15 - How Long (Patreon)

It was another hour before Phoenix finally had a breakthrough when she realized her four Auras that had always felt layered were exactly that. She had to will them all in concert and she had been focused on the outermost one instead. Once she focused on the innermost one and got it to retract inward easily, she managed to get each layer to follow.

It behaved like a wild animal though, refusing to stay held back and struggling to break free from her hold, wanting to encompass everything around her. Paul assured her that was normal and, like a wild animal, it would take patience and perseverance to tame it.

It was another two days when she finally managed to hold it back while speaking, which was fortunate timing as they finally reached civilization. It was the small village that Paul had told her to find should anything have happened to him back in the Reality Rift which was next to the river they had been following north.

As they wandered through the tiny collection of buildings, the streets were a bustle of activity as everyone was hurrying about. The people here seemed human with the same tan complexion as Paul but with noticeably darker brown hair and she wondered if his blonde was actually natural or changed to match his holy paladin of light motif.

Phoenix noticed an odd incongruity with the busy people staring at them. In particular with the way they stared at Paul. There seemed to be a mix of fear, hate, awe and respect. It was confusing to her. The shopkeepers would serve Paul with nervous deference while shooting glares at him when he wasn’t looking in their direction. They barely paid her waif-like self any attention. At 6' 1”, Paul towered over her 5' 6” self as she trailed along in his shadow.

The first thing Paul did was take her to the only tailor in the area and purchased a set of proper traveling clothes for her, including a heavy fur-lined coat. When she asked, he explained that where they were heading was going to be much colder. She wasn’t really pleased with having to wear pants but she admitted that it was more practical for traveling through the wilderness. It wasn’t like she was against women wearing pants, she just didn’t like them, much preferring the freedom skirts offered.

As they were leaving she paused, having caught her reflection in a large mirror for the first time since becoming a Wayfarer. Her face looked slightly more feminine than she remembered, her chest only a bit larger, and the curves of her hips were more pronounced, causing her waist to be higher than she recalled. She still felt a bit shorter than she would like to be but her proportions were a huge improvement, she thought.

The one thing she absolutely hated though, was the absence of her long auburn hair, now replaced with a red fuzz after the two weeks since it was rudely stripped from her.

She glared as she rubbed the prickly hairs with a hand and only stopped when Paul’s baritone voice startled her by asking, “What is upsetting you?”

Phoenix dropped her hand to her side as she looked up at the larger man. She realized that she had lost the little control she had on her aura while she was lost in her anger and quickly pulled it back in line with what he had taught her. She stared back at her reflection for another moment before shaking her head, “It’s silly…”

“Tell me,” he commanded.

She sighed, “I just… Well, becoming a Wayfarer caused all my hair to… burn off?” she explained, gesturing up to her head as she stared at the floor and admitted, “It took years to grow my hair as long as it was and… well, it was one of the few things about myself that I actually liked.”

He glanced at her reflection as well with a contemplative look before turning with another command, “Follow.”

Phoenix was mentally reprimanding herself for sounding like a petulant child complaining about not having the toy they wanted. There were so many other things to concern herself over and the length of her hair shouldn’t have been one of them. She just hoped that Paul’s opinion of her hadn’t declined from it. She wasn’t sure why exactly but she found that she valued his opinion and wanted to make the man not regret the time he had spent so far, not only in saving her but also training her.

She followed behind the warrior, dutifully silent, and trying to focus more on keeping her layered aura tightly restrained against her skin as he led her into another small shop. The pungent smell of dried plants assaulted her nose and she looked around to find that they were in some sort of apothecary.

Herbs and vials covered every surface and Phoenix assumed that they were here to restock on healing potions, she did owe Paul a couple of Crystal Caste ones after all. She was surprised when Paul gestured for her to come up to the counter after exchanging a few words with the shop clerk that she didn’t catch.

The older woman looked from the Emerald Caster to her and the elderly face softened into a gentle smile as the clerk responded, “Yes, I have just the thing to help. You’re lucky you arrived when you did. This week the last of us here in town are heading to Vallinsarvi for the blood moon. Let me take her into the back room for a bit.”

Phoenix was a bit alarmed by the statement but Paul gently nudged her to follow after the woman so she complied. The clerk led her into the back room which was surprisingly sterile compared to the clutter of the shop. The woman patted the seat of a wooden stool in an obvious gesture for her to sit and pulled out what appeared to be a dark wooden comb.

With increasing anxiety, Phoenix sat on the stool wondering what in the world was going on when the woman instructed her, “Alright, dear, it might feel a bit odd but do your best to not move while I work,” then the woman chuckled and added, “We don’t want hair growing where it’s unwanted afterall.”

“What?” Phoenix asked in surprise.

“I’m only teasing, dear, I can remove anything you don’t like with a different tool but it would be more of a hassle. Now, that gentleman out front said ‘long’ but exactly how long do you want it?”

Phoenix was a bit stunned as she pieced together what was supposedly happening but she answered a moment later, “To the small of my back. That was how I wore it before.” The older woman nodded then carefully went to work, running the teeth of the comb along her scalp and following the faint hairline.

A half hour later, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she stared at the mirror now reflecting her long beautiful curls of warm burgundy hair. It had a healthy shine and Phoenix hugged the temporary barber tightly in thanks for her wonderful work.

When she returned to the front of the store, she also wrapped her arms around Paul, to his uncomfortable surprise. After a moment, he simply patted the top of her head and gently extricated himself from her grip.

Paul did buy more potions then, followed by leading her back out of the town. Phoenix wanted to complain about not getting to sleep in a proper bed that night but she held her tongue. He had already done much for her by not only clothing her but returning something she thought would have taken years to get back. She felt sacrificing a night in a bed was a small price to pay in return.

Seeing the crowded streets with new information made her ask her stoic guide, “What's a blood moon and why are all these people going to Val-valin-”

“Vallinsarvi. It is one of the region's fortress cities about a fortnight's walk northeast, by Mundane speeds,” he explained, “A blood moon is an event that occurs about every fifteen years. You've seen the orange moon. That's Krafti and its color shifts over the years as it slowly soaks up mana. Once it turns a blood red color, it pours out that mana onto the world causing a massive spike in the world's ambient magic and, as a result, more monsters spawn and they are often stronger than usual.

“Once the blood moon ends, usually after about four weeks, the color returns to a pale yellow. Visku, the blue moon, doesn't absorb mana like Krafti but it does let off a constant trickle-”

“Which is why nights are more dangerous,” she interjected.

“Yes,” he confirmed before adding thoughtfully, “It is said there used to be a third moon, a green one called Hugrekki, but I don't think there's anyone alive today who has seen it.”

“So people relocate to this fortress town for a month because of so many monsters spawning all at once?” Phoenix tried summarizing.

Paul nodded in affirmation again, “Yes. It's easier to protect the people behind those reinforced magical walls and rebuild afterwards than trying to protect huge swaths of territory. The AOA usually helps coordinate all of this with the local government and they've always emphasized lives over property.”

“That's encouraging. I would think most people would prioritize that way.”

Paul only grimaced as he said bitterly, “You'd be surprised by how many people care more about their Bits than their neighbors. From my experience, the more Bits they have, the more they fear losing any of it.”

“Actually, that sounds a lot like the world I'm from when you put it like that,” Phoenix admitted softly.

Once the small village was out of sight, Paul again began his aura training while they walked. He had them stop a bit earlier than usual to make camp and had her stand across from him with the setting sun still illuminating the rocky terrain.

“We’re going to start combat training in the evenings. We’ll be arriving in a region that has monsters more suitable to your Caste soon and I want you to take some missions as we go,” the Adventurer began, “We have a blood moon approaching and should be doing what we can to assist. Getting some missions under your belt will also be helpful if you try to join the AOA.”

“Do you think I should join? What about this divine quest I have?” she asked dubiously.

“Everyone helps during a blood moon,” he stated firmly. “You’re not strong enough to start that quest anyways. If the gods wanted you to hurry off on it, they would have put a time limit.”

“How do you know there's not one?” She asked curiously. She had also assumed that, since her quest hadn't said there was one, but she had to believe she couldn't just put it off forever.

Paul surprised her by gesturing towards her right wrist, which she obligingly lifted and he took hold of it while pointing at each rune with his other hand as he explained, “Aside from your book, this is an Oathbond. Indicated by the first two runes.”

He pointed at each then pressed on the one she translated as “Quest” and continued saying, “This one indicates the 'what' of the vow. A mission, a promise, an item, a target, an abstinence, etcetera.

“The next indicates who the oath was made to,” his finger swept across the symbols for Hero and Rebel before stopping once more on the final shimmery rune.

“This last one shows the time frame, whether it's an hour, days, years, or forever.” His eyes met hers as he asked, “What does it say to your eyes?”

“Limitless,” she answered.

He nodded in return and gave a soft smile, “I'll admit I was a bit curious if your translation ability could read this ancient language. Most of us just learn to recognize the rune as meaning infinite.”

His smile vanished as he continued to the blank space of her wrist next to the time limit and said, “Now, the thing that worries me is the lack of a rune here.”

“What should be there?”

“The punishment,” he said solemnly and she felt a slight chill run up her spine, “The consequence of breaking your oath should normally be spelled out here so that you know what might happen should you fail.”

“Does no rune mean no punishment?” She asked hopefully but could already sense the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The paladin shook his head, “No. If there was no consequence then the rune for 'Nothing' would be here. The lack of the rune means the ones the oath was made to,” he tapped the runes for Hero and Rebel again, “Get to decide the moment the oath is broken. It's also not necessarily a conscious choice on their part but I'm not sure that will be the case with a god.”

He paused a moment, contemplating, before dropping her hand and saying, “You should try to keep your oath hidden. You don't know who out there might want an Oathbonded of Hero or Rebel to fail.”

Before she could ask anything more, he took a step back and squared his shoulders and turned slightly away from her as he said, “Now, I’m going to show you a meditation technique that focuses on smooth actions and timing your breathing, I want you to copy it.”

With that, she tried her best to follow his surprisingly graceful movements long into the night, both of them unencumbered by the darkness surrounding them.

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