“Now… what are the main interactions of the Lignum and Aqua Affinities?” Regina asked, walking around Damien’s table like a harsh taskmaster while he worked on another rune she had picked out for him. This one was not of his familiar Umbra Affinity, but rather of Ignis. This was a common practice for them, training his ability to multitask by having him list off various topics, including specific Runes and how they interacted with different Affinities, as well as Runes that were specific to certain Affinities, as well as how Affinities interacted.
“It’s primarily a positive one, with Aqua feeding into Lignum in such a way that its constructs become far more powerful. However, if Aqua is allowed to feed into Lignum too strongly, it can drown out the Affinity and it away with the tide,” Damien answered as he continued to work on the Ignis Rune for Firebolt. He was currently attempting to carve it into a stone made specifically for slinging, a small hammer and chisel in his hand as he worked out the edges of the Rune. Set off to the side was a small, slightly jagged crystal of Mana colored burnished mix of red and orange, the color of fire on a cold night. It was much less resplendent than the ones that had been used in his own Awakening, which made sense given that it was of a much lower quality than those.
Damien quickly finished up with the last of the Rune, hoping that he had managed to get it right this time. Though he knew Runes well enough by now, especially since he had the help of his Universal Polyglot Trait, carving them into things was a practiced skill, like learning how to write in your early years.
Except, if you messed up even a little bit, there was a non-zero chance that you could blow yourself up, depending on exactly how badly you screwed it up. It wasn’t so bad for the more common and less powerful Spells and Abilities, but the rarer and more powerful you went, the higher the risks.
Damien put down his tools, wiping sweat from his brow as he continued to concentrate on the task at had. He picked up the Lesser Grade Ignis Crystal, holding it out in front of him as he let one of his new Skills guide the motions of his Mana in conjunction with Mana Control.
Mana Transmutation, as its name suggested, allowed him to transmute and chance the nature of his own Mana to a different Affinity, given an adequate conduit for such power. In this case, he would be converting his own Umbra-Attuned Mana into Ignis-Attuned Mana. Given the combative nature of both Affinities, it was difficult. Especially since, during the other times he had gotten to this point, he had shattered the crystal due to his inexperience and lack of familiarity with the new Skill.
This time, though, Damien managed to gather his Mana into a small thread, weaving it through the crystal until the violet energy began to turn the orange and red of Ignis. Then, with careful control and steadiness, he lined the Rune with the energy, filling it with the pulsing, heated aura of flame. Gradually, the Rune began to show signs of the energy that had entered it, glowing that same burnished red and orange coloration that had once made up the Ignis Crystal, now little more than dust on the breeze. And then, just like that, he was done.
Damien sighed out in relief, happy, for once, that his creation had not exploded in his face. That had happened more than once, and Regina had had a few private chuckles about it before they cleaned up his mess and started again. Now, though, he stared at the stone with that simple Rune engraved into it, glowing with the soft intensity of a candle flame. He couldn’t have been more proud of himself in that moment.
“Good,” Regina said, taking up the Firebolt stone and tossing it up and down in her hand a few times. “Let’s see if it works.”
They nearly got down to the basement without being noticed before, around a corner, a familiar face peeked around, widening in excitement as he noticed where they were going. Ollie, the young boy who Damien had saved all that time ago, was staring at them with excited eyes. He was currently staying with Regina, wherever the woman lived when she wasn’t tending to her shop, and he had taken to her and the shop well. He had good clothes on, and was just as eager to participate as any child would be.
“Can I watch?” he asked, a crooked smile spread across his lips. “Please? I promise I’ll be quiet.”
“No, Ollie,” Regina said, her tone stern as she admonished the boy. “Not until you’re older. We’ve gone over this.”
“… I know, but c’mon! I wanna see some magic!”
“Not this kind, young man,” Regina said in a tone that distinctly reminded the Traveler of his mother. “Not until you’re older. Understand?”
The boy gave a defeated sigh, turning back to the storefront and picking up the broom he’d set again the wall. “Yes ‘mam.”
The woman gave a firm, approving nod. “That’s a good boy.
“And hey, if you finish sweeping the entryway by the time I’m done with today’s lesson.. I’ll take you out for some sweets.”
Instantly, Ollie’s face brightened, giving Regina a joking salute before dashing to the front of the store with the broom in hand held like a spear, charging forth to meet his dusty enemy.
“That kid is going to be the death of me,” she said, not seeming to notice the idle smile on her face.
“You say that, but your smile says something else entirely,” Damien said, noting her expression.
“Eyes on the prize, apprentice,” she said, marching back towards a door towards the back of her shop. “We’ve got a creation to test.”
The two quickly found themselves in the basement of Regina’s store. While she had her lab set off to the back of the building, with all of her tools and equipment readily available for proper creation and use of Runes, the basement of it was meant for testing those very same Runes. It was a long space that was well lit by Mana Crystals hanging in sconces, dotting the stone space all the way to its furthest reaches. Damien could also see several mechanisms and contraptions for the targets, able to be adjusted or modified as required. Right now, a simple bullseye target sat about ten meters away from them, lined with various Runes that he recognized from his sparring session with Dove a couple of weeks ago, likely meant to serve a similar purpose. Or as practice for longer Runic Scripts; Damien had yet to graduate to that level of practice, though Regina had told him that such Runes were the most basic of basics in such expertise.
Regina put on a pair of bulky goggles with dark lenses, meant to shield her eyes from any potential blinding effects. She gave another pair to Damien, who quickly put them on over his own eyes. They worked a lot like a welder’s helmet, only darkening fully once a certain intensity of light frequency was reached. He found it interesting that there was such a similarity between Xaunis and Earth technologies, though Xaunis had obviously gone in a more Steam-Tech approach due to the implementation of Mana and Runes into most of their amenities.
She pulled back her arm in a side motion, her positioning making her look as though she were about to send a rock skipping across the surface of a lake. She breathed slowly, her stance calm, relaxed where necessary, tense around her shoulders and feet, ready tp pivot with the motion and give it a decent amount of strength. Then, she followed through, her arm coming around like the motion of a cracking whip as she sent the Firebolt stone towards the target, her aim true as her body followed through with the motion.
Mid-flight, the Rune took effect. Damien watched as his creation broke apart, the Spell within it bursting forth as a searing bolt of flame entered the atmosphere, a slight boom sounding out from the sudden ignition as it continued to speed towards the target, Then, it struck, bursting into small trails of fire as it impacted the target, smoke and dust obscuring the results of their test. Long moments passed as it all cleared from the air, Damien’s heart speeding up as he hoped that he had made something adequate to Regina’s expectations.
Long scorch marks were left in the wake of the stone, with the orange glow of Ignis Mana left in the wake of the item. Damien couldn’t help but grin at his progress, while Regina tried, and failed, to hide a small smile of her own.
“I’m glad you’ve made this much progress in only a couple of months,” Regina said with pride. “Even a Common Rarity item is still a mark of progress.”
Damien nodded. Still, though, he had to wonder at that term, ‘Rarity.’ Was it what it sounded like, or was it some kind of blanket term for how powerful something was. It might well be a bit of both, considering the way his combat Skills had been advancing thus far. He asked his teacher as much, to which she gave a confirming nod.
“You’re not wrong. The more powerful something is, the rarer it is. That’s the general rule when it comes to such matters. I think the System knew this and kind of meshed the concepts together into the Rarity concept we use nowadays. Now, back upstairs. I want to make sure we’ve got all those Affinities and their relationships hammered into you properly.”
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Damien nodded to his teacher, knowing that arguing with her on this point would be futile effort. Plus, he had to admit, he quite enjoyed this particular topic of discussion.
The two sat at one of the tables towards the back of her shop, closer to her workshop than her many dozens of shelves of books. When Regina crossed her arms, Damien took that as a sign to begin as he started listing off all of the Affinities and he interactions that he knew of.
“Lux is the Affinity for light in all its forms, and is one of the most common ones that people come across, mainly because of how much of it there is. The only major interaction it has is with Umbra, and it’s one of mutual cancelation, especially at the early stages of development.”
She nodded, gesturing for him to continue. They weren’t discussing any particular specialties of the Affinities in question, just their basics and how they interacted with one another. Something that Damien had a decent amount of confidence in.
“Ignis is the Affinity of heat and fire, and is generally considered uncommon due to the scarcity of fire in nature, with the exceptions of certain phenomenon like volcanos and Phoenix Groves. It’s major interactions are mostly negative, since it destroys both Lignum and Ferrum given enough time, and is quenched easily by someone with a proficient Aqua Affinity. The only true positive interaction that it really has is with Ventus, since the air can often bolster flames to greater heights.
“Then there’s Fulgur, the Affinity of lightning. It’s tangentially related to Ignis, and can even be the start of forest fires, but that’s not its nature. It’s more attuned to speed and the transference of energy than true destructive potential, though it certainly possesses that. It’s major interactions are with Terra and Ferrum, the former of which is broken apart, and the latter absorbs and redirects it.”
“Very true,” Regina said in praise. “But don’t forget that it can also interact with Lignum in much the same way that it can with Terra. The very fact that such interactions lead to forest fires is evidence enough of that fact. It can also easily spread by using Aqua as a conduit, leading to more devastating reactions for those trapped within.”
Damien nodded in silent thanks for her quick correction. Honestly, there was so much pertaining to Affinities and their interactions that Damien doubted he would gain full knowledge of them. Not for a couple of years, at least. Affinities were an easy topic to delve into, but it was a long road for those who wished to pursue it’s true depths.
“Ventus is the Affinity of wind, and is generally considered one of the more neutral of the elements, as well as the second most common after Lux. It doesn’t have many interactions with the other Affinities, save for its ability to bolster Ignis and its overall ineffectiveness against Terra.
“Speaking of which, Terra is the Affinity of earth, of stone and rock and even crystal formations. It’s also generally common to see, though it’s more often seen in mountains and great canyons than in an overall landmass. It’s also considered a relatively neutral element, though its own major interactions should not be disregarded. It rebuffs Ventus and supports Lignum, allowing for the growth of plantlife within its soil. Even so, Fulgur can, and does, rend it apart.
“Lignum is the Affinity for wood. It’s had a lot of conjecture and speculation thrown about regarding its proper name over several years, but wood is the most generally agreed upon term. It shows up often in forests, groves, and other places where plant life is plentiful. It has mostly positive interactions, with Aqua and Terra being the most prominent, though it’s also been known to interact poorly with Ignis and Fulgur for obvious reasons.”
“Wood and heat don’t often mix,” Regina replied, the old saying bringing a smile to her face. “It’s a stupid and obvious saying, but it works to get the point across.”
Damien shrugged. It wasn’t like some of the sayings from Earth weren’t a bit dumb and childish. Some of them were even taken deliberately out of context. It was a whole mess that he really didn’t want to remind himself of, especially in a world where actual magic existed. So, he continued on, giving further explanations to his understanding of Affinities.
“Aqua is the Affinity for water, and is about on par with Ignis for being uncommon, though it has a bit of a one-up on it due to the sheer quantity of it that’s present in oceans, rivers, lakes; even the rain. It’s major interactions are with Ignis and Lignum, quenching the former and supporting growth for the latter, though there is such thing as too much, in that case.
“Ferrum is the Affinity of metal, and is generally considered on the rarer side. It’s mostly because metallic deposits can most often be found underground, though large veins of ore and sometimes surface and change the Ambient Mana towards that Affinity. It’s major interactions are with Lignum, as it splits apart wood and most other plants with relative ease, and Ignis, since the element is able to break down and purify the metal into a form of greater quality while discarding things like slag.”
He hesitated as he came to the next Affinity, mainly because it was relatively new and… well, a bit disturbing, if he were being fully honest with himself. Or maybe that was just his bias talking. He wasn’t totally sure.
“Pravum is… the Affinity for decay. It’s considered the second rarest in the world, just after Umbra. It’s major interactions with all other Affinities are negative, since it only consumes matter to be destroyed. That’s what its specialty is. Destruction with little to no boundaries.
“And finally, there’s Umbra, the Affinity of shadow, and the natural opposite of Lux. It’s by far the rarest of all the Affinities, and has a generally far-spread reach of what it can effect. It only had a major interaction with Lux, and we went over that already at the beginning.”
Regina nodded, confirming that he had gotten everything relatively right. “Good. Now, I’m going to ask you something you might not have the whole answer to as of yet. Don’t feel too bad if you don’t get it right, okay?”
“Uh… okay,” Damien said, slightly confused as to where this conversation was going.
“What do each of these Affinities have in common with one another? You already have all the clues you need to come to that conclusion, so go over what you know to be true for each of them.”
This… stumped him. How were they all related? Could it be that they were all magical? No, too obvious; anyone would be able to say that. So then, what connected them all? They seemed too disparate, too solidly defined as their own entities, to truly be connected in any way other than the fact that some supported others, and some opposed them. Damien had a hard time conceptualizing it. So, instead of stressing himself out over this any further, he admitted to his failing.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can see it. It’s all so… stark. Like there’s little correlation between them other than how they can interact.”
Regina gave a shrug, as though she had half expected this response. Then, she answered him, as any good teacher would. “They are all a part of the natural order. Each bit of those Affinities makes up some portion of the world around us, from the most common fields to the rarest of depths. Though it certainly doesn’t seem like it at first, each of the Affinities is intrinsic to a healthy and stable world, especially in a world as magically rich as Xaunis.”
“… even Pravum?” Damien asked.
“Especially Pravum,” Regina answered. “The only other constant about life and nature in general is that, at some point, all things die. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but someday, all things die. Even decay, disturbing though it may seem at first glance, is itself a certain form of life. So, while it might not seem like it at first, I can assure you that, in its own way, all Affinities are natural. even the ones that may seem disturbing.”
Damien took in the words, though they had yet to fully sink in. He had heard of this concept before, that all things in nature were of a certain order of things, and that all beings, even humans, were a part of that silent, unspoken order. It was a tough thing to conceptualize, and he probably wouldn’t do that anytime soon. But, of course, that was why he was here, after all. To learn. And he couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.
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His time in Lamora continued on like that for much of the rest of his downtime. He and Leon had stopped heading out on hunts, since they had hit somewhere comfortably within the Level nine range, though they still hung out and sparred on occasion, with Leon’s mentor even making the occasional appearance, though Damien had yet to learn the man’s real name. But, when they had a few spare moments, Leon had asked for Damien to check out some of the things he made, to see if any Runes could be added to them without interfering with the intended function of a device. He was largely unfamiliar with such things, but the Traveler promised his friend that he would do his best to assist him in whatever he needed help with.
His spars with Dove continued under the supervision of their mentors, Damien never quite managing to make a similar strike on her after that first day of them sparring. She’d learned the trick of his Danger Sense and his advanced Reaction Stat. She helped him tighten up his form, to get used to having his current level of strength and speed, and adjusting his fighting style as required. Though they didn’t know each others faces, the masked woman had become a fast friend of his, though they didn’t see each other often.
Damien’s friendship with Felicia continued to develop, though getting together had gradually gotten a bit more difficult due to some unspecified familial obligations. The Traveler wasn’t entirely sure what that was about, but he didn’t pry. It was clear that she wanted to keep that matter relatively private, at least for now. His surface level feelings had largely faded, and he saw her much more as a friend than he ever had before, and he wouldn’t trade that for anything. It was a lot of fun, talking nonsense and book plots while the hours went by without note, the two of them just… having fun.
And, on occasion, he thought he caught a glimpse of something else. Something more, or maybe the potential for it. He stopped those lines of thought rather quickly. Just because it might be possible didn’t mean it was the best thing for either of them. Besides, he was comfortable having her as a friend, and vice versa. He didn’t want to risk that. Not for the possibility of something that she might not even want. So he left those feelings buried, and their friendship continued to bloom.
Meanwhile, his training with Corbyn and Regina continued in earnest, the two doing their level best to get him prepared for the Adventurer Trials. One by solidifying his comfort with utilizing all of his related Skills in combat, while the other ensured that the foundations of knowledge for his Profession were rock solid. He still had yet to fully comprehend the idea that all Affinities were connected through the natural order, but he was starting to have a glimmer of understanding regarding them. Only a glimmer, but it was still better than nothing at all.
Then, of course, came his Martial Art. He had yet to solidify his own understanding of it, but that was to be expected at this point. He had been warned by Corbyn that his progress would slow down rather dramatically at this point, and he had been proven right by time. Damien still failed to grasp even the first proper technique of his Martial Art, though his understanding of the movements and their connections was slowly starting to come together.
Damien had honestly hoped he would have more time than this. More time to train, to prepare, to think and plan for everything that would happen once the day came. But when it arrived, it was innocuous and simple, like the entrance of all other days. And before he knew it, time was up. The first day of the Adventurer Trials had arrived.