Arcane Transmogrification

by Robert Harper

  Wizard Basalt and Arya rushed to Jade's side.

  Wizard Basalt turned to Danny, “Is it done boy? Is she free of the curse?”

  Danny just nodded mutely, too mentally exhausted to speak. It had been like trying to squish dough between his hands. The second he thought he had the entropy mana all trapped between his aura, it would escape out some unfocused on side.

  Arya whispered reverently, “You even regrew her arm.”

  Danny sat back up with this revelation. Looking between the two adults, he could clearly see Jade now sported two full arms. Most of those in the healers’ tent were in similar or worse shape.

  Shaking his head, Danny asked, “We have how many more cursed in the healers’ tent? The mana I just used took me a night and most of today to accumulate. How am I supposed to treat the rest of them?”

  The wizard and his wife looked at each other for a brief moment before the wizard simply frowned while shaking his head.

  Arya turned to Danny, “You are not going to be able to treat them Danny. Given how quickly the first ones turned, I doubt they have much time left anyway. Especially since doing so would reveal your secret.”

  Arya rose and left the tent without another word. Wizard Basalt reached down and took his niece's body into his arms once again. With tears in his eyes the Wizard said, “Thank you, Danny... Since she joined the order, I have always tried to keep an eye on her for my sister, but it hasn’t been easy.” The older man wiped at his face with one hand before holding Jade closer, “My little jewel.”

  Danny was staring at the ground shaking his head, “Is there no way for me to get more mana? I can't just sit back and watch all those women...turn into...those things!”

  The wizard put his niece back down moved over to squat down in front of Danny, “Boy, wizards have been trying for years to exchange mana. Even mana stones filled by one wizard, will not be usable by another.”

  Danny stared at the wizard and thought about his words, when an idea struck him, “Wizards! I'm not a wizard! Where are the elves?”

  Arya returned at that moment and answered him, “Danny, the ambassador and Leaf took advantage of the battle to slip away and finish the rest of the journey on foot. I am sorry, they will not be able to help you. I wish we could save these soldiers, but we do not have any other options currently available. Now, we are going to go and continue on to the elvish lands. It's too dangerous to stay here where we could be attacked again at any moment. We will allow them to attract the enemy while we slip away as well. Everyone, pack up.”

  Danny barely registered anything Arya had said past the elves having left. He hated the fact that he had the capability to heal those women but could do nothing about it. This new aspect ability was obviously meant for someone with a large reserve of mana or with huge regeneration abilities. Plus, he had to go and waste it on regenerating Jade's arm. That could have waited.

  *You actually didn't use much of the aura to regenerate her arm. Maybe ten percent of the mana you put into it. That's not enough to save someone else.*

  Danny looked up to realize that Brooke and Ivy were gone from where they had been standing outside and that the Basalt Shadow was quickly packing.

  Arya looked over and seemed to fixate on his eyes, “Danny, do you think you can return to how you normally look?”

  Danny stared at her dumbly for a second before looking down at his arms. He was still in Harmony Aspect form with its faint aura.

  *Danny, I don't know if this will work, but just use the rest of the aura.*

  Danny looked up at Arya, “Hold still.”

  Reaching out, he touched Arya's arm as the woman looked at him warily. It didn't take long for Danny to find numerous improperly healed breaks across the woman's body. One does not take up a career this hazardous without it leaving a story to tell across your body.

  While harmony magic allows the medically untrained to treat serious injuries, it only works as efficiently as the understanding and knowledge of the person who wields the magic. Danny was shocked when his aura ran out before he could fix all the issues he had found.

  Arya scrutinized his appearance, then nodded her head a few seconds later, “Good, back to your old self. Go to your tent and gather up your things. Hurry now, my husband will carry Jade until she wakes up.”

  Danny turned to leave, but Arya stopped him, “Danny, I am sorry we can't do anything for the soldiers. You know I would do whatever I could if there was a chance?”

  Danny looked back at her and frowned, then nodded before turning back to leave.

  Returning to his tent he had only visited briefly that morning, Danny found the girls waiting on him with their things already packed away.

  Before he could do anything, Ivy pulled him down to sit between her and Brooke on the ground, “Danny, thank you for healing Jade’s arm. Brooke and I peeked in while you were healing her. Is it true you also stopped her from turning into one of the dark ones?”

  Danny nodded, “Yeah, it was really difficult. If Jade was any indication, it will take me most of another day to have enough mana to save another person. At the rate it was spreading in Jade, I would be surprised if the rest of the cursed women survive the night...”

  Brooke pulled Danny over into a hug, “Well, that's it then, no use fretting over it. You have my thanks for saving Jade. Let's get your things and pack up the tent... Hey, you never told me you could glow! I've seen fireflies do that at night, but it was just their butts...” Brooke paused as if she just realized what she had said. “Wait, can you do that glowing thing again? I need to check something,” said Brooke as a mischievous smile crossed her face.

  Danny fell over as he swatted Brooke's hands away from trying to pull down the back of his pants, “Stop trying to cheer me up, I am trying to be dark and brooding! Ivy help me here!”

  Danny looked over to the other girl for assistance but only found Ivy already leaning over him with a predatory smile.

  Danny's eyes widened, “No! Not that!”

  Tears were streaming down Danny's eyes as he crawled toward the entrance to their tent. Arya stuck her head in and looked down at the two girls who were relentlessly tickling Danny. Shaking her head, she said, “Girls, that will have to wait until later. I hope you can be a little more discreet when we slip out of the camp tonight.”

  Ivy and Brooke immediately stopped and sat up, speaking in unison, “Yes ma’am!”

  Danny just rolled over onto his back and laid there breathing heavily.

  Smiling down at him, Arya commanded, “Hurry and pack up the tent, we are leaving.”

  ***

  With the faint glow of the moon as their only source of light, the two groups left the security of the fort and slipped out into the forest.

  Before they slipped out, Danny had seen a grim faced Lieutenant Cove headed toward the healing tents with a group of soldiers. Ashamed with himself, Danny hurried to catch up with his group.

  They did not dare travel by the road, as it was surely being watched by their enemies. They hadn't traveled very far when Wizard Basalt called out to let everyone know Jade was finally waking up. Everyone stopped to gather around where she was being carried in the wizard's arms.

  Jade opened her eyes slowly, squinting as if the faint moonlight was actually the blaze of a midday sun. Her bright green eyes almost seemed to glow in the soft light. Recognizing everyone, she smiled weakly, confused by everyone’s sudden close proximity.

  Wizard Basalt walked over and gently sat her down on a fallen log nearby. Jade kept an arm on the wizard until Ivy and Brooke squeezed in to sit down on either side of her.

  “Why am I so weak?” Jade said as she wobbled uncontrollably between the two girls.

  Danny laughed, “You don't just grow a new arm from nowhere. I am sure you will be weak for a while until you can get more food and exercise.” Thinking a bit more Danny added, “Your bones might also be a little weaker, so take it extra easy.”

  Jade looked at Danny with a frown
, and then tears started rolling down her eyes.

  Danny looked around unsure of what he had said wrong.

  Jade reached out her arms to him, and seeing what she wanted, he quickly knelt in front of her and gave her a hug.

  Jade pulled back enough so he was looking into her eyes. Jade's voice cracked as she spoke, “I was so worried, Danny. There was that explosion, and I knew you were out there somewhere. Then, when I was in the healer's tent, they either changed the subject or lied about where you were. Danny...”

  Jade hugged him as hard as her weak arms could as she cried.

  Danny craned his neck, as much as Jade would let him, to look at everyone for support in what to do. Everyone just quietly smiled as they watched them. A few wiped their eyes.

  Danny could hear someone blow their nose loudly, but it was as if they were far in the distance.

  *Awwwwww, Danny, please say we can keep her! Oh, and we need more tissues and popcorn when you next go to the store. We ran out.*

  Danny leaned his head down into Jade's shoulder and subtly rolled his eyes.

  CHAPTER 6

  The forest at night was a place of darkness broken only by small pools of light. Large clouds moving across the sky would only briefly allow the light of the moon to shine down on six weary travelers. The infrequent flickers of light caused the mind to see illusionary movement in the forest around them. The wind picked up as a cold front had begun to move in.

  Jade eventually released Danny, and the group slowly continued on their way. Jade stubbornly refused to leave Danny's side. The two thin teenagers walked hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, one supporting the other. When Danny had healed himself, he had used a considerable amount of his body’s resources, but Jade's healing had really put a strain on her body. They agreed that it would be best for her to walk awhile before Wizard Basalt began to carry her again.

  In the quiet of their trek through the trees, Danny’s thoughts went to where Phantom had gone. Why hadn't she returned yet?

  *Sorry, I don't remember seeing her get hurt by the zombie goblin, but I couldn't see much from where we were laying on the ground.*

  Danny would just have to hope she returned on her own, eventually.

  *Hey, I am going to try and experiment while your mana is already low.*

  Danny didn't dare reply, with Jade practically leaning on him, and just nodded.

  Danny could sense his mana being used without his conscious effort, like when Cranny would scan with air or earth.

  *Yes, we can heal specific parts of your body now. It works using the crystals surrounding your cells. I didn't focus on the crystals but they compartmentalized the mana I activated to only the parts that needed healing. This still used all the mana stored in those cells affected, but this is definitely an improvement.*

  Danny nodded his head in agreement, and Jade's mouth opened with a huge yawn.

  Wizard Basalt walked up next to sleepy-eyed Jade and patted her on her shoulder. She looked over at her uncle and frowned, holding tightly to Danny's arm. Her uncle chuckled and picked the girl up before she could put up any resistance. Danny looked over to see her pouting before the wizard’s lumbering gate quickly rocked her to sleep.

  ***

  By morning, they still hadn't stopped, and neither had the cold wind. A few drops of rain could be felt whenever they were not directly under the canopy. The forest hadn't changed much in appearance and Danny wondered if Leaf and the ambassador had made it safely to their home.

  Arya called for a halt and told everyone to put up their tents. Danny suggested making them a place in the trees, and Arya said they wouldn't rest here for that long. She did ask him to put up some additional cover around the location they had chosen. While the Basalt women would take turns standing watch, everyone else went into their tents to rest.

  Wizard Basalt placed Jade in the tent with Danny and the girls. Ivy and Brooke positioned their pallets next to hers to make sure she didn't get too cold.

  Danny was frustrated to find he wasn't tired at all. After half an hour, he got up and left the tent. Maybe getting something warm to drink would help him sleep.

  If it wasn't for his Air Scan, he wouldn't have spotted Brianna Basalt sitting on a large limb in a nearby tree. He waved to her and then realized there wouldn’t be anything hot to drink because nobody had started a fire. Shrugging, he figured he could always try heating something with magic.

  Brianna swung down from the tree and silently walked over to him, whispering, “You alright, Danny?”

  Nodding, Danny replied, “Yeah, just not tired. Not even a little.”

  Brianna nodded, “It has been an eventful couple of days.” She smiled, “I figured you would be in there snuggled up with my niece.”

  Danny smirked, “I probably wouldn’t have had a choice if she had woken up before we put her down, but she slept through it all. Hey, if you want to go sleep, I can watch. We are breaking again at noon, right?”

  Brianna hesitated, “I wouldn't mind that, but I don't want you missing any sleep if you are tired. You did use a lot of mana yesterday. My husband always sleeps like a rock after he uses a lot of mana. Takes all three of us to shove him off the bed the next day.”

  They shared a chuckle at that image, and then she went inside her tent after checking the area one last time.

  Danny climbed up to the branch Brianna had vacated. He had a long way to go before he reached the agility to match the ease that the woman had shown getting around the forest. His weakened state obviously didn't help that any.

  Danny, barely under his breath, asked, “Why am I not even the least bit tired?”

  *Well, it looks like you don't need to sleep.*

  Danny rolled his eyes, “Yes, thank you captain obvious.”

  *No, Danny, you don't understand. You probably will never need to sleep. Ever again. Well, maybe if you sustain some sort of brain damage and we can’t heal it fast enough.*

  Danny thought about this for a second, “Wait, can't I sleep if I wanted too?”

  *Your mind was already enhanced by the intelligence attribute. Then, your upgrade happened, and now your whole body is more efficient than ever. As far as sleeping whenever you want to, have you ever been wide awake and still was able to go to sleep? I’ve never been. Maybe if we used something from alchemy. Wait, can you get addicted to potions? I wonder if there are health potion support groups?*

  Danny ignored his last comment, “Well, I guess we can always train at night, and no one else would have to stand watch. I actually feel better with us using Air Scan than relying on someone else falling asleep or missing something in a blind spot.”

  *Yeah, I would have loved this ability back when some of my favorite videos games first came out.*

  Danny nodded, “I miss those too. I wish we at least had more books to read. This whole, books costing a small fortune thing is killing me. Also, no one writes fiction here yet, or maybe the whole extreme cost of knowledge is suppressing that as well…”

  *Oh, yeah. Since you received your upgrade, I have started assigning a measurement to your mana regeneration. I still have no clue how much mana your body can hold, but based on gut feeling, it is a ridiculous amount.*

  “Alright, so give me the numbers we have then.”

  *I randomly assigned your mana regeneration a set number of units of mana per minute, but I quickly started getting lost in the numbers. The amount of mana your body can store is so much greater than the amount you regenerate I found using percentages works best. Now, based on how much it costs to use some of the spells we started with, I have estimated that our regeneration is slightly above the lowest wizard. I tried to factor in for our advanced affinities, so this is all purely conjectural.*

  Danny grumbled, “We need to find a way to gain more mana regeneration. This is ridiculous. What is the use of all this storage we supposedly have if we can't gather enough mana to utilize it. Based on the aspect’s appearance in the mana room, my aura when using the Harmony
Aspect is nothing compared to what it could be.”

  *True, but for now you are storing all of the mana you regenerate. Compare this to before your upgrade. When your body's mana storage filled up, you stopped regeneration. Now, you can keep on producing mana long after you used to be full. Like the wizards have told you, you need to try to use as much mana as possible if you start to fill up. If we are not regenerating mana because our body is full, then we are doing it wrong. By the way, your Harmony Affinity increased to level eight when you were healing Jade.*

  Danny smiled, “Well, not wasting regeneration is good. The new level helps a little, and we are close to mastering that one.”

  *So it has been about ten hours since we used up most of your magic healing Jade. In that time, you have accumulated a little over ten percent of the total possible mana you can store.*

  “Is that a lot or not?”

  *Just this ten percent is about ten times as much as we could store previously. So as I said, your change definitely came with some serious perks. Also, don’t forget, I have been using air and earth scan. There is also the fact that your body uses anywhere from a third to almost half of your mana depending on how much you are physically exerting.*

  “Oh…” Danny sat up, “Maybe this isn't so bad after all. Right, let's try another aspect!”

  *We are on watch, and we can't use Air Scan unless we try the Air Aspect. Plus, we don't even know what that will do to your ability to use Air Scan...*

  “Well, then we won't use it for very long. The Basalts already know something’s up, so there’s no use trying to hide it.”

  *Alright…so I will activate your air asp...*

  “Flame on!”

  *Wait! We are in a forest, pyro.*

  Danny rolled his eyes, “We have used Flame Affinity in the forest plenty of times. We will literally be part fire. I am sure we will be able to control it.”

  *Famous last words...*

  Ignoring him, Danny jumped carefully down from the tree and walked over into a small clearing nearby. “I will not use that much mana, so stop nagging.”