MALIN DRASWIST IS TOO YOUNG. With the advent of the new king of Cardina and the control of the state relinquished to Synketros, a covert organization bent on harnessing power, things took the turn for the worse. When soldiers start a siege against t...
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2412, Iclis 18, Briss
Malin tramped across the corridors, gunning for the library once again. As soon as his magic and form recovered enough to support his weight, he stumbled towards the familiar abode and gathered everything he could about barriers and militia spells. He had gotten to half after pulling an all-nighter, and if not for Master Leneris finding him and dragging him by force back to his room, Malin would have finished this stack already.
Ymbril was right about him not knowing enough about the world he lived in and the circumstances he found himself in. Hexen has turned her face away when they snuck into the Temple. She might not do it again the second time. That's why he has to cram all this knowledge into his head. It's not because of a test from the Masters coming up at the end of the week; it's because hundreds of lives would be at stake if he didn't find another way to maintain the barrier without putting the High Priestess' soul as a gamble.
Sometimes, he had this uncontrollable desire to go back to when times were simpler, when he only had to study because he wanted to and not because he had a ticking timeteller held over his head and lives to lose.
Growing up sucked that way.
He flipped through the next pages and skimmed through the contents. Barriers were types of militia magic used to protect a huge area against strong outward attacks. That's common knowledge. These protective spells could be scaled from city-wide covers to personal covers. A memory flashed in his head. He was sure he'd seen Xanthy use a Cover spell more than once. They belonged to the same branch of spells? Cool.
Barriers could be from maxia, escuira, or rysteme, with varying strength, duration, and magic usage. To find out which one Ymbril maintained...
Another tome answered that question. The High Priestess was using an advanced form of barrier spell and she confirmed it herself. An anti-magic barrier—made from combining two advanced-level escuira spells to cut out magic from the outside and use said magic to fuel those on the inside. The catch? Everyone aside from the caster would benefit from the absorbed magic.
Which meant...
Malin had enough reserves now. Maybe he and Ymbril could take turns maintaining the spell. How about the transfer clause? His fingers turned frantic as they traced line after line of research findings and magical procedures. One claimed transfer was possible, but it didn't tell him how. Magic, despite it being the cornerstone of their existence, was as arcane as the midnight sky.
Maybe he would propose the idea to Ymbril and they could go from there. They also needed to think of another way to get the Civil Guards and Synketros off their hairs. Defense wasn't a good tactic to adopt forever. While Synketros was a bully, it also didn't have a stock of patience to humor something it had the capacity to crush like a bug.
He rushed out of the library and found his way towards the altar where he figured the High Priestess carried out her emergency operations. It's used for all kinds of ceremonies and official correspondences. It's Malin's best shot at finding Ymbril.
