Ends of Magic
Chapter 41: Cast from Power

Nathan had made his decision. He knew he'd been influenced by Kia and the captive mages, but he was also confident that [Void of Magic] was a good long-term choice.

Congratulations, you are now a Void of Magic. Three of your existing class skills have developed, and you have unlocked three new class skills!

Class skill Deepened Stamina:

Your Stamina capacity is tripled. Stamina will accumulate during periods of rest, and can be spent to improve the speed and strength of your movements, or used for other skills or Talents that utilize Stamina.

Class skill Antimage’s Impassivity -> Void of Feeling

You are detached from pain and injury, and mind-affecting skills will be ineffective while in combat.

Class skill Antimagic Momentum:

Motion enhances your inherent antimagic, allowing you to break magical effects with your movements and blows. The greater the momentum behind the motion, the greater the enhancement. Effect is further enhanced while Raging.

Class skill Raging Thrill:

You can voluntarily enter and exit a Rage state, where you will be immersed in the thrill of combat. This will rapidly consume stamina, but will greatly increase your strength, speed and resilience to damage.

Class skill Implacable Inertia:

Your motions carry significantly greater momentum, and any attempt to slow your movement is hindered. Magical effects will be almost completely unable to change your velocity.

Class skill Unarmored resilience:

When not wearing armor your body becomes more resilient to damage from all sources.

Class skill Improved Antimagic -> Magic Anathema

Your antimagic Talent is greatly enhanced, and your aura will excel at degrading and capturing all magic.

Class skill Strenuous Agility: -> Airborne Agility

You will move more quickly and easily, especially when reorienting your body in combat. Stamina spent on mobility will have a greater effect. This skill is substantially more powerful while you are airborne.

Class skill Hand-to-hand Expertise:

You will be faster, hit harder and be more skilled at unarmed combat.

New Class skill Voluminous Aura:

Your aura will be larger and more potent, able to spread farther from you and be more powerful when concentrated.

New Class skill Denial of Wizardry:

Your antimagic will resist wizardry. The better you understand the wizardry at play, the more effective the resistance.

New Class skill Mana Severance:

You can use your aura to sever a target from the mana of Davrar, permanently destroying their mana pool and preventing them from manipulating mana ever again.

Void of Magic is now level 286!

Dang, 286? So I had another 40-odd levels banked from winning the battle. But I’d need to do that another ten times to get to 729. That’s probably going to take years, even if I keep going at the same pace I have been.

Some of the effects of the new class were immediately apparent. Nathan’s jog through the sky became faster and more efficient. His aura billowed out, easily tripling in volume. It took some effort to gather in his antimagic so he didn’t start accidentally disenchanting the gear of the Adventurers below him as he ran through the sky and back towards where the captive mages still knelt on the ground.

Most of the water seemed to have drained away, revealing a muddy field carpeted in debris. Supplies, corpses and dead giant snakes were strewn across the base of the valley. Most of the ashblood cobras had been killed by Stella’s lightning spell, but a team of Adventurers was checking to be sure they were all dead.

Nathan landed next to Sudraiel with a squelch, shoes sinking a few inches into the waterlogged ground. She was talking to Olad and a couple of Adventurers, pointing around the camp towards various locations. Somebody had cast a [Muffle] spell so the prisoners couldn’t hear what she was saying.

Her [Message]-artifact buzzed as he approached, and she listened to it and swore. “Harpy Tits!” She turned to Nathan with a scowl. “Kozar’s dead. We only lost a few teams, but The Gleaming Fist were elite mage-killers.” He expression was stony and calculating. "Giantsrest will raid again, and we have fewer teams to ward them off."

I probably shouldn’t be feeling relief that the duel won’t be happening, but his death certainly simplifies things. Still, hard to muster up any regret after how he goaded Simla and then blamed me for his death.

The guildmistress cocked an emphatic eyebrow and gestured towards the prisoners. “We follow your light, now make the Endings-damned decision.”

Nathan responded with confidence and a bit of pride. “I can sever them from magic permanently. They’ll never be able to cast a spell again.”

“By the Giant’s fist.” Olad’s voice was raw, and he cast his gaze towards the surrendered mages. “I’d say they deserve death. But severing their magic… That is a doom I will treasure.”

Sudraiel sighed and rubbed her forehead with two bony fingers. “Do it. We need every Adventurer to secure this battlefield and collect loot. I’ll have the Guardians take the prisoners back to Gemore on your word. They’ll live as long as a goat in a stalker nest if I send them to Halsmet.”

Nathan nodded and airwalked over the [Muffle] spell to approach the prisoners. They watched him approach with trepidation. The guards, on the other hand, wore expectant expressions.

Do I warn them about what I’m going to do? I don’t see the point. They’d try to break free again, and the alternative is death. If I force them to choose now then a lot of them will choose death for emotional reasons, without actually considering the alternative. Once they’ve actually experienced being severed from mana, they can decide to kill themselves later on their own time. Maybe it won’t be as terrible as they assume, and some of them can pursue a second life as chefs or whatever.

Nathan stopped in the middle of the cluster of kneeling mages. His aura now covered the entire group, and they shivered at the touch of antimaigc. These men and women had trained for years to have the power to reshape the world with a word - and it was completely useless in the face of his power.

I remember when I first accepted that magic was real here. I was so excited by all of the possibilities of combining science and magic. Then I learned that Giantsrest used magic to enslave and dominate, and I used antimagic to escape. What would that Nathan say about ripping the magic from people, ensuring they would never again cast a spell? Would he be able to understand why I’m doing this?

Nathan sighed deeply, closing his eyes and sinking into the feeling of his antimagic swirling around his enemies. Vortices formed, punching through a dozen of the non-physical shells that contained mana for their associated mages. He targeted those who had regenerated any significant amount of mana, draining what was present in moments. He wasn't sure what to do next, but felt his new class skill guiding him to push more of his aura through the barrier and into the now-empty spaces that had once been full of power. His aura flowed orthogonally to the physical world, entering the metaphysical space of the mages’ mana pools. It wasn’t fast, and Nathan paid careful attention as his antimagic filled the resource storage of the weakest mage. There was resistance, but he stuffed more aura into the container like you’d stuff a pillow into a small box.

The boundaries of the mana pool flexed and cracked in a way that had nothing to do with material properties. The entire construct seemed to be at least partially formed from tightly wound wizardry, and he felt the nonphysical container bend in ways it couldn’t tolerate before shattering. The components of the wizardry that allowed the mage to cast flowed into Nathan’s aura.

A faint gasp sounded to his left, and somebody slumped to the ground.

Nathan braced himself for something to happen as the strange energy dissipated in his aura, absorbing into his power. Nothing seemed to change. The shards of metaphysical weight had fizzed away to nothing in his antimagic.

Wizard Senses 2 achieved!

Are mana pools wizard constructs? Is Davrar built from wizardry? Or am I just understanding more about the deeper structure of reality, and that’s what a Wizard also manipulates? Am I turning them into antimages? I don't think so. Their mana pools are broken, but I'm not purging mana from their bodies and I think that's a critical step to being an antimage.

He opened his eyes to see that a young man had collapsed. He wore a yellow robe and no longer had a mana pool. Nathan walked over and checked his pulse, finding it strong and rapid.

Just knocked out.

Nathan continued the process, keeping all of the mages smothered in his antimagic. More mages collapsed as he moved on. The larger the mana pool, the more of his aura it took to shatter. Once he moved past the younger mages the process started to take longer, and he could work on fewer at a time.

The prisoners were confused, but they knew he wasn’t killing them. They weren't sure what was happening. Some of them tried to stand, to cry out against this unknown fate, but the elites standing guard kicked them back to the ground until Nathan got around to shattering their ability to wield magic. He felt mildly sick about using this opportunity to examine and interface with wizardry. He was experimenting on unwilling people and causing them to suffer in the process. He paused and took a deep breath to center himself. He wasn’t stripping their magic for the purpose of experimentation. That needed to happen anyway, and it was critical that he learn what he could from the process.

I think I can Develop [Magical Intuition] here. I didn’t get the wizard understanding from [Antiwizard], but I can get it by Developing those utility skills. The Insight can come from this practical experience with dozens of Davrar-provided wizard constructs.

The war mages’ mana pools were enormous, and Nathan was saving them for last. He was pretty sure he’d need a majority of his new aura to disable each of them, and once he severed the rest of the mages he’d have more of that aura to work with.

But the red-robed combat-trained mages had been biding their time. They sprang to their feet together when Nathan was at the far end of the prisoners. They’d clearly trained in some kind of physical combat, and used surprise to overpower the Adventurers watching them. By the time Nathan spun around they'd knocked the young Gemore Adventurers down and were wrestling for their weapons

The first of the three war mages clutched at his neck, blood suddenly gouting between his fingers. Faline’s dagger had cut from chin to spine, and she faded into visibility splashed with blood.

The second mage got tackled by Olad. Bones cracked as the huge elite pinned the bulky figure to the ground and bent his spine alarmingly far backwards.

The last mage had succeeding in wresting a blade from the Adventurer he’d knocked over. He rolled atop the young man and stabbed the weapon down towards the young man's face.

Nathan was halfway there when Sudraiel’s spear went straight through the mage’s chest. The thrown weapon left a gaping hole where a heart had once been and threw him off the young Adventurer. Gore sprayed out in a cone, but the spear suddenly reversed and slapped back into Sudraiel’s hand with a thunk. She held the weapon ready, poised to throw again.

“Don’t stay petrified in place. Finish this deed.” The old woman called out, addressing Nathan from where she’d continued organizing the cleanup. The guildmistress lowered her spear and issued another order. “Pin the rest down.”

The fighters guarding the mages followed orders, viscously slamming the still-conscious mages to the ground.

Nathan picked up his pace. He’d severed about half of the Giantsrest captives and spent Focus to speed up the rest of the process. The additional attention let him proceed faster with the fiddly aura manipulation, but he once again felt the difficulty of pulling off fine manipulation with his aura.

He continued to examine the wizardry that made up the mana pools. It worked under different rules than normal mana and was more complex than Badud's spells, but he didn’t have the frame of reference to know if it was just more elaborate or beyond it entirely.

If it’s the same as Badud’s spells, or other wizardry I know of, then that probably means the system of Davrar itself was constructed by powerful wizards a long time ago. That would have some significant implications.

Eventually, the surviving war mage was the only one conscious. The red-robed man struggled against Olad’s armored bulk, but the huge elite kept the man’s face pressed against the soggy ground, a knee driving into his spine.

Nathan placed his palm against the back of the war mage’s head, sinking his antimagic into the enormity of the space that stored the man’s mana. His aura scratched and tore at the inside of the container, but it only started to crack when three-quarters of Nathan’s power was stuffed inside.

But this time, Nathan pulled back, halting the process and examining the wizardry that had been exposed in the cracks of the container. It was woven together with a mathematically precise framework, and was clearly made of more than just the wizardry Nathan could now sense. There were gaps in the framework, places where another power than wizardry held everything together. But the wizardry itself was the bulk of the construct, and it seemed to set the rules of the space it constrained.

Mana pools are made of more than just wizardry. That doesn’t mean that there couldn't be super-wizards that made Davrar, but the system and powers of Davrar go beyond wizardry. Whatever this is, it’s manipulating wizardry just like it does everything else.

Congratulations, you have developed the [Magical Intuition] utility skill into [Wizard’s Intuition]

Utility skill: [Wizard’s Intuition]

This skill helps you understand magic and wizardry, as well as aiding intuitive leaps towards correct conclusions. It will extend to all applications of magic and wizardry, including spells, enchantments and other effects, but not natural phenomenal.

Nathan focused his new senses on the message from Davrar, looking for the faintest trace of wizardry. He found none. Davrar could clearly control Wizardry, but it was far beyond it. He nodded to himself in satisfaction.

The mage underneath him moaned in pain, his muscles spasming as his mana pool strained and cracked.

Time to bring this to a close. I don’t want to torture somebody.

Nathan tore the man’s mana pool apart, sending him slumping into unconsciousness.

Void of Magic has leveled to 297! You have stripped many Giantsrest mages of their magic, and they will no longer be a threat to you or what you protect!

Nathan blinked at the second message for a second.

That makes me feel strangely dirty. I didn’t kill them, but Davrar is giving me almost as much experience as if I did.

Then he shook off the feeling and rose to give Olad a hand, leaning back and pulling the huge man to his feet before clapping him on the shoulder. “Good tackle. Thanks for not killing him. Breaking the magic of a war mage was a useful experience for me.”

The man spat to the side, barely missing the sprawled figure. “This’ll cut them worse than death. I like your hope, that they could be something better. But I’ll take a prophecy where they don’t hurt anybody else.” He nodded to Nathan, then turned his head to listen to Sudraiel. The [Muffle] sell was gone, and she was shouting to gather all of the prisoners together for transport back to Gemore.

Nathan sighed and looked around for the others. Faline was vanishing back into the crowd of Adventurers, giving Nathan a single flashing wink as she went.

Just as well, I don’t necessarily want to talk to her right now. We’ll regroup later to figure out when we're heading to Giantsrest to follow up on this victory. I hope having won this victory so completely means we’ll have more time first. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do. But first, I need to check in on the Heirs.

He squinted up at the top of a nearby peak where they’d set up their firing position. The location was surrounded by blackened and shattered rock from the spells that had been thrown against them, but it looked like Khachi’s shield had protected the area at the core of the devastation. However, Nathan’s enhanced eyes didn’t see any movement.

They probably moved as the battle went on. Better to just ask where they are instead of wandering around.

Sudraiel looked buried in organization, calling for the Guardians and watching over the captives. But Nathan didn’t need to talk to her, he just needed somebody who could cast [Message]. He spotted Neta and the rest of the Old Hands picking through the debris of the camp, helping make sure that all of the ashborn cobras were dead and picking up any valuables they found. They were also retrieving the bodies of the dead and piling them up to be burned.

Right, mages who rise as zombies can still cast spells and raise more undead. It would be better to avoid that.

He leapt up above head height and jogged over, calling out from fifteen feet in the air. “Hey Neta, glad to see you’re alright. Do you know where the Heirs are?”

“Harpy tits! Wha…” She glanced up at him and shaded her eyes. “Oh, Nathan. You can fly now?”

He shrugged. “More like what Kia does.”

She rolled her eyes. “Same target. I’ll [Message] Stella.”

The other members of the Old Hands had stopped and were looking at Nathan with expressions of awe and respect. The same expressions that people gave the Guardians after they did things like vaporize a grave tangle.

I suppose drowning a Giantsrest army isn’t much less impressive.

“How many archmages got away?” said Karo, the woman that Aarl had bid farewell to when they’d left Halsmet. She bore a few bloodstains on one side of her body, though it looked like the underlying wounds had been healed.

“Three. Scared shitless.”

Karo guffawed. "Hah! Scared shitless, I like that, " she said, slapping her thigh with a metallic clang.

Neta looked up from her [Message] spell, catching Nathan’s attention and pointing down the valley towards Halsmet. “They’re over there, protecting the rally point for the freed slaves.”

“Thanks.” Nathan said, giving a wave and turning to jogging in the indicated direction. He tried to run without [Airwalking] to conserve Stamina, since the Talent consumed a lot of the resource. It hadn’t been a problem before because of all the magic flying around, but it wasn’t like Nathan had an unlimited supply of Stamina.

Well, I do so long as Stella’s close by. But I shouldn’t get used to airwalking everywhere. My feet are still good for something.

The ground was rough and muddy, broken by the spells and the passage of a lake’s worth of water. The terrain interfered with his running, and his [Acceleration] skill in particular couldn't really kick in when he had to change direction constantly to avoid uprooted trees or runnels carved out of the ground by the surging water.

It didn’t take long for Nathan to spot his destination. A couple of Halsmet Elites were guiding a group of confused-looking ex-slave-soldiers towards a shallow slope where several hundred other former slaves had gathered. Nathan spotted the Heirs standing off to the side. They saw him coming and waved in greeting.

Gale Shullet, the leader of the Seven Fools, dropped from the sky to land gently next to Nathan’s friends as he approached. The crowfolk woman tilted her head back and yawned demonstratively before launching into a fast tirade. “What a boring day! I awake early for a conflict of Endings and find a puddle of water and a bunch of lost goats.” She gestured with one black-feathered wing over to the collected soldiers, most of whom Nathan had freed in the last hour. “If this is the spark of Giantsrest, I say we smother their flame and have an early dinner.”

She clacked her beak together a few times in a dry chuckle, but then her tone become more serious. “I worry that that the enemy will devastate Halsmet and Gemore in response to this defeat. Giantsrest politics will demand a victory.” She shrugged and stepped away a few paces, gesturing the Heirs forward. “But that’s a problem for you and Faline to kill. The Questor isn’t dead, and I’d bet dragon teeth to stalker bones he’ll want total victory, and that means conquest, not destruction.”

Nathan’s friends had been wearing wide smiles, clearly ready to cheer and celebrate the victory. Gale’s words made them all freeze and sigh, suddenly considering the future.

The old birdfolk clacked her beak once more in a laugh. “The easy joy of youth. Enjoy your victory, but don’t let the light of glory blind you to the next challenges! Wait while I gather up a few more groups of lost little goats, then you can escort them all to Halsmet.” The old crowfolk woman faded to invisibility.

Nathan tracked her as she zipped off back into the mountains to gather more freed slaves.

Aarl rubbed the back of his neck. “The older Adventurers need to have their fun.”

“Because we took the glory!” his sister said with a smile, punching him in the shoulder.

Khachi’s expression was more restrained. “Brox won this battle. The power of Questors is beyond prophecy.”

Stella frowned at the ground, kicking her feet. “Yeah. What he said… I understand a bit more of why he acted that way. What a fate. Are we putting ourselves on the same Path?”

The Heirs looked troubled, but Stella’s expression morphed to a superior smile. “Hear me, I’m free from regret.” She tried to keep her voice down, but the sheer excitement behind her face made the next words come out in a loud squeak. “I leveled to 243!”

Class skill Antimage’s Impassivity:

Pain and injury will only drive you further onwards, and you will have resistance to mind-affecting skills while Raging. Being attacked with magic will enhance the intensity of your Rage.

Class skill Void of Feeling:

You are detached from pain and injury in combat, and mind-affecting skills will be ineffective while in combat.

Class skill Improved Antimagic:

While Raging, your antimagic Talent is greatly enhanced, and will be especially effective at protecting you from hostile magic.

Class skill Magic Anathema

Your antimagic Talent is greatly enhanced, and your aura will excel at degrading and capturing hostile magic.

Class skillStrenuous Agility:

You will move more quickly and easily, especially when reorienting your body in combat. Stamina spent on mobility will have a greater effect.

Class skillAirborne Agility:

You will move more quickly and easily, especially when reorienting your body in combat. Stamina spent on mobility will have a greater effect. This skill is substantially more powerful while you are airborne.

Utility skill: [Magical Intuition]

You will easily understand complex magic, even from incomplete evidence. This skill extends to spells, enchantments and other magical effects, but not natural phenomena. Will enhance your understanding of mana types and spellwork.

Utility skill: [Wizard’s Intuition]

This skill helps you understand magic and wizardry, as well as aiding intuitive leaps towards correct conclusions. It will extend to all applications of magic and wizardry, including spells, enchantments and other effects, but not natural phenomenal.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 9

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 9

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 3

Class: Void of Magic level297 Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Deepened Stamina: 8031/9210

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Magekiller level 117

Regenerative Focus: 419/1270

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Antimagic Stealth

Spell Redirection

Lethal Index

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 10

Leadership 6

Acceleration 2

Wizard Senses 2

Alertness 4

Wizard’s Intuition 1

Effortless Dodge 1

Mental Fortress 6

High-tier Lecturing 7

High-tier Tumbling 10

High-tier Noticeability 2

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 6

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