Abyssal Road Trip

Amdirlain’s PoV - Torrent - The City of Blacken Spires

Amdirlain had reappeared on a mountainside with a clear view of the artificial neighbouring peaks. The city’s footprint was a lopsided quadrilateral, with the nearest side only three hundred kilometres with the largest just over eight hundred. Within its boundary were erratic layers lined with jumbled buildings, the tallest a trio of metal towers that reached into the thunderclouds. Those structures had an almost continual stream of lightning coursing along their sides. Though she had detected no mortals in the canyon regions within range of her Resonance, Amdirlain carefully checked the entire city before moving closer.

This place is an absolute blast. Why do they set up such concentrations on an infinite Plane? Is it so the local Demon Lord has hordes of demons at their beck and call? Their economies are built around the accumulation of power and sating their hunger, yet endless cravings and hollow emptiness are a dangerous combination. They start with extreme desires, what was the tipping point that got Klipyl to change? She sought to get strong and followed me instead of sticking to old ways that had caused her to stagnate. How did that lead her to choose to be someone unselfish in how they treated others, willing to give people chances and share advice about improving relationships?

She put the questions out of her mind and focused on her present task. After repeatedly scouring the corruption within the city, Amdirlain had isolated the succubi whose themes had strains similar to Naz’rilca’s, each possessing a sharp chin that lifted in mirrored arrogance as they regarded each other, and personality clashes caused lush lips to twist in arrogant sneers. They wore identical form-fitting black leathers with twinned short swords strapped to their thighs, their sleek and lean wings possessing only a single spike at the thumb joint. If their identical appearance wasn’t enough, the deep red droplet with a familiar sigil set within it marked their armour’s left breast, confirming they were among the remnants of the Sisterhood of the Blood.

It seems blowing up the Blood Monk Class did a number on them, but they’re still as arrogant as ever.

The city’s wards had nothing within them preventing teleportation, and Amdirlain reappeared amid a group of twelve succubi and slammed Dominion into those around her.

When they crashed to the ground with fear that obliterated their mental defences, Amdirlain stabbed into their thoughts, linking Advanced Telepathy with Muse’s Insight to inspire a tidal wave of terror through their minds. Horrors that they’d all survived came up to plague them, and Amdirlain witnessed what these demons feared. Celestial armies that glowed with a magnificent light warred alongside Primordial beasts and devils for pride of place. The malice in their natures empowered the feedback loop to induce terror. With every imagined death they experienced, she framed it to cut at their certainty in Balnérith’s protection.

Outside their meeting place, thousands of mewling demons fled from the force of her Charisma, but Amdirlain’s attention remained on the succubi. She quickly checked each with Analysis and found all were below her trio of captives in strength.

“Do I have your attention?” whispered Amdirlain coldly, and she let the effect cease.

[Advanced Telepathy [M] (82 -> 83)

Dominion [S] (6 -> 8)

Harmony [G] (42 -> 43)

Seed Doubts [Ap] (12 -> 15)

Stimulation [Ad] (24 -> 32)

Note: Are you trying to reverse millennia of brainwashing and appeals to greed in one outing?]

When the first hand went for a blade, terror pulverised them again. Muse’s Insight allowed her to take inspiration from the closest Succubus’ fears. All felt the memory of rot chewing upon their flesh, and it triggered a flurry of reactions and panic. All were familiar with the strength of Decay, having endured time upon Ijmti building resistances while flesh slid from their bones. The pain went on as Amdirlain fed in snippets of perfect recollection. Memories of pain from ravaged, broken flesh or evoked through so many litres of Kadaklan’s poison provided seeds for their torment, all fed into the framework of what they’d done to others. They all saw their obliteration—rotted, chewed up, burned into ash, and their flesh sucked from bones until their destruction threatened. All the things they’d done to others fed fresh vibrance by Amdirlain’s own memories of pain. As they struggled to hold their ground, the techniques of Mental Hardening she’d learnt were applied in reverse to slip past their defences. Again, what felt like millennia of agony occurred in less than a second.

[Advanced Telepathy [M] (83 -> 84)

Dominion [S] (8 -> 9)

Stimulation [Ad] (32 -> 36)]

Upon the return of clarity, they found blades of destruction loomed above them, the roiling blackness sucking in the light, and they, already wide-eyed in terror, froze in place.

“Second and last chance, act against me, and I’ll end you,” stated Amdirlain.

Dominion ceased broadcasting fear, but the blades remained in place, lowering slightly.

All twelve succubi teleported away as one, only to reappear sprawled across the floor, minus weapons and armour.

“Were you going somewhere?” asked Amdirlain softly, maintaining the dimensional songs she’d used to retrieve and lock them in place. She lightly tapped a toe to one Succubus’ foot and Ki Strike pulverised bone. “Because I don’t recall giving you permission to leave.”

The wounded Succubus didn’t dare even to grunt. The others shot looks of desperation between themselves, and Amdirlain pressed harder. This time, Dominion applied a different lesson, and all screamed as the memories of the Abyss’s inferno rampaged through them, ripping and clawing at their sanity, leaving them mewling when it stopped.

“What is your wish, great one?” gasped one.

Despite their nature, the persona she was utilising to terrorise them twisted Amdirlain’s gut, and she reinforced the concealments that eliminated her scent.

“You are a contact point for Balnérith, are you not?” Amdirlain asked the group.

The strongest of the sisters looked at Amdirlain and slowly forced out a response. “Only for those within the sisterhood.”

“That is not what I was told,” corrected Amdirlain. As she channelled the hate and rage, she felt within the succubi, her words hissed forth. “Would you like to speak again, ever? I have an offer for Balnérith, so she might serve my agenda and rebuild your ranks. I came with an offer and find myself disappointed. Now, what is your name?”

Powered by Amdirlain’s mind and will, telekinesis crushed her harder into the ground with each hissed word. The wards in the chamber floor effectively meant the Succubus got crushed against magical metal, and flesh immune to mundane materials ruptured. Before Amdirlain let go, her ribcage had shattered.

The demoness spat out a mouthful of blood as she cleared ruptured lungs. “Sultana.”

Ooze formed into a memory crystal set with a concealed link song before Sultana’s eyes.

“I’ll send her this offer through other drop points, Sultana. When I speak with Balnérith, I will punish those who uncooperatively didn’t deliver her word first,” advised Amdirlain. “Those punished will then look upon my gentle and brief caresses today with sweet fondness.”

Amdirlain vanished and set about visiting other drop points. Fortunately, most were far more responsive to her questions, and some merely took the request without a single threat needing to be issued. Those made the others she terrorised harder still to endure.

Seven hours of performances later, Amdirlain felt sullied, and fled.

Using demons’ desires and fears against them is a double-edged sword. I feel sick.

Under a clear blue sky on Cemna, she listened to the canyons now empty of undead. Sage’s war on this world had, at least, ended with the undead purged and all the gates sealed. The impact the undead presence had left on this place rang sour notes through her perception. With the morning light warming her face, Amdirlain poured her distress into creation. After she completed her work, what had once been a kingdom of undead blossomed with life, barren farming plateaus were alive with plants and animals. Sea eagles, guided by implanted instincts, took wing to fish in teeming waters, while other animals looked out from dens or awoke upon nests perched on cliff faces or in trees. The cliff she’d found marked with Orcus’ symbol long ago now served as a site for seabirds.

[Crafting Summary (Planetary Biome Restoration)

Biomes, simple x2

Total Experience gained: 2,000,000

Olindë: +2,000,000

Note: There is a difference between your other repairs and restoring a biome from the grave.]

The life she could hear all around her helped still the churning in her thoughts, and Amdirlain exhaled slowly.

No more terrorising. I’ll fight something cleanly or use means of destroying them utterly.

When Amdirlain arrived back at the Outlands, it was still relatively early in the monastery’s evening. She heard Sarah rearranging the wings of the courtyard, having already combined her forges and Artificer workstations in a single side area. Enchanted barriers that carried Sarah’s theme addressed the issues of interference between the work areas. Though stealing Sarah from her work was tempting, Amdirlain sought Gilorn instead.

Gilorn issued a welcoming chime at Amdirlain’s appearance nearby on the observation platform. “Did everything work out? You were gone for a while.”

“Can we visit a barren world tonight and bring it to life?” requested Amdirlain.

“Don’t you want those for the exercise with the Lómë?”

“Yeah, you have a point. I wanted to listen to loads of life awakening,” said Amdirlain, pacing along the platform’s edge.

“Why don’t we create some extra demi-planes tonight and take the time to listen to the creatures on them?” proposed Gilorn.

Amdirlain nodded absently and continued to pace.

“What were you hoping to achieve by listening to new life?” questioned Gilorn.

“A confirmation that I can be constructive after dealing with some of the sisterhood,” started Amdirlain. Her mouth twisted at the memory, and she shook her head violently. “I need to scrub clean after today.”

“What happened?”

“I used a combination of Harmony, Muse’s Insight, Advanced Telepathy, Dominion, and Stimulation,” advised Amdirlain. “Since it was running off the fear reaction of demons, they didn’t have a fun time.”

“Are you sure you don’t wish to take a night off instead?” enquired Gilorn. “Spend it with Sarah.”

“I don’t want to sully time with her with how I’m feeling right now,” replied Amdirlain.

“Because you feel raw and wounded as well as sickened? The threat of such vulnerability must be hard when you’re still adjusting to other feelings.”

Her emotional perception is far too high for someone who’s not spent much time around others.

Not wanting to get into a psychology discussion, Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. “I’d like to create something. I stopped on Cemna and restored some biomes. It was soothing to listen to the wildlife I brought to life.”

“You might find other creative ventures calming. I recommend we create more base elemental material for that star system,” proposed Gilorn. “The rippling energy of additional matter within the near void has a meditative quality.”

“More likely a lightless nebula,” corrected Amdirlain, drawing an off-key protest from Gilorn. “We can do that second. Six demi-planes?”

“Lightless nebula indeed,” rumbled Gilorn. “Three demi-planes since I’m more determined to see you strong enough to create a star system successfully. Lightless nebula! That’s outrageous! We will make systems out there even if our initial spot isn’t one of them.”

Her repetition drew a wry smile from Amdirlain.

“You said it’s a matter of mass and stirring the pot right,” replied Amdirlain dryly, listening to Sarah and Aitherlar moving furnishings within Aitherlar’s wing.

Gilorn’s frame glowed, and symbols of notes shot like comets across her neck. “Stirring requires proper arm strength. I have noticed that your perception seems to have taken some considerable jumps.”

Amdirlain smiled. “Maybe because I’m slowly learning to be properly paranoid.”

“I’m not sure how that relates,” replied Gilorn.

“There is a saying: if you’re not paranoid by now, you haven’t been paying attention,” explained Amdirlain.

“It seemed like you were already paranoid about some matters,” drawled Gilorn. “Does that mean you’ve been lazy in considering what you observed? You’ve spent all that time in the Abyss and not yet gained Grandmaster in Perception.”

“Oh burn, I’m going to need ointment for that one,” laughed Amdirlain. Her fingers racked through her hair, and Amdirlain forced herself to lift them away.

“Before you attempted being cheeky, I was going to propose the quick growth resulted from proper motivation,” offered Gilorn. “Growth in some areas isn’t just a matter of putting in the work, it’s gaining the proper insight, and you’re now motivated to look deeper.”

“What do you mean?”

“I believe you’re afraid of harming Isa, so rather than providing her with what she would win out of the bet, you started to watch for the pieces you’d been missing,” explained Gilorn. “You’ve said Orhêthurin saw too much, and perhaps that is part of why you turned a blind eye to things around you. You put others first. Now that you’re motivated to avoid what you see as inflicting harm on Isa, you’re actively paying more attention.”

“If I turned her back into an Anar, I might have to strip much of her strength from her,” said Amdirlain. “She’s been using True Song with an Outsider’s physical nature. If she took that capacity into a living body, she might accidentally rip herself apart.”

“If you’re right, then Luck inspired her to make a bet with you that you can’t risk losing,” said Gilorn. “Shall we get to work, or are you going to risk the momentum of your Perception growth waning?”

Amdirlain laughed. “I see what you did there.”

“Are you seeing a logical alternative motivation, or do you truly understand all my motivations?” questioned Gilorn.

“Have you been talking to Kadaklan?”

“I’ve spent hours on this mountain listening to the inherent understanding within the monks at all degrees of their evolution,” replied Gilorn. “And I don’t have all your baggage tripping me up. Now, off we go. Take us to the first Demi-Plane and put yourself in gear instead of wallowing. You had to do a lot of shit shovelling today, and not even farmers enjoy that exercise.”

I’ve been corrupting her language.

With a sharp nod, Amdirlain hopped them to the first work site.

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

They returned a few hours before the morning training session, and Gilorn left Amdirlain’s side when they both heard Sarah waiting on the platform.

When Amdirlain appeared nearby, Sarah rose to hug her warmly, nostrils twitching as the scent of the last Demi-Plane Amdirlain had made tickled her nose.

“Demi-Plane creation tonight?”

“Three, plus some golems, and we sang a bunch of atoms into existence to let them float in the void of space,” advised Amdirlain.

“Given you went off to chase some sisters, I take it things didn’t go well,” said Sarah.

“Yes and no, I didn’t like some things involved in setting up attempts to get at Balnérith,” admitted Amdirlain with a sigh.

Sarah’s hands lifted to cradle Amdirlain’s face and gently kissed her, sending a tingle through her body. Resonance drank in the layers of entwining themes, and Amdirlain moaned softly at the music’s heated embrace running through her senses. Each velvet movement of Sarah’s lips against hers cascaded onwards in a sensory connection to the emotions in her soul. After a while, their kisses slowed into stillness.

“You okay?” asked Sarah, her warm breath caressing Amdirlain’s face.

Amdirlain let out a soft sigh at the buzz that had expanded from her lips, ignited her brain, and gently spiralled to her toes.

I hope this isn’t cheating. This isn’t cheating, right? Cheating is just trying hard enough, so who cares?

That was better medicine for my mood than hours of singing.

“I’m better than earlier in the evening,” advised Amdirlain cheerfully. When Sarah's gaze didn’t shift, Amdirlain continued her explanation. “Just because some ideas seem good doesn’t mean they’re the right thing to do. Gilorn said the issue was from having to shovel the shit, but I don’t think I’ll take that approach again.”

“What did you get in trouble with?”

“I let the demonic nature of the sisters influence how I scared a bunch into cooperating with me,” replied Amdirlain, pushing the memories that threatened to spoil the moment away. “I could do with a back rub if you’re okay with that?”

Sarah’s gaze lit with glee.

“Clothed,” Amdirlain hastily yelped as Sarah reached for her.

“Clothed is fine. I enjoyed trailing my hands over your back when we danced,” replied Sarah. “Do we get to do that again soon?”

Amdirlain smiled. “The dancing or the kissing that came afterwards?”

“Both,” purred Sarah eagerly.

“And you complained about having two left feet,” said Amdirlain, as she created a sturdy version of a massage table she was familiar with from her old life and promptly lay down.

Amdirlain sighed happily as Sarah started to caress more than massage her back. Though her muscles didn’t ache or tire, the gentle brushes through the silk of the shadow vines gradually received content moans. The contact and the rhythmic motions helped Amdirlain let her mind drift slightly, wallowing joyfully in Sarah’s themes.

She’d been relaxing into the indulgence for nearly an hour when Sarah slid a fingertip playfully down her spine. “Are you trying to tickle me?”

“You’re not ticklish?” sniffed Sarah coyly.

“A living form doesn’t have to be ticklish,” replied Amdirlain lightly.

“That’s such a cheat code right there,” grumbled Sarah."Do you want to swap around? Klipyl dropped off a smelly oil whose scent I’m sure you’ll love."

Hint: rub my naked back? Should I give her a massage? I’m sure she’d comment on the options that would provide.

Amdirlain snorted and held back her laughter. “That’s precisely why I bagged the first massage. Though you helped me relax, I think I found meaning in the Jade Emperor’s haiku and at least part of his puzzle.”

“Oh?”

“The problem is some of it I still don’t understand, and that’s the challenge,” sighed Amdirlain.

“What parts do you think you understand?” asked Sarah, returning to stroking down Amdirlain’s back. “Or would that be non-helpful? If you understand part of a puzzle, you’re not understanding any of it because you’ve come to an understanding of something else.”

“Congratulations on that mental knot,” snorted Amdirlain.

“How would you have put it?” asked Sarah.

Amdirlain shrugged and rattled off the options. “Solved the incorrect equations. Working on incomplete data. You’re dancing to the wrong tune. The blind men describing the elephant.”

A finger against Amdirlain’s lips stopped her recitation, and Sarah crouched beside the head of the table to look her in the eye. “What pieces do you think you have? Remember, if he sees the future, that might be the needed starting point of your journey. A journey begins with the first step, etc.”

“Oh very wise. Well, wren of both genders sing, not just the males. I believe ‘noiseless’ implies I must undertake the trip without songs. While the wrens I’m familiar with don’t migrate or travel much, salmon and bats do. As far as the salmon reference, I think I need to return to the start,” said Amdirlain.

“Where is the start?”

“Originally, I thought it was Australia because of the ironbark sphere, but I don’t think it is,” murmured Amdirlain. “I think the ironbark is just another supporting reference for the South. Where was the Anar city?”

“Where else? It was on the coast of the Mediterranean, in sight of her birthplace,” replied Sarah.

Amdirlain grunted. “There have been many ocean views looking at Mediterranean blue seas that have prompted me just to stop since I started working on Gideon’s list. I might have to go travelling in a few years.”

“You’re just doing a quick hop?”

“No, I’ll need to tour the circle, follow the whirlwind of bats, the circle of life. The Mediterranean is where it starts, but the bats are flying clockwise—the total trip being from the west to Australia in the south, and then upwards to the centre. So legs of west to north, north to east, east to south, and then hope I’m ready to look into the heart,” said Amdirlain. “Or I’ll have missed the point completely and wasted time.”

“Why loop that way?” asked Sarah. “Maybe it’s just saying travel around the globe from Europe to Australia.”

“It feels like it's meant to represent yin and yang redwood, white jade, the flames, and the ice,” replied Amdirlain. “West is the minor yin, north is the greater yin, east is the minor yang, and south is the greater yang. The compass he sent spins constantly, and its needle creates a sine wave, which is a supporting symbol. Sine waves undulate, so I feel that’s supporting a minor to major route.”

“What would you learn from this trip?” asked Sarah. “It’s not as if there are many foes upon a world that could challenge you.”

“I’ve no idea what I’m meant to learn,” laughed Amdirlain. “And without songs, which I think means Resonance as well, there are things that could challenge me.”

“That I don’t like the sound of,” huffed Sarah.

“That’s because you’d prefer me to be as safe as possible,” replied Amdirlain. “The problem with safety is?”

Sarah ground her teeth. “It doesn’t challenge you.”

“There is another aspect I’ve not covered yet,” said Amdirlain casually, before she propped herself up on her elbows and grinned at Sarah.

“And that is?”

“Bats travel in a swarm, and salmon travel home alongside others. Would you do me the honour of travelling with me, my love?”

Sarah caressed her cheek. “Whenever you’re ready to start your travels, I’ll be with you.”

Amdirlain would have said more; only Sarah leant in to claim her mouth. As the kiss heated up, Amdirlain rolled over and dragged Sarah atop her, not letting go for a moment.

“At least you seem to have gotten comfortable kissing,” sighed Sarah happily after the kisses eased. “That was very much a crocodile death roll.”

“Resonance,” replied Amdirlain.

Sarah rolled her eyes at the shorthand and gave a curt frown when Amdirlain didn’t elaborate. “Do I have to poke you?”

Ideas and half concepts wiggled around in the back of Amdirlain’s mind.

“Need to let the explanation steep, ideas wiggling, and in forcing them I risk losing them,” offered Amdirlain rather than changing the subject without explanation. “Tip of the iceberg stuff.”

“Tell me when you’re ready then,” grumbled Sarah, rubbing her nose. “Or I will poke you.”

“Me doing the poking was your mum’s suggestion for you,” quipped Amdirlain, the memory threatening a blush. “I can’t believe she broached that topic since I’ve got enough issues as it is.”

“Same after the nose smacking she gave,” grumbled Sarah, tracing the line of Amdirlain’s jaw with a fingertip. “I can smell the ripples in your emotions. You’ve got your defences down.”

“I do for you, since it’s only fair. Is Aitherlar all settled in?”

“Mostly,” said Sarah. “To save discussion, I told her to pick a side and then set up the barrier you hear between the forges and the workbenches.”

“Okay, I was wondering whose idea they were,” said Amdirlain, running her fingers through Sarah’s hair. “Though it sounded like your enchantment work, she might have talked you into them.”

Sarah snuggled closer. “Now that’s resolved, I should let you know I thoroughly approve of the stability of your massage table. Though there is just one issue.”

“Oh?”

“It’s also very narrow, so we don’t have room to sprawl out,” murmured Sarah, her mouth moving lower to nestle against the base of Amdirlain’s throat.

Amdirlain lifted a hand from the back of Sarah’s head and lazily tapped out a beat against the mithril frame. “Just a little something I whipped up. I might have gone overboard, but it netted me eighty thousand experience alone.”

“I noticed the enchantments to improve its stability,” snickered Sarah.

“Not to mention the robustness,” quipped Amdirlain.

Sarah lifted herself to look into Amdirlain’s eyes; one hand braced atop the table’s upper edge.

The melodies coming from Sarah drew out a smile that lit Amdirlain’s gaze. “Well, we have our travel plans, but no reservations have been made yet.”

“You’d been saving money to go through Europe,” noted Sarah. “Yet I don’t think any of the tourist spots in your plans will be present.”

Amdirlain grinned. “Vehtë’s copy of Italy will have ruins and places of cultural interest. Though I’ll admit they’re not quite the ones I had intended to see. There will be monsters to beat up and loot to claim.”

“Maybe you’ll find the crown jewels in England,” offered Sarah.

“They’ve likely ended up in a monster’s lair in Europe if they didn’t get dragged to the Abyss,” Amdirlain chuckled and stopped with a groan, precognition tickling away at the back of her mind.

“Did you just doom-flag yourself?”

“Yes,” huffed Amdirlain unhappily. “The Songbook. It’s still on Vehtë.”

“You just thought of that?” asked Sarah.

“Yes,” hissed Amdirlain, fighting back a sense of reluctance. “Yes, I did. I’d given up on it as I thought something would have dragged it into the Abyss. I need to find it, but it would be like finding a needle in a haystack without Resonance.”

“Then find it later. You’re not aware of an immediate need for it, and if one arises, find it with your surveyors and snatch it up,” observed Sarah. “Or find it after you’ve done your world tour.”

“You have a good point,” admitted Amdirlain.

“Only one?”

Amdirlain gave her a teasing smile. “Are you fishing for compliments already?”

“Maybe I am,” replied Sarah, leaning in to kiss the tip of her nose.

“I love you,” murmured Amdirlain shyly.

Sarah kissed her cheek lightly. “I’ll love you for eternity, Oath bond or not.”

They’d cuddled side by side when a notification almost caused Amdirlain to start upright and she dumped Sarah off the table. Though she slipped, Sarah caught herself mid-air.

[Achievement: Terrorise infants

Reward: Your message was delivered.

Note: Be careful what you wish for Amdirlain; you’ve previously gotten mistaken advice.]

If it’s delivered, where is the Message orb with her song? Did she detect the linked song? I thought I’d mislead them by using psionics to create the crystals. I need to hear her song to find her at will or even get her Analysis details to know what weight class to target in my training. All the drop points I tried will dry up.

“Fuck me,” growled Amdirlain.

A Message orb appeared near Amdirlain’s shoulder, and encapsulated within it was the melody of a Demon Lady. Its complexity provided layers of information showing the Fallen further tainted by a transformation site’s corruption. Amdirlain’s jaw hardened as she took in the song’s strength, unsure what she was letting herself in for.

“I thought I’d be saying that first,” quipped Sarah. “Only that isn’t your happy face.”

“I panicked when Gideon trolled me about my message being delivered, but I had no results from the linked songs. Balnérith just hadn’t picked up the memory crystal. Now I’ve got her melody,” squealed Amdirlain, pointing at the orb. “She triggered the linked song, but fuck she’s stronger than me.”

Phoenix’s Rapture went back into passive mode before Amdirlain used Analysis. Its flood sent pain hopelessly thumping against Amdirlain’s mind, but she pushed past the torment and sorted through the static of the information flood that had always caused the pain.

[Name: Valatë

Species: Demon Lady (unique)

Class: Cataclysm / Heavenly Scourge / Faith Bane / Blight

Level: 35 / 175 / 175 / 174 / 174

Defence: 19,761

Health: 15,901,398

Faith: 11,504

Magic: 17,982

Mana: 61,359,732

Melee Attack Power: 18,493

Combat Skills: Sword-Divine [G] (12), Bow-Divine [G] (297), Conviction-Saint [G] (421), Mana Finesse-Saint [G] (392); All Tier 1-4 affinities, various blessings, and an enormous number of spell lists.

Details: Formerly Balnérith, formerly Tarlangeth, formerly Seraphim Michaela, highest among the Heavenly host (she was so proud of that rank, a proud servant of the father of a prideful Pantheon who abandoned a half-finished realm). As Balnérith, she didn’t need trillions to harvest experience as she hunted and travelled in the Primordial depths.]

“Well shit,” groaned Amdirlain. “I think I’m going to need a bigger boat. Wait! She picked an elven word for Pride as her name. What an arrogant bitch!”

“Weapons skills?”

“Very nasty, but limited. Sword and Bow are ungodly high,” quipped Amdirlain and projected the details.

“She has divine rank in both?” grumbled Sarah. “What are you going to do?”

“Get good,” said Amdirlain. “Time to grind so I can take her on in the areas she’s weak and match her in the places I can. Naamah must have gotten close and shut down her spells and blessings with something like Suppress Target. Which I’ve also neglected.”

“If you have to do the same, she’ll have something prepared,” cautioned Sarah. “She’s arrogant, but she might learn from her mistake.”

Amdirlain nodded and slipped from the massage table to offer Sarah a hand up.

When Sarah got to her feet, she enfolded Amdirlain again. “What will you do first, your little journey, or deal with her?”

“Get strong enough to deal with her,” declared Amdirlain. “And that kinda decides what I want for my fourth Class.”

“Oh?”

“My health is the fuel gauge for True Song, but Intelligence impacts what I can handle hearing and how quickly I can compose, and Willpower impacts what I can mentally endure,” advised Amdirlain. “I don’t physically have to move my mouth for songs as the quickness of my thoughts determines that.”

“You’re going for intellect?”

“I was wondering if I could find a psionic Class that would help balance my attributes better,” said Amdirlain. “Something to boost my insights into the progression of those abilities into a unified Power.”

“That I can’t help you with, but Aitherlar would know the psionic classes inside out,” advised Sarah.

“Let’s go bug her,” grinned Amdirlain. “Let’s hope she doesn’t ask me to knock you up again.”

Sarah gave a sly smile. “She might insist on getting a grandchild out of you in exchange for the information.”

“Beast,” growled Amdirlain. She let go and teleported them outside Aitherlar’s new den.