The Lightbearer's Gift

Five days later

The conversation with the cabal went on for some time.It consisted of us solidifying timelines for certain deliverables. Duchess Shorecast insisted that she needed a few days to convince her cousin, Trent Shorecast, to teach me enchanting under the table. During that time, I moved my belongings into the duchess’s private home. It was as luxurious as the inn; however, the staff were petrified of me. I had to assume that they were severely warned not to offend me in any capacity. My first lesson with Trent was scheduled for later this evening and every evening for the next several months with the exception of the last day of the week.

Surprisingly Benny had no interest in learning enchanting, so she opted to focus on mastering dual casting. A feat which remained elusive to her. The Duchess actually had a sub-level to her house that served as both a place for secret meetings and a dungeon if it suited her. I sat in my rooms going over a few of the new grimoires that were provided to me. I had 7 sitting on a desk in my room. Provided by a combination of the baroness, Shorecast, Denerif and Halloway. Many of them were interesting but most were either too novel to use in combat or for attenuations that I had poor affinity for.

I was going over the meteor spell, an exceptionally powerful spell that took an enormous amount of ether to cast. However most large-scale spells were useful against armies, not direct combat with another mage. In those cases, speed was usually what won the day. The rest were Earth destruction, the spell the baroness used during the siege. Hurricane which did essentially what is expected. Increase weight, which was the opposite of the lighten spell. Gale which could alter the direction of wind. And a master spell is called Sun. It was a light spell that summoned a ball of light so intense the heat would burn everything in a massive area to dust.

One would think that the existence of these kinds of spells would cause untold destruction. But the time required to master them along with the stamina and control needed to cast them were a rarity in the empire. If I wasn’t a freak of nature in terms of magical ability, I would never be able to cast most of these spells. The master water and earth spells I would probably never use since they were so inefficient.

Another problem I ran into was spell variety. There were only so many spells to learn and most mages are secretive about any new spells they develop. it would take a few weeks to memorize all of the spells. But in the end, I would have over 50 spells at my disposal. An impressive number to be sure but at most only 10 or so would be of any use in combat with a mage. But that is not why I wanted to learn them to begin with.

A knock at my door interrupted my contemplation. “Enter.” I said

In walked one of the servants assigned to me. She was a lovely brown-haired woman that was one of my personal attendants.

“Master Trent has arrived and is awaiting you.” She said,

I signaled for her to leave and prepared to head down to the basements where my instruction would begin. I walked into a singular room, it was little more than a small office, probably around 8 feet by 12 feet with a desk at the center and several chairs. Sitting at said desk was an older man probably around the age of the Duchess. He was bald with a long gray beard and wearing simple brown robes. He raised an eyebrow as I walked in.

“Greetings, I must say I was surprised when my dear cousin asked me to instruct a royal elf on the ways of enchantment.” He said his voice was hoarse as if he spent much of his life shouting. He didn’t seem perturbed or offended, speaking as if this entire situation was humorous.

I reciprocated his good humor. “I have a fascination with learning.”

“Ha, I’m sure you do. But are you willing to follow my instructions to the letter? If I am to properly instruct you then I must be the master and you the pupil. From my experience most elves would find this arrangement intolerable.” He looked into my eyes as if trying to find any deception.

I chuckled and said. “You will find that I am not like most elves. So long as I am your student, I have no problem calling you master.”

So long as he properly instructed me, I had no issues with giving him the respect he was owed. He looked into my eyes for a moment then nodded, seeming to find the answer he was looking for.

“Very good, I have been told that the introductory courses of mathematics, physics and sciences are not necessary with you since you already have the skill of a master mage. So let us begin with an explanation of Sigilweaving specifically essence-focused Sigilweaving.”

He pointed to the seat in front of him and I sat down.

“As you know spell circuits and spell scripts are similar in concept however spell scripts can be self-charged and last as long as the spell script is undamaged. We will begin by defining each rune and its function, along with different formulations and etheric flow patterns.”

He gave me one last piercing stare and asked. “This will be a fast instruction, be sure to pay attention.”

I gave him a respectful bow from my seated position and said. “Yes Master.”

Seven hours later the lesson ended, and we parted ways until tomorrow. He left several books for me to read along with samples of enchanting tools for me to familiarize myself with. I was smarter than most, but enchantment was another beast entirely. Still, I was determined to learn.

To do that, I would have to abandon any other pursuits and dedicate myself purely to enchanting. However, I still had another appointment with Dutchess Shorecast today. Fortunately, it was to be in an hour, and it was only a few doors down from the office that I used for instruction.

An hour later the Duchess and I were sitting in a small room, there was little else but a small bed in the center and a few chairs. Laying on said bed was the Duchess in a modest robe. In truth it was surprising that she was so willing to have me work on her. But I suppose when death is close at hand humans tend to grasp unto any hope.

“Alright this is going to take several hours. It will be painless though you might feel small discomfort occasionally.” I said, trying to reassure her.

“It is fine if I can walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like my heart is about to give out then I will be willing to call you a genius.” She joked.

“Oh, you will be able to do that at least. Did you follow my eating instructions.” I asked.

I asked her to eat as much food as possible without making herself sick. Mostly because I wanted to use as little of her own tissue as possible.

“Yes, and I still feel sick.”

Fortunately she was a plump woman so there was plenty of extra fat I could reuse to generate new tissue.

“Very good, now lay back and relax.”

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to relax.

I placed a hand on her chest directly on her skin and began to funnel power into her. There was a lot to repair. Her joints were in a horrid state, her muscles were atrophied, she had partial liver failure, and her kidneys were only functioning at 30% capacity. Then there were her bones. She had lost a significant amount of bone mass and had severe osteoporosis in her hands.

I took a deep breath and began to work. I repaired and revitalized the organs with living ether, some parts I had to partially regrow. Livers, kidneys and intestines all had to be repaired. Then I moved on to her muscles. I stimulated hypertrophy to slowly rebuild them. Her ligaments and bone had to be strengthened to support the muscle.

With a fine-toothed comb, I went over every joint, every tendon, every major muscle group and performed repairs or regeneration as needed. Then I moved on to her skin. I stimulated the production of collagen and tightened the skin while clearing away liver spots and discoloration. Restoring the healthy glow of youth. I restored hair follicles in her head and regrew her hair. It was interesting to see that she actually had red hair.

After nearly six hours of work, I was finally at a place where I believed that she would survive the transformation. I flooded her body with living ether so she would absorb it throughout the night.

I removed my hand from her chest and observed my work. Before I was a woman of around 70 or 80. Now she looks around 40. There was only so much cosmetic work I could do in such a short time most of the real work was done internally.

“I think we are at a good place” I said as I handed her a mirror that I had brought with me.

“It was not so unpleasant, a bit strange mostly. It was almost like a ma…….” Then she saw her reflection. Her eyes widened into saucers as she saw herself. She was lost for words as she caressed her face.

“Gods above.” Was her only response.

“Try standing.” She looked at me then marveled at her legs and hands. Gone were the swollen misshapen joints and varicose veins. Now she simply had healthy limbs. She stood and with a groan of pleasure. Her joints popped as she twisted and stretched marveling at the mobility and lack of pain.

“This is….” She said as he pulled up the sleeves of her robe and clenched and flexed her hand.

“You haven’t even been enhanced yet. For now, it’s best your body settles for the night and let the changes set in. we can perform the transformation tomorrow.” I said but she didn’t seem to be listening.

Instead, she seemed to be doing squats. After around 20 she stopped and looked at me.

“You realize I would have paid almost anything for even this much.” She said with a charming smile on her face.

“What can I say? I sell myself rather cheaply. I’m sure you can think of ways to right such a wrong.”

She chuckled, “Well in that case I’ll have to find something worth more than what I’m paying. I think I might have an idea. I just have to gather the funds.”

“Feel free to surprise me. If there is one thing I appreciate, it's being paid fairly for my work.”

We headed back to the dining area for supper since the process was quite taxing on her body. The servants, particularly the older ones, stared at their mistress as if she was a ghost. Hardly being able to comprehend the change in her appearance. Their eyes constantly flicked to me, likely assuming that I am the one responsible.

The next day after a second round of tutelage that consisted of learning the 230 runes that Essence-Focused spell scripting used I made my way to the same room with the Dutchess. The servants were under strict orders not to disturb her for the entirety of the day.

I was excited to see how my abilities would affect her. Within the rooms were a bucket, cloth and a change of clothes in case she soiled herself during the process.

“Is it strange that I have reservations?” She asked.

“It would be strange if you didn’t. But you must if you want to regain what you lost. The repairs I have done to your body are not permanent. You are still technically the same age and in a few years your body will rapidly age.”

She sighed. “My servants already can barely recognize me. Though I have informed them your abilities enable you to perform cosmetic changes to people. I’ve already taken a few trips around town and extolled your skills.”

“Hm, I suppose it could be a great source of coins. I mean how many women out there would pay a good coin for a larger chest.” I said.

“I can give you referrals.” She joked.

“It’s about time I start.” I said while smiling.

She sighed deeply and said. “Very well might as well see this to the end.”

She lay back down on the bed, and I began to strap her to it. Once her arms and legs were bound, I placed a hand on her head chest and began to channel living ether. I opened the flow wide and flooded her body until I began to meet a resistance. She groaned as she started to feel it. I pushed until finally it broke. Then I cut off the flow.

“Ready yourself.” I said.

I wanted to try to dull her sense of pain, but her body was undergoing too many changes too quickly for my power to take hold across her entire body. Soon enough her groans got louder and louder, her skin flushed. And she began to scream. Fortunately the entire room was soundproof.

I sat on a chair and prepared myself to watch the process. Screams turned into tortured wails. And soon enough she started begging for death. Hours passed as the unending pain ripped through her. until finally she lost consciousness.

It was a fascinating process.

Two days later I sat under a large umbrella sipping a fruity drink as I watched a beautiful red-haired woman ride a horse at full gallop. She looked ecstatic as her hair flowed through the wind, laughing as she pushed the gray mare to her top speed. The baroness actually had a private horse track on her property. Just one of the many excesses the rich had.

While the Duchess looked like a woman of around 25 and had the strength and vitality of one. Biologically she wasn’t. If one looked at her DNA it was simple enough to see the extent of her aging. The massive influx of living ether revitalizing and enhancing her tissues would likely sustain her youth for decades. While she was stronger and faster than an average woman of her height and build it wasn’t as extreme a change as I had expected. This was due to much of the evolution correcting her aged body. This meant that evolving someone in their prime would be the most efficient.

Regardless, she was an excellent test for what my abilities could do to the old. Other than looking at her DNA it was impossible to tell her true age. She was still, however, infertile due to being postmenopausal. I could figure out how to reverse this in time, but I had no interest in spending the effort. The duchess never had any children or interest in child rearing, so she figured not having her moon blood was a blessing in disguise.

After a final lap around the course, she eased her mare to a slow trot and headed towards me. I was watching her ride from the sidelines of the field. She approached, dismounted and agilely hooped over the small fence that surrounded the track. She was wearing tight white riding leathers; I couldn’t stop myself from appreciating my work.

As she approached, I smiled and said. “Well, what do you think of my work?”.

My work meant her body, once she realized that I could effect cosmetic changes easily she had asked for some adjustments. Usually in the chest and hips

“Excellent in every capacity.” She took the seat next to me and poured her own drink from a pitcher of juice that was sitting on the table between us.

After drinking the entirety of her drink, she continued. “The rest of our group is going to be fighting for their own enhancements once we finish our next meeting.”

She signaled to one of her servants that were standing off to the side waiting for orders.

“I finally managed to get my hands on that gift I mentioned.”

I raised an eyebrow and glanced over to the approaching servant noting he was carrying an ornate black pox. The servant approached, bowed and handed the box to the duchess.

“Since you intend on creating your own amplifier at some point it might as well be a powerful one. The gem you showed earlier is a bit underwhelming for someone of our power.”

She handed the box to me andI opened it. As expected there was a fist sized light attenuated etheric gem inside. It glowed brightly and one glance into the ether was enough for me to gauge its power. It was vaguely in the shape of a teardrop. It had to be the single most powerful gem I had ever seen. At least twice as powerful as Allyssia’s. Her’s, I estimated to be around a 5 times amplifier. This is much too large to fit on a gauntlet or a pendant.

So, I would have to resort to using it in a staff. The gem glowed so brightly that I could use it as a source of light at night. A gem of this quality is beyond rare, hell an amplifier with such a large gem would fetch hundreds of thousands of gelding. I smiled as I admired the gem. If people were going to call me Lightbearer I might as well carry an amplifier impressive enough to match the name.

“Well Duchess this is certainly a worthy gift.” I gave her a genuine smile and closed the box.

“Just be sure that I’m the first when you solve the issue of flying mounts.” She said,

That was never going to happen but she was free to believe that. Either way I considered my work with her a smashing success.Perhapse I was in the end selling myself rather cheaply. I shrugged and took another glance at the duchess enjoying the steady wind that blew through her hair. I can't wait for the meeting later tonight. Their reactions will be entertaining.

A few hours later.

The Duchess and were just pulling up to Denerif’s manor. We passed the gate and finally stopped at the entrance of his mansion. The duchess was wearing a dark blue dress that showed off her figure. I had largely been hiding in her mansion studying enchanting while the city went wild with speculation about my abilities. Even Benny couldn’t leave the manse without being hounded by mages and nobles that wanted access to my abilities.

There was a nameday celebration planned for Princess Morianne that I would be attending. So, at the Duchess's advice I remained inaccessible until my debut as it were. I didn’t really care regardless, my study in enchanting took up much of my time so I didn’t mind.

Every member of the cabal was standing outside waiting. I exited first and helped the duchess down the two steps. The collective gasp as she exited the carriage was pleasing to my ears. Gone was the elderly woman now, stood a young and beautiful Duchess Shorecast.

As we approached, I examined their faces. Denerif maintained his poise, Allyssia looked jealous and Halloway couldn’t stop himself from staring at her chest.

“I must say I underestimated your abilities, Moon. Your work is exceptional.” Halloway said shamelessly eyeing Shorecast’s assets.

“Eyes up here Halloway.” Shorecast teased.

“How long before you can perform this again?” Allyssia asked.

“A few months; it was a taxing process.” I lied.

Now that I had enough power to defend myself, I could be more open with my abilities without fear they would try to force the issue.But it was best to keep them hungry

“Very well, let’s continue the discussion in private.” Denerif said.

We entered the house in the main greeting room where there were over a dozen people. All guards, advisors and mages are in service to one of our group. Benny stayed behind to continue dual casting since she was convinced she was close.

Everyone eyed me as I passed, the cabal wanted to keep me isolated from others that would seek my gifts. This made my interactions with others limited, they had no way of actually stopping me if I wanted to. But absolute luxury and access to everything I could need either for my studies or entertainment, including women, were provided. I had nothing to complain about and so long I got what I wanted I was content with letting them play their game.

We entered the wine room and took our seats as usual.

Allyssia started. “The entire city is ablaze with questions about you. Even the Royal family is starting to push for answers.”

I have received very little in terms of request, so I guess they were handling it.

“What is your strategy to deflect the inquiries?” I asked.

Denerif answered, “Controlling information mostly. The belief is that you’re a unique mage with the ability to directly manipulate tissue. While it can heal more than a typical light spell. It is exhausting and largely best for cosmetic enhancement. That still is enough to set the nobility a flame but not enough to make people believe that your abilities will completely uplift the balance of power.”

Halloway continued after Denerif paused to wet this throat with a light wine. “As for Noire, after much effort on your part to recreate it has proven to be unsuccessful. And control of the beasts cannot be transferred. It is surmised that it would take years to replicate and longer to transfer control. Duchess Shorecast, is enhancement everything Moon has promised?”

“The pain was unimaginable but worth it. As he said I am as strong as I was at 20 and I’m growing stronger by the day. It should stabilize in a few weeks, by that point I will be far beyond what I was at that age. Every ache, pain, blemish and fragility due to my age has largely disappeared. I can’t imagine what would happen to a mage.” As she spoke, she removed one of her silk gloves. Extended and arm and flexed. You could see the strong muscles beneath perfect skin.

Halloway breathed in and exhaled in a rush. He looked at her flexed arm as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Allyssia, who was quite up to this point, said. “This is dangerous, absolute secrecy of the enhancement must be kept.”

“Agreed, it is best that there is an official story as to why I’m working with you and not anyone else.” I said.

Denerif responded. “That much is simple, we will use your greed as an excuse. It is well known you will work for coin, so I’ve made a modest donation to your account to support the idea. Few can match my wealth so that is one avenue that can keep blockaded.”

Allyssia’s eyes flicked over to Denerif, suspicious of the word donation. For a man as rich as him that probably meant a great fortune. Allyssia bit her lip in frustration. As the youngest and arguably least powerful member of the cabal she was losing ground. With Shorecast being the throughput for trade to the east she had access to many rare items that simple coin couldn’t get you.

Halloway has the largest population and the wealthiest mines. So rare material needed to learn and practice enchanting will come from him.

Halloway seemed satisfied with the situation asked. “We have one problem however, the imperial family. What if they start to make demands”

That brought concerned glances from everyone.

I chuckled and said. “Well, there is an easy answer here, I’m a royal elf and the emperor currently rules from my ancestor’s throne. It would be an insult to me to serve their conquerors would it not.”

Denerif rubbed his chin. “I suppose that could work. We just have made sure to present it in a way that implies that you have no interest in taking the throne for yourself but are still insulted by the idea of serving those that stole it from you.”

Allyssia added. “Then there is the matter of the elves. How will we handle their requests?”

“It is fortunate that two matriarchs have already tried to assassinate. I'll just deflect their inquiries under the guise that I cannot guarantee safety.” I said.

“How will we approach the Princesses nameday celebration? Every baron duke and viscount worth their salt will be attending. We can’t be too obvious with our alliance, and neither can we leave Moon too open.” Halloway said.

Allyssia smiled and said, “It's simple really, tell me Denerif, how far has the rumor of Moon and I’s dalliances spread.”

Denerif gave her a curious glance and said. “As far as to be discussed in the imperial palace. No one will try to dishonor you since you are a powerful mage and soon to be duchess. Even more so if Moon decided to defend your honor of his own accord.”

As he spoke the entire table started to understand where she was going.

Shorecast smiled and said, “You two will attend as an item, with your past dalliances being known it wouldn’t be too surprising. Though human elven relationships aren’t seen in the best of light in the empire.”

Denerif continued by saying, “In this case it would be in her favor. Moon is the last royal elven male, and in terms of raw power outclasses even princess Morianne. Now everyone is learning he is a unique mage, and rides an etheric beast, a feat which has never been done before. Even more so he is unattached and openly hostile to other elves.”

Halloway started to chuckle, “Someone with such power having eyes for a human woman would certainly be interesting. The royal family would be pleased his loyalties will remain with humanity. No one wants to consider what would happen if he reunited with Queen Sianna. If he recreates the etheric beasts on a large-scale, humanity wouldn’t stand much of a chance against it. It would be the rebirth of the Elven Dominion.”

He went from chuckling to openly laughing as another thought struck him. “There has never been an officially recognized elf and human marriage. I bet keeping Moon in Allyssia’s bed and out of Sianna’s is enough of a reason to make an exception. He’s far too powerful to kill without massive repercussions so taming him the more traditional way would be preferred.”

Now that was an amusing statement. I would never marry, mostly because I have no interest. But convincing the nobility that I have some world wind romance with Allyssia as a shield was an amusing idea.

Shorecast Smirked at me and asked, “What do you say Moon?Is this plan acceptable?”

I glanced over to Allyssia who was currently wearing a lovely black dress with gold embroidery and said. “Sure. We will have to make it convincing though. Perhaps we should go on a date.”

Allyssia seemed satisfied with her role in all this. Perhaps it is for the best that she believes she has an invaluable role in the cabal. Either way I was getting what I wanted. My mind focused on that etheric gem Duchess Shorecast gave me. I couldn’t wait until I mastered enchantment. I would make an amplifier that will pass into legend. And I will finally see the princess I heard so much about. I wonder if she is more or less than what the stories claim?