T. A. Star
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7 - To Force Calm
🕑 Added 2024-03-06 01:00:04 +0000 UTC
It was Rayna’s turn to laugh maniacally as she ran through the Whistling Gorge to the west of Tulimeir. The slightly winding crack in the landscape made for an interesting gauntlet of sorts with its arches of ice sporadically spanning across the chasm and sharp stalagmites rising from the base that were usually covered in thick ice.
Her new Sapphire Caste attributes had caused a sudden threefold increase in everything but most noticeable to her was the boost in Agility. Despite now being level 1 again like all the rest, her abilities affected that particular attribute the most, and increasing the base had an almost exponential effect on the Boons.
Passive Ability: Agile
Type: Boon (magical, arcane)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Increased Agility. Low stamina and mana per second cost to run on vertical or unstable surfaces. Momentum must be maintained to prevent falling.
Sapphire Effect: Greatly enhanced balance, timing, and spatial sense.
These effects seemed fairly straight-forward and simple at first but they helped her so much in so many little ways to keep her moving at top speeds that she wouldn’t trade them for anything else. Mobility let her be where she needed to be to deliver her strikes without taking damage in return and it was the thing that let her be the most impactful as the party Striker.
Her new third tail was taking some getting used to but she was already noticing the benefits of having yet another limb with the capability to pound against her targets with its sparkling, now spiky, coverings that had also gained new effects with her Caste ascension.
Passive Ability: Gem Encrusted
Type: Utility (construct, elemental, gem)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Construct gem gauntlets and tail covers that inflict additional Gem damage and accrue instances of [Kinetic Force] with each normal attack.
Sapphire Effect: For a low mana cost, you can modify your gauntlets and covers to have spikes. Attacks accrue instances of [Reverberation].
- Kinetic Force (boon, elemental, gem, stacking): Consume all instances to inflict Gem damage that scales with the number of instances. Instances are slowly lost over time.
- Reverberation (boon, magical, song, stacking): Each consecutive hit increases the damage of the next attack. Instances are quickly lost over time.
The voxen could already see how the new effects of her passive abilities were already learning to complement not only her fighting style and desires but also her other abilities. Weaving effects together to build off of one another in a way that made her even more formidable, which she would soon show to the growing horde of Arachnicles chasing after her on spindly legs she planned to shatter.
Lucky for her, these were only Crystal Caste still and Phoenix had opted out of being directly in the melee so she had free reign to unleash destruction upon the weak but plentiful monsters. She was already gaining stacks of [Tuned] during her run through the gorge but as she landed against one of the larger jutting rocks she quickly pivoted direction and triggered [Beyond the Boundary] to make herself rocket back towards the horde and gain some new Boons.
Passive Ability: Stepping Tune
Type: Movement
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Create music with your steps, slowly gaining instances of [Tuned].
Sapphire Effect: While maintaining a rhythm with your steps, you gain instances of [Tempo]. Attacks made upon gaining an instance of [Tempo] also grant an instance of [Accompaniment].
- Tuned (boon, stacking): Slightly reduces the mana and stamina cost of abilities. Instances are quickly lost while not moving.
- Tempo (boon, magical, song, stacking): Speed is slightly increased. Instances are quickly lost while not moving.
- Accompaniment (boon, magical, song, stacking): Your attacks deal additional Song damage that scales with the number of instances of this Boon. Instances are quickly lost while not attacking.
With gemmed fists and tails, Rayna annihilated the scurrying icicles attached to tiny snowball bodies; each timed attack making her faster and stronger. Her song of destruction echoed through the crystalline ravine.
She was even more adept at dodging the incoming attacks now. Before her ears would be able to easily pick up the tiny footfalls and breaths of the Crystal Caste enemies but now her boosted perception allowed her to hear even the magic being flung her way as she avoided a net of frosty webbing that attempted to shred her.
Passive Ability: Echolocation
Type: Perception (magical, song)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Can discern your environment via sound waves.
Sapphire Effect: Can hear magic.
The voxen had never felt so powerful before as she took down the droves of monsters and she suddenly truly understood the Rule of Caste and why those in the higher levels often thought so little of those below them. It was just so easy to destroy them.
“Alright, Rayna. Incoming boom,” Phoenix’s voice said within her mind and she silently groaned, wanting to punch more but she realized that she likely wasn’t gaining much from killing these weaker monsters. They just weren’t proving to be the challenge she needed though were great to help her get better acquainted with the capabilities of her newly refined body without actually putting her in harm's way.
She glanced up briefly as a flaming meteor appeared above her in the sky and used [Blink Step] to teleport to the edge of the group and make a run from the imminent crater and through the portal that appeared in front of her a moment later.
Saiya was uncharacteristically nervous as she softly sang while meditating. She could feel it coming, the ascension into the next Caste, and was not looking forward to the pain and weirdness that Rayna had described the week before that awaited her at the end of the road to Sapphire.
They would be going back to Tulimeir the following day after one more night sweep a bit later and she didn’t want to be bedridden while the team needed to fight and likely need healing. Rayna was actually the only reason she was less concerned about that now however since her twin could handle any of the Crystal Monsters they had come across
She felt the slight pulse in her core and her singing stuttered to a stop as it practically took her breath away. Which she realized was a fitting effect considering she was about to have her lungs burned away.
The next moment she found herself in much the same position her sister had been in; on all fours with her two tails trying to keep her from fully collapsing on the smooth glossy flooring of the central room in the ice fortress.
Her perception was the first thing she noticed expanding, as the mixture of worry and excitement filtered into her from the party around her, and she didn’t need Phoenix’s book talent to tell her what she could feel emanating into her from the floor she was currently touching which was flooding her with confusion.
Passive Ability: Empathic Life
Type: Perception (magical, life)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Can sense the emotions and resource pools of a target through their aura.
Sapphire Effect: You can sense imprints of emotions bestowed by the previous wielder and creator in the objects you touch. If you are able to empathize with either imprint on an enchanted item, the item will yield greater effects.
She could hear Snowbelle whimper slightly beside her as both of them were engulfed in sky-blue flames. The physical experience for both of them would be similarly uncomfortable but it wasn’t the pain of her body shifting that was causing the tears to gently roll down her face.
Saiya couldn’t see through the flames burning and remaking her eyes but she could sense Uriel. He wasn’t just a few paces away to her senses as she felt part of him through the imprint on the floor he had constructed earlier that morning.
So much confusion, worry, frustration, anger, and fear radiated through it and she wasn’t sure how to soothe it. Almost reflexively, she tried to push her aura outwards to encompass the building itself and it oddly seemed to help slightly but she felt the spike in worry from the friends around her only to cause a loop of her trying to force calm upon them more.
Passive Ability: Soothing Soul
Type: Aura (magical, life)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: Allies within your aura are calmed and have increased resistance to Magical Banes.
Sapphire Effect: The calming effects of your aura are increased against lower Caste people and will also affect enemies to a limited degree. Allies within your aura have increased resistance to Magical damage.
The sensation of her new tail slowly growing was definitely as weird as the first time she had gained a new one at Crystal 5 and was almost enough to distract her from the emotional overload she was starting to experience. Normally, filtering it all had become second nature, like the murmur of the crowd in the background of her mind until she tried to focus on a specific voice or someone shouted above the din.
Now, however, it was like everyone was pounding on their own drums causing a cacophony of emotions that she couldn’t sort through to even listen to her own. The loudest drum, though, was coming from below her and she had just enough mental capacity to push herself up through the flaming pain and hurtle herself out the front door to collapse in the snow and let the fires of ascension finish licking her new wounds.
She focused on controlling her breathing first, which had gone into overdrive like they were used to doing when reacting to the rush of adrenaline. As she focused on it, and remembered that she didn’t need the air her body was in the habit of working for, she slowly calmed herself until she gave a final sigh and stopped inhaling completely.
Without the body needing the air to function, it didn’t send the distress signal to her brain that would trigger the normal gasping response. Instead, it triggered a sense of stillness; calm that only came from not needing to move at all. Only the beating of her heart slowly decreasing in speed let her know she was even still alive. The Healer tangentially wondered if the next Caste would make her feel like the walking dead when it took that steadying rhythm away from her too.
Saiya felt warm fingers against her cheek, pushing her hair from her face and she was slightly surprised to see concerned amethyst eyes searching hers for answers. Answers she didn’t know how to give without betraying Uriel’s privacy.
“Lady Saiya, are you alright? What do you need?” her party leader questioned.
Before she could answer, however, strong familiar hands were reaching around her shoulders to help her sit up straight, and whispering in her ear in a rush, “You’re okay. You’re safe, sister. I’ve got you. We’re in Tulim near Linnake. It’s Trisol, the-”
She recognized the pattern of information Rayna had begun spouting at her and shook her head as she finally answered, “I’m alright. Sorry, I’m having trouble adjusting to the sensory changes.”
Dazien frowned at her glancing between her location on the ground outside, then to the tiny ice fortress she had fled, then at the cinderen standing nearby also looking slightly worried about her, and she could almost see the gears turning behind that curious gaze. The Defender all but confirmed that he was connecting the pieces when he said, “The book showed us your new passive cultivations when your aura flared out. Wait here for a bit with Rayna, take your time adjusting, while I go check some things, okay?”
She absently nodded and felt better when Snowbelle flitted over to her a few moments later. The Familiar had grown from the size of a large puppy to that of a medium-sized dog, likely gaining a good fifty pounds in pure mass, and she knew there would be no more hauling the pat-beggar around in her arms without much awkwardness.
Snowbelle didn't seem to care about frivolous details like that, however, as the Seagull glided over with much larger wings and plopped straight into her lap to roll over and beg for tummy rubs, which she, of course, obliged in giving. Feeling the new changes to her bonding ability that reflected her desire to keep her Familiar safe and close to her.
Passive Ability: Call of the Sea
Type: Familiar (ritual, magical, covenant)
Crystal Effect: Bond to a Crystal Caste Water-attuned aval or monster to serve as a Familiar.
Sapphire Effect: Bond to a Sapphire Caste Water-attuned aval or monster to serve as a familiar. Increased effectiveness of Water abilities that scale higher the closer your Familiar is to you.
It was a few minutes later when Dazien returned holding a bundle of patched fabric and he squatted down in front of her so they would be closer to eye level as he spoke softly yet resolutely. She could sense the kind warmth and urge to soothe coming off him, “Lady Saiya, if you’re alright with it, I’m going to wrap this around you and carry you to your bed where Rayna and Phoenix can tend to anything you might need while you rest and adjust for the next few days. Is that alright?”
“But the missions-”
“They can wait,” he said firmly, and his voice held a very subtle hint of reverb as she noticed his odd Familiar power at play when he assured her, “You are more important.”
As he unfolded the fabric, which turned out to be a large quilt, and held it open in silent question, she nodded and the gemite carefully wrapped it around her, tails folding under and between her legs as he scooped her up in his arms so that her feet wouldn’t need to touch the floors again.
The emotional imprint she received from the blanket was a stark contrast to what the fortress of ice had given her. It was brimming with peace, acceptance, hope, and most of all, love and she felt tears falling once more as she quietly asked her leader, “Who made this?”
Those amethyst eyes softened and looked down at her knowingly. Dazien smiled gently and whispered in response, “My mother. One of the few things I have left of her.”
Her voice caught as she said, “She loved you very much.”
“I know,” the gemite replied confidently as he carefully began to set her down in the small bed, keeping the quilt wrapped around her, “You can sleep now knowing that all of us here feel the same about you, Lady Saiya.”
She nodded silently as Rayna and Phoenix both shooed him out and snuggled up to either side of her and Phoenix whispered, “Did I mention how awesome you are?”
Saiya gave a broken laugh, “You may have mentioned it once or twice before. Usually while half-dead.”
“Well you are very awesome and your new tail is very pretty. I think it’s even silkier than Rayna’s,” the Wayfarer observed.
“Yeah, but I think I’m actually taller now,” the bard pointed out, causing her to laugh again as her sisters hugged her and mindlessly chatted until she passed out surrounded by love.
Comments
Custus
Thanks for the chapter!
