Millennial Mage

Tala hesitated. She and Rane had each just finished up their weapon’s form and were getting ready to depart, but something was eating at her. With a sigh, Tala turned to Rane. “I still need to thoroughly test these…” Tala lifted her arms, indicating the bracers that she’d dutifully put back on after every self-cleansing.

“Ready to tell me why you haven’t practiced with the tether so far?”

“I only just finished reading the booklet on the items this morning.”

He waited.

Tala looked down. “I don’t know.”

He didn’t comment.

“It’s silly.”

Rane just gave a patient smile, lips sealed.

Tala grunted. “Fine…” She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. “Most of the language in the booklet was lifted from that of the prison item’s manual. I…I don’t like thinking of myself as a prisoner, even a voluntary one.”

Her voice was small as she finally spoke, once again. “What if he made it wrong, and I’m trapped forever?”

Rane let out a long breath, then, clearly considering. “That sounds terrifying.”

Tala gave him a skeptical look.

He smiled in return. “What? It does. That said, it comes down to one question: Do you trust him enough to give it a try? If not: Return it, and he might be willing to refund some of your funds. If so: Why not give it a try?”

After a long moment, Tala nodded. That makes sense… She now felt a bit foolish for hesitating. Thankfully, she hadn’t lost that much time. She really had just finished reading up sufficiently to empower the tether that morning. “Alright. I’ll try it once we find a new training spot. Alright?”

“Sure.” He glanced to the side. “You know, I’m happy to help, if I can.”

Tala nodded. “I do know, yeah.” She looked to Terry, seemingly asleep in the corner. “Terry?”

The bird opened one eye to regard her.

“Are you alright with relocating, higher into the tree?”

He lifted his head, then let out a soft, warbling note that conveyed indifference.

Tala grinned. “Fair enough; shall we go take a look, now?”

“Sure.” Rane pushed himself up.

Terry flickered to her shoulder, and they departed, together.

Once they’d exited the facility and were heading up the second tier’s seventh spiral, they had a brief conversation about how they would approach finding a new spot to train. As part of that, they decided that they should walk through the third-tier marketplace, on the way up to a higher level.

The market looked much the same as the previous times Tala had walked through it, but this time, she was firm in her resolve that she wouldn’t buy anything else. So, once they made it to that tier, she was focused more on the buildings and other, less sales-oriented, features.

“Caravan street?” Tala was looking at one of the street-signs that she’d not really paid heed to before.

Rane looked at it as well. “Yeah. If I remember correctly, they had some fun with naming the streets, here: Caravan, Wagon, Courier, Fleet, Ship, and the like.”

“Huh, I suppose it makes some sort of sense for a market area.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t fit quite as well with the services and restaurants here, but it lends a bit of amusement, I guess.”

They continued walking down the road, seeing many of the roads that Rane referenced.

“Hey, there’s a barber right there.” She glanced to Rane. Is his hair longer than usual? Well, obviously it was, hair grew constantly. “Do you usually keep your hair short or was that just how you had it when we met?”

“Usually short.”

“Do you want to get it cut?”

Rane reached up and checked his hair. “Maybe…” He glanced to the barbershop, frowning slightly.

“It looks like it’s over a pie shop! I could get something to eat, while you get your haircut.”

Rane seemed to contemplate, but finally, he shook his head. “Not today. I’ll probably get it cut short, just before we leave again.”

Tala shrugged. “Alright.” She glanced back to the barbershop. “If you want to come back here, it looks like this one’s on Fleet Street.”

Rane shook his head. “I’m sure there will be barbers closer to where I’m staying. Thank you, though.”

Tala shrugged, and they continued on, talking about the various establishments that they passed. Even as they climbed higher, seeking the upper tiers, they kept up the conversation, pointing out various oddities, or intriguing places as they went.

All in all, it was a fun way to pass the time.

* * *

Tala took deep breaths, striding purposely away from the anchor that she’d just empowered.

The wooden spring-clip rested on the floor, in the center of their new training area.

Tala walked towards the outer wall, a large, transparent section of wood that showed a beautiful view to the east.

She wasn’t getting closer to the window. She could easily see the dimensional power acting on the space in front of her, but that was the only evidence that she could see that anything was happening.

She looked down, and the wood beneath her seemed to stretch as she moved her foot forward, pulling back to normal as she continued with the other foot.

With a sudden motion, Tala dove forward, sensing the space around herself expand even as she rolled and returned to her feet.

She was no closer to the wall.

Tala pivoted, turning to face the simple item, laying on the floor.

“Hey! You’re alive.” Rane grinned from beside the anchor.

She glared back. “I wasn’t afraid of dying.” Her glare faltered, and her voice quieted. “I was afraid of being trapped.”

Rane’s smile softened. “You alright?”

She shrugged, then nodded. “I think so.”

“Alright, how can I help?”

“Can you pick it up?”

Rane picked it up with ease. “Seems so.”

“What happens if you move away from me?” She was currently ten feet away, at the edge of the range.

Rane took a step, and Tala felt the world warp.

It was a completely different feeling than when she tried to move away from the anchor but somehow exactly the same.

She was holding her breath as she looked down.

The grain of the wood in front of her feet was compressing between her and the anchor, keeping the distance she perceived between her and the anchor in Rane’s hand the same. Her perception of the world to either side was warping, like she was looking through an increasingly compressed lens.

She pulled in a breath, and her expanding chest felt like it was grabbed and pulled along. It wasn’t a painful feeling, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable. She was looking down when it happened, and she watched the floor expand, sliding under her feet even though she didn’t feel like she was moving.

This is…incredibly odd.

Rane was watching her, walking backwards.

“What does it look like, from your perspective?”

He was thoughtful for a moment. “Like you’re sliding along the ground after me.”

“What if something is in the way?”

Rane thought for a moment, then walked over to her and pulled out a large rock. It was so heavy that he had to use two hands to get it out of his dimensional storage before setting it down in front of her.

“Why do you have that?”

“Thought it might be useful?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, then examined the rock. As she examined it, she noticed that it had interesting striations, and even what appeared to be a few fossils embedded within it. “You thought it looked pretty.”

He shrugged. “I…suppose that’s true too.”

“You found a pretty rock and wanted to keep it.”

He scrunched his face. “Fine. What’s wrong with that? It’s not like other people don’t pick up rocks they find interesting.”

“Most don’t choose boulders.”

He grunted. “So, are you ready?”

Tala grinned but nodded. “Fine by me.”

Rane walked backwards, watching her closely.

As he got far enough that dimensionality began to warp around Tala, she moved her eyes to the rock.

It seemed to flatten before her, becoming thinner and thinner, until…it was gone. She looked behind herself and saw it sitting there, whole and unaffected. “That’s strange…”

“From my perspective, you compressed vertically, for a flickering instant, to move over and past the rock.”

Just like the booklet said. What would it do for a solid wall? Did she really want to experiment when it could just splatter her against the surface? No, the instructions said that it would either bypass any barrier or break the connection until the barrier was removed.

Tala caught up to Rane and took the anchor from him. “Now, let’s try something odd.”

“If you’re sure.”

She went to the far side of the room, anchor in hand, turned, and faced him. “Ready to catch?”

Rane gave her a searching look before hesitantly nodding. “Alright.”

She’d been working on her throwing accuracy under various levels of gravity for days, now. So, she felt reasonably confident when she pitched the anchor towards her companion.

The world warped around her, and she lost her sense of balance, stumbling forward slightly.

“Tala!” Rane caught the anchor, concern evident on his features.

Tala, herself, dropped to one knee, pressing her forehead to the other knee. “Oh… that was rusting terrible. I’d be painting the floor, if I could puke.” Even so, she had enough presence of mind to realize that she was now, indeed, only ten feet from where Rane had been when she tossed the anchor. “Do you think I can acclimatize myself to that?”

Rane sat beside her. “Honestly? If it’s possible, it will be very hard.”

“What if my eyes were closed?”

“Do you feel like it was your vision that caused the nausea?”

“…no…”

“Then that probably won’t help.” He patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.”

There was a balcony for just that purpose off to the side of their large training room, and he led her out, into the steady breeze. He clipped her anchor to her belt as they walked.

The moving, fresh air helped almost immediately.

“Thank you.”

“Happy to assist.”

Tala looked over the railing, down at the couple hundred-foot drop. “What would happen if I dropped the anchor over the side?”

Rane gave her a long look. “You aren’t recovered, are you.”

She thought about it for a long moment. “That’s fair. I still feel…” She rubbed her upper chest and made a face. She felt like she was about to puke, but once again Holly’s inscriptions prevented that. I wonder if I’m going to wear through those at a really inconvenient time…

“How’s Mistress Odera doing?” Rane was clearly trying to change the direction of her thinking.

Tala shrugged. She and Mistress Odera had gotten in the habit of grabbing breakfast together, but Mistress Odera deflected all questions about herself. Tala was left basically recounting what and how she was training if she spoke at all. “She’s…distracted. I’ve gathered that she drops through the Constructionists' every few days.” She snorted a half-laugh. “So, she’s done that twice. But I guess she likes talking with Master Jevin.”

“I don’t blame her. He’s brilliant. I just wish I knew what to ask him.”

“Still nothing from the books?” She knew that he wanted to have a better understanding of things before pestering the Paragon with questions.

Rane growled in irritation. “I’ve got a countdown at least. Apparently, I have three days before my soul has finally settled…”

Tala sighed. “Mine just keep giving me snark.”

He smiled back at her but wisely didn’t comment.

“Let’s go get something to eat, then we can come back and train some more. I’m going a bit crazy.”

“No.”

Tala had already half turned away. “What?”

“I said no.” He was giving her a half smile. “You still haven’t gotten a lock through the wire ball, have you.”

Tala growled this time. “No. It’s ridiculous. It’s a stupid training method.” She knew she sounded petulant, but it was irritating.

“Tell you what: When you can do it, I’ll buy you dinner and take you somewhere fun to celebrate. But you have to try again, now.”

She cocked an eyebrow. She thought through the offer before shrugging. Can’t hurt to try.

She walked back inside, pulling out the first ball in Jevin’s training set.

Thin wire surrounded the wooden ball within the most permeable of the spheres. The wires were coated with something to prevent them from rusting or spreading iron around, and that added a slightly reflective sheen to the metal.

Tala sat down, cross-legged, placing the wire ball in front of her on the floor.

Her left middle-finger pressed into her thumb, and she focused on the wooden ball.

Her attempted lock broke on the iron cage as it tried to settle through it. Just like every time before.

Rane sat across from her. “I’ve watched you try this, off and on, for days now. I think the issue is that you aren’t using one of your greatest assets.”

Tala looked to the Archon, eyebrow cocked. “Do tell.”

“What does your lock look like to your mage-sight?”

“It makes the target glow.”

Rane shook his head. “You’ve described your abilities to me before, and that’s not true. The lock highlights the target for you, that’s not a function of your mage-sight.”

She opened her mouth to object, then stopped. Huh…he’s…he’s right.

Tala frowned, refocusing on her spell-working. Almost absently, she pulled out a bit of jerky and flicked it to the side for Terry, then she drew out a simple notebook, setting it beside the wire ball.

Thumb and middle-finger still pressed together, she focused on the notebook. She pulled as much power from the working’s visualization as she could, while adding power to her mage-sight, causing even the slight magic in the air to become almost painfully bright.

Among the normally faint, swirling lines of power, Tala saw her lock: the magic had the look of a hand, reaching out and grabbing the notebook. As the fist closed, the book began to glow, indicating a successful lock.

“It’s a hand, grabbing onto my target.” And Tala felt a smile tug at her lips. Of course, it was a hand. She grabbed onto her target with her power, then she had the power to manipulate it. What else would it be?

He nodded. “That’s what I’ve seen while watching. So, why? Why is it a hand?”

“I’m taking the target in hand.” She shrugged. It just made sense.

“Could you use a tether? Or something else?”

Tala glanced to her bracers. Their connection to the anchor, currently on her belt, simply looked like a faint line of power, even with her mage-sight enhanced.

“That seems to work well enough, right?”

Tala grimaced. “I suppose so…”

“Your spell-lines don’t require the visualization of a hand. The use of such likely makes it less efficient, honestly. You just don’t need such a complicated construct of will. All you are doing is marking a target.”

She released her lock on the book and focused. All I need to do is mark it. That was true. How would I mark something? She could use a brush to paint a dot. That would be a lot simpler.

In her mind, she imagined stretching out and painting a dot on the book. It made sense. Then, her magic would know what to affect.

She felt herself grinning. Her eyes opened, and she magically reached out to lock onto her notebook once more. She felt a small bit of power leave her, and a small mark blossomed on the book to her mage-sight before the book blossomed with a secondary glow, indicating it as a designated target.

Tala jerked, her left eye twitching violently. “OW!” It felt like someone was driving a spike into her temple. She curled in on herself, taking deep breaths as the agony passed.

When she finally lifted her head, Rane was still sitting across from her, contained concern evident on his face. “Are you alright?”

She knuckled her forehead furiously scratching at an internal itching sensation. “Yeah, that was a deep mental pathway that I just bypassed.”

Rane gave her a sympathetic smile. “I actually had something similar that Master Grediv had to break me of.”

“Oh?” She was somewhat interested, but more, she needed time to collect herself.

“Yeah, I was imagining my defensive scripts pushing me; I was picturing hands imparting the energy. It was slower, less efficient, less precise, and more jarring.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “It took me weeks of work to change my way of thinking, but mainly because I refused to have Master Grediv help. He’d pointed out a flaw, and I wanted to correct it, myself.” His smile faded as he shrugged.

Tala smiled at that, the pain mostly gone. “That sounds so unlike you.”

He snorted. “It is exactly as I was, and unlike how I strive to be, now.” He quirked a half-smile.

“Well, I’m glad I had help.”

“It’s painful, but so long as you don’t fall back in your thinking, you should be fine. I’d recommend practicing your lock as much as possible over the next few days. If I may ask, what did you replace the hand with? I can see a small splash of power, but I don’t know how you enacted it.”

“I imagined marking it with a small paintbrush.”

“That’s a good one. Yeah, I’d recommend focusing on marking your targets, instead of grabbing, or indicating, or…whatever you were conceiving, before.”

“I think it was simpler than that. I used my hand to activate the target process. So….” She shrugged.

Rane grinned. “That would do it. So, don’t do that.”

She snorted another laugh. “Fine.”

She released and retargeted the book a dozen times, and when she was satisfied, she turned her eyes back to the wire ball.

With the practice and the new mental image, it was trivially easy to reach out, her power lancing through one of the gaping holes to mark the wooden ball, within.

“HA!” Tala held her arms up in triumph. “I did it!”

Rane’s eyes snapped open from his meditation, and he gave a seated, smiling bow. “Congratulations, Mistress.”

How long was I working on that? Probably close to twenty minutes. It was kind of him to leave me to it. Tala stood. “You’re right. I want to celebrate, what do you have in mind?”

He stood. “Well, you mentioned missing plays, so I got us two tickets to a show tonight: Hypocratease, a comedy about…well,” he gave a small laugh, “that’s probably pretty obvious.”

“That sounds great.” She hesitated, frowning. “Wait, you said we’d go if I succeeded.”

“I did.”

“But you have tickets for tonight.”

“I do.”

She gave him a long look. After a lingering moment, a smile pulled at the side of her lips. “We have time to get cleaned up and changed?” She gestured his way. “I think the theater would object to your current outfit.”

Rane looked down at his bare chest and mid-thigh shorts. He laughed. “True enough. It’d be like walking in with a bared sword. Meet back here in half an hour?”

“That sounds perfect.”

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