Ori stood, taking in the sight of the Fallen Var’drow floating above them on wings of smoke and shadow. The cracked stone-grey skin, deep black hair, and wickedly tapered ears bore little resemblance to the race that made up half of Poppy’s lineage. She wielded a Blade Staff and wore leather straps and seemingly little else for protection while she floated, malevolence and confidence oozing off her in an inky aura unlike anything he’d seen. Her magic set Ori’s teeth on edge. It was the strength of her void and shadow affinities, viscous and pungent as they roiled against his own. Her mana presence vastly exceeded any foe he had encountered so far, so much so that Ori suspected that the infernal elf was on the verge of forming her own domain. To be warned of her prowess was one thing, to be within the presence of the second strongest Warden was another matter entirely.
Behind him, Karanno backed off, his eyes never leaving the sight of the infernal elf as he made his way back through the tunnels. His shouts and orders were lost on Ori as he strode towards his foe.
“Demon Bane,” she said in a lyrical voice dripping with condescension. “I would have expected you to be... taller. To think, I was dragged away from the business on the surface to deal with such a trifle.”
Ori suppressed a frown, his usual strategy of remaining silent battled with an understandable desire to know what was happening on the surface. Instead, he continued forward, less out of a need to be close to his foe and more to move away from any bystanders, walls, or other obstructions. He considered his tactics for the coming battle: facing a mage with superb Mana control, a void dancer with mobility to counter most physical attacks. On the surface, he’d be lucky to survive one or two exchanges, but Ori felt oddly confident. Somehow he knew this would be the last battle he fought as an awakened; he felt the same pressure building around him that had forced him to awaken, like the static build-up before a lightning strike. His teeth itched, the hairs on his skin crawled as his fate affinity sensed reality turning under his feet while an ocean of Mana and peritia gathered just beyond the edges of fate.
The plateau he found himself on, lit by the red channels of burning magma and distant fires, extended several football pitches in either direction before a sudden vertical drop marked the magma tube of the Middle Reaches. The High Human’s footsteps were heavy, cracking the basalt, his eyes unblinking as Quickened Perception dialled up time and sensation. Meanwhile, the Duælist railed in his chest, commandeering his heart, battle instincts resonated with his Modern Warfare affinity goading him to take the initiative, build momentum, attack, observe, defend and deceive. Multispectrum combat was fought using magic and might, mind and circumstances, these thoughts and instincts framed his actions and reactions, plotting out the course of the battle as Ori's Split Minds took up their roles.
For a moment, Ori considered going all out and unfurling his domain, but knowing it would render him useless should another warden emerge, Ori decided against doing so unless all else failed.
“A silent, serious one, hmm? Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be sure to give you a long, slow death to make up for your lack of entertainment.”
She struck. In an instant, the infernal Void Dancer traversed a hundred yards in a blink, stepping through shadows to spear Ori through the chest. Reach of the Progenitor reacted without thought, an Aetheric Hand grasping the spear shaft. The solitary ghostly hand trembled under the physical might of the Sovereign ranker as the Duælist assessed his foe’s strength and temperament. The solitary Aetheric Hand was gradually pushed back as Ori gritted his teeth, Aura and Vision of the Progenitor slowly igniting under the contest.
His skin exuded ghostly prismatic flames empowered by Aethermancy as his eyes became cold, twin suns. A pulse of something Ori scarcely registered, barely disrupted Reach of the Progenitor, or at least should have. With Ori choosing to let her weapon go as he continued his battle fugue; her reverse swing came around in a horizontal slash that crashed against Lesser Dreamwalker’s Aegis in its shield form.
The shield remained intact, a conical disk on his left arm with Seraphine’s Beacon wielded on his right, as he parried an overhead vertical slash before backstepping to avoid an acrobatic kick. She followed this with a void step enabled counter thrust that once again sought his heart. Meanwhile, Ori cycled through his offensive spells; Greater Stun was seemingly ineffective, while all channelled spells that targeted her or were cast within her vicinity boiled away or were consumed by the dense, liquid shadow mist that coated her skin.
He continued blocking hits as her swings came faster, landing with ever-increasing power despite the physical force dispersed by the Aegis in loud reverberating dongs. Still, her fiendish smirk remained undimmed, before his sense that they were both toying with each other was confirmed when she stepped through the void and appeared fifty yards away.
She swung her Blade Staff in a massive horizontal cleave, releasing a crescent of smoke and black fire, it surged towards Ori in a speeding wave and at that moment, Ori knew the fight had turned deadly. He activated Will of the High Human, instantly increasing the strength of his spells tenfold, before rapidly activating Mind over Motion slowing his perception of time by a similar amount. The cresting wave of deadly shadow fire now leisurely sailed towards Ori as two Astral Hands joined four Aetheric Hands, each wielding a fragment of the Experimental Array and boosting his attack power to his theoretical maximum of a Peak Sovereign.
The air hummed with sharpness while Radiant Weapon turned each piece of the Experimental Array into glowing blades of celestial light and for the first time, the expression on his adversary shifted. Mirror Protection and Light Shield surrounded Ori in a protective nimbus. Finally, Ori cast Mind over Mind and Duælist’s Weave combined the channelled damage spell Moonbeam with the enchanting spell Lesser Echo Print to form the spell Ori had intended to use upon the Galroga.
Another pulse of disruption shattered the woven spell before it could materialise above her while dismissing Astral hands and Radiant Weapon. Vision of the Progenitor’s glow intensified as Ori devoted a fraction of his Split Mind into understanding how she did it. Instead of repeating the spell, Ori cast Light Orb, a simple utility spell with no offensive effect. Cosmic light surrounded Ori in tiny orbs, their perpetual intent allowing Ori to spam the utility spell as quickly as he could cast without worrying if they would linger, so much so that under the time dilation of Mind over Motion, Ori had surrounded himself with hundreds of Light Orbs before the three-second duration of the spell had lapsed.
With his training with Poppy in the dreaming, Ori had become keenly aware of the limitations of void-based magic. For example, Void Dance required shadows to step into and out of. Given sufficient light or a well-timed flash, a void step might be countered in a way that could damage the Void Dancer. Meanwhile, as the crescent of black flame smacked against his shields, Ori attempted to empower his shields using his Duælist class trait. With Flux-aspected Channel Lightning cast from his array, materialising as sneak attacks from two locations around his adversary.
The black protective mist of her pulse shattered the channelling effect and blunted the attacks. A screech and the first visible signs of anger told Ori he had dealt at least some damage. Meanwhile, Light Shields shattered under the arcane strength of her black fire, and before Ori could dodge, Mind over Motion ended. His mind shattered under the effect of the black fire consuming him. It wasn’t a radiant heat but one of smothering suffocation, seeking to devour his flesh, consume his Breath, and drain his Mana. For an instant, Ori couldn’t even scream as the fire drowned and broiled his lungs.
Uriel’s Greater Channeling Wand of Light kept Ori alive long enough to cast Purifying Light. The black fire was disrupted but not completely dispelled, clinging to him as it sought to feast on his mana. In an instinctive act of survival, Ori consigned all his pain, fear, and the sensation of his Awakened flesh melting and regenerating under his wand’s Channel Restoration, to a single fragment of his mind.
Another Split Mind fragment reacted, his spell casting feeble and slow, as he sought to locate his adversary and counter. He found her, far too close, as he had been distracted by the pain. Aetheric hands blocked a Side Slash that would have bisected his neck.
As she danced into his field of Light Orbs, the final fragment of Ori’s Split Mind caught the way she manipulated mana. Vision of the Progenitor unravelled the secrets of her prodigious Mana control even as she sought to dismantle him with her Blade Staff. While one fragment dispassionately noticed a failed block leading to his left wrist being sliced off cleanly from his arm, another part retaliated with Aetheric and Astral's hands. This mind fragment could only gaze in wonder as Ori’s Mana affinity roiled.
Mind over Motion, along with the consumption of one out of four units of remaining Breath, enabled a temporary advantage in mobility. His Array now dealt visible wounds that quickly regenerated after running the gauntlet of Black Mist and swirling smoke that reacted as if they were her third limb. Lingering black flame clung to his skin even as Uriel’s wand regenerated flesh. Ori tried again with magic, Channel Lightning once again dispelled by a profound demonstration of Mana control, a control that sent the last third of Ori’s mind into enlightenment.
Ambient Mana surged as Peritia thickened the air into soup. Bewildered by the unexpected phenomenon, the Fallen Elf backed away, her condescending smirk replaced by an angry snarl.
“Are you serious!?” she screeched, her voice a deep, stretched warble under the surface of his Mind over Motion. Ori picked up his severed limb, reattaching it under the administration of Channel Restoration. Light Orbs dotted around him began to swirl in mimicry of the Var’drow’s smoke and shadow manipulation. A second fragment of Ori’s Split Mind, now freed from the pain of Black Flame, aided in the comprehension of Ori’s Mana affinity until suddenly, Ori’s Page from the Library of Fate was rewritten.
Mana has been chosen as your fifth Inherent Affinity.
Congratulations, Mana - Primordial - Immersion (2nd) has evolved to Mana - Primordial - Integration (3rd)
Mana and Peritia flooded into him as he subconsciously chose Mana as his fifth Inherent affinity taking up the empty slot that had existed since his racial evolution. His comprehension accelerated as Ori understood something new about Mana; a missing facet that gave the paracausal force more substance, weight and complexity. It wasn’t that Mana was more than the mind’s ability to change fate; it was that there was so much more than this simple one-way interface. Mana could influence the mind, give feedback, and be buttressed by Mana just as the mind could do so to it. And with enough focus and comprehension, this feedback loop, a virtuous cycle, could bear fruit in a thicker, more responsive form of Mana.
Here was a Mana beyond the simple spell forms he had learnt as a mortal. A Mana as thick and potent as any wall of Grace, as unpredictable and empowering as Aether. A Mana with a liquid density that could overwrite his weak Awakened spells, even when empowered by class traits or overloaded with excess Mana.
Comprehension accelerated as disparate insights from Eltitus's soul fragments, Seraphine’s mentoring, Harriet and Poppy's words, his enchantment books, experience with his domain and finally, his current infernal foe, crystallised into something greater, sending his understanding to the peak of Integration, his awareness teetering on the threshold of ego death.
Thousands of thoughts, ideas, and experiments raced through Ori’s mind as the life-and-death fight against the Sovereign-ranking infernal suddenly became secondary to this profound moment of insight.
He stood, power coursing through him in a way he had never felt before. The black fire that had threatened to consume him dissipated under the sheer density of enlightened ambient Mana, his new understanding and its interaction with his Aetheric Aura.
The Fallen Var’drow recoiled, her sneer turning to a look of shock and outrage. "Impossible," she hissed, her voice completely devoid of its earlier confidence.
Ori didn’t respond, focused as he was on the new power within him, the reciprocal flow of Mana around his perception, whirling into his flesh, his mind and even his soul. The Light Orbs around him intensified, their radiance pushing back the shadows of the dark cavernous hall as if night turned into Dawn.
Near blinded and completely enraged, the Var’drow lunged, her blade staff spinning in a deadly arc. Ori met her attack with Radiant Weapon, his Experimental Array glowing with Cosmic light. A second, third, fourth, and fifth weapon sank deep into her flesh. Her skin was like car tyre rubber but yielded under the might of his will. He could feel flesh and bone parting under the supernatural sharpness of his weapons. Radiant Weapon was somehow denser and reinforced, not only resistant to her Black Mist and Mana disruption pulse but also carving through both.
Channel Lightning activated from within her body, anti-protons bridging currents of flux and charge causing Sovereign rank flesh to boil and insides to glow, her bones outlined by the barely contained ultra-hard radiation as she cooked from the inside out. The Var’drow's Lifeforce drained away, centuries of remaining lifespan consumed to repair her body as it convulsed, smoke and light searing through her. She screamed, a sound of pure agony that echoed through the cave before her breath ignited, burning flames spewing from her throat.
Moonbeam descended from the roof of the cavern, its silver light aspected with his Cosmic affinity tunnelled through the screaming infernal pinned under the weight of blade and spellfire.
With a final spasm, the Fallen Var’drow disintegrated, her form consumed by the conflagration of light before burning dust rose into the heights of the hall's tall ceilings. The cavern fell silent, the echoes of the battle faded into nothingness.
In the calm that followed, Ori sifted through the debris of the elf's corpse finding a tarnished and likely cursed ring of holding he pocketed away for now, while Vision of the Progenitor followed the final flows of the tidal wave of Peritia as it sunk into him. During this moment, Ori spotted the infernal elf's soul and, on a whim, used his Soul Blade, sacrificing a tiny amount of his own Peritia to sever a thick tendril pulling her soul down towards what Ori suspected was Hell, or at least the Infernal Demiplane. He was surprised to see the soul unravel, fragments of it dissipating until only a small, cold light remained. Unburdened by infernal ties, it drifted away until it travelled towards the Ethereal Demiplane and beyond his reach. He had considered seeing what might have happened if he’d tried to revive her, but in the end, more pressing matters finally breached his awareness.
Congratulations, Nascent. Through the selection of classes, the acquisition of Peritia, Accolades, and the comprehension of multiple affinities, you have ascended from the rank of Awakened to Nascent. At Nascent, individuals venture outward, exploring the world and the broader magical landscape. This stage emphasises the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and experiences from external sources and interactions with the environment and other entities. While those who reach this stage early in life rarely remain, it is the plateau where most Awakened end their journey.
Go forth and explore, Nascent Ranker.
Congratulations, your Accolade: High Demon Bane may now evolve to one of the following accolades of your choice:
Arch Demon Bane
Infernal Nemesis
Infernal Redeemer
Congratulations, your spells have evolved
Light Shield has evolved to Mirror Shield - Note, Mirror Shield can be evolved once more with an investiture of Peritia.
Light Orb has evolved to Light Field - Note, Light Field can be evolved once more with an investiture of Peritia.
Radiant Weapon has evolved to Prismatic Weapon.
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Congratulations, you have gained the spell: Lesser Smite.
Congratulations, you have gained the ability: Multifocal Casting.
Ori quickly glanced at his level and Peritia total; the former remained at level one, while the latter crossed beyond one billion for the first time. The remaining Peritia required for evolution halved under the torrent of his enlightenment. Without thinking too much about it, Ori chose the Accolade Infernal Redeemer, suddenly exhausted by the grim reality of so much killing. Whether he needed their Peritia or for fuel for his curse, it no longer mattered. He could feel the burden on his soul like a stain, a smudge that blunted his will. It was why he had chosen Redeemer.
> Accolade: "Infernal Redeemer"
>
> Type: Legendary, Significant, Combat, Evolving, Titled, Ability, Trait
>
> Legend: As named by the Library of Fates, "Infernal Redeemer" is a legendary, titled accolade bestowed upon those who have demonstrated the power to not only defeat demons but redeem infernal souls. The Redeemer of Infernals stands apart by showing that even the damned can be saved. This accolade was awarded after the recipient successfully redeemed a powerful infernal's soul, restoring its original nature upon death. By breaking infernal bonds and purifying corrupted souls, the Redeemer has proven that redemption is possible, even for the most lost.
>
> Trait: Infernal Blood Sense: Instinctively sense those with an Infernal pact, wherever they are within your perception - Merged with Vision of the Progenitor
>
> Trait: Infernal Redeemer: Infernal beings at your rank or lower an no longer harm you and instinctively know as such. Additionally, increases the potential likelihood of purifying or redeeming living infernal entities by soulcrafting and breaking infernal bonds.
He knew it would not be something he could accomplish soon, but if he could break the nature of infernal bonds and servitude… He shook his head, his sight returning to reality as his perception caught distant figures watching from the mouth of the cavern. He approached, gaining a clearer appreciation of their expressions. Karanno’s open-mouthed gaze of wonder appalled him the most as dozens of recently freed fae stood behind him. Freya’s prismatic sprite form flew to his shoulder and, after a flash of transformation, sat upon his shoulder in her navy-haired, one-and-a-half-foot-tall pixie form.
“We saw everything, but I don’t think any of us understood what happened,” Freya began. Just then, Ori caught sight of the pink-haired fairy whose gaze seemed just a fraction larger and more intense. She lingered by the cavern walls and out of direct sight of the fae around her. Ori walked to join her.
“Did you just ascend through enlightenment?” Karanno muttered.
Ori shrugged his shoulders, a reaction that was less about demonstrating a modest nonchalance and more about his bone-deep, psychological exhaustion of having his lungs boiled and Mana stolen by magical fire. He wanted to collapse and rest his head in his hands, but when he saw the eyes of the prisoners he’d recently freed, that missing spark he had sought from each of them was now a fire and knew he couldn't return this new fire with weakness.
‘What happened?’ Freya asked silently over their bond.
‘I was going to ask you. Enlightenment saw my Mana affinity spike to the peak of Integration. Then I didn’t get a choice before I ranked up. I also got a bunch of evolutions for spells, a new spell and ability, and a new accolade.’ Ori sent Freya all the details for each.
‘You should probably look at those spell evolutions now. Then spend some of your Peritia to make your level match your rank, lest you get more questions,’ Freya advised.
‘But what about my curse?’ Ori argued meekly.
‘You should have more time than you need to solve it. If not, there are always more demons to kill across Fate.’
Ori relented with a sigh. ‘Alright.’
Choosing his Mirror Shield spell, time stopped as Ori entered a mindspace that allowed him to alter the nature of his spell. By changing various conceptual properties, Ori could vastly strengthen or modify the nature of his spell, for example, by turning it into an impervious shield that couldn’t be modified after casting, or into a more flexible armour that coated his skin. With less understanding of the concepts behind a desired effect and increased complexity, the evolution cost would skyrocket from thousands to billions of Peritia.
In the end, Ori changed Mirror Shield, a decent upgrade with defences almost on par with the standard Yellow Mage shield, to Prismatic Shield: a cast-and-forget spell that now formed semi-sentient prismatic, hexagonal slabs that were impervious to spell attacks below Sovereign rank. The cost for this was an eye-watering one hundred million Peritia, but for a Core Spell that was a fundamental aspect of his build, it was a no-brainer.
> Spell: Prismatic Shield
>
> Type: Active, Combat, Protection, Barrier
>
> Characteristic Requirements: Will: ≥50, Intelligence: ≥50
>
> Other Requirements: Light or Order affinity, Fate Affinty, Mana Affinity
>
> Effects: Creates semi-sentient prismatic, hexagonal slabs that form an impervious barrier against spells below Sovereign rank.
>
> Description: Prismatic Shield generates a series of photochromatic, hexagonal slabs that autonomously arrange themselves into a protective barrier around the target. These slabs possess a degree of sentience, allowing them to dynamically respond to incoming attacks, particularly magical ones, and adapt their formation for optimal protection. The barrier is impervious to spells and magical attacks below Sovereign rank, offering a robust defence that significantly enhances the caster’s ability to withstand powerful assaults.
>
> Notes: The strength, adaptability, and duration of Prismatic Shield are influenced by the caster’s Intelligence and Will. While the slabs provide a formidable defence against lower-ranked spells, they demonstrate their true power against higher-ranked magical attacks, maintaining integrity and protection under intense arcane pressure.
Choosing how to evolve Light Field was another question entirely. It was easy enough to turn it into a mediocre area-of-effect damage spell, but his current mood and general lack of urgent need or desire for mass-slaughtering spells made him hold off on spending Peritia he really couldn’t afford right now.
Instead, he turned his mind towards his character sheet and increased his level to forty-eight, spending over two hundred eighty-nine million, one hundred thirty-two thousand Peritia, bringing his total down to where it was before enlightenment.
As a result of raising his level, the cost for characteristic points plummeted at a rate much higher than the levelling cost, enabling him to acquire three hundred and seven points for two hundred million Peritia.
Bringing his vitality to the rank cap of one hundred, Ori split the rest of the points between his Domain, Polydexterity, Strength, and Intelligence.
After gazing at the prospective changes, Ori confirmed when he was satisfied. He had to steady himself against the cavern wall, heedless of the group following and surrounding him as his vision spun and a new round of enlightenment threatened to drive him insane.
Name:
Ori Suba
Titles:
Titled: Infernal Redeemer (Legendary)
**Shrouded** (Minor Soulcraft of the Herald of the Bondweaver)
Accolades:
Titled: Bondweaver (Unique)
Titled: Duælist (Unique)
Titled: Progenitor (Unique)
Titled: Astral Adept (Legendary)
Blessing of a Prime Dragon (Legendary)
Guest of the Library of Fates (Legendary)
Mortal Journeyman White Mage (Legendary)
Mortal four-fold unification: Domain (Legendary)
Titled: Hlēo’þorbēon Undantēon (Legendary)
Titled: Infernal Redeemer (Legendary)
Mortal two-fold unification: Polydexterity (Very Rare)
Mortal High Enchanter (Very Rare)
Quintarch (Very Rare)
Titled: Summoned Hero (Very Rare)
Royal Consort (Rare)
Titled: Saviour of Astor (Rare)
Age:
Adult (23 Sols)
Race:
High Human* (variant unknown)
Rank:
Nascent* (Irregular)
Level:
48
Peritia:
717,309,954
/105,329,145 (to next level)
/73,310,463 (to next characteristic point)
/1,100,000,000 (to next evolution)
Classes and Spell Constellations
White Mage (Journeyman)
Wandsmith (High)
Duælist (Entity)
Bondweaver (Entity)
2/9/10
2/9/10
2/8/10
2/4/10
Core (4/8)
Channel Lightning, Prismatic Shield, Duælist’s Weave, Echo Forging, Channel Restoration
Inner (/30)
Channel Light, Call Lightning, Chain Lightning, Moonbeam, Prismatic Weapon, Purifying Light, Greater Stun, Mind over Mind, Mind over Motion, Mirror Protection, Beacon of Regeneration, Channel Dispel, Death Ward, Cure Wounds
Outer (/40)
- Dreamwalking
- Lesser Smite
- Light Field
- Lesser Recall
- Silvan Whittling
- Sina’lithilien
- Spectral Voice
- Spirit Lathe
- Taurna’dieh
- Whisper
Skills and Abilities:
Domain
Pseudo-Domain (Envelop, Blade)
Split Mind
Multifocal Casting
Summon Arefact (Seraphine’s Beacon, Flencer, Dreamwalkers’ Lesser Aegis, Prototype Array of Duælism)
Summon Familiar (Lysara, Freya)
Progenitor (Vision of the Progenitor, Reach of the Progenitor, Aura of the Progenitor)
Bondweave (Taurna’diem, Familiar)
Aethermancy (Devour Rift, Aether Warp)
Boon: One Thousand Tongues of the Greater Succubus: (544 out of 1000 languages remaining)
Characteristics:
Dexterity:
Unified (3,158)
Domain:
311
Intelligence:
1,097
Perception:
Unified (34,283)
Polydexterity:
316
Presence:
Unified (31,124)
Spirit
Unified (31,124)
Strength
64
Toughness
30
Vitality
148
Will
Unified (62,248)
Wisdom
800
Statistics:
Aetheric Capacity:
2/3
Soul Capacity:
72/650 (Taurna’diem: 12*2, Familiar: 10*2, Arefact: 7*4)
Mana Capacity:
1,625
Mana per second:
43,907
Breath Capacity:
16
Breath per Hour:
99
Grace:
0 (463)
Lifeforce Capacity:
1000 (19,740)
Lifeforce per day:
10,974
Domain Radius:
3,112 yards
Inherent Affinity:
* Cosmic - Transcendent - Integration (3rd)
* Flux - Irregular - Integration (3rd)
* Mana - Primordial - Integration (3rd)
* Wands - Sovereign - Threshold (1st)
* Duælism - Irregular - Threshold (1st)
* Soulcraft - Irregular - Immersion (2nd)
Attained Affinities:
(name - rank - comprehension lvl)
- Abyssal - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
- Aether - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
- Astral - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
- Celestial - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
- Fate - Irregular - Threshold (1st)
- Freedom - Irregular - Threshold (1st)
- Material - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
- Modern Warfare - Irregular - Threshold (1st)
- Quintessence - Transcendent - Immersion (2nd)
- Void - Primordial - Immersion (2nd)
Traits:
Bondweaver
Duælist
Infernal Blood Sense
Infernal Redeemer
Attack as you Defend
Invariant Bonds
Progenitor
Boon: One thousand tongues of the Greater Succubus
Boon: Blessing of the Prime Dragon
Boon: Minor Blessing of Summer’s Fortune
Arch Demon Bane
Wandsmith
White Mage