Ar'Kendrithyst

Jane angrily sent, ‘Fuck her! I can’t believe you promised to give Delia world class schooling and— No.’ There was a long pause. Jane’s voice came back softer, ‘Ugh. I was such a little shit when I was her age, but… I don’t know, Dad. Maybe her response is the proper one? You did renege on your deal and she is technically an adult, but she’s so young still and I’m wholly against child soldiers but… I don’t know. That’s a mess. There was probably no right way to handle that. Ask Kiri. She’s closer to that age.’

Erick went to ask Kiri, inside her ‘office’ on the third floor, next to the large classroom-type room. He had barely ever been in this room, but Kiri certainly had. The sunroom-sized space was full of shelves and books and doodaads and trinkets and chalkboards and notes and magic circles and piles of metal ingots. There was even a whole crate of rough diamonds. It was like Erick’s Mage tower, but better organized and much more lived in.

Kiri was currently working on mastering her lightmasks, to be able to enchant her own diamonds. But what Erick saw, was not Kiri hunched over a ball of blue or red or purple air, but over a green lightmask. A good twenty other lightmasks hung in the air over her work bench, each a slightly different shade of green. There was no ‘green’ to Strength, Vitality, Willpower, or Focus, so she had to be working on deciphering the new Stats.

She saw him come in, so she turned and asked, “Have you tried to make new Stat gems?”

“No. I haven’t, actually.” He said, “You can’t make something that is already— Huh. Well. I was going to say that ‘Already having what you want is necessary to being able to work with what you want’. But. I’m making new basic spells all the time and the Remake Quests exist.”

“The Law of Equivalent Magic is barely a law according to everything I’ve seen these days.” Kiri said, “You should try figuring out the new Stats. We can compare notes.”

He walked closer to her desk. “How do you even know green is the color of a new Stat? What are you pouring into that lightmask? Undifferentiated mana?”

“Green is already my color, so yeah.” Kiri said, “Your color is white. You could try to make a true All-Stat gem.”

Erick smiled. “Maybe I will.” He said, “But I came in here to ask you something.”

“What can I help you with?”

“You know Delia and that whole situation, right?”

Kiri frowned. “Yeah?”

“What’s your honest opinion?”

Kiri breathed deeply, then said, “You offered her a fantastic opportunity with Oceanside enrollment, but she is too young and far too hurt to understand what she’s doing right now. I didn’t think she was that stupid, but with how I saw her act after you offered her that opportunity, I know that she’s going to get herself killed. If you would have given her gear, that gear would likely be in the hands of others by now. But now? Now, she’s probably off crying somewhere, working up the courage to do something stupid, or smart, and only time will tell which option she picks. Or, she could have already done her stupid or smart thing. I don’t know.

“But… What she wants is not wrong. Hunters are just as monstrous as monsters, but Hunters live among us, and they take the bodies of friends and loved ones in order to strike when our guards are down. There’s loads of stories out there about strong adventurers who come home to see their mothers or fathers and instead get a knife to the neck and everything stolen from them.” She added, “You’ve been the target of hunters at least twice, now, right? Or is it three times? I heard from Jane that you were targeted well before I came along. People assaulted the Sewerhouse, or something.

“If Delia comes back and she doesn’t bring a whirlwind down on us… Give her a second chance, along with heavy demands. Demand she go to Oceanside and train to become an Elite, because finding and killing Hunters is not an easy profession. Every single organization that builds itself up to stand as a group against them usually ends up infiltrated and torn apart, or they end up killing someone they shouldn’t have and are thus torn apart by whatever nearby government or power they offended. But at Oceanside, if she doesn’t wash out, she might make something of herself in five years.” She quickly added, “But just her! You don’t know her friends. Promising anything to people you don’t know, when the link between you is a 16 year old kid? That was too much.”

Erick said, “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you.”

“A little.” Kiri said, “My problems before I ran away from them and came to Spur were nobles and threats. If they would have actually done something... I would have done something stupid, too, and promptly gotten killed for my actions. What Delia pulled in this house? Stealing your rings? In the Republic, she would have had a bounty on her head, at the least.” She added, “Probably more.”

After a moment of thought, Erick decided, “… Then that’ll be the plan. If she shows, I’ll help her to get into Oceanside.” Erick added, “And that reminds me: I have to deliver another thousand of the lower ranked rings to Liquid, but I can do that part with Ophiel. What I want to do in person, is to go see Mog, to see how her rings and such are working out. Want to come? And Oh! You got your clearance to kill the bigger monsters, right? I haven’t gotten any of those requests in a while, now that I think of it.”

Kiri dismissed her green orbs, and said, “I got my clearance a while ago, actually.” She added, “I’ve been busy, too.” She smirked, as she patted Sunny on her shoulder. “I’m technically a 9-star Adventurer, but it feels like I’m cheating.”

Erick smiled. “It does, doesn’t it!”

- - - -

Ophiel delivered stone boxes filled with rings to Thom in the Quartermaster’s Offices. 2500 rings, to be precise. The weaker ones did not need so much precision, so Erick was able to carve them rather quickly and enchant dozens of them at a time.

Thom received them well, telling Ophiel, “Thank you, Archmage Flatt.”

“Just trying to help!”

- - - -

Mog sat at her table near the railing of the fourth floor of the main room of the Adventurer’s Guildhouse. This was her new ‘office’, and it oversaw a great deal of the original three floors. She welcomed Erick with a smile and an invitation to sit, then answered his question, “They’re pretty damn amazing, Erick.” She put down her beer and tapped the silver torus on a finger. “Plus 30 to All Stats. If I wasn’t wearing it, I wouldn’t believe it.” She added, “You know, you can [Teleport] here if you want. You have clearance from me. I’ve said that before, haven’t I?”

The day was nearing noon by the time Erick got through the crowds to reach the Guildhouse. The place was packed. But it had also been expanded. The three-floor room of the main building had been expanded into another floor, while the bottom floor had been transformed completely into a bar and restaurant area. Actual questing and turn ins had been moved to the second floor, to a much larger and much more active counter. The third floor had become an extension of the first floor, while the fourth floor had been added to house an elite-level restaurant and a higher ranked quest board, along with a trio of busy receptionists wearing nice uniforms behind busy counters. This fourth floor wasn’t that busy, but there were certainly people all around.

Mogarithag Moggargal, or just ‘Mog’ for short, even wore better clothes than normal; pale brown leathers with blue trim, like normal, but with a sharper cut. It was an eye-catching fashion statement, if anything. She noticed Erick noticing her clothes, too, and gave him a smirk. She was a truly beautiful woman, who happened to be very muscular, with pale green skin and short black hair. Erick even liked her height.

Erick sat across the table from her, feeling better that he wasn’t such an old man, anymore. He asked, “Where should I blip in?”

“Heh. ‘Blip’.” Mog teased, “I could show you where my quarters are?”

Erick smiled wide, and decided to keep it professional, for now. “Maybe maybe.”

Mog chuckled. “Maybe maybe.” She offered, “You could blip on to this floor. Just [Scry] over there, first, to find a space.” She lifted her head towards the side of the room, where alcoves had been made out of wood and walls, separate from the rest of the open floor design. “Make sure you’re not blipping into someone else.”

“I like walking, but after that crowd, maybe I’ll do less of that.”

Mog nodded. “Anyway: The rings. We could use more. I already handed out all of yours to people I trust with my life and who I know would do good for Spur.”

“Oh? Anyone I know?” Erick said, “But yeah. I got more rings that I can give you right now, if you want.”

“We’ll take them. Just deliver them to any of the people behind the counter over there. But… Hmm.” Mog looked around at the people on the fourth floor as she spoke. “I can introduce... Hmm.” She lifted her head. A few tendrils of thought snaked out, into the manasphere. After a moment, she turned to Erick, and said, “Want to meet a pair of mages? One Waterglow, the other a Riftcaster.”

Erick smiled. “I have only the vaguest idea of what those are! So: Absolutely. Yes, I want to meet them. But I wanted to ask you after Delia Greentalon, too.”

Mog looked to the air for a moment, as a tendril of thought flickered. She turned to Erick, asking, “I heard there was some sort of altercation. She ran around for an hour or something, after seeing you, burning every part of her life to the ground. You want to put out a quest for her?”

“… I can do that?” Erick quickly added, “I just want to make sure she’s okay. I promised her help that I should never have promised her, and she went a bit… rough, there, before she took off.”

Mog nodded. “Best not involve adventurers, then. People tend to get a bit rowdy for that sort of thing, and if you’re not mad, then we’re not mad.” She added, “I’ll let her know she’s not in trouble if she should ever show again.”

Erick deftly ignored the implication that he could order a hit on someone who wronged him. Hopefully he had read that wrong.

“That’s fine. Thank you.” He asked, “So what’s a Riftcaster?”

Mog looked to the left, and Erick followed her gaze to the alcoves from before. A pair of pale green orcol men walked toward Erick and Mog from that direction, navigating the tables and other people nearby. The one on the left had blue eyes and blond hair, while the one on the right was of a slightly darker countenance. They both wore the same sort of light brown hunting leathers. They could have been brothers.

And they looked amazing.

Damn orcols always looked amazing.

Erick barely noticed the rings on their fingers, but he did notice them. They were Erick’s rings, alright, and the full silver tori versions, too. The two men stopped a step away from the table.

Mog gestured as she said, “Archmage Erick Flatt, these are the brothers Uluthar and Dargogh Leanbough. Waterglow and Riftcaster.”

Uluthar and Dargogh bowed, briefly. They had small smiles on their faces, and tiny glints in their eyes.

Mog continued, “They’re responsible for over a hundred five star and above kills, with their highest being a seven star Cloud Giant rager a few years back.”

Erick honestly said, “Pardon my ignorance, but I have the barest idea of what that all represents.”

Uluthar’s smile brightened, as Dargogh chuckled; maybe nervously, maybe not. Erick couldn’t truly tell.

Mog said, “Suffice it to say, they’re powerful adventurers.” She said to the guys, “Want to show Archmage Flatt a little of what you can do?”

Uluthar immediately held his hand forward, palm up, and spoke, “Water like light, banish all fright.”

A ball of glowing water shifted out of the air and into Uluthar’s hand. It hovered there, glittering and glowing, like looking up from the depths at the surface of a pool. Watching the shifting light, Erick felt warmer and yet cooler at the same time. It was a good feeling. Uluthar closed his fist, popping the water globe like it was a simple soap bubble.

Erick was slightly confused. What was that supposed to be?

Seeing Erick’s confusion, Uluthar turned a little obviously confused, too, and Dargogh smiled wider as he silently chuckled. Oh yeah. That was a nervous chuckle. Erick could definitely tell, this time.

Mog explained, “If you were a Scion of Strength, you might have felt more from that, but for most people in our profession, that little globe of water heals everyone nearby for over 25,000 Health while also curing all minor physical injuries.”

“Oh!” Erick said, “That’s pretty good then! Pardon my ignorance.”

Uluthar brightened.

Poi spoke up, “There’s also a minor bolstering effect.” He had hard eyes for Uluthar, as he added, “Which I prevented.”

Mog said, “It’s a good effect, Poi.”

Poi just hummed in disapproval, and said nothing more.

Erick didn’t really care about the healing, though it did seem massive. He asked, “Was that an incantation?”

“Ye—!” Uluthar’s voice cracked, but he recovered, “Yes, sir, archmage, sir. The spell does quite a lot, but an incantation helps to focus it in one direction or the other. I could use the same spell as a damaging beacon against all fire and shadow aligned monsters, too.”

Erick had no idea that was possible. “I heard a bit about incantations at Oceanside, but mostly they were kept to the Esoteric Magic classroom, and not many people put much stock in them.” He asked, “Where did you learn your methods?”

“Learned it from the Songstresses of the Songli Highlands, all the way over in Nelboor.” He added, “They use incantations for everything they do, though the larger effects are only possible when you align yourself with an element.” He said, “I got my [Orb of Waterlight] from a complicated combination of [Healing Beacon], [Treat Wounds], and [Greater Inflict Wounds]. On the battlefield, I use [Water Body] as a conduit to mold the spell one way or the other.”

“Huh.” Erick said, “That’s… pretty interesting. I should try that sometime.” On a whim, he added, “I hope you’re enjoying the rings. I’m working on more, all the time, but those stronger versions will remain for those who prove themselves against the darkness.”

Uluthar smiled, and then took a small step back, clearing the way for his brother to speak.

Dargogh stayed where he was. After a moment of Erick looking at him, the man spoke, “All my demonstrations are destructive, but I can tell you what they do.”

“I have no idea what a Riftcaster is, so this is all very enlightening to me.”

“I basically summon pure elemental rifts and supercharge the battlefield for my magic-infused weapons and armors.” He added, “And my magic, too, but not much. [Flare Bolt], and stuff. I prefer getting into melee and, uh, slicing and crushing. So your rings have been really, really, good for me. Thank you, sir.”

Supercharging the battlefield, eh? Erick was intrigued, but he needed to know more.

“They’ve been great for me too,” Uluthar said. “We usually have to step down to the lower level threats to buy the supplies necessary to fight the bigger stuff.”

Dargogh held up his hand. The silver band shone dully in the ambient light of the Guildhouse. He said, “These solve a lot of problems. We can fight the really dangerous monsters every week, instead of every month.”

Erick asked, “Are you a Scion of Balance?”

Uluthar looked a bit concerned.

But Dargogh instantly said, “Yes.”

“My daughter is a Scion of Balance, too. It’s pretty good. I bet those rings are rather good for you.” Erick asked, “So rifts? Are they just [Prime Area] attuned to… What?”

Dargogh said, “[Prime Area] done up with a mutated [Force Platform] and the various Mana Alters. It creates a helper that follows you around and constantly soaks the area with elemental influence, or, your influence. You know. You can make a version that won’t follow you around if you use [Force Wall], instead. And then you just… do what you do. But at twice the power, or more. For me, that involves strength of arms. Uh. [Conjure Weapon]… And stuff.”

Erick felt like someone showed him the sunrise for the first time. He said, “I’m going to have to share that with my daughter. I hope you don’t mind. It sounds amazing.”

Dargogh smiled wide, chuckling for a moment. And then he shut down his face and his laughter. He bowed a little, then said, “I will be glad if my technique could help you and yours as much as your rings have helped us. Thank you, sir.”

Uluthar bowed a little, too, as he said, “Thank you, sir.”

“Thanks for coming. It’s nice to meet those who I’m helping, and who are helping others.”

Mog nodded. The two men turned and walked away. Erick briefly watched them go, then turned his attention back to Mog, who was smirking.

Erick said, “Thank you, Mog. That was very nice.” He glanced over, across the mostly empty fourth floor, to see the two men blip away; one blue, the other cyan. He turned back to Mog, keeping his voice quiet as he leaned in to ask, “But what the heck does 5 star actually mean? Old wyrms, right? I think I’ve killed a few of those, haven’t I? I’ve lost track of that star system.”

Mog just laughed. “Don’t worry about it. You’re ten-star, and that’s as high as it gets.” She glanced over to Kiri, standing behind Erick, next to Poi, and said, “I’ve given all of your monster killing experience to your apprentice, these days.”

“That’s fine.” Erick turned to Kiri. “I didn’t know about rifts.”

Kiri claimed, “I didn’t either!” She added, “Seems useful, though.”

Mog said, “There’s lots of useful magic in here. If you came in and got to know some people, maybe there could be some exchanging of ideas.”

Erick turned back to Mog. “I like that idea. Do you know anyone that knows about [Treeshape] and such?”

“One of the best.” Mog looked out the window, toward the city.

The Adventurer’s Guildhouse was situated in a [Ward] like space, where the inside felt like a comfortable forest glade and the outside was exposed to the vagaries of the desert environment. The anchor for this effect were four corner trees, each of them with trunks a hundred meters tall and ten meters wide. The canopies of those four trees joined together high above the Guildhouse, in a mesh of housing and pathways and branches, for those who liked to live in that sort of environment. That ‘tree district’, as Erick had heard it called, fully covered the entirety of the Guildhouse and its many smaller buildings, while extending shadows out into much of the rest of the Adventuring District. Erick had thought that those shadows would have been a problem, but residents and wardlights kept those boughs bright and occupied at all times.

Mog thumbed toward the tree outside the window. “I can put you in touch with my Druid?”

Erick said, “Of course! Yes. Perfect.”

- - - -

Mog brought Erick to a decently sized greenhouse made of glass and wood at the northern edge of Guild property, to the side of one of the massive trees. The glass structure occupied a space maybe an acre wide, and the doors were open, but there were no obvious plants inside. There was a nearly naked green-feathered harpy though, toiling at the ground, at piles of dirt. Mog stopped just outside of the building, and so did Erick. Poi and Kiri hung back.

There was a [Ward] across the greenhouse, and from the gently layered yellow gasses that coiled and sifted through the air, Erick guessed it was either a [Scent Ward], or some other sort of noxious fume [Ward]. The harpy inside didn’t seem to care about the gasses, or maybe she had some sort of [Personal Ward] on that blocked out the yellow. Whatever the case, Erick was glad Mog had stopped outside of the greenhouse.

Mog called to the person inside, “Hey! Caerilda!”

The harpy inside turned, lifting her face. Her feathers covered her whole body, but as she moved, Erick saw that they weren’t just green. She was almost a green macaw, but with rainbows for the undersides and tips of her feathers; drab and well suited for hiding in a forest, until she wanted to be seen. When she saw Mog, she held her expression neutral, but when she saw Erick, she frowned, heavily.

Caerilda snarled, “I’m working!”

“I brought a visitor,” Mog said.

“I see who you brought!” Caerilda said, “I don’t truck with no worldshapers.”

Erick had been briefed on how this meeting would go, and who Caerilda was, as a person. So if he wanted anything out of this meeting, he would have to get pushy. Erick had almost backed out when that was explained to him, but Mog insisted he try, especially after she heard what Erick wanted to talk to Caerilda about.

Erick said, “I’m making a tree [Familiar]. I want to raise her right.”

Caerilda’s rainbow eyes went wide, seeming to bore into Erick’s own.

Erick patted Ophiel on the head, on his shoulder, eliciting a bright violin whistle, as he said, “I’ve done alright with Ophiel, but making a second one will be much harder.” He had no idea how much more difficult a second [Familiar] would be, but Erick felt like it was a safe set of words to spout.

Caerilda frowned. She huffed. She stomped toward Erick, scattering heavy yellow fog with her chicken-like legs, as she said, “We’re doing this rapid fire, and then I’m getting back to work. My trees require the best fertilizer possible, and your glowing rain don’t do nearly enough.” She got to the edge of the warded space, just inside of the doors of her greenhouse, and said, “But it does a lot, and that’s the only reason I’m doing this, too. Consider that debt paid.”

“Do you want some personalized platinum rain?” Erick offered, “I had no idea these trees liked it.”

Caerilda stood a bit taller. “Yes!” She said, “I do!"

Mog said, “No.” She looked down at Caerilda, saying, “No bargains. No more rain. This is not an opportunity for you to gouge him, Caerilda. You’re paid to take care of the barrier trees, but if you want to foist that job off to Erick, I could pay him, instead.”

“Bah! Mog! Fine.” Caerilda said, “We’re not doing that, then. I’ll continue to take my rain from the tunnels like everyone else.” She turned to Erick, “Tell me what you want, archmage.”

“Spell combinations. What to watch out for. What to expect. I want a defensive position [Familiar]; is that a good idea? How common are tree-based [Familiar]s? Also, I noticed a spell called [Tree of Light]. Is that a good one?”

Caerilda listened, then began rattling off, “[Watershape] and [Grow] for [Treeshape]. Nothing else is good enough. You must focus on the full life of a tree and ignore the end, unless you want [Life Cycle]. That one’s not a good spell to use to make a [Familiar], unless you like your [Familiar] dying all the time.

“Tree [Familiar]s start small and need time to live, but they get big and powerful, and almost always condense a soul after a few years, thereafter becoming not-your-[Familiar]. This happens very fast if you make one at tier 4. So raise ‘em right, or don’t even try. You will be creating a being with a soul, accept it, and move on. Trees don’t really care about us though, so don’t go giving them your morals; you’ll fuck it all up.

“Trees are better than most people though, so as long as you do right by your tree, your tree will do right by you, even after it achieves sentience.

“A defensive position is the best option for a good tree [Familiar]. Find a good spot and protect it, and don’t ever move your tree. They hate that. And if you accidentally imbue the idea of movement into your [Familiar], you’ll create an Ent, instantly. They’re thinking creatures that will kill most people on sight, though they are not monsters, and a goodly known Druid might even find shelter with such beings.

“Tree [Familiar]s are extremely common in the forests north of the Wyrmridge or anywhere else there’s natural forests. A properly made arbor is only considered a true arbor when a goodly raised and well treated [Familiar] thrives long enough to become its own existence, and freely gives its protection to those around it.

“And [Tree of Light] is a decent spell to have around here, but it makes your unmoving [Familiar] a target for Shades and such, but you’re already an archmage, so go ahead and do it that way if you want. But if you use it to make your [Familiar], you’re gonna make a tier 4 spell. Guaranteed to make a sapient lifeform, for sure. So unless you want that, make something smaller.” Caerilda fluffed her green wings out a bit, revealing a riot of color as she disturbed the yellow air. She asked, “That good enough for you?”

It was a lot more than Erick had known, but still not a full telling. It was good enough for experimenting, though. He asked, “What if I wanted to make it all at tier 2. Combining [Watershape], [Grow], [Lightshape], [Conjure Force Elemental], [Telepathy], and [Scry], all at once?”

Caerilda got a stern expression, then said, “If you weren’t an archmage, I’d laugh at you for chasing a dream, but you are the archmage that brings the rains, and that just pisses me off because you figured out what no one else had before. If you manage to create this tier 2 tree [Familiar], you will have created a [Familiar] that would take twenty years to become a real being, giving you time to raise them right, without worry, and if you manage to do that, you’ll have created an arbor worthy to build a true city around. One the size of Spur! Or maybe one that can defend Spur long after you’re gone.” She declared, “And that’s enough free answers! I’ve given you more than I should ever give a non-Druid. I demand a set of those rings you’ve been making in recompense for my assistance.”

Before Mog’s grumble could turn into a hearty ‘No,’ Erick said, “If Mog thinks it’s a good idea, then I see no problems.”

Caerilda said, “Good! I demand them by this time tomorrow—”

Mog said, “I already gave her a pair, Erick. Twice. One set of bands, and then one set of jewels. She ruined both sets. Melted them.”

“Huh?” Erick asked, “What? Melting! How?!”

Caerilda said, “I experiment with a lot of toxic stuff. Trees love it. Your rings and clothes and such, not so much. Doesn’t matter. I made a mistake. Give me another set and I’ll take care of them this time. I know what I did wrong.”

Erick paused for a second, then said, “Sure. That’s fine? Whatever? I’ll get you some rings. I have to deliver a new lot for Mog soon, too. Thanks for the assistance, Caerilda.”

“Yeah yeah. Whatever. You can probably handle your own experiments going out of control, and that includes an unruly tree.” She added, “Just don’t come crying to me if it thinks you treated it wrong and starts to disobey. Just kill it, tear apart the spell, and try again. Ain’t nothing to be done for an unruly plant besides start over.”

“That seems… cruel.”

“That’s true. It’s cruel. No doubt about it.” Caerilda shrugged. “Forests are cruel places. Survival is hard out there.” She said, “Most you can hope to do is make a [Familiar] strong enough to stand up to the cruelty to protect what needs protecting, without becoming a horror for those who follow.”

- - - -

Poi, Kiri, and Erick blipped into the front foyer of the house.

Kiri instantly said, “Rifts sound useful. Tree [Familiar]s seem problematic.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing. I’ll think more on the tree. But the rifts..” Erick said, “Instead of mutated platform and wall spells, how about using [Conjure Force Elemental] and [Force Wave].” He instantly added, “But that would make them tier 3 creatures...” He reconsidered, “Maybe… I won’t be doing that.”

“That’s probably why that guy doesn’t do them with [Conjure Force Elemental].” Kiri said, “The platform and wall way seems much more difficult because you have to tear at the spells a little— Ah. He just takes the spells understanding that they’re meant to block off an area, and turns that into a disintegrating and expanding… ‘rift’, I guess?”

“Sounds promising. And likely.”

“Layered, helpful magic is one way to fight,” Kiri said, almost dismissively. “I guess he managed to make it work for him, though?”

Erick gave her a questioning look.

Kiri said, “It clogs up the battlefield. I bet when he fights it is very, very flashy.” She added, “The first guy’s idea about using an Elemental Body to affect an outcome in a spell seems like the best thing I learned today.”

Erick smiled. “I have just the way to test that out, too!”

- - - -

In an unimportant part of the Crystal Forest, where the sun beat down hard on orange sands, zero [Scry] eyes hung in the air, and the northern winds blew to the south, causing agave and mimics to tinkle and chime, Erick, Poi, and Kiri, blipped into the air, on a hovering stone platform. Erick stepped to the edge, while the other two stood back.

Erick began by lifting up [Stoneshape] spires and arches and towers from the ground. It was not a large construction, it was not meant to last, but to provide shadows from the everpresent sun, to test what would come next. He certainly wasn’t going to make this spell like how Anhelia suggested with [Radiant Wisp], though. He was not comfortable with creating life through magic.

Erick readied himself; he turned on [Lightwalk], becoming an ethereal creature edged in white light. In this bright space, he felt the wind and mana flow through him, and the sun’s brightness above, like he was a part of the ocean. A gentle rushing filled his ears; the sound of magic. He spoke, smiling, his words vibrating from all of him, touching creation with a small joke,

“There once was a wisp from nearfar

“That glowed with sights quite bizarre

“It sparkled with light

“as it shot up the night

“and they called it a bright [Shooting Star].”

Erick chained his magic through his words, capping his spell with [Conjure Force Elemental] on both sides, while the Altering for Light and the [Lightshape] were there to provide power, and [Shadowshape] was for guidance through even the toughest of enemies. As his words finished, a spark flashed in air in front of him, casting daylight under the shadowed arches and across the stone spires.

That tiny light blossomed into a brilliant radiant mess of every color, but mostly white.

And then, Poi shouted, “Watch oooooo—!”

As a blue box appeared to the edge of Erick’s vision, well out of the way of whatever Poi warned against, time seemed to slow, again. Just like the other day. Only this time it was less ‘seemed’, and more ‘actually slowed down’. Poi’s warning came too late, and was drawn out over much too long of a moment.

As Erick looked upon his sparking creation, wondering just how deep in the shit he was, the wind and flow of mana was a thing of molasses, or the Pitch Drop experiment. Erick had no idea why that thought popped into his mind, but it was probably because the shadows surrounding Erick’s own experiment began to solidify under the stone archways and around the darkened edges of spires and towers like crude oil.

The radiance in front of Erick remained, bright and glittering and sparking in every direction. But at the show of the liquid shadows, it took off with a casual air of violence finally allowed release. The wisp curved lazily in the air, and then began zipping this way and that, barreling through shadows and stone and darkness like it was an actual shooting star, moving thousands of kilometers an hour, but without a care for momentum. It twisted and tore through stone faster than the stone could fall to the ground. The spark laughed as it destroyed; it was tiny and free and happy to hurt. And then the [Shooting Star] sighed, slowing down, almost sad that it hadn’t gotten to kill all the shadows. The star hovered about where it had been born, amid the hovering stone and shrapnel, and then it turned to Erick, and was happy. It blinked out of existence with a final, tiny laugh, as though the joke was over. Shadows, thick and cloying on the underside of every broken spire and arch, remained strong and vibrantly dark.

A much fuller laugh came from everywhere, all at once, from a being much larger than a tiny [Shooting Star]. And then that was gone, too, taking the thick shadows with it.

Time resumed. Shrapnel from broken stone splashed across the experimental space, but Erick was ready. He reacted with a [Stoneshape], catching the rock before it crashed through his [Lightwalk] body to strike Kiri or Poi.

Poi continued, “—out!” He paused. “What?! Uh.”

“It’s already over, Poi,” Erick said, as he let go of shrapnel rock. “Melemizargo came and went.” He turned off [Lightwalk] and stepped down onto the floating platform. “You two okay?”

Kiri looked pale; her green scales more seafoam than emerald at the moment.

Poi collected himself, and said, “I’m fine. That was… Him, then? I thought it was about twenty shadowcats, or something.” He breathed deep. “I guess… that’s… almost better?” He decided, “No. No it isn’t. Uh.” He went silent, in thought.

Erick offered, “It might have been shadowcats.” He looked at his recent notifications. “Oh. Yes. It was shadowcats. Looks like I got five of them. Huh.” Erick glanced back toward the destroyed experiment. “The rest seem to have vanished.”

Poi sighed, while Kiri’s eyes stayed wide.

Erick sifted a bit through blue boxes until he found his spell.

Shooting Star, instant, super long range, 250 MP

Conjure a super quick fragment of starlight to crash through your enemies. Lasts 5 seconds.

Kiri found her words, “I will begin with: [Shooting Star] is a seventh to eighth tier spell. It’s a variation on [Comet Swarm].”

Erick smiled, saying, “That may be true, but it’s obviously not the whole truth,” as he handed her the blue box.

Kiri floundered as she read. Eventually, she muttered, “I guess not.” She asked, “A spell by the same name? Maybe?” She decided, “… Probably.”