The First Trial (Job, Solo)

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Mind Space:

Much time had passed since Samira had gone through the cave of trials that tested future warriors of the Leraci Clan. She had passed for the most part, although not without help from a certain being that hated her with a passion but had been ordered to make sure she stay alive. Samira knew very well that without him she would have died way before reaching the parts that she had managed to complete on her own. An actual warrior she was not. She was terrible at physical combat. She was clumsy with weapons. She over thought things. She lacked any magic except to summon spirits one after the other, and she was not one for being on the front lines.

The cave trials had taught her much about her weaknesses as well as some other things that she would have to prepare for in the future. Step one and the reason she had gone through the trials in the first place was so she could train under her friend and eliminate those weaknesses. Easier said than done. For weeks she went under brutal training with her spirits left to watch from their place within her mind. Every now and then they popped up to get a closer view or to ensure it wasn’t too much for her, but Samira’s pride and resolve were too strong to give up. She despised being weak and always needing others to help her. It wasn’t so much as needing the strength and power for herself to feel accomplished and undefeated, but rather she was tired of being a burden and being a distraction and weakness for those closest to her. That needed to change.

”Looks like they’re finally taking a break.” The wind swordsman spirit, Susano, commented to the other spirits within the mindspace. He let out a deep sigh, almost as if just watching made him exhausted. ”I sure am glad we were created with our skillset in mind. It’d be a real pain having to do that kind of training.”

”Intimidated by the Leader of the Leraci Clan’s methods, brother?” The light spirit Amaterasu inquired with a small teasing smile. She herself had been through quite an ordeal the same day Samira had gone through the cave trials. Both summoner and spirit had learned something about themselves. After nearly exploding from her stress of being in charge of a mini spirit army, Ama had taken a much needed break with Ra’s return. He had taken over completely, leaving her to worry little about anything. It also helped that since that day nothing too eventful had happened. The normal chaotic lifestyle of Samira and Team Kaori had died down in favor of focusing on training. The dark serpent also behaved and remained in his own area. For what reason he decided not to toy with anyone she wasn’t sure. Perhaps he had a reason to lie low. The serpent had a habit of doing whatever it took to ensure his own survival, no matter how much it hurt his own pride. Regardless, Ama had returned to her duties as well as her normal personality at being amused at nearly everything in an almost trolling fashion.

”What?! No! It just looks like way too much trouble. I could handle all of that.”
”Even if you were a normal human and not a spirit copy of a talented and powerful deity?”
”…Maybe.”
”Ha! That’s a no then!”
”You do know the question was hypothetical right? I am not a human, so watch it. I will toss you out of here.”
”You idiots. Yes, lets repeat what happened the day the flying worm and she who can do no wrong fought each other and had the celestial realm interfering!”
”As that ‘flying worm’ you better not say anything more than that. Besides, everyone knows a fight between Windy and the perverted flame wouldn’t go anywhere. They’re both too weak, am I right?” The human disguised Kukulkan shot a mocking smile Susano’s way, who had to bite his tongue from saying anything that would piss the feathered serpent off and make a repeat of that day. Kukulkan didn’t learn a damn thing even after nearly being tossed into the celestial garbage can by the Celestial King. She still had too much of an inflated ego and thought too highly of herself. A trait that was apparently going to take even more time to change and eradicate.

Amaterasu had to let out a hopeless sigh. Too many spirits often meant there were many that would not get along and cause fighting. At least she could trust her brother to keep his mouth in check while she was around. Most of the time anyway. Just as she was about to open her mouth and end the small argument that was certain to escalate, a surge of flaming magic particles appeared and spread throughout the room. From those particles materialized the falcon headed sun spirit Ra. He had been gone for a few hours, of which that time he was kind enough to actually inform her of where he was going, unlike the time where he had vanished for months. ”Welcome home, dear,” Ama said in a tone that  implied she was joking and was fully amused by her words. She didn’t know much when it came to romance or showing of affection, but she had learned some just from being around Samira and others that lived in the human world. So, as a joke that she surely knew would annoy her fellow high ranking spirit she welcomed him back in a way stereotypical married couples did.

”I almost miss the way you were some time ago. Irrational and in self pity after hearing about the consequences of your actions.” Ra replied with little emotion and a stoic expression sent her way. Then he turned to everyone else that were hanging around the mindspace on watch duty. ”Everyone except Amaterasu, Nu Wa, Kukulkan, Susano, and myself are dismissed.”

The blue skinned demon looking spirit known as Kali hissed venomously. ”More secrets?! I thought we were past this!”
”There will always be secrets. Now depart like the rest of us. The leader spirits have a right to discuss things without the rest of us. It makes things less complicated.” Bastet then dismissed herself, as did the rest of the lesser spirits. Kali glared at those that remained before leaving as well. There was no point in resisting. If she stayed they could all kick her out regardless. Such is the life as a lesser spirit that lacked a leadership role.

Once everyone else had gone, Susano crossed his arms over his chest and arched a brow as he stared over at Ra. ”Not that I am complaining, but what made you decide to let me stick around?”
”Your whining and complaints annoy me more than that of the others.” He paused until he became satisfied with Susano’s twitching eyebrows before continuing. ”You were in charge before the rest of us became Samira’s spirits officially. You also took on the role while I was absent and Amaterasu was unfit to continue her duties. That qualifies you to be here.”

”Great, now that our lesser friends are out of here, can you get your flaming feathery ass to explain what this smaller and what I assume to be important meeting is about? I rival Kali when it comes to impatience.” Kukulkan casually interrupted before the swordsman spirit could make some sort of comment that would allow his own ego to inflate further. A small sigh escaped the falcon spirit as he resisted the urge to shake his head at seeing the interactions between Susano and Kukulkan, which consisted of a glare from him and a teasing smirk from the disguised serpent. ”You are correct. It is time.”

The other spirits remained quiet and looked at Ra curiously. Somehow they expected…a less vague explanation. A few seconds passed. Then a minute. Another. Awkward animated sweat drops formed at the sides of their heads. ”You got anything more to add to that? We really need to work on you giving details. We’re not mind readers. Well, usually. Samira is an exception to this rule.”

”Must I explain everything that is obvious? The memory of you all is severely lacking.” Another sigh at the fact he had to deal with spirits that could not comprehend his level of thinking or seeing facts that were displayed right in front of them. ”It has not been that long since our summoner had gone through the training trials used by the Leraci Clan. I hope you all recall the few pantheon leaders that were present towards the end.”

”Oh, yeah, those bastards that can’t even be bothered to say hello before taking off.”

”I don’t even remember them at all. Those are the assholes we need though for the seal? Are you sure we even still need them? They seem like judgmental creeps to me from what I’ve heard.”

”We still need them. Samira has done some training with her allies to improve herself as far as combat goes, but she is not capable of completing the seal. We ourselves even lack the power we had back then. I have explained this previously. Back on point, it is time for her to meet the first pantheon leader, An Dagda. Cernunnos and Artio will likely be of aid for this due to their connection.”

”Do you know what it is she will have to do to earn their favor? I find it amusing she has to do such a thing to begin with. The seal is supposedly important, and they would refuse to aid in keeping it intact? The logic is humorous.”

”Where that is concerned it is simple: they do not care. At least not enough to break tradition. As far as they are concerned the Celestial King and the real gods can step in and handle their own mess if we are to fail. The spirit Pantheon leaders have no obligation, and have not had it in centuries. Samira is just another Nassar to them regardless of Apophis’ attachment to her as well as the seal. She will have to prove herself worthy for each one. How that is done will likely be different. I imagine them to make it extremely difficult, and if she were to fail one the others she has yet to meet would probably shun and ignore her.”

The atmosphere in the mindspace became a little gloomy and serious. It was somewhat worrying for the few spirits to be left in the dark of what the trials their summoner may face. They couldn’t prepare her for it, and it was doubtful they could even help her during it. Then again, they themselves could also be put under tests just as much as she would be. If they or Samira failed there was no telling what would happen from there. Calling upon the power of the extra spirits was the back up plan. A backup for the backup plan currently did not exist. Well, except for the one that took Samira’s life. The seal would be re-formed and last for a few more centuries, she would be dead, and the keys that belonged to each spirit would be dormant once more. None of them wanted to have to use that option.

There was also one other option that was even less possible: taming the spirit of Apophis completely. None had ever been able to do so in the past, and it was very unlikely any would be able to in the future. Samira was far from being able to handle him, and all the spirits currently contracted with her knew it. They had powerful allies, yes, but it would not be enough. Such a difficult task could only be achieved by Samira alone. As much pride as the young woman had, doing things alone was a weakness. She often panicked when under such pressure as well as being the only fighter and therefore the only target for an enemy. She had gotten too used to using spirits for any and all fighting. Her current training with Kaori had likely helped strengthen her resolve to fight and cut back on her own insecurities, but she was still a long way from fighting the most powerful spirit in her arsenal and making him obey her.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

“You are all way too serious,” a deep but almost jolly voice rang within the mindspace. The spirits present became alert and started looking around for the source. A laughter rang as the one who spoke found their reactions to be funny. Wasn’t he the one they had just been talking about? Surely he didn’t require an invitation! A surge of magic particles appeared and collected to form the spirit incarnation of An Dagda, also known as The Good God, or at least his original was. The spirit version remained partially true to it. What defines good? Good at everything? Good natured? Bah! He didn’t have time to figure out how he was supposed to be, and he certainly didn’t have to bend to the rules of the Celestial King like those others that are bound to a key or an object. He was very free to do as he pleased. It was a perk granted to him by his original. A shame most of his brethren were not able to be gifted such a unique life, but perhaps having too many would create a very difficult scenario. Well, that wasn’t his problem. He had his freedom, and had it for centuries.

The Nassar bloodline had thinned when it came to power. There had not been one to enter the trials in a very long time. There may have been more if they made themselves easier to find, but where was the fun in that? Too easy! If he was to be called upon and controlled by one, then they first needed to prove they could not be lazy and actually use some intelligence and determination to locate them. Some could say Ra cheated by locating and making contact himself, but that was a technicality. Ma’at had already given her permission for the young summoner to enter the trials and so An Dagda could not argue. He was the lowest ranking of them and the first that Samira would meet. His power was there, but he lacked the authority to overrule completely. Then again, it was doubtful he would have. He wished to be entertained and was quite curious on how the summoner would fair. Naturally, his was the first, so his trial would pale in comparison to some of the others. Not to say that it would be as easy as taking the tablet of knowledge from the training cave trials and walking out. The fact that option existed was hilarious, and even more so that Samira had failed to choose it in the guessing game. Her trial back then was the second hardest. The first would have ensured her death. She had been very close to choosing it without realizing the consequences of giving into pride once more. Either she was very lucky with her guess choice, or she had learned not to completely allow the trait to blind her. Who really knew? It hurt his spirit brain to think about all the possibilities and theories.

Once the materialization had completed, An Dagda moved the giant cauldron that was strapped to his back and placed it onto the ground. The spoken object being so heavy that it caused the mindspace room to shake as soon as it hit the floor. Then came the large magical club, Lorg Mor. A weapon that had different magical properties depending on which side he chose to use. The hilt for healing and reviving allies, foe, and anything else he chose. The other side for the obviously more damaging and fatal option. Another shake to indicate its weight and the spirit’s natural strength. The cauldron then fired up instantly and was immediately filled with some sort of soup. An Dagda stretched his arms out before moving over to the cauldron and taking a sniff right before grabbing hold of the large ladle and stirring the liquid. “Anyone hungry?”

”Seriously?” Susano inquired before face palming at An Dagda, who shrugged his shoulders and ignored the awkward stares as he created a bowl out of thin air and scooped up some of the soup from the cauldron. A chair then appeared that he took a seat on, the creaking sounds of it nearly breaking under his weight making the other spirits cringe. ”No really! Seriously?!” That was supposed to be a Pantheon leader? And one above Artio and Cernunnos no less. Those two were as serious as a spirit got! The spirit before them was… well he was not very impressive.

“I am very serious when it comes to providing meals for those around me. Or are you just not swayed by my natural charm?” An Dagda chuckled a bit, even more so after Ra demanded the wind spirit to be respectful. Kukulkan was about to open her mouth with the intention of saying her own offensive remarks, but Ra shot her an intense glare. It was always the wind spirits causing trouble. “I can’t wait to be a part of this little family. It gets boring being around all those stuck up higher powered spirits, you know.”

”I assume this to mean you have Samira’s trial prepared then?”

“Oh, that was her name, was it? I really wasn’t sure. It’s a small detail until she passes.”

”What is it that you will require of her?”

“Oh, nothing too fancy. My trial is the first, and I am not one for making ridiculous impossible to do challenges out of spite. I wish to be entertained, not be a spirit beyond all reason. I rather like you all so I hope she impresses me. It shouldn’t be too hard now that her training with her friend or whatever is completed.”

The other spirits grew quiet and got serious expressions once more. An Dagda looked up from his meal and blinked. “Her training is completed, correct?”

”Well…”
”Define ‘completed’.”
”She has improved. Whether or not it is completed is not up to us.”
”Whether it is completed or not, it will have to do. We are out of time.”

“That’s enough for me to agree then. If she isn’t ready then her failure will still be enjoyable to watch, I guess. I’ll make sure she doesn’t die, but do know if she fails here she not only does not gain my power, but she also cannot move onto Vishnu’s test, who is next in line.” The bowl he was holding vanished into thin air as he stood up. “I understand we are currently in Midi. Fascinating country! However, her trial is to be in the country of Seven. I feel much more at home there.” He grabbed the leather straps that were attached to the cauldron and somehow managed to make it look as if it were weightless as he threw the strap over his shoulder and carried the large object on his back. Then he picked up his magic club and grinned at the small group of spirits in the mindspace room. “I forgot to mention…“ He trailed off as his carefree expression was replaced with a stern and serious one. “The twin tailed hair girl and her companions. They are not invited. Should they arrive on scene for any reason Samira forfeits her birthright to complete the trial.“ The grin returned within an instant. “Have a safe and pleasant journey! I await you there.” Then his form poofed into magic particles that soon faded into the air.

”Looks like the happy go lucky vacation for us is over. So, who wants to break the news to Samira?”

”I can handle it. I should not be here alone completely for a while longer, which means Ra should remain. As for you two, you have a habit of being too blunt and sarcastic.”

”Forget breaking the news to Samira. That’s easy. Who’s going to convince Team Kaori to not follow? You know damn well if it isn’t her or Ikuchi being ordered to follow then her spirits will.”

”The best option for the ninja leader is Samira herself explaining the details. As for the spirits, I will consult with the Celestial King. If I can convince him of our dilemma and the stakes involved then he might order Aquarius to not get himself or the spirits under him involved in our private affairs. He will abide by the King’s ruling so long as his own summoner remains safe. Of that I am certain.”

”I will go let the others of our team know so they can prepare themselves.”

With that all the spirits in the mindspace poofed out of existence except for Ra, who remained to make sure the dark serpent of chaos did not return to take over again.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Midi:

Break time was over. During the little meeting that Samira was completely unaware of, she had taken a brief rest from her training and of those that were helping her. It was supposed to have ended for the day. Samira was not satisfied. She needed to see that she had gotten stronger. Not as a summoner, but as someone that is capable of defending themselves against enemies. That meant going back to the cave of trials she had entered before her training had even begun. Alone. Back then she had someone make sure she did not die as she went through it. This time that person would not be there, and due to the magic of the place her spirits would be unable to be called upon or pop in on their own to aid her. Suicidal? Perhaps. If she failed that just meant the training did nothing to improve her and she was a lost cause.

Samira called upon Anhur, the desert lion spirit who had lost his place as a true spirit some time ago. He was now mortal, and yet still found himself under the servitude of the summoner. Anhur seemed to mind it less and less as the days passed. His respect for Samira had grown somewhat, but not too much to get overly attached or show he cared. Just enough that he turned into his flame winged lion form to give Samira a ride to the cave of trials without a fuss. Trying to get through it on her own was a course of action he agreed on.

The two followed the same path that had been taken before to reach the cave. Upon reaching it, Anhur landed and allowed Samira to hop off of his back. She stepped forward, staring at the entrance as a small breeze blew through the area and caused her hair to swing to the side. Her verdant colored eyes narrowed slightly as she kept staring. She was inwardly convincing herself she wasn’t doing something completely stupid and that she was ready to make it out of there alive. ”Already backing out?” The lion spirit inquired in a rather emotionless tone. Samira had taken a scrunchie out of her pocket, ironically the same one that had been given to her a long time ago before Kaori’s servant, Ikuchi, came to hate her. She never did get the opportunity to properly thank him for it that day or even give it back. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. With the weeks of being in the same area and training they were still no where closer to repairing any sort of friendship they may have had. It was a long and complex bridge to build where that was concerned.

”No,” Samira replied after she took the massive amount of long green hair into her hands and formed them into a ponytail before tying it with the scrunchie. She then looked over at Anhur behind her. ”I will be back shortly.” The lion’s comment of how she should not overestimate herself and assume she’d be back in one piece she heard clearly but ignored it. She needed to focus and not allow herself to get annoyed or distracted by his disbelief in her. She didn’t need his approval or even his respect. It would be nice to have considering she was his summoner in a technical sense, but she wasn’t even trying to get stronger for him. Her spirits were fine regardless of her own strength. No, she was doing it to ensure those in the mortal world would not be burdened. Her friends, her allies, and even those in Lamia Scale. A pitiful Ace she was before when it came to strength. The name’s of her spirits may as well have been the ones on the roster instead of her own. They were, after all, doing all the work and were the ones that had the true power. All she did was open their gates. Anhur remained at the cave’s entrance and watched the summoner disappear into pitch blackness.

First was the familiar tunnel with the trap pressure plates. The memory of “lesson one, don’t be so fucking oblivious,” was permanently scarred into her mind thanks to a certain someone using a violent method of saving her and breaking a couple of ribs in the process. She was sure to look out for the traps along the way and avoided activating them. Lesson one had apparently stuck as was intended. Next came the massive chasm that she could not even cross the first time. Spikes went up and down in a long sequence, shuriken and spears she knew would randomly shoot out from the walls, and she recalled further down flames erupting from the floor and towards the ceiling. Samira took a breath and a second to gain confidence before stepping on the pressure plate that made the floor behind her start to drop and activate the thirty second timer.

Samira jumped down into the chasm, copying the movements she had seen the last time when she was in the cave. She landed in a roll and quickly got back on her feet and kept moving. Narrowly she avoided the spikes, and with each set that popped up around her she was more grateful to not be wearing her usual outfit like she had the first time she was there. Now she was in an attire more suitable for moving in such a way and without her normal heeled boots. Midway through the sequence that she could remember had reached its limits. There was not enough time before to memorize the entire thing. Educated guesses were made and several times she had barely removed herself before getting impaled or cut along the way. It wasn’t perfect, but it was normal. Even the one she saw complete that part of the trials before narrowly made it through unscathed.

The flying shuriken and spears she knew were coming next, and so she ducked and slid under them before rising again and continuing on. Next were the hoops on the ceiling she had to grab or else get burnt to a crisp by the erupting streams of fire that would appear. Samira increased her running speed as much as she could before leaping and grabbing hold of one of the hoops. Her hand had missed the second one at first but she recovered. Hoop by hoop she went as if they were a monkey bar course. The fire appeared as predicted and she rose her legs so her feet could connect with a pair of hoops ahead of her. The act prevented her legs and feet from getting burned by the fire as it rose higher. Once it had receded, Samira let go of the hoops her hands held and forced her weight so she could swing to the set that came after the pair that held her feet. A few sets of hoops later and she let go completely and allowed herself to fall to the ground in a kneeling position. Now was not the time to remain still, however. She was near the end but not there yet. The summoner rose once more and sprinted even further, ducking and jumping over spears that shot from the walls. Once past that, all she needed to do was climb a ladder. That part of the course had been completed. It was onto the next room.

The next room was that of the stone swordman she had defeated before. It had been reset by what she could only assume to be magically. It activated the moment she walked into the room and pointed its sword at her. Samira narrowed her eyes and prepared herself, knowing full well what was to come next. It would attack her with a skill level that was thirty times her own. The unfortunate part was that she had improved since last time, which meant it wasn’t going to be as easy as it was back then. She would have to do more than run around like an idiot and get lucky with making a weakened giant stone pillar fall on it.

The swordsman dashed her way, and she sidestepped and leapt away to gain more distance before going over towards a katana she saw lying on the ground next to a skeleton that no longer had any need of it. She turned around and swung the blade just as the swordsman came at her. The weapons clashed together, and for a moment they were stalled in a stalemate. Samira then purposely allowed the stone swordsman to win as she let her hold weaken suddenly and then lowered herself to slide under the foe as it lost its balance from the sudden loss of force holding it back. She stood up and quickly swung towards the back of the swordsman, a red colored magic mark appearing to indicate that even though it was stone it had taken damage to reflect her score.

Her speed picked up as she dashed across the room to get distance from the enemy that had recovered. She hopped over the pieces of the stone table that had broken the last time she was there and made way for a bow that was on the ground much like the sword was. Upon grabbing it and a few arrows, Samira ducked, feeling the presence of the swordsman right behind her. Then she did a low kick to trip it. It fell to the ground, dropping its weapon. She gained distance once more before looking up towards the ceiling. Attaching an arrow to the bow, she raised her aim towards one of the magic hanging fire lights that were lighting up the room. It was not small by any means. The arrow released, and it cut the rope that attached it to the ceiling. It fell and crashed down upon the stone swordsman. Technically it was the same method used before, but she was less idiotic with her movements and had more of a strategy. Improvement. To the next room she went now that the swordsman had been defeated.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The next area was the familiar dark tunnel with absolutely no light. She was sure to be prepared and had her starlight dagger to shed some light. The grim creeper vine she had encountered before she remembered clearly, and so she made sure to remain calm and collected so it did not react to her emotions, or else she would be squeezed to death by their constriction. That was passed by easily enough, and she soon found herself above the chasm with the deadly and overly large killer boars. The key for the door on the other side had also been reset. It was sort of cheating in that she knew what to look for, but then again it would still be challenging to get past all twelve of them, get the key, and make it to the other side.

Samira jumped down into the chasm and began to run forward, avoiding the caution strategy. Her eyes quickly scanned each boar as she passed by. Eventually the one with the broken tusk had been located up ahead. Naturally it was nearly the last one. Now there was a mini army of deadly boars trailing after her with the intent to kill due to her invading their territory. She ran towards the boar she needed and grabbed the key along its neck, narrowly escaping the swing of its one good tusk at her. Running for her life continued on as she turned and went around many of the large termite mounds in an attempt to lose some of the boars while still aiming for the direction of the exit. She reached it, unlocked it with the key, and rather than risk getting cut like last time with closing it normally, Samira ran behind it and pressed her back against the door to slam it shut that way.

Now she was in the small room with the healing hot spring. It was a room of rest that healed the wounds of the previous rooms and restored energy. She didn’t require it since she knew fully on how to pass the next rooms without any sort of physical activity, but she still took the opportunity that was given. For some time Samira rested, expecting the spirit from before to appear again like the last time. She had questions she wanted to ask but did not get a chance to. It seemed she would still not be given the chance. The spirit never appeared. She was quite alone the entire time. With a small sigh, Samira progressed to the next room. The logic room. Normally she over thought things which meant the puzzles given by the talking face on the wall would be torture for her, but they were surprisingly not that bad. She passed and moved on. The last room was the one that would normally turn into a large arena. Taking the tablet of knowledge would grant her an immediate victory and she would not need to actually fight. Would that have proven anything though? She knew well enough to avoid Pride due to what she had been told before, but what about the others?

”Save repeating that test for another day, Samira,” the voice of Amaterasu echoed through the room just as Samira was about to choose one of the other less easy tablets and start the test. Samira pulled back her hand and looked over to where she heard the voice. The light spirit appeared a second later with a serious expression rather than her always amused smile. ”There are more important trials you must do, and technically you have already completed this one.”

”Trials?” Samira asked with an innocent and confused blink of her eyes.

”Have you already forgotten? Why does Ra get onto us for our terrible memory when you seem to be the one that has it the most?” Amaterasu sighed, almost amused by her summoner’s sudden lack of intelligence. She patted Samira’s head of green hair and continued petting as if she were a puppy dog, much to Samira’s mild annoyance.

Samira’s eyebrow twitched slightly and her cheeks puffed. How she missed the days when nothing got to her. Thankfully, random people could not affect her much, it was only those closest to her that were capable of making her give more than a neutral or small smiled expression. She raised her hand and took a hold of Ama’s and moved it from her head before releasing it. ”Ama, I am not a dog. I do not require head petting.”

Amaterasu blinked, surprised that her summoner did not enjoy what she had thought was an act of affection. ”I assumed everyone liked the head petting. I will have to investigate this further. Perhaps you are ill.” Her hand then went to Samira’s forehead as if to check for a fever. Maybe she had been poisoned by something in the cave! Then again, the Nassar bloodline was heavily resistant towards such things. There was also one thing that made Samira sweat drop from the action. How was Amaterasu supposed to know if she had a fever when she was still wearing gloves on the hand that was checking for forehead heat? Samira gently grabbed and moved that hand away from her as well.

”Back to the trials you mentioned. You are referring to the ones you and Ra mentioned weeks ago. Am I right to assume this is the case?”

”You have not forgotten after all then! This amuses me.” A summoner scowl a second later and Ama moved on. ”Yes, the first of the Pantheon Leader spirits has appeared and has told us where you must go. Please take the tablet of knowledge to end this current test so we can be on our way.”

Samira gave a nod of acknowledgement and did as told. She didn’t know everything her spirits had learned some time ago. The fact she needed to pass trials to obtain even more spirits to redo the seal on the dark serpent of chaos she had been told. She had also been told that she had to find a way to convince Anubis to lend his power as well. That particular spirit was already under contract with her sister, Amirah, and was one who opposed the sealing process the first time. What she had not been told was that if she failed she would not be able to continue with the trials. What she also was not told that without them there were only two actions left to take, one leading to her death guaranteed and the other was very unlikely for her to accomplish. ”All right, I will leave this cave and go inform Kaori. Where are we-”

Amaterasu held up her hand and signaled for Samira to stop speaking before talking herself. ”Samira, this trial is for you alone aside from ourselves. The Leader of the Leraci Clan and her party are not to accompany us or intervene. To do so will be auto failure. We cannot chance this. Ra suggested you tell her personally and convince her otherwise. I am against this. She is much too stubborn and values your life over her own. Her reasoning when it comes to you is nonexistent. I suggest we use Bacchus‘ ability to take you to the celestial world. From there, we will access a waypoint that leads directly into Seven. Using this method, we avoid having to use her ships and facing her.”

”You suggest not telling her anything at all.” That option did not sit well with Samira, and her deep frown and displeased tone of voice told the light spirit as much.

”Indeed, I do. Do not misunderstand me, I am not one for deceit. However, her spirits have taken the option to do what was necessary for their summoner in the past. We are now doing the same for you. I cannot trust anyone from that side to not intervene or closely follow. Ra is already taking care of things on the spirit side. If things go well, we will be back before they notice too much. Since we are using the Celestial Realm as a method of travel, there will be no traces of which direction you went, nor would you leave a trail for the Hound of Dragons to track by scent.”

Samira sighed. There was the possibility they would be back in no time at all. With using near instant travel that cut quite some time out of the equation. However, they didn’t know what the trial even was. What if it was lasting a week in some survival of the fittest forest? She didn’t want to make anyone worry, and she certainly didn’t want to make Kaori cry again by making her think she wasn’t trustworthy. Any scolding she obtained from leaving without saying anything in the first place she could tolerate. The tears though she could not. Yet another weakness. Avoiding the best course of action to prevent the one she had grown much too close to from crying. ”I do not like your suggestion.”

”I fear there are many things you will not like in the future. This does not mean you should toss them aside. It is for the best, and we have little time for debate.” Amaterasu was doing what she could to prevent saying that Kaori and company interfering was signing a death sentence. Samira did not need to know the death details. Her mind would be too distracted if she knew, and failing even one would cause her to fall into despair. ”I ask that you trust me on this. I have made mistakes a few weeks ago. I do not intend to repeat them.” Samira had looked down at the ground and frowned even more as she thought about it all. It was then that Amaterasu had done yet another sign of affection she had learned, although that time from one of Kaori’s spirits. Back when she needed comfort herself after losing control of herself. She wrapped her arms around Samira and brought her in closer for a hug.

”I did not do this before. The day you had apologized for what happened when you destroyed me while under the control of the dark serpent. You had nothing to be sorry for, and I ignored you and said nothing. That was a mistake I will regret always for how it affected us both.” Amaterasu pulled back from the hug and looked Samira in the eyes. ”I understand your hesitance and the care you have for the Leader of the Leraci Clan. However, she is not to be a part of every aspect of your life. Some roads you will have to travel on your own. She will understand this even if she desires not to. If she refuses to and disrespects our wishes, she will find a deep regret and wound that no one will be able to heal in the near future. I do not want that to come to pass for either of you, and so, she must remain in the dark for now. It is the easiest method in dealing with her.”

There was little choice in the matter. Samira eventually agreed, knowing she would have to deal with the consequences later on. Kaori not finding out about her sudden disappearance was impossible, especially given they were currently in her village. Even now there was the possibility of people wondering where she was at. She didn’t exactly obtain permission and let anyone know she was entering the cave of trials again in the first place. That…was actually going to make things worse. They would be able to track her there at the very least and assume she met some horrible fate while inside. With that in mind, once she had made her way out of the cave, she left a note near the cave’s entrance. It didn’t have all the details, but it at least had enough to say she wasn’t in there and that she would return whenever possible. Just in case.

”How considerate of you!” A tall and fairly… round spirit by the name of Bacchus commented with a grin once Samira had approached him and the chariot that was waiting. He had been summoned as soon as Samira had exited the cave, and he had been filled in on everything while she wrote the note. The spirit of wine was not one that was always linked up to her mind, nor was he used very often. In fact, that was the first time he was called upon at all. Making trips to the celestial world were normally nonexistent. ”Are we ready now?” Bacchus asked while not waiting for a real answer before gesturing for Samira and even Anhur to get in the chariot.

”I am going, why?” The lion spirit grumbled as he moved into the chariot while in his more humanoid form and ensured he was not overly close to the spirit that smelt as if he had been lying in a tub of wine. He was disgusted by not only having to be near Bacchus with his stronger sense of smell, but of also having to tag along on yet another adventure. ”There is no reason for you to remain here. Our summoner may require your assistance. This village does not. They are more than capable of defending themselves.” The lion spirit just continued to grumble quietly. There was logic and he could not argue against Ama’s reasoning. He still didn’t like it.

Samira herself then got into the larger than normal vehicle and did her best to not immediately jump out. She also did not like the constant wine smell Bacchus gave off. She felt as if she were getting intoxicated just by being near him, which she did not enjoy at all. Her nose scrunched up and she covered it with a hand. ”I will return to the mindspace. Bacchus is more of a tour guide than I am. He will get you to Seven easily and safely enough. We will all be listening in and will be prepared to be at your side should you need us.” With that said, Amaterasu disappeared in a swirl of brightly colored yellow and white particles.

”Aha! Time to get going then!”

”One moment, I have my concerns,” Samira spoke up and interrupted Bacchus as he was about to command the celestial tigers that would pull the chariot to get going. He sluggishly stopped himself and blinked. It should also be noted that he was extremely wobbly. She arched a thin questioning brow. ”You are not drunk, are you?” The fat spirit laughed loudly at the question. ”Little summoner! I am ALWAYS drunk!” The eyes of both Samira and Anhur went wide at the realization that they were now in a vehicle that was to be controlled by a drunk driver. Their mouths opened once more in an attempt to stop him, but it was too late. Bacchus gave the order and a large portal that connected to the celestial realm opened. In a flash the magic flying spirit tigers took off with Bacchus controlling their travel patterns. The two passengers clung on for dear life as they and the chariot disappeared into the portal. Then the portal itself fizzled out of existence.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Seven:

The chariot method of travel made excellent timing. It was actually a horrible ride experience that would likely make for the best ride in an amusement park, but it made good time. The magical chariot flew through the skies of the part of the celestial realm that the god incarnation spirits called home. The normal part that most typical spirits lived in was known for being littered in stars. It was constant and for those not used to such a sight it was beautiful. The celestial avatar spirits cared not for it. When they were created the gods that created them set aside a part of the realm just for them. Each spirit set from desert to forest had their own section tailored especially for them. Much of it looked much like the normal realm aside from the more mystical feel to it. Samira herself had never seen it at all, and she took in the sights as they passed by each section. None of her own spirits she could spot, but it could be concluded they were all gathered in her mind. Thus far, they were mostly quiet. Likely having their own conversation and less than impressed with sights they saw all the time themselves.

Eventually they reached a part of the realm that looked much like the Wakusei Portals back in the mortal realm. However, rather than connecting to different planets, they connected to different areas of Earthland. Convenient. Bacchus had no need to pause or slow down the ride. He knew very well which portal to take. A glowing green one with plantlife growing on and around the portal was the one he aimed for. The portal to the country known as Seven. He commanded the tigers pulling the chariot to keep going and through it they went. Once on the other side, the ride finally came to a stop. The passengers couldn’t wait to get off as they jumped out before Bacchus decided to start it back up and find a better place to drop them off at. Walking by that point was preferable.

”We have arrived!” Bacchus shouted, unaware that his passengers have already left the vehicle. Not that he would have cared either way. He wasn’t really one to take offense to anything. The wine spirit turned towards them with a grin after a few more seconds and waved. ”My part in this is over! Well, until you need a ride back I suppose. I’m sure someone will call me then. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer immediately though. I may be a bit more out of it than I am now.” Bacchus shrugged his shoulders before waving again with a roaring laugh. ”So long!” He and the chariot then vanished, as did the portal they used to enter the country of Seven.

Samira and Anhur waited for a while once Bacchus and the portal had disappeared. They had expected An Dagda to make an appearance. He had only mentioned to go to Seven. There were no other details at all. The lion spirit had begun to lose his patience and had suggested moving on. Tracking him down was likely to be impossible since they didn’t even know what they were looking for to begin with other than his description. However, he was part of a spirit line that was excellent at not being found when he did not want to be. Even if they did know what to look for they would still fail. Still, it was better than just standing around doing nothing. They were bound to run into something if they started exploring the area.

Samira agreed somewhat. She was uncertain about moving into unknown territory just for the hell of it, but it would not be the first time she would have done so. The massive land mass of Pandora was one she went into without caution whatsoever, and that land was much more dangerous than Seven. From what she had read about at least. Many countries she had traveled to since the start of her mage career. Bosco, Sin, Pergrande Kingdom, Iceberg, Minstrel, Midi, and even different planets and realms due to the Wakusei Portals. A few of those she had even earned the equivalent of a noble title as a reward for efforts done in aiding those countries. None of them were quite like Seven. As unfortunate as it was to be seeing the country under her current circumstances the summoner was still glad to visit it at all. It was another part of the world she could now check off the to-do list when it came to visiting and taking in the sights. Another visit was likely in order to get a true exploration feeling. She wanted to finish her trial as quickly as possible and make it back to Midi. That meant there was little time to waste in a full exploration and artifact hunt.

”I suppose it makes very little difference. I do not sense anything too dangerous in this place. Not like Pandora.” Samira told her companion as she looked around her surroundings. Trees, tress, and more trees. It was a forest full of life. The Sevenwood it was called. More common knowledge she did not need to be told for she was quite learned as it was already without having to see it for herself. Although words and pictures did little to fully describe its beauty or to capture its essence. Samira could feel the magic around. It felt powerful but also very natural. As if everything within the forest had some form of it. The creatures, the trees, the grass, even the air. Magic radiated and leaked from everything. She had read that nearly everything within the forest was quite sentient and could speak. A slight wonder on if it was true or not crossed her mind. A talking lake would be amusing to have a conversation with, and honestly would not be at all surprising, especially if it were the main one that was in the very center of the forest and was surrounded by eight waterfalls.

”I would rather be in Pandora. The air in this place is suffocating.” The lion spirit complained as the two started moving. He did not like the extreme levels of magic for sure, however, as they kept moving further into the forest he began to feel something else. Something that not even Samira with her raw magic power levels could sense. A perk for not being a human like she was. He took his place slightly in front of Samira as they walked, swiping at stray vines and branches to make a better path.

”I do not understand what you mean. It is heavier than Fiore, but nothing too extraordinary. Your complaints are unnecessary. You should leave me to continue on my own rather than voice pointless concerns.” Samira replied with an exasperated sigh. She was in no mood for such conversation. Unless it was concerning An Dagda or a sign for where they needed to go she did not want to hear Anhur’s voice. Or any chatter of her more… talkative and blunt spirits. Her mind link with them was still active, but thus far they had been silent. Something she was grateful for to avoid more pressure being added to her head. It was difficult to think clearly when they all began chatting away while she was already stressed from other things that worried her.

”Yes, leave you, and then hear the ‘pointless concerns’ of the others for letting you go off into some unknown land unprotected.” The lion spirit stopped and turned around, thinking he heard something moving behind them. Nothing. His senses were alerting him to danger, and he didn’t know why. He felt jumpy, and it was beginning to concern him. He was never jumpy. ”I do not like this place. I feel as though we are constantly being watched.” He then sneezed as he turned back to continue moving forward.. ”There is also too much nature. Your trial should have been in a desert. I would have preferred it.”

”This land is hardly unknown. It is likely that I would be fine. I do not recall ever hearing about the nation being overly dangerous. So long as we do not threaten them, they will not attempt to harm us. I think.” Samira could hear the lion spirit scoff at her words. Well, she could not say she was one hundred percent accurate or convinced with her theory. Anything could happen. She could even be told to do anything in regards to her trial, and whether it would be an offense to anything living in Seven she did not know. All she knew in regards to the law of the magical forest land was that it was ruled by a Queen. That was it. If she actually made it back, she would have to look through Lamia Scale's library as well as Kaori’s to learn more. ”Just keep moving and tone down the complaints. You can resume as soon as we make it back to Midi. Ignoring you will be easier there.“

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The two continued traveling through the forest in silence for a while longer. They could hear movement through the lush vegetation of the Sevenwood but not see anything. It was likely the inhabitants of the forest were just keeping a lookout to ensure the new guests were not doing anything suspicious. Or perhaps they were just curious but did not want to approach. Neither mattered to Samira or her companion. Only one thing mattered, and that was finding some sign that would lead them to the spirit incarnation of An Dagda. Calling out to the creatures of the forest for aid may have been a smart option, but the summoner and spirit were not ones to actually do such a thing. At least not yet. A shame really. The many trees that surrounded them were very sentient and could have provided answers easily. Magical faces appeared on the trunks as the two passed and their leaves and vines rustled. The deeper they went the more small chatter they could hear above them hiding in the thick and full branches of the trees. The bird species that populated the Sevenwood perhaps. At least, that was Samira’s thought as she looked up once the low voices reached her ears. Could have even been a squirrel or two. It was… weird.

So distracted was she from all the head turning and gazing around for the sources of the voices that she lost track of the direction Anhur had gone and bumped into the trunk of a tree that stood in the path they were making. Samira cried out in alarm, and then took a few steps back. Even more when the tree shouted right back with its magical face appearing on the middle of its trunk. ”What happen-” Anhur had rushed back over upon hearing the cry of Samira, materializing his spear weapon as he did. He had expected some sort of danger. The assumption was almost correct. His question was interrupted with a cry of his own as leafy vines connected to the magical tree grabbed a hold of his feet, tugged forward and up, and lifted him so he was hanging upside down in the air. Seeing Anhur get captured by a tree set off her own alarms for danger, and without hesitation began to go into an attack mode of her own. All she needed was a fire spirit or two and the tree was toast. Maybe. Possibly. How magical was it again? The tree predicted as such and seemed to not take her reaction all too well. More leafy vines moved around the ground and grabbed onto her feet as well. Within seconds, both summoner and spirit were hanging upside down and held in front of the trunk of the tree so the face could get a good look at them.

“What do we have here? Hmmm?” The tree spoke, the mouth on the tree of the trunk actually moving as it did. Its voice was deep and male sounding, but at the same time there was a sense that it was very old and wise. The being didn’t even seem to be that much offended at nearly being attacked. It had gotten over the surprise bump of someone carelessly walking into it. The vines shook a bit before the two could say anything more than complaints and demands to be let down. “Oh, I hope I did not find myself a whiny human and… whatever you happen to be. Hmmm.” Thee tree seemed amused by the two, who were now twirling as the vines twisted and caused them to spin slightly. A bark eyebrow arched as it brought Anhur closer. A lion thing the tree knew him to be. A spirit too judging by the magical energy radiating from him. Something was off though, and the tree couldn’t quite place it.

”Since you are well aware of my species, can you release me? You have answered your own question.” If not for the fact more vines had showed up to wrap her arms and prevent her from using her keys she would have summoned a spirit to remove the vines. There was still the alternative of taking one of the powers for herself, Agni’s specifically, but she was uncertain if it was wise to act on the idea. There was no telling if it could do more than what it was already doing. The tree also seemed to be harmless at that moment. She could be nice enough and give it a couple of more minutes before taking a violent action.

”Another reminder that the concerns of the others would have been right.” Anhur growled as he continued hanging there. Just like Samira, his arms were bound as well, preventing him from using his spear to cut himself free. The tree blinked its magically formed eyes. Naturally, it did not listen to the request made by the summoner. A magical sentient tree it was, but still it was kept in place by its roots. Walking to find entertainment was very much impossible. It had to make do with whatever creatures happened to be unfortunate enough to approach it. “I have figured it out! You are a lost one! One of those spirits that can live outside the celestial realm for whatever reason. We have a few of those here in this very forest. You don’t appear to be like them though. You are also much too grumpy.”

Another growl from Anhur with a sigh from Samira. Now her patience was being further tested. ”Can you please let us down. I am on an important mission that I must complete.” The tree’s focus left the spirit and its gaze fixated on Samira. “Important mission, you say? What importance could two outsiders have here in the Sevenwood?”

”I am to find the spirit called An Dagda and complete a trial of sorts to prove my worth,” Samira replied honestly and bluntly. There was no point in lying. Maybe even mentioning the name would give her further clues. The result was mixed. The tree stared for a few seconds, remaining silent, as if it were contemplating over the truth of her words. Another few seconds before the tree answered, “no.”  Great. “The spirit you speak of has not had a trial in centuries. I do find it strange you know of his existence, but that is all. The summoner line connected to him has not bore a descendent capable of getting the attention of the spirits that do not follow the standard rules in a few lifetimes. They have strayed from their path as guardians long ago.”

”Guardians?” Samira asked, a mildly confused expression crossing her face. She had only been told that she needed their power and that was all. Nothing was ever mentioned about being some guardian. Her ignorance did nothing to impress the tree. It now further disbelieved her words. At that rate they were going to be hanging around for a long while unless she took the more violent approach. Her eyes scanned around, wondering how information spread from magical tree to another. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have all of Seven as an enemy. Her hesitance to act grew from that alone. She went silent and went to talking telepathically to the spirits that were linked with her mind. ”Ra, Ama, can either of you come out and convince this tree of our task? Maybe it would believe the truth if it came from a higher leveled spirit of power. Perhaps even provide more information on where I am supposed to go.”

The two spirits in the mindspace looked at each other, trying to decide which one was better off going out there. It was redundant for the both of them to use their own power to materialize in the mortal world. However, before they could decide fully, Cernunnos and Artio stepped forward. They were spirits connected with nature in some way and of the same pantheon line as An Dagda himself. Although, either of them volunteering themselves was very much out of the norm. Cernunnos never spoke, and Artio always kept to herself. ”That being is not a normal tree,” Artio informed the mindspace spirits as she placed the end of her staff on the ground and leaned against it. ”It is a druid of old, who had his soul planted into a tree upon death. The great trees of Sevenwood are guardians to the creatures and even the Queen herself. They will not listen to outsiders. You would obtain false information.

”What would you recommend then? The spirit leader has yet to show himself to make this easier for us.”

”It should listen to us. Our originals used to watch over this land. There should be some credibility in our words even with just that.”

”Fair enough. You also have a tie with An Dagda himself. Go.”

Artio gave a nod and dismissed herself from the mindspace. Cernunnos did the same, although made no other reaction before exploding into particles. The satyr and bear-like woman appeared in the mortal world in front of the magic tree and standing under their two hanging companions. Artio wasted no time in stepping forward, ignoring the slightly widened eyes of the tree and the motions of its mouth opening. Normally she was a very passive spirit unless angered. Being so rude as to interrupt another was not in her nature otherwise. Or so the others thought. She could actually be quite bold when certain scenarios arose. The current one was classified as such. ”Great tree of Sevenwood, I am the spirit incarnation of the true Artio, goddess of bears. This is the spirit incarnation of Cernunnos. Your wisdom should know of them, and of us. We appear before you to gather information.”

”How about releasing us first!” Anhur’s demand was met with a hard whack to his head by Artio’s staff. She didn’t even bother looking up as she did the action and remained focused on the tree. ”We do not make demands here,” she said before giving a small bow of respect towards the tree.

The tree chuckled at the interaction before lowering Samira and Anhur, although not releasing them completely. “Oh? I have heard whispers long ago regarding your creation. I have not seen those two deities since. I feel their presence often in my roots but nothing more. They refuse to visit me like old times. Tragic. These woods could use their help now more than back then.”

”Yes,” Artio agreed with narrowed eyes. Something was off with the land, and she could feel it clearly. It was mild currently where they were, but something dark was further in. The bear nature spirit could not quite place it. She only knew it should not have existed in such a land to begin with. It was unnatural dark magic. ”I can feel it as well. This land requires cleansing. Corruption is deep within the very life of these woods.”

“You have the powers of your original. Fascinating. I suppose it could not hurt giving the children of such old friends what they seek. You are wanting to know the same information as this human, correct? I know nothing of a trial. As for his location, it is possible you will find him further where the corruption lies. The safety of this land would become his top priority. Your senses should be able to lead you there.”

”The tree is useless then.” As a reply towards the comment of Anhur, the tree lifted the lion spirit higher before releasing him to fall onto the ground, making sure he did not land safely on his feet. Samira the tree released much more gently. “I am allowing you to move forward. The creatures watching and listening will also pass on word to leave you alone. That would not have happened normally. I cannot speak about those lying within the corruption. I obviously do not know what it is like beyond that point.”

”Thank you, Great Tree.” Artio gave another slight bow before turning to Samira and nudging her to do the same. She did so, of which the tree wished her good luck on whatever sort of trial she had to do. If it had to guess, it would involve the corruption itself. The sentient tree made no mention of it, but it could sense something within the young woman. There was a darkness there. A living thing wanting her to go further down that path. Most would point out it was the dark serpent of chaos spirit that was linked to her. Possible. There was the unfortunate fact that going into such a corrupted land could make such a thing stronger. Well, it was not the tree’s problem. “Farewell. Do come back and tell me the story. Maybe I‘ll even pass it onto the Queen.” The tree chuckled a bit more as the small group walked off. Once they were out of sight, the face disappeared. The tree had gone back to its dormant state.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

”If the Great Tree has told the truth then we will need to head in this direction.” Artio pointed the tip of her staff in the direction she spoke of once they covered a bit more distance. ”The feeling I have is stronger that way.” Samira gave a nod. While she did not have much experience in communicating or working with Artio, she trusted the bear spirit. She trusted all of her spirits. Well, all but one. Cernunnos giving a nod and a shoulder tap of reassurance to imply Artio knew what she was talking about also helped Samira feel at ease and trusting. Anhur remained silent and focused on the surroundings as he followed behind them.

Eventually the small group of four had reached some sort of border. A magical one that was very unnatural and most certainly not normal. Where they stood was a green and very life filled section of the forest. What was further ahead was a dark land of red, black, and grey. It was eerie for Samira to see a sudden change. She could feel the dark and corrupted magic slowly spreading and eating away at the more healthy part of the forest. ”We have arrived at the boundary.”

”The boundary, but not the source of what is happening here.” Samira got closer to one of the bushes that was partially corrupted by the dark magic. She knelt down and sat on her knees as soon as she was close and reached out her hand to touch it. Very little caution was taken considering that very essence could have spread to herself. Luckily, that was not the result. Instead, she could only watch as her touch made the bush fall apart and turn to nothing more than a pile of a substance that resembled ash. A screech was heard suddenly that made her jump slightly in alarm. The sound of something flying out of the treetops was heard and as she looked up she saw a dark thing flying towards her. The thing turned out to be a bird of some sort. Anhur struck it with his spear as it came close and it fell to the ground. The trio of spirits looked at it while standing near it and narrowed their eyes. The bird was very much corrupted by the same magic that was affecting the plantlife. It wasn’t even capable of talking correctly; just garbled nonsense. Artio took a more merciful approach. She slammed her staff on it, ending its life. There was nothing she could do to heal it of its corruption. A healing nature spirit she was not. Nor was the satyr beside her. ”The creature was suffering.” She explained, looking over at Samira and getting the look of disapproval. Artio then looked towards the nearly dead land as she stepped forward. ”Everything within that land is.”

“And here I thought the girl had no spirits like myself. I was beginning to think the entire collection was filled with spirits that had no ties to this place at all. It would have been troublesome indeed!”

Towards the side summoner and spirits turned their heads to see a large and round man sitting on a small wooden stool near a fire where he was roasting a pig. That… was not there a second ago. He was going to be a quirky one. Fantastic. Another one of those to add to her list of spirits. ”You are An Dagda, I presume? I recognize you from the first time I entered the Leraci Cave Trials.” Samira stood up and began to walk closer towards him.

Indeed he had been one of the five that were forcibly pulled away from where they were and summoned as part of the audience to the final part of those trials. A cave linked to destiny. One of the reasons why he could not very well argue against Samira taking part in the trials. He was already thoroughly convinced she would pass them all. “I am,” he said with a smile as he turned the stick that held the roasting pig in place, rotating it to cook it evenly. “And you are the one they call Samira. I would normally offer you all a full meal, but things have happened that even I cannot ignore. You were to be given an actual trial, but I have changed those plans.” The fire and the pig then vanished, making everyone wonder why he was even cooking it if he wasn’t going to eat it. An Dagda stood up, grabbing his large magical club as he did so and walked over towards the border that separated the healthy Sevenwood from the corrupted portion. “I cannot purge this darkness fully myself. I can heal and revive the life within, but I need someone with a bit more punch to enter and take care of the source that plagues these lands. I believe it to originate from a dark Satyr. Very powerful and one I have been keeping an eye on for ages. He took advantage of my absence.”

”Do you suggest complete elimination?”
“If that is what needs to be done. I can always revive him if I wish. I imagine the corruption to lose its strength if you destroy his source of power, though. It is likely a large totem of sort. You’ll know it when you see it. Also…” An Dagda trailed off, a bit worried with his next thought and piece of information.
”Yes?”
“Much like the rest of your spirits, there are other spirits that were created from their originals. They were never linked with summoners like yourself. Their keys still remain hidden. One such spirit is powerful enough to live outside the celestial realm and has his domain beyond these trees. Fenrir. If he is corrupted he will not be an ally. I can only hope that you do not run into him. I promised I would keep you alive during the trial, but this promise has changed. I cannot guarantee I can intervene with what is happening.”
”Understood.” An Dagda made a sort of sound that seemed to her as if he were choking on his surprise from her word. Samira arched a brow curiously at him before turning and heading past the magic boundary and going further into the corrupted land. ”I come from a monster hunting guild. I have helped defeat many monsters and people even while I was weak. What awaits beyond here does not strike fear within me. I have faced worse.” She almost felt the need to mention that if a giant doll or two was there she may just turn back around, but there was a very slim chance she would run into such a thing in Sevenwood. There was no reason to admit her fear of dolls at that time and make her sound less brave and confident.

“Either arrogant, brave, or foolish. I guess I’ll have to hope you succeed here so I can stick around to figure out which it is.”Anhur, Artio, and Cernunnos gave An Dagda a look, each varying depending on who it was, and followed Samira. The Good God spirit watched as they all disappeared within. So began the trial of defeating the powerful satyr, possibly Fenrir, and destroying the source that was turning the magic and creatures of Sevenwood dark and vile.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The small group traveled through the darkened woods. The further they went, the less light there was to light the way. Eventually, the only thing that lit their way was the toxic red glow corruption marks upon the plantlife and whatever creatures hid themselves in the darkness of the trees and bushes. Unlike the healthy section of Sevenwood, the corrupted version lacked the random chatter of the animals. All that could be heard instead were growls, snarls, and other sounds from the now dangerous critters. Warnings and threats most likely, but thus far nothing had bothered to attack. Their strength as a group was intimidating the more smaller creatures and keeping them at a distance. How long before they ran into more brave and larger creatures was anyone’s guess. Although, soon it would not matter.

Samira stuck close to Artio and Cernunnos, not wanting to get lost in the near darkness. During the journey she had made use of the ability to open a portal that connected to a special armory and storage for her spirits. From it she retrieved a pair of one handed swords as well as a bow she had become used to using. Better to take the time of peace to equip herself than to do it right when the danger approached. If they did run into Fenrir or even the satyr in charge of the corruption it was doubtful she would be given time to summon the weapons. A few more minutes passed and the trees of the land became more twisted and dead, lacking any form of leaves upon their branches. Glowing red faces appeared and sneered on their trunks, but nothing more. Then a wolf howl echoed in the distance. Artio stopped and raised her staff horizontally to stop her companions. ”You sense something?” Samira inquired with a tone of concern. The spirit would not have stopped for just some simple wolf.

”Yes, and no.” The bear goddess incarnation replied as she stared into the darkness ahead. ”I suspect they sensed you. Your level of magic power can be sensed easily.” As she spoke those words the small group began to notice that they were surrounded. ”We should probably correct that problem to prevent this from happening again. I don’t like wasting time dealing with fodder.” It was obvious the corrupted wolf pack was serving as nothing more than a distraction, unless the true beasts of the woods really thought such small and minor things could do any serious harm towards them. The mix of glowing red and yellow eyes could be seen as the creatures darted along their hiding spots, and even their fur had a slight toxic glow to it. They were very easy to track.

The pack then leapt into the clearing the small group of summoner and spirits were standing in. Artio swiped at one with her staff to knock it out back into the trees, the pained whine of the canine ringing throughout the woods. ”Do not hold back. They are infected and cannot be saved as the forest is now. Kill them. An Dagda and other creatures of healing can restore them later if they choose. For now, we survive.” The spirit was well aware that Samira came from a guild that had a main purpose of slaying monsters. However, the creatures of Seven could hardly be considered as such. In a technical sense, they were very much like humans when it came to intelligent thought. The only difference was the species. She didn’t want the summoner getting conflicted on the matter, and making things much harder than they needed to be. With those words out of the way, the spirit used her main ability that she was best known for: transforming into a large bear with a reddish brown colored fur and magic metal bracers on her legs. She felt her strength increase considerably, and with a roar began swiping her claws and even tackling the many wolves that dared enter and snap their jaws at her or her allies.

Anhur did not need to be told to go easy or ensure the creatures survived. He wasn’t a nature spirit and cared not for their lives. They were a threat and a danger. Not even humans in that category would be given mercy unless he was directly ordered to spare them. He didn’t follow human laws or care about the legality of a guild. Far too long had he been sheltered in a lost desert civilization that had its own laws. He swung his spear, cutting two wolves down while several more of the creatures found themselves impaled as several more spears magically shot through the ground and some even materializing in the air before coming down to stab at the poor creatures. Cernunnos swung his glaive and threw the other to slice at some corrupted wolves up ahead before it turned back like a boomerang to return to his grasp and hit others along the way. Their fight continued for some time as the amount of wolves seemed to be endless.

As for Samira, she was slightly hesitant but did not really need the words of Artio to tell her to eliminate the beasts. It would not be the first time she had slain something, not even close. With her training she was able to move much faster and be better at dodging the wolves that came at her. Using magic was not even required of her. She felt satisfaction in being able to slay them with such ease, but at the same time there was sadness at having to end them to begin with. The feeling would not have been there if not for some of the people she had met since starting her career as a mage. Not just Kaori, but a few others that shared in some of her experiences and had passed on lessons and wisdom of their own that shaped her. She was a vessel of nothing but experiences and someone that tried to be like others. It was a constant flip flopping of ideas and thought processes. In truth, Samira had no actual idea who she really was because of it. At that moment, she was someone that was taking part in a trial and killing creatures rather than helping heal them because she was told to. If someone had been around to tell her to do the reverse she would have and found some way to convince herself that was the correct course of action. It was nothing but a confusing mess that she did not realize up front, nor of the possibility that she would have to be forced to figure it out much sooner than she expected through the course of her life.

The amount of wolves began to die down but as they did new types of attacks were heading their way. Magical attacks as well as magic arrows that seemed to taint and melt away anything they touched. The source of them being a numerous amount of satyrs in the land. Red in color with even uglier marks of corruption that showed they were even worse off than the wolves. They shouted something in some unknown language, but no one bothered to take the time to translate as they went on the defensive to counter and evade the new types of enemies. So distracted were the spirits and Samira that they did not take notice of vines with sharp thorns entering the clearing. Two wrapped around Samira’s ankles, the thorns being sharp enough to pierce through the boots she wore. Then they tugged. The summoner fell forward with a cry of surprise and then pain as she hit the ground and felt the stings of the thorns pierce her skin.

The vines then began to rapidly pull her back. She barely had time to strengthen her grip around the hilt of her swords as she felt herself move. One of them was left behind completely. Anhur had taken notice of what was going on and moved in to help but was cut off as several more vines appeared and snapped at him to stall. He ignored it, taking the damage and continuing on to rescue Samira. Unfortunately, a thick wall of thorned branches appeared and closed in to form a blockade. Samira was now separated from the spirits, and even more so as the vines kept dragging her. It appeared she would have to save herself. She turned over to be on her back as the vines kept pulling, not caring on the fact they were running her into trees and through random shrubbery. Samira raised herself up slightly and attempted many cuts on the vines that held her throughout the rough ride. One was cut off and a sort of pained squeal could be heard further on in the woods. Whatever it was, she did not want to meet it. So began her attempts at cutting the second one. There was just enough that one more hit was required, but the creature the vine belonged to was having none of that. The vine rose up, taking her with it to hang vertically. Then it released her so she would fall hard onto the ground on her stomach. The vine itself retreated.

Samira coughed and tried to regain a normal form of breathing as the fall had taken the wind out of her. ”Samira, are you all right?” She heard the voice of Amaterasu in her mind. A question that got the reply of mostly. Just minor pains and aches. Nothing fatal. ”The others?” Samira questioned, ironically setting the safety and well being of her near immortal spirits above her own. ”They are well. Cernunnos has returned, but Artio and Anhur remain fighting to reach you. Something is not wishing for them to enter.”

Well that didn’t sound too strange, especially after Samira rose from the ground and looked around. She was in a very wide and cleared out area. Possibly a den of sorts. There was power there, and she had a good feeling on what it was due to the warning she had been given about him. ”I am certain I have found the reasoning for that,” she replied, her tone now much more serious as her verdant colored eyes narrowed as they began watching particles and shadows appear in the air and forming a very large wolf. One that was just as corrupted looking as the others. The only problem was the current one was much more powerful and rightly so. It was no common magical wolf. Her only luck was that it was just the spirit version and not the actual original.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Even with a weapon in hand it was non-magical and unlikely to do much against Fenrir as it was. Samira had gone for her keys to summon more backup to aid her since she lacked a secondary magic completely, but the massively sized wolf was very quick. It leapt towards her, the impact of its landing sending her flying backwards. The shockwave had actually saved her as it sent her at an angle that was out of the way of the jaws of sharp teeth that had snapped closed. “I will not allow you to bind me!” The deep and monstrous voice of the corrupted Fenrir shouted as he turned his head towards the summoner that was on the ground and had yet to recover. He growled menacingly before howling and creating more wolves from the shadows of the den boundary. From what Samira could tell from those words, in his current insanity he had begun to think he was living the actual Fenrir’s life and assumed she was there to keep him bound. Or so the story of myth went. That, or he had been told false information by the boss satyr that he easily believed while his mind melted from the toxic environment.

”I am not here to bind you,” Samira replied calmly despite her situation. He actually mattered very little to her and only stood as an obstacle she needed to overcome before moving on to fixing the mess within Seven. The smaller wolves leapt at her, but before they could land a bright light shined from her body, blinding them. Upon landing they found nothing to attack but each other in their blindness. Samira had taken on the powers of Amaterasu to jump over the inconvenient hurdle of taking the time to summon the spirit to the world. She used the new teleport ability that was given to her, and had used another to increase her own movement speed as she used her sword to make many cuts upon the large wolf’s body. The spirit power infused summoner teleported once more to gain distance, her feet sliding as she appeared and quickly turned to face the larger wolf spirit. The smaller ones previously had vanished in smoke, but more had been summoned. As for her attacks against Fenrir, they seemed to do very little. A natural resistance to melee attacks it seemed.

Using more powers of the spirit, her body lit up a bright white before splitting and having two clones made entirely of light stand beside her, swords of light matching her own. The clones charged forward and began to attack the smaller wolves to keep them occupied. Still Fenrir did not allow her to take the time to summon a spirit. Another weakness that she would have to find a counter for eventually to bypass the time it took to call upon them. Too many times situations like the current one appeared where she was either having to fight solo or have to rely on other allies to save her or stall before she could make a move to do what her magic was best suited for. Fenrir sent a howling shockwave towards her, the force of the attack and the damage that came with it hitting the magical barrier that always existed around her thanks to the special connection between herself and her spirits, their desire to keep her protected even when they were not in the mortal realm taking such a powerful form. Visible cracks could be seen on the barrier however, and it was evident that it would soon reach its limit.

Samira teleported once more, that time appearing on Fenrir’s back. The sword she held began to glow as magic flowed into it, increasing the damage it would do and hopefully cause more harm to the spirit beast than the other attacks. ”I do apologize for this, but I must end this battle and move on. As a spirit you should be quite alive and, soon enough, restored to your normal self.” Ignoring the chaotic movements of the wolf, she fought to keep her balance as she turned the blade and stabbed it into the neck of the beast. Judging from the sound Fenrir made, it had some effect, but not as much as she wanted. He did not explode into particles. Rather the attack seemed to do nothing more than anger him further. His body began to take on as deadly red glow and the marks of corruption began to spread further as his rage grew. Samira was thrown off and smacked against a dead tree, her sword still sticking inside the neck of her opponent. One last move she knew to do was Amaterasu’s most powerful, and one that required a lot of energy. A pillar of light shot down as it was magically summoned from the sky. It struck Fenrir and left a purifying holy fire effect on him that could be seen burning through his fur. Still he seemed unphased and Samira had to clench her teeth. Nothing was working to bring him down at all. He barely even seemed weakened.

The dead tree she had collided against was used to help herself up. Not that it mattered much since she found herself being tossed around like a dog toy once the wolf got a hold of her. It was by some miracle he did not snap her in half completely with his jaws. Instead, by the time she could port herself out and hide away behind a tree, she only had scratches and some gashes. Not to say that they were not major. Blood was pouring from the wounds and she began to feel light headed. She had felt that feeling before back during the battle against her sister where she could do nothing to fight back. The memory of it became consuming and her own anger from being so weak back then made her temporarily forget that she was leaking her life force everywhere and that Fenrir could likely smell it and be on her once more. She could already hear him destroying the other trees nearby in his search. The growls of more summoned wolves added to the mix.

Normally a certain dark serpent would have stepped in and took over completely to save her life. She was a precious resource for him, after all, and she would only be allowed to die if it caused amusement for himself. This time he saw no need for it. He wanted her to use his power, grow darker, lose herself, anything to break her connection with the light fully to break his seal even faster. ’The glowfly’s power is not enough for this. None of theirs are. Even together you would not bring down the beast that even as a spirit remains unbound. He was made to be powerful and heavily resistant. You could contain him with my own.’

’More tricks of yours.’ Samira replied with heavy suspicion, keeping her words mental instead of using her habit to strike a vocal conversation with a spirit that was hidden away in her head.

’I do not recall my efforts last time being a trick. I was a very good serpent that day.’ There was a slight chuckle mixed in, and Samira could almost feel the presence of the chaos serpent slithering around in the air around her. ’Your blood is spilling all over the ground. If you allow it to continue, you will die. Must I repeat what I said that day when facing Kukulkan?’

Samira winced as her hand went to cover up one of the wounds on her stomach. She remembered clearly. If she died there were others that would miss her and be greatly affected. Kaori for instance had a habit of losing control completely when it came to her. She would likely fall into complete despair and darkness if she died there. Even more so after Samira had left without a word other than a note. There would be no forgiveness if she allowed herself to die there. As much as she hated the thought, she had to accept his power once more. Although that time be in full control of his power for herself instead of him taking control of her body or her summoning him. She could hear her spirits, especially Amaterasu, try to convince her to not accept his power again. The order for He Bo to appear and heal her was also heard. Samira shut off her mental link with all of them, all save for one: the one who’s power she needed to remain alive to continue on.

The light from Amaterasu’s power faded and was replaced by one of the dark void and chaos. Samira’s eyes took on a red glow to further symbolize her connection with the spirit. The smaller wolves had surrounded her, but she did not care. An invisible eruption of energy left her as the canine enemies attacked. They stopped in mid-attack from the magic just before their bodies began to fade away into nothingness. No longer did they exist. The spell had even destroyed the nearby trees, bushes, grass, and even the dirt on the ground turned grey in color as its existence became less of something that represented life. Fenrir had been on the other side of the tree Samira had been standing behind and had been prepared to break it down with a powerful swipe of his paw. However, once he had sensed the change in energy he leapt back and snarled. Even with his corruption he did not like the feeling of the dark magic he was now sensing. Its nature was more powerful and darker than the one currently plaguing the forest. Yet at the same time it carried with it emptiness. A magic that was connected to a dark void of near non-existence.

A dark aura further surrounded Samira as she turned to face the large wolf spirit. The power and her connection grew with the aura. A powerful dark attack in the shape of an orb swirling with energy was created and unleashed, and, upon hitting Fenrir, exploded into an even more devastating attack that destroyed what was around for several meters. That most definitely weakened her opponent, but she wasn’t waiting to find out by how much. With his corruption he was a being without reason, and she did not have the energy herself to take chances on waiting around. He did not explode into particles which meant he was still a danger and needed to be attacked further until he was no more. One could say her current ties to the darker spirit was affecting her judgment. The reality was she was always capable of thinking in such a way. Her more innocent and sweet side just took on a more major role ever since meeting the one that would become close to her in more ways than one. Her light side had taken over. Even Amaterasu had a hand in that. However, each time she used the powers of the chaos serpent she was slipping further away from that, and she had yet to realize it.

Samira stepped closer to the wolf, and as she did several dark chains materialized beside her. They moved on their own towards Fenrir, their movement being similar to that of a snake. Despite the struggles he made and the swipes of the paws and snaps of the jaws he made upon the chains, they were still able to wrap around him tightly. More and more appeared to either wrap around him or strike him. Soon he was nothing more than an unmoving creature. With a combination of the strikes and the constricting of the chains against him, Fenrir exploded into magic particles. For now, he was ended until he regained his strength to return. Hopefully by that point he would be restored to his normal self. Now all that remained was finding the one responsible for what was going on within the Sevenwood. Firstly, Samira required healing. Her hand went to one of her wounds once more as the other made the summoning motion to call upon He Bo, her healing spirit. The spirit made entirely out of water appeared and went to work on healing her, although he was very cautious and seemed almost reluctant to be around her. She was still tied to the power of the dark serpent, and he was afraid her actions would be rather unpredictable. Samira said nothing other than thanking him for his service before he returned to the celestial realm. Her mental link with her other spirits remained cut off. For now, she had the power she required to get through the trial, and she had been fully restored.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Samira left the large clearing and moved on. She did not reclaim her sword. She did not wait for Artio and Anhur to catch up. She didn’t even seem to acknowledge the fact she knew where to go without being told. It was almost as if the magic currently swirling through her body was reacting towards the magic source of the dark magic within the forest. For some reason she felt offended that it even existed. Not because that it was vile and evil, but because it was on a lower scale than herself. If she had been able to think about it, she would have known it was not her own feelings but that of the spirit who’s power she was using. Nonetheless she kept moving. Almost in a trance-like state with absolutely no reaction to anything that stood in her way except to destroy it. Thankfully, all the creatures she ran into were corrupted anyway so she would not feel any regret about it later.

The forest then opened up into a new area. An area that looked as if there were more sentient inhabitants than normal animals. It was structured like a city, although everything was built into gigantic trees. The place had the markings of the beasts and plantlife she had passed along the way. It too had not been safe from the corruption. Although, as she passed by the entrance and stepped further in, Samira could see totems spread out everywhere. They had a sort of aura about them that made her want to avoid them entirely even with her own magic currently active. Her senses were telling her to go further inside. That and the smaller totems were a good indication she had found what she was looking for.

Through the city she went without any caution whatsoever. The city turned out to be filled with more satyrs like the ones she and her three spirits had run into earlier before she had been dragged away. Her new defenses with her current link were too much for the weaker ones to handle though. Those that came in melee range were struck with a dark energy when they tried to hit her and met their own end. Magical attacks did not do much against her either. They were as futile to use as they would have been on the spirit himself. More chains were created to deal with them, and even horrible void creatures were created from the air to make a rampage on the city. They destroyed the smaller totems as they went along and even fought the citizens before being destroyed themselves after being hit one too many times. It bought her enough time to walk to the center of the place at least. The center that was basically some sort of shrine and had a larger totem in place.

Samira stepped back as soon as she entered the shrine. The magic within had started to burn her. It knew well that she did not belong and seemed to know her intent on destroying it. Even magical totems were sentient in Seven. As she began to consider destroying it from a distance, a beam of powerful dark nature magic shot at her, hitting her, and sending her away from the large totem and crashing hard into one of the treehouses. The satyr that had made the attack cackled as his attack landed, expecting it to have done some major damage and the summoner squirming in pain from the additional effect of a fatal poison taking over her body. He was the one behind the corruption magic, and he was very different from the others of his kind. There were no corruption marks upon him, and he was much taller than the others. Even his horns were larger and much curvier. Unlike the others he was born on the darker side of the spectrum.

The lead satyr stepped closer before turning to the totem shrine and praising it for its powers. There was even a long speech that had no one listening to it but himself. Something about corrupting all of Seven and dethroning the Queen so he could take over fully. Typical. The pieces of the house exploded and turned into particles that slowly faded from existence. There Samira stood, having taken some damage from the initial attack, but very much unharmed from the poison. Her line had always been heavily resistant to such effects. She had never even been sick a day in her life. The small explosion got the satyr’s attention and he had released another attack from the staff he held. Samira countered by using the dark spell she had used earlier against Fenrir. The two spells collided with each caster forcing their own to overpower the other. For a few seconds it was a stalemate shockingly enough considering the power levels of the spirit she had. Then again, perhaps her underestimating one that could corrupt a magical land such as Seven so easily was a mistake.

Still it seemed the dark serpent’s power was still above the satyr’s. Well, more than the staff’s anyway. The crystal on the top of it began to crack until it broke completely and sent a wave of magic backfiring on its wielder. Her attack then overpowered the other as it fizzled out of existence. The satyr was sent a good distance away from herself as well as the shrine. Speaking of, she needed to take care of that before another interruption. Samira used more magic for yet another spell that belonged to the chaos void serpent. The area began to darken further, and a large portal appeared on the ground near the totem. The swirling portal led to an abyss of which nothing returned from. Many of the structures began to be pulled in as well as other things in the environment. The lesser satyrs that got near felt their speed of movement begin to slow before those foolish enough to not leave the vicinity got pulled into the swirling void. Samira herself was safe from the effects. She stood and watched as the totem began to be ripped from the ground and lean towards the portal. During the process she found herself tackled as the lead satyr had recovered and wanted to stop her from destroying everything. An ugly dagger had been pointed at her as his clawed hand wrapped around her throat. She could have erased his very existence for being so close, but unfortunately the tackle to the ground had snapped her out of the link and so were the powers aside from the one that had already been activated.

The now uncontrolled void portal grew in power and more and more began to get sucked in. The totem disappeared within, much to the lead satyr’s horror as he cried out with wide eyes as he watched it happen. He growled and had raised the dagger to end her there, but he began to feel himself get pulled by the power of the portal. Naturally he grabbed onto and held the only thing that seemed to be unaffected from the spell; Samira. The force was too much though and eventually he had been pulled off completely, but not without his claws scratching through the sleeve of her top and piercing her skin, leaving long deep cuts. Then he was gone. As was the portal and the magic that had darkened the area.

Samira sat up and winced as she used her other arm to hug the hurt one. The corruption magic throughout the land began to dissipate, although it still left a very dead part of Sevenwood and the creatures were still tainted. “Well looks like he has been dealt with then.” The familiar voice of An Dagda spoke as he materialized where the shrine once stood. ”Something like that.” Samira replied, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her arm while also not going into details. He probably already knew everything that transpired, nor did he ask for anything further. An Dagda went onto the first matter of business, restoring the land. He lifted his magical club Lorg Mor and beams of light mixed in blue and green left the weapon and soared through the forest. The sounds of the magic harp Uaithne followed the thin swirling beams, the sound being heard by all within Sevenwood. The dead and corrupted land began to turn green once more as many plants and other vegetation rapidly grew to replace what was lost. The trees came back to life, and the minds of the creatures had been calmed and returned to normal by the soft music. Even those that had died and still remained within the forest were revived by An Dagda’s magic. Those lost to the void portal, however, were forever gone.

“The land is restored!” An Dagda shouted, proud of the success of the restoration. “The Queen of Seven will no longer have to worry about it spreading further.”

”Do I pass then?” Samira asked, currently focused on bandaging her arm, the bandages having been stored away in the spirit storage she had taken time to open while An Dagda was busy. She could have cared more about it, but she was now tired and lacked the energy to be enthusiastic.

The spirit turned towards her and brought a hand to his chin as he looked up in thought. “Hmm, well you did manage to make it this far. Defeated Fenrir, the satyr, and even destroyed the source of the corruption so I could restore the woods. There are some… concerns, but I’ll leave that to the others to sort that mess out. For me, I am satisfied! I wish to be a part of that crazy little family of spirits you have. You also could use more healing spirits in your collection. I, An Dagda, shall aid you whenever you call.”

”Thank you.” A small smile appeared on her face as she looked up from her arm and up towards him. He smiled back before kneeling down and touching her arm with the healing side of Lorg Mor. The deep scratches healed immediately and faded, leaving not so much as a scar upon her arm. The music of his magic began to change. It was soothing and soft, and the summoner began to feel more exhausted than she already was. “Rest now, Nassar summoner. Vishnu will test you soon. I‘ll ensure the Queen knows of your efforts here.” The words she could barely comprehend as they echoed in her mind and became distorted. Then she fell into near instant sleep, only not slamming into the ground due to An Dagda catching her and lifting her up from the ground. By then Artio and Anhur had arrived on the scene.

“The first trial is over,” An Dagda told them as he passed Samira to the lion spirit. “I suggest she rest until Vishnu makes his appearance. His test will probably be more about mental strength than physical. She has the ability to call upon me now, so I’ll be sure to join you all within her mindspace at some point to have company. Farewell!” A cloud of magical particles appeared as he poofed out of existence.

The two spirits made their journey back to their starting point. It was very uneventful as the forest had returned to normal and lacked any real enemies. Once they had reached their destination, Bacchus was already waiting. Artio vanished, feeling no need or desire to take a ride with the drunken spirit. Anhur had to roll his eyes and fight the urge to turn back around. A ride through the celestial world later, the chariot exited through a portal that appeared in Midi, right in front of the cave of trials they had left before. Bacchus said his goodbyes, of which Anhur just shook his head and ignored it. Then he stopped. The note Samira had left was still there. Strange. He had expected someone to trail her there by that point.

He traveled along the path that led back to the village still carrying Samira, who was still sleeping. Other spirits had popped up to check in since the mental connection was still off, but other than that things were quiet. Too quiet. He didn’t like it at all. Something was not normal, or even right. By the time he got to the village entrance he could see why. It was completely empty. All of its villagers were missing. He could hear nothing of their existence, see nothing, and could not even smell anything. Even Kaori’s ships were missing. ”This will be interesting to explain…”

To Be Continued In Trial of Vishnu...