Seed Of Speed

Diego woke up early the next morning and made his way over to his master's, Shadowbolt, manor after a quick breakfast. Per sect rules, apprentices could only leave sect grounds with permission from their masters, so he had to make a formal request. He asked one of the servants where his master was, and with little surprise, she was in her office on the bas.e.m.e.nt level. He made his way through one of the doors on the first floor, into pure darkness, but a simple {Dark-Vision} spell eliminated any problem seeing then made his was down the elevator.

Having sensed his presence when he first entered the grounds, Shadowbolt was waiting for him at the door of her office. He bowed with respect as she nodded and entered the room. He followed behind quickly and sat down on one of the empty chairs across from her at her desk.

"Has Swordflash sent you in need of an appropriate Crest?" she asked.

Diego chuckled, realizing he had forgotten that he was told to do just that, then replied, "Actually, my Bardic master imparted one with the memories he gave me, but I've had some difficulties recreating it."

Shadowbolt nodded her head with understanding and said, "Magic Crests are one of the hardest forms of magic to fabricate but is essential to anyone who wants to be a true shaman. Since it is something you received from outside the sect, I do not have a way to help you without understand the Crest itself, but I believe you have the ability to accomplish it with enough practice."

"Thank you, master. I will double my efforts to achieve it."

"Mmm…" she said with a nod. "Now then, why have you sought me out if not for the Crest?"

"I was hoping to get permission to leave the sect for the day. I was wanting to take my senior-apprentice sister out to the Great Bazaar and see the Veymu."

"Which senior-apprentice sister is this?"

"Apprentice Rainshower, she is from my village and we joined the sect together."

"I see," she said with a light smile. "Well, you have been a good student while you have been here and have yet to ask for time off, so I will allow it. Have you prepared any drakins for your excursion?"

"I was planning on stopping by Konto Tower after this and exchange the pellets I have left for some money."

"Have left? Are you short pellets?"

"Heh… I barrowed my brother's weapon yesterday in the Catacombs and ended up getting it broken, so I had to replace it. I also learned that I can't use the Catacombs more than once a week because of the limit on core disciples."

"Swordflash did not tell you of this? Brightmelody, by becoming a core disciple, you don't have a need for pellets. You can ask myself or Swordflash for your needs, and the sect will provide it for you. Becoming a core disciple means becoming a future pillar of the sect, so it is the sect responsibility to take care of you. Here, hand me your token and I will give you some drakins," Shadowbolt said, stretching out her hand.

Diego quickly fished out his token and handed it over. She pulled out her own and swiped it across before handing him it back to him.

"There, that should be more than enough for you to buy some nice things within the bazaar. Come see me tomorrow as I have a few things to discuss with you since it appears Swordflash is neglecting his duties as a master… yet again," she said with a sigh at the end.

"Swordflash…" Diego started, but was instantly silenced with a raised hand.

"I've known Swordflash for well over a century, young man, and while you may want to defend your other master, the man is a notoriously poor master outside of anything in the martial field. It has been eighty years since he was last assigned a core disciple, and if not for me already being your master, the span would be longer. He is a gifted shaman, one of the sect's strongest, but that does not make him a good teacher."

Diego could only give a wry smile in response as all of the learning he had done during his three-month long intensive training had been his own work in attempts to not be beaten so badly in the next session. Eventually, he decided on simply nodding his head and replied, "Thank you, master. I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Good, now go have a relaxing day," she said.

Diego stood up and bowed one last time before leaving the room. With a smile on his face, he left the manor and made his way towards the main gate. He waited until he was half way there before he peeked inside the storage space within his token and saw the small mountain of copper-colored coins. He gave an appreciative sigh as he once again etched Shadowbolt's kindness into his heart. It seemed that no matter what, she would do whatever it took to take care of those she had recognized as her personal disciples.

Although he was a little early, Diego instantly noticed Rainshower off to the side of the gate, sitting in the shadow of a nearby building. She saw him too and hopped to her feet with an expecting smile.

"Good morning, senior-apprentice sister. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," Diego said as he walked over to her.

"Oh no, it's still early. I just came here after finishing my breakfast since I didn't have much else to do," she replied. "Shall we go?"

"Actually, I have a little surprise. Instead of walking…" Diego said as the toy-sized griffin appeared in his hand, "why don't we give this a try?"

"A golem?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, I just got it yesterday. Let's see, I just channel a bit of energy and… Whoa!"

Diego channeled a bit of mana into the golem and it ripped a quarter of his reserves away in an instant. The stone griffin rose off his hand then suddenly began to expand at a terrifying rate. In a second flat, it grew from palm-size to bigger than a horse and it came to life.

Aside from being made of gray stone, the griffin looked complete real as each of the feathers on its head and wings looked like perfect stone replicas which the golem puffed and ruffled as it looked around the area. Even the back half that resembled a loin's looked life like as each of the individual hairs at the end of its tails swayed as the golem flicked its tail back and forth.

::You should to name it::

The golem seemed to lock onto Diego and Rainshower, unsure of who its true owner was, until Diego stretched out a hand which it met with its large head, pressing its forehead against his palm.

"From today on, you will be known as Tadrith," Diego said.

The golem gave a cry which was a strange combination of a lion's roar and an eagle's call as it flapped its wings happily.

"Wow, your golem is amazing," Rainshower said with awe as she moved next to him.

Diego chuckled, "Thanks. Now then, shall I help you up?"

It was a little silly to ask since with Rainshower's level of cultivation, she could easily jump ten meters in the air, but she happily took his hand and let him help her up on the side. She was nestled right behind the golem's wings and then Diego hopped up, behind her, as a set of violet reins formed around the griffin's head with the ends in his hands.

"Hold on," he said quietly in her ear.

He shook the reins and the griffin threw open its giant wings, each were longer than its body. With a flap and jump, they were in the air and quickly gaining height. Rainshower gave a squeal of excitement as she leaned over his arm and looked down at the sect. They turned heads wherever they passed, but Diego did not even notice as he enjoyed her genuine reaction to flying.

Within moments, they were above the sect walls and they continued to climb in the air until the city was the size of a coin. On one side, there was an endless sea of red sand while on the other there was a true sea of dark blue water, creating an amazing view. Rainshower kept looking back and forth for a while before finally settling in his arms, leaning against his c.h.e.s.t. After half an hour of mindlessly flying over the city and surrounding outskirts, the griffin began to glide back down towards the city.

Despite never visiting the Veymu, the structure of the city made it clear which district was which and there was no mistake the Great Bazaar in the center of it. It was larger than the Gambling Arena back in the sect and was shaded the bolts of multicolored cloth, much like how they did in his clan's oasis, just on a greater scale. Hundreds of people could be seen entering and leaving the building as they flew overhead, looking for a place to safely land.

They ended up landing a few streets away so that they would not startle too many people, but it was still quite an entrance that got the nearby pedestrians talking. The griffin used its wings to help soften the landing and both Rainshower and Diego slid off its side, their legs a little stiff in spite of their cultivation. Diego placed a hand on the griffin's head which it nuzzled affectionately before returning to its toy-sized form.

"Shall we?" Diego asked, offering his arm.

Rainshower nodded with a bashful smile and linked her arm with his then they made their way to the Great Bazaar. No matter what he had been expecting, he was not ready for the sheer noise of the marketplace as hundreds of merchants cried out their goods and even more people just trying to have a conversation. Rainshower must have not liked it any more than him as she snapped her fingers and the roar of the crowd instantly lessened.

"There, now I will be able to hear you," she said with a nod.

"Do you have anywhere you would like to go?" he asked.

"No, I just want to look around and see what there is. Supposedly, there are a lot of overseas merchants that will bring things from all over the world."

"Then let's see what we can find," he replied with a smile.

For the next few hours, they wandered around the various shops and stalls, exploring some of the specialties from the far reaches of the desert, fine jewelry, unique red glass sculptures, and strange fruits, vegetables, and meat. Like all girls he had ever known, Rainshower got excited when they found the 'clothes' section of the bazaar and he ended up buying her a few outfits she really liked. It was not until after they ate lunch at a shop selling something close to street tacos that they found something that disturbed him.

Slavery was a very real thing in this world and again, something he had not been ready for. Men, women, and even children were in chains, standing in rows, all wearing threadbare clothing. There were a few auctioneers calling out bids coming from a large crowd gathered in the section, but as much as he wanted to do something about this great wrong in his mind, he knew that this was normal in this world. His own clan would often buy slaves when they delivered their taxes.

Rainshower seemed to notice his mood shift and, while she did not understand the cause, she attempted to make him think of other things as she exclaimed, "Oh, look! Beast tamers!"

Diego followed her gaze and saw another section that had a number of animals. He smiled and nodded before the pair walked over, but he soon frowned. At the entrance of the section, a pair of beast tamers were working with a blue wolf and a golden hawk, having them preform tricks, but once they passed, he only saw frightened animals in cages. He did his best to hide his distaste for the treatment of the creatures while he walked with Rainshower down the row.

Towards the middle of the section, she gave a squeal and ran over to one of the stalls. Rainshower stopped at the small cage of a white, two-tailed fox that was curled up in a small ball, trying to hide from the world. While she tried to coax the little fellow to take a strip of jerky from her, the owner of the stall quickly walked up with a sleezy grin on his face.

"My, my, young lady, you have quite the eye! That little snow fox is rare beast born with mastery over Wind, Water, and Ice magics. If it was fully grown, it would be lord of a peak in the Endless Mountains, but luckily, my hunters came across this kit and brought it back," he said.

While he talked, Diego eyed the rest of his 'stock' and noticed several signs of abuse. He couldn't help but grit his teeth as he tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. Once he saw the poor little animal tuck it head further into its curled up body in response to Rainshower's attempts, he made up his mind.

"How much for it?" Diego asked, trying to smoother his inner rage.

"Ah, well you see… This little guy is already promised to someone special…" he started.

"Nonsense," Diego snapped, his aura flaring despite himself, "you wouldn't have him out on the floor if he was already sold. I am not playing games with you, state a fair price!"

::[Intimidating Presence] skill learned. 10 mastery points awarded::

The alert momentarily broke him out of his rage, but the merchant could not feel the change as he sweated bullets under Diego's sharp gaze.

"Yes, yes, of course! My asking price is five thousand drakins," the merchant said quickly.

Diego snorted as he pulled out his token and a stream of copper drakins poured out of it. Thankfully, Shadowbolt had given him a little over eight thousand drakins, so he had enough to buy the fox and still have a lot left over.

Rainshower finally realized what he was doing and stood up, saying, "Junior-apprentice brother, you don't have to do this. I don't need a spirit beast!"

"It's fine, senior-apprentice sister. I think the little guy is cute as well and I think it would be a good fit for you, especially after seeing your new spell yesterday," Diego replied.

"I… thank you, Ishu," she replied softly.

He gave her a bitter smile and quickly hid his face as he bent down to pick up the fox's cage. While he did mean everything he said, the real reason why he bought the fox was that it was just too pitiful to leave it here in this man's care. At least by giving it to Rainshower, he knew the little animal would have a better life.

"I'll carry this little guy. Why don't you pick out some food on our way out and we can have a picnic on the beach before returning to the sect?" Diego suggested.

"That sounds nice, junior-apprentice brother!"

"Good, let's go," Diego said, as he stepped over the pile of coins the merchant was hastily trying to pick up, out of the dirt.

They made their way out of the bazaar, grabbing some snacks for later, and out to the city streets. Since Diego had lost his mood earlier, he did not mind being a little rude as he summoned out Tadrith in its travel form even with the surrounding crowd. Of course, he made sure no one would be caught underfoot, but after Rainshower and he were mounted, he took off, sending a gust of wind whipping through the crowd.

He didn't travel too far away from the city, just enough to ensure that they would not be bothered by other and landed the griffin on the shoreline. Unfortunately, the little fox was even more frightened by the flight and was laying motionlessly on its side, only a weak, steady breathing to prove it was still alive. After putting away the golem, Diego sighed as he set the cage on the ground and gripped the lock, casting {Scorching Hand}, then tore it off.

He opened the cage and took out the two-tailed fox then set it in Rainshower's l.a.p as she sat down. She stroked its fur as she tried to wake it up. The little fox was completely white except for a black, seven-point star between its eyes.

::You are in luck! That isn't a snow fox, but a seven-tailed elemental fox! It gains a new tail every year throughout its juvenile stage, each one relating to mastery over the different elements::

He smiled as he sat down as well and petted the fox's head. He pulled out his ki'ta and strummed it, channeling {Heart Song}.

"Hey Jude

Don't make it bad

Take a sad song and make it better

Remember to let him in to your heart

And you can start to make it better

Hey Jude

Don't be afraid

You were made to go out and get him

The minute you let him under your skin

Then you begin to make it better

Anytime you feel the pain

Hey Jude, refrain

Don't carry the world on your shoulder

Well, you know that it's a fool

Who plays it cool

By making his world a little colder

Hey Jude

Don't let me down

You have found him

Now go out and get him

Remember to let him in to your heart

Then you can start to make it better…"

As Diego sang, the little fox opened his eyes and stared up at him. It blinked at him slowly until he finished and c.o.c.ked its head to the side.

"How about it, little fellow? Would you like to be her spirit beast, she is a healer and needs a protector? I can promise she will be far kinder than that man," Diego asked.

It blinked and looked up at Rainshower who smiled down at it. She picked up her hand and a blue rune appeared in the air above her palm. It sniffed and stretched its head out until it touched the symbol. The light flashed and a blue rune appeared on its shoulder. Rainshower's eyes lost clarity for a moment and when she opened them again, she hugged the little fox.

"Jalu, we will take care of each other for now on," Rainshower said.