M.D.Syl
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Chapter 58 colorless
🕑 Added 2023-02-28 07:54:45 +0000 UTCAuthor notes:
This chapter is dedicated to Alpenmann for supporting me on Patreon.
Thank you so much for your support. <3
Today’s release is a tad bit early. I have a thing later on and I might end up late for my usual chapter release time. I figured an earlier chapter release is better than a late one, at least for Patreon.
Enjoy!
Chapter 58 Sha’ashbash.
We all grow through pain
We all know our own suffering
From the smallest discomfort
To the pain we carry through our lives
But what about the pain others carry?
Amaret, the Great Sinner.
{27} Tukado (Janurary) the 26th
The carriages roll along the foggy streets of the early dawn. I ride on Loyal by their side, huddling in my coat and padded armor underneath. The city slowly wakes up as we pass through Axero avenue by avenue. Men and women, young and old. From simple gray wool clothing to rich velvets and satins with fur coats and cloaks. Humans, gnomes, orcs, a dwarf or two. An Albino race like Firuk I now knew called ‘Pale Ones’ and a few from a humanoid race with eyes at their temples and color changing scales called ‘Silios’.
By the time we reach the western gate, the streets are nearly crowded. It’s also high noon. We stop for a quick meal before venturing to the vast planes beyond the walls. The carriages roll between wheat fields. The green oats are only peeking from the soil. I pat Loyal’s neck from time to time, riding with the group.
The sun sets in the distance, painting the sky beyond the horizon in deep shades of ember. Salik calls for a camp at the edge of the wheat fields.
This time I avoid conversations. Although I have other mercenaries who are interested in getting to know me better, I don’t feel like I could get close to anyone. I’ll have to accept being alone. People who get close to me will either die, get scared off, or be used against me… I don’t see why I should bother…
I do help around the camp since that is one of the main reasons they took me with them. The work and the magic are distracting enough, so I don’t feel miserable all the time.
*
{27} Tukado (Janurary) the 30th
Traveling takes time, and after four days we make camp at the edge of the frozen swamps. The Golden Thrill mercenaries spring into action, constructing tents, making fires, going out to hunt and forage.
I channel ‘water jet’ into the large empty barrel, and stare at the grinning orc as his words enter from my right ear and exit through my left. What’s his name again? Bolo? Boro?
“Hey, Noro! I said stop what you’re doing and gather round!” Salik shouts. Right… it was Noro…
“Oh yes, chief. Right away, chief.”
“You too, Inara, we don’t need so much water, unless someone is planning to freeze their lids with a bath.” That gets some snickers.
Lids? What does that mean? Ugh I hate this snowy language... snowy language... I already think in their stupid slang! I join the mercenaries as they gather around the fire. Tonight’s soup already smells amazing. The shadowy dark trees loom from the swamps ahead, just beyond the fires and tents.
“Berthold found the tracks of the Almina family carriages or at least one of them. Our search begins tomorrow at first light. Due to the contract, we’ll stay here for a month. If we can’t find them within a month we’ll assume they’re dead and move on. We’ll still get paid for looking, but less. We'll spend the first two days in entrenchment, I want ditches and spikes around the camp, three meters wide and five meters deep, people! We won't play around with our safety, even if it means missing the girl.”
“But boss!!!”
“Oh rot in snow, really?!”
“Snakes in a venomous jar!”
“We might have to go deep, and if any of you attracts something big out there; you’ll be happy for these orders…”
“Yes, chief,” Noro says without a hint of argument. “Can you tell the spirits to dig, shaman lady?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “I haven’t learned any earth magic, it’s my worst affinity…” I should rectify it though… I could probably cast some basic earth spells with the mana from my necklace…
{27} Koshavi (February) the 1st
The mercenaries are upset about the task, there are a lot of grumbles and complaints. But the next day they take out shovels from the carriages, mark the trench, and start digging.
Soon enough I join the work. I can’t dig with magic, but I can haul large boulders or trees for the walls with a combination of ‘Lightweight’ and ‘Minor Telekinesis’, and with my necklace’s mana supply, I can keep this up for a while.
After a few hours of work, we all end up having a warm soup in our hands which helps with the freezing temperatures. An hour of break, and everyone is back to work again.
I wipe off my sweat and take a deep breath, I'm almost out of mana. I dip my wooden cup in the water barrel and stop when Elitar—the blond bard—produces a cheerful melody from his lute.
“Dig dig dig, five dwarves will dig
sing sing sing, four elflings will sing
Swing swing swing, three orcs will swing
cling cling cling, two elves will cling
one one one, one human is king!”
“Snake off, Elitar!”
“Yeah! Join us or snake off!”
“Even the lass is more helpful than you! Ya lil girl!”
“He’s even pretty enough to be a girl!”
“No muscles on that one,” Noro says.
“You don’t need muscles when you have a brain,” Elitar replies.
Noro cracks his neck and gets out of the ditch, Elitar turns tail and runs from the towering orc, invoking laughter from all over. Even if his songs are annoying, they raise morale in their own way.
Noro takes off his shirt and flexes his muscular arms after Elitar runs off.
“No one wants to see your muscles, Noro!”
“Aren’t you cold lad?”
“I love it when he does that… it’s like a child in a man’s body…”
“Bah! You are all jealous. Women love muscles!” he flexes again, this time in my direction. “Hey shaman lady, what do you think? Muscles are good, right? I can give you healthy pups!”
The orc is quite muscular, and extremely tall, nearly twice my height. That would make him 2 and a half meters tall? “With that much muscle I’d be more worried you’d kill me without realizing it,” I say dryly.
He laughs, I can tell he takes it as a compliment. He jumps back into the ditch and keeps digging shirtless despite the cold weather.
Berthold comes back with some small game, mostly snakes and turtles. He dumps them all near the fire and stretches.
“Berthold?” I approach him.
“What?! What do you want?”
I look into his pair of angry blue eyes. “I… um… I’ll need your help out hunting again?”
“The boss will need my help looking for the missing girl.” He turns to leave.
“I’ll pay you five hundred gold coins for that.”
He stops in his truck. This is a sum that’d be very hard for him to resist. “I… do you really don’t care about Sorer?”
Sorer again… “I only knew Sorer for a few days. I’ve seen way too many people die, friends, family… At some point, you just grow numb to death. And Sorer wasn’t that close to me. I did avenge him, I made sure that fairy is dead or worse… I could pretend I’m still in pain about his death if that would make you feel better, but it feels wrong to fake such a thing.”
“I…” He stops, mouth agape, then catches himself and clenches his jaw. “Who did you lose?”
I sigh. “My father died a year ago. My sister is missing, taken as a slave and I still have no idea where she is, and I haven’t seen my mother since I was five. I can barely remember her…”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t realize…”
Save me the fake sympathy, you clearly dislike me… Everyone have their problems and losses, nobody actually cares, I only have myself to count on... “I’m not looking for pity, the world is big enough and rotten enough that everyone have problems. I just need to focus on solving mine instead of meddling in everyone else’s.” And you’re also afraid of me… with a mix of attraction… which is just weird… I don’t care… I just need your help hunting, nothing more…
“True, I also have problems...” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head to himself a few times. “My father left me and my mother when I was little too. I don’t think he’s ever coming back.”
I heave a heavy sigh. How did we even get here? I hate pity contests. This is all what the slaves could talk about, how sorry they are for each other... I hate this! “It’s not like I’m waiting for my mother to come back. I’ll find her somehow, and I have a lot to ask her.”
A tiny self-deprecating smile shows on his face. “I would’ve liked that myself, but it’s a big world out there…”
That’s why I’m interested in magic… “I’m sure there’s a spell that can help me track her.”
He takes a seat on a boulder I've lifted from the trenches a few hours back. “Magic, huh? That’s convenient…”
I’ll have to show some interest I guess… I need his talents for these hunts and it’d be nice to develop a good working relationship with him. “It has its advantages, yes. So it’s just you and your mother?” He’s a little annoying though…
“My sister too. Both my mother and Fanny are sick, it’s… let’s just say that my pay goes to keeping them alive and finding a cure. That’s why I can’t turn down your offer.”
Good… he can be controlled by money… that’s an easy pawn right there…
Stop that! Stop seeing people as pawns. If I keep seeing people as pawns I’ll end up like the hag, or worse! Some interest won’t cost me any money, and I could use another friend… even if he’s a little annoying at times… “Did you take them to the Temple of Brigit?”
He snorts. “Of course!”
“I’m sorry, that’s a stupid question…”
He takes out a wooden shaft and ties black feathers to its edge, preparing an arrow. “No that’s alright, we tried that. The Tonars of Brigit couldn’t heal them… or didn’t want to. The Arch-Tonar offered me to heal them for the sum of a hundred thousand gold coins, each! And even then he didn’t promise any results…”
“Sounds like a scam, or something he’ll demand that he knows to be impossible… or both.” This is so obvious… using people’s lives to extort money is disgusting… Doesn’t surprise me, the mages at the Sapphire Tower are worse.
He clenches his fists, nearly breaking the unfinished arrow in his hands. “What choice do I have? Let them suffer and die? In the meantime, the Arch-Tonar provides us with this medicine. It’s costly, but it helps them a little.”
This is just cruel… “And that medicine provides him with a steady income. He’s using you. Have you tried anywhere else?”
“I can’t exactly move them around, they can’t be outside the house during the day. My mother had already lost her hand.” He lets the unfinished arrow go and takes a deep breath.
“Wait. How does leaving the house result in…”
“They both have Iliosto… I’m not even sure if it’s a disease or a curse. They are forced to sleep fifteen hours a day, and if they ever get exposed to sunlight, their bones will dissolve… my mother only got it when I was seven, but my sister showed symptoms when she was two years old… I think it’s why my father left… he couldn't handle it.” He shrugs and picks the arrow, using a string to tie up a bronze head to the shaft. "I can handle it, I have to... They have no one else to depend on."
“So they can’t leave the house?”
“They can, only at Night… Axero is better because of the trees and the tall buildings, it’s why my parents moved here back when my mother first got it. But even then, they both prefer to stay home. They count on me, I can’t die like Sorer. I… his wife at least… I…” He shakes his head and put the newly made arrow in his quiver. “Never mind… I don’t know why I am even talking to you.”
“Maybe because you needed someone to talk to. I also might have a way to help you.”
“Don’t do that.” Blue eyes glare intensely.
I raise a brow. “Don’t do what? help you?”
“Don’t give me some sort of false hope and then ignore me. I’ve had people who said they can help me, nothing came out of it.”
I shrug. “I can only try, I can’t really promise anything. But it’s a shot. Take it or leave it. My master is a very strong mage, she’s also a healer. I c…”
He gets up and faces me, invading my personal space. “There’s not a single healer in this city I haven’t gone to!”
I take a step backward and cross my arms. “Have you been to the Maven of Mysteries?!”
“Yeah! She sells some rotten potions and snow water, so what?!” He waves his hands with frustration.
“Rotten potions… Thought so…" I sigh. "Now listen carefully. My master is not the nicest person, she’s nice to me… occasionally." If you call torture nice... "But she is an evil witch to other people. She’s powerful, extremely so. She regrew my hand back when I lost it. I can only assume she can heal your mother’s disease, and if not, she can at least regrow her hand back. She might agree to help if I request it from her, but there’s going to be a price. She’ll most likely ask something in return from you…”
“I’m willing to do anything!” His voice is on the verge of crying.
“Careful with that attitude. She’s the kind of person who’ll take these words to their literal meaning and abuse you in ways you couldn’t even dream of. Don’t agree to a price that’s too high and you might survive her… I’d also suggest taking advice from Salik before you’re dealing with her, he dealt with her in the past. Once you’re ready, let me know and I’ll ask her.”
“If you truly think she can heal my mother and sister then just ask her when we’re back in Axero… I can’t wait to go back!”
I shrug. “Suit yourself… Will you still help me hunt?”
“Only if you pay me these five hundred gold coins you’ve promised.”
Five gems for five soul bottles?! “Gladly.”
*
Over the past couple of days, Berthold and I have been wandering over the frozen swamps. I huddle in my coat that always feels wet on the inside for some reason. Since I can’t spend all of my mana on heating myself, it isn’t the most pleasant experience. I have to use my ‘Lesser Heating’ and ‘Water Evocation’ spells to clean my coat from small icicles every night.
The swamps aren’t as interesting as the forest in the shimmering tops. No magical feeling in the air, and not a single spotting of Fae. Even the magical beasts we encounter are mostly venom spitting snakes, odd birds with four wings that exhale poisonous gas, and frogs that are toxic to touch. The crickets and the occasional guttural hums are starting to get on my nerves, at least we have a large supply of antidotes, the mercenaries prepared well for this trip.
Berthold and I focus on the small game for a few reasons. I need to train with my crossbow. The small game is tastier. And with Berthold’s sniping capabilities, if something goes wrong, the creatures wouldn’t pose any serious danger.
Progress is rather slow. These small magical beasts fill about a tenth of a bottle each. And every time we kill one the others scatter to their hiding holes and we needed to trek a while to find a new unaware prey to hunt.
Berthold tells me that there are bigger creatures further in, but I don’t want to risk it. We have a month in this gods forsaken frozen hell, might as well use it to the fullest.
Berthold also splits his time between tracking the missing carriages and hunting with me.
We are getting along rather well. I spend some time listening to his wild tales again, it's even pleasant. More importantly, he’s no longer afraid of me, or the gold I offered is too much to turn me down. I don’t care which it is, I am only here for the souls.
{27} Koshavi (February) the 12th
And today, like the past two weeks, I follow Berthold’s steps in the frozen mud, cursing the crickets under my breath. I’ve already filled four of my soul bottles, so I’m nearly done with freezing my ass out here.
“So who taught you how to shoot?” I ask in a moment of boredom. We just hunted a small green snake with the ability to spit its venom from afar. The venom would only kill someone after hours and the mercenaries are more than familiar with the creature and the antidote.
“The boss did.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Salik is also a good archer?”
Berthold chuckles. “No, I’m better than him, he said so himself. But he taught me the basics.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Do you want a tale? Or the truth?" Berthold smirks.
"The truth."
Berthold shrugs and skips over a murky pond. "Not an epic tale that one. Boring actually. I used to do odd jobs as a kid, at some point I did some courier jobs for the Golden Thrill, and Salik recruited me later. He… he has an eye for people I think. Everyone he recruits has some sort of a useful talent.”
“And Noro’s talent is showing his muscles to everyone…” I snicker at my words.
Berthold laughs. “That, and ripping a wolf’s head off with his bare arms. That was scary, orcs can be weird… hold on!” He stops me and crouches, observing the ground. “We’ve been going the wrong way the whole time!”
“What do you mean? Are we lost?” I ask, looking around. He didn’t lead us into a territory of something dangerous, did he?
“No, not us. I meant the tracking party. See that?” He points at a patch of frozen mud that looks like any other patch of frozen mud. “Someone dragged them through here, a whole group of people. And it’s recent, today or yesterday at most. It means they’re still alive too! I’m sorry but I have to track this.”
“Alright, but let’s not go too deep? Actually, why won’t I wait here while you go back to bring some of the others? I’d go myself, but I don’t think I can find my way in here…”
“You’re right, some reinforcement can’t hurt. I’ll be back quickly, don’t move from this spot, and don't walk in that area!” He turns and runs, leaving me alone in the frozen swamp.
Waiting in the cold feels like forever. I shift my weight, too afraid to sit on any of the rocks since one of the snakes could bite me without notice. I huddle in my coat and look around for anything that might be a threat. Poisonous toads are also a thing here, I have some of their carcasses in my bag. A swift movement catches my eye, something that looks like a small mammal with whiskers. It looks at me, moving its nose. It then dives back into the freezing water of the swamp itself, swimming underneath.
“Thou art cursed!”
The hoarse words make me jump. I turn, and find myself looking at an old wrinkly man. He stands on a boulder, leaning on a spiraling white walking stick. Instead of hair, he has four long curved horns sprouting out of his head. Instead of a long beard, he has a long spiraling horn coming out of his chin.
“What? Why? What did I do to you?” I ask, tensing up.
“Thy love shalt bring thy death! Thy love shalt bring death! Thy love shalt bring doom! Thee shalt beest lonely for all eternity!” His skin is covered in odd white thorny vines, and his eyes are larger than the average human. The silver pupils inside them take the shape of two triangles facing each other.
“Are you cursing me? Or are you saying something you simply see about me?” I ask carefully. If he is cursing me he’ll make for a nice soul… No. He's clearly sapient, I won't eat a sapient creature...
He ignores my questions. “Leaveth this place! Thee bring death to mine own habitat, thee bring death to all living things!”
Ominous… this fae sure loves his drama… “I will leave, but first tell me. Have you seen any humans around here? I’m here looking for a missing girl and her servants… If you can point us to where they are, we’ll leave. We have nothing to do in your frozen habitat anyway, it’s not the most hospitable place for us humans.”
“Thou art not human!!!"
The creature shrieks at me and I jump back in alarm. The fae leans back and gasps, it then takes a deep breath and continues. "Thou art a blight on this world. Thee shouldn't existeth. Leaveth this habitat.”
“Ok, true, I’m only half a human… but why a blight? Do you know what kind of fae blood I have?” I weave defensive mana patterns, readying my ‘Lesser Shield’ in case he attacks. He lifts a hand in my direction as if he's reading my intentions.
“Myrsha samir!” <Gravity protects!> I call out when I see the slightest movement from him, but he doesn’t attack. The old man shrinks, turning into a small white thorny bush at the top of the moss covered boulder.
Great… that was unsettling… Blight on this world...
“Right through here!” I hear Berthold from afar. He comes with a group of mercenaries. I feel an instant relief to see them. The creepy old fae was way worse than the pixie, and any company is nice right now.
“Oh hey, thanks for keeping watch, kid.” Salik pats my shoulder.
“Aside from a creepy fae it was pretty boring,” I reply. “The fae wanted me to leave the swamps, said I bring death here. Think you can spare one of your people to lead me out? I’d rather not risk angering some unknown fae.” My soul bottles are nearly full anyway, might as well avoid the danger as well… It hunts the Queen...
Salik snickers. “I’d prefer if you stayed with us, kid, you’ve been immensely helpful so far. Don’t mind the fae, they’re tricky and tend to lie a lot. They’ll lead you in circles if you take them seriously.”
“Wait, boss. You know about the fairies? Why didn’t you say anything?” Berthold interject.
“Because it was fun watching you squirm, kid.” Salik’s grin is nothing but mischievous. “Where are these tracks?” The little hydraling is seeking blight... What does that even mean?
“Right here…” Berthold focuses on the ground. “Wait, where are my tracks?!”
“See what I mean?” Salik says. “The fae must’ve erased them…”
I sigh. “I’m sorry, it’s probably my fault. I asked the fae if he had seen humans here, told him we would get out of his swamp once we found our people…” The girl is dead. Her mother will be sad.
“Ah don’t worry about it, kid, you were trying to help. Bert, Chegway, see if you can spot any tracks in the nearby area, we’ll hold the spot.”
“Aye, bossman.” A lean man with a painted face responds. His long dark hair is held in multiple braids, and he has a cluster of spears in a large quiver on his back. He joins Berthold and the two circle the area, while the others chat amongst themselves.
“If you’re afraid, kid, I’ll send you back. I can’t make you stay.” Salik’s bushy eyebrows form a frown.
The hydraling stalks, the queen talks, the nothing mocks, the swamp knocks the rocks. Focus. Snap out of that. Something is wrong... Did that fae do something to me? “I just… I just have a really bad feeling, like something horrible might happen soon. That fae got to me I guess, said I’m cursed and that I bring death everywhere…”
“Yeah, they do that. Rattle up your heart until you can’t recognize yourself anymore. If you want my advice, kid, don’t let it bother you. There’s no use worrying about the future. If you’re cursed, it’ll come up eventually, and you’ll deal with it when it does. And if you’re not, then you’ve spent your days worrying for nothing.”
Yeah... probably just in my head. I chuckle. “You have a good point there. Alright, I’ll stay, but I’ll need to drain a few more animals. You don’t mind if we hunt on the way?”
“Not at all, kid, assuming we find those tracks again.”
“Hey, bossman, check this out!” the man with the painted face calls out. I can barely see him through the fog ahead.
The group moves forward and Berthold rejoins us. They all look at unremarkable patches of mud and moss on the ground, exchanging excited words. “This is fresh, let’s go!” Salik interjects.
Berthold and Chegway take the lead, pointing out excitingly at the mud and bushes like a pair of madmen. We cover a kilometer or two in the frozen foggy swamp. It's impossible to really tell how far we go, but my legs are starting to get sore from the long walk.
A stone forms in my throat, my heart thumps in excitement or fear. Something is wrong… something is verYyY wrong… we need to get out of here… something… something is watching us… a predator... Watching Watching Watching! Watching! waaaatching!!! Excitement takes over me and I let out an uncontrolled giggle that sounds insane even to my own ears.
Snap out of it! Stop letting that weird thought pattern get into my head! That stupid cellar messed with my head, there’s nothing here! It’s just… mental scars from the torture… I’ll get over it… I have to... there's nothing watching us...
I turn and look around just to assure myself that it's all in my head. I freeze in place, watching a gigantic brown snake. I can only see its head, surfacing out of the murky swamp water. But this head alone is bigger than the hag’s cauldron.
A pair of slit pupil eyes look at me, glowing bright blue, and I can only look back at it with a grin of denial plastered on my face. Both of us frozen in place.
*~*~*
Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 4 gems
Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating.
Light: Noxi’s Light, Lako’s Blinding Light.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet.
Earth:
Wood:
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.
Spells known:
Gravity: Alino’s weightless bodyb.
Focus capability: 11 patterns
Social status: Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries.
Wealth: 1400 gems. 1421 golden peas, 7 silver scales, 37 copper bits.
Items:
Magical necklace. Contain a 100 gems of general mana, can be drained like a mana pool. It’ll recharge by itself at the rate of five gems an hour.
1 simple healing potions.
1 potion of lightning body.
1 potion of mana, medium grade.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keep the pouches’ content fresh.
Fresh rose petals, 25g
Magical bags for animals (Ownership Maven.)
5 soul bottles. (Ownership Maven.)
Roll of magical preserving cloth. (Ownership Maven.)
Companions:
Languages:
Toml’a <People’s tongue> Fluent
Sinteo <Speech> Fluent
Myrsha <Gravity> 6/10
Felul <Wind> 1/10
Injuries and scars:
Comments
M.D.Syl
Thanks :3 Thank you for the compliments :3 Makes my day! I'm glad you're having fun, I do try. How do I fix the like thingy? Just like my own posts? (Sorry for the late response, having net problems. As for the awkward profile name, still no idea how to change it. Total noob here, and had someone helping me start this account who didn't care about the name much.) Also. The lightning scar is supposed to be missing. Because it was healed up by the Greater Healing Potion Balusha and Firuk gave Marisha when they tortured her. (chapter 57) Right before they were about to go for round 2. That potion also healed her broken bones, and normal Lesser Healing Potions don't heal broken bones or inflammations.
Colin Love
Finally I can comment, again! .. Patreon has gotten buggy lately. First off just a heads up I’ve head if it’s pointed out it gets fixed, the like button is messed up leaving a like once drops the total. I found if I like then u like then like again it works properly. I love the story it’s incredibly rich in detail & emotion it’s one of a handful that have such a powerful impact. I did notice that the lightning scar was missing from the stat list, not a big deal but you put in excellent work so just a heads up.
