“Okay,” said the proctor. Lucas pointed spellrod and fired before he could finish, “let her have it.”
As usual the light wowed the crowd and three big numbers popped up at the top of the tower. Five Twenty-Two. Fuck, he should have taken the time to test it. Now he was one point lower than Lenard, and his brother would never let him forget it.
Lucas had to take a deep breath before he walked away. If his brother didn’t have that one point to hold over him, he would find something. At least this was a reminder of the consequences of a simple mis-calculation. So, thank you Lenard.
You’re still a dick but thank you.
He could chant all he wanted, nothing was going to stop Lucas from focusing on the real objective. Finding a Temporal.
Chapter 2:
You’d think finding someone with a specific Blessing would not be difficult. There were only 48 known Blessings. Of the 3000 or so initiates that would attempt the challenges today, surely at least one would be a Temporal. The problem is Blessings are not spread evenly among the population. Or at least the population of initiates.
First off the blessings were split into four tiers, and seventy-five percent of the initiates, that’s 2,250, would only have tier one and two blessings. Those were useless, too weak to channel the level of magic Lucas was planning. If all things were equal, of the 750 remaining initiates, one twelfth or 62 and a half, would have the correct type of blessing, a spirit blessing.
Except things weren’t equal. Spirit blessings were the second rarest, so instead of it being one in twelve, it was closer to one out of fifty. In other words, fifteen people would have either a transcendent blessing or the coveted temporal blessing. Since his family was the only known holder of the transcendent blessing, it was reasonable to assume all fifteen were Temporals.
But the last factor was that each blessing came in three different types. Temporals could be Shifters, Shapers like Lucas, or Sliders. He needed a slider which left only five. Five people out of 3000 or 0.17%. Needless to say, it was like finding a needle in a haystack and it was entirely possible that not a single person showed up that fit his criteria. Not that he had anything else to do. He could spend the next four of five hours watching the tower before he had to go to the arena.
That said, every minute of watching, and waiting was like torture. Useless number after useless number. Cheers, and boos, applause and laughter. All for nothing. It seemed like everyone had an elemental blessing, fire, water, earth, air. Occasionally you’d see a light or life blessing. There were a couple of spirit blessings that popped up. One even teleported, but his was only a tier 2 transference blessing. Useless.
Until someone he did not recognize walked up to the tower. He was a big guy with no auraband, no spellrod, nothing and for a moment it looked like he was only there to talk to a girl. However, when she slipped into the crowd, he went over to the proctor like he was going to attempt the challenge.
“Later Lock,” said the girl as she escaped.
So his name’s Lock and who was that girl. Blond hair, powerful, she’s the one that made fools of the Stanford’s. Clarice something… Everbright. Merchant’s daughter. Maybe he was a foreign merchant as well. Regardless, time to observe.
Lock talked with the proctor who was just as surprised to see someone without a spellrod as Lucas. Then he took a few steps away from the tower, charged his fist with mana, and slid. Yes, another teleporter. When he reappeared his fist slammed into the pad with so much force that it sent a shockwave rippling through the crowd.
Good lord, this guy actually had the guts to punch it. Now that was a legitimate display of power. Serious power. And of course, the crowd’s silent. Wait, negative 511, what does that even mean. It’s not possible. Unless he pulled mana out of it. No, he’d need to create a siphon and to do that, he’d need spellrod. There must be something wrong with the tower’s internal calculations. But if you forget about the negative; 511 was a solid score, without a spellrod at least. Too bad nobody understood that.
Shit where did he go. Lucas ducked into the crowd and squeezed between people as fast as he could. At least it was easier to leave the tower. Still Lock was faster. Damnit, how’d a guy that big leave so fast. Oh yeah, he’s a teleporter. He had to catch up. Good thing he had a way of teleporting as well. Just need to buy some time to prep.
“Lock,” shouted Lucas as he pulled his last butter knife out of his pocket. Dang it, must not have heard me. If it wasn’t for this crowd. Need to finish this enchantment and get his attention.
For a moment he pulled his attention away from Lock and pointed his spellrod at the butter knife, “Spiritos Perminante Marcatore Intrasoreé,” then he lowered his voice and spoke deep from his gut, “Lapsoprimo.”
As soon as he finished speaking his entire arm went cold, but the spell held. Now to wait a few more seconds for the spell to embed into the knife. And boom, enchantment done. With that bit of business taken care of, he slipped past the last row of people and chucked the knife toward the next challenge. It flew clean over Lock’s head.
Dang it, he should have considered that earlier. If he triggered the spell now someone would definitely see. Lock for one. Stupid, but alright back to plan A.
“Lock,” Lucas shouted as he rushed to catch up to Lock, “Lock!”
Finally Lock stopped and turned around, “Do I know you?”
Maybe, third son of the most powerful family in the country. Then again judging by the suspicion on his face, probably not.
“Oh, no. I overheard your name,” replied Lucas.
“Right, well I have two more challenges to do and the wait for the next one seems to be growing by the second,” said Lock.
Shit, now what. How do you make friends with a total stranger? Maybe offer him something. A butter knife. Oh wait he’s out of butter knives. Help he can offer to help. Yeah people like when you help them, “Ah, Thread the Needle is a little more organized. There’s a line around the side, I can show you.”
No wait, he’s a suspicious person. Suspicious people won’t accept help from someone they don’t know, “Lead the way.”
Or do they. People can be so unpredictable. Too bad there isn’t a spell for making friends. Okay time to focus. How to make friends? Lenard did it all the time. So what did he do. Making fun of him didn’t seem like a good way to start. Maybe he should try to alleviate some of the suspicion. But how? Oh, ask a question.
“Mind if I wait with you?” asked Lucas as they joined the back of the line.
“Mind if I ask why?” asked Lock. Still suspicious.
The truth hardly seemed appropriate. But lying could be just as bad. A half truth, yes that’s it, a half truth, “I’m curious.”
“Well Mr. Curious why help me? No offense but I don’t know you. Where I’m from people don’t help strangers without a reason,” said Lock.
Oh shoot he forgot to introduce himself. Greetings are an important part of making friends.
“Pardon my manners,” said Lucas as he offered his hand, “Lucas. Although Curious is probably a fitting title. As for why, you’re not wearing an auraband or spellrod, so I was curious what you planned to do.”
“Matlock, and I’m not sure yet,” said Lock as he took Lucas’s hand, “Teleport I guess.”
You’ve got to be kidding. No plan, that’s incredibly stupid or lucky. But hey he’s a teleporter. Now is he a Temporal.
“So you’re a Temporal?” asked Lucas but instead of answering Lock pointed at the line. Oh right, move forward, “So you are a Temporal?”
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to focus on this challenge,” said Lock.
Focus, on what. Coming up with a plan in the next two minutes. Oh perfect, another opportunity to help. This was going rather well.
“I did the challenges earlier this morning. I can explain them if you’d like,” said Lucas.
“Sure, but try to be quick about it,” said Lock.
Great, the fewer words he had to say
the better. Be clear, and concise.
“So you’ve already done Strike the Nail. This one is called Thread the Needle, fairly simple. There’s a pool of sand with a jewel on a pedestal in the middle. The goal is to get the jewel without moving the sand. Should be easy for a Temporal,” said Lucas.
“What makes you say that? You have a Temporal Blessing too?” asked Lock.
Yes, it’s confirmed. He’s a Temporal Slider, no more guess work. Now to figure out the specifics. Cool down time would be a big one. And activation cost, but without an auraband, it would need to be a rough estimation.
“Lucky guess. What are your limits?” asked Lucas.
Lock pursed his lips not sure how to answer, “You mean for a Temporal Slide?”
“Yeah. How far? How many times?” asked Lucas.
“About ten yards,” said Lock.
Not far, but distance didn’t really matter. The real question is how much time he had to wait between activations, “Then it’s easy. The pool of sand is only about fifteen yards across. Slide to the jewel, grab it and Slide again as soon as possible. That is if you can Slide again.”
“Ha-ha,” said Lock without humor, “I can Slide more than two times.”
Oh shoot, did that offend him. Better apologize.
Lucas put his hands up, “Fair enough. Might leave a few footsteps in the middle but that’s better than what most will be able to do today.”
“That was my plan before you suggested it. Speaking of which; how long are you planning to follow me?” said Lock as he leaned over to look at the challenge.
Good question, Lock had not figured out who he was and for now that was a good thing. If the proctor saw him again, odds were good that she would mention it to Lock. He should disappear soon and find Lock after he completed the challenge. Good thing he had an escape route already set up.
“That depends,” said Lucas.
Lock let out a slow breath, “On what?”
How long it takes to pull information out of you and calculate your limitations. Oh right, half-truth. That worked once, try it again.
“It’s a rather complex algorithm that I’d rather not explain,” said Lucas then he pointed to the line, “Besides you don’t have the time.”
Lock blinked a few times, “You’re a strange guy.”
Ha, yeah that’s nothing new, “Am I.”
“Uhuh, well thanks for your help,” said Lock as he leaned forward to get a better view of the challenge. Perfect, he’s looking away and everyone else is focused on the challenge. Time to escape. Lucas tapped his auraband to activate the spell he prepared right before he met Lock.
As soon as the spell activated a portal opened up behind him and sucked him in. Then boom; he was standing on top of the butter knife. Haha, that was fun. Always fun to teleport.
Chapter 3:
That little teleporting trick was one of the most important things that he learned from his father and it always felt great when he used it. It should have been passed down to his brother Liam, but their father died unexpectedly. By fate, or luck Lucas was the one left holding his father’s journal. By the time the time Lucas learned the significance of what he held, he suspected his uncle was involved in their father’s death.
So, he was stuck. If he gave the journal to Liam, he’d give it to their uncle. But at the same time, he couldn’t just leave the journal laying around. The only option was to memorize it then destroy it.
For years he considered teaching the spells to Liam, but Liam was too kind, too trusting. He wouldn’t believe that their uncle William would kill his own brother. But he wasn’t there, Lucas was. He watched his father manipulate the waygates. He heard his uncle on the other end, and he saw the massive wave of mana that surged through the gate moments later.
The surge was so strong that not only did it kill his father, but it also knocked out the waygates for a few minutes. When they came back up, his uncle William came rushing through. The first thing he did was search for the journal. Not check on his dead brother. No, he searched for a freaking journal.
Over the years his uncle William had become more and more desperate to discover the secret to translocation. Understandable, translocation was one of the main things that gave their family a strategic advantage. Plus, if anyone learned that William was lying about knowing the secret, he’d lose his grip on power. Of course, so would the rest of the family.
That would be a disaster, civil war most likely. But it would be much worse if William discovered the secret to translocation.
Needless to say enchanting the butter knife was reckless. But he had to practice. Plus to be a little more selfish; the memory of his father far outweighed the risk so he took a few moments to enchant the knife a second time. Once that bit of business was done he stabbed the knife into the dirt and climbed the nearest hill so he could keep an eye on Lock.
Getting a good line of sight was easy, keeping track of a guy who could teleport was not. Plus he couldn’t hear anything Lock was saying. That was how he’d get most of his information. Good thing Lock finished the challenge so fast he almost missed it. His cooldown was less than a second if there even was a cooldown. It looked instantaneous.
Between his power display and his speed, the guy had way more potential than it seemed. Shoot, so far the only major limitation was the distance of his Slide. He had to find out more. So as soon as Lock stopped talking to the proctor. Wait, did she just show him the scores. He must have bribed her. Interesting.
Oh, he’s leaving, time to catch him again and continue pulling out information.
With as much speed as he could manage he ran down the hill which may have been a mistake. Running downhill was not his forte. To be honest, running in general was not in his list of skills. Stopping was even worse. He barely did it before he crashed into the crowd of people around Thread the Needle.
The nice thing was that Lock popped out of the crowd only a few feet away. Lucas hopped over to him, “You bribed the proctor?”
Lock spun around with alarming speed, and for a moment he thought that he might hit him. Good thing he realized it was Lucas and calmed down, “It’s called flirting.”
“Ah, so you made plans with her?” asked Lucas.
“She’s going to show me around Waystar some time,” said Lock.
“Perfect then you’re free, would you like to grab some lunch?” asked Lucas.
“Well no, I have to do the speed challenge,” said Lock.
Lucas frowned at Lock’s answer, “Just skip it.”
“Skip it? Why the heck would anyone do that?” asked Lock.
“Because it’s impossible, especially for someone without a spellrod,” said Lucas.
“Still it’s a way to score points. Even if you screw up, something is better than nothing,” said Lock.
“It’s designed to be impossible. Trust me I’ve done the calculations. The amount of factors that need to be perfect makes the probability of scoring a single point less than one tenth of one percent,” said Lucas.
Oh crap he’d gone on one of his rants. That never ended well.
Lock blinked, “Was I supposed to understand any of that because it sounded like, blah blah, it’s too hard. I’m a baby.”
Huh, he’s doing what Lenard does. Is he trying to make friends or making fun. Oh wait. No, he’s crude. He lacks equipment. He lacks knowledge. Lock’s poor. That’s why he didn’t have a clue about anything.
He needs someone to explain, “You have to hit a target that’s 100 yards away in less than a second. The average spell travels about ten yard’s per second meaning it will take ten seconds to hit the target. The fastest spells on record travel closer to forty-five yards per second but tend to be much less accurate.”
“Assuming you overcame the inaccuracy, which I might add, is beyond difficult. Anyway, say you actually hit the target, the fastest spell takes just over 2.2 seconds. That still leaves you with a score of, you guessed it zero.”
Lock scratched his ch
in, “If it’s so difficult why have it here at all?”
“The Endless Hourglass is the only challenge where the completion times are posted. The time matters more than the points. For those who have mastered an accuracy or homing spell it is a chance to show off.”
“For most however it’s a waste of time and is more of an opportunity for embarrassment than a chance to shine. And seeing as you don’t have a spellrod you’ll have to trust me. Its better to earn a score around 1,000 with no time than to have a perfect score of 2,000 with a time of two minutes,” said Lucas.
“But 2,000 isn’t a perfect score now is it? It’s 3,000,” said Lock.
What, no. Is he stubborn or just stupid, the speed challenge is pointless without a spellrod. He must know that. Then again he performed exceptional so far, maybe it was worth seeing how he did.
“I… I don’t know actually. I’m not sure it’s scored quite like that, not anymore anyway. Nobody’s scored on all three in centuries,” said Lucas.
“Well it sounds like your complex allegory is useless,” suggested Lock.
Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. Good lord when was the last time that happen. Oh, hey. What was he thinking? This was the perfect opportunity to get the information he needed.
“Complex algorithm. An allegory is… it doesn’t matter. If you’re insistent on trying, I might be able to help.”
Today was actually turning into quite an adventure.
After some rapid fire questions Lucas was able to collect all the information he needed. Then he turned his mind to calculating if Lock had the potential to complete the speed challenge. The surprising answer was that theoretically yes, he could. In reality, it was going to be near impossible.
The only reason Lock thought he had a chance was not because he was stupid or reckless. He was just poor and uneducated. How in the hell he earned a blessing in the first place was frankly a miracle.
He didn’t even know what an activation time was. He didn’t know what it meant to have a cooldown. He didn’t even know how much mana it cost to use his ability. And at the end of the day Lucas knew he was going to do everything in his power to make sure Lock succeeded. Not just today, his score today didn’t matter. Once Lock walked away, Lucas was going to do everything in his power to make sure he was taken care of.
The Whetstone Fist 3 Page 2