161. To Tame a Mount III

AN: Chapter 3/3

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By morning, Tercius' ankle, torso, and head were as good as new, but the late-night had left a mark on him. Mistress Kalina boosted him with a potion that cleared away the fog of tiredness and then he resumed his training with Lucky at first daylight. He only stopped when sunlight went away, the progress made for the day summed up with a single word.

Monstrous.

The night hours Tercius spent a few hours of his time in Meditation, mostly on devising Energy commands and then making his way through the gateway and into his Anima, where he experimented with giving those commands to a little sphere of Energy. Unlike the previous night, he now made for an early end, but before he did he went for a large Energy harvest and once more found the Core of Mana Touch. His estimates fell a little short, so he didn't end up completely pacifying the Core. Only a little persistent bit of chaos remained a part of the blood crystal pillar at the very center.

That part would have to go. Even a little bit of chaos impeded new skills from forming and gaining a new skill, particularly a useful one, which could mean the difference between life and death. Spending a painful hour or two to make it happen was a trade no one would refuse. Not when it took months or years, and even decades when you got a bit in age. The Magi took fourteen years of age as a point where a human's ability to gain new skills reached its peak and only started to slide downwards from there. Tercius still had a year until then, but he wasn't worried even for later.

As long as he had the Energy of Flu's chains and he could actively control it towards the goal he chose, the decline of skill acquiring speed was not a problem that would significantly impact him. More than that he worried about a potential skill limit of some kind. He never heard of anything like that, but the norm of humans was around ten to twelve skills. They did not need to worry about that. He had twenty-five of them and the number was likely to grow, perhaps even at an exponential rate, as he developed more of his magical skills and came into contact with new spells, enchantments, potions, and experiences.

The fog of his Anima might be vast, but was that the only metric that would matter for new skills? Surely not. He knew that the skills existed physically too, all nestled together inside his channels somehow, and a limit, if it existed, was likely to strike there…

It would be preferable if he started researching the option of skill removal ahead of time and even better if he had a solution before he actually needed it. He actually already had something in mind. The Magi had a procedure called “Stripping”, where their worst criminals were stripped of their channels and therefore their mana. Without mana, skills and spells were impossible even with Energy. Essentially a person on whom “Stripping” was performed became your normal person from Earth.

A skill removal like the one he sought could end up being something as simple as a more precise application of “Stripping”. It was something to explore.

Tiny potential problems that the future could hold floated around Tercius’ head all the time, and he always took a little bit of time to make sure he remembered the ones that he could actually see happening.

*** ***** ***

A new day arrived and Mistress Kalina had a new exercise for him and Lucky.

"You've done well so far— both of you did. That is why it's time you move to the next part of the training. As you well know, mountain sheep are adept climbers. Moving up and down these steep, rugged cliffs was part of their daily life since they were born and it will remain so to the day they die. Now, Tercius, you must make it a part of your life. Then, you two must find a way to do it together. Lucky must get accustomed to jumping with your weight on top of his, and you must get accustomed not to change the center of mass for the both of you. A single error—” Mistress Kalina raised a finger and pointed down the cliffs. Tercius looked down and swallowed. That was a long way to go.

"—and both of you will likely die. Do it right and this will be an excellent way to escape most land-bound predators found in those mountains. Now, mount that ram, and down you go."

Tercius stood still for a moment. Was she joking? It sounded like a joke. She had to be… She didn’t seem to be, though. She wouldn’t have taken them here if she was joking, would she?

Mistress Kalina clapped her hands. “Well? Why the hesitation? Oh… If falling is what’s making you hesitant, Tercius, then you can rest at ease. I will be right there to catch you when you do fall… If you’re observant, you might even see a trick or two of how to use telekinesis to properly catch someone or something who is falling, without doing any damage…”

Tercius perked up at that. His telekinetic skill was powerful and versatile, which was a result of the way he created the skill. Control over it, however, was intentionally left entirely up to him. A clever application of the skill was far better than a brute one, and learning how to better use his skill would only make things easier for him. Besides, if Mistress Kalina said that she would catch them if they were to fall… Well, he believed her. Besides, he better be practical about this. This was an excellent opportunity to try otherwise deadly maneuvers, so he might as well milk it for all its worth.

Tercius nodded to his Mentor, acting far more confident than he was, then he turned and marched towards Lucky.

Lucky, the insatiable beast, was ripping grass and feeding it all into its endless stomachs when Tercius approached it. Tercius laid a palm on Lucky’s side and a tendril of Teaching extended itself towards his student. Lucky’s ears twitched and his head turned slightly Tercius’ way, a single rectangular iris observing.

“I don’t know if you’ve had the same experience, Lucky, but mine taught me that generally good and hard work is always rewarded… with even more work,” Tercius shook his head and patted the beast’s side. “You’ve worked hard enough and now you can have your reward.”

Tercius raised a leg and a small swirl of telekinetic force solidified into a small white step right below his leather boot. He pushed himself off the platform, the other leg flying over Lucky’s back. Lucky bleated in protest as Tercius made himself comfortable on the beast’s back. Tercius ignored the bleats as he visualized what his telekinetic force should do, while also making sure to follow the contours of his and Lucky’s body. A glowing white blanket started forming as more and more of his mana was transformed into pure telekinetic force. The expenditure was minimal, however. A fully formed blanket then started inflating itself and raising Tercius away from Lucky’s form, slowly ballooning out into the shape of the saddle that Tercius envisioned. Two foot-holders, or whatever they were called, ran down Lucky’s sides, giving Tercius additional hold and security.

A glowing cord was formed between Tercius’ hands and the ends grew until they tied themselves around Lucky’s curled horns.

Although the cord itself made up only a fraction of the telekinetic force that he maintained, it was more cost-intensive in terms of mana than the saddle, especially the tail ends that were the furthest from him. Still, the entire cost of maintenance was lower than the rate his mana regenerated. He could use the saddle and the reins till the end of times, should it remain pristine and undamaged.

Tercius pulled the reins, tugging on the left horn, and Lucky obliged quickly. Through the link, he could feel that Lucky was already salivating with the idea of getting salt and his berries…

Tercius shook his head. How would he ever motivate this beast without Mistress Kalina’s help? “You’ll get your treats… after the work is over,”

Tercius guided Lucky to the edge of the cliff, where Mistress Kalina waited. There, the beast halted. Tercius’ gave a squeeze to Lucky’s sides with his legs, motioning the beast to go ahead. Lucky bleated back and struck the rock with his hooved feet.

“Well?”

“He won’t go ahead, not with me on his back…” Tercius said.

The opposition in Lucky was rock solid. There was no way that he would get the beast to move down the cliffside. Lucky knew instinctively that he was too heavy to jump across in the way he was used to.

“Then… you know what is to be done…”

Tercius’ jaw worked, his teeth grinding, but then he nodded. It had to be done. “Do it, Mistress,”

A jowl came directly behind them and Lucky sprang forward. For a moment they rose and then they fell. A crash rushed through Tercius as Lucky's hooved feet found purchase on a small ledge, but then the beast jumped again. Lucky made split-second decisions about their movement route, riding on a wave of fear and a need for survival. From ledge to ledge, the momentum carried them forwards. Sweat covered Tercius. Each breath was a struggle as he jolted in his saddle, his spine more wet noodle than bone. He knew that most of the reaction of each impact was absorbed by the bouncy telekinetic construct. How the hell would he manage this when he had the regular leather-made saddle?

Everything happened so quickly. One moment he looked at a cliffside, the next the stone was already to his left, and then he was weightless. His body expected the next impact to come, but it didn't. He kept feeling weightless. The little fuzz of dark hair on his head all pointed upwards, carried by the airstream, the pleasant sensation sending a shiver down his noodle-spine. Lucky was twisting and bleating, already anticipating an end. Tercius' eyes went wide as his jaw clenched. The rocks below were rushing at him and Lucky. A few moments and… Where the fuck was Mistress Kalina?

Then he felt something envelop him like a blanket. Small movements ran across his legs, arms, and torso and the sharp rocks that were less than a dozen meters away remained at that distance.

Mistress Kalina flew to their side, her arms and hands glowing with a greenish light.

Tercius was hyperventilating and Lucky’s legs were twitching as if trying to find the solid ground that stopped them. He would find none. The ground and the rocks were still a while away.

Tercius' clothes were stuck to him, glued by sweat that wasn't there moments ago. A drum was still pounding away in his ears and his head had never been heavier. His knees were quivering and his hands were shaking. That… all of that… was… shit. He did it once and it was already one time too many.

“Your first try went… well enough,” Mistress Kalina hovered near them, both her hands behind her back, as she made her inspection. With her slight build and the long gray robe of the Magi that almost reached to her ankles, she didn’t seem like a drill sergeant from hell, but looks were often deceiving. What did she say? First try? Then it all came to him. Shit…

That was the coldest of showers that he had ever had. Maybe cliff scaling on the back of a giant ram was better left avoided… He could do it on his own. With Stone Shaping, he could ascend or descend rocky cliff sides as if he was using a ladder.

Tercius shook his head and winced as his vision went dark for a moment. He might manage on his own, but Lucky wasn’t only there for him. Training Lucky was more for Rona and Septimus. Not to mention that Lucky would also allow him to carry a lot more with him than if he just had his backpack.

But he couldn’t fall again… he just… he couldn’t do that again, not to himself, not to Lucky…

"Let's go back and take a small break," Mistress Kalina waved a hand and they flew back up, at the top of the gods-damned cliff. "By the way, did you see how I used my telekinesis?"

Tercius sighed. “No Mistress…”

*** ***** ***

Darkness fell on the day and Tercius and Mistress Kalina prepared to rest. His entire body was sore and he felt as if he could fall asleep at any moment, but then Mistress Kalina broached an offer which Tercius turned down.

The discussion that woke him started there.

“I think that we, Lucky and I, are ready,”

“I wouldn’t call you ready, Tercius…” Mistress Kalina said, the voice coming from behind the wooden partition. “Not even close to ready… But I do have to admit that you both seem to have acquired the basics of the basics… Perhaps another two or three days to develop and then—”

Tercius shook his head. “The basics are enough. Lucky and I will just have to manage the rest on our own. And… if you won’t take me there, then the two of us will just go on our way west.”

“And lose even more time than what I ask for?”

Tercius shifted in his cot. “Mistress, I just…”

"My guidance here will save you days out there. Think about it. What if you encounter a predator and Lucky gets spooked? He could easily take off course. Besides, the work of Mistress Prime is exemplary. Remember, she said two weeks of perfect working conditions at the minimum. The seal could work perfectly for another few days and even after it starts to fall apart you will have a few days…”

Tercius frowned. It was all perfectly reasonable and if this was any other situation, he would take the offer immediately…

Mistress Kalina advanced, likely sensing weakness in his non-response. “I promised your mother that you will be in my care. That I will watch over you. Since things have turned out as they did, the least I can do is prepare you to the best of my abilities. Give me three days. Just three more days so that I can whip you and the beast into shape and then you can go.”

Tercius stayed silent, his unblinking eyes looking at the dark tent canvas above him. Pulling up the Petra card was a fine move, if intentional. Tercius almost scoffed at himself. Well of course it was intentional. Magi spent decades learning how to avoid accidents. All actions made and words spoken by a Magos should always be intentional to the largest degree possible.

Tercius clenched his jaws. Three days. Three more days lost…

“Think of Seliana, Tercius. She will be in trouble should you fail to return in time for the start of classes. Give me three days now and I will arrange something for her.”

Tercius’ mouth fell open. He had completely forgotten about Seliana! She was the one who had taken him from the Academy and she would be responsible if he failed to return. Maybe even criminally charged… “I…”

Mistress Kalina coughed. “Let me revoke that. I got a little bit… carried away. I will help Seliana regardless of you and your choice, know that.”

Tercius sighed. “Thank you, Mistress,”

“How about if I ask Mistress Prime to make us a visit and retouch the seal after we finish? Since the medium is already present, the actual work will take less than a minute, and then you will have your fourteen days again…”

“Truly?” One dark eyebrow of his went up. “And… I don’t mean any offense, Mistress, but I have to ask. What will Mistress Prime require in return now?”

Mistress Kalina’s voice went dark. “What they… what we asked of you… Helping you now is the same as helping ourselves, Tercius. Even should she ask for something, which I highly doubt, I will shoulder the cost,”

Tercius’ eyes narrowed at the runes of the canvas, as he gave the offer some more thought. Reasonable and tempting… the worst kind of offer. It might give him a chance to see it being done.

“Deal.”

Tercius' felt sick. Day after day, he kept postponing, and Rona…

*** ***** ***

Three days went by.

During the day, Mistress Kalina gave both Tercius and Lucky hell, but they both advanced. Lucky got accustomed to going up and down cliffs with Tercius on his back and the frequency of falls went from seventeen, the record achieved on the first day of cliff scaling, to three, on the fourth day of cliff scaling.

Tercius even got a level in Spring of Crystal Thoughts during the lessons on how to use telekinesis to catch fast-moving objects without damaging them. The way Mistress Kalina showed him was all about making an extremely elastic type of telekinesis, one that wouldn't stop the object in its tracks like the normal one but rather first work on reducing the speed of the moving object to a null and only then taking command of it.

During the night, Tercius relaxed by experimenting with Energy. His list of commands grew in size and he refined each one over and over again. Real sleep was scarce.

As the end of the third day of extension approached, and Tercius and Mistress Kalina were packing their things to go, Mistress Prime walked into the tent.

Skin pale and unblemished, long waves of chestnut hair, blue glacial eyes, and a massive smile that couldn't be seen as anything else but genuine… No matter how much Tercius tried, some part of him just didn't see Mistress Prime as nearly millennia old. Where was the scowl of ages? A bitter frown perhaps? A placid face, like Perdinar's, at the very least? Someone of that age shouldn't look… perky. It just made him think that she was acting it all out for… some reason. If she was then she was the best actress that ever lived, and if she wasn't…

“Well, well, well…” Mistress Prime’era smiled a wide smile. “We meet again, and earlier than I thought we would…”

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AN: I'm back and with gifts for the New Year!