by Kyle Johnson
Aranos willed his chair to move over to him and sat down in it, mentally taking notes as the image spoke. That explains why I could never find any other mana types, he realized silently. It’s not that they’re part of the life aspect and have to be teased out of it; they’re part of life in general and have to be discovered independently.
“Mind mana,” the image was speaking, “deals, appropriately enough, with the mind and intellect. It is a subtle but potent magic, as by affecting the thoughts of another, a Sorcerer can confound their senses, guide their behaviors, and even alter their memories. It is tied to the Intelligence Stat, and its use requires being an Adept in either the Diplomacy Skill or in the Lore of a specific race.
“Nature mana focuses on the Sorcerer’s body and the bodies of all living things. It can heal, grow, improve, or destroy living creatures but affects simpler organisms such as plants far more profoundly than complex ones like humanoids. It is tied to the Strength and Endurance Stats, and to touch it one must be an Adept in Herbalism or Natural Lore.
“Soul mana, as you might guess, affects the souls of living creatures, although it is most useful in touching a Sorcerer’s own soul, as the souls of others can be difficult to perceive, much less affect. It is a malleable and highly transmutable form of energy and can be used to empower other Spells. Soul mana is tied to the Wisdom aspect and requires intense self-knowledge; a Sorcerer must be an Adept in Meditation or Mystic Lore to unlock it.”
Aranos was furiously taking notes, trying to see which if any of these aspects he could already unlock. Soul mana seemed like a good bet; he already had a Skill that seemed related, his Wisdom was high, and he was an Expert in Instinctive Meditation. That meant that, theoretically, he should be able to unlock that aspect…if he could figure out how.
“Spatial mana concerns this world, and the Sorcerer’s connection to it,” Lythienne continued. “It deals with the fundamental forces of this world, such as magnetism and gravity, and at its most potent can change the nature of space itself. It is tied to both Agility and Dexterity, as it describes how well your body interacts with the world, and its practitioners must be both precise and dexterous to deftly weave the fabric of space. Those who wish to master this aspect must be Adepts at either Arcane Lore or Runecrafting.
“Finally, Spirit mana deals with the caster’s connection to other worlds and other realms. Each of us have existences in many worlds simultaneously; through spirit magic, connections to these worlds may be made and objects or creatures from beyond may be brought here – or banished from our world. It is tied to the Perception Stat – those who would use it must be able to sense the worlds beyond ours – and it requires one to be Adept-ranked in Spell Channeling or Divine Lore…”
The image continued, discussing how each aspect felt, different uses for it, and the dangers of using such powerful mana. Since these aspects were tied directly to some part of his existence in Ka, Aranos could hurt himself at a fundamental level by overusing them or misusing them. He could temporarily or even permanently drain his Stats, if he wasn’t careful, if not kill himself outright.
The time flew by, and at last, the image ceased speaking and Aranos leaned back in his chair, overwhelmed. He wasn’t even close to being able to unlock some of these aspects; not only were his Physical Stats insufficient for most, the Skills he needed for the Mind aspect, at least, weren’t nearly where they needed to be. That meant that Aranos would be stopping by Durlan’s and picking up a couple more Skill books after all, if he could; he knew Durlan had one for Diplomacy, but he doubted there was one for Elven Lore. After all, for the elves, that was just history.
Apparently, most Sorcerers and Wizards learned and mastered a single type of Enhanced mana, or two at the most. Lythienne had mastered three: mind, soul, and nature. The requirements were simply too stringent for most casters, even Wizards; using Enhanced mana in Wizard Spells required the same qualifications that it did for Sorcerers, and some Spells had far more restrictive constraints placed upon them, just as having the minimum requirements to use an Enhanced aspect didn’t allow a Sorcerer to instantly craft powerful Spells from it.
Aranos glanced at his clock and realized that he’d gone way over his requested hour; he didn’t think anyone would gainsay him the additional rest, but if they did want to do more hunting tonight, they would need to get moving. Almost reluctantly, he willed himself to rise from his mindscape and return to the bleak night of the Blightlands.
As he rose from his meditation and opened his eyes, he found himself blinking at the unexpected light cascading around him. Surprised, he glanced up at the newly Redeemed tree towering over him, the source of that radiance. It looked to be a type of pine with brass-colored needles; in the darkness, they glowed with a warm radiance that washed out his Night Vision as effectively as sunlight. The bark of the tree was a deep, coppery brown and looked like it had been etched with esoteric runes and swirls of brighter gold. He rose awkwardly to his feet and placed his hand on the rough bark; immediately, his Herbalism Skill kicked in and identified the monarch towering above them.
“Oilarie,” he said aloud, running his hand gently along the trunk. “Eternal Sun in the human tongue. The needles can be used to remove most curses and debuffs, its bark makes an excellent poultice for wounds, and the pollen is mildly toxic to most creatures of the Dark.” As he spoke, he could sense the joy and gratitude from the tree, finally freed of its long nightmare. He sent it a silent request, and in response, a nearby branch sloughed off with a low crack, dropping to the ground next to the Sorcerer. Aranos sent the tree a flash of gratitude; his Carving Skill wasn’t quite up to working with this rare wood, but he could certainly make use of the bark and needles, and he quickly placed the branch in his Storage Bag.
Rhys walked wonderingly over to the tree, laying his palm on it exactly as Aranos had. “Yes, this is one of the blessed oilarie,” he echoed. “Do you know, Liberator, that the wood of this tree is what almost all Elven cities are built from? It is flexible, incredibly durable, easy to work if you know the secret – which I do not, sadly – and when covered with the proper resin it is almost impossible to burn. Since the loss of this species to the Feast, we have been unable to effect repairs or grow any of our cities. This…this is a gift without price.”
“I’m sure the tree will let you take some cuttings if you ask,” Aranos nodded to the Druid. “Maybe you can replant it in the forests near Eredain, the way you did with the narbrethil.”
“I will certainly make the request, and I am sure it will not mind when I explain why I am asking,” Rhys smiled. “I have no doubt that it would prefer to have more of its kind nearby!” He closed his eyes and fell into a silent communion with the tree, leaving Aranos to his thoughts.
The Sorcerer turned away from the tree and sat down beside Geltheriel, who was looking up into the daylit branches of the tree. “I am glad to see you have recovered, Oathbinder,” the woman said quietly, glancing at him as he sat. “Although beneath these boughs, it was certain you would recover quickly. All have heard of the healing light of the oilarie.”
Aranos frowned. “I didn’t get that from my Herbalism Skill,” he observed. “Does the light really promote healing?”
“Who among us would truly know? These trees are but legends to the elves, now, and much of what I know stems from tales I heard as a child. Then, it was said that beneath its gleaming canopy it is always noon on a summer day, no matter how dark the night.”
“What do you think of the stories, now that you’ve seen one?” he asked with a smile.
“They do not do it justice, of course. The light of the oilarie is bright but cool and cleansing. It welcomes rather than stifles. I remember wondering about that as a child on an exceptionally hot day and thinking that, maybe, it would be nice to be near the tree but not directly beneath it.”
“Well, you can change the stories, now,” he told her with a short laugh.
“Indeed,” she agreed. A moment later, she look
ed at him directly. “However, that is not what we should be speaking of right now. There is a more important topic at hand, something that you have apparently overlooked.”
Aranos froze, his mind casting about for what the woman might be referring to. He wasn’t worried about setting a watch; the Redeemed Ground here would repel most creatures of Darkness, and Silma would alert them to any that braved the light of the oilarie to approach. He and Saphielle had healed just fine, and everyone had been cured of their poison…
“Okay, I can’t think of anything,” he admitted after several moments. “What did I overlook?”
Geltheriel shook her head. “Saphielle,” she said gently. “She saved your life, Oathbinder.”
“Yeah, I guess she did. I mean, I would have respawned anyway, but I don’t know what would have happened if I’d run out of LP in the middle of the Spell. Probably something bad. Plus, no death debuffs or XP loss, so that’s a positive.”
“And yet, you have not yet thanked her, nor even spoken of your appreciation for her selflessness. You saw what it cost her to do so, and there was no true need for it; as you said, you would be reborn. Still, she put herself through that pain to help you Redeem this miraculous tree. Certainly, that merits some form of gratitude?”
Aranos instantly felt ashamed as he realized that Geltheriel was right. In fact, not only had he not thanked the woman for keeping him alive, he’d immediately focused on her new Ability and Class. No wonder she didn’t want to tell him about it; he’d kind of been a jerk.
“You’re right, and I’ll take care of that right now,” Aranos nodded, placing his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Although, first, I guess I should tell you that I got a new Skill earlier today. Well, more than one, but only two that matter. One of them is Leadership, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to make me Party Leader, since…”
Before the sentence could finish, a notification began blinking in his vision, and he quickly pulled it up:
Geltheriel has passed the position of Party Leader to you.
Do you accept? (Yes/No)
He quickly selected ‘Yes’, and a new notification popped up:
Party Leadership
You have become the Leader of an adventuring party. Because of your Leadership and Battlesense Skills, the following effects are active:
In Combat: Attack and Defense +51%, Movement rate +31%
Out of Combat: Movement Rate +20%
In addition, you can gain Party Perks through Special Actions that will benefit all members of your party.
Current Max Party Members: 10
Current Party Members: 4
“The position is yours, and I wish you all luck with it, Oathbinder. In fact, it would have been better for all had you requested this some time ago, but I was willing to wait until you had matured enough to seek out the position. Enjoy.”
Aranos gave her a wry look. “Yeah, thanks, Geltheriel.”
“It is what I am here for, Oathbinder: to point out your errors and help you correct them. I am fortunate that you keep me eternally busy.”
Aranos snorted as he rose and walked over to where the sapphire haired Saphielle stood at the edge of the clearing, staring out into the night. He stepped up beside the heavily armored woman and peered out into the Blightlands. The glow from the oilarie spread some distance out into the night, and he could see moving shadows at the far edge of his vision. He peered at them curiously and realized that they were a large pack of amaroks, shadowy wolves that hunted the Blightlands. The wolves seemed to be moving away from the party, no doubt roused from their hunt by the sudden radiance and fleeing into more comforting shadows.
“Thank you,” he said after a moment, his voice quiet. She didn’t react, so he continued. “Thank you for helping me, Saphielle. I would have died without you, and I don’t know what might have happened to the jubokko if I had. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“That is true,” the woman replied softly. “You could not have. What I fail to understand is why it was necessary. I know well that you could have burned the jubokko to the ground, had you chosen, but you offered no defense of yourself. Why was that?”
“It would have made the Spell fail,” he shrugged. “I can’t cast the Spell in combat, or even if I’m feeling angry or scared. If I’d fought back, I’d probably have burned the tree down, but I also would have lost the chance to Redeem it. It would have grown back in a few days, and we wouldn’t be here to do anything about it.”
“That is an acceptable explanation,” she nodded. “And you are welcome, Redeemer.” She turned and glanced at him, then sighed.
“Bright Avenger,” she said simply. Seeing his uncomprehending stare, she added, “The Advanced Class I have taken is called Bright Avenger. I have given the matter some thought, and I have decided that, since you are now apparently our Party Leader, you should know my Class, as well as the Abilities of it. To withhold that information would hinder your ability to act effectively and might cause us to fall upon the High Roads.”
“Yeah, that would be a problem. So, what is a Bright Avenger?”
She shifted, resting her spear in the crook of her arm and holding up one gauntleted fist. “Once, Bright Avengers were the vanguard of the Elven Armies,” she told him, her face very serious. “This was, of course, before the Feast of Virnal; there have been few since then, for reasons that will be apparent.” A soft, green glow began to radiate from her hand, and suddenly, fierce-looking thorns erupted from her armored fist. Each thorn was two inches long and looked wickedly sharp, but as she opened and closed her hand, the thorns moved easily with her gauntlet.
“Bright Avengers receive large bonuses to defense and Armor Mastery,” she continued. “I have also gained the use of my SP, although I can use it only to power Abilities, not Spells, and all of these draw upon natural mana rather than the elemental types that Wizards seem to favor. Armor of Thorns is one such and allows me to grow thorns upon a single piece of armor. I have practiced it upon my gauntlet and shield so far, but I intend to master using it on every piece of armor. One never knows where it might be helpful.”
Aranos nodded. “That does sound useful. So, why are Bright Avengers rare?”
“To become one, a Warrior must have a high Intelligence, which is uncommon but certainly not rare. However, they must also have faced a deadly assault by the Darkness in defense of another, freely offering their lives to protect this person. That is rarer than one might think since the Feast, as most Warriors fight to defend their city, their homes, or even their entire race. They rarely fight for the defense of a single individual when all of the Lands of Light are imperiled.”
She turned and looked at him directly. “When you faced Keryth in the Wizards’ Duel, his minions did not cease their assault, Redeemer. They strove to reach you, for Keryth did not seem to care if the Duel was won or lost fairly. Their arrows never reached you, though, and their Spells failed them, for I stood between you. None will fell you while I am your shield; this I promise.”
Aranos stared at the woman silently, taking in her delicate features, the strength of her shoulders and the iron will behind her words. He reached up and touched her cheek gently, letting his fingertips graze her jaw. “That’s something I know I can count on,” he agreed softly, letting his hand fall away from her face. “Thank you for everything, Saphielle.”
They turned back and gazed into the night. Aranos felt the woman’s fingers, free of her gauntlet, steal gently into his hand, and he held them firmly. It felt comforting, and they stood hand in hand for some time, watching the darkness from the safety of the sunlit grove.
They both knew that sort of safety would be dear once they set out upon the High Road.
Mathias the Lancer and his party moved stealthily through the moonlit forest, hunting prey. At least, they were attempting to move stealthily; this was somewhat hampered by the fact that only one of the party actually had the Stealth Skill. Rhiannon, the assassin-like Shadewalker, moved
through the night like a silent wind. The rest of the party was really just stomping through the forest and making an ungodly amount of noise. They were stomping as carefully as possible, mind you, but apparently, the AIs running Singularity Online didn’t count careful stomping as Stealth.
Mathias wasn’t overly concerned, though. Rhiannon was scouting ahead for them, and they’d already managed to deal with a pair of the wolf-like amaroks and a small swarm of balayangs, large bats whose silent screeches could stun or even deafen a player. The amaroks were fierce, but with only two of them, the party didn’t have too much trouble. Their bites inflicted a Weakened debuff on Mathias when they hit, but Gwinivere could heal that so it wasn’t too troubling.
The balayangs had been tougher, at least until Yevgeny had discovered that the creatures were quite flammable. His fire Spells made short work of them…and also started a minor forest fire that had only taken them about ten minutes to put out. Mathias was fairly certain that the elves wouldn’t be happy once they found the damage, but he hoped they wouldn’t be able to figure out just who had done it with all the parties out hunting tonight.
Mathias refused to let any of that get him down, though, because thanks to their decision to side with Aranos against that crazy elf Keryth, all of the players in Eredain were riding pretty high. Mathias had quietly bitched about the training at first, he had to admit, but the results they’d gotten were undeniable. That Saphielle was about as subtle as a hammer to the face, but she had gotten his Spear Mastery up four levels in a single day. She’d also given him a training regimen that had boosted his Str and End by two whole points; it was like getting a full level every day just from exercising for an hour!
The others had gotten similar results, as well. Gwinivere and Yevgeny had spent the day with that Druid practicing mana circulation, whatever that meant. Gwin told Mathias that the practice had granted both of them a new Skill called Meditation that drastically boosted their SP regen, while Yevgeny had said that he’d gotten boosts to Mana Manipulation, Int and Wis. If only they’d been doing this from the start of the game, they’d probably be as powerful as Aranos right now!
