Congratulations, Warlock!
You have formed your Pact!
You have bonded with:
The Whispering Dark
You gain access to:
Mana (resource)
Evocation (Skill)
Commune (Skill)
Three Starting Spells (undetermined, Patron Specific)
Level Progression
Favor*
*Favor is a unique system to Warlocks, Clerics and others who draw power from an outside entity. You require favor along with experience to level up. You will not level up until you reach a threshold of both favor and experience.
As The Whispering Dark -I'd need to find something else to all it- spoke those final words, the featureless darkness surrounding me swirled. It compressed itself, twisting and changing. Soon, it had all but vanished. My newly-contracted Patron grinned. Moreso than before, at least.
"Soon..." It hissed. "Soon we seek no more. No longer hunger shall we be stricken with. Soon shall I FEAST!" It laughed as it's silhouette body was pulled down, folding and swirling to form an eye, corners upturned in glee. The eye closed, solidified, became black metal. And from the shifting shadow materialized an equally black chain, which wound through a loop on the eye and met at its own end, forming one continous length. The amulet hovered in the air, briefly, before falling into my outstretched hand. On contact, it became a cloud of deep purple smoke which raced up and solidified once more around my neck. I tugged at it. It refused to move. Oh well.
I was left once more in that shummering rainbow dome. At least for a moment, before the colors exploded, slithering away like serpents, and I was standing in open space. There were several others who had similarly completed their contracting. A few domes were still up, those who had not yet completed their acts. One of which was pulsating ominously. That probably wasn't good. At least for whoever was in there.
A quick glance located the faculty. The dean was still standing straight, high in the air. Looked quite forced, in my opinion. The other staff still stood around the students, looking positively bored out of their skulls. One seemed to be entertaining himself with puffs of smoke from his fingers. Creative, I say. I pulled up my status, to see what had changed.
Allister Rose
Human
Warlock
Patron: The Whispering Dark
Age 16
Level 1
Experience: 0/100
Favor: 0/100
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 11
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Mana: 28
Agility: 10
Will: 12
Endurance: 10
Dexterity: 10
Skills: Inspect (Racial skill), Commune (Class skill), Evocation (Class skill), [Warlock Spells Available x3.]
Very interesting. I finally had new Skills, for one. A grand total of five, once I figured out the Spells! Certainly more than I'd ever had before. I had a sneaking suspicion of how I'd go about acquiring those new ones. Mentally, I flexed Commune.
The eye snapped open, revealing twin violet pupils. They darted wildly, as if hungry to see.
"We see! Freedom hath we been blessed with from the dark! For there are no shadows with no day to define them. We SENSE them. We hunger. Mortal minds free to be grasped. Secrets to be claimed, memories for the taking. Voices for the choir. Madness whispered in the ears of men. Betrayal, blood spilt on marble walls, brother against brother- friends become foe and back, shadows that dance and sway and dreams that walk the waking realm. The day becometh as night and-"
I slammed the connection closed. Gods. Honestly I should have been prepared for that. Though I don't know how I would have done so. Dozens, no, hundreds, maybe thousands of voices laughing and gibbering nonsense ceaselessly without pause, whispering in sybillant tongues knowledge not meant for-
Snap out of it! Not my thoughts! Get! Out! Of! My! Head!
Silence.
Ok. Calm. Quiet. No voices. Deep breath. Sigh. Well, guess that was a preview of the foreseeable future. I was going to need to try again, at least.
Breathing deep, I opened the channel once more.
"Sweet vessel, you who have freed us." Its voice was smooth and singular, deep and reverberating. "We beseech thee, open thine eyes and ears to us, so that we may tell you of that which we know and you seek. Have we not blessed you, bestowed upon you power as you asked? Did you not promise us?"
Well. That was certainly different. Much more pleasant than the previous experience, I had to say.
I sent my thoughts along the connection to The Whispering Dark; I really should call it a knickname or something. Meh. Later problem.
"About that power. I still dont have it. If you would ever-so-kindly assist me with that? You know, Skills and stuff?"
Sending my response felt like throwing a stone into an ocean. The stone vanished beneath the surface, which ripples from the impact. The ripples being stray voices, snippets of thoughts.
"Ah, child, have patience. Take hold of your Talisman. Grasp the eye." Grabbing hold of the thing, a window appeared before me.
Congratulations, Warlock!
You have formed a Pact, and gain your first magical abilities!
[Walk in the Shadows]
[Feast of terror]
[Whisper of Insanity]
Your Patron can provide information on the listed Skills.
“Well those aren’t ominous at all,” I muttered aloud. "So, you have that information, then?"
So impatient, you are, you mortals. Always rushing, rushing, rushing. How we YEARN for that vigour, that life. The first one, Walk in the Shadows, is the wings on which you will fly, the road on which you will travel. It will hasten your step through the dark, should you leave it to its work. But, feed it, with your magic, your Mana, and the true blessing shall be revealed.
So a classic movement ability, then. It refused to elaborate on the 'true blessing', said that would 'ruin the excitement.' But I felt comfortable in assuming maybe a speed increase or short range teleport, perhaps. Quite useful, depending on its cost efficiency. I inquired as to the second Skill. The dramatically named Feast of Terror.
"That Skill, a curse. An infliction of Terror, a fuel to be burned for your life's blood, to restore."
Huh. Pretty sure thats the shortest thing it's said. So, an offensive ability? But also a self heal? Meh. I'd look at the Skill description later.
"And the last one?"
"My blessing. My power, made yours. A key, a window, to truth beyond knowledge. To thought beyond minds. Voices beyond hearing." A hissing, sybillant note entered its voice, growing in strength. "Whispers of that which is not to be known, songs not to be sang, names not to be said. An opening to-"
I quickly shut off the connection as a chorus of whispering multitudes began to build. I got the picture and... yeah, no. For some reason, I didn’t feel quite comfortable, cursing people with insanity. As a Warlock, I had accepted, or at least ignored, that most of my skills would be a bit evil, but that in particular felt much too far. Then again, I get the feeling most things are going to be that way, considering their source. Sigh.
As I reluctantly acknowledged the skills, knowledge poured into my head. Gestures and words. The bare minimum understanding of how to perform the magics. Three Skills were added to my list. Each Level one. For now.