“Hold!” Siv’s command boomed across the practice ring.
Ethan sighed in exhaustion and dropped the swords he’d been practicing with. Sweat ran down his bare chest from the exertion of his new training regime. Numerous purple and yellow bruises gave his skin a mottled appearance, the physical representation of how hard he’d been working for the last two days.
“You did much better.” Torag, the warrior who’d accompanied Siv when he’d first arrived in Skaro leaned against his spear a few feet away from Ethan. He’d been taking turns sparring with both of them for the last two mornings.
Ethan limped over to a bench next to a large rack of varied weapons. Siv had been having him practice for an hour with each one before changing weapons for another hour. He’d missed his axe the first morning, but he had to admit that he’d neglected training with other weapons since his respawn.
Groaning, he bent over and picked up a water skein from the bench and sat down. Ethan drained most of it in one draught and poured the rest of the cool water over his head. The cold rivlets of water ran through his hair and down his neck, providing some relief to his warm muscles.
“Yeah?” Ethan was proud that he’d received even the small compliment from the large man.
“Yes.” Torag nodded. “You’re getting much quicker with the swords. The first morning was an embarrassment, but you managed to land a couple of good hits today.”
Torag raised his arm to show a decent sized bruise forming on his rib cage, the result of a feint that Ethan had tricked Torag into trying to block before slashing with his other sword. Ethan smiled at the compliment.
“Thanks.” Ethan leaned over with his arms on his knees, enjoying the brief respite between sessions. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Torag sit down next to him, the wooden bench bouncing slightly under the additional weight.
“You’re progressing well.” Torag clapped him the back, the hard smack of his palm on Ethan’s skin caused him to wince slightly in pain. “When you first got here, I wanted to kill you outright.”
Ethan turned his head to look at his sparring partner, confused by the statement. Torag just stared ahead expressionless.
“Um.. thanks for not?” He said, slightly confused.
“You’re welcome.” Torag crossed his arms and smiled at Ethan, glad his joke had landed so well. “We don’t get many outsiders here since the Great War. Even the War Shaman is wary of any that come, you must truly be blessed by the Spirits if she is willing to teach you.”
Spending too much time in Startesgarde made him occasionally forget that there was more to the game than just “climb the The Tower”. The Great War, as it was called, was an event that had happened in the history of the world before players had actually set foot in it. A host of demons and devils had invaded the world, burning and pillaging everything they could see. The quests and books that described the history of the war said they had no intentions other than destruction. The varied peoples of the regions had attempted to band together, but the demonic ranks had secretly infiltrated most of the more powerful nations and managed to turn allies against each other, sometimes in the heat of battle.
Somehow, the demonic army was defeated and dispersed. There weren't any hard facts surrounding the end of the war. No one had heard of any hero coming forth and doing battle with the Lord of Hell, the demonic army just seemed to have given up. Skirmishes got smaller and less regular, leaders who had been corrupted suddenly realized their actions and reversed course. But even though the war had ended, the damage had been done and the world was only barely recovering from it.
In the history of The Tower, it had been nearly 50 years since the war ended, but the ramifications were long lasting. Small, isolated towns, like Skaro, were often wary of Adventurers. When anyone could be a demon in disguise, no one could be trusted.
“Did the War Shaman fight in the Great War?” Ethan asked softly, genuinely curious about his teacher.
“Oh yes.” Torag rubbed his chin as he thought about her past. “She and Ivald, Siv’s grandfather, fought tirelessly against the fiends. They were so powerful that by the end it seemed as though they were targets for the demons.”
“Just before the Calm, a terrible pit fiend named Azamon the Vandal, attacked Skarlheim” Torag pointed across at the black scar across the lake, his voice solemn. “Completely destroying the city.”
“Hertha and Ivald went after it, leaving Lestri, their daughter to guide the survivors to safety. They took a hundred men and women with them, but only the War Shaman returned.” He stared at the giant mountain looming in the distance. “Those from the village that survived say the night sky lit up with fire and explosions and that the entire world shook as the two great Shaman called on all the Vættir to help fight the demon.”
“My aunt and grandparents saved everyone you see in the town.” Siv said reverently. Ethan had been so focused on every word Torag had said that he didn't realize she’d approached. “Since then, she has trained only a handful of to become Battle Shaman, and none of them outsiders.”
Torag nodded in agreement with her.
“So you see why I did not trust you at first. Our entire lives here exist because of the sacrifice of many, I did not want to jeopardize that.” He said softly.
“Why did you?” Ethan asked Siv. Of course, the easy answer was game mechanics. He was on a quest and the game had directed him here.
“My grandmother has only trained a few, she needed a new student.” She shrugged, and then hesitated before continuing. “But also, I can sense the blessings of the Elements as well. Not to the extent of the War Shaman, but I could feel the Spirit of Fire within you.”
He was about to ask more questions, but Siv walked away towards the weapons rack. She returned with a pair of hand axes.
“Time to get back to training.” She said, handing him the weapons. “We still have a couple of more hours before we break for lunch.”
After an hour with the axes with Siv he switched to a massive two handed sword against Torag. By the time lunch came, his arms and upper body were completely worn out. Once again, even small movements felt like lead weights were tied to his hands. Lunch, while delicious, was brutal to get through.
He was just finishing his fish when Hertha approached him.
“It’s time for your spiritual training to continue.”
“Good luck!” Torag called after him as he rose to follow Hertha back to her lodge.
The past few days had followed the same pattern: weapon training in the morning and attempting to connect with the Elemental Spirits in the afternoon. The first day Hertha had started him with the Spirit of Fire, being as that was the strongest elemental affinity he’d had. He’d spent hours focusing on the anger inside of him and the passion that drove him. The meditation had been mostly successful, he was able to stay much more clear headed when he’d gotten thrashed by his trainers than he had in the fight with Hertha.
His attempt to strengthen his bond with the Spirit of Earth had been equally as successful, if slower. Hertha had told him it was because Fire was an innate bond, whereas Earth was a gift. And the feeling had been completely different. Mediating over the element of fire had felt energetic at first and then worked to cool and direct the burning emotions inside of him. Yesterday’s mediation was much slower in pace, but felt physically more demanding. The process felt as if he was pushing against an immovable object. For several hours he struggled, but didn’t budge in his determination. Eventually he realized that was the point. The Earth is immovable in its strength, but he could overcome it with patience and determination. The entire point of the lesson was to teach him to harness that inner strength, but also patience.
“You have taken very good first steps.” His teacher praised him as they walked to her home. “Today will be much more challenging though.”
“How so?” Ethan walked beside her, excited to finally have a chance to sit down for longer than ten minutes but also to continue his spiritual training.
“I’ll explain when we’re inside.” Hertha answered.
Ethan hurried the last few steps to open the door for the elder Shaman out of respect. Once they were back in the now familiar building, the braziers lit seemingly of their own accord and low flickering light filled the room. Hertha sat in the same spot she had when he’d first met her, gesturing for him to do the same.
“Now, the four elements, as you now know, make up everything. And communion with them can grant gifts.” She said once he was seated.
“You have done well forging a basic connection with Fire and Earth,” she said pointing at the symbols of each on the small sketch she’d done his first day. “Water and Air remain.”
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Ethan nodded enthusiastically, he remembered the way ice had coated her hands and how fast she’d moved when they’d fought. He wanted to learn to do the same.
“But, I do not expect you to have the same success so quickly as you have.” Ethan looked confused and she quickly continued. “Each of the four elements is diametrically opposed to another. They work as a balance to one another. Sometimes enhancing and sometimes extinguishing.”
“What do you mean?” Ethan was confused but extremely interested.
“I’ll start with an example.” She said and pointed to the symbols of water and fire.
“Water is the counter to Fire. The passion and desire of Fire can be tempered by Water’s calming influence. The burning rage you exhibited when we fought, did you feel in control of your actions?” She asked patiently.
“Not at all,” Ethan shook his head, slightly embarrassed. She had all but forced him to do it, but he still felt ashamed that he’d lost control.
“Do not despair,” she smiled at him, reminding him again of a grandmother. “That was the point of the lesson. But with the influence of the Vættr of Water to calm your temper, you could have remained focused and gotten the same results.”
Ethan was stunned. He’d not just been ashamed, but afraid of what would happen if he was pushed that far again. He couldn’t lose control like that with his friends.
“Air and Earth are the same way.” She pointed at the chart again. “The rock solid immovabilty from Earth can be directed into action by the Vættr of Air.”
“And combined,” she drew a circle around the chart, “the benefits of all can be combined into great power. Insight and creativity of Air, with the drive and passion of Fire, and the stoic determination of Earth with the gentle calmness of Water are what the goal of a true Shaman. The balance of all creates greater strength than any one Element in its own.”
Once again, Ethan found he had no words. He mulled over what she’d just told him. His answer to his anger issues when he’d been younger had been to force it down as hard and as quickly as possible. She’d just offered him a different choice. The ability to channel it into something more.
“All my life, I’ve felt the burn of anger and passion drive me. In everything I do.” He said, pausing. That wasn’t posturing for an NPC in the game. Even his passion for cooking had come with emotional extremes. How many times had he gotten mad on the line and swore and threw pans in the dish bin just a little too hard? Or when he yelled at the line cooks under him, how many conversations had come from his Executive Chef that ended up as “don’t be an asshole”. Even his controlled demeanor was a false front.
Hertha merely nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.
“But if, when, I make a connection with the Vættr of Water, you’re saying that will go away?” Hope was in his voice as he asked the question to his teacher.
“No.” She said, shaking her head. “It won’t ‘go away’. You’ll still get mad, for lack of a better word, but you’ll be able to temper that passion with calmness easier. And in doing so, channel it into something stronger.”
Ethan thought about her words. This was what he needed. What he’d hoped for his entire life, a way to be a better version of himself. No matter how long it takes to get out of this game, I feel like the lessons I’m learning right now will help me in the real world. Funny how I randomly got this class.
“Can I start with Water today?” Ethan asked, unsure if he could just decide which element to meditate on.
“I think that is a wise decision.” She smiled her grandmotherly smile again. Ethan hoped it meant she was proud of him, finding himself more and more wanting to impress the woman who was teaching him.
Ethan hurried to his feet, standing up faster than his teacher, and reached out a hand to assist her.
“Boy, I’m old, not feeble.” She playfully scolded him, smacking his outreached hand away before getting to her feet.
“I’m sorry, Elder.” He said teasingly while bowing.
“Hmph.” Hertha turned and walked to the back of the lodge, stomping her foot lightly as she walked. Ethan followed, stumbling over a rock he was sure wasn’t there a moment ago. “I’m not that old, Sorry.”
The wooden column carved for the Element of Water was a couple of feet into the lake, and gentle waves lapped around it. The wood had been carved into gentle waves and ripples, representing the flow of water. Ethan hadn’t seen it up close yet, having not exited through this door yet. It was just as beautiful and impressive as the other three.
Hertha gestured for him to sit at the lake’s edge, partly in the water for him to begin his meditation.
“You must reach out to the Elemental Spirit and find a communion with it.” She said, standing ankle deep in the lake.
He took his place where she had pointed. The shoreline was only a few feet of shallow water before suddenly dropping off like a knife had cut a deep chunk of earth away. The few inches of lake water that reached him were ice cold and he shivered as he sat down. Where his feet touched the water, small ripples echoed into the massive lake.
As he’d done with Fire and Earth, Ethan focused on the element in front of him. He concentrated on the cold biting into his toes, a stark contrast to the intense heat of the fire. The smooth fluid nature of liquid was another major difference to the rough hard earth he’d sat on yesterday.
Ethan tried to take in all that he could from the water. How distant splashes of fish jumping would send small ripples up his ankles and calves. The way those same ripples would then almost instantly retreat back into the lake. A sense of calm came over him as he relaxed his consciousness to try to gain an understanding of the element.
Several hours later his feet had gone numb. The small pebbles and sand he’d been sitting on were now uncomfortable to sit on. Hertha had told him this would be a more difficult element to understand based on his own nature, but so far he didn’t feel like he’d made any headway in understanding. He was wet, cold, uncomfortable and growing increasingly frustrated.
I‘m getting nowhere with this element. A small ember of anger flickered inside of him. Immediately, Ethan tried to force it back down before recognizing the presence of the Fire Spirit. Thank you, but I’m not sure now is the time. He smiled, feeling proud that he’d recognized a visit from one of the spirits, albeit not the one he’d been meaning to contact. Happiness flared brightly inside of him before calming, a message of acknowledgement from the Spirit.
A surprising thought occurred to him. If his connection to the passionate Spirit of Fire was growing, could he use that connection to help develop one with the Spirit of Water?
Ethan summoned his memory of their most recent wipe, the one Daniel had caused. He tried to remember just how mad he’d been. From there he went to his first fight after respawning with the wolves, then his training with Hertha. Ethan focused on how angry he’d been at those times, trying to invoke the Spirit of Fire again. Holding on to the remembered anger, he tried to calm himself by imagining the lapping waves taking his anger away from him.
Several minutes later, he calmed down. Not from the influence of another Spirit, he just couldn’t maintain his focus on that inner anger.
After several more failed attempts of the same tactic, Ethan started getting frustrated. This is bullshit. It’s just a fucking game, I have other things I have to be doing! As he got more irritated, another idea came to him.
Ethan focused is anger at the game itself, the feeling of being trapped and locked away from his real life. Instantly, he was madder than he’d been before. With a thought, he triggered his Enrage ability.
Fiery emotion raced through his veins emanating from his chest. Enhanced by his connection to the Spirit of Fire, his rage caused his entire torso to erupt in actual flames.
Vættr of Water, help me to calm the fire inside of me. Show me how to quench the flames and give me calm.
His inner rage burned bright and hot, but he held onto his thoughts.
“ETHAN! NO!” Hertha’s shout disturbed his meditation and something inside of him popped and his rage disappeared.
“What were you doing!?” Her voice was frantic in distress.
Ethan slowly got to his feet, the abrupt change in his emotional state had left him slightly disheveled.
Hertha’s strong hand gripped his arm and helped steady him as he stood in front of her. Panic and fear creased the lines on her face as she appraised her student.
“I was trying to commune with the Spirit of Water.” He said, taking deep breaths. He wasn’t sure why his anger and rage had suddenly disappeared but the experience had left him disoriented.
“Typically, you don’t set yourself on fire to speak with Water.” Her concern was apparent in her tone of voice.
“I thought that I could use my connection with the Spirit of Fire to help create a bond with the opposing element.” Ethan explained. “I didn’t expect actual fire to appear.”
“Ah.” Hertha paused studying him before continuing.
“While that’s not the worst idea ever, that’s not how creating a bond with an Elemental Spirit works. You can’t force it, you must understand the communion for it to happen.” She said patiently.
Ethan thought about what she’d just told him, disheartened at the prospect of starting over completely again.
“Why did I catch on fire? And why did it stop?” He asked.
“Your bond with the Fire Spirit is strong and innate.” She explained, tapping his chest just above his heart. “When you’re experiencing great emotion related to Fire, your untempered connection can do that to you. Just as it did when I coaxed the knowledge out of you a few days ago.”
“And how did it end so abruptly?” Ethan repeated his question.
“I did that,” Hertha’s hands glowed with blue light briefly before flashing out. “A Shaman not only can ask for gifts of the Spirits, but can use them to purge unnatural gifts as well, temporarily.”
A debuff icon blinked in the corner of his vision with a countdown.
“Dispel Fire - locked out of all Fire Based abilities for 10 seconds”
That’s useful, hopefully I’ll eventually get the same spell. He thought to himself.
“I think it’s time you break for the evening.” Hertha said, having taken his silence for inner contemplation. “Tomorrow you will try again.”
Ethan hoped he was wrong about sensing disapproval in her voice. She’d been nothing but patient with him, and he truly appreciated her teachings.
“Yes, Elder.” He bowed his head in respect, hoping he was showing the proper level of humility.
“Cheer up, Sorry.” She smiled at him “I didn’t expect you to be successful on your first day of attempting to commune with the Spirit of Water, but I also didn’t expect you to catch on fire either though.” She chuckled at the memory.
“I have a question.” Ethan asked abruptly before she dismissed for the day. “Why do I keep bursting into flames? It’s never happened before.”
“Your bond with the Fire Vættr is growing stronger. Their influence on you is more intense than any of the other vættr, and in this place,” She gestured to the area around her home. “Any connection to the Spirits is magnified.”
Ethan contemplated what she said. He wondered what would have happened if he had a stronger affinity for another element. If he had been innately closer to Earth or Air, what would have changed with his Enrage.
“Eat some dinner and get some rest, tomorrow we will resume.”