15-7. The Difference Between Toads and Frogs

“It’s not a frog.”

“It looks like a frog,” Sara insisted. Carmen nodded along.

Elijah sighed and rolled his eyes. “Technically, you’re right. It’s a frog. But that’s only because all toads are frogs. There’s a distinction, though,” he explained. Then, he went on to lecture them about the differences, paying special attention to the physical characteristics.

“So, frogs are the beauty queens of, well…frogs. And toads are like the ugly stepsisters?” asked Carmen.

“I hate you,” Elijah muttered.

She grinned broadly.

“But the point I’m trying to make is that frog is a general term. Toad is more specific. And the system described the form as a dragon toad,” Elijah stated with all the long-suffering disdain of a teacher who’d heard enough dumb questions to sap all the life out of any lesson. “So, it’s a toad. End of story.”

“Also a frog,” Sara said.

Elijah glared at her.

“Just using your explanation here,” she pointed out.

“I hate you as well. So, so much hate. Like, fire of a thousand suns.”

She just smiled sweetly and patted him on the arm.

And predictably, Carmen laughed.

“This is why I don’t tell you stuff,” Elijah pointed out. “Always making fun of me.”

“Aww. I’m sorry!” Sara said, hugging him. “Your new form is very cute.”

Carmen added, “Like a pug.”

“Huh?” Sara asked.

“Little dog. Squished face. So ugly it’s cute,” Carmen elaborated.

“That kind of fits Elijah even in his human form,” Sara remarked.

“This is hell,” Elijah grunted. “I died in the tournament, and now I’m in hell.”

Elijah knew they were just teasing, but he was still a little disappointed that they weren’t nearly as excited about Shape of the Magus as he was. Sure, they’d said all the right things when he showed them what he could do with Way of the Magus, but they preferred to focus on the fact that the form was a toad.

With all the general ugliness that came with that reality.

Nobody had ever called a toad pretty, after all. They were rough and bumpy, with warty-looking skin and chunkier bodies than their sleeker cousins. Sure, the shape was obviously magical, with its blue mane of spiky crystal and fiery eyes, but no matter how anyone dressed it up, it remained a toad.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Carmen said.

“I’m going to develop a complex. I probably already have. I’ll encounter a situation where the Shape of the Magus is the only thing that’ll keep me alive, and I’ll hesitate to use it because I’ll be too self-conscious,” Elijah said. “I can see it now. Dead because of teasing.”

“As if you care what anyone else thinks,” Carmen remarked.

Sara agreed, “He really doesn’t. Everyone in the empire thinks he’s a weirdo.”

“No they don’t!” Elijah insisted.

She fixed him with a no-nonsense look of disbelief.

“I mean, maybe some of them do.”

“Everyone.”

“But –”

“Literally everyone.”

Elijah deflated.

“But we still love you!” she said, hugging him again.

Carmen descended upon him as well, wrapping her thick arms around the both of them. Given that she’d spent all day in the smithy, it was not as endearing of an experience as it probably should have been. But Elijah endured, mostly because he definitely hadn’t hit his hug quota of late.

“I still think it’s cool,” Elijah mumbled.

“Of course you do,” Carmen responded, patting him on the back as she pulled away.

He’d spent the past day or two practicing with Way of the Magus, and he’d come away both impressed and overwhelmed by its abilities. The first thing he’d noticed was that it took a lot of ethera, but that was somewhat mitigated by the increased regeneration. Still, he wouldn’t play the role of siege engine anytime soon.

But the second aspect he recognized was that he wasn’t prepared to harness even a fraction of the form’s potential. Sure, he could activate it easily enough, and he could manage the results to some degree of effectiveness. However, he had a long way to go before he could consider himself an expert.

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The abilities featured a huge range, though. Potentially, he could just as easily create an explosion of power to rival a nuclear bomb, but he could also thread a needle with the power.

Theoretically.

For now, Elijah was stuck somewhere in the middle of that, with a much shorter frequency of effects. And even that was only possible because of his long training with Tura.

Still, he remained optimistic about the spell’s potential, and he was eager to work towards its realization.

The other thing he’d found about the form was that, while it was a bit clumsy in most situations, it was true to its toad heritage. As such, it was capable of jumping great distances – more than a mile, and that wasn’t even the limit. In addition, the dragon toad seemed fairly resistant to damage, though Elijah hadn’t pushed it hard enough to compare it to his other shapes.

In short – he was happy with it, as much because of the potential as because he’d always had a soft spot for toads. They reminded him of turtles, just without the shells.

Did it make sense?

Not at all, especially biologically. But that was how the human brain worked at times, making connections that didn’t really exist.

As they sat with him on his balcony, Carmen and Sara continued to tease him about the new form. But eventually, the conversation turned to their lives. Specifically, the fact that Sara had begun to meddle in Ironshore’s business.

“I can’t help it,” she said. “It’s so poorly run. Did you know that –”

“I think you need to talk to Ramik,” Elijah interrupted.

“Is he the city lord?”

“Mayor.”

“What’s the difference?” she asked.

Elijah glanced at Carmen, who shrugged. “I think it’s just what he prefers to be called. Technically, he’s an elected official, but he’s also the city lord. Besides, I don’t think anyone wants to replace him. He won the last election by a landslide.”

Sara nodded. “Smart. Election manipulation always gives the illusion –”

“No manipulation,” Carmen said.

“What? Why not? You mean people actually like him in charge? What does he do when people challenge his authority?” Sara asked.

“We settle it via debate,” Carmen answered.

“So weird.”

“What do they do in the Empire of Scale?”

“Uh…we don’t actually do democracy,” Sara responded to Carmen’s question. “And if there’s a challenge, people usually fight it out. Either personally or via a champion. Whoever wins gets to rule. Not that that happens that often. Especially not on mother’s worlds.”

Elijah let that settle for a second before saying, “Maybe we should hold off on introducing you to Ramik…”

“No. I need to meet him,” she insisted, as if she’d been planning it all along. Maybe she had, but it was just as likely that her confidence in the idea was newfound. “You think he’ll see us now?”

“Like right now?” Elijah asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. “I have so many ideas.”

Given that Sara was practically bouncing with excitement, Elijah knew that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. So, it wasn’t long before they were headed across the strait to Ironshore. Sara still hadn’t progressed to demigod, so her wings were only really useful for gliding. Because of that, she just rode on Elijah’s back.

Not the most comfortable of seats, but it was okay for short distances.

And Sara seemed to enjoy it, so there was always that.

In any event, they landed a couple hundred yards from Ironshore’s gate. The guards on duty recognized Elijah well enough, so they allowed them through without any real fuss. But as was always the case in Ironshore, Elijah drew quite a lot of attention. Some of it was simple interest in a unique character, and more than a little came from his obvious power, which wafted off of him in waves of ethera and vitality. Not everyone was capable of identifying it, but everyone felt it.

But Elijah was more concerned with the fear. His reputation seemed to have preceded him. Inevitable, he knew. But disappointing nonetheless.

The two made their way through the city, with Sara marveling at the sights. She’d already spent quite a lot of time in Ironshore, but she clearly hadn’t gotten enough of the novelty. It wasn’t so different from how she’d acted in the town surrounding the Praesidium. Like a tornado, she whirled from one store to another, stopping to sample the fare of street vendors along the way.

Elijah lost count of how much money she spent, but he knew it was a lot.

Eventually, they made it to the government building, which had grown a little since the last time Elijah was on Earth. It maintained the same aesthetic, but with a handful of extra floors added to the top. According to Carmen, there were a dozen subterranean levels as well.

They entered, with Sara remarking, “This is pretty nice. I like the look. Very official.”

Elijah couldn’t argue with that assessment. It reminded him of some of the government buildings of Earth’s past, though combined with the grandeur of a palace. They’d clearly gotten some Artists and Sculptors to contribute, because Elijah felt a sense of calm and focus the second they stepped inside.

After speaking to a woman sitting at a kiosk just inside the building, Elijah and Sara headed upstairs to Ramik’s office. When the goblin mayor greeted them at the door, Elijah couldn’t ignore the reality of Ramik’s age.

Even when they’d first met, he hadn’t been young. More middle-aged than anything. And clearly, he’d spent some time leveling, because he’d reached ascendency. However, the years had begun to creep up on him, most notably, the wispy white hairs he’d vainly tried to comb over a large bald spot. Wrinkles stood at the corners of his eyes, and he’d put on a little weight as well. Most of that had ended up around his middle.

Still, he seemed extremely energetic as he welcomed them into his unchanged office. Soon, both Elijah and Sara were sitting in a pair of straight-backed chairs across from the goblin. A wide expanse of a wooden desk sat between the two parties.

“I was wondering when you might visit,” he said. “Our partnership has been very lucrative, and I’ve remitted the proceeds to Mr. Ariti.”

For a second, Elijah had no idea what he was talking about. But then, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered that he’d loaned quite a lot of money to Ramik – or rather, to Ironshore – so they could get out from under the thumb of the Green Mountain Mining Guild. In doing so, he’d become the city’s financial partner.

“Oh, that’s great. But that’s not why I’m here. In fact, I don’t even want to hear about all of that,” Elijah explained. “Ramik, I want you to meet my sister, Sara. She’s an ascendent Administrator, and she has some ideas she’d like to discuss with you.”

“Oh?”

Elijah didn’t miss the man’s trepidation. “And no, you don’t have to do what she says. She’s just here to learn.”

“If that’s what you call fixing this city’s glaring issues, sure,” Sara muttered under her breath. Elijah cut his eyes in her direction, and she mouthed, “Sorry.”

“Sara, of course, will be on her best behavior,” Elijah said pointedly. “Right?”

“I guess?”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Alright, alright. Yes. I’ll be nice and…I don’t know…docile? That seems like the right word,” Sara elaborated. “Understanding? That sounds better.”

Elijah sighed. “It’ll have to do,” he stated. Then, he turned back to Ramik, who’d started fidgeting with the head of his cane. “Seriously. Just listen to her. Maybe make it clear that real life is different from whatever she’s been learning in her academy.” He pushed himself to his feet. “And when I get back, we can get dinner. My treat.”

“I know just the place,” Ramik said.

“Alright – I’ll be back soon-ish,” Elijah said, heading out the door. He looked back. “And Sara.”

“What?”

“Be good.”

Before she could respond, Elijah was gone. He had something he needed to take care of while Ramik dealt with Sara.