The days blended together after that, there were a few stand out moments when absorbing something caused a sever headache. Whoever A.M. was always warned me in advance and I would absorb those slipping into meditation. He had taught me the second day to use this before sleep to really let my mind process the information I was gaining.
I had no idea how long this cycle contiued but my knowledge grew everyday. In the evenings when I didn’t have a headache, after meditation I would use the knowledge in various spacial rooms that could be accessed. Stretching my magic, forcing it to grow and adapt to different uses. This started with the basic six elements fire, water, earth, air, light and dark. Soon enough I was using them combined lava from earth and fire, shadow from light and dark, storm from water and air.
By the time I was half way through the bookshelves I was using complex magics regularly lightning and meteors using them to destroy massage areas. My power grew everyday and so did my comfort with the magic. Eventually making my way into master tier magics void, time, gravity and space. My understanding of the Demensional rifts I used to practice grew and I knew how to manipulate them. No longer dependent on the workings of the house I used it to teleport from one to another, even creating some of my own. My understanding of time let me recognize the time shift I now existed in, time outside passed slower than it did inside at almost ten times the speed.
In the end I realized I had been studying for two years inside the house, while less than two months had passed in my world. The morning after I realized this the book’s instructions changed.
Now that you’ve reached this level it’s time to temper your body to prepare for your bloodline. This will not be fun, but it’s needed. A new door will appear, you will mediate in it each day for as long as you can take. By that I mean when your pass out the influence will shut off, sorry it’s the only way I could think of to do this.
A.M
He hadn’t exaggerated, everyday became a torture. It started with the base elements again fire was first. The first day was sitting in a room that was hotter than a day in the sun, by the end I was sitting in a living blue flame. It had taken months, months of pain and agony but I had made it. My body was tempered to the flame.
Two more years passed this was, wake up on the floor of a room. Eat. Read. Meditate in some hell or another. Pain, endure, pass out. Rinse and repeat. My drive never wavered, I didn’t hesitate to keep moving forward because this was my one opportunity to control my life. Some part of my kind knew I could do that now, I was easily the most powerful mage in the domain but it wasn’t enough. Not for me, somewhere in the process I had forgotten that I was trapped and being pushed into this. My soul had gained a focus that wouldn’t waver from this path.
When I realized this I took a few days to dig around in my brain, fear convincing me that I had been taken over or was being forced mentally to do this. It took that long for me to realize it wasn’t anything like that at all, this was me. The me that had always been there but buried under the mundane needs of existence. Here where I was safe and could do nothing but pursue that desire I had become focused souls on that progression. I wanted power, not to rule others but to rule my own fate. I had spent so much of my life under the rule of others that the idea of absolute freedom was a driving force now. Constantly pushing me back into the torture of tempering.
Time passed and I progressed through the tempering, all of them were torture in thier won way. I endured them all, time was the last and most challenging, I was born aged and died over and over each time my body taking longer to age until finally the day came where nothing changed. My body was tempered completely now, this didn’t make me immune to magics. Far from it, what it did allow was my body to understand and feel every aspect of the elements. Like a tuned machine I could feel them, at low leveled I would be able to steal them or counter them out right if I was fast enough. Higher levels it let me work within the magic to avoid or shift it away enough to survive it.
The next morning I checked to book again, it had new instructions again.
You made it through that, now that you’re tempered you must learn the martial skills you’ll need. A new door had been opened and the weapon masters I have known will offer there you their training. Again nothing teaches like pain, endure.
A.M.
Martial training start the next morning, it was quickly evident that what I thought of as fight skill was amusing at best. The first step was hand to hand, the first day the ghost instructor killed me in three breaths. I walked in, he bowed and I returned it. He was taller than me, close to seven feet tall, lean whip fast muscles covered his scarred body. His shaved head gleamed under the sun in the space we occupied.
“Defend yourself.” Was all his cold voice said. Then I woke up the next day.
It took a solid year to be able to survive a day, another year to actually fight the man to a draw. Everyday of a year fighting, from morning to exhaustion. The last day we fought for a solid day and a half. My body morphed throughout the process, lean muscle became corded steel. I had always been lean but now I was chiseled from stone and metal. Hard muscle rippled with every movement, flexible and strong. I blocked blows now that had broken bones once upon a time, my kicks would break stone.
“Passable.” He said, still not out of breath or even sweating. “We are done, your next master will appear in two days. Take the time to recover and relax, you must choose your next path.”
“Path?” I questioned. My voice sounded odd to my ears, it had been so long since I spoke to someone it felt off.
“You will learn a basic understanding of all weapons but you must choose those to master.” That made sense, I hadn’t thought about it but I guess mastering everything wasn’t really reasonable.
“Do you have any advice?” I didn’t know the limits of these ghosts or soul relics but it was worth a shot.
“Staff and elven dual blades, your to lean for heavy weapons and use speed over strength.” Was his short clipped answer, then he faded into nothing. I took his advice and the next morning my staff training began.
Years passed again, everyday spent in the rooms studying under various masters. Swords, daggers, spears and everything else. My last two weapons were my specialization, the elven blades and staff. Before I started on them I could use anything I picked up, even the massive two handed blades. My body filled out throughout this training becoming more balanced with both speed and power.
The elven blades were long slightly curved blades, double edged meant for speed. The elven blade dancers were some of the most devastating swordsman on a battle field. Earning the name blade dervish with the high cost of blood and death it took to stop them. Battle mages would ignore other mages to focus on and kill the blade dervishes. They used magic with thier blades, showcasing the longevity of elves in the time required for mastery.
The elven master who taught me cut me too pieces over and over, forcing me to become truly ambidextrous. He stood imperiously above me everytime, cloaked in shadows and flowing garments and hid his movements. He never spoke, never offered advice simpky expecting me to learn from pain. When I finally managed to survive his barage of blades at the martial level he changed his ways of killing me. Then he pushed elements into his blades, I died again and again despite my tempering, his infusions so fast I had no time to react. Once I adjusted to that he added in the shadow stepping, blinking in and out of existence around me. I don’t know how long it took, time had long sense having any meaning. It passed in a blur now but when our battle lasted two full days without a death he passed me on.
The staff was by comparison gentle, the instructor stood looking tranquil in the grass. He wore a loose flowing golden robe, a monk I recognized. From one of the human religions if I remembered right, he used his stag in combination with the base elements at first. He still killed me again and again but he spoke atleast.
“You are improving that is what matters.” He said one noting that stood out. His voice was soothing and calm. “Do not loose hope, time will correct your flaws your one.”
“I have learned that lesson.” My voice still sounded odd but I could get used to it.
“It is a valuable lesson to comprehend.” He nodded. “Prepare.”
That was all my warning before he stared moving, the earth rose with him and the wind whipped his cloak around him. We fought, well to be honest he fought I tried not to die. Time resumed its blur, until one day our staves met in a final clash and he stepped back.
“You have gained all that I can teach.” His smooth voice stated as he bowed. “Remember despite all that you have learned no one is impervious to betrayal. Humility and care should be your outward guide, while constant study of not only the land but the people in it will keep you alive.”
With that he faded out and the room began to change into an empty hall. My body had transformed with the training, I put on size but kept my overall lean fast appearance. My hair was now worn tied back and hung down to my lower back, thankfully my elven blood kept the facial hair from being a problem. I wasn’t the same as the the boy who fell into a pit, when I stopped transfixed infront of the mirror it took me a while to accept the image. Constant good food and training had made me into a formable figure. My eyes held sparks of magic dancing in the black, revealing to any who knew what to look for that I was a mage. There was a harshness to my appearance, grim and determined.
Waking up the morning after my realizations in the mirror I slowly stretched and climbed out of bed. Today after years of martial training I would once again read the book. Another part of my education would start, an odd lump filled my throat. Mild fear keeping me sitting a moment longer on the edge of my bed, what painful hell would greet me today? After I made myself a massive breakfast, I sat infront of the book slowly eating as I read.
Today will be a return to book knowledge, though you may find this more painful than the previous. Today you will begin the requirements of leadership. Etiquette, economics, business and spy craft. While doing this we will further your bloodline slowly.
On the next page you will find a blank square, please put a drop of your blood writhing the square. This will allow us to know you bloodline and that will lead us into its evolution.
The next page was blank except for and intricately drawn square. I could feel the power in the formation, even recognized the intent it held. Identify, evaluate and then prepare. I had long ago learned to understand the magic of the book and even this place, in truth I could leave anytime now if I choose to. The truth was I had no desire to leave, I didn’t even know if I wanted to leave when the training was done. I had grown used to the solitude, it was peaceful even comfortable. Returning to the outside world would mean having to deal with people again. Their petty wants and hatred’s, dealing with their squabbles. A huge part of me just had no interest, I wanted to live in peace and ignore the outside world. I just didn’t care about them.
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While my mind ran through the same internal dialogue again I dropped a bit of blood in the square and waited as the magic worked. As I finished the last of my eggs and crunched the finale piece of bacon the page turned itself. That was new, it hadn’t done that trick before.
Words appeared on the page as I watched.
Bloodline- Chimera…since you have tempered your body to all elements the evolution of your bloodline is open to you. Complete evolution will come about when you have absorbed ten grand cores filling your body with their aspects.
Holy shit! A chimera bloodline wasn’t particularly strong, normally but I had a feeling whoever A.M was he had prepared for this. Hell if this place was any example he had probably prepared for every bloodline possible. The next word that appeared on the page verified my assumption.
Congratulations on your Chimera bloodline, I have some recommendations for your grand cores but in the end the choices are yours. All except the Dragon King, while I can’t force you it is a requirement to hatch the dragons and return them to the land. It holds the dragon dream and while it does you no good, the hatchlings will rely on it to understand what it means to be a dragon.
Here are my recommendations.
Brain-Sphinx -clear mind
Eyes-Imperial Gryphon- perfect perception
Heart-Phoenix- rebirth
Soul-Dragon King- indomitable
Liver-Basilisk- poison immunity
Lungs-Lava Toad- amphibious
Arms-Golden Lion- speed and strength
Legs-Shadow Panther-speed and strength
Torso- Earth Ape king-strength and flexibility
Skin- Mythril Troll- regeneration
Again these are my recommendations but in the end the build is your choice, you have long since left the level of student. The shelf should now be visible beside the bookshelf, I am sure you know how to use them.
A.M.
I had studied bloodlines by this time of course and while some bloodlines could be stronger than a chimera, the flexibility of a chimera allowed for more options in building them. I had to be honest when I read my unknown hosts list, it wouldn’t have been my first idea. Not because there was anything wrong with it but because there was no way I thought I would ever have those cores. How the hell was I going to get a dragon core? It turns out my host had prepared everything, not just his recommendations, the shelf was packed with grand cores. The value of that one could buy a kingdom.
I spent a month researching, a month that turned out to be wasted. My host had recommend the best cores possible, at least as far as I could tell. Tomorrow I would begin absorbing them and studying the rest of the materials. I really wasn’t looking forward to this next section of training etiquette was first on the book shelf. Fucking peopling.
The core absorption wasn’t painful, I started with the sphinx because it would help with the rest. Other than a slight headache it went smoothly over the course of a few hours. While it settled I absorbed the etiquette book, which was far more painful than the core. Not the book, it’s next requirement. Another door opened and when I entered I found myself in a grand hall filled with nobility including a king.
It took me a weeks to learn the lessons it offered, failure was easy to spot. I either was taken away to the dungeon or became a pariah with the other nobles. It was everything from which goblet to drink out of with which dish to talking politely to those around me. Success came when I managed to find myself seated beside the king by the end of the evening. Fucking misery but I had done it, having the sphinx core finally absorbed helped.
Absorbing the rest of the cores and the other lessons filled another year of time in this odd space but I managed to get it done. I used the training rooms constantly to train my body with the cores, the stand outs for misery were the obvious ones. Learning to fight through pain while regenerating wasn’t hard, by now pain was a close friend. Adapting to the various poisons and venoms was another matter, while the immunity was present it had to be trained.
That mean drinking, inhaling or being bitten by things over and over again. Sometimes it was a syringe rather than a bite but it all hurt. Hydra venom was by far one of the worst, my entire body felt like it was on fire and all the while I had to keep up a conversation with a merchant discussing markets around a kingdom long dead. Basically it taught me to be alert and aware while in incredible pain. Very tedious in every way, but it was progress. When I finished this cycle of training there was just one book left on the shelf unread, it matched the final page in the book on the table.
My friend, you have made through all of the hardships and pain I could have asked. Now we find ourselves at the end of it all. The remaining book is blank, it is yours and will let you create a legacy path just as I have left here. This has been a tradition among the true mages for time immemorial and I expect you to continue it before you leave this plane of existence.
For your time on this plane you will have access to all my little bolt holes of course. There is a map inside the cover of your book showing you there locations, each has a specific teleportation sigil. Remember to restock them as you go, ensuring those following you have the same opportunities I have left you. With this final message you complete your inheritance of my legacy, I hope it serves you well. Remember to enjoy your life, you have been isolated here for years. Go out into the world, do as you will but I hope you find happiness.
More importantly don’t forget the mission I have left for you, bring the dragons back to this world. The last page in this book contains the formula for a unique spell I created, it isn’t perfect but it will allow you to find any dragons left in captivity. Once those are freed the eggs I have managed to safeguard will be opened to you.
Good luck,
A.M.
That was it, I could come and go freely so what do I do now? The dragons, I would honor his request for everything he had given me. I flipped the page and learned the last spell.
Dragon sense- anytime you’re writhing fifty miles of a living dragon you will sense it.
I guess tomorrow after breakfast I would go back to the world. I had been away for well over two years now, should I even bother going back to Shylock? There was nothing for me there, I would have the check the elven lands for dragons eventually. Did I want to start there?