Torill had told me that she liked her class, so it was with some worry that I asked her. “What do they mean by class change?”
She hopped away from her position standing over me, and shoved her face into mine. She sniffed the air, taking in my scent like she'd been born in her new form. “Never mind that, are you okay? What did he hit you with? You look terrible.”
I shook my head, and lowered my eyes. Words, ideas, emotions and images flowed out of my mind, and into Torill's in a jumble. “The magic was just a chill and a little pain. I made it worse. Maybe a part of me meant to, but I wasn't thinking, like usual. I need to do better, Torill. I can't keep going on like this. I do my best, but I shouldn't be in this position. I shouldn't have so much power. Is Belua insane? I killed people. Innocent people. It was an accident, I didn't know they were there. I didn't have a choice. I was going to die… or worse. I had to use fire. I knew the risk. I knew what could happen. I did it anyway, and I lost control. I don't know why I haven't been punished. Why haven't I been punished? I deserve it.”
Tears flowed from my eyes as I vented my pain at Torill. I saw her freeze as she processed my long, rambling, emotion and image filled message. I didn't look up, I felt far too much shame to look into her eyes. I saw her feet though, saw her take a step toward me, and felt her put her head gently on top of mine.
“All that, and you were concerned about my class change?” was the first message she sent, there was a vague sense of amusement coloring the concern in her words. “I guess I'll start with that. The change is only my primary class, I went from Adventurer to Guardian. It complicates things, the leadership doesn't know how they should handle me. But I have Belua's blessing, and that means they kind of have to accept it. Once the dust settles it should actually make my contract easier, spirits love Guardians, they flock to me now. I think they'll work for much cheaper too. It does mean that I have to drop my innocent act though, Guardian is a serious job. It's probably a good thing, with so few adventurers left in Brightwood I wasn't going to be gaining any Concepts from them. I think I'll aim for serene, or something like that.”
I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. “I see, I'm glad to hear that. I was worried that I'd made another mistake, that I'd cost you a class that you wanted to keep.”
Torill rubbed the top of my head with her chin in a very cat-like way, it felt nice, it seemed so natural.
“Don't worry about that sweety, all the changes just make this life more interesting. It's definitely going to be a memorable one. Honestly, I'm grateful, really.” I could feel the sincerity in her message even if I didn't have a Concept to help me tell fact from fiction, and my heart warmed.
“As for the rest of it…” she paused, thinking. I tensed up, even though I felt no accusation in her mental voice.
“Did you know that you could see the smoke from the town? People were terrified, everyone was ready for the worst. Then the sisters of the temple came forth with a proclamation.” Torill paused again, and I felt her sigh. “I'm afraid that Belua decided to add to your Legend. They gave you a name, and a title, and… wait, I should just show you. Their perspective on events is a bit different from yours.”
An image flooded into my mind, and a memory began to play out with impressive clarity.
Torill's vision of the world astounded me, I had thought that my own senses could be overwhelming, hers were on another level entirely.
She saw whole other world behind our own, thankfully the memory gave me the context to know that the second world was the world of spirits. It was ephemeral, chaotic, without Torill's mind interpreting things, it would have given me a headache to look at since it was built entirely out of the Concepts that came from our world. Then there were the spirits, they were everywhere, and they danced around Torill like they were trying to get her attention. The spirits came in all shapes and sizes, some of them seemed to be several shapes at the same time.
It would have taken every ounce of my mental power to make sense of it all, thankfully I didn’t have to. I was seeing both worlds through Torill's memory, and she wasn't paying any attention to them.
She was paying attention to the real world, specifically Samuel and Nefen. They were standing in the Guildmaster's office, and all three of them were worried. I was embarrassed to find that they were urgently discussing what they could do to help me get back under control. They had been able to guess what had happened with a frightening degree of accuracy when they saw the fire.
Their conversation was interrupted by a runner from the temple. I recognized him as one of the orphans, he spoke his message hurriedly as he gasped for breath. The young boy announced that everyone was invited to the town square, and that Torill's presence was required by the sisters.
They jogged out of the guildhall, and Torill paused to stare at the sky. I felt her heart skip a beat as she saw the light from my distant firestorm. The fire was very far away from the town, but it lit the sky like the dawn. The smoke was so thick in the air that I felt Torill struggling with the intensity of the scent. There was no question why everyone in town was worried.
The memory sped through the journey to the town square. Torill stopped dead in surprise when she saw hundreds of people packed tightly together in the open area. The crowd was completely silent, their eyes locked on the stage that was set up on the far end. No one turned to look at her, everyone was staring at the tall, gray haired woman who stood with her eyes closed, and her arms outstretched. Torill could see the skill she was using, it was calling every human for miles.
Torill didn't know her, but her shimmering, intricately embroidered, vibrant green robes proclaimed that she was an elder daughter. She was their religion's equivalent to a high priestess, Torill was fairly certain that she was one of the people who had accompanied the Voice to the town.
For a moment, the memory focused on a heavy silver chain that was wrapped around the woman's neck. An object that I recognized as a core glowed brightly at her throat, shedding light on her face. It was not a fractured monster core, but a whole, unblemished sphere. It looked just like the ones that sat inside my chest, a spirit beast’s core. It was the magical heart of a powerful thinking being, and it was being used to power the enchantment that let the high level woman comfortably exist in a tier one town.
The memory Torill was sharing with me paused, and the image wobbled as I dealt with a burning rage at the thought. A person had been killed to make that necklace, and that priestess, that holy woman, was wearing it proudly.
I knew it was something that happened. I had been warned, even before I started my new life, that spirit beasts were hunted for materials. I had known. But I hadn't seen it. It hadn't really sunk in until that moment.
“I was thinking of you when I saw that. You're right to be angry.” Torill broke in, interrupting my unsettled thoughts. “I'm worried about you, you know. Belua chose well when she sent you to Brightwood. With Samuel and Nefen holding your Guildmaster positions, you had more support than you knew. Most wouldn't dare to attack you because you have their Great Mother's favor, but most is not all. The protection of the Guildmasters kept the rest at bay.”
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I felt her press against me, her tail wrapped around my hind legs. “Now you'll be far away from that protection. You need to remember that you are a temptation that some people may not be able to resist. This world is young, and people are still grateful to their creator, but some will have already figured out that there is no real punishment for going against her wishes. Cores are valuable, and you have a lot of cores.”
I took a deep breath, my burning rage at seeing the core had been reduced to embers in the face of the concern I felt bleeding out of Torill's messages. I knew all of this already, getting angry about it would help nothing, but it was good to remember.
“Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful. This wasn't what you wanted to show me though, is it? You said something about a name and a title? What does that mean?” I tried to project confidence in my mind speech. I was still feeling emotionally raw, and physically weak, so I'm not sure how successful I was.
“Ah… yes the elder daughter's speech. You'll see what I mean.” Torill replied, she seemed surprised at how quickly I moved on.
The memory jolted, and the image shifted to a view of the priestess’ back. Torill was sitting on the stage behind the woman, a bright light shining from Belua's mark on her chest. I got the idea that she had been sitting like that for much longer than she would like. The sky was dark, my fires had long since run their course. Torill heard spirits whispering about many faraway watchers, she knew that meant that people were using scrying magics.
Suddenly, a man in fine clothes was ushered to the stage. Torill heaved a quiet sigh of relief when she saw him. Frustration at being made to sit on her claws and worry for so long colored the memory. The context Torill provided me with told me that the newcomer was Brightwood’s headman, the closest thing to nobility that a tier one town would see. He hid it well, but Torill could smell the fact that the man was nervous, and could hear his racing heart. His eyes kept darting between the darkened sky, and the priestess.
Finally, the woman lowered her arms, and spoke. Her voice was gentle, but by a combination of magic and her innate Concepts it commanded her audience's full attention. “Citizens of Brightwood, honored brothers and sisters, I bring word from our Great Mother.” She paused a beat, bowing her head, before she continued.
“We have all seen the sky, and smelled the smoke in the air. I understand that it is frightening, I too was worried! But our loving mother has been kind enough to send me a divine message. I am saddened to say that our Voice has fallen. She was on a mission to lessen the impact of the great mana wave that we all experienced. While she was focused on her duty, she was ambushed by a powerful death-tainted monster. She could have saved herself, but as always, her concern for us, the children she has fostered so long, came first. She put everything into modulating the great mana explosion that was set off by a force beyond our ken. Such was her love for us. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten!”
While the priestess paused, her head lowered in a gesture of mourning, I heard Torill's voice in my mind. “Wow, that is some triple A class Legend manipulation. What did she do to anger Belua? Because I felt that monster's aura and there definitely wasn't any love or self sacrifice in it.”
Even honest's influence couldn't fully counter the happiness I felt at seeing her get a taste of her own medicine, but then I chuffed softly. “I doubt it will do that much, she's ascended now.”
I heard a tinkling laughter in my mind. “I'm no expert, but I've found that the end of each Legend you leave behind is the strongest, most long lasting source of Concepts. I can only assume that the final part of your final Legend is a big deal.”
In the real world I pulled back my lips, exposing my fangs in a fiercely predatory smile. ”I hope you're right.”
After a full minute of silent contemplation, the holy woman raised her head and began to speak again. Her voice was stern, but it carried a slight tint of sorrow. “An official time of mourning, and a full recounting of our Voice's long history will be announced in a week's time.”
After another pause, this one only lasted roughly ten seconds, she spoke again. Her voice was loud, and intense. “Our Great Mother sends us a grave warning. All know the story of the necromancer of the north. The great mage who prayed for a solution to the expansion of the dead lands there, and was given a class, a duty to contain it. For ages he executed his task, for hundreds of years he faithfully resisted the corrupting nature of the mana he was surrounded by. But no man can hold out forever, and he has begun to extend his control to the dead outside his territory. It was his action that slew our voice.”
The crowd gasped in horror. It was the first sound they had made since Torill had arrived. I grimaced the way the priestess was twisting the truth. I was also having a very hard time mentally coping with the fact that several hundred people's minds were under the priestess’ spell.
Torill must have felt my reaction, because she paused to tell me, “You get used to it, pretty much any class that regularly gives speeches has an ability like that. It isn't true mind control, if that helps, it's more like a strong influence. She's just really high level so it's almost impossible to resist.”
A beat after the crowd gasped, the elder sister lifted her arms once more. From her position behind the woman, Torill couldn't see her expression, but there was a smile in her voice when she spoke again. “But now is not a time for despair! In the wake of the loss of our Voice, our Great Mother has given us hope. A new hero worthy of mention! Many of you have heard of him, the Voice herself introduced him to the world!”
The woman lowered her arms, and clenched her fists. When next she spoke, her voice was electric, the enthusiasm was infectious, even if the words made me groan. “That very hero, Angel of Shifting Forms, First Guardian of Humanity is a bearer of the Great Mother's mark. He heard our lady's divine plea, and as any loyal child would, fearlessly made haste to the place where our Voice fell.”
I did indeed groan then. I hadn't felt any new Concepts come crashing down on me so far, but that damned woman seemed set on making it happen. I wondered if she knew exactly what she was doing, but I found that I didn't care. I was very glad I wasn't actually there, because I intensely disliked the priestess. I wasn't sure if I could have held myself back from, at the very least, ripping the core off her neck.
The priestess had kept on talking, extolling many virtues that I felt I neither had nor wanted, while I fantasized about what would happen if she suddenly lost her enchanted necklace. For a while, visions of the crowd turning on the woman danced in my head.
My attention was drawn back to the memory when the priestess upped the intensity of her storytelling.
"… already exhausted from his previous encounters, surrounded by death tainted mana, he found himself under attack by multiple strong undead monsters. He knew they could not be allowed to take possession of the artifact, knew the new dead land they had created could not be allowed to spread. He also knew he could not fight them as he was. He could have run, could have shifted and flown away. But he never even considered it, such was his dedication to protecting our people. In a moment of brilliance, he harnessed the energy in the crystalline artifact to power a form of cleansing flame. Miles of forest were reduced to ash, and Angel himself paid a terrible price, but it was necessary. He saved us all!”
“That's… that's…” I sent to Torill, somewhat horrified by how false some of the details were.
“That's how Legends are sometimes. At least it's all positive. I think you'll wear those Concepts well.” Torill's mental voice was soft, she seemed to understand how I felt.
“I was terrified, Torill, I don't know why I didn't use air and flee. I probably should have. I could have gotten help, and planned, and…”
“Shhh, there's more.” My mate pushed her mind against mine, making what could have been a command into a gentle request.
“Because of his actions this day, it will be some time before the necromancer can try again. Our brother must move on now, our Great Mother has other work for him, but he does not leave us without protection. He left his mate behind to protect us.”
The priestess turned to the side and gestured for Torill to come forward. “All, look upon Torill the spirit speaker, Guardian of Brightwood.“
Light engulfed Torill, and she missed the rest of the speech.
“I've never heard of an immediate class change like that, but the Elder Sister didn't seem surprised. She gave me a message for you, and sent me to help you after I recovered.” I sensed displeasure in Torill's mind speech.
“What was the message?”
“I don't want to say it, it's unfair.”