- Corinth Devardem
Illigar did not lie; finding Jae Madigast is incredibly easy. Not knowing what a mankith even was, I approached the small restaurant on the northern side of the city with a bit of trepidation, but I don’t think anything could have properly prepared me for what I found inside. Having spent some time in cities in the last few months, the atmosphere of the morning cafe is as I might expect: a slow progression of diners coming in and out, waitstaff moving about with sleep still in their eyes, and the earthy scent of meat and coffee in the air. What stands out among the murmur is the seven-foot tall waspman sitting at a table near the back.
Jae Midigast
Enchanter Conflux
Despite his somewhat humanish shape, the manakith, Jae, is the most alien-looking person I have ever seen. The torso of the manakith is lithe and slender, with two sets of arms extending from bulbous shoulders, the smaller set just beneath the larger. The arms and legs of the man are thin, far too thin to look like they have any strength to them, but made of easily more than ten joints. His head looks almost human except that he has no ears, and his eyes are large, multi-faceted black orbs. Like Illigar had mentioned last night, the manakith man is covered in straight needles of fur that look like they might stab me if I touched him, a pattern of light brown, brown, and black stripes weaving chaotically through the fur. What makes me relate the man to a wasp at first sight are the two wings on his back, or, more accurately, one large wing on his left side, the right one severed about halfway down and bound to his side with leather straps.
“More, Casey. More still,” the manakith calls to a passing waitress, picking up and setting down the glass on the table in front of him so that it makes a rhythmic clinking sound. The waitress, Casey, rolls her eyes, moving to fetch the man another glass of strong-smelling liquid.
Jae Madigast freezes, the tapping of his cup on the table arrested in his downswing as I approach. The man’s movements are sporadic: fast, angular, and quick. He turns his large eyes on me, not bothering to mask in the least how he looks me up and down.
“Who are you?” he asks. “A magician, sure, but one that approaches me. Don’t ask to touch my fur.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I say, lying. “Illigar the Sage sent me to track you down this morning. He wants me to help you in getting the array for the city running.”
“The running is the issue,” Jae says. The manakith’s voice is strange, almost sounding like two different men trying to speak at the same time. “Running, water running, never wanting to sit smooth. You should sit. Sit.”
Not taking my eyes off the man in front of me, I scoot a seat out to take. The moment that I take the seat fully, the server Casey is back at the table.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asks.
“Water is fine,” I tell her.
“It most certainly is not,” Jae complains. “You should try this.” He holds out the cup he was just given toward me. “It is like Schemma, but not very close in reality. The best that this city can produce, an approximation.”
I am a bit tempted by the offer, but a subtle shake of Casey’s head quashes any interest. “Coffee, then.”
Jae takes back the drink and sips from it. “Coffee is too bitter, too weak as well. Nowhere in this city serves proper mead at this hour, and what they call mead at late hours is not proper either. I made my own: honey mixed into apple brandy.” He holds up the glass once more. “It is a fine solution when Schemma is not on hand.”
“Can you explain to me the issue with the array?” I ask, trying to get the waspman onto topic.
“Does it not explain itself?” Jae asks. “I would think that someone sent to me to assist could understand. You are an enchanter, are you not?”
“I am self-taught,” I say.
“So, no then. Are you a proficient assistant then, if you are not to be expected to contribute intellectually to determining and solving the issue?” he asks. Despite the clear condensation of his words, I don’t hear any emotion in his words.
“I don’t take kindly to insults,” I tell him.
“The truth is only an insult to those living in fantasy. If it is Illigar that wants to you be working with me, then that is what will happen. We shall see today the extent of your knowledge in this field.”
Casey returns with the coffee I ordered, and Jae spends the remainder of his early morning drinking, interrogating me about the art of enchanting.
It becomes apparent after just a few minutes that the man is so far past where I am as an enchanter that I can’t even suspect the difference. I do fine answering the basic questions and seem to allay any worries, but as Jae begins to expound on the more intricate and detailed aspects of enchanting, I find myself quickly lost.
The man claims that he has graduated from an actual institute of enchantment back in his home country. He had practiced the art of enchanting in a professional sense for decades before putting together enough money to purchase a set of essentia a few years ago. An expert enchanter with the enchanter conflux, the duke himself contracted the man to assist in the upcoming operation–his field of focus, arrays.
Arrays are an area of enchantment that I have only ever read about. Most of the enchanting that I have investigated or pictured ever doing myself has involved the creation of magical items, but the realm of enchantment is so much more than that. Arrays are formations of magic used to create an effect over a wide area, essentially taking the magic that would have been imbued into an item and expanding it to cover a territory. Cities and many towns often implore such fixed structures, often set into a circle of stone that runs the perimeter of the town, to discourage monsters from entering or even physically preventing them from doing so. However, the things that arrays can do are as endless as the potential of magic itself.
My ignorance about arrays causes the mankith some irritation, but after he has sauced himself up enough for the day, he takes me on his walk about the city with him. For the last week and a half, he had been focused solely upon erecting an array barrier around Maidenlake that would be capable of repelling rank three monsters for a time. Hopefully, long enough for the local adventurers to deal with the threat.
Given the location of the city atop a plateau, Jae works to build the formation stones of the array itself into the huge mound of stone, which is where the problem has arisen. He shows me into the platue through a network of tunnels that dig deep into the ground beneath the city, and as we descend, the issue becomes all the clearer. Walking around Maidenlake, the constant moisture in the atmosphere gives off the feeling of wading through a swamp, but beneath the ground, the air feels almost made of water. Ten feet beneath the ground, the light of the water-affixed mana suffusing the air grows thick enough that I can see it.
Jae tells me that the only effective method to protect the city from attack would be to create the barrier within the structure of the platue itself, but the mana in the air has been stopping him at every turn. After I confide that I have the steel affix, something I picked up only recently, he captures most of the hours of my day, hauling me around the city to infuse important joint mediums in the array.
In the few days before the army’s big assault on the insect monsters, I learn more about enchanting than I have since first cracking open those books back in the trial. Not that the manakith is a kind teacher; his instruction comes in the form of diatribes and lamenting that there is no good help around. I bear the verbal abuse, having to spend hours with the man as I burn all of my mana on pushing steel-affixed mana into the mediums he indicates. Sometimes, I regret how quickly my mana regenerates. If I had been any other kind of specialist, my days spent with the man could have been considerably shorter.
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Leaving Jae in the early afternoon on that first day, I spend my time wandering the city, trying to ignore my headache from mana exhaustion. Maidenlake might not be the largest city ever, but adventurer-catering shops are abundant throughout. My first stop, after asking around, is at a seamstress, depositing the bundles of spidersilk with her. The material itself is incredibly tough while retaining its suppleness. The seamstress I found is one used to working with difficult materials, used to making items that would later be enchanted. Over the next few days, she produces five tops from the slate gray spidersilk that finally puts an end to my quest for a shirt that won’t be ruined after a single fight. The tops she makes for me are simple, form-fitting, and strong enough to stop a stab from my mageblade.
The urge to add my own enchantments to the pieces is difficult to resist, but I manage. Just a few days of haggling with the other adventurers that come in and out of the city, purusing the wares in the few magical shops, lets me know just how inadequate my skills in the art of enchantment are. The fantasy of me making all of my own materials, soaring into battle with only the implements I have made myself, is captivating, but I begin to recognize that it is just a fantasy.
In the days that I spend following the enchanter around and inspecting the intricate work he has been doing in the tunnels beneath Maidenlake, my perspective begins to shift. Perhaps Illigar was right, I need some kind of real training in this art if I want to make anything respectable.
Over the week and a half that I have to prepare, I go on a spending spree to fully equip myself with new gear. The stores are nice, and I find a few pieces in them, but most of what I manage to scrounge together comes from the other adventurers. If there is one thing that adventurers have, I discover, it is a plethora of magical goods they are trying to find a good price for. With the money that I have made over the better part of a year, I allow myself to spend freely, and for the first time, I begin to feel outfitted like a true magical professional.
Crown of New Lineage(Mythic)[Rank ???]:
???
Enhancement: +180 attribute points, able to be distributed at the discretion of the wearer. <+60 Magic><+60 Speed><+60 Recovery><+10% all attributes>
Focus: Sharpens the mind of the bearer, helping to prepare them for the challenges of power
Shield: Call upon the power of the crown to create a magical barrier to protect the bearer
Staff of Luminous Insight(Very Rare)[Rank 2]:
A powerful instrument created of Moonsilver, is the product of moonlight being trapped in physical form, an art closely guarded and well hidden. This staff holds insight into the fundamental workings of magic itself, allowing for even the most inept of bearers to perceive the magical about them. Magic performed with this staff will have an increase in its efficacy that will grow in relation with the wielders understanding of the staff, and spells woven with it will be made easier. Additionally, this staff’s attunement to the manasphere allows for it to detect far off magical signatures and aides the wielder in navigating toward what they seek.
Enhancement: +50 Magic, +10% Magical efficacy
Power: Magic Detection, Magic Seeking
Fashionable Coat of Protection(Rare)[Rank 1]:
This item, created by the novice enchanter Charlene Devardem, represents the ideal of not needing to sacrifice looks for function, the dream of many enchanters. The inaugural foray into true enchanting, this garment bears the future hopes of a young enchanter.
Enhancement: +20 Defense, +20 Magic Defense
Repair: Given a steady supply of mana, this item will repair and clean itself
Charlene’s Mageblade(Rare)[Rank 1]:
A blade originally created to deliver slow and painful death, this dagger has been repurposed by the young enchanter Charlene Devardem. The oil created by this weapon yearns for the touch of magic other than its creators, drinking up the magic that it comes in contact with, while the powerful enchantments inside empower the bearer.
Enhancement: +15 Magic, +15 Magic Defense
Ability: Sever Magic, Mana Storing, Mana Expulsion
Nightshade Leggings(Rare)[Rank 2]:
Leggings made from the dark scales of a Nightshade Stalker, the enchantments placed upon this piece of armor work to bring out the natural powers of the monster the material was sourced from.
Enhancement: +35 Vitality, +10 Magic, +30 Defense, +20 Speed
Windglider’s Bracers(Very Rare)[Rank 2]:
Created from the hide of a powerful windglider, this item was made to help assist in aerial navigation for a young adventurer. A somewhat misguided creation, these bracers found little use as the power they provided was not typically useful enough for those powerful enough to have made the sky their own.
Enhancement: +20 Magic Defense, +50 Speed
Power: Seize the Air
Flamesnapper Stompers(Rare)[Rank 2]:
These scale boots were fashioned from the hide of Flamesnappers, a flame-attuned monster with scales as hard as iron. While the purpose of these boots was originally to help protect from and slay the monsters their materials were derived from, their utility surpasses their original purpose.
Enhancement: +10 Vitality, +20 Strength, +25 Magic Defense, +40 Speed
Gloves of the Aspiring Archmage(Very Rare)[Rank 2]:
Traditional gloves were created by enchanters in the Dak Empire for entrants into the Empirical College. The lack of versatility of these gloves is more than made up for by their potency.
Enhancement: +85 Magic
Superior Ring of Regeneration(Very Rare)[Rank 2]:
This ring is an improved version of the ring of regeneration, a staple for the wandering adventurer. The healing power found within this golden band of metal is difficult to rival in efficacy for its level.
Enhancement: +65 Recovery, +10% Recovery
Ring of the Ram(Very Rare)[Rank 2]:
A stone ring bearing the insignia of a ram’s head, this item was fashioned to augment the offensive arsenal of the wearer. Activating this ring will call upon the power locked inside, projecting a powerful ram’s head to inflict incredible force.
Enhancement: +25 Strength, +40 Defense
Power: Ramming Blow
Amulet of Health(Rare)[Rank 2]:
A bronze amulet bearing a cat’s eye emerald, designed to help prolong the life of its bearer. The powerful restorative magic locked within this item has been used to save the life of the wearer on multiple occasions.
Enhancement: +40 Vitality, +40 Recovery, +5% Vitality, +5% Recovery
Galea mentioned before that magical items have their own breakdown of power, a pseudo-rank system, but it isn’t until I attempt to equip all of the gear that I have snagged over the last few days do I begin to see what that really means. The evident difference in the power of the items convinces me to have her start marking the relative rank of the magical items. To my surprise, she manages to do so easily, making me wonder why she never did so before.
The way that a magical item interacts with its bearer is by directly infusing and connecting to the soul; the greater the power in the item, the greater the weight upon the soul. Items that can be used as a piece of gear for an adventurer or a magician are typically rated with the assumption that they will be a piece of a full ensemble. Therefore, a rank two item is assumed to be magically potent enough to allow the wearer to equip a full set of items of the same rank as themselves. Until I worry myself with equiping the last few items that I get, I never fully feel the soul pressure, the supposed threshold, that I have been told about. By the time I have everything together, I can recognize the feeling of having my soul weighed down by my equipment, like a pain in the middle of my chest. I push that aside, slowly getting used to it as I force myself to wear all of the gear for hours. It won’t do to be distracted by the discomfort in the middle of a fight.
The full makeover of my battle gear leaves several pieces to linger in my vault, including Lamplighter’s Charge. It is regrettable to put the weapon away, it was the first real piece of magical gear that I ever received of any true substance. Comparing it to the new pieces, however, it is evident that the staff is far too weak to continue using.
The same could be said for the coat and mageblade that I crafted myself, but I don’t feel any need to put those away. For one, neither is a fully finished product, and I intend to return to them when I have more time to work on them. Still, it has become clear that their potency is lacking. If I want to call myself an enchanter, I need to become far better at making items to use.
Looking at the remaining coin I have in my inventory after my spending spree is too hard to do. The hollow feeling in my chest lingers, the hole in my purse like a physical weight on me. It is made all the worse by the knowledge that even this new and excellent gear will become obsolete if I make it to the third rank. I’m going to need to save a lot of money for that day.
At last, one the day before the 4th army plans to take the offensive to the largest clusters of monsters around Maidenlake, I wake early in the morning. With nothing to do for the day, I spend time relaxing, getting my head right before the bulk of the force in Maidenlake heads out into the wilderness to confront the enemy. My friends will be there; they have been fighting for weeks already. Finally, I will have my chance, and I am as ready as I can be.
Charlene Devardem
Human(Level 60)(Rank 2)
Emperor Conflux
Attributes
Vitality: 138(256)
Strength: 97(156)
Magic: 872(1354)
Defense: 122(233)
Magic Defense: 101(199)
Speed: 613(882)
Recovery: 810(1274)
Perception: 96(106)
Healing Points: 2565
Mana: 13544
Stamina: 6737
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