“Mind the smell everyone, this is a zombie. A zombie can be delegated to simple tasks and they can follow those that flow magic through them in what their orders might be like a familiar. Unlike a familiar it does not have a direct connection to your soul and thus will only follow orders and will not answer back if it didn’t understand them so its best to stick around to make sure they understood the order before returning to whatever studies they are doing. Don’t bother trying to teach one to prep a ritual spell as they will not only screw it up but will also get whatever fluids that are slowly decaying away. Once you have zombified or created a skeleton from a corpse you can no longer attempt to resurrect the individual as their flesh in magically sustained in a semi living state. We don’t know why only that we know it doesn’t work, continued studies into this will reveal more but for now that is what creating and maintaining undead is about. Now onto healing…” Professor Raine Vel’Stinar 1399, Necromancy 101

1509.04.14 Tomstar, Varsh

There were islands and fog in the distance, Nico’s borrowed spyglass gave him a clear view of the rocky islands he could finally see.

“Uhh Land Ho! Uhh…” The mageling checked his compass.

“Northwest!” Voice shouted below orders to direct the ship around the land and potential rocks.

“Pull north! Angle the port side ropes to catch wind! We gotta break through that fog or we are fucked!” Nico heard steps walk up, he knew his familiar wasn’t nearby but who he expected was not who ended up showing up. Captain Teratha simply held herself at the top of the mast ladder looking up at Nico.

“Oi, lad. Do you have a fire spell of any kind?” Nico got a shot of nervousness throughout his body.

“Uh, not.. Not one that is ready and I have only ever studied it. I have never actually cast it yet.” The dwarven captain gave him a curious look.

“Every wizard worth his salt can shoot fire, I may need you to get on it if the fog gets any thicker” The captain gave Nico a curious glare as she said this, nothing overly hostile.

“You told me to not use magic though?”

“You already broke that rule mageling, I trust you won’t burn down my ship.” Captain Teratha then affectionately started scratching the top of Sal’s head in their cat form. “I like you though, an seein’ you an Vick makes me smile. You are a smart lad, most of the other lads like how you help around our ship and you’ve been a decent spotter in the crow’s nest. You’ll figure it out mageling.” Captain Teratha then threw a small coin purse at Nico and quickly glided down a stay hopping onto the lower deck bannister and continued barking orders. Torches, lanterns and anything else that could stay lit, few candles from some of the more desperate and superstitious sailors.

Nico opened the coin purse to spy at least a dozen silver coins, he had never that much money just to himself before.

I couldn’t have even refused! What kind of Captain just throws money at people.

Nico then started down the rope ladder.

I’ll need a candle, wax balls, hemp string…

Nico silently marked off mentally what exactly he’d need to cast for the spell.

Now if I vapourize the wax as I throw it I should be able to figure this out, hopefully is doesn’t blow up in my face.

Nico chuckled at the dark thought and he prepared a space on a barrel to test his spell.

If I need to vapourize the wax perhaps I will attempt to force it through a dispersion.

Nico could only guess as what exactly he needed to do as a catalyst for such a spell.

Perhaps if I blend it into the wind, but then I would need a metal fan…

Nico thought for a few moments longer, now that his things were already unpacked upon the barrel. He didn’t want to just leave them here and he certainly didn’t want to pack them up again. Nico breathed an audible sigh.

“Vick! Are you around anywhere?” Nico’s eyes scanned the lower and upper decks, there was a flurry of motion and the fog had certainly gotten thicker. Vick was nowhere to be seen.

“Blast!” Nico rushed to the lower hulls to try and find an appropriate material to use. There sat a decorative looking metal fan, dark metal of some type. Small holes in the fan made it look like it was for ceremonial purposes but Nico didn’t notice any other engravings or markings on the fan to indicate anything that could confirm his suspicions.

Why else would it be hung if not be a decorative piece.

Nico silently shrugged to himself, and snatched the fan.

I’ll put it back when I am done, plus they need me to fix this problem right? I am sure they won’t mind.

Silently panicking as he ran back to the topside of the ship, the soft rocking of the moving vessel caused him to wobble somewhat. It has now been a week and a half being aboard now, Nico managed to catch himself as he nearly tripped. He’d been getting used to the changes in gravity for his stay on the ship but the odd large wave that crashed into the ship still managed to nearly knock him on his feet now and again. Nico stumbled back up to the top deck, the humidity having made the fog just a little bit heavy and opaque. The mageling rushed to where he’d left the wax balls and other supplies atop a barrels. To Nico’s dismay the barrel was toppled over and his supplies were long gone apart from two of the three wax balls and nothing else.

Oh shit!

“Its now or never Nico!” Nico could hear the captain’s voice but couldn’t really see her.

Couldn't have said that any better

Nico opened the fan and quickly grabbed the balls, then with the open fan he began to swipe it back and forth in a steady horizontal motion.

Ignar Aeros

The wax in front of Nico’s both melts and vapourizes, the gas released is then lit and a swirl of flamingo wind starts to pick up for a few moments. The fog seemingly supernaturally effected by the fire itself starts to get pulled into a small flaming cyclone that eventually begins to dissipate. One of the other sailors begins to bring Nico more chunks of wax, he’d silently hoped they had already formed the wax into spheres. Now he was going to more than likely end up with more hot wax in his hand; nevertheless, he began to try and burn away the smallest chunks first.

Ignar Aeros

Another cyclone was created, Nico noted that anything smaller than his pinky nail seemed to vapourise relatively completely with minimal liquid wax though there was of course still some due to the unorthodox sizes being used in his spell.

Ignar Aeros

Now they seemed to cut through the fog, a miniature eye being created as each cyclone was being created.

Ignar Aeros

Nico sweat more and more as each spell was being released, his right arm aching in spite of the minimal amount of time spent actually waving the catalyst.

Ignar Aeros

With each cast Nico could notice the the air seemed to spark wildly until it caught the fuel, then it immediately immolated and created each knew cyclone.

Ignar Aeros

They were finally out of the fog, Nico was about to cast again when he felt the captain put a rough hand on Nico’s shoulder. Nico could finally see the islands in the distance port side of the ship. Starboard side were more islands and unlike the ones to the southwest, these northeastern islands seemed to have hovering stormclouds.

“Ya did me proud mageling! Underpressure and everything and yee look as about as beat as a beastling’s asshole” The dwarf chuckled at their own joke. Nico was shaking with exertion and adrenaline, he’d never cast so many spells back to back.

I’m just going to ignore this, I probably need rest.

“You know that's a pirate haven to the north,” Vick had managed to appear seemingly out of nowhere, the captain gave them sort of a scowl and then a relenting grin shortly after.

“Oi? What this ye…” Captain Teratha’s voice trailed off, Nico noticed his left hand looked a little burnt though the real pain was coming from his right. The fan must’ve been something important as the dwarven woman caught Nico by the wrist and her grip caused him to immediately release it as the captain squeezed and sharp pains resonated from his hand.

“Yee can’t be having this! I’m not sure where you decided you found it but its been miss’n this entire trip! Where was this sticky fingers?”

“I am pretty surprised you didn’t find it I had ‘hidden’ it in the lower decks, sorta in plain sight.” The dwarf returned her glare to the dark elf grinning wildly.

“It t- t- was necessary for the spell I am sorry I needed a catalyst!”

“This was me husbands wand, if yee think I can let you off without gett’n at least a lashing then yar mistake’n kids.” Nico felt his very tired heart sink, he looked to Vick who just had balled fists and look of hatred on their faces.

“You always do this! If it was anyone else’s thing that saved the ship you’d just be happy the ship wasn’t lost to the bloody fog.”

“Yar right! However sharp ears yee are wrong if yee think this lets you off, the mageling saved the ship. Yee can’t skin an ass without getting it backwards.”

“If that was in its display case when this was happening Nico would’ve never found it and thus your junk ass ship would be washing up on rocks with gods’ know what hunting us.” Teratha simply let go of Nico, leaving the catalyst untouched as she stormed off. Vick simply stuck out their tongue behind their back as they left. Nico picked up the fan again, looking at it in the light here you could really tell it was some kind of wand now. When closed the fan just looked like the world’s plainest iron wand, when fanned out Nico recognized just how much utility you cast any kind of fire or plasma spell and began to wonder why Oakarn relied on just using materials whenever he would cast spells. Nico realised Vick was staring at him, seemingly expecting some kind of response.

How did I miss what they said!

“Hey are you listening? We should probably give that back now, otherwise the Captain will eventually have our heads.”

“Sorry yeah, of course.” Nico waited in silence as they marched towards the captain’s quarters.

“That must be why the spell worked so well,”

“Huh?”

“It was fluid, it worked beautifully,”

“Well some mages prefer old catalysts, especially for mageokinetic spells like this. Material from wands like these slowly leave the wand through the spell because they don’t necessarily care what gets deposited.” Nico closed his eyes as he recounted Oakarn’s lesson.

“What?”

“I set about turning wax into gas to burn with each swipe I made,”

“You made cyclones though!”

“It shouldn’t have, but this catalyst is older and more then likely more attuned to magic from its multiple castings of the years. There could be any number of hidden glyphs or whatever else, it makes sense because if I was combusting fuel any hotter I could’ve burned the ship.” Nico scratched the back of his head trying to make sense of the trouble he was in.

“You still saved the ship and more then likely us,”

“Not much good if the boat sinks from being on fire.”

“So between death and death then? Somehow we lived? Gods’ are smiling at us and we refuse to take their blessing?” Vick had managed to turn around in that moment, planting an arm on one side of the wall. Vick wasn’t much taller than Nico but the shock of the motion had somehow trapped Nico in between him and the door to the captain’s chambers.

“Vick! Why do you keep doing that?” Nico normally didn’t like feeling like they couldn’t get away, something was different when Vick did it and the mageling wasn’t sure why that was.

“Because I like you mageling, now let’s get your ass out of the fire eh?” Vick held out their other hand. Nico put the wand in Vick’s hand and then the dark elf pushed away from the wall. Knocking on the portculous of the doorway.

“Just wait here Nico, this’ll blow over.” Vick then took a few calming breathes before raising their fist again to knock.

“Just get yar ass in here, ain’t got time for begg’n.” Vick opened the door and closed it behind them leaving Nico to wait out whatever the inevitable might be.