by Jez Cajiao
“That’s slavery,” I stated, furious. “How do I free you?”
“Free... me? I am a wisp, Jax. I exist to serve…”
“Why? What makes you destined to serve? Were you created for this? If so, it’s a shitty deal!” I stormed.
“I… no, Jax. Wisps are born like any other creature, but we are highly prized. We are typically captured, then bound to a structure or individual. Our ability to use ambient mana is burned out of us to ensure we can never leave. Without a linked mana structure or pool, we will starve, then go into hibernation. If we are not awoken from it eventually, we die.”
“Can I heal you somehow?” I asked. “Look, I know I need your help, but where I come from, we don’t do this kinda thing. No slaves, not ever!” I ground out, pacing through the room in anger, until I heard noise outside the room and a series of hard blows hit the crystal doorway. I stormed over to it and banged on the inside with a fist, shouting at the Undead Adventurer that I could see faintly through the doorway.
“And you can fuck off an’ all, ya ugly bastard! I’ll be out to fuck up your Tuesday soon enough!” I roared at it.
When I turned back to the wisp, she still floated there hesitantly, wings fluttering as she bobbed in the air.
“I…I am bound to the Tower, Jax. I don’t know of any way I could be freed, beyond a direct bonding, and if I did try to just leave, I’d starve. I thank you for the thought, but… I am bound. It’s okay; I came to terms with this long ago, and my masters have often been good…” She fluttered, wringing her hands together as she tried to make me feel better about her being a slave. A few minutes ago, she’d been a miniature version of me, and I’d felt nothing for her. Now, she was a flying stunner that had told me she had been enslaved, and as quick as that, I needed to help her. Man, I’m a simple creature…. I thought to myself.
“Okay, well, you might have accepted it, but I haven’t. If I can find a way to heal you in these books or in my travels, I’ll use it to free you, okay?” I asked, trying to give her, and myself, some hope.
“Thank you, Jax. That is good of you to say, but it’s okay. Now, you were about to name me?” she asked, a tentative smile making me want to make everything all right.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess I was,” I said, sitting back down and shaking my head. “Well, what do you do normally? Tell me about yourself, please.”
“I maintain the wards and spells of the Tower, and protect the Hall of Memories, aiding those that have the power to use this place to make wise choices on their path. I also act in concert with the other Wisps that are bound here to protect the Tower as much as we can.”
“Shit, yeah, you did mention that; how many other wisps are there?”
“Two more. One at the top of the Tower, which maintains the physical structure, and one in the Genesis Chambers beneath the Tower. That wisp creates and controls the golems and servitors.”
“Okay, I found an empty mana pool or whatever it’s called at the top of the tower earlier,” I said, thinking out loud.
“A mana well, Jax. We store mana in them and feed from them.”
“Why was it empty, then? Does someone have to fill it each time?” I asked curiously.
“No, they are usually fed from the Tower’s mana collectors, but those were shut down when the SporeMother took control. We were instructed by the Master at the time that we were not to allow the creature to feed from the Tower, so we disabled the collectors and sank all the mana we could into the shield to drain the mana stores. When the cataclysm struck, it was probably why we survived as well as we did. We had essentially overcharged the shields and structure to such a degree that we survived, when so many others did not.”
“Is the SporeMother still here?”
“I don’t know, Jax. I can sense very little beyond this room, but there are possessed undead outside the room, so it is highly likely. No creature would give up a lair such as the Tower without good cause.”
“Great. Okay then, first things first. You need a name, I need to kill that motherfucker outside the door, and we need to reawaken the wisp at the top of the Tower and see if they can aid us as well. We can do this,” I said, taking a deep breath and inspecting the wisp floating in front of me. I was seriously tempted to name her after a pornstar, but that would have been wrong. That being said, I wasn’t asking her to change her appearance either. Clothes and a name were a good compromise. “I name you ‘Oracle,’ as you know more than I do, and you are in charge of the knowledge of the Tower,” I pronounced, receiving a delighted smile in return.
“Thank you, Jax, I love it!”
“Okay, that’s great! So, first things first. I need to kick these guys’ asses. Any magic that will help me do that? I have one spell slot available.”
“May I link with you, Jax? I will evaluate your current capacity and abilities.” She flitted forward, hovering before me and lifting one tiny hand to my head as she waited for permission.
“Yes, of course. Tell me what you can do.” I said, inclining my head to her. I felt her tiny hand as she pressed it against my forehead, cool fingers gently caressing my skin as she closed her eyes and bowed her head.
Do you wish to allow the Wisp, Oracle, access to your character sheet?
Yes/No
As the prompt appeared, I selected ‘yes’ and dismissed it, looking between Oracle and the stacks of spellbooks behind her. After a short wait, she released my head and backed away, bowing her head before looking me in the eyes.
“Thank you for your trust, Jax. I have evaluated your abilities, and the number of new spells and knowledge you have. Judging from your current repertoire, there are several spells I would recommend.” With that, she spun around and flew across the room, flitting from one bookcase to another, lightly tapping spellbooks and making them glow. I gathered them all together and laid them out on the table to sort through.
Airblade:
Creates a blade of air 5m long and razor sharp. This will project from the tip of your weapon and activate with the next slashing attack, doing up to 15 damage to any targets in the targeted area. Cost of 25 mana.
Shocking Light:
Creates a burst of light at a targeted location. Burst lasts 2 seconds and has a 10% chance to inflict blindness on a target. Cost of 10 mana.
Wall of Light:
Creates a shield wall of solid light. This wall can absorb 100 damage before being dismissed and will last up to 30 seconds. Any enemies that come into contact with the wall will receive 10 damage per second until the wall is dismissed or the enemy ceases contact. Cost of 50 mana.
Lifebolt:
Creates a bolt of compressed healing energy. This can be used as either a ranged healing spell or an offensive spell against death creatures and will do 10 points of healing/damage to its target. Cost of 10 mana.
Flameburst:
An AOE (Area of Effect) spell that creates a rolling wall of flames outwards from the caster’s body, knocking any enemies back. This wall will reach 10m and deal 5 damage to any targets caught in its way, with a 10% chance to inflict burning for another 5 points of damage for up to ten seconds. Cost of 25 mana.
There were several other spells, but I narrowed it down to these five and pored over them. I had one slot free and had to be careful with my choice. Airblade was an easy one; slash sideways across the room and it’d do a decent amount of damage to everything, with the added advantage of a spell cast on my weapon that would release when I slashed, so I could cast it and let my mana regenerate before opening the door. The light spell, on the other hand… well, it’d be useful, but not that great, it might burn them the way the sun did, or it might do nothing at all...I doubted they’d focus on it too much when they had a living, breathing target in sight.
The Wall of Light spell could be amazing, but it didn’t specify how the wall worked. If it just created a barrier in front of me , I might as well not open the door, but if I could angle it across a room, that could make it a more manageable fight.
I narrowed it down to Flameburst and Airblade, and after a few minutes of further thought, I picked up Airblade. Immediately, the familiar prompt appeared.
You have found the spellbook ‘Airblade.’ Do you wish to learn this spell? The spellbook will be destroyed in the attempt.
Yes/No
I selected ‘Yes’ and began to read, flicking from one page to the next, speeding up as the symbols on the page glowed with increasing intensity, until the book collapsed to ash in my hands and I fell back in my seat.
I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to dismiss the glowing symbols that seemed to be hovering in the air, burned into my retinas. As they faded, I found that the spell had been added to my repertoire. I grinned unconsciously, rubbing my eyes. I frigging loved magic.
“Jax…” Oracle called softly. I turned to regard her and saw a look of concern on her face as she alighted on the table. “I know you’ve been told, but still I have to warn you. You do need the spells and your magic to clear the tower, but using so many Spellbooks, and so much magic, in such a short span of time isn’t safe. It can lead to permanent damage…”
I sat forward, my mind still reeling from the strain of the arcane knowledge that I’d just absorbed, and I met her eyes as I tried to think. It felt like someone had just opened the top of my skull with a can opener and poured information in, and it was getting worse by the second.
“Yeah…” I muttered, rubbing my eyes and shaking my head slightly at the fuzziness. “I can believe that. How frequently should I be using Spellbooks? Is there a limit, like ten a month or something? My brain feels weird…”
“TEN? Jax, hasn’t anyone warned you about this?” Oracle squeaked in alarm, taking a few quick steps forward and pressing her hand to my forehead again. I felt a soothing coolness spreading from her hand and I sighed in relief, feeling my muscles relax as I recognized the feeling of her in my mind. I didn’t care; the relief was worth it. “Jax, you used NINE Spellbooks? Nine?! All your spells came from books?!?” she whispered in shock, pressing both hands to my head and forcing more of her strength into me.
“Feels…good….” I muttered, relaxing more and feeling her tiny hands trying to hold my head up. Suddenly, I was falling, and everything went black.
Chapter Fifteen
When I came to, I was laid out on the floor next to the chair I’d been sitting in, and Oracle was perched on my shoulder, watching me.
“Wha….” I managed to mumble before she slipped forward, shaking her finger at my eye as she leaned on my chin.
“You used NINE SPELLBOOKS! You’re lucky you can speak! Mages have been left brain-dead from less! NINE! You are an idiot! A complete fool, Jax! Do you realize what you’ve done to yourself?”
I flinched back reflexively as the tiny form of Oracle continued to berate me. She took flight and hovered before me as I sat up shakily. I focused on taking a deep breath and trying to figure out what had happened. My health bar and mana bars were both lower than they had been before I lost consciousness, but I couldn’t see what she was so worked up about. My head felt a little fuzzy, but….then the world suddenly seemed to tilt to one side.
“You’ve scarred your brain! Actually scarred it! And it’d be worse if I hadn’t been here! You could have erased your mind!”
“Whoa, seriously woman, stop!” I said as I straightened up. I gripped my head as I felt the room spin, then staggered to the side before I tripped and fell to the floor again. This time, I stayed there, panting as I tried to figure out what was happening. Oracle buzzed back and forth over me as I scanned the room, panting rapidly as I began to panic.
“JAX!” Oracle shouted as she flew in close, hovering in front of my face and waving her hands in the air to get my attention. I focused on her, trying to calm my racing thoughts. I’d given myself brain damage! I’d fucked up so bad right now…
“Jax, stop! It’s alright! Take a deep breath…there…now another…” she said soothingly, hovering and lifting her arms with each inhale, lowering them with each exhale. “That’s it. Just concentrate on me. In…and out…in…and out…” We continued for a few minutes as I forced myself not to think, focusing solely on her and my breathing while ignoring everything else.
“Okay, Jax I want you to sit up slowly. Don’t stand, just sit up.” I did as she asked, and I felt the room spin slowly again. It was like being really, really drunk, just before throwing up, but I hadn’t drank that much, had I? Where am I? My mind went blank for a second as I looked around, thinking I was in town somewhere, on a night out, maybe?
“JAX!” I flinched and returned my focus to the tiny flying woman, realizing that she’d been trying to get my attention for a while.
“Jax, I need you to help me do something. Can you do that?” she asked. Landing on the floor between my legs, she climbed up onto my folded knee and reached up with both hands to press lightly on my temples. I frowned, trying to make sense of where I was and what was happening, as well as why she looked so familiar. Also, was she really small, or…
“Yeah…” I muttered in response as I tried to figure out if she was real. Had someone given me something? I swore off the drugs… didn’t I? There was that one episode in Amsterdam; I’d ended up trying to swim in the canal when it was frozen, and I was naked. I vaguely remembered the lads posting the videos on social media and swearing to myself ‘never again,’ but…
“Jax, this is important. I need you to concentrate, okay?” I focused on her again. She looked so familiar. She was really pretty, actually, and that body…
“Jax!” she shouted, making me jump again.
“Uh, yeah… sorry!” I muttered, trying to make sense of where I was. I started to look around the room again, and received a tiny, resounding slap for it.
“Look at me! You need to give me access. Just choose yes!” She slapped me again. “Focus, Jax! We don’t have much time!” I saw a series of words appear in the air between us, golden letters flowing into a cursive script that said…something I couldn’t make out. I closed one eye and squinted, making it slightly more legible.
… you choose to gi… cess t….internal… and mana? Y../No…
I blinked, trying to figure it out, when I heard a tiny voice shouting at me to accept it, calling me ‘Jax.’ That was my name, a name I’d chosen in a thousand battlefields and dungeon dives. Only my friends and Tommy knew me as Jax… the voice must be a friend, then… I selected ‘Yes’ and felt a gentle presence surround me.
“It’s alright, Jax…” a voice said, warm and soothing. I felt the world drifting away, like the sea receding when I had floated on a sun lounger on the beach in Crete, the tide coming and going, warm water lapping at me… I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face and I relaxed, drifting off to sleep.
When I finally awoke, I found myself lying on the floor again, but my head was clearer. I blinked and sat up, a headache flaring as I moved too quickly. As it dampened back down, everything came flooding back to me. I’d given myself brain damage, I couldn’t stand up, and I’d been somewhere else. Memories filled my mind: games, my driving test, learning to parachute. Holidays, the taste of a minted kangaroo dish, sea salt and balsamic vinegar on chips, a cold beer with Tommy on the beach as we watched the sun setting, the warmth of a summer’s evening in the air, the promise of a night out ahead of us…
All of it flashed through my mind in a flood of images, tastes, and even the coconut smell of the suntan lotion I’d used, mixed with aftershave and the tingle of lightly sunburned skin. All of it was as real as if it had just happened. I sat there, my mouth agape as I tried to process everything. As the memories began to
settle, one sensation remained, a new one. A tingle at the back of my mind made me turn around, my eyes drawn inexorably toward a tiny pedestal with only the dregs of mana remaining in it, and Oracle, sitting on its edge, watching me as she nervously drew patterns in the last of the mana with one hand.
“Are you okay, Jax?” she asked. Her voice had changed. Gone was the piccolo fluting tunes, replaced instead with a woman’s voice, strong but feminine. She drew her legs up and rose to her feet, shocking me.
She’d been six inches before; now, she was closer to twelve, almost double her previous size, and she glowed. There was no other way to describe it. There was no visible light emanating from her, but she seemed to shine with health and strength. Her skin was flushed, as though she’d gotten a tan and just finished a workout in the way that all exceedingly hot women did. She even smelled good…wait, I could smell her? Wasn’t she just mana?
“What just happened?” I asked slowly, watching her. I could feel her. I knew precisely where she was. As I turned my back slowly, I could feel her location even as I looked around the room or closed my eyes.
“This is going to take some getting used to, I’m afraid, Jax…” she said, smiling shyly. She waited patiently as I turned back to face her, her hands clasped behind her back. Her wings were folded down, almost brushing the floor with the tips, and she dug at the top of the pedestal with one toe self-consciously. “You see, I kind of, bonded you…”
“Bonded me?” I whispered. Clearing my throat, I coughed and then asked her again in a much stronger voice, “What do you mean, ‘bonded;’ what’s that?” Increasing anger and confusion was clear in my voice.
“You damaged your mind, Jax, using Spellbooks, skill books, and increasing your Intelligence and Wisdom so much in such a short time, you’d scarred your brain. Neurons were dying in the thousands as the scars grew worse. I didn’t have any time to come up with a better plan, and when I tried to explain it, you….well, you didn’t understand.” She shivered as I got up, towering over her. She looked scared and embarrassed as she looked up at me.