Years since Creation: 3993

Location: Significance Plane, Ritual System, Ruthod

Darvon had spent half the walk to the room trying to figure out just what his familiar bond had given him. He knew that most who acquired one tended to channel all of the energy into a single core skill, like his mother’s ability to turn invisible, or Maroc’s talent at manipulating blood. Darvon had decided to go a slightly different route and had focused entirely on enhancing his intellect at the sacrifice of everything else.

And it had worked.

His thoughts were quicker, his memory was perfect, and even his processing of the world around him was vastly enhanced. Schematic calculations that would have taken him hours with a pen and paper now took him mere seconds. Every aspect of intelligence was so vastly improved within a few minutes of its implantation that glancing at the woman next to him he could only guess as to how quickly she was thinking after decades of small alterations. It was scary. Though with Saria’s current disheveled attire and rubble strewn platinum hair she didn’t exactly look the part. The only sign of her abnormality were her golden eyes, silver tipped ears, and the thin plates of metal on her temple. She was, much as he hated to admit, much better merged with her implants than he had ever bothered to be with his.

“Done staring?” Saria said, and glanced at him with a smile, her third eye still closed. He would have to teach her about that. “I know I look a little different than most but compared to the people we have passed I look positively mundane.”

That was true. They had walked through several parts of the complex, and passed by dozens of different Zhra so he could see why she was confused. Most Zhaber tended to keep the upgraded bodies that Fina engineered which looked deceptively normal aside from a few scales in sensitive places, but there were still plenty of Alchemists who chose to drastically alter themselves to better suit their tasks. They had passed a three meters tall bruiser covered in thick black chitin, an amphibian with slick blue skin, a potion master who was half tubes, and even a floating woman whose hair was made out of flickering astral dust.

“It’s less your looks, and more your composure. I know that if I got kidnapped from my home plane, I would not be handling it anywhere near as well. Honestly I would probably have tried to fight my way out of wherever I was kept, regardless of the bond or circumstance.”

“Well, if this were the first time I went through a major upheaval I might have reacted the same way.” Saria said with a slightly haunted look on her face. “But I’ve been through enough to know how to handle myself in stressful situations.”

Darvon nodded distractedly; half his focus was dedicated to trying to control his enhanced sight to no success. “That adds up, I sensed a few massive disruptions in your memories.”

Saria turned him to him with a sharp panicked look which sent him out of his training in a snap. “I know we switched some memories, but all I have got is some mild understanding of Space and language from you. I didn’t know you got to see my whole life.”

“Please don’t worry that I saw anything private. I only got a general sense of your life, as well as a few core understanding from your plane like language and some basic etiquette. I tried my best to only absorb the relevant things such as your unique tech, but a few things did slip through.” Darvon said with his best calming smile, which he could admit wasn’t all that great.

“Please refrain from talking of any sensitive topics before we arrive to the private room.” Bukut brusquely said in a raspy tone.

“Of course, I apologize Paragon Bukut.” Darvon said and gave a brief bow of his head, which Saria hastily imitated.

After that they spent the rest of the walk-in silence, passing by dozens of interesting rooms, most closed and locked. The few he was able to see were all filled with active-duty legion members, which didn’t really surprise Darvon. This was one of the core headquarters for the Legion army, and there was plenty of action going on since the invaders were attempting to set up a permanent camp in Mu. While they had managed to conquer a wasteland planet, they had been blocked from advancing any further after Gurin and Venul stepped in to suppress all the Sovereigns they sent out. At least that was the latest news Maroc had told him.

It was only after another dozen minutes of walking that they reached their destination, which Darvon recognized was the same place he had talked to Busari earlier. Urden was gone from the room, but the engravings on the wall were still holding strong.

“I will leave you two to your own devices here. You can stay until the runes run out of energy. Once you’re done wave any cadet down and they will take you to the lobby to join the honorable scout Maroc. Farewell.” Bukut said and promptly left the room, closing the door behind him, thus activating all the runes.

Darvon awkwardly froze at his abrupt departure, before quietly coming up with a speech in his head on how to get her on his team while sitting at the table, only to turn and see Saria completely distracted while staring at the glowing engravings on the walls.

“I can’t hear a single thing outside of this room, even my eyes can’t pierce the barrier it formed in the walls.” Saria said with some awe. “Is this the same magic in the circle of the summoning room?”

“Yes and No.” Darvon said as he casually took out the introductory codex, which he activated by burning through an essence stone attached to it, and idly flipped through the floating images as he talked. “They are both branches of Magitech, but the essences used to power them are different. The summoning circle was focused on calming the energies in the room and stabilizing any portal created, while the ones in this room are made to insure secrecy.”

“So, the essence used determines the effect?” Saria asked as she sat down at the table while intensely staring at Darvon.

“Again, yes and no. In most all cases of magic what determines the result heavily relies on the essence used, but how it is used also matters.” As he said that, Darvon took off a silver ring from his finger which was left over from his lab work, and then used his Image to Sacrifice it, turning it into a stream of purple light. “For example, this is grief essence, acquired from Sacrificing an object steeped in grief significance.”

“What do you mean by significance? As in it represents something of importance?” Saria asked, while staring in slight awe at the floating purple energy.

“More in the sense that it represents the ability to impact the world in some way. For example, the ring I just Sacrificed used to belong to the husband of a widow.” Darvon said while trying and failing to turn the essence into an accurate depiction of a man. “The reason I was able to gather grief essence is not because it was steeped in grief, but because if I presented the ring to the widow it would leave an impact of grief. If she died all the grief impact would be lost and the only essence we could have gathered would be metal or some other common type.”

“Is that essence pure grief then? Can an object only hold one type of significance?” Saria asked as he half the essence condensed into a glowing purple crystal that clattered onto the table, which he then passed over to her.

“There is no pure essence, the purity comes from me Transmuting the spare essence into grief at the moment of Sacrifice. With enough focus you can use your Image, the representation of your impact on the world, to alter and control essence. Like what I just did, which involved Tempering the essence into a more stable form. That form is the basis of our currency, which most anyone would be happy to accept in place of the more centralized Zi controlled by banks.”

“I sensed an emphasis when you mentioned Transmutation and Sacrifice. Is that because they are core abilities?.” Saria asked as she toyed with the glowing crystal.

“They are Laws, the foundational truths of a plane. You likely sensed them when you were teleported here.” Darvon said to the nod of Saria. “There are two types of Laws. Ability, and skill. All the techniques I have shown you so far are ability laws, simple things which are at the core of every spell. They are the foundation for the rest of magic to work off of. Skill laws are the ones that you would likely consider magic, like teleportation or throwing a fireball. Or something like this.”

At that Darvon concentrated and turned the floating grief essence into a simple bolt of glowing energy which he casually threw at Saria who tried and failed to dodge. The moment it hit her, her face twisted in grief and sadness before quickly turning to anger as she glared at Darvon who had pulled out a bolt of steel from one of his pockets, completely oblivious to her annoyance as he indicated for the crystal in her hand with a wide smile on his face. Saria sighed at that and threw it over.

“That was a simple use of the Elemental Law, a basic bolt of grief. Since I have no real mastery over that law that is the most I can do with such a basic amount of essence.” He said before crushing the crystal back into energy, which he then started burning into the bolt, turning the steel a dull purple which hummed with faint sobs. “Now this is my real expertise, Alchemy. It is the act of burning essence in order to fuel a controlled permanent change in an object.”

Darvon handed the bolt over to Saria who carefully grabbed it, her face twitching briefly before stilling. She then brought the bolt up to her eyes, their golden hue altering as she stared into the object. He was so having her teach him how to do that later, not only did it look cool, but he was fairly sure that it was allowing her to see deeper into the physical structure of the object without having to rely on any special tools. Yet that would likely have to wait for another day, he didn’t want to keep Maroc waiting for too long, the man was known for blowing up when someone he was close to might be in danger.

“Now as much as I love lecturing people about stuff I am passionate about, I probably shouldn’t get sucked into explaining something you can read about on your own.” Darvon said while sliding over the introductory codex. “You likely have questions related to your situation that are more important than how to wield magic.”

At that Saria straightened her back and slid the bolt back across the table. Darvon grabbed it, and after opening a flap in his robes, pushed it into the hole in his chest where his Bolt Shoulder was, the bolt smoothly joining the couple dozen others spread throughout his body.

“Yes, you’re right I do have a few questions. Though I might still take you up on a few lectures on magic later, I tend to learn better with examples.” Saria said causing Darvon to smile, he loved teaching. “I guess the main question is what do you expect from me? Am I to be an advisor, or…”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Ah, well in order to explain your potential position, I should first tell you what most people’s relationships are with their familiars, specifically those with sapient ones.” Darvon said. “For starters you should know that most people don’t get random familiars from other planes, that is an exclusively Zhaber thing, no one else would risk the amount of money needed to summon a random Extranar creature. We only do so because we have experts who can target creatures within some limited parameters such as intelligence in your case.”

Darvon paused to give her a second though Saria just waved him to continue. He had forgotten that she was likely processing this at dozens of times a regular Zhra would.

“Now since Zhaber’s with sapient Extranar familiars’ number in the single digits, it’d better for me to tell you about how bonds amongst the rest of the plane work.” Darvon said as leaned back in the chair to fiddle with the rings dotting his fingers. “Those with real choice only select their bond after years of consideration and planning. They will also only choose people who they already have a relationship with, and whose skills would be useful to the other. They will psychoanalyze every aspect of their partners actions, gather a deep understanding of their abilities, weaknesses, and loyalties. Only once they are certain that they are a good match, will they go forward with the next step. Enforcing oaths of loyalty and mediation between the two.”

“Which we don’t have.” Saria said with a frown while drumming her fingers on the table.

“No, we do not. But we can always get one later so no real worry there.” Darvon said with a hand wave. “Now these familiars, due to being under such a strict contract, tend to form very close friendships where they both mutually support each other. This close bond is so strong that it has been the basis for countless stories, where some powerful hero is willing to bond themselves to their best friend or lover in the name of saving them or something. Though it’s still pretty rare to get even with so many legends around it.”

“Why though? I get that most people are distrustful but that shouldn’t matter in the face of such blatant benefits.” Saria said while pointedly staring at Darvon’s silver eyes, before quickly amending. “That is if your people’s values are similar to mine.”

“From what little I could tell, both of our planes’ citizens have the same core motivations so I would keep going with your gut in these scenarios, but yes you are right.” Darvon said before pulling out a few glowing crystals from his pocket. “What you are missing is the simple fact that most people can’t afford a familiar, and of those who can they rarely have need for a partnership, they would much rather acquire the aid of a creature whose ability matches their path. Not only do you acquire a combat partner who would give their life for you, but you also don’t risk shackling yourself to someone you may grow to hate.”

“I see what you mean. Better to be safe with your choice.” Saria said before leaning back in her chair. “Yet all this still doesn’t answer my question on what you want from me.”

“Well, the eventual goal would be for us to form a similar partnership to those within the successful stories. We would both push each other to improve and accomplish our dreams, while making sure to cover for the others flaws.” Darvon said. “Though it would probably be best to not jump straight into that decision, we should wait at least a week or two so we can get to know each other better. While I did get a good sense of who you were from the memory scan, I might have missed something that would make such a relationship impossible.”

“I can agree to that, though I don’t really have all that many other choices.” Saria said while fiddling with the codex. “Not a whole lot of options for someone marooned on a foreign plane.”

“That is true, but once we get you settled in society you would be free to do whatever you want. I would even be willing to give you enough money to last you for a couple months of modest living if you truly choose to give this all up, though I implore you to at least give me a chance. I feel we can both serve each other well in pursuing our goals, and I doubt we will ever meet someone as unique as each other if we miss this opportunity.”

Saria nodded at that, sending a wave of relief down Darvon’s spine. He had been worried she would flat out refuse any new oath, but it seemed that he might be able to convince her to join him. If he let someone as talented as Saria go due to some misunderstanding like pushing for a bond faster he would be kicking himself for the rest of his life.

“Well, now that we got most of the standard stuff out of the way, how about we head out? As much as I want to keep teaching you the basics, I don’t want to keep my Uncle Maroc waiting. We can always talk back at home, we have a secret room there as well, not as strong as this one but it’ll do.” Darvon said as he stood up and walked to the door accompanied by Saria who stood by as he waved down a passing cadet and ordered him to escort them to the lobby.

“Who is this Maroc? I heard Bukut calling him honored scout, is that a rank?” Saria asked Darvon as they weaved through dozens of Zhra and Brob.

“It’s a title of respect. My Uncle was a Scout under the Legion and is famous for being the sole survivor of an expedition into Inspiration, an invading plane. If it weren’t for him returning with information on their movements we likely would have been caught completely flatfooted and have lost the war already. Because of that he has been viewed as one of the great heroes of the plane.

“How do you know him?”

“My parents were part of the expedition.” Darvon said without much care. “My mother asked him to take care of me when he returned, and he has done so for almost half my life. While at first it was a bit weird, I’ve grown to love the old man.”

“I’m sorry for bringing that up, I know how hard losing a parent is.” Saria said, her own face now letting out hints of grief. Darvon just smiled at her as they stepped into the lobby.

“If you had asked me a day ago I would have avoided your question, but now I am beyond that. Greif no longer restricts me.”

“So that was the emotion you sacrificed, I had been wondering about that.” A melodic voice sounded out from behind Darvon, as Eswin pulled up accompanied by her own cadet. “That still shouldn’t be enough for your ascension, but I guess you can’t underestimate a genius of your level Darvon.”

“Hello Eswin, I thought you had signed an oath to not talk about my power.” Darvon said while frowning at her, pushing Saria to stand behind him as the Enchantress sidled up next to him with a smile.

“I did, but it’s not so tight that I can’t mention something as simple as it being powerful and unique.” Eswin said with a light smile her eyes shining pink as she tried to lock gaze with Saria, only to be blocked by Darvon. “This must be your new familiar than? I must say you have had incredible luck this ascension.”

Darvon narrowed his eyes at that, as he commanded Vigil to wrap around his brain.

“What do you want Eswin? Lovely as you are, I would appreciate not having to constantly be on guard against you diving into my mind.”

“Now that’s just mean, I only looked because I thought you were some nobody, I never peek into friends’ memories.” Eswin said with a hurt look on her face, which was completely invalidated as she kept trying to not so subtly sensually bump into him. “Though if you must know I merely want to invite you to visit my home. I feel there is much we can learn from each other.”

“Thank you for the invitation, but I will have to pass for now. I need to get Saria settled first.” Darvon said. “And I’m sure you need to figure out accommodations for your familiar as well.”

“That is true.” Eswin said as she petted the two eels which floated out of the sleeve of her robe, a deep green one intertwined with the black she rode in Sybil. “I shall let you two go then, but please remember to visit as soon as you can. I have some information on Qrumin that I’m sure would interest you.”

At that Eswin sped up, forcing her cadet to jog ahead, while Saria and Darvon warily stared at her back. He would be sure to look into her when he got back home, he doubted it would be the last they saw of her.

“Who was that bitch?” Saria asked in a half whisper. “What did you mean by ‘diving into my mind’? Is she some sort of telepath?”

“Of sorts, her abilities stem from Enchantment, a Law brought in by Camla Kin Zhaber. It is one of the key reasons that so many people on this plane dislike us.” Darvon said while indicating for the cadet to continue leading them. “It allows for people to read memories and alter senses and emotions. Very powerful even in its weakened form.”

“Terrifying.”

“Yeah, though it’s not that hard to set up some basic defenses which I can teach you later. They won’t hold against a Paragon, or even a particularly talented Doyen, but it should warn you if there is an attack.” Darvon said as they finally entered the busy lobby. “Though since you have a different mind then most it should help with invasions. I actually now have a similar advantage since Sacrificing grief. That’s actually one of the reasons Zhaber–“

“What did you just say!” A voice screamed out from the crowd, as Maroc stepped out with a manic look in his eyes. He was mad, so much so that Vortex had already been released from his body, the elemental out a wave of pressure which pushed everyone away. Guards rushed in at that, only to immediately back away with a bow once they saw who it was. “Did you just say that you sacrificed grief, the single defining emotion for all your actions the past couple years, in exchange for a little bit of power?!”

A wave of blood formed around Maroc, his eyes turning a deeper red by the moment. Saria had already stepped away from Darvon with fear filling her eyes.

“Uncle Maroc calm down, I am perfectly fine. I planned this out for months and-“

“YOU PLANNED THIS MADNESS FOR MONTHS WITHOUT TELLING ME!” Maroc yelled out, causing everyone in the lobby who hadn’t scampered away to leave. No one wanted to face an angry peak paragon.

Seeing that just words would take him nowhere, Darvon pulled out the Grief Transformer from his neck and held it out in front of him like some sort of shield against Maroc’s anger.

“Look I created this the day before coming here in order to combat any symptoms of madness from the sacrifice. It’s called a Grief Transformer and replaces any instance of grief in my mind with sorrow. It is fully capable of keeping me stable during the transitionary period, I promise.” Darvon rambled quickly, talking about how it was the foundation for his advancement to Supernatural alteration Doyen and had been refined for months. Only after hearing the explanation did Maroc calm down enough to pull Vortex back in his body and stop releasing the intense pressure, though that was little relief to Darvon as he immediately after wrapped him in a bone crushing hug while letting out tears of worry.

“Never do something this risky again, you hear me. I’ve already lost Pyra to a broken mind, I can’t lose you too.” Maroc said while audibly breaking down, completely uncaring that there were people watching. Sometimes Darvon forgot that Maroc had sacrificed embarrassment, but never for long.

“It’s okay Uncle, I’m not losing my mind. If anything, I am stronger than ever before, just look at my Image.” Darvon said while trying and failing at pushing Maroc away, whose third eye started shining a deep red.

“A complete Image shift!” Maroc said, his tears forgotten as he examined Darvon head to toe. “Now you have to tell me what power you got.”

“I’ll tell you when we get home, too many prying eyes here. Plus, I need to introduce you to my familiar.” Darvon said, finally extricating himself from Maroc’s arms. He then tried waving Saria over, who had been hiding behind a pillar along with a dozen personnel. She rapidly shook her head while staring in horror at Maroc, but Darvon kept waving until she finally approached him.

“This is Saria Wyla, inheritor of the God Brain.” Darvon said while patting Saria’s shoulder which slowly calmed down as she took harried breaths until she was almost as stable as before.

“Pleased to meet you honored scout Maroc.” Saria said with a bow, her hand slightly shivering in fright. Seeing that Maroc quickly approached her and pulled her up straight.

“Please stand, no need for courtesy among friends. I am sorry I scared you, I just lost hold of myself a little when I heard Darvon did something as dumb as risking his sanity for power.” Maroc said. “Not like I would have hurt anyone here regardless; Vortex would have stopped me long before I did something stupid.”

“I see.” Saria said with a doubtful look on her face. “It just was a little shocking to see so much power come out of a single person. Even the lord Sovereign Busari didn’t seem as strong as you sir.”

“Ah, that’s just because he has better control over his power. Plus, he has always been more focused on research than combat, while I could never kill him I am sure I could hold my own against him for a while.” Maroc said with a laugh and dragged the two outside. “Now please let me treat you to some new clothes and food, it’s the least I could do after scaring you like that.”

At that Darvon sent a resigned smile to Saria who was failing at struggling out of Maroc’s grip. It seemed that he wouldn't be the only one to suffer Maroc’s ministrations now, which really shouldn’t have relieved him as much as it did.