“These baseball skills are working out a lot better than I expected,” Harvey said as they walked back to the church.
“You’re the one who told to go this route,” Tyler replied.
“I know, but I thought it would take a while for things to start clicking into place. I didn’t think they’d start to sh until you hit F-Grade.”
This ti, the guards in front of the silver gates looked confused, but didn’t ask questions. Nobody else was moving on and off the battlefield, all trying to rest before the battle began anew in the morning. It was already past dinnerti, and Harvey had so much he wanted to do before they ventured out again.
“Your turn, Dad,” Tyler said. “What are you planning?”
Steve sighed before turning to them with a weak smile. “I don’t know. You kids seem more prepared for this world than I am.”
“We’ve had practice,” Harvey assured. “None of us ever thought it’d be real, but we’ve fantasized about getting magic powers ever since we played our first video ga.”
“When I was a kid, we fantasized about becoming professional athletes or astronauts. Now, I have the body of a hall of far, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
“That’s what the paths are for,” Cash interjected. “Blazing your own trail isn’t for everyone, and following in the footsteps of giants can still be extrely powerful.”
Steve looked at the angel, slowly nodding. “Alright, sure!”
“What’s next on the nu for a traditional sentinel?” Harvey asked.
“Well, your father skipped step 1 when he chose to mimic the ophanim, so I’d suggest a simple shield skill. One that covers a wide area instead of only protecting himself,” Cash answered.
“Every sentinel’s bread and butter,” Steve chuckled, his voice going deeper as he seed to imitate soone.
“Julian, my friend that I told you about, had a skill like that. His was made of flas, but it’s the sa concept.”
“Was it strong?” Steve asked.
Harvey thought about his friend. Always standing in the front. Always putting himself in danger first so the rest of us wouldn’t have to. Harvey did his fair share in the trial, but he wasn’t the one who stood up to Marcus. His shield was strong, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.
Sensing his hesitation, Julius put a comforting nudge on his soul.
“Yeah, it was,” Harvey smiled.
The air hung heavy for a mont, only the creaking of their armor breaking the silence as they walked until Tyler spoke up again.
“What about your second skill?”
“There are a few routes people generally take. Movent skills to rapidly reposition, weapon skills, ranged attacks… I kind of like the idea of a suppression skill similar to the ropes that demon used against Harvey.”
“I don’t know. Those were a little too kinky for a holy warrior,” Harvey joked.
Steve and Tyler both looked at him with a mix of horror and confusion, neither being present when Harvey had been tied to the ground during their last fight.
“Oh my gosh,” Cash grumbled. “I’m thinking more along the lines of chains that trip up your targets.”
“I like that. Then I can use them to chain these boys' mouths closed whenever they use the word kinky in front of their father.”
Ignoring the remark, Cash continued. “A lot of sentinels use skills like that, and so even manage to combine other concepts like disrupting essence flow or sealing skills altogether.”
“There are skills that take your magic away?” Tyler asked.
“That’s peak dad energy right there,” Harvey laughed.
Steve clapped, pumping his fist close to his body in a sharp burst of excitent. “That’s it. That’s the one.”
Returning to the chapel, Steve put his hands on the Loom. Unlike his sons, who tended to rush through the process, Steve appeared to be taking a stroll down mory lane. Harvey couldn’t see the visions until they were added as a potential component, but he could see his father scanning the rainbow haze with a huge smile on his face.
“Cash, can the Loom show you mories that you’ve forgotten?” Harvey asked.
The angel looked at him quizzically. “How can you forget your own mories?”
“Like, could I see things from when I was a baby, even though I was too young to rember it?”
“Umm… I don’t actually know. That’s a good question.”
Steve let himself get misty-eyed for a few minutes before visions began appearing in the space between. The first to join his Mark of the Devout showed Harvey using Innovator’s Arsenal to intercept the infernal drake’s flas. His projected shield hadn’t lasted long, but it was enough to keep him and the cone of collateral damage behind him safe before he was flung into the distance. Second ca the do shield Varek had used to block the heaven’s wrath orbs Steve and Tyler had thrown off the rooftop. His use of greed made that particular shield far stronger than anything his dad would create in the G-Grade, but Harvey figured it was still a strong component.
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The third showed Steve and Tyler standing in Harvey’s bunker, both frozen in fear as snakes and hellhounds bore down on them. The view outside their shooting windows was pure hellish chaos, yet they were protected. Harvey knew his father would be bit by a Nahashim serpent in less than a minute, but that part wasn’t important here.
Harvey was surprised by the next one. It was from his father’s perspective, looking down at Cassandra holding a tiny baby Eleanor in her arms. He saw himself straining to climb the side of the hospital bed, desperately trying to see his new baby sister. They were still inside the hospital, and Eleanor still looked like a wet, scrunched-up raisin. Still, Harvey could see in his own child eyes just how loved she was. In the vision, Steve picked him up so Harvey could get a good look at her. They were talking about sothing, and even though Harvey couldn’t rember what was said, he rembered the love he felt.
“A father would die for his sons,” Tyler began.
“And kill for his daughter,” Harvey laughed.
“It’s good to rember what you’re fighting for,” Cash agreed.
One by one, the visions sank into the loom. Gold and silver spools thrumd to life, releasing a torrent of thread that weaved into the shape of a large tower shield. The image embedded itself on his left bicep, connecting to his weave with a flash of golden light. Steve walked towards them, the screen appearing before anyone needed to ask.
Skills
Paternal Aegis | G Grade | Uncommon:
Having children is easy. Protecting them is not. Yet, it falls upon the father to provide and protect, giving his progeny the chance to grow into their own paths. Conjure a barrier of holy essence fueled by your Willpower and strengthened while protecting your own family. Durability scales with Vitality and Willpower.
“How does it know when you’re protecting family?” Harvey asked.
“The System works in mysterious ways. That’s a good skill,” Cash said.
Steve had stowed his shield once they’d returned to Heaven, so it took a second for him to strap it on tight. The golden shield on his bicep flared as a barrier sprang up around it, extending the coverage until all three of them fit behind it. It was subtle, but the barrier appeared to condense slightly when Harvey moved next to his father, proving the skill could really sense their connection.
Steve marveled at it, letting it dissipate and conjuring new ones in rapid succession.
“Should we do a little testing?” Tyler asked.
“Later. I’m starving and could do with a kiss from my wife,” Steve replied.
“Gross,” Tyler chuckled.
Walking back to the Loom, Steve set to work on his second skill. The concept they’d created was solid, but he lacked firsthand experience chaining people up. The mories he chose appeared mostly theoretical, mainly showing classes he’d attended prior to Harvey’s arrival in the trial.
Two of the visions were occasions Harvey rembered. The first showed his father taking his sister’s bedroom door off the hinges. He couldn’t rember why she was in trouble, but that had been the one and only ti his parents had ever needed that type of heavy-handed discipline with her. The second showed Harvey and Tyler playing so video ga on the couch together. Their father ca up behind them, snatching both controllers out of their hands before unplugging the console and carrying it up to his bedroom. They were on sumr break and had been ignoring their father's repeated requests to “get off the damn ga and mow the lawn.” Both thought they could talk their way out of being forced to leave the air-conditioned living room, but Steve wouldn’t take no for an answer. They were going to do what he asked, whether they liked it or not.
“What? I thought you were the only one who got grounded?” Tyler exclaid.
“We’ve argued about this for years. We were both playing, not just ,” Harvey replied, exasperated.
“No. I distinctly rember…”
“Look at the evidence! It’s right in front of you!” Harvey complained.
“Dad must be rembering it wrong,” Tyler grumbled.
“We could settle so many debates with this,” Harvey continued, pointing at the loom.
Keeping with the the, gold and silver thread wound into a simple chain that encircled Steve’s right wrist, making him look like a rapper who wanted to look like he had money on his wrist without being able to afford the real thing. Steve grimaced with pain, massaging the tender skin as he walked over.
“Sick drip pops,” Tyler began. “I didn’t know you…” His voice was muffled as links shot out of his father’s hand, wrapping around Tyler’s head and holding his mouth shut.
“Is there so sort of angel child protective services up here?” Steve asked Cash as Tyler complained, reaching up to tug on the chain.
“I hope…” Harvey stopped as he, too, was wrapped in chains. A single tug snapped the tal, the G-Grade skill no match for his F-Grade strength. “Not. Geez, Dad, I was backing you up.”
“Sorry. It’s going to take a lot of self-control for to stop doing that.”
“Ehh, Tyler’s old enough. I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Cash laughed as Tyler continued to struggle. Between them, a screen popped up showing the skill’s description.
Skills
Grounded | G Grade | Uncommon:
Sotis you have to lay down the law, both to protect people from themselves and what you’ll do if they keep disobeying you. Conjure a simple golden chain that constricts nearby limbs after impact. This chain restricts movent and disrupts the flow of essence through nearby sections of the target's weave. Chain durability and essence disruption scale with Vitality and Willpower
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