Chapter Nine: Advancement

Upon returning home, Patrick breathed in the arcane particles that pervaded the air of Silvermoon City. No wonder, he mused, the high elves suffered such severe addictions to magic. After the fall of Silvermoon, the entire western side of the city was overrun by the mindless.

The books upon his desk remained as before: "Intermediate Rune Studies" and "Optimization of Magical Flow and Arcane Nodes." Before his journey to the Tower of Dath’Reser, Patrick had been immersed in the study of runology and enchantment.

“It’s been a long time since I practiced with my hands. I can finally continue my rune studies,” Patrick thought.

He selected two sets of runes: one, the Fortitude Rune for armor; the other, the Energy-Saving Rune for garments. These were considerably more advanced than the runes he had learned before.

The Fortitude Rune was composed of the Ael, Sol, Dol, and Ro sigils; the Energy-Saving Rune, of the Tal, Shur, Oth, and Am sigils. Though the four sigils of each set were inscribed separately upon the fabric, they were intricately interconnected by eighty-three common nodes and 1,713 arcane circuits.

With two fingers, he began to conjure the inscribing beam, while his other hand picked up an apprentice’s robe—plain and unremarkable, the sort of gray garment sold automatically in later days.

The beam moved slowly between his hands, shifting with precision like the arms of machines that assembled integrated circuits in later eras. The rhythm was steady, each motion following its own trajectory. The patterns upon the cloth grew denser, countless lines crisscrossing.

Enchantment consumed vast amounts of arcane power. Each time Patrick’s magical reserves were spent, he would rest and recover in his laboratory, resuming the inscription as soon as his mana was replenished, and stopping only when exhaustion overwhelmed his spirit. Even so, he could only complete one sigil and its connected nodes in a day.

It took Patrick nearly ten days to finish both sets of runes. Every day, his mana was drained dry, and he would immediately meditate to restore his magical power. Each day, he absorbed great quantities of energy from the Sunwell, quickly returning to his peak state through meditation and Allen's assistance.

On the tenth day, as he completed the final arcane circuit, Patrick sat down to meditate, drawing upon the arcane energies of the Sunwell to restore himself. He felt a warm current flow into his sea of consciousness, enveloping, nourishing, and soothing his mind. The arcane energy he absorbed grew ever greater, and his maximum mana began to increase.

His awareness extended outward. Patrick perceived the flows of arcane energy around him—arcane particles drifting on the wind, visible to his mind’s eye as if he saw them directly. At this moment, Patrick seemed to brush the very boundary of arcane truth.

Countless streams of arcane energy nurtured his spirit. His mental strength surged, projecting outward and then returning, revealing to him the world outside: towers of white stone, golden windows, red roofs, golden magical trees whispering in the wind.

The Fifth Circle. Patrick had formally stepped into the Fifth Circle. With this advancement, his senses grew sharper; the boundary between his spiritual world and the physical world became permeable. He opened his eyes, and like other mid-level arcanists, a faint aura of arcane energy began to emanate from them.

The ascension complete, arcane energy gathered before Patrick, coalescing into a pale blue sphere. He prepared to cast a Fourth Circle evocation spell: the Orb of Force.

The arcane sphere spun before him. Patrick extended threads of thought to impose shape upon it, constraining its volume, then used arcane mimicry to have the energy simulate the structure of earth elementals.

He increased the flow of energy into the sphere, maintained the constraints of his mental threads, and the arcane mimicry took effect.

The sphere’s color deepened, shifting gradually toward yellow, then darkening until it was a rich, brownish gold. Patrick continued to pour in arcane energy. The orb now resembled an earth elemental sphere almost completely. Sweat beaded on Patrick’s brow as the elemental sphere strained violently against his mental restraints. The pressure was immense, so much so that even his long, elven ears quivered.

“Allen, I need your help. Strengthen the mental constraints on the elemental sphere,” Patrick called inwardly.

"It is best that you complete arcane validation independently. Relying on others will not benefit your future path. I will observe from within your mental world; you will be in no danger. Proceed as you wish," Allen replied.

With no other recourse, Patrick steeled himself. Sweat streamed down his face as he gritted his teeth and forced the elemental sphere to collapse inward. Its volume shrank rapidly. By compressing the orb and increasing its density, Patrick hoped to create a stellar effect.

His mana was nearly spent when the sphere reached a critical size. Patrick sensed the arcane particles surrounding the sphere shifting from chaotic drift to an orderly, directed motion, as if drawn by the orb’s gravity.

He had succeeded. Though this “star” did not exert enough gravity to attract nearby objects, it nonetheless validated Patrick’s hypothesis.

Arcane energy, when mimicking other elemental states, could perfectly inherit all the properties of that element—including physical attributes like gravity.

Arcane energy might indeed be a higher-order force. He recalled from his previous life that, in the game, arcane energy was immune to the Shaman’s Lightning Shield’s reflected damage, even though the shield could reflect ranged attacks. Coupled with the Sunwell’s properties...

It seemed certain: arcane energy and the force of nature belonged to a higher tier of power. The force of nature could also mimic other elemental forms (for example, Tranquility was the form of water, Lightning of air). To understand the true nature of arcane power, to unlock the mysteries of Azeroth’s titan energies, ascending to the summit of arcane mastery was imperative.

Exhausted by the experiment, Patrick could barely lift a finger. The arcane sphere was stabilized and then gently dispersed into the air by Lady Allen.

"You are too impatient. This arcane experiment was extremely difficult; you should have attempted it only after reaching the Seventh Circle," Allen’s voice chided.

"Oh, so you tell me now, after I’ve already started? Why didn’t you warn me earlier?"

"I saw your eagerness to conjure arcane power and didn’t want to dampen your enthusiasm."

"...Fine. At least you helped clean up. I won’t argue with you."

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Spider Hall, Azjol-Nerub Kingdom, Northrend

“I have sensed that our kingdom faces a coming catastrophe, my brother,” said Anub’seran. “The Tapestry of Fate has woven fragments of visions, showing me that our realm will soon be caught in war.”

“All enemies will meet their end in pain and death,” rumbled Anub’Rekhan, his massive mandibles flexing. “Perhaps we shall have a little snack, after all.”

“No, brother. The Tapestry does not reveal such visions without cause. Anub’seran, this may be a warning. We must prevent or withstand this coming disaster,” Anub’arak replied.

“Yes, my brother. This time, I shall enter the Weave to seek answers. May the Tapestry yield a complete response. Anub’arak, my brother, from this moment onward, you are the new king of Azjol-Nerub. Protect our people until my return.”

“I will, my brother. I accept your trust,” Anub’arak said. “For our people, I shall fight to the last drop of blood.”