//------------------------------// // 853 - All Weakness Overcome // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Underneath Lex’s claw, the deep cuts on the back of Toklo’s feet slowly closed up, vanishing without leaving so much as a scab behind. The process took only a moment, requiring no chanting or gesturing on Lex’s part. All he’d done, after Toklo had consented to the procedure, was lay a talon on the adlet’s injured legs and concentrate. Or at least, he was sure that from Toklo’s perspective, that had been all he’d done. In point of fact, it had been far more. This seems to be the most that I’m capable of now... Instantaneous healing without the use of magic was, as it turned out, incredibly difficult. Even for a titan. That his new state of being allowed him to directly manipulate reality via his will was something Lex was still growing accustomed to. Even with his consciousness having been raised to new heights of cognition, and his senses expanded to match, experiments still needed to be performed in order to find out what his limits were. And in that regard, he’d just gathered one very important new piece of knowledge: He could manipulate his own existence – including the space around him and the things on his person – with relative ease. In many cases, he didn’t even have to consciously consider it; it was simply a matter of his wishes superimposing themselves over the outcome. Other beings, however, were much harder to directly affect in such a manner. That only applied to direct applications of will, of course. He still had numerous other ways – physical, magical, and otherwise – of dealing with others. But insofar as being able to simply order the universe to change some aspect of their existence, he was extremely limited in what he could do. Even making direct contact with Toklo, Lex had needed to strain himself just to repair the relatively modest injuries he had. More than that, he could feel that doing so had taxed him. Although there was no physical exhaustion, a sense of strain was still present. It wasn’t pronounced, nor was it anywhere close to actually damaging him, but it was enough to let him know that he couldn’t simply go around healing others without limit. Unlike how he could for himself. “I think it worked!” Toklo’s relieved cry caused Solvei’s emotional state to become joyous, prompting Lex to put aside his ruminating in favor of turning his attention back to the adlet. The youth was standing upright, shifting his weight between his legs with increasing force as he confirmed that the injuries that Paska had inflicted on him – particularly the ones to the tendons in the back of his legs – were healed. Satisfied that there wasn’t even the slightest twinge of pain, Toklo ceased his impromptu calisthenics and shot Solvei – now back in her adlet form – a grin. “There’s no pain at all!” he reported, beaming. “I feel great!” “I told you it would work!” Grinning, Solvei turned to where the other adlets were watching, waving a hand toward Toklo. “You see? With the magic the Night Mare has given my master, he can do more than simply overcome Hvitdod! He can also heal all of your injuries with a touch! So, do the rest of you want to receive the goddess’s generosity and keep living as warriors? Or would you rather remain crippled and take your own lives so as not to be a burden to the tribe?” But Solvei had barely finished speaking when an angry voice cut through the air. “And what will it cost us?” snarled Ujurak, who for some reason was now wearing nothing but a leather thong. “What price will we have to pay in order to be healed?” Solvei frowned, and Lex registered her happiness diminishing. “There is no price,” she shot back, scowling at the bulky warrior. “You didn’t see my master demand anything of Toklo, did you?” “She’s right!” added Toklo. “I didn’t have to say a prayer or anything! He just put his claw on my leg, and a second later it stopped aching! There isn’t even a scar!” “You betrayed our traditions by taking part in that traitor’s ceremony!” retorted Ujurak. “Not all of us prayed to the goddess that...monster worships!” He shot an angry glare at Lex then. But his expression faltered as they made eye contact, and barely a second later Ujurak shuddered and looked away. His reaction wasn’t out of the ordinary. Although the adlets seen him before – both before and after his transformation in the Shrine of the Starless Sky – the sight of him when he’d returned just now had elicited gasps and frightened yelps from them, with several of Yotimo’s warriors curling up and whimpering like pups, their eyes squeezed shut and their ears flattened against their heads. Toklo had nearly passed out in fright, and even Yotimo himself had looked unnerved, moving to stand in front of his son protectively. Solvei had clucked her tongue at their behavior, chiding them all for being so afraid just because he’d slain Hvitdod. But in an ironic twist, Lex had known better. The adlets weren’t afraid of him because of what he’d done; they were afraid of him because of what he’d become. The fusion of aristeia and divinity – miniscule though both were – had turned him into a being whose mere presence put a strain on the universe itself. With both his cognition and his senses having surpassed what even magical augmentation was capable of, it was easy for Lex to perceive how his own existence left reality struggling to keep up, as though causality wasn’t sure how to measure his actions. And that was without his even trying to deliberately affect things; when he consciously attempted to manipulate the effect he had on the world around him, the results were much more marked. The pain that Solvei and Nenet had experienced in the immediate aftermath of his ascension had been because of that. Between the sympathetic trauma they’d felt from his spiritual battle, and their soul-bond making them hyper-cognizant of his own existence, their senses had been completely overwhelmed, flooded with more information than they were capable of handling. It had only been when he’d giving them both portions of his own aristeia that they’d been able to adjust. The other adlets, however, had no such way of acclimating to his presence. Although they didn’t have a soul-bond with him, that blunted the effect only somewhat. Limited to mere physical senses, Lex knew that their mortal methods of perception were struggling to turn his existence into comprehensible data...and even then, he was certain they were doing an inadequate job of it, likely lending the sight and sound of him an outsized weight that was stressful simply to perceive. To them, he’d become a predator even more dangerous than Hvitdod. That pleased the beast within him – still present after his ascension, no doubt as the Night Mare wished – greatly, and Lex had to resist the urge to smile at their fear. He could calculate the effects of their inability to fully perceive him, but the motivations behind their reactions remained a mystery to him, which meant that it was better for Solvei to deal with Ujurak’s petty truculence. Fortunately, she seemed eager to do just that. “That ‘monster’ is the reason you’re alive right now,” Solvei growled. “He killed the yetis, killed the ones who defeated and abducted you, and killed Hvitdod. Now he’s offering to heal the injuries you took, and this is the thanks you give him?!” “He also killed Panuk,” sneered Ujurak. “It was just a few days ago that you helped us prepare and devour his body, remember? Or does that not matter because Panuk didn’t worship your master’s god?” “That’s enough, Ujurak.” Coming up behind Toklo, Yotimo put a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder. “If you don’t want to be healed, then that’s your choice, but don’t try to shame anyone else into following your example.” “Don’t you speak to me of shame,” growled Ujurak. “You were our tribe’s most distinguished warrior, but now you’ve thrown it all away! And for what? To protect your son?” Snarling, he spat at the two of them. “You saved his life, only to prevent him from ever being reborn! Now that filthy god Akna abandoned us for will claim his spirit when he dies! That’s worse-” “I’ve heard enough,” rumbled Lex, causing everyone except Solvei to wince. As it was, the joy she’d felt a moment ago was rapidly diminishing, and Lex was through letting one small-minded fool interfere with the happiness he wanted her to have. “Since you’re having trouble deciding, I’ll make this easy for you. I’m going to cast a healing spell,” he announced, looking over the remaining adlets. None of them met his gaze. “All of you who wish to receive it and have your injuries mended, raise one hand skyward. Those of you who wish to remain as you are, do nothing. You have five seconds to decide.” The ultimatum prompted a range of reactions, as some adlets immediately raised one arm above their heads, several others cringed and glanced around as if to judge what their fellows were doing, and a few signaled their uncertainty with hands that were only partway raised. But when Yotimo marched forward – placing himself directly between Lex and the others – and slowly raised his hand, most of the holdouts folded, and soon Ujurak was the only one without a raised arm. Lex didn’t hesitate, calling upon one of the new spells that the Night Mare had given him. Outwardly, he knew that what he was doing looked little different from when he’d healed Toklo’s legs. There was no gesturing or chanting involved – he no longer needed such things, able to activate his spells via thoughts alone – nor did he need to touch any of the recipients. Instead, he simply waved a claw in their direction, and in response they gasped and shifted as they felt their injuries close. Inwardly, however, Lex could feel the torrent of energy coursing through him, maximizing the spell to its strongest potential. That was another way that his ability to manipulate reality was far more pronounced when it came to himself: he was overflowing with magical power now...enough that it not only supercharged every spell he cast, but which had gone one step beyond that. He no longer needed outside assistance to recharge his thaumaturgical magic. Never again would he have to wait for the solstice or the equinox to come around. Never again would he have to find some vast reservoir of arcane power to serve as a battery. Now, he could finally, FINALLY replenish his strongest magic – now stronger than ever – at will! Even the paucity of spells that he’d learned or invented up until now was no longer an issue. Between how easy his elevated intellect found spell creation now, and Nenet’s having memorized over a hundred spells that he could learn from her in turn, there was nothing stopping him from achieving the heights of spellcasting that had long been in view, but always far out of reach. At long last, he had overcome his greatest weakness! But as satisfying as that was, it wasn’t his arcane spellcasting that Lex was thinking about as the adlets – save for Ujurak – rose to their feet, laughing and cheering as they found themselves able to walk again. Instead, he was focused on the magic the Night Mare had given him as he turned to the smiling adlet alongside him. Solvei. Thank you so much for this, Master! Beaming, she glanced between him and the others. It really means a lot to me. I just hope Silla’s okay back at our village. You’ll be able to restore his leg too, right? Lex nodded. A regenerative spell is also among the magic the Night Mare has given me. That’s great! He registered relief from her then. I’m so happy he’ll be able to keep living as a warrior! Not happy enough. That comment caused her to blink. Master? I said that I would start securing your happiness by healing your tribe’s injuries, Lex reminded her. Not that I would end there. I...don’t understand. What was your grandmother’s name? Huh? Your grandmother’s name, repeated Lex. What was it? Yura, she replied hesitantly. Master, what- What about your parents? My...you mean as Akna? They died when I was young, but my grandmother told me about them. My father was Tulok, and my mother was Alasie. And now the names of the adlets who died fighting the yetis. Her eyebrows rose. All of them? All that you know. I know them all. I had to preside over their being consumption after the fighting ended...Master, what’s this about? I told you: securing your happiness. Now, tell me their names. Giving a confused nod, she began to list everyone her tribe had lost. Minutes passed as she mentioned them one by one, and Lex registered melancholy from her as she began to add memories and personal anecdotes. But that would change soon enough... ...and that’s everyone, Master. Everyone we’ve lost since the fighting started. Good. That will be sufficient. She cocked her head, her sadness giving way to curiosity. Sufficient for what? For the same thing I’m going to do once I get back to Vanhoover. He said nothing else before withdrawing one of the largest diamonds that he’d placed in storage previously, holding it aloft as he channeled additional power – another capability that he was able to utilize to far and away greater heights than ever before – through himself as he began to cast another spell. The last time he’d done this, it had taken all of his effort just to expand the spell to cover a small group instead of only one person. The effort had exhausted him to the point of injury, and had driven home how he wouldn’t be able to bring back all of the ponies that had died in the Elemental Bleeds, leaving him cursing his own limitations. But those limitations bound him no longer. That thought brought a smile to Lex’s face as he began casting the resurrection spell that the Night Mare had given him. Although he no longer needed to utilize verbal components, he still had to recite aloud who he wanted to revive, and everyone fell silent as he began to speak the names that Solvei had told him, the assembled adlets looking at him in confusion and anxiety. But he ignored them as he listed each name, one by one, until he’d said them all. And then he added one more, one that he’d learned from Solvei shortly after they’d first met, when she’d told him about what Bolverk had done to her family. “Frode.” Then the magic discharged, the diamond crumbled to nothing... And a large crowd of adlets – and one winter wolf – appeared out of nowhere. The joy Solvei felt a few moments later was everything Lex had hoped it would be.