《The Misty Gloam》 1 - Marked Saldim squinted through his magnified specticles looking quite odd with his wild hair and large pointed nose. ¡°Hmm, it is indeed as you feared, boy, your brother has been Marked¡±. The short man sighed scratching the stubble on his chin. ¡°Unlucky this one for his candle to burn out before the mist retreated, hmm, I can put up a notice for someone to gather some Wraithchill leaves but with how recent the mists came the forest is going to be frightfully dangerous, it¡¯ll likely take a couple of weeks before anyone responds.¡± Straightening up from his hunched posture Saldim handed some candles from his coat pockets to Vance. He was quiet for a moment before Vance looked up at the doctor. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to wait that long with how erratic the mists have been this year, they could return before anyone responds¡± he hesitated slightly. ¡°Ma-Maybe, I know my Soul Level is a little low but-¡° Saldim looked up sharply. ¡°No ¡®buts¡¯ Vance! The village can¡¯t risk losing you to the mists. You are not yet ready, boy, to face the Gloamwood not until you obtain your Heartsoul and I reckon with the pace you are going you will not have it for at least 2 to 3 months.¡± his face softened. ¡°I know it is tough, boy, with your brother being your only kin left¡­ hmm, but out of respect for your late father I can try to convince Harrul to let you make your Soul Lantern early.¡± Grabbing his cane he hobbled over towards the door while Vance was mulling over this new information. ¡°Be ready, boy, creating your Lantern will not be an easy ordeal especially before your baptism. May your soul burn bright.¡± Saldim said shaking his head before leaving. Vance stared at the closed door for a moment still deep in thought before turning around towards his brother''s room. Avar, Vance''s younger brother of 14, was laying in his cot staring at the ceiling with his milky white eyes muttering to himself unintelligibly the signs of being Marked very much being evident now. Placing some of the candles around the cot that Saldim gave him Vance looked at his brother with pained eyes. "I don''t know if you can hear me Avar but I promise I won''t let the mists take you like they did father." A pale blue flame flickered on his finger as Vance carefully lit the surrounding candles before leaving the room towards his own. Once he was in his room Vance paced around briefly before retrieving an assortment of incenses and dried Gloomberries from a secret compartment in the floor. He hesitated slightly then sat down in the middle of the room cross-legged placing six incense sticks around himself and placing one of the dried berries under his tongue before closing his eyes. Moments passed in the quiet room as Vance breathed out a small ball of blue fire hovering in the air in front of his face revealing his concentrated face as the flame slowly circled around him lighting the surrounding incense before settling on his chest above Vance''s heart.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Six flames to light the way" he breathed in deeply "Burn the Soul forevermore" exhaling a chilled breath as the blue flame deepened in color Vance quickly flicked 3 dried Gloomberries into the hovering ball of fire. "Soul Infusion!" Vance yelled then slammed his open palms on the floor in front of him. The burning incense sticks around him stilled for a moment before disintegrating into pale blue smoke that condensed then were pulled toward the flame above his heart causing it to become smaller and ethereal before sinking into his skin. "Urgh!" He grunted in pain as the fire burned his heart before spreading throughout his body. From the outside Vance''s skin was covered in glowing blue veins that slowly faded away before he passed out and collapsed. ................. A dark room filled with floating blue orbs greeted Saldim as he stepped in to the large house on the edge of the village. Scratching his stubbled chin he glanced around the room smithing tools lined the walls and scattered bits of scrap metal lined the tables of the room. "Hmm, Harrul you''ve been busy haven''t you?" In the middle of the room on a smithing bench sat a towering one-armed muscle-bound man who seemed to be deep in meditation. This man, Harrul, was the town''s blacksmith and spirit forger. Adorning his face was a thick scraggly beard and thick slightly crooked nose topped off with bushy eyebrows that had the unfortunate effect of making him look like he was always in a foul mood. Atop his bald head lay a small bronze turtle who sleepily stared at Saldim yawning before taking a nip at a passing blue orb that floated nearby. "Preperations for the upcoming ceremony." Intoned Harrul in a deep voice. "The Gloamwood will not wait for us." He reached down picking up a smithing hammer then started hammering a broad piece of metal on the anvil to his side. "The young Melier boy has been Marked, hmm, like his father before him." Saldim said leaning on his cane while scrutinising the large man. Harrul paused briefly before continuing to hammer. "Vance will turn 20 soon, talented with the bow that one, hmm-" sighing Saldim readjusted his spectacles before speaking, "I wish to use the favor you owe me to help him create his Soul Lantern early." Harrul opened his eyes revealing a glowing blue eye and a milky white eye, "Dangerous before the baptism..." he layed down his hammer and palmed the metal in his hand checking for deficiencies glancing at the old doctor, "Very well; I will send for the boy within the week. His fa-" he paused gazing at the wall in the direction of Vance''s hut, "Seems a fire has been lit in his heart. Good, a soul must be firm before creating a Lantern." Harrul closed his eyes once more nodding towards Saldim. "Now go, your favor has been used." Saldim sighed as he prepared to leave, "May your soul burn bright, Harrul." The sound of hammer upon metal resounded throughout the room once more as the old doctor hobbled away. 2 - Sleep Groaning Avar awoke on the floor, he looked around the room which appeared to be covered in a strange haze. The air was stale indicating the place hadn¡¯t got any fresh air in quite a while. Quietly standing up he ventured out the door to explore the quiet house. ¡°Dad? Vance?¡± He called out to the seemingly empty house. ¡°Hello is any one here?! Where am I¡­¡± Rubbing his eyes had no effect in clearing the haze from his vision, Avar glanced around the abode thinking it seemed somewhat familiar but he couldn¡¯t place why. After exploring the house he came to a unnerving discovery; there were no windows nor any exits to be seen! The house itself wasn¡¯t large being one floor and only three small rooms two of which looked lived in with beds and small table drawers yet no sign of the occupants. One of the rooms was locked behind a wooden door where any attempt to open it was met with failure the door being far more durable than normal. ¡°Is anyone in there?¡± Avar hurriedly knocked on the door when there was no response he pushed his ear to the door and for a moment he heard nothing then he picked up faint whispering from behind the door, ¡°I can hear you in there! Open the door please! I don¡¯t know where I am and I can¡¯t find the exit!¡± He yelled but only empty silence greeted him. No matter how hard he strained his hearing he couldn¡¯t detect any more sound from beyond the door as if he only imagined it. Time seemed meaningless in this strange house as he struggled to recall any memories that lead to him being here but no matter how hard he tried the memories were vague and fleeting. Sitting down with his back to the locked door Avar tucked his legs resting his head on his knees. ¡°I just wanna go home¡­ where are you Vance¡­¡± The house remained silent as the haze grew deeper. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Vance startled awake from the sound of someone knocking on his door quickly getting up he stumbled almost collapsing his entire body weak and sore. Gathering himself Vance headed towards the front door taking a glance backward over his shoulder toward his brother¡¯s room with worried eyes before answering the door. Awaiting him outside was Juliere, one of the village¡¯s Mistwalkers who work as guards and scouts, wrapped in the traditional scouting attire designed for easy flowing movements able to blend in to the mists with it¡¯s off-white coloration. Her dark brown eyes seemed to pierce through his soul. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Harrul sends for you.¡± She paused for a moment, ¡°You¡¯ve been absent for three days now Vance, you shouldn¡¯t take shortcuts in improving your Soul Level¡­ thankfully it seems you haven¡¯t suffered any major side effects.¡± Grimacing Vance shook his head slightly, ¡°I can¡¯t afford to take my time right now with how unpredictable the mists have been. I refuse to stand by and do nothing, Avars my only kin.¡± Crossing her arms Juliere gazed at him then sighed before turning away pointing eastward, ¡°Go. Harrul will not wait much longer.¡± She left without waiting for a response heading towards the barracks near the Elder¡¯s home. Taking a few steps towards town Vance froze, ¡°Three days¡­?¡± Eyes wide he rushed back in his house into his brother¡¯s room before breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing the candles were still lit. He patted Avar¡¯s forehead with a fresh washcloth then touched the candle flames to strengthen them with his own and nodded in satisfaction before leaving. Stretching out his sore muscles Vance started walking across town nodding at passing villagers, streets of cobblestone crisscrossed throughout Briarhaven broken up only by squat wooden houses, the occasional thatch huts and towering trees with barbed leaves that gave the village its name. After walking for five minutes Vance arrived in front of a large stone building shooting smoke upwards through it¡¯s chimneys covering the area in a light smog, settling his nerves he went to the door to knock but before he could the door opened by itself and Harrul¡¯s familiar deep voice called out from deep in the dark room beyond, ¡°Vance. You are late, boy. Enter.¡± Entering through the doorway Vance paused as what greeted him was an almost pitch black room he carefully stepped forward as the stone door behind him closed. As Vance considered what to do the room suddenly lit up with floating blue orbs of flame revealing Harrul¡¯s large form standing in the middle of the room glaring at Vance before grunting, ¡°Your Soul Level is weak. Creating your Lantern will not be easy for you. Saldim will check in on your brother while you are here.¡± He gestured behind him at a stone table engraved with strange markings and lined with iron cuffs, ¡°We will start by stabilizing your Soul so you won¡¯t die trying to create your Lantern,¡± his glowing blue eye seemed amused, ¡°It will be painful, more so than the baptism, the price for this shortcut. Make yourself comfortable.¡± Vance stared determinedly at the towering smith, ¡°I will endure and succeed. The mists will not wait.¡± Walking forward he tripped almost face planting on the stone floor, the culprit being a small bronze turtle slowly crawling along the ground, Harrul¡¯s eyebrow twitched ¡°Watch your step.¡± Slightly embarrassed Vance moved forward with more caution arriving at the engraved table carefully laying down on it. Harrul slowly locked Vance¡¯s limbs down with the iron cuffs then placed his hand on the table which glowed with a fiery purple flame that faded away before the engraving suddenly lit up with the same color as the flame. Vance felt an intense heat burrow into his body through his back grunting at the intensifying pain forcibly willing himself to endure, his veins started to glow through his skin. Nodding Harrul pulled a knife made from white bone out of his belt which was also lightly engraved but the edges were replaced by sharp black steel, ¡°The real pain will start now.¡± The one-armed blacksmith traced the tip of the knife over Vance¡¯s glowing veins starting on his left leg. The instant the knife touched his skin Vance almost blacked out from the pain that shot through his body, gritting his teeth he couldn¡¯t even muster the strength to scream, his limbs that were firmly locked in place strained but found no release. ¡°Not bad, boy¡± Harrul said casually while slowly tracing with the knife, ¡°You remind me of your father. Never was quite skilled at much but he worked the hardest and was the most experienced.¡± Vance barely registered what the smith was saying his concentration fully focused on enduring the pain to avoid passing out, ¡°Held his own quite well pain never bothered him.¡± He mused continuing to prod Vance¡¯s veins only barely halfway done with his left leg. It took the entire day and well in to the night before Harrul finally finished stabilizing Vance¡¯s soul. Cracking his neck and finger bones the giant smith put away his bone knife looking over the fading veins on Vance¡¯s shivering body while he removed the iron cuffs from his limbs, ¡°You may rest now. Tomorrow we will begin creating your Lantern.¡± Vance struggled with bloodshot eyes to move his limbs but the residual pain finally caused him to pass out. 3 - Iron Blistering heat billowed from the giant furnace where a roaring fire brewed fueled further by Harrul tossing in the occasional passing blue orbs floating in his smithery. Each time they flew in a sickening crack resounded from the furnace the flames retracting somewhat almost as if imploding before expanding outward again bigger and stronger slowly changing the color of the flames to blue. Without missing a beat the smith hammered several red-hot metal rods folding them back on themselves shrinking in length but gaining greater durability only stopping to quickly grab and throw any passing blue orbs into the furnace. Several hours later the furnace had cooled down significantly the raging fire from before now a deep blue ethereal flame the lack of heat being deceptive it was in fact hot enough to melt hardened steel in seconds. Harrul stepped back inside his smithy carrying a bucket of ice-cold water towards the engraved table where Vances sleeping body lay before dumping the entire bucket on him. -SPLASH- ¡°BLECH AACCH¡± Vance cried out his limbs flailing ¡°GEH Wha-¡° he spluttered falling down from the table on his side ¡°AGH Wh-What was that for!¡± struggling to stand up his body much sorer than before still feeling like his limbs were on fire. Harrul glanced down at Vance¡¯s shivering body trying to stand stroking his beard, ¡°You¡¯ve had enough rest. We must strike while the metal is still hot.¡± Ignoring Vance he strode past towards the forge at back of the smithery, ¡°During your nap I worked the forge and assembled the frame of your Soul Lantern.¡± pausing briefly to stoke the furnace, ¡°Next is the hard part, for you, to divide your soul and infuse half into the metal frame but first you will need to feed this flame with your own.¡± stepping backwards to look at Vance still lagging behind him. ¡°This is the hard part?¡± gasped Vance wincing with each step, ¡°How is it harder than the torture I endured?¡± Snorting Harrul shook his head, ¡°You only experienced physical pain with no risk of death only painful side-effects. No the hard part will be dividing your soul and surviving the ordeal. It will be pain on a spiritual level without your body taking the brunt of it. Normally the baptism would alleviate some of the suffering and lowering the chance of death significantly. This is the price you pay with shortcuts.¡± Vance frowned staring at the blue flame inside the furnace, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to use shortcuts but time is not on my side. I need to be able to enter the Gloamwood without losing myself to the mists, I¡¯d rather endure the pain than let my brother fade away.¡± Turning his head he stared Harrul in his blue eye with determination, ¡°Now how do I do this? Without a Heartsoul I can¡¯t feed this flame safely from a distance.¡± Harrul¡¯s blue eye glowed as he considered the boy in front of him, ¡°With your stable soul you will be able to extend your spiritflame slightly. Concentration and utmost care, one wrong slip will see you lose a finger or hand.¡± Nodding Vance concentrated his soulfire into the tip of his finger but was unable to get it to extend outward. Mustering all of his mental focus he forced his will through his finger to push the flame and for a moment the flame flickered slightly outside his finger before his entire arm lit up in burning agony.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°ARRGH¡± Almost collapsing he held his arm steady with a hand, ¡°Is this-Was I doing it right? I succeeded but then it felt like my arm was about to explode!¡± The large blacksmith had his eyes closed in thought, ¡°Normally you would feel some pain but not to this extent. I suspect this may be a side-effect of you forcibly strengthening your Soul Level recently.¡± He considered for a moment before looking around the room spotting the bronze turtle lapping up the water on the floor from earlier walking towards it he produced a small green bead from a pocket in his smithing apron and handing it to the small turtle on his palm. It paused from drinking the water it¡¯s attention now drawn towards the bead in Harrul¡¯s hand seeming to think about it before it snapped at it with lightning speed too quick for Vance¡¯s eyes to follow. Humming in satisfaction the bronze turtle crawled around in a circle then the shell on it¡¯s back shined with a brilliant light obscuring the turtle¡¯s form the light continued to grow bigger before it started to fade almost as fast as it came revealing the same bronze turtle but now twice it¡¯s original small size to being as large as two adult hands. Blinking the bronze turtle looked around unused to it¡¯s new size before suddenly puking up a gray-blue bead hacking a little bit before crawling back towards the water on the floor to continue drinking. Sighing Harrul picked the bead and walked back towards the forge, ¡°No questions. Swallow this.¡± Handing the strange bead to Vance who had a confused expression, ¡°Uh-¡° he looked at the small bead in his hand glancing at Harrul¡¯s impassive face feeling resigned he shrugged popping it into his mouth swallowing it. Upon entering his stomach the bead expanded then dispersed into a cold mist spreading throughout Vance¡¯s body leaving him feeling quite cold but more amazingly his sore muscles and throbbing arm weakened until only a faint tingle could be felt. ¡°That¡¯s incredible! Wha-¡° Again Harrul interrupted with an annoyed grunt, ¡°No questions. Now feed the flame.¡± Feeling a little dismayed Vance nodded concentrating his soulfire to his fingertip again with much more ease and mustered up his focus once more to push the flame this time being far easier only experiencing a fraction of the burning from before. Slowly and carefully Vance fed his soulfire into the deep blue flame inside the furnace then after two hours of meticulous work Harrul spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s enough. It is ready. Now you must divide your soul.¡± Standing up from his bench the blacksmith pondered for a second then grabbed a thin serrated sword with no hilt and and tipped with a vicious looking hook off the wall. ¡°You must feed this Reaper Blade a drop of your blood then you must never let go.¡± Carefully handing the sword to Vance who grabbed it with as much care as he could. Drawing his bone knife from his waist Harrul quickly slashed at Vance¡¯s arm cutting into the skin faintly then when enough blood for a drop pooled out Harrul deftly flicked the droplet with his knife down onto the blade held by Vance. Instantly the blood hissed boiling with a frenzy shrinking quickly absorbed by the Reaper Blade which flickered for a moment before the once shiny gray sword turned to the color of rust. Vance¡¯s heart started pounding and his eyes became bloodshot losing consciousness hearing the distant sound of an inhuman scream. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The whispers had returned but now never stopped the sound present throughout the house and the haze was deep enough that one could only see a couple feet ahead of them. Avar was sitting curled up in a corner of one of the bedrooms rocking back and forwards, ¡°Please¡­ please stop¡­¡± he croaked with tears in his eyes. Faint lines of dried blood and cuts were arranged on the walls around him as well as his arms Avar had lost count of how long he had been in this nightmare. With no windows or way to see the outside world and the cursed haze surrounding him time meant nothing to him anymore the memory of Vance¡¯s face was blurred unable to recall details beside his short brown hair. He stopped rocking and looked up with a dazed expression, ¡°They stopped¡­¡± He strained his ears but couldn¡¯t hear the whispers anymore and the haze seemed to have mostly faded. Timidly getting up Avar looked around shocked, ¡°This¡­ This wasn¡¯t the room I was in!¡± looking around frantically the lines of blood on the walls were missing and the door was in a different spot than before. Pacing around the room Avar gathered his courage heading towards the door when he froze, the sound of a child giggling came from beyond the closed door or at least it sounded like it at first until it gradually distorted into high-pitched laughter that couldn¡¯t be made by a human. Avar blinked finding himself still sitting curled up in the corner with the familiar bloodstains but the haze was still mostly gone and the whispers were still silent. While he sat there struggling trying to figure out what had happened he heard the click of a door being unlocked. 4 - Form The forest gently swayed a light breeze drifted through the air sounds of wildlife heard but not seen Vance found himself in his familiar hunting spot outside of town. Glancing down he looked at his hands but there was no sword only his bow that he had left at home, strangely without his quiver of arrows on his back. ¡°Divide my soul and never let go of the sword¡­¡± scratching his head bemusedly, ¡°Hopefully I didn¡¯t fail the second part already, guess I should look around for some clues.¡± Resolved he began to explore the woods that looked exactly as last remembered them down to the markings he made on the trees while hunting. After an hour of exploration he had found that the forest itself was only a mile in diameter the edges of which gave way to a formless black void, Vance stared around the woods once more trying to determine what he should do. A rustling in the grass behind him drew his attention he turned around, some feet away was a mirror copy of himself with their bow drawn and arrow nocked. Eyes wide Vance leapt behind a tree to his left barely dodging the flying arrow that grazed his shoulder drawing a trace of blood, ¡°Argh!¡± he rolled ahead keeping the tree between him and his aggressive clone, quickly drawing his own bow he forgot he didn¡¯t even have arrows. Grimacing he called out to his clone, ¡°Why are you trying to kill me!¡± then backing up to dodge the bow¡¯s limb swiping at his face, the copy not bothering to respond, continuing to attack. Retaliating Vance followed up kicking outward at his clone¡¯s waist but missed as they dodged forward to gut punch Vance, ¡°Ugh!¡± resisting the urge to collapse he threw head forward headbutting his clone in the nose who fell backwards a couple of steps still making no noise. Looking back at Vance with an expressionless face they raised their bow once more nocking an arrow from thin air, while they took aim Vance risked it running forward tackling his copy to the ground. They both wrestled for a minute throwing punches and kicks to fend off the other when Vance finally managed to knock away his clone¡¯s bow, flying through the air the bow clattered on the white stone floor before fading away his clone shortly following after. Now alone again Vance looked around confused, still on guard, at his new surroundings. As far as the eye could see was an endless expanse of white skies and stone flooring, in the distance seemed to be a slight haze. Walking forward he stilled once again face to face with his mirror image Vance quickly readied himself for a fight but his clone only simply nodded becoming translucent his form giving way to flickering soulfire, relaxing his stance felt a sudden heft in his hand the Reaper Blade appearing whee his bow used to be.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Vance nodded to the floating flame opposite him wielding the sword solemnly before stabbing the blade deep into the soulfire. Instantly the entire white realm around him cracked, the sky rent in half roiling with red storm clouds, his Reaper Blade seemed to absorb the now slowly shrinking soulfire. A strange twisting burning pain radiated throughout Vance¡¯s body feeling like he was aging dozens of years with each second that passed. His body was hunched with haunted eyes and strained bone-white knuckles gripped the sword as if his life depended on it. When the flame was but a shadow of its former self Vance felt the pain contort multiplying in intensity, he was on his knees but still stubbornly grasped the sword while it absorbed the remaining fire a whisper of a candle¡¯s flame until at last the soulfire disappeared into the Reaper Blade. Collapsing forward almost impaling himself with the sword he fell on the floor gasping his body looking like it had aged a hundred years with deeply wrinkled skin, long patches of white hair with barely any meat on his bones as if he was already a corpse. His vision began to fade as the world around him started to crumble. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª When Vance woke up he found himself standing in front of Harrul who was putting away his bone knife, ¡°You¡¯re back. Time in the soul has almost no meaning.¡± Looking down at the Reaper Blade in his hands its rust coloring faded to reveal the shiny gray steel that now flickered with hints of blue along its length. Somewhat awed he spoke, ¡°I got lucky. I think confronting my other half should have been more difficult, was that because of the stabilizing ritual?¡± reaching out to hand the sword back to Harrul who held his palm up to stop him, ¡°No keep the blade for now.¡± The large smith continued talking while heading back to his bench ¡°Dividing the soul is different for everyone. A stable soul certainly helps but the ease you experienced is, I suspect, because your soul shared the same wish only giving you a token fight to prove yourself.¡± With his one arm Harrul picked up the lantern frame off the bench, ¡°Use your first instinct.¡± Then without warning threw it in the air towards Vance. Time seemed to slow as the lantern flew head over head towards him about to reach out to catch it in his free hand he stopped, The Reaper Blade in his other hand hummed with a familiar tone, understanding filled his eyes as Vance changed his stance thrusting his glowing sword forward into the falling lantern its metal frame shattering like glass. A bright pale blue light lit up the forge his sword shining as a ghostly blue flame erupted forward gathering the flying metal shards before condensing around Vance¡¯s hand forming into a lantern, the metal a dull dark blue with hints of glittering white steel and containing a small bright white orb covered in a thin layer of dancing blue flames. Walking up to the young man while admiring his new Soul Lantern Harrul grunted, ¡°Fawn over your lantern elsewhere. I have more work to do.¡± He patted Vance¡¯s back almost knocking him over and taking the Reaper Blade from his hand, ¡°Rest for a day to get used to your lantern. Waste of my time if you die to impatience.¡± Ignoring the pain from his back where Harrul¡¯s obscene strength hit him Vance stared at the smith¡¯s grim face then smiled patting his fist against his chest, ¡°Thank you Harrul. I will never forget your help.¡± With twitching eyebrows Harrul closed his eyes, Vance having already left, slowly bringing his own fist to his chest patting gently. 5 - Journey The wooden floor groaned under the weight of Avar¡¯s feet, charred by a fire long ago further weakened by the vampiric effects of time. He had gathered the courage to open the now unlocked door entering a mirror copy of the small house he was in except it was covered in ash, burnt furniture and collapsed wood beams. Every now and then Avar thought he could hear the sound of someone walking but never found anyone, ¡°This damn place is trying to drive me insane.¡± He griped while clearing the rubble around him trying to find more clues to leave this cursed house. After moving several broken beams he finally uncovered a secret hatch with a broken lock, Avar pried open the door hatch peering within seeing the top of a destroyed ladder leading into inky black water. With a frown he stared down at it, looking around briefly then dragged over one of the longer wooden beams almost twice his height he carefully lowered it into the water and discovered that this flooded secret basement was only slightly below his height, the ashy water would top out just below his shoulders. Avar was debating whether he should descend into the water when he caught a flicker of light in the water surface, he moved around the open hatch trying to find a proper angle. Crouching he was able to catch a better glimpse of the murky light swimming lazily through the water near the charred beam he put there. He stood captivated following the light with his eyes in a daze, staring blank faced he heard faint whispering coming from the water then nodding dumbly and started climbing down onto the broken ladder submerging himself beneath the inky darkness. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª A wooden stick help up by some small rocks stood in the grass swaying gently with the wind. -FLASH- -WHOOSH- The almost picturesque scene was broken when the stick abruptly combusted with a powerful blue fire causing it to burn and crumble away into bits of charcoal. Vance stood a couple feet away swaying slightly trying to regain his footing, ¡°The Soul Lantern is certainly powerful but without a heartsoul I can only use it 2-3 times before I collapse.¡± He sighed ¡°This should be enough to survive in the mists and only use it in an emergency.¡± Looking up he saw the approaching figure of Juliere looking as stern as ever, ¡°You lived and got your own lantern now.¡± She paused glaring at Vance before her face softened slightly ¡°Be careful in the Gloamwood, Vance. Do not stray deeper into the forest, stick to the edges, your Soul Lantern will not be able to handle the thicker mists right now.¡± Vance nodded, ¡° Yeah, I only plan to scout into the mists for a couple of minutes at a time. Without my Heartsoul I¡¯m not able to push the lantern to it¡¯s limits but this much should be fine.¡± He gestured to the bow strapped to his back, ¡°I¡¯ve gone ahead and packed my quiver with as much arrows as possible which will be enough any crazed beasts I run across.¡± Juliere considered the young man in front of her, ¡°I¡¯m not able to accompany with you as I¡¯m needed elsewhere but I can give you this for extra protection.¡± Unlatching the scabbard on her waist she presented it to Vance, ¡°Your skill with swords isn¡¯t impressive, I know, but it would be foolish to rely solely on your bow in the Gloamwood. I¡¯ve kept the blade on me for a while so it will be able to repel a wraith if luck is not on your side.¡± Vance hummed thoughtfully while latching the scabbard to his waist, ¡°A wraith, huh? I don¡¯t know much about them, I know they¡¯re dangerous though but they usually don¡¯t appear in the outskirts do they?¡± Juliere nodded, ¡°Normally yes but with how erratic the mists have been this year there have been a few reports of them seen near the edges of the forest, so be cautious Vance.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. After talking for a while Juliere had headed back to the village, Vance started practicing with his sword almost clumsily his swordsmanship a far cry from his skill with the bow. An hour later he headed back home tired and sweaty. The dark house was quiet, his brother Avar in his room still muttering to himself while Vance cleaned his face with a washcloth. He gazed at Avar¡¯s form for a minute but couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak up, a sigh escaped his mouth then he left for his own room. The sun glared through the window shining on Vance¡¯s face the light burned through his dreams finally waking him. Groaning his limbs stretched shielding his eyes from the strong glare with his hand he yawned then got up to begin his morning ritual of exercise. On the kitchen table lay all the supplies he thought he might need: dried jerky, a small bundle of rotweed, a few spirit candles, a pouch of tinder, some bandages, the Soul Lantern, his bow and quiver packed with arrows, and the sword Juliere gave him yesterday. Vance scrutinized the items on the table before he nodded in affirmation, ¡°These should be enough I think. It¡¯s about a day¡¯s walk to reach the outskirts of the Gloamwood where I can make camp then start tomorrow and enter the forest proper.¡± He stared at the ceiling gathering his focus then headed to his brother¡¯s room making sure Avar had enough candles while he¡¯d be gone. ¡°If you can hear me Avar I¡¯m leaving the village for a couple of days to gather some Wraithchill to cure you, I¡¯ve got my own Soul Lantern so I can do it now. Hold out as long as you can Avar, don¡¯t let the Mark beat you. I will return soon, may your soul burn bright.¡± After saying his farewells he headed out into the town and stopped by Saldim¡¯s shop before leaving. At the counter was a lanky teen sporting long and curly black hair that almost blended into his dark skin, ¡°Hello sir, welcome to Saldim¡¯s Alchemical Needs how may I assist you?¡± Vance glared at the tall teen before him, ¡°Ah, shut up Tholin.¡± The room was deathly silent until it was broken when they were unable to hold back their grins they both laughed, ¡°Alright I¡¯ll be leaving town for a few days to gather some Wraithchill so let Saldim know. I need him to check in on my brother while I¡¯m gone.¡± He placed some dark copper coins on the counter, ¡°Payment. Now besides that have you any blood cot ointment?¡± the teen named Tholin thought for a moment then crouched down below view coming back up and put a small green flask on the counter, ¡°This is the last one we have in stock right now, I¡¯ll give you a discount if you can bring back some Bloodpetal Flowers on your way back.¡± They haggled for a bit before Vance left the shop a little poorer and the green bottle tucked safely away. Breathing in the cool air he looked around at the townsfolk going about their day as well as some children out playing, today was an unusually warm sunny day a good omen he hoped. On his way through the exit gate of the village he saw a garishly dressed foreigner, their robes layered with ruffles and tassels, talking to a Mistwalker guarding the gate who nodded towards Vance giving him permission to leave. Slightly tempted to investigate the oddly dressed foreigner Vance shook his head, he didn¡¯t have time for distractions! The vilage of Briarhaven resided in the Greater Loam Forest, the name of a large continent of sprawling woods, which contained several mysterious regions including the infamous Gloamwood that lay a day¡¯s walk from the small town. It was one of the few towns around the Gloamwood that were built to contain and repel the cursed mist that threatened to spread each month. Vance didn¡¯t see much sign of civilization while traveling on the dirt road, occasionally he would pass by patrolling Mistwalkers but no outposts were built around the roads that crisscrossed through the forest as there wasn¡¯t enough manpower for it to be feasible. Every now and then there would be bandit foreigners who thought they could set up shop near the roads thinking it to be an easy job due to the lack of manpower but were quickly culled by the dangerous wildlife or taken by the spreading mists. A pale blue light swayed forward drifting between tree trunks and large bushes before stopping to reveal its owner Vance who held up his lantern, he had been looking for a while a suitable spot to make camp before finally settling down. He was hesitant to start a fire that would attract any prowling beasts so he reached into his pocket pulling out the pouch of Rotweed, Vance held his breath, opening the pouch released a foul rotting stench that he dipped his finger in pulling out a glob of grey-green slime with black and brown flecks. Marking the surrounding trees with the Rotweed he felt enough confidence in creating a fire without being disturbed. Earlier in the day when the sun was sinking out of view of the forest canopy he had found and killed a small rabbit that he was now skinning and cooking over his fire. Lighting a spirit candle out of caution since he was near the Gloamwood he put out the campfire having finished the meal laying down on a makeshift bed of leaves, Vance gazed at the night sky lit up by the stars unable to see one of the moons hidden by the towering trees. He sighed thinking of Avar and of venturing into the mists that had cursed him, his vision fading as he drifted off to sleep. 6 - Claws A small lizard lazily sunbathed on a flat rock enjoying the warm sunlight poking through the forest canopy, it was rare to find such a perfect spot! Faint roaring, probably from a dumb bear, resounded through the air but this lizard didn¡¯t care since it was too small for anything that loud to consider them prey. This was truly the life. At least until the lizard leaped into a nearby bush to avoid being narrowly crushed by some weird ape dodging the attacks of that dumb noisy bear! Vance cursed his luck running into a mist-crazed bear right as he was about to enter the Gloamwood proper. The raging bear was quite large and strong, their swipes enough to create craters into any tree unlucky enough to get in the way, its right eye was pierced by an arrow which only made it angrier. It roared again leaping forward paws out ready to tear Vance into bloody ribbons, he narrowly dodged behind a tree and fired another arrow aiming for the other eye but was off the mark slightly instead ripping through the left ear. ¡°Tch.¡± Annoyed he held his bow close, arrow nocked ready, ran further away to put more distance between himself and the bear. Pulling back the drawstring he aimed for the bear¡¯s mouth as it roared again but it bit down crushing the flying arrow before it could do any damage then began to charge at Vance. This wasn¡¯t really an emergency, he felt, but one failed dodge and all he worked for would be reduced to nothing so grimacing he unhooked his lantern holding it up towards the charging bear whose head suddenly combusted in brilliant blue flames as it rammed into a tree almost felling it, the bear collapsed into a heap it¡¯s head a melted mess of gore and charred bone. Going around the battlefield Vance checked to see if he could salvage any arrows, ¡®Was the lantern supposed to do that much damage?¡¯ he thought as he pulled his arrow from the bear¡¯s eye but the arrow crumbled as it did burnt from the fire. Sighing he looked around reequipping his bow keeping an arrow nocked then once more headed towards the Gloamwood. Mists clung low to the ground, some trees were bare and gnarled, visibility was poor as the mists thickened considerably deeper inside the Gloamwood. Vance crouched around the trees his steps silent as he scoured the area, heightening his senses to their limits for any change in temperature a sign of a nearby Wraithchill plant. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The mists around him swirled and thickened, the air around him seemed to whisper faintly. Cursing Vance quickly put away his bow and held out his Soul Lantern to repel the mist that threatened to surround him then backed up his eyes focusing on the mist as it slowly condensed forming into the long thin claws of a wraith reaching out at Vance who held out his lantern willing it to pulse outward pushing back the grasping claws. A terrible screech filled the air as the wraith solidified itself further its face torn with flaps of flayed skin their eye sockets a black void and jaws stretched wide, hanging by strings of exposed muscle, lined with crooked sharp fangs. It flew forward with supernatural speed screaming as it swung both wicked claws at Vance¡¯s neck who barely managed to blast it in the face with soulfire from his lantern throwing the wraith off course slashing at his shoulder instead. With the wraith stunned Vance ran away careful not to let it sneak up on his fleeing back, he thought of the near perfect kill shot on the bear confused ¡®Soulfire from my lantern can only stun a wraith?¡¯ Looking backwards the wraith was dispersing unwilling to chase after him likely only because the mist here in the outskirts was too thin to sustain its form for too long. Entering the Gloamwood from a different direction he began his search again wary of the surrounding mist. After a minute he found himself in a clearing with no trees only rocks and boulders dotted the area but the mist here gave him a bad feeling so Vance headed back where he came from, another minute later he found himself in the same clearing he had left. Vance glared at the area in front of him hoping to uncover what the mists had in store for him without risking his life, aside from the rocks he couldn¡¯t see what was here so he decided to test an idea he had and pulled out his bow tying a strip of dried jerky to an arrow then fired it into the clearing scratching a boulder before embedding itself in the ground. Seconds passed by the air was still Vance thought he might¡¯ve been overly cautious until the jerky arrow he had fired started to corrode breaking apart like it had been dipped in acid. Frowning he shook his head and looked around before leaving. A minute later he arrived in the clearing again, ¡®Whatever is here doesn¡¯t want me to leave and I only have enough energy for one more soulfire using my lantern¡­ Better than dying here.¡¯Pointing his lantern towards the clearing he focused aiming for the largest boulder which then ignited in brilliant blue flames charring it and even melted parts of the rock. The clearing in front of him faded from view with the sound of a monstrous groan revealing that Vance had inadvertently stepped further inside the forest lured here by the illusion, he cursed as his lantern dimmed trying to repel the thick mists that surrounded him. Looking around he spotted a familiar tree in the distance, one that he knew he marked earlier, running towards it. As he ran he heard the sound of a child giggling seeingghostly figures in his peripheral vision, unnerved he steeled himself continuing to run and willed as much energy he could provide into his lantern. Leaping forward past the tree he sighed in relief when the strange sounds and sights faded with the thinner mists he was in. ¡°That was too close¡­¡± his breath quick almost gasping as he regained his stamina, ¡°No wonder most people don¡¯t come here, even being in a group might be more dangerous as the mist turn them against each other with illusions and wraiths.¡± After a minute to catch his breath he grit his teeth leaving the Gloamwood, not willing to risk staying with a dim lantern and no energy left for soulfires, making his way back to the camp.