Seed Of Speed

Diego may not have been a rock star in his past life, but he felt like one now. After they drove off the Langu and Yung forces, those who did not give chase crowded around Rainshower and him and lifted both of them into the air as they cheered.

They were only in the air for a few minutes before Toba ordered than they be returned to the ground. After that, everyone dropped to one knee as they bowed their heads, the proper show of respect to shamans. Diego had them rise quickly and ordered those in good health to help the injured while he and Rainshower recovered their energy. The worst would be tended to by the shamans later that night.

Shortly after the crowd started breaking up, a figure descended from the sky. Shaman Fanflame looked haggard. There were four silver needles sticking in her left arm which hung limply at her side. All ten of her fingertips were black and gray claimed the rest of her fingers. The natural warm aura that clung to her was completely gone as an icy chill seemed to replace it.

"Elder Fanflame!" Rainshower exclaimed.

"Apprentices," she said, her voice cracking. "Thank you for protecting my people."

"It is only proper, we are allies, after all," Diego said.

"Elder, please let me assist you in healing," Rainshower said, concerned.

"You have less mana than I do, I'm afraid."

Rainshower gave Diego a look and chuckled then replied, "That won't be a problem. I'll support both of you."

Fanflame tilted her head to the side in confusion, but Rainshower explained, "Junior-apprentice Ishu is a Soul Singer."

Fanflame's eyes grew wide then focused on the ki'ta hanging from his shoulder. She continued to stare until Diego gave a nervous chuckled and she awoke from her shock. "Thank the heavens I gave you that letter. I had to use my only life-saving talisman to kill that 'little' prick. Master will definitively give me a few more after you join."

Diego chuckled, "I will do my best to help us both and enter under Grand Master Shadowerbolt's teachings."

"Since your tent was destroyed, let's use mine while we treat your injuries. Junior-apprentice brother can remain outside and still support us," Rainshower suggested.

Fanflame nodded and Rainshower led the way back to her tent. The two women disappeared inside while Diego sat down and played Cage The Elephant's, "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" as he used the basic form of {War Song}. Although he could refill his mana reserves with it, there was no way to recover all of the mental energy he had expended throughout the fight, so he had to fight through his tiredness.

"I was walking down the street when out the corner of my eye

I saw a pretty little thing approaching me

She said "I never seen a man, who looks so all alone

Could you use a little company?

If you pay the right price, your evening will be nice

Or you can go and send me on my way"

I said "you're such a sweet young thing

Why you do this to yourself?"

She looked at me and this is what she said

"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked

Money don't grow on trees

I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed

Ain't nothing in this world for free

I know I can't slow down

I can't hold back though you know I wish I could

No, there ain't no rest for the wicked

Until we close our eyes for good…"

They needed more time than just one song, so Diego cycled between ZZ Top's, "Sharp Dressed Man", the Steve Miller Band's, "The Joker", and other light-hearted rock songs. When Rainshower finally said they were done, he let out a sigh of relief that proved to be in vein as he saw Toba walking up.

"Young lord, are you busy?" Toba asked.

"Just finished actually, help me up. I'll be leaving now," Diego said as he held out his arm since he was mentally exhausted.

Toba pulled him to his feet and noticed that his body was had almost completely healed compared to before the battle.

"Is this going to be a long meeting, or can we talk as we walk back to my tent?" Diego asked.

"It can be brief," Toba said as he motioned for Diego to take the lead and followed behind. "Although I'm sure they wanted to take a chuck out of us, the true motive behind the ambush seemed to be raiding our harvest from the pocket world. Thankfully, Jastrab and his mounted archers were able to reduce out loses significantly and they secured the harvest from earth golem you battled."

"Good, good," Diego yawned. "I can assign rewards, right?"

"Yes, young lord."

"Jastrab is to be awarded a Tolyew Riding Bow while each of the archers that rode with him will receive a set of second grade leather armor."

"Young lord! Isn't that… a little excessive?" Toba asked with shock as he had earned his tolyew bow when he was named captain.

"The value of those crystals shards that they secured is worth more than ten times the value of what I am giving away. I want to reward intelligence like to the captain who instant took my idea and made it stronger," Diego said with a smile over his shoulder.

"Thank you, young lord. I understand," he replied with a bow.

"If there is nothing else, I really need to rest," Diego said, outside his tent.

"That's all, young lord."

Toba walked away after another bow and Diego slipped into his tent. He quickly took off his ruined armor and wiped his body down with a damp cloth before collapsing onto his bedroll.

(Profession Page!)

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Profession: Soul Singer (Bard)

{Singing} – Level 4 – 13/40

- Ability to keep vocal tone, later levels improve pitch and vocal range

{Ki'ta} – Level 6 – 5/60

- Skill with the Ki'ta, later levels improve technique

{Harmonizing Technique} – Level 3 – 29/75

- Combining two or more instruments, boosting power of the melody

{Tranquil Heart} – Level 2 – 22/50

- Soothing melody that calms the heart, easing bottlenecks in cultivation

{War Song} – Level 6 – 39/60

- Energizing melody that reinvigorates the heart, boosting all forms of energy amount of compacity

{Revitalizing Melody} – Level 1 – 34/50

- Gentle melody that speeds up natural healing

{Heart Song} - Level 1 - 9/10

- Touching melody that makes the listeners feel more inclined to the caster, able to ensnare those with weak wills

{Empathy} – Level 1 – 1/25

- Allows caster to sense the mood of those in the area

{Commiserating Hymn} – Level 1 – 1/10

- Sorrowful melody that eases the listeners' grief and helps them reminisce about their loved ones

{Encore of Battle} – Level 1 – 1/50

- Empowering melody that reinvigorates allies while draining enemies

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Diego could help but smile at the massive boost his ability got from the battle. Although he was happy, he was also exhausted and passed out without dismissing the window.