The scorpion had emerged victorious by stabbing the blue scourbeast directly in the heart and injecting a powerful venom, and not a moment too soon. Noki could tell that Baira’s Tera was nearly out and needed to move quickly. He shifted himself slowly off the ground and attempted to make his way down as the beast’s back was turned. A section of rock gave way and Noki found himself sliding eleven feet into a pile of dead animals.
The scourbeast snapped around and Noki dove his body deeper into the pile. The smell of rotting flesh was revolting, but Noki managed to hold himself together, all the while being thankful that he didn’t have breakfast that morning. The scorpion fluttered around the pit, stopped directly behind Noki’s pile and started to move away from him. “It must hunt based on Tera, so it can’t pinpoint my location,” Noki thought to himself.
An idea came to mind. Noki took the spirit stick and carefully dug his way up the pile. Once he could get an arm out, he pulled himself out of the carcasses and tossed the spirit stick to the right. It hit the side of the wall and the scorpion zeroed in on it. As the scorpion moved in on it, Noki ran down the pile, carrying one of the animals over his shoulder, and charged at the beast. The scourbeast’s tail snapped directly at Noki’s midsection and struck the dead animal instead. Using all of his strength, Noki lunged at the scorpion’s face and drove the blade deep.
The scourbeast thrashed in pain, swiping the air in front of it with its pincers and violently swinging its tail. Had Noki been a Divine Artist, it would have been child’s play to evade the uncoordinated strikes. As it stood now though, each blow blurred on the edge of his perception and managed to partially strike him. It wasn’t too bad though, the creature was losing more and more blood and so it would-
Noki didn’t know how to describe the pain he felt but the closest approximation was like a burning cold radiating through his chest. He looked down to see his hands still on the hilt of the blade–driving it through the brain of the scourbeast–and also saw the tip of the scorpion's tail buried in his chest. Noki staggered back, but couldn’t feel his legs as he did so nor could he feel himself dropping to his knees. The world went quiet and the edge of his vision started to blur. The scourbeast convulsed a few times and died on the spot, leaving Noki the temporary victor of the fight.
“No..not like..thi…” Noki fell onto his face with his lungs starting to seize. The scorpion’s venom worked by poisoning the victim’s Tera so that just by using their energy, the poison would circulate faster. Noki’s lack of Tera meant that his death would not be instant, but the pain would be prolonged. He looked at the fallen beast and noticed that even though his Sight had vanished, the beast was still visible. Noki managed to turn his head to the right and saw that the pile of scourbeast and animals only had animals now. “If the scourbeast is visible, then the core has to be there still!”
The poison had made its way through his body and it took all his energy to do it, but Noki inched his way to the dead scourbeast until he was directly underneath the blade. Fire burned through his muscles and ice through his veins, but Noki wouldn’t give up here, not when he was so close to finally having what everyone else did. Using strength that didn’t belong to him, he reared his head back and slammed it against the face of the scorpion. He did it again and again, using that method to reach the blade and grab it with his teeth.
The poison seeped into his lungs and every breath felt like his lungs were boiling alive, but his singular desire gave him the strength to bite as hard as he could on the handle. Blood flowed from his mouth as he dragged the knife from the top of the scourbeasts head to the bottom; splitting it in two. Teal green blood gushed forth, covering the already gore stained Noki. It burned everywhere his skin was exposed and brought him a fresh new pain. He used that spike of pain and rode that adrenaline rush for one final, desperate attempt. Noki screamed the most primal sound a human could make and threw himself inside of the scorpion.
His right eye had burned away and he barely had vision in his left, but he could see it just a few feet away from him. The core of the scourbeast was a beautiful sight to behold. It looked like a miniature sun with its dense orange glow. This was it, all he had to do was move a few more inches and he would have it; he would have everything he needed to finally make something of himself, to become a Delver and go out into the Wilds like his father. To no longer need the protection of others. To…. Noki’s outstretched arm seized as the venom had burned through his body both inside and out. The last thing he saw was the light of the core, before everything went black.
The Divination Ceremony had been underway for the last two hours. The first half was dedicated to the first year students showcasing what they’d learned so far. One of the students demonstrated Morning Wheel, one of the basic Corporeal Arts forms, and ended up hurting themselves. Baira wasn’t too worried when she didn’t see Noki during that time, nor when he wasn’t present for her reward for being the top student at the school; but when the Hour of Divination started, she let her worries get the best of her.
“I should just go to the Red Forest. The ceremony goes in alphabetical order, I could go get him and come back before anyone notices.” Baira had made up her mind when she remembered that Chief Bain had placed a barrier around the village, she’d have no way of getting through something made from an Iron Soul. Ever the cultivator, Baira sat on the stone floor of the waiting room and began circulating her Tera. Most Divine Artists use cultivation as a way to not only strengthen their Tera for ascension, but to also check on their spiritual progress; Baira used it as a form of meditation. There was something about channeling Tera to her Mind Kulda that cleared her thoughts far better than just simple meditation. Of course, as the body advances, so too does the mind which is why most Artists ignore the Mind Kulda, but Baira wasn’t most Artists.
Baira worked her Tera slowly through her body, breathing by the rhythm of Moon Circulate Meditation; she’d inhale, hold her breath while her core filled with ambient Tera, and exhale to release it, all the while imagining her Tera like a slowly rising tide. It was the best Circulateing Technique for her Rushing Tide Corporeal Art and allowed for quicker Tera delivery along her Tera pathways. By her fourth breath, the Tera had reached her mind and her senses were magnified. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the footsteps of audience members filing back into the arena, smell the lingering sweat of the children on the arena floor some twenty feet away, feel every strand of clothing fibers against her skin.
She continued her circulating , falling deeper into her inner self until she found her surroundings transformed. Gone were the black stone walls of the waiting room and in came the endless lavender clouds of mist; she was finally in the Esoteric Realm. In here, all of her thoughts took the shape of clouds that whipped past her at blazing speeds. “Of course my thoughts would express themselves like this, quick yet formless.” Baira knew her time in this realm was limited, so she dismissed as many of the clouds as she could, focusing solely on thinking of a solution to the Noki situation. When she finished, she was left with four vertical strips of clouds with a line connecting all but one of them.
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“Damn, so even if I ascended today, I wouldn’t have enough Tera to get past the barrier even if I combined my Water Aspect.” Baira reached out to a column on her left and rearranged it. “Still nothing? What if I-” The column fell into a pile of purple ash, as did the remaining three. In an instant, Baira found herself staring at a stone floor, covered in sweat and breathing hard. She lost control of breathing and the flow of Tera was disrupted. “I was so close too, now I’ll have to wait another day for the thought to return to me.”
“Baira Monsari, come forth!” A voice commanded from down the hallway. It was her turn to undergo the Divination Process. Baira got up, dusted her uniform off, and walked down the path. It was strange walking down here again, the last time she did this was as a first year and everything seemed so much bigger then. The walls used to stretch for miles and the ceiling was pitch black, but now she could tell that this entire arena, school really, was built through a combination of Nature and Earth Aspects. A few moments later, Baira stepped into the light of day and saw an arena full of people eagerly awaiting her arrival. Well, it was presumptuous to say they were waiting for her per say; the Divination Ceremony is a spectacle afTerall.
The arena–also known as Snake Pit–was a large space that held an elevated stage in its center. The audience area was also elevated, but to a much higher degree, by twenty foot long slabs of thick white stone and could seat five thousand. White stone columns both separated the audience into sections and supported the floor above them and the entire seating area coiled around the arena like a snake. At the head of the snake was an ornate seating area reserved for the Head Chief and anyone visiting the village on official business.
“Baira Monsari. Top student of the Blue Mountain Serpent Academy. Step on the stage so we may begin the process.” Instructor Gazin of the Advanced Elixir Class stood next to a golden pot, wearing her usual pinned back hairstyle and silver glasses. Baira scanned the audience until she saw her sister in the viewing booth seated next to Head Chief Bain.
“I thought Instructor Jahn was to oversee the Divination,” Baira said as she made her way to the woman. Jahn had always been the one to do it, though any instructor could fill that role if they chose to do so.
“Instructor Jahn was with Head Chief Bain not too long ago and needed time to prepare.”
“Of course,” Baira thought to herself, “ Chief Bain would have Jahn assist with the barrier, his Aspect is also nature.” Her eyes flicked to the large brown wall of stone that peaked over the arena roof. “Even with him being amplified, the Chief is still an Iron Soul; he would need a day of recovering in a Tera dense location.”
“Baira,” Gazin said, “ now isn’t the time for overthinking. You’ll need to clear your mind for this to work.”
“Yes, Instructor Gazin.” Baira stepped to the pot and could feel the lingering infused Tera emanating from it. The Divination Pot had been created a thousand years ago by Ascendant Ro right before he left for the Celestial Court. “ What do I do now?”
“What you feel is right.”
“Ah, it’s one of those deals.” Baira was not allowed to witness the Divination Ceremony, like everyone else, due to the nature of the ceremony. Perception of self is an important part of being a Divine Artist so if one witnesses another’s method of divination; it could lead to a false Aspect Recognition.
Baira examined the outside of the pot, placing both hands on the other rim and giving it a shake. The pot didn’t budge an inch. She then tried to channel some of her Tera through the item, but infused Tera proved too powerful; her Tera wouldn’t even leave her body. “My Heavenly Aspect is water, I know that for a fact…so then how would..” She looked inside the pot and saw it bone dry. Baira stuck a hand inside and, as her instructor told her, cleared her mind. A blue light wrapped around her hand and traveled around her body. She could hear the crashing of waves in distant oceans coming from the pot. Suddenly, a geyser of water shot out from the Divination Pot and sprayed the lower half of the stadium.
Baira pulled her hand back in surprise and surveyed the arena. “ Apologies, Instructor Gazin, I didn’t think my Aspect would be so prominent.”
Gazin gave her a knowing smile. “It appears that you already knew what would be divined. That level of self-awareness is why it was so forceful. That, and you might have the seeds of a second Aspect already planted.” Gazin then closed her hands together and slowly separated them, revealing a swirl mass of Tera infused with Wind Aspect, giving it a storm gray color. All of the water in the arena rose from the ground and flew into the orb of Tera, only to be jettisoned into the air with a simple gesture.
The mastery on display astounded Baira. Gazin was only a Golden Soul and had such fine Tera control that she could use Wind Aspect without damaging anything. It was with Gazin encouragement that Baira decided to focus more on refining her own Tera control, rather than focus solely on expanding her capacity.
“Baira Monsari. Heavenly Aspect: Water. Please take these and join the other students.” Gazin extended her hand and two pills laid on her palm. One was a green capsule that Baira recognized as a Tera Locus pill; a condensed elixir that flooded the kulda with large amounts of Tera. The other…there was no way it was what she thought it was.
“Instructor Gazin, this is your Synergization Pill. It took you how many years to make just one? I can’t take this.”
“In all my years teaching,” Gazin said, “I’ve never seen a student take so quickly to the fundamentals in both Tera comprehension and elixir creation. I’m confident you’ll be able to use it far better than I ever could; afTerall, it was only with your input that I was finally able to make it.” Synergization was one of the theories Gazin had been working on for years, based on the idea that since Tera was used for both Arts and Aspects, there must be a way to send Tera to both equally.
“Thank you, Instructor Gazin,” Baira said as she took the pills, “ I promise, I’ll give you a hundred pills as thanks.” She bowed and headed to the hub where the other students were. Conversations overlapped as the graduates talked to each other about their Aspects. Baira found an unoccupied area of the room and sat against it. With no one paying attention to her, she took the Synergization Pill and swallowed it.
A few breaths of her Moon Circulate Meditation later, she could feel the effects of the pill. It divided her core into two distinct halves; one for using with Arts and the other for Aspects, and lowered her overall Tera output. That was fine since she, like most other vassal family members, had more potent Tera than the average Divine Artist. Besides, when she takes the Tera Locus Pill, it’ll cause her to ascend and boost her levels higher than before. As she ingested the locus pill and began circulating ,a cry from the stadium halted her process.
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you here before.”
“That’s not important! The village is about to be attacked!”
It must have been due to the elixirs running through her system, but Baira could swear she was hearing Noki talking about the village being under attack, but that would be absurd. Not only was there an Iron Soul Class barrier around, but Amani would have detected any intruder.
“Hey look, it's that Null!”
“What’s he even doing here?”
“Wait he’s a Null? Are you sure?”
The other students had swarmed around the door leading back to the arena stage. Baira stumbled to her feet and pushed her way through the crowd of students. There Noki was, covered in dirt, arguing with Instructor Gazin. It was at that moment that a presence she had never felt before washed over her and she understood why one of the students questioned Noki as a Null; he had a strong wave of Tera emanating from him.