Chapter 275: Soul of the Twinoge First Half
Elicec
“Ugh, what the hell? Cecile, wake up!” Elicec yelled, surprised at what he had just woken up to. His brother was lying on the floor, snoring loudly. Somehow, they had split again, and this time it wasn’t even in the soul realm.
“Do I have to? It’s not even dawn yet. We’ve got like two more hours before the crops need me,” Cecile replied, falling right back asleep afterward.
“Yes, you idiot, or did you not notice you were missing a pair of arms and a head somehow?” Elicec replied, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.
Somehow, Cecile could still make him laugh. Even with everything they faced together, his brother found a way to cut through it all. These were the moments Elicec questioned how much of the idiot act was just for show.
With their soul knot gone and this new change they were experiencing, he was becoming more and more confident that they would win the competition every day. Still, that confidence was tapered down by some worries. The first real mentor he and his brother had found after leaving their home was deep in chaotic space on a desperate rescue mission for the grandson of one of his closest friends.
He wished Mel were here with them, training for what was coming. Hell, he wished Mel would be part of it. After seeing the man in action in the Arena, he’d have loved to have him with them.
With that line of thought came a bit of guilt, though. And even though Elicec knew he didn’t mean it in that way, it bothered him to even consider placing his needs above those of a kidnapped baby.
“What? Oh, huh, we did split, didn’t we?” Cecile asked, finally sitting up.
“You’d think lying on the floor might have been the first giveaway,” Elicec replied.
“Hey, I’m not a morning person. Okay, that might not be true, but you know what I mean,” Cecile replied, taking a deep yawn and standing up.
“There doesn’t seem to be a change to our joint class besides another soul coupling. I wish I knew how we had done it,” Elicec said after quickly pulling up the class information.
“Huh, maybe it was a weird dream. How long do you think we are apart for this time?” Cecile asked before another yawn escaped his mouth.
“No idea, but I kind of want to make the most of it. I figure you’re off to the fields, but I think I’m going to head to the school and see if Elody or Quarilyn has any ideas. Maybe practice some of my magic and see if that’s any different alone,” Elicec answered.
“Gonna be a strange day, I can’t even remember the last time I didn’t grab a bit of sleep while you were busy,” Cecile replied.
That was something Elicec hadn’t even considered. During the course of most days, each of them slept for a few hours while the other worked. It helped recharge their core energies faster. That hadn’t been the primary reason they had done that when they were younger. It just so happened to turn into a benefit as they grew and didn’t want to intrude on the other’s privacy, or more likely, uninteresting activity.
“We’ll probably be pretty tired tonight, at least that’s what I think will happen. Assuming we make it the whole day. We could snap back together at any point, for all we know,” Elicec said, mildly worried about how that would work if it happened.
“Wonder what that would feel like, hopefully not too painful,” Cecile added.
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to waste the time while we have it,” Elicec said, wondering how strange he’d look in a shirt designed for two heads and four arms. He’d need to get some clothing for this in the future, but at the moment, it wasn’t his top priority.
He wanted to savor this experience for what it was. And with that in mind, he rushed out of the bedroom while his brother was still getting ready for the day. He considered stopping by the great hall to grab some breakfast, but figured the school would have something he could snack on.
Unlike his brother, he didn’t miss the days of sharing a home with Glorp’s family, nor did he miss living in the hall. Their new little cottage was quite to his liking. It was nestled nicely between the main greenhouses and the first open fields. That meant it was also reasonably close to Dave’s house and the cloudtree.
Trolke had finished building it while he had been stuck in quarantine. The moment they were free from that isolation, Elicec goaded his brother to get all of their things moved in as quickly as possible. That had been the easy part.
The alchemy lab was still a work in progress. Unlike Dave, Elicec had continued to progress his component-based casting, and that required an area to mix new creations. He stopped for a moment on his way out of the house to check over his latest experiment.
So far, the infused carrot had been stable. Cecile had only allowed him a few of the items from the harvest to experiment on, so he was taking it very carefully. He pulled up his elemental orb and took a quick look over it before giving the carrot one more infusio
| Mana Orb |
| Elemental (6) |
| +Mixture+ |
| -First Tier- |
| Fundamental Forces (55) |
| Requirements: N/A |
| From the small to the large, all manners of interaction are made from minute changes that grow into something well beyond themselves. Fundamental Forces allow a host to connect with these changes and understand how to direct them. Further growth creates a synergistic effect with mental attributes for a more detailed understanding. |
| Mana Latticing (55) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (35) |
| Mana Latticing allows the host to weave mana threads of the same type together, forming a stronger singular weave greater than the sum of its parts. This latticed weave requires less mana to sustain the same output. The nature of the weave also hampers an opposing force’s ability to interfere with it. Further ranks increase the number of mana threads that may be weaved together. |
| Spell Shaping (55) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (35) |
| Through the use of Spell Shaping, the host is able to use Fundamental Forces against its natural forms. While concentrating on a specific shape, the host may force the spells from Fundamental Forces to occupy that representation they hold in their mind within reality. This allows a much greater control of how spells manifest. While this requires a drastic increase in concentration, depending on the shape used, it can also alter the mana required to cast the spell. Further ranks decrease the difficulty of Spell Shaping. |
| -Second Tier- |
| Components (49) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (5) Recall (5) |
| The host is able, through the use of various components described in their entry, to further empower their spells. Each rank allows for further empowerment. |
| Elemental Focus (0) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (25) |
| Only a single rank may be invested into this skill and doing so will prompt the host to pick an element, locking this orb into a specialization of that element. Once this is done, Elemental Mixture may no longer be selected. |
| Elemental Mixture (1) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (25) |
| Only a single rank may be invested into this skill, and doing so will allow the host to use Fundamental Forces to mix different elements together. Once this is done, Elemental Focus may no longer be selected. |
| Recall (49) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (5) |
| The host gains the ability to recall the various interactions they have discovered through the use of Fundamental Forces. Each rank allows the recall of one additional spell. |
| Mana Mapping (49) |
| Requirements: Mana Latticing (25) Spell Shaping (25) |
| By combining an understanding of Mana Latticing with Spell Shaping, the host is able to more easily cast spells in their desired forms. Mana Mapping allows the host to perceive the best spots in any given area to use as anchor points for their spells. Every anchor point used within a spell increases the strength of all parts of that spell at the cost of casting time. Each rank allows the host to work with an additional anchor point. |
| -Third Tier- |
| Silent Casting (43) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (30) Recall (10) |
| The host is able to dampen the noise required to cast recalled spells. Additional ranks spent further reduce the noise of all components of the spell. |
| Spell Book (43) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (30) Components (25) |
| Using a blank mana-infused book, the host is able to begin the process of transcribing recalled spells into a spell book, doing so allows them to better customize their magic, and to catalog component effects on spells. Each rank spent allows for one spell to be transcribed into the book. |
| Wild Casting (43) |
| Requirement: Fundamental Forces (30) Elemental Mixture (1) |
| The host is able to draw in ambient mana of the given area to create unpredictable, but generally extremely powerful, bursts of magic. Further ranks decrease the chances of backlash. |
| Framework (43) |
| Requirements: Recall (25) Mana Mapping (25) |
| Framework allows the host to utilize Recall to more easily build their spells using anchor point mappings that they have previously used. Further ranks decrease the time needed to recreate these spells. |
| -Fourth Tier- |
| Memorization (37) |
| Requirements: Recall (25) Spell Book (10) |
| Through careful study of the spell book, the host is able to commit their altered spells to their memory and may be recalled as needed. Further ranks allow for more spells to be retained in memory. |
| Geometric Scribing (37) |
| Requirements: Spell Book (25) Framework (15) |
| Geometric Scribing allows the host to inscribe their Frameworked spells into their spell book. To do they must hold the Frameworked spell active as they copy the exact geometry into their spell book. This allows them to apply all effects of the spell book to these spells. Each rank spent allows for one Frameworked spell to be transcribed into the book. |
| Harmonize (37) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (30) Recall (25) Wild Casting (25) |
| The host may empower their elemental spells based on the natural features of the environment around them. Utilizing the environment to amplify their magic decreases the mana cost needed for the spell. Further ranks allow for greater control of their environment. |
| -Fifth Tier- |
| Infused Components (31) |
| Requirements: Components (35) |
| Through careful use of mana channeling, the host may infuse different types into their Components. This will allow for a greater variety of spell effects. Each rank allows for further empowerment while reducing the risk of destroying the component. |
| Wild Recall (31) |
| Wild Recall enhances the effect of Recall, allowing spells that have been cast through Wild Casting to be recalled as well. Each rank allows the recall of one additional spell. |
| -Sixth Tier- |
| Mana Control (25) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (55) |
| Mana Control allows the host to more accurately control their internal mana flow across their channels. Doing so requires intense concentration and drastically increases casting time. The benefits range from reduced mana costs to pinpoint accurate channeling. Further ranks increase the control. |
| Raw Mana (25) |
| Requirements: Wild Casting (25) Mana Control (15) |
| Raw Mana is the state that mana exists in the moment before Fundamental Forces guide its transformation into the type needed for the spell. Instead of that transformation, the host may opt to release a burst of pure Raw Mana in a dazzling explosion at a reduced mana cost. Further ranks increase the power of Raw Mana. |
| Refined Channeling (25) |
| Requirements: Mana Control (25) |
| Refined Channeling hardens the host’s mana channels, decreasing mana loss during channeling. Further ranks increase the effect. |
| -Seventh Tier- |
| Cantrips (25) |
| Requirements: Recall (30) Spell Book (25) Wild Casting (25) Refined Channeling (15) |
| Cantrips allows the host to cast a weaker version of any spell within their Spell Book without utilizing any mana by pulling trace amounts of ambient mana from their environment for the casting. Further ranks increase the strength of Cantrips as well as the ambient mana draw. |
| Reinforced Framework (25) |
| Requirements: Geometric Scribing (25) Infused Components (25) |
| Utilizing Infused Components, the host is able to reinforce the Frameworks of any Frameworked spell that has been inscribed into their Spell Book. This allows a doubling-up effect for each anchor point used, as well as applying the effects of the Infused Component to an anchor point. Further ranks allow for an additional anchor point to be infused per rank. |
| Wild Framework (25) |
| Requirements: Framework (35) Wild Recall (25) |
| Wild Framework allows the host to perceive anchor points when utilizing wild magic. Anchor points may be used to guide what form of spell manifests within the environment. Further ranks increase the number of anchors that may be used at once. |
| -Eighth Tier- |
| Piercing Spell (25) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (55) Reinforced Framework (25) |
| The host is able to significantly empower a spell’s ability to pierce anything blocking it from its target by utilizing a specific mapping across a dozen anchor points without an increase in mana cost. Further ranks increase the piercing strength of the spell. |
| Extend Spell (25) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (55) Reinforced Framework (25) |
| The host is able to extend all aspects of a spell’s duration by utilizing a specific mapping across a dozen anchor points without an increase in mana cost. Further ranks increase the duration of the spell. |
| Enlarge Spell (25) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (55) Reinforced Framework (25) |
| The host is able to significantly increase the area of effect of all aspects of a spell by utilizing a specific mapping across a dozen anchor points without an increase in mana cost. Further ranks increase the area of effect of the spell. |
| -Ninth Tier- |
| Mana Mixture (0) |
| Requirements: Spell Shaping (60) |
| Mana Mixture alters the Mana Latticing to allow for the weaving of different types of mana into a singular weave. The more types used, the higher the chance that the risk of a destructive backlash becomes. Further ranks decrease the risk of backlash. |
| Words of Power (0) |
| Requirements: Fundamental Forces (75) |
| Words of Power greatly increases the effects of verbal components used within Fundamental Forces. This cannot be used with Silent Casting. Further ranks increase the strength of the verbal components. |