With wide eyes he pulls three swords from his ring, making them float in a thin, grey mist. He moves his hands, and the swords begin to dance. Instead of the whizzing sound of the metal storm, the air now is being cut apart with force. Ket pulls another sword from his ring and the sound the four make is noticeably less than with three.
He catches two of the swords, putting both away. A hand gesture later, the two swords roar even louder still.
“Why didn’t we bring or make more chairs? Our rings are big enough.” Selis stands behind Angeta, who is splayed out in a seemingly natural-formed tree chair. The small girl looks at her ring with a grin, then at the relaxing beastkin with pleading eyes.
“Sit on your water.”
“That makes my butt wet.”
“Make the water harder?”
“That’s uncomfortable.”
“Sit on this leaf.”
A large green plant burrows from a seed the beastwoman lazily drops. One leaf grows bigger and broader, hollowing a bit. The plant shudders and becomes rigid. Selis delicately puts her butt down on the leaf and falls backwards with a little “Eeek!” The soft green sheet stretches as the blue-haired girl lies backwards.
“Thanks a lot!”
Angeta waves a lazy paw at the chipper sound of appreciation as she adjusts the leaf covering her eyes. Seconds later, soft snoring can be heard. Lola hops around and starts gnawing on the newly made chair. A small hand snatches her up and moments later she is being used as a hug pillow by the small girl.
A sudden spear blocks one of the swords Ket is messing with. The spear twirls, leaving a dark trail in its wake as it deflects the second sword. Ket narrows his eyes at the interloper. “Alright, it’s on.”
None of the battle sounds wake the sleeping girls thanks to the sound barrier dividing the room.
“So, these are your friends?” Ares looks around with still, unshakable eyes as she takes it all in.
“…uhm. You could say that…”
The redheaded girl smiles briefly at the redheaded boy sitting next to her. She regains her tranquil expression immediately after. If our main cultivator had been present, he would have recognised this state as a weird form of PTSD.
When she woke up, she was told they were on level five. She had been out for half an hour, they told her. She had weakly replied that that was nonsense - clearing an entire decad in a day is possible, but most mage delvers have to walk back up the way they came at the end of the day.
Only a party of full mages would be able to have this clearing speed, and they would never lower themselves to delving levels far below their own powers. She explained all of this in a weak, sickly voice as her brother kept an arm around her.
Then they walked down the stairs to the next level, and Ares realized that this group had been taking it easy. The stairs led down to a pool the size of a lake. Ten metres deep, smooth stone walls, shining blue crystals on the ceiling and dark water everywhere.
Any part of the aquatic life that got above the water level got chopped in half by a storm of metal shards that left grey, sparkling mist in its wake. The many floating pieces of shredded sharks, octopi, and other sea monsters were deftly avoided by the nimble cloud.
Now and then, a large mass of water separated from the sea and formed a wide variety of monsters. They looked menacing and impressive, but a single wave of the blue-haired girl’s small hand caused them to explode or collapse. The fact that Selis paid more attention to the rabbit in her arms than the enemies around only increased her understated strength.
Large sea creatures daring to get close received an even more pitiable fate. They could choose between a fist heavier than a mountain, delivered by a spinning fatty, a sudden black streak slicing them in half, or getting crushed by constricting plants.
Ares was helpless as Vox had to carry her. All of the students walked on water as if they were on land. Only Bord left any ripples behind. Vox was the least impressive of the group. He only shot out beams of light, both to make shadows for Tess to jump through and to buff and heal.
Even that was limited due to the need to keep his sister’s body from falling apart. It took Vox a large part of his concentration to keep his qi settled through his sister’s body, suppressing the degradation.
The group walked across the sea, surrounded by all kinds of menacing monsters, sharks, magical water monsters, and more while chatting and waving their hands around. Bord, one of the few physically active participants, seemed to be having just a bit too much fun spinning and bouncing around.
Ares didn’t say a word until they reached the twentieth level, just now. She was completely ignored in the social dynamic as she clung to Vox’s back. She had seen feats unheard of, even in legends, right in front of her eyes.
Magic can do a lot. But for as far as Ares knows, it cannot explode through a thirty-metre-high, feather-and-scale-covered tiger’s chest while shouting “WHHEEEeeeeee”.
Nor could it control thousands of litres of water to crush the massive scale-less, naked crocodile on floor nineteen. Nor could it uppercut a twenty-metre-thick, rock-covered snake so hard that its head just exploded into chunks.
So, Ares is slightly traumatised. But in a positive way? It’s like she saw a reversed horrific event. She knows that she should be happy, but the scenes of carnage are hard to forget. She also has the suspicion that none of the fights so far taxed them very hard.
They seemed too relaxed while fighting, too calm. They even seemed to be trying out new things, messing around with stuff that was obviously not working. All the falling crystals were retrieved with top priority.
The most powerful move Ares saw was an extremely quick spear thrust from Tess that made the floor rumble. On closer inspection, that had been to save a crystal from being shattered beneath a beast hoof.
“You have pretty cool friends.”
Vox looks down at his sister for a long moment. “I think so too.”
Chapter twenty-one
Cycles
H ow did Tree manage to grow such a large forest? These trees seem way too large for their age. I was wondering why the qi levels inside this dimension are lower than expected; Tree must have used up a lot of the stuff as it rebuilds this place. I mean, this was empty wasteland a few days ago; now there is a luscious jungle with underbrush, vines and herbs here and there.
I jump upwards and oversee the entire plot of land. The ice-covered mountain takes up a large part of the horizon. The clearing with buildings sits in the middle, and the thick, new forest grows sparser the further away from the centre.
“Tree, stop using all the qi in here! Slow down a bit, or you will drain the entire cycle I am about to set up before it can start supporting itself.”
All of Tree’s leaves rustle in reply. “What does having a name have anything to do with it? I think Tree with a capital T is a great name! Short and descriptive, just the way I like them.”
The rustling grows a bit agitated now. “Oh, I’m soo-oory. Mind reading a tree never really occurred to me. How am I supposed to know that you really want a proper name?”
I ignore the agitated lynchpin of this very dimension for the moment and spread my awareness over the floating landmass. Stuffing a massive amount of frozen stone and water inside this small space didn’t do its balance any favours. There is a rather big discrepancy of available materials in this place.
Everything repeats. It does not matter whether you are talking about life, nature, history or the universe, it all repeats. The human body has largely the same proportions of base elements as a solar system. A galaxy has similarly proportioned materials as an ant or bacteria. Loads of hydrogen, less helium, less oxygen, and even less carbon.
Some proportions don’t really translate, the amount of neon in the universe is a bit much compared to what most carbon-based life forms have inside of them, but the similarities are there. The Tree dimension has loads of silicate-based material and a distinct lack of hydrogen and oxygen.
I need a lot of water, the small amount absorbed from the small creek is not enough. Pulling a volcano inside of it would turn all this greenery into dry desert. So, water first; that would also help with heat propagation. Steam tends to rise, and the rain this causes will allow this small microcosm of nature to flourish. Tree is rationing water at the moment, the lake growing smaller with each new plant Tree grows.
“I am not calling you something stupid like Yggdrassil or Groot.”
I land and walk back to the clearing. The earth under my feet feels a bit sturdier now. A quick scan later and I know why, the qi in the air has started seeping inside the black soil. Soil is a pretty bad material to store qi in, so an overabundance of qi will cause it to form more earth.
This dimension will grow into a planet eventually, but that is a long way away. Let’s hope none of those flat Earth guys get to know about this place because currently, it looks like a pancake someone stuck a mountain on.
“Haha, yeah sure, what about Iggy…” popping sound “…hehe.”
Let’s hope Tree won’t take that suggestion seriously. I ignore the frantic rustling of leaves and stroll into the clearing. I need a couple thousand tons of water. Good thing that the Tree necklace is currently hovering over an entire sea of the stuff.
“No Tree, I am not calling you Iggy. Think of something else.”
I put my hand on the glowing trunk and appear on top of the sea. Large columns of smoke rise from a collection of islands nearby. I grab the necklace and move it towards the water surface. I stop as I feel panicked, golden qi flowing from it, pushing the water away.
“What? You’re scared of water? I never heard of an aquaphobic tree before. You didn’t have any problems with the small creek back when you were a fresh and innocent dimensional anchor.”
I sense feelings of panic and anxiety coming from the necklace.
“You’re only afraid of deep water? Congratulations, you are the first thalassophobic plant I have ever encountered.”
I hang the necklace around my neck and dive through the surface.
“See? blubblub Nothing blub to be afraid blub of.”
Golden qi makes a small barrier around the necklace. I frown at this. Grabbing the necklace from my neck I dive deeper. A small qi construct forces it to stay underwater and I jump back in.
“Don’t be such a pussy. I know that the unknown is scary, but running away from it will cause you to stagnate.”
I force a small stream of water through the barrier as I ignore the flailing strands of qi trying to stop me. A sphere of water appears beside the golden bark and I grab hold of it.
“This is seawater. It has a lot of salt. Don’t mix this with the normal water, and don’t give it to plants that are not used to saltwater. Just dump it outside the landmass. I will think of a use for it later”
Tree calms down as I guide it. The small stream of seawater turns into a massive deluge and I feel Tree calming down. A tree afraid of water… now I have seen it all. Putting my hand on the bark again, I guide the necklace downwards. The sea is around thirty metres deep this close to the mage-island, so I reach the bottom in seconds.
“You wanted sand, right? Plenty of the stuff here where no one will miss it. I think there is a desert far to the south, but that would take too long.”
I guide Tree’s golden qi threads to a fish. Tree freezes as it comes into contact with the unknown life form. The small creek all of Tree’s water came from only had small water bugs, no fish.
“Slow down a bit, I know that new animals are interesting, but let’s not make an enormous whirlpool where the fire mages can see it, kay?”
The influx of water slows as Tree calms down, its fears of the deep waters now wiped away as it realises new possibilities. Spreading my senses, I feel the area around the ground pancake filling up with water. The seabed under the necklace lowers at a visible pace as Tree sucks up massive quantities of water and ocean floor.
I use my wind affinity to slowly hover over the growing sea. I see fish, shellfish, aquatic plants and other organisms flounder as they get displaced. Golden qi gently guides them to places they can thrive. The qi in the air further thins as the imported material starts sucking it up.
Half an hour later I judge there to be enough. Sheets of ice start to surround the mountain as it sucks up the ambient warmth.
“Keep all living things away from the opposite side of the ice mountain.”
I can’t help but start grinning as I appear inside the sea back in the outside world. I have to fight the current. The necklace is absorbing water at an astonishing speed. I grab it and the process stops.
“You can get some blub more later. Let’s do blub this.”
I emerge in a spray of salt. My eyes are fixed on the red lines of molten rock running down the collection of peaks rising up from the sea. Ripples of despair, hate, and anxiety waft from the glowing volcanic mountain range. I also feel some traces of love and joy, but those emotions are inconsequential compared to the massive amounts of negativity.
The steep mountains bleed molten rock along one side, a gently sloping piece of land stuck to the other. I can see sprawling buildings and majestic towers on the coastline. I’m guessing the mages are not as heat resistant as I thought. Walking on lava all the time must get old fast, so they obviously settled themselves on the inactive parts of the island.
One volcano piques my interest. It sticks out from the main mass of lava spewing vents like a small, hot peninsula. The part sticking up from the water level is about the same size as the ice mountain. I speed closer, kicking up rows of small water explosions.
I run a quick simulation. Just plopping the thing down into the ocean opposite the ice mountain will not work. Maybe include a big piece of the magma chamber? Thin strands of augur shoot through the water and into the active burning mountain. I sense layers of ash and solidified lava as I follow the conduit down. There seems to be an enormous mass of artificially created magma inside the island.
What will happen when I pull the stopper from the pressurized magma chamber? I grin, only one way to find out. I jump up, gathering massive quantities of qi at my feet. I pull some from Tree. I feel some more irritation coming from my necklace, but decide to focus on the task at hand.
How did I do it last time? Ah, cut through the base. I modify my plan a bit, slicing around the magma vents should do it. The thin strand of qi slices through the water as it disappears into the black rock. I land and push my qi as evenly inside the mountain as possible, making sure not to land inside a lava stream.
Magma becomes lava when it exits, right? And PULL. Tree decides to help, and the massive mountain shimmers and plops out of existence. I follow it, gathering all the qi in the dimension to myself. I even pull a large amount of Tree’s power to myself. I’m going to need it.
I shoot upwards as the volcano appears above Tree. I grab hold of the qi inside the chunk of partially molten rock and haul it to the side. A few drops of magma drop from the bottom, burning holes through the forest. Tree helps me as I move water away from the small sea, making a nice landing place for the scorching piece of stone.
Now comes the hard part. I split the roiling mass of qi into thirds. Controlling nearly all the loose power floating around in this dimension is straining my abilities, but I manage by spooling some of my own qi through my brain. I squeeze one third into a single point.
‘COLD FREEZE ICE GLACIAL WINTRY FROST FRIGID’
I don’t shout anything fancy at the stuff; I want it to be as pure cold as possible. The bead of hyper-compressed qi gets a blue tinge, and I move it away from myself before it freezes my face off. I compress another third into a single point. Let’s see, what are the synonyms for the word ‘hot’?
‘HOT SCORCHING HEAT BLISTERING SEARING BURNING’
I move that one away from myself before my hair catches fire. My beard is smoking. Just in time, I carefully guide both opposites into their respective mountains. The ice mountain gets the seed of
cold firmly planted in the middle of it. The hot one I steer to the magma still in the chute at the lowest point.
I release the last third of qi back into the atmosphere as I observe the fruits of my labour. The ice mountain gains a faint blue glow. I peer at the large refrigerator and see the entire thing cooling back down. It was warming up slowly thanks to the warm environment, but now it’s freezing again at a rapid pace.
“Maybe move them a bit farther away? It’s going to freeze over half of the available land like this.”
Turning to the volcano, I see it glowing with a faint red hue. Tree is busily packing rocks against the underside, preventing the magma from dripping down. The seed of fire starts melting the rock immediately and I see small trickles of lava starting to flow again.
The ground shakes as I keep an eye on everything. The drastically lessened amount of qi in the air causes some plants to wilt. Other plants start to thrive as their surroundings finally get cold or hot enough. I see a red glow rising from the fire mountain. Blue, cold air wafts down from the ice mountain.
Did I think this through? Hmm. My plan was to let both energies collide, making rain and generating more qi. But how would I get the hot qi and cold qi to come into contact? Hot qi is slowly starting to blanket the sky and cold qi is pooling below the disk of earth.
I slap a hand to my face. It always comes down to tornadoes, doesn’t it? I sigh deeply. Nothing to be done about it, let’s try it out.
I start spinning my arms. Clockwise or counterclockwise does not matter, what matters is the direction in relation to both mountains. All the air inside the dimension listens to my command as it starts to spin slowly. The line between both mountains is the axis on which I set it turning. This will cause the cold below and the heat above to meet each other as the wind transports both energies into a torus.
A full hour later, I can finally relax. The clashing powers have now formed an enormous ring of clouds that is circling slowly around the earthen disk. The qi levels have stopped dropping, even as Tree continues to waste large amounts of it with its gardening activities.
The Dao of Magic: Book II Page 18