It wasn’t anything she did consciously. The people behind her were milling about, finding positions out of the water, trying not to knock into one another. The myriapods pressed them on all sides, and the fighters on the outer edge struggled fiercely to keep themselves and the people depending on them safe. Char’s attention was fully on shaping the spell; on not letting the chaos around her distract her as she poured more and more power into the pattern.
She needed the spell to be as strong as she could make it. The power of the lightning would dissipate as it spread through the water, and she needed it to spread as far as it could, to take out as many bugs as possible before they could be overrun. That fear and desperation, that desperate concentration and focus tapped into some ancient instinct carried in her Thunderbird ancestry.
She connected to the storm. She felt it twist in answer to her need, felt the wind and power within it echo the shape of the spell.
Ears popped with the pressure change, and the wind howled as the fragile, fraying boundary was finally overwhelmed by the raging storm.
Char screamed as power flowed through her, as she released the spell and the storm followed—both entwined and shaped by her will and need. More than her own mana flowed through her. The primal fury of the storm rushed through her veins. It was blinding pain and excruciating ecstasy.
Hell rained down on the swarm of giant centipedes. The lightning of the Arc spell streamed out from her hand. The storm followed her intent, and bolt after eye-searing bolt pounded down from the sky into the desert all around their fragile island of safety, melting desert clay to glass and charring the hungry bugs by the dozens. Thunder crashed over them in a continuous cannonade of sound that drove many of the refugees to their knees.
Char dropped to her knees as well. Her eyes were closed, but her awareness had expanded. She was distantly aware that her body felt like it was on fire from the power coursing through her, but the storm pulled her focus out and away. She could feel the wind as though it were her own limbs. She could see the tundra cliff and the barren desert stretched out below her as she roiled and plunged. The primal force of the storm was too much for her to grasp. It overwhelmed her. She struggled for any shred of control, but she was cast adrift on a sea of power. Her mind was like clouds ripped apart in a gale.
She held on for as long as she could, clawing to hold on to consciousness, but it was too much. She had no idea how long she touched the storm, how long her fragmenting mind and burning body endured before something in her mind gave way and the darkness took her.
The first sensation to return was touch. Lulu’s hot tongue left wet trails across her cheek. Her entire body felt raw. Even the tiny twitch of her hand as she tried to raise it to push Lulu away sent bone-deep aches echoing through her. She reached inward for Flesh mana to weave a Mend Flesh spell, but flinched back from touching the power. Her channels felt like they’d been sunburned from the inside.
“Oww.” The complaint came out as a croak. Her throat was dry.
Lulu whined, and Char could hear the tippy taps of her paws on a hard surface. She wasn’t ready to try opening her eyes yet, but the combination of the sound and the waves of happiness and concern rolling from the dog let Char picture the squirmy, butt waggling dance she must be doing.
A hand touched her forehead. “The fever’s gone. Bring a glass of water, please.” It was Mira’s voice, brusque and businesslike as she talked to someone else at first, then turned to Char with a more gentle tone. “You awake?”
Char tried to say yes, but only managed an incoherent croak.
“Good. You had us all pretty worried. You’ve been out for a full day. Hang on a moment, and we’ll get you some water for your throat. Can you open your eyes?”
“Don’t wanna,” she rasped. Every movement hurt, and she didn’t want to add bright light to the litany of other discomforts.
“Okay, take a minute. We’re at the Welcome Center, and we’re safe for now. Take your time.” Mira patted her arm.
“Wha’ happened?”
“You happened. You fired off that lightning spell and a freaking hurricane dropped down on us,” Declan’s voice came from somewhere near her feet. “There was lightning striking all around us, and the wind was nearly enough to blow us away. We had to hold on to one another. None of the lightning hit us, and the rain was all around us, but it was like the storm knew friend from foe. Then it was like the storm just ran out of juice. Two minutes of terrifying chaos, then bam! Typhoon to gentle summer rain like someone flipped a switch.”
Char grunted in surprise. She wanted to ask more questions, but she felt exhausted. Speaking was too much effort.
Footsteps approached, and she could hear other voices in the background. People were asking questions, then Annabel’s voice cut across the rising din, “You’ll have answers as soon as I get them. You’ve all heard the same story I heard. Let’s give the woman a little time.”
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More was said, but Char’s attention was pulled back to Mira. “Here’s some water. You’re going to want to open your eyes for this. The light’s not too bright in here, if that’s what you’re worried about. Do you think you can sit up?”
Char nodded. Her improved regeneration should have healed any injuries already if she’d been out for a day, and she didn’t feel any wounds. It was more like the full-body soreness the day after a car accident. She cracked her eyes open and blinked several times.
She was on a cot behind the reception desk in the Welcome Center. There was dim, watery morning light filtering in through the windows. Declan was sitting on the counter where he could see her and watch the rest of the large room. Mira was on a stool next to her, and Lulu was pacing on her other side.
She rubbed at her face, then braced herself against the pain and levered herself to a sitting position. Her joints felt like they were full of ground glass. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.” She took the glass from Mira and sipped at it. When her throat felt less like sandpaper, she asked the main question, the one she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to. “How many did we lose?”
“Four. Three went down early, you saw that part. We lost another to his wounds. He bled out before we could...” Declan’s voice was quiet and trailed off. He looked down at his hands. “I don’t think there was anything we could have done for him. We didn’t have any healing potions or magic to help.”
A stab of guilt made Char’s chest ache. She could have healed him if she’d been paying attention, if she’d stayed conscious. “We’ll work on getting cores and spells for more people. We need more than one person who can heal.” She ran her mind back through the fight, the chaos. Hindsight showed her half a dozen different things she could have done better. “It’s a minor miracle that we didn’t lose more. I should have—”
“No. Don’t you dare do that. We’re all doing the best we can. If you want to blame someone, blame the Aldevari for putting us in this situation. Not yourself.” Mira’s vehemence surprised her. She was normally very soft-spoken, but she caught Char’s eyes and held them. “You kept us alive out there. I don’t know what happened with that storm, but it’s obvious you damaged yourself somehow when you did it. No one could ask for more than you’re already giving. Do not pile undeserved self-recriminations on top of the burdens you’re already carrying.” She held Char’s gaze, her eyes widened slightly and eyebrows went up as she waited for a response.
Char nodded. “Yeah. I hear you. I’ll try.”
“Do, or do not. There is no try,” Declan said in a bad Yoda voice. Despite herself, Char couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement.
“Thank you, oh, Jedi Master,” Char said, shooting him a smirk. Then she got serious again. “Can you guys give me a minute to get my head on straight and sort through these notifications?”
“Yeah, we can do that.” Mira gave her shoulder a squeeze and stood up.
“I’ll keep the looky-loos off your back. Try not to take too long, though. Everybody’s got questions,” Declan said as he slid off the counter top. Char gave him a nod and smile of thanks.
Lulu put her head on Char’s leg and looked up at her with pleading eyes. “Yeah, you can stay, sweet girl.”
Lulu chuffed and hopped up onto the cot, making it sag a little under her weight. She leaned against Char and wagged her tail. Char stroked her ears and pulled up her notifications.
The flood of kill notifications made her blink them away and dive into her settings menu. After a few moments of poking around, she found the setting to combine them all into a summary.
You have killed 134 Juvenile Voracious Myriapods
Ranging in level from 8 to 13
Experience gained.
———————————
Congratulations! You have gained a level.
You are level 28.
You have gained 5 free stat points.
You have gained +1 Strength, +2 Speed,
+1 Dexterity, +3 Endurance, +4 Intelligence
+1 Willpower, +3 Spirit
———————————
Caution!
Due to mana overload, your mana channels have been damaged.
Until they heal, your ability to cast spells and manipulate mana will be reduced by 50%, and may be painful. Mana channels cannot be healed by magical means, only time. Repeated injuries before they have healed may lead to permanent damage.
——————————
Your Lightning Domain Affinity has increased to Rank 2.
Your Speed Attribute is now 5% more effective.
Your Intelligence Attribute is now 5% more effective.
You gain +3 to Speed, Intelligence, and Spirit.
For each future level you gain, you will receive:
+4 Speed
+2 Intelligence
+4 Spirit
Mana costs of Lightning Domain spells are reduced by 10%.
For achieving a new Affinity Rank, you have been granted a new spell pattern:
Please choose 1:
Taser Touch
Mastery of this pattern will allow the user to spend mana to stun and damage an opponent with a Melee attack.
Possible Advancement Paths:
Shocking Aura, Lightning Shield
---
Reflex Pulse
Mastery of this pattern will allow the user to channel mana to increase their reaction speed.
Possible Advancement Paths:
Lightning Reflexes, Combat Storm
---
Arcshift
Mastery of this pattern will allow the user to quickly reposition. Spend mana to travel short distances at the speed of lightning.
Possible Advancement Paths:
Thunder Step, Stormstride
---
Or, you may advance your existing spell:
Arc
Mastery of this pattern will allow the user to spend mana on a ranged lightning attack.
Possible Advancement Paths:
Chain Lightning, Heaven’s Wrath
She was a little disappointed to only get one level, but the myriapods had all been much lower levels than her, so it wasn’t too surprising that she didn’t gain much. The mana channel damage explained why she ached so much. She could only hope it wouldn’t take too long for them to heal.
But what really captured her attention were the new spells on offer. They all sounded useful. She’d told herself that she was going to pick up Reflex Pulse if she got the chance, but Arcshift had her drooling. If it really offered her instant movement, that would be a real game-changer in a fight.
She went over each one and considered the pros and cons. She wanted them all, but the real choice came down to faster reflexes or instant movement. As she thought about them, a scene from the last fight replayed in her head. If she had been able to move instantly to the man who’d fallen, she might have saved him, and the two who’d tried to help him. One ability would have allowed her to save three lives. It was no contest.
She chose Arcshift.
The new pattern burned itself into her mind, and she itched to try it out, but it hurt to even think about moving mana. It would have to wait.
Raised voices in the main room told her that it was time to go talk to people. She rubbed her face and wondered if it was weird that she’d rather fight a monster than face a room full of people.