by Scott Seier
"I am a Herald, a messenger and courier of the divine."
"I'm not aware of exactly how long I have been imprisoned, but it is most likely a figure best measured in decades at this point. I was intercepted by an Arachkidar deity, a world-bound being who attempted to steal that which I possessed. He believed that the item that I was ferrying from the gods to the Fey was the key to his vengeance. That being the god's eventual destruction. He thought himself insulted by their very existence, but that which I carried was not the key." Saoirse looked regretful for several seconds. I was impressed that the NPC was so well developed. She was like Kara back in Four Flags. For some reason the AI had seen fit to give this character an entire personality. I once again thought that perhaps this was a result of these characters being tied to more in-depth stories, but my musings were cut off when Saoirse continued.
"I fought back, but the battle was a losing one, the Arachkidar's venom was debilitating and had been working in my system before the conflict even started. I was unable to call upon my full abilities to escape. The world-bound deity captured me after I exhausted myself resisting him. After it became clear that I did not have the answer he was looking for, he had his race bind me in this place."
She looked around her prison. Under more mundane circumstances the cathedral sized chamber would have been awe inspiring, but knowing she had been trapped here for such a long time sort of took the interesting edge off the place. "As a Herald, I hold sway over time and space. This allows me to travel between the realms of the divine more easily and makes us very hard to capture. I would usually be able to alter time and rot the prison around me to the ground in a few days, but not this place. The Arachkidar thought of everything. These chains are immune to the ravages of time, and they will not bend to the command of normal space. They are outside my realm of control, and it is the chains themselves that protect the structure of this place. They are the only thing stopping me from taking this whole mountain down around me." Her words died off with an icy certainty that sent a chill down my spine. This chick was not messing around.
If her story is true, then it would be a huge boon to befriend a Herald. I don't know much of the divine, but I know that each of their races represent an entire aspect of power. The gods represent intellect, the titans represent charisma, the dragons stand for strength, and so on. I sent a mental whistle to Vigil.
Saoirse looked at me as if I had slapped her. "A reward? For freeing me?" For a second I thought she was about to laugh in my face. Maybe I should have played this one a little closer to the vest... "If you free me, fool, then I will grant you the item in which the Arachkidar attacked me in the first place to acquire." Her voice was full of mocking and confidence in my inability, but that suited me just fine.
I felt Vigil fall of his metaphorical chair. "You are as I thought, a simple treasure hunter looking for the easiest path to power that is possible. I am now so assured that you have no hope of accomplishing this task, that I will also offer you the chance to call on me at any time as your personal Herald, now until the end of time itself! That is a right that only the leader of each divine pantheon holds over any Herald and none holds over me." Huh, I guess I'd nailed it after all. Close to the vest? Vest, shmest.
Saoirse's shoulders heaved as her tirade came to an end. I sat calmly, watching to make sure I was out of range if she was about to try and head-butt me to death. "That sounds like fair compensation, but I can't help but wonder, what if I don't want whatever this mysterious item is." I tapped my chin, deep in fake thought. "I wonder if you would instead offer this item, or, something of equal or lesser value?" if Vigil had a face it would probably mirror the Heralds expression perfectly. She knelt there, looking at me with her mouth hanging open slightly. I met her gaze evenly.
"You must be the stupidest man to have ever lived, or the most cunning. I honestly cannot tell." She said quietly. She swung her head, sending all of her thick red hair flying back over her shoulder, clearing her face completely. She looked at me, as if for the first time, perhaps finally measuring if I might be able to pull off the impossible. "If you succeed in freeing me, to a fair determination of the word, I will grant you an item of equal or lesser value than the one discussed, and act as your Herald should you require it at any time after a duration of one week following my liberation."
A strand of brilliant light drifted between the two of us. It looked like a glowing shoelace.
I thought over her proposal. I guess it wouldn't really be fair to call on her help right away after her escape anyway. She probably had a family, or some duties that had been sorely neglected in her absence, so the one week thing was more than understandable. I was still cagey about this mysterious item she was talking about, but it couldn't be useless and honestly I would have probably tried to set her free even if she hadn't agreed to anything. I nodded. "I accept." I said with a smile. A second shoe lace appeared in the air, pulled from the center of my chest over my heart. The two glowing strings drifted together and tangled themselves into an ornate knot.
When the knot was pulled tight the strands flared and disappeared. Saoirse was watching me, ready for the 'gotcha' moment I presume, but I was already rummaging in my bag. I found what I was looking for. A plain old normal rock. If anyone gave me shit for being a hoarder I would kindly instruct them to shove it.
The rock looked like an arrow-head to me, which is why I had pocketed it in the first place, but that wasn't the point. Now I was going to use it for something very different. I felt an understanding bloom from Vigil and decided to tune back into his frequency now that he was on board. I am not sure you understand how brilliant of a plan this is.
I tossed the stone into the air and caught it. Saoirse looked at me apprehensively as I approached. "Now this is going to sound suspicious, but whatever you do, don't resist this... at all." Her apprehensive look immediately turned to one of deep suspicion. I should really just not even warn people. I tossed the rock and caught it once more and then focused as hard as I could on my Fade Seal spell. Selecting the rock as a focus and Saoirse as a target I offered up all the mana I had on me, which ended up being eight points if anyone was curious, and cast my seal on the already sealed, massively powerful, Herald.
There was a moment of hesitation from Saoirse, enough to nearly kill me, her massive will, blocking out mine completely. A look of betrayal that cut me to the core rippled across her face, and A single tear ran down her cheek, but the resistance faded as quickly as it had cropped up. Resignation clouding her features.
With a pop and a flash of light the Herald was gone and the chains that had previously ensnared her rebounded like a snapping high-tension wire. The force of the bindings hitting the floor below cracking the granite slabs like dinner plates. Then they were sucked down into the hole that occupied the center of the room, as if they were suddenly alive and recoiling in pain. "Well, I'm glad that worked..." I muttered to myself.
In my hand, sat a perfectly clear diamond the size of an apple. Within its facets a streaking light buffeted the confines of the jewel. She does not seem pleased...
It's true, any magic user in existence would pay a kings ransom for the artifact that you currently hold. Think about what we accomplished with just the soul of a low-level jailer. We would be unstoppable with her power at our disposal. The idea was certainly enticing, but I'd made a deal... Even though technically she had forgotten to add in a clause that punished me for not fulfilling my end of the bargain... but Nah, I'm mostly a man of my word...mostly.
I hoisted the diamond high and, hoping that it wasn't nearly as durable as a normal diamond or else I may be in trouble with my inner morality, brought it down onto the center of the platform as hard as I could.
The gem cracked, then shattered. A huge burst of power blasted free from it as its structure failed. Energy raged all around me, but mysteriously left me completely untouched. The platform's granite began to melt and deform under the massive deluge of heat, a small slice of floor being left for me to cower on. I was beginning to think I would need to jump for it, hopefully without breaking an ankle, when the onslaught came to a sudden end.
In the center of the smoldering crater that was once a solid granite slab, stood Saoirse. Her clothing was restored to its original levels of perfection and her face suddenly lacked the signs of strain that had been etched on it from the immense weight of the chains. She stood there, utterly bewildered. "He... got me out..." she whispered, more to herself than me.
"I did indeed, as promised. I'm sorry that I needed to seal you away to get you out of the binding, but I think you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." She looked down at her own hands and flexed them. Her skin stretching smoothly over her knuckles. She rubbed her wrists absentmindedly. She looked up and noted, as did I, that the pulses that had been running through the runes had completely stopped, the whole array of rituals that decorated the ceiling had gone dark.
"How did you free my essence from the outer seal? My body was bound with the chains, but my true power was caught within the great seal itself!" It worked only because her true power was already sealed away. If she even had a drop of her actual strength running through her you would have needed an army's worth of mana to seal her. Then, after you sealed her physical form, with the body missing from the equation, the balance of the seal was undone. The leverage was changed, and her essence freed itself.
I thought for a moment how to condense Vigil's words into a more bite sized format, but instead of needing me to translate, Saoirse just nodded. "That makes some sense. Thank you for explaining Vigil."
Now I was the one standing bewildered. "You can hear him?!" I asked. I was really hoping she couldn't hear my thoughts... "Now that I am whole once again, yes, I can sense his presence and intercept his words to you." The Herald was back to admiring her own body. I made a mental note that even though she seemed to not be able to read my mind, if someone of sufficient power could eavesdrop on Vigil it was nearly as bad. Hearing one half of all my strategies was still enough to get me killed.
After the Herald let us in on her excellent... "hearing"... Vigil stayed uncharacteristically quiet. She spent a few minutes checking over herself and then a few more staring at me before heaving an absolutely massive sigh.
"It would seem that you have delivered on your part of the bargain. In full." I just nodded, randomly wondering what would happen if she killed me at this moment. I hadn't put a stipulation into the deal that stopped her from killing me every time I respawned. If she did that, she would never have to complete her side of the deal. I really would need to go over the future wording of such agreements more thoroughly.
"As promised..." Saoirse reached into an inside pocket of the tuxedo-like jacket that she wore. She withdrew a white box that seemed far too large to have fit in such a tight fitting garment, but I chalked it up to the game's inventory physics. She reached out and rested her hand on my shoulder. Her hand was extremely warm, almost uncomfortably so, and her fingers held a strength that told of the ease in which she could crush me.
It was only after I was done admiring her grip strength that I noticed we were now standing on the normal floor. The platform somehow standing in its wrecked condition thirty feet behind me. She looked into my eyes and then set the box on the ground, backing away and gesturing towards the plain, perfectly white container with a sweeping wave.
I knelt, curiosity raging so violently within me that I was hesitant to stamp it down for fear it would burn off my stampin' boot. Foot and all.
godly seed
Artifact
On use:
Plants the seed of godhood into the users body.
By nurturing this seed the user may eventually tap into the powers of a god.
Saoirse pulled herself from her own thoughts then, tilting her head slightly. "You are seeking guidance instead of outrightly accepting the seed?" She asked. I just nodded, accepting that she was going to keep eavesdropping and I couldn't do anything about it. "Ignorance is generally a thing I like to avoid, but ever since coming to this world it seems to be unavoidable. Perhaps you can fully explain the divine? Help me make the right choice?" The Herald eyed me for a moment and then nodded. "I will share with you a brief version of the lore behind the divine. No more. After that you will either accept the seed, or request a different reward. My time is limited." She took a deep breath and settled into her new role as the resident loremaster.
"The divine is a term that refers to immensely powerful entities that have left this world behind. They created and live within their own separate realms." She looked at me critically and I nodded to assure her I was fully engaged and following along. "Each of the divine races pursue, and are empowered by, an aspect of sentience. The Observers excel in Focus, the Giants follow the path of constitution, The gods delve into the aspect of intellect, while the Fey dabble in the realm of spirit. The Titans explore the graces of charisma, and the Dragons are beings of strength. Lastly the Sphereas are embodiments of stamina and the Wraiths are students of Agility." Saoirse paused, letting what she had said sink in. "The godly seed will, if taken care of, elevate whoever uses it into the path of intellect. It will prove exceptional benefits while at the same time growing ever stronger, until the moment you must move into the realm of the gods yourself."
The idea was certainly interesting, but her last sentence completely destroyed the possibility in my mind. "You don't by chance have a Fey seed, do you?" I couldn't help but ask. Spirit had helped me so much so far, but even now I had yet to devote the last half dozen levels of attributes into my character for fear that spirit wasn't strong enough to allow me to progress. Maybe if I was to become part Fey it would become more worth while? Saoirse quirked an eyebrow at the request. "The Fey represent the weakest of all the realms. Spirit is an aspect that is ethereal and lacks the more direct benefits of the other divine paths...and no, I do not possess that type of seed." Lyst, with the god seed we would have a bonus that few heroes could hope to match! A summoner with more intellect than any mage could ever hope for? Its the stuff of n
ightmares! Intellect is the best attribute for us to focus on.
I brushed off the suggestion with some annoyance.
I frowned. Embarrassed and surprised that Vigil was making such a big deal about this. Then I found myself even more embarrassed because I had been embarrassed in the first place. Vigil lecturing me in front of Saoirse had rubbed me the wrong way, but the Herald was just yet another construct of the game, like Vigil. They were so real sometimes that I forgot that I was talking to programs.
"Are Heralds a divine race as well?" I asked, shutting out Vigil for the moment. Saoirse smiled for the first time. "No, the Heralds do not have a united realm in which we call home, each individual Herald has their own personal realm that they use to help move between the many different true divine realms. It makes us ideal messengers because one of the true divine race cannot move into another's realm without the use of force." The Heralds sounded like they were the only ones that were actually free... "as a Herald, if I asked for a seed from your race, would you be able to provide one?"
Saoirse...lagged. Her eyes locked on a position somewhere above my right shoulder. Not a single fiber of her moved, not even her hair or clothing swayed. I observed in complete fascination. I had finally asked a question the game hadn't anticipated. On one hand I was proud of myself for thinking semi-outside the box, but on the other I was worried I had just broken the Herald completely.
"You see, now this I just don't understand." The voice was strong, loud, and resonated with a rich tenor that was at the same time appealing and unnatural. I spun on the spot and scanned the enormous room. Nothing was different... it was empty! "Now, here's the problem. A player can't become a divine. That's in the rules even! So I can't understand why our friend here even offered you that as a possibility." The distinctly male voice spoke again, but this time with a lot less echoing and weird resonance. I froze, and slowly turned back to face Saoirse.