"Come in, Your Excellency, have a seat." said Logmar, getting up from his seat at the head of the table, and pointing at the seat to the archmage. At the same time, he pulled up one of the empty chairs to the table and, waiting for Crassus' permission, slowly sat down in it. He needed slowness in order to have time to think about why his former classmate had come to him. They were not close, and even if they were best friends, it is obvious that a mental magician would simply be called to a higher-ranking colleague. So the reason for the appearance of an important guest is quite extraordinary, perhaps a secret matter that relates directly to the Logmar. And this could promise both trouble and great benefits.
- Come on, Logmar. We've known each other for a long time, why these formalities? You can safely address me as "you". - said en Janet, spreading out on a huge soft leather chair. He looked around the investigator's office. Everything that the eye clung to was done with taste and looked quite expensive, which immediately gave away the craft of people, not magicians. Expensive woods with elaborate carvings, a painting by a fashionable artist on one of the walls, carved statuettes, massive furniture, and the armchair in which the archmage sat. This is weird to wizards, they preferred strict functionality. This is a very useful observation, which meant that the mental magician was not attached to his work or treated negatively, since the appearance of the office remained unchanged. Does an employee who takes his business seriously remain in an unsuitable environment for him? And, conversely, those who are indifferent to their work do not care about their workplace. Logmar himself didn't look the best either. The appearance remained the same, not a very beautiful cross between northern and southern features, as always. But the eyes looked somehow tired and indifferent. And where were they looking? Then at the floor, then at the ceiling, then at one of the many figures of the god of justice. And this, in turn, is not a positive sign in any way. Sorcerers, in any interactions with each other, looked primarily at the aura of their interlocutor. This was not only a precaution against sudden unforeseen actions of another magician, but also made it possible to determine each other's emotions and intentions. The fact that Logmar did not adhere to this rule could indicate that he lost all ambitions and accepted his own fate as a loser. If this is true, then he is unlikely to agree to perform the task prepared by Crassus. However, whether this is true or not, only their conversation will show.
- I don't even remember the last time I saw you. I think it was at that conference, about seven years ago, when you received the title of master?
- Yes, as far as I remember, it was our last meeting, except for those where we didn't even exchange a few words.
- Eh, and we talked so well at the academy, but we parted in life, as if we didn't even know each other. We need to fix this urgently! Maybe you'll transfer to my team then? We will work together like in the good old days. Let's catch up for all these years. What's there to explain, it's better than here! - The magician, saying one thing, thought quite another. This was not at all the "same offer" that he came to make today. Partly, this is the bait with which he wanted to lure the mentalist, partly, just an empty beginning of the conversation. Small talk. He couldn't have started his agitation right away, he had to feel the ground first. So he didn't expect a positive answer, and in general he hoped for a negative one.
- Meeting more often is not a bad idea. But unfortunately, I can't leave my job. Immediately everything will fall apart without me. The entire criminal collegium rests on me alone. And this can be said to be a matter of national importance. And not only that. There is both climate and architecture. Moreover, why do you need a mental magician? Have Typhons finally discovered consciousness? I don't believe it.
- If you don't want to, it's up to you. And how are things on the scientific front? What are you working on, what stage, when will you apply for a magister's degree? I will vote for you without looking. I'll also ask a couple of friends. There, the position of Archmage is not far away. You will become the only mind mage among us. – Crassus knew the answer to this question with precision in advance. Logmar did not work on anything, since he simply did not have such an opportunity. Different magicians need different resources for research. Although working on the theory did not require any resources other than paper and pen, but still theory is only part of any research. The much more important part is always practice. What is the use of conclusions that are not supported by a lot of experiments? And Logmare definitely could not conduct experiments here. Specifically, for the research of a mind mage, people are needed on whom experiments can be carried out. Criminals, insane patients, volunteers or prisoners, condemned to death were usually used. The chance of a negative outcome of the experiment is not so great, and usually the subjects were not in danger, but fatal mistakes sometimes still happened, so they tried not to conduct experiments on innocent people. Working in court, the sorcerer could no longer hold any other positions, therefore, he had no access to laboratories, and therefore to test subjects.
- Yes, there is one project. I will not say that it is ambitious, but it is certainly very useful from a practical point of view. – he said once again averting his eyes.
"He doesn't have any project." - The guest was convinced.
- Yeah, whatever you say. In general, what are you planning to do in the future? You can't work here forever. The position is not for a sorcerer of your level. Do you agree?
- I don't even know. All work is equally important, and there are enough scientists and military without me. Look what I've been thinking about recently. Obviously, the speed of magic development has increased significantly in our days. But why is this happening, have you tried to find out? I studied the archives about the biographies of the wizards who made the most important discoveries, and found a certain pattern. Most sorcerers made their most significant publications at the end of their life path. In addition, over the past thousand years, the average life expectancy of magicians has seriously increased, from about one hundred to one hundred and eighty years. Accordingly, it can be concluded that since modern magicians live longer, over time they accumulate more and more knowledge about our reality, and this allows them to make more accurate and progressive conclusions about the structure of magic. That is, the older the magician, the smarter and more valuable he is as a researcher. And now imagine, because even an ordinary magician can live a thousand years, and you and I can stand two or three without any problems. So, if you do not risk yourself in the first centuries of life, but calmly and steadily do your work, along the way, deepening your knowledge of magical theory, then in a thousand years you may discover such secrets, the existence of which you cannot even think of now. So I want to conduct an experiment on this topic. Well, what do you think?
"What kind of nonsense is he talking?" the archmage was indignant. "Has his brains completely turned into slush from this work, or is it a defensive reaction due to the unsettled state of his life? Or maybe he just broke away from life and has no idea who, how, why and when publishes their works. And he was once considered a hopeful… Only drastic measures will help here!"
There were several obvious mistakes in the theory of the mind mage, but this is not the worst. Worse is the conclusion he came to. It was the conclusion of a good-for-nothing coward whose only goal was to live a couple of years longer. And if scientists had heard the theory mentioned by Logmar, they would have laughed in his face. The main reason why all important works were made public at the end of life is only one thing – for a sorcerer, his personal strength is most important. Each of them has a whole bunch of small and large discoveries that they were in no hurry to share, as this provided them with a certain advantage over the rest. To increase their rank or maintain it, they revealed exactly as much as was necessary and not a drop more. Thus, important discoveries were published at the end of life only for the reason that the wizard no longer had less significant research that he could publish to preserve his status. Well, or they already had nothing to lose. And how many secrets the magicians took with them to the grave - it's scary to imagine. Fortunately, the right changes were observed in this area. It has become a good tone to leave all your research on paper or any other material medium, so that in case of sudden death they could be discovered and used for the benefit of the living. And about the acceleration of the development of magical science, the mentalist, in his theory, was only partially right. The increased life expectancy, the increase in the number of magicians, and the improvement of methods of magical research played a role. That is, in short, it is simply an increase in man-hours spent on science, plus an increase in their efficiency. And there is no relationship with the age of scientists.
- No, I don't think so. I think you're irresponsible and lazy, and you came up with this theory to justify your cowardice. When I came to you, I was thinking of offering one thing, but now I'm not sure if you're the right person for it. I need a magician, not a human clerk. - Crassus stared hard into the other's face. It might seem that he is dissatisfied with Logmar, but in fact he is now angry with himself. En Janet considered himself a good speaker when it came to pre-prepared speeches. He was able to look into the audience, correctly gesticulate, choose words and intonate. Or in the case of non-magicians, choose suitable spells that affect the psyche. For important dialogues, he usually came up with a whole scheme from the supposed replicas of the interlocutor and his answers. It often helped him, as, for example, in a dialogue with the prince. But it happened that the interlocutor was so out of the intended flow of the conversation that only improvisation remained. And he never liked his own improvisation. So he should not have reacted so sharply to this nonsense, but smoothly brought him to the necessary and profitable solution, as he initially wanted. Now the interrogator is faced with a choice. The Governor-General saw a lot of options for the possible behavior of the interlocutor, in which it would definitely not work to convince him of something.
- I'm not a clerk, I'm a certified magician. And in my field better than many. Maybe I don't work with magicians, but that doesn't mean I've gotten worse. - He looked offended and indignant, partially understanding the other's rightness, but not ready to accept it. This is a good sign for the archmage, showing that all is not lost. A new plan had matured in his head, though risky, but not hopeless.
- Better than many in your field? How do you know that if you don't leave the office? Do you think it's the same thing to brainwash criminals and compete with magicians? Wake up, the world has changed. And while everyone around you was getting better, you were only losing your skills.
- Even so, there still aren't many mental magicians better than me. And while that's the case, I'll somehow find a way to get settled in life without your advice and suggestions. - His tone indicated that he was ready to end the conversation. If this was an official meeting, then he would have to do what the archmage ordered. But now he could end the conversation on his own.
- Is it so? You know, I've never been any good in mental magic. But I bet I've gotten better than you. I propose a Lifoden duel. When you lose, you will understand where your current place is. –That was en Janet's plan. To be rude and offer a duel. The chance to win, in his opinion, was quite good. But not one hundred percent. Lifoden's duel was most convenient for the mind mage. In general, sorcerers had an unimaginable number of ways to compete with each other in any discipline. From ordinary duels to something very strange. Lifoden was a mental magician who developed a method by which any factors other than a person's will and his understanding of mental magic were excluded during the battle. In particular, spells were not used for the duel. This was very important in their case, since Crassus was superior to the enemy in the speed of creating spells, in their complexity, and so on. Indeed, he would not have won the best mental magicians in their field under any circumstances, because this is absolutely not his area of competence. But with Logmar, he was willing to take the risk.
- Pfft, is it with you? No problem. What are we betting on?
- No matter what. I just want to show you how much your abilities have deteriorated and nothing more. You can start.
- What right now?
- If we start earlier, we'll finish earlier.
The Archmage began to install stationary protection so that no one would interfere with them during the duel. Logmar was creating the required spell at that time. It was impossible to notice anything with ordinary vision, but magicians could clearly make out a composite sphere, covered from top to bottom with galdstrafs[1]. A minute later, two invisible muddy and vile-looking tentacles stretched out from its center towards the heads of the magicians. Each of the sorcerers removed the passive protection from their aura and allowed the tentacle to touch his forehead. In the same second, they found themselves in an unusual place. In all directions around, for an infinite distance, the matte-black floor and empty white space spread. The two sorcerers were facing each other at a distance of ten meters. Logmar was dressed in a robe that was given only to archmages on the day of their inauguration. Crassus, on the contrary, was in his usual clothes. This small artificial world contained only the consciousness of wizards and nothing more. If there was no aura here, then there could be no magic. Only mind and will.
- According to the usual rules?
- Yeah.
A timer appeared in the sky, starting a countdown of ten seconds. This time was given for the opponents to gather their thoughts. Any active actions were forbidden to take now. Immediately after the end of the countdown, one of the halves of the infinite space began to rapidly transform. Grass grew there, clouds and sun appeared, forests and mountains, rivers and oceans appeared. Castles and fortress walls were built, armies of people and all kinds of monsters appeared. Ballistas and catapults, cavalry and archers lined up along an invisible line between the two sorcerers. The other half, which belonged to en Janet, did not change at this time. Fifteen seconds were given for this preparatory stage, which the timer counted almost to the end, but Crassus did not take any action. After the end of the countdown, it was as if the whole world began to shrink around him. Now there was nothing holding Logmar back from seizing the territory of the archmage. And in a moment he was already left alone surrounded by an entire army, which was increasing its numbers and improving its weapons with every second. But the soldiers did not seek to launch an attack. Their commander could not yet understand the enemy's strategy. Victory in the Lifoden duel was achieved by killing the opponent's avatar. And the creation of armies and fortresses is the most common strategy. Quite reliable, proven and profitable.
- You have already accepted defeat?
- No, I was just waiting for you to finish this clowning.
And the battle began.
[1] Galdstraf is a magical drawing in a combination of several runes in one image