The Tears of Kas̆dael

It quickly became clear to Jasper that his dreams of sleep were no more than the delusions of a pipe dream. His mind raced as he tossed and turned on his cot, unable to get the images of the previous night out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes, the flames roared again, with charred, distorted bodies dancing within the blazing tents. Giving up on the endeavor, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

He half-expected to find Ihra and Tsia as wide awake as he was, but a quick trip to their tents disabused him of that notion. Ihra had curled up in her cot, fast asleep, while Tsia sat in a chair nearby. Her eyes too were closed in slumber, though it was clear she was intended to keep watch over the captive mage, who had been tightly bound to the central tentpole.

The mage shrunk back as he peeked through the flaps, his eyes as wide and frightened as a panicked doe. Jasper ignored him, and leaving the two to their dreams, returned to his tent to wait. There was little point, he reckoned, in waking them up as Gūla was likely to be occupied with the commanders’ meeting for some time and he, apparently, had not merited an invitation.

Jasper couldn’t say he was surprised. He had little understanding of the organizational structure of the Djinn army, but he had yet to be contacted by any superiors aside from the standing orders to have his men perform their morning exercises and the patrols when their allotted time came.

In truth, he questioned whether there was an organizational structure. Aside from the core of professional troops King S̆ars̆adnû had provided, the rest of the army seemed to have been both recruited and commanded by the various lords and clans, or in some cases, even cities or guilds. It was a haphazard collection of auxiliary forces whose loyalties lay first with their lords and only second with the kingdom. From what he gathered, even the troops under his command had received a good chunk of their equipment directly out of his uncle’s pocket.

That was not to say the quality of the warriors was bad - the Djinn were fierce warriors and the levees the lords had provided were not the untrained peasants of medieval myth - but they lacked the cohesiveness he expected of an army.

He paced back and forth in the tent, too on edge after the events of the day to allow his body to gain the rest it needed. And then his pacing paused as he realized there was a more profitable use of his time. It has been a while.

Truthfully, he needed someone to watch over him, but with Ihra and Tsia asleep, he decided to settle for simply closing the tent flaps. Then he sat down on the ground and, crossing his legs, he began to meditate. I am the river that flows around all things. I am the rock around which all things flow.

It was hard to get into the peaceful flow that meditation requires, but slowly the image of the gurgling stream broke through the walls of his mind and washed away all other thoughts. Carried by the waters, he rushed down the gentle slope of the mountain stream until he found himself in the void.

“Well, you certainly took your time.”

Jasper opened his eyes to find Kas̆dael looming over him. The goddess looked better than when he’d last seen her. Her clothes were no longer bloodied and torn, and the wounds Yas̆gah inflicted upon her had entirely healed up. He felt a touch of shame when noticing that, as he realized he hadn’t bothered to check up on her at all. “Sorry about that,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I’ve been kind of busy…”. The excuse sounded lame even to him, as he remembered the three weeks he’d lazed about in Dūr-Yarha, but Kas̆dael let him off the hook.

“I’m sure you have,” she replied, with an unexpected graciousness. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid the rewards for your deeds can only be accepted within a certain time.” She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “Sadly, that time has already passed. You likely have a few levels to claim, though.”

“Wh-what?” Jasper’s jaw dropped. “There’s a time limit? You never told me anything like that.” He was kicking himself for delaying talking to Kas̆dael when he noticed the slightest upturn of her lips. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

“My hands are nowhere near your leg,” she responded primly, but the sparkle in her eye told him he’d guessed right. “Thank heavens,” he sighed with relief.

“If you’re so eager for your rewards, perhaps you should check in more frequently,” she pointed out.

“Maybe,” he admitted, “but…you know.” He trailed off, not mentioning the obvious flaw in that plan; getting his heart ripped out was good enough reason to avoid her.

Kas̆dael frowned but didn’t push back. Instead, she reached out her hand. “Well, do you want to see what you’ve earned?”

The screen popped as he grabbed her hand, and Jasper examined what he’d gotten.

Jasper Welles

Exp: 3278/35000

Health 4800

Spirit 4800

Essence 10000

Heritage(s)

Greater Djinn

Watchman of Aldāru

Level: 125

Level up: x9

Hand of Kas̆dael

Level: 6

Level up: x30

Titles

The Blood Runs True

Betrothed of Kas̆dael

Survivor

Champion of Sappiya

Blessed of Hurbas̆u

Stats

Racial Traits

Class Abilities

Class Abilities

Strength 60

Scion of Flames

Shooting Star

Scales of Justice

Endurance 60

Uplifted

Purge

Scourge of Despair

Vision 40

The Broken Shackle

Eternal Night II

Hand of Judgment

Inspiration 125

The Bramble Crown

Fiery Shackles II

Willpower 125

Locked

Seraph Burst

Intuition 60

Heart Stopper (Undead)

Into the Valley of Death

He glanced impatiently over the levels he’d received. There were fewer levels for his primary class than he’d expected, but it was more than made up for by finally making progress in his secondary class. Maybe completing quests for Kas̆dael should be more of a priority. With the secondary class - something none but those chosen by the gods had access to - he could grow more powerful than someone at an equivalent level.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jasper decided to put off assigning his new stats until he saw what he’d earned, just in case any skills offered him required stats he did not possess. Instead, he turned his attention to the waiting notifications. There were more than he was expecting, three of them this time, and he clicked on the first eagerly.

“Uh, Kas̆dael?” Jasper’s brow was furrowed in confusion as he glanced up at the goddess. “Why am I getting a reward for level 15? Shouldn’t it be level 20?”

“Secondary classes level a little differently than a primary class,” she explained. “Because they are generally more difficult to level, rewards are given 15 levels. Also, unlike a primary class, a secondary class can’t evolve until it’s reached at least level 120 - in the rare occasions that anyone actually manages to reach that level,” she added with a smile.

Satisfied with her explanation, Jasper perused his choices.

Hand of Kas̆dael: Level 15 Reward

Please select one of the three following skills:

Hand of Glory - Summons a Hand of the Dead that may bind your foes in place for up to 30 seconds. Foes above your level are unlikely to be affected. Cost: 1000 Spirit

Consuming Fire - For five minutes, flames cast by the user will ignore fire immunities and resistances. Cost: 1000 Essence

Winnowing Flail - Strikes out with a spectral flail. If attack kills, receive 1/20 of your current health, essence, and soul per target. Cost: 500 Spirit.

Jasper considered the options for a moment. A few months earlier, he probably would have taken Consuming Fire without even a second thought. The tendency of high-leveled nobles to have fire immunity was aggravating as it negated a large portion of his abilities, but with his current situation, he wasn’t sure if it was the still best option. Thanks to his Flame Charge, he already had one spell that could bypass their protections. Plus, now that he was about to leave the Djinn’s homeland, he doubted he’d be finding more Djinn. Are there any other races likely to have fire immunity? He wasn’t sure, but, in any case, Consuming Fire no longer seemed like the slam dunk option.

Instead, he hesitated between the two other choices. Hand of Glory seemed a bit similar to his Fiery Shackles, but unlike his current spell, Hand of Glory didn’t seem to be limited to just three opponents. He figured there had to be some, unstated limit - there was no way the spell would let him paralyze in an entire army - but it seemed a bit more versatile and lasted longer. Overall, it was hard to go too wrong with a good crowd-control spell, especially when heading into a war. Yet, the cost of the spell - a little more than a fifth of his current spirit pool - was a bit of a problem, as was the fact that it didn’t affect foes above his level. Will most of the combatants be a higher level than me? Judging from the average level of his troops, the answer was probably no, but he’d be surprised if the commanders weren’t equal or higher than him.

The other choice was Winnowing Flail. There was no indication of how much damage the flail did, or how large it was, but the “per target” in the description made him think that the flail was probably large enough to hit several at a time. One-twentieth of his current pool would only provide about 240 health and soul, and 500 essence, but it could add up quickly - especially if he managed to kill more than one or two enemies with a hit. I don’t have much in the way of healing.

Winnowing Flail seemed the most sensible choice, but Jasper found himself looking at Hand of Glory again. There was just something about the skill that appealed to him. If I can stop my enemies from reaching me, I don’t need to heal. It was a weak excuse and he knew it, but he selected Hand of Glory nonetheless.

The next box was also a reward for his secondary class, this time for reaching level 30.

Hand of Kas̆dael: Level 30 Reward

Please select one of the three following skills:

Visions of the Void - If your willpower is higher than the target, for five minutes the target will believe themself to be in the void. Cost: 2000 Spirit

To Tell the Truth - Can compel the truthful answer to a single question. This spell can be cast no more than five times on a single subject in the space of a year. Cost: entire pool of Spirit. Cannot be cast unless full.

Circle of Protection - Summons a circle that interrupts and protects from any mind-based attacks for 2 minutes. Cost 500 Essence.

Circle of Forgiveness - Summons a circle that will heal 20% of your health over 2 minutes. Cost 500 Essence.

Jasper couldn’t help but be a little disappointed with the options this time. “Why are there no combat spells?” he asked Kas̆dael.

The goddess laughed. “This class is intended to help you be a more effective inquisitor for me, not the mightiest warrior in the land. Combat spells will only be offered every other reward, with more useful spells to choose from in between.”

He supposed the spells weren’t terrible; protection against mind magic and healing was never a bad thing. While the Fey charm had protected him admirably time and time again, the Circle of Protection seemed like it could be cast on other people as well. Would be nice to be able to help Ihra or Tsia if they get targeted. Circle of Forgiveness seemed similarly flexible, although the spell’s lack of any combat utility almost made him wish he had chosen the Winnowing Flail after all. Still, both spells seemed decent enough.

Jasper was less sure of what to make of the other spells. To Tell the Truth could be either quite powerful or frankly useless, depending on what question was asked, but he felt a bit uncomfortable with the whole idea. He could understand how useful it could be to be able to compel a truthful answer, but it also felt a bit distasteful. I suppose that’s just part of the class, though.

That only left Visions of the Void, which he fairly quickly dismissed. While disabling an opponent for five minutes could be useful, between the cost of half of his Spirit and the uncertainty of whether or not the target would have higher willpower than him, the skill seemed too much of a gamble to be worth it.

In the end, he decided it would be foolhardy to pass up on a healing option for the second time. Circle of Forgiveness wasn’t the sexiest choice, but if it saved his life - or Ihra’s - it was a spell well worth choosing.