ALL NOVEL To Know Thyself
With his first choices locked in, Jasper moved on to the third box. He was pretty sure this one would be his reward for helping slay Yas̆gah, and yet he was almost hesitant to open it. He reckoned the reward for helping kill a demigod ought to be pretty good, but at the same time feared he had let his expectations spiral so high that anything offered would end up feeling disappointing.
“It’s not going to open itself,” Kas̆dael chided him.
“I know. Just psyching myself up for it - I’ve got high hopes, you know,” he added with a rueful chuckle. “Any chance you know what I’m going to get?”
The veiled goddess shook her head. “The system was made by all of us, but it is not run by any of us. While long years of experience allow me to often guess what will be offered, this was far from a usual occurrence.” A look of distaste disfigured her countenance as she continued. “It’s not often one has to put down a mad demigod.”
Jasper nodded, and his fingers brushed the box.
Godslayer
Against all odds, you were able to substantially contribute to the death of a being on the brink of true ascension. For this service to the gods, you have earned the title Nascent Divine.
Nascent Divine: This title will grant two points to the completion of your Divine Path. Six points remain to fulfill the first step.
As a further reward, please select 1 of the following 4 paths to power.
Wrath of the Dead - You will be given a choice between a single target or multi-target variant of this soul-fueled spell. Unlike other soul magics, this spell will neither require meditation nor come with the risk of any loss of control. The power of the spell scales solely on how much of your soul you sacrifice.
Divine Aegis - You will be granted the right to call upon a god or goddess of your choice to protect you and nearby companions from any danger, no matter how grave. This may only be used once.
Memory - Restore a stolen memory of your parents.
Blood of Zaginnu - Once per month, you will be able to unlock the true form of the Djinn for 10 minutes. Warning: once spell is completed, you may temporarily fall unconscious.
This time, Jasper wasn’t disappointed with the selection. It only took a glance to tell he’d been offered several powerful options, and the Nascent Divine title was a nice little bonus. He’d almost forgotten about the quest Lady Ḫurbas̆u had given him, but the title alone was enough to double the points he’d accumulated thus far. And who knows? Maybe I’ll run into some more nature deities when I’m with the army. Pursuing a chance at becoming a demigod wasn’t at the top of his to-do list right now, but he certainly wouldn’t object to the chance.
Dismissing the title, he turned his attention to the proffered rewards. Wrath of the Dead appealed to him immediately. Though it was a bit frustrating that the description didn’t really tell what the spell did, the ability to scale up the strength of the spell by using your soul sounded powerful. Be like a tactical nuke in your back pocket.
Divine Aegis was similarly appealing. The downside, of course, was that it could only be used once, but despite that it was essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card. He had no idea what to expect from the war he was heading into, but the power to escape a situation of certain death was certainly an appealing one.
The third option, on the other hand, simply confused him. A memory of your parents. The plural ending of that word seemed to imply that it would grant him insight into who his father was. IT had certainly bothered Jasper when S̆arrābī had helped him realize his childhood memories had been tampered with, but he wasn’t really sure what made a memory a comparable reward to the others being offered. Probably skip that one.
That left the fourth option, the Blood of Zaginnu. Like Wrath of the Dead, the description was frustratingly short on details. The true form of the Djinn? Jasper didn’t have a clue what that referred to, though the reference to the Djinn’s original homeward was intriguing. Was there something about their former sun, Nūr, that made them different there than here? It might explain the Nūr cultists.
Curiosity alone was almost enough to tempt him into choosing it, plus it seemed obvious that the transformation would involve some degree of a power-up. The loss of consciousness was a decided downside though, and it was hard for him to judge whether Wrath of the Dead or Blood of Zaginnu would be more powerful.
“Can you tell me anything more about these?” He glanced up at Kas̆dael hopefully. “Wrath, Blood, and Aegis all sound great, but I don’t know how to pick the best one.”
Kas̆dael’s long black hair tumbled over him as she bent down to read the screen. “You should avoid Wrath of the Dead,” she said after a moment.
“Really? That was actually the one I was leaning toward,” he admitted.
“I’m not surprised,” she said with a smile, “but soul magic is as dangerous as it is powerful. Your soul is a limited resource - consume too much and you will die.”
“But isn’t my soul fairly powerful?” Jasper objected.
“Your soul is not as diminished as most in this dying realm,” she conceded. “If careful, you could likely use this skill for many years to come, but why take the risk? The others do not come with such grave consequences.”
Though Jasper wasn’t entirely swayed by her argument, he knew she had a point. “Okay, maybe it isn't the slam dunk choice I thought it was. What about the other options?”
“There is no downside to the Aegis, unless one considers it a problem that it can only be invoked once, although,” an amused smile crossed her lips, “one can hardly expect a reward that summons a deity any time you feel like it.”
“And the Blood of Zaginnu?”
“That would be my second choice,” Kas̆dael replied. “Being able to take the true form of the Djinn would vastly enhance your power, even if it is only for a few minutes. The loss of consciousness is a problem, of course, but as long you are careful to pay attention and seek safety before that time runs out, you should be fine.”
“Your second choice? So you prefer the Aegis then?”
“I did not say that.”
“‘But you advised against the Wrath of the Dead…” he fell silent for a moment. “The memory? That’s the one you suggest? Why? I mean,” he scratched his chin awkwardly, “I admit I’m curious to know more about the many secrets my parents seemed to have hidden from me, but I'm not curious enough to throw away the chance at a powerful skill.”
“The reward says to choose from 1 of 4 paths to power,” Kas̆dael pointed out. “I do not know exactly what this memory will unlock for you, but the choice would not have been offered unless it was at least equivalent to the others.”
The goddess was right. Jasper had kind of glossed over the words, but the description did promise that all four options would grant him power. But a memory? What can that do for me? “Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly.
“The decision is yours. Any of these options, even Wrath of the Dead, will serve you well. But if it were me, I would pick the third. To know thyself is a power of its own.”
He read through the choices one last time. His heart desired Wrath of the Dead, but he’d already made one luxury decision. What’s the point of asking a goddess for advice if I’m just going to ignore it? Discarding his hesitations, Jasper selected the Memory.
A new prompt appeared: Would you like to start the memory now or distribute your stats first? If you choose to wait, simply ask your deity when you’re ready to begin. Start now: Y/N
He pushed N and the screen for his stats popped up again. With 39 levels gained between his two classes, Jasper had 117 points to assign, more than he’d ever had before. Where to point them, though, was a difficult question. When he only really had essence to worry about, inspiration and willpower had been the obvious choices, but many of the spells in his new class relied on spirit instead, which lagged far behind his essence. Hand of Glory alone costs a 1000 essence to cast.
After some debate, he decided endurance made the most sense to invest in, as it fed both his health and his spirit pools. He dumped 40 points in endurance, raising it to 100. Ten points went to vision; it wasn’t exactly a priority for his class, but the number of times he’d been utterly unable to see something Ihra could see with ease was a bit annoying.
That left just 67 points. After some hesitation, he split 60 of them 4 ways, putting 15 in strength, inspiration, willpower, and intuition, and dumped the remaining seven in vision once again. Jasper didn’t really consider himself the excitable type, but even he had a hard time suppressing the thrill of joy that tingled down his spine as he watched his health and spirit leap by nearly a third in a single fell swoop. I really should stop putting leveling off.
Jasper Welles
Exp: 3278/35000
Health 7000
Spirit 7000
Essence 11200
Heritage(s)
Greater Djinn
Watchman of Aldāru
Level: 134
Level up: x0
Hand of Kas̆dael
Level: 36
Level up: x0
Titles
The Blood Runs True
Betrothed of Kas̆dael
Survivor
Champion of Sappiya
Blessed of Hurbas̆u
Nascent Divine
Stats
Racial Traits
Class Abilities
Class Abilities
Strength 75
Scion of Flames
Shooting Star
Scales of Justice
Endurance 100
Uplifted
Purge
Scourge of Despair
Vision 57
The Broken Shackle
Eternal Night II
Hand of Judgment
Inspiration 140
The Bramble Crown
Fiery Shackles II
Hand of Glory
Willpower 140
Locked
Seraph Burst
Circle of Forgiveness
Intuition 75
Heart Stopper (Undead)
Into the Valley of Death
After taking a moment to revel in his new gains, he closed the screen. Normally this would be the moment Kas̆dael chose to plunge her fist straight through his chest, and his body tensed in anticipation, but he had business left unfinished. He still found Kas̆dael watching him, with a small frown on her lips that he interpreted as a sign of concern. “Are you ready to see your memory?” She asked, offering him her hand.
Jasper ignored it. “Honestly? I don’t know. This is my memory, right? Of me and my dad?” He laughed coarsely, “I have no memory of him. Zilch. If you asked me, I would have said I’ve never met him, that I’ve never even heard his name. I mean, I knew my memories had been tampered with, but I guess, it’s just hard to wrap my head around it. How much of what I know is a lie? How much of my past has been stolen from me? He shook his head in disbelief.
Kas̆dael’s hand brushed against his face in an almost tender caress, though the electric-like sensation that flowed through his body told him it was no attempt at flirting. As the energy surged through his body, her eyes seemed almost to glow, and he found himself unable to look away until her hand withdrew. “I cannot tell you all that you are missing, but if it’s any consolation,” she said, “I do not believe much was hidden from you. The gaps I found are few and brief. It may well be that this is the only memory of your father you possessed.”
“So he was just a deadbeat,” Jasper said with a snort. “Not sure that’s much better, but,” his voice softened, “thanks for trying, Kas̆dael.”
“There’s no need to thank me.” She offered him her hand again. “But you cannot put this off forever. Take my hand, Jasper.”
“I guess you’re right,” he replied. Grabbing her hand, he offered a wry grin. "Let's get this show on the road."