Theurgy: Forsaken Oaths (Book Two)

Chapter 34 The Ashen Road

     Vance climbed aboard the crashing ship. Because of course that is what it would be doing. His research in flying technologies were rudimentary at best, inspired by the floating islands that constantly patrolled the lands of Torlak. But the magic needed to generate flight is incredibly taxing, the magic crystal that kept them in the air was crumbling to dust before their eyes. No matter how much avra mages fed it, they would be going down, and the Cannons smashing into their hull was not helping either. He was not worried, however. They would soon be out of canon range and out into the sea where the ship could continue with its true purpose. but still, seeing his technology in such use was exhilarating. The mean looking woman didn't seem to think so, as she constantly shouted demands to the surrounding crew, yelling at them to brace for impact and hold down anything useful as no doubt the crash itself will be rough. He noticed her glare at him, but she seemed to hold her tongue as she had more pressing matters to attend to. Vance looked back at Hath as it disappeared into the gloom of the familiar foggy skies. The thunderous sounds of canons now fading away into the distance. He took in the smells of the sea, the smell of freedom. It was absolutely unreal to him in a way, yet so expected. He was free. And yet, something seemed missing.

They crashed into the mountains of waves bombarding the ocean. As they did so, Vance noticed a translucent barrier briefly surrounding the ship and absorbing the blow. the mages had given up on fueling the crystal to keep the boat intact. In a flash of light the magical gem exploded into shards, falling to pieces. Seeing the size of the crystal, Vance assumes that it was only meant to last long enough for his rescue, nothing more. But already his mind twirled with the idea of alternative energy sources to make such a vessel more viable. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as Atalanta finally took the time to approach him.

"Where is Maria Smithe?" she asked him. "Wasn't she with you."

"Unfortunately," he sighed half-heartedly. "I was unable to secure her. Pity. I shall construct a new one, I suppose."

"What?"

"Any who," he said. "I assume you didn't rescue me from the kindness of your pale hearts. I assume your Prime Noctem would like to see my talents in good use?

Atalanta took a deep breath, clearly not liking the meandering nature of Vance. He is a man that knows far too much. The world would be better off without him. "My lady, Prime Noctus Hecate is unable to address you herself at the current moment. But be patient. We will be taking you to a secure location where you may continue your . . . work."

"Very well," he smiled, an expression so twisted looking that no actual joy could come from it. "That is, if we can escape the Hathan Navy and Torlakian Ravens."

"We have that under control," she said, nodding to her mages. "They are able to cloak our ship if necessary. and in the event we are caught . . ."

"Yes yes," he waved. "Alright then, I know I will be more informed later on, but what exactly are you needing of my talents first?"

Atalanta paused, called for one of her soldiers, who brought a small object to her, in which she handed it to Vance. He held it up to see a faintly glowing pink liquid sloshing inside of it. He uncorked the vial, and sniffed the chemical smell that came off it. He took note of all the ingredients he picked up. But there was more. There was the faintest hint of magic. powerful magic stored within it.

"A love potion?" he asked.

"In some ways," she told him. "But in essence it allows people to be subtly influenced once they consume this. We have been testing the duration, but we want it to be permanent, and for the influencer to work from large distances away from the affected."

"A tall order," he said. "typically the further from the source it came from. The user must be quite powerful if you want to pull that off."

"We will take care of that part," she said. "We've done a lot of work in Antalya increasing the duration, until very recently. You will be the one to perfect it."