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Mahs
Why is he the one who always gets the attention? Mahs thought as Thane walked away with Gailwyn. And why is he the leader anyway, I’m the oldest.
Mahs sighed, he knew the answer to that question. His sister obviously had mixed feelings for him, and Kisha had been clinging to him since their parents died. It didn’t matter which one was older, smarter, or more qualified, they would pick Thane over him every time. It’s not like he could complain, Thane was quite good at it. He could read the battlefield well and come up with plans quickly.
So Mahs needed another way to distinguish himself, and that is what brought him here.
While the others were joining Lily and her friends, Mahs was off to the library. He found this little treasure while exploring the fortress. Most of the library was simple records of the jobs the Stone Fox had taken, as well as maps and records of the four kingdoms and free cities. In the corner, however, Mahs found a dusty box with “Atelier salvage” written on the top. Most of the books inside were dedicated to alchemy and imbuing items with magic, some were damaged by fire or water, and a few were dedicated to the study of magic.
He just needed a bit more to be able to cast four circle spells. A bit more knowledge, and a bit more practice. One of the tomes was dedicated to Mahs’ specialty of Illusion magic, there were new theories, experimental circles, and even a branch of Illusion magic that his father had never told him about.
He sat at a desk, pouring over the pages now that he had enough free time to dedicate himself to studying. He read the tome until he fell asleep in the chair, not waking up until the next morning. He was so close, but he just needed a little bit more. One large piece was missing, the foundation mental construct he needed to get these new spells to work. He could only guess that it was in one of the damaged, unreadable pages.
There was only one person he could ask for assistance, so he went to see Gailwyn. He didn’t mind seeking help from her, since she was one of the people he aimed to impress. If she could see how far his training had gone and how much his magical talent was advancing it would work in his favor.
When he arrived in her study he went directly to the point after their greetings. “I recently learned of a different branch of illusion magic. One that affects a person's perceptions directly rather than creating an interference node. It supposedly can even alter a person's emotions. Make them feel fear or disgust.”
“I am familiar with this magic. What did you need to know?”
“Well, I found this book, but some of the pages are unreadable.” He flipped through the pages a bit, “This design for instance is used to make someone feel an overwhelming fear, this one can make someone think they are blind, and this one is very complicated, but it looks like it bombards a mind with images of fear and death, making the mind think that they have died. Which according to this author, can sometimes lead to the person actually dying.”
“Hm, I remember that book, it was part of a group that we salvaged from a burning alchemist’s atelier. I think I know what you need.” She turned away to look through her bookshelf and pulled two books down. “You should find what you are looking for in this book, and the second one will help you if you want to focus more on your illusions. Once you are through copying what you need, I’ll need these back.”
He thanked her and left, taking the books into his room and setting them down on a desk. He flipped through the first, it was a basic treatise on illusion magic, and likely had the missing pieces to the advanced manual he was looking through earlier. The second had an unusual title but Mahs found it quite interesting.
“The Realm of Nightmares: A Guide on Its History and Tapping Into Its Power”
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Sarah
Sarah was bored.
It had been three days since they returned from their Orc hunt. The others seemed to be keeping busy with training. Since they now relied on the skills her father taught them to make a living, they seemed focused on expanding and strengthening those skills, and would spend much of the day practicing and training. Her brother had disappeared into his room and spent most of the last few days reading, which was fairly normal for him. Usually father had to drag him out to get him to do any practice or help with any of the town's work. Without Castor here, it might be a while before her brother would see sunlight again.
She kept herself in shape by exercising every morning, and sparred with Thane on the first day, but it was difficult to practice her skillset in this environment. She missed the games of cat and mouse she used to play with her second master. She had tried to find Onyx, a woman who supposedly had a similar skillset, but was never able to meet with her.
For a while she explored the area around the fortress, and then inside the keep. She explored every room, even the ones that were locked. Especially the ones that were locked. She got a pretty good idea of the type of people that worked for Marcus after she had examined each of their private rooms. She even managed to find a few interesting objects hidden away behind lock and key.
Most of the time she did what she was doing now, just walking around trying to keep herself from growing bored. She managed to form a plan on how to keep herself amused for a while, and was now waiting for the chance to implement it. When the sun was going down she returned to the keep, she saw Thane pacing in the training yard lost in thought. When he saw her he perked up and smiled, “Sarah, there you are, could you help me with something?”
Something was off about the way he was asking, but she agreed. “It’s pretty dark out, do you want to do it now?
“It has to be dark, I don’t want anyone seeing me if it can be avoided.”
She sighed, “What do you need me to do?”
“Just come here and let me know how I do compared to before. Also I’ll need you to carry me to my room if I explode.”
“Or how about if I leave you here until morning? You know I hate it when you’re idiotically self destructive.”
“Show some compassion, I think I can get it to work this time.”
Sarah crossed her arms, “Fine.”
Thane took a deep breath, and focused himself. The mana in the air grew thicker and the pure energy was being absorbed into Thane’s body. He gave a few practice punches in the air, the strikes were fast, fast enough Sarah couldn’t keep track of them in the dark. He then sprinted across the field to the archery targets, punching one three times in the center before running back. He was definitely fast, faster than he was fighting the mercenaries that attacked their village.
It had been around 15 seconds since he activated the technique when he stopped in front of her. He closed his eyes and began to focus again. This time making a motion with his hands as if he was pushing something down. He opened his eyes and smiled, but he was breathing heavily. He looked a bit pale and was sweating even in the cold autumn air.
“I did it!” he said, but his smile suddenly disappeared as he wiped his upper lip to clear off the blood that was dripping from his nose. “Mostly.”
“Are you...how do you feel?”
“Tired, like I just ran for hours. But I managed to clear the mana out of my body before it found its own way out.”
Sarah was relieved but also concerned. If he managed to find a way to use the technique without passing out, he might start to rely on it more. “It’s still damaging you though, even if it doesn’t tear its way out. You’re far from being able to use it in combat.”
Thane bit his lip, she could tell he wanted to protest but knew she was right. Either that or he didn’t want to risk getting punched for being reckless again. It was probably a mix of both. “Come on,” she said, “let's head inside.” She thought that this was the perfect time to put her plan into motion.
They walked into the keep and Thane started to head towards his room, “I need to rest a bit.”
“Don’t go to sleep yet, I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed what she needed from the common area and headed towards a room near the larder. It was under lock and key, but it was not like that could stop her. With a pair of thin metal rods, she managed to get the door open, and access to the treasure inside. She re-locked the door, making certain she wasn’t seen and headed off to Thane’s room with a full pouch hanging from her shoulder.
It took a few moments for him to answer the door and as soon as he opened it, she grabbed his hand. “Follow me, it’s my turn to show you something.”
She pulled him down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor of the keep. When they reached a locked door she let go and pulled out her lockpicks again. “Wait are you sure we should be here? There aren’t very many locked doors so it's probably closed for a reason.”
“You told Bart we are like family right? Well in that case you should just listen to your big sister and be quiet.” The lock clicked and she pulled the door open to reveal a spiral staircase heading upwards. “I found this while exploring, follow me.”
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