The Kobold watched Bastet intently. “To you, Touwon, I give knowledge... and the blessing from one of the greatest minds I ever knew. It is not a class, as I feel you would not accept it even if I offered it. You have carefully planned out your development and evolution, and I believe it will serve you well.”
Touwon gave her a nod and a rare smile. The Kobold’s eyes went unfocused as he did something with his PUP and Oskar got a notification as Touwon shared the blessing information with the group. Erik gave a low whistle at the description.
/ Ptah’s Blessing
/ This blessing offers, among other talents you shall eventually unlock, an innate understanding of ancient technology. You now can learn energy manipulation for repairing and eventually creating similar technology, as well as a rudimentary way to connect and communicate with ancient machinery. When faced with a problem, even in battle, Ptah’s guidance will occasionally lead you to find what you need, be that something material or conceptual. You will find all repairs and crafting come even more naturally to you.
By the time Oskar had finished reading the information, Touwon had already emptied what looked like the contents of his entire bag to take inventory of his stuff. It was all laid out neatly in an open area beside where the group now rested. Oskar couldn’t believe how much stuff Touwon carried.
Even with the weight reduction, it’s got to be heavy. It looks like he’s having a neighborhood garage sale!
Bastet looked content watching the Kobold do his thing, but Oskar saw her look down to the little Pangolor curled up beside her.
“You all have so much potential yet will need every edge I can offer to succeed with what I must now lie upon your shoulders. Even you, little guardian,” Bastet said.
The great cat then dipped her head down and gently nuzzled Penny, who was snoring softly. A glow enveloped the Pangolor and her form grew, changing shape subtly.
She remained curled up against Bastet, but was definitely bigger. She looked sleeker, a little thinner, but the copper scales that adorned her back were a deeper shade of copper, but now shimmered slightly with what looked like Bastet’s magic. The only major change was what Oskar initially took to be small cat ears. But he could now see they were sharp, boney ridges that started atop her head and went all the way down to her tail.
Penny slept through it all, but Oskar got an unexpected notification.
// Gambit Completed: Protect the adolescent Pangolor until she reaches adulthood.
Difficulty: Unknown Variables
Reward: Companion Evolution, Insight //
In this case, the Insight that Oskar received was a subtle… deepening of his bond with Penny. He suddenly understood more of how she instinctually used Talau. Oskar couldn’t recreate the ability, he doubted he ever could, but the information had improved his overall Mastery of Talau. Additionally, Bastet had finally revealed the name of the Magic Below to him.
Sora 86% (C Rank)
Talau
60% (D- Rank) Rakiyu 43% (F+ Rank)
// The Magic Within, Rakiyu, Has revealed itself to you! Nice Job! //
To the ignorant, Rakiyu is a subtle magic, binding with and reinforcing Sora and Talau to make it more powerful. However, true masters of Rakiyu learn that with proper application, the Magic Within can completely alter the natural elements of the world that make up the other two magics. //
I guess I’m an “ignorant.”
// I wasn’t going to say anything. I came up with a few potential insults, but it was mostly background processing. Do you want to hear them? //
Nope, Oskar thought back, not focusing on Penny and her changes.
“She was so close on her own,” Bastet said. “For growth such as this is the way of our world, and I am sure even more so for Druid Companions,” she winked. “I want to make sure she is ready for what is to come. I hope you, and she, will forgive me the feline characteristics that my interference might have caused.”
“I don’t think she is going to mind at all. We don’t know how to thank you, Bastet,” Oskar said.
She looked serious and replied, “Do not thank me. The burden I place on you far outweighs my humble gifts. I will impart to you more knowledge, some of which you have already earned, such as knowledge of The Magic Within. I wanted to help guide you in that before you grew too powerful in it, so please forgive the delay… and the regrettable suppression of your PUB.” Her eyes looked at the Bracer on Oskar’s arm and she nodded.
// Apology accepted, I suppose. //
Bastet gave them a quick smile. “But if you will allow me, I would share everything I can with you, including the promised Rakiyu guidance, and unfortunately with that knowledge comes the price. I have paid all I have to keep this world alive and must now trust you to carry this burden.”
“Of course.”
He hadn’t really noticed due to the glow around her, which was still powerful, but the sleek gray fur was now closer to white. Her head hung lower, and some of the poised power she’d emitted when they’d arrived had melted away. The gifts she gave them had cost her a great deal.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
This sobering thought was abruptly halted by a flood of new information. Oskar suddenly knew how close to the precipice this world was. The Wayspring Magic that had kept life and magic on this world after the death of the Great Trees was close to running out. What magic had remained was in Bastet. The Waysprings were not directly controlled by her, as it had a power all its own, but she was the only reason they still appeared at all. What remained was being used slowly as the world died from its seeping wound as there was a cost just to keep the world alive.
When Gumbridge had tried to kill her, Bastet realized how broken the world was. Her sudden ascension into adulthood, some would say godhood, had happened below the water of the Wayspring Oasis, moments from death. The magic saved her.
Already special at birth, she was more in tune with the magic of the world than most, allowing her to become truly one with the magic of the world. And then, she suddenly knew exactly how delicate the balance was. She’d learned how quickly the magic was bleeding away after other Great Trees disappeared, and she’d done two things to give the world a chance.
The first was to take the remaining magic into herself as a vessel. Without a living thing to contain the magic, entropy had begun, the finite magic slowly dying. And second, long after the passing of Luth and Biggums and unknown to anyone until this moment, she’d stolen a seed from the final Great Tree. It had been dying in the lands of the Drakon from their dark rituals. The Drakon knew it had been stolen, but not by who, and- unfortunately- the Kobolds had taken the blame and paid the price.
Taking the magic into herself had been a necessity. When Chief Luth passed, it weakened the Kobold people as a whole. Over time, the Kobolds, bereft of strong leadership, but complacent from the peace and power it had offered, spread out over a larger area. Their strength of numbers became a liability as resources became scarcer. After centuries of trying to hold the world together to give the world even a chance at survival, Bastet was forced into further action.
Therefore, she went in search of the last Great Tree. The Great Trees had once spread out all over the known planet. Some even claimed they were part of one tree, called the Omni-Tree, that was made up of a root system, of wood and magic, that expanded under the surface of the entire planet.
On the surface, though, each Great Tree grew from the single seed grown from the core of the Great Tree before it. When the seed was harvested, the aging Great Tree perished, making way for the birth and regrowth of another.
This cycle was supposed to last a thousand years, and according to legend, each Great Tree was more powerful than the last. That was all gone, though, and now, the withered Great Tree she found in the Drakon lands stood alone. The last survivor of what Bastet would later realize was a centuries long surge of uncontested, dark, magic. Magic far removed from what it was made to do. It fed on and eroded the life and power of the tree until it, too, was on the brink of rot and ruin.
Bastet’s link with the magic showed her the way forward, and she left the city in chaos with the seed from the Tree’s core… encased within a divine weapon.
***
At that moment, a new knowledge linked to the Magic Within revealed itself to Oskar. Outside the knowledge he was being infused with, he felt himself shiver.
// You have also unlocked the Concept: Isother, which is basically temperature.
Within Isother, you have unlocked the sub- concept: Cryon, or cold. Control will come with time and practice… apparently. I don’t know how you use those, so don’t ask. That’s just what the system gave me. //
To Oskar, the implications were astounding. This was clearly the foundation for the powerful control of magic Bastet had shown in the cave, and he couldn’t wait to master it. More knowledge came, though, pushing thoughts of mastering Isother from the forefront of his thoughts.
***
To Bastet’s horror, the Drakon blamed the Kobolds for killing the Tree as the only other semi-dedicated magic users, which incited a new hatred against the Kobolds in their misplaced quest for revenge. They’d spread lies that the Kobolds had stolen the Wayspring Magic as well. More lies were told claiming that Kobolds knew the secrets of finding water and had a hidden Oasis of their own. This all led to the idea that the Kobold people’s ability to survive in larger groups was due to their hoarding of water and Wayspring magic.
The Drakon campaign against the Kobold’s was done in whispers, and it was done quickly, and the Kobolds had barely realized what was happening when the killings started. A great reaping. The Culling.
Entire tribes of Kobolds were slaughtered to extinction, and Bastet couldn’t be everywhere. By the time the Kobolds found the leadership they’d needed to fight back, there was only time to run. Benedictus, young for a chief, was one of the few remaining tribal leaders left to the Kobolds. He gathered much of who remained and hid.
Fox had been but a cub then. She’d mentioned her childhood had involved a lot of fighting, but mostly moving and running. She also had a huge dislike for Hyena-men, but she’d never provided an explanation, and Oskar was afraid to ask.
Weakened but alive, many of the remaining Kobolds looked up to Benedictus as a great leader. He would hear nothing of it, though. “No great Kobold Leader teaches his people to only hide and survive,” he would say. Yet, to Fox, he was more than that. He was the only reason any Kobolds survived the coordinated assaults inflicted on them by the other races, and he was the closest thing to a father she had left. Oskar could tell that Bastet had mixed feelings about the Kobold leader; he lacked the courage and moxie of Luth, but the predominant feeling was gratitude for leading what remained of the Kobold’s to relative safety.
Fox may not have known the extent of the Drakon involvement, but now Oskar knew the whole story. Knowing the truth behind the death of her people might bring her more pain than closure, and the new information left Oskar with an uneasy decision to make.
Obviously, you don’t keep important information from your close friends, though.
Oskar had read too many books to be that dumb. Inevitably, they would find out that you knew the information the whole time, creating needless trust issues that could only be forgiven through a selfless, near-fatal act. Oskar was smarter than that.
The crystalized, low walls that spiraled towards the platform in the center of the cavern shimmered with dancing magic as the group sat, content in the presence of Bastet. Fox was closest to the platform, sitting in the sand and leaning against the first wall, and Touwon had his gear spread out between the second and third, where Erik was, as he tinkered excitedly with his new knowledge. Oskar leaned against the fourth wall, still petting the sleeping calico, deep in thought and processing everything he had learned. He was trying to understand more of how Bastet used her magic when Bastet spoke again.
“I am sorry to put this on you, dear ones,” Bastet said after the long pause, “but my burden is now yours. I have given Oskar my knowledge, and you have all received your gifts.” She looked forlorn, and beyond drained of power. Thin, almost frail. The temperature in the cavern was noticeably warmer, the artificial chill lessened.
Unsure what to say, Oskar simply said, “I live here now. This world is now my home. It’s all our burden.”
Bastet purred, smiling tiredly. She then nuzzled around the sleeping Penny and rested as the rest of the group started planning and sharing information. It was quickly turning into Oskar being picked on by Fox and Erik as the latter began regaling the group with a collection of Oskar’s embarrassing childhood moments.
They filled the cavern with laughter; the calico took turns nuzzling and begging for food from everyone in the group before settling again in Oskar’s lap. Touwon was now working furiously on Oskar’s prosthetic foot, and though Oskar didn’t understand what the Kobold had planned, he trusted his friend. With Erik here, he felt surrounded by love and family. He felt, despite the missing foot, complete for the first time in years.