Chapter 186: Space

“I’ve been approached.”

“Oh? Another confessor?”

“Please. It was someone from special operations. I recognized the uniform.”

“Hm.”

Umara lifted her eyes from one of her many Grimoires. Tana recognized it as yet another one of John’s texts from the words within. He wrote in a very distinct manner, to say nothing of the almost completely unfamiliar vocabulary. 

Umara tilted her head, “Are you being scouted?”

“Pretty sure,” Tana shrugged, “My concern is with you though. You would think they’d approach both of us, not just me. He made the effort to catch me alone.” 

“Well you can probably imagine why. I’m sure my mother has made efforts to ensure that I can’t run off into something so dangerous so soon.”

“I guess, but I was also under the impression that they also ignored any protestations.”

“From who, nobility?” Umara smirked a bit, “Military or not, the nobility still run everything. As John said, they aren’t nobles just because they’re born into it. They’re nobles because they’re strong enough to keep their titles. My mother isn’t just a Duchess. She’s a Marshal and one of the strongest Warlocks in the Kingdom. Not even special operations would so easily walk over her unspoken commands.”

“I guess. Issue is, I’m not leaving unless you are. We need to stick together.”

“I agree, but… don’t be so quick to discard the opportunity,” Umara finally sat up, leaning against the wall next to her bed, “I think you should go in. You can find Feiden and you two can help pull me in.”

Tana hesitated for a moment, “You’ll still be left alone for however long it takes for me to get through their training, not to mention that’s assuming they’ll even listen to us.”

“I’m willing to bet that Feiden has something to do with you getting scouted right now,” Umara suddenly smiled, “Besides, it’s not like I can’t take care of myself. If you need more convincing, we can spar.”

“No thanks,” Tana cringed a bit, “I’m not trying to get a limb blown off.”

“Hehe, I wouldn’t go so far,” Umara chuckled coyly, “You’re the Ghost anyway. I’d have to find you first.”

“Don’t patronize me, Witch,” Tana snapped, “You’re the only one who can find me, besides the Marshals and Sovereigns. I don’t know how the hell you so easily nullify my invisibility, but I’d say that’s the one thing you do that pisses me off.”

“Hey now, all it does is teach you how to be better. The day you figure out how to hide from me is the day you figure out how to hide from the Sovereigns.”

“Your spells are bullshit, Witch.”

“Hehehe…”

Umara chuckled as Tana rolled her eyes. 

Umara was a devious girl and her spells always seemed to be able to pick Tana out, even though Tana’s Auric Technique was supposed to hide her from everything. Umara shouldn’t even be able to know she was invisible in the first place, let alone attempt to pick her out. She both vanished from sight and attention, becoming an unnoticeable void in the minds of others. 

But no, Umara’s Aura didn’t seem to care about that. It frustrated Tana to no end when they sparred, but she could begrudgingly admit that it was nice to have someone who could still go toe to toe with her. 

“Anyway,” Tana sighed, “If you think I should go in, then I will. I’ll talk to the recruiter.”

“Mm. I see no reason why you shouldn’t,” Umara nodded, “As for me, a little pressure on my mother should get me in there soon enough, along with your help. After that I just need to figure out how to get John in.”

“Didn’t you say he’s been having problems?”

“The situation at the Treehouse is getting dangerous, yes.”

Umara looked down at her Grimoire, some of her long gray hair dangling across the pages. 

“I’ve actually read some of his reports. The Scourge is launching large-scale offensives on that little forward base. It’s not looking good.”

“You think you can get him out?”

“I’m not sure. I still haven’t forgotten the fact that my mother wasn’t able to get control of him in the first place. That power dynamic hasn’t changed. That’s why we need to get into special operations and pull him in. My mother won’t matter at that point. Nor will anyone else, except a Sovereign.”

Umara flipped a couple pages, Tana pondering while combing her fingers through her recently washed blonde hair. 

After some silence, Tana changed the topic. 

“You leave tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“And if I end up going with the recruiter while you’re gone?”

“Then you end up going with the recruiter. Don’t worry so much about me. I’m about to advance a level beyond you. I can keep myself safe.”

Umara smiled as she lifted her eyes. Tana replied with a sigh from her bed across the room. 

“Yeah, yeah. You’re freakishly talented and don’t need me with those fancy spells of yours.”

“Well, I might not need you, but there’s only one other person in this world that I’d rather have by my side over you.”

“Ouch. I thought I’d risen higher than that.”

“Well, I can’t have sex with you, so that’s a pretty big card in his favor.”

“Alright, I’m going to sleep now.”

“Pfft.”

Umara chuckled as Tana turned over, throwing herself into her sheets. The lights dimmed automatically in time and Umara decided to get some sleep too. 

…

When the next day came, Umara was packed and standing in a terminal. She gave a hug to Tana. It would probably be the last one for a while. 

“I’ll see you on the other side. Say hi to Feiden for me.”

“Sure thing.”

They separated. Tana nodded as Umara boarded, sharing one last wave through a window as the Rail accelerated away. 

Like that, she was on her way to home. 

Like last time, her advancement to Authority 7 came quickly. With this advancement, she would perfect her affinity for the Fire element, perfection that was three advancements in nthe making. 

She already had several truly massive destruction spells in mind for when that perfection came. The most complex spells still flummoxed her with her imperfect affinity, and she often had to compensate with her still compatible (but ultimately inadequate) Air element. 

Now though, another section of her knowledge could finally be unleashed. She wondered how long it would take to achieve enlightenment for the Fire element. She had been studying it for so long. 

Perhaps she would finally have to answer the big question surrounding the Fire element, the one that John had posed in one of her Grimoires. 

What was Fire? 

She had long understood what fire was scientifically. But magically? That knowledge wouldn’t truly come to her until her affinity was perfected. She couldn’t make conclusions right now because the element was still blurry to her. 

It wouldn’t be long before she was able to unearth those secrets. 

A day later, when the Rail pulled into the City of Joffrun, Umara stepped out and made her way to her home. A carriage had already been arranged for her by the head butler. 

Once at the door of the estate, Umara stepped out to find her family there to greet her. She smiled at her sister Faey before glancing at her parents. 

“It’s good to see you, kid.”

“You too, dad.”

She shared hugs with her father and sister, finally approaching her mother, who had hung back a little. 

Talexia nodded her head toward the door, “Would you like dinner? We were going to have some made soon.”

“I’d actually like to get to my advancement, if that’s alright.”

“Sure. Ikhor, please, take Faey to dinner.”

“Very well. Good luck, dear.”

Ikhor planted a kiss on Umara’s forehead before retreating into the house, going to the dining room with Faey. Talexia and Umara went to the back of the estate, finding the secondary building used for storage and important affairs such as advancements. 

Inside, there was a tempering device and a dozen powerful White Crystals, all of them sitting at Authority 8. 

“Your advancement this time will be pivotal compared to the others before. From now on you’ll be fighting for your place in the top levels. Your development up until now will determine your future. This is but the last step, the last major improvement you can make to your foundation before your ascent to Authority 10. You won’t be able to acquire another perfect affinity until then.”

Talexia spoke while bringing out a Grimoire of her own. After looking through it for a short time, she snapped it closed and gazed at her daughter. 

Umara seemed unimpressed, and hardly nervous considering the situation. If anything, she seemed impatient. Even then, Talexia couldn’t hint at her emotions through her Aura. It had apparently gotten too powerful for her to easily see through. 

“You seem ready.”

“I’ve been ready for about a month now.”

“Very well then. Let’s begin.”

“Wait,” Umara interrupted, facing her mother, “Do you have a better Foci? I want it for the advancement.”

“You know you can’t use one for it.”

“I won’t.”

“Then why do you need one?”

“Because I’ve got spells to test once I advance. I don’t want to waste time.”

Talexia paused, skeptical. There should be no reason for Umara to need a Foci. The advancement formation had to be made personally. It wasn’t an absolute rule, but a precaution to ensure the warlock didn’t use a Foci as a crutch. It could ruin their advancement entirely should things go wrong. 

But Umara pleaded.

“Please, mom. I’m not going to use it for the advancement formation.”

“… Fine. Use mine.”

With a sigh, Talexia brought out her personal Foci, easily the most expensive and rare item the Talerria family had. 

An heirloom that had been maintained and passed down through generations: the Calophic Array. 

Umara took it in her hands, the object naturally floating above her palm. 

It was a collection of geometric nodes formed from pure White Crystals, all of them sitting at the peak of Authority 11. It wasn’t a proper Authority 12 White Crystal, but these synergized together in such a way that they could display a power close to a proper Authority 12. More than that, each held nigh unlimited power, inexhaustible by any normal warlock.

There were eight of those White Crystals in the Array, all of them floating around each other as if they defied the laws of physics simply by existing. More than that, when Umara streamed some Mana into it, she found a nearly infinite buffering space. Going further, her power was naturally amplified by simply moving through the Array. It was an amazing device that she couldn’t even tap halfway into with her power. 

But that unlimited buffering space was exactly what she needed. She smiled and walked with the Array. It stayed above her hand as if it were a part of her body, moving with her while she sat in the tempering chair. 

Umara had her own Foci, one that had replaced her broken one months ago. But it was a temporary one that she thought wholly inadequate, even though it was actually better than the one she had before. Her standards had risen significantly, and Talexia had been working to get her an even better one. For today though, she got to use the family heirloom.

With that, they were ready.

Talexia turned on the tempering device as Umara sat within its sphere of influence. They could both see the Magika condense like vapor, all of it being concentrated on Umara’s figure. 

Umara closed her eyes. Like dozens of times before, she formed her own advancement formation, Mana glowing in the atmosphere and releasing a distinct heat wave. 

The temperature plummeted as quickly as it rose, settling back into something resembling normal after just one cycle. Talexia could see the Fire element so concentrated within the formation that not the slightest hint of it could escape. The only reason she even knew the element was there at all was because she had been projecting her own Aura to touch it. 

Soon after, Talexia’s Aura was gently pushed away as Umara exerted full control over absolutely everything in her space. There was even a hint of discontent, as if she was displeased her mother was trying to monitor her. 

Umara’s formation glowed. Talexia sighed before standing back and watching its color. 

The color of the final formation to develop the final Fire affinity almost always determined how perfect it was. Generally, the brighter the better. However, she immediately found a peculiarity in Umara’s color. 

It wasn’t a bright red or yellow like most. Hers was such a bright blue that it bordered on white. Talexia had to squint, the luminosity straining her eyes. She wanted to use her Aura to peek at the element too, but Umara’s own Aura continued to bear down on the area. She couldn’t pick up on anything. 

The formation completed, flashing even brighter before collapsing in on Umara’s body. Despite disappearing into her flesh though, it continued to glow so brightly that it could almost be seen as it inscribed itself. 

The knights infused Vigor into their body, the summoners infused Psyka into their mind, and warlocks infused Mana into their blood. Each type of Magus held power over the three major aspects of the human body. This is also why warlocks, should they develop the fire and water affinities, could heal others. 

However, it was also precisely this fact that gave Umara trouble when trying to understand what exactly the fire element was all about. In her pursuit for the answer to the question of what the fire element held jurisdiction over in the world of science, she questioned even the smallest details of what everyone else took as the norm. 

The advancement formation fell into her body, engraving her heart and blood vessels with the final Fire elemental affinity. It combined with the others seamlessly, and the three affinities combined, reacting and causing widespread changes. 

Umara felt her soul open itself, her heart rate skyrocketing, blood pumping as all the Mana from the Magika around her flooded her system. It was so dense that it overwhelmed Umara’s mind, yet her body sucked it down like a thirsting man in a desert.

Her Fire affinity achieved perfection with a flash of white. 

Umara’s vision cleared. 

Fire appeared, all around her, in perfect clarity. It intermingled with the Air element around it, not stifled or stifling, but with perfect balance. It was impossibly easy to not just pick out the Fire element, but also experiment and begin to understand its secrets. 

Talexia watched as Umara activated the Calophic Array. It was silent for a minute eternity before nearly 100 spell formations bloomed around Umara’s body at the same time. 

Talexia couldn’t recognize any of them, even though she could understand the language that was used. She wasn’t sure what Umara was trying to do, but then, all of the spell formations collapsed. 

Then, a line of Fire mana was drawn around her body, twisting and turning several different ways before blooming into thousands of runes and symbols with no coherence to them. It was like Umara was trying to put the entire Fire element on display. 

That’s when Talexia noticed Umara smiling. She looked quite gleeful, like a child receiving bags of their favorite candy. 

“I think I’m getting it now…”

She muttered, and with those words, Umara’s soul opened even wider. 

Talexia’s eyes dilated in shock. 

Umara was actually going through her enlightenment at the same time as her advancement. 

She had been enlightened after a quick glimpse into the true Fire element. Talexia didn’t know if something like that had ever happened before throughout history. Even if it did, it wasn’t in recorded history, and certainly something only the most talented warlocks to ever live could pull off. 

Question was, how the hell did she do it? And in such a short time at that. Umara had advanced to Authority 6 less than a year ago. There wasn’t that much time to study an imperfect Fire element, certainly not enough to achieve an instant enlightenment. 

It was like she already knew what she was searching for, like she already knew where the deepest secrets of the Fire element were, like she just needed to walk up to them. 

She couldn’t know that her thoughts were dead on the mark. 

Umara could feel the entire Fire element all at once. Her enlightenment and advancement compounded to provide her with an unprecedented view of the deepest secrets of the element. It was exposed to her very soul, and it was like all the answers came to her without so much as asking for them. 

What made it all the better was the fact that Umara already knew what would come to her. Or, it was more accurate to say that it was just one of a few possibilities that she had already considered. 

The Fire Element. 

It was the element of flames, most notably, and thus hailed as the greatest destructive element a warlock could wield. However, it was also capable of synergizing with the Water element and creating healing spells. Umara didn’t know anything about the water element, even though it would be her next goal. But using the fact that Fire could somehow heal, she had certain guesses about what concepts it would reside over scientifically. 

She considered the states of matter and considered the fact that Fire was merely combustion, a chemical process not much different than many others. More importantly, plasma was even more destructive than mere fire so there was no way that something as simply as creating fire was the furthest extent of the element. 

But was it about creating energy? Umara hadn’t been sure, but after advancing and reaching enlightenment, she had rapidly come to a conclusion. 

The Fire element wasn’t about fire at all. Fire itself was merely a surface level visualization of what could be considered the application of energy. John was only partially correct when he hypothesized that the Fire element was about controlling energy. It was more accurate to say that the Fire element was all about adding energy to different systems and drawing it from different things. 

That’s why Fire was important for healing. Umara had read plenty of texts about magical healing, and using John’s knowledge on biology, she was able to understand that magical healing didn’t necessarily heal the wounds, at least not utilizing Fire. Magical healing spurred the body to heal itself. The Fire element was responsible for adding energy to the body, vastly accelerating natural processes. The Water element was responsible for manipulating the body on a chemical level in order to do something as amazing as bring flesh together or straighten out scrambled organs, even shifting around nutrients and fuel for the healing process. 

The conclusion was quite simple, then. The Fire element either added energy to systems or drew out energy from systems like chemical bonds. That’s why fire was the icon of the fire element. It was the perfect visualization of those two processes. Adding energy to a system and making it combust. Fire was merely the release of energy from the breakup and recombination of material bonds with energy as the spark. 

Knowing that allowed Umara to reshape the way she saw the element, and that instantly resulted in enlightenment. 

After all, it was no longer about creating fire. Fire was simply the result of adding energy in a very direct and boring way. If it was only about making fire then the Fire element wouldn’t be used in something like healing. 

No, Umara could add other types of energy to a variety of different systems. She might not be able to redirect or reduce the amount of energy coming in or out, but the ability to add or create energy was the greatest killing tool. 

At the same time, realizing this helped her understand more about her Air element. 

There was more to Air than just air. If Fire was about adding energy, then chances were the other elements had something to do with manipulating energy in some fashion. Perhaps the Earth element was about slowing or destroying energy, while perhaps the Water element was about redirecting or controlling existing energy. Perhaps these things mirrored their abilities to handle matter as well.

But the Air element? It seemed to only be about controlling the particles of air in the atmosphere. However, Umara knew about the fact that Spatial spells fell under the realm of the Air element. They were just such an extreme application of the Air element that it was extremely rare to teach oneself how to use it. 

Unless you knew the truth, of course. 

That truth? Well, there were two truths. 

First, the Air element held jurisdiction over gasses. That was one of the states of matter, and the others held jurisdiction over their respective states of matter as well, like liquids to Water and solids to Earth.

The second truth, though, was that the Air element wasn’t about controlling energy per se, not like how the Fire element created energy. Instead, it was about controlling the fabric that things like energy existed upon. 

Controlling gases was just the most surface level feature of the Air element. The way to controlling space was through the realization that space was there in the first place. 

The fabric that energy existed upon, something much deeper than the energy itself. It was such a simple concept, but the thing that blocked most Air warlocks from ever tapping into it was the difficulty in merely seeing that fabric in the first place. Even then, most of those who could see it were merely utilizing other well established spells to glimpse it at all. They didn’t truly reach too deep a level. 

Now that Umara had realized these truths though, there was no longer any barrier to total mastery. 

For a couple seconds she wondered how she was able to achieve enlightenment before, having not understood the rules regarding energy. She decided she would think about that later. 

Her current enlightenment cascaded alongside her advancement and resulted in her body and soul taking in far more Mana than it otherwise would have. Her pool of Mana multiplied in size and turned so dense that she felt like she might outright skip her next advancement. 

More than that, the tons of Vigor and Psyka that streamed into her flesh and mind made her feel like she was becoming a knight and summoner. Her mind especially. She noticed the increased speed and clarity. Her speed of thought just about doubled from the infusion, and suddenly she got a glimpse into a fraction of John’s thinking ability. 

Either way, both enhancements would only amplify her ability to fight further. The Psyka especially would allow her to formulate and cast spells like never before. 

After the enhancements came, they lingered for some time, Umara’s body and mind drifting around in dream land for a while before her soul started to close itself off. Once that happened she returned to the world and became lucid. 

She dialed in, but it was only a few minutes later than Talexia finally shut the tempering device off, just in case. 

The two were silent, all spell formations fading away. Talexia stared at her daughter, and at some point Umara stared back. 

She smiled, “Your Foci is really nice. I could use something like it.”

“I’ve already found you another one. You’ll get it tomorrow. Consider it your birthday present.”

“Thanks.”

“Mm. Now, about your enlightenment.”

Talexia narrowed her eyes.

“How.”

“You know how.” Umara retorted.

“Is his knowledge so great?”

“Yes. It is. Now though, I hesitate to tell you about it. If you come to know about this stuff, then our Ancestors will probably come to know and then I’m going to get embroiled in loads of crap. Today I’ve confirmed that John’s knowledge is far more valuable than even I realize, and yet I’d die betting on the fact that he knows enough to revolutionize the warlock class… nay, the world as we know it. That naturally means it’s dangerous for people to know about that fact. So I’ve now decided I’m going to tighten down on the information even more than I have.”

“But why must you be so keen on keeping that information from me? I know you don’t want to get involved with the Ancestors, but I can see that even if I gave you my word, you wouldn’t budge. Why won’t you trust me?”

“…”

Umara was quiet, realizing how big the rift between her and her mother had gotten. 

It felt like they lived in two different worlds. Umara felt like she understood so much more than her mother, despite the difference in experience. She didn’t want to discredit her mother so much, but it was difficult not to see herself as superior in certain respects. In that way, she couldn’t regard herself any lower than her mother. 

She felt a bit sorrowful when she thought about how fast she was growing. With all out war on the horizon, she wouldn’t get to experience the leisure of the generations before her. Yet she didn’t think she’d want it any other way. Maybe she’d want a bit more time so as to not be so rushed, but this conflict had provided her with opportunities that she could never fathom acquiring otherwise. One of them was laying eyes on Anarchy, a tempering to her Aura that allowed her to rival her mother’s. 

Now, Umara was the one keeping secrets. Who knew if she understood even more about the elements than her mother? It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, but Umara almost felt like it was wrong to have surpassed her mother so early. 

Now, she had her own convictions and goals. Unfortunately she demanded certain things from herself as a result, and it was clear that she and her mother didn’t see eye to eye. It wasn’t necessarily personal, but it still meant that certain lines had to be drawn. 

Umara wouldn’t hesitate to draw them. 

“This knowledge isn’t my own, mom. It’s John’s. If you want it, then ask him, not me.”

“I shouldn’t have to ask.”

“I don’t care. It’s the least amount of respect he’s owed. But even besides that, there’s one main reason I’m resistant to telling you anything,” Umara crossed her arms, “You’re a noble, mom.”

“So are you, daughter.”

“No, I’m the daughter of a noble. I’ve yet to earn any form of influence or significant power for myself, and given how valuable the stuff I know is, I’m not willing to give it up to you. I’ll keep it secret until I have the power to protect it from the nobility, because even you wouldn’t be able to stop them.”

“…”

Talexia went silent, Umara staring at her fiercely, as if ready to fight on behalf of her words. 

What surprised Umara though was how resigned her mother became soon after. She sighed and took out a thick book, tossing it over. 

Umara caught it, the air lowering it into her hands. 

“What’s this?”

“Since you’re keeping secrets, keep this one as well. I saw the spatial fluctuations, and I’ll be damned if I let my daughter get killed fumbling around with space just because I didn’t give her something to work with. That book contains our family’s work on spatial magic. It is one of two copies; the Ancestors hold the other. It’ll help you work on the magic safely as well as help keep your talent hidden should you have to use some of that magic in the open. If you want any chance of resisting a marriage, don’t go flaunting your talent, at least not yet.”

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You’ll get your Foci tomorrow. Rest for now.”

Talexia left with those words, leaving Umara to stew in her thoughts. The book went straight into her hidden storage. 

Now she felt bad, but at the same time, she felt it was a necessary line to draw. Thankfully, her mother seemed to trust her despite that. Now she wouldn’t have to fumble around in the dark trying to develop her own spatial spells. She could directly attain the most powerful weapons the Talerria family had to offer. 

There was a reason every Talerria warlock trained the Air element first, why it was Umara’s first choice despite every kid wanting to practice the all destructive fire element. The Talerria specialty was space, and like most noble families, they had their own foundations upon which their power and nobility was built. The spatial spells in Umara’s storage were a major part of those foundations. 

She was glad to have obtained them so early. Now, even with Tana gone, she would have little to worry about, especially when she put her own twist on things.

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