If Pax hadn’t been watching for it, he might have missed the quick widening of surprise in the older warrior’s eyes when he corrected her use of Mage to Commander. She covered it up immediately with a mildly interested look of calm.

  Titus gave him a quick dump of information over his Echo. That’s General Thalia Draven, the senior warrior on the committee. Next to her is Mage Eamon Lysander, her counterpart with the mages.

  Pax gave Titus a quick and subtle nod of thanks as the general continued to look him over. He found himself easily able to withstand her scrutiny without flinching. Maybe facing so many powerful people and even fighting stronger beasts lately was strengthening his confrontation skills.

  “Interesting.” Her voice was as stoic as her expression. “Am I right in assuming that you’re claiming to have taken control of this ruin’s altar as my door sergeant has just informed me?”

  “It’s not a claim.” He wanted to quash all doubts as quickly as possible. Pax reached for his still tentative-feeling connection to the altar. He wasn’t trying to do anything complicated, and he hadn’t had trouble with the door earlier. With a wave of his hand, the lights in the chamber went out.

  Gasps and a few curses echoed in the darkness. Pax counted slowly to ten, to give everyone time to contemplate exactly how much power he controlled. Then he reversed his action and turned the lights back on.

  “I am the new commander of this base and expect to be treated accordingly.” He met the warrior’s gaze, keeping his as unflinching as hers.

  “General Draven, this is preposterous!” Nightblade leapt to his feet, his face flushed with anger.

  “Sit down, Merchant Nightblade.” She spoke without moving her gaze from Pax’s, studying him with an intensity that was unnerving. “Commander Vipersworn has just demonstrated exactly why we need to work with him if we want to keep access to this base.”

  Nightblade spluttered even more, nothing intelligible coming out as he looked for support from the other committee members focused on the confrontation. When no one offered any, he reluctantly sat back down.

  “And win the war.” Pax kept his tone even, also ignoring Nightblade.

  “Excuse me?” General Draven asked.

  “You need to work with me to keep control of this base and win the war.” This was his chance to finally convince someone in power how critical his help was to the entire rebellion.

  She looked dubious. “Winning a war isn’t as simple as you seem to think it is. You obviously have some control of the lights and doors of this base, and I’m not denying we need to work with you to run this place.” She gave a curt nod of acceptance. “That’s assuming, of course, that we can verify your claims. Since there’s no logical reason to lie about something so easily disproved, I expect you’re telling the truth.”

  Pax just waited patiently. She hadn’t asked any questions, after all.

  Her expression hardened at his silence. “Now listen here, young man. You’ve been here, what? Four days? Of course, we heard about your Taming abilities and the possibility of giving new elements and spell slots to mages. But your arrival was unexpected. We need time to decide how to implement the alternative approaches you’ve brought us. I think Merchant Nightblade is to be commended for putting a crafting room together for you and your team as quickly as he did.”

  Nightblade made a noise of agreement, giving Draven a pleased look at her acknowledgement.

  “We have many plans already in place for our recruits, and especially the strategies needed to win this war. It takes a lot of time and work to incorporate new ideas into already established plans. A fresh recruit like you doesn’t have any idea of what’s involved in winning a war.”

  Pax’s mood shifted during General Draven’s words. He’d been hopeful when she’d started out sounding reasonable, but then she’d ended with the typical dismissiveness he was very tired of encountering.

  “I thought a general of a floundering rebellion would be more willing to grab hold of anything that offers a significant advantage.” He didn’t bother keeping his disdain and discouragement out of his voice.

  “Floundering?” Draven sounded insulted.

  “We’re out-manned, out-supplied and our only advantage is being able to do hit-and-run attacks and then disappear before retaliation can arrive.”

  “Tell that to the brave rebels that held Quarrybrook against the empire’s army.” She leaned forward in her chair, anger flushing her face as she almost stood.

  Pax let out a scornful laugh that was echoed by Titus and some of his crew behind him.

  “We all know the empire underestimated the rebels holding Quarrybrook.” Pax didn’t back down. “As soon as they get better organized, they’ll wipe out Quarrybrook.”

  At least General Draven didn’t argue the obvious point. Instead, she sat back in her chair and took a calming breath. “Commander Vipersworn. I apologize for letting this devolve into a useless argument. I’m sure the talents you bring to the rebellion are valuable. Please don’t think we’ve been ignoring them. They’ve been the topic of many committee meetings since you arrived. We’ve been discussing their advantages and disadvantages. However, we need time to figure out the most optimal way to incorporate them into our long-term plans. That doesn’t happen overnight, or even in four days. We need you to be patient.”

  “Fine.” Pax did his best to temper his impatience, recognizing that she was trying. He drew on his Charisma again and was excited to suddenly feel his temper ease as he understood exactly what he needed to say next.

  ***

  Congratulations! You have increased Charisma from 12 to 13

  ***

  Gratified by the new point, Pax had a much easier time controlling his expression. When he spoke, he could feel the power underlying his words. “Then, let me be clear about what I expect, so there is no confusion. Lieutenant Lancaster needs to apologize publicly for not showing me the basic respect of explaining what he wanted my help with. Despite my age, I’m not a new recruit that needs to be browbeaten into submission and forced to obey with no say in the matter.

  “And second, I require an equal position on this committee. If you’re truly having serious discussions about incorporating our talents in your plans, you need one of us to be involved. I think you’ll find I can help you integrate my team’s new abilities into the rebellion much faster than expected.”

  She clenched her jaw, but nodded. “We’ll take it under advisement.”

  “I would recommend you work quickly. In case you’re unaware, every day you delay, you’ll miss out on tens of new Tamed beast companions for your warriors and mages with their strength and varied abilities.” He waved a hand toward some of their pets. “Our current companions you see here can scout, create shields, uncover hidden traps and even heal, among many other abilities.”

  General Draven’s gaze ran over their companions and she couldn’t completely disguise the interest and hint of avarice in her gaze.

  “When you add my ability to give almost another dozen mages an additional element and spell slot every day, you’ll cripple the rebellion’s chances if you take too long to work with us.”

  “Most mages?” The mage sitting to the left of General Draven interrupted, his gaze sharp and curious.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Eamon, I don’t think this is the time to satisfy your curiosity.” Draven aimed an irritated look his way.

  Pax looked at the mage, who seemed to be taller than Draven, even seated. His lean, wiry frame was quite the contrast to her muscular, beefy one. He had intense blue eyes that were aimed at Pax, like he could see his menu if he concentrated hard enough.

  Mage Lysander also looked to have plenty of battle experience to warrant his position on the committee. A prominent scar along the side of his face pulled at the skin of his ear and neck. Streaks of silver aged his light brown hair he’d tied back and out of the way.

  He answered Draven without interrupting his examination of Pax and his friends. “Oh, I disagree. This is exactly the time. If this boy can really do what he claims, then he’s right. We’d be idiots to waste his talents, however his demands make us squirm.”

  “Really?” Draven gave him a frustrated look. “I’d think you, of all people, would hesitate giving a boy like this too much power.”

  Lysander turned and gave her a direct stare that made her pause. “Thalia, you’re the pragmatic warrior. Why do you care what kind of package our salvation comes wrapped in? By Vitur, we all know what an uphill battle we’ve chosen here, don’t we?”

  A bit of red crept up her neck, but she didn’t argue.

  “Like I already told you, I’ve checked in with the young mages he worked with on his first day here. They actually have a second element, along with a new spell slot. You know how hard it is to get new ones at our level. Now I want to know if he can do this for every mage or just some of us.” He turned to Pax. “Well, Commander Vipersworn? You might hold the reins to the controls of this base. But can you really change the way we’ve done magic for generations?”

  A slow smile spread across Pax’s face. “That’s exactly what I can do. Want me to show you?”

  An eager curiosity filled Lysander’s expression as he nodded and waved a hand, giving permission.

  Go all out, Rin sent. Shock and awe, Pax. Make the old veteran choke on his surprise.

  The others chimed in their agreement as Pax dug deep, drawing on all his mana types.

  “I’d recommend you step back.” Pax spoke to the two supplicants in the chairs behind them who’d been watching the events unfold with wide eyes.

  They quickly scrambled out of their seats, moving back to the wall as Pax’s friends shifted chairs to give him a decent clearing of space around him. Pax’s first instinct was to start with the primary four elements that everyone would recognize, so as not to scare or startle them. His next thought immediately afterward was that scaring them was exactly what he wanted to do.

  Pax didn’t really want to reveal all his spells, but he was sure reports of Ember in the recent battle would become common news soon, anyway. And the golem was the flashiest of his new spells, despite her small size.

  Pax summoned Ember with instructions to flare her magma and look as big as possible upon arrival. “First of all, say hello to Ember, my primordial golem powered by magma mana.”

  Pax waved a hand and Ember appeared with a dramatic whomp of heat and an almost incandescent orange radiance. Someone shrieked while almost everyone who’d been leaning in to see the show quickly scooted back.

  Scales and skin shimmering with magma, Ember stretched to her full height, raising both of her bulky arms, making her reach just past waist high. But it wasn’t her size that made her intimidating. The magma roiling along and under her surface did. Like adding a load of fresh wood to a bonfire, she radiated an intense heat that made Pax’s face flush and go paper dry. Good girl, Ember. Do a quick circle around me and once you’re back around, I’ll let you go.

  Every eye in the room followed the figure of raging heat as she zoomed around Pax and then disappeared a moment later. Pax worked hard not to blink his eyes, as the room suddenly seemed very dim with Ember gone.

  He looked up and met Mage Lysander’s astonished gaze. “As you might guess now, I have access to not just all four of the primary mana elements, but the four secondary ones, too.” Then he raised a finger as if he’d forgotten something. “Oh, and light mana, as I mentioned earlier.”

  Murmurs immediately popped up in response to his words, and Pax could hear the skeptical tone in many of them. It didn’t matter. They’d figure it out soon enough. “Now, I won’t demonstrate all my spells right now.”

  Another surge of objections and doubt came in response.

  “I don’t trust you.” He spoke over them with a deliberate tone that shut up most of them. “But I will show you the elements with one of my advanced mana skills.”

  Pulling on his newest evolved skill, Universal Mana Projection, Pax prayed it did what he expected as he simultaneously wished he’d made some time for a trial run. As he drew on his mana, he reviewed the summary of what his Mana Shaping had evolved to.

  ***

  This evolution advances a mage’s abilities to manipulate mana outside their body to the next level. They can create constructs that are limited only by their imagination and level of experience with the skill and their understanding of the element being used. The mana used must be, at least partially, the mage’s own. Distance and direct connection to the mage also affect mana cost and chances of success. Constructs do not need to be stationary and can move with the mage if desired.

  ***

  With a quick prayer to Vitur that he could make the skill do what he wanted, Pax started with one of the easier elements for him to manipulate: water. He grabbed a ball of the deep blue mana, thrust both hands out in front of him, and pushed the mana into the air above his hands.

  To his delight, the water mana easily followed his directions, only resisting slightly as it left contact with his palms and moved to hover in the air. More sounds of amazement echoed in the room as it became obvious this wasn’t a spell or the simple mana manifestation most mages could manage on the surface of their hands. Instead, Pax had explicit control of his water mana and seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted with it.

  Heady with success, Pax pushed harder into his newly leveled skill, shaping the ultramarine mana into something fun: a miniature wave. Satisfaction filled him as the ball of mana followed his direction with the ease of squeezing a soft ball of clay. In moments, the shifting mana had taken the shape of a wave about to crash down, frozen in that single moment of time.

  Now that he had a better grasp on how the skill worked, Pax sucked the water mana back and cycled through his other elements. He let out a slow controlled breath, forming air mana into a mini-cyclone that spun and twisted above his hands. A moment later, he switched to flame mana, forming the bright red mana into a majestic bird that, with some strained focus, flapped its burning wings.

  He shaped the mottled brown of his earth mana into a mountain range patterned after the one outside that sheltered and disguised their new home. He immediately replaced it with a bright green tree of nature mana that seemed to grow from both his palms until it reached past his head.

  Ice was next, formed into a frozen serpent with glistening scales, mouth open to bare fangs that looked sharp enough to bite through armor. Lightning was next, his idea immediate and easy. This time, he moved one of his hands above the other, palms facing each other.

  He sent crackles of lightning mana shooting down, like a miniature storm. The surrounding air zinged with energy, suddenly filled with the sharp smell of the heavens. He’d cycled through the mana types so fast that the entire room had fallen completely silent, entranced by the show.

  Now, for the finale.

  With a tug on his largest reservoir of mana, Pax held both of his hands out wide and filled the space between them with light mana. He built a boiling ball of energy, bright enough to make it hard for him to see anything else in the room.

  More. More energy.

  When he held what looked and felt like a miniature sun between his hands, he thrust it up above his head where it lit up the chamber twice as brightly as Ember’s earlier antics.

  A few soft gasps were the only sound in the chamber as every face turned up to watch the spectacle. He felt a headache forming, the effort of maintaining the large ball of light mana so far from his reach quickly draining his reserves.

  With a quick pull, Pax latched onto the mana and pulled what remained back into himself and his core. Now the room really looked dim as Pax blinked, a large dark spot centered in his vision. It reminded him of his mother’s repeated caution to never look directly at the sun. Hopefully, his light mana hadn’t damaged anyone’s vision.

  Complete silence filled the room, along with a sense of disbelief and awe at what they’d just witnessed.

  “And that’s why the rebellion needs me and my friends to win the war.” Pax gestured at his friends before looking at the members of the committee, who just stared in shock. Pax looked at his friends, suddenly unsure of the next step. He’d conclusively demonstrated exactly why the rebellion needed him. The next move was up to them.

  A slow but distinct clapping began. Pax turned back to see Mage Lysander rising to his feet, the respect in his expression and demeanor exactly what Pax had been hoping for.

  It didn’t take long for the others in the chamber to join in, though. In moments, an air of celebration and excitement filled the chamber as people clapped and cheered, obviously imagining every rebel wielding powers like Pax had just demonstrated. Pax wasn’t looking forward to explaining that his collection was unique and most others could only get a fraction of his abilities. It also didn’t surprise him that Merchant Nightblade stayed seated, scowling in their direction.

  Then a heavy rumble interrupted the celebration. The floor shook with a powerful vibration just before the door behind them slammed open, banging loudly against the opposite wall.

  Some stared in shock while others immediately pulled weapons out or flared mana to their tattoos.

  “Wait! Hold! There’s no danger.” Pax waved his hands and yelled to draw everyone’s attention to him. The last thing he needed was for his stunt to get people injured by friendly fire.

  A stone head appeared through the door first, followed by the huge rocky body of one of the base’s stone golems bent almost in half to fit. A moment later, it made it through the door and straightened to its full height just inside the doorway. It immediately took four giant steps toward Pax before he could figure out how to get into the altar and control it. Thankfully, everyone in its path scrambled out of its way. Pax let out a relieved breath.

  When the golem stopped and stood at attention just beside him, Pax gave the rest of the room a sheepish look. “Sorry about that. He’s with me.”

  I’m saving up for the next audiobook. Costs are almost completely supported by Patrons. So, thanks!

  Say hi and read something else I’ve written:

  M Zaugg Amazon Page!

  My webpage

  My Facebook Page