Draith
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Chapter 83 - B1 Epilogue
🕑 Added 2025-04-22 14:00:10 +0000 UTCAuthor's note:
Reminder, no chapters for two days, then back into book 2 at the same schedule of a chappie/day.
...Mage Lord Isekai...
When the day breaks on a new dawn, there are always those ready to take advantage. Even more take it as a sign to give up on their futile attempts to escape responsibility.
Such simple truths applied even to those at the top.
Such were High Shaper Thozgar’s thoughts as he swirled his drink, staring out over his city. Spellford had been wracked by far too many disruptions over the last month. Bladesingers and their ridiculous Final Refrain, food riots in the lower holds, the Great Storm throwing more storms than it had in half a millennia.
None were particularly significant on their own, not to a dragon-souled. But that they happened at all in his city spoke of darker things. Thozgar wasn’t like most High Shapers, negligent of those under his protection. Investigations after the riots revealed that someone had been sabotaging him. Someone with power comparable to his own. It was the only reason he could see that his spells had failed to inform him how bad the lower levels had gotten.
The same could be said of the blade-singers.
There was someone working against him.
He took a single sip from his chalice, his eyes playing over the reports. Not only him. The violence across Terra Vista spoke of a concerted effort. Despite entire teams of Peak Pegasus-souled Shapers scrying the realm, even more agents on the ground, and the unexpected support of the Risen Council, he hadn’t been able to find out who, but the evidence was piling up. It wasn’t the typical powers either. Sure, they’d all taken advantage of the situation, but that was how he could tell this was someone new.
Another report sat on his desk. Another new factor. One much closer than the rest. Given the recent upheaval shaking Terra Vista to its foundations, some might overlook a mere Astral-soul showing up. Shazgor knew better.
The report was surprisingly positive regarding the young Magus Dominus. That was to say, it only had three pages of obvious flaws that they could move to exploit. Surprisingly few, considering the sudden influx of refugees Thozgar had sponsored in an attempt to get them away from the worst of the fighting.
He’d anticipated demands for food or other concessions, yet the Magus Dominus had simply accepted his people, and then, even more surprisingly, provided for them.
Wiser than Shozgar had foreseen, or a bigger heart. Either was good. Both would be… refreshing.
That the Vox Knights had already involved themselves was somewhat vexing. They had been a thorn in his side since their matriarch had ascended to the Kinya Path’s equivalent of Dragon-souled. Not that they were hostile. Simply… more mercurial that Thozgar preferred. At least they’d first emerged as antagonists. And the young Magus hadn’t been slain in the attack. It would’ve been nice to know what had prompted the unusual behavior from the dead Shaper, but the recent influx of tier three heartwood might prove answer enough.
A veritable fortune of such a rare material.
None of it sat right with Thozgar, who swirled his drink once more, taking another sip. If he’d missed the conditions leading up to the food riots, who knew what else had changed under his watch.
He tapped the edge of his chalice as he looked out over the city. He knew better than to think what happened to the young Magus wouldn’t affect him. Especially with so many filtering through Spellford as they attempted to escape the growing conflict in the heart of Terra Vista.
“Even more, now that the airlanes are under siege,” Thozgar murmured, his eyes watching another water ship launch from the mid-docks. Then his attention shifted back to the map of the country he’d helped found. With a heavy heart, he threw back the last of the amber liquid in his cup before pushing to his feet. His break was over.
It was time Spellford’s most powerful djinn-souled reminded the world what happened when they messed with his city.
...MLI...
As the storm swept across her domain, Nexxa silently cursed to herself.
She’d been a fool. Of course the Jade Enclave had followed her. The new Magus Superior hadn’t been happy with her questions. Especially when she’d started digging into his history. Why would he simply allow her to leave? She’d put Perry in danger just with her presence.
Even moreso with her reckless casting.
Nexxa looked down at the body now lying at her feet. The Captain would be taking it downriver, returning it to the Enclave. It would serve as a reminder that she wasn’t a typical Pegasus-souled. She clenched her hand into a fist, sparks racing across it. Already, she was nearing the Peak. Only one more slot.
With a twist of her hand, Nexxa began wrapping the body, using Bloom to weave thick planks out of woven fiber. The sisters would use the body in the creation of their trademark cloaks, Nexxa had no doubt. But it should keep them from bothering her for a time. The Magus Superior couldn’t have that many agents in the Frigid Peaks. The thought reminded her of the realization she’d had while sitting with her brother in the forest. It bothered her that she hadn’t even considered that the sudden change in her Magus Superior’s attitude might be related to a failed soul ritual.
That the reason he’d chased her out was because…
The Enclave was supposed to police those very rituals.
Still, now that Nexxa had more time to think, she suspected it wasn’t the only time it’d happened. Nearly a decade ago, their eldest brother Barreth had changed practically overnight. While she didn’t interact with the main branch of her family that often, the rumors had spread quickly among the servants. The once kind master had turned cold and distant. He’d also gone from low Astral-souled to Pegasus practically overnight. His growth hadn’t seemed as absurd as Perry’s but Barreth had been nearly fifty. She’d assumed that he’d simply been hiding his true progress, but Nexxa was now doubting that interpretation.
With the body entombed in its thick fibrous coffin, Nexxa shifted her attention to the nearby hunk of stone that was her pillar.
While she’d had to cut it short, her visit had granted her an unexpected boon. She flew to her beacon laying her hand on it. As she’d hoped, it sucked out her mana, though it stopped after only draining her halfway. It flickered for a second, only showing the original display of the mana flows. Right as she was about to remove her hand, the projection shifted, displaying the improved map she’d unlocked when she was with her brother. It was everything she’d thought it was. Little tags that marked mineral resources and their concentrations, red lines indicating the paths of hostile mana-beasts that crossed through her territory, and even blue waves that indicated her domain’s historical rainfall.
Not that the records of the last were very extensive, since none of the records went past the installation of the beacon.
She narrowed her eyes at the mana-beast trails. Another wave had come in from the northwest. There weren’t any Magus Domini that direction, so she knew there’d be some migration as she eliminated the old monsters, but she hadn’t expected so many to replace them so soon. It was good she’d upgraded her beacon, or she would’ve assumed the area was safe.
Such an incredibly powerful tool, and all uncovered thanks to her brother’s curiosity.
Nexxa felt guilty about her… brother. If what Perry had said was true, then the Perry she’d known as a child was, if not gone, reduced.
His memories were still clearly there. And she’d done enough studying of soul magic in her time with the Jade Enclave to know that it was never as simple as one soul consuming the other. They’d merged into something more.
Still, the foolish jerk she’d known as her little Per Per was gone.
And the worst part…
The worst part was that… Nexxa preferred this new version of her brother.
She wasn’t sure if that made her an awful sister, but she knew that she owed Perry a proper apology. And maybe a little gift to make up for accidentally blasting him with lightning.
After all, what’s a little light electrocution between siblings?
Yeah. She’d get right on that.
Right as soon as the next storm rolled in.
...MLI...
A spark arced in an empty chamber buried beneath the ocean, ignited by the flare of mana from a nearby Waygate’s faulty opening.
Except it wasn’t empty, not truly.
It was true there was no living soul within. No living soul had been in the chamber for three years.
The room itself wasn’t empty. It was full of arcane equipment advanced enough to make a Dragon-souled jealous. An entire room full of relics from an age so buried in time, only fragments remained.
A massive hexagonal stone ziggurat stood at the center, with arcane writing flickering across the lower tiers of its surface. On the lowest level, sat six massive stone sarcophagi. On the tier above them were other devices. An upright cabinet shaped vaguely in the human form with hundreds of narrow spikes. A series of thin but rigid loops of metal.
All of these existed for a single purpose.
Ascension.
To leave behind the frailties of mortal flesh. To reforge a being into something… greater.
This was the Golden Hall of Ascension.
The sole remaining hall in all of Ro’an.
In a language not used in thousands of years a message flickered across a fractured stone tablet.
“Initial Subject Supplementation Procedure Failed. Cause: Mana Overload.”
Then another, as the ancient machinery spun to life.
“Checking Soul Viability. Initiating Bathen Soul Diagnosis in 3… 2… 1…”
A scream could be heard from within one of the six stone sarcophagi spaced evenly around the hexagonal ziggurat that dominated the room. A scream of the damned. One who had been frozen in the final moments of their death, only to be violently reawakened, only to die once more.
“Soul integrity remains within acceptable parameters. Flushing corrupted mana.”
The scream cut out as suddenly as it started as the withered figure inside the sarcophagus collapsed inward, the body curling into a ball.
“Mana Channels Damaged. Body Transfer recommended.”
For an entire day, the message remained on the fragmented stone tablet. Then a new message appeared.
“No input detected. Emergency Protocol, ‘Can’t let you go, darling,’ activated. Body Transfer initiated.”
Once more screams filled the chamber. They lasted for seven long days before mercifully stopping, the body they belonged to reduced to little more than ash. Then even the ash was gone.
“Body successfully purged. Initiating Body Transfer.”
A flicker of light inside the empty sarcophagus heralded another message.
“Warning! Previous Body Template corrupted. Soul stability below minimum scanning threshold. Searching for viable Body Template. Compatible Template found. Initiating Reconstruction.”
Once more, light flickered inside the empty sarcophagus, a body of granite slowly taking shape.
“Estimated time to completion based on ambient mana levels… processing.”
Slowly the devices around the sarcophagus flickered to life, each one with their role to play in the coming years.
On a nearby table, a journal lay open, the sole entry plain for anyone to read.
It is time. Every factor has been measured, every contingency accounted for. The child has somehow found a way into my mountain sanctum, but even she will not be able to harass me here.
Not unless she learns to breath underwater.
While the child continues to vex me, that she survives intact while using structured mana proves that the awakening process is stable. While it is tempting to continue this avenue of research, I find myself out of time. Perhaps it is for the best. The loss of so many test subjects was getting both expensive and tedious. If I had not faked my death decades ago, my repayments to Althon would’ve prohibited such expenditures.
Still, now that I stand on the precipice, I find myself hesitating. While I have readied myself to for this final transformation, I cannot help but grieve for the world as I deprive it of my genetic superiority.
If not for this horrid curse, my lineage would be one to shake the very Pillars of Ro’an. If not for this curse, Sadhe might still be alive…
It is is of no matter.
In a few short weeks, I will no longer be Magus Dominus Arthe Balthum. I will be more.
“Time to completion: three orbital cycles.”
Comments
Draith
It's only been implied so far, specifically with the stories about Althon only interfering when things get bad, but he doesn't interfere much in his local domains, never mind actually visit Balthum/Perry's domain. I should also add something about scrying interference at long range
Draith
Didn't occur to me that the linebreaks I had in Scrivener wouldn't transfer over. They've been added now. Sorry about that.
Julkur
I'm a bit confused by the last épilogue. Was Balthum the last Magus of Perry's Domain? How can he have faked his death decades ago and still know Bevel? Or is he connected to the Way Between and knows about her living there?
Jason Hardman
Yeah, the perspective shifts were confusing. Some breaks definitely needed. Even a few extra blank lines could work.
Alexander Belousov
Small suggestion. Your Epilogue contains several different points of view. How about putting some sort of dividing line between them. Does not have to be anything fancy. Just a line of dashes or something. SOMETHING to indicate that the point of view is changing. Without it, things are a bit jarring, since there is no indication of a changing point of view.
Julkur
Thanks for the epilogues and the great story. Just in time for the end of my Patreoning :) I'll be back in some months to binge again. Miniscule edit advice: perhaps you could split the different POVs with a line of *** or - - - - It was a confusing when it changes to another part. As I've expected 2 epilogues in this chapter, I thought that Nexxa was sitting atop of the chamber of Ascension.
