Mark of the Fool

Chapter 277: The Three Spells

Is something wrong? Selina asked, looking at her brother closely. Your face looks funny.

N-no! Alex cried, trying to keep his expression neutral even as he felt his cheeks turning red again. Thundars rope question had been conjuring all kinds of images in his mind for hours. Y-your face looks funny!

Selina gave him a look that seemed to say: I regret that were related.

Youre thinking you regret that were related, arent you? Alex said suspiciously.

So school was interesting today, Selina said quickly, looking away.

Dont change the subject!

Then lets talk about why your face looked funny! his sister glared at him.

More rope images rose in his mind, all consuming, as if the Mark was forcing them into his head.

Waitthe Mark, Alexs thoughts froze. The Mark of the Fool lets me improve in any skill outside of divinity, combat and spellcraft. So does that mea-No Alex, not now!

Y-yeah so why was school interesting? he asked as the two of them walked across campus.

Shed just finished school a few hours after he and Thundar stopped working on Illusionary Patch. Campus was its usual busy self again since summer break was now officially over. Students scurried across the green like ants rushing to meet their queens orders. Except, instead of a queen, it was demanding professors who had students running from class to class, assorted labs, and the library.

As busy as they were, a number of them were focused on Alex and Claygon. Some tried concealing the fact that they were watching the pair, but others were openly staring.

If Selina noticed the extra attention her brother and his golem were getting, she gave no sign. We started learning about mana today.

Really? Alex said, turning to her with interest. What did you learn?

Well, all about where it is in the world and how theres so much more here than everywhere else, she said. Is there really so much more here than at home? I asked Mr. Powell, and he said that Generasi might have twenty times as much mana in the air as there is Thameland.

Oh yeah. Theres tons here, Alex said. Its like how theres more sand at the beach than there is around a pond. Remember when we first came to Generasi, and Luciaour sky-gondoliertalked about sky-gondolas not being able to work in other parts of the world? Well, thats the reason why. Thamelands mana is a little below average compared to most places. Thoughthats kind of oversimplifying it. Thamelands relative ranking in terms of ambient mana changes a bit depending on which realms you count, and whether youre using the mean, median or mode. But, basically, it's slightly below average, while Generasis is way at the tip-top.

Thats too bad, Selina said a little glumly as she shifted her bag on her shoulder. Her knife bounced on her hip; she rarely left home without it these days, even though weapons were peace-bonded at the junior school, which meant school staff tied the sheath closed during class time. If we had all the wizards Generasi has, I bet The Ravener wouldve been dead forever a long time ago.

Well, wizards cant fix everything, Alex said. But yeah, I think if more wizards were born in Thameland, wed be farther ahead in a lot of ways.

Thats what Mr. Powell was talking about, she said. Im glad theyre teaching us this stuff.

Yeah, it sounds like theyre starting you off on the really simple parts of magic theory, Alex said, leaning in to stage-whisper to her in a playful, conspiratorial tone. Heres a fun fact: it gets a lot better later.

A smile lit up her face. I really want to learn spells that make things: spells like they used to build all those buildings for the Games. Thats what Im going to do someday.

Well, keep studying and youll learn all about it. Hey Alex paused. Speaking of building and constructing things, have they taught you about magic circuits yet?

Selina shook her head. Not really. I heard you, Khalik, Thundar and Isolde talk about them, though.

Okay, Alex took a breath, stood straighter and squared his shoulders. Imagine likea network of roads in a city. You know how city roads let people go from place to place so they can get to work, school or home?

My teacher last year said that roads keep cities and kingdoms running.

Thats right, Alex said. Well, magic circuits are basically roads for mana. He drew an invisible line in the air. They guide mana along certain pathways so that it can create magic effects. The way magic arrays are constructed is really cool too, and their diagrams are kinda like looking at a map of a citys roads. If you want, I can teach you a bit about magic circuits. Just the simple stuff, anyway.

Selinas eyes shone. Alex, thats awesome! Im not embarrassed to be related to you anymore!

I knew it! Alexs cry swept over campus.

It seemed that time was moving faster with each passing day. That mightve been because Alex was so busy, but the days seemed to whip past him like hailstones in a storm. Even so, juggling work, the expedition, school and family wasnt as hard as it should have been, and that was largely thanks to the Mark.

Hed called on it regularly at the start of semester as he adjusted his schedule, trying to wring the most he could out of every hour. It had paid off too. His reading and note taking speed had spiked so high compared to last year, that any reading time was now minimal. Hed devoured every class reading, personal study text, and spell-guide like they were nothing: a year of using the Mark for speed-reading and memorising, was letting him soak up information like a sponge.

Which meant that the hours he would normally spend on readings, could be used in other ways.

Like working on spell practice, which was what he was doing right now.

A week after his first class with Professor Haktucked in his room during the late night hourshe finally finished learning Mana to Life.

Whoa, Alex said as the magic circuit completed. Moonlight streamed through his bedroom window as a new connection formed beneath his mana pool and lifeforce. It felt a lot different than the one that formed when he cast Life to Mana.

Instead of fatigue, he felt energised, strong and euphoric as mana was converted to lifeforce, then channelled into his body. His entire body felt solid, warm, and healthy. His vision sharpened for an instant and voices lowered in conversation throughout the courtyard, grew clearer.

His left index finger suddenly began itching.

Energy flowed, concentrating on one particular spot on Alexs finger that he began scratching, then gasped: a paper cut running across his fingertip knitted together in heartbeats, and by the time the spell was complete, the cut had completely vanished, not leaving even the faintest scar behind to remind him that it was ever there.

Yeeeeees! elation filled his voice. Healing. Finally.

He remembered injuries hed taken in battles. Wounds that should take days and weeks to heal, could mend much quicker now with repeated castings of Mana to Life. He just had to make sure he took care with the spell, since any mistakes could be catastrophic to his lifeforce.

Blood magicIve gotta say, I like what youve had to offer so far, he murmured, then glanced down at his shoulder. I wondermaybe warp flesh could let me manipulate my skin and actually hide the Mark.

His fingers flipped the pages of one of his notebooks and he quickly scrawled a note in it:

Warp Flesh is based on mana manipulation. Try to gain as much precision from it as possible and see if you can fold skin over The Mark to hide it.

He tapped his pen on the page, then added something:

See what other changes you can make to your body through Warp Flesh. If successful, possibly explore shapeshifting magic in your final year.

Finishing up, he took a moment to examine his handwriting. A year ago, his penmanship looked like Isolde had shocked him repeatedly with one of her lightning spells. But a year of Mark-enhanced practice later, it was now as precise, neat, and artistic-looking as if a trained scribe had done the writing.

Smiling contentedly, he twirled his pen and set aside the notebook then opened another one dedicated to Illusionary Patch.

80%.

Thanks Thundar, he said sincerely, as he cracked his knuckles in preparation to spell cast.

The simple spell array was easy to learn even with The Marks interference; his friend had done him a real favour.

Now, if only there was magic to block the priests ability to sense you, he whispered to the Mark as he got into the spell.

So far, it had resisted any attempts to analyse it using magic. Even Baelin hadnt been able to examine it despite his wealth of experience, power and skill.

But, unable to do it right now didnt necessarily mean impossible.

It was this comforting thought that accompanied him as the Marks first waves of interference rushed at him. He worked through it.

The days had turned into weeks since hed learned Mana to Life and in Thameland, expedition teams had tracked the chittereronly to find its trail had led nowhere.

I suspect some sort of airborne Ravener-spawn is dropping these monsters into our lands, Professor Jules said one day. Which would explain why their trails start and end so abruptly. If a flyer is transporting them, its a damn elusive one, but sooner or later, well find it.

One of the reasons for her confidence was because the chitterers hadnt stopped coming around, no matter how many they captured or killed. It seemed like every week, one of the survey teams found at least one stalking through the hills of Greymoor. Their persistence bothered Alex, but as Jules had said, with timing and a bit of luck, theyd eventually learn where the creatures were coming fromand how and why they were coming into Greymoor.

Alex couldn't wait for that day since he and his teammates often had the feeling that the expedition was being scouted, but they hadnt caught sight of anything. Yet.

Things seemed mostly quiet in Greymoor. Some of the other surveying teams had come across the occasional local monster, but apart from them and some chitterers, it seemed their lands were largely abandoned. There were no more bog fights, or goblin-nests to destroy like in their first week there.

But still, that uneasy feeling of a threat looming unseen somewhere in the background, nagged at Alex. Being among an expedition of fully armed and prepared wizards ready for whatever came, there should be little to fearhe hoped.

Yet, he kept something in mind that Leopolds attacks had taught him; armies should be met with other armies.

And Alex was working on crafting an army of his own.

Holy shit! Alex swore one sunny day as he sat practising in his room.

He intently watched as the Mark of the Fool slowly disappeared from his shoulder. Finally, his reward for repeatedly casting Thundars Illusionary Patch was revealed: a bare right shoulder.

Like an object sinking beneath the waters surface, the grinning, glowing jesters face had sunk beneath the illusionary patch. In heartbeats, the glow receded until there was nothing but unbroken skin where Uldars Mark had sat for over a year.

Time for a test: he rotated his arm, pinched the skin and stretched it. It turned red when he pinched it, stretched when he pulled it, and folded when he raised his arm.

Thisthis is great! Alex said, almost bursting with excitement. By the Traveller, I cant wait to tell Thundar. But first things firstcelebrations later. Practice now. Dont lose focus.

Patting his shoulder, he buttoned his shirt, cast a pair of Wizards Hands to carry his bag, and left the room to pick up Claygon. Hed booked a room in the Cells to practise one of the summoning spells his class would be learning this semester: Summon Small Water Elemental.

The apartment was empty when he locked the door: Theresa had a shift at the beastarium and Selina was still at school, enjoying an activity for the junior school students who were learning the beginnings of wizardry. Deep in thought, he tried to not let recent successes distract him as he crossed campus.

This is a second-tier summoning spell, he reminded himself. Youll need to keep your focus. Remember how long it took you to learn Summon Elemental Beetle Swarm.

Alex paused when he opened the Cells doors, almost expecting Amir to rush through the hall with his arms straining with too many books and that perpetually stressed look on his face. But, there was no Amir.

He sighed, shaking his head to banish ghosts of the past, then went up to the room hed booked, closing the door behind him.

Alright, set-up time. Lets not summon anything horrible this time.

He started practising immediately, trying the spell once. Then twice.

Over and over, Alex guided his way through, slowly noticing a difference. When he reached a dozen tries, he was already 30% of the way through the spell array.

At two dozen, he was 50%.

On attempt thirty-nine, power suddenly rippled in his summoning circle.

A droplet of water formed, like a drop of dew on a leaf.

Then another droplet. And another. More and more, the air in the circle grew moist and cool, condensing into a water globule about two feet across.

A fully formed water elemental shuddered in front of Alex, stretching across the floor like a cat.

He watched it in shock.

Hed cast Summon Small Water Elemental successfully. Just like that.

It was the fastest hed ever learned a spell.

Ever.