Chapter 74 – Illuminare

Chapter 74 – Illuminare

They were not going where he expected. When Rave said she wanted to get stronger he had thought that there was a secret martial arts society or a cave filled with ancient spirits at the edge of town or...well some high-end fantasy thing. What he least expected and what he finally got was the most mundane of all answers: they were going to her house.

Rave turned the key and they stepped in. After a few steps, birthday crackers went off all around them. The air was filled with confetti and in the distance John heard a party horn. He could barely see anything. Only after the glitter started to gradually sink to the ground, could he make out the form of Regan Hollmey.

Dad Extraordinaire, Abyss Auction employee, Pun Master, 40k Tactics Genius, Rave’s father had many titles (many of them self-bestowed) he could decorate himself with. The ability to pull off a clown costume was not amongst them. This was partly because with his somewhat lean figure he just lacked the body type to do it correctly but mostly because of his inability to choose one clothing style and stick with it.

Regan may have worn the complete make-up of a clown and a fitting red and yellow shirt with bright blue buttons. He may have had proper, oversized gloves and a green vest over all of that. He may have made himself a living monument of the headache one might get when looking at contrasting colours...

...but the adidas pants, socks and sandals did not put the clown look together.

He adjusted his red plastic nose and said, “Tadaaa! Just for your birthday I came back early!”

“Does he do that every year?” John asked, thoroughly baffled.

“Ja, since the divorce.” Rave’s voice was loud enough that her dad could hear it. If there was any doubt she hated it, it was cleared out with that one sentence.

“Come on, Jane.” Regan came closer and attempted to hug his daughter, “This is a day of fun and festivities so turn that frown upside OOOOMPH!” That last sound was Regan getting punched in the stomach by his own flesh and blood. He flew back about two metres by the unexpected violence before coming to a halt and rubbing the impact spot. “On one hand I am very happy that my little girl can punch that hard, on the other I want to know what is going on?”Expplôre uptodate stories at no/vel//bin(.)com

“I just had a very bad day.” Rave pointed at her dad with a disapproving look, “And we both know that I don’t like celebrating this day.”

“Well, yes, because we never really got around to it, your mother and I. I thought that I should make amends this year, you know? Little girls should have the-”

“I am twenty now.” She interrupted his defence. “No more little girl stuff!”

Regan seemed to shrink physically at that idea. “I just thought that with all the stuff that has happened lately and...” he mumbled.

Rave sighed and walked up to her tough old man. Slowly she dropped down next to him and put her arms around his chest. “I appreciate the gesture dad... but it’s really okay... you don’t need an excuse to come home early and ask for a hug.”

John felt a little helpless just standing there and watching a forty year old man blink back tears. For the moment his existence was ignored and that was for the best. He didn’t want to weigh in on it. Regan’s Adam’s apple bounced, as he swallowed and returned the embrace. Even in his ridiculous outfit, or maybe because of it, he looked like a proper father in that moment.

Eventually they separated and got up. “I still insist on getting you a gift,” he told her. Puffing out his chest, he tried to take on the appearance of the embodiment of fatherly love. In a deep, magnanimous voice he asked, “What do you want, young lady?”

“Illuminare.”

The single word caused an immediate shift in the mood. From sombre, to gracious and now to serious, nothing was working out like Regan had planned, John reckoned. The Abyss Auction employee reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out a handkerchief. After tossing the clown nose aside, he began to wipe away the make-up. Magic made the process swift. “So, you knew, huh?”

“Found it by accident,” Rave revealed.

John carefully interjected in the conversation, “Ehm, might I ask what this is about?” Illuminare sounded Latin and was probably the root word for illumination. It obviously had something to do with her light powers. Beyond that, he was lost.

“You have an earth elemental, right, John?” Regan asked. They hadn’t kept it a secret from him, so it was more of a rhetorical question. “Then you should be aware of the basics of elemental contracting?”

“The very basics,” John responded and searched his mind for anything that mapped onto this situation. “Sorry, but the book only outlined how to contract an earth elemental for people that have a weak Innate Ability or who develop a strong enough affinity to the element over their life.”

“Let’s go from there then: how do you think people with a strong Innate Ability handle contracting?” Regan asked.

“I’d assume it’s just easier?” John asked.

“Nah, people with strong Innate Abilities have elementals come to them. Illuminare is the product of a ritual that extracts some of the magical essence from a young person so they don’t attract elementals all the time.”

“I said only elementals of my strength or higher should stay, cat!” The bald one said. The cat didn’t answer, instead licking its left paw. “I said...!”

“You are out!” Rave said and pointed at the bald elemental.

“What...? But dearest Lightbearer, I am of great use in combat, I can protect you and aid you in your battles with my muscles of PURE LIGHT!” Puffing his chest out, he let the light of his pectorals shine everywhere.

“I don’t care, you’re rude to cats!” Rave decided and repeated, “You are out!”

“But...”

“OUT!” The muscly elemental let its giant shoulders hang and dematerialized with a sad sigh.

That left the moonlight woman and the cat. John knew exactly what he would choose. The moonlight woman may not have the most impressive figure but there was grace in the slenderness. Plus, she smiled in a way that made his skin prickle whenever she looked at him. This wasn’t his decision though.

“So, what would you do?” Rave asked the moonlight woman.

“I would aid you from a distance, blind your enemies and protect you with shields of the moon’s light,” she answered and bowed. “It would be an honour to help you, Lightbearer.”

Rave looked at the cat last. “And you?”

The cat scratched itself behind its ear and yawned silently before answering. “I will give you the power to fend for yourself,” The cat spoke like it had already won the contest in a voice that was at the same time charismatic and slightly annoying. Its silver eyes blinked slowly, “You look capable so I will just give you a boost while I run around the world.”

That actually sounded a lot like what he expected of a cat. “Okay, you win.” Rave said to the cat. It looked very unimpressed.

“Just like that?” John asked, baffled, “Aren’t you going to min-max the gains and see what you need or how exactly he is going to ‘give you power’?”

“Nope.” Rave kneeled down and hushed away the moonlight woman who vanished with a scorned expression.

“Indeed, a wise choice, my name is Copernicus and... IN THE NAME OF THE CELESTIAL DEVOURER WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Rave picked the sun cat up and rubbed the sunny fur against her face. “Man, you’re soft. This is great.”

“You are right, wow, it is like I am touching a mixture of a heated cushion and....I don’t know something REALLY soft,” John marvelled.

“Unhand me at once, Lightbearer!” The cat continued its struggle, “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all....”

“Well, you’re in it now, I already got your name. I am Jane Hollmey by the way so this contract is sealed.”

There was something in the air that shifted after she spoke those words. He couldn’t describe it but something about the world as a whole and Rave as a person felt slightly different than before. There was also a visible change in Copernicus. His cat form suddenly vaporized and became a streak of light that wrapped itself around Rave’s wrist as a copper accessory that depicted the solar system.

“Hey, change back.... What do ya mean you don’t feel like cuddles right now?! As your owner, I demand that.... Summoner, owner, potato, potato, now get out here so I can cuddle you!” Rave argued with her new wristband. Copernicus likely answered through their mental connection.

‘Huh, Gnome doesn’t change into an item,’ he thought. A look into his menu revealed Copernicus’ name underneath Rave’s in the same way Aclysia’s was under his. Well, if the group menu had changed, what about Rave’s Stats?



“Bullshit.” He said.

“What?” asked Rave.