17. OFFWORLD MAGE

Violet knew the mage, she'd seen his face before.

Back at Lan'Tim, right before leaving on her expatriation she'd been handed a blue sheet of paper that listed the biggest inter-dimensional fugitives wanted by the emperor. The mage's face had also been on the list of the three other copies she'd received before her other trips. The grandiose crimes he'd been imputed with had always set him at the top: the mage was Helghast.

Violet had been leaning against the cave wall, but after he grabbed her suddenly they were outside. Baleful sunlight made her squint, rippling down white through her surroundings. Violet fell back into sand, got up and whirled around, still stiff under her armour and saw a desert temple. Helghast was walking to it, the hood down to reveal his lordly black hair, the curls almost reaching his shoulders.

"Where are we?" Violet demanded.

"No less than a thousand kilometres from where we left."

He teleported that far? He descended sandstone steps into the pyramid, so Violet hurried after before losing him from view. Her head was a storm of thoughts. What of the remaining illagers, would they prevail? After losing so many, including Zann, Violet had to admit she had no real tether to them anymore. The only thing keeping her had been her way home, the crystal ball that was now in the possession of the man she followed.

Cut windows yielded beams of sunlight, crossing the stuffy space. Terracotta patterned the off-white walls. It was a perfectly typical temple as far as Violet could tell, and she was already damp with sweat under her armour. Of course, the portal equipment within was atypical. Helghast stood with his hand out, magic rolled into the equipment and made the vortex twist faster.

"Helghast…" Violet said his name and his head turned a fraction, "All this time, of all places, you were hiding on Enim?" It was too great of a coincidence.

So many worlds were 'deleted' by players - though in actuality it wasn't so easy to destroy entire worlds and this just made them irretrievable to the player. In reality, they were flung across the multiverse, isolated until someone wired a portal to their co-ordinates. These abandoned worlds were politically devoid, biome patchworks only inhabited by non-sentient mobs, villagers and illager tribes.

Among the vastness of worlds unpopulated by humans, did Violet by chance find Helghast here?

"Enim," he borrowed the unofficial name, "is one of seven worlds I maintain a business presence in." He looked back to her then. The portal was ready. "Violet, was it? Come quietly, I don't want to have to tie you up."

"Where does that lead?" The answer was probably obvious, but fear made her ask.

"Another world. My main one."

She straightened her back to reclaim some dignity before doing what he said and walking over. So long as he was in possession of her way home she couldn't afford to be separated from him anyway. When she was standing near she could better judge his height. He was a head taller with brown eyes a shade darker than hers, a dark syrup to her warm chocolate. He had the pale skin of one who preferred indoors, and a square jaw sporting a trimmed beard. His eyebrows may have been plucked thin, a rather vain thing for a man to do.

While his presence was every bit as imposing as Zann's, that was partially from the magic she could feel emanating from him. There was also a burning in Helghast's gaze. It was definitely ambition, perhaps megalomania, and a burning intellect too.

At the end of the day, Zann had been nothing more than the captain of an unremarkable illager tribe. He was being used, along with countless others like him, by this man before her. Violet frowned at him, thinking of all the suffering he was responsible for across Enim, and six other worlds too it seemed. He stared back with some interest and notably declining patience.

Violet turned into the portal and walked through….

It was suddenly cold, cooler than inside the caves, so she immediately believed she wasn't on Enim anymore. Violet removed her helmet to better digest the view. She vaguely heard Helghast walk through behind her, but her attention was on the obsidian palace before her. They were standing on a bridge outside, the architecture was sharp and finely cut from black stone. The manor had intricate patterns, all irregular angles of varying sharpness. The walls were crowned with sculptures or bordered them in trapezoid alcoves, they were creatures of the nether and the End and ones she didn't recognise though were equally frightening.

"By Jeb..."

"The scenic entry is much nicer, don't you agree?" He started walking with hands behind his back and she made herself keep pace beside him.

Instead of answering, Violet peered down the shadowy ravine the manor was built over. The whole setting was terribly appropriate for a crime lord, at least his home could never be called prosaic. The wooden doors ahead looked like they'd need a team of men to open, but Helghast waved his arm and they opened themselves. Inside were burgundy furnishings: a long hall rug and tapestries, and little cloths on side tables. On the walls were dull gold candelabras, ornately twisted and sporting a dozen long candles each. Helghast strolled through while Violet walked front-footed, cautious as if traversing a thin layer of ice. She spied guards and servants through the walkways. The guards were in armour like her, only it was proper diamond or netherite. The cleaning staff weren't just humans, there were testificates among them too.

They walked the length of the hall, took a left and then a smaller door opened, again without Helghast having to touch it. He removed his cloak and hung it on a hook, it fluttered as he breezed by. Beneath his clothes were all black: a dark tunic and pants that were simple enough, but fine material and tailored. All the wooden furnishings were dark oak, and a long table made of it dominated the room. He walked around and sat down, with a swish of his hand a chair dragged out at Violet's side. She stared at it before dropping into the seat.

Helghast put his elbow on the table and squeezed his chin in a thinking gesture, his eyes squinted at her. Violet just sat there feeling sillier the longer he stared, she itched her leg in an agitated manner.

He cut to the chase, "Who are you?"

Violet was forthcoming, "I'm a researcher from Lan'Tim, the renowned college on Arcacia, ruled by the Thestacrucian Empire."

He was still studying her with some manner of confusion, "What were you doing on Enim?"

"It was supposed to be a cultural research assignment."

He barked a laugh, "You were among a tribe of warring illagers. That's some research assignment."

"That wasn't meant to be part of it…"

"No, I thought not."

"Oh." Was he mocking her? To hide her uncertainty she went on the offensive, "Well what about you?"

"I'm asking the questions," he shot her down quick then continued, "Were you alone on Enim? And don't lie."

"I… I was alone." Violet admitted and felt so foolish she could start crying, but she didn't. He watched her and seemed convinced, but she could tell he wanted more. "I was supposed to be studying ordinary villagers. It was supposed to be an expatriation, eight months at the most."

"How long have you been on Enim?"

"No more than four months... I think."

Helghast was bothered, but she couldn't tell why. Obviously there'd been some horrible mistake. He'd probably figured his cover was blown the first time he saw her - a human. He must've thought whatever investigative squads out there tracking down criminals on behalf of their kings were onto him. But it was just her, wrong place wrong time, and now he was likely thinking how to best keep his worlds hidden without having to abandon all he'd built for himself.

"Right then," he adjusted his sitting and Violet could tell he was forcing away his concerns to ask something of lesser importance, "Why were you fighting with a sword?"

"What do you mean?"

"You came at me with a sword, both times, instead of trying a ranged attack with magic."

"Uh, because I can't do magic?"

"Yes, you can. You shielded yourself when I blasted you, the first time we met. You should've been turned to ash."

Violet blanked at the wall.

Helghast stared then continued, "So you're not a mage?"

"I'm not. But my mother is."

"How is it that one gets to be your age with clear signs of natural talent, and never pursues the arcane?"

"I don't like it," Violet clipped.

"You don't like it."

It wasn't a question but she snapped back anyway: "No."

He seemed a little curious as to why but didn't bother probing.

"You've never had a lesson on magic? Never read a single book about it?"

"Never," Violet felt herself getting more annoyed by his scrutiny. His curiosity grew.

"Who's your mother?"

"Selador Merridew."

That made him sit back in his chair. So he'd heard of her. He stared and Violet stared determinedly back. Neither looked away for several seconds.

"Very well then. Violet Merridew, I'm afraid you will have to stay here in the castle until I've figured out my best course of action, now that one of my worlds is on Lan'Tim's radar."

"You're one of the most wanted criminals in the multiverse," Violet started and he didn't try to deny it. "Obviously you're not going to ever let me return home. Are you going to kill me?"

"That might not be necessary."

"How lovely."

"You will remain here while I investigate you and your activities on Enim, and then decide how to best limit Lan'Tim's searching, and have them leave that world alone."

Violet was pretty annoyed by the interrogation so far, but she felt the first bout of genuine fear climbing up her throat. She could suddenly see herself dead in the sand, as if killed by an illager raid, Helghast hoping Augustus and his team would see it that way and leave without investigating further. Wasn't it expedient to just kill her now? She clearly didn't know anything important. She supposed he wanted to extract all the info he could first. Or maybe… ask her to record a message telling her colleagues she was running away and not to go looking for her? She had a sudden feeling that it would take him less than a month to figure this all out and then dispose of her. Her hands started shaking.

Helghast stood and the door behind Violet opened, "I trust I don't need to confine you to a cell. I'll find you a guest bedroom."

And so they walked another hallway and up a square staircase. They got off at one of the upper levels, it was homelier: the roof not so high, there was wall-to-wall red carpet and the doorways were arched. They walked to a door and it opened, Violet peeped a comfortable and well-furnished room from the threshold. She didn't enter.

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing here? Just, waiting for you to decide when you're going to kill me? I know too much." She looked at Helghast who pursed his lips, almost pitying her.

"Either way there's much for me to do before then. You are a researcher, so I suppose you like reading. I can have books from my library brought up for you. Any preference?"

Any further talk on her fate would be circular, so Violet moved on and considered for a moment, "Magic."

He raised a fine eyebrow, "So would that be a fundamentals starting guide?"

"Yes, please."

He nodded and turned away. Violet looked back to her room and walked in with a sigh. The door closed behind her and the lock clicked. She sat on the bed. It was comfortable, she ran a hand over the smooth fabric. After being away from modern luxuries for so long it was nice to be somewhere that reminded her of the college. Also, the heat and humidity of Enim had even permeated the underground caves to a degree. Finally in a cooler climate her mind felt switched on in a way it hadn't been for months. Now the internal cogs were racing, like making up for lost time. Violet stood and went to the window, in the newfound clarity she was thinking through various possibilities for escape.

Outside the manor, the ravine stretched to a dark oak forest. Violet noticed the door to the bathroom, which included a shower. Well first things first, she could take off this cumbersome armour and get clean.

After the shower she felt even more like herself, drying her hair with a fluffy towel and then twisting it over her shoulder. She thought back to Nedi, Tiril and the others. Did they win? Would she ever know for sure? If they had they probably assumed she was dead or taken prisoner. Someone else would have to step up and lead them. How bizarre to imagine that if she'd remained there she'd have become like Zann, leading a coterie of illagers. That would be how Augustus and his team would eventually find her once they went looking, she'd barely be recognised.

Violet could've died that very day but things had taken a different turn instead. All of a sudden she felt the need to decompress. She sat and then laid back on the bed. She lost herself in the candlelight tickling the shadows on the roof, savouring her breaths and simply being alive. Some time later knocking roused her from her reverie, she stood and approached the door. It was no longer locked, so she opened it and peered out, seeing nobody and then noticing a stack of books by her feet. She stuck her head out and saw a servant vanishing down the staircase. Violet ducked down and carried the books to her desk.

They were all for apprentices at the beginning of their magical education, trying to grasp the very basics. Violet found 'Fundamentals of Magic: A Starting Guide', it had a dark plum cover with a silver moon printed on. She opened it and commenced reading.

She wasn't sure how much time had gone by, but the candles had melted down by a sizeable degree. She'd surprised herself by devouring the knowledge and ferreting through a good portion of the book. That time she'd held Zann at the point of her sword and said she was scared, he'd told her she needed to get stronger. So what if…?

Violet put her hand on the page and stared forward. So what if she was exactly where she should be? Part of the reason Violet left the college on her expatriations was to see other worlds. It was about more than just repaying Lan'Tim and standing on her own outside of her mother's shadow. At the same time she'd sought growth. Well she had grown, for better or worse, and life could never return to its prior dimensions. Existing deep inside the academic walls was like boxing oneself into a false security. Even if she could escape Helghast and return home, she was not the same person anymore. Should Violet even want to go back?

Or, should she offer her employment to Helghast? Attain power by becoming his pupil? She could finally take a path that was always available to her, but that she'd previously never wanted to take.

She could become a mage.

Violet checked the page number then softly closed the book. She went to her door and saw it was still open a crack so she opened it silently then slipped out into the hall. Violet looked both ways and saw no one, so she started walking.

There were a great many strange things in Helghast's manor. Glass showcases exhibited cursed-looking objects: shrunken heads and severed hands. She near jumped out of her skin when her elbow brushed a taxidermied creeper. There were items that moved on their own, this included books or ornaments that sometimes floated by overhead. She could see dim clouds of colour, magic in various places, hovering over portraits or suits of armour. Violet continued her exploration, noting with another breath how the air had a contradictory feel of being aged but not musty. She glanced up at a stream of cyan haze by the ceiling, then started following its wispy trail.

It led downstairs then along a stone corridor; her footsteps echoed. It'd branched into doorways but she was able to trace it back to its source by the flow. She looked around but saw no one, ahead the stream poured out from a large opening. When Violet rounded it she saw it was leaking from a technological pillar. Helghast was standing there and he turned to her.

"Violet."

He was running tests, and Violet saw what was hovering atop the pillar and getting scanned by drum-like equipment: her crystal ball.

Helghast followed her stare, "They are honestly quite remarkable things. But I believe I can cut it off before anyone can attempt tracking its location to here."

"I decided I don't want to go home," Violet spoke softly.

"Is that so?"

"I miss everyone. But I was just a cultural researcher. That isn't me anymore."

"And what would you like to be?" He was humouring her. Violet chewed the inside of her cheek and didn't respond. He turned his head, "How did you find me?"

"I followed the colours."

"What colours?" The bemusement was bordering on irritation now.

Violet frowned. She was still staring at her floating crystal ball, it was clearly the source of the faint cyan light flowing upwards and out.

Helghast extended his hand, "What colour is this?" He started emitting waves of magic.

"Purple."

"It's not any colour. You shouldn't be able to see it."

Violet was shocked. She always thought enchantments gave off colours, she could sense them too but she assumed everyone could. The idea she was detecting things others couldn't was unexpected.

Helghast read the surprise on her face, "Tell me: why is it you never pursued the arcane?"

"I was afraid of it."

"And that would make perfect sense if you'd come from a world that forbade magic, like an oppressively religious one. But you come from Arcacia, and Lan'Tim has an entire department dedicated to magery, so why?"

Violet bit her lip and looked away again. She knew why and it wasn't easy to explain.

Helghast pushed, "You had some sort of bad experience with it?"

"Yes."

"That's a lie." He said and Violet glanced at him before looking away again. He waited for her to tell the truth.

Violet sighed heavily, "I didn't want to be like my mother." It was somehow terribly embarrassing to say those words, like she was disrobing in front of him. She felt a blush in her cheeks and didn't dare meet his eyes.

He was quiet for a moment. "But now you do want to study magic?"

"I feel like… I've spent my whole life lying to myself. I didn't ever feel like I belonged. I learnt how to fight with the illagers."

"With a sword," he jumped in, "and now you want to fight with magic?" She looked at him and he was smiling as he continued, "So tell me, are you interested in magic itself? Do you wish to understand the deeper truths of the mystical? Or do you just want to fight with magic?"

"I just want to fight with magic," Violet answered honestly.

Helghast nodded, pursing his lips and staring ahead in thought.

Violet looked down, then stared ahead too, "Maybe one day my interest in magic could become more authentic. I don't know."

Helghast spoke slowly, "Your natural gifts are very intriguing. Especially considering you've suppressed them for so long. If you'd started your magical training at say, thirteen, by now you might have already been quite an accomplished mage. Regardless, since you've had no training you've not been shaped by anyone yet either…"

Violet looked at him questioningly.

He continued, "Maybe us meeting like this was fortuitous. A funny twist of fate. All mages begin as apprentices before becoming masters, and then some go back and teach. I never thought that would be me. But I think I'm finally understanding why some do. It is… intriguing, to see untapped potential, and to imagine how grandly it might flourish, how bright you might burn if I did teach you."

He wasn't much older than her, and based on everything she'd heard about him, she doubted her potential matched his. Still, he was obviously very knowledgeable. Violet could feel the waves of magic humming off his being, like it was all reverberating beneath the skin.

"If you did teach me, I'd become your apprentice." Violet considered it as she said it, she lowered her head. "I'd follow your instructions."

He wasn't decided, but she could tell he was terribly tempted by the idea.

"If I trained you, perhaps you would excel fast enough to maintain my interest. But then what would you do for me?"

Violet thought for a second, "On Enim, the illagers thought I was useful because I knew how to work with the villagers."

"That would not benefit me in any considerable way," Helghast stated and so Violet was stumped. "If you work for me you might be useful in overseeing odd jobs, or perhaps as a spy."

"A spy?"

"Not for Lan'Tim, but perhaps elsewhere. We'll put a pin in it."

Violet considered before nodding, she had to be useful, "Okay."

"I am a busy man. So in the meantime, while I work on this artefact of your college, you ought to head back to your room. I'll have a servant bring you dinner."

Violet nodded and left. She hesitated by the corridor, unsure she'd be able to find her way back again, then decided she could ask whoever she bumped into and so she retreated.

She did manage to find her way back after a few wrong turns. Her dinner tray was sitting outside her room so she picked it up and carried it in. Under the lid was orange chicken, salad, potatoes. Not a bad meal. After sitting at her desk and cutting into it with the fine silverware she ate her fill. When finished she dabbed her mouth with the napkin, thinking about how before today she had to use her sleeve or the back of her hand. Napkins - one of the funny little things you miss while out in the wilds. She set the finished tray outside her door and then climbed under the covers of her bed. They wrapped her like a silken, luxurious cocoon. Her eyelids grew heavy.

Violet stared at the roof while the tiredness wore her down. Was she really going to work for a man like Helghast just to accrue power? She'd already crossed a moral boundary when she made all those healing potions for the illagers, but that was under duress. This seemed different somehow. Because it was something she wanted for herself, and it had been her idea. Violet turned over, her head was so comfortable against the cool pillow and she fell into deep slumber.

Strange, considering the day she'd had, but it was one of the best sleeps she'd got in a long time.

The next day Helghast didn't have time for her but he'd sent more books up with her breakfast, accompanying them was a hand-written note. It was elegant script on creamy parchment.

Choose your discipline, choose wisely.

Each tome served as an introduction to different branches of offensive magic. Violet looked over them while chewing a toast and poached egg something. The first book was telekinesis, and after reading a few chapters Violet decided it wasn't for her. For one thing, it was considered an advanced form of magic that only certain mages were compatible with. Even then it was typically learnt after something else. Perhaps he was testing her untapped skill? She tried the exercises and nothing resulted, so she quashed that idea.

The second book, brown and battered, was about pyromancy. Violet read a portion of it and then attempted to force her magic to flow through her fingertips. She snapped her fingers, and though she made no spark, she could feel heat and that was rather promising.

The third book was ice magic, and likewise she was able to make her hand go cold like she'd stuck it in a freezer.

The book beneath that contained something ghastly called blood magic, and it immediately put her off.

All the books mentioned thaumaturges: mages who might not truly be mages but channelled power through items. They only learnt magic for fighting, sticking to one discipline instead of learning all the little tricks of the trade. They seemed most like what Violet wanted to be. After spreading the five books out on her bed she wondered why he'd only given her these. Surely there were more options for offensive magic? But then it occurred to her that Helghast had probably mastered all five of them. These disciplines were what he was capable of teaching her, and Violet would only be focusing on one.

Her hand hovered over the fifth book. She'd accomplished the most while practicing it, so it seemed this branch would be the most compatible with her at the outset. She raised her hand again, focusing as she twisted her wrist, generating another purple spark. This time she felt hairs on her body stand on end from the static resonance. Electromancy, then. Violet put the other books in a stack and then climbed back onto her bed, sitting up against the headboard while she read more about it.

It seemed like this was the magic Helghast had first used on her, and again right before teleporting them away. Maybe it'd been powered up by the glowing runes on his cloak, which had been the same shade of purple. Firing bolts of lightning from one's hands certainly sounded like an efficient way to fight with magic. When Helghast did summon her, she'd reveal her choice and after receiving pointers she'd have all day to practice and get it right. Picturing herself as a mage - adorned in robes with glowy symbols - was too contradictory. The image was strange enough to throw her, because she'd never tried to picture herself like that before. She tried once more to see herself in wizardry robes, a halo of purple around her as she turned her wrist and produced another spark.

。。。

【AN: Ahhh so it came to this. In the Convergence series we saw a fair amount of fire and ice magic. And now I've gone full Elder Scrolls V Skyrim with purple lightning like I said I would, and showcasing that trio of magic is achieved.】