Additional Information:
Eithercite: +10 Spell Enchantment Slots (5 available slots), +10 to skill checks casting all spell types when channeled through this staff.
This staff has been enchanted with various scripts applied uniquely.
Steel: +10 Melee Damage.
Mersary: +10 Poison Melee Damage over an equal number of seconds, subsequent attacks do not stack or refresh poison. Only effective against any individual once per day besides the above stated flat poison damage bonus.
Urtasium: X2 Durability (base 500 x2 = 1,000).
Storage Slot Efficiency Enhancement: Current rate of equivalent mana storage = 1,000 mana per spell storage slot.
I whistled and put it down to allow the mana to settle. It still sparked with excess energy from the working, and I didn’t want to set the house on fire by accidentally setting off my newly improved weapon. I knew that the work that the elves had done had set the weapon up early on to be regularly enhanced. Lisander had told me as much when she had made the last upgrade for me. Still, I was excited to see for myself just how good I was getting at crafting magical things. I even got two ranks in my Enchantment and one in my Rune Writing skills from it.
I moved on to the next item I had purchased. I had already upgraded Sparks on our way back. It was a simple and easy enough upgrade. But the weapon was now truly powerful, worthy of the new name. I had added something called a Magical Heart to the sword, which brought in static mana from around the blade and fueled active spells. It also enhanced any passive or static enchantments that the weapon had. I picked it up just to review it.
You have found “Sparks” the Bastard Sword. +5 to hit, +5 damage per hit. Damage: 1d12 melee + 1d12 electric damage per hit. This unique weapon was named by Rayid the Wizard for obvious reasons. Quality: Good - Magical. Durability: 300/300. Rarity: Unique. Special Effects: Sparks Rage: Once per day the wielder may activate this ability to cast a powerful lightning strike at a single target, automatically hitting the target if not interrupted or intercepted by magical or other means dealing 10d6 electric damage to the target and causing paralysis for 1d12 seconds, and stun effect for 30 seconds after the paralysis wears off.
It was a powerful weapon, one that I was proud to say I owned. As I examined the weapon, Traser walked through the door, closing it behind himself. While I heard servants rushing to help their master, it was just us for those first few moments, everyone else having stepped away to get themselves ready for the battle of the bands’ festival.
“Hey Traser, I have something for you.” He looked up at me with surprise clear on his face.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“I have a gift for you. But first, let me see your sword.” He gave me a look that radiated suspicion, but he pulled off his sword belt and handed me the sword sheathed in its scabbard. I read the stats on the thing, and while it was a solid sword that even had some anti-magical capabilities it was nothing compared to what I had. Which was a problem.
“Does this sword have any, symbolic or emotional importance to you?” I asked, not wanting to step on toes.
“It was the sword my father gave me before he sent me to live with my uncle. But, beyond that, no, not really. Why?”
“So if it wasn’t the sword you carried into battle, you wouldn’t be disappointed?” He shook his head, his suspicion and interest peaked. “Good. Here.” I handed him sparks. It crackled with static electricity. “I don’t have a sheath for it sadly, the one I had kinda started cracking from all the constant shifts from hot to cold. It’s hard to maintain your gear as a pyromancer in winter you know.” I smirked, and he took the weapon, cradling it. His eyes glazed over as he took the time not just to absorb the information, but to read the description.
“This, this is a mighty gift, Rayid. A unique weapon like this, named and one of its kind. Even though it’s a little underpowered compared to other unique weapons, the steel is pure, and I can feel this weapon has nearly boundless potential for growth. I don’t know if I can accept such a gift.”
“Take it, it’s not like I can actually use the dang thing myself. Not really. No matter how much you and Tol’geth enjoy knocking me around, I just don’t have the knack for it. Or the time to power through learning how to make up for my lack. My lack of knack.” I trailed off, thinking about the accidental rhyme when Traser cleared his throat. “Right, anyway. It’s a bit of a sentimental thing for me too, so if you ever decide to upgrade to something else let me know okay? I’d buy it back. Just, just don’t break it on some thieves’ head okay? I like old Sparky.”
“I will treat it with the utmost care, I promise.” With that, Traser went upstairs and got ready. Mary stood off to one side, waiting for me. My improved robe was ready. I took it from her but I didn’t put it on just yet. I had two more things to do at before I put it on.
“Lets see, the horn and spyglass are going to go to Quinn, I think.” I had read the prompts about them earlier. The Horn was enchanted with a Call of Aid spell that summoned a random number of dwarves with the equipment necessary to at least help with whatever threat you were facing. The spyglass was a Spyglass of True Sight. It allowed a battlefield commander to see through enchantments and traps concealed by Tier 2 and lower illusions, and a 50% chance to see through Tier 3 versions. “Yeah, they’re going to him. He’ll need them if he and the legion are going to do their job properly.”
My eyes fell on the last item. The gem I had purchased with a random spell that it would teach me. It was the size of a baseball and thrummed with Death magic. The others had said that they got an eerie feeling whenever they looked at it too long, but for me, it only held the promise of more power. “So, you’re going to reset my cooldown on knit flesh and teach me a new spell, huh? Well, lets do this.” I pushed my will into the gem and when faced with a prompt asking me if I wanted to activate it, I selected Yes.
My mind flooded with knowledge, but unlike with the books, some of which I still had and needed to finish reading, this gem didn’t take me somewhere new to relive the experiences of some master or another. No, this gem simply took the information and forced it into my brain. It hurt, but not nearly as much as when I tried to dual cast.
I gritted my teeth as the flood of information finally waned and a prompt filled my vision.
Congratulations! You have learned a new spell, “Capture Enneagram 1”! Effect: Allows you to capture a copy of the enneagram of a living being, creating a perfect copy of that being available as a template for magically constructed workings. Restrictions: You will only gain the enneagram of a being whose soul you have removed from Ethria either through death, banishment, removal, gates, or other method for a period of more than a year Ethria time. Can not be used in conjunction with soul traps of any kind. Cost: 1,000 Mana. Duration: 1 day, or until the subject is ‘removed’ from Ethria. Can only be used on beings of relatively similar intelligence to the caster or lower.
The spell was beyond disappointing. I had been hoping for something that would be of much more immediate effect. Clearly this spell helps crafters and researchers who are later on in their growth than I am now. It’s a long-term investment, not something I can use immediately, I thought as I read and re-read the spell’s description. On the bright side, it will do wonders for my golem crafting, and what I have planned for the journey north for the Pervolins. Though it does little for me now.
I went to put the jewel away. Thinking it might make a good Golem Heart at some point, when another prompt filled my vision.
You have found The Kradish, Named Jewel of Power, one of five pieces of the mighty wizard Sim’ol’s collection. Effect: Enhances the effect of all other items in Sim’ol’s collection by a factor of 2. Example: Util’cil Named Ring of Warding now protects against all scrying attempts up to Tier 3 rather than Tier 2, and all of its resistance and other bonuses are doubled. This bonus increases per collection item recovered, on all items recovered. Additional Effects: +2 to all spell checks, +2 to all Emoti
onal Stability checks. Can copy 1 (2 due to 2/5 items recovered) Tier 1 (2) spell from the user to another magic user with the requisite skill to learn said spell 1 (2) times per month.
Wow, okay, that’s pretty cool. Again, more of a long-term benefit then a short-term one. Though it will help keep me from being seen by that sorcerer. Another prompt filled my vision.
Historic Quest Discovered: Reunite the Wizard Sim’ol’s collection. Parts recovered: 2/5. Util’Cil Named Ring of Warding: Recovered. The Kradish, Named Jewel of Power: Recovered. Util’Mag, Named Ring of Crafting, Kadra, Named Cloak of Shape Change and Radistat, Named Boots of Speed: Not Yet Recovered. Reward: 10,000 experience points. Mantel of Sim’ol the Wizard.
Now that’s pretty cool too! Though, again, more of a long-term investment. I feel like someone is trying to push me to find this guy’s stuff. I wonder if this is going to turn into a thing. Then again, the guy did supposedly live in the area so I guess it kinda makes sense his stuff would float around here. I smirked and put everything away in my satchel. I really need a bag of holding or something like it, I thought as I organized my pack.
Alright, now for the robe. I took up the garment and ran up the stairs to my bedroom, closing the door behind me and putting it on over my cloth shirt and trousers. I received another prompt.
You have found “Magic Robe of True Casting - Silver Cloud Lining”. Total Defense: 10 (5 magic, 5 armor). Reduces chance of negative feedback from failed Ritual spells to 0%, failed spells by 50%. Quality: Good - Magical. Durability: 75/75. Rarity: Uncommon - Local.
Mark of the Pervolin Pantheon: Protects from the Touch of Dark Aligned Deities in an unknown and unknowable fashion.
Silver Cloud Lining: Returns half damage to any melee attacker as Silver Light magic up to a total of 150 damage per strike.
Well, there ended up being two things that were new when I read the full description, and both made me smile. It protected me from evil dark gods and I now had damage return! Even if it only worked on melee attackers who actually dealt me damage, things were just getting better and better.
When I went to put on the ring of elemental change. It prompted me to choose an element to convert things to. I thought about it; it had to be a Lesser Power Type, not one of the greater powers which made me a little sad as I toyed with with the ring. But it was only an uncommon piece of gear. There was no way something like that was going to manipulate Greater Powers or even the Cosmic Energies. As I saw it, I had two holes in my magical arsenal. Earth and Air magic. My lack of knowledge about Air magic had almost dunked me in the river in the middle of a battle so far. But I knew the elves were masters of Air and Life magic back in Lo’sar. I was sure I could talk one of them into teaching me the basics. Earth magic, though?
“Ailsa? Who are the masters of Earth magic?” She opened one eye and raised an eyebrow at me as if I were stupid. “Right, the dwarves.”
“Earth, Spirit, and Entropy magic is what they typically practice. But that depends on their age, the society we’re talking about, and their affinity. It’s not like dwarves don’t have Fire users. Look at the Drouger. But, most dwarf clans stick with Earth, as it has a spiritual connection to their ancestor Gods, and Spirit. Again, as a connection to their Gods. Very few have ever been able to reach the cosmic energy of Entropy. It’s kind of like how elves who get to top levels of power and skill typically go for Space or Creation magic. Each races’ true masters of magic are just drawn to different things.”
“Entropy like Chaos?” I asked, and she burst out laughing.
“That, my little meathead, is a conversation for another time. If you ever get to experiment with cosmic energies, I might have to call you something besides meathead.” I shrugged and moved on to another question while I selected Earth magic for the ring.
“What do humans who get to that level typically go for?” Ailsa paused as I finished getting my new boots on. These were not really magical, but they were sturdy and they had a minor no-slip enchantment on them that I thought was nifty, particularly for walking around on ice.
“Thats complicated. Humans rarely live that long. Those that do are, well, they’re usually something else by that point. There are a few places that have been able to extend their life spans out beyond normal human physiology, like the Vardian’s who are blessed by their spirit gods and the elven pantheon for their protective services. But usually? Humans don’t reach that high. Its, well. It’s one reason humans are not really considered much of a threat. If it wasn’t for your Gods who like to intervene directly way too much I might add, you all would probably have gone extinct the second you pissed someone off who was truly powerful. Honestly, you’re about middle of the road in terms of the junior leagues Rayid. But your rise in power has been, well, meteoric. For a human. I think you might one day, be able to master any two of the Greater Powers. But the only way to touch Cosmic Energy is if you have lifetimes to dedicate to study. Again, your Gods kind of cheat and allow your priests shortcuts to certain spells in the Cosmic Energies. And they grant a lot of benefits. The gods think of you guys as lacking, and like to help where they can. But no baseline human has ever reached that high that I know of and still maintain their humanity. Save the Merlin, but, well, he’s different.”
“What types of spells do the gods allow us access to?” I asked as I put my satchel on.
“Well, the ability to craft some forms of special magic enchantments, for one. Even then, only clergy of the highest orders of the most powerful Gods of crafting in your most stable pantheons have been able to do it. The only two I know of on this layer that have reached that high, are Dominus’s High Priests, and the Glass Island priests of the Blood Kraken or Storm King. Most of your spacial magic usually comes as elven imports or gifts. Of course, there are human civilizations that have access to these things, on this layer even. But they’re usually in the service of, or protecting other more powerful beings. Like the Blood Kracken.”
That made me sad. I had hoped that humanity would, given access to magic, make the same steady progress we had back on Earth. As I thought about it, though, I came to a conclusion. Magic in human hands was in some ways holding humanity back on Ethria. Without the false hope that magic gave, real industry and science would probably never develop. That was something I knew couldn’t be allowed to continue. But I didn’t have the power to strip magic from everyone, and neither would I want to. Doing something like that overnight would cause remarkable damage. Doing that would be about as stupid as that old Thanos bad guy my parents always talked about. How he just straight up deleted half the population of the galaxy or something in some old movie series. But perhaps, just perhaps, there was some long-term solution.
“Well, I’m ready to go. How about you?” I turned and asked Ailsa who was still laying back in the air, floating above the bed in her best purple dress. The same one she wore the day I met her months ago.
“Thought you’d never ask! Let’s go!”
Chapter 18: The Ball and the Bards
“It was by music that the ancient kings gave elegant expression to their joy. By their armies and axes they gave the same to their anger.” - Confucius
Central Cathedral, City of Sowers Vale, 6th Novos, 2989 AoR
The ceilings were vaulted, and they looked an awful lot like the old catholic cathedrals back on Earth. All the chapels and their individual cathedrals had their back walls removed, somehow. They now all led directly to a central wood and marble stand. All the various chapels and cathedral halls spreading out in a pinwheel from the center were filled with wooden pews and chairs.
As we walked through the entrance to the Dead Gods chapel, I spied carvings of beasts of legends and stained glass that told stories from myths I didn’t know. These lovingly crafted artistic displays of faith adorned the tall alcoves and windows above us. The sun was setting outside and casting everything inside in a soft red hue.
We moved through the crowd, trying to find a good seat. After the third time Zed motioned f
or me to keep moving after finding a perfectly acceptable spot, I realized he had seats already picked out. At the very front. Tol’geth trailed behind us as Ailsa sat on my shoulder, but we waited for the larger man. Two Dreadknights of the Dead God, covered from head to toe in their black plate mail armor, stood next to a front row pew.
“Uh, I thought no one in the city respected you.” I said, smiling to take the sting from my words as we took our seats. When they saw we were safely seated, the two knights left to oversee other seats and guard other important people whose tickets had afforded them the right to sit near or at the front.
“Ah, well. Even a disgraced Master mage has some dignity.” Zed pulled two red juicy apples from nowhere and tossed them towards the two knights. They caught them, nodded their thanks and went back to their ever silent, ever observant work. As they walked away, I heard a distinct crunch of an apple under the darkened helmets. “More than enough remember me from before my, run in with that pixie. I am only just understanding how badly I was affected. Still, I don’t know if I wouldn’t do it again,” Zedical said. His smile nearly manic as he grinned at me. His beard, seemingly of its own accord, split into three and started having a slap fight. I chortled before I could cover my mouth. Ailsa giggled lightly. Children behind us joined in, and as others finished filling in the seats Zed turned so they could get a better view of the facial hair-based puppet show.
“As to why we are here precisely rather than say, one of the art or history museums of the northern duchy?” Zed pointed up towards the seating for high nobility and lower royalty on the second floor. I noticed that most of the seats were empty, filled with coats or cloaks rather than noble butts. “They have six up there, you know, and their displays are rather marvelous. But that’s a topic for another time. You told me that Rayid had some skill with the musical arts. Yes?” Zed turned and asked Tol’geth as he sat down on the pew between us. My barbarian friend grunted in the affirmative.
Ethria 3: The Liberator Page 19