Danny smugly said, *No apple trees will be giving me away this time.*
Releasing his Lava Aspect, Danny walked over to the waiting elders, “Good to see you elders. Especially you Elder Cardinal, how are you?”
Elder Cardinal smiled to Danny, “I am fine Danny, so stop worrying.”
Elder Frost looked behind Danny, asking, “So are you going to share what you were up to?”
Danny thought about how best to handle the situation before admitting, “I was trying to see if I could create another ascendant the same way I was changed.”
“You told us you didn’t know how that had happened,” Elder Breeze reminded him, suspiciously.
Danny bowed to the elders, “Please forgive me, but I didn’t know who I could trust or if I should share the information. Now that I have tested it, I am glad I didn’t tell you.”
Danny confessed what had happened to him, and what had happened to the goblin he had tried it on. The elders had questions and wanted to find a way around the issues, but eventually relented to Danny’s instance that his was an extremely lucky accident.
“Now, if you will excuse me elders, I plan to offer my fiancées the option to become variant ascendants,” Danny said as he turned to leave.
“Wait, Danny! What are you talking about? You said your experiments failed,” Elder Breeze begged.
Danny turned smiling, “Come to the guest wing. If they agree, I will wait for you to arrive before changing them.”
With that Danny changed into Air Aspect and flew as fast as he could back to the palace.
***
The girls were practicing in the courtyard near the guest wing, as they always did during the day. Danny found them easily with his Air Scan and quickly flew down low to stop an inch above the ground.
Releasing his Air Aspect, Danny drop to the ground and greeted everyone, “Good afternoon!”
The girls stopped practicing and turned to see what the commotion was. Their labored breaths come out as fog in the freezing air.
Danny was smiling brightly, “Hey, I have something for you, if you’re interested.”
The girls hadn’t moved from where they had been practicing and just stood there, arms crossed. The unhappy expressions were not what Danny had been expecting.
Looking between the three for some clue, Danny asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We understand you were busy helping the elves, and that was great, but when we came to visit you, you just sat their looking at books,” Ivy complained.
Danny raised the finger of one hand, opening his mouth to speak.
“Phantom has been moping around and acting awful. She destroyed your bed by the way…” Jade informed him.
Danny lowered his finger and frowned.
“I gained three kilos, and it wasn’t in muscle,” Brooke pouted.
Danny looked at Brooke in confusion.
Brooke stopped him before he could say more, “Yes, that was your fault.”
“Better listen to them, Boy. It’s always best if you let the womenfolk be right. That’s the only way everyone wins,” Wizard Basalt stage whispered as he walked up next to Danny. The large man smiled down warmly at him.
Danny looked to his human mentor before turning to bow to the girls, “Please accept my apologies. In compensation for the undue stress I have caused you, please allow me to give you magical abilities I believe will instantly become instinctive to you.”
The three girls first looked to one another in confusion.
“What are you talking about, Danny?” Arya asked in suspicion. She and the other Basalt women were standing behind Wizard Basalt.
Danny turned to address Arya’s question, “I will turn the girls into variant ascendants. They will be given the ability to take on aspects of an affinity. They will also have the bonuses that come from being a variant ascendant. I want them to be able to continue traveling beside me and believe this the best way to do this.”
Doubtful, Arya said, “I don’t know about this, Danny. It sounds dangerous, and do you even know it will work?”
Danny nodded, “Yes, of course I know it’s safe. I just successfully tested it on two goblins.”
“You did? Then where are they?” Arya asked.
Danny was about to say one was killed before he could fully use his powers and the other exploded in a fiery death, but then chose the wiser course.
“They unfortunately had to be killed before their powers became too strong,” Danny said with a neutral expression.
Arya studied him closely as he said this. She glanced over at the girls before sighing, “It is up to the girls. I figure you will just do it anyway if I say no. Better under nose than behind my back.”
Danny turned to the girls, “What do you three say?”
Jade looked uncertain, asking, “What will we look like afterwards? When you change, you look… different.”
Danny nodded, “Phant…”
The cat came out of nowhere, tackling Danny to the ground.
*Cranny, seriously! Blocking the cat too?*
*Hey, I got to help keep all our ladies happy.*
Phantom licked all over his face, covering him liberally in stringy coatings of saliva.
Getting the cat off him, Danny stood up, explaining, “As you can see, Phantom is a variant ascendant. She can choose between a normal appearance and the aspect of the affinity she was changed with.”
With his words, Phantom’s body began to glow, and her eyes turned pure white.
“If she couldn’t change back and forth, she would have a difficult time sneaking up on her prey,” Danny continued.
The girls suddenly seemed less concerned and more eager to accept his proposal. Especially upon hearing they wouldn’t be stuck looking like a tree for the rest of their lives.
While fending off Phantom’s attempts to groom him, Danny went over the different affinities they could choose from. He then explained why he thought they should choose storm, lava, ice, or nature magic, as they would also have the benefits of two basic affinities.
Excitedly, Danny suggested, “Brooke, I think Lava Affinity would be best for you. You use heavy weapons, and you would benefit from the strength of earth magic and the offensive power of fire magic.
Jade, Storm Affinity is perfect for you. You would gain the speed from air magic and the mobility of water magic.
Ivy, that leaves Ice Affinity for you.”
Ivy interrupted him, asking, “Why not Nature Affinity?”
Danny sheepishly replied, “Because that is my personal favorite, and I suspect Willow might be able to use it as well.”
“I can, but how did you know that?” asked Willow as she arrived with her mother and the elders.
Everyone gathered bowed to the queen as she approached.
Danny smiled, “I have had a suspicion that only families with ability to produce those with water and earth magic are allowed to rule? Am I right, Your Majesty?”
The queen smiled ruefully, “Yes, you are, Danny, but don’t be giving away all our secrets now.”
Danny heard the message behind her joking nature and bowed again to the queen’s request.
Jade rushed forward, “Can I go first? We can fly together afterward, right?”
Danny laughed, “I am not really certain how variant abilities work, so you will just have to figure it out as you go. Alright, I need you to lie down as this will make you sleep until your transformation is complete.”
Jade found a soft patch of grass to lie down in, and Danny asked, “Last chance, are you sure you wish for me to do this?”
Jade glared at him, “Just do it already, Danny. There won’t be much daylight left to fly in.”
Exasperated at the girl’s one track mind, Danny infused his mana with Storm Affinity and pushed it into Jade’s mana connection. After a minute, Jade’s mana connection started to produce waves of Storm Affinity mana, and the girl was fast asleep. Danny switched to his Mana Aspect to make certain everything was goi
ng as intended.
Once reassured, he released his aspect and turned to Ivy and Brooke, asking, “So, who wants to go next? It doesn’t take very long so let’s…”
Danny’s ears popped, as the air pressure increased dramatically, and then all the hair on his arms stood up. The winds picked up, and dark clouds rolled in at an unnatural speed to blanket the entirety of the afternoon sky.
Cranny balked, *Oh, crap…*
Reacting quickly, Danny activated Storm Aspect and grabbed Jade’s prone form from the ground.
Flying quickly high into the air, the pressure only seemed to grow, and he feared he would be too late. Then, the world was awash in pure light as a bolt of lightning struck the two. While the electric component of the bolt did him no harm, the concussion of air created by air being superheated to temperatures usually reserved for the surface of the sun, knocked him out as it sent him hurtling toward the ground.
Danny managed to regain consciousness when he struck the first tree limb of the city’s canopy. Still in his Storm Aspect, Danny reflexively halted his decent. Having closed his eyes, Danny slowly opened them to see the ground positioned an uncomfortable meter away.
*Danny! Jade!*
Danny took off into the rough winds that now blew through the capital. Desperately searching around, the dark rolling clouds did little to help him in his search. So, he had to rely on Air Scan to try and find where the tall girl had been blasted.
*Danny, look up!*
High above him, Jade was floating, suspended in the air, with her arms outstretched to her sides. Her head was laid back, and each of the long hairs on her head seemed to be whipping around separately. As the electricity arced all across her body, her hair seemed to just evaporate and be replaced with long strands of pure lighting. Her body shifted and seemed to be made from some sort of ghostly ephemeral substance that seemed to lose substance when she moved. As when Danny had become upset when he first met with the druid counsel, Jade’s clothes were flung around her thin form. Not only were they ripped and torn, but they were burned from the electricity coursing through her.
Danny was forced to cover his eyes with his hands as another bolt of lightning struck her. When his eyes adjusted, the storm was quickly losing strength, and he could see Jade’s body gradually lowering to the ground. The dark rolling clouds started to calm and dissipate as the strong winds died down. Flying down, Danny caught Jade in his arms and redirected them down to the waiting crowd in the palace courtyard.
Jade was now conscious and watching him with tired eyes. As she smiled weakly, she asked, “Did you see me flying?”
Danny looked down in concern but did his best to cover it with a smile of his own, “Yes, you were most impressive. You will have to make sure I am with you when you do that again, that is, until you have rested.”
Jade didn’t reply and was content to snuggle up into him and close her eyes. By the time they landed, she was already fast asleep.
He handed her off to her uncle, and seeing the overly concerned look in the wizard’s eyes, reassured him, “She is fine, but we might have to try and reign in her flying impulses until she can produce enough mana to stay aloft for more than a few minute.”
The wizard nodded in relief, asking weakly, “Please be careful, Danny.”
The queen spoke up behind them, “Yes, Danny, if you do plan to continue with the others. Could we possibly finish this somewhere…not next to my palace?”
***
The group reconvened half an hour later, near where Danny had been experimenting with the goblins earlier. Danny had taken the time to merge with the triple sacred trees and regain his lost mana.
Brooke was next, and everyone was standing as far away as they could while still being able to see her and Danny. Under the distant forest canopy, the Basalts, royals, and elders all huddled around a small fire someone had created for warmth. Danny was also concerned for his own safety and activated his own Lava Aspect in preparation this time. Laying down in the grass next to the now cooled remains of the stone goblin pens, Brooke tried to get as comfortable as she could.
“Are you sure Jade is alright, Danny?” Brooke asked, worriedly.
Danny looked down at her as if she had gone crazy, “What? She is better than ever! You can back out if you do not wish to do this.”
Brooke just shook her head and closed her eyes.
Danny nervously thought, *You checked Jade while I was explaining everything to the druids, right?*
Cranny sounded slightly offended, *Yes, of course I did, and she is fine. This form of change seems to be not only faster but takes its toll on the user’s mind and body. I think we need to reconsider how natural this will be to them.*
Danny turned his attention back to Brook. “Now, I want you to try and relax when you feel the change occur. I did not expect for Jade’s powers to flare up as they did. I believe her own impatience to be able to fly manifested into the display you saw. Jade will be able to eventually control her new nature, and I have no doubt you will, too. Don’t forget; I will be here right next to you to help you through this,” Danny calmly reassured the girl.
Brooke, with eyes still closed, swallowed loudly and nodded her head with abrupt jerks. Danny didn’t prolong things and infused the lava mana into her source connection.
The change began, spreading quickly throughout Brooke’s body. Then, her eyes snapped open, and her body began to grow brighter as a red haze began to spread across her skin. The redness crept into her flesh as it seemed to darken in some places at the same time. Danny did his best to maintain her modesty as he now realized Brooke’s clothing and hair were burning away in the resulting change. He would need to make sure the girls could use something similar to his robes. If not, he would think of something else.
Danny stood up as the ground beneath them grew hot. Standing up, Danny concentrated to make sure he and Brooke stayed on the surface, as a ever expanding pool of lava was created from the earth around him.
“Brooke, you must learn to control it. Calm yourself, and practice the meditation and breathing exercises we learned with Instructor Meadows,” Danny calmly spoke into Brooke’s ear.
Brooke’s eyes closed again, and Danny watched as her chest steadily began to rise and fall. The large pool of mana around him slowly stopped spreading and then began to cool. Danny picked Brooke up, as the lava hardened enough for him to walk across. Brooke’s form began to return to normal, so Danny switched to Air Aspect, flying them over to the others.
Brooke managed to stay awake and sat down on the ground to rest near the fire. Princess Willow immediately threw a blanket someone had thought to bring for the cold around Brooke and sat down next to her.
“Mother thinks it best that you four camp out here until their powers are stable,” Willow answered Danny’s question before he could ask.
Danny nodded before turning to Ivy, who was already standing next to him.
“Are you ready?” Danny asked.
“Let’s get this over with,” Ivy bravely said, though Danny could sense the underlying nervousness she tried to hide.
Walking to the middle of the still cooling pool of lava, Danny in his Ice Aspect used Ice Affinity to quickly freeze them a pathway. Ivy laid down on the cooled stone, and Danny didn’t pause as he infused her with Ice Affinity. Before Danny had time to react, Ivy exploded with ice magic.
Any lava that had yet to cool was turned instantly into a hard dark stone. Water vapor in the air instantly froze, lightly falling to the ground like snow. Danny, the grass, bushes, and the closest trees were flashed frozen. Frost covered the affected space, and the surrounding forest was instantly devoid of any noise.
Danny, frost covered and frozen in place, started to shake uncontrollably before his hair burst into flames. Then, his body and robes took on the appearance of smoldering coals. He shook himself as any frost on his body turned directly into steam.
Cranny ignored Danny nearly freezing and was too busy geeking out, *Her affi
nity for ice must be higher than yours! I never thought about that aspect to a potential ascendant dual.*
Danny looked over to see Ivy in the form of a living goddess, seemingly made of clear glass. Ivy’s black hair, which had a striking contrast to her translucent skin, was the only part of her that had not changed. The clothing she had been training in looked stiff and coated in frost but was not as frozen looking as he figured they would be. It was a little uncanny when the ice statue that was Ivy turned to look in his direction. He instantly noticed that even her eyes were like crystal orbs.
“I think I have it now, Danny,” Ivy said with a strange tinkling sound that was produced when she moved her lips.
The permeating coldness that she had been exuding began to slacken, and the familiar cold of winter returned. The Ivy he knew returned and stood up awkwardly, due to her partially frozen clothes. She only made it a few steps before she faltered.
Her eyes unfocused, Ivy started to shake as she mumbled, “S-so c-c-cold and t-tired.”
Danny turned off his Flame Aspect and picked her up in his arms before she could hurt herself by falling in the hard ground.
The waiting group had built up the fire and huddled around it to ward of the sudden decrease in temperature. While they had been far away enough to avoid the instant freeze, the surrounding area had been hit with a blast of arctic air.
“Is she alright?” asked Arya as she took Ivy from him to sit with her near the fire.
Danny was pleased. He could tell that the woman wasn’t just concerned for Ivy because she was the daughter of Diadem but out of a place of genuine feeling.
Danny handed Ivy over to the leader of the Basalt shadow. “She will be fine after a little rest, as will Brooke if she will just close her eyes,” Danny addressed the last comment to Brooke who still leaned against Willow, fighting to keep her eyes open.
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