A Chaos Sorcery All His Own

PS: Update's up! Time to watch the match. Restoring EDG to glory is our duty!

As one of the Realms' most traditional monarchies, Cormyr had a detailed system of nobility. Below the Obarskyr Royal House, the ranks ran from king or queen to prince or princess, duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron, baronet, and knight.

As mentioned earlier, the system included subordinate titles: princes ranked under the monarch, marquesses under dukes, viscounts under earls, and baronets under barons. The former were merely court titles, while the latter were hereditary nobles with lands of their own.

But there were exceptions.

Take an example.

An earl with an actual domain could name only one child or relative as heir to his title. His other legitimate children automatically received the title of viscount, but that subordinate title could not be inherited.

If the earl was fond of a legitimate son who was not his heir, he might carve out a fief for him. That viscount would then be a landed noble, though still subordinate to the earl. The fief was not hereditary, and the earl could reclaim it whenever the viscount died.

If the earl disliked a legitimate son who was not his heir but did not intend to strip him of the family name and cast him out, he would most likely send him to the Church to join the clergy. In that case, the son's viscount title would be worth nothing. He would simply be a member of the Church.

Clearly, landed nobles wielded considerable power, at least in Cormyr.

There were few dukes in all Cormyr. Within the royal family, duke was only an honorary title. Only two houses held ducal lands: Duke Carthness Irling, who stood before Lothair, and Duke Marelli.

Duke Carthness was a veteran of the Kingdom of Cormyr's battlefields. He had fought Zambia's mercenaries for years in the eastern Great Swamp and amassed an illustrious record. A master Purple Dragon Knight himself, he struck fear into the hearts of Zambians.

With a single order, he could raise a ducal force of two hundred fully armored knights and twelve hundred heavily armored infantry from his domain!

Years of campaigning had darkened Carthness's skin. He had thick black hair like a lion's mane and a carefully groomed beard. His amber eyes always seemed to brim with force of will. Two or three decades in the army had given him fierce confidence and an authority that brooked no challenge. Though he smiled at Lothair and treated him courteously, even a Horse Master who had seen little of the world could sense the powerful, unyielding soul beneath that exterior.

When Duke Carthness told him to get up, Lothair struggled on the floor several times without managing to rise. His legs felt weak, and he could not make them obey.

"You've worked hard. You must be tired, Mr..." Carthness had naturally noticed Lothair's predicament and smoothly offered him a way out, but he could not recall his name.

The steward promptly whispered a few words in the duke's ear. Carthness continued, "Mr. Lothair, would you do me the honor of joining me for lunch?"

"Yes, yes!" Though the duke had phrased it as an invitation, Lothair could hear that refusal was not an option. He hurriedly nodded. "I'd be honored."

What followed was much simpler. The Horse Master accepted the duke's gracious invitation, and they dined at an upscale restaurant near the royal stables.

A few glasses of fine red wine helped Lothair relax. As he tucked into the tender roast swan, he recounted everything concerning Aaron.

Duke Carthness listened closely to everything Aaron had done since returning home. The young Sorcerer who had awakened Extraordinary Charisma now interested him even more.

Carthness naturally knew the Sallyan family and had some idea of the earl's house's standing. He knew just how disgracefully Aaron's grandfather had lost during the Tuigan Invasion and the circumstances behind the loss of his title. He had also seen what Aaron's father, Manuel, was capable of.

When a knight reported that a Sorcerer had awakened Extraordinary Charisma, Carthness happened to be in Suzail and had taken a keen interest. Only when he arrived did he learn that the Sorcerer was Aaron Salian.

What a remarkable young man. Manuel was hopeless at political maneuvering, Carthness thought, yet his son had shown such skill. His scheme might have been a little immature, but it was far beyond anything an ordinary noble knight fresh into adulthood could devise.

So the Sallyan family has produced someone like this!

The thought that Aaron was Cormyr-born and Manuel's son pleased Carthness. But only a few minutes later, he abruptly remembered a detail he had overlooked.

"Wait. Apart from Kant, who else did you tell? The man after him?"

"I also told Mr. Morden."

"Ah!" The duke tapped the table in frustration and rose at once. He gestured to a knight nearby. "Goodman, join Mr. Lothair for lunch."

"Mr. Lothair, this is Goodman. He's an excellent knight and a friend of mine. Have a good talk with him, and let him know if you need anything."

Carthness hurried away with his entourage.

"My lord, what's wrong?" the steward asked as he followed the duke. "Was it that foolish Horse Master..."

"Damn it. Tymora hasn't favored us this time. I'd hoped to keep this quiet and have Irling personally cultivate the boy." Carthness's expression darkened. His eyes narrowed, and he radiated a lion's predatory menace. "Too late. The Queen's Blade must already be at the palace, telling the Princess Regent!"

"My lord, if that's so, then haven't we..." The steward realized the problem too. "Our Princess Regent has always been so... Once she learns of this, how could she let him go? Aaron Salian answers directly to the royal house, and it pays his wages. We're too late."

"No!" Carthness swept a hand out imperiously. "At the very least, I'll enter the palace at once and report this to the Princess Regent myself. Even if I can't keep it quiet, I'll formally recommend the boy at the Royal Court. Then, even if Aaron receives the royal house's special attention, he'll have to remember what I did for him."

"Come. We're going to the palace now!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The news Aaron had released was stirring up a storm outside. Even he had not expected a duke to question Lothair in person. For the moment, the last Salian knew nothing of it. He ate lunch near the library, then returned to his reading on Sorcerers.

"In every corner of the Realms, everything is steeped in magic. Every stone, every stream, every living creature, even the air itself holds untapped potential energy. This raw magic is the material of creation and a consciousness that has yet to awaken. It permeates every particle of matter and manifests as various forms of energy throughout the multiverse."

"Primal magic is wild and almost impossible for mortals to use directly. Its power could easily destroy a spellcaster in an instant. Thus, unless a spellcaster has become powerful enough to touch the power of the Other Side—an extremely rare feat—the only way to cast spells is through the Weave."

"The Weave is believed to be a woven magical structure that bridges a spellcaster's consciousness and the raw material of primal magic. Its source is Mystra, the goddess of magic."

"In the vast majority of cases, spellcasters can cast only by relying on the Weave. Whether they use arcane spells or Divine Magic, without the Weave, they are no different from ordinary people."

Aaron frowned.

No Weave, no spells? Then why had some web novels he'd read claimed that great Arcanists could cast spells without it?

And what was the power of the Other Side?

Laws? Causality? The Calamity of the Root? The Gate of Truth? The Dwarf in the Flask? The Brain in a Vat? The nameless ultimate Chaos deep among the stars?

The book did not say.

Aaron also figured that if the answer could be found so easily in Suzail's Royal Library, there would not be so vanishingly few people capable of casting without the Weave.

He skipped the chapters on Mages, Druids, Clerics, Paladins, Rangers, and the others, turning straight to the one on Sorcerers.

"Sorcerers are the arcane counterpart to Mages. With spell components and even faint magical energy, they can channel explosive power through their bodies. They gain their magic not through rigorous study and research, but through an innate gift waiting to awaken in their blood. If a Mage casts spells as a warrior wields a sword, then a Sorcerer's magic is the greataxe in a barbarian's hands."

Most Sorcerers drew their ability to cast from their own bloodlines. Magical energy surged and roared within them.

There were four main sources of Sorcerer power:

Draconic Bloodline: The most common and best-known Sorcerer origin. Its power came from dragons, their magic mingled into the Sorcerer's blood or passed down through generations. Sorcerers of this origin could usually trace their lineage to a powerful Sorcerer who had made a pact with a dragon in ancient times, or even to a dragon's blood relative.

Sorcerers of the Draconic Bloodline were the most common and recognizable in the Realms, and they had everything going for them.

Wild Magic: Wild power born of Chaos, existing alongside and in opposition to the order of creation.

Wild Magic Sorcerers were all agents of mayhem. Their power was violent and unpredictable, and they often could not control it themselves. Some simply let it run wild. As a result, they frequently injured or killed themselves, though their magic could sometimes work wonders—even save an entire battle.

Wild Magic Sorcerers were also well known in the Realms. They did not have everything going for them: one spectacular stunt might kill them outright, while another might wipe out their enemies in one blow. They were born to cause chaos.

Storm Sorcerers: Their power came from the unbridled forces of nature—thunderstorms, gales, waterspouts, and other forms of primal magic.

Cosmic Sorcerers: Also called Fate Sorcerers, these were an exceedingly rare kind of Sorcerer. They incorporated the fundamental laws of the universe and the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars into their bloodlines. They could find the governing relationship behind any change. Born with a deep affinity for the universe's laws, they could easily wield magic through their power.

Beyond those four kinds, the book mentioned Divine Soul Sorcerers. Some Sorcerers possessed a divine spark or the bloodline of a Deity or Celestial, allowing them to cast arcane spells or Divine Magic.

Aaron closed the book.

What did that make him? What kind of Sorcerer was he?

His power came from the Chaos Gods, from the disorder that opposed cosmic order. By that classification, he should be a Wild Magic Sorcerer.

But judging by the Chaos Gods' domains, he should be a Cosmic Sorcerer.

And since his power was granted by Deities, calling Aaron a Divine Soul Sorcerer would also make sense.

Hmph. I'm none of those. I'm the Child of Chaos. If I'm anything, I'm a practitioner of Chaos Sorcery all my own!

Finally, Aaron skimmed the rest of the book, then flipped back to the first page to see who had written it.

The author's name was "Ms. Ereshkigal."

I feel like I've heard that name somewhere. It was intensely familiar, but Aaron could not recall who she was.

He glanced out the window. It was nearly three in the afternoon.

Aaron did two things next. First, he paid two silver coins for the library to assess his professional level.

After testing him, the library examiner concluded that, by current professional standards,

Aaron was an apprentice-level Chaos Sorcerer and warrior.

Then Aaron took stock of the spells he could currently use.

Cost-free cantrips: Charm Person.

First-circle magic: Tzeentch's Blue Fire, Tzeentch's Pink Fire, Lash of Slaanesh, Slaanesh's Reverie, Chaos Bolt.

Second-circle magic: Slaanesh's Tongue.

Special bloodline magic: Create Chaos Spawn, Slaanesh's Gift.

The second-circle spell Slaanesh's Tongue had already appeared in Aaron's mind in complete, unmistakable detail. At his current level as a Sorcerer, however, he could not cast it.

Once he had finished his list, Aaron saw where his problem lay. He immediately borrowed a copy of the Compendium of Spells from the library.

Unlike other spellcasters, his only cantrip was Charm Person.

Cantrips were simple minor spells that cost no magical energy and could be cast at will without memorization. These zero-circle spells were what low-level spellcasters used most often in battle—their equivalent of a basic attack.

But apart from Charm Person, which Slaanesh's power had transformed into a cantrip, Aaron knew no cantrips at all.

That was strange for a Sorcerer. It meant Aaron was not even a competent spellcaster.

Then something unexpected happened.

Aaron picked a random cantrip from the Compendium of Spells and tried reciting its incantation. The violent magic surging within him ran wild, crashing through his body. Before he could finish the words, searing pain tore through his abdomen and chest. The viscount's face contorted, and he coughed a mouthful of bright red blood.

"Ugh!" Dark-red blood splashed onto the floor. The War Wizard apprentice nearby jumped in alarm.

"Your Excellency, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Aaron's handsome face twisted as he pulled out a towel and wiped his mouth haphazardly.

Idiot! Aaron berated himself. You know nothing, yet you dared to try that? Are you determined to get yourself killed?

He really did need a Sorcerer mentor. His power was unusual to begin with, and fumbling around blindly could easily kill him.

Aaron did not dare try again. He tossed the bloodstained towel onto the floor and asked the War Wizard apprentice, "Did you need something?"

The apprentice would not have come in to disturb him otherwise.

"Someone is here for you, Your Excellency." The apprentice glanced toward the door.

A Queen's Blade stood at the entrance to the Training Room.

"Viscount Salian, by decree of Her Highness the Princess Regent, you are to present yourself in the Throne Room at nine in the morning, two days from now."

"Understood." Aaron nodded calmly.

The Queen's Blade left. Seeing how late it had grown, Aaron gathered his things and left the library.

It was time to go home.

The route from the Royal Library to the Sallyan Residence in the Three Crowns District passed through a long alley. For some reason, when Aaron went through it today, there was not a soul in sight.

A cloaked figure emerged soundlessly from the darkness and crept along the wall toward him from behind.

A Fine Steel Dagger slid out from beneath the cloak.

Time to kill!

Aaron's current class levels: level 2 warrior / level 1 Chaos Fate Sorcerer