Jasper didn’t even have to think about which question he wanted to aks first. “Am I somehow…from Corsythia?” He hesitated a moment, unable to bring himself to acknowledge the absurdity of his question. “I’m not actually related to this Da’iqta, am I?”
The goddess clicked her tongue in disappointment as she surveyed her young recruit. “Tell me, Jasper, what was the first message you saw when you came to our realm?”
He knit his brow, struggling to recall it. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “When you held out your hand? But you didn’t speak then.”
Kas̆dael shook her head. “No, before that. The very first message, when your so-called ‘game’ malfunctioned.”
The words flashed into his mind again. “Resonance found?” he asked tentatively.
“That’s right. I told you long ago that the system would not have recognized you as Djinn unless you really were one of them, but it seems you did not believe me.”
“So, it is true? But I - I had a mother. She was..normal. I was normal!” he protested.
Kas̆dael begin to speak, and then thought better of it, shaking her head reluctantly. “I can’t tell you. Even if I knew all the details of your past - and I don’t - there are limits to what I’m allowed to tell a mortal. If you wish to know the truth, you must find the ones that tried to summon you here.” She tapped his chest lightly, dragging her fingernail across his toughened skin. “The ones who gave you that defective anchor.”
Jasper couldn’t hide the scowl that sprang to his lips. “How can you keep this from me?” He demanded. “Don’t I have the right to know the truth about my past?”
Her gaze grew frosty. “The right? Tell me, Jasper of earth, don’t I have the right to not be fated to an endless cycle of death, to not sacrifice myself to rebirth the Progenitor? Don’t I have the right to mold the world in my image, to claim the power sealed within me as my own? Do not speak to me of rights.”
He wilted, his anger tucking tail in the face of her cold fury. “But…” Unable to think of a rejoinder, he quietly asked. “Can you tell me anything else, anything at all?”
She watched him for a moment with pursed lips, finally relenting. “Da’iqta was your mother. If you wish to know more, you must find it for yourself.”
How? was the only cogent thought he managed to muster. But Kas̆dael was impatient to learn about the brotherhood. “Now, you have something else to tell me, do you not?”
He blinked, her words passing in one ear and out the other like the buzzing of a bee.
“Jasper?” she prodded.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
“The Brotherhood of Yas̆gah? What have you learned about them?”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and struggled to regain his composure. “Honestly, practically nothing. As you suggested, I found your temple in Mahāzīnu and joined the cult, but I was only there for two days before circumstances forced me to leave. Apparently the Keeper there was a member of the cult, but I didn’t pick up on it until a little too late. By the time I figured it out, she was dead.”
Kas̆dael’s frown deepened. “Lady Hayil served the brotherhood?” Her brows knit in confusion and distress. “That should not be possible. Her prayers still rose to me from time to time, perhaps not quite as often or devotedly as when she was younger, but to think that she was part of the cult is…disturbing. If even those still praying to me are also praying to Yas̆gah, the dark goddess’ corruption may have spread further than I had realized.”
She paused, clearly fretting, as Jasper continued. “There’s also another party involved, the seraphs.” He quickly filled Kas̆dael in on his conversation with Abnu. “I’m not really clear what their motivation is, though,” he concluded. “They seem to be enemies of the brotherhood, but I know nothing about these Namurru beyond that. I do have a potential contact in the capital with them, though.”
Kas̆dael did not reply immediately, tossing the dice on the floor again. She watched silently as the dodecagons wobbled across the marble until they came to a stop, then with a flick of her wrist, returned them to her. She cast two more times before turning back to him. “They are not your enemies.” The goddess spoke with confidence, buoyed by whatever she divined within the runes, but her knowledge was imperfect. “Whether they are friends is more than I can tell.”
She lifted one of the dice up carefully, showing its face to Jasper. He leaned back, his skin crawling at the memory of the pain, but still examined the symbol with curiosity. A curved sword was lodged in the base of a flaming tree, claw marks marring the trunk. Then the image faded away, the die returning to the shiny, seamless black.
“There is a source of conflict between the royal family and the seraphs though, whether it will lead to hostilities or not, is beyond my ken. I think you should meet with the servant the seraph told you of, but be careful,” she warned. “I do not think they mean you harm, but the future is still unclear.”
Dropping the dice, she held her hand out to him with a smile. “And now you must do what you’ve been putting off.”
Reluctantly, he clasped his fingers around hers and waited for his status to open. The box popped up quickly enough and there, waiting for him, was a set of boxes. There’s more than one? Jasper had been expecting some sort of notification from the ritual in the palace, but not multiples. Almost afraid to look, he selected the first one.
Sapling of the Gis̆ātu
For generations, the gis̆ātu has watched over the Djinn of Kis̆ādān, guarding their young as its own and bestowing its saplings on those with the strength to bear it. You have successfully bonded with a sapling and received a tithe of its strength.
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Rewards: Fire immunity, new class options.
Jasper couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when he saw one of the rewards was fire immunity. “Damn, I already have that,” he muttered. But as he scrolled further down the box, he realized the system had already accounted for that.
Sapling of the Gis̆ātu
For generations, the gis̆ātu has watched over the Djinn of Kis̆ādān, guarding their young as its own and bestowing its saplings on those with the strength to bear it. You have successfully bonded with a sapling and received a tithe of its strength.
Rewards: Fire immunity, new class options.
Error: subject already has fire immunity. Alternate reward required.
Equivalent reward supplied: New racial trait unlocked.
Well, that explains the multiple boxes. With a growing sense of excitement, he clicked on the next notification. The same message he had seen before popped up:
Please select a racial trait to unlock (Note: these traits can influence future evolutions and may not be available to choose in the future).
He quickly scanned past the two traits he had been already offered.
The Wings of Gavu’el (unlocked by the trait Uplifted): Unlocks your first set of basic wings, allowing you to take flight into the sky. Wings require strength and endurance of 100. Due to your Seraph affiliation, this trait will remain permanently available.
Moon-kissed (offered by Selene): Most of the Djinn revere their father, Shamsha, but some turn to his consort. Embrace the blessing of Selene. Warning: this trait will dramatically affect all future evolutions, and your magical affinity will change from fire to lunar. This trait will remain available in the future.
The Wings of Gavu’el was still something he desperately wanted. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to fly? But sadly, the strength and endurance requirements were still quite a ways off for him. Someday, he promised himself again.
The Moon-kissed, on the other hand, seemed a good deal less tantalizing after his experiences in Dūr-Yarha. Jasper knew that it wasn’t really fair to lay the blame for the twisted nizirtu on their kin, but, at least for the moment, he simply couldn’t imagine accepting the trait. Fortunately, there were new options to choose from.
Magma-veined (unlocked by Scion of Flames): The fires of creation burn brightly within you, replacing your blood with a thick, viscous plasma. Trait dramatically reduces all bleeding damage, but blood will become dangerous to others. Requires 50 endurance. Upgrades available.
The Watchful Eye (unlocked by Hand of Kas̆dael): The Divine Warrior sees all from his throne in the heavens and nothing can escape his watchful eye. By praying to Shamsha, the Watchful Eye allows you to divine the location of one person, being, or monster per day. Multiple upgrade paths available.
The Forgotten (unlocked by M3tas̆@mîm): Embrace the call of the Fallen and become one with it. Claim Nahas̆s̆innu as your own. Multiple upgrade paths available. WARNING: This trait may have dangerous and unpredictable consequences.
A shudder ran down his spine as he read the description. Yeah, no, definitely not picking that one.
The Bramble Crown (unlocked by Sapling of the Gis̆ātu): Bond more deeply with your sapling, allowing you to externally manifest traits of the gis̆ātu tree. Once per hour, you may summon a second skin of fire-resistant wooden armor at the cost of a thousand stamina. Armor will last until unsummoned or destroyed. Upgrades available.
Choir of Hammūti (unlocked by Lady Tirra’s blessing): Having served Lady Tirra, she wishes to bestow upon you a generous blessing. Trait grants you the ability to summon a choir of her loyal followers, the Hammūti, to join you in singing praises to Lady Tirra whenever you wish. If enemies are present, the Hammūti might assist you. Upgrades available,
Wow. He couldn’t believe - well, actually, on second thought maybe I can - how conceited Tirra’s offering was. At the same time, Jasper’s eyes kept drifting back to the final sentence of the description. Maybe it isn’t as worthless as it seems. The strange, jellyfish-headed beings that worshipped flashed back through his mind. If they would actually assist him in battles, he’d happily suck it up and sing Lady Tirra’s praises. If was doing a lot of heavy carrying in that sentence, though. The description said the Hammūti might assist you, but that wasn’t exactly a promise. Who knew how dependable their aid might be?
Designating the trait as a “maybe,” he looked back over his other options. He didn’t even bother to reread the Forgotten. No way, no how was he ever picking that choice, but the other three had seemed decent. Magma-veined was a nice boost to his survival, although he had been doing a better job of avoiding grave injuries recently, not that one could exactly depend on that to continue - it wasn’t like one ever planned for a life-threatening injury. The warning about his blood becoming dangerous to others was slightly concerning though. It wasn’t like he went around bleeding on people purposefully, but with potential upgrades available, he didn’t want it to lead him on the path of turning into some sort of magma monster, either.
The Bramble Crown was also enticing. He didn’t have many spells that utilized his stamina pool, so despite the steep cost, he could see it becoming immediately useful. And then there was The Watchful Eye. It appealed to him less than the others, but he couldn’t deny the potential usefulness. Being able to scry the identity of, say, a cultist could be a game changer. Plus, he couldn’t help but notice that the final notification was different. Ignoring the Forgotten, the Watchful Eye was the only skill that spoke of “multiple upgrade paths” rather than simply “upgrades.” It suggested, at least to him, that the trait might be more valuable than the rest.
His hand hovered over The Watchful Eye, about to select it when Kas̆dael placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You should not be so quick to dismiss The Bramble Crown.”
Jasper glanced up in surprise. “Really? I assumed you’d want me to pick The Watchful Eye as it seems to synergize with your class.”
A light smile flitted across her lips. “You know, I am right here - you could simply ask me my opinion. I will not command you to select any of them, although,” her eyes grew serious, “as I think you realize, it would be a very poor decision to choose The Forgotten. But I am happy to give you advice.”
“So, why The Bramble Crown? It honestly seems a little boring.”
Again she smiled. “And in some ways, it is. But you must remember, Jasper, that this is not a game. The choices you make are not merely for the sake of the ‘cool factor,’ nor for optimizing the most broken 'build.' The Bramble Crown is a prized trait of the Kis̆ādān royal family, a mark of belonging. They will be expecting you to choose it and may take offense if you don’t. You will have other traits to pick in the future, but for now, it is the best choice.”
“Plus,” she added after a moment’s pause, “an added layer of protection is always a good thing for a mage.”
Much as Jasper resented feeling pressured by his “kin” into making the choice, he couldn’t deny the logic of Kas̆dael’s advice. With a touch of sadness, he selected The Bramble Crown. A jolt of electricity ran through him as he made the choice, his skin feeling tingly and numb after it passed, but nothing else happened. He examined his hands quickly, relieved to find that his skin didn’t exhibit any further changes. Not that it really matters at this point, he concluded gloomily, staring with dissatisfaction at his wine-colored skin. There was a big difference between playing a non-human race in a video game, and actually leaving behind your humanity, and it was a difference he was still struggling to come to grips with.