Barbara and her friends entered the secluded square with wonder in their eyes. The teens took a long ti staring at the drooping boughs of the rusty fig, peeking past the curtain of hanging roots and trying to see what lies beyond. The sll of wildflowers from the planters and the gurgling sound of the stream brought peace to their minds and drew a smile across their faces.
The green canopy that took their entire vision beca a rusty yellow on the inside, contrasting with the spots of blue sky visible between the leaves. Strands of ashen brown separated the inside of the tree canopy from the outside, hinting at so privacy and shelter.
Eleanora darted between two bundles of roots, bracing herself on the wrought iron fence surrounding the tree, reaching out to touch the buttressed trunk. The three looked old but it was weeks old, grown from a summoned seed with Plant magic, designed to look exactly like that.
"I could rest here forever," she dreamily said, breaking the silence.
"Reading a book under this tree would be delightful," Elizabeth remarked.
Isaac dropped next to the channel and cupped so water in his hand, tasting it. "Like spring water," he judged.
"I wanted a patch of grass next to the tree," Barbara said, "so I could lay on it and take a nap."
"Oh, that!" Eleanora agreed, then yawned. "Now I'm sleepy!"
She narrowed her eyes but nodded solemnly, accepting my challenge. Elizabeth was competitive and I knew that if I convinced her, the other two would follow her lead. After we registered our resonance signatures on the enchantnt and the multicolored iridescent bubble sprung around us, we walked to our designated places.
Yes, walked. Standing on the other side of the arena on two legs made of woven ribbons and stubby arms coming out of my top edge along with the two eyestalks, I started.
She did, and my buffs activated on her. Elizabeth checked them on her Status sheet. Then I activated the ring and started overloading her MP pool with my own. She gasped.
"You'll cast the sa spell, but I want you to move at one-hundredth of the speed you are used to. I want you to consider the optimal thickness for each line and glyph. So of them need to be precisely drawn, with the curves and sharp turns well-defined. I want you to seize control of your entire diagram but weave it like a fairy drawing with colored dew on a canvas of spider silk under a soft breeze.>
"What? That makes no sen—"
The Leader Activated.
> Cosmos Within Activated.
"I can see it!" She chirped, her voice sliding an octave above out of sheer excitent.
"No!" She howled and whimpered. "I can't! I'm not strong enough!"
Twigs broke, gurgling howls and barks approached.
"Please, stop it!"
A woman's voice said softly.
> Contested Ego test failed. Contested Charisma test failed.
> The Matriarch has granted you a Quest.
> Slay that which you fear and holds enmity toward you.
> Reward: Exp.
> This Quest is mandatory.
the candid voice continued. < {Surpass your limits!}>
Like a puppet whose drunk master suddenly beca sober, Eleanora rose to her feet. Magic poured down her veins, so much her fingertips tingled. She was angry. Humiliated, scared, wounded. This anger channeled her magic.
"{Swampfire}!" She screeched; the flimsy spell diagram held together by her burning will alone.
The modified Light spell incorporated elents of Fire and Water. Will o' Wisps sprung to life and floated around her. The soft, warm light revealed the grim forest she was trapped in. All around her, wolves snarled.
"Begone, vile things!" She moved her hands, light seeping from her fingers as she drew another circle. The lines and glyphs reflected her angry, the turns sharp and pointy like broken glass.
"{Grim Fog}!"
Perhaps inspired by the fog Netherbane summoned, perhaps fueled by her dark thoughts and angst, perhaps fed by her mindscape, the fog orbs were denser, thicker, and felt sticky. They shot faster than before, but the fog they left behind was stringy and gooey, as if soone had vaporized molten marshmallows mixed with grave ashes.
The orbs' movent was erratic, darting to and from as they sought the wolves at random. It would be hard to dodge those, never mind avoiding the fog they left behind.
"Aaaaahhhh!" The mage scread her desire for vengeance. Once before wolves almost killed her. Now her dark desire was to make THEM fear her. The diagram pulsed and almost escaped her control. It hungered and she fed it her outrage.
The wolves didn't stand still. Following their pack leader, they rushed forward to tear her tender flesh apart. She didn't mind. Death was equally welco next to victory.
The grim fog orbs t the furry assailants and the wolves whimpered and yelped. Then they growled and snarled as they tried to bite the orbs. The summoned fog balls broke in the wolves' muzzle, shriveling their tongues, gums, and lips and clogging their airways. These unfortunate mutts dropped on the fog-covered forest floor and disappeared in the dark smoke.
The mage girl cackled. Spurred by their mistress' victorious vocalization, the fog orbs frantically sought their marks with renewed fervor. The pulsing diagram vomited more of them, draining the MP reserves of the caster at vertiginous speeds.
A wolf broke past two orbs, getting struck in the flanks, snapping its vicious jaw at the girl. She t the yellow eyes with a challenge of her own, "Burn!"
The swampfire orbs obeyed the command. They struck the slavering wolf's skull and pushed it aside, saving their mistress from a nasty bite. The burning wolf fell on the fog, and it reacted to the fire.
The unstable diagram broke, and the spell went out of control. Yet, the connection between caster and dweor remained. She poured magic from her hands down into the fog like streaks of molten silver, and the fog changed according to her will.
It was sorcery. Raw, untapped sorcery.
The fog obeyed the sorceress' wish and beca flammable. From the burning wolf squirming underneath, it, a halo of fire sprung and spread, taking over the entire forest. The sorceress cackled.
"BURN! BURN! BURN!" She yamred and raged.
Wolves cried. Whimpered. Yelped, and died. The sll of rotten burnt at was unbearable but the sorceress didn't care.
> Quest Complete.
> You gained 1 level.
> Branching Path Defined.
> Your Class evolved into [Bog Sorceress] (very rare).
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