Black Magus

No noteworthy encounters arose over the next two days. After the troops were captured, I returned to camp with Roheisa to give everyone a crash course on military mountaineering before we slept or meditated the night away. And after breakfast, we walked as a group until we came upon the damage from the night prior.

While Roheisa explained what happened, I went ahead to store the felled trees in my Shade Pocket and voided whatever else remained to restore the excuse of a path that existed before. Then we infused mana into our bodies and started to cover some real distance.

Throughout those days on the trail, our proficiency in using the skill quickly grew. Our first stint lasted three and a half hours. And after an hour of lunch, we went on to increase our time by almost fifteen minutes. Our next break increased our limit to four hours. And we would have improved more, had we not made camp just after sundown. In a small stone outcropping a few ways away from the game trails we were following up the mountain, we popped out tents and without any prior agreements, everyone spent that night practicing their mana infusion and marveling at the results. Boulders were lifted and tossed down the mountain. Cracks were punched into rock faces. And hours were spent in a fighting stance, concentrating to keep both the mana skin and the infusion skills active.

The next days went by in much the same fashion. We raced through the woods at highway speeds from breakfast till past lunch. Only slowing to catch our breaths in the increasingly thinning air. During lunch, I went on a little hunting trip and came across a herd of mountain goats. After stashing them in a subspace and teleporting more to Hill Base, I came back to Lucia agreeing to follow me along with Roheisa. Thus a couple hours had to be sacrificed to give them their books and equipment, spawn their doppelgangers, and give an impromptu lesson on making pemmican. Luckily, it only took around four more hours to arrive at the crown of trees brushing the ceiling of clouds like seaweed would breach the water's surface.

The path leveled out to a stone plateau that gave unbridled views of Maru. To the south, the bright blue-white light of the sun was tinted green on the left side by virtue of the continent-sized barrier surrounding the Epethian territories. Beyond that, the blinding radiance of the sun was reflected into the shape of a glittering cone that stretched for countless leagues across the World Sea. On and on and on until a faint speck of brown finally met my eyes. To the west, we could see Hill Base appearing like an unnatural growth extending from the base of the mountain, far away. A ring scaled down to the size of an anthill filled with smaller growths and boils that represented the towers and buildings we toiled to create. They overlooked a vast, rolling forest that thinned and thinned until it met the fields of stone bordering the coast. Mirroring it was the land we could only see on a map. The vast desert we were due to cross. Beyond which sat a smaller sea that separated this continent from Phaegrath; a vast and exotic land spread before the apple of my eye, Ulai. A colossally Jurassic time capsule trapped behind a beefed-up version of the barrier spread over the Epethian mainlands. And then there was the land we all left behind. From here, Deapou looked like an oversized chunk of ice floating curiously high above the waterline. An unending sheet of white, no different from the larger sheets to the far north. Other than the towering volcano overlooking the land.

Though the lands in each cardinal direction were laid bare, the grounds before us remained obscure. The path continued to an unknown height beyond the clouds. Possibly for only a few hundred meters before the summit leveled out in the perpetual fog. On the contrary, it could continue for leagues upon leagues. Higher than the atmosphere itself, even. There was simply no way to know for certain. Except to keep climbing. And so, we climbed. Albeit slowly after breaching the cloud ceiling. The ensuing fog grew dense enough to obscure even my visibility, cutting our already leisurely pace in half.

It took us nearly five hours to climb just over two kilometers through the clouds. Only to arrive at a sheer, smooth cliff. It was… abnormal. Unnatural. A perfectly smooth, curved facade, much like a stone pillar but with an organic texture. Almost like something undoubtedly tree-like had been weathered down to a smooth surface and petrified.

We ascended in pairs, pulling ourselves over the lip of whatever it was with as much finesse and grace as possible. What we landed on was a perfectly circular and perfectly flat surface with a radius far above the several hundred-kilometer range. Despite us facing nothing but a sheer cliff during the final ascent, the mountain had managed to push slim peaks above the rim to the north and south, increasing the distinction between the natural stone and whatever it was we were standing on.

It somehow appeared both natural and unnatural. Thousands of concentric rings resembled the severed trunk of a magnificent tree. Yet, no moss, weeds, or even a single blade of grass could be found on the surface; unlike the spires hanging over it. And then there was the ambient mana. It was much more potent than anywhere I’ve been thus far, appearing almost like slush that permeated the air.

More so…

“What is this?” Jaimess asked, seemingly to himself.

“Holy shit!” I snapped my arm away from the ground.

Startled by my outburst, Roheisa came charging to my side ahead of everyone else. “What is it?”

Slowly, I reached back out to touch the countless- almost indiscernible rings. And again, I felt a somewhat sorrowful energy flow into me. There were no screams. But I knew what it was the moment I felt it. “This thing is… dead.”

“What?” Roheisa gasped.

“I thought each realm having a Tree of Life was just a figure of speech.” I stood, scoffing in amazement. “But this is the Marulean Tree of Life.”

“How do you know it’s not a divine tree?” Roheisa asked. “The ones guilds use?”

“It could be,” I said, rubbing the ground with my foot. “But I can sense its body, in a sense. This thing's roots are as deep as its trunk is tall. It goes under all the oceans. Stretches beneath all the continents. All the way to the Darkworld. But it’s dead from end to end. It's been severed by… something.”

“Something powerful, truly,” Toril grunted. "Or someone."

“I wonder how long it’s been like this,” I muttered. “I wonder whose corpse I have to ask in order to find out.”

“Ugh.” Roheisa groaned. “I keep forgetting you have powers over death, what with your flying about all the time.”

“I also have no undead yet.” I shrugged.

“Why is that?” She asked.

“I want something sentient and powerful as my first undead.” I proudly stated. “A human won’t do. I want something like a centaur or a demon-”

“Or a unicorn!” Lucia shouted, then immediately withdrew herself into her hands.

“Sure.” I shrugged. “After that, pretty much everything I kill will be raised. Unless I find something else to do with them.”

“Seems pretty dumb.” Roheisa snorted.

“Perhaps.” I shrugged. “But regardless, I want to stay here and study this tree for a bit. As of tomorrow, we’ll have thirteen days until the deadline. I say we stay here no less than five. After that, we’ll fly over the desert and spend whatever time we have left on the water.”

“Hmm.” Toril scratched at his patchy chin. “It’ll give me time to train.”

Jaimess raised his hand. “I do need to go over some things.”

“And I have a project I wanna finish,” Ed added.

"I don’t particularly care.” Roheisa shrugged.

Following a few other affirmations, we dispersed to different areas of the northern peak to set up our sleeping arrangements for the next half week.

Up here above the clouds, we had no risk of getting rained on. But the wind was another animal entirely. Taking that into account, I laid out a space wide enough for me to sit or lay comfortably next to my tent bag and built a simple lean-to around it. With the addition of a few rugs, a small table, and a small wood stove, my accommodations were complete enough to warrant a little downtime. So I lit a smoke and walked around the platform to observe the other's shelters.

Ed, Toril, and Jaimess were the closest to me, on my right. And it seemed as if they’d taken a liken to subterranean living, as they’d dug into the peak to create little caves for themselves. The deepest of them was Ed’s, at the center. Dug deep enough for a somewhat communal area to be placed before his room with the other two straddling it. Together, they were helping to throw down a feast of grilled meats and vegetables while Roheisa and Lucia were steadily working on more… elegant designs. They both had tall, square tents that were as large as a common living room. From what I could see, the insides were fully furnished with rugs, couches, beds, and even a portable toilet. Even then, though, they elected to manipulate the stone behind their tents to create windbreaks that extended far beyond their doors. Creating what appeared to be nothing less than lounging and training areas shielded from the winds.

I decided to give them all their moment of solitude and went into my shelter for mine to take a few notes before I dipped off into my umbral dimension. After descending past my material goods and the Menagerie, I stopped before the Under to take a look at my newest additions. As I expected, the mandrills had yet to show any signs of change. That said, Humphrey was beginning to take on a midnight hue and was even ‘drinking’ the mana from time to time. Yet, he was nowhere near as complete as Tao. The panther's eyes had taken on a ghostly white hue and he was now swimming through the darkness with little difficulty. Which meant to me that the deciding factor was most likely physical size.

With my notes taken, I dropped through my gate and settled on my throne to wait for the cloudy mass to aggregate into a talking spirit.

“Amun!” Azrael spread his arms in cheer. “Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

“I told you.” I grinned. “We’ll be seeing each other a lot from now on. Although.” I sighed. “I don’t know how often I’ll be able to visit while I'm at the academy.”

“Oh.” He waved it aside. “You shouldn’t worry about that. The Bodhi Tree is the most relaxed place I’ve ever been to. Besides the middle of nowhere.” He chuckled.

“That’s one of the things I want to talk about,” I said. “The Bodhi Tree, Divine Trees, and Classes. No one seems to talk about them.”

“And for good reason.” He nodded reassuringly. “They can explain it far better than I can, but just know there’s a method to the madness. Since you're already going there, though, I’ll tell you a little bit.”

“Alright.” I smiled.

“You should know that the Bodhi Tree is a Divine Tree, grown from a seed that fell from a Tree of Life,” Azrael explained. “The Bodhi is the largest and oldest Divine Tree in existence. That we know of, at least.” He belatedly added. "Essentially, eating the fruit of a Divine Tree changes your spiritual body. It allows for mutations, you see. Giving you an understanding of how to grow stronger. These ‘paths’ to power are called Classes.”

“So Wizard and Sorcerer are Classes as well? Would these paths give us new ways to use our sorcery?”

“They are. And yes.” Azrael nodded. “What those ways are depends on your Class and Subclasses. As I said before, I was the Shadow Puppeteer. Thus my evolutions were based on making my summons stronger and my puppets more versatile. But you are a blank slate. How you use our sorcery will determine your Class. You are by default a Shadow Necromancer like my father. Thus you can expect to gain the same undying abilities as him as well.”

‘So that extends to the void as well.’ I surmised. ‘I guess I better figure out a way to use it.’

“You shouldn’t spoil all the surprises, though.” Azrael continued. “As I said, the staff at the Bodhi Tree can explain it best. And they’ll lay it all out to you upfront.”

“Very well.” I nodded. “In that case, I have another question.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s about Trees of Life. And any other special trees that exist.” I snorted. “Currently, I’m on the tallest peak of the Epethian Ranges. There’s a… fossilized tree here. It’s been cut in half.”

“A tree?” Azrael raised a brow.

“A big tree,” I said. “Far above a thousand kilometers in diameter. And this severed summit is above the clouds.”

“That is big.” He muttered.

“Its roots spread under all of Maru. All the way to the Darkworld.”

Azrael leaned back in response to the name. With a dumb smile and a great gasp of nostalgia, he chimed. “The Dark World, huh? That brings back memories.”

ane. “Yeah, I plan to go one day.” I rolled my eyes impatiently. “Have you heard about the tree?”

“Everyone’s heard of Trees of Life.” Azrael snorted. “As for the one you’re on, can’t say I’ve ever been. I can say for sure there are such trees in Nonus, Vagua, and Betrarth. But I’ve never heard of one existing in Maru.”

“Hmm.” I groaned. “Strange.”

“Very.” Azrael concurred with a comical nod. Then went on to mirror my pondering for a few moments. “Hmm. Maybe Grandpa Telman knows.” He eventually shrugged.

“Telman,” I muttered back.

“My Dad’s dad.” Azrael nodded. “Dad always said he knows of old-world stuff.”

“Old world stuff.” I snorted this time. “You mean history?”

“Sure. Sure.” He turned on his heels, chuckling as he waved over his shoulder. “Go ahead and call him here. I’ll take my leave. I don’t wanna ruin your first impression.”