Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 60: Aftermath

I was exhausted and still hungry by the time we returned to the warehouse we were occupying. Jenny quickly solved the hunger issue, but sleep would have to wait. I needed to coordinate with those that would be heading out tonight to make sure everyone understood where to meet and set up our advance camps.

Once all planning had been accomplished, and I had made the final decision on who would be escorting me, I was able to meditate and actualize the experience and level increase I had gained that day. I wondered if my leveling speed wasn't being helped by the System blatantly. Going from Level 1 to Level 3 in a few weeks seemed exceptionally fast. And I'd accused Leian of being power leveled.

Still, entering my Ring and making use of the guided meditation the trainer afforded me, helped calm my mind and slow the thoughts and concerns that clamored for attention. I decided that the extra points I received from leveling would once again go into agility and intellect.

I briefly considered placing all four points in intellect, but my recent death had been instructive. I needed increased physical martial abilities as well as magical. Relying solely on magic against the forces that I may encounter was a recipe for disaster.

Decision made, I began the process of actualizing the stored potential, the experience that had been accumulated. The transition went much smoother this time, as I was familiar with the process and knew what to expect.

Name: Teigh Mac De Belenos y Cyronax Prince: Level 3

Title: Summerland's Protector Title: Zeus' Bane

Danu's Kiss: You have been blessed by Wild Magic and the Goddess Danu. The wee folk, sprites, and earth elementals will obey your commands.

You can call upon the Wild Magic to enhance any spell cast once every third day.

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Sithern's created by you will conform and move to your will after creation.

Health Pool: 3206 Magic Strength: 4406

Strength: 14.03 (2.02) Agility: 18.03 (2.02)

Intellect: 24.03 (2.02) Will Power: 20.03 (2.02)

Affinities:

Earth Affinity: 15% Air Affinity: 32%

Water Affinity: 15% Fire Affinity: 85%

Nature Affinity: 70% Death Affinity: 15%

Mind: 55% Ice Affinity: 85%

I spent a half-hour trying to figure out why my stats hadn't allowed twelve points of additional points if I was level three. Eventually, I decided that my promotion to Prince Level 1 hadn't included the extra points when promoting from a lower Rank to a higher.

I did notice I had a new affinity. Ice was certainly related to my new bloodline. No matter how I tried, I was unable to open my skills or spells tab. I wasn't sure if the functionality of those System menus had been disabled as part of the changes corrupt System Avatar had attempted to instill, or if it had something to do with my newly awakened bloodline.

I eschewed my normal nightly training session, and continued to meditate, refusing to obsess or think about the deaths that my presence and the Wild Hunt had caused. I knew that I wasn't really responsible, that I had been the fulcrum and S-Primes agent. But still, I had been the agent of death.

Eventually, my meditation transitioned into real sleep. Thankfully dreams and nightmares spared me, and I had a restful night free of torment from those that had died.

The next morning's lavations took longer than normal, Cedric's attempt to rush me notwithstanding. I found myself gazing at my reflection in the mirror mesmerized by my new appearance. The changes the Gwyn ap Nudd Avatar had instigated were startling. My skin, once glowing with health and vitality, was now so much more.

You would think an interlocking pattern of snowflakes would detract from that aura of vitality, but instead, they enhanced it. The pattern was raised, almost forming a layer of scales similar to what you would find on snakes. A silver filigree of lace, shimmering in crystalline patterns of wonder and beauty.

I understood what Gwyn meant when he discussed beauty. I was captivated by my reflection, adjusting my stance, tilting my head, flexing my muscles I watched mesmerized as movement enhanced the patterns of snowflakes. Light reflected prisms of colors, a brilliant kaleidoscope of movement.

Cedric's embarrassed coughing from the doorway managed to attract my attention and break the glamour and illusion cast by my appearance. It made me wonder why no one had been affected by my metamorphosis yesterday. This new look. To glamour and beguile, unintentionally, might be problematic, it would explain why Gwyn mentioned my appearance.

As I left the en suite, I sent a narrow thread of awareness into my spatial ring, hoping to find some loose material that would allow me to conceal my face and the tightly interlocking snowflakes that adorned and enhanced my countenance. Not finding anything, in desperation, I reached for a shirt thinking to use some of the fabric to form a type of veil. A stray thought had me wonder if my new lineage may be the solution.

Without the Status screen for skills and spells, I had no way of knowing what abilities I had gained, but that might be a blessing in disguise. Instead of constraining my powers and skills and channeling them into established patterns and areas that System had identified, why not try to use my magic constructively?

My new bloodline was related to ice and snow. Logically, there seemed to be no connection between these abilities and what I needed. But intuitively, I knew that there was a connection. I'd always been more of an abstract thinker, able to see patterns and connections that had no clear or concise connection. These leaps in logic had proven helpful countless times.

And this process had an idea just on the edge of awareness. It was like when you were trying to think of a work, just on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn't quite remember what it is. As soon as you stop obsessing over it, and go to think of something else, you remember the word.

Snow. Ice. Sculpture. Mask.

I remember seeing amazing ice sculptures that were lifelike and intricate on Earth. If Cyronax was the Prince of Winter, then something as mundane as molding ice should be within my purview. And if that was the case, why not use this ability to create and mold ice and snow to form an illusion? A mask formed of magic and ice that would mold to my face, be capable of moving and adapting, and hide and diffuse my ability to glamour.