Andrew Rowe - Sufficiently Advanced Magic

Vanniv flapped his wings, clearing the distance to Sera in a few moments. “Ah, my Summoner, you push yourself too far! You must be more careful.”

Sera folded her arms. “Concerned, Vanniv, or do you just want something?”

“Can’t it be both?”

Sera sighed. “We’ll finalize the details of your contract soon. For the moment, we need to go help triage any survivors over there.” She gestured toward the line of demolished buildings where Mizuchi had struck.

I nodded to her, grateful that Sera was thinking about the wounded like I was.

Teft shook his head. “Absolutely not. We are going straight back to the university. It was a mistake to ever allow you children out here. What happened with Katashi? I couldn’t hear everything you were saying from a distance.”

I folded my arms. “Katashi is leaving for now. The danger has passed. We should be able to go help the injured safely.”

“Incorrect, Corin.” He pointed upward. “What do you see?”

I didn’t want to take the bait, but I scanned upward anyway. “The complete absence of a weather shield.”

Teft nodded. “And what do you think might have caused such a thing?”

Patrick trudged up next to me, interjecting before I had a chance to reply. “Giant monster serpent, obviously.”

The professor sighed. “The ‘giant monster serpent’ never left this area, Mister Wayland. And the shield has several redundant mana generators, located throughout the city.”

“Meaning sabotage,” I cut in.

“Quite. Sabotage on quite an extreme scale. Katashi himself would not bother with such an action. If he wanted to eradicate the city, he could do it himself. Rather, this implies an opportunistic action from a third party. One that was either already poised to strike as soon as anything gave them a good window, or alternatively, one that was aware that Katashi was about to launch an assault.”

Patrick frowned. “Who could have known that Katashi was going to come out here with monsters?”

I had some ideas about that. “Katashi said that there were people in high places that already knew what he wanted. He seemed to think he was being deliberately obstructed by someone in our government. He used the term ‘conspirators’.” I waved in the direction of the academy and the group started walking. Near the back, I could hear Sera talking quietly to Vanniv, presumably solidifying their arrangement.

Teft ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not surprising, but it’s dire news if it’s true. We’ve been on the brink of a war with Edria for months. This could mean someone supporting them has infiltrated our government. We need to get you to safety, then I need to know everything Katashi told you.”

“Resh. Traitors?” Patrick mumbled. “This just gets worse and worse.”

I clenched my fists at the possibility. Fighting monsters was horrible enough. I didn’t like the idea of harming any kind of living creature. War against other humans?

It was disgusting to me that someone could justify that idea. But it was also all too typical. I couldn’t stand how little human life meant to so many people.

My eyes moved back to the wreckage, the survivors picking up the wounded. My jaw tightened. This was just a warning attack and it had already claimed lives.

A portion of that was on me, for my role in getting Vera out of that prison.

I had little doubt that someone else would have freed her if I hadn’t. The recently dead body in front of the cell was proof enough that other people could get into the same room. But would it have played out differently if whoever else had stumbled into that cell had asked more questions? If they’d just freed that child and left her behind? Or freed Keras and left the other two?

I didn’t know if that would have made things go better or worse. All I knew is that people were dead, and that I’d played a part in it.

I’d never fix that. No amount of service would give their lives back. I told myself I’d find their names, maybe do something for their families when I was older and more influential, but it felt hollow. Insufficient.

First, I needed to keep things from getting worse.

Then, I’d find out who was pulling the strings on this whole mess.

And if it was Vera? We’d have a reckoning very soon.

Professor Orden appeared in front of us before we managed to make it to the academy gates. I tensed, hand going for my sheathed sword before I recognized her, and I let it rest on the hilt even after I did.

I wasn’t quite sure who I could trust at this point.

True, Orden teleporting us here had managed to resolve the attack much earlier than it might have been otherwise. I was grateful for that. But her whole connection with the Voice of the Tower meant she was deeply involved with something , and I didn’t know who or what she was actually working for.

It was about time to get some real answers.

“Lyras.” Teft sounded exhausted when he spoke, his tone tinged with obvious frustration. “Can you get us to Commander Bennet? We need to talk.”

Professor Orden shook her head. “I need a minute to rest — mana is too depleted. I’ll walk with you, though. Is everyone safe?”

Ah, so now she’s concerned. I’m touched.

Teft gave her a curt nod. “Barely.”

“Sufficient.” She turned her head toward the rest of us. “I’m sorry to have sent you children into danger. Normally, I’d abhor sending you to take a risk like that — but I knew Corin had a chance to end this conflict. And he did. Well-done, Corin.”

I raised my right hand, showing her the brand. Her eyes widened just slightly. “Not without consequence. He’ll be back in a week with reinforcements if we don’t do what he wants. I need to find someone for him and bring her back to the tower.”

Orden took a step closer, tilting her head as she examined the mark. “I… that is most unfortunate. But manageable, I should hope.”

“You seem to know more about my new adornment than I do.” I flexed my hand in the air, suddenly self-conscious. “Care to share?”

Orden folded her hands in front of her. “There are multiple types of visage marks. Some are permanent signs of a visage’s favor, and they confer abilities similar to an attunement. This one, however, appears to temporary. It’s designed to ensure that you successfully complete the task you’ve been charged with.”

I raised my hand, looking at it with my attunement active for the first time. The glow that simmered from the burned flesh was a deep blue. Sapphire , I realized. Sweet Goddess. I guess levels higher than Emerald actually do exist, even if it’s possible that only the visages have that kind of power.

It wasn’t feeding power into me, though. It wasn’t like I suddenly had a Sapphire aura myself. Experimentally, I tried to reach into it to draw mana out of the mark, but I couldn’t even feel anything there. Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be a tool for my use.

“Any idea what it might do?” I lowered my hand.

Orden shrugged. “I’ve never seen one of Katashi’s marks. Visage marks are usually themed to the visage. My assumption is that if you don’t complete the task, it will most likely ‘judge’ you. I’m sure you can figure out for yourself what that entails.”

I briefly contemplated how difficult it would be to safely remove my hand.

Jin stepped up beside me, speaking for the first time I could remember since he lost consciousness. “Katashi would not have chosen you if you could not succeed.”

I wasn’t so certain about that, but I appreciated his confidence. “Thanks, Jin.”

“It is nothing. You must focus on your task. Put your doubts aside.”