Amelia was bored. She hated keeping watch, but was best suited for it. Her senses were on par with or better than even the beastkin who were around her level, and she only needed a meager amount of rest every few days. She was perfectly suited to staying awake at night and perceiving any danger. In fact, this was her role each night. She would be awake anyway so why not keep watch, right? Wrong! It was too boring. She needed someone else to keep watch sometimes too.
She hung upside down from a branch just outside of the camp. Her eyes fell on the tent she was allegedly sharing with Liana. Adrien had insisted on it, on hiding her true identity from the boy until she could determine he was trustworthy. So she had to help set up a tent she never used and act like she was going to go to sleep at night. Act tired around the fire. It had only been a couple of days and she could already see herself growing impatient with the restrictions.
Across the camp, in the boys tent, Elric turned over. She could hear his and
Adrien's soft snoring even from this distance. She had grown so used to the sound that it no longer annoyed her, thankfully. Else she may have gone off the deep end and slaughtered the boys in their sleep. She sighed, she would never do something so gruesome, but the humanfolk didn’t need to know that. She rather enjoyed the preconceptions of her kind, it made her life easier. Less people tended to bother her after they found out what she was.
Her ruby eyes flashed as she glanced through the murky dark toward the merchants. She chose this branch because from it she could see the entirety of her camp and theirs. She was always suspicious of strangers, no matter how on the up and up they seemed. Even the boy she was worried about, but he slept deep through the nights thus far and had an earnest quality to him that made her want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
To her right, hanging over another branch, was her latest prey. A stag that was ready to be turned into road rations for her compatriots. She often went hunting after everyone went to sleep, in order to sate her budding boredom. It helped to break up the monotony of snores and crickets in the dark. Glancing up she saw the hue of the twin moons, the silver and the yellow. It was nearing dawn, and she was ecstatic. She could tease and torment the boy some more. Humans were fun to toy with, and he grew flustered far quicker than the other humans in their party. Not only that but they could finally start moving again, maybe find something worth fighting.
They had held back significantly with those ruffians, she was the lowest level of the four and had still breached level 160. She could have obliterated each of them on her own, and her friends were even stronger. Still, she was impressed that Lios had been able to take three out and singularly turn the tide of the battle. She felt a little bad, testing him like that, but they needed to know what he was capable of before they were put in a position where they had to go all out.
She swung off of her branch and started to stoke the fire, tossing a couple of pieces of dry wood over it. She didn’t need to warm it for herself, but she knew Liana and Elric always loved getting up early and watching the fire or cooking something warm. Especially as they headed further north, and the winter winds started to take over. Thankfully only a relatively small portion of Jorial was subject to heavy snow, but other areas got flurries as well. Not likely anywhere near where they were going, but the cold winds still blew on occasion. Night time was a prime example of this.
She cut a few pieces of meat off the deer and rubbed some saved tallow, whenever they got the chance they salvaged a jar of tallow so they could at least partially rehydrate the steaks they cooked over the fire. Nobody wanted to only eat jerky after all. She lathered them with it, even going so far as to use a fork to stab into the meat and ensure that some got inside of it. Then she added some salt and pepper, cheap enough ingredients in the major cities but a touch harder to come by when they were inland. Pepper was never super difficult to find, but salt away from the ocean could get pricey. It cost a lot to move product after all.
As she set the steaks, skewered, next to the fire she felt an odd sensation waft over her. It was a strange pressure. It felt like wind was buffeting her from all sides and even above. Like she was being pushed down. It was minor but noticeable enough. Immediately she started scanning their surroundings. Her eyes darted from place to place as she thumbed the strap that held her knife in its sheath. She couldn’t place where the pressure was emanating from, or what its purpose was. Biting her lip she started to make for Adriens tent, as the highest level among them he might be able to pinpoint it. She was sure it wasn’t an aura skill or something so basic, but couldn't be sure.
Just as she reached the tent the pressure built up, and burst outward. She yelped loudly as an opaque energy stabbed into Lios’s tent from above, like a beam of light shooting from the moons themselves. Her eyes widened seeing Luka and Sky, still trying to sleep, being blown away from the boy as the tent itself lifted up, a massive hole in the top. Then the wave of energy hit her and, to her utter consternation, she was pushed back a few steps. She panted as she rushed to catch one of the falling foxes and noticed the others were snapping awake as well.
“Wha’ goin on? Amelia, report!” Adrien shouted out behind her as she caught Luka. The sleeping fox looked a bit different but she had no time to analyze him.
“Make sure Sky is safe first!” She called out then noticed that Liana was awake and had rushed to the side of the fox. She had bashed up against a tree, and Amelia cringed, that could not have felt good for the small lass. “I dont know whats going on its-”
She was interrupted by another pillar of light striking Lios in the chest, a purple and blue sliver of magic shooting down at him. The boy's body twisted painfully, as though he were convulsing. Elric rushed to his side but as he got close a burst of energy left the boys body. Wind picked up around them, and flames burst out like at the end of his dances.
“Is he... Is he going through an Ordeal?” Elric was slack jawed. It was unheard of for someone to undergo such a thing at such a low level. Ordeals, tribulations, and trials were sometimes also called “Punishment” or “Heavens punishment”, and were typically experienced by those of higher power. They were said to be caused by the drawing in of too much mana and energy and that the world mana responded to the theft with its ire.
Some said the heavens rained down punishment for those who encroached on the realms of divinity. Others yet believed the world was testing the individual in order to give them something... more. To make them more, to inundate them with superior power so that they may learn to grasp it and become superior themselves. Amelia had seen a tribulation only twice before, and both times were when her siblings reached their level two hundred and fifty upgrades.
“That's not possible right? This is for a level one class...” Liana cradled Sky. She glanced at Elric. “You haven’t had one yet either, right?”
Elric shook his head and Adrien took his own chance at approaching. He braved through the burst of wind and fire but was pushed back by a pulse of that same purple blue energy. A lightning bolt tore at the boy before anyone could react. His body lifted up off the ground from the impact before slamming back down. Gravity shifted and he was pulled deeper into the indent he had just made. Amelia could smell the blood seeping from his orifices. She could hear each time his bones broke and reshaped.
“Adrien, what do we do?” She called out, a tremble shaking her voice. “If you can't even...”
“I can’t it’s... that wave of fire alone nearly put me on my ass and those lightning bolts are that much worse. The kid has to deal with it...” Their leader looked lost. He had clearly never seen something like this before either. Luka stirred in her arms. He growled when she didn't let him down and as soon as she did he leapt to the ground and rushed his bondmate. He yipped as the wave burst out and another thunderous bolt rained down, this one silver and red and white. That they were changing elemental attributes was a concern in itself. Luka hovered at the edge of the range of Lios’s apparent self defense system and whimpered and whined.
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Luka’s body was hurty. He grumbled at being shaken awake so violently. Bemoaned the sounds of the battle around them. Wait, battle? Papa needs me? I can’t sleep if he needs me. The fox hesitantly opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep next to his papa, but couldn’t see him. Then the sound of thunder.
Luka’s ears tilted back as he saw where the bolt landed, it was nearly blinding. The amount of mana shooting out from it was insane, more than Luka felt there were trees back home. His eyes widened as he noticed Lios, his papa being struck by the bolt. Squirming he forced his way from Amelia's arms. She was nice, but right now she needed to let him go so he could save papa.
He burst towards him, trying to pull him from the crater that was slowly forming after bolts fell on him one after another. Luka was scared, he was always a little scared. It was why he chased bunnies into their burrows, the holes always felt cozy and safe. He wanted to rush in and save papa but as soon as he got close fire -icky nasty hot fire- assailed him. He growled, furrowing his furry face. He glanced around for Sky, but couldn’t see her from where he sat. His sister would be fine, right? He was, so it stands to reason. She was braver than him. He wondered if she was trying to help papa too.
He gulped, swallowing his drying spit, and rushed forward once the bolt struck. He didn’t know if it would stop the fire but at least he could try. The fire rushed him anyway, but he powered through it. It was hot, hot, hot. His fur singed and burned a little bit as he tiredly rushed his papa. He reached Lios, and tried to drag him but as soon as he touched him he was pushed down by the pressure of mana. More mana than he had ever felt or smelled. He shrieked and saw the boy with drawings all over him try to rush forward but was pushed back by a bolt. A bolt that rocketed off papa and flowed into Luka. Luka couldn’t think through the pain, and despite having just woken up he fell into black.
His last thoughts were about how cozy a hole in the ground would be, about how unreachable he’d be if he were underground.
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Sky winced as she stirred, her body hurt. Her back was on fire and she didn’t know why. She slowly opened her eyes as her other senses returned to her. Something was burning. Meat? No, sadly no meat. A loud crash brought her from her dazed state to awareness. Her eyes flashed towards the burst of flame mana. The burst of wind mana that was with it caught her attention.
Groggily she looked about for Big Brother Lios. Luka called him papa but she didn’t see him that way. Big Brother was much more fitting. That way his parents were her parents too and then she could have two.
She didn’t find him, but she saw the Tall Woman next to her. She wasn’t holding her down but had a hand on Sky to make sure she didn’t get pushed away. Another of those lightning bolts fell, this one red and silver and white. It contrasted the last, the purple and blue one, nicely. She thought it was pretty. She looked at it and, after a moment, yipped in recognition. It was Big Brother, he must have been the one summoning them.
He was always the strongest, she could feel it. He was definitely strong enough to control weird lightning. Much stronger than the silly others even if he couldn’t beat Mr. Weird Animal Stripes. He was on the other side of the lightning bolt. She saw him lunge forward only to be pushed back by the bolt. For a moment she felt pride at her brother for controlling them but then realized he was being attacked by them.
Aghast, quick as she could, she rushed forward. She would protect him. She, in that moment, envied the birds she hunted. Envied their speed and maneuverability. And especially envied the height at which they could move. She loved moving fast. When the Cold Lady had run with her in the woods, she had the best time. Cold Lady squeezed a little too tight but she was nice and fast. Sky tried to move like her, but was nearly caught by Tall Woman. She growled as she escaped her grasp and rushed to her Brother's side.
Fire mana, nasty, hot, burst at her. Wind mana followed. She knew this made the fire even hotter but persevered. Brother needed her, it would be okay to burn a little fur for him. Plus Tall Woman could definitely fix them, like she did the other moon sun cycle. She reached her Brother’s side and was tempted to pull on him, to drag him out. But at that same moment a new bolt, white and light blue, like the sky, and a touch yellow slammed into him. She was close to him, she didn’t want him to keep getting hurt. She tried to pull at the bolt, it hovered for a second or two. She snapped her teeth around it against her better judgment and felt pain. Agony. She was afflicted with the breaking of bones and the tearing of all her fur. She bit again. It must be working. Brother shook less now, trembled less. It was just before she bit again that she noticed Luka curled next to Brother, and with her teeth firmly around the bolt, went to do the same. Maybe her baby brother knew something she didn't.
She barely had time to get cozy before another bolt struck Brother and splintered pieces of it assailed her and Luka. unable to take the pain any longer she blacked out, the last thing she thought was that perhaps if she was faster at taking the bolts she could have saved Brother and Luka.
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Adrien furrowed his brow at the tribulations. It just didn’t make sense. He kept trying to get close, to approach but was pushed back by the bolts and by the fire and wind. But those two little pups got right up next to the boy, they grabbed the bolts. How? How was a level one class getting tribulations.
The trials had been going for around two hours now, which was already an absurdly long time to undergo such an assault from the world mana. He had had to convince the merchants that everything was fine, but was concerned over whatever rumors might spread about Lios as they reached the next few towns. The boy was all they could talk about. Elric Liana and Amelia too.
This just never happened. His father had undergone one of the earliest ordeals at the level one hundred mark, but most people wouldn't get one until level two hundred and fifty. Not only that but some never got one at all.
He watched the boys body intently. The lightning had stopped raining down half an hour ago or so, but the boy was still asleep. He could hear him breathing ever so faintly from here. The foxes were still curled by Lios, Luka’s fur had changed. What was once silver and gray and black was now silver and brown and darker brown. His tail was a little longer and so were his ears. He had grown quite a bit as well.
It was a relief to Adrien, this meant that at least the companion pact had worked. Sky was similarly changed. She had always been a brighter shade to her brother, but now the difference was much more noticeable. Her fur had taken more of the silver and the gray had turned white. The black had a light blue tint when under the rising sun. She looked a touch smaller, but that didn’t seem to diminish the aura she gave off. It wasn’t a true aura but there was a perceived confidence and bravery that the small fox always gave off.
His thoughts were stolen as the guard captain for the caravan approached. “Sir, we have to continue on our way. Catch up with us down the road?” The captain was sure people of their level would be able to keep up. The boy, who he had assumed was the weakest, had to have just undergone a high level class change. If he were that strong the rest would be monsters.
“Aye, we’ll meet ye when we can. Sorry ta keep ye waitin.” Adrien slipped into his northern drawl. He hated the accent but kept at it anyway. What better way to play the part of a pauper adventurer who had made a name for himself?
He waved off the man, and knew that they would be going slow today. They had lost four of their guards yesterday in the attack before Adrien and his group could arrive on the scene. Another six had semi serious injuries, injuries that could be sealed over but never fully healed. One man had taken an arrow to the kneecap and would be unable to walk until they met a powerful healer, another man lost an arm. Even healers struggled to replace lost limbs. He had seen a woman who had lost an eye, she was wearing a makeshift eye patch now.
The caravan left quickly. He chatted idly with the others as Lios stopped convulsing and slipped into what he hoped was a more restful sleep. He tried, not for the first time, to use his [Conquerors Eye] to glean details over Lios’s second class. All he could see was that the boy was labeled as a [Smith] at a low level. Even his eye couldn’t discern the level of another person, it only gave him a ballpark. It sometimes, depending on the person he was looking at, gave him additional information or even gave him the name of the class rather than a vague name like [Smith]. Typically he could get better results any time he analyzed someone weaker than him, which was part of what made Lios so interesting. From the first meeting Adrien had been unable to glean much from the boy, and he was unsure why. He knew the boys level was low, clearly, but even still he couldn’t peer too deeply. If he tried he sometimes suffered a mild headache without any results.
He was broken from his thoughts after a few more hours when Lios, and both foxes began to stir. The boy looked horrid. He had blood caked over his face, had likely pissed himself, possibly soiled himself going by the smell. It was nearly mid day when the boy finally opened his eyes, and when he did there were four sets of very curious, minorly hostile and concerned eyes on him.