Erik was shaking his head at Fox’s face during the interaction, and Touwon looked as if he was reading through his display, so Fox had probably sent the class details to him the same way she had Oskar.
We really need to work on getting Erik a working PUB so we don't have to read this stuff out loud.
But Oskar did so, and honestly didn’t mind. He was just happy to have Erik there, and able to talk back and ask questions of his own. His assessment was similar to Oskar’s.
“Yeah, that’s broken," Erik laughed. "Especially compared to you. What do you have, Oskar? Find water? Sense Penny? Talk like the Wind?”
“Funny. So I take it you’re ready to talk classes, finally?”
“Of course not. I was just picking on you.”
Oskar gave him a deadpan stare and Erik blinked back at him innocently.
Bastet drew their attention back to her, and for a concerning moment, the comfortable temperature faltered momentarily. She closed her eyes, and the room stabilized again after a moment.
“I have gifts for you all,” she said with a heaviness that was palpable. “And afterwards, I regret I must place a great deal of responsibility on you. I cannot force you to accept, but I cannot carry it any longer.”
Oskar had a million questions, but he stilled himself and allowed her to continue.
“First, I must address something that even I do not understand.” She looked at Erik, “Your brother did something incredible in healing you. The blue glow, though, is something I can help with, if you so desire.”
“I do, if it’s not too much to ask. I don’t think glowing with magic in a desert every night is going to be conducive to a consistent night’s sleep.”
“Wise choice, healer. I cannot do more, though, and I am sorry. Also…I do not know why he could not return your arm to you. I, too, felt the dark magic, but I cannot fathom what magic could stop what you did, Oskar.” She watched him for a moment, considering.
Deep in thought about his own missing limb, Oskar snapped back to paying attention when Bastet said his name.
“That spell was potent and powerful, akin to a ritual, and should not have been possible at your current stage. I just don’t know.”
She looked frustrated, her brow lowered over her yellow, glowing eyes.
“Perhaps the wicked one who took it-,” Bastet paused again, and then continued with a tired sigh, “has somehow destroyed it in such a way that it can no longer exist.”
She was quiet for a long moment and said, “I am so sorry that this world was so cruel to you. It was not my wish when I called you here in my desperation.”
“It wasn’t your cruelty, it was theirs.”
I think, in some ways, I was more affected by what happened than he was.
Even though he wasn’t speaking to the PUB, it was a particularly strong thought, and the PUB answered with surprising wisdom.
// I think that happens sometimes when you love someone more than you love yourself… and maybe even more than he loves himself. //
Before Oskar could even begin to come up with an answer to that, Bastet continued.
“I do not know why,” she repeated. “Knowing is my job, and in that, I have failed you, and so I must apologize for that. But, the glow, I can do something for.”
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Bastet closed her eyes and, much like Fox, Erik was enveloped with shimmering and ethereal magic. Thankfully, without the floating.
The glow from his eye and his mouth that had been there since they entered the cave dissipated, and Oskar saw Erik was smiling. He closed his remaining eye and waved a hand in front of the missing eye, and Oskar noticed that in place of the glowing replacement eye he’d gotten upon entering the cave, there was an actual blue eye.
Luckily, this time it seemed the toll it took on Bastet was minimal, and she smiled as she watched Oskar give Erik another look-over.
The entire eye is that same striking blue, not just the iris. I feel like it should be a little disconcerting, but it actually looks pretty cool.
As if Erik could read his mind, he looked up at Oskar with a smile and said, “How do I look, Oss?”
“Great, man. Real lady killer. How does it work?”
// How come he gets to call you Oss, but you got all touchy when I called you Ossy? //
Huuuuge difference. I like him.
// Yeah, and you love me. //
“I’m getting some information from it, but it’s more of a feeling or an aura than what you guys seem to get from your PUBs,” Erik answered, his voice thoughtful.
Basted clarified, “It is a small measure of what allows me to gauge the true nature of those I see. It is connected to your Spirit and will grow as you do. As of now, what you see is best described as a… threat level that is partially based on the amount of magical capacity they have.”
Erik bowed his head slightly and simply thanked her.
“Oskar, you might have observed that my magic doesn’t affect your amputated foot, similar to Erik’s arm.” She looked at Erik’s stump, and when she continued, she sounded frustrated. “Your foot is also like a void to me, but fortunately, in your case, I know the reason.” She paused, but to yawn again, not for dramatic effect.
“Your lower leg has never been present in this world. It was gone before you arrived, and the magic accepted you as you were when you arrived,” she said. “So, healing such a thing is something akin to True Creation itself, a power beyond my means,” she said, and the explanation made sense to Oskar.
Everything is connected.
His wise old PUB had repeatedly said that was the key to magic in this world, and creation from nothing wasn’t a connection at all. A thought struck him.
If that’s the case, the total destruction of Erik’s arm shouldn’t be possible, either. If matter can’t be created, surely it can’t be destroyed completely. Law of Conservation, right?
// Well, I don’t have the answer to that, honestly. I will be my pedantic self, though, and mention she didn’t say it wasn’t possible, only that True Creation, whatever that is, is beyond her. It might be impossible, but that’s not what she said. //
That was a good point, but before Oskar could ask for clarification, Bastet spoke again, the sound a gentle against the prolonged silence, and his gaze lifted to meet hers.
“Although I have not the means to heal you, Oskar, I can help in other ways.” She looked at the spear in his lap and gave a quick nod at the weapon. “That weapon is special. The last Great Tree provided the wood for its creation. With it, you have mastered the primary techniques of the spear.” Some of the cat’s energy seemed to return as her eyes lit up. “There is more to that weapon than you know. It is not only nigh indestructible, but a focus for your willpower.”
She waited expectantly, but Oskar stared blankly at her. She laughed and explained.
“I supposed you have been rather busy. Did you never consider that a Divine weapon might have more to it than simply being durable?” She laughed good-naturedly and said, “Oskar, I can offer you another option for your weapon. It may seem initially unorthodox for the fighting style you’re developing, but you must trust me. Additionally, I have more for you than this simple gift, but we will speak of that later. I need your consent, Oskar.”
“Well, you have it. I trust you.”
Oskar felt knowledge enter his mind. Concepts of balance, coordination, and new striking techniques swam through his thoughts like old, well-practiced memories. His PUB flashed and then caught up with what was happening around the same time Oskar caught on. His spear, laid across his lap, became top heavy and abruptly fell to the glass floor with a resounding thump. Looking down, he saw a massive maul in place of the spearhead. The rough textured pinecone shape of the spear was still present, but on both sides, it extended and ended in a flat, rock-hard surface.
A vision of Oskar holding the maul in front of him in a balanced stance followed by a litany of attacks appeared in front of Oskar as the information he’d just received played out in a series of movements for him to study, thanks to his PUB. It then showed him falling from the sky in an attack that ended in a powerful downward slam. Oskar was already brainstorming how he could incorporate it into his Dragoon fighting style as a modification to his spear attacks, but witnessing it unfold was something else altogether. With a mental nudge, the weapon transformed back into a spear, and Oskar’s face grew into a huge grin.
“This is gonna be nasty,” he said.
“Nasty, indeed,” the cat answered, and then turned to Touwon. “I have not forgotten you, my faithful friend.”