A flicker of fear crossed Erethemor’s face before it shifted into an almost predatory look. “Are you sure you want to do that? As of now, this is just a spat between low-level members that would have ended in some pain and humiliation for one person alone, but your interference would turn it into something much, much bigger. Your Archmage Mallon spent a lot of political capital keeping things peaceful. It would be a shame if you ruined his hard work.”
Orion had to give it to him. He certainly had balls of steel.
[Yunius Valentia - Lv. ???] [??? - A-Rank]
Facing a tier four mage wasn’t something just anyone could do, as he knew very well from his run-in with Morliana. But directly calling them out? Daring them to kill him? That was a stretch too far even for him.
It seemed like Valentia was about to show the young dragonlord exactly why provoking someone much more powerful was a bad idea, but another intervened before things could escalate any further.
“Archmage, I ask that you refrain from threatening our younglings, no matter how irritating they might be. Now is not the time to spark new tensions, especially with the changes about to be announced.” The towering dragonkin that had just spoken seemed to understand the stakes very well, judging by his tense stance, but he didn’t flinch when the old man turned to give him his full attention.
[Rathateus Gunanthar - Lv. 140] [Glaive of the Deep Fires - B-Rank]
Rathateus had to know he couldn’t do much more than stall if Valentia decided to go through with it, but he seemed to be relying on the Collegium’s position as arbiters within Cyril to prevail.
For a moment, everyone waited with bated breath, but eventually, Valentia grunted something and grabbed the young mage, disappearing in a flash of light.
Rathateus sagged visibly, clearly relieved he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his life to give the promising Erethemor a chance to escape, but it was also obvious he wasn’t pleased with his charge.
Massive wings unfurled from his back, shielding them from the crowd's view. A glowing red sigil was etched into the ground, and soon afterward, the two dragonkin vanished, taking advantage of the absence of the wards over the Guild to teleport away.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Seothyn chuckled. He sounded completely relaxed, despite the war that had nearly broken out in front of them. In fact, now that Orion looked for it, he seemed almost disappointed that things had ended so quickly.
“It could have gone a lot worse,” Ophelia muttered, standing up.
It really could have. But somehow, I don’t believe this will be the end of it. Rathateus spoke of changes, which means something big is coming.
The embassy was abuzz by the time he was brought back, and Orion lingered near the mess hall, wanting to find out what had sent all the witches in a tizzy.
“It is unprecedented, as far as I know.” One muttered, earning nods from the women around her.
“Yes, I heard from Mathilda that even Elder Yue was surprised by it. Who could have guessed that the most revered Archmage would announce his retirement from public affairs, and during such a historic moment, too?”
Orion blinked in surprise. That wasn’t what he had been expecting.
The most revered… Are they talking about Mallon? But why would he leave? He seemed perfectly fine for a man his age. Is this a political issue?
The question of who had enough influence to push out the Speaker of the High Council was one he was woefully unprepared to answer, but luckily, he didn’t have to guess.
Letting the embassy's spatial magic guide him through the corridors, Orion soon found himself standing outside his mother’s laboratory.
Entering was easy since she had keyed him into the wards, so he stepped inside and gently closed the door behind him.
As he’d expected, his mother and Elder Yue were working silently together, passing ingredients to each other or simply casting intricate spells, flowing like water around one another.
Watching them was like witnessing a premier ballet, where the seasoned dancers, experienced in working with their partners, instinctively knew each other's positions at all times.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Sadly, their dance was halted by the jarring note of his arrival.
“What?” Yue grunted, barely lifting her eyes from the golden cauldron she was working on.
“Elder!” Asteria warned, earning a reproachful scoff, but also a mildly apologetic look.
“Alright. What is it, child?”
“Better,” Asteria nodded. It was kind of funny, seeing how easily the two had slipped back into what had to be their original dynamic, especially considering how wary they had been of the Elder at first.
Not that I’m not still wary. She’s a scary old woman, and I know she doesn’t particularly like me, even if she’s come around on my worth.
“I just got back from my walk with Ophelia and heard the strangest thing. They are saying that Archmage Mallon is retiring.”
Yue’s perfectly manicured eyebrows raised, but she didn’t deny it, which was confirmation enough. Asteria, on the other hand, whirled in surprise. “He is?” She asked.
“Indeed. Mallon is very old, even by the standards of his rank. And his failure to mediate the war between the elves and necromancers, and now this latest tension cropping up with the dragonlords… If it hadn’t been for that man, things could have easily gone off the rails,” Yue explained with an air of distaste.
Having to praise Antares seemed to cost her, even when it was just an acknowledgment of his actions, but she didn’t shy away from it.
Asteria flinched almost imperceptibly, but quickly rallied, “But he’s been the leader of the Collegium for so long! I can’t even remember a time he wasn’t there, guiding Cyril. To think he too would feel the bite of old age…”
Yue pursed her lips, but nodded, “He has been an institution unto himself, that is true. But no, frailty is not what is driving him away. No one is foolish enough to doubt his power, not when almost every faction leader was alive to remember what he did to the last foolish pirate king who tried to raid our shores. It is, as always, the internal politics of the Collegium that condemn and bring back to life even the most powerful. Especially the most powerful. After the repeated failures he’s had, Mallon lost a vote in their internal Senate about the requisition of spell scrolls from the outer academies. That is something he’s never had to endure before, and he has the pride of a man who has forgotten what defeat tastes like. He’ll not vanish into the night, but he will have to bide his time while his opponents play with the levers of power, for once.”
That one speech was probably the most interesting thing Orion had ever heard from a witch.
The knowledge that someone from outside Cyril tried to conquer their coasts again after the devastation wrought by the last sea invasion alone was very valuable, but discovering that even an old monster like Mallon could be removed by a simple procedural vote was truly shocking.
But then again, no matter how powerful he might be, he is a man of the institutions. Someone who has dedicated his life, or at least a significant part of it, to working within the boundaries of politics. It makes sense he would step aside when the tide turns against him, especially if it doesn’t prevent his comeback.
Actually, now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn’t so shocking. The situation in the south had been ongoing for a long time, showing no signs of calming down on its own. It made sense for someone as smart as him to step back before things really exploded, so he’d be ready to return when the people called for an experienced hand.
I’ve seen it work enough times on Earth that I’m not surprised.
“Was he involved in the vote?” Asteria asked, eyes flinty.
Yue sighed, “Not as far as I could tell, but that man is definitely clever enough to disguise his hand. At the very least, he knew what the situation was like and still chose to interfere in the High Council session. Even if he didn’t plan for it, he contributed to the outcome.”
Considering what little Orion knew of his father, he wasn’t the best person to judge his actions, but if the similarities he’d seen between them weren’t just superficial, he could easily infer his thought process.
“He probably knew what would happen, but just didn’t care.”
Both women turned to him, clearly expecting him to elaborate, but he just shrugged. “He didn’t strike me as the kind of man to waste that much time on elaborate plots, not when his research is so much more important. If I were him, I would have done the same.”
Those words seemed to strike a chord with his mother, who pursed her lips but nodded slowly. “That does sound like him. He never really cared about the consequences of his actions, especially when they wouldn’t come back to bite him.”
A strange pall settled over Valderun in the following days. No rain other than brief drizzles that lasted only half an hour fell, but the sky was almost constantly dark and rumbling.
To some witches, that was a clear sign of the Moon Mother’s displeasure with the current tensions, while others simply viewed it as an omen of things to come.
Overall, very few people had reason to be hopeful, and even fewer to be excited.
Yet, Orion didn’t let the gloomy mood bring him down. For the past few days, he’d been working hard to incorporate the metamagic he observed in the Guild’s dueling pit into his skills, and he was finally confident he understood exactly how [Maximize Magic] worked.
It hadn’t been his first choice, as that had gone to [Penetrate], the metamagic that gave Jonatan’s ice spears enough oomph to seriously threaten Erethemor’s life, but he had only seen one example of it, and it hadn’t even had the chance to fully activate.
So, he had to settle on the one spell he had the most samples of, and after a tiring effort to understand how it affected other spells without fundamentally changing them or requiring immense control, it turned out to be surprisingly simple.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ophelia asked.
“I told you, I have already completed all the theory work. It’s just a matter of putting it into practice now,” he replied distractedly.
The Ames Mansion’s garden wasn’t an embassy, so it wasn’t excluded from the wards. However, in this case, that was an advantage. Orion wasn’t entirely sure what would happen after he cast his chosen spells, and having that layer of protection in the background, along with the privacy of a secluded garden, was the best he could ask for.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Seothyn asked, almost teasingly.
The rest of the Basilisk Fang groaned at his words, reflecting the genuine respect all good adventurers have for fate and its power.
Orion ignored their banter. As fun as it was, he had more important matters to focus on.
In essence, [Maximize Magic] is very similar to what I used to do with basic light crystals to enhance my first lasers. While not exactly the same—since it doesn't involve folding the magic upon itself through light's physical properties—the formula is similar to an additional construct that eases the burden on the basic spell. It allows tier-one magics, which have limited mana output and complexity, to have more room for extra power without the spell collapsing.
He’d been mistaken to believe it would automatically rank up any spell it was used on. That was probably the result of many years of effort on Jonatan’s part, and even then, he could likely only apply it to a select few spells he’d familiarized himself with.
Even so, now that he understood how it worked, the feat was even more impressive. It also told him he’d better choose a piece of magic he was truly familiar with, or he’d risk the extra structure causing the whole thing to collapse.
“Alright, enough waffling. [Maximize Magic] [Torchlight]”
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