My Faction with Ord now sat at a comfortable 500 points. This placed me into the Honored category with the God and his followers. This was the first time I had achieved this benchmark and based upon Octave’s beaming face, I had also scored some points with the Cherub. All well and good, but my main interest lay with the abilities that were now open to me.
First, were Ord’s Tier II offerings.
Consecrate (2 Active)
Cost: 200 Mana
Description: Creates a 10 yard circle around the caster charged with Holy {*Fate} Mana. Disrupts Eldritch Mana channeling and Damages creatures of the Negative Energy Plane within the circle’s radius.
*Fate Domain Mana will place a Damage Over Time effect upon all Abomination creatures within the circle’s radius that will last an additional 3 seconds after they exit the radius.
Duration: 2 Minutes
Cool Down: None
Prayer of Inspiration (2 Active)
Cost: 20 Mana/sec
Description: A channeled spell that increases the Health, Mana and Stamina of the Caster and all Allies by 50%. An Ally under the effects of POI can also spend an Inspiration Charge to increase personal damage by 5% for 3 seconds. Once Charge is used, the Ally cannot benefit from POI for a cool down of 5 Minutes.
Duration: Until caster cancels effect.
Command (2 Active)
Cost: 250 Mana
Description: Caster empowers voice with the presence of Ord to give one of the following commands, which must be obeyed unless successfully passing a Wisdom save: CHARGE, BRACE, BATTLECRY, STAND DOWN. An Enemy hearing these commands may suffer a debuff to their initiative unless passing a Wisdom save.
Duration: 1 Minute
Each was worth taking for different reasons, but the issue was that I was out of Blue Nodes. I willed the Rainbow Node I had acquired earlier close to the Consecrate spell and smiled when the Node began to glow and my hypothesis was proven correct.
Do you wish to spend [1] Rainbow Node to unlock Consecrate? Yes/No?
Rainbow Nodes
Lore: Can be used to unlock any color Node at any Tier. Will reduce unlock cost by [1]. If cost of spell/ability is already at a [1], then the closet adjacent sub-node will also unlock at no cost.
Advanced Lore: Can be combined with 7 additional Rainbow Nodes to create a Halo Node.
Halo Node
Lore: {Insufficient Level}
I shrugged. Having Lore Sight once again providing me with information was a welcome reminder that I had tools at my disposal other Priests could only dream of. That my Level was a factor in how much information was available was a now familiar road block and I accepted it. In time, I would come to know what a Halo Node was and how I could use it. As Rainbow Nodes were Rare, I had no doubt it would be a powerful item to acquire.
As Consecrate would normally unlock with a single Blue Node, using the Rainbow Node would unlock both the spell and the closest adjacent sub-Node located directly beneath it. In this case, Consecrate had a single thread that led to a Green Node.
Increase spell radius by 2 yards and duration of Consecrate by 1 Minute!
At Tier II, this sub-node would normally require 3 Green Nodes to unlock, but the Rainbow Node would provide it for free this time. It was more than a fair trade by my estimation and I slotted the Rainbow Node and unlocked Consecrate and its upgrade. There was an update to the spell’s description.
Consecrate (2 Active)
Cost: 200 Mana
Description: Creates a 12 yard circle around the caster charged with Holy {*Fate} Mana. Disrupts Eldritch Mana channeling and Damages creatures of the Negative Energy Plane within the circle’s radius.
*Fate Domain Mana will place a Damage Over Time effect upon all Abomination creatures within the circle’s radius that will last an additional 5 seconds after they exit the radius.
Duration: 3 Minutes
Cool Down: None
Along with the increase to the radius and duration also came an increase to the DOT timer as well. A pleasing result and I thanked Ord for it.
Now things get even more interesting.
Ord’s Tier III offerings began to showcase the true power of Ord’s Priesthood. I recalled the story my elder brother Alaric had told us when he entered his first Dungeon after receiving his Knight Class. An Ordite Priest, a Silverguard, had used powerful spells to secure victory for their party…and to ensure Alaric survived. Now, the opportunity to add spells like that to my repertoire had arrived.
Armor of Light (3 Active)
Mana Cost: 300 Mana
Description: Draw upon the Light to create a suit of heavy armor that provides invulnerability against all mundane weapons.
Primary Effect: Increases Block and Parry by 100%.
Secondary Effect: STR +20
Summon: Angelic Guardian (3 Active)
Mana Cost: 385 Mana
Description: Summon a single Celestial of the 4th Triad to fight for you. These Melee focused warriors will fight with Greatswords charged with Holy Mana until dismissed or have their physical forms reduced to 0 HP. Being dismissed or destroyed before duration runs out will not reset cool down timers. They will neither converse nor offer guidance, but will obey all commands given to them that do not conflict with the dogmas of the Light.
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Duration: 1 hour
Cool Down: 1 hour
Ord’s Silver Hammer
Mana Cost: 300 Mana
Description: From the Holy Armories of Ord and empowered by the caster’s {*Fate} Domain Mana, draw forth a Sacred Hammer of the Devas. Fight enemies at either Melee or Ranged. Hammer will return to hand if used as a thrown weapon. Does Thunder + Holy {*Fate} damage.
*Fate Domain will cause Hammer to phase through inanimate objects enemies use as cover or may bypass enemy resistances.
As with Wik’s Armor of Shadow and Wik’s Blade spell synergies, so too did Ord’s Silver Hammer and Armor of Light go hand in hand with one another. A powerful combination of protection and damage. Coupled with another new Angelic summon, Tier III was a tremendous jump in power.
I have only three remaining Red Nodes to spend. I could take all three, but that will shut me out of Tier IV until I win more Achievements. It would be better to just take one of the spells for now and position myself to have enough Nodes for Tier IV if I can unlock more while in the Dungeon.
The issue with that was, of course, that Achievements were never predictable. Recently, another avenue of acquiring Nodes through establishing Wells of Faith had been revealed to him. Thanks to reacquiring Lore Sight, he could now discover more about how to do that.
Well of Faith
Description: Scattered throughout Aramyr are areas of Holy Ground. These areas may be sacred to a single Faith or Multiple Faiths, obvious or hidden. A Priest, Monk or Paladin of any Faith may establish a link with such a place, thereby tapping into the latent power held within each. This will convert said Holy Ground into a Well of Faith. All Wells begin at Level 1 and may be upgraded. To establish link with Holy Ground, the following prerequisites must be fulfilled:
1) Achieve Level 25
2) Blessing of Deity(s)
3) 1 Achievement Title from a Deity
Primary Effect: Collects and stores the ambient Faith energy within deity’s shrine, temple, menhir, pool, church, grove, etc. Energy can then be used to empower structures, summon work units, grow resources, charge skills and create dimensional storage.
Secondary Effect: Increases the level of Holy Ground. *Any structure built upon holy ground will see an increase in defensive strength, summons will last longer and have increased range, holy emplacements can be upgraded.
*Note: Increasing HG levels may require a prerequisite of X number of Followers be permanent residents of HG. Further upgrades dependent upon size and Followers within Holy Ground.
I was stunned speechless when I finished reading the description. To establish a Well of Faith was to achieve a level of power I would never have dreamed possible. On top of that, I had already located a possible site for a Well of Faith! The Menhir where I had first met the Satyrs would likely be a site I could form a link with. I would travel there as soon as I fulfilled the prerequisites.
Level 25? I’ve only just hit Level 12! This will take awhile, but I will be patient.
I would have to gain a Title of some sort through an Achievement. What sort of title, I wondered? Yet, I had no more time to spend thinking upon this. I had one final spell to select, then I would arrange my Active Spell list and finally enter the Dungeon. I would be conservative in my approach and take only one Tier III spell for now. An Elite Dungeon would be my most dangerous challenge yet, but considering the gains I had made in the previous two Dungeons had been wondrous, I had faith they would be even greater in Hadaeon’s Descent.
Cumlough and Octave had been more than just companions to me. I considered them friends now too. They had both saved my life several times and looking upon them now as they debated whether they should risk taking the Goblet of Sweet Dreams into the Dungeon or not with us for “fortification,” I decided that I would add another to our party. I selected Summon: Angelic Guardian.
A Red Node disappeared from my Node Bank, but I also decided to pay 9 Green Nodes to unlock a +10 STR that was directly below the Summon node. I was just one Green Node shy of having enough to unlock a 2nd +10 STR and after that came Ord’s Tier IV. It was upon the Passives I found there where I placed much of my hope for rescuing Vicar Hamish and defeating the Infernal.
Theologian
The Wisdom of the Gods is yours. Increase the Domain specific effects of all spells by 100%.
Throne of Dominion
The legions of Ord will answer your call. Increase the amount of all Summoned Allies by 1.
The limit of one Passive per Deity at Tier IV was a disappointment regardless of how broken I recognized it would be if I could take both of these Passives. Each was a game changer. Each would propel me forward in power, yet one of the Passives was a clear stand out. The hint was in the wording of the description of Theologian: Increase the Domain specific effects of all spells by 100%.
This Passive will affect every single one of my spells affected by my Domain! Not just within Ord’s Web, but each of the spells I possess that my Fate Domain alters or changes both now and moving forward. Incredible!
I lacked one Green Node and 1 Red Node to make it happen. A single Achievement would change so much for me. I wasn’t sure if this was how others who leveled their Classes felt, but I felt a surge of eagerness and excitement to tackle my next challenge even if it placed my life on the line.
Lastly, I opened my Active Spell list. When I paid my Faction Penalty for the Blood Node, I lost access to a great deal of my spells. My Inactive List was more impressive than my Active List now. Also, as Gambit was now on cool down for a full day, I saw no reason to keep it Active and moved it and Purify Mana to Inactive. I then began to rebuild my spells list Tier by Tier.
I chose my spells based upon my expectations that I would remain at range behind my Summoned Guardian to debuff enemies with Consecrate and Vow of Denial, while damaging with Minor Sanctified Ward cast on both myself and the Guardian. Minor Heal, Lesser Shadow Leech and Deathward for health and peace of mind. Minor Cube of Confusion would be for a stun effect, Fade would be an escape plan, Minor Mana Tap and Mantle of Intellect to maximize my Mana efficiency, Armor of Shadow for some added protection and I felt it would synergy well with Fade and finally Caretaker’s Guidance to pierce illusions.
It was my final selection of my ever present spell from patient Hul that I decided to attach the Secondary Node. As the spell was only Tier I, I felt it would be inefficient within an Elite Dungeon. It was due for a power up. I reminded myself of what a Clear, Secondary Node could do first.
Clear Node
Requirements: Attach to any Skill to grant it a Secondary Power. Secondary Power Nodes can be detached from Skills, but cannot be reattached for 24 hours.
Do you wish to attach [1] Secondary Node to [Caretaker’s Guidance]? This will increase either A) Potency or B) Duration. Choose 1.
I chose to increase the spell’s Potency. The Clear Node slid into Caretaker’s Guidance with a mental ping sound and I received an updated description of the spell:
Caretaker’s Guidance
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Description: Imbue a target’s sight with Holy {Fate} mana to see through adept illusions. Lower chance of success against spells greater than Level 20.
Duration: 5 minute
Cool down: 5 minutes
There was an increased Mana cost, the duration and cool down remained the same, but the level of potency had increased from Level 10 to 20. A fair trade and a good upgrade, I felt. I looked over my updated Active Spell list and knew I was ready.
Active Spells Slots (21 of 21)
Minor Cube of Confusion
Minor Heal
Minor Sanctified Ward
Vow of Denial
Minor Mana Tap
Lesser Shadow Leech
Caretaker’s Guidance
Mantle of Intellect (2)
Fade (2)
Consecrate (2)
Deathward (2)
Armor of Shadow (3)
Summon: Angelic Guardian (3)
“My friends, thank you for coming with me this far,” I said to Curmlough and Octave. The Cherub didn’t respond, but equipped his bow and breastplate. He gazed off into the distance as if posing for a portrait.
“We are the Chosen of Ord, his most glorious warriors, his mighty Champions of…”
“Lord Gor says to keep me alive or you’ll both regret it,” Curmlough said, interrupting Octave cheerfully.
I chuckled nervously as Octave glared down at the Satyr.
Gor, Lord of Beasts. We may sacrifice ourselves for Aramyr, but I won’t let my friends fall before I do, I so swear! I prayed.
You have received +10 Faction Gor!
We marched silently to where the Red Portal waited for us. The portal looked so out of place, resting beside an old tomb in the Abbey’s graveyard. It now crackled and spat like a malfunctioning machine. Had my victories in the other Dungeons weakened it somehow? It was likely too much to hope for, but I chose to believe it.
“Does this portal seem bigger than the others?” I whispered aloud. Octave shrugged and Curmlough nervously fingered his Aulos.
“It’s still an Elite Portal, if that’s what you’re wondering. It also still requires at least two people enter. Is that why you took that spell to Summon one of those Guardians?” Octave shook his head. “I’m not certain a Summons will count in an Elite Portal either, Kenric.”
“No, it likely won’t,” I answered. “But you’re forgetting something, Octave. There are already at least two individuals who entered this Portal before us. Vicar Hamish and his Infernal captor. So therefore…”
I reached out a hand to the portal. It felt like my hand was sinking into a swirling sludge, but I received a notification.
Do you wish to enter Hadaeon’s Descent? There are currently [2] occupants within. WARNING! One occupant’s Level already exceeds recommended Dungeon level parameters! This may affect Experience Gain! Do you wish to join the Party already in Progress? WARNING! Doing so will reset all cleared enemies and encounters! WARNING! This may imperil those already within. Yes/No?
“Yes,” I answered firmly. I entered the Dungeon, my companions following on my heels and we were sucked away elsewhere into the final dungeon of the Abbey of Twilight.
