Dorni walked over and began taking the pieces of armor off the mannequin. "See, we Gnomes know the true power of artifice. You don't need to apply the same artificed spell to the whole suit of armor. Hence, this." He grabbed the bracer, pulled a little bit on one of the inner seams, and the top-most layer peeled back to reveal another layer of a thin, gold-woven cloth underneath. "The padding is three layers of stacked cloth – of fine enough weave to artifice."
He began disassembling the armor with rapid speed, revealing that there was an outer layer of the protective encasement, three layers of padding – extremely thin but very strong cloth that could hold up to a knife's edge. Around the bracers, he also rotated some of the ornamentation to reveal small compartments with intricately carved platinum rods.
In total, by the time he was done disassembling the armor into its components, there were six of the platinum rods which could hold a spell, the three layers of cloth, and the outer carapace. He also took the sword and whilst he did not pull it apart, he pointed out how the blade, hilt, cross guard, and pommel were all so finely crafted that they could hold spells.
"Now, Lord Tristan, you just need to decide what spells you want stored."
"What can you do?" Tristan asked. "I only know up to Third Order spells."
Once more, Dorni swelled with pride. "I can use up to Tenth Order artifice, and elementalism of earth and metal to the same capacity. Just tell me what Order you want in each part, and I'll do the storing spell, you do the one you want."
Tristan pulled out the Omnitome and began flipping to his various notations. "Okay…I think we are going to do a full overhaul of all of my gear."
He began disrobing and removing his attire except for the under clothing. "We won't do anything to my Silver Ear-Cuff, the Cloak of Winterbloom, Gloves of the Growth Shaper, or Tunic of Coiling Frost. Same goes for the Archon's Favor, and my Citadel gear."
"Ah, relics of Zeltana," Dorni stated. "I helped make a few of them. She was a fine lass, she was."
Tristan began jotting down a list in his Omnitome, wanting to keep everything organized both in his mind and on paper. Dorni seemed to hum in approval. "You're a fan of order and rigor?" Tristan asked.
"Aye. About time someone got these capricious fairy dragons and horny Nymphs into a sense of order," Dorni grumbled approvingly. "Gnomes like structure. Spriggan do as well. Fine folk, the Spriggan. Master woodcrafters and carvers – without harming the material, either."
Tristan began lobbing ideas back and forth, referencing the various spells in his Omnitome as they came up with a game plan for what to artifice with which spell. After fifteen minutes, they had a game plan ready to go. And, thanks to artificed spells able to get around the backlash of elementalism, he would be able to use those lightning elementalism spells that had been so painful to work with. He looked over his list one more time to confirm.
Armor:
Outer Carapace –
Scales of Our Foe
Padding 1
–
Armor of Ice
Padding 2
–
Near Miss
Padding 3
–
Lucky Instinct
Rod 1
–
Fireball
Rod 2
–
Inferno Trigger
Rod 3
–
Fiery Burst
Rod 4
–
Bolt
Rod 5
–
Split Bolt
Rod 6
–
Chain Bolt
Sword:
Blade
–
Elemental Imbuement
Hilt
–
Rime Blast
Cross Guard
–
Winter's Wrath
Pommel –
Dragon's Doom
Other Items:
Greatbow
– Frost Flurry
Starmetal Maul
– Frost Screen
Expensive Dagger
– Minor Invisibility
Silver Ear-Cuff
–
Spoken Message: Half-Realm
Queen's Wood Staff
–
Control Ice
Fey Realm Ring
–
Interrealm Warp
Cloak of Winterbloom
–
Thrice Command
Gloves of the Growth Shaper
–
Plant Shaping
Tunic of Coiling Frost
–
Hampering Growth
Omnitome
–
Endless Knowledge
Citadel Student Pin
–
Limited Teleport
Anorox Family Crest
–
Disguise Form
Archon's Favor
–
Receive Message – Realm
King's Favor –
Break Enchantment
"Lots of spells at your disposal, just by spinning your crucible," Dorni commented. He clapped Tristan on the mid-back, "All courtesy of yours truly and my fellows."
"Pass along my compliments," Tristan replied. "Come on. Let's get to work putting these spells in place."
Hours passed and by the time the two had finished, Tristan had fully stored all the spells that he wanted to. Dorni was absolutely exhausted and had swapped out with several of his Gnomish brethren. But Tristan, thanks to his connection with the Fey Realm, could just keep channeling essence until the work was done.
"Great job," he said. "Tomorrow, I'll test it out." He waved goodbye to the Gnomes who seemed quite pleased with their work as they retired to their housing near the market area, and Tristan headed into the Queen's Wood.
Going downstairs, he entered his bedroom and saw Felicity already fast asleep in her elfanoid form. Stripping down, and quickly dipping into the pool to wash away the grime and sweat of the day, he got out, dried off, and slipped in alongside her, pulling the sheets tightly around them.
Tristan was woken up by a loud knocking on his chamber door. Rolling out of bed, he went over and opened it.
His grandfather was standing there, tapping his foot impatiently. "Sleeping in?" he asked.
Tristan just shrugged, "I'm the lord of this Realm. I'll sleep in however long I want to."
His grandfather chuckled, "I don't blame you with that companion of yours," he said.
Tristan glanced back and saw that Felicity had sat up in bed and was staring daggers at his grandfather, "Go away, old man!"
Hurvun chuckled and rapidly turned about, "Where's my armor, son?"
"Check out the market stalls," Tristan replied.
"Putting it on sale already?" Hurvun asked with mock hurt in his voice.
Tristan just shook his head and closed the door, going back to Felicity. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean for him to see you like this."
Felicity shrugged, "I don't mind being seen in any way." She shifted to her fairy dragon form and flew up to the top of his head, resuming her normal perch. "Get dressed."
"What are you in a rush for?" Tristan asked as he slipped on some freshly laundered underclothing.
Felicity began making paw-claw biscuits, "Court meeting today and I was asked to take part!"
"When?"
"After noon."
Tristan pulled out his Omnitome from his hip pouch and glanced at the time, "Got a few hours left."
She frowned and flopped on his heat, batting at his ears. "Bat. Bat batty bat. Bat." She then let out a groan, "What am I going to do for a whole few hours?!"
Tristan exited his room and headed upstairs as he spoke, "Well, I need to test out my new armor and weapon."
"Just swinging a sword and wearing new gear? B-o-r-i-n-g."
Tristan chuckled as he exited the Queen's Wood and went to the merchant stalls, "I artificed a ton of spells into the gear. That should be interesting to see."
She sat up at that and sighed, "Fine. I guess that's fun."
"You could always go prank the Nymphs."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
She cackled with glee and flew off his head, immediately beelining for the Summerbalm Springs. Not a word was said, just a manic glee as she dashed off into the sky.
Tristan found the Gnomes at work doing various crafting projects, chatting jovially, or drinking around the small glowing pile of rocks. "Mind helping me don my armor?" he asked.
Two of them got up and helped him get into the armor. Not that he needed the help, but their aid sped up the process. The armor felt like a second layer of skin and was extremely flexible. He tried doing some lunges on his way to the training clearing, and found he was almost unrestricted in his movement. The Gnomes had chosen to come along to see the fruits of their labor.
The Matriarch, too, seemed to notice the commotion and flew down. After Tristan filled her in, she smiled softly. "No spells on moving targets, just in case my children are harmed by being in the area."
His grandfather even joined the small crowd at the clearing, and Tristan felt very isolated in that moment as he was the center of attention. This wasn't just him practicing with the new armor – he was showing off for his people. Demonstrating that he deserved the role he was graced with by more than his bloodline. He even spotted Thallia in the back of the group, smiling a mischievous smile.
"Targets, every hundred feet, out to the farthest edge," Tristan shouted out. Fairy dragons quickly grabbed the targets and took them to the different distances he had indicated, planting them in the ground before flying away. Time to show off. He spun his crucible, pushing the essence through his body and just under the skin, ready to be used.
First, he poured Essence into his armor and its padding layers – activating Scales of Our Foe, Armor of Ice, Near Miss, and Lucky Instinct – all at once. The hood lifted over his head on its own before solidifying into a solid covering. Glancing down, he could see that his whole body was encased as if he was wearing full plate, but his flexibility and movement were not hindered at all. Additionally, waves of cold wafted through the air around him, and he could see the thin layer of rime on the surface, waiting for impact.
"Thallia, would you mind coming here to demonstrate?" Tristan asked as he looked to the crowd.
The Nymph leader walked forward and shrugged, "What do you need, Lord Tristan?"
He handed her his Maul. "Hit me as hard as you can."
She raised a quizzical eyebrow but grabbed the Maul, holding it aloft. She swung down with all her might, and Tristan held up his forearm to take the blow.
The moment it impacted, frost exploded outward to reduce the overall impact. The glittering sparkling ice cascading through the air. The metal hardened in response to the blow, and Tristan felt only the faintest sense of pressure from the strike. Thallia pulled back and looked at him, then the maul, then back to him.
Tristan gestured with an open hand to the craftsmen, "A cheer for our wonderful Gnomish crafters. Thanks to their dedication and efforts, I am more protected than ever."
The fairy dragons cheered, the few Nymphs that had showed up clapped politely, and the Gnomes beamed.
Thallia spoke at a low volume, "You are giving them recognition?"
Tristan turned back to her and gestured for the maul, taking it from her and putting it through the loop along the back of the armor to hold it out of the way along with the Queen's Wood Staff and his unstrung Greatbow. "They deserve it for their work."
She tilted her head in curiosity, "Zeltana never did such a thing. You truly are different from your progenitor." She turned and left to join her fellow Nymphs at the edge of the clearing, and Tristan saw Bertram and Rory – looking quite soaked through and disheveled – joining the crowd and watching.
Now I've really got to put on a show, he thought. He walked over to the melee range training dummy and took a few practice swings with the sword. To his shock, it handled more like the estoc he was used to, instead of a bastard sword he was expecting based on its overall design. Confidence ignited in him, he poured essence into the weapon, activating Elemental Imbuement as it surged with icy wrath, Winter's Wrath which caused a swirling storm to begin to grow around him, and Dragon's Doom, which caused the blade to elongate ever-so-slightly, giving him a good four feet of reach.
Tristan took a few swings at the dummy, and each hit cut through like a hot knife through soft butter. The swirling storm of Winter's Wrath rapidly drained his essence, and after it pummeled the dummy for a few seconds, he let the storm dissipate as he hacked away at the object.
The dummy was dismantled in just a few strikes, and he called out for replacement dummies to be brought over. Fairy dragons did so, and Tristan continued to hack away, pretending he was fighting against several foes as he went back and forth between them.
A blade intercepted his, held by Bertram, who had his armor on fully, with Scales of the Dragon manifested, and his voice was filled with enthusiasm. "Come on, brother. Dummies? Let's really spar!"
Tristan smiled under the helm and took a few steps away as Bertram brought his huge sword up to a combat stance. "You sure you can keep up with me…brother?" he asked, feeling sincere joy at being able to use the term instead of half-brother.
"Oh, just watch." Bertram ran forward, bringing down a huge, overhand slash. Tristan nimbly parried the blow to the side and tapped Bertram's torso with the flat of his blade before ducking below the backswing and spinning to the side. Bertram kicked out with his foot, and Tristan caught the hit on his thigh before scoring another tap with the flat of his blade.
Bertram chuckled and pulled back, "Been a while since I fought against a regular sized opponent. I'm used to dealing with bigger prey." He twisted the hilt of his sword, and the centermost part of the blade separated from the exterior, bulky part that he planted tip-first into the ground. Dashing forward, he unleashed a series of chops with the flat of the blade coming in each time.
Tristan parried each in turn, finding it almost rote compared to his sparring with The Matriarch. You might be better at fighting dragons, Tristan thought as he deflected another hit and delivered a tap with his blade on Bertram's inner thigh. But I have more generalized experience.
Bertram eventually stopped and took a few steps back, huffing in breaths as he grinned. "Damn, you have gotten better. Think you could beat our bitch of a sister?"
Tristan shrugged, "No clue," he replied honestly. "But I did fight in a war, and on the sea, and I've practiced a lot in my inner world. I look forward to our Wild Realm visit and seeing you in action against your preferred prey."
Bertram grabbed the main part of his sword, re-slotted the longer, thin blade, and then shouldered it as he walked to the edge of the clearing to some scattered applause. Rory ran over and gave him a slight slap on the rump, muttering something that Tristan couldn't hear.
He turned to face the practice field, sheathing the blade and reverse-spinning his crucible to refill it fully. Keeping his hand on the hilt, he pointed his other at the melee targets. Pouring the essence into the weapon, he activated Rime Blast, and the spell burst forward, creating the cone of razor-sharp ice that embedded into the wooden targets, knocking a few backward to a slight tilt.
Next, he aimed at a target in mid-range, and pouring essence into his right gauntlet, fed the power into the first platinum rod. A fireball colored silver surged forth and slammed into the wooden target, setting it alight with the "ignited" condition. He quickly followed that up with an Inferno Trigger, and another silver bolt flew out before the fire on the target roared ever larger; the heat reaching him despite being fifty feet away. A dull heat that was not even uncomfortable – but like walking into the sunny sun on a summer day. Then, he activated Fiery Burst.
The silver flames were consumed, sucked inward to the dummy's torso, and detonated – spread out in all directions as an enormous kaboom shook the grass on the ground. The shockwave hit Tristan, and felt like a hot breeze. Glancing back to the audience, he saw the Gnomes utterly enthralled, the fairy dragons looking entertained, and the Nymphs pissed off – he assumed because of their inherent ties to water.
Turning back, he took aim at the farthest targets. Pushing his essence into his other gauntlet and holding it up, he pushed the power into the first rod for Bolt. The spark of silver light flew out and impacted, leaving a crackling aura around it – and, thankfully, not causing any discomfort. This is so unfair, Tristan thought as he smiled under the helm. I can do so many spells without having to use a spell phrase or gesture. Other essence-weavers will be so jealous if they find out. He rapidly used Split Bolt and hit another two targets – with the damage consume the "charge" effect on the first one and causing a hazy, static-filled silver burst of energy around that initial target.
"Let's get the rest clustered together," Tristan shouted. Fairy dragons responded to his call and re-placed the targets. Now to try this spell. He poured essence into the last of the platinum rods embedded into the gauntlets. The white-silver bolt of lightning rushed forward, hit the front-most target, and then spread. Like a stream of water trailing its way down a window in the rain. It cascaded through the dummies, jolting them as crackling lightning burst around them – and coursed through the ranks of the dummies. And now…just a Bolt to detonate it. He flicked forth a Bolt spell, and when it struck the leading one – the end of the field erupted.
A calamitous roaring sound, followed by a blinding flash of light that forced Tristan to shut his eyes, and then a calm a split second later. Opening his eyes, he saw the dummies were all charred and smoking – not on fire but definitely splintered beyond repair. The grass in all directions around the cluster had been shoved down to the ground.
Tristan let his crucible's spin fade and turned to the crowd, walking to his now-stunned grandfather who whispered. "I could've done that if I trained my crucible?"
Tristan chuckled and clapped a gauntleted hand on the older man's shoulder, "Hey, you got plenty of time now in the Fey Realm to train up your essence crucible if you want. Now, if you'll excuse me." He walked over to Dorni and the Gnomes and knelt as he bowed his head slightly. "Your weapons and armor are amazing, and I thank you for serving the Fey Realm and me."
They all beamed, and Dorni chuckled, "We are happy to help, Lord Tristan."
Tristan stood up and headed toward the Queen's Wood as people began to disperse. Felicity flew over and landed on his head. "What a neat spell," she said as she made her paw-claw biscuits.
Thallia came over and walked with Tristan toward the Queen's Wood. She had a stern expression on her face. "The Fey Realm ultimately serves the Winterbloom…but Lord Tristan," she looked at him with a sidelong glance, "You must know that by aligning yourself more with the Gnomes, you will dismay the Nymphs. Fairy dragons are relatively neutral, but the Gnomes and Nymphs are like oil and water."
Tristan scowled and looked forward, "I hate politics," he muttered.
She shrugged, "Just balance your praise equally and you'll stoke everyone's egos enough. The Matriarch is good at keeping things in line. Dorni and myself, whilst we don't mix very well like our species – we are cordial. There are…more…intriguing Fey species that are still sealed. Some who are antagonistic but very useful." She glanced at him, "Remember, ultimately this is your Realm."
Tristan pondered her words and what types of creatures she could be speaking of as he entered the Queen's Wood and made his way to the Court.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.