Ember of Invention

Lindle stared in shock at the class selection screen for what felt like forever. A new class, and no sign of any giant theme or relation as far as he could tell. Lindle’s class selection page had displayed the same three options for the past several years, with some variations like when he first learned magic unlocking Jotun Shaman. He had been so excited and then so disappointed that even a path relating to spellcasting had been corrupted by his heritage.

Giant classes were just so rare that any variant of a class he would qualify that existed would overtake almost any but the most exclusive of classes. Giants weren’t known for their dedication to alchemy or the arts, besides ones requiring raw strength such as smithing, so Lindle had hoped if he could find a rare enough alchemy class without a giant variant, he could finally go his own way. And he finally had! Artificer.

…

Wait, what was an Artificer? Lindle had never heard of an artificer before. All Lindle really knew was that he had unlocked it by getting the feat to sense Ethos, and he wasn’t completely sure what that was either. His first thought was that it was a crafting class because that was what he had been working towards, and a bit based on what the little guy in his hand had said, become crafter, but that didn’t confirm anything.

Lindle blinked, remembering the small creature still in his hand. He looked back down to see it staring at him, a mix of impatient and slightly confused emotions flowing off of it. Lindle guessed he had been staring at his class selection page for longer than he thought.

“Sorry! I was looking at my status. I got a feat for seeing Ethos and a new class unlocked! Do you know what an artificer is?”

It seemed to give the equivalent of a sigh.

Crafter

Lindle smiled, relieved. “I was hoping, but can you be more specific?”

It now looked confused again.

Crafter

Lindle furrowed his brow. “No, I don’t mean what kind of class, I mean what kind of crafter? Is it alchemy?”

Ethos Crafter

That was both specific and not all at once. “Ethos. Like what you’re made of? That means I can help finish you when I get my class?”

It radiated that sense of confirmation once again. That at the very least was good if that meant Lindle could help it, even if he wasn’t sure what exactly else he could do with Ethos specifically. He would be able to make little clay animals? Well, not animals, since it could sort of talk like a person.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, what’s your name? I asked earlier but you didn’t really answer me.”

It shook its head.

Unfinished.

“I assume that doesn’t mean your name literally is unfinished?” It gave him an unimpressed look. “Yeah, sorry.” Lindle laughed awkwardly. “So you weren’t given a name because you were never finished?” It confirmed that thought with a nod.

That seemed actually pretty sad. Lindle didn’t know how long it was down here, but it had to be hundreds of years at the very least, and never having even a name all that time.

“I’m sorry. Would you like me to give you one?”

NO

Lindle flinched back at the sheer vehemence and fear in that thought. So far, it hadn’t bothered sending full thoughts across to answer yes or no questions, yet this time, the idea it had shared had been absolute.

“What? Why don’t you want a name?”

Danger. Unfinished.

“It’s dangerous for you to have a name before you’re finished?” It nodded. “Why?”

It seemed to be struggling to respond. The thought was complicated, too many layers and ideas jumbled together to express in the simple form of communication they had established. It looked at him helplessly when Lindle shrugged, unable to parse it.

“It’s okay. I guess I don’t have to know right this second. But I can’t call you nothing. It’s going to be months until I get my class and can finish you, and that’s assuming I’ll be able to do it right away.”

It shrugged, giving Lindle the emotional equivalent of a ‘why not?’

Lindle tilted his head. “I can call you Nothing?” It nodded. That felt… impersonal, and potentially confusing. But Lindle guessed that was the point. If having a name was dangerous to it, impersonal was better.

“Fine, nice to meet you, Nothing?” He said hesitantly. They both waited, seeing if anything would happen, but Lindle guessed it had worked as a non-name because Nothing gave him a feeling of contentment and friendliness.

Lindle smiled back. This was amazing. He had finally unlocked exactly what he wanted, and made what seemed like a new friend. Coming to the dungeon was really…

Oh, wait… He was still in the dungeon.

Lindle looked around.

And he was trapped in a secret workshop, separated from all the adventurers who were protecting him. Crap. Well, wait, maybe Nothing could help? There had to be a point in the dungeon letting Lindle access this place, and if it wasn’t a trap, nothing in here had to try and kill him after all, maybe finding Nothing was like a secret reward?

Though of course the trap might just be that he starved to death, but there wasn’t really a point in assuming that was the case.

“Hey Nothing, do you know how to leave? There aren’t really any exits and I really don’t want to die in the dungeon before I can get my class,” Lindle asked, trying to hide the note of panic creeping into his voice.

Dungeon?

“Yeah? The dungeon we’re in right now? You didn’t know?”

Nothing shrugged.

Asleep.

Lindle blinked. When Nothing had said awake, Lindle guessed he didn’t realize that Nothing might have been asleep the entire time his home had been a dungeon zone.

“Well, it’s pretty dangerous, so I’m trying to find a way out. Do you want to come with me? I mean, I can’t really fix you if I’m back home when I get my class and you’re still here…”

Will Come. How Enter?

“Oh um. Well, I put my hand on this weird stone door in a wall, and I… guess did something with my Ethos and I appeared in here. I didn’t really do it on purpose though. And I can’t see any more of those doors.”

Look with Ethos?

Oh! Lindle hadn’t looked around using his new feat except for himself and Nothing yet. Lindle concentrated. It was a strange feeling. This Ethos sense almost faded into the background when he didn’t focus on it, it felt like it was giving him the exact same information he would get from simply looking at something using it. The Ethos of the floor was just floor, the idea of the floor popping into his mind, just the same as the concept of a floor in his head he thought of when just looking at it with his eyes or other senses.

Some things were different though, Nothing and Lindle himself he had already seen with his Ethos sense in a new way, but also his pouch. Lindle could sense Ethos swirling inside of his potions and bombs, the ideas behind their purpose and identity as alchemical tools felt the same as the mundane objects around them, but there was also something special about them that made the Ethos inside of them active or denser. Lindle would need to run some tests later to see why that was, but he needed to focus on the other thing he could sense.

At the far back of the room, Lindle could now see the same sense of connections and journeys he had felt on the door from earlier. It was Ethos, but far denser and more active than any other Ethos Lindle had senses, but he was having a hard time picking apart what else he was sensing in it that felt different aside from that, but it was different, complex and structured in a way that reminded him of a spell structure.

Lindle stood up with Nothing in his hand. “I can sense it now. The same kind of Ethos that brought me here is over there.” Lindle felt Nothing send him encouragement. He walked over and placed his hand against the wall.

“Oh, before I try and get us out, I came here with a couple of other adventurers. I thought I should warn you before you see each other, but they’re really nice. Do you want to meet them?”

Lindle felt Nothing begin contemplating, curling even further into the spellfire Lindle kept burning in his palm.

Safe?

“Yeah, they’re really strong. They’ve been protecting me. We’ll be safe with them.”

Nothing thought for a few more seconds, before giving Lindle a nod. Lindle smiled encouragingly before he turned his attention to the Ethos in the wall.

There still wasn’t any door, but maybe it was just the exit to the door and it was on the other side? Lindle could still sense the Ethos there, and as he touched it, Lindle could feel his Ethos press against it. They waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Lindle had done something with his Ethos to make the door move him, hadn’t he? He had made the flavor of his Ethos match that of the door, sort of like a key fitting a lock, or a password. Lindle felt around inside of his Ethos before he had somehow grabbed it. Lindle could move his Aura and Mana Points around, so he assumed it would be similar, but Ethos didn’t seem to gather together into individual points like Aura or Mana. Honestly, he was just guessing, but he didn’t really have any better options, so he tried anyway.

Lindle recalled the same mental exercises the shamans had taught him in order to take hold of the points of energy inside of his pools and tried to control his Ethos. As he did, it seemed like he just pinched a small part of it and the rest remained unchanged. Maybe if he treated his Ethos all as one big point? He took a deep breath and took hold of all of his Ethos at once, thinking of everything he was, holding it all together, pushing it against the Ethos of the door, and he tried to copy it. He let the door act as a guide, holding the flavor of it in his mind.

It was slow, and he lost hold more than once, but eventually, he felt something between him and the door snap into place. He was thrust into the strange absolute void again, but now instead of completely nothing, he could feel Nothing in his hand press against him, against his Ethos? Lindle snorted at the irony of feeling Nothing instead of nothing before the world reappeared.

He landed back in the library office, hand pressed against the door. Lindle pulled it away quickly, disconnecting his Ethos, and looked around. He could see Chip, Dorothea, and Theodore all staring at him. Directly behind him, with his sword raised and stopped mid-swing before he could hit Lindle was Rosato.

Lindle shrunk back, before raising a hand and awkwardly waving before he could stop himself. “Hey guys.”

Nothing raised a black pseudopod and waved too.