Morning came swifter than Tristan would have liked, as he stirred awake alongside Felicity who was still snoozing and mumbling nonsense as she dreamed some vivid imagination. Instead of waking her, he chose to just lay there and re-line out his plan in the lead-up to the Fey Realm opening its rift to the Citadel of Essence for a week. A chance for students from the Citadel to experience the Fey Realm, to sell wares and goods of peerless craftsmanship, but more importantly to hold up Tristan's end of the bargain with the Headmaster of the Citadel.

Felicity stirred soon enough and he gave her a few loving kisses on the cheek as she pushed back into his embrace. "Good morning," she mumbled out before yawning. "What's the plan?"

Tristan whispered back, "I'm going to be spending most of my time in the Fey Realm, practicing with Zeltana in my inner world. Except today, I'm going to go and do some practice in one of the study halls."

She yawned once more and nodded, "Okay. Come back here to spend the night. I'm going to be focusing on learning as much as I can about transmutation. Memorize a whole load of spells." She wriggled in his embrace until she was facing him. "Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan," Tristan replied.

Tristan got his gear and used the Citadel Pin to transport to The Archive. Heading along to the back, he arrived at the hall that led to the various study rooms that would make twenty-four hours seem like a single hour. Stepping into one of the rooms, he shut the door and went to the desk, flipping open his Omnitome.

First up, the dragonbane spells for Fourth Order, he thought as he flipped open the book. Already having cast Elemental Imbuement-Multi the other day to improve his sword; which used the exact same spell gesture as the Second Order, lesser variant, with simply the phrase "and see my prowess with it!" added to the end…he hardly needed to practice that further. Plus, it is now in my sword. No need to manually use it unless I'm left without the weapon for some reason.

Reckless Challenge (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: Come at me, and break yourselves on my blade!

Spell Gesture: Stretch your hand out before you, in front of your torso, fingers extended to point as one. As you state the spell phrase, pass your hand across whomever you wish to affect.

Other Notes: Just like Imperious Challenge, but this is the multiple-target version. Good for getting a whole bunch of people to attack you.

Dragon Leap (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: The skies unfold before me!

Spell Gesture: While in mid-air, curl your legs and push down, with toes pointed directly down.

Other Notes: You will effectively jump off of the air. The more you tilt your feet so the toes point to the ground, the higher you go. I highly recommended that you cast Wing Glide right before using this spell. You'd be a fool not to. Practice over water.

Well, Tristan thought as he faced the wall. I won't be able to test out Dragon Leap until I'm back in the Fey Realm. But I can at least memorize the gesture and try to get used to tilting my feet properly. Plus, Reckless Challenge can be drilled.

He spent the next thirty minutes bracing his legs, muttering the spell phrase for Wing Glide, and then jumping up. It took several tries to get the rapid-fire speech properly enunciated to get one spell after the other to activate properly, and tilting his feet at the wrong time led to several painful falls that he used the stored Cure Wounds spell in his belt was able to soothe away.

But, after several attempts, he finally got the timing down. He had to jump, and then immediately tilt his feet as they left the ground – it gave him enough time to speak both of the spell phrases in rapid succession, and after practicing the motion dozens of times, he was more than confident he could use the spell properly. It'll need to wait until I reach the Fey Realm to properly be practiced, he thought. But it would be nice to get up to the top boughs with a single leap.

Moving back to the Omnitome, he flipped open to the section on ice elementalism. Now this is something I can practice in here. He chose to ignore the spells that were not offense or defense focused, knowing that he could reference those if he needed.

Hailstorm (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: "Spüren Sie, wie der Zorn der gefrorenen Wut vom Himmel herabregnet, und beugen Sie sich der Macht des Sturms." (Feel the wrath of frozen fury rain down from the skies above, and cower under the might of the storm).

Spell Gesture: Raise both hands above your head, crossing your wrists and flaring out your fingers. Then, as you say the spell phrase, wiggle your fingers and bring both hands down in front of you - never letting contact between the wrists stop. At the bottom of the movement, you will flourish your hands out to your sides.

Other Notes: This spell will manifest a devastating rain of spherical ice from above. The affected area is approximately a one-hundred foot radius in all directions around the user. The user will not be struck.

Frozen Bulwark (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: "Das Herz des Frostes schützt mich; ein Bollwerk, das ich zur Verteidigung schwingen kann." (The heart of the frost protects me; a bulwark to wield in defense).

Spell Gesture: Ball your hand into a fist (either hand), raise it in a diagonal across your torso (so that your chin is above the forearm, it extends up and towards your cheek, and the elbow is down closer towards the stomach). Essence should be focused into the forearm. Then, you will move the arm out to your side, rotating from the elbow, and then straightening the arm.

Other Notes: This spell functions as a longer lasting version of Frost Screen. It does have weight, and will chip and degrade over use, but has the same stopping power.

Raising his hand, Tristan balled it into a fist and made the spell gesture for Frost Screen, but then followed through by rotating that arm out to the side at the elbow, and straightened the arm. Repeating the motion several times until he had it memorized with both hands, alternating left and right, he began muttering the spell phrase without essence added to the mix.

Over and over, he drilled the spell phrase and gesture, until, finally, he began spinning his crucible and pushed the cooling essence down shoulder and into his arm, feeling it pool under the forearm. "Das Herz des Frostes schützt mich; ein Bollwerk, das ich zur Verteidigung schwingen kann."

A large, round shield of ice appeared on his left forearm and grew in size until it covered a half of his body. It was hefty, and even with his prodigious strength, it was irksome to hold. But, bracing it in front of him and crouching slightly, he saw how effectively it covered his body. The only downside, he thought, is that you can't see through it. I probably won't use this much – but I'd rather have it memorized than not.

Letting the essence fade, he reached back and snagged his Omnitome, pushing essence into the amulet with Pocket Dimension II. Once the book was safely inside that space, he began reciting and repeating the spell gesture for Hailstorm. Over and over, repeatedly, as he practiced, drilled, and memorized. Finally, when he had it down, he spun his crucible and surged the essence through his whole body as the spell did not specify where to send it.

Nothing happened. Strange, he thought. Well, maybe to the fingers, then. Starting from the top, he did just that, feeling the tingling sensation as the cold spread from his chest, through his arms, and up to his fingers. Wiggling them, he brought them down – keeping the wrists crossed. He felt the essence slip from his fingertips as he incanted the spell phrase; "Spüren Sie, wie der Zorn der gefrorenen Wut vom Himmel herabregnet, und beugen Sie sich der Macht des Sturms."

The ceiling above him was dotted with dozens of silvery circles that produced fist-sized balls of ice that crashed down onto the ground, shattering and melting away. The force with which they pelted the ground made Tristan wince – easily the weight of a hefty Warhammer blow. If this was done on an unarmored host, they would be heavily injured.

He felt the essence expenditure of the two, Fourth Order spells weigh on him, and as the spell faded, he sucked in deep breaths, heart racing. That's…okay…a lot of essence. He tried to steady his breathing, and noted the slush and ice on the floor remained for a few moments before slowly melting to water, and finally evaporating into a shimmering, silver glow.

That's two spell types at fourth order memorized, he thought as he made to sit down in the chair – but then winced as he realized his Hailstorm spell had smashed the chair and desk to wooden slivers. These study halls are not very good for practicing spells. But, they didn't raise a fuss last time.

Waiting a while for his essence to regenerate, he sat down and when he had enough, activated his storage spell, flipping to the next section on fire elementalism. Just the one spell that would activated the ignite effect on those I hit with a Fireball or Inferno Trigger.

Rising Flame (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: "Sturm unter dir, erhebe dich und verzehre die von meiner Flamme Geplagten in einem Scheiterhaufen von sengender Hitze." (Tempest below, rise up, and consume those afflicted by my flame in a pyre of searing heat).

Spell Gesture: Cross both wrists at waist height, with palms facing up, and fingers extended. Slowly bring them up, in front of the abdomen, chest, then above your head – making a "come hither" motion with all of your fingers (except the thumbs – those remain flush with the other fingers). End above your head, then extend arms out to either side in a flourish.

Other Notes: All targets currently suffering from the Ignite effect that you applied, and are within the 500 foot range, will have their Ignite condition consumed. This spell does not work unless Ignite is applied. While it lacks the area-of-effect capacity of Fiery Burst, its single-target damage is much higher.

I'll need a target that is ignited, Tristan thought as he flipped to the back of the Omnitome and ripped out several pages from the endless document. Grabbing bits and pieces of the fragmented wood, he made a small pile in the corner of the room. By the time he had the small pile of kindling made up and ready, his essence was about half full.

Practicing the spell gesture and phrase repeatedly, he felt he had it down and memorized. Now, to apply an ignite effect. Holding his hand in front of him, palm up, at chest height, he tucked his thumb and pinky into the palm, and held the other three fingers out. "Ich beschwöre Feuer und Hitze, forme deine Macht zu einem Ball: werfe diese auf meine Feinde, sodass die Flammen sie verschlingen möge." (I summon forth the rage of heat and flame: form a bolt that will burn and sear my target).

The small bead of fire manifested above his palm, and before it grew too large, he flung it. The bead shot into the pile of tinder, and began to smolder before a silver and red flame flickered up. Now for the new spell. Spinning his crucible and directing the essence into his hands, down to his fingertips, he performed the appropriate spell gesture, slowly raising his arms as he flexed his fingers in the proper way. "Sturm unter dir, erhebe dich und verzehre die von meiner Flamme Geplagten in einem Scheiterhaufen von sengender Hitze."

At first, nothing happened despite Tristan becoming winded and almost collapsing from exhaustion as his essence was drained dry. He staggered and placed a hand on the wall as he finished the flourish gesture – and then winced as a massive column of fire appeared where the pile of wood and paper was in the corner. A white-hot flame that shot straight up and left a black scorch on the corner, the ceiling, and the floor. Pure black, as dark as pitch. A testament to the heat of the blaze.

Okay…really powerful…that applied to a lot of foes at once…He was once more humbled by and both respected and feared the power of fire elementalism he saw on display. Definitely something to look at using.

Then the backlash hit. He hadn't noticed the ice elementalism backlash, as he practically suffered none. But he felt this. Even the fire dragon blood he had consumed only somewhat protected him as he felt sweat profusely rolling down his body, and saw his hands begin to turn a red as if he was fighting off a fever. He felt light-headed, and sat down.

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The higher Order spells have a really shitty side effect, he thought as he panted and waited for his body to cool down. The idea of using lightning elementalism, after his last experience where he had suffered immensely thanks to a seeming inability to cope with the backlash thanks to his heritage, caused him to make a decision on the spot. I'm not using the Fourth Order lightning elementalism spell. Not unless it's stored inside an item with artifice. The memory of how badly the lightning affected him last time and the pain from the muscle spasm and seizing was still vivid, and he shuddered at the recollection. I'll look it up, and memorize it along with the gesture, so I can store it later.

But, he was still exhausted and knew he had been burned a bit from the backlash. As he sat there, recovering and waiting for his essence to regenerate enough to use the stored Cure Wound spell, he couldn't help but think about the Twelfth Order fire spell Obadai had used. That must have been excruciating, he thought. No wonder people don't go for the higher Order spells when essence-weaving. The cost is so taxing. He held an even more profound respect for the Archon rank of those capable of the highest order of essence-weavers, and it now made sense to him why there were almost no spells written down above Tenth Order. You'd have to be mad to be willing to risk injury for a spell of that magnitude.

Recovering enough essence to use his belt, Tristan spun his crucible and activated Cure Wound, feeling the warmth spread through his body as his skin returned to its snow-white appearance. He let out a sigh of relief, and stayed seated as he flipped open his Omnitome to the section on lightning elementalism.

Boltstorm (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: "Zerreißt die Wolken und ruft den Zorn von oben herab. Die Bolzen der Rache stürzen auf dich herab und schlagen dich nieder" (Tear the clouds asunder and call down wrath from on high. The bolts of vengeance crash down upon you, and smite you).

Spell Gesture: Hold both hands out to your sides, at chest height, arms fully extended. Have the fingers lined up, thumb tucked into palm, and bring them forward in a slow, gradual motion until they meet in front of your chest. The end of the movement should see your thumbs connecting, the tips of your fingers connecting, and a small, triangular hole down the center when viewed from above.

Other Notes: Choose a location within 1,000 feet. The spell will affect every viable target within a one-hundred foot radius of that point. Applies the charge affliction to foes. It is highly recommended to follow this spell up with a First Order Bolt spell to activate the discharge on the group.

Tristan stood up and went through the spell gesture and phrase. Over and over, repeating the process of memorization through rote repetition just how his mother had taught him when they were studying how to speak Elvish. Just how he taught himself from grandfather's texts on dragons. The process was almost meditative in a way, and once Tristan was confident in the spell and his knowledge of how to use it properly, he turned his attention to fortune. I haven't looked at any spells beyond the First Order, he thought. So this will probably take some time. Thankfully, they were written in Elvish, which made perfect sense to Tristan, as Elves were seemingly the one Heritage that fortune seemed to work for. Sadly, there were none above Sixth Order. A shame. Means I'll have to invent once I get to that essence capacity.

Bad Luck (Second)

Spell Phrase: "Toivon sinulle pahinta. Löytäköön sinua kaikki maailman huono onni." (I wish the worst upon you. May all the ill fortune of the world find you).

Spell Gesture: Tuck your fist into your chest, with the thumb facing up. Extend the thumb, and curl in all the other fingers (you are effectively giving a "thumbs up" but close to your chest).

Other Notes: The user afflicts a target within line of sight with bad luck for the next hour. They will find activities to have suboptimal outcomes.

Good Luck (Second)

Spell Phrase: "Onnea sinulle. Olkoon maailman onni teille armollinen." (The best of luck to you. May the good fortune of the world grace you).

Spell Gesture: Tuck your fist into your chest, with the thumb facing down. Extend the thumb, and curl in all the other fingers (you are effectively giving a "thumbs down" but close to your chest).

Other Notes: The user afflicts a target within line of sight with good luck for the next hour. They will find activities to have optimal outcomes.

Stolen Fortune (Third)

Spell Phrase: "Katsohan sinua. Niin onnekas. Kiitos lahjastasi." (Oh, look at you. So lucky. Thank you for your gift).

Spell Gesture: Raise your hands to the level of your eyebrow, flattening out the palm and keeping the fingers aligned, as you place your index fingers upon your brows. Just as if you were blocking the light of the sun from your gaze.

Other Notes: The user strips all fortune effects from a chosen target within line of sight. All positive effects are applied to the user. Those effects last for their remaining duration.

Extended Fortune (Fourth)

Spell Phrase: "Tätä ajan lahjaa vaalitaan, ja hyvä onni jatkuu tästä hetkestä päivän loppuun asti." (This gift of time will be cherished, and the good fortune will persist from now to the end of day).

Spell Gesture: Put your right hand above your left, and both directly in front of your chest. Make a loop with your index finger and thumb on both hands. Your right hand will be thumb-down, and left hand thumb-up. Interlace the two loops, and stretch out the remaining fingers.

Other Notes: Increases the duration of any fortune spell (except for Flipper's Favor) to 8 hours.

I should put these into some of the rods, Tristan thought as he reached into the storage dimension and did just that – withdrawing three rods and the tiny bristle black brush, and the small jar of black paint. Taking his time, he painted the name of Good Luck, Bad Luck, and Extended Fortune onto each of the different rods, and then sealed the jar before letting the trio of rods dry. Flipping his Omnitome to Investiture of Artifice II and III respectively, he quickly went through the appropriate spell gesture and phrase.

It took a few hours, but after waiting for enough essence to regenerate, he was able to put the three spells into the three rods. Now, Tristan thought as he placed them back into the storage dimension, I can swap them out if I know I'm not going to be getting into a fight anytime soon. Or even during a fight. I'll have to think on how best to implement them.

Flipping his Omnitome once more, he went to the section on Enchantment and found what he expected. Quatrice Command, which was the same as the lower Order enchantment spells, but allowed for a four-word phrase. I don't need that, he thought, since I have my Winterbloom Cloak.

Flipping over to Rejuvenation, he found a plethora of spells. The First Order ones were dedicated to specific types of injuries – lacerations, bruises, abrasions, poisoning, disease, infection. It would be good to know the one for infection and disease, he thought. I wonder if a higher Order version carries the two in a single spell? Flipping forward, he found what he was looking for.

Unfortunately, it was written in Heaven's Voice. Damnit, he thought as he kept his thumb in the page crease of the Omnitome, and headed out to the Archive proper. Heading toward Betty, he waiting in line until he was at her desk. "Do we have anyone who can translate?"

One of her tendrils reached down and grabbed a pen and parchment, jotting down an answer. Translation services can be acquired in the Linguistics department. Less magic, more scholarly, with a focus on doing exactly what you describe – translating spells to other languages. Just use your Citadel Pin, and focus on that location.

"Thank you!" Tristan said as he spun his crucible and poured the power into his pin, visualizing a placard with the word "linguistics" written across it. The world compressed around him, and blinking his eyes he found himself in one of the Citadel's long hallways, in front of a door bearing a plaque with the very word written. But it was not alone; there was a plaque with the same word written in at least four languages he recognized – Standard Tongue, Elvish, Dragon's Tongue, and Demon's Tongue. More languages were present, and he knew he was in the right place.

Opening the door, he was greeted by another student, judging by her pin. She looked bored, but quickly jolted awake and perked up when she saw him enter. "Hi! Welcome to the Linguistics department!"

Tristan walked to the desk and could smell the decades-old paper in the air. To either side of the desk, going back, were other doors that were labeled with "Intake" and "Outgoing". "I need help translating Heaven's Breath to Elvish," he said.

"Oh, we can do that." She pointed to the door labeled "Intake". "Go through there, and find an open spot."

"Thank you," Tristan said as he opened the door. A long hallway stretched out in front of him, and to either side he heard scribbling and muted conversation. Several gaps were in the walls, and he could see plenty of students standing along the hallway. Walking past them, he glanced sideways and saw other students helping these ones – with placards above their work station that listed out their proficient languages.

Tristan had to go all the way to the end of the hall, where it ended in a stone slab, and on the last, right-most window, he found someone who had every language listed on their placard. A half-breed Demonkin, whose deep, cherry-red skin was contrasted with their olive eyes. A middle-aged man, his black hair was messy.

"Hi there," Tristan said. "I'm trying to get something translated."

The half-breed man sighed, "Yeah, and you somehow didn't find a single other translator down the whole line."

Tristan put the Omnitome in the window separating the hallway and the man's work station. "I need Heaven's Breath to Elvish."

That seemed to get the man to perk up, "Oh?" he said with genuine surprise. "That's a rare translation. Why?" He took the Omnitome and his eyes widened as he looked up at Tristan, "Oh, shit. You're the Winterbloom dragonslayer, aren't you?"

"Yes," Tristan replied. "My name precedes me?"

"No, no one knows your name except some faculty," the man replied with some amusement laced in his tone. "But word has gotten out – the dragonslayer's Elf brother, last of a whole bloodline."

Well, good thing no one at the Citadel can enter with intent to harm me, Tristan thought. And I'm sure Eloise and the other Citadel staff would have weeded out anyone who did seek to harm me. "Well, thanks for letting me know," he said.

"You can use rejuvenation?" the half-breed asked as he grabbed a sheet of parchment and began translating the text for Tristan.

"Yes," Tristan replied. "A recently acquisition."

"I'd heard about that. The other dragonslayer…Anorox! That guy-"

"His name is Bertram," Tristan interrupted. "Anorox is the family name."

"Right. Well, he's bragged about being able to get new spell types from killing dragons." The Demonkin chuckled, "I'm a bit jealous, to be honest. Two-hundred years and I'm limited by my heritage. No special bloodline, here."

"Condolences," Tristan replied. "If it's any consolation, most people would kill to be able to essence-weave."

"Oh, I know, friend." The man replied as he finished writing the spell's translation and put it into the Omnitome. Handing it back to Tristan he smiled, "Happy to help. If you need more translation, just let me know!"

"I didn't get your name," Tristan replied.

"Nor I, yours. My name's Persimmon, like the fruit. My mother is from an island in the Trimarchy."

"Tristan," he replied. "Thanks again. I'm sure I'll need translation down the line." Spinning his crucible, he activated his pin and warped back to the door leading to his chambers. Opening the door, he headed to the bed and sat down before flipping to the section on the Rejuvenation spell he wanted to memorize.

Cleanse (Third)

Spell Phrase: "Voima sisälläni, käsken sinua tulemaan esiin ja parantamaan tätä astiaa vaivaavat sairaudet. Poistakaa tauti, myrkky ja infektio, jotta jäljelle jää vain puhdas liha." (Power within me, I command you to come forth and cure the maladies afflicting this vessel. Strip away the disease, the poison, and the infection to leave only clean flesh).

Spell Gesture: Place one palm on the person's forehead, fingers pointing down the face, with the middle finger on the bridge of the nose, one finger on either eyelid, and pinky and thumb on the temples.

Other Notes: Heals an individual of disease, poison, and infection. Should not be performed more than once every five days, due to the strain on the body. Panacea Elixirs can be used I the interim five day period. Will not cure diseases related to age (such as mind-drifting).

Tristan found the gesture quite odd to perform on himself, as his elbow had to be cocked to his side and up above his head. But, he managed it, and spoke the spell phrase softly as he spun his crucible, pouring the essence into his fingertips. The cooling energy went through his arms, down his fingers, and into his head. A hot flush raced over his body, and he dropped the Omnitome as he doubled over and winced in pain.

Rushing to the restroom, he bent over the latrine and vomited up a disgusting, black sludge. What was that? He thought as he wiped his mouth and leaned back, gasping for air. There must be an infirmary. Staggering back to the bedroom, he felt good. Incredible, even. Grabbing his Omnitome, he flipped through the map of the Citadel on Yustat and saw a location marked as the infirmary. And I need to set that up as my return point anyways with Mark the Realm.

Spinning his crucible and pushing it into the pin on his cloak, he warped to an arrival point. A square platform carved out of a pristine, white stone. Stepping off of it, he saw other students arriving in varying states of injury and disarray – burns, frostbite, warped flesh, open wounds – horrific maladies as they rushed toward a series of doors with red, gemstone lights above some, green lights and thrown-wide openings above others. As soon as a student entered one of the open doors, it shut behind them, and the light turned red.

Standing near the back of the hallway, one of the farthest arrival points, he positioned himself in front of the double doors that doubtless led to the rest of the Citadel complex. Spinning his crucible, he poured the power into the Amethyst Amulet holding the spell, Mark the Breach. Just in case I need to escape the Demon Realm, he thought as he stepped away, and glancing back, saw a small, pulsating, purple light that faded away.

Some doors were marked with words across the top reading as "urgent", and in front of the non-urgent marked doors, were lines. People who looked slightly injured or inconvenienced. Tristan joined the queue and waited as the line slowly moved forward. The person in front of him looked like they had suffered a nasty welt on the arm, and he wanted to offer to use Cure Wounds on them – but thought better of it. I don't want to mess up whatever process the Citadel uses.

He wasn't waiting for long, and soon enough was seated in front of a human wearing a white robe, in a sterile, coated-in-silver room. Save for the small bed in the center that had a white blanket covering it. "How can I help you?" she asked in a tired voice.

Tristan pulled out his Omnitome and described his use of the Cleanse spell, and the subsequent effect. "What exactly happened?" he asked.

The woman let out an exhausted chuckle and shook her head. "Happens to everyone who uses Cleanse. You've got diseases hiding in your body. I'm surprised you didn't get it solved when they did the intake process." She leaned back and groaned as her back cracked. "Standard operating procedure; someone signs up, they are subjected to Cleanse to ensure disease does not spread in the Citadel proper. Even going to other Realms, people have to come here for a checkup once they return."

I must have been given a lot more latitude given that I was doing a self-study program, Tristan thought as he nodded politely. "Thank you for the information. So I'm healthy?"

"Oh, yes. You probably had some hidden disease that would have not caused any problems until you reached a far more advanced age. Almost everyone harbors several and they never cause any issues until something else arises." She sighed, "Well, you were easy to deal with. Use your pin and get out of here – I have patients to see."

Tristan nodded and spun his crucible, using his pin to return to his quarters. I've memorized all the spells I intended to, he thought as he entered and sat on the bed. Nothing to do now except for train in the Fey Realm, make the elixirs I'll need, and wait until we depart.

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