The path begins when body and soul are connected for the first time. The soul produces mana, and the body adjusts to accept that mana, a promise of greater things. The heart is created and serves as a foundation for the body to rely upon, the first step. The soul and heart are tied together by the mana the soul produces, attuning the body to insight. The Attuned body is Imprinted on the soul, and the path of the individual is born…
* Dean Carvalho, quoting an incomplete description of the path found on a broken world.
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The glow of the apertures had started as five distinct lights. Giving the feeling of an oak tree going through the cycle of seasons. The first aperture stuck out as an anomaly in this image, but just bringing out such clarity of purpose in her other four must’ve taken years of effort. Tier 3 was the stage where one’s soul was attuned to their mana types, and Councilwoman Deng had created a combination that signified the path of an oak tree.
Stability, vitality, growth. She was making herself what the city needed. As Alex watched the projection, he was enchanted by the seeming perfection on display. This was what it took to reach Tier 3? No wonder so few had reached this step. He couldn’t sense mana, but her mana was proclaimed so clearly that he could see and feel it through the projection using his physical senses
Mentally, Alex reconsidered his expectations for the future. He had always been told that gaining a mana type and beginning your attunement was difficult beyond imagination. He had been told stories and personal anecdotes of the struggles people went through just gaining a Common mana type. The world was vast, and mana was vast enough to match it, a phrase he had heard so many times.
Despite that, he had never lost confidence in himself and his talents. So what if something was hard? He’d never found a challenge he couldn’t overcome if he worked at it. The Academy was designed to push students to their limits, but he had truthfully never felt like he was that close to his. Swordsmanship came even more naturally than mana control, and school subjects that he struggled with were still easy enough to get good grades in.
He had heard whispers of the word, prodigy, for years. He had worked hard to live up to it, to prove to his instructors and everyone else that he was just that. He had grown up and tackled increasingly difficult tests and scenarios. And he had succeeded. Time and time again.
Could anyone blame him for being a bit cocky? Was it really being cocky if he was just that good?
He had underestimated just what the instructors meant when they said it would grow exponentially more difficult to progress with each step. How could he expect to ever reach this woman’s level? It was so far beyond him that he could barely understand a part of what she was doing.
If it was easy to do, who wouldn’t choose to be the architect of an event as awe-inspiring as this?
As Alex’s thoughts raced, the council member finished conjuring the path that dominated her heart. Years of fine-tuning and adjustment were shown as the attunement of her body became visible in a way that Alex had never before seen. She painted a picture so intricate that the mana in the air around her shifted to match her attunement, and Alex began to wonder if he was staring at a woman or a tree as his eyes seemed to tell him something different every time he blinked.
This was what Heart Runes truly were, as your power increased. Instead of using the runes given to you by others, you created your own. Making a mana body that was yours to its very core. The Trialbringer could assist, but it would not dominate. Deng’s runes were created using insight into her mana types and technical knowledge from years of study. Alex wondered if any rune that was left was related to the simple, letter-like runes that he had learned, or if the whole thing was a product of her own dedication. None of the runes he knew could be capable of anything nearly so intricate.
That wasn’t just a matter of tier, either. While it was natural for an Attuned to accomplish feats significantly beyond him, this was something exceeding even that. This was magic so esoteric his brain could barely keep up with the details that appeared before him.
He abruptly realized that he was not looking at a tree at all. Instead, it was just a woman with runes covering her body. When had that stopped being obvious? The inscriptions were tightly packed, and the effort that went into the flowing script was plain to see. They seemed almost like messages written to herself, flowing into and out of each other. Some inscriptions went right to left before flowing down to dip into another array, only to separate once more a few runes later.
Alex struggled to read a language he didn’t understand. The woman’s clothes still covered most of her body, but the runes shone through. Her path refused to be concealed. Mana was flowing along the lines of inscriptions, as she performed a ritual that seemed familiar and yet so alien. Alex had heard stories of the previous Imprintings, none of them compared to seeing it in person.
The script that covered her wasn’t anywhere near as complex as the Heart Runes. The woman had five, each paired with a soul aperture. The linking runes were glowing myriad colors, shifting between each of the five feelings he had noticed before. As he stared at the Heart Runes and the script that linked them to the Apertures, Alex realized that what his brain had interpreted as colors with vibes was just the runes of her apertures. His senses had initially translated the information in a way that he could understand.
The anchors between the woman’s body and soul were individualized, allowing her to use the whole to create something more complex than each individual aperture could achieve. The Heart Runes supported this, each one also unique. Alex couldn’t even make out the true shape of these, and their purposes remained completely inscrutable. It felt almost as if he could grasp some kernel of grand power if he could just understand…
But no, Alex regained control of his thoughts. Steering them away from the fanciful directions they had gone. This was not his path. And even if it was, he had no Connection. As an untiered, he could only appreciate the view, any small piece of knowledge he managed to gain would be nothing more than an unexpected bonus. The esoteric power of the woman before him held his full attention, but it wasn’t enough to break the immutable barrier between his body and soul. The sense of near enlightenment he felt was nothing more than an emotional reaction to the sheer grandeur of the display before him.
But still, what a display it was.
The lines between the Heart Runes and Soul Apertures seemed to shrink, as they pulled the pairs together. The tethers twisted in on themselves, preparing to vanish as they became unnecessary. The intricacy of the mana body was such that it shifted around the central pieces, maintaining itself even as the woman breaking through focused on the links between heart and soul. Or maybe she was capable of doing both at once? Was the arcane ritual she enacted only taking part of her focus, while she actively redrew her mana body at the same time?
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The glow of her body intensified, shifting between the five mana types that Alex once more saw as color. Not quite knowing how he reached the conclusion, he realized the forehead aperture extruded the Uncommon type, representing the oak tree’s environment. It seemed odd, for the most powerful mana type to take the background, supporting the rest… He snapped himself out of it before he could begin to focus too closely.
He forced his focus to the event itself, no longer trying to grasp understanding so far beyond him. He suddenly remembered to breathe. He’d been so focused on the scene before him for the last few seconds that he’d forgotten.
The shifting colors started to change so quickly that it was hard to get more than flickers of each individual shade. They bled together, Alex’s eyes no longer distinguishing them. Instead, he just saw the tree, stalwart and unbowed amid a cycle of seasons. Heart and soul grew closer together, and Alex began to struggle to see the lines that connected them as they shrank further and further. The Soul Apertures remained in place, with the Heart Runes drawn towards them.
Soon, the lines themselves vanished. For a second Alex wondered if heart and soul had become one, as the Heart Runes and Soul Apertures merged. But true unity was far beyond the woman, who now stood in front of them as a newly Imprinted. The scripts began to fade from sight, and the scene returned to normalcy as the woman stumbled. The display had been grand, but she had exhausted herself.
She caught herself without assistance, although Dale and Chester had both moved to help. She gave a grateful smile but waved them off, standing on her own two feet before the crowd, a radiant smile on her face.
The Dean stepped forward next to her, his own smile just as wide as hers, “And so, New Chicago, I present to you your eighth Imprinted. Deng Jing.”
The roar of the crowd returned, and this time no one spoke to interrupt it.
Alex was on his feet with the rest of them, and it took minutes for the crowd to calm down. In truth, no one was calm, their voices were just growing hoarse. Alex would probably have a sore throat tomorrow, but he didn’t regret it for a second. The Councilwoman’s achievement deserved all of that and more. She had reached a realm that few citizens could even comprehend, and Alex did not count himself among their number after the humbling experience of seeing what it truly took to ascend the tiers.
The breakthrough had been the most magical thing Alex had ever seen, and he had spent a decade learning magic from Attuned instructors. For now, the doubt that he could actually go that far didn’t matter. All that was important was the woman’s accomplishment.
“Thank you, my friends,” Councilwoman Deng spoke, her voice was raspy, and her skin pale. She stepped a bit unsteadily to Chester and leaned slightly on his tall, no longer armored frame, “I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on you for the final announcement.”
The Dean chuckled, “Not a problem, I don’t mind admitting that I was not still standing after the effort of my own Imprinting,” he turned to the crowd after saying this, “And all of you should rest assured, Councilwoman Deng’s exhaustion is completely expected. This is not a sign of any problems, it just shows how challenging this step truly is.”
Alex hadn’t been worried, but he still relaxed slightly after hearing the news. He hadn’t been too concerned, but everyone always made a point of just how dangerous magic could be. You were always at your least stable right after a breakthrough, before you could solidify your mana body at the new tier.
“Our final announcement is perhaps the most impactful,” The Dean continued, “Following her resignation in three months, Deng Jing will be leading an expedition to the East. Accompanying her will be Chester and Dale Lemmings. They will set out with a single goal in mind, the creation of a new settlement!”
This was exactly what Alex had initially expected, from the Councilwoman’s opening remarks. Founding a new city would be difficult, requiring them to dig out entrenched monsters who had overcome their instinct to attack humans, instead holding their land and growing in number.
“Naturally, this settlement can’t be created by just our three Imprinted warriors. We will need crafters, construction workers, and enchanters to build upon the land they will clear. We will need soldiers to fight alongside them. We will need adventurers to clear the surrounding trials.”
Alex nodded along to this, founding a new town couldn’t be easy. If it was considered a real possibility, then it would’ve been done before. It wasn’t lost on him that Chester and Deng Jing were incredibly well-suited for forging ahead of soldiers. Taking the punishment that their followers wouldn’t be able to withstand. Had the city’s leadership been uncomfortable with making the attempt in the past, with only Chester to fulfill that role?
“For the next two months, leading up to the expedition, we will have several stations where those interested in taking this first step out into the American frontier can register. You will stand at the front as we pursue a new dawn for our civilization. Humanity has faltered, but we have not fallen yet!”
A few muted cheers sounded at this, but most were still recovering from the earlier celebration. Alex was one such person, but he still applauded the statement.
“We will need many of you to aid us if we are to accomplish our goal. The brave will lead the way, and we will regain control of the land that has been stolen from us!” The Dean’s expression turned serious now, “But remember, think long and hard before you sign on for the expedition. Your assistance is needed, and you will have opportunities to grow in ways you can’t, here in New Chicago, but the opportunity comes from danger. We do not expect this to be safe. We know that it will not be easy. But we know that it will be worth it.”
The Dean gave them a sad smile, “For the world I once knew. Almost anything might be worth it. I hope you all seriously consider whether you could assist.” The projection vanished at this, and on the ground below the five Imprinted exited the Arena.
It was an odd ending to the event. Alex had been riding an emotional high from the thrill of the duel and the awe of the Imprinting. The sense of unity with the crowd had gone beyond anything he’d experienced in previous events. They’d been united in their excitement, their joy, and most of all their pride. Now, that all began to fade. The event had shown them the grand heights that opportunities like settling in a new city might help them reach. The Dean had reminded them that for every person who reached those heights, millions died trying.
It was easy to say that sacrifice was worthwhile. It was harder to accept that you might be one of those sacrifices. Years of counseling from Academy therapists had given Alex some ability for introspection. They had worked to keep his mental state from devolving in the midst of the stress and violence he experienced as a teenager, but they had also helped him grow as a person and be honest with himself.
Was he willing to risk something like that? He looked over at Becca, and then at his other friends. Was he willing to risk them?
But then his thoughts returned to the scene of the Imprinting. The grand power on display was important, but he remembered the sheer determination he had felt. Councilwoman Deng had reached Tier 3 because she refused to ever give up. She remained determined and kept on trying until eventually she succeeded. Alex knew his answer.
The expedition would need powerful fighters. Strong warriors were their only chance at overcoming the challenges before them. Alex wouldn’t be that, even three months from now he couldn’t picture himself reaching farther than early Tier 1. At that point, even with an Epic achievement, he’d be nothing more than an average Neophyte, without the Abilities to back up increased mana production. A footsoldier in the ranks.
His thoughts returned to his reading earlier in the day. Density surges could bring great power. They could open a narrow path to strength beyond even most Neophytes. Hadn’t the Dean just said that opportunity always came with danger?
Alex Moore had a plan.