Tara's eyes shoot open to meet an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room. The warm oranges and pinks of sunset. Hours have passed, it seems, within her Story at the abrupt ejection. The first thing she notices is her senses even without aura have become heightened. It's overwhelming from the scent of different flowers that she can individually identify with a whiff, to a crowd of people bustling far off in the distance, to how many tile intersections there are in the ceiling. A million little things she didn't notice before are colliding together. Tara's mind feels flooded with too much information and her heart feels like bursting from her ribcage with energy!
Whether this is happening because of the higher synchronization rate of the pod or just an aftereffect of drinking Tempo, Tara isn't sure. Everything feels as real as it does in the natural world that it's jarring. With the hope that moving her body might steer her mind away from processing, even for a moment, Tara throws off her bed covers before firmly placing her feet on the ground.
She promptly falls off the bed, knees bent and hands pressed flat against the ground to keep her up right. A crushing force is pressing down on her body but attempting to rotate her aural energies isn't giving her any leverage. It's like her aural spaces aren't accessible and the Twin Sphere energy is frozen within her body.
"Tara!" Smur's voice exclaims but Tara can't even lift her head to look. The sound of a tray or two of food being placed on bedside dress follows a shuffle of feet before Tara is helped up right. "I told Master you wouldn't be able to withstand this place's gravitational difference. Honestly, one display of strength and she thinks she understands humans."
Smur rolls their eyes as they hold Tara's hand. The weight relieves enough so she can breathe. A ring is slid onto the hand Smur holds, parallel to her spatial ring.
"Smur, where are we? W-what happened?" Tara asks, clutching her head. Smur replies with a proud smile and excited smile.
"You won! And so we brought you to Avezil, the birthplace of what you humans call Aural Beasts."
As Tara ravenously eats, Smur gives her the basics. Aural Beasts are descendants of her people known as Zolani. Or at least, all of the Dawn Jungle's originate from Avezil.
As for what happened in the cave, it turned out that what Smur's teacher had been guarding was the teleportation entrance to Avezil. Only human aurators at Navel Enshrouding and Eye Illuminating level can ignore the gravity and collective pressure of the Zolani. Namdol, who Smur smugly recounts was merely an unconscious body that his allies had to drag out, and his master might have caused a lot of trouble.
"Why the Zolani?" Tara asks as soon as she's finished her third bowl with a grateful burp.
A voice smooth as honey answers Tara instead. "We are the children of great beings of Spirit and powerful Elemental Beasts. It is for that reason why those of our lineage can take those broken Soul Bead forms. The two within you are a rare case."
A 6 foot tall woman with deep onyx skin wearing sleeveless martial artist robes had appeared. Cascading silver hair flows down her back with her strong arms toned with muscle. On her left wrist is a band of crimson red, around her elbow is a band of cyan blue, and oak brown towards her shoulder. On the right are green, gold, and silver in the same spaces.
"I am Ganesh, Smur's mother and teacher." The woman then bows deeply, causing both youths to bluster. "Thank you for defending my home, young animus, and more importantly thank you for befriending my child. I owe you a debt and will do what I can as long as it is in my power."
Normally, such an astonishing situation would have caused Tara's mind to short. Now, however, her mind is going through a hundred different questions in a second. She is very curious about this hidden land and the Zolani's history. If Avezil is as old as the Dawn Jungle country then maybe she'll find something about the Moonflower for the Gate. "I'd like to ask a few things."
Ganesh straightens her stance, casting Tara knowing glance. "Then come let us take a walk and I shall answer what I can. There is also someone I would like for you to meet."
Tara looks at Smur who's face is just as confused. The three exit the white wall room to a wide hallway that leads to a large courtyard. They are surrounded by garden flowers and herbs that Tara had only read as rare and mythical flowers from her medicine making class. Several young Zolani are sparring against each other on a large square central platform. They stop and bow to Ganesh who they address as teacher.
"Aural Beasts are essentially no different than animals who know how to channel their energies in a more sophisticated manner. They are each born with names but do not learn them until they've developed what we Zolani call an ego. There's an instinct that has them seek their names but to do so they need to get stronger. Talented ones learn their names at Marrow Sparking but most do not acquire them until Eye Illumination or Navel Enshrouding."
Ganesh recites as they arrive at a long and wide set of white stairs. Not too far off she sees a city has been built. Siheyuan type buildings, some with colorful roofs, can be seen from the top of this long staircase. As soon as the three enter through a gate, both guards saluting at Ganesh and Smur's presence, Tara sees folk in both human and animal form rushing about going on with their evening.
"This is the Guardian City! It was originally a military outpost but now it's a city!" Smur explains before grabbing Tara's hand and dragging her into the streets. Ganesh can be heard yelling something about a child over fifty shouldn't be running only for Smur to laugh softly about an old woman over a thousand should lighten up. It occurs to Tara just then how long aurators could live if they aren't killed in combat or by a disease.
"Master is only one of the few Entrance Guards. Only the most powerful of the Zolani get the duty for about 100 years. Their families, along with those of the main army, all live here. Only the Imperial Guard and their descendants get to live in the capital city at the center of the island." Smur hands Tara a snack from one of the food stalls, her tails swishing eagerly.
The game and cattle of the island are all elemental, making them stronger than their physical counterparts. However, they can't form aura and therefore are not considered Aural Beasts. Due to the innate elemental energy in their bodies, it takes a certain technique to cook them in order to draw out the most benefits. Most have found even in the later Body Altering stages, they would still see benefits to their elemental manipulation.
"One reason many Soul Beads do not gain a humanoid form is because they do not form a resonance with their wielders. Those who form under death can still carry their resentments, slowly draining their killers' energy and eventually devouring them whole in spite. They then become cursed weapons for eternity."
Ganesh answers darkly, which is even more off putting as she delights in an ice cream cone. Tara chokes on a piece of bright red rabbit at the mention of cursed weapons. The elder's eyes glitter with mischievousness.
"The Twin Sphere forging technique is well known for its purifying of curses and banishing of types of undead. You needn't worry about the lingering effects of spiteful Soul Beads who get caught up in their own defeat. If they had lasted, they'd have realized their wielder would have found their name within time." Ganesh pops the rest of the cone into her mouth with a satisfying snap.
"Y-*cough*-you know about the Twin Sphere Technique?" Tara hacks as Smur pats her back. Her worry is lifted from the information that her friends won't be harmed by her creations.
"Of course! While it may be lost to the human realm, we have enough Solar and Lunar practitioners to form a legion if brought together. Seeing as you developed a Soul Realm prior to meeting Vein Plating mid stage, they could likely help you reach the next step after energy circulation." Ganesh takes a moment to look Tara over and nods.
"You're almost at the peak of Twin Sphere gathering and conversion for your stage. I will make some arrangements, as Smur mentioned you must take your lea--"
"No! That can't be!" A high pitched voice interrupts Ganesh's sentence from over by a nearby alley. Before anyone can move, a figure pounces on top of Tara. With her back pressed against the brick road, Tara's brown eyes meet a black and white se.
This Zolani, a caracal Tara realizes from the ears, is stygian black on their entire right and lucent white on their left. The right sclera is entirely white while the left is fully black with void gray and catlike irises in both.
"How could you leave without meeting the great me? I knew I should have bullied--I mean persuaded--Smur into taking me with them! Otherwise you would have left and such a shame for your family that would have been." The voice is younger than Smur's but prideful.
"Msiretsa, get away from her! The city can't--" Ganesh makes a move to grab the caracal. Tara is about to inquire when she feels an unfamiliar lurch in her Twin Sphere energies. Tara's hair turns amber and turquoise as a half sun and half moon bloom behind her back.
A white half sun and black half moon, much larger than Tara's own, appears behind Msiretsa's back parallel to Tara. It's then they are encased in a familiar indigo half sphere. Msireta breaks eye contact with Tara to look at the barrier. In both her eyes are a sea of stars, Tara notes, before Msireta begins to laugh. The half sphere quickly fades as Msireta tampers her energy. She winks at Tara just as Ganesh picks her up.
"I will not be making any more of my famous soup for you for at least three years." This receives a pleading whine but Ganesh is solid, "What if the energy diffusion array hadn't activated. You almost hurt a lot of people after we discussed the dangers of perfect resonance outside of the Bonding Grounds! I apologize Tara, this is the one I wanted you to meet. Let's go to the Grounds first and I'll explain what just happened."
Ganesh leads them to the central intersection of the city. In the middle is a teleportation array, with many Zolani stepping on and off. The crowd parts for them as a sign of Amaris's status within the city. After a brief flash of white light, the group is standing on a platform of a drained volcano heart. Across a bridge formed of igneous rock over a chasm lies a lavender crystal.
"In ancient times we Zolani had an alliance with humans. Part of it was to have a young Zolani pair with a human who complimented them. We would do such a ritual here at what's called the Bonding Grounds. The Fire energy here is strong enough to disperse the reactions that occur when an aurator and Zolani who are compatible make contact." As to prove the point, Ganesh let go over the wriggling rascal that is Misertsa. The caracal lands on all fours before rushing behind Tara's legs and glaring at the older Zolani.
"We haven't done a ritual in some time, but scripture states that both must touch the crystal on the altar across the bridge." Smur adds. Tara and Msiretsa walk side by side as they cross the bridge.
As soon as they are five meters from the crystal, Tara receives a notification.
[Player Has Purified 138 Soul Beads And Crafted 138 Iron Grade Minor Artifacts]
[Would You Like To Initiate A Temporal Bubble And Awaken An Ally's Soul Bead?]
[System Recommends Player Syringa Fang For Soul Bead Awakening.]