Raith narrowly slipped Myst’s whistling blade, while Nyhm darted in behind her with his new [Flicker Step] [Skill]. His strike combo passed harmlessly though the Templar as she phased out, taking advantage of a [Skill] she similar to Nyhm’s ring of surround sight. As she phased back to counterattack, Hob stepped in front of the blow, taking it solidly on the forearm and thrust out with his rapier, stabbing the tender area on the inside of her elbow and causing her to drop the sword.

  “Yeowch!” Myst sheathed her other sword and rapidly rubbed the spot.

  Raith patted the painter on the back.

  “You are better with that thing that I’d expected.”

  Hob shrugged.

  “I would have to be pretty dense not to pick up a single thing after the training they put me through. I’ll never be as good as any of you, though. Are you alright, Myst?”

  She shot him a smile.

  “I’m fine. Didn’t pierce the armor, just stung a bit. Nice hit. You all have come a long way in the last few months.”

  “Seems more like a few years,” Tolliver muttered.

  It was almost impossible to be sure exactly how long had passed in here, with no days or seasons to mark the time, but it had only been three days on the outside…with a handful of periodic breaks for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Raith shook his head in wonder.

  I can’t believe this is actually working.

  “How’s your spell coming along?”

  “I believe I’ve got it down finally, but require your permission to test it.”

  Thea was just walking in from the other training chamber Raith had designed, the tangle of her [Root Titan] armor that covered her from head to toe retracting back into the seed. She had been training with Zinny, Durnam and Relk, but turned back around upon hearing the [Mage]’s words.

  “Nope, not doing that again.”

  She bumped into Durnam, who had been right behind her.

  “Doing what?”

  “Tolliver wants to test his thunderclap spell again.”

  Zinny sped out around them riding Phineaus.

  “Oh, try it on me! Do you think it will make all of our ears bleed again?”

  Tolliver frowned and his nose went up in the air.

  “I do not, which is precisely what I wish to test. I believe the designated ally safeguard has been solved.”

  Hob stepped up and raised a hand.

  “I’ll be the target again.”

  Relk stepped up beside the painter and crossed his arms. Evidently he was volunteering with Hob.

  Thea threw up her hands.

  “Fine. But if you mess it up again I’m charging one thousand gold.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” the [Mage] said, taking out his wand and began weaving the runes for his spell.

  Raith’s ears felt a soft muffle, as the magics settled around him a fraction of a second before the explosion of noise. The mighty crack sent Hob and Relk flying backwards. A trickle of blood had begun to fall from Relk’s ears, but already abated. Among his many martial gifts, the big man’s [Divine Skill] had been revealed to be one of self-healing. He had taken advantage of that to grind up his other [Skills] with an utterly brutal training regime that would have killed anyone else.

  Looking around, everyone who’d been marked as an ally seemed unaffected. Tolliver turned and smirked at Thea.

  “You see.”

  “Ok, that was pretty cool. Nicely done.”

  She gave him what looked like a gentle punch in the shoulder, but rocked the pale man to the side.

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  “Sorry. I keep forgetting my [Strength] got so high.”

  “How far are we going to take this?” Nyhm asked.

  Thea frowned while considering the question.

  “I’ll go crazy if I’m stuck in here all the way to [Divine].”

  Myst nodded in agreement.

  “Me too. And I’m not even sure that’s possible. If it is it would take centuries.”

  “I’m not staying in here for that centuries,” Tolliver declared.

  Raith put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

  “None of us are. I suggest we get everyone over the hump on whatever their next [Skill] advancement is and see where we’re at. Maybe call it done.”

  It was great to just keep going in theory, but the reality of doing nothing but grinding [Skills] for years, or even decades or centuries, was simply not going to work. The trainers in the new [Mnemonic Lorehall] sped up the process in many instances, but there was only so much to be done once a [Skill] got high enough level. The team seemed to agree.

  Myst clapped her hands.

  “That’s decided then. Let’s get back to work.”

  Nyhm was the only Myth Seeker who didn’t groan at that, but Raith could tell by the tightness around his brother’s eyes that he wasn’t any more thrilled than the rest of them. The weary crew spread out for another grueling session with Relk, who rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Raith would have called the man a sadist, but he clearly got results.

  Just as the big Templar opened his mouth to speak, everything started to flicker and waver. The group froze, and turned as one to look at Raith for answers. He through his hands up.

  “I don’t know what that was.”

  “Are you under attack?” Myst asked.

  “I don’t think so. What would that even feel like?”

  Again, the entire world seemed to waver like a blanket on a clothesline rustled by a strong breeze. Abruptly, the upper corner of the room started to separate into frayed threads and unravel The threads spooling off into the the blackness above as the ephemeral substance of Raith’s construct rapidly spun away. It was eerily silent, but that void beyond the room seemed to threaten to suck them in along with the unraveling world. A familiar voice echoed into Raith’s mind.

  “The Weavers will only tolerate so much subversion of their careful patterns.”

  “Amaris? What is happening?”

  Thea looked at him in alarm.

  “Amaris is doing this?”

  “No. Didn’t you hear that?”

  The unraveling seemed to be speeding up, accelerating their proximity to that alarming void beyond.

  “Gather your friends and run child.”

  “We have to get out of here. GO!”

  The spell was broken and everyone tore their horrified gaze from the void and broke into a sprint for the mirror. Raith let everyone else out first, pausing to watch in despair as his wonderful [Library] unraveled before his eyes. Tears welled up unbidden as the books he had spent so long collecting vanished into nothing. A tug on his arm caused him to look down to see Veil pulling frantically and gesturing towards the mirror.

  With one final look at his beloved library, he tumbled through just as the last of his books disappeared. Moments after he and Veil stepped out, the aethercore popped out behind them rolling into the middle of the room. Everyone stared as it wobbled to a halt, then looked up at Raith.

  “What the threaded fuck just happened?” Thea asked.

  Raith felt panicked and sick to his stomach. They couldn’t all be gone.

  In a fit of desperation he activated [Life in Staccato] then [Mnemonic Library]…and he was there in the calming quiet of his sanctuary. He rushed over to the bookshelves, running his hands across the bindings to reassure himself they were really there. A tidal wave of relief washed over him, the whiplash of emotion driving him to his knees.

  After spending a few moments getting himself back together, Raith returned to his companions.

  “The Weavers evidently decided the way we were using my [Skill] was too disruptive of their pattern. So they took it away.”

  Thea let out a low whistle.

  “I didn’t know that was even possible.”

  “We have records of this happening in the Templar archives, but it is incredibly rare,” Myst said. “As far as I know it hasn’t happened in centuries. Nicely done, Raith.”

  “Nicely done? Aren’t they mad at me now or something?”

  She shook her head.

  “The Weavers don’t get mad. They just want to preserve the pattern and get back to their loom.”

  Raith looked back to his mirror.

  “Well, at least it’s still good for traveling the gossamer paths. Not sure what I’m going to do with this aethercore, though.”

  He put the sphere into his satchel, not missing that Durnam hadn’t really taken his eyes off the thing since it rolled into the room. Tolliver clapped him on the back.

  “The options are endless, but why don’t we discuss them another time.”

  “Good idea. Since’s training time is clearly over, let’s go make our final preparations and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll contact Kieran and tell him it’s time to get moving. We’ll head out some time tomorrow after he’s returned to report successful placement of the mirror.”

  The group agreed and filed out of his room and down the stairs. Raith and Nyhm seemed to have the same idea, detouring towards the kitchen before doing anything else. Raith gave his brother a grin, then sped up to beat him through the door. Nyhm’s eyes widened, then narrowed and he surged ahead with a [Flicker Step].

  “Hey…” Raith protested but was interrupted by a servant before he could tackle his no good cheating brother and get to the food first.

  “Forgive me, my Lord, but Lady Greendawn has been trying to reach you all day.”

  He still didn’t trust that woman, but she had offered to help and this mission was far from a guaranteed success even with all of the progress the team had made. Raith cast a woeful glance towards the kitchen where Nyhm still stood in the doorway looking back.

  “Go see what she wants. I’ll fix you something, too.”

  “I appreciate it. I’ll be right back.”

  Hopefully.