Fifty-Four

Fifty-Four

Shaeula muttered to herself as she controlled the large flow of elemental wind, twisting it into a drill shape, forcing the edges to be as dense and sharp as possible. Her tiny frame was trembling with the effort, yet her face was resolute, her eyes burning with willpower.

“A mere... fraction more and... I shall master it-it!” she said between breaths, a jade glow surrounding her. The wind drill shrunk further, compressing, and droplets of sweat were blown off her to disperse in the snow-flecked air of the etheric tide.

“Yes, that’s it, you are doing great!” I encouraged her, ignoring the weariness I felt myself, using the remaining fragments of wind and aether I held to shape our second set of wyrmscale armour, this time a sleeveless shirt for me. I had become faster and more precise with the drilling and carving, but even so it was tiring, meticulous work. Still, it would definitely be worth it in battle. Plus it looks kind of cool. I admired the scale dress Shaeula wore, as it fluttered gently in the great breeze she was raising.

“I feel I am nearing a... breakthrough.” She said through gritted teeth. “It is distant, yet I can barely make it out, so... tantalisingly close to me-me.”

I feel the same way. “Yeah, I know what you mean. My body and chakra nodes feel like they are on the cusp of some sort of change. I can feel wind rising within me.”

Our normal training regimen continued, leaving the challenge of expanding our Territory, defeating enemies and gathering any Etherite Ores found to Grulgor and his trolls. Having more personnel sure is helpful. I would like to gather even more if I can...

After some time I finished the wyrmscale shirt made for me, and after putting it on I practised a few poses with my spear, earning an amused snort from Shaeula. Looking good, if I do say so myself.

I had finished just in time, as it was my turn to practise with our gathered elemental wind energies. Taking it from Shaeula, concentrating on minimising the loss, I began to shape it into thin, almost invisible wires of wind blades, similar to the attack that had worked on Grulgor previously. As I worked up a sweat in the fading etheric tides Shaeula was sitting down watching me, her eyes glowing amber.

“I have not been able to master that technique you are using.” Shaeula pouted, watching intently. “I can form a blade that is sharp and deadly, but stretching it into such thin shapes and still making it sharp is beyond me yet-yet.”

“I think a lot of it is the visualisation. I’ve seen demonstrations of cheese cutters and other fine cutting tools, so it’s easier for me to force the wind into the shapes and thicknesses I want. When we return search the internet for monofilament cutters, seeing some videos might help you.”

As we bantered back and forth time passed. Our stocks of ether were rising nicely, and it would soon be time to queue in an upgrade to an Ether Spire. The cost may be massive, but it was necessary to increase our rate of gain. Our training was interrupted though, Grulgor and a couple of his trolls rushing back to us with worried looks on their faces.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, reaching for my spear.

“Grul says he is not sure.” Grulgor said slowly. “But a visitor has come, one Grul says we cannot ignore.”

“A visitor?” I asked, and Grul nodded. “The big snake from the holy ground on the hill has come down with servants. Grul says they wait at the border and want to speak to ruler here.”

“I see.” Turning to Shaeula I asked her advice. “What do you think? It seems like it could be a big deal.”

“Yes, you are quite correct.” Shaeula agreed. “There were three of us from the lands of the Fae here, Grulgor and I from the Seelie Court, and that wanderer the Raven Knight, but the fourth corner of power in this area was the shrine, but they did not get involved in our battles, so we left well enough alone-alone.”

“So if we can get them onside, or at least keep a neutral stance, we would only have to worry about the Raven Knight. I’d love to secure our Territory from local threats so we can expand with less worry.”

“True.” Shaeula nodded once more. “However do not forget that this snake will not be of the Fae, they will think differently to us-us. The Three Oaths and Boons will not be an enticement for them. I have little understanding of how the so-called ‘gods’ of this land thinks-thinks.”

“So caution is the watchword. Got it. Still we can’t just ignore this. Japan may be lousy with gods, the eight million, but most of them would be closer to the Fae in terms of being spirits of nature or folklore. Barring the major gods I feel we would be decently matched. Still, a snake... I hope it is no relation to the wyrm we killed...”

Turning back to Grulgor I spoke again. “Very well then Grulgor. Lead us to this snake-god. Bring all your trolls as well. I hope we can resolve things peacefully, but if it comes to violence...”

“Grul says he understands, if the snake causes trouble, Grul says he will break it and eat it.” Grul gurgled darkly.

It didn’t take us long to reach the boundary of our Territory at the base of the hill. Waiting there for us serenely was quite the sight. A large white snake, much smaller in scale than the earlier wyrm, but still massive, standing as high as me despite being coiled up, was waiting, wrapped in ceremonial priestly vestments, a crown made of snake fangs resting on its brow. It was accompanied by a half-dozen smaller snakes, wearing less flashy vestments, carrying an assortment of rods and sceptres on velvet cushions. Well this is a sight you don’t see every day. How the hell do they move in those robes, it isn’t like they have arms or legs?

“Hmph. Be sure you recognise me as your senior, snake. You would do well to listen to me, for I have served Akio longest-longest.” Shaeula said grumpily.

“Have no fear, I undersssstand your clossssenessssss to him. Now, if you would...” The White Snake hissed.

“Be my guest.” I allowed it access to the Silo, and it began to consume ether, absorbing it. The snake glowed with a bright halo of rainbow light, and the air was filled with a sibilant hissing, scratching at the edges of understanding. This light grew brighter for a moment and then faded, leaving the snake with a drooping head, looking exhausted.

Holy crap, that brief oracle cost nearly twenty-thousand ether. We are definitely going to need to increase our supply to support the snakes’ goals. Still the benefits long term could be great.

“It issss done.” The White Snake spoke. “My adherentssss will lissssten to you now. Sssshould I hear anything from my fellow kami regarding other ... asssstral emperorssss assss you called them, I sssshall advisssse you.”

“That sounds great. If we are forewarned we are forearmed.” I quoted piously. “I’m going to take a quick look over the new Territory if you don’t mind.”

The snake nodded and followed, his attendants also moving with us. The shrine looked pretty different in the Boundary. The same basic form was unchanged, torii gates and buildings, but they were more magnificent, more... real, somehow, the reds bright and vivid, inlaid with golds, the buildings not the ramshackle state they were in on the Material, but well cared for and maintained. Still, if the Astral is the divine realm too, it makes sense...

The area of Territory we had gained overall was not inconsiderable, probably amounting to a sixth of what we had already controlled. Luckily the shrine was just within a kilometre of my apartment, so it was able to be brought under our control, though likely the Territory expanded out further than we could claim. There were snakes everywhere, most normal yet oversized, though a few other stranger forms were also lurking.

As we crested the hill to the main side building an excitable bark stopped us short. It was the kobold miner in charge of the kobolds. He was being followed by the rest of his kin, armed with spades, pickaxes and crude wheelbarrows. They quickly gathered around me, barking joyfully.

“A mine, a mine!” the leader wagged his tail ferociously. “A great mine is here. Just say the word and we can work on it, speak and we can begin mining!”

“Will it damage the area?” I asked, looking at the White Snake. “This is a holy place, after all, we can’t defile it.”

“We mine well, we dig clean.” The kobold insisted. “A small door in the hill, that will be all, that is it.”

“In that casssse I allow it. But pleasssse show resssspect to my sssshrine.”

“We will, we will.” The kobolds agreed. “We will offer tribute to the shrine too, offer wealth.”

Oh yeah, the shrine has an offertory box here too. Looking at the shrine by the bells there was a large box, ornately decorated, much more so than the one I remembered from Shirohebizumi from the Material world.

Now that was settled the kobolds began to dig, pickaxes and shovels working fast. As they did so ether was consumed, and my secondary build queue was filled with a Kobold Mine Rank 4 Special.

Rank 4? That sounds pretty amazing. My other buildings are at best rank 2....

“Have you noticed?” Shaeula spoke from beside me. I hadn’t noticed she had been quiet since we entered the area, so it came as a bit of a surprise. “The elemental earth is strong here. It is an uncomfortable feeling for a wind Fae such as myself... but if the energy can be harvested... trolls are Fae of earth, so it could strengthen Grulgor and his troops-troops.”

“Can we not use it ourselves? Earth and air together could come up with some great attacks.”

“Earth and wind are opposing elemental energies.” Shaeula shook her head. “To master both in one body would be fiendishly difficult-difficult.”

“But not impossible?” I pressed.

“Hmph.” Shaeula pondered. “I would say it was not possible, yet you have surpassed my expectations with your knowledge of the wind. It may be possible for you, but the path to success would be hard indeed-indeed.”

If it isn’t impossible then with enough hard work it’ll just be a matter of time... so I could really use some more Ether Spires so we can pull this earth elemental energy too. Maybe it would be better to upgrade my Territory Anchor to Rank 3 instead of the Ether Spire upgrade... though a hundred astral days of the Territory being defenceless... hmm, decisions, decisions...