“Your axe work was certainly impressive. I’d love to be able to do such a thing.” There was admiration and envy in her voice, but no jealousy.
I smiled at her. “Perhaps we’ll find some way for you and I to share in this power. I can’t think how, though perhaps if we... but what’s this?”
Three items had materialized out of the air in front of me. They hung there, a great banded iron shield, an axe like those I now carried, and a green gemstone as big as my fist which glinted and sparkled in the firelight. Amazement filled me, and I stepped back to admire these strange apparitions that had taken physical form.
“This must be something to do with your new Persona,” Cara said, “but what could it mean?”
As she spoke, I felt that same satisfying feeling which I had felt after we’d killed the Arachnon, and Cara gasped, one hand at her chest.
“You feel that too?” she asked.
“I do. I think it’s from killing these creatures. It’s like coin which I can spend.”
I glanced again at the items which hung before me, and intuitively made the connection. “These are upgrades!” I said. “We’re earning some resource by killing enemies, and I can spend mine now that the battle is over!”
With one hand, I reached out toward the shield. “The shield of Ironside represents strength, and the power to protect the weak from harm. I choose to develop that pathway.”
As I spoke the words, the other two pathways receded and the shield grew larger. A branching tracery of lines spread out from it, and I could see other items at junctures further off. I couldn’t make out what they were, but I knew that I would be able to access new upgrades as I continued to progress and use the power of Ironside’s Persona for good.
Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and the vision vanished. I felt a lurch, as if the ground had bucked under me. White light shone around me, and blue light blasted down in a column from the night sky. There was a rumble like distant thunder, and I felt my armor changing, growing, and my height in it expanding. Looking down, I saw that the axe now had runes graven into the blade, and the armor had the same.
“You were imbued with power from the heavens?” Cara questioned in amazement.
“I chose an upgrade, and it took effect on my armor and weapons. I guess whenever that happens I’ll gain new strength and add elements to the armor that the Persona grants.”
Cara drew breath to speak, when we heard a coughing and spluttering noise. We both whirled, and my axe was in my hands, ready for anything. But to my surprise, it was none other than the old man who had given me this mission, the man from my dream.
“It’s the Keeper!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, yes, it’s me all right!” he grumbled. He was wiping his mouth as he came over toward us. “You young people, all for bangs and flashes! Can’t even upgrade a mythical suit of powerful relic armor without a lot of fancy bright lights, can you?”
It was so incongruous that I had to smile. As he approached, I noticed that his robes seemed in better condition than when I’d spoken to him before. He seemed also to have boots on his feet, and that was another improvement.
“You know this man?” asked Cara. She had an arrow nocked and ready to fire.
“I do,” I replied. “This is the Keeper, the man who gave me this quest to find the Helm of Ironside and free it from the Festering.”
“This?” she asked incredulously. “This is the Keeper?”
“Enough!” cried the old man, holding his hands up imperiously and beginning to declaim in a dramatic tone. “You have passed the test, Leofwine of Saxe! You are the Soul Binder, Wielder of Legendary Personas whose coming has been awaited for many a long age. You are the warrior who will cleanse the Festering, freeing the innocents from its taint in many lands and across many worlds! Now that you have shown yourself worthy, you must begin your quest throughout the worlds. There are many Personas in the universe, and many great warriors whose power rests in their ancient relics. The Festering is a danger to them all, and to all worlds.”
He let his hands fall and looked at both of us thoughtfully for a moment.
“As you fight, you will gain Renown. This can be spent as you have discovered, on improving your armor and your skills. Use it wisely; as you grow in power, the cost of upgrading will grow also. The Festering can bind all things, people, animals, even places and objects, but the most dangerous bindings are the Festered relics of the ancient warriors. You will free many things from the taint in the course of your quests, and many of them will grant you Personas with new powers and special abilities. Now, I can show you your first mission.”
He drew from his pocket a round, polished ball of crystal. I recognized it at once. It was a scrying crystal. The old man placed the crystal on the ground and, with a practiced motion, he waved his hand over it. Instantly, a bright space appeared above the crystal. It was as tall as a doorway, and as broad, though it was oval shaped rather than rectangular. I heard Cara gasp next to me.
“A portal!” she cried. “I never thought I’d see one of those. Only the most powerful of magic users can control portals!”
“The most powerful magic users, and the Keepers. Although some might say we are one and the same,” said the old man, sounding pleased with himself. He gestured at the portal. Through it, we could see a view of a very different place. There was no dark sky there, no deserted boggy marshland. Instead, a bright and sunny scene was revealed to us. Snow-capped mountains
