The First Archmage

(Gavin)

"Gavin?" Michael asks.

"Yes?" I respond.

"Can you please fix my gravity?"

I look over at the Wolfborn, who is floating upside-down a few feet behind me. I may have gotten annoyed at his energy levels during our flight, and so adjusted his gravity to suspend him like that.

His tunic's slipped free of his belt, exposing his lean, developed torso while covering his face. There's a good chance he purposely let his tunic fall free, considering the things I heard him doing while he's been like this.

With a gesture, I undo my spell, and he finds himself spinning so he's facing the right way up. He grins at me as he fixes his tunic back into his belt.

"Thanks, Gavin!"

"Are you done being a hyperactive… thing?"

"Nope!"

I sigh, then return my gaze to the mountains we're flying over. We're about to enter the territory he mentioned with the giant spiders, where a Grimoire is likely hidden. Only we're coming through the normally-impassable mountains.

Even the Dwarfs' airships cannot fly high enough to pass over them, these mountains are so tall, though that is of no concern to my powerful flight magics and ability to supply us with extra air. Oxygen, according to Ryan, Eli, and Dylan.

Once we're clear of the mountains, I take stock of the location, looking around.

Hundreds of miles of forests, swamps, and fields, with mountains surrounding three sides of it, nearly seven hundred miles from where we passed being the 'opening', where the forests begin.

Spotting something in the fields that touch the base of the mountains below me, I frown. Not at the ruins there, though.

"Michael?"

"Yes?"

"When you said 'giant spiders'," I say. "You neglected to mention that they were over ten feet in height."

"They're so huge!" He exclaims, his tail swishing behind him. "I'm not afraid of them anymore!"

He got over his fear of mammoth-sized spiders by fighting giant spiders. Will he actually manage, once we're down there? Or will his fear return to him, since they're a lot larger?

Listening for a few minutes, both with my ears and my mind, I determine that the spiders truly are nothing short of a monster. They're primitive, like spiders are, but these ones are strong. I can sense strong magics within, and even though Michael's tales were probably exaggerated from his fear, their hides are probably tough.

I can dig out the ruins later, as that's probably where the Grimoire rests.

"Gavin?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you just manifest a Spear of Frozen Lightning?"

"It's easier than going down there and fighting them one at time?"

"Good point!"

I drop the spell, turning the plains into… a frozen thing with lots of frozen spiders, lightning crackling through the ice.

Adjusting my air magics, I drop us straight down my Violet Dragon forming and descending even faster, working on clearing out my impossibly-tough ice from the ruins. By the time we reach them, the entrance to the ruins is open, as are several of its areas.

Michael and I make our way through as I focus on sensing a spatial spell. If each Grimoire has a spatial ring, then it shouldn't be hard to find, doing that, now that I'm actually thinking about that fact.

New Skill!

Spatial Detection: You are able to sense the fluctuations in space.

That makes things easier. I can even sense the space-warped area better, now, and direct my Violet Dragon to it as Michael and I continue to walk through the halls. With a small change in magics, I look through the Violet Dragon's eyes as it reaches the chamber.

That's definitely a Grimoire on a pedestal, and it's guarded by another giant spider, this one almost fifteen feet in height, and it's eyeing my Violet Dragon warily. When I gently push with my mind, I feel a resistance.

"Hello," I say to it.

"Who dares to intrude upon my land?" The spider responds, sounding male, which I find interesting, as none of the ones outside – all of which were males – responded to my mental probings.

This one's more advanced than those outside. Let's see if I can't come to an agreement with it.

"Someone who could completely and entirely freeze not just these ruins, but the land outside for miles," I respond. "I am here for the Grimoire, which I assume you're guarding."

"I was entrusted with the Grimoire," the spider says. "By its creator himself. I will yield it to none."

This thing is more than a thousand years old. Might be a worthy foe.

"Do you know Oberon?"

"I have met the World Knight once or twice."

"Want me to give him a message?"

"Even my mind could never reach that far," the spider moves closer to my Violet Dragon, just a step. It's ready to attack. "Identify yourself, Creature of Flame."

Telepathy is Now Level 9!

"This… is a spell," I inform it. "It's a magical construct. I'm currently walking through the ruins on my way to that chamber. I sent it ahead to clear out the ice."

"I shielded my chamber from it," the spider responds. "I'm to guard this with my life, which I would fail in doing, should the Grimoire freeze. The magics contained within it are too powerful for any mere mortal to ever possess."

Must be the stronger version.

"Tristan?" I project my mind to the old sage.

"Is it something that can wait about five minutes?" He responds. "I think I'm about to crack one of these spells wide open."

Long-Distance Telepathy is Now Level 3!

"Do you remember a giant spider that talks?" I ask.

"Vaguely," he responds. "I remember coming across one, oh, twelve hundred years ago? Thirteen hundred years ago? Big fella. A bit of a runt among his kind, but he also possessed a mind akin to us Enlightened. Ah, yes, I remember, now. His name was Soren, I believe. I saw him a couple of times, and as time passed, his mind seemed to grow stronger and more civilized. Well, for a monster. Why?"

"Why do you think?" For someone his age, he seems to be oblivious to why I'd be asking about something only he'd know.

"Ah," he says. "You've come across something mentioning Soren? Does it mention how he died?"

"No, it doesn't," I respond.

"Are you leaving me, or attempting to stare me into submission?" The spider suddenly asks.

It did catch that that's nothing more than a magical construct, and that I'm not actually there, right?

"I'm communicating with an ally about the situation," I respond, then return to talking to Tristan. "However, he might die to a Blood Smite or a Void, if I get too much more irritated. He's refusing to allow me to take the Grimoire, as you entrusted him to guard it, and so he's doing so dutifully. Anything I can do or say that would make him realize he could just hand it over to me, without violence?"

Tristan's silent for several long moments.

"I'm getting impatient, mortal."

"Also, why does he keep calling me a mortal?"

I'm now very annoyed.

"Or shall I just devour your construct?"

I stop walking, looking at Michael, tell him I'll be just a minute, then Teleport to Tristan, grab the thinking sage by the back of his neck, and Teleport back.

Teleport is Now Level 2!

"Come on," I growl. "We're almost there."

"Attempt to eat it, and I will destroy you a little bit at a time," I snarl, and the spider flinches back.

A few minutes later, we reach the chamber just as the spider's preparing to attack the Violet Dragon, overcoming its fear of my threat.

"Soren?" Tristan asks. "Is that really you? Still alive, after all these years?"

The spider hesitates, then takes a step forward.

"Tristan?"

"It is you!" Tristan exclaims. "I suppose that explains why I can't remember what you and I talked about, the last time we met! I erased everything dealing with the location of the Grimoires from my memory, to avoid them being forced out of me, so that included our conversation!"

Tristan and the spider then enter into a rather lengthy discussion about the last twelve or thirteen centuries, and after half an hour of it, I weave together a table and a pair of chairs and sit, Michael doing the same.

As the sage and his… ally talk, I pull out some food and drinks, Michael and I sharing a nice bottle of wine I acquired from Jozan during my last trip there. Then a second bottle, because I can't get drunk, and Michael's amusing as he drinks. He's resistant enough to not actually get drunk, but it still affects him a little bit.

With a face red from the drink, he talks to me about his night with Warren last night, and his decision to take on Armageddon Knight. I manage to steer him into rambling about his adventures with the Dark Knights.

As he talks about those, I decide that maybe I can bring them to Nies as well. The Origin Being will probably-

Soren.

I look over at the giant spider. Nies said I'm as bad as Soren.

"Sorry to cut this reunion short," I project to the sage and the spider. "Soren is your name, yes?"

"What of it?" The spider asks the Violet Dragon warily.

Seems he still hasn't fully realized it's me, and that the Violet Dragon isn't an entity by itself.

"Do you know Nies?"

"Nies?" He asks, uncertainty in his voice.

"An ancient Divine Being, one of the Original Divine Beings," I respond. "Is a bit of a child, and the Origin of Adventures, Quests, Oaths, and Blood Oaths."

"No, I don't," Soren responds. "Will you ever show me your actual form? Tristan has stated that you and he are working together, and it is safe to hand you the Grimoire. I have already judged that he has stated that of his own will, and there are no ill magics in him. I still cannot sense your mind, though. The two companions here both have clean minds as well."

Soren entered my mind? When did he do that? And how? Did he do something to it? He shouldn't have been able to without my noticing, because of my Level 10 Mental Resistance. Just how powerful is he, to not only pass through it with ease and without my noticing, but for him to not even notice such a barrier?

Especially with my INT actively augmenting that resistance.

"Soren?" Tristan asks as I look over with my own eyes, rather than the Violet Dragon's, and Michael frowns at the sudden halting of our conversation. "The one with the blond hair and the violet streak? That's him."

Soren pauses, half of his many eyes looking between the Violet Dragon and me. I stand, walking over to them as the Violet Dragon moves to coil itself around me in the 'neutral' position.

"Me," I activate my Aura of Power. "And I would appreciate it if you refrained from entering my mind in the future."

The spider stares at me, and I sense something akin to a mix of awe and fear, as well as a bit of caution in it. Yet it doesn't seem to be affected the same way others are.

"So," he finally responds. "You're a Tier VI?"

Tier VI? As in, A True Tier I with a Tier II Secondary? He can tell that?

"You don't seem affected."

"I am Tier VII."

A wash of power fills the room, overriding my own, and I find a sensation of fear pushing at me. An Aura of Power stronger than my own. I'm aware of what it is, and even with my immense resistances and INT, it's still affecting me.

New Skill!

Species Dominance Resistance: Allows you to better resist the various Species Dominance Auras.

Divine Appraisal Resistance is Now Level 5!

Divine Appraisal resistance is Now Level 6!

Species Dominance Resistance is Now Level 2!

"If you two are done flexing your powers," Tristan says as my Mana Presence fills the room, sending him to his knees as he struggles to stay conscious. "I'd like my two allies to not become enemies and turn this into a battle."

"He started it!" Soren and I exclaim at the same time.

"Yes, and you've already knocked-out one innocent soul," Tristan says. "And I'm about to pass out, too."

Soren's Aura of Power fades, and I reign in mine and halt my Mana Presence.

"I have changed my mind," Soren says. "I will not give up the Grimoire, Tristan."

"You swore a Blood Oath," Tristan says.

"Indeed," Soren sighs. "If Gavin can slay my mother, then I will have no issue granting him the Grimoire. However, unless he can do that, I will not trust him to guard the Grimoire properly. It is well within my Blood Oath to make that decision."

His mother?

"How powerful is she?"

"Tier IX."

Fucking hell. I go from one absurd monstrosity to another. And I'm willing to bet that her mental powers are even greater than her son's.