Ends of Magic

Nathan stood over Taeol’s corpse, looking down at the slumped figure. In death, the archmage seemed unthreatening, pathetic. Just a lump of meat replacing a man of ambition and power.

He was also a greedy coward willing to dominate people to get what he wanted.

As Nathan’s Rage died, his eyes roamed over Taeol’s rich robes and the many rings on his fingers. He shook himself and hastened back towards Stella.

The Heirs are more important than anything Taeol was carrying. I’d break anything valuable anyways. With my new aura I don't even need to touch magic items to break them.

Stella groaned as Nathan approached, eyes slitted against pain as she held her robes to a badly bleeding nose. She squinted up at him, seemingly at a loss for words.

He stared back, also unable to encapsulate everything he wanted to say. It was only a second before he broke through the impasse, focusing on what was important here and now. “Where are the others?”

“Down…” Stella’s voice rasped, but she pointed towards the side of the courtyard, underneath the balcony that she and Taeol had been standing on when Nathan had first entered. The door there had been broken open by one of the paving stones launched during the fight, revealing a grand entry hall. Nathan almost ran off to find the rest of the Heirs, but then saw Stella’s hesitant attempts to stand.

I’m not leaving her here - that’s tempting fate too much. Enchanted robes be damned, she’s coming with me.

Nathan scooped the small mage up, again amazed at how light she was. The enchantments in her robes immediately started fragmenting, and Nathan did his best to draw back his antimagic as he sprinted towards the building.

It didn’t really work - his newfound control and ability to project the Talent let him retract it some, but not entirely. After all, the new talent said “Magic items will degrade from being near you.” Despite Nathan's best efforts, a few of the enchantments worked into the robe began to fray as he ran.

Stella was whimpering in his arms, squirming around what appeared to be the mother of all migraines. She forced her attention into giving him directions down a series of stairs before calling out “Trap. Trap.” She loosely gestured at an upcoming door.

Nathan set Stella down gently against the wall before carefully approaching the plain and unornamented wooden door. It took a moment, but he was able to pick up a faint magical field woven into the frame. Upon opening, the spell would send some kind of signal farther into the room.

While he couldn’t tell what would receive the trap’s alert, he could clearly sense the connection it would travel along. Nathan furrowed his brow and carefully manipulated his antimagic into a spike, stabbing the immaterial blade into the door.

Not sure if this’ll work - can my aura penetrate solid objects?

The answer appeared to be yes. The aura went straight through the wood and the magical wire snapped. When Nathan tried to push through he felt the spell activate - but the signal went nowhere. The door also went nowhere; it was locked without a visible keyhole.

Nathan backed up a few steps and then accelerated to throw his entire weight against the obstacle. The door didn’t fly open, but the metal bar on the other side bent with a screech. Another bash forced the mangled piece of metal out of the bracket, and he was through.

Inside the next room were a set of five enchanted stockades. Two were empty. The other three held Aarl, Khachi, and Sarah, all stripped of their gear.

Attending them was a golem made of tan stone, who had been holding a bowl of water up to Aarl’s face. All three of the captured Heirs seemed dazed and confused, though their heads had turned towards Nathan and the noise he’d made entering the room. Khachi’s body and his face twisted into a snarl as golden light swept over him. Then the stockade’s magic activated and a shock ran through the wolfman’s body, zapping him back to placidity.

Nathan’s Rage flared to life and he started towards his friends, but the golem dropped the bowl and jumped him. With his new skills Nathan could sense the core embedded in its chest. It seemed to be the power source of the magical construct, animating and directing the enchanted stone with tendrils of magic.

He struck the charging humanoid as it approached, stabbing his antimagic directly into its core. The tight ball of magic fragmented and tore, and hundreds of Stamina flowed into Nathan as he smoothly sidestepped the golem’s sudden stagger. The animated statue fell, slamming into the ground with a grinding crunch. One of its arms snapped off, and all motion stopped as the magic inside it sputtered and faded.

I think that golem core was once a person. Goddamn Giantsrest.

Nathan took a moment to study the room, looking for more magical traps. There was an enchantment on the back wall that seemed like it would launch a fireball at anybody opening the door unauthorized. Nathan broke it first, then hastened to the stockades holding the remaining Heirs. He took another moment to investigate the enchanted wooden structures to be sure there wasn't a trap that would kill the occupants. There didn’t seem to be any kind of failsafe, though they were magically locked. Nathan ruined the enchantments in moments, ripping apart the stockades one by one. They seemed woozy and dazed, but otherwise fine.

He didn’t stick around to check in on them, instead going to retrieve Stella. He brought her into the room, setting her down against a wall. She seemed even more limp now, barely capable of opening her eyes to acknowledge that they’d found their friends.

As Nathan stood, he turned towards a series of wooden bins along the back wall emanating familiar magic. Throwing open the bins revealed all of the gear that had been stripped off the Heirs. He started grabbing clothes and tossing them to their owners. He spoke up as he did. “We need to move. Sorry to push you, but all of Halsmet will come down on us unless we get out of here now.”

Khachi was the first to get up. He threw his arms wide and growled, a deep and furious note that reverberated with divine power. “We are free. Stand, and by my power be granted strength!” Golden magic billowed away from the [Divine Justicar], and Sarah and Aarl both quickly got to their feet, pulling on clothes and coming over to collect their gear.

Everything was there - it looked like none of their bags had even been unpacked. The Heirs moved quickly, grabbing everything in mere seconds.

“Nathan, how…” Sarah spoke thickly, having trouble finding words.

“We’ll talk later. For now, get everything and go. Aarl, grab Stella.” He responded, already checking the hallway to be sure it was still empty.

Aarl grunted in affirmation as his new armor flowed over his body. He slung a few packs over his shoulder, checked to be sure the dimensional ring they'd looted from the Ashblood serpent dungeon wasn't going to bounce. Then he moved over to pick up Stella, who didn’t seem to have benefited as much from Khachi’s spell.

Khachi hurriedly packed his armor into his dimensional bag and they left the room.

Nathan led the Heirs up the stairs and into the courtyard at a jog. They paused on seeing the devastated space, but Nathan waved them forward. He led Khachi over to Taoel’s body.

“Can you grab this? I don’t want to take the time to search him, and taking the body might confuse Giantsrest.”

The big wolfman didn’t respond, merely leaning down to grab Taoel’s body and slinging it over his shoulder.

Then they went to the gate, which had been sealed with magic after Nathan entered. That didn’t pose a problem with his new Talent Development, and the Heirs spilled out into the street. The corpses of the slave soldiers were still strewn around the gate where Nathan and Faline had left them. There were some new corpses off to the side, where a patrol of slave soldiers and a single slavemaster looked to have been stabbed in the back of the neck.

Nathan looked around for his accomplice, but didn’t see her. He called out. “Faline?”

She materialized from the shadow of the wall, already reaching into her bag. “Freedom and Brightness, Nathan. I wouldn’t have believed this in prophecy. All of you, put these on and follow me.”

She threw a set of baggy robes to each of the Heirs in turn, then transformed herself into the green-robed enslavement mage disguise. The robes were huge and baggy - big enough that they could completely cover Khachi and the burden he carried.

The Heirs gaped at her for a second, and Khachi looked to Nathan. “Faline's here - how did this happen, Nathan?”

“Silence. Follow." Faline’s voice was imperious and commanding, and the Heirs bristled instinctively at her tone.

But Nathan bowed his own head and walked meekly after the leader of the Assassins of Gemore, and after a moment his teammates controlled themselves and followed.

An alarm bell started ringing across the city as they turned onto another street, though there was nobody in sight. The sound was piercing and impossible to ignore, but Faline kept her head high and led them onwards without changing her pace or posture.

The group was two more streets along when a blue-robed mage turned the corner ahead. The figure was followed by a dozen elites and almost a hundred slave-soldiers with bows. Nathan saw Aarl tense under his robe, and laid a restraining hand on his friend’s arm as Faline angled them to the side of the road.

The blue-robed mage stopped the column and looked at Faline with a frown. “Crurn, did your eyes pick out the trouble?”

I guess that’s her disguise? Did she kill Crurn and take his place, or is this a long-standing alter ego?

Faline’s disguised form shook his head. “Nothing, though I heard sounds of fighting from the second mansion. Also heard Archmage Taeol’s got new slaves, not yet broken. Think they got loose?”

The other mage snorted and rolled his eyes. “Giants save us from distracted Archmages. Exea will want a full accounting of every mage’s activities this day. Even if she’s currently buried in oiled pleasure slaves.” Then he shrugged, seeming resigned. “And I am her fist regardless. I’ll check with you for details later, Crurn.”

Faline nodded casually and clasped forearms with the other mage before he hurriedly directed his party towards the mansion Nathan had so recently left.

Then their guide strode imperiously down the streets. The bell still tolled across the city, and Nathan saw slaves evacuating into buildings as guards patrolled the city in force. Faline took them on a slightly roundabout path, slipping through an alley and a small storehouse to bypass the checkpoints that separated the inner and outer cities.

Once they reached the regimented ranks of square buildings, Nathan could tell the Heirs were flagging. Whatever burst of energy Khachi had given them was fading. Stella was unconscious in Aarl’s arms, though she was well-hidden beneath the cloak.

There were still patrols of slave soldiers wandering around, most led by a slavemaster. They took one look at Faline’s green robe and bowed, letting her pass unchallenged. She led the Heirs back into the slums, though Nathan noticed a slavemaster watching them with a puzzled look on his face as they turned into the section of the city made of crude buildings and stinking of human waste.

But nobody followed them, and after several twists and turns Faline led them back to the safehouse she’d brought Nathan to when he first came into the city. She ushered them all inside before taking a careful look around and shutting the door behind them.

Nathan took a moment to just look around at the Heirs as they tiredly stripped off the concealing robes. He let out a massive sigh of relief, releasing some of the tension that had consumed him ever since last night, when Badud had kidnapped his friends.

You have leveled up to level 144! Congratulations, you have killed Archmage Taeol dho Droxol of Giantsrest, and rescued your teammates from his control!

Wow. Killing somebody powerful is worth a lot of levels. 25 of them, Damn. Next Development at 243.

Faline became a slim woman once more, glancing up at her own notification. Her eyebrows vaulted upwards in surprise. “You killed the archmage. Actually got him.” Then she noticed Khachi laying down the orange-robed body and her eyebrows finished the climb to her hairline. “And that’s his body and the jewelery. No one knows he’s dead yet?”

Nathan shrugged. “Nobody else was around. He made Stella fight me, but I broke the spell and then we killed him. We freed the others and got out.”

The dark-haired assassin walked over to Taeol’s corpse, bending down to finger the rich orange robe and swipe a hand over the rings on his hands. Then she looked around at the rest of the Heirs and their shattered expressions. She sighed and stood. “Go, sleep. Rest now in safety. None will disturb you, for this place is protected.”

She ushered the Heirs into the bedroom. Stella was already out cold, and Aarl simply laid her on the broad bed. Khachi cast a few basic healing spells on her, then practically collapsed next to her.

Aarl and Sarah didn’t last much longer, falling onto the bed in various states of disrobement. Nathan moved to join them, but Faline held out her arm and quietly closed the door in front of him.

The assassin turned to Nathan, eyes intent. “Come, we must talk.” She sauntered over to the table, gesturing for Nathan to join her. “I am free of regret for the Heirs' rescue. But Giantsrest will learn the truth of Taeol’s demise, and the Ascendent Academy will want revenge. We risk the destruction of Gemore.”

She studied him for a moment longer, pulling out a flask and rolling it between her fingers before taking a pull. “What will you do now?” She set the flask down on the table in front of the empty seat in clear invitation for him to sit.

Taeol is dead, but Giantsrest will threaten Gemore and the Heirs forever. I swore to myself to tear them down - and I meant it.

Nathan hesitated before walking over to the empty seat and picking up the vessel. “I want to get them back to Gemore." He nodded to the door where the Heirs were resting. "Then I’ll come back and we’ll fight them together. If you’ll have me.” He took a sip of the flask, appreciating the fiery liquor as he sat down.

“Your loyalty burns bright.” Faline cocked her head, studying him. “It will be difficult to leave this city for a time. The gates are already closed, and the other archmages will deploy their magic to find those who killed one of their number. They will find and check every person inside the walls not wearing a collar, and every living thing outside the city walls for fifty miles. My safehouse can block their spellwork, but the Questor will get involved. Taeol was his student?”

“Yes.” Nathan sighed as he nodded, taking another pull of the flask. “Badud pitted me against Taeol to train him. He kidnapped the Heirs to force the issue. The Questor said that he’d consider me a rival if I defeated Taeol. And... well.” Nathan glanced at the corpse in the corner of the room.

I didn’t really think about the fact that winning against Taeol would mean Badud would consider me a personal rival. Shit.

Faline traced her finger across the tabletop. “You’ve taught him that you will respond to a threat against your team. They will never be safe from him now.”

He drank from the flask again, delaying the moment when he’d have to face up to reality. The reality where one of the most powerful men on the continent would be coming for Nathan and his friends. When he lowered the flask, he looked beseechingly at Faline. “What do I do? Can you help me and the Heirs escape Badud?”

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a sad smile. “You are in the dragon’s lair now, Nathan. You cannot retreat. You must take the initiative. Hurt and distract your foe, so he does not come for what you hold dear. The dragon must focus on you, not those you want to protect.”

How do I do that? Badud was on another level with his spellcasting. I can’t win against him. Not yet. I need to be able to fly at a minimum.

Faline wasn’t done. “You decry the philosophy of Giantsrest, their enslavement of others. And you hated Taeol for what he did to you.” The beautiful woman pursed her lips and looked Nathan up and down.

“But do you truly hate them? Or has your revenge on Taeol quelled your passion? Are your principles true as blood, or do they diffuse like smoke?” She leaned over the table toward him. “I wish a fire in your bones fit to overcome prophecy. I wish to see those gleaming spires cast to the ground. Will you live up to your vows, Nathan of Earth?”

Nathan’s anger swelled as Faline spoke, though it wasn’t directed at the killer across the table from him. “I do hate them. For everything they are, for what they do to people.” His fists clenched, thinking over all of the enslaved he’d seen in this city alone, all the people dehumanized into mindless servants.

Faline smiled at his hard tone, a gleam in her eye. “All you have done thus far is react - defensively. You protect the Heirs, and Gemore. But you cannot be a perfect defender. You must attack. If you wait for provocation, Giantsrest will take what you seek to protect and force you to destroy it yourself.

“Even your killing has not been born of hatred.” Her expression was fierce, teeth sharp in her mouth as she continued.

“They have earned depthless hatred a dozen times over. I can show you. We can cleanse the evils of Giantsrest and work our way through that dragon’s lair until you have levels enough to match Badud blow for blow.”

The assassin leaned in to whisper in Nathan’s ear. “Join me, Nathan. I will teach you the Insight to a second class. It will be easy for you as you are now. Then, we will carve our way through Giantsrest, putting an end to their atrocities.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 1

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 6

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 9

Class: Implacable Antimage level 144

Deepened Stamina: 1482/4620

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 6

High-tier Earnestness 9

High-tier Sprinting 3

Magical Perception 2

High-tier Notice 5

High-tier Identify 6

High-tier Dodging Footwork 6

High-tier Enhanced Memory 8

Mid-tier Lecturing 8

High-tier Tumbling 3

Skill/Talent Wording:

Talents:

Permanent Talent: [Aura of Antimagic]

You are an embodiment of antimagic, forever unable to cast spells or access magic. Magic items will degrade from being near you. You can extend this antimagic from your body to directly absorb the mana of spells cast on you into Stamina.

Permanent Talent: Perfected body

You have achieved precise control of your body at a miniscule level. This Talent will automatically spend stamina to efficiently and immediately heal wounds. You can spend Stamina to make innate changes which include banishing poison, countering aging and restructuring your body on a miniscule level. Larger wounds, and greater changes will cost more stamina. Perfected Body will not prevent you from dying of grievous wounds.

Talent: High-tier Slow Fall

You have survived falling an extraordinarily long distance by using stamina to control your plummet. This Talent will allow you to use stamina to efficiently direct your fall. This is especially effective for controlling the rate of your fall.

Class:

Implacable Antimage: You cannot be slowed by magic, and use your agility to overcome physical threats. This class will enhance your antimagic while Raging, making you truly immune to magic and its effects. It will also enhance your physical agility, and increase your proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. This class may further develop into classes focused on permanently draining people of their magic, deflecting or controlling hostile magic or excelling at close quarters combat. With this class, you will become an unstoppable mage-hunter.

Class skill Deepened Stamina:

Stamina will accumulate during periods of rest, and can be spent to improve the speed and strength of your movements, or used for other skills or Talents that utilize stamina. Your Stamina capacity is tripled.

Class skill Antimage’s Impassivity:

Pain and injury will only drive you further onwards, and you will have resistance to mind-affecting skills while Raging. Being attacked with magic will enhance the intensity of your Rage.

Class skill Antimagic Momentum:

Motion enhances your inherent antimagic, allowing you to break magical effects with your movements and blows. The greater the momentum behind the motion, the greater the enhancement. Effect is further enhanced while Raging.

Class skillRaging Thrill

You can voluntarily enter and exit a Rage state, where you will be immersed in the thrill of combat. This will rapidly consume stamina, but will greatly increase your strength, speed and resilience to damage.

Class skill Implacable Inertia:

Your motions carry significantly greater momentum, and any attempt to slow your movement is hindered. Magical effects will be almost completely unable to change your velocity.

Class skillUnarmored resilience:

When not wearing armor your body becomes more resilient to damage from all sources.

Class skill Improved Antimagic:

While Raging, your antimagic Talent is greatly enhanced, and will be especially effective at protecting you from hostile magic.

Class skillStrenuous Agility:

You will move more quickly and easily, especially when reorienting your body in combat. Stamina spent on mobility will have a greater effect.

Class skill Hand-to-hand Expertise:

You will be faster, hit harder and be more skilled at unarmed combat.

Utility Skills:

Utility skill Battle Meditation:

This skill will allow you to remain focused and undistracted even in the harshest of conditions.

Utility skill High-tier Earnestness:

This skill will help you portray your intense conviction and honesty when you interact with people. This skill will encourage people to follow your example in words and actions. Cannot fool truth spells or skills.

Utility skill High-tier Sprinting:

This skill will help you run very quickly in the future and decrease the stamina cost of doing so. Will not allow you to run in circumstances where you couldn’t otherwise.

Utility skill Magical Perception:

This skill lets you sense the mana around you, and understand its purpose.

Utility skill High-Tier Notice:

This skill will help you notice details. Especially useful for rapidly detecting concealed enemies, magical effects and triggers.

Utility skill High-Tier Identify:

This skill will help you interpret complex cues to understand strange objects, curses and effects, as well as give you clues on how to manipulate them. Will not help you identify types of mana or spellcraft.

Utility skill High-tier Dodging Footwork:

This skill will help you with quick movements to keep your balance and dodge attacks.

Utility skill High-tier Enhanced Memory:

You have a detailed mental construct to aid with memory, and a mental process to help you encode information into it. This skill will help you store and recall memories quickly. This process operates quickly and cannot be interfered with by outside sources. With time and effort you can recall older memories and store them in the mental construct.

Utility skill Mid-Tier Lecturing:

This skill will help you explain concepts in the future, smoothing over gaps and aiding greatly in explanation and understanding. Will not help you convey details you do not know, and will not help you suppress people’s doubts about what you are teaching.

Utility skill High-Tier Tumbling:

This skill will help you use unorthodox movements to take advantage of your momentum. Especially useful to avoid attacks and compensate when you are struck.

End of Book 2