Hope

“The whole facility is the Dredge,” Elizabeth explained as she pointed. “Though the name is obviously inspired by the ‘Ezorox’s chamber’ as the correct term would be. It, put simply, redirects any ‘exits’ from the Void in the city and around it into a single spot, forcing anything that would be ‘spat’ out to instead appear right here, very much including any surges of Void mana.”

“I have seen people throwing trash into the moat,” Irwyn frowned. “Does that not lead into the Void then? Would that not just be thrown right back here.”

“It does lead into the Void, however, you make the mistake of thinking of the Void as a plane,” Elizabeth explained. “It’s… a bit like a well. Just because you enter it by falling down does not mean you can exit it by falling up.”

“I am not sure that is the best analogy,” Irwyn frowned. That told him very little.

“Space, and Time to a certain extend, work differently in the Void,” Elizabeth flushed slightly and tried to explain differently. “Maybe… Imagine the Void as a hall with a hundred portal doors that all lead to different places. Whenever someone opens the door from the outside, it leads inside that hall except exiting through the same door is very difficult, so they will have to leave through a random door instead, finding themselves somewhere else. And the Dredge…

“...Makes all the inside doors lead here instead,” Irwyn finished in understanding. “But you can still enter from any of the previous locations. It just works differently when leaving.”

“Yes, though the analogy is also not completely accurate,” Elizabeth nodded. “Distance does not work the same way within the Void. It operates in something close to layers, if you stretch the meaning of the word, and ‘anywhere’ in the topmost ‘layer’ can simultaneously connect to almost anywhere here in our realm given enough direction and power. That can happen at almost random if magic in the Void shifts just the right way. Of course, because of the thinner boundary between the two here, Abonisle gets exponentially more of these random ‘breaches’. Perhaps more than the rest of our realm combined.”

“And the weaponry is for any demons skulking through,” Irwyn nodded.

“Rarely. Demons are too smart to stumble into a trap like this,” Elizabeth shook her head. “But we get the occasional curious monster that gets quickly culled. Everything is designed with dispatching Void creatures without damaging the infrastructure in mind.”

“If that is so, where did the Demons that have been haunting the roads down South come from?” Irwyn raised an eyebrow. He had assumed it was specifically because of the lake and thin boundary that they had appeared in the area, though Elizabeth claims would make that impossible.

“Random chance is not the only way to reach our realm from the void or vice versa,” Elizabeth shook her head. “It is actually quite simple for any Void mage to create a small breach manually and the same can be said about demons, though actually getting where you want to go is something exponentially more difficult. Kobolds in particular, as Demons of greed, might invade our realm when they see a good opportunity and simply stay in hiding for years or even decades until they smell something particularly appetizing to steal. Though I think you have seen that first hand,” she turned towards Irwyn and stared at him with both intensity and curiosity.

Irwyn hesitated for a few moments whether to admit to it or not, then realised that being silent for several seconds to think was basically an admission already. “Yes, I had the poor luck of getting dragged into that whole mess South of the City,” he admitted.

“Do you then know what the demons stole?” Elizabeth’s stare was becoming more and more intent. “It rarely happens that the Kobolds are so willing to get banished. The defenses of our Duchy against incursion are, unfortunately, all old enough methods that most of them know how to avoid them.”

“The merchant was transporting a captured monster,” Irwyn preluded, hesitated for a moment and then continued. “If I understand it correctly it was a so-called Wrathsinger.”

“And they were transporting something so exotic unannounced,” Elizabeth frowned, apparently not even considering how strange it was that Irwyn knew the creature’s name in the first place. Though Irwyn had hoped that would be the case. “Idiots as greedy as the demons. I wonder how they had even managed to capture one. Did they have any mages with them?”

“Not besides me and I ran for it when we got surrounded,” Irwyn shook his head. He decided not to mention Desir. “The monster was held in an incredibly magical vault and they had a whole arsenal of enchanted weapons,” not that it had been nearly enough.

“Escorting something like that without a proper escort is not just reckless, it is downright illegal,” Elizabeth’s frown only deepened. “Someone else must have captured it and were likely trying to smuggle it by avoiding the scrutiny given to anything with several escorting mages.”

“Is it that profitable? Just the equipment must have cost a fortune,” from Elizabeth’s expression he was guessing it was not the ‘slap on the wrist’ type of crime.

“Cores from monsters of that caliber are not just valuable,” Elizabeth shook her head. “They are a strategic resource, House Blackburg has the exclusive right to regulate their usage. Wrathsingers in particular are extremely desired because their cores are much more powerful than other monsters wielding similar power. Probably also why the Kobolds went all out to eat it.”

“Would it not be easier to just find one in the Void?” Irwyn frowned in thought. They seemed very much capable of withstanding its singing.

“No. Inside the Void Wrathsingers are perhaps the most dangerous monsters that can be encountered in the outer ‘layers’,” Elizabeth shook her head. “They can move faster than sound and adult Wrathsinger’s song can affect an area the size of our whole duchy. The reason why they are so easy to capture outside is because they are affected very strongly by the Planar laws.”

“Planar laws…,” Irwyn repeated. “I have seen them mentioned in some of the books you gave me, however, I do not quite yet know what that actually means.”

“You should focus on those then, they are the very foundation of magical understanding,” Elizabeth smiled lightly, forgetting her earlier frown. “I believe I sent you ‘The plane, the foundation and the origin’ by magelord Farmolian. As the title says, magic has three kinds of laws. Planar laws apply only on planes, such as realms or world dimensions; foundational laws affect almost everything except the paragon of magic; and original laws are completely unbreakable rules of the universe, at least as far as we can tell.”

“So Wrathsingers are not used to planar laws which don’t affect them in the Void,” Irwyn nodded, remembering the bird-like monster attempting, and failing, to take flight.

“Yes,” Elizabeth confirmed. “The Planar law of Finity weakens its song exponentially while the Planar laws of Gravity and Monochronology take away the extreme mobility it uses to be an apex predator in the Void itself; there most Kobolds would not have a chance of getting anywhere near close enough to kill one.”

“I see, that certainly explains things,” Irwyn nodded. It made sense under the assumption that the Kobolds did not actually quite die when ‘killed’ here. “And I assume they gain power from consuming the monster’s ‘core’.”

“Yes. In our current era, Greed is defined by growing more powerful through consuming what was taken from others.”

“And that used to be different, once upon a time?” Irwyn raised an eyebrow. ‘In our era’ was a very specific choice of words and he also remembered the vision where Kobolds were supposed to take the ‘excess wealth’ of mortals at their creation.

“Well, yes…” Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. “It’s a bit of putting the carriage before the horse but I suppose I can explain. Yesterday I mentioned that claiming a Name is perhaps the greatest achievement in magic, do you remember?”

“Yes, I certainly would not forget that,” Irwyn nodded.

“Well, claiming a Name is more than just taking power for yourself,” she explained. “By claiming a Name, a mortal can ‘change it’ and by changing a Name they shift everything associated with it. For example, you have definitely heard of the Duke of Wrath who founded House Blackburg…” she gave Irwyn a moment to nod. “That monicker is no exaggeration. He had claimed the Name Wrath and directed it against the Tyrant - another Name - who ruled these lands before the Federation was built over their corpse. Since the first Duke of Black built the foundation of that Name on despising that tyranny and practice of slavery, and no one has claimed the Name of Wrath since the Duke’s death, to this day all but the strongest demons of Wrath still subconsciously despise tyranny and slavery, unleashing their fury against any that they come upon. Should another Tyrant arise, even if that occurs on a completely different plane, demons of Wrath would immediately oppose them. To a lesser degree, any creature deeply connected to Void magic will more easily develop any traits or opinions that align with that, very much including humans.”

“Incredible,” Irwyn sighed in fascination, his mind racing. The sheer implications of that… he again remembered that book of a long-dead magelord: Inside were drawn marks that gave Irwyn powerful impressions despite not being magical by themselves. The book had also mentioned that those marks would retain power and meaning as long those names were not ‘reclaimed’. It was all far above his head, however, it was forming a picture of what might once be.

“Well, it’s really far away for us,” Elizabeth sighed, almost wistfully. “That kind of power is difficult to imagine.”

“You are right about that,” Irwyn nodded, remembering those visions. How he awoke and his brain tried to process senses that his body or soul simply did not possess. The immutable belief that magic so far above the current Irwyn he could not even comprehend the difference between them felt, in those visions, as meek as a candle.

He wondered what would it take to reach that immutable height.

“Do you want to keep watching… or just go?” Elizabeth asked after a moment, unsure.

“It is quite a fascinating sight,” Irwyn’s eyes shifted back to the Dredge, still spilling out tons upon tons of things of every variety. “However, now I feel even more like I should be improving my magic instead of sightseeing,” he concluded. He did not really have the knowledge to understand the inner working of the Dredge beyond a surface level. He had deduced that in some way it also provided the city with a lot of power, probably something to do with those simple glowing pillars sprinkled across the hall, however, it was, in the end, just a curiosity for him.

“That is the best attitude,” Elizabeth nodded with a smile growing on her lips. “In the end, your own power is the only thing that cannot be taken away from you,” she said with surprising conviction and drive. Perhaps there is more behind that than privileged upbringing, Irwyn thought. He had seen some of it as they trained the day prior. For all Elizabeth seemed sheltered and lacked common sense, she seemed to be driven when it came to magic and improvement. At least so far. “Let’s head back then.”

Once again, Elizabeth had brought him to what appeared to be her favorite restaurant, even going as far as to order them ‘normal’ food. Although it was a clear step down from the sheer experience of the ‘attuned cuisine’ Irwyn still very much enjoyed the well-made meal. Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed almost reluctant to finish her own dish.

Afterwards, he had walked home once again, not that he minded light exercise too much. It was still some hours before dusk so Irwyn had gone to buy a replacement for the casual clothes destroyed by Dervishes… enthusiastic instruction.

He had spent the rest of his day reading and conducting magical exercises. By the evening he was fatigued enough that he had managed to fall asleep relatively quickly despite the insomnia the continuous ‘cognitive enhancement’ caused.

And in the morning, like the days before, Elizabeth appeared knocking at his doors some 30 seconds after he awoke in the early morning. He would need to have a talk with her about that but not quite yet. He was still finding his footing in Abonisle and frankly, did not have much to do besides read and train. Once he was properly introduced to the Guild and had actual work to perform he would broach the idea of personal boundaries.

That being said, after they teleported back to the unbelievable training hall from 2 days prior, Elizabeth gave him an excellent surprise.

“Here,” she said with a smile, handing Irwyn a small black card. At first glance, it seemed like a thin plate of ebony metal, except it was clearly magical and not trying to hide the fact.

“What might this be?” he frowned slightly as he took the item into his hand. The material was surprisingly soft to hold and not the least bit cold to touch like one would expect metal to be.

“Push some of your mana through it, though do not overwhelm it,” she said expectantly.

Irwyn followed the instruction, a soft stream of magic flowing into the card a moment later. It glowed slightly and then words written in white appeared over the material. Put into neat lines.

Name: Irwyn Black;

Sponsor classification: 3;

Attainment: Manifestation;

Types: General practice, Type 2 offensive

“Irwyn Black?” he raised an eyebrow immediately.

“The most widespread name for orphans or people who wish to cut ties with their family,” Elizabeth explained, a hint of hesitation in her voice. “I would not expect it to raise any eyebrows.”

“Is this… a license to practice magic?” Irwyn asked, unsure. He had never actually seen one, though he had been told by Old Crow forging mage identification was practically impossible. “I was under the impression that not having a legal identity would obstruct obtaining one.”

“Yes, it took 3 whole days to arrange,” Elizabeth half-scoffed in disgust as if that was a long time for overturning what had to be half a dozen laws. But he supposed that was just her being used to overt influence. “Thought, congratulation. You now legally exist, just with your personnal information under seal.”

“Walk me through this then,” Irwyn nodded. “I am not sure what any of this actually means.”

“Fair enough, it’s rather simple,” she nodded. “Sponsor class 3 guarantees several privileges, mostly in case of legal proceedings. It is guaranteed by my family so be careful not to overuse it or it might get revoked at their convenience. For attainment, you don’t have much context to understand the classification but this intentionally underestimates what you are actually capable of by a fair bit. As for types, well, you are legally allowed to work as a generalist mage. The Type 2 offensive category also permits work such as guard duty, hunting monsters, or lethal self-defense if necessary.”

“Does this work as legal identification?” Irwyn asked. He knew that owning property and such technically required one to get issued personal identification; a process that took a long while and required proof of education and birth to be available when not forged. He wondered if this would work as a substitute. He did not care too much what he was ‘legally’ allowed to do, though he would keep it in mind as an excuse if convenient.

“Of course,” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you,” Irwyn finally nodded with a quirk emerging on his lip. He had no doubt this would come in useful at some point but that was not what had made him smile. Because one way or another, Elizabeth’s family had officially sponsored him for this license. And they would not have done that if they intended to throw him to his pursuers; it would be a pointless risk to create any potentially traceable ties to him. At least in the nearby future, they were most likely confident that he would not be found.

“Not to interrupt your good mood but we should get started,” Dervish said from the side. The man still wore very cheap clothing and unchanging expression, though Irwyn supposed he should not expect any change in just 2 days from such a stoic man.

The next few hours involved an unfortunate amount of stabbing and narrow dodges. Irwyn was, however, already getting noticeably better compared to just a few days ago. Dervish had even complimented that fast progress, though he warned that beginners often improve quickly and to not get discouraged when that slowed down. Irwyn personally mostly attributed it to the faster thinking he had been getting by flooding his brain with magic. Over the last few days, he had improved his comfortable limit from one and a half times the rest of his body to two and a bit over that.

Although his thoughts were getting noticeably faster, it was not quite like the slow-motion he had experienced when he had overdone it on the first try. Rather, it felt almost completely normal. He just… reacted to things faster, understood them quicker… but not in a way that actually disrupted him constantly. He wondered whether it would stay like that or if he would eventually reach a point where there was a choice to be made between even faster thoughts and comfort.

“You do not seem to be losing enthusiasm,” Dervish commented in a resting moment as the hours passed. Irwyn’s internal clock suggested it might be sometime in the vague vicinity of dusk, though it was difficult to tell after hours of training with no windows.

“Well, I have basically dreamed of getting tutoring of half this quality,” Irwyn shrugged as he waved his hand towards the room. He had, indeed, not even imagined getting day-long attention from a clear master inside a magical chamber that prevented exhaustion, hunger, and injuries.

“Very well,” Dervish nodded. “In that case, I will increase the intensity. I will be expecting the two of you here daily from now on if you have the time.”

“I would be happy to oblige,” Irwyn nodded and meant it. Elizabeth also gave her enthusiastic approval. It would make investigating the underworld more difficult before his meeting, however, if he kept making this level of progress it would be most likely far more worthwhile to focus on himself.

Besides that, Irwyn had not forgotten that Dervish had mentioned he should learn to imbue multiple intentions into his spells. If he grasped that by then it would be a better shield than almost any information.

He did actually have ‘friends’ in high places right now, after all. There was definitely a limit to how far Elizabeth would go to help him, however, she did not seem to asign much importance to the underworld. Hell, just mentioning the Third was probably an effective last measure to get out of a tough spot if his life was at risk. Therefore, the biggest danger was being ambushed and/or dying without having a chance to invoke these advantages.

And this… This training could save his life in the future, be it sooner or later.

“Very well,” Dervish nodded again. He tended to use similar sentences and a scarce few gestures. “We still have several hours. Stand up and defend yourself.”