Millennial Mage Nove Chapter 295: Quite a Few

Chapter 295: Quite a Few

Tala and Mistress Holly entered into the back room of the workshop and sat down at a not-usually-present set of table and chairs.

The table held steaming tea, ready and waiting.

The tea was one that Tala couldnt quite place, but it went down smoothly, and she felt herself relax as the warmth spread through her.

Now, Mistress Tala. We will be doing basically all the tests we did in preparation for your Refining, so that we can compare the results as a way to asure your bodys recovery and improvent.

Tala took another sip, sighed, and nodded. Out of curiosity, shouldnt we wait until I am physically fully recovered?

We will need to take another set of asurents then as well, but we need to head off any potential issues now, if they exist. So, we cant wait any longer.

Very well. I expected as much.

Good. Do you have any questions?

Honestly? Yes. I have quite a few, but not really about this process.

Mistress Holly gave a long-suffering smile. Well then, lets see what I can do to help with that.

As Tala settled back in her chair, she realized that she hadnt invited Terry to join her.

She opened Kit and called to him. The terror bird flickered to her shoulder, where he headbutted her cheek, and curled up.

Tala stroked the avian, then turned back to Mistress Holly. Sorry. My questions. What was that black gunk?

That is actually a subject of so debate. Once it separates from an Archon, it begins to fade. Any attempt to perform tests upon it, or direct magical scanning at it either utterly fails or seems to speed up its fading.

And if it remains on the Archon?

Then attempting tests or scans causes it to retreat back into the Mage, harming the Refining.

Talas eyes widened. Could my magesight have triggered that?

Oh, no. Your magesight wouldnt have seen anything from it, but you probably already know that. It would be simple deadspace to that perception.

Are there any guesses on what it might be?

The most prevalent theory is that the 'gunk' is a purely conceptual substance.

How does that make sense? Shouldnt it have to be material?

In theory, no. Not that we understand conceptual magics that well.

And so it would be what? The concept of bodily corruption?

Thats as good a guess as any, honestly.

Well, in either case, Im glad that it didnt retreat and harm my Refining.

Quite. We would not have left your magesight active if it could harm you.

Tala grimaced. You didnt seem to mind hurting .

I never claid differently. The pain, the hurt, was for your own good, and was required because of your condition.

She frowned. But you just said

Mistress Holly sighed and shook her head. Harm and hurt are very different things, Mistress Tala. I think you know that to be true. For example, a parents discipline must hurt to be aningful, whether that hurt is physical, financial, social, or otherwise, but it should never harm.

Ahh, I see the difference. Hurt is painful, but that fades, while harm is damaging in the end.

Precisely.

She took a deep breath and asked one of the more important questions, trying to not let her voice tremble with either anger or rembered agony, So, why did you allow

to experience so much pain?

Do you rember when I rendered you unconscious to inscribe parts of you?

Yes.

What happened when you woke up?

Talas eyes widened just slightly as she understood. The sum total of all the pain I would have felt hit

at once.

That, if done for the Refining, would have killed you, almost without question. The pain you felt was mostly on the soul-level, as one of your soul-bonds, specifically your body, was broken down and stripped of pieces of its makeup.

Stripped of who knows what.

Well, we know the results, but that doesnt really help us concretely identify the substance. Mistress Holly gave a rueful smile. In fact, us knowing the results lets us extrapolate the connecting concept of what was removed, which is why the conceptual substance theory holds so much weight.

And those known results are?

Refined gain incredible multiplicative increases to throughput, magical density, inscription efficiency, and magical control. An end to physical degradation due to ti. An almost total immunity to non-magical disease and poison. A perfecting of your genetic code, to be passed down to any offspring. Physical capacity is amplified as well to an incredible degree. ntal functions are lifted to completely new heights.

Mistress Holly clearly saw Talas confused frown.

All of this will manifest as your body solidifies in its new state. There are many more-specific benefits, but they all are understood to fall under what I already stated. These are so of the reasons why we implent the reconstruction inscriptions before Refining. Aside from making the process easier, they make the results better, too.

Tala grunted. Terry seed to be getting bored, so he flickered to a corner, where he contentedly curled up to wait.

Do you mind if I ask you a question?

She only hesitated a mont before shrugging. I suppose not.

I didnt want to ask before, because I didnt want to influence your decision, especially when you had an expert to consult. Now that its done, though, what was your reasoning behind binding the dasgannach with your weapon as opposed to your elk-leathers?

Tala grunted. Shed actually given it a lot of thought and talked it through with Mistress Aurius. Tala had been inclined to use Flow, and her research and talks had only reinforced the decision. Thats simple enough. The elk-leathers and dasgannach were too similar. One would have subsud the other, and Id have been left with one that could sowhat pretend to be the other. Flow and the dasgannach were distinct enough, with marginal overlap, that they should now be able to complent each other, rather than overriding or fighting for supremacy.

Mistress Holly nodded. That would have been my fear as well. Im glad to know that you got good advice, and its also nice to confirm that Im not so ignorant in the field to have missed the mark.

Tala grunted again. She was almost frustrated with Mistress Holly, but she realized that it wasnt Mistress Hollys job to hold her hand in such decisions, especially when they lay outside her expertise. Mistress Holly had gone above and beyond, finding an expert for Tala to work with, after all.

The Inscriber titled her head in thought, seeming content with Talas response. Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. What else did you want to ask?

Soul bonds.

They arent my area of study, but Ill answer if I can.

It has been implied to

that I shouldnt have more than eight at any one ti.

That is fairly standard, sound advice, yes.

I have Flow, my elk-leathers, my Archive link, and my body, right? Does my body count?

In almost every sense, yes. Mistress Hollys smile shifted towards a wry grin. Except toward that limit. While youre Bound? It counts and is like any soul-bound tool, in every basic sense. Once you Fuse though, you basically do to your body and soul what you just did to your weapon and the dasganach.

Tala blinked a few tis, processing what Mistress Holly had said. So, because my body is Fused with my soul, it doesnt count as a bond?

For soul-strain, no, it doesnt count.

So, I have five more slots?

You? I have no idea. There are so many extenuating circumstances that might have affected the strength, flexibility, and durability of your soul in ways I have no clue how to understand nor quantify. Standardly? Yes, Id say four more tools and a spouse would be the limit. She held up a finger. Though, I wouldnt rush into any of those bonds until you were utterly sure.

Absolutely not. So, the dasgannach and Flow are just a single bond?

That is usually the point of a rging. If you were set on doing all your bonding now, I would be comfortable telling you to only add four more bonds, but as the rging settles over ti, it will only strain your soul as much as a single bond in the end. She narrowed her eyes at Tala. I feel the need to emphasize that this is ant as an upper limit, not a goal. Most Archons end up with four or five tools of various natures.

Offensive, defensive, storage, and Archive connection?

Generally, yes. Each of those takes a different form, within reason. So, its not like its a standard set of gear by any ans. There are also obviously Archons who end up with a different set entirely, and almost no one who stops before Refining has a soul-bound Archive connection, so its only vaguely accurate.

Thank you for that clarification. In that sa vein, what does it an for my bonds that I am now Refined?

On the surface level, they are going to Refine as well, though it will take longer for them, and it is an automatic process. In the case of inanimate objects, weve not observed any of the black sludge, either. When you Fused, the change was mainly in you, and you likely gained greater control over them and simply had more power to grant to them for their usage. Now, however, both you and your bonds will end up altered.

Tala opened her mouth in shock, but Mistress Holly held up her hand.

Altered isnt the right word, but its also the best one I have. You will find them both more efficient and able to handle more power. Your Archive connection will likely allow for faster transfer of information at the very least as well. That is a relatively standard item, so the results are sowhat known. Its especially well studied because very few bond one before Refined, so those that do are watched closely. Master Nadro implied that you are already starting to be able to use that connection for real-ti communication, rather than simply for the sharing of notes. Is that correct?

It is, yes.

That would have been much more difficult, if not impossible before Refining.

-Shes right. We could obviously have done it if I stopped backing up your mind, and other uses of the Archive, but it still would have been a strain.-

But, thats silly. Why would communicating in real ti take that much informational throughput?

-The Archive is secure, not fast, perhaps? Its also designed as an informational repository. It is much easier to give it information than to relay information through it.-

Hmm That sounds like theres so sort of conceptual backing to it, and thats causing this nonsensical duality of capacity.

-That is in line with our earlier guesses.-

Alright. I think I understand.

Now, do you have other questions, or should we get to the tests?

Just one more, unless your answer keys off more.

Mistress Holly smiled and took another sip of tea. Ask away.

My fusing feels off sohow. Strained? Tangled? Sothing in that vein.

Tala had looked into her inner view of her fusing and found the massive, crocheted field to be rather less ordered than it had been when she had Fused. Specifically, the part which represented her body seed to have been cut apart and put back together, no longer quite fully intershed with her spirit and soul.

It wasnt in a way that made it seem like the whole thing would pull apart, but it was definitely not how she had left it.

Ahh, yes. That is expected.

Does it have to do with the changes due to Refining?

It does. This is a known result, and not one that you should deal with at the mont.

But I could?

You cant. Well, I an of course you could fix it, but it isnt worth your ti and effort. It would be foolish, so you shouldnt.

Tala frowned. What do you an?

Mistress Holly sighed. Because every step from here forward will make the Fusing worse, but it wont break it. If you aid to keep it perfected, you would need to fully undo it and start over to make it right, and then youd have to redo that for every single step between Refined and Paragon, then again for each major progression towards Reforging. And then yet again when you headed towards Ascending.

And then towards Transcendent, too? Tala finished for the woman with a sigh.

Well, no. Mistress Holly smiled knowingly. While to my knowledge, we dont have definitive proof, the most prevalent theory is that moving from Ascending to Transcendent is simply a matter of doing precisely this, aning re-Fusing. At that ti, your body, soul, and spirit will have been cleansed and its just a matter of aligning and interweaving them. Thus, the final step is simply to recombine them into a coherent, perfected whole.

Tala felt her mouth hanging slightly open. She just told ?

She blinked a few tis, uncertain if shed misunderstood.

Alat did she just tell

how to reach a certain, future advancent?

-Well, yes, but to be fair it was a theory, and still an incredible distance from where we are.-

I have to test this. What else will she tell ? Does that an you can tell

what the other advancents take?

Yes but no. Mistress Hollys smile turned wry. Paragon? Yes. Reforged? Yes, but I highly recomnd that you wait to learn that bit of knowledge for at least a year, if not until you are a Paragon. Ascending? Yes, but it is recomnded that you wait until you are a Paragon, otherwise you will make the process of reaching that advancent much harder.

Tala frowned. Arent we set up to hide these secrets, to make progression easier? Isnt that the point of the previous secrecy?

The Inscriptionist snorted. No, not at all. We hide the things that would make advancent basically impossible. These bits of information will just make it much harder, so we allow the individual Archon to decide.

I see Well, Id at least like to know what it takes to beco a Paragon.

Of course. Like Refining, it is incredibly simple in concept, but difficult to enact. Blessedly, it is an internal process, as Fusing was, not one requiring exterior assistance or intervention.

Tala nodded, waiting expectantly.

Becoming a Paragon simply requires releasing a mortal view of this world and your experiences within it.

What now?

-What now?-

Tala scrunched her face in confusion, but no clarity ca with a monts thought. So, she asked, What now?

Mistess Holly smiled. You must allow yourselfand your spiritto let go of a limited view of reality. You must allow your thinking, along with your emotional responses, to beco that of the next world, thus allowing your spiritand the half of your soul that remains hereto better align with the half of your soul that is in the next world.

Talas scrunched face beca a grimace as her parents imdiately ca to mind and anger built within her. So, I have to acknowledge that, in light of the next world, their betrayal is rather aningless? There. I did it. Are you happy?

-Tala, I dont think thats what that ans, and I dont think you do either.-

Mistress Holly sighed. I know you have much to work through. I will tell you one thing that my master told

when I had reached this step. This is not about freeing those who have wronged you. It is about freeing yourself.

Tala looked over to the other woman in confusion. I might still be a bit fuzzy, but I dont think I understand.

Let

tell you a story as an analogy.

She nodded and leaned back, continuing to enjoy her tea.

Long ago, there was a group of Mages who avoided iron entirely to prevent any tainting of even their ntal foundations for magic. It was a core tenant of their group, and an unthinkable breach to have any interactions with iron.

Tala huffed a laugh. Theyd have loved .

Mistress Holly smiled in return. Quite. But you understand the setting?

I do.

Important to the story is that this was when humanity lived in the countryside, moving around in smaller groups. This is before the cycle of cities was established.

Alright.

So, a master and mageling of this group were walking through the countryside, and they ca across an overturned cart. It seed that a wheel had broken, causing the contents of the cart to fall out onto the man who had been walking alongside, prodding the oxen.

Now, the cart had been loaded with long iron rods, each two inches thick, and the cartman was basically unhurt but utterly pinned under the jumble of rods.

I think I can see the conflict of the tale. Talas mouth quirked up into a half smile.

Shh. Even so, the Inscriptionist smiled in return. The master, without hesitation, rushed forward, grabbed the iron rods and with trendous strength, brought on by his magics, freed the man. Less than a minute later, the two Mages were on their way, and the cartman was already working to repair his vehicle, no longer needing their help.

Mistress Holly paused to take a sip of tea before continuing.

The two continued walking after that, and the mageling was understandably conflicted. His master had violated the strictures of their group and had touched iron. More than that, it wasnt a simple accidental brush with the tal. He had purposely grabbed it over and over, even utilizing magic to allow him to effectively work with it.

Finally, when they had nearly reached the end of their trip, and the day was drawing to a close, the mageling couldnt take it anymore. Master, how could you do sothing against our ideals? the young man asked. You willfully touched iron, endangering your ntal foundations.

The master turned to his mageling and gave a sad smile, My boy, I touched the iron for but a mont; you have been carrying it all day.

Silence fell in the room as both won enjoyed their tea.

Mistress Holly seed content to wait for Tala to fully process.

Finally, Tala nodded. So, it isnt about what happened, it is about your mindset?

The Inscriptionist sighed, setting her teacup aside. Yes and no. Let

try a more real example: Your Refining was traumatic.

Tala felt her eye twitch at the change in topic. Yes, it was.

And I led you into it.

She grit her teeth but responded again, Yes, you did.

You could hate

for that. You could leave and refuse to ever see

again. There is no question that your view of

has changed, but you are still here, listening to

and willing for

to still help you. Either response makes perfect sense given what you have gone through.

Tala didnt have a response.

So, let

ask you this: If you chose to hate

and avoid , who would be hard? Would your hatredyour avoidance of cause

any lasting harm?

After a monts thought, Tala had to concede, No, it wouldnt.

But would it harm you?

Probably

That is what I an. Few things are so clear cut, even the situation surrounding your Refining, but it is a good analogy.

Im still not sure I quite understand.

Mistress Holly smiled again, more softly this ti. Thats understandable and more than fine. If you truly understood, youd already be a Paragon. You are young, yet. Give it ti. Master Grediv is a wonderful resource, too. He will likely have a slightly different perspective and might convey it in a way you would understand better.

Tala grunted. Then, she gave Mistress Holly a side-eyed look. So, your master told you that tale?

Yes.

When you were in my position, Refined and looking towards the advancent to Paragon?

Yes.

And yet you are Refined? As basic and pure a yellow as Ive ever seen?

Mistress Holly smiled mischievously. Am I? I dont generally think on such things.

Tala opened her mouth to comnt further, but Mistress Holly stood up.

Now, we should really get to the tests, Mistress Tala. I have much else that I need to do this week.