/Inferno: Semmi: Where you at Nix?
/Inferno: Nix: Running an errand, will be there in a bit.
Nix exited the elevator on the 90th floor. He walked to the edge of the instance; the buildings inside were somewhat blurry. He took a half-step forward and stopped.
[Do you wish to initiate the House nar Trial?]
"No." Nix stepped back and activated Deep Blue; he chose the Gemini Temple and entered Sanctuary. Instead of heading directly home, he walked to the Training Yard. It was filled with Acolytes. Esta was there, giving directions to the Arch Winds. Everyone was wearing the House of Inferno Armor that they had recently earned. He watched them for a few minutes and then left withoutmenting.
Nix exited the tunnel and headed toward his home. He opened the letters he received from the Houses and skimmed them while he walked. Aja was from the Drake House, and Omak was from the House of Earth. The House Lords of both houses were interested in recruiting Nix. The letter from Breach Commander Mtui was much more helpful. He was from the House of Dragons. His message wasn''t a recruitment letter but instead introduced the Houses to him. There were currently 11 Great Houses in the Sky Kingdom. Nix noted that the first house on the list was the House of Aquarion.
[Whisper: Shae to Nix] Come to the fishing spot first.
[Whisper: Nix to Shae] Sure.
A ck horse cantered easily toward him; Nix stopped for a moment to say hello to sh. The demon mare he had taken from Kedric was following the stallion closely. She didn''te when Nix called, but she didn''t run away either. He tossed her an apple from his inventory and then continued on his way.
Nix was smiling when the river came into view. His fishing spot had temporarily turned into a swimming spot. "Haven''t seen my stats in weeks, let''s take a look."
Nix [Race: Human/Smander Hybrid]
Level 110
Archon: [Subss: Breach Commander]
[ss Skill]
Direct Communication
Detect Disturbance
Summon Allies
Create Breach
Dual Wield
Tactician
Inspire
Last Stand
Strength 265
Endurance 277
Intelligence 65
Dexterity 87
Perception 89
Agility 55
Mana 34,500/34,500
Cold Resistance 250 [Ice Blessing Tier II]
Fire Immunity
Emerald me Strands 100 [me Snare] [Fire Root]
Fire Seed [Emerald]
Josori''s Stealth [Champion''s Ability]
Weapon Skills:
Primary: Path of the Fire Lord [Smander]
Secondary: Spellsword
Support Skills:
N/A
Primary Path Skills [Advanced]
Balefire
Meteor Storm [Fire]
Combustion [Fire]
Comet Strike [Fire]
Lance [Elemental: Fire, Air, Ice]
Gemini Bond [Gemini]
Critical Chain [Gemini]
Tides of me [Nemesis]
Incinerate [Nemesis]
Balefire Burst [Nemesis]
Archon''s Armor [Nemesis]
shde [Archon]
Execution [Nemesis]
Fire Burst [Fire, Air]
me Throw [Fire, Air]
Vacuum [Air]
Gusting mes [Fire, Air]
Null [Air]
Secondary Path Skills
me de
Flight of the Gryphon
[Spirit Animal 4/4]
1: Soup [Royal Sea Turtle]
2: Ducky [Water Witch]
3: Fey [Drakon]
4: Mortimer [Titan Cave Bear]
Skills:
Hunter 100
Leather Making 100
Tailor 240/500
Fishing 79/500
Nix whistled softly. "I don''t know what any of those do. Let''s try the first one.
[Direct Communication]
You must choose a target.
[Direct Communication: Breach Commander Mtui]
A life-size holo of Mtui appeared in front of him. The horned Breach Commander smiled when he saw him.
"Good battle today Nix. Next time you are in Solomon City, pleasee and see me."
Nix nodded. "I definitely will. I have a lot of questions."
"I expected that. The four of us are now, instead of three. It''s been a long time since a new Breach Commander was born."
"Cya soon, Commander Mtui."
[End Communication]
"That''s kinda cool, a life-sized holo for me to talk to." Nix smiled when he saw the preparations. Large barrels of Toma (beer), a half dozen tables of food, and every Aquarion and human member of Inferno. A huge ck Cave Bear was sleeping soundly next to a Silver Drakon; the picture waspleted nicely by Soup, who was lying near the riverbank, quietly sunning herself.
Most of Inferno was sitting on the ground in small groups of four or five people. Nix grabbed a te and started stacking it with meat.
"Breach Commander Nix!" Semmi''s face was split in a wide smile when she motioned him over. She was sitting with Mt, Mina and Shae. "Saved ya a spot!"
"On my own property, very nice Sem." He sat down next to Shae who immediately scooted closer.
Shae''s brown eyes were studying him closely as if she could see all the changes. "Did you know you were a BC?"
"No. My ss has been hidden from me since that day you left. It''s been weeks since I could even see my stats."
Shae leaned against him and swiped a piece of meat from his te. "I''m not surprised."
"Thank you Nix," Mina spoke from across their small circle of friends. "When I saw how many people were blocking our path, I lost all hope."
Semmi''s pretty face still wore a smile. "Do you see Pon p Fire-Nado on those three Grand Elders? He''s so proud of himself."
Mt nudged Nix with his foot and pointed to the food table. Ducky had a te in her hand and was filling it with fruit. "Ducky seems very different."
Nix nodded in agreement. "My ss Advancement caused size changes in Soup, Fey, and Morti. Ducky evolvedpletely."
Mt continued to watch Ducky until she joined them. "May I sit here?"
Mt moved over and made some room for her. "Sure, have a seat."
Nix had already seen her ss change on his Stats, but he was curious about the details. "Could I see your new stats Ducky?"
Ducky nodded and disyed them.
Ducky: Water Witch [Lord ss]
Strength 35
Endurance 40
Intelligence 44
Agility 55
Charm 351
Primary Skills: None
Secondary Skills: None
Support Skills: None
Mana 44,000/44,000
[ss Skills]
Whirlpool
Sleep
Deep Water
Sanctuary
Charm
Bewitch
Hiding in in Sight
Spirit Companions 0/4
Semmi leaned close to read the skills. "You''re a very strong CC ss. Did you always have Primary and Secondary skills listed?"
Ducky shook her head. "No. Many things have changed. I feel much stronger and more connected."
Nix studied her skills carefully. "Let''s try and get you trained for a primary skill. We''ll look around and see what you like best."
/Inferno: Pon: Where is everyone? I''ve three barrels of [Semmi''s Golden]!!
/Inferno: NIx: How is that possible? Semmi''s fields are just now sprouting.
/Inferno: Semmi: We''ve been working on different recipes using grains that we purchased.
/Inferno: Nix: We are by the river.
[Whisper: Locas to Nix] It was a great battle, today Commander.
[Whisper: Nix to Locas] Thanks for the support Captain. Your bows were a big part of our sess. I''ll bring you into Inferno tomorrow and give you your next mission.
[Whisper: Locas to Nix] I look forward to it.
Nix spied Fajii and Hyai carrying more food for the tables. The small group expanded slightly to make room for them when they returned.
Hyai sat on the other side of Nix, she looked well-rested considering her obvious fatigue after the battle.
Nix had been worried about her during the fight, but apparently she held her own."You did great today Hyai. You gained six levels?"
Hyai nodded, her full lips curved in a smile. "Been a while since I lit things up."
Shae leaned over Nix and grabbed her hand. "I saw your mes today, they are very refined. I''ve never seen such red mes."
The Innkeeper squeezed her hand. "I really like the House armor we were given. It''s way better than my old gear."
Nix was tempted to say something but decided not to. He wanted to discuss the houses in private with Shae since she already knew about them. He also decided to see Commander Mtui, there were lots of nks that Nix needed filling in.
Shae was watching him with her warm brown eyes. "Are you going to join one of the Great Houses?"
Nix shook his head. "We''ll start our own ''House of Inferno'' and be an ascended Guild."
The red-haired Smander looked very pleased. "I''ll finish the third phase of my training and then join you."
"I noticed the House of Aquarion was on the list of Great Houses. Were those Archon Aquarions from there?"
Shae nodded. "I would think so."
Mina didn''tment. Everything about her seemed different. The weight that she had been carrying for months was finally gone. "A Breach Commander seems like a very powerful upation."
Shae nodded. "Today you''ve seen one in action. Being able to summon or send groups anywhere is only a small part of their abilities.
Minaughed unexpectedly. "they must have thought their force on the Cai''Song stage was unstoppable."
Nix finished off his te and leaned back on his elbows. "What will the Aquarions do now?"
Mt held up his pioneer token, he had yet to build in Haven. "I"m going to stay with Inferno and build here with them, somewhere close to the water."
Mina seemed to consider it a while longer. "I"ve spoken to my people and they agree, we would like to explore Haven a bit and find somece nice to settle."
Nix let his surprise show for once. "What about the Sea-World? I told you it would be yours after the Cai''Song Artifact was destroyed."
"The Souza ord wants it to stay with you." Mina''s pale eyes showed her amusement. "I know Soup likes it best."
Semmi put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "We are one big family, I''m d you will remain close to us."
Haven was many timesrger than the Sea-World. There were several freshwaterkes that Aquarions could settle by or in.
[Whisper: Shae to Nix] She can''t bring herself to leave you.
Nix didn''tment but changed the topic instead. "Want to see something cool?"
[Direct Communication: Delyn Xai]
A full-sized holo of the Fir''Dhassi Wrath popped up in front of Nix a momentter.
Nix smiled at the surprised look on the Dhassi''s face. "Greetings Tura Xai. I want to ask a favor of you."
Delyn''s tanned face quickly recovered. "What do you need?"
"I would like you to teach a 4-month Nature''s Wrath course at our VoTech in Loki." Nix had saved his apprentice and the Fir''Dhassi definitely owed him. He had also removed Sogon from the picture, a move that had stabilized Raine''s authority.
Delyn sighed heavily. "I owe you a great debt. I will teach the course."
Raine stepped into the picture. "What sort ofmunication is this Master?"
"No idea, when do I report?"
Nix considered it for a moment. "Five days, that will give us time to get sses ready. Thank you."
[End Communication]