The Dungeon Crawler's Academy

Side Story (Gauge) -- What does it mean to be 'Good Enough'.

Perhaps fourty minutes had elapsed from the time Gauge had departed the camp, leaving Argent behind to begin his part of the plan, while the rogue set deeper into the wilds to complete his own. He had moved swiftly at first, wary of the peaceful silence of the forest. It still seemed deceptive to him, false somehow, though he had nothing to go off aside from his gut instinct.

No arts for that.. Yet.

He thought to himself as he moved beneath a set of low hanging branches, swinging across a small stream feeding off the river ahead. Making it to the water's edge, he turned his gaze east and followed the line of water, trying to visualize the boundaries of the orchards. Reaching down towards his belt, he brought his hand to a small, hexagonal stone. It was framed with leather strips which allowed it to be secured more easily to something like a pendant or a sash, glowing with small lights at two of its cut sides. As Gauge rested his hand over the stone and channeled Kai into the object, a third light appeared at a third point.

"Alright... Next."

Keeping up the pace, Gauge moved with purpose through the woods. Cutting back along the edge that roughly defined the line between the Eve'lln Forest as it pertained to the town of Thrylld, and the untamed depths beyond that spread who knew how far into the Emerald Spine. Eyes alert as he went, searching, assessing. Occasionally he would stop, channeling energy into the stone at his waist before moving on, until all six sides shone with light. Allowing himself a satisfied sigh of accomplishment as the last edge flickered to life, Gauge looked around the relative clearing he had stopped in, breathing deeply for a few long moments to try and slow his heart rate from the constant running. Once he felt a little relaxed, or at least like he wasn't straining for air, the rogue set his pack down against a tree and hoisted himself up onto a branch. Climbing a ways up to find a spot where he could comfortably sit in a natural gap in the trunk, he scanned the area one last time to be sure nothing unwanted was lurking about, before dipping his consciousness into the aether plane.

The visualization of the Arcanasphere slowly overtook his senses, showing his central basin to be perhaps a third of the way full to its capacity. The energy roiled and turned upon itself given the extra space, swirling like a galaxy inside. From the edges spread the winding paths of his Aspects, Darkness and Psyche, trailing along a sequence of arts. [Shadow Veil], [Lesser Shadow], [Shadow Spew], [Hidden Weapon], [Extinguish], [Essence Bite]. The arts shone softly in their nodes along the side of Darkness. Tentatively he considered the arts beyond for a brief moment, straining his aether vision as far as it would allow him. One's point of view within the sphere could only extend as far as their energy reached, making it impossible to know with certainty what lay hidden beyond the edges. Of course, there were vast recorded lists of known arts. Endless theories about the way the infinite paths of the aether might arrange themselves. But ultimately, each path was unique to the individual and nothing was set in stone. Even another person walking the path of Darkness would not access the same arts at the same times... Or even view them in the same way at all.

It was this element of uncontrollable randomization that, in a nutshell, determined who was 'gifted' and who was not. Not simply which aspects were open to you, but also how much 'affinity' you had towards those aspects. Or rather, how deep your options ran. How they developed. Lingering over a few of the distant nodes just at the edge of his vision, Gauge finally pulled his energy back and shifted to the side of Psyche. [Empathy], [Sense Aura], [Scan Alignment], [Find Aura], [Suggestion].

The sounds of snapping underbrush suddenly shook Gauge from his trance. His hands moved for his bow as he tucked himself tight against the tree to become as hidden as possible, activating [Shadow Veil] as he did so; the shadows of the leaves literally gathering themselves around him to block him from view as he centered his arts. The noise was distant but continual, a heavy rustling, and occasional breaking sound, almost like... Like.. Something was being dragged.