A large part of me wanted to ignore the others as I mused during our walk. The other, more logical, knew that I needed to get whatever information I could about the terrible potential power up I had received last night. I needed to know if every time I upgraded the class I’d go through that agonizing ‘Ordeal’. There was simply too much to process from this morning, Adrien’s accent slipping multiple times, the Seed, the unnatural aggression that came with it. Being forced to expose even some of my secrets was at the forefront of my mind. I half wanted to separate from the group as soon as Kinnesville, but I wasn’t sure where I’d go.
My pondering was interrupted by feelings of reverie and exhilaration from the two foxes. I could tell that Luka was chasing some rabbits through the woods and even more interestingly, chasing them into the ground. Sky was zipping through the woods enjoying the wind whipping past her and the birds scattering above her. She was moving fast, faster than I had seen before. I couldn’t quite feel why, nor why Luka felt so much more sturdy, but I didn’t let it occupy my mind too much. There were other pressing matters to attend to.
With bated breath I turned around, using my [Intuition] to prevent me from stumbling, devoting a quarter of my focus to the passive skill. It was interesting, passives would always be working unless intentionally disabled, but could have increased effect if a bit of focus was devoted to them. I glanced in turn to each of the adventurers who had followed me out of the destroyed camp. “So, who’s gonna tell me what the deal with these Ordeals is?” I saw Liana roll her eyes at my shitty play on words, the rest didn’t give much reaction.
“Well, they are...” Amelia started to explain but stopped, thinking about how best to phrase it. She continued before the others could interject. “The way I understand them it’s like, think of a whirlpool. Sometimes they’re caused by something sinking that has an open space, like a boat, and they pull aaaalll of the water into the vessel. When you classed up the seed inside of you just started soaking in world mana and essence to make the necessary changes to your body and your class. Typically a Trial does not occur until you are much higher level, and without a seed, never on the first class upgrade of a class. Most people have to sunder their second class in order to grow a seed, as it can only grow in the second and third classes and only at level one. I’ve never heard of a seed initiating a tribulation on it’s own though.”
“So, to paraphrase, I was the focal point for a whirlpool of mana and essence and caused this mini mana storm to actualize? But what is the point of an Ordeal?”
This time Elric answered. “There’s only speculation, but it’s believed it has to do with a number of factors. The main one is the power of the class, in your case it’s likely the power of the seed. When a seed sprouts it requires copious amounts of energy. Typically, and Liana correct me if I’m wrong, the user or owner of the seed has the necessary mana and essence required to sprout the seed. In your case, I think, you needed to draw in mana to sprout it.”
Liana jumped in as Elric finished. “I believe, also, that you had to be uhm... Inundated by the Maelstrom in order to sprout your seed, which is why your Tribulation contained a vast array of different chaotic elements. Tribulations are different for everyone, the only two I’ve seen were vastly different to yours and were caused by people evolving to their two hundred fifty level classes. One had the user encased in stone that twisted and broke their body until it was suitable for the power he was gaining. The second was wrapped in thorny vines, their poison was used to strengthen both their spirit and their body. They are a nature spirit now, by choice of evolution. I think it’s because you are so young and have yet to realize your affinity, on top of your use of multiple elements in your dances, that caused a multitude of mana bolts to strike you and fill you with the strange variety of elemental mana that changed you. You were, quite literally, assailed by the Maelstrom.”
I thought for a few minutes. It didn’t make sense for the strange god to have gifted me a seed without some ulterior motive. “What exactly is the Maelstrom?”
Liana answered, she was practically vibrating. I could tell the others didn’t often talk to her about magic and wizardry. “The Maelstrom is a mana storm that exists on another plane. It is an inhospitable plane, the only creatures that can live there are elementals. Wizards have tried to conquer it before but have all failed and perished simply by arriving there. What you experienced was only a taste of the chaotic nature of the Maelstrom. It is mana in its purest form with each element fighting for supremacy. Some say it was caused by an archwizard battling a god of nature, but nobody truly knows.”
“So why was Adrien so freaked out about me undergoing this Ordeal? I mean I understand it isn’t typical to go through it so early in levels but was it such a big deal?” I shrugged and glanced at him, trying to belay any frustration I still held.
“‘Tis cuz anyun who goes trou the trib’lation gains incredible po’er.” The man in question glanced away after meeting my eyes, having the courtesy to look at least a bit sheepish. “An’ it’s been said some da people ‘ooh go trou it come oot insane an’ attack all in sight.”
I glanced at the others who all nodded. I turned back around and continued to walk, using [Meditation] to focus my thoughts. So, I was given a mysterious upgrade? Or curse from a weird deity that doesn’t officially exist here... So far it only seems to give a random effect to any equipment I craft. I hope I wont go through that everytime I upgrade my class though.
As I mused Amelia stepped up to me, but I wasn’t nearly as infatuated with her as I normally was. I heard the ping of a notification, [Meditation] leveling up to twenty five. I frowned, I didn’t think that using it while walking was that beneficial. I ignored it and turned toward the higher leveled adventurer. “I still have a guess yeah?”
She smiled and nodded, holding her arms behind her back as she walked at the same pace as me. “Sure do, still think I’m secretly in love with you?”
“Nah, I’ve moved on. Hmmm. Are you actually a fae creature that uses a charm ability to make people infatuated with her?” I glanced at her as she stopped. Then at the others as they all tilted their heads. “Wait really, is that it?”
“I’m not a fae creature, no.” Amelia glared at me.
“Sooo, the charm ability is real?” I thought back to my recent skill gain. “I spose that makes sense, huh?”
“It isn’t an active skill. You still have more to guess though so you get no rewards yet.”
“Was there a reward on the table miss Amelia? Wait is the reward you falling for me?” I laughed loudly, most of the tension from this morning fading away. It still sat in the back of my head, but the combination of acting normally around them and knowing why Adrien had overreacted helped to sate my ire.
“You’re far far too young for my pursuits, Lios. Perhaps after another hundred years I’ll see you, but for now you are much too young.” She sniffed derisively and raised her head as though she were looking down on me.
“My turn! Hmm,” Liana started, trotting up so she could look me up and down, walking backward as she pondered her guess. “Do you chant reeeaally quiet while you fight?”
“No, no I do not.” She threw her hands up playfully, a little stiff but her face was lit up with a jovial frown.
“Drat. What in Luma’s name could it be?” It was my first time hearing someone use the name of a god in their swearing. My parents, aside from when they had been teaching me, rarely mentioned any gods, and Derren just swore.
After our daily guesses were done we continued in silence. During the walk Luka and Sky rejoined us separately, Luka with two rabbits dragging behind him for his own supper and Sky with her fur every which way like she’d just been standing behind a jet turbine. I could feel their emotions through our connection, and got the impression that Sky had just been running through the trees as fast as she could, the rawness of her paws validated my impression. Luka, on the other hand, seemed frustrated at only catching two of the quick bunnies.
“Why is it always cute fluffy bunnies, Amelia?” Liana asked the younger woman.
“Dunno, but I bet they're yummy.” Amelia giggled as Liana seemed to want to say something but glanced at me before simply scoffing.
“But they're so cute why are they always Luka’s favorite? Lios, I demand you train Luka better to only catch squirrels.”
I wasn’t sure how much of it he actually understood, but Lukas heckles rose and fur bristled. He yipped at the elf and turned his head the other way, dragging his bunnies. They were getting dirty so I reached down and grabbed them from him. “Do you guys have like a way to store these so they don't rot during our walk? Or like anything that can store more than it should?”
“I have a bag that keeps things preserved, but you'll have to wrap those things up in something first.” Amelia stopped and pulled her bag off her back reaching in and removing a relatively small sack, just big enough for both bunnies. “What do you mean by a device that can store more than it should?”
“Something with like... an expanded space. Bigger on the inside, ya know?” I replied while wrapping the bunnies in one of my rough self cleaning tunics. I mentally noted I should find a more comfortable fabric next time I made something like this. “Does that not exist?”
She took the wrapped bunnies and we started walking again. “No, not that I know of. Do the elves have anything like that?”
“Last I heard, Prometitus, my third cousin twice removed, was researching something like that. But I haven't heard anything in terms of progress in... a hundred years or so?” Liana tilted her head as she thought. I nearly stopped in my tracks after hearing how old Liana was, but remembered that while not common, immortality and long lifespans were normal in Ravos.
“I see, thanks. Maybe I'll be able to work it out, gotta learn more runes first though.” I fell back into a silence as Sky slept on my shoulders, her smaller size making it much more manageable. Luka was hovering around Amelia but anytime she went to pick him up he skirted away. He just wanted his snacks and was making sure she didn’t steal them. Through our bond I got the faint instinct that Amelia was a predator but I didn’t get any similar feeling from the others. Luka was both intimidated by and in awe of her, which I felt was concerning.
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We walked for most of the day, stopping every so often so Liana could scour the woods around us for helpful herbs whenever her passive skill [Herbalists Acumen] alerted her to something in the area. She explained that the skill didn’t tell her necessarily when something was nearby, but used her sense of smell and sight to identify if something was nearby. She was able to, with her second class, identify most flora in Jorial by scent alone, aside from rare herbs. Aside from the occasional stops, and idle conversation, not much happened until we caught back up with the caravan, who had stopped for the evening.
People looked at me, then the foxes, a bit warily. At least for a few minutes until one of the traders approached me. “Young man, congratulations on achieving a high level class! Might I have your name? And could you tell me what level it was?”
“Ah, my name is Lios, and I’m not entirely comfortable sharing my level at the moment.” I smiled at the man and shook his hand. After he stepped back, nodding understandably, some others came up to offer reluctant congratulations.
One in particular stood out, a man dressed in flamboyant colors. He reminded me of a parrot, covered in bright flashy garb. I didn't remember seeing him the day prior, but he may have been in one of the wagons or simply hiding. He was wearing a kurta with a lavender trim and bright blue main color, with a scarf around his neck made with orange silk. “Young man, young man. How wondrous to see you’ve made it from your tribulations in one piece. I once witnessed a man who lost three fingers from his ascent into divinity! And yet here you are, perhaps not even a tenth of his age hale and healthy!”
“Thank you sir, I’m sure that man’s ordeal was simply that much more strenuous than my own.” I smiled politely at the bombastic man. His skin, now that I was able to see it in the setting sun, was tanned. He had a slight accent that I was unfamiliar with but he was extremely articulate even with the excited nature with which he spoke.
“And humble as well, the makings of a true legend I dare say!” He laughed before taking my hand and shaking it. “I go by Haraldo Decampa, and for taking part in rescuing us from those filthy brigands I was hoping to offer you something for your troubles during our journey. Should you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask me.” His smile was all teeth and glittering white. I knew that toothpaste wasn’t prevalent here but it was disconcerting to know that and see people with pearly whites. The continence of levels and how they preserved the bodies was somewhat difficult to wrap my head around, even after nearly fifteen years.
“I will be sure to do that Mr. Haraldo! I like your attire by the way, where did you come across it?” I did really like the kurta, it looked like it would be comfortable. Though I wasn't sure I’d be able to pull it off, I figured it would just take finding the right one.
“Oh, well, I made it back in my homeland across the Myrad sea. Terraan.” He stared off in the distance wistfully.
“Are you a tailor then? I made my own clothes as well, though they are nowhere near as extravagant as yours. Perhaps over the coming days would you be willing to show me a few tips and tricks?” I walked up to the man serving stew and got myself a bowl. Haraldo followed me after acquiring his own and sat down. His talking to me dissuaded a small amount of the others from approaching, but a few still did. He and I began to talk about tailoring, though he used language that was far outside of my skill level and had to slowly dumb it down for me as I had spent so long focusing in my smithing skills instead. Even still, we chatted for a while before I went back towards my own camp with the adventurers.
Instead of testing my new crafting class, I started my dances as I hadn't been able to this morning. I activated [Meditation] while going through the motions. I was walking through my, hopefully fixed, spell but I didn’t activate it just yet. I didn’t feel like putting everyone on edge again. After I felt comfortable with the dance I moved on to another dance that held two layers of rune circles. This one, unlike the one I was planning to name “Flashstep Thunderwave”, contained an element I had yet to work with. Ideally, I’d be able to use both of them in conjunction. I had written a mostly functional spell for it, though it was several steps away from being ready to cast.
I ignored, or tried to, the eyes that were watching me from both the merchant group and my companions. When the sun finally fully set, I started testing my newest [Bladedancer] skill, [Compendium Actualization] and watched excitedly as portions of spells I knew were automatically written beneath my feet. It was a small amount, only half a rune at first, but my mind was already whirring with possibilities. Before acquiring this skill I thought it was extremely unlikely to cast spells with more than three layers during combat, but if I could master it and gain a half rune with each level I’d be able to create a four layer rune eventually. Considering it was six hundred and twenty five runes, I had a long way to go.
By the time I stopped practicing, despite not launching or activating any of the spells, my skill leveled up three times up to level four. Two full runes would now create themselves when I started my dances, for a small cost of three percent of my current mana. I wasn’t quite tired yet so I went and sat beside the fire for a bit, listening as the others chatted. At some point people had stopped watching me, not everyone but a lot of them. I turned toward Amelia.
“Are you taking watch again? Mind if I join you?” I asked after she nodded.
“Sure, I don’t mind a little company. It’s not necessary though, you know.” She shrugged and turned toward the fire. “Try not to hold this morning against Adrien, okay? He’s just trying to protect... well everyone, honestly.”
“Sounds like he’s got a lot of weight on his shoulders. Why is it his responsibility to protect everyone?” I sat with my back to the fire, pulling out the notebook filled with half complete spells. Liana, Adrien and Elric were still out and about but it sounded like they were soon to go to sleep.
“It’s up to him to divulge that information. All I’m willing to say is that he probably feels terrible for this morning but also that he feels justified. You’ll understand if he ever explains himself.” Amelia walked away and towards her other friends. Then she sped through the woods, vanishing from my sight.
The foxes curled up around the fire, enjoying the heat of it. Luka and Sky had eaten the caught rabbits for dinner and I could feel how weary they were after expending mana and running all day. I was surprised at the feeling of them being low on mana, I didn’t even realize they had anything to use mana for. Perhaps it was due to them reportedly curling up next to me during my Ordeal.
I was fairly engrossed in my self study, working on my latest spell that would hopefully be much less volatile than the last one. I still needed to confirm if the thunder wave would work properly before attempting it in combat. Until then I was stuck using first layer rune circles during combat. At least forty percent of those would be created instantly from now on.
When I finally set down my notebook, Liana was heading to her tent. I figured if I was keeping watch I should probably not have my nose buried in a journal. Amelia came out of the woods and dragged a skinned, bloodless beast behind her. I frowned slightly. In the mornings there was always some fresh meat and I wondered if this was how. On top of that, I realized I hadn’t actually seen her eat before. After tying it up in a branch and sprinkling it with something she came and sat across from me, her ruby eyes glinting in the firelight.
We sat in silence for a while before she tilted her head at me cutely, making my chest throb a bit. I averted my gaze before I could be accused of staring, and focused my breathing. I didn’t understand, I had seen plenty of pretty women since arriving in Ravos - well not that many but still, more than just Amelia - but my body and hormones never reacted the way they did around her. I started [Meditation] and immediately was able to focus again. I recalled earlier she hadn’t denounced my claim of a charm spell.
“So uhm. If it isn’t too intrusive, Lios, how is your new class?” She smiled at me, I could see why Luka considered her a predator as she looked at me.
“On paper, it looks really good. I’m eager to experiment with it but I’m unsure if I’ll be able to unless we stop in town for a week or more. Or until I’m able to expand one of the skills in it.” I pulled up my status sheet, looking at the various skills.
Ding!!! The sound of a notification rang in my ears. Your skill [Meditation] has leveled up to level 26. I frowned at that. Normally I had the notifications turned off but I sometimes turned them on while training in order to verify when I did something unique or correct with my skills. My eyes flicked to Amelia who was still smiling gently.
“Why do you take watch every night?” I asked idly, still unsure what she could be. Her answer during our walk hadn’t said that she was necessarily human. I was starting to get some ideas. Red eyes, does not sleep, brings back animal corpses void of blood? There weren’t many things in mythos that that could be.
“I just don’t sleep a lot.” She shrugged, hardly put off by the question. “What was the one skill you can expand to make it so you can practice your class on the road? Thats what you meant right?”
“Yeah, what I’m missing at the moment is a place to work. One of my new skills is called [Ephemeral Forge] and allows me to store items needed for a workshop and to create a manaform of it while its stored so I can use it anywhere. I think I can maybe fit a small anvil at the moment, but the amount of space I can store will increase as the level rises.” I reread the description of the skill as I told her. This was one they’d likely see as soon as Kinnesville, so I didn't mind divulging the information.
“I’ve heard of skills like that before... what about your loom? Is that storable?” I felt a mental pull when she met my gaze, and vanished as she faced the fire.
“Hmm, good question. Let me check.” I went to my tent where my pack was and retrieved the loom, I hadn’t thought of adding it to the forge as it wasn’t related to smithing, but tried it anyway. I was disappointed as mana was sucked out of me but rejected the loom. “I guess not. What a shame. I think, for the time being, it needs to have some justification for being in a forge. I could probably push a tanning rack and leatherwork station in there but a loom doesn't have much added value to a smithy.”
“Worth a try though. How are you feeling since... I mean a lot of mana assailed you. Are you okay?” Amelia looked genuinely concerned, though I wondered if that was her charm ability at work.
“I feel... I mean I’m a bit sore, not going to lie, but otherwise better than ever. Bursting with new energy I suppose. My mana doesn't feel any different but my body feels... more secure, more in my control. I hadn’t really noticed until you asked bit it feels more... me.” I replied after stretching a little bit to verify. My body before hadn't felt wrong per say but it definitely felt more complete now. My movements felt a bit smoother, faster, and more accurate. I wondered what kind of hidden stats were increased during my Ordeal.
“Good! Now, how exactly do you cast spells?” She moved for the first time in a while and came to sit next to me, staring intently at my face. My [Meditation] gained another level at the same time making me blink in surprise.
“You’ll have to wait till Liana gets it. I bet she just needs to see me fight a bit longer and she’ll get it.” It was a little fun holding this over their heads. They were clearly smart, but I enjoyed having this one unique spellcasting method to myself if only for a while.
“Hmmph fine. Keep your secrets, brat.” She flicked my nose and sauntered away. I got the feeling she was growing restless.
“You seem bored Miss Amelia, somethin on your mind?” I tilted my head curiously.
“Not particularly, it’s always so boring when everyone goes to sleep.” She shook her head adorably. “Tell me a story from your youth? Entertain meeee.” Her voice was playfully whiney. I thought for a few moments, but couldn’t come up with much of an exciting story from my childhood.
“I’m sorry, Miss Amelia, I lived a pretty boring life before you guys met me. I think the most exciting thing that happened was meeting a high level river spirit when I was six.” I couldn’t help but wonder how she had been doing, it had been over a year since I last saw Brook. I figured she was at least okay, based on the condition of her river, but I wasn’t certain.
“Ooh? Tell me more!” She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands. I forced myself to focus and started to tell her about my times meeting the Naiad, and followed up with some stories about Brioche the fox, my companions mother. I went to sleep before explaining what happened to her, telling her I wanted to leave it for another day. A few hours of sleep later and we were back on the road.