Path of the Pioneers

The sand of Hyperborea feels cool on my back, like the water of a river in the summer. I don’t want to stand, and neither do my limbs. I lay facing up toward the stars, sweat dripping down my face from the rigorous training of Jemith, my new mentor.

“Your technique has improved, certainly! But the potential for improvement remains. Stand, child!”

Jemith has chided me in this fashion dozens of times in the eight hours we’ve spent sparring one another. I would have lost track of the time if I didn’t have the counter of my status window to inform me.

[14:38:15]

Almost fifteen hours remain in this place, and I’m almost positive Jemith intends to make use of every single one of them. With a deep sigh, I slowly clamber up and off of the ground, taking up a fighting stance opposite the elf once more.

The rules that Jemith laid out are simple: if I land a blow on them, it means that we can move on. They have the advantage of reach with their saber, but I’ve yet to actually be injured by the blade, even across dozens of bouts. Jemith possesses such a fine control of their weapon that it never seems to make contact with me, only ever grazing just above the skin.

“Are you ready?” They seem energetic as ever, despite their appearance. The lifelessness their body seems to possess belies their lively demeanor.

I nod. An instant later, I feel movement rushing towards me. After so many matches between the two of us, I’ve become able to discern the barest shards of information from those instantaneous flashes of sensation coming from [Aesthesia]. I step to the right just as Jemith’s saber screeches past my left side.

Jemith is an agile, crafty fighter. Unlike Adeline, they’ve generally stuck to avoiding any risk of getting hit instead of pressing the attack. After all, they have the speed to keep trying. With a flick of my wrist, I throw Tanascáil towards Jemith’s left side, threads from [Telekinesis] coiled around the hilt and accelerating the blade’s movement through the air.

It’s a trick that doesn’t cost a lot of mana, but provides a great deal of benefit. It turns my dagger into a projectile that has nearly the same speed as an arrow. Jemith gave me the hints that I needed to try it.

Jemith hops to the right, Tanascáil whizzing past them ineffectually. Or so it would have, if I wasn’t controlling it.

A slash comes towards me as I turn to face Jemith, and I step back just enough for it to narrowly avoid cutting me open. Doing something like that by the skin of my teeth would have made my nerves go ablaze even just a day ago, but I was quickly becoming used to it with Jemith. I will my dagger towards them once more, sending it flying towards their heart.

With lightning speed it zips towards its target, only to strike against Jemith’s saber instead. They parry it deftly and swing their blade around, aura suffusing its edge as it rips through the threads of mana attached to Tanascáil. The dagger begins to fall to the sands below.

A moment later, six coiled threads fly out from my hands, each bolting for different spots. All of them are aiming for Tanascáil, which has nearly made it to the ground. [Telekinesis] is a skill that has a cost based off of the duration of its use. Only through my practice with Jemith did I realize how powerful it was. Something like this only costs me a fraction of a single point of mana.

Three grab onto my dagger, the other half shredded to ribbons by Jemith’s aura. They slash towards it again, and two more are torn asunder. But one remains intact. I let Tanascáil fall again as if none are attached, as if it’s no longer under the influence of [Telekinesis]. The scraps of mana still linger in the air, even if they’re useless now. If I’m lucky, they’ll obscure Jemith’s keen senses just enough.

Just as the motion of their swing reaches its end, the blade stirs to life once more and makes a straight shot for their leg. I was never told that I need to hit one of their vitals, just that I must “land a blow.”

I see Jemith budge just slightly in reaction to the dagger, but it makes contact. I stop as I feel it brush against their leg, just barely keeping it from cutting them.

The elf stops, looking down towards the dagger, and then back up at me.

They grin.

[00:03:45]

The timer nears its end, as does my training under Jemith. The two of us trained for nigh on a full day, just as I assumed that we would, subsisting off of visroot sap to keep us standing. There’s a small fear in the back of my mind that there may be consequences for that, but I hardly have the time to worry about it.

I feel different now; light and feathery. I think that it’s the exhaustion. My mind feels cramped from being awake for so long, and I want nothing more than to sleep for several days. But again, I hardly have the time.

Jemith stands across from me, smiling contentedly. “I wish that we had more time together, you and I, but I believe that we made the best use of the time that we could.”

“Are the other trials harder than this one?”

Jemith chuckles, “They will grow in their difficulty, yes.”

“D-do you think I’m strong enough to complete them?”

[00:03:21]

Jemith leans forward, placing a hand on my shoulder, “I am a wanderer, a drifter, a vagrant. These barren lands are my hunting grounds, my solemn sanctuary through ‘til the end. I remain a prisoner here in this moment until death claims me, and until then I shall not grow nor wilt.” They smile. A gentle, delicate smile, “I have seen dozens and dozens of candidates pass through this land, and I have ended many of them personally.”

“But all of this…” They gesture around, and then to themselves, “All of this will have meant something for my having met you, child. You will complete the trials laid before you, and you shall become someone of great strength.”

[00:02:19]

Jemith pats my shoulder, and then withdraws from me. “I have passed down all of the knowledge and skill that the constraints of time have allowed us, and I have become certain of your abilities.” They clasp their hands together, “All that remains is for you to succeed, and I have all the faith in the world that you will, Sybil.”

[00:01:54]

“Thank you, Jemith. For everything. But, I.. I-is there really no way to get you out of this place?”

“I should be here for the remainder of my days, child, and I do plan on living for quite some time. However, if you should ever find the means to break me free, by all means pay me a visit.”

Their eyes widen for a moment, and I see them scramble uncharacteristically for something within their pockets “Oh Jemith, you fool..!” After a few more moments they finally manage to fish out a small silver medallion. Its chain is a series of interlocked filigrees, and the medallion is gilded in geometric patterns.

They hand it over to me, frantically clasping it into my hands. “A memento for our meeting. To my people, it will mark you as a friend to Jemith the Nightdancer.”

[00:00:52]

“If ever you should encounter the elves of Trinsilia, inform them of your connection to me. I’m positive they shall aid you in any of your endeavors.”

Trinsilia -- that place is all the way across the world, though…

“W-wait! How would I go about paying you a visit? How do I get back here if I figure out how to help you escape?”

Jemith smiles sincerely, “I have no way of knowing, child. But perhaps one day the path to Hyperborea will open. If you still walk the earth when that time should come, remember me.”

I nod, “I-if ever I can.. I promise. I’ll help-”

Light washes over me, beginning in streaks before blanketing all of my vision in it. I feel myself being ripped away from this place with the ease of a giant plucking me up, and the sensation of being moved overwhelms me once more as I’m taken somewhere else.

My status window opens.

[Thou hath triumphed in thy first trial!]

[Thy second trial shalt commence immediately!]