Unbound

burn them! shatter them!

Atar shoved the molten crown away, dropping the rage and arrogance that stifled his Spirit whenever he used it, and fell to his knees. His sudden burst of mental and spiritual stats helped, but more was the surge of potency that accompanied his fall.

Stars of the Sovereign is level 85!

Lens of the Magus is level 79!

Incendiary Vortex is level 77!

Astrum Revelation is level 75!

…

Astrum Revelation is level 79!

Congratulations! You Have Reached Adept Tier With Astrum Revelation!

+50 WIL

+100 ALA

…

“Atar!” Alister shouted. A glass vial was pushed against his lips. “Drink!”

Legendary Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Draught of Atlantes (Fire)]

Choose A Feature:

Epiphany

Constellation

Evoke

As with his previous Temperings, Atar was out of his depth. His rate of growth had rapidly accelerated in the last year, and the pattern of his future was far different than once assumed. He had no map, no guide to inform him of his choices. He was blind.

constellation has promise, but epiphany is the province of madmen and charlatans. naught but smoke. choose evoke.

What? Atar clutched at his head. The wall was spinning around him, and it was only Alister’s steady hands on his back that gave him any sense of grounding. He felt as if he were going to fall into the sky. What are you talking about?

evoke. choose it, or be relegated to mediocrity for all of time.

Nonplussed and frankly out of options, Atar listened.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Evoke]!

3 of 3 Mind Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

Atar convulsed as System power filled his core space, while Flame shouted in glee.

yes! yes! expand our spark into the inferno from whence we were born!

He hadn’t the space to curse at his Flame, though he wished he could, instead focusing all of his Willpower on simply not passing out. “A–Alister. Did we—?”

“The Manaships are…they’re down.” Alister’s hands shifted on Atar’s back, moving to lift him up. “And we need to move.”

the…blue fool is correct. a great fury is building upon that field of slaughter. those in white are coming, fast. we are exposed here. flee, atar!

Pieces of what the Flame was sensing fed into his already quaking Spirit, and Atar gasped. He seized the front of Alister’s robes. “We need…to go to Zara! The shield!”

“The shield? Atar, what are you on about?”

danger, boy!

Alister’s swallowed. “There. The voice. Atar, what is that? What is happening?”

Atar bit at the inside of his cheek, drawing blood and pain just to focus as energy rampaged inside of him. “Later! It’s right! There’s no time to run! We need to power up the shield, or we’re all dead!”

The energy dwindled, fading from a blinding glow to something moderately less. Vess fell to her knees upon the baked ground. The water was gone, evaporated in a wide ring around her body, but it was trickling back through hardened furrows of earth. Wind still whipped around her in a frenzied cyclone, snatching away the now-empty glass vials at her feet as motes of Yintarion’s energy coursed upon the currents—tiny serpents of gold, deepest blue, and white-green almost invisible against the whirlwind itself.

Vess shook, within and without, as she was remade.

3 of 3 Body Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

3 of 3 Mind Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

3 of 3 Spirit Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

Her core raged, the interior of her golden temple now flung wide open. A whirling, molten ring of air and metal danced with increasing fervor around the sinuous strands of water and light. Vess bore down on it all, compressing it even as it tried to fly out from her control.

Only absolute certainty will let you stay the course.

Isla’s words echoed through Vess’ Mind, chasing her consciousness as she held on for dear life to her rampaging core. She had chosen her Essence Features, bound them to her Skills. Now she only had to survive the consequences. Her core spun, and she squeezed, until all her world was molten power and blinding light.

“Where is it?”

Instincts screaming, Vess threw herself into a side roll as a gleaming, red-gold spear thrust for her heart. The ground bucked, rippling outward before the hardened earth blasted apart and threw Vess into a wild sprawl. Spectral wings tilted and flapped, righting her without conscious thought, just in time to duck beneath the High Guard’s sudden follow-up.

“Tempering? While we fight? Bold of you, apprentice!” The woman’s eyes flashed, white-green Mana spreading around her head like a halo that combated the whirlwind around Vess. Her pristine armor was crazed with glowing cracks, and her face was bloodied. “But this…this is no mere Tempering. What are you playing at, girl?”

Vess’ core tightened, flowing faster and faster, until vibrations ran through her chest and limbs like waves of weakness—mimicking the whirlwind that spun around them all. She clenched her partisan until her knuckles split. “Come and find out. Spear of Tribulations,” Vess spat. Silver Spears manifested around Vess, ten of them, as the High Guard looked on in contempt.

“An apprentice’s Skill, not yet evolved into a higher form. Pathetic.” The High Guard flourished her orichalcum weapon, ending with the long blade pointed directly at Vess’ heart. “I do not know how you did it, but you stole that Dragon from me, girl. I’ll take the price out of your blood.”

“You will try.”

Before the final word left her mouth, Vess dodged. Her vision narrowed, the edges crowded with darkness, as the orichalcum spear came within a finger-span of her neck. On The Wing burned within her, spectral wings adding force to her steps that had never been there before.

It was all that saved her head.

On The Wing is level 79!

The High Guard’s spear sliced sideways, shearing a hefty lock of Vess’ hair as it descended to the earth. Vess bent and flowed around it, kicking backward hard and launching herself twenty strides into the air. “Hah!”

Silver Spears flashed forward, dive bombing the High Guard.

“Ten Tribulations!”

The explosions of wind and metal tore apart rocks and roots with abandon, churning their battlefield into dust that blocked Vess’ view of events. Still, she knew the woman lived. There had been no kill notification.

“Azhdaha Ascent!”

The words reached Vess the same time the High Guard did, and she drove a white-armored elbow deep into Vess’ abdomen.

On The Wing is level 80!

Those spectral wings saved her again as Vess’ body was hurled backward from the High Guard’s strike. She’d taken damage, if her flashing Health bar was any indicator, and her Status told her of two broken ribs—but she’d survived. Had she taken the full brunt of that attack, Vess was positive she would have perished.

She landed, skidding atop the ankle-deep water at the edge of their blasted battlefield. Chaos surrounded them, and the noise of death and destruction battered Vess with a thousand clawed fingers. She shut it out as the High Guard landed gracefully only a dozen strides away.

“Impressive, apprentice. You show uncommon promise for one so young.” She leaned forward, spear held closer to her side as she lowered her stance—a great cat eager to pounce upon a mouse. “A pity that I should end it.”

“You—you have yet to prove—you can,” Vess said between hitching breaths.

Spear’s beautiful face soured. “I will enjoy this.”

Spear flared forward, propelled by Skill and stat, as Vess danced away. She pressed her Tempering Skill for every bit of grace it could provide, slipping through the edges of most attacks—but not all. More than once, Vess took glancing blows to her shoulders, bicep, even thigh as she fought a desperate, defensive battle. There was no strategy, only blind instinct to stay one step ahead of the Master-Tier High Guard. Her Health dwindled as her wounds increased, her armor split and cracked, until it was all Vess could do to hold onto her own weapon.

The wind, she realized. It is…aiding me?

The whirlwind had intensified, pulling closer and closer as they danced across the battlefield. Twice it fouled the High Guard’s footwork, even as it sent Vess soaring into a graceful leap. Those serpentine tendrils flashed among the winds, flitting among her partisan and limbs like curious beasts—they jolted her, more than once propelling her arms to lift her weapon and parry a savage thrust.

Vess’ eyes widened as she met the High Guard’s gaze, and revelation swept through her.

“What is this?” Spear growled. Her hair tangled in her eyes and mouth as those serpentine tendrils slid across her face. “What are you doing?”

“Teamwork.”

You Have Gained A Companion!

Yintarion of the Cerulean Sky, level 1

Congratulations! You Have Earned A New Title!

Pactmaker (Rare)!

You have formed a pact with a Dusk Dragon, gaining benefits even while binding your life to theirs. +40 AGL, +30 DEX, +40 PER

You Have Learned A New Skill!

Companion Pact (Uncommon), Level 1!

You have formed a pact! Increasing Skill Level and Affinity will net larger gains from the pact, for both you and your Companion.

Calculating Prerequisites.

Standby…

Congratulations! Companion Pact (Uncommon) Has Evolved Into Draconic Bond (Legendary)!

Draconic Bond (Legendary), Level 1!By mutual agreement, you have formed a deep connection with a Dusk Dragon! The skies quake before you, and the horizon stretches ever onward. Increasing Skill Level and Affinity will net larger gains from the pact, for both you and your Companion.

Congratulations! As A Pactmaker, You And Your Companion Share Level Benefits!

Overlapping Bonuses Do Not Stack.

You Gain: +20 PER, +32 VIT, +22 AGL, +13 DEX Per Level!

Companion Gains: —

ERROR!

Level Too Low To Provide Bonuses To Companions!

Advance To Master Tier Or Higher To Progress Further!

Notifications flowed through Vess like wind and water, absorbed into her awareness before she could fully understand it all. All at once, the whirlwind around them collapsed into a point of incandescent glory, forcing Vess backward once more as it exploded.

The High Guard was hit far harder. The armor along her left arm was shattered completely by phantasmal claws and teeth as Spear’s entire body was sent skidding across the ankle-deep water.

Vess watched in mute awe as those serpentine tendrils of power shimmered around a single radiant shape, no bigger than a housecat and perched delicately at the tip of her partisan. Gleaming golden scales covered its sinuous form, its four limbs tufted with the same downy white fur that sat between two small, crystalline horns. A distinct head opened its draconic jaw and ate the tendrils with increasing ferocity.

Yintarion of the Cerulean Sky is level 2!

…

Yintarion of the Cerulean Sky is level 72!

In moments, they were gone, and there was only the tiny dragon on Vess’s spear tip. She goggled at him, voice forgotten, thoughts scrambled by the Tempering still ravaging her Aspects.

“Yes,” Yintarion rumbled. “I am fearsome.”

“Wyrmling!” the High Guard cried, rushing forward at incredible speed. “Die!”

“You are not welcome here, Dragoon.”

“Illuyanka’s Coiling Gar!” A river of white-green energy snaked around the High Guard’s spear, until its tip ripped open into a snarling maw of manifested fangs.

Yintarion lifted a four-fingered claw. “Adherents of Ophidia.”

The water at Vess’ feet lifted in thick streamers that resembled dragons the size of horses. They shot forward, spiraling into a roaring column of force that met the High Guard’s attack…and ripped her attack to pieces. The water dragons continued onward, dragging the furious woman off her feet and to the sodden earth.

Yintarion panted, his small chest heaving breaths between his bristling lips. “I do not know how many more attacks I have left in me. I am not what I once was, little Dragoon.” His all golden eyes turned onto Vess. “I shall require…your assistance.”

Vess smiled. “You have it.”

A vortex of air Mana erupted nearby, ripping the remains of Yintarion’s Skill to pieces and leaving a bloody High Guard in its place. “Dragon!”

“Let us show her the might of a true Dragoon,” Yintarion growled.

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