by Andrew Rowe
“Think this is a bit much for us students to be dealin’ with.” Marissa tapped her fingers on the edge of her chair. “Not to be discountin’ the help of m’lord Hartigan and m’lord — what was it, Selys-something?”
“Selyrian,” Keras corrected. “It just means ‘from near the city of Selyr’.”
“Oh, got that. Right, so not to be saying yer not important an all, but if they bagged a visage—”
Keras came over and sat down on a couch next to me. “No offense taken. I mean, I could handle fighting the whole government here in a straight fight—”
Derek leaned forward toward Keras. “Do we need to take this to the roof?”
Sera scribbled a note and passed it to me.
I read it and laughed. “Sera would like you to keep it down here. She says she ‘wants to watch’.” I waggled my eyebrows in implication.
Everyone laughed.
It was a good sound.
I turned my head. “But, more seriously, Marissa had a good point. We’re going to need more than a handful of people if we all agree we want to do something about this.”
Derek turned his head to me. “Well, if we’re just talking about rescuing Tenjin, we’ll have Katashi’s support. That may come with support from a number of noble families, both locally and in Dalenos. If you’re talking about stopping people from making artificial attuned, that’s much more complex.”
I shook my head. “I’m not worried about that, so much as saving the people that Orden kidnapped and trying to make sure that Orden and her allies didn’t destroy our alliance with Caelford out of greed.”
Derek nodded. “That’s more or less what I’ve been thinking, too. I’m sure this is a lot for all of you to take in. Don’t worry about anything tonight. I’ll take care of making sure we’re safe here.”
Patrick frowned. “Will we be able to go back to class tomorrow?”
I hadn’t even thought about that. It seemed so unimportant compared to everything else going on. It was a valid question, though. We needed to figure out what types of things we were safe to do in general. We needed an overall plan of action on how to proceed.
I was just so tired. I couldn’t think about it in detail. Not yet.
I turned to him. “You and Marissa are probably fine. I don’t think anyone has any idea of your involvement at this point... aside from Professor Teft.”
Derek leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think Teft was on Orden’s side in this. If he was, Orden wouldn’t have bothered taking me with her to the tower. A reliable ally would have been better than bringing me along and trying to control me.”
I folded my arms. “Unless she knew you were aware of the situation and she was planning to get rid of you, too.”
Derek shook his head. “Too much of a risk, even for her. No, if she had another attuned she could have counted on that was of a similar power range to ours, she’d have brought him or her instead.”
I considered that. “Why didn’t she bring Elora, then?”
Derek rubbed his forehead. “Elora’s been missing for a couple weeks. I’m not sure where she went. Might be that she’s the one guarding the prisoners right now. I don’t believe what Orden said about them cooperating for a second.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, unless her idea of cooperation involves more of those control rings. Which it probably does, but I imagine they wouldn’t last forever on their own.”
“She’d probably use self-recharging rings. They could last indefinitely if that’s the case.” Derek sighed. “Can’t believe I let her give me a ring.”
Keras snickered. “I’m sure a lot of people say that at some point in their lives.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Okay. You don’t get to talk anymore. House rules.”
Keras quirked a brow. “Then how am I supposed to flirt with you for Miss Cadence’s entertainment?”
“Ugh. I’m going upstairs.” Derek pushed himself out of a chair.
Keras stood up, too. “Is that an invitation?”
“Ugh, no. Stay here. I insist.”
We laughed again. Keras sat back down, feigning dejection.
I spent much of the rest of the day telling everyone more about what had led up to this point.
We found a Valor board eventually. Sera beat all of us at it, although Keras seemed to be playing toward some kind of goal other than winning that none of the rest of us knew about.
Later, I thought to ask both Keras and Derek about the mark on my right hand. It was an attunement, not a strange one like Sera’s mark, but neither of them recognized it.
Derek offered me some books to read and pointed me to a room where I could study and sleep for the night. He had enough rooms for everyone else to stay there, too. Even Keras decided to stick around.
When I finally retired to my bedroom, I pulled out a book — but not the one that Derek had given me to read. It was Trials of Judgment, the book linked to the Voice of the Tower.
I had some questions for him.
Dear Voice of the Tower,
Lyras Orden was responsible for kidnapping Tenjin.
I’m going to presume you already knew about this from the beginning.
I’m also going to assume that you were somehow responsible for how I ended up with the keys necessary to open the prison cells for Vera, Echion, and Keras, thereby distracting Katashi from his pursuit of the real culprit.
I’ve stopped Orden. Katashi has her.
I’d like to give you a chance to explain what you’re really up to before I decide if I need to point people in your direction.
Corin
The note might have come across as a bit more vindictive than I had intended, but I felt pretty significantly betrayed.
There had been a body outside the jail cells where Vera and the others had been imprisoned. House Cornell would be mourning for the loss of a child. Had that death been the Voice’s work, too?
The reply came more quickly than I’d intended.
Ah, Corin,
I’m so glad you’re beginning to catch on. You’ll make an excellent Whisper of Wydd when we’re done with you.
Was I working with Orden? Oh, yes.
And against her as well.
Lyras never had sufficient foresight, you see. Quite intelligent, yes, but lacking in imagination. Once she’d started on her path, she was incapable of sufficiently adapting to changes in circumstances — changes like leaving Vera behind when her mission was interrupted.
There were far better ways of handling that situation. If she truly needed Vera’s knowledge, finding a Diviner and Vera to work with them for the creation of a memory crystal would have been vastly simpler.
Or, you know, she could have just gone to Caelford and found any of the dozens of other people who had worked on the project. I’m certain that Vera had some unique insights, but nothing a dozen other Analysts couldn’t have figured out given time.
But alas, Orden lacked the insight to deviate from her original course.
She was my teacher, just as she was yours.
And I surpassed her, just as you did.
And so, when she began to take risks with insufficient returns, I began to strike out on my own path.
You were an integral part of that, and I thank you for it. I will not denigrate you by calling you a tool or pawn — more of a junior partner.
One who I foresee being capable of great things — eventually.
In the meantime, I believe we’re both going to be quite busy in the aftermath of all this. I’m very excited to see what happens next.
And I’ll be especially interested in seeing your next move, little brother.
Survive, and you’ll soon see mine.
-Tristan Cadence
THE END
Appendix I — Attunements of Valia
An Excerpt from Understanding Attunements by Amir Hartigan
Each of the Shifting Spires marks the domain of one of the six Visages of Selys, the goddess above us all. W
ithin these towers, she chooses to grant attunements to those who prove themselves worthy through a Judgment.
It is known that each tower has eight corresponding attunements. Our great kingdom of Valia is home to the Serpent Spire, wherein the eight attunements of Tenjin can be found.
Diviner: Diviners focus on information gathering magic, such as detecting mana types, identifying magical objects, and finding people from a distance. Mana Types: Mental (Primary), Enhancement (Secondary)
Guardian: Guardians are capable of focusing mana into specific parts of their bodies, imparting vastly enhanced physical combat capabilities. Also capable of discharging their mana through contact, enabling them to harm creatures impervious to conventional force. Mana Types: Enhancement (Primary), Life (Secondary)
Elementalist: Elementalists conjure fire, air, and lightning to strike their foes from afar. Often considered the most potent offensive spellcasting attunement, though lacking in versatility. Mana Types: Fire (Primary), Air (Secondary)
Enchanter: Enchanters are capable of imbuing objects with mana, either from themselves or by transferring it from other items. This allows them to create magical items. Mana Types: Transference (Primary), Mental (Secondary)
Mender: Menders are capable of applying their mana toward regenerating tissue and accelerating recovery. They are, however, also capable of reversing this process — making Menders into terrifying short-ranged combatants. Mana Types: Life (Primary), Earth (Secondary)
Shadow: Shadows are capable of concealing themselves from the senses and diminishing the senses of others. For this reason, they are often used as spies and assassins. Mana Types: Umbral (Primary), Enhancement (Secondary)
Shaper: Shapers can conjure objects from solid mana and restructure existing mana fields, making them among the most flexible of all attuned. Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Enhancement (Secondary)
Summoner: Summoners form pacts with monsterous entities and learn to call upon their power. Powerful Summoners are capable of conjuring “figments”— mana constructed duplicates of creatures with which they have formed a pact. Mana Types: Air (Primary), Transference (Secondary)
Appendix II — Attunement Levels
One of the many lectures of Lars Mantrake, retired climber, to a customer
As a climber, people often ask me ‘bout the strongest folks I’ve run into long the years. Most are surprised to hear I don’t got the slightest — I ain’t no Diviner or ‘Chanter. Can’t see no auras. And even if I could?
Most of the scariest bastards know how to hide ‘em.
I can tell you this, though — everyone who gets to a certain point starts to pick up new tricks. Varies from attunement to attunement, but there’s a logic to it.
Sounds a little like this:
Quartz is where people get their start. Ain’t nothing special here — got a couple types of mana you can play with, depending on what attunement you’ve got. Ain’t got no business climbing the tower if you’re a Quartz.
Carnelian is when I might start to take you a bit serious. When you’re a Carnelian, you start to develop a shroud. That’s a nice way to say that you’re starting to leak mana — and that’s why them Diviners and such can see it. Shroud’s your best friend — saved me more times than I can count. Works like a shield that’s always there, so long as you’ve got mana in you.
Guardians can do all sorts of crazy stuff with shrouds — it’s their specialty. They start building them even sooner than the rest of us, all the way back at Quartz.
Sunstone. Most climbers end up here. It’s when you’ve got a solid, reliable shroud to keep you safe. Sunstones learn all sorts of tricks for controlling their shroud — the most common be to turn the thing off. Or, at least suppress it so much that Diviners and such can’t see much of it.
Citrines are dangerous folk. Not many of them out there, and they’re almost all veterans with a lot of tricks up their sleeves. More importantly? When people hit Citrine, their attunement changes somehow. More than just getting an extra line and a brighter glow. Citrines start getting another type of mana — almost like they’ve got a whole new attunement. And that added flexibility makes them killer in a fight.
Emeralds are so rare that I can’t tell you what they’re capable of. Stories are all over the place, but the most common says that they can shape raw mana in the air. Not talking about reshaping spells that are already flying about like a Shaper can — they say Emeralds can weave magic out of nothing but ambient power.
Sounds like a bunch of nonsense if you ask me.
Sapphires? Hah! Good luck finding one of those, kid. You’re more likely to find a spell that turns lead into gold.
Appendix III — Mark Locations
An excerpt from a lecture on general magic theory by Professor Meltlake
Students these days have no appreciation for the little things.
And one of these little things, with far greater significance than they understand?
The place in which they were first marked by the goddess.
We understand little about why the goddess chooses to mark an individual in a certain location — even less than we understand her reasoning about which attunement to pick for one of the Judged.
We do, however, know how the location affects the abilities of the attuned who bears the mark.
The principal effect of the location is that it determines the primary method the attuned uses to direct spells. While all attuned can direct spells through multiple methods, spells that are directed using the attunement itself as a medium will be more potent.
Hand-Marked Attuned generally direct their spells through a gesture with the marked hand.
The classic example is an Elementalist hurling a blast of fire through their attuned hand — this would be stronger than doing the exact same spell through their other hand, since the attunement itself provides extra power when the caster channels mana directly through it.
Leg-Marked Attuned trigger spells by channeling their mana directly through touching a target. While kicking a target might be the most applicable method, a leg-marked attuned can also channel mana through their attunement into another part of the body and deliver it through a touch. This method is matched with hand-marked gestures for speed, and has the advantage of accuracy — spells delivered directly into a target are almost never wasted.
Since this method can only be used in melee range, however, it is often practiced in conjunction with other types of casting — unless the attunement itself favors close combat. This method is often favored by Guardians, even if their Attunement mark is elsewhere on their bodies.
Lung-Marked Attuned typically target and cast their spells through verbal incantations. By speaking, the caster channels mana through their lungs into the air around them, then releases the mana upon the conclusion of the incantation. This method is more time consuming than most spell casting methods, but the voice allows mana to be dispersed across a broad area, making this method superior for affecting multiple targets at once. For this reason, lung-marked are popular for warfare, where they can wreak havoc across a battlefield.
Heart-Marked Attuned channel mana through their entire body into their heart and then out both hands simultaneously. This method is the most dangerous and difficult to control, but it also produces the strongest single-target spells.
Mind-Marked Attuned are capable of casting spells inside their own bodies without any form of motion or verbal incantation. This skill makes mind-marked Menders incredibly resilient, since they’re capable of healing their wounds simply by shifting their mana to the injured location. Other mind-marked attuned often focus on casting spells that enhance their senses or physical attributes.
The location of an attunement is also quite important in that the attunement increases the rate of mana regeneration for that part of the body. Depending on the location of the mark, this will give the attuned more access to a particular type of mana.
This is often key in developing the user’s strength as a
mage, since their most commonly used mana type will generally also be their strongest.
Appendix IV — Characters and Terms
From Corin’s class notes
House Cadence:
Magnus Cadence — Head of House Cadence, father of Tristan and Corin Cadence
Laura Lyran — Head of House Lyran, mother of Tristan and Corin Cadence
Tristan Cadence — Elder son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Disappeared into the Serpent Spire during his Judgment. Presumed deceased.
Corin Cadence — Younger son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Presumptive heir to both houses after Tristan’s disappearance.
Sera Cadence — Previously known as Sera Shard, Sera Cadence was legitimized by Magnus Cadence after passing her attunement exam. She is presumed to be a bastard child of Magnus Cadence. After being legitimized, she is now a potential heir to the house. She is the same age as Corin.
University Staff:
Chancellor Wallace — In charge of all university activities.
Lieutenant Commander Jack Bennet — Vice Chancellor, former military commander.
Professors:
Professor Edlyn — Assisted with new student orientation. Teaches Mana Manipulation class.
Professor Ceridan — In charge of Tiger Division. Teaches Elementalists.
Professor Lyras Orden — In charge of Serpent Division. Has a mysterious connection with The Voice of the Tower.
Professor Vellum — Teaches classes on permanent enchantments.
Professor Conway — Teaches Attunements class.
Lord Jonathan Teft — In charge of Hydra Division. Teaches dueling.