548 Pyromaniac meets Pyromancers

Triss had stayed in Kaer Morhen for a while now, disregarding her duties to Kovir for a chance to learn the new magic that was used during the battle against the Wild Hunt by those "Pyromancers". She considered herself the most versed in the usage of fire magic but seeing some of the spells they used, especially the final cast by Geralt's long lost apprentice had her itching to learn.

As a result, she found herself at the top floor of the new library that had been constructed, to be honest, she found it incredible and one of the largest and most diverse collections of books in the world. The stone book-shelves were a requirement in her eyes as any damage to this place would be a loss to humanity itself. Fortunately she and a few others were allowed into the "Restricted" area, apparently some of the magic held in it was outright dangerous to everyone around it, of course there were others that were especially powerful and needed to be kept secret as almost anyone was allowed access to the lower floors.

She found herself wary of the librarians however, the old man wearing a huge hat along with his apprentice gave off an odd feeling, though their strange actions could be attributing to this.

Regardless she prowled around the huge selection of books and tomes in the top floor looking for the specific magics used by the Pyromancers, she had tried to get the woman Quelana to teach her but it was apparently a "Family Secret", this wasn't weird to her as many Sorceresses and magical lines kept spells and techniques hidden... It did make her somewhat confused though as every single one of those "Chaos Servants" seemed capable of it, to a high degree as well.

Regular magic didn't work that way, you were either gifted in it or not. To have such a large number of capable mages was truly an impressive sight, one that could have only been matched by Aretuza or one of the other prominent colleges in their prime.

There was one problem to her learning this magic though... There were no books on the subject within the Library... She'd scoured every evil looking book on rituals, necromancy and soul magic and none even hinted at "Pyromancy".

She sighs to herself and slumps in her seat, Griggs who's sitting in a cushioned stone chair nearby with his feet up noticing her having trouble.

Griggs "Is there a problem Milady?" he asks as politely as possible, as per instructions from his master to be a "Good Librarian".

Triss nods, "I've been looking for information on the magic those Chaos Servants had been using, but no books here do anything more than hint at it's existence." she complains.

Griggs "Ah, why did you not simply ask? I'm no expert in the matter but I've had enough run in's and conversations with people using it to have a basic idea."

Triss "Forgive me but, you and your master aren't the most approachable people..." she says with a apologetic smile.

Griggs "Yes... It seems that our time spent in the Dukes Archives have done a number on our sanity, but, at least we haven't gone hollow..." he shakes his head, "Anyway, regarding your query, the magic you seek is called Pyromancy. It was created by the Witch of Izalith, lady Quelaag, Quelana and Quelina's mother, who also happened to be... What you may refer to as the God of Chaos."

...

Triss "God of Chaos?" she asks, not really believing him. Gods should be omnipotent in her eyes, and while yes Solaire and Reima were extraordinarily powerful it didn't mean they were gods."

Griggs "It's just what they're called, people who worshipped her were granted a Pyromancy flame and ways to train it, of course, most had their souls burned to nothingness due to how skillful you needed to be to truly master it. From what I heard the only people who survived receiving a Pyromancy Flame from the Witch of Izalith were her own daughters."

Triss "That is interesting, but it does not tell me what a "Pyromancy Flame" is..."

Griggs shrugs, "I believe it's some sort of manifestation of your soul... Though I have no idea what it specifically entails. Personally I think lighting your soul on fire is a truly foolish action, though it seems to have made the Chaos Servants a powerful faction in their own right."

Triss "Hmmm, and what of your magic? It seems you regard it as superior?" she asks.

Griggs nods, "While it takes a significantly longer amount of time to learn, it doesn't require you to endanger your life by igniting your soul. Sorceries are simply practical soul magic that utilise mana and your soul in-tandem. Though if you have more abstract questions about it you should ask my master or lady Dusk as they have truly mastered their respective crafts."

Triss "What's the difference between your master and Dusk?" she asks.

Griggs "Lady Dusk utilises the ancient magics of Ooalicile, a forgotten place that strayed from the Pale Dragons teachings and used magic is unconventional ways, from what I've personally seen she can manipulate light to turn invisible or even produce light, something that was thought impossible."

Triss "And your master?"

Griggs nods, seemingly excited to talk about Logan and his teachings. "Master Logan specialises in Crystal Magics, ah-eh, essentially a kind of incredibly compressed mana... Think of it like the water to ice version of mana. It is almost impossible to achieve this state but through formulae designed by the Pale Dragon he was able to achieve it, and even start designing spells based around it."

Triss "Hmm, and what of this "Pale Dragon" you keep referring to?"

Griggs "Oh? I'd thought you would have read about him in one of those tomes?... Well, the Pale Dragon is the originator of all Sorceries. I'll not bore you with the history of it but suffice to say all of the magic from our world were created by the Gods themselves.

Triss nods and stands up, "Thank you for the information... I still wish to learn Pyromancy though... If you wished to learn Pyromancy and weren't in the Chaos Servant's inner circle, who would you ask?" she says to him with a smile.

Griggs doesn't even react to her sensual gaze and just falls silent to think for a moment, "Hmm, Quelaag and Quelana are... Stern and confident women, perhaps asking Quelina would give better results?"

Triss nods and leaves, seeking her next target for information about the strange magic.