Derek woke to find his bed drenched in sweat. He felt an agonizing pain reminiscent of the peak of the Coming of Age Ceremony. The room was aglow in holy light and he turned his head to find hs Granny standing over him channeling holy energy into him. This energy interacted with the existing feeling of fire within him and dispersed it into the cells of his body.

Her eyes glowed in holy light as she finished her spell. She smiled at him and patted his cheek. “There boy, your Coming of Age Ceremony truly is done now. The remnant power of the Demon has been fully transferred into your body. Truly barbaric, but considering your Clan’s financial straits, it is an effective way to gain power.”

“Granny, he said he would be watching me, he said he could still take over. Will I always be at risk of becoming an Abomination?”

“Hmm, there will always be that risk child. The power of the soul has been absorbed by you and the soul has become a part of you. Just as our elements often inform our behaviors, the methods of enhancement do so as well. Your very nature has been altered by every attainment in magic you have gained and by every enhancement you have received, but you are still you. What you do with these enhancements is still essentially driven by you, not by the urges they may present.

“Still, it is beneficial that you have accepted so many Blessings. The power of your Patrons will encourage you to behave more like they desire. The god of the forge will encourage industriousness, while the goddess of the hearth will make you more protective and loving. The goddess of the sun will make your temperament more fiery and contentious, but also drive you towards greater zeal in upholding what you value. What power can a mere remnant of a Demon have over you when you already have three gods heavily influencing your behavior?”

He looked puzzled for a moment, before looking up at her and grinning, “Is that why you get mad at that old fogey so easily? Because of how deep your connection to your goddess is?”

Her eyes bulged for a moment before she flicked his forehead, “Don’t get smart with me dull boy. You aren’t big enough that I can’t wear out your hide. That old man has earned all the anger I can muster towards him and more. Now go to sleep.”

“Ouch, I am sorry granny. Goodnight.” The young man started to yawn as he saw her hunched back leaving the room. He saw a slight smile on her face as she turned to close the door to his room and sleep quickly took him.

The old woman sighed and sat down at her kitchen table, “Old man, that was almost too much. Your people’s rituals are too barbaric. He should have been tier four at least before attempting a Greater Demon’s heart.”

A shadow moved from the corner to sit across from her, revealing itself to be Matteus. He reached across the table to grip her hands. Massaging and pouring holy energy into her through them, he spoke, “Penelope, you know why the Clan does these things. We are not wealthy, yet we are required to keep the Hell’s Gate Mountains under control. We must produce enough powerhouses to prevent fools from clearing us out of there for whatever misguided reason they may have. It’s all in service to the ancient Pact our Ancestor made.”

She looked at him and snorted, but her voice lacked the edge it normally carried. It almost sounded plaintive, “But I didn’t make that Pact, Mat. I had no part in it and have had to watch generation after generation of my descendents struggle, bleed, corrupt their spirits, and eventually leave their bones exposed in those mountains. Exorcism becomes a mercy for them then, their souls eternally tainted. Even bound to the Church, Reginald’s progeny have lived long, full lives and died happily surrounded by their children and grandchildren, but not mine. Not mine.”

The old man got up and walked around the table to hold his wife, “I am sorry Penny, but if you saw the things the Sword has shown us, if you saw the horror that we had seen, you would understand better. If you want a peaceful life for some of your progeny, then ask Derek to allow you to raise one of his within the Church, because the first time they experience the Sword Ceremony, no thought of peace will ever enter their minds again. There can be no true peace for a Thorne while Demons still ravage this world. It is in our very Essence.”

“It almost killed him, Mat. This one is not even twenty yet. He's still a child and his soul was almost extinguished in this very city. He and his Grandmother are the last of our line. They are all that we have left when there had once been so many.”

The old woman had begun weeping and the old man could only hold his wife to console her, “I know, Penny. I know.”

The next morning Derek woke feeling sore all over his body but his head was clear and he felt stronger and more vigorous than ever. He heard his granny shuffling about in the kitchen so he dressed quickly to join her. Seeing her preparing a meal he walked over and hugged her, “Good morning granny. Let me wash up and help you.”

She continued chopping the meat she was preparing but turned and smiled at him. “Good, I need you to dice these peppers and toss them into these eggs I have prepared here.”

As he diced the vegetables, the room became quiet except for the sound of their chopping and the fire in the stove. He glanced over at his granny to see that she had moved on to preparing rolls. When he was done dicing the peppers he added them to the eggs and stirred them together. He finally broke the silence, “Granny, what next?”

“Hmm,” she said, “We are almost prepared, Set the table for us and leave extra settings for that old rogue and Reggie in case they come by.”

He nodded and as he set the placings the two fell into silence again. After a while Reginald came by and sat at his place, not breaking the silence at all. Shortly afterwards there was a knock on the door before Matteus walked in. He read the mood and took a seat next to Reginald.

Derek began moving the dishes to the table as his granny finished preparing them. Soon, they were all able to sit and eat. The quiet in the room was finally broken then as the food was passed around. There was more than enough for the four of them, and Derek’s granny insisted he eat extras.

He did not complain as he had felt famished that entire morning. Three omelets and several rolls had already disappeared down his gullet when he started to slow down. His granny just smiled as she handed him another slice of ham.

Finally, she spoke. “Eat as much as you want. Your body has gone through a major trauma. You will need a lot of food to provide you the energy you need to repair it. After the Rites of Sunrise we will go for a nice stroll around the grounds to loosen you up before we begin practice today.”

The boy nodded to her and continued eating. As they finished eating, Matteus stood up and gripped the old lady’s shoulder assuringly, “Penny, I have to go back to the mountains now. Send word when things are decided.”

Derek’s granny smiled and turned to him, “I will. Stay safe old man.”

As he exited the door, he turned and smiled at her, “Ehehe, as if anything in those mountains could kill me.”

After cleaning the table, the other three headed to the Cathedral to participate in the morning Rites. Derek allowed the experience to wash over him. He felt the holy energies of the service seep into him; rejuvenating, vitalizing, and healing his body. As they left the service he nodded to the young priestess and her would be guardian as they boarded their carriage for the trip to the Academy.

Their walk through the parks behind the Cathedral was peaceful and by the time he had eaten his lunch he felt as good as new. His granny led him to a training yard towards the rear of the compound away from prying eyes and began running him through a rigorous round of training, going over the spells he knew and the ones he had been merely improvising. After a few hours of this Reginald joined them, covering spells that were more specific to a magic warrior’s repertoire.

Seeing that Derek had advanced beyond sixth level casting, Reginald began instructing him in the advanced use of Weapon Channeling type spells. Starting with the smite that Derek had practiced a million times in his life, he showed how to formulate a spell matrix that would encapsulate the energy and hurl it towards his enemy at range. A weaker caster could only reach a few dozen paces with this type of attack, but a stronger caster could reach out to a few hundred, negating the need for ranged weapons altogether.

Derek practiced with it and within half an hour had gotten used to the technique. He began blending the spells he knew into it and was met with varying degrees of success. Smite was his most successful, but only because he was most familiar with it. He had been making minute changes to smite for years as he sought to get the most effectiveness out of it.

That evening, after the service he slept easily and the next day he began his new routine, being lectured by his granny while manicuring the gardens and training magic with his granny and her brother before the Rites of Sunset. His improvement in Auras and Weapon Channeling was significant over that time as he focused on repetition and trial and error to increase the efficiency of his spell casting.

Finally, as the week came to an end and holiday began, Derek was pleasantly surprised to see some visitors after the Rite of Sunrise. Eona, Rebekah, Ander, Ovid, and Alicia had all come to see them. Derek smiled as he saw the reunion between his grandmother and her granny.

“Rebekah, it has been so long and look how you have grown. I am so happy to see you, girl. I have missed you so.” the old lady said as she looked up and tried to reconcile the girl with ponytails she had once known with the matron before her now.

“Granny, you don’t look like you have aged a day. You look just as healthy as you did when I was smaller than you.”

“But I have, child. Age doesn’t affect the bodies of the powerful like it does for a normal person, but time still passes and continued existence is a curse of its own as you watch the world pass on…. Enough of that, let us go and eat. I will make the peach cobbler you liked when you were little.”

Derek Thorne-

Previous Classes-

Magic Warrior, Rune Smith

Permanent Enhancements-

Demon Warrior, Tier Two: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +2 Mind, +2 Dark, +2 Chaos, +2 Light, +2 Order, Demon

Sense

Rune Smith, Tier One: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +2 Mind

Disciple of the God of the Forge: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +5 Fire, +5 Earth

Blessed Child of the Hearth Goddess: +2 Body, +2 Mind, +5 Order, +5 Light

Greater Demon Heart: +3 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +3 Mind, +5 Dark, +5 Chaos, Expanded Essentia Pool,

Masking

Blessing of the Sun Goddess: +2 Agility, +5 Order, +5 Light, +5 Fire

Equipment-

Forge God’s Armor: basic protection low t2, maximum defensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Warsword: basic offensive mid t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Glaive: basic offensive mid t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Bow: basic offensive low t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Talisman of the Sun, Forge and Hearth: eight mature sprites +8 to all elemental attributes, other assorted benefits