A couple of hours had passed since Kael and Elowen began their journey toward Feysreach, and Kael found himself reflecting on the day's events so far. The path had been relatively peaceful—relatively, because they had encountered one or two abominations along the way. Each time, though, Elowen dispatched them with almost effortless grace, making it all seem like an afterthought.
Kael watched in quiet awe as she handled her massive double-bladed axe with the fluidity of a dancer. Her movements were so smooth, so precise, that it was hard to believe the sheer size of the weapon she was wielding. The axe, nearly as tall as she was, looked like it should've been cumbersome, but in her hands, it moved like an extension of her own body.
There was a certain humor Kael couldn't suppress deep inside him. That axe is pretty much the size of her, he mused to himself. Elowen wasn't tall by any means—bulky with muscle, yes, but not towering. Yet she carried that weapon like it was a mere dagger. Kael realized then, with some admiration and a touch of envy, that Elowen was strong. Strong in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine.
Her power wasn't just physical. It was something deeper, something honed and perfected by years of survival and trial. Kael didn't know how long it would take him to reach that level, but watching her now, he couldn't help but think he was a million miles away from it.
They decided to stop for the day, setting up camp in a relatively open clearing, much to Kael's surprise. After his experiences camping out in dangerous areas, surrounded by shadows and lurking beasts, the openness of the clearing felt… vulnerable. But Elowen didn't seem the least bit worried.
Skill truly made a difference, Kael thought. The way Elowen carried herself, the confidence in her every action, put him somewhat at ease, though the unsettling weight of ignorance still gnawed at him.
As they sat around the small campfire Elowen had expertly set up, she finally broke the silence.
"So, tell me," she began, glancing at Kael with a curious glint in her eye
"How exactly did you survive that trial?"
Kael scratched his head, a little sheepish, as he started recounting the story of his trial, conveniently leaving out anything involving Seer. He described the twisted forest, the abominations, and his near-death experiences in as much detail as he could remember. As he spoke, Elowen's expression shifted between amusement and incredulity, and more than once, she burst into laughter.
"You're serious?" she asked, wiping a tear from her eye after a particularly ridiculous part of his tale.
"You actually tried to fight that hellish abomination with that rod of yours you call a sword?"
Kael shrugged with a half-smile.
"In my defense, I didn't really have many options."
Elowen shook her head, still chuckling.
"You're lucky, you know that? Incredibly lucky. If even half of what you said is true, you should've been dead three times over." Her amusement faded as she gave him a more serious look. "But luck alone won't get you far in this world. You're going to need more than that."
Kael nodded, feeling the weight of her words. He was under no illusion about how close he had come to dying.
Elowen's gaze drifted to the sword at Kael's side, and her expression changed, becoming more contemplative.
"That sword of yours," she said, motioning to the blade.
"What do you know about it?"
Kael blinked, surprised by the question. He looked down at the sword, its dark, polished metal gleaming faintly in the firelight.
"Uh, not much. Should I know something about it?"
Elowen raised an eyebrow, clearly dumbfounded by his response. "You… haven't checked the information on your boons, have you?"
"Checked the information?" Kael repeated, confused.
"What do you mean?"
Elowen sighed heavily, rubbing her temples as if she had just realized how far behind Kael was in terms of knowledge.
"You really don't know anything, do you? I'm going to have to teach you… everything."
Kael gave a sheepish grin.
"That's what it looks like."
Elowen let out another sigh, but this time there was something almost sympathetic in her expression.
"Alright. First things first—let me explain the basics." She sat up straighter, her tone shifting into one of authority.
"When you enter your first trial, you receive a core. That's what makes you a Challenger. It allows you to collect, refine, and store essence—the energy that fuels everything in this world. Without a core, you can't access that power."
Kael listened intently as she continued.
"You're at the very bottom right now," Elowen said bluntly,
"Which makes you a Challenger, the lowest rank of what we call Fatewalkers. Fatewalkers are people who have participated in at least one trial and decided to walk the path of ascension. Through breathing techniques, and other means, we gather essence and refine it inside our cores. Once your core becomes saturated with enough essence, you can take on more advanced trials—Open Trials—to gain circles, which increase your power."
"Circles?" Kael asked, intrigued but clearly lost.
Elowen waved her hand dismissively.
"That's something you don't need to worry about right now. You've barely scratched the surface of your power. But the most important thing you need to understand is this: every fatewalker has access to a Soul Chamber."
"A what now?"
Elowen rolled her eyes.
"A Soul Chamber. It's a small vault located within your core, where you store any boons the Tower gives you—like your sword. Boons are rewards from the Tower. They could be items, abilities, all sorts of things. And they grow stronger as your core gathers more essence."
Kael absorbed this new information, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"So, what do I do with it? This Soul Chamber?"
Elowen leaned forward.
"When you receive a boon, you can either summon it—like you did with the sword—or you can check its information. The Tower provides descriptions for everything. If you concentrate on the boon, without summoning it, you'll be able to see what it's capable of."
Kael blinked.
"Wait, I can check the information on my sword?"
Elowen gave him a look that said, Yes, that's what I've been telling you this whole time.
"Alright, alright," Kael muttered, scratching the back of his head.
"So… how do I do it?"
"Just concentrate," Elowen said, guiding him.
"Do the same thing you did when you summoned it, but instead of pulling it out, just focus on it. Call out to it in your mind."
Kael nodded and closed his eyes. He tried to recreate the feeling he had when he had first summoned the sword, picturing it in his mind's eye. He imagined his subconscious hand brushing against the boon, just as Elowen had described.
Suddenly, he felt it—a connection. A strange, almost invisible link between himself and the sword within his core. He focused harder, trying to call out to it mentally.
Then, out of nowhere, words began to materialize in the air before him—floating letters that shimmered like ghostly light. Kael's eyes flew open in shock, staring at the ethereal text that seemed to hang in reality.
Elowen smirked at his expression. "There you go. Now, read it."
Kael blinked, the floating letters swirling slightly in front of his eyes. He glanced at Elowen, then back at the words.
I'm either going crazy, or this is probably the coolest moment of my life. He couldn't help but think that.
His fingers traced the air in front of him as if testing the reality of the words. Then, with a sense of both wonder and trepidation, Kael began to read.