Chapter 252: The Magician 10
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
The woman that They knew as Lyra was still a strong and capable woman but she was far from actress beautiful. She was a seasoned warrior in the late side of her peak. Scars, exposure to the elements and various other small factors had turned her into a rather masculine and almost thuggish appearing person.
Orison respectfully introduced Themselves and requested to speak to the master of the house over the welfare of Droya, their recently announced deceased foster father's widow. The master of the house was away but was expected back later that evening. She invited Them in to wait.
"Rumors fly quickly. You're quite the figure to see in our humble house. Many other important figures have come by for one reason or another but I was granted the impression they were sniffing around after the late man's secrets and possible treasures. To see one stop by in concern of someone else's well being, particularly the well being of a person most would like swept under the rug and forgotten, sits well with me," she said.
Orison looked at her helplessly. "I don't really know how to respond to that in a way that doesn't make me look bad. Thank you for the appreciation of my efforts, I guess."
The woman laughed heartily in what They could only assume was an effort to cover awkwardness. "During the handing down of a war leader title to his son, things can get ugly and House Riven made it as ugly as they could. Anymore than that, I should leave for... him... to talk about. I'd suggest having a generous amount of drink on hand. That'll make things flow more smoothly.���
They nodded and withdrew a keg of mead. Her eyes widened for a moment before she laughed again and jokingly suggested that the waiting time would be more pleasant with some drink as well. With a smile, Orison obliged.
Two hours after nightfall, a strange young man with a familiar weak soul came shuffling in. "I have a small wound I need with, L-. Hey there. I wasn't expecting guests."
While Orison shared some niceties and provided services as a healer, They took the opportunity to examine the real young man that lied beneath the one They knew as Venito. He had been the victim of multiple subtle psychic and magical attacks. There was also a small amount of miasma curled up inside of them, waiting to paint them over in whatever form was needed for a scheme that the entity never used.
The young man sighed while the woman formerly known as Lyra smirked over. "Is it something that's going to cost me a small fortune to get cleared up at the temple? I knew better than to dip my wick in murky lamp oil but that farmer's daughter was just so... friendly."
The magician blinked a few times and then chuckled, more over the familiar devil may care attitude that made Them feel like They were seeing an old friend than the rogue antic itself. "No. I took care of that... What I'm referring to is the multiple spiritual assaults you've endured and a hidden threat inside you that I can turn into a blessing. Same for you on the last part, Band Marshal."
"Now, hold on! No need for wariness. It's all voluntary. That's why I told you first instead of just doing something about it.
"A powerful outsider made... adjustments over time. It laid a small amount of its core essence inside of you after that. The purpose was to have two pawns that it could change in different ways to suit its needs. For whatever reason, it didn't end up using you but you're still connected to it and that essence needs to be tied up into something to keep them from manipulating you in the future."
Still wary, the young man who was once Venito said, "That won't be necessary. I have a... friend I can rely on for matters supernatural."
The magician smiled and said, "It's possible that Portia could figure out how to unravel the purpose instilled into the essence. She'd more than likely trigger an uncontrolled release of it inside of you which would turn you into a nearly mindless, reality warping monster. Then again, I really don't know how far her knowledge goes. "If she does have the ability to control it, enjoy your long existence as her loyal and devoted... monogamous lover. Outside of that, I doubt she'd do anything to harm you. From a certain view, that might be better for your future than letting you become the eternal gigolo, stealing the hearts of women across multiple worlds... The more I think about it, let her handle it."
Both of them called out anxiously for Orison to wait as They got up in preparation to ask about a place to relieve Themselves, thinking that They were getting ready to leave.
Resisting the urge to chuckle, the magician said, "Even if you didn't want my help with that, I wasn't done visiting yet. I just needed to 'visit' the guest privy."
When They rejoined the two, there was another visitor as well. A familiar monstrous little girl was looking the young man over with a frowning face. The band marshal was over to the side trying hard not to act nervous or scared around the the little girl that obviously made her uneasy.
"I had been trying to find the right moment to reach out to you-peel away the insides. But it seems, we have grave matters to discuss first-touch what's mine!? Where is this essence located?-strange lies."
Rather than have a long discussion, Orison compressed some spirit essence and used their low dimension boosted telepathy to write a condensed memory into it before feeding it to Portia's shade. It was a chaotic mess but the shade was a practiced soul eating entity and was skilled enough to be able to decipher it.
Her eyes went blank for a small moment before she said, "You'll need several years of practice before an ordered physical mind would not be damaged by that."
Orison shrugged. "I don't intend on making it a habit to sacrifice spirit to share knowledge that way. It's useful but it's a cultivator trick. Such things aren't good to practice alongside magic. More importantly, do you understand?"
Portia said, "Yes. Enough to know that I want you to do it while I watch. If you pull any foolishness in the process, I'll kill you."
The magician looked at the two and said, "Are you willing? You'll be completely still you on the inside but you'd be giving up your current appearance. You'll have a lot of memories of another you as well but they'll be distant and grow more incomplete the further away they get from now into an alternate future that no longer exists."
Bravely, the band marshal said. "I'll go first. You can observe what it does to me and make decisions on whether it's worth it then."
The young man said, "Wait. Is she going to be beautiful?"
Orison and the woman looked at the young man with similar faces of annoyed tolerance.
The magician said, "The very goddess-like picture of a valkyrie in full glory."
The young man said, "Can you fix her liking women?"
Orison said menacingly, "Can I fix YOU liking women? She's not broken. There's nothing to FIX. Besides, the main point is to add benefits not take away or change anything."
Portia looked at the young man darkly and said, "Exactly.-many things to make you more pleasing."
They were glad that They were the only one who could hear Portia's shade.
As They walked up to the band martial, she clapped Orison's shoulder and said with deeply emotional eyes, "Thank you... You know. You would make a beautiful woman yourself."
With a bit of a sad smile, They said, "The both of you are incorrigible."
Lyra had never become a climber or particularly supernatural in any way. When Orison tapped her with the Entanglement Key, They needed a place to tie up the excess miasma. They decided to push it into the stunted and lacking 'icy' spirit root she already naturally possessed. It was something discovered by Venito far too late to nurture.
She had a lot to digest, mentally. In the time that took, the young man looked Lyra over and made some comments Orison was glad the woman couldn't hear. Unfortunately for the young man, Portia did and wasn't pleased. The little ancient vampire lord wasn't overly concerned about the young man's current fun but no one liked the idea of future rivals for attention. The only thing that saved the magician from having to defend Lyra from a vampire on the edge of ending her was the knowledge of where the woman's interests lied.
As soon as Lyra opened her glacier blue eyes, she looked at Orison and said, "You should change into a woman and help me test out the equipment upstairs. We need to give Portia as detailed a review as possible."
They sat in a chair and massaged Their temples. "You two harassment machines deserve each other."
Looking confused, Lyra said, "You did it for me quite a few times. Why so shy about it now?"
Orison sighed, "That wasn't me. That was 'White'. And they were a part of 'the boy'. His real name is Piran, by the way. I was a part of him for awhile but he was never really a part of me. Well, Green was for a short few days. Long enough to screw up my self identity a little... Now, Green was all woman. You would have loved her."
As Portia checked her over, enduring the dangerous envy coming from the little vampire lord and lewd evaluation of the young man, Lyra said, "Sounds complicated. I don't care... If you want to have some fun, you know what the price is."
For a brief second, Orison was tempted. Lyra was an expert lover when she was in the mood and indulging in some guilty please didn't sound that bad but They didn't have the time to be stuck as a woman for a week. It was a sad fact that They would be treated too differently by people and things could get unpredictable.
Ruefully, Orison said, "I can't even begin to describe how tempted I am but my body resists alteration from any other source save one and that would trap me as a woman for days. You have an idea of what I'm trying to do and how being a woman in this world makes things three times as hard."
The young man said, "You can do that? If you had been a woman when I arrived, I know I'd be 'three times' as hard but it makes me a little sick thinking that some girly man could be hiding as a woman out there."
In a rare moment of empathy for Orison's bitter expression, Lyra said, "Oh, you've probably bedded one or two. Learn the 'You are too F'ed to F' line before you wake up in the arms of one."
After some crude banter, Portia psychically interrogated Lyra.
The little ancient vampire turned to Orison and said, "How is this possible? They aren't fabrications. They are whole and complete memories added seamlessly onto their existing consciousness."
The magician said, "Chrism is the ultimate existence lubrication between real and fantasy. A single event was changed that set a whole other branch as the main branch for an entire splay of existence but the ghost of that old branch is out there somewhere and when, just dead and fading away. With the help of chrism, I can pull the memories and recreate some of the advantages they once possessed from that shadowed pattern.
"That being said, I believe Chrism is no good thing. Once it's served its purpose, it's best to immediately move past the need to keep it and replace it with fully self created essence. Do it as soon as possible within reason. You should have a couple of centuries before it even becomes a danger. That's when the entity that made it should return from the outside but I can't promise that will remain true."
The young man was laughing but no one was joining him. "Come on... We'll probably be dust in the ground before then."
Portia said, "Hurry up and awaken him to save him from more embarrassment."
Orison tapped the young man with the key. The process was a lot more dramatic than it had been with Lyra but Orison realized that They had the sealed ancient scroll with Them. The fairly abundant natural resources in the ring along with some core and soul stuff of the Xia cultivator within the scroll were partially diminished to fuel a more complex recovery.
Through clenched teeth, Venito said, "Small red fruit you grabbed. Need one."
For some reason that the magician didn't understand, Venito was resisting the changes. The request for the 'small red fruit' spooked Them. Samsara clones managed to grab five of them before dying to formation traps but the key brought the fruits to Their space before 'everything' was canceled out. It wasn't the only fruit but it was the most important one.
It meant that, somehow, recovering Venito was remembering things from much further out than should have been possible. He was in a fruit induced 'enlightenment' himself during that episode. Somehow, the man not only was aware of his surroundings but a part of him went into the key without being noticed by Orison.
The magician lamented its loss but for the memory of Their brotherly love for the vexing scourge to all women, They fed one to Venito. Instantly after melting into Venito's mouth, the young man looked like he disappeared from existence but for a tiny dot of crimson light that glowed within his dropped garments.
Before Portia could let out a scream full of anxiety and rage, Orison explained. "It's a rebirth fruit. He'll regrow to skeletal maturity with some of the body's hidden potential unlocked. I don't particularly understand all the specifics because there's some obscure laws involved. But, I can assure you that its a good thing for him. The same can't be said for everyone but definitely for him."
Seeing that it was going to take some time, Orison was about to leave when Venito spirit messaged, "Don't leave. There are some things I need to tell you first and I need to finish this first."
Sighing, the magician sat back down. Lyra looked at them oddly but chose not to comment while Portia watched the Northlander cultivator growing from fetus onward within the expanding crimson glow in rapt fascination.
An hour in, something that felt similar to a step baptism seeped in from another layer of reality and soaked into the young man in rapid succession. After that, Venito's maturity sped up significantly.
As soon as the dulling red aura of light fractured like an egg of delicately spun sugar that was tapped by a hammer, Venito sat and consolidated his essence for a few minutes. He suddenly jumped up and threw out a formation. It put everyone ill at ease.
He said, "Listen Orison. I need some things from the ring and I need the gold core. But I need the mustard seed bracelet more than I can say. I know you don't have it yet but bend your abilities to get it as quickly as you can. If you'll do that for me, I'll swear on my cultivation to watch over the affairs you started here for twenty years."
The magician chuckled nervously. "Hey, no need to be so uptight. I may have only been part of your brother but I still think of myself as your... sibling."
Venito gave him a hug and said, "Back at you."
Stepping back, he added, "But that's not why I'm acting so wound up. You are a butterfly's wing away from attracting the world will's attention. It might not be able to hurt you directly but it will hurt you through the things you care about.
"I can't explain everything right now but I've been with you since the garden. I can see by your expression that you understand. Now, understand this. You need to leave this world tonight. Who do you plan on taking with you?"
A little shakily, Orison passed the ancient scroll with the ring and gold core sealed within to Venito. "I hadn't completely made up my mind yet. I'm obviously taking Duran but I was wavering if it was in Gan's best interest to take him or not. I was thinking of asking Halda, after explaining things, for sentimental reasons but I fear for her safety."
Venito sighed. "It's just for four years. You should come back for the elevation and get a chunk of existence strengthening... How about this. I'll go invite that group you have at the inn and you call Duran here. Take them and leave Halda for Lyra to take care of until you return. After the elevation completes, you can reevaluate."
Lyra said, "If you would have taken Halda without a word to me first, I would have kicked your *ss to the ice flows and back. She was my best friend."
Orison said, "I know and I wouldn't have. Honestly, I would have asked you along too if I had chosen to take her but you can cultivate now and I know jack all about that."
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
The woman that They knew as Lyra was still a strong and capable woman but she was far from actress beautiful. She was a seasoned warrior in the late side of her peak. Scars, exposure to the elements and various other small factors had turned her into a rather masculine and almost thuggish appearing person.
Orison respectfully introduced Themselves and requested to speak to the master of the house over the welfare of Droya, their recently announced deceased foster father's widow. The master of the house was away but was expected back later that evening. She invited Them in to wait.
"Rumors fly quickly. You're quite the figure to see in our humble house. Many other important figures have come by for one reason or another but I was granted the impression they were sniffing around after the late man's secrets and possible treasures. To see one stop by in concern of someone else's well being, particularly the well being of a person most would like swept under the rug and forgotten, sits well with me," she said.
Orison looked at her helplessly. "I don't really know how to respond to that in a way that doesn't make me look bad. Thank you for the appreciation of my efforts, I guess."
The woman laughed heartily in what They could only assume was an effort to cover awkwardness. "During the handing down of a war leader title to his son, things can get ugly and House Riven made it as ugly as they could. Anymore than that, I should leave for... him... to talk about. I'd suggest having a generous amount of drink on hand. That'll make things flow more smoothly.���
They nodded and withdrew a keg of mead. Her eyes widened for a moment before she laughed again and jokingly suggested that the waiting time would be more pleasant with some drink as well. With a smile, Orison obliged.
Two hours after nightfall, a strange young man with a familiar weak soul came shuffling in. "I have a small wound I need with, L-. Hey there. I wasn't expecting guests."
While Orison shared some niceties and provided services as a healer, They took the opportunity to examine the real young man that lied beneath the one They knew as Venito. He had been the victim of multiple subtle psychic and magical attacks. There was also a small amount of miasma curled up inside of them, waiting to paint them over in whatever form was needed for a scheme that the entity never used.
The young man sighed while the woman formerly known as Lyra smirked over. "Is it something that's going to cost me a small fortune to get cleared up at the temple? I knew better than to dip my wick in murky lamp oil but that farmer's daughter was just so... friendly."
The magician blinked a few times and then chuckled, more over the familiar devil may care attitude that made Them feel like They were seeing an old friend than the rogue antic itself. "No. I took care of that... What I'm referring to is the multiple spiritual assaults you've endured and a hidden threat inside you that I can turn into a blessing. Same for you on the last part, Band Marshal."
"Now, hold on! No need for wariness. It's all voluntary. That's why I told you first instead of just doing something about it.
"A powerful outsider made... adjustments over time. It laid a small amount of its core essence inside of you after that. The purpose was to have two pawns that it could change in different ways to suit its needs. For whatever reason, it didn't end up using you but you're still connected to it and that essence needs to be tied up into something to keep them from manipulating you in the future."
Still wary, the young man who was once Venito said, "That won't be necessary. I have a... friend I can rely on for matters supernatural."
The magician smiled and said, "It's possible that Portia could figure out how to unravel the purpose instilled into the essence. She'd more than likely trigger an uncontrolled release of it inside of you which would turn you into a nearly mindless, reality warping monster. Then again, I really don't know how far her knowledge goes. "If she does have the ability to control it, enjoy your long existence as her loyal and devoted... monogamous lover. Outside of that, I doubt she'd do anything to harm you. From a certain view, that might be better for your future than letting you become the eternal gigolo, stealing the hearts of women across multiple worlds... The more I think about it, let her handle it."
Both of them called out anxiously for Orison to wait as They got up in preparation to ask about a place to relieve Themselves, thinking that They were getting ready to leave.
Resisting the urge to chuckle, the magician said, "Even if you didn't want my help with that, I wasn't done visiting yet. I just needed to 'visit' the guest privy."
When They rejoined the two, there was another visitor as well. A familiar monstrous little girl was looking the young man over with a frowning face. The band marshal was over to the side trying hard not to act nervous or scared around the the little girl that obviously made her uneasy.
"I had been trying to find the right moment to reach out to you-peel away the insides. But it seems, we have grave matters to discuss first-touch what's mine!? Where is this essence located?-strange lies."
Rather than have a long discussion, Orison compressed some spirit essence and used their low dimension boosted telepathy to write a condensed memory into it before feeding it to Portia's shade. It was a chaotic mess but the shade was a practiced soul eating entity and was skilled enough to be able to decipher it.
Her eyes went blank for a small moment before she said, "You'll need several years of practice before an ordered physical mind would not be damaged by that."
Orison shrugged. "I don't intend on making it a habit to sacrifice spirit to share knowledge that way. It's useful but it's a cultivator trick. Such things aren't good to practice alongside magic. More importantly, do you understand?"
Portia said, "Yes. Enough to know that I want you to do it while I watch. If you pull any foolishness in the process, I'll kill you."
The magician looked at the two and said, "Are you willing? You'll be completely still you on the inside but you'd be giving up your current appearance. You'll have a lot of memories of another you as well but they'll be distant and grow more incomplete the further away they get from now into an alternate future that no longer exists."
Bravely, the band marshal said. "I'll go first. You can observe what it does to me and make decisions on whether it's worth it then."
The young man said, "Wait. Is she going to be beautiful?"
Orison and the woman looked at the young man with similar faces of annoyed tolerance.
The magician said, "The very goddess-like picture of a valkyrie in full glory."
The young man said, "Can you fix her liking women?"
Orison said menacingly, "Can I fix YOU liking women? She's not broken. There's nothing to FIX. Besides, the main point is to add benefits not take away or change anything."
Portia looked at the young man darkly and said, "Exactly.-many things to make you more pleasing."
They were glad that They were the only one who could hear Portia's shade.
As They walked up to the band martial, she clapped Orison's shoulder and said with deeply emotional eyes, "Thank you... You know. You would make a beautiful woman yourself."
With a bit of a sad smile, They said, "The both of you are incorrigible."
Lyra had never become a climber or particularly supernatural in any way. When Orison tapped her with the Entanglement Key, They needed a place to tie up the excess miasma. They decided to push it into the stunted and lacking 'icy' spirit root she already naturally possessed. It was something discovered by Venito far too late to nurture.
She had a lot to digest, mentally. In the time that took, the young man looked Lyra over and made some comments Orison was glad the woman couldn't hear. Unfortunately for the young man, Portia did and wasn't pleased. The little ancient vampire lord wasn't overly concerned about the young man's current fun but no one liked the idea of future rivals for attention. The only thing that saved the magician from having to defend Lyra from a vampire on the edge of ending her was the knowledge of where the woman's interests lied.
As soon as Lyra opened her glacier blue eyes, she looked at Orison and said, "You should change into a woman and help me test out the equipment upstairs. We need to give Portia as detailed a review as possible."
They sat in a chair and massaged Their temples. "You two harassment machines deserve each other."
Looking confused, Lyra said, "You did it for me quite a few times. Why so shy about it now?"
Orison sighed, "That wasn't me. That was 'White'. And they were a part of 'the boy'. His real name is Piran, by the way. I was a part of him for awhile but he was never really a part of me. Well, Green was for a short few days. Long enough to screw up my self identity a little... Now, Green was all woman. You would have loved her."
As Portia checked her over, enduring the dangerous envy coming from the little vampire lord and lewd evaluation of the young man, Lyra said, "Sounds complicated. I don't care... If you want to have some fun, you know what the price is."
For a brief second, Orison was tempted. Lyra was an expert lover when she was in the mood and indulging in some guilty please didn't sound that bad but They didn't have the time to be stuck as a woman for a week. It was a sad fact that They would be treated too differently by people and things could get unpredictable.
Ruefully, Orison said, "I can't even begin to describe how tempted I am but my body resists alteration from any other source save one and that would trap me as a woman for days. You have an idea of what I'm trying to do and how being a woman in this world makes things three times as hard."
The young man said, "You can do that? If you had been a woman when I arrived, I know I'd be 'three times' as hard but it makes me a little sick thinking that some girly man could be hiding as a woman out there."
In a rare moment of empathy for Orison's bitter expression, Lyra said, "Oh, you've probably bedded one or two. Learn the 'You are too F'ed to F' line before you wake up in the arms of one."
After some crude banter, Portia psychically interrogated Lyra.
The little ancient vampire turned to Orison and said, "How is this possible? They aren't fabrications. They are whole and complete memories added seamlessly onto their existing consciousness."
The magician said, "Chrism is the ultimate existence lubrication between real and fantasy. A single event was changed that set a whole other branch as the main branch for an entire splay of existence but the ghost of that old branch is out there somewhere and when, just dead and fading away. With the help of chrism, I can pull the memories and recreate some of the advantages they once possessed from that shadowed pattern.
"That being said, I believe Chrism is no good thing. Once it's served its purpose, it's best to immediately move past the need to keep it and replace it with fully self created essence. Do it as soon as possible within reason. You should have a couple of centuries before it even becomes a danger. That's when the entity that made it should return from the outside but I can't promise that will remain true."
The young man was laughing but no one was joining him. "Come on... We'll probably be dust in the ground before then."
Portia said, "Hurry up and awaken him to save him from more embarrassment."
Orison tapped the young man with the key. The process was a lot more dramatic than it had been with Lyra but Orison realized that They had the sealed ancient scroll with Them. The fairly abundant natural resources in the ring along with some core and soul stuff of the Xia cultivator within the scroll were partially diminished to fuel a more complex recovery.
Through clenched teeth, Venito said, "Small red fruit you grabbed. Need one."
For some reason that the magician didn't understand, Venito was resisting the changes. The request for the 'small red fruit' spooked Them. Samsara clones managed to grab five of them before dying to formation traps but the key brought the fruits to Their space before 'everything' was canceled out. It wasn't the only fruit but it was the most important one.
It meant that, somehow, recovering Venito was remembering things from much further out than should have been possible. He was in a fruit induced 'enlightenment' himself during that episode. Somehow, the man not only was aware of his surroundings but a part of him went into the key without being noticed by Orison.
The magician lamented its loss but for the memory of Their brotherly love for the vexing scourge to all women, They fed one to Venito. Instantly after melting into Venito's mouth, the young man looked like he disappeared from existence but for a tiny dot of crimson light that glowed within his dropped garments.
Before Portia could let out a scream full of anxiety and rage, Orison explained. "It's a rebirth fruit. He'll regrow to skeletal maturity with some of the body's hidden potential unlocked. I don't particularly understand all the specifics because there's some obscure laws involved. But, I can assure you that its a good thing for him. The same can't be said for everyone but definitely for him."
Seeing that it was going to take some time, Orison was about to leave when Venito spirit messaged, "Don't leave. There are some things I need to tell you first and I need to finish this first."
Sighing, the magician sat back down. Lyra looked at them oddly but chose not to comment while Portia watched the Northlander cultivator growing from fetus onward within the expanding crimson glow in rapt fascination.
An hour in, something that felt similar to a step baptism seeped in from another layer of reality and soaked into the young man in rapid succession. After that, Venito's maturity sped up significantly.
As soon as the dulling red aura of light fractured like an egg of delicately spun sugar that was tapped by a hammer, Venito sat and consolidated his essence for a few minutes. He suddenly jumped up and threw out a formation. It put everyone ill at ease.
He said, "Listen Orison. I need some things from the ring and I need the gold core. But I need the mustard seed bracelet more than I can say. I know you don't have it yet but bend your abilities to get it as quickly as you can. If you'll do that for me, I'll swear on my cultivation to watch over the affairs you started here for twenty years."
The magician chuckled nervously. "Hey, no need to be so uptight. I may have only been part of your brother but I still think of myself as your... sibling."
Venito gave him a hug and said, "Back at you."
Stepping back, he added, "But that's not why I'm acting so wound up. You are a butterfly's wing away from attracting the world will's attention. It might not be able to hurt you directly but it will hurt you through the things you care about.
"I can't explain everything right now but I've been with you since the garden. I can see by your expression that you understand. Now, understand this. You need to leave this world tonight. Who do you plan on taking with you?"
A little shakily, Orison passed the ancient scroll with the ring and gold core sealed within to Venito. "I hadn't completely made up my mind yet. I'm obviously taking Duran but I was wavering if it was in Gan's best interest to take him or not. I was thinking of asking Halda, after explaining things, for sentimental reasons but I fear for her safety."
Venito sighed. "It's just for four years. You should come back for the elevation and get a chunk of existence strengthening... How about this. I'll go invite that group you have at the inn and you call Duran here. Take them and leave Halda for Lyra to take care of until you return. After the elevation completes, you can reevaluate."
Lyra said, "If you would have taken Halda without a word to me first, I would have kicked your *ss to the ice flows and back. She was my best friend."
Orison said, "I know and I wouldn't have. Honestly, I would have asked you along too if I had chosen to take her but you can cultivate now and I know jack all about that."
The woman that They knew as Lyra was still a strong and capable woman but she was far from actress beautiful. She was a seasoned warrior in the late side of her peak. Scars, exposure to the elements and various other small factors had turned her into a rather masculine and almost thuggish appearing person.Orison respectfully introduced Themselves and requested to speak to the master of the house over the welfare of Droya, their recently announced deceased foster father's widow. The master of the house was away but was expected back later that evening. She invited Them in to wait."Rumors fly quickly. You're quite the figure to see in our humble house. Many other important figures have come by for one reason or another but I was granted the impression they were sniffing around after the late man's secrets and possible treasures. To see one stop by in concern of someone else's well being, particularly the well being of a person most would like swept under the rug and forgotten, sits well with me," she said.Orison looked at her helplessly. "I don't really know how to respond to that in a way that doesn't make me look bad. Thank you for the appreciation of my efforts, I guess."The woman laughed heartily in what They could only assume was an effort to cover awkwardness. "During the handing down of a war leader title to his son, things can get ugly and House Riven made it as ugly as they could. Anymore than that, I should leave for... him... to talk about. I'd suggest having a generous amount of drink on hand. That'll make things flow more smoothly.They nodded and withdrew a keg of mead. Her eyes widened for a moment before she laughed again and jokingly suggested that the waiting time would be more pleasant with some drink as well. With a smile, Orison obliged.Two hours after nightfall, a strange young man with a familiar weak soul came shuffling in. "I have a small wound I need with, L-. Hey there. I wasn't expecting guests."While Orison shared some niceties and provided services as a healer, They took the opportunity to examine the real young man that lied beneath the one They knew as Venito. He had been the victim of multiple subtle psychic and magical attacks. There was also a small amount of miasma curled up inside of them, waiting to paint them over in whatever form was needed for a scheme that the entity never used.The young man sighed while the woman formerly known as Lyra smirked over. "Is it something that's going to cost me a small fortune to get cleared up at the temple? I knew better than to dip my wick in murky lamp oil but that farmer's daughter was just so... friendly."The magician blinked a few times and then chuckled, more over the familiar devil may care attitude that made Them feel like They were seeing an old friend than the rogue antic itself. "No. I took care of that... What I'm referring to is the multiple spiritual assaults you've endured and a hidden threat inside you that I can turn into a blessing. Same for you on the last part, Band Marshal.""Now, hold on! No need for wariness. It's all voluntary. That's why I told you first instead of just doing something about it."A powerful outsider made... adjustments over time. It laid a small amount of its core essence inside of you after that. The purpose was to have two pawns that it could change in different ways to suit its needs. For whatever reason, it didn't end up using you but you're still connected to it and that essence needs to be tied up into something to keep them from manipulating you in the future."Still wary, the young man who was once Venito said, "That won't be necessary. I have a... friend I can rely on for matters supernatural."The magician smiled and said, "It's possible that Portia could figure out how to unravel the purpose instilled into the essence. She'd more than likely trigger an uncontrolled release of it inside of you which would turn you into a nearly mindless, reality warping monster. Then again, I really don't know how far her knowledge goes. "If she does have the ability to control it, enjoy your long existence as her loyal and devoted... monogamous lover. Outside of that, I doubt she'd do anything to harm you. From a certain view, that might be better for your future than letting you become the eternal gigolo, stealing the hearts of women across multiple worlds... The more I think about it, let her handle it."Both of them called out anxiously for Orison to wait as They got up in preparation to ask about a place to relieve Themselves, thinking that They were getting ready to leave.Resisting the urge to chuckle, the magician said, "Even if you didn't want my help with that, I wasn't done visiting yet. I just needed to 'visit' the guest privy."When They rejoined the two, there was another visitor as well. A familiar monstrous little girl was looking the young man over with a frowning face. The band marshal was over to the side trying hard not to act nervous or scared around the the little girl that obviously made her uneasy."I had been trying to find the right moment to reach out to you-peel away the insides. But it seems, we have grave matters to discuss first-touch what's mine!? Where is this essence located?-strange lies."Rather than have a long discussion, Orison compressed some spirit essence and used their low dimension boosted telepathy to write a condensed memory into it before feeding it to Portia's shade. It was a chaotic mess but the shade was a practiced soul eating entity and was skilled enough to be able to decipher it.Her eyes went blank for a small moment before she said, "You'll need several years of practice before an ordered physical mind would not be damaged by that."Orison shrugged. "I don't intend on making it a habit to sacrifice spirit to share knowledge that way. It's useful but it's a cultivator trick. Such things aren't good to practice alongside magic. More importantly, do you understand?"Portia said, "Yes. Enough to know that I want you to do it while I watch. If you pull any foolishness in the process, I'll kill you."The magician looked at the two and said, "Are you willing? You'll be completely still you on the inside but you'd be giving up your current appearance. You'll have a lot of memories of another you as well but they'll be distant and grow more incomplete the further away they get from now into an alternate future that no longer exists."Bravely, the band marshal said. "I'll go first. You can observe what it does to me and make decisions on whether it's worth it then."The young man said, "Wait. Is she going to be beautiful?"Orison and the woman looked at the young man with similar faces of annoyed tolerance.The magician said, "The very goddess-like picture of a valkyrie in full glory."The young man said, "Can you fix her liking women?"Orison said menacingly, "Can I fix YOU liking women? She's not broken. There's nothing to FIX. Besides, the main point is to add benefits not take away or change anything."Portia looked at the young man darkly and said, "Exactly.-many things to make you more pleasing."They were glad that They were the only one who could hear Portia's shade.As They walked up to the band martial, she clapped Orison's shoulder and said with deeply emotional eyes, "Thank you... You know. You would make a beautiful woman yourself."With a bit of a sad smile, They said, "The both of you are incorrigible."Lyra had never become a climber or particularly supernatural in any way. When Orison tapped her with the Entanglement Key, They needed a place to tie up the excess miasma. They decided to push it into the stunted and lacking 'icy' spirit root she already naturally possessed. It was something discovered by Venito far too late to nurture.She had a lot to digest, mentally. In the time that took, the young man looked Lyra over and made some comments Orison was glad the woman couldn't hear. Unfortunately for the young man, Portia did and wasn't pleased. The little ancient vampire lord wasn't overly concerned about the young man's current fun but no one liked the idea of future rivals for attention. The only thing that saved the magician from having to defend Lyra from a vampire on the edge of ending her was the knowledge of where the woman's interests lied.As soon as Lyra opened her glacier blue eyes, she looked at Orison and said, "You should change into a woman and help me test out the equipment upstairs. We need to give Portia as detailed a review as possible."They sat in a chair and massaged Their temples. "You two harassment machines deserve each other."Looking confused, Lyra said, "You did it for me quite a few times. Why so shy about it now?"Orison sighed, "That wasn't me. That was 'White'. And they were a part of 'the boy'. His real name is Piran, by the way. I was a part of him for awhile but he was never really a part of me. Well, Green was for a short few days. Long enough to screw up my self identity a little... Now, Green was all woman. You would have loved her."As Portia checked her over, enduring the dangerous envy coming from the little vampire lord and lewd evaluation of the young man, Lyra said, "Sounds complicated. I don't care... If you want to have some fun, you know what the price is."For a brief second, Orison was tempted. Lyra was an expert lover when she was in the mood and indulging in some guilty please didn't sound that bad but They didn't have the time to be stuck as a woman for a week. It was a sad fact that They would be treated too differently by people and things could get unpredictable.Ruefully, Orison said, "I can't even begin to describe how tempted I am but my body resists alteration from any other source save one and that would trap me as a woman for days. You have an idea of what I'm trying to do and how being a woman in this world makes things three times as hard."The young man said, "You can do that? If you had been a woman when I arrived, I know I'd be 'three times' as hard but it makes me a little sick thinking that some girly man could be hiding as a woman out there."In a rare moment of empathy for Orison's bitter expression, Lyra said, "Oh, you've probably bedded one or two. Learn the 'You are too F'ed to F' line before you wake up in the arms of one."After some crude banter, Portia psychically interrogated Lyra.The little ancient vampire turned to Orison and said, "How is this possible? They aren't fabrications. They are whole and complete memories added seamlessly onto their existing consciousness."The magician said, "Chrism is the ultimate existence lubrication between real and fantasy. A single event was changed that set a whole other branch as the main branch for an entire splay of existence but the ghost of that old branch is out there somewhere and when, just dead and fading away. With the help of chrism, I can pull the memories and recreate some of the advantages they once possessed from that shadowed pattern."That being said, I believe Chrism is no good thing. Once it's served its purpose, it's best to immediately move past the need to keep it and replace it with fully self created essence. Do it as soon as possible within reason. You should have a couple of centuries before it even becomes a danger. That's when the entity that made it should return from the outside but I can't promise that will remain true."The young man was laughing but no one was joining him. "Come on... We'll probably be dust in the ground before then."Portia said, "Hurry up and awaken him to save him from more embarrassment."Orison tapped the young man with the key. The process was a lot more dramatic than it had been with Lyra but Orison realized that They had the sealed ancient scroll with Them. The fairly abundant natural resources in the ring along with some core and soul stuff of the Xia cultivator within the scroll were partially diminished to fuel a more complex recovery.Through clenched teeth, Venito said, "Small red fruit you grabbed. Need one."For some reason that the magician didn't understand, Venito was resisting the changes. The request for the 'small red fruit' spooked Them. Samsara clones managed to grab five of them before dying to formation traps but the key brought the fruits to Their space before 'everything' was canceled out. It wasn't the only fruit but it was the most important one.It meant that, somehow, recovering Venito was remembering things from much further out than should have been possible. He was in a fruit induced 'enlightenment' himself during that episode. Somehow, the man not only was aware of his surroundings but a part of him went into the key without being noticed by Orison.The magician lamented its loss but for the memory of Their brotherly love for the vexing scourge to all women, They fed one to Venito. Instantly after melting into Venito's mouth, the young man looked like he disappeared from existence but for a tiny dot of crimson light that glowed within his dropped garments.Before Portia could let out a scream full of anxiety and rage, Orison explained. "It's a rebirth fruit. He'll regrow to skeletal maturity with some of the body's hidden potential unlocked. I don't particularly understand all the specifics because there's some obscure laws involved. But, I can assure you that its a good thing for him. The same can't be said for everyone but definitely for him."Seeing that it was going to take some time, Orison was about to leave when Venito spirit messaged, "Don't leave. There are some things I need to tell you first and I need to finish this first."Sighing, the magician sat back down. Lyra looked at them oddly but chose not to comment while Portia watched the Northlander cultivator growing from fetus onward within the expanding crimson glow in rapt fascination.An hour in, something that felt similar to a step baptism seeped in from another layer of reality and soaked into the young man in rapid succession. After that, Venito's maturity sped up significantly.As soon as the dulling red aura of light fractured like an egg of delicately spun sugar that was tapped by a hammer, Venito sat and consolidated his essence for a few minutes. He suddenly jumped up and threw out a formation. It put everyone ill at ease.He said, "Listen Orison. I need some things from the ring and I need the gold core. But I need the mustard seed bracelet more than I can say. I know you don't have it yet but bend your abilities to get it as quickly as you can. If you'll do that for me, I'll swear on my cultivation to watch over the affairs you started here for twenty years."The magician chuckled nervously. "Hey, no need to be so uptight. I may have only been part of your brother but I still think of myself as your... sibling."Venito gave him a hug and said, "Back at you." Stepping back, he added, "But that's not why I'm acting so wound up. You are a butterfly's wing away from attracting the world will's attention. It might not be able to hurt you directly but it will hurt you through the things you care about."I can't explain everything right now but I've been with you since the garden. I can see by your expression that you understand. Now, understand this. You need to leave this world tonight. Who do you plan on taking with you?" A little shakily, Orison passed the ancient scroll with the ring and gold core sealed within to Venito. "I hadn't completely made up my mind yet. I'm obviously taking Duran but I was wavering if it was in Gan's best interest to take him or not. I was thinking of asking Halda, after explaining things, for sentimental reasons but I fear for her safety."Venito sighed. "It's just for four years. You should come back for the elevation and get a chunk of existence strengthening... How about this. I'll go invite that group you have at the inn and you call Duran here. Take them and leave Halda for Lyra to take care of until you return. After the elevation completes, you can reevaluate."Lyra said, "If you would have taken Halda without a word to me first, I would have kicked your *ss to the ice flows and back. She was my best friend."Orison said, "I know and I wouldn't have. Honestly, I would have asked you along too if I had chosen to take her but you can cultivate now and I know jack all about that."
