There was a small crowd gathered to watch, as what was happening would no doubt be the most entertaining thing to happen in the compound today. Murdon stood in the window frame of one of the side houses, watching, and from within Tounaki still attempted to reach level 4. She was at the last step but had become anxious, dragging things out in fear of doing something wrong and missing the evolution. Today, however, wasn't about her.

"Why is this itchy?" Alex asked as she picked up the orange wyvern wings Daniel had made. He'd succeeded on the color change with some difficulty, both from the added layer of complexity and a few other things like an unfamiliar material. Otherwise, Daniel had proven his growth by getting it right on the first attempt.

Not that Alex seemed to appreciate the effort he'd put into it. "I combined the wyvern scales with a type of fur that lets you manipulate them, kind of. Try to will that flap to wrap around you."

Alex gave him an unsteady look before doing so, watching as the tip of one wing curled around her arm as it clung to it. "Huh."

"It's also got a cold resistance effect from the wyvern scales. I'd give it another affix but since you still have to catch up to me, I can only give you level 1 wings." Despite the fact that she somehow had access to level 3 powers, there were other limits Alex was still capped by. Mana was one of them, since as far as they could tell she had the normal pool for a level 1.

Using Glimpse of Dawn should have been impossible for Alex, though this wasn't the first time they'd seen someone using a power at a higher level than their class. Lograve's Ritualism was no doubt an example of his Spoke playing games. In that case he might have gotten a lower level version of the power restricted by the prior rules, but in Alex's case there were no Virtuoso powers at level 1.

Without a line to his Spoke there was no way of knowing how it worked for Alex specifically, though from her uses so far it definitely ate through more mana than most abilities. It was thus a blessing that Alex didn't want anything to do with combat as she'd otherwise be chugging down mana potions to fuel her powers.

When she'd finished putting on the wings, wrapping the central portion around her chest and taking a minute to figure out how to command the flaps into their stored position, Alex looked at him expectantly. "Alright. Feels like I'm wearing an inflatable tube but it's worth it if they let me fly, right?"

"Common misconception." Daniel lifted a leg and held it out, then gestured to the boots Alex had yet to put on. "The wings just give you better control in the air, you won't be able to use them to generate lift. That's what the boots are for. Think of it like you're a plane, the boots are your engines and the wings are there for aerodynamics. You don't have to use the wings to fly, which is helpful if you need to use your hands without them on while flying, but without them you won't have good balance in the sky."

Tak nodded off to the side, having had a difficult time adjusting himself while they had been returning from the Arcadian until he just used Grow Wings and used his race's natural flight. None commented though, and there was a respectful distance between the two and everyone else in the courtyard.

"So, roll them up the back of my arms?" Alex asked. Daniel nodded, and she deployed the orange sections of scale. They were slightly firmer than the fur wings, making it harder for Alex to cross her arms as she tried to inspect them. "How well will this hold?"

"I've fallen as fast as you can here and they haven't torn off." That spawned a brief tangent where he explained the effects Threst's Spoke had on physics. He wasn't sure himself if they'd fully work in normal gravity.

Alex manipulated the wings a few times, getting a feel for the process, before she slipped the boots on over the small shoes she wore. He'd had Padri help with making a level 1 version of these, and had chosen to just go with fur as the smoke bomb effect would be useful in case of self-defense.

Once they were set up, Lograve initiated a failsafe by creating a thin layer of ice over the back of Alex's wings. Their cold-resistance property would prevent her from becoming uncomfortable, and if she lost control he could use Aquakinesis to catch her. Alex still had disparity to most of her attributes, and falling from a good height onto stone could challenge the endurance of a balanced level 1.

"In a way, it's a good thing you had so much experience with Lograve's telepathy," Daniel continued as the Arcanist gave a thumbs up. "A lot of magical items with triggerable effects work mentally. The boots will give as much lift as you want, up to a point, so you'll need to stay concentrated. Think of it like you have a foot on the gas pedal."

"Oh god, you're teaching me to drive aren't you?" Alex facepalmed in exaggerated embarrassment, displaying the rime-covered orange scales to him. "What, press down with my big toe?"

"Basically," Daniel answered with a laugh, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Lograve's head tilt slightly. Huh. So he doesn't have everything from Earth then. "Start slow. Ramp it up until you get off the ground a few times. The wings will slightly slow your fall, but you've got to keep some lift from the boots up when you're flying or else you'll just be falling."

He had no trouble using the item combo himself by now, but Daniel remembered the early days. Tlara pushing him off a balcony, getting his bearings in the air, and that was just with the boots. Once they got going, Alex would see that this world had its perks.

That being said, the startup was slow. Alex was being careful, trying to nail hovering first before getting more than half a meter off the ground. It was a tricky thing for a novice as you had to orient the boots correctly while keeping the propulsion steady, with the wings providing limited assistance for this aspect of flight. If anything, Daniel often collapsed his when preparing to fire lest they catch a breeze that he'd have to compensate for.

The practical approach was met with growing disinterest in the crowd as it crossed half an hour, Alex looking like she was trying to nail down wakeboarding rather than soaring. Janice, who had the day off today, started a contained duel against Hunter after mentioning she was curious how differently he fought from Daniel in that form and that began drawing more attention.

Alex looked a little grateful for that when most of the eyes went off of her. "This is hard," she said in a voice low enough to only carry to Daniel. "You fight like this?"

"It is flying." The Artificer gave her a reassuring smile. "You're doing good. I had level 2 dexterity and a couple of helpful powers when I was learning, but you're at a disadvantage."

"Well, it's good exercise if nothing else." She returned to the ground and sat in the courtyard, breathing with her back to the ground as if she'd just done a thousand sit-ups. "My core's on fire."

"Need a break?"

"Yeah." She didn't move, clearly exhausted to some degree, but there was no grimace on her face. "I keep this up, think I'll get a flying power too?"

That was a tough question. Anyone else and he would say probably not, but if she asked for one, would his Spoke give it to her? He wasn't sure how many rules it could bend. He was also struggling to find a way to tell people about it. 'I shouted at the world and it listened' was not the approach, but he agreed with Hunter that the inner circle needed to know.

"Maybe. The Octyrrum's set up to prevent you from getting a power you wouldn't tolerate, but it doesn't exactly grant wishes. Besides, you already have my stuff to help you fly." He extended his own, furred wings as he struck a pose. "I'm generous like that."

"Yeah, sure."

Lograve, who had been half-watching the entire time in case Alex catastrophically failed while airborne, walked up. "For someone so generous, I have to point out my lack of accommodation."

Both siblings faced the Arcanist skeptically, though Alex remained on the ground. "You can use ice to fly."

"And what about the room you're staying in?" Daniel added. "I paid almost an entire lapis for this place." But sure, one simple formulae is worth half of the compound, he griped internally, still put off by how much he'd had to pay for the muffle sound enchantment. Still, after getting a brief, somewhat embarrassed report from Hunter on how easy it was to hear practically everything going on in the compound, he was putting soundproofing for all of the rooms on his extensive list of things to enchant. One thing was for sure, he was not going to be the one to give Murdon the item for his room.

"Yes, flaunt your wealth why don't you?" Lograve wiped what was definitely a tear from his eye and not a droplet of water he'd smuggled to the corner of his eye. "Oh, but it feels just like yesterday they were bringing you half-dead into the same tent as me. If I'd known the headaches you'd give me I would have recommended Thomas find the nearest ditch to toss you in instead."

"You weren't like this with all of your students, were you?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes as she'd gotten used to the Arcanist's sarcasm as well. "I'm surprised you weren't fired."

"Helps to have friends in high places," Lograve returned with a smile.

Oh. Daniel looked between Lograve and Alex as he put together a connection he should have already. No wonder they got along back on Eido. I honestly forgot Lograve had a job before the Upswell. "What do you think you'll do now?" Daniel asked, turning the conversation a little serious again. "We're hunting, Murdon and Tounaki are… yeah, and they go out too when a team needs their help. With you and a few others, you could make a second Raven's Call for the town."

Lograve's smile slipped for a moment, though it recovered. "Having two Arcanists on the team would seem redundant, wouldn't it? Anyway, not counting the two of us the members of our last team either ended up dead or the worst kind of traitor. Best not to tempt fate further."

Alex had recovered enough to sit up at this point, and Daniel could honestly respect his sister for how much she'd struggled with flight before taking a break. He wouldn't have stuck it out so long when he'd first gotten here. She had caught the hidden melancholy in Lograve's voice too. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, don't worry about little old me," the Arcanist chuckled, putting a bit too much into it. "I have my studies, both of this world and yours, two besotted fools to torment, and my rituals." His eyes looked across the courtyard and the sky. Lograve didn't see anything, but he still switched to telepathy. I should mention at this point, Alex, that I am putting considerable effort into refining the gate ritual. His sister stiffened at the mention of that, no doubt upsetting the strained muscles in her abdomen, but she had long been ready to hear this. I don't think I would have ever pulled it off without Tak. We can replicate it with you and Ami, I'm sure, but that would require her to remain in Eido. If she leaves the island…

Another burden was added to his sister, one Daniel had already considered and had weighing on him. She wasn't doing well, Lograve, and that was before everything happened. I, I couldn't ever ask her to stay for my sake. I doubt Mom would have been able to leave, but someone might have taken her back home.

Who? Lograve's smile had faded as it was clear they were discussing something that no one could make light of. The only one who can reliably find Eido is no doubt imprisoned, and there is none other on the island aside from the natives who have free rein. If you forgive the assumption, I don't believe Ami was in a state to sail herself back to Hawaii.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

So she's stuck there as much as I'm stuck here, Alex thought with some helplessness.

Perhaps. Lograve brought out the crystal he'd waggled at Daniel yesterday. This material is famed for being able to accept different attunements, such as fire or, in this case, dimension. Your brother has unintentionally given this a very high affinity for the latter. My hope is that I could use this as a replacement for the guidance of a bond, eventually, but it's all theory for now. It's all pointless until local politics are resolved anyway. I don't want you to worry about it, it's just something you should know.

Daniel felt a small stab in his consciousness as a perfect opportunity to present his own secret appeared. He'd even get a kick out of watching Lograve's face as he confessed, but at the same time he didn't want to ruin Alex's first day of flying. They were already moving in the wrong direction. "Feeling up to trying again?" Daniel asked instead. "Lograve could try to help you stabilize in the air until you get the hang of it."

"And now he's just offering my help without asking," Lograve muttered in mock disapproval.

Alex slowly got to her feet and shook herself. "No. I want to do this myself."

…

Alex Brant continued to get in a good workout as the day progressed, taking long enough that they had to break for lunch and get concerned about wrapping up before dinner. The others had come in and out over the course of the day with Lograve and Spinner being the only constants, Willow holding the runner-up spot as she spent several hours attempting to restore Spinner's soul to the point that she might advance.

While Hunter and Tak did go out into town, from his occasional inclusion in their mental conversation he knew they weren't up to anything active. Tak was just taking his friend through the streets, helping the ringcat orient himself to functioning in a society now that he had two legs. While Hunter typically reverted to his natural form while sleeping, he was spending the majority of his time each day in hybrid form. Typically, he'd only swap with Daniel if he himself wanted the hybrid form for something.

There wasn't a call for it today as the Artificer had diverted his attention himself while watching Alex. The cruel nature of bullet math demanded he use his time appropriately if he wanted to go into battle well equipped. Daniel would admit that he was exaggerating a bit in his head, he didn't need literally every variant on him at all times, but the number remained in his head regardless. Given he could still control magical items without relying on his mana flow, he could still fly with Alex while enchanting something so long as neither were too taxing, and honestly?

Daniel was beginning to think he could make bullets in his sleep. Whether that was hyperbole or not he wasn't sure, though he couldn't imagine being able to start multiple projects overnight. He was making inroads in cutting down the time each round required, reaching around 14 minutes instead of 15 total if he really pushed himself. As that required a state of total concentration in combination with Quick Mind, as if he had ten hands and was trying to play a grand piano with thousands of keys, he was sticking to the default completion time while in the courtyard.

Finally, in the mid-afternoon, Alex had grown comfortable enough that she felt she could catch herself in the air if she had to. She'd yet to rise higher than any of the houses, and was looking up now like it was the long fall in front of a cliff. "Flying sounds so enticing until you actually try it," she said distantly. "I mean, we've both flown on a plane, but neither of us were in control of it. We weren't the plane." She mimed flapping her arms a few times, still with the wings attached. "Now here I am, looking ridiculous."

"Hey, you picked the color." Daniel didn't have too many problems with Alex's favorite color, though he wouldn't have gone with orange dreamsicle-themed wings personally.

"The color's the only good thing about it," Alex returned, still looking up. "Lograve, you've got me right?"

"Don't go too far from the island, but yes." The Arcanist had suited up by this point, using one of the spare sets Daniel had made before going on the second ruins run. Dedicated flight suits for all members of the compound was still on his enchanting to do list. His very long enchanting to do list. "Daniel, you're going too?"

"Wouldn't miss it for all lapis in the world."

"Let's not be hasty. That'd be quite a sum." Alex tried and failed to fully cross her arms, settling instead for glaring at them with a betrayed expression. "Why, it is getting late. Perhaps we should get started?" While Lograve was relatively new to Daniel's flight gear, he flipped off the ground and hovered above them. He wore the wings but kept them folded up most of the time, no doubt because he wanted to show off. Anyone who knew better could tell the ice armor he kept frozen under his robes could grant a similar control in the air at the cost of concentration. "Well?"

"Just take it slow," Daniel advised as he took a less flashy ascent. Seeing his sister struggle all day made him aware just how much his powers were helping him. That Balance could help with flying, and that Alex had felt the strain most in her core, underlined how difficult it could be for normal people. You had to keep yourself positioned in mid-air without the normal support of gravity along your spine. In a way, it was like swimming, and for all his items made flight possible they didn't make it effortless. Daniel thought for a moment of Kob and the way his climbing enhancement had moved up along his back to support it, which then made him think of Khare. Are they still in Pinion's Point? Hunter hasn't sensed them since he's been here, or Festra. I hope they're ok.

Then it was back to Alex as she steadily rose. She began as if she were riding an invisible elevator while balancing on a medicine ball, standing straight while struggling to stay upright. In a way he started to see Threst's reluctance to allow anyone who didn't prove themselves in the air to hunt in most of the region as Alex would be worse than a sitting duck as she was despite the fact that she could 'fly'. What stopped him from agreeing with their point of view was practically everything related to Kahvin.

"Doing ok?" Daniel asked as Alex brought herself to a stop unsteadily.

"I already know I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow after this," Alex complained. "It's like trying skiing for the first time with boots that don't fit."

"Yeah, but it's flying," he readily countered. "And those boots totally fit you."

Rather than dignify that with a response, Alex propelled herself over the edge of Pinion's Point. At first she'd tried to take steps while maintaining her balance, but it was easier to just tilt forward and give yourself enough lift to remain even. Her altitude wavered a bit, but the practice she'd done over the course of the day paid off as she was able to maintain her position in the air.

There was a soft gasp as she looked down and didn't see anything under her, but Alex remained composed. "So this place loops?"

"Yeah. We're about 20 kilometers or so from the bottom here, and you'd have to fall half of that over again once you hit the top to get back here." Daniel considered his experiences thus far and added, "You'd only need around a half hour. It sounds like a long time but-"

"That's actually longer than I'd expected." Daniel raised an eyebrow which she caught as she looked back to him. "Oh, you probably didn't know. I went skydiving once."

"You what? When?"

"Last year during the last summer break. Bucket list kind of thing, you know? We were four kilometers up and most of the fall was over after a minute. Mom tried to talk me out of it and Ami wanted me to wait for her, but I thought I'd lose my nerve if I did." Her head turned down again as she took a few deep breaths. "You'll follow me, right?"

"Yeah, but-" Alex was already breaking off as soon as she heard his reply. Alex, there could be monsters further out from the town! He thought through Lograve's Telepathic Link as the bottom of Pinion's Point's roughly plate-shaped island passed them by.

Alex made no physical acknowledgment of his warning, keeping her body mostly pointed down with her arms close to her side. She was trying to figure out how to adjust course using the wings, which was actually easier while in a dive than using the boots' propulsion as you had to fight harder to turn your feet. This is amazing! she thought back first, before justifying her actions. You said you cleared out the big threats a few days ago. Now or never.

Daniel smiled. Shuni had the same idea. Just watch out for the clouds, a few have islands inside of them. Alex noticeably began swerving away from a larger fluffy one coming up that she'd been diving toward. If something does show up you'll need to slow down before activating your smoke bomb. That'll let me and Lograve get in front of you too.

While it was also true that most monsters couldn't catch Alex if she just continued into a dive, there were some with powers that allowed them to temporarily or permanently override Threst's control over fall speed. Daniel himself should have theoretically been immune to it like he was Aughal's Shroud, but there seemed to be some difference in how that behaved. He would go through the ground and sky limit just fine normally unless he contested the Spoke, and while the same process would likely give him a speed boost in Threst's skies, it would also lock him out of other powers making it inconvenient to use in active combat.

Are you alright? Hunter asked as they were about halfway to the ground limit. They'd have been outside the previous limit on their Telepathic Link, but with the new bond their range now extended to the entire region.

You only just noticed? Daniel asked back, laughing. Further down, Alex was attempting to brake before an upcoming island she was interested in and there were no monsters that could pose problems. Alex is having fun.

Good. Fully extended orange wings below him were evening out, Alex now discovering that she still had most of the dive in her forward momentum. Daniel was agile enough to flip over and use the boots to counter that, and durable enough to sustain the g-force for that matter, but Alex had to do things the slow way. No monsters?

Saw a couple level 1s but they weren't interested in following us. Lograve has enough water on her to cover her in ice armor worst case. They hadn't told Alex about that part as he'd essentially be repeating the old ice sphere trick Lograve had played on him, and Daniel knew how unpleasant an experience that was. His sister didn't need to know about every single guardrail on this outing. She's getting better. No, she is better. I don't know if she'll ever be comfortable here, and I don't want her to give up on a way back. She doesn't have a Spoke in her, so it's only one fundamental law in the way. How hard can that be to break?

A sapient fragment of the Octyrrum shivered in its sleep as Daniel contemplated doing something that might shatter the world, or at least fracture it worse than it had by giving Alex the Virtuoso class early. Hunter didn't have the insight it did to dissuade Daniel, so he only said, No idea, but good luck. Feel like you'd need it.

Thanks. Have fun doing whatever it is you're doing. Daniel touched down on the island Alex had eventually floundered onto, coming in far faster and simply Dodge Rolling the moment he hit the ground to break his fall. It did hurt a little and he wouldn't normally do this outside of combat, but Regeneration would take care of any damage. Also, it was important to show off.

She gave him an incredulous look as he came to a stop, while Lograve gazed on with mock disappointment as he gracefully touched down. Aquakinesis gave him far more control in the air when combined with Daniel's items than he had, though he also had higher attributes so it didn't count. After everyone was done posturing Alex took in the surroundings.

The skies were full of large clouds absorbing the color of the waning sun, now matching the wings on her back. In the distance a flock of normal birds darted in search of either wild growth to graze on, or perhaps a lone level 1 monster they thought they could take. On this island there was a curious vertical structure that looped back on itself to create a hollow that could extend into the core of the island. It wasn't large, a quarter of a kilometer on the longest side, but he could've spent at least an hour exploring this place. Marking it on his map to come back to or ignore. Charting the entire place, maybe finding a treasure island or two. If only there wasn't an apocalypse going on.

It was like he'd read his sister's mind. "I'd like it a lot better here if I could travel without always worrying about dying."

"It's not as bad everywhere as it is here," Lograve answered in a reasonable tone. "And up until recently Threst wasn't the worst place to be. The gods just need to get things under control."

Everyone knew that was lie. Unique aspects of this Collapse aside, the Origin Beasts were waking. The only solution to them in the past had been isolating the center of the Octyrrum in time until they went away. If the gods could have beaten them back the system conflict would've resolved a long time ago. Daniel was pretty sure most of the casualties in their pantheon had been from direct contact with those entities. Cloak's Proxy would have survived Toralaw if he'd been fresh on mana regardless of the decapitation, and that was a god restricted to level 1 power.

"We'll make it better," Daniel declared. "The ball's in our court."

"What, you're just going take over?" Alex asked skeptically.

"No, but I got through to Cloak near the end and he's still out there." He didn't have to try as much as he'd expected to put confidence in his voice. "If we manage to save the other gods, we're going to be in a position no one else has ever been in. They're going to owe us their lives. Their pantheon is broken. All this time, no one's betrayed them like Hourglass did. They hold the keys to the kingdom, and if they work with us, work with Willow, there's a way we can make a better world."

"Damn." Alex was looking at him in a way he'd never seen before. Not quite respect. It was in there, but that wasn't the primary emotion. That was pride. "Wish I could have recorded that for Mom."

"Me too." Daniel looked at Lograve. "Hey, you have an illusion power. Could you play that back the next time we see them?"

"What, me?" Lograve started, feigning distraction. "I'm sorry, I was taken in by that, uh, spot of dirt. What did you need?" He kept it up for a few seconds before giving in and summoning an image of Daniel standing as he had been moments ago. It was worth remembering that Lograve had more than one power, and in fact Daniel had seen him use this one before Aquakinesis. "I've got it all down."

"Thanks." Daniel redeployed his wings with a meaningful glance at Alex. "It is getting late, though. Want to start heading back?"

"Yeah," Alex conceded, before walking to the island's edge and looking over the edge. "But let's take the fun way there."

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