Luke Everhart
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Chapter 140 - Aura 101
🕑 Added 2024-12-20 11:31:01 +0000 UTCBy the time they reached their next destination, the same auditorium they had been in that morning for the Nexus 101 lecture, Cen was still bombarding Nar with questions.
She only stopped when, from above, they laid eyes on the austere looking woman that stood on the podium below. She had a neutral expression on her face, and seemed content, for the moment, to simply stare up at the apprentices as they slowly filled up the rows of seating.
Throughout the room, rather than the loud conversations that had filled the air in the morning, there were only barely heard whispers and coughs that loudly broke the heavy silence laid upon the students.
“Are we late?” Mul asked, frowning.
“I don’t know,” Kur whispered. “Let’s just sit down!”
“Lower! I want to be closer!” Cen whispered loudly, and took off down the stairs without waiting for a reply from the rest of them.
“Wait, Cen!” Kur called after her. “Not that low…”
The caster either didn’t hear him, or pretended not to, as she searched for sitting further and further down the room.
“She’s very excited, isn’t she?” Viy asked, smiling.
Kur sighed and led them after their wayward caster.
Nar considered the back of Viy’s head as they took the steps down.
No one had said anything about what had transpired back at the affinity assessment, other than whatever Gad, Cen and Viy had talked about in the corner of that room. Nar, despite obviously not wanting Viy gone from the party, was however a bit unsure of what to make of her.
From the moment they had left the quartermasters’ room, all decked out in their new, matching brown and black uniforms, Viy had behaved as though nothing had happened, laughing and joking as though they hadn’t all almost been choked to death by the unlocking of her affinity.
Since none of the others had said anything, Nar had followed their example, and pretended as though nothing had happened. Mul had similarly behaved as his usual self, unbothered by what his affinity had revealed, and Nar had a feeling that the brawler was truly unbothered by it. And that left only Jul.
Their rogue walked with a downcast expression, and unsure, had reverted into her quieter self.
For Jul, Nar had a feeling that she just needed time to work things through, so he hadn’t bothered her. However, for the other two, Nar had a feeling that the matter was far from closed. Like it had happened plenty of times before, Mul and Viy’s affinities were problems about to explode on their faces. And they would most likely blow up in the least opportune moments. As usual.
I guess we’ll see… Nar thought with a quiet sigh. Nothing we can do for now.
Cen had found them seats that were a bit lower than the ones they had taken that morning, and they all squeezed through the apprentices already seated on that row. Nar ended up sitting next to an unknown apprentice, and on his right side sat Cen, positively exuding enthusiasm in her seat. Beside her, in a much more muted fashion, sat Mul.
“Why are we here?” Mul asked. “Isn’t aura supposed to be practical?”
“Hush!” Cen made. “Maybe we need some theory first.”
To be honest, Nar had wondered the exact same thing, though he couldn’t fault Cen’s logic.
“I guess it’s only the first day,” Nar mused out loud.
Cen nodded in eagerness, and barely able to contain her excitement, they waited in silence for the rest of the auditorium to fill.
Almost feeling like he shouldn’t, Nar examined the teacher standing below them.
She was human, or at least she seemed like it.
She stood at maybe a full head shorter than him, with her back perfectly straight and her hands clasped behind her. Her skin was ashen brown like his, but of a more reddish hue than his own skin. Her hair was mostly dark gray, and was cut short on one side, and on the other, arranged into several braids, each of which seemed to have at least one small object of some kind weaved into her hair. Some of these objects were round, some square and others triangular or even hexagonal. They were all either dark blue, white or light blue in between the two.
Her face was graced by age, rather than weathered by it, and Nar wondered how old those light blue eyes were.
Something about her made it impossible for him to even begin guessing her age. The harder he looked, the younger she seemed, and then again, older.
He was in this silent scrutiny when she looked directly at him. Nar startled, nearly jumping in his seat. What could’ve been a slight smirk briefly flashed on her lips, but then, her eyes moved away from him.
Crystal… Nar thought, his heart thumping. She scared the pile out of me!
And yet, he couldn’t help but stare at her again. There was something that drew him to her, and then, he realized what it was. The woman looked familiar. But where in the Nexus had he seen her before?
A few minutes later, the doors finally closed behind the last apprentices, and she finally unclasped her hands and stepped forward.
“Good afternoon, apprentices,” she spoke in a clear voice that once again betrayed nothing of her age. “I’m the Master of Aura aboard the Apprentice-Ship Scimitar. You will all address me as master, or Master of Aura if in the presence of others masters and you need to differentiate between us.”
Her eyes scanned the gathering of mute apprentices. Nar almost felt like he needed to hold in his breath, so as to not disturb the silence that lay thick over them.
“As my title implies, I, together with my teachers and instructors, am in charge of teaching you all about the mysteries and workings of aura. We will guide you in understanding how to use it, and how it will help shape your very paths and futures going forward.”
Then, she waited for a moment, as if to make sure that her words and their meaning had sunk in.
“This will be the only purely theoretical lecture that you will have with me,” she continued. “All our future classes will be carried out in the Aura Hall or specific training rooms. However, for today, much like your Nexus 101 lecture this morning, we will have a purely theoretical lecture so that you may gain a solid, basic understanding of aura, without which you will not be able to carry out the intensive training that you will be undergoing for your first two weeks here. So, let’s get started.”
She raised her hands, and Nar noticed that like the nurse had had, the Master of Aura also had her sleeves tied up. However, instead of exposing her bare arms like the nurse had done, the mystery woman wore a pair of very thick, light gray gloves, with a line of darker gray running across its length.
Is she a healer too? Nar though.
With that question, came a very vague hint of a memory.
A familiar voice. Pain.
Nar shook his head.
Where did I meet her?
It made no sense to him. Surely, he would remember meeting his Master of Aura, no?
The same wall and podium screen combo as that morning materialized, and the lights dimmed above them.
“The first thing we need to understand is, what is aura?” she began.
She dragged a finger across the screen in front of her, and above, a black line split the screen into two. On one side she wrote “Aura”, and on the other, and to Nar’s surprise, she wrote “Aether”.
“And the best way to do so, is by first understanding what its opposite is, aether,” she said, drawing a circle around it. “Aether is the power, or the vital energy, of the Holy Crystal, the Radiants, and all of the innumerable spirits that comprise that great Radiant Hierarchy. There are the Lower Order Spirits, the Middle Order Spirits, and lastly, the Higher Order Spirits below the Radiants and the Holy Crystal Itself. Our counterparts, aethermancers, gain access to aether by bonding in a contract with a spirit, and the higher the order of the spirit, the more powerful their skills and aether tend to be. Of course, the aether and skills gained depend on the patron they bond with. Thus, a lightning spirit can only, for the most part, grant lightning aether and skills.”
Then, she circled the word “Aura”.
“As for aura, while there isn’t a 100% certain and completely accepted answer, it is considered to be the energy of an auramancer’s soul itself,” she explained. “This energy, this power, emanates from our soul, and manifests and aggregates in what we call an aura core. This is the ball of light that you all discovered within yourselves.”
Next to Nar, Cen gasped and reached her hands to her chest. Similar surprised sounds came from around the room, and the master nodded.
“Yes. Your aura is not a curse, nor is it a punishment, despite the horrendous way it is used in our cubeplants,” she said. “In fact, it can become every bit as powerful as aether, and there are plenty of Named Few auramancers. We have several in Tsurmirel’s payroll alone.”
Now it was Nar’s time to clench his fists and frown deeply to prevent the stinging sensation at the back of his eyes to materialize into something more.
For the love of… So what was all of that… Stuff for, then? Why didn’t You just tell me? I would’ve been more than happy to just take my aura if I knew it was just as strong as aether!
Besides him, Mul rubbed Cen’s back, who sniffled quietly into her hands. The brawler’s eyes too, glittered in the light coming from the screen.
“I am sorry you had to go through all the anguish that this lack of knowledge caused,” the master continued. “I myself struggled greatly with the need to embrace my aura when I Climbed… But I can tell you all, here, and now, to put those doubts to rest. Forever. Aura and aether are alternative sources of power for a combat class, and neither is superior to the other.”
Then she looked down, as apprentices wiped at their eyes, and rubbed their cheeks, and dragged a much raggier and sharply edged line between the two sides.
“However, they are mutually exclusive,” she explained. “It is possible to swap one for the other, at great cost of experience, time and all the currently accrued path progress, as well as running the risk of permanently damaging one’s body, mind and very soul. What is not possible is to have both within one body. This is as an absolute law as the System’s you are what you do. You are all auramancers, blessed, as hard as that may be to accept, to have gone through all the hardships of the Climb. You emerged strong and toughened in the ways of aura combat, and perfectly positioned to undergo our intense and rapid training. A training that will see you attaining very quick and powerful gains. However…”
And she paused to write identical words underneath both the circled “Aura'' and “Aether”. “Pros” and “Cons”? Nar read.
“... As with most opposite choices in life, everything has its pros and cons, its strong points and its weaknesses,” she said. “And aura and aether are no different in that regard. Aether is power through faith, loyalty, obedience and sacrifice. As long as the bonded sentient remains truthful to the spirit's principles and moral codes, as well as be obedient to said spirits demands, one is granted full use of their aether, as much as they can store in their aether reservoirs. The skills they are granted are decided by their spirit patron under the you are what you do tenet, and every skill uses a set amount of aether. Not a point less, or more. Their skills are also, usually, much easier to learn to use and master.”
She took a deep breath in, and Nar found himself doing the same, completely absorbed in her words.
“Aether also has the advantage of being the energy that powers Creation itself, and thus, it can be regained by simply absorbing it from Creation itself, usually through resting. Therefore, aether is easy to obtain, to use and to restore. As long as you maintain your faith, do whatever your patron demands of you, which can range from not washing up at night, to eating only fruits and vegetables and foregoing meat, or the opposite, as well as other demands both easier or stricter than these examples, and, you ensure a steady sacrifice of experience to the Holy Church and your patron, if you do all these, you will maintain your access to aether, and will continue growing in your path in the same measure as your hard work and faith.”
And then, she grimaced. “Of course, you must’ve already realized the big con, in all of this. The big “If” in these contracts. If you do not uphold your faith and obedience, the patron spirit can and will cut ties with you. And you will lose everything you worked so hard to build… And not even the Named Few are safe from this fate. In fact, if anything, as they are contracted to Radiants or the Holy Crystal Themselves, their sacrifices and demanded devotions are even stricter, harsher, and less forgiving. In simple terms, an aethermancer’s power, while more easily obtained and grown, can be just as simply taken from them.”
“Crystal…” Nar whispered.
“Just like that?” Mul muttered from the other side. “Fuck’s sake. I was right, wasn’t I? See? See? Why didn’t They just tell us this from the start?”
In between them, Cen simply nodded, too stunned to speak.
“Now, let’s look at aura,” the master continued. “Aura comes from cultivating oneself. From discovering oneself and being truthful to oneself. It comes from knowing, and understanding, who you are, and embracing it, for better or worse. And herein lies its greatest advantage over aether. Because aura comes from within, no one can take that away from you. Ever. Aura exists within you, and though it gets normalized and absorbed into the System for our ease of use, it is not, actually, entirely part of the System. This is the reason why you will have found yourselves being able to use aura without any corresponding skills, or in ways that defied your understanding or that went beyond the limits set by your aura bars.”
“You did that!” Cen whispered, elbowing Nar.
“Ouch! We all did!”
“Yeah, but yours was the one that never made any sense!” the caster insisted. “Not to mention what you did at the end of the Ceremony!”
“Hmmm. I guess?”
“Now, to be clear, it is much easier to use aura through the System, through your skills and aura bar, than directly manipulating aura,” the master said, stopping their conversation. “However, the more powerful you become, the more you will need to directly handle and control your aura to continue growing… This however, is not something for you to worry about for a good while. You will have plenty to be concerned with just trying to handle all the basics.”
“I thought we had the basics just fine,” Mul muttered, crossing his arms. “With aura punches, and swords and rings and everything else.”
“Ah, but you would think so, wouldn’t you, Mul?” the master said, looking straight up at them.
At Nar’s side, Cen went rigid, her eyes opened wider than he thought physiologically possible, her mouth opening and closing in a breathless rasp.
In the silence that followed, it was clear that the master expected an answer, and other apprentices started to look around in search of the source of the interruption.
“Say something!” Cen hissed at her brother.
“I… Uh. Yes, master. We did use plenty of aura in the Climb,” Mul said. And props to him, Nar thought, his voice came out steady enough.
“Indeed, you did, Mul. However, have you looked at your gains since?” the master asked.
Mul shook his head and Cen elbowed him. “N-No, master. I haven’t had the time yet.”
“Understandable. And that actually reminds me. Over 60% of you haven’t yet looked at their gains. While I understand that you’ve been through a trying time, do make sure that you look at your gains before our first practical aura class, later tonight after dinner. There are potentially two things in there that will be vital for tonight’s session. And in fact, for this week and the next. And no! Don’t look at it now, Zil!”
“I-I’m sorry, master!” a male voice rang out from across the room.
The master sighed and shook her head with feigned exasperation, amidst the laughter that followed Zil’s blunder.
“That’s on me, I suppose, I should have told you not to do it first,” she said, to another round of laughter. “However, and getting back to you, Mul, while this has never been officially confirmed by neither the Radiants or the Church, it is accepted that we who Climb are granted certain mercies, so to speak. The biggest of them being the ability to use as much aura as we want. As you will see later on, once you’re out, things become a little more complicated than that. But more on this later on. It's easier to show than to explain most things.”
She took a step away from the glowing screen in front of her.
“Now, to get back on track, because I can already hear all those stomachs rumbling for dinner,” she said. “The greatest advantage of aura is that it cannot be taken from us. It is also more flexible compared to aether. However, it has one, enormous disadvantage. And that disadvantage is this.”
And she raised her arms, revealing two circular, flat disks held in both of her hands.
“This is a device that allows me to interact with the screens in this room. And can anyone tell me why this is an issue… Very well, Kyr. Can you please repeat that out loud, for all of us to hear?”
“Y-Yes, master,” said a voice from higher up, somewhere behind Nar. “I said it was because this morning, professor Thim didn’t use those… Things.”
“Correct. And the reason why is because professor Thim is an aethermancer. He does not need it. I, however, do. Why is that? I’ll give you a clue. The device before me runs on aether…”
Cen gasped. “It’s because aura and aether don’t mix!”
“She can’t use it…” Nar whispered.
“Correction! We can’t use it,” she said, her voice lashing out like a whip. However, her eyes were focused somewhere else in the room, and not on them this time. “And that, apprentices, is the single greatest disadvantage of aura, and the number one reason why 99.99999% of auramancers are either Ex-Climbers or their direct descendants. The Source was used to create everything through Its All-Powerful Aether, and all of the technology, energy, systems, services, transportations, entertainment and the vast majority of devices in the Nexus are powered by its aether. And because they are powered by aether, and we have aura, we cannot make use of them. For, other than in one certain circumstance, we don’t, ever, mix! And when we try, this happens!”
Having said so, the master held both disks in one hand and removed one of her thick gloves, exposing the ashen, reddish skin underneath. Then, she grabbed one of the disks and lifted it above her head.
A loud whine filled the room, and light blue, bright sparks snapped out in a fury from the disk, and an ochre, dark gray smoke rose from it, filling the room with an unpleasant burning smell.
Nar watched in horror.
Does that mean…
“The creation of the sentient soul was a strange one. Different than that of the rest of Creation,” she said, in a low tone, in the crushing silence. “All we know is that it does not mix with the aether coming out of the Source, or the aether of that of any of the Radiant Hierarchy, spirits included... That means the price for our freedom is steep, for we are, in effect, technology pariahs in the Nexus.”
No… Nar thought, the full extent of her words slowly blossoming within his mind.
“We cannot fly aetherships. We cannot use aether gear, which is by far the most common in the Nexus. Nor can we be healed by an aether healer. Only aura healers may use their skills on us. We cannot eat aether infused food, far more abundant than aura infused ingredients. We cannot even operate lifts. In fact, all the lifts on this ship are either attuned to know where we want to go, or to be voice operated. In sum, we need to make use of either automated systems, or of devices such as this,” she said, lifting up the one, still functioning device. “A reinforced aether accessibility device, but one which I still need to wear a very powerful pair of aura dampening gloves to use. And not all of the technology in the Nexus is built to accommodate such devices.”
“Crystal… Damnit!” the guy next to Nar muttered through his teeth.
Yeah… Nar thought. Yeah...
There went his dreams of flying a ship with his dad. If he couldn’t even touch the controls without making them explode, there was no way he was ever going to be piloting one of them.
It was like one last screw you from the Crystal, or the Radiants, as he needed to start thinking of Them.
You’re out now, enjoy yourselves! Oh, and by the way, you can’t touch anything because aura and aether explode when they mix, and everything is filled with aether!
Nar took a deep breath and tried to keep his face composed. From what he could glimpse, a good chunk of apprentices wasn’t as worried about keeping their true thoughts hidden as he was. After the Ceremony, it seemed that many hearts had cooled off in regards to the Holy Crystal, their Supreme God.
“I know this is heavy. And to let you all go for dinner, I will finish with this,” the Master of Aura said, cutting through the hubbub, and banishing the screens and returning the lights of the auditorium to normal. “It is rumored that an auramancer Named Few is the equal of three aethermancer Named Few. Is that the truth? Honestly, I do not know. As you can imagine, the Church would never allow such blasphemy to be commonly bandied about, even were it to be true. However, what I do know, and this is fact, is that the current, strongest sentient in the entirety of the Nexus is an auramancer. He is the Aulus of House Fulminus, Vaelaerius Aurelianus Fulminus, the only recorded Unique Title holder in the known history of the Nexus… The one and only God of Lightning.”
A shiver ran down Nar’s spine, and he sat up straighter, all thoughts of aether tech banished from his mind.
A god? But isn’t that those 24 Radiants?
“Yes, no other Named Few or even spirit has ever been named the God of anything. It is a Unique Title, above the Named Few, reserved to the Holy Crystal, the Supreme God, and the 24 Radiant Gods and Goddesses” she said, in an almost hushed tone. “You do not yet understand the magnitude of what this entails, but in the Nexus, it is a very big deal indeed. And the funny part was that Vaelaerius started out as an aethermancer, and spent years changing himself into an auramancer… So, who knows? Maybe, at the end of the day, it all balances out. Pros and cons, apprentices. There is always a balance. And for supreme power and freedom, it might be that you must pay the ultimate price, and forever have the great technological wonders of the Nexus barred to your touch… This has been the basic fundamentals of aura and aether, and we will build upon these as your training progresses. With that said, enjoy your dinner. I will see you all tonight. And don’t forget your gains!”
The master exited the room, and excited conversations soon escalated into shouting matches as each party fought to be heard across the chaos that took the auditorium
At his side, Cen was positively squealing with excitement, shaking Mul by the shoulders.
To Nar, however, the room was as quiet as if he was the only one seated there.
God of Lightning, he thought, tasting the words. God.
Above the Named Few. Surely below the Radiants… What sort of responsibility did one carry on their shoulders, given the title of god?
It was too much… Far too much for his purposes.
But if one were to become a god, then surely, one could do whatever they wanted, no? Protect one’s party. Carve their own piece of the Nexus for a home. Rescue one’s family. Ensure their prosperity and happiness at the bare minimum?
God.
It was beyond his understanding, that much he was sure of. And he doubted he needed to reach such heights just to bring his dad up from their cubeplant.
And yet, he couldn’t deny how the word whispered to him.
God.
Yes. There was something enticing about it...
Comments
Lucas Onderwater
The auramancers as the villains, and the aethermancers as the ones who need to be pacified by the gods... Interesting. I don't think anyone has come up with that theory yet... Of course, I neither deny nor confirm anything, but it would be an interesting plot twist to explore, that's for sure!
Lucas Onderwater
Fixed! Thank you!!
Faces The Wind
So doctrine says god created technology but messed up making souls compatible? Thats not fishy at all. It fits with the "only the obedient get to use our toys" doctrine My wild hack theory grows more convinced that auramancers made the system and created aethermancy... and were then overthrown via aethermancy and enslaved. After all, aura is supposedly incompatible and yet a seemingly vital component for recycling it. That and slavery and execution theater are the go-to tools for appeasing a post-war populace who don't want to integrate with their enemies. But for that to be the case it makes it look like aruamancers were likely the original cruel masters.
Faces The Wind
"From the movement they had left the quartermasters" movement -> moment
Eric Andersen
I'm actually fairly convinced at this point that the original sin was the cannibals, I'm sure I'm probably wrong but it would make sense if the crystal, who supposedly values all creation, saw it's own creations turning on each other like that for power and decided it was the gravest sin of all. And the people in the cubeplants are just their descendants (hence the shades of purple that're described on occasion in body texture). Further, I think Gabriel might be on to something in that the Abyss might've been the ones who set the cannibals on their path. Rel's path also somewhat eludes to the 'sin' in question in the flavor text of her class
Gabriel Victor
Lol
Gabriel Victor
That could be it, but I think that there are more than 2 sides to this whole thing. It could be that the B-Nexers' ancestors conspired with the Abyssals and were later partially pardoned but burdened with the worst jobs and living conditions until they could redeem themselves. That would be cool, really cool. I really like the idea that the Crystal and the Radiants are not just corrupt gods, but more that they actually value the continued preservation on the Nexus more than the generational suffering of billions of individuals, and at the same time they still left a way for those willing to risk their lives and make the Climb to be pardoned in full. Is that fair? Fuck no, but if we consider that they are really Gods that do not think along the same lines as a sentient, that would make sense since it would follow a twisted sense of justice.
Sam A
Nah the Original Sin is bs. Just a reason to lock down the bottom rung of society and have generational slaves to power the Aether world that everyone else relies on. Priests are almost assuredly corrupted. There is nothing to atone for, it’s all psychological manipulation to keep the Crystal polishing goons at the top while they disregard the Crystal’s actual desires. Gotta be somethinglike that.
Eric Andersen
I love how Auras weakness is "I'm throwing hands with Aether on sight" 🤣
Gabriel Victor
This Original Sin must have been something truly awful for B-Nexers to be punished to damn much.
Lucas Onderwater
Hey thanks for reading & the comment! I think here, Nar has almost no recollection of what happened when he was taken to sick bay, and that includes the Master of Aura as well. That said, I just had a quick look at the party room chapter and Nar did indeed tell Kur that he had been healed by the Master of Aura!! So he should have put 2 and 2 together! I've added this to my list of Book 2 fixes! Thanks for letting me know! And I hope you enjoy his gains! They're coming soon!
Josh Bullock
Thanks for the chapters! It seems slightly odd that Nar has no idea who the master of aura is since it's come up a few times (at minimum at the start of the party room chapter) that she was the one who healed him. I can understand him not knowing for certain they were the same person, but it was surprising that he didn't even consider it - especially given it's been stated like a title/position and there's been no indication there's more than one. It's good to finally get some answers about aether Vs aura and I'm really excited to finally see his gains!
