The Torch that Ignites the Stars (Arcane Ascension Book 3)

by Andrew Rowe

  Please do not disappoint me.

  -Mysterious Brother Entity

  That was a lot to take in. I already had planned to visit Farren for plenty of reasons, but this solidified the necessity of making that a first step. I’d shared most of that information with my group, but that didn’t mean everyone needed to come with me.

  The headquarters for Farren Labs was still deeper into Caelford, in the capitol city of Medrian. If we wanted to get there, we’d have to spend a few more hours on a train.

  I knew that was where I was going, but the others were a little bit less excited to jump straight onto another train. We didn’t have an exact deadline on Tristan’s request, after all, and not everyone was obligated to do exactly what Tristan wanted.

  “Why don’t we go to the Dawning Festival? I’ve heard the food is amazing, and maybe we could even enter some contests!” Patrick suggested.

  “Ooh. Festival food is always great.” Mara grinned.

  I was less enthused by that idea. There were people at festivals. Too many people.

  Sera offered a different option. “We’re right at the border of the Unclaimed Lands. We could take a quick jaunt into them, maybe find some monsters to contract...”

  Keras shook his head. “I don’t think you’re quite ready for that. Not by yourselves, anyway.”

  “Won’t you be with us?” Sera raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I’m heading to the Tiger Spire immediately. I’ll catch up to you for the train ride back, if not before.”

  “You think you’ll be there the whole vacation?” I asked.

  Keras nodded. “Probably. You’re welcome to accompany me there if you want, but you probably shouldn’t go in with me. I intend to push my way up very rapidly.”

  “...And we’d just get in your way?” Mara gave him a dejected look.

  “It’s not that. But I can’t guarantee your safety, especially at the upper floors.”

  Sera sighed at him. “Why bother, if the visages might keep interfering with you? If what Tristan told Corin is right, they’re never going to let you get to the top.”

  “I can’t stop trying.” Keras clenched his fists. “It’s too important. If they put obstacles in my way, I’ll cut through them.”

  “That won’t help much if they just keep throwing in random teleporters that send you back to the bottom.” I pointed out.

  “True. But I don’t think that’s Ferras’ style. From what I’ve heard, the illusion of fairness and consistency is more important to her. I’d also be able to discern that more easily with this particular spire than the others.”

  I nodded at that. From what I’d read about the Tiger Spire, it was much more regimented than the Serpent Spire was. Every floor had a specific theme. The contents of the early floors rotated on a weekly basis, always at a set day and time. The higher floors rotated more infrequently — monthly, and then supposedly yearly.

  It was much more predictable in general. Ferras was an engineer, and she valued preparation and methodical analysis. That was reflected in the style of her spire.

  Truthfully, that meant her spire was a better match for me than the Serpent Spire ever had been.

  I was tempted to go with Keras, but honestly, I agreed with his assessment. We’d barely survived each of our previous spire visits, and if he was going to be brute forcing his way toward higher floors, we’d eventually run into traps and monsters that might kill us outright with collateral damage alone.

  “Might be good to do some climbin’ on our own,” Mara suggested. “Be a nice change of pace to just smash through things without havin’ to worry ‘bout Mizuchi and such. Pick up some items, get some practice. Bet we could handle it.”

  “We don’t have a full team without Keras,” Patrick pointed out. “Hey, Keras. Do you think someone like Reika—”

  “Don’t.” Keras gave Patrick a stern look. “She’s not available.”

  “Aah—okay.” Patrick withered at the glance. “Maybe we could find a veteran or two to help us?”

  “They’re not likely to want to work with Quartzes and Carnelians. Mara might be able to join an existing team, given that she’s mid-way to Sunstone, but the rest of us?” Sera shook her head. “We’re not really ready to be climbers. Not without help. And moreover, we have a very limited time period we’re available. Even if someone wanted to work with us, having to leave on our schedule wouldn’t be very appealing. We could hire mercenary climbers to escort us up a ways, and I’d consider that…but it’d be expensive.”

  “We could take second Judgments,” Cecily suggested, so quietly I barely noticed her.

  “That’s...not a bad idea.” Sera made a considering expression. “It’s usually not advised at our age, but the Tiger Spire isn’t quite as brutal as some. And unlike first Judgments, you can bring magical items into second Judgments. That includes return bells. We probably wouldn’t succeed, but I think we’d have good odds of making it out alive.”

  I thought about Tristan, and how “good of a chance” he was supposed to have of making it through his original Judgment. True, he had actually survived, but he’d been taken away from our family regardless.

  What would I do if Sera disappeared? Or Patrick, or even Mara or Cecily?

  I didn’t like the idea of losing anyone else, but it wasn’t really my choice what they did. The only person I could choose for was myself.

  “We’re not ready.”

  Surprisingly, it was Mara that made the statement.

  Of all of us, I would have assumed she’d be the most excited about getting a second attunement. She was the strongest of us by a wide margin, and she was usually happy to throw herself fist-first into danger.

  When she saw us all looking at her in surprise, she continued. “We’ve gotta pretty good idea on how Judgments work now. We know there are people watchin’ us, and we know they might try to kidnap us or worse. Splittin’ up right now is a bad call.”

  “Sorry.” Cecily winced. “I guess it was a bad idea.”

  “No, it was a good idea.” Sera gave Cecily an affectionate nudge. “I think we all want more attunements. Who wouldn’t?”

  “Not sure I do, if I’m bein’ honest.” Mara somehow managed to shock us all a second time.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Growth rates and side effects. Been doing some readin’ of my own. You know why Derek only has one attunement? ‘Cause if you end up with two near each other, they can have interference, like with magic items. If you get ones with opposing mana types near each other, it can cause some real bad side effects, too. That ain’t common, but it’s a big risk.”

  I’d heard a little bit about that in my own reading, but getting two marks on the same location was pretty rare. Curtis, my old dorm chief, was the only case I could remember seeing. He had two marks on the same arm, which was pretty unusual. I probably should have asked him more about that, but I’d fallen out of contact with him after I’d moved in with Derek.

  “We could try to get artificial attunements,” Patrick suggested. “I think we could probably pick where they go.”

  “I’d probably be up for that, but I’d wanna know more ‘bout how they work. Don’t really trust ‘em.” Mara frowned. “I’d worry that they wouldn’t work quite right, or maybe they have tracking magic in ‘em or something.”

  I’d considered the possibility of tracking magic, but I hadn’t worried about it too much. Mara was absolutely right, though. Whoever made and applied an attunement could easily sabotage it in some way, with tracking magic or something even more nefarious.

  That made figuring out exactly how artificial attunements worked an even higher priority. I needed to be able to look at all their component parts and figure out which functions, if any, could be used against us.

  That was probably a long-term goal, but I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

  Patrick jumped in. “I like Mara’s first idea. What if we just go in with the five of us and take it slow? Maybe pick
up a few items, leave as soon as it gets dangerous.”

  “That still has the ‘people watching us might interfere’ problem,” Sera pointed out. “Keras, would you be willing to escort us through just a few floors? I think it offers benefits to all of us. Six minds could help solve any puzzle floors faster, and you’d be able to keep us safer in cases of physical danger.”

  Keras smirked at Sera. “I wasn’t planning to ‘solve’ the puzzle floors, exactly.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You already got in trouble with Katashi for blasting through walls. Do you want to have the same problem with this spire? You’ve drawn enough attention to yourself as-is.”

  “I’m not sure doing more damage would make the visages any more likely to interfere with me than they already are, but you have a point.” He sighed. “Okay. I can drag some of you with me, if that’s what you want to do.”

  Mara seemed excited, and Sera and Patrick were both warming up to the idea. Cecily was being quiet again.

  I hesitated, then shook my head. “The rest of you are welcome to go, but I’m heading to Farren Labs. I need to stay focused, and every time I’ve gone into a spire, it’s ended up being messy. I can’t add more complications right now.”

  “Boring.” Sera sighed. “But you’re probably right. If you really want to sit on a train for another day, I guess I’ll go with you.”

  I gave Sera a grateful nod. “Thanks. What about the rest of you? You don’t have to follow me.”

  “Actually, I kind of do. Retainer, remember?” Patrick grinned.

  I put up my hands in a warding gesture. “Sure, sure. But you don’t have to follow me literally all the time. If Keras is willing to escort some of us through a spire, that might be valuable experience. And I don’t foresee needing all of us for a visit to a lab.”

  “I guess...” Patrick looked troubled, but didn’t give an immediate answer.

  “I’ma go with Keras.” Mara jerked a thumb in his direction. “Think you’re smart to be avoidin’ more trouble right now, given how much you’re already in, but I don’t have to worry ‘bout that. And if Keras ends up back in a jail, ‘least he’ll have someone to bust ‘im out.”

  Keras laughed. “I’ll be busting myself out a little faster this time, but the help would be appreciated nonetheless.”

  “I...think I’ll go with Corin and Sera to the lab. I’d like to learn more about artificial attunements, too.” Cecily looked at me with a pleading expression, as if she needed my permission or something.

  “Sounds good, having another Enchanter will make this a lot easier. Maybe we can split up any note-taking responsibilities.”

  She gave me a grateful nod. “...I’d like that.”

  “Just you left, then, Patrick.” Sera turned to him. “What’ll it be? Gonna go with us to ask a bunch of technical questions about attunement design, or blast some monsters?”

  Patrick snorted. “When you put it like that, I feel like you’re really not very fond of the lab idea yourself.”

  “I’d much rather be climbing. But, as much fun as that’d be, I have some questions of my own. Farren Labs is one of few places that might have some idea about ascended attunements, as well as helping to repair my mana scarring further. Especially if Ferras herself might be around.”

  Sera had a point. Katashi had indicated that Ferras might be able to heal Sera’s mana scarring. While Sheridan had already helped heal Sera somewhat, Ferras’ help was still something that might be worth pursuing. Sera was almost back up to her previous mana limit, but her voice still sounded rough, and we didn’t know if any remaining scarring would cause her long-term health problems.

  “Point. Okay.” Patrick hesitated, taking a deep breath. “I...think I’m going with Mara and Keras. I mean, if that’s okay?” He gave me a pained look, and I briefly wondered if he wanted me to tell him he had to come with me. Maybe that would have been kinder, in some respects. I think he wanted to feel needed.

  But I didn’t want his whole life to revolve around me, and I knew he’d probably be miserable just sticking with me the whole trip.

  I gave him a nod and the best smile I could manage. “Of course. Just stay safe in there.”

  His own smile was half-hearted at best. “You too, Corin. Don’t you dare get hurt while I’m gone.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not the one going to a spire. I’m going to a science lab. What could possibly be dangerous about that?”

  ***

  After the talk, we discussed when and where we’d be meeting up. Sera, being the organized one, already had a list of hotels available for the area. She gave Patrick, Mara, and Keras the name of the hotel where we’d be staying. Patrick and Mara agreed to come meet us in a week if they could leave the spire safely. Keras gave no such guarantee, but he told us he’d plan to find us sometime before the trip back to Valia if possible.

  It was late when we finally arrived at the hotel that Sera had selected. Fortunately, Sera was also better at money management than I was, and she was able to pay for the rooms.

  The next day, we looked into Farren Labs. They had several different buildings, but it wasn’t hard to find the headquarters, where Anabelle Farren actually worked.

  Much like many of the buildings in Caelford, the headquarters for Farren Labs wasn’t tall — it was wide. I suspected the architectural difference had something to do with the apparent frequency of earthquakes in the area, but it’s also possible that I was totally mistaken because I never really paid any attention to architectural history.

  And I shouldn’t really call it a building — the headquarters for Farren Labs was more of a campus of structures, maybe ten or so in total. It took us a while just to find a central map, then find the “research headquarters” where we suspected Annabelle Farren herself could be found.

  The research lab wasn’t the largest of the structures, at least on the surface. It was only later that I would learn that the majority of it was located deep underground, in several subterranean levels.

  In retrospect, they might have been the cause of some of the earthquakes.

  The building was a pristine white, with walls of smooth stone that looked like they might have been cut from a single piece of marble. If I had to guess, the building itself had either been crafted directly with earth magic or modified with it to provide the look.

  Atop the building, I could see a series of metallic structures that were pointed skyward. Some simply looked like thin rods, but there was something else that had more of a bowl-shape. I didn’t know what I was looking at. They didn’t look like simple lightning rods or astronomical observation equipment to me, but I wasn’t really an expert.

  I didn’t bother putting that on my list of things to study later. That was getting a little overly full.

  Sera, Cecily, and I walked in the main entrance with high hopes and lofty goals. Unfortunately, we may have made a slight miscalculation.

  After walking through the double doors to the lab, we met not with Anabelle Farren herself, but rather a receptionist at a front desk. “Do you have an appointment?”

  Sera stepped up front. “We do not.”

  He gave a bright, ever-suffering smile. “I’m sorry, but our research team is very busy, and generally do not meet with anyone without an appointment. Who were you hoping to see?”

  I took a breath, suddenly realizing the scope of what we were asking. “Anabelle...Farren?”

  The receptionist’s expression never changed. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

  Sera and I exchanged glances, then I looked back to the receptionist.

  “Could we make an appointment, then?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible at this time, either, as Miss Farren is completely booked for the next several months. She has asked not to have any further disturbances during that time frame. If you’d like to come back in about six months, I would be able to request an appointment at that time, but there are no guarantees that she would agree to a
meeting. I would advise heading to the main office to speak to, well, literally anyone else.”

  Sera took over, speaking with more confidence than I could have managed. “We’ll need to speak to Miss Farren directly. She’ll want to see us, I guarantee it.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.” The receptionist looked more impatient and annoyed than just skeptical. “I see that he’s an Enchanter, but just a Carnelian...is this about an internship? Such a thing is beneath Miss Farren’s concerns, but if you’d like to intern here for the winter, I can direct you to the right office to apply for one.”

  Sera’s eye twitched. “No, this is not about an internship. And it’s not just about him, either.” She turned around, pulling up the back of her shirt. “Do you recognize this attunement?”

  The receptionist narrowed his eyes. “No...I...don’t, actually. Which is rare, I assure you. Wait, you’re not one of the test cases, are you? If you are, then—”

  Sera turned back to face him. “I’m not a test case. I have an Ascended Attunement. And this guy,” she jerked a thumb at me, “is an Arbiter. I understand you have a need for those.”

  The receptionist’s eyes widened. “An...Ascended Attunement? And an Arbiter? I, uh, appear to have misread the situation. May I see the Arbiter mark?”

  I pulled off my glove and showed him.

  “I...uh...forgive me. This is,” he coughed, “...a rare honor. I can’t promise an immediate meeting, but, um, right this way. We have a waiting room for honored guests, and I’ll make sure you have some refreshments while I speak to Miss Farren about a meeting.”

  The receptionist led us to a large room with a handful of comfortable chairs around a table. Sera angled straight for the table in the back with food, which was understandable, given that we’d been eating train food for days.

  I, however, was more distracted by the tall bookshelves lining the walls. Cecily rushed to one of them instantly, grabbing a heavy tone. “Corin, look! They have the latest edition of Practical Enchantments for the Creative Climber!”

  I walked over. “Isn’t that part of next year’s curriculum?”