Several weeks after leaving Veyr-Aleth, Liora trains beneath Brazen burg’s snowbound walls. The mountain fortress rings with steel, breath, and disciplined footwork.
Her master, an elderly elf man with a lean, weathered build, white hair braided over one shoulder, and a scar across his brow, watches from the practice terrace.
The Elderly Elf Master
Again. Your blade is honest, Liora, but your attention keeps reaching beyond this mountain.
Liora resets her stance and strikes through the falling snow. The master turns her blow aside, then taps the flat of his sword against a faint silver mark beneath the training stones.
The Elderly Elf Master
This pattern follows the living route. Someone else is tracking the promise you made at Veyr-Aleth, and the trail is narrowing.
Liora
Then I will warn Klause before it reaches him. Send the lesson onward if you must, but give me one safe channel.
Using a sliver of silver and a measured thread of mana, Liora opens a narrow channel. Her marked message crosses the living path: Klause, answer before my next lesson changes my path.
✓ Quest Accepted
Respond to Liora’s warning
“*i use magic to answer her message*yes liora and you look great*I say blushing*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -2)
Klause gathers a measured thread of mana and sends it through Liora’s narrow silver channel. The route accepts his answer, though the effort drains a noticeable portion of his reserves.
Klause larent
Yes, Liora. You look great.
The words cross the living path in a warm pulse of silver light. Klause’s face flushes as the channel carries his voice into the snowbound fortress.
Liora
Klause? I heard you clearly. That is a very kind thing to say.
Liora’s reply returns with the faint rhythm of steel striking stone behind it. The silver mark steadies, preserving the connection without opening a route.
Liora
He answered despite the distance. Good. The bond is still strong, and his voice sounds steadier than I feared.
Liora
I look forward to hearing more when my lesson ends. For now, keep your mana anchored, and do not spend yourself just to reach me.
Quest Complete
Respond to Liora’s warning
“But what is it liora”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Klause larent
But what is it, Liora?
The silver channel trembles between them. Snow sweeps across Brazen burg’s terrace as Liora lowers her practice blade and studies the mark beneath her boots.
Liora
My master found a second pattern beneath the training stones. It is following the living route, and it recognized the promise we made at Veyr-Aleth.
Liora
The trail is narrowing toward you, Klause. I do not know whether it seeks your covenant, the scattered survivors, or the route chamber itself.
A thin silver image forms within the channel: branching lines converge on a dark knot, then divide toward Aleveria, the Demon Continent, and an unmarked path.
Liora
My master believes the pattern can be traced safely through disciplined sword forms. I will learn its direction before it reaches your sanctuary.
Liora
Keep your anchors steady and answer only through this channel. I will send you everything I discover after the next lesson.
“Thanks liora, but I also was able to find a teacher here its the spirit I found when I was a child they are teaching me ancient and more powerful magic, then im going to retake the ranking ceremony to see where my power lies in the ranks”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +1)
Klause larent
Thanks, Liora. I found a teacher here too: the spirit I met as a child. It is teaching me ancient, more powerful magic. Then I will retake the ranking ceremony and learn where my power truly stands.
The silver channel carries his words across the living path. Beneath Brazen burg, snow settles over the training stones as Liora’s master watches her expression change.
Liora
The spirit still guides you after all these years. Then listen carefully, Klause. Ancient magic deserves patience, especially when your power already answers so readily.
Liora
He has found a teacher without abandoning his promise. I must trust his judgment, even if the thought of that power unsettles me.
Liora
Retake the ceremony when your training is complete, not merely when your strength feels greater. Let the test measure control, endurance, and what you can protect.
The channel brightens, accepting the spirit’s instruction and the planned ceremony as two steady points along the living route. Far away, an unseen current answers from Veyr-Aleth.
Liora
I will continue tracing the pattern here. Send me the ceremony’s result when it is done, and I will meet that news with my own progress.
✓ Quest Accepted
Retake the ranking ceremony
“Did you ever figure out what rank your swordsmanship was at?”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Klause larent
Did you ever figure out what rank your swordsmanship was at?
The silver channel tightens between Veyr-Aleth and Brazen burg. Liora’s master glances toward the rune as snow gathers along its edges.
Liora
I did. My master tested me after our last lesson and placed me at expert rank. He said my technique is strong, but my judgment still has to catch up.
Liora
Expert is an achievement, but it is not the summit. I will not let the title make me careless.
Liora
I am proud of it, Klause, but I am not satisfied. The rank measures where I stand today, not how strongly I can protect the people ahead of me.
The channel delivers her answer clearly, but the connection gutters at once. Its silver thread burns away a noticeable portion of Klause’s stored mana, leaving the route dim and strained.
Liora
That cost came from your side. Rest before answering again. I know my rank now, and I will keep training until the next test gives me a higher one.