The Foundation Mage [LGBTQ+ Kinky Progression Fantasy]

Nora's reverent smile never left her face until they stopped for the night an hour or so after they left the smoldering ash of the pyre.

The cold wasn't too bad until they stopped in a small clearing, a fallen tree allowing for a beautiful view of the twinkling stars. The fall twilight air whipped around them, slowly sapping their heat

Master Tosk pulled out four small purple candles and blew on them, the four wicks bursting to a brilliant blue light, shedding far more radiance than the average candle.

"Vicktor, try to make an underground shelter, the ceiling should be at least 4 feet below the surface. It shouldn't frost tonight, but it'll be warmer down there."

"What do you want the entrance to look like?" Vicktor was a little cautious of how much mana he would need to achieve this task.

Master Tosk placed the tips of one hand to the palm of another. "A two entrance tunnel that goes straight. Make the entrance to the shelter perpendicular to the tunnel, it helps preserve the heat in the tunnel."

"Normal doorway size?"

"Sort of, it needs a lip in case it rains or a snake gets too curious. Mundane beasts won't trigger the inscriptions I'll set up. Let's get started on the hole first."

Vicktor was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He had used up the entirety of both his ruakhs twice today. It didn't feel like a hard limit, he probably could have done a few more small changes, but each one added to his mental fatigue.

It had taken a quarter hour to fiddle with the details, but Vicktor eventually implemented the structure that Master Tosk wanted. It was simple, there were no extra walls for privacy or any other amenities. The ceiling soil was hardened and there weren't too many roots. It was not even close to as comfortable as Selia's bedroom had been, but that was life on the road. Until at least, Vicktor could afford the dimensional storage for a proper bed.

They each placed their candles in a corner of the small room and unrolled their bedrolls.

"I'll be back in a few, I need to go set up some simple defenses. Those candles will keep us warm throughout the night even if they look dim. Good night."

The three apprentices talked of the trip and of their first fight. Nora's face still had that smile even if she was shivering a little. Alar seemed to be fairing the worst of the three in terms of heat. He was bundled up in a long cloak as well as the bedroll.

Alar seemed to be just happy nobody got hurt and was happy that he had kept up his courage and was able to damage the magical beast with his mundane weapon.

The room wasn't particularly cold before the candles, but after it quickly became pleasantly warm. Alar stayed within his cloak, his ear tufts making the hood bunch up in odd places.

Master Tosk had not returned after a quarter hour, so they decided to get started on their sleep.

The trio got into their bedrolls. Vicktor touched his hand to the gift Selia had given him and spoke into it softly. The drain of the mana wasn't too much higher, but the increase in exhaustion was far higher than he expected. He was barely able to say more than. "Hey, I like you. I'm safe, I killed some razorboar and made an underground--"

The exhaustion was too much. Vicktor's head hit the 'pillow' and his eyes shut, his body succumbing to the inexorable weight of sleep.

Vicktor awoke in an unfamiliar place with an unusually musty smell and a feeling of pressure on his arm. Worry shot through him in quick pulses. He was enveloped in true darkness. He struggled against the endless dark, trying to break free until finally a radiant blue light nearly singed his retinas.

Master Tosk's green face became turquoise. His master's candle quickly dimmed to a more reasonable level.

The lizardkin whispered, barely perceivable even in the quiet room. "Follow me."

Vicktor obeyed, getting out of his bedroll and following behind the man, using the dim shadow of the blue candlelight to make it safely past the lip of their temporary bunker.

He exited behind the man. Vicktor was just able to see the twinkling stars as well as the first rays of light on the trees far above them.

It was clear something had happened in the night, the ground was disturbed too much and chunks of grass were torn up. The teacher-student duo walked into the treeline for a few minutes until they were almost out of eye-shot of the shelter's entrances.

Master Tosk stopped, looked said solemnly,

"What do you want to know, Vicktor Bloodless, Exile of the Blue Hills and Unconfirmed Mystic Theurge of Humanity?"

"What do you know about me?" Vicktor asked. He wasn't surprised, not after Selia had mentioned that there was a redacted file with his name on it.

"Mostly just your academic records as well as any time someone decided you were important enough to write down. Thankfully for the both of us, you've only had one real notable incident and it was when you were prepubescent. While violating your tribe's time-honored tradition makes you a little unfavorable to some, there are others who like you more specifically because of that." Master Tosk perked up a little, and let through a half-smile, now visible in the growing light.

"Does that mean the gods view me as unfavorable? Is it because I am a Chosen of a chaos god?" Vicktor said.

"You'd be surprised actually, if the scant rumors are to be believed. The gods of humanity tend to be fairly forgiving unless you harm their Chosen or their followers. I do know what Ultar and Gaylial think if you are curious."

"How?! Mages don't generally talk with gods?" Vicktor asked, cocking his head a little. Nora was a fairly rare exception in terms of Mage-deity relations.

Master Tosk made a wry smile, "I have friends Vicktor! Some of them happen to be Chosen. You've already learned that while they have their differences, Mages and Chosen tend to stay in each other's orbit. My--" A laugh escaped his lungs and he clapped an arm on Vicktor's shoulder.

"Not that yet, I'll tell you when you are older. But I will tell you about Ultar and Gaylial. It will probably ease your mind. Probably."

"Huh?" Vicktor was getting a little annoyed with all the secrets.

"Holy Ultar, Pentarch of Order, is currently figuring out which high-tier Chosen of Juxtaposition he finds the most bearable to grace the walls of humanity. There are already a few permitted but they tend to be lower-tier or have less... 'chaotic' influence on the people around them."

"Isn't that good? In theory I guess." Vicktor asked, confused on the seemingly good news.

"It's not just about who would visit and influence you, it's about where all of us would need to stay." Master Tosk Said.

"Oh. Will I be dragging you, Nora and Alar along? Isn't that rude?" Vicktor asked.

"I basically signed up for the task actually, and those two will probably stick along with you and I after all of you become Rector's. I'm not JUST a Rector after all."

"You signed up for this? Willingly? Why?" Vicktor asked, genuinely surprised.

"It's a brand new opportunity, haven't taught one of you before, plus I like Allium, you should talk to Selia's grandmother sometime. She will definitely be at your Rector ceremony." Master Tosk's light smile had turned into an almost evil-looking grin. "I swear if I get one more Archive message of... Well, nevermind."

The two paused for a few moments, turning to look at the morning sun rising through the trees. Vicktor noticed that despite only wearing his normal robes, he wasn't cold in the slightest.

"Matriach Gaylial first, and then you get one question before we need to be back. Apparently the Pentarch of Life has already planted a wedding gift!"

Vicktor flustered immediately and his face turned crimson. His mouth felt wrong and he began to cough lightly. Master Tosk began to laugh again.

"She might be the Matriarch of Life, but she's not too pushy. You and that adamantine oathsworn sentinel of yours might have to wait a long time. But enough about the boggarts and the beasts, what's your last question lad?" A smile played over the green scaly face.

Vicktor continued to sputter and cough for a few more moments until he regained his composure. A strength returned to him, after all, it was his life. He took a moment to think then asked.

"What's the best path to grow stronger?" He wasn't sure how exactly to phrase the question, but he hoped his master would know.

"As a mage, you are pretty much almost to Rector, you just need more practice and more experience. That will just take hard work and training. After that, it is more about philosophy."

"Okay, that's good to know, but what about as a... Chosen or Mystic Theurge?" Vicktor had next to zero knowledge of how the Chosen worked besides some surface level information that every mundane person knew. Well, that, and the divine warrant.

"That's partially up to J and partially up to however your divine spark manifests in your soul. For most Chosen, following their patron's goals plus the occasional use of violence is enough, but it does depend. You'll have to follow your own heart on this one lad."

"Okay, thank you, Master."

"Oh and keep expanding your ruakh, that will help with the whole killing things...thing. Now. Let's wake up em up and grab breakfast!"