“Have you heard of the transmutation, Quicken Perception?” Ori asked, handing over the spell scroll. He then described his plan and the reasons behind it, even offering details of his dreamwalk and his discussion with Freya. All the while, Harriet maintained a neutrality that lasted several breaths after he finished speaking. She opened and closed her mouth several times, as if reconsidering what she was about to say.
“And you’re set on this course of action?” she finally asked.
“Yes.”
“Quicken Perception. This is not something I’d attempt, even at Sovereign. Why not wait until you Awaken?” Harriet countered.
“Unless I gain control over my life by gaining this kind of power, I don’t think I’ll survive long enough to Awaken,” Ori said, meeting Harriet’s gaze with unflinching resolve. Before she could question him again, Ori continued. “If you seriously think this is too much risk for too little reward, I’ll accept your advice. But if there’s the slightest chance this could help you too, with whatever you’re dealing with, then I won’t back down.”
A flash of genuine anger crossed Harriet’s face before she looked away, deep in thought.
“If you are to do this, it will be under my aid, guidance, and supervision.”
“Then I’ll be in your capable hands. And thank you,” Ori said, smiling.
Harriet snorted. “Don’t thank me yet. Come with me. We must make preparations,” she said, then touched one of the rings she wore and called out. “Poppy?”
A shadow near the corner of the room widened before a familiar, brown-haired high elf walked in as if through a door. Ori’s skin tingled from residual Mana and from the memory of his recent journey through the void.
“Yes, mistress?”
“I will need you to clear my schedule for the next few days and make a trip to the capital to fetch some needed supplies.”
“Mistress?” Poppy asked again, confused.
“Ori plans to Quicken Perception,” Harriet said by way of clarification. A breath passed before Poppy gasped, her hand going to her mouth. “And I’ve agreed to aid him in such a reckless endeavour.”
“But he’s a mortal? I don’t understand. How do you even know you meet the spell requirements—” Poppy said crossly, holding back none of her feelings on the matter.
“I’ve had a divination of my page in the Library of Fate. I’ve also got spells with higher requirements,” Ori countered.
“Are you sure? This is a Quickening, a… a form of soulcraft.” Poppy turned from Harriet to Ori, searching for answers between them.
“It wouldn’t be the first time. So yes, I’m sure,” Ori said.
“That’s—” Poppy tried to continue, but Harriet cut her off.
“Poppy, I will need you to fetch several records from the capital and some materials. Also, Ori,” Harriet commanded, her tone snapping Poppy out of her burgeoning outburst. She centred her expression, then turned to him. “You said your familiar believed we could maximise the gains and chances of success by merging synergistic transmutations, yes?”
“Yeah,” Ori confirmed.
“His familiar?” Poppy looked askance between them, frustrated by her lack of context and their disregard.
“Then please let Poppy know what affinities you’d find compatible. I could step outside if you wish for privacy?” Harriet asked.
Ori shook his head. “No. I think we’re beyond that point, especially if you’re going to go to all this effort for me.” Ori turned to Poppy. “I don’t know what my Inherent Affinity is exactly. A divination said it was unknown to the Library of Fate, but I believe it’s a transcendent-rank, light-related affinity.” He focused, drawing in ambient Mana into a ball, then aspecting it with his affinity the way Sera originally taught him. A prismatic hole in reality opened between them.
Poppy went pale in the light.
“I—I see,” Meanwhile, Harriet audibly swallowed several times before she could speak, her skin rapidly flushing as her breathing deepened.
Ori watched their reactions carefully, his heart racing. Would they turn on him? Devour him, or steal his soul? Would he even see his death coming if they decided to strip away everything that apparently made him special? Anonymity and subterfuge had been his only armour, and now he was exposed.
As the silence stretched and no reaction beyond shock and bewilderment emerged, Ori let out a silent breath of relief. They seemed more confused and disbelieving than greedy and hostile, though there was always time for exploitation and avarice to emerge later. Unwilling to leave behind another pilgrimage site due to the permanent nature of his affinity, Ori unaligned his Mana and dispersed the spellform, dismissing the spell.
This time, he exhaled openly, deciding to go all-in with this exercise in trust. “I’ve also reached threshold comprehension in Astral, Celestial, Abyssal, Material, Mana, Aether, Quintessence, Soulcraft, and various Light, Dream, Void, and Lightning Inherent Affinities. There’s more, but going by your reactions, I’m not sure you could handle it if I told you.”
Harriet shared a pointed glance with her handmaiden, then returned her open-mouthed stare to him. “Just who have we summoned?” Harriet whispered, her Queen mask lowered for a moment to reveal a woman flustered and unaccustomed to so much uncertainty. “If there’s more, it would be prudent to know it in advance, as it could influence our plans.”
“Alright. I have a two-fold and a four-fold unified characteristic. I have Polydexterity and a Domain,” Ori said, equal parts anxious, tentative, and relieved.
“Domain?” Poppy hissed, utterly aghast. “How?”
“Poppy!” Harriet snapped, seemingly more upset by the breach of decorum than by the reaction itself.
“Anorial, he’s a mortal with divine characteristics and a transcendent affinity!” Poppy snapped back.
“A demigod?” Harriet hypothesised.
Ori shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Poppy asked.
“Would mean my parents were gods, wouldn’t it? Last I heard, gods don’t die during childbirth or get sick with cancer,” Ori said.
“Spirits, Ori. I’m sorry,” Poppy said, looking abashed.
“It’s okay.”
“Poppy, with my signet ring, you should have everything you need,” Harriet said, her Queen persona back in the foreground.
“Yes, mistress. And how should I handle matters in the capital?” Poppy asked.
Harriet glanced at Ori, then removed her ring and held it out. “If his spies catch wind of what we’re up to, so be it. I would love to see them try to work out our intentions.”
“Yes, mistress,” Poppy said, her calm mask returning as she took the ring. Just before she stepped back through the shadowy door she’d emerged from, she shot Ori a heated glance. Whether it meant anything beyond ‘we really need to talk’, Ori couldn’t tell.
“While she fetches those things for us, let’s begin with the Split Mind transmutation,” Harriet said, turning to leave the room. Ori noted how she seemed more distant, more formal after he’d revealed his talents, and he feared whatever progress they’d made towards a better relationship had just been dashed.
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“So, are we okay?” he asked uncertainly, following her into the corridor.
Sighing, she turned to face him. “We’re fine. On a personal level, nothing has changed. No, that’s not quite right. I must thank you for placing such trust in me. It’s just…”
“It’s just?”
“This is overwhelming,” Harriet said. “Overwhelming in the sense that my entire view of fate has been turned on its head and…”
“And…” Ori pressed.
“And,” Harriet sighed, “how this fits with everything happening in society… My thoughts are spinning with implications.”
“Uh-huh,” Ori said, unsure what to make of her naked calculation. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to dissect me or turn me into alchemy ingredients,” he said without an ounce of humour.
“Ori,” She moved in abruptly, close enough that her intense blue eyes filled his attention as they searched his face. Close enough for him to catch the floral scent of her skin, so natural and subtle it left him craving more. The queenly mask was gone, and a raw fragility showed beneath her expression, equal parts frustration and concern. The difference in their height was suddenly obvious, her mouth near his chest as her voice dropped to a quick whisper. “Let me be clear on where we stand. While my mind is in turmoil, my spirit…” She swallowed, as if reconsidering her words. “You’ve earned my trust. When you succeed in this reckless endeavour, I promise to reveal your purpose, and there shall be no barriers between us.”
Ori swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, his mouth struggling to respond. He wasn’t a blushing virgin, and it wasn’t hard to read between the lines, yet he still couldn’t reconcile the fact that a powerful, impossibly beautiful elven queen could have any interest in him beyond his obvious talents. “What does ‘no barriers between us’ mean exactly?” he managed, disbelief clear in his voice, given their proximity.
“We will talk more on this matter after the transmutation,” Harriet said, then turned to continue her march down the corridor.
“Right, where are we going?” Ori asked.
“Eldamar Sanctum.”
“What’s that?”
“Our family’s Aether Rift.”
Aetheric rifts, formally known as Rupturae Aethericae Lacerationes, are naturally occurring tears in the fabric of fate where Aether, a primordial paracausal energy, spills into Fate from beyond reality. Unlike Mana, which is directly influenced by the mind, Aether’s chimeric and often chaotic nature is said to be influenced by the subconscious ego of a creature’s soul, leading to unpredictable effects.
The influence of Aether differs markedly from that of Mana. The use of Aether in spellcraft is almost always wild, unrepeatable, and unreliable, leading few to specialise in it. While no known, formal, or repeatable forms of spellcraft, also known collectively as the long-fabled Aethermancy, have been derived from exploiting Aether, beings attuned to chaotic natures, such as the Fae, can use Aether in small measures in beneficial, albeit chaotic ways.
Beyond the Fae, usage is primarily seen in aiding transformations of material in enchantments or transmutations of flesh, spirit, or nature. However, certain rituals can enhance the effects of standard, Mana-based magic in controlled settings. Aetheric weapons, such as bombs and poisons, have been rarely documented due to their unpredictable nature, leaving them just as dangerous to the user as their targets.
In addition, unregulated exposure to Aether can lead to aberrant mutations or cancerous growths. For most Awakened beings, direct ingestion of even small amounts of Aether is lethal without prompt treatment. Aether is also chimeric, capable of replicating or transforming into other forms of paracausal energies, including Mana, Peritia, Grace, Breath, Quintessence, when removed from its source and left in its raw, unstabilised form.
Despite being known as an unreliable and fickle form of magic, many believe mastery of Aether is a path towards great power. This belief persists even though the inherent risks and challenges associated with Aether use are well-documented.
Natural Aether rifts significantly impact local flora and fauna. Typically docile creatures can become ‘aether-warped’ aggressive monsters requiring culling by experienced teams of Awakened. The zones around unregulated Aether rifts are hazardous and become increasingly dangerous over time. The Delvers’ Guild and the Summons’ Guild are often tasked with addressing such problems when they exceed the local population’s capabilities. Meanwhile, the products derived from Aether-warped creatures are highly sought after by many Awakened for their value as alchemical and crafting ingredients. These ingredients often possess special properties that make them invaluable for use in various magical disciplines.
The study of Aetheric rifts and their effects is a field rich with potential discoveries and perilous pitfalls. As we delve deeper into the mysteries of Aether, we’ll find that rifts come in several ranks…
Ori’s mind glazed over as knowledge from Freya’s extensive knowledge filled his thoughts. Less than ten paces away lay the object of his study. He had thought he had seen Aether before, during the fifth and sixth trials. Those motes of blue, so different from the blue of Mana, compelling yet ephemeral, elusive no matter how hard one strove for them. Yet their wild, alluring power tempted and tantalised all the same. To Ori, Mana felt like a cool, soothing, obedient fluid, whereas Aether, as he had experienced it in the trials, was like wilful, chaotic, glittering dust.
Now, as he sat on the floor, Ori saw another aspect of Aether. Before him was an atavistic, glowing rupture in reality, peeling away Fate to reveal a sapphire world of blue radiance pulsing in time with his heartbeat. It became clear why Aether didn’t behave like Mana. With so much of it in front of him, he could see that, unlike Mana, Aether lacked a ‘mind’ to react with his own. If it had one, it was more ancient and primal than the logical, waking mind of sapients, more akin to the hypothalamus: the part of the brain that shivers, raises goosebumps, or sweats in response to cold, heat, or fear. The part that grows hungry when undernourished, aroused when sexually stimulated, or sleepy when exhausted. While his mind wanted to reach out, to experience and understand it, a deeper part of him, beneath the veneer of logic and structured thought, simply craved it, instinctively knowing it was essential for survival.
“As intoxicating as it may seem, Aether is ruinous, even to those with Affinity, like us,” Harriet said, walking around him as she watched the rift in Fate bleed blue light into the cavernous hall. Across the ground lay concentric rings of infused enchantments that Ori didn’t yet understand. Beautiful silver circles formed patterns that reminded him of planetary orbits and their accompanying moons, and for some reason, his mind drifted, thinking back to one of Harriet’s classes.
“You have an Aether Affinity? And now that I’m here, why do I think it has something to do with your Astrologer class?”
“Very astute. It’s a talent, or perhaps a mild Aether-warping of the Luinilthar bloodline, one that allows a higher measure of success for rituals and fate-based magic when in the presence of Aether. It has been the power that enabled our house to rule so successfully.”
Ori bit back his tongue. He had so many questions. For example, was fate-based magic like divination, or something else? And what spells did an Astrologer even have? He wondered if this bloodline, or its lack, was the reason for her current crisis, whatever it was, but he pushed those thoughts aside and focused on what he needed to do.
“And now you plan to use this ability to what? Tip the balance of probabilities in my favour?”
“Precisely. Split Mind is a relatively straightforward transmutation despite its effects. It’s one I undertook not so long ago, so it will serve as a good trial run for both of us, to become accustomed to the process before we attempt what must come next.”
“Alright,” Ori said, his attention returning to the high elven queen, who looked starkly attractive bathed in the spectral light of the Aether.
“When we begin, I request that you take off your shirt and sit here,” she gestured towards one of the moon-like rune circles, “with your back towards the Aether Rift. I’ll sit here, back to back with you, our skin touching,” Harriet said.
Ori did a double-take, completely taken aback. “Our skin touching?” he asked, his mind replaying her words while a loud sex magic klaxon drowned out almost all meaningful thought.
“Yes.”
“Okay. But why?” Ori asked, the cogs were only just starting to turn again.
“It is as I said. I plan to use the Aether to enhance your transmutation. For this to work, however, I need a direct conduit to you. As we have no other medium, direct skin contact over a large enough area would be ideal.”
“What about just holding hands?” Ori asked, wondering what on earth his life had become.
“If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of—”
“No, it’s not that. Quite the opposite, actually. You are… distractingly beautiful. I don’t think I’d be able to focus knowing you were behind me like that. And wouldn’t you be uncomfortable? And you’re a Queen, I’m sure there’s—”
Without offering any clarification, Harriet’s dress fell to the floor, cutting off Ori’s babbling, leaving her dressed only in black, lace underwear. Ori stared, shocked and transfixed by the lines and curves of her figure. Oceans of pale, unblemished skin shimmered in the spectral blue light, while proportionally large, teardrop breasts, capped by pale, almost inverted nipples, were freed by the sudden removal of her bra. She stood with her gaze fixed on his, as heated and intense as ever.
“Well?” she asked, as if in challenge.
“Well, what?” Ori swallowed, his eyes fixed on the rapid rise and fall of her breasts. The part of his mind still listening wondered if she wanted him to compliment her, or—
“Your shirt. Please remove it. Understand that what I do now, I have not, and would not, do for just anyone. And while other orientations may offer more contact, I believe neither of us is quite ready for that just yet,” she said, her deadpan delivery almost hiding a flicker of vulnerability beneath her stern, imperious veil.
“Okay.” Unwilling to ask a third time, he fumbled his shirt off in a rush, Freya’s flippant prediction still ringing in his mind. He caught Harriet’s gaze one last time, then turned away, face burning at his unabashed ogling. “Sorry for staring,” he added, sheepishly, as he felt her move to the circle between him and the Aether Rift.
“I am not unaware of the effect my appearance has on you, nor am I na?ve enough not to know the scale of scandal this would cause if word of us got out. But for now, none of that matters. You require my aid and guidance, and I freely offer it. Please sit,” Harriet commanded.
After sitting on the floor, Ori suppressed a gasp as Harriet’s smooth, cool skin settled against his back. Shorter by half a head, she surprised him with how his breathing steadied, matching the rhythm of her slender shoulder blades and the curve of her spine, as if he instinctively sought the best posture for maximum contact. Once it was done, focus slowly returned, the sensation of sitting back to back with a topless elven bombshell becoming, if not normal, then at least manageable.
“Why risk scandal to help me? I would have been happy doing this on my own.”
“You are the man I summoned. Let’s leave it at that for now. Any more of an explanation will have to wait until this is over. Now focus, and when you are ready, begin.”