Chapter 31

[Magical Conduit]

[Passive trait]

[Description: Though normally inert, the aetherium used in the helmet's creation has been made active through Dwemer technology. Its ethereal existence strengthens the wearer's connection to Aetherius; the immortal plane and origin of magic.]

[Effects: Increases maximum magicka by 50 points and magicka regeneration by 10%. Magic resistance is increased by 5%]

[Feather-Light]

[Active trait]

[Description: When supplied with magicka, the powered aetherium within the helmet almost seems to levitate.]

[Effects: The helmet's weight is near nullified]

[Night Eye]

[Active trait]

[Description: The lens of the Aetherium Helm are infused with Aetherium. Darkness is no obstacle to its ethereal gaze.]

[Effects: A powerful form of night vision is bestowed upon the user.]

[Eagle Eye]

[Active trait]

[Description: The lens of the helm are infused with Aetherium. The mysterious material can magnify the range of the user's sight.]

[Effects: It is possible to induced a zoom-like effect when focused on distant objects and people.]

[Soul Sight]

[Active trait]

[Description: Aetherium boosts a far stronger connection than most material with Aetherius. That connection boosts the user's perception of the other worldly.]

[Effects: Whether they be undead or living, man or mer, daedric or mortal, the user can perceive the magicka produced by all souls.]

[Spiritually Tethered]

[Passive trait]

[Description: While powerful in its own right, the Aetherium Helmet's true power can only be accessed as long as it is supplied with energy from the owner. This siphoning disrupts the user's natural ability to produce magicka.]

[Effects: Natural magicka regeneration is reduced to 0% and magicka is drained while any of the helmet's active traits are in use. The rate at which magicka is drained is dependent on the number of active traits in effect and the strength of said effects.]

Athias held the aetherium helmet in his hands, reading through the laundry list of windows around it. With none of its traits in effect the thing's heft matched its appearance, the cold metal helmet able to challenge the entirety of his leather armor in terms of weight.

The active traits were game changers. His magicka regeneration being neutered would change how he approached certain situations, but he could work around that with potions and, in the future, enchanted equipment.

"You wouldn't mind letting me get a better look at that, would you?" Remiel said, falling in step beside him.

After morning came, they split up from Katria, descending the mountains and deciding to stick to the main roads until they left The Reach behind. They were headed towards the Whiterun Hold and eventually the capital city of the same name, but their exact route wasn't set in stone.

Down here, they passed fellow travelers and merchants. He would've hidden the helmet, but Scrap being at their heels made that redundant. A group with a Dwarven Spider among their number would leave an impression no matter what. Luckily, the helmet looked ornamental when inactive; no ordinary person would be able to discern its true nature in a single look.

"If it hurts you, don't blame me." Athias said. He had shared light details of it with Auri and Remiel once they were alone, with some thrown in ambiguity to not seem like he knew too much. None of the windows mentioned a defense mechanism or measures in place to deal with someone besides him wearing, so it was probably harmless, but he wouldn't be so quick to touch something bound to another's soul. Knowing Remiel-

"I'll be careful." The warning bounced right off the woman. Despite brushing off his words, Remiel showed some measure of caution by poking the helmet. She hummed contemplatively after fully placing a hand on it. "It doesn't seem to be siphoning my magicka or strength." Then, as if that was proof enough nothing bad could happen, she snatched it from his hands, turning and flipping it about.

"Why not try putting it on?" Auri asked jokingly. She stopped ahead of them and turned back to watch, running her hands through Thistlefoot's fur. He'd shown up of his own freewill to walk alongside them.

"As much as I'd like to find out what would happen, there are still plenty of ruins I need to see here in Skyrim. I'd rather not be killed or worse, soul trapped in some helmet."

Auri grinned. "Don't worry. We'll make sure to take the helmet with us so you can still see any ruins we come across."

"The thought is appreciated." Remiel said dryly. "This thing is far too heavy. Can you make it lighter? This is a good chance to see if you can activate its effects without physical contact."

The helmet reacted the moment Athias thought about the request. Using their connection, it heeded his intentions and drew his willing magicka to it with pinpoint accuracy, the lens lighting up as Remiel nearly fumbled it to the ground.

"That's convenient." Remiel said what he was thinking. He might be able fill the air with his magicka but telling the difference between anything it touched without physical contact was still beyond him. The helmet handled the entire process on its own once it had his approval.

The Magical Conduit trait mentioned a stronger connection to Aetherius, the would be heaven of this world if he remembered correctly. Would his magical prowess be enhanced while wearing it and would that in turn show him what steps he needed to follow to accomplish such a feat without an aid?

He had plenty of things to try when he got the chance.

x-X-x

"So, what are we going to practice? Healing hands? Oakflesh? Maybe the Corrode spell? That would be-"

"We're going to start as simple as possible." Athias interrupted Remiel before she could hit her stride. This woman and her rambling could go on for hours. It could be entertaining from time to time, but he didn't want to waste any time.

They covered as much ground as they could, camp made a good distance from the main road between high mountains by the time the moons replaced the sun. According to his map, their pace would see them out of The Reach within the week. He'd put off his in depth tests with the aetherium helmet until then, when he didn't have to be on high alert for the Forsworn.

He and Remiel stood at the base of one the mountains surrounding their campsite, Auri overseeing the cooking tonight. This bit of time before dinner and his watch would be dedicated to training Remiel.

"Right, of course. That would be the best place to test how effective this method is. What spell did you have in mind?"

"You said you know basic electromancy, right?" Athias pointed to the stone of the mountain. "Show me your Sparks spell."

"Sparks, okay." Remiel clutched her hand. Bits of dark purple electricity built within it, sparking around in a restrained ball. She thrust her hand forward, four arcs speeding ahead. One. Exactly one of those arcs hit the stone, a faint burn left behind. The rest fizzled out of existence.

That was horrible, but at least she could actually perform the spell to some degree.

"Again." Athias said, a hand dropped on her shoulder.

He felt Remiel quell her fidgety magicka. Then it changed. Wild. Unpredictable. Powerful. Her magicka thrummed with a destructive energy eager to be unleashed; exactly what he expected from an electromancy spell. Problems cropped up when the energy flowed towards her hand as she thrust it forward. The wild energy didn't flash to its destination so much as sprinted. That didn't stop the spell from working, sparks shooting from her hand, two hitting their mark this time.

Remiel was doing something wrong.

"Again." He ordered.

Remiel pulled her hand back, the process beginning anew. It all happened exactly the same. From the conversion to the path her magicka took as it sped down her arm. He had her repeat it once more just to be sure of the issue.

"Why are you forcing your magicka to follow the same pathway every time you cast the spell?" Athias asked.

"I found that it's the quickest way to cast." Remiel explained. "Having an efficient route planned out for my spells keeps me from wasting magicka and got rid of the delay they used to have. The traditional methods never worked for me."

The tried and true failed, so Remiel figured out a way to get the spell to work for her. Impressive. It must have taken failure after failure to reach that point, but no matter how he sliced it, she was bastardizing the spell.

"That route of yours is why your spell is so weak and inconsistent." Athias said, raising his own hand between them. The magicka in it thrummed the way Remiel's had and sparks appeared. Across his palm, around his fingers, over his nails, the sparks weren't restraining to any specific area. "Compared to pyromancy and cryomancy, I think electromancy is heavily reliant on intention. Focusing too much on anything else won't help you."

"I don't think I understand your meaning."

Athias aimed his hand at the same rocks Remiel shot and the sparks zipped across quicker than a heartbeat. The spell didn't fizzle out after hitting its mark, smoking rising from the point of contact as the wild lines of energy twisted and turned, barreling into a single spot. He stopped the spell and dropped his hand, a single deep burn mark left in the center of the lighter one Remiel's spell produced.

"I wanted the spell to hit a specific spot and it did. Worrying about the specifics wouldn't help." Athias said. His magicka would do what he wanted it to do because it was his. Admittedly, he wasn't so sure how well that logic would work for others, but it worked just fine for him.

Remiel pursed her lips, staring at the mark. "So, you're saying you didn't bother following any steps? You just used the spell? That makes even less sense."

"No, not exactly." How could he explain it in a way she would understand?

Scrap's distant steps drew Athias's attention. The spider was patrolling the edge of the campsite, the crackle of the campfire drowning out its faint whirls. That could work.

Athias pointed to the mountain's peak. "If you told Scrap to get to the top of this mountain would he do it?"

"Of course. He's programmed to follow my orders." Remiel said without missing a beat.

"And how would he do it?"

"Is this a trick question? It feels like a trick question." Athias raised a brow and Remiel continued. "He'd look for a path up and if there isn't one, he'll use the strength of his legs to climb straight up. Automatons can be skilled problem solvers with the right orders."

"You don't know the route he'll take but you know he'll reach the top." He said, hoping the approach would work. "You repaired him, reprogrammed him and give him orders. You don't always know how the orders will be carried out, but the specifics don't matter since you've already given him everything he'll need to complete the task. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"That Scrap is smart?"

Athias nearly face palmed. "Focus Remiel. We're talking about your magicka not Scrap."

"Oh! That was all an analogy then?" Remiel rubbed the back of her neck, smiling sheepishly. "I sort of understand. You think I put too much of a focus on the process and that's influencing the result. I believe the appropriate term would be micromanagement."

Athias nodded. "Most of what you're doing is fine, it might even work well for pyromancy or cryomancy, but that sort of preplanned path doesn't mesh well with the nature of electromancy. Stop that and I think you'll find the spell more reliable."

"Alright, I'll give it a try." Full of enthusiasm, Remiel prepared Sparks.

She thrust her hand forward. Nothing happened. She tried again and again, each attempt as fruitless as the last. He dropped hand to shoulder to get a feel for her magicka and found that the issue was persistent. She tried to deviate from the path of hers but inevitably fell back into the pattern before the spell could be cast.

Words alone wouldn't break the habit.

"The food is done." Auri called out to them. The summons went ignored, Remiel preparing another bout of Sparks, face scrunched up. All the attempts were burning through her small pool of magicka.

Athias patted her shoulder. "Foods done."

"Huh?" Remiel stopped midcast. A noticeable grumble left her stomach, but she shook her head and focused on the mountain. "I'll eat later. I'm going to keep trying until I'm out of magicka."

"Alright. I'm sure you'll get it down with enough time." Athias said.

He joined Auri at the campfire, getting comfortable beside her. Auri's shish kabob was all meat but the other two held a combination of that and mushrooms Remiel assured him were edible. Auri was far from happy about it, but after traveling with Frem, Katria, and now Remiel, she was far better at ignoring it.

Ignoring was a very small step towards adjusting to the way people lived life beyond Valenwood.

"How's the spell practice going?" Auri asked.

"I have no clue." Athias admitted. "Remiel is motivated at least, so I don't think this will be a waste of time."

"My mother always said teaching is a learning experience. Remi's smart, you might just learn something about magic by helping her." Auri held out a bone flute. One of the many things he's seen her fashion in their travels together. "While we're on the topic of learning, how good are you with instruments?"

"I can't say I have much experience with them." Athias said as he took it. The statement held truth across both his lives.

"My singing is quite good, but I think it could use a little something to spice things up and trying is the best way to learn anything." Auri said with a grin. "Music is its own magic. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time."

Athias chuckled as he set it aside for now. He'd entertain her; learning how to play the thing would give him something mundane to do while overseeing Remiel's progress.

x-X-x

Yes, aetherium equipment is going to be doing wild things. Wars were fought over the stuff so I feel like they've got to have some crazy capabilities.

Hoping to try to get back to my more frequent updates when I first started writing but I wouldn't hold my breath. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm a slower writer though I haven't given up on ways to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. More detailed preplanning, talking shop with others that are into writing to help build up my own hype prior to writing sessions, and a lot of random little things.

Writing is like any other art; you can always improve but there's no true right way to do something. Just put in that effort and keep trying. Consider that a piece of advice for anyone else looking to get into writing. At the end of they day, when you look at the words you typed/wrote just ask yourself if you're proud of and/or enjoyed it. That should be goal number 1.