Chapter 64 - Differing Brilliance

Celaine refused to let her discomfort show as Vivienne’s aura bore down on her. A hunter could not show fear in the face of a predator, and this wizard was far from the greatest predator she had met. She came from a land of dragons, and if a dragon saw you as prey, then they would treat you as such.

She stood rigid as her soul felt as her soul was compressed within her. Her connection to Owalyn became distant, as if just out of reach. No matter how much she willed it, how much she longed for it, it remained untouchable. She was alone. Isolated in a far off land, with only strangers for allies. Colour drained out of the world, leaving everything a tone of grey. She felt her strength leaving her, her body crying for her to cower and hide. To curl up into a ball and pray that she would be spared.

I will not fall. She ground her teeth, clenched her fists, and stared into the face of the wizard with all the rage she could muster.

Beside her, Bud dropped to one knee, panting. Good. She would not lose to some spoiled young lord that had only just awoken his second blessing.

The pressure intensified and Celaine let out an uncontrolled breath. Furious at herself for letting it slip, she sought Owalyn’s power once more. It came to her in flickers of strength, yet it was still beyond her grasp, like the warmth of a fading sun. Each time she felt as if she’d grown closer, the wizard’s power rose to meet her—a wall of force pressing her down.

Then it stopped. Her power came to her in a flood of warmth and strength, it surged through her, enhancing her body. This time she was ready for whatever attack the wizard threw at her.

“Good,” Vivienne said. The attack didn’t come. “Both of you have Spirit well beyond your ranks. I’m impressed.”

“Try again,” Celaine said. She felt ready to bounce off the walls as her power flowed through her, urging her into motion. Urging her to fight back.

“The test is done,” Vivienne said.

“No. I wasn’t ready before, but I am now. Try again!”

“Goodness, girl,” Vivienne said. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a test of your will and endurance. You performed admirably for a Chosen of the second circle.”

“I don’t know how you stayed standing,” Bud said, almost falling over himself as he rose to his feet. “It was like my soul had been sucked out of me.”

“A hunter must not show weakness,” Celaine said. “Not when dragons walk the land beside us.”

“I thought your people got along with dragons,” Bud said.

“We do,” Celaine said. “That does not mean they respect us without reason. Dragons are arrogant and have a strict hierarchy. If we cannot even meet their eyes without kneeling, how can they see us as equals?”

“I suppose they couldn’t,” Bud said.

Celaine nodded curtly.

“Exposure to such powerful auras explains why your own spirit is so strong,” Vivienne said. “Your control is lacking though. There is no direction to your intent, only a basic need. You are pushing back against my own will mindlessly, rather than meeting it with precision. Though your foundation is excellent. I will have no trouble teaching your control.”

“Was Hump better?” Celaine asked.

“He was,” Vivienne admitted.

Hump smirked, and Celaine shot him a glare that wiped it from his face. “I would be glad to accept your teaching then.”

“Good,” Vivienne said. “In that case, would you both withdraw your Brilliance. It is time for me to inspect your blessings.”

Celaine stared at her in shock. To withdraw her Brilliance was to expose her soul. The wizard had already demonstrated too much power over her. This would leave her completely vulnerable.

“If I wanted to harm you, I could have done so at any time during the exercise,” Vivienne said. “I’m here to help.”

“I can go first if you’d like,” Bud said. “You watch over me, and then Hump and I can watch over you. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Celaine frowned. From what she had seen, Bud was an honest man. She had already trusted him with her story, and he had come with them to help with no desire for reward. Yet he was still a foreigner, barely more than a stranger.

She glanced at Hump.

“I won’t let anything happen to either of you,” he said.

She turned back to Bud. “If you go first,” she said hesitantly.

Bud smiled. “Thank you for having my back.”

He knelt, sitting back on his feet and clutching a hand to his chest, his eyes closed. Celaine felt the tingle of power on her skin as his fist began to glow an icy blue. A cold draft swept from him. Then he pulled. Light stretched as it followed his fist, ripping his Brilliance—a piece of his soul—from his body. The tingle grew stronger as the power of it bombarded her, bound to his chest by only a thin veil of light.

Ice crystalised around him, forming two rings of ice. The first was filled with glyphs, while the second was only half full. Two blessings.

It didn’t look like hers. The circles were… rigid. Drawn of clean lines and solid walls, with no signs of growth toward the next blessing. It was as if Bud were frozen at his current stage.

Vivienne paced around him, staring at the glyphs as if she understood them. Finally, she said, “That’s enough, Robert.”

Bud took in a deep breath and pressed his soul back into his body. He gasped loudly, and the coldness of the room left. The rings on the ground melted, the essence that formed them trickling off in glistening dust, fading into the empty air.

“I’m familiar with both of your blessings, Robert,” Vivienne said. “Frostfire Knight and Heart of Frostfire are both standard for a knight of Kelisia, though it’s unusual to gain the latter as a second blessing. Having a blessing that already enhances your aura is a fantastic thing. If you’d been prepared, you’d have been able to resist my suppression much better.”

“With Kelisia’s power,” Bud said. “The point was to test my own spirit, was it not?”

The wizard smiled with approval. “Indeed.” Then she turned on Celaine with gleeful eyes. “Now, Celaine, if you please. I’m keen to see how a Chosen of Owalyn differs from those of the Pantheon.”

Celaine glanced at both Hump and Bud, who each gave her a nod. She sighed. Might as well get this over with.

Like Bud, she clutched a hand to her chest. Unlike him, however, she would remain on her feet. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath—this was always more difficult inside than out. Her soul belonged to the forest, not some ugly stone lighthouse. Still, she found the pool of power with her. As she touched it, it bloomed, coming alive. She drew it out of her body and held it out at her side, arm straight. As everything turned grey once more, only her Brilliance held colour, shining green like the forest.

Around her, grass and small plants sprouted from the stone, twisting into her circles. They grew around her, in order. The first held just one blessing, like Bud’s, but her second circle held two. Once they were formed, her third circle began to take form, still incomplete. It would be a while yet before she gained her fourth blessing.

“What’s going on?” Bud asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Vivienne said. “How can there be a partial circle?”

“Read it,” Celaine said through gritted teeth, fighting the weakness of her body.

The wizard seemed to startle and quickly walked around her. Celaine’s heart raced as she faded out of sight at her back, before quickly returning to the otherside of the table.

“You can draw it in,” she said. “We’re done. These are not God Glyphs I am familiar with.”

Celaine slammed her first to her chest with a thump, gasping as strength flooded back through her, and the world became bright again.

“Hunter’s Instinct, Power Shot, Spring Step,” Celaine said. “Those are my blessings.”

“I am not familiar with the first,” Vivienne said. “Though the latter two are blessings our own Chosen have.”

“It grants me enhanced perception and enhances my control over my body, senses, and essence,” Celaine said. She didn’t reveal that it also allowed her to conceal her aura. If they didn’t know to look, then even as wizard as strong as Vivienne wouldn’t be able to find her.

“A powerful ability,” Vivienne said. “As it improves with your own growth, I can see it becoming truly terrifying.”

“It is the power of Owalyn, God of the Hunt,” Celaine said with pride. “Of course it is terrifying.”

Vivienne smiled.

“This doesn’t look like ordinary God Glyphs,” Hump said. “But I thought gods all used the same glyphs.”

“As did I,” Vivienne said, studying her as if she were some dancing bird. “How is your third circle already partially formed? The entire point of the circles is to provide the soul with structure. This breaks that rule.”

“I don’t know about your rules,” Celaine said. “But I do not need Owalyn to grant my next blessing. It is already within me. I must discover it for myself. Through the hunt, it will manifest on its own.”

“Fascinating,” Vivienne said, eyes alight. “This is amazing. I… I’m stunned. Gods above, this could be an entirely different path of growth. The others at the university would kill for a specimen like you!”

“Erm, Vivi,” Hump said. “I think you’re making Celaine uncomfortable. Perhaps we could avoid referring to her as a specimen.”

“What?” She glanced at him, then her senses seemed to return to her. These foreigners were always so quick to be distracted. “Sorry. Right, the tests. Celaine, you’ll have to tell me more about this later. About all of it. Owalyn, your people, the dragons, and your Brilliance.”

Celaine frowned. “I didn’t come here to be studied.”

“Only by studying how your power works can I best guide you,” Vivienne said. “I will not force you though. Come to me when you are ready to trust me. Forgive me if I’ve caused any offense.”

“It’s fine,” Celaine said. “Let’s continue.”

***

Hump glanced up as Dylan entered the room with a tray of tea, craving the steaming hot cup just to get some warmth back into him.

“How are you all?” Dylan asked. They were in the living room, sunk into two sofas as they recovered from the day’s test. Dylan set the tea on the table and took a seat beside Bud. “From the pale looks of despair, I assume you are all quite tired.”

“Quite is such a relative term,” Hump said.

“I’m exhausted,” Bud said flatly. “No wonder you’ve improved so quickly under Wizard Vivienne’s tutorage. I had my doubts at first, but she looks at essence and the soul with such a different yet logical approach compared to my own teachers.”

“I can’t comment much on other methods,” Dylan said. “Master Vivienne took me in shortly after I was chosen. She is the only teacher I’ve known.”

“Well, while the methods may differ, certain rules still apply,” Bud said. “For you to have reached the third circle already you must have quite some experience in combat.”

“A fair bit,” Dylan said. “Master Vivienne has Arnold pass on any monster notices to us before giving them to the town guard or submitting a formal request at the Adventurers’ Guild. Arnold’s the mayor.”

“We’ve met him,” Hump said. “He seems like a good mayor.”

“He is,” Dylan said. “We’ve not had much contact with him for the last month, as Master Vivienne was focused on preparing the formation. Before that though, he was very helpful with my training.”

“So you’ve been training often against monsters nearby?” Bud asked, surprised.

“Yes.” Dylan frowned. “Actually, I assumed it was common practice.”

“Back home, monsters are few and far between,” Bud said. “It was one of the reasons I knew Bledsbury Dungeon was a path I had to take. I’d been stagnant for too long, and I needed a change. Lo-and-behold, two days in the dungeon and I received my second blessing.”

“It makes sense,” Dylan said. “From your tests, it seems your soul has advanced beyond your circles. I think my master was a little disappointed that you all reacted so well to her suppression.”

“That seems like a strange thing to be disappointed in,” Celaine said.

Dylan chuckled awkwardly. “Yes. Well, having one’s soul suppressed is one of the best ways to teach someone to interact with it. You are all beyond that level. I nearly passed out when she tried it on me. There’s nothing quite like having your soul crushed. It’s almost like withdrawing one’s Brilliance, the world just loses its colour, and the body loses all its strength.”

“Except that when you withdraw your Brilliance you can feel your god stronger than ever,” Bud said. “Her suppression made me feel isolated in a way I never have. Not even when Kassius used his power on us.”

“It felt very similar to me,” Celaine said.

“I suppose Heart of Frostfire protected me back then,” Bud said. “Or Priestess Alerai’s power still lingered.”

“Are you talking about Prince Kassius?” Dylan asked curiously.

“Yes—”

“His aura manifestation was extremely powerful,” Bud interrupted, giving Celaine a look. “We were able to experience it first-hand while fighting beside him.”

“I know little of the prince other than that he is the only one of his brothers not Chosen,” Dylan said. “I didn’t realise he was so skilled.”

“He was very skilled,” Bud said. “I’ve never seen a practitioner that was so powerful.”

“I can’t believe it wasn’t more well known,” Dylan said. “It is his brothers that are most talked of. You were lucky to have met him.”

“Mhm,” Bud said. “The kingdom will surely feel his loss.” It sounded wooden in his voice, and from the look Dylan gave him, Hump guessed he noticed that too.

“Do you think the wizard will have us hunting monsters too?” Celaine asked, changing the subject.

Dylan nodded. “Yes. You must be pushed, and it’s only through combat where that can truly happen. With monster sightings on the rise, I don’t imagine you will need to wait long either.”

“The Adventurers’ Guild mentioned the same thing,” Hump said. “Have you been having trouble with monsters here too?”

“The spirits seem to be just one element of a larger whole,” Dylan said. “My master suspects that the secret hides in Fishers Lake.”

“A dungeon?” Celaine asked.

“If there is one, we haven’t found it yet,” Dylan said.

“It also wouldn’t explain why they only come during the new moon,” Hump said. “I thought Vivi came here to investigate the fish.”

Dylan frowned at him. “Why?”

Hump sunk back into his chair, embarrassed. “I don’t know. My master told me, I think. Is she not?”

Dylan snorted. “She came here after learning the lake was unusually rich in essence to try and uncover the reason. I’m sure she will speak more on the matter when you’re fully brought up to date on the situation, but it seems that something has been building here for years. And recently, it has been progressing more quickly.”

“Has Countess Daston been made aware?” Bud asked. “She suspects a new dungeon will be opening soon and has been making preparations.”

“Unless she has her own investigation underway,” Vivienne said, entering the room, “Lady Daston is not informed on the matter.” She took a seat in an armchair in the corner.

“She must be informed,” Bud said. “She’s powerful in her own right and commands the defence at Sheercliff City. If you think something might happen in Fishers Lake, she needs to know!”

“I have nothing to tell her,” Vivienne said. “We have a lake unusually rich in essence and monthly attacks by low tier spirits. Such news is far beneath the concerns of the countess, and so are the suspicions of a wizard.”

“You need proof then,” Hump said.

“What I need is to stop these spirits from coming back,” Vivienne said. “That is the objective we approach this with. If my suspicions prove correct, we find the proof without bias and without losing sight of what is truly important. First and foremost, focus on protecting this town.”

“Is your magic not enough for that?” Bud asked. “It seemed effective last night.”

“Effective, yes,” Vivienne said. “The cost is not something I can continue to pay forever. The formation requires three essence stones to last the night, each of rare quality. Now that the attacks are more frequent, that’s nine each month. If there’s a fourth night next time, then I don’t have the resources to last even two months. Without those resources, we will only have our own strength to rely on. I suggest we find a way to stop the attacks before then.”

“You seem to care a lot about people that are ready to blame you for all this,” Celaine said.

“People are idiots,” Vivienne said, harshly, then in a softer voice she added, “especially when they are afraid. That does not mean they are not worth helping.”

“So you’re here out of the kindness of your heart?” Celaine asked.

“That’s a wonderful way to paint me in a good light,” Vivienne said. “The truth is that I am interested. I’m an academic at heart, and when an unsolved mystery stares me in the face, I can’t help but prod it.”

“What if prodding it makes it worse?” Celaine asked.

“It’s getting worse on its own. The worst we can do is speed up the inevitable,” Vivienne said. “Though if we do stir up a hive of hornets, perhaps then it’s time we follow Young Lord Robert’s advice.”

“I’m sure Lady Daston would be thrilled to have a disaster brought to her doorstep,” Hump said dryly.

“With any luck, it won’t come to that,” Vivienne said.

“We’ve got at least three gods on our side,” Hump said. “We don’t need luck.” He frowned at Celaine to his side. “Albeit one is likely an enemy of the Pantheon. Do you think they’ll hold that against us?”

Vivienne sighed. “Seth’s disdain for the gods was always one of his less appealing qualities. I’m so glad to see he’s been a good influence.”

Hump smiled wryly. “It is the duty of the apprentice to carry on his master’s legacy.”

“Let’s just hope you have more than just his mouth,” Vivienne grumbled. "If everyone's ready, I'll brief you on what we know about the spirits now."