Aodhán collapsed onto the monster-sized guest bed alongside Aldric and Daruk after the banquet finally ended. Following his battle with Varéc, Aodhán had to change into the outfit he was supposed to wear to the Cavanaugh’s event yesterday, as the suit he’d worn earlier was now, well, nonexistent.
Once he and Fortuna returned to the banquet table, Aodhán sent a text to Daruk, promising to fill him in on the meeting later. The banquet proceeded smoothly after that, and now, with only four hours left before dawn, all Aodhán wanted was to sleep. However, his brothers wouldn’t let him.
“Do you still remember our plans for tomorrow?” Aldric asked, his words slurred from all the alcohol he’d drunk. Aodhán opened his tired eyes and sighed. “Yes, Aldric. I remember, but if I don’t sleep now, I'll most likely forget.”
Daruk chuckled. “And we wouldn’t want that, because that'd mean going to jail.” Daruk's words weren't as slurred, but he was clearly very drunk. Aodhán wasn’t sure that being this inebriated on the night before their mission was a good idea, but he wasn’t exempt either. He had lost count of the number of wine glasses he’d downed after the twelfth.
“Nah, no jail for us.” Aldric drawled. “Our plans are airtight. Or is it watertight?”
“Damn.” Daruk chuckled. “That’s a good question. Perhaps it’s fire-tight. That makes sense, doesn’t it, Aodhán? I mean, fire is like... tight.”
“I guess it is, Daruk. Fire seems really tight.” Aodhán sighed and closed his eyes once more. His eyes felt like lead weights. If he could just—
“What was I talking about before all this tight business?” Aldric muttered and jerked slightly before snuggling closer to Aodhán. “Oh, I remember. I just wanted to make sure we have everything in order.”
Daruk picked it up, his words barely coherent. “The crushed somnorus seeds, rope, your a-game, and flowers.”
“Flowers weren’t on the list, Daruk.” Aodhán replied once again. "Please, guys, be quiet. I need to sleep.”
Fortunately, they kept quiet after that, and Aldric even began snoring quietly. It took only a few minutes for Daruk to join him, but as drunk and tired as Aodhán was, his mind refused to sleep.
It spun from one thought to the next, replaying several events from the day until it eventually settled on the conversation he’d had with Fortuna after he’d shown her the elemental lightning skill. Contrary to what he’d expected, seeing the skill had only made Fortuna more reluctant to discuss the skill.
“I truly cannot help you with this skill, as that’ll risk limiting it’s future potential. I’ll advise you to understand it on your own.” She’d insisted after Aodhán had asked if she had any opinions to offer for the second time.
“Okay, isn't there anything useful you can tell me about the skill?”
Fortuna shook her head. “Aside from the fact that the green lightning is vitality aspected I can’t tell you anything else about it.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Aodhán glared at her, and Fortuna’s grin widened. “Won’t.”
She laughed and patted his shoulders playfully. “Trust me, this is a skill you want to figure out on your own. Telling you anything risks tainting your budding understanding with mine. I promise I’m doing you a favor.”
Aodhán sighed and pushed the thought out of his mind, but his mind didn’t stop spinning, and only moved on to the next event. Varéc.
Guilt pricked at him as he tried to shift his thoughts away, but images of his battle with Varéc kept replaying in his mind. As creatures of chaos, familiars were naturally prone to emotional imbalances, but in this case, Aodhán felt responsible. He’d kept Varéc cooped up within his spirit for a good reason, but perhaps he should have let him out earlier? Would that have made any difference?
Aodhán sighed and turned, trying to find a more comfortable position on the extremely soft bed. It wasn’t working, and after another fifteen minutes of tossing and adjusting, he stood up, created a storm cloud for himself, and collapsed onto it. He let out a purr of contentment as his element surrounded him, and before long, he too fell asleep.
***
When Aodhán next woke up, it was already late morning, and the first thing he felt was a migraine. He groaned, burying his face deeper into the cloud to block out the sunlight and keep his head from exploding. Aldric and Daruk were nowhere to be found, so Aodhán assumed they must have gone downstairs. Rather than freshen up to join them, Aodhán decided to review his status instead.
…
[STATUS]
Name: Aodhán Ashoka-Brystion.
Title: Neophyte, Storm Spirit, Bronze, Origin Marked, Seal Bearer.
Class: Evolved storm awakened: 99.9% (PENDING)
Tier: 21—13%
Glimpse --->Grasp ---> Opening: Increases elemental affinity and abilities by 2.5%
Techniques: perfect will imbuement (8).
Skills {Innate}: [Storm creation and manipulation] [Lightning creation and manipulation]
{Other}: [Lightning surge] [Lightning beam] [Lightning descent] [Create constructs] [Absorb lightning] [Spear rain—Lightning] [Spear rain—Storm] [Vortex of lightning] [Vortex of Storm] [Elemental lightning—Stage 1]
Bloodline: Origin Storm supremacy. {Unique}
• Amplifies storm abilities by 3%.
• Grants major resistance to lightning.
• Aura of Origin supremacy.
Familiar—Dragonkin (Fury)
Perks: psychic bond, merge.
…
There were barely any new changes since the last time he’d reviewed it, but seeing his progress like this usually calmed him. His gaze roamed through his skills, some of which he hadn’t really tested out in a battle, like {Lightning Vortex} and {Spear Rain—Storm}.
When he reached {Elemental Lightning}, he grinned slightly. So far, the black lightning was pretty understandable, even the red lightning, but the green was still a mystery to him, and Fortuna had been thoroughly unhelpful in that regard. He could always ask Andrew, though, but he doubted he would get anything reasonable from him. No offense, but Andrew wasn’t the brightest when it came to skills or advancement in general.
After reading through his status screen, Aodhán moved on to his messages, hoping for a text from Lupin, but there was none. Even his last message to her remained unread. The silence was troubling, and he couldn't shake the worry gnawing at him. After a few minutes of fretting, he forced himself to set the matter aside, resolving to deal with it some other time when his head wasn’t in danger of exploding.
He closed his eyes and spent the next few minutes paying for his drunken sins from the night before. However, just as the migraine began to ease, the doorbell rang loudly, and he cursed as the pain spiked.
“Bloody fucking ashes!” he groaned as he turned and settled deeper into the storm cloud, but the bell rang again, this time even louder, and with an expression as dark as a storm cloud, Aodhán made his way to the blasted door and pulled it open, ready to give whichever servant he found there a strict warning. Rather than a maid or servant, he found Ashley, Andrew’s immediate sister, smiling up at him with her arms folded behind her.
Aodhán’s anger subsided, but his head still felt like exploding, so he asked gruffly. “What do you want?”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Ashley’s smile widened into a grin. “Ah, not in a good mood, I see. I did warn you all to stay away from the verdant wine.”
“I’m not in the mood, Ashley.” Aodhán glared at her. “State your business and leave me be.”
“Poor little thing.” Ashley cooed, observing him with a mixture of amusement and pity. Aodhán scowled at her, but just as he moved to shut the door in her face, she produced a tray of heavenly-scented tea, whose aroma alone subsided his migraine by a quarter.
She held it out to him and said, “I figured you could benefit from my hangover remedy brewed with several herbs and a touch of life essence.”
Aodhán didn’t need to be told twice, and in one gulp, he downed the entire jug of the surprisingly sweet drink. Usually, hangover remedies were disgusting and bitter, but as the sweet, slightly viscous tea slid down his throat, life essence surged through his entire body, in a manner not dissimilar to the movement of energy during an advancement.
His migraine subsided almost immediately, reduced to a slight pounding at the back of his mind that he easily ignored.
“By ascendants! How did you brew this sorcery?” he asked, hoping to get the recipe from her, just in case he found himself in a similar situation in the near future.
“That I will not tell you.” Ashley grinned and walked into the room. Her gaze took in the storm cloud and the rumpled bed sheets before turning back to him. “In case you’re wondering, your brothers are downstairs with Andrew.”
“I figured.” Aodhán shrugged, already feeling so much better, but as Ashley continued to stare at him, he began to feel self-conscious. He moved to the opposite end of the room, putting more than enough space between them before asking. “Aren’t you worried about your reputation? Anyone could come in.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow in confusion and amusement as Aodhán continued. “It is my understanding that noble ladies are usually conscious of a scene such as this to protect their...”
“Their what?” Ashley asked, grinning at Aodhán’s discomfort. “Surely you can say it.”
“To protect their virtue and all that.” Aodhán finished, burning from embarrassment.
Ashley laughed, the sound filled with incredulity. “Don’t you have noble ladies in the academy?”
“That’s different.” Aodhán hastily responded. “Besides, we usually aren’t in the same room.”
“Relax.” Ashley chuckled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s practically impossible for you to ruin my reputation; in fact, I’d wager getting caught together will do just the opposite.“ She cocked her head and smiled. “You still don't realize just how powerful you are, do you?”
Aodhán grimaced, already sensing the direction this conversation was taking. “I believe you’re about to enlighten me.”
“No. Not really.” Ashley grinned. “I believe you’ve grown weary of the topic by now. It’s all anyone wants to talk to you about; after all, I’d be out of my mind with frustration if I were you.”
Aodhán stared at her for a long moment before he created a chair for himself and sat down. “What do you want?”
“Absolutely nothing. I swear it. I’m just sizing up the competition.”
“What competition?” Aodhán asked, and Ashley waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, you know, the academy tournaments and all. It should be coming up very soon.”
Aodhán grinned. “I doubt we’ll be facing each other considering our different classes and all.”
“But our academies will be.” Ashley winked. “The 4th academy is prepared to take the title of the best academy this year.”
Aodhán snorted in amusement. “The 4th Academy is not even in the running for third place.”
“You underestimate us.“ Ashley shrugged. “We may not have entered the top five in the last ten years, but this time will be different. You’ll be doing yourself a favor to not underestimate us.”
Aodhán nodded. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
Ashley pursed her lips, scrutinizing him for a moment before sighing. “Fortuna says you’re an excellent fighter. That’s high praise coming from her.”
Aodhán snorted. “No offense, but your elder sister is a—”
“Madwoman?”
“I would have used a less offensive word, but yeah. That about sums it up.”
Ashley laughed. "Many people think the same, and no, I'm not trying to make excuses for her. She's just obsessed with doing the impossible, breaking limits and preconceived notions—much like you did with your familiar—even though she's already a walking definition of impossibility."
Aodhán nodded, relating a little. Although he wouldn’t describe his need to stand out from others as obsessive, he definitely thought it was a little extreme. That didn’t make Fortuna any less of a bitch, though.
He shook his head and asked. “This whole familiar thing—I take it your entire family knows?”
Ashley shrugged again. “The flow of information into the 8th sector has been weird ever since the Sunstonians attacked, but I expect about half, if not all, of those present at the banquet yesterday now know. Fortuna wasn’t exactly discreet in her interrogation.”
Aodhán shook his head and sighed. It didn’t matter any more, though. This was his life now, and he just had to learn to live with it.
Ashley grinned, stood up from the bed, and headed towards the door. “I’ll let you freshen up. Lunch should be ready soon.”
After she left, Aodhán dismissed the storm cloud and made his way to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, he was dressed in a gray t-shirt and black shorts. He sprayed his lightning-flavored perfume, recreated his storm scarf, and stepped out of the room.
Needing directions to the lunch or dining room, he grabbed the first servant he found, and ten minutes later, he arrived in a relatively large room that was technically an indoor garden.
A long wooden table stood at the center of the room, and because of how realistic it looked, it took Aodhán a moment to realize that it was a root instead, repurposed or manipulated into the shape of a table.
Daruk, Aldric, and several members of the Willowood extended family sat around the table, discussing merrily among themselves as they waited for the food to arrive.
Baron Nikolai and his wife sat at the head of the table, with Fortuna and Diendre seated on either side of them, followed by Aunt Mio, Ashley, Andrew, and several other family members whose names he’d forgotten.
Andrew’s grandparents were nowhere to be found, nor was his great-grandmother, whom Aodhán hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet. After greeting Andrew's parents, Aodhán slid into the empty chair beside Daruk, who was busy arguing with uncle Roshan about the consequences of seals and the Twisted effect.
Aodhán doubted this was an appropriate breakfast/lunch conversation, but if the hosts, whom he noted were listening, had no problem with it, then who was he to complain?
“Although we take on some of the behaviors of our concepts or elements after a seal, it's only ever obvious during the duration of the twisted effect.” Uncle Roshan argued, and in a stiff, scholarly tone, Daruk disagreed.
“The seals change us permanently; even after the duration of the twisted effect, many have been known to display unusual characteristics, abrupt behavioral changes, and untempered rage.”
“You do have a point.” Uncle Roshan conceded. “I just think people should be held accountable for their actions after the duration of the Twisted effect, which shouldn’t exceed three days in my opinion. Many have hidden heinous crimes under the pretense of being out of control.”
As Aodhán’s gaze roamed the gathered group, some of whom were staring at him with a mixture of fascination and curiosity, he noticed that almost everyone present was listening to Daruk’s and uncle Roshan’s argument, although, if they had differing opinions, they neglected to offer them.
“That is true.” Daruk muttered with a contemplative frown. “But it still doesn’t explain why you referred to the element of cold as the antithesis of life in your previous statement.”
How a topic on the twisted effect had stemmed from a simple conversation regarding the antithesis of life, Aodhán couldn't understand; however, he listened closely as this was a conversation he was very curious about.
“Because," Uncle Roshan began after a nod of acknowledgement in Aodhán’s direction, "it is indeed an antithesis of life. Have you experienced the winters of Unoros? Of course, it’s perpetually snowing in their kingdom, but their actual winters kill. In fact, I daresay, that after death itself, cold is the next.”
Aodhán frowned in disagreement, and apparently many others shared his sentiment, because several murmurs rose up, and Diendre spoke up. “No offense, uncle Roshan, but I disagree with that part of your argument. Cold is not the next antithesis; if anything, it’s the fifth.”
“Or seventh.” Aunty Mio snorted, balancing a child on her knees. “Whatever happened to oblivion, void, fire, doom, entropy, or plagues. I would place those far above some measly cold.”
Aodhán chuckled as Daruk grimaced, dissatisfied that his element had been referred to as measly, but Aunty Mio was technically on his side, so he couldn’t exactly argue with her. Instead, he said, “I agree with Aunty Mio. Even blood and ethereal concepts can be considered more antithetical to life than cold itself.”
“This argument is pointless.” Fortuna suddenly spoke up, earning scowls from multiple people, including her parents. “what?” She scowled back at them. “To call an element or concept the antithesis of life is absurd. Even death itself fosters a form of life that is seen in the undead.”
The mention of the undead caused a ripple of disgust that moved through the whole room. People frowned, their expressions hardening and their gazes sharpening in anger.
“The unliving are an abomination.” Baron Nikolai spoke up for the first time, an intense glare etched into his face. “Necromancy is a profession that is against the very foundations of our world. To call that life is heresy.”
Most people present nodded in agreement, even Daruk, and from their expressions alone, Aodhán understood the general consensus. Necromancy was detested, but that begged the question. What about those who cultivated the concept of death, like ascendant candidate Mordok or commander Hadjen? Weren't they technically necromancers?
The excitement in the air subsided after that, and it wasn’t until the servants came in with their food that the conversation started up again. Aodhán kept sneaking glances at Fortuna, who somehow always managed to sense his attention and turn his way every time he looked at her.
She said nothing, though, and after the meal, Aodhán, Aldric, and Daruk said their goodbyes, promising to return as soon as they had the chance. Ashley provided him with a bag of her remedy tea, promising to give him the recipe if he managed to figure out half the herbs in the tea, while Diendre gave them an ointment dense with life essence that she instructed them to give their mother, going so far as to make them promise not to use it on themselves.
That only made Aodhán and Aldric want to test it out, so Daruk kept it in his spatial storage and refused to bring it out despite their pleading.
They soon departed the Willowood estate and made their way back to the portal station, where they paid the required dues and joined the queue headed for the 3rd sector.
This time, they didn’t pay the extra fees for recalibration, so when they stepped into the portal, they arrived at the portal station in Shilem, the port city of sector 3.
A loud din of hustle and bustle filled the air, entwined with the horns of shuttles and the vibration of hovercars. The scent of caffeinated tea filled the air, tinged with the pungent scent of ink.
They stepped out of the portal station a moment later and walked into the crowded streets of the 3rd sector, more popularly known as the sector of Laws and Awakened Affairs.