That said, two or perhaps even three elements have their own advantage. For one, each element beyond the first increases your mana reserve by roughly ten percent. I say roughly, but with how the world works, I’m certain it’s a ten percent increase. Don’t ask.

  — Excerpt from Notes For Newstar

  Day 663, 1:00 PM

  He did forget about me. Once I finally came to terms with that, my next step was quite clear. I left the room and approached the person in charge of my abode.

  “Excuse me, sir, could you have someone tell Newstar Salamandra I am done with his task and that I would like to see him?”

  I went back to my room and paced outside the privacy barrier. Half an hour later, a board in front of my door creaked.

  “Come in, Newt.” He entered, eyes bright, shining with excitement.

  Without a word, he followed me into the barrier, and I spoke once it sprang back into existence.

  “Members of your order have spied on me seven times.” He nearly jumped, but I placed a hand on his shoulder to assure him everything was all right. “I was developing the blueprint within my realm, so other than me sitting still, they had little to see. They gave up after two weeks of seeing me meditate constantly—”

  The barrier burst, and with practiced ease I turned towards the door and bowed.

  “Thank you for your concern, Senior. We are fine. There is no reason for worry.” The barrier reestablished itself.

  “I think they are trying to crack my seal, but that’s exactly the problem. Cracking it causes it to collapse. Anyway, I have completed what I promised I would do.” I flourished towards the leather-bound tome on the table.

  Much to my satisfaction, Newstar’s jaw went slack, dropping so fast I thought I would have to pick it up from the floor.

  “Please refrain from having a stroke.” I chuckled. “I have disguised the blueprint, since we have people spying on me. Only the top part of the paper is important; the rest is random rambling on spell seals. That is not to say my rambling is useless. You should read it. It should help you advance your knowledge of spell formations, but the real message is hidden.”

  Since he was standing like a statue, I took the book and placed it in his hands. I smiled as he took it, clutching it like the world’s greatest treasure.

  “I must warn you, though, that this is probably not the most optimal realm blueprint. The highest grade of spell formations I can master at our realm is the sixth. If you want to wait for some three hundred years, I can deliver a much better piece. At least twenty percent more efficient.”

  He gawked, and I burst into laughter. A tad overly hysterical laughter.

  “I knew you would react that way. I agree with you wholeheartedly; wasting three centuries and your potential is not worth the improvement you may or may not be able to put into practice. Why the long face? You cannot seriously tell me you are disappointed.”

  Newstar shook his head.

  “No, it’s not that. I’m seriously considering waiting three centuries for those improvements. It might be worth it.”

  I stared at him, and he was serious. The outer gods were breaking into the world. He was their mortal enemy, whether he knew it or not. The outer gods certainly didn’t, since he was still alive. I had to warn him somehow.

  “Newstar, look at me.” I grabbed his shoulder, and he looked up to meet my gaze. “Time waits for no man. Your order might get destroyed tomorrow, others might learn of your secrets and start hounding you. Mana itself may fail. Every bit of strength you can have, you seize. Now.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Way to go, as subtle as Blunt.

  I slapped the book he was holding, trying to shift his attention from my weirdness.

  “This here will already make you one of the strongest third realmers. On par with the royals probably, perhaps even the imperials. There is a theoretical draft for the fourth realm blueprint you can make yourself. Should something happen, and I am unavailable or unable to make a better blueprint than what I have, use it, improve on it. I know you can do it. Trust me. You are a star.”

  Wow! I’m the king of subtle.

  Newstar stared at me, his eyes filled with concern. I smacked him on the back of his head, thinking I might have to redo.

  No, please, no.

  “No need to look at me like that.” I forced a grin. “I intend to lead a long and happy life, trying to reach immortality. But I may not always be within reach. If I hear your order is in danger or something, I will help as much as I can. And I promise to write from time to time.”

  He didn’t buy it. Nothing I could do about it. I rambled too much as it was, and he needed to process everything I’d said, so I did all of us a favor and shut up.

  “Big brother,” he hesitated, and I remained silent. A question was coming, probably. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What’s the point?” he asked instead.

  A good question. Great! One that didn’t question my sanity. Unfortunately, I had no clue, so I played dumb.

  “What is the point of what?”

  “Ascending,” he said without hesitation. I expected he’d ask about life. That was the tricker one, the one I had expected.

  “Ah, that one is easy. The point of ascending is to challenge the heavens, to fight against fate and mortality, and to become master of oneself by creating an inner realm which houses our essence and reflects our being.”

  He blinked at the textbook answer.

  “That would be the compilation of all the decent definitions I have read on the subject. If you are asking what I personally believe, I would say ascension is a tool. A tool often misused.”

  He frowned, mouth moving without opening as he chewed over the words.

  “A tool? What sort of tool?”

  “Well, you could call it a tool of the soul, but that is of lesser importance. The more important question is what is the tool meant for.”

  “And what is it meant for?” The brilliant glow of curious intelligence returned to his worried eyes.

  “To realize ourselves.” I surprised myself with the answer. I thought it over for a moment, finding I believed what I was saying, so I kept going. “To help us become more real. I even think it was originally a tool meant to achieve happiness and unity with the world, but we have gone astray, made it foul, or maybe humanity never walked that path to begin with. I cannot say for certain, you can never trust history.”

  This has something to do with the voidnight sacrifices. My gut and skills screamed at me. The imperials were sacrificing criminals and cultists to realize themselves. Was it to fulfill the path of rulership?

  Newstar stared at me in confusion, and I struggled against my instincts, dismissing the imperials from my mind.

  “What is the cause of your doubt? You certainly have found your path, follow it. All doubt should disperse as long as you stay true to yourself.”

  “But what about love, friendship, family?”

  I shrugged. “You and I are friends. Should you die tomorrow and there is nothing I can do about it, you will be my dear friend who passed away tragically. I know you would feel the same sentiment about me should I die, and I hope you try to help me if I am facing a lethal threat, assuming you are not throwing your life away by getting involved.”

  He gawked at me, but these were things he needed to hear.

  “Family and love are the same. I am a poor advisor on such matters, but someone very dear to me, someone I loved more than life itself, told me you should learn to let go. To accept loss and move on. I could not, would not.” A self-deprecating laugh escaped me. “I do not believe I will ever reach the point where I can move on. To not give my all, when I know I can do better.”

  Suddenly I realized what I was talking, but the conversation was good, too genuine for a redo.

  “I must apologize. I will give you only poor advice on this subject. Maybe you should talk with one of your seniors, someone you can trust. My advice remains the same as what I told you back at Hailstown. You are young, you lack life experience, so if it does not hurt your realm, drink, eat, fornicate, drown yourself in sin from time to time, for without sin you will only see one facet of life.”

  I roared a laugh, again, hearing the tinge of mania. “My advice is horrible. Your seniors will probably tell you to shut yourself in a cave and meditate, as you should.”

  Newstar looked at me with concern.

  “I apologize. I have spent too much time locked up in here, perfecting the manuscript. I best get going.”

  As unbelievable as it sounds, I fled the island, catching a ride on a small merchant ship. Glory City still had some potential for advancement, some open paths waiting for me to tread them.