Capeih
When the Ent noticed their presence, it stood up, and after a few last words with the being, walked away towards the opposite end of the clearing. Aavari glanced at him, before heading out to the open, towards the campfire and the strange being. He took out his bracelet of languages and equipped it on his arm, instantly feeling his Mana draining bit by bit. They had about three hours to get this over with, or they wouldn't be able to get back into their sanctuaries for a while.
As he walked closer, he began to understand that the Ent they saw earlier was not a sapling, but a full-fledged adult and a powerful being, probably ruling over a significant part of this forest.
The being was tall, taller than him by a head or two, clad in an annoying fabric that made it hard to stay focused on it. Its eyes jumped between them, expecting anything and everything. By looking at its face, he wasn’t sure he could guess its emotions correctly without his bracelet. It told him the creature showed signs of wariness, even though to him, it looked like aggression. He trusted the bracelet, as it had never failed him before, but still stopped at a respectable distance. Aavari seemed to be of the same mind, as he stopped next to him without speaking up.
Only now did Capeih realize that the creature was armed with what seemed like a well-made spade in its hand, hanging idly at its side, and a blade of sorts in a weird scabbard at its thigh. It was well armed for close combat, but he could not see any ranged weapons or sense any sort of Mana. That might have been caused by its essence of Mana being different from this world's Mana, but the Will of The World would take care of it by itself once it notices the being in front of them.
Avari spoke up first, "Greetings, traveler from Great Beyond. My name is Aavari, and I am here on behalf of my Clan, the Antrion, to welcome you to this world." This prompted him into action and he introduced himself as well.
"And my name is Capeih, here on behalf of my clan, the Celean." Capeih then watched as the face of the creature quickly went through several quick changes in expression, including relief, surprise, and confusion, before settling on a completely unreadable one. The two elders waited for an answer from the clearly intelligent being in front of them.
James
James did not know what to think anymore. As the two figures approached him, he could see more details became apparent. The taller one was about 1.5 meters tall, bipedal, with whiskers on its elongated nose, soft looking fur everywhere he could see, wearing a delicate robe with intricate red and gold ornaments. The other one was a bit shorter, about 1.3 meters tall, bipedal, but had short and stiff fur, and was clad in practical clothing any artist would crave. Small sparks of light flew around them and into the bracelets on their forearms.
The smaller one then spoke in fluent English.
"Greetings, traveler from Great Beyond. My name is Aavari, and I am here on behalf of my Clan, the Antrion, to welcome you to this world." James noticed right away that the movements of its mouth did not match the words he heard. It was like looking at a badly dubbed movie.
"And my name is Capeih, representing the Celean clan." Glancing at the other one, James saw more of those sparks flowing into the bracelet as the being named Capeih spoke.
Curious, James thought, 'Could it be that those bracelets are translating devices? If that is the case, what are those sparks, then?' “My name is James. May I ask You to please explain what happened to me?" James said, while carefully watching the bracelets, noticing a significant number of sparks rushing in. 'Yep. Definitely a translating tool. Now, how does it work?'
After a quick exchange of glances by the two figures, the taller spoke up." I am very sorry for causing you such trouble. The thing is, a member of my Clan used a certain spell without expertise or supervision, which targeted and brought you here, to this world. We did not ask you if you wanted to come here, but simply tore you out of your life and brought you here without permission." Capeih then bowed his head, followed by a quick nod from the smaller one.
"Alright. I guess you did not mean any harm by bringing me here. So let me ask you: Is there a way to get me back from where you took me?" James then shrugged visibly and took a less defensive stance. The relief of two figures in front of him was very obvious, as they weren't acting so stiff now. They behaved more like old friends would. They exchanged glances and the smaller, Aavari, spoke up.
"That is unfortunately not possible. The one responsible for the summoning set the target to a random location, and after the spell was completed, the formation containing the location of your origin was destroyed. You also have not been introduced to the World System, which would normally be done using the same formation after making sure that you wanted to enter it."
James could tell that was a lie by the way Aavari’s eyes darted to anything he could see around, but avoided meeting his direct gaze. He decided not to mention it, but would remember it for later.
"Fine." Sighing tiredly, James sat down on his mat, making sure he looked nonchalant. Everything not to attract their attention to the Raaketig in his sleeping bag behind him. "So what now? Will you try to kill me?" He purposefully looked at the dead Curmin on the ground, just a few paces away, and then at the two figures. "Or will you try something else?" He then gestured to the other side of the fire pit, to a clean, dry grass he sat on with the Ent.
The two sat down without a hint of hesitation, which amused him somewhat, and Aavari gave him his offer.
Aavari
Aavari was very happy. So happy, in fact, he wanted to cry. This was the best bargain he'd ever done! The creature seemed to be strong right after summoning, yet not arrogant and unwilling to hear him out. It was worth far more than 50 circles worth of Prayers. With his best poker face on, he sat down in front of it and shot his shot. "We, the Antrion Clan, give you an offer to join our ranks. You will have to go through Ascension in this lower world for an uncertain period of time, which you can use to get used to the rules of this world, as well as gain experience among the living beings we've created. As a reparation for you not being able to decline our offer of inviting you to this world, I will hear out three wishes and do my best to fulfill them, as well as give you an opportunity to gain a Patron in one of this world's laws."
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The creature in front of him thought for a while, before asking a few questions. "What does it mean to me to become a member of your Clan? What do I have to do and what are going to be my responsibilities?"
"A classical question." Aavari chuckled next to Capeih, who started to turn pale from realizing what he'd lost by this deal. "You will have to choose an art."
Seeing the look on the being's face change, he checked his bracelet for a meaning, which came out as confusion. "You see, we are an artistic clan. Our members all specialize in some kind of art. Some are bards of different kinds of music, some are painters of various styles. I, for example, am a sculptor. Based on my chosen art, I have been blessed by the Patron of Stone, who gave me this Chisel of the Mountain King." He took out his chisel, tapping a nearby stone with it, and watched as it peeled off, layer after layer, until there was a beautiful statuette of a baby bear. He then tossed the statuette to the creature, who looked at it in amazement. "The power of this chisel allows me to work with any kind of stone, be it this rock, city walls, or even entire mountains and continents. Of course, everything has its price, and the larger piece of stone I work with, the more energy and Mana I have to utilize."
"To be a member, you have to choose an art best suited to your race. One that your kind did as often as possible. You will also have to get a name that is compatible with this world, but you'll have to do that regardless. As far as your responsibilities go, we'll decide them once you've managed to ascend from this world." With a smug look, he looked at his future slave, who thought it was free to decide. He was caught by surprise, when the creature suddenly showed its teeth at him. Checking at his bracelet, he became slightly less unnerved, but still not calm at all. "What a weird way for anyone to show happiness. Most other kinds see baring teeth as a threatening gesture, so I'd advise you to think of that when walking around."
"I'm sorry, I did not mean that." said the creature, quickly covering its fangs with its free hand. "I'll remember it next time. Anyway, I think I know what art my kind excelled at, we practiced it all the time. Before we continue, however, I'd like to hear about those three wishes you spoke of." The being leaned forward, applying silent pressure on the elders. "Can I wish for anything?"
The thing’s vision buried into him like a nail hammered into a plank, making him feel uncomfortable. "If it is not something beyond my power and does not endanger me, I'll see what I can do. We will decide them now, because once you start to merge with the rules of this world, Capeih and I will have to leave. So tell me, what are your wishes?" He had to be extremely careful with this. If he gave the creature some broken abilities, it could cost Aavari's life because of the energy expended.
"I see..." After a brief pause and watching the flames dance across the wood, it continued. "My first wish is to have all of my equipment work as it would in my original world." This surprised both Aavari and Capeih. They expected something like 'I want a sword that can cut anything,' or something like other summoned beings requested.
"Why would you want that? There are better things to wish for!" asked Capeih beside him, to which Aavari just nodded.
"Probably, but I have a sentimental attachment tomy things. For example, my compass." It then took out a small weird tool, with a weird looking cross wiggling slightly counter-clockwise to clockwise. "I don't want to see things like this not working properly."
Aavari nodded and sighed in relief. 'Although it is intelligent, it seems dumb, becoming attached to tools that could be easily replaced.' Since it played to his advantage, he just nodded and asked for the second wish.
"My second wish... Ooh. I want to be able to sense the will of spirits and guardians and whatever else I'll be able to."
This surprised Aavari. It should not know about this, but he supposed the Ent told it about that. It would be able to figure it out on its own, eventually, but he did not lose anything with this wish. It would be able to use Prayers sooner, but that was actually good for Aavari. As this thing got better at using Prayers, it would be able to accumulate more of them, which in turn meant he'd be able to obtain more Prayers from it. "This is a bit problematic… I can't just give you the ability to hear everything. You have to choose just a couple of things to hear. Don't worry, as you will be able to learn how to hear other things when the time comes, it takes practice."
"Oh. I didn't think of that." the summon simply stated, then thought some more. "How about the surface thoughts of those around me? Like 'I'm hungry', or 'I'm thirsty', or 'I'll stab you in the neck' or something… Also the kind like the Ent showed me. Where to make a fire pit, what can I eat or drink. What others can eat."
It looked at him for confirmation, to which he simply nodded and gestured for it to continue. Its requests weren't hard. He could give it the ability to sense even deep emotions and manipulate them, however the price was not to his liking.
"And the third one. That would be the knowledge of my Kind."
Aavari stopped for a moment and thought deeply about this one. On one hand, it was a big risk, giving it full access to the knowledge of its kind. On the other hand... He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Yes, the blade was weird and made by a method unknown to him, and its clothes were interesting, but nothing special. As a bonus, it could use medical knowledge appropriate for whatever species it was, so it would not die so easily. After a quick telepathic debate with Capeih where they weighed the pros and cons, he decided to accept it, but with a major alteration. "I can give you the knowledge of your Kind, but the knowledge will be only the knowledge relevant to the art you choose. If I gave you all the knowledge your kind have, it could bring our Clan trouble down the line, because too many resources were wasted today." The first two requests were so bland he did not need a lot of power for them. Even though this one was significantly more expensive, he'd fulfill this wish.
The being in front of him thought about the offer. It was not a simple wish to fulfill, but it realized it would miss out on a lot of knowledge. Apparently reluctant, it nevertheless agreed, to the hidden joy of Aavari.
"Very well. I'll fulfill those wishes of yours to the best of my ability. Now then, for the final part of the deal. You have to take on a new name, starting with the letter A just like every member of our Clan. It's a common policy between the Clans." As he looked at the creature, he saw a troubled look on its face. "Is something wrong?" he asked out of courtesy, not really caring.
"I've always been terrible with naming stuff. I don't even know what an appropriate name should sound like." Still visibly bothered, it locked eyes with him. "Could you give me one that'd be accepted down here?" it asked.
'I thought it was dumb, but this dumb?' Aavari thought. 'At least the knowledge won't take too much energy' "Of course. Are you a male or female of your kind?" Aavari asked, getting a stern look from Capeih. He knew that there were species that took this as an offensive question, but this soon-to-be slave's feelings were irrelevant.
"A male" answered the creature, obviously not really sure what to think.
"Then from today onwards your name shall be Aragami!" Aavari chuckled at the great joke he just made, and even caught Capeih flicking his tail in amusement. Both of them knew it meant 'Slave' in his language, but they'd keep this fact to themselves.
"Aragami it is." the savage nodded, visibly satisfied with the name. "So, what happens now?"
"Capeih here will infuse you with Prayers, the energy that we used to summon you. While he does that you are to chant the art you chose in your mind. If you are lucky, a Patron will pull your consciousness towards them and form a contract with you. Then your consciousness will return here. We will leave as soon as it disconnects from your body. When you return, it will drain my energy to provide the wishes I promised. You are then free to do anything until your Ascension. Everything clear? Shall we start?"
Receiving a nod, Capeih walked to Aragami and started to infuse prayers into him. Aavari estimated the cost around 30 rings worth of Prayers, before he started to feel the rejection pulling onto him, towing him back into the Sanctuary. Bidding farewell to Capeih, Aavari showed him a mocking grin, before they both vanished in a flash of light.