Chapter 30: History lessons
Ariel:
“What about what you know of Dina? I’ve only heard that she’s one of the three holy spirits the chosen hero calls upon to assist in the fight against the demon lord.”
Esmer:
“Ah, I think for that, I should explain the full tale. Normally, I’d tell you to just read a book, but you interest me, and if possible, I’d like to accompany you.”
Ariel:
“I don’t really mind. If you are willing to work with me, I’d appreciate your input.”
Esmer:
“Well, the tale begins early in this city and country’s existence. It was then that Fenix first appeared, at the same time that the Demon Lord did. It was a spectacle the likes of which I had hoped to never see again…
“Anyway, when they fight ended, the demon lord left, and Fenix disappeared, leaving only the High Priest Facile behind. She explained that the demon lord had been weakened, but it would still be necessary for a hero to venture forth and vanquish him, or more attacks would come.
“She left selection of the first hero to the king at the time, and the strongest knight, Sir Claude was chosen. He was granted a holy sword by Facile, and she accompanied him on the journey. When he returned, he looked haggard. Facile claimed there was nothing physically wrong with him, and that the deed was done, but she looked disappointed.
“Sir Claude never really recovered, and retired to live alone. All who sought him out were rejected. This city is now named after him in honor of his deed and sacrifice.
“The second time that Facile called for a hero, she had a priest choose a commoner from the streets, and announced that it was time for another hero to journey and take down the demon lord. This time she did not give them anything, except a priest to accompany them, and instructions to head west, and search for a hidden dungeon.
“This time the king sent a knight and a mage to accompany the chosen hero.
“At the bottom of the hidden dungeon in the west, they found a pristine lake, and that’s where they met Dina. She was described as a beautiful woman with deep blue hair and eyes, darker than yours.
“Dina gave the hero an amulet, and promised to assist him when he needed it most.
“From how they explained it after, when the demon lord appeared to be slain, he transformed into an enormous monster, and at that time, Dina appeared and fought with him after transforming into what looked like a gigantic slime.
“Since then, the number of places the hero has had to visit has continued to increase, and the number of great monster fights has also increased. There is now a giant wolf known to terrorize Gerland, a dragon which will attack the city of Daru to the north, and a Leviathan that threatens the ports to the east.”
Ariel:
“Is there anything to the south?”
Esmer:
“The outpost in the south has never reported anything. Just a forest none can safely enter. No scouts have ever returned from there.”
Ariel:
“What are the other holy spirits? I heard there were three?”
Esmer:
“Yeah, the other two are an ancient silver dragon named Dagor, whom first appeared to defend Daru from the red dragon that so often attacks it, and Alba whom granted the hero of the time a magic feather from her wing after the Leviathan was defeated by Dina.”
Ariel:
“A feather from her wing? Is Alba a bird?”
Esmer:
“That’s right, a giant bird. Would you mind teaching me a little of the magic your mother taught you?”
Ariel:
“I don’t mind, though it would take a long time to explain all of it. Let me show you a little.”
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Ariel’s view
Going over some of what I’d learned of sorcery, I realize I’m actually better at it now than I was before. Some of that can be attributed to improvements in my stats, but I think most of it was from improving my understanding of how to use self-modification. I basically have a pool of xp I can re-spend however I want, and this allows my to modify how much sorcery ability I have on the fly. It’s not good for maintaining enchantments like I’d done before, but is excellent for casting almost any spell I want. It is still heavily influenced by knowledge and intelligence though, so I’d need to spend time if I wanted to actually master it.
Esmer’s view
When Ariel made her hand transparent so I could see the sorcery circles she made, it really hammered home that she wasn’t human. Additionally, she seemed to think her mastery of sorcery was weak, yet she was at least as capable as our best graduates were. If she compares herself to Dina though… I suppose I can see why she’d claim to be weak at sorcery.
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Esmer:
“That reminds me a lot of the inscriptions used by the Dwarves for their magic. Perhaps you should have a chat with our dwarven experts, I imagine they’d be interested in it, and you might learn something too.”
Ariel:
“Sounds like a good idea, though it’s getting late.”
Esmer:
“Yes, you’re right, perhaps another time.”
