ImmovableMage
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137 Time to Shine
🕑 Added 2023-05-20 00:02:01 +0000 UTC– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 217, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 29 –
[So we can use this to coordinate?] Terry focused on the communication talisman while following the soldiers back to his cell. [And you created it just like that? With that belt?]
[Are you already impressed with how amazing I am?] The boisterous voice of Rafael replied in Terry’s mind. [That’s right, your granddaddy is amazing.]
“My what?” Terry was having second thoughts about his new alliance. Something about this felan character was strange.
[One reason I’m looking for an alliance is that I can’t afford to lose the belt.] Rafael’s voice sounded more sincere all of a sudden. [Which is not that easy if I ever want to get out of this place.]
That statement piqued Terry’s interest. The contestants that joined the Proving Grounds on their own volition could normally drop out after a battle day if they so wished. They were entitled to do so.
If, however, the contestants had entered an alliance, then they could only drop out as an alliance and this required that all the alliance members were entitled to leave.
Of course, there were special cases like Terry. People that have joined voluntarily on paper, but that were more or less forced to do so because of the consequences of leaving the coliseum before earning recognition.
Over time, Terry had figured out that there were several contestants that seemed to be afraid of Thanatos blood debts or of other parties coming for them. When Terry’s thoughts reached this point, he recalled the incidents with the vengeful contestant from the Circle of the Bright Lady and then later with the Blazing Sun Sect..
Active bounties on my head.
Channelers with a grudge.
Blood debts in Thanatos.
And now an insane martial sect on top.
Great.
Just great. Terry held his forehead while walking and sighed. When did I become so popular? I almost miss the time when the only ones that wanted a piece of me were the ghouly Alricks.
[Hello? You still there?] The voice of Rafael arrived in Terry’s mind.
Terry regathered his thoughts to get back to the topic that had caught his interest. There was another group of contestants that could not leave the Proving Grounds at their own discretion. [Are you a convict? Sentenced to the Proving Grounds?]
[Convict sounds so sinister.] Rafael sounded playful. [I prefer to think of myself as an entrepreneur with a momentary lack of fortune.] An oddly hollow chuckle. [And I have not been so much sentenced to the Proving Grounds as I thought it would be an absolute crime to not let the people bask in my glorious presence.]
[Uh-huh, but you still want to leave? Did I get that right?] Terry interrupted with his own thought transmission.
[Naturally, I am a busy person.] Rafael replied with no trace of shame. [No matter how much the audience is craving for my antics, I can’t just withhold myself from the outside world forever.]
Terry took a deep breath. [You do realize that an alliance would mean neither of us can leave until both of us can?]
[Sure thing, but even if there is a slight mismatch in the required wins, we can still increase our streaks and collect more privileges.] Rafael sounded completely sure of himself. [Alternating the wins between us until the topic actually becomes relevant. If you want out before me, I can simply exchange my streak for privileges and then surrender without losing anything and with new privileges under my belt. Besides…]
Rafael’s voice took on a mischievous tone. [There are more things to be gained. I find myself at a distinct lack of tradeable items after a recent mishap. It is only fair that my opponents share some of their wealth in exchange for the enviable privilege of witnessing the Heavenly Wolf.]
Terry felt conflicted.
On the one hand, this felan was a convict. He was also exceedingly strange at times.
On the other hand, Terry himself had nearly been charged with some bogus crime for appearing at the wrong location at the wrong time. That memory caused Terry to be somewhat skeptical of Thanatos justice. The felan had also been quite upfront and honest, as far as Terry could tell.
Terry furrowed his brow. [What did you do to be sent here?]
[Nothing much. They found me in a house that wasn’t mine.] Rafael’s thought transmission arrived with a joking tone. [These overzealous guards were too stubborn to consider that I have been brought there by a freakish accident and not because of my own volition. The smooth-skinned monkeys were holding the fact against me that I was in the process of liberating a few items. Boneheaded bunch.]
[Liberating items from a house that wasn’t yours?] Terry rolled his eyes. A thief? Could have been worse, I guess.
[Pure altruism on my side,] replied Rafael. [These items would have been so much happier with me. The telos of an item is to be used and not to collect dust on some shelf. The best item should go to the best user and who could be better than my glorious self? Ah, by the way, what’s your lodging area like?]
For the first time, Terry considered that his lodgings might not be the norm. [An outer cell and an inner cell.]
[So you are a convict too? No matter, I won’t hold it against you.] Rafael spoke teasingly. [We’re all victims of a faceless injustice system, right? But I was more wondering about the mana situation.]
Terry glanced at the sheet of paper that acted as a communication talisman. [The inner cell blocks mana.]
[A pity, but not a deal breaker.] Rafael spoke contemplatively. [It just means that we can only start coordinating after you have left the cell.]
As Terry had surmised, the communication talisman would not work if the mana was blocked. Even the strange mana martialist items still relied on mana as a fundamental energy.
Terry replayed Rafael’s words in his head and paused. [Wait, do you mean your situation is different?]
[Quite different, I believe.] Rafael said wryly. [Nothing to block mana, but they have reinforced the shit out of everything. If I hurled Heavenly Wolf slashes as quickly as I can, I would still be busy for an unrighteous amount of time.]
Terry’s thoughts were interrupted when he arrived at his cell. [I’m going to be cut off soon.]
[See you in the arena for our glorious ascension to victory!] Rafael’s bragging thought transmission arrived.
Terry puffed his cheeks with a helpless look in his eyes. [Right…]
The first thing that Terry looked at after he had entered his cell was a foldable tertium cube with traces of melted chocolate on it.
Terry was not sure what to think anymore. He was longing for his notebook from the bottom of his heart. He felt his thoughts growing increasingly muddled without a place to collect thoughts to revisit later.
Terry had been certain that there was something weird about the tiny indentations on the tertium slab. Terry had racked his brains for anything that would explain the strange damage. He vaguely remembered that he had been inside the cube with a bar of chocolate while running away from undead.
Or from elementals.
Probably both.
The biggest obstacle for Terry was that his mind had been muddled from exhaustion and lack of proper rest at that time, too.
Despite the odds, Terry had managed to recall that he had been forced to use disruption discharges because a few death mages had aimed spells inside the tertium cube.
Together with Terry’s recent realization that his oscillating mana was interacting with the physical realm – somehow – Terry had formulated a bold hypothesis.
What if my mana is really related to the force aspect? Terry still carried the image of the battling Valkyrie in his mind. Perhaps this had been one reason for his train of thoughts.
Alas, Terry had tested and falsified his hypothesis. For hours, Terry had flung his disruption discharges – much more intense than anything Terry had managed during the chocolate incident. Nothing. Not the slightest trace of anything remained on the tertium surface.
After his failed experiment, Terry wondered why he would ever get the idea of the force aspect into his head. The working theory from Samuel, in which oscillating mana was an intersection of the life and space aspects, matched so many of Terry’s experiences and discoveries, while the force aspect explained nothing.
Nothing except a bunch of tiny indentations that might have been there since long before the chocolate incident.
“I miss them,” muttered Terry in a sorrowful voice. He thought of his family and friends. The single most constant series of thoughts in Terry’s muddled mind were the pictures of the people he wanted to see again.
Perhaps I’m just grasping at anything to occupy my thoughts and prevent them from going to— Terry stopped himself from recalling his days in the dungeon filled with ghouls. He took a deep breath. “I will get through this.” Another breath. “I managed to get to this point.”
“I will leave this behind me, eventually.” Terry clenched his fists. “I will get back to Arcana.”
Terry began practicing his disruption discharges while making sure to reabsorb as much emitted mana as he could.
***
[Rumor on the grapevine is that our opponent will be a canan cultivator with a taste for blood.] Rafael’s voice arrived in Terry’s mind.
Terry was following the Thanatos soldiers to the arena where he would fight his first battle of the day. [What grapevine? I thought the matches were decided ad-hoc by the audience?]
[Exactly! The audience decides based on a pre-selection. I have a fan among the coliseum guards – bless his discerning eyes. The pre-selection for the first match is known in advance. Another fan is quite good at gauging audience sentiment. By the way: Never piss off the audience. I don’t believe there are many that can handle that. The matching is less predictable for the follow-up matches due to timing constraints and the dependency on earlier matches.]
[Got it.] Terry creased his brows. “I think.”
[That canan fella seems to be a piece of work. Blood and fire-aspected. So with every burst—]
[He goes up in flames supported by the regenerative abilities of the blood aspect and flies into a frenzied rage?] Terry made an educated guess.
[Yeah. Apparently, he has quite the body count to his name. Not limited to inside the coliseum either, which is probably why he has one of the longest sentences among the current contestants in the Proving Grounds.]
Terry raised an eyebrow. [How does the sentencing work? Like in prisons?]
[Do you really think now is the time for that?] Rafael’s voice was a mixture of surprised amusement and irritation. [Why would you even care?]
“I don’t know,” muttered Terry quietly. The inner Academy student in him shrugged. [Old habit I guess.]
[If you say so.] Rafael’s voice sounded skeptical. [Generally, coliseum sentences deal with win streaks. The required win streak depends on the individual abilities and the crime. The worse the crime, the more you have to put your life on the line. You might also reduce it by paying reparations.]
Terry wondered about the ‘individual abilities’ part and was about to send another question through thought transmission when his own mana feelers sensed something from the arena.
Terry sensed something from two of the entrances. His mana touch was giving him early warning about what he could expect. [Our opponent is dual-aspected in blood and fire. Seems like you were right.]
[Are you already in the arena?] Rafael’s thought transmission was tinged with astonishment and wariness. [How do you know? The soldiers don’t seem to be in a hurry to get me there. What’s going on?]
[I’m not there yet, no.] Terry replied. [I just know.] He did not feel like explaining his secrets to a person whom he barely knew. The memory of his failed alliance in the Proving Grounds was still vivid in Terry’s mind.
[I’ll take your word for it,] replied Rafael.
[Do we need a plan?] Terry mentally went over possible mission objectives.
[You keep the murdering berserker off my back until I can swoop in with my glorious claws.] A boisterous thought transmission arrived from Rafael. [Who needs more planning than that?]
Terry rolled his eyes, but did not disagree.
Two minutes later, Terry walked into the arena. In an instant, pebbles were darting into his palm thanks to the bidirectional attraction inscription.
The next to enter was Rafael. He swaggered into the arena and clapped his hands above his head to incite the crowd. He winked towards Terry. [Time to shine.]
The last to enter was the dual-aspected canan. His eyes radiated blood lust.
Terry found it hard to imagine this was a sentient folk. This opponent appeared more like a feral beast. The impression intensified when the canan burst his mana and moved down on all fours.
The canan wheezed with an open jaw. Saliva was running down the sharp canan teeth. The canan’s burst caused his body to be surrounded by crimson fire. Overcome with bloodlust, the canan charged at Rafael.
Terry flicked several charged pebbles and dashed into the canan’s path.
Howls of mad fury reverberated over the area when the berserker found its path blocked by immovable pebbles. The canan struggled and his murder-filled eyes settled on Terry.
Terry continued blocking the canan unfazed. A year ago, Terry might have been intimidated. Now, however, Terry only shrugged inwardly. The blood-thirsty canan appeared almost cute when compared to the hellspawn Terry had encountered in the Valkyrie’s prison less than half a cycle ago. Terry would never be able to forget the sight of staring into a veil tear and down the horrifying maw of rotating teeth from a behemoth champion.
[My turn!] Rafael’s thought transmission arrived.
Terry sensed the accumulation of powerful mana and darted out of the way.
“HEAVENLY WOLF SLASH!” Rafael’s glowing claws cleaved through the air and intense mana blades were flying away from them, accompanied by a mana resonance of a large white wolf.
The mana blades cut mercilessly through the canan.
One of the mana blades clashed against an immovable pebble and shattered.
[Either I improve my aim or you need to deactivate your spell before it hits.] Rafael mentally spoke to Terry. [This kind of spoils my swagger.]
Despite having lost one flying blade, the attack was still powerful. Even the berserker’s improved regeneration was not enough to recover after being cleaved apart.
[I can place the pebbles so it’s easier for you to aim,] replied Terry. [No need to lift the obstruction unless there is no other option.] He looked over the cheering audience. [This went well.]
[One attack, one kill. That’s my style.] Rafael’s thought transmission sounded very self-satisfied.
Rafael did a victory lap around the arena. “These claws were made for this!” He wiggled his fingers with extended claws. “It has been my honor to enact justice on behalf of all the berserker’s victims.” He performed an exaggerated bow towards the audience. Then he abruptly stood up straight again and clenched a fist. “This is how justice should be! Swift and efficient! That’s my claw!”
“““Wolf!””” “““Wolf!””” “““Wolf!”””
Terry noted that there were a few cheers for ‘Terry’ mixed in as well. He could not help but smile. It felt good to be praised. Even if it was only by an audience of strangers.
***
“Greetings, how is life?” A woman in a crimson uniform stepped into the overseer's office.
“Yana?” Yesenia grinned. “I thought you might make a visit. If even the General can afford a leave of absence from the frontlines, then there was bound to be someone that noticed your abysmal record in taking vacations. Knowing you, that someone might have received a few bruises as thanks.” She picked up a chessboard from a compartment in her desk. “Up for a game? Like old times?”
“Sure, I can relax for some time.” A challenging glint entered Yana’s eyes. “As long as we can exercise a bit later.”
Yesenia chuckled. “Are you still not over our last spar?”
“As if.” Yana sat down opposite of Yesenia. She frowned at the chessboard and rotated it 180 degrees. “I don’t need your handicap. I’ll take black. This is your place. You go first.”
“I see that you’ve held onto your stubbornness.” Yesenia smirked and shook her head. She picked up a pawn and placed it on its new position on the board.
Yana protested again: “You can play E4. I don’t need a handicap.”
“I play white. It’s my turn and I can play however I want to.” Yesenia winked at her. “Quit your babbling.”
“And you dare to call me stubborn.” Yana rolled her eyes. She looked over the board and pondered her move.
“So, what’s going on?” Yesenia asked. “If even a workaholic like you managed to make it to the city, then things must be really relaxed at Tiv’s border.”
“Sure is,” said Yana. “Freakishly so. As soon as we had confirmation that the rumors were true, our battle zone practically fell silent. Surreal.”
“It’s the Valkyrie after all,” remarked Yesenia. “The old cooperation order from Thanatos still stands if the Valkyrie is still alive. No one wants to question the Warlord’s insights, especially not on this particular point.”
Yana played her move. “Things have gotten even more complicated. According to our intel, the Valkyrie is trying to get an audience with Arcana’s magic sovereigns. It might be that Tiv will be absorbed into Arcana.”
“That would require Arcana to adjust its barrier…” Yesenia moved her next piece. “…if they can repair the barrier, that is. It’s been quite some time and the barrier still isn’t up again. I honestly expected more from the sovereigns.”
“You might change your tune if you had heard the reports of the sovereigns active in the battle in Arcana’s north,” muttered Yana. “They’re as awe-inspiring as their reputation. However, that there are so few appearances of the magic sovereigns and the lack of progress on the barrier are both open points of investigation.”
Yana shot Yesenia a challenging look. “On the topic of Tiv, you seem to be missing one possibility. Arcana could accept the citizens without accepting the territory.”
“Unlikely,” dismissed Yesenia. “Arcana’s stances on vampires and cultists are too different from Tiv’s for that to go over well. They might accept some, but definitely not all.”
Yana returned her gaze back to the chessboard. “Arcana could also accept Tiv’s territory without extending the barrier. A separate jurisdiction with its own rules.” She moved one of her pieces forward.
“Sounds like an unjustifiable pain to manage,” commented Yesenia. “But it wouldn’t be the first time that the sovereigns are taking up a troublesome role for the sake of duty and with little benefit.” She quickly responded on the chessboard before looking seriously at Yana. “So? Why are you really here?”
“Hm?” Yana smiled mischievously. “How do you figure?”
“I know you.” Yesenia shook her head with an amused expression. “Even if someone forced you to finally take a vacation, you would sneak out some paperwork or find another way to take your work with you.”
Yesenia raised her brows. “Which means this is more than a friendly visit. It’s strange enough that General Eli appeared in the city out of nowhere and it’s even stranger that you are now in my office. General Eli might have considerable nostalgia for the Proving Grounds, but I don’t remember the same from you. So? Out with it.”
Yana snickered. “Just checking if you’re still as sharp as I remember you to be.” Her face became more serious. “You’re right. When we investigated the rumors of the Valkyrie’s mysterious reappearance, we discovered that she had spent a considerable amount of time looking for someone. It just so happens that we know where that someone is.”
“I take it you are trying to decide if it is a good move to do the Valkyrie a favor?” surmised Yesenia.
“Yes, but it’s complicated,” said Yana with a wry expression.
“When is it ever not?” Yesenia shrugged.
“Not to the same degree, I assure you,” said Yana. “The person we are talking about appears exceedingly strange. Incongruous information. Points that make no sense. Pops up in locations that seem both random and yet somehow significant. Locations that span vast distances, which could only be covered with spatial transfers in that time frame, but according to our intel, our person does not have direct access to space magic.”
Yana clicked her tongue and shook her head. “At the same time, we have reports that our person wields specific anti-dimensional skills that, to our knowledge, can only be explained by a combination of space and anti magic.”
Yana tapped her finger next to the chessboard while moving her eyes over the pieces. “An abnormal mana foundation that would predestine anyone to become a renowned mage, but our person follows an unreasonable specialization in mana cultivation and to an eccentric level at that, with completely novel versions of well-studied mana cultivation techniques.”
Yana moved her hand through her short hair. “Most importantly, the person has connections to powerful people in more than one empire. Known associates in Tiv: political players, infamous Guild rookies, influential Guardians, old nobility, even one of the retired Nine Blades.”
Yesenia wrinkled her forehead. “Close ties to at least two instructors of Arcana Academy, one of which is featured extremely prominently in our briefings on Arcana.” Yana caught the gaze of Yesenia. “In the list of notable people to avoid confrontations with. Our person also seems to have a relation with one of the Council families.”
“Which one?” interjected Yesenia with considerable interest.
“Antelias. But…” Yana lifted a finger. “Apparently, the family name has been rescinded.”
“That’s rare,” muttered Yesenia with surprise.
“Even rarer without a significant misstep that would explain it,” said Yana. “Our target of interest dropped out of Arcana Academy.”
“That’s…” Yesenia tilted her head. “…possible? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“We could not get an explanation that makes sense,” admitted Yana. “Arcana Academy is not easy to investigate. There are vague rumors of an aspect impairment, but every sensor we put on our person remains unable to confirm it. There are also isolated rumors that our person was simply spoiled and lazy, but every other report we get indicates that the person is assiduous to an almost obsessive degree.”
At this point, Yana smiled with satisfaction. She realized from Yesenia’s expression that she had succeeded in catching Yesenia's interest. This was an excellent result, both for Yana’s work and for her ongoing chess competition. “There are several bounties on our person. Nearly as spread as the bounty posters are the dead bodies of bounty hunters. It appears limited to Tiv territory, but it’s practically all over the place. There are even simultaneous incidents at different locations. Varied styles of death.”
Yana placed her hand under her cheek while maintaining eye contact with Yesenia. “Initially, we chalked it up to coincidence or to opportunism during the retaliation for the barrier. With recent developments, however, the emerged pattern appears more methodological. Systematic and intentional. Bounty hunters that pursue that specific bounty are taken out one after the other. Someone is hunting bounty hunters.”
“That doesn’t sound like a single person.” Yesenia pointed out. “More like an organization.”
Yana nodded. “Or an operative with background support.”
“An operative? Of the magic sovereigns?” Yesenia furrowed her brow. “Because of the Council connection? Are you worrying that the mana cultivation and the cut family ties could be a cover? That would be problematic if handled without delicate care.”
“Precisely so,” agreed Yana. “We need to make a decision.”
“What do you want from me?” asked Yesenia.
“Don’t play coy,” rebuked Yana. “I’m sure you know whom I’m talking about by now. I need to keep an eye on him.”
Yesenia smiled a lob-sided smile. “An eye you can have, but as your general has pointed out recently and correctly: The Proving Grounds are a sacrosanct institution. I won’t overlook any meddling from the outside.”
“Of course,” acknowledged Yana. “So, what else can you tell me?”
***
Comments
Nyroe
Wouldn't be suprised if it was Divine Hammer's son (forgot his name) killing the bounty hunters.
Sesharan
Interesting. They’ve gotten more information about Terry than I expected. To the point where it would almost have helped them more to have less information, haha. The bounty hunter extermination, though… that’s news even to us, right? I wonder what info they have that makes them think it’s methodical.
