12 - Crystal Caster (Patreon)

“So you’re sure this won’t turn me into some sort of space werewolf or something?” Phoenix asked as she held up the [Moon Aspect] while taking another bite of the sweet fruit Paul had given her for breakfast. The juicy orb was a bright red and looked like a cross between a cherry and plum with a single heavy pit at its center that was a glossy black. Paul had informed her it was called a ruebean and it was delicious.

The older man paused to give her a raised eyebrow before shaking his head and continuing to break down the tent, “No [Wolf Aspect], so highly unlikely.”

“Wait, werewolves are actually a thing?” the Wayfarer asked incredulously.

Paul nodded, “There are many species in the world and some Aspects have a chance to make more through transfiguration. Werewolves are considered a transfigured species. Same as vampires, zombies, machina, and many more.”

“What’s the difference between a transfigured species and a regular one?”

“Made versus born. It’s similar to the difference between monsters and avals.”

Phoenix scrunched her face in confusion, “What’s an aval?”

“Naturally born magical creatures. Like an animal but they have a Caste level of magic,” he answered then stood as he finished packing up the camp. Instead of pushing them to leave however, he came to sit next to her and asked, “Can your book show ability information?”

She nodded and summoned the book to float in front of them as she took another bite of ruebean, “What do you want to see?”

Paul seemed to study the book for a bit longer before he said, “I can feel the new layer to your aura. May I see it?”

Phoenix hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should trust the man despite his help so far. Miles had also tried to help her at first. Maybe Paul simply had more patience than the Magi and was trying to get more information before luring her to his dungeon.

He seemed to read her face as the paladin said, “I don’t need to see it if I wanted to harm you.”

She understood his point but it didn’t help comfort her. It did remind her that this man was much stronger and him knowing about her powers wouldn’t make her worse off at this point. Plus, she was curious to confirm that what she felt intuitively was correct.

Passive Ability: Radiant Sunlight

Type: Aura (magical, light)

Current Caste: Crystal 1

Crystal Effect: Allies within your aura gain a [Sun Shell]. Reconstructing a destroyed [Sun Shell] can be done after a short duration and costs a moderate amount of mana.

- Sun Shell (boon, construct, magical, light): A shield that blocks the next incoming physical attack with a chance to knock back and inflict [Blind] on the attacker.

- Blind (bane, magical, light): Hinders vision for a short time.

When she had awoken earlier, Phoenix had suppressed the Magical shield almost subconsciously as she had been suppressing her little [Starlight Companion] and the blurring effect of her Dark Aura. Like flipping a mental switch, she made all three reappear with a thought.

Paul stared at the effects thoughtfully, lifting a hand closer and moving it around to test out, even giving his own [Starlight Companion] that had appeared an experimental squish.

The new [Sun Shell] was like a bubble that surrounded each of them and glittered with gold sparkles in the morning sunlight before fading to become completely transparent. When Phoenix raised an arm to touch it, the edge was just out of reach and when she tried to move closer, she could sense it move in response, keeping her in its center.

Paul realized what she was trying to do and instead moved closer to her, causing their bubbles to overlap, flickering back into being seen, and as they both reached out to touch the other’s shell their hands passed effortlessly through. The paladin confused her by saying, “Well, that should be proof enough.”

“Proof of what?” she inquired.

“That we’re not enemies,” he replied simply.

“How does that work?”

“If I tried to harm you, your shield would have been more like a closed window than an open one. It would have tried to protect you from me,” then he gave a slight smirk as he added slightly ominously, “Not that it would have succeeded.”

“How does it know if you’re trying to hurt me, though? Maybe, it’s just because you weren’t attacking.”

The ex-paladin shrugged, “That’s partially true. It's you that determines if I’m an enemy or not. If we were sparring, and you knew I would try to harm you, it would have reacted. Since we’re not, though, you must trust me on some level at the moment. Most of the time, your perception about if others are considered an ally or enemy is a subconscious decision,”  he paused contemplatively then added, “I would show you that my aura would consider you an ally as well but that would require me to poison you first. You'll just have to believe that the shell protecting me is going off my own perception of you.”

Phoenix nodded in understanding as she mulled over the information then brought up the description for her other new ability. She didn’t try to hide the book from Paul as he read next to her.

Ability: A New Dawn Rises

Type: Spell (magical, life)

Cost: Variable mana.

Cooldown: Variable.

Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

Crystal Effect: Can heal a touched target by activating for Low, Moderate, High, or Severe mana cost. The amount healed and respective cooldown time increases with cost.

“It’s a healing spell like that potion, right?” she asked with a bit of excitement. She had always prayed for the ability to be healed and now she would be able to give others the gift she had always been denied.

Paul’s expression softened as he said, “Yes. That’s something I was hoping you would get. Some Light and Life to balance the Dark and Death that threatens to surround you.”

“Death?” the Wayfarer asked a bit pensively, “What do you mean?”

He frowned slightly and his mask of stoicism seemed to retake its place on his features as he explained, “You’ve been here a week and have already slain monsters. It seems to be a path you are destined to walk, like most Wayfarers.”

Then Paul gestured to the [Moon Aspect] that was sitting in her lap, “If you bond with that, you’ll become a Crystal Caster. You will gain more attention.”

“Are Casters really that rare? I was told that the Aspects were expensive but there are still a lot of people that have them right?”

He shrugged, “There are enough that it’s not strange to meet one but you won’t just be another Caster. You’ll be a Caster that is also a Wayfarer and I’ve never heard of a Wayfarer who went on to live a quiet and peaceful life.”

Phoenix pondered that and couldn’t contradict it based on her experience so far. She thought maybe she could be different but realized that would most likely mean not using her powers to help people and that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to show people that she could be useful; that she could help them.

She lifted up the Aspect once more to gaze into its odd coloration and asked, “If I become a Crystal Caster, I’ll be able to save people who were like me, right? People who are sick or helpless?”

The golden paladin watched her with a curious expression for a few heartbeats before nodding in acknowledgment. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve as she triggered the Aspect.

It seemed to shatter suddenly as the tiny shards began to slowly orbit her hand. The pieces glittered orange and blue in the light and almost looked like a swarm of little moons as they swirled around her arm, migrating up it then around her entire body, before startling her by embedding themselves into her flesh. She cried out from both surprise and pain as pinpricks of cold quickly grew to suffuse her body and she shivered.

Meanwhile, Paul continued reading her book as he moved to give her some space.

You have unlocked the [Moon Aspect].

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

You have unlocked the Moon Aspect Perception passive ability: Moonlit Eyes.

You have unlocked the Moon Aspect ability: Lunar Dream.

Then she cried out louder as the cold seemed to battle a raging inferno that began from her core and burst outward in a flash of white hot light. When she cracked her eyes open, she could clearly see Paul kneeling in front of her with concern in his gold eyes as he watched over her transformation into a Caster.

It was only then that she realized she had fallen to her hands and knees from the shock to her system, noticing white flames licking at her skin which seemed unharmed despite the pain she felt coursing through her. The flames appeared to be burning away at her without actually leaving any wounds or scarring. Her body instead seemed to heal and toughen, leaving strong and unblemished pale skin behind.

Between the waves of pain she managed to croak, “What’s happening?”

Paul grimaced slightly but tried to reassure her, “It’s normal. The magic is burning away impurities and refining the mana within your body. The pain should subside soon. I should have warned you.”

Another wave of pain washed over her and she felt her aura suddenly expand again like it had before and she recognized a fourth layer getting added to it. It confused her but she didn’t have time to dwell as she gave another cry of pain as the pure white flames seemed to engulf her entirely.

When she could think clearly again, Phoenix carefully sat up from the fetal position she had apparently curled into at some point. Paul was already beside her, speaking softly, “Careful. It can take a bit to adjust to a new tier. You’re a lot tougher now but we still don’t want you accidentally hurting yourself.”

“It worked?” she asked, still not completely cognizant.

He gave her that slightly amused look but nodded, “Yes. Congratulations on becoming a Crystal Caster.”

After a few more minutes of trying to gain her bearings he held out a small milky white stone for her that she recognized as a [Crystal Mana Bit]. Then the ex-paladin commanded, “Eat it.”

She didn’t argue, still feeling too out of sorts to protest, and carefully placed the Bit in her mouth. To her surprise, it seemed to melt like a chocolate drop she had gotten from her best friend one time, shortly before they died.

Phoenix shook the memory from her head and focused on the invigorating feeling she was suddenly filled with. Like a shot of adrenaline mixed with the sensation of having a satisfying meal. It tasted extremely sweet though. Like some sort of sickly syrup that coated her tongue before melting into it. She didn’t completely hate it but she could understand why Paul or anyone else might.

Once she seemed a bit better, Paul prompted, “You gained another Aura from your Class it looks like,” then he gave her the first real smile she had seen from the man as he gestured towards the book that was still faithfully floating nearby, “It’s a pretty promising one.”

She lifted an arm to reach out towards her [Guide Book] and it responded to her will by coming closer for her to pull into her lap to read over what all happened for herself.

You have unlocked the core aspects of your soul.

You have unlocked the Class Aspect: Celestial Astromancer.

[Celestial Astromancer] has bonded to your Magic attribute, increasing the Caste of your Magic from Mundane to Crystal 1.

You have unlocked the Celestial Astromancer Aura passive ability: Astral Oasis.

You have unlocked the Celestial Astromancer ability: Ruler of Relativity.

You have become Crystal Caste.

You have gained the ability to sustain yourself using sources of concentrated mana.

You can now use Crystal Caste Spirit Gems to unlock an additional Class ability per Aspect.

She looked up at Paul who was carefully watching her as she asked, “Class abilities?”

He nodded, “Yes. You get one per Aspect you bond with, plus the Class Aspect itself, that’s based on a combination of factors but most prominently on your Class, which Aspect the gem bonds to, and what type of Spirit Gem you choose to use.”

“I see,” she said, though the Wayfarer didn’t think she would fully understand until she actually experienced it for herself. For now she settled with checking out her most recent ability additions, starting with her two new passives.

Passive Ability: Moonlit Eyes

Type: Perception

Current Caste: Crystal 1

Crystal Effect: The level of light does not hinder your sight.

Passive Ability: Astral Oasis

Type: Aura (magical, arcane)

Current Caste: Crystal 1

Crystal Effect: Allies within your aura have increased regeneration to mana and abilities cost less mana.

“Did I just become a mana battery?” she asked incredulously. It was her Shadow Priest character all over again.

A smile tugged at the corner of Paul’s mouth again as he evaded the question, “Getting your Perception ability is good fortune. I was a little concerned you might get a fifth Aura instead which would not have been ideal.”

The Wayfarer gave him a questioning look, “I thought having multiple Auras was a good thing, aside from just being rare.”

The ex-paladin nodded, “It is but not having enhanced perceptions would have been a great disadvantage,” he explained then stood and walked closer, “Let me carry you again and we can move while we talk more.”

She hesitated a moment, thinking that there wouldn’t be much talking going on with her barely able to open her eyes, let alone her mouth, at his speed. However, she didn’t want to inconvenience him further by slowing down his traveling more than she already had with how often she had passed out.

At her nod and dismissal of her book, he picked her up once more and began jogging while explaining, “While not everyone might want a familiar or an execute ability for their power set,” he started saying and she was surprised that she could actually make out his words over the rush of the wind whipping past them, “Everyone wants their Aura and Perception passive. Being without those additional senses makes it incredibly difficult to advance your Caste and survive when fighting against others who have them.”

Phoenix continued listening while being half distracted by the scenery flying past them which she was actually able to make out a bit better now and she wondered if it was thanks to her new and improved senses. Everything seemed more vibrant, more magical, more alive. Then she realized that it wasn’t that everything else had suddenly evolved, it was she who had become more alive. The thought made her smile and she fell into a comfortable silence as she simply relaxed and drank in the magic and beauty of the world passing by.

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