Dazien stood with his arms crossed as Phoenix slid down the hillside to engage with the pack of Crystal Caste snolves and found himself intrigued. He had never seen such an assortment of odd powers before, and he couldn’t figure out what that mysterious magic book was all about.
“You’re interested in her,” Uriel’s smooth voice said from over his shoulder, and he grinned up at his companion.
“She has a lot of interesting quirks,” he admitted before looking back to watch her fight as he continued speaking, “When I saw her here, she struck me as the silent wallflower type. Quiet, unassuming, obedient. I thought she might be some kind of mender or group support.
“She doesn’t want to put herself forward, but then she pulls off crazy things like baiting wyrmlings and fighting a pack of snolves,” he excimed, gesturing towards the battle taking pce below them for emphasis, “That’s not something a Healer or Supporter normally does!
“Also, when I first came across her, it was when she was meeting with Warrior. How does someone as soft as her catch his attention? Plus, there’s something off about her aura that I can’t quite pce,” he cocked his head to the side and put a hand to his chin, deep in thought.
Uriel shrugged, “You know I can’t sense auras right now.”
“I know,” he replied with exasperation, “It’s hard for me to expin, too, because my aura senses are rather crap. You know I haven’t been able to find a decent trainer for that. Despite Warrior’s chiding, I still haven’t been able to hone it to his liking.”
“She has four Auras,” Trayvious said from beside them.
Both of the young men looked at him in surprise.
“It’s probably what felt off to you. Her aura has four yers which reinforce it, making it much stronger than other Crystal Casters that you would be more familiar with,” the assessor expined as though giving a lecture.
Dazien nodded in understanding, “So, she’s an Aurabreaker. Plus, she mentioned not having all her abilities unlocked.”
He gnced back as the young woman’s glittery shield broke when two snolves impacted with it, “She has defensive, stealth, portal, and loot abilities. Plus, whatever that ability is that lets her move things around like that.”
“Telekinesis?” Uriel suggested watching her as well.
“Something like that. It doesn’t behave like a normal Movement skill since it’s affecting the monsters, too.”
They both paused as a snolf flew straight up into the air a few dozen meters, and Dazien chuckled, “They always say it’s the quiet ones you need to watch out for,” then he gave his companion a sidelong look and added, “You know… you two might have more in common than I originally thought.”
Uriel rolled his eyes and asked, “Are you trying to collect the silently chaotic ones?”
Dazien gave him an impish grin, “They are the most fun after all.”
As the fighting came to an end, he asked the mage, “So what do you think? Should we have her join our team?”
“My king would ask his servant for permission?” Uriel asked with a rare smirk.
“A wise king always seeks the counsel of his most trusted advisor, Uriel. I would not have her join if you were not willing to work with her. If she doesn’t interest you as well, then we’ll just keep searching,” he said resolutely.
He observed Uriel watching the girl, who was now painted in so much blood that her hair no longer stood out as it once had. As she slowly trudged back up the hill, looking exhausted, white ash began to fall off of her as she looted the monsters that the blood belonged to.
The cinderen gnced back at him and gestured towards the rest of Dazien’s entourage standing a few feet away before speaking silently over his communication ability, “She’s better than the others trying to cim you and doesn’t seem to care about my Silencer in the slightest. I won’t decline her inclusion.”
Dazien smiled at the small victory, “Great, we can ask her after the trial results.”
“You may want to check with her Mentor first,” Trayvious spoke up, surprising the pair once more.
He raised an eyebrow, “Her mentor? Like an official Mentor mentor? The one she mentioned taking her around to portal locations?”
The assessor nodded, “He has cimed her officially as Protégé and has been training her personally. I doubt he would let her join just any party.”
Dazien scoffed, “We are not just any party. We have the benefit of a god overseeing my training.”
Trayvious quirked a brow and said, “I don’t think this man cares much for gods anymore. The Bde of Pure Wrath is not known for his leniency, nor his piety, after what happened with the Purifier.”
Both men became a shade paler at his words, and Dazien crified, “The heir of House Waynd has returned?”
“That’s Lord Waynd now, and yes. He returned about a week ago,” Trayvious nodded towards Phoenix, “With her. I would not normally share that knowledge with you, but I thought it prudent to warn you before gaining that man’s wrath.”
The two companions gnced over at the redhead once more as she was casting a healing spell on herself.
“Of course, she has a heal too,” Dazien muttered in resignation before giving a resolute nod, “Still, I will ask her first. Then maybe she can help convince the lord for us. If she is being trained by him, then surely she will be a worthy party member.”
“And you can discover more of her interesting quirks,” Uriel said, seeing straight through Dazien’s motivations.
As the group of would-be Adventurers was milling about the ft expanse of tundra the assessor had chosen for them to each dispy their individual “camping” skills, she wondered if this was really a requirement to being an Adventurer.
Nevertheless, she got to work, starting with the ritual her mentor had taught her and had her practice every night they were roaming before they would meditate. She began drawing a magic circle with a finger of starlight around her little area, which would act as a temporary barrier that would arm her if any monsters got within a few meters of it.
Trayvious wandered over towards her as he slowly made the rounds, observing everyone and asking a few sporadic questions. When he reached her, he studied the ritual circle and asked, “Did Lord Waynd teach you?”
She nodded and eborated for him, “This and a few other survival rituals. When he found– um, I mean before we met, I had gotten lost alone in a forest and almost died multiple times.”
The assessor gave her a curious look and noted, “Not many people would admit that weakness, especially during an examination like this. Which forest, if I might ask?”
She tilted her head to the side, trying to recall if Paul had mentioned it, then conjured her book instead to look at the map of Tulim. It didn’t reach the area she had been in, but she pointed off in the general direction beyond the map’s border as she turned it for the runeforged to examine, “It was a mountain range somewhere over here? I don’t think Paul ever told me the name.”
His eyes widened as he crified, “Blue Ridge?” she shrugged, and he questioned further, “How long were you lost there for?”
Phoenix grimaced at the memory and reluctantly admitted, “Eight days. I didn’t have any powers at first and ran into Paul just after arriving in some grassy hills instead.”
He stared at her for a moment before nodding and saying simply, “I see... Well, I’m gd you survived the ordeal.”
She didn’t bother correcting him about the false assumption before he moved along to the next applicant, who was busy setting up a tent, and the Wayfarer turned back to finish her own tasks.
After her arm was accounted for, she started going about the next step of setting up a campfire, this time pulling out her new wand and trying one of the cantrips she had absorbed. This took much less time than the ritual to get going as she pulled a few branches out of her collection from her time in the Blue Ridge Mountains and whispered, “Let the Provider’s fire light the hearth.” She smiled as the bundle crackled with slowly growing fmes. That was so much easier than her previous attempts.
With the fire now providing warmth, she took her cloak off, set it on the ground in her designated spot, and touched a Mana Bit to the csp. The Bit seemed to melt into the metal and ripple across the white fur before the cloak shifted its form, seemingly splitting open along the hem and gaining a second yer. Functionally, it had transformed into a furry single-person tent, just big enough for her to wiggle into and sleep comfortably in.
It had worked well enough while traveling around the tundra with Paul, but she definitely preferred her new bed in her dorm room. She was just gd that the enchantment sted a whole eight hours, even after she had learned that Crystal Casters only needed about five hours of sleep to feel fully rested.
With her tasks complete, she popped a Crystal Mana Bit into her mouth for an easy dinner, took a seat at the entrance of her little tent, and summoned her book to dispy the information for her newest reward.
Item: Bracelet of Elemental Conversion
A band designed to convert monsters into components.
Caste: Crystal.
Avaibility: Rare.
Type: Apparel, bracelet.
Requirements: Crystal Caste or higher.
Effect: Consume a Crystal Caste [Monster Seed] to generate Crystal Caste Elemental Shards of an appropriate type in accordance with the provided Seed.
The accompanying image just looked like a simple silver band with ten small colored stones embedded around it. The listed effect made her even more curious, however, and slightly suspicious of both the item and her looting ability itself. She then pulled up the information for the item she had looted from one of the snolves directly.
Item: Monster Seed
The remnant seed of a deceased monster.
Caste: Crystal.
Avaibility: Uncommon.
Type: Consumable, ingredient.
Requirements: Crystal Caste.
Effects:
Can be consumed to slightly increase the progression of your lowest Caste ability.Can be used as a component for various rituals or enchantments.
She conjured the seed from her collection to get a better idea of its dimensions and found it to look very simir to a walnut that had been bleached white and was about triple the size. It also weighed heavier than it looked for a seed. She debated on whether she should use it or convert it into Elemental Shards so she could examine some of those as well.
“Nice! You got a Monster Seed!” a cinderen said as he approached her casually, tilting his head towards the item resting in her palm, “Those are pretty uncommon. You gonna use it?”
Phoenix took in the man’s appearance and admitted softly, “I’m not sure,” then inquired cautiously, “You’re Malik, right?”
He smiled and nodded, “Rayk Malik,” he confirmed, then added, “My mother likes to buy those in bulk when possible and turn a profit on them. She makes quite the Bits on them out here where they can be harder to come by for the higher Castes.”
“Would it be better to sell it then?” she asked.
Rayk ughed and shook his head, “Gods, no. You should use it. I know some Adventurers like to act all self-righteous about it, but as my mother likes to point out, time is money. When it can take years, decades, or even centuries to get to the next Caste for some, every little advantage can be priceless.”
“That’s quite the sales pitch,” Phoenix admitted, studying the Seed a bit further while contempting, “What about Elemental Shards?”
“Shards? Well, they’re– Actually, can I sit for this?” he asked a bit awkwardly. She nodded, and he sat on the ground beside her, nearer to the fire to keep warm. Once he settled, he continued, “Thanks. Now, Shards are pretty useful but generally more common. You have a looting ability, right?”
She was a bit disoriented from the sudden topic shift but nodded again. Malik’s smile seemed to grow a little wider and slightly more predatory as he said, “My mother would love you. She’s always going on about wanting to get someone with a looting power to work for her.”
Phoenix shifted awkwardly and tried to redirect the conversation back, “Shards are used in rituals and enchantments, too, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied with a shrug, “They’re definitely used more often than Monster Seeds. This is another reason to just go ahead and use the Seeds rather than wait for some random ritual requirement to call for them. Plus, if you’re more powerful, it’s easier to get more Seeds.”
That did make some sort of sense to her. She conjured her new bracelet directly onto her wrist, conveniently hiding her Oathbond underneath the cuff, and held it up for him to look at, “This converts Seeds into Shards. Would it be worth doing?”
The cinderen looked at it curiously and replied thoughtfully, “Perhaps… depending on how much you got out of it. Does it do all types of Shards? I only see the ten colors for the Elements on this.”
“It only does Elemental ones. Are there Magical and Divine ones, too?” she asked, remembering Paul’s lecture about types and subtypes.
Malik ughed, “While technically yes, I don’t think anyone I know has ever seen Divine Shards. They are ridiculously rare since, as I’m sure you know, Shards usually form from the condensation of the ambient magic of an area. You would need a rge space brimming with Radiant or Void energy for an extended period of time to generate one.”
“What about the third type of Divine magic?” she asked in confusion. She could have sworn Paul had said there were three.
Rayk’s expression became confused suddenly, and the smile dropped from his face as he asked, “Are you just messing with me now?” he gnced over at Trayvious, then back to her, and said ftly, “The third would be impossible.”
He stood abruptly and dusted the back of his pants off as she stuttered out, “I–I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to mess with you or anything. I honestly didn’t know. I, um, I didn’t get out much until recently, and I’m still learning a lot.”
His ember eyes softened slightly at whatever he must have seen in her own as he nodded and said, “Well, if becoming an Adventurer doesn’t work out for you… or even if it does, you should come visit my mother’s shop in Tulimeir. Just ask around for the Mother’s Cupboard. It’s right near Market Station. Tell them I sent you.”
She stared bnkly after him as he departed with a backward wave over his shoulder, and she had the errant thought, Did I just get scouted for a job?
