We put our new constitutions to the test, staying up for what had to be hours after any of us would normally go to sleep. There was more dancing and drumming, as well as eating and drinking. We discovered that none of us Neophytes were allowed on the upper level yet, but some of the Acolytes who had stayed above threw roasted meats down upon us, and we leapt and grabbed at the rain of flesh. I ended up getting a hunk of chicken that spun out along the floor. Someone or something apparently cleaned the flagstones of the hall because there was more spice on the crisped skin than dirt as I tore into it with my teeth – not that I was likely to notice if the two had been reversed, such was my hunger at that point.
As for drink, Aphos didn’t bother with the stairs. Instead, he leapt straight up at least two meters, an impossible distance, and grabbed part of the balustrade that circled the upper balcony. He then expertly swung himself over the top of the stone railing, vanishing, to all of our curious murmurs. He returned only moments later, laden down with horns of ale in his thick arms. He spilled some upon the return landing, of course, though not nearly as much as anyone else who might try the feat I was sure. Aphos handed out the large horns to each of us, which we eagerly took, gulping down the sweet, foamy contents as if we were dying of thirst.
Great barrels were brought down the spiral stairwell by other red and orange-haired Acolytes, like the girl who had first greeted me in the alcove. None of us, not even Gimit or Shanel, could have done the same, the containers were so big, but the Warriors managed each of the three monstrosities on their own. Another two brought down a long, thick bench that looked more awkward than heavy to carry. They set it along an unused side of the hall and each barrel was thumped down upon it, making the wood of the thick bench creak, especially when the third was placed in the middle. The barrels had iron taps on the bottom, which shone brightly against the wood, and suddenly our single horns could be refilled to our heart’s content. This turned out to be a necessity since, with our mantles, it took us considerably longer to feel the effects of the ale. In time, however, all thirteen of us overcame that particular challenge, reaching a point of uncaring bliss, dancing with fervor, our feet striking the stone floor in a frenetic rhythm. Tamra tried the drums and I joined her, slapping the taut skin of the top with the meat of our palms, the deep sound it made echoing in our very bones with such primal joy neither of us wished to stop even after our hands were well past numb. And then there were the battlecries people would unleash when the mood struck, great names of past awakened invoked and plenty of us saying we would grow to match them. Often such grand proclamations ended with a defiant cry to the ceiling where the bodies of our dead enemies hung, and if the shout captured the hearts of the rest, it was only a matter of time until we were all roaring along, no matter how raw our throats became.
As the rugged merriment continued – Boast even joining us, his red, ephemeral body flitting among the living – it eventually became obvious that many of the Acolytes had at least one mastery of Greater Constitution because they simply did not tire, at least not in comparison to us newly raised Neophytes who slowly began to slump where we stood or sat. These fallen troops were picked up like babes by the Acolytes and tucked into the stone alcoves that dotted the circular wall of the hall. I drifted off before Tamra and Aldric, somewhere between my ninth or tenth horn of ale. I felt my body being moved but couldn’t muster the energy to assist in the change in locations or even thank the person who was caring for me. The stone I was taken to was surprisingly comfortable in its coolness upon my flesh, and the drumbeat from those who still reveled was like a lullaby, chasing me away from the waking world more thoroughly than either time I had died earlier in the day.
***
I awoke to an exclamation beside me, and lurched upright. It took me what felt like a blinking eternity to figure out where I was, surrounded on five sides by gray stone – the top of which brushed against my hair – and a great deal of noise. It all came back to me then, and I lifted a hand to my forehead to ward off the pain a night filled with so much drink would inevitably bring. It wasn’t often that we left the Crim, or that when we did I spent it gulping down great quantities of alcohol, but the memory of such times and the price that followed were seared into my mind. To my shock, however, there was no discomfort. If anything I felt refreshed.
I let out a disbelieving breath.
The Warrior’s Mantle truly was an exceptional gift, and I knew with certainty that when my fellow brothers and sisters who were not here learned what it granted us, many would regret not choosing the Order of the Warrior if they had been given the option.
The thought made me wonder if we could change our Order if we wished. Boast had said that masteries couldn’t be undone, but could the mantle? Or would the blessings of each stack upon the others if we were allowed to switch halls?
“Sett, did you see?”
I turned to discover that it was Aldric who had spoken beside me. I shelved my questions, knowing I’d return to them at some point; after all, I had no plans to leave the Warrior’s Hall even if I could, so there was no rush in finding answers.
“See what?” I asked.
“Sett, come on,” he nearly whined. “Pay attention.” So saying, he looked with concentration at his hand, so I obliged him, doing the same. Suddenly, jagged crystal sprung from his knuckles, growing like they were weeds in the sun until the collection had extended a few millimeters past his skin. The crystal was a smokey white and obviously jagged. I wondered how strong it was and sharp, but something else left my mouth instead.
“Does it hurt when you punch things?”
“A little,” Aldric said, but in a way that told me he wasn’t taking it seriously. He was obviously too excited by his new ability to consider any downsides just yet. “Watch.” He kneeled down and struck the stone floor with a quick jab. When the crystal hit, it shattered, spraying away on all sides in small pieces. He grinned up at me from his crouch. “That could really mess someone up, right?”
I wasn’t sure about its utility considering how easily it broke apart, but on the other hand, the flagstones were almost certainly a harder target than a person or even creature of the Tower would be. So, I went ahead and nodded encouragingly. I hadn’t fully appreciated the powers of the mantle when first receiving it and the same was likely true here.
Aldric seemed energized by my approval. “An Acolyte, Holis, showed me how he can make a blade from the stuff,” he said as he stood back up. “It grew out from the top of his arm and was nearly as long as a shortsword!”
This time I whistled appreciatively without hesitation. “How many masteries did he need to have that?”
“Couple at least.” Aldric shrugged in reply. “I figure I’ll just keep pumping it until I can do the same.”
A blade you could make from nothing certainly sounded like a useful thing to have. We all knew that our training in the Tower would end with a climb from the base – an ascent that many of even Devout level did not survive. Having armament you could not lose or be taken from you by the creatures, traps, and secrets that permeated the upper levels would surely be a boon, especially if at higher masteries the crystals didn’t break as easily. Hadn’t Boast said something about pairing it with Bone Enhancement? My mind conjured an image of a long, bone blade sprouting from my forearm, which made me suddenly doubt my own choice of a defensive mastery to start.
The world couldn’t afford any more awakened to fail.
Excited shouts around the room pulled me out of my meanderings again, and I looked to see that Shanel had tall Gimit lifted over her head while he was holding another girl, Fia, above his. The bottom two had clearly chosen strength as their first mastery, and all three were laughing at the feat along with some others around them. Another pair I saw were doing a pushup contest, facing each other on the floor, with Emsi calling out the ridiculously high number of two hundred and ninety-eight for one and three and ten for the other. They both had to have constitution masteries.
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It was obvious that all of my brothers and sisters were eagerly trying out their new body refinements, and I could hardly blame them. In fact, I itched to do the very same, in part to prove to myself that mine was at the very least comparable in power.
Looking down at my bare arms, they didn’t seem any tougher in the light of the hall’s tall fires. A bit bigger, yes, but that had happened after we received the mantle. The flesh appeared the same, and touching it felt no different than I remembered.
“Wanting to give yours a go?” Aldric asked, my actions making my intentions no secret.
In response, I got out of the alcove, standing about a meter from him. Again I considered my arms, as well as my legs, from a few angles. I even slapped a hand across my cheek but it stung like regular flesh.
“How do you make the crystals form?” I asked, absently. Perhaps the process was the same for my skin. I had been hoping that the effect would be persistent but perhaps I had been expecting too much from a fist level mastery.
When Aldric didn’t immediately answer, I looked up to see him smirking at me. “Wondered how long it would take you to ask. There’s a bit of a trick to be sure. Not that I had any trouble figuring it out, of course,” he was quick to add with a confident grin.
“Of course,” I echoed, despite being sure that the same Acolyte he had mentioned, Holis, had likely shown him the way.
He lifted a hand now bereft of the opaque crystal and said, “You’ve got to focus on it.”
No surprise there. I had seen him do just that.
“But that’s not enough, at least not for mine. I have to focus and imagine it pushing out from me.”
“It?” I asked, wondering if he meant his bone, perhaps, but that didn’t seem right because he didn’t have a bone mastery yet.
He frowned a bit. “It’s just…there. This feeling below my skin. Like the pressure when you know you’ve got to piss but it hasn’t come out yet.”
As Aldric’s comments often did, that got a laugh from me. “Sounds uncomfortable.”
“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head and a big grin. “It’s only when I think about it. Plus,”– he clapped me on the back – “you know how good it feels to let the golden river flow after it’s been held back.”
I had my doubts about how much making water could relate to my Toughened Skin, but I turned my attention internally to see if I could sense something like what he was describing. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch any extra sense like Aldric had said. What’s more, I wasn’t exactly sure where to focus. For him it was just his knuckles, at least for now, but for me I should be able to make any part of my body more durable, shouldn’t I?
Aldric saw my frown. “Don’t expect much at first. Took me an hour at least to get it right.”
I glanced his way in surprise. “You were up that early?” I had never known Aldric to be a morning person.
“Course not,” he said with a laugh. “You just slept that long. You were out.”
My frown deepened. I certainly hadn’t planned to rest longer than anyone else. Perhaps that was why I felt so refreshed. If so, the trade could still be worth it, but only if I was able to catch up to the others. Aphos had mentioned something about us participating in a scrum today, which meant I had no time to waste.
“You did this with Tamra?” I asked, thinking if she was around she might have some ideas. I could also ask an Acolyte, true, but it felt more natural to include our three first.
He harrumphed at the question. “I wish. She hasn’t even seen it yet. She left with two other Neophytes and an Acolyte with orange hair to go to the Artisan Hall and get their weapons.”
“You tried to go?” I guessed.
“‘Course I did,” he said, unabashedly, “but they said I couldn’t until I chose the Path of Armament.”
He was obviously put out by the circumstances, which didn’t surprise me. Aldric and I were close, but his bond with Tamra was even tighter.
“I’m sure we’ll be the first she shows her new weapon to.” I tried to console him.
“Yeah, I know,” Aldric said, tucking his thumbs behind the waist of his pants. “Just wanted to be there to see it, is all. She’s gonna freak out.”
“She definitely will,” I agreed, but I was more focused on myself again now. Without knowing where to target, I concentrated on my left arm since I often used it to block strikes. I wasn’t sure what I could possibly push, like Aldric had described, since I didn’t feel anything new from my body. So, I did the only other thing I could think of: I tensed my arm. At first it was just my muscle, but as I held it, I got the feeling that I could extend past it, to the skin above. As soon as I did that, a sudden tightness ran down my arm from wrist to elbow. I had been keeping my eyes closed to feel as much as possible, but they flew open to discover that my skin looked…thicker. Not bunched together, but the tiny diamond pattern flesh had when stared at up close was much more pronounced. So much so it made my skin look like it was thousands of tiny pink-colored tiles laid together. When I tried to move my wrist and elbow they felt rather stuck, like that section of my arm had become a solid bar.
Tensing was growing uncomfortable, so I let that part go and tried it instead on my chest. I couldn’t see the skin there, but I felt it lock up, just as my arm had. I then struck my breast, and my hand bounced right off without any give. I also barely felt the blow, only a hint of it registering.
“Figure it out already?” Aldric said, sounding only a touch annoyed.
“I think so,” I answered, squaring up to him. “Go ahead.”
“With what?”
I looked him in the eye. “You want to try your Crystal Knuckles on someone before the Melee don’t you?”
“Oh ho! And you’re volunteering?”
I nodded, tensing my chest and stomach. I then tried to move my arms some to confirm my middle was stiff, which it was. Finally, bending my elbow, I pointed at my chest. “Here.”
He grinned, as he cocked his arm back, crystals growing. “Hope they can heal you in the hall like they did before.” His punch came at me in a flash, connecting in a spray of crystal.
I felt the impact and some scratching, but not nearly as much as I expected.
“You’re gonna need a new shirt,” he cackled after pulling his hand back.
He was absolutely right, my tunic was shredded around where his fist had landed and even a bit beyond that. Perhaps that was the added power of the crystal exploding outward – it could create other cuts and lacerations.
“Wait a moment.” Aldric used his fingers to widen one of the holes looking at my body underneath. “You’re barely red under there!” He looked up at me as if he was personally offended. “You gotta give me another swing.”
I released my hold, took a long breath, and then tightened up again. “Okay.”
Aldric ended up taking half a dozen more goes, at the end of which I was bleeding a bit from some shallow gashes but no more than he was from a few shards that had scratched the back of his hand.
“Okay,” Aldric said, dancing in place and shaking his arms and head out. “This time for sure. I just ne –”
A loud clang rang through the room, deep as some of the drumbeats from last night but with a metal edge. Finding the source of the noise took no time for either of us because it was none other than the giant Aphos. He looked even bigger than usual, bedecked in silver armor from helmet to greaves. His wrists were hovering near each other, and I assumed it was his bracers he had knocked together to create the sound that had quieted the whole hall.
“It’s time for the Melee to begin,” he said in that booming voice I remembered from last night. His helmet had a Y opening for his eyes and mouth while still protecting his nose. It widened at the bottom, letting us all catch a good amount of his gleaming smile “And you to prove where you stand among us.”
He pointed upward, and we all turned toward the series of swords that hung above the door. The blank wood ones seemed so empty compared to the bronze and silver above them, inlaid with a flowing script.
Something about the prospect of adding my name to the rankings made me tighten my skin everywhere at once, just to see if I could, and I felt most of my body lock-up in response. It wasn’t complete coverage, but the toughened flesh was defending many of my vitals, much like Aphos’s armor.
“We’ve got this, brother,” Aldric said beside me.
I relaxed to more easily move my jaw. “I think we just might.”