Ends of Magic
Chapter 20: Guardian’s Challenge

Nathan approached the gate to the Caxol mansion, which was protected by a high wall sparking with arcs of silent lightning. He could probably have just climbed the wall without issue, but instead waited for the gate to open and a force platform to extend.

Nathan hopped over the force bridge, not wanting to break it and risk touching the enchanted metal of the gate.

I mean, it looks expensive. It’s funny that I’m a lot more worried about damaging their security system than about the security system damaging me. Antimagic is funny like that.

Nathan walked through the verdant garden, seeing Kullal waving him in from the wide sitting room that overlooked the meticulously landscaped yard. The petite foxfolk woman had been alone in the room, clearly waiting to let Nathan into the front yard. She hurried to open the door for him, seeming somewhat more reserved than her usual ebullient self.

“Nathan! You are welcomed to our home once more.” Stella’s mother gave him a quick hug. Nathan almost protested about her magical robes, but she was quick, leaving him with just a memory of soft fur.

Kullal turned and walked deeper into the house. “The Heirs will be staying in our home tonight, for we wish you close on your last night in Gemore. Your room is upstairs. Dalo is with Stella getting things from your rooms at the Guild. He wishes to speak with you when he returns. Kia is with Khachi downstairs, and Stanel is with Aarl and Sarah in the dining room. Can I guide you to the room? The house can be a little large.”

Nathan followed her in, holding out the bag. “This is for Sarah and Aarl, actually. Can I bring it to them?”

Kullal looked back at him and the bag, gauging its contents. She gave a bemused smile. “You are a generous one, indeed you are. They’re right through here.” She gestured Nathan to the dining room, and he opened the door and strode through.

Stanel looked up, annoyed at being interrupted from his intense conversation with his kids. He was sitting at the head of the table, with Sarah on his left and Aarl on his right. Nathan took a second to appreciate the tableau of the three people with sculpted features and incredible physiques all looking at him in surprise. The family resemblance was strong, as was the look of concentration and frustration all three wore.

Now that looks like a carefully staged scene from a movie. Lighting’s a bit meh.

“Nathan? We are discussing class Developments. I would ask for some time alone with my children before we meet for a meal.”

Nathan stepped forward into the room, setting the bag and the cases they contained onto the table with a thud. “This might influence your discussion. New guns and ammunition from Beatred, Poppy and Herdin.”

Stanel’s eyes narrowed further. “New weapons? I had asked Beatred for two pistols for Aarl, but she did not agree to the order. She said she needed your acceptance, because of the Insights involved.”

Nathan gestured towards the bag, shrugging. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. More gifts. One for Sarah, two for Aarl. We'll need Herdin to come by later to bind them.” He didn’t move towards the bag, not wanting the slightest risk of damaging the unique weapons inside.

Aarl’s attention was focused on the bag, and he reached for it. Stanel grabbed his hands, eyes intent on Nathan. “What’s the price? You’ve given us much, and only received a single Talent in return. I won’t accept largesse without knowing its cost, especially without wondering at the price you paid to Beatred.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and grabbed the bag, digging out the cases. “Dad, we’ve got an understanding with Nathan. Don’t worry about debts between us. If he gives us these gifts, they’re ours. What’s he going to do, use them himself?”

The comment didn’t placate the older [Weaponmaster], but he released Aarl as Sarah laid out the cases and boxes of ammunition. She popped open the largest one, mouth opening in surprise at the quality of the work inside. She hefted out the rifle inside, laying it on the table and running her fingers up and down its length.

She looked up at Nathan “How’s it better?”

He shrugged. “They said something about greater accuracy, smoother actions and less sound. There should be something in there that explains it. Beatred’s gotten a lot better at guns, and I think Herdin’s worked out the enchantments and put more in there. These are the best things they’ve made yet.”

Stanel kept getting grumpier as Aarl flipped open the first of the other cases, revealing the finely worked pistols. They were a bit stubbier and chunkier than Sarah’s with a shorter barrel and an eight-shot cylinder. He grunted appreciatively, then opened the shotgun case and pulled out the wide-barreled weapon. He inspected its profile. “What is this?”

Nathan gestured towards the sheet of crude paper covered with tiny writing. “It’s explained there. It’s a weapon that I described to Beatred a while ago. Supposed to be a powerful close-range weapon that’s easy to use.”

The swordsman gave Nathan a friendly glare. “I’ll ignore the water on my fire in that statement.” He snatched the instructions and started reading. Stanel scooted closer and started reading over his shoulder. After a short while, Aarl tossed the instructions back down and looked over at his father. “I think I should take [Master of Many Weapons].”

Stanel blinked, then nodded slightly. “It’s climbed above [Blademaster] in your eyes?” He cast the gaze over the weapons cases, nodding with some reluctance. “With these weapons, I can understand why. And it frees me from regret, that you will follow in my footsteps.”

Then he turned to Sarah. “Has this swayed you from your chosen path?”

Sarah shook her head, eyes on the internal workings of the new rifle. “Now that I’ve got this, I’m more certain of my aim than before. I know you dismiss skills which provide ammunition, but with these weapons I believe it is best to take [Headshot Gunslinger].”

Stanel nodded, getting up. “Acquaint yourselves with your new weapons, then. I wish to speak to Nathan.”

He opened the door out of the dining room, ushering Nathan through and then gently closing it behind them.

Stanel rounded on him with anger on his face, but Nathan forestalled the legendary [Weaponmaster]. “I won’t ask them to fight Giantsrest with me. I won’t stop them, but I promise you that I will not call in any debts whatsoever to ask them to fight.”

Stanel’s handsome face lost some of its ferocity, but he still poked Nathan with a finger. “But you have already drawn them into your conflict. You were ambushed by an archmage!” His voice was low and intent, clearly trying not to be overheard through the door separating them from Sarah and Aarl.

Nathan shugged. “Yes, and that encounter wasn’t even the most dangerous one that happened on our journey. We fought back and won, without any casualties. And because of it, Aarl and Sarah have reached level 81, and their second class Development. But now we may be hunted further.” He regarded Stanel a moment longer, seeing worry overtaking anger on the man’s sculpted features.

“The only choice here is letting your children continue to Adventure with me, or not. And even that should be their choice, not yours. Aarl and Sarah are Adventurers. Adults, Stanel. Will you interfere with that? They’ll listen to your wisdom, but I’ll ask you to not impose your will on your children.”

Stanel let out a long sigh, leaning against the wall and running his fingers through his wavy dark hair. “Just - promise me this. If you bring the weight of Giantsrest down upon you and the Heirs, do your best to protect them. Value your team more than your vendetta against Giantsrest.” He looked up at Nathan, challenging him to deny the request.

Nathan gave a slow, serious nod. “I hate Giantsrest because of what they would do to people like my teammates. I’ll protect them.”

Or avenge them.

High-tier Earnestness 7 achieved!

Then there was a commotion from the area of the front door, and Nathan stepped all the way out into the hall to see that Stella and Dalo had just arrived. Kullal gave Dalo a quick peck on the cheek before she closed the door behind them. Dalo looked up and saw Nathan, his expression hardening. With his long white beard and ascetic face the expression was pretty intimidating, like seeing the master of a shaolin temple was pissed off.

Goddamnit. This is just going to keep happening, isn’t it.

Dalo strode quickly in his direction, a similarly angry expression on his face to the Stanel of a moment ago. What really set Dalo apart was the way that his eyes lit up like welding torches, and each of his footsteps sent a faint tremor through the house, with his beard blowing in an unseen wind.

“You.” Dalo came to a stop in front of Nathan, and despite the fact that the elementalist was a few inches shorter, his figure seemed to loom with the promise of incredible power. The world seemed to warp at his word, bending in response to his magic and will.

It’s a good thing I know in my bones that his magic isn’t particularly useful against me. And that he’s unlikely to demolish his house to really inconvenience me.

Nathan stood still, furrowing his brow against the intimidating pressure and waiting for Dalo to continue.

I think I know why he’s pissed, but I want him to say it. ‘You’ isn’t a whole lot to go on.

Dalo’s presence seemed to pull back slightly in the face of Nathan’s calm response. His eyes still blazed, but the reality-bending effects lessened as he spoke, the “You have endangered my daughter twice over! You teach her dangerous magic, and you bring down the might of Giantsrest upon her head.”

“Dad!” Stella’s embarrassed and affronted shout rang out, and she stomped down the hallway.

The mage waved a hand and a barrier of force blocked the passage, so thick it was like looking through a foot of clear water. Dalo turned back to Nathan, and Nathan noticed he was floating a few inches above the ground.

Man that’s cool. I should probably be taking this more seriously, but I have a really hard time seeing how this goes badly. Too many restraining influences, too many indications that Dalo is playing up his temper in order to impress on me how serious he is.

Nathan made sure his face was straight, and he gave a second solemn nod to the second angry father of the evening. “I understand. It is the life of an Adventurer. The life Stella has chosen for herself, and you let her. We fight dangerous foes, and need dangerous tools.”

“You will cease teaching my daughter magic.” He snorted a brief burst of fire, somehow managing not to set his beard alight. “Leaving aside what an antimage could know of true magic, your Insights are dangerous.”

The shield behind Dalo shattered, revealing Stella standing there, her eyes crackling with multicolored bolts of electricity. A jet of incandescent light in her hands dimmed, and Dalo blinked at it.

She advanced on her father, whose face was surprised, looking at the spell dissipating in her hands. “What was that spell?”

Stella ignored his question, advancing on her father. “If you don’t like what Nathan has taught me, speak to me. He gave me the choice and I took it! It’s thanks to him I have electricity, magnetism and light mana!”

Dalo looked peeved. “He dangled a dragon’s hoard of magical Insights before your face and asked if you were interested, without mentioning the dragon’s reprisal!”

“Are you the dragon? I am without injury from his lessons. I know lightning magic better than you do now! And light, and [Message]! And have grounding enough to invent my own spells with ease!” Stella was shouting now, her braid rising over her shoulder with static and flashes of light emanating from her fingertips as she gestured.

Dalo looked doubtful, sneering slightly. “Then show me this new spell that your new Insights have let you craft.”

Stella sucked air through her teeth and cupped her hands together, focusing her attention on the space between them. A small sphere started crackling with lightning and fire and she explained. “Heat spreads as another form of light. I concentrate fire and lightning mana into a stable vortex, containing both with magnetic mana. I use light mana to reflect and amplify all of the light and heat back into the construct, giving the energy one way out. Then I use air to guide the flow.”

A spear of hissing brilliance reached out from Stella’s fingers, a six-inch torch of extremely intense bright blue flame hissing and crackling.

Dalo recoiled. “That is… Stella, stop!” She cut off the flow of magic in response to the panicked tone in his voice. Dalo rushed forward to check her hands for burns or other injuries, suddenly the worried father. “That is a type of spell I only gained after my level 729 Development. It is extremely dangerous!”

“It’s plasma. The fourth state of matter.” Nathan spoke quietly, looking between father and daughter.

Dalo’s head whipped up. “What?” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Nathan shrugged. “That’s what it is. I could explain what it is and how it works. Stella could probably develop the mana type soon. She already has the requisite mana types, now that I think of it.”

“Now that you think of it? Nathan, I categorically refuse to allow Stella to learn this! This kind of magic can kill invisibly, silently, in ways confusing and terrifying!”

Nathan nodded at the older mage. “Radiation. I understand it, and why it happens. And I agree, that Insight needs to be treated with care. But plasma and radiation aren’t equivalent. Stella’s plasma torch spell wouldn’t have done that, not the way the spell you used to kill the Grave Tangle did. Light mana could do the same, if used properly. It’s dangerous, but if you understand it you can stay safe.”

I’m not sure I want to be teaching Stella to fire beams of gamma radiation. But that’s the crux of this argument - Dalo thinks I shouldn’t teach her because he thinks it’s too dangerous - which is fair if he doesn’t know how radiation works. I think I should teach her, but inform her of the dangers and let her make her own decisions.

Stella pulled her hands from her father, stepping around him to stand beside Nathan. “This is why I listen to Nathan. Instead of refusing to tell me things, he explains why they’re dangerous and helps me figure it out! He understands magic in a way you don’t!”

Dalo looked frustrated, and angry. He opened his mouth angrily when Kullal laid a furry hand on his shoulder. She didn’t exert any force, but he closed his mouth and visibly calmed down.

Kullal stepped up lightly, her own eyes shining a depthless blue. “I share my darling husband’s worry. These draconic magics have killed many mages, and controlling them requires care and knowledge that few possess. Stella, dearest. We would teach you these things in time. Can you not be patient?”

Stella looked down, and Nathan couldn’t tell if she was mad, embarrassed or sad. They waited a moment before she looked up again, and the magic in her eyes had dimmed. “I would wait. I could do that, if you asked.”

The light in her eyes reignited, and sparks started playing over Stella’s hands. “But the truth - the truth is that Nathan can explain some of these magics better than you could. He knows how they work. Can you make lightning do this?” The sparks in her hand formed a crackling bridge between her hands, which flexed and bent. The shape grew more complicated and tendrils reached off from the main path, forming characters. Stella spelled out her name, one letter at a time.

Then she released the spell, and started casting anew. “Or control the color of light so easily?” Stella made several balls of floating light which each started oscillating in color, ramping through the colors of the rainbow and back. She focused on one, and it split into bands of color, which started shifting and dancing.

Dalo was visibly shocked at his daughter’s control. He hugged Kullal to him as Stella’s parents gazed at the floating balls of light she had conjured. The foxfolk woman snuggled into her husband, and she murmured something quietly to him as the colors danced over them. He sighed and rested his head atop her own, shoulders drooping as he returned her hug.

Kullal spoke to Stella. “Learn what magic you will. We will always be here. Be safe.”

Dalo focused on Nathan, resigned and nostalgic. “I remember a time when magic was mine for the taking. Seeing this - it reminds me of such times, and makes me want to ask you for such Insights. What would have been if you were a mage, Nathan Lark? I find myself glad we will not find out. But I wish to see such a conflagration of magic all the same. I only hope my child is spared from the immolation you would surely suffer if you challenged these most dangerous of magics.”

Kullal looked up at him, her gaze soft and pleading. “Understand the weight of these Insights, Nathan. They could win wars or buy palaces. But do not lead my dearest daughter into danger for her debt, I beg you.”

A low chuckle sounded from the side, and Stanel stepped out of the alcove he’d slipped into while Dalo and Stella had let their emotions rule their magic. “I asked the same given the gifts bestowed upon Sarah and Aarl.” He clapped Nathan on the shoulder. “Nathan has promised not to call upon these debts to take the Heirs to Giantsrest, and to prioritize their safety over his vendetta.”

Kullal’s face morphed into a soft smile at Stanel’s words. Dalo’s eyes widened slightly but he nodded, as if this was a surprise but he couldn’t muster up the energy to act surprised.

Yeah, but I don’t really think they owe me a debt. They’re my friends, so I don’t view this as a terribly burdensome promise. And it’s also not an Oath. I’ve sworn enough of those.

A door banged open downstairs, and Khachi clattered up the stairs, followed closely by Kia. The tall scarred woman in shining armor fixed her attention on Nathan, and he felt like he was being sighted in by artillery.

Really? Again? I need to go through this with every single one of my friend’s parents?

Kia walked up to him, face solemn. “Good aim, Nathan Lark. Kill the bastard next time, you’ll level more.”

Then she walked past him, toward the dining room. Over her shoulder she yelled “I’m hungry, let’s make dinner our nemesis of the moment.”

Nathan blinked after her.

I guess not. In retrospect I should have known Kia wouldn’t have an issue with us being hunted by an Archmage. She probably considers it good experience.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 8

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 1

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 5

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 72

Stamina: 820/820

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 1

High-tier Earnestness 7

Mid-tier Sprinting 7

High-tier Spellsense 5

Mid-tier Notice 10

Mid-tier Identify 8

Mid-tier Dodging Footwork 6

High-tier Enhanced Memory 5

Mid-tier Lecturing 6

Mid-tier Tumbling 3

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