Dusk Gate (Soul Bound Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Then it came time for the final exams. We had to face every other student in duels, one at a time,” Nef said, a smile of satisfaction on her face. “The look of shock on Olm’s face when I beat him was priceless. He couldn’t understand how I’d done it, when I’d been one of the middling students at the start of the class. It was the teacher who set him straight, fortunately, pointing out that he was wasting his talent. That if he’d put in the same degree of effort that I had, or even a quarter of that effort, I wouldn’t have been able to touch him. It’s a lesson I’ve kept in mind ever since, to never be complacent. There’s always room for improvement, to be better than you were yesterday.”

  “But… how does that apply to magic? We only have so much mana, so we can’t practice that much,” Naomi said, frowning a little as she ate her food. “It makes sense for food, or other mundane things, but…”

  “Fool,” Xandra murmured, prompting a flush to spread across the priestess’s cheeks.

  They were in a tiny clearing, one which Xandra suspected that Nef had used before, based on the barely-visible ashes that were in the middle of it, as well as the stones she’d unearthed from a tangle of plants for the fire pit. To one side they had a cliff that sheltered them from the worst of the wind, while to the other side was a tangle of trees where they’d found fallen wood for their fire. It was a surprisingly comfortable location for a camp.

  “There’s no need for insults, Xandra,” Nef replied kindly, grinning as she continued, “In fact, you’re the perfect example! Tell me, how satisfied are you with your control of the sphere of destruction?”

  “I’m not. My grip is shaky, the spells often escape the bounds I intend to keep them within, and it often fights me to rage out of control,” Xandra replied, scowling as she shook her head. “I’m making progress with it, but it isn’t easy. I hadn’t used it in centuries, and that lack of practice hurt. Worse, I was forbidden from even thinking about it, most of the time.”

  “Precisely! Whereas your skill with mana is the exact opposite,” Nef said, looking at Naomi and smiling. “The nice thing about Xandra is that she’ll never lie to you. She might be rude as an ornery dragon with a toothache, but if she chooses to answer you, she’s going to be honest. It’s quite nice after how many magi I’ve met who seem to think that blustering and pretending to be better than they are is a good idea. It’s like pulling teeth to get accurate information out of most of them.”

  Xandra scowled as Jasmine and Naomi both giggled at the description of her, and instead ate another bite of the cornbread. It helped remind her about the good aspects of being with Nef.

  “That doesn’t really explain how to practice, though,” Jasmine said after a moment. “Like Naomi said, we only have so much mana.”

  “Ah, but you don’t need mana to practice your spells!” Nef replied, taking a bite of food, savoring it for a moment before continuing. “Xandra, without casting it, would you use the gestures and words for a basic light spell?”

  Xandra rolled her eyes, but cooperated, rattling off the words precisely as she flicked her spoon through the appropriate gestures. It was easy as could be, with all her practice over the centuries, and her movements were as precise as dwarven-cut gems.

  “That, right there, is what you can do. Make the gestures, and think about them. Was that the best way you can make them? Is there some way to improve? What about your diction? Is it ideal for the spell in question?” Nef asked, tapping her spoon on the edge of the pot to clean it off. “You can practice without spending a drop of mana. I may not be a mage myself, but I know enough about the basics to know that much.”

  “I suppose so,” Naomi said dubiously, looking down at her hands and flexing her fingers experimentally, which prompted Xandra to roll her eyes. The movements were stiffer than normal, which meant that by consciously thinking about it, the woman was making things even harder on herself.

  “Nef is correct when she speaks about how you can practice without mana, but there’s another aspect which is also almost as important, in my opinion, and that is control. A more precisely cast spell is more efficient, yes, but you can practice a completely different method to keep from wasting mana at all times,” Xandra said, setting her bowl down for the moment. There wasn’t much left as it was, and she had the feeling that she’d regret it if she ate too much more of the chili, which was a touch on the warm side for her.

  Jasmine looked at her and blinked, frowning a little as she hesitated. Then she asked, her tone somewhat cautious, “What do you mean? I don’t think I’m wasting mana.”

  “But you are. It’s something which I think the vast majority of people are ignorant of, so I can understand you not knowing. Were you aware that magi of all types can normally be detected by a mana detection spell, as they tend to exude mana?”

  Jasmine and Naomi both nodded, and Nef’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Ah, I understand what you’re getting at! Even those of us who can use magical techniques have mana bleeding off if we don’t learn enough control. I’m not perfect at it myself.”

  Xandra nodded, a thin smile flickering across her lips. “Yes, that’s it exactly. You don’t bleed off much mana from your mana veins, but it’s a noticeable drain on every mage who doesn’t take a conscious effort to rein it in, at least if you’re looking for it. You might be able to increase the amount of mana you can use for spells by as much as one tenth if you were able to get it fully under control. Not that I expect you’d be able to gain that degree of control.”

  “How can we do that?” Naomi asked, looking both intrigued and irritated at her own curiosity.

  “It’s a matter of optimizing the flow of mana through your body. You need to—” Nef began, but went silent as Xandra raised a finger, shaking her head.

  “You’re dealing with priestesses, Nef, not learned magi who’ve studied magic the way that the Karakar teach it,” Xandra said, shaking her head as she stood, raising her hands to her cloak clasp. “No, the best way to teach is to show them.”

  “You aren’t an illusionist, though,” Nef pointed out, tilting her head slightly. “That’s more a specialty of the light sphere, which you’ve never claimed to have any knowledge of.”

  Xandra chuckled, unhooking the clasp and dropping her cloak to the ground as she replied with amusement, “Ah, I see that in this I know more than you, Nef. I’m an energy mage, and not one of the minor practitioners that most are. No, I have a few tricks that other people don’t have.”

  With that, Xandra closed her eyes and concentrated on her mana veins and core. Most of the time she didn’t even sense them, her ability to control them had grown so ingrained, but when she reached for them, they were waiting for her. Thin conduits allowed mana to flow through her body like blood, but the mana was perfectly ordered, moving swiftly through them without losing more than the tiniest amount before it returned to her mana core. She supposed that the mana core could be considered a second heart, but Xandra considered it to be even more important in some ways. After all, her Mistress had stolen her original heart. She hadn’t stolen her mana core, and Xandra suspected she would have if it had been possible.

  Once she’d fully explored her network, Xandra didn’t speak a word, nor did she make a gesture. Some magic was purely internal, not something which had to be externalized… and she felt her mana core surge, power pulsing through her body more quickly as the flow of mana grew more powerful, and her core and veins began to shine.

  Naomi inhaled sharply, while Jasmine gasped. There wasn’t a sound from Nef for a moment, then there was the rustle of pages, and the scratching of a pen.

  “You’re correct, I didn’t know this was possible. Perhaps other Karakar have recorded the possibility, but I’m not going to count on that,” Nef said briskly, her voice focused. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m illuminating my mana veins and core, causing them to shine brightly,” Xandra said simply, opening her eyes and glancing downward. Even through her clothing she could see the vei
ns shimmering brightly, a near-translucent blue, inside which pure white light flowed like water. “This is what I do. I have taken the mana and streamlined it, causing it to flow smoothly through my body, without wasting any of it by allowing it to leave my body. Does this explain what I meant, Jasmine?”

  “I… I think so. Your mana isn’t bouncing at all. It’s all going the same direction,” Jasmine said, her mouth slightly open as she watched with huge eyes.

  “Fires of the Goddess … how can you have that large of a mana core?” Naomi asked, staring at Xandra’s chest. “I’ve never seen one before, but I know how big mine feels. It’s the size of my pinkie, not bigger than my fist.”

  Resisting the urge to sigh, as Naomi was focusing on the wrong thing as far as she was concerned, Xandra allowed her spell to lapse, and her mana veins and core slowly faded from view over the course of about ten breaths.

  “That doesn’t matter in the slightest,” Xandra snapped at her. “The only thing you need to worry about is your mana core, as well as your own execrable use of your mana. You aren’t going to be needing to outlast me any time soon, and if you do need to, you’re going to lose.”

  Naomi flushed, looking away, and Xandra began to sit again, picking up her cloak as she did. She really didn’t need the cloak out here in the wilds, but she was used to wearing it most of the time.

  “However, more knowledge never hurt anyone.” Nef contradicted Xandra gently, giving Naomi a warm smile as she continued, “Xandra’s mana core is the product of time and her mastery of the sphere of energy. Everyone’s mana core grows over time, and she’s had a millennium to expand it, which likely means it can’t grow much more naturally. On the other hand, with the sphere of energy a mage can artificially stimulate their mana core to grow larger, and they can also purify their mana, making it denser and more potent overall. It’s not something they do lightly, if what I’ve heard is correct, but it’s certainly possible.”

  “Oh! So that’s why your mana was so overwhelming!” Jasmine exclaimed, her eyes brightening. “I always wondered why it wasn’t tainted from all your time in the Domain of Ashen Hopes.”

  “As if I’d want that sort of filth tainting my mana,” Xandra replied, shuddering at the memory, and hesitated before admitting, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough to stop it initially. It took me the better part of a century to figure out how to filter out all the foulness. Possibly more… my memory isn’t the best when it comes to that era. I’m certain it took me a long time to get rid of what had already built up.”

  “Huh. Well, I don’t have centuries to work on my mana. I’ve got fifty, at best guess,” Naomi said, suddenly seeming downcast as she stared at the fire. “I bet I’ll never have the chance to use magic like you do.”

  Xandra looked at her for a second, considering the best way to reply, but before she could, her mouth opened and she spoke bluntly. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  Naomi jerked back slightly, shock on her face, and there was an ever-so-brief moment that Xandra regretted speaking the way she had, but it passed quickly as the priestess sputtered. “W-what? Why are you being so rude this time? I was being honest about my limitations!”

  “Except that you aren’t. You’re jumping to conclusions, like that utter imbecile Vanreth,” Xandra told Naomi, crossing her arms as she saw the confusion on both Naomi and Jasmine’s faces. “Humans have the potential to match elves in every respect except for lifespan. In fact, most of the time they develop faster than us. Far, far faster.”

  “Um, are you sure? I’ve always heard that elves have more magi than humans,” Jasmine said, her tone questioning. Xandra resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

  “Nef, would you please illuminate these two ignorant priestesses before I set them on fire?” Xandra asked, straining to keep from swearing at them.

  “You won’t set them on fire and you know it. You like them too much,” Nef replied, clicking her tongue and putting away the book she’d been writing in.

  “Nef…” Xandra growled, glaring at her.

  “However, she is correct. So! A basic, fascinating lesson on how different species develop!” Nef said, ignoring Xandra now as she grinned broadly. “Actually, it’s getting late so I’ll keep this brief. I already mentioned how our mana cores constantly grow the longer we live, but why is that? It’s because every living being absorbs mana the longer it lives. The difference is that while different creatures absorb approximately the same amount of mana, what it is used for is quite different. For elves, a large portion of that mana goes into maintaining our bodies, causing us to live longer than humans, while the rest goes into strengthening our bodies, assisting our mana cores, and things like that. The reason we have more spellcasters compared to an equal population of humans is because we have more time to decide what we wish to do.”

  “Wait… if humans don’t have the long lives, what do they use the mana for?” Jasmine asked, her eyebrows rising as she looked at Naomi.

  “Potential,” Xandra snapped, and Nef nodded.

  “Just so. Humans have an incredible ability to grow rapidly, to quickly master skills that most elves would take decades or centuries to learn. Their lives are comparatively short, but they have the ability to grow far more quickly than us. Combined with how fast they multiply, it can be somewhat intimidating to others,” Nef said, laughing as she grinned. “The only issue is that many humans squander their potential, and don’t do anything with it. It’s sad, but that is simply what it is.”

  “Which means I could match Xandra?” Naomi asked, looking a little startled.

  “Possibly. If you stopped feeling sorry for yourself, focused on actually learning rather than wasting time, and chose the right spheres. Just because you have the potential to match me doesn’t mean you’re talented in the same ways,” Xandra said crossly, picking up her bowl to finish off her food, and scowled as she realized it was cold at this point. That was quite annoying. Maybe it was for the best, though.

  “Agreed. In the end, it comes down to practice. Practice your magic, perfect it, and there is no telling how far you will go,” Nef agreed, flashing a smile as she added, “Assuming someone better doesn’t cut your journey short, of course! You’ll want to avoid that. Now, who wants to help me clean up?”

  “I’ll help,” Jasmine said quickly, looking a bit thoughtful as she set her bowl aside, obviously hesitating, then asked, “What about half-elves?”

  “You’re halfway between elves and humans. You don’t have as much potential, but you also aren’t as slow as elves,” Nef said promptly, collecting the bowls and spoons as she teased, “Just like Naomi, you have the potential to match or exceed Xandra. She’s just a bit overly specialized.”

  Xandra considered replying, but as she realized that would just lead to more comments from Nef, she made a rude gesture instead.

  Nef’s laughter wasn’t what she expected, and Xandra sighed as the other two followed her example. Yet despite that, Xandra couldn’t say that she was upset about it.

  Chapter 34

  The following day had been startlingly restful, in Jasmine’s opinion. Yes, Loth was still in danger, leaving a nagging sense of fear under the surface of her emotions, but after a full day where she wasn’t in immediate danger, as well as having a goal… it helped her calm down. Even if Nef maintained an even more punishing pace than Xandra did. The good aspect was that Nef was far more cheerful and willing to take breaks when they needed it, even if she didn’t give them as long as Jasmine would have preferred.

  Beyond that, the areas they’d passed through had been fascinating as well. Most of the land was simple rolling hills and rocky outcroppings, as well as the copses of trees which dotted the landscape, but Jasmine hadn’t expected to pass a handful of remote homesteads along the way, one with a flock of sheep grazing nearby and a man guarding them with a sling in hand. Nef had waved pleasantly, but kept going without pausing. Then they’d passed a cliff that looked odd, as it was threaded through with
veins of bright red-orange crystal that shimmered despite not being in direct sunlight. They hadn’t had a chance to examine it more closely, but at least the pleasant day had allowed them to make good progress in their trek toward the mountains.

  The mountains weren’t directly connected to the ones north of Loth, Jasmine had determined, as she could see a wide plain between the western portion of these mountains and the ones she recognized. Looking up at them, Jasmine wiped her forehead and considered for a moment. The mountains seemed far taller than she’d thought they were.

  “Almost done for the day!” Nef announced cheerfully. “If we push, we can get into the city itself, but I know lots of people aren’t comfortable with abandoned cities. Resting in the passage leading to it is likely the best approach, and I can tell you a bit about what to expect.”

  “You’d… you’d be there already, if you were on your own. Wouldn’t you?” Naomi asked, her voice faint as she leaned over, resting her hands on her knees.

  “A few hours earlier than this, most likely,” Nef agreed pleasantly, nodding and tilting her head. “I spend a lot of time hiking and exercising, between projects. You never know when you’ll need to engage in a marathon to prove yourself to some society in order to even get them to talk to you.”

  “Or when you need to outrun them because you asked questions that they found highly offensive,” Xandra retorted, prompting a laugh from Nef.

  “That too!” the woman said, grinning broadly.

  “Is that something you run into a lot?” Jasmine asked, frowning a little. “I wouldn’t think you’d be doing something so dangerous.”

  “Not a lot. It’s something I take into account, though,” Nef replied, and paused, glancing at Xandra as she added, “I can see you shifting back and forth, Xandra. Go relieve yourself if you need to.”