The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [10] Final Days

Things around the palace were hectic for those in charge as the new administration had to reorganize how the city and domain would be run. Tanisha wasn't a part of any of those meetings or decisions, but the maids and servants loved to gossip. The Tujewli Family would split, and the heir and his wife would start a new noble lineage. Soon, the domain would be the Jewel Domain under the brand-new Jewel Noble House.

"I heard that the city will be turned into a Free Economic Zone," a maid said.

"I never heard of that before, but it sounds fancy," another maid whispered.

Tanisha decided her time would be better spent preparing for her trip to the Mesha. The trip would take about a month not counting the towns they would stop in to sell goods. The young woman didn't take long to slip into a new routine.

She spent more time than she should have in Drew's Herbal Emporium. She had to reintroduce herself as Sif since, like everyone else, he thought she was a different person. After that, she justified the hours she spent there because, of course, she needed to learn as much as possible if she was going to be a traveling alchemist. Not to mention, with the gold she got from the Princess, she could probably buy everything in his shop besides some truly legendary and practically one-of-a-kind draughts he had.

Physical training never stopped, even when they were in hiding. Training breathing, flexibility, combat, and magic was a routine. The days in the palace stretched on as she began to learn the next form of the Way of the Rakshasa. She was still a novice of the third form, AgniKavach, the Fire Armor, but Joha explained that mastery came from seeing the weaknesses of each form and filling that gap with the other forms. One of the biggest problems with AgniKavach was the lack of offensive options, which she desperately needed when she fought Thyra.

The second form, VritraVajra, the Thunder Dragon, would fill in some of that gap. They were both defensive forms, but where AgniKavach was about taking damage and pushing through it with unbeatable defense, VritraVajra was about redirecting that damage back at the opponent, using the enemies' momentum, movements, and magic against them. The second form was more free-flowing than the restrictive and tight movements of the third form. Joha was trying to teach her to do the opposite of what she had been learning.

On top of that, Tanisha found a new problem. Her center of balance had changed since she was taller, and apparently, her tiara was more extensive and, therefore, heavier. Now, when she was learning forms, she also had to follow Joha's intricate tail movements without thinking about it. The ground became Tanisha's best but unwanted friend during each combat training session.

"Ouch!" Tanisha exclaimed as she hit the ground hard.

Bjorn fell beside her a moment later. The two had been tossed nearly half the length of the training field.

"Your teamwork has improved," Joha said as red maya slowly disappeared from around him.

"Why doesn't it seem like it?" Tanisha complained as she picked herself off the ground and rubbed her aching back. "We haven't been able to hit you once."

"And yet you managed to defeat a Hand I would have had trouble with," Joha said matter-of-factly.

"That was more luck than anything."

"Well, let's see if we can replicate that luck. Are there any changes to your numbers on your mental projection magic?"

"Huh, I don't know. I haven't checked it in a while. One second, let me do that," Tanisha said as she opened her status menu.

Status Menu

Name: Tanisha Scalebound
Species: Cernunnos
Level: 32
Vitality: 50
Restoration: 45
Constitution: 100
Willpower: 130
Strength: 55
Dexterity: 80
Stamina: 48
Seiðr: 470
Seiðr Regeneration: 35 + 200 = 235 (+100 from bond)