章節 7: Chapter 7 A ruler is never safe.
Chapter 7 A ruler is never safe.
If you are guilty, if you've harmed others.
You are shackling yourself.
Only once you've been punished, only once you've known pain.
Can you truly be free of your sin and guilt.
Amaret, the great sinner.
{26} Brigit (August) the 9th
During the following three months I seclude myself in my room. I study and memorize all the books I've acquired. Meditate for a few hours every day. And work on my second mana pool, the one that would let me manipulate fire like Adir did.
Unfortunately. Despite putting three months into it, I still haven't managed to form the pool. I only managed to barely open it and conjure a small flickering flame.
This cantrip is not enough to do anything, it's barely enough to light a candle via touch. However, I love the idea of possessing fire magic. It goes well with my red hair and the legends of Effrat, the legendary red-haired sorceress who'd accidentally end up burning everything to the ground. I loved reading books about her, and I was overjoyed to find out she has real fire spells named after her.
But not all of my time is spent on meditation. I learned all the gravity-based cantrips I deem useful.
Since my life depends on it, I have to grow stronger. Right now I can cast all the cantrips I've learned, along with full and direct control over my gravity mana.
My 'kinetic burst' cantrip becomes effective, with some careful and dedicated training. I am no longer at risk while using this spell. I can cast it four times a day without feeling any fatigue, five times if I push myself and spend all of my mana on it. The moment I cast it for the sixth time, my nose starts to bleed. The headaches aren't pleasant, so I avoid doing it.
I learn a few other cantrips, both for utility and combat purposes. All of these cantrips take less mana than 'Kinetic Burst' does, and currently, 'Kinetic Burst' is my strongest weapon.
I invest some of my gems into researching the way to cast spells silently. Apparently, spells can be altered in numerous ways. With two more mana patterns, I can cast a silent 'kinetic burst'. It can also be amplified into a stronger version, or duplicated, letting me cast it from both hands. However, the number of patterns required for that varies. I practice hard to form as many mana patterns as I can for my spells, but I can't get above eight patterns of mana at the moment. It would've been easier if I could only visualize it. That means I cannot duplicate kinetic burst. I do however, manage to duplicate simpler spells such as 'Minor Telekinesis' or 'Repulse'
I also learn the short chant for each of these cantrips, and the meaning behind each word. The words are in the elemental language called 'Myrsha', or gravity. My research leads me to the fact that there are seven elemental languages, each with its own complexity and nuances. The price for a full Myrsha dictionary stand on five thousand gems, not something I can afford at the moment.
These elemental languages are required for spell casting, and further knowledge of these languages is connected to the acquisition of first-level spells. But I still have no idea how to perform these. So I'm going to stick with simple cantrips that only use a simple one or two words for the moment.
*
Things have calm down during the last month. After five neophytes who have committed criminal acts had been brutally killed and their possession looted, none of the others attempt to mess with my peace-keeping gang. None of these acts continue and we finally have true peace. But due to this peace, I face three new problems.
The first problem: In a week I'll no longer have money to pay my "peacekeepers" their wages. This is also the reason I stop buying any new gravity cantrips and altered magic instruction books, although I do want to learn more.
The second problem: My gang is getting restless. No one had tried to commit a crime during the last month, which means they have no one to loot anymore.
The third and the biggest problem: The neophytes who haven't joined us are gathering. They form their own gang under a wind evoker named Nolan. I've hoped they'd split and fight amongst themselves. Although that did happen at first, by now my gang became the bigger threat, one they have to face together.
I expected them to attack by now, it would've given us an excuse to loot them and look like heroes while doing so. But it seems like their leader Nolan is smart. He's probably waiting for us to run out of funds, and I've played right into his hand. I am pretty sure he has a mole amongst my people, someone who tells him what the situation is like, and when will be the moment to strike. In other words, the moment I run out of money.
I focused too much on getting myself stronger, on studying, while neglecting this situation. The world of magic has truly gained my interest. The mysterious power at the tip of my fingers and tongue could defy gravity itself! Thus it had all of my attention. But now I'm paying the price for ignoring the world around me.
*
I glance at the small glowing pile of white gems on my damaged desk, there are less than a hundred left. It seems like I'll have to start taxing everyone to keep the peacekeepers paid… well… that's a problem for tomorrow…
I get up, pick a clean robe, and head toward the temple of Mayan to wash just like I do every morning.
Entering the water I notice the group of girls who bullied me on my first day here. They avert their gaze, as one of them says something that makes the others giggle and go back to their chatter. At first, they attempted to fawn over me, but I made it very clear that I'm not interested.
At this hour the pool is quite lively. Now that the peace is enforced, no one bullies the weaker or the awkward girls. People find politer ways to solve their issues. I am quite proud of these results. I did a good job here! It seems like the other girls think that way too, everywhere I look I see admiration, adoration, envy, and awe, I am a queen! I've studied how to rule over people since I was twelve, this is like brushing a horse compared to my father's fief.
*Splash!!!* A pair of hands push me into the water. They force me downward holding my head under the water, something hard pressed against my nape. I fight back and channel my mana in the six patterns to blow up my unknown assailant's hand with a silent kinetic burst, but my magic doesn't work! I don't even feel the mana being drained, it just doesn't work.
Why isn't it working?! I've already done it without the words! Again! Nothing happens.
Someone is trying to kill me! Again! Yet nothing happens. Again! Nothing.
Desperate for air I tug her hand, kick her legs, and find myself falling forward inside the water. Strong hands push me down holding my nape and head under the water.
NO! I'm not dying! AGAIN!!! AGAIN!!! AGAIN! This has to work!!! Something has to work! Myrsha ritsa! Myrsha ritsa! <gravity repulse! Gravity repulse!>
My vision darkens and death grip is lifted. Someone pulls my unknown assailant back. I manage to get my head above the surface, coughing water and gasping for air.
A brutish muscular dark-skinned woman - holds back Bella; the beautiful girl from Phoebe's former group. Bella cries and struggles against the grip of the taller woman but to no avail. Her blue eyes are focused on me, they're filled with hatred.
The brutish woman looks at me worriedly. "You ok chief?" She asks through a mouth filled with jagged shark-like teeth.
I recognize her, Lezere. She is one of the many brutes who joined my peacekeepers. She got her burly figure from the orcish blood she possesses. She has dark hair, a pair of brown eyes, and an expression that makes people think she's angry at them.
I choke and spit some water out getting my breath in order. "I'm fine. Thanks Lezere, you saved my life."
"A dishonorable snake! She had this chief!" Lezere clicks her two rows of sharp shark-like teeth as she shows me a small wet rock of red iron. Of course my magic wouldn't work!
Owning even such a small piece of iron would result in the death penalty for a neophyte. Mages fear iron or the idea that one of their enslaved underlings will betray them with such a mineral. I have no clue as to how Bella got it. Probably some sort of a smuggling ring in the tower? but isn't everything is recorded and watched? How did she hide it? Maybe it's not foolproof... l have to get to the bottom of this later…
"Get rid of it!" I order Lezere. She throws away the iron, letting it sink into the pool. This is the law regarding iron, and in this tower, laws have to be followed to the letter.
I shift my focus to Bella. "One question. Why?"
"Because you're a monster! You killed George! He begged you to spare him, and you just murdered him in cold blood! I saw you, I heard everything! Then you have the gall to pretend you're some kind of benevolent saint bathing in Noxi's light!" She switches between mad laughter and sniffs, "I hope you'll die painfully and soon!"
George? Oh… he was one of the goons guarding my door, right before I've killed Adir… Was she his lover? With how much she's whoring around she got some nerve…
No, she's his sister… I can see the resemblance now, same blue eyes… I can't forget his blue eyes… More importantly, why is she only attacking me now? Finally got her courage to act? No, someone is behind her… She suggested I'm going to die soon, which means we're under attack right now! They are not going to wait for me to run out of money after all!
"I'm sorry…" I say genuinely. I truly am. I wish I could've avoided George's death. Unlike his friend, he didn't seem like a bad person. Back then I was with my back against the wall, just like I am now. "You can kill her Lezere, you caught her so she's yours."
Lezere growls, it sounds a lot like a dog or a wolf. "I don't think she'll have much chief…"
"We don't have the time for this. If she doesn't have enough, I'll pay the fine. She tried to kill me, and we kill for attempted murder so kill her. We're under attack by Nolan's group and we have to get moving!" I say splashing my way toward the edge of the pool.
I try not to grimace at the sound of the sickening crack behind my back. I just sentenced a girl I knew to death without batting an eye. But this is how life works in this tower, she'd come after me again if I spared her... and I have bigger problems to worry about.
"Neophyte number M-0879 will report to the temple of Amaret for disciplinary action at nine past midnight. Failure to show up will result in an increased punishment."
Over the last three months we already learned that these announcements are localized to the hall or room the killings took place. Not everyone would get notified when someone died. Something that would otherwise give me a warning that we're being attacked right about now.
On the bright side, they also don't get any confirmation whether or not their assassination attempt had succeeded. Unless they have someone here watching. I eye the girls around for anyone rushing toward the exit. No one dares to move from the pool. Some of them huddle together, and others looking at me worriedly as I get out of the pool and get dressed. Since none of them left, I rush outside with Lezere following me closely.
"Marisha! You're alive! They told me you were dead!" A short disheveled figure welcomes me when I exit the temple of Mayan. Sina, the purple-haired gnomish girl. By now she's one of the awakened evokers serving under me, she is capable of producing electricity and light with her magic.
I stop her by her shoulder. Is she the mole? If she is she dies... be ready to kill her! "We're under attack, I know. How many of our people have managed to rally, and where have we grouped up?"
"They took Janara hostage, Purson is working with them and everyone is already dead! I knocked out two and barely managed to escape! I think they let me!" The breathless gnome almost collapses. "They're in the temple of Tonisha. They announced that everyone has to pay them tribute, and they're rounding up the rest of the neophytes! They'll be here once their done in the Temple of Tonisha!"
They let her escape because they need evokers on their side… They won't let me stay alive if they find out I've survived, they'll siege my room… and how long can I survive if they ambush me in groups… I have to hide in Lezere's room and organize something from the shadows…
No. the time to strike is now while I still have the element of surprise on my side… "Did they truly kill everyone?" I find that hard to believe. They'd convert fighting force to their side rather than kill it. Is Sina the mole? Is she luring me into a trap? That would mean they figured their assassination attempt would fail... their planning would have to be really thorough... no. Most people don't have such thorough plans... She's not the mole, just a coward...
"Tukado knows! Marisha, everyone is dead! Nolan even killed some of his own people! It was like the culling day all over again!"
"Ok, I get it… Sina. Please go over there and tell them you surrender and want to work for them. Lezere you can join her if you like."
The half-orc clicks her shark-like teeth, it sounds like she's biting bones. "I'll stick with you chief."
"Marisha will do, if everyone is dead I'm no longer the chief. Sina?"
"It's suicide! They'll kill me!" The gnome screams in protest.
"They won't. I imagine they lost some people, they need more people on their side."
"I don't think I'll go. If they find out you were alive and I didn't tell them… I'm going to my room!" This gnome is a little paranoid. With how things are I don't blame her, but it's also why I keep suspecting her.
Lezere snarl. "Grrrr… Go hide in your room kitten! That's all you can do! Run and hide!" She bends down to the gnome's height and bites the air in front of Sina's nose. "When they come for you, you'll be a weeping cat!"
The gnome takes a step back in alarm. "You don't understand! Nolan. That monster! He has magic that lets him kill from afar instantly! He doesn't need others, and he even killed some of his own people in the process! His magic just carve people up from afar like a sword!"
That sounds troublesome. Lethal cantrips are limited in range, while ranged cantrips aren't as lethal. Possessing magic that can instantly kill from afar, is either a 1st level spell, or some creative use of multiple existing cantrips. I have a few rough ideas of combinations myself.
"Run! Hide!" Lezere shouts the two words in Sina's face. "Cowards like you don't belong in our pack!" Lezere is like a rabid dog itching to bite and only barely holding back.
"Ok, rest then… thank you for the information." I pat Sina's shoulder and continue onward. Lezere gives the air in front of Sina's nose one more bite and follows me. Right now it doesn't matter if Sina is the spy or not, I have to get rid of Nolan somehow.
I've never met the guy, only heard of him. He always found ways to avoid me, almost as if he was afraid I'd kill him without any reservation should we meet.
That meant he's paranoid and calculative. It's probably why he used the chaos to kill people in his gang, those are probably the people he can't trust. The fact that he attacked like that means he's prepared to face me. Or not… he did send someone to assassinate me… Probably because he can't know what my powers are.
Unlike Adir, who executed people publicly, I haven't shown anyone what I'm capable of. I use the mystery about my powers as the threat. People have no idea what I can do. But they all saw the corpses with the large holes in them, they know I can kill.
"Lezere, I'm going to fight him, and I might lose. If I start to lose I'll pretend to run. He'll most likely give chase and focus on me. Try to use the moment he wins and chase after me to kill him. People let their guard down when they think they've won." I say as we head toward the dining hall.
*~*~*
A piece of lore:
To be precise, iron does not cancel active or ongoing magical effects. It prevents them from forming in the first place.
In other words: if a mage casts a fireball, and the fireball explodes near a knight wearing a suit of iron/steel armor. The knight will be pushed from the heat wave and fried inside his armor.
But if the knight has his iron/steel sword stabbed in the body of a mage, or even just touching the mage with his iron gauntlet. The mage won't be able to cast a fireball in the first place. Although it varies for the mage's power and the amount of iron. Also the iron's purity. Steel is considered less pure for that matter.
If the mage is strong enough and there isn't enough iron, the mage will still be able to cast a much weaker version of the attempted spell, but Marisha and the neophytes are nowhere near that level yet.
*~*~*
Power level: 1st stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Fire: open.
Gravity: formed.
Cantrip known:
Fire: Nuriss' flame.
Gravity: Lumina's kinetic burst. Tukado's Repulse. Tukado's Lesser Shield. Imari's Minor Telekinesis. Leo's Pull. Leo's Grounding. Alino's light body. Alino's heavy body.
Focus capability: 8 patterns
Injuries and scars: Missing two thirds of the right middle finger.
Social status: A neophyte evoker.
Wealth: 94 magical gems.
Items: A healing potion.
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