yes it's wrong to dump plot almirajs in a thread (low effort Danmachi stories)

[minuseven]

I tried doing some familia politics. Isis was one of the great familias before Zeus' time, but she's managed to hold on better and now keeps a medium profile. No need to make waves. Naturally, she's felt very vindicated when Zeus and Hera got kicked out. A few mythology references there too, to the Osiris myth. Was going for the angst potential of hiding wounds trope but it didn't get that far because, guess what? Isn't Lefiya (and Filvis)'s little problem the equivalent of a chronic illness? So, chronic pain and how Lefiya manages it. Starting to get into the insecurity of it all. How having what is effectively an incurable disease made Lefiya lose a lot of confidence in herself and how that will eventually evolve into her canon self that looks fine but is really really tired of being saved, of being useless, of being less. This is mostly in Lefiya's perspective, but Loki is sort of giving her some space... for now. It'll come up sooner rather than later anyway. Finn and Gareth know the same basics as Riveria.

also wow this is getting long

Hedera
1: The Beginning of (cont. 2)​

The sand in the training grounds is all stirred up and blackened by Lefiya's magic when polite clapping interrupts them. She turns, only to have her mouth hang open as her eyes land on the regal figure observing them. Even her partner for the day is completely dumbstruck, wide-eyed with amazement.

Riveria Ljos Alf, Nine Hells, the greatest mage in Orario. In the whole wide world!

Both of them regroup themselves, Lefiya bowing deeper than she has ever before and Aani beside her suddenly stiffening. The one who will one day be the queen of all elves smiles serenely at them, jade hair of the forest swaying as she approaches them. She is as ethereal as any goddess.

"That was strong spellcasting." She praises her, and Lefiya feels herself go red to the tip of her ears.

Is this a dream? She has been acknowledged by Lady Riveria! Her spellcasting was strong! All of her teachers' and comrades' words pale in comparison to hers. Lefiya wants to turn around and show her all of her other spells. She will put her maximum effort into them and impress her lady, and perhaps she will smile at her again? The strongest mage, impressed by her! That would be a dream come true.

She doesn't have the audacity to go through with it, stomach churning with sudden anxiety.

And then Lady Riveria tells them that they have been called to Lady Isis' office. She turns, expecting them to follow with a gentle tilt of her head, and Lefiya and Aani scramble to meet her sedate pace.

Lefiya's lost in thoughts of whatever their goddess might want with them, or why Lady Riveria is going as well, hoping that they didn't do anything wrong. Somehow the real reason for the high elf's presence doesn't cross her mind. Aani has already realized this will be one of the last times they will walk together.


It is unusual for Isis to hold onto a child with the potential Lefiya Viridis has. Loki talks prices with Isis over a big cup of pomegranate wine. They both know that the goddess of the district sells her children into familias where their talents will not go unused while making a nice profit for herself. She keeps only those unremarkable and loyal. The time in which her familia was equal in rank to Loki's has long since passed.

There is no better familia for the possessor of Elf Ring than Loki's. Yet the information takes months to reach the trickster's ears.

"In all things magic, for elves, you are the best choice" Isis tells Loki. "But there is more to the children's lives than magic and learning."

A knock on the door heralds the presence of the elves they are speaking about. The high elf moves to the side, leaving the young girl they are discussing pinned beneath the gaze of two deities. She is almost doe-like as she stands there, a breeze away from shaking on fawn legs.

The goddess Loki is considering having Lefiya join her familia, Isis informs her pupil.

Lefiya's mouth drops open. "Me?" She squeaks, but her mind is already imagining what it would be like to be in Loki Familia, among the strongest adventurers. In the same familia as Lady Riveria! As Ais Wallenstein and…

Finn Deime.

And, Lefiya freezes, the day years past a cold hand around her heart. Her teeth grit together, blue eyes suddenly shadowed by her hair as she looks down, seeing something that is not there. The Braver is not responsible for the Nightmare. But he had suspected. He had held back the best fighters. None of his familia had perished, while countless others were torn into pieces in that slaughterhouse.

Finn Deime's actions had ultimately defeated Evilus and saved Orario, but there were many who resented him still. Some even hated him. Is she okay being under his command, Lady Isis asks her.


Lefiya breathes in, breathes out. Her fingers relax from where they grip her god-given bracelet. She traces its patterns idly. She doesn't hate Finn Deime. She is grown up enough and rational enough to know it was not his fault. That evilus could not have been stopped without sacrifices. It just hurts.

Lefiya is used to pain.

When she looks up, to a goddess' knowing eyes and another's piercing stare, it is to reaffirm her willingness. Being an adventurer is certainly full of pain and death, and it's not this that is going to stop her now.


Still, that little display has Lady Loki has questions. Lady Isis bluntly tells her that Lefiya has lost her soulmate in the Nightmare nearly three years ago.

Lefiya doesn't flinch. Not enough to be noticeable. She hopes.

Loki gives the cuff around Lefiya's wrist a pointed glance and Isis shakes her head with a bitter twist of her lips. "You'll see." She says, and gestures in invitation towards the elven child in front of them. Loki's expression turns gleeful in the blink of an eye and she rubs her hands expectantly. "Well, if ya're inviting me…"

Lady Riveria bows out of the room with a tired sigh, pausing to welcome Lefiya to Loki Familia with a gentle smile. Her sincerity makes Lefiya's heart nearly burst out of her chest, but she can't ignore that the high elf had been privy to the goddesses' exchange. The hint of curiosity in Lady Riveria's green eyes makes something curl unpleasantly inside her chest.

Lady Isis unlocks her falna. Of Lefiya, she demands only she return what rightfully belongs to her before Lady Loki converts her falna.


Lefiya's fingers have traced the carvings of her cuff thousands of times. All twenty-six reeds, the ever-flowing waves, the two falcons overhead. On days the pain isn't horrible, it helps her calm down. On tiring days, it's another good distraction.

The artifact she carries around her wrist is unique. A suppressor of unparalleled potency, a copy of a divine tool residing in the Celestial Realm, as it's described in several books. There are legends about the first adventurer that wore it. It had been made many centuries ago by divine hands and it belonged solely to the goddess who imbued her power into it. Across history, only members of Isis and Osiris Familia had worn it.


She downs one of the potions she always keeps on herself before sliding it off and returning it to her goddess.

She had almost forgotten how horrible her soul's heart feels when it beats.

It will be fine.

There are strong suppressor items on the market.


Gods cannot tell children who their soulmates are. Not even the Gods and Goddesses of Love and Fate know the other half of a mortal's soul. Only the Gods of Death can tell, but what use is their knowledge, when it applies only to the dead? Is there any comfort in knowing that beyond life a deity will see how their souls might have interlocked? It is already too late.

What a God can tell is if the children have another half. Manipulating the falna allows them to see half of the connection between souls.

Goddess Isis once told Lefiya it is like seeing the rope that connects two souls. It disappears into the ether in no one direction. When a child's half is gone, the line is cut. It hangs limply before unraveling.

Lefiya's line is still there. The strands are frayed beyond repair, the rope half-unraveled into the liminal space, strings leading in all directions. It sways on etherials winds, tensing and untensing, each shiver and tremor another shock of pain that runs down Lefiya's soul. It's there, but it isn't. Phantom pain for a phantom limb.

Lefiya's soul can't seem to forget the shape of its other half.


Loki is undeterred by the half-dead, half-living state of Lefiya's bond. There is nothing actually wrong with Lefiya's body. Nothing to stop her from being a great mage and adventurer.

Lefiya can rise above it. She stumbles a bit under the goddess' full confidence however. She's never had someone put their faith in her like that and it's almost overwhelming.

Walking next to them, Lady Riveria tells her of a powerful adventurer that had joined a familia because they were dying from a mysterious, incurable illness. She'd been one of the strongest humans in the world. The Gods' Blessing can extend life, fortify the body, and grant those who truly want the powers and skills to surpass even their own bodies.

But can it do anything about her soul? The knowing voice inside her head keeps pointing out that bond-pain cannot be reduced, tricked or healed. It can only be endured.

Lady Riveria doesn't know the whole story. Goddess Loki has left it up to Lefiya to share what she wants. All that her future queen and teacher knows is that Lefiya suffers from some form of regular pain and that her soulmate is dead. Lefiya won't trick herself into believing Lady Riveria is that naïve. She knows something is wrong with Lefiya. She's just being courteous. Courteous beyond what Lefiya deserves.

"But ya know the truth'll have ta come up sooner or later, righ'?" Loki had looked her dead in the eyes, smile absent and smiling eyes open for the first time since she's known her. "Not ta ever'body, but a'least Finn and Riveria'll have ta know."

Lefiya knows. She knows she'll have to explain. She knows the look that will appear on Lady Riveria's face. She knows that she's a risky convert for an exploration familia. She knows she's a liability. She knows her great potential is wasted because of her condition. She's heard it from her former familia members.


Twilight Manor is big and warm. Loki Familia is close to each other and almost electric. Not like Isis Familia, whose members came and went, students of magic and nature before anything else.

Goddess Loki stands up in the middle of the foyer and announces her as their newest member with fanfare! Lefiya doesn't know how to react or what to do. This goddess acts nothing like she's expecting.

Everybody welcomes her and she feels herself flushing beneath the attention. Even legends like The Braver and Elgarm look at her. A pair of amazon twins welcome her particularly enthusiastically. She barely feels herself nod as Tiona asks for a hug before she's being twirled by the older girl.

It's a lot. It's… nice.


She takes another blocking potion before going to bed. She is to meet with Lady Riveria early in the morning to assess her current skills and plan out her future lessons. A very big part of Lefiya is still amazed that she's going to learn under Lady Riveria herself! She can't be late. At all.

She is tired to the bone, but Lefiya knows from experience that sleeping will be hard to come by, and harder to keep. If she feels an attack in the middle of the night, she will wake up and she will not fall asleep again easily, if at all. In a new room, with a bed she doesn't know, with wildly different scents and sounds.

She has a roommate, a human girl a bit older, a mage like her. She doesn't have the courage to ask her if she could sleep with the window open. It's too quiet. There aren't any sounds from the street to lull her to sleep. Moreover, she no longer has the suppressor cuff. It makes her stomach tingle with dread. She doesn't remember the pain of those first days, only the hopelessness and frustration of being so helpless and vulnerable. The constant fear.

She counts her potions. She has enough for two days, maybe three. She tallies up costs, wincing internally at her meager savings. Her former familia had provided for her. Will Loki Familia do it as well? No, she rationalizes, they probably expect her to earn that money in the dungeon.

She also needs a new suppressor.

She should speak to Lady Riveria tomorrow.

She'll be fine.

 

[minuseven]

There should be only one more part to go for chapter 1 (omg wtf).
In this exciting installment, Lefiya makes the same terrible choices an almost 12-years-old would do. I did research how to depict a situation comparable to chronic pain, but I'm not sure how it feels in the end. Building on that, I tried setting up Lefiya's canonical low self-esteem. Sure, she doesn't look like she's troubled most of the time, but I really like how her fear of being abandoned and of failing to live up to expectations meshes well with this AU. As somebody with something akin to a chronic disease, she has lots of guilt but also anger. She ends up falling into a few bad mental habits because of it. Also, since this is 3 chapters long and ends before we'd get to Rakia invading, I stole a bit from SO9 for the fluff. Features Lefiya "I'm Fine" Viridis, Riveria Ljos "Not Another One" Alf and Ais "I Get It Now" Wallenstein, and guest stars Elfy "Help" Colette.

Hedera
1: The Beginning of (cont. 3)​

The evaluation is thorough and merciless. Lefiya gets a front row seat to the standards that the real adventurers of Loki Familia hold themselves to. They are so very high it's intimidating. But also amazing.

She is nowhere near ready to go with the familia's main contingent in expeditions, not even as a supporter. Lady Riveria gives a quick rundown of her skills, then lays out all of the places in which she has to improve. It is a long exhaustive list that starts with basic conditioning and ends with advanced magic studies with Lady Riveria herself. Knowing herself as she does, she is already dreading the long hours of bow and staff techniques she will learn under the instruction of the other elves of her new familia. Fortunately, there are also long hours marked down as studying, hopefully from books.

She will form battle parties with the other supporters of Loki Familia and get more experience in the upper and upper-middle floors. She is given a list of people, of supplies, of books, of rules. Lefiya gathers it all in her small arms, feeling overwhelmed.

It's just past lunch and she is already so tired. Sleep was fleeting. Two of her remaining blockers have already been used. She has to take careful breaths when the discomfort flares up. Nothing about this is new, but everything is a drain on her inner resources.

She has written down in her notes, underlined for all the emphasis that Lady Riveria had given it: Mental Stamina and Strength. The very cornerstones of a mage's power. Things Lefiya has to improve.

She can't find it in herself to open her mouth. The words curdle in her tongue. Her ears lie at a cant.

She bows to the high elf and leaves the archives feeling shame weight down on her shoulders. She'd been spoiled by Goddess' Isis gift. She has a budget to equip herself to new standards. She has enough for potions, maybe even a suppressor of good quality. She'll be fine. If she can't handle this, how dare she even show her face? Has she not been chosen by Goddess Loki? Had Lady Riveria not given her approval?

Lefiya doesn't want to fall short of their expectations.

Riveria watches her go with one eye closed, deep in thought.


Somehow she manages to last nearly a month before things come crashing down.

She integrates into her new familia with an ease she wasn't expecting. There are long hours spent drilling over the basics she never had to learn with Lady Isis, and many chores, as befitting of a supporter in a large familia. A large, loud but warm familia. Among the lower ranks, everybody is friendly and welcoming and, sometimes, some of the upper ranks will even talk to her for no reason at all.

The Hiryute Sisters have nearly given Lefiya more than one heart-attack by pulling her aside to talk. As if their stations were even close! Fortunately, it usually ends with Ms. Tione dragging Ms. Tiona away before Lefiya panics.

She joins Arcs, Cynthia, Orba and her roommate Elfy on the upper floors of the Dungeon, getting used to the flow and tactics of an exploration familia. Mr. Cruz starts to prepare to take their party into the upper-middle levels, somewhere Lefiya had only gone when protected by much larger parties with Isis Familia. She gets known among the lower ranks for having the most important quality of an adventurer: to be able to fall asleep anywhere at any time.

Because in truth, Lefiya is tired. She takes any chance to rest, usually over books in the archive, because her nights are never uninterrupted. She can't fall asleep in the middle of training, or gods forbid in front of Lady Riveria. There's no resting in the Dungeon, even protected by a party. Lefiya chokes on the malevolence of those walls, mind flashing to the piles of flesh that can't be called corpses and rivers of blood that have long since haunted her imagination.

She has not a free valis left, all of them spent on a medium grade suppressor and a slew of blocker potions. She pours over books in the night, long since having mastered the art of not waking up her roommates. She throws back her potions at regular intervals without people noticing, the movement drilled better into her than any staff technique. She keeps up with Lady Riveria's lessons despite the fog in her mind. She is being pushed further than ever, faster than ever.

Being an adventurer is exhausting. Her bones ache sympathetically. A migraine has waxed and waned for the past two weeks without ever going fully away. She can't imagine succeeding as she has if the bond still bothered her as it had in the very beginning. The constant ache in her chest is partially suppressed and the bad moments, teeth on her bones, the itch of lost limbs, only happen every few days.

It's her new reality. She just has to get used to it. Wasn't this… what she wanted?


Goddess Loki updates her status for the second time and taps the increase in her Endurance and Magic on the sheet she passes her. Her eyes are open a sliver, and that is enough for Lefiya to find one of the empty bottles decorating the floor quite pretty and interesting.

She's not going any further than the fifteenth, Loki states plainly. She's forbidding Mr. Cruz from taking their party any further. Lefiya knows their party is strong enough, four third-class members led by a second-class adventurer below the thirteeth a certain point. By numbers alone, they could go past the safe point on the eighteenth. There's only one reason why not.

Lefiya clenches her fists in her dress, a new, enchanted cloth provided for her from the funds of the familia.

Mr. Cruz will want to know why they can't go further before long. He will ask. The captain will not override their goddess' order without good reason. So the captain will ask Loki. And what Finn Deime is told, Lady Riveria will know. Lefiya can tell herself many things, but not that she hasn't noticed how the vice-captain's eyes linger on her. She feels them when she's regulating her breathing so that she doesn't pant like an animal, when she clenches her fingers around a quill or plays with her ears so that she doesn't hide her aching head and eyes in her arms.

Lefiya feels very small and she promises she will tell. She will tell, at the end of the month. She says it to a goddess, so it has to be true.


Lefiya is just as good at covert mid-night studying as she is at mid-night crying. It helps clear her head and empty her lungs. Her migraine worsens but the release takes her under quickly, granting her precious hours of sleep.

As the days inexorably pass, she starts doing it more often.


Her body instinctively flinches away when the floor at her feet rumbles. The Dungeon Worm's maw misses her, teeth made for mankind's flesh flashing in the rapidly disappearing light of her magic circle. Unlike what others might think, Lefiya is extremely familiar with how those teeth would feel if they had snared her.

The next moment, she's hitting the wall with bone-breaking force, thrown by the worm's flailing body. Ears ringing, she hears her party call her name. But she gets up, her body not failing her yet. She's alright. Arcs slides in front of her, shield held high, hiding her from the monsters' gaze. Cynthia and Orba are already hacking at the worm. Mr. Cruz yells for her in concern from where he's single handedly keeping an entire pack of Almirajs at large.

Everybody is so amazing.

Lefiya straightens and gives them a confident smile. Protected by Arcs, she starts chanting.

She splits their last high potion with their vanguard, and takes a regular potion to help with the climb back to the surface. She feels more scuffed than usual, and the ache in her chest is more potent than usual. Unwilling to take a blocker potion while her party's eyes are on her, she waits until they are back in the light of the sun. Likewise, returning early from the Dungeon nets their party empty showers, and their teammates allow her to bathe first since she's an elf.

Lefiya has grown surrounded by other races and has no big problems with baring herself to others in the same familia, not like Lady Riveria must, but today she appreciates it. She notes the edges of a dark red bruise forming around her ribs with a sigh. She'll have to be even more careful with sleep that night.

After an early dinner, she collapses into bed. Her chest flares with pain and she uncaps another blocker. She shouldn't be taking so many of them, she knows, but if she spends another evening awake for hours, trying desperately to sleep, she will have a loud crying fit in front of Elfy. And then she'll have to find an explanation that doesn't sound pathetic.

She's just tired. What a great adventurer she makes indeed.


It's just another night with aches pulsing from her lungs. Lefiya is so exhausted she falls asleep before Elfy is back.

A pointed stab below her breast snaps her awake. She turns over and over, trying to find a better position. As she takes a deep breath to calm her mind, the pain returns with a vengeance. With a quiet groan, she remembers she's also got bruises today.

It's so hot she's sweating, but she lacks the energy to kick off the covers. Instead, she stretches her legs to poke a foot out and hisses as it pulls on her chest. It… really hurts, actually.

After a night spent vacillating between troubled sleep and uncomfortable awakenings, Lefiya can see the sky start to lighten from her bed. The sun is rising in the east, but Orario's walls will keep its rays out for several hours still. She wonders how long until they hit the tallest towers of Twilight Manor. It's light enough that she could grab a book and do something productive with her sleepless time, but today she completely lacks the physical energy to even try.

Her mouth is dry and her breaths are shallow. Lefiya wets her lips and eyes the jar of water in their room. She sits up and gasps, almost falling back down as a shock of pain runs from her ribs to her spine. She coughs into her elbow, every spasm more painful than the last before she makes herself stop. She trembles with the effort and the pain, and her hazy mind registers how every breath is laborious and closely followed by a needle piercing through her sides.

It's not the worst thing Lefiya has felt. However, it's the only one she has felt so linked to her own movements, her own senses. It overshadows even the familiar pulse of pain near her heart. She tastes iron and looks at her nightgown's sleeve. There are specks of red and brown dotting the light fabric.


Elfy Colette is woken at the break of dawn by her younger roommate falling to the floor of their room with a choked out cry. She hurries to her side. Lefiya is a bit distant from people, but she knows elves aren't very open as a rule. Nevertheless, what little she sees of her roommate in private worries her just a little bit.

Not five minutes later, she is running out of her room in a panic. Only the early hour keeps her from shouting out for Line or another healer. She has to find Anakitty or Alicia or anybody! It is precisely because it is so early that she bumps into Ais Wallenstein herself, heading down to train.

A rushed explanation later and Ais shoots up back the stairs, Elfy returning to their room.

A few minutes later, Rivaria Ljos Alf strides in, hair undone and face set in stone.


"Fool of an elf!"

Lefiya flinches away from Lady Riveria's tirade, jade green healing magic flaring and easing her breathing. The vice-captain is thunderous as she examines the much younger elf, and cutting in her diagnostic. She could have died, had she not been an upper-class adventurer. Broken ribs, severely aggravated by sleeping on them, had punctured her lung and collapsed it. Feverish as she is, there had been an infection too.

Lefiya keeps her eyes averted as her superior glares down at her, as her roommate sits shakily in her own bed, as the ace of their familia stands by the closed door of the room. Her jaw is locked tight. Tears rim her eyes. Lady Riveria forces her to meet her eyes. Her hands had been careful and soothingly cold as she'd examined her ribs, but now her fingers weigh a thousand tons as they grip the juncture between her shoulder and neck. Lefiya vividly remembers how, as a child, the matron had twisted her long ears on the rare occasions she misbehaved.

She can't hide injuries, she is told. The party relies on their mages and must know that they are capable of supporting their fighters. Distractions are unacceptable. Miscommunications are fatal. Lies are unforgivable.

Each word is a dagger, driven down even deeper by the concerned looks of the two girls looking on.

Something snaps. Lefiya's been handling her condition for years. She has potions to combat it, items to mitigate it, an entire repertoire of tricks to tide her over each and every day! She can handle it, she always has! Her words rush out, half-stammered and hysterical, but loud. If they want to know about it so much, well- well, why had they even accepted somebody as wrong, as defective, as broken as her!

The silence rings loudly in her ears. In Lady Riveria's wide green eyes, she sees her reflection crying bitterly.

Stupid. Childish.

The feelings that had been straining against her control are so very small now. Suffocating guilt and shame make her shrink on the bed, and she appreciates the sting of her still tender ribs. She apologizes quietly, knowing that Lady Riveria is right, and starts to explain, words halting and broken. She had never meant for anything like this to happen. She hadn't even realized that she had been hurt.

"But didn't it hurt?" Ais Wallenstein asks from the door, the Sword Princess somehow looking very confused as she furrows her brow.

Lefiya can't help but blink in astonishment. It had never crossed her mind. "I didn't think it was my pain."


She is forced to explain her situation in detail the very same day. It is the first time she sees the inside of the captain's office. Captain Finn, Lady Riveria and Master Gareth listen patiently, and Goddess Loki confirms with what she saw of her soul. They communicate between themselves with mere looks, and Lefiya doesn't look, so that she doesn't catch the disappointment they share.

"For safety reasons, there's certain people who will need to know at least the functional details of your situation," says the captain, and then he asks her something that Lefiya had only vaguely thought about. How does she want to explain her habits to whom will ask? Taking potions regularly is strange, so how does she want to play this? What does Lefiya want people to know? He puts the choice in her hands, and it's like being handed something precious.

Not that choice. But the trust. That Lefiya will stay and grow and become a valued part of the familia.

Of course, Loki grins with an unnerving face, that doesn't mean Lefiya is escaping punishment for worrying everybody.


Lefiya would very much like it if everybody stopped mentioning, aludding or even hinting at the 'punishment outfit'. Betrayal, traitors everywhere, her own brethren!


Lady Riveria takes her to a magic item maker Lefiya has never heard about, and gets her the strongest suppressor she has. At a medicinal familia, she gets a varied schedule for blocker potions, herbs and even an incense, to avoid the long term effects of abusing a single type of emergency blocker.

Throughout the entire day, her Lady scathingly lectures her about the proper mindset and responsibilities of a mage, along with explicit examples of what happens when things go wrong in the Dungeon.

Her debt to the Familia is great now. So, Lady Riveria declares, Lefiya must stay.


Mr. Gareth saves several hours one day to teach her like she is part of the frontlines. Those who shield their comrades, he tells her, learn to ignore the pain of injuries, so as to not stumble when they are most needed. But when the battle is done, it's important to be able to know how one is hurt. Likewise, to always just ignore whatever pains you can become disastrous, as Lefiya has recently learnt herself.

After feeling monsters tear into your flesh, day after day, does one even notice a light stabbing in the kidneys?

Lefiya's pain tolerance is too good, her sense of pain too skewed. She is a rearguard mage with the mentality of a frontline warrior. She doesn't know how to check her body for damage. When to stop and rest.

Those are all things he teaches her, and more.


Ais Wallenstein brings her a sword and teaches her how to maintain it.

Lefiya doesn't get it, but the gesture is thoughtful, she thinks. The beautiful blonde warrior insists that it's a good habit. Every day. Like the regular meditations Lady Riveria insists their mages practice. Ms. Aiz nods seriously and carefully pats her head, telling her to always eat her carrots.

Lefiya's heart does something and her throat goes dry, but the older, beautiful girl is gone before she can talk to her.


The days flow and Lefiya truly becomes part of Loki Familia. It is like she had been standing on the threshold of an open door, almost inside, but not really. Under pain of mortifying costumes, she makes an effort not to hide herself and her struggles, and in return the rest of the familia adjust their space and habits around her too.

Inside the Dungeon, Lefiya has permission to dose herself with so many blockers that she can't feel a twinge. The only difference is that now their packs always include enough blocker potions for her, as well as a spare suppressive amulet.

But on the surface, things change.

Elfy listens to her requests and they start sleeping with the window open. Schedules become more flexible, and she can signal the other elves that she needs to train another time. She finds the corner she had claimed for herself in the archives mysteriously acquires a heavy blanket and a set of scented candles. Lady Riveria trusts her to study on her own when she cannot concentrate during their lessons. Orba, Cynthia, Arcs and Mr. Cruz, informed of her condition, learn how to read her state with eerie accuracy.

Lefiya has spent the last three years fighting through the pain in her soul until she fell down exhausted on her books.

Now she is working around it, and everything is so much easier. Never easy. But not as hard and tiring as before.


She goes past the fifteenth. Past the eighteenth.

Lefiya turns twelve. Her body begins changing and presents her with an entire new set of challenges.

She joins in on expeditions with the entire familia, as a supporter. Goes past the twenty-fourth.

She turns thirteen. She lands the killing blow on the Amphisbaena, casting Wynn Fimbulvetr.

She levels up, taking one step closer to divinity.


Lady Riveria smiles at her and raises a toast. Tiona and Tione have their arms slung around Lefiya's shoulders and even Ms. Ais is clapping. All of these people, she has opened her heart to. The days where she hid are long gone, fading into embarrassing memories. She isn't alone, she tells herself.

It is time for her to join the main party as a full-fledged combatant of Loki Familia. She has more than proven herself, and risen above her circumstances and the meager hopes placed in her. Learning her spells, supporting their combatants and making her own mark in the world.

In the Denatus that will come, Loki will have her named Thousand Elf. The student and successor to Riveria Ljos Alf herself.

---

Of note about the way Loki Familia functions (as well as other big familias) is that Lefiya started out in a party of lower-levels. She's got connections to the few named characters I got in the manga that could have been her previous squad before she leveled up and overtook them. Also, while Riveria did teach her a few spells and had a hand in her training, like she does to all the elves in the familia, she likely only really took her in as her apprentice (the real deal) once she leveled up to 3. Shame we don't know more about the Elf Force, but we can assume that they are Riveria's personal squad, and that every single elf in Loki has been trained to be able to fight together. Also, they're 95% girls probably considering Loki so...

 

[minuseven]

Read a story. Ooh, shinny new concept! Write story. Look at clock. Look at calendar. Look at pile of unread books. Despair.
Didn't want to SI or OCinsert so I just... picked Bell. Also wanted to maybe try something different so I got to him before Orario. I'm thinking Ganesha with this one...
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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1

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This was it. Bell was going to die before ever reaching Orario. He didn't even know why, or how. Everything just hurt too much. He couldn't get out of the bed he'd rented for cheap in the inn. He was still a couple of days away from the Dungeon City itself. He was so close.

He wondered if this was what his grandpa had felt before going beyond. He hoped not. It was really painful. Like a red-hot knife carving into him. He couldn't open his eyes. He could barely hear vaguely familiar voices in the distance.

[-]
[Process Complete]
[-]

Bell gasped as a rush of information got slammed into his head.

[-]
[Greetings, newest Archivist of the Celestial Menagerie.]
[The Celestial Menagerie is a post-reality collective dedicated to, for confidential reasons, the preservation of lifeforms and the preservation of knowledge related to lifeforms found throughout extant and extinct metarealities.]
[As part of the everlasting protocol managing the Celestial Menagerie, We search through multiple metarealities for souls capable of becoming new archival nodes of the Celestial Menagerie. Such souls are thus categorized as archivists. The soul of an archivist, henceforth referred to as an archival node, is capable of being, and thus is, engraved with archived patterns of lifeforms found throughout multiple metarealities. Upon expiration of the physical or metaphysical form, the archival node is then collected by the Celestial Menagerie. An archivist's sole role and purpose is to exist and keep their archival node and engraved patterns intact.]
[As previous studies have shown, an archival node is capable of expanding and supporting more than a single pattern. This process has been labeled as growth for ease of comprehension. To facilitate growth, archivists are granted the ability to summon any pattern engraved in their corresponding archival node, as well as selected enhancements. The process of engraving new patterns and upgrades onto their archival node is automatic and thus mainly random.]
[Fortunately, this is an automatic protocol. Being selected as an Archivist is thus not subject to review. Complaints will not be lodged.]
[-]

The pain was gone very suddenly, but he remained laying down in bed, staring at the ceiling as the inn's workers stared at him. He swallowed. He'd only followed what had been mind-written in his head partially, but he thought he'd gotten the gist of it.

Bell had been… chosen? Sort of but not really and for no discernable reason to a mortal like him. To have creatures? In maybe his soul? And that did give him the power to summon them, but only once a day and close to him… and… that was it? Bell was so full of questions.

"I thought Gods needed to have descended to the Lower World to give people their blessing?" He said to himself.

Unfortunately, he had no time for deep reflection. Having apparently miraculously recovered from his sudden onset of pain and weakness, he got summarily kicked out of the inn. The owner apologized but explained that he did not run an hospice or hospital and that Bell should just head to the closest one. If he could find a carriage that would have him.

And so Bell was left in the middle of the street as people stared suspiciously at him and avoided being too close. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the words to explain that no, he did not have a plague or any disease, it had been… divine… intervention? Maybe?

With a heaving sigh, he decided not to try and grabbed his meager possessions. He should just figure out what had happened to him before anything else. He knew, just like that, that he had been granted the ability to summon a creature named Murra. And while Bell had never heard of the Murra in any of the stories his grandfather had told him, he had a vivid image of what a Murra looked like and what it could do.

Unwillingly to have the small town he was in running screaming because he had just made something that looked like a monster appear in mid-air, he took the path out of town and into the hills. Actually, would his Murra count as a monster? It looked like one. Apparently it usually behaved like one, even if the one summoned by him was perfectly loyal and would always obey his words. He knew it instinctively, but the villagers… ah, it would probably make them take out the pitchworks. Maybe even call in adventurers to kill Bell.

He pictured a handsome adventurer cutting his Murra and Bell down, dashingly looking behind him to reassure a girl that she was safe now.

He shivered and moaned in despair.. This wasn't what he had imagined when he said he'd wanted to become an adventurer to meet girls!

---

Murra (Xenoblade) notes: i have absolutely no knowledge of any of the xeno series. but like, a murra is definitely human sized from what youtube tells me.

 

[minuseven]

And with a roll of the dice unseen as soon as I hit 2k, Bell's fate is decided as part of Ganesha Familia. They're not gonna turn him down and they are the first adventurers he'll see in Orario so...
Still have no clue how Murras work so I just made it up. Also, Bell will be adorable with his ... pets? I mean, it's Bell. Sadly, still no rabbit themed summons.
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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2

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In between two moderate hills Bell got ready to summon his Murra for the first time.

"How should I do it… maybe like: Appear!" He pointed at an empty spot. "Or: Summon!" This time he thrust his fist in the air. "Aah, I look so silly." It wasn't like Bell had to do anything more than will it, but it was magic, sort of. It should have an oomph.

No more stalling.

Bell prepared himself. "Come forth, Murra!" He declared, and gestured with vigor to a spot in front of himself. And as he wished it, the Murra appeared in this world.

Bell's eyes grew wide at the flying creature in front of him. He'd know its size, but it was another thing completely to see it and feel how big it was.

The Murra's body was the size of a large dog, or maybe even a wolf, in a simple shape like a bee, but smooth and not segmented like an insect's. A wide front body and head that slimmed down into a tail of sorts, with a single big yellow eye. It was overshadowed by two wings, each just as big as the body, that looked like some of the dragon wings in his grandfather's illustrations. Simpler, but definitely dragon wings with glowing blueish spikes on the edges.

Lazily beating its wings in front of Bell, he was very glad he decided not to summon it in the village. He would definitely have been chased out and killed.

But the Murra was actually sort of beautiful, he thought as he took a step closer and examined it in the real world. Its body was white and smooth, with lines and tiny holes that all looked almost made and not natural. The Murra's single yellow eye followed him, but he felt no aggressiveness. He reached out with his hand and the Murra flew closer until he touched it. It felt smooth. Almost like glass, or really good plates. He gave the animal a few pets. Murra seemed to like it maybe?

"Should I give you a name? Or should I just keep calling you Murra?"

Murra stared dispassionately at him. It seemed it had no opinion on it. Actually, from what he just knew… Murras weren't very smart. Wait. Actually actually, what did he know about Murras exactly?

Well, his Murra was a female and she could, theoretically, have baby Murras all alone! Except not because she was a summon. Murras fed on something called ether, which he sort of knew was like magic. But his Murra didn't need to. They weren't very smart. They lived in colonies like bats and liked to sleep upside down too. They could gather ether-magic in their heads for later and blast enemies or self-destruct in an explosion if they really had to.

"Hm, don't self-destruct ever, alright?" He hurriedly told Murra. He really didn't like the thought of her dying for him, or any reason. He knew she'd just go back to... being a spell. But still. "How about… show me your blast! There, hit that."

Bell pointed at a patch of struggling grass a couple of meders away. Murra complied and, rearing just a bit back, blasted a ray of light at the ground. With a fzzsh sound, the bolt hit the ground and exploded dirt in every direction. Bell coughed from the dust kicked up and stared at the impact site. There was a small crater, with a hole almost as big as his head in the ground.

"Whoa. You're so strong!" It was only dirt and grass, but still! It had to be at least as strong as a mage's spell!

He imagined going into the Dungeon with Murra at his side and blasting goblins away while he… Bell frowned. That wasn't really the image he wanted. He didn't want Murra to fight for him. No, more like: Murra at his side, blasting away while Bell swung a sword. He'd cut down a goblin, then point at the one getting away, shouting, Murra get him! And f-zoosh! The goblin would die, but then, he'd see a sneaky goblin trying to come up from behind and he'd slash, saving Murra! And before he could notice anything Murra would summersault with her wings over him and tackle away a goblin he hadn't noticed himself.

The girl they were saving would look up to their team with wide eyes, blushing cheeks. A maiden, impressed by his sword, his summon and their teamwork! A knight with a tame dragon-like animal companion! A beautiful and adorable companion!

"Isn't that right, yes you are the best Murra! And we're going to be the best team!" Bell hugged Murra as best as he could. She hugged back in a way, curling around him and enveloping his shoulders and head with her wings. Bell grinned. He had really been lucky with his summon. She was really pretty if you just bothered to look, with shiny bits and a beautiful pattern on the underside of her wings.

She looked a bit like a dragon monster… maybe that would be a problem. But, if he just explained it really well when he joined a familia, and then he summoned her, there would probably be no problems. "Probably best not to appear in Orario with you summoned however." He told her, holding her in his arms.

He could already imagine the horrors that would happen to him. Or, his very quick death.

But speaking of dragons, there was one other thing. Bell had something called a theme. He could make his summon look like she had scales like a dragon, or a lizard or a fish. If he wanted to, from what he understood, when he summoned her he could choose to have her appear as a regular Murra or a Scales-themed Murra.

"Let's try it then girl. I'm going to summon you again. This won't hurt, I promise." He told his partner, but it seemed she already knew. Or at least that was the impression he got.

They really were connected. Like a hunter and their partner hunting dog. It seemed like that was the type of adventurer that he was going to be. It wasn't a prospect he disliked. Not at all.

He unsummoned Murra with just a thought and just as suddenly as she'd appeared, she disappeared into thin air. She wasn't gone though. Bell could summon her again, he knew and… his face went as white as his air as he realized that no, he couldn't. Bell had forgotten he could only summon a creature once per day. He could tell, very precisely, that he was only going to be able to summon Murra again in twenty-four hours.

Well, Bell felt like an idiot, but at the same time, he was really happy. He had a special power now, like the heroes in the stories. Sure he didn't really know how he'd gotten it or why. He was fairly sure it hadn't been any of the Gods. But now all he had to do was to go on an adventure and save girls. It'd be just like the stories, his childhood dream.

He just had to get to Orario and find a familia.

---

Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
1 just acquired summon

 

[minuseven]

I mean sometimes you just. Dump scenes into your keyboard yet they mean nothing. And I'm not even trying to pad with words to get more primogems points.
I should go read books. Educate myself. Go the gym. Feel better. Oooor I could just pointless mid-tier escapism. Yet am I escaping my life by not paying attention to it and letting it flow by me while I waste it writing pointless stuff? ... hm. How about I avoid that whole line of thinking and just open Gdocs again?
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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3

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The great walls of the Labyrinth City became visible as the carriage crested the hill and Bell couldn't help but let his mouth fall open. It was so much bigger than he'd imagined.

Next to him, the wagon driver chuckled at the look on his face. "Always impressive, innit?"

Bell nodded, still dumbstruck.

He'd spent almost the entirety of his money to get on the quickest caravan to Orario. It'd been expensive, but as a bonus he also got meals out of it. He couldn't take the slow way.

As he'd been returning to town after summoning for the first time, he'd been struck by the same strange pain as when he'd gotten his summoning. It had been almost instant, but just as painful. But when it had passed, he'd found himself with a whole new summon to try. And it had not been just any summon either, but a very special one.

It was a big, black and red spider called a Bolamite, and it was special because it was Live Ammo. Literally living ammunition. Ammunition for a special crossbow that Bell was suddenly also capable of summoning. He ran a hand over the folded crossbow bracer attached to his forearm. He'd barely taken it off since he'd gotten it. His own very first weapon. Sure, it could only fire Bolamites or the few odd shaped rocks he could find here or there, but it was still a marvelous piece of blacksmithing.

At first, Bell had been wary of firing his Bolamite, which he'd named Bola, but the spider had seemed to actually take offense to that. He supposed that was how Live Ammo went on their own adventures. Besides, he could summon Live Ammo that stayed only a few minutes in the world directly in the crossbow, once every minute. It didn't seem like a lot, but one minute felt like forever while practicing.

He actually had Bolla summoned right now, tucked into a newly sewn pocket in his shirt. He'd been careless and the people in the caravan had seen him practice his newly acquired but very basic shooting. After a few hurried explanations, one of the older women had even sewn them the little pocket with a flap. For an adventurer that would be famous one day, she'd said. Bell might have cried a little.

Bell's life was definitely shaping up.

"Alright." Said the wagon driver as their caravan got in line behind many other wagons, carriages, mules. "We'll continue on this lane, but you should go up ahead and try the line for new entrances. You're not a merchant, and this will take a while. All the cargo is going to have to be inspected by Ganesha Familia and the Guild."

"There's so many people…" Bell noted, then turned to thank him for his help.

He picked up his pack and went down the caravan, thanking people and saying goodbye. They were a small but warm group from a faraway city, and they'd been so gracious to him despite seeing him shoot his pet spiders.

One of the older men slapped his shoulders with a laugh. "It's a shame it's still too early for Monster Feria. We're not staying that long. I would have loved to see if you made it into the arena, Little Hunter."

Bell tried very hard not to blush at the nickname they had given him. He liked his first moniker. It wasn't bad! "Hum, pardon but what is a Monster Feria?"

"You don't know? I'd thought you did, the way you use your little critter. It's a festival in which Ganesha Familia brings monsters from the dungeon and tames them in front of an audience. Loads of people come and see it, even from very far away! We always make a lot of money, the streets are that full." He nodded sagely. "It's good business for Orario."

Bell furrowed his own brows. "A Familia that tames monsters?" He'd never heard of it.

But apparently they were known for it. Ganesha Familia was not just the Familia that manned the gates and enforced the law in Orario, but also the one who made the Monster Feria a reality. Suddenly, Bell knew which Familia he was going to have to join.

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Bolamite (Oddworld) notes: very awesome, got me curious about oddworld but not enough to like play it

Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
Bolamite (Oddworld)
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Special Crossbow (Oddworld)

 

[minuseven]

I forgot to post this one because the dice aren't giving me anything. Also, filling out a familia as large as Ganesha will be a task. There are 11 level 5s, that's more than in academy city...
Pell is supposed to mean tusk. I think names are going to be either indian/arabic, food names, and just plain random. Bell too is a bit naive so he just actually says he has powers ahah anyway I'm almost done with the next part, it will all depend on what the dice give me.
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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4

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It had taken a while to get into the city proper, but as soon as the guard at the entrance had declared him clear, Bell had turned to the dwarven woman and asked if she was part of Ganesha Familia, if they really did the Monster Feria and if so, where could he join the Familia.

It had certainly surprised her, but she'd given him rough directions for her Familia home, with the certain but haunted expression on her face as she told him he would know when he got there.

Despite that strange start, Bell's first moments in Orario were everything he could have ever expected and more. There were so many people and they were all different. All the races he could imagine and more adventurers than he could count! Shops selling armor and weapons, books and potions, magic stone powered appliances and other things of the best craftsmanship in the world! Orario was the city of dreams. And above it all, well visible past the tallest walls in the world, Babel rose into the sky until Bell was almost looking at the sun itself. Orario was, too, the city of the gods.

Somehow, he managed to stop gawking at everything and everyone. There had been a pair of incredibly beautiful elves and he'd had to look away before he made an even bigger fool of himself. So he followed his directions, asking for clarification a couple of times. Everybody seemed certain that he would find Lord Ganesha's home easily though.

That God has a unique taste, had said one shopkeeper with a sideway glance.

Then Bell turned a corner and saw, at the end of a long paved street, what everybody had meant. A huge statue, at least four storeys tall, of a man with an elephant mask sitting down. It was certainly the home to Ganesha Familia, with their elephant shaped emblem. But, thought Bell with some dread, even from this angle, wasn't the entrance… there?

He cautiously approached.

Yes, the entrance was definitely… there.

Maybe Bell shouldn't join Ganesha Familia. No, he shook his head. This was the right familia. And it was a very big familia too, the biggest, so it couldn't be that bad right? And nobody would ever laugh at him for the lessons his grandpa had given Bell when he was a kid, for sure. Maybe nobody would even care if he just said it outright that he wanted to be a hero like in the stories. His resolve restored, Bell walked up to the front gate. The two guards looked at him questioningly but Bell managed to stand his ground.

"I-I am here to join this Familia!" Oh no that sounded arrogant and off. He rapidly blurted out an explanation. "Please! I heard Ganesha Familia had the best tamers so I would be honored to join your ranks!"

The guards blinked and one of them gave him a very obvious look over. His eyes stopped on the crossbow and Bell hoped he was impressed enough. The other however, seemed intrigued as he leaned over and asked Bell "You want to join Ganesha because you want to be a tamer? Most people that want to be adventurers don't dream of fighting alongside monsters."

Bell scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. In truth, two weeks ago he had been one of those people. "I'm hm, sort of already a bit of a tamer so I want to be able to fight with my summons."

The guards exchanged a look. "A bit of a tamer?" "Summons?"

"Oh hm." Bell decided to take a bit of a risk, but they seemed like good people. "Please don't kill it but Bola, come up here." He said, tapping his right shoulder.

From his new breast pocket, Bola climbed over the rim and skittered up his shirt until it was resting on his shoulder. The fist sized red and black spider stared dispassionately at the two humans staring at her. Besides a little flinch, they hadn't reacted.

"Is that a… tiny monster?"

"Bola is more like ammunition really." Bell answered without thinking.

The guards stared at him, at his crossbow, at Bola then back at his face. "You shoot... spiders at things?" The one on the right asked.

"Bola can web up a boar before it can react!" Bell explained proudly. "I've been really successful at hunting with them. And I asked and they want to be shot." On his shoulder Bola tapped her front legs meaningfully. Bell really had had some great success at hunting while traveling with the caravan.

"I think he has potential." The guard on the left said to his partner. Said partner sighed and shrugged as if to say it wasn't his problem. Then he turned to Bell, whose eyes had widened and were nearly sparkling from the excitement he felt. "I'll lead you in and have someone evaluate you better. What's your name?"

"I'm Bell Cranel. Thank you so much!" He bowed to the guards.

"That's a coincidence! My name is Pell." The guard laughed and grabbed Bell's shoulder. "You'll still have to impress our bosses, but I hope you make it."

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Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
Bolamite (Oddworld)
---
Special Crossbow (Oddworld)

 

[minuseven]

The dice are not on Bell's side. Or at least, not on mine. No new fancy creatures, although at least the next summon can be powerful considering the points are being banked. Hm. Also, want to write some of the parts in the caravan because they are sort of cute and because the scales theme hasn't really come up in any meaningful way yet.
Finally, a named canon character!
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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It turned out that Ganesha Familia's home wasn't just the huge statue, but also included a number of buildings around it, and Pell had explained to Bell, the familia was so large that they had several other smaller buildings to house and support their members throughout Orario. But I Am Ganesha, which was what their statue-home was named, had the best rooms and kitchen and everything else.

Bell struggled with the need to ask whether or not everything about Ganesha Familia was as... extravagant as their home.

Mister Pell saved him the trouble, clapping him on the shoulder and saying. "Lord Ganesha is the God of the Masses, and he takes his duty of making people happy and safe very seriously. He is Ganesha. You will know this whether you join our familia or not." He sighed and stared dead ahead. "He is also a bit eccentric and has strange tastes in decorations."

They passed a row of gold, muscled elephant statues.

"However, Lord Ganesha cares a lot about all of us and Orario. He is loud and so full of energy even first-class adventurers can't keep up. He will always be your first and biggest fan. There are many gods in Orario that don't care about their familias like Lord Ganesha does. He is very embarrassing to some of us sometimes… and to all of us some others… but we stand with Ganesha because he always stands with us and the people."

Bell stared at the older adventurer, who smiled ruefully. There was a knowing pride in his voice, his spine straight. Bell really wanted to join Ganesha Familia. It sounded like a really nice place. He would never be alone again. Bell could tell that much, and couldn't help the nervous smile that grew on his face.

After a few more turns, they came into a room that was different from the others. Unlike the finery and excessive ornamentation that was found everywhere else, this room was mostly bare. It still had a row of couches and a table, but in the center of the room there was a slightly raised platform many meders wide. It wasn't tiled or made out of wood, but seemingly out of bare rock. From a distance, Bell thought he could see divots and cracks in the stone where things had damaged it.

He was struck with the sudden but probably accurate mental image of having to fight to prove his worth in this arena.

Mister Pell gestured to the couches. "You can sit down while we wait. It shouldn't be long before somebody comes in to interview you." When they had entered I Am Ganesha, Mister Pell had briefly stopped to say something to a couple of people, but since then they hadn't really talked to the people they'd crossed in the hallways. Mister Pell just kept them moving.

"Oh, thank you." Bell put down his knapsack before he sat down, spine ramrod straight.

"Calm down." Mister Pell sat down next to him, removing his helmet and placing it on the table. It revealed a shock of spiky gray hair and an older face than Bell had expected. "You have something valuable to bring into the familia. Besides, you actually want to be a tamer! Not many people do and it's definitely a point in your favour."

"Thanks Mister Pell. I just… really want to be able to join." Bell picked at the fabric of his pants. "Ever since I got my summons, I've been a bit afraid that people wouldn't let me into their familia because of them."

"Hu-uh, I see. Your summons are your spiders? You have more than one?" The older man looked him up and down, as if trying to figure out where Bell had hidden more arachnids and if they were going to jump out and attack him.

"Yes. I can have Bola out, but the rest of them have to be in my crossbow. It's a bit of a strange rule." He lifted his arm and pointed out at the clips concealed under the crossbow's folded arms.

Before he could explain Murra, however, Pell whistled and asked, "Where did you get that crossbow? Did you make it yourself?"

Bell admired the sleek form of his crossbow too, with the deceptively fragile-looking arms and gears, and the segmented plates protecting it all. He knew from experience that it could take a good hit. Around his arm it almost looked like armor from a distance. "Ah no. It's all part of my hm… magic? I can summon it if it breaks. I'd show you but the clips are full of Bolamites like Bola and if I do that they'll be gone and I'll have to summon them separately all over again."

"That's a strange magic. What familia were you in?" A deep voice said from above and behind them.

Bell and Pell jumped in the air and turned to see a very tall human with short black hair peering down at them with a smirk. Neither of them had heard the adventurer come in, despite the man looking like he could easily wrestle a bear. Bell squeaked involuntarily, but Pell stood to attention. "Sir Hashana! What are you doing here?"

"Had nothing to do today, so I'm here to do a rookie's interview, but he might not be such a rookie at all if he can do magic." He answered his subordinate before turning back to Bell. "I thought you'd told us you'd never been in a familia before."

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Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
Bolamite (Oddworld)
---
Special Crossbow (Oddworld)

 

[minuseven]

Hashana Dorlia was Ganesha's pick to got get the orb from floor 30. Presumably, from a xenos. I'm not sure, I haven't read that far yet, but the untranslated sword oratoria manga seems to suggest so. So he's actually one of the best people Bell could ask for. As we'll see after this part, he knows monsters, knows how they act, but is also a level headed individual with no hatred for them. Unfortunately, his fatal flaw was lust. And being a bit loose-lipped.
In other news, you could have had a wyvern Bell! But it was 100 points too expensive. ahah shame.
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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"Look, you're human right? So you can't get magic without a Falna." Hashana Dorlia pointed out to Bell. There wasn't an accusing tone in his voice anymore, only something vaguely between exasperated and curious. Bell had had to swear up and down that he had not been lying. The guards at the gates of Orario had passed a special lamp over his back and everything, and they'd cleared him. "Unless you have some sort of elf or fancy beast-human blood, that should be impossible.

"I-I don't think I do?" Honestly, his grandfather had never told him anything concrete about his parents. For all Bell knew, maybe he did have an elf grandmother or great-grandmother despite having perfectly round human ears. "I don't think it's really magic, I just don't know what else I could call it." Bell fidgeted. "I don't have to chant or use a staff and it doesn't tire me like in the stories. I just think about it and I can summon things."

Hashana leaned back. They were sitting on the couches in front of one another, Pell standing in attention behind Mister Hashana. Bell's Bola was in the middle of the table between them.

"Okay. Walk me through this. When did you become able to do your summons, where were you and how does it work?"

Bell explained that he had just been resting in a town a couple of weeks away from Orario. It had been a completely normal day. He recalled that sometime after going to bed he'd started feeling an intense pain and that the next morning it had gone away, leaving him with some sort of message and rules in his head. After explaining the rules, how he could only summon a creature once per day, that they could only stay out one day before having to go back, how they were friendly and his limit of ten summons at a time, Mister Hashana was deep in thought.

"If this is all true, it's something that Ganesha will have to deal with personally." He ended up by saying, tapping his fingers on his crossed arms. "I will introduce you to our God later, one way or another what you say has happened is not normal. In the meanwhile, let's see how your creatures and summons work. Both of you, follow me into the ring."

"Me too?"

"The boy is going to need a target after all."

"Wait a minute, sir…!"

Hashana ignored Pell's complaints and had him stand ten meders away from Bell inside the stone platform. Despite the distance, both of them still had at least a couple of meders behind them. Bell estimated it was a square around fifteen meders wide.

Hashana looked curiously at him as Bell set himself roughly the ten meders away as required. "You know the distances in meders?"

Bell nodded. "Yes. Grandfather insisted. He always used meders for everything."

"Hrm. Usually, that far out of Orario people don't use meders. Just steps, hands or whatever." It was true. Most people in the village used a horse's length, but Bell's grandfather had always been very stubborn. "Okay then. First, show me you can use that crossbow of yours. Give me a shoot to that corner, then you can try shooting Pell here."

"Why me?"

Bell did as he was asked, deploying his crossbow and shooting a bolamite at an empty spot.

"You really do shoot spiders." His evaluator commented, and Bell flushed. "Okay now shoot him."

Pell grimaced and Bell tried reassuring him. "Bolamites don't hurt you, they just web up targets! They can't even bite. Probably." Actually Bell had never asked Bola to bite anything so he didn't didn't know if they could. He knew the ones loaded in his crossbow wouldn't, but he gave the ones on top a look nevertheless.

Feeling not that reassured, Pell entered a fighting stance. "Don't fight it unless you feel threatened." Commanded Hashana, and the lower level sighed at his luck. Then again, he had been the one to invite the white-haired boy in.

Bell took aim and fired. As soon as the spider was close to its target, it moved in a frenzy, shooting webbing and quickly wrapping the human up, who tried but failed to keep his balance and fell over with a curse. A smirk appeared on Hashana's face.

"Oh, this has potential."

---

Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
Bolamite (Oddworld)
---
Special Crossbow (Oddworld)

 

[minuseven]

Finally! Even tho... I'm not sure how to translate this critter...
Hashana gives me exposition! Thank you Hashana! Now I really should stop and go pack my bags or something ahah
Celestial Menagerie SV link | GSheets doc

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They tested Bell and Bola's capacities thoroughly, much to Pell's chagrin and Bell's amazement. Hashana had thought of everything. How long the webs lasted, how strong they were compared to a level one or two, how fast bolamites could web a target. Even how long the spiders Bell summoned to his crossbow lasted compared to Bola itself, who was still on Bell's shoulder. Beyond that, he tested Bell's aim, his reflexes and speed reloading and shooting in different directions, as well as making weird and tricky shots.

He wasn't bad at all, very good even for somebody without a falna, he'd told them to Bell's heart-bursting excitement.

His keen insight had Bell figure out a few things about his crossbow and live ammo. For example, Bell's limit of ten creatures at a time didn't count the bolamites in his crossbow. It made sense, because they lasted only a minute before disappearing, their webs weakening significantly after that. Bola's own webs kept their toughness, even after being unsummoned.

"Okay. Besides your bolamite, you mentioned you had a murra. Some sort of small flying monster."

"Murra's pretty big." Bell objected. "She could probably carry a child. I didn't want to summon her because she might scare people."

Hashana shook his head with a huff. "Monster-wise, she'd still be in the small category. Sounds like it's the size of a killer ant. Sometimes we classify monster much smaller than a person as tiny, but everything between a dog and an orc is small. You were right to think so tho. Having it out in Orario would be a good way of getting her, and you, killed."

Bell nodded, having suspected that.

"Okay, show me what it looks like then."

Bell summoned Murra in front of them. The porcelain white and blue creature appeared in front of them without fanfare, making Pell goggle and Hashana whistle. Her big yellow eye seemed to assess them, but the flying creature didn't do anything.

Hashana advanced without fear, running a hand over her smooth body and tapping several spots. "It's fine if she sets down? I want to see these crystals better."

"Of course! Murra, please let Mister Hashana see your wings."

The adventurer poked and prodded, asking questions to Bell. Mainly, he seemed to be interested in the ability to harvest materials from Bell's summons. It could be done, but only if they weren't harmed. From the look in Mister Hashana's eyes, Bola's silk threads were going to be in a lot of demand. Unfortunately, Murra was much sturdier. Hashan reassured Bell nobody would hurt Murra.

"Tamed monsters are still monsters and have to be treated with the appropriate respect. The rules of your summoning make it so they can never hurt you, but if you start mistreating them, they will start looking for ways to inconvenience or even hurt people around you." He explained. "You don't want to have a summon that resents you. It's just too much of a risk. You'll have to find a balance between what you want them to do and what are willing to do."

"Murra and Bola are okay with everything so far tho…"

"Yes, but if you do gain even more summons, who knows what they will want?" Hashana looked Bell in the eyes. "A dog can never be fully beaten into submission. So it's better to not even try it. Negotiate instead."

At this, Pell asked a question. "But what about normal tamers? The first step of taming a monster is always to beat it, isn't it?"

Hashana made a so-so motion with his hand. "It's complicated. For monsters born in the dungeon? Absolutely. They are born with a very strong instinctive need to kill humans, demis and beast-people. Dungeon-born monsters will rarely fight among themselves and will always prefer to target adventurers. Something about the Dungeon. It hates us. And monsters are how it kills us."

Bell gulped at the serious look on his face. Something about the way he said the Dungeon hated adventurers…

"Monsters born outside the Dungeon are a different story. Our familia actually raises wyverns for transportation in a place not very far from Orario itself. Monsters are naturally aggressive, but they act much more like animals than guided arrows trying to kill everybody. The less intelligent they were in the Dungeon, the more they become and act like animals. Goblins are untameable, they have a rudimentary intelligence in or out of the dungeon. But hellhounds for example? I bet you could tame and breed them like any kind of more aggressive dogs." Hashana scoffed. "If you can tame wolves, you can tame dogs, that's all there is to it."

He finished by explaining, "So you have to show your complete superiority, by fighting and defeating them, to the monsters of the dungeon and even then it's a gamble. On the other hand, it's possible to show yourself as a superior or provider to monsters from old lineages without being that aggressive. Although, I would never stop to say you shouldn't be ready to fight to prove it at any moment."

Bell nodded his head, and winced as he felt a familiar full body pain.

"Huh." Pell seemed to think about it. "So if I found a needle rabbit… Bell?"

The younger boy shook his head and blinked. "Ah. I got a new summon."

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Spoiler: Summons

Murra (Xenoblade)
Bolamite (Oddworld)
1 new unnamed summon
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Special Crossbow (Oddworld)