by Sarah Lin
So the boxes termed this a "Fellsilvered" enemy? Not the most imaginative name, but he would take it - after all, if he was honest it was probably not the box gods that created the term, but his own mind. It struck him as adequate, because the adjective could also apply to other entities, such as the horse.
"Uh, Bloodwraith? You want me to bash this one too?" Danniah stood beside him, waving her mace a little as if to demonstrate. After a moment he nodded and pulled back.
"Yes, I merely needed to learn more about our enemy. But now that I have forced the boxes to acknowledge them, we should neutralize them completely."
"Great. Then just keep it there, I'll smash it..." She moved into position and brought her mace down hard, demolishing the head.
Good. Now that they were eliminated-
[Victory! You received 3484 EXP and three Fellsilvered corpses.]
Apparently now that the boxes had acknowledged them, they would be counted as official battles as well. Though it made no difference in the power he gained, he preferred to receive an objective notification. Bloodwraith insisted to himself that this was not because he was becoming a glorified number merchant like the box gods, but because the victory notification could carry important information.
It surprised him slightly that the box declared that they'd received three corpses, considering that they had no use. He glanced toward Izzy, but it seemed that she was already thinking along similar lines. She picked up one of the smashed arms and bit it gingerly, but then threw it away with a look of distaste.
Meanwhile, with the threat gone, Bloodwraith could only hope that this had all been worth it. He turned back to Gharavi and found her speaking in a low voice with Meara. When he approached, they cut off their conversation and turned to look at him.
"The energy here is fading," Gharavi said. "Some magical effect occurred here in the past, possibly days ago. There's no way to know for sure how long it's been, since I don't know the original intensity."
"And that effect created this unusual formation?" Bloodwraith asked.
"Most likely. It would be premature to say the reason for sure, but I suspect that there was something here and it has been... erased."
"Do you think those Fellsilvered creatures - that is the term I forced the boxes to give them - could have been involved?"
"Impossible to say."
Meara looked between the two of them thoughtfully before speaking. "I can't help but notice one thing: we've run into these things only twice, both times right next to a ritual involving magic between worlds. Outsider creatures near Outsider magic... I seriously doubt that's a coincidence."
"Hmm. That seems likely." Bloodwraith folded his arms and considered the matter. "Unfortunately, we don't know which way the causality runs. One might cause the other, or they could just as easily both be products of the same phenomenon. Unless you've uncovered something else, Gharavi?"
"I'm not sure." She touched her bone necklace again, but it was just a subconscious habit. "However, thanks to all of you covering for me during the fight, I did get a strong reading on the magical signature this time. It's Outsider magic, but definitely not the same as your box system. It strikes me as Aesidh magic, but not quite the same as the last one."
"When we confronted that Aesidh previously, he implied that they have several factions. Could this be magic from another one of the 'Courts' he referenced?"
Gharavi gave him an appreciative nod. "Yes, I'd thought the same. Do you remember exactly what he said?"
"He said he was part of the 'Wandering Court' and referenced a 'Mirror Court' with the implication that they were more involved with this world. But both are distinct from the world from which Raigar hailed."
They remained silent for a time, simply lacking sufficient information to draw conclusions. It was a significant step forward, but Bloodwraith couldn't help but note that they had failed to find a ritual. The boxes at least believed that this had once been a site where they could have gained more Outsider magic, so he had the grim feeling that this Fellsilver phenomenon might be eliminating their opportunities.
Before they could consider that for too long, he felt Izzy tug on his arm. "Da? I think there's somebody coming. I can smell them, but they smell strange."
"Then we should hide ourselves." Bloodwraith turned to the others, but they had all gathered close together enough to hear. Gharavi quickly burned away the corpses and blood, leaving the concave stone surface as blank as it had been before they arrived, then they hastened to hide themselves in the crags.
Most of them were hidden deep in a crevice, but Bloodwraith put himself first and watched. His tension stretched for some time before it turned to boredom: Izzy had clearly sensed the arrival quite early. He found his mind wandering over the issue and realized that they hadn't completely balanced the magical traces they'd left behind. The stone area looked superficially the same, but sufficiently astute magical senses could tell the difference.
Then someone arrived and all such thoughts vanished. It was a woman, and he knew her.
It had been many months since the last time he had seen her, and it felt like a lifetime ago, but she was familiar. The last time he'd seen her had been in the Forest of Beginnings, where she had appeared alongside other strange figures to try to guide him into the world. Since those figures had been within that unnatural forest, he had assumed that he would never see them again.
Elleane, that was her name. She had been the one telling him to become a great hero and follow a righteous path. Given everything he had learned about Raigar since then, this did not incline him to trust her even slightly.
While they watched, the woman walked into the center of the unnatural stone, her armor gleaming. She'd had her sword drawn, but now sheathed it at her waist. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked around the area as if slightly puzzled. When she began to scan her surroundings carefully, Bloodwraith raised a hand and edged backward, pushing all of them deeper into the crevice.
When he dared to look again, he saw that Elleane was walking around the area as if observing it. She seemed a bit frustrated, then eventually tossed her blond hair in irritation and moved away. For a time he didn't react, uncertain what to think of this new development.
Then he looked back, finding all the others watching. Most of them had no real expression, but Meara's eyes held a flicker of recognition. Bloodwraith wanted to talk to her later, but for now he focused on Gharavi instead and spoke in a low voice.
"What information did you get from her?"
"I didn't try to magically scan her in case she had special defenses," Gharavi said, "but my necklace reacted. She doesn't feel like an Outsider, but there's definitely a hint of something else. More like you than like the Aesidh."
"That isn't surprising: I met her before in the unnatural forest where Raigar was meant to enter the world."
Several of them drew in sharp breaths, but in the end it was Danniah who spoke. "So what do we do now?"
Raigar snorted. "There's no question of that: we follow her."
Chapter 4
As they kept up their ruthless pace, Danniah started to become worried that she would fall behind. If not for the sphere that held her armor, she would have been exhausted at the end of every day. It was difficult enough keeping up with everyone else, with her shorter legs, so a huge amount of additional weight would have been too much.
Normally Danniah didn't think about her height very often, but as they marched after the strange woman day after day, she couldn't help but notice. Bloodwraith could just take ridiculously huge steps all the time. Gharavi loped along at an easy run and she was pretty tall anyway. Meara sort of floated, because she cheated. Izzy was shorter, yet she was so short and light that she was the fastest of the group. So all Danniah could do was keep up with everyone via sheer willpower.
Shielding her eyes against the sun, she tried to look forward to their target. It was impossible to see the woman from here, of course, regardless of her height. Though t
his Elleane woman marched straight through the wasteland, they still couldn't risk getting too close to her or she might notice them. Even Gharavi and Meara didn't do anything special to track her, just in case.
So far, however, she had cut across the wastelands to the southwest, as if she was heading to Manascas. If they were really going there, Danniah wouldn't complain. Even with the sphere making her armor easier to handle, all the travel was still wearing on her. A bath in a real city would be great.
Apparently Bloodwraith and Meara knew this woman and she might be connected to Raigar's people, but Danniah wasn't sure. From the few times she'd caught a glimpse, Elleane just seemed like a normal lady knight. A bit shinier perhaps, with armor that must be magically protected from the grime, but she didn't look anything like those awful "Fellsilver" creatures.
They continued on as the sun set and it grew colder, yet they kept moving. Their target seemed nearly tireless, marching through the wasteland day after day. Following her meant pushing harder than before, though they'd only run into a few weak monsters, so in a way that was easier. Still, Danniah longed for the end of the day.
"Stopping!" Izzy popped up in front of them with a smile and Danniah breathed a sigh of relief. Elleane at least slept for a normal amount of time, so they had finally gotten a break.
All of them gathered together, not daring to make a fire and just eating food that Meara pulled out of her cloak. Danniah ate a bunch as quickly as possible, then retreated from the others to get ready. If she was going to keep up with everyone, she needed to take every single opportunity to train.
As Danniah got out her mace and set to work, she saw Izzy scamper away again. Since Izzy could go without sleep, she always went to watch Elleane, just in case something strange happened. So far there had been nothing unusual, but a couple of times Elleane had woken at an ungodly early hour and all of them had needed to stumble out of bed to follow her. At least that was made easier by the fact that Izzy could send Bloodwraith implicit messages, just like they'd all talked about.
None of that mattered to her work, though, so Danniah set it out of mind. Instead she filled her head with the work of striking with her mace. She used one of her old ones, slamming it into the stone earth repeatedly, dulling the spikes but sharpening her skills.
Just attacking a little more wasn't enough, though, not if she wanted to keep up. Danniah tried to reach deep inside and find the flame kindling inside her, yet as usual it seemed out of reach. She had learned how to use mana for the sake of her shield bashing skill, but using it in this way was completely different.
Every time she remembered the incident, her body felt warm again. She had fallen under the swarm of the undead and for a moment she had truly feared death. But just as everything went dark, the amulet that Bloodwraith had given her had broken. The pain of her wounds had begun to burn, and she had burned along with them. For a moment, she had been a being of pure flame, her body reborn in fire.
That memory was still so clear, yet she couldn't grasp hold of that power again. She could feel that she was stronger and more durable, thanks to the amulet's permanent enchantment, yet she felt that she should be able to do more. Danniah slammed her mace into the ground with a frustrated cry and left it lying there.
"Are you alright, Danniah?" The voice startled her and she looked up to find Bloodwraith walking up behind her. Danniah blushed as she realized how distracted she had been. Did she look like a petulant child, slamming her weapon into the rock uselessly?
"Sorry, Bloodwraith. I'm just practicing."
"What are you trying?" He walked over and picked up her mace, examining it thoughtfully. Now that she truly looked at it for the first time, her practice mace had really become a mangled lump of metal.
"Well... I just feel like I'm not able to help in fights as much as I should. I think I'm good at defending, but I have a hard time finishing anyone off." She squirmed as his gaze fell on her, as intense as always. "Hitting people with my shield usually knocks them over, but not out. And my mace might as well be useless most of the time."
"That's a somewhat inaccurate self-evaluation."
Despite how dry the statement was, Danniah found herself smiling warmly. Bloodwraith wasn't exactly considerate, so she knew that if he had thought she was useless at attacking, he would have just said as much. It was a little comfort, but it didn't change her goal. "Well... I still think I could improve my offensive skills."
"Most likely. We could discuss it." Bloodwraith sat down beside her and Danniah happily moved to sit leaning against his chest. Even with his body entirely encased in steel, she enjoyed the large solidity of him.
"I thought about a lot of things, like changing weapons, but I think I'm best with a mace. Obviously it would help to become stronger or get a better mace, but I'm already trying to do those things. So... I think the only way to improve my offense would be to take advantage of that flame thing I supposedly have now. Could you read me the exact words again?"
"Of course." Bloodwraith's eyes shifted away from her and he read out the box that only he and Meara could see.
[Trait: Flameborn
Physical Damage Resistance +5%
Magical Damage Resistance +5%
Fire Resistance +20%
Reborn in flame, this individual has permanent increased resistance to damage. In addition to raw damage resistance, they will resist debilitating injuries in proportion to their overall Health. They also gain a weak link to the fire element, beginning with resistance to flames and potentially developing into minor fire-based abilities over time.]
In a way, Danniah was glad that she couldn't see the box, because she would find herself rereading it over and over again without actually getting anywhere. It still said what she remembered, but her mind turned over the final words about a "weak link to the fire element" and those "minor fire-based abilities". The box said they would just "potentially" happen, so it was hard to know if it was worth the effort.
"So you hope to manifest the flame abilities it promises?" Bloodwraith asked. Danniah nodded, glad that she didn't hear much skepticism in his voice. No more than normal Bloodwraith skepticism, anyway.
"It's not crazy, right? I already let mana flow through me for my special shield move, so surely there's a way to do... flame mana, I guess? I don't really know anything about magic at all, much less elemental magic."
"Ah, but it doesn't say that it will grant you access to elemental magic. It says a 'link to the fire element' which is different."
"Uh... what's the difference?"
"Ordinary wizard spells manipulate the natural world to create specific effects. Using mana to generate flame is little different from making a fire with dry wood and a flint, it simply uses different processes to produce a more intense flame. For that reason, full wizards can generate many different elements, so long as they know the spells to produce the proper conditions."
Danniah leaned against his chest and watched him as he spoke. "You really loved magic, didn't you? Oh! I mean... you still love it... I didn't mean to..."
"No, you're correct." His hand slid around her waist and squeezed comfortingly. "Though I still want to regain more access to magic, it must be different from my old self. Likewise, your path will not be that of a mage either."
"Right. So how is one of these link things different?"
"It is more like your body has adapted to produce a specific effect. You might create flame via mana, but you don't do it through manipulations of mana: the mana fuels a natural process. It is the same as how some monsters naturally use elements during combat without any knowledge of magic."
Danniah playfully struck him in the shoulder. "Are you calling me a monster?"
"I have nothing against monsters." He leaned in and kissed her forehead, but he was obviously too focused to be pulled into anything else. "So if you have a link to flame, it will occur naturally, you simply need to learn how to operate it. The first question is if the link is working properly. Have you e
xperimented at all?"
"After you explained the box to me, I stuck my hand into the campfire one night. It didn't hurt at all. I could show you, I guess..."
"No, I trust you are correct. So if you have gained any fire-based abilities, they will manifest naturally, like you have gained a new limb that your mind has yet to learn how to control."
"That makes sense... but how do I learn?"
"I don't know." Bloodwraith frowned and stared into the darkness. "I wish I could be more helpful to you, but I am not familiar with such things. Gharavi is a traditional sorcerer, so I doubt she could help either. If anyone, you might want to ask Meara how she intuits her own abilities. I am sorry that I could not be more help."
"Oh, don't say that. Just hearing your explanation made everything seem so much more possible." Danniah reached up to touch his jaw, pulling him to face her and smiling. "Bloodwraith... I'm really glad you gave me the amulet. Not because of the power, but because of what it means. Do I... do I need to say it clearly?"
"I may not be good with such things, but I am no fool." Bloodwraith grumbled under his breath, but he did pull her closer to him.
Danniah leaned up to reach his lips and this time they kissed properly, taking their time and leaving them breathing heavily. She knew there was no way they'd have time to take off his armor, but just the opportunity to be together like this left her refreshed. After a time they parted and she went back to continue her work, but Bloodwraith remained.
"It might be wise to work on your weaknesses," he said, "but don't think that your defenses are unappreciated. They're your greatest strength - in fact, the boxes say that your Vitality is much greater than mine."
"Oh, really?" Danniah turned back to smile at him. Usually he just talked about box stuff with Meara, so it was nice for him to bring it up with her. "What's my number?"
"61 without enchantments, 64 with your equipment."
"Those... are definitely numbers. I am 61 points strong!"
Bloodwraith shook his head. "Of course they're meaningless without a frame of reference. My Vitality is just 41, and you know I'm not weak. In fact, your Vitality is higher than my highest statistic. If you keep improving yourself, you should be able to accomplish great feats of defense."
