NOVEL NEXT Chapter Twenty-Seven: Conversations and Classes
I asked a few probing questions about the missing faction, but right now there was nothing I could do with the knowledge that a group had taken off with the bloodflame brazier. I wasn't capable of reasonably locating it, or the faction that had left with it. Most likely, they would be using its draconic magic to awaken and empower new forms and abilities, like Gerhard had.
It was likely that not all of the missing faction had banded together. Some would have simply run away to seek a better life, stealing as much wealth as they could before they departed, others would simply have died and hadn't been recovered yet. Which meant that there were likely somewhere between thirty to fifty Dreki out there who had enforced their power with the brazier.
That alone was troubling. I was confident my own compressed power and wizardry would be enough to match any other member of my family in a head on fight, assuming their power leaps were consistent with what Gerhard had displayed in his new form, especially factoring in the power loss from the Matriarch taking from them. I was confident my team could handle five or six of them together. In a fighting retreat, we might even be able to handle more.
Far more concerning was the fact that they'd known to go after the brazier in the first place. It was possible that they'd been looting the palace and stumbled across it through sheer coincidence, but I didn't want to hang my hopes on optimism. Gerhard hadn't been drained because his bloodline had been so depleted that her half-divine, half-bloodline technique hadn't even recognized him as a viable target, while I'd escaped by severing my connection to the progenitor of the bloodline in a manner similar to what Ketsalkuet's Grimoire had described.
If two Dreki had evaded the drain, then it was far from impossible that a third had. I didn't know who they were, or how they'd managed it, but there were endless possibilities: they could have been on another plane of Etherius, shielded by the powers of a more powerful god than the aberrant monster, protected themselves by finding a method to alter their own bloodline, and a dozen other things besides.
It was possible I was wrong, of course, but I had to seriously consider the possibility that there was a dragon at least as old, if not older, than Gerhard currently with access to the brazier and fifty semi-loyal Dreki allies. And that was far more concerning than just a ragtag group of rebels.
There wasn't anything I could do to get my hands on the brazier right now, but I resolved myself to start preparing spellglyphs again. I wouldn't skip sleep, toss money in, and bleed myself to the point of risking my own health as I had in my desperate preparations for the duel with Gerhard, but I could still spend a bit of time each night before bed to prepare one or two. It might not instantly let me match someone older than Gerhard, but it would help level the playing field. Furthermore, just because we'd managed to deceive the dark sect about Yushin's origins didn't mean I shouldn't prepare myself for a confrontation, just in case.
I'd had a lovely summer, relaxing as I had, but that was coming to an end, and it was time to put my nose to the grindstone.
The meeting ran on for a while, with me occasionally verbalizing my support for Gerhard, or expressing my own opinions. Jackson did the same, but Yushin and Salem simply sat in silence, watching everyone. Frankly, given the strange and powerful scent that both of them put off, that was probably plenty effective, and helped them remain mysterious.
Eventually, the meeting came to a close, and Gerhard began walking us back to the portal. As we walked, he raised an eyebrow at me.
"So, how did you know about the bloodflame brazier? Only Mother's first five generations, and those who demonstrated exceptional use, were ever read in on it."
"I didn't know for certain she had it, but I suspected she did. I knew about it from a magical perspective, and put certain pieces together. I want to make use of it."
Gerhard gave me a look, then sighed.
"You've been speaking too much to the fae, and not to the family. You're beginning to hoard secrets like I do coin. Its price is going to be steep. It differs from person to person, but it always weakens your bloodline density temporarily, and that's just to increase it later. The price for another form, like my own, was losing access to my dragon form. Now, I have a form with the raw physical might of my dragon form, all the speed, no scent trail, and far amplified fire intensity, but… I'll never fly again."
When he mentioned never flying again, there was a touch of genuine vulnerability in his voice, a longing for something he had lost. Hearing him mention me hoarding secrets while he was being open and honest with me – at least, as far as I could tell – hit me harder than I had expected, so I sighed and launched into a description of my research into the kingdom of Ketsalkuetspalaltepetl, and their dragon mages who merged their pools together to create more of both powers.
"Ah. That does explain some things. It makes sense for you to melt down your wizardry and use it to restore and empower your bloodline, while keeping access to your admittedly rather potent curse magic," Gerhard said contemplatively. "Tell you what. If you're actually able to help me recover it and replace it in the vaults, then I'd be happy to let you use it for your ritual. I can even show you Mother's notes on activating it – she had laid out how to amplify bloodline potency or to create a new form."
I didn't correct his assumption – I might be striving to be more level with him, but there was being honest and being foolishly open. It was interesting that the Matriarch had apparently written notes to show Gerhard and the others on those two, but had failed to show them how to add or remove elements of their bloodline. Just what was lurking in the depths of our bloodline? How much of the family's natural draconic power had been crushed to make a path for one woman?
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"Em?"
"Don't call 'im Em," Salem snapped, and I felt a spark of affection in my chest.
"Sorry, I was thinking about the ritual," I said. "But he's right, please don't call me Em, just Emrys. I'd be willing to help gain access to the brazier, but it's risky, and I can't speak for the rest of my team, since they don't get equal compensation, and I'd say this goes beyond simple mercenary work."
"I would be ha–" Jackson started to say. I was certain that he was going to boast about how happy he'd be to help his friends for free, or some other kind but naive thing, but Yushin cut him off, her sharp fingers jabbing into his forearm as she grabbed him.
"At the moment, we do not even know where the brazier is, or indeed, if it truly was broken by accident. If it was found accidently by a young Dreki, it is possible they merely thought it was a bowl of fire and blood, and shattered it. We can discuss payment if or when the rebel faction is revealed to be in possession of the artifact, as it is unreasonable to negotiate with so many unknown factors."
"Well said," Gerhard said, nodding along. "You have a pragmatic mind. What demonic serpent did you say your bloodline was?"
"Tennagur, the Shadowed Serpent of Angelus Slaying Venom," Yushin said, the response coming by rote. "Though I have used my wizardry and cultivation to expand and change my abilities."
"Interesting," Gerhard said, nodding. "I don't know as much about the demon realms as you all do in Cendel. We don't have demon wastes, our island is too small. Either our task force kills them or they escape into the ocean."
"Wha's your task force like?" Salem asked curiously, and the pair fell into a conversation about the handling of aberrants on the island. Before too terribly long, we returned to the still-under-construction school on the island, and one of the artificers who had been working on building it confirmed the teleportation location with Gerhard. The older dragon handed each of us a letter of credit for our time, signed and sealed by Dreki First National Bank, then the wizard sent us back in a rush of brown light.
"When will ya' be able ta' do tha?" Salem asked curiously as we emerged from the teleportation business and onto the streets of the Citadel of Ether.
"Activate a circle, or create one?" I asked. "Also, I'm hungry, we sat through that whole three hour meeting without anything more than those little skewers of cheese and tomatoes. Who wants to eat?"
"Is there a difference?" Jackson asked. "And I could eat."
Yushin and Salem agreed, and we headed to a restaurant that specialized in Hydref cuisine. Seeing his parents had made Salem a bit nostalgic for home. Once we'd all ordered and taken our seats, I explained.
"We only glossed over it a bit in some of the theory portions of conjuration, but they're famous enough I get the idea, if not the practicality. Teleportation circle is a seventh circle spell that lets you create a circle on the floor and step out to any other circle you have the coordinates for, and it can be made into a permanent circle via the permanency spell," I explained as I munched on my pile of lettuce doused in lemon and oil. "But! Anyone who can cast teleport can use it to transport from one permanent circle to another. That's what they were doing to get us to and from the Isle. The expense to cast permanency on teleportation circle is exorbitant, and presents something of a security risk, but is too convenient to not have a few."
"Wha' abou' the one 'at my Mum and Da' were usin' in High Trees?" Salem asked. "It dinnae need ta' even be activated."
"That's a ninth circle spell," I said with a shrug. "I don't know anything more about its operation than that. But I suppose there's a reason the Erudites were involved. There aren't that many ninth circle spellcasters out there."
There was a beat of silence before Jackson spoke up.
"What's everyone's schedule for this semester? Classes start soon, and I want to make sure I don't have to shuffle things around to be in the same team as you all for Second Year Applied Mage Combat."
"I've got Intermediate Ethics: Understanding Stressors as well as Practical Magecraft on Monday," I said. "Then combat and Intermediate Transmutation on Wednesday. On Friday I finish out with Adept Abjuration and Conjuration Two."
"You take too many classes," Yushin said, though there was less reproach than usual. "I too have my own ethics course on Monday, then an illusions course, combat and battle magic on Wednesday, and I complete with a mandatory secondary ethics course and poison magic on Friday."
"I've also go' two ethics classes, but mine are Wednesday an' Friday," Salem said. "Monday I've got Practical Magecraft af'er a divination course, wit' combat on Wednesday, and enchantment magic on Friday."
"It's unfortunate both of your magics are so insistent on requiring more courses on managing the Creep," Jackson said, frowning. "But I suppose that is… fair. I have ethics on Monday, followed by fire magic. Obliteration and combat for Wednesday. Then Friday I decided to take Introduction to Abjuration, and Beginner Restoration magic."
"I'd be happy to give you pointers on Introduction to Abjuration. Who'd you get? Caeruleum is really good."
"I have professor Samir."
"Both Gemheart and Caeruleum aren't a fan of him," I said, scrunching up my nose. "Best of luck."
We chatted about our classes as our salad plates were cleared away and dinner was brought out, talking well into the night. It was finally time to return to school.