Semi-major Rewrite to chapter 1

TLDR:

There's another choice for Perry, where he could've stayed safe in a Gardener Tower for 20 years. Also a minor edit to when he makes the choice.

Changes it to not wanting to be thrown into the meat grinder but not choosing the safe choice either.

Full scene is included below starting from mid chapter.

I blinked as I stared at the ground, sifting through Perth's memories. It only took a moment to realize he had indeed wanted to become a Gardener, one of the plant mages who infused the nature crystals the farms used to encourage growth. But he'd only wanted that because it was the easiest job a Mage-souled could get. Dump mana into a repository throughout the week, drop it off at the Gardens, then sit around and relax. There were Gardeners who did more than that, of course, but that was the minimum required of a noble scion assigned to the role.

"But now that path has been rendered… untenable." Risking another glance, I caught a hint of a frown, before his face returned to his impervious poker face. "Instead, you must choose a new path. Your first is to stay with the Gardeners, in the Three Blossoms tower as a Heartwood."

Well, if I wanted to study magic, that would be the one. It'd be safe. The position of Heartwood wasn't something Perth knew much about, but he did know they didn't get out much. The only ensouled he'd known to take that path had only been allowed to leave the Three Blossoms tower for a week a year.

Not terrible, but it did restrict freedom.

"Your other choice is to serve on the Front."

I was unable to suppress the shudder that went through me at that. The Front was where the ensouled went to die.

Avoiding such a fate was part of why Perth had been convinced by his brothers to go through with the ritual that had summoned me.

I could appreciate the irony, even if Perth wouldn't have.

"Yes, you're wise to fear. Yet you do not yet understand what it truly means. Prepare yourself."

Despite his words, I didn't know what to prepare myself for.

The roof of the study peeled open, much like a flower. Perth's father came around the desk and laid one solid hand on my shoulder. A second later and we started to rise. Below us, a single gargantuan leaf held us up, thin vines strapping my feet to its surface. Before I could take in our surroundings, we were rising higher, moving faster, before we were suddenly shooting across the sky.

Everything around us was a blur, until it wasn't.

The first thing I noticed was the giant pillar rising into the sky. It gleamed with a metallic shine, and if not for Perth's history lessons, I would've thought it a new construction.

It was one of the great Barrier Pillars that sat along the Front.

Beneath us, mages cast spells at monsters, culling the tide. There were thousands of mages, all working to hold it back.

There were even more monsters. Most of the monsters were fighting each other. And of those that didn't, the majority of the rest would impact the intangible barrier, only to bounce off and run away.

But among the untold masses, a handful slipped through.

And where they did, the mages fought.

Even as we watched, a hydra pierced the barrier. With seven heads waving in fury, its scaled leg crashed down on a group of mages. From our height, I couldn't determine their fate, though I suspected they'd be doomed without help.

"It seems we chose a good moment," Perth's father said, bringing us closer while raising his hand. In response, the ground below twisted, black thorned vines shooting upward to wrap around the hydra's many necks. The vines constrained the hydra, and most of the mages escaped from beneath its bulk. Not all though. As the leaf we were on drew closer, I saw a pair of mages still underneath it.

One was cradling the other, tears running down his cheeks as he held his friend. That his friend was dead, I had no doubt. There was no way-

The body twitched, then gasped, physically knitting itself together. Then a dozen black vines wrapped around the pair, hauling them to the safety of their colleagues.

Perth's father didn't even glance in the direction of the men he'd saved as he wrestled the still living hydra to the ground.

"Harvesters!" he called. Another group of mages came running at his words, and while he held it in place, started sawing at the hydra. "Good. Watch closely, Perth. This is your fate. If you come to the Front, you will join these hard working mages. Either on the wall, or as one of these fine men who ensure nothing goes to waste."

I swallowed. While Perth's father was ordering them around like they were nothing, every ensouled present was at least a Pegasus tier. And even with their magic, a single monster had nearly killed them all.

That spot in the tower was sounding a lot better.

Except, looking at them dealing with the cleanup of the hydra, I couldn't help but want to take part. This was clearly important. Yet as I was, I'd end up dead before I could even contribute. I scoured Perth's memories for a solution. Some option that wouldn't see me dead. I couldn't be sent to the Front. Not as I was. Perth's brother had been prepared for nearly a decade before being allowed to go to the Front, and it hadn't even been his calling.

My gaze settled on the Pillar.

There was something there.

Barreth had been talking with their brother Sosa, he'd mentioned that father couldn't be sent to the Front, because he was a Magus Dominus. But he could volunteer. That memory triggered others. A Magus Dominus didn't have to be Djinn-souled. Any awakened mage could take the oath.

Instead of fighting on the front, I would serve by watching over Ro'an's people. I would be sent to govern a domain, an area of land linked to its beacon until my oath was deemed fulfilled. I would be expected to fight, yes, but it wouldn't be the suicide of the Front as a barely awakened mage.

The oath came to me.

As I thought it over, I nodded to myself. Sometimes, there were no good choices.

Just easy ones.

I found myself uttering the words with surprising conviction as I fixed my gaze on the Barrier Pillar.

"Upon the ancient Pillars of Ro'an, I bind myself in solemn oath." Even as I said the words, I could feel something reach out to me, brushing against some intangible part of my being. Doing my best to ignore the alien sensation, I continued, "I pledge my life and the essence of my soul to protect the people under my charge. I shall be their shield, their storm, and their watchful eye, unyielding until my final breath. My lands shall remain pure, free from the stain of corruption and the scourge of monstrous threats. So long as my Domain stands, my vow stands eternal, etched into the fabric of Ro'an."

I took a deep breath, stealing a glance at Perth's father, who watched me with narrowed eyes. Yet he did not interrupt as I spoke the final words.

"With full knowledge of what lies before me, I pledge myself as a Magus Dominus."

TLDR:

Thinks about designing a motorcycle. Setup for Fang.

Despite the number of horses pulling other carriages, when we stepped out at our destination, there was only the faintest aroma of cherry hanging in the air. I looked back at ours at that point, considering. Would need to learn more about how it had been built. Maybe see if I could recreate it, but for personal use. A motorcycle or some such.

Later. There were more important things to consider.

TLDR:

More spells, more thoughts about motorcycles, checking on the monster attack

Spells such as Shape Tool, Fuse Bone and Adjust Fit all made the cut. As did Cut Gem. I figured they'd be useful for less magical endeavors, though the specially enchanted foot long length of metal I needed for Shape Tool was a painful requirement.

The entire thought process did lead to a slight diversion though, as I decided to investigate how the enchanted carriages worked. Would be nice to be able to build something similar. During the periods where I was stuck waiting, I even started doodling the occasional sketch of various designs. Considering we were headed into a place called the frigid peaks, I kept coming back to offroad motorcycle designs.

Another week slipped by, and at the end of it I was only adding two spells per day, between studying other subjects and working on Memory Palace. Including an investigation into how common it was to have monsters pop up in the city. Turned out, it was pretty rare, though it seemed to be have ticked up in frequency over the last fifty years. No clear consensus on why, though I found the theory about monsters being launched over the Front amusing.

Other than that, my studying was more passive in nature, absorbing everything I could. Well, I used the word studying, but it was more accurate to say I was abusing the overlapping properties of Memory Palace and a supporting tier one spell.

Beginning of chapter 9

TLDR:

Added foreshadowing about Perry's previous experience with fisticuffs, including the fact he used to be put into a pit to fight. First instance of Perry responding to 'it was necessary'

Blood sprayed from my nose as I collapsed, making sure it looked far more painful than it was. Put on a show. Make it believable. Old familiar lessons.

I held my nose, but remained silent.

"I… it was necessary to..." Sosa said, but the words died on his lips as I met his gaze with my own. He'd chosen exactly the worst phrase, making a flash of anger break my calm. Despite myself, I glared up at him.

But he was just a boy. A bully, but not my old man.

The anger fled as fast as it'd come.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I stood back up, a single groan escaping me as I placed myself between him and Lady Guniveer once more, my grip wrapped firmly around the blasting rod. That had been his only free hit.

TLDR:

Minor edit at start with Perry contemplating gliders

Major edit to the Bladesinger introduction. They don't attack at the party, but instead give a fortelling prophecy of song.

This means it's not as directly involved with Perry, Nexxa and Calbern. They strike during the night after giving their 'warning', targeting each person who's hair was 'accidentally' cut.

The remainder of our trip was spent in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Personally, I was thinking about the smaller vessels that had surrounded the Dauntless. They seemed to rely mostly on magic. I found myself sketching out designs for something simpler, a sort of glider than only needed some sort of thrust. Not something I'd be able to make without a great deal more enchanting knowledge, but the thought still tickled. I came out of my contemplations as we drew closer to the single span of stone arching over the Infinite Rift.

At first, the bridge looked tiny, a thin strand of stone compared to the rift's breadth. But as we drew closer, it became obvious that the bridge was a mega-structure in its own right.

There was an entire city built around the edge, where we would spend the night, before being loaded in our crates in the morning. We passed through most of the city in minutes. Unlike Earth, traffic on the Rim Road was highly controlled. I could see the crowded streets of the city as we went though, catching glimpses of the varied folk within.

It was too fast to be certain, but I thought I might've caught a glimpse of a cadre of dwarves stumbling down one of the streets in our direction.

I was suddenly regretting staying so close to the family estate. While the mana density was higher than even this close to the rift, there was so much I hadn't seen. And I wouldn't get a chance to see it again for decades. I could only hope we could see some of it during our single night in the city. And that the Frigid Peaks would offer us more.

The hotel had a service that went to a restaurant that looked out over the Infinite Rift which Nexxa insisted we had to try when she heard of it.

When we pulled up in the carriage, I was amused to see that we would be riding rickety little cages down to the actual restaurant from the parking area. The cages had been grown together, and a closer inspection revealed it would take serious effort to damage them. But the aesthetic made me nervous anyway as we swung out over the side of the Rift.

"Perry, you don't have to squeeze the bars so tight!" Nexxa called from within her own cage.

"I'm not squeezing anything," I denied, unable to get my hands to release the bars. "Also, I hate you! I hate you with every fiber of my being!"

"I was unaware you had a fear of heights, master Perth," Calbern said from his cage above us.

"Not a fear of heights. Just the Rift!" I yelled back as my cage swung to the side, leaving me staring into the emptiness stretching away below us. One that, despite abundant light from above, its bottom was lost in darkness.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Nexxa chose that moment to swing her cage up next to mine, bumping into me.

"Don't they have rules against smashing the cages together?" I asked, my voice higher than I would've preferred.

"Not if you pay the deposit!" Nexxa chuckled gleefully as she shifted the cage once more.

"You know, not all of us can fly," I said, letting out a grunt of amusement as I shifted the cage enough for her to swing past without hitting me.

Nexxa swung back, cackling wildly as sparks flew from her cage. Before she could build up enough momentum for another attempt, the cages reached the landing platform.

I stumbled out, grasping at the railing and trying not to look over the edge. I failed. Even after descending hundreds of feet, there was still no sign of the bottom. And some maniac had built a restaurant inside it.

And then another one convinced me going there was a good idea.

Forcefully, I dragged my gaze up to the bridge that spanned the Rift. It felt even bigger from underneath.

With a shove against my shoulder, Nexxa moved to go inside. After the ride down, the meal was reasonably normal, though they did that usual tourist thing where everything was named after the theme.

The Infinite Stack was really just a fancy sandwich, though the meat was all high essence. That didn't stand out much, considering everything on the menu was similar. It wasn't a restaurant for the common folk, that was certain.

As if to prove the point, during our dinner, a troupe came in to take a place on a raised platform at the back of the room. By itself, that already would've felt pretty high class to me, but I'd never been too fancy back on Earth.

That they stepped onto stage with drawn blades made me realize this was something different than I'd expected. Each of the performers drew back their hoods to reveal silver hair, thin horns along the crown of their heads and long pointed ears.

Beneath their cloaks, the group of four were clad in black and white armor, though instead of solid plates, each 'panel' consisted of a series of small round tubes. Each had a different symbol on it, matching the swords they carried.

A large broad blade was held in the hands of a much less broad, but very well built elf who led them on stage. His gaze swept over us, though seemed somewhat distant. Behind him, the other three elves took up position, the other male holding a much thinner blade that had no visible sheathe, one as long as he was tall. To his side, the first elven woman, whose horns reminded me of a crown, held a thick curved blade with nasty looking grooves along the back. Across from her, the other elven woman held a pair of nearly straight short swords, though each had a small hook at the ends.

All of them had sheathes of daggers placed all over their body.

Seemed the elves of Terra Vista had deigned to visit our restaurant.

"In accordance with the Life Song, we greet the people of Aranor, subjects of Arcadia," the second elf to take the stage said, the other three spread around him. As he turned, I noted dark marks along his cheeks. His hands moved to a set of thing cords binding the blade he carried over his shoulder. "A bond long shared, celebrated in song. Tonight we shall share with you the glorious Final Refrain of the Grand Choir."

"Oh wow," Nexxa said, leaning forward across our meal.

"What?" I asked, glancing between the elves, her and Calbern. They were certainly impressive looking.

"I believe we are about to witness a performance by the legendary Bladesingers of Terra Vista," Calbern said, a note of reverence in his voice.

True to his word, the elves on stage started moving.

At first, it looked almost like sparring, though the blades didn't clash. Instead, every motion of their swords drew out whispering notes, as though someone had found one of those fancy bent instruments with all the strings on them and imbued the sound into a blade.

The long thin blade's notes were higher, and the broad blade's lower, a deep bass-like thrum. Each blade managed to find it's own place, occasionally striking another to fill the room with a chime or ring, or if the armor tubes were struck, a sort of hushed rattling.

Then the elves began to sing.

The words wove together with the movements of the swords, a chant carried on a whispering wind. It was beautiful. Like one of those monk chants. I understood exactly as many words as I did in those chants. Whatever language they were singing hadn't been part of Perth's education. And yet, it hardly mattered, for all the beauty.

As if on cue, the elves changed the tempo and language of their song. Suddenly those near misses turned to full on blows, their words shifting to heavily accented Alvian. In place of the soft whispers, the swords clanged against each other, as they both raised and lowered their voices into registers I imagined an opera singer might sing in.

"A thousand cuts,

"A thousand fallen grain,

"A thousand blades spark,

"A thousand die within the dark,

"So begins the Final Refrain."

The heavy beats of their blades became the heavy clash of a gathering storm.

They weren't just throwing their blades into each other, but the smallest of them was using the large broad blade as a platform, flipping into the air, thrusting outward with her pair of short hooked swords, using the long thin blade to catch herself and change direction as she swung over the crowd.

Soon they had added their sheathed daggers to the mix, creating even more chaos. It was the most intricate dance of blades I'd ever seen.

And then one of those blades flicked out.

Laughs came out of the crowd as the deadly objects shot past. A twist of the curved blade by the other woman had every one of those soaring blades twist in place, shifting as if called by the music itself, returning inward, brushing even closer. The lady at the table next to us lost a lock of hair, but that only made her more excited as she grabbed the falling strands, holding them towards her friends.

The elves switched back to the first language for a verse as another wave of blades flew out to even more laughter. As the laughter died down, the elves shifted into a slower tempo, again singing in Alvian.

"Shields held by hands long dead,

"After ages eternal, laid to bed,

"Fields burn while rivers weep,

"Secrets wake in mountains deep."

Where before it had been a storm of steel, now the edges of their blades seemed to part the air, the faintest of images echoing over our heads. A scene of mighty walls crumbling, the fields beyond burning even as the river overflowed its banks.

The woman at the nearby table held her hand up as an image swept past, pulling it back down a second later, bleeding. She gave a rueful laugh, elbowing her friend then downed a healing elixir from a small brace of them she kept around her wrist.

I'd forgotten those were available. They weren't much use on the Aranor family compound, since there was so much magical healing available. Plus they were more useful for mortals than ensouled, since something about our innate mana interfered with their effects. Still, I'd need to ask Calbern if we'd stocked any after the performance.

The show continued, with the elves shifting back and forth between the two languages, the images and flying blades now ever present alongside the heavier music. It did a surprisingly good job of making me feel like I was on that battlefield.

"Blade against blade, all rust,

"Swirling storms, bonds turned to dust,

"The crown of light falls,

"Tower of freedom crawls."

Images of soldiers fighting, then a flash of light, then nothing but a field of bodies. Several more near misses as attendees laughed about their 'impromptu haircuts'.

While a smattering of other tables were laughing and joking, the three of us remained focused on the performance.

"Choked no more by the falling light,

"Spreads wide, the coming blight,

"Forges long cold, fire for war,

"The stars descend, hungry for more."

At this, the blades, which had been like a storm, struck out the lights around the room. Each light exploded into a thousand glowing embers, and within those motes of light I swore for a second I saw monsters. Then they were gone and the light enchantments renewed themselves.

On stage, the storm of daggers had grown orderly, each coming to rest in the hands of their owner one at a time.

When the last dagger sat sheathed, the elves cadence shifted back to what it had been to start, the broad blade sending a low thrum through the air.

Somehow, the gentleness, in the wake of the bold and overwhelming chaos that came before, caused the verse they'd started with to carry new weight when they sang it one last time.

"A thousand cuts,

"A thousand fallen grain,

"A thousand blades spark,

"A thousand die within the dark,

"So begins the Final Refrain."

TLDR:

They weren't attacked directly, so they hear news about it instead.

TLDR:

They subdue all the guards on the rim before descending.

Still, the other guards hadn't noticed, so I started towards the lip, only to have Calbern's hand land on my shoulder, gesturing to the side.

Right. Deal with the other guards first. Nodding to him, we continued our covert infiltration. For the next guard, I moved up with Tresla, using Hush to ensure he collapsed quietly as her smoke subdued him.

There was a moment when we got to the last two that we had to stop. They were standing together, talking, looking out into the night the opposite direction from where we were crouched.

She couldn't use her magic on two at once.

I shouldn't have worried. Calbern tapped my shoulder, indicating the guard on the left. When Tresla nodded, he started forward. This time I used Hush on Calbern's target, whose eyes were popping slightly as they watched their companion slip off into sleep as they screamed soundlessly.

A couple minutes later, they joined their friend.

"You're sure they won't wake up?" I asked Tresla when we stood over them, huddled together once more.

"It's not the strongest magic, but none of them are ensouled, so it should hold."

"I don't see any additional guards in place along the rim. I believe we had best hasten our efforts, in case there are those who might return to check on them," Calbern said, nodding towards the village after tying the last of their wrists. An idea that hadn't even occurred to me.

When we popped over the edge, I couldn't help but smile at Grivis making it so easy for us to find him. He'd posted a pair of guards outside one of the buildings, a former galleon that had been tilted onto its side, the mast stretching across the chasm with rope railings for support.

TLDR:

Edited to include Calbern getting the total number of guards out of Grivis, which he lies about, only telling Calbern about the ones he'd put on duty.

"Indeed," Calbern said, stepping over but not taking his eyes off Grivis. "I have all the information we need. The most vital of which is that we have accounted for all the guards, himself included. It will need to be verified, of course, but it shall serve as a starting point. Assuming he has not lied too egregiously, I suspect everything to be in order. He was of the opinion that everything in the village belonged to him, so his notes were rather..."

"Thorough?" I supplied.

"Obsessive," Calbern chose instead, a tiny frown creasing his lip.

TLDR:

Rewrote it so they realized they missed two of the guards instead of forgetting to deal with them.

Myris spoke up, "Good. Best you show these frayed brats that even a Magus ain't better than us. Definitely ain't no guards who are. None of those ten, least of all."

Ten? I glanced upwards. We hadn't dealt with ten guards. We'd dealt with eight, including Grivis. I wasn't used to thinking in three dimensions. Or invading a village I thought I'd only be ruling in name. Or just have handed over. That's how it'd been with the shop. Naive, really. "Speaking of guarding, we should get back to Tresla. Don't want to leave her alone with Grivis for too long," I said, motioning towards the galleon-turned-office.

"Tresla shall endure, master Perth," Calbern reassured me. "Grivis's capacity for violence is insufficient to overwhelm her."

"It's not Grivis's strength I'm worried about," I replied, throwing a look over my shoulder towards the upper lip of the chasm. "It's suddenly come to my attention that there are two guards we never nabbed."

TLDR:

Edited Nexxa's epilogue to have her be more conflicted/disgusted with herself

The worst part was that… Nexxa thought she might prefer this new version of her brother. That simple truth disgusted her.

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