Spellscribed: Conviction, page 29
“So, if you put it to use that set temperature, you can use it on cold or hot days?” Bridget asked.
“Yes.” Endrance answered. “It also means that I can cast it on another person, since it won’t have variables that depend on the subject it’s being cast on.”
“So that means we won’t be melting like ice in a pot of hot water tomorrow?” Bridget asked.
“Yeah.” Endrance replied. “I’ll try it out on the dawn leg of the trip.”
“Well, I’m going to get some sleep.” Bridget said, rolling onto her side, putting her back against him. “Good night.”
Endrance lay there in the were-light of his spell, with two of the most important people in his life sleeping next to him. Above, Gullin soared in circles, drifting on thermals he, most likely, was generating on his own. Despite the situation that had put him there, he knew he would rather be nowhere else in the world.
* * *
The night sky was brightening, and the group had managed to make it through the first night unscathed; in some part, due to Gullin’s keen eyes and sharper talons. Endrance had them line up after packing in the tents. Bridget, Tanya, and Selene stood stock still, while Joven fidgeted in place.
“Okay.” Endrance exhaled. “Let’s give it a shot.”
“On all of us?” Joven asked. “Are you sure?”
Tanya looked to Bridget, who gave her a subtle nod. She elected not to say anything, trusting in Bridget’s judgment more than Endrance’s confidence.
“Yeah I’m sure.” Endrance responded. “I’ve looked over the spell six times. It will be drawing on my power the entire time it is running, and I’ve got to support it for all of you, including Giselle… where’s Giselle?”
The wolf-girl popped her head out from under Selene’s skirt, grinning.
“Including Giselle.” Endrance continued. “It’s more cost effective to cast it on you all at once.”
“Fine.” Joven said. “Get it over with.”
“Selene, can you pick up Giselle?” Endrance asked. Selene managed to extricate the girl from her skirts without much difficulty, effectively holding her against her side so her head was level with Selene’s.
“Okay, everyone make contact with the person next to you. Tanya, Joven, make sure Selene’s in the loop.” Endrance instructed.
“All right.” Joven said. They were all connected in a line.
The wizard started the long form casting of his new spell. He had read over it half a dozen times, and the spell was fresh in his memory. He needed to be as efficient as possible, since the spell would be constantly drawing on his power while it was active, and he was about to undertake six times the normal drain. If he was efficient, then he could shave every valuable iota of power that would ensure the spell operated for as long as possible.
He finished the final word of power, and with the last mudra, cupped his hands together. Light gleamed from between his fingertips, and a cool air swirled around within, caressing his palms. He strode forward, parted his hands, and touched his left hand to his chest while grasping Tanya’s forearm with his right.
The wind swept along her skin, ruffling her clothing and stirring slowly across her body. It then ran down her other arm, coming into contact with Bridget. The spell spread across her, then Selene and Giselle, and lastly to Joven. Soon, each had a personal pocket of air against their skin that was the temperature of a cool spring day.
“All right.” Endrance said, letting go of Tanya’s arm and stepping back. The spell didn’t suddenly fizzle or collapse, nor did their spells falter when they ceased contacting the person next to them.
“Hey, this kind of tickles.” Selene exclaimed, shivering for a second.
It seems that your spell was very effective. Gullin stated. I can hardly sense the drain.
Give it time. Endrance replied drily. It will start costing more the greater the temperature difference becomes.
Well done, though. Gullin praised. It should protect them from the heat and cold, and you from the cold at least.
I thought I just wouldn’t be hurt by fire. Endrance asked. I mean things still feel hot to me.
Only to a point. Gullin replied. I do not believe my protection extends to breathing smoke, so try not to stand around in burning buildings.
Hah! Thanks. Endrance shook his head slightly. Everyone else was patting themselves down, amazed at the sensation.
“All right. Are we ready to continue?” Endrance asked.
“Yeah.” Joven replied. “Let’s go.”
They set off, walking at a fast pace through the two hour window they had. By the end, the sun had only been out for an hour, but the desert was already heating up quickly.
“All right everyone… moment of truth.” Endrance declared as he stood in the center of the marching order. “Do we press on or make camp?”
Everyone had been sipping their water and keeping their pace steady. They looked at him expectantly.
“We press on.” Endrance said, resuming walking.
Two more hours of walking passed, and though the air was cool around them, Endrance’s aura was suffering an ever increasing loss of power. The hotter it got, the more power he had to feed to the spell to keep them all cool. It also didn’t protect them from the direct light of the suns, and he wasn’t the only one starting to redden from the exposure. The glare of the suns against the fine sand made visibility difficult as well. They agreed then to set up camp.
They crawled into their tents, sitting down and trying to figure out how to rest during the day. The brilliance of the suns caused the tent walls to glow, and sharp whiteness to beam in from the seams. Endrance gulped water and let the spell lapse, keeping the tent flaps open, so their shelter didn’t turn into an oven.
“Wow…” Endrance muttered, sitting up. He had shucked his shirt and was sitting bare-chested. “I did not expect it to be this hard.”
“I think I have sand in places I didn’t know existed until today.” Giselle growled, shaking sand out of her fur. There wasn’t enough space for them to stand, but they could stoop over another person sitting down; or they could seat three people in a single tent packed tightly. For the day, in order to not cook themselves, they agreed to set up three tents. Joven and Bridget, Selene and Tanya, and Endrance got to spend some time with his adopted daughter.
That was a strange concept for him to swallow. There he was, sixteen, nearly seventeen, and not only did he have three wives, but he had a fourth who had died. And now he had a daughter who wasn’t even the same species as either he or his wives. It was confusing. He wiped sweat from his face, wishing he hadn’t gotten into the Circle of Magi so young.
At least recently, he hadn’t been mistaken for a girl. That had bothered him quite a lot earlier, so it seemed the near two years of harder living had made him appear more masculine. He looked down at his chest and stomach. The tattoos helped define them, but he actually looked like he had muscles underneath his skin now.
He’d be twenty by the time he returned to Ironsoul. Endrance realized that, by that time, he would have spent a quarter of his life outside of the village he grew up in. A village which had been sacked not too long ago, he reminded himself with a grimace.
“Is everything okay?” Giselle asked. Though they had made small talk during the trip, they hadn’t had a chance to really chat and get to know each other. He had learned about who her parents were, and what she knew before Weldom had snagged him, but he only recently had really just talked with her like another member of his group.
Endrance nodded, stroking the back of her head behind her ears. The imprinted memories from the Atastos wolfmen he had absorbed told him that the motion was used to comfort their pups when they were uneasy, a motion that was similarly used on actual wolves, and even domesticated dogs.
“I am fine, pup.” He replied in Ulfreau. Though he couldn’t quite manage some of the body language, since he lacked a tail and expressive ears, he could comprehend it quite easily now. “I was just thinking about what we’re doing. Did you get the sand out of your fur?”
“Yes, I did.” She said. “But now it’s knotted up. That air magic you did was good, but it makes my fur move funny.”
Endrance nodded, and opened his pack. He pulled out his small grooming kit and untied it. Unrolling the pouch, he picked out the smaller of the two hairbrushes he had. “Come here, pup.” He said, gesturing to his lap. Giselle sat on his lap, and he helped her brush out her fur. There were a lot of tangles, which surprised him. He didn’t expect the spell to cause that much trouble for her.
“Thanks.” Giselle said, her ears and tail perking up. “I like it when you help me.”
“I’m sorry I was gone for a while, Giselle.” He said. “But I’m here now, and I will take care of you. I won’t leave you like that again.”
She sat patiently for him to finish brushing her. Endrance glanced over to the next tent, and saw Selene and Tanya were sitting in their tent topless and nearly fell over in surprise.
“Oh, they’re naked too!” Giselle yipped.
“Yes… yes they are.” Endrance said with a sigh. “It is hot out.”
Tanya gave him a wink and closed the tent flap, obscuring their view.
“Aww…” Giselle whined. “I wanted to brush their hair.”
Endrance chuckled, picking her off his lap and turning her around. He set her on her feet, her ear tips only a few inches from the ceiling of his tent. “Here.” He said, handing her his comb. “Go do it.”
Endrance flipped open his spellbook, and went to work fine tuning his spell to the sound of the two girls giggling and Giselle trying to talk them into letting her brush their hair, even though they didn’t know how to understand Ulfreau anywhere close to as well as Endrance did. With a little bit of adjustment, he could perhaps help handle the beating heat of the sun.
He had another idea. Perhaps while he was at it, he could adjust his darkness spell to dim and blunt the light of the suns, but the spell was made to be anchored on a location, not a moving object. That would take several days to figure out. He eventually drifted off to sleep, the high warmth and stillness lulling him to sleep.
Endrance. Gullin’s voice echoed in his head. Wake up.
Endrance opened his eyes. Giselle was cuddled up to his side, fuzzy and warmer than even the hot air around him. The day seemed impossibly bright to his eyes.
Huh? Endrance asked mentally. What is it?
I need you to see this. Gullin replied, his tone serious.
What is it? Endrance asked, sliding away from Giselle and stepping out into the sand. The brilliant light of the suns burned against his skin immediately, but for the moment, it went ignored.
You’re right. Endrance replied. I needed to see this.
In the distance, light blazed out at them with the brilliance of both suns combined. The source of the light marched along the horizon. A faint rumble could be heard in the distance, a low sound like a waterfall.
What is that? Endrance finally asked a few minutes later.
It appears to be the River of Glass. Gullin replied, drifting closer to it. And it is giving off immense heat.
Endrance watched his familiar float closer and closer towards it. He sighed. Go ahead, Endrance encouraged. Go check it out. Come back in time for us to break camp.
Great! His familiar sounded excited as he banked directly for the wave of light and heat.
Endrance ducked back into the tent, finished off his canteen, and lay back down.
By all the magic... Gullin’s mental voice was faint, so he must have been a great distance away. This is glorious!
Endrance felt a trickle of sensation coming back from his familiar. The familiar had flown into the River of Glass and was bathing in the intense heat radiating from the phenomenon.
I have been looking for a fire like this! Gullin echoed back, ecstatic. Yes!
Endrance sighed, closed his eyes and tried to return to sleep. He couldn’t completely tune his familiar out, in case of an emergency, but he could shove his voice into the back of his mind and try to rest up. He drifted back off to sleep, hot and sweating.
He woke hours later to find Gullin had returned. Every feather on his familiar’s body seemed to glow like hot steel subjected to a blacksmith’s fire, and the heat coming off the bird was even greater than that of the desert.
Enjoyed yourself, I see. Endrance said, stretching. He felt stiff and dehydrated, and his skin felt hot. As he stretched he felt like the skin across his chest was going to crack. He looked down and saw he had turned quite red.
“Holy…” Endrance muttered, touching his chest. “I got sun burnt?”
You did go outside without covering clothing. Gullin said plainly.
I thought you made me immune? Endrance asked.
I made you immune to fire, but your human form cannot handle so much sunlight pouring on you. Gullin explained.
Endrance ducked back into the tent. Giselle was packing up the little bag she was using to carry her things. Endrance patted her on the head and gingerly pulled a shirt on.
I’ve never gotten a sunburn like this before. Endrance stated. Was this because of what you showed me?
It would seem so. Gullin replied apologetically. You were only out in the light of that event for moments, and it was as bad as if you had been out in the suns for hours up in Balator.
Endrance had had minor sunburns before; the first few days out in the snow had earned him a minor one, since he didn’t think it was that bad due to the cold. Still, to get burned so badly for only a few seconds of exposure…
So that was the River of Glass? Endrance asked.
Yes, it was. Gullin said. We’re about five more nights’ journey from the northern shore. It appears to be very dangerous when the suns are out.
That was just the sun across the River of Glass? Endrance said, amazed. No wonder Alana said we should cross at night. How hot do you think it got?
I do not know, Gullin replied dryly. Everything in this world feels cold to me. But if I were to guess, it was the hottest thing I’ve experienced here.
If you can answer this, how hot was it compared to things you experienced in your home? Endrance asked, packing his things together while the suns were still too high in the sky. In a few minutes, they would have to get going.
It is not the hottest thing, but it is not the coldest. Gullin stated. I would put that in the hotter half of my home realm.
So… too hot for us to handle. Endrance replied.
Even you would die within seconds. Gullin explained. The air would sear your lungs, and the light would burn you out in moments.
Endrance stepped out of his tent, and started taking it down. Within moments, Bridget and Tanya vacated their tent and did the same. Selene gave him a smile before turning to work on the tent, realized how red he was, and turned back to look at him. “What the hells…” she said, getting Tanya’s attention.
“Whoa!” Tanya exclaimed. “What happened to you?”
Endrance sighed. “I stepped outside around noon. I was only out there for la few minutes, but it did this.” He gestured to his reddened face and ears.
Selene started chuckling to herself. Tanya thought for a few seconds, and eventually spoke again.
“Well, that heals normally, so why don’t you try your healing spell?” She asked.
Endrance paused. “Oh.” He muttered. “Right.”
He slung the healing spell, tossing the gesture quickly, since his hands were burned and it hurt to bend them in just the right way. He released the spell, touching his forehead with his right hand and sliding his palm down over his face. His reddened face glimmered with golden light, and by the time the spell finished, he was no longer red. His skin had taken on a noticeable tan, several shades darker than his normally pale appearance.
Joven crawled out of his tent, Bridget following right after. “Whoa!” Joven said staring at Endrance. “I didn’t know you had an instant tan spell.”
Endrance no longer felt like a baked potato. “Okay, so no matter how hard we push tomorrow,” he started. “We stay hidden during the day. I was out in the suns’ light for a few minutes around noon and it gave me a sunburn like I had been out there for hours.”
“Ugh.” Joven grunted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Did I mention I hate the desert?” Tanya said.
“You did mention it.” Endrance said. “Okay, let me do this spell again. You know the drill.”
They made contact with each other once again, and Endrance recast his spell. As the night grew cold, the spell would keep the air at the same cool, but not freezing, temperature. The minor adjustments he had made seemed to help deal with the constant drain that having six subjects under his spell entailed.
They set off, heading in the direction of the River of Glass. Endrance stayed in the middle of the line, letting Joven pick the best path over the sandy dunes and dips. He stared up at the night sky, watching the glowing, fire coated ember that was Gullin high in the sky.
Gullin, Endrance said. If we did the second circle, would I be able to fly across the desert before the suns rise?
You would be able to; our combined form is quite fast in the air. The familiar replied. However, we would be leaving the rest of the group behind. I am not yet able to carry more than perhaps Giselle, or you, through the air without strain.
Endrance sighed, trying to put his mind towards ways to further expedite this journey. They traveled for their two hours, and pressed forward for another hour before a buzzing could be heard in the distance. Gullin banked in midair and drifted off towards the sounds.
I can see a hive. He reported. You are dangerously close to it, only a few hundred yards.
Can you keep an eye on it? Endrance asked. We need to try to get farther away.
It seems that they have just started stirring. I believe that you have only a few minutes more.
“Is it those bugs?” Joven whispered, slowing to a halt.
