Aethernea

by Cloe D Frost

  Luckily, he spent his day inside the library and didn’t roam the streets. It made it difficult for them to find his scent. Still, it was only a matter of time, unless they took preventive measures.

  Both of them had to conceal their presence and closely control every drop of their mana so they wouldn’t leave a mana trail behind them that the trackogs could follow.

  They flew up in the air, and Elaru latched on to Kiel’s arm once again. He didn’t show any signs of resistance this time. For some reason, she always latched onto him when she needed to cover them with a light bending barrier.

  Her precautions didn’t end with Invisibility. Even if they didn’t leave a mana trail, they would still leave their scent. If they couldn’t conceal it, their whereabouts would be found out during the night.

  Luckily, Elaru was well versed in concealment.

  She weaved a peculiar augmentation spell similar in appearance to Acceleration, using her own body as the anchor point of the spell. Then she branched out the roots of the spell to create a thin, spherical web of roots around them.

  This method of targeting was the difference between barrier spells and normal sustained spells. Barrier spells targeted a region of space instead of concrete objects. Usually, a mage would create a wall or a veil made out of spell roots. To make the spell move with the caster, the core of the spell would be placed on the body of the caster, effectively anchoring it there.

  Any sustained spell could be used in such a way to turn it into a barrier spell.

  The spell Elaru had enshrouded them with was actually named Reflection. It was derived from Acceleration, altered to change the velocity of particles that entered its area of effect in such a way to push them out of it.

  The area of effect was exactly the thin layer of the barrier, which meant that any particle that touched the barrier would be repelled back.

  Reflection belonged in the category of protection spells, and most argel mages knew of it. However, most argel overlooked the spell, very rarely using it.

  On first thought, one would think that the spell could be used as a great protective spell, repelling attacks of other mages.

  One would be both right and wrong.

  Faster the object moved, harder it would be to repel it. Heavier the object, harder it would be to repel it. If an object was coated with foreign mana denser than the Reflection spell, the spell couldn’t reflect it.

  And worst of all, if the object were already under the effect of someone else’s Acceleration based spell, the two spells would cause interference with one another. After all, both are trying to alter the velocity of the same object.

  In such a scenario, the spell that was already on the object before it entered the area of effect of the Reflection would have priority. Reflection barrier would be able to win over the other spell only if its level was considerably higher than the spell on the incoming object.

  Because of all these limitations and drawbacks, most mages couldn’t make good use of the Reflection spell, making it useless in their hands.

  Kiel too had rarely used it in the past. He simply didn’t have enough mana to support its usage.

  When Elaru had used the spell, he was both surprised and confused. He was confused as to why she would cast the spell. Until she revealed the hidden effect of Reflection, which was not written in any of the textbooks he had read before.

  Particles inside of the barrier would also be repelled upon touching it, not letting any of the particles from inside to leave the confines of the sphere.

  And what is “the scent”? The scent was created by residue particles that drifted through the air, reaching the nose!

  If Reflection prevented particles from leaving, that would mean that it would prevent their scent from spreading!

  Kiel sharply inhaled when he realized that a spell everyone overlooked could be used in such a way.

  Such was the nature of magic. The magic was the tool, and how and for what purpose it was used depended on the user.

  After his initial confusion had been resolved, all that was left was the surprise: Elaru, as an elibu, couldn’t cast augmentation magic before the Aetherneal bond, yet she seemed to be quite familiar with it. It looked as if she was just as familiar with augmentation magic as she was with transmutation magic.

  Not only did she proceed to use advanced flying magic only hours after they became soulbound, but her casting of Reflection also seemed natural, even knowing the hidden effects as if she had used it a thousand times before.

  When he asked her about it, her response was:

  “Papa passed on to me a mana purifying artifact when I was little, so I have never actually been just a transmutation magic user. Papa thought me all three types of magic equally in preparation for the future. That’s why my understanding of magic is quite complete.

  I also have a very good memory, so I always remembered the unfamiliar magic other people used and recreated it later on. So even if papa didn’t insist on teaching me all three types of magic, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  Kiel almost gaped at that response but restrained himself at the last second. “Didn’t you put on a longing face and tell me that you’ve always wanted to fly? If you had such an artifact, wouldn’t you already be able to fly?!”

  Elaru shrugged. “I didn’t lie. After I had perfected my usage of acceleration magic, Papa didn’t let me continue using it. Being able to fly and then suddenly becoming unable to fly is even worse than not being able to fly in the first place.”

  She sighed sadly as if recalling a painful past. “He said it would be better for my future development if I could be fast even without usage of acceleration magic.”

  No wonder. Kiel almost facepalmed himself. No wonder she used it all so naturally. As if the distinction between transmutation and augmentation didn’t matter at all.

  Kiel let out a long breath. “Do you intend to use that artifact as an explanation for why you can use pure mana?”

  Elaru shook her head. “Can’t. I don’t have it anymore.”

  “Oh, did your father take it away?” Kiel’s raised his eyebrow questioningly. Elaru replied nonchalantly: “No. I lost it in a bet.”

  Hearing that, Kiel stumbled in his step, looking at Elaru as if she grew two heads. “Who in their right mind would stake a divine artifact in a bet?!?”

  Elaru shrugged. “It was an important bet.”

  Seeing her nonchalant behavior, as if she was talking about the weather, Kiel’s eyebrow started twitching violently. “You don’t even seem sad about your loss. Wasn’t your father mad about it?”

  Elaru looked at him for a few seconds in confusion. “Why would he be mad? Loss? What loss? I was actually the winner of the bet.”

  Kiel covered his face with his hand. He didn’t know how to proceed with this conversation. It was like he was trying to communicate with an alien. Everything was upside down.

  Thus, the two ventured to the outskirts of Ashar and spent the night camping in the woods.

  * * *

  ◈ Tuesday, 28th of August 1449 A.W. ◈

  Muni Exams: Day 2

  After a while of waiting, the door to the room 307 finally opened revealing a tall elibu with bluish gray hair tied behind his head. Kiel’s examiners were still Rau Eryey and Kady Ailert.

  Kiel walked in, followed by the swarm of groupies. Ever since he appeared in front of his designated classroom to take the exams, he had been assaulted by both males and females, trying to get in his good graces. They had asked him how he managed to achieve such a good score, what his name was, and all kinds of other questions. Some of them even introduced themselves.

  Although annoyed, Kiel remained perfectly polite, showing the flawless bearing of a noble. However, his patience was running very thin. Inwardly, he was already swearing and snarling.

  If I was mediocre looking and my score wasn’t so high, would you have taken a second look at me?

  Opportunistic. Feeble. Selfish. Shallow.


  That was the inner nature of people.

  When everyone settled down inside the classroom, Rau Eryey motioned his white, slim hand towards a large glass apparatus in the middle of the room. “Today’s first exam will test your spell control.”

  * * *

  Author Note:

  I will be writing an Aethernea side story about AlannFarhice in the future, simply because Alann’s story is simply too funny to not be told. He is nothing like the books portray him. ;)

  In fact, Alann was one of those freeloaders who went around bookshops, reading stuff without buying anything. It was after he got blacklisted by all bookshops in the city that he found a way to get back at them by stealing their business. But that is a story for another time. :D

  Aethernea patrons will be the first one to lay their eyes on Alann’s story, several chapters of which will be given to them as a support reward for October. When (and if) it will be available for non-patrons to read is currently unknown.

  Coming up in the next episode:

  When the words left Kady’s mouth several gasps could be heard.

  It is said that the gods were flawless entities, the embodiments of a perfect balance of opposing elements.

  That statement only made the elibu smile even wider while the faces of argel turned unsightly. You call that a fair treatment?!

  Episode 54 – Spell Control Exam Start!

  Episode 54 – Spell Control Exam Start!

  Previously:

  Kiel and Elaru arrive to Muni to take second day’s exams. Kiel’s examiners are still Rau Eryey and Kady Ailert.

  * * *

  When everyone settled down inside the classroom, Rau Eryey motioned his white, slim hand towards a large glass apparatus in the middle of the room. “Today’s first exam will test your spell control.”

  The testing apparatus consisted of a large vertical tube the size of a grown adult man. As if the tube was the night sky, the glass was littered with countless small silver stars, welded into the glass itself.

  The tube stood raised on a short metal stand. One could see a square shaped opening on the bottom of the cylinder.

  “I will now explain how the test will be conducted.” Rau pointed towards the glass cylinder and cast a trigger spell to activate the artifact. As soon as his trigger spell landed on it, the countless silver stars came to life. Each one of them started glowing a bright neon light.

  The vivid rainbow-colored stars extended their tentacles until they stretched into countless thin threads creating a spider web – The previously empty insides of the glass cylinder suddenly became a labyrinth of threads. The stars continued to wiggle periodically moving their tentacles and shifting the layout of the web.

  “The goal of the test is to exercise your control over a cube-shaped magical artifact, bringing it from the bottom of the cylinder up to the top, inserting it in the cube-shaped indentation on the top of the cylinder.”

  Everyone’s eyes followed Rau’s pointed finger to see a cube-shaped indentation on the very top of the glass tube.

  “The artifact will need to pass through the web as fast as your ability allows, touching as few threads as possible. You can think of it as an obstacle race. Avoid obstacles in the shape of threads, reach the goal as fast as you can.”

  Rau pointed towards the metal stand of the glass tube, on which, one could see a strange hourglass filled with a blue liquid.

  “You will be able to read the score from the markings on the hourglass.”

  What was strange about the hourglass was its bottleneck. A small metal spike was inserted into the bottleneck of the hourglass blocking the flow of the blue liquid. It looked like someone impaled the hourglass on a needle protruding from the metal stand.

  While the examinees were inspecting the glass tube and the hourglass, Kady Ailert, who was sitting at the teacher’s desk, stood up and approached Rau. In her hands, she held two fist-sized cubes – one white, one black.

  She passed the black cube to Rau, keeping the white one to herself. Kady turned towards the examinees, smiling softly. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes giving her a gentle appearance.

  With a flick of her hand, a flock of black and white cubes came flying from the teacher’s desk towards the examinees.

  Each examinee received one cube, including Kiel, who gracefully caught a white cube. The shiny stone surface of the cube was smooth and cold to the touch.

  Glancing around himself, Kiel realized that all elibu received a black cube, while all argel got a white cube.

  Kady patiently explained: “As you might already know, the only way to test someone’s spell control is to have them perform a spell and monitor their control over the spell’s effects. That implies that the spell is required to create direct reality altering effects – it can’t be a trigger spell.

  The fairest method to test your spell control would be to have everyone cast the exact same spell. However, this is impossible because argel can only cast augmentation magic while elibu can only cast transmutation magic.

  Technically speaking, the only way that would allow everyone to cast the same spell would be if they used a mana purifying artifact. However, there are several thousand examinees while we possess only a several dozen mana purifying artifacts in total. Therefore, this solution isn’t feasible.”

  Kady extended her hands which were holding a white cube so that everyone could see it more clearly. “This is an artifact prepared for augmentation magic users that responds to heat. To make it move, you will need to heat it up and cool it down appropriately. And to do so, you are required to use the Temperature augmentation spell.”

  When the words left Kady’s mouth, several gasps could be heard.

  Temperature is a perfect spell a.k.a. a complete spell. A complete spell is a spell that is an incarnation of an aspect, allowing the spell to exercise complete control over it.

  It is said that the gods were flawless entities, the embodiments of the perfect balance of opposing elements. The magic formed through their will was just like them – complete.

  When the gods wished to heat up their meal, they wouldn’t use a Heating spell. No, the temperature itself bent to their will. Whether they wanted to heat it up or cool it down – it was all the same.

  The perfect spells mortals picked up from the gods became the basis of their magic.

  Through research, mortals discovered that those perfect spells were made out of two opposing spell fragments. Those two opposing elements when brought together canceled each other out. And yet, if one could achieve a perfect unity of the opposing elements, if one could fuse them into one, they would form a complete entity. A complete spell.

  Because achieving that perfect balance was extremely difficult for mortals, they instead started using those two spell fragments as standalone spells.

  And thus, from Temperature, Heating and Cooling were created. From Velocity, Accelerate and Deaccelerate were created.

  Those standalone fragments were many times easier to cast and had become the building blocks of magic, leaving the complete spells in the back of everyone’s mind.

  Why would anyone bother using a difficult spell when one could achieve their goal easier with a simpler spell? Complicating things would be simply inefficient, even stupid.

  The only time mages would use complete spells would be when they needed to cast both incomplete variants to reach their goal. Such as in this spell control exam, where they would be required to both heat up and cool down the object at any time.

  In such a scenario, while the complete spell would be harder to cast initially, it became much more efficient than if the mage had to continuously switch between casting a Heating and a Cooling spell.

  The reason why some of the people gasped when they heard they would be using a Temperature spell was exactly because they rarely used it in the past. Therefore, they weren’t confident in their ability to control it properly.

  While argel were sweating and frowning, the elibu in the room looked a
t them with a self-satisfied smirk. Seeing the dark mood of argel in the room, Kady chuckled and added: “Don’t worry everyone. Muni exams don’t discriminate based on race. Elibu will also be using a complete spell – the Light.”

  That statement only made the elibu smile even wider while the faces of argel turned unsightly. You call that a fair treatment?!

  Naturally, the reason for their dissatisfaction was that elibu almost always used the Light spell instead of its incomplete variants. Elibu often used the Light to control the color of objects. Because of the elusive nature of color perception, they often weren’t sure which of the two incomplete variants they should use. They would just cast the Light spell and tinker the color until they were satisfied.

  Seeing the agitated argel in the room, Rau frowned and spoke out icily: “What’s the matter? The Temperature and the Light are both complete spells of the same rank. Our spell control exam always requires you to use complete spells because they allow us to more thoroughly examine your spell control. Since that is always the case, you should have expected it and prepared for it.

  Also, if your affinity for incomplete variants is good, the same should be the case for the complete variant.”

  No one could say a word of complaint, for he was right.

  Since the Temperature used spell fragments of Heating and Cooling, when one used it to increase the temperature, it would feel the same as if they were controlling a Heating spell. For they would be using the Heating spell fragment of the Temperature spell at that moment.

  While the argel will not be as proficient in weaving their complete spells as elibu, this test didn’t test weaving but spell control.

  The slightly cold voice of Rau continued. “Pay attention. We will now demonstrate the usage of these artifacts.”

  Rau slowly weaved the Light spell, pushing his mana under the surface of his black cube. From the Light spell, he spread the spell roots to cover the surface of the cube entirely, like a web of mana strings.