The interior of the small shack that they’d been given to rest in was more open than Teyva had expected. It was all one room, with a smooth wooden floor that was raised a few inches off of ground level. The walls were slatted and small columns framed the whole interior. Near the center of the room, a small indentation had been made for a fire pit and reinforced with dark iron. Off to one side were a few simple rolled bundles of cloth with mixed stuffing. It was comfortable. Teyva stopped before stepping onto the wood and sat down, taking her shoes off.

“What are you doing?” Azrael asked, still a little grouchy.

“Seems a bit of a shame to track mud and dirt all over the floor in here, it’s nice,” Teyva said, setting her boots aside and crossing her legs. She shifted to the side a bit and pat the floor next to her. Azrael rolled her eyes but complied, sitting down and wrenching off her boots. She set them aside neatly and pulled her sword off of her hip, setting it down just within reach. Azrael let out a small groan as she stretched out her feet, much to Teyva’s amusement. The two of them fell back onto the wood and stared at the ceiling.

“How long’s it been?” Teyva asked, absently she opened her gambeson and let the Mockeries crawl out, settling on her sleeve again. They’d been quiet since she chastised them earlier. She reached up and picked one up, letting it crawl around her hand and examine their new surroundings.

“Mm?” Azrael glanced over and watched the creature travel across Teyva’s hand. She reached out and after a moment’s hesitation allowed it to climb onto her palm.

“Since you’ve seen a ceiling and walls,” Teyva added, urging the others to go explore the room. They scattered; finding places to nest.

“Oh, a few weeks, I spent most of my time in trees on the way through the forest. It was how I avoided the wolves,” Azrael said, letting the creature down and resting her hands on her chest.

“You slept in trees?” Teyva asked, incredulous.

“Sure, once you get used to it, it isn’t hard,” Azrael said, “Just got to find the right tree.”

Teyva laughed, and the two let out another sigh. They remained silent for a while, staring up at the ceiling. Outside they could hear children playing and the shouts of people working and living their simple daily lives. The daunting prospect of investigating some mysterious glaive in search of some curse that threatened this entire settlement started to weigh heavily on Teyva. Was she really up to it, at all?

“You have got to learn how to fight, Teyva.”

“I know.”

“I’ll teach you what I can but you are already built differently than I am. What you need to do is improve what powers you have,” Azrael said, “You have that Aspect Stone and several shards, you should use them while we’re here tonight. How do you know how to use your abilities? Is it instinct or does that journal power of yours explain it?”

“My journal explains it to me,” Teyva said, calling up the [Tattered Journal]. The old book floated in the air, spinning slowly as if waiting to be opened.

“May I?” Azrael asked, holding her hand out to the book.

“Knock yourself out, I don’t get how the thing works, to be honest, I haven’t had a moments breath to sit there and play with it,” Teyva admitted, taking the book in her hand and passing it to Azrael, “Heck, I haven’t even used one of the abilities it’s associated with.”

Azrael took the book and opened it, at first the pages were blank but then text began to gradually take shape on the surface of the clean white paper. Azrael blinked, holding the book away from her face in consternation. She squinted and then opened her eyes wide. “It was in another language a moment ago, I couldn’t read it! Now it’s in Azari! Very useful.”

Teyva leaned in and peered over her shoulder; the text read as English to her. She frowned and glanced at Azrael who was pouring over it. It was a list of Teyva’s three core powers; [Tattered Journal] [Old Satchel] and [Worn Compass].

“You haven’t used your compass yet?” Azrael asked.

“Yeah, haven’t had a need for it.”

“Daresay you will tomorrow, it sounded like they weren’t sure exactly where this place was.”

Teyva held out her hand and called up her compass for the first time. A small disk appeared in her hand, it looked like a copper compass with a red and white needle. The needle wobbled for a moment before turning southward, then resumed wobbling left and right by varying degrees. “Not exactly accurate,” Teyva said.

“It does say ‘pathetic’,” Azrael snorted, “Alright, now for your aspect powers,” She trailed off as the text in the book changed again. “How intuitive, it read my thoughts, you should keep this away from your enemies. Anyone could read this and learn everything about you.”

Teyva frowned, she hadn’t thought of it that way. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the book with Azrael, dismissing her compass. “I can dismiss it at will, fortunately,” Teyva pointed out.

“Good,” Azrael said, focused on the text; “I don’t understand this, MP? Damage? Strength and Willpower? What is this?”

Teyva shrugged; “The Journal trying to rationalize it for me, I guess, the way it’s set up is familiar, like a game I played a long time ago,” she said, trying not to overdo her explanation.

“Well it sounds like a very strange game,” Azrael said; “The way you survived that stabbing makes sense now; you can heal yourself with your Chilling Touch, an awful name by the way, sinister,” Azrael added.

“I didn’t come up with it!”

Azrael laughed and flipped a page, it came up blank. She nodded and shut the journal, handing it back to Teyva who left it hovering next to her. “Alright, use the stone.”

“Right now?”

“Right now. I want to see you do it.”

Teyva hesitated, but she’d agreed to do it. She squared up her shoulders and called out the [Old Satchel]. Her inventory window appeared and she waved her hand through it, pulling out the [Aspect Stone of the Labyrinthian]. It was still a clean semi-transparent stone that seemed to glow faintly in her hands. She recalled how strange the stones of the Pale Dawn and Facsimile were. It was so simple by comparison.

[Aspect Stone of the Labyrinthian] Aspect Stone, Unique Rarity

Consume this stone to gain access to the Labyrinthian Aspect Tree

She took a breath and squeezed it, concentrating on it. The confirmation prompt appeared.

You meet the requirements to consume this [Aspect Stone of the Labyrinthian]

This Aspect Stone contains the legacy of a people.

Requirements: [Must be a Labyrinthian to use]

Would you like to consume this Aspect Stone and gain access to the Labyrinthian Aspect Tree?

Yes / No

“Here goes,” Teyva said, and accepted the prompt.

A bloom of light erupted from the stone, casting the entire room in whiteness. She felt a tingling against her skin, an ache working its way through her bones, a sense of vertigo swimming through her body. She shook her head; trying to remain focused but the feeling intensified. She could hear Azrael say something in the distance; she seemed so far away now. Teyva felt the stone grow smaller in her hands as all sounds came to an abrupt stop. The world around her was all white, a vastness that seemed to stretch out forever. She felt her feet on the ground, but could not tell where it began and ended.

Then the images came flashes and bursts in her mind like the reels off of a film. She saw walls, and creatures, she saw people, pale as ghosts, standing amidst braziers and wearing simple robes. She saw wars and famine, she saw soldiers pouring into the halls, and she saw them die at the hands of terrible creatures. She saw vast cities underground; twisting halls and endless corridors. She saw a regal woman standing above a gathered crowd of races, her eyes hard and cold. Her smile was cruel. Teyva collapsed to her knees, gripping her head as pain ripped through it, the images kept coming; pressing into her subconscious like a storm.

Prompts began to appear rapidly; flashes of information coming and going. Error messages.

Your soul does not meet the requirements for-

Error

[Spark of the Outsider] has overridden the requirements for this feature.

Your soul does not meet the requirements for-

Error

[Spark of the Outsider] has overridden the requirements for this feature.

Your soul does not meet the requirements for-

Error

[Spark of the Outsider] has overridden the requirements for this feature.

The message appeared over and over, then a new prompt appeared, barely legible through the tears pouring out of her eyes. She tried to concentrate on the words.

You meet the requirements for a Racial Ascension!

[Impure Labyrinthian]

Requirements: Be a [Labyrinthian], Other Requirements Overriden by [Spark of the Outsider]

Racial Ascension proceeding…

[Labyrinthian] Advances to [Impure Labyrinthian]

You meet the requirements for a Racial Ascension!

[Pureblood Labyrinthian]

Requirements: Be an [Impure Labyrinthian], Other Requirements Overriden by [Spark of the Outsider]

Racial Ascension proceeding…

[Impure Labyrinthian] Advances to [Pureblood Labyrinthian]

You meet the requirements for a Racial Ascension!

[Precursor Labyrinthian]

Requirements: Be a [Pureblood Labyrinthian], Other Requirements Overriden by [Spark of the Outsider]

Racial Ascension proceeding…

[Pureblood Labyrinthian] Advances to [Precursor Labyrinthian]

The prompts kept coming as the headache continued, she fell on her side; trying to find some sort of relief. Each moment was another new agony as her bones ached, even more, the skin on her forehead felt like it was splitting, her fingers felt like they were breaking, and every joint in her body twisted the wrong way. It was a living hell. She tried to scream but nothing would come. No sound. Just pain. She wanted to lash out, to crush anything that came near, to destroy the source of her pain even if she had to rip her bones out. She cursed herself for even considering using the damn stone. She cursed the world for putting her in a position where she had no choice.

Then it stopped.

The pain just left her, as it had never been there. She lay curled in a ball for a while; breathing deeply as her senses came back. She tried to push herself to her feet but no strength came to her limbs. Instead, she just rolled onto her back and stared up at the prompts that appeared.

Racial Ascension Complete!

You have unlocked the following [Traits]!

[CHILD OF THE HALLS] Racial - As an Impure Labyrinthian you possess an innate sense of direction. With enough time your body will naturally adjust to the subtleties of enclosed spaces allowing you to navigate complex passages without getting lost.

[STARLIGHT SORCERESS] Racial - As a Pureblood Labyrinthian your casting time and mana use are reduced by 25% at night.

[ANCESTOR] Racial - As a Precursor Labyrinthian you must choose two racial traits from a race descended from the Labyrinthians. This trait will then be replaced by those traits.

She blinked a few times, not fully comprehending what she was reading. She had just gained three permanent traits. Not just three, according to [Ancestor] it was more like four. She got to choose the trait of another race? She blinked and tried to get her brain working, her mind still clouded by the shock of the pain she had experienced. Teyva coughed, then there were the other two traits. [Starlight Sorceress] was ludicrous. She could barely fathom how that would change things for her. [Child of the Halls] sounded like a perfect match for her compass. With the two together she could never get lost inside a building.

She coughed again and caught her breath, dismissing the prompt only for another to appear.

[ANCESTOR] requires the choice of TWO racial traits from the following list;

[ADAPTABLE] Racial (Human) - Constant exposure to adverse conditions without succumbing will eventually result in tolerances or even resistances.

[STONESIGHT] Racial (Dwarf) - You possess an innate tremorsense that allows for short-range blindsight as long as you are touching the ground.

[ELEMENTALIST] Racial (Elfkin) - You possess an innate resistance to elemental magic; your resistance to elemental spells has increased.

[DEMONSKIN] Racial (Azar) - Your skin is naturally resilient to physical blows; your resistance to physical attacks has increased.

[NATURALIST] Racial (Orckin) - You take on attributes that compliment your surroundings, altering your appearance over time and providing you with various benefits.

The same races she had been offered when she first finished the tutorial. She narrowed her eyes and noted the implication. Was this suggesting that the major races were all offspring of the Labyrinthians? If that was the case what the heck happened to them? What about Azrael? Did she tell her about this? How would that completely shatter her friend's worldview? She frowned and looked the list over. She knew one pick immediately. She reached up with a shaky hand and touched the listing for [Adaptable].

“Good to have you back,” She mused.

The other choice was significantly harder. Even so, she boiled it down to two choices pretty quickly. [Stonesight] and [Naturalist]. With [Adaptable] she would eventuall get a resistance to whatever she came across so it rendered [Demonskin] and [Elementalist] redundant. While she hadn't faced a lot of magic recently she knew that [Adaptable] could be abused as long as she survived exposure. It would take some pretty serious grinding though if she wanted to avoid testing out her respawn ability. Inevitably she made her choice and selected [Naturalist].

The prompt closed and the pain came back in a rush, her brain catching fire along with her skin. She let out a gasp and curled up again, gritting her teeth until they felt like breaking. This time, however, the pain subsided far more quickly.

“God damn it!” She swore, rolling onto her chest, “Frigging Aspect stones! I swear to-”

She cut off when she looked at her hands.

“What the hell?”