Level Up!

by RisuUmbra

Ch 48: Crossroads Pt. 1

Chapter 48: Crossroads Pt. 1

As much as I wanted to just stay there with my new little family, we had work to do. Now that our time together had a definite time limit we needed to move fast. First on the list was to modify the ritual of open soul so it didn’t cause any discomfort. Morgana and I decided to work on that together with her carving out stone slabs for me to use and I experimenting with sigil combinations. David and Calcifer were given a special job, they needed to gather three things for me. Some cloth, Some twine or rope, and a single gemstone, I wanted to make sure that David and Morgana would be perfectly safe while they were gone and to do that I needed to craft like crazy. We were an hour into our work when a thestral glided down silently to us, we were currently in the open yard behind our temporary house carving stone slabs made out of the rubble nearby. I was a bit terse when I greeted the Thestral soldier but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care as he informed us that their charge Lady Glory would be coming to the house tomorrow to hear my answer to their plea for help.

It was only minutes after he left that we finished modifying the ritual, I wrote down the correct combination of sigils in the book of ritual then moved on to the next step, crafting. We weren’t going to use the ritual until David was back so we moved on to the next step, making an Annealed Flask for the both of them. Morgana knew the steps already and had already reduced two large boulders of what I think is granite to fine sand. Falling was a bit closer to the action this time and was watching closely to what I was doing, seeing how interested he was I narrated what I was doing. I could tell a lot of it was going over his head but that was okay, I would be able to teach him much more in depth once we were on the road together. Putting the small spatial anomaly into the flask was just as tiring as before but I did it… twice. I also add a small enchantment to them just for fun, nothing over the top or powerful. All the enchant does is tint the color of the glass, I made Morgana’s flask a light red while David got a bright yellow. Color changing enchantments is quite possibly the bottom of the barrel when it comes to difficulty but that makes them perfect for training. I still don’t know completely what I can do with enchanting besides the extreme things I could make at later levels.

The three of us had stopped for a quick break when David and Calcifer returned, David holding two things in his hooves while Calcifer carried one in his talons. Wrapped in his hooves was a dark blue gem that I think is called a Tanzanite and in the other was a spool of twine. Calcifer on the other hoof was carrying a whole roll of fabric! That was way too much but I still really appreciated it. We all had some lunch while David explained how they got everything, they had gone to Spike first for the gem which he was happy to give as apparently he grew his own gems behind the citadel. Then Spike directed the both of them to where the changeling players usually stayed, it was a shock to learn that due to their shape shifting nature that Changelings could make almost any kind of fabric and produce it naturally like a spider. They were happy to actually get some practice with the skill and gave plenty of fabric and twine.

While everyone ate I got started on the next craft, a Blank Poppet. Everyone sat and talked happily while I started cutting and sewing together a small vaguely horse shaped doll. Thankfully I could still remember the sewing diagrams from that book Spike gave me while I was operating on Falling Star. I pulled together the two halves of the pony I cut out and paused before I sewed together it’s back. I looked over at the leftover sand we had and levitated some over to fill the empty doll then popped in a shard of the tanzanite then sealed it up. I did this four times, one for each of us. I made sure not to use all of the cloth and cut off a few strips before turning to everyone.

Crafting Complete!

Blank Poppet: An empty vessel, it almost looks like someone you know…

Rarity 8/10 ( +1 Rare Materials, -1 Lack of detail)

“There is not a single, not weird way to ask this to all of you… “ Conversation died down at my words and everyone slowly got serious. I took a deep breath and… tried to hold in my laughter. I was sure my lips were trembling from the effort not to smile.

“Give me your hair!” Of all things I would say… That was not what they were expecting.

“What!?”

“Hair! Give!” I let on my most mischievous smile as I got up and reached for David’s mane only for him to just as fast launch himself into the air.

“Why!?” I could barely understand Morgana’s question as she was a bit busy choking down her laughter. Falling was giggling as well but had his hooves pressed firmly on his head to protect his mane. Calcifer quickly caught on to what I was doing and merged with me to give me wings.

“There’s no escape, give me your scalp!” With what can only be called a squawk of fear David took off with me trailing closely leaving behind two laughing ponies. A few minutes later I'm levitating an unamused soot covered David over my cauldron as I snip a few strands of hair from his mane. I was still laughing under my breath, it turns out that using fire magic while merged with Calficer changed how I could use the magic… I could breathe fire… that also means that I could breathe smoke and soot. It was fun chasing David around shooting balls of soot like spit balls, it was a bit unhinged but still fun.

“If you just need a single hair from us you could have asked?” Morgana spoke from over my shoulder, she and Falling were watching David and laughing at his predicament.

“That was payback for the horseshoes” I sat David down and heard him laugh under his breath as he remembered the horseshoe incident. I heard Morgana and Falling approach from my other side and peek into my cauldron. David’s blond locks were swirling in the water in an almost hypnotic pattern and his poppet was levitating over the water and almost seemed just as immaterial as the steam surrounding it. The words I chanted under my breath both sounded and felt… thin. Almost gentle in how they swirled through the air and almost made you believe you didn’t hear them and yet they gave a feeling of safety so comforting it brought forth warm memories of home. We all watched the blank poppet change, the previously white fabric turned yellow and stands of David’s mane started to rise with the steam out of the pot. Swirling and melting around the doll until it was almost a perfect copy of David… but in doll form.

Crafting Complete!

Poppet of Protection: One of the few branches of Voodoo magic that was created purely for protection purposes. This poppet will guard their likeness from malicious curses, hexes, sickness, and possessions. This specific poppet can even prevent lethal injury once, at the cost of the poppet

Rarity 9/10 (+1 rare materials)

“There we go, all finished… “ There was a softness to my voice that made me laugh under my breath, the comforting chanting put all of us in a relaxed mood. I plucked the poppet out of the air and passed it over to David. He had a small smile on his face as he looked over the small poppet of him. I only took a single hair from Morgana and Falling Star before I started making their poppets. I had a passing thought about what other kinds of poppets I could make but there could be countless kinds.

Now that the Protection Poppets are finished, next is the modified rituals of open soul and making some healing tinctures for them to use on the road. I debated whether to do the rituals first or to make the tinctures, I don’t think I have enough herbs to make healing tinctures right now so I might have to do the rituals first then go foraging with Morgana later. We already had the needed sigil slates ready, now I just need a volunteer… I turned to look over at David and Morgana. David obviously was a bit leery to my rituals. Especially after seeing their effects first hoof, Morgana was willing to go first simply because she watched me modify it.

In a nice clear space I laid out the modified sigils of the Ritual of Open Soul then sat down the Witching Eye and the half filled Annealed Flask of Flux. Morgana took a deep breath before trotting over to the center of the ritual circle and sitting down. The air changed slightly as the Ritual started to take effect. I started levitating the Witching eye up as I felt the Ritual slowly ramp up. Unlike before with Aaron, the energy didn’t pry and dig into Morgana. I could feel it slowly envelop her and (for lack of a better description) hugged her. I could see Morgana’s shoulders start to fall as she subconsciously relaxed in the ritual magic. I gave her a questioning look and got a smile in return, I took that as a green light to check the Eye.

Morgana / Rose Point:

Flux Alteration Rate: 25% -> 2%

Affliction: Savior Complex ( Minor -> Negligible)

Sanity: Stable

Emotional State: Happy

Magical Status: Thriving

Curses: None

Protections: Poppet of Protection, Kindness

Flux Acquisition Rate: 1% -> 1%

Flux Purification Rate: 7% ->10%

Affinity: Earth

A few strands of Flux peeled away from Morgana, I heard her giggle slightly from the feeling. The Flux joined the rest of the energy in the Flask and quickly lowered her alteration rate. I winced slightly at the sight of her complex, in hindsight I could see it but I couldn’t really see anything wrong with it. I waved Morgana over and let her take a look at her own status, she seemed more than happy to get out of the ritual and happily trotted over to look at the witching eye. She seemed a bit curious about the Saviour Complex as well, now that she’s aware of it it might not affect her as much… I’m not a psychologist so I'm not sure. Seeing how Morgana came out perfectly fine David was a bit less hesitant to step into the circle. I had to take a moment to fix a few of the sigils that had broken during Morgana’s turn.

David’s turn went somewhat the same, the magic swirled and spiraled around him gently except instead of enveloping him like it had Morgana, it blew through him like a gentle wind appealing to his love of the skies. David took a deep breath of the mana made wind and spread his winds slightly, seeing him relax made me smile. Pulling up the Witching Eye I saw something made a few things in the past make a bit more sense.

David / Nimbus:

Flux Alteration Rate: 30% -> 1%

Affliction: Rhabdophobia (Minor -> Negligible)

Sanity: Stable

Emotional State: Slightly Nervous

Magical Status: Thriving

Curses: None

Protections: Poppet of Protection, Loyalty

Flux Acquisition Rate: 2% -> 1%

Flux Purification Rate: 6% -> 8%

Affinity: Storm

Rhabdophobia, the fear of magic or supernatural forces. This puts David’s wariness and suspicion when it comes to magic into perspective. I felt slightly bad about being dismissive about his fears, I pulled his Flux into the flask and let him out of the ritual. David was actually smiling when he stepped out, he was stretching his wings and legs like a weight was taken off of him. I replaced a few sigils and got ready for the next part… me, I needed to see if there was anything wrong with me… more so than usual. I kept the witching eye floating there and popped the Flux Flask open to keep it at the ready. Morgana stepped up to the Witching Eye and waited for it to start, it was odd to feel your own magic rise up and try to intrude on itself. It was like trying to tickle yourself but it still worked when it shouldn’t.

Markus / Arcane Hope:

Flux Alteration Rate: [̶̨̧̼͍̞͈̦̫̹͂̽͌̋̄͗̏̐͘Ę̶̛̗͚̳̌̎́̌̎̂̈́͐̆R̷̺̻̂́͐́͑̌͒̆͌͜Ŕ̸̘͕̫̮͖̟͔̖͒̋͛̎̋O̷̫͉̥͚͛̎̍̈͗̀̎̈̌̍̽̇̕͝͝R̴̡̯͇̜̺̥̣͔͉̒͐̃̓̓]̶̨̨̧̖̭̖͇̺̹͚̠́̎̾̑̇̉̑̊͊̄̔̐ ̸̨̢̡̙̦̬̥̭͙͉̼̺̺̔͑͊̈́̾̀̑̽̐͂͋1̴̢̛̜̘͚̓̓̃̊̈̔̊̀̅̏͛̚͝ͅ0̵̡̧̦̩̜͖̻͎̻̍͌̑̈́̑̿͝0̵̢̖͓̱͈͙̭͍̍͒̓̋́̈́͝%̶̲̤͇̙̙͊̀̊̊͠ͅ-̶̤͋͌̇̑̉̐̃̃̀̇̽͒̅̔̚-̷̢̧̨̘̦̻͓̟̻̃ͅͅ-̷͇̃̋̽̅͌̐͒̽̌̒̕̕0̴̨͉͍̹͎͓͈̬̐̽̔͊̿̈0̴̡̥͇̯͚̺̝͕̲̖̘̲̭͖͌̈́͋̈́̇͆̄̅͋̉̐̾͠͝0̸̳͙̗̝̱̫͈̱͎̼̮̘̠̍͋̽̈́̍̌̄̇͌͂́̂̊̕͝0̸̢̦͖̜̬̤͇̣̥̥̝͎̞̈́%̷̧̧̛͍̖͉̹̫͇̩̜͔̎̏͜ ̴̞̿͌̈̓̕

Affliction: Sociopathy (N̷̛̺e̴̛͓g̴̳̍l̷̪̅ĭ̶͜g̸̡̑i̴̝͘b̸̝̅l̵͕͘ḙ̵͂)

Sanity: Stable

Emotional State: Happy

Magical Status: Ǫ̸̤̙̉̋v̴̭̳̤̀̌͘ë̶̛̠̱̮́̐r̸̦̻̘̐̔̍f̴̪̬̭͆̀͛l̴̼͊̀́ȍ̴̦̕w̷̧͌̕ì̶͙͓̞n̴̟̄̃͌g̸̛͈͚̜̓

Curses: Ć̸̨̘̘̏̏u̶͓̘̿͝r̵̖͍͆̄̊͜š̴̞̈́̿e̷̮͖̋͠ ̵͈̥̬̀̿͒ó̵̤̫̈͠f̷͈͈͙̂ ̵̛̙̓̄T̶͙̗̆ḩ̵̧̞͌̓̕e̴̽ͅ ̸̝̃̽F̴̧̺̥͠o̵̻͎̳͊͘x̸̙̰͒͌̓

Protections: Poppet of Protection, Element of Ę̸̲͍͇̫̫̖͐̿͋͗̌͆́̂͆͋̎͘͜ṅ̸̛̦̤͙̭̞̻̟̟̪̯̦̮͑̃̃͋̊̈́͘t̷̡͖͙͔̩͙̹͓̠̭̠͔͚͌͌̿͐͆̏̓͊͐̅͠ͅi̴͙͈̻͋͛̊̍t̷̖́͛̎̅͝y̵̢͓̗̰̹̹̜̙͉͋̀̐̒͆̕ ̸̹͍̹̫̥̄̃̿̋̾̈́̾̿͛͜͝N̸̖͈̙̯̙͔̞̲̲̖̱̒̄̽̇̃̈́̽̓̚͝͝ͅơ̷͔̘̐͑̓̂͗̇́͒͘ț̵͍͉̣̤̮͕̖̀͑̕ ̶̼̺̯̦̞̋̓̉F̶̢̧̢̤͇̟̩̠͓͕̝̘͕̼͚̄̐͊̌͜͝o̵̺̱̠̯͔̜̜̩̼̟̖͔̽̚ụ̶̅͐̕n̸͙̘̞̤͊̏̃͌̂̇͝d̵̨̡̻̠͕̳̠̜͔̮̱̱̻͚̺͗̈̃͗̋͂͜͠

Flux Acquisition Rate: 100% -> 100%

Flux Purification Rate: 100% -> 100%

Affinity: Arcane / E̷̡̛̳̟̠̱͔̗̟͈̩͍̻͊͒͋͒̈̀̀͑͌̃̋͌͒͝ḷ̴̢̗͓͙̟̣̝̩̲̖͓̖̎͋̂͆̀͗̒̏̒̀̎͋̕͝ͅͅd̸̖͍͈̺͚͚̠̭̘̀̒͋̓̉͒͂̀̔̀̂̔̚͝r̵̢͓̺͈̞̟̩̮̱̯͎̲̈́̎͋̃́̒ͅï̵̧̨̼̘͍̺̞̙̯͓̲͊͂̌̃͌̃̾͜͝͠ͅt̶̥̼̫̺̆͆̐͌͛̒c̸̛̛͔̜͖̄̐̋́͆̓͐͒͊̈́͐̓͠h̴̡͖̞̼͚̰͈̞̼̘͉̠̝͛̋̔̃̽͆̽͠

Well then… That’s… about what I expected…

Author's Note:

Ooh... That may be my Fault

Comments

[EggBaguette]

huh, seems like hes stacked B)

[Alyarin9000]

Yikes. I take it the flux purification rate of 100% is why he hasn't gone full Sombra. Still, yiiikes!
I haven't noticed any sociopathic traits from him, given his fury at the abuse of the colt and everything... Then again, the witching eye may be getting confused from Twilight's modifications.

[Fancy Fox]

Curses: Ć̸̨̘̘̏̏u̶͓̘̿͝r̵̖͍͆̄̊͜š̴̞̈́̿e̷̮͖̋͠ ̵͈̥̬̀̿͒ó̵̤̫̈͠f̷͈͈͙̂ ̵̛̙̓̄T̶͙̗̆ḩ̵̧̞͌̓̕e̴̽ͅ ̸̝̃̽F̴̧̺̥͠o̵̻͎̳͊͘x̸̙̰͒͌̓

...stop looking at me I didn't do it

Great chapter! Seeing their stats with the witching eye was really interesting and the poppets were really cool too!

[Midknight Defender]

11691743
Always blame the foxes.