ã€ŠWhatever Endã€‹


 Chapter 1

    The fight is over, the enemy destroyed, the world is saved¡­ technically.

    It had been decades since peace was known. Almost anyone left alive could tell you what they were doing the moment when the world changed.

    It was small, at first. Some animals suddenly became more aggressive... your reclusive neighbor decided to attack people for no reason... The first few seasons people began to worry, but they all said it was just some strange thing that would pass.

    It didn¡¯t.

    The dead began to sit back up. The animals began to change. Geography itself started to move, spewing lava and horrors.

    Eventually governments decided it was a threat but they were too late to understand the magnitude of the issue. Great scholars and mages assembled to study and diagnose the issue, but by the time they figured it out it was a world-wide phenomenon.

    The Ether. A plane close to our own that some magic and most summons would be drawn from. It was supposed to be the benign other side of our coin of reality. That was true, until something, someone, some¡­ force? ripped the barrier between those worlds apart. No one would ever know what started it.

    The Ether is a plane of magic, dreams and potential - a plane of possibilities. When it interacted with physical reality, it created wonders - and monsters.

    Possibility is a great thing when added to motivational speeches and posters, but when it actually interacts with reality things get strange - fast.

    The great mages of the age were created due to the changes in their nature from the Ether, but so were the monsters that periodically appeared. For all of history, this had been the case. From the first shamans, to the first dire wolves, nature had found a balance over time.

    But something changed.

    Eventually, they found the tear. It was in a somewhat remote area of the middle continent, in the far north. There were mountains and snow, even in those days, so it took a long time to find the source. It wasn¡¯t just providence that showed the scouts the way, but scholars that found where the harshest of the mutations originated.

    By the time the rift had been discovered, the whole world was on a war footing. Every woman was tasked with producing offspring, every man of age was tasked with protection. Eventually there were cities full of women and children, but no one to protect them. The monsters just never stopped coming, and no one lived to old age.

    Once the rift was discovered the whole world sent who they could to try to contain it. There were very few left by that time, but the old scholars and grand mages all left their homes to tackle the issue.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    A great fortress was constructed nearby so that those with the knowledge could study the problem and attempt to find a solution.

    They did; though it wasn¡¯t ideal.

    At this point most people with a spark of magic were swept up to learn basic battle spells, and all others were given a spear and boots and taught to march. Hordes of people with little to no training - sent to the front lines. Even women and those too young were drafted, for if they could not get close to this tear, humanity would fall. Training and in-depth knowledge were a luxury that none had the time for.

    A solution was created - but one that haunted those who found it. A patch could be formed to hold the rift to the Ether closed, but it would be temporary. A great mage postulated that by binding a complicated Archstone to the nearby ley line, it could handle the energy required to keep the rift closed.

    There was just a single issue: the rift was dynamic, and it would need more attention than a static spell could handle.

    They turned to the mage corp to find a volunteer whose soul could be bound in tandem with the spell, so that it would be flexible enough to contain the rift. Richard Veers jumped at the chance to finally fix the world that had taken everything from him.

    The final battle was brutal and poets could never do it justice. The whole of the mage corp, including the scholars and grand mages, sacrificed their lives in glorious combat to allow the army to approach close enough to begin the ritual.

    When the ritual was complete and the ash settled over the field, there were only a few hundred soldiers left. Richard had participated in the battle from the fortress, using the raw power of the ley line to bolster and destroy. He didn¡¯t understand how it all worked, but he played a pivotal role.

    When the ritual was complete, there were so few remaining... Richard watched as the survivors slowly walked south. The great scholars and mages that had created the ritual were no more. He could feel that he was bound to the Arcstone nestled deep within the fortress, and could not follow.

    Originally, the plan had been for more knowledgeable and learned men to come and seal the rift permanently, but none such remained. Thus, Richard found himself alone in the northern mountains.

    The weather was getting worse by the day, due to the ash kicked up during the world-wide conflict, and Richard felt fear. There would be no more supply missions, as those had ceased months ago. There were no great intellects to teach him to control the power he now held. He knew that he must find a way to survive.

    Richard moved himself to the medical wing, taking as many provisions as he could carry - there, he activated the stasis function of the arcstone, to be awoken when someone of knowledge could come to help. His soul was bound to the Arcstone, and his body would be safe in a stasis spell. He did not have the knowledge or skill to fix the binding on the rift to be permanent, and he knew it would leak periodically. His only recourse was to hope. Hope that at some point, the soldiers would get word to someone that could help, or barring that, that enough time would elapse that the rift would shrink and close forever.

    He knew it wasn¡¯t likely. Almost every city had fallen at that point and most of the scholars, libraries, universities, governments¡­ they were most likely no more. As he watched the soldiers slowly trickle south, he knew it was more likely that they would be killed by the remaining monsters, if not warped slowly by the energies still in the air and never make it to safety.

    There was nothing Richard could do but to use his small skill with the arcstone to reinforce the rift, protect the medical wing, and awaken him if something significant changed. He was just as lost as the rest¡­ but at least he wouldn¡¯t have to witness the fall of humanity.

    The years passed, the world moved, and Richard slept.

 Chapter 2

    The cold bit into the center of his being. It seemed that it was always there, seeping deeper into his soul every new cycle. Physically he still looked like a fit man in his prime but the feeling of age and emptiness settled in a little more snugly at every awakening.

    How long had it been since this hell began? As his body began to slowly return to functioning, he cracked his eyes and stared at the wall. In the dim light coming from the hallway he could just barely make out the marks that covered the grey rough-cut stone. Each mark was for one awakening, which after the snows had finally melted meant one year. He had stopped making them a while back, when he realized he had probably forgotten enough marks to make the count worthless and that he wasn¡¯t sure how long he had skipped while everything was covered in snow year round. He had also run out of space.

    Drawing a deep shaky breath, Richard started to go through what he called ¡®the awakening cycle¡¯. Begun by twitching, stretching and moving his arms and legs he got the blood flowing and took deep long breaths to slowly begin to warm up. While his body sluggishly moved, so too did his mind.

    He lazily focused inward on the space in his thoughts where the Arcstone connection nestled. It was there, like it always was - a part of him after all this time. In the beginning it was vibrant and alien to his senses, but over the long years he had begun to understand how it worked. He had learned to nudge the connection and integrate it into his magical field more fluidly, so it was no longer jarring and strange, but felt comfortable and almost like a friend.

    His introspection was cut short as his body began to send urgent signals into his slowly awakening mind. He really had to take a piss.

    ¡°Damn it all, I knew I should have gone before I laid down.¡± Richard mumble-whispered brokenly to himself.

    Grunting, he tried to hurry his body¡¯s awakening along. His legs and arms were still at the almost uncomfortable stage of pins and needles. He might be able to get up, even without being able to feel very well.

    He coughed a little, his throat dry, and knew immediately that had been a mistake. The extra pressure turned ¡®urgent¡¯ into ¡®imminent¡¯ and he tried to sit up.

    ¡°I am not pissing myself again!¡± He growled angrily, and surged upwards like a drunken man. He slung his feet over the edge of the cold slab of rock he was reclined on and winced as his body protested this fast movement. A tiny bit of adrenaline was just what he needed to get his body to respond.

    He scooted upwards towards the ¡®head¡¯ of his ¡®bed¡¯ and, leaning on the wall for support, managed to make it to his feet and begin the shuffling stumble-walk towards the pot in the corner.

    He kind of¡­ wedged his face into the corner of the room, scraping his cheek a little on the markings on the wall, and fumbled with his threadbare waistband. He was almost too late, but made it in time.

    As he stood there, his whole twitching and aching body leaning into the corner to prop it up, face smashed so he couldn¡¯t see, he began to chuckle a little. It would look ridiculous, he was sure. With his faded and threadbare clothing, no shoes, hair probably all over the place, pissing like a horse into a little pot in the corner, he could only imagine what it would have looked like to an observer.

    He began to picture it in his mind: the intrepid explorer that had found the ancient fortress and delved it¡¯s depths. The outer walls had long fallen into little mounds with trees and moss but the inner keep still held its form, if barely. The imaginary explorer would see the worn runes and cracked but still sound walls, with the dark opening in the side where the door had once stood.

    Moving deeper the explorer would eventually stumble upon the only room with anything in it. Full of empty crates and worn down equipment, he would finally lay his eyes on a man out of time¡­ wedged into the corner of the room and giggling like an idiot with his pants around his knees while peeing in a pot.

    The little sob that escaped his mouth caught Richard by surprise.

    ¡°Ah, if only. If only.¡± He said with a longing tone.

    His body was beginning to feel more normal as he finished up and stood. He didn¡¯t move for a little while, as his mind spiralled down. The crypt-like quiet and stillness that covered the grey walls felt like a force that made it hard to move or breathe. His automatic query to the Arcstone had told him that, yet again, it had been time that had woken him, not activity.

    When the heavy sound of silence was broken by a light breeze and the sounds of moving leaves through the hallway, it brought his thoughts back to the surface.

    With a heavy sigh, Richard turned and took stock of what remained. The only supplies still usable were the things that didn¡¯t spoil. Battered mail shirts, faded gambesons and cracked leather boots and belts were all stacked neatly. The rack that held the two remaining battle blades and an array of worn knives looked like it could use some attention soon. His pile of cookware was in a corner; worn but serviceable. The hides and tools created from his hunts were all bundled in the far corner.

    He stared at the crate that had held the hard tack all those years ago and yet again wished he could find some grains. What he wouldn¡¯t do for fresh bread..Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    He stumble-walked over to the large chest, and opened it with a loud creak. Some lye soap that he had made cycles ago, a small hand mirror, and the remaining clothes he had. Only one full uniform was in any state other than patched and faded. He had made sure to store it well in the cedar chest at the very beginning, but barely glanced at it as he picked out his shaving kit and the soap.

    Strapping his more worn blade on his belt and grabbing his favorite skinning knife and water skin, he walked barefoot out of the room.

    It was his routine. This time a little broken by his bladder, but an important part of awakening. He needed routine to keep him moving.

    As he walked down the empty hallway, he saw the bright sunlight streaming into it where the door had once stood. Halting for a time to let his eyes adjust, he began to reach out with his senses. The fortress was still intact, it¡¯s runes faded and old but holding well enough.

    Outside, past the mound that used to be the wall, he could sense some small eddies in the natural mana.

    ¡°They don¡¯t seem big, but I should still take care.¡± Richard mused. The monsters that plagued the area were usually driven away from the fort due to the powerful enchantments that were still active and fueled from the ley line through the Arcstone. They hadn¡¯t been designed to last as long as they had, however, and sometimes there were failures which smaller monsters could squeeze through.

    Drawing his weapon he gave it a once-over. It was scratched and worn but still serviceable. He sent some energy into it and checked that all of the runes still lit up. The standard battle blade was a serviceable short sword, but that was not it¡¯s main function. It was used as a focus for battle mages for targeting and directing their internal energies or a place to ¡®hang¡¯ completed spells so they could be quickly activated with a command word.

    Nodding his head, Richard walked out into the sunlight. The air was still a little crisp and chill, but spring had obviously arrived with the green plants and smell of pollen in the air.

    The stony ground gave way to dirt as he moved along the old path out of the fort. There was a light breeze moving the trees around, so it was difficult to hear anything. He stalked along the path, heading towards the water and the first of the possible monsters he had picked up.

    As he cleared the tiny hill that used to be a wall, he spotted the first little beastie.

    A small thing. Maybe a mutated rabbit? Richard thought. It was about the size of his torso with four legs and a head. The rear legs were longer, with some nasty looking claws. The head had longer ears, hence maybe a rabbit, but its eyes glowed a faint orange, and it had sharp teeth.

    Currently it was just sitting still near a tree, its long ears slowly moving around and listening to its surroundings. Richard barely made a noise as he got close enough to strike.

    Leveling his blade, he wrapped an invisible line of energy from his body through the center and launched a silent force spell towards the monster. The monster¡¯s head suddenly turned into a fine red mist, and the body dropped to the ground twitching slightly. Richard kept his head on a swivel as he moved towards the corpse.

    ¡°Mmm, looks like breakfast.¡± He mumbled, stooping down to pick the corpse up by it¡¯s rear feet while avoiding the sharp claws.

    The small river, which had started out as a little stream years and years ago, was just a few minutes further through the trees. Richard didn¡¯t notice any more monsters on his short trek, and once he arrived he began to skin and process his kill. The hide was large enough to maybe make a boot or a hat out of, and there didn¡¯t seem to be any obvious mutations that would make the meat inedible. A lucky find.

    After a quick wash in the river, Richard took out his little hand mirror and got ready to shave while his clothes dried on a rock.

    Tired, old blue eyes looked back at him on a youthful face. His skin was a little pale from his recent awakening, but his long light brown hair framed a slightly tanned face with a strong jaw, hidden by a light beard. He used his straight razor to slowly scrape the beard away only cutting himself once or twice. It would heal by the time he finished washing his face off, so he didn¡¯t even twitch. The razor could use some stropping, but he had forgotten before he left.

    Packing his things away in the small pouch, he dressed and began the trek back home. He was half way back when he heard something crashing through the trees to the right.

    He dropped the monster corpse and drew his sword right before a larger monster burst out from the foliage, growling and streaking straight for him.

    Richard cursed himself for not paying attention and tried to leap out of the way.

    The new monster, which seemed to be some brand of felhound, flew past him as he rolled back to his feet. It had almost managed to slice his leg, which would have ruined one of his last pairs of pants!

    Richard quickly channeled force into his blade and swung it desperately towards the creepy looking thing. The extended force blade took both of the creature''s front legs as it swung back around.

    Nasty smelling blood with a greenish tint spilled out of the stumps as the monster howled and fell to the ground. Richard quickly sent a bolt of energy through its head and it stilled.

    Quickly scanning his surroundings and also sending a pulse of mana around to see if there were any others nearby, he gathered his breakfast and pulled it away from the toxic blood.

    This new monster was more mutated than the rabbit had been. It¡¯s body was lumpy and there were bone spurs along its back poking out of scaly skin the color of rock. The legs were much thicker than a wolf¡¯s and all four of its feet had sharp claws. It had a tail that had barbs on the end and its face had been twisted with sharp teeth poking out.

    Richard sighed, angry at himself. These small monsters were a trivial threat, but they were fast and he hadn¡¯t been paying attention. He only had three other pairs of pants, so losing these would have been terrible. He probably should have changed into his leathers, but this awakening had put him off his groove.

    The now dead felhound, or whatever it was, was obviously one of the toxic variants, judging from the smell of the blood and the strange scaly skin. He would have to come back later and burn it up. For now, he was hungry and wanted to change into his leathers just in case.

    As he slowly made his way back home, his mind just now began to truly wake up. He would get some food and then begin his normal routine soon enough. He foraged for some edible roots and herbs as he walked to add to the ¡®rabbit¡¯ meat.

    As he cooked up breakfast, he couldn''t help but sigh. How he wished his little dream explorer had been real.

 Chapter 3

    Now with a clean body, full stomach, and mind properly woken up Richard began his normal routine. He had established a set of tasks for himself years and years ago.

    First thing was to clear the area within the wards of any monsters.

    Normal animals could pass through the wards just fine as they were designed to keep out anything with a mana signature that deviated from the ambient energy. The wards also regulated ambient mana to a degree, which prevented the area within a mile of the fort from growing mutated plants. It creates a sort of oasis of clear nature near the rift, where the stronger mutations were much more common than elsewhere on the planet.

    Over time, despite Richards attempts to understand and fix, the wards had slowly eroded and become damaged. Small breaks in the field had allowed smaller monsters through and so it was his first goal to clear them out.

    The second task was to check on the Arcstone and the runes that made up the wards. This usually took a week or so to accomplish, but it was important. Richard had learned a lot about rune placement and how they interacted with the wards over time, but he had never been taught the most basic of lessons in their creation, so the best he could do was to replace worn runes with newer ones and try to glean all he could on their operation.

    The Arcstone itself was another matter entirely. Attempting to understand how it worked was equivalent to eating a seven course meal with different drinks for each course that was all put together by a master chef and then attempting to recreate it without ever having been taught to cook, or even understanding or having access to the ingredients involved. The best Richard could do was to note down any changes, and hope it wasn¡¯t important. There was a much higher chance of him inadvertently making things worse if he was to fiddle with it. Plus, it was attached to a ley line - if he messed up there, the results could be rather devastating.

    The third task was to make sure the rift itself hadn¡¯t changed, and to fiddle with the seal so it would seat itself more firmly. The rift had indeed shrunk over time, as he had hoped, but the seal was slowly degrading as well. It was a war of attrition between the seal and the rift, and Richard hoped that it would be one he could win.

    Finally, he cleared as much of the area as he could reach of mutated creatures. He couldn¡¯t travel too far from the Arcstone before he began to grow weak and there was a pressure over his connection that forced him to return. Over time, as he integrated the arcstone better into his soul, he could reach further and further away from the fort, but he had never been able to travel far enough to find anything but wildlife.

    During his forays around to his different tasks he would hunt, forage, chop trees and clear brush from the paths he established, and always be on the lookout for something new.

    Richard took off his precious old clothing and donned the leather replacements he had made over the years. His first attempts had been somewhat pathetic and he ended up looking like some savage, but over time he had gotten quite good at creating and maintaining leather clothing with tools of bone and sinew.

    His leather boots were comfortable and well maintained, though they would need replacing soon enough. His pants had a few tears that had been patched, but they fit him well and didn¡¯t restrict his movements. He wore a vest over his torso, and a jacket on top of that. The layers help air move around so he didn¡¯t sweat as much, while still keeping him warm.

    He placed his newest attempt at a leather hat on his head, and sighed. It was still kind of floppy and the brim wasn¡¯t very large. He decided that this cycle, that would be the focus on his hobby tasks: making a nice leather hat that was firm but comfortable and kept the weather off.

    He looped his waterskin, knife, and sword on his sturdy leather belt then walked back to the entryway. He wouldn¡¯t need the gambeson or mail to deal with the remaining small-fry inside the wards, so left them on the rack.

    Extending his senses, he let out small pulses of mana into the environment. He noticed seven areas where the mana got caught and eddied strangely, but none were within sight.

    He began moving towards the dead felhound to burn it before it could smell up the path to the river too much. When he arrived, nothing had changed. He dragged the corpse and separated front legs to the middle of the path, then tapped into his magic to create a localized shield over it all.

    Once it was fully formed, he used a trickle of energy from the arcstone to quickly vaporize everything inside with extreme heat.

    As the ash cooled he momentarily reminisced on his first monster encounter. He could still vaguely recall it even all these years later.

    It hadn¡¯t been too much larger than this felhound. It had looked more like a large wolf than anything else, but the murderous gaze and aggressive actions it took called it out as a monster.

    He had been terrified.

    Just turned fourteen and armed with his father¡¯s spear, he had found it in their barn, his sister¡¯s mauled body cooling near the slaughtered cows. It had charged straight at him, and he almost dropped the spear in his fright.

    He had braced the spear on the ground, shouting his lungs out with tears streaming down his face as the felhound jumped towards him. His spear found the breast of the beast as it impaled itself, growling and spitting at him. He tossed the monster to the side, almost wrenching his spear out of his hands before he fixed his grip, he pulled the spear out and stabbed the growling blood covered thing again over and over even after it had fallen still.

    He was lucky, the army recruiter had told him. Lucky he said, after the monster had killed his last sibling, leaving him alone with just his mother.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    The recruiter had been right.

    Once the spark of magic had been found in him, he was drafted into the war. His mother had been forced to move into town behind the scant protection of it¡¯s walls. It was only later, after fighting more monsters that he knew just how lucky he had been.

    Something like a felhound usually took a fully grown and armed man to take down. The mages could do it easier, but they still would have been in danger.

    Now, with the Arcstone and his many.. centuries?.. of fighting experience something like this wolf was easier to kill than breathing, almost. Even if he took a wound, as long as it wasn¡¯t instantly fatal the arcstone enchantment would eventually bring his body back to the state it had been bound in.

    Richard was lost in thought for a moment, as he made a painful realization.

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember her name..¡± He mumbled to himself.

    In fact¡­ I can¡¯t remember any of their names. Mother was.. It started with an ¡®a¡¯ sound, I think. My little sister¡­ Nothing. Nothing at all. Damn.

    Blinking he threw off those morose thoughts with the skill of someone far too experienced in doing so.

    That¡¯s gunna bother me all day.

    He held the shield until everything looked to be cooled down then let it lapse, dumping the ash on the path. He kicked it around some so it would clear away easier, then moved towards the nearest monster.

    One hound and two rabbits later, he came upon something strange and new.

    Two ravens were harassing a tiny monster that was trying to climb trees and jump on them. It looked vaguely familiar to Richard, but he couldn¡¯t quite place it.

    It was smaller than the rabbit things, and had a long bushy tail about the same length as its torso. The eyes glowed green, and it had nasty looking drool dripping off of its sharp teeth, but was very good at climbing.

    Richard sent a tiny controlled bolt of force through his sword so he could accurately hit it without destroying anything else. The bolt missed slightly; pulverizing the side of the monster¡¯s face and chipping the bark of the tree, but it was sufficient.

    The ravens were still worked up, and cawed at Richard as he moved to gather the new monster corpse. As he stood over it, his brain kept tickling at him that he had seen something like this long ago, but couldn¡¯t remember what it was for the life of him.

    Shrugging he picked it up by the tail and walked back towards his little garden where he had piled up the rest of the kills. Maybe he would find the non-mutated version around the forest and it would jog his memory. He would take all of the corpses he gathered over the next few days and burn them in the same spot. He could use the ash to either fertilize the ground, mix with water in one of his wooden barrels to strip hides of fur, or even make potash for soap.

    There were a few more monsters nearby, and he was lucky to find some that had once been birds. The feathers were a nice find, and he could do plenty with them.

    He had woken up near noon, and so the sun was already on its way to the horizon by the time he had cleared the immediate area of wildlife. He decided to just work inside for a few hours. He could clear up the rest of the area inside the wards tomorrow.

    Binding a small light spell to hover a foot over his head, he walked deeper into the fortress towards the central chamber. As he walked he glanced at the walls to see if there was any obvious damage, and saw some new cracks here and there.

    The weather up in the mountains was rather brutal against fixed structures, especially when they were never heated during the winter. It had only taken attempting to stay awake and busy over the winter a few times before Richard had decided to simply enter stasis through them. He forced himself to wake up every spring and work through summer into fall, but he would have long fallen to madness if he had to sit through winters without anything to do.

    Unfortunately, that meant that there was more and more damage every year. He turned the corner in the cramped hallway and found the only door that still existed in the fort in front of him.

    A slab of polished steel, with circles and rune diagrams written all over it pulsing a faint blue, this door is what sealed the room that held the Arcstone. It had held up much better than the rest of the fort due to the hardiness and fortification wards chiseled into the metal.

    Richard placed his hand on the door, and the blue glow surged brighter for a moment before stilling again once the wards recognised him. The door opened silently with a light push and golden light spilled into the hallway.

    ¡°Well, how are you doing this year, my dear?¡± Richard said as he entered the room.

    ¡°Still shining bright, I see. Good, good. Looks like we¡¯ll have our work cut out for us this year. A bit larger of a group got through this time. I know, I say that every year.¡±

    He walked up to a stone that seemed to be glowing bright enough to blind, but didn¡¯t actually hurt or hinder vision. There was a pillar of green and blue energy coming from a well in the ground that surrounded and swirled about the stone. Every inch of the dodecahedron made of polished opaque stone was covered in tiny lines of runes. Richard began to study the stone, intimately familiar with the writing on it.

    All over the floor and walls the stone had been cut into meticulously exact script - Richard¡¯s notes on the changes. The ¡®well¡¯ was actually a bored hole straight down and reinforced on the sides with compressed stone. It connected deep in the earth to a rod that had been sunk into the edge of a nexus of ley lines that all met at that point.

    Richard had no idea how many lines intersected, or what he could do if anything down there changed. He had been given a brief overview on how the whole setup worked before he was bound to the stone by Archmage Holister, but it wasn¡¯t very comprehensive, nor was Richard well learned enough to have understood much more.

    He noticed more wear and slight dimming along the bottom panel than had been there the last time. It was worrying, because it was rather obvious that was where the energy came from, but there wasn¡¯t much to do but note it down. One of the runes had a bit of a reddish tint compared to the rest of the golden rune work, and he noted that down as well.

    Richard sighed after blowing the dust out of the grooves in the new writing. He didn¡¯t know why he did this.

    It¡¯s hope, I guess. Richard thought to himself. If something happened to me and the rift re-opened, maybe there would be some mage that would come to investigate and all that would remain would be these notes. Maybe someone survived and they could understand what to do. He thought, morosely.

    Finished with the writing, he stood back up and stared into the light around the Arcstone for a while. Eventually he shook his head and turned to leave, closing the door behind him. It was time for leftovers and then bed. There would always be time to think tomorrow.

    He still held out hope every year of someone coming to help, even if he knew it probably would never happen. It was getting harder, but there wasn¡¯t much else he could do.

    As darkness stole over the world and Richard curled up into his hides for sleep and a few tears trickled down his face. He hoped, and eventually slept.

 Chapter 4

    The next day arrived with an overcast sky. Stretching his body out a bit while he looked over the little clearing around the fort, he mentally went over his itinerary.

    First, clear out the rest of the little ones. Second, make sure to begin preparing the hides. Third, work on the garden a bit and plant the seeds and such from the storage room. Fourth¡­ begin checking the wards.

    Richard moaned in weary resignation. The ward checking was important, but it just took so much time. It was his least favorite part of each cycle.

    Looking at the sky he wasn¡¯t sure if it looked like some light flurries from the mountains, a drizzle, or just grey clouds for today. It was always hard to tell what the weather would do this close to the mountains, especially in early spring. In an hour it could be sunny and bright for all he knew.

    His day went as planned for the most part. There were certainly more monsters inside the wards than usual, but that situation itself was becoming more usual as the years passed. It was worrying, but not unexpected.

    Perhaps I should try to make a door again. If more wards fall than the inner wards around the keep might not keep anything out. Wouldn¡¯t want something to get into the stores or the stasis room. Richard pondered idly, tapping his fingers on his chin. It¡¯s just really hard to make stuff out of wood with no hammer or chisels or anything.

    He kept working until all of the monsters he could sense were dealt with and there was a nice big fire going to burn them all down to ash. After a quick wash to get the smell of dead things off, he got to work tracing all of the wards.

    He started as he always did; from the inside out.

    The metal door was obviously fine, so he started to trace the hallways to check the runes written on the stone and the conduit lines that sent energy outwards along the walls.

    He noticed a few areas that were getting a little worn, and some of the conduits needed to be dug a little deeper. The cracks he had noticed yesterday had slightly misaligned some energy in a few places, but it was easy enough to fix. He had barely moved down a full hallway before his stomach reminded him it was food time.

    ¡°Man this shit takes forever.¡± Richard complained as he stretched his back. ¡°It¡¯s too bad I¡¯m not very good at earth manipulation. This stone is hard to move!¡± He let out a strained and slowly louder over time groan at the end of his stretch then moved back to his room.

    He had some of the edible meat outside smoking, and would need to check the fire in a little bit, but for now he had some soup he had made from the leftover rabbit thing and plants he had foraged for during the day on a simmer.

    ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t do for some salt.¡± Richard said as he dug into his meal.

    There was a salt lick nearby that he had discovered some time ago, but it was just out of range of where he could reach. Maybe this year? He had gotten better at integrating the Arcstone, so perhaps. Or maybe he could hit the area with a really powerful spell and blow some back towards himself?

    Hmm, that¡¯s a future Richard conundrum, he decided.

    The week moved steadily onwards, only a few little surprises here and there to break it from a normal cycle start.

    One of the ward schemes had totally collapsed. Richard wasn¡¯t positive about what it did, but he was fairly certain that it was tied into the structural reinforcement for the fort in some way. Regardless, he managed to weave it back into the grid with some effort.

    The days started to blend together, checking one rune after the next and fixing things as he went along. He had plenty of time to think as he worked, so he reminisced about his own attempts at creating wards. He knew how to make a circle, how to draw the proper runes, how to blend it all together, but they never worked for some reason. Richard was pretty certain it was a power issue.

    The wards attached to the fort all were powered through the arcstone chamber using conduit lines to bind them all together and connect them to the ley line. The walls had been a separate construction that wasn¡¯t connected to the rest and with his amateurish attempts in the early days he hadn¡¯t known enough to perform maintenance on them, so the wards had failed. He had attempted to glean what he could before they crumbled, but he just didn¡¯t know enough about the initial stages to make anything work.

    Another thing he worked on while he dithered was his connection with the Arcstone.

    At first interacting with the energy he could use was jarring and uncomfortable. Most mages could only use their internal reservoirs of magic to fuel spell casting, though sometimes a focus ring or battery in a staff or such could also be used to supplement it. Using the Arcstone felt alien and strange. Through his connection he could interact with the various runes in the fortress by focusing and directing his will, but he could also use it as a sort of battery. It was as if there was a window inside his soul that he could open up and channel energy through his body with.

    Using it had been painful and would wear him out quickly. After the final battle, he could barely move for a few days afterwards due to the echoes of pain. It had felt like his veins were on fire, and his energy was sapped.

    Over time he managed to integrate his connection more thoroughly into his body. It took a while to figure out how to do it, but just meditating and focusing on the connection allowed him to basically envision his own soul. He wove the strands in gently over time, much like he would fiddle with the seal over the rift.

    Nowadays he only needed to actively focus on the arcstone for specific tasks and he could pull the energy from the connection without having to focus on the stone or the connection much, as if he was just flexing a muscle.

    He was rather proud of that, in fact. And he was also somewhat skeptical that the stone actually had anything to do with it. The difference in his personal reserves from before bonding to after were.. significant.

    Nine days since he awoke, he completed checking the whole fort from bottom to top.

    ¡°Finally! Let¡¯s go check the rift and blow some shit up!¡± Richard loudly declared to the empty corner room at the top of the fort.

    The seal on the rift was always in the corner of his thoughts. He could focus on it but it wouldn¡¯t really tell him how well it was doing. He needed to go to the actual rift physically and check everything through magesight.

    The rift was two miles north of the fort at the base of one of the smaller mountains - it would only take about a half hour to get there, depending on how many baddies were in the way.

    Richard arrived at his room and began to check over his gambeson and mail for any fixable flaws. They were both in fairly rough shape having taken hits over the years. He had a few spares, but they all had some wear and tear to them. The best oils he could use to prevent rust were from the avian monsters, and he only had gut string and bone needles to fix the tears in the gambeson layers.

    It was actually a rare cycle now that he actually ended up needing the armor, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. He had monster slaying down to an art at this point, and it was usually when he was just not paying attention that something would get the drop on him, like earlier with that small hound.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Many times he had attempted layering leather in the same manner and attempting to make new gambeson, but it just didn¡¯t work the same. The padded and layered linen was just stronger on a weight by weight ratio, and if he got the leather thick enough to protect himself, then the mail wouldn¡¯t fit over top of it.

    He had found a long while ago that mixing some wax into the fabric slowed down it¡¯s decline, but it made it really awful to wear. It had saved his life too many times to consider not wearing it though.

    Every year, he would skin the monsters that had more unusual mutations of scales and such that may make stronger leather, but he hadn¡¯t had much luck working with them yet.

    He did have some layered shin and knee guards, and tough leather gloves and boots. Over time he had come up with a set of gear that fit very well, protected well from blunt damage, and he could move easily in.

    His ¡®monster slaying gear¡¯ was the most important thing he owned. Without it he couldn¡¯t do his primary duty of securing the rift, nor could he clear out the groups of larger and more ferocious monsters within the territory.

    The idea was that if he kept sweeping the monsters and destroying them, it would continually create a vacuum of territory for monsters further out. If there was someone still alive, eventually the fact that monsters always migrated in his direction might eventually bring someone to explore why. That was the hope, anyway. At this point he basically just did it for something to do but the original idea was still in the back of his mind.

    Grabbing the only steel helm remaining and double checking that all of the straps were nice and tight, he moved towards the edge of the wards. Drawing his trusty and battered battle blade, he began to ¡®hang¡¯ the normal array of spells onto it for easy activation as he walked slowly north. There was some official word for what he was doing, but the military grunts always called it hanging spells, so that¡¯s what he went with. He had forgotten the other term forever ago.

    He could hang a total of eight spells into the runes of the blade. Originally its capacity had been twelve, but over time damage had reduced some runes to non-function. His other blade still had the full array, but that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t use it. If something ever changed, or one of the amalgamation horrors wiggled out of the rift, he wanted to have a fully functional blade to use.

    Speed, shielding, two fire, two ice, two force. It¡¯s the setup he always went with in the beginning. They were larger and flashier spells than he would have been able to use without the Arcstone available to power them. Truthfully he barely needed to pre-hang the artillery spells because he had cast them so many times in the past, but it would save a few precious seconds and that might matter.

    Richard stepped out of the relative safety of the warded area and quickly checked his immediate surroundings. It looked clear, so he hunkered down.

    He was unable to use his mana sensing to reach outside of the wards while inside of them due to the way they calmed and regulated the flow of mana from one side to the other. That being the case, he stopped just outside and began a large-ranging sweep of everything along the arc he could that wasn¡¯t blocked by the wards behind him.

    A mostly typical number of anomalies showed up in his scan. These were much sharper and deeper on the background mana field generally, though there were also some smaller monsters out here as well. The nearest to him was a medium sized pack of the larger felhound variety. They had morphed enough that it looked as if they had begun to have frost mana properties. Chances are they could use a breath attack and that fire would be extra effective in damaging the pack.

    Richard was always loath to use fire in the forest because it took a while for him to put it all out again, but this wasn¡¯t a time for more nuanced measures. The swarm of monsters outside was obviously at its largest state on his first foray, and making a big noise and splash usually helped in drawing them all near so he could clear out large groups at the onset.

    ¡°Alright. Time to bring the pain.¡± Richard stated with a grin on his face.

    The pleasant morning in the valleys under the mountain was suddenly shattered with a gigantic rolling explosion of fire. Monsters and animals alike all froze in shock as the dim dawn light was transformed with fire and fury.

    The monsters only paused for a moment before all pouring in the direction of the blast. When they arrived there was a new clearing in the forest, smoking corpses of felhounds and smoldering trees were around the area where there was a human glowing from within a domed shield of blue.

    ¡°COME! Come to die, you fucking monsters!¡± Richard screamed as he began to put together a large force blade that would travel across the clearing at waist height.

    The monsters began to flow towards him, and he unleashed hell.

    Richard lost himself in the power and fury of battle for a time. It was his favorite part of the cycle. He could unleash and revisit the moments of glory that he had been a part of at the end of the war.

    These monsters weren¡¯t the nightmare amalgamations that had poured forth through the rift, but the number of them and the spells he was using brought back memories of that last great charge.

    By the time the monster tide died out and he came back to himself, he was looking at a charnel pit of bodies frozen, melted, hacked apart, and the land itself had new scars.

    He was breathing hard, still somewhat high from the adrenaline rush. His body began to work on automatic, quenching the flames and using his senses to find any nearby monster sources.

    After a little while, his breathing returned to normal and he took stock.

    There were less monsters in the original rush than he usually managed to draw together, but there had still been hundreds of the bastards.

    He had cleared the whole area, and the way to the rift was now open. With a shaky sigh, he began to trudge through the corpses towards the rift.

    ¡°Well, that always feels awesome. Now it¡¯s time to keep it cool. Let¡¯s check on the damn hole in reality real fast so I can go hunt some more.¡± Richard grumbled as he walked carefully through the forest at the end of the new clearing.

    Richard hiked up one last hill and looked down on the source of his torment.

    In a barren rocky field, a small mound of smooth stone rose in the center. No plants or animals could be seen, just bare bedrock. There were strange hills and circular lakes all around the area - scars left over from that long ago battle - but the actual rift was on a clear and smooth hump of stone.

    The anomaly that is the rift was something you could see if you knew what to look for. A wavy haze in the air, with a very faint purple-ish glow.

    The rift by itself would have been a red tear in reality that if you looked into the center of made you feel nauseous, like you were looking at a flat sphere. It was literally warped space, and wasn¡¯t something that the brain could parse very well.

    The seal holding the rift closed would, by itself, have a blue tint to it and it stitched the gaping hole closed. The final combination of the two was just this faint purple wavy haze - it wasn¡¯t very impressive.

    Using mana sight, it was a bit of a different story. You could see the rune diagrams that were free floating mana that made up the ward, spiraling on multiple axis in circles around a set point in space. There were some streamers of energy periodically pushing out and disappearing into the air.

    Richard noticed the slight wobble of one of the rings, and that there was a bulge of energy on one side of the seal. He walked closer, and accessed the diagram burned into his soul via the Arcstone.

    A few tweaks of positioning and some minor adjustments to size brought the diagram back into perfect alignment. The pulses stopped, the wiggle stabilized, and the bulge disappeared. The rift was definitely smaller this year. At first it would have taken maybe ten minutes to walk the circumference of the whole thing, but now it would take less than half that.

    As Richard had been focused on adjusting things, some flying monsters had gotten close to check on what had caused such a racket. They saw him standing alone in a barren field, and screamed as they turned to attack.

    He barely heard them and reacted in time, so lost in working on the seals as he was. He shouted the activation phrase for his hung shielding spell just in time, as two of the monsters slammed into the new bubble of force around him.

    Richard swung around and used his blade to target smaller lances of force to hit the monster¡¯s wings. He missed one, but the other had it¡¯s wing turn into mush and it fell from the sky.

    The other monsters had seen the bubble in time, and a few used raw mana attacks of different varieties against it.

    Using more targeted bolt spells, it only took a few more minutes to clear up the skies, and he dragged the bodies into a pile after harvesting some of the non-damaged feathers. Lighting the pile on fire, he stood with his hands on his hips and frowned.

    ¡°Damn, old man. Keep your head in the game.¡± He said to himself, chuckling.

    The flyers always went for the head and chest. It was how he had lost his other helms and where some of the worst damage to his mail shirt had come from.

    ¡°Alright. Rift is good, let¡¯s go huntin¡¯. Might as well work towards the salt.¡±

    As he walked towards the east and the canyons there, he noticed that there was a noticeably smaller population of large monsters this cycle.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange. There were more inside the wards, but less outside?¡± He wondered as he lined up a shot on some sort of bull-bison looking thing with flames licking up it¡¯s horns and hooves.

    I wonder how that happened. I¡¯ll need to keep my eyes peeled. Maybe there¡¯s a larger predator in the area or there will be more on the south side of the fort?

    Unknown to Richard; monsters and animals weren¡¯t the only ones who heard the explosive opening salvos of this cycle.

 Chapter 5

    Ethren was clearing the path. His tribe had been forced to flee yet again and as the lead ranger it was his duty to find the safest direction for them to travel.

    For whatever reason, the Twisted had ever been less dense to the northwest. The tribe had been on the move for weeks now and burdened as they were at the end of winter; it had been slow going.

    They were moving into a mountainous region where there was no information on what the land would be like, for none had ever travelled this direction and lived. The forests had ample forage and hunting which was a good sign, but no one had voluntarily decided to settle an area like this before. It would take more permanent structures and much more work every year to survive the winter, but hopefully they would be safe for generations against the expansionist attitudes of the Kaila to the south with how far they had traveled.

    Ethren mirrored a few bird calls to notify his fellow rangers of a potential threat ahead. His heightened senses allowed him to feel where enemies may be lurking. He had a few channeled skills, but his sixth sense was by far the most developed of the scouts.

    He stalked ahead silently through the trees until he laid eyes on the enemy. Four Twisted caribou with stone-like hides moved slowly across a valley as the earth rippled around them.

    Drawing his bow to be ready and lining up his shot, he sounded a quick grasshopper noise and waited for the responses. Once all the other scouts had called in he pulled back, lining up his shot carefully and infusing the arrowhead, then whistled loudly to make the beasts pause before releasing.

    Four Twisted, seven arrows, four dead. He grunted in a decidedly satisfied manner, then moved towards the Twisted to ensure they were truly slain.

    The earth was still, and the beasts no longer drew breath. Ethren called to the scouts to approach.

    These Twisted were weaker than those in the south, and Ethren couldn''t help but ponder why. Usually the saturation of beasts were much higher which let them live for longer without being culled so they would get stronger, but in this area they suddenly declined in strength. It was a conundrum, but one he was glad to direct his tribe towards.

    ¡°Saravren, Deilos, dress the kill. Retreb, Gloast, Signal back that we have found a nice meadow to camp tonight. Ortara with me. We will secure the area.¡± Ethren directed.

    After the area was deemed clear the rest of the tribe set up camp in the new clearing. The pack animals munched on the fresh verdant grass and the tribe began to make ready for the night while setting a perimeter and foraging nearby.

    There were just around eight hundred of their people remaining after the initial war that had called so many innocents to death years ago. It was his hope that they could find a new, safer place to set down roots and grow. Only about a quarter of the tribe was male, and so the women had started to fill combat and guard duties.

    Ethren quickly reported the scouting to tribal elder Hollen who was in charge of guarding the camp for a moment before finding his own tent and bedroll already set up. During his scouting, he noticed this area was ideal for a place to stay. There was a river at the southern edge of the meadow, plenty of old tall trees, and the land sloped just enough for good drainage.

    He would scout further and make a decision once he had all of the facts.

    He had no family or connections, and due to his rank, slept alone. It was always cold and lonely, but he preferred that to trying to bed down with others that would just remind him of his lost family.

    He spared a thought before sleep overtook him for Saravren; his only surviving cousin. She was turning out to be a great ranger and someone he could count on, but she still slept with the initiates in the larger tent. As the cold was slowly defeated by his warm furs, he dreamed of the past years when his family would all cuddle together, and hoped that Saravren would find that kind of warmth some day.

    <hr>

    Saravren fumed silently at the fact that she was dressing kills when she could be ranging ahead and checking for new threats. Ethren always tried to baby her, and she did understand why. He was the head ranger, and she was his last relative and a woman. It still vexed her to be sitting back behind the lines most of the time. Protecting your family was a virtue, but she felt that he was drowning her in safety. She was an experienced scout, and didn¡¯t need to be coddled!

    After the camp was fully established, she decided to let Deilos know she would be ranging ahead alone, and went into very specific detail about the pain he would be in if he didn¡¯t cover for her.

    She just needed to get away for a while.

    Moving northwest as they had been for a while, she channeled her own skill to fade into the background more easily, barely making a ripple on the Field as she slipped past the sentries.

    Saravren had slept well the day before, and napped in the early hours. She would be able to keep ranging for at least a full day, and decided to scout out the route without actually hunting anything. Of all the ranger candidates she was the most skilled in stealth.

    It was trivial to slip past the Twisted in the area as she traveled for they were relatively weak, and she made great time.

    As she moved, she did notice a peculiar absence of Twisted in the path. Generally, the further north one traveled, the heavier and stronger the Twisted became, but Ethren had accurately found a strange pattern of weaker monsters in this direction.

    The tribe had been slowly clearing the area as they traveled, and a curious pattern had emerged. It wasn¡¯t revolutionary, but when one cleared an area of the Twisted, others would move towards it. Why was it that they were weaker to the northwest?

    There were a few close calls as she slipped through the woods but she had been trained for that. Eventually dawn began to crest over the mountains to the far east, and she took a moment to scamper up a tree on a hill and watch the glorious sunrise.

    Further south, every day was relatively boring, or at least mundane. It was hard to find a place where one could see far enough to truly appreciate dawn, but sitting in a tree on a hill and gazing towards the sky the mountains was truly an awe inspiring sight.

    At first, the dark night sky had a blue tint begin to seep in, but not one that obscured the stars in any way. Suddenly there was a great contrast between the peaks of the mountains and the sky that hadn¡¯t been noticeable before.

    The sky then began to bleed colors into it. Reds, yellows and streaking purple clouds for contrast, all with the background of the sharp black voids of the mountains on the horizon.

    The strangely shaped lakes reflected the sky perfectly, but added a sort of mystical feel to everything. Some lakes were perfectly round, others in strange zig-zag shapes. The hills didn¡¯t flow around here, but seemed to be randomly placed. It all added to the ethereal beauty of dawn.

    As the sky lightened, the mountaintops on the horizon began to shine with light. It looked like the sky had been cut by a thin band of gold all across the horizon. If one was to blink, they would miss important parts of the beauty that was a natural sunrise in the mountains so she tried her hardest to witness and reflect.

    Suddenly, almost too fast to realize, the whole world around her lit up with light in a wave from the west. The sun finally burst over the peaks of the mountains and daylight came with a torrent of bird calls and animal movements.

    It was a beautiful thing to witness, and the serenity it brought to Saravren¡¯s soul was something she would never be able to accurately describe. Her furred ears moved around, trying to capture all the sounds, while her tail twitched happily back and forth, almost breaking her stealth from her perch.

    As she sat and watched, the morning was suddenly rent asunder with thunder and flame from the north. She tensed and froze, her head whipping towards the sound as the whole forest seemed to pause. The Twisted nearby roared and began charging in that direction and after a quick breath to gather her nerves she decided to follow.

    What horror was her tribe being led to? What kind of monster could create such noise and heat? It was her duty to investigate, let alone to sate her own curiosity.

    Saravren¡¯s skills at blending worked as the enraged beasts moved. It was easy to keep pace with them and she soon found herself looking at a large clearing from across a meadow. Jumping up into a tree for a better view of the scene she saw it.

    A god. It must be.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    A creature that looked vaguely like a male tribesman was Covered in strange shining armor and surrounded by a blue dome. It held a very long knife of some kind that glowed with power. It was clearing out hordes of the Twisted with every breath she took, flinging frost, fire, and invisible blades of death with every movement.

    The sheer scale of the destruction was awe-inspiring.

    Never before had she heard of this sort of power except from stories of spirits and gods: long gone from this world.

    As she huddled in the tree, she found her hands were shaking, and she was taking small quick breaths. Breaking out of her fear, she realized that there was more noise above and beyond the calls of the beasts and the roars of magical destruction. The god seemed to be screaming - constantly shouting some sort of diatribe in a rough and sharp language that Saravren couldn¡¯t understand.

    The longer the fight went on, the more shocked she became.

    So much power! How was it possible to wield such energies for so long?!

    Eventually the field was cleared, and the god stood among the corpses breathing heavily. Slowly, he started moving towards an area that gave Saravren a headache to focus on. She was too scared to move an inch, worried that she might be noticed.

    He seemed to be doing something unfathomable around an area that twisted to her senses. The funny feeling slowly faded, and she could almost see some sort of magic happening near the god. As she switched her focus back to him, he was almost taken by surprise by some flying Twisted. After yelling some nonsense and annihilating them, he slowly began to move east.

    It struck Saravren as a little strange that he had been taken by surprise, beginning to crack her belief that this creature may be a god. As he moved slowly to the east, slaughtering a few more Twisted with little effort, she decided it was far past time to return and report her findings. Certainly if he hadn¡¯t noticed the monsters, then she would be safe with her own skill to fade to the senses.

    She winced a little inside at what Ethren would say to her reckless scouting, but had faith that the knowledge she brought back would be worth it.

    <hr>

    Ethren was livid at and simultaneously proud of his cousin. Of course, he could never let her know that. She was looking like a contrite child with her dark ears down and face pointed towards her feet, but she still bravely recounted her scouting to the council that was, frankly, hard to believe.

    A god, or something like it? Here in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of the cold north? Why was it here? What powers did it command? Was this a threat to the tribe? What should they do? Would this new spot be safe? Did they dare stay close enough to something that powerful? Should he even believe her?

    That last question jolted him out of his fugue state. Saravren was nothing if not perfectly trustworthy. If this was the case, he just had to take in the new knowledge and think.

    His mind raced as the elders talked in circles without any direction. Normally decisions would have been made by a chief and the elders would advise, but after the chief¡¯s line had been slaughtered during the war none had distinguished themselves well enough to claim that title.

    Eventually, he came to the obvious conclusion.

    Trust; but verify. It was an ancient creed of their order.

    The first thing he needed to do was to travel with a full team and scout out this new wrinkle. There was a river in the valley for water, and the normal guards for the clan could secure the area and hunt or forage for food well enough for the time being. The area was amazingly short on the more powerful Twisted, and so overall it would make an ideal place for a settlement.

    Ethren stood up and slapped his hand on the arm of his chair to draw attention to the squabbling elders.

    They all became silent fast enough for him to interject.

    ¡°I shall take Saravren and a few other scouts to explore this new situation. The remainder of the tribe shall set up here. It is a good spot for a camp for now, and this valley would be ideal to plant some crops and potentially settle for the long term. Whatever may happen in the future, we shall not be moving much further north. Start to settle in, mark out areas that would be ideal for fields, search for deadfall for firewood, down and process straight trees nearby to let them begin drying for shelters or homes. At worst it keeps our people busy, at best we have some lumber to make houses for the winter. This is a decree, as the military leader in a time of crisis, you cannot argue. See it done. I shall return as soon as I am able once the situation has been more fully explored.¡±

    He nodded and waved for Saravren to join him as he walked back outside.

    Saravren was still looking sheepish, knowing that there may be a scolding coming, but Ethren couldn¡¯t bring himself to stay too harsh.

    He paused and breathed a deep sigh. He had learned long ago that a dissapointed posture and a long silence would make the younger people think everything was their fault and begin to squirm. Small pleasures.

    ¡°Sara, you dissapointed me by running off without telling anyone or taking a second with you. That being said, you did fine ranger work, and if the whole tribe wasn¡¯t dependent on us, I would be proud. You risk all of us when you risk yourself. We don¡¯t have enough trained rangers and losing you or one of the others would be devastating.

    ¡°Technically, your solo mission finished the criteria for becoming a full ranger. If we end up settling here, I shall put you forward officially as a ranger candidate to the council. That being said, if I ever hear you, or anyone else for that matter, doing something so reckless again, I¡¯ll beat the lessons that need to be taught into them so well that they won¡¯t sit properly for a month, Understood?¡± He said, as he watched her stand straight with a mix of emotions on her face. She nodded stiffly at him, and Ethren turned to walk away.

    ¡±Rest for now, and we shall move out at dusk.¡± Ethren told her with a soft voice.

    The perfect combination of disappointment at first, a hard line in the middle, and hopeful support at the end tempered with clearly understood consequences. He played her like a lute, or a head ranger, he supposed. He felt a tiny but sick doing this to her, but it was necessary for her development¡­ so he had been told. His father and grandfather had loved it¡­ best not to dwell on those memories too long.

    He noticed Saravren perked up somewhat and gave a little salute as she stumbled with attempted alacrity towards the initiate¡¯s tent. She had probably been up for close to two days and would need rest before showing the path she took.

    Ethren wondered what everything could mean. There were patterns here that were starting to fall into place. The myths of their ancestors talking of a great battle in the mountains, the lack of stronger Twisted in this direction over the years, the report from Saravren about this rampaging god¡­ It all came together into something he didn¡¯t understand, but believed was important.

    Huffing quietly in anger with his right ear twitching, Ethren began to issue orders to the scouts and rangers that he could find. He would take a nap soon, but in the meantime the path northwest must be opened and cleared of all hostiles.

    For some reason, he felt that they didn¡¯t have much time to waste.

    <hr>

    Richard stopped on his walk. He felt something¡­ strange. He hadn¡¯t made it even half the way towards the salt lick, but there was something funky. It was barely perceptible, but if there¡¯s one thing that he had gotten good at over the years it was noticing incongruencies in his surroundings.

    It wasn¡¯t a monster¡­ maybe¡­ but it was something that wiggled on the general magical field.

    I mean¡­ it could be a monster. Maybe there are new stealth monsters? Hell, I¡¯ll never sleep if I think about that for too long. He thought, scanning the magical field slowly and concentrating.

    ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s moving south south-west, fast. Not many monsters that way, but they don¡¯t seem to notice it¡­ I¡¯m too old to deal with this crap. If it leaves, then good for me and it.¡± Richard suddenly decided, speaking with the voice of a twenty year old and the spite of a great-great-grandfather who had been abandoned with only feral cats for company.

    He began to trudge back east, but eventually slowed to a stop.

    What if¡­

    Shaking his head vigorously, he decided to be more aggressive and fight back against those insidious hopes. They had barely begun to surface into his consciousness before his well ingrained defensive (see: pessimistic) tactics fought furiously against them.

    There weren¡¯t too many monsters on the way to the cliff wall that held the salt lick, and he also subconsciously ignored the fact that there should be more. Clearing out the last remnants, he decided it was time to buckle down and get some salt.

    Ever so slowly, Richard began to walk towards the cliff face while he immersed himself in his soul consciousness. The pressure began to arise as he was almost there, and he tried his best to strengthen the bond as he walked.

    His eyes were closed - all of his focus on the bond. It had been a weird cycle, and he was feeling pressured to make some progress this year. That, and he really wanted some damned salt!

    He was wholly inside of his own soul, pulling the connection along with him, when suddenly his face slammed into an object.

    Snapping back to awareness he stared at the wall of whitish-yellow wall that he had just bonked his face into incomprehensively. It took a few minutes of dragging his frayed mind back into focus before he realized that he was standing next to the salt lick!.

    ¡°No WAY!¡± Richard suddenly screamed, his arms flailing above his head as he did a strange victory dance reminiscent of a concussed drunk.

    He hadn¡¯t even begun to feel sick or tired!

    This was amazing!

    Richard sat down hard and began laughing like a maniac - tears dripping down his face. His brain couldn¡¯t understand why he was happy yet - it was short circuited on just the feeling of accomplishment. It had been¡­ a long time since he felt this.

    Actually accomplishing a long-term goal? When was the last time he could say that? He certainly couldn¡¯t remember. It had been.. Well, it¡¯d been a long time.

    ¡°Salt! Fucking saaaallltttt!!¡± he screamed at no one.

    Richard popped quickly up on his feet and unsheathed his short battle blade again. Layering it with sharp force, he cut out a huge chunk of the more white stone, and then tried to pick it up, giggling like an idiot.

    Realizing he was not, in fact, super-human, he cut the stones into smaller chunks and picked up what he could carry before beginning a goofy march with legs flying high back to his base.

    Whatever that strange thing had been, it was long gone from Richard''s mind. It would show up again, or not. It was rare that anything ever truly changed, but he was good at spotting it when it did. But all that paled in comparison to being able to add salt to his menu.

    He was gunna salt everything.

 Chapter 6

    Richard was living the good life.

    Roast bunniwhatever with fresh seasonings, slow cooked over embers made of sweet wood¡­ that he couldn¡¯t remember the name of right now, but it made good bows? Anyway, SALT. Seasonings were nice, but adding salt to his roast¡­ and his vegetables¡­ and his potatoes¡­ damn, he had missed salt.

    Heaven.

    He took two whole days off after dragging his prize back home to process and grind the salt up just to enjoy different meals.

    Rarely over the years had he taken any real time off, but just luxuriating in salt called for it. Victory had become a complicated concept to Richard, but there had been only a handful of times when he could remember celebrating during his long vigil.

    The first time he cleared the area of monsters, the first time he created well tanned and comfortable clothing, his first cycle without taking an injury, finding different foods and herbs for his garden, and when he had figured out and fixed the first runes.

    Victories were rare, and far between. The emotional high of finally achieving another long-term goal couldn¡¯t be over-appreciated.

    Richard was living large.

    He even dug out a pit and took trips with large leather waterskins to fill from the river, dumped the water and some salt in, heated it up, and had a salt bath.

    Did it do anything that he could tell?

    No.

    Did he stay in there for four hours anyway?

    Hells yes.

    Then he pondered the important things:

    The only possible way his meals could be improved would be with bread.

    Despite his many many years of searching for a grain substitute, he had come up empty. There were wild onions that he had eventually made into somewhat less-wild onions, carrots, potatoes, a few roots he didn¡¯t have names for, a plethora of wild herbs, and the only true gem in the past¡­ however long: honey.

    He hadn¡¯t been able to make bread, though.

    He could barely recall at this point how it felt to eat bread. He remembered hard tack, because it was easy enough to just grab a rock and try to chew on it; but real bread.. It had some kind of crunch like carrots, but¡­ softer...ish? and it had a spongy taste like potatoes, but¡­ lighter and maybe sweeter? He couldn¡¯t remember, but his stomach still wanted it.

    Regardless, he now had salt, which was not only an active ingredient of bread, but it opened up loads of other flavors. Salted meat! He didn¡¯t even really need to salt it, he could just hunt it fresh, but he made it anyway just to remember a little bit of what life used to be like.

    Sometime during the third day, Richard realized he was sitting in his now quite cold salt bath, eating salted pork substitute, and crying about bread. He was unsure how long he had been in this state at first, but now realized it was time to bring his mind back to reality.

    Frankly, after cleaning up and getting warm again, he considered it might not be a bad thing to go back to the bath and lose it for a bit longer, but it was too late. He already had come back from the bottom. The garden needs tending and the monsters need murdering.

    After a little work cleaning up the garden and watering a few things he got his gear ready. Sighing, Richard pulled his gambeson and mail on, plopped on his helmet (just in case) and started trudging to the ward barrier.

    As he left the field, he sent out a normal long-range scan, and found, to his confusion, that there were no new monsters coming from the southwest. The area near him had been filled in due to the vacuum created during his initial rampage, but there was a notable gap.

    Almost every cycle he would murder a bunch of monsters and the others nearby would sense the lack of monsters in the area and move to fill the void.

    He saw no new monsters coming from the south and was confused.

    Maybe.. Could it be? No. No, don¡¯t get your hopes up again.

    Time to investigate.

    Wait. Wait, he couldn¡¯t do that. It was too much of a break out of his normal routine. He needed to clear the whole area first, then he could go off on tangents and dreams. The area to the west was still pretty cleared out, so he began to wander north at first. This wasn¡¯t like his first day where he used shock, awe, and superior firepower. It was time to clear out monsters more stealthily so the monsters further out would move in faster over time.

    ¡°Alright. Enough confusing me, let''s do my thing.¡±

    <hr>

    Saravren was about to lose her cool, promising that she had seen a powerful creature only for it to disappear by the time she brought others to witness. She had reported her observations, and the rangers under Ethren had immediately deployed to observe - but there was nothing here.

    She had almost been ridiculed for her tenacity and that it was true they couldn¡¯t find the perpetrator, until the rangers had found the battlefield.

    It was a swath of forest, completely devastated by some arcane force. There were still corpses of Twisted stacked like cordwood, yet none were fully intact. It was a scene reminiscent of the great monster migrations that were fought off near towns or cities to the south so many years ago. Only Ethren was old enough to remember what that looked like. They had been moving for so long, and most of their more experienced rangers were no more.

    The devastation was clear, and there was no city here, no large group, just a field of death that confirmed Saravren¡¯s reports.

    The ranger scouts and initiates had kept a constant watch on the area while the rest of the tribe dug in. It had been three days since she had reported back about the battle, and there hadn¡¯t been much activity. They had been clearing the area and making sure at least one person was always near the battlefield to keep watch. Most couldn¡¯t feel the Field well enough to notice things easily like Ethren and to a smaller extent Saravren.

    Saravren was feeling tired and hungry. It had been a long several days and she was daydreaming a little about her nice warm tent and a bath. She was hoping that Ethren would call it time to go back to camp when...

    The God(?) had finally shown up.

    It was actually rather startling. One moment the rangers (okay, two rangers and two initiates) were all observing a mostly normal stretch of wilderness and the next a large presence appeared not even a mile away. It was jarring enough that even people untrained in sensing the Field would probably have noticed something. It was a powerful and blatant disruption.

    They all made the same bird call simultaneously making Ethren flush slightly as it was not only a dead give away, but something that should have been trained out of the scouts. He hadn¡¯t been given enough time to train any of them properly.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Saravren heard his call to gather up, and she moved quickly to the small cold camp they had been using.

    Deilos was currently on watch closest to the area of the disruption so the other rangers moved up to him quickly and silently as they waited for Ethren¡¯s orders. He listened to the reports, then nodded. He issued commands quietly and they moved back out.

    Saravren was the stealth expert of the group, and so she took point. The others would fan out and move cautiously. Ethren ordered them to only observe for now. They needed to know the disposition of this creature and learn more about it.

    She found a little glade with a bubbly stream in the direction it was moving and waited. It was a nice morning with fluffy clouds and warmer spring temperatures, but the ground was moist and she made no noise. The area was ideal for her to observe, as she sat up in a tree and stayed where she could see the god, or whatever it was as it came near.

    When she saw it break through the cover of the trees, it looked the same as the first time she had noticed it.

    It was still clad in the strange shiny metal tunic with the metal cap, but she could see more as she was closer this time. It had small ears, hair only on its head, it was bulky with muscle, walked with confidence more than grace, and had no obvious breasts, so she decided it was a he. His skin was light and paler than those in the tribe, but he moved as if he owned the area around him. He wore strange leathers that didn¡¯t seem to be properly treated with dyes or oils, but were extraordinarily well tailored to his form.

    He walked quickly through the clearing and began to slowly move north. Occasionally he would fire strong magical blasts, but wasn¡¯t using the grand area magics from before. It was only after the sounds died down that she realized he had cleared out more of the Twisted. The ripples that his presence and magics created on the Field made it hard to distinguish fine details.

    As he moved further away, the rangers followed at a distance.

    It took a while for Ethren to realize that the god had been moving directly towards twisted, one after another. He came to the dire realization that the god could probably feel the Field better than they could, which might mean that they were in danger staying as close as they had been.

    He whistled ¡®warning¡¯ and motioned for a huddle.

    As they grouped up, he said, ¡°We need to be careful. It seems that it is moving from one Twisted to the next, which means it can probably sense the FIeld. We need to move further back, at the very least. Saravren, what did you observe?¡±

    She quietly reported, ¡°It is clearly male, though unlike any person I have seen or heard about. He has ears more like the Kailen than us and he has no tail, but his ears are round and skin pale. He doesn¡¯t have the horns of the Kailen, so I do not know what he is. He wears some sort of metal cap and tunic that look strange. The metal is shiny like bronze, but it is a grey color. He has a long dagger of some sort, but I only saw it sheathed at his side before he moved too far away. He walks with confidence but seems to be using less strong magics than the first time I saw him.¡±

    She noticed the other rangers look at her sceptically when she said that.

    Ethren asked, ¡°That powerful magic is less than he used before? It disturbs the Field so much it¡¯s hard to believe he could use more power.¡±

    She nodded, looking him in the eyes.

    Ethren sighed, and looked away. He was thinking for a few moments, before he turned back to them.

    He blew out a breath, and then said, ¡°Okay, I think we need to move further back. If he can sense the Field anywhere near as well as I can, then we are in danger remaining this close.¡±

    He was about to say more, probably trying to coddle her again and keep her back, but she spoke up before he could continue. ¡°Only I can follow and observe. You are all too obvious. He sends out death magic towards things we cannot even notice at this range. If we all get too close, he will simply annihilate us, but I have already been close and he didn¡¯t react. No one else in the clan has my skills at stealth. I think I should follow and observe while you move further back. Someone should report to camp, also.¡± She passionately gave her opinion. There were butterflies in her stomach, and she knew her tail was probably twitching nervously, but Ethren had said that she was almost a full ranger, so her words should have weight.

    She looked at Ethren, trying to express how important this was, and to her surprise, he agreed.

    Ethren stated,¡±I think you¡¯re right, unfortunately. I also noticed how that¡­ whatever it is¡­ fired at Twisted I didn¡¯t even sense. He would sense us easily. Looking at you now is the only way I even can tell you are nearby. Deilos, you will return to camp and update the council on what we have seen so far. Gloast, you will stay with me here, but we will fall back to the cold camp and pack things up.¡± and he seemed pained to admit it.

    Ethren¡¯s face twisted in an unfathomable expression. And Saravren¡¯s stomach twisted further. She thought he might change his mind, until she saw that annoying smirk he probably thought he hid well.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I cannot send a trainee for this observation mission.¡± He said, slowly and deliberately. Saravren tensed, she held her breath for his next words.

    ¡°It must be a ranger. So I guess that means I¡¯ll have to make you one, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He said, eyes twinkling. ¡°Congratulations on the field promotion, Saravren. I told you before that I would speak to the council, but I think the situation is enough. These long months of training have not been wasted on you. Make us proud. Never forget your duty, and live your life with the honor of our ancestors to guide your heart.¡±

    Saravren was swept up in emotions, knowing that this was a rare and great honor. She also knew she would be taking her angst of the little joke from Ethren out on him for months to come.

    Saravren nodded solemnly to the group, ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡± she replied. Ethren and Deilos, the only full rangers, gave her a nod and a quick salute, while Gloast sent her a smile. They broke up to their duties quickly after.

    She began to track the powerful man¡¯s progress to the north. She could sneak up and observe but didn¡¯t get too close. Hopefully, her observations would illuminate the character of this strange being. Her tribe was on its last legs, and if he was a threat, then she didn¡¯t know what they would do.

    The wilderness here was pristine and untamed, so it was hard to stay silent while moving. She used all of her training and experience to keep close enough to observe, but hopefully not close enough to be found.

    As the man walked north, it seemed he was constantly aware of the actions of everything around him. He sent fire, ice, and force of great power, but never let his control lapse enough for anything but his target to be hit. He was silent and seemed totally at home within the woods.

    Saravren thought she might be able to learn from his tactics. He walked with confidence, but also with great skill. None of the rangers seemed as at home in the woods as the strange man did. She decided to move a little closer to better observe his actions.

    He always seemed so slow and methodical, but at the same time reminded her of the stories of great chiefs and hunters from her childhood with his competency.

    He had been moving in slow arcs east and west, but in a generally northern direction for a while now. Saravren thought it was rather clear that he was systematically clearing the woods of any Twisted, and she was impressed that he was doing it all alone and seemingly without fear or taking damage.

    She had become used to his pattern after a few hours and decided to move a little ahead of where he would be soon, so she could get a closer look at a meadow he would probably be walking through soon.

    Eventually he moved into the meadow, just as she had predicted, and she studied him. It was a little strange seeing this person who had dealt so much death just walking slowly across the meadow as if he hadn¡¯t a care in the world. The northern mountainous region was well known for being uninhabitable and flooded with dangerous Twisted and other more normal monsters.

    As her clan had moved further north over time, the normal monster populations had begun to taper off, but there had still been things that would need to be watched for, lest they attack you at a moment of distraction.

    She was musing on these thoughts and studying his face as he got closer and closer. That was until she realized far too late that he was walking more or less straight at her.

    How had that happened?! She had been completely distracted!

    Saravren froze.

    What should she do?!

    She tried to weave her stealth closer and stronger to her body, but it was obviously too late. This strange man was looking right at where she was perched in the tree. His blue eyes almost glowed as they bored towards her location. It was obvious her cloak was broken.

    She was terrified. This creature was akin to the legends of their gods or great spirits - there was no way to fight against something like that.

    Slowly, she relaxed her control of her stealth. It seemed the only way to let him know that she was here, but also not a threat. It would signal Ethren so he would realize something had happened. He would notice that she had dropped her stealth and hopefully come towards her. She didn¡¯t move, just slowly brought her aura back to a normal level.

    Tears were beginning to crowd her vision as the god or man suddenly stopped, eyes staring right at her. She didn¡¯t want to die, but knew she was at the mercy of someone else.

    He had come to a stop just out of the treeline from her and she could hear his heavy breathing. He looked.. Confused?

    Saravren sent a prayer to her ancestors, and she hesitantly began to climb down the tree, never breaking eye contact.

 Chapter 7

    The day had started so well.

    Just a normal afternoon of clearing out monsters, he thought.

    Fresh out of his salt vacation, he hoped to return to some normalcy with a good ¡®ol monster murder spree.

    That was until he picked up that weird signal again. It was closer than last time. He could also sense something else nearby, but not nearly as muted. The signals he was picking up were strange; they almost felt like normal animals more than anything but had more of a presence in the magical spectrum. They didn¡¯t seem aggressive but he wasn¡¯t about to lower his guard.

    This was weird.

    The very far reaches of his mind tingled with something akin to familiarity when he studied these new contacts, but they seemed strange and cautious. As he continued to hunt down monsters and clear them out he kept his senses on the new anomalies. He noticed when they began cautiously following him at a distance.

    He had been able to pick up three more clear individual marks, but one more was intermittent and he would lose it on occasion as he walked.

    After about an hour of monster slaying he noticed the marks meet up and then the three more obvious ones broke away together as the ¡®sneaky¡¯ one moved closer.

    That was very strange.

    ALL monsters are aggressive. For hundreds of years he had seen the same patterns over and over. What he observed now didn¡¯t make sense. Not only were they obviously able to track him and didn¡¯t attack, they bunched together, then separated, and seemed to be coordinating. It was reminiscent of some of the monster packs, but clearly different.

    He decided to continue working north but keep a portion of his focus on them to see what happened.

    The anomaly followed him, but didn¡¯t get very close at first as he swept back and forth moving north. A few times it was almost close enough that he might have been able to see it, but he couldn¡¯t ever get eyes on target.

    That was new, and frankly a little impressive.

    He had been hunting in this forest for so long that not being able to notice something strange was really pulling him off his game.

    He had already had his fill of new things this cycle, and was feeling off kilter. The strange lessening of the Arcstone restrictions, actually getting to the salt, hell - even almost getting scraped by that hound inside the wards, he felt like something was tilted the wrong way.

    He slowed his advance, and focused on the anomaly. It¡­ didn¡¯t seem to be a normal monster.

    Monsters were always somewhat demented about attacking, so this cautious and intelligent stalking made him nervous. The essence of the signal was strange and he had that annoying tingle in his mind that felt like he could almost remember something from the past, but it eluded him like so many other times.

    The sneaky anomaly moved ahead of his current sweep and Richard decided enough was enough. He was already off kilter, and was tired of pussyfooting around and being stalked.

    He cast the mage armor spell just in case as he moved into a meadow. it wasn¡¯t a perfect defense, but would protect him from a hit or two unless it was something large or magical. He kept moving in the general direction before turning towards where he could now sense the anomaly clearly. He stared into the shadows under the trees trying to make out what was there.

    Deep inside he was beginning to shiver a little. There were very few explanations for what this thing could be. Some of them made a certain amount of sense like it being some funky new stealth monster or a normal creature with magic, but those were super rare around the rift and that didn¡¯t feel right.

    He decided, or maybe his insecurities and fears decided, to directly approach the almost hidden thing. It seemed to be up in a tree inside the treeline at the edge of the meadow.

    As he got closer, he could almost sense a fluctuation along the field of mana that seemed to broadcast¡­ fear?

    Richard, or something inside him, decided to slow and come to rest while looking at the tree. He wasn¡¯t sure what he felt. Deep inside he was quivering with an emotion he couldn¡¯t quite place, and that was on top of his already frayed nerves from the rest of the cycle breaking his schedule so often.

    He decided to wait.

    As he stood there, somewhat frozen, the anomaly¡¯s sense began to bloom to his vision. It definitely had a taste to it. Some washed out emotions of caution and fear were coloring his sense of the thing, and that was something he hadn¡¯t felt before. Or maybe he had? Why did this seem familiar?

    Was this some stealth mutant that was about to strike? Had he opened himself up for some monster to get close? Should he just err on the side of caution and light the tree up?

    But no, he realized. He was still far enough out of melee range. It would take a bolt mere moments to fry anything that came at him from that distance. It also didn¡¯t feel aggressive so his highly wound reflexes stayed silent for now.

    That¡¯s when he saw her drop out of the tree.

    The subtle swirl of the mana eddies that he had noticed had put him on high alert, and he expected it to be some sort of sneaky bird or cat or something. When it suddenly dropped out of a tree he almost instinctively lashed out. Once he noticed the two legs, two arms and an obvious face standing up and facing him with a look of fear and suspicion, his legs went weak and it became hard to breathe.

    She, and judging by her clothes it was obviously a she, had weapons. A dagger at her waist, a bow across her shoulders, with a quiver behind her back. He remembered his old bow that had lasted for a long while before he ran out of replacement strings and had eventually dried and cracked, and hers was similar. Her gear and clothing was crude, but just seeing something that was obviously made by intelligent people was a situation he had trouble getting his mind around.

    She was.. well not a human, but close and obviously sentient. The emotions floating across her face and echoing in the magical field couldn¡¯t be denied.

    ¡°No. No, you¡¯re a dream. I¡¯m dreaming. You can¡¯t be real.¡± he mumbled softly, fully entranced by the creature in front of him.

    There were obvious differences from himself. The dark silky hair on her head had fuzzy ears coming out of the side tapering to points with a few longer hairs at the tips. Her eyes were large and golden; not any color he could remember having seen before. Her skin was a little darker than his, but clearly skin. She had hair, yes, but it fell onto her face in areas that looked like fur. He thought he noticed a tail flicking behind her.

    Regardless, this was a person.

    Which meant the other three from before probably were too.

    A person.

    Here.

    Right in front of him.

    How¡­

    How long had he waited for this moment?

    Was it real?

    Could he trust himself? Was he dreaming? Was this some new kind of monster?

    Richard realized tears were leaking down his face, as his hand reached out towards her. She hadn¡¯t moved much, but her reaction to his reaction was one of confusion and suspicion. She was shivering slightly, her ears were twitching randomly, and her posture was tense.

    She opened her mouth and he heard her speak¡­ SHE SPOKE¡­ but he couldn¡¯t understand her.

    He was too stunned to try to communicate. He just stared at her and wept. His brain was frozen. He didn¡¯t know what to do.

    It had been so long. Maybe.. Just maybe.. His long vigil hadn¡¯t been in vain? Maybe the war had saved someone out there?

    He couldn''t believe it.

    He couldn¡¯t afford to.

    It was too impossible to be true but at the same time Richard¡¯s soul pleaded that it was.

    His body was afire, fighting itself. He felt like the world was tilting, and his body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He was breathing hard and the light breeze across his skin felt like what he imagined music would taste. Everything was strange, and there was a ringing in his ears.

    Yet.

    Here was proof.

    Was she human as he remembered?Stolen story; please report.

    No.

    Did that matter?

    Not one bit.

    His mind snapped away from the edge of madness. ¡°Please¡± Richard whispered with a shaky, husky voice, ¡°please be real.¡±

    The woman took a few hesitant steps forward into the light. She had her hand near a long dagger, but didn¡¯t draw it and stopped a few body lengths away. Her dark hair was in a braid behind her head; a dark brown which turned to a kind of fuzz on her ears. The tips of her ears were black with some hairs poking out like a bobcat. She wore simple leather pants, and a dark tunic of some form of linen or something similar.

    She was the most beautiful thing he could remember ever seeing.

    She said some more nonsense words. She sounded hesitant and confused. His mind was full of fluff, just staring at her.

    She slowly walked closer, and Richard heard the grass moving beneath her feet, saw the wind blowing in her hair, and it was almost too much for him to bear. It seemed so real! If this was an illusion it would be the most cruel thing that had happened in a century. He couldn¡¯t bear to believe her to be real, but at the same time he couldn¡¯t bear to believe she wasn¡¯t, either.

    He backed up a few steps, and she stopped approaching. They just stood there for a few minutes studying each other.

    It had been so long that he had been sure that none had made it back alive, or that there wasn¡¯t anywhere left to get back to. After the first few hundred years, he had given up, somewhere deep inside. It was breaking his heart to see someone walking towards him, but it would break his heart if she didn¡¯t. He realized he was scared, but his breathing was beginning to ease up.

    She had stopped just a few body lengths away from Richard. Her suspicious and frightened expression had turned to confusion and¡­ something. He couldn¡¯t tell. He knew sadness, surprise, suspicion, pain¡­ but he had forgotten what faces could look like with other emotions.

    Richard¡¯s brain began to work again in spurts. He realized he had one hand on his sword and the other was almost reaching towards her. At the corners of his awareness he felt that two other anomalies were beginning to move swiftly in his direction, but it would take quite some time for them to get close.

    He looked into her eyes and said ¡°Where in the world did you come from?¡±

    Her head tilted slightly to the side and her eyes squinted slightly. She opened her mouth and said some words in a strange lilting language.

    Typical. Actually, that kind of makes sense, now that Richard considered it. It had been a long time, afterall. There had been lots of different languages spoken in the final army, even. Richard had known a translation spell at some point, but it had been so long that he forgot most of the incantation for it.

    Richard frowned and shook his head slightly. He wasn¡¯t sure what to do. He had dreamed of this sort of situation for longer than he could remember, but it had never gone quite like this in his mind.

    She had taken a hesitant step backwards when he frowned, and her fear began to color her aura again. Was she afraid of him?

    Well, now that he thought about it, he had been wandering around murdering things all day, and the first time he had noticed her signal was ¡®opening day¡¯ where he went a little nuts with the big explosions.

    Huh.

    He was armored and had mage armor still around himself, though it was mostly transparent. He decided to try to look less threatening. He took his hand off of his sword and straightened his posture a bit while also mentally dismissing the armor spell. He lifted his right arm and held his hand with palm facing her.

    He slowly pointed at himself and said ¡°Richard¡± and then pointed at her and raised an eyebrow and asked ¡°you?¡±.

    She had frozen, but was slowly relaxing, her brow furrowed.

    She slowly nodded and pointed at herself and said ¡°Saravren¡± with her soft voice.

    Richard began to smile like an idiot. He knew he was smiling like an idiot and wanted to stop, but he couldn¡¯t help himself. He figured his first impression was already kinda ruined with him being a screaming idiot and blowing things up, or at least stalking around all day¡­ or crying and shaking like a¡­ you know what? He decided didn¡¯t mind that he was grinning like an idiot.

    The other anomalies were getting close now, so he cleared his throat and took a step back.

    He pointed at himself and then her and said ¡°Richard, Saravren¡± and then pointed at the forest behind her, then raised two fingers. ¡°Friends of yours?¡± he said, knowing she wouldn¡¯t understand, but hoping she would pick it up from context.

    She jumped slightly, looking over her shoulder. They weren¡¯t here yet, but would be in a minute or two. She looked back towards him, her ears flattened a little with a twisted smile on her face as she wrung her hands slightly. She said some words, pointed at herself and then gestured behind her while nodding.

    So they were probably friends. Okay, he could work with that. He nodded and took a few more steps back, left hand back on his sword as he put his hand up in a hopefully universal gesture for ¡®hold¡¯.

    She nodded back at him and stayed still, hands away from her weapons.

    As they stood there awkwardly waiting, Richard¡¯s mind began to begin working properly again. There was a person standing in front of him. There were two more coming this way, and there had been a fourth that he felt earlier.

    Four people even if they didn¡¯t look just like him. It was proof that humanity, or some form of it, had survived. He wasn¡¯t sure what to do next. He had obviously dreamed of this situation over and over, but the lack of a shared language and that there were so few of them was a bit off of what he had expected.

    The idea had been for a large group of learned people to come and relieve him of his duty and his dreams had generally used that as a guideline. They would be able to study and hopefully seal the rift permanently. His duty would be done!

    Though Archmage Holister had made it fairly clear to Richard that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to be unbound from the Arcstone, it could theoretically be moved once a proper seal was placed. He had dreamed of traveling back to civilization and being around people as the returning hero. Make new friends, help humanity recover, build a home and a family maybe.

    He knew it was a complete fantasy, but now looking at this woman, all of his dreams were being derailed by reality.

    As he did a quick sweep of the area checking for monsters, his mind kept returning to the idea of some sort of translation spell, but he knew he had forgotten how to cast it. Maybe there was something inside the Arcstone that he was forgetting? He knew they made heavy enough use of the spell towards the end of the war. There were a lot of functions inside the Arcstone, but he hadn¡¯t looked at or studied them for a long time after he had figured out what he needed. There were so many different humans trying to work together from different regions and cultures, and many of them didn¡¯t speak the same language so there was at least a possibility of something being integrated into the wards or the stone.

    It was tickling the back of his mind, but he didn¡¯t have enough time to focus on what it could mean as the others had finally arrived. Saravren made some sort of whistle noise towards the forest. It was clearly a signal, and Richard moved his feet a little further apart and let his body relax into a ready stance. He was too used to constant combat, and wasn¡¯t sure what to do in this situation.

    Two larger and clearly male people moved into view, bows in hand and arrows knocked. The larger and maybe older looking male spoke the same lilting language as Saravren quietly with an undercurrent of anger or something. Saravren turned to him, hands empty and they spoke quickly, almost too low for Richard to hear. Not that it mattered, but he guessed that the new guy didn¡¯t know that Richard couldn¡¯t understand him yet.

    The suspicion was oozing off of the new guy, who seemed to be a leader of some kind. He had that air of authority that Richard recognised from his vague memories of army officers. After listening for a minute or so, he removed the arrow from his bow and motioned for the other one to do the same.

    He didn¡¯t put the arrow away though, Richard noticed.

    Saravren stepped back a pace or two and the older one walked in front of her. He looked similar in coloring to her, with hair just a shade darker. There were some lines on his face, and his gear looked a little more worn, though clearly well cared for and fitted.

    Richard looked in his eyes, and nodded a little, pointing to himself and saying ¡±Richard¡± then repeating the motion of pointing towards the new guy and putting a questioning expression on his face.

    The new guy was tapping his arrow on his leg, face scrunched up a little like he was thinking hard about something. He nodded sharply before pointing the arrow at his chest and saying ¡°Ethren¡± then pointing at the other guy and saying ¡°Gloast.¡±

    Richard knew that he still had a smile on his face, though it wasn¡¯t at idiot levels currently. He nodded a few times and feeling like a bit of an idiot he asked ¡°Do you have any translation spell?¡± While he asked, he pointed at his mouth and then to Ethren and back again while using his other hand to sprinkle harmless magic sparkles while he waved his fingers.

    Ethren looked at him with a confused expression though he seemed a little startled as he saw the magic. He shook his head back and forth, saying something that Richard couldn¡¯t understand.

    Richard dropped his hands onto his hips with a huff. He looked at the ground and tried to think of a way to explain better or what to try next when Saravren stepped up to Ethren and said something to him.

    She mimed pointing at her mouth then ears and then back and forth between them while wiggling her fingers (without sparkles) and that ¡®asking¡¯ look on her face.

    Well at least I know who the smart one is, Richard thought to himself. He was beginning to have fun communicating with charades.

    He pointed at himself and shook his head in the negative. He repeated his earlier motions, this time also pointing at his ear, then raised his hand and wiggled it back and forth in a maybe motion while tapping his head, pained expression on his face. He was trying to say I don¡¯t know a translation spell, but I might, but I can¡¯t remember it. He wasn¡¯t sure how good his acting skills were coming across.

    Richard¡¯s brain was still recovering from his shock and he was beginning to suspect that there might, indeed, be something built into the Arcstone, but he would need to meditate and go through it¡¯s functions to figure that out and now wasn¡¯t the time.

    The three cat people talked amongst themselves, assumedly trying to decipher what he was saying. It got a little heated for a few moments, and Richard felt a bit of worry. After a few minutes Richard was beginning to feel awkward again until Ethren looked back at Richard suspiciously for a moment. He must have decided something because he finally put his arrow away then mimed that they had to go by pointing at all of them and then pointing south.

    It was pretty clear, but Richard was a little crushed by that. He knew his face must have fallen some, but he took a deep breath and nodded. He pointed at himself and then mimed walking with his fingers and then the ground and a circle. Ethren seemed to understand, nodded, and then they all began to slowly walk back into the forest. Saravren gave him some sort of look as she glanced back a few times, but Richard didn¡¯t know what it meant.

    Richard just stood there still in a bit of shock while following them with his senses as they walked away once he couldn¡¯t see them anymore. Crushing loneliness was starting to creep up on him, and he just couldn¡¯t dredge up the energy to move from where he was standing.

    It took them about an hour or so to finally leave his range and the sun had gotten low in the sky by then. Richard finally managed to shake himself out of his funk a little by reminding himself that they might come back, and he would need to see if he could figure out the translation function or maybe jog his memory enough to remember the spell. It wasn¡¯t likely he would remember, but he decided that hoping was better than giving up. He was terrible at learning new languages, and it wasn¡¯t like he could get a whole group of people to start speaking his.

    He began to walk back towards the fort, lost in thought. This was the best day he could remember. He should be jumping in joy and excited, but all he felt was apprehensive. The cat people seemed skittish and suspicious of him instead of happy. I mean, it made sense, but Richard had been dreaming of a friendly heroic welcome for so long that reality left him feeling unbalanced and worried. This dream being so different, along with all of the other strange things this cycle, had him off balance and feeling odd.

    He hoped they would come back tomorrow, or soon at any rate. He would make sure to clear the area to the south for the foreseeable future keeping an eye out for their return and try to figure out the translation spell during the evenings.

    With a clear plan, he picked up his pace. He had work to do.

 Chapter 8

    As the group of rangers walked away from the clearing, Saravren had mixed feelings. She was following Ethren¡¯s orders; now that contact had been established and Richard didn¡¯t seem like a threat it was time to return and inform the council. The orders made a certain amount of sense to her, but at the same time she felt they were letting an opportunity pass.

    Ethren had missed the initial reactions Richard had displayed when they met. He had seemed shocked like someone who had hit their head too hard but was also sad with a few tears falling and confused all at the same time. When they had introduced themselves his whole face had lit up with the most expressive smile she had ever seen. His intense blue eyes that had seemed tired and flat had suddenly lit up like the dawn breaking through dark clouds. He had seemed nervous but joyful and was just beginning to relax a little and lose the shell shocked expression when Ethren arrived.

    At first she had been terrified, but that didn¡¯t last long after his initial aggressive stance relaxed. She even began to feel a little comfortable with their interactions while he had a goofy grin and was using his hands and face to communicate. He seemed almost childlike in a way. She hadn¡¯t felt any aggressive feelings directed towards them, despite the fact that they were clearly of a different race.

    When Ethren had told Richard that they were going to leave, there was a moment of profound loneliness and sadness that swept over his face. His eyes lost their luster as he seemed to almost meekly accept the decision. Some hope came back in his body language as he let them know he would be¡­ walking or waiting nearby? At least that¡¯s what Saravren parsed out of the final motions.

    After they had been walking for ten minutes or so, Saravren turned to Ethren and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure we should have left so fast. He seemed to be pretty open to trying to communicate. I know that you are the leader, but I feel like maybe we could have waited a little longer?¡±

    Ethren glanced at her for a moment before responding, ¡°Maybe. Our jobs as rangers, however, is to scout and determine and neutralize threats. I think, for the most part, we determined that he isn¡¯t currently hostile, so that means that further contact will be diplomatic: which is not our job. We need to get this information to the council so they can decide the next step. Once I determined he wasn¡¯t an immediate threat I knew that he could be a powerful ally or enemy and, frankly, we¡¯re not trained or skilled in diplomacy to keep ¡®talks¡¯ going.¡±

    They walked in silence for a while before Ethren spoke up again.

    ¡°Our lack of a chief for the tribe is going to make this complicated. I need you two to say nothing to anyone when we return. I will be talking with the council and it will be up to them to decide what to do.¡± Ethren had a dark look on his face as he continued, ¡°It will probably take a long time for any decision to be reached, unfortunately.¡±

    Saravren grunted agreement even though she wanted to keep arguing, but she knew it would be futile at this point. Ethren had her detail her meeting as they walked and she told him about all of her observations.

    As they picked up the pace a little, she began to go back over the whole ¡®conversation¡¯ and interaction with Richard.

    His language was harsh, but sounded complicated. His clothing and armor had been unlike anything she had ever seen. The intricacy of his metal shirt was amazing. It must have taken magic to be able to weave metal in such a way! His features were strange, but not ugly. He had less hair and no fur that she could see, but he had sharp and strong features and looked young. Except those eyes. They had looked old when he wasn¡¯t smiling excitedly. It was a look she had seen in warriors who had fought too long, or parents that had lost their children.

    She was fairly certain that he had been asking them if they knew how to cast a spell so that they could understand one another. She had never heard of anything like that.

    Unfortunately, it was unlikely that any of the tribe¡¯s magic users would know how to cast a spell like that. They had lost their head shaman in the same battle where the chief fell and only his two apprentices had survived. It was possible that they could figure something out, as shamans talked to the spirits and had some talent in scrying, but she felt it unlikely. The mages in the clan were adept at using some elemental magics, but something that could affect sound? Probably not.

    In fact, it was a little startling when Richard had made the magical sparkles show up without even muttering an incantation or seeming to concentrate at all. She knew he was a powerful mage by all of the spells he threw around, but the level of knowledge and control needed to cast spells that could interpret languages or to throw sparks with but a thought was beyond anything she had heard of. It took a lot of concentration for her to use her stealth skills or to feel presences in the Field, but he barely seemed to notice he was even doing anything.

    They were making good time back towards camp, and Saravren was excited to hear what would be decided before she remembered Ethren saying it would probably take a while.

    She was still excited though because she would be able to take a bath soon! That was the only thing that she disliked about going out for days into the wilderness to scout. It was something Ethren had told her he wasn¡¯t happy about either, before she became an initiate ranger and he had to play at being a tough guy. Men.

    As they passed the sentries and broke past the final treecover into the large meadow that the tribe had set up camp, she was surprised at the amount of work that had been accomplished. There were paths all throughout the area, and cleared fields with the tall grass chopped down and laid to dry.

    Off to the side, Saravren noticed some logs piled up and people working at the forest edge to fell some more trees. The tents had all been set up, and it looked like there were repairs being made to frames and wagons. There were some new structures like racks to smoke meat and an area to clean or repair clothes.

    The rangers made their way back into camp, and Deilos came out to greet them. Saravren noticed that he, too, had taken the time for a bath. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

    Ethren barked a quick, ¡°Report¡± to Deilos as he matched strides with them.

    He responded curiously, ¡°The council has been informed of what I knew. I didn¡¯t expect you back so soon, so you can probably get some hot food and clean up before dealing with them, as most are working and it will take time to gather them all together. What brought you back so early?¡±

    Ethren stopped walking, now that he knew he had some time. He grunted noncommittally before saying, ¡°I¡¯d rather wait until after I talk to the council to see what they decide before any more information is shared. I¡¯ve told these two to keep things under wraps. Thanks for letting me know I¡¯ll have some time. Saravren, Deilos, you two can go rest or grab food, you shouldn¡¯t be needed for the rest of the day. Good work.¡±

    Saravren nodded, throwing a quick salute before she turned to find her tent. She was most definitely going to clean up and get her clothes drying before she went for food.

    She hoped that she would be able to go back and talk to Richard soon. If they could gain an ally in him, perhaps he could teach them how to do some of the magic he had access to! That would be amazing.

    As she made her way towards the river, she detoured to see if her friend Olena was busy. She was probably going to end up the next shaman, but the tribe hadn¡¯t had the time to have any official ceremonies yet.

    With her pack full of dirty clothes, she found Olena working to replace a few cracked supports for the large ceremonial tent.

    ¡°Olena! You busy? I¡¯m going to wash, if you want to join me.¡± She called.

    Olena looked up from her work with a smile. She was a little older than Saravren at thirty winters but had the same playful personality despite her shamans training, or perhaps because of it? She had a lighter brown coloration and generally wore looser, more flowing clothing than the other women.

    ¡°Sure, Sara, I¡¯ve been hoping someone would save me for hours now!¡± She replied with a grin. Standing with a little grunt she continued, ¡°Let¡¯s stop by my tent and I can grab my stuff.¡±

    As they walked towards the river, Olena asked ¡°How was your trip? Deilos said that you found the god spirit thing, is it true?¡±

    Saravren scrunched up her face a little in annoyance and said, ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t supposed to talk about it much, but yes we did. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a god or spirit, but what would I know? Say Olena, have you ever heard of a spell to help talk to something that doesn¡¯t speak pelle?¡±

    Olena gave her a ¡®i know something is fishy and will find out what¡¯ look before looking up. ¡°mmmmmm, I dunno. I guess you could say talking to the natural spirits is kinda like that. They don¡¯t speak in languages but in feelings and songs that it takes experience to translate. Why do you ask?¡± She gave Saravren a mischievous smile.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°O-Oh, uhh. No reason! Um, but what¡¯s that like? How can you understand feelings and songs instead of words?¡± Saravren replied sheepishly.

    Olena¡¯s suspicious glare was getting more intense, but her smirk showed she was mostly messing with her. ¡°Why, experience, of course! That¡¯s why I¡¯m a shaman, don¡¯t you know!¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. I suppose that makes sense.¡± They had arrived at the river, thankfully saving her from the increasingly perceptive Olena¡¯s interrogation.

    She hoped the elders wouldn¡¯t take too long to come to a decision.

    <hr>

    Ethren was eventually called into the larger tent in which the council met. It was beginning to get dark, but that was alright. He had had enough time to get cleaned up and rest with a full belly.

    He entered the tent and the five elders looked his way from where they were seated on logs around the central fireplace. They had mostly curious expressions and Elder Hollen waved him to take a seat. Ethren saluted near the entrance to the tent, then moved to sit between Elders Forthra and Yim.

    He studied the faces quickly as he was seated. Elder Hollen sat across from him and had a curious and slightly impatient look on his face. He is an older man with greying temples and is in charge of organizing the guards and scouts around camp and overall logistics and organization for the tribe.

    Elder Forthra, seated to his left, was a lady not yet old enough to be a grandmother. Her lighter blonde coloring hadn¡¯t started to grey, but the worry lines around her green eyes had been getting more numerous during the exodus. She was in charge of weaving and other handicrafts along with organizing the children, though it had been a while since they had had the time to work any crafts, and looked cautiously hopeful.

    Elder Yim, to his right, was the oldest of their elders, though still far from his dottage. He was the last surviving member of the original council before they had fled into exile, and he looked subdued and a little lost. He had been in charge of records and teaching, but those had been either destroyed or left behind in their flight though he still taught as much as he was able.

    Elder Pethel was next to the right, and he still had a little mud on his pants from working the fields. His black hair was also greying and was cut close to his scalp. He was their most experienced farmer, and lucky to still have his whole immediate family.

    Finally, elder Whelan was looking grouchy as usual, but his eyes were sharp and he gave Ethren a curt nod. He hadn¡¯t been happy for a while because he was in charge of crafts like fletching and bronze working which they hadn¡¯t had the materials or facilities to work on while moving.

    Once Ethren was seated, Elder Hollen spoke up and said, ¡°Well Ethren, it¡¯s good to see you back safe and sound. What did you discover about this ¡®wandering God¡¯ that Deilos was telling us about?¡±

    A snort escaped Ethren¡¯s face before he could help it. He cleared his throat before responding, ¡°Well, first I¡¯ll say he definitely isn¡¯t a God.¡±

    The elders perked up at hearing that, and Ethren continued before they could interrupt.

    ¡°After I sent Deilos back to report, Saravren moved to follow him more closely, while Gloast and I moved back. It became clear that he had been moving directly from one Twisted to the next in a looping arc, slowly heading north. If he could sense them that well, then there was a high chance he could sense us too. With Saravren¡¯s skill at hiding her presence I decided she should be closer and we should move back.¡±

    Ethren paused for a moment and pondered out loud, ¡°In fact, now that I think about it, he almost certainly knew we were there. He didn¡¯t move towards us or react in any other way, so I thought he hadn¡¯t noticed, but thinking back now I¡¯m fairly certain he had just decided not to.

    ¡°Regardless, according to Saravren he was moving through the forest ¡®as if he had been born to it¡¯ and was stealthily killing every Twisted that he came across before moving on to the next. At some point, Saravren decided she wanted to get a closer look, so she moved ahead of his path to the edge of a meadow and waited.

    ¡°It seems that at that point he decided to make contact, and halfway through the meadow turned and approached her directly.¡±

    The elders made concerned noises as Ethren took too long to continue talking without interruption.

    Elder Forthra quickly interjected, ¡°I heard that Saravren returned with you, did anything happen?¡±

    Ethren cleared his throat with a quick glance to Forthra before continuing, ¡°Yes, she is fine. She dropped her stealth so that we would know to move forward. She was alone with him for maybe ten minutes or so as we raced to her side. At that time, she began to communicate with him a little using gestures and such.¡±

    Speaking past the surprised noises and grumbles of the elders he continued, ¡°His name is Richard, and he doesn¡¯t speak pelle. His words are very different, but his name sounded like Richard. How that¡¯s spelled or what language he was speaking? Unclear. They communicated some things in gestures that were hard to understand before I arrived. When I did, we introduced ourselves, after a fashion. He seemed like he was glad or at least excited to meet us and didn¡¯t seem aggressive.

    ¡°He was wearing a strangely woven metal armored shirt and a metal hat of some kind. The metal was silvery, but looked more dull and strong. He had a very long knife on his waist longer than my forearm that he never drew, so I¡¯m unsure what it is made out of, but wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it is the same material. He has rounded ears that look almost Kailen, but no horns or other specific features. He is tall, has light skin, brown hair on his head though not much hair or fur otherwise, blue eyes, warrior¡¯s build, seemed young¡­ but also not young. I can¡¯t explain it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll remind you he is incredibly dangerous, but he seemed like he wanted to be friends more than anything else. He asked, and this is a guess but a pretty good guess, if we had any magic that would allow us to speak to one another. I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that, and we communicated that we did not. He responded by ¡®saying¡¯, and again, I¡¯m not sure about this, but it seemed like he was trying to tell us that he did have that kind of magic, or that he might, but he didn¡¯t remember how to do it¡­ or something. Again, all of this communication was through gestures and facial expressions, so it¡¯s hard to say.

    ¡°At this point I decided that it was no longer the duty of the rangers to continue to try to communicate, and judging that he was friendly and seemed open to communication we would bring this information to the council so that you could decide what to do as far as diplomacy or whatnot. That¡¯s about it.¡± Ethren sat back and took a swig from his waterskin to wet his dry throat. He congratulated himself on getting the whole story out without much interruption.

    The elders were silent for a little while while they digested this information. Their expressions were mostly thoughtful and they occasionally looked at one another to gauge the reactions.

    Eventually it was Elder Hollen who spoke up, ¡°Well. This certainly is a strange situation. We were most worried that we would need to move again to find a safe place, but perhaps we may talk to this Richard and see if another option might be explored. Being cautiously optimistic we could have an ally to our northwest to help with the number of Twisted out in this wilderness, or maybe something more?¡± He fell silent and looked around the fire.

    Elder Whelan grumbled with a snort and said, ¡°Well, if we¡¯re going to be hopelessly optimistic, this Richard may know the area well enough to show us where we could find stone, copper, tin, salt, coal¡­ Though I¡¯ll not hold my breath. We obviously need to talk to him and try for neutrality at the very least. This situation has me feeling on edge though.¡±

    Elders Pethel and Forthra looked like they wanted to speak, but Elder Yim straightened and cleared his throat. Being the eldest and most knowledgeable by a wide margin, everyone calmed and turned to him.

    He quietly began, gaining volume as he went, ¡°I have been studying the area since we arrived, and it has left me feeling ill at ease. There are things here that do not fit. Things feel off in a way I couldn¡¯t put my finger on. Your report has helped.

    ¡°In the oldest records and legends, there was written of a great battle fought in the northern mountains. The sky was rent asunder and the land itself was scarred as the great spirits and Gods, now gone from this plane, fought back death and the sun rose on our people once more. You know this story, at least the broad strokes of it, as we celebrate the defeat over darkness every year at the winter solstice.

    ¡°According to the records that were lost, this battle took place before The Fall and the Long Winter. Our ancestors used their high magics and technologies to fight alongside those spirits and Gods to banish demons from our world back to the abyss from whence they came. It was a lesson taught through story, I thought; a parable.

    ¡°Now our rangers come to us speaking of a powerful mage that created a new clearing in the forest while doing battle with a horde of Twisted using great magics. A single man, wearing strange metal armor and wielding magic that we cannot comprehend. A man who lives in the northern mountains.¡±

    Elder Yim paused, stroking his chin as he looked each person in the eyes to let his words sink in. He continued, ¡°I have walked the land since our arrival, and there are certainly some incongruencies in the landscape. Strangely shaped lakes, hills and crevices that stand alone, as if placed there. There are few, if any, magical creatures. There are too many normal animals, and too many Twisted. It is inconsistent with any other place I have heard of.¡±

    He stopped speaking for a while while everyone pondered his words. The fire crackled as Elder Hollen placed a new log on.

    Elder Yim looked at Ethren and said very clearly, ¡°We must make an ally of this man, Ethren. We must know more. This valley is ideal for us,¡± Elder Pethel nodded enthusiastically at that, ¡°but there may be more to this place than we can see at first glance. Does anyone disagree?¡±

    None spoke, though there were looks of surprise if not shock on their faces.

    Elder Yim spoke sharply, his voice stronger than Ethren had heard in years, ¡°We will gather a few gifts. Simple things, like food, seeds, some of our wine, perhaps some cloth, and Ethren and his rangers shall escort a party to speak with Richard. I will be among that number.¡± There were some choking noises and complaints before Yim raised his hand, gesturing for silence.

    ¡°There is no one alive in this tribe better suited than I to speak to Richard. There is also no one with less work to do.¡± He said with a wry smile and a chuckle.

    There were more arguments, and more discussion, but eventually Elder Yim¡¯s plan was put forward. They would send a delegation. For Ethren, he agreed once he saw the spark of hope and enthusiasm take hold of Elder Yim in a way he hadn¡¯t seen in years. He prayed that night to his ancestors and the great spirits that they weren¡¯t making a mistake.

 Chapter 9

    In the fading light of evening after meeting people for the first time in centuries, Richard cast his gaze over his home. The greatest fortress of the north; standing forgotten under stoic snow capped mountains. Forever a bulwark against the darkness that broke the world so long ago, guarded eternally by the last soldier of the grandest army ever assembled in the history of mankind as a species.

    He winced.

    ¡°I¡¯ve really let this place go, huh?¡±

    A cozy little forest with well maintained paths and a river flowing lazily through surrounded¡­ what could generously be called a ruin. Circled by a weed choked pile of stones that was once a great fortified wall, a cleared area for a garden with plants growing in uneven lines, a big pit filled with cold muddy salt water, haphazard piles of dried and cut wood, and a few pathetic looking racks for smoking meat, discarded projects and rubble randomly placed... The crumbling stone edifice of the fort was the nicest looking thing in the area and it was clearly¡­ old.

    Richard rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. If he was the great scholar coming to relieve the lone soldier and this is what he was greeted by¡­ he wasn¡¯t sure what he would think. It wouldn¡¯t be good, though. That situation had been a dream for so long that when confronted with a similar situation in reality forced him to take a ¡®fresh¡¯ look at his home.

    ¡°Well. I guess I could fill in the bathtub. Maybe make a nice seating area of cut logs around a stone lined fire pit? I can pile up most of the debris so it¡¯s out of the way, but forget working on the garden. I just can¡¯t bring myself to care too much.¡±

    Richard sighed. He realized that might be the issue - he just didn¡¯t care enough. Everything had looked this way for so long that he just couldn¡¯t muster the energy to begin the work necessary to make it look nice, even if he was hopeful that he may have guests soon.

    Shrugging, he decided he would worry about it all tomorrow. Foisting jobs on the Richard of the future was a time honored tradition even back when he was part of the army. Complaining about it when he was the Richard of the present that had to deal with his procrastination was also a sacred tradition. Who was he to look down on such historical precedent?

    Snorting in amusement he walked into the fort and sneezed. He looked around and noticed all of the dead leaves and dust in the hallways and empty rooms. Looks like future Richard has his work cut out for him!

    Settling down on his furs he began to ponder the world shaking events of today as he removed his boots (never got around to working on those, either¡­ damn it).

    The moment when Saravren had dropped out of that tree would probably be with him for the rest of his life¡­ er¡­ a long time at any rate. When he closed his eyes and remembered, he could see everything as if it was happening all over. He could feel the wind, smell the dirt and grass, the sun on his face and the beads of sweat underneath his gambeson. Her golden eyes, almost glowing in the shadows under the tree as she slowly stood up. It gave him shivers just thinking about the whole thing.

    When Ethren and Gloast had joined her, his emotions had begun to stabilize, but he was just so stunned and happy to see other PEOPLE that he could hardly get a handle on himself!

    His emotions were in turmoil. There was so much desperate hope all twisted up with fear and loneliness among a few others that he didn¡¯t know what to feel. Well, except exhausted.

    He cleared his mind as much as he could and thought of what he wanted to accomplish.

    First and foremost was trying to determine if he could figure out a translating spell of some kind. Even if he had to meet those cat people in only ratty leather pants with a week of beard and smelling like death, being able to communicate was paramount.

    Ok. On second thought, he might actually have to work to look that bad, so that was silly, but it¡¯s the thought that counts.

    Secondly, he would try to make a nice place to meet guests. His woodworking skills were¡­ subpar¡­ but he could at least cut a tree trunk up into nice places to sit and dig a fire pit. Clearing out the majority of the detritus from the fort would take barely half an hour blasting everything with wind spells from top to bottom. He could set up one of the ground floor rooms with more seating and some light spells, maybe? Sure. Oh, and he should probably fix up the ¡®bridge¡¯ across the river. A single tree was probably insufficient.

    Right. Third - appearance. He would be taking out his uniform and working to make everything as nice as possible. Polish all of the metal; his rank badge, armor, blade, belt buckle, boots and such. He would probably leave his hair long, because cutting it close like he preferred was always a challenge with just his tiny little hand mirror. He could just comb it well and put it in a warrior tail with a leather cord.

    Fourth... There has to be a fourth thing. Just three doesn¡¯t seem like enough for such a momentous occasion. Ummm. Oh, food! Well, he has plenty of food. Maybe just having a bunch ready to cook up would be good enough? He wondered if cat people ate the same stuff as he did... Oh! The salt!

    Yeah, he could make a gift of a nice big bag of salt. Add some fun detail work to a big leather pouch and finely grind some salt to fit in it. That would be perfect!

    ¡°Alright, that feels better. Plan for tomorrow is set! Ahh future Richard, the poor bastard. Let¡¯s work on that translation spell.¡± Richard stated to the empty halls. He leaned his back against the wall and crossed his legs, getting comfortable.

    ¡°First things first. Can I remember how to cast it normally?¡± So asking himself, he closed his eyes and fell into meditation.

    He meditated almost every day for a half hour or more to keep his mind calm, but there were many types of meditation. He hadn¡¯t gone into his memories too deeply recently because it could be dangerous to dredge up. There was so much pain in the past that he could find himself despondent for days afterwards.

    This time however, he was looking into his spell knowledge. While most of the combat spells he knew were almost ingrained into muscle memory, there were plenty of utility spells he had known at one point. Spells like his light spell, communication spells, voice amplification, night vision, camouflage, silent steps, etc. There were even some simple warding spells that would last for set times, like pest control, scent removing, or breeze producing wards. Most of those spells were fuzzy even now thinking about them, but he had at least cast them a few times over the years. Not so with others, like the translation spell.

    He recalled now that it wasn¡¯t actually a single spell, and it wasn¡¯t wind-based as he thought. There was a warding spell that could be cast on a room or tent, a version that is self-cast on his mind to interface with spells on other people¡¯s minds, and then the spell to cast on another person.

    He could recall that there were three versions, but the details¡­ were lost.

    He went deep into his memories and tried his hardest to remember, but it had just been too long. It was mental magic, and while he had been very skilled at it - it simply hadn¡¯t been taught to the battle mages as a priority. The translation spell would rarely need to be cast individually as there were portable formations that would blanket an entire battlefield with the effect, so using energy to cast it yourself was just a waste.

    He opened his eyes, knowing several hours had passed, and he felt terrible. There was still the Arcstone to check, but it was so complicated that it would take a while to go through everything and his failure just sapped his strength. He was just too tired to do anything else tonight.

    He crawled under his fur blankets and it took a while for his eyes to finally close and longer still for his mind to calm and drift off into a troubled slumber.

    The next morning came around and Richard was still feeling a little sorry for himself. After lying around for a while he decided he might as well do something productive and easy to knock out. He only put on some leather pants and stomped petulantly to the top of the fortress.

    ¡°Alright dust. Your crimes have been called to account! Prepare for the end!¡± Richard said as he began to monologue and pump himself up and improve his mood.

    He started blasting controlled but powerful wind spells into each room and hallway, moving from one corner to the next, then down one level at a time. The fort didn¡¯t really have windows so much as thin slits all over the place, but it was enough to direct the massive clouds of dust outside.

    He almost choked when he cleaned out the Arcstone¡¯s room. He had forgotten how much dust was all over the place from writing his notes, and he was temporarily blinded.

    After a quick dip in his muddy salt bath to get the worst of the stone dust off, he finished clearing out the fort.

    It ended up taking an hour instead of his self-scheduled half hour, which he should have expected. ¡°Always double or quadruple the ETA of a task to your superior officer, that way they are impressed when you complete it ahead of time! Yes, even if that officer happens to be yourself!¡± he reprimanded Richard of the past. That dumb slacker.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Saluting the cleaned out hallway, he moved back to the Arcstone room. He could access the stone in his mind, but it was always a little more fuzzy and not quite as quick as if he had physical contact with it.

    He stopped before the metal door, with it¡¯s pretty blue glowing runes on it. He didn¡¯t actually get a great look at the room now that it was all clean and sparkly. He wondered if it would look more ominous or something with it¡¯s harsh-but-not-harsh golden light filling all of the lines of notes chiseled into almost every surface.

    He remained rooted to the spot, staring at the door.

    He should just open it up and get started.

    Any second now.

    ...

    He was afraid.

    And he knew why.

    He didn¡¯t want to fail. Not again.

    He didn¡¯t want to interface with the stone only to find that there was nothing he could do.

    The fear of failure made it so he didn¡¯t want to begin. He had felt this feeling every single year when he woke up for the first time from stasis. It was cold and invasive, and it had dug itself deep over time.

    But he remembered something new this year.

    Brilliant golden eyes reflecting the light from within the shadows beneath a tree. Words spoken from mouths other than his own. The ember in his heart was warmer today.

    He took a deep breath and pushed the door open into the room.

    The room was, indeed, more impressive with the dust removed. If Richard pretended that all of his notes were actually runes of some incomprehensible work being lit from the golden light of the Arcstone, it was pretty amazing looking. It would probably look better if his handwriting was a bit nicer, but eh, can¡¯t be awesome at everything.

    He moved to the Arcstone and placed his hand on it without hesitation. It was floating in the air and would slowly rotate on its own in the pillar of light. At first glance it seemed like it might just pop out of the beam it rested in with a quick nudge, but it was actually anchored very securely in place.

    As Richard delved into his soul to find the connection, his mind opened up in a way hard to explain or conceptualize. He could ¡®see¡¯ different aspects of the stone. He could then ¡®feel¡¯ his way along them and trace the different functions. Over time he had begun to imagine a place in his mind that somewhat felt like a hallway with five branches leading off: one in each direction, and another straight down.

    He needn¡¯t worry about the ¡®down¡¯ connection, as it was the physical anchoring functions of the stone itself. It was what connected to the leyline, the power connections, the physical reinforcement of its structure, etc. It was waaaaay too complicated for Richard to figure that out, and he¡¯d had a long time to attempt it. Even if he did want to fiddle with them, messing with that much energy was a terminally stupid idea with his level of ignorance.

    The ¡®forward¡¯ path was one he was very familiar with. In it were the actions that had been added when it was decided to interface the stone with a human mind. Inside that ¡®hallway¡¯ were all of the mass battle spells and the connection to Richard¡¯s soul and body. Almost everything there had been deliberately placed for Richard to use. The spells were easy to understand as was the ability to channel the ley line. The architecture of how it interfaced with himself - less so.

    The ¡®backward¡¯ path was one that was now defunct. It dealt with communication between other Arcstones, and by the time Richard had been connected, there were few remaining. Over time all of the other connections had fallen silent, and eventually there were no links left.

    To his ¡®right¡¯ were the functions that dealt with the fortress and its wards. He was somewhat familiar with them, though he usually just focused on the particular connections he dealt with during yearly maintenance. He would check there last if he couldn¡¯t find anything else.

    His ¡®left¡¯ followed a path that Richard flippantly labeled ¡®miscellaneous¡¯ because it had lots of functions that normal Arcstones would be used for but this particular one didn¡¯t have installed. It was here solely for the purpose of war. Most of the functions were inactive and would need particular physical objects or wards to interface with. It was a mess inside, and he had rarely tried to make heads or tails of it.

    What he needed, he thought, was spellforms that might be stored within. Mages who had access to an Arcstone would often use it as a repository for spells, but this one only had some random spells that Archmage Hollister had placed inside. There had been three Arcstones at the major magical university in Eideron for instance, before it had been stomped flat by horrorfiends anyway, which had contained thousands of spells. This particular stone didn¡¯t have much, and it was very unorganized.

    Richard worked through the section for hours. It was full of possible functions that the Arcstone could be tied to, but he didn¡¯t know what they did, and there was no way to anchor any of them anyway.

    He found a few dozen spell forms that had been stored, but most were confusing or obviously notes on the anchoring spell that had been used for the ritual to attach the stone to Richard. He was sure he had missed things, but nothing had stood out as anything he could understand or use.

    Frustrated again, Richard decided to take a break as a headache was beginning to settle in.

    He figured that he would tackle the bathtub (hole in the ground) and clear out a nice pace for a firepit first. While he was out and about it would be a good idea to quickly check outside the wards to see if he could sense anything. It wasn¡¯t yet noon, and he hadn¡¯t eaten anything yet either.

    After a quick food break, he used some force blades to cut down a nice large flat area of any weeds or grass, then used some more wind spells to blow all of the detritus away. He found a nice big thick tree and sliced all of the bark and cumin layer off in a circle near the base so it could start to dry out with the help of gravity.

    He wasn¡¯t going far today, so he just had his leather vest, pants, and boots on as he popped outside of the wards. He left out on the southwest side, because he figured it was in the right direction and sent out a powerful pulse to see if he could get a clear return.

    Unfortunately, besides a few wandering monsters there was nothing he could sense. Feeling a little sad about that, even if he wasn¡¯t really ready to have guests yet, he walked back into the wards.

    Picking up a big leather sack he went to the river to grab some stones so he could lay them out to dry before placing them around where he wanted his fire pit. Filling in his ¡®bath¡¯ only took a moment to move the mound of dirt back into it. There was a chance nothing would ever grow there again because of the salt but.. eh.

    Made up chores complete, he headed back into the Arcstone chamber and dove back in.

    This time, he decided to see if there was anything in the wards section of the stone that could be used. One of the versions of the spell he could barely recall was a ward, so he was cautiously hopeful.

    Richard moved past the more familiar aspects he already knew everything about and looked at the more esoteric portions of the stone. There was actually some good stuff in here, as he looked through it. There was some sort of rain barrier, a function to create a signal pillar of light, some illusion spells Richard could tell were illusions but had no idea what they did¡­

    He had been looking through the stone for about an hour when he suddenly stumbled on something at once familiar, but also odd. It was a mental ward of some kind, he could tell that much. There were aspects of it that reminded him of the ward to keep the monsters outside, but the actual function was a mystery. However, if there was one mental ward, chances are there were more!

    Ten minutes or so later, he found it. It was so recognizable to Richard that he knew instantly what it was for, but there were other parts that he didn¡¯t really understand. It was definitely the translation spell. He could tell that much, though it was wholly different than the half remembered bits of the spells he knew.

    It was tied into a warding scheme, but he wasn¡¯t sure which one. It also seemed to have a few other bits to it, but Richard honestly had no clue what they were for. Frankly, he wasn¡¯t completely sure that it was safe to activate. He just didn¡¯t know enough about magic at this level to understand what it would do.

    Well.

    Hmmm.

    ¡°Fuck it.¡±

    He activated the warding section and followed the energy with his senses as it began to warm up.

    He felt the spell begin to pulse out a field that started to latch onto the inner warding scheme for the fort slowly. The outer ward did this too when it was just being initialized. He knew this because he had taken them down a few times over the years just¡­ because.

    Unfortunately, as the ward began to complete itself, it looked like it was being anchored to the inner ward. That field ended halfway through where the wall used to be. It looked to be functioning properly as far as Richard could tell, but it was unfortunate that it wasn¡¯t going to the outer ward. There was a bit more of a drain coming through the ley line, but it was mostly negligible.

    Damn.

    So. This wouldn¡¯t work unless one was standing inside of the ward, and probably someone had to be keyed in for it to work. I mean, if someone was going to get inside the inner wards at all he would have to key them in regardless or they would just bounce off or turn into charcoal if they got belligerent about it, but it was still annoying.

    That was a tiny bit of a problem, because Richard only knew how to do that from inside the chamber, but the person who was being added to the ward had to be outside of the area while he did so. I mean, obviously. The inner wards were pretty robust and it would take siege engines or spells to break in, even without the wall intact.

    There was a tiny silver lining. Because it was an inner ward anchor, that meant it actually anchored to the Arcstone itself. If the rift could be fully sealed, it would be possible to take a portable translation bubble around with him by removing the Arcstone from it¡¯s anchor¡­ however one did that. Also, if he survived the process. Also, if losing access to the ley line¡­ you know what, that¡¯s on future Richard¡¯s shoulders.

    So.

    Translation spell? Check.

    Now he just had to get cautious cat people who he couldn¡¯t effectively communicate with to not only walk through the outer ward, which would most likely feel unpleasant, but then stand near the inner ward all by themselves while he came inside to key them to said wards.

    Easy!

    Richard moaned. ¡°Well at least it is now possible¡­ I just need to figure out how to get them to trust me a little bit¡­¡±

    After standing and glaring at the Arcstone for a few more minutes, he decided he would just worry about that bridge when he came to it. For now, he had to deal with the mess that Richard of the past had left him. It was almost a novel experience, because usually ¡®let future Richard deal with that¡¯ was jargon for ¡®this will probably never get done, but I¡¯ll forget about it eventually if it doesn¡¯t matter¡¯. He had salt to gather, clothing to polish, and a tree to chop into uncomfortable seats.

    He probably had enough extra pelts to at least make a little pad for each of them, now that he thought about it¡­

    Richard walked off and got to work. He checked every few hours to see if anyone was incoming, or if there were many monsters showing up, but it seemed quiet. He had at least a day or two worth of work anyway. There were some new monsters coming in from the north into the cleared area. He might need to take a few hours tomorrow and clean it up.

    He really hoped they would come back soon.

 Chapter 10

    Turns out the distance professional rangers can travel in an afternoon takes an old man somewhat longer.

    Saravren was feeling a little annoyed at the pace, but it was nice to be able to chat with Elder Yim as they traveled. He was knowledgeable on many subjects and his mind was full of stories. Last night he had told as much of the story as he could remember about the Legend of Midwinter but added in a bunch of commentary and opinions that she had never heard before.

    Most children knew the Legend of Midwinter; when the darkness was fought back by the gods and spirits of light. Every winter the tale was told about how the gods had sacrificed themselves to seal away the darkness, so that the lesser spirits and peoples could live once more with the sun. The gods and great spirits had sacrificed everything for us, even their names. Only their bodies remained - lighting up the night sky as the moon where they could be seen, but never touched.

    According to Elder Yim, it was a story that had different flavors in each tribe or culture but the broad strokes were all the same. There were also lesser known writings, mostly etched in old clay or stone tablets, that not only supported that the legend may be true but also hinted that there might be more to it.

    That was the way with legends, he said; they changed over time. While some things were added, others were lost. He spoke of one of the tablets that was lost in their exodus upon which it was written that people also took part in the battle, and that it happened near mountains which were frozen even in summer.

    His theory was that they may be treading into the land of legends. He kept asking to take detours to look at landmarks and pointing out things that even the rangers had missed. The more Saravren saw of the strange features of the landscape the more she started thinking he might be onto something, but she was still skeptical.

    The third day of their trek was dawned, and they knew that they were close. Last evening Richard, or at least they assumed it was him as it felt the same as before in the FIeld, had popped out of his hidden spot and stayed in one place for a while. It was only a half hour walk or so from where they were. Ethren and Elder Yim had decided that he probably meant it as a signal for where to meet.

    The party was small with just Ethren, Elder Yim, Olena, Deilos and herself. According to the diplomatic lessons that Elder Yim had decided they all needed, when one party vastly outnumbered the other, it could set the wrong tone for the meeting. That was one reason for the gifts and for the lessons on etiquette. Though she was pretty sure it went over most of the heads of the rangers, Olena was absorbing it all like a sponge.

    Unfortunately, the smaller party meant they didn¡¯t have anyone to carry all of the extra weight for the gifts and such so Saravren was carrying more than she would have liked. Elder Yim had tried to argue for more in his pack but he was the one slowing them down and the oldest, so Ethren had only given him a single bottle of wine and the seed gifts to carry along with his waterskin.

    Everyone had changed into fresh clothes for the meeting today so they would look nice and Saravren took a moment remembering how silly the elder looked in his traveling gear. A floppy wide-brimmed hat, a walking stick about shoulder height, light clothing, and sturdy boots made him look less dignified than normal, especially with the sweat dripping down his face at times.

    As she packed her stuff up, she was chatting with Olena.

    ¡°So, any luck figuring out how to cast that spell? I saw you concentrating when we went to bed last night and I didn¡¯t want to disturb you by asking.¡± She queried.

    Olena sighed and replied, ¡°None. It was part of my training, but Master Sellex hadn¡¯t had a chance to teach me enough before he died. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out eventually, but it also wasn¡¯t really meant to be used with other people, just spirits.¡± She shook her head sadly and stood up, pulling her pack onto her back.

    ¡°I did cast an augury and check the spiritual plane. As far as I could tell, we will have nice weather today, but there¡¯s something strange happening across the veils here. I¡¯m hoping I can figure it out.¡± She added with a smile.

    Saravren also stood with her pack. ¡°Oh, good. These are my nicer clothes, I don¡¯t want to get them all muddy wandering around the woods in the rain. Shall we?¡± she asked, moving towards the group. Olena followed her as they moved to where Ethren and Elder Yim were conversing.

    The elder was back in his more loose clothing with the long coat over top and bright blue sash. Ethren had only oiled and shined up his leathers and Saravren had a suspicion that he didn¡¯t actually own anything more colorful or nice. She and Olena both had nice tunics and light vests on, with headscarves that had patterns covering their heads and their hair in intricate braids. Saravren still had her bow, quiver and dagger, but at least she tried a little to look nice.

    As they got closer, she could hear Ethren saying, ¡°If we leave now it will take about a half hour to get to where he was last night, but he isn¡¯t there yet. Perhaps we could travel for twenty or so minutes and wait for him to show up if he hasn¡¯t by then?¡±

    Elder Yim nodded slowly and added with a crooked grin, ¡°That sounds reasonable, but let¡¯s take it slow. No need to get all sweaty trying to rush today. It¡¯s hard to make a good first impression if you are exhausted.¡±

    Ethren barked a little laugh and nodded before calling, ¡°Alright, is everyone ready to go?¡±

    After a round of positive responses, they began to march along out of the camp to the east. The morning was cool and there was a fine layer of dew on the ground, but the forest was waking up. She could hear bird calls and animals could be seen scurrying about occasionally.

    Olena spoke up from behind saying, ¡°This forest sure is ancient. These trees are so big! There¡¯s so much wildlife around here, it feels odd. Usually with such old places there would be more magical creatures but we¡¯ve seen so few that it¡¯s like they avoid this area or something. What do you think, Ethren?¡±

    He grunted and took a moment before responding. ¡°It could be any number of things, but I¡¯m not sure. With so many food sources this area would be ideal for any number of creatures, but all I¡¯ve seen are higher than average Twisted mutations. It¡¯s something I was hoping to ask Richard about.¡±

    Olena hummed a few notes in response, obviously hoping for more.

    Saravren was silent while she pondered progressively more fanciful reasons for the strange forest when Richard¡¯s presence bloomed in the Field ahead of them. He was close, and Ethren halted the group for a moment.

    ¡°Alright, it seems that he¡¯s in the same place so I think we were correct in that he wished to meet us there. I¡¯ll stay in the lead until we¡¯re almost there, then Elder Yim will move forward first. Everyone else can line up with him a step behind, just like we practiced yesterday.¡±

    Everyone made noises of acceptance and they continued the journey. Practicing the initial greeting had been ordered by Elder Yim along with who should accompany him with Richard. There had been some heated arguments between the elder and Ethren about it, but they eventually came up with a compromise.

    After one last small stream the treeline started to thin out and their destination came into view.

    As Saravren broke through the treeline, she paused in surprise.

    In the middle of a freshly and even cut meadow with the dawn light streaking through the trees, it¡¯s rays visible in the moist air, stood a soldier. To her it felt as if an ancient statue had come to life. Arms clasped behind his back and legs shoulder width apart, he exuded an air of ready competence. He stood in a perfectly circular patch of bare dirt awaiting their advance.

    Standing tall, with a neutral expression on his face, the soldier had strange clothing covering his gleaming silver armor. A green tunic ran from his upper arms, over his torso and down to mid-thigh with a strange design etched on one arm and across the chest with embroidered edges. A thick black belt was around his waist held closed with a gleaming silvery buckle and a huge knife strapped on the side. Dark blue pants were tucked into sturdy polished black boots. His jaw was clear of any beard, his hair pulled tightly back into a tail.

    Everyone had paused upon seeing him without realizing it. They had all seen warriors and dangerous men before, but something about his equipment coupled with the way he stood waiting whispered into their minds that he was more.

    There was a certain awe inspired in the villagers by the scene, but it would have been more intimidating if not for the welcoming gleam in the soldier¡¯s sparkling blue eyes.

    He moved with smooth grace as his hands fell to his side showing the polished and fitted black gloves covering them. Bringing his right fist to his heart, he nodded and spoke a word laced with enough emotion that the meaning was clear alongside the smile, ¡°Welcome.¡±

    Saravren was struck still by the magical scene. It was so far removed from anything she had expected that her brain froze up until she was broken out of the moment by Elder Yim moving forward. She took a quick breath and shook her head a little before walking forward with the others.

    Elder Yim stopped roughly a quarter of the way across the cleared dirt area, mirroring where Richard stood on the other side. He bowed his head slightly and said, ¡°Hello,¡± before placing his hand on his chest and saying, ¡°Elder Yim¡±

    Richard smiled a bit wider, and placed his hand just like the elder had and said, ¡°Richard.¡±

    Elder Yim nodded again, then motioned while calling out names from left to right for the rest of the party. ¡°Ethren, Olena, Saravren, Deilos.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Richard nodded to each as they were introduced, though he already knew two of us. I guess it is all part of the diplomatic dance? Saravren thought to herself.

    Elder Yin seemed to be letting Richard make the first move, which she was sure meant something¡­ or not¡­ diplomacy is weird. Either way, it seemed like the right call.

    Richard raised a hand in the universal ¡®hold a moment¡¯ gesture before reaching to the side with his right hand. A stick that had been hidden in the grass leapt towards his hand and he grabbed it without even looking. He began drawing something in the dirt between them, not realizing the startled jumps from people reacting to his easy use of magic.

    Saravren, who was almost expecting something like that, just looked down and focused on what he was drawing.

    First was a little house that looked like something a child would draw. He placed two large circles around it, and then an X off to the side. It was a crude drawing, but simple was probably for the best.

    He looked up at Elder Yim and then placed the stick on the X while motioning around the meadow. He said a single word that could mean anything, but Saravren thought it was clear it meant ¡®meadow¡¯ or ¡®here¡¯ or something of that nature.

    Richard looked up to see Elder Yim and myself nodding.

    With a quick grin he then placed the end of the stick inside of the inner circle, but not touching the drawing of a house. He looked up at us and motioned to his mouth and then ear and then waved his fingers with sparkles coming off them like before.

    He paused, focusing on them, probably to see if they needed further clarification.

    After a few moments Saravren decided to speak up and said, ¡°I think that means wherever the inside of that circle is, he can cast the spell to let us understand each other Elder Yim, but that¡¯s just a guess.¡±

    Elder Yim looked at her and replied, ¡°Yes, judging from your account of the last meeting, that is my guess also.¡± before turning back to Richard and nodding that he understood. He motioned that they would be willing to come with him by motioning to them all and then pointing towards the house.

    Richard seemed to understand, maybe, but he raised his hand in a ¡®wait¡¯ gesture and pointed the stick at the outer circle.

    He used his left hand to create a glowing ball of light, which he tossed across the meadow opposite of where we had entered. It disappeared with a strange impact against some barrier that was only visible for a moment in a small area.

    Everyone jumped a little at this, and Ethren cursed under his breath.

    Richard looked a little startled at our reaction, then somewhat bashful as he coughed into his hand. He shrugged with a wincing smile as if to apologize, but then poked the circle in the dirt again.

    He used his hand to encompass all of us, then ¡®walked¡¯ with his two fingers while drawing a line from the X through the circle. He prodded the circle a few times, then held his stomach and made a face that looked like he was sick. He raised his eyebrow and waited.

    Elder Yim made a humming noise like he was thinking, but Olena chimed in, ¡°I think that means it will make us feel bad to cross the¡­ whatever that is. Some sort of magical field?¡±

    Ethren spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is a good idea. Whatever that thing is, we don¡¯t know what it could do. I¡¯ve never heard of anything like this before.¡±

    Elder Yim hummed a little again, then turned to all of us and said, ¡°I think Olena is right. I will be going with Richard, but if either Olena or Saravren feel uncomfortable with following, I won¡¯t force you to. I know we decided on who was going where yesterday, but there is new information now¡±

    Olena looked a little worried, but still determined. Ethren had a sour expression on his face, but Deilos was calm.

    Deilos spoke up saying, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t one of us go first through and come right back? If there¡¯s an issue then we would know, and if not they could tell us what to expect.¡±

    Richard had dropped the stick and was waiting patiently for us to talk amongst ourselves.

    Saravren caught his eye and she studied his expression and posture. He seemed worried, but she didn¡¯t sense any deceit or aggression.

    As the rest talked, she pointed at Richard then herself and then the end of the meadow, and then motioned that everyone else would stay. She raised her eyebrow at him.

    Richard tilted his head trying to figure out what she had said, but seemed to understand after a moment. He nodded at her and shrugged somewhat offhandedly as if it made no difference to him.

    Saravren interrupted the conversation and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with him real fast, you all wait here. Deilos and Ethren are senior rangers, and you two are too important to the village.¡± She looked back and forth from Elder Yim and Olena.

    Ethren grunted his ¡®I don¡¯t like it¡¯ grunt before sighing and saying, ¡°Okay. Turn back immediately if you feel like something is wrong.¡± He then sent the ¡®I¡¯m watching you¡¯ half-glare towards Richard who seemed completely immune.

    She walked up to Richard and gave him a quick nod. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and she had butterflies in her stomach. Magic could do all sorts of things and she was putting her trust in someone she couldn¡¯t even talk to, but she figured he was some sort of high mage from the spells she had seen him cast thus far. She had to trust that Richard knew what he was doing.

    Richard made a strange gesture with his thumb pointing up from a fist and gave her a nod, then walked ahead of her before stopping at an arbitrary point in the meadow. He turned to her and gestured ahead confidently.

    Saravren paused, gathering her nerves, then pushed her shoulders back and marched quickly ahead. For a moment it was as if she was looking from underwater but it passed almost before she realized. Suddenly there was a path ahead of her where just a moment ago it had been a treeline. Her head felt a little dizzy as it caught up with the strange inconsistency and there was a slight feeling of pressure for a moment, but it didn¡¯t last long. It did make her feel a little ill, but only lasted a few seconds.

    She turned around to look back and everyone was still standing where they had been, though the rest of her party looked worried and startled. She took another deep breath and walked back towards them, but there was no strange sensation in this direction.

    Richard nodded at her and took a few steps back before falling into that strange stance with his hands behind his back again while he waited.

    Saravren walked back to her party and spoke over their questions. ¡°It¡¯s like an invisible bubble or something. It made me dizzy for a moment, but it wasn¡¯t bad. There¡¯s a path that¡¯s invisible on this side of the¡­ whatever it is, but I could still see you all. What did it look like to you?¡±

    Ethren spoke up a little hotly, ¡°It was as if you disappeared entirely. One moment you were walking, and the next you just faded away.¡±

    Elder Yim interjected into the silence, ¡°It seems that there was no harm. I would love to learn more about it, but I think it has been deemed safe, yes? Let¡¯s not keep our host waiting.¡±

    There was a little further grumbling, but it had been decided that Deilos and Ethren would both remain outside for now, while Elder Yin Olena and Saravren would all follow Richard. They moved the packs around so that they were only carrying the gifts and split up. Deilos would travel to the village to check in and then come back. The whole round trip would most likely be finished before it was dark. Ethren would wait in the meadow until Saravren could determine the situation and she would come get him if everything seemed safe and they could communicate.

    Richard had been waiting patiently near the magic barrier and smiled welcomingly when he saw us moving towards him. He looked at Ethren and did the strange fist to heart head-bow thing. It seemed to put Ethren at ease a little for some reason, but she wasn¡¯t questioning why. Probably some strange manly ritual.

    Saravren walked right past the barrier, now knowing what to expect, then waited for everyone else. It only took a moment and both Elder Yim and Olena paused on the other side looking a little green.

    Richard strode past, waving his hand for them to follow.

    The path was well cleared and easy to follow through the beautiful forest. After walking for ten minutes or so, they came across a crude bridge over a river consisting of three trees lashed together. After crossing and noticing it was surprisingly sturdy, they continued deeper into the forest. Saravren noticed that the Field was oddly uniform and there wasn¡¯t a single thing she could sense from either outside of the bubble or inside where they were walking.

    After another ten or so minutes, the forest began to thin and the group saw themselves in a clearing after a final turn in the path.

    Saravren slowed down and stood still looking forward. She knew her mouth was probably hanging open, but couldn¡¯t help it.

    There in front of them was a massive building made of stone. It was behind a mound of rock, so she couldn¡¯t see the ground floor, but it rose for several stories into the air with two towers she could see that went higher than the rest. She had heard of two or even three story buildings in the Kailan capital of Shent, but those were wooden constructions for the most part, small and rare. This building was massive, at least three floors not counting the towers, and completely made of stone. It was longer across than the entire meadow that they had met in earlier, and who knew how far back it went. How it didn¡¯t fall under its own weight was hard for Saravren to imagine.

    Elder Yim stood next to her and said in a faint voice filled with wonder, ¡°Well would you look at that.¡±

    Olena was standing in surprise as well. Richard had continued moving until he reached an opening in the mound of rock. He grabbed another stick and some pebbles then turned around and waited for them.

    They eventually shook themselves and walked towards Richard. He held his hand up in the ¡®wait¡¯ gesture once again, and looked a little sheepish.

    They all stayed in place while he began to draw again. He drew a long line parallel to them, and three X¡¯s and looked them all in the eye, uncharacteristically serious. He pointed at the three X¡¯s, then drew a line towards the¡­ building? As the new line intersected with the first one he drew, he turned and threw the pebble towards the fort.

    Halfway across the mound of rubble, the pebble stopped in the air and dropped to the ground as if it had hit a wall. Richard looked back at them, and then threw the rest of his handful of pebbles much harder at the same spot. There was a sharp crack and some smoke as the pebbles were broken apart and rained back towards them..

    Everyone jumped and Olena screamed for a moment before covering her mouth and turning a little red from embarrassment.

    Richard mothioned with both hands that it was ok with a little wince. He communicated that he had to walk in, do something, walk back, and then they could follow. It took a little back and forth for it to be clear everyone understood then he walked towards the structure.

    Saravren tensed up as he passed the invisible line where the stone broke, but he didn¡¯t even slow down.

    Elder Yim said into the stunned silence, ¡°Well, I hope we didn¡¯t make a mistake. Though I also hope he can explain what this is all about. I can¡¯t deny I am almost overwhelmed with questions. Look at the size of that building! And these strange magical barriers! I¡¯m not sure whether to be terrified or ecstatic.¡±

    They mumbled noises of agreement, before falling into a tense silence.

    After about ten years or maybe three minutes, Richard came walking back through the rubble pile. He smiled at them, and made a come forward wave while nodding encouragingly.

    Saravren was a little worried, but she didn¡¯t think that Richard would do anything to hurt them at this point. She told Olena and Elder Yim to wait, and that she would go first. She walked forward hesitantly, and when she passed the invisible line, she felt a little dizzy for a moment again before regaining her balance.

    The first thing she noticed was a roiling torrent of energy that completely saturated the Field. It was almost suffocating how strong it was to her senses as it pressed on her mind.

    She instinctively held her head and cried, ¡°Great spirits! What is all of this energy?!¡±

    She almost jumped out of her skin when Richard, who was standing right next to her, responded, ¡°Oh¡­ yeah. My bad, I totally forgot about that. I¡¯ve just gotten used to it.¡±

    She spun towards him, gawking at him with wonder.

    She understood every word.

 Chapter 11

    Richard felt a little awkward. He had been so excited to get his guests inside the wards so they could chat that he had clearly neglected to warn them about some things. He had come up with a cool opening line and everything, but now it was derailed because Saravren looked like she might faint but was too stunned at the moment to do so, and Olena and Yim were making distressed noises.

    He held up his hands in a placating gesture and was about to explain before he remembered that they weren¡¯t inside the translation field yet.

    As his brain hiccuped trying to figure out what to do, Saravren shook herself and called to the others, ¡°I¡¯m fine! The Field here is overwhelming though, and it took me by surprise. Dampen your sensitivity and you should be okay to walk in. Really, close yourself to the FIeld at first. It¡¯s¡­ well, a lot.¡±

    Richard¡¯s brain froze as he heard the first words he could understand in forever. Her voice was melodic and smooth with a strange accent. Her lips and the words she spoke didn¡¯t match up at all, and somewhere in Richard¡¯s mind he knew this was because of the translation spell, but he was just so happy and stunned that it actually worked that all he could do was stand there with his idiotic grin on his face again.

    He would probably have become overwhelmed and made an even larger fool of himself if it weren¡¯t for Elder Yim and Olena walking forward and grunting in surprise as the wards interfaced with them.

    Richard shook himself out of his happy stupor and explained, ¡°Sorry about the strange feeling, and forgetting about the oversaturated magic in the area. I could have tried to explain it to you all, but it probably would have taken hours where it would take minutes being able to actually talk to one another. I completely forgot about the extra mana. I¡¯ve just gotten used to it over the years and it didn¡¯t even enter my mind. It¡¯s uh¡­ probably safe.¡±

    Elder Yim jumped a little then looked to Richard with wide eyes before saying, ¡°My goodness, I can understand you perfectly! Though your mouth isn¡¯t actually moving to the words¡­ fascinating!¡±

    Yim¡¯s voice was scratchier and more weathered than Saravren¡¯s, but clearly understandable. Richard chuckled and explained, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a translation field that is anchored to the inner warding scheme. It¡¯s complicated, and frankly I can¡¯t quite remember or understand everything it does, but I think it interfaces between minds while filtering sound so that you only hear what you mean to say, not the language you speak it in.¡±

    Olena jumped forward with an intense look, startling Richard, and almost yelled at him, ¡°Our minds?! How does it work? What part of the mind? I thought it would be vague but it¡¯s so clear! You must tell me!¡± She paused for a moment, her hands almost grabbing him, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she leaned closer, ¡°What do you mean probably safe?¡±

    Richard was startled by her actions, and he was more entranced by her golden hair and green eyes being so close than he was actually concentrating on her words. This had not gone according to his plan, and he felt very off kilter with the whole situation. He began stuttering a little trying to make his mouth work while also holding his hands up when he was saved.

    Elder Yim¡¯s diplomatic muscles must have twitched seeing Richard lean back with a flustered expression and he quickly interjected, ¡°Wait a bit for that, Olena. Richard, I¡¯d just like to say it is a pleasure to meet you. May there be some place more comfortable that we might speak further?¡±

    Richard turned to the elder while he rubbed the back of his head with one hand and tried to figure out what to say with an overwhelmed look. Saravren grabbed Olena¡¯s hand and pulled her away. Olena relented a little, but didn¡¯t lose her suspicious glare. Elder Yim had an embarrassed expression about how the whole greeting had gone, but just waited while Richard gathered himself.

    Richard coughed awkwardly into his gloved fist and nodded his head rapidly a few times. With a wobbly voice he said, ¡°Um *ahem* yes. Yeah, I uh¡­ set up a good spot, just this way!¡± He turned and began to walk in between the mounds of rubble on a little path that went back and forth through it. He was trying to get his mind working when he was further distracted.

    Elder Yim quietly spoke to the others as they followed. He must have thought that volume mattered with the spell, but it didn¡¯t as much as proximity. Richard overheard him saying, ¡°Let¡¯s try not to antagonize him any. We can ask questions, but first we have to get to know each other and see what we might have that each other would be interested in. Remember the lessons!¡±

    Richard felt a little bad about listening in when they thought he probably couldn¡¯t hear, but decided that he didn¡¯t care. He was just so happy to be hearing words that didn¡¯t come from his own thoughts that they could be talking about assassinating him and he would be fine with it. Well, mostly fine.

    I mean, I¡¯d probably do something about that, but I would still be happy to hear them talk about it, he thought. Yes, that made perfect sense.

    As he moved out of the little zig zag between the ¡®walls¡¯ he walked towards his nice cozy clearing that he had worked on. The debris was removed and the grass and weeds had been cut down to a couple inches. He had set up the river rocks in a large fire pit and had a stack of wood ready to light if it was wanted. Surrounding the pit in a triangle were long benches of trees cut flat and raised off the ground with rocks. The benches had fluffy furs covering them to pad them a bit, and there were a bunch of stumps cut and placed around the area that could be moved for individual seating.

    Richard hadn¡¯t been sure exactly how many people would be coming, and had probably gone a little overboard. There was enough seating for perhaps thirty people if they got a little cozy, but the benches were the main attraction.

    As he walked to the first bench, he turned around to notice that the three cat people had stopped to stare once they had been able to see past the rubble pile. Their expressions were ones of wonder, and Richard honestly didn¡¯t get it.

    I mean, sure, he had cleaned up a little and filled in the mud pit, but his garden still looked like a drunk had placed the seeds, and there was still wood and such in piles all over the place. He hadn¡¯t done anything to the outside face of the fortress so it still looked weathered and pathetic, in Richard¡¯s opinion.

    Elder Yim walked forward slowly and spoke with an awed voice, ¡°This structure, how was such a feat accomplished? It is three stories without the towers, made of stone and so large! I have never seen such a thing.¡±

    Richard inwardly chuckled at the fact that Elder Yim seemed to be ignoring his own admonishment seconds after giving it, but he was also a little confused. The fort was a decent size, but nothing amazing. It was a slap-dash construction quickly put together by earth magic at the edge of a constant battlefield. He had heard of palaces and grand temples that would dwarf this fort in almost every metric imaginable. From size to aesthetics, the fort was a bit of a dump even when it was freshly constructed.

    Then he remembered: He had heard of them, but never seen them. They had all been destroyed, from the great universities to the capital cities of mankind, most everything had been leveled towards the end. Even the grand temples had been abandoned, as he thought the gods had abandoned mankind.

    His face had gone through a range of emotions from amusement to confusion to concentration, realization, and finally sadness.

    Sure, there were people, but it seemed there wasn¡¯t nearly as much left standing after the battle as he had hoped.

    He took a deep breath then replied in a subdued voice while looking at the ground, ¡°It¡¯s five stories. Two are underground. Seven with the towers. It was crudely put together in a few months during war conditions by exhausted mages.¡± He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he leaned his head back. ¡°The fact that you think it is impressive is, frankly, depressing. I had hoped that the world hadn¡¯t fallen so far.¡±

    He took another quick breath, rubbed his face, and shook himself. He waved them to the benches and said, ¡°Please, sit. We have much to talk about, it seems. I have been looking forward to speaking with you all since the moment I first saw you.¡±

    Saravren looked at him with pity, for she had seen his eyes go dull before. Elder Yim and Olena both became more subdued, but simultaneously looked even more curious. They all sat on one of the benches, and Richard sat on another.

    He decided to use a paraphrased script from what he had planned and begun with introducing himself.

    ¡°Well I guess we¡¯re meeting officially for the first time, so I¡¯ll just say that my name is Richard, and I¡¯m a human. I had a more elaborate speech, but it got a little sidetracked so I¡¯ll just ask a question that I hope doesn¡¯t come across as rude. What is your race called? I¡¯ve never seen anyone like you.¡±

    Elder Yim cocked his head to the side a little and replied, ¡°Well met, RIchard. I¡¯m Yim, one of the elders of our village. Olena here is our most learned shaman, and Saravren is one of our rangers. Our tribe is known as the Elom, though from your word of ¡®race¡¯ I think there is a misunderstanding.

    ¡°Our tribe has certain physical characteristics that are common, but we aren¡¯t all uniform. There are two other tribes in the region nearby; the Kaila and the Drend. Though there are some defining characteristics to each, we are all one people for the most part just split into different tribes. I have never heard of humans, but that isn¡¯t very surprising. There are many tribes, and most are different.¡±

    Saravren couldn¡¯t help but interject with, ¡°And the Kaila are aggressive bastards who have gone to war with many, and pushed us from our home.¡±

    Elder Yim shot her a quick admonishing glare before turning back to Richard and asking, ¡°You said something about a war, could you talk more about that?¡±

    Richard¡¯s eyes were dull and sad as he quietly said, ¡°I¡¯d rather not. Not yet. Suffice it to say it was bad and happened long ago, but I¡¯ve been waiting a long time to talk to people and I¡¯d like to be able to remember it as a happy occasion, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Yim responded. ¡°We have plenty of other questions to ask, but first I thought it might be nice to commemorate our meeting with a few gifts.¡±

    Richard looked up with surprise as the three began to pull out little bundles, and one clay bottle. He remembered he had his own gift, but he had left it inside the ¡®doorway¡¯ in case it rained.

    I mean. It¡¯s called a doorway, but it hadn¡¯t had a door in a long time. So does that make it a portal? Or perhaps just an entrance?

    Stop being distracted, Richard.

    He quickly shot to his feet up and called, ¡°Oh, I have something too! I¡¯ll just take a moment to grab it.¡± and he quickly made the trip and grabbed the leather pouch. His preparations had only taken him a day and a half to fix everything up, so he worked on adding a bunch of detail to the leather in his spare time. He had stitched it expertly and added decorative patterns around the edges, but was rather proud of the artistic looking designs on the front face.

    He based the designs on the translation spellform, or how he interpreted it in his mind at any rate. He figured that if the translation spell worked it would be the most important thing to commemorate. It was rather striking, with sweeping lines that seemed to fold over themselves in mind-bending patterns.

    As he sat back down he noticed the amused look on their faces but just waved for Elder Yim to begin.

    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have much, but we thought some simple comforts would be nice. I have here a bottle of our berry wine and some seeds of different plants. Olena has some of the fabric we use for our vests or cloaks, and Saravren has a pouch with some cheese and a little pot of jam.¡± Elder Yim said as they took turns handing things to Richard.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    He was totally shocked at what was given to him. The only reason he had any fabric at all was because he placed his cedar chest inside the stasis field every year so it wouldn¡¯t deteriorate. The cheese, wine, and jam? It had been so long that he could no longer remember what they even looked like, let alone how they tasted. He felt some tears coming out of his eyes and his idiot grin splitting his face again. This was the best day ever.

    He held these amazing items in his hands, and some little part of his mind relaxed.

    ¡°Wine.. I remember this. We used to toast¡­¡± His eyes were unfocused as he gazed down at the gifts.

    He sniffed and tried to get his emotions under control as he nodded quickly to the others. He wiped his face and spoke through the lump in his throat.

    ¡°Thank you. It has been so long since I have seen things like this.. Thank you. I feel my gift may not be as nice, but it was one of the only things I could think of. Though now that I see the jam, I just remembered that I have honey. Anyway, I was able to acquire some salt recently, so I ground it finely and made a nice bag for you.¡±

    Richard felt a little embarrassed as he gave the bag to Elder Yim, but judging by the look on their faces it was not only welcome, but they were surprised by it.

    Olena looked up after studying the design and asked, ¡°Your skill at working leather is astounding. How did you come up with this design? I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    Richard cleared his throat, emotions finally coming under control as he answered, ¡°Well it¡¯s inspired by the spellform that forms the translation spell. There are ways to lock the spell into a runeform, but I have no idea how to do that. The spell itself moves mana in a complicated pattern that looks somewhat like that to my mind when I studied it.¡±

    Olena¡¯s eyes were wide as she said, ¡°Fascinating.¡± under her breath and continued to study the pattern.

    Elder Yim asked, ¡°What do you mean by runeform? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing before. In fact, I¡¯m not sure what you mean by being able to study a spell. Our spellcasters use feelings and emotion to cast magic and to determine the FIeld.¡±

    Richard looked a little surprised but answered, ¡°Oh. Well I¡¯m not an expert or anything, but it was a common practice to use runes to anchor spells to objects or create wards. The hallways and inner walls of the fort are covered in them, if you want to see what they look like.¡±

    Three pairs of eyes were suddenly staring at him like he was a meal and they hadn¡¯t eaten in weeks.

    Saravren stood up explosively and almost shouted, ¡°Wait! Before we continue I should go get Ethren! It seems safe in here, and he¡¯s probably worried. Plus he¡¯d skin us if he didn¡¯t get to explore as well!¡± She then bolted towards the exit.

    Richard stood and instinctively called, ¡°Hold!¡± In his command voice and everyone froze.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to get inside the inner ward without me keying him in. Bring him to where I had you wait and then let me know. Then you can tell him when it¡¯s safe.¡±

    Saravren was looking at him like an abashed recruit and with a little fear before she relaxed and nodded. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll do that, then.¡± she said hesitantly, before continuing her dash with a little bit more caution.

    Olena whistled and said, ¡°Is that yell something that can be taught? That was impressive, it held some sort of authority behind it or something.¡±

    Richard felt a little embarrassed before responding, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s something that I learned in my time in the army. I didn¡¯t really realize that I had yelled like that, actually. I was just worried that Ethren might get hurt and reacted.¡±

    Elder Yim chuckled in that ¡®old guy chuckle¡¯ sort of way and said, ¡°I hope she gets back soon, I¡¯m so excited to see these runes. In the meantime, do you have any questions for us?¡±

    Richard plopped back down on the bench with an explosive exhale and said, ¡°So many. So many I don¡¯t even know what to ask, frankly. And a lot of them I¡¯m not sure you would even know the answer for¡­¡±

    He wasn¡¯t ready to open his mind up to the questions that simultaneously burned in his soul for an answer yet terrified him to his core. There was a part of him that was beginning to open up but it wasn¡¯t yet ready to believe that something fundamental enough had changed. He started with a simple ones; ¡°So how many people are in your tribe? Do you live around here? Saravren said you were pushed from your homes, does that mean you don¡¯t have a place to stay?¡±

    Elder Yim leaned back a little and sighed sadly. ¡°Yes, we have been fleeing north once the roads had cleared enough to move. There are about eight hundred or so of us, all told. The Kailans have always been antagonistic with our tribe, but two years ago it turned to war. It turned truly ugly. Most of our warriors and men have been lost, and we knew that this year would see our end. The only option was to flee. There have ever been less Twisted to the north, and so we decided to follow that general path. We recently found a valley southwest of here that looks ideal, but we wanted to explore more before putting down roots.

    ¡°Imagine our surprise when we not only found a place strangely devoid of magical creatures with above average Twisted population, but some great mage annihilating them in droves! We¡¯ve been clearing an area for fields and homes and gathering supplies, but we wanted to meet with you before coming to a final decision.¡±

    Richard had a smug look on his face and said, ¡°Well, looks like my plan worked! I¡¯ve been hoping that clearing out all the¡­ you call them Twisted? I just called them monsters. Either way, clearing out the area might eventually bring someone to investigate. I¡¯ll say I had hoped for something other than refugees. I¡¯m sorry that you were forced out of your homes, but at the same time I¡¯m glad that you came and we could meet.¡±

    Olena had a wry smile on her face and hardened eyes as she said, ¡°Maybe don¡¯t say that out loud too often. We¡¯ve lost a lot of people. Ethren and Sara are the only family that either of them have left, for example. We lost our chief, our head shaman, and many more.¡±

    Richard blanched and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been living alone for so long I kinda forgot about families. Yeah, that sucks. I apologize that I seemed happy or excited about it. Do you think that the Kaila might still come after you?¡±

    Elder Yim gave Richard a curious look and said, ¡°We hope not, but we aren¡¯t sure. The war was turning more towards one of extermination, but we may have fled far enough... Do you not have a family?¡±

    Richard¡¯s eyes flashed with regret as he looked into the trees. His eyes lost focus and the blue spark seemed to grow flat. He said, ¡°I did but¡­ I can¡¯t remember them. I forgot that it is important too, I guess.¡±

    Elder Yim and Olena shared a worried and confused look, but before they could ask further about that, Saravren came bounding past the rubble mound.

    ¡°Richard! Ethren is waiting where you told him to!¡± she called.

    Richard stood up and called back, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right back and let you know when it¡¯s safe!¡±

    He walked into the fort quickly and Olena whispered to Elder Yim once he was gone, ¡°I have a feeling there¡¯s a piece of this puzzle we¡¯re missing. Who forgets about family? And this isn¡¯t the first time he¡¯s said he¡¯s forgotten things.¡±

    Elder Yim quietly responded, ¡°Yes, I agree. For now let¡¯s just see where our conversation takes us. I¡¯d like to ask about magic and his equipment after we see these runes. I¡¯m sure Ethren was curious about some things as well. Keep your senses open, mine aren¡¯t nearly as adept as yours.¡±

    Olena nodded acceptance and it wasn¡¯t long before Richard came out and gave Saravren the all clear. He moved off to the side and brought some sacks and a pot with him.

    She went back through the path and a few seconds later both she and Ethren came to join them. They took the third bench, and Richard sat down with his sacks and pot. Ethren and Richard introduced themselves formally and then Richard spoke up.

    ¡°So I figure it¡¯ll be noon soon, and I got this wood all ready to be lit, so I¡¯ll be cooking you all a meal while we chat if that¡¯s alright. For now I just need to heat up the water, so we can take a look at the runes if you want. Should take about an hour for the water to be ready, if that¡¯s okay with everyone?¡±

    They made agreeable noises and Richard snapped his fingers. The wood inside the stone pit suddenly lit all at once, and he lifted the large water filled pot near it to one side. Yet again, he missed everyone jumping at his casual use of magic.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s take the tour! The security won¡¯t let you get too deep into the fort, and only the ground floor, but I set up a room if you wanted to stay, and there¡¯s plenty of runes and such you can take a look at. I¡¯ll get you started then place these gifts in my storeroom. Oh, what kind of seeds are in the pouch? I forgot to ask.¡±

    They all stood and began walking towards the opening to the fort. Elder Yim talked as he walked, ¡°There are some vegetables like pumpkin, green beans and cucumber, a few tomato seeds, some nuts like peanut and walnut, though they may take years to give results, and a few grains like wheat and rye. It¡¯s not a lot, but just a small sample of what we have available.¡±

    Richard stopped abruptly before they made it to the opening and turned to Elder Yim with a very serious expression on his face.

    ¡°You.. you have BREAD?! I¡­ I can¡¯t tell you how excited that makes me. Thank you again! Oh, this is just the best cycle! I hope I haven¡¯t been having a week-long fever dream again, that would be so disappointing. Doesn''t seem like it tho..¡± He began to mumble, talking to himself as he turned and walked towards the fort.

    The villagers all shared a quick look, some worried and some confused, before following. They were quickly distracted when Richard held up a glowing ball and turned to a doorway that had no door.

    He said, ¡°This room I set up in case you wanted to spend the night or something. I placed a bunch of furs and hides on the floor as you can see, and there are two light spells on the walls that you can just poke and they will dissipate. The fireplace works, and there¡¯s plenty of wood. Oh, and you can drag some of those stumps from outside if you want a place to sit. I didn¡¯t think about that till just now. There¡¯s no door because I¡¯m not the best at making them and they keep rotting, but you can hang a hide if you want to.¡±

    Ethren stepped into the room for a quick glance and nodded, placing his pack down. The rest of the party did the same and then turned back to follow Richard.

    He led them a little further in and turned into a room where the only light was from his glowing ball. He placed a few more light spells on the walls and turned around to talk to them.

    ¡°So here on the walls you can see some of the runes that are tied into the fortress. They are a little fragile, so try not to damage them. The band coming in from the hallway brings energy from deeper in the fort to power the runes.¡±

    Everyone began to examine and make excited noises as they moved around the room.

    Richard continued, ¡°So that cluster there is tied into the outer ward. It does a bunch of stuff, but most importantly it keeps out monsters, hides the presence of the fort, and smooths the ambient mana passing through it. I don¡¯t understand how they do those things, but I¡¯ve gotten skilled enough at repairing them so they still mostly work.¡±

    He moved to another grouping and said, ¡°This cluster I think is part of the structural reinforcement for the fort. Notice how there isn¡¯t any mortar between the stones, but they all seat firmly with one another? I¡¯m fairly certain that runes like these are responsible.¡±

    After about a half hour, Richard brought them all back outside so he could get started on food. They sat around the firepit and chatted about mostly inconsequential things. Ethren asked Richard about his equipment as he was setting up a spit to place meat on.

    ¡°What material is your armor made of? Our weapons are bronze, while we use copper and tin for other tools and such. I¡¯ve never seen metal that color before.¡± Ethren asked.

    Richard, who had been getting way too hot sitting out in the sun with armor on, decided he would answer while he removed it. He didn¡¯t feel like they were a threat and he passed it around so they could take a better look.

    ¡°It¡¯s all fine steel, for the most part. The mail, that¡¯s this chest armor, is made of small links of steel all molded together. The gambeson here is made of layered and quilted linen. It¡¯s all in pretty rough shape due to age, but I¡¯ve done my best to keep it intact.¡±

    Richard removed his sword and held it so that Saravren and Ethren could look. ¡°This is a Battle Blade. Standard issue for combat mages. I have another one that¡¯s in much worse shape that I usually use, but I wanted to look my best for today, so this is my nice one. It has twelve runes that are designed to hold complicated spells ready for activation with a simple command word. Also fine steel, but there are runes inside the hilt that increase its strength and durability.¡±

    They didn¡¯t try to reach for it as Richard re-sheathed the blade then put the belt around his waist again. He felt much better with all of the armor off. As he continued to work on the meal, Ethren asked him a question that he knew was coming in some form, but still wasn¡¯t quite ready to answer.

    ¡°So you say you were part of an army, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone being this far north. How did you and this fortress come to be here?¡±

    Richard was silent as he stirred the soup with a wooden spoon. He sighed heavily and spoke, his voice sounding old and tired, ¡°It was a long time ago¡­ A war fought to close the rift. It¡¯s a painful thing to think about, and I¡¯d rather wait on explaining it, if you don¡¯t mind. Maybe after we eat.¡±

    Ethren gave him a funny look, and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to dredge up bad memories. This rift¡­ Saravren said she felt something strange the first day she found you, and Olena noticed something off with the veils in the area, is that all connected? Is there a danger?¡±

    Richard sighed heavily and explained, ¡°Yeah, the rift is a¡­ puncture between our reality and the Ether. It¡¯s about two miles north of here. Currently it has a seal attached to it to keep it closed, but it needs periodic adjustments. That¡¯s what I was doing that first day, seating the seal more firmly. Is it currently an issue? No. In the future¡­?

    ¡°The seal is weakening over time, but so is the rift. It shrinks every year, and I hope that it will close soon, but soon for me might be a little different than soon for you. It¡¯s been my main responsibility to keep the rift sealed, but I¡¯ve also been doing other things like maintaining the fort and clearing out the monsters¡­ or Twisted, as you say.¡±

    Everyone else had stopped to listen to Richard as he talked, but before they could continue he spoke with forced cheer, ¡°Foods done, let¡¯s eat!¡±

    It was mostly quiet during the meal, most thinking about everything they had learned today. The food was amazing for how little went into it, if a bit over-salted. Richard took his time, as he knew the more depressing conversation was probably coming up next. He tried to think of how he would explain everything, but he couldn¡¯t even decide where he wanted to begin.

 Chapter 12

    As he sat there staring into his empty bowl and thinking, Olena walked over and sat down next to him. She had been talking to Elder Yim, but Richard hadn¡¯t been paying attention. He was startled out of his introspection by the bold move and turned to look at her.

    She spoke with a quiet and smooth voice, ¡°Richard, you know we have questions, but you don¡¯t really need to answer them today if you don¡¯t want to. The most important thing to us is trying to figure out how we interact moving forward. It is our hope that we would find an ally in you, in case we needed help. More, we hope to find a friend or a safe place to settle.

    ¡°You have a great place here and knowledge that dwarfs our own in some ways. We could find safety here, if you were to allow us to join you. Even if you don¡¯t like that idea, we could be great neighbors. But there might also be danger.

    ¡°We just need to know the important things about you and this place in order to determine if it is safe before moving forward. There are hints of great and terrible things in the words you have spoken and the land around us. The land itself seems torn, the veils are strange, and you yourself are a strange warrior with armor and skills we don¡¯t understand.

    ¡°You have said a few times today that you have forgotten things, and you throw power and magic around like something out of our legends. We still don¡¯t really understand your situation or who you are, but from what I¡¯ve seen so far, you seem like a man with a good soul. If you will, could you explain the war, this fortress, the rift¡­ the things that you would want to know if you were trying to determine if a place was safe for your friends and family?¡±

    Richard studied Olena¡¯s green eyes. He saw compassion, curiosity, and resolve within them. He didn¡¯t actually know what those emotions looked like in another person anymore, it had been so long since he had seen them. That didn¡¯t stop him from understanding her any less.

    He realized that he had a choice, here.

    He could say no, or lie, or try to change the subject, or any number of things and the relationship between him and the only people he¡¯d seen in a thousand years (or however long) would be irreparably damaged.

    Or he could crack open those thoughts and memories, the scars on his soul, the desperate loneliness. He had buried them under whimsy and humor, buried them under nonsense and distractions, he had forced ignorance upon himself as a defense mechanism. If he were to reach into that cold part of his soul, he might not come back out the same.

    If he didn¡¯t, he would lose the warmth of the people who had finally arrived and the possibilities the future may bring.

    In the end, he didn¡¯t have a choice. Not really.

    He decided to go all-in. He had lied and told them there was extra security because he hadn¡¯t yet been ready. He had hinted that there was more, but had held them at arm¡¯s length. Well, if he was going all-in, might as well stop pussyfooting around. There was no future Richard that he could lean on. Not this time.

    He nodded at Olena, and stood. He made eye contact with each of his guests, and saw the curiosity and conviction in each of their gazes. He looked at his feet, drew a deep breath, and nodded one last time with his decision.

    Something snapped in his mind, and he began to feel more, and to remember.

    He had always been talented at mind magic. It might seem that over time he hadn¡¯t tried to learn anything at all, but that hadn¡¯t been the case before. He had learned plenty, but nothing ever really changed in his situation and so he became despondent.

    Mental magic was tricky and difficult to experiment with, but he had all the time in the world. He learned ways to partition his mind into bundles. It would let him learn something all over again, just so that he would have an objective to work towards and be able to feel like he was accomplishing something.

    Eventually he learned how to lock large portions of his mind away with magic. He could bottle up the painful memories and seal them within himself. This is why it was always difficult to meditate too deeply, because he would eventually find incongruencies and awaken himself. It took time to put everything back into their boxes once he had unpacked them.

    Just like his skill with the stasis spell for setting conditions upon which it would break, he had set certain marks for his mind. Being able to talk to someone and to believe that it wasn¡¯t a hallucination this time, awakened a bit more of his mind. Deciding that his long wait was over, was another.

    And so, deciding in his heart that his long vigil had changed in a fundamental way, spells he had forgotten he even placed on himself began to unravel.

    His mind began to fully wake for the first time in many hundreds of years, unlocking memories that he had pasted over on purpose, but there were some things he would never forget. Could never forget.

    ¡°Alright.¡± He said in a gentle voice that both reverberated in the air, but felt like a whisper on the breeze. Everyone looked at him and they seemed to almost be holding their breaths.

    His essence began to fully settle into the world around him. He had cut himself off, time and again, from his¡­ prison. But he was always connected deeply to it.

    Richard looked up, blue eyes faintly glowing and drowning with age, and said, ¡°Alright. Follow me.¡±

    He turned and walked slowly towards the fort. The others were all startled, but they felt something strange compelling them, and so they followed.

    As he slowly walked; he began. ¡°At first, we all thought the incidents were local. Even villages dealt with them and didn¡¯t think to report to towns or cities. They were small things. Aggressive creatures mutated in strange ways but they were easy enough to put down.

    ¡°A few years passed, and the reports were finally coming in that something might be wrong. People were dying. There were more monsters than usual, and people who lived away from safe areas were beginning to disappear.

    ¡°Cities added more guards to the rolls, they increased patrols. It would pass, they thought.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t.

    ¡°By the time we began to take the threat seriously, the cities were beginning to fill up with people seeking shelter. People who used to make the food that the cities relied on, no longer were. People were going hungry, the nobility began to find delicacies more rare. Something was happening and the upper levels of power were beginning to notice.¡±

    Richard hadn¡¯t cast a light spell, and it was hard to see as they moved into the fortress. He reached to the side, and brushed his fingers against a power conduit. Using his connection to the fort that was seamlessly integrated into his mind, he activated a feature. The hallways were suddenly lit by faint white light that flowed through every rune and conduit, all connected together in a beautiful tapestry. The others following him exclaimed in surprise, but Richard didn¡¯t pause his slow march.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°Governments began to call for aid, finally, only to realize a horrible truth: Their allies, those who they hoped to call for help, were dealing with the same situation. Everyone was. Across the entire globe of our beautiful world, message spells were sent frantically, great mages and kings began to hunt for the cause, finally awakened to the problem. Politics were set aside in the face of a great threat, but it was already late.

    ¡°As they searched and talked, we began to die. Armies were created, all adult men were drafted. It gave us some breathing room. The monsters were pushed back, for a time.

    ¡°As villages and towns began to fall - It was found. A pattern. A direction. ¡®North¡¯, the great scholars said. ¡®Something is happening in the mountains¡¯¡±

    Richard stopped at his room and walked in. He waited until they were all inside before pointing at The Wall.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t part of the story, but you wondered - I can feel it in your auras. Each of those marks is a year, and I stopped counting long ago.¡±

    His guests looked at The Wall. From the top left to the bottom right were rows of marks. The number was hard to determine, but it must have been great to cover a wall so fully. Hundreds, surely. Thousands? They didn¡¯t understand, not fully. Richard waved for them to follow him as he began to walk through the hallways again.

    He continued; ¡°We lost many before we found the rift. These monsters, or Twisted as you say, are simple things. Aggressive, occasional magical anomalies, tougher, larger, yes. They are something that a single well equipped soldier can deal with.

    ¡°The horrors that came out of the Ether were different. Horrible and ever changing, drenched in magic, tireless, enormous. They were nightmares given form, and it took many to put one down. They came from the rift, the same one just north of here.

    ¡°Some were different. They almost made sense, like the forms were from our minds, but plausible. Dragons, Griffons, Dryads, Selkies, Goblins, the great monsters in the deeps¡­ They all came from the rift. We couldn¡¯t push them back, not at first. Many escaped into the wilderness or the river.

    ¡°Those who still had authority dug a tunnel underneath the land to get close and study the rift. Our greatest minds were assembled in the basement of this fort, though it had not yet been built as you see it. They determined that it must be closed, at any cost.

    ¡°The Ether was sending mutating energy throughout the whole world. If it could be closed, they said, the world would be saved - or at least it wouldn¡¯t get any worse. They began to bring in soldiers and mages, to build a fortress we could hold while the great army was assembled.

    ¡°Every nation on the planet sent who could be spared from the defense. Women, children, older people, all were drafted into the war effort. I was fourteen when I joined originally, after my sister was killed and my mother joined the city levies. It was before the last push, but almost everything had been lost by then.

    ¡°I was lucky that I had magic flowing inside of me, I wouldn¡¯t just be given a spear and told to stand and die in a line.¡±

    Richard paused and cocked his head in thought. ¡°I still can¡¯t remember their names¡­¡± he whispered before continuing on, echoes of sadness and loss almost palpable in the air.

    ¡°By the time the fortress was complete and the area secure enough to begin the push, I was twenty. I was talented in dealing death with magic, but had never been trained to do anything else. In fact, it wasn¡¯t my main talent, but that was irrelevant at that point.

    ¡°Archmage Hollister, who was in charge of the magical defenses, came up with a plan: To bind a soul to an Arcstone - a magical relic designed to channel the energy within a ley line. With its power, guided by a consciousness, the horde of horrors could be pushed back and a seal placed upon the rift. This would have been, in less desperate times, so wholly grotesque and illegal as to be unthinkable.¡±

    He paused, to let them think about that.

    ¡°I volunteered immediately. They needed not only a powerful war mage, but one with a predisposition to mind magic. Word had just come to the army that Helveric had fallen, you see. It was the last city of my country - where my mother had been fighting. It was an honor to be allowed to strike back in an appreciable way.¡±

    Richard turned the last corner and came to a stop; there was the iron door. It¡¯s blue glow, usually subdued, was strong and sharp with the wards activated. The others had been following along silently, and stopped behind him.

    Richard looked over his shoulder and said, ¡°If you aren¡¯t with me, do not enter this room. Don¡¯t touch the door. The door doesn¡¯t warn, like the boundary of the inner wards.¡± He waited for everyone to nod, then turned and pushed the door open.

    Glorious golden light spilled out of the room, the Arcstone placidly spinning in its cradle. Behind him, Richard could hear gasps and prayers. His heart was almost bursting in his chest, and he was breathing heavily.

    ¡°An Arcstone. The last, probably.¡± Richard whispered hoarsely.

    He moved into the room and stood next to the stone while his guests filed in and looked around in awe. All of his notes, covering almost every surface, the Arcstone, the well. It was quite a sight. He waited for them to collect themselves.

    His guests were obviously overwhelmed, but they would remember every single word and experience that they had been exposed to - Richard made sure of that. There was only one outlier. Olena had come to a stop just inside the room, and seemed transfixed by the energies below the Arcstone. Perhaps it was her extra senses when it came to veils?

    Richard cleared his throat and waited to have complete attention before he resumed.

    ¡°I bound myself to this stone, and after I had acclimated to it the battle began. It lasted about a week, I think. Or maybe¡­ a month?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Frankly, it may have even been years. This portion of my mind was very scrambled while I was attuning to the stone. Anyway, the amalgamation horrors continually poured out of the rift as I bombarded it. The area was finally cleared long enough for the last of our mages, including Archmage Hollister, to get close enough to the rift to place a seal upon it.

    ¡°It was a desperate gamble at that time - there were so few left. But they did it. Those heroes saved the world by successfully sealing the rift, and most paid with their lives.

    ¡°Below our feet is a vast room upon the walls where every name and rank of every soldier who was part of the final battle, from the construction of the fortress to the end. I haven¡¯t gone down there since the final battle.

    ¡°The few hundred that were left after the horrors had been cleaned up met for one last time in this fortress. The battles across the world had thrown up so much dust that the very air was beginning to cool across the world, and they had a long way to march to get to civilization. The winters had been getting longer for a long time, and I felt that those heroes needed all the help I could provide. I gave them all I could spare, for I would need to stay behind.

    ¡°They said they would find help, that they would send someone to relieve me, that they would send supplies. No one ever came.

    ¡°I have been here, all this time, to safeguard the world from the rift so that what happened to us may never happen again.

    ¡°The room with the marks on the walls was the infirmary. It has a stasis spell attached to the stone slab. I slept away during the long winter. I¡¯ve slept away every winter, in fact. Constantly hoping, constantly waiting and holding the rift closed. Doing my duty.¡±

    Richard paused. He tried to convey with his glowing eyes what he meant to impart on his guests. He wasn¡¯t sure if they understood, but they were spellbound. He had already wrapped their minds inside of his own aura and with mental spells to make sure they would never forget what he was saying¡­ or at least wouldn¡¯t forget it if they didn¡¯t have hundreds of years like he had.

    ¡°I discovered many many years ago that the Arcstone was affecting my mind. It kept me sane, mostly, and gave me a purpose. It is a prison, you see. I cannot get a certain distance away from the stone, and I cannot abandon my duty. I wouldn¡¯t abandon it if I had a choice, but loneliness and hopelessness can warp a mind. Despite the stone balancing my mind, I have fantasized about an end more times that I wish to recount.¡±

    Richard, who had been staring into the Arcstone¡¯s light, turned to his guests. His eyes were glowing bright now and he was wrapped in an ancient aura. They all shivered, for someone looking like they were barely past their twenties shouldn¡¯t look like they were older than the hills.

    Richard looked down to the ground to think for a moment before raising his eyes to capture their attention again. ¡°You asked me about humanity. That¡¯s all there was when I was a child. Your ears and tails are strange to me, for while the colors of skin, hair, eyes could be different, we were all the same. The only conclusion that I can reach is that the energies twisted those few survivors, giving them the tools to fight for a place to live.

    ¡°Does this mean I may hold some feelings against you for how you look, as your tribe has clearly dealt with before with the Kaila? No. Never fear that, for you are the most beautiful things I have seen in all of my life: Survivors. Irrefutable proof that my long vigil has not been in vain. I have been waiting for you, and I would never wish you harm.

    ¡°Could I protect you and yours? Most assuredly. It would not only be my honor, but my greatest joy. For the only thing I have had to live for for over two thousand years is the hope that someday, I might meet you.¡±

 Chapter 13

    Senior Archon Krenten of the 2nd Fist was tired of the cold.

    He had brought his Fist and their attendant serfs along on what was supposed to be a quick campaign to finally eradicate the Elom from their area.

    The Drend knew to follow the laws and pay their foreigner taxes, but the Elom had ever been a thorn in the side of the great kingdom of Kaila.

    Freedom? Autonomy? Pshah! None has escaped that naive point of view.

    There were five cities that already knew their place and paid proper tribute to the capital, but the Elom had never bent the knee. In fact, they seemed to think that the idea of pacifying all settlements around the area in the name of unity was wrong!

    How could any civilization think that smaller gatherings of the few could compare to the power of one larger group?

    As the third prince it is his duty to bring the strongest warriors to bear against those who might fight against the glory of their kingdom.

    If only they could find the savages.

    Certainly, the masterwork bronze blades and rangers of the Elom were something to be wary of, but they had shamans who talked to spirits for the ancestors sake!

    Everyone knew that spirits were nonsense and that true pacts could be made with any intelligent lifeform.

    Well, except goblins, Krenten supposed. Those little bastards never knew when to quit, though it was strange that despite the large bounties on them they never seemed to decrease appreciatively in number to the south. The swamps were just too wet to burn them out and too muddy to fully cleanse.

    Damned goblins.

    Damned Elom!

    Drenden was freezing, having to follow their meandering path north! He was used to the warm weather around the capital that lasted mostly year-long.

    As he was miserably complaining to himself, one of his warleaders came up to him with a report.

    ¡°Prince Krenten, we have lost contact with a group of our scouts. If it were something like a monster, we might have heard. Assuming we follow the Elom, I think we should stop for now and rest. Their rangers are unrivaled in wooded conditions, and if we are catching up to them our scouts are at risk.¡± Gleras reported with a salute.

    Krenten scratched his left horn in a nervous habit as he thought.

    While it was true that the Kaila were more experienced mages and had access to more resources, the Elom had superior bronze workings and were better in darkness and forests with their increased agility.

    He couldn¡¯t afford for this expedition to cost him. He was the third prince which meant he was somewhat expendable. With a successful campaign against the Elom he may be able to supplant his brother for second prince, but not if the campaign went poorly.

    He had already spent too much of his material and political capital on this. He sighed and relented, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s make camp. Double the sentries for tonight and send our best ghosts to reconnoiter the region.¡±

    Gleras gave a sharp salute and called, ¡°Yes, my prince! At once!¡±

    As Krenten watched the warleader slink away to follow his orders, he continued his musings.

    The Elom had clearly left their town in the very late winter, or early spring. He had lost a few warriors to traps left in the town before he had ordered the whole thing burnt to the ground, but they had moved swiftly northeast.

    Krenten took a moment to daydream about the baths full of nubile women and sweet wine he was missing with this outing, but at least the camp would be set before dusk tonight. There were plenty of serfs he could choose among to warm his bed.

    He was a prince of the rulers of the area, what he wanted should be reality!

    His daydream also considered how nice it would be to sweep up a few of the younger women of the Elom for his baths and bedchambers. They were exotic, to say the least. Perhaps he could bring enough back to trade for some more favors in the capitol?

    His annoyance at the Elom skills brought a disgruntled huff from his mouth. He could always cultivate the magical energies into his body later. His body easily brought the energies to where he wanted them. He was stronger, better, than most.

    He found himself rubbing his horn again, but quickly pulled his hand back down. His father had told him of the inherent superiority of the Kaila since he had been able to understand language.

    The horns of their race were said to be magical reservoirs, which was obvious when one saw how many more mages they had against the other sentients. Elom and Drend had ears and tails, mostly the same, where the other sentients had characteristics ranging from scales to strange elements manifesting.

    They all had their uses, certainly, but none were as pristine as the Kaila. None had their magical aptitude either.

    Plus - no tails.

    He wondered what it would be like to have a tail underneath him tonight. Would it get in the way? Too bad those few serfs of the Drend were out of his reach. When captured they rarely lasted long, unfortunately.

    Krenten thought of his father who had glowing red eyes and thick horns that flowed from his head back across his skull. His weren¡¯t nearly as majestic, being thinner and pointing away from his head, but he thought the combat applications of his horns were greater.

    As the camp settled and the night began to cool, Krenten took a quick journey through the camp to bring two new girls to his tent for the night. He pitied these lesser serfs for their lack of talent and true beauty, but grudgingly accepted they had their charms. If only they would stop acting so meek and defeated!

    Regardless, he knew he was on the trail and that they would soon catch the damned Elom to clear them from the area once and for all. It was his grandfather''s words that spoke of never leaving an enemy to come back for revenge.

    The next morning Krenten called his advisors to the tent. He didn¡¯t even notice the girls from last night were still curled up on pelts in the corner of the room as he addressed his group of advisors.

    ¡°What news from last night? Did the ghosts find anything?¡± he asked.

    One of his warleaders with a scaly forehead and no hair who he had never bothered to learn the name of said, ¡°No, my liege. We did lose two more sentries in the night, though I could not tell you if it was from the Twisted or not. The trail of the Elom exodus is still clear, and we believe we are catching up due to the spoor of their draft horses.¡±

    Krenten nodded and said, ¡°How are our supplies? I doubt we will receive another shipment if we continue to head north into this barbaric country - we left the roads long ago.¡±

    Nerthi responded with his clipped voice, ¡°We are a few days away from their area, I think. Otherwise we would not have lost some troops last night.¡±

    Krenten¡¯s face took a sinister gleam as he commanded, ¡°Let¡¯s push ahead in force. Keep everyone close. There can¡¯t be many more of those degenerates left. We will crush them within the week!¡±

    As the third prince watched his Fist and serfs mobilize, he felt a tingle up his spike. It would soon be time to be rid of this last black mark and move back towards civilization!

    <hr>

    Olena was awestruck and her head was still coming to terms with what they had learned yesterday.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    After Richard had suddenly changed into some sort of ancient and stern thing and upended their lives, he had brought them to their room to sleep for the night.

    She remembered how his soul had been made of granite for most of the explanation, but once he had unloaded it all onto them, it seemed that the solid stone was just a fragile and empty eggshell - a tap away from breaking completely.

    At first Olena had thought of Richard as some sort of impenetrable soldier. He had an aura around him when they met in that meadow. Soldier was an ancient term from stories. Most of their battle-focused tribespeople would be considered warriors, rangers, scouts.. But soldier was an ancient term that just didn¡¯t fit anything but her imagination.

    Until she saw him.

    His aura reeked of legions of warriors, standing together. He was the last of a grand host that worked towards no other goal than combat.

    She might admit only to herself that she had been enamored by his powerful body, sharp features, and the confidence that was intrinsic to his being.

    It only got worse as they began to talk as people instead of with nervous hand signals. When he stripped out of his bulky armor and explained it, Olena had been more fascinated by his body than the shiny metal or smelly padded armor.

    He was charming, had self-deprecating humor, and was relaxed and amiable around them.

    During dinner, that had changed. Well, it had been changing slowly the whole time they all interacted. It was as if he was an onion that was slowly shedding layers the longer they interacted.

    Finally, at dinner when Ethren had basically confronted him and he was getting ready to answer, something else happened.

    She had sensed inside of his soul that he needed help somehow. She wasn¡¯t sure how to accomplish that, but she had plenty of experience dealing with survivors of tragedy. Families who had lost members, or people who were feeling uprooted and unsure - these were things that a tribe¡¯s shaman was supposed to deal with. She wasn¡¯t fully trained, but had accrued a lot of experience due to loss from the war.

    When she had convinced Elder Yim to allow her to speak to Richard, the last thing she had been expecting was for him to accept her words, then break into a million pieces that somehow forged themselves into a single being within a few minutes.

    It was still Richard, but it was more Richard. Like he had been a ghost of himself until he decided to let them in. Once he began to speak - their world changed.

    It was as if his mind had begun to crystalize like ice across a pond. His mind began to form a solid surface and expand exponentially, his soul had been revealed to be many many different versions of himself that were coming together. As his mind crystallized into a clear surface, the broken reflection of hundreds of Richards began to fuse together as if the same lake was fixing its cracks to come together.

    It was strange. It was amazing. Olena couldn¡¯t lie and say she wasn¡¯t fully intrigued by him.

    Most of all, Olena couldn¡¯t stop her mind from reminiscing about the strange energy pouring from underneath what Richard called the Arcstone. It called to her in a way that was hard to understand. It was as if when she glanced into that power, it glanced back at her. There was something there, something that she needed to know.

    She didn¡¯t feel comfortable awakening Richard after he had brought them back. She felt he needed time, but she was distractingly attracted to the idea to go and get him so that she could learn more about the Arcstone chamber. She couldn¡¯t get through the door without him, afterall. Yes. That was why she wanted to go into his bedroom. Yes.

    Unfortunately, in the middle of the night they had all been awakened by Ethren storming into the room with an ominous report. One of their sentries had been killed in a small skirmish between their group and what seemed to be Kailan scouts. The fight had happened a day or so south of the new village location, but Deilos had brought back that unfortunate news upon his return.

    Elder Yim looked pale and drawn, but he was awake and worried. They all talked about what should be done. There was a definite feeling of fear and resignation in the room.

    After they had been arguing and conversing for half an hour, Olena finally had enough and said, ¡°We should all come here. Those monstrous people won¡¯t be able to make their way into the wards, and Richard has all but pleaded for us to live here. He seems like an honorable and steadfast man.¡±

    As if to prove her immediately wrong, Richard walked into the open doorway, as if he had been spying on them.

    He said, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t not come in after Olena said something like that. I apologize for eavesdropping, but everything that happens within the inner wards is something I can hear. I actually didn¡¯t know that until I was trying to sleep but heard the noises. I mean¡­ I¡¯ve never had anyone here talking to be able to know that.

    ¡°Regardless, Olena is correct. I will shelter you from your enemies, but I will also say that I refuse to attack any other sentient beings. It has been my duty to protect all sentient beings from harm for¡­ ever.¡±

    He looked at his feet, then shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to not listen, I just thought you all should know. Sorry.¡± then walked back into the now dark passage deeper into the fort looking like an abashed puppy.

    Olena pondered Rihard¡¯s response for a moment and then did something she was 100% not qualified to do, but thought she could get away with.

    She stood and put on her ¡®game face¡¯ then said to Ethren, ¡°Head Ranger Ethren, as the Shaman of the Elom clan, I charge you with bringing our people to safety. You will bring them inside of the outer wards within two days'' time. This I call your duty to accomplish. Protect and serve, and keep the wisdom of your ancestors in your heart.¡±

    Ether looked at her like an alien for a moment before his eyes almost sparkled with devotion and wit. He snapped to attention as she had never seen before, then said, ¡°Of course, Elder. I go now to fulfill your wish. Look for the tribe in two days!¡± Then Ethren took off like a lightning bolt.

    Olena didn¡¯t move for perhaps two minutes, then looked to Elder Yim and said, ¡°I¡¯m twenty-nine. If I ever hear anyone else call me Elder, I will make your lives miserable, do I make myself clear?¡±

    Saravren exploded with laughter, and Yim turned away and walked out of the fortress. Olena was sure he thought he was being mysterious, but she heard his cackles a few moments later from outside.

    <hr>

    Ethren moved.

    Olena may not know what she had just become, but she would probably realize it sooner, rather than later. When she gave him her orders; her eyes were gently glowing.

    That didn¡¯t happen by accident.

    She had witnessed or realized something that allowed her to be a legitimate shaman for the tribe. She may not have even noticed that her power had been amplified yet, but Ethren was old. He knew the signs of a shaman with a mantle of power.

    He had so many reservations about Richard, but most were born of paranoia. He couldn¡¯t deny that when he had seen his eyes blazing with light and age that it didn¡¯t affect him, but he was still worried. Call it professional courtesy that he would always think the worst but hope for the best.

    They hadn¡¯t had an official Head Ranger until Olena called him by the title.The burst of pride from that gave him energy, and coupled with the over-saturation of his mana pathways from being inside the wards, he was almost flying through the forest.

    The physical characteristics of his tribe were mostly ill-set for mages, but they could reinforce their bodies much easier than others.

    As he stepped into the camp just after dawn, he felt that there was something wrong. Taking Deilos¡¯ warnings to heart, he continued south. It was only a half hour before he found a large melee between Kailan ghosts and his own sentries and a few rangers.

    The ghosts mostly consisted of Kailan lower class who warped their magics back into their bodies and were trained as children to deal death.

    Ethren didn¡¯t pause. He was still running high from Richard¡¯s ridiculous mana nexus.

    Two of the sentries were bleeding and falling back, when suddenly Ethren was there. He only had his bronze dagger to work with - he had no time to grab a spear. He appeared behind the ghost before he realized anything amiss. He had the strange horns on his forehead, but his internal organs were still the same. A devastating punch with the dagger into his liver from behind, and Ethren moved to the other group.

    These were lost Drend tribespeople - more physically impressive, but slow.

    Ethren pushed the sharp tip of his dagger into one¡¯s throat, then turned to face the last.

    Ghosts were just shock troops for the Kailan forces, but he quickly jumped into a fight. Bronze was decent at slashing damage but was most prevalent to use the dagger to pierce.

    Ethren, coming from behind, slashed quickly at the base of one of the larger wolf humanoids, then while he crumpled, sliced into the front of his tunic into the vital area.

    Before he knew it, they were all down. Ethren didn¡¯t need an official title to order everyone back at that point. Experience spoke for itself in the wild.

    Within an hour he was inside of the tent looking at the remaining four elders.

    He stalked in like a bird of prey and then said, ¡°Head Ranger Ethren reporting. I have been named and tasked by our Shaman to bring the tribe to safety. We must pack up immediately and head northeast for protection.¡±

    Elder Hollen jumped out of his seat and almost yelled, ¡°None but the chief can designate a Head Ranger! You overreach, Ethren!¡±

    Elder Pethel, usually content in his dirt and farms spoke up, ¡°That is incorrect. A true shaman or oracle can name a Head Ranger. I am dubious, but from what I have heard I am also hopeful. We must move regardless, and if Richard has allowed us succor, we should seek it. To do anything else would be to court death.¡±

    The argument went on for a time, but it was inevitably decided to move towards safety with Richard.

    Ethren let the debate go for about a half hour, then he simply walked between all of the elders and stared at them.

    He said, ¡°This is not a debate, I already have the rangers and scouts moving our people and supplies. Olena became a true shaman from whatever she was exposed to inside of Richard¡¯s wards, I saw her conviction and her eyes glowed green. We are moving. Go - pack your things. We need to move at daybreak.¡±

    Thus began the last migration of the Elom clan.

    Ethren prayed to his ancestors that they would be fast enough, and that Richard would be able to protect them. He recalled Richard speaking of not harming sentients, but perhaps there was a way he could help.

    He hoped so. They had lost too many, and Richard might be their last hope.

 Chapter 14

    Richard was conflicted.

    He felt in his bones that he was making the right call by inviting people into his protection, but he was almost frozen by the idea that he may need to fight to defend them. Ever since he saw his sister mutilated and witnessed civilization fall, he wished with all of his being to meet people once more, but he may have been naive.

    Of course the first people he met would be being killed by other people he hadn¡¯t yet. Why not? When has life ever been easy? He was fourteen when he was drafted, and all of his adult life was being beaten into the form of a killing machine.

    He had an extreme predilection for mental magic, but it couldn¡¯t be harnessed while humanity was fighting for life. In gentler times, he may have been taught as a truthseeker, a therapist, a detective, judge, advocate¡­ hell, even an entertainer. Richard shuddered a little. Those words and occupations probably didn¡¯t exist as options, even with a resurgent civilization.

    On further reflection, he realized he probably would have been a farmer for the rest of his life, never knowing he was awakening to magic. In fact, he probably would have been a professional heartbreaker and philanderer due to his predilection for mind magic. Eh. At least he¡¯d have lots of kids?

    Well¡­ not everything was terrible recently¡­ there was the salt bath¡­

    Focus, Richard! We are not digging a new hole in the ground for another salt (mud) bath! We have¡­ GUESTS!!!!!

    After he had poured out his soul to these wonderful new friends of his, he almost didn¡¯t have enough energy to lead them all back to their room. He had known that it would be challenging to unearth the memories he had locked inside. It had dredged into his deepest pain, and he had laid it out for them to see.

    Richard reminisced on the day as he lay in his furs pretending he was asleep.

    As his guests had talked to him, he began to realize that his imagination wasn¡¯t vibrant enough to have come up with the stories of childhoods and experiences that they were telling him. He began to realize that they were not, in fact, hallucinations.

    That was a hard pill to swallow. It took more time for the idea to percolate into his mind firmly.

    He recalled a great daydream that was more a descent into madness that lasted for perhaps two months. He had been sure that there was a tribe of wolves that he could talk to. They hadn¡¯t attacked him, and he had brought them food. They seemed amiable enough, and intelligent. He invented names and pasted personalities upon them. He had even adopted two of the runts that year, sure in the knowledge that they knew what to do when winter hit.

    Digging the graves for Keilo and Hevrah the next spring had almost broken him, until he had figured out what was wrong with the Arcstone and fixed it in his mind. The memories were¡­ faded. They had been dimmed almost immediately. He still remembered their cute nips and wanderings, though.

    It was a strange memory. He could remember the warmth of caring for something fondly, but his sadness at their separation was muted and cold.

    He never tried to have a pet again.

    This time was different. He had set up many if/when mental barriers, and they had slowly activated the longer he had talked to these new people. It was obvious that they were speaking a language at him, not just giving hopeful eyes towards treats.

    His mind was still reeling from the forceful binding of many long overlaps. Over time, Richard had layered hundred or so year stretches locked away one at a time. When they all began to dissolve and synergize he felt that his mind was fracturing in reverse.

    Strangely, the only skill that continually stuck with him was working leather. He loved to create in general, but the working with leather had seeped into his bones, and he just loved the challenge and satisfaction of a well made piece of leather clothing.

    It was, of course, at that moment of reminiscence that Ethren came barreling back into the wards like a hawk from the Ether.

    Richard couldn¡¯t help but focus on him as he began to report, and he barely realized he was outside of their door by the time it was obvious he should say something.

    He felt no embarrassment as he walked into their room and told them that he wished for their tribe to be safe, and to bring them here.

    It was a big step, Richard knew. He would need to begin to set up areas for crops and living. There would be a long and trying time for him being surrounded by strangers, but he knew that it was the right call.

    If there was one thing that Richard was good at from his long vigil, it was gigantic menial jobs.

    He was captivated yet again by Olena¡¯s green eyes. They had seemed to glow as she locked her sight upon him. Now that he thought about it, she had some strange reaction to seeing the Arcstone chamber. Ah, well. He would just go try to sleep once again.

    His face was feeling a little warm from remembering her piercing gaze. It was a strange sensation. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was, and felt a little sad that despite his thousands of years of memories, he couldn¡¯t remember this feeling. He felt¡­ warm? He also had trouble not thinking about her. Weird.

    He was about to turn back into his room when he heard Saravren start laughing like an idiot down the hall.

    Ah, Saravren. What a breath of fresh air she was to his soul. Youthful, full of vigor, brave and strong. Her golden eyes still burned in his memory, and he wondered if she would last the winter as his pups hadn¡¯t.

    If she didn¡¯t, it would probably be his fault. If that was the case, perhaps it would be time to simply rest. Eternally.

    He couldn¡¯t allow these new Elom friends of his to perish.

    He wouldn¡¯t let it happen.

    As Richard stood in his doorway, his hand began to grip the stone harder as he thought. There was a low grinding noise as his imagination went wild.

    He could see these¡­ monsters¡­ coming for his new tribe. They might kill women, children. Ethren had told him of how their tribe was almost 80% female at this point from the desperate exodus and so many of their men fighting for their survival.

    Richard knew it was sexism that had brought them so low, and may even be the reason that they had lost their war. By the time he was sixteen the world had realized that there was truly very little difference between men and women for fighting. He would have to drill that idea into the minds of his new friends.

    As Richard¡¯s mind finally shut down from the emotional exhaustion, he double checked the wards.

    He was a little worried about the state of some of them, but it had been his fault for locking the knowledge on how to fix them away for so long, he supposed.

    Regardless, tomorrow was another day, and he hoped he could meet more people.

    ----------

    Richard jerked awake. He had slept in so long! It was rare that he would sleep until almost noon. He must have really worked hard yesterday.

    As Richard began his morning routine, he almost realized that there was something different today. He ignored the notion, mind still strangely fuzzy.

    As he walked out of the fort towards the river, his bleary eyes finally realized that there were significant changes to the fort. The hallways were clean? There was a nice open area outside of the entrance? He was standing in a pair of barely-there shorts staring at the cat peop¡­ Elom gathered around the fire pit making lunch and chatting.

    They all paused as he walked out of the fort with his shaving kit and bathing gear.

    Richard¡¯s mind began to wake up enough to realize what was going on. He didn¡¯t move for a moment before he decided it was too early to deal with all of this. He smelled, he had to shave, he was barely awake. He still had a suspicion that the Elom may not even be real, though he thought that he knew better at this point. Eh.

    He decided to pretend for a moment that nothing was different and walked to the river to complete his morning routine. It had grounded him for millennia, and he couldn¡¯t not do it at this point.

    He realized the two women had flushed faces and wouldn¡¯t make eye contact with him as he walked back after his bath. Ethren and Yim tried to say something to him, but he just ignored them and grunted while waving them off. He refused to interact civilly with people until he was fully dressed and ready for the day.

    When he did make it back out to the firepit and looked at the mess that his guests had made of brea¡­ er¡­ lunch, he decided to take charge. He refused to have mediocre meals now that he had salt. His herbs were growing well and there was plenty of stock left from fall that had been stored over winter.

    It was an odd feeling that overcame Richard at that moment. He felt.. Like some sort of grandfather grumbling at the ineptitude of youth, while he was simultaneously drawn to show off like a teenager. It had always been a strange disconnect to be ancient yet stuck in the hormonal body of a twenty year old.

    As his mind fully began to churn, he realized he remembered so much. He realized that he was, in fact, a master at unformed mind magic. He could only use it on himself because he had never known the proper sigils and theory into mind magic, nor had any people to test it on. He was also a master leatherworker. He was a master chef, with what ingredients he knew¡­ He was¡­ a master at death. In fact, He could easily see himself as the preeminent authority of dealing wholesale slaughter. What a thing to teach his children.

    Oh, right. Richard supposed he was also the ultimate authority on¡­ old things. Things that didn¡¯t matter. Things that have probably been forgotten. He wasn¡¯t a virgin, but he may as well be.. He was eighteen the last time he had had sex. That meant that it had happened so long ago that¡­ frankly, children might know more about it than he. Or farmers. Or almost anyone. He couldn¡¯t even remember what a handshake felt like, though he had many fantasies.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    It was strange having an old soul in a young body, he supposed. And it wasn¡¯t like he had a ton of differentiating life experience to give like a real old person. He had basically lived the same year over and over without growth, but simultaneously had accomplished things that no twenty year old could ever brag about.

    I mean.. If he wanted, he could turn the horizon into liquid flame¡­ wait. That would be stupid. But he didn¡¯t know how to talk to people. Usually when someone gets old at like sixty or eighty or whatever, they have had so many interactions with others that they can disassemble wisdom to the younger generation. He didn¡¯t have that. His hormones and emotions were in turmoil as he fixed a much improved lunch.

    He was frowning at himself in confusion, barely following the discussion when Olena came to his rescue once again.

    ¡°Richard, are you feeling okay? It seems like you are off-kilter.¡± She said gently as her hand fell on his upper arm.

    Richard stopped stirring the stew and took a deep breath. ¡°I feel like nothing has changed, but everything has changed at the same time. I apologize for my taciturn response this morning, I¡¯m just having an issue accepting reality, I guess.¡±

    Saravren butted in with, ¡°I know how you feel! Who could have guessed we would find this amazing place after being hunted for so long? I feel like I should be ranging ahead and looking for threats to the tribe, but instead we¡¯re all sitting around waiting for word!¡±

    Richard chuckled as Olena spoke up. ¡°Yes, well we shouldn¡¯t get too comfortable. This is a more temporary solution than I would like. Those idiots from the kingdom are still going to come this way.¡± Her eyes darkened as she sat back down on the bench.

    Richard began to stir the stew as he talked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so defeatist yet, Olena. While there is a certain truth to the temporary state of our new situation, you might not know of one important thing.¡±

    The Elom around the fire leaned forward, but Richard just chuckled.

    ¡°Winter. It is still early spring now, but I can clear enough land for you to farm in the next few weeks. None will starve this year.. though I cannot actually say anything about the winter as I have slept through all of them. Regardless, anyone caught outside of the wards when winter falls will not be able to remain. Winters are harsh in the mountains, so your pursuers would be forced back home.¡±

    Elder Yim glanced around the fire before saying, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure of that. We are most likely being pursued by the second or third prince. They would not be able to return home in disgrace. They can ship food and supplies from further south easily enough. I hope that if they cannot find us, that it will be enough for them to turn back.¡±

    Olena chimed in with, ¡°Are you going to level this beautiful old forest for croplands? That feels¡­ wrong. Is there no other option?¡±

    Richard looked at Olena confused for a moment, before he realized that she didn¡¯t really understand.

    He said, ¡°Olena. This is a fortress. That mound of rubble there used to be a great wall, about the height of four men standing. Ideally, the whole area would be cleared for the length of a longbow¡¯s range. Um¡­ that¡¯s about five minutes of walking?¡±

    Richard kept stirring the stew slowly as he reminisced.

    ¡°It was all cleared back then. But I challenge any of you to constantly fix something that isn¡¯t needed for a thousand years. Not to spoil the surprise but - you won¡¯t give a shit after a while. A while being like¡­ a decade, maybe. Regardless, the idea that I may need to actually fortify the area means I should bring the brush back all around. It should give you well over one hundred acres for crops.¡±

    Everyone went a little silent at the bombshell reminder they were dealing with a being that was too old to understand.

    Of course, Saravren came to the rescue.

    She jumped up from the bench and in one bound came right up into Richard¡¯s personal space with a serious expression almost infusing her golden eyes.

    ¡°Oi, old man. I get it. Your life is so loooong and it all sucks. Stop being weird. Do you even remember how to talk to people anymore? Well¡­ actually now that I think about it, you probably don¡¯t.¡±

    Saravren looked to the side with a pensive expression.

    She suddenly grabbed Richard¡¯s arms and looked into his eyes with jubilance, ¡°I know! I figured it out! Richard, you are gunna take care of the old people and the kiddos! I mean, sure do your magic thing and stuff, and get the land ready for crops, but if there are two groups that can teach you about life it¡¯s kids who just say whatever they think regardless of how stupid it is, and elders who say whatever they want regardless of the consequences! I¡¯m a genius!¡±

    Richard watched in amazement as the cute young cat person embarked on an impromptu victory lap. It was a good idea, actually. Elder Yim and Olena looked at each other and communicated something in tiny gestures and twitches that Richard would need an eternity to figure out, then both simultaneously looked at him like he was a fresh meal and they were starving.

    Richard had a bad feeling about all of this.

    Luckily he was saved by mortal combat. Err¡­ at least a new message about it, at any rate. There was a loud and blatantly obvious bird cry from the fort, and Saravren took off like a shot for the border of the inner wards.

    She quickly came back, letting Richard know that he needed to add another person to the wards. After a quick jaunt into and back from the Arcstone room, he met a new person - Deilos.

    He came up to Richard and gave a strange salute before saying, ¡°Richard, It is my honor to meet you. My name is Deilos, and I am one of the rangers for the tribe. I was the one that gave the report to Ethren about the incursion, and after resting I was commanded to return to give an update. Would you mind if I had some privacy with Elder Yim and Olena?¡±

    Richard extended a hand, which Deilos grabbed. ¡°Of course, the stew just needs to be stirred every five minutes or so from the bottom. It¡¯ll be ready in about a half hour, if that¡¯s enough time? I wouldn¡¯t trust myself to not eavesdrop inside of the inner ward, so you may want to take your discussion past the ruins of the walls, actually.¡±

    Saravren¡¯s inexhaustible perkiness popped out as she said, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll keep Richard company, you guys go talk. We can be here at the stew, and when you are done we can eat!¡±

    Richard¡¯s heart hurt a little as he felt the honesty coming from Saravren. She really did just want to keep him company. He had to turn away from the fire to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.

    To think. Someone who was actually real would just¡­ want to keep him company. It was almost too much.

    The others moved away after a quick exchange, and Saravren exercised maturity beyond her age by not interrupting Richard as he sniffled and looked away in shame. She even stirred the pot slowly, like he had been doing.

    Richard gathered himself and then turned to her and said, ¡°I feel like I should explain something to you Saravren, in order to bring our future interactions into context. It¡¯s important, I think, but also embarrassing.¡±

    Saravren just looked at him and raised one of her bushy yet well sculpted eyebrows at him.

    Richard coughed a little and then began, ¡°As you know, I have been alone for a long time. I had noticed you on that first day, and it confused me. Your emotions blended into the magical field as you stalked me.

    ¡°When we finally met face to face¡­ Your eyes. They are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Your body - four limbs, a head with emotion. You are a hero to me, and I will probably remember our meeting for¡­ a long time. I see it in my dreams, actually. Those golden eyes looking out of the shadows...

    ¡°I just wanted to let you know how much our meeting affected me, and I also want to say that there isn¡¯t anything else about it¡­ it was just¡­ nice. Beautiful. Amazing. You are an interesting person the more I get to know you, and I just wanted you to understand how much meeting you meant to me. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Saravren was instantly overwhelmed, and she noticed to her horror that she was blushing like a teen thinking about her first kiss. She was mortified on some level, but she also understood.

    In order to guard her reaction she asked, ¡°What was it like? I mean, I know you can¡¯t really explain it¡­ but what was it like to be so alone? I think it¡¯s amazing that you are still here, frankly.¡±

    Richard took a deep breath before backing up while he sat on a bench and leaned back. Oh how to describe it?

    ¡°Have you ever been all alone, far away from everyone, in a field or something at night with clear skies and no moon?¡± He asked her.

    Saravren replied, ¡°Of course! What of it?¡±

    Richard¡¯s mind was sucked into some of his memories.

    ¡°The stars. They are so bright and there are more of them than you can count. Even if you lived as long as I have, counting them is impossible. You always lose your place, trust me.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t until you have watched and thought about them for a while, that you begin to wonder. What if¡­ what if every one of those stars is a sun?

    ¡°How far away must they be for us to barely be able to see them? How much emptiness must be between us and those glimmering lights? Even the very bright ones that almost seem like you can reach out and touch them sometimes.

    ¡°So you look at them, and you dream. What life could exist there? What families and nations are creating stories we may never know?

    ¡°So - you make some stories up. There, that blue-ish star; perhaps it is a water world where civilization lives under the seas. What would it be like to be able to move in any direction? What kind of farms could they have?

    ¡°That red one. Maybe it is mostly dry land with barely any water. What kind of society might arise that is based only on water as currency?

    ¡°You just keep imagining. Imagining what it would be like for someone to come and meet you. You imagine stories just like your own, but subtly different. You imagine what it might be like for a world to have happy magical creatures, or only those that are aggressive. You imagine what it would be like to talk to them.

    ¡°That¡¯s what it was like. But I thought about this planet, much more than the stars. Every day, every year, I would come up with hopeful what-ifs. But they never happened.

    ¡°Then one year, I found something strange. I decided to take a look. My mind was worried that I might be disappointed, but then a form jumped out of a tree, and I was frozen. Golden eyes. A body that resembled my own. A language that I couldn¡¯t understand, but was obviously not just grunts and yells.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can explain the feelings I had at that moment. Even if I tried to come up with words for the next thousand years. It broke my dreams into a million pieces, but it also pushed back that cold death that has been creeping up on me for a thousand years.

    ¡°I¡¯m just really happy that I got to meet you, Saravren. Regardless of what happens in the future, know that you have changed someone in a fundamental way simply by¡­ deciding to say hello, I guess. Sorry if that is a bit too much, but I thought you should know.¡±

    Richard glanced at Saravren and saw that there were huge tears falling out of her eyes. He noticed that at some point the others had also returned, and they were all standing still as if hoping to not break the moment.

    Richard smiled, and he almost felt more than heard, Saravren sigh.

    Richard continued, ¡°Olena, I suppose while my mind is in this place, I should also tell you that your kindness and empathy have been a balm for me. I also realize that you may need to come with me to the Arcstone chamber. There was a resonance there that I think should be explored. Regardless, the food is ready. I would like to hear the news.¡±

    Everyone shook like they were coming out of a dream as Richard dolled out the stew.

    Elder Yim said, ¡°Richard, we have an issue that isn¡¯t really an issue judging by what you have said before. We wish to bring our tribe into the wards for protection. I know it might be difficult for you as the translation spell doesn¡¯t seem to work outside of the first, but I beg of you for your protection.¡±

    Deilos decided that he would butt in with a more military description. He said, ¡°Richard, the Kaila have found us. They are¡­ not good people. They use slaves, serfs, and generally force women into harems and such. If the intelligence I have gathered on you is true, I feel like you believe in our own creed of individual liberty. I do not ask for you to kill, but perhaps a show of force? Just¡­ blow something up near them and scare them away? I think it might work, though probably not. It really sucks that you can¡¯t talk to people outside of here.¡±

    Richard nodded and explained, ¡°The translation spell is something that I should know, especially as a talented mind mage. However, I never had a target upon which to practice it and so it is gone from my mind. My mind magic really is only self-taught and self-targeted. Perhaps if I had a large group of willing subjects I may be able to revitalize the school within a few decades, but that isn¡¯t helpful.

    ¡°As for a show of force¡­ That¡¯s simple enough. May as well give it a try.¡±

    The group chatted for a little while longer, staying away from the heavier conversations.

    Eventually it was time for bed. Richard felt lighter for explaining himself to his new allies. They may think it a terrible situation or pity him as some sort of idiot, but he didn¡¯t mind. He was just happy that there were other people nearby.

    It probably wouldn¡¯t last, but as he had let slip to his guests, Richard had always been a dreamer.