“I truly thank you for the hospitality, ladies. Spending some quality time with old friends and their little chick always warms this old man’s heart.”
Brave Walker of Paths was seated in a comfortable lounge chair in the apartment in which Dove, Crow and Raven were currently residing. Through the huge, circular windows, the city of Bastion spread out around the bay of the harbor, the early summer sun glinting on the water.
“I’m sure that we will all be sad to see you leave, Walker,” Dove said fondly as she sat across from him on a couch next to her wife. “Won’t we, Raven?”
The little girl, now one and a half years old, remained firmly seated in Walker’s lap, as she had been during every moment in which the visiting pathfinder stayed in one place for too long. Her chubby little hands were still busy feeling the stubble on Walker’s chin, small, dark eyebrows remaining knit in concentration. She did not say anything except for giving a few warning noises of displeasure every time Walker seemed to be preparing to rise from his seat.
“This little one is even more stubborn than Kite was,” Walker said fondly, conjuring a few tufts of fluffy dandelions which the curious toddler promptly scattered. “I wonder who she inherited that particular trait from?”
At his words, both women had immediately given the other a pointed look, the mutual accusation causing Walker to chuckle. “A trait compounded, eh? Beware the fool who tries to stand in the way of this little lady.”
This time, he actually rose, Raven’s protests only marginally diminished by the fact that he still carried her. Only when Walker handed her to the waiting strands of Crow’s animated hair did she squeal a bit in protest. It did not last long, however, as the onyx tendrils started to deftly tumble her around, the objections soon replaced by bubbling laughter.
“You said that you were heading south?” Crow asked, standing along with her wife to see their visitor to the door. “Do you think it is time?”
“If Fortune has been kind and Warrior has guided his strikes, I think so. We are nearing the third month, and his tracking stone from the adventure society still indicates that our young Kite is alive and well. So I thought that I’d best stay in the area for when it is truly time for him to emerge.”
“Thank you, Walker. For looking out for him,” Dove said. “You have taught our oldest little chick so much, and we will ever be in your debt for taking care of him.”
“As you well know, my dear Dove, our little Kite has always been a giver; be it time, attention, dedication, affection or ideas. I am proud of the man we have all helped him become.
I mean, just think of the reason for you being here. In Bastion of all places. Although it does seem that the city life is treating you well so far,” Walker finished, gesturing to the richly decorated apartment.
“Who would have thought that a pair of silver-ranked crafters moving into a city of this size would make such a stir?” Crow mused, shaking her head in wry disbelief. “We’re still having to deal with constant attention and the local families trying to tie us closer to them. One in particular, the Stoics, has been quite relentless. Polite and pleasant, but unfazed by any rejections.”
“Bastion might outsize Gilded, but the silver-rankers who stay around are still few in number,” Walker noted. “I’m more surprised that the city-lady herself hasn’t come knocking at your door.”
“Walker, please do not tempt fate like that,” Crow chided. “And besides, I find myself longing for a bit more peace and quiet. Kite’s little idea has truly grown on me.”
“On all of us, dear,” Dove added. “Just imagine it; our own compound. I can start to truly grow and design my own gardens. The soil down south should have plenty of interesting properties, with a higher magical density, and all.”
“Kite has shown himself to be quite industrious when he started getting the means to do so,” Walker agreed. “The guild is operating quite smoothly. I can even stretch my legs and go on trips like this these days without Jarvan even grumbling. And you’re both silver-rankers, with Kite soon joining you. It would be strange if you didn’t at least have a proper estate.”
“But before we put the heidel before the cart, Kite has to return,” Crow noted. “And I believe that we have kept you long enough, Walker. Please help bring him back safely.”
“Of course, dear Crow. This old man can be quite crafty, if need be.” Walker said, chuckling as both women rolled their eyes. They were both his seniors in terms of age, but Walker liked to use the moniker for himself. It just felt fitting, somehow.
“Take care, all three of you,” he continued, opening the door leading outside. Raven waddled over, looking up at Walker with somber onyx eyes, before raising her small arms.
“Oh, don’t you worry, little chick,” Walker said, picking her up one last time before his departure, her little hands going back to his raspy stubble. “I will do my best to bring your big brother back. But if I know him right, he’s probably well on his way at this very moment. He’s industrious like that.”
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Kite could feel the blistering heat even through his layered barriers as Heaven-and-Void warding was protecting him from the disturbingly precise stream of lava which had been launched at him. The twin discs, layered as they almost always had to be when Kite fought the silver-ranked rulers of the jade-sky-gate, were angled to deflect the incoming molten rock away at an angle as the stream tracked his movements.
“Even though I remain confident in my path, having the ability to fire streams of lava would always have been a welcome addition,” he thought wryly even while he ran, dodging back and forth to avoid the brunt of the lava.
The source of the attack was the huge silver-ranked toad which was one of the rulers of the challenge, its dark, craggy skin allowing it to almost perfectly blend in as just another boulder in the volcanic landscape. Like the last time, when Kite had stumbled upon it, the beast had initially remained mostly stationary as it started spitting gouts of molten rock towards Kite. Some of the projectiles were big globs which splattered outwards, leaving huge pools behind. Others were precise streams which it expertly trailed after him. All the while, it started conjuring a river of lava surrounding them, a river which grew by the second.
Said river had almost caught Kite the last time he had been tangling with the ruler, but like so many other times since entering the challenge, he had been able to return; more powerful and better adapted to the task.
Seeing the glowing lava right below him still gave Kite a bit of a knot in his stomach as he vaulted and sprinted to avoid the projectiles while returning the favor through projected attacks of his own. But each time he set his foot down or leapt to the side, thin, mostly translucent barriers appeared beneath his feet, hands, knees or any other point of contact which he wished for.
WWJS:
Congratulations!
Your ability [Leyline Warding] has reached Silver 0.
[Leyline Warding] has gained additional effects.
- Leyline Warding -
Spell. Cost: Moderate mana/low mana per second Cooldown: 30s Current rank: Silver 0
Effect - Iron: Create a solid, translucent barrier anchored to a surface. The length and height can be split among multiple sections. Only one casting of this spell can be active at a time. Strength of barrier increases with the [Power] attribute
Effect - Bronze: Barriers no longer need to be anchored to a surface.
Effect - Silver: This ability gains a separate, alternate mode of casting, which allows the user to continually create smaller segments of barrier around them without a chant, changing the cost to low mana per second.
These barriers have good carrying capacity, but will immediately disperse when attacked and can only be conjured very close to the caster.
This alternate mode may be used even while the original is in effect.
They were fragile, decidedly different from his other barriers, but Kite had nonetheless been ecstatic over the unexpected evolution. Because it had been what had taken him closer to the heavens in the most literal of senses. These new functions of Leyline warding essentially allowed him to walk on the air, creating steps beneath his feet as he ran. It was smooth and instinctual, but had even so still required over a day of intense training to start mastering the basics.
And while they were limited in the way that Kite could not see himself extending the ability to others, they opened up at least part of the skies to him. Currently, said skies were only a few meters above the lava river, but to Kite, it made all the difference in the world.
He leapt ahead, skipping across the air in even longer strides as the enchantments of his boots had become available again while constantly sending projected attacks towards the lava-spewing toad whenever he could. The silver-ranked beast was ponderous, but capable of small, jerking hops to evade some of the more potent strikes. It seemed especially wary of those carrying Void-Sunders-Firmament, but over the minutes in which the two had been skirmishing with one another, Kite had taken to using the subtle enchantments of the Veiled One’s Decree for his more potent moves.
While the higher-ranked monster wasn't as easily fooled by the hidden sword as a bronze-ranked one might be, it was still unable to dodge all of the attacks, the dark spatial tears damaging the monster’s body and keeping it from recovering. But in truth, Kite mostly employed them to keep the ruler on the back foot and anticipating attacks, while accepting more of the obvious ones. Its rough, stony skin was a great defense against the attacks, unbeknownst to the monster, Kite’s goal was something else.
Each of Kite’s projected special attacks carried the mana-draining magic of Chakra Implosion. While draining away a monster’s mana was always helpful, limiting its more magical attacks a little and often making it more sluggish once it was running low, there was also a limit to its usefulness. Unlike a person, who fainted when losing all their mana, the monster would still be a threat. But with each of Kite’s strikes that failed to penetrate the rough exterior, more mana was stolen. And the following, faintly flickering silver-blue of transcendent light was growing stronger.
WWJS:
Congratulations!
Your ability [Undeniable] has reached Silver 0.
[Undeniable] has gained additional effects.
Undeniable
Special ability. Cost: None Cooldown: None Current rank: Silver 0
Effect - Iron: Each time your effects are resisted or do not take effect, deal a small amount of transcendent damage to the target.
Examples include an opponent being immune to one of your attacks or damage types, or one of your effects failing to dispel due to a lack of magical effects on the target.
Effect - Bronze: The damage is now also dealt when one of your attacks are blocked, such as by a shield, interposed weapon or magical barrier.
Effect - Silver: The damage is increased in proportion to the target’s missing stamina or mana, whichever is lower.
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Over the last few minutes, Kite had been whittling away at the life force of the toad, each glow of transcendent light being just a little bit more prominent than that which came before. The latest advancement of Undeniable truly shored up another weakness of Kite’s path, as it should allow him to better deal with higher-ranked monsters as both his dispelling attacks and mana-drain started contributing to his actual damage.
“They say that silver rank is where one’s path truly starts to defy the heavens with its potential, the foundations made manifest.” Kite thought as the transcendent light flashed again and again. “I can see why.”
While he would never be the unending source of damage that was Dragonfly, this power alone should now make sure that he at least stayed a relevant threat, especially against more singular threats with potent defenses.
And one of the strangest things with Kite’s current battle was that his foe seemed to be unaware that it was dying. The transcendent light did not sunder limbs or cause the deep wounds of Void-Sunders-Firmament, instead harming the very life force of the target. And as the affliction from the Veiled One’s Decree was long since in place from their extended skirmishing, the silver-ranker’s senses of its own condition was muddled and ever-changing.
For the first time since the battle had begun, one of the lava-streams faltered, guttering and dispersing before even reaching Kite. While its rocky exterior was hard to read, Kite thought that he could sense a note of frustration in its aura. The beast shifted and once more gathered to spit more lava at Kite, but this time, nothing came out at all. It hopped in place to shift out of the way from one of Kite’s projected attacks, but stumbled slightly upon landing.
“It seems to finally be running low on mana,” Kite thought, relieved.
Of all the rulers he had fought before, this had been one of the longest, most drawn out battles so far. But as the thing was reduced to a clumsily hopping boulder unable to properly close the gap towards Kite, the battle was already decided. Not even its long, red-hot tongue could help it strike at Kite efficiently enough, and with each of Kite’s strikes failing to dispel or deal damage, the transcendent flashed within only grew stronger.
At some point, even the toad’s muddled mind had realized that something was wrong, but by that time it was too late. It tried a desperate last burst of violence, launching itself at Kite with as powerful a leap as possible. This basically turned it into a small comet, heat venting from the cracks between the armored scales, and Kite would not have liked to be on the receiving end of that particular charge. Fortunately, he had the means to make sure that didn’t happen.
“Void!”
The dark gate appeared between him and the charging toad. The aperture’s form cracked and was almost entirely destabilized from the impact, but the silver-ranker did not fare too well either. It was launched away violently just a moment after impact, its rugged skin partially shorn off and more lava spilling out from within its body.
Kite sent a projected attack into its prone form, and was just readying another when the transcendent light flashed again. And its aura winked out.
The whole thing was a lot more abrupt than Kite had expected, with the monster seeming to freeze in place for a moment. Then it just fell apart; its body disintegrating into fine magical particles shimmering with transcendent light. There was no rainbow smoke or delay. It was just gone.
“I… That was new,” Kite said, stopping in the air above the rapidly cooling lava river beneath him. Then, his eyes widened. “Wait, what about its treasures?”
His worry was short lived-however, as he caught a glimpse of the piles of quintessence neatly laid out as if arranged by an unseen hand. And on the top, a smaller version of the toad’s glowing, flexible molten tongue rested. It seemed to emanate great heat, but the searing temperature was somehow contained by its nature and it felt only uncomfortably warm to the touch rather than the scorching hot that should have been the case.
“A ruler slain, a prize claimed.”
The words of the officiator had been repeated often in these last weeks. Or rather months, as Kite believed that he should be closing in on the end of the third month by now. But he was also closing in on the end of the trial, his own goal nearly accomplished.
“That makes eleven,” Kite stated, mimicking the somber tone of the orb as he looked up to the skies. “And one remaining.”
“I will admit that I had not expected any trial-taker to voluntarily take on all of the rulers. The treasures might even be a bit disproportionate. We will have to file that report and take it into consideration in the construction of future challenges.”
Kite had a hard time figuring out if the officiator was disappointed or impressed, but chose to remain silent so as to not risk the orb to suddenly change its mind and take away the treasures Kite did not use at the end of the trial.
“Then let me at least say that I have been very impressed with the lands you have created, officiator. The different territories have truly tested my path in most conceivable ways, and Glint and I have enjoyed just traveling the expanses and taking in its wonders.”
“Your feelings on the matter are irrelevant, trial-taker. But still… the statement will be noted,” the orb responded, a slight pause in its words which was rare for the otherwise self-assured construct. “Will you be taking on the final ruler now? Or do you wish to end the challenge? You are well beyond the criteria.”
“No, on both accounts. I believe that I need to rest and take proper stock of things. Might as well enjoy what might be my last day inside this place and properly reflect on things.”
“You remain assured of your victory?”
“One can never be sure, but one thing I am certain of is that I have never before been as sure of my path and what it can accomplish. So, once more, thank you, officiator.”
“Well… I…” the orb began, stuttering a bit before returning to its neutral tone. “Your gratitude is irrelevant, trial-taker. But it has been noted.”
----------------------------------------
Ivory stood before the gate, breathing deeply. His token was in hand, its silver markings surrounding the emblem of the Queen of Jade and Sky. Ivory wanted to feel excitement and tried to muster his mental preparations as he looked up at the circular construct. He took one step, then two. And his third took him through the gate, his foot stepping down on the soft garden soil behind it. As it had on every day of the last two weeks now.
“Do it again,” mistress Pristine urged from where she sat on a nearby bench.
“Mistress, so far, no repetitions have made any difference.”
“Retainer. Do. It. Again.”
Ivory sighed, a habit he still hadn’t shaken since ascending to silver rank. He went through the gate two more times before the mistress finally relented. While it had been a long time since the embarrassment with the young mistress Pillar, the lady of the house had only grown more restless during the many weeks that had passed. At first, it was just the occasional test every few days, but things had escalated. Now, Ivory made the attempt at least three times each day. While this meant that he was not sent away on other contracts for the family, things started to get quite boring.
“Am I just wasting my time?” he thought bitterly, and not for the first time, looking to the gate again. “Will a corpse come tumbling out any day now? Or a warrior crowned in glory? And if that was to happen… what would the mistress do?”
----------------------------------------
What had started out as a collection of mottled leaves to protect from the occasional light rain had gradually shifted during Kite’s stay in the challenge. Some of the great stalks were now bent down, having proved surprisingly flexible as Kite had gradually arranged them to form a more comprehensive roof over his head. Some tarps arranged on poles made up some impromptu walls, the ensemble creating a simple little hut which kept the weather out. Some concealing formations made it secure enough, even if Kite had been glad for Sage’s presence many times as the unsleeping Astral Gatherer made a great sentry.
At this moment, Kite had set up his heating lamp inside the hut, and eleven different objects had been laid out, with a space left for a potential twelfth addition to the collection.
As he looked down at the different treasures, flashes of memory passed before his mind’s eye.
The black ice skull of the ruler of the glacier, fog still leaking from its mouth.
The shard of crystal from the blue-skinned giant, all of its shifting time and relentless force seemingly caught within.
A wreath of woven, purple leaves with small flowers which looked like motes of flame, claimed from the treant burning with the fires of life, the ruler of one of the forested domains.
The ball of twitching antennae and chitinous legs left behind by the ruler of the metal hive, seeming ready to act in all directions at once
A patch of darkness like the finest cloth which seemed to leave echoes behind its swaying motions.
The round jaw of a grand lamprey, the ruler of the lake, its teeth seeming to emit an eternal hunger and thirst.
Twin stars of condensed sound, somehow stable as they orbited one another inside a vortex of wind, from the dual sirens of the crags.
The shifting orb of sand claimed from the ruler of the desert, seeming to call upon the concepts of expansive multitudes.
A still beating heart of emptiness, like a void made manifest. That battle had been one of the oddest, details still fuzzy in Kite’s memories as that ruler had seemingly absorbed all concepts it came into contact with.
A piece of armor still seeming to reflect the sun and moon simultaneously, surprisingly unified in its duality.
And last, the molten tongue of the ruler of the lava fields, hot to the touch and promising fiery demise.
Each battle had been intense, as even the best of matchups still meant danger when reaching above one’s rank. Some foes had been tough, and some had been swift. In certain rulers, there had been vicious cunning, while relentless bestiality had shown itself in others. Kite had been forced to use Immortality in all but a few in order to persevere, as well as reinforcing his equipment through Something from Nothing, bringing out all his powers.
He had also needed to learn to master new abilities, from the more passive ones like the newest addition to Undeniable to the technically challenging new aspect of Leyline Warding, and relying on his equipment, both crafted and manifested. From the time Fulminating Sirocco had shredded the first swarm in the desert to all the times Eternal Quartz had helped him keep numbers of bronze-ranked monsters at bay, Kite was thankful for his preparations. And those who had helped him.
“There will certainly be debts of gratitude to be repaid after this,” he mused, thinking of all the assistance his friends and family had given him. “But fortunately, I should be able to bring a sizable haul out of here. I’m sure that there is something for everyone.”
The piles of quintessence Kite had gathered during his stay would have been way too impractical to just pour out, so he let the shards of condensed magic stay in their dimensional bags. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself from bringing out some of the more potent treasures that he had procured.
“Fortune be praised that I stumbled upon you,” Kite thought as he picked up the drop of amber which he had found beneath the dark caverns, encased in great roots. “Without that, I might never have gone looking for the rest.”
In total, Kite had found six additional treasures hidden among the territories. There were no doubt more, but Kite had to acknowledge that he had people dutifully waiting for him outside, and while he surely had taken his time going back and forth across the different territories, there was being thorough and then there was spending another three months to turn every rock and log upside down.
Even if it pained him, these six would have to do.
Next to Amber of the Frozen Moment lay the faceted orb which the officiator had named Marble of the Unified mind. All those small eyes seeming to look at him was still a bit unsettling, but the sense of vigilance which came from the orb was ever fascinating.
The other gathered objects were dominated by a pair of swords, one gray like the stone while the other was blue like the sky. They were straight and single edged, their blades locked together as if in eternal conflict. The officiator had named them the Clash of the Horizon, representing the concepts of balance, conflict, sky, earth, vastness and resoluteness. Kite had found the pair on a secluded mountain peak, resting on the surface of a perfectly smooth lake whose surface seemed to create the image of an almost invisible horizon where sky and stone met and blended.
Close to the blades was what looked like a simple seed, like a nut the size of an eye. Called the Singular Seed, it represented growth, harmony, nature, potency and eternity, and it felt like worlds within worlds were contained within its depths.
Then there was the Unspeaking Chime, a bell the size of Kite’s hand which gave no sound yet seemed to move the world through slight distortions when shifted. It represented the concepts of discordance, change, doom, depths and echoes.
And finally, the last one which Kite had found beneath the stone dais where he had fought the ruler of the desert once he had returned to search for any treasurers which he had missed during his rather hasty retreat; the Visage Thrice Hidden. The plain, glass mask had seemed to only exist in Kite’s periphery when viewed directly, and Kite would have guessed that actually managing to reach the elusive object without his expanded vision would have been many times harder.
The officiator had almost seemed a bit upset at the ease in which Kite managed to reach out and snatch it from seemingly out of nowhere, but eventually told him that the object kept the concepts of dimension, mirages, dust, magic and the visage.
“Quite the trove, if I may say so myself,” he said aloud, Glint already fast at work floating among the different treasures while inspecting them.
“The queen instructed us to be generous to those who proved themselves in the challenges,” the officiator answered. “As instructed, you have been put through tribulations. It is only fitting that fortune will follow.”
“If only that was the case in the outside world, a lot of people would be a lot less miserable,” Kite said, before looking to the final spot; the one left empty in the circle of treasures left behind by the rulers. “But I still have one left to complete the set, and with that, my trials.”
“Trial-taker, it still is not necessary.”
“I know,” Kite said, looking at the orb. “You have been kind enough to inform me that often. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you were actually worried for me.”
“Such unnecessary sentiments are beyond me,” the orb replied haughtily. “I am merely pointing out the rules and reminding you. And besides, wouldn’t it be a waste if all of this treasure went unclaimed in the end as you stumbled and fell right at the final chapter of your trial?”
“It would indeed,” Kite agreed. “But I might have to stand by some words which I spoke to a friend, not long before arriving here.”
“And what were those?”
“She said that I was not a prideful man, and while I would like to think that she was correct, I will also admit that it is only partially.”
Pausing, Kite looked up at the hazy skies above. Even though he saw nothing among the clouds, he could imagine any one of them suddenly shifting to attack through vicious wind and freezing ice; an ambusher just waiting to strike at anyone foolish enough to venture into its domain.
“Because I will not refrain from just one more attempt to seize the skies.”