Aethernea

by Cloe D Frost

  That’s where Devour spell came into use. This arcane magic spell could be used to transform free mana into the same type of mana used to weave the Devour spell.

  Technically, the Devour spell could also be used by mages to replenish their mana, however, in practice, this wasn’t viable. Unlike the gods who could impose their divine will on free mana to control it, the Devour spell could only transform free mana inside its area of effect into something usable, it couldn’t attract free mana towards it.

  Since the concentration of free mana in the air was not high, and the area of effect of the Devour spell was extremely limited, it meant that the amount of free mana the Devour could absorb from the world couldn’t catch up with the staggering amount of mana used to weave it.

  The Devour spell was only useful if it was used to absorb a large quantity of mana crystals, for the concentration of mana inside the crystals was countless times greater than the mana within the air.

  Therefore, the Devour spell was only used in the creation of precious magic artifacts which will need to be recharged in the future, or for weaving important large-scale spells that required many times more mana than was available to the caster of the spell, in which case, a large quantity of mana crystals would be used to supplement the lacking mana of the caster.

  “Also…” Elaru continued. “…I included a backup plan, in case you don’t have any mana crystals at hand when the ring needs to be recharged…” She paused and looked at him strangely. “…or if you are broke and can’t buy any…”

  Kiel’s eyebrow twitched. “How thoughtful of you…”

  “Yes. I thought of everything.” She nodded seriously. “The backup plan is a Light spell I added to allow you to charge the ring with an intense light beam.”

  “Great…” Kiel mumbled. He directed his attention back to the ring and started channeling his mana through it. He avoided the platinum and went straight for kirine.

  The more mana he channeled into kirine, the easier the channeling become. It didn’t take long at all for him to feel like kirine was not putting up any kind of resistance at all. This phenomenon signified that it had successfully synchronized to his mana. Now, no one else would be able to channel mana through it.

  “Alright. It’s been synchronized.” Kiel declared.

  “Good. Now let’s talk about how you’re going to fool everyone into thinking it is an actual mana purifying artifact.” Elaru rubbed her hands looking like a crafty old man.

  “First things first, since mana purifying artifacts are divine artifacts, and therefore, really precious, no one wants to openly waltz around and show them off. That’s like inviting someone to steal it.

  Therefore, don’t show off your ring. Don’t even admit that you have it to people other than your close family. In fact, it isn’t likely that anyone would openly ask you about it anyway. Nobles have an unspoken rule to not inquire about divine artifacts of other nobles because divine artifacts are considered as family secrets.

  So, when you are using the dummy, you too, should be discreet about it. If you are not subtle about it, that would be strange, and we don’t want people to think there is anything strange about your ability to use pure mana.”

  Elaru placed her right hand on top of the table. “You should develop a habit to constantly channel mana into your ring. People in possession of a mana purifying artifact usually train themselves to subconsciously direct all their mana towards their artifact so they could purify it as soon as it leaves their soul. That way, the mana inside their aura would always be completely pure, and they could use it instantly in the moment of need.

  Unlike them, you don’t need to worry yourself about which particles of mana are purified and which are not, you should just put up a show and roll your mana around your ring inconspicuously.”

  “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ve been acting for 12 years, this won’t pose a problem.” Kiel sighed and rubbed his temples again. “Let’s talk about more interesting matters.”

  Elaru didn’t get the chance to respond before Kiel continued: “You say that no one will be able to tell the real function of the ring. What is the real function?”

  Elaru grinned, her eyes glittered mischievously. “Activate it, and you’ll find out.”

  Before she even finished her sentence, she transmitted an image telepathically depicting a simple trigger spell.

  For the purpose of conserving power, most enchantments were designed to have a sleeping mode in which the enchantment isn’t altering reality. For example, there is no point for a ring artifact to waste mana with its continued activation if there was no one wearing it. One of the simplest ways to implement mana conservation was to make the artifact activate only in certain conditions, such as by performing a trigger spell in its vicinity.

  “Is it safe for me to activate it?” Kiel asked with narrowed eyes. He didn’t know what the ring would do once activated. For all he knew, the ring could let out a light beam and create a hole through the ceiling. Or perhaps it would turn his hair pink. The thought gave him shivers.

  Elaru rolled her eyes. “You can activate it without worry. Nothing bad will happen.”

  Upon receiving her confirmation, Kiel started weaving the trigger spell in the proximity of the ring. One needed to cast a trigger spell inside the artifact’s monitored area. Otherwise, the artifact won’t be able to ‘see’ the spell and therefore won’t activate.

  The trigger spell Elaru showed Kiel was simple, so in no time at all, Kiel had finished weaving it. As soon as the last line was weaved the previously cold and lifeless ring reacted.

  It heated up to be the same temperature as Kiel’s flesh and the previously black kirine started glowing with bright azure light.

  Kiel winced and involuntarily shut his eyes. However, his eyes didn’t remain closed for long. A soft, warm sensation climbing up his arm made his eyes snap open again.

  The sight that greeted him left him speechless.

  The black marking on his right wrist blended into his flesh and disappeared without a trace.

  “You enchanted it to hide the mark of the bond.”

  “This way, you won’t have to upkeep a color changing spell on your skin. Even if you are knocked out or asleep, our secret will still stay a secret.” Elaru purred. She looked at Kiel as if waiting to be praised.

  Kiel’s eyebrow twitched. “It is somewhat useful, but wouldn’t the color revert back to normal if the ring was taken off? In fact, the whole premise of people being unable to verify whether my ring is fake lies on them being unable to take the ring off my finger. If they took it off and wore it they would instantly realize that the ring is a fake, wouldn’t they?”

  Elaru nonchalantly nodded her head. “Yeah, they would.”

  “So, it doesn’t really make much of a difference whether I cast a color changing spell myself or wear this. If I get knocked out, whoever knocked me out could just take off the ring to reveal the truth.” Kiel continued.

  Elaru’s face revealed a devious smirk that gave Kiel the chills. “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly?” Kiel’s eyebrow rose. “Also, what should I do when my grandfather orders me to hand him my ring? Refusing him would bring me a lot of trouble.”

  Elaru’s smirk only grew. “Oh, no need to refuse. You can cooperate fully.”

  Inexplicably, Kiel suddenly had a bad feeling. “What do you…” Kiel tugged on his ring. “…mean?” He stopped talking and instead concentrated fully on taking his ring off. He tugged, pulled, and twisted for a whole minute before his hands stilled.

  He turned to Elaru and looked at her with his signature ice cold glare. “El…a…ru…why… can’t… I… take… it… off…?” He pronounced every syllable clearly in a most chilling voice he could muster.

  “Ah! I forgot to mention! It also comes with anti-theft function.” Elaru’s face blossomed into a most wonderful smile, completely oblivious to the murderous chill being directed her way.

  “…in other words… no
one can take it off… including me?”

  * * *

  Author Note

  This episode is dedicated to a very polite and respectful gentleman – Midnitghtnest. Thank you so much for greedily devouring Aethernea and feeling passionate enough to support it. Thank you so very much <3 And please, just call me Cloe, no need for honorifics. ?

  Soooo, guys, bear with me, I know that the last few episodes haven’t been all that interesting, but they are filled with important information. Don’t worry, we are almost done with the boring stuff. In fact, tomorrow (in their world) will be the practical exam. Battle Royale anyone? ?

  Do you have any questions or things you want to know more about? I would be happy to elaborate on any matters that might be confusing or unclear, or introduce you to the large world of Halnea. Just drop me a comment somewhere and ask. When I finally manage to catch up with all episodes of Aethernea that I should have released, I’ll be able to write some extra stuff, such as answers to interesting questions such as “if Elaru’s soul has problems, how come it isn’t affecting Kiel since they are soulbound?” So now would be the time to hit me with everything you want to know about Aethernea. The list and explanation of all 15 noble families? Information about guilds/alliances/etc? A compendium of magic theory that you can check when you forget something? A bestiary on creatures I’ve been mentioning such as meep, clucklings, lupaxes, vulpies, etc? You name it, and I shall write it.

  Coming up in the next episode:

  I should have known!! She always has a trick up her sleeve! The temperature in the room was rapidly dropping, the air turned stifling, yet Elaru still continued smiling as if nothing was going on. Kiel brought his right hand to their eye level, showing his ring. Through gritted teeth, he spat out. “‘Handy’ isn’t the word I’d use.”

  Control yourself. Don’t strangle her. You can do it. Self-control! “Great. That makes me feel so much better. It’s good to know that they’ll have to pry the ring off my dead fingers.” The sarcasm dripping from his words couldn’t be any more substantial.

  He lifelessly fell back on his seat like a deflated balloon. I can’t believe I just said that.

  “ELARU WAYVIN!!!!! This is not funny!!!!”

  “However, it seems that little brother held some resentment towards me inside his heart, because he played a trick on me.” Rhur again sighed sadly as if the events that transpired pained him greatly.

  Episode 93 – Anti-theft

  Episode 93 – Anti-theft

  Previously:

  Elaru gives Kiel the ring she had made for him two days ago. It had now been enchanted with the spell she had designed and mystified. She claims that she thought about everything and no one would be able to tell that his artifact was fake. She also claims that Venric Rroda won’t take this artifact away from him.

  * * *

  Inexplicably, Kiel suddenly had a bad feeling. “What do you…” Kiel tugged on his ring. “…mean?” He stopped talking and instead concentrated fully on taking his ring off. He tugged, pulled, and twisted for a whole minute before his hands stilled.

  He turned to Elaru and looked at her with his signature ice cold glare. “El…a…ru…why… can’t… I… take… it… off…?” He pronounced every syllable clearly in a most chilling voice he could muster.

  “Ah! I forgot to mention! It also comes with anti-theft function.” Elaru’s face blossomed into a most wonderful smile, completely oblivious to the murderous chill being directed her way.

  “…in other words… no one can take it off… including me?”

  “Handy, isn’t it? Since even you can’t take it off, it means that your family can’t force you to hand over the ring.”

  I should have known!! She always has a trick up her sleeve! The temperature in the room was rapidly dropping, the air turned stifling, yet Elaru still continued smiling as if nothing was going on. Kiel brought his right hand to their eye level, showing his ring. Through gritted teeth, he spat out. “‘Handy’ isn’t the word I’d use.”

  Seeing Kiel’s twitching hand that seemed to want to wrap around her neck and strangle her, Elaru unexpectedly started giggling. “It’s about your hand, so I think ‘handy’ fits quite nicely.”

  The relatively calm atmosphere in the room was instantly shattered by a loud slam of Kiel’s hand against the table. “I can’t believe you thought that making a ring that can’t be taken off was a good idea!!”

  “It’s not that it can’t be taken off… I mean, there are ways to get it off…”

  “Like what?” Kiel growled.

  Elaru scratched her head sheepishly.

  “Like having someone cut off my finger for the sake of obtaining my “divine artifact”?!” Kiel spat out. If eyes could kill, Elaru would have been deader than dead.

  The red-headed troublemaker, however, showed no sign of being agitated. She rubbed her chin in thought. “Easier said than done. It is stuck to the base of your finger. It’s practically impossible to cut your finger off. All attempts would just end up cutting either your hand or the ring instead of your finger.”

  Kiel stared at Elaru in a complete lack of words. As if she didn’t notice his gobsmacked expression she continued: “Although, to be honest, if someone wanted your ring that badly, it would be easier to just cut off your entire hand at the wrist.” She then proceeded to make a chopping motion with her hand. “And then, just disintegrate the hand, leaving only the ring behind.”

  With a violently twitching eyebrow, Kiel stared at Elaru in silence for several seconds before he finally managed to squeeze out: “How reassuring… instead of losing a single finger, I lose an entire hand…”

  Elaru attempted to give Kiel a reassuring pat on the back, but when she saw his expression, which looked like that of a rabid lupax that would bite her hand off if it came in his proximity, she decided against it. “I hate to break it to you, Iceblock. But if you run into someone crazy enough to cut off your hand, the chances are that they are crazy enough to kill you too. If you’re dead, it would make little difference whether you are missing a finger or a hand.”

  Control yourself. Don’t strangle her. You can do it. Self-control! “Great. That makes me feel so much better. It’s good to know that they’ll have to pry the ring off my dead fingers.” The sarcasm dripping from his words couldn’t be any more substantial.

  Elaru gave him a solemn look. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There wouldn’t really be any prying involved here. I mean, it won’t come off even if you die. Have to…” She once again repeated the chopping motion.

  Kiel, whose mental faculties were too preoccupied on not strangling Elaru, didn’t manage to stop his hand in time, and he ended up giving himself a facepalm. “So, my only choices are an incomplete corpse or taking the ring to my grave? Fantastic!”

  “Oh, come on Kiel…” Elaru rolled her eyes as if she was talking to an immature child. “If you’re dead, you’re dead. What does it matter if your corpse is complete or if you take the ring to your grave? Dead people don’t have feelings.”

  “I bet that’s what graverobbers tell to themselves!” Kiel growled out. “Let me guess, ‘papa’ made you try that line of business as well?”

  Elaru’s nonchalant behavior suddenly disappeared, replaced by an awkward cough. “Touché…”

  Seeing Elaru’s visible embarrassment made Kiel’s anger suddenly dissipate into thin air. He lifelessly fell back on his seat like a deflated balloon. I can’t believe I just said that. He looked up towards the ceiling and let out a sigh. That was a low blow…

  He looked at Elaru from the corner of his eyes, but she didn’t seem to be upset by it. That tinge of embarrassment quickly passed, and she was back to normal. In fact, judging by her aura, Kiel could tell that she wasn’t mad at him at all.

  He closed his eyes tiredly and let out another sigh. “What if one day Aetherneal bond gets broken? Am I supposed to carry a useless ring on my finger for the rest of my life?” After all, his initial intention was to fin
d a way to sever this bond.

  “If Aetherneal bond gets broken?” Elaru rubbed her chin in thought. “You mean… if I die?” She suddenly clutched her heart in an exaggerated motion. “Oh, how cruel! Your soulmate dies, and you can’t wait to get rid of the last thing she left you. How heartless, my only token of affection! You can’t even wear it to honor my memory? Why not just rip out my heart and stomp on it.”

  Kiel couldn’t help but glare at her. “Continue down this line of thinking, and I just might do it. At least then I’d be rid of a giant pest.”

  Elaru stuck out her tongue cutely.

  Kiel’s glare deepened. “But now, even if I get rid of said “giant pest” I will never be able to forget it, for I can’t get rid of what it left behind.” Kiel, once again, brought his right hand to their eye level, showing off the ring.

  “Awww! How sweet! You won’t be able to forget me until the day you die.” Elaru looked at him with large eyes and exaggeratedly started fluttering her eyelashes, then she proceeded to sigh in a sickly sweet way.

  “Arrrgh! Or I’ll just cut the finger off myself!” Kiel jumped on his feet in agitation, wanting nothing more than just strangle this annoying redhead.

  Elaru too, could take it no longer, and she finally burst out in merry laughter. “Oh, Kiel! I’m just messing with you! Of course, there is a way to remove the ring. Did you really think that I forgot to include a way out in my spells? I’m not an amateur. “

  “ELARU WAYVIN!!!!! This is not funny!!!!”

  The musical giggle that couldn’t be more pleasant to the ear echoed inside the room. “It kinda is.”

  “Tell me how to remove it right this instant!”

  “Nope.” Elaru shot it down instantly. It’s better if you don’t know how to remove it. That way no one will be able to force you to hand it over.”

  “Right. They’ll just cut it off instead!” Kiel snorted, his body shaking with suppressed anger.