After the revelation about our foes, we got to work.
If they were finding other human groups we needed to get tooled up and get out there.
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[Spiritualism] and [Spirit Totem] gave me the prerequisites for the tier 1 spell [Entreat Ancestors].
A ritual spell that would plunge me into the Ethereal Sea to ask for a blessing from myself or someone else’s ancestors. Allowing them to guide your hand or bless your creations.
I had briefly channelled a similar power with personal skill, when Tobias tried to dictate the Cassa expenditure of the group. It tanked my mana, my Spirit Attribute was still too low.
But the spell would allow me far greater access to the Spirits and if I did it right, would greatly improve the steel Keisuke would be making today. The less free-form but way more mana efficient.
Five of us had made 500 Cassa each from the worm creatures, the encounter at the clay tunnel was rated Deadly. We speculated that it was because we were outnumbered, and ambushed unaware. Also the venom made for a deadly force multiplier.
I spent 800 CS to buy [Entreat Ancestors] after discussing it with the group of course, explaining my rationale. It left me with 150 CS but hopefully it would improve our limited stock of iron.
I set up the ritual in the forge. Using [Earth Manipulation] I sank a magic circle into the ground in front of the furnace, I had made a perfect circle with a piece of string attached to a raised stone peg. I smoothed the peg back into the ground, after the circumference was neatly laid out.
Making curving lines and ancient looking runes to fill the circle. Tobias had made a number of hollow stone spheres, around the size of my palm. I got Delia to fill them with the Eucalyptus oil I had rendered down, making the wicks from twisted lengths of cloth. Giving us some oil fed candles.
I filled a bucket with water and sliced open the top of my forearm, allowing it to pour into the bucket. I did the same with Keisuke and I mixed the bucket thoroughly. I carefully poured the mixture into the depressed channels of the magic circle, filling them with the thin pink slurry. Arranging candles along the outside.
We fired up the forge, Keisuke and Indaya had taken shifts filling the charcoal kiln with spiritual Ironwood. Leaving us with a large amount of coal, the smoke from the process was vented out into the waterfall.
Keisuke broke up the chunk of Iron and I began the ritual. I held my [Blood-thirsty Iron] and used the sharp tip of a spike to prick my finger, a small bead of blood welling up on my fingertip.
I drew a line on Keisuke’s forehead in-between the eyebrows.
Casting out my mind into the Ethereal Sea I activated the spell.
The world fell away and I spoke in the spirit tongue.
“I swim before the Sea… Looking for the guidance of Yamato Keisuke’s Ancestors.”
I felt a pull, and followed. Allowing my consciousness to drift along the currents of the Sea.
“We are surrounded on all sides, beset with danger. Your descendant seeks to craft arms.”
The pull became stronger.
“He has told me of the great smiths, and swordsmen of the house Yamato. We ask for your blessing.”
I felt like I was pulled to the very bottom of the Sea, I saw a figure.
Both towering overhead and feeing small at once. They seemed to have no discernible features or gender, they wore simple clothes that fluttered in the drifting current. A feeling echoed across the space between us.
“}.{}.{}.{}.{}.{}.{”
There were no words. I could feel hundreds of voices speaking together, they agreed to see this descendant and decide if they would help.
I guided the amalgamation of the Yamato forebears back to the magic circle. As we arrived the spirit suddenly stopped.
Gazing over to look at the Geisha ‘Tsubame to Tasu’.
She looked at the ancestor spirit in shock, immediately bowing low and kneeling in obeisance. Offering up her blade with both hands every movement made with utmost respect.
The spirit went to its knees and accepted the blade, inspecting the sheathe and handle carefully.
The spirit unsheathed a thumb length of the blade, inspecting the quality of the temper.
‘Tsubame to Hasu’ was fully prostrate in front of the Ancestor, not daring to show even a hint of disrespect.
The ancestor stood and fully exposed the blade. The beautiful rippling steel shone with ghostly light, the Ethereal Sea rippling and sending caustics of light playing across the deadly blade.
After a long moment the blade was slowly sheathed with a chiming sound, like small wind-chimes swaying in an unseen breeze. The spirit reverently turned it over in its hands, kneeling again and bowing as they returned the blade to the Geisha.
They stood once more and turned to look towards Keisuke, they nodded to me... Satisfied. I invoked the ritual.
There was a pulse and the spirit moved, lifting unseen tools and moving as if at work in front of an invisible forge.
I split my focus and dropped the only charm on my necklace next to Keisuke in the physical world, now adding the iron to the red hot furnace. His movements matching up seamlessly with the spirit. His irises began flickering ghostly green.
Jack was pumping the furnace with magic, heat visibly distorting the air around her shaved head. her eyes were flaming orbs. The furnace burned white, roaring with flame like an angered ancient beast.
The Totem that popped up was a combination of [Spiritualism] and [Entreat Ancestors], it took the form of Ancestors of Yamato. A featureless figure dressed in the simple clothes of a humble blacksmith.
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[Ancestors Vigil Totem]
The ancestors guide you.
Duration 12 hours
It was a strange totem, the description didn’t say much about what it was doing. But I felt it, as if the connection between the Ancestors of Yamato and Keisuke expanded into the space around us.
The connection growing deeper again.
Hours of work passed as I continued the ritual. Keisuke worked fervently, Jack and Delia supporting his every move seamlessly. They felt the intentions of the spirit through my Totem, and acted instinctively. The stone chamber was boiling hot and our companions brought us food and drink, feeding us as we focused eyes not leaving the metal.
Eventually, Keisuke pulled out a puck of glittering steel. It was incredible, dully shining with ghostly light.
It was a truly magical crafting material. I was about to finish the ritual but Keisuke didn’t stop. He moved the large puck over to the forge and Jack began heating it, it seems the Ancestors weren’t done with us.
More hours passed and I began to waver, I had been holding the powerful spell for almost eight hours straight. And the Ancestors weren't allowing me to let it fade, the work was unfinished.
“WATER!” I called out, not caring who came or if they were offended by my demand.
Indaya rushed in and poured water into my open mouth, he emptied the last of the bamboo container over my head and stepped away. My forehead steamed.
Keisuke hammered the puck into ingots with precision. His every move was as smooth as water flowing around a gentle stream.
Jack heated the metal again. Barely holding on blood pouring from her nose, cracking in the intense heat of the stone room.
Keisuke shouted, and began singing to the steel. His hammer strikes were the beat, and the roaring forge the music.
He almost danced around the smithy. His clothes the cheaply bought hemp kimono he had arrived from the Eligere in burnt off, flaking into dust.
The heat was distinctly unnatural, his flaming kimono didn’t even mark his skin. for a brief moment he worked in the nude.
Then he was covered. Ghostly fire coated him and became the clothes of his ancestors.
A simple rough spun hippari covered his chest, and light trousers his legs. His hair once wild, streamed up and was tied into a topknot. An ephemeral thick rope hatchimaki wound around his forehead, knotting itself tightly in a bow. His eyes beamed with flickering ghost-flame. [1]
I had no idea what was going on now, neither the ritual or totems had any such abilities. Something about the interaction between the Ancestors of Yamato and Keisuke’s blade had triggered the otherworldly experience.
I held for as long as I could, my heart was aching like it was set on fire inside my chest.
I was being strained past the limit, acting as the conduit for the Ancestors of Yamato to touch their proud son. It was an intensely spiritual feeling to know that the predecessors of Earth watched over us, and would guide us if called for. And as the conduit for this call for guidance, I felt the emotions and wisdom pass from the Ancestors. Through me, and into Keisuke.
At some point I must have blacked out, because I came to lying in my pod. I felt wrung out, as if a Hill Giant had squeezed me dry. All over my front my skin felt recently healed, no doubt from the heat of the forge. A slightly tingly sensation you begin to recognise after a while.
There was a cup of water and a plate of fruit and I fed myself. Shuffling out into the main room to see what happened.
Jack was asleep in a pod as I passed by, Keisuke was still out there somewhere.
I walked out into the main hall and everyone turned to look.
“You are finally awake!” Indaya ran over and clapped me on the shoulder.
“Lazybones! You have slept a whole day!” His smile was infectious, and I gave a small chuckle.
"Keisuke?" I asked after my friend.
"He fell asleep at the forge, we didn't want to move him." Delia supplied.
“The metal?” I asked wondering what Keisuke had ended up making with the steel.
“No, not metal.” Indaya shook his head. I started worrying we had failed, drained past the point of exhaustion.
“Blades.” said Oleksiy, a feral grin on his brutish face.
“It worked?”
“Yes, Crass sweetheart, they are beautiful.” Delia spoke softy, as if afraid of startling me.
“Show me.”
Delia led me into the forge, passing a conked out Keisuke. As we walked in I felt the stone under my bare feet. It had been a full day, but the stone still felt warm. The forge was changed, it looked completely different. Covered in decorative carvings of guardian Kami and protective, mischievous Inugami. [2]
“Tobias?” I pointed to the carvings. knowing it wasn't him…
“No I thought it was from your spell?” Tobias spoke standing behind us at the door.
Something truly strange had happened during the ritual, it was entirely out of my control. I felt a twinge of pain from my chest as I looked at the stone anvil. Carefully laid out on top of a luxurious runed cloth were ten blades, they were all different shapes and sizes. Nothing bigger than a dirk or short sword, limited by the amount of iron I found.
They were magnificent, there was a hidden lustre to the metal as if something was hiding inside. I opened my sight to the Ethereal Sea, they shone like pearls in the dark.
Masterpiece's of craftsmanship, I could feel burgeoning spirits awakening inside each one.
There was a plain and serviceable field knife, not overly flashy but dependable.
There was a monstrous kukri blade wickedly curved and ready for blood.
There was a wide leaf shaped spearhead its blade sharp and beautiful.
There was a long hunting knife, silent and deadly.
There was a curved jambiya wide with a strong spine.
There was a short dart-like blade with a wide ring on the back, strange and exotic.
There was a Japanese wakizashi, elegantly curved a twin for a sparrow.
There was a small hatchet blade, sharp edge ready.
There was a large machete honest and straightforward.
And finally a strange crescent shaped boline, that felt like a sinker pulling me deeper into the Sea.
They were just blades sharpened to a fine edge but without handles, some had leather sheathes laid out beside them, others waited for wooden ones. I got to work.
I was carving handles for the blades, adding decorative etching or patterns when the feeling took me. Heating the metal and burning them on for a tight fit. At some point Keisuke woke and joined me riveting the wooden handles into place with leftover steel. All while Paula and Delia wrapped the handles with fish-skin leather and cloth.
Oleksiy and Indaya had ranged out together and found a dinosaur, it was similar to the one Indaya and I saw a few days ago but much smaller. They had brought it down together, and dragged it back to base. It had straight dark horns and Indaya and Oleksiy preferred those for handles, over wood.
I didn't argue, these weapons were spiritual from birth, and you had to trust your instincts. I carved bone just as easily as wood anyway.
They were done, they just needed runes and enchanting. Everyone in the group would have a spiritual blade, we could spend the rest of our lives using blades of this quality. I hesitate to say but they might even match lady ‘Tsubame to Hasu’, even though they were much smaller.
As Keisuke and I finished our parts and handed the finished weapons to Delia, he bowed to me low and long.
Feeling awkward I lifted him up, gently holding his shoulders.
“No need.”
“No Crass-sama you don't understand, you have given me a great gift! You acted as a Kannushi and led the Sorei-sama to my side” He bowed again. [3]
“The Honoured Ancestors showed me many things, and I feel invigorated.” He looked at me with his dark eyes, his face was calm and there was a new depth to him.
“Your Ritual was transformational. I am a new man.” It was an incredible experience, I hoped that Keisuke would take it in stride. 'Please tell me I haven't done something bad.'
My Accolade translated, informing me I had acted like a Shinto priest. The word Sorei fit with the description of the Ancestor I had summoned for help almost too well.
“I will need... A few days to recover.” I explained, trying to move away from the religious talk. 'Not ready for this.'
The ritual had been brutal on my mana, I could not attempt it for a week at best.
I wandered off and refreshed all the totems that had expired during my rest, and looked around the cave. I was sick of crafting for a while and wanted to see what the others had done yesterday.
I spent a little while mingling and eating, helping myself to some of the dinosaur Indaya and Oleksiy hunted. It had a surprisingly good flavour, rich like game-poultry and deer.
The map had grown, showing more detail up river and even showing a small divot east of us. Had they found a cave?
Delia was ready to place the runes, so I talked her through the process. Watching the effects on the blades carefully in the spiritual world. Correcting her when the runes seemed to cause ripples around the weapons.
I had shown Delia my Codex. I had pages of runes, the goblin tribes had been a magical society before they were pulled into the Eligere. Kraas’vub had helped me copy entire libraries of runes into my Codex for just this reason.
Delia had made admiral progress by herself, experimenting daily for years. But Kraas'vub's library was a massive leg up. even gaining a number of levels for [Inscribe Rune] instantly.
I had transferred the pages to Delia’s Codex when we made my maul. It was a bright and colourful book, swathed in gaily coloured tassels and flags. She had been studying them all day yesterday it seemed, carefully designing the effect for each unique weapon. With input from the prospective owners.
We were done. It had taken us three whole days but we had made a batch of magic weapons that would help us survive in this Jungle.
It was time to plan our search, we needed to gather up the tribes.