“Why do you think Spirit Magic spells and advanced Runesmithing aren’t taught to the student until the master is about to pass away?
“Because they are the two disciplines that allow to cast the strongest spells and craft the most powerful weapons. Once the student-master gap becomes too small, the only thing that a disgruntled apprentice needs to kill their more skilled mentor is a moment of distraction.
“No matter how powerful a tower is, if it doesn’t recognize your aggressor as an enemy, it’s no better than the armor that you left in your closet.
“Powerful mages don’t die dramatically on the battlefield at the hand of their century-long nemeses. They die pitifully while taking a dump, at the hand of their own children or of those who they considered as such.
“Why do you think the children of the Guardians only trust their Harbingers?” Faluel said while looking at Friya.
“How many known mage towers and white cored individuals are there on Mogar?” Friya rushed to change the topic. With her life more on the line with each passing day, the word Harbinger sounded awfully like “death” to her.
“Unknown. As I said before, unless you use Invigoration on someone, you can’t see their core. The closest person to a white core might be Thrud Griffon. Arthan’s Madness refined her body in a way even the Council doesn’t understand.
“She possesses the only rainbow core in Mogar’s history. As for the towers, those who have them don’t share the information easily, and unfortunately, there is no known crafting method.
“Even ancient bloodlines like mine are still looking for an answer. Now, enough with legends and let’s get back to facts. One thing that non-Awakened ignore is the existence of the Fringes.
“Fringes are natural spatial distortions that are inaccessible with conventional means. We could have one right here in the Trawn woods and never notice it. Fringes can be considered akin to a storage space, but they accept living beings and time flows normally.
“No matter how many access points a Fringe has, inside it can be as big as a village, a city, or even as the entire Distar Marquisate.” Faluel looked at her students one by one, lingering on Nalrond only for a split second longer than for the others.
‘Damn, she knows for sure that my village was located inside a Fringe.’ He thought. ‘I wonder if I made a mistake by asking her to become my mentor. There’s no telling if the Hydra is really that kind or if she just has a hidden agenda like everyone else.’
“It’s fascinating, but I fail to see their point.” Lith said. “I mean, what is their purpose and why they can’t be found?”
“Mogar doesn’t play favorites, but it’s most certainly alive. Like all living beings, it suffers from loneliness and sometimes it likes to tinker with its creations. Fringes are places where Mogar’s will takes physical form, allowing it to communicate.
“I’ve never been inside a Fringe, but my grandmother did. According to her, only those who are in tune with Mogar can access a Fringe, no matter if they’re good or bad.
“Also, it uses them as protected habitats for species that might not survive in the outside world but that Mogar thinks they have yet to fulfill their role.” Faluel said, looking at Lith first and then Nalrond.
‘Interesting. Maybe Mogar has taken an interest in hybrids way before my arrival since Werepeople have been created centuries ago. It would also explain why some species like elves are considered a myth but Zolgrish used one of their children to create Ratpack.’ Lith thought.
‘The Lich’s small assistant was capable of seeing Solus’s human appearance even when she was in her ring form. If elves live inside a Fringe, then he must have also inherited their affinity toward the planet.
‘That moron of a Lich had the key to the Fringes all along yet he considers Ratpack’s vision nothing more than childish daydreams!’
“Fringes are places where the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual world are paper-thin. You can scry Mogar’s mind to study the past, observe the present, and even catch a glimpse of future events.
“On top of that, according to my grandmother, you can call upon Mogar and ask the planet questions to which it answers.” Faluel said.
“On the other hand, to communicate with Mogar’s will implies to draw its attention on you and receive its judgment. If Mogar sees something or someone it doesn’t like, it destroys it.
“My grandmother didn’t seek an audience with the planet because most of those who succeed don’t live to tell the tale. She felt already lucky for having learned many things just by breathing in world energy containing Mogar’s memories.”
By the end of the lesson, Friya couldn’t stop daydreaming about creating her own Fringe. A mix between a dimensional palace and a mage tower where she would be akin to a god.
Everyone wanted to get back at Lith’s mage tower, wishing to learn about it as much as they could.
“Be my guests.” Lith said with a sneer. “It’s not like I had years and the means to study it at the best of my abilities.”
“Yeah, we both tried to understand how the tower works and how to hasten my recovery, but to no avail.” Solus sighed.
“Well, you have Invigoration, but you surely lack Forgemastery spells.” Quylla took her silvery wand out of her dimensional item. “Can you imagine how cool would it be if all of us had our own tower?”
“Since we’re dreaming, I want mine equipped with a hot stud instead of Solus.” Friya’s voice oozed sarcasm.
“Wait, do you already know spells that allow you to study artifacts?” Lith suddenly felt like hiding all of his creations.
“Well, duh! It was the first thing Dad taught us after gifting us our wands. This way we can both recognize powerful items at flea markets and not get conned when we shop from a Forgemaster.” Phloria said.
“We do?” Friya cursed at herself for never listening to a word about Forgemastering in the past.
“There’s no need to hide your creations, Lith.” Quylla recognized his paranoid look. “We never studied your stuff and we’re not going to try our spells on Solus unless both of you give us your permission.”
Lith and Solus exchanged a quick glance before nodding in unison.
Phloria and Quylla started to chant while Friya took out her wand as well and tried to memorize their actions. The Royal Forgemaster wands emitted silvery strands that seeped through the stone of the tower’s walls.
Solus could feel several safety measures trying to lash out at the invaders, but she kept them from triggering.
‘It seems that Lith and I are the only ones who can safely study the tower’s power core-‘
Suddenly Solus could see in front of her eyes some kind of administrator control panel. Their friends were marked as guests, with free access to open rooms but forbidden from altering anything inside the tower.
‘After hearing Faluel’s words, I don’t feel like disabling the safety measures for anyone. This way even if our enemies slip a slave ring on our friends, no one could harm us in here.’ She thought.
“Gods, I can’t see anything. It’s all blurred out.” Quylla said.
