“I have to say, I’m surprised. I really expected you, based on what I’ve seen and heard of your personality, to immensely dislike having to follow a set of rules from an unseen authority. I heard from Vorn’s uncle that you were reckless and were quick to rebel. No offense.” Falnier said.

Before Vorn could interject on his behalf, Rowan said, “That’s fair. The first thing I did on arrival here was disregard sound advice and then beat up two wealthy scions of a powerful merchant. I’ve also been spending most of my time in dungeons, and not in public, so I can understand why people would assume that about me if that’s all they have to go off of.

“It’s not an entirely incorrect assumption either. I was a soldier for a decade, however, and I understand sometimes you just have to accept the bullshit and move on. There’s too many benefits and not enough downsides. Overall, this is one of the more reasonable contracts I’ve signed in all my years.” Rowan explained.

“Well, as long as both of you are happy with this decision. On a related note, congratulations, you’re officially almost done with the seclusion training. We just have a few more steps before I can throw you back into the world.” The Elf said.

“Really? I thought you said this was to get my berserker abilities under control, but we haven’t even touched on that. Or is Authority itself the most important element?” Rowan questioned.

“You got it in one. I’ll give you a brief overview of how exactly Authority works, and that should clear things up for you. First off, there are four stages of Authority Cultivation. The first, and by far the most common, is the Seed Stage. These are the people who have touched on manipulating their own internal Authority but have no deeper understanding.

After that, there are three more stages. Root, – Where you’re at. – Bloom, and Symbiosis Stages. The Root Stage is the broadest. It allows you to explore your powers at the cost of being very unspecialized. Throughout this stage, you should fully explore what you can do with your Authority. After that, there’s the Bloom Stage, which is where you will specialize and lean into your powers. Then finally the Symbiosis Stage, where the roots you grow reinforce and assimilate with your actual body.”

“That’s fascinating, I assume it’s not quite that simple or quick, though. Right?” Vorn chimed in.

“Correct. Again, this is all very broad, and the actual process is much more complicated and involved, but this is the quickest summary I can give you. I can already see you’re both antsy to see your friends. And Vorn, I must mention you have been admirably patient on account of your companion. I know putting everything on hold for secluded meditation couldn’t have been easy.”

Vorn flushed slightly before retreating back into his soul space.

"To get back on topic, I’ll finally tell you the actual abilities Authority grants you. That I know of, at least. First, I’ll tell you how to control your berserker skills. This is less an actual ability and more just an application of Authority. Rowan, You said you controlled the rejuvenating energy of [Regeneration] with Authority in our spar?”

“Well no, not exactly. It was more that I used Authority to overcharge it, and then controlled the energy from [Regeneration] myself. Or, that’s how it felt at least.” Rowan explained.

“That’s quite a common sensation for new Authority Users. You were subconsciously using Authority to grasp and guide the energy. Or in your case, rip it to where you wanted it to go. Technically, you could already control rage inducing abilities the moment that spar ended, with the right training, at least. I figured you didn’t want to wait weeks before you regenerated your Authority after every fight, though, and the Root stage means you can regenerate lost energy much faster. I wasn't going to just send you out with half-assed training.”

“Thank you.” Rowan said, appreciatively.

“However, instead of guiding the energy like you did for [Regeneration], I’ll just guide you on how to create a barrier for your mind. It’s much easier than individually guiding every separate Title, Skill, and Perk’s energy so they don’t affect you. It’s not hard, I’ll teach you how after I’m done explaining the actual abilities Authority grants.”

“Wait, being able to manipulate Shard given skills doesn’t count as an actual ability!” Vorn asked, astounded.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Hah, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are three main abilities that I know of, the first being Reinforcement. This is a very basic use of Authority that you’ve already utilized. You basically just shove Authority into your muscles and let it do the rest. Obviously, if you do this with more finesse the results are greater, but I’ll leave you to discover how. It’s more fun that way, and there’s less of a chance of me getting smote for sharing too much information.

Second, is the power of Tempering. Like Reinforcement, you flood your body with Authority, but instead of allowing it to power your body, you use it to absorb energy and concepts around you. Some people I’ve known have swam in lava and subjected themselves to incredible depths to temper their Authority with those concepts. You do have to build up a baseline level of toughness because Authority won’t stop these forces from killing you… Unless it’s tempered with something for exactly that purpose.

Third is the power of Assimilation. Like Tempering, you subject your body and Authority to a force and let it adapt. Unlike Tempering, this force is very alive and is usually trying to kill you. Some of the myths suggest that some have even assimilated the power of dragons, leaving them with scales that can resist even forces over two evolutions above them.

A fair warning about the latter two powers, they can leave… Mutations. You don’t get lava-resistant skin or dragon scales without it changing your appearance. I doubt you care about that though.

Anyway, those are the three most commonly used abilities. I’m sure there are others, but you’ll have to find them yourself. I myself have specialized into pure Reinforcement, but the other paths are just as powerful, if not more so. If you want to find stranger or rarer abilities, I encourage you to try. This is just my own speculation based on the abilities I know of, but I personally think Authority is the energy of Adaptation. Perhaps search in that vein? Or find your own, I’m certainly no scholar.” Falnier said, finishing his lengthy explanation.

“Adaptation, huh?” Rowan said, twirling his scraggly facial hair in contemplation. They really needed to shave.

“Do you not agree?” Falnier asked, not unkindly.

“To me it sounds more like… Superiority. Or Conquest. Taking powers or concepts, besting them, and adapting them to your own use.” Rowan postulated.

“That’s possible. It is a very stubborn, some might say, arrogant energy. That would fit decently well with your theory. I suppose we’ll only know who’s right if you manage to make it to my level. We’ll have to do a true spar at that point. I look forward to it.” Falnier challenged good-naturedly.

“I look forward to it as well.” Rowan said, while reaching to shake his hand.

— — —

Vorn invited Ark and Rexen to his apartment for what he assumed may become a slightly heated reunion. You don’t just ghost your team for weeks. It’s kinda mega uncool.

Rexen, to both their shock, was the first through the door. The door slammed open and he gave them a little shove to make his presence known. This would normally be quite rude, but they couldn't quite blame the Half-Elf for wanting to be seen quickly in this case.

“You absolute moron! Do you know how worried I was! Couldn’t you have left a note or something!” The Alchemist shouted.

“I-” Before they could get a word out, he continued, “I was looking for weeks! As far as I could tell, you just walked down a random alley and then disappeared. You do realize you’re a Unique Being, right? You’re valuable! People will want you for the sheer fact that you exist! I thought you were kidnapped by some level two hundred noble or something!” The tall, for their party’s standards, Half-Elf ranted.

“I apologize. I could have left a letter if I had thought to. That’s my mistake, and I will not make it again, I promise. It was very shortsighted of me not to consider what my disappearance would look like from your perspective.” Rowan apologized.

“You’re lucky that I don’t hold grudges very long. Ark on the other hand… I think you may have upset her more than me.”

The woman in question stood close by but said nothing. It was clear that she was angry, but she managed to grind out, “Listen, I’m very, very upset with you right now, but you’ve always had a reasonable explanation in the past, which is why I haven’t spiked your drink with a virulent plague yet. So please, go on.”

“Hmm. There are certain details I’m not allowed to share, with the orders coming from very high up, but the long and short of it is, my various skills and titles that affect my emotional regulation built and stacked too much and led to me lashing out dangerously. My instructor considered me a danger to myself and the public, and forced me into forced seclusion to get a better grasp of my abilities. I cannot say exactly how this training worked, but suffice to say, it will not be a problem in the future.” Rowan explained as best as he could.

Ark let out a slow breath and then hugged the Unique Being.

“You goddamn moron. I thought you got caught up by the underground. The last rumor I heard was somebody fleecing the head of the biggest merchant group in the black market, a person with orange eyes and silver hair, and then you just disappeared.” Ark said, while not crying, and being very emotionally stable.

“Do you know how hard it is to find someone competent that will work with a plague sorceress? I still haven’t managed it, besides Rexen. You two are the best I can find, so don’t go disappearing again, got it?”

“I understand.” Rowan said, awkwardly standing like a robot while Ark did not bawl onto his shoulder.

“I wanna hear it from Vorn, too. He pretends he’s responsible, but he’s an enabler of your risky behavior through and through. He isn’t confrontational enough to deal with you, you gods damned adrenaline junky.”

“That’s hurtful, but fair. I promise I won’t let this dumbass do anything stupid without at least letting you know first.” Vorn said warmly.

“Now, Rexen, you get over here this gods damned instant. Don’t think I can’t see you sulking in the corner, I know you’ve been just as worried.” Ark shouted.

Rexen reluctantly, at first, joined into what was rapidly becoming a group hug. If he teared up a little, who's to say?

“I’m beginning to think the invisible poison guy and the walking plague vector may have abandonment issues. This… probably should have been obvious in hindsight. Let’s not do something like this again, I can’t think of two people I’d want to piss off less.”

“You know Vorn, you make an excellent point.”