“There are many benefits, one of which is forming bonds like Arakari and I have.”
Did that Trial give me something I could have gotten anyway?
“We will need a Spirit Summoner to awaken that ability, but there is one heading this way,” Ranar continued.
OK, maybe I will let the trial off on this one. “I seem to have that option already opened to me.”
“Really? The Trial did this?”
I nodded, “Maybe you could tell me how it works.”
“Certainly. Do you know from your history which clan you might be from?”
“No, but I hope it is not the Al’verrens. They are not a clan I want to be a part of.”
“Fair enough,” Ranar said, “I have heard what they are doing, and I would not be a part of them either. There is a reckoning coming to them.”
“From the Al’dross?”
“We don’t usually attach the Al to the names, but that is a different story. Duke Lewis Dross may do it, but what they are doing is unsustainable and will implode anyway. The Dross are a good clan, and they are here. They could adopt you.”
“What about the Wygons?” I asked.
“They are far from here, and I am not currently in a position to represent them.”
“Why would I want this?”
“The clans can train you in many classes, which are their speciality classes. Challenging trials with your clan mates are more successful, especially with the training the clan provides. There are many benefits.”
I silently added that it was the only way I was going to get out of here with Lightreaver and Shadowbane.
“Very well,” I said. “Clan Wygon produced you, so I would like to join that clan.” Plus, they were a long way away. I was not about to join the Al’verrens, and the Dross were about to enter a war that I wanted no part of.
Ranar looked at me carefully. I am pretty sure he could see right through me.
“Very well. Clan Wygon will be glad to have a new member. We will need the signet ring for this.”
I got out the ring and the crown. “These are for you.”
He grabbed them and then held out the ring to me. “Just touch the jewel.”
I could feel with my Mana Sensitivity that he was doing something, but I couldn’t tell what. I reached out and touched the jewel, and a feeling swept through me. It felt like each cell in my body was awakened for a moment, and then it went back to normal. It wasn’t painful, just weird.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Check your Status,” he replied,
And there it was, right there on my status. I was no longer human but Al’rashian. “Wait a minute,” I said, “my surname changed as well. It now says I am Marvin Wygon.”
“Really?” Ranar said. “That is unusual. Can you display the partial status for me?”
I did so.
“Fascinating. Your blood must be strong, and maybe you also have a connection with the Wygons. This could be interesting to explore. You are more than just an adopted brother now. You are true clan.”
“Have my looks changed? Do I look Al’rashian?”
“No, not even the eyes which I would have expected,” said Ranar. “Your blood or soul has awakened. I suspect a full change a Spirit Summoner with a Spirit Orb will be required.”
I was rather excited at this, as it could be a way to escape the bounties that were put on me. I am no longer Marvin Omma, Human, but Marvin Wygon, Al’rashian.
“What is it you want for the other items?” Ranar asked.
“I have no idea,” I said.
“You are clan now. You should know some basic information about Alrashian fighting. The Unarmed Technique Three Steps is also the foundation of our other weapons forms. I have a skill stone for you.”
“Actually, I already have one. I just haven’t learned it yet. I needed more information.”
We discussed the different fighting styles of the Al’rashian, including their signature single-bladed curved weapons, which I had collected a lot of. I sold most of them to Ranar and kept only a couple. Their top sword technique for this type of sword was called the Ocean Meets Shore technique. I learned the Three Steps, but as Shadowbane was not in the Al’rashian style, I didn’t learn the sword form. Yet.
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The Alrashians had a number of mounted fighting techniques. Most of them are horse-mad. The Dragoon class was common. I was not that interested in mounted fighting, but I learned a lot just by listening to Ranar.
“I need a team to work with. Do you have a skill I can use to evaluate people who want to join?”
“There is nothing that will evaluate loyalty; your intuition is probably best used for that. If you combine it with the Identifying skill while you are seeking team members, you should be a reasonable judge. You know, without actually using the Identify skill, you can get an idea of someone's danger level?”
I nodded. The skill is more than the numbers; you can get a sense of people without actually using it. Some people describe it as a tingly feeling.
“You can possibly do the same with your Seeker Intuition, although that skill is limited to what you are seeking,” Ranar continued. “If you want to assess someone's capabilities, I have an ability stone called Assessing Eyes. It will give similar information to the skill that the Scribe Profession gets, although that one is dependent on the other person's permission. This is not the case here, although their permission makes it easy. If you are doing it anyway, it comes down to the skill level and who has the most willpower.”
“Which is how you know I have the Seekers Intuition even though I never told you that,” I said. “What else did you discover?”
Ranar smiled and put the Ability stone on the table between us. “Intelligence is good. You are very strongly focused on light and shadow, so you probably won't learn any other affinities.”
“So it would surprise you to know I was offered the Death Mage Class.”
“It would, yes. Your Death Affinity is so far below the other two I would not have judged it to be high enough to register. This is an art, though and not absolute. As Death Mage was available, You should have this affinity stone as well.” Ranar put the Death Manipulation stone on the table beside the other.
“I am not sure I want to focus on Death,” I said.
“Death will never be your focus, but if you can learn it, you should, Mr Wardweaver. With this, you can use death in your wards without any external source. If you want to add fire to your wards, for instance, you will need fire mage or monster cores of beasts that used fire, probably several of them, depending on the power levels. It gets expensive.”
I nodded. He definitely knows what he is talking about.
“Let me add this. It is a charm called Wither and will help you train your Death magic. You will never be as good at death as you are at light or shadow. This Skill will also help. It is Death Strike. It is basically the opposite of Holy Strike. It will work on anyone, but Holy creatures are weak to it like Undead and Infernal are weak to Holy Strike.”
I just nodded. I had never encountered a holy creature, but my Lore skill was soaking up the information.
“I have some skill stones I can swap for these,” I said.
“I suggest you keep them. My prices are always fair, but if you were to sell your stones to the traders in this kingdom, you would get prices that are better than fair.” His eyes seemed to twinkle. “Let me add the charms Glow and Dim, as you don’t have them. Light and shadow charms do what they say but are very cheap as charms are. We will call these a down payment on an artefact. Is there anything else you want?”
“Information,” I said immediately. “Any and all information.” I was never going to get a better source.
“Ah yes, the curse of the Lore Skill. You should learn the scribe skill as well,” He places another stone on the table.
“I tried to learn it, but I couldn’t,” I said, passing it back. “I have a stone for that.”
“Some skills require effort to learn,” Ranar said. “Find a scribe and learn from them for a few hours, and I am sure you will then have the basics to learn the skill. For both your Seeker Class and your Wardweaver profession, you will find it invaluable. I have some books you can learn from. Here is a History of Al’rashia, Alrashian Language, Elven Language, Classes and Skills, and I have a Monster Compendium. I don’t have anything on Ward Weaving or other languages. I suggest you learn the basics of other professions for your Seeker Class as well. All knowledge is important for that class.”
Five large books were stacked next to the stones. Wow. This was not what I expected. I suspect my name change signalled something to him that he is not saying.
“What can you tell me about my bond?”
“Choose carefully. The monster must be willing to bond. Bonds cannot be forced. They will be with you for life, which can be a very long time if you level up past 50. There is another life extension at every 50 levels. The bond itself will come naturally, but choose carefully. Use your Seekers Intuition and have what you seek in a bond firmly in your mind.”
I took out the five armour pieces and the Vestment. Ranar looked at them with a little awe, if that was the right word.
“I cannot pay you for this. I will give you a token, which should open doors with any Al’rashian Clan, but especially Clan Wygon. It is like a promissory note of a debt we owe to you.”
I figured something like that was what we would end up doing. They are priceless relics.
Ranar bought all the goods from me that he didn’t think would be valuable in the Al’dross Duchy, as it was now called. He suggested I keep the Acid Saliva and the Paralysing Howl, as they may be suitable for a future bond. He added Night Sight, as that was a generally useful skill. I didn’t need it, as I had Spectral Vision, but I could see its usefulness.
I left Ranar’s Emporium a changed man, literally. I spent the rest of the day sitting and processing what had happened. I did browse the History of Al’rashia book. I need books or information on Wards as well. That is very high on my priority list.
When I went back for dinner, Ranar and the Emporium had left. He had only come for me and the Monarch’s Raiment.
I had three days before we left for Slyhhill. On one of them, I paid the town's Mayor to teach me the Scribe skill. He had the full Scribe Profession and would run affinity assessments fo r the village kids. He had me do his paper work for the Duchy. I was paying him to do his job.
Learning the skill took longer than I would have liked. He constantly corrected my penmanship, clarity, and accuracy. Talented people apparently learned the skill from his tutorage alone in about half a day. Near dinner time, I learned enough to be able to use the Skill Stone. I was never going to be great at the skill, but I only needed enough for it to be useful to me. A skill that you are not aligned to is slower to level as well.
The other days were pleasant as I sat around, enjoyed Mag’s cooking, and read my books.
Soon enough, I was helping Edrei load his wagons, and we were being accompanied by some guards who were rotating out of Pyrewatch, as well as some other villagers who had business in Slyhill.
We set out on the three-day journey, one day of which was outside the safe territories. I had to remind myself that this was not the same as before and that we had experienced guards with us. I was also not the same person as before.