The ship sailed on, stopping occasionally to drop off scouts, or those who had other tasks. Selene trained with Meelara learned from the others and pondered on her Inner Space.
Days passed eventlessly.
The corridor was quiet as Selene stood before one of the open doorways.
“What am I supposed to do?” she thought as she rubbed the back of her head. “They seem to respond to my skills, but nothing happens when I channel them.”
She’d been working on her progression for days without success. When she channeled her skills into the doorways, she found some success, as the energies settled along the sides, but they dissipated quickly. Nothing changed.
Selene shook her head and exited the Space, returning to the swaying ship, Liberation.
The cabin was spartan, with a bunk bed, a small window and a shared wardrobe. Meelara had left to talk to Beren, leaving Selene to her business.
She lay back in the bed and inspected the ceiling.
“Why can’t I create the doors the same way as I made the bricks?” she repeated the same question she’d had the last several days. “The energy settles along the sides, but doesn’t solidify… It works with one skill only. The moment I start channelling another skill or try to use more than one, it fails. Seven identical doorways, and two larger ones… Arched, evenly spaced…”
She sighed, shook her head and stood up. She walked over to the window and looked at the endless ocean.
“I have no idea where we are…,” she grimaced, feeling lost. “There’s not much to do here, only training, studying, and experimenting with the Inner Space. I’ve spent too much time in this cabin. If it wasn’t for this window, I… Window. Oh! Maybe, they’re not doorways, but windows. Arched windows!”
She immediately rushed back to her bed, got into a comfortable position, and dove into her Inner Space.
She ran forward and stopped before one of the open spaces.
“Now, with the understanding that they might be windows; how should I proceed?” Selene frowned. “Meelara and my other tutors have said that the skills I use to build my Inner Space affect my Path. I can’t be reckless. I need to choose the skills carefully.”
Name:
Selene Parson
Race:
Human
Affiliation:
Earth
Stage:
2 - FrostShade Reaver
Level:
1
Credits:
3470
Stats:
Strength(STR)
26
Agility(AGI)
18
Vitality(VIT)
24
Intelligence(INT)
16
Wisdom(WIS)
8
Charisma(CHA)
3
Skills:
Shadow Strike
Apprentice
Chill of the Grave
Apprentice
Spirit Echoes
Apprentice
Spirit Veil
Novice
Drain Life
Novice
Channel Spectre(Frost)
Novice
Draugr Resilience
Apprentice
FrostShade Form
Novice
“No new skills, but I’ve made some progress,” she brought up her Status and smiled. “Draugr Resilience was easy to improve. Meelara hit me repeatedly, and I learned to siphon some energy from her to further reduce the damage I’ll take. Spirit Echoes was tricky since I had to learn a lot of the various energy signatures. I can now identify what type of magic a target can use.”
She took a deep breath before she shook her hands and prepared.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Alright, so. What do I want to do? Hmm, I think I should first focus on the intrinsic parts. The skills I use the most.”
She nodded, drew the light representing Shadow Strike toward her, and channelled it into the open space.
“It’s a window, not a door,” she focused on the idea as she did, and saw the energy spread across the space, but it still failed before it filled it. Selene frowned.
“Tch!” she folded her arms over her chest and looked down while tapping her foot. “What now? I tried to shape it, to form a window, but it didn’t work. It got further though, so I’m on the right track. It’s a window… A window to where? Should I make it a stained glass window with an image representing the skill, or a window looking out on something? What would that be?”
She tried again, and again, but nothing worked. She grabbed her hair before shaking her head.
“I’ll have to keep thinking about it, “ she thought, resigned. “Let’s get something to eat.”
She, once again, left the Inner Space and left the cabin. She quickly made her way to the mess, greeting the people she passed, and found an empty table after filling a plate with simple food.
She’d just started eating, without paying attention to her surroundings, when Meelara plopped down on the other side of the table.
“How’s things?” she asked, placing her plate down. “Any progress?”
“Some,” Selene muttered. “Not enough…”
“Tch,” Meelara shook her head, smiling crookedly. “Most spend months at the beginning of Stage 2, sometimes years. It’s not easy figuring out how to progress. Maybe I can help?”
“Right,” Selene sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I think the spaces are windows, not doors. Nine in total; seven smaller ones, and two large ones. I can channel one skill into the smaller ones, but it fails before filling the space. Nothing works. I haven’t tried the large ones yet.”
“I see,” Meelara frowned and took a bite. “You might need to improve your skills or your understanding of the skills. That’s a common bottleneck at Stage 2. Windows are usually used to showcase understanding; a display of the skill, in a way.”
“Huh,” Selene blinked. “I was thinking about something like that… But, it takes so long to improve them. I’ve only managed to get four of them to Apprentice level.”
“Gah!” Meelara exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. “Only… That’s not bad, you know?”
“I guess,” Selene lowered her head and glanced around. “But, I feel like I need to move faster. Like there’s danger coming, and I need to be prepared.”
“Everyone who’s anyone feels that way,” Meelara retorted.” But, rushing ahead will only hurt you in the future. Take your time, and build your foundations correctly.”
“I know…,” Selene mumbled. “I’ll take some time to work on my skills. I just hope I’m prepared when the time comes…”
“You will be,” Meelara reassured. “We’ve got your back. If you’re not prepared, know that we’ll help you. We’ve put our lot with you now, and we’ll ensure you reach as far as you can go.”
“Thanks;” Selene smiled, and finished her meal. “I’ll go focus on my skills. Should I work on improving all of them to Apprentice, or should I push my Apprentice skills further?”
“Up to you,” Meelara smirked. “Work on the ones you’re inspired to work on. Don’t force it.”
“Right,” Selene nodded. “Thanks.”
She stood up and left the mess. Meelara remained.
In another room, reserved for her training, on the lowest deck of the ship. She stood in the centre of the room with her eyes closed.
“Alright,” she thought as images and information flowed through her mind. “I need to figure out how to improve my skills. I improved Shadow Strike and Chill of the Grave by pushing them together and making them act in conjunction. A half-fusion. Draugr Resilience and Spirit Echoes were directly improved along their original paths.”
She activated the skills and inspected the differences and the various ways to use them. Shadows Strike had a normal shadow coating and a flickering shadow coating. Chill of the Grave could produce an invisible area of freezing cold or an obscured version.
“What if I focus on what I’m currently missing?” she had an idea and activated Shadow Strike. “It’s my most commonly used damage skill, but I’m currently lacking a ranged option.”
She coated her hand and extended her fingers. She made a chopping movement while trying to push the shadows away from her hand. Again, and again, she chopped down, and then she succeeded.
The shadow detached from her hand, and flew forward before hitting the wall.
[Ding! Shadow Strike increased to Adept.]
A grin split Selene’s face and she immediately activated the skill a few times. She then activated Chill of the Grave in the shadow variant.
Surrounded by cold shadows, she focused on the improved Shadow Strike. Before long, she managed to cause sickles of Shadow to fly from anywhere within the area of effect.
[Ding! Chill of the Grave increased to Adept.]
“Yes!” Selene pumped her fist as the shadows dissipated around her. “Hah! Months, or years, Meelara said. As if!”
Her success with Chill of the Grave gave her another idea.
“Alright, let’s keep the ball rolling, Selene! One thing missing now from Chill of the Grave is vision. I get some slight impressions about whatever is within the range, and with Spirit Echoes I can see a bit more, but I should be able to improve it. I need to filter out the unnecessary. Hmm. My Path is one of Death. Can I focus Spirit Echoes toward Life and Death? They’re two sides of the same coin, right? But, that leaves me vulnerable to ranged attacks. Life, Death, and general magic? Let’s try that.”
Spirit Echoes was activated, tinting the room with a slight blue hue, and lighting up the various remnants of her skills. She turned her gaze upwards, and tried to focus her senses on the people she knew sat above her.
“I’m right beneath the mess. There should be people sitting there.”
She frowned and gritted her teeth as she tried to filter out what she felt was unnecessary and focus on what she needed.
She activated Drain Life and inspected the colour, and feel of the magic. It was purple, with swirls of black. She’d learned that this represented Death or Necrotic mana. When it was active and was draining life from a target, she would see streams of gold, and amber energy flow into her, which represented Life and Vitality.
It took over an hour before she started to notice any signs of success, and three hours later she got the notification she wanted.
[Ding! Spirit Echoes has increased to Adept.]
----------------------------------------
In a private meeting room/cabin, Meelara sat at a table. Aside from her, there was Cheela and Faren, along with three other people. Mark, Orya, and Beren.
Beren sat at the head of the table with his hands steepled. He looked at the others around the table with a grave expression and sighed.
“We’re being boxed in,” he said in a calm voice. “We’ve lost several scouts, and the few who have reported in have proven suspicious. I believe they’ve been replaced or turned. As it stands, there are no ports within a week of travel that we can use. The Disciples of Life are likely to expand further, and with the resources at their disposal, it would require a miracle for us to find a safe dock.”
“So,” Meelara frowned and spoke, as she noticed none of the others was going to. “What are we going to do?”
Silence settled over the table for several seconds before Beren sighed again. He moved his hands and placed them flat on the table.
“I’m going to reach out to the God of War,” he said, nodding slightly. “He’s no ally of Life, and I believe His interests would align with the Goddess of Death.”
“Bad idea, Beren,” Oria said, frowning. She fiddled with her black hair as she shook her head. “The God of War is a battle-maniac. It’ll be chaos.”
“Precisely,” Beren nodded. “We can use that to escape.”
“We’ll still be beholden to Him for his assistance.”
“Selene won’t thank you for it,” Meelara interjected. “The God of War will bring death to Earth. A lot of innocents will die, and she wants to help them. It could turn her against you.”
“What other choice do we have?” Beren grunted as he leaned back in his chair. “We’re out of options. We’re losing people all over, and our paths forward are being cut off.”
“The Revenants,” Meelara said, meeting Beren’s gaze. “They’re strong, unaffiliated, and would support a Candidate of Death.”
“They’re also psychopaths!” Cheela exclaimed. “They can’t be trusted! They’ll corrupt her, turn her into a monster.”
“If we can stipulate an agreement that allows for us to remain by her side, we can counter their influence over her,” Meelara argued.
“And what concessions do we need to agree on?” Beren retorted. “They’re not going to help us out of the goodness of their hearts. They’ll want to nurture Selene into one of their own.”
“I know…,” Meelara grimaced. “I just think…”
“How about we do both?” Faren posited. “We arrange for them both to come and deal with it then? We could make sure they know how Selene feels about Earth. It should make the Revenants reluctant to cause too much harm, and they might be able to put enough pressure on the God of War to hold back. Even He should be cautious of both the Revenants and the God of Life.”
“And the God of Life would go mad,” Beren shook his head. “The Revenants are almost as hated as Selene will be if she ascends that throne.”
“Yes!” Faren said. “A stand-off.”
“Let’s table this for now,” Beren said after a lengthy silence. “We’ll consider our options, and decide in one week. Dismissed!”