《Valandir》 Chapter 1 P1 – The beginning Interior. Throne Room. I stand before the king and queen. Their usual retinue is no where in sight. The guards are conspicuously absent as well. Royalty should never be left truly alone unattended, unguarded, yet here we are. The king starts to speak, but quickly stops as the queen rests her hand on his shoulder. She holds the real power in the Kingdom. Her power, physically, magically, even charismatically, unquestioned. She begins to speak, ¡°Sarah, in consideration of the friendship you¡¯ve had both with me and my husband, as well as your considerable contributions to theoretical magics, I will present you with an alternative to death.¡± After a brief pause that feels like ages, she continues, ¡°Banishment outside the Kingdom for 10 years.¡± The king looks like he wants to speak up again, but a subtle squeeze of her hand still resting on his shoulder is enough to bottle up whatever objections he might have had. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I, in turn, hide my relief and put on a facade of resignation. In truth, I have been preparing for this eventuality for a long time. Death or imprisonment would have been far more terrifying prospects. ¡°Very well, I accept your most gracious reprieve,¡± I reply. ¡°Good. Had the Table been involved, even I could not have easily saved you from death.¡± With that, she stands and starts to walk out the back of the chamber. At the doorway, she stops, looks back, and adds, ¡°Be at the northern gate at 10 am tomorrow. You have until then to pack your things.¡± She glances at her husband before continuing out the door. The king sighs and takes a moment to steel his resolve before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there isn¡¯t anything else I can do.¡± I reply, ¡°Thank you, my life is enough.¡± I give him a wry smile, as if to say I understand and do not blame you as he too, rises and leaves the chamber. With no time to lose, I leave in the opposite direction out the main entrance where guards posted outside see me out of the building. CH 1 P2 -- Lessons Geography: The monarchy only known as ¡°The Kingdom¡± is situated on a large peninsula. Three sides to the west, south, and east are surrounded by vast ocean too dangerous to traverse beyond the shallow regions. Two large cities exist within the Kingdom. The larger of the two, Corlon, came to prominence on the southern shore where the ocean, while dangerous, was accessible and host to a plethora of natural resources. The other large city, to the north serves as the Kingdom¡¯s capitol, Carlen. At the northern tip of the peninsula beyond Carlen, mountains enclose most of the peninsula to the northeast and northwest preventing most monster incursions. Between the mountains sits a great wall with but a single large gate. To the north, beyond the gate, through the highly dangerous mountain pass lies the continent at large. Many have tried their luck in the wilderness beyond elven society. Few have returned safely. None have encountered intelligent life and returned to tell the tale. Still, people believe, almost religiously, that others must be out there! Magics: Within the Kingdom, everyone is taught magic and everyone outside of a few unfortunate individuals can learn magic. This makes life within the kingdom prosperous, yet dangerous. For this reason, the future king and queen are always chosen from amongst the strongest magic practitioners in the country. They have the power to protect society and maintain order. However, while many can use magic, only a select few truly have talent. Only a few can advance its study and bring new magic into the world. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. One such person was Doctor Elizabeth Markus. She discovered a previously thought impossible magical ability, teleportation. While exciting at first, teleportation proved to be truly dangerous. On a small scale, one could easily die teleporting into solid matter. To fix this problem, Markus came up with the idea of having fixed points to teleport to. Soon enough, she could be anywhere in the kingdom in the blink of an eye. In light of her success, she began experimenting with large scale teleportation. She set up a teleportation array in Carlen and a connecting array in Corlon. This is where it all went south. During the first test, a large portion of Corlon, far beyond what the array was supposed to effect, was teleported away. This included buildings, streets, and most importantly, people. Worse still, they did not reappear in Carlen. In fact, no one knows what happened to them. It was at this point that the royalty at the time, to Markus¡¯s dismay, put a prohibition on all research into teleportation making it the seventh forbidden magic. All current research was to be destroyed. Afterwards, Markus seemingly disappeared from history never to be heard from again. Ch 2 P1 – Beyond the wall The following day, I arrived at the northern gate of Carlen a few minutes before 10. A couple of my students are waiting there to see me off, however, most disassociated themselves from me when they heard the news. I only taught classes at the university, never taking on an apprentice, so I won¡¯t have any incredibly loyal apprentices begging to join me on my banishment. Although, even a devoted apprentice would have to think twice before accompanying me on what almost surely amounts to a death sentence. I say a few encouraging words to my now ex-students. They express concern that I am only bringing a single suitcase. While allaying their fears with pleasant platitudes, I can¡¯t help feeling even more excited than yesterday. I stumbled upon the great magician Elizabeth Markus¡¯s notes about 5 years ago. Since then, I have been deciphering them and practicing in secret. Of course, that is what has led to my banishment today, but it also means I can travel lightly. I have set up two markers, one in Corlon and one in Carlen to serve as fixed points to teleport to. Additionally, in her notes, Markus spoke of intelligent life outside of the kingdom. She even left a location in the mountains. Now, 200 years later, who knows if anything is still there, but I at least have to see. After all, she might still be alive. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Leaving my students, a carriage and a team of soldier are waiting for me. They will take me north to the mountain gate beyond which I will be on my own. Two uneventful days later, we reach the gate. The guards look on as the large iron portcullis slowly opens. I take a deep breath and walk through. The surrounding scenery is beautiful. In the distance to my left and right, I see tall snowy mountains. The mountains are contrasted by the grassland running between them and the bright blue sky above. I follow the main path into the grassland. The immediate vicinity of the gate should be relatively safe. The dangerous monsters are further out or up in the mountains. I walk for three hours before looking back. The gate and even the wall is no longer visible. I am on my own. Time to get to work! Ch 2 P 2 – The Search I sit down and open my suitcase. Within it lies my prized possession, my notebook within which I have compiled the notes of Elizabeth Markus. I¡¯ve memorized the route she spoke of; yet, I still reread the words once more. ¡°With the abolishment of teleportation research and my life¡¯s work dismissed as too dangerous, I have decided to continue my work in the mountains. For any future readers, you can be considered my spiritual successors. Feel free to come find me and my new base of operations in the mountains. Walk three hours along the main path. Once there, you will find a marker I set up. If you are worthy, you will be able to use this marker to connect to another marker I have set up in my base. Use it to teleport here.¡± I sit down and concentrate on my surroundings. I feel the ambient mana in the air. I slightly frown as everything seems perfectly normal. Several hours pass by with no change. Outside of meals, I only pause once to set up a detection array to warn me in advance if anything or anyone approaches. Soon, evening arrives, and I am forced to pitch my tent. All of my possessions are high quality, yet I am afraid they will never compare to the comfort of my own room. I close my eyes hoping for better fortune tomorrow. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Three days pass. I am quite fortunate that I have not been attacked. Despite being on the path, the area is quite dangerous. It would not be uncommon for a ferocious monster to pass through the area. On the other hand, am quite unfortunate that nothing I try works. I sense the ambient mana in the air, in the ground, in the mountains. I home in on a specific piece of dirt. I divide my attention taking in everything I can. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. My food stores are running low. Rather than get myself killed hunting for food out here, I will teleport home to resupply. I pack up my tent and hide a teleportation marker in a tall shrub nearby so I can return here later. Then, I focus my mind on my marker near Corlon. I figure in Corlon, people will be less likely to recognize me. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t sense my marker there at all. I have never tried to teleport over such a vast distance. Perhaps the distance is just too great. Having anticipated this outcome, I begin sensing my marker near Carlen. Gathering all of my internal mana and reaching my mind outward, I am just barely able to sense the call of the marker I set up. Deciding it would be too dangerous to attempt such a long range teleportation spell, I stop and let the mana disperse back into equilibrium within my body. I can¡¯t help but think Markus really was a genius. She was able to teleport from Corlon to Carlen, yet I can¡¯t make it even a fraction of the distance. Despite having left the safety of the northern walls, I am only a few days journey from Carlen after all. CH3 P1 -- APE EEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!! A high pitch buzzing sound interrupts my admiration of Markus. Something has breached the perimeter of my detection array. Looking out into the distance in the direction of the breach, I can barely make out the appearance of a giant ape. At the speed it is moving, it won¡¯t be in the distance for long. Worse still, it¡¯s noticed me. The ape¡¯s direction subtly changes to intercept my position. The average statistics of giant apes flashes through my mind. They are fast, powerful creatures, and while they do not possess any magical abilities, they have thick skin that is resistant to most magical effects. There is no way I can beat this creature. My only choice is to flee. If I attempt to escape under a high pressure situation like this using short range teleportation, I¡¯m afraid I will only end up with limbs left in solid matter. Plus, the ape will follow me, and I will never have as much time as I have right now. Enough time perhaps to perform a single long distance teleportation spell. Steeling my resolve, I again focus on my marker in Carlen. Under ideal circumstances, I would concentrate for hours or longer before attempting such a dangerous jump. This time, I have but only minutes. The ape closes in as my spell begins to take effect. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The ape is right before me now. Its hands are raised in fists barreling towards me. This is it, the do or die moment. The ape¡¯s fist makes contact with me right as I invoke my spell. My consciousness fades as my body disappears. Hmm? What is going on? I¡¯m lying down. I try to lift my head without success. Even opening my eyes is proving difficult. This does not seem to be Carlen, so my spell failed after all. However, I am not dead, so at least there is that. But where am I? Then it hits me. Right as I was losing consciousness, I felt the presence of another marker close by and latched onto it. In a one in a million fluke, I managed to change my destination mid spell. He he he, I might not be Elizabeth Marcus, but maybe I am a bit of a genius too after all. With that thought, my consciousness begins to fade once again, but this time with a smile. Ch 3 P 2 – Exploring the Base Sarah awoke once more with a terrible headache. With a slight groan, she managed to open her eyes and sit up. The surroundings are dark. Sarah attempts to cast a simple light spell, but the spell fails, and Sarah recoils in pain. The hit from the ape has thrown her internal mana out of balance. Typically, external factors like a healer or potion are required to recover. Luckily, while dark, the surroundings are not pitch black and her eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. A single luminescent rock on the ceiling provides a small amount of light. Sarah spots a torch on the wall besides her and gingerly walks towards it. Touching the torch, she infuses it with a small amount of mana. Relief settles across her face as she is still able to do this much. The torch, proven to be of a magical variety, lights up. And then another. And another. Soon a series of torches light up the entire room. Now lit, Sarah can survey the room. There are no doors or entranceways of any kind. Circular in shape, four fifths of the room is enclosed by solid rock. The last portion of the room is sealed off by a clear barrier. In the middle is the pedestal where Sarah initially teleported in. Besides that there is a bed, a desk, and a series of cabinets. Walking the room to investigate further, Sarah finds a note on the desk written in Elven. ¡°To my potential successors and comrades who wish to follow in my footsteps. I applaud you for reaching this far. However, the outside world is a mighty dangerous place. If you want to survive, you will at least need to be able to escape from whatever dangers may arise. And to escape, you must be able to teleport under pressure in tense, difficult situations. Not only that, you must also be able to properly teleport to your destination. I have seen too many foolish elves kill themselves by teleporting into solid objects, into the ground, or high up in the air just crash into the ground. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. With this in mind, I leave you with two options. One, you may leave by hitting the button on the wall. I have imbued a spell that will be activated to teleport you out into a relatively safe area of the mountains. From there, you may return back to Elven civilization. Or two, you may follow in my footsteps. Teleport through the clear antimagic barrier in front of you into the room beyond, and I promise, a whole new world awaits you. Within your room, when I last left, there is enough food and water to last a long time. You may stay here and make as many attempts as you like. Just know, once you leave, you will not be able to return for a second time. Do not be fooled, attempting to teleport through my barrier is a dangerous endeavor not to be taken lightly. Most will not succeed. Some will even perish making the attempt. You have been warned. Ah, I can¡¯t end my note with something so ominous as you have been warned. I wish you the best of luck! There, that is a better sign off. -- Elizabeth Markus¡± Sarah is taken aback by the note. Many mixed emotions flood through her. This is everything she dreamed about when she set off down this path of teleportation research. Everything would be perfect. Perfect! If not for this damn injury. Sitting down, she attempts to circulate her mana only to cough up a small amount of blood. Sufficiently dissuaded for the time being, Sarah continues investigating the room. Contrary to her initial inspection, there is a single door opening into a small bathroom. Leaving the bathroom, she peruses the cabinets and grabs a bite to eat. Exhaustion hits her as she finishes her meal. Lying down on the bed Sarah contemplates her near future. At this point, she has ascertained her only injuries besides the magical one are a few bruised ribs along with some cuts and other bruises that will heal on their own. She resolves herself to rest and allow her physical injuries to heal. At the same time, she will attempt to circulate her mana every day until her mana equilibrium is hopefully restored. Ch3 P3 – An Attempt A week passed. This very small, confined space has become Sarah¡¯s new home. A new home that she has been growing sick of. No decorations. No fresh air. Nothing colorful in sight. But most importantly, no new research materials. Sarah was sure mountains of new insights sat just beyond that one, clear, antimagic barrier. Still, this time wasn¡¯t wasted. By now, Sarah¡¯s physical injuries have healed. However, despite meditating daily, her magical injuries persisted. Another week passed. By now, it was clear her injury would not heal without external assistance. Still, she was not willing to give up. Sarah wracked her mind, like she had done for the past two weeks, for a solution. Finally, a radical thought emerged. What if she attempted to cast her teleportation spell anyways? Yes, she would suffer a backlash. Yes, there are many dangers, but, if she succeeded, the casting of the spell might just be able to restore her internal mana to equilibrium. With no other options to continue forward, Sarah decided to give it a try. Reaching her mind inward, she felt her disorganized, chaotic internal mana. She forcibly tried to call upon it to rise. She could feel it condensing from her extremities. As it squirmed and twisted unnaturally, Sarah coughed up a mouthful of blood, but it was working. She started silently casting her spell. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Pain, deep agonizing pain began to envelop her, but still, she persisted. The spell was almost ready. But right at the moment of casting, POP. Her mana began to scatter and rage out of control. Her hopes of casting her spell ruined. The mana would not settle down again within her body. With her life on the line, Sarah took the only action she could think of and pushed the mana down, down below her heart, below her waist, into her right leg. BOOM Her right leg exploded. Sarah screamed out in pain. Her right leg, from just below her knee, was gone. Blood scattered everywhere. Worse, she was bleeding out at an alarming rate. In too much pain to think, Sarah responded instinctually, willing her mana to heal her. Although she didn¡¯t realize it at the time, with her unruly mana gone, what little mana remained fell back into sync, back into equilibrium. However, that was short lived as her body used the last of her mana to seal her lower leg and stop the bleeding. With that, Sarah fell unconscious.