“The passive effects the powers have on Ether Beasts is something to note as well, as it is far different compared to enlightened races. As an example, an Ether Beast wolf, as its powers develop, cause it to grow far larger than ordinary wolves, though it should be noted each element produces different effects. This happens with other creatures as well, such as those with carapace having much, much higher durability compared to other Ether Beast types of the same level of power. As mentioned earlier, these passive evolutions don’t occur within Ethereans. One does not become taller, for example, as they grow more powerful. A shame for any dwarf with a height complex. It probably doesn’t help their jealousy of tall people.”

  -Excerpt from The Archivist

  “Wait… what does that mean? I thought you said we were almost to our destination!” Galen cried out.

  “Yes. To one of our destinations. Apologies, I should have specified,” Aleski smirked.

  “You think?” Aria hissed, “what exactly are we going to be hunting?!”

  “Why, THAT of course,” Aleksi pointed to the distance.

  Far ahead of them was a scorpion. Well, Galen thought it was a scorpion. Only it was WAY TOO BIG to be one. The thing was twice the size of a large truck!

  “That thing should not be so damn huge!” he gasped.

  Aleksi frowned, “Are they not that big in your world?”

  “NO!!!” Galen yelled, “hell no! On Earth those things are usually the size of your palm!”

  “Huh…” Aleksi scratched at his beard, “that’s weird.”

  “Why are YOU saying that?!” he yelled.

  “Cease your shouting, ashborn,” Aria spat before facing Aleksi, “you have yet to answer WHY we are hunting this creature. We should be heading to the Rebellion’s hideout. Not wasting time!”

  “The answer is simple, lass,” Aleksi smiled, “I need to see what you’re capable of.”

  Aria glared at him.

  The man didn’t even flinch as he continued, “It’s not just you, lass. I need to see what Galen can do as well.”

  “Me?” Galen perked up, “why me? You should be aware of what I can do.”

  “Remember, lad, that it’s been a while since I last saw you. I need to see how you’ve grown,” his mentor explained.

  Galen nodded as he reached into his pocket to pull out the bottle of medication for his Ether Intolerance. Aleksi saw and was quick to add, “However, I do not want you to take one of those pills.”

  “What? Why?!” Galen was incredulous.

  He glanced to Aria, then leaned in close to Aleksi and whispered right by his mentor’s ear so that Aria’s sharp hearing wouldn’t pick up what he said, “I can’t use Ether without taking one of those pills, remember?!”

  Aleksi nodded and pulled back, “I remember, lad. However, I must insist. I’ll explain later, I promise. For now, I simply ask that you trust me. You’ll still be able to use Redian to cast Arts even without that, so you’ll still be able to provide support. What I want to test is your progress in mastering the Sentient Weapon. Besides…”

  He leaned in close, and whispered, “With you leaving the Dominion, I doubt we will be able to procure more medication for your Ether Intolerance, lad. It’d be best if you saved what you had for when you really need it.”

  The reminder caused a spike in Galen’s anxiety and unease. He swallowed nervously, “Fair point…”

  He turned to look at Aria, and saw she was staring at him with a raised brow. He frowned, “W-what?”

  She was silent for a long moment, before muttering, “…nothing.”

  She didn’t somehow hear us… did she? Galen wondered.

  “It’s possible, boss,” Redian chimed, “she is an Etherean. Perhaps she used Ether to enhance her hearing.”

  Damn… how did I forget you can do that?! he chastised himself.

  Aleski spoke, drawing his attention, “Alright, come close. Both of you. Let’s form a plan.”

  Galen and Aria both looked to each other. He offered a smile. She didn’t give anything in response. He sighed, as they both began to plan on how to hunt an Ether Beast.

  ***

  Aria didn’t understand why the hume, Daxton, seemed to be having a hard time coping with the scorpion’s size.

  She could tell it unnerved him, for it sent a chill down his spine as he saw that it was visible even with the distance between them.

  Aleksi studied the giant scorpion from a distance, hand rubbing his bearded chin in thought.

  He turned to Aria, “Do you have any long range attacks, lass?”

  Aria didn’t answer. She simply stared at him with a stoic expression, gaze bearing into him.

  Aleksi sighed, “Lass, I’m not going to use what you tell me against you. You can-”

  “Trust you?” Aria raised a brow, “an ashborn?”

  “You trusted me enough to come with me, didn’t you?”

  He had her there.

  She clicked her tongue, “Tch! Fine. No, I don’t have any long range Arts. I do have some I can use at mid-range, however.”

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  Aleksi nodded, then turned to Daxton, “I know you at least have that Hell Blaze Art, lad. Tell me, have you developed anything else with Redian?”

  Aria perked up, curious as to the Champion’s current capabilities.

  Daxton nodded, “Yeah. I also got a mid-range, and point blank range Fire Art I can use. Oh, and a defensive one too now.”

  His mentor nodded, “Excellent. Now, a question for you both. How do you think we should go about fighting the Ether Beast?”

  “You know for sure that scorpion is one?” Daxton asked.

  Aleksi nodded. That seemed good enough for the hume, but Aria was skeptical.

  Surely his senses aren’t so good that he can sense if the creature is an Ether Beast… she thought.

  Daxton looked in the direction of the giant arachnid, pondering an angle of attack, “Well… if that thing isn’t aware of us yet, I can nail it with Hell Blaze from a distance. That will surely weaken it, right?”

  The older ashborn nodded, “And after that?”

  “Well… that Art takes a lot of Ether to use. But I should be able to recharge relatively quickly,” he explained.

  “Really?” Aleksi frowned, “the first time you used that, you completely depleted your stores. So how-”

  Aleksi’s eyes flickered to the Champion’s sword. Understanding lit up in his eyes, “Ah, I see. Redian.”

  Daxton nodded.

  Aria frowned. “Redian” was a name she’d heard multiple times from both ashborn in the last few days. Yet she didn’t have a clue as to whom they spoke of. Even now, they referred to whoever or whatever it was as though they were present. Yet she saw no one else. Was it some other pagan god the humes worshiped? She wasn’t aware they worshiped anyone other than Athanasius.

  No longer willing to remain ignorant on the matter, she asked aloud, “Who is this Redian you two speak of?”

  Both hesitated. The older hume shot the Champion a glance, as if to say, “It’s up to you if you want to tell her.”

  Surprisingly, the Champion was rather forthcoming, as he immediately answered, “Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know about Sentient Weapons. Redian is my sword.”

  He smiled and brought up his sheathed weapon.

  “Redian… is a sword?” she echoed, raising a brow as she looked at the weapon, “and that’s its name?”

  Daxton nodded, looking a bit bashful, “His actual name is Obsidian Requiem. I just call him Redian as a nickname of sorts.”

  “I see…” she frowned, “but why do you speak of it as though it is a person?”

  “Because he is,” the Champion answered with a straight face, “he’s alive. Well, aware at least. He’s… well, he’s sentient.”

  Aria only felt more confused, “What does that mean?”

  “It means he thinks and talks like you or I do. Well, he talks with me at least. In my head, I mean. Due to our bond. And… and I sound like a lunatic don’t I?”

  “Oh no, you sound perfectly sane.”

  He sighed with relief, “Oh really? That’s good, I was worried that-”

  He frowned as he stared at her before his eyes began to slowly widen incredulously, “Was that sarcasm? From you?!”

  She gave him a flat look.

  He cleared his throat, “Well, anyway, I know it sounds like I’m crazy, but I’m not!”

  “That’s what every insane person says,” she responded.

  The Champion turned to the older hume, “Aleksi, back me up here please!”

  The man gave a hearty chuckle, “Oh, I think you’re managing just fine without me, lad.”

  “Aleski…” he growled.

  “Very well,” the older hume snickered some more before explaining, “he speaks the truth, lass. I only found out myself a few months ago, but the Dominion possesses weapons that possess a form of sentience. They’re called Sentient Weapons, and have the ability to communicate with their Wielder. They can give their Wielder advice, give and take Ether, and can even cast Arts for their master.”

  Just like the weapons the Shadows used when… when they fought Mom… she thought.

  She clenched her teeth, trying to push down the fresh wave of grief.

  A realization came to her, and she seized it to distract herself.

  She locked eyes with the Champion, “Is this why you occasionally mutter to yourself and make strange faces?”

  It was a strange tick of his that she’d been wondering about.

  He blushed. As a matter of fact, he flushed so deep a red it reached his ears.

  “So you uh… noticed that, huh?” he squeaked, unable to look her in the eye.

  “I thought you mad,” she admitted, smiling at his reaction, though she didn’t know why.

  He flushed even more at that.

  It was true. She’d thought he was insane to some degree. Though, given what they’d said about these “Sentient Weapons”, which was backed up by what she’d seen from the Shadows of Athanasius, she supposed the Champion’s odd behavior and mannerisms could now be explained.

  That was good, because she hadn’t quite liked the idea of traveling with a madman.

  Aleksi chimed in, “Well, as amusing as that was, let’s return to planning this hunt.”

  “Right!” Daxton coughed into his hand as he reiterated, “I can pelt the giant scorpion with an Art while it hasn’t noticed us yet. Though it’ll take me some time to charge it up.”

  “I can come in after that with another Art,” Aria offered, studying the far off beast with her sharp eyesight, “I’ll try to finish it off, but failing that…”

  “Should I come in and back you up?” Daxton asked.

  Aria raised a brow, “Will you be able to without Ether?”

  He pressed his lips into a thin line, “So, you DID hear what I said to Aleksi earlier…”

  She did.

  Naturally, she’d enhanced her hearing when the hume had begun whispering with the older one. She wasn’t going to risk being betrayed in some way. By the winds, was she surprised at what she’d heard.

  To think the Champion had Ether Intolerance of all things… she thought.

  She heard of the condition from her mother. It had been exceedingly rare even during Anila’s youth, and even more so in present times. To think that the Champion, the one summoned to lead the Dominion’s armies, would suffer from such a thing.

  The thought was so ridiculous it almost made her want to laugh.

  However, she held no illusions that the hume’s condition would be a chronic one. Apparently, if she’d heard him and the older ashborn right, the Dominion had ways to treat it. And Aria knew from stories that the previous Champion had been a force of nature. There was no way he could be as fearsome as he was had he been afflicted with Ether Intolerance.

  Assuming he also had Ether Intolerance like his successor does, then that means he eventually overcame the affliction. Perhaps the condition was caused by an adjustment period? It would make sense given that both Champions had been summoned from a different world, she surmised.

  Aleksi spoke up, “Provided you’re careful, I think you’ll be fine engaging the scorpion, lad. From what I’m sensing, the creature had only barely awakened as an Ether Beast. That means it likely won’t know how to use the power to enhance itself physically. At least, not consistently.”

  “Oh, joy,” Daxton muttered sarcastically.

  Aleksi smiled, “Don’t worry, either of you. I’m not going to leave you to your own devices. I’m just trying to get a feel for what you’re both capable of right now. Not trying to get you killed. If things get hairy, then I’ll step in and end it.”

  The Champion nodded, though Aria wasn’t about to count on the older hume’s words being true.

  “Alright then,” Daxton rubbed his hands together, “let’s get this hunt going.”

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