Chapter 23: Experimenting

Placing a newly carved mannequin into the center of the garden, Tobi walked back to the table and opened his borrowed copy of the Origin of Magic. It had not quite been what he was expecting, but it still had a good section on Arcane magic.

The book actually turned out to be written by a heretic and belonged to one of seven volumes. That much he found out by inspecting the book and reading the information window. He also found out the other six books were banned and any that were found had been burned. They contained knowledge of forbidden magic apparently.

The full information wasn’t provided, but he at least got enough information to know a bit of the history. An order of mages constructed a tower at the edge of Whispering Wood a century before the great war. Things were more chaotic back then but still relatively peaceful...all things considered. That was until one of their order went mad with power and used his blood magic to unlock necromancy. It had been one of the turning points that resulted in the great war.

With the other volumes having information on Blood Magic, they were destroyed and so was the Order. The seven volumes were created by the only surviving member. What happened after that he would have to look up some other time because there was not much else written about it in the book.

One thing Tobi did learn that interested him, was that the order believed all magic originated from the same place. What they couldn’t figure out was how. The best they could do was break it down into two separate trees, but they weren’t always sure on which tree of magic the branch belonged to. Some of the order disagreed but the majority were convinced. The reason had been the essence of both trees of magic.

The first magic tree was Divine and contained almost everything to do with life. The second was Arcane and belonged to everything that wasn’t life. Some argued that necromancy belonged to Arcane, as they were animated the lifeless. Some believed it was Divine, as they were granting life to the dead. It got very complicated very fast.

The unfinished conclusion regarding the origin of all magics stated that Arcane Magic and Divine Magic were complete opposites. Each had equal strength and power with the ability to destroy each other. For that reason, Tobi agreed with the minority and concluded they could not stem from the same pool of magic.

Regardless of all their research, Tobi was definitely planning to search for the other volumes. If any still existed, he had to find them. The book hinted at Arcane mages being able to use any branch of magic that belonged to the same tree. Same for Divine mages, they could use any magic belonging to the tree. The reverse however was not necessarily true. Elements belonged in the Arcane tree, yet they could not always learn Arcane magic.

That meant there was a possibility Tobi could learn elemental magic. He just had to master Arcane first.

Mastering his magic was on his list of things to do anyway—the possibility to learn other forms of magic only encouraged him further. He immediately went to Selene and asked what her magical affinities were. Apparently it had started as just Divine but she had no way of knowing how to use it so she sought out the Church. From there she learned Healing and Life magic, but still didn’t know what the Divine meant.

He asked her about Divine being the opposite of Arcane too, but she wasn’t fully sure. One thing she did know was that Dragons were the opposites of Gods. The Gods used Divine Magic and the Dragons used Arcane. None of that explained what the book claimed though so he filed the information away to study later. Had he known magic was so interesting, he’d have probably lived in a library for a year instead of as a baker.

Returning the mannequin anxiously, Tobi repeated what the book said. In truth, it wasn’t much different to what Vallen told him: Arcane magic has the ability to do whatever you can imagine. Vallen had warned him about an Elf that spent a lifetime trying to use her Arcane magic to fly. He had wanted to show that it wasn’t capable of making dreams a reality. The book however worded it differently. I made him think of the Green Lantern.

Standing at the center of the garden and remembering a scene where the Green Lantern created a minigun from his ring, Tobi directed his mana to his hands and attempted the same thing. He wasn’t really sure it would work but he was too excited about the possibility to resist trying. He hadn’t forgot that arcane magic was invisible either, so he included the image of the gun being green.

As magic flowed from his hands, Tobi concentrated with everything he had. He didn’t really know how the minigun worked so he was mostly trying to replicate how it looked.

The magic didn’t turn green like he expected, but it did turn a dark grey and start forming the shape of the weapon. At first his mana flowed steadily but as the gun began taking form, it drained quicker. Before he knew it, his mana poured out so fast he barely had chance to stop before it emptied completely.

Ah. Tobi thought with realization, It’s just like when I tried to make an Enchanters glyph in the air.

The mana at first only attempted to make the guns appearance, so it had been pouring out slowly. To continue to make the shape while also maintaining it, the flow of mana increased. Before long, the mana required to maintain the gun and construct it was too much too fast; he didn’t even complete a quarter of it before his mana depleted.

Even if I had 10,000 mana, I doubt I could create a minigun. That was just too much. I bet the Elf did the same. She probably tried to create mana wings or something but couldn’t sustain them no matter how much mana she had.

Staring at his almost completely empty mana, Tobi tried to think of something simpler to attempt. Something that wouldn’t drain his mana so fast that he could actually end up killing himself. Something that didn’t need to be sustained over a period of time.

Walking back into the house to make some Lemon Tea for faster mana replenishment, Tobi nodded to the man that had been following them all day. After they’d returned to the house, Tobi sneaked out the back, climbed over fences and dropped behind him in the alley. After successfully sneaking up behind him with his glowing blue eyes and hood up, he happily scared the wits out of him before inviting him over.

At first the man declined the invite, but agreed after Tobi noted how much easier it would be to keep an eye on them if he was in the same building.

“Going to make some tea, want some?”

“I will have one!” Selene shouted from the other room. She was still teaching the Talin how to read but it sounded like they were having much more fun with it than earlier.

“Do you know how to make Rooibos Tea?” the man replied. He’d still not given his name despite his willingness to enter the house.

Surprised by the request, Tobi looked in the cupboard for the leaves. He had once thought of Lybernia as the Aevitas counterpart to Africa, but he didn’t expect them to have the Rooibos plant—otherwise known as South African red bush.

“I don’t think we have any of the leaves…” Tobi finally answered as he found a multitude of herbs used for making various types of tea. His Alchemy level was low but he still knew the tea leaves thanks to his cooking skill, “What kind of effect does it have? I haven’t tried it before.”

“Rooibos tea? Relaxes your muscles and relieves tension. Good for regenerating your energy levels but without the side effects of other energy drinks.”

“Side effects?” Tobi replied as he pulled out the ingredients for lemon tea. Even if he wanted to try other types now that he had the ingredients, what he really needed was mana replenishment.

“Yeah. There is a small food house in the slums that serves addictive drinks to their customers. They give you a good rush of energy and a few minutes of increased abilities, but after it wears off—you crash. Everything you gained for those five minutes, you lose double for the next fifteen.”

Hmm. Not my cup of tea. Tobi mused to himself, If you pardon the pun, haha.

Smiling to himself as he put the kettle over the stove and lit the flame underneath, he called into the main room to see if the Talin wanted a drink too.

“Eff. Oh. Oh. Dee. Food.”

Popping his head through the door with amusement, Tobi looked to the Talin, “Pee. Elle. E. A. Ess. E. Please.”

“Em—”

“—Meat, yes, I know.” Tobi replied cutting him off with a smile, “Don’t expect me to sit around all day talking in letters. Nice work though, you’re learning pretty quick.”

The Talin nodded with a satisfied puff of his chest.

Chuckling a little, Tobi returned to the kitchen to prepare everything. Even though it would take longer to make food, it would give his mana some extra time to replenish itself.

When he was finally done with the cooking and stood back in the garden, he didn’t even need to drink the tea, his mana was already full. Putting it to the side for after he’d done some spellcasting, he tried to think of what to do for a spell. All the ideas that came to his mind first required a constant stream of mana to sustain it; like making a sword out of pure magic on the end of his wand. The second idea was a shield to block spells, but that would also take too long to make and use up his mana too fast.

Come on Tobi...all this brain power and no imagination. Wait; wouldn’t it take a lot of mana for an elemental to create those streams of fire or miniature earthquakes and stuff? What do they do differently?

Puzzling over elementals for a moment, he wondered if that was a clue as to why elementals couldn’t use Arcane magic. Convinced he’d worked something out, he added it to the ‘research folder’ in his mind and moved on. What he needed was something like the spells he already had.

Lions Roar was a blast of magic from his mouth but it only damaged wood. Arcane Strike was a blast of magic from his hands...but could really come from anywhere he focused the magic. The third spell in his arsenal was Arcane Void, pretty much the same as Lions roar but damaged everything except wood. The one thing they had in common was the simple blast of magic that concentrated however much mana he put into the spell.

He didn’t bother including Elven carpentry, but he did briefly remember a time where he blew the mortar from around some brick. What he knew about Lions Roar wouldn’t have let him do that. Probably something he should add to the research later file, but at the present moment he didn’t care and focused only on the spells he could use in a fight.

“What would a mage use as an offensive spell.” he murmured to himself as he stared at the mannequin he made.

The only thought that really came to mind was throwing a fireball. Moulding his thoughts into imagining an invisible ball of magic and throwing that instead, Tobi gathered the mana in his hand and made a throwing motion.

Nothing happened.

Trying again several more times and thinking of the scene where spiderman tried to use his webbing for the first time, he gave up. All his spells were learned by accident or sheer dumb luck. Considering they consisted of three spells and Elven Carpentry, it wasn’t really that much. He had to be missing something.

Returning to the book and re-reading about a spell most Arcane Novices attempted, Tobi went to his staff and picked it up. The spell wasn’t really offensive magic but it had a good practical use. The idea was to charge a staff with mana—or more precisely, coat it with mana whilst holding it. With the weapon fully covered in a thin layer of mana, you could direct your spells through it. It was essentially the same thing he did with his wand when he accidentally blew up a butterfly.

The difference with the spell described in the book was what what you did with the mana once you were prepared.

Taking the staff and channeling mana through it like the day he created it, Tobi followed the instructions written in the book. He concentrated on the mana becoming a permanently active spell. A spell that would make the staff return to him if he called for it.

After the mana settled and seemed to take effect, Tobi put the staff down and walked a few feet away, “Come.”

Nothing happened.

“Staff. Staff come. Come to me. Accio Staff… piece of crap.”

Sighing, Tobi returned to the book and read it again.

Note: Make sure you give the spell (or weapon) a name. Must use magic to call the weapon to your hand. Distance has its limits. Unknown how to extend or reduce said distance. Must be looking at the weapon when you call for it. Some believe it helps if your hand is extended and mana is gathered in the receiving hand.

“Duh.” Tobi muttered to himself and went to pick the staff back up. He’d not tried to name the spell or the staff. Nor had he applied magic to his command or his hand.

Applying the magic again and taking the staff’s pride into consideration, he called the staff Adonis. He doubted the staff was really alive but the information when inspected did warn against offending the staff so maybe it did have some sense of self. Tobi also doubted the staff knew what Adonis meant or who Adonis was, but he still chose the name he thought most appropriate.

Moving a few feet away from the staff again, Tobi gathered mana in his hand and his throat, “Adonis.”

Nothing happened.

Staring at the staff with annoyance, Tobi wondered if it was impossible after all. He moved closer and tried again. With his hand not more than an inch away from the staff, he called ‘Adonis’ once more. The staff did shake a little but that could have just been the wind, so he tried again. The staff shook once more.

Hmm. Maybe it heard me call it a piece of crap. — “Adonis means handsome you know? He was a figure of beauty and desire. He was so powerful, he was considered half god. Doesn’t that make you happy, Adonis?”

As soon as Tobi finished his statement, the staff flew with surprising force into his hand. Smiling, Tobi stroked the staff with his other hand, “Good man. Shall we try again from further away?”

Counting five feet, Tobi did the same again. He gathered the mana in his voice and hand before calling out the name Adonis.

The staff seemed to struggle as it shook, but eventually it broke free from gravity’s grasp and flew to his outstretched hand. Overly pleased with himself, Tobi put the staff back down and moved six feet away.

He’d been about to call the staff a second time when something hit the fence behind him. Spinning around to look with his heart pounding, Tobi stared at the empty space. The fence rattled again and Tobi took a reflexive step back.

“Adonis!” Tobi called with quiet urgency and an outstretched hand. He’d not looked back at the staff though and nothing happened. Realizing his mistake, his head snapped around and he called the staff again with more urgency. Even if he could fight without it, he would look more imposing with the staff in his hand. Besides, if all else failed, he could just whack whatever it was with the staff itself.

The moment the staff reached his hand, a panel of the fencing fell forward and crashed to the floor.

“Stop right there.” Tobi commanded raising the end of the staff up to the intruder’s face.

“Tobi?”

“Darien?”

---

Helping Darien through the back door as he held his chest and limped, Tobi called for Selene, “You, open the door.”

The man that had been watching them all day jumped up and rushed to the living room door, “Darien, sir...what happened?”

Darien shook his head and said nothing.

Selene arrived at the door almost at the same time as Tobi and Darien, “Put him on the sofa. Get his top off.”

Tobi obliged as the Talin moved out of the way and shifted the table he was working at. Papers with scruffy writing scattered across the floor as he shoved everything aside.

Putting his staff beside the door as Selene grabbed his other side and helped guide him to the sofa, she asked him what happened.

“Assassin. I am fine, no need for all the fuss.”

Despite the words, the rough croak that came out of his voice didn’t sound like he was fine at all.

“Wasn’t Lee with you?” Dariens spy called as he followed them into the living area.

“He was. Lee is dead.”

“Bubele won’t be happy.”

Darien didn’t reply and only grunted as he took his seat and allowed Tobi to lift off his top.

“Looks like cracked ribs.” Tobi noted as he looked at the severe bruising.

Selene nodded and moved in front of him, “Must have been badly wounded. Who healed you?”

“An old friend.”

“He isn’t a healer though.” Selene replied. It wasn’t a question.

“Not a healer.”

“How did he heal you?”

“No idea. I died for a moment, that’s all I know. Can you fix it?”

Selene shook her head, “I don’t know. I can feel the magic that was used to heal you.”

“That’s not normal?” Tobi asked, not sure how healing worked at all.

“Not normal? It’s impossible. The magic is literally inside his skin.”

“I think it was blood magic.” Darien confessed with a worried look in his eye. The way he looked fearfully at Selene sent a chill through Tobi but Selene seemed to relax a little.

“Oh, is that all?”

Without another word, Selene raised her hands to his chest and whispered a spell. She whispered it so fast, Tobi couldn’t even understand what she said. As her hands started to glow, the bruises grew darker and the sound of bones snapping filled the room.

Wincing at the sight and wondering what kind of healing Selene was doing, Tobi was amazed Darien hadn’t started screaming. And then he did.

Seconds later, the bones stopped their horrible noises and the bruises began to get lighter. Darien didn’t look well at all but as he took a few breaths and Selene wiped sweat from his brow, he thanked her with more gratitude than Tobi believed Darien was capable of.

“That—did not look pleasant.”

“I bet it wasn’t,” Selene answered looking back at Tobi, “I just had to set his ribs. I haven’t used that level of healing in a long time.”

“How does it work?” Tobi asked as he watched Darien put his top back on.

“I have been thinking about this for a while,” Darien interrupted with his usual aura of authority returning, “but you’re not a Priest, are you?”

Surprised, Tobi wasn’t quite sure himself. He was a prophet, a man of god—so to speak; but he didn’t have any of the usual spells and abilities that people of the faith had.

“When you shoved the staff in my face in the garden, I was convinced. I haven’t felt a chill of fear like that in many years. I honestly felt like I might die if I moved.”

Pleased, Tobi smiled, “I don’t know what I am, but I am pretty sure I’m not a priest. I can’t use healing magic. At least, I don’t think I can and I shouldn’t be able to.”

“Shouldn’t be able to?”

“Don’t think you can?”

Selene and Darien asked their questions at the same time so Tobi didn’t know which one to answer first. He decided on Selene as his loyalties were with her.

“I don’t think I can, no. To use healing spells I have to be aligned with the Divine, right? Well I am aligned with the Divine, so I am unsure. Having said that, I shouldn’t be able to because I use Arcane magic.”

Both Selene and Darien frowned but the Talin had a look that didn’t seem to care. Magic was lost on him anyway due to his race.

“How can you be aligned with the Divine if you’re Arcane?” Darien finally asked.

“Is this why you asked about Arcane and Divine being opposites at the library?” Selene added.

“One at a time. Yes, that is partly why I asked at the library, but no, not really. I asked because the book said they were opposites and I remembered an old saying: Opposites attract. I am Arcane, you are Divine. But the book also said Arcane and Divine have the ability to destroy each other. I was wondering if I was a danger to you and concluded I wasn’t.

And Darien...I don’t know. That’s why I don’t know what I am. I am aligned with both Arcane and Divine, but to the best of my knowledge, I can’t use Divine magic.”

Silence filled the room as Selene and Darien considered what Tobi said. The only one that didn’t look deep in thought was the Talin. Tobi had completely forgot about the spy in the back of the room though.

“Can I see an Arcane spell?” The spy asked, reminding everyone of his presence.

All eyes looked to Tobi.

“You’ve seen me use it plenty of times. Elven Carpentry is Arcane magic.”

Nobody moved as all of them continued to stare at him expectantly.

“Fine.” He finally said and looked around the room. Spotting the staff he had put by the door on his way in, Tobi held out his hand, “Adonis.”

Quick as a whip, the staff flew from where it leaned on the wall and planted itself firmly in his grasp.

“Happy?”

Nobody replied. All of them looked to where the staff had just been and back to his hand. Even the Talin had finally caught interest.

“How did you do that?” Darien asked.

Resisting the urge to answer with the word ‘magic’, Tobi shrugged, “According to the book, it’s an ability that only Arcane mages can use.”

He did consider explaining it fully, but he didn’t want to reveal anything to Darien.

“Tobi...did you ever meet Kleetz’s Enchanter?” Darien asked staring into space.

“I was in his company briefly, why?”

“Do you think you could beat him in a contest of magic?”

“I am chess champion remember? Didn’t Baylon already make the mistake of having one champion registered for multiple games?”

Selene’s eyes widened as Darien’s narrowed, “How do you know about that?”

“I am in the tournament, did you think I wouldn’t bother learning more about it?”

“I suppose.” Darien replied as relaxed a little.

Was his attention on the fact I mentioned Baylon or because I knew more than he thought about the tournament?

“Well, before I go back out to continue practicing my magic, why don’t you tell us what happened. You can also stop pretending your leg is fine and show that to Selene too. And—just for good measure before I forget; why will Bubele be angry that Lee died? What is it to her?”

Sighing and lifting up the leg of his pants, Darien shown a poorly closed and ugly looking wound on his calf, “Bubele will be angry because she has a soft spot for Lee. He used to be a slave and worked for her. Slaves that run away are usually hunted down and killed, but I gave him protection that even Bubele couldn’t provide. He worked for me loyally for many years. Even so, Bubele considers all … well, she considered him one of her many children. Even after he left the nest and came to work for me.”

Adding together the words, ambiguous sentences and the knowledge he got from Sax, Tobi played his hand, “Bubele runs a slave network of some kind doesn’t she? That’s her power and influence. You don’t have to look surprised, it was easy to figure out. I don’t know what it is she offers them, but is there really any need to keep trying to hide it from me?”

Darien looked to his spy before gesturing his head. The man nodded and left the room. After Darien heard the back door shut, he sent Tobi to check he actually left.

“He is standing in the middle of the garden looking at the mannequin I made.”

“Mannequin?”

“Wooden doll thing. You were going to tell us about Bubele? I am particularly interested in why she wants your man to win instead of the man that would set slaves free.”

Staring into open space and taking a breath, Darien gave a small nod, “Bubele’s power is the slaves like you suspect, but be warned; those who dig too deep get stuck. I can’t tell you much more than that because I don’t know myself. All I know for definite is that Bubele does not want them freed. If the slaves are given their freedom, they lose their value to her.”

“Their value?” Selene and Tobi echoed together.

“Bubele has a monopoly on information. For the right price, she can tell you almost anything about pretty much anyone. Many of the wealthy men know this and go to her, but they do not know where she gets her information from. If the slaves were freed, they would lose access to that information and Bubele would lose her biggest income.

That’s not the only problem though. If they are freed, who would house them; feed them; support them and treat them as equals? Every single one of them would flock straight to Bubele. I don’t know why they all work for her, or even how many she has working for her...but believe me, she should not be underestimated.”

“Well I guess I am starting to understand Bubele a little. I thank you for the advice too, but I think I will keep on digging. If I get stuck, I will just have to ask someone to throw me a rope.”

“I am not sure you know anyone who has a rope that long.” Darien countered, wincing as Selene finally started to heal his leg.

“You might be surprised.” Tobi called back as he left the room. He was mostly bluffing but if his letters got back to his family or Lorry, he was confident they would have all the rope he needed.

---

“Son of a…!” Rubbing his head and closing the damage notification window, Tobi cursed his curiosity. After going back into the garden to practice his magic and leaving Darien to think about his final words, he’d started testing the distance of his spell. As best he could tell, he could only manage it at 5 feet but that hadn’t been the problem. He wanted to know if it would still come to him if he didn’t hold a hand out for it to fly to.

It did: It flew straight to the source of magic that called for it and smacked him clean in the head.

Looking over his shoulder to spot Darien’s man trying his best not to laugh, Tobi picked the staff up and decided to try a new experiment. He didn’t know if it would ever come in handy having his staff fly to him, but it was a cool trick so he didn’t mind it.

Rotating the staff in his hands, there weren’t really any spells coming to mind. Not after the failed attempts of the tennis ball and the palm strike things he’d already failed at. All he’d actually managed to do was get another useless spell. The only thing that did come to mind was the extra ten yards spell distance the staff promised to give.

Hmm. 10 yards... that’s about 30 feet.

Walking to the end of the garden and back again, Tobi counted out 20 feet. There was about 10 feet remaining until he reached the back door. Happy at the length, Tobi pulled the wand from his belt and wrapped it in mana.

What to name you. There isn’t really anything special about you except your ability to improve accuracy. Even your durability is only 13. Hm. “I will call you, Lucky.”

Forming the spell to call the wand to him the same way as he did for the staff, Tobi waited for the spell to settle and threw the wand 5 feet in front of him, “Lucky.”

The wand flew back to him with ease, landing neatly in his hand.

Throwing the wand further away, he tried again. Nothing happened. Pointing his staff at the wand instead, he called out to the wand again. This time the spell worked. As the wand flew to him, he reached out his left hand and caught it awkwardly.

Walking the full 20 feet to the end of the yard, Tobi put the wand down and walked back again. If his normal distance was 5 feet, that would be 1.6 yards or so. With the 10 yards granted by his staff, that should be an additional 30 feet. 11.6 yards total, give or take. Tobi didn’t want to test the full thirty feet though, it was pretty much the full length of the garden.

“Lucky.” He called pointing the staff at the wand. It seemed to struggle a little but it picked up eventually. The movement had been slow at first but a second or so later, it shot toward him at a threatening speed.

Holding his hand out ready to catch it, Tobi lost his nerve at the last second and dodged. He was pretty sure it would have landed neatly, but it looked scary—like an arrow flying straight at his chest.

The wand flew by and bounced off the floor just short of the door. Tobi called for it again, but as the distance was halved, he had more confidence in catching it and did so nicely. He even had time to switch the staff to his left hand so he could catch it with his dominant right hand.

“Enough experimenting with that, I think.”

Heading back inside to see Selene, Tobi thought about the spells potential. If he’d been a person able to throw daggers or something, the spell could be seriously overpowered. He’d be a ninja with unlimited throwing knives. Well—if he had the confidence to catch knives that flew at him anyway. He didn’t even have the confidence to catch the wand so he wasn’t so sure. Either way, he hoped he never met an Arcane Assassin or something.

The Elves can probably do it. Now there is a scary thought.

“Where is Selene?” Tobi asked as he entered the living area. Only Darien was in the room.

“Went to bed I think.”

“Thanks.”

Walking for the opposite door to the kitchen, Tobi glanced back at Darien. He was reading a book but that wasn’t what bothered him. There was something about Darien that niggled at him.

“Darien, is something wrong?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“No reason really...but if something is bothering you, I can’t help but wonder if it is something I should be concerned about. I am working for you after all. If Selene is put in danger again…”

“Ah. No, nothing like that. Just a problem at one of my houses.”

Tobi nodded. He wasn’t really concerned it was about them, he figured Darien would have said something if it was. At the very least he’d have called some of his men over. As Darien had done none of those things, Tobi had just been fishing for information. Not with much luck though, Darien was as tight lipped and mysterious as ever.

Heading upstairs and knocking on the door before entering, Tobi walked in the bedroom just as Selene pulled the blanket over her.

“Hello handsome. Thought you would be down there all night considering you slept just the other day.”

Tobi nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, “Well we haven’t had much time alone the past couple of days and I just wanted to look at you.”

Turning a funny shade of pink as she smiled and blushed, she lifted the blanket to cover most of her face, “Well you have looked. Is that all you wanted to do?”

“That’s never all I want to do, but that’s all for now. Well, maybe a little conversation before you go to sleep.”

Pulling the blanket from her face. Selene made an obvious pouting expression. Tobi wasn’t unaccustomed to female charm though; Niamh had used the same trick on him many times. He’d hardened himself against such displays a long time ago.

“You’re no fun.” she said as she dropped her head back on the pillow.

Tobi just laughed lightly and lay beside her on top of the covers.

“Tobi.”

“Hm?”

“What did you mean with what you said to Darien?”

“Which part?” Tobi asked in return trying to remember what he’d said exactly.

“That he might be surprised by the people you know. Someone with a long enough rope…”

Smiling, Tobi thought of his parents who were second and third of Thunder Dynasty; of Lorry who was a GM and shown amazing combat skills; and of his sister who was—according to his father’s notes—one of the strongest PVPers in Aevitas with a small guild of Elites.

“I have strong ties with some of the Travelers. Now they are back, some of them will come looking for me. There are some I’d rather not meet again, but some of them I can’t wait to see.”

“Who are they?”

“Hmm. Have you ever seen a guild made up of Travelers?”

Selene nodded and wriggled deeper into the bed. Once she was comfortable and stopped moving, Tobi flipped to his side and looked at her for a few moments before he continued.

“What was it like? The guild you seen.”

“Big and pointless. They didn’t do anything guilds normally do. They just grouped together and went out hunting. They would come back with some fantastic items, but that seemed to be their only goal.”

“What do guilds normally do?”

Selene shrugged, “You were part of the Cohol mage guild. What did they do there?”

Realizing what she meant, Tobi thought about it for a minute. They mostly taught each other what they knew and researched their craft. They experimented, duelled and grew. They did missions, tasks and quests for various people, groups and even the King. They maintained their gardens, cleaned the buildings, stocked the library…

“I guess I see your point. What your saying is; the travelers guild were just hunters with a base of operations?”

Selene nodded.

“I bet they were powerful though, right? High levels, hunted strong beasts, went into dungeons that even the soldiers didn’t go near—stuff like that?”

“I guess. Some of the stuff they brought back didn’t come from the forest outside the city, I know that much.”

“Well that’s the kind of people I have ties with. There is a small guild of them near Ardene somewhere. There isn’t many, but they are considered Elites among the Travelers. Strongest of the strong. Even the biggest and most powerful guilds hire them to help with dangerous jobs, wars, battles, hunts and dungeons.”

“How are you tied to them?” Selene asked. She seemed to be making conversation more than anything but a good deal of interest was still there. When it came to him, she always shown the due amount of attention.

“Their leader is my best friend. We’re so close, we are pretty much siblings.”

“Your best friend is a Traveler?”

Laughing a little, Tobi asked if it was strange to be close to travelers.

“I’ve just never heard of it. We don’t tend to get along with Travelers too well. Especially at the church. The biggest reason at the church is probably because they don’t believe in the gods, but mostly it is how they look at us and treat us. It’s like they don’t see us as people because we’re not from the same world as they are.”

“I take it you haven’t met many decent travelers?” Tobi asked. He knew he was treading on thin water; he was practically a traveler himself. He couldn’t really consider himself one though. They came and went as they pleased, he was stuck there. If they died, they got a 24 hour ban, he might actually die. He probably had more in common with the people of Aevitas than Travelers. The only thing he really had in common with Travelers was the fact he wasn’t born in Aevitas.

He also knew he wasn’t really a person of Aevitas though. There were things they could do that he couldn’t. Or at least didn’t believe he could do; like have kids for a start.

“I have met some nice travelers. I would even call some my friends. Like the girl I met in Brackley when you were staying at the Plucked Duck. She was just about the prettiest girl I have ever seen. Not that you paid any of us the slightest bit of attention. Even when she batted her eyelids to try and get you to look at us, you totally blanked her. She was impressed. She couldn’t remember the last time someone resisted her good looks and charm. Despite being slightly vain though, she really was nice. No matter how bad people claim travelers are, I will always remember her and know that there are nice ones too.”

“Good. I hope you like my friends too. I will let you get some sleep, I will see you in the morning.” With that, he kissed her lightly on the forehead and moved to leave.

“I want a better kiss than that…” Selene replied raising an eyebrow.

Tobi laughed and leaned in.

---

Vallen

“Do you have everything you need?” Vallen asked, looking to the three men he chose to send to Chadú. He had a bit of history there so he couldn’t go himself without stirring up some trouble. That didn’t stop him wanting to go though; he’d been talked out of it by the others. They were to send a few of their upper tier mages to check the situation and see how Tobi was doing.

“You’ve already asked that.” Zebba replied as he rolled his eyes. He’d been put in charge of the mission Vallen had set because he was both the oldest and the first to volunteer. He’d ate Tobi’s breakfasts almost every morning and played chess with him every other day. There was no way he wasn’t going to go and check on his friend in Chadú. He also had the added benefit of being from Chadú in the first place.

“OK, last time, repeat your instructions back to me.”

“Find Tobi and Selene, check they are OK, find out the situation and report back. Only help or interfere if it is necessary.”

Vallen nodded with satisfaction. The last thing he wanted was a bad situation getting worse. If that were to happen, he might as well have gone himself. He knew thats why the guild didn’t want him to go. The last time he went, it almost caused a war between Lybernia and Anderon. Not that it was his fault of course, he only blew up a single building. The rest of the damage was done by the person he was battling against.

Still, after he’d won his battle and jumped on a ship back to Cohol, Lybernia had demanded for Vallens arrest and his delivery to Lybernia. Anderons refusal had been the real cause for nearly going to war. Vallen doubted he was still a wanted man, but the guild wasn’t willing to chance it.

“Well, your ship will be sailing at first light. You have several hours before dawn, so go and get some sleep. If any of you miss the boat, you—”

“—we won’t” Zebba interrupted, “We’ve decided to sleep on the boat. We’re heading to the docks as soon as we’re done here. Captain Braddock has already given us permission.”

“Good. Great idea. Captain Braddock is a good choice, he makes the trip faster than the others. He tends to sit in the dock for three days or so. I expect your first report to come back with him at the latest.”

“Understood.”

“Off with you then, and boys?—The twelve be with you.”

All three men smiled back and lifted their hoods. Just like that they were gone. Vallens only concern was the excited look in their eyes. He hoped they were up to the task.

---

Tobi

Sitting at the kitchen table with Darien as his unnamed spy friend slept on the sofa, Tobi moved his bishop across the board, “Check.”

“I have a question.” Darien said in response as he inspected the board, “Why was Selene relieved when she heard I was healed with blood magic?”

Tobi took a swig of his lemon tea and shrugged, “You will have to ask her yourself. I meant to ask her before but I ended up talking about one of my friends.”

“Doesn’t she know Blood Magic is banned?” Darien asked in reply and moved his knight to block the bishops path.

“She will know.”

As Tobi moved one of his pieces, Darien took a swig of his own drink. There was obviously something still on his mind but Tobi wasn’t willing to offer information freely. It was partly why he offered Darien a game of chess. When a mans mind is distracted, he is more likely to answer questions he normally wouldn’t. At least, that’s what Tobi had concluded after many conversations during games he played.

“What do you suppose she feared I was healed by?” Darien finally asked and moved his rook ready to take the bishop.

“My guess would be Necromancy.” Tobi replied instantly and moved his position to a safer spot, “I read in my book that Necromancy has ties to Blood Magic and that’s why it is banned.”

Darien didn’t reply for a long time but his moves were getting weirder as his mind turned away from the game.

“What is Blood Magic?” Darien finally asked, “Like how does it work, what does it do?”

Tobi shrugged, “Check. I don’t know. I struggle enough with the affinities I have, let alone the ones I don’t.”

“Divine and Arcane, right?” Darien replied, moving his queen to not only block the check but also put several of Tobi’s pieces in trouble.

How didn’t I see that coming? I must be getting rusty. — “Yeah, just those two. Why do you ask?”

“My affinities was once Shadow and nothing else. A few years ago it changed to Darkness. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but things happened afterward. I get stronger during the night for example. That didn’t happen before. Now I also have an affinity to blood. Even now I can smell it on my clothes. I can taste it in my mouth.”

Tobi’s mind momentarily blanked before his mind started thinking of Werewolves and he imagined what it would be like to smell and taste blood all the time.

“Why are you telling me? Does it scare you?”

“A little.” Darien confessed, “Only the beasts get stronger at night. I am beginning to wonder if I am still human.”

Tobi chuckled a little and moved his knight to protect his bishop from the queen. He’d lose his rook but he could get Darien’s King in check afterward and start hunting down some more pieces.

“I don’t think you have to be worried. If it was something bad, Selene would have told you. Tell you what, get me some books on Blood Magic and I will find out for you.”

“Aren’t you worried about what will happen if you’re caught reading about it?” Darien replied as he took the Rook with his queen.

“Nope. I am planning to look it up anyway. This way I don’t have to ask the wrong people the wrong questions when trying to find books on it.”

“That’s fine with me. I will go see the man that healed me. He has plenty of books on Blood Magic. Anything particular I should look out for?”

Moving his Knight to take a pawn and put the King in check, Tobi nodded, “I am especially interested in any books that belong to the Origins of Magic volumes. Volumes 2 to 7 are said to have information on Blood Magic that has been banned. If you can get me them, I am sure I can get you the answers you want. Check.”

“That’s funny.” Darien replied moving out of check.

“What is?”

“The man that healed me asked for those very same books.”

“Did you succeed?” Tobi asked moving his knight for a double take on either the Queen or Bishop.

“I got three of them. I will pay him a visit tomorrow and get them back. Are you sure you will be able to find out what is happening to me?”

“I don’t think anything is happening to you.” Tobi replied kindly while mercilessly taking the Bishop with his knight.

“What do you mean? Check.”

Oh. Smart move… —“I think your affinity is caused by circumstances and class. I’d guess your class is something along the lines of rogue, thief or assassin. You work in the shadows and you kill a lot. In this world, our bodies evolve to suit our needs. That’s what I believe anyway.”

“Interesting. What about if some outside factor messes with us? Check.”

“That would come under circumstances, wouldn’t it?” Tobi answered as he both blocked the check and prevent another check happening on the next turn.

“Could it cause my body to evolve in a way that doesn’t benefit me?”

“How would I know? Despite the belief of some, I’m not a god. Get me those books and I will find out. Check.”

Darien inspected the board for a few moments but couldn’t decide what to move next, “Ah. Have I lost?”

Tobi laughed, “Afraid so, yes. It was a really good game though. Maybe next time you will be less distracted and beat me.”

Darien shook his head, “That’s my first loss.”

---

Niamh / Senna

The steady pounding of the horse’s hooves beat like a rhythmic drum as trees blurred passed. She knew the city wasn’t much further ahead but it didn’t improve her mood at all. Having only logged off twice in the past 24 hours, and only for a short period of time, she was tired and moody. To make matters worse, her extremely expensive horse was on its last legs. She’d rode it too hard for too long. It might not even make it to the city at the rate she was going.

When at last the city came into view, she slowed the horse down and jumped off. She would walk it the rest of the way and get a stablemaster to look after it for the few hours she’d be offline. Not that she could afford much time. Eat, sleep, wash and phone Mrs Donlan before logging back in.

The trip was rushed so badly because of Lucy. Niamh knew that much but she didn’t know why. She had a feeling that Lucy didn’t like her for some reason. Whenever she phoned in the last few weeks, Lucy had always managed to be busy or out. Then came the change of plans which was Lucy’s idea.

Originally, Lucy was supposed to meet her parents in Ardene, hire horses to ride to Savan, swap their horses and ride to Brackley. Niamh—as her character Senna who she’d named after a character on her favourite film—was supposed to ride a different route and meet them there. From Deniya, she was to ride to Camlan, then south to Brackley. They were to meet up at Brackley and ride to Cohol together to find Tobi.

Lucy changed all that. Due to them all being in the wilds somewhere, they were planning to meet in Ardena, get horses and ride the wilds to Gilleous. From there they would sail to Cohol.

Niamh couldn’t argue with the plan. As long as they didn’t get killed whilst travelling the wilds, they’d cut weeks off the journey. That’s why she was racing so hard from city to city. Four days from Deniya to Camlann was probably a new record. It was no wonder the horse was nearly dead. She predicted that much though; which was why she bought the best horse the stables had to offer. Not just rented either but actually bought.

She’d never get its value back now. Not with the condition it was in.

As Senna walked through the city gates with her raggedy horse trailing behind her with exhaustion, her face darkened. Right in front of her was Liam in his wolf form. He was walking in the opposite direction but even from behind she would recognize him.

You have traveled from Deniya to Camlann in record time.

3 days: 21 hours. 47 minutes.

Your horse will become famous among Stable Masters and Breeders.

As people hear of your achievement, others will attempt to beat it.

You have unlocked Riding Skill; current level: 1

Horses have 2% more energy

Horses will reach new speeds when you ride them; +2% speed.

Horses will feel more energetic when you are nearby.

Stable masters will be friendlier with you.

Riding Skill? I have never heard of that before.

Closing the window, she remembered something Tobi had told her a long time ago: ‘There is no good without the bad, but equally there is no bad without the good. The worse things get, the better the reward when you pull through on the other side.’

He’d said it after a long complaint about everything that was going on in Aevitas. It had been an attempt to get him to join the game with her but as always, it failed miserably. She hated it when he spouted nonsense like that, but now he wasn’t around to say such stupid crap—she actually missed it.

Thinking that her reward was the riding skill for seeing Liam, she closed the box and headed for the stables.

Maybe the reward was also because Lucy changed the plans. With this, maybe I will get to Cohol at the same time as they do. If Tobi tells them what happened… Senna shook her head, she’d considered the ramifications of not telling Tobi’s parents about the break up loads of times. There was nothing to do about it now but hope she could patch things up with Tobi.

I will just apologize for not telling them we broke up. Haven’t I at least proved that I regret what happened and deserve another chance?

---

Tobi

Standing in the garden, Tobi placed his hand on the Mannequins chest. Since Darien had decided to go to sleep on the sofa, he didn’t have anything better to do except wonder why his spells hadn’t worked earlier. He was still stood in that pose and daydreaming half an hour later when the Talin appeared and asked what he was doing.

Frowning at the mannequin, Tobi wasn’t even sure what he was doing. He knew why he’d come out, but at that precise moment, he wasn’t even sure what he’d been thinking about.

“I think I was trying to work out why I can’t learn new spells.” Tobi eventually answered.

“Well how did you learn the ones you know?”

Tobi wasn’t even sure. The first spell he learned was actually Elven Carpentry, but he didn’t think that counted.

No wait, before that I actually blew up a rat, didn’t I? Did that turn out to be a spell or just something I did?

“I think my first combat spell, which I am trying to teach myself now...Arcane Strike. The first spell though was Lions Roar. I was trying to learn how to use Elven Carpentry and blew myself off my seat.”

“And next?”

“Hmm. Arcane Strike. I was in Samson's training hall learning some martial arts for chi. I then merged my mana with it and nearly blew up my hand.”

“What is chi?”

Tobi heard the question distantly, but it reminded him of something important. Everytime he used a spell he was in an emotional state. The feelings were different but there was always an emotion involved. Adrenaline, anxiety, hate or some other emotion depending on the situation. When he’d been trying the spells earlier, he was mostly calm. Interested and perhaps slightly apprehensive or doubtful, but they were a little different.

“It’s spirit power…” Tobi finally replied whilst his mind worked overtime in working out how he could make new spells work.

“Like what I use?”

“Huh? What you use?”

“Yes.” The Talin replied proudly and a smile spreading across his face, “Some use Mana, some use Rage and some use Power. I use Power for my abilities.”

“Can you show me?”

The Talin nodded and moved to face the mannequin from across the garden, “Look at the Mannequin. No matter what, don’t turn and look at me.”

Tobi nodded and turned his back to the Talin. Not a moment later, Tobi felt a threatening presence behind him. Instead of running though, he wanted to attack it, hurt it. Kill it. He spun on the spot and lifted his staff. He could see a monster a few feet away. No matter what, he had to destroy it. Rushing forward and pouring mana through his staff without restraint, Tobi swung the staff. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that it wasn’t supposed to be used that way but he didn’t care.

The monster reached out to block it, but that was a mistake. Tobi almost felt like celebrating as the creature grabbed his staff. The second the beasts claw touched the staff, Arcane strike exploded. It’s arm was blown backward and the second part of the spell hit it clean in the chest. It was a good hit and the knock back chance of the second part of the spell kicked in too.

As the creature flew backward and bounced off the floor, Tobi rushed in again and raised his staff high. The creature wasn’t a random beast anymore though—it was the Talin. He was leaning up on one elbow with his arm ready to catch the staff.

Frowning, Tobi slowly lowered his weapon, “What happened?”

“That was one of my abilities. I forgot about that spell of yours. Good job I had this armor on. Even with my strong resistance to magic, that would have really hurt. That’s much stronger than last time in the wagon.”

Tobi nodded and relaxed, “I can change how much mana I put into a spell. What was your ability?”

“Attract the attention of enemies to protect my allies. I targeted you with it. If I knew you could change the power of your spells, I might’ve moved or dodged instead of blocking. How much mana did you put into it?”

Checking his mana to see it had dropped by almost 600, Tobi shrugged, “Depending on how much I wasted by pouring mana into the staff, somewhere between five and six hundred mana.”

The Talin’s forehead rose in surprise, “That might explain this then.” He answered as he lifted his leather top Selene had made for him. A huge purple bruise covered the center of of his chest.

“Wow, I am so sorry!”

The Talin chuckled, “I think I will dodge next time you attack me.”

Despite the Talin’s chuckle, Tobi didn’t feel any better about it at all.

“Did you need to use spirit power for that spell? Maybe you can learn a new one now…”

Realizing the Talin was right, he moved to the mannequin once more. If it didn’t work this time, he was giving up.

***

Back to Main Page

***

Authors notes:

Spoiler :

Long chapter for a single night, huh? [9,490 words I think]

I have decided to just move with Tobi as his life continues in Aevitas. If it drags the story on indefinitely...well I guess it's OK as long as you still enjoy the chapters. If it starts dragging too much, let me know I will speed things along.

As always, please let me know if you spot mistakes. Greatly appreciated. During my proofing I noticed a few mistakes like saying the book 'had' been what he was expecting; instead of: 'had not' been what he was expecting. I also spotted an italic section that I hadn't closed off properly.

I think I caught everything, but if not let me know please :)

@The information that may seem unnecessary or a passing remark {such as Liam} ~ should know by now I rarely include those little snippets without having reasons. ;)

~Aspirer

Oh, shout outs to Kruncs and Iwasawa for noticing mistakes in last chapter — Elohim too; as well as the additional comments. And finally TUSF for sharing your views on in game ""relations"" ;)