

The Whetstone Fist

Episode 1

Brian Declan

Chapter 1:

The long walk to Lord Stanwick's Estate always felt like marching to the gallows. It's strange Stanwick must think those gleaming white walls make the place look safe and inviting. To Lock it looked more like a big fancy prison. His men in their gleaming armor were more like prison guards than defenders. Besides, there was nothing to defend against this far from the city limits. Guardsmen, like Lock's dad, did all the real fighting.

"Why the sour face?" asked Flint.

Lock forced a smile, "Oh nothing, just lost in thought."

"Well snap out of it, we're almost there."

"Yeah, I recognize the walls," replied Lock.

"Hold up," said Flint as he caught Lock's shoulder, forcing Lock to shift to face him.

"What?" asked Lock.

With a sudden burst of speed Lock's dad jabbed his chest with his fingers.

It didn't really hurt but still Lock took a step back, "What?"

"I know you don't like this place, but it's time to buck up. An Initiation is no joke. Screw it up and you'll end up busting your ass in the guard like your broke dick father. Neither of us wants that, so focus."

Yeah like you haven't told me that every damn day for the past fifteen years.

For his dad's sake Lock took a deep breath then let it out slowly, "I'm focused."

With a quick smack on the shoulder, Lock's dad continued walking, "Good then let's go."

Thankfully, they walked the last hundred yards to the gates to Stanwick's Estate without another reminder about the importance of today's events. Lock stayed a half step behind his dad as they passed through the gates. He was just waiting for the estate guards to make an incident, but they simply gave his father a quick nod and waved them into the courtyard.

Across the courtyard was a ridiculous staircase that had no purpose other than to _wow_ visitors. There was no way that was designed with any real function in mind and there was most certainly no chance that Stanwick ever climbed those steps himself. Mid way up the staircase Lock's a pair of the Stanwick's retainers stopped lounging against the Manse's walls and moved over to block the top of the stairs.

"Useless fucking guards," mumbled one of the retainers, then he raised his voice, "Lord Stanwick doesn't need anymore grunts. Come back next month."

Lock's father hopped up a step to put himself in front of Lock and turned his body sideways, "My son is here for his Initiation."

His hand shifted slightly to the hilt of his sword but stopped when the two retainers burst out laughing, "Funny. Now piss off."

Prick, should watch his mouth before he ends up eating through a straw.

"Its no joke I'm afraid. Magister Tempo can vouch for us. Flint Sharp, and my son Matlock," replied Flint.

The retainers stopped laughing and shared a look. Whether that was because they recognized his father's name or because they were afraid of Magister Tempo, Lock was not sure. Regardless they did not seem happy as they moved aside.

"Whatever, let them deal with it inside," said the other retainer.

Without another word they climbed the rest of the stairs and walked up to Stanwick manse. The doublewide doors opened on their own when they were a few paces away. Okay that part was cool. The rest of Stanwick's overindulgent estate was silly, but the doors he liked.

Lock had not been there in almost five years, but the inside of the manse looked the same as he remembered. From the pristine marble staircases that flanked the entryway to the scent of fresh cut flowers and baked bread, it was exactly like his memories. Even the impeccably clean floor looked like it had not collected the slightest hint of dust and Lock hated it.

"Come on," said Lock's dad as he walked between the staircases and down a straight hallway. The hallway was flanked by doors but his dad lead them one of the rooms in the far back. He stopped in front of a pair of double doors tapped on the door. At the slightest touch both doors creaked open.

Inside there three men at least ten years older than Lock's dad were lounging around a stout coffee table. Each was sipping at what smelled like freshly brewed coffee. Strong coffee.

One of them jumped to his feet with a wide smile as they entered, "Flint, you came. I was not sure if I'd be seeing you," said the man as he rushed over to shake Flint's hand then he turned to Lock, "And the young Matlock, you've grown so much."

"He has," replied Flint as he motioned Lock forward.

"Excellent, excellent. I'm Magister Tempo," said the man as he offered his hand.

"Hello," said Lock accepting Tempo's hand.

The old man eagerly started pumping his arm with a surprising amount of strength, "Come, come sit. Would you like some coffee while we wait for the other candidates?"

"Sadly, I can't," said Flint with a frown, "I've got patrol at noon."

Tempo stopped pumping Lock's arm and looked at Flint like he just said he had a date with a demon horde. The two other men were equally surprised as one completely froze while the other choked on a sip of his coffee.

"No thanks, I'm not much of a coffee drinker," said Lock to break the awkward silence.

Tempo snapped out of his daze and let go of Lock's hand, "Ah uh okay, then have a seat while I walk your father out. Magister Cadence and Magister Vercon will answer any questions in the meantime."

Without another word Tempo and Flint left the room. Lock took a seat across from Tempo's two companions and tried to think of something to say. He'd never cared much for small talk, but it seemed rude to say nothing.

"So how do you know Magister Tempo?" asked Lock.

The man on his right stopped choking on his coffee cleared his throat, "Magister Vercon and I are teachers at Waystar."

"Oh, right," replied Lock.

"Not that Head-Magister Tempo does much teaching these days," replied Vercon.

"Ah," said Lock drawing out the sound in an attempt to buy time to think of another question. Thankfully, the doors opened again and saved him from having to force a conversation. Magister Cadence finished his coffee with a single gulp and stood up to greet the pair of candidates. They both were around Lock's age, but he had never seen them before. Not surprising considering their fine silk cloths and the galvanized metal spellrods hanging from their waist.

Lock moved to the far side of the couch he was sitting on as Magister Cadence finished his greeting and instructed the two candidates to have a seat. They were both fairly thin but with Lock's broad shoulders the three of them were cramped together on the tiny couch. Thankfully, a few seconds later another candidate entered the room followed by Magister Tempo. This time it was a young girl.

She had a stern look on her face and her golden blonde hair was tied behind her head in tight ponytail. Despite the no nonsense vibe she looked cute. Probably just because she was tiny.

As Lock looked at her gear, he felt a twinge of self-consciousness about his own gear. He was the only one wearing leather armor and instead of fine braided silk. Plus his only weapon was a short sword whereas the other three had spellrods.

"Great! With Miss Everbright we are only waiting on one more," said Tempo with his usual excitement.

"Sorry Magister, Shela moved to a later time. She said something about her brother having a later start time and wanted to go with him," replied the young girl, Miss Everbright.

"Ah, understandable but a shame none the less," said Tempo as he clapped his hands together then walked to the back of the room and stopped in front of a wall with a large mural, "Shall we?"

It took a moment for Lock to realize he was supposed to get up so the two other candidates walked around the opposite end of the couch. Good thing Lock was taller than them, so when he got up and followed them over to the mural, he could still see what Tempo was doing.

The mural seemed to be a sort of map but on top of the landscape there were thin streaks of purple, blue and green. Toward the center of the map a few of the blue streaks intersected with each other. Tempo raised his palm with his fingers curled forward and slammed it into one of those intersections. A few inches before his hand hit the wall a glowing circle of interlaced sigils appeared around his fingers.

Tempo twisted his hand clockwise then counterclockwise and the entire wall burst into a cloud of blinding blue smoke. As Lock blinked the stars from his vision, he realized the wall was completely gone. It had become a portal to what looked to be an underground cavern. Judging by the moldy smell and lack of light, it must have been deep underground. Maybe the bowels of a nearby mountain.

Tempo and his two companions stepped in front of the portal and turned to face the candidates, "So a few things before we let you go. Your goal," he said turning his left palm up.

Magister Cadence took his cue from Tempo, "There is a well at the bottom of the caverns. Your goal is to reach it and drink. If you succeed, you'll be returned to us here in Lord Stanwick's study."

Magister Vercon picked up, "The caverns form a network of twisting tunnels much like a maze, but remember your goal is at the bottom most chamber. Keep moving down and you will find it eventually. However, the twisting maze of tunnels is not your only concern. Keep your eyes and ears alert at all times."

"If you run into too much trouble," said Tempo as he pulled six small blue crystals from his pants pocket, "these are despawn crystals. They will despawn all monsters in the area and effectively end the Initiation. In other words, you will fail so only use them if you must."

Tempo motioned Miss Everbright and took her hand, "In addition to the crystal, we'll be giving you each an auraband. It's nothing much, it will help you to see in the caverns and monitor your health, stamina and mana levels. You will also be able to track experience gains but you must return them at the end of your initiation."

In one smooth motion Tempo slapped Miss Everbright's wrist with a thick strip of copper colored metal. The moment the metal touched her, Tempo let go and the strip of metal wrapped around her wrist. Then the back of her hand began to glow, and a series of numbers appeared on the auraband.

Lvl. 1 Human Female: Clarisse Everbright

Exp. 0/1000

72/72 Health.

95/95 Mana.

40/40 Stamina.

"A respectable amount of mana. Quite impressive, but you'll need to work on your stamina," said Tempo as he flicked his fingers for the other candidates to give him their hands.

Tempo slapped another strip of metal on the next candidate's wrist.

Lvl. 1 Human Male: Jasper Stanford

Exp. 0/1000

85/85 Health.

82/82 Mana.

53/53 Stamina.

"All good, numbers," nodded Tempo reaching for the next candidate.

Lvl. 1 Human Male: Drew Stanford

Exp. 0/1000

80/80 Health.

83/83 Mana.

48/48 Stamina.

After reading Drew's stats, Lock nudged his way to the front and offered Tempo his hand. As soon as he slapped the auraband on Lock's wrist and the whole room exploded into bright colors. The sudden onslaught of light caused him to stumble back, "Whoa."

It took a several seconds for his vision to adjust to the currents of magic he was seeing, he glanced down at his stats.

Lvl. 1 Human Male: Matlock Sharp

Exp. 0/1000

113/113 Health.

41/41 Mana.

98/98 Stamina.

He looked up to see Tempo staring at his wrist, "Abysmal mana, you'll need to take extra care to improve."

Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious.

"How long does the auraband last?" asked Lock.

"Excellent question. At your mana levels it would only last about an hour but the natural Ether flow in the caverns will maintain it for about twelve hours. The monsters also respawn every twelve hours. That's part of the reason we use this area for Initiations," replied Tempo, "Any other questions?"

"Yeah, how are we supposed to retain our experience?" asked Jasper.

"Don't worry, the Blessing you earn from completing all five floors will take care of that. If you fail; however, you'll need to find other means to earn a Blessing," replied Magister Vercon.

Tempo stepped to the side, "If there are no more questions, make your way through the portal. Mr. Sharp if you will."

Great he was standing in the back but supposed to go first. Why did teachers always do stuff like that, couldn't they see how big he was compared to the rest of them. Whatever, best get it over with. So Lock pushed his way between the two Standford brothers and took a step through the portal.

Then immediately face planted into a pile of moldy cave dirt.

Damnit, his dad was right; he should have focused.

While he picked himself up and spit out the dirt the other candidates passed through the portal and disappeared farther into the caves. The portal snapped shut with a slight sucking sound. Not wanting to be left behind Lock brushed off what dirt he could and rushed to catch up.

Thankfully, all three of them had stopped just around the bend, as the tunnel opened up into a large chamber at least thirty feet in height and fifty feet wide. Branching out from the chamber there were seven tunnels, all of which seemed to be sloped downward. While the others went to explore the chamber, he drew his sword and dug a quick arrow pointing back up the tunnel they just emerged from.

One of his biggest concerns was getting lost in the caves and running around in circles. Thankfully, a little forethought might be able to save a lot of time down the road.

"I say we each take a cavern. If you run into a dead end or find another place where it branches, head back. We'll meet here in say an hour if we don't find anything," suggested Clare.

Lock nodded to Clare, "Sounds good to me," but Drew and Jasper just ignored her and went down the tunnel on the far right.

"Assholes," said Clare as the two brothers disappeared. From the look on Clare's face, she probably knew them somehow, "Just the two of us then. My name's Clare."

"Aa, yeah I read your stats. Matlock but you can call me Lock," Lock replied offering his hand.

Clare glanced at his dirty hand then looked him in the eye, "No offense but you don't seem prepared for this. Just trust me, our best bet of making it to the bottom is if we work together. We've got limited time to find a way to the bottom, and there are way too many tunnels to explore before time runs out. According to my brother we need to go down five levels, each with a large chamber like this one. The problem is most of the tunnels dead end or just spiral endlessly."

After a few moments it became clear she was not going to shake his hand, so he just brushed it off on his pants, "Alright then what are we waiting for; I'll take the far left. You take the one next to it. I suggest marking your path incase the tunnels loop back on each other."

"Not a bad idea," said Clare as she walked over to the second tunnel from the left, "Oh and be careful. These tunnels could be full of monsters."

Yeah that's the one thing I am ready for.

Chapter 2:

Clare was right; the tunnels were literally crawling with monsters. Spiders as big as housecats, bats bigger than eagles and slimes. The fucking slimes were a pain, because his sword did nothing against them. But they were slow and easy enough to avoid. His tunnel forked twice but within half an hour of scouting, he was able to slaughter most of the monsters and find a path down to another large chamber. He marked the appropriate path in the dirt and went back up to wait for Clare.

While waiting he sat down to clean the spider guts off his sword. A few minutes later Clare came running out of the fourth tunnel.

She slid to a stop panting, "Oh you're finally back."

"What do you mean finally?" said Lock, "I've been here for five minutes."

Clare ignored his question and bent over to steady her breathing, "Any luck?"

"Yeah, I marked a path to the next chamber. Was just waiting for you to get back," said Lock.

"Oh good, the other tunnels are blocked by monsters," said Clare as she huffed out a breath and stood up straight, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"I was just," began Lock but Clare had already disappeared down the far left tunnel, "Waiting on you, ya stuck up bitch."

After a deep breath, he whipped the last bit of guts off his sword and followed Clare down the marked path. Not even thirty feet in he found Clare prancing around a pair of spiders and hung back to let her have the experience from killing them.

"What the fuck are you doing? Help me out here," demanded Clare as she back peddled away from an attack from one of the spiders.

Without another word Lock jumped in and thrust his sword right between the cluster of eyes on second spider. A few seconds later Clare dispatched her spider with a burst of mana from her spellrod then spun on him, "What the hell? I thought we were going to work together."

"Uh yeah, I found the path and came back to get you. What's the problem?" replied Lock as he kept close watch of Clare's spellrod.

"You stood there and watched me almost get gorged by these spiders is the problem," said Clare as she jabbed her rod at Lock.

On instinct Lock shifted into a low guard, "Take it easy."

The runes on Clare's rod flashed as she readied an attack, "What's the deal? Are you going to watch my back, or do I need to worry about you stabbing it?"

"I just figured you'd want the experience. It's not much but it adds up," replied Lock.

A few tense moments passed as they stood there staring at each other but eventually Clare lowered her spellrod, "How many of these things did you kill already?"

"I don't know, maybe sixty," replied Lock.

"No way, let me see your auraband," exclaimed Clare. Lock raised his hand so they could check his stats.

Lvl. 1 Human: Matlock Sharp

Exp. 623/1000

113/113 Health.

41/41 Mana.

92/98 Stamina.

"I take it back, you're more prepared that I thought," said Clare as she dropped Lock's hand.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure my face plant back there didn't make the best impression," said Lock.

Clare shrugged and continued down the tunnel, "And your mana level is like a child's."

"You're one to talk, your stamina is no better," said Lock loud enough to draw the attention of a trio of bats.

"Keep your voice down," blurted Clare as she fired off a mana blast at one of the bats. The attack connected but the bat shook it off with ease.

In an effort to avoid another staring contest with Clare, Lock rushed forward and sliced through one of the bats then slammed another to the ground with his off hand. While it squirmed on the ground, he finished it off with a quick stomp. By then Clare killed the third bat with a series of mana blasts.

"You good," asked Lock as Clare fired another blast at the dead bat.

Clare took a breath then nodded, "Yeah sorry I snapped at you, I'm not used to fighting monsters."

"Not for calling me a child," said Lock in an attempt at humor.

"I didn't... Ah whatever. Let's keep moving," said Clare as she took a few steps down the tunnel then stopped, "Actually, you go first."

Lock took the lead and they made their way down to the second chamber in relative silence. As they encountered more monsters, they fell into a nice pattern of Lock hitting them head on while Clare fired her spellrod from a distance. Lock was about to walk into the large chamber when Clare caught his wrist, "Hold on, there should be a monster guarding each of the chambers."

"Looks clear to me," said Lock.

"The Stanford's could have cleared it already, but just in case wait a second for my mana to regenerate," said Clare.

"Alright, if there is trouble, I say we stick to what we've been doing. You cover me from behind," said Lock.

"I was thinking the same and if there's trouble we fall back to this tunnel," suggested Clare.

Lock nodded his agreement, "Ready?"

Clare took a deep breath and bobbed her head. Together they stalked into the chamber trying to make as little noise as possible but they were no more than two steps into the chamber when a ten-foot slime dropped from the center of the ceiling.

Clare didn't hesitate to blast it with her rod, but Lock froze. His sword was useless against the damn slimes. If he attacked all it would do is get stuck.

The Slime giggled and bounced closer while Clare fired off another blast, "What are you doing? Attack it."

"My sword's useless against that thing," complained Lock.

"Channel mana into it you dope," said Clare as she fired another mana blast.

Lock took a second to focus his mana but nothing happen, and the Slime bounced closer. There was no time; they needed another plan, so Lock rushed forward, "Keep blasting it, I'll get it to chase me."

"You what?! Wait just... Ah fuck it," said Clare as she powered up another blast and took aim.

Despite the Slime being massive, it was thankfully slow and stupid. All Lock had to do was throw a few stones at it and it started giggle bouncing after him. Clare started peppering it with mana bolt after mana bolt. The first one got its attention, but it was too dumb to know what shot at it and continued to chase Lock.

The plan was spontaneous but it fell into place pretty quick. Lock through rocks and led it in circles while Clare wore it down with mana blasts.

Ocassionally one of Clare's attacks would catch it's attention but all Lock had to do was throw a few rocks and they were back in business. It went that way for the next ten minutes. Lock kept it bouncing in circles while Clare chipped away at its health. Twice she had to retreat to the tunnel and regenerate her mana but in the end, they cleared the second chamber without a scratch.

The moment the Slime died Lock felt a surge of power run through his body followed by what seemed to be a swirling ring of yellow light. As the surge of power faded, he noticed Clare bend over rubbing her forehead.

"Are you alright?" asked Lock as he went to check on her.

She sat down and huffed out a breath, "Yeah, its only a headache. Looks like you leveled up."

Lock glanced down at his hand.

Lvl. 2 Human: Matlock Sharp

Exp. 305/1250

124/124 Health.

45/45 Mana.

108/108 Stamina.

"Yeah I did. That thing must have given like 500 XP. My mana still sucks though," said Lock.

Clare continued to rub her head, "That's because you never use it. If we're going to make it any farther, we need to change that."

"I've dealt with monsters easily enough thus far," said Lock.

"Then what happen with the slime, huh? You would have been screwed if I wasn't here, and frankly I don't want to burn through my mana like that again," said Clare.

Lock cracked his neck, "I'd say it was a joint effort but fine. How am I supposed to channel mana into the sword?"

Clare's eyes widened then she blinked a few times and her headache seemed to go away, "Here try it with my spellrod first," she said as she tossed him her spellrod.

Lock caught the spellrod then pointed it across the chamber, "Alright what now?"

Clare snorted out a breath, "For starters flip it around before you blast yourself in the chest," then she stood up to adjust Lock's grip. When she was done, she took a step back, "Okay good. Now do you feel that swirling in your chest?"

Lock bobbed his head as he took aim again, "Yeah I know that much."

"That's the source of your mana. Once you get that, try to feel how it flows around your body. It should go from your heart, to your head and down your arm. Through your legs, hands and fingers," explained Clare.

"Okay I've got it. What next?" asked Lock.

Clare took a step behind Lock, "Now you need to control that flow. Extend it into the spellrod and—

In an instant the spellrod fired a tiny mana blast across the room, "Holy crap, it worked."

"Congrats, now for the hard part. Before you extend the mana flow into the rod, try to build it up in your fist. The more mana you build up the stronger the blast will be," said Clare.

"Ah, that's why my blast looked so crappy," said Lock as he took aim again.

As he turned his focus back to his mana the spellrod slowly began to glow, then without warning a blinding mana blast flew across the room and shattering a large chuck off the far wall. As the sound echoed around the chamber a searing pain stabbed through Lock's head causing him to drop the spellrod.

"Whoa, you don't put everything into one shot you idiot," said Clare as she rushed to catch Lock as he stumbled back.

Lock squinted open his eyes, "A little warning would have been nice."

"Whatever, screw you. I was just trying to help," said Clare as her concern turned to anger. She shoved Lock, collected her spellrod, and walked off to explore the next set of tunnels.

"Nice job, piss off you're only ally," said Lock to himself.

Chapter 3:

Lock rubbed his face hoping to clear the lingering headache from overusing his mana and tried to think of his next move. Clare ran down the second tunnel from the left. He could follow her and try to apologize. Then again finding a safe path to the third chamber would be a nice way to make it up to her. Words are meaningless in the face of inaction.

With that thought Lock drew his sword and went down the far left tunnel. Ten feet in a spider the size of a large dog dropped out of nowhere. As the spider fell it's front to two legs slashed a pair of thin cuts down his leather chest plate. Lock bounced back but the moment the spider hit the ground it bunched its legs and sprang at him.

He threw out his free hand in an attempt to knock it back only to have the spider's fangs sink into his forearm. At the same time its razor sharp front legs clawed at him from shoulder to hip. A sudden jolt of pain shot up his arm the spider's fangs snapped tighter and punched through his armor. Once the spider found the soft meat of his forearm, it went into a frenzy and clawed at him with a whirlwind of slashing limbs.

The spider's renewed vigor knocked him on the ground, but thankfully pain was a powerful motivator. Lock dropped his sword, bunched his fist and smashed it into the spider's side. The first punch rocked the spider back, but it's flailing limbs absorbed the blow. The second, and third punch knocked it on its back but it still clung to his arm.

Feeling its prey get away, the spider chomped down harder sending Lock into an even deeper rage. Now that he was on top, he had the advantage not only in position but also in weight. It may have been huge for a spider, but it still only weighed seventy some pounds. Lock grabbed onto the base of one of its front legs, lifted it slightly off the ground then bashed its head into the ground.

The effect was immediate; it released his left hand. But instead of letting it go Lock grabbed its other front leg and continued bashing the spiders face into the ground until it went limp. Or at least until its legs stopped flailing.

Whether he bashed it ten times or twenty he wasn't sure. He was too lost in rage to know how much time passed or how many times he pummeled its dead body. At least a few.

Regardless it was dead, so he stood up panting, "That'll teach you to sneak attack someone twice your size."

Lock huffed out a breath to clear his lungs and bent down to collect his sword. As his fingers tightened around the sword's handle, a throb of pain jolted his whole body. He dropped the blade.

A second throb of pain pulsed through his body and he immediately knew what happen. His hand darted to the small herb pouch he kept strapped to his belt. Nothing. There was no pouch. It must have come loose during his scuffle with the spider. Lock spun around in a panic and scanned the ground for his lost pouch. Nothing.

Maybe he lost it in the fight with the Slime. He was about to rush back to the second chamber when his body throbbed with pain again. His body seized up for a second causing him to misstep and crash to the ground. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and with sheer will stumbled back to the second chamber. Each step was agony. His legs felt like led weights. His arms began to seize up, but it was not the pain or the difficulty that made him stop cold. It was the sudden realization that his herb pouch was not in the second chamber either.

He collapsed to the ground. His only hope of fighting the poison was lost. He clawed at the dirt one last time before his body froze. But while the poison trapped his body, his mind was clear and free to wonder. Too bad that was a torture in itself.

Careless! Unfocused!

He could practically hear his father's words. If he saw how easily that spider snuck up on him, he would have been right. Lock should never have let that happen. He had been too busy thinking of his blunder with Clare, not focused. Not living in the here and now.

One mistake is all it takes to end your life.

Guardsman died all the time from stupid mistakes just like this. Even seasoned veterans lost track of time or got overconfident and died to low level monsters. The monsters of the wild were unforgiving like that. The same applied to this moldy old cave. Lock had not died yet, but he was easy prey. Any moment another monster could wander by and finish him. Or.

"Why are you laying in the dirt?" asked Clare.

Yes!

"Come on, stop screwing around. The monsters are getting stronger. We should explore together from now on," said Clare.

Yeah, no shit.

"You're hurt," blurted Clare as she ran over to Lock, "What is it? What happen?"

I screwed up.

"You're arm's bleeding!" squealed Clare, "Oh god, it's yellow. Your bleeding yellow! So gross."

Poison, now hurry up and find my herbs.

"I can do this," said Clare as she took a deep breath, "Yellow probably means poison. What did my brother give me for poison?"

Goldleaf, crushed goldleaf.

"It's gotta be here somewhere," said Clare as she riffled through her pack. A few moments later she pulled out a tiny yellow vial and pressed it to Lock's lips. She dumped the dull yellow liquid and instantly he felt the stiffness in his muscles begin to relax.

By the time the vial was empty the paralysis in his body had completely worn off. He sat up and before he realized what he was doing he pulled Clare into a hug. A moment later his mind caught up to his body and he pulled back in an awkward jerk.

"Sorry," blurted Lock, "I mean, thanks."

"What happen?" asked Clare.

Straight to business then, "Spider bit me but I lost my herbs. I came up here trying to find them, but the poison paralyzed me."

Clare blinked then put her hands up, "Hold on, a spider bit you then just let you run away."

"Not exactly. I killed it then stumbled up here," said Lock.

For a few moments Clare just stared blankly, "How... It doesn't matter. You need to be more careful. Where's your sword?"

"I must have dropped it. Left tunnel, but first I need to find my herbs," said Lock.

Clare stood up and offered her hand to help Lock up, "They're just herbs, forget about it."

"They're not just herbs. We might need them," replied Lock.

Clare folded her arms in front of her chest, "We don't have time. The monsters are getting stronger causing us to move slower."

She had a point, they had to get moving and the monsters would get stronger the lower they went. But the herbs were the only way he had to heal and counteract the spider's poison. It was only a matter of time before another spider poisoned one of them, so they needed the herbs.

"There's no point in rushing if we get killed by poison in the process," said Lock.

Clare pulled another yellow potion out of her pack and drank it, "Satisfied?"

This time it was time for Lock to give a blank stare, "What?"

Clare huffed out a breath, "The potion has a thirty-six hour effect. Neither of us need to worry about poison as long as we can get out of here soon."

Thirty-six hours! Holy motherfucker. Those potions must have cost a fortune. Any potion that lasted more than a few minutes, cost more than. Well, it cost more than he could imagine and she gave him one without a second thought.

"How many of those do you have?" asked Lock, his voice lower than he intended.

Clare zipped her bag shut, tossed it over her shoulder, and gave the strap a sharp tug, "Enough."

Lock put his hands up, "I was just surprised you brought such a powerful potion."

"Well, I'm surprised they even let you come here," replied Clare.

_Bitch_. "What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Lock.

Clare snatched her spellrod off her belt and started walking away, "Nothing, we need to move."

"Not nothing. You've clearly got more to say so say it," said Lock, "So let's hear it."

Clare stopped abruptly and spun around, "You're not ready for any of this, and that puts my future in jeopardy."

"I might not have as nice a gear as you, but I've prepared for this my entire life. In case you forgot, I killed most of the monsters thus far. Plus, we took out that huge slime together," said Lock as calm as he could manage. Still by the end he was practically shouting.

Clare seemed startled by Lock's rise in volume but instead of backing down she rose to the challenge, "No you ran around in circles while I drained my mana killing it. And why was that again? Oh, right because not only do you not have a proper weapon or supplies, but you don't have a freaking clue how to use your mana. In case you forgot, the Blessing will require mana."

"If I'm so useless then why bother to save me? Sounds like that was just a huge waste of money right there," Lock snapped his fingers, "That's right, where you come from golden sigils just fall from the sky and multiply."

Clare snorted out a breath, "You're one to talk. Your parents had the money to pay for an Initiation. They should have spent some of that money on better gear and training," then she snapped her fingers to mock the way Lock did it, "Oh, they must be just as inept as you."

Without meaning to Lock completely lost his temper and before he knew it, he was in Clare's face. She raised her spellrod but her movements were comically slow. He slapped the rod out of her hand and clamped his hand around her neck, "Insult my father again, and I'll end you. I'll fucking end you. Understood?"

He waited for her to answer but after a few moments of silence he realized she couldn't breath. That simple realization was enough to snap him back to his senses. He let her go.

Clare dropped to the floor coughing, "I..." she muttered then broke out coughing again.

Lock watched her try to speak and debated offering an apology, but the truth was, he did not want to apologize. Not to some stuck up rich bitch. Then again, she saved him from the poison and he was the one who lost his temper.

"Sorry I snapped. Like it or not I still think we should stick together. I'm going to get my sword. If you're not here when I get back, I understand. Either way good luck, and I'm sorry," said Lock.

Before entering the tunnel, he took a deep breath and let go of the tension between his shoulders. If the past few minutes taught him anything it was that he had to stay focused and in control. No matter what happen next, he was not about to let another monster catch him off guard. Not again.

He proceeded with caution and steadily stalked his way down the tunnel until he found the broken body of the spider he killed. The sword should have been right here, but he found nothing. Just like his herb pouch the sword had disappeared. In frustration he kicked the dead spider's curled up body, "Piece of shit."

Its bunched up body rolled farther down the tunnel like a tumble weed and stopped about ten feet away. As soon as it stopped rolling, another spider dropped on top of it and sank its fangs into its dead brethren. Since it was distracted Lock seized the opportunity and rushed forward to kick it. This time he planted his off foot and connected with as much force as possible. Both spiders flew across the tunnel and slammed into the wall with bone-breaking force.

They were both dead, but Lock gave the second spider a good stomp just in case, then reached down to claim his prize, his lost sword. The shiny blade must have been what attracted the second spider. Good thing he caught it before it got too far away. The whole exchange was a good reminder, spiders struck anything shiny or moving fast. If he kept the sword sheathed and moved slow, they might not notice him.

Anyway, sword back, and lesson learned. Time to go see if Clare decided to stick with him or not. When he turned around, to head back up the tunnel she was already there. She stood perfectly still, staring at him with that stern face. Cute stern face.

"What?" he asked.

Clare glanced at the dead spiders, "I was going to say we should stick together..."

"...but," prompted Lock.

"But I don't know if I can trust you," answered Clare.

Lock nodded, they had just met each other, "You can trust that I want to earn a Blessing just like you."

"That doesn't mean you're not going to stop me from getting one," said Clare as she watched Lock's eyes.

"What do I care if you get one?" asked Lock.

Clare shrugged, "Don't know, you could have many reasons to sabotage someone else's success."

"Well I'm not like that," replied Lock, "We sticking together or not?"

"Let's get one thing perfectly clear. You ever touch me again, and I'll blast you in the back the first chance I get. You saw what your 50 points of mana did. I've got twice that and I know how to use it," said Clare.

"Point taken," said Lock, "I'd rather not have to look over my shoulder the entire time we're here."

"Yeah, well you've got your sword back, now lead the way," said Clare as she tossed Lock's herb pouch at him.

Chapter 4:

As it turned out Level 2 spiders lurked the entire tunnel, the first two Lock killed were only the start. He killed three more but no more than thirty yards down they were forced to stop. A group of five of spiders feasted on some sort of rotting carcass. Based on the size it was probably a large bat or flying insect.

"Turn back?" asked Lock.

"No point the other tunnels are full of just as many monsters. I think we have to fight through them," answered Clare.

"Alright, cover me," said Lock.

Before Clare could respond he leapt on the closest spider. His sword slashed down, severing the spider's bulbous hind segment from the rest of its body. He followed that up with quick thrust through another spider's beady eyes. Clare fired off a blast from her rod scattering the other three, but Lock rushed in and kicked one of them into the cavern wall.

The last two spiders tried to flee as their brethren died but Clare fried one with a charged blast from her rod. Lock severed the last one's leg then with a burst of speed he dashed in front of it and slammed his blade through its head.

The moment the last one was dead Clare walked up to Lock and shoved him. Or at least she tried. She was easily seventy-five to a hundred pounds lighter than him and had no chance, "Don't be reckless."

Lock forced himself not to laugh at her failed attempt to push him and took an unnecessary step back, "I was being decisive."

Clare snorted out a breath, "A little warning next time, alright?"

"Alright, but if I must say we did pretty good," replied Lock.

"You're a brute," said Clare then she flipped her hand at Lock, "Keep going."

Lock didn't argue and continued down the tunnel. It was not long before they found more spiders, most in packs of two or three but they had little difficulty cutting or blasting through them for the next twenty minutes. That was when they were stopped by another problem. The tunnel split into three separate passages.

"You have a preference?" asked Lock.

"No but give me a minute to regen my mana," replied Clare.

"Oh right, sure," said Lock as he pulled out a small square of cloth and began to clean his blade.

Clare took a seat along the side of the tunnel, "That sword special or something?"

"Huh?" said Lock, a little surprised Clare was starting a conversation, "Um yeah. It was my pop's. I mean my grandfather's."

"It seems small for you," said Clare, then she quickly put her hands up, "I didn't mean it... Just... sorry I don't know anything about swords."

"No, you're right. My pop was short and used to duel wield a pair of these. It's a bit small for me but it's the best weapon my dad owns aside from his own blade. But that's a saber, I prefer something with a bit more weight to it," answered Lock.

"Why don't you channel mana into it when you attack?" asked Clare.

Lock paused trying to read Clare's face, she seemed genuine, "I've been trying, it doesn't seem to work."

Clare rubbed her ear lobe for a few seconds, "Can I see it?"

Lock stopped cleaning the blade and flipped it around to hand to her. Clare took the sword with both hands, which should have been awkward since it was a single-handed weapon. Then again, she had small hands.

"Its heavy," said Clare as she closed her eyes. A few moments later a gentle blue aura formed around the sword. She stayed like that for a while before she opened her eyes and handed the sword back to Lock, "Its not like the spellrod but it will accept mana. You'll need to push harder."

"I don't understand. How'd you do that?" asked Lock as he took the sword back. The aura died immediately.

"A spellrod is designed to have mana channeled through it. It practically pulls it from your hand. Your sword isn't made with that in mind, but it's possible. Just takes more effort," said Clare.

"Alright," said Lock as he closed his eyes and focused on channeling his mana into the sword.

He felt like something was about to happen when Clare broke his concentration, "Stop, you're just pushing all your mana into your hand."

"Yeah, my hand is touching the sword," replied Lock like it was obvious.

Clare shook her head, "Don't use so much of it. You're trying to push what's in your hand into the blade. Not moving everything in your body closer to the blade. It doesn't work like that."

A few more minutes went by while Lock practiced and failed at channeling his mana into the blade. Finally, he got frustrated and sheathed the sword, "This isn't working. Let's just keep moving."

Clare stood up, "Alright but I've got something you can try."

"Oh?" asked Lock.

"Next time you're in close with on of those spiders, channel some mana into your fist and punch it. Should work the same as the sword, might even drop it in one hit," said Clare.

"Cool, I didn't know you could discharge mana from your hands," said Lock only to have her stare at him with an utterly blank face, "What?"

"You can't discharge mana from your hand, or the sword for that matter. You'll just hit it harder, a lot harder," said Clare.

"Oh, I was hoping it would be more explosive, like your spellrod," said Lock.

"No offense but how do you not know any of this? Someone must have taught you?" asked Clare.

Lock raised his chin, "Magister Tempo showed me a few things when I was little."

"And since then?" pressed Clare.

"My dad trained me," replied Lock as he continued down the nearest tunnel.

Clare took a couple quick steps and fell in behind him, "Then you must have learned how to use your mana. If you're trying to deceive me, it won't work."

Lock stopped abruptly, "I'm not deceiving you. My dad's a guardsman with the city, he doesn't know the first thing about firing a spellrod and he didn't have the money for an Initiation, or better gear. Magister Tempo owed him a favor plain and simple."

The moment Lock stopped Clare snapped up her spellrod and the runes flared to life. For a moment she just stood there pointing her rod down the tunnel, "I... that's not what I expected you to say. It's not like Magister Tempo to owe someone."

"I hope you didn't really expect me to say I was nobility. What's your story?" asked Lock.

"No I didn't, but it makes more sense than being the son of a city guard," said Clare fired off a charged blast from her rod, a moment later a spider dropped dead from the roof of the cavern, "My parents are merchants, they wanted something better for me and my brother so they saved up for years to give us a chance at earning Blessings."

Lock rushed forward to engage a pair of spiders. With a lightning quick thrust, he impaled one then charged his fist to punch the other but before he could attack, Clare blasted it.

He released the charge and kept walking, "What sort of merchants?"

"They're brewers," replied Clare, "They supply a couple of the larger taverns in Obalon."

"That explains how you got those potions," said Lock as he continued to search the shadows of the cavern.

Clare stumbled but recovered her balance with a couple quick steps, "What makes you say that?"

Lock rolled his eyes, "I'm not a complete dope. Master brewers make the best potions, not alchemist. The real question is why your folks aren't selling them locally. They'd make a killing."

"It's complicated," stated Clare.

"Does it have something to do with those other two guys? It seemed like you knew them. The Stanford's?" asked Lock as he continued his decent.

"No, they have nothing to do with it," said Clare.

"But you do know them," said Lock.

Clare glanced at Lock with her unhappy face, "Yes. They're brothers, twins in fact. Magister Slater has taught them for over a decade," said Clare.

"Seem more like lovers the way they ran off together at the start. How'd you know them?" said Lock.

"Slater's my tutor too. Was anyway," said Clare. She practically spat the words, clarifying what Lock suspected. She did indeed have a poor history with the Stanford twins.

Lock stopped walking and glanced back at Clare, "Should we be worried about them?"

Clare answered just a little to late, "Worry about what's right in front of you."

Lock could not help but laugh, "You sound like my father."

"Your father sounds very wise," replied Clare.

"He certainly likes to think so," said Lock.

Clare laughed, "Parents, I'm pretty sure they're all like that."

Their laughter was cut short as Lock raised his hand to signal that he heard something. It was a faint clicking sound. He took a moment to search the shadows and found a group of five spiders that had scurried up the walls of the cavern and now prepared to ambush any unsuspecting prey. Lock jabbed two fingers toward his face, pointed at the patch of shadows hiding the spiders, then held up his hand with all five fingers extended.

She nodded and took aim with her spellrod. As she charged up a mana blast, Lock readied himself to defend incase they decided to attack. His preparation was unnecessary. Clare's charged blast was enormous, shattering both rock and spider. In an instant all five spiders were dead and the tunnel was covered in broken bits of rock and dust.

"Fuck, how much mana did you hit them with?" asked Lock as he waved some of the lingering bits of dust away from his face.

Clare shrugged, "About twenty, twenty-five max."

"Remind me not to pick a fight with you," said Lock.

"Again," said Clare.

"Huh," said Lock.

"Not to pick a fight with me _again_ ," said Clare.

"Oh right, yeah. Thanks for not blasting a hole in my back then," said Lock.

Clare dipped into a slight bow, extending her hand for Lock to keep moving, "You're welcome but don't expect such kindness next time."

"There won't be a next time," said Lock as he moved through most of the rubble then stopped in front of a chunk of rock too large to walk around.

"Ya know men always say that," said Clare as she bumped into his back, "Right before they run off with some other girl, or head back to the nearest tavern."

"I don't drink much, and last time I checked you were not my girl," said Lock as he hopped on top of the rubble and extended a hand to help her up.

Clare glanced at Lock's hand but hesitated to take it, "And your temper. When was the last time you lost control of that?"

"The last time someone picked a fight," replied Lock as he calmly waited for Clare to take his hand.

After another moment Clare took his hand and let him pull her up, "What'd they do, yell at your mother?"

"That would be pretty tough," replied Lock as he hopped off the rubble, "She died fifteen years ago."

"Holy Shit!" blurted Clare.

Lock spun around at the sudden outburst. People usually acted strange at that news, but shouting was a bit much especially given their current circumstances. He glanced up at her to see if she was okay and found her staring at the roof of the cave, "You alright?"

"What?" said Clare as she snapped out of her daze and looked down at him, "Yeah sorry, I think I found our ticket to the bottom chamber."

"What's that?" asked Lock suddenly interested.

"It looks like a hidden chamber of some sort. I've heard rumors of Initiates finding them, but I always assumed it was just over embellishment," said Clare as she moved closer to the wall and felt around.

"What's in there?" asked Lock as he climbed back on top of the rubble. There was a faint purple light pouring through a hole maybe two and a half feet wide. With their vision enhanced by the auraband the purple light blended almost perfectly with the patches of shadow scattered throughout the caverns. But now that they looked straight at it, there was definitely something up there.

"Don't know. Give me a boost and we'll find out," answered Clare.

"You sure? There could be more monsters," warned Lock.

Clare frowned, "I doubt it, they probably would have come out when I blasted it open."

"Alright," said Lock as he bent down and knit his fingers together, "Still best if you keep your spellrod handy."

Clare didn't bother to answer as she stepped onto Lock's hands. He lifted her with relative ease. She grabbed the lip of the hole then stepped on his shoulders and disappeared like a sneaky little cat. A good ten seconds later she poked her head out of the hole, "You've got to see this."

"Back up, I should be able to jump and pull myself up," said Lock. He took one step back then with a quick shuffle forward he leapt into the hole with his arms bunched in front of his chest. His shoulders scraped against the rocks, but he was able to cling to the lip of the hole. He half expected Clare to give him a little help, but she had already continued exploring the hidden chamber.

He debated asking her to help then decided against it. Instead he swung his dangling legs forward and muscled his chest over the lip. From there he was able to push himself the rest of the way. He rolled to his feet and gave a quick scan to find Clare.

The chamber was much larger than expected. The walls were smooth and curved in the shape of a half dome. In the center of the ceiling there was a massive crystalline prism that emanated a gentle purple glow lighting the chamber. A twelve-pointed star was etched into the ceiling around the prism. Each point of the star was a different color and each of those colors matched one of twelve short pillars that lined the circular chamber.

In the center of the room was a raised pedestal covered in concentric rings of sigils. That pedestal was what had attracted Clare's full attention. Her face was inches away from the pedestal's surface as she reverently ran her hand over the sigils.

Lock leaned over the pedestal to catch her attention, "What is all this?"

Clare smiled from ear to ear as she stood up, "It's a fusion chamber. Or infusion chamber, there's a fair bit of debate over what it actually does."

"What's fusion or infusion?" asked Lock.

"It depends on several factors, such as the mana type you choose, or which items get fused. The effects might even change depending on which Ancient built the chamber. But the general purpose is to imbue an object with a specific type of mana and give it enhanced capabilities. For instance, if it's infused with fire mana you can cast fire spells without doing a mana conversion. Even if you don't have a fire Blessing." said Clare.

"Sweet, how do we do it?" asked Lock.

Clare beamed, "Pay close attention," then she took her spellrod off her belt and stuck it into a six-inch wide pool of translucent liquid in the center of the pedestal. Once the spellrod was submerged she looped the strip of leather on its handle around a small nub on the pedistal, "There's pure Ether in the center. Make sure you don't touch it. Concentrated mana can be quite volatile."

Ether? Concentrated? Volatile? Lock wasn't sure if he was supposed to understand any of that, so he just leaned over to see how she secured the rod, "Gotcha."

Her rod was only a foot of perfectly straight steel and slipped all the way into the Ether. It also had he loop of leather attached to the handle so she could pull it out without touching the pool of Ether.

"Then all you need to do is select the mana type," Clare waved her hand toward the pillars lining the chamber, "And feed it mana."

"How do you know which mana type each pillar designates?" asked Lock.

"Just look at the top of the pillar, each has a symbol for one of the twelve aspects. This one here is for light. Both of my parents and my brother earned light mana from their Blessing. I think I'll choose that one just incase I don't get a light Blessing. You should infuse your sword, so it will be easier to channel mana," said Clare as she went over to the light pillar.

She placed her hand on the pillar and channeled her mana through her hand. As she fed it her mana, pulses of yellow light ran up the pillar and collected inside the prism set in the ceiling. Each pulse made the light inside the prism intensify until it was a golden yellow as pure as the sun.

Clare pulled her hand back from the pillar and winced like she had a headache. A moment later a beam of blinding light shot from the prism to the pedestal then winked out. The chamber was left in total darkness but only for a few seconds as slowly Clare's spellrod began to fill the chamber with the same pure golden light that was contained inside the prism.

Despite her obvious headache Clare walked up to the glowing pool of Ether with a wide grin and collected her spellrod. As she unfastened the loop of leather and pulled the spellrod out of the pool of Ether; a golden orb of light flowed out of the pool, went through the spellrod, up Clare's arm and settled in her chest. Once again, the prism filled the room with dim light. The only difference was that now the light was gold instead of purple. As Clare wrapped her fingers around her spellrod, she seemed to regain her composure.

Lock glanced at her wrist to confirm what he suspected.

Lvl. 3 Human Female: Clarisse Everbright

Exp. 81/1563

87/87 Health.

115/115 Mana.

48/48 Stamina.

She'd not only regained her mana but the infusion process gave her experience enough to reach level 3.

"Your turn," said Clare, "Just don't touch the Ether, it looks like it's still charged with light."

Lock drew his grandfather's sword and stepped up to the pedestal. The blade was only two feet long with another six inches of guard and handle. The only part that stuck out of the Ether pool was the inch and a half end cap at the tip of the handle. For a moment Lock had a sense of panic that he would never get the sword out without touching the Ether but there was just barely enough to grab.

Now that the blade was in place, he began to circle the room trying to think of which mana type would be best. His father never earned a Blessing so he didn't have a mana type and his mother was not around long enough for him to ask what mana type she had. He made a full circle before a thought came to him.

"Which aspect lit the chamber when we arrived?" asked Lock.

"I think you were seeing things, the chamber wasn't set to a mana type yet," said Clare.

"Then why was it purple?" asked Lock.

"I don't think it was purple, but purple corresponds to Void," said Clare as she pointed to one of the pillars.

Without another word Lock walked up to the Void pillar and put his hand on it. He expected to have trouble channeling his mana, but the pillar pulled it out of his body even worse than the spellrod. The strength of that pull was a little jarring, but he braced himself against the wall. A few seconds later he removed his hand and was greeted by a lance of pain to his temples. After seeing Clare's reaction, he was prepared but it still took him a few breaths for the headache to subside.

"Did it work?" asked Lock as he searched through the darkness.

"Not yet, you need to draw your mana through the sword to complete the fusion," said Clare.

Lock nodded his understanding and carefully leaned over the pedestal. With his thumb and forefinger he gently pinched the end of his grandfather's sword and began lifting it out of the Ether pool. He only lifted it a few inches before the handle slipped out of his fingers and sank back into the Ether pool.

He rubbed his fingers, gave it a second try and failed again. After a third failed attempt he tried with both hands but even that was pointless, his fingers were too big for such delicate work. The Ancients couldn't have overlooked such a simple problem. There had to be an easier way to get it out without touching the Ether. Or maybe the Ether wasn't as dangerous as Clare seemed to think.

She did know more than him, but by her own admission fusion chambers were extremely rare and obscure. If there was debate over what and how the fusion chambers worked, how did anyone know that Ether was dangerous.

"Fuck it," blurted Lock right before he plunged his hand into the Ether pool. The moment his skin touched the Ether his vision exploded with color then darkness.

Chapter 5:

Lock lurched awake and blinked the stars from his eyes, "My sword?"

"Really? That's your first question?" said Clare as she stood up, "Not, What happen? Or Is my hand okay? or ya know Am I freaking alive?" Clare threw Lock's sword into his chest, "There's your sword and incase it's not obvious I'm getting tired of saving you."

Lock blinked a few times to clear his head a bit, "Um thanks, I think. What did happen?" asked Lock, "All I remember is a bunch of lights."

"You stuck your hand in a pool of pure Ether, and almost died," said Clare.

Lock glanced down at his hands, "I feel fine, great actually. A little confused but great."

"Good, then you can you walk. Because you've been out for almost half an hour and we need to move," asked Clare.

Half an hour! It felt like only a handful of seconds. If she was right, they had three more floors to survive. If they never slept, they had roughly nine hours, figure two hours per floor. And another hour for each of the chamber bosses. That was cutting it real close.

Not to mention that the floors were likely to get more difficult the deeper they traversed. Regardless of how he felt, they had to move, "Not much choice, we're running out of time."

"Good then you can start by lowering me down," said Clare as she walked over to the section of floor she blasted open.

Lock sheathed his sword and followed Clare. At the hole he offered both of his hands, "Hold on tight."

"And what?" said Clare as if he was stupid.

"Just give me your hands," said Lock.

Clare rolled her eyes but placed her hands on his. As soon as they touched, he lifted her clean off the ground, "Whoa!"

and took a couple steps closer to the hole. Once she was over top of it, he started to lower her down. Then as she got low enough, he crouched down so he could lean into the hole and shimmied onto his chest to lower her even further, "You good?"

"Yeah," said Clare, "You can let go."

Once she was down safe, Lock secured his sword and flipped over to lower himself down feet first. Thankfully, slipping through the hole was much easier on the way down. In a couple minutes they were back in the tunnels. It looked the same as he remembered, a handful of crushed spiders and a pile of stones and rubble.

"I'll take point," said Lock, eager to try out his fused sword on the next group of spiders, but it turned out Clare was also hoping to test out her spellrod and she was better equipped to strike at a distance.

The blast from her spellrod had a golden hue and it struck the spider's center mass. The result was startling. Her blasts used to create a devastating explosion of raw mana. This time the blast shot right into the spider's body then a split second later it broke apart with a slight burst of light, "Oh yeah."

Lock twisted mid stride, "Impressive."

"Yeah, light mana is all about the flash," replied Clare with a smirk.

"What about void mana?" asked Lock, twirling his sword.

"Don't ask me, you picked it," answered Clare.

"Right, mind if I pick up the pace?" asked Lock.

After a nod from Clare, Lock started jogging down the tunnel. Despite his increased pace he continued to scan the walls and ceiling for more spiders. Partly out of caution but mostly in search of his first test subject. It wasn't long before he found a pair of unsuspecting victims.

This time he was not going to let Clare strike first so he used his secret weapon. His family's intrinsic ability, Flash Step. As soon as he triggered it, everything around him seemed to slow down. He rushed forward and closed the distance between him and the spiders in a fraction of a second.

First he struck the one on the right with an upward slash then reversed his grip and stabbed down through the midsection of the one on the left. He pulled his sword free, glanced down at the bodies to make sure they were actually dead then checked the blade. The blade looked brand new, as if it had just been polished.

"That's strange," said Lock.

Clare slowed her pace as she caught up, "You mean how you just turned into a blur?"

"No I mean the sword cut clean through them," answered Lock.

"That's what swords do," replied Clare.

"No, I mean it was like they weren't even there. As if I was cutting through air and the blade's not even dirty," said Lock.

Clare glanced at the dead spiders, "Maybe that's what happens why you channel mana into."

"Maybe," said Lock as he started down the tunnel again.

Clare jogged after him, "Are you going to explain that who becoming a blur thing?"

"I can move faster at an increased stamina cost," replied Lock.

"Okay," said Clare, "That's cryptic."

"Eh," said Lock as he increased his pace to take point again. No time to screw around talking.

From there they slashed and blasted a clear path through the tunnels. Calling their new weapons effective seemed like a bit of an understatement. They cut through the tunnels so fast that it made the time they lost in the fusion chamber well worth it.

Still by the time they reached the third chamber they were exhausted. Or more accurately Clare was exhausted, but Lock played along to make her feel better about taking some time to rest before taking on the next chamber boss. The room looked much the same as the last one but on the far side there were only two tunnels, both of which looked to be blocked by a sheet of white fiber.

"How much you want to bet it's going to be a spider?" asked Lock.

Clare laughed, "You don't have anything to bet. Besides I agree it's going to be a spider."

"A really big spider," said Lock.

Clare frowned as if she were lost in thought, "With all these spiders, why aren't there webs anywhere except here. I always thought spiders left cobwebs like all over the place."

Lock snorted out a breath, "Finally something I know that you don't. They're cave spiders and cave spiders hunt by surprising or outrunning their prey rather than trapping them in a web. It's only after they use their venom that they'll tie you up in webs."

Clare played with her bottom lip for a few seconds, "Oh. That makes sense, there aren't enough bugs or flying animals to get caught in the webs. Good thing too, because cobwebs are gross."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Lock.

"Same as before I suppose. You have to get close to use your sword plus you can use that burst of speed thing to get out of trouble," said Clare.

"It's called _Flash Step_ ," said Lock with a nod.

"Where'd you learn that? I've never seen anything like it," asked Clare.

"Not sure it's teachable. I picked it from my dad when I was little," answered Lock.

"It's an intrinsic skill?" asked Clare, "Like specific to your family?"

"Yeah," said Lock.

"I've heard of them before," said Clare, "but never something so useful in a fight."

"Do you have one?" asked Lock.

"I don't know maybe. My dad's auraband says he has a skill called _Analyse_. He uses it to determine the base elements of a potion or solution. I never picked it up though."

"Makes sense considering your family are brewers," replied Lock.

Clare played with her bottom lip again, "Did you say your dad was a guardsman?"

"Yeah, what of it?" asked Lock.

"No offense but your intrinsic skill seems more suited to being a duelist, than a simple guard," said Clare.

"My dad quit dueling before I was born," replied Lock. No need to tell her that his dad picked up a few matches when we needed the money.

"Yeah it's probably pretty dangerous," said Clare.

Lock drew his sword and stood up, "You ready?"

Clare twirled her spellrod, "Let's do this."

Chapter 6:

"Move!" shouted Lock as the giant spider shifted its attention toward Clare. She fired off another blast of light mana to knock it back then dropped to her knees clutching her head.

Without thinking he used Flash Step to sprint past the spider, caught Clare under her arm with his free hand then used Flash Step again and rushed to the edge of the chamber. She had reached her limit. That was the third time she had drained all of her mana and each time it took her longer to recover. Lock wasn't much better off; he'd used Flash Step countless times and was covered in sweat. Judging by the soreness in his muscles he probably only had one or two more left before he collapsed from exhaustion.

"Hurry up and kill it," stuttered Clare as she fought through her headache.

"What do you think I've been trying to do," panted Lock as he spun around and charged the spider. The spider fixed its beady eyes on him and reared up on its back legs ready to strike. It used the same attack pattern every time he got close. It was predictable but with its speed and strength the attacks were still effective.

His void charged sword on the other hand did close to nothing. Every time he struck the spider it bounced off its hardened hide leaving hardly a scratch. It was then that his father's words came to him.

Don't keep chopping away, try a different attack.

With that thought he continued his charge until the spider lunged forward using it's front two legs as spears. Both legs were perfectly aimed at his chest but at the last moment he used Flash Step and leapt straight into the spider's face. Venom dripped from its fangs as they clamped around him but not before he slammed the but of his mana charged sword right between its eyes. All twelve of them.

The result was disgusting and glorious. Purple mana tore through its body disintegrating chunks of flesh and exoskeleton. Just like that one hit changed turned a dire situation into an all out victory. Lock glanced down at his arm to find the spider's fangs still clung to his wrist. He pried himself loose of the spider's fangs and went over to check on Clare, "How you doing?"

"I'll live," said Clare as she had propped herself up against the wall and took a swig of a dark blue potion.

"Spider's dead," said Lock as he flopped down next to her.

Clare reached into her bag and tossed him a pale green potion, "Couldn't have done that earlier?"

"Sorry I usually try to avoid punching giant things that are trying to kill me," replied Lock, "What's this?"

"Not much time to rest and your stamina needs a boost," said Clare.

Lock glanced down at his wrist to check his stamina.

Lvl 4 Human Male: Matlock Sharp

Exp. 5/1963

78/158 Health.

45/62 Mana.

12/142 Stamina.

"Didn't realize I pushed myself that hard," said Lock, "But hey, I leveled up. How about you?"

Clare checked her wrist.

Lvl. 4 Human Female: Clarisse Everbright

Exp. 120/1963

96/96 Health.

30/126 Mana.

39/53 Stamina.

"Yeah me too, which is great, but we need to come up with a better strategy for next time. We survived but that was too close. I can't even figure why our weapons didn't hurt that thing?" asked Clare.

"Not sure but it could have had a resistance to blades and certain types of mana. Or because it was the first monster that was a higher level than us," said Lock.

"Maybe, that explody slam thing sure messed it up. If it did have something to do with our comparative levels, that's something we can work on," said Clare.

"You mean, you want to level up? Isn't that what we've been trying to do all along," said Lock.

"I'm not saying we do anything drastically different. My brother said the highest level monster he encountered the entire time was level 5," said Clare, "I figure if we clear all the tunnels and try to hit level 5 before taking on the next chamber guardian it will go a lot smoother."

"It'll take time, and we've only got three hours left. I'm not sure if it's worth it," said Lock.

Clare nodded, "It's a risk but we got real lucky that you were able to finish off that spider."

Lock pushed himself to his feet, "Alright, let's get started," then offered his hand to Clare.

She grabbed his hand and let him pull her up, "Ready."

They wasted no time clearing out the tunnels. In their fight with the giant spider they'd almost forgotten how much of an advantage they had against the weaker monsters. Still clearing the tunnels quickly became tedious. Thankfully, Clare turned it into a bit of a competition and they started counting who had more kills.

"Fifty-seven!" shouted Clare.

"Sixty-one, sixty-two, and sixty-three!" shouted Lock from farther down the tunnel.

"Bullshit! You just hit fifty!" argued Clare as she rushed to catch up.

Lock stood there waiting, with arms on his hips, "Count the bodies if you want but bats travel in large numbers."

Clare kicked one of the dead bats, "I'll pass. Bats are gross and I'll bet the next chamber guardian is going to be a giant bat."

"I thought I didn't have anything to bed?" asked Lock with a sly grin.

Clare shoved him to keep moving, "You don't, it's a figure of speech. You know one those things adults say to make a point. You should try it instead of grunting every time you swing that sword."

"Don't act like I'm such a child, I hear you making that ' _HoooAH'_ sound whenever you charge your spellrod," countered Lock.

Clare waved off the comment, "Whatever, looks like the fourth chamber is up ahead, we need to find another tunnel."

Lock put his hand up to stop her, "Hold up, I've been marking them. This is the last one."

"Damn, I still need a few hundred XP to hit level five. What about you?" asked Clare.

"About the same. I know we were going to try to level up, but I don't think heading back to the other floors is an option," said Lock.

Clare looked like she was about to argue but nodded hear head, "Agreed, there's no time for that. We'll just have to risk it and hope for the best."

"Before we go do you have anymore of those potions?" asked Lock.

"Only one more stamina and two mana but I was hoping to save them for the last chamber," said Clare.

"Damn," said Lock, "In that case, I'm ready whenever you are."

"Lead the way," said Clare with a nod.

Lock stalked into the fourth chamber, but he was barely five feet inside when he knew something was wrong. Maybe it was because the room was too quiet, or too still or maybe it was just too unthreatening to truly be unthreatening. Whatever it was, something screamed at him to escape and fast.

He used Flash Step to leapt backwards. At the same time he slashed in his wake and shoved Clare back into the tunnel. Instead of retreating into safety she collided with an inky black wall of shifting shadows. Clare opened her mouth to complain then shut it and gulped down a mouthful of air.

The next thing he knew there was an impossibly pale man in tattered robes standing in front of them looking down at his own chest. The man touched his hand to his chest and looked down at his fingers. They were coated in a putrid black blood, "You're a quick one."

"You haven't seen anything yet," replied Lock.

The pale man flashed a pair of gleaming white canines in an amused smile, "Ah, the requisite boasting. Its been so long that I almost forgot about that part and the last time I tasted my own blood," said the pale man as he paused to lick the blood from his finger tips, "You are going to provide some much needed entertainment."

"Only if you find a sword through the heart entertaining," replied Lock.

The pale man's face curled into a lopsided grin, "Threats can't mask the fear in your heart," then he flicked his bloody hand so fast that it was little more than a blur. In that instant his hand was perfectly clean and his chest healed. The only part of him that lacked utter perfection were his tattered robes.

"Lock," said Clare. Her voice quivered but despite the fear her spellrod began to cast a gentle glow from behind him.

"Don't worry about him, he's just an Ashwisp," replied Lock with as much confidence as he could muster.

The Ashwisp chuckled, "Quite right, but you have something else to worry about," then he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room. He raised his pale hand and snapped his fingers. A moment later two blobs of shadow drifted into the room from the cavern behind the Ashwisp, "My two new friends. I never did get their names."

As the Ashwisp spoke the shadows dripped off the two figures like a falling curtain.

"Jasper and Drew," breathed Clare.

"Hey," snapped Lock, "Time to focus. Those two are not the problem. We take out the Ashwisp and we stop them too."

The light from Clare's spellrod started to flicker and dim, "He's too fast, he'll kill us. We need to leave before we end up like those two."

Not turning your back to an enemy was one the first lessons Lock learned as a child, but he did it anyway. He flicked Clare's chin with his free hand and looked her in the eye, "It's not speed, just a trick that combines air and shadow mana. When he moves like that he can't hurt us but as you saw, we can hurt him."

"But... Jasper and Drew... he enslaved them," stammered Clare still stricken with a perfectly rational fear.

"It's his mental attack, and he's doing it to us already. Inducing fear to take control," Lock flicked Clare's chin again, "You need to push it to the back of your mind. You hear me?"

Clare finally pulled her eyes away from Jasper and Drew and met Lock's eye, "Yeah..." she said a little shaky then the light from her rod brightened, "Yeah. I mean yes. I'm focused. Let's kill this fucker."

Chapter 7:

Killing a wisp is a challenging feat, like trying to catch the wind. Killing one while two novice magi peppered you with mana bolts, was like chasing the wind in a thunderstorm and trying to avoid the rain. If it wasn't for their much improved weapons and some decent teamwork Clare and Lock would have lost in seconds.

Clare's weapon was able to deflect the mana blasts like she had done it thousands of times and with her new spellrod her blasts of light wasted less mana yet caused more damage. If she wanted to, she probably could have taken them out with one large blast. But they weren't the real enemy so instead she fell into a battle of attrition.

The goal was to buy time so Lock could get close to the wisp and kill him. He'd already proven that he had the speed and power to damage the wisp. The only problem was that Lock had to get close before he used Flash Step and the wisp fled across the chamber before he ever got close enough.

"I can't hold them off forever," said Clare.

"No, but please do try," taunted the Ashwisp right before he disappeared across the chamber once again, "I'm rather enjoying this."

"It's no good, we need to try something else," said Lock as he pulled up next to Clare.

"I'm open to ideas," said Clare as she jumped to avoid a blast from Drew then fired a blast to distract Jasper.

"You remember how we found the fusion chamber? Think you can do that again?" asked Lock.

Clare glanced at her wrist, "Yeah but not with these two assholes attacking me."

Lock didn't waste time on words. Instead he rushed past Clare and attacked Drew. If his memory was right, Jasper had higher stats, which likely made him the stronger brother. Enslaved or not, the protective brother instinct was still there and with one swift attack Lock put Drew on the defensive and triggered Jasper to attack him instead of Clare.

The only problem, they were both ranged fighters like Clare and Lock was not. His best option was to dodge and close the gap between himself and Drew. The good thing was that he didn't have to win the fight. He just had to keep them off Clare.

That was when Drew did the unexpected. He stopped his retreat and swung his charged spellrod at Lock's midsection. Lock's dueling instincts kicked in and he bounced back. The move took him clear of Drew's attack but a blast from Jasper caught Lock in the back.

As he lurched forward Drew followed up with a backhand strike from his charged spellrod. This time he narrowly avoided the attack by dropping into an offhand roll. As he popped out of the roll Lock used his momentum to hop to the side, putting Drew between himself and Jasper.

Before he re-engaged a massive section of the chamber wall exploded into a cloud of dust and shards of stone. The shockwave from the explosion knocked all three of them off their feet.

As Lock blinked the dust from his eyes and tried to reorient himself. The next thing he knew the Ashwisp's voice echoed around the chamber, "Forget him you idiots. The girl, get the girl."

Something in those words reminded Lock of the endless lectures with his father after their countless sparing lessons.

Fights aren't pretty. They're fast and ugly. Winning is even uglier and you can't do it by sitting on your ass.

There were seconds before the Ashwisp's command would take hold of Jasper and Drew, he had to act. Lock scrambled to get his feet under him and lunged at Drew. His shoulder caught Drew in the stomach. That made it easy to use his greater size and strength to shove Drew backwards into his brother. The sudden movement left him sprawled on the ground again, but the two brothers went down hard. More important one of them lost their spellrod on the way down.

Not wanting them to recover the lost weapon Lock pushed himself up and did a sloppy version of a belly crawl toward the spellrod. He lashed his hand out to snag the weapon and found nothing but stale air. The Ashwisp plucked it off the ground a fraction of a second before Lock could claim it.

"You are no longer amusing," said the Ashwisp as he pointed the spellrod at Lock.

On instinct Lock curled into a ball but it did little to protect him from the barrage of mana blasts the Ashwisp fired into his back. The force of the blasts was nothing compared to what Clare could manage but the Ashwisp's rapid fire cut through Lock's simple leather armor and flattened him to the ground.

Every shot tore a hole in his armor and burnt away tiny patches of his skin. As more and more of his skin was burnt away the pain threatened to leave him unconscious and helpless. With a grunt of effort, he pushed through the pain and tried to roll away. He didn't make it more than an inch off the ground when something slammed against the side of his body and sent him tumbling across the cavern floor.

The last thing he saw was an explosion of blinding golden light shooting across the chamber before the pain became too much and made him black out.

"Come-on, come-on, please be alright," said Clare as she cradled Lock's head in her lap. Her spellrod dangled from her wrist and bumped into his shoulder. That gentle touch sent a lance of pain down his back and forced him awake. Thankfully when he opened his eyes the blinding light was gone.

"Did we win?" asked Lock.

"Quiet," said Clare as she pressed a tiny vial to his lips, "Drink this and stay still. Once the potion works, we need to go."

Lock pushed the pain to the back of his mind and swallowed the potion. It burned like drinking pepper juice and damn near left him in tears. He did all he could not to move or react but that potion was intense.

It also worked and slowly the pain in his body began to subside.

He laid there still and waited until his breathing evened out, "What happen?"

Clare's top lip curled up at the edges and she bit off the words as she spoke, "There's some good and some bad. The Ashwisp's dead and Jasper and Drew are themselves again."

"That's the good part, right?" asked Lock.

"Sort of. We need to go after Jasper and Drew. Can you stand?" asked Clare.

Lock flexed his hands then twisted his midsection, "Well the pain's gone, but I must have dropped my sword again."

"Yeah, about that. I'll explain on the way," said Clare as she offered her hand.

Lock accepted her hand but Clare was too tiny to offer any real help. He pulled on her arm but had to stand up with his own power for the most part, "You're starting to worry me."

Clare immediately took off at a steady jog, "They went down the second tunnel from the right. If we hurry we should be able to catch up."

A twinge of pain shot up Lock's back as he fell in a few steps behind her, but it was nothing compared to the intensity from earlier.

"Start talking," prompted Lock.

Clare's eyes flicked to Lock then back to the tunnel in front of them, "I'm not sure if you were still conscious but after you tackled the Stanfords, I blew up the Ashwisp."

"I figured as much after it exploded in my face," said Lock.

"What was I supposed to do, it would have killed you?" snapped Clare.

Lock patted the air with his hands, "Take it easy, I'm not blaming you."

Clare turned her head away from Lock and sped up a little. Lock increased his pace to keep up, "I was only trying to hit the Ashwisp but it was on top of you and I didn't want it to escape like it did with my first attack."

"So you added some extra mana to make sure you got him. Good call," said Lock.

"Maybe, or maybe it was overkill. The Stanfords thought so," said Clare.

"Fuck them, they got brainwashed and you freed them. They have no right to criticize how you did it," said Lock.

"Well..." said Clare, "I may have blown up more than just the Ashwisp."

Lock's eyes bulged, "My grandpa's sword."

"Not quite. I blew up Drew's spellrod," said Clare.

"Then what happen to my sword?" asked Lock but as soon as he said it the answer came to him, "Wait, that cocksucker took it didn't he."

"I tried to stop them, but I emptied my mana into that last attack, and I was more concerned with healing you," said Clare.

Lock waved his hand at Clare, "Don't worry about it, I know how to handle a couple of bullies."

Clare caught Lock's forearm and slowed her pace, "Hold on."

Lock rolled his wrist and broke Clare's hold on his forearm, "For what? They took my sword. I'll get it back."

"I'm not arguing that, just be careful. That healing potion might get you up and moving but it won't put you at one-hundred percent," said Clare.

"I'll be fine. I've been dealing with punks like them all my life," said Lock as he started jogging again.

"Okay, okay, just be ready. They both hit level 5 when the Ashwisp died," warned Clare.

"So did I," said Lock as he raised his hand into a fist.

Lvl 5 Human Male: Matlock Sharp

Exp. 120/2441

62/211 Health.

76/76 Mana.

115/183 Stamina.

"That's great, but don't underestimate them. They've both been trained by Magister Slater and if the rumors are true, he's never lost a duel," said Clare.

"Then he's never faced my dad," replied Lock offhand.

"Those two might be pricks but they each have twice as much mana as you and trust me they know how to use it," said Clare.

Lock just laughed.

"I'm serious," said Clare.

"I know you are, and that's what's funny." said Lock.

Clare sped up and jumped in front of Lock, "Look I know you're tough, but they aren't monsters and if you attack them, they won't be fighting like half-baked zombies."

"What is your point? That I should just let them go?" asked Lock.

"I'm just trying to point out that you are, injured, unarmed, outnumbered and they are very well trained," said Clare.

Finally Lock stopped brushing Clare aside and looked her straight on. The concern on her face was enough to give him pause and reconsider his next move.

"I hear ya, and all that makes perfect sense. But sometimes the right thing to do doesn't make sense at all. Sometimes you have to fight when the odds are stacked against you. Besides, I'm not outnumbered right?" asked Lock.

Clare pressed her eyes closed for a moment then bobbed her head, "I'm with you."

The conviction in Clare's voice brought an unexpected smile to Lock's face, because despite their differences and previous arguments, they had become something more than opportunistic allies. They were now friends.

"I know," said Lock as he took off a steady jog.

Having voiced her mind, Clare followed a few paces back in what had become their 'go to' combat formation. In less than a minute they caught up to the Stanford brothers. The brothers must have heard or been expecting them as both stood side by side facing back up the tunnel with their weapons at the ready.

"You two have gone far enough. Either you pop those crystals and save yourselves any further embarrassment. Or we'll make you," said Jasper.

Before Lock could even react, Clare snapped, "Embarrassment?! You're the one that was trapped by the Ashwisp, you delusional prick."

Lock's eyes flicked to Clare then back to Jasper then settled on Drew, "Give back my sword and things don't need to get ugly."

Drew leveled the sword at Lock, "Give back my spellrod you," but Jasper silenced him by raising his free hand.

"A reasonable request. The weapon no doubt has considerable value to you, just as my brother's spellrod had value to him," Jasper paused to scratch his chin, "He shall return it to you once we have cleared the final chamber. You have my word."

"Only a fool accepts the word of a thief," replied Lock.

Jasper waved his hand at Drew keeping him silent, "No need to start throwing insults but I take that as a refusal which leaves us at a bit of an impasse."

"That sword is leaving in my hand, one way or another," said Lock as he shifted his gaze to Drew, "Your choice."

Drew's face screwed up as if he suddenly smelled a pile of garbage, "You should be honored I even considered using your filthy blade."

Lock triggered Flash Step and was in Drew's face before he finished speaking. To his credit Drew's instincts were quite fast as he at least tried to attack. With the speed of Flash Step Lock caught his hand and elbowed him in the chest. It wasn't enough to do any major harm, but it loosened his grip on the sword. Lock yanked the blade out of his hand and pointed it at Drew.

With his attention focused on Drew, Lock missed what happen between Jasper and Clare, but now Clare had her golden glowing spellrod pointed at Jasper. Jasper on the other hand stood behind some sort of mana barrier and stared at Clare. The hatred that passed between them was almost palpable. Whatever had put them at odds, it had had time to fester. Hatred like that had nothing to do with Lock's sword or being ungrateful.

As Drew stumbled back, Lock bounced back to Clare's side, "It's done!" he shouted then lowed his voice, "We still have a big fight ahead of us."

It was a surprise when Jasper was the first to drop his shield, "This isn't over but, now isn't the time to settle it."

"But brother," began Drew but Jasper silenced him.

"If you couldn't hold onto your weapons, then you don't deserve them. You better learn that by the time father hears what happen," said Jasper.

After chastising his brother, Jasper turned his back and walked farther down the tunnel. Drew gave Lock a hateful stare then rushed after his brother.

"Where to from here?" asked Lock.

"I know we're short on time but there's no way I'm going after those two. I don't ever want to see them again," said Clare.

"Can't argue with that. Besides I need a little more time to recover. Your potion is wearing off and my back is killing me," replied Lock.

Chapter 8:

Finding another path down to the last chamber was not difficult. Aside from a scant bat or two, it was almost as if all of the tunnels had been cleared.

The never-ending twists, turns and dead ends from the upper floors were gone. And even the ground changed. Perfectly level cut stone tiles replaced the uneven rock and dirt floor of the caves above. Everything about the tunnel seemed to invite them to enter the last chamber for their final challenge.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Clare as the tunnel began to open up to the final chamber.

"Not much we can do about it, less than an hour left," said Lock in agreement then he moved forward in silence to the end of the tunnel.

"See anything?" asked Clare as she pulled up beside him.

"Not sure, the chamber is massive. I see what looks like a ring of pillars toward the center of the room and whatever's in the middle of the pillars is glowing," answered Lock.

"My brother called it the Well of Radiance. All we have to do is reach it, and the Initiation is over," said Clare, "But I've heard stories about all sorts of weird stuff happening on the final floor."

In an effort to gage the distance Lock tried to count the number of tiles between them and the pillars. He lost count around fifty and hadn't counted more than a tenth of the distance. Each tile was about a yard long, which meant they had at least five hundred yards to cross with no cover or light. If they were attacked out there, they would have little warning and nowhere to hide.

"There's a lot open space between us and the well. As soon as we're out in the open an attack could come from anywhere."

"Yeah but I don't see any other options," said Clare as she placed her hand on Lock's shoulder and pointed across his body, "Looks like the Stanford's came to the same conclusion."

Lock cocked his head toward Clare with a sideways grin, "I want to watch them get mauled by whatever monster is lurking out there?"

Clare's eyes light up, "I'd love to, but I want my Blessing more."

"Back to back then," said Lock.

"Yeah, and I'll give us some light. Don't want anything sneaking up on us," said Clare.

Of course, no need to worry about the darkness with her fancy new spellrod.

With their plan formed, together they moved away from the safety of the tunnel and into the unknown. Lock kept his head on a swivel, scanning the darkness beyond the light. Every few seconds he would glance toward the pillars to make sure they were moving in the right direction then back to check on Clare.

Slow and steady they crossed the chamber. When they were around the midpoint Lock realized that he was covered in sweat, his heart hammered faster than it had the entire time in the tunnels. Something about the openness and limited sight brought up a deep instinctual fear. He glanced back at Clare. A few loose strands of hair were stuck to her face, her breath uneven.

Then something occurred to him; what if the challenge wasn't to defeat a monster? What if they had to overcome fear?

But not just to push past a passing moment of fear, they had done that many times in the previous challenges. This challenge was different. The fear was constant; it could not be pushed aside by the urgency of battle. This fear could only be overcome by accepting its presence.

Lock took a deep breath and let his muscles relax.

Whatever happens I'm ready for it.

A crack of thunder shook the room almost like it was responding to his thoughts. The sudden noise caused Clare to jump, letting out a little yelp.

Lock caught her with his free hand, "It'll be alright, no matter what it is. We've got this."

His reassuring touch caused Clare to relax, "Yeah, thanks."

A wave of hot air washed over them and was followed by a series of crackling pops emanating from the Well of Radiance. When they checked the source of the sound it was like a bonfire had exploded inside the ring of pillars. Patches of flame littered the area around the pillars but only for a few seconds. As the patches of flame died so to did the bonfire.

Clare gulped down a mouthful of air, "What do you think the odds are that we have to fight a dragon?" Lock froze mid-step, but Clare was quick to nudge him, "What?"

"The chamber is Dragon sized," said Lock but then his rational mind returned, "But no. I've seen dragon bones, there would be no missing it."

"That's reassuring," said Clare.

"If it helps, I'm pretty sure whatever we have to fight is waiting for us at the well," said Lock.

Right after Lock spoke something exploded in the same direction that they last saw Jasper and Drew. Both Clare and Lock turned their attention toward the sounds just in time to see Drew get yanked away from the light of Jasper's rod. Jasper threw up another one of his mana barriers while his brother's screams echoed throughout the chamber.

To his credit Jasper rushed into the chamber without fear in an attempt to find his brother. He was just too slow and the chamber too big. Whatever took Drew, it had him and slowly his screams faded to an eerie silence. Hopefully he still had his crystal.

"Perhaps we should hurry," said Clare.

"Agreed," replied Lock.

With renewed caution the two of them made their way to the ring of pillars. Out of the corner of his eye Lock kept track of Jasper. Not that it was difficult as he maintained his mana barrier the entire time. It would have been a lie if he said he watched him out of concern. But the main reason he watched Jasper was because he would be the first to encounter whatever threat waited for them beside the well.

As Jasper passed through the ring of pillars it sounded like he was speaking to someone, but they were still to far away to make out what was being said.

A few moments later a male voice answered. They were still too far away to understand the words, but the intent was clear. The man had dismissed Jasper like an insolent child.

Jasper responded in an even voice, but his usual cocky undertone was hard to miss. This time a woman answered in a soothing almost melodic voice.

When Jasper answered they were finally close enough to hear what he said, "What do you mean time has not run out and I am here."

Clare's caught Lock's eye and together they sprinted the last twenty yards. As the voices indicated there was a man and a woman standing next to the Well of Radiance along with Jasper. He stood to their right between a pair pillars with his spellrod charged and ready.

The man stood like stone with his arms crossed in front of him. He wore a cream-colored cotton shirt over a pair of simple grey trousers. He was unarmed and looked just like one of the thousands nameless faces Lock passed everyday as he walked down the street aside from one thing. The only feature that stood out was his eyes. They emanated a gentle light-blue glow as if somehow his eyeballs had been charged with mana.

One look in those eyes and there was no denying that this man was powerful far above what they could handle.

The woman to his right was the stark opposite. Her arms rested calmly at her side and at the sight of them her face turned into a welcoming smile. She wore an elegant day dress of blazing crimson and around her neck hung a large heart shaped ruby that seemed to burn with an inner flame. Unlike her companion the woman was armed with a short thin spellrod, that looked almost like a sewing needle.

The woman shifted her weight and her needle like spellrod burst into a blade of pure flame, "Clarisse Everbright, you've done well," said the woman as she raised the flaming spellrod above her head, "Now show me what you've learned."

The woman slashed the air in front of her and created an arc of flames. The wave of flames flew straight at Clare. Without thinking, Lock jumped in front of her and sliced through the flames with his Void powered sword. The arc of flames split broke apart and littered the ground all around them with tiny bits of lingering flame.

Instantly the woman's smile was gone, replaced by a pair of furious eyes. She bounced a few inches into the air and a pair of flaming wings burst from her back. She fixed her eyes on Lock began to drift toward him.

"Insolent child," said the woman as she once again raised her flaming spellrod.

As the woman began to swing her sword, the stone face man appeared in front of her with his hand clamped around her wrist. Just like that, one moment he was standing next to the well, the next he was twenty feet away.

Lock had seen his father pull off similar feats countless times but there was one major difference. And that difference was terrifying. There was no sign of movement, not the slightest scuff on stone floor or ruffle of clothing. Even the man's hair remained perfectly still.

"Are you picking a fight with Temporal Guard?" asked the man.

"He is the one who interferes, not I," replied the woman.

"He did and has proven himself worth my time. So, I ask again, Cassandra. Are you looking to cross the Temporal Guard?" asked the man.

The woman cast her eyes to the side, the flaming wings winked out and she drifted back to the ground, "No, but I request that you ensure he does not interrupt again."

The man released the woman's wrist and dipped his head in acceptance. Then just like that he was gone. A heartbeat later he appeared again. This time his hand was clamped around the back of Clare's neck.

He shoved Clare at Cassandra, "Remove yourself from my presence."

The woman bowed her head, "As you wish," then she flashed a playful smile at the man, "Little Leon."

Without another word Cassandra swirled her spellrod above her head and created a spinning mass of flames. The flames wrapped around her and Clare blocking them from sight then dissipated into a puff of hot air. Clare and Cassandra were gone.

"Theatrics," said Leon as he shook his head.

He still had no idea what was going on, the final challenge was nothing like what he expected.

Everything they faced up to this point was difficult, but victory always seemed achievable. After their brief display of power there was no way Clare stood a chance against Cassandra. The same for Lock against Leon. These two were in a league of their own. So what was expected of them?

Wait a minute what did Cassandra say, 'show me what you learned'. The point of it was not to win the fight; it was just to show what you could do.

"MatLock Sharp," said Leon as he turned to face him and folded his arms in front of his chest, "You have piqued the interest of the Temporal Warden. He has sent me to assess your potential. Are you ready?"

Lock took a steadying breath and settled into a low guard but before he said anything Jasper voiced his outrage, "You would test this lowborn fool and not me?!"

Leon stood motionless like a cat waiting to pounce then without warning his left forearm snapped up. The air around Leon cracked like thunder then a heartbeat later Jasper tumbled into the darkness as if he had been hit by a charging bull. The only sign of what had happen was a cloud blue sparks that lingered in the air. The same blue as Leon's eyes.

"Lower your weapon. This is not a test of martial ability," said Leon.

A sudden wave of relief ran through Lock as he dropped his hands and stood up straighter. As much as he excelled at fighting, he was injured and even a sparing match would painful. Let alone one against a guy like this.

"Then what are you going to assess?" asked Lock.

"How well you know yourself," answered Leon as he held up three fingers. After a moment Leon curled two fingers under his thumb leaving only his index finger, "First question. What was your first lesson?"

Lock's mind raced. _Lesson what lesson._ He had countless lessons with his father, but what was the first one. _Footwork, running, balance._ He'd been working on those things for longer than he could remember but what did they translate into?

Leon folded his arms and looked to be running out of patience, so Lock blurted the first thing that came to mind, "Evasion."

Leon's eyes narrowed, "Explain."

On instinct Lock started to repeat his father's words, "Most fights are about avoiding your opponent and waiting for an opening. It's a mistake to think you can win just by attacking them."

"And how did the slime teach this to you?" asked Leon.

The question took Lock by surprise for a second time. _Slime_. He had not encountered a slime until his Initiation. That was what he meant; the first floor. What did it teach him?

"I realized I did not have an effective weapon when I attacked one of the smaller slimes. I did not want to make the same mistake again," answered Lock with confidence this time.

"Good. _Know your limits_. You have many, as do we all. To be a Temporal you must understand this and strive to overcome your limits. Always. Improve. That is our first tennet," said Leon with a nod and what could have been a slight smile, "Understand?"

"Yes, training changes but it never ends," said Lock echoing his father's words once again.

"Indeed. The second lesson?" asked Leon.

Now that he understood the context of Leon's question his mind turned to the fight with the giant spider. How did he win? He smashed it between the eyes with the butt of his sword. Why? Because nothing else worked. His void sword hardly scratched the spider's hide and Clare's mana blasts did next to nothing. But why? Because they were out of options, he had to win in that moment, or they would have been goners.

"To never give up," answered Lock.

Leon unfolded his arms and took a half step back, "No. Even an animal continues to fight when their life depends on it. If that is all you learned, you are not fit to be a Temporal."

_No?_ How could it not be the lesson? Perseverance is what got them through that fight. Hold on, he called himself a Temporal Guard. A guard's duty is to protect others and in that fight, he protected Clare by killing the Spider.

"Wait, I learned that sometimes the only way to protect your friends, is to kill your enemy," said Lock.

Leon shook his head, "No," then folded his arms in front of his chest again, "But you did act decisive out of a desire to protect the girl. The ability to think clearly and act decisive is a rare trait even for a guardian. To be a Temporal it is essential. And for that I will reinforce your second lesson this one time."

Without warning Leon attacked. Not with superhuman speed or any of his Temporal abilities. He attacked with the speed and finesse of a professional fighter. First with a straight jab followed by a low sweeping kick. Even with little warning Lock's instincts kicked in and he swatted down Leon's jab and stepped over his kick.

Leon's next series of blows came even faster, a quick punching combination followed by a front kick. The punches were meant to distract from the real attack, the kick. It was a simple tactic that Lock had seen his father use hundreds of times, but Leon's kick was lightning fast. It would have shattered Lock's hip, but with Flash Step he was able to bounce away.

"I see why the Warden took notice of you," said Leon.

Lock twirled his sword and let his muscles relax before their next exchange, "I thought this wasn't a test of martial ability."

"This isn't a test," said Leon right before he disappeared. When he reappeared his fist struck Lock in the face like a hammer, "It's a reminder."

The punch was strong, but Lock's body was relaxed enough that he was able to roll with it and maintain his balance. As he spun away from the punch, he lashed out with his sword to counter attack.

Leon was already gone, "If this was a real fight, do you think a sword would make a difference? The Temporal Guard does not need weapons, they are weapons."

Again, Leon disappeared. The next thing Lock knew his hand went numb and his sword clanged off one of the nearby pillars.

In a panic Lock triggered Flash Step, jumped backwards and spun around hoping to catch Leon off guard with his speed. As he spun Leon reappeared less than a foot in front of him only he was down on one knee. Enhanced speed or not he was powerless to stop Leon from jabbing him in the stomach. Lock lurched forward from the wind being knocked out of him, "You think moving fast changes anything?"

As Lock struggled to recover his breath Leon released an onslaught of jabs and punches. The attacks bounced Lock around like he was caught in the middle of a stampeding hoard of cattle. His head spun until finally he felt a solid blow all along the side of his body. He blinked away the dizziness and realized that final blow wasn't a blow at all. It was him hitting the ground.

Leon nudged Lock onto his back with the tip of his boot and stepped on his chest, "Weapon's gone. Speed failed. So now what?"

Never give up.

That was the lesson for him. Not some cryptic bullshit that Leon thought he should have divined from the fight.

Never give up.

The words were hammered into his head since the day that he was born. That simple phrase had gotten him through many fights, including the one with the giant spider. Who was Leon to tell him otherwise?

Lock stared up at Leon and shoved his foot off of his chest, "I just realized something."

Leon kept his balance but only by planting his foot right under Lock's armpit, "Let's hear it, but you better be sure. No more second chances."

Lock couldn't stop his mouth from curling into a smile right before he clamped his arm around Leon's ankle. Before he could react, Lock used his other hand to grab Leon's calf to form a figure four-ankle lock.

Just like most people who have their leg trapped, Leon's initial reaction was to try to pull his leg free. It was the perfect way to give Lock all the leverage he would need to dislocate his foot.

"Yeah, you're faster and you've got me outclassed, but..." said Lock as he tightened his hold, "I'm bigger," then he tightened it more, "I'm stronger," then Lock arched his back in an attempt to break Leon's ankle, "and I Never Give Up!"

Right before Leon's ankle snapped the entire world spun as if they were suddenly tossed into the middle of a hurricane. The sensation only lasted for a moment, but it was enough for Leon to break free.

Leon stumbled a few steps and dropped onto his knees, "You're one stubborn S.O.B."

Lock's stomach twisted and he felt himself start to gag, but before he threw up all over himself Leon shoved him onto his side.

"Don't try to fight it. You'll feel better in a few minutes," said Leon as he patted Lock's back in a surprisingly gentle gesture, "I meant it when I said that was the wrong answer but what you showed me just now was not simple determination. It was _Adaptation_. When one attack failed, you tried another. Not blindly but also not with conscious consideration."

For a few moments Leon sat in silence while Lock puked his brains out. He didn't fight it, he just let his stomach empty itself and tried his best not to get any of it on his cloths. By the time it was done, he did feel better. Weak but better.

Lock sat up and scooted a few feet away from his pile of puke, "Does that mean that I failed or that I passed?"

Leon tested his ankle, then pushed himself up and offered Lock a hand, "Neither, there's still one more question," before Lock could answer Leon raised his hand, "In that fight you showed the ability to adapt. When one attack did not work, you tried another. In the end that's what made you succeed. Adaptation. But you did it more on instinct than by intention."

Lock took Leon's hand but stood up with his own strength, "Point taken. Always, improve as you said. You ready to hear the last one?"

Leon smirked, "Go for it."

"Sometimes victory is ugly," said Lock without hesitation.

Leon's smirk widened as he snorted out a laugh, "I was going for _Sacrifice_ but the sentiment is the same."

"Does that mean I passed?" asked Lock.

"It means that I have judged you worthy of carrying a Temporal Blessing, should you choose," answered Leon as he walked over to the Well of Radiance.

Lock let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and felt a wave of relief settle over him. All of the injuries from the day were not for nothing. They weighed on him and as soon the relief passed he felt intense exhaustion. Exhaustion so bad that he almost collapsed right there.

By sheer will he pushed his exhaustion to the side and walked over to the well, "Now what?"

"Easy. Drink from the well and the Well will take care of the rest," answered Leon.

Chapter 9:

Whatever happen after drinking from the Well of Radiance, Lock had no idea. Either his memories were lost, or he passed out. Regardless a lot of time must have passed. The first thing he noticed was the pre-dawn sunlight. The next thing was that he was on a bed that was way too comfortable to be the bundle of blankets he normally slept on. That meant he must be in one of the spare bedrooms of Lord Stanwick's Mansion.

Leon was right, receiving his Blessing was easy but he failed to mention what sort of abilities he would get. Regardless, that was a problem he could figure out at another time. For now, he had something else to attend to, his aching stomach. Comfortable bed or not he had to find some food.

He threw aside the blankets, and immediately realized he was butt ass naked. Once the shock of that wore off, he also noticed that he was clean, and his wounds had healed at an alarming rate. That or he'd been asleep for a lot longer than a few hours.

A quick scan of the room and he found a fresh stack of cloths. A pair of maroon trousers with a cream button down shirt, the colors of house Stanwick. He would have preferred not to wear the colors of any house, but it was better than walking around naked. Besides, there was a higher priority. Food.

Luckily all he had to do was follow his nose... and one of the Lord Stanwick's maids.

"Excuse me, what was your?" asked Lock.

"Rebecca milord," replied Stanwick's maid with a quick curtsey.

"Thanks Rebecca, but I'm no lord. Just a lucky fool," said Lock.

Rebecca started to speak then stopped, "Sorry, my mistake. I meant no disrespect..."

"No worries. I can't imagine Magister Tempo owes many favors to fools like me," said Lock, "Mind showing me to the kitchens?"

"There's a spread laid out in the dining room. This way," said Rebecca then she let out a nervous bit of laughter.

Lock thanked her again and let her lead him to the dining hall. Instead of making her more uncomfortable Lock decided to keep his mouth shut as he followed her through the halls. Before he knew it, Rebecca held open a pair of double doors, "Here we are."

"Thanks," said Lock as he dipped inside. Clare was already there along with a handful of what looked like other initiates. All of them were dressed in Lord Stanwick's colors.

"Finally woke up I see," said Clare as she walked over with a plate full of some sort of little sandwiches.

"How long was I asleep?" asked Lock.

"I was just teasing you, most of us couldn't sleep after getting our Blessing," said Clare.

"Most of who?" asked Lock.

"The other initiates. The ones that passed at least. Wait, you didn't get your head bashed in by that mean guy, did you?" asked Clare.

"No. I mean kind of but I'm fine. Just hungry," said Lock.

Clare twisted to the side to hide her plate behind her body, "Don't look at my food."

Lock flashed a smile then used Flash Step to snatch a pair of sandwiches off of Clare's plate and downed them two quick gulps, "Hank ou."

Clare shoved him and pulled her plate away again, "The table's full of food. Get your own."

As if responding to her jest, Lock's stomach rumbled, "Yeah good idea."

After hearing that Clare lead him past the food table and even offered to carry an extra plate of food for him. Once they were loaded up with some food, Clare led them to a couple seats so they had some space to exchange stories about their last encounter.

As it turned out Clare had a similar but far less violent question session with Cassandra. In the end she earned what was called a Searing Blessing. It gave her some ability to summon fire or use fire. He didn't know enough about Blessings to understand fully.

"I thought you wanted a Light Blessing," asked Lock, "Ya know like the rest of your family?"

"Eh," said Clare, "Fire's close enough. Besides, my dad knows I can control something like that."

"Fire does sound pretty cool to me.," said Lock, "Better than Temporal anyway. I don't even know what it means."

"Better than Temporal?!" blurted one of the initiates that was apparently listening in on their conversation, "You must be joking, Temporals can use Spirit mana and that is far superior to any other type."

"Sod off Ruffus," said another initiate who seemed to think he was also part of the conversation, "You only think Spirit mana is powerful because of the Santi's."

Well that was a good bit of information. It was well known that the Santi family did not earn their position simply by birth right or political maneuvering. They did it because they were strong, or they possessed a strong and unique Blessing. Spirit mana might have something to do with it. That was good news to him.

Without warning the double doors slammed open. Then a sudden snap brought silence to the room and pulled Lock from his thoughts. When he looked up Magister Tempo was standing by the entrance to the room with the other two Magisters who Lock could not remember.

"That's much better," said Tempo into the silence, "Congratulations Initiates. Our gracious host, Lord Dmitri Stanwick, has a few words for all of you."

The two Magisters held open the doors and in walked Lord Stanwick. He was wearing an elaborate cloak and an almost identical set of clothing to what most of the Initiates now wore. Fitting, considering they were his house's colors.

Stanwick flicked his cloak off of his shoulders; "Today you have all earned great honor for yourselves and your families. You have my congratulations."

Stanwick paused to look around at the faces of the Initiates, "Earning a Blessing from one of the twelve great deities is no small feat. But it is only the first step in a long journey. The next is to be properly trained and for that I offer my support."

Stanwick motioned to one of the Magisters, "For those of you who pledge to be one of my retainers there are aurabands," and the Magister held up a handful of aurabands much like the one they were given before the Initiation.

Next he motioned to Magister Tempo, "And enrollment forms for WayStar Academy. Tuition and housing will be taken care of as well as a monthly stipend of fifty talents."

"Regardless of what you choose, you are welcome to eat your fill and stay as long as you like. My doors are open to you, and good luck," said Stanwick then he spun on his heel, swished his cloak out like a fan and left the room.

As the doors slammed shut, Magister Tempo stepped up to address the room, "Lord Stanwick's offer is a generous one but I encourage all of you to take time to consider all of your options. One weeks from today Lord Santi will be holding his tri-annual games. The games are an opportunity for the Blessed of all skill levels to showcase their abilities and in turn attract a patron. I am sure some of you do not require any support, but the games are also a great way to gauge your own skill level."

Tempo took a step back and to the side giving the stage to one of the other Magisters Lock did not remember, "For those who do not remember me, I am Magister Cadence. You are all eager to go test out your new powers so I will be quick. Lord Santi's games feature three challenges for the recently Blessed."

Magister Cadence paused to hold up a finger, "One will focus on applying brute magical strength."

He added a second finger, "Two will focus on finesse."

Last he flipped his hand over to add a third finger, "Third is a test of speed."

Cadence dropped his hand and folded it neatly behind his back, "Prepare as best you can and good luck."

With those final words the room broke into dozens of little bits of chatter. Lock's brain was exploding with information. He had to find a patron, get training, and prepare for tests of some sort. On top of all that he had some sort of paperwork to fill out. Maybe Magister Tempo or Clare would be willing to help him with it.

"Planning to take Stanwick's offer?" asked Clare.

"Huh, ah no. But that paperwork I was going to get one. What about you?" said Lock.

"Heck no, my parents would kill me if I became a retainer. It might be a good option for you though," said Clare.

If she had been so blunt twenty-four hours ago Lock would have been offended but now, he was getting used to her straightforward nature. Besides she was right, he was poor as dirt and she was not. Regardless, he was not about to make a decision without talking to his dad first.

"I'd like to see what happens at the games first," said Lock.

"Good call, if you do well with even one of those challenges, I'll bet Stanwick will make a better offer," said Clare.

Better! Stanwick already offered fifty talents a month, that was over five times what his dad made in a month and she's saying you could get more just from doing well on a few simple tests.

It was time to start training.

Author's note

I know not everyone feels comfortable reviewing books, but I enjoy hearing from readers. I love even more to hear from fans. A simple comment would be amazing. If you didn't enjoy the story, I also encourage you more to give your feedback because a high five might feel good, but criticism is what helps me to improve. And that is priceless.

Thanks for Reading,

-Brian Declan-

To read more of my work you can check out what I've got in the works at my website: www.briankdeclan.com or sign-up to my mailing list and be the first to know about new releases: Subscribe.

Next Episode:

Lock completed his initiation, but that was only the beginning. Now he's got to prove his worth.

Set before him are three challenges, if he scores high enough and earns the support of a patron he'll be on the fast track to the life he wants.

Failure isn't an option.

Follow along in The Whetstone Fist - Episode Two.

Glossary

Adept – A mage with a Blessing that has successfully completed at least one year of formal education.

Archon – A mage that has never earned a Blessing.

Aspects – Light, Fire, Stasis, Life, Earth, Illusion, Void, Spirit, Water, Shadow, Air, or Mental.

Auraband – A tool in the shape of a tight bracelet that is specifically designed to monitor an individual's stats. It can also be used in combination with a spellrod to perform advanced targeting techniques.

Blessing – A Blessing is the reward for successful completion of an initiation. They can come in any of twelve different Aspects.

Over the generations Blessings of each Aspect have been grouped into four different tiers. Although there is great debate over the establishment of these tiers it is generally accepted. Tier one is the weakest and most common, Tier four is the rarest yet most potent.

To some extent Blessings are influenced by hereditarily though not in all cases.

In addition to the twelve aspects, Blessings also have up to three distinct subclasses.

Delve Team – A team of at most five magi that has come together with the specific purpose of venturing into a dungeon.

Dungeons – Dungeons are the most concentrated havens for wild monsters.

Ether – In short Ether is mana in liquid form, but it is far more most concentrated than the typical gaseous form of mana.

Exel – A mage with a Blessing that has successfully completed at least three year of formal education.

Guardsman – The lowest level of city defenders, they rely on martial skill instead of magical gifts. Despite their low status they are responsible for keeping pacified areas free of wild monsters and typically fight on the front lines.

Initiate – Any individual who has completed an initiation, earned a Blessing and has not yet completed any formal education.

Initiation – A formal test that takes place in rare, heavily guarded dungeons. Due to their rarity most countries conceal the location of initiation dungeons and restrict access to only the most well prepared. The actual test consists of clearing five floors; the first is a starting area, the next three are the main challenges and the last is an area reflection.

Leyline – Constantly shifting currents of mana that flow deep beneath the surface of the earth.

Mage/Magi – Any individual who has developed their ability to control their own mana. Often this is focused on enhancing their combat abilities or creating more potent magical items. Potions, spellrods, enchanted crystals, etc.

Magister – A title given to a Blessed mage that has completed five years of formal education and possess master level proficiency in at least one form of magical expression.

Magnus – A mage who has completed five years of formal education, achieved expert level proficiency in dueling, cooperative battle magic, defensive spellwork and can perform at least one area effect spell or skill.

Mana – The purest form of magic. It can come in any of thirteen different forms; one for each of the twelve Aspects as well as plain mana.

Mana Crystal – The most concentrated form of mana. Creation of synthetic mana crystals is an extensive, labor intensive process. The easiest way to obtain them is by defeating wild monsters before they have established themselves in a single location like a dungeon.

Potions – Potions come in many forms but are in short are created by fermenting ether so it can be consumed without adverse effects. The fermentation process can be altered to produce potions with a wide range of beneficial effects.

Praxar – A mage with a Blessing that has successfully completed at least four year of formal education.

Relar – A mage with a Blessing that has successfully completed at least two year of formal education.

Spellrod – The most common tool used by magi. It is a multi-use tool that enhances a mage's ability to cast spells, fire mana bolts and create barriers.

Waygate – Stable portals that allow for instantaneous travel between two locations.

Wells of Radiance – A series of wells with a single purpose, to grant a Blessing. How they grant Blessings is one of the great mysteries that magi have researched for centuries.

