Ep. 642 Through the Gate Part 2 (Patreon)

Lynara doesn't appear immediately, making me think that it didn't work. However, a few minutes later she shows up and she looks confused as she looks around. From the look she gives me I am guessing this is her first time in a soulscape.

(In elven) Lynara says "Where am I?"

Explaining that takes me a while, mainly because there is no word in the elven language that matches. Not only that but my elven is still a little on the weak side, especially with big words. In the end it takes me more than an hour before she finally understands.

(In elven) Lynara says "Oh! So that's why the summon felt so strange!"

(In elven) "Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't be sure it would even work."

(In elven) Lynara says "It's fine. I like new experiences. So, what did you want to talk about?"

So I explain to her how I found the elven temple in the middle of the desert. Since it is the soulscape I can recreate everything I saw and let her take a look at it. Everything is fine at first, but when she sees the altar she gets extremely angry.

(In elven) "What's wrong?"

(In elven) Lynara says "This is a place of the traitors!"

(In elven) "Traitors? What do you mean?"

(In elven) Lynara says "When the first ones died out and their cities crumbled we were left adrift. We had to build our own cities and society from scratch. However, there were those who believed the first ones hadn't died, but instead became gods. They worshiped them and tried to force the rest of the elves to do so."

(In elven) "I'm guessing the elves didn't react well to that."

(In elven) Lynara says "No, not at all. In fact there was a small war between the two factions. The believers were driven away and banished. Or at least that is what our history books told us."

(In elven) "So this is just something you read about? Why did it make you so angry?"

(In elven) Lynara says "Yes, I am not that old. That was the only time elves have ever fought each other so it is a big deal to us."

(In elven) "Do you have any idea where the gate might lead? Is it possible that the elves have survived?"

(In elven) Lynara says "No idea, sorry. And anything is possible."

(In elven) "If I do find descendants of the elves, what should I do?"

(In elven) Lynara says "If they still worship the first ones, as far as I am concerned you can kill them. If they have changed their ways then it would be good to establish contact with them, I guess."

(In elven) "Alright, I will keep that in mind. If I can even manage to open the gate that is."

(In elven) Lynara says "What's the problem?"

(In elven) "Because I have sacred power my mana pool is very limited. If you hadn't blessed me I probably wouldn't even have a chance of opening it."

(In elven) Lynara says "What does my blessing have to do with it?"

(In elven) "When you blessed me my mana pool increased by a hundred."

(In elven) Lynara says "Really? That wasn't supposed to happen!"

(In elven) "Then what was supposed to happen?"

(In elven) Lynara says "Normally, the blessing is just a temporary boost to resistance."

(In elven) "Interesting, maybe it boosted my mana pool because my resistance is already maxed out."

(In elven) Lynara says "Well, there is an easy way to find out. That is if you don't mind inviting more spirits to come here?"

(In elven) "No, I don't mind. I just need their names."

(In elven) Lynara says "Their names are Ekertan, Fereesh, and Slispera."

(In elven) "Ekertan, Fereesh, and Slispera, I invite you to my soulscape!"

They appear faster than Lynara did and start looking around curiously. Considering Lynara's reaction, I remove the temple before they appear and change the area to a forest. Luckily, Lynara takes care of the explanations so I don't have to, she is much faster.

Ekertan is dark skinned, about six foot tall, and the burliest elf I have ever seen so I am guessing he is the earth spirit. Fereesh with his red hair and aura of heat has to be the fire spirit. Which means Slispera with her ankle length blue hair is the water spirit.

From their conversation it is easy to tell that they are all friends and have been for a very long time. The three of them ask me questions, which I answer, mainly about Core. Then after a while Lynara asks the three of them to bless me so that we can see what happens.

(In elven) Fereesh says "May you be blessed by the great spirit of fire!"

Mana Pool +100, Fire Resist +5%!

(In elven) Ekertan says "May the endless power of earth bless you!"

Mana Pool +100, Acid Resist +5%!

(In elven) Slispera says "May the great spirit of water bless you!"

Mana Pool +100, Cold Resist +5%!

As soon as they are done blessing me I report what each blessing gave me. Then Lynara explains to the others and they start discussing possible reasons. They have a lot of theories, but when it comes down to it they just don't know.

However, I am not about to complain since their experiment got me another three hundred mana and some resistances. Yet they show no sign of being in a rush, so I create some comfortable seating, snacks, and drinks. While they relax and continue talking, I very gently reach out with my senses.

I don't try to do anything to them, that would be rude, I just study the auras. Each aura is made up of the rules or laws that the element follows. The knowledge I gain may not be useful, but it does help to satisfy my curiosity.

(In elven) "I am sorry to break up the party, but I just sensed a change in the gate."

(In elven) Lynara says "No problem. Thank you for letting us chat for so long. It is rare for all four of us to be summoned to one place."

The other three also give their thanks and say their goodbyes before all four disappear. As soon as they are gone I end the soulscape and turn my full attention to the gate. I had set the soulscape to be the same time as outside, so several hours have passed.

The gate has reached the point that it has enough mana and energy is starting to move. Purple strands of energy stretch across the gate's opening and weave together. As I watch I continue feeding mana into the gate until it all comes together and the gate opens.

'Time to roll the dice!'

Since I have no idea how long the portal will stay open, I quickly jump through. Instantly I get the feeling of spinning and I have to fight to keep my last meal from reappearing. It feels like it lasts forever and at the same time it ends almost as soon as it begins.