On a chilly but clear evening, the kind of night inviting stargazing and warm tea, a trio of adventurers sat around a magical heating lamp in a warded camp. They did in fact drink tea, and looked at the stars in the heavens above the meadow where they would rest for the night. And there was singing, words and melodies only heard by the three as a magical wind whisked away the tunes before they could travel further.
Unlike on the way toward Verdant steps and the contract, their evenings had been mostly silent. The company had been pleasant, but polite. That politeness had been washed away by shared experience and strife, leaving behind a more relaxed camaraderie. So Serene sang for her companions each night, sharing her prayer to her goddess to the delight of her small audience.
As the song died down, leaving only a low wordless hum, it was Dragonfly who spoke first where she rested against the trunk of a tree.
“Can’t believe that the journey is already over. We should be arriving in the city tomorrow. Master Force is gonna be so impressed that we defeated a bronze-rank monster. She has to, right?”
Serene regarded her. “You’re nervous.”
“What? No? I’m not nervous! Who’s nervous? You’re the one who’s nervous!”
“You know, it is alright to want praise from those close to us. Their approval matters.”
Dragonfly sighed. “What if she thinks we were stupid? That we lacked judgment? I just… I just want to make her proud. As proud as I felt when we won. Survived.”
“Then I believe your earnesty will show. It does to me, at least.”
“Well you are basically cheating with that absurd aura of yours. I’m still an open book to you apparently, even after all the training we’ve done” Dragonfly quipped before standing up. “Well, I’m done fretting now. We should decide what to do with the loot instead!”
Kite looked at her with a question in his eyes before his mind caught up to her meaning. He produced the wooden box with the awakening stone and placed it on the ground between them, lid open.
“So…” Dragonfly said, looking at the stone. “How do we decide who gets it?
“Well, I for one will not lay claim to it. I have only a few abilities left to awaken, and would rather await more guidance from my goddess. Journeyman Iris said that it was an awakening stone of gathering, and I do not believe that it will harmonize with my path.” Serene stated
“That makes it easy then.” Kite said with a smile as he pushed the box closer toward Dragonfly. “I do believe that our karma is unbalanced since your master helped me. Would this do as recompense?”
Dragonfly looked blankly at him first before she seemed to remember what he was talking about. She bent down and picked up the stone, letting it roll between her fingers with a pleased smile.
“Nope!” she suddenly exclaimed, flicking the stone to hit Kite in the forehead which left him blinking in surprise. “You take it, Kite.
First of all, friends shouldn’t really count favors.
Second, I already have a lot more awakened abilities than you. It would be boring if my path rushed too far ahead of yours. I do need my sparring partner in top shape, after all.
Third, I’ve gotten so many tasty snacks out of this ‘karmic imbalance’ so far, so I don’t think this particular stone is worth giving that up!” she finished with a wink.
Kite looked down at the green stone in wonder, before he locked eyes with Dragonfly.
“Thank you. Truly.” he said with a smile.
She stared at him for a short while before breaking eye-contact with a blush.
“Dear heavens, I can’t handle that ridiculous amount of earnesty, Kite. That’s not how friendly rival banter is supposed to go down!” she grumbled, face as pink as her hair.
Sensing his friend’s fluster, Kite tried to hide his mischievous grin as he strode over, knelt before her and took one of her hands in his.
“Alas, dear Dragonfly, my mind was overwhelmed by your gracious gesture. You truly walk the path of the mighty, bestowing such gifts. I shall treasure it and make it part of my path, and as eternity takes us towards the heavens it shall forever remain part of me. An eternal reminder of you, and my earth-defying gratitude.” he professed, face mostly somber.
For his troubles, he was chased around their camp followed by an indignant young woman only capable of indignant growls. Serene smiled as she watched their antics, and began to sing once more.
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On the afternoon of the following day, the trio sat in a meeting room in the adventure society campus up on the seventh pillar. They had managed to find Adelaide, who fortunately were on duty today, and she had been happy to oblige in receiving their report.
“- and after recovering for a day in Verdant steps, we headed back here. The journey was uneventful as we didn’t make any stops. We brought back these-” Kite said and produced the stack of contracts they had completed on their journey toward the village, “- and this.” he finished as he put the death essence next to the stack of papers.
Adelaide had listened intently to their retelling of the contract, nodding in satisfaction as Kite finished.
“It sounds like some fine adventuring work from you three. If only all of you path-crazed locals could be as diligent…” she muttered, before continuing. “I will send word to the magic society at once to send someone of higher rank to inspect the effigy you mentioned. We need to understand more about what transpired there, but as for now that will be above your heads. You can expect a bonus for this contract, both for turning in the restricted essence and uncovering a potential source of trouble if the effigy was indeed purposely built as you seem to think. Please return tomorrow and claim it.
As they left the jobs hall, Kite turned to his companions.
“I have a suggestion. How about we take the day to settle down and consolidate what we’ve learned. This trip turned out to be quite the experience, and I at least have some introspection to do.
Then, after claiming our rewards tomorrow, we’ll go out and celebrate? We did defeat an unexpected bronze-rank spirit and save a village in need, after all.”
He knew even before he spoke that Dragonfly would be on board with the idea, which was immediately confirmed by a happy exclamation. This was the reason why he mostly directed his attention toward Serene accompanied by a questioning nudge of his aura. He was able to do the latter a lot more proficiently after their many nights of training under her tutelage.
The celestine regarded him for a while, before nodding with a small smile. “I would be delighted.”
----------------------------------------
Kite spent the rest of the day eating and reading, but also in meditation.. It was early evening as he sat in the small garden beneath his apartment, beneath one of the trees. The chill wind caused golden leaves to fall here and there around him, a sign that winter was fast approaching.
While the trees of the Autumn lands shed some leaves as the winds and chill picked up, the increased plant affinity of the area caused them to keep most of the foliage even during the colder seasons. That was why their golds, reds and oranges could still be visible below the white covering of snow on the rare occasions that the lands were covered by the white, cold cover.
He had long practiced meditation techniques together with his aunties since he was a child, only later realizing that they were laying down a foundation for what he was to become. As he had continued the practice together with uncle Walker, and later Dragonfly and Serene, he had become quite proficient in reaching the tranquil, contemplative state he was in. Kite had always had a tendency for introspection, which had been nurtured and cultivated to become the young man he was today.
As his body sat at peace, he was gently guiding his mind to where he wanted to go. Uncle Walker had given him some quite cryptic advice on how he should make his path the foundation of his meditation, but left Kite on his own in the process to discover how. He had said something about this being the way of this land. At the moment, he was building his path in his mind's eye.
Among all the inputs, memories, stray thoughts and other phenomena which constituted his mind he began with an empty space; a void to stabilize the inner world around his path. Then, brick by brick he patiently and resolutely began constructing a tiled path, imagining leading off to an unknown, unseen horizon. It was still incomplete, as he felt that he lacked the metaphorical building blocks to fill in all the gaps and cracks in the tiles. The path meandered quite a bit, and he left it to do so as it pleased, the void clearing a way wherever it went. Here and there, the chaos of his subconscious tried encroaching on the calm emptiness. When it did, a part of his mind swept over it, negating its attempts to encroach upon his path.
He noted to his satisfaction that he could keep the mental exercise going for longer each week. The sense of incompleteness remained however, and after a while he could feel the mental image crumbling as he could not keep it stabilized. He let out a sigh as he opened his eyes toward the night sky. Not quite there yet. But he was making progress.
“Well, time for some practice before bed.” he said to himself, rising and bringing out the halberd. There was another weapon which he was aching to try out, but not yet. He had to make sure it was safe first.
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The next day, Kite, Dragonfly and Serene were back at the adventure society campus. Adelaide had looked quite pleased as she had lain out a quite sizeable stack of spirit coins in front of each of them.
“I managed to get a quite good bonus for you, if I may say so myself. Let it be known that the society rewards collaboration in good faith. And- “ she continued while adding a small lockbox before each of them as well, “-the best is saved for last. As you prevailed over a threat much greater than the contract entailed and brought back both the information and the death essence, you’ve all been granted an awakening stone as a bonus. They were picked out by our scholars using what we knew about your capabilities, and I must admit that they are quite the treasures.”
Kite had heard of the practice before, but was surprised that their deeds had warranted such a bonus. The surprise was a welcome one though, and he flipped open the lid of his lockbox.
The stone inside had contained the almost ethereal image of a flaming bird, wings outstretched.
WWJS (What would Jason see?):
[Item] Awakening stone of the Phoenix
Unranked - epic
An awakening stone containing the power of flames and resurrection
“The scholars surmised that you, Kite, would benefit from having another avenue of survivability if or when your barriers fail or are an infeasible solution. According to magic society records, the stone tends to give out powers with a fiery aspect or rather powerful personal healing effects. As the information you graciously shared with the magic society left no indications of flames and fire being a part of your path, they felt confident that it would provide you with the latter. This hypothesis should be further reinforced by the quite high rarity of the stone.”
Kite was impressed, and felt even better about sharing some basic information about his powers during his registration to the adventure society.
“Thank you, Adelaide. This is a most generous reward.” he replied to her apparent satisfaction.
The others had opened their boxes as well, regarding the stones with interest. Adelaide was quick to provide them with an explanation as well.
“Dragonfly, your reward is a stone of animation. Our scholars had to give it a lot of pondering. At the onset, they thought of something along the lines of more personal protection, but found that it might negatively affect the ramping effects of your path. Instead, they went with a stone that should give you additional flexibility. The stone of animation tends to give more independence, reach or flexibility to other powers. Unless you are an area controller, such as one summoning stone pillars. Then it would probably allow you to animate any objects conjured. But since that is not within your purview, we hope you will find it a useful extension of what you already do best.”
Dragonfly had looked a bit skeptical at first, but was visibly swayed by Adelaide’s explanation. She had an expectant grin as she nodded her approval.
Lastly, Serene has been gifted an awakening stone of the dirge. It was quite rare, but we managed to have them bring it here via portal along with other supplies that were inbound yesterday. We hope that it will be acceptable to both you and the goddess, as it should allow your songs and sound-based abilities to further hamper your enemies and bring another tool to your supportive repertoire.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Serene had looked distant for a short while, but as clarity returned to her eyes she smiled and nodded.
“The goddess sends a most harmonious thanks for your gift and consideration. I will treasure it.” she said, her voice a light breeze filled with the light tinkling of bells.
“I’m pleased to hear that.” Adelaide replied. “Keep up the good work, you three. The society will provide what help we can. If there was nothing else, I believe you might have some awakening rituals to set up.”
----------------------------------------
While Serene would awaken her essence ability with the help of her fellow clergy members, she still accompanied the others as they rented a ritual chamber at the local magic society. Located on the eleventh pillar, it also consisted of a sprawling campus with even denser construction as they had less need for marshaling yards and training grounds. The buildings were more austere as well, lacking the epic murals of the adventure society. Kite did suspect that there were quite a lot more arrays built into the campus as he could feel the increased magic in the air even without special senses.
The ritual room was a simple affair with a polished black stone floor and blank walls. As one closed the door, a palpable shift occurred as the ambient magic stabilized. It was as if the air suddenly became easier to breathe, except that it had nothing to do with actual breathing. Or air.
Light faded as the awakening ritual for Dragonfly had just finished, the diagram and stone dissolving. She sat in contemplative silence as she tried to get a feel for the new ability, giving them a wide grin as she opened her eyes a short while later.
“Oh, I can’t wait to try this out. Not in here though. The room is way too small.” she almost purred, apparently envisioning something quite pleasing. “Go ahead, Kite! You’ve got two to go this time as well!”
Kite took her place on the floor as he began to draw out another diagram. “I think I will go with the stone of the phoenix first. It’s important to save the most precious gift for last.” he finished with a wink at Dragonfly, reminding of his good-natured teasing the other night. She stuck her tongue out toward him in response.
Some minutes later, the light faded for him as well as he completed the first of the rituals. He could feel a new wellspring of power within him, like an indomitable force waiting to be unleashed and make him whole again no matter what he faced.
WWJS (What would Jason see?):
Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune has absorbed [Awakening stone of the Phoenix]
You has awakened Resolute essence ability [Immortality]
[Ability] Immortality
Special ability (healing, recovery). Cost: None Cooldown: 24 hours Current rank: Iron 0
Effect - Iron: Instantly restore a large portion of health, mana, and stamina. Amount restored is based on how depleted health, mana, and stamina are when the ability is activated.
Kite was astonished as he felt this new power well up inside him. He wasn’t very well read about all the different abilities out there, but this matched a description of one that even he had heard about. Unsurprisingly, it was quite sought after.
“Soooo?” Dragonfly asked expectantly. “Anything to show us?”
Kite looked rather smug as he turned to her. “Alas, fair Dragonfly, this ability of mine will show itself only in the most dire of circumstance and greatest of needs. It is a heavy burden given to me, keeper of its wondrous secret.”
“Oh well.” she said with a shrug. “Then I guess it wasn’t very important. Sometimes Fortune's favor simply eludes us. Want a consoling hug, or just move on with the next?”
“Wha- wait…” Kite floundered, “It truly is awesome and magnificent.”
“Meh. Didn’t sound like it.” Dragonfly shrugged
Some more back and forth along those lines had Kite eventually spill the information about his new ability, consternation clear on his face as his attempted teasing had backfired to put him in such a position.
Both Dragonfly and Serene stared wide-eyed at him after his description.
“Heavens…” Dragonfly breathed. “It would have been worth getting teased quite a lot to hear about that. But that means… “ she said as she brightened, before storming up to Kite and enveloping him in a hug. “You won’t die! Or at least not easily! Oh, imagine what this will do to our sparring. I can go almost all out!”
Kite felt the consternation leaving him as he leaned into the hug. It felt nice to have people be happy for him. He imagined doing this alone, and realized how hollow it would feel.
After the cheering and celebrating died down a bit, it was time for his next ritual using the awakening stone of gathering. That one gave completely different results.
WWJS (What would Jason see?):
Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune has absorbed [Awakening stone of Gathering]
You has awakened Void essence ability [Astral Gatherer]
[Ability] Astral Gatherer
Ritual (Familiar). Cost: Extreme stamina, Extreme mana Cooldown: None Current rank: Iron 0
Effect - Iron: Summon an astral gatherer to become your familiar. The astral gatherer is an incorporeal creature without physical substance.
While manifested, the astral gatherer accumulates small remnants of mana each time mana is spent in its vicinity, which is substantially increased if the skill in question drains or destroys mana. Amount of remnants gathered will vary in accordance with the amount of mana spent, drained or destroyed.
When enough remnants have been gathered, it can unleash the stored power in one of the following ways:
* A destructive beam of energy, dealing resonating force damage or disruptive force damage.
* A burst of mana recovered for the summoner or a chosen ally within range
When subsumed into the wearer’s body, the astral gatherer becomes an incorporeal vortex resting beneath the summoner’s sternum. As long as it remains subsumed, the gatherer exudes a subtle pull on the ambient mana in an extreme radius. This may trigger magical manifestations that were already on the brink of manifesting.
“A familiar. And a rather curious one at that.” Kite mumbled. This time, he relayed the details right away to his companions, leaving them all with a thoughtful look.
“That sure was something to wrap my head around…” Dragonfly muttered, eyebrows creased.
“Indeed.” chimed Serene. “Especially the part regarding magical manifestations. It sounds surprisingly double-edged. As you described it, it sounds like both monsters and treasures would be affected.”
“Uncle Walker often says that every manifestation is a treasure in its way, at least for those with a strong path. It sounds like this will test my path, but it might also help temper it more expediently. And the path of those around me as well.” he added with a meaningful look toward his companions. “Besides, it has to be rather limited while only at iron rank.”
“Well, that is true.” Dragonfly said. “Little more to do than summon it and see what it looks like. What materials did you need?”
Kite focused inward, as the information was available as instinctually as the use of his ability. He blanched a bit. “It’s a good thing we just got that extra bonus.”
----------------------------------------
Before they left, Kite had one more errand at the magic society. After inquiring at a desk, he was directed to one of the members of staff.
“Heavens guide your path,” he greeted the bearded young man who sat at a counter marked with a plaque which read ‘results and retrieval’. As he reached the counter, he handed the man a paper slip. The functionary took a look at it.
“Aaah, yes. The spear.” He rummaged around beneath the desk, before retrieving a dimensional bag from which he in turn retrieved a long spear. It looked rather eerie, as it seemed to be made wholly from bone. It was a two-handed spear with a pale, smooth shaft topped with a slightly wavy long blade. Just beneath the main blade, two shorter blades protruded diagonally upwards. As the man laid it on the table, faint gray vapor began forming around the blades, dissolving as it got a few centimeters away from the weapon. Overall, it gave off a quite sinister feeling.
After defeating the bronze-rank spirit, Kite’s ability which created items had filled up immediately. Apparently both it and the mourning wraiths had quite the impact on the ability, manifesting the bone spear as a result. Kite had been wary about what kind of weapon such a fell influence would form, and had not used it so far. Instead, he had turned it in at the magic society for a deeper analysis and evaluation to make sure there were no adverse effects or other consequences of wielding it.
“I think it was a wise choice to submit this for evaluation, due to its origins.” the functionary began, as he read through an attached document detailing their findings. “The weapon is of high quality. Iron rank, but close to peak potential. It is more sturdy than other weapons of similar rank, and inflicts a curse on those wounded by it that gradually impairs their speed. It also has an activated ability with a quite nasty effect, as it will try to warp the bones of the target in destructive ways.
Overall, the weapon is quite sinister, but our examinations have not determined any other curses or restricted effects. It should be safe to wield, albeit less so for your enemies.” he finished with a smirk.
Kite thanked the man before retrieving the weapon, looking at the sinister vapors before having it disappear into his void sheath.
WWJS:
[Item] Boundless Sorrow
Spear
Rank - Iron - epic
[Effect] Greatly increased durability
[Effect] Hits inflict a stacking curse which lowers the target’s speed attribute.
[Effect] Activate to unleash a wave of bone-warping energies into the body of struck enemies, which destructively warps the skeletal structure of the affected area. Only affects creatures with a skeleton, chitin or other similar bodily structures. Cost: High mana Cooldown: 5m
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That evening, Kite, Dragonfly and Serene sat around a table covered in empty plates of food. At Serene’s request, they had taken their celebration to one of Gilded’s restaurants which also provided live music of a quality which could entice even a priestess of Song.
The evening had been pleasant and conversation kept light. Regaling each other with their own versions of the events, highlighting especially memorable parts and even some good-natured aura-wrestling. To the surprise of no one, Serene dominated the latter.
As the evening drew to a close, the priestess produced a pouch clinking with the crystalline sound of spirit coins.
“The bonus incentive from my church. For bringing me. I am ever thankful, and it feels like I’ve learned a lot. And come a bit closer to my goals.” she said, with a happy chime in her voice.
“What are your goals, Serene? I’ve heard you mention them, but never any specifics- If you don’t mind sharing, that is. A girl is entitled to her secrets, after all.” Dragonfly asked, leaning closer in interest.
As she was phrasing her question, Serene seemed to visibly and spiritually withdraw into herself. It was even palpable on her aura. For a brief moment, even Kite could feel the shudder going through it.
Dragonfly must have felt it as well, as she backpedaled quickly.
“Never mind, sorry I asked. As I said, entitled to secr-”
“No.” Serene stated, her windy voice surprisingly small.
“Understandable.” Dragonfly continued, before awkwardly trying to change the subject. “So, Kite, what’s your plans for the near future?”
Before Kite could answer, Serene spoke again, slightly more forcefully.
“Sorry, I meant ‘no’ as in ‘don’t apologize’.” She sighed, and Kite could once again feel her shudder. “But I’d like to be outside first, if that’s acceptable?”
Dragonfly and Kite exchanged a look.
“Roof?” she asked.
“Roof.” he confirmed.
About an hour later, after navigating the busy evening streets of Gilded and brewing a pot of tea, they all sat up on the roof over Kite’s and Walker’s small apartment. The latter hadn’t returned to the city yet, but Kite thought he’d be back any day now according to the message he’d left for Kite. They had both gotten into the habit of updating each other via message when they left for contracts.
Serene sat with her cup in both hands, her aura stable but more retracted than usual. The silence was still a companionable one though, as they gazed up at the twinkling stars.
“Uncle Walker told me that looking at the stars became a whole new world once he reached bronze rank.” Kite said. “That there are nuances to the heavens we can’t even see. I hope we all get there.”
“If we continue like this, I don’t think anyone can stop us.” Dragonfly agreed cheerfully.
“Indeed.” Serene chimed. The timbre was a complicated one, almost bittersweet. “I want to follow my path and see where it will lead me as well. But first, I need to mend what lays behind me.”
Both of the others watched her with interest, and almost baited breath as they felt the fragility of the moment. Concern and curiosity mingled in their auras.
“I believe you have faced remnants of the Unbreakable Chains sect during your examinations. Followers of the path of pleasure?”
Both nodded again, and Serene could feel their concern growing as their minds started predicting what would come next.
“There were other dark paths beneath the surface of that sect. The path of Undeath. The path of Lies. And the path of Pain.
My father was so proud when he was accepted into the sect, as he hoped it could build a new life for us. It was only me and him. He didn’t even know what lay beneath the surface, the deviant paths. This was about ten years ago, near the end before the sect was exposed. We were only there for a month, but it was enough.
As the facade of the sect fell, they took us. The uninitiated. I was given to those who followed the path of Pain. And they took my voice, in addition to other horrors which I will not disclose. But they literally took it. To them, my screams were a prized possession, something to be saved, treasured and flaunted. I don’t know if someone still carries it, or if it simply was lost as the sect fell and the survivors scattered.
But I am fortunate to be alive, and even more fortunate that the goddess gave me a voice. To speak, laugh. And sing.
My goal is to face them again. I do not need vengeance. All I need is to be strong enough to face them, even through the fear. And sing to them. Prove that my song isn’t theirs to keep.”
As her wispy voice died down, both could feel a shudder through her aura, like the breath one takes to ease trembling and bring calm. They felt relief from her, and the old aches of terrible memories.
Dragonfly was the first to close in. Her communication had always been quite physical, which she once again proved as she wrapped the taller young woman in a fierce hug. Serene tensed up at first, but visibly forced herself to relax before leaning into the hug just a bit. Kite scooted over to the other side, before tentatively reaching out with his aura in question. He could see Serene give off a small nod, after which he laid his arms around them both.
They sat there for quite some time. Serene hummed a hauntingly beautiful melody. And Kite pondered that one’s path should not have to be neither lonely nor cold.
----------------------------------------
Before they went their separate way, Kite held out a small bag toward Serene, containing a third of the bonus incentive that the church had provided. She looked a bit dumbfounded at it, then up at the earnest young man.
“Your share.” Kite said with a smile. “I would say that anyone who declines to fight alongside you is a prideful fool, Serene. I hope you will turn to either or both of us in the future as well.”
“However, we will graciously accept the bonus as long as it's offered. Adventuring life can be quite expensive. But you will always get your share. And we will always welcome you, incentive or not.” Dragonfly continued, cheerful as always as Kite gave out her share as well.
As Serene walked through the lively city, she clutched the pouch in both hands as it contained not only the coins but also acceptance. She was humming a happy tune, in perfect harmony with the one only she could hear. They were both quite content.