Mantles

Erdania stood to the side and watched as Ryun brought his hammer down on the anvil, shaping the metal. Every strike bent it more than just a simple impact possibly could, his skill shaped the Essence of it with will and thought. He controlled the temperature and imbued the metal with his authority.

Erdania didn’t interfere, usually they created together, working in tandem to make things that were greater than they could possibly make on their own. Erdania’s authority, her axiom of Reliability lent itself to improving items such as the one he was forging at this moment. But she didn’t add her power to it, she only observed.

Her eyes and all other senses were focused, trying to see anything that might be going awry.

Finally, with one last hit of his hammer, the metal snapped into shape and cooled under the force of his authority. A simple round shield laid upon the anvil.

She stepped closer, entering the small sphere where he had controlled the Essences, and was immediately assaulted by the heat. Sweat and grime clung to her, but she ignored it and waited for Ryun to pick the item up.

He hesitated for just a moment, and then reached down to lift the shield in one hand. She waited expectantly, looking at his face for any hint of what it said.

After a moment the shield collapsed in on itself, crushed under the weight of his authority into a mangled mess of metal no larger than his fist. It heated up and melted, then disintegrated utterly in mere heartbeat.

Erdania watched his face carefully, but so no emotion. His body was just a vessel, and one under his perfect control, she had noticed him displaying emotions through facial expressions less and less as time went by. But she didn’t need it in order to know how he felt, through their bond she could feel it all. He didn’t hide anything from her.

“Again,” he just said.

Erdania felt his frustration, his annoyance and anger. They had sequestered themselves for days, working almost nonstop within their forge. The results have started to take their toll.

“Perhaps we should take a break,” Erdania suggested as she stepped next to him. She felt him pull his authority back into his vessel, his body, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“I need to—”

“—A break,” she just said. “I’m feeling filthy, I’d like a bath.”

He blinked, then turned to look at her. She saw him open his mouth to rebut her suggestion, his authority flickering out of his body to do what they generally did when they needed to clean themselves. Ryun could simply destroy any filth, grime, or sweat, that clung to them with just a thought. His body was easier to clean than even that. He had only remake his vessel, or have the top layer of Scorn change into another Essence.

“Come on,” Erdania urged him, pulling him with a hand. “I need this.”

He hesitated for just a moment, and then sighed. He rarely denied her anything, even when he was frustrated himself. And Erdania knew him well enough to know when he needed a break.

They left his territory and walked through their home to the baths.

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Erdania sighed in contentment, relaxing as she enjoyed being taken care of. The baths were large, with a big pool of an artificial hot spring in one corner, a shower to the side, and a small cleaning area in the middle.

She sat on a bench, with Ryun behind her, his hands on her back. He moved them in practiced movements, getting a good lather going, then pressing hard, massaging her back as he scrubbed days worth of grime from her body.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

She arched her back and released a soft sound. She loved these moments between them, the feeling of closeness. With their bond, they were always together, but sometimes, physical touch just made things better. It had been hard, even since his advancement had made his body and soul one and the same. It had made him less physical in a way. But Scorn had fixed a lot of those issues. Being able to give him a real flesh and blood body had made it easier.

They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s presence for a while. But as all good things, the short moment of peace came to an end.

“I’m getting weaker,” Ryun whispered.

She knew how affected he was with the realization. They all were. Their advancement, their half-step into something greater, had come with consequences that they didn’t quite understand yet.

They had first noticed it during sparring. Any damage she did to his body would heal, but… it healed slower and slower as time went on. It had taken them a little while to realize what was happening.

“You’re not,” Erdania told him. She knew that he felt like he was losing power, that they all were, but the truth was much more complicated.

It had taken them a while to realize what was happening. But these last few days had only confirmed it.

“I regenerate slower, I can barely make a simple shield,” Ryun said, his tone was calm, but she knew better. The frustration flowed freely through their bond.

“And you’ve gained more power to destroy, to bring about the end,” Erdania countered. He didn’t respond, and his hands on her back paused. After a moment she turned around to face him, looking him in the eyes.

“Losing power never feels good, but we’ve all lost and gained in equal measure,” she started. “We embody ideas now, Ryun. Our existence is more than just physical in this world. We are taking steps toward something greater. All things related to the End are amplified for you, just as all things related to Reliability are amplified for me. Just as your connection to things that defend or heal is lessened, my ability to destroy is as lessened.”

They had been doing tests for weeks now, trying to figure out the exact limits to what had happened to them. It seemed that their effectiveness with the Essences related to their axioms was heightened, and those that were unrelated or opposed, lessened. It was an adjustment for all of them. Though the one least affected by it was Selia. She had always been more or less in line with what her axiom was. She used her power to create, to guide, to help others bear their hardships.

Erdania was somewhere in the middle. Reliability didn’t outright oppose the more offensive Essences that she utilized. Making Gravity more reliable, stronger, didn’t lessen its ability to crush you, it increased it. Her being able to fortify herself or solid Essences around her was a boon too, even if she couldn’t directly use it for offense.

Ryun though had been hit the hardest. His crafting had shifted, making things that were meant to protect was harder, and the results were weaker than before—as proven by the shield he had so quickly destroyed.

His regeneration was impacted too, though thankfully it didn’t outright cripple him. His ability to unload the density of his being into his authority meant that it would be hard to kill him even if one could damage him. One would have to destroy his entire being in a single shot, and he could spread himself far and wide. Having his soul and body be one an the same had some drawbacks, but also some benefits.

But his ability to touch and handle the Essence that were more aligned with the End had improved significantly. Essences related to Destruction were far more effective in his hands, and his authority spread over them with ease.

And he had been improving in other ways too. Pulling in Essence and cycling was easier for him now, far easier. He could spread his entire being across a territory and just enforce his will and authority on all the Essence within and swallow it up into his core. Which he had done exactly once, and depleted an entire territory, leaving it a barren wasteland.

Now he cycled all the time, constantly drawing in a small amount of Essence from around him. Churning his core and deepening it endlessly.

Erdania and Selia’s authority was different than his, he was his Soul, while the two of them still had their bodies. Their authority was infused only with their Soul, not their bodies. But there were things that they could do that he couldn’t.

“Perhaps I might find a way around this,” Ryun mused.

Erdania reached out and put her hand on his chest. “You don’t need to,” she told him. “You have me and Selia to cover for your shortcomings. You want to make a shield, I can do what you cannot.”

He looked at her for a long moment, and then slumped.

“You’re right,” he said.

“I usually am,” Erdania smiled.

He rolled his eyes and she turned her back to him again. “Grab that bucket will you? I want to get into the pool.”

After he rinsed her off, they stepped into the pool and sat down, leaning against one another. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, relaxing.

They had been in the bath for barely a few minutes before Selia’s voice blasted through their bond.

“He’s here!”

Both of them stood up quickly, alert, but Selia’s emotions weren’t bad, she was… excited. Ryun and Erdania looked at each other and realized what Selia meant.

“Well,” Ryun said slowly. “We should finish up here.”

Erdania swallowed and took a deep breath. The person that would help them conceive had arrived.