CHAPTER 31: WARDS & HEXES

Tina and Soren each wore a veil as they roamed Saint Krilo Street. Being this close to Floramere Keep, the holy district was known for housing a lot of the clergy as well as many affluent nobles—completely the opposite of the slums he saw in the Sulkwood District. The only unblessed he could see were those following behind noble men and women as they went about their shopping.

Aside from that, Soren also listened closely to the conversations around him. Yadrians spoke in two main languages, Yasini and Yadrian. High nobles tended to speak mainly in Yasini, but the majority of citizens stuck to normal Yadrian-speak. It took a bit of time, but with the help of his abilities, he was somewhat able to learn the languages—not as fluently as Vinuan, however.

With his Soul Weapon in hand, he followed after Tina. One of the magitech devices they brought with them produced illusions for disguises—they both currently had pointy ears, but just in case, a cloak over their heads was also necessary. Their attire was hand selected silk that was tailor-made to blend in with the nobles of this district.

“Are you sure no one will figure us out?” He followed closely behind Tina who was walking much faster than him, making it hard to catch his breath.

“Yes, it should. If it doesn’t, I’ll make sure to kill Myrin. He’s the one that chose this embarrassing attire after all.”

He glanced down at her dress. It was silk white with strands exposing her shoulders. Her back was also half-way open to see. It flowed down to her feet and was a bit see-through. Though, not enough to see anything but a faint silhouette. Embroideries ran down the slit exposing her chest. The whole thing looked like a blend between a nightgown and a royal dress. Though, she did wear a cloak above it that shielded her from the chill of the wind—at least to a certain degree.

She sped down the street with Soren in tow. “That bastard Myrin had to choose a dress t-this scandalous… Let’s find a store to enter—I am getting cold.”

Yadrians believed in the freedom of the wind—that spirits that roam the unfounded moved across it. Because of this, all their clothing reflected that belief. Their fabrics were extremely thin—Soren could feel the wind chilling his bones.

“Why do you hate the dress so much? It looks good on you.”

She gave him a cold look. “Are you trying to flirt with me?”

Soren rubbed his neck, “No, no—I was just complimenting you.” Who would date a crazy witch like you? He doubted he would survive a single day under the same roof as her.

She turned back ahead and moved even faster, almost leaving Soren in the dust. “I know what you are doing—you want to curry favor with me. If it's about letting you into Star Fate Guild, we can discuss that once we leave this godforsaken city.

“And also, stop lying. This dress is ugly on me.”

Busted. He wasn’t lying about it being good on her though. He smiled. “Eh, it's not like you can read my thoughts like Myrin. I do mean it this time.”

“Hmph.”

She stopped before a wooden sign titled, “Wards & Hexes.” After a brief look through the window, she smiled and opened the door to the store—the bell rang, signaling new customers. Soren followed after her.

“Welcome,” the store owner said in a husky voice. It was an elderly man barely holding onto his cane. He looked half-dead to Soren.

“I am looking for conduit stones. 50 of them.”

The old man answered her. “What kind? And how big?”

“Those with a star anima affinity. And each one needs to be perfectly cut into cubes of 2 feet.”

“Got it. Anything else,” the old man asked.

“Yes, fairy wing dust—300 milligrams of it. And some Spirit Chalk—10 packs of it should be enough.”

“Understood. That will be 10,000 Imra.”

According to Myrin, that was the name of Yadria’s currency. It existed in spirit—Sentinels and Magi stored it within their Soul Frames and Soul Realms respectively. It apparently utilized the strange energy that originates from the Spirit Blossom Willow, though he wasn’t sure on specifics.

She reached out her hand and shook hands with the old man. A small flash of light appeared in between their palms—the Imra was transferred.

The old man wiggled his way to the back of the store while hunching over his cane. Soren leaned in next to Tina and whispered, “can I explore the store a bit?”

She gave a slightly annoyed nod.

Soren walked over to another aisle titled “Runology.”

Ever since he saw Myrin do that Flower Divination technique, a pool of intrigue was building within him—one that was close to spilling over if he didn’t satiate his curiosity.

Glancing down at the shelf, a few items reflected in his eyes. A large bowl with what looked to be marbles inside? There was also a set of 12 wooden slabs, each etched with a strange symbol which he assumed was written in Yasini. To his left, there was also a strange bag filled with… Dust? Countless other items were scattered randomly across the shelf.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

He started inspecting the bowl first. It had intricate designs going across its circumference with five wooden marbles inside of it. Soren activated his [Eyes of the Fairy] and commanded his Soul Weapon to [Record] it.

Elderwood Seed Bowl (Fate Reading)

A bowl filled with 5 marbles, each representing a seed of fate. In Yadrian theology, The Flower Maiden once sewed five seeds across the Feylith Forest. Each of these seeds represent one of the following: Growth, Decay, Balance, Wisdom, and Chaos. The first of these seeds was planted in Point Sylvia, giving rise to the swamp of life that has taken root in that place. This Fate Reading method taps into the symbolism these seeds hold to divine a person’s innate nature. To use this method, a person must pierce the veil into the unseen (The Beyond). The visions that play within will show all possible futures by allowing the seeds to grow. The growth of all five seeds come into consideration to read a person’s fate.

Soren pondered over the words. In a way, it was similar to what he had seen Myrin do with the flower divination. At that time, The Beyond showed him multiple projections of the flower being wilted, which he interpreted as the multiple possible futures that could exist. Though, understanding it beyond that superficial explanation was impossible. He moved on to the next item.

The Twelve Pillars (Fate Reading)

12 Wooden slabs that have ancient spellforms etched onto them. These spellforms were derived from Ancient Yasini, a language that only Saints and higher ranking Court members use. Each wooden slab represents a pillar of Yadrian belief: Origin, Unity, Honor, Knowledge, Time, Renewal, Spirit, Endurance, Harmony, Destiny, Dreams, and Transcendence. A person cannot utilize this Fate Reading method without extensive knowledge into Yadrian theology.

As he read the descriptions, a question continued to grow within him. One that he had wondered about since he obtained his Soul Weapon. The knowledge his [Eyes of the Fairy] obtains, where does it come from?

The simple answer would be from The Beyond. But then where does The Beyond obtain this information?

Dust of Forgotten Paths (Fate Reading)

Fairy Dragon scales that have been ground to dust. Following the War of Swords in the Third Age of Fantasia, high-quality Fairy Dragon scales became increasingly rare. The remnants left behind by the master Eldersmiths used them to forge the Jewel of Silmer and other ancient relics—what remained from that era was large quantities of this byproduct. This dust has anima properties that tie it very closely to The Beyond, allowing for even the dullest of Magi to read fate. Nowadays, navigators use them to find the correct path when diving into Labyrinthos.

Soren sighed. A lot of these descriptions fascinated him, but he had no Imra to purchase any of these Fate Reading tools. And even if he did, he still didn’t know what Runology was and how it was tied to Fate Reading.

He moved a bit down the shelf. A strange wooden board with strange pieces mounted on it drew his attention. He inspected it with [Eyes of the Fairy].

Spirit Mosaic Array (Fate Reading) (Ludologia)

A strange board that holds a multi-faceted spellform. Each of its ley lines represent a rotation in the solar system. The pieces were etched from Spirit Blossom Willow tree wood and are blessed with sacred energy. Although it is used in Fate Reading, it also doubles as a board game that Yadrian high nobles with powerful Soul Realms use to play against each other in social gatherings. A board of fate.

“Board of Fate, huh?” It reminded him of a certain board game he used to play. He decided to move on from this section and head into another aisle. This one was titled, “Magecraft.” Inside, countless grimoires were stacked across the shelves, some of them containing locks

A devious idea entered his mind. If he used [Record] on the countless grimoires lining the shelves, wouldn’t he gain all their knowledge on magecraft? This would count as theft, though, right? His greed was stronger than his hesitation. Sounds fun, let me try it…

“What are you doing?” Tina’s annoyed voice startled him. He almost dropped his Soul Weapon on the floor—well, not really since it could levitate on its own.

“Exploring,” he said with his usual poker face. “As I said I would.”

She sighed, “I hope you weren’t planning on doing what I think you were going to do… Those grimoires have wards on them that could detect your intentions.” She pointed at a red tome to the side of him. “For example, if you opened this one with the intention to memorize its contents, a large flame pillar would emerge from the book and burn your eyes to dust.”

Soren gulped. “I will keep that in mind.”

“Nevermind all of that. Let’s go, I already obtained what I came here for.” She stormed out of the store without waiting for him. Soren collected his thoughts and scurried after her.

“What even is the stuff you bought? Conduit Stones or whatever they were called…” He looked around her hands and found nothing. “And where did you place them anyway? Do you have a backpack underneath your cloak or something?”

She rolled her eyes as she walked down the street. “No, I put them in the Spatial Bracelet I own.”

“Spatial Bracelet?” His eyes widened in amazement.

“As for your other question… It’s something related to our Star Fate Guild—it's a secret.”

Soren rolled his eyes. Should I just use [Eyes of the Fairy] to snoop around her belongings? He threw the idea in the trash immediately—if a damn grimoire could detect him, there was no guarantee Tina wouldn’t either. Heck, even the grimoire burning his eyes off seemed like a better fate than pissing her off.

He sighed. “Fine, keep your secrets. But can you tell me where we are going next? And why are you in such a hurry…”

“Haven’t I said it before? Yadria is called one of the nations of disorder in the human realm. They had all of humanity enslaved for a thousand years during the Second Age of Fantasia. I doubt they’ll enjoy our presence if they find out...”

“.....” Slaves? He knew elves had a disdain for humanity when he met Luvin, but he didn’t think the history went this deep.

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, a strange, shadowy figure drew their attention. It was standing still in an alleyway between two buildings—they were able to see it from the sidewalk they were on that was adjacent to it. It was holding an elongated wooden staff with three bells attached at its apex. Right below it was a Yadrian child wearing rags that was slumped on the wall—Soren knew it had to be an Unblessed from his ragged clothing.

The cloaked figure stood still with his hand placed above the child—a strange dark stone was beneath his palm.

Just as they were about to question him, he squeezed his hand, shattering the stone. A strange dark mist poured out from within it, submerging the child in its form. Soren immediately recognized it.

The Nameless Mist.