Chapter 443 – Council Meeting Part 2

“It is decided then,” Mage Fletcher said. “Mage Levine and I will go to the S Rank Assembly and call a meeting with Mage Harris. Once the Assembly is aware of what we have to offer, we can then advise them of what our price is.”

“I know those below S Rank are not allowed to address the Assembly, but shouldn’t I come along? To make the argument for heading to the Mother World?”

“I’m certain your return will come up. Despite our best efforts, we know the other White Zones and magic academies have spies among us, but if you address the Assembly first it would not be considered proper. Instead, you should remain here, with the bulk of the Atlantis City Council so that this body can pass a motion, requesting the S Rank Assembly intervene on the city’s behalf to protect us from the Alfar threat.”

“And that won’t send the wrong message? Asking for aid?” Damion asked.

To Damion, he was afraid that asking for help would signal to the other White Zones, particularly the noble families, that Atlantis was weak. Even the perception of weakness could result in forces that would otherwise keep their distance decide to move against Atlantis. The last thing he wanted was to jumpstart his enemies’ plans.

“Wording is important,” Mage Teft said. “We must ask for aid on the behalf of Nerotath. Mage Fletcher and her son’s research should be instrumental in the effort to convince the Assembly that what you say is true.”

Damion thought for a moment on what research Mage Teft was referring to, and then he recalled the first time he met Arica. She had been taking measurements of the Benault Forest. Searching for an explanation on why this forest grew faster than others. The answer was eventually found through the discovery of two Stable Realm Breaches. The Falk guild had discovered one and kept it secret. Then Damion discovered the other which had opened underground in a cave allowing it to go undiscovered for a long while.

The dungeons spewed a constant flow of mana into the Benault Forest, fueling its magical growth. After the dungeons were contained the forest had returned to a normal level of growth. While the forest itself did not revert, the lack of continued accelerated growth after the removal of the Breaches further reinforced the research conclusions.

“Their research will lend credence to my claims about the Mother World,” Damion surmised. “What about for those that don’t believe in the connection? How will we convince them?”

“You will not be able to convince everyone,” Mage Strand Warned. “But you do not need to. You need only convince enough of the Assembly. Five of the thirty-eight members of the Assembly already side with you. You just need to convince fifteen more to have a majority.”

“Mage Strand is correct. Though, I think most of your effort should be focused on Mage Harris,” Mage Chaparro pointed out. “Any undecideds will follow his lead. If he is not convinced, even if some are, they will not follow you without his blessing.”

“And of course there are certain factions that even if they believe you will vote against aiding you.” Mage Levine added.

“Any advice on how I can convince Mage Harris?” Damion asked. He had no doubt that the others were correct, that Mage Harris was the key, he just was not sure the best way to convince the man that strove to stay neutral to side with him.

“Don’t hide your magical presence,” Mage Fletcher said. “None of us mind, because we know you, but to some, just hiding your aura is a sign that you are concealing or trying to blur the truth. Mage Harris has aura sense, and he will be able to tell if you are truthful or not just by aura alone.”

Damion mentally shut off his passive spell, Concealed Aura, and his magical presence flared to life for everyone to feel. Having trained on the first of the S Rank floors of the labyrinth, his magic power had risen greatly in the last few weeks. Of course, that did not mean he was close to reaching S Rank, far from it, but it did mean that most of the A Rankers in the gallery, some of whom had been atA Rank for years, could tell he had somehow managed to surpass them.

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“I guess I can get used to not hiding my presence all the time,” Damion told them.

None of the S Ranks said anything, but they each took note of Damion’s progress and silently wondered how long it would be before he overtook them as well. If not for the discovery of the SS Rank floor of the labyrinth, that date might have been much closer than they would have liked to admit.

“I would like to ask, how is it that you have managed to hide your presence so efficiently all the time?” Mage Fletcher suddenly asked.

Damion was taken back by the question. Everyone knew he had somehow mastered a way to conceal his magical footprint, but no one was quite sure how he had done it. Now that his aura was out there for anyone to see, anyone with the ability would be able to tell if he was being truthful or not once he answered.

“This is something we might teach to our future students once they are ready,” Damion said.

They were not yet prepared to reveal the existence of grimoires. That was strictly for the council and the first group Avalon students. He had no problem revealing the existence of passive spells in time, but their existence without grimoires would just leave everyone wondering if they really existed and if Damion was being honest about the spells and their uses.

“Well, my guess is, you might have more students in that class when the time comes than just the Avalon first class,” Mage Fletcher said with a slight laugh.

Damion felt the Spatial mage was probably right. Once news of passive spells spread and that they could be used by any mage with a grimoire, it would only be a matter of time before everyone was clamoring for access to the spells. He would happily share some of his spells, the resistance spells for instance, but some, he was not so sure about, and it seemed likely that at some point someone would attempt to force the information from him. Thankfully, now that he was A Rank, the number of people capable of doing so had shrunk considerably.

“I think that we can adjourn for the day,” Mage Teft announced. “Mage Fletcher, Mage Levine, we look forward to hearing how your meeting goes. Until then, I will work with Damion to construct our aid request to the Assembly.”

The people gathered in the council chamber began to filter out while the S Rank mages and Damion headed into an adjoining room. The public session had ended, but there were still a few items that needed to be ironed out.

“Your way of concealment, you mean to say you can pass this spell on through grimoires?” Mage Fletcher asked quickly.

“Yes. This spell and a few others, like how I detect affinities and identify Realm Breaches are what I call passive spells. They have no affinity, though they do require constant use of mana to stay active.”

“So, even if you made these spells public, there is no guarantee that the average mage could use them,” Mage Levine added.

“No. But two things should be considered. The mana drain is not a lot, so even if the spell is activated and deactivated as needed, it will still provide a benefit,” Damion told them. “And the other is that because these spells require a constant use of magic, they can be used to train your body and overtime increase your body’s ability to handle mana.”

“Thus, allowing for greater use of magic before you risk mana exhaustion,” Mage Teft realized. “This helps explain your growth rate and your abnormal stamina. Constant use of these… passive spells… would help you to train, even when you are asleep.”

Damion did not want to make a comment, in fear of his aura revealing too much information, but Mage Teft’s assessment was correct.

“What makes you sure that our future students will be able to make use of these passive spells?” Mage Chaparro asked. “Even if they don’t require a specific affinity it is possible they require a combination.”

“I know, because I helped Elicia with a grimoire and passed my passive spell True Sight on to her. Once she masters the spell a bit, she should be able to identify people’s affinities like I can. It will just take her time.”

“And you are willing to share your passive spells with the rest of us?” Mage Strand asked quickly.

“Of course, but some I think it is best to not share too widely, such as my Concealed Aura spell.”

“If I remember right, your aura vanished early on during your time at Silver Spire,” Mage Teft said, eyeing Damion. “Perhaps I did not keep as close an eye on you as I’d thought.”

Damion did not say anything, he just smiled, leaving the S Rankers wondering exactly how many secrets the youngest A Rank mage in history possessed.