11 - Ritualist (Patreon)

When Phoenix regained consciousness, it was to the sight of dark canvas above her, the sound of a crackling fire, and the smell of meat roasting. She slowly sat up, carefully testing out her left arm to find it fully healed. However, the memory of the pain had her wincing slightly. When she confirmed that she was in fact still alive and intact, she carefully made her way out of the small tent to join Paul by the fire.

It was dark outside even with the twin moons shining high in the sky above the glow of the campfire. Paul was dressed in his casual clothes once again, pausing his writing in a small leather book in his lap as his eyes swept over her, assessing her condition, while she sat down across from him. Sitting carefully on the grass, she asked quietly, “What happened?”

Once he seemed satisfied with his visual examination, he explained simply, “You were severely injured but the beast died before it could finish you off.”

The older man went silent for a moment longer and his gaze seemed to be searching for an answer to a question he didn’t feel like asking as he continued recounting, “Once I finished with the others, I was able to feed you another healing potion and brought you back out here to clean you up.”

Phoenix nodded in understanding and wrapped her arms around herself as she said sincerely, “Thank you.”

He gave a huff of discontent, “Your gratitude is unnecessary. You shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. It was a miscalculation on my part,” he muttered. In a rare show of emotion, he scratched his bearded jaw with chagrin and added, “I apologize for failing to keep my word.”

Phoenix was caught off guard by the admission of blame and guilt he displayed. She fell silent, not sure what to say before finally deciding on her words, “I knew there would be risks with following you into a place where you were planning to fight monsters. It was my choice. My quest,” she said firmly. Her book decided to materialize once more at that point to update her about said quest.

Quest: Another Other Reality

Objective complete: Explored the Reality Rift.

[Moon Aspect] has been added to your collection.

Hidden objective complete: Defeated a Crystal Caste enemy.

Bonus Reward: [Dune Strider Boots] have been added to your collection.

Quest completed.

10 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

“What Aspect?” Paul asked, assuming the message contents.

“Moon,” she replied simply then conjured it into her hands. The Aspect was like two rough, pocked, and softly glowing spheres had been glued together, one orange and one blue; like a reflection of the satellites currently shining down on them, “More night theme. Is that bad?” she asked, looking back towards the holy paladin of Fire and Light.

“It could be worse,” he said and she thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. Then his demeanor shifted back as he said, “Most Wayfarers get a few… recurring powers that help them survive. Translation and looting are by far the most common.”

He gestured towards her glowing book, “Some sort of world guide,” he listed then pointed at the slightly glowing Aspect, “And a way to gain power naturally are also not uncommon but less so than those first two. I thought you might have a way to use those without the normal ritual but after learning about… the other Caster you encountered-”

“I can just use them,” she said, cutting off the route the conversation was going again. Phoenix didn’t want to talk about or even think about Miles ever again. Instead she refocused on the Aspect in her hand and lifted it slightly higher as she asked, “Should I?”

The former paladin seemed to ponder for a moment, then stood and collected the spit that she now registered had meat cooking on it. He slid the savory smelling chunk onto a smooth polished wooden plate before handing it over to her which she took gratefully and began eating, blowing on it to cool it down once she realized it was hotter than the Emerald Caster had made it seem.

After a few minutes of devouring the delicious bites, she said softly, “Thank you for cooking this for me. I know it’s a burden to have to deal with a Mundane body like mine.”

She glanced up and asked sincerely, “Is there anything I can do to repay you? I… I know I’m not powerful, yet, but…” she hesitated, searching for the words to express her feelings, “I just… I want to be able to do something for you in return.”

He met her eyes and she felt that wave of scrutiny overtake her again, starting to understand that he was somehow using his own aura to see straight through her. The now familiar silence hung in the air between them as they both observed each other.

She wondered what she might have said to trigger what she now thought of as a defensive response to ascertain her own intentions, when he surprised her by reaching into the bag at his hip and holding out a brightly glowing golden object that looked like a roiling miniature sun.

Phoenix stared at the orb the paladin held out and looked between it and him a few times before stating, “That’s an Aspect.”

He simply nodded and she stated in confusion, “I, um… I don’t understand.”

“You wanted to do something for me,” he reiterated, to which she nodded, and he clarified, “I want you to bond to this Aspect as well.”

Her eyes went wide at the request, “But… but why?”

Paul gave a slight huff and said simply, “It will balance out your night.”

“But why would you give me something so valuable?” she asked, scrunching up her face in discontent as she added with a frown, “I… I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

“I never asked you to earn it. I asked you to use it,” he stated, then moved forward to place it on top of her book that was still floating open in the air next to her. She glanced at the text it generated.

Item: Sun Aspect

A magical aspect of the sun.

Caste: Crystal.

Availability: Rare.

Type: Consumable, ingredient.

Requirements: Less than 4 unlocked aspects.

Effect: Unlocks an aspect of one's soul, granting one passive and one active ability.

You are able to use [Sun Aspect].

Do you wish to unlock the Sun aspect of your soul?

Phoenix stared at the item text then asked without looking away, “Where did you even get this?”

“I looted it in the Reality Rift,” he replied simply.

That did cause her to look at him, “You have a looting ability too?”

She saw the corner of his lips twitch as a slight expression of amusement flashed across his face and he nodded once in affirmation. Then he asked, “Will you bond with it?”

Phoenix looked between the [Sun Aspect] resting on her book and the [Moon Aspect] in her hand. Picking up the shimmering golden one with her free hand, she said her thoughts out loud for the man, “Star, Dark, Moon and Sun. Do you know what kind of Class that will be?”

He gave a half shrug, “Something spell-oriented most likely. Classes aren’t always predictable based on the Aspects alone. Two people with the same combination can end up with different classes due to the type of person they are or what skills or knowledge they’ve already obtained.”

“How does that work?” the Wayfarer asked curiously.

“One popular example I know of is the Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire combination. This usually results in an Elemental-type class. The person that had no combat experience but some knowledge in Mundane magic became an Elemental Mage. Another who had training in the sword and spear became an Elemental Warrior. Yet another who focused on hand-to-hand combat and was a member of the Cultivator’s clergy became an Elemental Monk.”

“So then there’s no real guarantee?” Phoenix asked, pondering the information.

“No, but you can get pretty close to whatever you might be aiming for,” he clarified.

Then she asked another question that had been nagging at her for a while, “What’s ‘mundane magic’?”

Paul gave another huff of slight annoyance, she assumed for needing to use so many words to explain what was common knowledge to most of the world’s inhabitants, “Magic that anyone, even Mundanes, can do. Rituals, cantrips, and enchantments. It usually takes some time to learn how to do each of those things properly.”

“Can you teach me?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

The stoic blonde looked at her for a long moment in silent contemplation then nodded slowly, “I know a few easy rituals that should help you survive,” he said then leaned over to grab his bag and pulled out another small pouch but, instead of tasty food for her to eat, this one contained pure salt.

He walked a few meters away from the fire, gesturing for her to follow. She complied, putting the two Aspects into her collection for the time being. Once the paladin found a usable clearing, he made sure she was out of the way and grabbed a handful of the salt, creating a simple circle around himself with it.

“By the divine guidance of the Traveler who wanders the world, show me the path north that I may gain my bearings,” Paul said clearly and the circle began to glow a soft teal color before a shimmering line of light appeared leading from under Paul’s soft boots towards the north.

“It’s a compass!” Phoenix stated excitedly, “This could have really helped me in the forest.”

He simply nodded and held out the bag for her to take and gestured to another clear spot, “You try.”

She took the small bag then remembered something that her book had mentioned about rituals and summoned the glowing tome of information. She had it spell out the talent for [Collector] and [Beacon of Hope] to Paul and asked, “This one says I can use components from my collection and this one says I can draw diagrams with light. Do I use this instead of the salt?”

The former paladin nodded, “That’s not an uncommon passive ability for mages to get. Aside from making it more convenient, it makes using rituals in combat much more viable. Try it.”

It took her a few moments of focus to figure out how to use her finger to draw in the air leaving a trail of light behind that disappeared with a thought. Once she finished drawing out a circle around her with the soft warm light she recited the words that Paul had spoken and was delighted when it began responding.

Paul then taught her a few more rituals that would hopefully help her survive should she find herself lost and alone in the wilderness again. One to find fresh water. Another to light a small bonfire. Then one final one to send her a mental alarm that would wake her from sleep should a monster get too close.

Sleep soon called to her but she wanted to do one more thing before letting it claim her. She sat at the tent opening and reconjured the [Sun Aspect] from her collection as Paul watched her with his usual stoicism.

After a calming breath, she triggered using the Aspect and felt her blood begin to boil as the mini sun of molten plasma seemed to melt into her. She grit her teeth at the pain but couldn’t hold out against it as the searing heat burned through her very soul.

When she awoke the next morning, her book flew in front of her again to explain what had happened.

You have unlocked the [Sun Aspect].

[Sun Aspect] has bonded to your Strength attribute, increasing the Caste of your Strength from Mundane to Crystal 1.

You have unlocked the Sun Aspect Aura passive ability: Radiant Sunlight.

You have unlocked the Sun Aspect ability: A New Dawn Rises.

She slowly sat up, not remembering having gotten into the bedroll properly, and clambered out of the tent to find the grass wet with morning dew as she looked around for her companion.

Phoenix almost panicked for a moment when she didn’t see him near the doused campfire and wondered if he had cut his losses. The Wayfarer was more relieved than she thought she should be when she finally spotted the golden paladin near the portal opening to the Reality Rift.

As she began to walk towards him, wondering what he was up to, light began to glow not just from the ground but all around him and the rift. Brilliant sigils moved through the air in a mesmerizing pattern that caused her to stop and watch in awe at the magic being performed before her. A loud thrumming filled the surrounding meadow that she felt more than she heard.

The magic began to appear like runic chains wrapping around the portal before she felt a sudden shockwave of power come from the man at its center. The sigils tightened around the portal causing it to almost appear like it was cracking before it seemed to shatter and another blast of wind swept across her, causing her to shield her face and knocking her down to land on her backside.

When she opened her eyes again and looked up, she was met with golden eyes staring down at her and a tan hand outstretched, which she took to help right herself. As she readjusted her dress, she asked a bit incredulously, “You’re a Ritualist?”

He tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement and she looked slightly annoyed as she pointed out, “I thought you said you only knew a few easy rituals.”

Paul gave her another slightly amused look as he nodded once more and said, “I do.” Then he gestured back towards the now completely smooth stone boulder where a Reality Rift had once been as he stated, “That was not easy.”

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