Mark of the Fool

Chapter 903: Where We Are, Where We're Going

More than a year and half had passed since the destruction of the Ravener in Thameland, and life in the City at the Centre of Creation—the city of wizards—had changed in certain ways.

Shrines to the Traveller had spread throughout Generasi and its countryside. While the city had maintained much of its separation from the divine, no one could deny that faith in the Traveller had taken hold there. She was an active goddess, and kind, and it was well-known that her followers were cared for, whether in Thameland, Generasi or elsewhere.

Folk who had to travel by sea, or go into battle, or venture into the Barrens of Kravernus had begun wearing small charms around their necks. Charms carved in the shape of tiny lanterns.

But faith in her was not the only thing that had spread.

At this point, the Roth Family Bakery had five locations across Generasi now, with its first location outside the city planned for later in the year. No matter the location though, the legendary baked goods drew Generasians and even travellers from across the Prinean, lining up each morning for a chance to taste the warm freshly baked buns, creamy custards, fine cakes and more.

Those lucky enough to get their food before the bakeries inevitably sold out, would enjoy their meal either in the establishments, or while walking along the street, where they might pass one of several Roth Magic Item Workshops.

Alex had opened his second magic item shop—supplied with items from his own skill and Claygon’s help with dungeon core essence—it had proven to be a huge success. Now, he’d become the proud proprietor of three of these fine shops across the city, and the wait for custom orders was often a year.

That level of success, of course, was also true of his and Shale’s partnership.

Shale’s Golemworks had added three new floors to the original building, turning into a gargantuan workshop that produced golems and other magical items around the clock. Whether day or night, its windows would be all lit up as crafters laboured inside.

Around the world, the rich and powerful sought the opportunity to pay whatever they had to for the chance to own at least one of the Shale-Roth dungeon core essence-powered golems. When one travelled to the courts of monarchs both far and wide, they would often find a golem standing near the throne, there to eliminate any would-be assassin who drew steel in the throne room.

Everyday Lucia’s growing fleet of ships—flying and seafaring—travelled the oceans of the world, battling the sea and its monsters, delivering precious cargo to realms from the frozen ice cap in the north, to the frozen ice cap in the south.

Even in the countryside of Generasi, one couldn’t miss the ways the General of Thameland and his many companions had changed the realm.

Claygon’s spawn patrolled the countryside under his command. Venom walkers, chitterers, bone chargers, spear-flies and other Ravener-spawn had once terrorised Thameland.

Now, they protected the citizens of Thameland and Generasi in the countryside of both realms, helping mortals and wizards, hunting down dangerous monsters in the wilderness. Claygon’s Earth Tillers improved the harvest in Generasi as well.

Both Generasi and Thameland had grown more powerful.

And Generasi’s people had grown more hardy.

Over the months, Alex’s method of blood magic enhancement that he’d pioneered on himself and Hart Redfletcher, had been refined. Blood mages had taken the young archwizard’s theory and worked to make it applicable to a host of medical applications.

New versions of the process were developed, and while these new versions didn’t transform folk into superhumans like Alex’s original process, they were safer and designed to purify and build up the constitution of ailing bodies, as well as quickly fight off illnesses plaguing them.

The Council of Wizards had granted Alex—and the hard working blood mages who had built on his theory—awards from the city, some of which were now displayed in the university.

Throughout campus—even after Khalik and Thundar had graduated—Alex and his cabal’s names grew to legendary status among new students. Their names were used by recruiters from the university when they travelled across the world, and also in university classrooms by professors like Jules, Val’Rok, Mangal, Hak and Salinger, presenting them as role models for future generations of wizards.

In the year and a half since the Ravener’s fall, life had changed significantly in many ways.

Yet, for most, it was their new normal, and today—near the end of summer—it was just a regular day…

For most.

But not for Selina Roth.

The rising sun found the young woman standing in the courtyard of the villa—the same villa she and the Lus had stayed in, then was bought by Alex soon after the Ravener’s death—sunlight playing through her chestnut brown hair.

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At fourteen years of age, she’d hit quite a growth spurt and was already confirming, in height, that her family’s tendency toward great height hadn’t skipped her. Most of her baby fat was long gone, and although she was still in that gangly stage that many early teenage bodies fell into, she was already showing signs of growing into a commanding young woman.

Her green eyes were narrowed in concentration as she carefully wiggled her fingers through a complex series of motions.

“Watch this, Brutus,” she said. “I think I’ll be even faster this time.”

Stretched out on the ground about twenty feet away, the cerberus peered at her from one of his heads. The other yawned. The last was fast asleep.

Concentrating, Selina finished moving her fingers through the incantation.

The second-tier spell array formed within her mana pool with ease, an orb of flame taking shape above her outstretched hand. It blazed heartily in the morning sun as she concentrated, using mana manipulation to control it.

Orb of Fire was a simple spell, meant to conjure a ball of flame that could be controlled with a mere thought. For Selina, though—with her powerful fire affinity and instruction from her brother—it could be taken much further.

Manipulating the mana of the spell, the fire grew from an orb the size of her head, to one the size of her entire body. It blazed above her, giving off waves of heat, rising higher as she controlled the spell.

With a flick of her finger, the flaming orb changed shape, now a column of fire, then a line of flame, and finally, something like a blazing cube.

“I can’t make it any more refined than that,” she said, glancing at Brutus, making sure he was still watching. “But I can do this.”

Closing her hand and manipulating the spell’s mana, she shrunk the orb down to a speck of flame, hovering quietly in the air, no bigger than a snowflake.

It burned with intense heat.

Selina frowned, deep in concentration

That ember grew brighter and the heat began fading.

The air cooled all around it as the spell greedily sucked in the surrounding heat to feed itself.

Selina pushed a hand through the air in front of her.

It felt cool enough to be noticeable. Carefully, the young fire mage pulled an alchemical air temperature gauge from her belt pouch and held it before her.

“One…two…three degrees cooler than the surrounding air.” Her eyes lit up. “A new record!”

Gleefully, she picked up a notebook, recording her progress.

“I can’t wait to tell Alex and the others,” she whispered, looking at the villa. “But I guess, that’ll have to wait, since today’s such a busy day.”

Sighing, the young woman looked at the blue sky. There were far more sky-ships flying up there now, many built by her brother.

“Can you believe it, Brutus?” she said, dismissing the flame then gathering up her notes and supplies and taking a seat beside the cerberus on a bench nearby. He grumbled, laying one of his enormous heads in her lap.

She stroked that head while he watched her.

“On a day like this, it really makes you think, doesn’t it?” she said to him. “Do you remember when we first left Alric together? Everything was so scary back then…” She shook her head. “How old was I? Maybe ten.”

Selina chuckled. “Do you remember when we smeared stinkweed on ourselves to try to repel the silence spiders? Remember the fight in the Cave of the Traveller, the journey to Port Mausarr, and meeting Fan-Dor and Gel-Dor…then coming here? Our new home.”

She thought about all the friends she’d made, the wonderful sights she’d seen, and the dangers she’d faced in the city of wizards. Here was where she’d discovered her fire affinity, learned to accept her connection to flame and started learning magic.

Here was where she’d helped Alex craft Claygon.

Here was where she’d done a lot of growing up.

“You know something Brutus, I think I’d like to have my own adventures one day,” she said. “Go somewhere far away, help people with my magic, fight monsters, put out fires…” The young woman daydreamed fantastical images, then blushed. “Maybe meet a handsome prince. That would be nice, wouldn’t it, boy?”

She looked down, noticing that the cerberus eyes were shut tight, as he snored in her lap.

“Hmph, I guess I’ve been talking to myself all this time! Coming up with wild ideas, like—”

Her breath caught.

There was another person she knew who talked to himself a lot, usually when he was coming up with wild ideas. She slowly looked down at her notebook, which was slowly being filled with her progress and notes on magic circuits.

“Oh no,” she groaned in horror. “I’m becoming Alex. Oh, by the Traveller, no—”

“Selinaaaa!” Mrs. Lu called from inside the villa. “Selina, where are you? It’s time to get ready.”

With a grunt, Brutus woke up, licked Selina’s face and bounded toward the villa’s front doors.

Selina made a sour face, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping her cheek. “Ugh, now you wake up. You probably think it’s mealtime.” Sighing, she got to her feet. “Anyway, we’ve got to get ready, and it’s a big day for Theresa and Alex.”

She looked at the villa’s windows, shaking her head.

“Ugh, talking to myself again. I’ve got to de-Alex myself before I lose the ability to think of good names for anything ever again.”

With a shake of her head, she began walking to the villa.

“O-oh, you look so beautiful.” Mr. Lu sniffled, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. “Have I told you that, my daughter?”

“Dad…you’ve told me that about a thousand times already.” Theresa ran a cherrywood comb through the back of her hair, sweeping it into an updo.

“And I’ll tell you a thousand times more!” He puffed up his chest. “And you listen here! Alex had better tell you that a thousand times a day for the rest of your lives! I-if he doesn’t, you come to your father! I-I’ll tell him off for you!”

Theresa smiled at her father. “I think that’d be a little much.”

“Nonsense, it should be two thousand times a day!” Mr. Lu sputtered. “At least!”

“...thanks dad,” she said, looking at herself in the mirror and putting her comb on the dresser.

Her dress was forest green, with a pattern of golden filigree shaped like hundreds of leaves, trimming it. She pinned a laurel wreath of magically-preserved wildflowers to her hair.

Their colourful blooms contrasted with her jet black hair, and the green of the dress suited the brown of her scabbards; the Twinblade was belted at her waist.

Her eyes drifted to the swords.

Her great-grandfather’s swords.

“Twinblade Lu’s smiling down on you,” Mr. Lu said. “He’s seen what you’ve done with his swords, I have no doubt, and I know he’ll be watching you with the biggest smile on his face. I’m glad you took one of those swords with you when you left with Alex, Selina and Brutus.”

He leaned over, touching the blades.

“That sword…and the other half of the Twinblade got you through so much, my daughter.” He choked. “One served you through your journey to Generasi, then together, through all the fights you’ve had, and even through the battle with the Ravener. And now…they’ve gotten you here. To this day.”

Mr. Lu shook his head as if in disbelief, his voice breaking. “To your wedding day.”