Kha'Lythria
Race: Winter Elf (+50% Mana)
Bloodline: Royal (+30% Mana)
[Level: 182]
[Mana Capacity: 118.9]
[Essence Requirement: 20.5] — 0.05% / h
----------------------------------------
ARCHDRUID AVARIEL
Avariel settled down in the center of the circular hall and let her mind relax.
One moment she was a singular Eladrin and the next she was the whole Grove spreading up to the circular barrier surrounding the village. She felt every tree, every blade of grass and every flower as they lived and breathed to a single heartbeat; her heartbeat.
For a moment, she heard everything one could hear in the Village. Old elves grumbling, artists arguing and children laughing. She narrowed her focus, casting a cursory glance and quickly going over anyone that might be trouble. Some of the old ones wouldn't care if the entire village came down along with them if they could have a smudge of vengeance on the Winter Elves.
The fools were all too quick to forget that it was they who stood against the High King so long ago. Not that it was their idea, the Autumn Elves were always cowardly, anyone with even a fragment of a brain could tell that if the Forest King hadn't launched his revolution, the Autumn Elves and their Water King would have been all too happy to just laze around for another millennium.
Avariel sighed wryly. It was all history now.
The High Elves were extinct, but they took along with them the whole Royal line of both the Forest and the Water King, leaving both the Spring and the Autumn Elves without their Royalty for when the humans invaded them.
There was still a Forest King, three in fact, but they were just pretenders, one and all. They might have the title, but not the ritual and the power that it entailed. They were no different from others of their kind.
The golden age of the Elves was long gone, and nothing could bring it back. Golad'kar held out, but it was a last bastion standing against the rising tide of humanity.
What was Zadkiel thinking? Taking in the daughter of the Winter King of all people as his disciple?
With that thought, her eyes narrowed and her grasp on her grove focused.
Vines and roots shifted deep beneath the earth. Mana flowed freely in them and she tapped into the overwhelming powers of the planet itself more than she did in centuries.
Ethereal power in the form of wild mana flowed up from the leyline and surged along the roots and vines. Avariel took in the whole of it, a picture forming in her mind.
Deep beneath the surface, powered by the very energy of the planet, a grand ritual circle was forming.
Rituals were complex and powerful. They gave mages the ability to 'punch up', to pull on more power than they should be able to by externalizing the process of spell casting. It was a mix of enchanting and spell casting using magical materials as a crutch instead of the Core of a Mage.
A Ritual as large as a village filled with pure wild mana directly from a leyline would have archmages running with their tails between their legs. Anyone messing with leylines tended to die horribly and sometimes it seemed the planet itself had vengeance delivered upon them. One such example was the enormous Mana Storm raging above the Corvus Empire's capital even after a century had passed since a group of foolish mages tried to siphon a major leyline.
From one moment to the next, the whole tapestry of interwoven mana gained meaning, and right in front of Avariel, a spell matrix was taking shape. She made sure that the chamber was shielded enough so not a single particle of mana would escape it, lest half the village went into a hysteric frenzy from such a large spell going off right next to them.
Avariel breathed in and out once. She stood up.
Ever so slowly, the spell matrix expanded and the invisible mana slowly morphed into a visible illusion. First a swirling mass of colours, but as the druid looked on it took on a humanoid shape.
Taking it as her cue, she placed her palm on its chest and a single ebony heartwood ring on her finger resonated with the matrix.
She stepped back as the form rippled. Uncertain shapes straightening and blurry colours coming into focus one after the other from the soles of the form's feet crawling upwards and finally reaching the face.
The form stood frozen with its hands to its sides and an impassive expression on its bluish-grey face with long silver hair falling to the sides of its — HIS — wrinkly old face.
The spell paused for a moment that might be mistaken for dramatic suspense by anyone else, but Avariel knew this was the most essential part of the Ritual. She'd constructed an illusionary avatar and sent out a call, but whether the person she was summoning would answer was mostly up to him. Well, in theory, it was.
The matrix pulsed, and in that moment, the form came to life. Twin orbs of glowing silver were revealed as his eyelids opened, his back straightened, and his hands clasped behind his back.
[https://i.imgur.com/XJQkzUz.png]
"Greetings Mother," Zadkiel said with a light nod of his head. One would think this was his casual weekend visit to his mother and not his once-in-a-century call which he didn't even initiate. "How has life been treating you?"
"Quite well," Avariel crossed her arms. "But the most curious thing happened just a month ago. You'd never guess it."
"I'm afraid I have a guess already," he said, though his lips twitched nervously. Even the greatest archmages weren't immune to their mothers' judging stares. "I assume she safely made her way there?"
"If you can call being captured by bandits and tortured 'safely' Zadkiel." Avariel raised an eyebrow, neither judging nor accepting of it.
"She is young, naïve and brash," said Zadkiel. "I hoped it'd serve as a … learning experience."
"Oh, she learned alright," Avariel rolled her eyes. "But only to be paranoid out in the wilds and maybe to be less brash."
"I see," he nodded. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble?"
"Look at you," she smirked. "acting like her father."
"Hah," he scoffed. "Don't let her hear you say that. That word carries nothing but negatives for that girl, and rightly so."
"How come she is so spoiled, then?" Avariel raised an eyebrow.
"The perfect euphemism for her situation would be the 'golden cage', I think. She had all she could have ever wanted and more, aside from a select few things."
"Like freedom?"
"Yes, she lacked the freedom to learn magic, to travel and to bed who she wanted," Zadkiel said, the last one with a smirk. "Ah, youth. To see guards rushing around every other week because their beloved princess seduced another maid was entertaining."
"Hmm, so she likes flowers?" Avariel hummed.
"Oh, she is not the type to be so choosy. There was a reason they stopped giving her young personal guards." Zadkiel snorted. "I think she had four, all of which she convinced to help her escape after some time. The last one was a Royal Guard even. They banished the poor boy for his troubles."
Avariel shrugged. She was only mildly interested in another perspective on the girl's story and that wouldn't have been enough to warrant this ritual.
"So tell me." Avariel stared straight into his eyes. "What are you planning with her? I think I deserve to know that much now that you dumped her on my head."
"Nothing," he smiled. "I have done what I wanted to, gave her freedom and a chance to fulfill her dreams."
"You could have given her a teleport scroll, Zad," Avariel narrowed her eyes. "Why are you even bothering to hide your tracks?"
"There was nothing to cover," he scoffed. "There might have been more mana in her carriage than there should have been, but that is hardly my fault. They should have noticed it before departing."
"She said she was only moments away from getting eaten by the serpent."
"It'd have prioritized the enchantment and the mana core in the carriage," Zadkiel shrugged. "And her bracelet could keep her alive even if she got torn in half. Doubt it'd have killed her. My zodiacs only gave a 1 in ten thousand chance of her dying in the ambush."
"You and your zodiacs," Avariel scoffed. "Did you base all of this on your predictions?"
Zadkiel stayed silent.
"I gave her the Blade of Winter," Avariel said offhandedly, and she got just the reaction she was expecting.
Throwing his precious predictions off course has always been a talent of hers.
"YOU WHAT?" Zadkiel shouted. "If they ever find out that it was you who gave it to her-"
"They can't do anything then," Avariel shrugged. "I'd doubt even Myrrdin at the height of his power, could have penetrated my Grove as it is now."
"I hope you are right, mother," Zadkiel said after spending a moment to recollect himself. "Arawn'druil is not quite his father, and he never was a great fighter, but he got his viciousness from Myrrdin for sure."
"Hmmm," Avariel looked thoughtful for a moment. "I doubt even he would have given his daughter's hand away to a human just to ward off the Empire."
"He was a fool," Zadkiel scoffed. "He might have killed their champion and a dozen of their archmages, but in the end, he died and the Empire remained standing."
Poor Myrrdin, so loyal to his people, so vicious to his enemies, but so idiotic in the end. His granddaughter seems better, at least.
"I didn't summon you to talk about long-dead men," Avariel clicked her tongue as she glared at her son. "I'm not sold on you helping the girl out of the goodness of your old cold heart."
"You wound me, mother," Zadkiel gave a slight smirk. "But in this one instance, you are wrong. Letting a talent like that girl fade away with time and break beneath a human like a simple mare would have broken something in me."
"She is fast at learning but I'm not sure what you are seeing in her," Avariel frowned, sure the girl learned faster than almost anyone she'd met before but that hardly meant she'd be a good Mage much further down the line.
"It is not just speed one needs to be a Mage but a combination of many things," Zadkiel straightened his spine. "Memory, cognitive speed, visualisation, multitasking, depth vision, and quick calculation are all vital for a mage but what is even more important is the drive to hone all those talents into unmatched skills and I have never met another who had all the right talents along with the pure obsession with magic that Princess Kha'Lythria showed."
"Then why aren't you teaching her?" Avariel cut back.
"If the fates and the ancestors will it, our paths will cross again and I'll impart on her all the knowledge she'd need at that moment." Zadkiel raised his chin. "Just like I did before, she has all the knowledge she needs to flourish into a respectable mage. the journey there will be arduous but surely more thrilling than sitting in a boring room with me. Both for me and for her … I have been away from my research for more than a decade already."
"So you got bored."
"It is in her best interest," he huffed. "None will find her with my ward on her ring and the zodiacs show favourable odds for her future."
"So be it," Avariel frowned. "She is to leave for a troll-hunting mission in a week."
"As I foresaw … the fox arrived in time."
"Enough of that," roots grew up from the floor and Avariel got comfortable in the chair they formed beneath her. "Tell me what you've been up to in the last century."
"Ah, I am currently working with an undiscovered Dungeon Core deep into the mountains of Eumfend. The constructs it makes … I have seen nothing quite like this before."
----------------------------------------
"Oh, hi Kalitra." Faylen smiled, her head snapping up as she noticed the familiar set of approaching footsteps. "How have you been?"
"Good so far," Izuna smiled back at the sweets vendor. "Do you have any recommendations today?"
"Yes," the elf chirped. "I tried a new yoghurt cover today and I think it goes really well with strawberries, want some? I'm sure Lexy would love it?"
"Sure," Izuna nodded. "Not that she wouldn't love anything you made."
"Aww," Faylen flushed politely, waving the compliment off. "I'm not making it any cheaper if you compliment me."
"If you say so," Izuna rolled her eyes and Kali just watched on from the side, hidden behind a simple Minor Illusion wall.
This was the test she came up with after the foxgirl easily aced her first few ideas. She could walk around like she was an elf or even walk into shops and they'd greet her like one of their own, the Rangers nodded to her respectively and everyone seemed to think of her as a friend despite none of them having talked to her before.
Kali worried at first, thinking her talent to be some sort of hypnosis or mind control, but as she continued observing the girl in action, she came to the conclusion that it was more like a mental illusion. Izuna wasn't casting light-based illusions, but instead, was fooling her victim's sight directly.
The fox-kin was able to deceive someone who knew Kali into thinking they were talking to her. However, in reality, they were actually conversing with Izuna.
She never met Lexy, as far as I know. Neither does she know that she is a little glutton.
That was the one thing that made another thing clear to the princess. Izuna somehow always knew just the right thing to say to keep up her facade.
It could be some sort of subconscious instinct? Combined with mind reading?
That prompted a slew of other questions, some of which worried Kali. If she has a mind-reading talent, can she control it? Did she use it on me? Does she know who I am already?
The fox-kin was done trading and was heading over to the illusion. Kali shook her head slightly and snapped out of it. Her overactive mind was helpful most of the time, but it made paranoia a constant companion.
"How did I do?" asked Izuna with a polite smirk, her head tilting to the side.
"Very well," Kali smiled back, keeping as much of her nervousness out of her tone as she could. "I think that'll be enough testing. You'd more than proven your ability."
"Thank you," Izuna nodded in thanks, her relief slipping into her voice.
"So," Kali started, looking the foxgirl up and down. "I've been made to believe you are about as strong as me and Vorgnar, right?"
"I'm not sure whether that's true," Izuna shrugged lightly.
"Hmmm," Kali thought. "I should reach the first breakthrough in a few months, maybe a few years if I don't hunt any monsters and just cultivate."
"Breakthrough … ah you mean the Steps," said Izuna as Kali looked at her curiously. "We call them that where I'm from."
"Would it be rude to ask where that is?" asked Kale, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"I- uhm," Izuna blinked. "It's on the other side of the planet, on a small island hidden in an eternal mist."
"Cool," Kali smiled, not pressing further as she noticed how shifty the foxgirl got at her question. "Let's walk?"
Receiving a nod, Kali dismissed the illusion, and the two started wandering the village with the white-haired elf in the lead.
"So, 'Steps'," Kali mused. "Where does that come from? We call it breakthroughs because you, well, break through to the next tier."
"We call it the Three Steps of Ascension," Izuna said as she walked beside Kali, the foxgirl did something that made the other villagers just ignore the two of them and step out of their way like it was the most natural thing in the world. Kali felt thankful. This was the first time nobody was throwing stinky gazes at her as she passed. "You have the mortals up to level 200. Once you reach that, you can enter the First Step and so on with all the others."
"Do you have names for them?" Kali asked back. "We only really put mages into tiers as far as I know: Acolyte, Adept, Master, and Archmage."
"We do, and isn't that the same?" Izuna asked back.
"Well, you aren't an Acolyte just because you've reached a set level. You need to fulfill a bunch of other requirements, like knowing enough Spells and such."
"I see," Izuna nodded. "It isn't universal, but the most widespread names I know are Luminal, Ephemeral, Celestial, and Transcendent."
"Hmm," Kali smiled. "Sounds much cooler to say 'I'm a Luminal' than 'I'm in the second breakthrough', isn't it?"
"I suppose," Izuna shrugged. "We are both mortals, so there isn't much of a difference."
"Yet," Kali corrected. "There isn't much of a difference, YET."
"Alright?" Izuna smiled awkwardly and Kali just scratched her cheek in embarrassment at her outburst.
I will be called Ascendant one day, or Transcendent. Both sounds cool.
"Sorry," she smiled apologetically.
"It is nothing." Izuna nodded.
"So," said Kali, intending to change the topic. "I am close to becoming 'Luminal'. Do you think we could spar? I could really use a sparring partner that wasn't a brooding wolf-man."
"I … suppose we could," Izuna nodded slowly.
"Great," Kali clapped excitedly. "We train a week together, get used to each other and then we set out to get you Troll Core right after. Sounds good?"
"It does," Izuna nodded in relief. "It sounds just perfect."
And so began a whole week of Kali getting her butt kicked.
As it turns out, fighting someone who could read her thoughts and react to every move she made even before she made them was a pain in the ass.
Still, it would surely come in handy against the trolls.
That's what Kali told herself, at least.