Chapter 244 - Now This Is Much More Straightforward

Ghost made a vague gesture in the air. "For example, you can fill the space with an easily disturbed seal that will do something nasty when touched. Or with something volatile that you wouldn't want to channel. The exact mechanics are not something I know much about. Dimensional locks are proportionally popular to teleportation, and teleportation is popular proportionally to your chances of teleporting into a vacuum of open space."

"These chances seem to be very high," I noted with a huff. "I don't think it's so hard to fold space to teleport in a short distance, but I can't see how I'd aim for long ones. I could just look with my well, but I will end up burning my brain if I get too far." And I knew from personal experience how unpleasant that was.

"Exactly, Diana! There are ways to bypass these restrictions, but most of them come down to creating stable portals and using them. Even that isn't easy, though, and you won't find many of them around."

With how the world was divided into territories by its many supernatural beings, that was surprised.. I doubted many would let some other coven to build a portal on their turf, unless they were in really good relations… Which most supernaturals, as I learnt, weren't. Even witch covens constantly competed for influence, power, money and bragging rights.

"Thank you, teacher. I suppose then Eve might know more about this entire thing… I will have to contact her," I said, more to myself than to Ghost.

"It's always wise to ask advice of people who specialise in the area of your current interest." Ghost nodded with approval. "Now, Diana, tell me more about that paralysis spell you used on Staghead. As your teacher, I have to make sure that the next time you attack him, he won't escape, fey or not. Tell me every detail, no matter how insignificant, about his aura and how he reacted to the spell."

I did just that, and the next few hours we spent nitpicking on what I could've done differently and on ways to go against fey strange physiology. On first glance it seemed to be much like human one, but then you found out that they seemed to be fine even if their hearts stopped and their lungs couldn't draw a breath, to the point where it didn't stop them from using magic.

There was plenty to discuss, in other words.

⠀⠀

I called Eve the same day to tell her about my progress and ask about hers. There wasn't much, but when I told her the information I gathered, she didn't seem dismayed by it.

"Dimensional locks… I will be honest with you—this isn't my speciality either. Spatial manipulations are fine and dandy in theory, but in practice their usefulness usually hits a roadblock of other people not wanting to cooperate. Or worse, not wanting you to have that knowledge at all. It's a real shame that it seems like from the beginning of our history all everyone did was ganging on anyone who looked too threatening. Which often meant 'too smart', too." Eve fell silent for several seconds. "But I will look into it now. From what you said, I already have a few ideas…"

"That's great, Eve. Did you find anything on Staghead himself, by the way?"

"No, not yet. The witches I've asked have been acting like bitches… Now I have to waddle through their politics. They would love to have me in their fold and aren't afraid to press it on me in return for the answers I look for." Eve clicked her tongue with great annoyance. "Well, I have something to hold over their heads, too. But it will take more time than I'd like to get the information. Meanwhile, Diana, since we are exchanging project, I want to put you on something that will probably be more up your specialisation."

"Yeah? I don't know so much that you could talk about specialising in anything yet…" I added the last part quieter.

Eve snorted. "Oh, I've heard that you only Awakened less than a year ago. Late Awakening is absolutely normal for arch-witches, and from what I've seen, you've been learning in leaps and bounds since it. Do your best for now, and when I'm done here, I might come around to help… and take a peek at your piece of the seal. Just a peek…"

It was hard to understand from Eve's tone alone if she was joking about her desire to look at the seal or entirely serious. Either way… "I and JJ will be glad to see you again. So what it was you had in mind?"

"Simple enough. You've seen how Staghead throws his power around like a sledgehammer, didn't you? Not even vampires do that, not commonly at least. Staghead has a very strong aura, which alone is enough to break spells, and that might include whatever we might throw at him. I had a thought—what if we found a way to absorb it and take it away from him when he throws it around again? I thought about simply channelling it out of him, but he'd just pull it back if we went so straightforwardly, I'm positive. But if there was a quick way to cut it off when it's already out… Think about it, Diana. Ask your teacher—he looks very knowledgeable. I've already thought about it a little, but making a seal for something like that means making it strong enough to withstand all that power… and if I could just do so, I wouldn't have to be worried about him breaking any more of my seals!" Eve finished with a huff.

"This seems like a great idea, Eve… I will do what I can about it! And maybe there are other ways to weaken Staghead. Fey… shouldn't they be afraid of cold iron?"

"Like with vampires, myths can easily turn out to be false. This is something I plan to explore. For now, I recommend sticking with what we know for sure."