Stronger Together chapter 78 (Patreon)

The next week went by much the same as the one before, only without  much supervision. I spent the entire time working on aspects and my new  spell. I couldn't use two aspects at the same time not matter what I  tried, but I learned over the course of the week to use an aspect fueled  by a normal spell while I had another in my aura. It took immense  amounts of concentration and control but my efforts paid off in the form  of a force aura, lightning speed combo. Essentially letting me hurl  myself around at near instant speeds and amplify that force on impact.

Because  I was a huge nerd I decided to name it my Juggernaut combo, though I  kept that designation in my head, and I barely managed to keep from  shouting about it to the girls. Despite all the training time by myself  though that week leading up to March tenth I spent a ton of time with  Barb and Cinder. Usually at different times socially but I got closer to  both of them and just generally learned more about the girls as people.  I tried not to judge Cinder to harshly on stuff she would have done,  since she seemed so different like this and I could feel it was sincere.

One  thing she did help with though for both Barb and I was Aura control.  Aura control was an incredibly important aspect of magic for us, in some  ways it was the only aspect of magic. Unlike normal wizards though we  had access to an Aura control master who could help us train that  precision in a safe way. Cinder put Barb and I through a battery of Aura  training methods that helped our Aura grow and helped us strengthen our  hold over it. Combined with the brilliant skills we learned and honed  from Ebenezar and Liberty and Listens-to-Wind we would be able to master  delicate magics much faster when we came to them and were able to cast  spells easier and more often without so much danger.

Yang  already had pretty tight control, so she was flying through the lessons  we passed over the phone. Barb and I also learned control made Aura sex  last longer and made it feel even better. Yang oddly hadn't heard of  sex being any better with Aura access for both parties but we figured it  was something about the soulfire slowly becoming part of us. By the  time the week was over we had a firm foundation and had perfected the  magic we had access to immensely. Aside from Juggernaut mode I'd made  great strides casting my lightning spells properly without needing my  Aura and even considered trying a combo with super strength and  lightning Aura, though I wasn't at that point yet.

Mixing  and matching my semblance and Aura gave me a kind of versatility that I  thought would be priceless in battle, even against something terrifying  like the Skinwalker. The longer I trained the better I got at switching  and using each on their own even without Aura. I couldn't imagine how  normal wizards managed this since it apparently could take months or  even years to master a new spell without Aura control to cheat and I was  having trouble with two of the most basic spells I could do even with  that factor. I was assured I was flying through my training through  despite how long it would still take and when the week finally came to  an end and I found myself in front of the wizards and River alongside  the girls they assured me I was ready to learn to shield.

Ebenezar  took the lead, since direct application of force was sort of his wheel  house. "Well. When we came up with this little training camp I figured  you kids would manage to control a spell, maybe half ass another. But  the progress you've shown has blown any genius of magic I've ever seen  out of the water. Along with increased risk of your powers has come a  way to train your control in ways other wizards could never dream of.  Don't get me wrong, your fine control is still a long way from pulling  off some of the more impressive types of magic, and so is your power.  But you've come such a long way in these last two weeks I can't help but  be proud."

River  took over looking at Cinder. "Ms. Fall, I had originally planned to  focus solely on your unusual powers, exclusing traditional magic, but  your quick mastery over your abilities and adaptation to my admittedly  sometimes brutal training methods have given me a new perspective. Along  with the integration of soulfire into your mantle it's become clear  keeping you from this training would be harmful and pointless. This will  be your first time learning to cast like the others, but with your  experience with your unique magic and with the soulfire its been pulling  on as well as your control of your Aura I believe you're ready to  attempt to learn defensive magic."

Liberty  turned to Barb "Barbara, your grasp on wind magic exceeds any wizard  I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. Joseph and I both agree we've  never had a more intelligent, dedicated, talented pupil in all our years  of practicing magic. You have a natural grasp on magical theory and  structure that borders on the absurd, and I genuinely lament not being  able to offer to teach you full time because of the distances. If I  thought it a possibility you would accept I wouldn't hesitate to offer  you a place at Edinburgh today. As it is I cherish my time teaching you  and believe you more than ready to attempt shielding. " Her voice was  glowing with pride as she spoke to Barb, and I saw some of that same  acknowledgement on Ebenezars face.

The  old Scot picked back up seamlessly, and I wondered if they had  practiced the transitions for this little ceremony. "This branch of  magic is varied and complex. Magic can work on many wavelengths and  frequencies and is varied as the people who practice it. The shielding  we will teach you will be dense and powerful but limited. A screen to  keep out the majority of magical frequencies but that will also prevent  your own power from moving through it. Some wizards never go beyond this  basic form of redoubt, though we hope you won't be among those. There  are wizards who spend their whole career focused on perfecting this  single concept, so we will teach what we can."

He threw out a hand and barked "Dion" and  a wall of emerald green force sprang into existence in front of him. I  activated my magic eye to study the spell and saw a faint tether linking  him to the bulwark of magical protection. The transfer of power was a  steady trickle, and I could see the construction of the energy was  arranged in such a way that the force dispersed along the surface and  what made it through condensed and reinforced the magic. It was  absolutely beautiful and so advanced it kind of hurt my head to even  look at it. I cut off the vision spell and just stared at the wall of  force, trying to see what I could learn from looking just with my eyes.

It  wasn't straight up and down, but angled at about seventy degrees.  Enough to deflect some of the force but still soak up enough to utilize  the advanced mechanics I saw before. I felt like I was studying the  life's work of a fucking engineer, and I guessed in a way I was.  Ebenezar Mccoy had spent over three centuries perfecting this single  spell, his attack magic was wide and varied, but like he said, this one  concept was something some wizards devoted their whole lives to  researching. Any wizard who made it to the senior council had learned  defense magic and learned it well, and while I didn't know if Mccoy was  council yet, he was damn sure on their level.

He  grinned wolfishly at us. "Now for the fun part. We ain't holding your  hand this week. You've proven more than up to learning by doing. So I'm  going to let you study this spell and ask any questions you have and  then I'm going to let you all attack it with whatever you've got. Though  Miss. Fall, if you could keep the hits from being too widespread, we  don't want to destroy the mountain. After that we'll let you work on the  shield amongst yourselves for the week. You can ask any questions you  have and we'll check in with you throughout the week but I want to see  how far that talent takes you. Not to mention defense magic is a bit  different in that you can't grind it for as long. Practicing with a  defense that's too weakened doesn't help you improve."

We  grinned at each other and stepped forward. Kara was hanging back  watching, since this wasn't really aimed at her. But she smiled and  pumped her fist in an enthusiastic cheer. "You guys can do it, just  focus on the shield, you'll learn this in no time!" I was honestly sure  she was right, magic just came so intuitively to me. I knew how Barb  felt with martial arts and...well everything else now. Cinder flicked  her fingers and I saw a spear of slightly distorted air smash into the  shield, but the unobtrusive effect caused the thing to light up like a  fireworks display. I wouldn't have even noticed the attack spell if it  hadn't had a subtle flicker of soulfire in the distortions lighting it  up.

Ebenezar  looked impressed "That's a damn good heat spell. Most people need actual  flames to get that kind of thermal power. River Shoulders wasn't  kidding about you having a knack for this." He didn't comment on Cinder  obviously not going all out because she was honestly strong enough to  invalidate this training. Trying to break through with subtle magic like  that was a great idea to make this challenging for her. He nodded to  Barb and I "What about you two, you gonna let her show you up like  that?" He ginned at us in challenge, and I gestured for Barb to go next.

My girlfriend had her own grin painted across her face. She swept out a kick and bellowed "Gaoth!"  Unleashing a scythe of cleaving wind that shattered across the shield  like an egg on a windshield. Despite the obvious disappointment she felt  at the failure Mccoy nodded to her and gestured for her to try again.  She repeated her wind spell with a roundhouse, creating a vortex that  slammed into the shield. The emerald green surface lit up about as  brightly as a phone screen. Not enough to match Cinder's brilliant glow  but enough to get a respectful nod from Mccoy.

Barb  stepped back, but instead of a pout she was studying the shield  carefully, I suspected she got some ideas about her own defense spell  structure. I had a few of those myself, but then again I needed to  really put my back into a blow to see how strong this thing was. Somehow  I knew hitting that wall in a literal sense would help beat some of the  concept of defense into my head. Magic was about intent and  imagination, and feeling that defense prevent me from reaching my goals  personally would help I was sure of it. I focused on the shield, bent my  knees and activated my Juggernaut combo. I felt the lightning flow  through me as my force Aura sprang up and I rocketed forward.

I  slammed into the shield at my top speed, my Aura multiplying every  ounce of the speed I could bring to bare as I hit. Force equals mass  times acceleration and I was moving fast as fuck. I hit the shield at  top speed and the force exploded out, the shield lit up like a miniature  sun and I saw small cracks start to form across the expanse. Of course  the Aura didn't break it completely, which meant all that speed also  sent my whole body smashing into the thing, almost succeeding in  cracking through it but not quite. I had the satisfaction of seeing  Ebenezars surprised face as I blacked out from the pain, thanking god my  Aura's basic defensive capabilities were still active. Hell yeah.