* * * * *
Sasha was in the Golden City speaking at a conference. They had made headway. At first her orders to look into Iumenta crystals were met with a polite tolerance, but not anymore. She hadn’t been the one to make any significant discoveries, but her team, taking her lead, looked into combining known Iumenta techniques with that of the Elves, and they had several successes. It was about six months into the whole experiment when they started seeing results, but a year ago the team had a major breakthrough. They were able to create crystals far more advanced than the ones the Pawdin Empire currently used, and maybe in a few decades they would be able to surpass that of the Iumenta.
Sasha was sitting outside of the hall where she was speaking, taking a break before she had to go in and speak again.
“Long day?” Emma asked.
Sasha smiled at her. She was thankful to have Emma around. “Yes, but good. I’m glad to see the rest of the country take what we are doing seriously. Still, I don’t think we will make any real advancements before the war, but our current crystals are still more powerful.”
“But you’ve made strides and that’s what matters, right?” Emma asked.
“Yes, and I think in the long run it will be helpful. I just wish there was more that we could do to assist our country before…”
Emma rubbed her hand up and down Sasha’s back. “We won’t go to war for awhile still, probably not even another year or two.”
This was true. Even though it appeared as though they were about to go to war, it was far from the case. Legon was due to tour the house fleet that day, but Evindass was far ahead in their preparations than many of the other houses, and the Iumenta still had too many dragons. While Emma wasn’t completely in the loop, Sasha was. From the current stand the optimal time for attack wouldn’t be for a year and a half. However, there was the chance that the Cona Empire would try and attack before they lost their advantage. It was unlikely, but the Great Houses were prepared for it. It would be difficult for the Cona forces to attack the Pawdin border, as it was protected by the Mahj Line, but the Cona Republic was a different story. The Cona Empire had the forces on the border capable of an attack, which put the Cona Republic and House Paldin in the position of making sure the Precipice was able to hold its own. The Cona lands could also be invaded by sea, which put House Insa in the situation of having to be ready to repel a naval invasion without much notice.
Sasha answered Emma’s implied question. “Yes, this is true. The new carriers will be assisting House Insa. They will need a significant magical advantage if they are to stop a possible Impa or Cona naval invasion without the aid of the rest of the Pawdin fleet.”
A mental nudge told her it was time to go back into the conference.
* * * * *
Legon was in the practice arena with Mage. They were working on a technique with the fenna and using a familiar. Legon’s familiar, Bill, was in his fully released form and looked like a lion. Mage’s fox was also released and the same size as Bill. The two sets of combatants circled one another. He felt the magic course out of his body and into the blade as he moved, syncing his mind with that of Bill’s. In this form the familiar had an aggressive edge to him. He wanted to fight and was looking forward to it, but he was also being smart. Bill, in essence, lived in Legon’s mind, therefore he reacted in the same manner Legon did to each situation. Venefica and familiars were forces to be reckoned with when they were in tune with one another, a skill Mage had leaned a millennia ago.
The golden fox barreled forward, rushing Bill, and at the last second he leaped to the side at Legon, who swung his fenna Tento up, deflecting the fox. The cutting spell in the Tento caused the familiar to shift its form, giving Legon a moment to attack Mage, who was warding off Bill. Bill took over the fight with Mage’s familiar, leaving the two class fives to each other. Mage grinned, loving the challenge that Legon posed. Most heads of house, while decent fighters, did not put in the effort that Legon did. As a result he was more skilled than most, even though the other heads had thousands of years on him. Legon did not make it a secret that when the war started he would be in the thick of battle with the rest of his house’s forces. This attitude gained the head of House Evindass many loyal followers throughout the different military units. Mage sent fire at Legon, which he deflected with Tento. He sent a pain spell at Mage, causing a glow of gold magic to form around him. Legon was a biological Venefica, which, while not the most effective in combat, gave him a few choice spells at which he was adept.
Mage jumped back and growled “Binon.” His fenna exploded with a thick cord of golden fire. Legon raised Tento calling “Binon.” A rush of lavender burst from Tento, creating a wall that stopped Mage’s attack. Legon felt the power drain from him as he released Binon. Choosing to attack, he slashed Tento across his body keeping the magic in close to the flame. It made contact with Mage’s fenna with a loud crack like thunder. Legon felt more drained. This was the drawback to being a biologic. While he could heal a large group with Binon or grow something, stopping Mage’s elemental attack required Legon to use either an element or pure power to stop the onslaught.
“Good, Un Prosa, now let’s see if you can stay at Binon for more then one attack.”
* * * * *
Iselin squinted into the sunlight trying to spot him. He was out here, she knew it, but she was having a hard time finding him. Class sevens, while large, were rather proficient at hiding themselves when they wanted to. She wove her way through the misted peaks of the mountains. Above her was the too-bright sun, below her jagged peaks and in between unnatural mist and clouds. The temptation to use magic was overwhelming, but if she did that the game exercise would be over.
Sydin’s voice rang in her mind. “No no Ise, no magic, tisk tisk,” he chided.
She didn’t respond. That also was against the rules. That’s when she saw it—just a glimpse of green and she knew she had him. Iselin caught a thermal and rode it, stalking her prey from on high. Like her, he would be blinded by the glare. His tail slipped through the mist and she saw the hint of a green trail. Magic was energy and energy that people saw when powerful spells were used, but those who were Ascended were more attuned to it; the stronger of Venefica you were, the more you could see. Magic left its mark wherever it was, and if you paid attention, you could see and feel it. This was the point of the exercise, to teach her how to more fully notice magic. An Ascended was magic incarnate, which meant they left a mark on the world. Furthermore, immortals could sense the electrical impulses that living things used. It was weak, but it was there. For a dragon this was more so, but she had to focus on it.
She closed her eyes, letting other senses take over. She was flying as silent as she could using the thermals and the wind as much as possible, but she could still hear Ampus’ wings thudding. It was just trying to pin down the location of the sound that was so difficult in these peaks. She focused, feeling the air and listening so she didn’t smack into the side of a peak. She paid close attention to her sense of impulses and sense of magic. She groped around her until she found it. He was right under her. She folded her wings to her side, going into a dive and opening her eyes. As the mist rushed by her, she felt his magic. When she focused on him it was distinct; she could almost see him in her mind as she felt the impulses going to his muscles. Her wings opened just at the right moment and she glided in behind him. His massive form flew in front of her; he was completely unaware she was there.
“Got ya,” she said to all the minds around her.
Ampus snapped his head back to look behind him and he growled. “What? How did you do that? I was using every concealment spell I knew.” This she had assumed. The rules were different for everyone. In an exercise, each Ascended had something specific they were there to learn. Ampus’ was obviously concealment.
Sydin’s voice rang out. “Very good, Iselin. Ampus, you did well too. It took her a long time to find you. So what did we learn?”
“That magic isn’t everything, and that sometimes it can be a hindrance,” Iselin said, put out. She hated not using magic, but the point was well taken. Ampus had been using powerful concealment spells. These would hide him from most any seeking spell. He was a class seven, and a large one at that. There wouldn’t be any out there more powerful than him. But these were the spells that would get him caught. Had he used passive magic or had he hid the impulses in his muscles and focused on using the terrain, mist and sun, Ise would have never found him.
Ampus and Sydin were quiet as she thought. Sydin was satisfied and Ampus impressed. Sydin spoke, “Iselin is known for being a prodigy with magic, and she is good to a fault in that she relies on it too much. As for you, Ampus, you are large for a class seven and extremely powerful. You don’t use stealth at all, you use your brute strength and your physical size to dominate an opponent. And because of the vast magical power your sheer size affords you, you expect to be protected from a magical attack. Ise, had you used magic, Ampus would have found you and in single combat he would have defeated you. Ampus, she was able to sneak up on you, even though she has nowhere near the magical strength you possess. Had she gotten close enough she could have come right down on your back and killed you with a bite to the base of your neck and head.” This was true. While a class six and seven were closer in magical power than say a class four and five, a class seven was about 20 percent larger in physical size. Most of the time, if a six took down a seven they were either extremely skilled or they had been lucky and killed the seven within the first few moments of a fight.
They made their way back to Seeon, coming in as the sun was setting.
“Would you care to join us tonight, Ampus?” Iselin asked. “Or you Sydin?”
“My wife and I have plans, but thank you Ise,” Sydin said.
“I would love to, thank you,” Ampus replied.
Iselin liked Ampus. They knew each other when they both first Ascended. Ampus was from House Metlum, who specialized in all things metal. Ampus did his house proud. He was an elemental and was adept with working with metals. As they approached the palace Iselin could feel Legon. He was just getting out of the shower after spending much of the afternoon training. He was happy to feel her coming home.
“We have company for dinner, love,” she said.
* * * * *
Legon watched as Iselin and Ampus approached. A few years ago he would have never connected the difference between the size of dragons and their class. Ise came in first, shifting as she landed on the terrace, followed by Ampus. As always, Legon grinned broadly when Ise walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her, feeling like he always did—that he had married up.
“How was your day?” he asked.
Iselin rolled her eyes. “You didn’t marry up.” She kissed him again. “Today was good. I think I got what Sydin’s been harping on about.” Then she turned in Legon’s arms to look at Ampus. “And I beat him,” she said, pointing, “so that always makes for a good day.”
Ampus gave her a look and smiled. “I felt sorry for you, you’ve never beat me before.” He directed his words to Legon. “And we all know how the pink fury gets when she doesn’t have her way,” he said with a wink.
Legon laughed. “Pink fury, I like that. Ouch!” he moved to grab Ise’s hand so she couldn’t pinch him again. “Woman, don’t make me angry,” he said, this time seeing her thought and blocking the pinch.
“Woman, huh? Don’t you mean dragon…”
“Just wrap your arms around her before she tries to change,” Ampus said.
Iselin spun. “You did not just tell him that.”
“What?” Legon asked.
Ampus laughed. “How did you hide that for so long? Legon, this is something most people don’t know about the Ascended—we need a little space to change. If you’re in the way, she can’t shift. It takes a lot of power. That’s why the first time someone changes it can have such drastic effects.”
Iselin could read Legon’s joy and intrigue at his new tactic. She answered his unspoken question. “Do you remember when you changed into an Elf?” He nodded and she went on. “You changed Sasha and Sara when that happened, which seemed odd to us at the time, but it shouldn’t have been. It made sense, really. It was just that human to Elf transformations are so rare that we don’t know much about them. When an Elf or Iumenta ascends for the first time, their magic is raw and powerful. Like you, they can change those who are too close to them, be it with a mental link or physically.” Ise more than had his attention now. “You ascend when you use powerful magic, we know that much.
Most times this does not happen in dire circumstances.
Someone will be training on say the Binon and will push themselves far enough to ascend. Some of us have even felt that we were going to ascend and then focused on making the transformation happen.”
“Ok, I get it, but why doesn’t it affect everyone you’re connected to?”
Ampus answered, his gray eyes knowing. “In the situations Ise talked about, we aren’t as engaged with our significant others. In combat it’s different. There have been cases in which an Elf and their spouse will be fighting in close proximity and fully mentally connected, when one partner will ascend for the first time. The effect can be amazing. Someone who was a non magic user before can become a class five with the possibility to ascend, depending on how powerful their spouse was.”
Legon stopped them there. “What do you mean, how powerful the spouse was?”
Iselin responded. “In all of the cases that we have seen, the most significant changes occurred when a class seven ascends. Their bodies are altered so that the magic classes have actually changed people, and even some with disabilities have been cured. We don’t fully understand it. That being said, never in our documented histories has anyone been that close and connected when a class eight ascends.”