Hmm... Aisha, and glossaries, eh?

I'll be doing the top three.

How to tell her story... hm hm hm...

Wee~hee~hee~

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Kintab's Recluse, on the way to the Mana Pylon.

Cavaron, Pietr, and a group of ten burly men were carrying a large obsidian-like core across the dig site. Tania suggested using a carriage but it broke down when they did so being unable to carry the weight. Seeing that it needed 11 physically exceptional men plus a mana-reinforced champion to carry it, one can assume that its weight needs a specially crafted metallic carriage. However, they don't have the time for it so they hauled it off with their own strength.

"How much further until the Mana Pylon?" Pietr asked the person leading them. Agrithos was in front of them having the crowd of onlookers part to give way.

Agrithos, without looking back, yelled, "At this pace? Around fifteen minutes!" In fact, the speed of the group carrying the > was relatively faster compared to when an ordinary person carries something heavy. The >'s weight was evenly spread amongst the twelve men.

Cavaron mustered enough strength to speak, "Teacher, we only need to bring it close to the pylon. There is no need to bring it inside. We just need to bring the afflicted outside at the same time within the pylon's area of influence!" Cavaron is steadily draining his mana to achieve this task, and has no idea how much more he can safely expend.

No more than fifteen minutes later, the group has arrived at the presence of the Mana Pylon.

"Quite a sight."

"How did the Archs build this thing?"

"Ahh... I feel my powers returning."

"This feels soothing. I want to stay here."

The other members of the Rusvich Army followed to see what Cavaron will do to the >. Tania was right by the entrance to the pylon and was curious about the inside.

"Okay. Lets set it down there." Cavaron said as he pointed his head to a flat, open area. The group of twelve set down the core, and had Pietr and the soldiers back off to give the afflicted space to lay down on.

Cavaron turned to Agrithos, "Teacher, you can bring them out." and said "Lay them around the core and we will begin."

Agrithos called for the other Archaeologists to help him. One by one, the afflicted people whom Cavaron saw when he first came into the pylon, were brought outside and laid around the >. After the last one was brought out, Agrithos came with two other Archaeologists with the soulless Wynn.

"Wynn..." Tania gasped her friend's name with worry. Pietr was by her side and put his hand on her trembling shoulder. "Worry not, my dear. I am sure Cavaron is about to do something that will save her." Pietr eased his daughter's heart and looked at Wynn and the >.

Shamira flew down next to Cavaron, "Is her soul still inside?" and asked him.

Cavaron reactivated his

Shamira smiled at what Cavaron planned, "This One's > dost not need to be shed per person. It can be invoked as heavenly rain."

>. It is one of the many abilities of a >. It is a revival elixir-like ability that can resurrect intended targets. As long as the body is intact and the soul has not gone on too far away, soulless beings can be revived. This was what Cavaron aimed to do when he first heard of Wynn's predicament and summoned Shamira.

Agrithos had Wynn's body next to the core. After that, "Everyone! Please step back for a bit so Shamira can do her job!" Cavaron shouted to the others. Immediately, Tania, Pietr, Agrithos, the onlooking Archaeologists and Rusvich Army form a circle with a radius of 50 meters. Right in the middle was the > and the afflicted.

Shamira once more flew up, directly above the core. The moment her voice left her throat, white clouds covered the area. Shamira sang a powerful song of life that nobody could understand yet they were able to feel the effects. From the pearly white clouds, clear rain fell and drenched the area around the core. As the song continued, its effects were immediately witnessed. For those without magic, they were unable to see anything. However, mages and healers alike, as well as Cavaron, Agrithos, and some Archaeologists, they all saw it. Orbs of colorful lights left the core and began drifting towards the bodies. One by one, each of the orbs entered the body of an afflicted until only one orb remained.

The last orb was glowing and drifting weakly. The direction it was headed to was the body of Wynn. Cavaron still using his > was silently praying, 'Come on, Wynn. Don't give up...' as he is unable to intervene and help her soul return to her body. By his side, Agrithos was clenching his fists in anticipation for success. Across them, Tania was just as anxious as the rest. Shamira was still singing, as if urging the soul to return to the body.

Finally, with one last push, Wynn's soul entered her body. Immediately, her body breathed in her first breath.

Silence enveloped the area, that is until Cavaron broke it.

"SUCCESS!!!" he shouted with extreme joy as he jumped up and down like a kid. "TEACHER! WYNN LIVES!!!"

Only then did the others get hit by the news.

"""OOOOHHHHHH!!!""" Cheers erupted all over the place.

*collapse*

Tania collapsed right where she stood and breathed a sigh of relief. Her strength left her legs at the thought of her friend being revived. Pietr sat next to her and brought his arm around her. "I told you he was going to do something, my dear." he said.

However, this was not yet a time of celebration, "Everyone! Let us not celebrate just yet!" Agrithos announced, "Only until the undead around the area has been cleaned out, and the afflicted have woken up, then we shall have a grand celebration! I trust that Lord Pietr and Lady Tania will attend to the former, yes?" and smiled at the Rusvich leaders.

"HAHAHA!! Of course! My comrades will surely keep this place safe, and will not tarnish the Rusvich name!" Pietr heartily said.

""" OORAAA!!! """ the members of their army cheered at what Pietr said.

'Huh?' Cavaron suddenly felt something, 'Uh-oh...' "Urgh..." and collapsed, breathing heavily.

"""Cavaron!!!""" everybody around him ran to his side.

"What happened!?" Tania asked.

As the looked at Cavaron, he was profusely sweating. It took Cavaron a while to muster enough strength to speak, "Huff... Huff... Mana... Huff... Rebound... Urgh... I used... too much mana... gahaa..." and struggled to speak, "I... just need to rest... geho! Teacher... haa... mind if I sleep... in the pylon..?"

Agrithos was in a daze and had someone slap himself out of it, "Huh!? Ah, yes, of course! You! Carry him inside, now!" and ordered a nearby guard to bring Cavaron inside the pylon. Tania was torn between Cavaron and Wynn, and didn't know who to attend to. In the end, Pietr had to settle it for her, "Tania, attend to Wynn Osfort. Her condition is worse than Cavaron's. As he said, he just needed sleep." Tania hesitantly nodded, and went off to Wynn to bring her inside the pylon.

Upon arrival, Cavaron asked the guard to bring him to the place where Wynn's body was put. The door in Agrithos' office was left open giving them easier access to the area. After arriving at the altar surrounded by smaller pylons, he slept.

Cavaron took a full day's rest to recover his mana. Once he woke up feeling refreshed, he meditates to feel his mana reserves. 'Haha... I was right to sleep here. I have more than a week's worth regained...' Because of the mana being bombarded at his sleeping body at regular intervals, he was able to absorb more than the usual amount in a day's rest.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

Cavaron heard footsteps headed his way. Breaking from his meditation, he opened his eyes towards the corridor to Agrithos' office and waited for the visitor. A few seconds later, the visitor was his teacher, Agrithos.

"I see you've awoken. Pray tell, how do you feel?" Agrithos asked his student.

A grin appeared on Cavaron's face, "Haha! If I sleep here for a week, I could gather enough mana to leave here on my own. With just this rest, I have a week's worth!" and replied happily.

Agrithos smiled at his answer, "Well? Shall we go see Wynn?" and offered to visit his granddaughter.

"Has she woken up?" Cavaron verified her condition.

Agrithos shook his head, "Sad to say, even a full day's rest in the pylon, she has yet to wake up." and replied.

Cavaron placed his hand on his chin, "Let's go, then. Maybe I could do something to help... er, where's Shamira?"

Hearing her name, Shamira flew down from the ceiling, "Yes? Dost thou need something?" and asked.

"Oh, good. I suppose you also recovered mana from staying here?"

She nodded, "This One recovered quite a lot. This Mana Pylon is an interesting construct."

Agrithos smiled at Shamira's comment, "Thank you. Want to know how it does so?" This question made Shamira and Cavaron turn their heads making Agrithos smile even more.

"Mana Pylons are special artifacts from an ancient empire. Cavaron, you should have known this from our lectures before. Anyway, who made them is of no issue, but how it was made and how it works is the bigger question. These massive artifacts have a sort of core that absorbs a large amount of mana in our surroundings. This core happens to be the one you slept on." Agrithos explained and pointed at the altar where Cavaron slept.

"That core has complex circuits that we have no knowledge of and was once used as a weapon. As you can see, Kintab's recluse is fairly barren. This is due to it absorbing vast amounts of mana from the surroundings that it nearly killed the land. Fortunately, we were able to tone down its settings preventing the Volshik Plains from turning into the Volshik Wastelands. After absorbing enough mana, it sends them back out to whatever it may hit." Agrithos concluded his explanation. Agrithos looked at Cavaron to receive praise but found him tinkering with the altar.

"Cavaron! What are you doing!?" Agrithos said angrily, "Stop doing that!"

Cavaron stepped back and faced his teacher, "I was curious."

Agrithos sighed, "Haa... you never change. Anyway, we don't know how to make more of these, and we have no idea about the effects of its other settings. So, leave it alone. Just feel free to sleep here, but that's it."

"Of course, Teacher. Shall we visit Wynn?"

"Come on, my dear student."

The three of them left the altar and headed to where Wynn was resting.

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If you've properly read the previous chapters, one of them mentioned Angel Tears.