Tucked in his room in the early morning, Alex guided his way through the spell array one final ti, checking the last notation in his notebook.
Force Armour: 98%
The spell was pretty challenging, so he was applying a lot of what hed learned in force magic to help him get past The Marks usual interference, and since Generalized Force Constructs spell array was so similar to a lot of the other advanced force spells, he was using it as a blueprint to follow for this one.
His consciousness slid slowly through the contours of the spell array, while the interference roared through his mind. Thoughts of his failures hamred his mind, trying to force themselves in, seeking to overwhelm his concentration and push out what he was trying to do.
For each failure, he acknowledged it and let it go, then continued through the spell array step by step. Finally, he reached the last part of the spell which was his biggest challenge: it was a small complex section that was responsible for force armours increased strength when compared to Lesser Force Armours.
He decreased the casting speed increntally down to the absolute minimum he could make it: any slower and the magic circuit would simply fall apart. Almost as if on cue, The Mark seed to begin increasing its campaign of obstruction as if it knew hed hit a tricky part in the spell. Alex re-focused his thoughts and fought past the obstacles it was throwing at him. After close to a year of living with it interfering, hed co to the conclusion that he was probably imagining that its interference got worse when he was having a hard ti trying to do sothing that it didnt want him doing in the first place. Hed concluded that the obstacles it threw at him just beca more noticeable, since he wasnt only working on a spell, but had to spend more ti doing it, which in The Marks book, was a definite no-no.
Almost there he thought.
The spell array kept forming as he chanted the incantation.
Almost
It ford.
At last, hed worked through the difficult section and could move on to the next part. His excitent was building the closer he ca to completing the spell, but he clamped it down to keep himself focused. If he got too excited now, he could beco distracted enough to ruin his efforts.
The final part of the spell array was nice and simple and quickly slotted into place, and soon, two interlinked magic circuits ford in his mana pool, and humd to life.
Alexs grin spread from ear to ear, as a flash of crimson illuminated his upper body and the force armour ford around him. It was soundless, but he could imagine the clink of tal on tal as each force plate materialized, sheathing his arms, torso and head in their protective magic.
When the armour was completely ford, it suddenly vanished, turning as invisible as its lesser cousin.
Aweso, he said with satisfaction. Just aweso.'
He made note of the date and ti hed completed the spell, rembering how it had glowed as it began to shield him.
Then he paused as a thought ca to him.
That bright glow
The bright glow from his forceball was a big help when he, Theresa and Brutus had gone vespara hunting. The glow was so bright that it had blinded their opponents, and a blinded opponent was a much easier one to fight. ...the force armour also glowed with a really bright light before it turned invisible.
If he modified the spell to keep the armour visible and glowingthen tweaked the brightness so that looking at it would be like staring into the sun, wouldnt that make him even harder to hit? He frowned in thought. It wasnt a bad idea, but there were a few flaws with it.
First, the main reason force armour turned invisible was so it wouldnt block its casters line of sight. It would be hard to fightor do anything else with a shield of glowing force completely covering the head and eyes.
He tapped his pen against the sheet of paper, thinking about illusions. What if he only made it invisible from the inside? So from the outside, itd be a brightly glowing force magic shield, but from the inside, it would be completely transparent.
Almost like two-wayforce armour.
He wrote that down as a possibility he could try.
The other issue to consider was that making the force armour visible and super bright, would also be blinding to anyone hed be fighting beside. And that might be a much bigger problem. Having The Mark of The Fool ant that he was at his best when he was fighting in a group, so using any spell that hindered companions or allies would be pretty stupid, even if the spell also hindered an enemy.
It could work well if he were caught alone and didnt need to be stealthy.
Hmmm, it might also work well in combination with summoning, he muttered out loud as he jotted down his thoughts. If I summon my monsters in front of , they wont be blinded by the light since theyll be facing away from and the brightness. Then theres Claygon.
The golem could see, but he didnt have eyes. Sure, he had eyes, but he was a golem: his senses were purely magical, generated from his core. Even if soone cut his head offwhich Alex would rather not think abouthed still be able to function just fine and would still have his magical sight.
Which ant that he could freely use the blinding tactic around Claygon.
Alex yawned and stretched.
Those were things to consider later when he had ti to really delve into the spell and tweak it. He was thinking about looking at one of his other spells for the sumrmaybe Call Through Airnext, but he was also really itching to try his first summoning spell.
He opened the summoning textbook: The Beginners Manual of the Planes, and flipped past his many bookmarks to the first summoning spell they would be learning for the sumr sester.
Summon Elental Beetle wasnt the most glamorous of spells: it was a simple spell that would conjure an elental spirit who strongly resembled a beetle from one of the elental planes, though the creature technically wasnt even an insect.
It was too small for combat, unless one was interested in having it duel mice or particularly feeble rats, and too unintelligent for any advanced commands.
When combined with particular spells that could allowa wizardto see using anothers senses, an elental beetle could be used for spying. For the most part, though, it was mostly used in summoning practice: it was perfect for that purpose since it was a small monster with a weak will that could be easily subjugated, and couldnt hurt the summoner if it got loose.
Technically, his class wouldnt be starting to learn the spell for several weeks: Professor Mangal had the class start off with learning theory, practicing in drawing a perfect circle, and doing an assignnt that involved learning the pronunciation of several common spirit nas.
But Alex was getting through those assignnts really quickly thanks to The Mark
The hell with it, he said.
He wrote down Summon Lesser Beetle - Progress 0% in his notebook.
Hope you dont get jealous, Claygon, he said as he started to copy the spell array into his notebook. Because Im summoning up more friends.
Once he finished making the note, his plan was to break down the array into its components and make note of parts that would likely be easy for hispecially parts that were similar to spells he already knewand then note the parts that seed like theyd be difficult for him to get through.
Hed then spend the early morning going through the spell array a few tis. Then at noon
His eyes turned to his titable.
Noon - Gas of Roal Information Session (With Free Lunch!)
One-Thirty - Work on First assignnt for Magical Botany
Three-Thirty - Help Professor Jules in Her Lab
Five OClock - Snacks
Six-Thirty- Work on Selinas Birthday Present
Soti Late Evening - Mr. and Mrs. Lu Arrive - Supper with them.
He sighed.
Busy day today. Exciting day, but busy.
The Gas of Roal are not for every student at Generasi. Theyre a test of might, glory, ingenuity and ones talent in the art of sport. And just as every rchant is not invited to participate in a knightly joust, not every student is invited to participate in The Gas.
Alex, his cabal, Theresa, Selina, Brutus and Claygon were seated on the grass near the arena of The Watchers of Roal.
A statue of Roal herself, as well as statues of previous Watchers whod perford impressive deeds of valour and might, stared down at the over fifty people gathered for the students information session.
A long buffet table had been set up at the side of the gathering with platters of cured ats, breads, and fresh fruit and vegetables atop that had long been attacked by those in attendance.
In front of the attendees, several watchers floated on their stone diskseach standing iron-rod straight with feet planted shoulder-width. A woman floated before them, with her rank declared by a number of different badges.
Her one eye looked down at the students, while an eye-patch obscured a massive scar around her other eye. The scar ran all the way up her forehead and touched her dark, bare scalp.
That said, The Gas are an event for everyone in the city to attend, she continued. There will be She paused, and the words seed to struggle to escape her iron hard jaw. fun gas and festivities for all to partake in. These are not hosted by The Watchers of Roal, but they have legitimacy as well. For those of you who wish to participate in The Gas,you may do so if you fall under at least one of the following categories.
Another Watcher unrolled a scroll, floated forward and read. Any who have successfully completed first year Battle Magic, or the first year of The Art of the Wizard in Combat, this also includes mbers of their entourages-
Thats us, Thundar grinned excitedly, as he slamd a hunk of smoked at between two small loaves of rye and shoved it between his jaws.
Indeed, Khalik mused. Glorious.
I- Theresa cocked her ear to the air, then turned around. She smiled and waved. Look who it is!
Alex turned and saw a familiar dorsal fin cuttingthrough the air above a hulking figure.
Grimloch was jogging toward the group, wearing a bit of a flustered expression. There was no sign of his older sister, Nua-Oge, though. He wasnt the only one arriving to the information session late; stragglers had been trickling in throughout the early part of the eting.
When he noticed them, he gave everyone a curt nod, but kept jogging to the buffet table, grabbed an entire platter of smoked fowl, then plopped down beside his friends.
Overslept, he grunted. Glad to see you all here.
Good to see you too, Thundar clapped him on the arm. He paused. Hey, you got bigger.
Yeah, you did, Alex agreed.
The shark mans massive musculature had grown and beco even more defined over the past few months. His silvery skin had a brighter sheen to it tooand Alex was pretty sure that his jagged, knife-like teeth looked larger when he grinned at Thundar.
Alex looked to the side and saw more late arrivals walking in.
Thanks, he growled. Life enforcent agrees with .
Alex heard soone softly scoff behind them. Muscle Heads.
-anyone who has certificates from the city might participate, and finally, anyone with a direct invitation from The Watchers of Roal can enter as well.
He lowered his eyes to another part of the scroll. Each participant may enter as many events as they wish, and that ti permits. Each event offers its own prizes, and placing highly is worth points which go toward the grand prizes for the tournant itself. Events will be posted on a board after this information session, and eligible students may sign up for any event they desire. If you are undecided presently, that is alright: open registration will remain available for a week, so you will have ti to make your decisions.
Alex caught movent out of the corner of his eye, then turned to see a small, familiar figure approaching the information session.
His eyes brightened and he waved at a little green goblin. Kybas! Kybas! he called quietly.
The goblinwho Alex hadnt seen since first year potions endedgave him a wide grin that showed lots of sharp teeth. Beside him crawled his young crocodile familiar, Harmless. Throughout the year, the little familiar had been growing well under his care. When Alex had first seen the croc, hed been small enough for Kybas to carry. Now, he must have been at least four feet long.
Hello, hello! Kybas said, plopping down beside the group. Are you here for the fun too, Alex?
I am, Alex said, then introduced his friends to the little fellow. Are you planning on entering the gas?
Dont know yet, I thought Id see if I qualify, Kybas shrugged. But I will co and watch at least! They sound fun, especially the monster fights. Harmless can beat so already, I think. At least small monsters.
Selina was staring at Kybas with a sharp look, then slowly looked up at Alex.
His little goblin na for her suddenly ca to mind.
Then he froze.
Wait a minutewas that kinda racist?
He began praying that Selina wouldnt say anything about it. His blood froze when she opened her mouth.
What are all the events? She whispered to her panicking brother, to his great relief. Is there going to be a joust with lances and knights and pretty horses?
I think theres a regular joust, Alex said. Theres also a sky-joust which is the sa thing, but with warriors or warrior-wizards on flying monsters. I dont know all the events, but theres also spell-joustingwhere wizards try to crush each others spellsthen theres a Duelling Tournant, Spell Duelling Tournant, Duel by Proxy, and a grand lee.
Theres also an archery competition, Theresa whispered.
Ooo, Selina wiggled with excitent. Are you going to be in that Theresa?
Oh yes, she said. I wouldnt miss it.
Isolde sniffed. Well I shall not be participating.
The others looked at her in surprise.
Over her shoulder Alex saw even more stragglers arriving.
Truly? Khalik asked. I would have thought that the spirit of competition would stir that noble blood in your veins.
This competition has little use for , I fear, she whispered. I do not need prize money, and it would take valuable ti that could be devoted to my academic pursuits over the sumr.
Her words had a prim detachnt to them, and an amused smile crept across her lips. "I shall attend and watch, though. The idea of my participation is rather droll, I must admit. I do not thi-
She paused, staring over Alexs shoulder. Her blue eyes suddenly hardened.
Alex looked behind with a sharp intake of breath.
Another group of stragglers had entered the area: they were from The Ursa-Lupine Brotherhood. Among them was the familiar, fiery-haired Derek Warren.
Isoldes eyes narrowed like an angry serpents. Forget what I just said. Let us all enrol together. There is a bug I need to crush.
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