Once his Protégé seemed to have calmed down, he relocated them from the dining area to the sitting room. As Paul focused on making some tea that should help rex the young woman rather than more magic-infused coffee, he tried to change to a lighter topic they hadn’t had a chance to discuss yet, “I heard there was some excitement on the wall while I was gone.”

  Phoenix nodded, and when she didn’t eborate, he prompted, “You constructed a giant bird made of stars? I didn’t think your ability would do something on the scale that was described to me.”

  “I used one of the rituals in Schor’s Knowledge Tome,” she expined softly.

  When she didn’t speak further, he gestured towards her book that was still floating nearby, “Anything new for me to read from that? No new items? I would have thought defeating all those monsters would have been lucrative.”

  As he walked over with the cup of tea, she shook herself and seemed to try to dispel her exhaustion. When her attention finally returned to the present, she took the cup and gave a tentative sip, her nose wrinkling slightly.

  Once he sat beside her on the sofa, an item appeared in her free hand with the appearance of a rge pear-cut gem about the width of his thumb that had been hollowed out and filled to the brim with variously colored feathers.

  Phoenix took another deep breath and said with a bit more energy, “The Wing Spirit Gem. I was waiting for you to return before using it.”

  Item: Wing Spirit Gem

  A magical gem containing the spiritual concept of wings made manifest.

  Caste: Crystal.

  Avaibility: Rare.

  Type: Consumable, ingredient.

  Requirements: Crystal Caste with less than five unlocked Css abilities.

  Effect: Unlocks a random Css ability weighted towards a suitable Aspect.

  You are able to absorb the [Wing Spirit Gem].

  Do you wish to unlock a Css ability infused with the Wing concept?

  He chuckled at her, “You don’t have to wait for my permission. Honestly, there are only a few Spirit Gems you really need to watch out for. Things like Death or Void, apocalypse or cataclysm, corruption or discord, or the ones named after Fallen Gods. Unless you have a particur concern, you seem to know what to look out for.”

  Phoenix gave him a crooked grin, “I know, it’s just that I like having you confirm it,” she said, then sighed and held up the gem to peer into it herself, “So. Wings. Flying ability?”

  Paul gave her an amused look and shrugged, “Potentially, but it could be any number of abilities that are wing-themed,” then he paused and asked, “Are you sure you’re up to this right now? You should probably get some more sleep.”

  Red curls bounced as she shook her head in the negative, “Maybe in a bit. Let’s just see what this ends up being,” then she triggered absorbing the gem, and it seemed to crack slightly before shattering into a myriad of feathers, swarming into her, and he found her hand suddenly on his sleeve and tightening in a death grip as he knew the uncomfortable feeling was invading her senses.

  He worried that the swarm of pain might be triggering new nightmares that he now had to worry about accidentally reminding her of. He knew how miserlings normally spawned in packs and would torture their prey for a long time before devouring them.

  Paul remembered putting a poor Caster out of their misery long ago when he came upon them too te and without a healer. It was one of those times he had desperately wished he had a healing ability. Killing them quickly had been the only mercy he could grant.

  The idea that Phoenix had suffered through that and would remember that horror forever made his blood boil with rage.

  He wrapped an arm around her to try and steady her against his rger frame, and she seemed to breathe easier as the moment quickly passed. Her book floated closer again to offer up the new ability description. Her jaw dropped as they both read it over, and she asked incredulously, “Is that… Is that really what I think it is?”

  Css Ability: Wings of the Cosmos

  Type: Familiar (ritual, summon, magical, covenant, dimension)

  Cost: Severe mana and stamina.

  Cooldown: None.

  Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

  Crystal Effect: Summon a [Cosmic Phoenix] to serve as a Familiar.

  Paul grinned at her, “Congratutions. You got your Familiar ability.”

  She stood up quickly, catching him by surprise as she asked in a rush, “Now. Can we summon it now? Please?”

  He ughed at the sudden excitement that seemed to overtake her, and he was relieved to see her apathy and sorrow dissipate, “Do you have the materials? Some Familiars take some pretty specific or hard-to-find components,” he warned, gently tapping the oddly-not-quite-diamond-shaped metal pte in the center of his forehead, deciding to show her a bit more trust on his own part, “Orebe here took a boat load of Light Shards at Crystal.”

  Phoenix stared at the little golden third-eye guard that most people assumed was some sort of magic item augment and asked in utter shock, “That’s a Familiar?!”

  Paul nodded and said, “She doesn’t really like being apart from me. Mostly, she increases my Magical resistance, damage, and senses, but she has a few other tricks.”

  “This One can meet Little Miss now?” the familiar monotone voice echoed in his mind.

  “Perhaps I’ll introduce her properly to you ter,” he crified for the both of them, “Now, what does your Familiar’s ritual take? You should simply know from the power itself.”

  He knew it would be simir to the feeling of remembering something from a Knowledge Tome, and she recited, “100 Light Shards, 100 Dark Shards, and 200 Crystal Mana Bits.”

  Then she winced at the cost and admitted, “I don’t have those types of Shards. The local monsters have been mostly giving Water, Ice, and Earth-typed Shards when I loot them, aside from the usual monster parts, or when I turn their Seeds into Shards. I got a little bit of Void Shards from those wights, which should sell really well, but I’ve been holding onto them in case I think of a good crafting use. I guess I’ll have to stop by the market again.”

  “Perhaps you should get some sleep first?” he suggested again. Then, to further support his position, he pointed to the line on the book where the ability’s cost was listed, “This is going to take a lot out of you, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to pass out as soon as you get to meet your newest companion.”

  She looked like she wanted to argue but slumped and nodded, then asked hesitantly, “Will you, um… will you stay here? Please?”

  He raised an eyebrow, and she admitted meekly, “I just… I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

  With a final assessing gaze, he nodded in acquiescence.

  A few hours ter, Paul was sitting in a plush chair, silently writing in his journal next to Phoenix, who was sound asleep in her bed. He had tried his best to use his aura to soothe her nightmares, as her rigid defenses were less resistant to his presence once she fell unconscious. He was impressed with the improvement she had made since it was harder for him to read her now than when they first met, but it was like reading an open book when she slept.

  His aura was also not the most soothing, and he was well aware of that. He found himself wondering what he could possibly do to help the sudden night terrors she was experiencing. In all the time he had known her, she rarely had nightmares despite knowing she had been through enough battles with monsters to warrant them.

  He had never met someone who had survived their frenzy like Phoenix had. Though, he guessed she hadn’t survived it.

  Despite having the brief thought earlier, now a whole new slew of worries pgued his mind as he sat in silence and contempted the ramifications of going through horrible deaths and having to live with those memories. Perhaps he should go back to the Temple of the Mender and seek guidance once more. Surely, they had someone much more qualified than he was to help someone dealing with severe trauma like this.

  His attention was drawn to the front door in the next room when he got the sense of a weak aura on the other side of it, followed by a soft knock at the door.

  Paul quietly moved to open the door to a startled purple-haired gemite with matching eyes that went wide upon recognizing him, and the young man stuttered, “L–Lord Waynd. I… I was unaware you would be here.”

  Dazien hesitated, then awkwardly asked, “Should I come back another time?”

  He just opened the door a bit more and walked over to one of the chairs in the small sitting area by the hearth. Then he gestured to one of the other seats and gave a simple order, “Sit.”

  The younger warrior hesitated another moment before straightening with resolve and stepping inside, shutting the door behind him, and taking the seat opposite the Emerald Caster. The gemite seemed uncomfortable with the sudden situation but went ahead and asked, “Is Miss Fraser not in?”

  “She’s still sleeping,” he stated simply, his assessing gaze falling on the Defender now.

  The would-be king raised an eyebrow at him as though wanting to inquire exactly why he was here if she was sleeping, but Paul cut off that inaccurate line of thinking, “I arrived here this afternoon to find a sleep-deprived tinker jumping at every little movement,” he gestured to the mess still on the table over by the window, “She unlocked a Familiar power, and I was able to convince her to sleep before attempting to summon it.”

  “Little King seems guilty,” Orebe’s voice echoed his own observations, “Perhaps something else happened that Little Miss did not speak of?”

  His golden eyes locked on amethyst ones as he pressed his aura on the young man while asking, “Now, what exactly did you do to her while I was gone?”

  Dazien’s eyes went wide at the accusation, “Me?! Sir, why would you believe I did something to her?” Then those eyes narrowed into a gre, “Despite what many people seem to think of gemites in this city, I would never try to take advantage of her. To even suggest–”

  “Because you are here without your shadow,” he interjected simply, not wanting the kid to get the wrong idea and think he was some kind of anti-gemite bigot, then added, “And you feel guilty.”

  The young warrior muttered under his breath, “Bloody aura senses.” Then he straightened slightly and crified, “I am here alone mainly because Uriel has a recurring appointment every other Blosol with Priest Jacob, as you should well know. I was concerned about Phoenix because she was acting very oddly st night. I don’t think my guilt has anything to do with that, however.”

  The Defender expined what had happened the previous day, with Phoenix seemingly coming back to her dorm to sleep and having nightmares after her portal duties, then not seeming entirely coherent and acting much more subdued than even when they had first met. When he finished, Dazien asked him, “Did she tell you anything?”

  “You trust Little King?” his Familiar questioned, “He talks a lot.”

  Paul knew his Familiar was right, and even if he was starting to trust the young man, he wasn’t about to divulge this particur secret. So he shook his head and lied, “Just nightmares. Until she decides to open up, you’ll just have to wait. I suggest not pushing her,” he warned, assuming that was exactly what the upstart sovereign had pnned, “She seemed rather… votile when I tried. You should let her come to you when she trusts you enough.”

  Dazien frowned at his words but nodded in understanding, slumping in his chair slightly, “I’m not sure what to do,” the kid admitted, surprising him at the unexpected vulnerability on dispy, “I’m supposed to be leading this party; and I’m not sure how to help one of its members. How can I expect them to trust and follow when I’m uncertain of the course to take?”

  He leaned back in his chair, thinking for a moment before saying, “Nobody leads alone. Find certainty in the knowledge that those who choose to follow you will not only trust in what you think is best but will support you when you slip.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, “If you want to help Phoenix since she’s the one currently slipping, you need to let her know that she’s not alone in whatever challenge she faces. Whether it’s from the monsters out there,” he gestured to the window then tapped at his temple, “Or the monsters in here.”

  The young warrior grimaced at him and agreed, “I’m well aware that the monsters in our minds can sometimes be a greater threat than the ones we face on the battlefield. My partner has been a shining example of that fact.”

  Paul tilted his head in acknowledgment, “Yes, he would know all about that, wouldn’t he?” he said rhetorically, then leaned back and asked curiously, “And how did you manage to help him?”

  “Well, it helped to know that he was devoted to following me,” Dazien pointed out with a smirk.

  “Yes, but before that,” he crified, “How did you get him to devote himself to you in the first pce?”

  The young leader contempted for a moment before saying, “I just… I don’t know. I was just there for him. Defended him. Told him that no matter what he might believe he deserved, I would always be there.”

  Paul gave a slight smile, “I think you have your answer then. Now, since you’re here and obviously have the time, why don’t you tell me a bit more about your history and interactions with the other nobles in the city?”

  “The other nobles?” Dazien repeated in confusion, then gave a wry smirk, “Trying to py the game of politics, Lord Waynd? You didn’t strike me as the type.”

  “Let’s just say I have a new reason to be concerned about what some of the other Houses are up to,” he side-stepped, “You’re probably more up-to-date on the current status of things since you seem rather popur with the younger scions. Are there any that you would consider… more self-centered than most people?”

  Dazien gave him a dubious look, “I feel like this is somehow a trick question.”

  He chuckled, feeling a bit better about the party Phoenix had chosen, and crified, “I guess what I’m really curious about is which ones you think might resort to dirtier tactics that one might need to literally watch their back for.”

  “Ah, well… I will admit there are a few,” the Defender said, shifting in his seat.

  Paul grinned, “Tell me everything about them.”