Just a Bystander

Unraveling Clues

Once Kant had put away his book and invited us to sit, he spent the rest of the time breaking down everything he had learned about our sequences during the demonstration, and critiquing how effective they had been. Instead of simply telling us everything, he posed difficult questions that got us to consider our own glyph sequences in a different light.

Triss' beams were easily the hardest-hitting attack amongst all of our sequences, but we learned that staying in one place for that long was a luxury that thaumaturgists wouldn't always have. Reyes asked if it was possible to channel a beam like that while moving, to which Kant simply replied with a smile, 'See if you can find a way to do that, then use it against me next time.'

Then he discussed the biggest failing we had - predictable directions of attack. 'Only Caden,' he said, turning to me with an approving nod, 'managed to break out of that mould at the end. He learned how to control the direction of his arcanic flow even after the sequence has been cast.'

I got a few appraising looks from the rest. 'How did you do it?' Reyes asked.

'No,' Kant cut in before I could say anything. 'There are some safe shortcuts to knowledge and understanding, but this is not one of them. In our Thaumaturgy class, you will break your minds against the unyielding rock of combat, and you will learn from that trial. If you try to take the short way through this, you may irrevocably stunt your ability to develop finer control. The rest of you must apply yourself to developing this aspect of your arcanic control as your first order of business.'

This sounded a lot like what Ambrose had said during our "Double Thau" last night. It made me wonder if he had received some kind of higher training prior to even arriving at the Academy. I had never heard of this kind of precaution that had to be taken when delving into arcanophany, even from my father.

Reyes tentatively raised a hand. 'Si-.. er... Marcus. How did you channel enough arcana to fuel two copies of our sequences?'

'And somehow even manage to enhance them,' Triss chipped in, looking very sour.

Kant shook his head. 'That's another thing I can't tell you outright. I'll just say that you need to study the glyphs in your own sequences a little more closely, and read up on glyph theory. Your Advanced Glyphs studies should cover enough ground for you to piece it together.'

I thought back to how just having a different understanding of the glyph denoting 'origin/source' allowed me to direct the arcs with my will alone. I guessed that it meant that glyphs held more than just one straightforward meaning, and simply grasping concepts and tying them to the glyphs somehow affected what could be done with them.

I was beginning to see why Celwyn, our Advanced Glyphs tutor, had said that glyphs really were a language, and it was entirely possible to invent new glyphs.

By the end of the session, Kant had drilled home three simple points.

First, mental discipline matters. He pointed out how our sequencing could have been more efficient if we had simply managed our emotions better. This was especially directed at Emilia, who schooled her expression into one of stony acceptance.

Second, read your opponent. In fifteen minutes of painful, surgical analysis, he described the tells that we had which made it easier for him to anticipate our strikes. Even my invisible arcs were clearly telegraphed because of where my eyes went as I picked out target points to calculate the right trajectory.

Third, arcanic control matters more than complex glyph sequences. Using some arcana to form images, he perfectly replicated all the glyph sequences we had used, and then gave us a glimpse of his own modifications. They were all at least half as short, some even just a third of the length of the original, even including his adjustments to make them more powerful than our original sequences. Before anyone could copy them down, he erased them. It was clear that his level of control was making entire segments of our sequences completely unnecessary, which partially explained how he could juggle so many things at once in his head and how he had managed to cast so quickly. But it was still frightening. Even with his simplified sequences, what he had done in combat against us was the equivalent of multiplying 10 pairs of two-digit numbers in the time it took me to say my full name, and getting all the answers right the first time.