Chapter 12

As I was about to leave the dining hall, I happened to mention that I looked forward to taking a nice, long bath after I got back to my room.

Aribella and Cora both immediately perked up and informed me that there was a public bathhouse just outside of the Dungeon Complex. Apparently, a lot of older delvers went there to relax after leaving the dungeon.

Finding both Aribella and Cora to be pleasant enough company, I agreed to join them when they suggested we visit the bathhouse together. I’d gotten over any discomfort at such an idea centuries ago.

“Did either of your old realms have a Realm Dungeon or any kind of elite training facility for potential ascenders?” I asked as we lounged in a hot bath infused with cleansing herbs.

The water was being constantly filtered and circulated, keeping everything fresh while whatever mix the proprietors used slowly purified our skin.

“Not that I know of,” Cora replied before looking toward Aribella, who shook her head. “If there was something like that, it was probably on Lomis – the homeworld of our realm. Mike and I never had any reason to go there, even after we reached Tier Ten. We wouldn’t have been welcome in any case, even if we had gone. I doubt they would have shared any secrets with us.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we were part of a mixed marriage,” Cora replied matter-of-factly. “The people of Lomis are very traditional. They don’t believe in the mixing of elements. Since Mike’s origin element was Earth and mine was Air, our union was even more blasphemous. Even on more progressive worlds, it wouldn’t have been accepted.”

“So, how did the two of you manage?” I asked.

“We didn’t,” she replied seriously before her expression shifted into a smile. “I’m just kidding. But really, we didn’t get together until after I obtained Darkness as my second affinity. Once I gained that, a relationship between us was no longer considered taboo by any but the staunchest traditionalists, so we were able to act on our feelings.”

“But you still couldn’t go to your people’s homeworld?”

Cora shook her head. “Not really. I mean, they wouldn’t have killed us or anything, but our backgrounds were a matter of public record, and everything is reviewed whenever someone travels. We would have been flagged the minute one of us arrived, and there was nothing there to justify the kind of harassment we would have undoubtedly faced.”

“All because you wanted to be with someone who had a different element?” I asked, feeling appalled by what she was describing.

“Well, yeah,” she said as if such behavior was normal. “I mean, there’s obviously a reason for it, even if the traditionalists take it a bit too far.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before I obtained Darkness as a second affinity, I would have never considered getting involved with Mike, no matter how much we might have liked each other. To be with someone who has an incompatible element would be the height of selfishness since it would doom any children we had to the weakest of talents.

“Granted, that isn’t always the case,” Cora clarified, “but the likelihood was so high that it would never have been worth the risk to anyone who cared about the well-being of their offspring.”

“What about Darkness and Earth? How would that combination be better than Air and Earth?” I asked.

“Because Darkness is compatible with Earth. It isn’t to the same degree that Light and Fire are compatible, but it’s pretty close. It was enough compatibility that we were able to have children and not worry that they would all be forced to start with the weakest of affinities. Did your old realm not consider such things when selecting partners?” Cora asked.

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“Not like you’re describing,” I replied. “I know that one’s element is often a factor in political marriages, but I don’t think normal people put a lot of weight into someone’s affinity when they marry.

“Keep in mind that people could be born with more than one affinity in my old realm. It wasn’t common, but awakening dual elements wasn’t rare, either.”

“I think my home realm was more like Emie’s than yours, Cora,” Aribella said. “Did the people of your home realm ever start with anything other than the basic five elements?”

“Five? There are only four. Air, Water, Earth, and Fire,” Cora replied.

“What about Metal?” Aribella asked.

“That’s an Earth-adjacent element.”