This has been in my drafts folder for ages. I've always headcanoned that armor customization is done by the Hero literally reforging/reweaving/resmithing their existing gear. Since my Riese even has a prior background in smithing even before Yulgar (plus normal needlework skill), it felt natural.
For people who aren't into the Inn challenges, Elpis is one of the rewards from the Pandora Gauntlet. They're the Elemental Spirit of Hope and, if you look closely, a familiar face.
"Those are an unusual set of spirit-looms."
"You think so? I wanted to try making new ones but… these turned out pretty different, didn't they?"
She hadn't exactly meant to make a new set of spirit-looms. It was supposed to be just another typical Wednesday for her as Hero of Falconreach, dedicated to more intensive weapons and armor maintenance after a grueling morning spent brushing her dragon's teeth. It was over the course of maintaining her various sets of spirit-looms that she'd come across the original schematic Tomix had drawn for her back when she'd first started learning soulweaving (inasmuch as what she did could be called soulweaving) and gotten an idea. A whim.
Now, all three of her usual sets of spirit-looms lay on her workbench, very different to the ones she currently wore. Instead of fully encompassing the hand, these spirit-looms were more akin to fingerless gloves, with separate thimbles protecting her fingertips. Rather than reaching past her elbows, these stopped around the forearms. They weren't quite finished, she still had to slot in the gems, but they already looked quite distinct from the ones she normally wore as a Soulweaver, Master Soulweaver, or even Chaosweaver. They were still unmistakably spirit-looms but… different.
"I just wanted to try making a set that's more… my style, I guess." She tilted her head as she considered the gauntlet she wore, flexing her fingers this way and that. "Picking locks is a bit tricky in my other looms. I wanted to make something less… restrictive. I remember his looked a bit like this before… " Her voice trailed off as she turned to look at them, Elpis, the ethereal, six-armed Elemental Spirit of Hope looking rather incongruous against the mundane background of her house's workshop, their subtly-shifting colors standing out starkly against her muted furnishings.
"I am surprised to see you up and about, Elpis," she had to say. While Elpis always seemed content to help assist her in combat or quests, they seemed to prefer to hang around in her inventory the rest of the time, odd as that might've sounded (her inventory was very comfortable, it had hammocks). She was decently sure this was their first time talking while she was in casual wear, a blouse and skirt, currently paired with metal-working goggles and a blacksmith's apron. "You don't have to stick around, you know? I'm staying in today."
"I enjoy spending time with you," they said simply. "Is my company unwelcome?"
"No, no, of course not!" She flashed them a smile. With Hae and Aloe busy given the weekday and Adriel sulking over his dentalcare, any company was welcome. "In fact… you're an Elemental Spirit, so you must've been a Soulweaver once, right?"
"I must have."
"What do you think?" She brandished the spirit-looms. "Do you think these'll work?"
They nodded towards the gems she'd yet to slot in. "There is an easy way to find out.
"Hah. You're right, of course." Feeling a bit more emboldened, she used a flicker of Cryptic telekinesis to slot the gem into place, Elpis quietly watching over her shoulder. To her relief, the gauntlet quickly came alive, a soul-claw manifesting from the jewel, shorter than she was used to but there all the same.
"Well done," Elpis said, voice approving, their body tinged a soft, sunny yellow. "How do they feel?"
"Pretty good," she said, humming a little as she touched the gem with her other hand, feeling it hum beneath her fingers before bringing the gauntlet up to her face, eyeing the claws critically. "They're a bit… short, though, don't you think?"
"They are functional," was their answer. "They would likely pass muster at Edelia and anywhere else."
"I suppose…" Well, if it came down to it, she already favored daggers and these were far from the smallest weapons in her arsenal. "First time I've seen soul-claws this short before."
"The proper term is soul-needles," Elpis corrected.
The term rang a dim bell but she still shook her head. "Tomix mentioned that but…I know my needles. I've knit a lot of scarves. Stabbed a lot of people. Done a lot of embroidery. These—" she raised her spirit-loom-encased hand. "Shouldn't be called needles. Not if they're more suited for slashing than stabbing."
"Tomix?" Elpis tilted their head. Their body took on a soft, violet tint.
"My friend Tomix," she clarified. "He was the one who taught me how to soulweave." Then she snorted. "Or tried to, anyway. I can barely make a hanky, even after all these years."
They looked at her evenly. "You are a fine Soulweaver," they said. "You and Aegis work well together."
"Aegis is a fantastic Soul-Ally," she said, nodding. "Any Soulweaver would be lucky to have him as a partner. But me, I…" She shook her head. "I've always had a block when it comes to soulweaving. The making clothes part, I mean. I never have issues when it comes to learning how to fight." Her expression was bitter as she called over the other gem with another flicker of telekinesis. "It's the only thing I'm really good at. Fighting, I mean."
As before, the gem snapped into place almost without effort. She flexed her fingers and a second soul-claw (or soul-needle, whichever) manifested almost without thought, in her hands a deadly weapon suitable for the art of death and not much else.
"I swear. He tries to teach me how to make clothes and what I got from it was how to make butterflies that poison my enemies…" her voice trailed off. Her expression was sad. "Avatars, I must've disappointed him."
Elpis reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder but, as they were an Elemental Spirit, she couldn't feel much more than a sense of warmth, closer to a ray of sunlight rather than physical touch. She drew comfort from it all the same.
"You are never a disappointment," they stated. "You were able to modify your uniform to change colors, were you not?"
"I figured it out, yeah." In truth, it was less a matter of soulweaving skill and more general armorcraft. Lady Celestia's upgrades to her old Dragonlord armor sets turned out to be simple to replicate, even when working with fabric and not metal. It really wasn't anything special. "Didn't like it much, though. I changed it back."
"That you are improving without a teacher and in the midst of various battles speaks well of you and your capacity to learn," they continued, as if she hadn't spoken. The warmth at her shoulder intensified, perhaps their way of giving it a squeeze. "And I have seen how you've customized your original Soulweaver uniform. It was well done."
She looked down at her spirit-loom encased hands, clearly uncomfortable. "That was just… quilting," she said, at last. "Look, Elpis, I get that you're trying to be nice but… look."
Another flicker of telekinesis called forth a small, wooden box from one of her shelves, perhaps more forcefully than was necessary given how it all but slammed into her hands. Elpis dutifully hovered over her shoulder as she pried it open with her soul-claw, staring into the box at her prompting.
"These are the best I've been able to make," she said tiredly. "After years and years of trying to learn to soulweave. Soulwoven scraps."
The box was stuffed with scraps of soulwoven fabrics in various colors and textures, the pathetic results of her many attempts at soulweaving over the years, both with Tomix's tutelage and without. Despite her and Aegis' best efforts, she had never once been able to successfully soulweave anything larger than her hand.
Elpis lifted a thin scrap of silvery gray fabric no longer than her middle finger with their bottom left hand, the very first successful bit of soulweaving she'd ever been able to do, after ages and ages of Tomix' teaching. A flimsy gray scrap, unusable even as a ribbon. In their large, glowing hand, it looked more ragged than ever. "You have certainly not lacked for trying."
She only looked more dissatisfied. "My point is, every time I've tried to soulweave something from scratch, these are the best I've been able to do. I did manage to add a bunch of stuff to my uniform but… that was by quilting. Patchworking stuff together, I mean," she clarified, seeing their blank expression. "Danyel would strangle me if I tried to pass that off as proper soulweaving."
It wasn't something Tomix had taught her, more something she'd guessed was possible, thanks to her own pre-existing skill in mundane sewing and weaving. Just as quilting a blanket together from outgrown clothes was infinitely easier than weaving one from scratch, it was infinitely easier to cobble fabrics together into something that resembled soulweave compared to the alternative. That she'd been able to cobble together her 'Freelancer' look was less due to her skill as a Soulweaver and more due to how much scrap she'd accumulated in her attempts to weave. She hadn't soulwoven anything new when she'd made the look, she just cobbled what she had together, reshaping the fabric to look cohesive after. It looked good but a beginner student at Edelia could likely make the exact same thing without having to resort to shortcuts. Heck, beginner students at Edelia were expected to weave their own uniforms so she was already behind there. Tomix had made hers for her.
She sighed, suddenly glum. "Calling myself a Soulweaver, what a joke…"
"Aegis happily refers to you as his Soulweaver. Your instructor has called you a Soulweaver. Believe in their judgment if not your own," Elpis said firmly, body taking on a pale blue tint reminiscent of Aegis' glow. "I am sure you will gain the skills in time. For now, your 'patchworking' is fine."
There was not a trace of doubt in their voice, in their face, in their bearing. It was almost overwhelming, in truth. She cleared her throat as she returned the box of scraps to its place on her shelf. "Thanks," she said quietly, head bowed so that her hair obscured her darkening cheeks. "I… really appreciate that, Elpis."
"I am your ally," they said. "And I will always be."
"I'm glad to have you," she said, raising her head so that she could meet their gaze, her expression clear, her smile wide and honest. Though their first meeting wasn't exactly auspicious, what with her finding them in her inventory covered in fragments of ethereal woe, with no memory of how they got there, they were someone she gladly called friend. In fact… "You know, the offer still stands. If you want to be a Soul-Ally, you only have to ask."
As before, they shook their head. "Although I am honored by the offer, you already have a fine Soul-Ally," they said. "It would be damaging for you to take another. I am your ally regardless of the presence or absence of such a bond between us."
"I already have two," she pointed out. Sort of. Inasmuch as she could call Secundus an ally of any kind. "What's one more?"
"Two already risk great harm. Even if Secundus is…" For once, they sounded just a bit… angry, maybe? It was hard to say, she had never really seen Elpis emote all that much, but she could tell they were not at all fond of her second Soul-Ally. Inasmuch as she could call Secundus that. "…Powerful."
"You don't like him, do you." It was not a question. She'd never seen them interact before but then, she'd never seen Elpis look so disdainful with anyone before either.
"The style of battle you practice together is risky," they said. "Soul Aegis alone is… revolting."
"Letting a fight drag on for too long is way riskier than avoiding using gambits altogether," she said diplomatically, though she typically favored defensive combat herself. "Though… I do agree that using Aegis as a shield like that is just…" she shook her head. "And I gotta say, having my soul untangled is pretty uncomfortable," she added casually. "I know he calls it 'untangling my foe' but it feels like he's untangling me, too, so…"
Elpis looked concerned, color shifting to a pale red reminiscent of healing pads.
"But compared to everything I've been through, it's nothing," she finished. "Really, I've been through a lot worse. Xan nearly melting my face off. Breaking myself out of the ice. Childbirth." She shook her head. "The point is, I can handle it. And I'm sure I can handle having a third Soul-Ally if you're willing to try."
"Just because you can 'handle it' does not mean you should have to." Elpis was unyielding. "I refuse to add more. I am your ally regardless of bond." Then, a little obviously, they gestured at her new spirit-looms with raised brows. "Will you be using those with your regular uniform from now on or will you make a uniform to suit them?"
She shot them a look before sighing, looking down at her new spirit-looms. "I don't think they'd suit the Freelancer look, sadly," she admitted. "I'd love to make something to suit them but… I just don't have enough material for it." Years worth of attempts at soulweaving and yet what she had would barely be enough for a tunic and only if she stretched it. "Maybe I can buy some soulweave the next time I'm in Azaveyr…"
They tilted their head to one side. "Why don't you use your other uniform?" they asked. "The one with the coat? It should provide more than enough."
"My other—" She stared at them. "That… that was a gift from Tomix! I can't just—I can't…"
Elpis looked at her without saying a word, all their eyes staring. For a moment, for whatever reason, she found it hard to speak.
"The coat—that entire outfit was a gift." she said, at last. Certainly there was more than enough fabric for what she had in mind and even she could reshape soulweave—but even the thought felt… wrong. "Tomix gave it to me after I got unfrozen. Said it was a Frostval gift…" Her voice trailed off and she snorted.
"Is something the matter?" they asked.
"He doesn't celebrate Frostval, he didn't even know it was a thing until I gave him a gift for it!" she blurted out. "And that whole outfit was worth way more than everything I gave him combined. My first gift was just a scarf I knit for him." She shook her head. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I was thinking, he could've soulwoven something better. My next ones weren't anything special either. Soap. A pocket knife. Blankets."
"Value is not so simply decided," they said evenly. "I am sure he valued your gifts as much as you appear to value his."
"Would've preferred to have just given him something actually as valuable," she grumbled, though without any real heat. "But I never got the chance. By the time the next Frostval came around, he was already…"
She shook her head. She didn't want to cry.
"I can't use it like that," she repeated, voice small. "I can't…"
"Riese," they said gently. It was perhaps the first time they'd ever actually said her name. It sounded familiar in their voice. They met her gaze, their body taking a peach tint, such that the stripe across their face looked almost like a scar. "Of course, you can. It was a gift, meant for you to use in whichever way you desire. You should not hesitate because of it."
She looked away. "That's… not…"
Their body tinted violet. "It would not be a betrayal," they said. "To use his gift. It would not be an insult to alter what he made for you."
Words failed her. Her throat felt tight.
"If anything, it would be an honor," Elpis continued, voice quiet but resonant. "To know that his craft has continued to teach you, even now. Because teaching you was an honor and a joy. I am sure of it."
Immediately, she swiped a hand across her face, cursing the heat of her workshop forge and how it made her sweat, how the heat made her vision blur. She cursed Jaania for freezing her and the propensity for colds and runny noses she had as a result. And she cursed herself for not being able to look Elpis in the eye, any of their eyes, though she could feel that their gaze was, as ever, kind.
"You're not wrong," she said, after a moment, finally smiling and definitely not teary-eyed in the slightest. "You're definitely not wrong."
She thought of Tomix and found that his memory didn't make her hurt.
"…You're right."
An hour later, she stared at her reflection in the floor-length mirror, the outfit Tomix had once dubbed her Master Soulweaver outfit appearing almost completely different thanks to her efforts, all done with Elpis' gentle encouragement. Where before it had been a bulky overcoat over a workman's garb, now…
It looked different. Almost new.
The alterations left her shoulders bare, with detached, beige sleeves that tucked into the new spirit-looms. The shirt itself was a lighter color, more blue in hue than it had been previously. While she'd left the boots and trousers unchanged, the top's change in color already gave the ensemble a different feel, the jewels she'd added as ornamentation only furthering the impression.
The bulk of the coat, she reshaped (or would rewove be a better term?) into a thick cape that reached the tops of her ankles, complete with a fur-lined collar and a mantle she could use to cover her shoulders if she so pleased. The weave of it was leathery in both appearance and texture, just as intended, and the color was more of a brown than its previous gray. The end was patterned distinctively like keyholes, reminiscent of a certain coat that she'd so admired.
After making sure she was able to revert it to its original appearance, she gave it a critical once-over before straightening her collar, looking into the mirror as she did so. Her reflection stared back at her. It was not an unpleasant sight.
"I… like this," she said hesitantly, thumbing the blue gem that adorned the collar of her outfit. "But what do you think, Elpis? How do I look?"
Elpis nodded. While their expression looked the same as always, she thought they seemed pleased. "Like a Master Soulweaver."
She laughed. "I can't soulweave for beans. Master Soulweaver, Avatars… " She looked at herself in the mirror, clenching her fists and bringing the claws (or needles, whichever) to bear. "This is nice, though. I'd call it… my Arcanist look."
She shifted through the various forms her soul-claws could take, drawing on her weapons' power. Nature, Light, Poison, Silver, Good, Evil… Everything seemed to be in order. More than that, it felt right. Comfortable. She could fight in this, of that she had no doubt. The only thing was…
"I hope he'd approve," she said softly.
The spirit-looms he'd originally made for her to go with the outfit seemed to stare at her. She had not touched them. It didn't feel right to.
Elpis smiled. Despite this, she felt sadness emanating from the spirit, as she always did.
"I am sure he would."
end
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omake
When she went down to the bank later that day, it was with a spring in her step and Elpis at her back. The newly altered Master Soulweaver gear fit her like a charm and though it could just be the placebo effect, she felt more effective in the armor than she'd ever had before. With her afternoon quests completed, all she had to do now was drop off some stuff at the bank and she'd be all set for a nice, cozy evening in.
Four dark red eyes stared at her from over the bank worker, Lira's, shoulder as she entered the building. The Puppetmaster loomed behind Lira, the dark red Elemental Spirit seeming massive in the limited space of the Falconreach Bank. Lira met her gaze with a professionally perfect smile frozen on her face, sweat dripping from her bone-white face as Secundus spread out his arms behind her, what should've been a welcoming gesture made threatening by his… well, general demeanor. The candle flames that lit the bank burned a vicious, bloody hue, casting the room in oppressive red.
"Welcome to the Falconreach Bank," Lira said, voice very, very polite. "How can I help you? Did you want to get a withdrawal, Riese?"
The last question, she asked almost desperately as one of Secundus' hands drifted uncomfortably near her face, almost to the point that it looked like the Puppetmaster was about to caress her cheek. She could see strands of Lira's purple hair threatening to catch fire near his fingertips.
"Err, yeah, I was gonna… take the Puppetmaster X," she said hesitantly. She really hadn't (she'd forgotten she'd left him there) but it seemed the right thing to do. "C'mere, I thought you were meant to accompany me."
"I will accompany you as you perform many deeds," Secundus said, voice echoing for all that the room was small and sparse, voice both high and low and everything in between as he phased through the counter and returned to her side, scorching the wood as he passed. Lira breathed an audible sigh of relief even as she took out a vial of fire extinguishing solution and began to douse the flames. Secundus paid her no heed; all four of his eyes seemed to be boring into Riese' soul. "Great and small. Whatever you decide, your choices will be mine as well."
"Yeah… you've mentioned that." She cleared her throat and drew her newly-reshaped mantle over her shoulders, the soulweave cool to the touch. All the while, Elpis stared disapprovingly at Secundus, their lowermost hands seeming to clench into fists as they hovered protectively by her side. Secundus didn't care. Or did. Who really knew with him. "Uh, I was also going to make a deposit, if that's alright."
"Yes, yes, of course," Lira said distractedly as she scrubbed at the scorch marks Secundus left behind with a rag—before suddenly, her eyes snapped over to Elpis, alarmed, face once more turning pale. "Please tell me you are not planning to leave your…other friend in your vault."
Her eyes were screaming for mercy.
She gave her most reassuring smile as she dropped a bag of timewarped medals onto the counter. "Just these, for now," she said, mentally making a note to leave Elpis at the house whenever she didn't need them. The Puppetmaster too, though him she'd probably leave in her other house and not home. She was not letting him anywhere near Hae or Aloe. "Thank you for your trouble. Keep up the good work, Lira."
Lira took the medals, face still frozen in a professional smile, eyes still fixed warily on the Elemental Spirits flanking her. "And you with yours, Hero. Though… please refrain from leaving more of your friends in the bank in the future. Please."
At her sides, Elpis and Secundus stared at each other from over her head. Their stares were not friendly and were in fact verging dangerously close to glared daggers, judging by the sharpness she could feel at her neck.
"I'll… " bear that in mind."
Her customization looks fine as long as you're not looking too closely. On closer examination, though, a proper Soulweaver'd find it to be the soulweaving equivalent of a bunch of wonky straight stitches keeping scrap together. To an actual Master Soulweaver, it's the soulweaving equivalent of using a hot glue gun.
I̶n̶ c̶o̶m̶p̶a̶r̶i̶s̶o̶n̶, E̶l̶p̶i̶s̶ i̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶ E̶l̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶ S̶p̶i̶r̶i̶t̶ e̶q̶u̶i̶v̶a̶l̶e̶n̶t̶ o̶f̶ a̶ m̶i̶l̶k̶s̶h̶a̶k̶e̶
I know Elpis isn't main timeline canon but they're fun to think about.