(Avatar) Amdirlain's PoV - Yorubi

  With her spells kept carefully controlled so Bakari could follow them, and to make it seem an effort, it took several hours to restore all the missing digits and limbs. In between tending to those, she discussed arcane theory with Bakari to gauge his understanding level. She started with the last patient, a fighter named Zuri, who had suffered a leg severed at mid-thigh while holding a nearby rooftop. Amdirlain began the latest spells when she heard her Priest Imani return to the building with the town's trio of elders in tow.

  "How often do you see attacks this bad?" Amdirlain asked as the shin bone's regrowth reached the ankle.

  "Every half season. This is the worst I've seen in my years here, and we took significantly more wounded than is typical," Bakari said.

  "You've had a few quiet years, Bakari. This surge was close to typical for the summer, but with so many priests drawn away, the beetle numbers had a bigger impact," Zuri grunted. His imagination provided psychosomatic pain even with his nerves blocked.

  At least I know any Mana surge I caused did not trigger it.

  Bakari sighed in agreement. "You have more experience. I'd hoped the stories I heard when I got here were to scare me off. There were way more than at home."

  "What about where you're from?" Zuri asked, his gaze directed at Amdirlain, as his fingers gripped the sides of the stretcher.

  "I'm from pretty far away. Where I come from, an insect surge this size would be rare." Amdirlain patted the closest forearm. "You're letting your mind play tricks, Zuri. I've got all sensation from beneath your lower gills blocked."

  Nonexistent insect surges are rare, right?

  "Would you prefer it if I put you to sleep?" Bakari offered.

  Zuri firmly shook his head. "I'd prefer it if you distract me, as I don't want to go to sleep. When that slicer bug snipped through my leg, I was sure I was going to die."

  "Why did the lack of priests have a significant impact?"

  "Normally, the blessings of the senior priests paralyse the bigger ones, and then we can pull the swarm apart." Zuri waved his upper hands. "The biggest bug came in and knocked two enclosures off a roof across the plaza, and broke through the grills on our roof and others. When it was ripping doors open, the smaller ones could stand under it."

  "A guard mentioned there was a large Blade Beetle that ripped open some defences," Amdirlain noted.

  "Yeah, we would have died in droves if it had concentrated on one position at a time. The only thing that saved us was that it would run from one position to the next any time an attack bounced off it."

  "Are you planning to go to the lodge to celebrate after you have a new leg?" Bakari asked, keeping the conversation going as the regrowth sheathed Zuri's foot in flesh and skin.

  "No, I plan to hop back to the wife, and stay by her side for days," Zuri wheezed.

  Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. "You're supposed to wait until the other person groans before you laugh at your own joke."

  "I only got dragged in here with one boot, so I'm going to have to hop."

  She set a clean pair of pants and boots by his stretcher, all while refreshing his blood and starting the flow, ensuring that no air bubbles were present. While she was triple-checking his condition, the elders walked through the defensive doorway at the top of the stairs. They had a determined intensity in their gazes, yet their steps grew more hesitant the farther they got from the door. Although she’d partially expected them to demand her attention, regardless of what was going on, seeing her and Bakari still focused on a patient, the three set about tidying up the stretchers recently vacated by recovered patients. All three had combat classes, yet also possessed different non-combat classes that marked them as a trader, farmer, and crafter.

  They’re not afraid to pitch in.

  Amdirlain prolonged the healing to see how long they’d continue, even though she could have finished in a moment. After a few minutes, she patted Zuri’s lower arm and stood up to greet the elders. Bakari used a triage Spell to check the heartbeat and circulatory system, performing the double-check of his stability that Amdirlain had insisted on with others.

  Imani stepped forward. "Am, these are elders Khamani, representing the town's traders, Neema, who speaks for the farmers until next season, and Rashidi, representing the crafters of the town."

  At two metres tall, Khamani was the leanest and oldest. Though over eighty, his deep brown shirt and pants concealed a healthy, gangly frame. His age-spotted face was a mass of wrinkles from the top of his skull to his gills.

  Beside him, the sunspots and deep laughter lines that curved away from Neema’s eyes made her distinct; the muscular farmer was two decades younger and thirty centimetres shorter than Khamani. Her clothing was a blend of orange and red, suitable camouflage for the Yoruba grasses.

  Rashidi was a few centimetres taller than Neema but still tiny by Khamani standards, and his gaze had grown distracted at the sight of all the blood-stained stretchers. His beak clamped tight in sympathy, yet his relieved mind busily adjusted the tally of wounded from earlier reports.

  "What might I help the elders with today?"

  The trio glanced at each other. "Imani mentioned you sought a room at our traveller's lodge for the duration of your stay. Might we offer you a house instead? Somewhere away from the noise of evening revellers."

  "I wouldn't wish to put anyone out."

  “After the help you provided the town today, I’m sure no one would begrudge you a house even if we had to shuffle families to accommodate,” Khamani rambled.

  “Please don’t do that,” Amdirlain protested.

  “It would be our honour.”

  “Please allow Am her choice; forcing what makes us feel good on another is rude,” Imani added his support.

  “It's just that the town’s builders recently completed a few structures, and two are not immediately required by the families who commissioned them. You might take your pick of them,” Rashidi stated. “It won’t take long for a replacement to be put up for them.”

  "Might I suggest a compromise? If you'd point me to a vacant spot of land, I'll grow a house."

  Neema momentarily wrung her hands. "The canopy of an elven house would obstruct the firing arcs of rooftop defenders."

  "I wouldn't disrupt the town in that fashion, ?nor do I want to take from a family that had been looking forward to a new home," Amdirlain said. "I can grow a stone house as easily as a tree. Perhaps a spot on the town's edge or beyond the main wall?"

  "There are only some spaces within the northern wall. We have a southern extension planned, yet the work hasn’t begun."

  Amdirlain nodded. "The north is fine with me; neither the location nor its surroundings are of importance."

  "But the treatment sites are in the north," Neema protested. “It would be disrespectful to house someone who has helped so many close to them, especially among the waste treaters.”

  A new item entered inventory from the Outlands. To confirm she could access it, Amdirlain drew the crystal rod under concealment and stored it again.

  "I can clear the scent from the air," Amdirlain reassured, aware of the acidic fumes from the catalysts they used in treating the beetle shells. "Or we can pick a small spot within the area you plan to expand around, and I'll build my house. If you find it interferes, I'll remove it."

  "A spot in the south sounds ideal. You’ve got a fresh spot, and no one will get upset that we’ve insulted you by putting you among the waste treaters. They’re good people, but the noxious odour of the chemicals clings to them. If you're staying for a while, is it all right for people to call you Am?" Rashidi asked in a soft rumble.

  "I provided the name to ease interactions," Amdirlain replied. "Though some found the use of the title teacher to be comfortable enough. Since I plan to stay for a time to teach Bakari some spells, I doubt I'll be leaving soon. Ensure you keep that in mind when we pick a spot. That said, do you mind if I teach any youths interested in magic while I'm here?"

  All five whistled in surprise.

  "I understand such instruction is not a short endeavour," Rashidi said hesitantly. "Who would they learn from afterwards?"

  He's hoping I won't leave them in the lurch.

  "Hopefully, we're able to get along, but I'll ensure I leave any students still learning in capable hands," Amdirlain replied. "I'll assess how things stand in a few decades."

  I can always build another landmark to provide magical education, like I've done in other places.

  Neema gawked. "Yes, of course."

  They don't believe elves live as long as they say. Why? Is it because they have such limited contact with their neighbours?

  "Zuri, why don't I help you downstairs? After that, the elders can have someone show me a suitable position for a house."

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  “It’s okay,” Zuri said. “Don’t let me keep you.”

  "We'll escort you ourselves," Rashidi declared. "We can discuss what you'll need for teaching."

  Once Zuri moved to a side room to get dressed, the others tromped downstairs with Amdirlain. The elders hinted politely that they could offer Amdirlain more for the healing she'd provided, but she played oblivious and failed to take the bait.

  Outside lamps were being lit around the plaza. A cover over each directed the light to pool across the ground under each lamppost. The remaining beetles were now stripped bare, and their shells were already north of the wall. The noise from within the lodge showed that some had started their celebrations a couple of hours ago.

  As the elders started to head west instead of turning towards the south gate, Amdirlain stopped them with a cough.

  They plan to loop around the town. Is it good luck for a new venture, or is it a common practice?

  "It's late, and I wouldn't want to keep you from your families. How about I show an image of the southern area outside town, and we agree on a location? I'll set up my house, and you can come inspect it tomorrow afternoon and bring along some potential students."

  Rashidi nodded eagerly.

  A detailed illusion of the southern region appeared between them, and Neema tentatively pointed to a few spots to the east of the gates. "Any of those will give your residence the best defensive coverage if there is an unexpected swarm."

  "What point around town do you desire the most reinforcement?" Amdirlain enquired.

  "The riverfront has the most trouble from various swarms."

  She added a short cylinder to the map near the river. "Would that work out? I'll add some defences to my home that will eliminate insects coming off the water in that direction."

  The elders exchanged glances before nodding.

  "That would be wonderful," Khamani announced.

  With spread arms and polite nods shared, the group officially parted ways, though both Bakari and Imani lingered.

  "There is something I've been curious about since I first saw an Ontaritu town. What is your people's fascination with circles?"

  Bakari chuckled. "It depends on who you ask. From a practical standpoint, we found that most insects have trouble with curved walls at some point. The mandibles of various beetles can tear apart stone if they can get a decent grip. Our homes aren't the great trunks of elven trees, so if they were square, they'd rip away at the corners and make a larger opening to tear an entry."

  "The same way they can rip apart an iron-bound door once their kinfolk have pried it open," Imari said.

  "It seems there are things about the Ontaritu that I never thought to ask. Creepers and the right plants drive them away from elven settlements."

  "How do plants keep insects away? Do they swat at them?" Imari made shooing gestures with his lower hands.

  "Creepers will grab onto anything that moves without a certain odour. The other plants are a mix of those poisonous to insects or that have sap that clings. When the insects cut through them, the sap clogs the tubes insects breathe through, effectively suffocating them," Amdirlain explained.

  "Are those what you plan to put around your home?"

  "No, I think I'll put something more active in place," Amdirlain grinned. "Is it a custom among your people to always loop around town? I've only seen people leaving the west gate from Ontaritu towns."

  "It depends on the occasion," Bakari offered quickly. "All three elders escorting a special guest require a certain formality. Many not only believe the circle is sacred, but that heading directly south rather than looping around brings danger."

  "With just the three of us, is it okay to cut south instead?"

  "We can take a shorter loop rather than go outside the wall. We shouldn't go directly south and attract ill fortune after such an attack," Imani added.

  "The problem is walking south without first going west?"

  "Yes, even travellers going a distance south will leave each town through the west gate."

  Is there a deity in this world related to behaviour, Gideon?

  "Not yet, but they're working on it. It arose from the southward swarm patterns of the giant insects." Gideon projected. “The bugs' instincts tell them wintry winds come from the north and warm winds from the south. When they are affected by a Mana surge, they scurry or fly south to get to the warmest lands to set up nests.”

  Essentially, they're fleeing the cold of the north.

  The three of them reappeared near the southern wall, and Bakari and Imani both jumped in surprise. The outer wall and rooftops beyond showed deep scratches from the beetles' claws, and the damage to the merlons had so far only received makeshift repairs. A hundred metres to the south lay fallow fields, likely in preparation for the expansion rather than crop rotation, as Amdirlain had believed when she approached the town. The day’s warmth made the air ripe with fish guts and leavings discarded in the fields across the river.

  "There you go, no walking involved," Amdirlain quipped.

  "How did you do that?" Imani's head swivelled back and forth between Amdirlain and the wall. "Why?"

  "One question at a time. I moved us through a group teleportation Spell. As for why? I'm not very good at obeying superstitions born of fear, as blindly following them can unleash dangerous forces. With all the fear people are directing towards the south because of swarm migration patterns, something might well arise."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "When a powerful belief in particular superstitions is empowered by fear, it provides a certain dark faith through its appeasement. There are negative spirits known to feed off fear, and they find the ignorant the easiest to ensnare. If they figure out how to siphon the energy directed towards a superstition, it's a constant low-level supply of energy that can allow them to grow dangerously strong.“

  "A spirit of deception might do this?" Imani's hands trembled.

  “Yes. Over centuries, one might gain enough strength to be mistaken for a deity.”

  Imani huffed unhappily. "I’ll do what I can to disabuse such superstitions, but it's an old custom."

  She stepped forward and planted the rod she'd taken from her Inventory in the soft ground before stepping back, waving the others to move away with her. When they were clear, a single note activated the True Song within it. A cylinder three metres tall, with a six-metre radius, rose from the earth; briefly, runes glowed across its surface. Eight golden phoenixes sat in nests of red flames evenly spaced out around the rim of the cylinder, their ruby eyes glimmering in the fading sunlight. When the runes disappeared, a curved door appeared oriented to Amdirlain's position and slid open. The interior was double the outside. There were no internal walls; only furnishings and decorative screens broke up the space. The half of the house closest to her was a living area with some comfortable blue fabric and rag-stuffed chairs. A spiral staircase in the centre ran through both floor and ceiling. Beyond the stairs, a kitchenette was located to the left, and a few bookcases and a reading desk filled the space on the right.

  "This shouldn't get in the firing line of any defender," Amdirlain said, and she strode forward into the dimensionally expanded space.

  "How?"

  "You have Life Affinity. The Spatial Affinity allows for the modification of spaces, reaching across distances and planes. This is a dimensional expansion effect."

  Imani followed her inside and stopped by the first couch, fingers hesitantly touching the cloth along its headrest.

  Bakari walked to the centre of the room and peered up and down, eyes going wide as he counted the levels. "How does this building have other floors?"

  "Dimensional expansion. There are three floors in either direction, libraries on the upper floors, while the lower floors are laboratories and workshops, for alchemy and inscription."

  "Hence, they have doors?" Bakari asked.

  "Of course, I wouldn't want to risk fumes leaking," Amdirlain nodded.

  I'll use some skill points in case anyone wants to learn either.

  "Dare I ask how advanced your Wizard class is?"

  Amdirlain's amusement lit her face. "You mean classes."

  "How many wizard classes do you possess?"

  "A few," Amdirlain demurred.

  "You said there was a way to gain additional Wizard classes without another Affinity. Is it possible to gain more even though I've abused the Affinity?"

  "The beetle whose heart you stopped?" Amdirlain asked. "A guard mentioned you saved lives doing so."

  Bakari shuffled his feet slightly. "Yeah, it's the first time I've done anything like that. I don't know if my mentor would approve or believe it to be a misuse of my magic."

  Amdirlain motioned to the couches. "Why don't you both sit?"

  As they both settled, Amdirlain sat across from them in a circle of chairs. "Healing is useful outside of battle, and can improve the quality of life. Yet preventing injuries can sometimes be more important than healing them. Both have their place, and when a foe is powerful enough to kill those in your care, then preventing injury is the best use of your strength."

  "But Life is something to treat with care."

  Amdirlain nodded. "You treated it with care, but you chose your fellows over the beetle. If you had other useful combat spells, would you have used them instead?"

  "I don't know, though the beetle had harmed others, I didn't want to cause it suffering," Bakari admitted.

  "By stopping its heart, you ended its life quickly and didn't drag it out the way the usual paralyse Spell would have," Amdirlain observed. "Paralysis locks the body up, but the being is still aware. Can you take comfort in the difference?"

  Bakari blinked in surprise. "Yes. Thank you, Am."

  "There are other spells that can stop a foe and cause less suffering. Your strength would have to overpower theirs to make use of them. Though beetles don't have spellcasting abilities, their magical transformation provides them resistance to other effects."

  "Would you be able to teach them to me along with the other spells we discussed?"

  "Of course. Can I see one of your grimoires? I'll need to translate my spells into the Ontaritu language, and it would give me a reference on how your mentor records them."

  "Of course. I'll show you in the morning."

  "Are you one of Lady Amdirlain's teachers?" Imani asked.

  Are all the elves that wander among my faithful?

  "Do you know of other elves that wander Ontaritu lands to teach?"

  Imani stroked the underside of his beak. "I've heard tales of priests who follow Titania, Oberon, and Danu also travelling. We have only a shrine to Amdirlain and Danu in town. The other travelling priests seem to teach only about their respective deities and topics relevant to their faiths. In contrast, Amdirlain's teachers cover her tenets, as well as fighting styles, magic, and healing. Are you among her faithful or a priestess?"

  "I've no classes that allow for channelling blessings, yet I enjoy helping people find new possibilities in their lives. Imani, would you share with me what drew you to become a Priest of Amdirlain?"

  I've never consciously channelled any Blessing to someone. Is that something I should work on in case I want to help a Priest without giving my presence away while visiting a world?

  "She is the goddess of creation," Imani drew himself up. "Without her, none of us would be alive. Some in the village don't see her as I do, as they focus on the daily dangers we face. Yet if she didn't care for us, she wouldn't have provided such a variety of ways for us to grow stronger. One can see from the consistent attacks that various insects are creatures that are driven by instincts alone and not blessed with the ability to choose and change."

  "Would you like to learn another way to grow stronger, Imani?"

  "What do you suggest?"

  "I can tell you have a Fighter Class besides Priest. Since I'm going to help Bakari unlock another Wizard Class, would you also like to learn magic?"

  Imani shook his head. "I've never come close to learning an Affinity."

  "If you don't mind being part of an experiment to help Bakari gain a reinforced Affinity, I could help you at the same time."

  "A reinforced Affinity?" Bakari questioned. "What's that?"

  "There are layers to one's understanding of energies, just as life teaches different lessons by living. I've reinforced an affinity in the past, so I know it's possible." Amdirlain clapped, cutting off Imani's protest. "Do you want to choose and change or not? I’m not forcing you; it's just an offer that might not come to anything. If you gain an Affinity, a couple of older students will help me keep the younger ones in line, but that needn't be you."

  Imani's gills and beak flapped a few times in soundless protest before he finally nodded. "When do we begin?"

  "There's no time like the present. Settle into a relaxed meditative state. How you do that is up to you."