Book1, Volume 6

Chapter 57

Wylla clapped her hands and summoned forth her Bloodrose Cauldron. “Yes! Now that I have my status all set and looking good, it's time to unlock the Alchemy profession by brewing some Orynlixrs and Refuelixrs.

As for Medylixrs, I don't really need them since I already know Healing Nectar but if I have the materials I might as well brew them to see which is better and increase my proficiencies... So first step first, preparations!”

Wylla walked up to the clearing she made earlier for the familiar ritual, and using her Life Magic grew a nest-like circle of large burner-sized Solfire flowers. She then guided the Bloodrose Cauldron Turtle over to sit atop the newly sprouted nest.

“That's a good girl,” Wylla said, smiling as she gently patted the rounded lip of the large cauldron. “I think? Well, that's if you're even alive since your a cauldron. But then again, this is a magical world so whose to say you can't be alive... Hmm... just in case, please take care of me.”

“Okay, next a work table with earth flora trays...” Wylla's Oryn Energy flowed into the ground as a good-sized rectangular worktable of earth and green flora rose up from the ground; Atop sat 3 large earth flora trays. Yup, perfect. Now to separate the materials and place them within each tray.

Wylla spent the next 15 minutes or so going through all her gathered materials, separating the ones needed from the piles she gathered earlier for the summoning rituals and placing them in the tray atop the work table.

“Okay, let's see. The first tray has the Orylix Grass and Lampryn Bulbs needed for the Orynlixr. The second tray has my tasty spicy Peprika Mushrooms which will give the potion some kick and 3-inch slices of Serpenvine to add some spring into the Refuelixrs.” Note to self, be sure to gather more Peprika Mushrooms before leaving this starter area.

“And the last tray has the Medy Grass and Juni Lillies for the Medylixr,” Wylla said, taking a small step back from the work table. “Looking good so far, now to separate each tray of materials into the right portions and I'll be all set and ready to start... Well, once I add the right amount of water into the cauldron.”

She spent the next 20 minutes preparing the materials for use and bunching them together into batch sized portions. Each batch would be able to produce anywhere from 1 to 4 potions depending on the skill of the Alchemist.

Seeing that everything was to her liking, Wylla knelt, placed her hand on the ground, and created an earthenware flora pot with oversized handles.

Using the pot, she added enough Oryn Tree pool water into the cauldron for 2 batches of Orynlixr. Okay, nothing to worry about. This is just like cooking... just follow the recipe, double the ingredients, and everything should work out fine. Nodding to herself, Wylla walked over to the work table where she was greeted by a pair of holographic hands ready to teach her the steps.

First, she picked up 2 batches of materials from the first tray and infused them with a small dose of her Oryn energy to get a feel for their essences. Then her eyes glowed as she analyzed the materials auras. Hmm... I see so that's where the energy I'll need to extract for the potion resides. Good to know... And since this is a beginner's recipe, I don't need to crush anything with a pestle. I can just toss them in whole into the cauldron... “Once I get the water boiling that is.”

With herbs in hand, Wylla walked up to the cauldron, sent her energy into the Solfire flowers, and waited a few minutes for the water to start boiling before tossing in the 2 batches of herbs. “Now to extract the essences needed and discard the rest... but how?”

The extraction process required her to control the process taking place within the Cauldron with her Oryn energy but the cauldron was much too hot to touch so Wylla stood there for a moment, brows furrowed, and nose wrinkled thinking of how to proceed.

“Ah, this isn't good. If I don't figure this out soon it'll be too late!” Wylla reached out toward the cauldron with an unsteady hand, jaw clenched and body braced for burning pain as her hand inched closer and closer towards the lip of the cauldron.

Just as she was about to make contact with the burning hot cauldron, the holographic hands shot forth tendril-like appendages that latched onto the lip of the cauldron and sent a small but steady stream of energy flowing within. I see, so I just need to attach something to the cauldron that I can use as a conduit for my Oryn energy... something I have synergy with to give me greater control.

Closing her eyes, Wylla recalled the ethereal serpenvines which shot forth out of her chest, out of her grimoire which wrapped around the Bloodrose Grimoire. Something like that... but not out of my hands like my serpenvine harpoon spell so I can still use them if needed...

“Then out of my forearms, near my wrists. Serpenvines that can withstand heat like a dragon...”

The energy within gathered, split in two, and then slithered forth into Wylla's arms, stopping near her wrists, and then shot forth out of the opening that painlessly formed on the top of her forearms. The golden-green draic scaled serpenvines wended through the air, opening their mouths, and attached themselves onto opposite sides of the cauldron's lip as Wylla felt a connection form.

[ ding ]

[Congratulations Wylla you have learned Oryn Conduit Serpenvines. :) ]

“Yes! Thanks, Anari! This is amazing. I can feel everything that's taking place within the cauldron through the connection... the rising temperature from the Solfire flowers, the boiling water seeping into the herbs, the essences churning and whirling seeking release... even the movements of the water... the water which is the key to extracting the essences I need.”

Latching onto her connection with the water, Wylla sent a thin but steady stream of Oryn energy through the draic scaled serpenvines into the boiling water within the cauldron. She grasped control of the water [ ding ] unlocking the Alchemist-Kinesis skill allowing her to turn the water into needle-like liquid serpents which drained the essences she needed from the boiling materials and stored them within their thin liquid bodies.

“Now to discard the drained materials from the cauldron without losing the needed essences...” Whether it was due to Wylla's spoken desire or her focused thoughts of what she wanted to do, a series of happy events took place:

The cauldron partially shifted into its Bloodrose Cauldron Turtle form as its head sprouted forth and a round fist-sized opening formed within the bottom of the cauldron connecting to the turtle head. The water then swirled around all the discarded material and funneled it into and out the opening as the turtle head opened its mouth and gently spat out the used up refuse.

The opening then closed and the turtle head returned into the cauldron as Wylla just stood there for a moment or two, her mouth slightly agape while processing what had just happened. “This cauldron is amazing! I'm so glad I found you.”

[ Found Wylla? Or stolen from a certain witch within a certain village? ]

“I didn't ste... steal it Anari. It was... reparations for all the... the pain and suffering she and her minions caused me... yup... not stealing, but payment!” Wylla said, clenching her fist and bringing it down on the palm of her other hand. “Besides, to the victors go the spoi...”

[ You may want to return your focus to 'your' cauldron Wylla before things go poof! And your first attempt at alchemy ends in failure. ]

“Ah! Don't go poof on me now!” Wylla quickly strengthened her connection with the water in the cauldron, merging all the essences together with the water as it turned into a luminescent silvery-blue color...

[ ding ]

“Yes! Now to lower the heat to simmer, make some earth flora vials with blueish corks, and pour the potion...” Once again the cauldron showed just how special it truly was as the Turtlehead sprouted out and the round opening once again appeared at the bottom of the cauldron connecting with one another.

A pair of serpenvines then sprouted out of the cauldron, one on each side of the turtlehead, and touched the ground creating an earth flora vial using Wylla as its Oryn energy battery. The serpenvine then brought the newly made vial under the turtle's head as a small spout formed where the mouth would be and poured the newly made Orynlixr into the vial.

Once the vial was full, the other serpenvine created the bluish flower-topped cork, capped the potion, and then placed the ready to use vial within an earth flora box which was designed with dividers in order to hold potions.

[ Congratulations Wylla! You have now learned Alchemy and are one big step closer to making your Tuttle Dreams come true! Yay! :) ]

“Fine... let them laugh and mock me... but once I start selling them we'll see who's laughing then...” Wylla said softly, a distant look in her eyes as she envisioned long lines of people at her parent's shop looking to buy her Tutt-Tutt and Tuttle pills.

“Yup... just like that movie... if I make it, they will come...” Nodding to herself, Wylla got busy and made another batch of Orynlixrs.

Feeling a bit drained, Wylla sat on the ground, eyes on the earth flora box containing her potions as she glanced at her Oryn Energy Bar which was well over half empty. Hmm... Looks like I'll have to get used to resting to regen between making batches of potions. I sure don't want to run out in the middle of a batch and have all those mats go to waste.

“Still, that isn't much of an issue with my high regen rate... in the meantime, I wonder how little Ceri is doing.” Concerned, Wylla sat on the ground in the lotus position, meditating in front of her cauldron, eyes closed, and thoughts of Ceri dancing in her mind.

She felt a warm stirring within her core, a lightness drifting in her consciousness, and heard a soft playful tootle-tu in the air. Smiling, Wylla opened her eyes expecting to see Ceri's cute adorable face but instead was greeted by what looked like a murky swampy forest twisting, turning, and corkscrewing around causing her tummy spin and sink.

[ ding ]

She felt the wind on her face as she whooshed about in the air doing corkscrews, loop da loops, and twisty turns. Ceri's sweet tootle-tu's sang out as she came upon a curtain of branches with wiggling centipede-like leaves.

Eh? Did I... become Ceri?

No, that's not it. Then did I form some kind of... connection with Ceri? Or did I fall asleep while meditating and am now dreaming? Hmm... maybe if I pinch myself... Wylla tried to lift her hand to pinch her 'snout' (for that is what she saw in front of her eyes) but found she had no body to control.

Ah, so this... this connection must be some type of scouting mode, allowing me to tap into Ceri's senses? So I can see, hear, and feel what she feels... but I wonder if I can talk to her like this... let's try. “Ceri can you hear me? Umm... if you can... blink twice? Or how about, if you can hear me nod your head up and down... three times... Ah no, don't go there Ceri!”

Ceri broke through the Desparu tree's curtain of branches and was greeted by the sight of a rather large hut with beautiful icy-blue Ghostroses which perfumed the air with an icy sweet scent.

A scent that Ceri's body also gave off which wasn't a bit surprising since those were the very same Ghostroses that Wylla gathered and used in her familiar ritual.

Ceri happily made her way to the ghostly flowers, nuzzling them as she flew about. The figures in the courtyard all turned towards her direction, drawn by her musical tootle-tu's but were unable to spot her as Ceri's body magically blended in with her surroundings.

“Kavi? Atu Kno Aru Kavi?”

The Kavi which returned to the village but with slightly less numbers searched about for the source of the tootles; Their crude spears grasped firmly in their hands, eyes jolting about the hut, and feet shuffling to form a large ring around a certain cute young girl whom only looked to be about 5 to 6 years of age.

The little girl's skin was like the pale moon with a hint of icy blue like her vibrant eyes and soft semi-curled waist-length hair; Hair that had silvery braids on the left side of her head. She wore a dress similar to that of Wylla's new bloodrose dress but hers was icy blue with silvery highlights and Ghostrose patterns.

She was standing in front of a long but short work table as what looked like molten metals bubbled in a large dark vat over the witchfire pit. On that table were various stones, beads, leaves, flowers, wires, feathers, and materials in bowls, plates, and trays.

The little witch girl's eyes were focused on the round black and silver pendant like object on the table as she used a bladed tool to engrave sigils into its surface.

Ceri looked down from the top of the hut at the little witch girl working at the table and softly tootle-tu'd.

The little witch put down the small talisman she was making and turned to look straight at Ceri, seeming to see through her camouflage.

The little girl's aura looked... so... so sad and lonely to Ceri.

Ceri flew down from the hut's roof, releasing her magical disguise as she flew right up to the little girl; The girl that also smelled quite a bit like her... of icy sweetness.

The little girl felt slightly taken back as she felt an odd sort of connection with this cute and fluffy creature that carried the scent of what could only be Ghostroses. She knew this creature was not here to harm her.

“Kavi! Atuk Noc Kavi!”

The Kavi guards, on the other hand, didn't and started to rush in; Crude spears aimed high towards Ceri as she floated in front of the little witch girl's reach, a playful smile that reached her eyes on her face.

The little girl's brows furrowed as she glared at the charging Kavi; “Kavi No Tuk Abuc Kavi!”

The Kavi guards all stopped their charge and grumbled as they shuffled back to their original guarding positions around the courtyard. Their spears held firmly as they kept a watchful eye on the strange little creature near their village witch.

Wanting to see the little girl smile, Ceri jolted forward causing the little girl to hop back...

(“Kavi! Atuk Noc...” The Kavi guards once again began to rush towards Ceri, their spears aimed high...)

The little girl felt something soft and fluffy brushing up against her forehead and then cheek as Ceri nuzzled her; Something warm and pleasant bubbled up from within the little girl's chest as a burst of giggles filled the air causing all the Kavi guards to stop in their tracks in surprise.

Was their little witch actually laughing... and smiling? They stood their stunned, watching as the little fluffy creature continued to fly around their little witch, rubbing and nuzzling her with its soft fluffy body as the little witch continued to laugh, smile, and play for the first time ever.

The scene became blurry for a breath or two and then turned dark as Wylla's consciousness returned to her body breaking her connection. Ah, seems Ceri has made a new friend... and the village has spawned a new witch.

I wonder what she was making on that table... jewelry... or maybe talismans? Either way, she didn't seem like she'd hurt Ceri... quite the opposite, she may want to keep her... but Ceri already belongs to me so she'll just have to find her own familiar!

“Well, it should be fine...” Wylla stopped mid-sentence as she spotted and read Anari's message.

[ Congratulations Wylla! You have learned Familiar Sensory Link allowing you to connect to your familiar's senses. Yay! I'm sure you'll find this helpful in your adventures ahead. :) ]

“Ah, that's great... Thanks, Anari. That's definitely a great new skill to have!” Wylla said with a smile. “Now let's see... just over 4 hours to go before my Soulryn summoning ritual so let's get to brewing while time gets to ticking...”

The minutes turned to hours as the number of earth flora potion boxes increased to three. Each box holding two dozen potions. “Yosh! All done!” Wylla said, clapping her hands and stretching towards the now night sky. “All the materials have been used and my Alchemy profession is now Rank 1!”

Greatly satisfied, Wylla began to clean up. She sent the cauldron back into her Syldrake Pagoda, stacked the 3 boxes of potions by the Royal Spider Lotus bushes, and returned the earth flora table and trays to the ground.

“Let's see... there's just over an hour to go before the summoning which gives me just enough time to prepare. But first, let's see what Ceri is up too... is she still playing with the new little witch friend or maybe with her family... I hope...”

Wylla sat down in the lotus position, closed her eyes, and felt her consciousness immediately connect with Ceri as feelings of great joy and warmth flooded her. Wylla opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of two little Serpis chasing her about as their large mother watched on from the side, a smile on her lips.

“Ah, looks like Ceri has found her family and are playing... tag? Either way, she's filled with warmth and joy so everything must be good. I'm so happy for her. Now that my promise has been completed I feel so much better inside.” Wylla said, as she severed her connection, 'returning' to her body, and opened her eyes to look at the stars above.

“Okay, now onto the main attraction...” Wylla rose up from the ground and began her preparations as the timer wound down...

“Mmm... good. All set and ready to go,” Wylla said to herself, as she stood in front of the Soulryn Summoning circle that was simpler but much larger than the familiar ritual circle. Like the earlier circle, this one also had a pair of round rings (one within the center of the other) but instead of a pair of triangles in the inner ring, this one only had 1 triangle with a round offering earth flora plate at each point.

Round offering plates that were much bigger. “Now to place the materials which will represent the Trinity...”

Wylla walked over to the top offering plate, making sure not to step on her summoning circle and ruin the lines and sigils, and knelt down. “Okay, for my Mind offering I'll place the Syldrake scales. Good. Now to grow and mold them into a pagoda just like in my Trinity Unity core.”

She touched the Syldrake scales and sent her oryn energy flowing within them; The scales grew, joining one another, melding together, and rose up in the shape of her pagoda. “Ooh, that looks perfect. Now let's just put this Oryn Fruit within the pagoda and all set here. Onto the next one...”

10 minutes later she was done.

Sitting on the Soul offering plate was a large earth flora bowl filled with Oryn Pool water and three beautiful Royal Spider Lotus flowers floating on top.

And on the Body offering plate sat her wonderful Bloodrose Cauldron filled with a large bouquet of flowers, mushrooms, branches, and flora she had gathered from all the areas of the starter area which she had visited during her time here.

“Ah, I think this should work,” Wylla said, eyes focused on her cauldron. “I mean, it's soulbound to me so I shouldn't lose it... and I feel like it'll make my Soulryn's body... tougher so it'll be harder to damage like a tank.

Besides, I'll be changing my character soon so I'll probably lose it when that happens anyway... so let's just take the risk and see what happens...”

“Tootle-too!” Ceri's musical voice echoed out over the meadow signaling her return. Wylla looked up, a smile on her lips as little Ceri rushed into her open arms, something silvery hanging from around her neck.

Wylla hugged Ceri, nuzzling their foreheads and then cheeks together before pulling apart. “Ah, you made it right on time Ceri! I'm just about to summon my Soulryn egg and place it in summoning circle... or maybe it should be called incubator circle? Hmm... either way welcome back! I missed you. Did you have fun?”

“Tootle-tu-tooo-toot!” Ceri joyously cried out, nodding her head as the new silvery necklace around her neck jingled.

“What's this? Did my cute little Ceri get a gift from a new friend?” Wylla asked, touching the crescent moon pendant adorned with three hanging stars. Her fingertips tracing the lovely swirling engraved sigils that seemed to glow with icy blue power.

Wylla's eyes shine as she appraised Ceri's beautiful gift:

[ Lunar Star Pendant – A rank 1 talisman created by the little Netheryn Ghostrose Witch and given as a gift of friendship. Stats: +2 Speed & Spell Power ]

“Tootle-tu-lu!” Ceri sang, her cute face glowing.

“Ahahaha Look at my cute adorable Ceri turning into a proud little peacock? That's a wonderful gift you got. I'm so happy for you!...”

“Tootle-too-toot-tu” Ceri moved her head forward, nuzzling Wylla's cheeks once more before being set free back into the sky, the moonlight dancing on her necklace for a moment.

“Yosh! Now that you're back safe and in good spirits from your wonderful outing with friends and family let's go ahead and welcome the soon to be new addition to our family!” Wylla knelt down by the summoning circle, held her hands out over the triangle, and summoned forth her basketball-sized Soulryn egg.

The golden-green egg shone with energy, it's shell vibrating with life, ready to hatch into the world. Antenna sprouted from Wylla's forehead and orchid butterfly wings unfurled from her back as she gently set the egg in the center of the triangle.

Wylla then moved outside of the large summoning circle, looked up at little Ceri circling in the sky above, and placed her hands, palms down, on the outer ring. “Well, here goes... not a slime... not a slime...” (fingers crossed)

Energy flowed out of Wylla's hands and streamed into the summoning circle as the lines and sigils lit up the night. The circle dimmed for a breath before flaring back to life around the Body offering plate as the Bloodrose Cauldron became shrouded in light.

The cauldron began to vibrate and then shake as the materials within flashed with light, (POOF!) turning into particles of colorful energy, perfuming the air with an array of fragrant garden forest scents. The energy spun and spun, forming a mini-tornado within the cauldron as dark blood-red rose petal-shaped essences peeled off the inside of the cauldron and flew into the mini energy tornado.

WHOOSH!

The mini tornado's funnel elongated like a serpent and flew out of the cauldron; It circled around the Soulryn egg moving faster and faster as the egg began to shake, and then rise up into the air.

The mini-tornado serpent then struck from below, opening its funneled mouth wide and swallowed the egg whole! Wylla's eyes shined as she saw the aura of the egg vibrating within, getting stronger and stronger as its shell steadily absorbed the energy winds.

A burst of light flared and the wind holding the egg up in the air died out. The egg dropped towards the hard dirt ground below... CRACK!

A pair of warm honey-brown toned branches burst out of the bottom of the egg, stopping it from hitting the ground. The branches grew in length and thickness as more cracking sounds rang out from the top of the egg as another pair of growing branches sprouted free.

The egg... seed (for Wylla wasn't quite sure what it was anymore) then completely shattered, but the broken shells did not hit the floor, instead, they were absorbed into the body of the faceless 'plant-thing' that continued to grow and grow and grow in size.

“Ah, my Soulryn's a giant tree bodied... garden backed... vine tailed... faceless Yeti?” A wide-eyed Wylla mumbled as she continued to channel energy into the summoning circle as her Soulryn continued to... evolve.

The energy converged on the next offering plate, the Soul plate.

The large earth flora bowl rose up off the ground as the crystal clear water within remained unmoving. The three floating Royal Spider Lotus flowers sunk into the calm water, changing shapes into beautiful royal fish lotuses.

The bowl then floated over to the Soulryn's belly, turned vertical to the ground without spilling a drop of water, and melding into the Soulryn.

The belly of the Soulryn shifted shape, creating a deep round opening that became filled with a large gravity-defying globe of water as three lively royal fish lotuses swam within.

“Amazing!... but how?... Shouldn't the water be pouring down onto the ground...” Wylla just shook her head at the sight. “Well... that's magic for you... making the impossible, possible.”

“Anyways, two offering plates down... one to go!” Wylla poured the rest of her energy into the summoning circle as the syldrake pagoda on the mind offering plate came alive. It launched itself up into the air, circling around the body of the Soulryn, making its way up high to the top of the Soulryn's round leafy head.

The syldrake pagoda shone with a mix of gold, green, and silvery light as it became ethereal like a spirit and disappeared into the Soulryn's head.

The head began to pulse with energy as a silvery wooden mask began to grow where the Soulryn's face was supposed to be (just like the Spriggankins); Vibrant green leaves began to sprout from under the growing mask covering the evolving Soulryn's syldrake scaled chest, touching the top of its round water globe belly.

A pair of round holes formed in the wooden mask revealing bright sparkling eyes that matched the crystal blue of its watery belly.

“Ah, finally... it's done,” Wylla breathed out, sitting back on her bum, empty of energy and feeling fatigued as the finishing touches took place on her new family member; her new and very large family member that is.

[ ding ]

[ Congratulations Wylla! It's a healthy baby boy... or maybe a girl? Well, either way, it's fine since it's a rare mutated elemental type Soulryn. As such, it has no real gender... although if we're going by the overall shape of its body I'd say it's a boy. ]

“Tootle-tu!” A happy Ceri came flying down, circling around her new... 'brother' before flying over to land on Wylla's shoulders and nuzzle up against her.

Towering before Wylla, at over 6 foot 5 inches, was her cute (in an odd sort of way) Soulryn. Its large treant body was shaped like one of those large cute cartoon yetis whose legs were short and stocky and arms were long and bulky.

Its very large hands up to its elbows and feet (which were resembled those of elephants) up to its knees were covered in Syldrake scales looking like armored gauntlets and boots. And its tough syldrake scaled chest and back were hidden underneath soft layers of long vibrant green leaves.

Silky soft leaves that covered the tops of its shoulders, head, and all the way down its broad back which looked hunched due to the colorful garden growing there. Its serpenvine tail tipped with a large beautiful Lunar Iris swished to and fro.

Wylla just stood there, head turned up, looking at its silvery moon toned mask; A silvery mask that was very hard to describe, but quite pleasing to her eyes; It had an overall wide v-shape look that was pointed at the chin and rounded at the edges. It went up at the sides forming two elongated ping pong paddle-like ears.

There was a straight line formed at the corner of one eye that gently went down and then back up connecting to the other eye, giving it the illusion of a mouth. And long swirling lines flowed within its round 'paddle' ears. It's so strangely appealing... beauty in simplicity. Wylla thought to herself, as her eyes traveled down her Soulryn's body, landing on what she felt was the strangest part of her new family member... its belly.

A belly not made of wood or plants like one would expect from a forest elemental, but 'made' of a large globe of crystal blue water with three beautiful lotus fishes swimming within.

“Just how is that water staying in there? I feel like I'm staring at a glassless ball-shaped aquarium... and a very big one at that. I hope I don't have to clean it... I could probably put my arm all the way up to my shoulder in there and still not touch the other side,” Wylla said to herself, just imagining doing so. Although, I am so very small in this body so I guess that shouldn't be much of a surprise.

“Tootle-too-tu?” Ceri sang out, her head tilted to the side looking back and forth between Wylla and her new 'brother'.

“A name? Okay Ceri, let's see... something cute and simple that screams 'forest garden mutated elemental'...” Wylla said, pondering as her eyes continued to look up and down at her Soulryn.

“Ah, this is harder than before,” Wylla muttered, ruffling her hair with her hands. “Think... trees... flowers... water... Meadows?... Forest?... Gard...ner?...”

“Ugh! I don't like any of those; Maybe I should approach this from a different angle. Let's see... he's big, has feet like an elephant, and probably weighs a ton... tun... dra... Tundra? Hmm... not bad, but need to make it cute so... Tu-->>

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