The trail was strange and unnatural, not like the fresh tracks of a beast or the heavy bootprints of a hunter. Instead, it was a flickering, gossamer thread of Flow that danced just above the forest floor, a pale, silvery whisper in the gloom. Roric and the three hunters—Taron, a gruff Tier 3; Kael, a quiet Tier 3; and Finian, a seasoned Tier 4 whose presence felt like a shield—followed it in silence. It led them in a winding, convoluted path until it brought them to a small, broken-down shack in a clearing. The same shack Roric had visited before. He felt a prickle of unease.
What was going on here?
Roric hadn't expected to find the trail. He thought the entire evil spirit/wraith thing was a hoax but not only did they find the ominous energy of a corrupted trail but it led back here?
Why?
The group cautiously drew closer thier hands resting on their weapons. They entered the shack,it's wooden floorboards creaking under their feet. Roric had been her before but the atmosphere now was different from how it was bach then.
Suddenly, the air grew cold, and the humming of the forest fell silent.
A wraith, a shimmering figure of pure energy, lunged from the shadows. It slammed into Taron, who roared and unleashed his trait, a deafening shockwave that sent a ripple through the air and knocked the wraith backwards. It dazed the being, but didn't destroy it. Almost immediately, more wraiths materialized from the walls and began to close in, their ethereal forms phasing through the splintered wood. Kael and Finian, their faces grim, did their best to fend them off, Kael attacking with concentrated shots of wind and Finian projecting his shield-like Flow, but the wraiths were like smoke—they simply passed through and around their defences.
Roric watched, his mind racing. He knew their situation was dire. The hunters' Traits were all of the Existential class, which dealt with the physical world. Against a spiritual, non-corporeal entity, they were almost useless. It was a bad combination, like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.
He mentally reviewed the situation. He had been here before, and there were no wraiths. He hadn't even noticed a hint of their presence. That meant the wraiths had only coalesced recently, which in turn meant the shack, for all its rotted wood and collapsed roof, had been destroyed recently. The illusion of age was now the question. Did whoever was using this place desire it in its current state or did it become delapidated as a result of whatever has caused these wraiths to appear
He glanced at his companions, their faces strained with effort. Kael was grunting as he struggled to push back a single wraith which simply passed through his air currents, while Finian's face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat as his shield trait flickered. Taron was swinging his fists wildly, but his blows only pushed the wraiths away for a moment. Those were just three of the dozens that surrounded them.
Roric swung his axe,managing to take out one of the creatures with an Anti-Flow infused slash.
Not only was there an Awakened Beast out there but there were wraiths as well. Wraiths were born of humans so could it mean that the two were somehow connected?He needed to find out what was happening, and he couldn't do that with the other hunters around.
He drew upon his own trait, 'The Lovers'. Each trait governed a specific law or concept of existence. His held dominion over Bonds and Connections just like Aina's trait, 'The Star', was the law of attraction, hers manifesting as gravity. As humans climbed the Ladder of Ascension , they gained a deeper understanding of their traits authority. This enlightenment, this higher consciousness, gave them a new ability or a new 'Resonant' ability, while strengthening their existing ones.
As a Tier 2 hunter and a Saint, Roric had three from being in the third stage of Ascent. His first allowed him to see the spiritual bonds between people. Friends, family, enemies,Lovers, he could see it all. His second allowed him to manipulate pre-existing bonds and thus manipulate people through their souls. His third aspect expanded on this ability going further to allow him to create new bonds not only manipulate those that already existed. This could not be applied to inanimate objects as well. If he ascended to the stage of a Praetorian, he could also sever the pre existing soul bonds of people weaker or with a vulnerability to Soulfire based attacks regardless of ones stage though the stage of the target would dictate the effectiveness of this ability. Theoretically he could still do yhis to a lesser extent but that was a comolicated process that would wraken him for temporary power.
He turned his attention to the others. He could clearly see the bonds that connected his them to their Flow. He didn't want to involve them further.
Focusing his second 'resonant', he targeted the familial bonds of his three companions, intensifing them, flooding their souls with an overwhelming, almost crippling fear. He could feel their hearts pound, their breath catch, their minds filling with images of their loved ones. Taron's daughter, Kael's wife, Finian's young son.
'Im sorry guys.' he thought ashe yelled at them.
"Go!", his voice cutting through their panic. "Go and get help! I'll hold them off!"
The three hunters, their faces pale with terror, didn't hesitate. They ran, their footsteps echoing through the woods as they fled for the safety of the city.
Once they were gone, Roric got to work. He used his Saint physique to run around causing the Wraiths to try and catch him all while picking up bits and pieces of the containment Arrays placing them around as he mover. He then used his third Resonant, bonding the broken iron bars of the containment array back together, temporarily activating them and trapping the wraiths in a glowing hexagonal prison.
With the wraiths contained, he began to search for clues.
As he searched deeper and deeper into the shack,he found a pile of broken wooden and upon closer inspection found a mummified body, its skin stretched tight over its bones, as if all its energy had been drained.
He prodded it with his axe, but it was cold, dead. He noticed a tattoo on the body's shoulder: a rose with a sword piercing through it.
Just then, he heard the returning footsteps of the hunters. They had not gone far. Thinking quickly, he held up a piece of broken wood and bonded the mummified body to it. He then used his third resonant again, crushing the body and wood into a fine dust that scattered in the wind. Next, he severed the spiritual bonds of the wraiths, killing them instantly.
The hunters returned, confused and apologetic.
"I'm so sorry, Roric," Taron said, his eyes still wide.
"We don't know what came over us."
Roric smiled tiredly, feigning weakness.
"It's alright. The wraiths must have emitted some sort of psychic wave. I barely managed to deal with them myself. My stage must have been high enough to resist it." Roric lied easily.
"It's a good thing I came with you lot, eh?" He then clapped Taron on the shoulder. "Look, it's dealt with. Now there'll be no more 'evil spirits' .We should head back to town and report. I'll even buy you all a few drinks to calm your nerves. And aside you wives I won't tell anyone you ran away like scared little girls."
"You wouldn't dare," Taron said, a playful smile returning to his face.
They began their walk back, bickering about who was the most scared and who had run the fastest. It was a welcome distraction. Roric's mind was already moving ahead. He had discovered a new clue,a body with a strange tattoo. After a little contemplation,he decided to find that boy for questioning before he decided to involve Lord Alaric.