Spell Weaver-Chapter 108. Trust

Alex sat in his office, one half focused on practicing the motions of mana for the spark rune while the other sketched different variations of a new ritual circle design. Several piles of paper covered his desk, neatly organized and separated by wild ideas, functional concepts, and mistakes. Most pages were filled with notes and diagrams meant to test and increase the stability of the ritual circle.

Valtherion floated nearby, occasionally siphoning small amounts of Alex's mana before channeling it into the amulet.

"Slower this time," Alex reminded his companion. "We've got all day."

Val bobbed shortly in acknowledgment. After their mad dash and hastened awakening of Maelis the day before, Alex had decided to come up with a new plan for waking the spirit item. Rather than the both of them pushing to mana fatigue repeatedly over the span of just a couple of hours, they would just skim the top of both of their mana pools throughout the day. It would hopefully make for a much more sustainable and repeatable process to wake up Maelis.

Alex returned to his work and let his thoughts drift to his session with Evan from two weeks before. Even though Evan was only a few years younger, he couldn't help but think that the budding enchanter had valuable insights and was interested in Alex's own thoughts.

Am I only noticing that now because Maelis is so dismissive?

A soft knock interrupted his concentration, and Alex looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway. He immediately noticed that Sam’s usual cheerful behavior was quite subdued.

"Hey." Alex canceled [Parallel Mind] and set down his pencil. "Everything okay?"

Sam shifted his weight and couldn't quite meet Alex's eyes. "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to stay with my parents for a bit."

"Sam, about what happened—"

"It's fine." Sam's voice was quiet but firm. He gave a small nod and Alex couldn't tell which one of them it was for. "I just need a little bit of time. And I haven't seen my parents in almost a week anyway."

Alex felt his chest tighten. He wanted to talk more with Sam and let him know how he was feeling, but he didn't want to push. "How long will you be gone?"

"Not sure yet." Sam glanced around the office, and his gaze drifted anywhere but Alex. He gave a small shrug and said, "I'll text you later, though."

Before Alex could say more, Sam turned and left. The sound of his footsteps fading down the hallway could be heard, and Alex felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He knew that the failed experiment and combination of his two skills had shaken Sam, but seeing him withdraw into himself hurt more than he'd expected. Sam had been gaining confidence in coming more and more out of his shell, and Alex hated the idea that he may have caused that progress to slip.

He knew that Sam's entire well-being was not dependent on him or his responsibility, but he knew that he'd set himself up to be a touch point for Sam and his return to the normal world. He felt responsible for the stress that the teenager was currently feeling. Alex absently touched the amulet beneath his shirt and wondered if it was worth it.

While he knew Maelis had the potential to be extremely valuable, the lesson and interaction with the spirit the day before had been lackluster. He pinched the metal through his T-shirt and thought of Evan being due to arrive soon. As a tool, Maelis had the potential to be extremely valuable, and Alex felt that having another perspective on Maelis's teachings could be invaluable, especially from someone who was already further ahead than he was in runic theory.

But it was exactly that potential value that made Alex hesitate. Did he really know Evan? If he did want to share, how much should he share? He felt it would be almost impossible to speak with Maelis aloud around Evan or even share some insights that the spirit could give them with Evan without it seeming suspicious.

Maybe there's a way that I can test the waters without risking everything? I could phrase it so that there is no temptation for Evan at all. Maybe saying that the connection with the spirit is a skill? Or something similar to a bonded companion?

He let out a sigh, not loving the idea of lying to the younger man. Evan seemed like a trustworthy person and like he was really passionate about magic, but Alex felt it would be naive to tell anyone outside of his closest circle about Maelis at this point. Especially since Evan worked for the Hunters Association and they’d only known each other for such a short time.

He heard some muffled chatting and a friendly greeting from the hallway. One set of footsteps faded while another grew closer. A moment later, another knock came, and Evan pushed the door further open. He looked exactly the same as their last meeting, wearing very similar professional clothes, a bag slung over his shoulder, his hair neatly combed to the side, and wire-thin glasses.

He gave Alex a wave. "Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday," Evan said, setting his bag down. "Got stuck working on a group enchantment order that couldn't wait."

"No problem. Thanks for coming today." Alex stood from his main desk and grabbed a few of the more recent drawings he'd been working on to walk over and join Evan at the larger table within his office. "I've made some progress with the spark rune, but at the moment, I'm more focused on getting these ritual circles right."

They fell into an easy rhythm. Evan worked through one of the modifier runes that he said was still beyond the point where Alex was. Occasionally, he would look over and watch through his own mana sight as Alex practiced on the mana setting portion of the spark rune with his threads of mana.

They'd been working for more than an hour before Evan interrupted with a scoff. "I'm amazed how you're doing that.” Through his Heavenly Eye, Alex could see Evan activate an ocular skill and knew that he was using his mana sight ability. “You're controlling your mana like that in one hand without even focusing on it. Really, you're just sitting there looking down at the paper and focusing on the drawing. How are you able to do that?"

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Alex paused in his drawing and looked at Evan as his mana sight skill ended after only a few seconds. He thought about how to answer, but it didn't stop his second consciousness from continuing with the mana-shaping exercises for the spark rune. "I’ve got a skill that makes me really good at multitasking. So, I try to keep it going so that I can learn faster."

"Wow, that's amazing. I need to try and get a skill like that." Evan shook his head but didn't press any further for information about the skill. "I really don't know anything about rituals, but you said you are trying to figure out how to contain more of the mana and power inside of the circle, right? This might sound really stupid, but if there’s already one circle there, could you just add two?"

Alex leaned in and studied the drawing that he had been working on. "That could work. Eh, not sure though… it would mean that I would need to adjust how the catalyst node actually sits within the overall structure. I think that would also pull more mana on its activation. It's worth testing though."

They bounced ideas back and forth. Each of them had different insights and even though they were both relatively new in learning runes, Evan seemed to hold the same passion for learning and enthusiasm for magic as Alex. As the morning wore on, Alex found himself appreciating how their styles seemed to naturally complement each other. Evan had a methodical and studious approach that balanced out Alex's spurts of intuition and leaps of progress.

Alex thought back to how their teaching session had quickly evolved into something more collaborative. While Evan definitely had more technical knowledge about runes, Alex's broader magical understanding and different perspective seemed to work well together.

He thought back to their first meeting and Evan's enthusiasm about becoming study partners rather than Alex continuing to pay him for lessons. It had seemed a bit odd to Alex since, at the time, he was only entertaining the idea of stepping into runes as a passing interest in enchanting. Now, though, he felt like it was a necessary pivot for his continued progression.

While Mark and Sarah were supportive, he didn’t think that either of them could really engage with him on the technical aspects of magic how Evan did. Olivia was the next closest option and while she was enthusiastic, her passion tended to lean toward combat application rather than magical theory.

He thought it might be nice to have someone who could understand and challenge his ideas.

The team house could use a dedicated enchanter… Someone who could potentially improve the property's magical defenses, create magical items, and maybe even work with me on some projects and experiments?

Alex knew it was wishful thinking, at least at the moment. As they had sent texts over the last two weeks, Evan had shared some details about the Hunters Association's incentives and resources that they offered to him as a budding new enchanter, and Alex knew that there was no way he could match that.

Still, maybe down the line, it could be an option…

Alex considered his next move. He desperately wanted to have another perspective on Maelis's teachings and knew that the ability to work with someone could accelerate his progress. But he still felt that sharing such valuable information with someone he'd only known for a few weeks was risky.

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But really, what does Evan have to gain by stealing from me or betraying me? He's got a comfortable position with the Hunters Association and access to their resources and training programs… Why jeopardize that? He knows Sarah and knows that she's got a decent position there as well.

He knew Evan shared a genuine passion and understanding for magic, he just hesitated. He thought that the worth of having an item and a mentor like Maelis might be a temptation too hard to resist. A lot of people might reason that having a spirit item and teacher that could teach him the entire way through runes, would be worth trading that comfortable position and making a run for it.

"Evan," Alex said while setting down his pencil. Even if it was a bit paranoid, he decided to take the cautious approach. "There's something I want to tell you about. It's pretty sensitive information, though, and I'd at least like your word that you won't share this with anyone."

Evan looked up from his work and pushed his thin glasses further up his nose. “Alright… that’s an odd question. Before I say yes, can you tell me why?”

“Well, we work for two different organizations. I’m pretty highly ranked in mine, and it’s not like I’m a secret from the Hunters Association or anything, but what I want to share with you has a lot of value, and it’s specifically something that I just don’t want to be shared.”

There was a moment of silence as Evan gave it real thought. “Alright, as long as you haven’t killed someone or something like that. Or don’t plan to. I’m just an enchanter, so it’s not like I’m talking with people about you or my other clients. If it’s a secret that won’t hurt others, I’m happy to give you my word not to share.”

Alex continued, "I recently got a pretty rare skill. It gives me the ability to communicate with a spirit of an old runemaster. I only just got it and had my first lesson with him yesterday. I feel that there's a lot of potential to grow here and I'd be willing to share that knowledge and teaching with you so that we can both grow."

Evan's eyes widened "A spirit communication skill? I haven't even heard of that. Is it just what it sounds like? There's an actual spirit that will teach you?"

Alex gave a curt nod. "He can communicate with me mentally and show me illusions of runes and their patterns. Only I can see them, but you've seen how accurately I can draw or trace something. It would be quite easy for me to share the lessons and notes with you." Alex kept the explanation simple, careful not to specify exactly how the communication or item worked. "Honestly, the spirit is pretty grumpy and really skeptical about my theories, but he definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to runes."

"This could change everything," Evan whispered and leaned forward. "If you have someone directly able to teach you—us, how to progress with enchanting… There are so many applications and so much potential. Everyone’s so limited by the manuals and written knowledge that we have so far in the integration…"

Alex felt his shoulders tense at the gleam in Evan's eye. He knew that the temptation for anyone to try to take such a tool would be great and hit gut reaction was that he was happy he lied. If it was a skill, there would be no risk of Evan thinking to take Maelis away from him— no temptation.

"Which is exactly why it needs to stay between us," Alex said firmly. "I want to trust you with this because I think we might be able to make some real progress together. But if word gets out… It could be bad for me. If we both start to make progress, and your work begins to ask you where you’re making such progress, I’d want you to keep me a secret."

Evan nodded quickly. "Of course. I understand completely." Evan sat back and fixed his hair, pushing it to the side. He shook his head in amazement.

"So you're willing to help? Keep working together on this stuff?"

"Absolutely. I was interested in that even before you offered knowledge like this. Man, this started out with you paying me, but now I feel like I should be paying you to work together." Evan's face lit up with excitement.

Alex felt some of his tension ease, and they both laughed. They spent the next few minutes discussing the implications of using Maelis's teachings and how they could start to incorporate them into their own personal projects. Evan's enthusiasm was contagious and Alex found himself wanting to rouse the spirit soon for his second lesson.