Peak of Autumn, Week 5, Day 3
I stared at the mass of text. The Skill was different not just in the regular enhancements but in the actual description.
[Shadow Animation: As a Young Lady of Darkness, you have summoned the unseen and commanded the world of the stalker. Now the unseen will use your soul and the spirits of darkness to fuel a creation of shadow. Through your strength of will and the will of Darkness, your shadows will begin to act of their own accord in line with the commands given. No two shadow animations will be exactly the same. Additional animations unlocked upon level-up. Additional Personality types unlocked upon level-up. Duration increased upon level-up. Cooldown decreased upon level up. Command comprehension increased upon level up.]
The ‘spirits of darkness’. That’s the important bit. I swallowed. Spirits were how one usually got Conjuration and Manipulation Skills. Binding contracts, blood rituals, bartering. It was all something I had skipped. I had a theory but no true confirmation –namely that I had used shadow in elsewhere. Why else would shadow follow me here? To a world where Eunora was destined to contract with Light? But here they were. Showing up within my Level 10 Class Skill. It was all thanks to my Divinity. That was the clear reason.
[Shadow Animation: 3rd Tier Skill. Immediate activation. Duration of 4 hours 10 minutes. Cooldown of 45 minutes. Current animation options: Wisp, Infusion, Weapon (small), Weapon (medium), Shadow Construct. Current level of command comprehension: standard. Current number of commands able to be issued: 5. Current number of animations on a single summon: 5. Current personality types: 5. Current level [5] out of [80].
Four hours. I teared up a bit. And five commands. That’s enough for a sentence –with conditions!
It was an opportunity to test the limits of what a single word could convey. It opened a world of possibilities. I could add words like ‘until’ or ‘unless’ or ‘if’ and ‘then’. And that didn’t even mention personality.
[Comprehension: simple, low-standard, standard, high-standard, complex]
That was a new portion of [Inspect] –it hadn’t told me this at all before.
[Current animation options: Wisp, Infusion, Weapon (small), Weapon (medium), Shadow Construct]
Two new options. Let’s look over the others first, though.
[Wisp: A low spirit of darkness manifested in the corporeal plane. Has the ability to hear and see, as well as push small objects. Has the ability of limited speech.]
I perched forward on my knees, reading the description over and over and over.
Limited speech. Quickly, my eyes jumped down to [Infusion].
[Infusion: Utilize pre-created shadow constructs and animate them based on the ability of the construct by infusing a low spirit of darkness. If the construct has legs, it has the ability to walk. If it has arms, it has the ability to utilize them. If it has eyes and ears, it has the ability to see and hear. Capable of limited speech.]
My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes shot to the last option, Shadow Construct.
[Shadow Construct: Create a shadow construct of a living creature for the sole purpose of animation and summon a low spirit of darkness within. Is limited to the capabilities of Shadow Conjuration and Shadow Manipulation. Cannot create a construct larger than the user’s ability to control or manipulate. Shadow Constructs disappear after animation. Shadow Constructs blueprints currently available: butterfly, flower, hand puppet. Prior to becoming a blueprint, a Shadow Construct must be created by the associated Skills. Otherwise, the Shadow Construct will be limited in its capacity to function.]
I let the implications begin to sink in. That the power of Divinity was something not to be made light of. That Divinity, the force multiplier that it was, mixed with a Rare Class, was an exponential power increase.
I have the tools to be my own God. To be the God of Nora.
I swallowed, emotion overwhelming me.
I had to think, to decide the best way to mark the occasion. To show my relief and appreciation. I would start with a single animation –Noir. It could be no other. Yes, and I would give him freedom, room to do as he wished.
I felt the ice welling in my veins as I prepared for the Skill.
[Shadow Animation]
A ball of shadow manifested from my hand and expanded. Unlike before, this shadow wasn’t solely black. It had flecks of iridescence, a dull green sparked briefly, even a deep blue –they were the colors of Shadow Conjuration, and they made the shadow feel alive. The mass of shadow began floating toward Noir’s body, slowly bobbing through the air before it hit the center of the knit bunny and began sinking in. The shadow slipped in through the stitches, giving off the feeling of oil being absorbed by a cloth.
“Speak unless an outsider appears.”
Freedom, my intent screamed, Freedom to say whatever you like.
I immediately realized my mistake.
“Speak-speak-speak. I will speak, yes, I must! I must speak! Speak-speak-speak!” Noir hadn’t moved, hadn’t shifted or come to me. No. The voice manifested itself, it was quiet but high-pitched. And it was never-ending. Whether spirits didn’t need to breathe or what, it never paused. At first, it was a marvel –Noir could speak. Only after several minutes of ‘speak-speak-speak’ did it hit me.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
This Skill lasts for hours now.
“Sorry, Noir,” I sighed, excitement and disappointment warring within me.
Had I stopped to think before using the Skill, had I planned my words more carefully, I would have had time with Noir. But I didn’t. That’s the simple truth. I had become overwhelmed with hope. I’d let it take over all the parts of me I had been so proud of in elsewhere.
I felt a pang of guilt as I wrapped the babbling rabbit up in a blanket. I was the one who had told him to speak. It was all me. But if this wasn’t going to work, I’d have to try again tomorrow. And if tomorrow didn’t work out, then the next day. I had to remind myself that it would be a long journey to Fellan.
I don’t need everything to be perfect right away. I reassured myself, This is still a good step forward. Next time, I just need to think through the words.
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The night passed without fanfare. After half an hour of listening to the muffled babbling, I was able to drift off to sleep. When I awoke in the morning, Noir was silent.
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A knock came at the door.
“Lady Nora,” Dame Arella spoke through the door, “Are you ready?”
I nodded –and then promptly realized Dame Arella was on the other side of the door. I tucked Noir into my bag, leaving his head sticking out, and made my way to the door. As I opened it, I put on a forced smile.
Try, Nora. Stop being miserable. Be someone worth worshipping.
“I’m ready.”
Dame Arella was looking down at me with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. It was probably the smile. Yeah, I decided it was the smile. I dropped it, defeated, and Dame Arella nodded.
“There we go, no need to put yourself out,” she said lightly, “There’s a couple of hours before we have to go. Do you want to burn it eating here, or do you want to walk around and grab something out?”
I looked over her shoulder at Sir Limrick with his brow furrowed and Arlen with a pleading look –and a bored-looking Klein. Then, I felt something inside me soften.
“Let’s walk around and find something out. It’ll be a while before I have a chance to see Juvel again.”
At that, Sir Limrick looked satisfied, and we made our way out. As we went downstairs, I ran my hand along the fabric of my bag in a slow, soothing way. My anxiety was not gone, but it was lesser. The roar of discomfort had settled into a mild buzz, the night before replaying in my mind.
Will you trust us?
I’ll try.
Can you do it again?
Lady Nora, the [Noble Rogue].
The buzz died down, and I thought to myself, This is going to be okay. I’m going to be okay.
“Where to first?” I asked, my voice soft but not timid.
“There are several shops at a nearby square, and the local contingent of Dusk Knights recommended The Little Lamb.” Sir Limrick said, his eyes trained on me.
He looked as if he was waiting for me to fight back, or disappear, or –well, do any of the things I’d done the day before.
Instead, I nodded.
“Let’s go then.”
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Juvel from the street was different than from the carriage. The architecture looked so much more overwhelming in height and design. Each building was three floors at least, and columns and beans were decorating the walls. Every so often, there would be a stained glass window, sometimes depicting a God or Goddess, sometimes just a landscape.
Juval was beautiful.
The walkways were smooth, except for the occasional engraving at a crossway. Carriages were few and far between this morning, with only one sun in the sky, but occasionally, one would stop for a red magelight that hung above the road –much like a traffic light from elsewhere.
We passed by bakeries and cafes and restaurants preparing for the day. The city was bustling with life that I hadn’t seen from behind closed curtains. It wasn’t a city of metal and glass, but it was still a city. People walked by and around us, occasionally glancing from the knights to me and hustling a bit faster away.
As we arrived at our destination, I saw a wooden sign with calligraphy that read, ‘Yllan Square.’ The wood was a stone grey, and the letters were written in lilac paint. It hung above the roadway and was easily double my size.
Inside the square were storefronts galore and carts propped up with goods for sale. Most of the merchants were still setting up. Directly to the left of where we were standing was a restaurant filled to the brim with people. The sign showed that it was our destination, The Little Lamb. Outside, it smelled like fresh bread –and something more decadent and savory.
As we entered, Dame Arella slid something into the hostess’ hand, and we were seated within moments. We had barely stood at all despite the volume of people sitting out on the restaurant's patio. The day itself was brisk but nice. The sun had warmed my skin on the walk, but now I was back to enjoying the slight chill in the air. So I understood why so many people were sitting outside rather than inside –which was still half full.
The walls were decorated with paintings of seated lambs, some with bows, some with bonnets, and one in a full gown. In front of each painted lamb was a breakfast food. The one in the full gown had a picture of Petit fours in front of it, whereas the ones with bows had waffles, and the ones with bonnets had pancakes. There was a single lamb with a bowtie and eggs. The tables had pale pink tablecloths and white doilies. It was all very cute. I found myself in love with the restaurant immediately, and I hadn’t even eaten anything yet.
And then we sat down, and I looked at the menu.
Coffee. I thought, a smile forming on my face before it was brought down immediately by a voice inside my head.
>You can’t have coffee. You’re eight.<
I hated [Eternal Communion]. It had only been a few days, and it was driving me up the wall.
Get out of my head, Eunora.
>If only.<
“Coffee, please,” I spoke through gritted teeth. Sir Limrick and Dame Arella both looked at me oddly but didn’t say anything.
The waitress didn’t miss a beat and nodded.
Within moments, I had the bitter drink in my hands. It was bliss.