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While Kara was having fun helping Presley hide in one of the high-tech barrels the obsessed Obsidian Caster had discovered, Phoenix and her team, along with the other clergy members, were looking around the ship’s facilities that were still intact, which was surprisingly most of it, though there were some obvious points still damaged.
Ethan Teras, the current Chancellor of the Order of Magic, had caught up with them and explained, “We observed the ship repairing itself over the few times we had some scouts come out here to ascertain the damage and safety levels. The wild magic storm took a while to dissipate, so we haven’t gotten much yet.”
“I expect your people to handle this vessel with the utmost care,” High Priestess Deserin said with a hint of warning as she glanced towards the playing toddler, “They are a child in my care now,” then the woman’s gaze turned to Dazien as she proclaimed, “I won’t let them be taken advantage of, no matter how desirable they might be.”
Phoenix frowned at that, remembering what her friend had once said about his particular species being so sought after that getting adopted was made all the more difficult. At least he had found a family with her and Paul and, of course, with Uriel before that.
Ethan gave a tired chuckle, “I have no intention of angering the vessel… Presley, was it?” he asked with a raised brow to Phoenix, who nodded in confirmation, “I also assume House Wayland will be involved in maintaining the area?”
This question seemed directed at Patricia Wayland and Duke Victor Tul, who had also joined the OOM Chancellor and AOA Director, Agatha Trayvious, in this initial exploration of a new landmark within the duchy. They had all been slightly strewn about in what appeared to be the command room at the moment, not understanding any of the controls covering the walls and consoles around the room that reminded Phoenix of something out of Star Trek and other sci-fi shows that took place on spaceships.
“With the vessel seemingly loyal already to House Wayland and the potential trove of knowledge contained within, I don’t think risking the anger of the vessel would be a wise move,” the duke noted thoughtfully, “House Wayland has repeatedly proven their loyalty to Tulim over the course of this blood moon, so I have little reason to doubt they will protect this area for us too.”
Patricia nodded to the duke, “Of course, your grace. It would be our honor and my goddess seems quite excited about the potential of this location for expanding not just our general knowledge but our capabilities in cultivating food for the nation.”
“I hope to be kept up to date with any important discoveries and changes in the situation here but I will leave it in your hands for now while gathering that information. I can’t spare much more time here. The other Houses I’m sure will begin petitioning for access at the least, if not direct involvement. This is going to put a lot more on my plate than the Soul Reapers and blood moon already have.”
“Speaking of which,” Agatha interrupted, “I’m not sure we have the numbers anymore for the missions being requested from the outer fortress towns and the western half of the tundra that has been neglected since the Soul Reapers approached from the east. Monsters are beginning to gather in dangerous numbers.”
“I guess that means it’s time for us to return to the field as well,” Dazien offered, causing Rayna to toss a fist in the air and give an excited whoop.
The others chuckled and Phoenix found herself agreeing with the sentiment, being so idle and not pushing her abilities had been making her feel restless.
“We still have the matter of the other Corrupted Reality Seed still tainting the area and increasing the ambient magic. If this site is going to remain intact, then we need to destroy the other sooner rather than later,” Ethan spoke up again.
“I haven’t heard back from the capital since sending a messenger requesting a Ruby Caster from Blomstra, but I can send another requesting more permanent immigrants be encouraged to travel here in preparation for the increase in magic. Needless to say, this will completely change everything on the tundra, not just the danger imposed by monster spawns.”
“What do you mean?” Phoenix asked in confusion.
“Our entire infrastructure can –and must– be upgraded to match,” the duke responded, “The walls to meet the monster threat. We’ll want to add supporting infrastructure for flying vessels that will suddenly be able to visit. Our Mana Bit farms will also need to be updated. They’ve been shut down during the blood moon’s interference with the ambient mana levels, but if they won’t be returning to Crystal levels afterward, we’ll need to change them to match wherever we end up, which also means new trade agreements since we won’t be exporting Crystal Bits and will need to import them instead.”
The duke gave a heavy sigh, “It is an intricate web. The list of changes continues to grow, and it will take a lot of work. All of this while our Caster population has been decimated during these months of endless fighting.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Agatha said, breaking the solemn silence that threatened to fall with the bleak outlook, “My concern is making sure we all survive to see those upgrades. We need all Adventurers on hand, increase our roaming patrols in the west for a while, and potentially implement the old Emergency Caster Recruitment measure.”
Everyone aside from Phoenix seemed surprised by the Director’s words, and the duke clarified, “Are you sure? That is not always a boon. Many end up dying.”
“Sorry to pull the clueless Wayfarer card again,” she interrupted, with a slightly raised hand, “But what are we talking about?”
“Apologies, Regent Wayland,” the AOA director said, “It’s a procedure the duchy can enact during a national emergency to commandeer Aspects from the citizens in order to distribute them and create new Casters to defend it. The citizens eventually get paid back more than the Aspects are normally worth, but the bigger risk is to the inexperienced and unvetted people who suddenly get magic powers they’ve never trained with and are sent to battle monsters. A lot of them never see the end of the emergency.”
“For what it’s worth, I believe the risk is worth it in this case. Especially if we can’t take care of that other seed and start getting corrupted monsters spawning in the city,” Ethan interjected again, “That should be our first priority.”
Then the Magi turned to Phoenix and asked, “Will you lend us your champion once more to destroy that seed? There are risks still with it being so close to the city but I believe the potential monsters it will create outweigh that risk after the results from our test with the other.”
She looked to Dazien and silently asked over his communication ability, “Should we lend them Kara and see about helping clear out monsters in the west? Sounds like we could divide and conquer that way.”
The gemite gave her a smirk, “Sounds good to me. Do you want me to give you the order and keep up appearances?”
Phoenix returned his grin and replied, “Yes, please, oh brother dear.”
As Dazien repeated the plan, and Phoenix asked Kara to go along with helping Lord Teras, she noticed Uriel giving her a curious look and mentally whispered to just him, “Something wrong?”
He shook his head and teased, “Just nice to see siblings playing well together.”
“We usually do,” she said with a raised brow, “Something odd about this time?”
Uriel gave her a gentle smile, “I guess I’m just glad you still want him to lead when it seems you don’t need it so much anymore.”
She scoffed at that, “I don’t think leading is something I’ll ever want to do. I practically begged Paul to let Dazien be the heir instead but dropped it when I remembered he’d be abdicating to Pati,” she frowned at the memory and how bitter it felt now that it had proven so very wrong, “I was never meant to be Regent.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’ve been doing pretty well so far. Especially given the amount of craziness surrounding us.”
Phoenix chuckled, “Pretty sure my whole life has been nothing but craziness since arriving here.”
“It doesn’t sound like you regret that, though,” he pointed out.
She turned to look around the alien room, instantly thinking there were quite a few things she regretted. Then her gaze fell upon the voxen twins quietly talking about how to “apprehend” one of the amazing barrels as Saiya’s comforting aura surrounded her like a constant hug.
She panned her sight to watch her new brother carefully speaking to present their party in the best light he could and the smile she saw flicker on his face whenever his gaze caught one of theirs.
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Then she turned back to the quiet cinderen at her side; the man she knew kept things from her, yet she couldn’t help but trust. The Mage who fought for her happiness, whether it was against a wrathful Paladin or her own fears and grief.
Phoenix smiled warmly as she said, “No, I don’t regret coming here at all.”
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“Alright, everyone,” Dazien said as they finished gathering the few crates of supplies they would be delivering to Linnake, the fortress town to the west of the capital, “After dropping this off, we’ve been cleared for a fortnight of scouring the wilds going south towards Vallinsarvi. If we find anything too dangerous for us, we’re to portal back to Tulimeir to report the location immediately.”
“Kara’s going to help with responding to the highest Caste threats once the Corrupted seed is taken care of, so we’re going to stick to Sapphire and lower –being extremely cautious around any Corrupted monsters. If it’s a Corrupted Sapphire, that’s an immediate retreat; I don’t care what attunements it might have.
“If it’s Crystal, we’ll have Phoenix take point with it unless it shares one of Uriel’s attunements. He’s the only one who isn’t Sapphire or immune to Corruption now,” the party leader explained.
Phoenix recalled the new Natural Talents she had gained from becoming “soul entwined” with Paul –whatever that actually meant.
Natural Talent: Lodestar
Deviated from [Beacon of Hope] due to becoming soul entwined.
* Your soul has become entwined with Paul Wayland, one of your Kindred Spirits.
* Your soul will always recognize Paul Wayland’s soul as a Kindred Spirit.
* You share Natural Talents with your Kindred Spirit.
* You have a telepathic link with your Kindred Spirit with the range based on the highest Caste.
* When within your Kindred Spirit’s aura, you have increased Magic.
* When there is a Caste difference between you and your Kindred Spirit, the one with the lower Caste has an increased cultivation rate based on the difference.
The phrase “sharing is caring” had come to mind when she had read about the particular features but there were only three of Paul’s talents that had any additional effect on her.
Natural Talent: Sun Attunement
* Increased resistance to negative Fire and Light effects. Fire and Light abilities have increased effect.
Natural Talent: Corruption Slayer
* Increased resistance to negative Radiant effects. Radiant abilities have an increased effect.
* Can sense the direction of nearby [Corrupted] targets.
* Increased damage against [Corrupted] targets.
* You are immune to becoming [Corrupted].
Natural Talent: Zealous Avenger
* You can loot slain enemies with a touch. The quality of loot is increased if the target is slain with [Nemesis].
* You gain further insight into yourself and your enemies.
* Divine abilities have increased effect.
* You can mark a target that has been touched by your aura with [Nemesis].
* Nemesis (bane, tracking, divine): You can be tracked by the caster of this Bane. You take increased damage from Divine sources. Decreased resource regeneration.
They were powerful effects that she was pleased to have strengthening her, but just because the threat of Corruption to her was no longer an issue, it was still a terrible risk to the rest of her friends. A risk that she wasn’t willing to take without proper precautions, such as making sure she could teleport properly to the new Corruption-cleansing vessel far to the east. It would take her maybe five minutes by portal, hopping to Tulimeir first, then to where Presley would be waiting for her.
“I wish we had a bit more time to do some basic training with me at Sapphire now, so I ask your patience with me as I finish adjusting,” Dazien added as the last box of supplies was set into his [Armory] for transport.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Saiya interjected, giving Rayna a nudge with an elbow, “We have a gift for you for reaching Sapphire.”
The bard grinned and reached into the pouch at her hip, pulling out a small box that reminded Phoenix of the ones Paul had given them when they had ascended to Sapphire themselves.
Dazien gave a crooked smile as he said, “You didn’t need to do that. I wasn’t able to do that for either of you earlier.”
“It was a good deal,” Rayna waved off his concern, “Meant to give it to you earlier, but I wanted to wrap it properly. It’s more fun to unwrap a surprise,” the taller voxen added with a toothy grin.
The gemite chuckled and gently took the proffered gift and slowly, almost tauntingly, began to pull at the ribbon wrapped around the small box, and Rayna gave an exasperated huff, “You are terrible at this. Don’t make me rip it open for you.”
They all laughed, and Dazien took pity on the loot-loving bard, opening it to reveal a sparkling Spirit Gem with a little scrap of paper tied to a string wrapped around it and displaying the word “Friendship.”
The Defender smiled at the twin voxen and said, “It’s perfect. Thank you, my friends.”
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Dazien wasn’t entirely sure about the new effects granted by the Spirit Gem, but he guessed it echoed the sentiments he had slowly been coming to terms with; that he couldn’t completely defend his friends from harm by himself. Despite his desires, he wasn’t a pure Defender Class. His powerset was more adaptable and focused more on tactics and commanding a battlefield. He needed to trust in his party’s capabilities as much as his own, and his [Duelist] ability now pushed him to do exactly that.
Dropping off the supplies in Linnake had gone smoothly and was greatly appreciated by the residents there, who were happy to hear that the conflict with the Soul Reapers seemed to be over for the moment. They only needed to last a couple more months in the cramped conditions of the fortress.
King’s Dream didn’t stay long there, making their way down into the gorge that was located directly east of the town. It often became a nesting ground for various monsters that spawned in the area and spawned they had.
Dozens of monsters met them as the party slowly made their way south well into the night, slaughtering as they went. With three Sapphire Casters in their group, the Crystal Caste monsters were easily dispatched while the Sapphires made a decent challenge for all of them.
When they came across a pair of Sapphire Caste jalkainen, Dazien was able to properly test out his newest cultivated ability. Giving a brief formation command, he said, “Rayna, evasion tank the left one while the others focus it down quickly. I’ll keep the right one occupied on me.”
Then he opened up with the new controlling tactic, targeting Rayna to assist him and challenge both of them to grow their skills, “A duel for honor!”
Ability: Duelist
Type: Spell (taunt, magical, covenant)
Cost: High mana.
Cooldown: 1 minute.
Current Caste: Sapphire 1 (0%)
Crystal Effect: Challenge a target to single combat. You gain an instance of [Honor] for each attack against the target and inflict [Dishonor] on the target for any attacks they make against others.
Sapphire Effect: You can mark an enemy as [Second Challenger] and an ally as [King’s Champion]. While you and a nearby ally have [Honor], you both gain [Comrade in Arms].
* Honor (boon, magical, covenant, stacking): Attacks made with melee weapons deal increased damage, and resistance to Spells is increased. Instances are slowly lost over time.
* Dishonor (bane, magical, covenant, stacking): Resistances to Magical effects and recovery are reduced. Instances are slowly lost over time.
* Second Challenger (bane, magical, covenant): Gain instances of [Dishonor] when attacking any target that is not [King’s Champion].
* King’s Champion (boon, magical, covenant): Gain instances of [Honor] when attacking a target with [Second Challenger].
* Comrade in Arms (boon, magical, covenant): Magic and Strength are increased. This Boon cannot be removed while instances of [Honor] remain.
Jalkainen were long insect-like creatures with sectioned chitin plating and dozens of barbed legs along their length with two separate heads, one at each end of its body that was at least ten meters long.
It was a nasty creature of Earth and Corrosion –its bites and barbs often poisoned any prey– and fighting two at once wasn’t a fun task, but he didn’t believe it to be an impossible one for them either.
As he noticed Phoenix moving to assist with the other end of the monster he had taunted onto Rayna, he realized his mistake in communicating too late. He had planned on leaving Rayna to handle keeping the other’s attention while Uriel and Phoenix attacked hers from afar, and Snowbelle flew overhead to assist.
His mistake was not explaining what this particular monster could do properly –or at all– to the Astromancer, who seemed dead set on trying to stab everything they came across. He knew what jalkainen could do because Uriel often regurgitated monster knowledge to him over the years together.
Now, however, he realized that he had become complacent in his explanations for Phoenix’s sake. Since he had not needed to do them nearly as often anymore as they’d run into most of the types of monsters that showed up on the tundra, he had completely forgotten to warn the Supporter not to get in close.
Dazien was about to call out the danger when the Wayfarer was caught by the quick-moving mouth pincers and yelped, “Nope! I am not getting eaten again!”