Act I
Tap* The sound of cups striking each other lightly echoed in an open room as pit fire crackled comfortably at their sides.
"That was intense, I really thought that silver ranker would try something earlier."
Chara spoke, making me smile as he looked not at my eyes but right on my chest. He was still blind, but after reaching a certain soul purity after consuming so many soul cores.
He was able to empower his ability to see souls to the point of being able to use it passively instead of actively like when we were in the wilderness.
"She was intimidating. . . Chara, tell us. How strong are those councilors?"
The question came from Serphina as she sipped at her mead, we were guesting inside one of the houses owned by Councilor Talon. It used to be the house of one of her warriors but that warrior died during a hunt and now it was ours.
"Very strong, all of them were pure bronze or dim silver. . . While the one in the middle was a peak silver with two pure, and one grey, soul core."
I felt my brows crunched, why are they only silver ranked? How did they survive for so long here, in the dreaming if their most powerful is only a peak silver rank?
Back on Terra, the only reason Dawn city was still alive with so many rifts letting waves and waves of Horrors, almost drowning the planet with monsters and that's not mentioning the destabilizing pale fever.
Is because every district was protected by a city government mandated Gold rank powerhouse, dozens of silvers, and hundreds of bronze heroes and that's not even mentioning the clans and their own private security hero teams.
"Are they surviving because of their temples?"
I mumbled, but then I felt eyes looking towards me, it was Seraphina.
"You noticed it too?"
I nodded, as Serphina gave a small smile.
"Dawn city had relied on our technology and Rankers to protect our city and outskirts. . . But these bird people don't have high rankers or high technology so how are they surviving?"
A twitch? I just saw Eclipsa tremble her drink at the mention of outskirts, was she from an outskirt orphanage? I never asked and she never shared much of her pass to us even during our drinking time in the evenings.
"Aren't temples just places for us rankers to promote ourselves to a higher rank or use to travel back to Terra?"
It was Eclipsa who asked with a confused tone. I was about to answer her but Serphina spoke first.
"No, those things aren't the main purpose of a temple. . . Every temple is different, the only reason we call a place in the Dreaming a temple is because of what you've said, but their main purpose is unknown."
I almost forgot Serphina was a Clan girl, she probably knows a lot more about this than me.
"An example is the temples in the undead fortress cities, they're all almost the same but even so, everyone that uses them would get sick and cursed in different ways."
I've read about that. My history professor said something about every temple in the black floodplains being unpopular because it makes rankers get a different kind of flu every time they use them. . . He even told me a story of him shitting himself for days the first time he explored the undead cities.
"We need to prepare, tomorrow councilor Talon and Head councilor Faennar will be leading us to one of their temples. . . Also they might ask us to do something for them."
My words made everyone nod, as we finished our drinks and prepared ourselves to sleep.
Act II
"Woah. . ."
The word escaped me, as I saw the temple. It was a flat topped earthen mound, with painted standing monolithic stones around a stone platform with a funerary pyre.
"This is our [House of Champions] where we burn our dead, to release their souls from their corpses, so they can join our other ancestors at the Guardian Sun's side."
Elder Swinnet explained as she walked at our side, Councilor Talon and Head Councilor Faennar was infront of us. I translated Elder Swinnet's explanation, as we walked and stopped at the front of the stone platform.
"You may do what you will, friend Merciful Sun, I only ask for you to not defile or break anything in our sacred site."
The Head councilor said as she looked up and met my eyes, after a moment I bowed my head to her.
"We will not defile or destroy your clan's temple, Head councilor."
This made the Head councilor smile as she and councilor Talon started moving back behind Elder Swinnet as they watched on with interest.
"Elder Swinnet, can I try a small ritual before you start drumming your ancestors to meet us?"
The question stopped the older woman as she prepared her leather drum and striking stick.
"Chirp~ You can try but I don't think any of our ancestors would respond without the right ritual."
The Faennar Elder said, as a light fluttering of her feathers made me believe she was smiling under that wooden mask. With her permission I started laying down the things for the experiment.
Unlike in the wilderness I was able to gather things for a proper ritual, I'm not sure if it'll work but I've read enough novels to try a few things. Infront of me on the stone platform I finished placing everything.
Three lit oil candles, a bowl filled with flagrant slowly burning herbs, and a giant steaming meat pie, on top of a woolen blanket. Elder Swinnet and my party looked at me oddly as they watched on without interrupting me in any way.
With everything ready, I smiled as I tried remembering a novel I read on the web and how it described the ritual to summon the spirit of the dead for help.
"Elder Swinnet, I have a question. . ."
I asked the elder next to me, she nodded motioning for me to ask.
"What does the Faennar clan do to the ash after burning the bodies on the pyre?"
The question made the elder ruffle her feathers, but even then she answered with her regular wizen tone.
"Nothing, usually the winds and rain would spread the ashes around the [House of Champions] before we need to create another pyre for our fallen."
I nodded, after that I got off the platform and took a handful of dirt and placed it in the middle of the candles next to the steaming pie and woolen blanket. With a smile to reassure my group and myself I started the ritual not afraid of making myself look like a fool.
"Children of the Sun, Children of the Golden Empire, Children of the first Rider. . ."
I gave out a breath, as I felt no sense of danger from my aspect of being sagely.
"I offer these small gifts, I ask for an audience, I ask this for I am the Blessed of the Lightbringer."
Orange fire burnt the sacrifices inside the triangle of candles, I watched on as the pyre infront of us burned as well as a figure appeared within the fire. He looked like a man, using a spear taller than him to support his weight.
Around his neck was the blanket I sacrificed as a slice of pie was in his hands, his orange lipped mouth chewing with great satisfaction.
"I didn't know my descendants would become this good at baking!"
He whooped happily as he finished the slice of pie in his hands, after finishing with his food. He finally placed all his attention to me, as I looked into his burning orange eyes.
"You're a Jotunn? . . . No, your light is clearly from the Solar pantheon. But it's unfamiliar to me Cousin, now tell me why did you call a Star general of Emallia?"
Thud* Thud* Thud* I looked to my left and then towards the other Faennar clan members to see all three of them kneeling and bowing.
"Lord First Rider! We apologize for bothering you! Please forgive us!"
All three of the respectable leadership of the Faennar clan looked pathetic as they begged and scrapped. Making the flaming man look at them oddly, his orange eyes twitched and then his feathers started ruffling.
"HA HA HA! Stop being ridiculous children! Now shut it, I still need to talk to our cousin!"
With that the three stopped begging as I felt my spine chilled and heart turn heavy as our eyes met again. Without much hesitation I spoke out my request, trying to ignore the fresh memories I've learned through Elder Swinnet as she told me the stories of her people.
"Lord First Rider, I have a request, can this temple become a pathway for me and my friends to travel back to our home Terra."
My words made the powerful patron too look around, his eyes sweeping the temple and my friends. His magnanimous smile left his orange lips as he shook his head.
"This place is barely an ancestral shrine, it doesn't have the power to fulfill your request."
His words made my legs weak as I knelt down, I felt hands helping me from completely dropping to the ground.
"I do not know this place you call Terra, but if you do something for me I can let you and your friends ride my partner. Unlike me, she knows a lot more places."
His placating words made me look up in hope, which made the patron smile and nod.
"From what I can see these are the Descendant's of little Faennar, I can see a disaster brewing in that direction."
I looked at where he was pointing and realized that was where the beast wave was building up.
"In half a year, this little clan will endure a great disaster. If you and your friends help my descendants repel this disaster I will be grateful. . ."
After those words, he disappeared. The orange fire on the pyre faded leaving the logs on the pyre unburnt, I stood there dumbly and then looked over our hosts and saw them still trembling as they kneeled.
Act III
"Chara, what did you see?"
I asked as we made our way back to our long house, the three Faennar clan's women quickly left us to ourselves after Head councilor Faennar told us to rest as they'll be holding an emergency councilors meeting.
"I. . . He's a gold ranker. . . all of his four Soul cores were so pure. . . why haven't he advanced yet?"
The trembling was fierce as Chara spoke in confusion, seeing this I wrapped my arm around him. . . It worked, making him relax as he pushed my arm off him, as he gave me a forced smile.
"Your heavy Dani. . . I'm fine, thank you."
It made me smile to hear him even though it wasn't hard to know he was lying, especially because he wasn't the only one lying to himself.
I can feel my left hand trembling as my heart still feels heavy after meeting such a powerful guy.
"At least now we know how they can survive here in the Dreaming, they really do rely on their temples. . . Is it resurrection magic?"
Seraphina spoke, making me turn to her, she wasn't trembling like me and Chara but her eyes were thoughtful as her lips frown gravely.
"Don't we have the same thing? Doesn't the City Hero Mr.Graves do the same thing?"
Eclipsa said her voice was the most relaxed, and as I saw her she was actually smiling. I almost thought she lost it but then, I remembered something.
Didn't that patron tell us his friend will take us home if we help the Faennar clan? Is that why Eclipsa was so happy?
"No, that gold rank City Hero can only resurrect silver rankers and even then he can only resurrect someone once. . . The only one he can keep resurrecting is himself."
Seraphina explained, I looked at her. I didn't know she was such a hero fan, all I knew about Mr.Graves is that he was the gold ranker in charge of the Greenhouse district.
"I'll try learning more of their ritual magic, I can't believe the thing I read from a novel actually worked."
Cough* Serphina started coughing violently as Eclipsa quickly came to her back and started patting her cough away. She didn't meet my eyes as I looked at her.
"It looked professional?"
Eclipsa said as she gave me a thoughtful look. Slap*
"Ah!"
I screamed in surprise more than pain as I felt Chara slapping my back.
"You're being a dumbass again."
Chara said as we continued on our way home, but even then the only thing I could think about was, how was I being a dumbass?