Tanisha woke up with a splitting headache. It took far too long for her to focus on where she was or what was going on. She wasn't sure if she was dead or not. The last thing she remembered was reality splitting open in front of her then… nothing. It was like there was a blank spot in her brain where experiences happened but she couldn't conceptualize it.
She took in a rasping breath, dust entered her mouth which made her cough and sit up. She was at least halfway sure that the dead didn't have headaches or need to breathe. Which gave her confidence that she was, in fact, alive. She was blind and holding onto something warm but it took another few seconds before her vision fully came back. She was holding onto Bjorn's tail.
"We are alive!" Tanisha said as she jumped to her feet. "Bjorn you are alive!"
One of Bjorn's heads leaned closer to her and she took it with a wide smile and nuzzled him. Anasuya scuttled over and hopped onto Tanisha's side. She pet the eager hatchling and picked her up into a hug too. That was when Tanisha noticed she wasn't wearing anything.
"Huh," Tanisha said as she looked herself over. "Well. That's not what I expected to wake up to."
Aurelius cleared his throat and she looked around Bjorn at the Elf. He was sitting with his back to them.
He was broad, muscular and had faint scars that ran along his back and arms. Some old and faded others newer from their time in the extraction site.
"Tanisha, glad you are awake, are you okay?" Aurelius said but he didn't turn around.
Tanisha jumped over Bjorn with Anasuya still clasped onto her side. She landed next to the Elf before wrapping her arms around him in a hug.
"Woah! Wha!" Aurelius squeaked several octaves higher. "What are you doing?"
"Everyone is okay," Tanisha said with tears in her eyes. "Wait, where is Fuyumi?"
"She didn't cross into the Rift with us." Bjorn said as he stood up. "She is alive, I have a connection to her now that she is a follower."
"A follower?" Tanisha asked.
"Uh, Tani, can we have this conversation while not naked." Aurelius's face was reddening in embarrassment by the second. "And not when you are this close."
"Why aren't you looking at me when you talk?" Tanisha questioned.
"You are naked, Bjorn said you wouldn't be decent." Aurelius said.
Tanisha let go of him but was puzzled by his response.
"Decent?" Tanisha asked. "Uh, am I missing the context of that word? I think I am a decent person."
"It is nakedness, men and women shouldn't be this close without clothing on." Aurelius said. "It is considered rude to look at someone's naked body."
"Oh sorry." Tanisha said furrowing her brow. "Glad you are safe. In my culture, nakedness isn't that big of a deal. Besides, we are different species. I mean look at Bjorn, he is always naked except for that swanky collar but, I will be mindful."
"Bjorn is an animal," Aurelius said automatically. Then he paused, his thoughts visibly turning. "Actually, he is a True, so he is not an animal. Huh. Wait. Did you say… swanky?"
"Yeah," Tanisha said simply.
Aurelius laughed. "We need to update your Muaian now that we are out of Helmforað."
"What is wrong with swanky?" Tanisha asked. "I like the way the word sounds."
"It is fine," Aurelius said, still chuckling. "Just old-fashioned."
"Stop laughing at me," Tanisha said, pouting.
"And Bjorn we need to get you some pants buddy." Aurelius said.
"Finding you pants seems more important," Bjorn said.
Tanisha looked around to finally take in the environment. Looking out to the distant smoke stack that indicated a settlement of some kind. They weren't near the Force Isles, the ocean or the serene mountain landscape. Wherever they were, the land was burned black. The ground is covered in more ash than foliage. They only had a few hours before sunset. Or was it a few hours after sunrise? Tanisha honestly did not have a frame of reference yet.
"Uh. Anyway, think we got teleported?" Tanisha said to push the conversation along. "Can't be too far from where we started, right?"
"Not quite sure where we are." Aurelius said. "But there are two settlements we can see from here. I say we choose one and hope they are friendly. And that they have spare clothing." His sharpness returned as the last of his embarrassment drained. "Then we can get back to the Force Isles."
"The Avatar was after me, I doubt it would have continued on to attack the Force Isles." Bjorn said.
"So no supplies, no money, none of our gear or equipment, what are we going to do?" Tanisha questioned.
"Three things came with us," Bjorn said. "The Angel Cores, and Aurelius's blade. Other items might also be spread out in the desolation."
"Shit." Aurelius said. "My shield didn't come with us."
"You really loved that shield. Even when Laxy offered to make you a new one you refused." Tanisha said.
"It belonged to someone I lost a long time ago." Aurelius said, somberly. "What about your armor?"
"It was nice but just armor. If we find it, that's great but if not… wait, no no no. She started looking around the area. Bjorn move your foot, maybe you are standing on it or something."
"What is wrong?" Bjorn asked.
"The-the blood butter. My butter." Tanisha said with a frown. "I can't make that without the lab."
"You are more worried about your sauce than everything else we lost?" Aurelius questioned.
"Stuff is stuff. We will get it back or get better stuff." Tanisha said with a huff. "But I can't make that sauce and no one else can either. It was the working of chemistry and specialized tools一tools I don't have yet! Not until I find a craftsman that can make them. I had enough to last for special occasions but now. Trues with me!"
"I see… well we both lost something irreplaceable then." Aurelius said.
"No, your loss is more important. If we see it we will help you get it back. Even if it means jumping through another Rift." Tanisha said.
"Hopefully we won't have to go that far." Aurelius said.
They were silent for a long moment.
"Oh, and Speedy." Tanisha said her words were soft. "Thank you for what you did. I was sure Bjorn and I were going to die back when the Avatar showed up. You could have run and I wouldn't have held anything against you. But you stayed, and now you got wrapped up in our nonsense again. You deserved to be back with your family right now and instead you are here with us."
"I would have done it no matter what." Aurelius said as he cleared his throat. "Now can you stand on the other side of Bjorn so we can get started walking?"
"Ugh, fine, I don't know why you are so shy about this." Tanisha said as she walked over to the hydra. "Bjorn's naked, Ana's naked, you're naked. You are very muscular for an elf. You should have more self-esteem about your body."
"It is not my body that I am worried about." Aurelius said.
Tanisha decided to look herself over again; she had to look past Anasuya who was still clasped onto her side. Her brown skin was smudged with ash and dirt from the ground.The Marks of Seiðr crisscrossed her body like living arcana made into tattoos. She thought she had a nice figure. Well toned muscles befitting a warrior of her caliber. With all of the curves befitting a nubile woman that showed her as a perfect future mate. She missed her Tiara but she did have beautiful horns now.
She huffed, indignant at weird rules that the elfe had that made them fear of the naked form. It didn't even make sense to her. Clothes were to protect from the elements and to show status not because being naked was wrong. Maybe she was over-thinking it. Even if she didn't see the problem with it, she was going to respect the culture of her friend.
The group walked towards the town. They didn't fall back into silence however as she and Aurelius asked how they survived the Rift. Bjorn told them what he understood about the experience. They all apparently owed their lives to none other than Anasuya. The little hatchling stealing her body heat was also immune to the effects of the Rift. A stroke of luck more than anything. It took Bjorn a while to put the sentences together, his hydra form not really suited to speaking the human language.
As they walked she decided to look at her menus and the discovery made her mouth drop open. First and most importantly her UCP, which she should have had thirty, had automatically assigned. That shouldn't have happened unless the Rift forced it, or it had been over five days. Secondly she had a new statistic: Rift Walker.
She was going to ask Bjorn about it but decided to see if anything else had changed first. She didn't have to scroll far. Chain Breaker's Mantle had split into two different skills. The third level of the skill which had been her Arcane Shift ability had become a separate and far more powerful teleportation ability. If she was reading it right, she could now create stable portals in two locations. That was something that only Darkness mages could do before.
+ Chain Breaker's Mantle
Seiðr cost: Variable
(I) Low seiðr cost per minute, seiðr will inundate your muscles and bones with power to temporarily increase your physical attributes. (II) Medium seiðr cost per minute, the Marks of Seiðr greatly enhances unarmed strikes. Unarmed punches and kicks will produce a seiðr shockwave, increasing the range of unarmed strikes a short distance. + (III) High seiðr cost per minute, extend your chain breakers mantle into your weapons and magic constructs. This makes weapons and constructs more durable. Focusing power onto a strike will expend stored magic in an explosive attack.
+ Rift Forged Teleportation
(I) 20 seiðr cost. Your Chain Breaker's Mantle has mutated due to exposure to the power of the Plane Between Realms. You have gained insight into this in-between place. Arcane Shift has become Rift Forged Teleportation, allowing you to teleport to any location you can see within 50 yards.
(II) 20 seiðr per second, channeled You can create a stable portal between two locations. The first portal is the Anchor and must be fully completed within seven hours. Once 700 seiðr has been supplied, the Anchor becomes stable and only requires seiðr to activate. The second portal can be placed anywhere you have been, provided you have sufficient knowledge of its location and current status. The cost of constructing the Line Portal is contingent on its distance from the Anchor. If the Line Portal formation fails, the Anchor destabilizes and requires half of its original seiðr cost to restabilize.
The problem was it required seven hundred seiðr but her current total was only six hundred thirty. At least that was what she thought until she scrolled back up and saw that she had a plus two hundred and fifty from her bond with Bjorn. She wondered if that meant that was his current magic wellspring. If she used more power then she had in her own wellspring would it take it directly from him? The Iota Familiar Blood Pact would indicate that was the case.
She was pretty sure she had come across all of the changes but decided to scroll down more until she came across yet another addition. The Rift Walker skill analysis.
+ Rift Walker
Seiðr cost: None
You were exposed to the power of the spaces between Planes. You have grown a resistance to cosmicly disruptive sources of power. You now have a stronger connection to the Spaces Between reality and can more easily sense and survive encounters with the thinning of reality. This gives you an intrinsic knowledge of teleportation magic.
"Ugh, my head hurts too much to think about all of this now." Tanisha groaned.
She still had a headache from possibly being stuck inside of the Rift for any number of days. She would have to figure out her abilities but for now she was just ready to get to somewhere with people, find out where they are and maybe get something to eat.
The group trudged along the scarred and dry ground to the closest town which loomed ahead.