Of Wizards and Ravens [Magical Academy, Progression Fantasy, Slice of Life]

Incorporating the curse magic alongside Salem's affinity was also… strange. There was something to it, something that seemed greater than an affinity should be. I wondered if there were ether techniques that would allow us to do more. But it was also dangerous, and a large part of me shied away from the very idea of doing more, as if it would damage my spirit and the powers I'd carefully built through it. Perhaps it was instinct, perhaps it was utter nonsense, but I was certain there was something there. Despite that, I wasn't able to put my finger on what it was.

Whatever it was, I didn't need to chase it down here and now. It could go onto the endless pile of mysteries that I would want to explore… some day.

One mystery that I got to chase down now was something I'd read extensively about in my grimoire, but hadn't actually had a chance to use yet: using blood as a focus for my curse magic. It wasn't exactly difficult, but it was a new application. The blood served as a channel, allowing me to effectively ignore things like range when I was working on the spell, but it also served as a source of power, and I was glad that I had it. Making a curse linger permanently was a difficult feat that required a lot of ether, and I was fortunate that the majority of the curse would simply lie dormant. If I was forced to create a curse that would last for as long as they lived, even with the blood, I wasn't sure that I would be able to do it.

Unfortunately that was relevant for if the curse became active. Even though I saved plenty of ether through leaving it inactive unless a highly specific condition was met, I still needed to power what would happen if that condition occurred. In the end, I settled on weaving a suffering curse that would continually worsen the damage that Salem's psionic attack would leave, which would last for a year and a day. If the person who broke the terms we had written out managed to survive us hunting them down, the debilitating mental attack, and a year of fighting against mental scarring… Well, at that point, I thought they'd well-earned their escape.

With our vows as sealed as we could reasonably make them, I took samples of Yushin's blood, ether, and chi, and began to work on incorporating them into the curse I was working on, laying out my notes to let everyone get a look at them.

"The basic principle is a sealing curse that's layered around you, but isn't targeting you. I know that sounds a bit strange, but you can think of it like how I can layer a curse over me, designed to target people who attack me, and I think it becomes simpler. But I want to weave this curse deeper than just your physical form."

I tapped the vials of glowing light and dark blood, then took a deep breath.

"I want to weave it into your bloodline, your core, and your ether pool, binding it directly into the full power of your spirit. That should provide unparalleled levels of power for me to work with, as it's so specific, so bound to you and only to you, and to your god. When the Traitor Wyrm–"

"If," Shé Rui interjected, and Salem muttered something under his breath about his new name literally being the Traitor Wyrm. I hastened to continue my explanation, not wanting to get into arguments about name magic, the selling of their original names binding them to these new titles, and the effectiveness of faith channeling from even non-believers. That conversation had been interesting the first time they'd had it. Not the fourteenth.

"If the Traitor Wyrm attempts to channel his power into Yushin's core to begin transforming the Nascent Immortal spirit within her core into his divine avatar, then the curse will trigger, and seal the Traitor Wyrm's power entirely. From Yushin, at least. I don't have the power or skill to seal a god. But sealing one specific person off, based around one specific ritual, with the spell woven around their specific powers, under the pretense of breaking their word and betraying their own child? That's a powerful basis for a curse, and it should be enough."

"It's like a locked door," Jackson said. "Even if someone's got a lot more muscle than you, if you can lock them behind a door, then their muscle doesn't matter."

"Unless they can snap the lock like a toothpick," Yushin said.

"Hopefully, even if I'm wrong, you'll have enough advantages stacked up to escape the ritual, at which point, there shouldn't be anything he can do. Gods are powerful, but limited when acting outside of their divine domains and clergy."

I sighed and gestured at my spellwork, then pointed to some of the gaps.

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"But this is where I am going to need all of you to help me. I don't understand the formations that are drawn on a core well enough to identify if an external spirit is beginning to flow through and turn it into an avatar, though I should at least be able to use Yushin's chi to patch over some of that. I don't understand divine magic well enough to describe an avatar, nor do I have the faith to patch that part of the spell. I'm going to need help."

"I will provide the faith and work alongside you," Jackson said firmly, nodding. "Protecting others is a part of the creed. This is my way."

"You're going to have to do a tremendous amount of work to get your affinity molded around this specific ritual, as well as Yushin's spirit," Martha Shé said, picking up the papers and looking them over. "You've made a good start, but you're far from done. What's more… will you have the shaping skill or ether reserves to cast such a massive spell?"

I gave her a grim smile and nodded my agreement.

"You're absolutely right that it's complex, and potentially beyond my abilities. But… I've done some research into affinity rituals, and I think I can make it work. I'm going to need a lot of ether crystal dust, which will be expensive, but–"

"We'll pay," Shé Rui said. "I'm not the richest person in the city, not by a long shot, but if it's going to protect my family, I'll find a way."

For a fleeting moment, I considered trying to drain them for the resources to conduct my own ritual at the Bloodflame Brazier, but I dropped it immediately. That was my draconic greed talking, wanting to extort others for my own gain. Besides, we didn't even know if the Bloodflame Brazier was still around, or if it had been destroyed by accident – though if it had been destroyed, that was going to be a serious problem with my plans. I'd need to find someone with a draconic affinity who I actually trusted fully.

"May I take copies of your notes and your affinity?" Martha asked, gesturing to the grimoire. "If each of us understands how your affinity works, and has the ritual, we can work on different sections, then combine them together and cross-reference our work with one another."

I hesitated at that. It was a reasonable request when it came to Yushin's life on the line, but sharing the complete details of my affinity felt exceedingly foolish. Jackson had shown us his, as simple as a cantrip yet impressively flexible, but he was far more trusting than I was. I didn't think I was going to have to fight Martha, but I also didn't want her to have such a specific idea of what I could do. Especially not with Shé Rui standing nearby.

"I'll share it with Yushin, Salem, and Jackson," I said. "We can all collaborate."

"What about that blue haired angelus who gave you stuff?" Jackson asked. "Could they help? They have a protection affinity, don't they?"

"Professor Caeruleum? They have an abjuration affinity, but this isn't exactly abjuration. Then again, they've already helped me considerably with my sealing magic, so it's possible. I'd have to ask them exactly where they stood on helping me. But…"

I studied the spell and traced a line around the spell.

"If I'm already going through the trouble of weaving the entire spell into my seal to add specificity, then trying to see if I can work with professor Caeruleum to–"

"No," Yushin said flatly. "I am willing to take precautions, but nobody outside of this room should be brought in on this."

"Are ya' certain?" Salem asked skeptically. "Pretty sure 'at the Erudite ought'a know?"

"This does not pertain to him," Yushin said. "I have already humored your paranoia for long enough. I have to draw a line somewhere, and this is where I draw the line."

I thought that Yushin was making a terrible mistake, and I told her so. Professor Caeruleum had helped me in my duel against Gerhard, they were trustworthy. She disagreed, and in the end, I threw in the towel. It was Yushin's life, and if she was willing to risk it, then it was ultimately her choice. I just needed to craft a massive ritual incorporating a priest as support, ether donated from multiple other casters, and the full chi and bloodline of Yushin, while also being built well enough to leverage Magyk's own restrictions against the Traitor Wyrm.

Easy.

Even with all my anxiety and constant need for work, though, things started to slow. Nobody could work forever without a break, and I was no exception. As I began packing away materials, Shé Rui looked over at us and gave us a slight smile and a nod.

"Do you have any plans for the winter solstice?"

"I'm going to go work with the temple," Jackson said, while Salem and I shook our heads.

"Yushin will need to be cultivating hard if she is to make it to core formation within the next few months, but even we're not entirely devoid of sympathy," the older wind cultivator said. "We're taking a break the day before, during, and after the solstice to hold a feast. If you would like to come… you are welcome."

"It's fun," Martha added. "I'm from here, so there are traditions you're used to, but also a few traditions from Rui's clan."

I glanced at Salem, who nodded, and I turned to the pair with a smile.

"That sounds lovely. Thank you for inviting us. I'm looking forward to it."

"Aye," Salem agreed. "Wha' can we bring?"

"Bring something from Hydref," Shé Rui suggested. "And the Isle of Dreki, if you'd like?"

I cast my mind back to some of the meals I'd eaten as a child. Not all of them had been bad, especially the ones with people other than the woman who'd laid my egg. Perhaps I could make some salt-crusted fish, like we had eaten at times…

"Sounds lovely," I agreed, then gave them a formal bow. "Thank you once again for inviting us."

Shé Rui gave me a slightly less shallow bow, then nodded and waved.

"Now go. We've kept you too late already. Enjoy your break."