Chapter 289: Staffs vs. Wands
[Bonus Chapter]
Mountains of Vale
POV of Domeric Bolton
The next day.
"MUHAHAHAHAH. FEAR MY POWERS, YOU FOOLISH MORTALS!!! MUUUHAHAHA."
Another Bombarda spell and another part of the mountain blew up.
The childish giddiness inside of Domeric increased, and he laughed once again, "FEAR ME, FOOLISH MORTALS, FOR I AM…"
"Are you done?" Ygritte asked him, and he coughed a few times before turning to look at her.
She gave him and the mountain he had filled with craters an unimpressed look.
They had come to the isolated mountains in Vale to check the power of his Valyrian Staff.
Domeric still didn't understand what the white crystal did. Just like before, it sucked in all the magic that he channeled inside it. But aside from that, the staff itself was powerful.
Not as powerful as the Elder Wand had been. But it was certainly far more powerful than his Holly-Phoenix and Yew-Thunderbird wands.
To truly understand certain things, one had to experience them firsthand. And it was only when Domeric cast his spells with a staff that he realized how much regular wands actually restricted wizards.
Actually, restricting wasn't quite the right word. Wands' primary function was to shape the magic within a wizard's body and allow them to perform their magic. But wands, with the exception of the Elder Wand, didn't amplify a wizard's magic.
On the other hand, magical staffs were very different. They not only shaped the magic within a wizard's body, but they also amplified it.
Domeric, casting spells with a staff, felt like he was actually holding a weapon for the first time. He'd never felt this way about a wand before. Wands felt more like tools than weapons.
And he had a valid reason for this. Although spells cast with the Valyrian Staff were automatically amplified, Domeric's control and targeting of magic were weakened in return. Moreover, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't weaken his spells below a certain level.
In other words, the Valyrian Staff was an excellent tool for large, widespread, and powerful spells. Therefore, it was perfectly suited as a weapon.
On the other hand, when Domeric tried to cast minor, precise spells, the spells always affected larger areas than he intended and were far more powerful than he needed.
Spells like hair straightening and clothes wrinkle removal, cast with the Staff, could leave someone bald and naked.
Wands, on the other hand, were far more useful for minor, everyday spells and other delicate tasks.
Domeric could easily carve ancient runes into stone with his wand, while with the staff, the stone crumbled to dust.
'The right tool for the right job,' Domeric thought.
In any case, casting magic with the staff made him feel much more powerful, and this feeling caused him to experience boyish excitement.
"FEAR MY POWER, YOU FOOLISH GIRL. AHAAHAHAhahahaaa! Cough, cough."
Ygritte did not look impressed at his drama, and he coughed awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.
"You're no fun. This is called role-playing." He said, "I should have brought Tormund or someone else."
"If you brought Tormund with you, then he would be telling tales about your powers to everyone who would listen by the end of the day." She said.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. "You have a point there." He said.
She smiled, then looked at the newly created craters on the mountain with concern. "Was everyone in your past life this powerful?" she asked.
"Everyone? No." He shook his head, "Only two or three. And I'm more powerful than they were at their best now with this staff. But that's only in terms of magical power. There are still many wizards and witches who I can't hold a candle to in terms of magical knowledge and experience."
He didn't dare to tell her that the muggles in his world also had such powerful weapons that they would flatten the mountain instead of leaving craters in it.
Well… he was not sure if the atomic bombs could really flatten a mountain, but they were dangerous as fuck nonetheless and needed to be dealt with caution.
And now that he had not only regained his full power, but this world was also in easy mode.
EASY MODE!!!
Then he suddenly remembered the White Walkers, and his enthusiasm dimmed.
Yeah, he still needed to deal with them.
He was sure that he could defeat a White Walker fairly easily at this point. But this was still Summertime.
This made it extremely difficult to find a White Walker even in the True North. The Night King and other White Walkers were most likely stationed in the Land of Always Winter, where their power was at its peak.
And Domeric was sure that their main forces would attack during winter, when their powers would be stronger and humans' weaker.
The Night King that Arya killed, whom Domeric saw in the line of destiny of this world, was relatively weak. But Domeric had no idea how powerful the Night King was, empowered by Lady Death's death element through her intervention in this world.
But he still felt that he was perhaps the most powerful mortal in the world at this moment. Magically, if not physically. The title of the physically strongest still belonged to Raksa.
"Did you find what the white crystal does?" Ygritte asked, and he shook his head.
"I'll have to go to Valyria, search more vaults, find more books, and see if any of them have any description of a white crystal like this."
"Hmm… are we done here?" she asked.
He looked at the destruction around him and smiled.
"Yeah. We're done." He said. Then he took her hand and apparated back to Godswood at the Dreadfort.
A few days ago, he would have had to create a portkey to cross such a vast distance, but now he could apparate so without fear of splinching.
"Why did we come to the Godwoods?" Ygritte asked.
"Because there's something else I have to do," Domeric said.
Now that the Dragonlord ritual was out of the way, it was time to accept the powers brought by Lady Terra's blessing.
Domeric strolled towards the old Heart Tree in the center of the Godwoods, and when he reached it, he placed his hand over the crying face on the tree and channeled some of his magic into it.
And the moment Domeric's connection with the Heart Tree was established, it was as if his consciousness had been freed from the chains that had previously held it and soared into the heavens.
Domeric suddenly felt that his consciousness was not just one, but was like a collective consciousness, a confluence of many consciousnesses.
Soon, Domeric realized that what he perceived as other consciousnesses were actually other Heart Trees. Domeric could perceive and comprehend everything happening around them.
But at that moment, Domeric realized that another consciousness had connected with a Heart Tree nearby. And with a little focus, he realized that this Heart Tree was the Heart Tree in Winterfell.
Furthermore, a line of magic emanating from the Heart Tree extended all the way to Bradon Stark's forehead.
Domeric quickly realized who had connected this Heart Tree.
'Tree-Eyed Raven. So, the reason Bran hadn't woken yet was that the old man beyond the Wall was talking to him,' Domeric thought.
He had no intention of interfering with Tree-Eyed Raven's affairs, but the fact that he could wield his power from such a distance through the Heart Tree didn't sit well with him.
He didn't care about other places, but Bolton Lands currently had the most Heart Trees in the world, and the idea that someone else could use them to channel their magic was unacceptable to Domeric.
So, half-consciously, half-instinctively, Domeric sealed all the Heart Trees and Weirwood Trees in his lands with his own magic.
These trees were now protected by Domeric's magic. And like an Occlumency shield, others would have to pass Domeric's protection before they could access them.
Satisfied, Domeric withdrew his consciousness from the Heart Tree and returned to the Godwoods, but he could still feel his connection to all the Heart Trees in his lands.
Another thing he felt was the mighty, magical power flowing through his body. Compared to before Domeric connected with the Heart Tree, his magical power had increased by approximately fifty percent.
If Domeric previously had 2 Dumbledore's strength, he now had at least 3 Dumbledore's strength.
But he had no intention of complaining. Being so powerful was truly the best.
At that moment, Domeric remembered something and quickly called up the system's Status screen.
And the new information on the screen before him proved just how powerful he had truly become.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.290: Sothoryos
Ch.291: Home Sweet Home
Ch.292: Current Status Screen