DD5 ~ Chapter 3!

While it had been interesting to see the effect of a top tier Mana type interacting with lower types, it was a huge power investment. I couldn’t make those and still expect to have enough strength to work on other issues. So, once again I was banging my metaphorical head against a wall trying to think of something I could use to enhance all future Elementals. <Think, Cal! Think! Something in there… the solution is on the tip of my Core!>

I decided to review what I had already tested. Super-powered Mana types created powerful creatures, and in fact the ‘Love’ Elemental had been able to impact the others, drawing them in and making them fight like a… taunt Rune… no. Would it be that easy? I created a Core that would be used to contain some form of nature Elemental that should be mostly stone. Before I poured in Mana, I created a spider web of actual taunt Runes on the surface of the Core. Then I poured in Mana and let the Elemental form, releasing it into the main pit area.

There didn’t seem to be much happening, but as the new Elemental joined in the war to get stronger, it naturally released a wave of Mana to empower its self-formed body. The stone cracked, and some form of a shockwave rolled off of it. Any being within range of the force turned and assaulted the new creation. They had been taunted! I watched raptly as the taunting Elemental fought, and the creatures it fought were attacked from behind by non-taunted versions. It was a thing of beauty!

The original Elemental was brought down, and its taunt Rune with it. I watched, wondering if the Rune would somehow transfer to the Elemental that had eaten it. The Rune didn’t appear on its Core, but since the Rune was so difficult to damage, it did appear on its body! Soon after that, the Rune reactivated and the process started all over again. Finally, a path forward for these creatures! I got to work, enhancing new iterations of Elemental with various Runes. I tried to be creative with what I gave them, as the results were fun to watch. I had lots to do, but decided I needed a fun break like this. I’d get back to being serious another time.

~ Dale ~

After moving away from the council hall full of frustration over being mostly ignored, Dale decided that it was time to see what all had changed about himself. Case in point, he was walking along; but every tent he passed was collapsing in the sudden wind his movement created. He went over to the training area in the academy to test himself and try to learn how to control the issues he was creating. 

Dale stood in the earth-focused area, staring at his target dummy a few dozen feet away. He focused on his earth-shattering technique and released a line of Mana. The target and the ground between Dale and the target detonated into a curtain of slowly falling dust. Dale himself had been thrown away from his position, and found himself embedded in the wall that surrounded this training area. “Well. That didn’t work at all. It didn’t hurt though…?”

“Yoo-hoo. Hello there, young man.” Headmaster Artorian walked up to Dale, offering him a hand. As he waited a moment, a rush of wind made Dale’s damaged clothes flap. Only then did Dale realize that Artorian had been moving at high speed, and that this was the first time he had been able to track a Mage moving at that speed. Not only that, but it hadn’t seemed fast or irregular. “Need a hand? We can learn together!”

“That would be a huge help.” Dale took the proffered hand and pulled himself out of the wall. “Why is this so hard?”

“Mmm. A couple things you likely haven’t realized about yourself.” Artorian took a cleansing breath and showed a bright smile. “You aren’t really human anymore, are you?”

“W-what?” Dale took a step backward out of pure shock.

“You’ve left your human flesh behind.” Artorian sat down on the stone floor and motioned for Dale to do the same. “You still have a body, obviously, and Mages have been through extensive tests in the past to show that everything functions the same. But a human can’t do what we do. A Mage is someone that has a higher energetic tissue, everything is there, but you are made of Mana made flesh.” 

Artorian motioned toward the still settling area Dale had launched an attack into. “As you recently found out, you also have far greater power than you are used to. Do you know what the single greatest threat to a Mage is?”

“I don’t.”

“Burnout.” The Sunlight Mage chuckled at Dale’s sour expression. “Oh, I’m serious. Let me ask, did you mean to detonate the entire yard? Collapse the entire tent-housing district? Are you interested in having conversations with people at a regular speed, walking with someone? Mages don’t need to learn how to empower things, they need to be able to reign in their Mana expenditure. You - especially you - have access to a high-tiered Mana, I can feel it from here. You don’t generate Mana, you channel it. If you can’t control it, your Mana will destroy you far before an enemy will.”

“You mean I’m using Mana to move?” Dale gained a sour expression as he thought about that. It was obvious in retrospect, but ever since gaining Mana he had slowly been becoming faster and stronger. His normal interactions were starting to suffer.

“Oh, yes indeed.” Artorian waved at the freshly plowed yard and chuckled. “You know why it is so important to refine techniques? Get very good at them? It is because as a Mage, any flaw in the technique is patched by Mana. Crafters that work with Runes can make nearly anything work as they want it with enough power investment. Our bags of holding? Yup, those are either made by people that are able to channel so much Mana that they force it to do what they want, or by people that really know what they are doing.”

“How do I start moving at a normal speed, then?” Dale had been in a few situations already where his actions had been out of the norm and he simply hadn’t realized until now.

“That comes back to Aura control, typically learned and studied for years in the C-ranks.” Artorian’s smile was now wry. “You need to restrict the amount of Mana flowing to through your body, especially your nerves and muscles. Too much to your nerves, and you will try to walk faster than your muscles can react. Too much to your muscles, and you will crash into walls and the like before you realize you’re moving. It’s fun.”

“So, I’m sitting at full power to both right now, I assume?” Dale’s question only got a nod in response. “Alright. Aura. I’m really good at aura.”

Dale focused on his Mana, and felt it permeating his body. It was perfectly balanced, and the flow was strong and consistent. It really and truly felt like a crime against his hard work to this point to try to tone it down. He started putting limits on himself, and when he felt that it was correct, he started walking. Trying to walk. His foot jerked forward and he perfectly did the splits before falling on his side.

“Ha!” Artorian slapped himself on the knee and tried to calm himself. “Oh, it’s so hard to believe that I did the exact same thing only a few days ago! No wonder so many people were offering to help me out!”

Dale had lost control of his limits, and was once again able to get to his feet. The downside was that he was moving at Mage-speed. He tried to limit himself once more, and this time found himself half buried in stone with Artorian working to pull him out.

“Good, yes, now you need to find a nice balance between those two!” Artorian poked and prodded at Dale for roughly an hour longer before the young Mage was able to walk around normally. “Excellent progress! Now, keep yourself limited like that forever and in every situation that is non-combat! And try to do it without scowling or looking constipated. You are currently alternating between the two.”

Dale stared hard at the Man teasing him, his eyebrow twitching. “Right. Thanks.”

It took some time to find a way to maintain his concentration without inhibiting his movement, but soon the two of them walked at a normal human speed back to the church, where a meeting was scheduled to take place that evening. On their way, Dale saw Hans and Rose walking in the same direction and called out to them. Hans turned, and upon seeing Dale ran and jumped into his arms. “Dale! You came to rescue me!”

Dale dropped him onto the ground and stepped on him on his way to give Rose a hug. He was extra careful to maintain his control, as he didn’t want to crush her. “Rose, so good to see you! How is the married life, and I also would like to know what you were thinking!”

Rose blushed and laughed. “Married life. Yeah, um, surprisingly good. Turns out that Hans is mostly insecurity wrapped in vanity. When you can get through to him and make him seriously talk and think, he is skilled, knowledgeable, and genuinely caring.”

“I was once a feared assassin!” Hans called from the ground, where he was waving his arms and legs to make a dirt angel. “I used to command fear and respect!”

“Get off the ground, I just got you those clothes!” Rose demanded with a finger snap. Hans got to his feet and grumbled good-naturedly, smiling lovingly at her until she looked away. Then he stuck his tongue out and winked at Dale. “Do you know how disgusting his leathers had gotten? I honestly think he may not have taken them off since you commissioned them.”

“They’re lined with Mithril!” Hans protested heatedly. “I’d rather not take a bath than take an arrow!”

“And we compromised, didn’t we?” Rose responded archly. “You took a bath in a locked stone room, and now you’re wearing normal clothes while those others are cleaned and get a cleaning enchantment added to them.”

“I feel naked.” Hans grumbled as they continued walking.

“Be good, and maybe that can happen.” Rose’s words shifted his attitude dramatically, making Dale and Artorian laugh. “Dale, I think that we really do make a good couple. We have complementary strengths, we have different interests, but enough in common that we enjoy being together and always have something to talk about. We both found someone who is completely different than we are, but we work well together. It’s surprisingly good.”

“We get it, you’re shocked.” Hans sniffed with his nose in the air. “No need to be mean about it. Really twisting the knife over there.”

Before the banter could continue, they opened the door to the church and found that the meeting was already in full swing. The Master was standing in front of the crowd, and nodded at Dale as he took his seat. “As I was saying, I think that we have determined a solution to the issue at hand. I’m sure there is a conversation that we are going to need to have, but I really think that this is the option most likely to allow us to survive.”

“Spit it out already, Dark One.” An Amazon called from the crowd, making The Master frown, and Queen Brianna lock eyes with the offensive person.

“There is an option that we have been overlooking. We worked together to create a portal that would be capable of redirecting the Runes that had been pulling on the moon. I have discussed with the Portal Mages, and it could be repurposed. We have enough time, perhaps, to link the portal to a being. If we could find a soul-space large enough, we could fit our entire populations into a safe location. Then, so long as that being survived, we could return when the world has stabilized.”

“Impossible!” A Spotter called from the front row, his contemporaries nodding along at his words. “There is no one with a soul space so large, and the age of darkness and ice that will occur if the planet is not outright destroyed will last potentially millennia!”

“We already have that sorted out.” The Master informed them, bringing silence to the area once more. “We just need to ask permission.”