It had taken Jennifer longer than she'd like to admit to get everything off her chest. Xar’s presence had helped her through the difficult portions of the talk. The little spider had reassured her in his own way, sending a feeling of safety through the link. He’d also scanned for any probing by the [Mage], but so far the man had been content to let her have a moment with her family.

To her surprise, her dad had been the one to turn towards the mage first at the end of her confession. They'd started discussing guild specifics and plans, almost as if nothing had happened. It was a strange reminder from her childhood to see her dad getting involved in these things again. Her mother, on the other hand, hadn't taken the news as well. Especially the fact Jenn may have died.

Jennifer held her mother’s hand, the woman refusing to let go for the last ten minutes, and Jenn had moved her chair closer to sit more comfortably next to her. She felt Xar’s confusion through the bond once more, as he struggled to grasp concepts like family. Jennifer eyed her mark, her mother’s grip on her hand tightening as it became visible.

The talks continued for some while, her father asking questions related to the guild’s actions and Darius happily answered most of them.

“I’m well aware of your concerns Mr. Laine, but Jennifer plays an important role in the current... situation. I’m not at liberty to discuss the particulars, of course. But Jennifer's been able to successfully predict an invasion of an unprecedented size, and in much detail. Her Mark could change everything, if she learns to control it,” Darius said as he sat straighter.

“Your child has a gift, Mr. Laine. One that many would kill for. Apart from the heralded [Diviners] from Zandria’s royal family I haven't heard of such clear foresight abilities and traditional divination has weaknesses that her abilities don't seem to show. This may very well change the political situation of Lienmont itself, not to mention the course of this oncoming war.”

Her father frowned, turning towards her. She saw the concern etched in the lines of his face. But she knew her father and he wasn't one to base his decisions on emotions.

“I don't mean to say the guild would let anything happen. But as you may have noticed, I'm a father. To hear my child's been involved in such matters doesn't reassure me,” her father replied.

Darius nodded, turning to her. “I do need you to visit the guild with me Jennifer. You need to complete your registration with the spell-chamber and submit your mana-signature as a registered mage. Plus, one other minor task, related to the Academy. It’s one of the reasons I decided to make this a personal visit. If you like, you could have a look at the inner mage guild, and then decide."

Jennifer looked at her father and mother, she hadn't given either much time to process what she'd told them. She doubted she could gloss over everything and just end it with this small discussion. Xar sent and she nodded lightly at his words. Perhaps that was the best thing to do.

“I’ll be back soon, Dad, Mom,” Jenn replied, as she gave a small smile to her mother, who returned a weak smile of her own.

“Very well, this trip's taken a bit longer than I’d anticipated, so perhaps you'd like to experience the spatial anchors of Lienmont for yourself,” the mage added in a light tone.

She stared at the mage sitting calmly as he casually referred to casting a Tier 4 spell and Jennifer blinked dumbfoundedly. “Is that- actually an option? I didn't know people were allowed to use the anchors. Aren’t they...heavily governed by the Alliance? What about any accidents? The story of that mage who teleported right inside Miller's Supplies wall and died of suffocation?”

She stopped as the mage laughed. “Hah! Forgive me, I forgot such stories are so prominent outside the Mage groups. Well, it has some truth. The mage in question had been using a self made anchor to teleport. And he was in a hurry, casting the spell from miles outside the city. He also made an error in his calculations.”

“Then…he died?”

“He teleported right back out of it,” the mage replied with a grin, and Jennifer felt a surge of embarrassment. The story she'd heard from Gavril hadn't included that detail.

“A proper anchor won't let people teleport into solid objects. The spell will stop long before that can happen," Darius paused, staring at the air for a second, before returning his attention to Jenn. "And I have permission. As long as your parents are alright with it, we can head off."

“I don’t have any problems,” her father said, and Jenn turned towards her mother. The woman looked uncertain, but she gave her a light hug and let go. Jenn looked toward Keith, hovering around the top of the stairs. He gave her a small nod, and she returned it with a smile.

the spider replied, reminding Jennifer he'd been present during the conversation, if oddly quiet. She paused, reconsidering the option of teleporting with Xar present. But the mage had already started casting. And she did want to try it.

Darius extended his hand, grabbing her own as mana swirled and Jennifer felt something shift under her feet. “Close your eyes, and don’t open them till I say so,” he said and Jennifer followed his order.

She felt the mana swirls intensify, a multitude of threads and matrixes all running in patterns she couldn't even begin to catch a hold of. Multiple spell matrixes manifested each moment, gone before she could realise what they were as different ones took their place.

“You can open your eyes,” Darius said, still keeping a hold of her hand. Jenn could feel the wards of the chamber they'd arrived in humming around her. The chamber was completely empty except for the large circle inscribed on the floor. Spell lines and matrixes collected below their feet in swirling patterns, a collection of chained runes that made Jennifer’s eyes spin.

I didn’t even feel a shift.

“Follow along,” Darius said as he walked ahead. Jennifer followed behind, looking at the mage’s back. Is he really just a Magus? Space magic is rare, teleportation all the more so. If this is what a Magus can do then, I wonder what someone like the guild head is capable of?

Jennifer kept an eye on Darius, more suspicious of him now, but she still felt he meant her no harm. She saw no reason for it either. It would benefit the guild a lot more if she worked with them willingly.

Jennifer sent to Xar, she waited a moment but the spider didn't respond. For a moment she was worried if something had happened with the teleportation spell, but she felt Xar move on her neck.

he sent back. Jennifer acknowledged the message, letting Xar rest. Her surprise grew at what exactly Xar had seen in the spell that caused this, but space magic was notoriously difficult and the runes were known to cause headaches. She would not be surprised if Xar was experiencing something similar.

Darius led Jennifer out of what she assumed was the teleportation chamber. Jennifer paused upon walking out into the corridor as she noticed just how high she was. She could see the far end of the city from here, and a bit further out to the plains that surrounded it. The Dungeon plaza was visible from nearby, with a large crowd moving around near the entrance like ants moving out of their ant hills.

“How are we so high up? I didn’t know the Mage Guild was... this tall,” Jennifer said, as she turned to look at the city sprawled out in front of her.

“Dimensional Expansion, primarily. Although there are some other factors at play as well. The tower is tall. Just, not as tall as it seems from here,” Darius replied.

Jennifer stared for a while longer before she followed behind Darius, glancing around at the [Mages] walking past her wearing the long robes of the Mage guild. There was a lot more variety to which species were present than Jennifer would’ve expected. Humans were still the majority, but she spotted many half-elves, Lizardfolks, Dwarves and other species as they made their way through the long hallways.

The path led to a pair of wooden doors, with beautiful carvings drawn on them. She could see the lines shift slightly from the corner of her eyes, the patterns of wind and clouds moving ever so slightly across the door.

The Magus pressed his arm against the frame and with a slight creak the door opened, the smell of dust and old paper hit Jennifer's nose and she blinked her eyes, blinded by the light pouring in from the large glass window up top.

“Rock, bring me the mana signature slate please” Darius said as a small statue turned towards them. Jennifer stared at the golem of around 3 feet, it’s body shining with lines of mana running through it as the golem’s eyes shone a light blue. It dipped it’s head once before it moved further into the room.

“Come on in, we just need to take your mana signature and then you’ll be able to access the mage guild’s facilities as an apprentice. We should’ve done this alongside the adventurers guild registration but as you're aware, a war just came knocking on our door,” the mage said with a tense smile as he walked further into the room.

Jennifer followed behind as she inspected the little chamber, curious what a Mage might keep in their chamber. The room itself was neat, and it almost shone under the sunlight. She spotted a few bookshelves lined with magical tomes making up the majority of their books.

She jumped back when something poked her shin from underneath the bed. She saw a children’s book under her feet, it’s cover depicting a witch healing some children as a dragon breathed red lightning.

“Oh by the Seven, [Dispel Magic],” Darius said with a frown at the book and she saw the magic on it unravel as a tome appeared, it’s borders lined with teeth as eyes of ink stared at her. She felt shivers in her arm as she watched the eyes shift, their gaze fixated on her.

“I’m sorry about that Jennifer, this rascal likes to scare people” the mage said as he dusted the book once, almost as if hitting it. The book glowed a light blue before it shot off into one of the book shelves, turning into a normal book.

Jennifer stared at the many books that filled the shelves all around her. I wonder how many of these are magical, if not all. This whole place is filled with magic, but individually, my skill's failing to detect any of them.

Her eyes shifted towards the golem carrying a smooth plate with a central rune inscribed onto it. “I didn't tell you to bring the status slate…” the mage sighed and the golem stopped, looking down at the object in it’s hand as it quirked its head in confusion before it turned around.

“No, hold on. Leave it on the table, Rock,” Darius said to the little golem, before turning towards Jennifer.

“Would you like to have your status appraised Jennifer? I assume you haven’t often had the chance,” Darius asked.

Jennifer looked beyond the mage at the slate. She glanced at her hand once, worried about whether the spell would reveal her Mark's real abilities.

“Ah, of course. Only you can read your status. The slate is only meant to initiate the spell,” the magus added, noticing her hesitation.

Xar added. Jenn smiled and sent her thanks back to the little spider as she considered.

I'm curious for sure. I haven't had an opportunity to check since I gained my new class.

“I think I will, thank you.”

“No need to mention it. And I must admit, if you’d be willing to share, I'd be curious to hear what the spell has to say about your Mark,” Darius replied as he walked to the table.

Jennifer spotted Rock standing nearby, still as a statue. But she could tell the golem was active by the little light bead still glowing in its eyes.

“Put your hand on top and send your mana through the device. It will do the rest on it’s own,” the mage said, gesturing at the plate.

Jennifer set her hand on the slate, taking a deep breath. The device felt like a strange kind of metal, the sensation of it cool against her skin. Jennifer sent her mana through the device and watched as it lit up, a beeping sound came from it as the central rune began to glow, and soon the lines spread through the device, many runes flashing through its surface like water.

A ripple went through the device as it beeped again and Jennifer blinked as the system prompt appeared in front of her eyes, presenting her status sheet.

Status Page

Name:

Jennifer Laine

Age

17 (years)

Species

Human

Affinity

Glass

Class

[Resourceful Enchanter] Level 16

Skill

[Enhanced Mana Sense]

A step up from the base [Mana Sense] skill. You have a sharpened feel for the flow of mana and can feel more intricate runes.

[Proxy: Reduced Reagent]

All enchanting spells under Tier 2 require reduced reagents to be crafted.

[Twofold Enchanting]

You can apply two enchantments at the same time. Or apply the same enchantment twice over an object of choice.

[Lesser Restoration]

You can partially restore a broken Spell matrix if you are familiar with it.

[Quick Repair]

You can repair objects under a certain level of complexity.

[Enchanting: Lune Stone] (Tier 2 Guard Spell)

You have learned how to carve a lune stone. You can store a singular spell in the lune stone. [Reset: 24 hours]

[Lesser Arcane Analysis]

You can analyse spell components of a basic level.

[Enchanted Glass Creation]

You can apply basic enchantments to your glass when forming them.

Spells

Mana Bolt (Glass)

A Bolt formed of Glass and Arcane mana that is able to pierce creatures.

Agile Wind (Glass)

The wind follows behind you, carrying shards of glass as it provides a small speed boost. You recover faster from exhaustion.

Wind Blade (Glass)

A storm of glass blades carried by winds that can tear through a group of smaller creatures.

Mark of Time (Bonded)

Link (Partial)

Mark of Psyche

Counter

1

Soul Integrity

99.97%

Tier

Undefined

The soul… Integrity decreased, and the mark shows a (Bonded) next to it as well. Jennifer continued reading the prompt, her Wind Blade’s glass affinity version had been stable enough to make it into a new spell of its own. Not that she could try right now with her hand still ravaged by the aftereffects of over-mana.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She saw Darius turn as the door opened on its own with a wave of his hand. Standing outside was Irwys, wearing formal clothing, and for once without his sword at his side.

He entered the room and paused upon noticing Jennifer with a surprised look on his face. A moment later he continued onwards as he turned back towards Darius and dipped his head slightly.

“Greetings Magus, I was here to call upon you to make a private call to his highness- but it seems the desired guest is already present,” he said as he turned to look at Jennifer.

“The Prince of Zandria would like to meet you Jennifer,” Irwys said, his voice just as calm as if he were describing the weather.

Jennifer stared at the silver haired swordsman in bewilderment, before she slightly shook her head as if she were not just being asked to meet a [Prince].

Things just don't stop getting stranger, do they?