11 - Act of Bravery (Patreon)

Paul had been a worried mess since he discovered that Phoenix had gone missing. After Dazien had come to his home in search of her, he proceeded to rudely expand his aura around the city but she was nowhere to be found within it, including the home of his prime suspects that he had been working towards finding a suitable reason to imprison without throwing the entire aristocracy into chaos. Despite his power, laws still existed, laws that he normally tried to follow. Going and murdering the whole family without proof would paint him the villain. It would undo everything he had been working towards in order to restore the trust he once had with the people before his fall from the Purifier’s graces and keep Phoenix’s connection to him one of honor.

The tracking method he had first turned to was her adventuring license but it had the downside of not working within dimensional storage spaces, like most tracking devices, which is why he had told her to keep it in a belt pouch. The rituals he knew that could track someone required either a literal piece of their body or something with an extremely strong emotional connection. He had neither. Her room was practically barren, the rare downside to having a personal storage ability.

On the second day, he had gone to the temple district but the gods refused to speak with him. The most he got was from a Monk of the Hero who only assured him that the Wayfarer had gone to “find her strength” whatever that meant but at least it implied she wasn’t kidnapped.

By the third day, he realized the Flame of Life in his pocket, which had been his only assurance that she hadn’t been killed again, was his most likely lead. Despite it not belonging to her, it was bound to her and there was likely a ritual he could find to track through it, so he requested help from the Librarians at the temple of the Scholar to at least give him the knowledge for the ritual. They told him that they would get back to him once they had something suitable which only added to his frustration.

He had stumbled across Bliss on the fifth day after his Protégé had gone missing and recruited the Predator Chimera to track down his wayward apprentice. Her senses were some of the best for her Caste and, unlike him, she could get away with leaving the city to search.

Paul knew the idea of scouring the tundra for the Wayfarer was not an efficient course of action, and that with her portal ability Phoenix could be anywhere, but he was feeling borderline desperate. He didn’t understand why she had run and the uncertainty had shaken him. It was his responsibility to ensure her safety. His duty to protect and guide her. His desire to see her grow and flourish by his side.

The paladin paused his scouring of his family library when he had that last thought. He was startled to admit it but she had become as much of a pillar for him as he had for her. Her unexpected and unwelcome arrival in his life had ended up giving him the purpose and pride he had lost years earlier.

The longer he spent around the young woman, the more invested he had become in seeing her succeed in the challenges she faced and she had not disappointed. Despite the lack of focus or understanding of the world, she had adapted and triumphed. The reports he received from the AOA had attested to her exceptional value in both logistics and combat encounters and even Lord Teras had seemed impressed by her ability to adapt the magic of this world so quickly without preconceptions holding her back.

She had never seemed convinced of this fact though and he wondered where her sense of self doubt and worth had come from. She rarely mentioned her time spent in her home world but it sounded traumatizing on multiple levels. He wasn’t a Healer though and she had seemed well enough.

‘We both care for Little Miss,’ Orebela said in her monotone voice, ‘We will find her, Wayland. We will comfort her.’

The paladin rolled his eyes and responded mentally, ‘You and I both know we’re not great at comforting others.’

Paul regretted not leveraging his aura more the last time she had seemed distraught. He had tried to do less of that with her, knowing she could sense it and trying to respect her privacy more. He had trusted her to tell him if anything was bothering her but perhaps he should have pushed a bit harder or maybe reassured her more that she could trust him with anything, not just when it came to her abilities, talents, and training.

Phoenix had started teasing him about acting like a father but he couldn’t help the protective feelings and familial bond towards her that had grown within him. He wanted to grant her even more protection, support, and resources but wasn’t sure how to go about doing that; if that was even something she would want or appreciate.

‘We could make that happen easily,’ his Familiar spoke up in response to his thoughts.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Wayland can adopt the Little Miss.’

Paul froze in his pacing at the suggestion, his mind going into overdrive about the idea and the potential fallout from doing something so brazen. It wasn’t an uncommon practice, especially among the noble houses that wanted to bring in stronger scions, but for someone in his position as Lord of a prominent house and the eyes of the city on him, the backlash could be immense.

‘Wayland has been hurting without the Little Miss,’ Orebela said slowly. Her cadence being the only method for her to convey any type of emotion, ‘This one has been hurting.’

She was right. Every day that had passed without sign of his Protégé’s whereabouts was like a bleeding wound, deepening his worry and frustration at not being able to find and protect her.

The paladin checked his pocket watch and began to leave his home to visit Phoenix’s temporary one. After the news of hired killers being sent after her, he had considered moving her to his estate where he could keep a closer eye on her. It wasn’t uncommon for a Protégé to live with their Mentor but he hadn’t wanted to overwhelm her or make her feel like he was hovering more than he already was.

As the sun began to rise after that seventh night, Paul made his way over to Phoenix’s place to check it once more to see if she had returned. When he got to her front door, he directed his senses into the dorm but couldn’t detect anything. A few moments later he felt her aura coming from inside and thought perhaps by a stroke of luck he had caught her as she was portalling back.

He opened the door with his copy of the key and strode purposefully towards the door to her room and in his pent-up frustration slammed open the door to lay his eyes on her and confirm that she really had returned. She jumped out of the bed and went on guard like she expected him to attack her and he glared at the reaction.

His relief at her safety was quickly replaced with anger as he questioned the young Adventurer on her whereabouts. When she responded flippantly, his anger rose and he pressed her further. When she had revealed that she had foregone sleep to hunt for a week straight without rest, his eyes widened at the irregular and unexpected excuse. He couldn’t just let things be with that. Something was wrong with her and he needed to understand.

Phoenix pushed past him and he could feel the trembling anger and frustration suffusing the aura she was still projecting clearly.

“Listen here, young one,” he said, trying to stop her and get the redhead to calm down and talk. In an utterly shocking and bewildering move, she had turned on him like a wild animal acting on instinct.

Rage had transformed her face into one that he didn’t recognize as her gaze didn’t look at him as a mentor but as if he were a monster she was determined to destroy. When he easily caught the arm holding the obsidian knife aimed for his chest, his expression softened and his aura surrounded hers like a gentle embrace as he said her name softly.

Her expression shifted from anger to confusion, to shocked horror, to finally scrunching up her face as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

When Paul caught her arm and halted the trajectory of her dagger, he gave her a sad smile and she felt her aura surrounded by his in a way she had never experienced before as he said gently, “Phoenix.”

His demeanor and the way his aura was trying to comfort hers broke her anger as though it was a delicate glass shield she had been clinging to. She was confused for a moment by the situation she found herself in. When she registered what she had been about to do to the one person she trusted and relied on most in this world, she was horrified at her behavior and shocked that she had reacted as violently as the people and creatures that had murdered her.

As the rage that had been propping her up for the last week dissolved, she felt the tears run down her face as she dropped her dagger and her knees buckled as she began to cry.

Paul caught her as she began to sink to the floor and he lifted her easily to set her on the small couch, sitting beside her and rubbing her back as she leaned into his chest and sobbed. The fear, anger, frustration, and despair washed through her and were expelled through her tears as minutes passed with no words.

She didn’t know when she had passed out but she awoke in her bed feeling strangely refreshed; the heavy fog that had been dulling her mind and senses finally lifted. She sensed her mentor's presence as she looked over to find him sitting in a plush chair looking up at her from the open book in his hands that he had been writing in. He didn’t speak, just watching her carefully and gave a small soft smile of reassurance.

Phoenix slowly sat up and rubbed the gunk from her eyes, made worse by the dried tears. She took a deep calming breath and met Paul’s observing gaze. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, uncertain where to begin.

The paladin closed the book and returned it to the dimensional pouch at his waist. He shook his head and asked, “For what?”

“For everything,” she replied with a sigh. Her face scrunched as the tears threatened to return, “For crying all over you. For trying to stab you. For running off for days without telling anyone. For not trusting enough to say something earlier. For being so weak.”

“You’re not weak, Phoenix,” Paul stated firmly and she could feel the truth of his words through the aura that still encompassed hers. “You are one of the strongest and most courageous people I know.”

“Courageous?” she scoffed in self-deprecation, “I’m too afraid of everything to be courageous.”

“It is your fears that make you courageous, Phoenix,” he spoke resolutely and she felt compelled to listen as he explained, “It is not the person who does something they don’t fear that is considered brave.

“I have seen you fight monsters that make you tremble. I watched you stand after being broken and face the next challenge with determination. I have observed you become anxious and hesitant but step beyond those feelings as you welcomed new friends into your life with hope and acceptance. I have witnessed you assist a multitude of strangers while fearing for the safety of your party.

“It is the fact that you harbor these fears and uncertainties but still move forward and face them that makes you courageous. It is not just the bold actions, praised in song and story, that can display one's courage. Every act of pushing yourself to fight against your fears and anxieties, no matter how small, is an act of bravery.”

Silence fell between them as she sat there, stunned at his words of affirmation. After letting her process his words a bit, he hesitated for just a moment before asking gently, “Will you be brave once more and explain to me why you ran away?”

“I wasn’t running. I’m done running. I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing since arriving in this world and my book told me to,” she admitted but added in acknowledgement, “That’s what I needed to do in order to survive… but I don’t want to just survive, Paul.”

She held out a hand for him to take and he responded by moving to sit on the bed with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in comfort and she continued gratefully leaning her head on his own shoulder, “I want to thrive. I want to get stronger. I want to be able to fight against the forces that threaten to crush me.”

“You will,” he assured, “It takes time to grow stronger but I believe you’ll reach the pinnacle and you will be able to stand against any enemy that crosses your path,” the paladin proclaimed.

Then he added, “You’re already stronger now than when we first met. You’ve grown so fast in such a short time that I think you could even fight above-Caste given the right circumstances.”

“I know,” she replied, glancing up to give him a watery smile, “You entered my room shortly after I revived right here in bed. When I was out hunting, I ran into a Frost Lurker,” she said, about to explain but he interjected.

“Those are Sapphire and can hide their presence extremely well for a monster. It would have ambushed you and killed you in an instant. There’s no shame in falling to those.”

Phoenix gave a crooked smile at his incorrect assumption and said, “Actually, the benefit of an over powered aura is that it’s pretty hard to sneak up on one that’s projecting and looking for you.”

She conjured and held up the [Wrath Spirit Gem], which looked like a giant crimson ruby cut into the shape of an eye with a fiery center appearing like an angry iris, and said with a bit of embarrassed satisfaction, “You could say we traded killing blows. Turns out that my new ability does help me kill monsters.”

Paul shook his head in amazement, “You made the monster kill itself? That does sound like one of your crazy tactics.”

He nodded towards the stone, “I recognize that one. Are you planning to use it? It will most likely grant a powerful offensive ability.”

She blinked, having expected him to tell her to trade it for something different then she remembered that it was a gem that shared a piece of the name of his own Class. “Right,” she laughed, “Of course the Wrath Blade would approve of it.”

The paladin gave an unapologetic grin before returning to his previous seriousness, “I might not be able to sympathize exactly since I’ve never died before,” he pointed out, “But I want you to know that I care about you. You’re my Protégé and that’s not something I take lightly. I don’t only care about your career as an Adventurer or even that ridiculous quest from Rebel and Hero.”

The Wayfarer chuckled as her mentor continued speaking, “I care about seeing you become the best version of yourself. Of being happy about what you see when you look in the mirror. Of knowing that there are people who are there to support your aspirations and goals and want to see you succeed in whatever dream you choose for yourself. I want you to know that you can trust me to care about you, Phoenix.”

Tears fell again and she nodded at him, not trusting her voice. He wiped her cheek with a thumb and gave her another smile before tapping the gem still clutched in her hand, “Now, why don’t you use that and we can put all this heavy talk behind us and grow stronger together?”

She gave a short laugh and wiped away the remaining wetness from her eyes and willed her book closer to them as she unlocked another power for her Sun Aspect.

Class Ability: Meteor Shower

Type: Spell (summon, elemental, fire)

Cost: Severe mana.

Cooldown: 1 hour.

Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

Crystal Effect: Summon a meteor to descend on target location inflicting massive Fire and physical damage and nearby enemies gain [Burning].

- Burning (bane, elemental, fire): Inflicts ongoing Fire damage.

They both stared at the spell for a moment and she said bitterly, “Well that would have helped with the Frost Lurker.”

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