Kade desperately looked around, not for more Chaos–he couldn’t stop seeing Chaos. Instead he was watching everyone else. Why weren’t they panicking? Why weren’t they running? The Chaos is here! He had to stop himself from screaming it at the top of his lungs like a lunatic, and only the relative calm of the observers told him that something more was going on than he believed. Certainly Salarus looked worried, but that was just the face of a friend not knowing how to help.
All at once Kade understood why his breathing was so ragged. It wasn’t his actual breath at all, it was the natural pulse of his Soul Core, absorbing a little taste of Chaos every time. That simple understanding seemed to lessen the feeling, as greater revelations crashed over Kade in waves. Did anyone know? Was the whole of this society based on a lie? His mind flashed back to something he hadn’t considered since he’d heard it–Chaos Sickness.
Edwin and his group had spoken about it–that thousands were afflicted. Kade had assumed this meant people who were somehow exposed to Chaos accidentally, possibly through a monster attack or needing to venture away from the protection of an Elder for some reason. What if that wasn’t true? What if it was just this? People continually absorbing small amounts of Chaos, losing themselves a little bit more each day. As the crowd grew, partly out of concern, partly out of morbid curiosity of the new student clearly in the middle of some kind of episode, Kade knew that any further consideration would have to wait.
He forced himself to his feet, trying not to let the trickle of Chaos entering his body push him into another gasping fit. He tried reminding himself that he’d absorbed Chaos continually when he’d first awoken on Iros, but the thought was anything but comforting. When he stumbled over to Sal, the man leaned down to support Kade’s weight and he whispered once more, “Please tell me what’s wrong, I don’t know how to help you.”
Kade barely had the strength to whisper back, “I’m okay, can you just get me home? I don’t think I can make it on my own.” Kade looked at the dense crowd with defeat, the idea of pushing his way through in that moment as daunting as fighting an Emerged Karthas. Sal nodded without hesitation, then looked up at the crowd blocking them in. Kade was confident the taller and intimidating man would have no problem clearing a path, but didn’t expect the Sorcerer’s method.
Salarus simply glared, and tapped his staff on the tiled ground once. No magic flared to life, none of his immense power was unleashed at the gesture, simply the force of the man’s will. Instantly the crowd was silent, and a path was made. Dozens of students and even a few full Keepers watched quietly as Sal supported his friend on his slow journey out of the Academy. Kade couldn’t help but smile slightly, despite the pain still tearing through his mind and body; woe to whomever was foolish enough to come between Salarus de L’estat and his friends.
***
Less than an hour later, Kade found himself collapsed in a chair in the training room of Alara’s estate. He’d been surprised to learn that Sal hadn’t been there before. He had inquired with Alara the day he’d met the Sorcerer, but she had barely acknowledged the question, simply replying that her family was very large. Apparently both Sal and Alara were members of side branches of the family, though evidently connected through their shared reputations as black sheep.
Sal’s family had been looked down upon for generations due to their commitment to Sorcery, and Alara’s had apparently made some mistake in their dealings with the royal family at some point, leading to their being pushed as far from the main branch as possible. Kade suspected that Alara’s dedication to politics and joining the Bringers was at least partially an attempt to redeem her family. He wouldn’t be able to see the two distant relatives interact however, as Alara was once more gone from the estate.
Salarus finished adjusting the training room’s settings so that healing energy would flow into a miserable Kade, then joined him at the table. He appeared more curious than concerned at this point, as Kade’s condition has improved slowly as they walked through streets. “We’re as far from prying eyes as we’re likely to get, are you ready to tell me about whatever is happening to you?” Kade hesitated. He was building trust with Sal rapidly, but the urge for secrecy was overpowering; he settled on telling the man as much as he could without completely giving up his unusual nature.
“My new path had some kind of side effect; I can see energy.” He paused, curious how Sal would absorb this, but the man just put on his customary deep-thinking face, and waited for Kade to continue. “At first it took some getting used to, but I thought I was acclimating as we watched the lecture. As soon as we left though, I saw…Chaos.” Sal sat up suddenly at that, but still didn’t interrupt. “That's why I had such a strong reaction…the Chaos is everywhere, even inside the city, and it’s going into all of us, all the time. I saw the same thing as we walked here: it didn’t matter if it was Keepers or just average citizens, everyone has Chaos running through them.”
Salarus finally spoke, confirming Kade’s fears. “None of this is supposed to be possible. As far as we know, all societies are built in the Calm created by larger Elders, and that Calm is supposed to be immutable–so long as the Elder doesn’t awaken.” Sal paused, thinking. “When an Elder is in the process of an unnatural awakening, the Calm around them destabilizes. However we have experts who can sense that exact problem from Elders who are weeks from Karthas, there’s simply no way they wouldn’t notice the same problem if it were occurring here.”
Kade shrugged, “I wish I could believe I was wrong, but the energy…I’ve experienced it before, in Altera, and I’m painfully certain of what I’m seeing.” Salarus nodded, as if doubting Kade hadn’t occurred to him. “You said unnatural awakening, I don’t think I understand that, was it covered in today’s lecture?” Sal shook his head.
“It’s an unusual problem, and one you’re more familiar with than you think, given it was what happened to that Elder you faced with Edwin’s group,” Sal continued. “We don’t know what causes it, though we don’t believe it to be a normal part of an Elder Trance. Something simply changes one day. Maybe the ambient energy around the Elder’s body, maybe any of a thousand things, but the result is an Elder waking from their Trance without the changes necessary to make it a true Emergence. On the contrary, what comes out is only a fraction of the Elder’s power, and their actual body will sometimes remain behind, still in the Trance.” Kade nodded, thinking back to the Elder he had fought, and how it had appeared in a pillar of light rather than clawing its way out of the ground.
Sal brought the subject back to the Chaos, “I’ll make some subtle inquiries–what you’re suggesting is dangerous and alarming at best, a deadly sign of things to come at worst. It wouldn’t be a good idea to broadcast it freely, you could cause a panic, or simply make unintended enemies. For now, how are you feeling?”
Kade considered the state of his body then stood up and stretched, trying to ignore the feeling of Chaos being continuously absorbed into his body. “I’m feeling better. I don’t think there’s actually anything new going on, my body must have been absorbing this stuff as much as anyone else, I just wasn’t aware until now. I think a lot of my reaction was more psychological than physical.” Sal nodded in understanding, but looked slightly awkward. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s a bit selfish, I’m afraid,” the man looked chagrined. “We’re scheduled for a training bout against Gwen in three days. If you’re not well enough it’s fine–” Kade cut the man off.
“No, this is important. I need that experience, and I don’t want to hold you back. I also need to figure out how the hell I’m going to kill monsters if I really want to be a Keeper. I’ll just need to stop thinking about the fact that I’m basically breathing in Chaos, and whatever that might be doing to me.” Salarus looked confused.
“Is that what you were worried about? Your body is designed for that, Kade, how do you think you walked through the Chaos to get to Karthas?” Memories seemed to slap Kade in the face as he recalled the desperate search for a Mana Fragment for this exact purpose. He realized that he’d been in Karthas surrounded by people terrified of Chaos long enough to start seeing it as a nebulous enemy he had to avoid. Salarus continued. “You’re right that this is a problem, but only because Chaos shouldn’t be possible within Karthas’ shadow. He’s doing exactly what you’re doing now, and have been since you formed a Mana Bond: absorbing Chaos continuously and expelling Calm.”
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Kade started breathing a little easier at that reminder, but what he wasn’t ready to tell Sal was that the Chaos wasn’t all transformed into Calm inside him–his bracer had a helpful interface ready to remind him of that fact. “Right, of course. I knew that, I suppose seeing it just made me lose my mind a little. It’s invasive watching something disappear into your body against your will.”
Without meaning to, Kade started to unload his frustration. “It’s just one more damned thing, Sal. I keep making bold proclamations to myself, promising that I’m going to take control of my life and stop being pulled along blindly, but Iros doesn’t seem to care what I want.” Salarus listened patiently, and was silent for a time, then spoke with unyielding conviction.
“Then make a choice. I made mine when I was seven years old. You were going to be the one to prove to the world that a Metallurgist could be a powerful Keeper. That’s no longer your path, so find a new one.” He gestured at Kade with a sardonic expression, “You can’t tell me that you don’t see any opportunities before you. So who do you want to be, what do you want to do?” Kade stared at the man for a moment, caught up by his vehemence. At last he smiled.
“I think I may have underestimated how much I might need a kick in the ass from time to time. You’re right, Sal, and I’m done letting the choices I can make get lost in the current that seems to be dragging me from one crazy situation to the next. I’m a Vanguard, and an Energist, and I’m going to be a Keeper. What that means is up to me to find out.” He made another promise during that moment, but kept it to himself.
“Now, I’m done with the self pity, let’s figure out what I can do.” Without stopping to consider it, he focused on his new ability: Energy Construct. He had already decided to avoid Chaos Blast for now, knowing he needed to test it carefully before he’d be willing to use it publicly. Thankfully, his Construct ability allowed him to channel Chaos or mana, and he was surprised by how easy it was to distinguish the two when channeling his new skill.
Remembering what the description had said about will being key to the ability, he focused his mind and held out a hand. After a moment, raw mana seemed to pour out like mist, and almost instantly took the shape of a cube, which fell to the floor. Salarus ran forward with excitement, staring at the cube that had just materialized. After a moment he cocked his head, then nudged the cube with toe. “With all respect, was that it?” Kade snorted a laugh.
“I wanted to start simple. My ability is called ‘Energy Construct’, and I’m not sure how to use it effectively yet. I’m hoping for greater inspiration than just throwing cubes, but I need to figure out what I can do first.” Sal nodded, but cocked an eyebrow, apparently struggling to see the combat applications of Kade’s death cube. Focusing his will once more, Kade used the skill again, and this time a dozen smaller spheres of energy fell to the ground and started rolling around the training area. Sal didn’t look impressed, and seemed to be struggling to hide his disappointment, likely thinking of their upcoming training bout with the Academy’s top student.
“I’m being methodical, Sal, you should appreciate that. Now I know I can make objects that I visualize, and also that I can make a number of them in a row. Although that took more mana than I expected.” Sal actually nodded in approval at the explanation, then spoke up at the comment about mana.
“My understanding is that you’ve only been using mana consistently with your Soul Manifestation, which is vastly more efficient than the borrowed abilities your Paths will provide. Don’t worry, your reserves will increase quickly now that you have something to exercise them properly.” Kade nodded, then tried a real test, picturing something far more elaborate–a copy of himself. He focused, and pictured himself as well as he could, then unleashed another cloud of mana.
The two men watched as a vague blob materialized between them, taking on the shape of a man. But after arms and legs became distinguishable, the transformation slowed. Kade redoubled his efforts, and forced more mana into the construct, but quickly gave up as he saw little improvement. He realized he was feeling exhausted, and felt that his mana was nearly depleted. “Damn it. That is really hard to do, and I don’t think it’s a mana problem. I see the image that I’m trying to make in my head, but when it starts to form it all becomes hazy, and I can’t make my mind focus on all the details at once.”
Salarus nodded as if this was no surprise. “It appears to be a heavily skill-based ability, and I suspect you’ll be mastering it for years. If it was easy to bring mental images into the world with perfect accuracy, everyone would be an artist.” Kade nodded at the wisdom of that, realizing that Sal had described what he was doing perfectly. He actually did draw a little, but his skills were in their infancy when it came to effectively creating a perfect statue in an instant. There was a more practical problem though–he had no idea how to turn this into an effective ability in battle.
His mind went to a few basic options, like creating walls for cover, but it didn’t seem like something he could build a whole fighting style around. He resolved not to give in, however, and started making more constructs. Sal gave a half smile then moved away to begin his own training, sensing Kade needed time. After a few more attempts though, Kade felt himself completely drained of mana, and looked down at this bracer to confirm.
Congratulations!
Mana Reserves: +1!
Energy Attribute: +1!
Kade smiled at the results, confirming Sal’s assertions that increasing his mana would come naturally as he used his new ability, and also that the unusual Energy attribute was indeed connected to his ability to shape mana–and Chaos he supposed. As he scrolled further though, his eyes widened as he saw new information.
Attention! Path to Power established! It’s about time!
Kade blinked at that, was his bracer giving him sass now? He tried to think back to the numerous unusual messages he’d seen from the bracer, but while he felt some were stranger than was necessary, he’d never seen something this blatant before. He continued reading, putting this down as just one more oddity.
Evaluating the current Path to Power…
Attention! Extremely Rare Class detected, searching for mentor…
Kade’s eyes widened at that. He remembered the bracer somehow searching for a ‘compatible Elder’ and directing him to Karthas, but he never imagined it was capable of something like this. He stared at the bracer eagerly, both excited and a little frightened at the prospect of finding someone who could teach him about being a Chaos Energist. At least he didn’t have to wait long for the answer.
No compatible mentor found!
Utilizing stored latent mana allocated to pending reward…
Fabricating Mentor’s Amulet…
Complete!
Dispensing Mentor’s Amulet, enjoy!
Kade felt his emotions soar and crash with almost no time between, but sure enough, in a moment he felt an object in his left hand. Looking down, he found that it was indeed an amulet, with a small orb wreathed in chains matching his Soul Core. Two of those chains extended up into a clasp, and he stared at it suspiciously, “What the hell does this do?” He muttered to himself, and as if in answer, he heard another beep from his bracer.
Mentor’s Amulet of the Chaos Energist
Rarity: Unique, Upgradable (Automatic)
Effect Type: Chaos Energist Class Augmentation
Details:
(1): [Energy Engrams] Augments the ability [Energy Construct] to enable the Energist to absorb weapons up to [Primus] level, transforming the weapons into Energy Engrams!
(2): [Construct Engram] Augments the ability [Energy Construct] to allow for the perfect reproduction of any weapon-based Energy Engram!
(3): [Imbue Knowledge] Mentor’s Amulet of the Chaos Energist will transfer these abilities to the Energist once they have been used the requisite number of times!
Attention! Generating objectives…
Objective (1): Create 0/10 Energy Engrams!
Objective (2): Construct 0/1000 Energy Weapon Constructs!
Kade was once again shocked by the surprising powers of the bracer, but didn’t hesitate to put on the amulet, which hung from his neck along with the Drake-chain. The moment he did up the clasp, he felt the effects. Without waiting, he ran over to a row of training swords, and picked one up. It took only a moment for energy to flow out like hungry mist, swallowing the sword which disappeared entirely, and leaving a clear visualization of the blade in Kade’s mind.
Salarus looked over when he saw the commotion, and frowned as the sword disappeared. His eyebrows rose higher a moment later as mana once more flowed from Kade’s outstretched hand, and an identical blade made of blue-green energy appeared. A grin spread across Kade’s face, and he spun to slash the blade across the nearest training dummy, bisecting it cleanly–something the simple training blade could never have accomplished.
Kade let out a long breath as he felt stress leave his body. He no longer had any doubts about killing monsters.