When Killian explained what he knew of Aspects to Jol, the fairy simply raised a tiny eyebrow and looked at him funny. After a quick discussion to make sure they were both thinking of the same thing, Jol started laughing.

“Humans really are weird. How have you never seen a mana shard before? They just… appear sometimes. At least, here they do. Maybe they don’t where you come from?” The small humanoid had genuine concern on his face, which made Killian both grateful and a bit annoyed.

“Maybe I have and I just didn’t know what it was called at the time.” Killian replied, huffily.

“If they called it something different where you come from, why would you call it an Aspect?”

“Because that’s what it’s called!” Killian was getting grumpy. The fairy constantly asked question after question as though it was being paid to do it. Killian had been walking, sweat-laden, through the muddy, stinking swamp for hours. He wondered if he’d rather have been alone, as his frustration mounted with Jol.

Still, if an Aspect was sometimes called a mana shard, the condensed mana in his inventory seemed even more interesting. Deciding that he’d have to do something with it eventually, Killian removed the mana from his inventory.

The world around him lit up in colour. The fading light of the sun seemed to explode, calmly and peacefully igniting everything with radiance. Jol shielded his eyes at first before a noise of pure glee, somewhere between a laugh and a whoop, came from the tiny, floating man.

“Aspect, mana shard, whatever you call it!” Jol was flitting from the ground to above Killian’s head very quickly. “You are such a bully, if you had that, why are you asking me?”

The fairy had a massive grin on his face, as though being let in on a huge secret. He tracked what he knew backwards, and he supposed it made sense that this would be an Aspect, if an Aspect is what gives you magic. That had been what he’d asked for before receiving it. How, though, did he use it? As he looked, the description began to change.

-Item-

|Aspect of Destiny|

Aspects are created by excess amounts of mana.

Manipulation of fate, a life not left to chance.

Effect: Aspect of Destiny binds to an attribute, granting different skills and effects. As your attribute rises, more abilities will unlock.

You meet the requirements to use this item.

Would you like to use Aspect of Destiny?

Yes or No?

“Well, that was easy. You might want to stand… fly back, Jol.” The fairy hadn’t touched the forest floor once, and curiously flitted back to the branches of a large ash tree. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself to the consequences of being brazen, Killian accepted.

The palm sized stone of magic changed texture. Quickly losing form, the solid weight turned into a golden liquid, the same colour it had been but with a iridescent sheen, layering the gold with a rainbow. He was taken by it’s beauty as the liquid ran traces up his arms. Where it flowed, it left a design. Flowing, thin lines spiderwebbed across his entire body.

As though taking the first breath after being held underwater, Killian gasped. He flailed his arms around as wonder became something else. A burn upon every inch of his body. As though his soul was being scorched, the pain was indescribable. He wailed and slammed on the floor as the golden runes and patterns seared into his being. Arcs of silver and golden light flew from his form in the clearing.

Distantly, muffled as though Killian had his ears covered, Killian could hear Jol shouting. He focused on those sounds. Trying to keep himself awake, he turned away from the pain and strained to make out the fairy’s words.

“... Lian… Killian… Kay Kill… Killian, you’re okay!” Jol was trying to be a calming voice. As the clarity to his auditory senses came back, the pain dulled. Like a hot coal quickly losing heat, he felt his body return to normal. No pain lingered, but the experience had left him drenched in sweat and exhausted. Hoping it was worth it, Killian opened his eyes. His vision was clear, with the exception of pulsing icons in his Display.

Killian managed a smile, though he winced as he realised he’d bitten his lip hard and drawn blood. Still, it seemed to Killian that it had been worth it.

-Will-

|Aspect of Destiny|

The Aspect of Destiny has fused with your Will attribute. Your Will grade is now Bronze. Progression to Silver rank is locked until all five attributes have been fused with an Aspect.

Effect:Will attribute bonded to Destiny rank.

-Ability Unlocked-

|Beginner’s Luck| Will

When learning something new, there are very few quicker than you.

This is an ability governed by your Will grade.

Effect: At bronze grade, your new skills progress far faster than others.

That seemed like it could only be a good thing, as a start. Depending on how long it normally takes to learn a “skill”, Killian could make himself proficient at a lot of things very quickly.

Killian was beginning to understand, through pieces of his previous knowledge and the new information he had, that Aspects, mana shards and the Voice of God were probably all the same thing. The System. Genara had told him that his interaction with the System would be different from others.

Knowledge aside, a different kind of understanding now filled Killian. His eyes brimmed with tears as he could feel it. Like a new sense unlocked, the mana moved around his body and filled him. He could feel tendrils of power snaking out to his fingertips from within, as though desperate to unleash. It was the overwhelming feeling of true power.

Steadying himself with a smile, allowing a few sobs to break through, Killian felt joy course through him. He had magic. The Display was already updating, showing a blue circle that was full at the moment. His mana pool. Without any way to use it, he was like a reservoir with no drainage. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, but the magic itself seemed excited to be channelled.

“I have mana.” Killian said out loud, Jol not knowing what to make of the human’s strange activities. Killian left the statement in the air as the only explanation.

“Right. So do I, but mine just helps me fly and do this.” The fairy went invisible, shocking Killian. He didn’t seem to want much more of an answer to what had just happened. In fact, Killian suspected that he’d already forgotten being worried at all. Killian was both happy and jealous of the fae being.

An envelope icon, this time with a exclamation mark instead of question, flashed in his Display.

-Quest Complete-

|So It Begins|

A start. The destination unknown, the brave choose to forge onwards.

Rewards: 10 Silv, Iron Handaxe

Killian gulped as he looked at his inventory. 10 Silv. A bron was enough to get you a meal, or a roof over your head. 10 bron made a silv. Gol was the same to silv as silv is to bron. He wouldn’t trust someone trying to turn 10 silv into a single gol, but that was apparently the upwards rate. Without even trying, Killian had just gathered more money than he had ever held at one time. The tears returned, and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or upset.

10 silv probably would have been enough to get away from Estaria with Dack and Sherrin.

Hopefully, Killian thought, I’ll get to Estaria in time to help Dack and Sherrin.

A goal in mind, Killian desperately searched for a place to sleep. The events of the day, and especially binding to the Aspect, had exhausted him. Jol claimed that he never slept, and could be a lookout anywhere Killian would like, but Killian was not of the forest. The sounds, the sights, the strange cold yet sticky air, all combined to become an insidious, shadow-filled witchwood.

With effort, Killian forced his eyes shut. Hidden in an abandoned warren in the roots of a huge oak, Jol’s apparently watchful eyes on him, Killian didn’t feel safe, but he’d slept like that before. With dreams of money falling from the sky, Killian rested.