a fireball, mana can be seen traveling to the focus area from all over the body, but the majority of that mana will come from your core."
"Once enough mana has gathered, usually towards the end of the incantation, the mage can then target and launch the spell. Any idea how the magic has been targeted?"
"Sir. Fireballs can self guide themselves to their target." Said a student in the back of the class.
Nodding the professor said, "Yes! It guides itself. But do all spells do that? And under what conditions?"
"Not all spells will guide themselves. If we choose to, we can turn off the self-guidance for any spell, usually because it costs less mana."
"So. How is this accomplished? Do you point at the target? Did you talk to your magic, guiding it to the target?" The professor mimed pointing and speaking to magic, gaining a laugh from the students.
"I normally point at the target, but I don't believe that's strictly necessary. Something in the incantation must be responsible."
"An excellent deduction! It is all conjecture and speculation, but notable mage researchers have found that your body reacts in much the same manner doing certain activities. For instance, if you speak, 'let's kill some trolls!', regardless if you speak the language in orc, goblin, troll, elvish, or common, your body reacts very similarly under detection spells. The biggest difference is in how fluent you are in each language. The more fluent, the more similar." As he talked, the professor continued to pace back and forth, stopping to occasionally make eye contact with the students to ensure they were paying attention.
"Theoretically, if you can create a state of mind/body/soul that perfectly matches the state that casting a fireball causes, then a fireball will launch out."
"This is the theory of why advanced mages can cast chantless spells. Some can cast the same spell multiple times faster than a normal caster. The mental and physical hoops that they used may not resemble the original spell, but the key to working your way to that level is the same! You must feel every emotion and thought as you're casting the spell. First, you should work on casting the spell faster and faster using the same physical and mental thoughts. As you hit the limits on the physical and mental speeds, you will need to alter your thoughts to try and become more efficient. After years of practice, you may evolve to chantless casting! If you go beyond that, you can even evolve to the next tier mage!"
The lecture lasted a full hour then broke up for the day to begin a new session the next day. After several days, Auth finished the quest.
Elemental Fury: All Elemental spells are 25% more effective. Cumulative with element skill.
Completed Quest:Discover your Power
You have chosen the subclass Elementalist. Gain a deeper understanding of the elements. This has a Level C difficulty.
Reward:500 experience.
Failure: This quest can’t be failed.
Auth has earned 500 raw experience! After bonuses are applied, 825 was earned!
***
Sitting on his cot, Jare was intently staring at his profession and subclass menus. He had taken a medium-sized room in the research base in Hopetown, so his walls were made from high-grade steel, rather than the permacrete walls of the town above. He was a man with few possessions, other than his weapons and armor, so the walls were bare despite the time spent here. As a young warrior, he went through gear and equipment quickly, not to mention that he needed to keep his possessions sparse for his nomadic lifestyle - just what he could carry was his motto. Laying on the corner of the room was his armor and sword, which was now the focus of his attention. Neither item was specialized in helping him decide, but both were items that reminded him of his absent companion, Tamara. The sword was made by Tamara and was a highly enchanted weapon that few swords in the world could match. The sword had a gravity-based attack, which triggers automatically depending on how the weapon is striking, and it had a secondary enchantment that would cast an iceball effect when hitting an opponent. The iceball effect was triggered at random intervals
Jare grimaced as he thought about the time he asked Auth why his sword didn’t trigger all the time, and he responded with a long lecture that he lost track of in the first five minutes. All he got from the discussion was that the enchantment worked based on the ambient mana in the area. His armor was an extremely rare drop from the level boss from Dungeon Madness. It had a particularly high armor level, and a strength enchantment, which was an extremely good and rare drop. Now that he was nearly twice the level, he should be looking for better armor in the near future. The monsters in the thirties tended to have armor-piercing abilities, so what was once amazing armor was now slightly sub-par for tanks his level. He needed additional piercing and elemental resistance.
Bringing his attention back to his menus, subclassing for a warrior was a difficult choice since it was the first major branch in a warrior’s career. There were plenty of non-optimal choices, so Jare had quickly narrowed his choices based on either attack warrior
or tank warrior. Berserker was the best attacking warrior subclass. For tanking, there were two choices: a Guardian, which was simply a warrior with several new defense perks, or a Paladin, which was a warrior with magic. He could double down on his Warrior class, but it would only incrementally increase bonuses on his current Warrior abilities.
The bright side of being a Paladin was that they could heal. The downside was that you were obligated to worship a particular God or Goddess. And until a paladin found a deity to worship, he or she was simply a warrior. Ultimately, the deity chosen determined what abilities were gained. The deity chosen could refuse the petition for a paladin as well, but most were not picky. Gaining a new follower honor-bound to follow your holy words was rarely a bad thing. And if the paladin strayed, the deity could withhold the divine gifts.
There were really only two logical choices for his profession. The soldier or the defender professions. However, as a tank, he needed the defender profession for the reduction of damage. Jare picks the Paladin subclass. His armor will need to be replaced soon, but it was good enough that he prioritized being able to self heal rather than being able to take slightly less damage.
Quest:Discover your Deity
You have chosen the subclass Paladin. You must find a deity to worship, or you will be limited to basic paladin abilities. Choose well because you can never change your deity. This has a Level C difficulty.
Reward:500 experience.
Failure:This quest can’t be failed.
Jare chose the Defender profession.
You have chosen the Defender profession!
Quest:Profession quest I
You have chosen the profession Defender. Defend or attack for something valuable to you! This has a Level F difficulty.
Reward:100 experience.
Failure: Failure for this quest is not possible.
Paladins are a relatively solitary class. They can choose to be accountable to their church and their church leaders, or they can choose to be accountable to only their god. This was largely decided by which god they chose. The central church of the empire was housed at the capital. In its walls, a shrine to many of the various religions of The Last Redoubt was scattered. This is not to say every god and goddess was represented, simply because there was too much to account for. Every god and goddess from the old world had the chance to travel here, and since settling The Last Redoubt, a number of new religions have sprung up.
The Paladin class quest required Jare to choose and petition a deity, so he needed guidance. Even though there were plenty of deities to pick from, the easiest method was to visit the central church in the capital via the Portal room. There he could petition multiple Gods if his first choice denied him.
The distance was not that great, but in some ways, Jare would rather travel the week-long journey by foot since he needed to cross Tamara's workroom to access the Portal room. Pausing in the workroom, he said, "Just a bit longer, and we'll come for you, Tamara." His renewed vow to save Tamara, as silly as he felt about it, gave him renewed energy and drive. He needed to become strong and become comfortable with his abilities before he could rescue her.
Azdel had proven to him how he'd be the one in need of rescuing if he didn't train and adapt. He was taught in the old ways, and he believed in Unichi, the yellow furred god of health. It was simply a matter of picking his god to complete the quest. It should be easy as cake! The professional quest to fight for something he valued was pretty easy too. Fighting a mob outside the walls of Hope should be a quick affair.
Stopping in front of the portal, Jare prepared himself for the moment of disorientation that accompanied long transports. Then he jumped in.
***
The church for the entire human empire was an enormous structure. Not as tall as the spires, but it was a sprawling complex of rooms and altars spread across thousands of feet. It was the second to the Spires as the most distinct and tallest structure of La Grange. Due to the large number of gods traveling from the old world, and new religions emerging, it was constantly growing. The entire complex was surrounded by a large wall to discourage conflicts between deities from affecting the general worshipers. The entrance itself was impressive. Columns of marble stood proudly in the front, the door was made of thick ironwood with brass inlay, and the floor was a striated marble, either quarried from a distant land or provided by magic. Once inside, the hallways stretched over a mile long. Each god and goddess required a suite of rooms for their worshipers. And pilgrims across the land came to worship on these hallowed grounds.
The pilgrims, as expected, were mostly humans, but there were a number of elves, dwarves, and gnomes in attendance. This church was for all beings who came to worship in peace.
Jare passed by the shrine of Gia, the earth goddess. Being a well known Earth goddess, she was a popular choice for worship. Her paladins were gifted with Divine Touch, Earthen Armor, Earth Strength, and Tremor.
Another shrine he passed was the shrine for Thor, the thunder god. He gave his paladins: Divine Touch, Lightning Reflexes, Lightning Aura, and Shocking Grasp.
Stopping to speak with a cleric who wasn't currently speaking to a worshiper, he said, "Father, I am a Paladin seeking a god to worship. Would you advise me?"
The priest replied, "Ah, I see child. You wish to find the right deity for you, but I'm not the one that will decide that for you. You need to look within to find the right deity. The young have so many choices. Some choose a deity by the gifts given, while others pick a deity from family tradition, while others pick a deity because of the right fit. What have you been taught of your own spirituality?"
"I was raised to believe in the Unichi god, the one that caught them all."
Nodding sagely, yet apprehensively, the priest replied, "It is still relatively common to worship the Unichi god despite traveling the stars. One word of caution though, if you choose a god that is dead or doesn't give gifts, you will not be able to change your mind."
Jare nodded and said, "And what gifts does the Unichi god bestow?"
The priest sighed and looked up to the sky for guidance. Then breathing out he said, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The Unichi god is a dead god. You will receive no gifts." Shaking his head, the priest patted Jare on the back. "I will give you a moment alone to take in this news," the priest said as he quietly walked away.
Jare stood there dumbstruck. His god had been dead the whole time that he worshiped him. The Priest had to be wrong! Time passed, and he vaguely recalled the priest excusing himself to tend to the other petitioners. He came to himself, certain that the Unichi wasn't dead, and marched forward looking for another priest. Spotting a young priest, he called out, "You there! Wait up! I have a question for you!"
The young priest came over quickly and asked, "What would you ask of me?"
"Is the Unichi God dead?"
The color drained from the young priest's face and his eyes shifted to the ground. Stammering, he said, "Sir. I'm new to the fold, and I'm not allowed to answer that question. Let me guide you to an experienced priest."
"Why can't you answer? Tell me!" Shouted Jare.
Cowed, the priest whispered, "Please don't tell the others I said anything. They teach us that the Unichi God is dead. There is no shrine for the Unichi god here." The priest then quickly walked away, muttering, "Please don't follow me. Please don't follow me."
Stunned, Jare was at a loss for words for the confirmation that his god had died. His god had given him hope and comfort when his parents had been killed by the goblins. Each day he prayed for his sister to Awaken. Was all of that for nothing?
Jare walked aimlessly through the massive complex. He was hurting, but he took comfort at people watching. At least there were still some gods still alive and giving solace and guidance to their worshipers.
He kept thinking about his life and how the Unichi god had comforted him. He grew restless. He couldn't even imagine any other god taking the place of the Unichi god, so he knew in his heart that
he had to be true to himself.
As he came to this realization, his gaze fell upon a woman. She was tall. Her hair was the color of beautiful oak. She was full-figured with generous breasts. What caught his attention was that she was watching him with wise eyes. As he appraised her, he realized that this was a powerful woman. Attempting to inspect her didn't even bring up a window acknowledging her.
The woman smiled knowingly as his inspection failed miserably. She shouldn't be able to detect his inspection, so he told himself that it was just his imagination.
As he came to a stop before her, she said, "Hello, Jare. I have been looking forward to meeting you. We have much to discuss."
Chapter 9
Tamara had been running on pure adrenaline since she awoke. Now that she had time to come down, she felt terrible. She wanted to activate the Necrotic Nanobridge skill. If it weren't grayed out, she would have kept it on as often as she could. It was driving her crazy that it wasn't on. She felt so weak and stupid. When she had that power again, she would claim her right as queen. That thought shook her. When did she consider herself royalty? Why did she need this power when she didn't previously? She felt a wave of apprehension come over her, yet she fought it back. She thought to herself, "Why am I always getting this strange apprehension suddenly?"
Shaking her head, Tamara tried to whisk that thought away. What was going on with her? It felt good to be powerful, to be able to comprehend everything around her. She had been able to predict everything, from the speed a mage was casting their spell, to how to fake that mage caster out just enough that the spell landed where she wanted. Not only that, but the little problems that would creep up in her life would become so easy to solve during that state of mind. Not all of the solutions would stay with her, and sometimes she only had pieces of it. But enough remained that she could work out how to solve the solutions on her own. For instance, her last usage of the skill allowed her to evolve her sense magic skill to multiple levels. She also made breakthroughs on the nature of magic and how to capitalize on it. If she could enable that state to learn gravity magic, who knows what secrets she could learn!