by Scott Seier
the throng of lights was blasted backwards. A hole was ripped into the wall of the swirling mass and from that opening came a flaming comet of dark purple light. You didn't have to yell... Vigil's light sped into my outstretched hand, colliding with my palm, and I let go of the tether.
"Ugggggghhh." I groaned as I came back to myself. My face was wet, the nosebleed had been real enough, but as far as I could tell my skin wasn't covered in second degree burns. Which I considered a strong win. Do you not have a body for me to inhabit? I lifted my clenched fist up to my face and peeked inside. There, a small purple marble of light was glowing contentedly.
As I dried off my bloody face and made sure my abused stamina had returned to a level that wasn't threatening to black me out if I moved too suddenly, I noticed a blinking notification that had been minimized during my spiritual journey. I selected it.
DING
Congratulations, you have reached level 13!
Attribute points awarded: 2
Training points awarded
+2 Stamina
+2 Spirit
+3 Focus
+1 Charisma
Skill Rank Alert!
Binding Art skill increase
Skill - Rank 2
Lyst
Level 13
Summoner (Veil)
Attributes available: 13
106
Strength-str
Increases damage done with weapons and abilities that scale off of strength.
Increases the amount of weight that you can carry before becoming encumbered.
10
Agility-agi
Increases damage done with weapons and abilities that scale off of agility
Increases your maximum movement speed and attack speed
10
Intelligence-int
Increases damage done with weapons and abilities that scale off of intellect
Increases your mana pool
Allows the learning of spells (magical Abilities)
10
Spirit
Increases the rate at which you regenerate health and mana
Certain skills and abilities scale off of Spirit
26+(2)
Constitution-con
Increases your health pool and resistance to status effects.
10
Stamina-stam
Increases your stamina pool
Increases the regeneration of STAM
Increases how much physical activity you can do before exhaustion
14
Focus
Increases your chance for a critical effect to occur
Increases the precision of attacks and actions
13
Charisma
Increases your persuasiveness and the rate in which NPCs (non player Characters) gain reputation and attitude.
11
Well, damn. I was suddenly a lot more appreciative to my captors. The gains I had made in the last couple hours were equal to five levels worth of attribute points. Why are you grinning like a fool? You are still the weakest of your group, even with this advancement. Don't think that I was idle while in the Veil, I was thinking on your situation and believe that I have come to a solution. One that it seems you have already partially stumbled upon. Please stop with the self-pity. Take it from someone who was paying attention during the incident. Your team was ambushed. You and the Lycan were asleep, the mage girl in a deep creative trance, and the rogue wholly distracted. The huntress put up a valiant fight, but these creatures were well above her own level. She was forced to flee as the rest of you were bitten, captured, and dragged into the mine's depths. I too, was helpless against their power. The cuff that Vigil currently occupied grew slightly hot at his unexpected anger. One of them batted me out of the air as I tried to defend you. I was killed with that single blow. I didn't know what to say.
Not wanting to ruin the moment, but losing the battle against my mounting curiosity I was just about to ask him what his idea was when he beat me to the punch. I can feel you positively radiating interest. I would have thought that confinement would dampen your enthusiasm some. Vigil chuckled mentally and then began sharing some of his more inspired plans. With every word my smile grew wider. I didn't even think anything like this would be possible in Acrion, but apparently if you could think it up and make it work with the system that was in place, the game would allow almost anything. We were about to see if we could push those limits a little bit. Ritual Art. What a gem it turned out to be.
Hours later the rattle at the door returned. I stayed completely still, trying to do my best to seem unconscious. The spider-person walked over to me and nudged me with their toe. When I didn't respond they dug their foot into my ribs and flipped me over. The creature knelt over me and rested a hand on my forehead. "Not dead yet." It mumbled to itself in a far more normal voice than I was expecting. I was thinking these things would hiss and screech like their cousins upstairs. It leaned further forward, opening it's mouth and extending it's grotesque fangs, ready to bite me in the throat once again, but paused when it felt a light tap on it's chest. It looked down and saw my index finger resting on the exact center of it's body. Right where my own spirit resided within my body. The spider-guy looked confused and glanced up my face only to see that I was wide awake and grinning at him. "Bye bye now." I said, and activated the chain of ritual circles on my right wrist's cuff. The mob lurched forward to sink it's fangs into my neck, but froze about an inch away from my skin.
My finger glowed with a faint purple light. The same glow shone from within the spider's two, very human looking eyes. I pulled my finger away and instantly the glow died in the creature's eyes and a bright ball of energy was ripped from it's chest. The second the orb of light was extracted from it's natural home the rituals on my cuff flared brightly. The cuff instantly was warm, then hot. In less than three seconds it was burning me. Wincing, I scrambled to my feet. Raising my left arm, I brought the orb that was hovering over my extended pointer finger to rest over yet another circle scratched into my left cuff, directly next to Vigil's circle. I pressed the orb into place, like a jeweler setting a diamond and the light was instantly consumed. My right cuff was glowing red-hot and I could smell my skin burning underneath it. The several circles that Vigil and I had spent so much time putting together were dripping off the overheated material. Screaming I slammed the cuff against the wall, it burst off my damaged wrist with a shower of sparks. The metal didn't cool when it hit the ground. Burning itself into oblivion, until nothing but a smoldering pile of slag was left.
Cradling my arm, I checked my health. I had five points left out of my usual twenty... that, was cutting it close. I brought my left cuff up to eye level and admired my handiwork. The circle that
was the new home to the spider creature's soul was glowing happily. The mark housed a fade seal, now in ritual form. I inspected the seal.
Fade Seal
Ritual - Circle (common)
Status - Active
6/25 mana
Arachkidar Jailer
Soul Focus
Level: 25
Soul Stability - 100%
Ability Alert!
New Ability Learned!
Soul Focus
Allows the caster to control a sealed entity's power with basic commands
The Soul Focus Skill can be applied to any seal that meets its requirements, but will drastically impact the structure of a seal.
I suggest you put more mana into that seal sooner rather than later. You don't want that to run out. Vigil said to me as I rested against the wall of my room.
I stretched, enjoying the lightness of the limb. I swung my arm around, massaging my shoulder to relieve the built up tension, but stopped when my other arm twinged painfully. The pain in Acrion wasn't anything like real life, but it still made you take notice when you were injured. I dug around in my bag and used my last health potion. The unpleasant sensations stopped almost immediately, and the blistered and charred skin began returning to it's normal colors and texture. The benefits of not having a ton of health was that even a health potion that was rated to return ten health was enough to get me back into fighting shape, even if I was almost dead on the ground when I used it.
Well done. If you check the soul stability now you will see the result of asking for it's help.
Fade Seal
Soul focus
Ritual - Circle (common)
Status - Active
2/25 mana
Arachkidar Jailer
Level: 25
Soul Stability - 84%
And I would suggest to channel more mana into the seal... Surprised at the drop in mana and stability I immediately sent power back into the seal.
Calm yourself, I'm only having some fun. If the seal breaks the soul will be released. The lower the stability is, and the more powerful the soul is, the more violent the release will be. Think of the percentage of stability as working both ways. If the stability is at one hundred percent then the seal is under very little strain, and so it's mana will drain slowly. If the seal was broken at one hundred the release would be rather mild. On the other hand if the stability was lower, at fifty percent let's say, the release would be equivalent to all of the power that had already been expended in it's journey down to half depletion. For example if that seal on your wrist failed right now it would burst with the amount of force that was used to break the chains. That is why it is very important to not ask too much of a sealed soul, the effort could deplete it instantly and cause it to explode on the spot, most likely injuring you, most likely severely.
I didn't stop channeling until the ritual was sitting at twenty out of twenty five. Standing, I limbered up and lightly slapped my cheeks to get me as alert as possible. I looked at the door that was partially open and wondered how far I would make it before I was killed by a mob that was in the 20s. It will take too long, and besides, the soul you have currently will act as a conductor. Anything that you kill will have parts of it's soul drawn into the seal that you already have in place. It will restore stability and increase the base power of the soul we already have captured. Not to mention I can steal some of that power too, if you would deign to allow it. I glanced at my wrist. Vigil didn't do the whole humble servant thing, I was sure he was pulling my leg.
I headed for the door, running through the info Vigil had shared with me in the time it took to charge the soul stealer cuff. I had a whole new set of tools to use. I passed the threshold and knew that I'd just set off some sort of security charm. A red line glowed around the door-way and tiny sparkles flew off in every direction. I drew Frightener's Song, happy that I was able to do so seeing as it had been blocked while inside the cell. The red sparks reminded me uncomfortably of the ferry orbs that the outlaws had been carrying. "Enemies on the way." I mumbled to myself. Raising my my left arm and hefting my mace.
Arachkidar
"My Leader, there is a breach on prison level five." The Arachkidar chancellor said this while bowing, nearly kneeling, in front of the massive creature that was the Leader. That was his name, his title, and his purpose. This being was made to lead the Arachkidar to a new era of dominance, and today of all days, today had to be the day that he visited the chancellor's territory. The Leader turned his massive head to look upon the chancellor. "You admit this to me? Why?" he said with a light, pure voice that didn't match his body, which was designed for violence and little else. "My Leader, the guards that would normally respond to this type of alert have been diverted to the area surrounding your quarters. I request, humbly, that you allow me to send them to deal with this nuisance."
The Leader leaned back in the massive throne-like chair in which he sat. It had been built specifically for this visit, taking hundreds of hours of work for the chancellor's men to complete. Already he could see that the Leader's body had damaged the piece of art beyond repair. The massive copper chair would need to be melted down afterward. The fine detailing work crushed flat by the strength of the Leader's arms. The back rest bending in it's attempt to support the broad back of this powerful being. "You may divert these guards, but they will return to their posts immediately afterward." The Leader said this with all of the authority of the empire of the Arachkidar. The chancellor bowed and left the ceremony chamber, barking orders the instant he was out of the Leader's earshot. "This creature will regret the day it ever even thought about escaping from my prison." The chancellor growled, his fangs extending, dark blue venom dripping from them, leaving a sizzling trail of death in his path.
30 minutes later
"Chancellor." A large guard bowed as he entered the chancellors study. "The prisoner has evaded capture and has moved deeper into the sixth prison level." The chancellor spat the potion that he had been drinking all over his desk. "What?" he sputtered scrambling to his feet. "Explain yourself! That prisoner is marked as a low-level threat!" The guard grunted in response, a few more drops of blood falling onto the smooth, solid granite floor. "He has magic that we have not encountered before. Phantasms that we cannot see protect him, and strike us down one after another. We have lost two brothers attempting to re-capture him, and another three when I gave the order to k
ill him." The chancellor stood, slack-jawed, as the guard gave his report.
He cursed, spinning on the spot, and slammed his fist into the wall behind his desk, leaving hairline cracks crawling through the stone. "Why? Why today of all days! And those guards were meant to return to watching the Leader's chambers, I will have to inform him as to why his detail will be lighter than expected." The chancellor raged to himself. "Divert the perimeter guards. Use the squad that protects the lower gates." He commanded. The guard stood at attention to receive the orders, it was only then that the chancellor saw that the guard was missing the lower half of his right arm, and had a hole the size of a fist punched through his abdomen. If he had been any lesser race than an Arachkidar he would have perished by now. The chancellor couldn't fathom the depths of his rotten luck to have this happen on a day as important as this one.
"I need the prisoner killed as soon as possible, and then remove the guards that have perished from our records. I will make an excuse to the Leader, but he must never know the full extent of our failure this day. Go. NOW!" the guard removed himself from the chancellor's study, leaving a trail of dark blood on the floor behind him. The chancellor sighed and tapped his claws on his potion covered desk. He would need to have someone come in and clean this.
1 hour later
"We need to retreat! Where is the captain?"