Path of Wizardry

Azure flames were the first thing Amy's eyes saw when they fluttered open. Dancing beautifully in the sky, they seemed to almost rain down from above, covering all that she could see from her perspective. And, with dawning horror, she realised that she was stuck under flaming rubble, crushing her lower half. The last dregs of exhaustion fled as panic rushed in, suddenly realising what had happened. All around her, a large section of the slums had been exploded, returned to dust by some strange Spell.

Testing her legs, she found them not completely stuck, protected slightly by what she had hid under before the attack arrived. Felin was nowhere to be found yet her Witch's Cloak was still wrapped tightly around her, oozing viscous black. As much as she wanted to seek his counsel, she needed to get somewhere safe and fast. Small Shields and Wards sprang up around her bottom half, pushing against what lay on top of them. Then, with a fast heave, she crawled out. When she had just escaped, despite the support from the Spells, the rubble gave way, tumbling down onto where she once was.

Now free, she had time to fully assess the situation, looking carefully around as she lay flat against a collapsed wall. Small balls of that same blue fire hung a few stories above the ground, forming a uniform grid in the air. Higher up than even that, floating amidst roaring flame, was a familiar figure garbed in a large fur coat. Harrison tracked me already? It's been half a day, yes, but it should've been hard without the files. Was... Was that sticky sensation a form of tracking? Did he send some sort of artillery Spell at me from afar? At least I cast the Cloak in time otherwise...

Staring at the other end of the street, Amy took in the sight of a crater where several homes used to be, where she had been running through before she lost consciousness. If I didn't have that... I would've been dead. I've gotten out with a few burns, nothing major luckily. But if I cast the Witch's Cloak just a few seconds late... It would've been close enough to kill me. Did it disperse the tracking Magick on me to make the Spell less accurate? Doesn't matter now. I don't have time to dally.

Unknowable gathered around Amy as she began channelling it into her Witch's Cloak, more and more of her own personal mana joining with it, all in an attempt to enhance the Spell beyond its Tier and improve it. Only when she felt that invisible boundary shatter, as the Spell rose temporarily to Tier 5, did she attempt to move, shifting along the broken landscape, sneaking next to things that blocked her from his line of sight.

Across the way, near the edge of the crater, Amy caught a glimpse of something for a moment, just long enough to comprehend what that figure fleeing was, before it vanished. Not behind buildings, safe and away from harm, but consumed in a flash of blinding blue as one of the fireballs hanging in the air shot a concentrated beam of flame directly at the target. Even so far away, she could tell that not even ash remained of them, completely and utterly vaporised. Why...?

Slowly, Amy began to notice more things: small shadows underneath rubble; the smell of blood and burning; or barely visible shadows splayed across the ground. And still, her gaze did not waver from the crater at the centre of it all, instead only growing more intense. How many people had she gotten caught up in her troubles? How many people living in these slums, suffering through life, were killed by this man? For what? For a chance to catch this mysterious Mage who infiltrated his study? Does the association even know about what he's doing here? Could they be on the way to punish him for his crimes, for his wanton murder and destruction? No. He's a noble, an Archmage in name, and the son of a Monarch. He'll be given a slap on the wrist and let go. Maybe even praise if he manages to get a lead on me. Because isn't that what they all want? A lead on this suspicious Mage everyone seems to worry about? To this strange Forgetting?

Should I summon Felin again? It could be too risky though. What if he senses the mana he gives off? I don't even know how he got dismissed in the first place. Did he dismiss himself or maybe he got destroyed in the blast? What if Harrison purposefully interfered with Spells like it, ones that call for aid? Damnit. There is an easy way to test it though.

As far a distance from her that she could manage at her Tier, Amy began creating the beginnings of a Water Bolt aimed towards one of the fireballs in the sky. Just when she thought that maybe she could sneak magic past him, as soon as the Spell completed and began its flight, the grid of fireballs noticed its intent. Only, instead of only one fireball firing at it, two did. One extinguished the Water Bolt and the other - in too little time to react - went straight past her face.

Harrison immediately whipped his head over to her, but she was already long gone, running as fast as she could away while still hiding in shadow. Did the Cloak interfere with that too? She wondered as she sprinted. If I didn't have it on, the Spell would've sensed where I was casting it from and instantly killed me. How did it sense my position? There was no probing of the mana between me and the Bolt so it had to be sensing intent, somehow. That's why it targeted both me and the Bolt. The Bolt had intent to harm so it got targeted, and I had intent to cast the Spell to harm so I got caught up as well. What about the person who tried to escape? Is even intending to escape from this Spell of his enough to be targeted? No, it has to be based on action as well otherwise it'd be mind-reading. How can I hide my intent then?

Thoughts roiling in Amy's mind, she struggled to process it all, fighting through the adrenaline and shock of the situation. It was there, as she fought against her own mind, she decided to take the risk and put her enhancements in place once more. As soon as the mana in them flared to life, everything became so clear. The world around her became so much more understandable than before, as if everything was being seen through musty glass. Even in the euphoria of clarity, Felin's reminder of its corruption was always kept in mind as she tried her best to isolate those feelings and keep them at bay. Right now, she didn't need emotion, instinct, or what 'feels right'. She needed logic, and she needed action.

It was there in that slowed time, mana rushing through every neuron in her brain, that she came to a decision. Keeping as quiet as she could, lest Harrison's enhanced senses might catch it, she muttered a small Decree.

"I am unseen, so I am unreadable."

Fae mana locked in place around her, coating her Cloak in some strange shimmering Magick she couldn't quite figure out, the patterns in the mana odd and indecipherable. This time, when she sent a Water Bolt flying far away from her, only it was targeted and no second beam went off. She could even somehow feel that Magick trying to find purchase upon her, searching for something to target and yet it found nothing but her unbreakable Decree. Her writ was stronger than whatever demand the man's Spell had on her, for words meant nothing in the face of her Law.

What her mind was scheming up, the plan quickly forming in her mind, needed concentration. And it all hinged on one thing; her own strength. She knew she couldn't contend with Harrison Clarke, a former Archmage-to-be, a Journeyman with Spells at the peak of his Tier. She could not hold as much as a candle to his fiery power. Fortunately, Amy did not hold power in raw strength. Hers lied in trickery and distortion. So that is what she would do.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

* * *

Archmage Harrison Clarke remained in the sky above the slums, staring down at where the second Spell attack had come from. It all but confirmed her presence, the Forgetting Mage, and yet she evaded his notice through some strange means. With his signature Spell, albeit cast at a lower Tier 8 than he used to be able to, she shouldn't be able to escape easily and yet he could not help but doubt himself. When he had met her at the ball, she felt weak, almost like an Apprentice. That wouldn't make any sense however. How could an Apprentice Mage achieve all of that? Someone of this calibre, this Forgetting Mage, had to have been stronger than that. Journeyman at the very least, and most likely an Archmage.

He was risking everything by being here on his own, but he couldn't have afforded to wait. When his tracking Spell had locked on to her, he hadn't bothered to notify the other association Mages. They had been crawling around his entire estate since last night, digging through his home and his secrets, claiming to be looking for the Mage but he knew the truth; they were taking advantage of his position and generosity. For that same reason, he was here on his own, but the association no doubt were hearing reports of what was happening. Soon, they would be swarming here too and he must capture this Mage before they arrived otherwise they'd take his bounty for themselves.

Field of Stars searched endlessly for the Mage, and yet each time its sensors looked over where the Bolts had flown, they found nothing. A Mage of this skill should've already known what a Spell like this would do, and yet they tested it nonetheless. Why?

Something tickled in the back of his mind, urging him to look closer at where the Bolt had originally flown. Projecting his Spatial Senses forwards, they examined the area closely and found evidence of something there. Perhaps a hiding space that this Witch had hidden in? Wait, there's something-

The Field of Stars reacted before he did, a beam of bright Fire searing through someone running at the edge of the Spell's perimeter, someone who looked exactly like the Mage he had seen the night before. Yet, his Spatial Senses detected something strange about what he had just hit. It both occupied the space it had lived in, and yet didn't, as if it was both Illusory and Real. From what little he knew of Elemental Illusion, that didn't quite make sense. Illusions aren't real, they simply can't be. They can fake it awfully well, even fooling magical senses at very high Tiers, but nothing like this. How was something paradoxically real and unreal? How can the false become true? It simply didn't make sense.

Another beam of Fire lanced out, hitting yet another one of those strange Illusions. This time however, instead of disappearing into dust, it collapsed into strange monochrome mana. Again and again, beam and beam screamed out at targets appearing all around the crater below him, hitting them and causing them to unravel in strange ways. Some shattered like mana constructs, others burnt like so many other of his victims, and some barely reacted, continuing on with cauterised holes in their chests.

Whilst he didn't quite understand the mechanics of the Spells, Harrison didn't need to. The Witch was trying to confuse him by hiding amongst the Illusions somewhere, perhaps tempting him to let his Field of Stars hold back to conserve mana, leaving her a chance to escape. Even if his mana reserves were greatly lower than what they were at his peak, he still had enough to sustain the Field of Stars for another ten minutes or so. The only downside to that of course, was that it'd be the only Spell he'd be able to cast.

In spite of it all, through trying to keep a keen eye for trickery and looking for signs of the Witch, something kept nagging at him. Deep within his chest, on the opposite side of his heart, was a burgeoning shape, the lattice of a hollow sphere of crystal mana. In one of those clusters of mana, in the beginnings of what would form something greater upon ascension, something urged him forwards. It was his Immutability, the constellation of his Spellchains coming together to form something greater than their whole, to form... magic.

Something, someone, was infringing on his Immutability and he didn't know how.

He was almost scared into an outrageous response as soon as he realised it, tempted to raze the Field entirely in Starfire, wiping it and the Mage clean off the face of the planet. Only, he needed her alive. Harrison couldn't let the Mage die even if he wanted to. She was simply too valuable. So, helpless, he was left firing as many of his Stars off as possible, spearing anything he could see with their flares, overlooking the meagre.

Ultimately, it was useless. Harrison tried to find the source of that insidious feeling and came up short every time, ignoring the unseen. Was this what it felt like for those Monarchs? Those all-powerful gods of mana to feel helpless against the consuming might of The Forgetting? To slowly be encroached upon and made small, to be made into nothing? To be made to want to give up? To surrender?

And that was when he realised it, far too late. This was a Mage of Forgetting, no? So why couldn't she make him Forget about the obvious?

Coruscating Light smashed through his chest. All that was left was a gaping hole where his heart once was.

The Field of Stars collapsed and the former Tyrant of Stars fell with them.

Amy watched as Harrison crashed into the ground, lifeless. Peering over at him, she watched him from afar, trying to see how dead he really was. Her mana was dangerously low, consumed by many Decrees and Commands, all chanted silently to confuse and distort Harrison's perception of reality. Her countless Lesser Illusions no doubt helped, but she was limited in what she could do. Even with all her power, she didn't have a proper Spell to kill. So, she poured all her remaining mana into her Coruscation Bolt, bumping it all the way to Tier 4, a true Coruscating Ray, and fired it straight through him.

It wasn't just her mana that felt worn out, but her body did as well. All the Decrees she had cast fought for control over reality and had torn her body between them, contradicting itself and pressuring the caster for it. If she were to be using the Spell so extensively in the future then... she needed some way to resist that reality bending power that affects her self.

Exhausted beyond belief, she barely resisted the urge to slump against the rubble and rest, entirely spent of mana and strength.

"...-one," A mutter was barely heard form across the battlefield.

Whipping around, disbelief painting her face pale, she saw Harrison Clarke standing up straight, defiant. That hole through his chest was no longer a hole, rather a mess of regenerating flesh and guts, pulling itself back together. Glints of mana could be seen interwoven with the flesh as if the man's body was less human and more magic. Because of course it was. Amy wasn't dealing with an Apprentice, she was dealing with a Journeyman. And Felin had detailed to her exactly how a Journeyman gained strength and how they ascended. It wasn't from their minds, it was their bodies.

"I'm not done," He spat, blood leaking from his mouth.

All too familiar despair clouded her thoughts as she stared at Harrison, alive and healthy once more. Yes, he looked far more tired, even ill, but she was in no better state. Who knew if he could pull out that same grid of fireballs again and rain hell upon her until she died. Wasn't that what he was starting to do, near the end? She had to rush her last Commands and Decrees, their effects already limited due to fighting a Tier up, and he noticed right before she attacked.

Amy was finished.

Unless she accomplished what Felin warned not to do without him. It was the only thing that could save her. It would give her the ability to fight on a more even ground. It would give her endless mana compared to the trickle she currently wielded. It would empower her Spells and capabilities in what he had ashamedly called an ascension high.

She needed to ascend to Journeyman.

The only problem? Amy's Witch's Cloak was thinning and now Harrison Clarke glared straight at her, his eyes miniature stars that smouldered with rage.

Amy ran.

And Starfire followed.