The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

“To get back on topic. The reason I asked is because if there is one field of magick that could be responsible for suppression effects, it certainly would be Void magick.”

The adventurer nodded. “We’re aware. And it’s definitely something that has been discussed. That said, I haven’t noticed any obvious traces of void magic around any of the monsters I’ve seen.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I said, drawing both of their attention. I leaned back and stared into the far distance for a moment, thinking about how to explain what I meant. “Void magic isn’t technically a form of magic. It’s the absence of magic. Or rather, it’s the opposite of magic. Not in the way divine authority is, but in a much more fundamental way. Where divine authority is the order that opposes the chaos that magic represents, Void magic is the antimatter to magic’s matter. The reason even low level void magic can interfere with high level magick is because it simply erases magic. It’s not an interplay, and not something that can naturally be resisted, because it is a simple result of their nature.”

I could see from their confused and questioning expressions that my explanation was insufficient, and I grimaced. How to explain the concept of antimatter to people who weren’t even aware of Newton’s laws of physics, much less anything else?

“I’m not sure I follow.” Cecily’s comment didn’t surprise me.

“This sucks,” I muttered, rubbing my face. “This is magic theory that is quite far advanced, and I daresay something that not even most qualified archmages are aware of. I honestly have no idea how to properly explain it to you.” I took a deep breath, then let my hands fall away and turned my attention back to the swordswoman sitting on the opposite end of the table.

“Alright. You should already be aware that Void magic doesn’t follow the same rules of spellcasting that basically every other form of magic conforms to, right?” She nodded, and I continued. “The reason for that is that it fundamentally can’t be. To give a completely incorrect comparison, Void magic is to magic, what water is to fire. The two just do not function by the same rules even remotely. And that is also why it’s so much more difficult to sense Void magic, or its effects, even for someone quite skilled in the usage of that particular school of magic. Its inherent nature makes it borderline impossible to be identified, so it doesn’t surprise me that you aren’t able to properly notice if it is involved or not.”

I drummed my fingers on the table for a moment, unsure on how to continue. My thoughts were interrupted by Cecily, who seemed to be trying her best to make sense of what I was saying.

“But then how am I able to sense the spells that my mother casts, for example? If Void magic is inherently difficult to sense, that should be quite hard for me to do as well, right?”

I nodded slowly, digesting her argument. “Yes, although I believe it would be to do with your own familiarity in regards to her specific style. You mentioned that your family practices a unique style of spellcasting, yes?” She nodded. “And I assume that you and your mother both practice that same unique style?” Another nod. “I think the reason you can sense hers is that you are fundamentally aware of the Intent needed for the style, which is why it stands out to you. Have you ever met another Void magic caster, much less seen one cast?”

She was silent for a long moment, obviously going through her memories, but eventually shook her head. “Not to my knowledge, no.”

“And I suspect that even if you did, you wouldn’t have noticed. As I said Void magic is very unique and special. Unless you specifically meet their spells with one of your own, any magical senses you have might not even pick them up properly. As I said, Void magic is the absence of magic. So, unless you look for something that isn’t there, it would be hard to notice.”

“If I may ask, what would happen if two void magic spells come into contact?” Surprisingly enough, Lucy was the one to ask, and both Cecily and I glanced at her.

“Honestly? No idea,” I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders. “I’m not a Void magic caster. Most of what I know of the topic is purely theoretical. I also wouldn’t know anyone I could ask outside of Abyss, but she isn’t the sort of person you can just seek out to speak to.”

“Wait.” Something in Cecily’s tone of voice caught my attention, I turned my eyes over to her. “Abyss? I feel almost ridiculous to ask this, but would that perchance have something to do with your title of [Abyss Touched]? I thought at first that it merely meant that you came into contact with an abyssal of some sort, but… Well… I am a follower of the Lady of Secrets, and while her name is a bit of a topic of hot debate, there are historical records that use the name Abyss to refer to her. Is there any chance you know something about that?”

The sudden change in topic did make me stutter for a moment, and I took pride in the fact that I managed not to openly gape at the words. Instead, I managed to keep my expression relatively neutral, although my eyebrows did rise up a bit in surprise.

Taking a moment, I tried to readjust my thoughts. Her words more or less confirmed a subconscious suspicion of mine, although, if pressed, I don’t think I would even be able to formulate what exactly that suspicion was. I knew it had something to do with things feeling a bit too convenient, although in my current state of dizzy confusion it was hard to think clearly about it.

“I, uh…” I began, intelligently. Pausing, I took another moment to collect my thoughts, took a deep breath, then began again. “Frankly, I’m not sure how much I should say. You should know better than anyone what her stance on secrets is. That said, no matter what I say, it can be seen as confirmation in and of itself, so I’m going to go ahead and at least finish the thought. Yes, Abyss is a name for the Lady of Secrets. I can’t speak on authority if it’s the only name she uses or not, but it certainly is one of them. And, just in case she seems particularly miffed about this, just let her know that she can consider this payback. She will know what for.”

A moment passed between us, Cecily seemingly just as surprised as I had been originally. Lucy, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit confused about what we were talking about, if the glance I snuck at her was anything to go by.

Eventually, the swordswoman swallowed, then nodded her head slowly. “I… See… Thank you for the answer.”

“Given that you are one of her followers, I don’t think I need to say this, but I’d advise you to keep it to yourself regardless. The same goes for you,” I added with a more obvious glance at Lucy, who seemed suitably surprised by her sudden inclusion. “As I said, she usually values secrecy, although I can’t see this particular one being a big secret in any case. Not if it is halfway public knowledge and could be deduced by someone sufficiently motivated.”

“And the fact that she hasn’t struck you down yet,” Cecily added, entirely serious.

Her tone of voice had Lucy snap her head over, eyes wide in horror, mouth already opened as if to reject the implication of the statement, but the words died on her lips. That was a fascinating sight, since she seemed to be the sort who always had more to say.

Still, the comment made me giggle, a small grin sneaking its way onto my lips. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I’m probably one of the people she finds the most entertaining to watch, so I could probably get away with telling you far, far more than that before I’d face more serious consequences. Still, I don’t plan to push the issue, at least not so soon. Maybe one day.”

“It is said that she takes great interest in mortals that amuse her,” the adventurer mused softly, eyes unfocused in thoughts. “I suppose that is another confirmation, then?”

The wry undertone in her voice made me snort, and I shook my head. “Sure, put it on the list of infractions against your lady. Although, honestly, that’s probably even more of an open secret than her name. Her influence reaches, quite literally, across the multiverse. I know not of a single realm that she hasn’t at least visited once before. Many house churches, cults, and orders in her honour. If I may ask, which one are you a part of?”

“The Church of the First Voidborne,” she replied immediately, “Although, I reject the implication of a cult. Not that I necessarily disagree about it being one, but it does paint a certain picture due to public perception of the term that I reject.”

“Fair enough, I suppose,” I allowed with a wry undertone. “That said, from what I know that particular Church is a bit more legitimate. At least, as much as you can speak of legitimacy in an organisation that, by its very nature, is inherently secretive. If it’s any consolation, it should also be one of the larger and more informed ones, so you probably needn’t worry about what I told you so far. Of course, it’s been a little while since I last interacted with them,”–Not that I, personally, ever did, but I doubted even Abyss would comment on that particular inconsistency if she were to listen in on our conversation–”but at least at the time they seemed to be one of the more… reputable sort.”

I gave a small glance over at Lucy, when I saw some movement out of the corner of my vision. The Beastkin woman was certainly twitchy, curiosity written all over her face, but to her credit, she didn’t speak up. I didn’t know if, or how much, she knew in regards to Cecily being a follower of Abyss and all that. Either way, the overly curious woman at least seemed to understand context clues and had some common sense.

Unsurprisingly, Cecily also noticed the woman’s eager eyes, and the two of us exchanged a small glance. I wasn’t going to say more than I needed to, especially when it came to the Catkin’s thirst for knowledge. From the short glance we exchanged, I could tell that Cecily shared my opinion, although her resigned expression told me that she would definitely have to deal with it sooner or later.

Letting the conversation naturally die out, I stretched and changed the topic. “Anyway. There’s one more thing I wanted to ask, if that’s not too much trouble.” I affixed Cecily with another sideways glance. “Would you be amenable to a friendly spar?”

Apparently she wasn’t expecting that question, if the twitch and the surprised expression on her face was anything to go by. A moment later, that surprise turned into a mild frown.

“I suppose… May I ask why?”

Perhaps it was a bit early to ask. We had just gotten on our way, after all. No matter.

“I mentioned before that my recollection isn’t the only thing that has suffered in the past six centuries. Many of my skills have become quite rusty. That includes my skill with my weapons. Yes, I did train ever since I woke up, going through the motions and relearning the important things, but that won’t help me unless I actually put it into practice. If something were to happen on our travels, I’d rather not be caught in the middle of a fight, without confidence in my weapons. I could steamroll it with pure strength, of course, but given how powerful I am, I’d rather not rely on such a crude tactic. It could very quickly end with far more collateral damage than necessary.”

I watched her as she thought about it. She was cautious, which I couldn’t blame her for. While we had gotten more friendly ever since our first meeting, I don’t doubt that the gulf between us had left her mind.

“Very well. I can at least understand that. Although, I’m not quite sure what I can do to help.”

Or perhaps she simply didn’t feel confident enough. That would also make sense, I supposed.

“As I said, spar with me. Force me to put my rusty skills to the test against someone who knows what they are doing. No void magic, of course, and I won’t draw on my own magic either. I’m still by far not confident enough in those skills to use them during training with another. But if I want to return to my former glory I need to do more than just go through the motions.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that much I agree with. Alright. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you,” I replied with a smile getting to my feet. “Would you mind if we start right now?”

“Uh… I don’t see a reason not to, I guess?” With that she also got up, leaving Lucy as the sole person still seated at the table.

Giving her a nod, I slowly wandered outside of our camp, towards a more open area a couple dozen meters outside of the underbrush that served as cover. Cecily followed, and after a few more moments, Lucy got up and followed as well.

I didn’t even need to look at her to feel the curiosity wafting off of her in droves. Perhaps I could also instruct her on aura control when I had the time? Cecily was far better with that, although to my senses she was still an open book.

That said, my senses were far from the ordinary. Few had that level of control, even with my current lack of skill in that regard. Among her peers, the swordswoman would certainly be able to hold her own. It was a rather important aspect of combat, after all.

Aura’s were the representation of one’s being. A magickal expression of an ephemeral phenomena, the soul itself. A skilled aura practitioner could read intentions and emotions from the aura of their opponents, so learning how to control one’s aura was important for combat. Otherwise, the opponent could just read the aura and react to whatever the person fighting planned on doing.

That was likely why Lucy hadn’t yet trained with it. She had no need to. If she were to be in a fight, then the situation had already gone beyond her control. Still, I thought it might be a prudent idea. Who knew what the future was holding, especially given how she apparently had a knack of getting into trouble.

The three of us stopped in the middle of the open area, Lucy a bit further away to not get caught in the crossfire. Turning, I gave Cecily a grateful nod and a smile.

“We shall begin with something easy. I’d rather not get in over my head.” Holding out one hand to the left, I summoned my first weapon from my storage, a simple, yet elegant one handed blade. “Let’s start by you coming at me. Don’t hold back, although, again, please refrain from calling upon the void.”

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