Realm of Monsters

Chapter 166: True Chromatic Magic

Chapter 166: True Chromatic Magic

Stryg opened his eyes in the light of early dawn. He lay comfortably in bed and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his skin that leaked through the crack in the curtains. Feli had pulled the blanket away from him; she lay at the edge of the bed as far as possible.

Good morning, Stryg said with a relaxed tone.

Feli grumbled something under her breath, even his enhanced hearing could not make up her garble.

What was that? He asked.

I said fuck you.

Oh As in you want to fuck?

Feli laughed in derision, You wish. Besides arent you tired after fucking your vampire princess last night?

Maeve isnt a princess, at least I dont think she is. Either way, I didnt have sex with her yesterday. I only drank some of her blood.

You conveniently forgot the part where you fondled her pretty little body.

...Im starting to get the feeling you're not happy with me.

What could have possibly given you that idea, Feli rolled her eyes and turned her back to him.

Stryg scooted across the long bed and nestled his face over her shoulder, Are you angry with me because I was with Maeve?

Take a guess?

Stryg dug his hand under her body and pulled her close to him.

"Let go of me, Feli mumbled.

Dont wanna.

Im still angry with you.

I know, he sighed.

...Do you plan on marrying Lady Mora?

No. Maeve made it clear last night she is not interested in marriage or anything of the like. She was under a mans influence long enough, she does not want to be under another mans control ever again.

She values her freedom, smart girl, Feli nodded to herself.

Stryg blinked, Do you consider yourself free?

Youre literally holding me against my will.

That doesnt count.

Yes, it does.

...

Stryg let her go.

Feli sat up and kept her back to him, I do consider myself free, I chose this life. At the same time, my life is entwined with yours, were married after all.

I thought you wanted to get married, were in this together forever, right? Those were your words.

And I meant them. I knew what I was getting into when I met you, but so much has changed. I tell myself Ill be okay with it, so many spouses of aristocrats and magi are in the same boat as me, but after seeing you last night with her It just hurt. A lot.

Stryg didnt know what to say. He had sworn to keep Feli safe from harm, no matter who tried to hurt her. He never imagined he would be the cause of her pain.

Feli sighed, I guess I should have seen this coming, Sylvan folk view relationships differently. Dont worry, I wont try to stop you from seeing her... Ill just look away next time.

Feli walked away from the bed and closed the door behind her. Stryg reached his hand out, but she was gone.

~~~

You look terrible, are you alright? Vayu asked.

Stryg sent him a tired glance, Have you ever been beaten up by a grand swordmaster?

I cant say Ive had the luxury, the dark elf smiled wryly.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Stryg had met with Clypeus and his sister Gale for early morning sword training. Unfortunately, his mind wasnt in the right place. Gale noticed immediately and proceeded to chastise Stryg for not focusing, which amounted to dozens of welts.

I guarantee you todays lesson will be a change of pace, Vayu led Stryg through the cobblestone pathway behind the chromatic purples department.

Wait, do you mean?

I am a true chromatic mage as my grandmother before me, Vayu nodded.

What does that exactly mean? Whats the difference between a true mage and a true chromatic mage?

Vayu laughed awkwardly, Nothing actually, the terms are used interchangeably. There is no such thing as an elemental true mage or I suppose a more apt description would be that all elemental magi are true magi.

Stryg cocked his head to the side, Explain. Please.

Well, mana is the ethereal energy that flows all around, yes? The Realms themselves generate all mana throughout the land. Chromatic mana is said to constantly bond with elemental mana as they both flow through the air. A magical creature, such as each member of an elemental species or the mageborns within a chromatic species, are capable of innately absorbing the mana in the air.

I remember, Professor Rime taught me about that back in Magic Fundamentals class, Stryg nodded.

Great, so you already know the basic principle. Now, when an elemental species absorbs mana, whether they are innate magical users or magi, their bodies inherently purify the mixture of mana and expel the chromatic mana, leaving them with pure elemental mana. In other words true elemental magic.

Okay, so elemental species only use elemental mana?

Precisely. Whereas chromatic magi use a mixture of both chromatic and elemental mana. Each chromatic color mana bonds to two elemental mana types, which in turn creates the chromatic colors two spell-forms. For example, purples illusion spell-form is bonded with elemental dark mana, and the mind spell-form is bonded with elemental lightning mana.

So where do true chromatic magi fit in exactly? Stryg asked.

True magi are chromatic mageborns with the ability to purify the mixture of mana within their bodies, similar to an elemental species. There are two main differences though. The first is that true magi dont usually purify mana innately, it is a learned skill that takes training. Secondly, instead of expelling chromatic mana, a true chromatic mage expels elemental mana, leaving their body with only pure chromatic mana, allowing them to cast a true spell-form.

Like synchrony magic, Stryg muttered.

Synchrony magic? Reds true form? Vayu wrinkled his nose.

Nothing, Stryg cleared his throat. What about purples true spell-form?

Binding magic? Vayu closed his eyes, purple arcane symbols began to glow around his temples.

Strygs pupils widened, Thats binding magic?

A little bit. Binding magic allows the caster to bind their minds with those of another, allowing mental communication between the two over vast distances; we can even share our senses.

...How much influence do you have over the binded person? Stryg asked thoughtfully.

Great question and one that has made true purple magi feared for a long time, Vayu tapped his own head. With enough power I could hypothetically exert my influence over the mind of the binded, allowing me to control not only their body but their thoughts. It's very difficult to perform, especially against powerful magic users.

Still, thats unsettling, Stryg stared at his own hands.

Stryg dreaded to imagine what would happen if someone took over his body.

Vayus purple arcane symbols faded away. Binding magic only lasts until I stop casting, so I dont try to control my binded. Instead, I work with them. It also helps to bind those of lesser intelligence, like say a cat, or in my case a hawk and a fire drake.

You have a fire drake!? Stryg jumped to his feet. Where!? Can I see it?

Maybe some other time, she usually likes to sleep in the afternoons, I keep her in my Houses grounds, Vayu laughed.

I look forward to it, Stryg nodded eagerly and sat back down.

Okay, enough of that. Lets focus on what we came for, Vayu spread his hand out.

A thin glowing purple tendril curled out from each of the dark elfs fingers. Stryg stared at the tendrils, it reminded him of Plums mind magic. Her bright smile flashed through his memory. The familiar pain rose to the surface and festered in his chest. Stryg shook his head to try and dispel the memories, it didnt help.

Some chromatic spell-forms take after one of their parent mana types, for example, oranges flame spell-form shares many similarities with fire elemental magic.

Other chromatic spell-forms create an entirely new form of magic, based on the combination of their parent mana types, like illusion spells. Mind spells fall in the former category since they resemble true purples attributes, Vayu explained.

I see. Stryg pointed at the tendrils, A mind mage can read peoples thoughts, right? Make sure if they are telling the truth or not.

If the tendrils touch a persons body, preferably the head, then yes. But mind spells can do so much more. With the right training, a purple mage can affect a persons senses or cause them incredible agony, even make their target lose consciousness. You can even enter a persons mental-scape, their subconscious world, and sabotage their mind, an arch-mage could even destroy their victims mind entirely.

Sounds like a slow way to go, Stryg leaned away from the purple tendrils.

The victims body does survive their minds destruction, so yes, it is a very slow way to die, Vayu nodded. Why dont you try casting?

...Understood, Stryg took a deep breath.

Its similar to casting an illusion. The mind tendrils are quite fragile as well, keep that in mind when trying to form the tendrils. They have to be flexible otherwise the tendrils will be brittle and break, Vayu wiggled his fingers.

Like illusions, got it, Stryg closed his eyes.

Try to only create one tendril for now. Its going to break on the first few casts. Thats normal, itll take some time getting used to creating the right consistency. The key is knowing how not to create the mind tendrils.

Stryg tried to drown out the sounds from the world around him, the meditation dome helped greatly. He focused on the beat of his heart thrumming in his ears. He imagined a string of glowing amethyst curling out from his index finger. The dormant mana in his heart began to stir. An odd yet familiar warmth echoed from his heart as the purple mana flowed through his chest and into his arm.

Damn, I really shouldnt be surprised by now, Vayu said softly.

Stryg opened his eyes, a purple tendril wiggled around his finger.