It appeared that Alcaestus hadn’t learned enough or to the satisfaction of Adras.

Though, frustratingly for him and all but one of the students there had been zero glimpses behind the curtain.

Till the end they didn’t know why they had failed and Dorian had succeed.

It was the tall, broad-shouldered, orange-haired young lordling from a cold land on a cold world that earned a journey to Othrys, First of Its Name and the right to be next Eidolon of Adras.

News of Dorion’s ultimate success would take years to reveal itself.

Till then, Al bid farewell to his fellow students.

To his surprise, several proclaimed him friend and elicited promises to meet again one day when they had risen in their chosen class and perhaps adventure or war together in the constant contests between the many Gods and pantheons vying for supremacy throughout the unnumbered worlds connected in the spires’ web.

For his part, Al found himself back on his home world in the great forests near Adrasia on the Verdant Sea.

They establish a hunter’s camp on the edge where forest met the great plains that resemble one of it’s blue namesakes. Instead of cold, wet waves rising and crashing, the head-high grass undulated with the great wind blowing in from the flat coast well-beyond the horizon.

“Remember, never cross the Verdant Sea on foot or on animal back, unless you manage to tame a behemoth. Serpents thick around as my thigh slither through the stalks, packs of land raptors prey on the serpents and are preyed on in turn, giant death moles burrow deep, but are never too far away. They can sense your steps, you see and can swim through even hard dirt like the great blue deaths that prowl the seas depths,” Theron chuckled, “made a little rhyme.”

Al hadn’t quite caught it.

“But we walked it? Were we unbothered because of your presence?”

“Correct. It does make hunting difficult,” Theron sighed. “Normal creatures sense my somewhat divine presence and know to flee.”

“But monsters don’t.”

“It’s the flip of a coin when it comes to monsters, but the general rule is that the closer in power a monster is to me the more likely they are to seek their deaths. Then again some monsters will attack regardless of anything,” he shrugged boulder-like shoulders.

In the years since they had first met the lavender color on Theron’s arms had crept up to said shoulders and were encroaching from the edges of his face. The eidolon bore a passing resemblance to the spindly hooting creatures that dwelt in the highest, thinnest branches of the great trees in the forest.

“If crossing the Verdant Sea is fraught then how do people do it. I’m aware that there are frequent trade caravans and travel to and from this frontier to the rest of Adras’ lands.”

“And what do you know of said travel and how it is undertaken?”

Al took a long moment to remember what he had seen on his journey from Adrasia on the River Icthyion through several smaller towns and villages, across the grass sea to Adrasia on the Verdant Sea and finally to this farthest frontier from civilization.

“Ships. Air and land,” he remembered his first up close look. Being on the Icthyion meant that regular ships and boats were what passed through. Of airships he only had vague memories of one of the other orphans pointing out the dark smudge in the sky. At the time it looked like any other bird to him.

“Why do they not use air ships exclusively? There are dangers in the air, but in lesser number than those in the Verdant Sea.”

“Why indeed?” Theron mused.

Al couldn’t remember if this was covered in his lessons, so he employed the methods he had been taught to exercise when presented with a problem and no answers.

“Sky stones are rare. The amount it takes to hold one ship aloft a thousand meters above the ground can hold many ships aloft a handful of meters. Facing danger allows for combat experience and levels. Creature parts hold further value. Lastly, deaths are factored into the counts and must be deemed acceptable otherwise the system wouldn’t remain is it does.”

“Sure some people die, but on the whole, we Adrasians benefit more at the end of the calculation.”

“I have an additional question.”

“Yes?”

“We are to hunt… but the creatures will flee from your presence.”

“Not the one I’m hoping you’ll get to… encounter. You see, young Al, I’ll share a secret with you.”

He nodded.

“You thought that you failed. That your path to become one of us is closed. Well, you thought wrong. It would be a waste of seven years wouldn’t it if we simply turned you loose?”

“The terms stated that only one would gain the honor. Dorion triumphed rightfully.”

Theron snorted.

“Ah, but you don’t even know the criteria that was used. I know you haven’t said a word of complaint, but many of the other students did. Thank you, by the way, you’re a proper stoic scholar, warrior, soldier. The others are jealous, ha! Me, the youngest, yet I have mentored the one closest to the ideal.” Theron cleared his throat. “What do you know about how the Gods create eidolons?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s correct and I’m sorry to disappoint, but I know just as much as you. All eidolons do. We don’t remember a single thing about the process itself. Indeed, our previous life becomes akin to a history book. I remember who I was, the things I did, the people I knew, but only up here,” Theron tapped his forehead, “not in here,” he touched his chest. “The great hunter Theron, Hero of Adrasia on the Verdant Sea, Slayer of the Nemean Liger. He lived, he loved, he hunted. All of it remembered as though I read about the life of another person written down or drawn in a book. To me it seemed as though Theron the human became Theron the eidolon in an instant. Though, Adras told me that it took almost a whole year.”

“Then, I still have an opportunity?”

“Adras was typically vague about things, but we gather that if you rise to greatness then, yes, he may grant you the greatest honor and gift possible. Akanthe is of the opinion that graduating from the school puts you much closer than any of us old ones. After all, there wasn’t much separating you from Dorion.”

“The 13 Labors of Adras…”

“I knew you’d understand,” Theron smiled proudly. “That is what we gathered from Adras’ words. Perform 13 Labors in his honor, but also to display your worth. Becoming a hero won’t hurt, but any sufficiently powerful class will probably work. Half of the eidolons I personally know never got the hero class. Oh, there’s another thing. No living eidolon was below Level 60 in their primary class when Adras bestowed them.”

“What about those that fell?”

“Records… aren’t the best…” Theron shrugged.

Al found that odd.

The Administarium was ever meticulous tracking all aspects of the citizenry.

“Regardless, I won’t be able to hold your hand once you start on this path. The less aid I provide the better your list of deeds will be in Adras’ eyes. This will be the last we see of each other for a long time, perhaps the last ever. I live a dangerous life and so will you should you choose it. Remember, the choice is always yours. You already have the knowledge and base to rise quite high in our society. Many doors are open. I won’t think less of you should you decide to become a general or hunter or humble city governor.”

“I will walk your path,” he said without hesitation.

There was no other option in his mind.

To become an eidolon was the reason he had chosen to follow Theron to the school all those years ago.

“Good. And it’s your path. Now, since you haven’t technically started yet, there can be no complaints about your mentor lending a little help. One of the 13 Labors is that of hunting and slaying a mighty beast. For me it was the Nemean Liger whose pelt can be turned into clothing that cannot be cut by mundane blades. Now, it can’t be cut you say? Then how did I kill it when I was a simple hunter?”

“A snare to strangle, poison, arrow in the eye, spear inside the mouth,” Al listed the possibilities on his fingers.

“Wow, four out of four, they did a good job teaching you at that school. So much for the mystery of it,” Theron sighed. “I poisoned a fresh kill to dull his wits so that it fell for my snare trap. Then, I shot him with an arrow before it could tear loose. The mighty beast tore free and charged me with an arrow lodged in his brain. My spear found its open mouth by luck as I fell on my ass, screaming like a maiden surrounded by bandits. The impact broke my ribs and dislocated my shoulder, but the liger was dead. It took days to hike out of the forest and gather a group brave enough to help me drag the carcass back.”

“The scavengers wouldn’t have been able to pierce the hide.”

“Not without magic teeth or claws, which isn’t a given in this forest. But, no, the carcass was untouched. We dragged it back and found a tanner with the Skills and enchanted equipment to skin it, a monster parts smith to make weapons out of its bones, teeth and claws. There was a lot. More than I needed. I could’ve sold them, but I didn’t really need coin. I remembered that the men that helped me were the same men that I stole from or otherwise bothered in my youth, so as a way of thanks and amends I gave away what I didn’t need. The gear I kept carried me for many years after as I continued to hunt more dangerous beasts and monsters. Heck even the meat and organs served a purpose. Prepared right and you can take in some of the liger’s strength when you eat them, although it’s a flip of the coin. You could get stronger or gain sharper senses or you could spend the night shitting your guts out,” Theron laughed.

Nemean Ligers held a surprisingly small territory.

Granted that didn’t matter since they liked to roam and cared nothing for the territory of other monsters and beasts.

They maintained a few square kilometers as a place of rest.

One knew they were at a boundary by the amount of bones and piles of reeking waste littered all over the forest floor.

“That’s how you know they’re smarter than the average beast,” Theron whispered. “They’re like us. They don’t want to eat or shit in the same place that they lay their heads down.”

“Why are we being quiet? My understanding was that since it can sense your divine blood from a great distance then we’d be under attack right now if it was nearby.”

“True, however, this is a lesson, building good habits and such.”

“But, even if we whisper it can hear us.”

“Yes, but not all beasts are created equally. Take the Rhalrodont, practically deaf, but only to evenly spoken words for some reason. We could shout right next to it and it wouldn’t notice. The only problem is that it can hear the slightest breath.”

“Magical beasts don’t follow scientific convention,” Al nodded. “They taught us this fact.”

“Well, in any case let’s set our trap,” Theron rose and stepped carefully around the bones. Balls of his feet first slowly lowering the heel and repeating the process.

For such a large and heavy man, Theron made less noise than the much smaller Al.

Decades of experience on display.

Al took every opportunity to sear it into his memories.

They reached an enormous pool at the center of the liger’s home.

“There’s a great underground river that feeds tens of thousands of these things. Now, where should we set the trap? And best hurry. He knows we’ve invaded his home and he’ll be coming hard and fast.”

Al scanned the area for a spot they could funnel the liger into and found none.

“Now what?” Theron held his hands wide.

“Retreat and create a new plan.”

“That is the prudent decision, yet we won’t be able to get away. The beast will have our scent and it is much faster than you.”

“You can carry me and leap away.”

“True, but for the purposes of this lesson you are alone, without an eidolon to bring you to safety.”

“Stand there,” he pointed to rocks that extended into the pool like a stumpy thumb.

“Better hurry,” Theron grinned, “I think I can hear it tickling my ears.”

Al heard nothing, but instinctive fear of being eaten made the hairs on his arms and neck stand.

He recalled what Theron had said about the liger’s leaping capability, which was considerable. He counted quick strides away from Theron before halting.

Time was the enemy more than the liger… no, that wasn’t correct. The liger was definitely the worse enemy.

He hurried to set the traps.

Borrowed from Theron, each trap consisted of a thin wire connect to a trigger plate. The entire contraption was made out of enchanted mithril. The wire strengthened to be all but unbreakable and the plate made to adhere to the ground with strength in proportion to what the trapped creature would exert in the effort to escape.

He placed the three traps where he best guessed the liger would plant a paw before launching itself at Theron many meters away.

“Best get to your hiding spot,” Theron said.

Al tossed his pack and spear into the tangled roots of the nearest tree and scampered as high as he could.

He had yet to hear a sound from the liger as he touched the rune on his borrowed Stone Lord-made thinbow. The cool blackwood stock warmed as the rune worked to compress the powerful spring, which drew an enchanted mithril quill from the clip up into the launching slot.

“It’s a big one,” Theron said mildly.

For all that the eidolon had warned Al of the danger, he seemed entirely unconcerned.

The Nemean Liger leapt out of the trees on the other side of the pool.

“So much for the traps,” Theron shrugged.

The massive beast snarled as it padded toward the water’s edge.

Al studied it in the dim light filtering through the thick tree tops hundreds of meters overhead.

Even crouched low to the ground the liger’s head looked to be even with the nearly two and a half meter tall Theron’s chest. The great black mane around its head and neck made it look even bigger. Muscles rippled with every micro movement beneath a hide of brown and green stripped fur, which allowed him to blend in with the forest depths. Fangs as long as Al’s arms curved like daggers, while hooked claws peeked out of their sheaths in paws large enough to crush Al’s chest with the lightest step.

“Smaller than I remember,” Theron said. “One shot, Al. Don’t waste it.”

The liger reached the water’s edge and gathered his legs beneath him. Muscles at the shoulder and haunch rippled, coiling like the mithril spring in the thinbow.

Al aimed down the glass sights enchanted with a red dot only he could see to place on the target.

He squeezed the trigger at the same time that the liger leapt.

The quill stuck into the shoulder.

Theron received the pounce and ignored the claws and teeth to hurl the liger over his shoulder like an opponent in the wrestling pit.

The impact of the beast shook the earth and sent a cacophony of birdsong ringing throughout the forest.

The quill exploded.

The liger roared.

“Hold!” Theron roared as he leapt on the shaken liger to seize the magical beast around the neck.

The thick mane provided no armor against the divine strength handed down by the God of Strength himself.

The muscles in Theron’s bare arms coiled like massive serpents even as the liger tore up the forest floor in an effort to escape.

The eidolon was immovable.

Claws strong enough to gut one of the long-necked thundersaurs in one slash tore Theron’s chiton, but left nothing on his skin.

The liger’s great maw opened wide, yet no sound escaped.

By the time Al had made it down the tree, Theron stood with one foot atop the dead liger’s head.

“Well?”

“Well done,” he said.

“That’s it? This is the first time you’ve seen me in a real fight.”

“It wasn’t difficult.”

“True,” Theron sighed. He prodded the liger’s corpse until it rolled over to reveal the shoulder Al had shot.

The hide was marred, leaking dark blood from a hole as big as a ten-piece gold coin.

“Disappointing for a shot that cost 10000 Universal Points.”

Al’s eyes widened.

“Yup, the Stone Lords are a greedy sort. Not that I can blame them when it comes to one of those quills. Each one is handcrafted by several master artisans. One to cut and shape it from a mithril blank. One to carve the runes. One to imbue the runes and one to make sure that it doesn’t explode prematurely. I wonder how far it would’ve gone into the eye. Barely penetrated the hide.”

“Apologies for my mistake.”

“Not necessary. That was a hard shot for a high level marksman-type,” Theron stared at the dead liger.

Al mentally consulted the rules of social interactions.

Theron gave of signs that he was troubled.

“Is everything okay?”

“Just thinking as us old people tend to do,” Theron said. “I only ever hunted and killed that one liger long ago. The act that earned me the hero class to add to my hunter one. I picked up a few more over the years. Consolidated some. And lost them all when Adras granted me the greatest gift. This,” he gestured toward the liger, “seems so small now. Know this, young Alcaestus, when one leaves their home, they can never return.”

Al nodded and held the thinbow to Theron.

“Keep it for now. We won’t hunt another liger, but there are more monsters and beasts that you’d do well to practice on,” Theron lifted the massive liger as though it were a down-filled pillow and hefted it over his back and shoulders. “Come, let’s secure this back at our base camp. I think a hunt for a night howler will be fun. They like to fling their shit.”

That didn’t sound like fun.