The only deity I can think of right now is Loki again. He’s been all over Adar, according to him. But how the hell was the bastard able to get knowledge about the ancient forms of magic in Norse, Greek, Egyptian, and Sumerian mythology? And how could he come up with such a complicated spell?
Tyler considered the situation carefully. But the mage found that certain facts go against his previous assessment. The trickster might be infernally devious, but that complicated spell required a different degree of specialization. The lore for accessing dimensions that could distort only the outward form of a spell would be an even more esoteric field of study. Finally, the possible motivation of the suspected culprit still eluded him.
“Right, sire. The common factor is the use of the dimensional veneer to disguise an already hard-to-recognize spell. Whoever thought of the pattern of the final conjuration definitely knew First World magic in its ancient forms across different pantheons. Definitely either a mad genius or brilliant lunatic,” observed Hal.
“You do know the descriptions you mentioned are just the same,” reproached Tyler.
“There’s a difference. In the first example, madness came first, it just so happened that extreme intelligence was present. In second, precocity was an existing condition unfortunately distorted by insanity,” insisted the guide.
“Now you’re splitting hairs and giving me a migraine, Hal. Let’s deal with the important question first; now we know what the spell is, how are we going to unravel it?”
“You’re not going to like the answer, sire,” piped up X.
***
Tyler was unbelievably weary and nauseous. He sure hoped it was all worth it.
The solution recommended by his guides involved Elder energy which would tear apart any spell made from natural magical power. But there was no such energy available. Not even the tiniest bit of it. The mage had expended whatever shred of the unique energy the two AIs had recovered.
X recommended trying the suggestion of G, the Elder intelligence back in the land of the deity Sarva. The mind of the mage immediately recoiled from the proposal. What Tyler could distinctly remember was the excruciating comment when he asked about the pain involved. Coursing massive amounts of energy through his bones was a traumatizing experience for the mage. He knew forcibly compressing magic down through the bones and into the marrow, then releasing it for collection by Hal and X, would be worse. Add to such pain the uncertainty involved in obtaining the desired result, a caution G had helpfully pointed out.
After several minutes of silence from Tyler when the idea was broached, X was forced to ask again the question of whether the mage would be willing to try G’s suggestion.
“My apologies, X. I was a bit lost recollecting my unforgettable experience the last time I tried part of what you suggested,” replied Tyler.
“We do have a solution for the extreme pain. You’d feel some discomfort, but that’s all. While Hal manages the process, I’ll numb the appropriate nerve endings and look after whatever tissue or organ damage which could ensue.”
Tissue damage? ORGAN DAMAGE? The casual comment made the mage recoil.
“Good God, X! Spare me the details. I know you’re going to be technical about it. I appreciate that. You want me to be informed about what’s going to happen. But unfortunately, I wouldn’t understand most of what the medical lecture would be all about. Just tell me it’s safe,” exclaimed Tyler.
“It should be safe. But your body will feel the consequences of the process. There’s no avoiding it. Your body is an interconnected and very complicated set of systems. Anything which deals with one of its structures is bound to affect the rest in one way or the other. But what we propose is to do the procedure with your right arm first. If successful, then we could continue with the left to give the other arm time to recuperate,” explained X.
“You guys frightened me there for a while. I thought you would suggest a full-body process,” said the relieved mage.
“Of course not, sire. That would entail a high risk of killing you,” answered X.
Sonuvabitch.
***
Good news and bad news resulted from the slapdash experiment. It took but thirty minutes, according to X. Any longer and his body would start to have long-term effects – severe involuntary spasms of arm muscles, for example. The good news was he was still alive, and the test had no lasting impact on his body, though the slight dizziness and nausea the mage now suffered begged to disagree. The bad news was the Elder energy that was produced. It was not what they expected, rather something akin to it.
“What do you mean by akin to Elder energy?” cried the subject of the experimental venture. All that fucking worry and discomfort, and we come up with a half-baked version?
“It was an experiment, sire. Though we knew what the general process was, the finer details of the method are still not available to us,” replied X defensively.
Tyler calmed down. X was right. The entire venture was an exercise in desperation.
“So, what do we have?” he asked.
“It is Elder energy intertwined with natural magical power. The strands are still separate but bonded in a way we are still trying to understand. Not much from one session, enough for a minor spell. It will have the power of an Elder spell, but the level of efficacy is unknown,” described X.
It was evident from the tone of the guide that they were mystified by the strange result.
“What do you suggest? Though that ‘enough for a minor spell’ comment does give me an idea of the answer,” remarked the mage with resignation.
“At least three more sessions, sire. That number would hopefully be adequate to obtain the needed amount and quite safe for you.”
“Quite safe. Not really a guarantee, but get on with it,” he replied stoically.
The end result was an extremely weakened mage, though Tyler was thankful he wasn’t delirious. The last session gave rise to grunts and mumbled curses on his part. Despite X’s preparations, the continued
