“You’re right,” I replied. “And I’m sorry. I’m not going to lie, though. You’re frustrating the hell out of me, because I want to get to know you well enough that we can work together moving forward. That’s all I want, okay?”
Suri didn’t reply. In profile, her long neck was proud, her face painfully beautiful, but her gaze had a far-off, bleak quality I was all too familiar with. It was the thousand-yard stare of someone who’d seen too much, done too much, but survived.
“I’ll tell you one thing.” Suri next spoke as we were passing through the North Gate and back into Taltos proper. “I’m here for protection, too.”
“Roger that.” I closed the P.M. and said nothing else. We’d built some kind of fragile trust, and I wasn’t keen on breaking it just because I was curious.
“Whoa.” Karalti’s thoughts intruded into my own. “Bouncy Lady is intense, huh?”
I snorted softly. “I didn’t know you were listening.”
“Of course I’m listening. I can’t help it. Your Words wiggle around when you’re think-talking to your friends. I hear them in your body all the time.”
Friends, huh? I could see Suri clearly in my peripheral vision. She didn’t know I could watch her so clearly from the corner of my eye, and so I watched as she sighed and slumped in the saddle. She looked tired. Determined, focused, but tired. And troubled. Very troubled.
“Now that you’re big enough to give me a proper answer, I want to ask you something,” I said to Karalti. “What do you get out of this? Out of being with me?”
The dragon cocked her head from side to side while she wrestled with the question, just as she’d done as a hatchling.
“Lots of things,” she replied after a short time. “You’ve always been there, encouraging me and caring for me. You were the first thing I saw, so your Words were written in with my own… and now we will grow together.”
“Doesn’t it bug you to carry this hairless monkey around on your back all the time?”
“No.” Karalti reared her head back and snapped her teeth – the draconic equivalent of a ‘no’ headshake. “Neither dragons or humans are meant to be alone. That is why we form bonds of mind and blood together. As long as I’m with you, neither of us will ever be lonely… and that’s how it should be.”
I was taken aback – and no lie, her words made me blush. A small nagging voice in the back of my mind told me that Karalti was an NPC, an algorithm and a personality made up from a base set of two thousand different people. That same voice told me that she couldn’t really love me, and she was telling me what I wanted to hear. I told that voice to shut the fuck up.
“That’s about the best answer I could have asked for,” I said, patting my dragon on the shoulder. No way was I going to get misty-eyed while we were in the company of the Volod – or Suri, for that matter. “Speaking of growing, I guess we need to assign your points... and maybe start thinking about your Path. We’ve got fifteen minutes or so before we reach our target. You willing to tell me what you know about Words?”
We were walking through the city proper. Karalti reached up with a clawed finger to scratch her chin. “Words make up everything in the world. There’s many kinds... They all wiggle inside of everything. They come together to make new Words all the time. When you get lots of them Wording together, they might make a Human, or a Solonkratsu, or the city or the sky.”
I chuckled, and Suri turned to look over at us before she resumed brooding. “You’re describing code, Tidbit. Or DNA. Names for the proteins that build life.”
“Yeah! The way Words work is like language... but even language is made up of Words,” she said. “Capital W-words, not just little w-words.”
“Right. And there’s... 758 different Words?”
“Nope. There’s lots more than that. But some of them are brighter and wiggle harder than others.” She swept her muzzle around in a half-circle, eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. “And I think maybe some can be seen by humans, some by Meewfolk, some by Mercurions, and some by dragons.”
In all honestly, I’d figured that Archemi’s magic system probably sucked – mostly because of the resource limitations imposed on the core magic classes, Mage and Artificer. But even if a Mage had limited mana and their mana could possibly kill them, they had some pretty epic flexibility when it came to designing and implementing spells. I’d already picked up one Word myself - ‘Ori’. Any time I’d heard someone use a variation of a Light-based spell, they always used ‘Ori’ in the incantation. The system probably meant that Mages and Artificers could become intense magic specialists of any kind, and there were probably Advanced Paths that facilitated them. “That’s actually pretty nifty. So... next question.”
“Yeah?”
“What spells do YOU want to learn?” I asked. “And of the two Paths... which one do you like the most?”
“I can’t decide,” Karalti replied. “I want them all. You looked at my sheet yet?”
I interpreted that as the game telling me that I - the Starborn P.C. - was meant to make that decision about my mount. “Not yet. I’ll check.”
Karalti had 10 Lexica points now, more than enough to assign her a good range of spells. We now also had quite a list to choose from. Her spells were drawn from the Darkness element and the Life sub-element. I queried those first to learn more about what they meant, in terms of magic:
Elements
There are nine elements in Archemi: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Gravity, Time, Darkness, Aether, and Light. They are divided into three groups: The Physical Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), the Abstract Elements (Gravity, Time, Darkness, Light) and Aether, which is the Primordial Element.
Aether is the foundation of all the other elements, the Prime Word which permeates existence and coagulates into Mana. It is unable to be worked by humans in its pure form, as most Aetheric Words of Power can only be inferred, not observed. The exception to this are the Ten Universal Words derived from Aether. These ten Words are the keys to all magic.
Words of Power are used to manipulate and combine the other eight Physical and Abstract elements to magical effects. For example, if you speak the Words for ‘Strong Wind’ (Air), ‘Control’ (Universal) and ‘Levitation’ (Gravity) and channel those words into mana, the mana will react to your Will, transmute, and you cast the Fly spell.
The Physical Elements deal with material phenomena, and knowledge of the Physical Elements is very important for Artificers and Alchemists, as well as those who hope to become Conjurers or Elemental Specialists (Aquamancers, Pyromancers, etc). The Physical Elements are ‘paired’ in opposition to each other: Earth and Air are a pair; Fire and Water are a pair.
The Abstract Elements are subtler, dealing with unseen or immaterial forces that nevertheless exert a powerful influence on the world. They are important for all practitioners of magic, but especially for Thaumaturges, Spirit Knights, Paladins, Baru, and other similar classes. The Abstract elements function in complementary pairs: Darkness and Light; Time and Gravity. Unlike Physical Elemental pairs, which clash, Abstract Elemental pairings support and energize each other to the point where they are functionally inseparable.
Every element has sub-elements within its auspice. You must research more to understand the potential of each element.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I slogged my way through the info dump. I was sure there was another reason the Devs decided on this particular system - to weed out stupid people who wanted to become mages. Sadly, I understood why. There really was nothing worse than an idiot who thought he was the smartest kid in the sandbox min-maxing himself into infinity and then doing dumbshit things with spells he had no idea how to handle.
I decided to check out Life first, because Karalti had that elemental subtype, but Life wasn’t listed on the Elements Archemipedia page. To my surprise, querying ‘Life’ redirected me to the Darkness wiki entry:
Darkness (Element)
Darkness is the element of potential in the abse
nce of light: potential for harm, potential for life, potential for danger, power, growth, and decay. Along with its complementary pairing, the Light element, it is the element most strongly associated with living creatures.
Darkness can be functionally divided into four sub-elements: Death, Life, Knowledge, and Shadow.
Death magic relates to all matters related to death and dying: kill effects, life drains, spells that inflict potentially fatal damage to living things, and the control of spirits.
Life magic relates to all matters related to the generation, manipulation, sabotage, and restoration of living things. It is exceedingly rare. True Life magic has not been seen on Archemi since the Invasion of the Drachan during the Reign of Dragons. There are no Life-based Words of Power currently known to humans – however, it is known that there must be Life Words, as alchemical and herbal potions can restore HP, cure disease, and even regrow limbs.
Knowledge relates to learning, but also to all magic that affects the mind, senses, and perception.
Shadow is the ‘pure’ darkness element: Darkened Aether which manifests as the freezing energy of the Void. It is both generative and destructive. All Darkness spells have a Shadow element, but pure Shadow energy can be used to form damaging attacks, create curses that inflict debuffs, animate or destroy the undead, manipulate shadows, etc.
Darkness-aligned creatures take extra damage from Time and Gravity effects. They take reduced damage from Light and Aether effects. They gain +5 to most attributes during the night, and -5 to most attributes during the day.
“Well, aren’t we just a couple of special snowflakes?” I chuckled. “Here’s me, chosen by some old god and saddled with the Mana Spear, and you’re apparently the first dragon since the Drachan showed up to be able to do any kind of Life magic. If we get any more special, I might as well change my name to Gary Stuzin.”
“Wat?”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “Let’s have a look at these spells of yours. I want to have them by the time we accompany King Tightass to see his jeweler.”
Karalti only had access to Level 1 spells. She would gain access to higher spells every five levels from here on out: Level 2 spells at Level 10, Level 3 at Level 15, and so on, all the way up to Level 10 spells at Level 50. Well, spell. There was only one Level 10 spell slot on Karalti’s character sheet. I was guessing it was going to be something like ‘Nuclear Darkness Obliteration Five-Ways Kaboom’. Archemi seemed like that kind of game.
Whatever that spell was, it was a long way off. We currently had a list of eight to choose from:
Dirge (Death)
A curse that slowly damages enemies every turn and has a chance to cause the Deaf and Mute debuffs. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Bioscope (Life)
Analyze an enemy and learn their strengths and weaknesses. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Sense Aether (Life)
Detect and assess magical effects, artifacts, and locations. (1 Lexica required to learn)
Cursebreaker (Knowledge)
Cure one ally of status effects and debuffs. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Haste I (Shadow)
Increase speed on the ground or in the air. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Dark Power I (Death)
Double your Attack Power in the next physical attack. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Dark Focus I (Knowledge)
Double power of next magical attack. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Shadow Veil I (Shadow)
Cause an obscuring Area of Effect Darkness effect. (3 Lexica required to learn)
Sense Aether was a given. So was Bioscope. I knew from playing my fair share of JRPGs that these two abilities were indispensable for strategizing battles and for planning farming expeditions. Dark Power and Dark Focus were both good, because leveling the spell led to triple, quadruple, and eventually quintuple damage - not bad when a strike had the power of a dragon behind it already. Cursebreaker was useful, because if I were disabled - or if Karalti were disabled while we were flying with something like Blind or Concussion - then removing the Debuff quickly could make a huge difference in battle. It was also a prerequisite spell to others down the line that would be even better.
The others were all pretty solid choices. Dirge screwed with Mages and ranged attackers, and a quick check on Curse damage confirmed that it was similar to the Poison debuff, except that it couldn’t be removed with antidote potions – it had to be cured with Light magic. That was handy. Haste and Shadow Veil would both be good for evasion, but of the two, I preferred Haste. Karalti could already vanish in dark environments, a natural ability I suspected would only become more prominent the more she leveled. A bubble of darkness flying around was far more conspicuous than her natural camouflage.
Despite being tempted by Cursebreaker, I decided on Bioscope, Sense Aether, Dark Focus I, and Dirge. If Karalti cast Dark Focus, and then cast Dirge in the next action, then the affliction rate of the curse spell would become doubly effective. She could potentially blind and mute an attacker while their health dribbled away, which was always good if you were a DPS character like me.
Dark Focus had another perk: it could be used with Karalti’s breath weapon, which counted as a magical attack. That was indispensable. Her Ghost Fire currently did 199-205 damage, and she was now up to five blasts before she had to take half an hour to recharge. Doubling her firepower per round could only be a good thing.
When I confirmed the selections, I felt my dragon’s body heat against my legs, a flare of energy that prickled the hair on the back of my neck.
“Oooh...” She shivered, rustling her wings. “Yeah... Those are good Words. I gotta eat and sleep before I can use them, though.”
We were coming up on the Market District now. The smell of food made my stomach growl, but we weren’t here to eat. I took a piece of Venison Jerky from my bag, and chewed on it as the procession cleared a path through the winding streets toward our destination: Stefin Milosovic’s jewelry workshop.
Chapter 21
The Captain of the Kingsguard swept up the short flight of stone stairs to Stefin’s apartment, and banged a mailed fist on the wooden door, rattling it in the frame. “Open up!”
Something metal and heavy smashed on the floor inside, followed by cursing that grew louder as someone stormed for the door. My hearing was sharp enough that I could hear him muttering. “Cursed son of a fish-bit whore...”
A balding, beetle-eyed man with a beer gut pushing against the front of his fancy silk tunic opened the door. The color drained from his face when he saw who it was. He paled even further when he saw Karalti.
“Hello, Stefin.” Andrik lifted his hood so that the man could see him better.
“Your Majesty!” The jeweler bowed deeply. “What are you... Why do you grace my business with your presence?”
“A private matter. We must discuss it indoors.”
“By all means, Your Majesty, though my wife and child are upstairs.” He eyed the Royal Guard Captain nervously.
“Thank you, Stefin.” Andrik swept inside, followed by the thunder of hard-soled boots across the floor.
“Stay chill, girl. Keep an ear out.” I dropped down off Karalti’s back, and clapped her shoulder.
“Okay.” The dragon withdrew under a nearby awning and lay down like a cat, unselfconsciously bringing traffic to a screeching halt - but also keeping gawking onlookers away from Stefin’s store.
The door opened into the jeweler’s storefront. A shirtless, tattooed man with a cudgel who had been idling near the glass display cabinets stood up straight when all of us poured in. Behind the displays was the workshop, where Stefin had clearly just been working. A teenage apprentice, a thin, sallow boy with short dark hair, stopped grinding a stone against a lathe and stared at us as the jeweler led us upstairs to a sitting room.
Stefin fidgeted as Andrik swept his hood back. “Your Majesty, I was not expecting a royal visit. I have not prepared any sort of recept
ion. May I offer hospitality? Wine? We still have a bottle of that-”
“It does not matter. We will not be here for long,” the Volod replied curtly.
The craftsman led us to a parlor crammed with rich furnishings and landscape paintings. It was set up for noble guests, with gold and red velvet chairs, oil lamps, a bookcase, and a bowl of mixed grapes and apples. We filtered in, and Andrik casually plopped down onto one the chairs. Stefin stood by, wringing his hands. He struggling not to stare at Suri, and the looks he were giving her were not friendly.
“We need to ask you some questions, and we expect you to answer truthfully,” Suri said to him, as the Kingsguard stomped in and took their posts.
Stefin swelled up another couple of inches. “And who are you to be speaking to me in such a fashion?”
“This is the pair investigating the slaughter of our clergy by the Slayer of Taltos,” Andrik replied before we could, crossing one ankle over his other knee as he leaned back. “And you will abide by their demands, Stefin, or you risk my ire.”
Stefin swallowed nervously. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
I stepped forward. “Some Corvinus Rubies turned up where they shouldn’t. We're trying to find out how the Slayer got his hands on them.”
The jeweler began to twist the edge of his leather apron. “So, you’ve flushed out the killer, then? Khors be praised.”
“Don’t deflect, Stefin,” the Volod drawled.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.” He looked between us fearfully.
“Let me handle this,” Suri said to me by P.M.
“N.P.” I hung back, curious to see how she worked.
Suri regarded the jeweler with cool curiosity, hands folded behind her back. “How long have you worked for House Corvinus?”
Archemi Online Chronicles Boxset Page 54
