CHAPTER 4
Arcus felt a renewed appreciation for his uncle's kindheartedness.
"No problem! Say, you could bring some of your friends, too! The more
the merrier!"
Arcus straightened up, deciding that now was the time to broach the main
subject.
"I come here today with an earnest request," he began.
"Whaddya want?" Craib asked. "Cash?"
"No, although what I am thinking of may require some funding."
"Oh yeah?"
"I was just wondering whether you would be able to make something like
this."
Arcus pulled a piece of paper out of his bag. On it, he had drawn all the
necessary components for his aethometer, with a written explanation of each
piece's function. Taking the sheet of paper from him, Craib studied it closely.
"So you want a glass tube and a graduated wooden frame? What's this
for?"
"I suppose you would call it an experiment. Do you think you could make
those for me?"
Arcus had no choice but to ask Craib; he didn't know anybody else who
would be able (or willing) to help him. He had never made anything like this
before. He decided to keep what he was trying to make a secret from his
uncle, of course.
"Yeah, I could do that. You just want the stuff that's written on this paper,
and a few of each, right?" Craib asked.
"That's right!"
"Sure thing. Looking at this, though, it'll probably take a while. Is that
okay?"
"That's fine. Thank you so much!"
It wasn't long until the requested items arrived at the Raytheft estate. As
for the Sorcerer's Silver, Arcus took care of that himself. The first step was to
create a vacuum on the inside of the glass tubes with an appropriate spell
before filling it with the Silver, just like a regular thermometer.
The problem is that it will react to my aether...
If Arcus released any aether too close to the Silver, it would expand and
only make things more difficult. He found himself wishing the man had done some research into how thermometers were made. He scoured through the
man's memories buried in his head, but there was nothing about the
particulars of thermometer production.
There was nothing that Arcus could do about that now, either, and so he
resorted to trial and error. Eventually, he managed to get the Sorcerer's Silver
inside the tube. The only thing left was to see whether the Silver still reacted
through the glass.
"Come on..." Arcus murmured under his breath, releasing his aether.
He waited. And then...
The Silver moved.
"I... I did it!"
Overcome with excitement, Arcus slumped to the ground. His first
prototype of the aethometer was a success. From that, he would be able to
calculate how much aether different words and phrases required for different
spells.
"I did it!" he cried out again. This one discovery would enable a giant leap
forward in his studies.
Arcus danced around the room joyfully, unable to contain himself. He
only made the discovery by complete coincidence, and yet he was able to use
it to his advantage. The joy he felt was completely indescribable. Within two
years of being disowned, he already made his first step toward showing up
Joshua and Celine. They called him talentless, but with this one invention, his
potential was limitless.
He was getting ahead of himself. First he had to tell Craib the good news,
and soon he needed to fill the gaps in his design.
I need a standardized unit of measure and a replicable process for
tempering the Silver and...
Arcus's thoughts were washed away by another wave of intense
excitement. Without even realizing, he had started to refer to scientific terms
from the man's world. He fetched a ruler. Units. That was what he needed
first. To start with, he set the amount of aether needed for the most basic
psychokinesis spell at ten. Next, he needed to come up with a name. He
thought back to the books he saw in the man's world. Often, they would
describe amounts of magical power as "mana." That would do. Now he just
had to map out how Silver reacted to different volumes of hot aether. In fact,
now that he thought about it, there was still so much he had to do. Arcus ended up working through the night again, testing and refining his invention.
The next day, having completed his aethometer, Arcus went to visit Craib
again. Just like before, he asked the guard to fetch Craib before rushing inside
to see his uncle. He knew full well that it was a poor show of manners, but he
was just so excited he couldn't help himself. Only narrowly avoiding a
collision with a servant, he burst into the room where Craib was waiting for
him.
"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle!"
"Lemme guess... You stayed up all night again? You need to learn to calm
down, y'know?"
Craib only half looked like he was joking, although he didn't seem
surprised to see Arcus; he had likely already been warned.
"Are you busy this morning?" Arcus asked eagerly.
"I've got work, but I don't have to leave just yet. Just... chill a little first,
okay?"
Arcus obeyed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He finally found the
wherewithal to look around the room. Presently they shared it with three
servants.
"I'd like to speak privately, if that's alright with you," Arcus said.
"Sure."
Although Craib looked just a little doubtful, he dismissed the servants
with a wave of his hand. Arcus produced the aethometer from his bag only
after the door was closed behind them.
"Please, have a look at this."
"What, one of the glass tubes I sent to you?" Craib studied it closely.
"Huh? What are these lines? Did you put somethin' in here?"
"I'll release some aether now. See what happens to the Sorcerer's Silver
inside?"
"Huh... It moves. Neat. I dunno though. If I was a kid, I'd get bored of a
toy like... Hold up. These measuring lines... Is this what I think it is?!"
As Arcus expected, Craib was quick on the uptake. He couldn't help but
let a smug smile play on his lips as he watched his uncle's astonished
expression and the way his hands trembled as he held the device.
"How did you do it?" Craib asked.
"I just so happened to notice some Sorcerer's Silver reacting to my aether
and... Well, I came up with this!" "You just 'came up with it'?"
"It was nothing but coincidence, really."
It was partly true. Arcus supposed he had Lecia to thank for the happy
accident that his outside knowledge let him exploit.
Now it was Craib's turn to get excited. Waiting for him to calm down,
Arcus took a quiet seat on the couch. After studying the aethometer for a
good while, Craib let out a sigh. All at once, his expression hardened.
"You haven't shown this to anyone but me, right?" he asked.
"Just you," Arcus assured him. "I do understand the nature of what I've
created."
"I knew you were a smart one. Good thinking to get those servants outta
here, too." The tiniest of humorous glints appeared in Craib's eye. "This
thing you've made could be huge."
"I understand that. No one has ever been able to measure aether
accurately, right?" Arcus pressed.
"Right. I've never seen anything like this in my travels. This is really
something..."
"This could further mankind's understanding of magic, couldn't it?"
"Yeah, I mean, being able to tell just how much power you need for a
spell... It's a game changer." Placing the aethometer onto the glass table in
front of him, Craib's expression hardened once more. "I'd love to ask how
you made this thing, but there's something I gotta check first. What are you
planning to do with this exactly?"
Arcus hesitated. His main objective was to use it to expand his own
repertoire of spells, of course, but Craib was asking a bigger question than
that.
"I don't wish to keep this invention to myself," Arcus said. "I want to
announce it to the world, but I will have to be careful about the timing."
"You sure? You'd have a huge advantage over other magicians if you
kept it a secret."
"Perhaps. But somebody would be bound to find out eventually, and then
they would want it for themselves. If I announce it, my name and fortune are
as good as made, and I've served my country in the process."
Arcus could understand the appeal of keeping his invention under wraps.
The idea of being stronger than any other magician out there gave him a rush
of superiority. On the other hand, the benefits of going public daunted his imagination; he wanted to see what the world would do with his creation.
Anybody could learn to measure the aether they needed with practice. The
aethometer would simply speed up that process. Arcus didn't have a problem
giving away that time advantage, since the real strength of a magician came
from how they constructed their spells. He expected his uncle to launch into
an explanation of what he already realized, but he didn't.
"Looks like you got it already. You got good foresight, y'know." Craib
ruffled Arcus's hair. "I know I don't gotta tell you this, but don't tell anyone
about this thing just yet, okay? We gotta make sure everything's right for you
to announce it."
"What about my friends?" Arcus asked.
"I guess friends are okay, so long as you're sure they ain't gonna tell
anyone either." Craib paused. "I didn't know you had friends."
"Of course I do!" protested Arcus.
Craib let out a laugh.
"Oh, and don't tell Lecia, either. I get that you'd wanna, but it's safer not
to. You get why, right?"
"Yes, I do," Arcus mumbled.
If he told Lecia, the risk of the news getting to Joshua and Celine—the
whole Raytheft estate, really—was too great. He didn't trust any of them not
to steal the credit for his invention.
Arcus was surprised just how wary Craib was of the people who had
birthed him. Perhaps the rift between them was deeper than he thought,
despite his uncle's regular visits.
"You probably know Joshua can be... pretty jealous," Craib told him, a
sad note creeping into his voice. "He especially hates more talented
magicians."
"Is that right? I would've thought he was more the type to look down on
those he deems weaker than him."
"Huh. That's some way to talk about your old man."
"I no longer consider him my 'old man,' as you put it," replied Arcus. As
far as Arcus was concerned, their filial ties were destroyed the moment
Joshua physically assaulted him. "Although I can't help but wonder how he
ended up like that. He was chosen as the Raytheft heir, right?"
"That's exactly why," Craib countered. "It put a real stick up his—well, it
made him see everyone stronger than him as a threat to the house's name."
To borrow a word from that man's world, he had a complex. Arcus didn't
know how good of a sorcerer Joshua was, but he could imagine the pressure
that came from being the face of the Raythefts.
"He might've been fine if I hadn't come back..." Craib continued. "This
might sound like I'm braggin', but when I came back here after my li'l tour
of the world, I was way stronger than when I left, and I was carryin' all this
clout with the army and the crown he could only dream of. Even just as a
plain old magician, my reputation improved. Dad put the cherry on top with
his last words."
"What did he say?" Arcus asked.
"He told Joshua that he messed up by naming him heir."
"Whoa."
That was harsh. No wonder Joshua had developed insecurities.
"After that, I reckon Joshua expected too much from you and Lecia. He
probably felt his own worth was pinned on how talented you two were.
Makes sense considering what he did to you, right?"
In other words, Joshua couldn't face the idea of his son being talentless
when he considered himself to be so powerful, and for his self-image's sake,
it had to be Arcus's fault. Although Arcus understood his disinheritance to
stem from the Raythefts' rules, Joshua's treatment of him never made much
sense until now. Perhaps Arcus's grandfather and his last words really were
to blame, but given Joshua's personality, things would likely have ended up
like this anyway.
Craib cast his gaze away from Arcus.
"Y'know... That means it's my fault you got treated so badly."
"I don't think—"
"It's my fault. Sugarcoat it all you want, but if I hadn't come back, things
wouldn't have turned out like this."
Perhaps Craib agreed so readily to teach Arcus magic because of the guilt
he shouldered. Arcus had the feeling his uncle had wanted to convey these
things to him for a while.
"I-I can't thank you enough, Uncle! For everything you've done for me!"
Maybe it was true that Craib's return caused all this trouble, but that
didn't erase everything his uncle did for him. He learned everything he knew
from him, and thanks to him, Arcus wasn't living out a miserable existence;
Craib helped to keep Joshua and Celine in check, too. Arcus didn't have the words to express just how grateful he was, but he tried his best. Craib let out
a sigh of relief.
"Thanks. That makes me feel a little better."
Craib took a puff from the cigar in his hand, but whether it was from
embarrassment or nostalgia, Arcus couldn't tell. Idly watching the smoke
circling above them, he leaned back against the couch. Arcus waited patiently
for him to finish his cigar, at which point Craib turned his gaze back toward
the aethometer.
"Y'know something? You're a genius."
Although Craib seemed to mellow out while speaking about his brother,
his excitement looked to be returning. He was grinning from ear to ear; he
still sounded like he couldn't believe what his eyes told him.
"I'd still like to discuss it with you if you have the time," Arcus requested.
"Oh, right." Craib rang the bell to call a servant, who didn't take long to
arrive. "Hey, I'm gonna have to call off work today. Something urgent's
come up. Mind tellin' 'em sorry for me?"
The servant nodded before bowing his head and leaving the room.
There were many things that Arcus wanted to talk to Craib about. First, he
explained how he created the aethometer. He also wanted Craib's advice on
production: how many he should look to make and such. After spending the
entire day going over the details, they decided to visit a glassmith to aid with
production.
Arcus carried out experiment after experiment with the aethometer,
wanting to refine the design as much as possible. He looked at whether he
could improve the Sorcerer's Silver: whether it could measure larger amounts
of aether or with greater accuracy. Again and again, he turned up hitches in
his design to correct. Thanks to his endless efforts, he succeeded in
improving on his prototype.
He discovered that mixing red pigment with the Silver kept it expanded
for longer and reduced friction as it traversed the tube. Keeping each tube the
same length, he changed the qualities of the Silver inside it, as well as the rate
of expansion. He prepared tubes that could measure up to 50, 100, and 500
mana, which would be useful for different kinds of spells.
With all those improvements, he could carefully control and sustain his
aether output. It wasn't like a magician would be able to use an aethometer in
every situation, so it was still important for them to be able to trust their gut.
However, being able to measure aether by numbers like this would make all
the difference in the world. They would be able to measure how much was
required for every last word and clause of their spells. The once-inescapable
trial-and-error approach was obsolete. It couldn't be overstated how much
time this invention would save the average magician.
And so, the aethometer's design was finalized.
Craib and Arcus were nothing short of overjoyed. They spent the next
entire week refining the spells they already knew with their new aethometer
readings. What pleased Arcus more than anything was just how excited his
uncle was about the whole thing.
"Your name is gonna go down in history! Congratulations, Arcus!"
Arcus loved how his uncle shared his intense passion for magic.
It was becoming even more apparent just how revolutionary his invention
was. Beyond its vast ramifications for the field at large, it could give the
nation's army an unspeakable edge. The latter point left a bad taste in Arcus's
mouth from what he knew of war in the man's memories, but he knew there
would have to be compromises in announcing his creation.
In any case, he still needed to work out the timing for his announcement.
To gain permission, he had to speak to the royal family and the Institute of
Magic. Before that, he needed to gather as much data as possible and have a
stockpile of aethometers at the ready.
And so, Arcus's years-long project with Craib began.
One day, Arcus was taking a break from the aethometer to work on spell
development. He hid himself away in the corner of the Raythefts' garden.
Though there were no hedges or flower patches to conceal him, this patch of
fresh lawn was difficult to see from the estate itself. He often came here to
practice magic, but this time was a little different.
Arcus cast his mind back to the incident with Sue. His Scrapped Arms
attack failed to knock out the kidnapper, and as a result the two of them only
barely managed to escape. It was total carelessness on Arcus's part. He'd
gambled on the effectiveness of an attack he never field-tested and lost.
Arcus didn't want to take a risk like that ever again. Though in theory
magic was capable of anything with the right words, that didn't always
translate into reality. The important thing was to try things out and practice
spells over and over to see what worked. This was especially important to Arcus, who wanted to do more than just imitate forces of nature or improve
on extant spells. He wanted to make something the world had never seen, and
his memories from the man's world were the best source of inspiration for
that.
The first thing that came to mind was guns. Arcus saw them often in
movies from the man's world. A single pull of the trigger sent a metal bullet
traveling at imperceptible speed, and your opponent was wounded in a
heartbeat. In this world, most attacks were visible. By creating one that
couldn't be seen, Arcus could catch his opponent off guard. The main issue
was that gunshot wounds were very often fatal.
I'm not sure I could do anything about that, though...
Kidnappers and the like still ran rampant through the streets, despite the
kingdom's efforts in the name of security. Showing mercy or hesitating could
prove a fatal mistake against opponents like them. Regret after the fact
wouldn't be enough to undo your mistake. Arcus gained more than
knowledge from his dreams; a foreign set of ethics came with it. You could
rarely afford to show mercy to your opponents here.
Arcus already had plenty of words and clauses memorized, thanks to his
wide reading. All he needed was to assemble them and create an image in his
mind of what he wanted to happen. To help his imagination along, Arcus bent
his fingers so that his right hand resembled a gun. He stretched his arm out in
front of him.
"Black Bullet. Rip through the air faster than sound and tear apart the
wind."
Artglyphs swirled up around him, forming a magic circle around Arcus's
index finger. They spun, and Arcus felt a weight in his arm.
So far, so good... but what is my aether doing?
Concentrated aether whirled inside his right arm. It felt like blood boiling
as it passed through his veins. No longer able to keep his arm up under its
own weight, he brought his left hand under his elbow to steady it. The next
moment, there was a loud snap as a black bullet shot from his finger. A
plume of aether rose like smoke from the tip.
It was just like a real gun. But Arcus wasn't ready to celebrate just yet.
Something was... off.
It was certainly powerful enough. It shot a hole right through its target.
Arcus realized his failure the moment he saw the black bullet. You weren't supposed to be able to see bullets in flight. Even though he instructed it to
move "faster than sound," the bullet moved too slowly, and Arcus couldn't
work out why. He thought over his exact phrasing.
Perhaps I should use the gun's mechanism as the basis for my spell...
The problem was that the mechanism wasn't common knowledge.
Explosive, detonation, propellant... These words existed in the man's
world but had no equivalent in artglyphs, nor even in the language spoken in
Lainur. Spells depended on the precision of the artglyphs used to form them.
If Arcus couldn't dictate what he wanted clearly and precisely, then it was
impossible to recreate a gun's mechanism perfectly. He asked Craib, too, but
he said those words didn't exist within artglyphs.
They must exist... Arcus thought to himself. They simply haven't been
discovered yet!
Even if they did exist, there was no doubt they would be difficult to use.
An "explosion" was a powerful force, requiring dense qualifier clauses before
it could be used in a spell safely. Arcus feared it would make his spell too
long-winded. He decided to go back to the basics.
I cannot get rid of "Black Bullet"...
"Black Bullet" came from the second Ancient Chronicle, The Spiritual
Age. It referred to the metallic sling-stones used to shoot down the beasts
which came from the forest to attack the village. It was the most appropriate
phrase he could use to create a solid projectile.
"Rip through the air faster than sound and tear apart the wind." That's
where my problem is...
The clause described the bullet's behavior. Arcus created it from single
words rather than borrowing it from a book. Still, it was strange the bullet
failed to do what he asked of it. If his composition was the problem, then
perhaps it would be better to rely on a set phrase. Arcus opened up his
notebook.
"Let's see..." he murmured to himself. "'Artglyph phrases are created by
linking several single words together. While the words composing the phrase
give its meaning, its meaning may also be influenced by factors like its
context. This gives one phrase several potential effects...'"
For example, there was the spell that Sue cast against the kidnapper. She
used a set phrase: "incinerate the darkness." Taking the meaning literally,
"incinerate" was, of course, to "destroy something by burning." The phrase's.
original use in the Chronicles—even the author's intent—could alter the
spell's nature.
"The Magician's Elegy, the fifth Chronicle," Arcus whispered. Then, he
began to recite.
"O vengeful magician, weave fire into thy words.
May they blaze with overwhelming force and incinerate the darkness.
May they fill the silent night and engulf yonder buildings, burning bright."
This section spoke of a magician who lost someone he loved and was set
in a city at night. He turned his words into flame to exact his revenge, turning
the black night red with flames.
The phrase "incinerate the darkness" therefore had three meanings.
Firstly, to burn something up; secondly, to fight back against the dark of
night; and thirdly, for those fires to burn strong with vengeance.
Whatever world you lived in, a word's meaning and nuances shifted with
the situation. In the same way, you had to take a phrase's context into
account when using it in a spell. In Arcus's case, he wanted his spell to knock
down his opponent in an instant. He thought back through the six Ancient
Chronicles.
The Birth of Heaven and Earth documents the creation of the Earth and
sky. The Spiritual Age is a record of the time when spirits wandered Earth.
The Prophecy of Shadows predicts the entire history and future of this world.
Documenting the Stars describes a scholar's life as he follows the sky and the
movements of the planets. The Magician's Elegy speaks about civilization as
it was when magic flourished, and then there's Demons and Society's
Collapse.
Arcus decided to review The Spiritual Age, Documenting the Stars, and
The Magician's Elegy for his spell.
The Spiritual Age collected stories similar to the fairy tales, legends, epics,
and myths that existed in the man's world.
Documenting the Stars was a mysterious account left behind by a scholar
who researched natural phenomena.
The Magician's Elegy was written during a time when the people here
held just as much power as the technology in the man's world... before
society collapsed.
"'Like a meteor through space.'" Arcus considered for a moment.
It sounds impressive, but it's not quite what I'm looking for.
Though Arcus picked over phrase after phrase, none of them stuck in the
slightest. He sat down in the garden, grumbling to himself for a while.
Finally, he found a promising phrase in his notes on The Spiritual Age.
I'll try this one.
Arcus held out his arm, replicating the shape of a gun with his hand again.
He muttered the phrase under his breath over and over, keeping an eye on the
aethometer beside him. Once he was satisfied, he spoke the full spell aloud.
"Black Bullet. Keep the pale horse galloping through the skies in the blink
of Death's eye."
There was a crack as Arcus felt an enormous pressure on his arm. Just as
before, the bullet tore a hole through its target. The bullet moved too fast for
him to see anything. It was just like a real gun.
Now I just need to work out how much aether this spell uses.
Keeping his eye on his aethometer once more, Arcus set to work
experimenting with his aether output.
After three days of trial and error, Arcus's Black Ammo spell was
complete. While it would have looked more impressive if it weren't invisible,
it was just as powerful and effective as any pistol. It was bound to keep Arcus
safe in a range of situations. He just wished that he was able to use language
more specific to guns in his spell.
Ever since the kidnapping incident, Arcus and Sue met up from time to
time. They spent a lot of their time around the city playing, as children
should, as well as simply talking. That wasn't to say their relationship was
equal; it was usually Sue who called the shots on what they would do.
Just as Arcus noted the first time they sat in the plaza together, once you
started a conversation with Sue about magic, she would really get into it. Her
eyes would light up immediately, and she would tell you just when you
should use a certain word or what meanings she thought a certain phrase
held. Arcus always got so engrossed in those conversations that time seemed
to flash by, in no small part due to his own enthusiasm.
After all this time, Arcus still didn't know about Sue's background. He
suspected she must be a noble child hiding her status, but she never
confirmed this. She even apologized for being unable to speak about her
identity.
"I'm sorry... I can't tell you. But I'm really happy that you're my friend!"
Her anxious gaze was earnest, telling Arcus that it was likely family
troubles keeping her from being honest with him. Maybe she was like him
and had trouble making friends.
As they often did, they were spending the day studying together. The
locale changed each time, but today it was their regular café, sitting down on
the terrace. It wasn't a fancy place by any means, and you wouldn't find any
expensive teas here, but the atmosphere was relaxing enough. Although
Arcus couldn't afford to come too often, it was nice to be able to sit back
with a cup of tea and not have to worry about being kidnapped. Sat at one
corner, Arcus and Sue pored over their study materials together. On the round
wooden table lay the Ancient Chronicles, pens, notepads, and a glass tea set.
Meanwhile, Sue was enjoying some candy. Arcus couldn't enjoy the stuff
nearly as much as she did—not with his memories of refined sugars, corn
syrup, and benzene rings for comparison.
The two of them usually spent their study sessions explaining to the other
what they learned in their own studies. Bringing their heads together, they
worked to pull new artglyphs and words from the Chronicles. There were, of
course, words and phrases which they needed to explain to one another, and
that took precedence.
"See? This word's in this phrase, too!"
"Then what about this one?"
"I think... that's from this line here, isn't it?" Arcus picked up one of the
books containing the Chronicles. Checking his notes, he frowned.
"According to The Birth of Heaven and Earth, it's when the ground shakes
violently, like a shockwave through the earth. In other words, an earthquake."
"An earthquake..." Sue echoed.
"I'll read this out to you. 'With a loud groan, the earth destroyed the hills
of Bahr. Mountains, valleys, rivers, and seas, swallowed up and flattened.
Everything left was lost to the darkness of despair, as voices wailed through
the emptiness.'"
This passage likely described a huge phenomenon where the earth itself
shifted. It must have been quite something to be able to affect mountains,
rivers, and seas.
"I dunno if you'd be able to use that word in a spell," Sue pondered.
"Indeed," Arcus agreed. "It does seem a little too powerful."
Not only that, but too much for a magician to handle. The amount of aether required aside, Arcus couldn't think of any words to pair up with
"earthquake" that would keep it in check. Even if there were, the resulting
spell would probably be overly long and complex. Writing it down would be
no problem, but long spells left more room for stuttering and pronunciation
errors.
Sue leaned back in her seat.
"Think we could take a break? My brain's hurting."
"All right," Arcus said, closing up the books in front of them.
As their minds turned away from studying, Arcus found himself thinking
back to the kidnapping incident once more. There was one thing in particular
weighing on him.
"Sue," he began, "could I ask you about the spell you attempted when we
faced that kidnapper?"
"Huh?" Sue frowned. "I used a ton of spells. Which one do you mean?"
"Remember? The one you attempted just before I used my Scrapped A—"
"Oh, that one?!" Sue immediately straightened up in her seat and gave a
nervous laugh. "It's, um... Ahem!"
"You mean you can't tell me?" Arcus asked.
"It's, um... like a family secret."
So he was right.
"In that case, I won't push it."
"I'm sorry. You're always telling me so much stuff about yourself, but I
hardly tell you anything."
"That isn't true."
It hurt Arcus that Sue seemed to think he contributed to their friendship
more than her. His relationship with her was based on mutual aid. While
Arcus used the man's memories to teach her about words relating to concepts
and phenomena that were largely unknown in this world, Sue taught him a
great deal of words and phrases drawn from antiquity—she had a voracious
appetite for history. Thanks to her, he could read some of the terms he
struggled with before, as well as unearth new meanings to phrases he was
already familiar with. "The blink of Death's eye," a key clause in his Black
Ammo spell, was something he learned from Sue. The truth was, she helped
him out a great deal.
In any case, if she couldn't tell him about her spell, then he hoped she
wouldn't mind him trying to analyze it a little. Ever since he received that man's memories, Arcus's own memory capacity had advanced far beyond his
years. It was a piece of cake for him to memorize new words and phrases,
and he could recite some of the man's more well-read books by heart.
Recalling Sue's exact words on that day was not a problem.
"May the echo of these footsteps ignite the firmament. O, dazzling
skies..."
That was it. If Arcus broke down the spell into parts, he should be able to
work out its effect. After checking to see whether any of the parts belonged to
certain phrases (they didn't), he set about analyzing the meaning of each
word.
"The firmament... 'sky' as the boundary between spirit and matter. And
footsteps which ignite it..." Arcus mused aloud.
Sue looked up at him quizzically, letting out a gasp as she realized what
he was doing. She froze for a split second before waving her arms at him.
"Wait! Stop! Stop, stop, stop right there!"
"I beg your pardon?"
"No more thinking! Turn your brain off right this moment!"
"I would, but I don't wish to die. Besides, it's just a small part of the
spell," Arcus pointed out. "I fail to see the problem."
"It's a huge problem! 'Cause I know you're gonna work it out! Especially
since those words are so specific!"
"Are they...?" Arcus responded.
While "firmament" and "footsteps" were common enough in everyday
language, the artglyphs used for them were particularly obscure, even among
magicians. If he recalled correctly, they came up in The Prophecy of
Shadows. Specifically, a part Craib gave up on working out.
Arcus reached for his copy.
"Y-You can read The Prophecy of Shadows?!" Sue gasped.
"Not much of it, and I only started recently," Arcus replied.
"You're such a weirdo! You're like... You're too smart!" Sue protested.
"I'm sorry?" Arcus blinked at her. "Is that how you speak to a friend?"
The two began to bicker, which was hopefully a sign of their deepening
friendship...
One day, Craib arrived at the Raytheft estate.
"Hello, Uncle," Arcus greeted him. "What brings you here "?
This was the first time that Craib had actively come to see Arcus, rather
than Arcus visiting him. A servant brought him down to the drawing room,
where he found Craib lying back on the couch and smoking a cigar. It wasn't
clear whether he was invited in or if he just barged through the front door, but
either way, Arcus was impressed at the courage he showed by setting foot in
the house he had absconded from. Maybe he didn't feel the need to act like a
visitor on the grounds that he used to live here.
Once Arcus sat down on the dark-brown leather couch, Craib ground out
his cigar into an ashtray.
"Arcus," he began, "you're gettin' an attendant."
"An attendant?"
"Yeah. He's a good guy. You can trust him, okay?"
"That... wasn't my issue." Arcus frowned. "I was just wondering where
all of this came from."
"It's 'cause of that thing you made," Craib explained. "You need someone
nearby to talk about it to, right? In case somethin' comes up or you wanna
bounce ideas off them. Well, you don't have to tell him anything if you don't
want. That's up to you. But you'll have to get him a room and help sort his
luggage."
Craib clapped his hands in a peculiar rhythm.
"You can come in now."
The door opened, revealing a handsome young man standing behind it.
From his appearance, Arcus guessed that he was in his late teens or early
twenties. His indigo hair was cut into a short bob, and he wore a monocle. He
wore a morning coat with a tie that matched his hair, topped off with
immaculate black gloves. A rapier lay at his hip.