Under the observation of everyone else in the group, Master Tolen worked ticulously at the main control rod of the array, his hands steady despite the chill.
His first goal was clear: recalibrate the power levels to create a more focused and contained field of influence.
"[We need to angle the energy inward, keep it tight and controlled. With this adjustnt I’m making now, it should prevent it from spilling out too much and drawing in the wildlife to aggressively approach from far away,]" Tolen explained, adjusting dials and checking the flow of mana through a small, glowing device he held up to his non-blind eye.
As he made the final adjustnts, the air around the array pulsed softly, the light from the rods dimming slightly before stabilizing. The energy now humd with a more controlled intensity, the outward spread significantly curtailed.
No sooner had they confird the stability of the new settings, two creatures approached the periphery of the adjusted barrier—a Slickfur and a Shardhorn, as nad by one of the scouts that called out when they charged in.
The Slickfur was a small, almost comical creature with its oversized ears and shimring, silvery fur that caught the moonlight. Lean and no bigger than a small wolf pup, it moved with a cautious curiosity, sniffing the air and padding softly across the snow.
Despite its initial wariness, it gradually tensed under the influence of the purified mana that had still been dispersed and not yet retracted in the reduced settings of the array. Its slick fur jutted out, standing on end while its deanor beca less skittish, more reckless.
The Shardhorn, in contrast, was a larger, more imposing beast, standing almost as tall as a horse, nearly 2 ters in height. Its most striking feature was the crystalline protrusions jutting from its back and skull, resembling sharp, translucent spikes that glistened under the moonlight like a cluster of dark gems.
Covered in a thick, armored hide that shimred with a tallic sheen, the Shardhorn moved with deliberate, powerful steps, each one creating a soft thud on the frost-hardened ground. Its deep-set eyes glowed faintly in its skull, showcasing a ferocity and an aggressive fearlessness like the slickfur.
While its broad shoulders and muscular limbs suggested imnse strength, it charged towards the group.
"[Let’s try caging these two to test your idea and see how they respond over ti to the cleansed mana,]" Lassim suggested, watching the creatures from a safe distance with his halberd at the ready.
With careful coordination and the use of Lassim’s single target [Lightning Lash] paralysis technique, the team managed to subdue both creatures without too much harm.
They placed them in separate containnt areas within the influence of the newly adjusted array, ensuring their comfort with adequate space to trash about, but still be trapped.
Over the next few hours, the team observed the creatures closely. The Slickfur, initially jittery and erratic, began showing signs of calmness much faster.
Within three hours, it lay curled up, relaxed and asleep. Its breathing evened out and its fur lost its earlier tension with the unnatural sheen revealing a softer, more natural texture that Lassim wanted to stroke out of curiosity.
The Shardhorn was taking much longer. They surmised that it might have been its feral instincts and powerful build making it resistant to the changes induced by the purified mana or possibly its increased mass and size played a part in how long the cleansed mana took to cycle through its entire system.
Even after six hours, it paced its enclosure restlessly, though the crystalline growths on its back started to show a curious change—they appeared less jagged, slowly smoothing out into more streamlined forms and changed colors from the previous translucency to now turning a more solid bluish-green color.
"[Look,]" Sanvra pointed out, her voice low with awe. "[The cleansed mana isn’t just calming them; it’s altering them. The Slickfur looks... healthier, almost dosticated and cute. And the Shardhorn’s crystals—are they becoming less aggressive, and… is that so sort of mana storage I’m sensing in this altered form?]"
Lassim nodded, observing the Shardhorn’s transformation. "[It’s fascinating. This cleansed mana is reshaping them! Maybe it’s aligning them more closely with their natural state before the corruption happened? Do you have any records on what they were like before all this? We could compare it possibly.]"
"[This could be a breakthrough,]" Master Tolen added, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "[If we can prove that the purified mana can revert or even improve the wildlife, we could potentially have additional sources of new food and ga for the tribe. Their populations might also bounce back and increase if we can get enough creatures stable again and enough wild plant life to be restored as well.
The changes this could bring about…]"
The team agreed to continue monitoring the creatures overnight, taking shifts to docunt their behaviors and any further changes.
As they wrapped up their plans for the observations, Master Tolen, observing the now calr creatures, turned to Lassim and Sanvra with a new suggestion. "[Given the success we’re seeing here, I think we should consider adapting our surface arrays into more comprehensive barriers.
Inside, we can have arrays filled with Lassim’s lightning to cleanse the mana, but the outer barriers should be returned to being defensive. I think I can adjust the settings in the designs to keep the beasts in too. We could make them one-way, with a special token for our teams needing to exit.]"
He continued, laying out the details of his plan, "[This setup would allow the creatures to enter and go wild within the barrier safely, in a controlled manner away from our community. Then, we could have teams periodically release the now uncorrupted beasts before it’s ti to recharge the arrays.]"
Lassim furrowed his brows, considering the logistical challenges. "[It’s a strong plan, Master Tolen, but what about the risk of the barrier becoming too full? If too many rampaging beasts fight against the newly cleansed ones, it could disrupt the entire process.]"
Sanvra nodded in agreent, reflecting on the potential complications. "[Yes, the balance of beast populations will beco a problem if they co in a beast tide. How do you suggest we manage that, Master Tolen?]"
Tolen scratched his head, acknowledging the complexity. "[Well, that’s a bit tricky. We might need to think about ways to monitor and control the population inside the barrier. Maybe set up a schedule for releasing the beasts or find a way to attract them out gradually? What do you two think?]"
Lassim and Sanvra spent a mont thinking it over.
"[Master Tolen, what if we design the barrier with multiple exit points equipped with controlled release chanisms?]" Lassim suggested thoughtfully. "[These exits could be opened remotely to allow the release of cleansed beasts at scheduled tis, ensuring the population within remains balanced.
We could direct the release towards areas where these creatures might thrive independently, away from us and towards a larger cleansed area once we get it established.]"
Sanvra, nodding in agreent with Lassim’s suggestion, added her own thoughts to enhance the operational efficiency of the system. "[What a splendid plan, my star. Additionally, we could organize observation outposts around and or even eventually within the barrier to monitor the behavior and number of creatures effectively.
We could have a rotating duty to have one person watching at all tis in shifts.]"
She continued, "[By having this monitoring system, we can respond promptly to changes within the barrier, adjusting the release schedules or even the intensity and coverage of the cleansing arrays as needed.]"
Master Tolen stroked his chin, considering the combined proposals. "[Both ideas complent each other well. Controlled exits will manage the populations actively, while the monitoring system ensures we remain inford and responsive to the barrier’s internal dynamics without constant manual oversight. This could indeed solve the issue of potential overcrowding and maintain the barrier’s efficacy.]"
Over the following days, Lassim, Master Tolen, and Sanvra set about actualizing the newly conceived barrier system.
Master Tolen worked tirelessly in his forge, adapting the original barrier poles to integrate both defensive capabilities and the new cleansing functions. He restored the ancient designs, ensuring that each pole was capable of emitting a controlled barrier, suitable for keeping the wildlife at bay while allowing for the continuous purification of the realm.
Sanvra effectively managed the logistics, organizing a group of volunteers from the hunting teams. She ticulously scheduled their shifts to ensure that the deploynt and monitoring of the new system ran smoothly. Her strategic oversight was crucial in maintaining the rhythm of their efforts without overburdening any of the volunteers.
anwhile, Lassim focused on strengthening his cultivation and replenishing the mana reserves needed to power the barriers still in use in the underground that needed his constant lightning supply to prevent the encroaching corruption from reinfecting their ho.
He spent long hours in ditation, channeling the enriched mana into the array of crystals that powered the network, ensuring they were fully charged and ready for deploynt as needed.
As a week had passed, the team was ready to test their reconfigured system.
Master Tolen, inspecting the final pole installation, nodded in approval. "[These should perform much better for their new use. They’re true to their original purpose with the enhancents we developed for the current challenge.]"
Sanvra looked over the deploynt map, making final checks on their placents. "[We’ll set them up in these places to maximize coverage and for our future expanded sanctuary on the surface. We’ll have all of the cleansed beasts out towards that direction to put them all in the sa rough area. Let’s begin the activation sequence and monitor the results closely.]"
Lassim, standing by, felt a cautious optimism. "[Well, let’s see how well this plan is that we cooked up together. I’ll help keep an eye on the wildlife reactions and defenses if the barriers should fail for whatever reason.]"
Together, they initiated the barriers, watching intently as the first signs of activation shimred through the landscape. The poles humd to life, creating a subtle but powerful pressure that began to influence the surrounding environnt.
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