by Kyle Johnson
The obvious answer, he thought, was to flood the armor with metal mana. However, when he pulled up the mental image of Saphielle, encased in her steel armor, and imagined pouring metal mana into it, two things happened in his vision. First, the armor thickened immediately, the bulk and extra weight slowing the Warrior down significantly. Second, the armor took on a dull, almost matte finish, and when he imagined it being struck by a blow from a towering, bear-like ursusz, the armor cracked and shattered.
Aranos shook his head; simply dumping metal mana wasn’t going to work. He knew from his Enchanting that different metals had different mana patterns to them; perhaps by pouring energy into that matrix, he was disrupting the patterns and rendering the steel brittle and weak. He started his mental image once more, but this time, he reached out to the armor first with a mental tendril, taking in a feel for how the mana resonated in the metal. Carefully, he sent energy into the metal, this time being cautious to match the existing patterns in the armor.
The steel breastplate didn’t immediately change its appearance, this time, but it did grow noticeably thicker and heavier. The imaginary Saphielle’s motions become ponderous and unwieldy, and while the blows of the ursusz he constructed didn’t breach her armor, she was unable to dodge or return strikes effectively. Aranos sighed; it seemed like just adding power to the armor wouldn’t work, no matter what.
He stopped and considered the problem, letting his thoughts relax and drift as he did so. He supposed it made sense that adding mana to the armor would make it thicker and heavier; basically, any metal object was just permanently solidified metal mana, so adding more mana would necessarily create more metal. What he needed, then, wasn’t more mana…it was better mana.
He returned to his mental image and allowed his senses to range through the imagined metal, once more examining the sense of the energy pattern. The steel had an almost crystal feel to it; for the most part, it consisted of a single pattern of mana that was repeated throughout the entirety of the breastplate. It reminded Aranos of a tiled mosaic floor, where someone took a single arrangement of multiple, different-sized tiles and laid a series of them, creating a pattern that was both regular and irregular at the same time.
However, he realized that whoever had tiled this particular breastplate had made a few mistakes. There were places where the pattern was shifted, destroying the regularity, or where parts of the pattern were missing, shifting all the tiles about it almost randomly. The larger pattern still held, but in those places, the uniformity that made the steel strong was weakened or non-existent. Cautiously, he trickled metal mana into those spots, filling the holes and twisting the shifted tiles until the patterns were restored. At the same time, he allowed a thin sheet of mana to flow through the metal, rushing between the tiles and binding each together more tightly.
In his mind, Saphielle’s armor took on a gleaming, silvery sheen. It moved more easily on her frame and, when the ursusz struck her, the armor easily deflected the blow without slowing the Warrior down in the slightest. With a mental grin of glee, Aranos extended the Spell throughout the rest of the woman’s armor, which took some time but was much faster than the minutes his High Mastery Ability would have required.
He restarted the vision and began adding SP to it, repeating the scene in his mind as energy flowed into it. He could smell the oily scent of the hardened steel; he heard the clear, pure tones echoing as the steel was struck and resisted the blow; he could feel the unyielding, cold metal in his mental grasp. Again and again, he reforged her armor, each time finding it easier to do in his mind. Thanks to the power flowing in from the mana crystal, he had no worries about running out of SP, and he was able to simply power the Spell without needing a break.
As the Spell progressed, it occurred to Aranos that he could probably to the same thing to a metal weapon, shield, or really any metallic object. The next time he restarted his image, instead of picturing Saphielle’s gleaming armor, he imagined Geltheriel’s silver-white sword blade. The patterns in the weapon were different, as if it were something other than steel, and the imperfections in that pattern were fewer and smaller in scope. Still, he fixed what he could find and used a tracing of mana to bind those crystalline patterns together. The blade faded from silver to pure white in color, and as Geltheriel struck, the razor edge sliced cleanly through the ursusz he imagined her fighting, severing the cable-like tendon in the back of its leg with a single blow.
He continued forging the Spell, imagining different metal items each time. In one, he strengthened a handful of bronze coins, which was more difficult, since the two metals forming the alloy had different structures and a more complex pattern. In another, he reinforced the metal bands of Saphielle’s shield, while in a third, he repaired the lattice inside a simple, silver necklace.
He returned back to Saphielle’s armor, but as he did, a curious thought struck him. He recalled the strange pattern of the golden chains the iggullon had used against him; was that a real metal, he wondered, or just some strange dream construct? Shrugging, as he began the Spell this time, he imagined not just fixing the pattern of the woman’s armor but shifting it. His mana twisted the grain of the metal, reattaching it in a new fashion, filling in holes that remained.
The metal of the armor gradually darkened from bright steel to a dully gleaming gold, and Aranos worried that the armor would be ruined. To his delight, though, Saphielle seemed to move easily within it, and when it was struck by the bear, not even a scratch was left to mar the surface. Excitedly, Aranos tried the same technique with Geltheriel’s blade and both women’s shields; it was a slower process that drained his SP faster, but the resulting metal seemed both lighter and stronger than steel.
Suddenly, the Spell crystallized in his mind, and he sighed with relief, releasing the image at last. That had been a lot harder than he’d thought it would be, and he wasn’t sure how many of the other Spells he would have time to replicate.
Fortunately, the next Spell he created was far simpler, since it merely used wind to give one person a temporary boost to their movement Speed. It wasn’t vastly different from his Flight Spell, really; he imagined gathering air in a wide cone in front of the person, narrowing it around them, and forcing it back behind them, the way that a ramjet engine functioned. The person in question would gain a quick burst of speed that lasted only a few seconds, but in combat, a few seconds of extra speed could be very useful. The hardest part of crafting that Spell, in fact, was making sure he didn’t boost the target’s velocity too much; the first time he’d done it, his mental image of Silma had gone tumbling across the ground, her feet simply unable to keep up with the sudden acceleration he’d given her.
The last Spell he crafted was his first lightning-based attack. He hadn’t bothered to use lightning mana, yet, because it was so unpredictable: it had a base 50% chance to strike a target near the one he intended, rather than the target itself. Now that his Mana Mastery Skill was at the Expert level, though, that chance dropped to 0%, which meant that he could safely use lightning for a Spell.
His mental construct forged a ball of dense lightning mana and sent it hovering over a battlefield. Every few seconds, he could pull a small bolt of lightning down from that ball and send it crashing into any target he wanted within about 20’, damaging and possibly paralyzing them. The Spell didn’t last long – he could only pull about 6 strikes from the ball before it was depleted – but it did what he wanted. The Spell would be devastating against a single, large target, but it would also be useful for disrupting a charge of lots of smaller creatures.
With that done, he decided to spend the rest of his Meditation time in Skill Training. He worked on his Runecrafting and Enchanting Skills, getting only a single level to his High Enchanting Skill but learning how to use Enchantments to separate out mana aspects (instead of needing specific runes for that) and how to increase the potency of one Enchantment or Rune by including a diminishing or draining effect that balanced it.
As it tu
rned out, he couldn’t just add random debuffs to an item and increase the power of its other enhancements. Instead, he had to add a penalty that was linked to the bonus he wanted to give. So, if he wanted to boost Wisdom higher, which would effectively boost his SP and SP regen, he had to penalize something like Intelligence or Spell power in return: he could have more SP, but he couldn’t use them as well. He thought of it as if he was using a counterweight to lift something with a pulley: the weight did some of the work, meaning he could do more with less effort.
Finally, he spent some time upping his Animal Handling Skill, laboring in stables and caring for various mundane and magical creatures.
When he rose at last from his mindscape, he pulled up his notifications, ignoring the combat logs and willing all the death notifications to appear at once:
You have slain Uruk Warrior x26! 173 XP Gained (Base 692 split between party members)
You have slain Uruk Champion x 3! 59 XP Gained (Base 236 split between party members)
You have slain Uruk Witch Doctor x3! 85 XP Gained (Base 340 split between party members)
Party Perks Gained!
No Wall Too High (1)
You have taken an enemy fortification that was held by a numerically superior force.
Benefit: Enemy defenses are 5% less effective against your attacks.
No Wall Too High (2)
You have taken an enemy fortification that was held by a force more than five times more numerous.
Benefit: Enemy defenses are +5% less effective against your attacks (cumulative with the first level of this Perk)
Stand at the Gates (1)
You have successfully held a position against a force more than double your numbers.
Benefit: Take 5% less damage when attempting to hold a position against attack.
Stand at the Gates (2)
You have successfully held a position against a force more than five times your numbers.
Benefit: Take 5% less damage when attempting to hold a position against attack (cumulative with the first level of this Perk).
Spell Created: Enhanced Elemental Ward*
Rank: Novice 1
Ward an area against intruders, and attack those who enter with elemental mana.
Effect: When cast, this Spell wards a hemispherical area up to 40’ in radius. Any creature, living or undead, that enters the boundaries of this area activates the following effects (none of the effects harm those within a 15’ radius zone in the center of the ward):
Air Barrier: The edge of the warded area is protected by a dome of solid air mana. Any creature trying to enter by brute force must make an opposed check: the creature’s [(Str-10) + Level] versus your [(Int – 10) + Spell Level]. Creatures of Large size gain a 25% bonus to this check; creatures of Huge or greater size gain a 50% bonus. Multiple creatures trying to enter at once make their check using the creature with the highest Str Stat as a base plus half the Str Stat of each additional creature simultaneously attempting to break the barrier.
Field of Spears: If the air barrier is breached, stone spears randomly begin to erupt from the ground in the warded area, rising to a 4’ height. A creature moving through the area has a 10% + 1% per Spell level chance of being struck by a spear each second (half that for Small or smaller creatures, same chance for 2 spears for Large or larger creatures). Each spear does 20 – 35 LP earth damage (172 – 301) per hit.
Radiant Curtain: If an enemy approaches within 30’ of the center of the warded area, a curtain of radiant mana 1’ wide, spanning the diameter of the area and extending to the air barrier overhead appears, sweeping through the warded area at 5’ per second. Any creature touching the curtain takes 8 – 14 LP radiant damage (70 – 120) per second in the curtain.
Acidic Fog: The area between the arms of the radiant curtain is filled with a fog of diffuse acid. This acid does 3 – 8 (25 – 70) LP acid damage per second to all creatures within it.
SP cost and damage are increased by 1% per Spell level.
Duration: Without being activated, the ward will last for 12 hours. Once activated, each portion of the Ward lasts for 1 minute, plus 3 seconds per Spell level. It can be dismissed at any time by the caster.
Cost: 2300 SP
+300 XP
Let me just roll out my welcome mat…
Spell Created: Enhanced Strengthen Metal*
Rank: Novice 1
Improve the strength of durability of any metallic object.
Effect: You strengthen and reinforce an existing metal object, giving It a temporary boost to its durability. The strength of the metal is improved by your [(Wis-10)/10]%, +2% per Spell level. For weapons, this bonus applies to damage done; for armor, it applies to Defense. For other objects, this bonus improves the item’s durability, making it harder to destroy.
Special: This Spell has synergy with the various Smithing Skills and the Metal Refining Skill. When strengthening an object, you receive a bonus of 1% to the Spell’s effect for each level of Metal Refining and the relevant Smithing Skill combined (Weaponsmithing for weapons, Goldsmithing for jewelry, and so on).
Casting Time: This Spell takes 20 s per cubic foot of material affected to cast (or part of a cubic foot).
Duration: 10 min + 10 s / Spell level
Cost: 220 SP per cubic foot
Enhanced: Rather than strengthening a metal, you may temporarily transmute it to the metal auril. This requires double the SP costs and casting time but also doubles the bonuses applied to the metal.
+150 XP
The finest steel requires the hottest fires…or a minute alone with me
Spell Created: Gust of Speed
Rank: Novice 1
Channel air to enhance one creature’s movement speed briefly.
Effect: Choose a single target. For the duration of the Spell, that target’s movement rate is increased by 100% + 5% per Spell level, so long as the target is moving in a single, continuous motion. If the target stops moving, the Spell ends, even if it had longer duration.
Duration: 5 s + 5 s per 10 Spell levels.
Cost: 175 SP
+150 XP
You look like you need a boost…
Spell Created: Ball Lightning
Rank: Novice 1
Rain lightning strikes on enemies
Effect: Choose a point within sight range. A ball of lightning mana appears at that point and remains still for the duration of the Spell. Once every 5 s, you can send a stroke of lightning from that ball into any target within 20’. The strike has a chance equal to [50% - 2% per Mana Manipulation Skill level] to miss the intended target and strike another creature or object within 5’. Each strike does 15-35 LP damage if it hits (129-301). Any creature that takes 10% or more of their max LP in damage from a single strike is paralyzed for 2 s, +1 s for every additional 10% of their max LP damage they took. You can call 1 strike per 10 Spell levels, plus additional strikes equal to [(Int-10)/20].
Duration: 5 min or until exhausted
Cost: 575 SP
+150 XP
My lightning always strikes twice…
Skill Gained: Scribing (T)
Rank: Student 1
You can write and copy manuscripts
Effect: You can copy any manuscript that is written in a language or alphabet that is no higher than Common rarity. Writing speed +1% per Skill level.
Student Level Ability: You can copy magical Spells of the Novice rank, or mundane writings up to Uncommon rarity
+1 Dex
Profession Unlocked: Scholar
Scholars are skilled at research, lore, and writing
Requirements: Int 12, Dex 12, Lore (any two) Skill at Student rank, Scribing Skill at Student rank
Benefits: +5% bonus per Profession level to Lore checks and Scribing speed.
Do you wish to adopt this Profession? (Yes/No)
Aranos quickly selected ‘No’ and stretched, loosening muscles that were stiff from sitting for so long, then re-read the descriptions for his new Spel
ls. He exulted at the results; he’d gained some potent, new Spells. The Elemental Ward had turned out better than he’d hoped, looking like it would do a bit less than 200 LP damage per second to every creature that penetrated its border, although casting it would certainly put a dent even in his massive reserves. While his Ball Lightning wouldn’t do as much damage, it was simpler to cast and would be great for dealing with a single large, powerful creature or for breaking up the charge of a large number of smaller, weaker ones.
He winced as he noticed two things; first, the mana crystal he’d been using was hot enough that it had scorched the floor of his tent, and second, its glow had dimmed significantly. I must have pulled too much mana from it, he thought a bit frantically, eyeing the crystal to see if his Arcane Lore or Appraise Skills would kick in. The heat was an issue he’d encountered previously when drawing power directly from a mana crystal, but the reduced glow made him wonder if mana crystals had limits to how much power they could channel. He sighed as he channeled air mana around the stone, cooling it off, before picking it up and returning it to his pack. Hopefully, it would recharge itself; if not, maybe he could charge it during the day by trickling SP into it.
In either case, he realized that if he was going to train with the mana crystal like that, he was going to need to make a stand of some sort to protect it. He could probably use his High Mastery Ability to fashion one from loose stone – there was a ton of that around the tower, after all – but he wondered if any of the crafting samples Ilmadia had given him would be useful for that sort of thing. There was probably some mystical metal or stone that had a high melting point and wasn’t a great conductor of heat, and if that existed, he might be able to find it in the book she’d given him.
Shrugging, he set aside the thought; it wasn’t something he needed to worry about right now, and he had a feeling he’d have plenty of time to examine the samples she’d given him during these long nights. He rolled to his knees and crawled from his tent, groaning as he stood up. He moved quietly past the other party members’ tents, his Lifesense Skill telling him that they were all inside, and slipped into the next room.