“It’s strange,” explained Roland. “When I try to reflect on the memories that I received from the telepathy orb, they’re obscured in a way that my own experiences aren’t.” He looked at Eliza’s hand, still wounded from his fight with Stanky. “Whoever I am anymore.” He clenched his fist.

“But when I saw that ursine creature, or simply looked around Charredweb Manor, pieces from what is now I suppose my past suddenly became clear. With those triggers, the memories were no longer muddled abstractions but now a representation of physical reality. Perhaps other visual cues will give me more detailed knowledge, although I don’t know how relevant such ancient memories will be to defeating the Chosen.”

Roland looked over at Nick. They had only been on the road for about half an hour, but he was already asleep.

“Are you listening?”

Nick woke up, “Uh sure. You were telling me about your memories.” He sniffed. “You just remembered the time Eliza got caught practicing kissing with her schoolgirl friend. The headmistress decided to punish both of you herself. She made you completely undress for the spanking, right?”

“No,” said Roland. “This is less titillating but far more exciting. Take the reins for a second.” Roland reached into the bag that was behind his seat. He pulled out the hidden book from the Serene Castle library.

“Ugh,” said Nick when he saw what Roland wanted to discuss.

“Indeed,” smirked Roland. “I can now read this.”

Opening the book to the first page, he now fully understood the previously incomprehensible symbols. It was as if he had spent his entire childhood learning this forgotten language.

Nick looked over and adjusted his glasses. He squinted at the text and read it out loud.

“The Asymmetry of Magic: Reversible and Irreversible Phenomena in Magic and Their Connection to Our Physical World.” Nick leaned back. “Sounds like a riot. Was he trying to hit a word count with that title?”

Roland was shocked, “You can read that!?”

“Sure, I was forced to learn Maydoinet when I was a kid. Brutal. Fortunately, those lessons were in the afternoon, and I’d always smoke up after lunch. So, credit to my ingenuity, I survived. Really, though, there’re only two types of people that defend that language: native speakers — all of which have been dead for three thousand years — and pretentious assholes.”

Roland hadn’t even considered that Nick might have been able to read the hidden book. Embarrassed, he put his head down and started to go through the pages as Nick drove the wagon towards Valdt.

***

Whatever excitement he may have had slowly turned to disappointment and frustration as he began to go through the text. While a thin book with only about 50 pages of writing, the text itself was incredibly dense. Most of it involved a very technical discussion of the Magicka Flux. The first paragraph of the book summarized what Roland already knew: that the Magicka Flux was an unseen force that mages would tap into in order to fuel their spells. The source of this phenomenon in Relmgard was the Duality Gate, the portal to the World of Darkness. However, after the Chosen sealed the portal by creating the Twinned Barrier, the Flux ceased to permeate Relmgard and magic stopped working.

Beyond this introduction, the rest of the book was very technical. It explained that although the Magic Flux is sometimes thought of as a ‘power’ or an ‘energy’ it is neither. Rather, it was a field that was produced from a current that circulated between both ends of the Duality Gate. The ‘Flux’ part of its name was entirely appropriate, its intensity could be quantified by the strength of its field lines through a surface area. There were equations in the text, although they were all written out in words rather than common mathematical symbols. It didn’t much matter. Roland barely knew any math beyond addition and subtraction, so concepts like curl and divergence were completely foreign to him.

Interspersed throughout this tedious analysis were some genuinely interesting pieces of information regarding cantrips and their connection to reagents. Apparently, certain materials can act as weak sources for Magicka Flux as they contain ‘magicka charge.’ When this charge is consumed or, more technically, ’put in motion’ during the spell casting process they create a local Magicka Flux that is strong enough to enable weak spells. Christoph tried to explain this using an analogy involving electric charge travelling through a wire, but Roland knew nothing about electricity and magnetism, so this was in no way clarifying. What was insightful was that the reagents themselves were unimportant to the cantrip, only the amount of charge that they contained. However, Christoph warned that if a reagent with too much magicka charge was used in a spell, the results could be catastrophic to the caster. In the final part of this discussion, Christoph went on to speculate that the reason why magical items and weapons still function in Relmgard is because they have their own persistent Magicka Flux. Christoph thought that, within their structure, these items likely contain permanently circulating magicka charge. Thus, they can indefinitely support a local flux, unlike consumable reagents where the created flux is a transient phenomenon.

Based on the reasoning presented here, it likely meant that some part of Roland’s own being contained circulating magicka charge. What else could explain his ability to use weak cantrips without reagents? This revelation didn’t elicit much of a response from Roland. Yes, it was interesting, but it really didn’t change much. Roland thought this book would contain knowledge that he could apply immediately. Why else would it be written it a language that was so old it might as well have been code? Instead, he had only discovered explanations for things that were beyond his control. Perhaps he was being too pragmatic, but the further into the book he got, the more disappointed he began to feel. The only useful thing he had learned was that reagents in spell casting were interchangeable as, fundamentally, there is only one kind of magicka charge. There was no ambiguity on this point as Christoph stated it explicitly. While this could potentially be useful for improvising powerful cantrips in the future, it also seemed risky given the warnings Christoph mentioned.

Disappointment changed to confusion as Roland reached the last few pages of the book. The formal, considered writing style from earlier was abandoned and Christoph’s prose took on a breathless tone. If it weren’t for the identical penmanship, one would assume that the closing passages were written by another person. Christoph excitedly wrote about predictions that could be made using his derived equations. First, he emphasized how directionality was a central feature of his Magicka Flux formalism. He then discussed the implications of this: All of the equations are valid in reverse. However, magnitude becomes inverted when going in the opposite direction. So, in reverse, weak spells are strong and strong spells are weak. This is the asymmetry of magic.

That note, punctuated by several exclamation points, ended the book.

Roland didn’t know what to make of this abrupt conclusion. Christoph’s writing implied that asymmetry was an important discovery, but he provided no examples. What does it even mean for a spell to be cast in reverse?

***

The two of them stopped for the night at lodge that was not far from the Valdt border. It was a woodland resort that wealthy people from the nearby city-state would vacation at. The atmosphere was much more ‘family friendly’ than the inns, taverns, and brothels that they had been frequenting up until this point. After their encounter at the Wanderlust Inn, they both agreed that Roland should wear a disguise when they’re not alone. Nick helped him tie Eliza’s long hair into a bun and also gave him his second pair of glasses to wear. They had brown rims and, once Roland took out the lenses, he barely noticed that he had them on. “What a transformation,” said Nick. “Now instead of an underage prostitute that dresses up like the Queen of Serene, you look like an underage prostitute that dresses up like a domineering librarian.”

Roland hadn’t spoken much since he had finished reading the book. He was still trying to process the consequences of what he had learned and wasn’t making any progress.

As he flipped through the book at dinner, Nick pointed at it and asked, “Another tome to add to the Maydoinet canon?”

“Huh?” mumbled Roland as he emerged from his reflective stupor.

“A real ‘must read’ I take it?” continued Nick. “Anything useful?”

“Seems to be a treatise on the fundamental properties of the Magicka Flux. Very detailed, but I don’t really understand most of it. Also, I don’t see how the knowledge of something that no longer exists in Relmgard will be helpful.” Roland put the book away. “I guess I thought it would have more practical information, like how the Twinned Barrier worked or how to defeat the Hero of Relmgard. Whatever I was expecting, this wasn’t it.”

“Great, now when I don’t read it, I’ll know I didn’t miss out on anything.”

“Although Christoph is really keen on the direction of magic. He seems to think that the strength of a spell gets inverted, or something like that, if it’s cast backwards. He calls it the asymmetry of magic. Unfortunately, this is the one subject where he chooses to be terse, so I don’t understand his ideas. Maybe he didn’t want to be too explicit with his discovery in case the wrong person found this book?” Roland though out loud, “I guess if cantrips really are the weakest magic, if one was used in reverse, it would be extremely powerful. That doesn’t make much sense, though. How would I cast a spell in reverse?”

“A lot of magic is just theatrics for edgelords. You know, a crutch for people with no personalities. So maybe it’s something dumb like looking into a mirror while casting the spell? Or saying the power words backwards? Just think of the antithesis of nuance and you’ll have your answer.”

“I doubt it. If it was that simple, someone would have accidentally discovered it earlier. Cantrips have been around for millennia. It’s only relatively recently that they stopped working. Also, the only reasonable interpretation from the earlier parts of the book is that if you were to apply the principle to a cantrip, the effect would have to precede the cause. That is the only way for the equations to be satisfied in reverse. Of course, that’s useless — if it even makes any sense!” Exasperated, he continued. “For a cantrip, it would mean that an action in the physical world would result in a ‘more powerful’ visualized thought or silly rhyme. Pure nonsense!”

Roland could hear how unhinged he was starting to sound. He decided to change the subject, “How’s your bear cutlet anyway?”

“Mmm… gamey but sweet,” replied Nick. He had been thrilled that the lodge served bear and had insisted that they order it to celebrate the outcome of their recent encounter.

***

Roland didn’t say much more during their dinner at the main lodge. When he returned to the large chalet that they had rented for the night, he started to anxiously walk around the living room, thinking about what he had read while becoming more irritated with every step. He lost track of time and only snapped out of this obsessive pacing when he heard Nick stumbling through the door. He had just returned from wherever he went after dinner and for some reason was covered in sweat. Now extremely annoyed, Roland looked for any excuse to start an argument to vent his frustrations. What caught his eye was the wrapped painting that Nick had brought in from the wagon when they first arrived. They had been travelling with it since Dire Fortress, and Nick had refused to talk about it.

“Are you gonna show me that thing anyways?” shouted Roland as he aggressively pointed at the painting.

“That?” replied Nick. “Oh sure, have a look.”

Nick dried himself off and then went over and began unwrapping the many layers of bundling that covered the painting. When he was done, he leaned it against the best lit wall in the chalet. Roland calmed down as he stared at it, trying to understand what he was looking at. The composition was pleasing enough, but there was nothing on the canvas that warranted Nick’s secrecy or explained why Mallory needed it in Valdt.

“It’s just a bunch of abstract shapes and colours,” said Roland.

“Is it?” smirked Nick. “Hold on.”

He went to his room and came back with a small cylindrical lamp that he must have been carrying in his bag. When lit, it gave off a feint bluish light. Using the lamp like a wand, Nick waved it back and forth near the surface of the painting. New, iridescent colours began to appear. After a few minutes, Nick turned off the lamp and stood back.

Roland stared in amazement. The mundane painting had changed into one of the most grotesque depictions that he had ever seen.

“Is this a joke?” asked Roland. “That’s disgusting.”

“It will certainly get a reaction,” said Nick, who seemed very pleased with himself.

“Well, there’s no denying your gift as an artist — even with such crude subject matter.” Roland continued to stare in amazement. “I read a book once that claimed great art is supposed to evoke a strong emotional response. Measured by that statement, this is certainly an exceptional piece. Although I’m not sure that I’d count the urge to vomit as an emotion.”

“Thanks, buddy,” smiled Nick. “My greatest fear when I decided to become an artist was that I’d be forced to make a living doing caricatures at children’s parties. Now I know that I can always make bank doing doing commissions for perverts with too much spare gold.”

The glowing strokes began to dim, and the painting returned to its more nondescript state.

“By the way, did you recognize her?” asked Nick, as he started to wrap up the painting again.

“Should I?”

“Eliza and Christoph would.”

“She’s one of the Chosen?”

“Yes. It’s Sera Stormwright.”

In books about the Heroic Age, Sera was described as a powerful wizard who could summon magical creatures to fight alongside her companions. She was originally from the Caurane Isles, a desolate archipelago far to the west of Valdt. However, that’s not what Roland immediately thought of when Nick said her name. Instead, he recalled what Talon had told them over two years ago: That Sera destroyed the city of Telos simply because she was unhappy that Edwin and Louisia were going to honeymoon there. If that was true, then Roland had a pretty good idea of Mal and Nick were planning in Valdt.

“She’ll be in Valdt?” asked Roland. “And she’s going to see this?”

Nick nodded to both questions.

“I doubt her critique will be as favourable as mine.”

“I think we can count on that,” said Nick.

“It seems foolish to toy with someone so volatile,” said Roland. “If we believe Talon’s story, she committed mass murder to spite an ex-lover.”

“She does sound like a bit of a firecracker.”

“Well, that’s an understatement.” Roland assumed that they were going to use the painting to take advantage of Sera’s apparent impulsive and rage-prone personality. “Using anger to try and manipulate someone that’s so unpredictable.” He shook his head. “That’s going to be a huge gamble, no matter how much you’ve prepared.”

Roland went over and helped Nick finish wrapping up the rest of the painting. He was about to ask for more details about their plan, but as he was handling the frame, a new thought came to mind. Something that he should have put together sooner.

“You know, at dinner I said that if utilizing the asymmetry of magic was possible, someone would have accidentally discovered it long ago.”

Nick remained silent, not really eager to hear more rambling on this topic.

“Well, what if someone did discover it by accident, but they didn’t actually realize it? If what you told me back at Dire Fortress was accurate, your normal magical ability — while novel — was fairly weak, right? The images that you painted came to life but didn’t exist for long in the physical world. However, when you used your power in reverse, it was extremely powerful. You were able to imprison yourself and Mal for over a century. That’s incredible.”

“You’d count what I did then as ‘painting in reverse’?” asked Nick, reluctantly engaging Roland on this subject.

“As far as the asymmetry principle is concerned? Yes, I would. In the forward case, your picture becomes reality. In the reverse case, reality becomes the picture. You don’t actually paint ‘backwards.’ That would be idiotic, even for magic. I believe what you did satisfies the relations that Christoph lays out in his book.”

“So, what’s a cantrip in reverse then?”

“I have no idea,” laughed Roland, pleased with his breakthrough. “But your example at least gives me a handle that I can use to investigate the problem further. Very exciting.”

“Cool stuff my man,” said Nick as he put on his boots to leave.

“You’re going out now? It’s almost midnight. Also, where did you disappear to after dinner and why were you so sweaty when you came back?”

“Shiela was showing me around the facilities here.”

“Shiela?”

“The busty hostess from dinner. Thought you were a tit man? How’d you miss her? Anyways, can you believe that she’d never had sex in a sauna before? I hadn’t in a while myself, and it’s more of a workout than I remembered. Honestly, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish, but I bent her over the cedar bench and powered through.”

As he had done many times during this trip, Roland gave Nick one of Eliza’s death stares. “I’m sorry, did you mistake me for Jace when you opened your mouth right now?”

“Of course not, that was actually a pretty sanitized version of what happened. Also, Jace would high-fived me before I finished that story. Or asked me some weird question about her areolas.” Nick flinched when he said that but quickly got back to his account. “So afterwards Shiela told me that there’s a group of wealthy college girls up from Valdt that are staying in one of the chalets. I was just over there and they’re down to get down. We’re all heading up to the lake to smoke some golden herb and skinny dip. Pretty low-key affair.” He paused for a moment as he reconsidered this statement. “Although college girls on a break are always game for experimenting, so I won’t go in with too many preconceptions.”

“I guess I won’t be the only one who’s engaged in research tonight,” scoffed Roland as he started to head back to his room. He was planning on re-reading the entire book tonight.

“You know what,” said Nick. “Why don’t you come? You’ve been fixating on that book since the sun came up, I’m sure whatever diminishing returns you’ll get by pulling an all-nighter will be a rounding error in your overall progress.”

It was true that the only breakthrough that Roland actually had today was during a moment where he stopped thinking about the Magicka Flux and helped Nick put his painting away. He took off his glasses and undid his hair bun. Even if it wasn’t dark out, he probably wouldn’t need his disguise with this crowd.

He smiled at Nick, “I could understand why a bunch of college girls would want to hang out with me. But why would they want to hang out with you?”

“Because I have the best drugs,” said Nick as he grabbed his lute. “Now let’s go.”