[ - Author's Note - ]
Well, here we are once more. After speaking with an actual dragon we go south, south and further south towards Perrious with the first stop being Grecure. We get to see an old friend and we have a new sort of challenge that doesn't involve goblins and trolls. Or bandits. Or mercenaries. Or pirates...
You get the idea.
Links to the ongoing poll will be at the bottom of the chapter and I would love it if you voted if you haven't already. I would really appreciate it and it does tell me what people likes, at least in that sense. Anyway, rather then blather on let's get the story rolling, shall we?
[ - Act II - Chapter XXXIV: To Be A Master - ]
Thanks to a combination of iron and orichalcum mines the Duchy of Grecure rose in it's wealth and prosperity quickly. Indeed, the Duchy and it's current rulers, House Triaidola is another example of what can be when natural riches are invested wisely and with care. A combination of industry in both common and magical items has ensured a consistent level of wealth in addition to more recently found orichalcum mines; all of which attracted a major branch of the Spellcaster's Guild to them. Originally the Duchy was ruled by House Glasspul but a series of illnesses cored them. In 134 AF Peter Glasspul brought the three minor noble houses within his realm and asked they each provide one of their daughters to marry his chosen heir; Knight Commander Victor Wittekroon. The idea was that they would form one, new, grand House to rule the Duchy; House Triaidola.
The new banner for this house would be formed from the banner's of the collected minor houses and the new heir; the fist and lightning of House Tonnerre, the book and crowned heart of House Weisesherz, the winged, golden blade of House Moedigeridder all formed around the hands and crown of House Wittekroon. In addition House Triaidola consults more with it's subordinate minor Houses then other regions. Additionally they were some of the most welcoming to the halfling immigrants when they first arrived in Eostia. Indeed; much of the mining within Grecure is done by halflings.
Triaidola stands as a peak example of what coordination and unity can do for a state as well as how to incorporate new arrivals to it's culture and ways.
~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia
[-]
We quickly got back to a good pace once we got away from the mountains and rode back first to Steel Lock, staying a night with the Mignite's before the ride back to Ansur and Ironwall City. We ended up arriving early in the morning and stopped in at an armorer that both Lulu and Finaly highly recommended. Once he saw the bag of dragon scales and that Lulu was footing the bill he was overjoyed to work with me and had me pulled aside, stripped down and taking measurements to make it all fit right.
As a side note he asked about who made my gambeson as it seemed odd to him so I told him who made it and more importantly how it was made. He hadn't heard of someone combining leather gambeson and mage robe together into a single armor and he wondered if he could achieve a similar and stronger effect by using an underlay treated in the same manner as arcane robes under the layer of scales. A padding layer was expected and giving it the arcane robe treatment would bolster my magic as well. I gave the go ahead to try it and then he asked how I wanted the armor made.
I passed to him a pair of golf ball sized spell stones (Both reformed into a pair of half spheres with a flat sides and with a little extra work recolored to blue) and directed one to be placed in the center of the chest and one on the back of the left hand. I asked that, if possible, for the left bracer to be reinforced to some degree, to maximize protection while keeping as much mobility as practical, that he kept to the colors of House Noxdecus (Given the scales were blue that was a given) and it's shield emblem should be set to the chest or shoulders. Beyond that I gave him carte blanche to make it as he saw fit. That I more or less gave him near full control over the style of the armor (Within a few boundaries) was clearly something he liked; creative types enjoyed flexing that creativity after all.
We stopped for lunch but left after to make time. We rode to the southeast to Grecure; a rather rich Duchy all in all and, among other things, it bore a notable branch of the Spellcaster's Guild in it's capital. We rode along on roads built inside of valleys that wound about before passing through a large patch of grasslands then along a large, long hill overlooking another valley. Along the way I got another three thousand sparring XP... because my sparring partner was Lulu... So yeah, no real wins here...
Regardless we would arrive in the Capital of Grecure, Syndicat City. The city was located atop of one large hill with it's top flattened with the city walls built circling the top with a lot of towers and whitewashed. The gate was flanked with two lengths of walls stretching out with solid towers built at the ends. In addition a natural stream was used to fill in a moat to ring around the hill the city was built upon. A gatehouse at the base of the hill controlled a drawbridge that was down, allowing us to ride across and up the hill to the city proper. The banner of the local lords, House Triaidola which was four banners in one.
Three of them had flat sides, V shaped cuts to the top and a hard points on the bottom with two side by side and one under them; the upper two's bottom points connecting to the top points of the bottom one. The diamond shape left between the three formed the last segment of it. The upper left was a deep red with a normal red outline. On it was a red fist clutching a deep gold lightning bolt. The upper right one was deep green with a normal green outline. On it was a light gold book with pages, a heart over it outlined the same color and filled in with green and a light gold crown over it. The bottom one was a deep blue with a blue outline and bore a golden sword with a crown shaped pommel, a blue pommel and wings that started closer to the tip of the blade and a pair of golden stars on either side of the handles. The final, diamond shaped panel in the center was a light purple with a darker purple outline that bore two, dark purple hands under a silver colored crown. It was a banner based on the House's founder and his three brides original houses making a... colorful and perhaps overly complicated banner.
We would ride into the gates and ride past the Victorian styled buildings of the city and towards the manor in the rear of the noble's district. Grecure Manor was fairly large, all in all; some four stories tall and wider then most comparable manors with almost rounded tower like corners. The walls were white with gold trim with a black roof and bore planters that ringed the walls filled with flowers; red, green, blues and purple ones namely. In front of the manor there was a three tiered fountain with the state of a man on the top one and three women surrounded him on the second tier; spaced out evenly and looking up at him. We were let onto the grounds and drove around the fountains and parked, disembarking. As expected the local lord had bought up some voxluxs and knew we were coming. We would have a guard open the door for us and walk in; the House Triaidola banner was hung over the top of the stairs.
"Ah, welcome, welcome! Another guest!" I heard as someone walked out to approach us. It was... an under dressed halfling which surprised me. Not the under dressed part or the halfling part, Eostia will Eostia, but rather I was expecting a human noble. "I am Abby Clach; Guard Captain of House Triaidola and Acting Lord. Apologies; something came up that demanded my lord's attention." She let off. As for her...
She stood about five feet tall; that was massive by halfling standards. She had a flat chest, deep blue eyes and a mid back length, blonde hair that was hanging like a curtain with some bangs and curled over her cheeks. A few bits of hair went up like small horns as a green wreath-like circlet was over her hair. Her torso was covered by straps of white cloth over her chest that crossed over from the shoulders to the hips on the opposite side to bronze rings attached to a wreath like, bronze fixture and rings under it holding strips that made a set of panties for her. The right, bottom ring, bore a white cloth that wrapped around to behind the left hip forming a sort of partial skirt. Her arms were covered to the wrists with mythril on the outside and bronze on the underside that went over the shoulders with some bronze strips over it and a bronze lion's head over the front of the left shoulder. Sandals were on each foot with bronze plates over the foot with black straps up the calves.
The real stand out, however, was the massive gauntlets currently hanging off her hips. Both with mythril with bronze trimming and black undersides and fingers; painted metal I'd say. The bulk of the size of them were carved faces; the right one being the face of a younger, clean shaven man and the left being the face of an older, bearded man, both with feathered hair. The hands of the gauntlets were oversized for a woman her size as well with a spell stone in a bronze ring that wrapped about the wrists blue for the right and red for the left in addition to a length of chain hanging off both. My guess was there was a smaller gauntlet inside of it that controlled the outer one via enchantments.
(-)
Name: Abby Clach
Title: The Fists of Stone
Class: Monk
Level: 27
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 41
Status: Healthy, Calm,
Romance Rating: 103
Corruption Rating: 11
Known Traits
[Talk to the Fist] Your punches are much more powerful then normal and can devastate foes. +2 to Con & Str. +5 Damage when Punching.
[?]
[Full Block] You can block any attack with no damage; so long as your weapons or shield can resist the impact.
[Halfling Might] You are exceptionally strong; even for a halfling. +12 to Str. +4 to Con & End
Orphaned by a fire in her home she was raised by a friend of her parents. Looking for a purpose in life she stumbled over an easterner who fought in an unarmed combat style. Training under him she adapted his martial arts to her own body type and dubbed it the Ari no Ken; the Fist of the Ant, which was meant to take advantage of the higher strength to size ratio of halflings. She ended up as the Guard Captain of House Triaidola thanks to her strength and calmness although she had stated she wants to explore the world and train further.
(-)
"A pleasure to meet you, Abby." I said, bowing slightly. "And don't worry about it; I'm well aware that a lord can be called away without warning." I said as she smiled and smacked her fists together.
"Well, small kingdom isn't it?" Someone else said as they moved from a side hall.
"Channer?" Yup; my friend from the rival family was here too. "Well I'm surprised to see you once more." I said as he walked over, the two of us shaking hands firmly. "Still exploring Eostia, eh?" I let off as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ehhh, it's more complicated then that..." He said as he chuckled. "You see-" And then he was cut off as the front door was slammed open making most of the room jump in surprise.. I mean most people don't kick open the door of a lord's home.
"Yes! You are here!" The new comer let off as I turned to see who had entered the room. The woman in question looked African in appearance so she was likely from the Sunkissed Continent of this world. She stood some five six in height and had short, feathered white hair that hung around her head, besides and between her yellow eyes that bore a circlet around it; covered by the hair on the sides and with a rounded plate in the front and smaller plates seen from under her hair. For clothing she had a white, strapless dress that ended in a loincloth that had yellow trim and sub-skirt and bore white sleeves that fell just past the elbows and cups that hugged Double D-Cup breasts well. A bronze toned corset was around her waist with yellow trim and she bore a yellow cape with white liner. Short, white gloves were on each hand with gold trim and a pair of gold bands were around each forearm. White, knee high boots with gold trim and tread were on her feet as she looked right at me. "Lord Noxdecus, yes?" She let off as she... shimmered then reappeared to the left of the room and then did it again to appear before me; like inches from my face!
Was that... Shunt Shift? The odd name aside it was a very difficult to use spell that could be mistaken for teleportation. It wasn't; as the odd name suggested it wasn't teleportation but rather a very fast, sudden movement with magic that 'shunted' them in a straight line to a new location. It was a difficult and rare spell but with a lot of potential.
"I am..." I said as I took a step back so she wasn't so close. "And you are?" I said as I pointed to her... And she grabbed the hand and smiled as she shook it firmly.
"Zuva Zeena; Administrator of Grecure's Spellcaster's Guild. Pleasure to finally meet you." She said, still shaking my hand.
(-)
Name: Zuva Zeena
Title: Daylit Archmage
Class: Sage
Level: 35
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 55
Status: Healthy, Excited, Open
Romance Rating: 89
Corruption Rating: 18
Known Traits
[?]
[Light of the Day] Your mana is highly attuned to the Holy Element. +20% Power to all Holy based spells and Resistance to Holy Damage. -5% Power to all non Holy, Darkness and Arcane Spells. -15% Power to All Darkness Spells and Resistance to Darkness Damage
[Arcane Mastery] +7% Power to all Arcane Spells.
[?]
When the Xhosa tribe was overrun by their enemies many fled upon ships to carry them away from the Sunkissed Continent. Their ships landed in Zellabrand in south central Sererus and migrated northwards into Akulla where they would finally settle down. Her parents, however, found themselves moving north of the Great Sererus Lake into South Point. At a young age she was found to have a great amount of magical potential and after serving as a Court Mage for House Silversail for a time she joined the Spellcaster's Guild and recently claiming the rank of Archmage.
(-)
"Right, Miss Zeena-"
"Just Zuva is good, M'lord." She said as I bit back the effort to sigh.
"Zuva, how can I help you?" I asked as she smiled wider.
"Well... It's less how you can help me and how I can help you." She let off as I blinked at her. "The local guild is, as of tomorrow, hosting the Master's Test for promotion within the Spellcaster's Guild." She said as I blinked then nodded.
"Right, right... I knew those were coming up; I just hadn't realized how soon." I said as Channer chuckled.
"Same here. Luckily I was near Grecure when I remembered so I rushed over." He let off with a grin. "But yes, the Master's Test is tomorrow."
In short the ranks the Spellcaster's Guild had was Apprentice, Graduate, Mage, Master/Mistress, Grand Master/Grand Mistress, Magus, Grand Magus, Archmage and finally Archmage Prime; the last one being for the leader of the Guild only. Mage was the starting rank with Apprentice being a mage-in-training and Graduate was someone who went to a magical academy and passed it's tests. It was less of a rank and more of an addition to a rank; I was a Graduate Mage while someone who didn't go to an academy but was recognized as a mage was simply a Mage.
While behind schedule there was value for me joining in on this test; it would allow me to access more resources and knowledge from the Guild. While that didn't have any value to me now it could in the future; doubly so as I could make possible connections down the line.
"Well; assuming no one has a problem I don't mind staying the day for it." I said as I looked back to me group. There was no objections to be had. "I'd better start refreshing my magical knowledge then..."
"The magical library and facilities will be opened for your use, then." Abby said, smiling up at me. "I've open them to Channer for his use so fair is fair." She said as I nodded. "But may I suggest a lunch first? No sense studying on an empty stomach."
[-]
I was rather lucky that Channer already had a wealth of books in the study pulled out to read and study to start with; it cut down on my own time searching for them. The test that was upcoming would include the five fields of magic as main subjects; Enchanting, Alchemy, Conjuring, Combat and Restoration. For those in need of an explanation Enchanting was using magic to enhance objects (My specialty), Alchemy was about making potions and other magical regiments like liquid and powdered mana, Conjuring was turning mana into objects or items such as water or even something like Arcane Weapon as well as shields, Combat was magic based on offensive and damage dealing spells and Restoration was based on healing spells as well as other spells that bolstered the body.
The test would come in two main segments; theory and practical. Theory was your usual high school sort of test; there's a sheet with a list of questions you have to answer; and the concept of multiple choice questions hadn't been invented yet. Additionally that test would be divided into eight segments; a general knowledge test, an advanced knowledge test, a test for each of the five main fields plus one more on magical history. To pass you need to score well on the general knowledge and one of the five fields.
The practical was simply a demonstration of your ability to cast and use spells. This was split into three parts; casting the spells and showing competence in them, showing you had deep enough mana reserves to use them and that you had mastery over at least a dozen of them; you needed to show off twenty spells with three being Arcane.
That said that was just to become a Master; this test also allowed one to rise to the rank of Grand Master. The tests was the same but you had to show a higher level of competency; on the theory you needed high marks on the tests for general knowledge and two fields in addition to scoring well on both the history and advanced tests. On top of that you needed to showcase thirty five spells in the practical.
While this sounded easy on paper this wasn't something you could get by scoring a D minus. A score of at least seventy-five percent on each test would be required. And to make calculating that easy each test in the theoretical section bore a hundred questions. Yes; that's eight hundred questions in one test. And I had a single night to cram.
And you thought your college thesis was a pain in the ass...
On the plus side we had both Aeris and Edda willing to pitch in and help; Aeris wasn't a part of the Spellcaster's Guild but her knowledge level would be Grand Mistress to Magus level at least and Edda was a Magus. As such both were willing to ask questions to test us through the afternoon to the evening. Channer was deep into the tea pot but I opted to break out the coffee to fuel me until and after dinner. One thing I didn't know as I studied was why Zuva wanted me to take the test so badly to rush to the manor and more or less press me into an exam. It seemed a bit odd.
My guess was she or someone higher up in the Spellcaster's Guild wanted me to have more involvement with their guild due to the voxlux and it's assisting booster system which made sense; they'd want to record what information I was willing to provide and store it for future generations and use.
(I'd later learn I was half right; the voxlux was the main reason but Blake von Adelle had let it slip I had taken Dark Flare and used it and Blazing Weapon to create a new, hybrid spell and the first known hybrid weapon enhancement spell. They were hoping I'd add the information of Shadowblaze Weapon to their library straight away as well as any other such spells I might make.)
I put in another two hours after dinner and called it while Channer kept going; I wanted to be well rested for the upcoming test. My thoughts on passing? Well; mixed. On the one hand I hadn't had the chance to study very much. After all even if I had been preparing for it I was on the road constantly. More over I had been working on a second new spell which was finally in what I'd call a finished state... and tested by throwing it at a deer in the woods. Scared the deer like nothing else but the spell did what I wanted it to do.
Sorry Bambi.
After dressing down to nightwear I broke out my book on spell orbs once more and read for a bit as I pulled out another scroll to jot things down onto it. A combination of notes and plans went onto it; of course how well I could implement said plans depended on how people back in the manor were doing on my project that I assigned to them. All I could do was prepare form them to pull it off as they thought they could and cross my fingers they made good on it.
That said if they pulled it off there was so much I could do after it. So, so much...
I wasn't overly surprised when someone knocked on my door; that was a semi-consistent thing it seemed "Come in." I called out as, of all people, Finlay walked in. She was out of her armor and wore a red, fitted tunic that was long enough to act as a dress. She shut the door behind her before walking over to me.
"Still studying?" She let off, hands moving to her hips as she stopped by me. I couldn't help but notice she was rocking some B-Cups on her chest; busty for a halfling.
"Sorta; but more for my own projects then the test." I said as I set the book down, mark in place before shutting it. "Can I help you? Or did you just come to seduce me?" I asked her.
"Well... I had planned to lead into it, but seduction, yes." She said with a giggle before putting on a more serious look. "I know... Ummm, I know some humans aren't always comfortable with halfings in bed but given Riri has... told a few tales..."
"Well women are women; even if they are short." I said with a chuckle as I reached out and cupped her cheek, rubbing a thumb over it as she blushed. A friend from my old world would call people like her 'Legal Lolis' as they had the loli body type but were old enough to consent. Although 'really four hundred years old' didn't apply here; she was likely in her twenties.
"And men are men; even if they're tall." She let off, setting her hands on my knees and hopping up softly onto my lap, moving her hands to my shoulders and kissing me firmly as I stood up, holding her around the waist. "Especially if they're tall." She let off as I chuckled and carried her to the bed and moved to set her down, seating her on the bed before standing up and pulling my shirt off. She tore her tunic off quickly and grabbed my pants; yanking me closer before shoving them down and exposing my dick to her. It took her no time to grab my cock and start stroking it in an effort to get it from 'semi-soft' to hard as quick as she could. I wasn't overly surprised she was nude under the tunic; I was getting used to this. For better or worse.
As I reached a level of half-hard she leaned in and sucked the tip into her lips as I shuffled my legs to work them out of the pants and underwear; getting them low enough to step out of them. Once out I gave them a light kick to the side and moved a hand to her head, letting her work my cock at her own pace as it rose up to full mast. I was a bit surprised at how easily she took me into her mouth, looking up with bright, green eyes as she moaned around me. I leaned over and cupped one of her small (By human standards, anyway) breasts and gave it a gentle squeeze before finding her nipple with the thumb, pressing on it lightly.
She moaned around me as I shivered as her moan vibrated on my cock as I rocked my hips softly to avoid forcing her to take too much into her mouth; after all it was a small mouth. That said she was bobbing much further down then I thought; half way down the shaft. I shifted to the side slightly but only so I could lean over a bit more to reach down between her legs. She parted her legs before my fingers reached her sex, pressing over her hairless sex to rub her lips gently. She moaned a bit more as I softly worked my finger into her. I knew well enough that halflings were more durable then they looked so I knew I could be as rough as she wanted without risk of injury.
Still, no reason to start off rough. I worked a second finger into her; mostly seeing how well she could handle it as she moaned deeper around my cock. I shuddered a bit as I smiled down to her as she tilted her head to press my cocktip to the inside of her cheek; her tongue lavishing along the underside and under the head of the dick. Finally she slipped her lips off before turning over to crawl further onto the bed; her petite ass swaying and small tail wagging a bit as I moved to follow; my longer strides allowing me to crawl a hint faster. That meant before she could reposition I was able to grab her girlish hips and scoot up to press myself to her sex; getting a yelp from her before she lifted her hips up and adjusted herself to give me a better angle.
It took little more assurance that she was ready for me to set myself to her sex and pressed forwards into her sex. It took a bit of force but it popped in after a moment as she gasped and groaned; my hands moved to grip her ass and part the cheeks to make it easier for me to get deeper into her. Given the structure of the halfling body I knew I could get all the way in but that didn't mean it'd be comfortable for her straight away so I rocked myself into her gently.
Once I reached half way she pressed her hips back into me suddenly and harder; swallowing another good couple of inches before I moved my hands to grip her hips to pull back harder. It was clear she was eager for more so I was more then happy to give it to her as I groaned deeper. She rocked her hips side to side as I rocked in quicker and quicker, shuddering over her before pressing in harder for a moment until her small ass pressed into my pelvis. While she was moaning under me I was groaning over her; my only experience with halflings before this was limited to Riri and Finlay was tighter then she was.
Then again Riri had a... history I'd rather not think about right now.
Finlay moaned deeply under me as I shuddered and held back my own groan for as long as I could manage; and failed quickly. I gave a deep, long groan as I struggled to not bust a nut quickly into her. And then to my surprise she arched her back and cried out and came, quivering hard on me as I gasped and did my best to not climax myself as she
leaned her head back; I could see a hint of her tongue hanging out as she squeezed onto me. Somehow I didn't explode into her as she came and I pulled free while she was coming down from her high. Before she could respond I rolled her to her back as I moved over her and pressed myself back to her sex in a more traditional missionary position before starting to rock back into her.
She quivered under me as I pushed back in, planting my hands over her head as I rocked my hips into her; her own hands gripping the sheets under her as I worked myself in deeper and deeper until I was hilted fully once more. I worked my cock into her, pumping her sex as I groaned over her with Finlay moaning under me and arching her back as I picked up speed. Her hands moved to reach up and grab my forearms, squeezing as she wrapped her legs about my hips and used them to pull me into her harder as I groaned deeper; her own mixing with mine.
I tried to last, I honestly did, but in the end I could only last so long being human and all as I came and came deep inside of her, groaning over her as I felt her squeeze down hard once more onto me, squealing out as I shivered, load after load spilling into her. Finally I managed to pull free and moved to lay next to her as I panted softly; the both of us panting really and coming down from our pleasure highs. "Whew..." I let off as Finlay chuckled.
"Whew indeed..." She let off as she panted next to me. "Ahhh... Humans can be enjoyable; something about how tall you all are..." She let off as she rolled onto my chest as I swatted her hips.
"We're not tall; you're just all short." I replied as she giggled by me, swatting my chest in turn.
"A matter of perspective." She let off with another laugh. "But you're tall compared to us." She let off as she sighed. "Large, warm and cuddly... Nothing wrong with a good halfling lad, of course, and I'm more then like to settle down with one but there's a different kind of fun here."
"Ahhh, yeah. I can see that."
"So... You ready for that test of yours?" She asked me as I hummed.
"Well as ready as I can be; given the situation. The two written tests I need to worry about is the general and the enchanting. Anything else I pass is a bonus." I said as I moved my hands behind my head. "I'm mostly confident on the practical test; at least."
That was, of course, the main worry for the test. Sure, the other tests... mattered to a degree; notably the advanced one. Ahhh well, it was going to be a boring test. Shouldn't be any real surprises, right?
[Fucked List]
Finlay Ceannard=100xp x 5 First Time Bonus=500xp
+20% Dark Horse of Eostia Bonus
Gain 600xp Total
[-]
Come the morning we rode out to the local Spellcaster's Guild; by 'we' I mean myself, Channer and a small escort. I didn't expect Miria or Lulu to find this to be interesting in the least for starters. We would arrive at a large, Imperium styled building with the Roman-style pillars at the front with a wide, short triangular roof with purple tiles upon it. The building was colored a deeper purple with the emblem of the guild over the doors which was... maybe a bit much.
Like many Rad based guilds it bore a rounded emblem although colored purple ring with darker purple outlines on both sides and a cyan colored background. Over it was purple lines outlined with darker purple in the pattern of a magical circle. Eight circles spaced out in a circle on four rings and connected by an eight pointed star, over which was a ring with three lines connecting to a triangle in the center that was point facing up with a ring inside of it with said ring connecting to the outer ring with lines that matched the triangle's sides. I did not envy whoever had to draw it and I hoped they had some sort of template to work with.
Once there we stepped out as myself and Channer walked in. The receptionist met us as we reached the front desk and once she confirmed who we were we were sent on our way towards a room in the east wing. I didn't expect too many people to be here and I wasn't that surprised when there was maybe two dozen people here; including us. That's not surprising; mages didn't grow on trees and a lot of those attached to the Adventuring Guild was more focused on, well, adventuring. Additionally the tests came once every season so missing a single test didn't hurt that much; usually.
The room was set up not unlike a classroom; half circular with curved desks and seating. A blackboard was in the back with a desk for the teacher but with five seats for five proctors to make marking the tests faster and easier. Off-white walls and warm, green carpets gave the place a mostly welcoming look and the other test takers were a mix of upper class and nobility, more middle class sorts and those dressed and equipped for work in the field. "Well, good looking batch for a test anyway." I quipped as Channer nodded.
"Yeah. I guess there's a good number of people here; I don't recognize anyone though." He said as I sighed.
"Well we studied mostly in Elddale, sooo..." I let off, shrugging. Well, Elddale and Mungale for me but our enchanting studies were done in Eddale which was nearly on the other side of Eostia so the chances of meeting anyone we knew from back then slim.
"Ohhh... You two are here..." We heard in a voice of disdain.
Slim... But not none. Memories gained from my new life told me who the voice's owner was so I decided to ignore her for now.
"Anyway, we should be ready enough, I'd say." I let off as Channer did his best to hide his annoyance.
"Yeah, I agree. Studying on the road is a bit annoying but-"
"Ahem."
"-we've been studying this stuff all our lives; a refresher was all we needed." Channer finished with a nod.
"Right. I'm-"
"Ahem!"
'-confident, all in all." I finished. "Save for alchemy; I have no practical experience with it."
"Same with-"
"AHEM!" We heard as annoyed looking, well dressed woman moved to stand right in front of us. "I am standing right here, you know!?" She let off.
"Yes, yes, we ignored you the first time." I quipped off as she huffed. The woman in question stood some five foot ten. She bore piercing blue eyes and black hair tied back in a high ponytail that reached her mid-back held with a red tie. Two, long, chest length bangs framed her face with flat bangs over her eyes. Over her torso was a a white, button up shirt that hugged D-Cup Breasts firmly, a blue Jacob's collar about her neck and a black corset around her midsection with tan colored straps. Over all of that was a red jacket with golden colored trim that was open in the front with tails that fell just over her rump. A short, short black miniskirt was over her hips and pantyhose under it. A set of knee high, red boots were fitted to her feet with black soles and gold trim over said soles and the top. At her hip was a rapier with a very elaborate, gold plated D-Guard with a series of gemstones around the hilt and a spell stone in the pommel.
"Well, I wouldn't expect the likes of you two to know how to address an intellectual better." She let off as I rolled my eyes. Yeah... better...
(-)
Name: Rahm Superbia
Title: Haughty Daughter of the Coin
Class: Rune Blade
Level: 28
Alignment: Neutral
Reputation: 21
Status: Healthy, Self Assured, Cocky
Romance Rating: 124
Corruption Rating: 23
Known Traits
[Blast & Blade] 5% of your Str is added to magical damage. Add 5% of your Mag to physical damage
[Rapier Lady] You are a master at handling rapiers. +1 Damage to all equipped rapiers. Additionally, any enchanted rapier when equipped will increase your Mag by your level divided by 10 (Rounded up)
[?]
The daughter of a highly successful merchant from Jerius she is well educated and is aiming to both take over her father's mercantile empire as well as acquire a lordship. She sees most of the nobility as a batch of incompetent and incapable posers who shouldn't be in change of anything and that those like herself are more fit to lead.
(-)
Yeah... She's that girl. You know that girl. The girl (Not always a girl, but often in my own experience) who sneers over her nose at anyone of a higher social status considering them as having unearned privilege and being dumb, incompetent and arrogant... while doing the same to anyone with less education; an education they don't have the privilege to enjoy as she does and seeing them as stupid, brutish and menial laborers at best. She read a book that gave her an ideology (Maybe even a second book) and she thumps that book like a pastor thumps a bible. She smiles and praises anyone that thinks like she does but anyone with a different opinion is deemed evil and no matter what facts or evidence they have to argue with as they'll have it all dismissed.
Yes, she is that girl.
"Regardless..." I let off, turning back to Channer in full. "Find any good books while on-"
"I am standing right here." Rahm let off as she glared at me as I rolled my eyes.
"I don't care." I told her bluntly as she flinched, eyes going wide as I looked back to Channer. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, find any-"
"You do not get to dismiss me like that!" She let off as she stamped a foot as she crossed her arms under her bust.
"-good books on the road; I've stumbled over some."
"Oh, a handf-" Channer's reply was cut off as Rahm stepped between us as she glared at me.
"You will address me with the respect I deserve!" She let off as she glared harder as I rolled my eyes.
"I am." I replied as I looked to her. "Now stop being a rude child." She glared harder and was about to speak before I interrupted her. "Tell me; what have you accomplished since we graduated?" She blinked at the question before looking to me with her smirk returning on her face.
"Oh, well... I have been courting various nobles in Brell, Dayhill, Ironport and Eastport to bring more ships into my father's mercantile fleet." She boasted with a wide smirk. "You see a new development has come along called a 'voxlux'. Maybe you'd have heard of it if you paid any attention beyond wining and dining with that Ur Princess." I could see Channer behind her setting his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter as I fought to keep a measured and controlled face. "It offers a means of face to face communication at a distance. Supposedly there's a network in the making to connect all of Eostia. Something I think a stuck-in-a-rut lordling like yourself might be able to understand some day. And what have you done recently?"
"I made the voxlux." I told her point blank as she scoffed.
"I highly doubt someone like you could come with with such an idea." I could hear Channer snickering as I chuckled.
"Well when you meet one of the lords at the last Council you can ask them about it." I said as Zuva walked in from a door at the back of the room. "Come on Channer; looks like we're starting." I said as I moved to one of the seats in the back with Channer moving next to me. Rahm scoffed and moved to take her own seat... sitting across the aisle from us. Whatever. Zuva would be joined by four more people in robes of varying styles and colors; each holding stacks of cloth wrapped packages. Zuva herself would move behind the desk and lift a hand, snapping her fingers three times.
"May I have your attention please. All those here to take the Master's Exam please take a seat; anywhere will be fine." She said as her four aides moved to walk to each person after they sat down; laying down a package; clearly holding sheets of paper. A set of inkwells and quills were set before each seat so we'd have all we had for the test to come. "Thank you for coming. I'm pleased to have some promising faces here today. I know a few of them myself and while I can't show favoritism I am hoping to see the best from you. As you know there are a total of eight tests and each with a hundred questions. You will have three hours to complete them. To reach the rank of Master you must pass the general knowledge test as well as the test for one of the five fields. In addition if you're aiming to become a Grand Master you must pass the test for a second field as well as both the advanced and history tests. You don't need to pass every test so prioritize what you're best at. Once the test is complete you will be given a break for lunch before the practical. So... everyone open the package before you." She said as everyone in the room opened the ties of the cloth; the sheets of papers with questions on them coming into view; each one was titled with which test it was. "Arrange the tests in any order you want to tackle them in and ensure your name is on each one as you do them." She let off as everyone shuffled papers about.
I decided to order them with the general first, enchanting second, advanced third, history fourth, combat fifth, restoration sixth, conjuring seventh and alchemy eighth. Satisfied I set the papers down as Zuva waited for the bulk of the room to finish. "Very good." She said as she picked up what looked like an hourglass and set a hand to it. Mana turned into sand and started to fill the bottom part; filling it about four fifths before she stopped. "Your three hours begin... now." She let off; turning the glass over as sand fell.
I grabbed my quill and got started.
The general test was fairly softball for the most part. What are the eight elements (Holy, Darkness, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, Lightning), where can you channel mana (The whole body), how does conjuring work (Giving mana a physical form that matches a basic substance), how do you increase your mana reserves (Channel them with a spell stone or orb enchanted to let you 'flex' your mana or just use it with spells) and so on. The difficulty ramped up as it went on, of course, but nothing I didn't know to at least some degree.
The enchanting one was... more difficult; asking for certain terms to be used, what was the means to produce a golem, how do you create spell orb glass, how do you reshape spell stones, can you reshape spell orb glass (In a word; no), what are the effects of titanium on enchantments, how many Fireball scale spells can you set into a spell stone two inches around of grade four, what safety measures should be put into a sword with a lightning enhancement and so on. A combination of a few basics, a lot of 'must and should' know questions and a number of more advanced questions. That was... taxing but it was my field of expertise so I was confident on my answers.
The advanced test came next; maybe an hour after the test started. This one was difficult but there were a few interesting things to note; a good quarter of the questions were about hybrid magic, layered magic or both. What is the theory of what fire and holy would do if hybridized? Can you add an elemental layer to hybrid magic? How do you layer an element over another? How do hybrid magics function? Oddly enough with the book I found back in Rad I was well equipped for this section of the test. Other topics included teleportation, transmutation (Ugh!), how spell books are made and are charged with spells, how summoning spells work, how Mage and Arcane Robes work as well as Mana Armor. There were even a few questions I was less sure of but I answered as best as I could. That one went slower and it was ten minutes to the second hour before I got to the history section. That was a bit breezier; my father and one of my old teachers were big on history so it went a bit easier for me.
Easy enough I got into the combat test ten minutes after the second hour started. This test asked about basic combat tactics of a support mage, what the standard target prioritization is in combat, what common uses did each element have in battle, what the martial art is that uses wands as a melee weapon (Yes, that was a thing. It was called Prope Magicum or Close Wand; a battle style that used a grip close to the point of the wand to jab it into soft spots on the body or eyes. More advanced styles incorporated elemental enhancements to bolster damage and deal with armor easier), the benefits of wands over staves (A little more accurate, easier to conceal and carry, easier to use in close quarters) as well as staves over wands (A stronger melee weapon if needs be, a little more powerful spell effects, able to carry larger spell stones) and so on.
By the time I started on the restoration test we were down to the last twenty minutes and... I had a rougher time here. It was mostly on about tactics on how to shield, standard healing order, standard tactics on shifting from offense to defense and back, what elements bore healing spells (Holy, Water and Wind), the benefits of a standard Arcane Shield as opposed to an elemental shield as well as the benefits of an elemental shield over a standard one and so on. I barley finished scribbling an answer to the question of how to reattach a severed limb when Zuva snapped her fingers several time. "And that's time." She called out. "You can finish your current question but after that quill go to their wells." Damn. I double checked my name was on them all and sighed. I had planned to finish that test then go over my answers but I guess I got too caught up in what I was doing.
The proctors came about and one by one wrapped the tests in their cloths and took them back to the desk. "You are all dismissed for the next hour. Go have lunch and eat." Zuva said with a grin. "Once we have each test marked we'll get those who passed to the next step."
[-]
There was a market district nearby with some eateries within it so myself and Channer wandered over there to get something that was quick and easy. Other test takers (Including Rahm) went the same way and moved to whatever took their fancy. I spotted one that made sandwiches and grabbed a foot long one that was more or less a BLT except with the bacon painted with a honey glaze after it was cooked. Couple it with a tomato soup and I was good to go. Channer got a sandwich of the same size save it was a chicken one with cheese and lettuce coupled with a mushroom soup. Talk was mostly light combined with talking of our school days with Rahm and how annoying she was.
We were the first back to the guild and the exam room as well; which was the plan. Sandwiches are quick and easy to make and not time consuming to eat and you can bring it with you if needs be. We didn't want to risk getting caught up in a pub that was dragging out delivering our orders because of a list of others ahead of us or whatever was going on in the backroom. I recalled, in my first life, a new restaurant opening up and my father dragging me over to try it out, kicking and screaming as I had, at the time, planned to make a huge dinner so I could portion away leftovers for half a week of lunches. The staff didn't have their shit together so it took thirty minutes for my food to arrive... and an additional twenty for his.
Most of the others filtered in as myself and Channer sat back down and made playful bets on when Rahm would arrive; she was a pretentious sort and a bit of a proto-Karen and we both assumed she went to the fanciest and most expensive restaurant... and chances were that the food would take a while to eat and depending on how busy they were she might have to rush to eat. That was a possibility and it would be a bit amusing if it happened but I doubted it; she was pretentious but not a complete idiot.
Sure enough she was the last one back but not late; if only just. She seemed agitated about something but what I didn't know, nor did I care. Even if she was late it wouldn't really matter; Zuva and the proctors were still writing down marks and would for about fifteen minutes after the hour was up. Once done Zuva stood up and snapped her fingers twice. "Okay, okay. Glad everyone is back. Sorry about the lateness here we needed some more time to finish up. Two of you actually managed to complete every question on the tests." From the corner of my eye I could see Rahm puff up with pride; suggesting she was one of the two. In fairness back in school she was the best when it came to theory and written tests... and ended up as third in class overall because her Achilles Heel was always the practical end of things. "Now; we'll take you into the chambers to test your spells and how well you can cast them. Remember; it's not just the amount of spells you can cast but how many you have mastery over. Often a mage with a smaller spell list but greater mastery of them is more reliable then someone with a larger spell list but less mastery over any of them. Now; first will be Bruno Seer and Dominique Xerda..."
For better or worse this would be a bit. Indeed; it seemed to take about twenty odd minutes for the first tests. It seemed the proctors would split into two groups to keep things from dragging on for too long and once one was done another was called in. Rahm was called in not too long into the tests and we wouldn't see her for about another seventeen minutes and while she seemed a bit winded she looked proud of herself. Channer would be called in closer to the middle of the pack and would be gone for maybe twenty one minutes.
Maybe after ten minutes he came back and another was done I was called up by Zuva. Standing I took a moment to stretch and moved down to follow her to the chamber. It was down a hall and in a side room. The room was square and fairly bland; white walls, floors and ceilings but with lines of runes that were spaced out and made to help contain any spells used. A desk with two proctors was set within an Arcane Shield and a large chest pressed to the wall behind them; although one that was made in a half dome allowing Zuva to walk around it and take a seat.
"All right; we are ready." Zuva said as she looked to a scroll before her. "This is a demonstration of what spells you know. We will judge you on your spell list, mastery level and casting endurance." She said as I nodded. "Now then; if you could begin with whatever spell you please."
I started off with Magic Missile and Scatter Bolt; otherwise known as the basic attacks spells any good mage should know. Levitation and both Minor Heal and Blessed Recover followed. Fireball, Arctic Orb and Gale Burst all came next. I then followed up with a few others; Scry, (They had me read a book on the desk with my back turned to show it off), Telescopic Vision (Same book, different page and facing it now), Unlock (They had a prop lock for it in the chest), Illusion, Tracking (Using the lock to set it on then picking out which judge had it after I turned my back), Detect Toxin and Ease Toxin (Using a series of glasses with water to find then remove the poison. I was surprised at how many props they had ready in their chest).
Next was Earth Shaker, Thunder Lance, Arcane Lance and Earth Mover (There was a potted plant at the ready for that in the chest. Yes, really. I'm guessing they saw a lot of spells here) before following up with Conjure Water, Aqua Stream and Flame Thrower. Flame Guard and Hammer of Smite followed then Arcane Weapon. During all of this they would ask me to recast certain spells; both the ones I was most experienced with and ones I was less practiced with; oddly enough.
For Aqua Breath... I had to dunk my head into a bucket. Worst one so far.
Frost Stream, Vortex Tunnel, Flare Spread, and Holy Arrow followed and then Tailwind and Physical Burst (They just used their senses to scan my spell for this one). Following it was Seismic Serpent then Mana Lash, Havoc Rend, Cluster Flare and Dark Flare with that last one being a surprise; they didn't expect to see a hybrid spell.
Earthen Wall and Frozen Wall followed before I started through the elemental weapons; Blessed, Blazing, Frozen, Shocking, Breeze, Soaked, Earthen and Shaded before showcasing Shadowblaze Weapon.
That was yet another surprise as they asked for some details of my first, custom made spell as I explained how I more or less mashed Blazing Weapon and Dark Flare together and a general description of how I hammered it together.
"Hybrid spells are hard to make and even a mere adaptation such as this is remarkable for someone of your age and experience." Zuva let off as she looked to me with a grin. "We don't usually let most read up on them until they're further along given how new a field it is and that we're still gauging the risks. Tell me; have you any more hybrid magic to show off?"
"Just one." I said as I took a moment to calm myself. I clapped twice before cupping my hands. I had practiced it a bit of course and it was out of testing now but it was still a new spell. "I call this one... Holy Flare." I let off as a ball of bright, bright orange flame came to my hands that was almost golden in it's hue before throwing it at the wall of the chamber. Upon impacted it exploded with a burst of golden blaze; the radius was a bit wider then a normal Fireball and with more force. All in all I was proud of it.
(-)
Holy Flare [Lvl I] (0/1000)
Magic Type: Holy/Fire Hybrid
Cool Down: Moderate
Mana Cost: Very High
Direct a sphere of bright orange flame at a target where it will explode on impact and burn anything struck. Additionally it will not damage those the caster does not wish to be harmed.
(-)
"Is that... a mix of holy and fire?" Zuva let off as her jaw nearly dropped. "What... Oh my... Do you know what effects it has?"
"Yes; but I'll need two targets to demonstrate." I told her. Quickly a proctor moved to grab a pair of, ummm, planks cut in the shape of torsos on stands from the large chest in the back of the room and moved them into a position I could aim at. They really were ready for everything, huh? "Right then." Once the proctor was back behind the shield I recasted the spell; drawing the golden flames to my hands before throwing it at one of the targets. I aimed at the left most one and the explosion rocked it; blasting it to bits and pieces burning lightly with orange flames... And aside from being slightly rocked the other was left unharmed and unburned.
"It only effects the target hit?" Zuva said as I shook my head.
"No; only the targets the user wants hit." I said as she blinked at me. "I can choose people that the spell won't effect." Yes; I had made a spell that had friendly fire as a feature and not a bug. Would it be useful down the line? I have no idea... but it was a nice addition to my arsenal.
Questions was asked about how I made it and I told them the truth; I used Dark Flare as a base and adapted it. While they were surprised I had adapted another spell that used Dark Flare as a base they agreed it was quite the spell.
With my spell list run through they started to have me go through spell after spell; naming one and having me cast it. I caught on quickly to what this was about; it was a check to see how much mastery of each spell requested but also to test my mana reserves and ability to cast and cast and cast. And given some of the fights I've been in I was sure I'd be able to handle it. At current Mana Capacity was one of my best stats but even so with the rapid fire spells I was taxing it. And it wasn't the small spells either; Fireballs, Vortex Tunnels, Gale Bursts, Dark Flares, Holy Flares and more; sometimes while using Levitation which was it's own mana drain. Just... whew.
I was panting lightly when they called it off but I wasn't exhausted; I could go a while longer if need be although it wouldn't be fun. "Well... I think we have enough; yes?" She asked, looking to her proctors. "Right. I'll see you out and we'll have you wait for the final verdict. Thank you for your time... and the showcase of your own, new spells. Oh; one last question... is there a color preference you have in terms of a primary and secondary?"
[-]
I rejoined Channer as we chatted briefly about what spells we were using for the test. I ended up bringing up that I knew Dark Flare, to his surprise before telling him how I learned it. He admitted that he wasn't eager to deal with House Adelle given their reputation but had agreed I had gained quite the spell in my list. And after some pestering (Mostly playful) I agreed to teach it to him once back in the manor. Rahm had a small, golden locket out and given how she was looking at it a mirror was inside as she looked over her face.
Finally the last of the test takers came back as did Zuva and the four proctors; one of which carried a shallow box with rings upon them. Zuva reached up and snapped her fingers thrice. "Okay then. The good news is we have a lot of new Master ranks here today and... one Grand Master." That got our attention. Channer elbowed me lightly and Rahm straightened up her back; as if saying she laid claim to that title already. "Sadly not everyone passed; eight of you sadly failed the practical. I will encourage those who failed to master your spells and train your mana." Eight failed? Wow; that's a third of the people here. "Please remain seated as we come by." She said as she walked to the front rows first. Given the questions of colors she gave at the end of my test...
"So..." I began as I looked to Channer with a grin. "What colors did you pick?" I asked as he chuckled.
"Red and purple, of course." He said with a chuckle. "And yourself?
"Blue and white." I replied with a grin. Both of our choices were natural picks, of course; Red and Purple (Along with gold) were the colors of House Blitzhaus while Blue and White (Along with gold) were the colors of House Noxdecus. Rahm huffed as she stood up and moved over to us; snapping her locket shut with an obnoxious clap.
"What are you babbling about?" She demanded of us as I blinked (With Channer matching my expression) as we looked to her in confusion. "What do you mean about colors?"
"They didn't ask you about colors?" Channer let off as he pointed to Zuva with a thumb; her response being a huff.
"Why would they?" She let off as myself and Channer shared a meaningful look.
"Eh, you'll figure it out soon enough, I think." I said a Zuva moved from person to person. There were a few downcast looks but most were given one of the rings from the box. Rahm's featured turned to a grin as she smiled and held her hand up before holding it out to her in an exaggerated manner. "Ah, Miss Superbia. Thank you for taking our test today... But regretfully I must inform you that you failed."
"I... what?" Rahm let off as she looked like she had been slapped, her hand and arm lowering slowly as the words sank in. "What!?"
"You failed." Zuva repeated, maintaining a smile even after Rahm's outburst as she started to glare at the Archmage with a twitching eye. "While you are one of the only ones to have answered all of the questions on each test and passed each one of them, to my surprise, you failed the practical." She said, holding a finger up. "Your intelligence and knowledge are clearly enough to be a Grand Mistress, possibly even a Magus however you didn't showcase enough mastery over your spells when casting them as well as a lack of casting endurance; you needed to take a mana potion to get through the test." She said as I looked to Rahm with surprise. "Twice." That was even more surprising to me; while the endurance test at the end was a bit tough she should have been able to pass it as long as she had trained moderately well. "You have the theory down very well; better then any of your peers in this exam... but theory in the real world only goes so far; you need to be able to perform as well and your performance is below that of a Mistress. As for young Lord Blitzhaus, however, he passed with colors flying; in fact had he gotten another mere three more questions on the advanced test right we'd have crowned him a Grand Master." She said as she turned to the box and picked one out of it. "Take this ring; it bares enchantments of course but more importantly it bares your new rank of Master."
The ring was made of brass and bore a small red spell stone on it; some inch around and held with a brass circle with purple powdered spell stone making a line along it's center. In the center of it was a yellow, eight pointed with a darker outline star with the diagonals being a bit longer. Each point was hollow but the diagonals had an additional, smaller point inside of them. She would take Channer's left hand and placed the ring onto his index finger.
"Well done Channer." I said, patting his back as he looked over his new ring. "Guess we'll be Masters together, eh?"
"Not quite." Zuva let off as I blinked. Rather then reach to the box she reached behind her and pulled out a smaller box meant for a single ring. "While Channer came close, to the point I am sure he'll reach Grand Master when he can take the test next year, you did, passing the general, advanced, enchantment and combat tests as well as passed the practical with flying colors. Not even mentioning taking a single hybrid spell and devising two others from it." Channer and Rahm both snapped their heads to me. "On top of making the voxlux you've been a busy one, hmm?"
Cue Rahm's jaw dropping as well.
"In recognition of your accomplishments in this exam it is my pleasure and pride to call you a Grand Master of the Spellcaster's Guild, Lord Noxdecus." She let off as she opened the small box and pulled a small ring from it and took my left hand, sliding it onto my index finger. It looked exactly like Channer's save the stone was blue and the powdered stone on the circle was white. It bore the same yellow star outlined with darker yellow as Channer's but around it was a laurel wreath of the same color and outline with a ring connecting them at the bottom in the center with a dark, yellow filling and a four pointed, yellow star in it with a horizontal and vertical line down the center that was also dark yellow. The emblem of a Grand Master.
"Congratulations!" She let off as she patted my hand as I looked to it in surprise. I was taken aback; I expected to get the rank of Master but not Grand Master. I could see Rahm gawking at me as her eye twitched and you could almost see her want to snarl before looking away. As for Channer...
He looked to his own ring with a serious look I couldn't really place...
Title Unlocked: Grand Master of Magic
You've Passed The Master's Test With Beyond Flying Colors!
+3 to All Magical Damage. +5% to All Magical Resistances. Increase XP of a Spell by 25% When Using It
[-]
We would ride back to the manor in time for a... late dinner and once Edda saw my new ring she was quick to congratulate me on what I'd accomplished. It should be noted that the difference between Master and Grand Master was mostly bragging rights; both Masters and Grand Masters were allowed to apply to become Maguses and both had the same level of access to resources in the Spellcaster's Guild but Grand Masters tended to get a little more respect; mostly in regards to the Magus test as while you applied to the test the Spellcaster's Guild decided on who got to take it. Only a limited amount of people could take the Magus test at any one time and Grand Masters tended to get priority. That would be well in the future for me to consider of course; I needed to focus on the here and now.
(In the event you're curious the situation was the same for Magus and Grand Magus; Grand Magus was just a Magus with bragging rights and priority for an Archmage test. Beyond that there was little difference in access and such.)
It wasn't common to wear one's Spellcaster's Guild ring unless you're showcasing proof of something but it did come pre-enchanted and with a rather decent one; all in all.
(-)
Name: Spellcaster's Guild Ring – Grand Master Rank
Type: Ring
Stats: +6 Mag, +4 Mnc, +3 Lck
Damage Bonuses: +1 Magical Damage
Buy Value: N?A
Sell Value: N/A
A ring granted to those who have reached the rank of Grand Master within the Spellcaster's Guild. Enchanted and recolored with magic to fit it's wearer it is a major step in the ranks of the guild.
(-)
After dinner I fulfilled what I said I'd do and taught Channer Dark Flare before retiring for the night; he picked it up as fast as I thought. As for me I opted to move onto another project. I made a holy and fire version of Dark Flare, after all...
Could I do the same with Shadowblaze Weapon?
I was eager to find out...
[-]
Grecure Manor
Channer's Quarters, That Evening
Channer hunched over the desk in his quarters, huffing softly. Resting on a closed book and looking back to him was the ring he had earned from his test. "Same story again, huh?" He let off with a sigh. In spite of the feuding families he and James had hit it off well; both were mages in the same class, shared the same specialization and shared a lot of likes. Aside from a mutual agreement to not bring up their most divisive issue, slavery, there was a lot in common between the two. That said when it came to marks while both were never at the top of the class (Usually top five, never below top seven) the fact was simple; James had always been ahead of him; even if by a hair. They always had a friendly competition with one another but if he was honest his list of wins was the shorter of the two.
He had hoped that he could show up James this time but in the end he was the one shown up once more; and what was worse was James wasn't attempting to compete and just focused on his own efforts and did better through a stroke of sheer luck; befriending Blake von Adelle to gain access to Dark Flare as well as finding a very rare book on hybrid magic gave him a leg up on the one test that Channer was unable to pass and the one that prevented him from becoming a Grand Master in his own right; the advanced test. That didn't even get into the fact he had two hybrid spells of his own making under his belt now.
Things have changed a lot since they studied together and yet not as much as he'd hoped.
He jumped in his seat as a ping started to sound as he reached into his pocket, slipping his voxlux out. He could see the image of his father projected as he answered. "Oh, hey Dad."
"Channer; you sound... despondent." Arnold von Blitzhaus let off. To many his tone was neutral but to someone as close to him as one of his sons was the undertone of worry was clear. "Is something the matter? An unexpected difficulty?"
"No, no. I made Master." He said, reaching out and lifting up the ring for his father to see.
"As expected." Arnold said, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I am not surprised you would achieve the rank on your first try. And yet there is disappointment; and not from myself."
"Yeah... ... James was in Grecure in time for the test." Channer began as Arnold frowned but said nothing; while Channer had a good, strong relationship with James Arnold... did not and both understood the others reasons for it. "...He made Grand Master..."
"Ahhh... I understand now." Arnold said with a sigh. "You wanted to best him in the test, did you not?"
"Yeah... I guess between the voxlux and this I just feel..." The younger Blitzhaus began with a sigh. "Like I'm falling behind..."
"Enough of this self pity." Arnold let off firmly as Channer stiffened and blinked; the volume in his tone did not rise but the shift of tone was worthy of note. "You are talented in the magic arts; no one can deny this but you must understand there are natural advantages the Noxdecus boy enjoys you do not. Merlin, as much as I despise him, is a talented and able mage; more so then most and the lineage of the whole damned House is filled back to front with mages of note and skill. They have hoarded magical knowledge and skill for almost a hundred generations now and he likely casted his first spell well before you set your hands on a book of them. These are advantages I was never able to provide for you; even my finest tutors paled before his father's abilities. That you keep pace with him in the natural realm of House Noxdecus, in spite of all of this, speaks to your intelligence and worth. Continue your training. Find those to learn from. Find tomes of knowledge. You will catch up and surpass him one day; do not doubt that."
"... Thanks dad..." Channer said with a chuckle and a smile, shaking his head. "Sorry, I always just... felt a step behind, ya know?"
"I was a step behind my own brother, once." Arnold said with a chuckle. "I know how it is. But I ended up taking over Elddale over him because I was a better tactician and logician; even if he was the stronger fighter. Regardless; enough of that. Do not focus on his accomplishments; rather focus on your own. You've done well and when you return to Elddale you and I can brainstorm a project you can create. Perhaps you cannot create a voxlux but surely you can create something with as great if not greater contribution to the realm."
"Right. Hmmm, I wonder what we could come up with...?" Channer mused as his father chuckled.
"Leave that until you are home." His father said. "Instead I would have you speak of what you have seen and done on your travels.
And thus most of an evening was spent between father and son on opposite sides of a nation speaking to one another. As much as the Count of Elddale would curse his Noxdecus rivals he was at least happy for the ability to speak with his family over such massive stances. He would, of course, hope for the replacement or annexation of the voxlux and it's supporting systems but for now he would enjoy the simple benefits of spending time with his youngest son.
[ - Author's Note - ]
Well, that was a chapter.
I had the idea of the Magic Exam for awhile now but I originally wanted it to happen in Rad... but with the other things going on in the chapters we were in Rad I knew it wouldn't fit. That said as James and company was passing through a notable duchy it felt more natural(-ish) to set it up here. Additionally while I've had James' and Channer's relationship established for awhile I felt a need to introduce a small... crack in it. Where will that go? We'll have to wait and see.
On another note; a user on AO3 by the name of Likes2Lllllurk has made a work based on my own; Eostia Harem Quest: Ready Player Two. I find it a bit interesting that his subtitle was a take off my own first Prologue Chapter. It's only a single chapter thus far but I enjoyed the read; feel free to give it a look.
Once more the best Rad Banner Poll is still up and the Strawpoll Link is up at Twitter on eostian as well as strawpoll(Dot Com)/polls/GeZAOO6oXnV and I would love it if you went and voted in it. At the moment there's a surprising banner up in the top of it. I will say no more. If you enjoyed the chapter or want to leave some criticism please drop a review and tell me what you liked, didn't like and so on.
Next chapter; the road to Perrious continues and to get there we'll need to pass Skerion as well. Until then!
~~Eostian Scribe