The spirit didn’t respond right away, examining Asch and Luke in an almost distracted way. Luke slowly struggled back to his feet despite the way his legs felt like jelly.
Lorelei only had enough strength to temporarily mend your bodies. Bringing a mortal back from death is no easy task, Scion, it’s a miracle in and of itself that you’re here now. Lorelei’s strength still burns within you, it will keep you whole for a time, but your fonons will need to be rebound.
Luke glanced to Asch and then back to the spirit â€œHow can we do that then?” He asks, glancing down at his hand. He remembered how he’d seen through it before, remembered the terror he’d felt at slowly dying from fonon separation. It took all he had not to feel distressed at the knowledge that even now the life he had was all too quickly slipping out of his grasp.
In the way that all forms are made naturally–by absorbing all the necessary fonons to keep your forms stable. The only way to do this without further damaging yourselves would be to summon the rest of my kind in turn.
“How can we do that?” Luke asked, though the answer was probably something he could guess at.
You will need to travel to locations where we are each strongest, and you will do the same as you did to call myself.
Luke gave a slight nod, he had figured at much. â€œCan you help us then?” He asks, unsure, since while the spirit had told them in no uncertain terms they would need it’s help, it had not necessarily promised it. â€œAnd will you help us reach the surface?”
The spirit gave a sort of nod, and drifted towards them, lifting it’s tail and extending it out to them. There was a soft glow, and then two bracers appeared in the air before them, warm to the touch, made of a metal that Luke didn’t recognize. Tracing along it were seven notches, one of which was filled with a small circle the color of amber. He stretched his fingers out and took the bracer, examining it curiously before looking back up at the spirit as it spoke again.
I lend you my aid, Scions, my power is yours, and until you leave my domain I will keep your forms stable, you will be able to find the way to the surface. Should you have need of me, these stones will summon my familiar. My brethren should give you similar aid, though be warned; some may have a price for their aid.
It slowly began to vanish then, it’s form dispersing and the fonons that made it up flowing through them, tightening the bonds of the fonons that made up their bodies.Â
Similarly to his companion, Asch reached out and took the bracer, noting the six holes which were still uninhabited by a gem. With a heavy sigh, he realized just how daunting this task would be.
One out of seven… we still have a long way to go…
When Gnome faded, Asch nearly doubled over at the surge of power that went through him when the third fonons were combined with his own. After a moment of panic, he realized that he felt different. He felt more… solid. Glancing down to a fist, he opened and clenched it over and over again.. no phasing… “It looks like we bought ourselves more time. But we should still move quickly, we’ve got six more of these stupid marbles to find.”
Couldn’t anything in his life be easy?
“Where do we go now? Where are his other friends? Since Auldrant is mostly water, I’d assume Undine would be the easiest one to go for next, but how the hell do we get there..?”Â
