656 - Ritual Manner
“Okay, I’m ready,” announced Thermal Draft.
“It’s about time.” Lex made no attempt to hide the impatience in his voice, giving the pegasus an irritated glare.
But if Thermal Draft was upset by his petulance, she didn’t show it, instead sticking her tongue out at him playfully. “You’re the one who said you wanted me to do this. Next time let me prepare first.”
“You didn’t need to make any preparations to use the magic Prevarius gave you when we were fighting him yesterday,” noted Lex testily. “Why would you need to now?”
“Because you said you’re going to examine the magical channels in my body while I do it, that’s why.” Fighting down a blush, Drafty let her eyes drift to the ground, shyly looking back up at him. “You can’t just tell a girl you want to look inside her like that. It’s embarrassing, especially since…” – she gulped then, her cheeks reddening more – “since I heard about what that was like when you looked Sonata, Aria, and Nosey over that way.”
Despite her outward embarrassment, Drafty cheered inside as she saw Lex’s eyes widen slightly, his face flushing. But the thrill of getting him to consider her in an erotic manner, even if only for a moment, was short-lived. His expressed darkened immediately, bitterness replacing chagrin, and she knew he was remembering the last time he’d seen the trio in question, not knowing if they’d made it out of the burning factory or not.
The emotions played out on his face clearly, until at last she saw him shake them off and collect himself. “There won’t be any touching involved,” he muttered, huffing. “Just use your magic and I’ll observe you from here.”
Trying not to feel disappointed that her ploy to tease him hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped, or guilty that she’d reminded him that they still didn’t know what had happened to the others who’d confronted Dark Streak with them, Drafty turned and faced in the direction of the forest, taking a deep breath of the cold air outside the winter wolves’ den – the wolves themselves out hunting together as a family – as she started concentrating on the magic the treacherous devil had given her. Even so, the thought of what Prevarius had done sent a flicker of unease through her. C’mon Kara. This is the sort of flirting that somepony who worships you would do, isn’t it? And you wouldn’t let one of your faithful become nothing when they die…right?
The thought sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with the cold as she started constructing a spell.
Although it had only been a day since they’d defeated the devil, the anxiety that had fallen over Drafty since then made her feel like she’d aged a year. Finding out that Prevarius had consigned her soul to Hell – which was apparently the home realm of devils like him and Xiriel – had been bad enough. Finding out that her soul would cease to exist if Hell didn’t receive it had been even worse. And then, after they’d finished the fight and trudged back to the winter wolves’ den, too tired to even think about setting off for civilization, she’d had both of those fears validated when Lex had looked over her contract, eventually confirming Prevarius’ dying words.
Needless to say, she hadn’t slept very well that night.
Nor was that all that had kept her tossing and turning. Now that she had a better understanding of how magic worked, thanks to the benefits granted to her by her infernal contract, she was fully aware that whatever spell Prevarius had used to cut off her ability to hear Kara’s telepathic voice was likely putting out a magic aura, one that Lex could conceivably detect. If that happened, he’d likely have questions about what it was, questions that Drafty wasn’t prepared to answer.
The good news was that – although she still hadn’t figured out how to break whatever the devil had done to make her telepathically deaf – she’d been able to cobble together a concealment spell, one designed to suppress magic auras; for all that Prevarius had been a lying sack of dirt, his magical instructions had been on-point enough for her to fumble her way through the process while Lex and the rest of the winter wolves had slept. Even then, the only reason she had faith in it was because Lex apparently used that circlet that he wore to look into the so-called “magical spectrum.” Fortunately for her, that magic item – at least when she’d covertly inspected it herself during the night – seemed to be built for efficiency rather than power, meaning that so long as he relied on it to look her over, Prevarius’ telepathy-blocking spell would hopefully pass beneath the circlet’s notice.
But at least I’m sure he won’t notice how I’m a doppelganger now, instead of a pegasus, she reassured herself silently as she cast her acid-spray spell. That’s because I have faith in you, Kara. You gods are all about faith, aren’t you?
No answer came – not that she’d really expected it to – as she completed her spell, the foul-smelling liquid arcing out from her hoof and hitting the ground, sizzling as it made contact with the dirt. It wasn’t very impressive, the thin stream of liquid shooting out with as much force as if she’d fired it from a squirt gun, but it had been one of the first spells she’d come up with on her own after Prevarius had taught her how to use the magic he’d given her. Her intention at the time had been to come up with ways she could show Lex she was useful in a fight, in case he needed her help the way he had with Dark Streak. That turning out to be the case much sooner than she’d thought was an irony Drafty remained keenly aware of now.
With her spell cast, she turned an inquisitive glance toward Lex, trying not to let her nervousness show on her face. “How’s that?”
“Keep going,” grunted Lex, peering at her intently.
Okay, he’s not saying anything about a suspicious spell aura around me, and he’s not yelling that I’m a hideous monster wearing a Thermal Draft disguise. So far so good, she decided as she started pulling together the pieces of another spell, this time the large patch of fog she’d used in yesterday’s fight. It took a little more time to create, but after a few seconds had gone by, there was a thick bank of mist floating in the air in front of her. Looking it over for a few seconds, Drafty turned her eyes toward Lex again. “Should I keep going?”
A few feet back, Lex nodded, his usual frown deepening as he continued to stare at her intently.
Despite – or perhaps because of – all of the nervous tension running through her, Drafty couldn’t help but feel a bit of a thrill at how closely Lex’s eyes were on her. All of a sudden she badly wanted to think about something uplifting, something besides all the lies she was juggling, the imperiled state of her soul, or the fact that they were stranded on an alien world. Him blushing when I teased him means that he’s aware that I’m prettier now, she mused to herself. And this isn’t exactly the best time to sing him something, so instead, let’s see if I can knock his socks off with some really impressive magic!
Keeping that thought in mind, she started pulling together a spell that was far and away bigger than anything she’d tried to date. Let’s see if I can make one of those fireball explosions like he and Prevarius were throwing around before!
Pursing her lips, Drafty concentrated on pulling the necessary components of the spell together, taking a deep breath as she ran them through her head. Okay, gotta keep the effect in mind first, otherwise it won’t do anything. So that’s fire. Now I’ve gotta calibrate it so that it explodes all at once rather than a slow burn, adjusted for the fact that there’s no fuel source beyond the initial expenditure of power.
“What are you doing?” demanded Lex suddenly.
But Drafty couldn’t bring herself to answer him, biting her lip as she tried to put the pieces together. Oops, gotta make sure it covers a wide enough area, otherwise it’ll just be a tiny little flare. And it has to happen far enough away, otherwise it’ll hit both of us! And, um, the heat gradient has to be set high enough, or it’ll just feel like a rush of warm air instead of actual flames. No, wait, that should have been part of the initial effect I set…I think? Oh geez, it’s slipping away!
“That’s enough!” There was tension in Lex’s voice that hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Thermal Draft, abort your spell!”
“I can’t!” she squealed, sweat dripping down her brow. “If I don’t finish it now, it’ll go off on its own!” Trying to keep her breathing steady, she closed her eyes, focusing on keeping the rapidly-unraveling components of her spell together. Almost got it! Just need to fold in a restriction on how high the flames jump so they don’t catch the trees-, no, that’s part of the area I outlined already!
It was like trying to juggle eight flaming torches after having only mastered keeping three balls in the air at once. There was simply too much to keep track of, and the components she’d already pulled in formed a series that was dangerously incomplete, leaving her flailing as she tried to keep it from tumbling down around her. But although it required no actual movement on her part, she could feel the sequence coming undone…
Which meant that her fireball spell was about to go off right on top of her and Lex both. “Run!” she yelped, wings flaring even as she realized that she’d never be able to fly away in time. “Lex, ru-”
She wasn’t able to finish speaking as something heavy collided with her, everything going dark immediately afterward. It was enough to make a sudden burst of absolute terror rush through her, certain that she’d just accidentally killed herself, and now the contract she’d signed – and which they hadn’t destroyed, since Lex had still been studying it last night – was sending her soul toward whatever torments awaited her in Hell. I’m sorry! she wailed silently. Cloudy, I’m so sorry! I didn’t-
“Are you alright?!”
The voice – Lex’s voice – jolted her out of her panicked state, only realizing that she’d squeezed her eyes shut as she opened them. Looking up, she saw the stallion in question moving off of her, a dome of black crystals falling away to reveal the overcast sky. All around them, the ground was scorched, with only the small area covered by the protective barrier that Lex had raised being spared, along with the two of them. The sight was enough to leave Drafty dazed. “I…I think so…”
“You weren’t thinking at all!” raged Lex, apparently satisfied that she was well enough for him to berate. “Do you not understand how that magic you were using works?! Because if you did, you’d realize just how danger-, MMPH!!!”
For a moment Drafty couldn’t figure out why Lex hadn’t finished speaking.
Then she realized it was because she’d wrapped her forelegs around his neck and pulled him downward, kissing him deeply.
That was enough of a surprise that her grip slackened as her brain caught up to what her body was doing, giving Lex enough leverage to pull away from her. “Wh-what are you doing?!” he demanded, shock and confusion written all over his face as he stared at her.
“I don’t know!” The words flowed out of her mouth without any conscious control on her part. “I was just so touched by how you keep saving me! First when I was sick and dying in Vanhoover and then bringing me back after I was killed and again when Prevarius tricked me and then just now and I was so overwhelmed I…um…I mean…” Trailing off as she managed to regain some semblance of control over herself, Drafty didn’t have to feign embarrassment this time as she shakily climbed to her hooves. “I guess I just…couldn’t help myself…”
“…” Lex could only stare at her, his expression making it clear that he had no idea how to respond to any of what had just happened.
The awkward silence that fell then was so thick it was almost palpable, and Drafty fidgeted in place, desperate for something else to talk about. “So, um…did you figure anything out?”
“…what?”
“About my spellcasting,” murmured Drafty, shuffling her hoof idly, not able to look him in the eye all of a sudden. “Did you learn anything?”
“Oh! Um, yes.” Taking a moment to clear his throat, Lex quickly availed himself of the change in topic. “For one thing, you’re technically not casting spells at all.”
That was unexpected enough that Drafty felt her discomposure start to recede. “Wait, I’m not?”
“Spellcasting, strictly speaking, is the externalized release of energy gathered internally,” explained Lex. “While there are different methods of doing that, what you’re doing doesn’t involve any internalization of energy to begin with. Instead, you’re arranging ambient magical energy into specific effects without ever taking them into yourself, a process referred to as ritualization, or simply a ritual for short.”
The news was enough to make Drafty blink. “Wait…I’ve heard of this before. Didn’t you do something like this when you gave Aria her pony body?”
Lex scowled at that, and Drafty had just enough time to kick herself for again mentioning one of the ponies whose fate was still unknown to them before he answered. “That’s the same overall process, but you’re going about it slightly differently than I do.”
“How so?”
Lex took a breath, and Drafty had the distinct impression he was trying to figure out how to dumb things down enough to where she could understand it. “While ritualization doesn’t require you to absorb anything, it’s still dependent on the magical channels that all living creatures possess. Specifically, the way you manipulate the ambient energy in your local environment is via that energy in your body, utilizing it in specific arrangements that produce corresponding changes in the area around you.”
“So…it’s like using a magnet to move stuff that’s attracted or repelled by magnets?” ventured Drafty.
“In terms of the specific principles of application, it’s nothing like that,” huffed Lex, before sighing. “But insofar as a basic explanation goes, that analogy is…adequate.”
For some reason, that made Drafty giggle a little. “In other words, I’m some sort of ritualist now?”
“Essentially,” frowned Lex, not sharing in her mirth. “From what I can tell, Prevarius performed some sort of alteration to the way the magical channels in your body function. Their arrangement and overall operations appear to be unaltered, but they’ve become much more finely-tuned to interacting with the ambient energy around you.”
“That’s great!” Suddenly excited as she realized what that meant, Drafty flared her wings. “You’re a genius at magic, and I’m super good at constructing rituals now! I mean, I know I messed up that fireball just now, but together you should be able to teach me how to make a ritual that’ll take us back to Equestria, and we can…um…why are you shaking your head?”
“Because that won’t work,” replied Lex flatly. “The magical channels in your body have become highly specialized with regard to ritualization, but while the magnitude of interaction has been amplified, the overall wavelengths affected has decreased, with the phase velocity becoming much more sensitive with regard to the dispersive medium-”
“Whoa, whoa, you lost me,” interrupted Drafty, shaking her head. “Can you try that again, using smaller words?”
Grimacing, Lex snorted before speaking again. “If the magical channels in your body are like magnets,” he started, rolling his eyes, “then they’re magnets that are stronger than normal, but much smaller. You have a great deal of fine control, but the effects you can construct via ritualization are highly limited. As what just happened should illustrate.”
“Hey, come on, that was an accident,” protested Drafty, wincing a little. “I might have messed that up, but I bet I’ll get better with practice.”
“Potentially,” admitted Lex. “But while you’re able to construct effects very quickly, at least compared to how typical ritualization goes, and can do so without elaborate gestures or vocalizations, my estimation is that – in terms of raw power – you’ll only be able to equal a unicorn wizard, with a magic-focused cutie mark, who’s been trained in Equestrian spellcasting. And you won’t be able to ritualize effects as fast as they can cast spells, unless the effects are extremely simple,” he added, almost as an afterthought.
“That’s still really good!” gushed Drafty, only for her enthusiasm to ebb a moment later. “But I suppose it’s not enough to get us home, huh?”
“No,” confirmed Lex. “And I don’t want to make the attempt myself unless there’s no other option. Moving between planes of existence is fraught with peril even using structured spellcasting; with a ritual, it’s courting disaster.” He glanced around then, his expression returning to its usual sour look. “Even more disaster,” he muttered darkly.
But Drafty couldn’t help but snicker in helpless amusement. “You can say that again,” she agreed as she pulled out both copies of the contract she’d signed with Prevarius, having gotten them back from Lex that morning. “It’s too bad though. Being able to use magic isn’t worth losing my soul over, but it’s still really nice.”
“In that regard, you have more latitude than you realize,” spat Lex, glaring at the papers hatefully. “The same provision that says your soul’s being lost to oblivion if Hell can’t collect it will survive the contract’s termination also applies to the so-called beneficial provisions of your contract. It’s a consequence of the agglutination of addenda regarding-, what are you doing?!”
Looking up from where she’d just dumped a gout of acid on both copies of the contract, Drafty gave Lex a look of resolve, one that was only partially ruined by how she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks again. “Trusting that you’ll do what you always do, and save me.”
“Thermal Draft-”
“I don’t want to go to Hell after I die, Lex. Not if it’s the sort of place that produces monsters like Prevarius or Xiriel. If it’s a place filled with creatures like them, then I’d rather not exist.”
Letting out a shaky breath, Drafty sent a silent apology to Kara. I guess I’m really not cut out for the whole ‘religious faith’ thing, she admitted, as much to herself as the goddess. There’s really only one person I believe in that much.
“And besides,” she continued, giving Lex a warm smile. “I know that you’ll figure out a way to save me from this.”
Drafty didn't let her gaze waver then, looking Lex straight in the eye as she – just for a moment – put all of her lies and deceptions aside and spoke from her heart.
“Because you've always been my hero.”
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I mean, yeah, going to hell would suck, but you *could* be raised from the dead before you got there maybe.
Given what some angry goddesses might do to you for betraying them, non-existence might be preferable anyway.
Good thing Prevarious didnt get to the next step, ending the contract closes the contract?
Drafty is being a dang parasite, I don't envy lex. With such a weigh to keep around he's lucky to have solvei with him
11051494 Being brought back to life after dying and having your soul claimed via an infernal contract is...difficult. Just looking at the "infernal contract" entry under the phistophilus devil listing tells us that normal resurrection magic won't work; it takes either a wish spell (which directly rewrites reality in some fashion, and is well-known for perverting the intent of the wish unless you're careful with your wording) or a miracle spell (which is basically a formalized request for your deity to directly intercede in matters). Even then, it's arguable that the soul that's brought back would still be subject to at-will greater scrying by the phistophilus; worse, the person who cast either spell is themselves subject to a discern location effect; those who steal from Hell draw its scrutiny, and they don't usually let such a thing go.
Now, the idea that you could bring someone back who'd immediately died only a few seconds prior (i.e. before their soul has left the mortal realm) does have some minor precedence. A breath of life spell can bring someone back who's died in the previous round (i.e. within the last six seconds). So that might work, but even then it's iffy (and, of course, Lex doesn't have that spell available to him).
11051500 Or an eternity among the devils, for that matter. Still, Kara's reaction to what's happened to Drafty remains to be seen...
11051542 Well, he mentioned before that deliberately killing someone after striking a deal to claim their soul is frowned upon, if for no other reason than because it tanks "consumer confidence" among prospective mortals. It's hard to be tempted into signing a deal with someone if you saw them kill the last guy who did that.
11051743 I suspect she meant that as an encouraging gesture on her part; a sort of "this is how much I believe in you" sort of thing. Of course, that really puts the pressure on Lex, who I doubt is at his best right now, after everything that's happened.
While I can understand why Thermal Draft what she did to show how much faith she has in Lex but damn, that's a lot of pressure. Even more so in a place like the Everglow since he'll need to doubly ensure her safety while figuring out a way how to save her soul and figure out a way back to Equestria.
Sure would be nice if he could find a solution to at least one of those issues while he and Thermal Draft make their way to civilization...I just realized that Thermal Draft probably hasn't seen any other bipedal species aside from Prevarius and perhaps a minotaur from Equestria before. Well, looking forward to how that plays out...
11052388 There's no doubt that, while she clearly meant well, Drafty's gesture put even more weight onto Lex's shoulders. Of course, he'd be the first to admit that wanting to be in charge means accepting that level of responsibility - and he's likely still carrying at least some residual recrimination about how long it took him to come to her rescue, even if he knows that was the best decision - but that doesn't change the fact that he's operating under an even heavier burden now than he was before. Not to mention his not knowing if Sonata et al are still alive; that one is clearly still tearing him up inside.
Fortunately, it's not all bad news. As disastrous as this little experiment with her magic almost turned out to be, Thermal Draft is managing to assemble her own suite of powers (albeit comparatively modest ones), even if she is deceiving Lex about quite a lot now. Lex himself has an impressive array of magic items, and a new appreciation for what his divine authority can do. And of course, there's Solvei...
With the group likely heading to civilization soon, there's a possibility that they'll encounter the non-ponies as well, and quite possibly more humanoids. One can only imagine how that will play out when it happens.