An awkward pressure weighing down on my body woke me up. When I opened my eyes, two orange glows stared down at me, an alabaster fox was sitting on my chest.
The negligent Goddess returns.
I shifted my weight in bed and rolled to my side, as Capricorn gracefully side-stepped with my turning body to maintain her position lording over top me.
As I rolled, Akari squirmed around to re-establish her hold around my waist.
Capricorn glanced down at the wriggling mass and narrowed her eyes, "I meant to ask before, but we were so rudely whisked away and I lost my temper—what's with the girl with horns?"
Ahh—so she isn't one of yours then. I figured.
"I know that she most certainly is not… But it does feel like it. Her magick is on the same wavelength as my children, though with something else mixed there."
A complex grouping of sigils formed around Capricorn's tiny body. Then abruptly fizzled out, leaving her with an annoyed look.
"Hmmm. What an interesting subject."
Don't do anything to her.
The fox shot me a dirty look and jumped off my side.
"Couldn't even if I wanted to. Some powerful force is blocking me from inspecting her. I don't sense any ties to the Void, but she's definitely under the protection of another Celestial. You humans certainly like to keep possible enemies close in your ranks."
If you're referring to the incident yesterday—
"I'm referring to your family's history and a general running record as a species. Though, yes, I did happen to witness the excitement upon your return to your precious ruined city. Quite a blood bath you ordered up with no hesitation."
I slowly sat up, gently patting Akari on the head and tucking her under the sheets as I got out of bed. My gaze lingered on the emptiness left behind from my usual sleeping partner's spot and wondered where Hailey ended up resting tonight.
What am I gonna do about that, I wonder…
I shook my head and headed for the bedroom door.
"Your mate will get over it with time. The strong have always had to make tough decisions that those with weaker constitutions dread to accept."
Ignoring the Goddess' annoyingly phrased comment, I continued out of the room after a quiet yawn and stretch.
I walked down the hall towards the kitchen. The guards at the door looked questioningly at Capricorn as she followed me out the room, but remained at their posts.
It seems the sight of a strange beast following after their leader has become common place enough for the guards to not ask even the simplest of questions.
Silently musing to myself, I grabbed a small snack from the pantry and sat at the table. My throat was dry, and my voice came out extra raspy.
"Well, I assume you didn't stop by to apologize for attacking and abandoning me. At least Vita was nice enough to send me home. And since your fleeting interest with Akari has already passed, this isn't about her either. So, to what do I owe your visit? Further micro-management over me?"
"Think of my presence as a warning, and my intent to give to aid you in your coming battle."
"My mind has worn thin from surprises. What kind of crisis is heading my way that warrants your personal attention?"
"The wayward daughter of mine I spoke of before. It seems her impatience has won out and nothing I say will hold her back any longer. Sooo, to make up for the sudden disturbance that will no doubt soon be upon your life, I brought a gift."
Capricorn's forehead illuminated under the glow of a runic symbol, and an orange stone fell onto the table without a sound.
Leering at the object that had manifested, I had an obscure thought.
"Is it possible, that you've got a thing for rocks?"
Capricorn turned her snout away indignantly.
"I've no such predilection. Crystals just make for suitable containers when imbuing magicka. Most non-organic things can store magicka in them, but the lattice-like structure of crystals can't be beat."
I sighed, "Ehhh? Well, what does this one do then? Trap your daughter in a binding spell and teleport her back home?"
"Huh? No, though maybe that could've been a better idea… Use it on that gloomy looking sword of yours. Nothing wrong with a little borrowed power here and there. You don't have to use it but if my daughter breaks your sword because you didn't, I refuse to accept blame."
Why would she break my sword…?
I shook my head at the thought of what kind of barbaric personality this girl might have to warrant the concern for my blade—
"Wait! If you're so worried about her shattering my sword, what about me? I'm not some brutish woman who's impervious to damage, ya' know!"
"Virgo and I can always resurrect you if you die, but you seem the sentimental type that if that weapon of yours was busted I'd never hear the end of it."
Slack-jawed, I quickly lifted the rock in my hand to move past her rather accurate but unsettling response.
I'd expected it to be much heavier than it was—though it was the size of a small melon, it was seemingly weightless.
- - - - - - - - - - - - {LOOTABLES} - - - - - - - - - - - -
[FRAGMENT OF CHAOS]
[Relic]
A sliver of condensed magick. Chaotic energy courses through the gemstone.
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I eyed the floating panel with suspicion.
"I'm sure I know the answer already, but I'll ask anyway. Aren't you Gods and Goddesses responsible for classifying the details for items for when they're appraised?"
"Most things, I suppose. Generic things in the world like rocks and dirt pull from preexisting sources, keeping the properties stable. Some objects will be defined by their shape or material used to make them. It's only if something never seen before or an item worthy of our intervention is made, that we'd step in to intervene—like those shards your artificers mucked-about with."
"Well, I don't know if this seems like a generic object to you. But the description on this stone doesn't build a lot of confidence in my use of it."
"That's because you're looking at it from an underdeveloped point of view. A small animal may look at one of your magi-tools and see the description, 'This metallic device makes light'. You lack a base knowledge of the inner workings of magick. Sure, you may have powered up that appraisal spell of yours with some chaotic tinkering but it still pales in comparison to what you could be able to do with it."
Capricorn raised her nose in the air in a grand gesture that oozed a smug attitude.
I could hear an audible 'Hmph!' that came with it.
I slouched down in my seat, perturbed that I'd been so offhandedly insulted, as Capricorn rambled on.
"A second-rate sorcerer with a dozen spells under their belt couldn't dream of unraveling the fabric of this world. So why would you, a third-rate paladin with less than a dozen spells of your own, think you could peer into that which is unattainable?"
"Fine, fine. I get it. I'm a third-rate paladin and you're too lazy to make everything make sense for the regular folk down here on Terae. Tell me, what does the rock do? I can't imagine this fragment is going to make my sword indestructible."
I held the stone in both hands, looking down at the fox with in exasperation.
"Be obstinate if you wish. It is a boon and nothing more. You are still weak, and the majority your equipment even weaker. Your blade is the only properly enchanted piece of the lot, but on the grand scale it's still unimpressive. If you were to battle a mage with tactical-class spells, you would be turned to a pile of ash within seconds. Soooo, I'm providing a small boost to you. Use it on your blade, or don't, I'm not your actual mother."
"You make a point. Just, don't say any of that out loud. If Dori ever heard you talk down her creations. I'm sure it wouldn't end well for any of us."
My mind wandered and images of my armor appeared forefront. That the exquisite gear made of rare alloy that had been at the peak of quality before the war, was considered weak to Capricorn… Just what was the standard for Celestials and their kin?
"A thousand years before your kind even walked this realm, my Alaetüs had been serving us for millennia. They've held the power of higher planes longer than any living mortal blood, be it a human, elf, or otherwise."
"Yes, I get it. Super powerful beings and I'm just a child. Moreover, you know I don't like it when you read my mind. Let me have my idle thoughts. I'll accept your aid with thanks. Now, quit hassling me."
Capricorn followed me back to my room where I grabbed my weapon.
Without a sure-fire way to prevent the blade from erupting in flame any time I unsheathed it, I opted to infuse the blade outside the manor.
We passed through the eastern wing to the study and pushed the double-doors open, revealing a poorly kept courtyard—and its lifeless garden.
The hour was still early and the morning light had yet to break the horizon.
I glanced back at the spot where a certain woman had left an ominous warning and my body shuddered.
The ground illuminated as flames seethed once I'd woken the dark-steel blade. I swung the weapon playfully, cutting into the air with a sharp thrust.
"How does this process work, am I to channel my inner self and capriciously will the blade to accept the fragment or is there some sort of refined magickal element to it?"
I questioned the foxen Goddess, but she had wandered off out of view.
It took me a moment to find her, sniffing around a damaged planter. When I did she just looked at me in confusion.
"I forget you humans have such basic understandings of magick. The power in the crystal is already keyed to infuse with a weapon. Simply bring the two together and cut a groove into the crystal to release the energy."
Huh. An actual straightforward approach to the usually vague and subjective practices of the Goddess' magick.
I did as instructed, strenuously slicing into the crystal as if trying to cut wood with rope. A small indenture finally formed, then a jagged split zigzagged down the length of the stone. A pressure wave was released in a flash of light, and then the crystal was gone.
My blade's appearance hadn't changed in the slightest —worrying me the imbuement process had failed. However, my concern was, in a way, both dispelled and elevated in an instant once I brought up the appraisal window.
- - - - - - - - - - - - {INSPECTION} - - - - - - - - - - - -
[DÁINSLEIF] (The Crimson Blade)
[125-200 Damage] | [+10 Sanity] | [+5 Divinity]
An exquisitetempered steel blade imbued with demonic fire.
When wielded, it ignites in SOULFIRE.
(Bound)
(Chaotic)
» CLASS: ARTIFACT
» STATUS: CURSED
» [FANG OF AVER'TERIA]
» MATERIAL: IMBUED STEEL [DEMONIC FANG]
» ATTUNEMENT: CHAOTIC
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"It's cursed!? What in the Aether did that stone do? Can it just decide on a name on its own… How do I even pronounce that? Why's there a line over the 'A'?"
Capricorn focused her gaze upon the empowered blade, her eyes glowing briefly and an interface appeared before us.
- - - - - - - - - - - - {INSPECTION} - - - - - - - - - - - -
[FANG OF AVER'TERIA]: [School: Chaos]
Lingering damned souls haunt the blade they call, Dáinsleif.
Once drawn, this blade cannot be sheathed until it draws fresh blood.
» SPELL STATUS: UNDISPELLABLE
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"The fragment had nothing to do with this curse, nor the blade gaining a name. If I had to guess, I'd say it's due to your own guilt over some recently deceased soul. Your unintentional will was exerted over the blade."
"Haaah." I huffed.
Great. My best piece of equipment is a sword which catches fire once drawn yet can't be sheathed till it cuts someone…
…Am I a villain?
I let out a quiet sigh and focused back on the weapon's upgraded stats.
The damage had increased by almost fifty percent on the low end and about twenty-five percent on the high-end. Considering the weapon was already on the higher class of damage ratings, that amount of growth seemed a little like cheating. A fleeting moment passed where I did worry my weapon would be too overpowered, only for that thought to be scattered away by recalling the irksome observations of a Goddess.
Apparently my equipment was weak. I don't know what they were wielding all those millennia ago, if this weapon is weak I truly dread to see what's in store for me.
It had also gained a bonus to DIVINITY. A unique attribute I'd gained when taking on chaos magick, though it was seemingly linked with the title bestowed on me by the Goddess Virgo.
"And with that, I wish you luck. Try not to die. And please don't be too rude to my daughter, she sees you as a little sister."
Capricorn summoned a portal and leapt through it, leaving me alone in the garden looking like a crazy woman staring at dead plants.
I raised my weapon and gave it a few test swings to see if it felt any different—and to my surprise it actually felt more… comfortable?
An idle thought ran through my mind.
Right here, in my hands, is where this blade belongs.
I wondered if the attunement listed on the inspection window had something to do with that feeling. I quickly penned a mental note to ask Julius to hold it later and see how it felt to him.
I turned to head back inside, and a guard rounded the corner just as I was.
We nearly slammed into each other.
"Ah!—My apologies, Your Majesty, but Paladin Vynn has just arrived with an urgent matter that requires your immediate attention."
I asked the guard to gather my armor from my room, requesting they be careful not to wake any of the girls still sleeping, and to bring it to the common room while I met with Hanna.
With a crisp salute, the guard zipped down the hall.