1 Soul Bound
1.2 Taking Control
1.2.1 An Icy Welcome
1.2.1.3 Twice-born
On the 3rd Day, she rose again from the Underworld
8 bells of the morning watch, Covday Wax, the 2nd day in the month of KrevinBelember.
[Resuming death sequence (modified).]
[You have died.]
[You have lost anything you had on your body that was not Soul Bound.]
[Items lost: 1 set of sports clothing (SUPERIOR).]
[Your progression towards level 29 is: 0 xp. Points lost: 3650 xp.]
[Levels lost: 0. Cov has protected you.]
[Skill levels lost: 0. Cov has protected you.]
[All buffs and debuffs with duration timers are now expired.]
[Your respawn point is currently set to Torello's Sanctum in Centrum.]
[Attempting transfer to respawn point.]
[You are now at Torello's Sanctum in Centrum.]
[Do you wish to start modified respawn process, re-linking to your previous vessel?]
{Yes!} Spirit-Kafana practically yelled her answer at the System.
[Modified respawn process started.]
[Vessel located.]
[Control passed to Spirit.]
[WARNING: Number of changes to your character since announcement notifications were enabled: 10+.]
[Do you confirm the request sent via the player "Alderney" about how to space out your receipt of those announcements?]
{Yes please, Sys. And sorry for shouting at you earlier.}
Balthazar: [Nadine, project "danger sense" warning: don't forget the wording of your agreement with Metathiaxioniel.]
[You have respawned.]
[You have been hit with a debuff: "Death's Sting".]
[You have been hit with a debuff: "Disoriented".]
Dawn was just breaking as she found herself standing back in the same spot in the Sanctum that she’d left from, but now just one body under her control, and the crowd gone. Wording? What had she promised that was so urgent. Her mind wasn’t working properly. She felt so dull.
[Title gained “The Twice-Born (UNIQUE)”.]
Oh yes. She grasped the shoulder of a passing priest, who for some reason was annotated on her overlay as “picks his nose”.
[Title gained “Necromancer” - you speak with the dead, and the dead speak back.]
[Skill “Necromancy” acquired.]
[Skill “Necromancy” has reached level 1.]
Kafana said brightly: “Hi, I’m back. And I just wanted someone to know that I couldn’t have done it without the help of that excellent chappie Metal Thigh. Err, Metathiathiaxionielielius. Mety, it was Mety, you know the spikey one who used to be a chainy one. Him. Sorry, brain not working. I’m a zombie.” the priest looked alarmed “No, no, not a real zombie, just a Covadan who thinks she’s a zombie who thinks she’s a Covadan but really isn’t conscious but others think she does have consciousness, only she doesn’t because she ate her own brain, and the brain’s like a comfortable sofa which her conscience sits on. In? Coincidental that conscience and conscious are so similar. Or is it? Is that an important question, or is it more important to know why people pick their noses?”
[Title gained “Mind Mage” - you have walked the paths of the mind.]
[Skill “Mind Magic” acquired.]
[Skill “Mind Magic” has reached level 12.]
The priest looked really distraught.
“Who is spreading these lies about me? I wake up one day and notice I’ve been given the Title ‘nose picker’ and ever since then the younger brothers keep using it as a nickname for me. It isn’t fair.”
He looked on the verge of tears.
[Title gained “Diabolist”.]
[Skill “Diabolism” acquired.]
[Skill “Diabolism” has reached level 10.]
Kafana: “Oh, I know! I hereby name you the Awesome Priest, the first to meet Kafana on her return from the Underworld.” {Sys, please remove Tomsk’s overlay annotation and replace it with the title I just gave him.} She waved her hand in a sort of semblance of a blessing, then giggled and sat down.
[Debuff ended: "Disoriented".]
[Achievement gained “Mission Impossible” - you knew it was impossible, but you took the mission on anyway.]
[Achievement gained “Danced with the Devils” - you visited The Inferno.]
[Achievement gained “One in a million” - you got lucky.]
Kafana on party chat: {Hey guys, guess who’s alive and just returned to Torello?}
Tomsk: {Kafana? Kafana! Alderney said you were about to die, and couldn’t watch the end. Like you were facing a million high level devils who hated you.}
[Title gained “Martyr” - you have gained the respect of the deities.]
[Title gained “Bard” - you may claim Bardic Privilege.]
[Title gained “Spellsinger” - you have picked a style of magic to specialise in.]
Kafana: {I, um, sort of tricked them? Anyway, if it hasn’t gone out on live feed, then you should probably stop Alderney from posting it. It doesn’t make for pretty viewing, except for the last song.}
Tomsk: {Not a problem. When Alderney saw the hellish landscape you’d ended up in, she stopped the live feed, and she severely edited the stuff at the Sanctum. As far as everybody is aware, you died making a heroic stand. The rest of the party are sleeping - they were up half the night. Hang on, I’ll go let her know.}
[Skill “Mage” upgraded to "Spellsinger". Singer & Musician merged in.]
[Skill “Spellsinger” has reached level 14.]
[Skill “Cook” has reached level 11.]
Kafana: {She’s got time. Nobody here seems to recognise me which is a bit strange. I’ll see if I can find Isabella.}
Tomsk: {Ah, yes, ever since you started going viral, blue hair has been a popular choice. There’s even sites telling people precisely what slider settings to use in char gen, to match your appearance. Since they know you’re dead, they probably didn’t look closely enough to see if you were Kofana, Kafama, Katana, or one of the other variants I’ve seen about.}
[Skill “Priestess” upgraded to "Guardian".]
[Skill “Guardian” has reached level 13.]
[Item “Cov’s Pendant of Linking” upgraded to “Guardian’s Pendant of Linking”.]
Tomsk: {Good idea. Go have a chat with Isabella. She’s worried. I sent Alderney a message. I’m heading back to Torello now, but I’m quite a way out. I’ll see you as soon as I can. Tomsk out.}
She made her way further into the Sanctum, and cast a quick “Locate” spell targeting Suor Isabella.
[Skill “Volleyball” acquired.]
[Skill “Volleyball” has reached level 1.]
[Skill “Dodge” acquired.]
[Skill “Dodge” has reached level 1.]
[Skill “Throw Objects” acquired.]
[Skill “Throw Objects” has reached level 1.]
She got back a vision of a conference room she recognised, and a directional pull that matched it, so she set it as a map waypoint and started walking there.
[Skill “Cook's Sight” acquired.]
[Skill “Cook's Sight” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Resonance” acquired.]
[Skill “Resonance” has reached level 2]
[Skill “Enhanced Willpower” acquired.]
[Skill “Enhanced Willpower” has reached level 5.]
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
They looked interesting. She’d have to check out their detailed descriptions later, when the announcements had stopped. In the meantime, she used her magnifying glass tattoo to get the details of her new pendant:
Guardian’s Pendant of Linking (HOLY)(EPIC)
Linking: You can dream your Vessel’s life and they can dream yours.
Linking: Helps you track the attunement between spirit and vessel.
Guardian: Transport upon death to a Sanctum where you can respawn.
Guardian: Death’s Sting reduced, according to your spirit-vessel attunement level
Guardian: When used in Priestly ceremonies, deities may favour you.
Guardian: +5 levels to all Priestly skills
Guardian: Minimum level 10 in all skills needed to be the Guardian of a Sanctum
Current respawn point: Torello’s Sanctum in Centrum
Current status : 95% attunement between Questing Spirit and Corporeal Vessel
This item is Soul Bound to Spirit-Kafana and Vessel-Kafana.
Durability: INDESTRUCTIBLE
95% not 100%? And why did her mind still feel like it wasn’t working as well as before? Like part of it was missing?
She knocked on the door, then went in.
[[Special Regional Event Finished: “In Kafana’s Name”.]]
[Rank G Event Quest “Mud to Stone” now ended.]
[Rank E Event Quest “Scour the City” now ended.]
[Rank C Event Quest “Find the Killers” now ended.]
[[Special Regional Event “In Kafana’s Name” results:
First place, on 935 event contribution points, goes to the party of
CrimsonMoon
Nastya
Char
Blaze
ChocolateTrain
Mary-Lynn
Second place, on 675 event contribution points, goes to the party of
Kino
Sanjuro
Mycroft
WizWoz
HD133131A
HD133131B
Third place, on 412 event contribution points, goes to the party of
Jeiji
Seguso
Masamune
Rinfindiel
Garrick
Gustav
Congratulations to everybody who took part. To receive your prizes and to exchange points for a range of Sanctum services, see Fra Massimo.
]]
Isabella was talking with Vittoria, who was looking upset. She turned, saw Kafana, and dropped to her knees, mouth open.
Isabella: “Dear Cov, what have you wrought?”
Vittoria whispered: “Twice-Born.”
Kafana still didn’t know what to do with being treated like this. She didn’t have a role that fit. She certainly wasn’t going to be like Bungo was with the ex-bandits he seemed determined to turn into monks. She decided to see if she could derail it.
Kafana, brightly: “Yeah, hi. Who could have guessed? Cov’s an amazing being, it's nothing great that I’ve done. All I did was get killed by a thug, and then luck out in having great friends. Vittoria, I have to ask, why did you call me ‘Twice-Born’? Do you have a magic that lets you see people’s achievements or something? Is there a sign above my head?” she pretended to peer upwards.
[Skill “Mana regen meditation” has upgraded to "Meditation".]
[Skill “Meditation” has reached level 10.]
[Skill “Intimidate” has reached level 10.]
[Skill “Aura Of Authority” has reached level 10.]
Oh. {Sys, turn off Aura Of Authority, please. And ask me before using Intimidate.}
Vittoria looked at Isabella, and then answered Kafana’s obvious side track in order to give Isabella time to pull herself together: “Not quite. It is just a sense people have. When you’re looking at someone, sometimes a mode of address comes to your tongue, so you go with it, and if you think about it you can vaguely remember over-hearing something about it from gossip or a wandering bard or something. Actually, Cov’s chosen believe that it is the deities prompting us, so that people stay on the right path because they know their good deeds and bad deeds will out, no matter how they try to hide them.” She looked distressed.
[Skill “Prayer” has reached level 11.]
[Skill “Sweet Talk” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Sense Motive” has reached level 5.]
{Sys, feel free to turn on Sense Motive and Sweet Talk when appropriate, without my asking.}
Kafana, softly: “Vittoria, is there anything I can help you with? Is everything ok with Pierrot, Nicolo and the other orphans?”
Vittoria: “The orphans are pretty upset because they think you died permanently to save Pierrot. I’ve been channelling their energy into the gelato project, and about a quarter have accepted the offer to live at Celleno and receive training in farming, which is good. Pierrot has been taking it really hard; we should let him know you’re alive as soon as possible. Nicolo is still frantic about his brother Antonio being missing. He’s asked if I can find a Seer or someone to cast a Locate spell, to help find him.”
[Skill “Cure Wounds” has reached level 10.]
[Skill “Protection Against Fear” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Locate” has reached level 8.]
Was System trying to give her clues? Was that even allowed? She decided not to mention it, in case it got her friend into trouble.
Kafana: “I happen to know the ‘Locate’ spell. I’d be happy to try, especially if you have an item that is likely to still resonate with Antonio. But that isn’t what’s got you upset, is it?”
[Quest gained: "What has happened to Antonio?" - Be the first to bring news of his missing brother to Nicolo. Difficulty rank E.]
Vittoria, bitterly: “No. No it isn’t. I’m cursed. In order to save Lelio I used a skill that I had promised not to use. I put up with all that abuse in the bandit camp without using it to kill them, but I couldn’t bear to see Lelio die. So now I’m being shunned for Nemoremy, and they’ll probably take the orphanage away from me.”
[Skill “Holy Inscription” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Bargaining” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Mage Sight” has reached level 8.]
{Sys, activate Mage Sight please}
There, poised above Vittoria’s head, she saw a dense dagger-shaped mass of water mana. Its blade pointed downwards in clear condemnation, magically radiating disapproval like sparks from a forge and causing Kafana to use her Dodge skill without thinking, retreating quickly until the backwash only felt like painful prickles upon her skin.
The curse sigil marking Mor's judgement ignored Kafana; its true focus remaining the waif that hunched beneath its assault, mirroring her movements so instantly that Vittoria's chance of escape couldn't have seemed lower even if the mark had been a brand burnt into her skin. She hadn't given up, though. Like a stag that hounds have brought to bay after a long chase, not confident its remaining strength will be enough, but still proud and determined enough to try all the way until the end. Had Lelio somehow sensed this amazing core hiding under her fragile exterior, right from the first time he'd seen Vittoria?
Kafana: “That’s terrible. I watched you save Lelio’s life, you know. I was certain he was going to die before you intervened. I think it was heroic of you. Just the sort of person who should be around children setting an example to them.”
[Skill “Running” has reached level 6.]
[Skill “Swimming” has reached level 3.]
[Skill “Calm” has reached level 3.]
Isabella: “Yep, you’re Kafana alright. Accept no substitutions. I couldn’t possibly mistake that attitude.” She gave a warm smile, but then turned serious. “The problem is that the skill Vittoria used belongs to the maledic approach to body-affecting skills, usable by those with more shadow than light. Such skills can cause large amounts of death, which isn’t what Cov’s priests are here for, so when I proposed Vittoria to head the Orphanage, Fra Nerone made it a condition of accepting her that she formally vow not to use them, in case she set a bad example to the impressionable young children. He spoke very convincingly.”
Something gave Kafana a clue. Sense motive? Probably.
Kafana: “You think that’s why he set the bandits to kidnap Vittoria, isn’t it? You think he thought she’d kill them, and then he’d have a clear reason to discredit your choice and shut the orphanage project down. But the deities weren’t sending curses then, were they? He’d have had to have had an impeccable witness at the scene of the kidnap to testify she’d used the skill.”
[Skill “Create Healing Meals” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Create Buffing Meals” has reached level 5.]
[Skill “Improve Ingredient Quality” has reached level 5.]
Isabella shrugged. “Too late to prove anything on him now. And it doesn’t help us with what to do about the curse upon Vittoria.”
Kafana: “What does it take to remove one? Has anyone tried praying to Mor and explaining it to him? See what he thinks she should do? Talking of other deities, I wanted to ask you about my pendant. It’s no longer a Cov’s Pendant. It’s now a Guardian’s Pendant. What does that mean? I thought there was only one Guardian per Sanctum.”
She held her pendant out for Isabella to inspect, who touched it, looking amazed.
Isabella: “Normally there is. But, technically what makes someone a Guardian is that a deity has authorised the person to create and restore Sanctums. It is most unusual that your Pendant is no longer specific to Cov, though. Mine says ‘Cov’s Guardian’s Pendant’.”
Vittoria: “A prayer to Mor? You can do that?” She looked hopeful.
[Skill “Stealth performance” has reached level 7.]
[Skill “Group Performance” has reached level 16.]
[Skill “Performance” has reached level 19.]
Kafana: “Well, I’ve done it before. No harm in trying, I hope. By the way, why does my pendant say 95% attunement rather than 100% I’ve been feeling something wrong, something missing, since I respawned.”
[You discovered a new milestones in the Lovebirds quest chain.]
[Quest gained: Remove Vittoria’s Curse. Help Vittoria win forgiveness from Mor, before Fra Nerone can have her removed from her post as head of the orphanage. Difficulty rank E. Chain]
[Skill “Swimming” has reached level 3.]
[Skill “Perform While Multitasking” has reached level 10.]
[Skill “Buff” has reached level 21.]
Isabella: “I saw you achieve unity with your vessel before you disappeared leaving the sword. But that’s really only possible because the two of you were conscious at the same time, through incredibly unusual circumstances. Now you’ve been restored to normality, Vessel-Kafana is safely back in dream state, and won’t awaken until you depart. Did unity feel nice? Then you must treasure that memory. It will never happen again. You didn’t realise?“
Tears leaked from her eyes, as a sense of loss hit her with paralysing force. Now she knew what was missing. It was herself. Only half of her remained. Something was making a keening cry, and she realised in a detached fashion that it was her.
[You have gained a level. You are now level 29.]
[You have gained a level. You are now level 30.]
[You have gained a level. You are now level 31.]
[You have gained a level. You are now level 32.]
[You have gained a level. You are now level 33.]
A wave of pleasure hit her. System had saved up the news of the level advances, for when the bad news hit her, but it was wrong. She needed to feel the pain. She searched for the portal back to reality.
*flip*