Unique Circumstances Identified...

Compensating...

Path Created: Living Essence

Rank: Rare

Current Strength: F+

Growth potential: B+

Living Essence: "Although it is strange and cold, I have accepted this world as my own..."

You are not meant to exist within these lands. Your kin have always been born of the essence of Sol, cradled either within the realm of fire or near one of the many portals to it. You are an exception. Born in the cold and forced to take a physical form in order to survive, you will never be the same as your kin who have only known the luxury of flame. Learn your lessons, gain your strength, and always remember: you are your own source of power.

Passive gains: Preserves all benefits from "Magus" and "Survivor" paths. Your density is tripled. Your Strength is increased to maintain the same ratio of Strength to mass. Fiery Soul now only reduces your mana/health by 1 point per every second your are out of a fire.

Stat gains: Preserves all benefits from "Magus" and "Survivor" paths.

Ability gains: Ethereal Reversion

Ethereal Reversion (Toggle): Release your essence outward to take an Ethereal form. In your Ethereal form, you are immune to physical damage, but take triple damage from any magical or energy attacks (This scales multiplicatively with racial weaknesses). Furthermore, you lose 5% of your total mana per second while you are in your ethereal form. Running out of mana returns you to your normal form.

Activation/Deactivation: 1 second

Cooldown: N/A

Passive Losses: You can no longer gain any new paths.

Stat Losses: N/A

Ability Losses: N/A

Again, the elemental felt changes flow through him. Gaining strength was different from vitality and intelligence. Instead of growing larger or smarter, he felt himself gain weight. Moving felt different. His body responded to more of an extreme extent than he had been used to. He could actually feel himself pushing off of the ground and being held off of the floor by his own strength rather than the bouncing wispiness he had felt before. It would take some time to get accustomed to the changes but... he found himself liking them quite a bit.

The new ability was also interesting but irritatingly limited. True, He could use it to dodge massive instances of physical damage, but it would take 15% of his mana just to keep it up for a second and lead to near certain death from any heavy magical assault. It would be a good last resort, but he couldn't count on it to save him consistently.

Thus, what he appreciated most about the new path wasn't the shiny new ability or even the increased density, but the simple reduction in Fiery Soul's downside. He was almost free!

After he put his remaining two points into wisdom, he had 0.8 mana regeneration per second: just three points shy of actually being able to regenrate mana outside of a fire. Just one more level would do it.

That; however, was one level too many, as the fire below him finally dimmed beyond the point where it was worth maintaining. Once more the cold set in. Without any better option, the elemental quickly set off up the tunnel, following the path the air slime had taken in its fright.

He stumbled on his first steps, unused to his new size and strength, but swiftly began to improve. In moments, he was already walking faster than he ever had before, taking massive strides from his new height. Massive, being a bit of a relative word of course, he was only about knee height after all.

Nonetheless, he felt rather proud. He was making his way out into the world and nothing was going to stop him!

He; however, wasn't the tunnel's only occupant. Far behind him, a lone slime oozed its way after him, having devoured the recently vacated ashy remains. The elemental had grown tall and strong after their fight, but it wasn't the only one with a few tricks up its pattern...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It took a full five minutes for the elemental to finally reach the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, what he found there was nothing short of dissapointing. It was indeed a huge cavern, but it was by no means filled with energy. The floor and walls were merely barren stone while the only sources within were barely an eighth of the size of the ones he had dwellt upon. They were rather different too, scurrying around on four legs with a skinny tail constantly whipping around behind them. He knew a little of these fur black creatures from the slimes' experiences: they were scavengers, not particularly dangerous to him in any way.

Nonetheless, he'd have to make do with what little energy was available to him here. Walking forward into the room, he froze as every last creature within immediately turned toward him. A sea of black beady eyes glinted in his light for a moment before turning a bright red.

The rats charged with savage abandon, uncaring that they trampled their own benetah them in an effort to get to the elemental as fast as they could. For his part, the elemental stood his ground, uncertain as to how exactly they planned to harm him. He was literally made of fire, it wasn't as if they could survive biting him...

He quickly came to realize that survival was the furthest thing from their mind.

The rats swarmed him, climbing over themselves to completly cover him in a mass of writhing flesh. Each bite killed a rat, but whenever one fell, two rushed to take its place. The elemental almost panicked, tearing and swatting at rats as he steadily lost health. When he had lost almost fifty health; however, an idea came to him. These creatures only did physical damge and died when they came in contact with him. Hadn't he just gained an ability that could take advantage of both of those?

The elemental burst outwards, expanding to a cloud nearly triple his physical size. Suddenly losing a solid being below their paws, the rats tumbled downward into his inferno. Having been greatly annoyed by their attacks, the screeching was almost gratifying to the elemental as the rats' roasted within his ethereal form. He'd outsmarted them, and now, it was time to reap the rewards of his work.

That, of course, was when an arcane bolt slammed into his Ethereal Form.

The bolt tore into him, tearing his extended essence to shreds just before he pulled himself back into his regular form. Again, his world was pain, but this time... it was overridden by anger, a hot burning fury at the one creature that had denied his will... THAT ACURSED SLIME!

He was down to 130 health. If he hadn't taken the path of the survivor, he likely would have died. Again. It was time for payback.

A feral grin formed across his face as he pulled himself to his feet. Seeing that its rushed ambush had failed, the slime formed a second bolt and launched it at him. Having just barely pulled himself to his feet, the elemental knew he couldn't dodge the blast. Instead, he braced himself and lifted his arms up to block it.

With his new, heavy body and greatly increased strength, the bolt barely budged him out of place. Without the crushing impact of being slammed into a wall, the singular bolt hardly hurt him, damaging him for about forty health. His grin expanded as the slime began to form more bolts. This... was incredibly exhilarating! His anger for the slime fed his joy as he calmly slid around the third bolt, letting it crash harmlessly into the wall behind him. If he remembered correctly, the slime only had five shots in its arsenal, then its core would be his!

The slime seemed to know this as well, holding its two remaining bolts above it in a threatening manner. At this point, it was all a numbers game. The elemental had ninety health and the slime had eighty damage on the table. However, he wouldn't put it past the critter to have some hidden ace. Since he was standing still, every second that passed meant he gained 1.3 health. The slime, on the other hand, would gain an unknown amount of mana. The Elemental knew that was nowhere near a good exchange for him. He had to end this now, hidden aces be damned.

So... he charged. The slime saw him moving and threw out one of its bolts. He'd been expecting that and dove to the side before turning to face the slime again. Whereupon he found two arcane bolts screaming towards his face. The slime had outsmarted him, feinting forward with the bolt before actually launching it. Now he would the price of falling in its trap.

The bolts tore into his upraised arms, further shredding his already tattered essence and forcing him back further. 10 health. That's all he had left. He could only hope it would be enough.

He pushed himself up to his knees. Then, from his knees he forced himself into a standing position, before starting to stagger forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three. Four.

Five Six Seven

He was walking. It was slow. It was clumsy, but it was walking and it covered the distance to the slime admirably. Each second that passed healed him, numbing the pain and letting him move faster. For its part, the slime was still alive, sliding backwards slowly in a desperate attempt to open up more space between the two of them.

It was too late for that. If it had wanted mercy it should have never attacked him. Now, he stood above it, victorious and ready to strike the final blow.

Then the other shoe dropped. Literally.

The elemental tumbled away from the slime as he was kicked by a source. Gracelessly, he slid to a stop upon the cold stone floor losing all of the health he had just barely regained. Limply rolling over, he watched as the source slammed a runed box atop of the slime, capturing it effortlessly. Once the box was on the ground around the slime, the source slid a final panel underneath, sealing the box shut. Then, with unhurried movements, it carefully lifted the box and placed it in a pack on its back.

Then, once it sealed its pack, the source turned to him, shouting something. The elemental was confused for a moment, did it expect him to be hurt by its noise? Then, he heard a responding grunt from his side, and looked up to see another source standing over him. He'd never heard it approach.

As the first source grew closer, it began to make noises again, which the second one seemed to respond to. Were they... communicating?

He couldn't be sure, but there did seem to be a pattern to their noises. They seemed to be deciding something... probably his fate.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop them. The sources towered over him and practically shone with mana. Even at his prime, he probably couldn't have stopped them. Now? Well he was most certainly not at his prime. Out of mana, almost out of health, and most certainly out of time, he could only lie back and watch their sounds flow back and forth.

Finally, the two seemed to come to a consensus. With one final grunt, the second source reached behind its back and pulled out a cage. The elemental sighed in relief: he would live, at least for a little longer.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Now come on Bart! Don't try an' rob us! I know what a Ruler's worth!" the trapper cried, indignant at the merchant's offer.

"Yes, yes a ruler is usually valuable," the merchant acknowledged, placing emphasis upon the usually as he turned to gesture at the slime," but this one is still just a slime! Who would buy a slime, of all things, as a familiar? You're lucky I even willing to take the chance. 5 silver I tell you, 5 silver is all you'll get out of me."

The trapper turned beet red in anger, barely containing the explosion that almost burst from his mouth. Just a quickly as he rose to anger; however, he lost his temper. The merchant was probably right... it was just a slime...

Before he could open his mouth and accept the deal, his partner spoke up.

"A gold Crown for it an' the elemental or we take 'em to Larkin across the road." the man said simply, pointing behind his back towards the merchant's competitor.

A look of pure disgust flittered across the merchant's face. "Larkin? That old cheat? He'd sooner spit on you than give you any more and you know it. No, here's what I'll do for you boys I'll give you ten silvers for both. Ten Silvers. My mercy'll have me out in the streets next winter, but I suppose it's only fair since I've known you both for years now. Final offer."

The first trapper was ecstatic, lifting his hand to shake with the merchant. The second man; however, smelled a rat.

"No, actually we'll take 'em over to Larkin, get the two critters appraised. Thanks fer the time..." he began only to be cut off by the merchant.

"5 gold for the slime. I don't give half a damn about the elemental, but I'll give you a silver for it: It's rare enough around these parts for me to sell it at a bit of profit," the merchant replied, dropping all pretenses and adopting a stone cold manner.

"And if we were to ask fer ten gold?" the second trapper asked, leaning in over the wooden counter.

"I'd call you a halfwit and laugh when Larkin said the same." the merchant replied, mirthless.

"I say we just take the gold man..." the first trapper whispered to the first.

"Shut it. If it were up to you we'd have walked outa here with 5 silver between the two of us." the second muttered back.

"Nine gold"

"Five"

"Eight gold"

"Five"

"Seven?"

"I've told you thrice now, five gold is the most you'll get here. Take it or get out of my store!" the merchant yelled with a note of finalityin his voice.

"Alright. Five gold and One silver fer the slime and elemental, signed Jans Barken." the trapper proclaimed.

"Signed Bartholomew Lacome" the merchant replied.

A trade has been witnesed by the System.

Fulfill your obligations, or be judged.

Wordlessly, the merchant pulled out 5 quarter-sized round coins and one smaller hexagonal silver coin with a small hole through its center from a cashbox behind the counter. The trapper slid the box and cage across the counter, jostling the elemental, which had observed the exchange silently.

Accepting the money from the merchant, the trapper turned and walked outside, shouting, "Pleasure doing business with ya!" over his shoulder.

The merchant stood, silent and stony-faced as he watched through the large glass window that made up the front facade of his store. Only when the two trappers had passed the corner of his store did he allow a smile to break out across his face.

"Fools. Pah, only reason I'm still in this shithole is fools like them." The merchant snorted shaking his head.

"Now," he continued, a hint of greed entering his voice," Let's see what we have here."

Opening the box, he easily blocked three bolts of mana with a simple energy shield that burst into existence around him.

"Ooh, you're a fiesty one aren't you?" the merchant chuckled as he pulled on a runed silky glove and reached down in to the box.

Scooping the slime up, he turned it from side to side, efficiently observing every aspect of the helpless creature's form.

"Yeesss," the merchant mumbled to himself, drawing out the simple word to an almost malevolent hiss, " you'll make me veeerrry rich won't you?"

"Parker!" The man barked, not taking his eyes of the slime.

"Yessir!" his apprentice cried, rushing in to stand by the Merchant's while desperately picking at his clothes in a last-ditch attempt to straighten them out.

"Quit your fidgeting boy!" the merchant replied, causing the boy to immediately freeze.

"Go into the vault and bring me the Xyren box. Yes, that's the one in the very back I've told you not to touch. Hurry, but whatever you do," The merchant leaned in, pulling the young man forward ny his collar with his free hand," Do. Not. Drop It! Am I making myself understood?"

The boy nodded silently in fear.

"Good! Then, Go!" The merchant shouted, suddenly letting go of his apprentice.

He tumbled to the ground but scrambled up to his feet with a practiced ease. Thankfully, his master hadn't seemed to have noticed, enthralled by the slime. Practically diving through the curtain that covered the doorway into the back of the shop, he slid into what might as well have been a whole new world. The backroom was dark and hot with an unnatural humid feel. Beady eyes watched the boy's every move from cages that were stacked tall, all the way up to the ceiling. Shrieks and grunts of magical creatures all fell eerily silent as the boy walked by, before resuming in earnest after his passage.

One beast slammed into the side of its crate, rushing at Parker but being forced back by the enchantments that bound it inside. He didn't falter. It was far from his first day as an apprentice at Bartholomew's Bestiary and he'd long since grown accustomed to the habits of its occupants.

Making his way through one winding isle, he finally reached the end of the hall where the most exotic creatures dwelled. A young wyvern screeched at him from its perch in the rafters, a baby hydra hissed with both its heads lurking under a rock in its enclosure, the hellbear grunted, not even deigning to give him more than a glance.

Finally, after dodging a swipe from the firecat, Parker reached the very back of the hall. Here, he quickly went over and grabbed the Xyren box. Named after the wizard who created it, it was commonly considered one of the great magic wonders of the world. There was only one Xyren box, yet there were thousands or perhaps even tens of thousands scattered around the world. Somehow, the wizard had manipulated space magic to the degree of forming multiple linked instances of the same box throughout the world. They were uniquely useful in that anything that passed through one of the boxes would instantly appear at the original one. Unfortunately, Xyren himself was believed to have lost his life in the making of the box, taking the secret of its creation to the grave with him.

That; however, didn't stop the merchant guild from turning a handy profit, using the box as secure transportation for any smaller, valuable goods.

Bringing the box back to the counter, Parker slid it in front of his master and took two steps back to hopefully remain out of mind. For his part, the master had already returned the slime to the runed box it had arrived in and was now simply quilling in the finishing touches on a piece of parchment he planned to send along with the slime.

As he crossed his last t, he gestured with his hand once casting a cantrip that instantly dried the ink before rolling the parchment up and tying it shut with a string. Once the cantrip had finished its work, the master dipped his ring into a pot of hot resin, always boiling for this very purpose, and placed it along the edge of the parchment leaving behind his seal upon the letter. Wiping off the remaining resin from his ring with a rag, he placed both the runed box and letter into the Xyren box before closing its lid firmly.

Only then did he permit his second smile of the evening. Pausing for a moment, he sighed in soft anticipation of the gold that would soon come flooding his way. It was only for a moment though. There was, after all, still work to be done.

Turning to his apprentice, he gestured casually toward the elemental," Feed that thing to the firecat before you go, boy."

"Feed it...? Sir?" Parker replied confused.

"Did I stutter? Feed it to the firecat. It's only a bloody elemental, the things are all over the place. Nobody'll buy it off me. At least it was cheaper than Hellboar meat. Figure it might as well be of some use..." he mumbled, turning to a stack of papers.

Parker hesitated for a moment. His master had given him a command, but... this was his best chance! He had only managed to save up fifty copper, there was no way he could buy any other creature from the shop. Knowing full and well he was liable to get a tongue lashing, he spoke up.

"If... if it's really that worthless then..." he began, only to hesitate, falling silent when his master's gaze fell upon him.

"Then?" the man prompted giving away none of his thoughts on the manner.

"th-then I was wondering if maybe... I could buy it!" the boy finished with a blurt.

"You?" his master asked, bemused," And what exactly would you plan to do with a newborn elemental?"

"I..." hebegan as he shuffled his feet," it wouldnt be for me. My younger brother's turned thirteen today sir. He's always wanted a beast from the store, but..."

"You haven't got the money," the man finished, well aware of his apprentice's financial situation.

"Yessir. I thought that maybe since it's not worth much..." he continued hopefully

"I'd give it to you for free?" his master cut him off again, more coldly this time.

"No SIr. No no no!" the apprentice vehemently denied, knowing full well his master's thoughts on charity. He quickly reached down into pocket, pulling out a small pouch of coins. In a motion he poured the coins, small copper rectangles, also with holes through their center, out into his hand.

"50 copper sir!" the boy exclaimed with an outstretched hand, not explicitly stating the obvious fact that this was all the money he had.

The merchant silently took the money, counting it out of habit with practiced ease. Then, he looked up at his apprentice wordlessly.

The silence continued for a long moment as the boy began to fidget under his master's silent gaze before the man finally sighed and stood up. Pocketing what didn't even amount to pocket change for him, he walked a ways down the counter and pulled a single pair of gloves out of a drawer beneath the counter.

Then walking back over, he picked the elemental's cage up with his free hand and held both items out to his apprentice.

"50 copper for this newborn fire elemental and a pair of whelp-skin gloves. Signed Bartholomew Lacome."

"Really Sir? I..." Parker began.

"Finsih the deal boy, before I change my mind," his master cut him off.

"Signed Parker Rolfe!" the boy practically shouted with excitement.

A trade has been witnessed by the System.

Fulfill your obligations or be judged.

Rushing forward, instead of merely grabbing the offered items, Parker hugged his master.

"Thank you Sir! You won't regret it! I swear."

"I already do..." the merchant grumpily replied, awkwardly holding his hands out while the boy hugged him.

Realizing what he had done in his excitement, Parker practically leapt back, blushing furiously from embarassment. Before he could begin to apologize profusely; however, his master pushed the cage and gloves into his arms.

"Go home Parker. I'll finish closing tonight."

"Sir are you...?" Parker began, only to be waved off bny his master.

"Yes, yes I'm sure. Stop questioning good fortune boy, or you'll never make a proper merchant! Now, go on! You'll be late for the gift giving!" the man interrupted, handing the young man his coat and ushering him out the door.

Parker took two steps outside before looking back over his shoulder.

"Have a Merry Midwinter's Feast Master!" he called out.

"A Merry Midwinter's Feast to you too Parker. Hurry home now or you'll catch your death out here!" the man replied with just a hint of concern as he stood in his doorway, watching the boy dart away against the blistery breeze with a small cage held inside his jacket, tight to his chest.