“Well, I think that’s obvious,” Jasper said with a chuckle, pinching a bit of his now slightly duskier skin between his fingers. “In case you haven't noticed, my skin is no longer hellfire red.”
"That much is obvious," the goddess agreed, but she grabbed his chin and pulled his eyes up to meet hers. “But I'm more interested your eyes,” she added with a frown. “That metallic gleam is odd. I can think of only a single race on our world with eyes that color, and I’m quite certain you’re not related to them. So perhaps it’s something from your father’s side. What caused the change?”
“S̆ars̆adû gifted me another leaf from one of the gis̆ātu’s trees,” he explained. “And…there was something else. A voice in the vision. It showed me a city in ruins and said that I was not the one to restore what was lost, but then at the end, it said something about making something new.”
The goddess’ eyes sharpened with interest. “So Zaginnu still survives and is looking for someone to restore it,” she mused to herself. “I'd assumed it had long since perished.”
“I don’t know who was speaking, but I guess I didn't measure up. Still, it clearly did something to me."
“Do I detect a hint of worry,” she asked, with a hint of a smile.
“No,” he started to lie, but then his shoulders drooped. “Maybe a little,” he admitted. “As much as I hated looking like a hornless devil, I do love the fire immunity that comes with it. I’m a little afraid that the skin change means I’ve lost it.”
“There’s still enough red in your skin that I suspect you remain a Djinn,” Kas̆dael reassured him. “And once you leave this province, the usefulness of fire immunity will drop dramatically. Most Corsythians are descended from Fey or Elves, and neither race has much skill with fire. Aside from the Djinn, only those descended from the Durgu or,” she hesitated a moment, distaste clear in her tone, “trolls are likely to inherit fire spells, but neither are common in the empire”
“But either way, you might as well just look,” she said, extending her hand to him. He spotted the first change almost as soon as the screen popped up - Bramble Crown and Uplifted were struck through.
Jasper Welles
Exp: 3278/35000
Health 7000
Spirit 7000
Essence 11200
Heritage(s)
Dayyāmmūt Djinn
Watchman of Aldāru
Level: 134
Level up: x3
Hand of Kas̆dael
Level: 36
Level up: x0
Titles
The Blood Runs True
Betrothed of Kas̆dael
Survivor
Champion of Sappiya
Blessed of Hurbas̆u
Nascent Divine
Stats
Racial Traits
Class Abilities
Class Abilities
Strength 75
Scion of Flames
Shooting Star
Scales of Justice
Endurance 100
Uplifted
Purge
Scourge of Despair
Vision 57
The Broken Shackle
Eternal Night II
Hand of Judgment
Inspiration 140
The Bramble Crown
Fiery Shackles II
Hand of Glory
Willpower 140
Unlocked
Seraph Burst
Circle of Forgiveness
Intuition 75
Locked
Heart Stopper (Undead)
Locked
Into the Valley of Death
He hastily swept his eyes up the chart to Scion of Flames, the perk that granted him immunity from fire, and breathed a sigh of relief to find it untouched. Well, if I was going to lose something, Bramble Crown’s not too bad. But he wasn’t sure why the perks were still listed at all. Maybe it will let me change it? He tapped on the struck-through name of Bramble Crown, and his suspicion was confirmed as a new box popped up.
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*Error*
Due to race change, you are no longer eligible for The Bramble Crown. Please select a new perk below.
Race change? Jasper clicked out of the box quickly, not even bothering to look over his options, as his eyes focused on the Heritages list. Greater Djinn was no longer listed there and neither, much to his surprise, was his father’s race, the mysterious Sukkallu. Instead, a new name had replaced them both - Dayyāmūt Djinn. What the hell?
A new box opened when he clicked on the title.
Dayyāmūt Djinn
In an attempt to ease the pain it was causing you, the spirit of Zaginnu wove your twin heritages closer together, creating something new. As a potential progenitor of the Dayyāmūt Djinn, you are eligible to earn all generic perks available to either Djinn or Sukkallu but are not able to possess perks specific to Djinn or Sukkallu subspecies. Instead, new perks will be generated for you.
I guess that explains why I lost the Bramble Crown. As a perk of the Royal Family, it must have been tied to the ‘Higher Djinn’ subspecies. Jasper frowned, suddenly wondering how his relatives would react to his unexpected race change. But I am still sort of a Djinn.
The part about having access to the perks of his father’s race was interesting; he knew next to nothing about the Sukkallu, although Kas̆dael had strongly hinted that his spectral spells might come from them. And maybe the name hints at that too. Unless it’s a place name I’ve never heard of, I bet Dayyāmmūt is a shortening of dayyānu mūtī, ‘judge of the dead.’
But one phrase in particular attracted his attention: ‘as a potential progenitor.’ The implication was clear, and frankly, he found it a bit disconcerting. Is the system hoping I breed? How would that even work if there's only one of my 'species.'Not feeling in the mood to have a ‘birds and bees’ talk with Kas̆dael, he put the question on the back burner and returned to the first box he’d opened, Bramble Crown.
*Error*
Due to race change, you are no longer eligible for The Bramble Crown. Please select a new perk below.
Ironskin (Djinn) - In the days before the Djinn fled Zaginnu, there was no division between the S̆addu’â and their brethren. Capable of wielding both fire and stone, many of the warriors practiced a technique allowing them to reinforce their skin with iron drawn from the earth. Cost: variable depending on the availability of iron.
Maṣṣāru (Sukkallu) - One of the first spells every young sukkallu learns, maṣṣāru summons a guardian spirit to watch over the chosen target. The spirit can intercept a single mortal blow, no matter how great. Cost: Requires no essence, but can only be cast once per day.
Maṣṣāru (Dayyāmūt) - The Dayyāmūt’s variant of the Maṣṣāru spells allows them to summon a spectral guardian for five minutes each day. Unlike the original version, the spirit cannot tank every mortal blow, but in exchange it can actively fight back against threats. If cast outside of combat, the spirit will remain dormant until conflict begins. Cost: Requires no essence, but can only be cast once per day.
Jasper skimmed through his options quickly. Ironskin was the closest to Bramble Crown in nature and also the least interesting. It wasn’t a bad perk, but the variable cost made him wary. If I’m in a place that doesn’t have much iron, would I even be able to use the spell? Or maybe you’re supposed to bring your iron with you?
The other two were more interesting. He wasn’t surprised to see that the sukkallu perk had something to do with the dead and, as much he was generally not a fan of ‘armor’ spells, even he could appreciate the usefulness of the skill. “A mortal blow, no matter how great.” Frankly, Jasper found it tough to believe that it could truly live up to its promise - surely, it wouldn’t stop a blow from a god - but even if the description was exaggerated, the spell seemed a strong contender.
But the other perk was interesting too. While it sacrificed the overpowered ability to tank any single blow, the flexibility it offered appealed to him. The Ophan was an amazing guardian, but he could only cast the spell once per month. Even if this was a weaker spirit, the ability to have a helper once per day appealed to him. Plus, if I understand correctly, the Dayyāmūt skills were made just for me. He decided to stop second-guessing himself and clicked the third option.
That left only one box more to look at, Uplifted.
*Error*
Due to race change, you are no longer eligible for Uplifted. As this perk was not earned through the system, you are not eligible for a replacement.
Well, crap. He read the message with a frown, but then shrugged his shoulders. “I guess it doesn’t really matter that much,” he muttered to himself. “After the way things ended with Abnu and the Seraphs, I doubt we were going to be spending too much together.” Closing the box, he quickly split the nine points he earned in level-ups between vision, inspiration, and willpower, and checked his stats one last time.
Jasper Welles
Exp: 3278/35000
Health 7000
Spirit 7000
Essence 11440
Heritage(s)
Dayyāmmūt Djinn
Watchman of Aldāru
Level: 137
Level up: x0
Hand of Kas̆dael
Level: 36
Level up: x0
Titles
The Blood Runs True
Betrothed of Kas̆dael
Survivor
Champion of Sappiya
Blessed of Hurbas̆u
Nascent Divine
Stats
Racial Traits
Class Abilities
Class Abilities
Strength 75
Scion of Flames
Shooting Star
Scales of Justice
Endurance 100
The Broken Shackle
Purge
Scourge of Despair
Vision 60
Maṣṣāru (Dayyāmmūt)
Eternal Night II
Hand of Judgment
Inspiration 143
Unlocked
Fiery Shackles II
Hand of Glory
Willpower 143
Locked
Seraph Burst
Circle of Forgiveness
Intuition 75
Locked
Heart Stopper (Undead)
Locked
Into the Valley of Death
Compared to the last time, it felt a bit underwhelming, but Jasper was happy with the replacement for Bramble Crown. He’d take a bit of offense over defense any day.
He felt less certain about the change to his race. It seemed he was now something like the Moon-kissed and S̆addu’â, a noticeably distinct sub-species of Djinn with access to different abilities, and he wasn’t sure the others would react. Hopefully, they won’t be racist about it.
As he released Kas̆dael’s hand, he could feel her arms start to wrap around him, and he quickly grabbed hold of her shoulder. “Wait, I’m not ready to go yet.”
“Oh?” There was a hint of amusement in her eyes as she looked down at him. “Not ready to have your heart torn out?”
“I’ve reached my quota for the year,” he replied drily. “But really, I just had a question. What does it mean to be a ‘potential progenitor’? Does that mean there are no other ‘dayyāmūt’ Djinn?”
Her eyes widened at the words. “That’s what it said?”
He nodded, “It didn’t really explain what my new race was exactly, but it said the ‘spirit of Zaginnu’ had combined my two heritages and marked me as a ‘potential progenitor.’”
“It means that Zaginnu imbued a portion of its power into you to ensure that any children you sire will be like you.”
“Why,” he asked, dumbfounded.
Kas̆dael’s shoulders raised helplessly. “If the stories of the Djinn are to be believed, Zaginnu was already a dying world many eons ago. That it still survives is remarkable, but it is quite likely that its reason has long since fled. I would not put too much into its actions, Jasper.”
“And what about the other Djinn,” he asked. “Do you think it’s going to cause a problem?”
“Some may care, but your uncle will not and S̆ars̆adû…” she trailed off momentarily, biting her lip in thought. “I suspect this was his intention in the first place. I do not know what the Spectral Spiders have shown him, but your king is a man of many schemes and I would never assume that anything connected to him was a mere accident. Does that answer your question?” she added.
“Not really, but it doesn’t sound like you can,” he shrugged and held his hand out to her. “So let’s get this over with.”
Her arms wrapped around him in a warm embrace that lingered for a second longer before the inevitable wave of pain as her hand shattered his ribs and ripped his heart out.