"So, what can you tell me about void magic?" Talax inquired as he scanned the treasury for a new sword. He noticed a rack full of shiny blades and immediately marched there.
"Void..." Aria sighed. "What do you know about void magic, Talax?" He scratched his head, trying to remember the little snippets of knowledge he had collected during his travels. It wasn't much, insane ravings of a lunatic and the cryptic words of a fish woman.
"I just know that I have one spell that I cannot use, and the only time I mentioned my magic, it almost got me killed." The elf woman hummed, as if she were expecting that much.
"It doesn't shock me. Most of the knowledge was struck down when the purging occurred." Her tone was sad, and Talax felt a momentary twinge of sympathy. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her, to have survived for centuries as a fragment, a piece of her former self, still conscious and aware of what was happening to her loved ones.
"But why can't I use my spell? All the others I have no trouble casting, just that one. Also, every time my void magic senses another element of magic, it goes wild, as if it wants to jump out of me and devour the foreign magic. Especially when it senses another God! What's up with that? Ahh! Another thing, why the heck does everyone want to kill us?"
His questions were fired one after another at a rapid-fire pace, leaving him breathless. He had so many questions, questions that he had to keep to himself, that ultimately started to gnaw at him, bogging down on his psyche. He needed a release; he needed answers!
"Easy, young one. I can understand your impatience and frustration, but before I can answer you, I have to explain a few things first so that everything makes sense." Talax abandoned his attempt to find a new weapon and sat on a crate. With astonishment, he realized he was sitting on a bunch of health potions, and he quickly grabbed one and downed it in one go.
His body sang in relief; old wounds and bloody scrapes healed in seconds, and the constant pain he had been feeling for what had felt like forever abated until finally, he was free of the constant torture.
"Aria... Can you manifest? It's weird talking to the air for such a serious matter." His request was twofold. He did feel like a fool talking to empty space, but he also wanted to watch her face during the conversation. She may have made a vow to never lie, but... He would just feel better if he could see her reactions.
"I... I will try," Aria replied reluctantly. He saw her form blink into existence, but she didn't possess her earlier clarity or vividness. She looked... well, she looked like a ghost.
He saw her looking down on herself and grimace in distaste. "Please don't make me do this again. Not unless I am fully replenished. I hate looking like this. It only reminds me of my current state..." Talax felt bad for the ghost lady, but he needed her tangible form. Still, a few words of acknowledgment were pertinent if he wanted to have a good relationship with his newest companion.
"Thank you, Aria. I know how difficult this is for you." The elf woman nodded in response and then went straight to business.
"As I said, there are things you need to know." The ghost put a manicured finger on her chin and started tapping thoughtfully as if unsure how to proceed. "Let me see... Gods! Yes! The Gods, that's a good place to start." She looked at him and inquired, "What do you know about the Gods?"
Talax couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Aria, from now on, consider me a clueless idiot. Pretend I don't know anything about everything." Aria frowned and looked at him like he was crazy, and Talax sighed in dejection.
"I have no memories. I simply woke up one day, without levels, skills, or abilities. Talax isn't even my real name. It was given to me by the man who found me, who, by the way, a couple of days later tried to kill me once he learned I have void magic."
Aria's eyes grew bigger and bigger as he told her his truth, his whole truth. He heard her mutter, "That is not good. Not good at all!" Talax cocked his head and asked, "What is?"
"Talax..." She gave a resigned sigh before continuing. "I have analyzed your core and saw your wreaths, so I knew you have been in contact with Gods. What I hadn't realized is how much you have been embroiled in their plans..."
She started pacing anxiously, her long gown trailing behind her without making a sound. Talax grew unsettled seeing her reaction, and with every step she took, he became more confused.
"Aria! Please explain!" His voice became uncharacteristically sharp, and the woman looked up, surprised. "Sorry. It's just... My mind... It's still in turmoil after an eternity of solitude. Talax, I have heard of spells that can erase a memory or two. Even more powerful spells that can render your mind into a muddled soup. But... the power to make someone forget everything, to erase his core and his very being... It's no small thing! I am not sure if even the Gods can do that! Our core is something pure and unique; it remains untouched and unfettered by external forces..." She put her delicate hand on her head and muttered, "I'm confused."
Talax scoffed. "Imagine how I am feeling!" The woman nodded. "Can we go back to our conversation? You were saying..." For a moment, Talax drew a blank, but then exclaimed in triumph, "Gods! You were saying about Gods!" Aria's eyes grew sharp and focused on him again.
"Right! As I was saying, Gods are not the immortal, divine presences they would like you to believe. Once, they were humans. Their progression, though, came to an end. They reached a higher tier, and the few that managed to ascend became deities. But... there is a problem once someone ascends... mana is not enough; they need something else, a new kind of fuel... Faith! Faith is the magical fuel of the Gods. They can harvest faith points and use them to further their path and perform all those magical feats that mortals are dazzled by."
Talax listened mesmerized, the curiosity that he had come to realize was one of the cornerstones of his personality being stirred and sated at the same time. The fact that the Gods were normal people, just stronger than the rest, was a revelation, but also something that made perfect sense.
"These Gods rule over Helios. Their influence reaches every corner of our planet, every city, forest, ocean, and subterranean habitat. They are everywhere. But... Their power reaches only so far... They can influence only our world, our reality..."
Talax blinked. And then he blinked some more. Aria waited patiently, seeing his confusion. "You mean that there are other worlds?" The ghost of the high priestess nodded. "There are innumerable planes of existence. Ours is just one of them. And our Gods have dominion over this plane and none other."
Talax's eyes had gone wide as saucers, and he muttered, "Wow." Aria gave him a smile, seemingly happy with his reaction. "What I am getting at is that there are Gods, true Gods. They are the creators of the cosmos and aren't restrained by the fetters of the material planes. And they are the true parents of all the Gods across the realms."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Talax listened enraptured, but a question popped up in his mind. "How do you know all that?" For the first time, the beautiful woman looked shy, and she looked away embarrassed. "Um... Let's just say that my duties extended from just being a high priestess..." Talax snickered, and Aria cut him an angry look.
“Ha’arun was a young God. He had just ascended when I became his disciple, and he was discovering the Gilded City and all its intricacies. He needed a confidant to unburden all his worries and misgivings, and I eventually became the shoulder and ear he desired.”
Talax nodded thoughtfully. “When you said the true Gods are the true parents of our Gods, what did you mean? I thought the Gods were once mortals...” Aria looked at him and replied with reluctance. “We are heading down a dangerous road. There are things you mustn’t know, secrets that are guarded by the Gods themselves. I will say that ascendance is not a simple thing; you don’t just level up and become a God. That is all I will say for the time being.”
“You vowed to share all your knowledge!” Talax protested, and Aria glared at him.
“Don’t be a fool! We don’t know if some God is listening! Or has cast some spell to alert them if or when the secret is being revealed! You don’t need that information. So shut your mouth and open your ears!” Aria instructed sternly, and Talax was left bewildered. The ghost lady was feisty!
“The true Gods, or Primals as they are called, are five... Or were...” Her face grew dark for a moment, but she went on. “Void, Creation, Annihilation, Chaos, and Order. Those are the forces of the Universe and the bringers of life. Everything around us derives from them, everything holds their truth, their essence. Some hold greater Creation essence while others are pure Chaos. Us... we are Void.”
Talax frowned, sensing an ominous feeling. It’s one thing to have void magic and another to be called void, simple and inescapable. “At one point in time, there were some races directly touched by the Primals. Created according to their will and flourished like no other. But with the ascendance of the new Gods, these races represented something that the Gods wanted to be forgotten... That there are forces above them. Void elves were one of those races; for millennia, we enjoyed the reverence and respect our origins afforded us, but the void is a dangerous power, it seeks nourishment, and it is never satiated. It just wants more. And more... until all you can think of is your insatiable hunger.” Her eyes turned haunted as if she had personally felt the never-ending hunger. “Our very essence is a danger to those around us if left unchecked. Voidtouched, due to their very nature, grew powerful to unimaginable heights, gathering and absorbing powers, because the void feeds on others Talax, we are predators! We can’t fight it; we are who we are. But with that rise in power, and the destruction that power wrought, we gained the attention of the Gods. And as other primal races before us, we were hunted and persecuted until our numbers dwindled to the point of extinction.” Aria’s face looked stark, as if the recounting of the past brought her physical pain.
“Among the Gods, there were those touched by the void, and they made a pact. Those touched by the void would be sealed, restraining their magic so that they wouldn’t be a threat to those around them. Those born by the void, though... They could be free... And they became our leaders...”
Talax’s mind was a jumble of thoughts. He was trying to make sense of what he was hearing, but there were still things he didn’t know or understand, making it difficult to have a clear picture. “But what’s the difference between Voidtouched and Voidborn?” His confusion was evident in his face, and Aria took pity on him.
“Voidborn is someone directly blessed by the Primal itself. Voidtouched are simply the descendants of the first Voidborns. We possess the void, but we cannot control it, not unless there is a Voidborn to bless us and guide us. If not... the void consumes us...”
Talax’s eyes widened in realization. “That’s why! That’s why you want me to find your family!” Aria looked contrite but didn’t deny his accusation.
“That is correct. There isn’t a rhyme or reason when the void will consume you, but it eventually does. Always. Being elves who have the luxury of having long lives, but someone can be consumed even as a young child while others can grow old, live for centuries without their magic being awakened. But the end is unavoidable, the void always rises. The only way to safely awaken and use our void magic is with the blessing from a Voidborn.” The high priestess looked at him with hope in her eyes, and Talax felt an invisible weight settle on his shoulders.
“But I don’t know how to do that! I have no idea how to use my void magic!” Aria looked lost for a moment, but then her face grew determined.
“We will discover the way together! The fact that you exist is a miracle! The Voidborns had ceased to exist centuries before my time. I had been living on borrowed time myself, but now my descendants have a chance! A chance to live, to survive and flourish into their true potential!”
“What do you mean the Voidborns disappeared?” He asked confused. “We don’t know the reason. Initially, we thought that it was the work of the Gods, but the will of the Primals can’t be impeded by anything. There was speculation... a theory that the Primal had abandoned us or... that he no longer existed...” The woman sighed, seemingly confused, but then her face brightened.
“But your presence gives us hope again! Hope for a new beginning!” Talax looked at the elf with blank eyes. He wanted to laugh at her words, but the crazy gleam in her eyes made him stay silent. He felt pity for the woman if all her hopes were based on him. HIM! He who was a complete mess, half the time not knowing what he was doing and the other half, he was doing something stupid or reckless, or both.
“Mmm.” He murmured to himself, and the elf exclaimed. “You don’t understand! We thought the Primal had forsaken us! But he blessed you! He gave you his favor! And with that favor, you can reunite the remnants of our race! We can be reborn!”
“Aria, please give me some of your optimism because from where I am standing everything looks shitty!” The woman laughed. “Don’t you worry! One step at a time. I didn’t tell you to go off and battle some God. I just want you to become stronger; besides, don’t you forget, we are not alone. There is a God with the same goal as us!”
“That’s reassuring.” He said sarcastically. Talax had forgotten about his stalker, and he quickly looked around to make sure those unnerving eyes weren’t staring at him. Thankfully he found nothing of that sort.
“You make me sound like some kind of savior, but I can’t even use the one spell I possess from my void magic.” Aria nodded in understanding. “Of course, you can’t! You are a level 14 mortal! Void magic, just like creation or chaos magic are higher energies, requiring immense reserves of energy to be used. You don’t just use light or death mana to cast higher energy spells; you command the very energies of the cosmos, subverting the laws our plane is built upon!”
Talax exhaled a disappointed breath. “Well, that is disappointing!” Aria shook her head. “No, it is not! It won't be long until you will be able to use void magic; it is in your nature. You are of the void!” Talax nodded, not feeling reassured in the least.
“Ok, I have another question. You say I am to help your family and whoever is left of the Voidtouched, what I don’t understand is if they are so dangerous how come the Gods haven’t killed them all yet? You said it’s been centuries since the purging began; how come there’s still some kicking around.”
Aria glared at him but replied, nonetheless. “Their magic is sealed; it doesn’t appear even if someone uses an analyze skill. A God can spot a Voidtouched only when his magic awakens and causes havoc. Still, they can be identified by their looks; that is why so few of us are left.”
Talax nodded, but then he remembered something else. “Crap!” He exclaimed, making Aria look at him sharply. “I had a Goddess use analyze on me! Although she said she couldn’t identify me! I hope that’s true!” Aria looked panicked for a second, but at his words, she exhaled in relief and nodded thoughtfully.
“I believe the blessing of the Primal protected you from her magic; it acts as a safeguard against other deities. You will be safe as long as you don’t use void magic in the presence of a God.”
“Well, that is good news!” For the first time, he felt as if he finally understood his powers. The reason his magic always seemed to react and try to confront the other Deities was that his void magic was coming from a different source than the rest of his magic. It was coming from a primal source, a God that was above the Gods. His magic wouldn’t bow down to an inferior energy even if that energy was coming from another deity.
“I guess being a Voidborn has its advantages too.” He finally muttered, and Aria smiled. “You could say that. You will just have to stay alive long enough so that you could use your magic!”
“That’s a goal I can get behind! Stay alive long enough! That sounds good!” He laughed.
“Now, is there some kind of booze in this godforsaken place? Cause I could sure use some alcohol!”