CHAPTER ONE

Taryn

“What is the peak of human capability? That is the question we all ask ourselves. As mages, nay, as scientists, we strive to unravel the mysteries of a universe evolved. Evolved to be more than nature ordained. Harnessing aether has pushed our species, alongside our co-sentient allies, to heights hitherto unforeseen by our ancestors! Where are our limits? Are there, in fact, any limits at all?” - Julias Archelon, Head Archmage of the Enclave

The stars glittered like diamond dust brushed upon a black velvet canvas, coldly ignoring the waifish young woman standing beneath them. Her long, dark hair played about her face, caressing her neck and cheeks as the wind whipped around her. She pulled a silver canister from an unseen pocket within her jacket, extracting a narrow, finger-length stick from its recesses. A brief pinch of concentration later and a small flame flickered at her fingertip, lighting the end of the stimstick. Its end glowed orange as she took a long drag, before exhaling a sparkling cloud of smoke that glimmered in the air like a pale imitation of the stars above, before the wind snatched it away. A small, unobtrusive notification appeared in the corner of her vision before fading away, leaving behind a small icon with a countdown timer.

Duration: 1 Hour

+ Clarity

- Stamina

“Those things will be the death of you, you know,” the warm voice of her eldermother, Synthia, came from behind her.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Taryn’s lips at the sound of the familiar words.

“There are worse ways to die, Nan,” she replied, still gazing at the glittering stars.

Synthia stepped up next her, leaning softly into Taryn’s arm. They were silent for a while, sharing the stars between them.

“Do you think she’s up there somewhere?” Taryn finally broke the silence, speaking unusually quiet. A certain vulnerability wavered faintly in her voice.

Her eldermother sighed beside her.

“I don’t know, dearie. But wherever she is, I’m sure she’s looking down on you, so proud of the young woman you’ve become.” Synthia put an arm around Taryn’s waist, pulling her into a side-hug. “Tell me what’s weighing on you. Maybe it’ll help ease your mind?”

“I’m reaching the end of level nineteen. I can feel it. Twenty is right around the corner,” her reply was quiet, barely reaching Synthia’s ears. She took another drag of her stimstick before flicking it to the ground, grinding it into the dirt with the toe of her boot. The words ‘Level 19’ seemed to stare at her from its location in the bottom left corner of her vision, just above her aether bar. There wasn’t any indication of how much longer it would be until she hit level twenty, but in time, you learned to feel such things. Although difficult to explain, it was somewhat like a tightening of the soul, like your body was getting a little too small for the energy contained within.

“I’m ready, don’t get me wrong. It’s just nerves.”

Synthia remained silent, letting her granddaughter vent her thoughts.

“Tomorrow might be my last day here. Maybe the day after, I don’t know… but soon. Very soon. Then I’ll be heading to Aquileia, finding a ship, leaving the planet alone for the first time… It’s a lot. It’s been planned for so long, but now it’s… time. It’s real.” Taryn continued, complicated emotions flickering across her face.

“You don’t have to go, you know. You could stay.” Synthia finally spoke up, but Taryn immediately shook her head.

“No. I have to do this.”

Synthia nodded, rubbing her granddaughter’s back. It was worth a shot, at least. She hadn’t really expected her to back down. She had her mother’s stubbornness, after all.

“Well, it’s a bit too chilly out here for these old bones. Time to brew some tea, I think. Don’t be too long, dear. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Okay, Nan.”

Taryn continued staring at the sky above. A brief flash illuminated her face as she lit another stimstick, lost in her thoughts.

*  * *

The following morning, Taryn knelt outside the single-story house she shared with her eldermother, tightening the laces on her boots and double checking that all of her equipment was in order, that all of her supplies were accounted for. If one ventures into a dungeon unprepared, they may not venture out at all. The age-old adage rested firmly in the back of her mind. She couldn’t afford to get careless now, not when she was so close to achieving stage one of her goal.

Finding everything in order, she stood and brushed the dirt from her knees. The morning dew had soaked through her pants, chilling her knees, but it would dry soon enough. She slung her pack over her shoulder and walked around to the garage affixed to the side of the house. The rusted hinges of the metal double doors squealed in protest as she yanked them open, revealing the single-person Wasp inside. Pulling her helmet on, Taryn grunted as she threw one leg over the vehicle and settled into the seat. She placed her palm onto the interface panel and injected her aether into the machine.

The panel glowed blue and the engine roared to life, lifting the vehicle into the air, swaying as the landing gear retracted. She stayed in place with practiced ease as she, one last time, checked to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. Finally, she grabbed the control bars of the Wasp and the vehicle lunged forward, flying from the garage and throwing a trail of dust up behind her as she went. As always, unbeknownst to Taryn, her eldermother watched from the window of the house, whispering a quiet prayer to Yggdrasil to keep her granddaughter safe.

Twenty minutes later, Taryn came to a skidding stop at the entrance to the local dungeon. It was a small dungeon and as such, didn’t have an official name. The locals called it Skagstyr Dungeon, after the town whose limits the dungeon fell within. Pulling her helmet off and dismounting from the Wasp, Taryn noticed the two figures standing impatiently outside the entrance. One of the figures waved enthusiastically at her, causing her to smile. That would be Soren. He was always a bit excitable. This particular party, she had been delving with for a few weeks now. They delved around three times a week, occasionally more frequently than that. They were all driven to get stronger for various reasons. Slowly, they were becoming more seamless as a team, learning each other's quirks.

They looked up as she approached. Soren was a short human male wearing plain linen clothes, protected by lightweight polycarbonate armor covering his torso, shins, and forearms. An aluminum staff with a fist sized quartz crystal embedded on the end was held loosely in one hand, resting against his shoulder. His sand-colored hair was unkempt and he brushed it out of his eyes as he gave her an appraising look.

“Took you long enough. We’ve been waiting for hours.”

His voice was chastising but the look in his eyes was playful, teasing. He was their party’s dedicated healer. His class was a specialized version of mage - a ‹Life Mage›. Beside him, the third and final member of their party shifted, crossing her sizable arms in front of her chest.

“Don’t mind thiss idiot. We’ve only been waiting a few minutess,” she spoke, the shape of her mouth not shaped right to form the Common tongue, causing her to hiss unintentionally as she spoke.

Her name was Zizala, and she was a lizardfolk. Standing nearly two metres tall, she was a sizable creature. Her skin was covered in dark green scales, but she was hardly going to trust her scales alone to protect her in a dungeon. Her bulky, muscled form was covered in sturdy aethersteel alloy armor. A tower shield of the same material was wielded in one hand while a spear even taller than herself was held in the other, its tip reflecting dangerously in the morning light. Although it was difficult to read lizardfolk facial expressions, she didn’t seem nearly as excited as Soren. As the unofficial party leader, she took her job very seriously, . Zizala was their ‹Guardian›, a specialized version of ‹Warrior› focusing strictly on defense. Taryn grinned at Soren.

“Are you really that eager to dive back in? I seem to remember you screaming and running off on your own when you walked into a spiderweb.”

Zizala snorted at that, Soren turning beet red.

“It was one time, okay!? Let it go, already!”

“We are ready now, yess?” Zizala interjected, tired of the pleasantries and ready to begin the day’s training.

Taryn stifled a laugh as Soren hid his face in his hands, but nodded at Zizala. They turned towards the cave entrance that led into the dungeon, a cool draught of air steadily flowing out and washing over their bodies. Walking forward into the darkness, they were soon swallowed by the shadows. The light from outside barely penetrated ten metres into the corridor before it became too gloomy to see your hand in front of your face.

“‹Light›!” Taryn called out. She felt a small drain of aether pull from her gut and a floating orb of light appeared above her extended palm. She mentally directed the light to float above and behind their heads, casting shadows ahead of them but at least not blinding them. She was the dedicated ‹Mage› of their party. Typically, she would perform the majority of the damage when they encountered monsters, but she did know a handful of utility spells to make the delve easier.

Zizala lead the way, shield at the ready, with Taryn following closely behind and Soren taking up the rear, keeping an eye behind them and poised to heal at a moment’s notice. While he lacked the damage capabilities she possessed, he was at least armored and therefore much less squishy than she. The dusty floor and craggy rock walls of the tunnel gradually grew darker in appearance the deeper they traveled. As they went, the ambient aether in the air grew denser. They began to come across lichen growing from the walls and draping down from the ceiling.

Moisture trickled down the walls and dripped from the ceiling. The solid taps of their footsteps softened and were soon muffled as they reached the first antechamber of the dungeon. The floor was coated in a thick carpet of soft moss. The antechamber was dimly lit by glowing crystals embedded in the walls and ceiling. A small pool of water lay in the corner, fed by a steady trickle that had carved a narrow channel in the wall. The water was vaguely luminescent, casting rippling waves of blue light across the walls of the chamber.

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“Eyess up, we’ve got company,”Zizala’s gruff voice caused Taryn to snap to attention, grasping her aether and flowing it into her hands, ready to cast. “Two sslimess, twelve o’clock.”

Taryn searched ahead of them and spotted the two round melon sized creatures gliding towards them, slowly but steadily. They were rather weak creatures individually, but were nearly transparent and could be deadly in swarms. Their slime was highly acidic and could eat through skin in seconds, armor taking… slightly longer, but not by much. Two was nothing, however. Taryn stepped out from behind Zizala.

“‹Firebolt›!” she called out, forming the aether in her hands into two pulsing red orbs of fire that shook haphazardly, despising being held in place by her will. The slimes leaped into the air with surprising speed, headed straight towards her. She threw her hands forward and released the flaming bolts. The firebolts streaked through the air and collided with the slimes, evaporating them with an explosive hiss into large cloud of steam. Two small marbles skittered across the moss; the slimes’ cores. Dungeon monsters all possessed cores, marking them as belonging to a dungeon and preventing them from leaving the dungeon’s influence. These cores, once collected, could be sold for a decent amount of credits. This was how Taryn’s party funded their training expeditions, repairing damaged armor and replacing their supplies.

It didn’t allow for an ostentatious lifestyle, but it allowed them to live comfortably, if a bit modest. Glancing around, she didn’t see any more slimes in the vicinity.

“All clear,” she called, moving forward to scoop up the two cores and depositing them into her pack. They would be distributed amongst the party at the end of the day. They moved into the chamber, Soren wiping sweat from his brow. He was a delicate soul, bless his heart. She went to the pool of water and knelt, dunking her flask into the pool. The luminescent water was saturated with aether and would provide a small regenerative effect when consumed. It could come in handy deeper in the dungeon. They had a few aether potions, but they were expensive and she didn’t want to use them unless necessary.

Suddenly, something exploded out of the water and latched onto her arm, the sleeve of her jacket sizzling as the hidden slime flowed up towards her elbow. Taryn shouted and fell backwards.

“Get it off! Get it off!” Her screams echoed in the small chamber. Soren and Zizala rushed to her side but were helpless when it came to removing the slime. Zizala had only a spear and her claws, and Soren only knew healing magic.

“Use your magic!” Soren cried, eyes wide.

Desperately, she pulled aether from her gut and blasted it through her arm, flames shooting out and scorching through the sleeve of her jacket, frying the slime. A third core dropped to the ground. She lay on the ground, beating her good fist into her forehead.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! I should’ve checked the water first. What the hell was I thinking!?”

“Zizala agreess, quite sstupid. Are you ssome baby chick fressh from the nesst, or an exssperiencssed dungeon crawler?” Zizala’s agreement came immediately, her criticism entirely justified. This was a completely newbie mistake. Slimes were practically invisible in water - it was common practice to cast a Detect Life spell, electrify, or otherwise shoot energy through pools of water to ensure no slimes were waiting. In her rush to get the water and travel deeper into the dungeon, it had completely slipped her mind. Soren stepped forward quickly.

“How bad is it? Let me take a look.”

She winced, slowly raising the damaged arm. Most of her jacket’s sleeve had either been eaten through by the slime or burnt off by her clumsy, rushed attack. Her skin was red and raw, already beginning to blister in  large swathes, while the area the slime had been on the longest revealed bloody muscle bared for the world to see. Now that the attack was over, the pain hit her in a dizzying wave, causing her to hiss as he placed his palm on the mangled arm.

“‹Lesser Heal›!”

The golden light emanating from his hand was soothing and cold, flowing into the arm and knitting together the tissue and muscle. Within seconds, the arm was restored. He removed his hands, revealing flawless, unbroken skin. Well, flawless aside from the various scars criss-crossing her arm. ‹Lesser Heal› was unable to prevent or remove scarring; it was strictly for minor wounds. Essentially, it just accelerated the natural healing process to a very rapid extent, fueling the cellular regeneration with aether. Embarrassed, Taryn thanked the healer and quickly grabbed the flask that was still floating in the pool of water, capping it and shoving it into her pack. He gave her a reassuring smile.

“Try not to get yourself killed again, yeah? You’re already overworking your healer and we haven’t even left the antechamber,” he said, only half joking.

She snorted and Zizala looked equal parts amused and irritated.

“Come. Let’ss continue,” Zizala headed towards the corridor leading deeper into the dungeon. Taryn swiped up the core that was at her feet and hurried after the lizardfolk, Soren right behind her. As they went deeper, the lichen and moss grew thicker and thicker. Glowing crystals jutted from the ceiling and walls at regular intervals. Ferns began to grow, catching at their feet as they went. Zizala would halt them occasionally, spying a slime hiding in the foliage with her keen eyesight. Taryn would blast it and they’d move on.

The corridors wound about in confusing twists and turns, occasionally splitting into two or even three paths, but they’d delved into this dungeon often enough to have the way memorized. About an hour later, they arrived at the large chamber that was colloquially known as the ‘Boss Room.’ It was a large cavern filled with dense, waist-high ferns. A small waterfall in the background crashed into a large pool of water. The cavern was surprisingly well lit; a large cluster of brightly shining crystals grew from the center of the ceiling overhead.

Below the crystal cluster, in the center of the cavern, stood a large golem construct. The creature was four metres tall, seemingly formed from boulders of rock. Moss covered the entire craggy surface. Its arms were long enough that its fists rested on the ground even as it stood, like a massive gorilla carved from stone. It stood motionless until they stepped into the cavern.

“Soren. Taryn. Are you both ready?” Zizala questioned quietly as they stood at the edge of the cavern.

“As I’ll ever be. I hate this damn thing,” Taryn muttered.

“Let’s rock this thing,” Soren responded.

Taryn and Zizala both stared at Soren, the healer visibly wilting under their gazes.

“It’s a pun, y’know? Because it’s made of stone?”

They both turned away from Soren, ignoring him entirely. The moment they stepped into the chamber, the golem turned its featureless face towards them and began ponderously lumbering forward. Soren and Taryn spread out behind Zizala, letting the ‹Guardian› take point. The lizardfolk let out a roar and slammed the base of her shield into the ground, grabbing the golem’s attention.

“‹Focused Taunt›!”

The golem seemed to be engulfed by a dull red glow, moving just a tad faster towards Zizala. Soren clasped his staff in both hands and flowed aether through it, collecting it into the quartz at its tip. When he felt the resistance that meant the quartz couldn’t hold anymore, he unleashed the spell in a flash of light.

“‹Strengthen›!”

The light flowed over Zizala, causing her already impressive muscles to bulge even further. Her eyes gleamed ferociously and she slammed her shield into the ground once more, bracing as the golem reached her and swung its massive arm in a sweeping arc.

Clang!

The giant stone fist slammed into the shield but the lizardfolk didn’t budge, grinding her teeth as the vibrations ran through her body. The golem reared back with both arms, preparing for a massive piledriver. Meanwhile, Taryn hadn’t just been standing there. She had been channeling aether into a massive ball of overcharged energy, positively vibrating with barely constrained power.

“‹Arcane Missile›!”she cried, sending the energy blasting towards the golem, leaving a strange ozone scent in its wake. Unfortunately, she missed her intended target. The arcane missile collided with the golem’s leg instead of its chest, shattering it into shrapnel. Small bits of rock pinged off Zizala’s shield. The golem groaned agonizingly as it fell with a crash onto its side, knocked off balance and now down one leg. Golems don’t feel pain, however, so it was soon climbing back to a standing position, using one of its arms as a a replacement leg for its limbless side. It began to shuffle towards Taryn, intent on wiping out the dangerous mage.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Zizala called out, bashing her spear into her shield. Aether reverberated through her voice.

“‹Focused Taunt›!”

The golem regained the dull red glow and turned to face Zizala, swinging its free arm at her in a wild haymaker. Rather than take the hit head on, Zizala held her shield at an angle, deflecting the wild swing away from her. As the golem staggered off balance, she lunged forward with her spear, driving it into the elbow joint of the arm it was using to support its legless side. Cracks shattered outwards from the blow, but the joint still held. Growling in frustration, Zizala retreated back behind her shield as the golem swung at her again.

Taryn gathered aether once more, beginning to feel the drain as a throbbing pain began to stab at her temples. In the corner of her vision, she saw her aether bar getting dangerously low. She had about a quarter left in the tank. This time, she gathered the mana into each hand, electricity crackling and running along her fingers. Placing one palm over the back of her other hand, she thrust both hands forward and unleashed the spell.

“ ‹Lightning Bolt›!”

A loud crack broke through the air and a jagged, bright bolt of lightning almost instantly formed between her hands and the damaged joint on the golem. The elbow shattered into molten bits and the golem collapsed onto its side, helplessly waving its good appendages at the dungeon trespassers. Taryn sagged from exhaustion, but pulled at the aether within her again. Just one more hit to put it down. Zizala can’t penetrate to its core with her spear.

She pointed her hand at the golem’s chest and fired a smaller ‹Arcane Missile›. It was still enough to shatter a crater into the creature’s chest. The golem went limp and Zizala stepped forward, plunging her clawed hand into the golem’s chest cavity. With a yank, scattering a small cloud of stone dust, she removed the small green core and tossed it to Soren, who stashed it in his pack. Zizala glanced over at Taryn.

“You good, ssmall one?”

Taryn gave a tired nod, pulling the flask of aether-infused water from her bag and taking a deep draught. She felt the aether flow down her throat like ice,  gradually permeating out into her body, following her natural aether channels. It would take a few minutes to refill her aether to full. While she recuperated, Soren and Zizala explored the chamber and ensured that there weren’t any beasties lying in wait to ambush them. A few minutes later, they returned to where Taryn sat.

“We sshould sstop and eat lunch before entering the ssecond level.”

“Thank the gods. I’m starving!” Soren exclaimed, plopping down next to Taryn and rummaging through his pack. “I brought sandwiches for everyone.”

He proffered two sandwiches, individually wrapped in paper, to Taryn and Zizala. The latter sat cross-legged across from them and accepted the sandwich, nodding her thanks. Taryn took her sandwich gratefully, ripping the paper off and taking a massive bite. Aether usage made a girl hungry.

“Taryn. I do not wissh to pry. However, our livess are in each other’ss handss down here.” Zizala began. Taryn looked up at her curiously, cheeks bulging with roasted turkey and bread.

“Iss ssomething bothering you? You aren’t ussually sso… misstake prone.” Zizala spoke hesitantly, not wanting to offend her teammate but knowing this needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. The lower levels of the dungeon were unforgiving. A mistake like forgetting to check a pool of water for slimes, or missing a critical strike on a boss, could prove fatal. Taryn looked down at her sandwich, silent. Her face flushed with shame. Zizala was right, after all. Dungeon diving shouldn’t be undertaken when you’re off your game. You don’t just put yourself at risk, you also risk your party when you do so. Taryn swallowed her bite of sandwich and looked up, averting her eyes from her party members.

“I’m sorry. I should have said something earlier.”

Zizala grunted and motioned for her to continue, simultaneously ripping off nearly half her sandwich with a massive bite.

“This might be my last dungeon run... for a long while. I think I’m about to hit twenty, either today or tomorrow,” she replied softly.

Soren stopped eating at this, looking at her intently.

“Are you heading off-world?” he asked.

“Mm. I’ve been planning this for a while.”

“Have you never been before?”

“A long time ago, with my family,” the reply came with a lump in her throat as painful memories of her parents leapt unbidden to her mind.

Soren nodded but didn’t inquire any further, unwilling to pry. Zizala finished the last of her sandwich and climbed to her feet, tail swishing behind her. She placed one of her clawed hands on Taryn’s shoulder.

“Don’t be nervouss, little one. Whatever your reassonss for leaving thiss placsse, I’m ssure you’ll do fine. Right now, though? You need to focuss. Take a deep breath, finissh the dive, and make it home ssafely to your broodmother. Yess?”

Taryn nodded. She and Soren finished their sandwiches quickly and they packed up their supplies, readying themselves for the next floor. In the center of the cavern, where the golem had originally stood guard, a spiraling stone staircase descended into the darkness. Zizala and Soren headed down, but Taryn paused at the top of the stairs, staring into the gloom below. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she hurried after her companions, the shadows swallowing her as she descended.