As Arina stepped through the door of the Bazaar, her mind spun with confusion. The first thing that came to her mind was that she must have entered the wrong building, because it was far bigger on the inside than the outside-this was definitely abnormal. They didn't have any big buildings in her village; her father's house was the largest, and even that only had three rooms. Thinking about her father brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them away, but the ache in her chest remained.
In Windrest, everything was small and simple. There were only a few essential places: the blacksmith's shop, where tools and weapons were made, and Lashim's house, where the villagers went to buy sandals made from the hides her husband, Gris, brought back from his hunts, and most importantly, the big barn built under their house by the dwarves.
Her father said that it was built because of an agreement maid between first leader of Windrest and the dwarves. The inhabitants of Windrest would always sell their farm produce to the dwarves and in exchange the dwarves would accomodate them in the mountains during the period of the cosmic storm. If only this cosmic storm did not start at the wrong time they would have been safely secured in the mountains before it began.
Arina shook herself from her musings, she had never seen anything like this strange building, so out of place in their remote village.
Her Uncle Lordan had once told her about the bigger towns far from Windrest. He said they had large shops filled with incredible things-artifacts, food, and clothes. But this building… She couldn't shake the feeling that this had to be the work of the mystical powers her father always talked about. Powers only few people could wield, powers beyond the ordinary world.
"But even those powers couldn't build a structure this big, this fast… could they?" she wondered. And why here, in her quiet, forgotten village?
As she stepped fully inside, her breath caught. She found herself standing in a gigantic hall, perfectly circular, far larger than anything she had ever imagined. The floor was made of polished stone, smooth and gleaming, the likes of which she'd never seen before. The hall was completely silent, devoid of life, yet it felt as if the air itself was humming with energy.
Several floors rose up on all sides, so high that Arina couldn't see where they ended. Stairs on either side of the room spiraled upward, leading to more levels filled with what appeared to be closed doors; she had no idea what laid behind them. She felt impossibly small standing there, in the middle of the immense hall. Arina gazed around in awe.
The ground floor had arches set in the wall, one of the arches was shimmering with a pale blue light, the name Vel'Kora written on a golden tablet above it. The other arches were empty, simple gray walls behind them, as if they were waiting for something to activate them.
In the center of the room stood a round wooden counter, smooth and polished, which should have been manned by a shopkeeper, but no one was there. Above the counter, a light screen floated in mid-air, softly glowing with words that seemed to make itself understandable. Ariana cou
She stared at the screen, her heart beating faster as the words burned into her mind:
Rules of the Balance Balance:
All customers must respect the shop and its owner.
Inside the shop premises, conflict is forbidden; violators will be banned forever.
Nothing can be stolen; thieves will be banned forever.
There are three forms of payment:
Physical currency from any world; the Karmic Scale will determine the exchange.You may offer precious items (living or dead); the value you place on the item will determine your reward. You can retrieve non-living items when you are stronger.The Wheel of Karma: This payment method is random. The bazaar will assign you a mission as part of the law of cause and effect.Membership tiers:Basic (access to the first floor only)Silver (access to the second and third floors, upon completing fulfilling the criterias)Gold (higher floors and required for personal inter-world trade)Platinum and Diamond (higher floors and only accessible with unique contributions and quests)
Despite her lack of formal education, Arina understood the rules as if they were being directly transmitted to her brain. The meaning behind each word sank deep into her consciousness, filling her with an eerie clarity.
She frowned. She didn't have any money-and even if she did, her father had always warned her about the dangers of manifestation. Manifestation was a form of power on Ana'im. She had never seen anyone with the power of manifestation before, or artifacts created from manifestation, but it was generally agreed to be wary of manifestations, because people who had the power to manifest weren't always what they seemed.
It is said that they often twisted reality to suit their needs; she didn't understand what that means anyway. Maybe the whole village did not understand too, but they understood that they had to be careful of what they did not understand.
But Anandriel was still missing, and their village was in danger. She needed to be strong enough to protect them. If she had been stronger, maybe her father wouldn't have died. Maybe their village wouldn't be in such a perilous situation. The forest had stirred after the first cosmic storm, and everyone knew that after a brief lull, the storms would return-stronger and more dangerous.
She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. The weight of her responsibilities pressed down on her, heavier than ever. Her father was gone, and Anandriel might be, too. She was all that was left. She had to be strong.
She would choose the second form of payment in order to get something to help and her and the village. Maybe she was grasping at straws, and maybe she was playing with a power beyond her understanding, but they would all die anyway. Arina didn't notice that since she came out of the house after the cosmic storm she had started shedding her childishness.
With her mind made up and trembling hands, she reached for a locket that hung around her neck, hidden under her clothes. It was the last memory of her mother who had died when she was still a child; her father had given it to her when she shed her blood and entered womanhood. Inside the silver locket was a picture of her beautiful auburn haired woman with kind eyes and defined chin-her mother had definitely not been from Windrest, no matter how she asked her father he would always keep silent about it. The locket hung on a simple cord. Her father had removed the chain to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
Arina's fingers brushed over the locket. She had carried it with her always, her only connection to the mother. But if she wanted to save her village, she would have to give it up.
Her decision made, Arina untied the cord from her neck. As she held the locket out, trembling slightly, a scale suddenly appeared on the counter before her. It was a simple bronze scale, it looked old and worn. The moment it appeared she feli afraid, she felt like she was being judged.
From both weighting pans voices solemnly drifted through the hall startling the wide-eyed Arina; one sounded like the voice of a female child and the other like that of a grandmother.
"She's just a child"
"What child? At her age I drank wine from the skull of my enemies at the valley of Melt'uranin"
"Poor child"
A soft sigh echoed through the large hall.
Before Arina could even comprehend that the scale seemed to be alive. A new light screen blinked into existence in front of her. The words sent a chill down her spine:
Are you sure? There is no going back. In the Bazaar, every cause has an effect.
Arina's throat tightened as she read the words. The felt like she was being watched. She glanced around the empty hall, her heart racing. She didn't fully understand the concepts of cause and effect, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted to protect her village. She wanted to find Anandriel.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Yes."
The moment she spoke, the locket flew from her hand and landed on the scale. Arina yelped, startled. She watched, wide-eyed, as a faint purple light spread from the locket, surrounding the scale. The old bronze surface shimmered faintly, becoming just a little shinier.
The scale didn't move at first, remaining perfectly balanced. Then, slowly, the side with the locket began to sink. Up and down it went, shifting slightly before settling in a position halfway down.
Arina held her breath as she stared at the locket. She had given up the only memory of her mother. She couldn't take it back now.
Suddenly, one of the formerly grey arches in the hall began to shimmer. It glowed brightly, and a name appeared on the previously empty tablet above it: Room of Manifestation.
Arina blinked away the tears in her eyes, her resolve hardening. The scale and locket disappeared. A new light screen appeared with simple words and an arrow pointing towards the newly activated arch:
Enter the Room of Manifestation
Arina wiped her tears stained face and stepped toward the glowing archway. She entered the Room of Manifestation without hesitation.
The room was pure white, empty, and silent. As she stood in the center, the walls began to ripple, almost as if they were alive. At first, the room started to shift, changing to reflect different elements-fire, water, earth, and air-but the change was so fast and subtle that Arina didn't notice it. She was too focused on her own sorrow, the weight of her choices pressing down on her.
But as she wiped her tears, her resolve grew stronger, and the ripples around her intensified. The more she focused, the faster the walls seemed to ripple, and her mind became clearer.
Suddenly, her glabella-the space between her eyebrows-began to grow hot. A strange sensation, one that she had never felt before, pulsed through her body. She could feel something, taking root inside her, altering her way of perceiving her surrounding.
Her thoughts became sharper, and she could feel the edges of her consciousness expanding, touching the very fabric of reality. It was as if her mind was influencing the space around her, bending it to her will.
A voice suddenly echoed through the room, startling her.
Congratulations on gaining Mental Manifestation.
Before she could fully comprehend what had happened, another message appeared on the light screen:
Mission: The area surrounding the Bazaar has been invaded by foreign lifeforms known as the Rakh'nar, which pose a threat to the village and potential customers. Protect the Windrest and inform them about the Bazaar, pending the shopkeeper's return.
Reward: Guidance on Mental Manifestation OR Lantern of Fortune
Arina blinked, her mind racing. Windrest was threatened? As if the cosmic Storm wasn't enough.
She couldn't hesitate any longer. Not even thinking about the reward she accepted the quest.