Chapter 18

“Of all the shapes and applications of magic that we Incarnates are capable of, there are perhaps none more wonderous than the act of healing, the journey of taking what was damaged, wounded, or made less than, and bringing it back whole. Under the care of a skilled healer, it is possible for the most grievous of physical injuries to wiped away in merely a blink, restoring the flesh back to what it should be. That is if the soul itself has remained intact and unsundered. Should it be damaged however, then there is simply no amount of healing that will ever repair the body, that is not without repairing the damage that the soul has suffered first.”

—Reflections of the Soul, Morgan Mossgrove, the Age of Tyrants, circa 3834

And just like that, over the course of the next hour Vincent rid himself of the riving that his damaged soul had inflicted upon his body.

He rid himself of his crooked arm and club footed leg, aligning them each to be straight and hale. He rid himself of misshapen muscle and tendons, regrowing them so that they properly supported his body and movement. He rid himself of his misshapen jaw, bringing it so that his teeth fit nicely together and his face no longer was lopsided. He rid himself of the tumors that grew upon his organs, allowing them to work without hindrance for the first time ever. All of which and more allowed Vincent, for the first time in his newfound life, to find himself whole and healthy, able to move, live, and breathe without hinderance or restraint.

A newfound state that he wasted no time in making the most of after he left the Wraithgold Mana Exchange.

“So what do you think?” The barber asked as he held a mirror up behind Vincent so he could see the cut of his new hair, which at first glance looked a realm better than the shaggy, shoulder length nest that he’d grown used to.

“It looks perfect,” he replied with a smile as he used the double reflection in the large mirror in front of him to see his new, short cut hairstyle. “A load off my shoulders, literally.”

Chuckling politely, the way every barber does after hearing particular bad hair related pun, the man then set the mirror down before proceeding to finish off the remainder of Vincent’s haircut and bushing the few still clinging stray hairs clean. Then, once that last act was done, the man unclipped Vincent’s apron and drew it free, dumping what remained of his once white mane on the ground to join the rest. From there, and after paying the man a mote of air mana in exchange for his service, Vincent was on the move once again, feeling quite literally as if he’d been reborn anew.

Finally, I feel like myself again, or at least several steps closer to it, Vincent thought as he strode confidently down the street, reveling in the ease that simply doing do was. No longer did he need to use his walking stick to help keep his balance, but rather as a fashion statement, and nor did he have to lean to the rightmost lanes of the street as he navigated the press of people travelling every which way in the market. Now, he was simply able to walk and move, free of any concern that he would be stepped on, knocked over, or momentarily trapped if the people ahead of him came to an abrupt stop.

Now, with that done, the next thing on my list is to find that tailor that the barber suggested, Vincent said to himself as he began to search for the storefront in question, his now fully straightened back allowing him to easily see over the heads of the people before him. Ah, there it is!

Quickly shifting his path to blaze a trail through the crowd, it wasn’t long before Vincent was inside the store, and even sooner after that discovering that it was the perfect place for what he was looking for. Aided by the exceptionally helpful proprietor, it wasn’t long before Vincent exited the store not only wearing a new set of clothes along with matching boots, but also with a particularly sturdy leather knapsack to carry two other changes of clothing and pair of shoes. In the case of what he left wearing, Vincent chose a practical set of attire, a plain gray linen shirt along with dark pants, the kind that could, and would, be subjected to all kinds of wear and tear.

Starting today if he had any say about it.

As for his other clothes, he picked out two sets of shirts and pants that would suit in slightly more formal settings without being truly ostentatious, a pair of finely made white silk shirts, along with matching black pants and shoes. His goal had been to match something a well off merchant or tradesperson would wear, signaling that they knew what they were about without coming across as pretentious and the tailor had matched it perfectly. All for a decent price as well, costing him only a three earth and water motes total.

All right, that’s another thing done and off the list, Vincent thought as exited the store and immediately began walking, following the crush of people circulating around the market square. That leaves only food and Virtues left. Let’s see if I can find something worthwhile…

Deciding that it would be best to perhaps take a circuit of market, both to get a sense of what his options were as well as wear in his new boots a touch, Vincent soon discovered several stores that catered to the art of magic. Of them all, most were either too far above what he could use at the moment, catering exclusively to Ascendants with enchanted apparel and equipment, or were simply too far below, holding only trinkets, curios, and texts more intended for children, or those just considering their Ascent. However, there were indeed a handful of stores that fell into the gap that Vincent was searching for, one of them in particular being the aptly named Emporium of Everything, which took up the lower two floors of a high rising apartment building.

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“Hi there, my name is Clara, is there anything I can help you find?” A friendly feminine voice asked Vincent shortly after he stepped into the store, prompting him to immediately shift his attention towards a young red haired woman wearing a green and black uniform.

“Hey, yes, actually,” Vincent replied as shifted to look back at the sprawling store before him, which even from the entranceway he could see was packed with an incredible amount of merchandise on the rows of shelves within. So much in fact that he immediately became worried that if he pulled so much as a single item off some of the shelves that it would cause a cascade reaction of everything else coming down along with it. “I’m looking for a handful of Virtues if you have any for sale, particularly growth, tenacity, and resilience. Plus…if you have any more suitable for self-defense, I wouldn’t mind seeing those either.”

“Ah, we have plenty of those to choose from in the back,” Clara replied with a bright smile as she motioned for Vincent to follow her. “Erm, at least when it comes to the former. We don’t carry anything exceptionally potent when it comes to combat virtues, only the most basic kind. Anything more so is restricted.”

“Not a worry at all, that sounds exactly like what I’m looking for,” Vincent assured as he moved to follow the woman, the two of them heading down an isle of what Vincent immediately identified as camping and wilderness gear, along with a group of three Ascendants and another store employee that were in process of collaboratively selecting a tent.

Which from the heated words that Vincent overheard as he passed by them, was not going particularly well.

Walking with purpose as he was led deeper into the emporium, it wasn’t long after that before Vincent arrived at his destination, which manifested itself as something akin to a mad alchemist’s laboratory combined with a greenhouse. Taking up the whole back end corner of the place with a glass counter to bar entry, Vincent was instantly greeted by rows and rows of finger length sized vials, some on display within the counter itself, while others were lined up on shelves along the wall. Hard at work within the lab were two roughly middle aged alchemists, one of whom looked up to see both Vincent and Clara coming.

“Whatcha lookin for?” The man stated in a tone that wasn’t exactly polite nor exactly rude as they looked up from their work.

“Growth, tenacity, resilience, and something to help walk through a dark alley at night,” Clara replied in a cool tone, clearly used to interacting with the man as she slid in behind the counter through a strategically placed gap.

“Hrm,” he grunted in response as his eyes went blank for a second or two before abruptly coming back into focus. “Displays six and eleven.”

And then without so much as another word, they promptly went back to work, turning to resume grinding something into a paste at the table they were seated at.

“Thanks, Harry,” she replied smoothly before moving towards the first of the indicated displayed, Vincent following her on the opposite side. Upon arriving, she then wasted no time in unlocking the case and pulling free the rows of vials within, setting them on top of the counter so Vincent could see. “Here’s what we have on hand, all arranged in order of potency, if you see anything you like, just let me know and we can set it aside. Also if you like and you’re able to do so, you’re welcome to inspect the vials and virtues within, but please don’t open the stoppers until after we’ve settled your purchase.”

“Of course, thank you,” Vincent said, just barely remembering to reply as he instantly fixated on the two dozen some odd vials now before him, his eyes leaping from one to the other as he took in their labels.

Growth, restoration, tenacity, resilience, and more, Vincent thought as he read through the offering, noting that each was clearly marked with a grade of quality as well as a price. Despite that though, Vincent decided to confirm for himself that the labels were accurate, reaching up to tap the vials he was interested in with a finger and prompting his Insight to come to life.

Lesser Manifestation of Growth — Grade: C

Lesser Manifestation of Restoration — Grade: B

Lesser Manifestation of Tenacity — Grade: C

Lesser Manifestation of Resilience — Grade: A

Perfect, these should work perfectly for what I need, Vincent thought as he pulled his Will back from the vials, mentally tallying just how much of each Virtue he would not only need, but could also reasonably afford without burning through the entirety of today’s earnings. Then, once he decided, he told the woman before him, who promptly pulled out and set the requested collection of vials into a separate basket for him.

“Great! Now follow me just over this way for those other Virtues that you were looking for,” she exclaimed while guiding Vincent down the counter towards another display section built into it. Though unlike all the other ones this one was noticeably different in that it was protected by a metal cage within the confines of the case, which in turn was locked shut separately from the case itself. Regardless of the extra security however, it was only a handful of seconds after arriving that Clara had unlocked everything and had another row of vials set out for Vincent’s inspection.

Oof, even at a glance these are double, if not four times the price of the others! Vincent immediately exclaimed mentally the instant he saw the labels on the vials, which in turn left him reconsidering just how much he wanted to spend. In a pitch, the others would be mostly useful for defense, if I really, really need to use them that way. Though I’d really prefer to have something that I could use as a weapon without too much trouble…

Thoughts trailing off as he considered what would be easiest for him to make use of given the mana that he had on hand, Vincent quickly skimmed over the entirety of the offering before reaching out to touch the two vials that caught his attention a finger. As he did, he sent his Will into the vials to verify their contents, his Insight once again coming to life.

Lesser Manifestation of Slicing — Grade: C

Lesser Manifestation of Strength — Grade: B

“I’ll take these two Virtues, and just one of each,” Vincent said making his decision. “And I think that’s all I’ll be needing today.”

“Lovely! I am so happy we were able to help you today!” Clara exclaimed with a smile as she promptly plucked the indicated vials free and placed them into the basket with all of Vincent’s other choices. “Now, how would you prefer to pay today? We take all forms of currency, be it Virtue barter, coin, or mana.”

“Mana for me today,” Vincent replied as he raised a hand, already calling forth a stream of life mana to coalesce in the form of a thin shard in the center of his palm. A move that instantly caused Clara’s eyes to widen in surprise.

And for good reason too, given how incredibly valuable the emerald hued essence was.

“Now how does three motes of life mana for everything sound?”