Valences clean and full. Id be ready to Slot new spells upon Renewal.
I didnt actually have that many Valences, so I didnt need much ti to recharge. Just sothing else that would improve with ti...
The other soldiers recuperating were watching in interest and envy. Obviously they werent Casters, and a casual Assay confird they werent Forsaken. Just Warriors, not-very-willing combatants putting in their ti and hoping to get out of this alive.
I frowned to myself. Staying Primos was bound to create hard feelings between those with magic and those without it. Obviously this world hadnt developed ki or soul magic techniques to the required level, or possibly even learned of Forsaken.
Hadnt developed... or had suppressed developnt of? After all, anything that gave power to the masses diluted the power of the Powered. People who wanted to hold onto their power could be very nasty about it, even if it impacted the survival of humanity as a whole.
Still, they couldnt resent completely, because I was halvyr, born with magic. I wasnt lucky, I just had the magic.
Father Bower was at his desk in a side tent, and ca out when he sensed my Draw end. He cleared his throat, waited until I put my finger in my ear, and said,
Necessity. And a 3 Talent, but hey. I pulled a Mason jar out of my purse. Holy water. You take donations?
He lifted an eyebrow. I pictured long squirty-tubes filled with holy water hitting ghosts in the face like acid, and a tanker truck full of the stuff hosing down whole phalanxes of undead. They could run through a lot of it pretty fast. I imagined that most of the churches regularly sent gallons of the stuff to all the hot zones.
He accepted the jar calmly, fingers sparkling a second to confirm what it was, and sighed as he set it aside.
When my Bloodline Awakened, it turned out I had two that were in opposition to another. I had to destroy them and mix them up back into a standard Arcane Bloodline to balance out. There were significant magical implications to this, including rewiring a portion of my head. My language centers were part of it. The languages I knew were dropped and replaced. I am absolutely sure I did not know Elven before, as it is a hideously difficult and complex language to learn. As for the others... well, learning them challenges your sanity, but I basically just know them because sothing wanted to know them. I rolled my eyes at the clouded sky, as did he.
he noted, frowning.
Im speaking Human.
He blinked. He was incredulous.
Obviously there is, because I am speaking it. I inclined my head. Humans are magical, just like elves and dwarves. Why wouldnt you have a language attuned to your Life Spiral, just like them?
He stared at in disbelief.
Confirming that magic had definitely not been here all the ti. Entirely possible that you had magic in the ancient past, and its weakening cost you your genetic tongue.
He seed quite excited. His eyes fixed on . he asked urgently.
I lifted an eyebrow. Father, it is your genetic language. I dont believe theres any possible way to stop you from learning it, even if you dont want to.
He blinked at , then turned and looked at the other three soldiers, all looking and listening in curiously. He walked back into his office, ca back with a simple chair, and set it down as the soldiers all gathered to sit down on cots, eyes bright as they looked at .
A mont. I began to arrange my thoughts, spread them in a Visual File I brought up on Holo to the side of . Can you all read this? I asked, as I began to put nouns onto it, starting with fruit. Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Dewberry, Elderberry...
they all said together.
Yes! I corrected them, spelling it out on the Holo.
Yes! they repeated, staring at the words.
Then repeat all these after ... Apple! I put up a picture of one.
Apple! they all repeated dutifully.
--------
I think it frightened them with how fast they learned it. Once the connection of object, word, sight, and sound ca together, it stuck like glue. After a thousand words drawn from everything around them, I was on to verbs, demonstrating with the Holo what I ant, displaying the words in the proper script, and they were nodding and picking it up with amazing speed.
Then it was on to sentence structure, conversation, and as the akashic links solidified, soon they were getting ahead of , starting to blurt out phrases that ca to mind, shocking even themselves as they did so.
I tolerated it all with a straight face, simply going on and on. I couldnt translate their English questions without bringing down the Holo, but that was fine: I recorded all their questions and phrases and terms in Visual File, translated them to Human, and brought them all back up, complete with answers.
It took an hour, and suddenly I was holding conversations with them in Human, as if theyd been speaking it all their lives.
The three soldiers were nad Bill, Pedro, and Dwayne, coming from Massachusetts, Texas, and Atlanta, respectively. They had never experienced magic working on them so directly like this, and it sort of freaked them out, even as they found it way cool.
So, can we teach this to others? Pedro had to ask. I an, like, wed all be speaking one language then, right? No more need for Spanish, English, Chinese...
Except if you dont want others to know what you are saying. All four guys grimaced despite themselves. And naturally people are going to want to hold onto their old languages, because there are unique and special things about them; the way they make you think, and the like. While you can teach everyone Human, and they can learn it and understand it, you cant make them speak it. Its just one more way to separate groups from one another.
But thats not sothing the military cares about. Getting over language hurdles is a minor but pervasive problem. Father Bowers face was glowing at this. Miss Traveler, if you like, I would like to record a video of a teaching session with you. If we can teach this Human language to all of humanity, we will have done a great service for the human race!
I agree, but you might make so powerful people quite angry, I warned him.
He waved his hand dismissively. The whole Church of Harse will have my back, he promised . I will arrange this for the morning, if that is alright with you.
That is fine. May I ask if the Wall is open for outsiders in the night?
He smiled as if Id said sothing expected. It is. The early evening is when most civilians co to the wall to tease the undead, harvesting power to get stronger. So of the braver soldiers do so as well, if they have the ans.
Yeah, not all of us can cast spells, so we cant hurt those things, and having an oversized water pistol isnt sothing you want to take up against one of those things, Bill, the skinny white kid from Massachusetts, muttered.
Magical items are concentrated among the Powered? I asked calmly, knowing it was true, and even Father Bower had to sigh and nod with the three soldiers. It is the principle of giving your best troops the best gear. It is a solid strategy, proven by thousands of years of combat. However, there is an exception, and that is the weapon of a warrior. All three of them blinked, and leaned forwards. Find a masterwork weapon, Na it, and by right of victory, you can grow its power, without needing all the precious tal and power components to do so.
Even Father Bower was staring at now. Is that true? he asked in a hushed voice.
Yes. I turned my eyes on the soldiers. And the Weapons of those without magic are stronger than the Weapons of those with magic.
Dwayne, the chocolate-skinned fellow from Atlanta, fairly bounced to his feet. What you saying? Better? How? Girl, I gotta get one of those! His arm was in a sling, but he looked ready to jump around in excitent.
Please sit down. I didnt look at him, but he abashedly sat back down on the cot.
Requirent one is a fine weapon. Is that your rifle? I asked Pedro, pointing to an automatic firearm leaning against a cot. He nodded, and was about to go get it when I flicked my fingers, and it flew quickly enough to my hand. He sat back down, looking a little envious.
I fluttered my fingers, and my eyes glowed. An Assay says this is an AR-18, QL 18. Its good quality for the tech level it is at, but you need a 20 to get even the most minor magical Weapon, and you want a 23 to 26, at a minimum. At 23, you can start putting additional stuff in it.
I made a cutting motion between the soldiers and the cleric. The difference between people with no magic and those who do is a magical signature. In effect, Powered people throw off magical static. Makes sense, right? The three soldiers sort of nodded along. You dont have any static. So, a magic item made to be used by us Powered has to be capable of withstanding that static, which ans the runic structure has to be strong and fixed, or itll just short out and be non-functional.
Weapons made for Primos dont have to be quite that rigid. They can have an Arsenal.
All three soldiers had really bright eyes right now.
An Arsenal ans you can switch the effects of a Weapon to a new effect. It is very similar to a Powered Casting a Greater Magic Weapon, and choosing to have their gun flaming, or crackling with electricity, or Bane against the undead, right?
Wait, Father Bower raised his hand. I thought magical Weapons were fixed in effect.
For you and I. Weapons made by the Primos, for the Primos... no. Father Bower blinked. If you or I tried to wield them, wed get minimal effect out of them. But a Primos wielding a Nad Weapon allows the Weapon to truly shine.
Intelligent Weapon? He frowned. There is great danger in binding spirits...
NAD Weapon, I corrected him. Was Excalibur considered intelligent? Mjolnir? Glaupner? Kusanagi? Caliburn? No. A Nad Weapon. A fine Weapon, christened and used to conquer, growing with its wielder. Feed it victory, and grow its Na.
I flicked up a holo of a dagger. A basic magic Weapon, and yes, you prefer guns, let go on, I said as mouths opened. You first make the weapon magical, but youre at QL 24, and you want a second effect on it. I waved at the wall behind . You choose Undead Bane. The dagger was limned with a dead black fire. But, oh no! Youre fighting a demon, and Undead Bane is useless...
If youre Powered, thats when you toss a Bane Against Fiends on the dagger, the yellow-black hue of that Banefire overlaid the first. But if youre Primos, maybe you realized this a long ti ago, and you happened to kill a demon. You switch the Bane via Slaughter to Fiends. The daggers black flas vanished, and were replaced by the black-yellow. Or maybe you had to pop a Warlock, and you want Humanbane. The liquid crimson fires of Humanbane covered the dagger, and all of them pulled back...
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