Banquet II

Erinara

The latest simulacrum finally struck a breakthrough! My mind has been racing with potential ways to alter its creation process in order to further optimize the next iteration. It managed to freely cast, no materials required! But then this simulacrum also completely disregarded a tactical advantage. There definitely was work demanded to be done.
“Erinara, you’ve been quiet for a while, what is it you’re thinking about”, Ebiron asked.
I hesitated for a second.
“He is still here, I don’t think it’d be wise to talk about this”, I nodded my head to the side.
“Take it as a showcase of good will.”
Good will? This is a named crest we are talking about.
“With all due respect, he has literally stated that he considers himself to be in enemy territory”, I protested.
“Erinara. Your thoughts, please”, Ebiron reinstated, with more pressure this time.
“Alright. I was thinking about how to continue work on the simulacra.” I paused, waiting for Ebiron to cut me off. He remained silent instead.
“I was thinking that we probably needed to reassess the logic that goes into the creation spell. Clearly the last alterations already gave us a jump in progress, but we don’t know yet if it could repeatedly use ‘free cast’ magic. It is highly likely that any simulacrum we can currently create would only be able to use an ability like that once or twice before it overloads its magic power and needs to recuperate. If it doesn’t burn itself out fully and ceases to exist in that instant, that is.”
My talk was cut short by Ebiron raising his hand. Did I say too much? Did he realize we shouldn’t share secrets to anyone from the kingdom of crests?
“Marvelous. Please continue, and answer any and every question Jin might have. Kayon and I have some business to attend to”, Ebiron said. Both of them stood up in a synchronized manner and began moving to the door.
“Oh and eat up as much as you want!”, Kayon called out from the hallway. He was indirectly letting me know that they wouldn’t come back anytime soon. The door was dragged shut behind them. I sighed. Turning to Jin, I said: “Well. You’ve heard them. Ask me anything and I’ll answer to the best of my abilities, crest.”
He seemed to consider the situation for a moment.
“Is it okay if I say what I know first and we work from there?”, he asked.
“I don’t see why not.”
Jin proceeded to explain what I can only describe as the most barebone basic magic knowledge I have ever heard. He essentially only truly understood that spells using components would use up whatever material was consumed in order to create a predetermined reaction.

“Let me get this straight”, I began, “your knowledge of spellcasting is either limited to reagent casting, or to a mage taking mana and turning it into a rune that then triggers an effect.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you know what a rune is then?”
He thought about my question for a bit before giving me a confused look. Oh boy. I took a deep breath.
“A rune basically forces mana to adhere to rules. By defining what rules one gives to mana, different effects are created.”
Jin did not seem to understand yet.
“Maybe this’ll help”, I said, focusing on the surrounding mana. I created two runes on the table between us. Their markings only differed in one part, the final symbol to close the rune. By placing my hands on the runes, I activated them.
One slightly heated up while the other cooled down just a bit.
“Your turn, give it a try.”
Jin slightly hesitated, but followed suit.
“The temperatures are different. How does that work?”
“Exactly! This is one of the most basic rune configurations you can make. It effectively gathers mana from its surroundings, and then uses it to change its own temperature. If you look at the rune closely, the last marking is different. The part before that puts a rule on tiny bits of surrounding magic to be gathered in the rune, while the last symbol states to either heat up or cool down the rune using the collected magic.”
“Is that how the simulacrum’s lightning attack worked?”
I nodded. “Precisely.”
Jin took a moment to form his next question.
“So runes are created in a system you call free casting, meaning no spell components are required, is that correct?”
“Not quite. Free casting is the act of casting a spell without any components. Runes can also be created by using spell components, albeit without the versatility of imposing personalized rules on magic.”
“The simulacrum’s spell that created explosive trap runes was not an example of free casting then?”
“Correct. It used the spell components as catalysts.”
“The shadowthingy you were doing, that is free casting then?”
“Correct again.”
Jin turned his gaze to the runes and paused for a moment absorbing the information. I helped myself to another piece of fish.
“Are you not feeling conflicted explaining your magical abilities to me?”, he looked at where my eyes would be, though he could only see the shrouding shadows.
“My mentor asked me to explain everything you asked me about, and so I will. I am still considering you as a potential enemy, however. Best to keep that in mind, crest”, I answered coolly.
“You are aware that I could forward this information to the kingdom, and that it is my duty to do so as well?”, he asked.
“Painfully so. I am merely carrying out Ebiron’s will. Why would you consider it to be your duty though?”, I countered.
“I’ve been chosen as the fated protector of the kingdom, by the council of crests themselves”, he said proudly.
“The very same kingdom that tried to hunt you down with enforcers right after you fought to protect it?”
“They must have noticed that Ebiron wasn’t defeated yet, and taken me approaching the land of warlocks as treason.”
I couldn’t tell if he was making excuses to hide from the truth, delusional, or just being foolish. Resisting how badly I wanted to press the matter, I decided that this could go against Ebiron’s wishes and dropped the conversation, instead opting to reach for some more food and simply saying: “I see.”
Jin also got an extra helping. We ate in silence for a bit.
I wondered what Ebiron’s plans actually were, would he let Jin return to the kingdom? He seemed to have set his mind on going back there. A glint of light on his chestplate caught my attention.
“Say, what is that?”, I asked, pointing at its source.
“Oh! That is the Eaglecrest. I was granted the honor of inheriting it and the name from my master. He is a true hero to our people.”
I made a mental note to ask either Ebiron or Kayon about that later, as I admittedly was not as knowledgeable on the political affairs of the kingdom of crests as they were.
Jin continued: “He is the one who taught me how to fight. It’s thanks to him that I turned from a nobody into someone who could fulfill the prophecy’s destined role.”
So he genuinely believed in the hoax the kingdom of crests calls a prophecy. I have talked to Kayon about that before, from my understanding it was just a bunch of vague words strung together in order to fit a wide variety of people. Did Jin know that he was the eighth so-called hero, I wonder.
“I see”, is all I commented to his explanation once again.

In of itself, Jin did not strike me as a bad person at heart, but calling him misguided would be the friendliest way to put his current disposition. His faith in the council of crests was almost fanatical, albeit that much was understandable based on his experiences.