Chapter 16: 14- The Secret Circle

Arcane arts were difficult.  All mystical arts were considered difficult in their own way, sure, but arcane arts were the next step up in difficulty since it was a fusion between the two in a way.  In order to create or use arcanistry, one needed to not only understand what each part of magic would do but also what kind of material it would require in order to pull it out of sorcery.  The one arcanistry Marik had accidentally created that one night had been a lucky pull on the right sorcery types to throw into the magic spell in order to make it work.  Marik was also lucky to have knowledge from another world that could help him figure out how the various sorceries were connected to one another but it was still difficult and made it more frustrating that he was not just essentially starting over in learning mystical arts but was pioneering a new one that nobody would be able to teach him.

There was a slight feeling of excitement about being the first one in a new field that he tried to focus on in order to wash away his frustrations.  He had at one point considered having his mind wiped so he could go back to using sorcery and magic again but both he and his master had ultimately decided that there was a decent chance he would only get to the point where he did it again anyways so it was better he to just try and learn as much of it as he could now instead of later.  A variety of experiments were conducted and some interesting things were discovered about the arcane that might make it be considered worthwhile.  Unlike magic and sorcery which could only detect one another but not affect one another, due to its nature arcane art could not be stopped by either magic or sorcery alone but it could stop and detect both.  

His master had brought home a whole stack of books and tomes about magic for him to go through.  Trying to figure out which sorceries matched with which spells wasn't the only thing that was difficult about trying to make an arcane version, though.  Each magic spell was meant to be used in magic and had to be slightly adjust itself using all forms of magic in order to work.  Create Water, for instance, had parts of the versions from spellweave, spellform, and spellsculpt while requiring water, wind, and space sorcery and even after that instead of creating a ball of water that floated in front of someone for a short time before falling it instead produced something closer to a splash of water from the hands.  That had taken almost three weeks to figure out and was still the second and only arcanistry Marik had.  He was almost sure at this point that there were some sorceries that he either hadn't been taught or hadn't been discovered yet.

The greatest point of frustration of Marik personally was his desire for protection.  He had lost access to the mind shell he had worked so long on making and felt vulnerably without it.  Especially now that he had two major secrets that needed to be kept in addition to his knowledge from another world.  After spending more than a month working through all the materials he had in an attempt to find some appropriate spells that he could convert to arcanistry, he had finally told his master that they needed more help.  The discussion lasted several days and his master finally gave in.  They had to carefully work through some of his knowledge to pick things that weren't too dangerous for this reason or that and finally created a short joint research on a subject that Marik had been working on before and was technically still interested in: recognition inhibition.  Everything they put together would then be handed over to the old foxkin lady in return for letting her help with the research and a list of her mental magic spells, or so the plan went.

Marik shifted his focus over to trying to learn other arcanistries in the meantime.

---

It was less than a month until he birthday when they would normally go for their yearly visit when his master came back from one of his day trips with a sour look on his face.  He dropped two tomes on the table in front of Marik before walking over and sitting across from him.

"Here you go, boy.  I managed to convince her to hand this much over.  I also told her that something had happened and we likely wouldn't be able to make it by the same time we normally do this year."

"That makes sense, Master.  Right now it's probably too dangerous for me to be around someone who could accidentally read my mind while it's unprotected.  I do want to make it by the twins' birthday, though."

"I see.  There's bad news here, too, boy.  I had to agree to let her in on whatever we're doing.  I admit that she's most likely the colleague I trust most, but she's also quite inquisitive and short tempered."

"I actually kind of expected that we would have to tell her, eventually."

"Oh, really?"

"Master.  There's just no way only the two of us can keep this to ourselves.  Plus, think about it, the more materials I have access to, the more I can advance the arcane arts."

"If you say so, boy.  I still think letting too many know is dangerous."

"I agree with you, Master.  I would like to point out that I' not immortal though.  At least I'm pretty sure I'm not.  More people are going to have to learn about it at some point or another or it'll end up being a dead or lost art when I die."

"That's one way to look at it, yes.  There are many years left in you lifespan, though.  Right now, especially, you cannot protect yourself almost at all and I can only protect you so much.  Keep that in mind."

---

Marik spent the next month focusing mostly on finding a new form of mental protection.  He still tried to keep up with his physical training as well, often using it as a break from constantly working on the new arcanistry.  His studies were mostly on hold for right now, with only the occasional review on language or some of the more difficult things to remember.  He finally managed to cobble together a new defense after he changed his way of thinking.  Instead of trying to treat it like sorcery which acted like an all in one or magic which had been researched through the ages to a point where it could be used for whatever was wanted, he should treat it like the brand new art that it was and use multiple arcanistries.  It was a lot easier, even if it still wasn't easy, to figure things out after that. 

He used the idea of the new water shield spell he had helped his master create as a basis and ended up creating what he thought was a decent mind shield arcanistry.  The main problem with it was that it was very small and could only protect a small part of his mind.  So the next arcanistry Marik made to accompany it was based on a bunch of half finished spells which didn't really do anything.  The arcanistry merely surrounded his mind with something like constantly shifting cloth patches made of glass.  It should block any kind of accidental mind reading or light probing well enough but if a stronger attack came it would shatter one of the patches as a warning for him to put his shield there to block it and any broken patch would repair itself in a matter of seconds.  This gave him a light defense for his whole mind at all times that could also detect any attempts and allow his stronger defense to take over if necessary.  Neither of the arcanistries were incredibly difficult to maintain in comparison to his old mind shell but would take time and practice to get used to it and bring it to the same point of being always there without thinking.

The next thing Marik wanted to work on was a soul defense but his master said that for now it was probably better to just keep using the bracelet.  Apparently there was to be no more discussion about that, so Marik finally gave up and tried to look for things that he could replace his old abilities with.  When he was looking through one of the tomes that was filled with half-finished spells he found something that almost had him slamming his head against the table.  He had found a spell that coated one part of the body in lightning and was only considered half-finished because it couldn't cover the whole body at once and required using the spell multiple times to even get close to doing so.  Trying to shift it to arcanistry had only partially succeeded, allowing him to only discharge a strong electric shock temporarily.  He couldn't keep it up constantly like he used to do with his lightning sorcery but at least he basically had a taser now.  

The last arcanistry Marik had managed to figure out before the deadline he had given of the twins' birthday was his old blur.  His arcanistry version wasn't nearly as effective in any way since it didn't make him darker to help with being stealthy, didn't blur all of his features to make him slightly less recognizable, and didn't even create as strong of a blur on his outline, but at least it did blur his outline.  Honestly he thought it ended up being kind of useless, at least until he found other arcanistries to use in tandem with it.

He did also keep working on his original arcanistry as well.  It was his first and only ranged attack and he was actually quite proud of it.  The range was short, the damage was small, the preparation was extensive, and the difficulty in using it was high, but it was still pretty awesome to be able to snap his fingers to cause nuts and sticks to explode.  

Then, two days before he and his master were going to head for their two months late yearly visit, they received a visitor for the first time since Marik had started living there.  Marik was in his room that evening while working on the Serulin language when he heard the front door open.  He was sure his master was in his own room so he felt confused for a moment until he heard the shouting of a familiar voice.

"I'm here you crazy old olefinde!  Get out here and greet me like the guest I am."

Apparently the old foxkin Mystic Master knew how to cuss in the old fey language.  He heard his master walking out to meet her and he stuck his head out of the doorway to see what was going on as well.  Apparently he was spotted almost instantly, though, because his eyes met the glare of the foxkin woman.

"You get over here, too, boy."

Marik begrudgingly obliged and walked over to stand by his master's side.  Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that his master had that slightly sour look on his face.  His mind arcanistry detected something trying to lightly brush his mind as the old lady scowled.  He was now pretty glad he had made that before meeting her again.

"Umm.  You should really be careful about reading my mind, you know."

"Shut up, boy.  If I don't start getting explanations soon, I will forcibly rip what I want out of both of you."

"Well fine, then.  You loss when you do."

"Wait," his master interjected.  "This time you should listen to the boy."

"I respect you as a scholar and teacher.  I will NOT be lectured by some brat who's barely out of his diapers, though!  If you don't start telling me why I had to deal with an audit from the Council then I WILL rip apart both of your minds and get the answers myself."

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Marik looked up at his master and then back at the old foxkin lady before sighing.

"And what if I'm not a young brat after all?  Then would you listen to me?"

"What?"

"I said..."

"I heard what you said.  No matter how I look at you, you're barely older than my two wards."

"In this life, maybe."

"..."

"..."

"And now you know one of the boy's secrets."

The three of them stood there in silence for a time.  Marik and his master waited with baited breaths on what the old foxkin woman would choose to do with this new information.  The old woman's face was slightly interesting to watch as she ruminated over that thought.  Her initially shocked look changed to a scowl, then shifted into serious consternation, then anger, and finally settled on reluctance.  She sighed heavily as if a heavy weight she didn't want had been thrown on her back.  His master decided to take the initiative.

"Perhaps we should all take a seat now.  If we're really going to talk about this, it would be best if our bodies are somewhat relaxed at least."

They all sat down in the nearest chairs and Marik cleared his throat.

"So Master trusts you and I have some respect for you at least.  That said, I don't know you well enough to be able to trust you fully.  If you're going to hear any more of my secrets then it's only fair that I be the one to have to trust you first."

"Now see here, boy..."

"Yes.  You can rip out the information if you want and blah blah blah.  First, trying to threaten me isn't a great start in earning my trust.  Next, like I said, it would be your loss if you succeeded.  The knowledge I have almost ended Master already and the only reason he's still okay is because we were ready for it and he could wipe his own mind.  Rip the information you want and you'll not just hurt me but yourself as well."

"The boy isn't lying," his master briefly interjected before going silent again.

"If need be I can wipe my mind afterwards with magic, then, leaving only enough to tell me that whatever I gleaned was that dangerous.  Don't think I'm some novice, boy."

"I don't and that won't work.  Master had to wipe a full week out so thoroughly that it even reached his soul.  There's more reasons it won't work, too, but saying more will be starting in the territory of my secrets."

"...fine.  What do you want from me to earn your trust?  Quite frankly I find it hard to trust you, too."

"You only find it hard to trust me because you see me as someone young who dares speak like someone older.  Which I don't deny is weird.  I want to say that all I would need to trust you is to get to know you but that would take longer than either of us has time for.  Master trusts you well enough and I have yet to see you be unfair in making a pact, so let's settle with that for now."

"And what is this pact you want to make?"

"You will not reveal my secrets or cause harm to unnecessarily befall me.  You will support me within your abilities and moralities to do so.  In return, I will provide you with insights and information as much as I can, withholding only the knowledge that is actually dangerous to you personally.  I will never intentionally be actively hostile towards you and yours, unless yours are hostile towards me first.  I WILL do what I think necessary to protect myself, after all."

"I can agree with most of that but I think we need some small adjustments first..."

---

"So how strong is this new 'arcane art' of yours?"

"From what I've figured out so far?  Depending on how you look at it both the strongest and weakest.  I would say it has more potential than magic or sorcery as it can kind of do whatever either one of them can individually in addition to being able to defend against them but not be defended against.  However, if looked at objectively it's weaker.  It takes more of everything to even equal what the others do.  I could live my entire life to the end of my natural lifespan and only ever equal what would be considered an intermediate mage or sorcerer.  Add on to that that I'm basically learning as I go and can't be taught, really, and I'll be lucky if I could reach the novice level."

"It still has enough potential that the longer lived races will be vastly interested in it."

"I don't think so.  Not completely anyways.  There are some very, um, specific requirements.  And sacrifices.  I won't go over all of them just to make sure you don't accidentally step into the realm yourself and sacrifice what you don't want to.  In order to learn how to use arcane arts you have to learn a certain amount of sorcery and magic first.  Enough to take years of learning it.  Upon learning arcane arts you lose the ability to use magic and sorcery.  I can't think there would be that many people that would even be willing, much less wanting, to spend years learning and mastering something just so they could sacrifice it all to learn something else that does less in general.  In that week that Master lost he could no longer use magic or sorcery either, so being a Mystic Master doesn't exclude you from the sacrifice.  Just knowing how to do it is all it takes to lose everything."

"So that's why I would lose if I had stripped it from you, I see.  And losing my magic would mean I can't erase the knowledge afterwards.  Very well, boy.  The pact has already been made, anyways, but I agree with you and your master.  These are secrets that should be kept from all others.  For now."

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