Many refer to them as bloodlines, but they are more aptly named soul seeds, as unlike the actual bloodlines found in rare magical creatures, these seeds act more like a permanent boon or buff. These seeds are divided into five categories, ranging from common to blessed, and like actual bloodlines, they can be passed down by blood.
Interdicted study on the nature of bloodlines.
Hakeem Daily.
Calodan, sector 4.
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It had been two days since Daruk had absorbed the crystal, and since then, there hadn’t been the slightest change in the block of ice he was encased in, nor had it responded to any of his attacks.
Seeing that his efforts to destroy the ice coffin were futile, Aodhán had spent the last two days meditating to ward off the chill of the cavern as well as ignore the rumbling of his stomach.
He was famished, but he couldn’t leave the dungeon. He was afraid Daruk would emerge the instant he did. His thoughts went to the survivors they’d left at the shore of the sea, and he wondered if they’d been rescued or if they still remained on the shore.
A pang of guilt stabbed through him at the thought, but he forcefully pushed it aside. The past two days had been torturous, as he’d had no other company aside from his thoughts. He’d even dozed off at one point, but his dream had been filled with the wails and shrieks of dying passengers.
He hadn’t slept since then and had instead spent a lot of time thinking about the ship, Eldridge, and the storm that had appeared from the origin plane. A part of him still felt guilty about the whole occurrence, but after his conversation with Daruk, it wasn’t eating him up like it had been when they first arrived on the island.
He sighed and turned his attention to another pressing issue—the necklace. He had tried experimenting with it but had gotten no obvious reaction except for the faint pulse of energy he’d sensed when he first bought it.
He’d learned that the necklace couldn’t be destroyed, at least not with the power he currently held. But aside from that, he’d learned nothing about it’s functions or its origin.
With a sigh, he tucked the necklace back into his chest; hopefully he would get some answers when they reached Sector 8.
He was about to return to another boring session of meditation when the ice coffin suddenly cracked and a cloud of icy mist escaped from it. Aodhán rushed forward, happy that something was finally happening, and a storm hammer appeared in his hands.
He struck the coffin, trying to widen the cracks and hurry the process along, but just like he had realized so many times before, the ice was too strong for him to crack, so he had to wait for the process to end naturally.
He let out a groan of frustration as he sat before the ice coffin and watched as it slowly came apart. It took almost a half hour before the block of ice finally shattered, revealing the boy encased within.
His eyes widened as he took in Daruk’s features. He had always considered Daruk beautiful, but now he was even more so. His blond hair had transformed into a snow white color that was now so long and full that it almost covered his eyes.
In a smooth motion, Aodhán carried him, and without looking back, he ran out of the dungeon. It didn’t take too long to reach the entrance, now that there were no monsters to fight.
Aodhán had feared that the monsters would respawn, but fortunately, that hadn’t happened. He breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped out of the dungeon and into the real world. It was past midnight, and there was still a slight chill in the air, but at his current tier of advancement, it barely affected him.
He moved through the forest with Daruk on his shoulders until he found a tree he recognized. It was the Coringan tree, and although its fruit wasn’t exactly his favorite, it would sate his hunger, so he laid Daruk at the foot of the tree before climbing up.
A few minutes later, after he’d eaten enough Coringans to feed the Brystions for a day, Daruk suddenly jerked and sat up.
“I’m alive, oh Raol, I’m alive.” He shouted, patting down his body as if to confirm if he was truly whole. He then turned towards him, and Aodhán was shocked to see a change he hadn’t noticed before.
Daruk’s pupils had changed and were now the silver-white color of frost. He’d even grown taller and was now standing at about 5'7 feet in height.
Even as Aodhán marveled at the change, he noticed a thin coating of frost on the ground that Daruk had slept on, but now that he was awake, the chill had intensified, and like an aura, it covered a circular area several feet in diameter.
Aodhán shuddered slightly as he took a couple steps backwards and gasped. “By the Maker! What happened to you?”
Daruk narrated the visions he’d had as well as his conversation with the ascendant. “I’m not sure she approved of me, though, but she didn’t seem to have a choice.”.
“You mean, you forced an ascendant to do your bidding?” Aodhán asked in confusion, shivering slightly as the chill of Daruk’s aura intensified.
“No, not really.” Daruk shook his head. “It was hard to discern her thoughts. Her expressions were blanket except for the time she spoke about the origin planes.”
“What did she say about them?” Aodhán asked eagerly, momentarily forgetting about the chill.
Daruk shrugged. “She referred to them as remnants of the origin—a primordial chaos—that was used as a template to build our universe.”
“That’s all? A template?”
“Yes, I think these planes are like remnants of a previous universe, like ruins, maybe.” Daruk replied, his tone conveying that he was simply speculating.
“If what you say is true,” Aodhán leaned forward. “Why then would it be trying to enter our world?”
“I don’t know; she did say something about elemental planes being easier to grasp than conceptual ones; perhaps that has something to do with it.”
“Grasp? Like understand or like physically grasp?” Aodhán asked, confused. His status said he’d glimpsed it; perhaps it was possible to grasp it also.
“I think she meant to understand it. But I honestly do not know; there wasn’t enough time for me to really ask questions.“ In a lower tone, he muttered, “There’s so much we don’t know.”
“I don’t think they’re remnants of the past; at least, they didn’t feel that way.” Aodhán replied after a moment of silence. “I think they are like the origin of our cores; the sense of familiarity and belonging that I felt from the storm was overwhelming. It felt like I belonged within it, like I could merge with it.
He trailed off, and they both fell silent as they contemplated his words. The silence was broken a moment later when Daruk said, “I wish I knew her name, though. I asked for it, but the pain began before I could hear her.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Aodhán waved a hand dismissively, his mind still on the topic of origin planes. “I’m sure there are records of all the ascendants who ascended from Unoros, so you should be able to find her quite easily.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Daruk replied, before he suddenly remembered the tattoo and asked. “Oh, she had a tattoo just like yours.”
“What?” Aodhán asked as his spinning thoughts came to a sudden halt. “A tattoo like mine? You mean the one between my shoulder blades?”
“Yes, although it’s not quite the same.” Daruk mused. “But it was very similar.”
Aodhán frowned. He should have realized that he couldn’t have been the first to experience this transmigration. Even from earth, there were bound to have been others, not to mention those from other worlds.
“What does it even mean?” Daruk asked casually, not realizing the gravity of what he’d just said. “Check, do I have it?”
“How could you—” Aodhán started, but quickly altered his response. “No, you do not have it, and as for what it means? I don’t know.”
Daruk narrowed his eyes in suspicion as Aodhán shifted uncomfortably and chuckled. “How do you not know what it means? You have it.”
“Yeah, I thought it was an interesting symbol at the time, but that’s not—”
“Aodhán, you’re lying. This mark definitely means something important. It’s a mark you share with an ascendant.”
“We aren’t sharing the mark.” Aodhán scrambled to find a believable lie, but when he found none, he sighed. “Look, Daruk, it’s complicated, and I can’t tell you right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because... just because, Daruk. I can’t tell you why, because it’s dangerous information.” Aodhán replied, praying for Daruk to drop the topic, but his prayers went unanswered as Daruk asked.
“If you know it’s dangerous, then you must have an idea of what it means.”
Aodhán let out a weary sigh before responding. “You right, I know what it means, but I can’t tell you, as knowing might put you in danger.”
He wasn’t sure exactly if that was true, but he doubted people would simply accept him if they found out he was from another world. Even if they would, he wasn’t ready to take that risk, not when he was still so weak.
“What danger?” Daruk pressed, and like a dog with a bone, he refused to let go of the topic. “Are you part of a cult?”
“I’m not part of any cult, Daruk; just trust me when I say I can’t tell you now.“ Aodhán shouted, but in a gentler tone, he added. “Maybe in the future.”
Daruk glared at him for a long moment before he acquiesced. “Fine, but I expect you to tell me soon.”
Aodhán shook his head in response, and Daruk leaned against the Coringan tree trunk to review his new status. There were a lot of changes, especially in his class and tier, but the major change was in his bloodline, and as he read the information provided in the column, he exclaimed.
“By Raol, I can’t believe I gained a bloodline.”
“What? How? What does it do?” Aodhán asked, wide-eyed, as his anger and frustration faded away like smoke. Daruk shared his status window, and it suddenly appeared before him.
….
[STATUS]
Name: Daruk Brystion
Class: Ice awakened.
Tier: 0%
Skill {Innate} : Ice manipulation and creation.
Bloodline: Frost-Forged Ancestry (Rare).
•Amplifies ice and cold-related abilities by 2%.
•Grants major resistance to cold.
•Aura of frosted heart.
....
The first thing that caught his attention was the unevolved status of Daruk’s class, which meant he hadn’t gone through any tribulations like he had. The second was obviously the bloodline, as well as its perks.
The perks seemed more like a buff than what he expected, but a 2% amplification of all his skills and abilities was a major boon, especially since it would only get better as he grew stronger.
“This is insane, Daruk; a major resistance to cold is awesome.”
“I would have preferred complete resistance, but I guess this is good too." Daruk replied with a smile as he read through the status screen.
“It’s not good, it’s great, and the aura is what you’re passively emitting.” Aodhán gestured to the growing circle of frost. “I wonder how powerful it would be if you could actively control it.”
“Well, that’s one more thing I need to figure out.” Daruk replied and grinned, “Now, it’s your turn.”
Aodhán sighed. There were a few things on his status that were secret, like his evolved class, but he felt no need to keep that from Daruk and would have told him eventually, so after a moment of hesitation, he shared his status screen with Daruk.
Daruk stared at the screen for what felt like hours before he asked. “Why is your class called evolved?" I heard that somewhere, perhaps from Aldric. Also, what does this pending tag mean?”
Ah, so it wasn’t quite so secret after all. But if that was the case, why hadn’t he seen any other evolved individuals in the Warren or on the Raventhorn?
“I absorbed the core of an evolved creature and redirected the energy into my class instead.” Aodhán explained. "As for the pending tag? I have no idea what it means, but it happened after I absorbed the lightning from the storm; it pushed me from 2% to 99%.”
“Maybe it’s pending because you’re not advanced enough for the next class?” Daruk mused. “I’m not sure, but it seems like a valid reason.”
“I’ve thought of that, and I think that’s probably it.” Aodhán agreed, and Daruk grinned. “This means I can change my class to an evolved one.” His expression soured, and he muttered. "Unfortunately, we have no evolved cores.”
“You can still advance your tier." Aodhán pointed out with a smirk.
“And miss out on a few tiers of extra power? No, thank you.”
They spoke until dawn before deciding to make their way back to shore. It took them an extra half hour to decide on the right direction, but in the end, they just turned in the opposite direction of the dungeon and began to walk. It took them another two hours to make it back to the shore, and although Aodhán had expected it to be empty, it was anything but.
They arrived to find chaos as terrified people ran out of the mini camp they’d created, chased by oversized deer-like creatures. The monsters stood at an average height of 4 feet and had mottled green skin with metallic horns almost as tall as their bodies. The line of text floating above their heads identified them as Kanimas.
Fortunately, many of the survivors were awakened, and they fought back ferociously, amidst flashes of light and the bang of explosive skills. But the number of Kanimas was overwhelming, and the awakened survivors were having a difficult time protecting themselves as well as the sleepers among them.
The group of kanimas rushed forward, impaling people on their metallic horns before carelessly discarding their bodies and rushing towards the next prey.
Aodhán took in the number of people bleeding to their deaths, and anger rose within him. With a flex of his will, a storm cloud appeared above him. Thunder boomed loudly and lightning flashed, catching the attention of the Kanimas, and as one, they rushed towards him.
With anger and willpower fueling his attacks, dozens of storm and lightning spears descended and shot towards them. The monsters had an average advancement tier of 8, so they were very easy to kill as a single spear of lightning was enough to disintegrate more than half of their bodies, and although the storm spears didn’t do as much damage, they were still dangerous.
The spears shot towards the kanimas and impaled them, nailing some to the ground, while others exploded in a shower of gore and blood. Hope returned to the survivors as Aodhán brutally decimated the horde of kanimas, and they attacked the creatures with renewed vigor, but their hope was destroyed when a roar suddenly rang out and an evolved kanima appeared.
Its fur was mottled brown instead of green, and it was equipped with black metallic horns that were shorter and a bit sharper than those of the others. Its ringed pupils shone as it took in the destruction of its brethren, and with another roar, black vines erupted from the ground beneath it and surged forward, curling and twisting around each other as they rushed towards Aodhán.
When they got close enough, the vines dove underground, where they began to multiply until they encircled him, and a moment later, they burst out of the ground like the open mouth of a shark with the intent to swallow him whole.
Aodhán tried to retreat, creating a platform of storm to float upwards, but a single black vine shot out of the open vine trap and wrapped around his legs. He was pulled into the trap immediately, and the vines surged upward, wrapping around him until they squeezed so tight that his bones creaked.
Black thorns grew from the vines, coated in a layer of green liquid. Aodhán looked around, frantically searching for his captor, and he found it standing by the shore a moment later. Above his head was a line of text that caused a small shiver of fear to run through him.
[Alpha Kanima, Tier 17]
Even as his mind spun from the large amount of toxin that had been injected into him, he forcefully channeled his willpower through his pathways. Such a large amount was bound to do damage, but at the moment, he was past caring.
He channeled both energy and willpower into the storm cloud, and an extremely loud boom of thunder resounded, causing the earth to shudder as the entire storm cloud compressed to a size barely more than 60 feet in diameter, but the power contained within it was more than double that of a fully charged storm cloud, and without hesitation, he directed all that power into {Lightning descent}.
This time, it was a river of lightning bolts that descended, and they struck immediately. Light flashed, blinding all those within range, and an instant later, the vines wrapped around him withered and died.
He fell to the ground, suffering from the effects of poison as well as the forceful use of willpower. The storm cloud kept shrinking as it consumed itself to feed the attack, which lasted for an entire minute before it finally dissipated.
The other kanimas ran when they regained their sight, and Aodhán turned to see that not even the alpha's bones had survived the attack, and all that was left of it was a shimmering green core speckled with spots of brown.
Daruk rushed to help him, but he groaned and gasped. “Grab the core.”
Daruk didn’t need to be told twice. He raced towards the core and grabbed it before anyone else could, even as he shouted for help.