Miracles

Author’s Note: I’ve opened up a discord for the discussion and posting of my stories, so message me for an invite link if that’s something you’d be interested in!

John found his hands straying to his belt as they walked back to the entrance of the armory. If this thing really can disobey me, I need to treat it with respect. It could make the difference between life and ****.

“So, what Kingdom are you from anyway?” John asked, while he and Abigail followed their guide outside of the armory. The robotic voice heralded their exit.

“Steamy Gunsmith - no change, exit authorized. The Gamer - one item taken, exit authorized. Cherufe - no change, exit authorized.”

“I’m from Valvia. Our tech level is about the same as Earth’s. In some ways we’re better since we utilize magitech, but in many ways we’re worse. The Rider-Waites came to us seven years ago. Before they came, we subsisted mostly on whale oil to power our machinations, but they were going extinct. The guild taught us how to use mana as an energy source,” Olivia explained, unbuckling her satchel. She reached inside, getting arm-deep in the relatively small bag before coming out with a blue potion which radiated a brilliant blue light.

He took the offered potion, the colors reminding him of the holographic advertisements he had seen in Jarako. However, those lights were harsh. Unnatural. This drew his gaze. He didn’t want to look away from it. “So this is the elemental potion? It exposes my soul to elementals? Is that dangerous?”

“I don’t have much experience, but unbound elementals seldom attack people. Your aura is small, but potent. I doubt you’ll have a problem attracting many. Elementals are symbiotic. They lend you their strength for your entire life, and in return you’re expected to help them grow stronger. As a result, elementals who are stronger than you likely aren’t going to want to bond with you,” the engineer explained, rebuckling her bag. “Since this is a barrier, you can do it in here, but I’d suggest doing it somewhere more secluded. It’s also probably against guild rules.”

“How about the forest?” Abigail suggested, bouncing on her heels. She eyed the potion with curiosity, eyes dazzling at the seemingly infinite possibilities it held. “Can I watch? I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

“Sure. I’ll text the others too. See if anybody else wants to watch.” Grace had invited the roommates to a group chat shortly after the Canada trip. A quick text revealed that everyone else was busy, Amy with caring for her animals and Grace with making more stickers for the upcoming mission. Jenny was out as well, likely in the middle of a performance if her lack of a response was anything to go by. “Do you have anything you need to do to prepare?”

“I stretch before a workout sometimes.” Abigail’s response showed the beautiful simplicity in her fighting style. No ammunition to worry about, no other creatures, just her flames and her fists.

“Good enough for me.”

“If your guns are so strong, why do you want to be a martial artist so bad?” Abigail asked, clearing the trees away from the copy-barrier John had made in the forest.

“I can’t rely on having a weapon all the time. I’m bound to run out of ammo or mana sometime. It’s also nice. Sparring. It helps me think. Well… it helps me stop thinking.” John explained as he felled the last tree with a use of Fist. Abigail burned the logs and stumps away, leaving them standing in what a newcomer would see as an open field.

“Bottoms up I guess.” John uncorked and drank the potion. It was cool going down, but caused a pleasant heat in his heart. His golden aura, finally unrestrained, rolled off of him in waves. Eventually it spread out to bathe the whole barrier in a comforting glow, thinning as it swept the area.

Whether rising from a fresh hole in the ground, floating in on sudden winds, condensing from water vapor in the air, or appearing in a fiery explosion, eventually elementals of all kinds were surrounding him, chattering amongst their element and rarely to their neighbors.

“Everybody quiet!” John bellowed, causing a couple of the elementals to leave the barrier, though not nearly enough to thin their ranks. “First thing’s first. If you’re a shadow elemental of any kind, I don’t need your services. I already have that role filled.” It’s a good thing he’s a pet, so David didn’t count as an elemental for the potion’s purposes.

All of the shadow elementals and a few of the light elementals left at this news, either at his request or not willing to work with their opposite. There were still dozens of options before him, and he knew he needed to further thin the herd. He watched as an earth elemental caused the ground under him to shift, raising him up on a pillar so that he may be better heard.

“Alright, next. If your purpose is to destroy, injure, or otherwise do damage, I don’t need your services either. I’ve got plenty of that on my own.” The words hardly left his mouth when the majority of the fire elementals disappeared, along with about half of the earth and wind elementals. Few water elementals departed. This might take longer than I thought.

“Thirdly, if your purpose is to shield, or any non-combat utility, I don’t need your services.” Only a few earth elementals remained after these words, including the one who had helped him before. A sizable chunk of water and wind elementals were lost, only a few dozen of each left. The remaining few fire elementals all stayed.

“Finally, I’m an agile fighter. If you can’t keep up with me, then I won’t be able to protect you.” About half the remaining elementals left, leaving him at fifty. Of those, three were earth elementals, sixteen were wind elementals, twelve were fire elementals, and nineteen were water elementals. Time to gauge their strength, I guess.

“Good. I’m happy to see those of you who stayed. Only one of you may join me, but I hope to see you all again, some day,” John called as the pillar of earth he stood on slowly lowered. “My friend and I are going to direct you into one of two groups. Please follow her instructions as well as mine.” Then to Abigail, whispered directions, “If they’re substantially weaker than I am, direct them to the left side.”

Eight of the remaining wind elementals left, picking up his words on the breeze. In a few minutes, and with active Auric Vision, he was able to split them up accordingly. Two wind elementals, one earth elemental, eight fire elementals, and fourteen water elementals were rounded up and put into the left group. Turning to face them, he explained. “If you’re in this group, I do not need your services. Thank you for seeking me out, and don’t hesitate to come back if I call for elementals again.”
That left two earth elementals, six wind elementals, four fire elementals, and five water elementals to choose from. “If you’ve made it this far, that means either you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said or you’re exactly what I’m looking for in one way or another. I’m going to interview you individually. Please line up against the northern edge of the barrier.”

Working quickly, John created a table and three stools with Mana Construct, two for him and his pyromancer companion, and one across from them for the elemental being interviewed. He had already used Advanced Spy on each candidate and had a few strong contenders in mind, but wanted a psychological profile nonetheless.

“Starting from the right, please walk up to the table,” John called, and the Earth elemental which had helped him out was the first to be interviewed. “Alright, what’s your name?”

“My name? Glebe. I bless the ground you walk on. Heal you, make you do more damage. Also expert manipulator of ground. I make better table for you.” Glebe did just that, polished furniture of granite popping up and shattering the mana construct knock-offs. “You and me make good team. You like my previous owner. Strong. Take command. Hopefully you don’t die too easy.”

“And how did that happen?” John asked, that knowledge not available to him over Advanced Spy.

“He try to do too much. Fill himself with bullets. I can only help so much. Very sad day for me.” Though a solid contender at first, John was starting to see the cracks in the humanoid rock pile in front of him. His personality was helpful, but his communication skills were lacking. His face looked the most human and vaguely resembled a middle-aged man, clay like grey skin peeking out where pieces of rock met.

The other earth candidate was a dud. Strong, but built to destroy. Too stubborn to heed John’s words rejecting destructive elementals. His confidence eroded when Abigail abruptly stood with flames in each hand, and he turned tail, digging out of the barrier.

“Next!” John called, prompting a fire elemental to float up. Her fiery form shone as though made of plasma, and she wore a cowboy hat and vest made of shifting flame. A belt and jeans made from the same completed her outfit. “Name?”

“Cinder, sir. I can use the warmth of a hearth to heal you, make the battlefield harder for your enemies to navigate, and turn the odds of battle in your favor if you’re outnumbered. My previous master tended to do quite well in unfavorable situations because of me,” Cinder explained, taking off her hat and placing it over her barely covered chest.

“Speaking of your previous master, what happened to him?” John probed, unsure if he believed the meek disposition. It seemed unlike all of the other fire elementals he had dealt with thus far.

“He retired a long time ago, sir. It was 1831 by the calendar used at the time,” Cinder responded, putting her hat back atop her ponytailed head. “If you choose me, I will no doubt be of great value to you.”

“I’ll take that under consideration. Next!” The remaining elementals were unremarkable, save for a single water elemental and a single wind elemental.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my good man. You may call me Mistral! My effects on battle are subtle but pronounced. Make you a bit faster here, shift an enemy projectile or spell there. You may not even notice I’m there, and even better, neither will they.” Mistral let out an airy yet ominous laugh as he finished, hanging off the earthen chair luxuriously. True to his word, he faded in and out of view. Flowing apart to be invisible and coming together to resemble a cloudy Michelin Man wearing a bowler hat. “I’ve never had a friend like you before, but you seem like fun!”

“I am Spate, and I seek to service you via torrents of healing and expert water manipulation. I was recently created, but I know I can help you well given the chance.” Spate took the form of a curvy woman in a loosely hanging blue dress. She sipped steaming water from a teacup made of ice.

“You’ve all done well, but I’ve narrowed it down to four candidates. Glebe, Spate, Cinder, and Mistral, you four stay while I think. The rest of you may go. I hope you all find people to bond with soon. As for the others,