Grey Kings Gambit 3

Letting out a deep breath, I let my mind return to the state I’d been in after waking from the keystone. My feet left the ground, and I wobbled slightly. Instinctively, I pulled on the insight I had gained and drifted up a few feet, slowly growing accustomed to the sensation. Then, with sudden speed, I launched past the little mana beast, through the outstretched branches and fire-orange leaves of the charwood tree, and high into the air over the canopy, letting the feel of wind through my hair help to clear the last of the godrune’s cobwebs from my mind.

Unlike flying with mana, which was simply a matter of raw power and control gained by transitioning to a white core, the ability to fly with aether had been triggered through my insight into King’s Gambit—or rather, some part of my journey to gaining insight had advanced my innate understanding of the interplay between the physics of this world and the atmospheric aether to unconsciously defy gravity.

The effect was the same: by projecting myself through the atmospheric aether, I was able to use it to push me up into the air and fly. But there was a lot less atmospheric aether than there was mana, and it was unnatural both in feeling and visualization, like discovering a muscle I’d always had but had never used. When I pushed up, I flew, the aether pushing me even as it slipped aside to let me through.

I looked back down at the trees. From below they had looked like towers, but from so high, they were diminished. Watching the wind move the forest canopy, I noted a sense of drawing down as some subtle aftereffect of King’s Gambit left my system. I’ll need to be cautious when I use this new power, I thought, noting the way it made me feel afterwards.

Despite the weight of everything resting on my shoulders, I couldn’t help but smile as I shot out over the trees and banked south, gauging the direction of my destination before leaning forward and flying away over the treetops, the wind heavy and moist as it blew over me.

And so, as I pushed myself to fly faster and faster, projecting a strong aetheric intent to ward off any of the more powerful mana beasts that might decide to take a shot at me, I released the veil over my mind and reached out probingly for Regis and Sylvie.