Morgan held the orb at arm’s length, slightly worried because he could feel his Core spinning faster and reaching out toward it. “Do you feel anything from this? Like in your Core?” He held the orb out toward Issa, and she squinted, concentrating, then shook her head.

“No. What is it?”

“I don’t know, but my Core is really feeling agitated; the Energy is surging in me. I feel like I should try to cultivate from this orb.”

“It’s a reward, so I doubt it’s dangerous. Sit down, and I’ll watch over you while you do it.” Issa watched him as he sat down in the empty space between the back table and the doorway they hadn’t explored. Sitting in a lotus position, he placed the orb on the floor in front of him, and then he looked inward to his Core. His Core, always a spinning maelstrom, was more chaotic than usual; the tendrils of Energy were stretching and contracting and moving much more quickly than usual while at rest. He exerted his will and tried to calm it, forcing the long, thrashing tendrils of Energy back into a uniform swirl. Only when he felt he had complete control did he reach out with his senses toward the orb of swirling Energy.

His eyes were closed, but he’d grown so used to “looking” inward at his Core that he wasn’t surprised when he could see the ball of dense Energy. It was like his Core was a swirling, burning sun, and the orb was an endless well of deep, engulfing Energy—a black hole. At first, when Morgan felt the orb's power, he pulled back. What if he tried to cultivate that dark, pulling Energy, and it was stronger than his Core? What if it pulled the Energy out of him instead? Mentally he frowned and steeled himself; he imagined Issa admonishing his caution and gathered his will. Before he reached for that Energy, he would make himself ready. He turned to his Core and willed it to spin faster. He remembered how he felt when he was in the Crucible, and the Urghat had him in a death grip, and he pulled with everything he had to siphon its Energy. Morgan channeled that desperation and willed his Core to respond.

Once he had his Core moving with the frenetic Energy of a deep-sea whirlpool, he opened his channels and emptied his body of Energy, pulling it all into his Core. He was careful not to extend his pull beyond his body yet. When he’d consolidated his Energy, he reached out to the orb with his mind and, with a furious effort of will, began to siphon off the Energy within. It felt cold and empty and endless, and he felt his concentration start to slip as the vastness of it began to overwhelm his senses. A jolt of adrenaline, fueled by panic, surged through him, and he realized his Energy was leaking from his Core and flowing along his pathways toward the orb.

Morgan furrowed his brow in frustration and renewed his concentration. He pulled back from the orb and forced his Energy back into his Core. Suddenly he had a thought and almost slapped himself on the head. Why wasn’t he using his cultivation drill? Morgan calmed himself and took several deep breaths to re-center. Then he began his drill, slowly cycling his Energy through his pathways, and only when he was on the return portion of his drill did he reach out and pull at the Energy around him, including the Energy in the orb. This time the vacuum created by his Vortex Core was more potent; along with the ambient Energy in the room, a tendril of the cold, empty Energy within the orb flowed toward his Core, slipping through his pathways like a rivulet of glacial water through a warm tide. Morgan felt it enter his Core, and he directed it to the very center of the vortex, allowing it to pool like a singularity at the center of a swirling galaxy.

A smile crept along Morgan’s lips, and he began another round of his drill. Again, he pushed his Energy out through his pathways, and again he pulled ambient Energy in along with the Energy in the orb. His Core's dark, empty heart joined in the drawback this time, and a broader stream poured into him from the orb, joining the vacuum of Energy at his Core. Something happened then, like an engine catching and revving up after cranking the starter—his Core began to spin faster than he knew it could, and the stream of Energy from the orb widened into a torrent, flooding into his Core through his pathways at such a rate that it became painful. Morgan could feel his pathways straining to contain the surge, and he could feel the powerful, pulling Energy gathering to such a degree that it almost eclipsed the rest of the Energy swirling around it.

Morgan, at first, reveled in the feeling of power that poured through his pathways and swelled within his Core, but as his pathways began to burn and the center of his Core slowly grew more and more dense, pulling at the fringes of his vortex of normal Energy, he bit down on his teeth and clenched his fists in strain. Just as he started to feel a tickling wave of panic begin to fray at the back of his mind, the stream of Energy from the orb ceased, and his Core pulsed heavily. The Empty singularity at the center of his Core condensed, and a large portion of its Energy bled off into the spinning vortex around it, joining the pure Energy that spun there, and an equilibrium was established. Morgan sighed heavily, took a deep breath, and examined his Core.

The vortex of Energy spun more powerfully and seemed more vibrant than ever, and, as he looked to the singularity at its center, Morgan knew it consisted of void-attuned Energy. The knowledge was there as sure as he knew his opposing digits were called thumbs. His store of void-attuned Energy matched his pure Energy. The movement of his vortex balanced the pull of the void perfectly, keeping it from absorbing and converting his pure Energy. Morgan, his eyes still closed, smiled and looked at his status sheet:

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 7

Class:

Vortex Duelist - Epic

Level:

26

Core:

Vortex Class - Base 7

Energy Affinity:

9.2, Void 9.2

Energy:

4103/4103

Strength:

65

Vitality:

60

Dexterity:

44 (66)

Agility:

93

Intelligence:

116

Will:

101

Points Available:

0

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion, First Hollow Guard, Ardeni Friend, Mark of Loyalty, Yovashi Bane, Legacy of the Azure Paladin, First Vortex Duelist

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not UpgradeableAnimal Taming - BasicStealthy Maneuvers - BasicMelee Weapon Mastery - BasicFighting Crane Style - BasicSword Mastery - ImprovedVortex Core Cultivation Drill - Basic Backstab - BasicEnergy Drain - AdvancedCircle of Combat - ImprovedGuard Ally - BasicHollow Charge - ImprovedAzure Burst - BasicAzure Sight - BasicVortex Lance - Basic

“Holy shit! My Core advanced four ranks!” Morgan opened his eyes and looked at Issa, or he tried to, but she wasn’t standing where he’d last seen her. He stood up and looked around and saw that she was peeking through the door, out into the hallway where they’d come from.

“What? Sorry, I was checking that nothing was out there. You’ve been kind of out of it for a while.” She gently closed the door and walked back to him. “I saw the orb dissolve as a stream of Energy flowed into you, but that was twenty minutes ago. Took you a while to process everything?”

“Well, it only seemed like a couple of minutes to me, but I guess so. I gained an affinity for void Energy, and my Core gained a new aspect. Along with that, my pathways seem more robust, and my Core’s rank went up by four!”

“Wow! Four ranks at once? That must have been quite an experience! Hmm, kind of too bad you weren’t already a higher rank. I imagine such growth would be a lot more valuable for someone with an improved or advanced Core. Oh well!” She ruffled his hair playfully when his grin turned to a frown. “Don’t dwell on it! You never know what tomorrow will bring, so let’s be happy for your improvement!”

“So what’s the deal with affinities when it comes to spells? The only thing I know about it is that I should be able to make a void-attuned Energy bead now.” Morgan stretched, looking in at his Core again, admiring the way it resembled some sort of celestial body with bright, spinning arms of Energy around a deep, resonating well of power.

“It should allow you to learn new spells that require that affinity, and maybe you can alter your existing spells by using the void Energy instead of normal Energy. You should experiment with it when we get out of here, maybe.” Issa gestured to the door, “Are you feeling up to see what’s beyond here? I’m guessing it’s a kitchen.”

“Yeah, I feel great. I’m brimming with Energy!” Morgan grinned and picked up his estoc from where it leaned against the table. They explored the kitchens, not finding any lurking cook or giant rat or anything else Morgan could imagine might be in the kitchen of a keep-dungeon. They found some pots and pans and a set of decent cooking knives. The pantry held sacks of grain, some moldy wheels of cheese, and several barrels of watery wine, but none of the foodstuffs seemed appetizing, and Issa postulated that it might not last long outside the dungeon. Morgan shrugged, and they made their way back out to the mess hall where they’d fought Jinna. “What’s next? Have we missed anything? Time to check out the main hall?”

“Unless there are some secret stairs or something, I think that’s all we have left.”

“Alright, let’s see what’s in store for us—I’m assuming you want to proceed?” Morgan started walking along the wide hallway that led back to the junction.

“Yes, of course. I’m a little nervous, but we’ve worked so hard to get to this point, I’d hate to back out now.” Issa walked just behind him, and soon, they were making the turn back to the entry hall. A few minutes later, they were standing in the hall they’d already cleared and passed through several times while exploring the keep's nooks and crannies. The only doorway they’d found and hadn’t opened was before them: the large double doors leading to the main hall.

“So, if I remember right, through these doors is the big hall where we met the glowing spirit orbs that sent us into the dungeon, right? There wasn’t another hallway or anything?”

“That’s the way I remember it.” Issa nodded.

“Well, we should be ready for a fight then.” Morgan remembered the hall being a vast chamber, so he decided to swap his estoc out for his curved, long blade. He liked the estoc but still felt more comfortable with the slashing weapon. He held it in a mid guard and started channeling Vortex Lance, getting it primed and ready to fire. Issa, for her part, started humming the preamble to her Battle Chant. Morgan felt goosebumps along his neck as her strange harmony came forth, bringing with it a chilling touch of Energy that empowered his limbs. He looked into her purple-black eyes and nodded, and she stepped forward, pulling the left-hand door open with her free hand.

The inside of the great hall was similar to what they’d seen in the ruined version of the keep, but, as with the rest of this version, it was whole and clean, free from rubble and ruin. Narrow, polished wooden tables ran the length of the hall on the left and the right, embroidered runners of rich silk down the center of each table. A huge, ornate chandelier hung from the center of the tall chamber shedding bright yellow light down on the occupants.

Sitting at the table on wooden benches were dozens of individuals from the Ardeni and Shadeni races, all wielding or bearing a sword of one kind or another. They lounged, watching Morgan and Issa walk into the room with various levels of interest. Some stared raptly, others glanced at them and then back at their neighbor to continue conversations, and others turned to the far end of the hall to see the reaction of the man sitting there on a chair that more resembled a stool than a throne.

He was a man of average height, wearing naught but a loose linen shirt and brown leather pants. He held a sheathed longsword in one hand, leaning forward on it while he watched Morgan and Issa step into his audience hall. Morgan almost turned around and slammed the door when he saw all the gathered swordsmen and women, but then he noticed that all save the man at the far end were slightly translucent and shimmered in the light. They were more specters than people, and Morgan didn’t feel any threat or animosity from them. Were they here to bear witness to their combat?

“Come forward and present yourselves, students. By the host gathered here, you’ve battled hard to face me. Stand straight and tell me your names.” At those words, Morgan’s breath caught, and he realized that the shimmering spectators looked familiar. In fact, sitting on the bench farthest from the door and closest to the Swordmaster were Drillmaster Groll and Swordmistress Jinna—here, sitting and watching with placid expressions, were the students and teachers that Morgan and Issa had fought and vanquished throughout the keep. Even some of the challengers from outside were present, leaning against the wall, tankards in their hands.