Chain 076: Master of Magic

Chain 076: Master of Magic

Location: Arcanus
Race: Lizardmen
Identity: Drop-In
Drawbacks: [+700] Ascendency, Ascending From Hell

[Free]      The Weight Of The Years
[Free]      Place Of Power
[100/1700]  Node Mastery
[300/1700]  Channeler
[Free]      Runic Aid
[400/1700]  Artificer
[500/1700]  Alchemy
[600/1700]  Magic-Forged Arms
[800/1700]  I Am The Fortress
[1100/1700] Runemaster
[1300/1700] Chaos Link
[1500/1700] Sorcery Link
[1700/1700] Nature Link

Arcanus is not a world that I had detailed knowledge of in advance. It seemed that there wasn't a great deal of proficiency to be gained in the local elemental magics, and my own powers were... highly limited. All I had at my disposal was a village of lizards and rumors of others like myself out there - in that they could take control of sources of magic for their own ends. Nodes, they called them.

When I found and tapped my first node, I felt a trickle of my power return. The result was as inevitable as the tide: I would have to control everything to regain the power that I had up to this point. Fortunately, I could do a great deal with the non-elemental magic, not to mention equipping the growing hordes of lizardmen with empowered weaponry that made a notable difference, especially in the early days. And while lizardmen make for fine fodder, it seemed that the civilizations were a little scattershot - nearby towns contained orcs, halflings, and gnolls. As it turned out, this was a fine composition for a civilization - halflings got along with virtually everyone who wasn't a barbarian, and ended up becoming the backbone of those who followed me, while the the orcs and lizards and gnolls became a surprisingly effective army.

Followers. Perhaps I should say worshippers. As I gained more nodes under my control and researched the local magics, I regained more of the power that had been locked away. Being able to feel those who worshipped me, being able to grant them boons... that in itself was a formidable weapon. When every soldier can, in a pinch, launch fireballs that can't hurt anyone else who worships you... well, my armor being crimson now seemed fitting.

When I began making contact with some of the other wizards, they were rather unimpressed, and decided that they wanted to tear apart my kingdom in the most rapid way possible. To the point that every other wizard on Arcanus allied against me, though it was a slow process, and waged war on me. But my worshippers empowered me in more ways than one, and that helped - taking to the battlefield, even if all I had with the local magic was cantrips... I had more than the local magic to draw upon. Limited as it was, the Fist of Suns could still serve as an amplifier. And even if I could only perceive a matter of seconds around where I "was", it still permitted supernatural fluency in combat.

My armies grew even as I uplifted my civilization. They might have been limited to scraping by in a merely medieval technological level, but I did not want them to be so limited. Halflings still made up the backbone of civil service, but it wasn't JUST them, by the time I brought steam engines into the mix; mundane technologies were powerful, but when one could teach the methods to enhance them with magics the effective level was nearly modern. Communication between cities? Spells could link devices together to permit communication, both one-way and two-way, even if it was usually only audio. Lighting? Trivial. Sanitation? Filtration spells and a sewer network ensured clean running water, hot and cold.

Every single place we stepped foot in gained not just a road, but a railway, while flying ships carried massive cargos and internal trade boomed. And despite their attempts, the other wizards found their domains further eroded every day, until their domain was completely gone and I controlled every inch of Arcanus. Not every race under my domain got along, of course, but so long as they agreed to be under my flag they would be free to act as they wished, and if they would rather travel to a settlement with other elves or men or nomads, they were welcome to do so.

Aside from Klackons anyway.

IN THE EMPEROR'S NAME, LET NONE SURVIVE

By the time an unholy alliance attempted to storm all of Arcanus from the realm of Myrror, with every city abruptly under siege from armies of who-knows-what, I was back at the height of my power; the armies resisted long enough for me to cast the Spell of Mastery, five centuries to the day of my arrival. The other wizards I'd encountered may have called me a mere hedge wizard, but I would certainly argue that if a hedge wizard could manage that spell, they weren't much themselves, either.