It had been two and a half weeks since the unsuccessful raid of the plantation. No more Unshackled attacks had occurred, nor had any clue as to her uncle’s whereabout been unveiled. For Harper, it was an uneventful fortnight. Yet, the desire to go home only grew stronger.

  At her current earnings, it would be just over three years before she was able to purchase a suitable core. Quick by most people’s standards, being a concentrated effort to save with only herself and Briar to support, but not fast enough for her liking.

  Perhaps she had gotten too complacent with danger the past few months, because she was taking a risk. Harper rode her replacement horse, a chestnut named Rusty, on what could generously be called a trail. It was not a path taken often, usually only once a month or so.

  An aether nexus sat somewhere a few miles to her east. A nexus was a site where the aether gathered in dense quantities. Domain creatures benefitted greatly just from being near them. As a result, it was not uncommon for these areas to be especially dangerous, to humanoid and creature alike.

  Chances were, a Magnate creature made its lair in the center. Such creatures rarely left after claiming such a spot. They would usually stay until one of two things happened; the first being the creature’s death, either at the hands of many other less powerful creatures attacking it, or another Magnate creature. This was far and away the most common outcome.

  The second was significantly rarer. Eventually, they would become an ascended creature. Less than a fraction of a fraction of creatures became ascended. Even creatures manifesting Apex Domains were more common. Usually, a creature that ascended already held an Apex Domain.

  Ascension was how true terrors like the Ebon King were born. Surviving at a nexus for an extended time was the most well-known way for creatures to ascend, but there were thought to be two others, one known, one suspected, both as fiendishly difficult for a creature to accomplish.

  Fortunately, this nexus was not a particularly powerful one. Potentate creatures were almost never seen near this one; the aether likely wasn’t dense enough for them to benefit an appreciable amount. Still, single Domain creatures and Magnate creatures passed through here somewhat frequently. She needed to be quick about this.

  Amelia had protested her taking on this assignment, but Harper had been insistent. The older woman had reluctantly given her the rundown on how to do it as safely as possible. While attacks were more common on this task then most, the risk wasn’t excessive.

  The first rule was not to engage with any creature, even if she was confident in her chances of defeating them. It was practically guaranteed another nearby creature would be drawn by the fight and ambush the winner. Another reason the area was so dangerous.

  This was also a point in her favor. As long as she ignored others creatures, they should ignore her for fear of something else being drawn in. Such was inevitable near the center, but the outskirts of the nexus were something of a no-man's land, territory too far away from the densest parts to be worth fighting over.

  The next guideline was to be as fast as possible. The sooner one got to the hermit’s cottage, the better. For whatever reason, the surrounding creatures gave his home a wide berth. If a creature were to make aggressive moves towards her, she was to either make a run for the cottage or back away from the nexus, whichever was closest.

  The last was to be extremely vigilant of her surroundings. Not just creatures that could appear from around her, but from over and under as well. All manner of things could jump out of the canopy above. Some kinds of snakes were known to drop on their victim’s heads, various rodents could be waiting in swarms, or in the worst case, a large cat stalking from the branches.

  Below her wasn’t guaranteed to be safe either. Subterranean creatures such as moles and giant worms could pop out of the ground. Domains gave these creatures digging power that their mundane counterparts just couldn’t match. She kept a close eye on the occasional hole, veering around the unusually large ones. This specific nexus was closely aligned with the Telluric Domain; it was no surprise such creatures were more common here.

  Briar struggled in his pouch as soon as she entered the area. Harper did her best to calm him down, but he would not stay still. She supposed it made sense. An area good enough for Magnate creatures would be fantastic for single Domain creatures like Briar. She wouldn’t be surprised if Briar could ascend after spending a few months in a place like this. Unfortunately, his chances of survival during those months were close to zero.

  There were only two encounters. A herd of deer spotted her from afar and stared at her as she rode a wide detour around them. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought they were the same herd that she and Vayuhn had encountered that had the doe with an Apex Domain of Nature. The distance was too great to make out specific details.

  The second was a possibly close call. While scanning the canopy for threats, she thought she spotted movement three trees ahead. She quickly backed away and circled around the tree, watching the area all the while. Harper wasn’t certain there was even something there, but was unwillingly to take any risks.

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  As Harper spotted the small cottage, her shoulders relaxed. She should be safe here. Harper quickly checked her aetherspace, making sure that the anaconda was regrowing correctly. If a core was too damaged, it usually couldn’t be used to grow another at all. Rarely though, it still could, but the creature grew wrong. It was not dissimilar to a genetic defect.

  The body within was within her expectations. She had only started again the day before. Most of the pain was gone, and opening her aetherspace had become easy again. True to her word, the delegation’s leader, Amice Green, had provided her with the materials to begin growing her Alius. Whenever Harper had sufficient space to absorb more, Amice would provide.

  Harper took a short break to tether her horse before opening the door and strolling right in. Amelia had been very clear on this part to Harper. The hermit hated being disturbed, and would rather someone walk in and wait for him to be done with whatever he was doing than knock on the door and disrupt his concentration.

  The building was not very large, and seemed to have only a few rooms. The garden on the other side was larger than the house itself. The furniture was all wood carved and worn. No fireplace was visible. She supposed that if he was a Potentate, as the rumors said, he wouldn’t need one.

  The atoran hermit himself sat at a table, a bowl in front of him. His skin was slate gray and his eyes violet. One of the exterior gills his race was known for was missing. Only a ragged scar in its place. He didn’t even look up as she entered, just watching the contents of the bowl intently. The bowl was full of a clear liquid, likely water, with something green and clear sitting within.

  Is that an emerald? She wondered. Harper stood there, prepared to wait for hours if need be. She had been warned beforehand. It was not uncommon for the hermit to make the couriers wait. Not maliciously, as her uncle had done before her ambush, but rather that his work took priority above all else.

  Occasionally couriers even ended up staying the night. As long as it was necessary, and they didn’t bother him, the hermit didn’t care. Although, they were expected to leave the first thing the next morning.

  After a while, Harper sat in the nearby chair. It was unclear how staring at a jewel in water was related to alchemy, but she didn’t doubt there was some connection. She had heard too much about his concoctions to think him daft.

  The young woman settled in to do her aetherspace expansion practice. It was a boring, but necessary exercise. She already had twice as much area to work with as when she first manifested the Aquatic Domain. That was even accounting for the space she had to sacrifice for her ring.

  Two hours later, he moved. Harper watched as he picked up the bowl, and put it in his aetherspace. He closed his eyes and continued ignoring her. That was, if he even was aware of her presence. Holding back an exaggerated sigh, Harper went back to her exercise.

  Another hour later, he moved again. She watched as he took both bowl and crystal out of his aetherspace, and threw it at a nearby wall. He frowned, and walked over to a nearby book, jotting down something.

  Harper was just about to go back to her practice, assuming she’d be in for another wait before he spoke, neither looking at her or discontinuing his notetaking. “I have three potions prepared today. I will get them momentarily. I have something for that lingering aetherspace damage as well. Foolish girl, getting your Alius killed. You couldn’t have manifested the Aquatic Domain more than a few months ago.”

  Harper just stared in stunned amazement. She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. She scrambled to figure out how he knew so much. Maybe the previous couriers told him? No, the last courier to make this trip was someone I don’t even know. Why would he tell the hermit about me?

  Nothing about her appearance should have given it away. The only way he should have been able to tell something like that was with the Apex Astral Domain, something supremely rare. From the many rumors surrounding him, she knew that he already had a different Apex Domain.

  The hermit scribbled the last of his notes down, and put the book down. He went to the other room, to gather his concoctions. Not having any answers, Harper watched him go. She eyed the thrown bowl. Crouching next to it, she inspected the small puddle that had formed on the floor.

  Following a hunch, she infused aether into it. Sure enough, the water accepted her infusion readily. As she had suspected, it wasn’t mundane water, but aether water. Aether water was used as a solution in proper alchemy. The novice alchemy that she practiced was not advanced enough to make use of such a material.

  The old atoran man walked back in, setting a bundle of potions on the table. He took one and handed it to Harper. “Drink.” He commanded.

  Harper barely hesitated. While she didn’t exactly trust him, if he wanted to harm her, she was fairly certain there was nothing she could do about it. There was little point in poisoning her. “Now, open your aetherspace.”

  Harper did as he bid. The misty white portal opened up next to her. He stood there, staring at her and her aetherspace’s opening intently. She shifted uncomfortably, but did not otherwise move. He didn’t react.

  The light pain that had been a constant when she opened her aetherspace began to fade. It was already mild enough that she barely noticed, but after a few minutes it seemed to be gone entirely. A weight she didn’t know she held felt like it was dropped from her shoulders. She was healed. She was not permanently damaged.

  She grinned despite herself. Harper had needed this. While she had known logically that she would eventually heal, a small part of her worried as the pain remained. That worry was gone. A giddiness that was not appropriate to the situation was acknowledged and pushed down.

  She gave the man a slight curtsey. “Thank you.” It was all she could think to say. The man stared for a moment longer before nodding.

  “You’re welcome. See that it doesn’t happen again. And let that creature out. Its scratching in your bag has been driving me insane.” Harper looked down in surprise. The sounds from Briar were so faint that she tuned them out completely. She had occasionally reached in and rubbed his back, but for the most part she left him to his own devices. Doing as the hermit said, she took him out of the pack, placing him on the ground.