“You actually met their patron?!” Areenya asked in amazement.

“Yes? What’s so incredible about that? She was very nice.”

“Miss, take it from me: All ascendants are dangerous, no matter how nice they seem.”

“Ascendants?”

“‘Ascendants’, ‘Immortals’; ‘Demigods’. Call them what you like: Beings that in general have immortality, power, and a mortal following. They all have their own agendas and goals, and even the most benevolent of them has a hard time viewing us mortals as more than clumsy children. Or insects.”

“She wasn’t like that!”

“Can you honestly say she wasn’t condescending or manipulative? Not at all?”

“Well...I suppose there was a bit of that. But I don’t think she meant to be that way.”

“Good intentions do not make them safe. With the power some of them wield, it only takes a moment of carelessness to ‘accidentally’ crush a mortal. Or thousands. And those are the ‘nice’ ones. Give the most kindly person enough power to destroy armies and, sooner or later, they will use that power. And however pure their intentions, people will usually get hurt.”

“Where did you learn this?”

“First hand accounts. Also a bit of personal experience. Do you know why the empire fell?”

“Greed. Infighting. Intrigue. The usual.”

“That’s how it fell. What set those in motion was a series of petty squabbles between ascendants. Few of whom suffered consequences more than inconvenience. On the other hand, thousands of mortals perished in the aftermath. Millions of lives were upended. The aftershocks still echo across the world and will for generations.”

“Did you know any of those involved?”

“I wasn’t there during the collapse, no...How old do you think I am?!”

Sanae’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean—”

Areenya chuckled

“I was just messing with you. I didn’t know them, but my mentor did. He tried to talk reason into one of them and was nearly killed. And that was one of the ‘nice’ ones.”

“And what was the experience you mentioned?”

Areenya sighed,

“…Maybe I’ll tell you some day. It’s not something I share very often.

Shall we begin your training?”She said, abruptly changing the subject.

“I’m ready whenever you are. I can’t promise that I’ll have any better success this time than I did on my first attempt.”

“It is only to be expected. My methods are far more subtle than what most mages learn. Some of the same results can be accomplished in vastly different ways. For example, to propel the ship on a windless day:

Traditional mages might push it directly, or direct air into the sails.

I instead redirect a portion of the sunlight from one area to another. If done correctly, a breeze will pick up between the warmer and cooler areas. A small difference in temperature over a large area can generate more wind than my magic could directly. On the other hand, my control over the result isn’t nearly as precise.”

“I thought ship’s mages were mostly present to deter piracy. How can you defend the ship with your methods?”

“A similar way. Focus enough light into a small area and it’s like holding a lens over an ant-hill.”

“That’s terrible!”

“Conflict itself is a terrible thing. All we can do is reserve violence for when we have no other viable options. If and when you must defend yourself, though you might regret the necessity do not blame yourself for the outcome. It is the fault of those who forced your hand. Thankfully, most situations do not require such barbarism. Accounting, for instance, involves fighting more bureaucrats than pirates. Most don’t try to kill you, just your livelihood.”

“Hah. And how do you defend yourself from them?”

“Know their games better than they do. They feel secure in their maze of rules and conditions. Unfortunately for them, obscurity is not the same as security. If you learn the layout, they have nowhere left to hide.
Are you ready to try my method to generate a breeze?”

“All right.”

Sanae focused on her magic, weaving a fine mesh of power. She released it, sending it far into the sky. It expanded outwards like a plume of smoke.

 

Areenya shook her head. “Not expansive enough. See those clouds?” She pointed at two groups of clouds on near-opposite sides of the sky.

“Have the spell span between those.”

“That’s so far!...I can’t even visualize a spell that immense.”

“It takes practice. Just do what you can.”

 

She strained her abilities, pulling as much energy as she could to stretch and grow the spell. She activated it.

Areenya gasped and started laughing. She poked Sanae’s shoulder. “Open your eyes.”

Sanae looked up. The sky directly above was dark. The crew were whispering to themselves. A distance away the light was blindingly bright and left afterimages in her eyes.

 

“Good try, although redirecting all of the light is much too heavy-handed. Also, I wouldn’t advise focusing it all into such a small area unless you’re trying to boil that spot of ocean.

Sanae ended the spell and the light returned to normal.

“Wasn’t that dangerous?” She asked. “What if I had focused the light over us?”

 

“That’s why I was watching while you structured the spell. I was prepared to intervene if you were about to mess up catastrophically. But yes, you will need to learn to anticipate consequences, particularly when learning unfamiliar spells.
You’re a fast learner. And strong. Beware, military recruiters can be quite aggressive, especially when they smell talent.”

“They’ve never bothered me before.”

“It is difficult to sense power in someone until it has begun to manifest. Typically, this happens in mid adolescence. It was only a matter of time before your abilities drew attention.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do after I get back home.”

“I don’t have any good news for you. With your talents there will be no end to those fighting over who gets to control you. At least until you get experienced enough to fight for yourself; After which, fearing you’ll side with their enemies, the same people will send assassins.”

“So I’ll have to hide for the rest of my life?”

 

“Either that or become good enough at defending yourself that people decide it’s not worth the effort. Or find someone you trust who is powerful enough to protect you.”

“I trust you.”

She chuckled

“You flatter me. I’m strong enough to intimidate the average pirate spell-slinger, but I specialize in utility, not combat. Even if I had trained as a battle mage, among them my abilities would be considered average at best.”

 

Sanae adopted a glum expression;

“Thanks, that’s just the news I needed to relax…You know, the desolate isles are nice this time of year.”

“Have you actually been there?”

“In a way. I was on a ship off the coast. My parents were meeting some rather...paranoid vendors of ‘completely legitimate’ merchandise.”

 

“I thought your family didn’t deal in stolen goods?”

 

“We don’t. We were dealing in bounties. During the post-deal celebration, my parents passed around the customary pipe. Except in this case, they had spiked it with an exotic herbal concoction. Most of their crew passed out within minutes. Our crew had taken an antidote in advance, so subduing the rest of them was a simple matter.”

 

“What was in that concoction?”

 

“I don’t know, my mother is the expert at that sort of thing. I’ve learned a bit of alchemy, but it doesn’t really interest me.”

“You had an interesting childhood,” Areenya mused.

“I often wish it hadn’t been so interesting.”