Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Arcane Ascension Book 1)

by Andrew Rowe

  We appeared next to a campfire.

  Sera and Derek were still unconscious, so they just sort of flopped on the ground.

  I was still kneeling with Katashi’s sword held awkwardly outward.

  This was probably somewhat alarming to the lone figure who had been sitting on the forest floor, eating a chicken leg.

  For that reason, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when he was on his feet in an instant, and suddenly he was armed and I wasn’t.

  Ceris landed blade-first in a nearby tree.

  And Keras Selyran stood over me, a glimmering silver blade in his hands.

  Given the speed with which he moved, I was unclear on whether or not he’d just disarmed me with his sword or with the chicken leg.

  His eyes narrowed.

  I froze.

  He tilted his head to the side. “Wait, aren’t you Corin Cadence?”

  I nodded. “Yes?”

  And then he laughed, his sword disappearing back into the scabbard at his side. “Oh, Corin. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you immediately. Don’t sneak up on me like that. What are you doing here?”

  I let out a sigh.

  “That is, I’m afraid, something of a long story.”

  Epilogue — Cadence

  I told Keras a long story.

  Specifically, I told him almost everything that had happened in the last several months.

  I didn’t mention anything about the memory crystal I’d watched with him fighting against the Council of Lords. I did not want him to know that my mother was one of the people he’d been fighting.

  If Katashi was assigning Keras to watch over me, I wanted to make sure I kept him on my good side. I had no idea how he’d react to the news that she’d been one of the ones attempting to arrest him, but I couldn’t imagine it would be a positive response.

  If I survived long enough, I’d have to get a letter to my mother to explain what I knew about the situation. Talking to her in-person would be even better if I could arrange it. We had a lot to discuss.

  Keras rubbed his forehead in the aftermath of hearing my tale. Without the mask, he was a surprisingly normal-looking guy. “Sounds like you’ve had a rough few weeks. Uh, want something to eat?”

  “You know what? Yeah, I could eat.”

  Sera and Derek were both still unconscious. I’d put the rock of regeneration on Sera’s stomach and activated it before getting into my story, and I could tell it was still working on her, but I didn’t know if it would be sufficient to help her lungs.

  Keras offered me bread, cheese, and chicken, which I accepted gratefully. We ate in quiet for a while. He seemed content to focus on the food.

  After finishing my meal, I shook my head and tried to focus. “So, where are we?”

  “We’re near the Edrian border. I’ve been out here for weeks, patrolling for anyone or anything particularly dangerous trying to slip through.” Keras shook his head. “Was doing it as a favor for Katashi. I’m glad you showed up, since it sounds like I’ve been wasting my time.”

  I nodded. “Yeah... Unless Jin happens to come by this direction.”

  Keras shook his head. “Not likely. From what you told me, he didn’t do anything that’s likely to set off alarms for the local government. You’re one of the only ones who walked out of that room with any information on what he did. He might have just gone back to the school. No one else would know the difference.”

  I felt a cutting pain in my chest when I thought about Jin. My fists clenched.

  I’d almost killed him. Jin, who’d exaggerated his mysteriousness to fit in. Jin, who’d worn a disguise to steal for me, then asked me to a ball.

  He’d probably saved my life at least once, too.

  Had I been right to stand in his way?

  I’d saved Vera, sure, but what would the consequences be for Jin?

  And what about on a broader level? How was Katashi going to react when he discovered what Orden and Vera had been up to?

  I’d been trying to avert a crisis, but the long-term results of my actions were impossible to know.

  I tried to dismiss that line of thought and focus on the conversation. “Even with Orden and Vera in Katashi’s custody, Orden’s compatriots are still going to be doing those experiments. Jin might head back home to report.”

  “If he did, he wouldn’t go through the wilderness in the middle of nowhere. I’m only here because this is a remote location that I’d tracked some Edrian troops to. Jin doesn’t have any reason not to just take a train if he wants to go home.”

  I didn’t think there was a train that went all the way into East Edria, but Keras had a point.

  I took a breath. Then another. I took a moment — just one — and used it to breathe. For the first time in years, I felt lost.

  Not just because of Jin. I still didn’t know what I’d do if I saw him again, but that wasn’t even my biggest concern.

  Tristan was alive, and he’d been working with Orden.

  Could Katashi have been wrong?

  I doubted it. He’d taken that knowledge directly from Orden’s mind.

  Maybe I should have asked more questions, but I was just too shocked.

  I turned to Keras, exhausted and fighting a wave of helplessness that tried to wash over me. “What do I do?”

  The swordsman shrugged. “You push forward. You’ve had a rough time, sure, but you can’t let it break you. You’ve got some loyal friends. There’s no substitute for that. Sounds like you’ve still got a couple of them back at the school that are probably worried about you. We should meet up with them and fill them in.”

  I nodded at that. “You don’t have to stay here?”

  “Not one minute longer than I have to. I was here because Katashi had suspicions about Edrian manipulation in all this. I’m here on his behalf. If I’m supposed to be guarding you now, that’s a new and frankly far more entertaining way to spend my time.”

  “Wait. So you’ve been working for Katashi this whole time?

  Keras shook his head. “Oh, no, nothing like that. You remember that time I was fighting him in the tower?”

  “No, clearly I’d forget about something like that.” I rolled my eyes.

  Keras laughed. “Yeah, that was a good scrap. Been a while since I’ve had one of those. Anyway, after I frustrated him by not dying for a while, I talked him into a truce. Showed him I wasn’t involved in his brother disappearing and all that. He was still angry at me for helping Vera and Echion escape, so I agreed to do him a few favors. In exchange, he’d give me what I’d come to the tower for in the first place when I finished.”

  He just called a fight with a visage a ‘good scrap’. I didn’t know if he was bragging or just some kind of foreign god. Possibly both. “What were you there for?”

  “Wanted to meet your goddesss. We’ve got some business to discuss. I think Katashi is still going to make me climb the spires, but hopefully if I get this done he’ll at least write me a letter of introduction or something.”

  “Spires? Plural?”

  Keras nodded. “Pretty sure I need to climb all of them if I want to meet her. Seems a little excessive to me, but at least they’re good exercise. And I like the variety of monsters.”

  I...didn’t even know what to say to that, so I changed the subject. “I heard that someone from Dalenos was trying to arrest you. Did you get that cleared up?”

  The swordsman winced. “Yeah, Katashi called them off a few weeks ago. I believe they’ve informed the local government as well, but we’ll keep our heads down just in case.”

  That would probably make dealing with my mother somewhat easier, but I decided I’d still try to keep them apart if possible. Assuming she was still on business in Dalenos that would probably be simple enough.

  I did my best to smile. “Glad to hear you got that cleared up. So, when can we head out?”

  “First thing in the morning. Your friends aren’t in any condition to move, and it’s a good five miles to the train
station.”

  I was not looking forward to that walk. Even now, my legs were barely functional. “Uh, right. You wouldn’t happen to have extra sleeping gear?”

  “Oh, you cold? I’ve got a bedroll and a blanket you can use. No tent, sorry. I usually go without.”

  I nodded, glancing at my unconscious companions.

  Keras must have noticed my concern. “I wouldn’t worry about them. Your cloak should keep Sera very comfortable. As for the other guy? If he’s really a Hartigan, he’ll be fine.”

  “You know House Hartigan?” I turned my head back to Keras in surprise. “Thought you were a foreigner.”

  “Oh, I know House Hartigan quite well. Friend of mine learned quite a bit from Blake Hartigan, in fact. They’re pretty prominent where I come from, too.”

  “Huh.” I’d always been under the impression that most of our noble houses had come across from the mainland in their entirety during some sort of cataclysmic event, but maybe that wasn’t accurate. “Fair enough. Well, good night, then?”

  Keras gave me a smile that seemed very... genuine. Friendly, even. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll keep watch over the camp. You’re safe.”

  Safe.

  After the last day, I had a hard time believing that, but I decided to do my best to pretend.

  ***

  I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up abruptly to the sound of clashing steel.

  It took me a moment to orient myself. I found Derek and Keras staring each other down, blades crossed.

  I stammered out words. “Woah, both of you, please calm down.”

  Derek’s gaze flicked to me. “This man is a wanted criminal.”

  Keras grunted. “I’m cleared of all charges, actually. I’d be glad to explain if you’d lower your weapon.”

  “Not going to do that until I’m convinced we’re safe. Corin, what happened?”

  I sat up. “It’s safe, Derek. Katashi sent us to Keras. We’re all on the same side.”

  Well, more or less. But I’m not going to complicate things further by bringing up the political complexities of our situation.

  Derek’s eyes narrowed. “You’re absolutely certain of this?”

  “Yes, Derek. Believe me, if Keras wanted us dead, he could have easily killed us by now.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Derek took a step back, sheathing his weapon. “But if Katashi sent us here, I suppose it’s probably safe.”

  Keras sheathed his own weapon. “I appreciate that you’re willing to listen to reason.” He reached out with his hand. “And you’re quick with those blades. I wouldn’t mind testing your skills at some point under friendlier terms.”

  Derek hesitated for just a moment before accepting the gesture, grabbing Keras wrist. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  With that resolved, I went back to sleep.

  ***

  The walk to the train station was grueling, but not as bad as I’d expected. The ring had done wonders for my injuries overnight. I was still limping, and I had to stop frequently due to tremors in my right leg, but I felt mostly functional.

  I’d kept the rock with Sera overnight, hoping it might do a bit to repair the damage to her lungs, but I knew it wasn’t likely.

  Keras used some kind of magnetism magic to pull the remaining metal shards out of my right hand. It was painful for a few moments, but the ring worked quickly to repair the damage.

  Sera and Derek were both up and seemingly in good health, for the most part.

  Derek had a killer headache. I offered to loan him the ring for a few minutes to get rid of it. He just looked at me like I was a madman. Given his last experience with magic rings, yeah, maybe that wasn’t such a good suggestion. So, he just contented himself to complain a little bit here and there.

  Sera was in the worst shape. She kept trying to talk, but not a sound issued from her lips. Occasionally, she’d still break into fits of coughing, and we had to stop on two occasions when she had trouble catching her breath.

  When I went to measure the mana in her attunement, Derek and Keras both got a look at her mark.

  “Never seen anything like it,” Derek offered. “It’s not a standard attunement.”

  Keras leaned a little closer. “Huh. Haven’t seen many Dominion Marks with that degree of complexity around here.”

  I stared at him. “Do you know what it does?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, don’t recognize that one. I know some people who might, but they’re not here.” He frowned. “Unless Wrynn is. She’d probably know.”

  “Wrynn?” I asked.

  “Wrynn Jaden, the one who made your box. If she’s still around here, we could try to track her down. I’m a little worried about her, truth be told. It’s not like her to leave her box behind anywhere, for any reason. When that thing recharges in a few months, we might want to try to summon her with it.”

  I nodded absently. Jaden was supposedly hundreds of years dead, but considering who the suggestion was coming from, I decided he probably knew what he was talking about.

  I liked the idea of meeting Wrynn Jaden eventually, but for the moment, I had other plans for the box.

  I pressed the mana watch against Sera’s attunement.

  It displayed 0/0.

  That was not a good sign at all.

  I turned to Keras. “You wouldn’t happen to have any way of fixing mana scarring, would you?”

  He shook his head sadly. “Sorry, Corin. I’m not a healer.”

  I wasn’t sure how to phrase my follow up question, so I just asked. “I don’t want to be rude, but... what are you? Are you another visage? Or a servant of the Tyrant in Gold?”

  Keras just laughed. “I’m neither of those, I assure you. I’ll have to think about the best way to explain. Every time I’ve tried to tell people around here about my abilities it’s ended poorly.”

  A fair answer, but I still wanted to know more. I had so many questions.

  I turned back to Sera, patting her on the shoulder. “We’ll find a way to get you healed.”

  Sera nodded back to me. Her eyes were filled with determination.

  And, fortunately, she did seem to like the new sword.

  ***

  The train ride took about ten hours.

  Derek and Keras spent most of that time bantering with each other, and I was pretty sure they went out and had a sparring match on the roof of the train at one point.

  Sera and I couldn’t talk to each other, but I felt closer to her than I ever had. We sat next to each other, exchanging notes. Fortunately, Keras had paper and he’d been willing to give it to us for a good cause.

  Her first note was particularly endearing.

  Corin,

  Stop thinking about going after Jin.

  You have more important things to worry about, like the things that I want.

  Also, possibly the friends who didn’t betray us. They’re somewhat important, too.

  Sincerely,

  Sera

  Signing and addressing it was completely unnecessary, given we were right next to each other, but it was so very Sera that it made me feel better.

  She was right, of course.

  It was probably better that I didn’t try to find Jin again immediately. The wounds were too fresh for both of us, both metaphorically and literally. There was a reasonable chance he’d want to kill me when we saw each other again, and I couldn’t blame him for it.

  But I wasn’t going to blame myself, either.

  I was going to move forward.

  ***

  It took a while to find Marissa and Patrick.

  This was because, rather than being in their rooms, they had been waiting outside of the tower for us.

  When we hadn’t made it back the first night, they’d camped out together.

  Even after all Patrick had done for me over the course of the year, I still didn’t know how to respond to displays of loyalty and concern like that.

  It
was so good to see them.

  They were glad to see me, too, if a little surprised by the company. Surprised and maybe a little alarmed.

  Keras was wearing his mask again now that we were in town. He got some strange looks, but no one approached us to ask about it.

  After an aborted attempt to explain everything, Derek pointed out that we should not be discussing everything that had happened in public. He escorted us to one of his homes. It was a small manor only about a mile away. Apparently, it was where he stayed when he was preparing to go on a climbing expedition.

  And it was, fortunately, already very-well magically protected. I inspected the runes on the walls on my way in. Some were familiar, like anti-scrying and anti-teleportation, but others were new. I’d have to write them down later.

  We sat in an opulent living room while Derek and I explained to everyone what we’d encountered. Keras spent most of the time doing some kind of meditation exercise with his sword, since he’d already heard it all from me.

  When we finished, Patrick was a combination of excited and incredulous. “So, Professor Orden was the traitor?”

  I sighed. “No, Patrick. If you want to get technical, I was probably the closest thing to a traitor. Apparently all this was something our government approved of.”

  Derek raised his hands in a halting gesture. “Woah, slow down there, Corin. Orden might have overstated her support a bit there. She might have members of the Council of Lords supporting this little endeavor, but certainly not the whole thing. My mother is on the council and the first she’d heard of this was when I brought it to her attention.”

  I frowned. “How’d you find out about all this, anyway?”

  He sighed. “Elora. Dear, darling, Elora. She told me all about it after she’d helped abduct Tenjin and the others. She was so excited. Thought I’d just automatically approve of her idea to kidnap our allies and the visage we worship. How could I have possibly disagreed?”

  That made sense. He’d mentioned having a falling out with Elora Theas. I’d assumed it was just some kind of petty lover’s quarrel.

  Apparently, it was much more serious than I’d given him credit for. And, to be fair, maybe Derek himself was a little more serious than I’d realized.