Siorraid scanned the room, slowly passing his gaze over the carnage. It was vaguely reminiscent of a war zone considering the number of bodies that littered the floor. Or perhaps an assassin had managed to infiltrate into the training hall and slay a dozen trainees.

Siorraid chuckled quietly to himself.

As if such a thing could happen, and besides all the bodies are identical.

He made his way deeper into the room, the ground squelching unpleasantly under his boots. Near the far wall, Zed and Ril were sitting and talking. Ril looked surprisingly alert considering what he must have gone through, and was entirely wrapped in towels.

Not someone who cares much for how others see him. Need to make sure he doesn’t get assigned any political missions, yet.

He stopped in front of a particularly destroyed body and crouched. Saddie had certainly enjoyed having a punching bag that didn’t have a high effective constitution. That in combination with the fact that Ril could recover from any wound done to his clone made her go a little overboard.

He leaned forward and touched the corpse’s forehead. Still warm.

Idly he picked up one of the dozens of practice swords that littered the floor. As soon as he picked it up he realized that there was something wrong with it. It was small, an almost imperceptible difference in weight.

His power was not recognizing the blade as a viable target for his magic. Something he had never come across before.

He swung the blade experimentally and when he reached the peak of the swing the blade detached from the handle. It spun across the room and shattered upon hitting the ground. The once bright steel reduced to black powder that was quickly fading.

“Ahh, that makes more sense.” he murmured, as the handle of the blade collapsed and drifted between his fingers to join the sand.

The two acolytes had gone quiet when the blade had flown across the space. Now they watched Siorraid curiously.

Siorraid looked at Ril and arched a single eyebrow, somehow conveying curiosity at the state of the training with that single glance.

Ril blushed. “Uhm. Saddie and I sparred. It got a little...hectic.”

“Hectic...” Zed snorted.

“Saddie does tend to get excited whenever we find a new recruit.” Siorraid nodded sagely. “Although I can’t say I have ever seen this much of a mess in the aftermath. She must really like you.”

Ril paled, “Yeah, that’s not really something that I want, you know. I’m perfectly happy just being a regular student. No liking needed. Or loving. Or anything really. A perfectly professional relationship is all I really want. Nice and simple.”

“She dismembered him!” Zed burst out, pointing at a particular spot in the ruined room, where several arms lay innocently in a pool of blood. “Several times!”

“Are you injured?” Siorraid directed the question to Ril.

“Well no, but...” he replied hesitantly.

“In that case I believe you should continue training with her. It may be a grueling experience but Saddie is one of the greatest weapon masters willing to live this far west. If you wish, I can teach you weapon mastery, but I will be a poor substitute for a true master like Saddie. My expertise is far better suited to other areas.”

“Don't even think about it Ril, it’s not worth it.” Zed said to Ril when Ril didn’t immediately agree to Siorraid’s offer.

“If she really is the best...” Ril said hesitantly.

“No amount of pain is worth being that woman’s punching bag. Or meat bag.” Zed said.

“For what it is worth, the training will become significantly easier once you acquire the Pain Tolerance skill.” Siorraid said idly. He had turned away from the two and was exploring the room, carefully stepping around the carnage and examining the state of the various bodies Ril had left behind.

“How long would it take to get the Pain Tolerance ability?” Ril asked.

“It can take up to several months for some people, but Saddie is pretty efficient. She may be able to get the skill for you in a month, or even less considering this mess. If you continue to lose limbs on the regular I can’t imagine that you won’t receive the skill soon.” Siorraid said, picking up an ear that promptly crumbled to dust when he lifted it. “It’s a good thing that you are not a true creator. This mess would be difficult to clean if that was the case.”

“I did learn a lot today...” Ril muttered, glancing at his hands.

Zed narrowed his eyes. “Unbelievable. You’re thinking about it. Don’t you remember what happened here?”

“Vividly, but if I am understanding Siorraid correctly this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Besides, the pain is manageable when I know it isn’t permanent.”

Zed just shook his head in disbelief, but didn’t further try to argue the point.

“Great! With that settled, it is time to move onto your afternoon lesson with me, if you are up for it.” Siorraid said. At Ril’s hesitance he continued. “Don’t worry, there won’t be any combat, and until you are more able to match up to Saddie I will go easy on you.”

“Ok then,” Ril said.

“Then come with me, I have something to show you.” Siorraid beckoned and turned to leave the training hall. “Zed, you may continue your forms, but if you wish you can move over to the annex if the blood bothers you.”

Ril wiggled out of the towels that Zed had wrapped him in. By now he was feeling much warmer than he had, but he would shiver every once in a while whenever a draft passed over him.

They left the training hall, Siorraid leading them out of the hall and up a set of stairs to the room. They emerged to the dim blue light that permeated the main cavern of Sela. The skyline of the city spread expansively in front of them as they paused at the lip of the roof.

A moment of silence passed as Siorraid seemed to prepare what he wanted to say. Ril stood patiently at his side, content to wait for the older man and watch the bustling city. Old Man Joe had often paused in exactly this way when he told the children of Elkshire his stories. Many of the other kids had grown bored, and left during these pauses, but Ril had learned that oftentimes the best parts of the stories would occur directly after those delays.

“Tell me Ril, when you look out over this city, what do you see?” Siorraid eventually said.

“Uhm, people, and buildings. And mushrooms, lots of mushrooms.” Ril said, not entirely sure what his mentor wanted from him.

Siorraid chuckled. “True, but be honest.”

“Honestly...” Ril started. “I see a cesspool of humanity. Human’s content to live in a cage because they’ve been convinced that the outside world is too dangerous.”

“Is the world not dangerous?” Siorraid challenged.

“Maybe a little, not really though, I mean sure, there are the occasional powder beast outside, but it is worth it to escape the crowds.” Ril said, almost as an afterthought he said, “and to see the sun.”

“Ah the sun. Yes, I feel that many of Sela’s people have forgotten the joy of its rays. But I feel that you are misunderstanding the scope of the powder beast problem. That ability that you possess is the only reason you say that there are ‘occasionally’ powder beasts outside. For the average person, it would be a daily battle of survival.”

“Really?” Ril said doubtfully.

“The beasts are somehow able to track humans from far away. Tell me, how was your trip from Anduin. Was it peaceful?”

“It was, Only one group of powder beasts attacked, and we didn’t even hear about it until the caravan stopped, since the beasts attacked the front of the caravan and we were near the back.”

“An anomaly,” Siorraid said, “one that I attribute to your unique ability.”

“There are some who say that the Blood of the Chromagnum is the weakest of the Fragments,” Siorraid continued, “and for good reason, it provides the smallest boost to attributes, and seems to not have an immediate effect on the body. They use this as an excuse to justify why the Blood doesn’t have a downside.”

“These are the same people who believe that the Chromagnum is here to save us. Fools, the lot of them. These people have little understanding of true power. What it takes, and what it entails. They think that raw might, or pure speed are representations of the strong.”

“They’re not wrong though.” Ril said, “Someone with twenty strength is easily more powerful than someone like me.”

Siorraid scratched at his jaw, where a five o’clock shadow was growing. “True, but that is only one aspect of power. It is only applicable in certain situations. Situations that require a strong arm to succeed. But what of the myriad other problems that you may encounter out there in the wild? All the strength in the world will not help you if you are bitten by a Nightasp.”

Siorraid shook his head. “We are getting off topic. What I wish to say is that diversity of skills will get you farther than specialization in this world. It is why we teach even members like Zed combat skills.”

“That is Saddie’s job, at least for now. As for me, well. You say that this city is a cesspool, but what you don’t know is that it used to be much worse. After the calamity, humanity had nowhere to go. The infrastructure to support so many wasn’t in place and chaos reigned.”

That is one of the goals of the White Lily. To further humanity. Make this place that we were given a better place, and hopefully take back what was taken from us by the powder beasts. For every city that we recapture the strain on the existing cities lowers, and humanity as a whole is able to live better.”

“That sounds nice and all, but it is a little...big for me.” Ril said honestly.

Siorraid nodded “Yes, many of our members are not motivated by such a goal, I was merely sharing what drove us when we founded this guild. Is it enough that by pursuing that goal, you will indirectly improve the quality of life of your two companions?”

Ril nodded, “that sounds more my speed.”

“In that case, come with me.” Siorraid turned from the lip of the roof and descended down the stairs. “I will teach you how to better use the abilities that you already have, and teach you new ones that will help you accomplish the missions that we will send you on.”

They left the training hall and entered a different building, descending down several flights of stairs before stopping at a plain oak door.

A mound of towels appeared at Ril’s feet, inside Ril’s clone slept peacefully, utterly unperturbed by the change in scenery.

“Sorry.” Ril muttered.

“A useful ability.” Siorraid said, before opening the door and leading Ril into a strange room. It was oddly shaped, clearly not a natural cave formation, but without the pleasing symmetry of man made constructs. The room was filled with stone pillars that held up the ceiling but were placed haphazardly so that they blocked vision. The ceiling dove low in places and was covered by chandeliers in other places making it so that ducking was a necessity to traverse the space.

At least for someone of average height. Ril found the place to be the exact right size for him.

Some of the walls were covered by mirrors which made the claustrophobic space seem larger than it actually was.

In the center of the room there was a magnetite lamp. It glowed brightly, almost painfully, leaving spots in Ril’s vision as he immediately averted his gaze. Subconsciously he shuffled to the side to use one of the pillars to block the light of the lamp.

“Welcome to the Shadow Room.” Siorraid said solemnly. He stepped softly into the room, finding a gentle shadow behind one of the pillars and sank to the ground, cross legged. “Welcome to my Domain.”

Ril entered the room, and meandered over to where Siorraid was sitting. While Siorraid’s body was shrouded in shadow due to the pillar, Ril was standing in the light of the magnetite lamp.

“It seems more like a room for light.” Ril pointed out, nodding towards the unreasonably bright lamp.

“Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin, Ril. One cannot have one without the other.”

“If you have a room completely without any light, isn't it filled with shadow?” Ril asked, moving to sit in front of Siorraid, the light of the lamp eclipsed by the thick pillar.

“That is darkness. Not the same thing as shadow.” Siorraid said. “Darkness has its uses. It can help you sleep at night, or shroud you from discerning eyes, but darkness is not shadow. A shadow implies a light source. One that both banishes some of the darkness and empowers the rest. Limited it may be, but at the same time it is much more powerful.”

“Just as some people are destined to shine brightly and become heroes of the realm, there are others, people like us, who empower those shining beacons and allow them to work their magic.”

“People like us?” Ril asked.

“You remind me of myself, Ril. You prefer to live through the eyes of others. Your Mirror From ability only emphasizes that fact.”

Ril frowned. That didn’t seem exactly right, but he let Siorraid continue his instruction.

“I teach all new members of the White Lily how to control shadows. It is a useful tool, and helps train the mind. We found that learning Shadow makes it easier to master other mind limited skills.”

“You however, I believe won’t need help improving your mind.” Siorraid said with a smirk. “So instead of stopping at learning the ability, I will teach you to master it. I will teach you to move through space completely unheard, and manipulate the world as if the shadows are just an extension of your body.”

“Will you teach me how to jump through shadows like you did?” Ril asked curiously.

“Perhaps.” Siorraid smiled. “Tell me Ril, how do you kill all the powder beasts that have invaded this realm?”

Ril frowned at the strange offtopic question, “I don’t know, how?”

“One at a time.” Siorraid said sagely, then he gestured for Ril to move into the light. “Sit over there. Feel the light on your back, focus on the shadow that your body creates.

Ril moved to do so, sitting cross legged with his back towards the light.

“Good. Now attempt to move the shadow.”

Ril lifted his hand, his shadow mimicking his movement, as he looked at Siorraid with a grin.

“Good, the easiest path is not always the wrong one. Many try to immediately force the shadow to move with their minds, and subsequently fail.” Siorraid said approvingly. “Now try to reach out with your mind and move your shadow. Try to make it larger.”

Ril reached out with his mana, caressing the edges of his shadow with it as he tried to control it.

Suddenly, his mana drained slightly and a spark of flame appeared in front of him, momentarily dismissing his shadow before it reformed unharmed.

“It is normal to stay within your bounds. Do what you find easy, comfortable. I am asking you to change that habit. Do not cast Flame, no matter how simple you find the spell to be. I am asking you to change, and use your mana to manipulate shadows.” Siorraid said patiently.

And so Ril tried to manipulate the shadows. He tried to move both limb and mind to change the shape of the shadows. For hours he sat there in that brightly lit room, staring at the harsh shadow that the lamp behind him cast, until eventually, as he was about to call it a day, his shadow twitched, moving on its own accord.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the ability: Shadow.

Manipulate the shadows around you.

“Yes!” Ril crowed, “I did it!”

“Well done.” Siorraid said, rising smoothly from his meditative position. “It is time to go, tomorrow your lessons will continue and I will teach you how to use that newfound ability of yours.”

Ril grinned, then rushed out of the room, eager to tell Eren and Hauke about his day and all that he learned.

His high only lasted a couple of feet before exhaustion hit him like a truck and he slowed down, plodding through the streets until he arrived at the apartment. Before he entered he pulled up his character sheet and observed how far he had come from his time as a street rat in Elkshire.

Character name:

Ril Renar

Statistics:

Strength

9 (10.1)

Intelligence

18 (20.1)

Constitution

11 (12.3)

Wisdom

12 (13.4)

Dexterity

14 (15.7)

Charisma

11 (12.3)

Warp

11.88%

Abilities:

Awakened Blood of the Chromagnum

Awakened Mirror Form

Mana Manipulation (Basic) (Diffuse)

Remote Casting

Telekinesis

Flame

Vanish

Snow

Backstab (Passive)

Darkvision

Keen Mind

Mana Prison

Shadow

He smiled, then pushed open the door to the called out greetings of Eren and Hauke.