TASTKA POV
“You want to know about your class, the Soulkeeper. It was an accident, but one I’m not unhappy with. You weren’t supposed to be able to sense me, but since you can… hello.” The figure of me made a strange expression, baring her fangs but lifting ears as if being friendly. “I could try to explain more, but I’m not sure I can in a way you’ll understand. But I know someone who can. Seek out Kesseken, the Green Tender. They are not an elf, but treat them with respect, and they will answer your questions. All you must offer them in return is to tell them to give your companions a task. They should understand.”
The creature before us definitely was not an elf. I could tell that, but I hadn’t expected them to recognize my class right away. I didn’t see any mana flowing from Kesseken to me, unlike when the Grand One had examined me. This creature just looked at me, no mana involved, and knew.
It also terrified me. My blood ran cold, and I opened my mouth… then shut it as my tail quivered. How much did this thing know? How did it know? I tried to push that down, telling myself that this was the whole point I’d wanted to come here.
Fisk broke in before I could fully recover. “We apologize for awakening you. Are you the Green Tender? We have journeyed far to find you.”
The massive head turned to stare at Fisk, then let out a rumbling noise. A moment later my senses felt mana move and arrange itself, flowing into a complicated pattern. Mostly Lumen, it threaded through the air and connected with each of us, invisibly tickling our minds.
Kesseken was creating a spell just like I could do, I realized. Yet this was done with far more control and ease than my fumbling attempts to do so.
It spoke again, and this time the words were far more different, a hissing and rumbling series that shouldn’t have made sense… but I saw the mana threads pulse, and I understood what was said. The spell this creature had created in an instant, without words to guide it, was letting us understand its meaning.
“I understand you have two [Horizon Bearer] classes here, but why did you bring the [Soulkeeper] to my home?”
The others looked at one another in confusion, but most quickly turned to me. It had been obvious that the first word had been directed at me… and I had never shared that my class had changed its name.
Acting quickly, I stepped forward. “Forgive me, Green Tender. When my people chose to explore, they did not know where to go. I suggested this direction, because I felt that it would let me find answers to why my class was different. And why its name changes so rapidly.”
Nostrils flared on Kesseken’s snout, and the large creature lowered its head, regarding all the others before turning back to me. A faint snort escaped, and even at this distance, I could feel the flutter of a breeze, and the faint stench of rotting vegetation, mingled with fresh dew, a direct contrast to the rot. I fought down my gag and tried to keep my eyes level with the enormous yellow gaze.
“Mmmm…” Kesseken rumbled. “I do possess that knowledge. Such a thing is not shared with those who are not dragon such as I. You are Calen… and one Aravel, I see. Such matters are not for you to consider.”
Eyssa stepped forward, her jaw set in an angry clench. “We came all this way, you can’t-”
My hand raised to cut her off, letting her know I had control of the situation. I didn’t, not really… but despite my queasiness, and the flinch I felt every time those eyes set upon me, I had control of myself again. My tailtip still trembled, but I could speak for myself.
“In return for answering, I am to tell you to consider a task for my friends.” I paused, “I don’t understand, but will you tell me now?”
Kesseken’s breath hissed as he turned his eyes to the others, who were now shuffling and stepping awkwardly, unsure where they should be. Something about the dragon’s attention was… heavy. Like it pressed down upon them, a threat waiting to happen.
All at once, I heard a series of gasps and barks of surprise from the others. Each stiffened, tails often whipping in sudden agitation, with ears lowering and snouts scrunching in confusion. A moment later, I received a notification as well.
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I whipped my head about to stare at the others, but they clearly had seen something else. Fisk had just lifted his head to the dragon, his tail still flicking rapidly back and forth. “Is this true?”
Now Kesseken growled. It was loud and rumbling, deep enough that I could almost feel it quiver through my own body despite the distance between myself and the dragon.
“It is,” he answered. “You come into my lair and have disturbed my sleep. It will be a difficult journey, but when I was young I saw it with my own eyes. You shall be the ones to tell your people of the great Barrier at the Edge of Night. Do so, and you will gain greater power upon completion of this task.”
He paused. “If you survive.”
The others shuffled, but Fisk and Eyssa both looked at me immediately. I knew what they wanted. They wanted to know if they should accept this task. My tail dipped as I swallowed and turned to them.
“I… did not get the Quest,” I said, sounding out the word carefully. It sounded like it belonged in our language, even if it was a new word. “I can’t. My class… it says my class prevents me from doing that. This decision is up to you.”
The rumble from Kesseken was different, now. I realized it was a chuckle, not a growl, and the huge beast’s head lowered to the ground once more. When he spoke it was careful and deliberate.
“You may decline, and return to your people. The Soulkeeper has done my kind a great service.” His eyes passed over the others again. “But should you accept, the difficult journey will show you wonders and growth greater than any of you have ever seen.”
It was Duvad who spoke next, breaking with the agreement to let Fisk do the talking. He stepped forward, boldly spreading his hands. “I don’t understand. Why can’t Tastka accept? Won’t the System let her join in?”
I was a little surprised he’d started using the term Kelas had told us, but then I reminded myself that Duvad had always been more interested than he let on. I’d thought him blunt and direct, uncaring of nuance when we first started… but he’d pointedly asked questions during the journey many times, often about me. He just didn’t like to talk, most of the time.
The dragon snorted and shifted its great bulk. Crumbling and faint creaking of overgrowth flexing along its body threatened to crack it free of its thin carapace, but the motion was small – for its size, anyway.
“She is the Soulkeeper. This System… my kind do not have it. Yet we interact with it in our own way.” Kesseken breathed out. “We did not know of it until you younger beings appeared and began to speak to us. Yet we have felt its presence for a long time. My people, when we dream, are responsible for naming the abilities that you learn through the System.”
A part of the mound of grass and brambles shifted again, revealing a large talon, which pointed at me. The dragon kept it directed at me while his eyes stayed upon Duvad, speaking to him… though I knew many of the answers were for me.
“This one has a connection to it as well… one we cannot understand.” He sighed, another breeze fluttering through from the exhale of such a great beast. “We named it as best we could. It was I who named each as it revealed itself, until the others could discuss and decide upon a more appropriate name.”
The talon lowered, and Kesseken’s gaze swept across the entire group. “It is our responsibility to make this System something you can understand… and now, it is our responsibility to give you tasks to help you grow. I understand that, now. It is your purpose to grow, to learn, to become more.”
His head turned back to me. “But that is not her purpose.”
I could feel all the eyes upon me. My tail dipped, but I couldn’t stop the tremor in the tip as I heat up at the attention. I asked the question we all wanted to know. “Then what is my purpose?”
The great head settled fully again, as if Kesseken was preparing to go back to sleep. “I do not know. But I suspect… you are a means for the System to understand what it needs. You are a part of it, separate from others. None of us understand you. Your self is connected to something beyond us, something greater than even our minds know.”
His eyes became slits, but he didn’t close them. “The Soulkeeper should return to her people. Take her there, and let her live. Let her see what they need.” The massive mound made another creaking noise as the dragon settled into the small dip it rest within.
“The rest of you should choose. Shall you accept my task, or return to your people?”
Fisk turned to the others, where a whispered conversation began. I started to join them, but Kelas stepped forward, still holding his spear – unlike the others – but with its point down to the ground.
“Kesseken,” he started, raising his voice. The young Aravel looked concerned. “I had a different question. What happened to the Calen that once wandered these lands?”
The eyes of the dragon opened up more, and he snorted in amusement. “The Calen? They are gone.” The entire mound of his body shuddered, but Kesseken decided not to move further. “This land is unstable. Small but potent places bear great mana, which I guide into a fruitful forest. Surrounding it is land with little mana.”
He exhaled again, and his eyes almost closed. “The Calen only live in the places where mana is sluggish and rare. As they settled here, they joined the Sylen, as always happens.”
That was news to me, but the entire exchange distracted me. I missed most of the discussion, and didn’t realize Fisk had already made a decision. My old childhood friend stepped away from the others, moving up next to Kelas.
“We’ve made our choice.”
Fond Farewell