On the Shoulders of Titans

by Andrew Rowe

  I took a breath, thinking before I continued. “A popular theory in Edria is that the goddess altered us deliberately, so that only the worthy could use magic. Thus, magical power would be a sign of greatness and the goddess’ affection. I’ve always suspected it’s more like Hadrix described, however.”

  “Hadrix?”

  “In his treatises on ancient magic, Hadrix noted that older works often refer to external places of power that we may no longer be able to access.”

  Keras tapped his fingers on the table in what might have been an affirmative. “Dominions. I suspect that’s part of the problem. Might be fragments of other truths in some of the other ideas, too.”

  “Might be? Meaning you don’t actually know?”

  He shook his head sadly. “My sorcery, or magic as you’d call it, works just fine. And yes, some of the abilities I use draw from what we call dominions back at home. From what I’ve gathered from talking to others, I’m confident that your bodies are different from people where I come from — and that’s probably why you can’t use that kind of magic. I don’t know what caused that difference, though.”

  “That’s still something we can work with. If our bodies are different, is there some kind of magic that could force a change that would let me use these dominions?”

  “Probably, but that’s not the kind of magic that I use. Even if I knew how, though, it would be dangerous, and probably come with disadvantages. My people don’t use attunements. I’m not sure if they could use attunements. I’ve seen things that are similar back at home, but they’re nowhere near as complex, and they don’t seem to alter mana composition to the same extent as an attunement does.”

  That made me lean toward the explanation that our body changes were deliberate, at least at first. But then I realized it was also possible that attunements were developed as a reaction to people losing their magic.

  That did lead to an important question, though. “How common is your type of magic where you come from?”

  “If you mean dominion sorcery in general, not uncommon. I haven’t exactly taken a census. If I had to guess, maybe one in twenty people knows a bit of magic. More in cities with universities. Virtually anyone can learn it, but people tend to have talents for different types.”

  “Types?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorcerers draw from different dominions. There are a lot of them. They correspond to mana types, as well as what you’d consider to be combinations of mana types. So, things like flame or lightning. Most people only learn one or two, mostly because those are the ones they have enough natural energy in their body to get started with. It’s possible to learn more, but it’s harder for ones you’re not predisposed toward.”

  That sounded really intriguing. If people where he was from could use magic from birth, without any sort of arbitrary tests, that sounded far better...

  ...Except for the people with no magical talent, I supposed. Maybe there was something to that Edrian theory that the goddess changed us so magic could be earned?

  “How do you use your magic? What makes your body different from mine?”

  He waved a hand. “I’m not a good example for a lot of reasons. But let’s talk about a typical sorcerer. Our world is saturated with energy from other dominions. It’s all around us, just impossible to perceive without the right kinds of sorcery.”

  He paused, seeming to think about his words. “Let’s say we’re talking about a flame sorcerer. His body is connected with the dominion of flame, and it’s like a stream that he can reach into. He can pull out fire with his hands, shape it, and throw it — but a little bit of his own fire gets used up in the process. And that flame is what keeps him warm, so when he uses flame sorcery, he gets colder.”

  I blinked. “How much of this is literal and how much is figurative?”

  “Figurative stream, figurative reaching in. Literal cost. Using flame sorcery actually costs body heat.”

  “Huh. That’s...not appealing.”

  “That’s one of the easy ones. You really don’t want to use life sorcery. Anyway, that’s the basic idea. As the sorcerer uses the stream more, he gets more skilled. Learns to grab more fire at a time, making him more powerful. When the flame in his body recovers, it comes back stronger, too, so he can use more and more as he acclimates. Unless he uses too much. It’s just like exercise — if you do too much, you hurt yourself.”

  “Attunements work similarly,” I added.

  “Similar in that regard, yes. But your magic is very different in other ways.” He scratched at some stubble on his neck. “If being a sorcerer is like using your hands to gather water, an attuned is more like someone who has a bucket in the middle of the stream. The bucket is always filling up. When it gets too full, it overflows a bit, and then you’ve got a shroud. An attuned can reach into the bucket, but not into the stream.”

  That analogy made sense, but it did pose a question. “If we didn’t have any mana to start with, I could see why we couldn’t use the stream the same way you could. We couldn’t pay the cost. But let’s say I’m getting mana from my attunement, and it’s flame mana. Why can’t I reach into the flame stream?”

  “Maybe it’s because the attunement isolates that mana from the rest of your body, so you can’t use it the same way? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine on that. I’m not an expert on how attunements work. I will say this, though — I think the monsters around here use magic the same way that I do.”

  Now that got my attention. It answered some questions, and it raised a whole lot more. “Okay. What if I had mana floating around in my body that wasn’t in an attunement, because, say, I drank a potion I definitely shouldn’t have?”

  Keras frowned, considering. “Are you talking about Sera?”

  I nodded. “I don’t know what exactly happened to her, but her attunement isn’t working properly. If it’s leaking mana, could she use some of that mana through your type of sorcery?”

  “Might be worth trying. I’d be willing to give her some lessons and see if we can make it work. It’d be tricky, though. Most people first learn how to use sorcery through speech. There are other methods, but they’re more advanced.”

  “I’d appreciate your help regardless. And I’d like to observe the lessons, too. My new attunement gives me a degree of ability to transfer mana into others, so maybe there’s something we could do with that?”

  “Might be worth a try. One important thing I need you to think about, though.”

  “Hm?”

  “If this type of magic was deliberately taken away by your goddess, she might not be happy if it starts showing up again.”

  That...was a good point. “I’ll be discrete. But I do want your permission to tell this to one more person.”

  “As long as it’s just one of the people here, I’d be fine with that.”

  I shook my head. “Not them. Derek just arranged for someone to visit us that might be able to help Sera. But I need something to trade.”

  “And you were thinking information? Not a bad idea, but I’d rather you find another option if you can. If it is possible for your people to re-learn sorcery somehow, it could be the type of thing that has an impact on your society as a whole. I’m not sure you want to tell that to just some random person.”

  “They’re not exactly random. But, considering who it is, you’re probably right that I should be careful.”

  “Who are we talking about here?”

  “Their name is Sheridan Theas.”

  “Oh, lovely, another Theas.” He shook his head. “Thought I’d left them all back at home.”

  I paused for a moment. “There’s a House Theas where you come from?”

  “Yeah. They’re pretty prominent there, too. So is House Hartigan, for that matter.”

  I knew House Theas and House Hartigan were ancient, but I didn’t realize they still had branches on the mainland. That was...strange. Most stories involved whole families being shepherded to Kaldwyn by the goddess, never to return.r />
  Had some people been left behind, or just gone back at some point?

  That was something else I’d need to add to my ever-growing research list.

  At least I was finally making progress on one of my other research items.

  “Okay, Sheridan Theas.” Keras considered that. “What’s he like?”

  “They,” I corrected instinctively.

  “They?” Keras looked quizzical.

  “Sheridan is a follower of Wydd, and takes after them.”

  “I’ve heard of Wydd, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I paused, momentarily stymied. It was hard to remember sometimes that, much like I didn’t know much about Keras’ culture, he didn’t seem to know much about ours, either.

  This was the kind of thing our culture usually explained to children. I had to think about how to explain it in a way that didn’t sound like I was talking down to him. “Okay, so Wydd is one of our visages. The Visage of Forbidden Knowledge.”

  “Sure, I’ve heard that much.”

  “Wydd is legendary for constantly changing. Sometimes they’re old, sometimes they’re young, sometimes they’re male, sometimes they’re female.”

  Keras seemed to consider that. “Like some sort of trickster god? We have legends like that back at home.”

  “I...think most people would find that comparison unflattering. In part because of the whole heresy of talking about other gods thing, and in part because this isn’t about trickery. Wydd isn’t changing shapes to trick anyone. They’re changing because they feel differently at different times, so they change their form to adapt to their self-image.”

  Keras shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. That’s just...very different from what I’m used to. So, this Sheridan is, what, a shapeshifter?”

  “No, no, I don’t mean that Sheridan changes their form in an anatomical sense. Although I’m sure many people who take after Wydd would love to, though. And there are a couple attunements that can do that sort of thing. This is more about identity. For someone like Sheridan, they prefer to be male sometimes, female other times, and neither at other times.”

  I paused. “It’s also probably worth knowing that there are people in Valia who consider themselves male and appear female, or vice versa. Or just don’t think of themselves as being one or the other.”

  Keras seemed to ponder that. “Neither? Like...an elemental, or something?”

  “Might be a good comparison, I don’t know. I’m not really sure about how elementals view themselves. I imagine it varies.”

  “It does,” Keras replied with a surprising degree of certainty. “Okay, so physical appearance is largely irrelevant here. That’s sort of refreshing, actually.”

  “I....wouldn’t necessarily go that far.” I winced. “Racism, for example, is still alive and well. We’re just not too picky about whether or not people are male, female, or neither. Men can inherit just as easily as women in Valia, for example, but Edria is somewhat more complicated in that regard.”

  “Fascinating. I appreciate the lesson, and I certainly wouldn’t want to offend this Sheridan, or anyone else like that. And, now that I think about it, I suspect I’ve met a few others that are similar.”

  “I’m sure you have. Taking after Wydd, or one of the other visages, is pretty common here. We’re predominantly Aspectist, meaning that the visages are considered aspects of the goddess by most people here, and that means a lot of people worship the visages directly.”

  Keras cracked his fingers. “I’d figured that part out. It’s a little strange to me, having met some of the visages personally...but I’ve always had a strange relationship with religion in general.”

  “I’d be interested in hearing about that at some point. This might be an inappropriate question, but are you related to the Tyrant in Gold somehow? Or another foreign god? Our legends say they were all wiped out, but...”

  Keras sighed. “That’s complicated. Suffice to say that I’m not one of the Tyrant’s children, or otherwise related to him like that. If anything, I’d be considered one of his enemies. As for relationships with other gods, I’m afraid that’s not something I’m comfortable getting into with you just yet. Nothing personal, but it’s the kind of information that could get me in trouble. And, as you know, I’ve already got plenty of that.”

  I nodded. “Okay, that’s fine. But can I ask you another, slightly sillier question?”

  Keras raised an eyebrow. “Sure?”

  “What’s with the mask you wear whenever you’re outside?”

  Keras laughed. “Oh, that? Magic item.”

  I’d suspected that, but I didn’t sense an aura on it. That didn’t mean much, though. Keras’ magic clearly didn’t operate in the same way as ours in general. “What sort of magic item?”

  “Concealment. It makes it harder for people to recognize me unless they already know who is under the mask. It also makes it harder for divination spells to find me, which is the main reason I wear it when I’m out.”

  “Why aren’t you wearing it right now, then?”

  “The wards on Derek’s house serve the same function. I’m no expert at divination, so I don’t know if the house’s protection is as strong as the mask’s...but honestly, wearing that thing all the time is kind of irritating. Hard to eat with it on.”

  That was a little more mundane than I’d expected, but it did raise other questions. “Why bother with something like that? Is there a reason you need to be in disguise?”

  Keras sighed. “It’s related to your earlier question. I’m not working with the Tyrant, but he does have agents here. And I would really rather not run into them if I can avoid it.”

  I blinked. “Why? I imagine some random Tyrant-worshipping cultists wouldn’t be a threat to you.”

  “I’m not talking about Tyrant cultists, although the Faithful of the Golden Sovereign could be a real problem if they continue to spread the way that they have been. I’m talking about the Children of the Tyrant and their direct servants.”

  “...Are you implying that some of the Tyrant in Gold’s children are here? On Kaldwyn?”

  “I’m not implying it, Corin. I’ve had the misfortune of running into a couple of them. They are the primary reason I wear the mask.”

  I did not like the sound of that. “Are they as powerful as the legends say?”

  “I’ve read some of your legends. You’ve heard the one about Aayara stealing a bow and arrow from one of the visages?”

  “Sure, but I wouldn’t call that one a legend. That’s from a fiction series.”

  Keras waved a hand dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. The point is that the book ended with a battle between Aayara and Kerivas, with Aayara fleeing into the night.”

  “Been a while since I read it, but I’ll take your word.”

  “I’ve met Aayara, and I’ve fought one of your visages. It wasn’t Kerivas, and the visages aren’t all going to be the same level as fighters, but Katashi wasn’t exactly a noncombatant. My assessment? If Aayara chose to fight one of the visages seriously, that visage would be dead. No question.”

  I felt a chill run down my spine. “...Okay. Good to know.”

  “Not all of the Children of the Tyrant are as powerful as Aayara, of course. She’s one of the two strongest, so it may not be a fair comparison. But there are many Children of the Tyrant, and I wouldn’t put the least of them below an Emerald. If you see one, you run the other way as fast as you can.”

  “What about you? How would you fare against one of them?”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Depends on which it is. I wouldn’t take the risk of engaging any of them without a dire need. Killing one would risk bringing more children here, or drawing the attention of the Tyrant himself.”

  “Is there any way for me to know if I’ve even seen one of them? Don’t they just look human?”

  “They do. I haven’t found any trick to it.” He paused, considering. “They do tend to have false names
that follow a couple specific patterns, though. People who work for Aayara tend to adopt names that start with ‘ess’. ‘Sterling’, ‘Silver’, that sort of thing. Ones who work for the Blackstone use gem names.”

  I nodded at that.

  Keras reached up and pointed at his back. “Their servants often have an enchanted tattoo on the back of their right shoulder. I’d keep an eye out for those. And run the other way if you see those, too. Anyone who is a prominent enough servant to have a mark like that is probably going to be Citrine or Emerald level, too.”

  “What do you mean by an enchanted tattoo? Do they have something like an attunement?”

  “A Dominion Mark. It’s the equivalent on the continent I come from. I’m not familiar with any other marks that are quite as complex as your attunements, though.”

  Hrm. Does that imply that they have some kind of artificial attunements over there?

  Or does the Tyrant give out attunements in the same way that the Goddess does?

  That’s...all sorts of terrifying if he can.

  “I’d be very interested in hearing more about those.”

  “Maybe at some point. Not today, though. And it would be connected to learning more about dominion sorcery in general. You’d want a strong foundation before you start thinking about marks too much.”

  “Fair. Okay. Can I ask you to start some sorcery lessons with Sera and myself tomorrow? We can try a few experiments and see if she can manage anything.”

  “Sure, but I wouldn’t get your hopes too high. Even for a normal student back at home, it usually takes months before you can cast a single spell. You’re not going to learn overnight.”

  I nodded. “If nothing else, it’d be interesting to lean the theory behind it, and maybe some training exercises?”

  “We can try that.”

  “Great, thank you. Any other ideas on what I could offer Sheridan if you’d rather not have me tell them about how your sorcery works?”

  He considered that. “I have a few magical items in a safe place I might be willing to part with, since it’s for a good cause. But it’d take me some time to get back there and retrieve anything. The things I have on me would be too dangerous to give away.”