Chapter 16 — Omens
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
A few hundred meters from where the group had been attacked, Gao Yang found the little wooden cabin, now reduced to ruins.
It lay fallen among the trees. From the charred marks one could judge that the blaze which destroyed it had come from within and spread outward, yet the fire had not reached farther afield—perhaps a timely rain had saved the surrounding forest. Sir Byron examined the traces left around the cabin and concluded that the fire must have broken out over half a month ago.
Heidi, meanwhile, detected a magic reaction at the site, already grown exceedingly faint.
"What we saw in the Shadow Realm must have been a reflection," Gao Yang said, studying the ruined cabin in the forest clearing and setting out his judgment. "This wild mage lived in seclusion here for years. The place lies outside the domain—not even hunters come this way—so no one ever knew a hermit had dwelt here."
"The question is... how did the accident happen?" Heidi frowned. "There is only one feeble magic focal point here, and the wild mage who lived here was himself quite weak. Even if one of his magic experiments had run out of control and burned the house down, it could not have produced a long-lasting projection in the Shadow Realm—let alone generated such a powerful wraith mist... The magic all of that would require is far beyond what some paltry wild mage could supply."
"Perhaps this notebook can answer your doubts." Gao Yang handed a worn, battered notebook to Heidi.
It was the very notebook they had taken from Betty in the Shadow Realm earlier—at once the diary of that nameless wild mage and his research notes.
Following Gao Yang's direction, Heidi opened the notebook to its latter half and read carefully.
"...Year 729 of Ans, Fire Moon, day. Half a year now since I moved to this place. At the edge of the Cecil domain I found a magic focal point. Its strength is nothing compared to the public focal point of Emberfall City, but it is enough to sustain my laboratory. The elemental power here is uniform and stable; Annie's condition should be alleviated.
"Year 729 of Ans, Harvest Moon, day. Annie's condition seems to have improved. She has not had an episode for a very long time now, but I cannot yet tell whether it is the environment here taking effect, or whether my rituals and potions are truly working. The magic focal point here is too weak; even with the aid of an amplification array, the effects of my rituals are greatly diminished. Perhaps I should reconsider those formulas I once derived... The people of the Arcane Society always mocked my calculations, but I have left the Society anyway, and they have no jurisdiction here...
"Year 730 of Ans, Mist Moon, day. Those formulas and derivations match expectations perfectly! No—rather, the facts have unfolded just as I calculated. Under the new amplification method, the power of the magic focal point has been enormously enhanced! With the aid of the additional magic, I can at last begin the next stage of Annie's treatment. She has scarcely had an episode these past months, but the treatment must go on, for she can bear no more ordeals...
"Year 731 of Ans, Frost Moon, day. After the treatment, Annie could actually get out of bed and walk about—she even made me a meal! Fried sausages and vegetable soup. I feel as though I have not eaten anything so good in a hundred years—though the sausages were burnt and she forgot to salt the soup... The facts prove my treatment plan effective, and so long as this magic focal point here can continue to supply magic steadily, Annie's full recovery will be only a matter of time...
After that, the diary's contents were mostly accounts of the writer's daily life with his daughter. Heidi skimmed quickly through this portion, until a stretch of hasty, disordered entries appeared on the final pages:
"Year 734 of Ans, Frost Moon, day. Annie has had an episode. Damn it!!