7 7 Etheria

Donis rushed over to the ailing bird, paying attention to the new ability. Looking at it now he saw that it's wings were crushed, the deep talon wounds flooding out with a white blood-like substance. He needed, no, he wanted to save this bird. The familiar euphoria washing over Donis came with a trickle of information. Quickly he brought up the skills description.

[Soul Bond Summoning 1/15][0% EXP]

[Can form a contract with a being infused with mana. Cannot be used on all sentient beings with great individuality. If used on a low health being, after the contract forms, they will be fully healed.]

'Yes, I can save it!' Donis hurriedly thought. He used the ability as if it had always been a part of him, his will shooting into the bird briefly connecting their minds telepathically. He could hear the cries of the bird permeate through his soul. The deep sadness, loneliness and the utter pain this bird was suffering was now reverberating through Donis.

The bird turned it's unfortunately placed neck towards Donis, 'Help.' This was the only thought that was transferred into to Donis. As if a fire lit upon the soul of Donis, he and the bird both began taking on a brilliant magenta hue.

-The Contract Between Both Parties has Been Formed. Reward for First [Soul Companion]: [20SP] + [Soul Bond Summoning: +80% EXP]

Companion Fully Healed. Do you Wish to Summon the Companion?

Y/N-

'Yes!' thought Donis, relief filling his chest. A white point in space appeared in front of Donis, quickly materializing into the shape of the bird perched up on the table in front of him.

The beauty of the bird struck Donis first, now that it didn't have any of those wounds. A platinum white sheen cast over this small bird, about the size of a Robin on earth. It had splotches of gold dotting it's frail form, accentuating the mystical presence the bird gave off. It's cute beady azure eyes looking at the spot it had just been in, and back to Donis quizzically.

'Help?' the bird intruded Donis's mind, almost politely. Taken aback that the bird can even form a coherent thought, he just nodded blankly at the bird. Getting the intention of Donis, the bird chirped happily flying over to Donis's shoulder, making itself comfortable.

'Little buddy, do you understand me?' Donis peered into the birds mind. 'Yes,' the answer came after a short pause. Breaking the mental link between the two, Donis thought the bird may be definitely smart, but it didn't look like it could really form a proper thought. With the bird not seeming to want to leave, Donis decided to peruse the birds stat page that became available to access in the new status menu, [Soul Bonds].

[Name: Unnamed]

[Species: Ethereal Azure Chick]

[Danger Rating: Common]

[Age: 2 Seasons]

[Level: 1]

[Mana State: Wisp]

[Health: 3]

[Mana: 12]

[Strength: 0.5]

[Perception: 15]

[Agility: 11]

[Intelligence: 3]

Skills: [Soul Contract] – [Ethereal Winds] – [Azure Eyes]

[Soul Contract]: The [User] is bound eternally to the recipient through a contract using the soul.

[Ethereal Winds]: Unleash a small gale in the facing direction.

[Azure Eyes]: Look in to the targets eyes to calm it down.

'Woah little buddy! You're actually amazing aren't you?' thought Donis, linking with the bird. The chick chirped happily out loud while also shooting a resounding 'Yes!' back at Donis. The two studied each other, both seemingly very happy with the outcome of all of this.

'Hmm, you don't actually have a name, and I'm not the greatest at original names..' thought Donis at the bird. Cocking its head the bird stared back silently, as if unsure how to answer. 'How about once I think of something that fits you, I'll share it with you!' exclaimed Donis.

Donis's face slowly lost it's cheer, as he realised he'd have to figure out how to bring the bird back to the house. Worse yet, how to convince his mother that the bird isn't wild! Scrunching up his face, Donis was lost in thought. He was considering using his limited language to win over the mother with both of their combined cuteness, and decided it was probably the only way it's going to work. His mother was weak to adorableness, he knew it well.

Sensing that Donis was having trouble deciding what to do next, the bird returned to the state of being a white point in space, then fully disappearing. Bewildered Donis quickly took a look around suddenly finding himself alone. The birds chirpy thoughts permeated through Donis's mind. Whirling his body around, searching for the source, Donis came to the realization that the bird was tied to the skill and must be able to be summoned whenever!

He opened up the new status window [Soul Bonds] and saw that the unnamed bird had a summoning function built into the interface. A cheer filled his heart, he no longer had to worry! With this, Donis snuck back into the house, making sure not to tip off the mother. Donis now positioned beside the mother, who was hard at work making dinner for the household, was able to relax. She thankfully hadn't noticed his absence.

After dinner when the whole family had retired to their rooms, and Donis placed in bed, he had time to reflect over what had happened today. There were so many new things, and even more things to come now that he has [70SP] to spend. His days of boredom have been alleviated and he gained a friend to keep him company and respite from his sisters.

The evening fading into a gentle off-white shade as the moon lit up the surrounding forest dimly. Donis's eyes starting to drift, after all, he was still but a babe, and all of that exertion really wore him out. He decided that tomorrow was going to be the night to truly explore everything that had happened.

***

Earlier that day, Korrin had been out by himself to get some more materials for his smithy. His job as [Rune Forger] wasn't as simple as the locals thought it be. He had to procure his own materials, make his own contracts, find clients, and be able to insure his customers for the safety of their items. This was all in the hopes of gaining any sort of recognition, to truly bring his business to the next level. He ruefully had to put in the work now by himself.

[Rune Forger] is the occupation that engraves enchantments into objects, and is also the one to fix any damaged items of such nature. It was a well paid job, with plenty of customers, but the only problem was, if the forger wasn't well known they were liable to be scammed by the nobility. The nobles weren't bad by nature, it was just how it worked in his life.

Korrin knew that nobility couldn't be trifled with, as they held immense power. In Erazar, nobility were beings that rose to great power via magical, or physical means. This status also reached out to the family of the new noble, as it showed that their bloodline could produce powerful people. Korrin, belonging to neither side of the nobility, knew that if a noble wasn't "satisfied", there was no way for him to fight back.

If Korrin somehow gained national recognition for his work, he then could fight back using the law. The law was based on the current leaders wishes, but they almost never changed. It was a well established law that favoured the strong, and sullied the weak. If a strong person favoured any sort of merchant, then insulting that merchant was like insulting the powerful figure behind them.

Leaving those idle dreams of forging glory, Korrin spoke to the man dressed in a dark grey overcoat, slouching slightly behind the kiosk named 'Deans Den'. It was the back end of a wagon broken down to form a makeshift shed, holding plenty of hides, minerals and potions. "I'd like twelve Basic Mana Ingots, one Shining Adentium Ingot and 5 Iron Ingots."

"That'll be sixty six Erizi, sir," politely acknowledged the merchant. "Sixty six?! It was only fourty just two weeks ago! How is this fair?" Korrin shot back. "Sir there's nothing I can do! The local militia is buying up all of our stock for the local Thinning! It's driving up all our prices to try and even keep some of this stuff in stock," the merchant fought back.

Korrin remembering that the Thinning was just around the corner, couldn't do much but pay the man while wearing his usual sour face. He both loved and hated 'The Thinning'; it was where the local militia would gather a small force and help clear out the beasts that would pose a danger to the villages and towns. It would cause an influx of items into the market, driving down the prices slightly. The trade-off being that the locals would be almost scammed out of their hard earned money for weeks prior to the event.

"Sir, did ya know that this year they're holding it as a festival for the whole town? Theys be saying that they're even bringing a live MONSTER to show the town!" the merchant piped up, excitement welling in his words. "A monster? Hmm.. that might actually be interesting. Where are they holding this do you know?" Korrin continued.

Finding out that it's only a couple of nights away, and surprisingly close, Korrins mood lightened. He was starting to get slightly overworked and was hoping for some sort of release soon. Quickly after coming home, he relayed his plans to Morissa about a family field trip. The whole family was elated, even Donis, who had heard everything and suddenly began drooling at the thought of seeing a real fight.

Donis spent the next few days roaming around the house, showing everything to the bird. After walking around the house multiple times, sneaking into father's study and annoying his mother, he realised he was loving the new company he has gained.

To him the bird quickly became the cornerstone of his thoughts, and with that had to decide on a beautiful name, to reflect the birds looks!

'Etheria,' Donis thought gently, full of warmth. The bird chirped happily in Donis's mind after hearing it's own name.

'Etheria, I hope you like the name, I made it feminine but I'm not entirely sure what gender you are,' Donis thought almost nervously. 'I like,' a thought shot back. A feeling of solidity formed within the link between the two, lifting Donis's face into a full smile.

Donis parents once again readied the whole family for the trip, even packing some snacks for the show they're going to watch. Not entirely sure what to bring, they took a blanket along with them in the hopes of sitting down to watch this whole thing. During the entirety of it, Morissa was worried for Donis's well-being as the last time they went out, he drank mud. Trying to let go of the thought, she let out a deep sigh stealing a glance over to an oblivious son.

The town of Vorinar was full of life, the streets overflowing with people and swelling with the incredible magnitude of hype for this show that the soldiers are putting on. There were desserts, drinks and even hot meats being sold beside a large field outside of the town. A large fence had been erected containing a large mass of land which trailed off into the forest.

The family got situated upon a small hill overlooking the whole ordeal, passing their time leisurely munching on some of the local sweets. The girls having a merry time running around and trying to not trip over the other spectators. Morissa trying to keep the rowdy kids from annoying others, shushed them and forcefully sat them down with the threat of no more sweets. They immediately obeyed.

The first group of soldiers made their way on to the field holding behind them a flag with a symbol. It was an intricate blue circle with golden calligraphy throughout it all within a black canvass. Donis thought this was probably either the flag of the militia group, or a flag of the nation.

While Donis was piecing the information together, a second group quickly followed by a third group entered the fencing. It was quickly becoming crowded within the fencing, when an almost deafening low rumble could be heard coming from the forest. A beast that looked like a stag the size of a bull elephant was hauled out by thirty men bellowing powerfully. Yellow stains covered the fierce looking gashes littered all over it's ashen coloured body.

Donis's eyes gleamed, he had seen it with [Ocular Inspection], the epitome of beasts. A true monster.