The formal witnesses fade from the oath court, their robes and murmurs dissolving into gold motes. Lord Vael remains beneath the crown seal, already surrounded by petitioners and guarded questions.
Seris guides Artania through an arched passage into the academy gardens. Old stone knights watch from ivy-covered plinths, while novice practice circles shimmer faintly across the lawns.
Seris
Vael can manage the court for now. He has learned that politics is another kind of ward: step wrongly, and everyone pretends the wound was deserved.
She walks beneath white-blossomed branches, her restored form casting a clear shadow in the morning light. Beyond her, novices repeat shield patterns under an instructor’s distant calls.
Seris
The Ashen Choir will not vanish because its name is spoken. Some will deny it, some will exploit it, and some will come searching for the witness who broke its covenant.
Seris
Your commission names you publicly, Artania. That grants protection, but it also makes your movements legible to every rival, courtier, and surviving servant of the Choir.
Seris
I am free, and I will not pretend that freedom means safety. If you continue toward the Choir’s truth, I want you to understand what may follow. What do you need from me?
“Wow, uh… is there a place I can train around here while Lord Veil handles the politics? My lady?”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
My lady, is there somewhere I can train while Lord Vael handles the politics?
Seris turns toward the nearest practice lawn, where silver ward-lines divide circles beneath white-blossomed trees. Novices, young men and women in blue-and-gray academy uniforms, pause to watch the newly commissioned witness pause to watch the newly commissioned witness.
Seris
There is. The eastern dueling court accepts commissioned knights, and your authority is recorded. You may train there today without waiting for Vael.
She leads Artania through an ivy-wrapped arch into the eastern court. Its blue stones brighten beneath his feet, recognizing the crown’s fresh commission as the gates open.
Seris
Use the outer circle first. The wards will measure force and spellcraft, but they will not reveal your methods to the watching court.
The court admits him, but the opening rings a clear bell across the gardens. Several novices turn, and a distant academy scribe begins recording his arrival by name.
Seris
That bell is the cost of being publicly protected, Artania. You have your training ground, but the academy now knows exactly where to find you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Complete a training session with Seris
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the surviving servants of the Ashen Choir
“Alright I will set up in clear space in this outer circle if that’s alright. I feel very rusty, having gone such a long time without my magic.”
Artania Nero Thornson
All right. I will set up in the clear space of the outer circle, if that is acceptable. I feel rusty after going so long without my magic.
Artania crosses to the open center of the outer circle and sets his feet upon the blue stones. The ward-lines brighten softly around him, measuring without threat.
Seris
It is acceptable. Rust is not failure, Artania. Begin with what answers most naturally, and let your control return before you test your strength.
Seris steps beyond the boundary, leaving the circle to him. Across the gardens, the watching novices resume their drills, though several still glance toward the commissioned knight.
Artania raises his hands and breathes through the old motions. The first quiet spark gathers between his fingers, thin and unsteady, then steadies into a small blue-green flame.
Seris
There. The magic remembers you. Do not force it to prove anything today. Let each careful spell become familiar again.
“I will start with the small things I used, not so long ago, since they are the most fresh in my mind. They are small and not taxing. I form the silent letters from before and send them over to her narrating what I’m doing as I do it. First I tell her I am practicing the sensory veil. Spreading it out to encompass the tracing area I’m assigned.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
I am practicing the sensory veil. I will spread it across the tracing area, keeping it small and controlled.
Artania forms the silent letters with careful fingers. Blue-green light gathers without heat, then unfolds across the assigned circle in a thin, translucent veil.
The veil settles over the tracing area, softening distant sounds and sharpening the boundaries of each ward-line without disturbing the surrounding garden.
Seris
Good. You have chosen a familiar spell and given it a clear boundary. The veil is broad enough to cover the circle, yet gentle enough to leave the court intact.
Within the veil, the blue stones appear more distinct. Every faint shimmer in the tracing lines becomes readable, while the novices beyond the boundary fade into muted motion.
Seris
Now hold it there through one steady breath. Do not enlarge it. Let the spell teach your hands that control is still yours.
The sensory veil remains stable across the assigned area, quiet and precise. The small blue-green flame at Artania’s fingers reflects in its surface like a star beneath clear water.
“Okay. Lady Seris, do you have a sword? Would you like to spar with me in sword fighting?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Lady Seris, do you have a sword? Would you like to spar with me in sword fighting?
Seris glances toward the weapon racks beyond the veil. She steps outside the circle, takes a blunted practice sword, and returns with its silver guard catching the garden light.
Seris
I do, and I would. A measured spar will wake your sword arm without forcing your magic to carry you.
She offers Artania a second practice blade from the rack, then enters the tracing area opposite him. The ward-lines brighten, registering two combatants and a sanctioned duel.
Seris
Keep the veil small, guard your injured hand, and strike cleanly. I will test your control before I test your speed.
The first crossing of their practice swords rings sharply across the gardens. Novices turn toward the sound, and the distant scribe adds Seris’s name beside Artania’s, making the spar public.
Seris
There is your cost for choosing a witness. Now show me how the sword you carried through darkness moves beneath this quiet sky.
+ New Item Acquired
Practice Sword
“As you wish lady Seris. I take the practice sword into a comfortable stance. I do not dishonor her with pitiful attempts. I give her my best but at a slow measured pace. Flowing through practices forms, but protecting my hurt hand.”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Weapons, rolled +0)
Artania settles into a comfortable stance, practice sword balanced lightly in his good hand. He keeps the injured hand withdrawn and protected behind his guard.
Seris advances, and Artania meets her with measured forms rather than force. Their blunted blades trace clean arcs through the quiet veil.
Seris
Good. You are giving me your full attention without giving the wound an opening. Keep that discipline.
She quickens by a careful degree. Artania answers each change with flowing footwork, turning aside her strikes and preserving the distance around his hurt hand.
The spar becomes a steady exchange of practiced patterns. Artania’s pace remains deliberate, yet his technique carries clear strength, precision, and hard-earned confidence.
Seris
That is no pitiful attempt, Artania. Your sword arm remembers the road, the chapel, and every danger you carried through it.
Seris lowers her blade after the final pass. The ward-lines settle, recording a clean, controlled spar, while Artania’s injured hand remains untouched and secure.
Quest Complete
Complete a training session with Seris
Skill Upgrade: Melee Weapons Superb→Legendary
“May I continue more magic practice on my own? There is some new stuff I’ve been dying to try.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
May I continue more magic practice on my own? There is some new stuff I have been dying to try.
Seris lowers her practice sword and studies him across the quiet veil. The court’s wards remain bright, attentive, and fully under his control.
Seris
Yes. The outer circle is yours for as long as you need, Artania. Keep the boundary clear, protect that hand, and show me what you have been holding back.
She steps beyond the tracing area and rests her blunted blade against the rack. The nearby novices return to their drills, leaving Artania the sanctioned circle and its waiting wards.
Artania resets the sensory veil, narrowing its edge around the blue stones. He lets the familiar flame fade, then gathers quieter currents through his uninjured hand and breath.
Seris
Take your time. Begin with the smallest version of whatever you are attempting, then let the spell reveal its shape.
The court settles into expectant silence as new magic gathers within the veil. Its blue-green glow reflects across the stones, ready to answer Artania’s careful practice.
“Okay, I am pretty good at forming solid shapes and tools, that I can do with little effort. The same for returning ambient magic I’ve spent like the elements. Such as magical fire. Let’s try enhancing my body and senses. I focus my magic to my eyes. I form a crossbow in my hands. I form a target on the end of my training ground, away from spectators, as far from me as possible. Taking aim, I breath. And fire.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +2)
Artania narrows the sensory veil around the outer circle and channels magic into his eyes. The ward-lines sharpen, each stone and distant blade resolving with crystalline clarity.
Ambient currents gather through his uninjured hand, hardening into a compact crossbow of blue-green light. At the far end of the practice ground, a wooden target forms well away from the watching novices.
Artania raises the weapon, draws its conjured string, and breathes steadily. Enhanced sight aligns the target’s central ring through the quiet shimmer of the veil.
He fires. The luminous bolt crosses the court in a clean streak and strikes the target’s center, scattering harmless sparks across the outer ward.
Seris
Excellent. The enhancement held, the construct remained stable, and your returning magic caused no strain to the surrounding wards.
The crossbow dissolves into harmless motes, and the ambient magic flows back into the court’s elemental currents. The target remains fixed, its center marked by the precise impact.
Seris
Now you know your eyes can guide a formed weapon at distance. Keep that control, Artania, and test the next shape only when you are ready.
✓ Quest Accepted
Try out his new magic
“Can I safely test a stronger spell within these practice wards? I realize I can get a little excited and I do not want to go overboard with my practice.”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 56)
Seris
Yes, but only within the outer circle. I concealed a risk: the eastern wards are old, and stronger magic may wake their defensive memory.
Seris raises her blunted sword toward the ward-stones. Thin silver lines answer beneath the blue stones, revealing dormant sigils woven through the practice circle.
Seris
The wards should contain one stronger spell, but barely. If your control slips, they will ring the academy bell and mark the casting for every watching instructor.
At her warning, the outer circle tightens by a handspan. The target remains intact, yet a faint chime trembles through the stones, already listening for excess force.
Seris
You can test it safely, Artania, provided you keep the spell inside that boundary and stop at the first ward response. The accomplishment is yours, but discretion will cost you.
Beyond the veil, two nearby novices glance toward the altered sigils. The distant academy scribe pauses over his tablet of parchment, ready to record whatever stronger magic follows.
“I ask Seris to demonstrate the ward response. I want to know exactly how far I can go without causing harm to others. Or setting the wards off.”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Seris, demonstrate the ward response. I need to know exactly how far I can go without harming anyone or setting the wards off.
Seris nods and steps to the circle’s edge, keeping her blunted sword lowered. The nearby novices pause again as silver sigils brighten beneath the blue stones.
Seris
Watch the third ring. I will feed it a measured pulse, then stop before the academy bell answers. The wards will show their limit without being forced to defend.
She extends two fingers and releases a restrained thread of silver magic into the outer circle. The first ring glows, the second shivers, and the third answers with a clear amber line.
Seris
This is the safe threshold for a stronger spell. The inner rings contain the force, but the third response means more power risks a bell, a mark, and defensive shaping.
Seris withdraws the thread before the warning chime forms. The sigils fade in order, leaving the target untouched and the observing novices unharmed.
Seris
Stay beneath that amber line, keep every effect inside the outer boundary, and stop at the first silver tremor. Now you know precisely where safety ends.
Quest Complete
Try out his new magic
“I cast a controlled spell, stronger this time. Making sure to keep it beneath the amber line. I haven’t used an element in a long time. So I go with ice this time. I enhance the strength of my leg and raise it up high. I make a controlled stomp on the ground while sending out a sheet of ice that also shoots spikes towards the target.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)