Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 219, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 95 –

Terry's mana rushed over the battlefield like a blast of blistering ice, only instead of blossoming flowers of frost that froze their bodies, the Immovable Object spell was blooming over everything solid.

Terry's spell domain did not tolerate a single spell target remaining mobile within the grasp of his opponents'.

Shielded or not.

Giant or elf.

It did not matter.

None of them remained unimpaired.

"Enough!" Terry's mana flared to accompany his shout to gather all the shocked eyes on him just in time to perceive the intense pulse of disruption discharged from his body.

The budding elven spellwork shriveled back into nothingness before they could so much as consider whom to target with their spells.

"What are you doing?!" demanded one of the elves wearing golden armor decorated richly with sun insignia.

"What's this?" complained a giant.

"Unhand us, food!" demanded another giant.

"Perhaps he can't aim that spell properly?" guessed an elf. "That's okay! These brutes don't know how to disrupt spells. We should be able to get out faster and then we can slaughter them and bring back their bodies."

"No one is slaughtering anyone," shouted Terry sternly.

"Buahaha!" A giant, who was wearing no solid armor, abandoned his transfixed club and slapped a palm towards Terry. "Food should be quiet!"

A white glowing fist smacked the giant's skull and his head crashed into the ground with a loud bang.

"I'm the one who decides things around here, you furless worm!" barked Rafael. He held up a hand with extended claws that glowed threateningly.

Blood oozed out of the facial orifices of the unmoving giant.

Terry's eye twitched. He had just told everyone to halt the slaughter and, already, there was another dead giant.

My bad for forgetting to transfix not just their equipment but also their giant teeth…

Terry moved his mana to remedy that mistake, but hesitated.

But if I do that, then they can't talk properly. Damn it. Nevermind for now.

At least Rafael didn't kill the one we want to talk to.

His gaze briefly passed over the mana user among the giants.

He probably doesn't even accumulate it consciously.

I've heard of goblin shamans in the past, so there is precedent of one of the goblin folks spontaneously accumulating mana in a passive manner. I wonder where goblins fall in comparison to elves and dwarves.

As long as anyone could remember, elves had always been the folk with the most members passively accumulating mana. Nearly all of their bodies began the process even without any kind of active intervention.

Dwarves stood on the opposite end of the spectrum. Before the Veilbinder returned from his first otherrealm travels and brought back a system for actively intervening and jump-starting the mana accumulation process in dwarven bodies, there had not been a single mage among the stone dwellers. An achievement that had earned the Veilbinder a title as an honorary ancestor: the Human Paragon.

Humans generally fell somewhere in the middle. There had always been mages born among humanity. Even before spellwork had been developed, back when the term mage would not have been entirely appropriate, there were those who were born with bodies that developed mana pools to varying degrees.

Born mana users.

The process was passive and involuntary. At a time where children who displayed signs of mana were imprisoned in towers and expected to be obedient tools of the cultists, few humans would have voluntarily chosen to be mages.

"Why have you attacked the giants?" asked Terry out of curiosity.

"Is that a joke?"

"Because these brutes are threatening our borders!"

"They eat elves, what kind of question is that?"

"It's the season of culling. Don't you know anything?"

"Does he mean we're too young? We're adults already!"

"No, wait, look at the other one! That's fur! What is that? It spoke?"

"They're from the otherrealm travelers!"

"Yes, didn't one like that cause a ruckus?!" An elf tried to point at Rafael but was blocked by immovable objects on his armor.

'Season of culling'?

"A seasonal hunt, then?" prompted Terry.

"Kill!" growled a giant, which caused Terry to transfix their teeth after all. Their muffled grunts were not particularly better but still somehow preferable.

"Thanks for sharing." Terry rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I thought the Sun worshiped life? How does that fit with an ambush on living folks?"

"They're giants!"

"He can't be that dense, can he?"

"They eat elves. That kind of life isn't sacred…"

Mana, I hate fishing for intel.

A part of Terry just wanted to signal Bugsby to come out to observe how the sun elves would react, but his more rational side reminded him to avoid unnecessarily tipping his hand.

"Then what about the bodies?" pressed Terry. "You mentioned something about 'bringing them back'. That doesn't seem necessary for simply protecting your territory."

Wait, they don't know?

Terry noted the looks of confusion on the elven faces. "If you tell me about the Sun's hunt or why you need to take the bodies, then you can leave and take the corpses."

Terry's tongue felt icky falling back into the words of the Warlord. His chest felt stifled having to mull over every word and angle.

Frame the fact that there will be no fighting anymore as a fact. Give them options while letting all options share the relevant unspoken premise. They can make a choice, but they'll leave regardless of the choice.

Weave in the hunt while giving them an 'out'. If they really don't know the reason behind caring about the corpses, then they might be—

"Outsiders have no part in our hunt!" protested an elf.

Meaning the giant culling is separate from their highest priority hunt. Is Bugsby the target after all?

"Why are you helping the giants?" demanded an elf that seemed to hold the authority in their squad.

"Who says we're helping them?" retorted Terry. "If you haven't noticed, they can't move, either. I'm stopping all of you, because I have questions that I would like answered. Some for the Sun. Others for the giants."

Terry ignored the renewed grunts from the giants, who appeared less than eager to answer anything. "And, just to point out the obvious…" He pointed towards the giant corpse, who had died at Rafael's claws. "So far, we have done more harm to the giants than to you."

"Is that a threat?" The elven commander snarled.

"Did you find it threatening?" Terry scratched his nose with his pinkie finger. "Considering that none of you can move, even though you repeatedly tried to get rid of my spells, I suppose you would."

Yes, I've noticed what you're trying to do. If you think you can buy time with chatting and disrupt my spellwork without me activating it just as quickly, you're in for a rude surprise.

"I thought we could have a polite chat," said Terry. "I've heard the Sun is negotiating to visit my native realm. I guess that's not the case after all. We're just 'outsiders'. You couldn't possibly be interested in anything we could offer."

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Imply that I'll be part of the negotiation, so you should stay on my good side.

Now to really hammer it in…

"You might not be aware, but I was the one that led the way for us to enter your realm," said Terry ominously.

Technically true. I went in first. I may not be the official leader, but I went in first. I led the rest, even if I'm not the leader of any branch of the expedition.

"The Moon attacked me, and now the Sun is insulting me and refusing to cooperate," continued Terry. "I can't say I feel like granting any local elf the wish to leave this realm."

I don't even know if I could. We never got around to testing if I can unseal the portal to my realm.

Be that as it may, I certainly don't feel like it, either.

"Bastard!" cursed an elven soldier.

"Did I already mention the insults?" quipped Terry. "What is it then? Does the Sun want to leave the realm or not? Did I hear wrong?"

"Apologies for my subordinates." The commander forced her words through gritted teeth. "It is the highest wish of the Sun to find a way to save the next generation by letting them grow up in another realm, free of the curse's suffering."

Highest wish. Also the motivation behind the hunt?

"We are but soldiers here to fulfill our duty in protecting our territory," continued the elven commander.

Not quite true. From what I know, this isn't your territory. This is the giants' territory.

"I sincerely hope that our words or actions have not soured relations between our different factions," continued the commander. "We are not privy to the negotiation and we would be distraught at painting the Sun in a negative light and harm our chances at safeguarding our future."

Terry frowned. For one, he could tell there were rhetorical tricks being played, similar to his own, but he couldn't quite make out what was left unsaid or which point was advanced wordlessly.

I hate this so much…

"I would find that sincerity a lot more believable if I didn't have to restrain your spells every few seconds." Terry used the obvious chance to vent his frustration at having to deal with another politician in a soldier's uniform. "And I would perceive your 'painted light' a lot more positively if I didn't sense you fighting back against my spells still…"

Terry reminded himself of why he had come here to begin with. His first priority.

"My offer stands," said Terry. "Tell me what you want with the bodies, and I'll let you leave with them."

But you are going to leave.

"Let me implore you—"

"No." Terry cut her off. "Tell me now or leave empty-handed."

"I'm sorry, but we're just following orders," said the commander with a shrug. "The culling is part of our traditions. We're bringing back the bodies as proof of our kills. There is no meaning beyond that. We're soldiers, not scholars. If you want to understand the history behind the token of proof, then you'll have to ask someone else."

Implying that there might not be any, but that seems extremely unlikely. There would be easier ways to prove the kill than dragging entire corpses across half the realm.

Perhaps she doesn't know the exact reason either, but she's definitely playing up her ignorance.

Fine then. It was a fake point of contention, anyway.

"If you say so," said Terry with clear skepticism. He waited a moment to see if she would continue the conversation to defend herself or offer anything up, but when the silence continued, he decided to leave it at that to get this over with. "Take the bodies and leave, but do it quickly."

"We're most grateful…"

Yeah, right.

Terry didn't care to hide his displeasure from his face. He wanted them to know he was annoyed at their presence. He condensed his mana bubble further, which triggered a feeling of mana suppression and a sense of suffocation in their bodies.

Terry made it clear he would not tolerate any arguing over their departure. Under his and Rafael's scowls, the elves dragged the giant corpse where the commander had placed a fragile dimensional gate.

When the gate disappeared from sight, Rafael exhaled sharply. [Brother, please put that mana away. It's making my neck fur stand up and I don't like it.]

Terry rolled his eyes at his martialist friend, who had to share any kind of weakness exclusively via mental transmission and never out loud. He cloaked his mana and thinned out his mana bubble.

"Now to the main topic…" Terry's gaze moved over the savage giants to the only giant for whom he was holding out some semblance of hope for having a civilized conversation.

Terry's gaze softened when he recognized the fear in the mana-using giant's eyes.

I guess we're not really giving a good impression, are we?

Terry released his Immovable Object spells on the giant in question. There was no way to have a proper conversation with one partner having his mouth transfixed shut.

"Wuaahh…!" The giant ran away while bawling.

"Uhh…" Terry blinked.

Why did I have to undo all the spells? I could have just released the teeth.

Mana, damn it. Now he's already moving so fast that I can't transfix anything without hurting him. Stupid giant momentum.

Rafael glanced at Terry. "Should I—?"

"No, I'll get him." Terry darted after the giant. He didn't want to hurt the giant.

The fact he's running makes him already seem a lot more sensible than any other giant we've encountered.

Might even be better to speak to him away from the more brutish giants.

It's been a while since I've created divine barriers that are intentionally fragile. Let's see if I can slow him down without hurting him…

***

"Look, I'm sorry for tying you up, but I'd like to have a conversation, and we can't have that while you are running and screaming," said Terry wearily.

In front of Terry sat a puffy-eyed giant with slightly bluish skin. The giant was wrapped from head to toe in rope that looped into many immovable rings.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" asked Terry. [How about this?]

"What the—?" The giant exclaimed involuntarily when the intent of Terry's finger runes was directly communicated into his brain.

"So you do understand me," remarked Terry. The giant's short exclamation was enough to prove some vocabulary in the ancient elven tongue.

It would have been weird if only the one I'm trying to talk to couldn't speak the language…

"I don't want to hurt you," said Terry. He frowned at his own words.

Right, because that totally doesn't make me sound like I'm going to hurt him.

"…and I won't," stressed Terry. "Even if you don't talk to me. As long as you don't attack me or my friends, I will let you go."

The giant perked up slightly. "I don't want to attack you."

"Good, then we won't have any problems," assured Terry. "And if the sun elves come back, I can protect you."

The giant frowned slightly, which made Terry wonder if he had said something wrong.

"I can also protect you from the other giants," said Terry. "They didn't seem to be very friendly towards you."

"Only right," grunted the giant. "I'm weak. Small. Shame on my tribe. Failure. Should have fought better if I didn't want to be punched. Should have…"

The more Terry heard, the more he scowled. "You can call me Terry. Those…" He gestured behind himself. "Are Rafael, Bugsby, and Shroomling." He smiled. "As you can see, we're all small. Much smaller than you even." He leaned in closer. "Do you believe I'm weak?"

The giant shook his head vehemently before scrunching up his face. "Don't understand." His face contorted in confusion. "Small can't be strong. Small is weak."

"What's your name?" asked Terry.

"Deekin…"

"Deekin, you're not weak," said Terry. "Being small. Getting picked on. Running from a stronger opponent. Hesitating in battle. Looking for other ways to stop a fight." He caught Deekin's gaze. "I've done all of those. I am still smaller than you. I had others pick on me. I ran from battles. I hesitated. I can't help but second-guess my every action. And yet…"

Terry spread out his hands. "Do you believe I'm weak?"

"No…" Deekin replied with clear confusion written on his face.

"Deekin, you're not weak," stressed Terry. "You just have to learn how to master your strength. If anything, it should be your tribe that feels ashamed. They've failed you. That doesn't mean you're a failure. They are."

[This is a manipulation of what we call mana.] Terry spoke while pairing his words with signed finger runes. [I have it. I had others teach me how to use it. I'm working on mastering it every day. Mana. This is my strength.]

Terry smiled amicably. "You're small because you have the potential to be strong like I am. You're weak because no one ever showed you how to be otherwise. Your tribe either doesn't know or doesn't care, both of which are their faults, not yours."

Terry took a deep breath. "I have questions for the giants, but the others don't seem willing to talk to me."

"Giants shouldn't speak to food," muttered Deekin.

"Do I look like food?" asked Terry amusedly.

"Yes," replied Deekin reflexively before pausing in thought. "No? Too strong for food."

"Right, and I'm glad you noticed," said Terry. "You seem smarter than the others. I have no intention of being eaten. Every giant that tries will die. Can you see my problem? I need to talk to your leaders, but if all the previous giants are any indication, they're probably under a grandiose delusion of being stronger than me, just because they're giants.

"And this is where I think we can help each other." Terry his hands at Deekin. "You can speak for me and act as my representative to the giants. A giant talking to giants to overcome their delusions regarding my vertically-challenged position."

He pointed his hands at himself. "In exchange, I can make you stronger. I can teach you how to properly use your strength."

"Make me tall?!" Deekin's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"No, not that kind of strength." Terry shook his head. "You will grow on your own, as long as you survive. I'm not talking about that simple kind of strength." He lifted a hand. [I'm talking about this kind of real strength. My kind of strength. Our kind of strength. Being tall or short doesn't matter as long as you're putting in the effort to learn what I can teach.]

Terry observed the giant's reaction. Deekin wasn't very good at hiding his thoughts from slipping into his facial expressions. Terry could already see his speech had shown effects. Deekin was smart enough to link his own resentment for being weak to an intense desire for getting stronger, and to understand that Terry was giving him a chance.

Terry was sympathetic to someone with such an honest face. Even if a part of him was wary of meddling with the local power dynamics, he wanted to give teaching the giant his best shot.

Given his size, I should be able to directly show him the right circulations of mana while sensing any mistakes. He can't absorb my naturalized mana, but I can use it to show him where he should move his own mana and how.

Once he has the basics down, I could use some of the mana-rich food and treasures to accelerate the process. I should still have some of Bjorln's potions to get rid of lingering medicinal toxins afterwards. Does someone with such a tall frame even need to worry about toxins to the same degree?

I wonder if I could directly instruct him with my mana to teach burst techniques? Back when I learned them, I had to observe them in others, but wouldn't it be more effective to directly experience the feeling in your own body?

What about the spore powder? If it can help sense through a proxy, what if the person naturalizing it uses it themself? If Deekin used it on himself, would it amplify his mana sense to support his internal mana control?

Could I…?

Terry was jolted from his thoughts when he heard Rafael's voice in a mental transmission. [Are you sure teaching giants mana cultivation is a good idea?]

No, but, to be fair…

[Teaching a giant. Singular. A single giant that seems to be the most sensible giant around.]

***