Depthless Hunger

After such a grueling battle, and confrontations with many of the most powerful beings in Rosemount, it felt surreal to go shopping. Kai wasn't familiar with the elven capital, so he needed others to guide him around the stores they needed. The activity was far from trivial: if his plan worked, these resources they gathered could be more valuable to them than any of the others they'd purchased.

He ran his fingers over a chakra-imbued sheath that was supposed to strengthen the sword it contained. Would this be compatible with Irunian steel? Despite his brief experience with the ability, he couldn't say for sure. Since it only cost 10,000 Crests, he decided to buy it just in case.

As he finished the transaction, he realized how insane that decision was. Not so long ago, 10,000 Crests would have been an unfathomable amount of money. But they still had over half of the million Crests they'd entered the Commonwealth with, so this was the time to spend them. Omilaena insisted they didn't want to lose money on exchange fees, and in any case the most valuable currency they could take with them was power itself.

"What about this?" Ceryyn popped up beside him, holding up a flower that looked like a flame. "Would it work for your Classes?"

"It's too chakra-based," Kai had to tell her. "We need either something compatible with mana, or something that will reinforce raw power."

"Hmm, like the Elemental Nations?"

"If you have any chakra they could take without training, that would be excellent."

"Oh, then I know just the place!" She beamed again and gestured for him to follow. Their path jerked to the side as she returned the flame flower and then she led him deeper into the city market.

As they walked he glanced over at her again, noting the scars across her face. Four white lines across her cheek, nose, and left eye. She still looked stunningly beautiful - he didn't think that was just his bias - but he had expected her to come out of healing without any trace of her injury. Since she was rarely offended, he decided that he might as well ask.

"Could they not heal your scars?" he asked. "I know demonic arts are draining, but I hadn't expected them to be permanent."

"They might have been able to, but our best healers are required for so much more. And..." Ceryyn smiled oddly as she ran her fingers over the scars. "I think I'm starting to like them. Anyone can control a glamour with perfect features, but it's a bit more of a challenge like this. Do you like it?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask. Scars are common where I come from."

"Yes, and we're so sorry to see you go back. But come this way and we'll help you go back in style."

Of course in the end they couldn't stay in the Elven Wilds. Not only would it burn support with their allies, it wasn't even guaranteed to prevent further attacks by the Brightwind sect. Zae Zin Nim had made that decision, then Kai's argument had been more focused on their advancement: they'd already gained a great deal from the Elven Wilds and they needed to move on. No one would be expecting them to return to Deadwaste, but that might actually be where they could find out more about the phases of the god abilities.

"What about these?" Ceryyn ushered him through a curtain of beads into a shop that was filled with various elixirs. They all seemed to be somewhere between liquid and pure elements. He tested one, checking if the chakra was too incompatible, and it felt like an elemental power to him.

"This should be perfect for the Elemental Nations," he said with a smile. "Help me pick out a few for each element."

In the end they spent over 80,000 Crests in that shop alone, which was a bit excessive for something he wasn't completely certain would work. But Kai was reasonably confident in his analytical skills at this point, and the Frontier elites had far more knowledge that could probably make things work.

After purchasing sources of power, Ceryyn clearly didn't want things to be over yet and took him to buy supplies for their journey. Eventually, however, it had to end. Ceryyn gave him a surprise hug and then disappeared into the city. She hadn't even properly said farewell, perhaps because she intended to see him again.

This would actually be their last day, only a week after the decision had been made. Kai met up with the others, hoping to spend some final hours in the elven capital, but they were out of time. Guards came to escort them to the council - not merely the local leaders, but the senior Council of Elders itself.

Even though half of this city was underground, like many elven cities, they were escorted upward to meet the Council. First they passed into the light and airy levels above the surface, then through an an entire level elevated above the rest. Finally they ascended a spiral and came out at the top... and found themselves standing in a garden floating in the sky.

His first reaction was that it seemed shockingly restrained for the heads of the entire nation, but the subtle touches built up in his subconscious. The grass beneath their feet was as blue as the sky, emanating peaceful and cool chakra even through his boots. Flowers grew in weaving patterns around them, ranging from as pale as the moon to as dark as midnight. And somehow they all held a deep inner beauty that meant they didn't pale even when compared to the elves who sat on their moss-grown thrones.

Because this was definitely the Council of Elders for the entire Elven Wilds. Even without fully using their glamours, they put off an aura of transcendence. If he hadn't adjusted so much to elven auras, the appearance of the full council might have been heart-stopping.

The only one of them he recognized was Graveylin, who smiled encouragingly. It was a much older man who spoke first.

"Three foreigners stood with us without need, continued to risk themselves when many of our own fled, and now forsake our protection for our benefit. It would be a deep shame if we did not send you forth with gifts worthy of our people."

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"We already know what one of you will ask," another elder said with a glance toward Omilaena. "As negotiated through Lady Ceryyn Sandflower, you will be granted this honor as a single unit. Thus it is only fair that your other two boons also be granted to all three of you."

They'd hoped that would happen, but hadn't been sure. Kai glanced at the other two one more time, thinking back to their strategy. They didn't know quite how much the elves could offer, so they needed to decide flexibly based on what was possible.

"The three of us intend to journey to Deadwaste," Kai said as he stepped forward, "and we will be going separately to give you plausible deniability. But it would be far more efficient if we could teleport there, so for my boon, I ask if this is possible."

"I'm afraid it isn't," Graveylin told him sadly. "The distance itself would be nearly impossible, and the oceans interfere with our techniques. Is there anything else you can ask?"

"In that case, I ask that you equip us for the journey we are about to undertake."

He stated it humbly, not actually asking for as much as he could, because Omilaena and Ceryyn had been convinced that would shame the elves into helping. It seemed to work: the elders ordered forth an Alltongue Fruit for Omilaena, a spatial bracelet for Zae Zin Nim, and a chakra-enchanted cloak for Kai, in addition to supplies and more ordinary preparations. Kai was most pleased by the spatial bracelet - now all three of them had easier storage.

Zae Zin Nim stepped forward next. "We will be leaving Rosemount to relieve political pressure on your people," she said carefully. "On Deadwaste, it will be more difficult for us to advance. Therefore I ask that you grant each of us a source of power to sustain us through the journey."

That request proved a little more difficult to fulfill, but the Council of Elders seemed especially motivated to rise to the challenge. Zae Zin Nim received a crystal sphere that bound a great deal of qi, Kai received a dark plant that merged mana with chakra, and Omilaena received a sword that had been imbued with chakra over generations.

Personally, Kai wasn't as convinced as Zae Zin Nim that this would work. There was no way around the lower energy on Deadwaste, so his plan had been to get there and back as soon as possible to learn what they could from the Frontier elites. Still, he had to admit that the plant would be a new challenge and the others might be able to take advantage of their gifts well. And given how their luck went, it would be good to have a fallback option if they got stuck.

Finally Omilaena stepped forward. "All of you know what I'm going to ask," she said with a graceful bow. "We want garments woven by the Primal Loom."

"And you shall be the first outsiders in over a decade to receive such," the eldest said. "But if you truly want those garments to have their maximum potential, you must descend to make preparations. We hope that at the time they are complete, our domain will be welcoming to you once again."

The Council of Elders said a few more words of thanks, but the ceremony was clearly over. As soon as they left the rooftop garden they moved at a faster rate, plummeting through the city. After Omilaena had stressed so much about how the Primal Loom could offer an advantage they couldn't find anywhere else, he was curious to finally see it.

The three of them descended to the secure level... and then kept descending. Cheerful elven lanterns gave way to eerie blue torches, then to ghostly lights that didn't match anything he'd seen in the Elven Wilds. They were still descending, then they passed through a heavily guarded corridor and they finally entered the depths.

A thin staircase spiraled around the exterior of a pit that seemed to descending into the bowls of the earth. For a moment Kai was reminded of the two abysses he'd seen, but this was clearly more natural than the unusually smooth pits. The darkness wasn't supernatural either, and as they spiraled, the floating lights illuminated the bottom.

There he found the mystical artifact that had been Omilaena's obsession for so long: the Primal Loom. It arched in multiple directions, composed of bones and a strange dark substance he couldn't identify that seemed almost alive. Kai was no textile expert, but he'd seen looms before and this didn't look familiar. Instead of a boxy structure that could pass thread through it, the Primal Loom seemed to arch strings in incomprehensible patterns.

But those strings... they glowed like no material he'd ever seen. The power wasn't exactly mana, qi, or chakra, but an embodied essence that contained some of all three. Unlike many of the static pieces of equipment he'd seen, these threads seemed to resonate with his own power.

"Welcome to the Primal Loom." An elven elder wearing a robe that covered his entire body greeted them as they arrived at the bottom. "Very few outsiders have ever set foot here. You should count yourselves honored to be granted the opportunity."

"It's a great honor simply to be in its presence." Omilaena's expression looked completely sincere, even though he was sure she was salivating over the opportunity for power.

"Once in your life, you may step into the Primal Loom and weave the threads of fate into a garment that will empower you. However, it cannot be woven from nothing, in particular if you desire the strongest results. For this reason, all three of you must leave some of your essence, to be gathered here for the moment of culmination."

Another robed figure handed each of them a spindle made from dark metal. It looked ordinary enough except that one end was a gemstone and the other was extremely sharp.

"Prepare your essence now," the lead figure told them. "You may give your blood, your chakra, whatever you wish. But beware, the more you give, the more preparatory time will be required."

"We're planning to let this cook for months," Omilaena told them from the side of her mouth. "Hold back if you have a strategic reason, but otherwise give everything."

Kai wasn't sure what to make of the whole process, so he decided to follow that advice. He pricked his finger on the sharp tip and the metal seemed to drink in a drop of his blood. Then he poured mana, qi, and chakra into the gemstone. At the end, just before he was done, he briefly made his hand transform into a claw and hoped that he had imparted some monstrous essence.

The spindle didn't crack, attack him, or shout that he was an abomination. That seemed like success to him.

Meanwhile the others had also finished and handed their spindles to the elves. Zae Zin Nim had used primarily qi flowing from her cultivation, but with supporting elements of mana and chakra. It seemed like Omilaena had imparted a very balanced blend of all three and likely more. In any case, the elves made no judgments, merely took the spindles and carried them into the dark.

There they began to spin in the air. Kai thought it was his imagination at first, but he saw a wispy energy form around his. It barely existed at all at first and slowly grew more concrete. Perhaps when they returned in many months, it would have become the magic thread they needed.

"There is naught else we can do for you now," the hooded elder said. "We trust that fate will bring you back to the Primal Loom when the time is right."

They ascended from the depths, respectfully silent at first but increasingly restless as they went higher. Kai was suddenly painfully aware that this would be their last time together for at least the two months required for the ocean voyage. It seemed like the others were aware of the same thing, because they all wanted to talk but the conversation came uncomfortably.

Finally it was time to part again. In theory to reunite in Deadwaste, but life had rarely made things so easy for him. Kai was surprised when Zae Zin Nim reached up to hug him, but he was glad to return it, then hugged Omilaena as well.

Because they teleported away, there was no long goodbye. On the other end of the strange winds, Kai was standing at a southern point of Rosemount with heavy ships off the coast. He'd been on the continent for over a year, but now it was finally time to go home.