Nothing came from her fears of the forest. Brivaria’s concern felt more like paranoia when the sun came up and Trixie padded out of the tent looking for her favorite angel. The winged girl chided herself for being jumpy. She was so used to being stronger and more capable than this. It was frustrating becoming tense and paranoid over what amounted to nothing. Even if her fears had been unfounded, infusing a handful of stones to produce light was a useful technique that she could surely make use of in the future.
Once she and Trixie were packed up, they took off down the road. They’d already left the farmland, entered the forest, and were going to be entering the savanna by mid afternoon. They were making excellent time. Brivaria wasn’t sure if all dogs could run as fast or as long as Trixie could but the golden pooch was an impressively fast companion. Together they moved far, far faster than the Second Sword had.
Of course the two couldn’t escape the weather. Black storm clouds were already rolling in as they entered the savanna. It was going to be bad weather for flying and running soon. While Brivaria had never been in a rainstorm let alone a thunderstorm, she knew what they were from information transfers given by her instructors at home. She was expected to know about them and the risks of conducting an intervention during one. The idea of a bolt of lightning striking her was cause for great concern and fairly likely if she was wearing her armor and waving her sword around.
The two traveling companions used the time remaining as best they could and, when the storm was just about on top of them, Brivaria located a tall hill to setup the tent. The rain was starting to come down as she finished securing the tent. Trixie jumped inside as soon as it was up. The angel’s wings weren’t yet small enough to let her enter the tent when rain really began coming down so she paid the steep mana cost to reduce their size quickly. She didn’t bother with the glowing rocks as the wind was picking up. Even if she took the time to infuse them, the wind would scatter them or the rain would carry them away.
A loud peel of thunder startled the angel and caused Brivaria to all but leap into the tent. She quickly began sealing it shut. The rain was coming down in sheets and flashes of lightning were illuminating the distant sky. It was one thing to know this was a facet of life on Zlithia. It was another to be experiencing it. The rain was horrendously loud as it came down harder and harder. The sound of heavy droplets hitting the tent was nonstop and every clap of thunder shook the ground. Trixie whimpered and scooted closer to Brivaria, putting her head on the angel’s lap.
“There, there. It’s okay. We’re okay. Everything is okay,” she whispered softly to the anxious dog. Any time the angel lifted her hands, the dog whimpered and made other sad noises so Brivaria went back to petting and stroking the golden’s soft fur. She was trapped in an endless cycle of petting the scared dog. The sunchaser could play in a trapped dungeon room and antagonize a giant flower monster but a thunderstorm was too much for her. Truthfully Brivaria wasn’t far off. Sure combat was scary and monsters were scary, but there was a sort of primal fear in the natural elements of an entire planet that those other things lacked. If anything, Trixie’s fear forced Brivaria to squish all of her own anxiety into a little box and tuck it away to focus on comforting the dog.
One hour went by then two then three. The storm was still loud and intense. She almost didn’t hear the voice that called her name.
“Brivaria? Are you there? This communication array is awful. The noise and other interference is dreadful,” came a familiar angel’s voice. Brivaria blinked in surprise. Trixie’s eyes looked up, searching for the speaker, but the dog didn’t dare move from her comfortable position next to the angel.
“Balthazar? That noise is a storm. There’s a powerful one above me right now. I’m taking shelter in the tent you provided,” she replied.
“Oh. Oh! The tent, yes, I’m glad we provisioned that then. It was all very rushed so we weren’t certain what you would need or even how much. I’m glad the supplies are useful. Speaking of those, I talked to Seralene about your situation.” The older angel continued talking casually despite it sounding like the world was ending outside the tent. Trixie continued looking around and Brivaria kept stroking the dog who’d now added a bit of confusion to her anxiety courtesy of the disembodied voice.
Brivaria winced at hearing hear Balthazar mention Seralene. Seralene was responsible for designing equipment used on intervention. Much of Brivaria’s armaments and supplies had been either designed by or gained approval from Seralene. Brivaria’s atypical situation had no doubt caused a headache to the whole provisioning system. She hoped the other angel would forgive her.
“Please tell her I’m sorry for causing her problems. I really didn’t-” Brivaria began only to be immediately cut off.
“Problems? No, girl, she’s ecstatic. I spent a whole turn being bombarded by nonstop questions and ideas regarding your situation. She’s coming up with entirely new ideas for long-term intervention. As a result we’ve got a handful of new items to provision now so long as you’re willing to test them and report the results. She’ll have even more with a rotation or two.” Brivaria had low awareness but it wasn’t low enough to mistake the slight bit of irritation in the overseer’s voice. Meanwhile the winged girl was relieved. Causing her fellow angels problems was the last thing she wanted to do.
“That sounds wonderful. Yes, I’ll test out anything you can send down. I know my situation is an inconvenience to our choir so I will do everything I can to make something beneficial out of my stay on Zlithia. While we’re on the subject, could you provide another helmet? Mine was damaged in the line of duty recently.” Admitting that last part was not ideal but lying to Balthazar or even hiding things from him was unthinkable.
“Oh. Hm. I don’t believe we have any enchanted helmets available. The one we gave you was unenchanted, in fact. Probably why it broke. Yes, let me check…” Balthazar paused. She knew the old overseer had liberally bent rules to get her gear for a nonstandard intervention as it was. Having her sword and a sturdy shield was welcome enough even without the rest. The sword was particularly valuable as any other blade would have snapped in the battle against the flower. Balthazar got back to her a moment later.
“We have a couple enchanted circlets that no one has used in a fairly long time. They were in use for a while but any intervention with an opposing force capable of neutralizing magic enchantments put the wearers at risk. At that point having a normal helmet is preferable. Unless you foresee those sorts of challenges in your future then I can send one down to you today,” he explained. Brivaria’s miniature wings fluttered. That was very good! She didn’t think to buy a replacement helmet in town and this was even better.
“That’s perfect. Also I tried some of the rations and they don’t taste good compared to the surface food.” She needed to be more careful with this subject. Her people didn’t need food in the same way the material beings did. Their goal with the rations was to create a food stuff that was as nutrient-dense as possible that would serve as a food source for wide variety of creatures on Zlithia and across the greater multiverse. Taste was specifically not a consideration.
“That’s a complaint that’s been aired in the past by surface races before. It’s not been a particularly noteworthy one. That is, it’s not that we don’t want to make the rations palatable to encourage other creatures to eat them but rather it’s simply not been a priority. Now that one of our people may have to depend on them, I’ll try to push it along.” Balthazar’s words were reassuring. Brivaria could imagine him resonating with concern and trying to make her stay on the planet as peaceful as possible. She was so thankful to have him as her overseer.
“So how long will I be down here? Has Amriel come up with anything?” she asked, braving the subject at last. The angel knew that if Balthazar had good news that he’d have opened with it. The fact that they’d been talking without it coming up until she specifically mentioned it was not promising. That the System translated his response to her question as a sigh was even more damning.
“About that,” he began, “we are still trying to get a hold of the situation. Several more demons have been discovered in the field by other guardians but none of them used the same weapon that was wielded against you. We had been worried that it was a new weapon our foes were going to begin deploying immediately. As a result, we’ve been prioritizing defenses against it rather than solutions for undoing it once done. As no other demons have used that method of attack, the urgency has… declined, slightly.”
The hand that was petting Trixie stopped as Brivaria processed the words. The dog looked up at the angel and whined. Trixie nuzzled against the winged girl and rubbed her head against her friend.
“Oh.” It was all Brivaria could say. She didn’t know what else to say. Being told they didn’t have a cure was something she expected. Being told that they didn’t have one and, worse, that finding one was not urgent was something else.
“I know what that sounds like.” Balthazar’s tone was soothing and gentle. “What you’re thinking isn’t wrong but I won’t let them forget about you. Amriel is still looking into your condition. She simply hasn’t found anything useful yet. From what she’s learned, the thing the demon hit you with fused into you directly. Both the level drain and the disruption to your energy form are being given equal attention. I don’t have anything more to tell you on that yet so why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to?”
Brivaria went back to stroking Trixie’s head as she talked about everything that had happened in the last week. The storm was still going strong and the thunder periodically interrupted the conversation but the combination of the dog and her angelic friend had a calming effect. For his part, Balthazar was not a silent listener. He interrupted Brivaria often to ask questions. He was particularly interested in her Lesser Shapeshifting skill and class selections. Once she was done going over the previous week, he returned to those.
“So you selected a decay-focused class with desecration skills?” the older angel asked.
"Yes, I think that if I combine its various decaying skills and spells then I’ll be able to mitigate my low attributes to an extent. Anything I can do to even the odds or tilt them in my favor feels like a good choice.” Brivaria was proud of her class choice. She’d been delighted to see the various spells the class offered. It felt strong though she had yet to put its spells or skills to use.
“Tell me about the Lesser Shapeshifting skill. It wasn’t on your Winged Templar class, correct?” he asked. Brivaria shook her head, even though there was no one to see it.
“No, it was a racial skill. I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. I’m not sure how I even got along without it until now. Smaller wings, bigger wings, bigger muscles, and a handful of smaller changes. I even found a little mirror to help practice with it on the road. I’ll need more time to be certain but I think I’ll make a recommendation to the choir for all intervention-focused angels to pick it up. It’s that good.” The only reason she fit comfortably in the tent was because of the Lesser Shapeshifting skill. The mana cost and limitations were unfortunate but it could surely be upgraded. If she kept Decaying Lightbrand or wasn’t enthused with class skill choices in the future then she’d pursue an upgrade to it. For all that went, maybe she’d do that anyway.
“It sounds very handy. I will make sure our brethren hear of your suggestion. Perhaps they will have some thoughts on the matter. One more thing. How are you feeling? Are you suffering any bouts of physical or spiritual illness in the wake of the incident? Any sluggishness in the mind or other adverse effects that Amriel should know about?” he asked. There was an oddness to Balthazar’s reply but that was probably just something being lost in the translation of angelic transmission to sound. The System had done well so far but everything had its limits, Brivaria decided. Meanwhile the questions brought a smile to her lips.
“Not a one,” she confirmed happily. “I’m not sick nor suffering any kind of weakness. The situation has been stressful and I was really hoping to hear better news about going home but I feel really good. If anything, I expected the transition to a prolonged material form to be painful yet it’s been anything but.” Brivaria smiled at Trixie and dog smiled back, giving a small wuff of excitement at the sudden attention. “I don’t see any immediate issues with staying down here in the near future.” A bright lightning bolt lit up the side of the tent and a peal of thunder shook the angel and dog with its intensity. “Okay, maybe one issue.”
“I don’t think I can do anything about that,” Balthazar said, putting some humor into his voice through the transmission. Mirth quickly gave way to a more somber tone. “Brivaria, I apologize for not having better news. I know how hard this is on you. I have no doubt that if any of our choir was up to this kind of challenge that it would be you. I can’t say when we’ll figure out a solution but I promise that we will never stop working on it. We’ll get you home. On that note, don’t feel like you need to recover your lost levels. If you just keep yourself safe then that’s more than enough. I look forward to resonating with you when you return.” Brivaria’s heart hurt to hear that. The way the transmission was converted into sound added a depth of feeling and emotion to the older angel’s words that struck a chord within the winged girl.
“I miss you too. I’ll be back home and everything will be back to normal before you know it.” It was Brivaria’s turn to try to reassure the other angel. She had no basis for that statement but faith however, to an angel, faith was one of the most powerful forces in the multiverse. The transmission devolved into less serious discussion. Poor Xander was getting more work. He was a good angel and would make a good overseer when the time came. Her fellow angels were absorbing her summons for the moment and all was going well so far. If anything, she was jealous of how normal everything was for her fellow angels. It seemed like everything was going smoothly without her and, while she would never admit it aloud, that sort of bothered her.
By the time the transmission ended, storm had likewise calmed down. The discussion with Balthazar had reminded Brivaria to practice Lesser Shapeshifting so she began doing that. The two would be stuck in the tent until the next day came. One look outside showed another batch of black storm clouds headed their way. The reprieve would only be temporary.
The two were eating when Seralene’s package came through. The magical circlet that Balthazar told her about was in there. It was a slim silver band of metal with a white gem sat at the front and small, decorate angel feathers at the sides. She experimented with resizing it to be larger and smaller before putting it on. It was weightless and didn’t give any tactile feedback upon being worn. The only way the angel could tell she was wearing the thing was by reaching up and touching it with her fingers. She definitely felt the magical wards the circlet contained, however. Those were decently strong. The older angel had either undersold the workmanship or been comparing its utility to the threats Brivaria normally faced.
Alongside those was a magical rain catcher which could be attuned to Brivaria’s inventory. It would capture any water that went into it and transfer it straight to the angel’s inventory. It was a small blue gem which Brivaria immediately affixed to the top of the tent. The angel wasn’t certain how well it would work but she would find out. Though, she did test to ensure the gem could be deactivated so it wouldn’t fill up her entire inventory with water.
Next there was a large silver rock attached to a curved, wrapped handle. Why anyone would attach a handle to a rock was beyond Brivaria’s understanding. It was labeled “Improved Lodestone” in her inventory which didn’t tell her very much. Perhaps it was a weapon of some sort? Her sword and spear were surely better than a rock with a handle. It wasn’t even shaped like a proper mace or club. Maybe Balthazar was right to be concerned about Seralene.
Finally there was a small metal sphere labeled “Party Ball.” The angel had no idea what that one was nor how it was meant to be activated. It also went straight into her inventory. She’d try it later… when she felt like she needed a party. Today was definitely not a day for celebrating.
Eventually the storm returned. Trixie and Brivaria ate their dinner and the angel stayed awake during the night practicing her Lesser Shapeshifting. She would attempt to master the art of changing her eye color. It was easy enough and harmless enough that she could use it as a stepping stone toward other, more complicated alterations. If nothing else, it was progress toward her next level up. Progress was progress as her angelic instructors taught her long ago.