“A simple warrior, Karmadont helped my race remain true to itself,” the old man went on, “so we thanked him by telling him of the Creator’s Tomb, which we had located. Emerging from it as the Emperor, Karmadont created the Chess Set, sealed the entrance and made me swear an oath never to divulge the Tomb’s location. For many eons since, no one has succeeded in restoring the lost fragments of our history. It reached the point that we were quite happy to see someone return with the mere shards. We had practically lost all hope, when…Behold!” the old man raised his hand pointing at the wall. I looked at it and thanked myself once again for having turned on my camera—the wall became transparent and I beheld the insides of a space ship. It’s an odd feeling when you head out to attend a children’s party in some rural village, and find yourself at a costume ball in the Imperial palace. I mean this in the sense that Barliona was renowned for its exquisite medieval style and an utter absence of technology. About ten years ago, before Barliona became the most popular and, in effect, only game on Earth, there were still several projects that allowed one to feel like the pilot of a space ship, a space marine attacking Draxon settlements with blasters or defending against Draxonian attacks. Gazing through the transparent wall at the insides of the Thricinian ship, I was feeling deja vu—I was looking at a destroyed yet quite precise analog of the captain’s deck of a transport ship from one of the popular emulators of the cosmic wars. It’s too bad that Barliona was gradually ‘wiping out’ all competing games, even if it didn’t want to do so—there was simply too great a gulf between the Corporations’ products and those released by the other companies. The other games’ servers were still running and still had players, but by the present day, no one could compete with Barliona anymore.
A shudder ran across my entire body leaving a trail of goose bumps. I frowned as if experiencing a toothache—the memory of our recent unity was still too vivid in my mind. Right in the middle of the captain’s deck, stood the statue we had recreated—it looked a bit like a goalkeeper observing a ball he had just stopped at chest level. Except, instead of a ball, the statue was holding a green shining sphere, from which weightless foggy filaments emanated and stretched to the deck’s walls, waving slightly as if in a breeze.
“The Mender,” explained the head of the Thricinians. “The first Mender since we landed on this planet. He will need thousands of years to repair our ship, but at least now my people have hope. The hope that we will one day return to our home.”
“Your world was destroyed,” I reminded him.
“Our home is the place where Griana resides. She is our goddess. Every member of our race senses her and knows where to go. When we repair the ship, we will leave these lands and reunite with other survivors of our race. You have my thanks, Mahan! My people will never forget what you have done for us!”
+24000 Reputation with the Thricinians. Current level: Exalted
“It is not up to me to break my oath to Karmadont, but I must do something to ensure you remember our people for the rest of your days. Therefore, I grant you the most valuable thing in this world—I present you with knowledge. To be a High Shaman requires a great responsibility, involving not so much one’s own personal growth as…It doesn’t matter how much time you invest in perfecting or developing yourself—that is the way of decay. The true purpose of a Shaman lies in a different direction altogether…In Anhurs there is a Shamanic school. In it there is a book. Have you read it?”
“Yes, not all the way, but soon enough…”
“Forget it,” the old man cut me off. “How can experience be passed on through a sheet of paper? How can someone be taught to become a spiritual teacher by means of mere letters? That book will never answer the main question—what the true purpose of a Shaman is. You may spend years performing the tasks given to you by the Supreme Spirits of both Worlds, you may perform mad deeds that earn you the world’s esteem and give the Spirits no option but to declare you a Harbinger. But does the Shaman’s fate lie therein? Does the true Way that you wish to follow lie in this direction? Tell me, tell this old and ailing Danrei what the meaning of the Way of the Shaman is…”
“I…well…to me…”
“You cannot answer, for you know not yourself. You have lost yourself in this world, seeing the white for the black and the black for the white. You have left the Way…For your assistance in restoring my people, I will help you regain your path.”
Wow! A lecture on the dangers of smoking for Shamans from the head of a faction that specializes in selling Scaling Items…what a trip! Not only would I never have imagined that the Thricinians have a Level 500 as their leader, but here he is telling me that I’m not much of a Shaman!
“I don’t have much strength, so tell me, what do all the great Shamans that you know have in common? What unites them all?”
“They are both Harbingers,” I shot back, indulging the Danrei’s game.
“What else?”
“They…uh…” I was at a loss for the second similarity. What unites Prontho the orc and Kornik the goblin? Or for that matter Almis the human, even if he’s only a High Shaman…their color? Their non-human race? Their eternal sarcasm? Their resilience? Stubbornness? The fact that all three were my teachers?
TEACHERS!
That’s it! I understood what the Danrei was getting at—it didn’t matter how far you progressed along the Way of the Shaman, as long as you could bring a companion with you! To teach another sentient to follow the Way! To the Way of feeling, to the Way of senses…the Way of self-knowledge…The true purpose of a Shaman isn’t to become the coolest or the strongest! The true purpose of the Shaman is to prepare another who is worthy! This is exactly why Prontho became a Harbinger—he led me through the initiation before being a teacher. But even though he hadn’t the right to instruct, it was he who was my first teacher! This is why he received…Okay! Then, I need apprentices immediately!
But why is a Danrei telling me this and not Kornik or Pronto? Why, Kalatea herself—the creator of our class—can’t be ignorant of this! Is this really the secret of her order? Then why wouldn’t they share such important information with me?
“I can see by your face that you have seen the turn that will lead you back to the true Way. I have nothing else to give you. From now on, our doors will always be open to you and our prices will be as low as they can be. Go forth—I have spoken enough for the next hundred years.”
Apprentices…I couldn’t believe it—I needed apprentices! Where could I find them?
I was unsettled as I left the Thricinians. On the one hand, earning Exalted reputation, the highest possible level, for one statue was a great result. As I recalled it, Anastaria was still at Esteem with them, so I had surpassed this incredible woman in some dimension. On the other hand, why am I being told about the apprentices by a strange per…hmm…Danrei, and not a fellow Shaman?
“Kornik!” shutting my eyes, I sent my teacher a message. Now as never, I needed the counsel of this mean-spirited goblin. Not even counsel, so much as to look him in the eyes—then everything would fall into place. I don’t know if my call would work without the Spirits, but I continued to radiate my desire to meet him into the world around me, as I would to a Herald…
You have acquired a class ability ‘Voice of the teacher’: you may now communicate with your teacher without using Spirits. Attention! This ability will disappear as soon as your training is complete.
“Apprentice?!” Even in my thoughts, I could clearly feel the depths of the wry goblin’s astonishment. A mere moment passed and Kornik appeared before me in all his glory. It sure does seem convenient to be a Harbinger and teleport to wherever you feel like whenever you feel like it.
“Teacher” I said, bowing deeply as to a respected senior and astonishing the goblin to the point that his eyes crawled out and up onto his forehead.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Kornik said at last:
“So you have matured after all? This very day I will make the announc
ement to all Free Citizens of our continent that High Shaman Mahan is seeking an apprentice. Only one for now, and then we’ll see how it goes…Did you figure it out on your own or did someone help you out? I doubt it was Kalatea—this secret is the cornerstone of her order. Prontho or Almis… I doubt it…Did you really crack it on your own?”
“With you guys to guide me? Yeah right. Read the book, read the book. Follow the Way of the Shaman, don’t stray from it…”
“Strange, didn’t anyone ever tell you that being a Shaman isn’t a cakewalk? And in general, since when does anyone else’s opinion interest you? What is that head of yours for anyway? Merely to eat food and speak words? No, apprentice—you must embrace the meaning.”
“I didn’t do it on my own…”
“Which is why I’m asking—who was it? Who do I need to go knock around for spoiling my apprentice?”
“The leader of the Thricinians…”
Kornik’s eyes momentarily transformed into wide gray saucers, but he immediately regained his composure and went on as if nothing happened:
“Abstain from taking on an apprentice of your own, for now. Finish with the castle first. There’s nothing to be done—I’ll help you for the time being. You’re on your own after that,” added Kornik after silently staring into the distance for a few moments. “Where are you rushing off to? Let’s go. There’s much I must teach you…you unfinished teacher you…”
Quest updated: ‘The Way of the Shaman: Step 4. Training.’ Description: Complete your training under Kornik. Training duration—10 days. Quest type: Class-based.
Quest received: ‘The Way of the Shaman: Step 5. Apprentice.’ Description: Prepare an apprentice that will pass the Shamanic initiation. Quest type: Class-based. Reward: Title of Harbinger. Restrictions will be determined once you acquire an apprentice.
Before placing my hand into Kornik’s, I checked my stats and properties so that I could compare them later. Also I was curious about what I had earned for recreating the statue. As I recall, in that instant a litany of notifications had rushed past my eyes, so it’s worth taking a closer look. Opening my properties, I began to study them. Let’s see…Crafting hadn’t changed. It had been at Level 10 and so it was now—the sculpture hadn’t affected it. It’s too bad, of course, but understandable—Svard and Chirona had done most of the work. All I did was summon the Spirit and—for whatever reason—imparted life into the statue. Endurance—154. Hmm…what was it at before? To be honest, I don’t remember and am too lazy to look it up in the logs. Let’s imagine that there wasn’t much of it and it had gone up. Spirituality—85. Here, I definitely know the result: +11. Excellent! My main stats, as well as Charisma, hadn’t grown—I was sure of their values. On the other hand…my Water Spirits Rank was at 12. A single summons had granted me +3 to Spirit summoning which…which was a result that was worth fainting from pain over. Now the discrepancy between the Spirit of Unity and my summoning rank is only eight instead of eleven, so the next time I use it, I’ll be able to hold on for four waves…I think…If I ever even summon it again.
“Are you going to be gaping at and preening yourself for much longer? You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy your stats later!” grabbing my hand, Kornik made a mysterious motion and Anhurs vanished.
During training, all communication with the external world have been blocked. Telepathy has been blocked.
“What can I say, Dragon,” said Kornik enigmatically, gazing out into an enormous blue sea. “Welcome to your in-laws’ home turf. If there’s anyone who can teach you right now, they’re it.”
A trident impaled the sand a few meters before us and those who wish to see a Dragon only in one way—spitted over a fire—began to emerge from the salty depths.
“It has been a long time since we saw you last, Kornik,” said one with a diadem on her head. Considering that this Siren was at Level 500, I could safely assume that she was the leader of this tribe. I’d have to tell Stacey that she wasn’t alone in this world after all.
“I was lacking a worthy one to bring to you, oh great Nashlazar,” the goblin replied and, to my immense surprise, bowed. “My apprentice has mastered the summoning of Spirits, but he continues to be ruled by his reason. No one but you can disabuse him of this habit.”
The red eyes of Nashlazar fixed on me as if they wished to tear me apart and study each piece part by part. At last, she said with satisfaction:
“Teaching the Foe to sense the world…What could be more interesting?”
Chapter 12. The Labyrinth of Desires
“Kornik, have you lost your mind?” I asked the goblin through my newfound telepathic channel to my teacher. “I’m a Dragon!”
“That’s why I brought you here,” the Harbinger shot back. “If you were a human, I’d take you to the High Orc-Shaman; however, you are a Dragon! Therefore only Nashlazar can teach you how to sense the world properly. Neither I nor Prontho nor the Patriarch—only she!”
“Kornik, if your apprentice keeps yelling loud enough for all of the Astral plane to hear him, I will be forced to mute him,” I suddenly ‘heard’ Nashlazar say to my teacher.
“Okay, teacher, I will warn him,” the goblin replied, completing my shock. The Siren is my teacher’s teacher? Wow! I always figured that Kornik was a self-made goblin who had pulled himself up by his goblin-bootstraps, and yet here it turned out that…
“Nashlazar, why is it that I can hear you right now?” I asked telepathically, addressing the Siren instead of the goblin.
“Because, oh Foe, you are ready to become my apprentice,” the hefty voice of the Siren sounded like a klaxon in my head. “You are about to undergo a trial and it is a good thing that you can hear me. I will be distracting you all along your way, suggesting inaccurate ideas, lying, tempting and doing everything possible to ensure you fail it. Let us see how prepared you really are to become a High Shaman…”
“But I am already a High Shaman!”
“In terms of power you are still only a Great Shaman. In terms of experience you are an Elemental Shaman. And in terms of accomplishments you are only an Initiate! You have skipped all these steps without once considering what they represent, why they are the way they are and what demands they make of you. You have progressed by virtue of force, confidence, feelings…The time has come to prove where you truly stand. My opinion here is unambiguous—you have not yet reached High Shaman. Your current level is that of an Initiate and I am willing to prove this to you by allowing you to attempt your trial. For that reason…”
The klaxon in my head went silent, but Nashlazar made a strange motion and appeared right before me. Looming over me with her two-meter stature, she was looking at me like at a…a something very unpleasant, something that made me want to frown and look away.
“High Shaman Mahan!” the Siren said aloud. “I—Harbinger Nashlazar—invite you to become my apprentice! To do so, you must pass a trial that will establish your true class—and not the one that was granted to you by sentients who owed their lives to you.”
Owed their lives to me? Was she talking about Kornik and Prontho? But it was the Supreme Spirits of both Worlds that had made me High Shaman and not them! How can a Siren defy their will? She hasn’t the right!
As if in direct mockery of my thoughts, a notification appeared before my eyes:
You have been offered to attempt the ‘Labyrinth of Desires’—a proving ground for Shamans. Your performance in the proving ground will determine your class level in accordance to your current strength and capacity. Do you wish to accept the offer?
Attention! Your High Shaman class may be altered as a result of your performance.
“Or would you rather stick to your illusions about your exceptionalism?” the Siren smirked, when my pause at accepting the trial grew too long.
“I accept your offer,” I retorted, eying a notification telling me that Step 5, at which I was supposed to recruit an apprentice, was being blocked until Nashlazar declared me High Shaman—and that Ste
p 4, at which I was supposed to train under Kornik, had been amended to completing the Labyrinth of Desires and training under Nashlazar.
“In that case,” the Siren said to Kornik. “I accept him from you, apprentice. From now one, he will be my headache.”
“Teacher,” the goblin bowed his head and vanished. Wait a second—who’s going to take me back home?
“Stand here,” Nashlazar indicated a small flat stone beside the water with her trident. “We will begin the trial…”
Are you ready to begin the ‘Labyrinth of Desires’?
It took me a single glance at the Siren to realize that she was savoring her victory. It was like her life’s goal had been to demote me and that happy moment had finally arrived…Well, she could go to hell! I am a Shaman!
I was facing a wide stone corridor with torches built into the wall every five meters and a turn to the right thirty meters ahead that prevented me from seeing what lay further.
“Come here, Draco. I need you…”
“Coming.”
“Hi, brother,” said Draco. He looked around and ‘froze’—his eyes wide and full of terror. He was peering into the distance as if he could clearly make out what lay beyond the turn.
“Is everything okay?” I asked the Totem, once it became clear that he wasn’t about to come to.
“W-where are we?” Draco asked frightened. “I can’t feel a link to the world…B-brother, I’m scared…I feel like I could die here…Die forever….”
“Can you leave here?” I immediately asked, growing worried. I couldn’t risk losing Draco—even if I was facing my own destruction.
“No…something isn’t letting me!” Draco replied with notes of panic. “I can see the portal, but it is covered with some kind of barrier!”
The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4) LitRPG series Page 35