15 - Glimpse the Cosmos (Patreon)

“This One meets Little Wayland now?” the familiar monotone voice echoed in his mind.

Paul chuckled and finally answered, “Yes, Bela. You get to meet Phoenix now.”

As he opened the door to the ritual room, he had to head off his Familiar’s enthusiasm by clarifying, “Wait for me to tell you when. I want to properly prepare her.”

“Prepare for what? This One is beautiful and Little Wayland is a Wayfarer from a world more technologically advanced than Makera. Little Wayland will love This One as much as This One loves Little Wayland,” Orebela said, and despite the lack of inflection, he could feel the confidence in her assertion.

The Paladin mentally shook his head and explained, “I still don’t want to surprise her with a stranger, so just wait until I give you the go-ahead.” She replied with a disgruntled noise that grated on his mind but his focus moved to the young glowing woman sitting against the far wall, reading her glowing book while she waited and he smiled, this time speaking aloud, “Good afternoon, young one.”

Phoenix looked up at him with a tired smile, “Good-” her words got interrupted by a yawn, “Afternoon. Any particular reason you're getting me up so early?”

He raised a brow at her, “It’s after noon, hence the greeting.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “We were up all night taking a shift as part of the Wall Response this week. It was the bit of compromise we did in order to get the night off for my Noble Reveal three nights ago, remember? I thought the increased Mind attribute meant you wouldn’t forget things as you got older-”

“If you call me ‘old man’ I will actually ground you now,” he interjected, the amusement in his expression instantly giving away the empty threat, but at least he got a laugh out of her for it.

“Then Agatha will try to make you an Inquisitor again for keeping me from my missions,” she retorted while trying to calm her laughter.

“Oh, you can still do the missions,” he said, leaning against the wall to slide down it and sit next to her, “I’ll just cut off the access to the crafting rooms, ritual rooms, and private library.”

Her head whipped up to lock eyes with him as she said aghast, “You monster! You wouldn’t be so… so… cruel for a simple joke!”

It was his turn to laugh at the indignation as he shook his head, “You’re right. Forgive my cruelty. I am a wicked Paladin that I’m sure will be made all the more apparent with this.”

He lifted the small silver augment she had given him that appeared like tiny wings.

Item: Wings of Zeal

An Augmentation cultivated from the conversion of a transfiguration ability into an item.

Caste: Emerald.

Availability: Legendary.

Type: Augment, back.

Requirements: Emerald Caste.

Effects:

- Can use an Augment Ritual to embed the item into the wielder’s back. The wings will take on an appearance that reflects the zeal of the wielder’s soul. This Augment type can be removed via an additional Separation Ritual without harm to the wielder.

- For no mana cost, the Augment can remain in [Passive Mode] which grants the wielder the ability to hover idly in the air and increased resistance to negative Elemental effects.

- For a low mana cost per second, the Augment can remain in [Flight Mode] which increases the size of the manifested wings and grants the wielder freeform flying capability.

- For a moderate mana cost per second, the Augment can remain in [Defensive Mode] which greatly increases the size of the wings and further solidifies them into interlocking shields, granting greatly increased resistance to negative Magical and physical effects.

- For a high mana cost per second, the Augment can remain in [Offensive Mode] which disperses the wings into individual feathers which move as high-speed projectiles that explode on contact with a targeted enemy for a high amount of Radiant damage. Once all the feathers have been expended the wings automatically return to [Passive Mode] and incur a 1-hour cooldown to replenish the expended feathers.

Phoenix’s eyes widened in recognition before a grin stole across her face and she asked excitedly, “You’re going to show me how to do an Augment Ritual? Is that why we’re here?”

“Wayland is supposed to be introducing This One!” Orebela’s voice rang in his head.

He almost winced as he replied to his Protégé, “Yes and no. You’ll get to see it but it will be Orebela helping me perform it.”

Phoenix wrinkled her nose in confusion before her eyes trailed up to his forehead where the metal plate Orebela became when merged with him sat, “Why your Familiar?”

“For two reasons, the first is that it will be the Emerald Caste version of the ritual that could potentially kill you and they’re usually not meant to be performed by the person being augmented,” he explained, then gave her a small smile, “The second is that she’s been wanting to officially meet you for a while now.”

The Wayfarer perked up a bit at that, “She can talk? You made her sound like some kind of object or symbiote. I didn’t realize she could speak with you.”

“This is all Wayland’s fault,” his Familiar grumbled without inflection.

Paul mentally rolled his eyes back at her as he responded aloud to his new daughter, which he was still trying to adjust to thinking of her as such, “She speaks telepathically. Like your leader’s communication ability.” He hesitated slightly before prompting, “You’ve mentioned that your old world had more technology than ours does since we have more magic. My Familiar comes from a realm where technology and magic are symbiotic. A lot of the locals don’t seem… fond of her form and are afraid of her even more than some monsters but I don’t want you to think for a second that she would ever hurt you.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him, “She’s not some kind of killer robot that can travel through time is she?”

He narrowed his eyes, “I’m going to assume that’s a reference to something in your world and not ask for details but no… she can’t travel through time.”

“But she is a killer robot?” she clarified and he noticed the slight smirk of amusement.

The Paladin just shook his head and gave his Familiar the mental go-ahead to manifest as he said, “Phoenix, meet Orebela.”

He felt the metal plate on his forehead melt away in an instant and his lovely Familiar appeared hovering in the air in front of them. Her body held a feminine figure but was smooth liquid gold that glinted in the light of the glowstones embedded in the ceiling. While the shape roughly was humanoid, that was where the similarities stopped as the hands and feet were much smaller, the legs and arms tapering down much more than humans.

The most disturbing difference, however, was the lack of a face. Only a thick, softly glowing, golden line in the shape of the bottom half of a circle was placed where eyes should have been; which gave an observer anywhere to focus on at all. While she definitely gave off an alien appearance with an aura to match, something about it all had been soothing to him rather than scary.

“Woah,” Phoenix said in a whispered breath, openly staring and taking in the sight of the Familiar who was clasping her tiny hands together and, despite not being able to fully express it, appeared nervous to him.

“This One is pleased to see Little Wayland with This One’s own sight,” the Familiar spoke telepathically to both of them at the same time with her usual monotone that he worried might throw his apprentice off even more.

The Wayfarer gave a wide smile, “I’m pleased to finally see you too, Orebela. You look incredible. I never met a talking Familiar before.”

Tala appeared suddenly, manifesting in the Supporter’s lap and cheeping angrily up at the summoner. Phoenix chuckled and gave the small bird some pats on its fluffy head, “I know we have a system, Tala, and I hope you can gain more vocabulary in the future.”

Paul smiled and felt the weight lift off his shoulders when he realized his Protégé wasn’t going to panic or hurt Orebela’s feelings. Despite the Familiar not being able to show them with her face or voice, Paul knew she still felt emotions. He doubted she would have bothered to stay with him through all his blundering if she didn’t.

“What all can you do?” Phoenix asked Orebela.

“This One can touch Little Wayland’s [Guide Book],” the golden Familiar answered and the redhead excitedly produced it for the small fingers to brush against.

Name: Orebela

Species: Child of Theia (Familiar)

Machine and magic hybrids not of this world that are attuned to Light and Radiant magic.

Caste: Emerald

Can speak with multiple allies at once and perform rituals telepathically.

Can construct and wield two melee weapons imbued with Light magic.

Can empower a weapon, including Construct ones, to inflict additional Light damage.

Can greatly boost your Agility for a moderate mana cost and low cooldown.

Can freely fly through the air when manifested.

When merged within the summoner:

- The summoner’s eyes become golden and a third eye guard appears, granting additional resistance against Magical and Elemental damage.

- The Familiar can perceive in a large radius around the summoner.

- Movement abilities have increased effect and reduced cost.

- The summoner gains a slow fall effect and limited control when moving through the air.

“That’s awesome!” Phoenix exclaimed, turning to him to say something else but halted suddenly, staring straight into his eyes.

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“Your eyes are blue?” she asked with a grin.

“Ah. Yes. It’s a trait that’s been passed through the Wayland line since its beginning,” he answered with a gesture towards the brilliant blue color that matched his sister and the rest of his immediate family, “And while blonde hair can appear in our line sometimes, I was born with a dark brown. It turned golden when I was blessed by the Purifier and first became a Paladin. Now, before the distraction, what were you going to say?”

“Oh,” she seemed to shake herself from the tangent and asked, “I was wondering if I could see the ability description? After Saiya hit Sapphire, I’ve been curious how Spirit Gems are meant to interact with summoned Familiar abilities like mine.”

“Ah, they basically give an additional effect depending on the gem that gets bonded,” he explained, reaching his own hand out to provide it to her book.

Ability: Child of Theia

Type: Familiar (ritual, summon, magical, covenant)

Cost: Severe mana.

Cooldown: None.

Current Caste: Emerald 10

Crystal Effect: Summon a [Child of Theia] as a Familiar.

Sapphire Effect: When manifested, the Familiar can create a large barrier of light that absorbs a large amount of damage for a high mana cost and long cooldown.

Emerald Effect: When manifested or merged, the Familiar can slowly convert light into stamina or mana for both the Familiar and the summoner.

“It bonded a [Light Spirit Gem] at Sapphire Caste and then a [Harvest Spirit Gem] at Emerald,” Paul added, thinking back to those rituals; which reminded him of the ritual he still needed to do today, “Ready to watch me get some wings now so I can fly around with Bela?”

“Yes!” Phoenix replied excitedly, then glanced at the hovering Familiar as she asked a bit hesitantly, “Can I call you Bela too?”

Paul almost laughed aloud at the adorable response of the tiny hands rapidly clapping together without making the sound as the Familiar responded, “This One would like that very much. May This One speak with Little Wayland without being manifested?”

“You can do that?” the Wayfarer asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes. Wayland thought it would startle Little Wayland if This One did so before asking like this first.”

He gave a weary sigh, “Nobody likes hearing unfamiliar voices in their head, Bela. Even if you tried explaining who you were. Remember how Jerem reacted? That was a completely normal reaction.”

“Oerwynt deserved it,” his Familiar replied bluntly and he couldn’t disagree with that point.

“That doesn’t disprove my point,” the Paladin retorted then stood up from his spot against the wall and began making his way towards the center of the room to begin drawing out the ritual diagram they would need.

Phoenix made her way over a moment later, grinning down at him as he drew with the magically infused chalk he liked, and asked him, “So, let me get this straight. Since the day we met, you’ve had a woman in your head giving you advice about what to do?”

He shrugged, “She gives good advice sometimes. Better when fighting.”

The metallic Familiar made an odd sound at that which was hard to describe except that it was extremely grating and made him wince as he amended, “Despite her apparent track record of being right, I’m not always the best listener.”

“This One’s predictions are 98% accurate,” Orebela seemed to say proudly despite the lack of inflection and he was still amazed at how she managed to do that.

“Did that go up?” he asked idly as he continued drawing out the diagram quickly.

“This One was correct again about Little Wayland’s reaction.”

Phoenix’s snort of laughter caused him to smile before glancing up at the pair of women next to each other sharing a new sense of camaraderie and he didn’t even care that it was at his own expense.

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