With Wolfe's work done, the Seraphim stepped forward, making it look like random chance that the first one he stepped to was the one that they had been sent to the village to retrieve.
"Step forward and put your hand on the crystal. Do you understand how to channel mana, or should I have the Patriarch help you?" The Seraphim asked.
The young man shook his head, so Wolfe took action, pouring a bit of mana through him and into the crystal where his hand was touching it.
Once the process was started, the rest flowed naturally from him, and the crystal glowed with a gentle light.
A mark began to form on the young man's arm, a single feathered wing, and Wolfe gave the Seraphim an intrigued look. Could these Magi be somehow associated with the Upper Planes? Or from a family that specialized in light magic, as the Seraphim did?
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe Seraphim didn't show any particular reaction to the mark, leaving Wolfe to wonder what it was all about, and then he moved on to the next in line, an older man who was more confident in his power.
Not that he had much, but he could at least push a bit of mana into the inheritance stone.
The same wing mark began to form on his arm, and the Seraphim nodded in satisfaction, despite the older man's lack of potential. He was still young enough to have children, and now that the Inheritance was active, he would automatically pass it along.
He also had some witch blood, so there was a chance his daughters would be able to use a portion of the Inheritance as well, though they would have to study it off his arm, or be taught the witch magic spells hidden in it by another who had. There might be a way for them to learn it directly, or they might even get a mark of their own, depending on how unique the Seraphim's version of the inheritance was.
Wolfe was studying it as they worked their way through the crowd, and it was definitely not the same as the Inheritance spell that he had come in contact with at the Lumix household. Nor was it the same as the incomplete Noxus Inheritance that he had gained at home.
It wasn't so much that it was more complete, but that it was an entirely different spell that accomplished the same thing.
That made Wolfe very curious about the knowledge that was hidden inside, and whether it could be used to upgrade his own Inheritance, to add more spells and power to it for his offspring.
The fact that he didn't have an heir yet was a minor miracle, even though he did practice the magical contraceptive methods that the Inheritance taught him. There was bound to be at least one or two times that he had slipped up and forgotten a step at the crucial moment.
Slowly, the process was completed, and Wolfe had time to actually investigate the strange crystal in the hands of the Seraphim.
"It's an ancient one, and it is tied to the gifts of the Upper Planes instead of a Family, that is why the mark is a wing, but it's essentially the same thing. This crystal is where the Family marks came from, so it's not as comprehensive as some of them should be, but it likely also contains some magic that was considered outdated and removed from the later inheritances, due to limited space." The Seraphim explained as he noticed Wolfe's interest.
"Would you mind if I gave it a try? Or would there be side effects or a debt involved?" Wolfe asked.
"Nothing, as you already have a version of its blessing attached to you. If anything, it will just fill your mind with archaic knowledge that is the common sense of the Upper Planes." The Seraphim replied with a shrug.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWolfe smiled and Cassie laughed. "Archaic knowledge is the basis of most of our new developments. We have been digging up old information and repurposing it to mesh with new technologies in ways that were never explored by the original creators.
Even the airplanes that Forest Grove uses are a combination of human technology and advanced electromagnetism from Adept Rank Lightning knowledge."
That really got everyone's attention. Neither the Seraphim nor the rural witches of the Free Covens, knew that the people of Forest Grove had made magical airplanes on a mechanical airframe.
"Perhaps I will have to come with you to see this place. It sounds like it might be much more interesting than returning home now that my mission has been completed. Who knows, perhaps you will gain more than I expect from this ancient crystal, and you might be able to use it to help your people." Asmodain noted, his excitement causing the light that he emitted to fluctuate in intensity.
Then he held out the crystal for Wolfe to try, an eager smile making his flawless features look somewhat inhuman in a way that the wings on his back somehow failed to do. But when Wolfe touched the crystal, the result was far from what anyone had expected.
The crystal, which had previously imparted its knowledge without much of a fuss, suddenly went from a gentle glow to a blinding light, and a glowing ball of light hovered in the air above it. The ball flew down to Wolfe's arm, merging with his Inheritance Rune, which spread across his upper body, slowly changing in form from the complex tangle to an intricate and beautiful knot work tattoo covering most of his body.
Then power flowed back from him to the crystal, and it returned to its neutral state as magical knowledge flooded Wolfe's mind. Not just the few simple things that he had expected, or esoteric knowledge that had been eliminated over time, the entire contents of the Inheritance flooded Wolfe's mind and remained there, ready to be pulled forth with a moment's notice.
Most predominantly, the changes to the [Elemental Affinity] spell that would allow the use of spells that you didn't have an Elemental compatibility with, as long as they were already created.
That spell was incomplete, a failed attempt to recreate an ancient spell that had been forgotten. Really, it should have been a way to use non-elemental mana to cast Elemental Magic. There was no need to have an affinity for the Element, it would only increase the casting power and reduce the mana cost.
With this passive effect in place, a Magi should be able to cast any sort of spell that they wanted, with only a few extra runes to introduce the mana before it was elementalized. It was a true thing of beauty, and moved the versatility of his powers toward a nearly unlimited state when combined with all the ancient knowledge that he had gained.