How to Make Friends and Influence People
Rachel stood motionless, staring. Shock gave way to a smile of sheer understanding. She immediately knew: she wanted Ambruce on her side.
Many realms had fractured off the Trannisa realm, born of its continuous overflow of magic. But while these splinter realms possessed magic, none inherited the vital rainbow flow, remaining mere chips of the original, lacking its full resources and potential.
Ambruce was different. It housed an origin well. Not the regular sustaining well that allowed a realm to grow and potentially achieve sentience, but a Rainbow Origin Well. Rachel had only ever seen one before: the monumental, city-sized well overflowing with rainbow magic in Trannisa itself.
The well in Ambruce was small by comparison—perhaps twice the size of an average water well and only a quarter full—but its existence was staggering.
Rachel didn't know the exact implications of its size and capacity, but she understood this: Ambruce had room to grow. Even now, it could be formidable if it wielded its defenses skillfully and possessed battle experience. But looking down at the origin well, untouched and pristine, Rachel doubted it. No one had ever gained actual access.
"This is going to be a bit harder than we thought."
An odd, taut quality in Rachel's voice caused the other three to tense.
"Everyone get ready. This realm wields rainbow magics, and I will have to split my attention between the fight and Smral."
The news shook them, but they readied themselves instantly.
Smral was laughing—a genuinely raucous sound. He liked Ambruce. The realization was amazing, but certain. The inherent manipulator in him was already calculating, always seeking to achieve some end. But what was his goal this time?
He smiled inwardly. He wanted Ambruce. Not as a conquest, nor a thrall, but as a friend or, at the very least, an ally.
Had he changed this much since losing a piece of his soul? He had to admit, he liked the changes: he was more powerful, his mind clearer, and he felt like he belonged somewhere. He had family. He had a home. It was insane—a solitary creature, an ailment dragon, wanting family. But his laughter wasn't about the irony; he was simply enjoying himself.
"You have broken three of my illusions, and you are not even trying."
Smral quieted, offering Ambruce a simple smile. It was true. His innate abilities chipped constantly at the layers, and though he actively slowed the process, he couldn't stop it.
Ambruce sighed. "I feel I should let you and the others leave, but I do not want to."
"Why not?"
"Because that is not what I have done in the past."
Smral gave a low snort, nodding. He had lived the same way. He looked at Ambruce. "And have your old ways been satisfying to you?"
Ambruce stared into the rainbow-hued sky. A chair materialized, and the being sat down, lost in thought.
Smral focused on the unusual sky. What is a rainbow sky doing here? Is Rachel destroying the illusions from the outside?
Rachel and Struns were casting spells, with Cramnal using magics. Rachel's focus remained split on Smral, but six of her spirit beings interspersed among the cohort, battling alongside them. Runes of different colors and types moved erratically—and not all of them came from the cohort. The Ambruce Realm was fighting like a truly sentient entity.
They had been stunned, but quickly regrouped.
Cramnal was thrown back by a stream of earth magic that solidified into an obsidian boulder just before impact. He landed heavily, rolled, and re-engaged without a moment's hesitation.
Whirling winds caused papercut-like slices to appear across their bodies. Struns was bleeding from a gash on his neck; they had learned too late that Ambruce instantly retaliated with their own offensive magics. Struns's daggers and wind magic had been turned back into a slice across his throat.
Rebecca strained, continually feeding and strengthening her spirit beings with soul and spirit magics. They moved forward, everything they touched withering and dying. Her mind reeled from the magic overuse, even as she maintained her watch over Smral and guarded her companions' backs.
Rachel was bleeding. She hated bleeding when it wasn't a calculated consequence. Today, she bled from miscalculation, and her comrades bled for her error.
She spun through the air, the rainbow strands of her hair reaching out, seeking an enemy to devour. They were fighting spirit constructs, not sentient sentinels. In actuality, this was better; without sentience, the constructs couldn't defend against all their tactics, only execute their programming. But it didn't feel easier.
These constructs were formed of a light Rachel knew but never used—a spectrum she had glimpsed in the memories of the Milana. It was a strong, ancient essence that only existed in Trannisa's core, yet here it was, gifted to the Ambruce realm for defense. Many Milana had died seeking it, so Rachel had dismissed it. Now, fighting these difficult constructs, she was suddenly intensely interested.
She drilled her entire body through two constructs in a boomerang maneuver, her hair carving the space to pass through two gaping holes. She landed behind Cramnal, watching him use his traveler's magics—doors opening to suck things into vortexes, release projectiles, or fire erratic streams of magic.
She shook her head. Cramnal needs to use other magics, or incorporate sorcery into his traveler magic. Her outstretched hand shattered a spirit construct to Cramnal's left.
Rachel kept a fix on Smral. Ambruce should have been alerted by now, but it hadn't acted against him. When she finally grasped the scene inside the illusion, she understood why.
Ambruce wanted to be deleted. The realm wanted to lose its status and become a lesser being. This could benefit Rachel, but she wanted Ambruce as it was, not diminished.
As they destroyed a spirit construct, another instantly formed. Cramnal and Struns were tiring. Rachel knew she needed to end this.
She sighed—lately, she was always sighing, and she knew she had many more sighs ahead.
"Fall back! Fall back now! Both of you, Struns."
As they retreated, her skin took on a shimmering rainbow sheen. The blood she was losing began to flow toward her fingertips and the tips of her hair. Sparks, like soundless fireworks, ignited around her. A growing sphere of sparks moved outward from her position. Her blood continued to flow, fueling the expanding, potent sphere.
In an instant, light streamed forth from her fingertips and hair. The sphere surrounded the origin well. The spirit constructs froze, motionless, one inches from Rachel. The released power shattered all the inert constructs, then flowed entirely into the origin well.
Magic drained instantly from Rachel, and she collapsed.
Rachel's spirit body materialized in a beautiful meadow. She walked toward a small area where a table sat with four chairs. She sat next to Smral, looking at the tea service.
"Would you like tea, Milana?" Ambruce asked.
Rachel smiled. "Of course. Because of you, I will need to sleep for several days. I want tea and some type of cake, preferably with goshen berries."
Ambruce smiled. A spongy, soft purple cake appeared on the table as it prepared the tea.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Smral's voice held genuine concern.
Rachel looked at him but said nothing, waiting patiently for her tea and cake. She took a sip of tea, leaned back, and closed her eyes.
Ambruce looked to Smral. "She defeated all of my spirit constructs and sealed my soul well. She completely drained her magic in the process." Ambruce paused, studying the resting figure. "I sense that you did not want to destroy the part of me that is this realm."
Smral's eyes widened. "All that, and the tethers never faltered, and our connection is still stable." He then looked to Ambruce with the same wide eyes. "You wanted the realm destroyed?" He sipped his tea, quietly watching the two powerful beings.
Rachel opened her eyes and took another sip of tea. "What do the tethers and our connection have to do with my exhaustion?" She looked directly at Ambruce. "Would you like to be my Antrunie?"