NOVEL NEXT Vol 3, Ch 14. Water Meditation
“Courage? Recovery?” Bonny’s breath caught and her heart pounded as she called for her favorite godesses.
While they hadn’t always responded immediately, she felt an emptiness that indicated the problem was more serious than them being busy. “Lust? Oh, fuck! Anyone?”
Lake suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “Shhh. It’s okay.”
“Bu…” Bonny struggled, ripping one arm free of the mermaid’s hold.
Lake adjusted her grip, wrapping her arms around Bonny’s chest. “Stop! The shrine is blessed. Other spirits cannot intrude.”
Bonny paused and took a deep breath. The heavy, wet air and trickle of water down her throat reminded her of where she was. She shivered and took another breath, trying to calm herself.
Another set of arms wrapped around her from behind, hands pushing between her and the mermaid in front. One of them found and cupped one of her breasts, squeezing lightly.
Bonny took another deep breath and leaned her head back against Kanae. The faux mermaid kissed her ear, then pressed her cheek into Bonny’s without saying a word.
Lake continued, her voice now calm and soothing. “Brooke mentioned that you talk to gods sometimes. If you need, you can exit the shrine to contact them.”
Bonny shivered again, surprised by her own reaction, by her apparent reliance on the supernatural. She shook her head, rubbing it against Kanae’s. “No. I’m … alright.”
“It’s not a problem. I can take you out and bring you back.”
“Thank you. I’ll be fine.” Bonny reassured her. “Sorry.”
When Lake let her go, Bonny realized she wasn’t holding the rune covered bowl. A glance around showed Brooke holding it and Bonny realized she must have dropped it when she panicked.
Bonny gave her a quick smile. “Thanks.”
Brooke returned the smile, but handed the artifact to Lake.
Bonny looked around again, taking in the shrine, the altar. It was made of the same translucent crystal as the statue outside and had a drop of water with eyes carved into the side, symbolic of a water elemental.
She breathed out, the cloud of air bubbles traveling down (up) along her body to the cavern floor (ceiling) that she stood on. The bubbles tickled her fur as they passed, sometimes sticking to her for a moment or two before they dispersed.
She moved closer to the altar, reaching out to feel the smooth rock. Looking at the shelving behind it, where the rest of the bowls seemed to float against the shelves above them.
“Let me show you how this works.” Lake pulled Bonny’s attention back to her.
The mermaid held the bowl out and ran a finger around the edge. A clear musical tone rang out, reminding Bonny of musical shows using wineglasses. However, in this case, the sound didn’t fade.
Lake handed the bowl to Bonny and she felt the faint vibration as a tingling along her fingers. The runes inscribed around the bowl lit up in swirling patterns and she could feel a slight draw on her mana. She concentrated on the feeling and the tone started to resonate within her, as it followed the trace of mana back to the lone water spirit she had bonded.
It was the first elemental spirit she had received, given to her by Oakleigh, the dryad, when they were discussing magic and spirits. She had collected a couple other wind spirits since then, but hadn’t found another water spirit. She did have a spell for creating water and occasional use of it had increased her mastery slightly, though she was still a novice.
Another tone joined the first, harmonizing with it, then a third and fourth. Bonny glanced around to see the three mermaids all holding other bowls. Kanae looked excited, almost vibrating herself.
Lake touched some runes and ran a finger along the edge of the bowl again. The four notes dropped to a lower pitched chord, then higher as Lake manipulated the runes again.
“What are you doing?” Bonny asked.
“Activating the artifact for you. That’s why you’re here, right? Water loves harmony. Listen to it. Just listen.”
Bonny did. She closed her eyes and felt the harmonization, the vibration stirring the water around them. It touched her magic, caressed her soul, and Bonny felt her link to the water spirit within her grow as it danced to the music.
She wasn’t sure how long she listened. The music was haunting and otherworldly, but also hopeful and satisfying. Not a song she knew. She had taken a few piano lessons as a child, but didn’t have an aptitude for music and had trouble identifying or distinguishing notes. Now she wished she had tried harder.
She opened her eyes when the music faded, feeling refreshed.
“That was amazing.” Bonny’s voice was clearer, less muffled. She took a deep breath, noticing the air felt lighter, cleaner, and spoke again. “Oh, can you understand me better?”
Lake laughed. “Yes. Your necklace is dependent on your water affinity. As your magic improves, you’ll be able to breath easier and interact with water more effectively.”
Bonny handed the bowl back to Lake. Kanae and Brooke followed suit and the mermaid priestess returned the bowls to their shelves.
“Those belong here.” Bonny decided, speaking her thoughts aloud. “I don’t know enough to use them. Thank you for demonstrating. Can ... can I come back?”
“Of course. You can visit anytime. It can get lonely here and I love visitors.” A smile lit up her face for a moment, then her delight faded as she glanced at Brooke. “But you shouldn’t use the artifact more than once a week or it can cause dis-harmonization and damage your affinity.”
“Thank you. Can you teach me anything else about water magic? I just have a create water spell.” Bonny started to demonstrate, then realized they were surrounded by water and creating more wouldn’t be helpful or noticeable.
Lake giggled. “That is a good starting spell for someone that doesn’t live underwater. With practice, you can expand it to summon ice, fog, or other forms of water. With increased control, you can use it to summon a shield of water or a stream of water to attack someone. Some hydromancers can even create waves large enough to destroy cities.”
Bonny shook her head. “No. I already have some attack and ward spells, skills, or whatever. I just want … I like healing people.”
Lake smiled again and pointed to a swelling on her cheek. “Water can be used for healing as well. [Stream of Life!]” The redness and swelling faded.
“Did I do that? Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” Bonny remember struggling after realizing her goddesses couldn’t speak to her here, but hadn’t realized she had injured the priestess.
“It’s fine. Most people only visit for healing or when praying for a miracle. Aqua doesn’t grant miracles often, so I mostly counsel visitors, but I get a lot of practice healing.”
“I’ve been trying to cure people at the temple in the city. A lot of the poor have been neglected.”
The two shared a knowing smile before Lake broke the silence, “You should check your status to see how much the water meditation helped. We can come up with a plan for you to work on increasing your affinity and learning more about water.”
“Oh, right!” There had been several events since Bonny had last checked her status. She called it up, “Status!”
Alerts (3):
- You have defeated a demonic swarm. Magic Control and Mana have slightly increased.
- Your Divine affinity has increased to Expert through use of healing magic and Divine artifact usage. Aura Control, Magic Control, and Will increased.
- Your Elemental affinity has increased to Journeyman through use of an Elemental artifact. Magic Control and Mana increased.
Status
:Name: Bonny
Race/Species: Outworlder / Rabbit-kin / Succubus
Age: 22
Health: Healthy
Soul: Healthy
Titles:
Dragonslayer - You have slain a dragon.
Journeyman Sage - You have learned all magical affinities.
Ageless (H) - You have stopped aging due to residual Divine essence. Hidden!
Demonic Champion (H) - You champion the cause of a Demon. Hidden!
Divine Engineer (H) - You have changed the System. Hidden!
Achievements:
Proficiency with all Magic Affinities - Sage title earned.
Attention of the Gods (H) - The Divine Seven are watching you. Hidden!
Demigod (H) - You have acquired and given up Divinity. Hidden!
Demoness (H) - You have maximized your Demonic affinity. Hidden!
System Update (H) - Divine Engineer title earned. Hidden!
Magic Affinities:
Arcane:
Journeyman 12%
Demonic:
Master - Lust 100%
Journeyman - Wrath 40%
Divine:
Expert- Courage 0%, Healing 5%
Journeyman- Justice 0%, Compassion 0%, Hope 0%
Elemental:
Journeyman - Water 10%
Novice - Air 75%
Aura Abilities:
Demonic Desire (area) - Increase desire in entities around you.
Demonic Drain (affected) - Drain essence from entities affected by Desire.
Demonic Fury (self) - Increase physical speed and stats when enemies are around you.
Divine Cleansing (area) - Purify the area around you.
Divine Courage (allies) - Allies around you will have their morale boosted.
Divine Empathy (area) - Improved Perception and increased awareness of those in need.
Divine Healing (area) - Friendly entities around you will slowly heal.
Divine Hope (area) - People around you will look to you for guidance. Allies will have morale boosted, enemies will feel despair.
Divine Retribution (area) - Enemies around you inflicting damage to allies will take half damage in return.
Earned Abilities
:Divine Leveling - Double experience rewarded for conflict with Demonic Champions or minions.
Dragonfear Immunity - Immune to Dragonfear and lesser terrors.
Dragonfire Immunity - Immune to Dragonfire and lesser fire.
Class: Expert Medic/Demonic (alternatives available, advancement available)
Skills: (no skills available, no skills may be improved)
Analgesia (all) - 2%
Analysis (all, spirit, system) - 3%
Create Water (all) - 17%
Mending (all) - 100% (Advancement available - Heal, Rehabilitate, or Restore)
Panacea (all) - 100% (Advancement available - Catholicon, Remedy, or Theriac)
Sacrifice (demonic) - 64%
Ward (all) - 83%
Wound Transfer (demonic) - 62%
Non-Class Skills:
Contraception (all)
Invigorate (arcane, divine)
Racial Skills: Draining Aura, Draining Kiss
General Skills: Agility, Dancing, First Aid, Flexibility, Running, Shield Use, Sword Use, Walking, Otherworld Knowledge
Equipment:
Big Red - Bonded, Growth (Legendary, multiple parts/Demonic)
Brush of Death - Bonded (Legendary)
Cup of Compassion - Bonded (Divine)
Cornucopia of Hope - Bonded (Divine)
Fist of Wrath - Bonded, Growth (Rare, Demonic)
Spear of Courage - Bonded (Divine)
Sword of Justice - Bonded (Divine)
Phys Pow: Novice 25%
Phys Con: Novice 25%
Stamina: Novice 25%
Mag Pow: Journeyman 15%
Mag Con: Journeyman 15%
Mana: Journeyman 36%
Aura Pow: Expert 9%
Aura Con: Journeyman 95%
Will: Expert 27%
Bonny read out the alert about her water affinity and glanced over the changes to her status before dismissing it.
“Journeyman, that’s not bad. We should definitely work on increasing your water skill or getting a new one. Aqua!” Lake called for her elemental god and a vortex appeared over the altar a moment later.