Mythshaper - Chapter 67 and 68

Chapter 67: Aura Resonance

The returning flight was much more tame compared to the shocking speed at which Mum had driven us on the way here, allowing us to appreciate the full thrill of flying. Despite flying being one of my long-time goals, a part of me couldn’t wait for it to finish. The duel had formed too many questions I couldn't wait to ask Father.

The way his aura manipulated the elements of nature was nothing I had ever encountered or even read about. Even in stories, such demonstrations were purely associated with the Shapers or Knights of the sacred orders, who had been bestowed sacred relics.

Like the golden sword Alexis had borrowed, which could manipulate light and fire elements. However, the blade Father carried, Ouroborus, couldn’t be associated with any of the elements he demonstrated, be it water, wind, or earth. If I were to guess, the aspect it pertained to was either darkness or shadow.

Moreover, it wasn’t only I who was curious about how such a thing was possible. Although most people had dispersed as we drew closer to our house, the woman who had challenged Father—Primus Plius Selene—seemed to have no intention of leaving. She was moving with us, engaging in small talk with Mum.

She was an old acquaintance of my parents, more so of Mum during her time in the Oracle Academy. When I finally asked Father about the elemental control, even her interest was piqued as she turned towards us.

"It is a kind of aura resonance that you can pick up once you advance in higher classes," Father said. "For example, the first sword, Whispering Gale, uses the resonance of Wind and Swiftness. Water and Concentration for Tidal Wave, and Heaviness and Earth for Walking Mountain. Of course, there is also Sharpness in all the moves, but that is a given for anything related to a blade.”

“Curious," said the militant woman, "I have experienced heaviness, sharpness, and swiftness often in battle, even learned resonances like Oscillation and Concentration, but never have I even heard of elemental resonances.”

Father merely shrugged, as if saying it wasn’t his problem, she hadn't heard of it.

“What is the difference?” I asked promptly. “Between shaping and these resonances?”

Father let Mum answer it. “Although both methods rely on mastery, shaping is far more versatile. . .” --She paused, facing Father-- “and wouldn’t be wrong to say, it is also more effortless compared to elemental resonance.”

“Effectively, my resonance is innately bound with my swordsmanship,” Father agreed. “I mastered them through sword forms, and without them, I won’t be able to display any of what you say.”

Whereas a Shaper merely needs to throw a bunch of essence threads and conjure any elements of their desire.

“With how prodigious you are with shaping already," Father patted me on the shoulder, “I don’t know if there’s any advantage in learning elemental resonance.”

"There is one,” Mum cut in. “It doesn’t burn on essence, only depletes your aura. But with the difficulty of commanding nature's forces, most Augmenters, even the fabled Knights, only trained in the non-elemental resonances."

"If one hadn’t reached the state of Aura Master,” Father commented, “the resonances were of little use."

"Ha! That explains why it wasn’t taught at the academy," Magus Selene said.

"What makes you think it wasn’t?" Mum smiled at her old friend. "Well, I'm unsure if it is now, but in our time, there was one Magister who taught this. The problem was that there were rarely any pupils who managed to accomplish it."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Is it Master Kaius’s class?"

Mum gave her a nod.

Her eyes lit up, but then she shook her head. "Hah, I can’t say I missed out on it, considering all the Fable Class and higher Augmenters I know are incapable of such feats. It should be something tremendously difficult."

"It might be," Father said. “But I won’t be surprised if I see others having mastered it. Reaching Fabled Class adds close to a hundred years to one’s lifespan; one would need a good few hobbies to pass the time." 

"Maybe," Magus Selene said, "but I've seen too many idle awakeneds loafing around in our ranks to have any hopes for them." 

"One needed to be made out a very special materials to spend more time with their swords than thier spouse," Mum quipped.  

Father shot her a sullen look. 

"Am I wrong?" 

He could only sigh, knowing there was some truth to it that he liked to admit. "Can't help it since I'm not as talented as you all."

Curious, I asked how long it took him to master the elemental resonances.

"Years," he admitted. "I have been practising it zealously, honing it for close to twenty-five years since I reached the Prestigious Class to be able to contend with a shaper of equal class head-on."

"Twenty-five years?" I repeated, dumbfounded. "How old are you exactly?"

Father blinked. He counted his fingers for a while before answering. "Well, probably thirty-five or thirty-six."

I sucked in a deep breath. That number was already higher than the average lifespan of a common man. And yet, Father looked like he had so many years to live. The revelation shouldn’t have astounded me, being aware of the higher lifespan of the Fabled Class awakened, but all my life, I imagined him to be the same age as he looked.

Agape, I turned towards Mother, as if trying to gauge her age. But she only chuckled and gave me the answer.

"I am even older than your father," Mum said. "Only a year more and I will reach my forties."

I opened my mouth but wasn’t sure what to say. Mum looked even younger, at least five years younger than Father.

Now I could only imagine in horror how many years it would take me to look like an adult if I kept on advancing fast. The idea of remaining eternally youthful throughout my life was enticing enough, but it would be painful if I had to spend a decade to appear as an adult.

“First time seeing someone having a look of horror at having longevity,” said Magus Selene, noting my reaction. “You got a strange kid, Ash.”

Mum glared at her friend, tousling my hair. She knew me too well to figure out my worry. “Don’t worry, the ageing rarely slows during adolescent years. Unless you reach the Prestigious Class within five years, there’ll hardly be any change.”

“What if I do reach the Prestigious Class in five years?” I asked, worried.

“Then we’ll have another Nero among us,” chuckled the Magus, clearly not believing I could manage the feat. “That kid has already reached Fabled Class last year, and seemed to have grown twice as irritable.”

Shooting an annoyed glance at her, Mum tried to quell my worry, “In five years, you’ll already be at the peak of your adolescence. Prestigious Class won’t affect all that much.”

Then again, it was difficult to reach the Prestigious Class in five years. While the rate at which I was forming my Aether root was growing, it would still take me a year to reach the Noble Class. Forming fifty-six more Aether roots in four years seemed quite impossible unless I left all my practice for Essence Unification or got my hands on a good relic.

I wondered how that Nero fella did it. According to what I’d heard from Mum, he was a Shaper and advanced to the Prestigious Class before he was eight. I’d be nine in five years. Well, it wasn’t as if I was looking for quick advancement, though I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any Honour in being the youngest to advance to higher classes.

After quelling the worry about my age, we returned to the topic of resonances. Father could employ at least six sword forms, but he didn’t even have to utilise them all during the duel. I wondered which resonances those forms covered, and how big the difference was between them and the ones I was familiar with.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t even begin learning them. It was one thing that I hadn’t yet awakened my aura, but even after I did upon reaching Noble Class, it would still be nigh impossible for me. Most Noble Class awakened could hardly utilise aura, save for the basic intimidation and reinforcement.

"What about the dark robe you summoned?" I asked. "Is it your Soulward? How does it work, and for how long can you keep it up? And what benefit does it provide?"

"Slow down, little brat," Father laughed. "And yes, you may call it Soulward, though it's a term mostly related to the knights. They are practically the same thing, but from where I am from, we are used to calling it Soul Shroud and Soul cloak, depending on their forms. Or Aether Vestige for the Shaper’s classes."

"And where are you from, exactly?" the Magus asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Father smiled ruefully. "Someplace you perhaps never even heard about."

I knew the name of the place, at least. Ryon — it was essentially in my surname. Unfortunately, even after a deep search on the map, I couldn’t find its location in any landmarks. According to Father, Ryon was destroyed by Ashlords and legions of devourers long ago. Now, only dark creatures roam there.

"If you don’t want to say, don’t say it," huffed the woman, who was likely the same age as my mum, if she were to be in the same batch as hers during her studies at the Oracle Academy. "This mysterious act only suits wizened wizards of ill repute."

Father shrugged as we finally strolled into our compounds. He explained a little more about his Soul Shroud, which could only be manifested after achieving Fabled Class. For most awakened, it was more like a physical representation of their gift.

Like Father’s Soulward was a dark robe that enabled him to negate most essence attacks on him, whereas Magus Selene’s ring of fire was also related to her high fire affinity.

As she took shelter in our study, I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at her. I was almost equally curious about the spells she had demonstrated. However, even though the woman seemed to be an old friend of my mum, she didn’t seem all that approachable.

After reuniting with her friend after so many years, all she did was challenge her friend’s husband to a duel — that said a lot about her personality.

"You’ve got a cute kid, Ashlyn." Surprisingly, her eyes turned a bit tender towards me.

While I couldn’t question her about her secrets, there was still something I was dying to know.

"Mum, you have a Soulward too?"

Considering her gift was called Construct, perhaps it would be something related to it as well.

Mum rested on the couch after pouring tea for Father and Magus Selene. "You want to see?" she smiled, raising her left palm.

Golden light flickered around her arm, materialising into a golden band around her wrist. As the glaring light dispersed, it wasn’t quite like a band, but a bunch of somewhat familiar rune characters revolving around her wrist.

I crept closer to her for a thorough inspection. Even the woman leaned forward with an arch in her brows.

"My Fabled title is Runesmith, and my Soulward or Aether Vestige, as it was called in old times, can do anything any rune formation can do, but with much more ease."

Magus Selene studied the runes with narrowed eyes. She was unlikely to be proficient in any of the runes, so she knew even less than myself. Not that I could manage to make out anything.

"You can use them without creating an octagonal formation?" I asked.

Mother nodded and offered a demonstration. With a slight gesture of her index finger, a single rune letter flew out from her Soulward and hurled towards my chest. With my fractal sight, I could kind of detect the rune wasn’t as simple as a single character. And when it touched my body, I was proven right. The single character doubled my body weight, causing me to let out a yelp.

What was even more baffling was that, no matter what I tried, I was unable to lift the enchantment off my chest. Essence weaving, or all kinds of shaping, proved to be useless.

“You can only fight a Soulward with a Soulward,” said the Magus.

“Umm, not quite,” Mum disagreed, pointing at Father, who promptly touched the glowing rune with his palm, his nullifying aura materialising to erode the character. “Some gifts are essentially too overbearing in nature.”

Magus Selene sighed. Her defeat at Father’s hand was not a fluke. But Mum’s Soulward was so much more interesting. Perhaps it didn’t have the outrageous firepower of Magus Selene’s, or the mage-killing ability of Father’s, but if it let her do what any rune formation could do. . .

"Can you use it to make fabricators?"

"I can,” she said, “and with as much ease. The last time I used it was during the making of your bracelet, but I usually don’t utilise it in crafting because of the toll it takes on my soul. After all, a Soulward is like an extension of an Awakened soul.”

“Drawing it unregulated may only cause soul fatigue if you’re lucky,” Father said, sipping his tea. "And incurable damages at worst." 

___________

Chapter 68: Demonstration

With all my questions about Soulward answered, I wondered what kind of Soulward I would manifest once I reached Fable Class. It was years from now, yet I couldn’t help but imagine something spectacular like Father’s dark robe or ingenious like Mum’s rune circle. 

Of course, it couldn’t be like the Soul Reaper cloak Father’s gift manifested. Fractal Soul had given me a discerning ability. Despite it not being its main function, I didn’t think it would be a robe. Maybe it would be a fractal image. As for whatever that could do, I guessed I would have to wait a decade or more to see.

"Alright, we can talk all about this stuff later." Mum narrowed her eyes at her friend, taking a slow sip. "Let’s discuss why you are here, Selene."

"Can’t I come just to meet my old friend?" the woman smiled exaggeratedly.

"Please,” Mum snorted. “We were more rivals than we were ever friends." 

"You hurt me, Ash." The woman rubbed her palm over her chest in a mock impression of heartache, the imposing militant nature she displayed completely lost in the act. "But jokes aside, I am truly here wanting to reacquaint with you. It has been so many years. I can’t say I have many friends among the legionaries. Most of our acquaintances from the academy, the ones that are alive, have either got married or are busy in a different part of the realm.” 

She let out a wistful sigh. Even the lines on Mum’s face mirrored her opinion for a faint moment. But soon her expression returned to businesslike, silently sipping her tea.

Gradually, an awkward silence dawned between us. Or was it only I who felt that way? The woman stared at Mum with an unchanged expression, as though measuring something. 

"Also, after learning everything,” she finally added, “I couldn’t just leave the matter to the Daenerys kid. Judging from what happened and how the House Daenerys does stuff, it might have escalated if I were not here." 

She studied Mum’s expression, which didn’t betray any emotion.

"You really have a lot changed since the last time I saw you."

Mum kept her silence. 

The Primus Plius shook her head. "Well, let’s discuss business first," she said. "So tell me, why do you need a Fabled-class Dusk Essence Core?"

"I have my needs," Mum answered curtly, resting her empty cup. 

The short-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "Even for crafting high-class artifacts, the price is quite steep, don’t you think so?" she asked. "A Fabled-class Dusk Essence Core can practically be used to train a healer to that class in the shortest time. What kind of artifacts can you make that can be worth more than a Fabled-class healer?"

Mum only shrugged in response, as if saying it’s for you to determine. "It is my price,” she said eventually. “Take it or leave it. It's not likely that I came specifically to the legionaries for my needs. On the contrary, it is the opposite."

The woman scowled. 

After a while, Mum decided to give in a bit. "I can make the highest-class artifact there is, as long as you can provide the necessary materials for it. Hmm, if you want a demonstration of my current capabilities. . ." She paused, turning to me. "Pumpkin, can you show this aunt your bracelet?"

I obeyed without question. The woman leaned forward to hold my wrist that bore the silver bracelet. She blinked at my mum, then used a dozen essence threads for a thorough inspection.

"There seem to be quite some essence threads,” she mumbled in the middle of her inspection. “I obviously do not recognise much of the weaves or the rune symbols, but this looks far from the highest-class artefact you said you’re capable of making. Furthermore, don’t you think it is a bit of a waste for it to just have defensive capabilities?"

Mum didn’t take the least bit of offence at her comments. "The information the spell provides doesn’t explain all of its capabilities or the potential. But it has the evolutionary capacity. In the future, when the bracelet evolves into a relic, only then can its true value be exploited.”

"Perhaps," the woman said, not agreeing or disagreeing. "But how many years would it take? Even after that, it would likely stay as a protective amulet, no matter how powerful. I guess it will be highly beneficial to any classes. It looks like it can withstand spells from a Prestigious Class Shaper already." 

“It is not the highest-class artifact I’ve crafted,” she simply said, “nor the most versatile, but it—” 

“I get it,” Magus Selene admitted. “It does one thing, and it does it well. But I still don’t understand why you need a high-grade Dusk Essence Core?" Her eyes narrowed at Mum. "You do seem to bear some root injuries, but I don’t think a Dusk Essence Core can help much with that."

“It’s not for that.” Mum shook her head. 

“No?” The Magus scrutinised her, and then her eyes found me as she seemed to make the connection. "Is it for him?"

Mum thought for a moment and inclined her head in affirmation. “Arilyn has a protective amulet. With the Dusk Essence Core, I can make an artifact that can cover the other areas that. . .”  

She paused, finding the Magus face-palming, as if wondering if her old friend was out of her mind.

"I guess this is the type of parent you want to be, huh?"

Mum frowned.

"I see that he has a rare confluence of Transformation, Transference, and Enchantment-type essence. But instead of teaching him real skills, you want to fill him with extravagant protective amulets and healing ornaments at this age?"

"What makes you think we are not teaching him—that he is not skilled enough?"

The militant woman did not take her word for it and turned toward me. Her eyes bore into me. Although she didn’t flare her aura, I could tell she used some probing with her influence.

“He does have some qualities, I must admit," she said. "But compared to—"

“Selene!” Mum’s voice cut her off. "Although I may consider you a friend, if you belittle my son right before me, I won’t think twice before throwing you out of my house."

The Primus Plius knitted her eyebrows at her words. An invisible contention rose between them before she burst into a chuckle, a smirk playing on the corner of her lips. 

"Ha! I was wrong,” she laughed boorishly. “You haven’t changed all that much, Ash." 

Then Mum asked Father to serve me lunch so that she could talk privately with her friend, probably about the Tribune and how to deal with his family. Since Father didn’t complain, I couldn’t do much about it. 

Even after I was done feeding myself, their talk didn’t end. I could only engage in my other work, which was finalising the design for my levitation boots. 

After a little consideration, I decided to show it to Father and asked if he would want a pair. My original gift for him was also finished, only requiring a bit of a finishing touch. I was mostly waiting to decide what I could make for Mum, before gifting them together. 

“I would have been delighted if I could get something like this when I was young,” he said. He tousled my hair, returning the design. “Unfortunately, it will be a waste on me.” 

“Why?” I blurted, a line creeping between my brows, wondering if my design was not good enough for his Fabled Class. “I can ask Mum to tinker with it a bit to fit you better.” 

Still, Father shook his head. “It's not that, little guy. Even if your mum made me the highest-class artifact, it would still be a waste.” 

The crease between my brows deepened. 

“Why do you think I don’t wear protective gear?” He smiled. “It's not that I don’t require them. It's simply because none of them can bear my nullifying aura. An elite fabricator won't last a good fight, thier runes would erode completely, essence composition would shatter in minutes of use. As for Artifacts, let's just say thier production costs too much for me to squander them.”

I blinked, realisation finally dawning on me. Honestly, I should have figured it out on my own. Considering how Mum doted on me with stuff, she should already have a complete set of gear for Father. 

“Is there no other way for it to work?” I asked. 

“You already saw what a few punches empowered with my aura did to the Tribune’s breastplate. I hardly even utilised half of my aura there.” Father shook his head. “Your mother has made me many pieces of equipment over the years. They used to last a good while before I ascended to Fabled Class, but now even good artifacts are eroded to scrap metal if I use them for long. 

“The best pieces of equipment for me nowadays are common armour, but they hinder the effectiveness of my aura more than they improve my defence.” 

If it isn't a relic, most equipment is useless to him, I sighed at the thought. If only relics were a common commodity. 

Father noticed my pensive moon and patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Its not really a big loss, you know," he assured. "Once I utilise my nullifying aura to the fullest, I hardly have any use for protective gear.” 

I guessed that was right too, replaying the scenes of his battle against Magus Selene in my mind. 

After a while, Mum came out of the study with the woman in tow, finally done with the negotiation. Their expressions showed no indication whether it was a success or not. 

Thankfully, the Primus Plius assured us that she would take care of the Tribune and his family, while the cooperation regarding the craft and repairs would continue with some alterations to the contract. 

Finally, before the woman was to leave, she turned to me. “Alright, little guy, Ash seemed very convinced of your ability. How about you show me a little of it, so I can see for myself.” 

I didn’t immediately acquiesce, but turned to Mum. Only after she inclined her head did I agree. Considering Magus Selene wouldn’t want to see me craft things, she likely wanted a demonstration of my shaping skills. So I got into the yard, complying with the house rules.

“Show me your best skill,” she said, standing a few paces away from me. 

I began with telekinesis, controlling five flat stones. Although they were not all heavy, controlling all five of them in different directions required high mental acuity and control. I demonstrated the various difficult exercises with them, shuffling them around like I was a great stage magician.

Magus Selene nodded, although not satisfied. 

I turned to wind shaping next, since my water skill was less than adequate and earth shaping would devastate the fine yard. Wind was the hardest element to master, but by applying kinetic force and compression into the mix, I formed a wind blade which was far above my class. 

The woman simply neutralised it with a wave of her palm when I attacked her with it. The difference between our class was simply too great. “Not bad,” she said. “Anything else?” 

Clenching my fist, I shaped fire, the element I was most proficient in, along with kinetic force. But simple fire shaping wouldn’t do, so I divided my essence threads: eight for fire shaping, eight for Empower, and sixteen for Compression. 

The crimson fire arrow I shaped soon compressed into a thin line, the crimson flames transforming into a cerulean shade. Although not blazing as intensely to the naked eye, the power concentrated within couldn’t be mistaken. 

With a wave of my palm, the blue fire arrow was hurled at the Magus like a streak of laser beam. But of course, it couldn’t penetrate the wall she had erected in that instant. 

She glanced at Mum, whose brows knitted together in consideration. 

“For someone with so few essence threads, this is indeed. . . exquisite,” she said. “So is grasping the ability to apply multiple weaves together at this age. I guess with some need more essence threads, you can break through the defence of most lesser demons with ease. Hmm, that being said, you would want to improve your casting pace."

I nodded my head reverently. Ignoring her personality, the woman was a magus after all.

She pinched my cheeks at last, as I did my best not to show any irritation. "If you could leave with me, I wouldn't mind taking you as my apprentice, but I'm sure your mum has other plans. Keep on working hard."

She glanced at Mum to gauge her reaction, but she still seemed to be lost in thought. 

"Don't even think about it." But of course, Mum had heard it, and decided it for myself.

________

Let me know which mentor you think is the best for Arilyn, other than his parents. There is Grandma, Emi, Master Kaius, and now Magus Selene...

Okay, we are returning to the old schedule from this month...