by Andrew Rowe
Illuminator: The Illuminator serves as a beacon of light and peace to all those around them, shielding allies against negative effects like fear and paralysis. Mana Types: Light (Primary), Water (Secondary), Air (Tertiary)
Sentinel: The Sentinel attunement emphasizes mental fortitude, providing superior resistance against mental spells. Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Mental (Secondary), Enhancement (Tertiary)
Transmuter: The Transmuter focuses on transforming materials into other types of materials, making it immensely potent at construction, as well as destruction. Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Water (Secondary), Air (Tertiary)
Appendix V – Characters and Terms
From Corin’s notes
House Cadence:
Magnus Cadence — Head of House Cadence, father of Tristan and Corin Cadence. Presumably also the father of Sera Cadence.
Laura Lyran — Head of House Lyran, mother of Tristan and Corin Cadence. Emerald-level attuned with the Swordmaster and Elementalist attunements. Member of Valia’s Council of Lords.
Tristan Cadence — Elder son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Disappeared into the Serpent Tower during his Judgment. Presumed deceased.
Corin Cadence — Younger son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Presumptive heir to both houses after Tristan’s disappearance. Earned an Enchanter attunement in the spire. Was given a mysterious new attunement by Katashi, the Visage of Valor.
Sera Cadence — Previously known as Sera Shard, Sera Cadence was legitimized by Magnus Cadence after passing her Attunement exam. She is presumed to be a bastard child of Magnus Cadence. After being legitimized, she is now a potential heir to the house. She’s my age and has a Summoner attunement.
University Staff:
Chancellor Wallace — She was in charge of all university activities. Deceased after the battle with Mizuchi at the winter ball.
Lieutenant Commander Jack Bennet — Vice Chancellor, former military commander.
Professors:
Professor Edlyn — Assisted with new student orientation. Teaches Enchanting class.
Professor Ceridan — In charge of Tiger Class. Teaches Elementalists.
Professor Lyras Orden — In charge of Serpent Division and member of the Whispers, an organization that secretly serves the visages. Orden was involved with a conspiracy to kidnap the visage Tenjin, and she betrayed me during a spire expedition in the middle of the first year.
Professor Vellum — Teaches classes on permanent enchantments. Served as my mentor for most enchanting-related studies during the first year. She severely hurt herself rescuing me and other students from Mizuchi during the winter ball.
Professor Conway — Teaches Attunements class. Died fighting Mizuchi at the winter ball.
Lord Jonathan Teft — In charge of Hydra Class. Teaches dueling.
Doctor Tordrin — In charge of Phoenix Class.
Professor Meltlake — General Magic Theory class. Legendary Elementalist and Patrick’s personal mentor. A former member of House Hartigan, she is Derek Hartigan’s aunt. “Meltlake” is a title that replaced her last name after a famous duel where she supposedly set a lake on fire. Has a persistent leg injury and walks with a cane.
Professor Vanway — Teacher for an unknown class. Not one of my professors.
Sir Tanath — A member of the Soaring Wings, and a Summoner. One of Marissa’s teachers.
Professor Vestan — Corin’s Introductory Runes teacher.
Students:
Patrick Wayland — One of my childhood friends, now my first retainer. An Elementalist and magical weapon enthusiast.
Jin Dalen — A mysterious foreign student from East Edria with a Sunstone-level Mesmer attunement. His family is sworn to House Dalen, the former ruling house of East Edria from the days before it was under Edrian rule. He was badly injured after fighting against me in the Serpent Spire, but escaped using my return bell. We ran into each other again after that, but things have been strained.
Marissa Callahan — One of my classmates. Usually called “Mara” by her friends, but I’m still getting used to the nickname. She’s a Guardian and something of a prodigy for our year. In the second half of the school year, she began training with Keras Selyrian to learn his combat techniques.
Roland Royce — One of Sera’s friends and a former friend of Tristan’s. Diviner. I think Sera may be trying to get him as a retainer.
Cecily Lambert — The younger sister of Yunika Lambert. One of my closest childhood companions. Things between us are a little awkward, since Tristan was engaged to Yunika before he disappeared, and there was an implication that Cecily and I might eventually get married, too. And then there was the training with father…anyway, things are strained, but we’re talking again.
Curtis Maddock — Dorm chief for my dorm. I, uh, probably should have talked to him more. He has two attunements on the same arm.
Lisa Stone — Former classmate from my childhood.
Jordan Jaldin — A second-year student that supervises one of the teams for the final exams.
Katherine Winters — A second-year student that supervised my team for the final exams. Goes by Kathy.
Other People:
Lars Mantrake — Shopkeeper for the Climber’s Court, a magic item shop. As a former climber, he has many stories of the spires, almost half of which are probably true. He told me a bit about Selys-Lyann, my sword, and I think he may have seen it in the past.
Keras Selyrian — Mysterious foreign swordsman that I first encountered during my Judgment. Currently serving as my bodyguard in order to get into the good graces of Katashi, the Visage of Valor. He’s taught me a bit of his fighting style, but he uses weird foreign magic, so I haven’t been able to learn all of it. He rescued me from Saffron, a child of the Tyrant in Gold, during the second half of the school year.
Echion — He’s a kid with an experimental artificial attunement that I rescued during my Judgment. His strange attunement seems to be based on god beasts, rather than conventional attunements. I plan to study that style of thing eventually.
Vera Corrington — Tower explorer that I first encountered during my Judgment. I broke her out of a cell, then she stabbed me in the back. Eventually, I found her and escorted her back to the tower, where she turned herself in to Katashi to help prevent collateral damage from some of her actions related to ambushing Tenjin, one of the visages.
Aloras Corrington — Automotive engineer. Vera’s brother.
Derek Hartigan — Heir to House Hartigan, an ancient noble house. Has an Emerald-level Soulblade attunement. We spent the second half of the school year living at his place.
Tavare — Derek’s Summoned blade elemental. Refers to themselves as “Radiance”, which is kind of weird.
Delsys — Derek’s Summoned flame/wind elemental.
Elora Theas — Heir to House Theas, an ancient noble house. She’s an Emerald-level Summoner, Derek’s former (current?) paramour, and has a contact with the God Phoenix. She’s also heavily involved with the same conspiracy that my brother is, but I don’t know what her real goals are.
Sheridan Theas — Elora Theas’ sibling, and a follower of Wydd. Wields the restricted “Necromancer” attunement, but specializes in healing. Derek usually refers to them by the nickname “Deni”. May or may not be flirting with me. Aaaaaah.
Vanniv — A summoned karvensi. Both Elora and Sera have contracts with Vanniv. Somehow fashionable, even when shirtless.
Researcher — A knowledge elemental that resides in the restricted section of the Divinatory.
Yunika Lambert — Cecily Lambert’s older sister, and Tristan’s former fiancée. Still not sure on her angle on all the politics going on.
Meredith Hawkins — A historical figure who supposedly escaped one of the spires after several years of being trapped inside. Commonly believed to be a con artist.
Johannes Edington — An academic who attempted to enter a Judgment and stay inside as long as possible in order to preserve memories of what the
rooms looked like. Emerged a few months later and published a paper on his findings.
Annabelle Farren — The owner of Farren Labs, the center for artificial attunement research.
Nakht — A worker for Anabelle Farren at Farren Labs with a strange, shifting aura.
Kahi Zephyr — A guide for Farren Labs.
Ashon — A researcher for Farren Labs with a bit too much interest in my Arbiter attunement.
Archduke Verena — The leader of an Edrian noble house many years in the past. He is seen, along with other members of his family, in a constructed scenario inside the Tiger Spire.
Dalen Mitsurugi — An ancestor of Jin Dalen in a constructed scenario inside the Tiger Spire. He was a wielder of Soulbrand, the Sacred Sword of Fire. Note that he uses the Dalenos naming style, meaning “Dalen” is his surname, not his personal name. I wonder if Jin prefers that and simply used our naming style while visiting Valia?
Jerome Schmidt — An Edrian noble and son of Kaspar Schmidt, who fought my great grandfather in the Six Years War. I studied his fighting style in my childhood.
Emma Verena — One of Archduke Verena’s daughters in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Emery Verena — One of Archduke Verena’s daughters in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Anthony — A manservant for House Verena in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Lady Nora Haven — A member of House Haven in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Caelyssa Ves — Goes by “Lys”. A retainer of House Haven in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Constant Beaufort — A member of House Beaufort in a part of the fourth-floor test in the Tiger Spire.
Len — Short for “Lydia Emulation”. A spiritual copy of Lydia Hastings, a commanding officer of the knightly order that Keras belonged to in his homeland.
Spirit Gateway Crystal — A sentient crystal in the Unclaimed Lands that created challenges for Keras when he entered a shrine.
Transcendence Gateway Crystal — A sentient crystal in the Unclaimed Lands that offers challenges for those that enter the crystal’s home.
Roy — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal’s challenges.
Elina Maryn — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal’s challenges.
Kester Boyd — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal’s challenges. Apparently worked with Lars Mantrake.
Visages:
Katashi — Visage of Valor, patron Visage of Dalenos, where he is a central figure in their government.
Melkyr — Visage of Resilience, patron Visage of Edria.
Ferras — Visage of Creation, patron Visage of Caelford.
Tenjin — Visage of Inspiration, patron Visage of Valia. Currently missing.
Kerivas — Visage of Law, second patron Visage of Edria.
Wydd — Visage of Forbidden Knowledge. Location unknown. Often depicted as a trickster or shapeshifter.
God Beasts:
Genbu, the God Tortoise — God Beast of Dalenos.
Seiryu, the God Serpent — God Beast of Valia.
Orochi, the God Hydra — God Beast of Edria.
Byakko, the God Tiger — God Beast of Caelford.
Suzaku, the God Phoenix — God Beast of East Edria.
Arachne, the God Spider — God Beast of (????)
God Beast Children:
Mizuchi — Deadly serpent, called “Hero’s End”. Child of Seiryu. Believed to be virtually invulnerable.
Other Powers:
The Tyrant in Gold — A divine being that is antithetical to Selys, and believed to be comparable to her in power. The scriptures teach that he is in control of the entire world outside of Kaldwyn.
Saffron — A child of the Tyrant in Gold. Tremendously powerful, most likely on a similar level to Mizuchi.
Major Nations:
Valia — Nation on the eastern coast of the continent of Kaldwyn. Home to the Serpent Tower and the Lorian Heights Academy.
Edria — Imperialistic southern nation. Conquered Kelridge during the Six Years War and nearly conquered Valia as well.
Caelford — Technologically advanced nation on the western coast of the continent. Allied with Valia.
Dalenos — Theocracy; covers most of the northern side of the continent.
Kelridge — A territory that was a part of Dalenos prior to the Six Years War. Conquered by Edria and now known as East Edria.
Days of the Week:
Tashday
Kyrsday
Fersday
Tensday
Vasday
Wyddsday
Appendix VI – Corin’s To-Do List
A Definitely Incomplete List by Corin Cadence
To do list:
Research: Arbiter Also other restricted attunements Chronomancer? Is this a thing? Do not break time
Research: Foreign attunements
Research: Ascended attunements
Research: Artificial attunements God beast attunements are terrifying Do I want one? Several?
Research: Crystal marks
Research: Servants of the Tyrant in Gold Also the tyrant himself
Also relationship between him and Selys?
Research: Sapphire-level attunements Higher than Sapphire?
Amethyst?
Mauve? Mauve not a gemstone and possibly not even a real color
Research: Other sources of mana How does this magic work on Artinia? Tyrenia? How can I get these as quickly and easily as possible?
Enhancement elixirs Do these work cumulatively with my attunement? Probably?
Better mana food
How did Katashi upgrade Mara’s attunement? Can I do this?
Mana batteries Eventually need all mana types
Use mana batteries to make bigger batteries?
Why didn’t all the monsters in the spire drop crystals?
Mental spell to improve haste Do not break brain
Improve mana threads
Determine odds Keras will eventually decide to kill me
Practice moving different mana types Should this really be on a checklist?
How do I recharge the Jaden Box?
I should probably replace the Jaden Box. =(
Investigate Selys-Lyann’s runes Is it really cursed?
How cursed?
Like, really super cursed?
Can I exploit this curse?
Bond with Selys-Lyann? Do not break soul
Unique attunement functions Definitely not actually unique
How can I fake them?
How to make contracts with monsters without a Summoner attunement
Can I modify my attunement?
Can I make my own attunements? Do not break socio-political system of continent
Or maybe do
Actually yeah definitely do that
Can those unclaimed lands crystals contact Selys directly?
Who is the Blackstone Bandit?
Why is Jin I’m just going to leave that last one open
Acknowledgements
First off, thanks to some of the people who helped make this book possible.
My literary agent, Paul Lucas, has been a huge champion for the series and helped encourage me to keep working at it. Thanks for all the help, Paul.
Ethan Ishikawa helps run the Discord community for my books, and also helped me work on higher quality versions of the attunement runes than I had for the previous book. Thanks, Ethan!
Similarly, Rob McDiarmid made higher quality versions of the runes for individual dominions and magic types. Thanks, Rob!
Devin McCarthy helped transform my (terrible) MSPaint and Excel maps for dungeon interiors into presentable artwork. Thanks for the help, Devin!
I’d also like to thank the Climber’s Court Discord and Reddit communities as a whole for being amazing and encouraging. Please feel free to join the other readers on Discord and
Reddit if you haven’t already!
Corin Cadence owes his existence to the “Cobalt Nightmares” role-playing game campaign by Bernard Hansel, Justin Green, Danielle Collins, and numerous other game masters and staff. While the Corin in this novel differs significantly from the character in that game world, playing “Corin Page” is what gave me the first hints of inspiration for this book.
Similarly, Sera Shard/Sera Cadence was inspired by her analogue in Cobalt Nightmares, played by Jess Richards.
As always, my beta readers were essential in improving the quality of this manuscript. My beta readers included Sean Anderson, John Bierce, Ariane Brandt, Luke Chmilenko, Heather Crosthwaite, Yvonne Etzkorn, Ira Ham, Gereon Hinz, Ethan Ishikawa, Jonah L.L., Rob McDiarmid, Ro Noel, Jess Richards, Bruce Rowe, Christine Rowe, Olivia Szachta, Liam Wales, Will Wight, and Brandon Yee.
Much of my inspiration for this work came from web serials such as Mother of Learning by nobody103, Worm by Wildbow, and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky.
Another layer of my inspiration came from JRPGs such as Final Fantasy, Tower of Druaga, Azure Dreams, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals, Ys, and Bravely Default. In specific, the massive towers owe much of their existence to the earlier JRPGs on the list, and the idea of building a magic system around character classes was largely inspired by Bravely Default. While many earlier JRPGs had “job class” systems, Bravely Default worked character classes into their story — and that’s something I wanted to expand on further.
