It was a short trip. Ploris and his family lived on the border of Sun District and Arcamin, in a skyscraper befitting the soul mage’s status. 25 stories tall, crackling with lightning and thrumming with unearthly frequencies. The opposite of a glow surrounded the building, seeming to suck all light away from the world near it, as if being funneled to some arcane masterwork. As Pellex paid the taxi and walked up to the house, he felt a subtle pressure everywhere around him, almost seeming to push on his very soul.

Pellex frowned and waved his hands in a complex formation. Instantly, the pressure dropped, and he continued to the door. Identification not being able to handle the time he had spent away was a bit disappointing, but he had built the system when he was fifteen, after all. At least the failsafe still worked. Thinking about ways to improve identification, and quickly spiraling into designing performance increases for the entire effects system, Pellex almost forgot to knock. Not so big of a problem, it turned out, seeing how the door opened a fraction of a second before his knuckles hit it. A tall, middle-aged woman stood on the other side, smiling.

“Welcome, Pellex, it has been a long time! Come on in, Ploris noticed you a few minutes ago.” That ability wasn’t artificial.

“Liime, hello! It’s good to see you,” Pellex said, stepping inside. The ground floor was a grand lobby, with granite flooring and bronze pillars. Small thilamps floated throughout the room, arcs of thi occasionally sparking from connectors on the ceiling. Extremely wasteful, but Ploris could afford it, and it looked really cool. There were a few small tables scattered around, and some soft benches against the walls, but there was no desk for a receptionist, just concealed speakers for Ploris to speak through. Liime led Pellex straight across the room and into the waiting elevator on the other side, which closed and began moving as soon as they were both inside.

The elevator, far from being a featureless box, had exquisitely detailed windows, the glass enchanted to show a view of the Orphic Void. As they ascended, they passed shimmering ribbons of loose power swirling through the static filled gray, little puffs of energy bursting out of nowhere, and saw the blinking lights of voidlurkers undulating past. Pellex thought he caught a glimpse of an expedition ship in the distance, but the elevator stopped before he could get a better look.

Pellex followed Liime through the doors into a parlor much like the one he had just left at home. Plush sofas on a carpeted floor, with meticulously-placed tables and armchairs. One of those chairs held a lanky man, with dark hair streaked with gray, and a beard to match. Wearing the classic robes and shoulder cape of the legendary high magi, he was simply reading a newspaper, but Pellex could feel the idle pressure of Ploris’ soul from across the room. That sensation faded when Ploris noticed they had come in and restrained himself, getting up to greet Pellex.

“Pellex, how are you! Only a day back in town and you’ve already come for a visit, I’m honored!”

“Someday you’re going to have to tell me how you do that. And you’ve probably already figured out half of why I’m here.”

“A magician never reveals his secrets, Pellex! And if I’ve only figured out half, it seems you have some of your own. Come, sit down.”

“It’s fortunate that I’m not a magician, then, because I wanted your advice on a few things,” Pellex said, finding a seat across from Ploris.

“Well, I can see you’ve made it to level 6, so you’ve chosen your class, but you also have a Facet’s blessing, and you didn’t get it at the temple here, which is very curious.”

“I suppose we should start with the class, then. I’m a [Cogseer], a hybrid of [Oracle] and [Artificer].”

“I… haven’t heard of it. Incredible. Do you know how long it’s been since I heard of a new class? Nearly a decade, at this point. What trees did you get? What stat multipliers?”

“Two from [Oracle], two from [Artificer], and a hybrid tree. As for multipliers, four to thi maximum, four to thi regeneration, and two to thi stability.”

“A rare class? I can see why you came here so quickly. And I think congratulations are in order, with a windfall like that.” Ploris made to stand up, but Pellex stopped him.

“Oh, I’m not done yet. But if you want the full context, I should probably start from the beginning.”

The story was told far faster the second time around, except for an interruption when Pellex mentioned how he was initially captured. Ploris felt he had an idea how the arder had ignored Pellex’s class selection, but would need to look into it further. After that, Ploris simply listened, until Pellex narrated the escape and brought Iote out. Ploris made Pellex pause the story, nearly shaking in the presence of the core.

“I’ve been around dungeon cores before, but not like this, never like this. Their ngi suppressed my attempts to read them, but Iote isn’t in a dungeon, and I can see everything. If Iote approves, I would love an opportunity to take a look at it in my workshop.”

: study could allow greater freedom through understanding :

: but would be difficult without transportation :

: storage rod is not amenable to my repairs :

: i cannot extend its lifespan much longer :

“You need a new storage rod? I have some spares, take your pick.”

“No need, I’ll get one soon, if Refos and Ucria haven’t already.”

“I’ll give you one specifically for Iote, it seems to think that would be a fair trade for study.”

“I suppose you’re right, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Anyway, back to the story?”

“That was basically the end. The flight back was fairly smooth, Dawnwatch didn’t keep us for long, and now all of us are staying at my parents’ place while we get ready for a career in adventuring. Except for Evwel, she decided to go home.”

“You’ve decided to become an adventurer?”

“I don’t think I can just stay at home and build thilamps all day. I want to be out there, discovering what a [Cogseer] can do. Ancient ruins, forgotten mysteries, artifacts no-one can figure out how to use. [Cogsight] will show me what I need to know. And Iote wants freedom. I’m happy to oblige the core that helped us get out of that bandit’s den.”

“Your reasoning is impeccable, in my opinion. Liora and Fordek didn’t have such grandiose ideals, and they are well-fulfilled by their line of work. But if you’re going to be an adventurer, you need at least some insight into what you can actually do. You know artifice inside and out, but divination is unknown to you, beyond a few nigh-instinctive skills. Could you use [Cogsight] for me? Any random item will do.”

Pellex picked up a thilamp and obliged. Coming out of an enlightening view of the journey from its factory to the table after a few moments, he looked expectantly at Ploris, but the soul mage considered what he had seen for a few more seconds before speaking.

“Hmmm. In simple terms, [Cogsight] forges a link between your soul, and the ‘soul’ of the object. It’s not really anything like a soul as we usually think of it, but the terminology will have to do. After the link between yourself and the item is completed, your soul forges a new link that I can’t see the other end of, as if it fades into thin air. Fortunately, I am well-trained, and even if I wasn’t, I’m well versed in that type of connection. I see it in the elevator every day, after all.”

“Then the gear world is another plane, and not some sort of interface?”

“I would say so. But there are some things you need to note about the skill. Firstly, the link passes through you. You do open yourself up to attack that way, though a nonliving item that can attack through the soul would be a find worthy of the great heroes, and those people that can exploit such a connection are rare. The more important danger is attempting to read something too large to fit. Being alive and sapient, you have very little to fear from most objects, but I would refrain from constructs that are too large, or monuments with a lot of history, like the big clock in the Circle. Zolnre’s wall would tear your soul to shreds, sending information along that link.”

“Got it.”

“I would also note that, as of now, your skill does not do as well as it could. The link is sloppy, and it would not penetrate a more impressive construct very far. I would imagine you would be unable to see too far back, and you might not be getting as much information as you could be. Growth to look forward to, I would say.”

“Huh. That makes sense. Any ideas on other uses? The skill description mentions seeing into the future, but I haven’t found any sign of that.”

“That is most likely a result of unfamiliarity with the skill. It may be because of its low level, but you haven’t really sat down and practiced it yet, and that practice is how you will either find those uses, or increase your skill level enough to unlock them.”

“When I get home, I can probably test it on some of the older stuff we have, there’s enough of that to last a while.”

“I would be interested to hear more about the history of those beds. And if you have greater knowledge of the skill, I will be able to offer more advice on its usage. Now, I want to test your boon.”

“My pain immunity?”

“Yes,” Ploris said, slapping Pellex on the cheek before the [Cogseer] could react.

Pellex didn’t even flinch.

“It works, then?”

“Yeah, it’s… strange. I could feel it, but I’m not affected by it. The sense, but without the emotion.”

“Good, that’s how I hoped it would be. Lacking pain entirely would be a disaster, but the Facets only rarely grant harmful boons.”

“Thank you. Anything else you can tell me about blessings? Am I sworn to Iriode’s service? Will his enemies hate me, or perhaps his own followers will?”

“Nothing so dramatic. Iriode is not one to enslave, for one, and those blessings that would bind you are much harder to get. As for your other concern, boons are not easy to sense. Those who could determine that you have it are either soul mages or priests, and they will almost always attempt to reason with you first.”

“That’s good,” Pellex said, stretching, “well, any other advice?”

“You should head to a library and look into divination. It’s somewhat of a lost art in the States, and I certainly am not the one to teach it to you. I doubt you would find class-specific information, but there will be applicable knowledge. Remember, [Cogseer] is a hybrid – [Artificer] and [Oracle]. As in all other hybrids, focusing on both will be your best chance of success. For more general advice: only buy clothing, enchanted, if you can get it. All your other gear, you should make yourself, even if it seems trivial. You probably already know that, I’m just making sure you know it’s important. You need the experience and the skill levels more than you need the time.”

“Thanks, Ploris,” Pellex said as he stood. “I’ll be back sometime soon with Iote, and I can spruce up the effects system a little bit then, too.”

“Oh, right, the storage rod. I’ll be right back,” Ploris said, charging off to grab one. Pellex didn’t have to wait long, as the soul mage returned in only a few short minutes. Pellex put Iote in the much nicer and much less dilapidated rod, and followed Ploris into the elevator and down to the ground floor.

On the street outside, they shook hands goodbye. As Pellex was about to enter his cab, he remembered something and turned back to Ploris.

“The Circlemen and High Auditors on the airships… they made it back safely, but no-one heard anything about the arders, and there certainly weren’t any rescue missions. Do you think you could look into that, just ask around a little?”

Ploris seemed surprised, but after a few seconds he nodded. As the taxi pulled into the road, Pellex watched Ploris walk back inside and thought.

“Where to, sir?”

“The Fwydlei Library, please.”