Chapter 56 - Burden of Legacy

Hump stared at Bud with all the intent that he could muster, scrutinising him from head to toe, including the increasing awkward expression on his face.

“How much longer are we going to try this?” Bud asked.

The three of them were sitting around the campfire, concealed within Hump’s Hidden Veil. Combined with the small rocky cliff at their back, Hump was confident nobody would find them. At least, not unless they had a horse with a nose like Asoltef’s. They’d travelled all day, stopping just before dark. If the map was to be trusted, they would reach Fishers Lake in the early afternoon tomorrow.

“Until it definitively works or doesn’t,” Hump said, narrowing his eyes. After discovering that his spellbook had the power to identify formations that he focused on, he had decided it was time to test it out on people.

“I think we can safely say it’s not worked,” Bud said. “No shiny light, no shaking book. It only took a few seconds for it to detect your adventurers’ medallion.”

“I am enjoying watching you squirm though, Bud,” Celaine said, smiling. “But it’s been a good few minutes, Hump. I think we can safely rule out your book working on people.”

Hump sat back, relaxing. “Seems so. It was fun to watch him squirm though, wasn’t it?”

Celaine laughed.

“Next time, you can be the subject of his experiments,” Bud said to Celaine.

She held her hands up. “Yesterday was more than enough for me.”

“It’s not over yet,” Hump said. “We’ve got more testing to do.”

“What next?” Celaine asked.

“I want to see how it handles more complex magic items like my staff. It classified the medallion as basic quality and the bracelet as common. I’d expect my staff to be at least a step above that.”

He laid the weapon across his lap, gently brushing a hand over the dark brown wood. It had been worn smooth through years of use. He traced each of the runes along the shaft with a finger, feeling the groove of each carving. They were separated into three lines of nine runes, perfectly spread out around the circumference of the upper portion of the staff, just below the crystal focus. The focus itself was a white crystal, glowing with faint blue light—the colour of pure essence.

After a few seconds, his book shook. Hump’s mouth felt dry as he looked at it. He handed expected to feel nervous, but he was. A pit was opening inside him. This was more than just a weapon; it was his heritage.

“It worked then?” Bud asked.

“Let’s find out,” Hump said. He opened his book while it was still manifesting all twenty-seven of his staff’s runes on the page.

Item Index
Staff of Mastery

Description: Crafted from the wood of a thousand-year-old oak and a dungeon pearl, this magical staff has been handed down through generations of wizards.
Classification: Artefact
School: Universal
Quality: Silver
Origin: Crafted by Markus Lanthre, Elenvine Academy, y.809.

Abilities
Enhanced focus when channelling essence through this staff.
Enhanced control when channelling essence through this staff.
Channel essence into the focus to contain and condense essence. Essence can be used to empower spellcasting.

Notes by Ivish:
Master Nithrandal commissioned this staff for me on my eighteenth name day and it has served me well ever since. Treasure it well.

Hump stared down at the page and took a deep breath. He felt strangely overwhelmed to finally know the origins of his staff. He flicked back to the first page—an unnecessary gesture as the book showed him what he wanted to see—and ran through the list of seven crossed out names, his own at the bottom. Master Ivish was four places above him.

“Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” Celaine asked.

“This staff has been handed down for five generations,” Hump said, turning back to the item index page and showing his teammates. “I’m a nobody from the streets, yet this is mine. It’s like… I feel like I’m wearing somebody else’s clothes and they’re too big for me.”

“Few wizards can boast a silver quality weapon,” Bud said. “I’m impressed. That’s quite the ancestry.”

“It is a little overwhelming,” Hump said.

“It’s the responsibility, isn’t it?” Celaine said.

Hump looked at her and nodded. “It’s a strange feeling. Four wizards before me carried this staff, and all of them are dead now. Now, this is what remains of them, and it’s mine.”

“It feels like a burden,” Celaine said.

“Sounds like you’ve experienced something similar,” Hump said.

Celaine took her bow and unwrapped it from its protective cloth, laying it on her lap. “This was my sister’s once.”

“She’s not…” Bud trailed off.

Celaine looked at him and blinked. “Oh, she’s not dead, don’t worry. She’s just different. There’s no fight left in her anymore, so she passed her bow to me.” She turned her gaze on Hump. “She was a dragon keeper.”

“Was?” Hump said. “As in, past tense.”

Celaine nodded. “She’s fifteen years older than me. I was six when she passed her trials and brought home her egg. It was only a few months until it hatched; a beautiful baby wolf dragon. We named her Starfall. She might have been my sister’s dragon, but we raised her together.” Celaine stared into the fire now, her eyes growing misty. “Starfall died two years ago during a raid in the Fallen Lands. On that day I didn’t just lose her, but I lost my sister too. She was never the same after that.”

“I’m sorry,” Hump said.

Celaine shrugged. “It’s been two years; I’ve accepted the reality of it now. Her bow is a reminder of what I fight for. Not just to protect my home from the monsters of the Fallen lands, but for the legacy that my sister and Starfall left behind. One day I’m going to be a dragon keeper too. Hopefully, having a hatchling around again will bring back a little of the joy my sister was once so full of.”

“It sounds like you put a lot of pressure on yourself,” Hump said.

“It can feel like that sometimes,” Celaine said. “I feel overwhelmed by it too.”

“It can’t have helped that I’ve forced you to be stuck out here with me and Bud either.”

“Honestly, I’m a little glad,” Celaine said. “It’s refreshing to get away from everything, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten why I’m out here. It’s not only you that needs to get stronger.”

Hump nodded.

“I think you’ve both proven yourselves worthy,” Bud said. “You both stood up for what was right, even when the odds were stacked against you. Celaine, it was you that disrupted Kassius’ spells and bought a chance for the Chosen to break through. Hump, you took in a bloody dragon’s soul to fight a foe well beyond your abilities. Both your sister and your master would be proud.”

After a few seconds, Hump nodded. “I think so too. Thanks, Bud. And Celaine, you’ll pass the trails. I know it. Though that probably doesn’t mean much from someone that doesn’t know what the trials entail.”

Celaine smiled and shook her head. “I appreciate it. Nobody knows what the trials will be until they face them.”

“That doesn’t exactly seem fair,” Hump said. “What if they just decide to put me up against an extremely powerful monster and be done with me?”

“It is Goddess Owalyn that decides what we face,” Celaine said. “Not even the elders can sway that.”

“So there’s no way to prepare?” Hump asked.

Celaine paused. “Everything we do in life prepares us. While there’s no way of knowing what we will face, the point of her trials is always the same. They are tests to discover who we are and see how we respond when we are pushed to our limits. There is often a trial of combat, some are forced to face their greatest fear, while others have their beliefs and values tested.”

“So, she pretty much pokes and prods at the places you are weakest,” Hump said.

“It wouldn’t be much of a trial if she only tested your strengths.”

“No, I suppose not,” Hump said.

“That makes it easy though,” Bud said. “All you need to do is figure out your weaknesses and train them. Turn those weaknesses into strengths.”

“Brilliant!” Hump said snidely. “And here I was thinking there might actually be a challenge.”

“He has a point though,” Celaine said. “Experience is key to this. Vamir always said that the best way to prepare is to find ways to push yourself to your limits. Each time you overcome it, you become a little stronger.”

“Sounds like hard work.” Hump sighed. “I hate to push you on this, but it’s going to keep me up all night if I don’t. What happens when a person loses their bonded dragon? Beyond the obvious I mean.”

“It varies from person to person,” Celaine said. “The bond between two souls is a powerful one, and when that bond is severed, it always leaves its mark. For my sister, it took her light. She never smiles anymore. She merely goes through the motions of life, as if she is waiting for her time to end as well. Some are less affected; some are driven completely mad.”

Hump rested a hand on his own egg where it rested on a small nest, he’d made it close to the fire. “And that goes both ways, which is why your people can’t kill me once mine’s hatched.”

“For the most part, yes,” Celaine said. “The bond is certainly weaker when the hatchling is young, so the impact would be lessened if either of you did die. It won’t be enough to stop them though. If you can’t pass the trials, they will consider the risk of killing you and harming the hatchling one worth taking.”

“Your people are pretty ruthless, aren’t they?” Bud said.

“That’s what happens when you live right in the middle of the Fallen Lands,” Celaine said. “It takes being ruthless to survive.”

Hump groaned, leaning to his side onto one elbow. “Great. Now I’m not going to sleep at all.”

“I have an idea by the way,” Celaine said. “Have you considered trying that identifying power on the book itself?”

Hump blinked at her across the fire. “No I had not!”

“Will that even work?” Bud asked. “How can something identify itself?”

“I’m not sure,” Hump said, sitting up. He plopped the heavy tome in his lap. “Even if it’s unable to, perhaps one of my predecessors filled in the details. I’ll give it a try.”

As he focused on his spellbook, he felt the familiar shake he had become so used to. The pages glowed, turning on their own as if caught by a strong wind. It settled in the middle, words finalising on the paper.

The Book of Infinite Pages

Description: Hidden
Classification: Artefact
School: Hidden
Quality: Hidden
Origin: Hidden

Abilities
Imbued with powerful magic, this artefact has developed basic sentience.
Basic Sentience can analyse the abilities of the owner, record spell and runic formations based on the owner’s perception, identify the optimal essence paths of formations.
Recorded runes and formations can be identified based on the owner’s current understanding.
Further abilities are hidden.

Notes:
Hidden

“It worked,” Hump said. “Kind of… Almost everything about it is hidden from me.” He showed it to the others. “All the information here is stuff I’ve worked out already though it’s helpful to have the details. When I first got the book, it told me that it’s secrets would be revealed to me when I’m ready. I guess I’m not there yet.”

“When are you ready?” Bud asked.

“It would be useful if it told me,” Hump said. “So far it’s mostly shown me spells I’ve already worked out myself and a few potions I knew of. I pretty much worked out how to use Focused Blast myself, though having an accurate formation means I don’t have to figure out how to optimise it myself. Molten Stone is sort of new, but it’s an obvious combination of Rockshot and fire essence. The only thing that’s really special is the River and Waves technique.”

“Perhaps that’s the one you need to focus on then,” Celaine suggested. “The others are powerful spells, but that’s the only one that actually focuses on improving yourself.”

“That does sound logical,” Hump said.

“Figuring out how everything comes together is often the first lesson,” Bud said. “Focus on what’s ahead, and I’m sure it will come to you.”

“With any luck, it will come before I get eaten by an angry dragon,” Hump said.

“This makes me wonder something though,” Celaine said. “How did your master die again?”

Bud looked at her abhorrently. “You can’t just ask that.”

“It’s a legitimate question,” Celaine said. “If he had all of this equipment, all of this supposedly secret knowledge, how did he die?”

“Well…” Bud stammered. “You didn’t have to be so blunt about it.”

“No, it’s fine,” Hump said, frowning, somehow doubting what he had seen with his own eyes. “He died from a goblin arrow. It was poisoned,” he added, as if that somehow made it sound more believable. “We were riding through Bleakwood Forest on our way to Bledsbury and were ambushed. He survived the worst of it, but then died to a chill a few days later.”

“Are you certain it was just a goblin?” Celaine asked.

“They were little green men with long noses,” Hump snapped. “You tell me.”

“Sorry,” Celaine said. “I don’t mean to be provocative, it’s just… He was presumably well educated, well armed, and an experienced adventurer. How could a simple goblin arrow kill him?”

Hump frowned.

“Wizards are vulnerable,” Bud said. “He’s no Chosen, and while using essence improves the body a little, they’re not much tougher than an ordinary person. It could have just been bad luck.”

“Yeah,” Hump said, though his tone wasn’t convincing to his own ears. “After he was wounded, he expelled most of his essence protecting me and getting us away from them. With him so injured and suffering from essence overuse, it’s a chill setting in is fairly normal.”

“Maybe I’m looking for questions where there aren’t any,” Celaine said. “There was a third circle Chosen killed by a single prowler back home. Bad luck happens. But maybe there’s more to this.”

“I’ll admit it’s possible. My master’s dead though. Unless you want to recruit a necromancer, I don’t think there’s any answers to be had.”

As Hump tried to sleep that night, his mind was on the introduction on the first page of his spellbook. When you are ready, our secrets will be revealed. It had been two months since then, two months since his master had died. He couldn’t help but wonder if those secrets were what had gotten him killed.