《Lingua Terra》 Prologue ¡°So you¡¯re telling me I¡¯m dead?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± It had not been too long since waking up in a dimly lit motel room. The TV ran a black and white viewing of various moments in his life. Ashe came about he had noticed a familiarcreaturewas sharing a seat with him on the couch. ¡°And now I¡¯m in the afterlife.¡± ¡°Also true¡± ¡°Watching TV with C¡¯Thulu¡± ¡°You can call me God if you¡¯d like¡± ¡°If you wanted that you probably should¡¯ve chosen an appearance lessEldritch.¡± Looking around the furniture was in obvious disrepair. The curtains were visibly stained even given the room¡¯s dimness. The bed itself was missing its mattress, revealing several books littered underneath. He had considered taking this conversation more seriously, but the details of the setting were getting in the way. After a pause, the man reached for a bibleplaced on the table in front of him. ¡°¡­ so everything up until now is according to your plan?¡± ¡°I suppose.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve planned for me to die like that¡± ¡°Unfortunately. It was your fate.¡± The man winced. He had died on his way driving home. Prior to his end, he had helped a friend with some maintenance around the house aftergetting out of work. It was reaching the end of her first month living alone and her pride refused toask her parents for help. Tired after hours of various tasks around the house, he deemed himself awake enough to drive home. The thought ofdying alone on the mountain roads lingered in the back of his mind.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What happens now?¡± With a sigh, C¡¯thulu turned his body. The TV had turned off, as if on cue. ¡°I need to borrow you for a bit. You¡¯re needed elsewhere¡± ¡°Here in the afterlife?¡± ¡°No, I guess the term for it is in another world¡± He was familiar with the concept of parallel universes, but the man still needed a moment to process how the physically unprovable was casually confirmed. C¡¯thulu had gotten up and headed towards the door. The man promptly followed. They had come to a wide hallway, consistent with the motel theme. The hallway was quiet, a surprising detail for one packed with hundreds of what he supposed was recently departed souls who shared his bewilderment. Upon closer inspection, everyone was walking in pairs, which he assumed was also God in various forms leading them around. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure I understand anymore what happens on Earth. Daily life is too complicated, especially with the time wasted on needless things. Eventually, I inspired to create new worlds, according to the various fantasy worlds that populate the media in your time. It seems that it is your fate to partake in one of these worlds. Youhave been summoned.¡± ¡°You keep mentioning fate, but I''m not sure I understand its meaning anymore¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand in this new life.¡± ¡°And will I return here when I¡¯m finished with this world?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will when you discover your fate, just don¡¯t go asking me about your destiny¡± The man was confident hewas being bulliedfor his ignorance of the difference between fate and destiny. With a sigh, he hunched his back. ¡°Do I have any choice in this?¡± Before he realized it, they were alone. The hallway was ending, it now led into a large mass of light. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate. You can change your fate, but you can¡¯t your destiny. Also, you¡¯d really be helping me out here. I really screwed up.¡± As if to banish the mood of an epic adventure C¡¯Thulu continued while scratching his head. ¡°This whole fantasy business is a real pain when I allowed meddling with spirits. I didn¡¯t knowsummoningand banishing spirits would give me so much work to do. If this goes on I might have to flood this world too and start all over.¡± ¡°That sounds a bit too drastic¡± The man waved his hand. The stakes escalated quicker than hepreparedfor. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary I guess¡± With a delayed sigh he reluctantly accepted his fate. Playing the Fool He had awoken to a large, round, stone room. His body laid on top of a stone pedestal as he came about his senses. His lungs were stiff, each breath brought a sharp pain. Rigor mortis had already been at work. From what he can tell he was physically unharmed. Instead, was an abnormal sense of exhaustion, unknown to him even after hours of tiring physical exertion. ¡°If you can¡¯t move don¡¯t be alarmed. It usually takes a while for his mana to replenish.¡± The voice came from behind him. He settled on watching a shadow on the floor. From what he can tell the voice came from a young woman. While she had attempted to sound soothing and reassuring, he was certain she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Are you the one who summoned me? If I could I¡¯d be crossing my fingers¡± He had tried lightening the mood. Rather, the voice got more melancholic. ¡°No. That would be my betrothed.¡± ¡°Is he still here at the temple?¡± ¡°Not anymore, not in spirit at least. His body is still on that pedestal, however.¡± The shadow had vanished, and the sound of her footsteps faded away. He had surely failed in making a good impression. Time passed as he wondered if she¡¯d return. It became clear that the only thing to do was to rest and regain his strength. The dusty stone pedestal would normally be deemed too uncomfortable, and his mind too busy, but his body had already made exceptions. A couple of hours of rest allowed him to explore his new body. Just as expectedit was unfamiliar. Nearby objects were no longer grew blurry, and his ankle, which had been in pain all week, danced without issue. His teeth aligned perfectly, at least compared to the mistreated set of his youth. Relieved, he prayed his biology would plague him no more. Dusting himself off, he set out to find the troubled young woman. Outside the door were the steps leading into the temple. The temple itself was smaller than expected. Built into the side of a mountain,itcomprised of a single set of stairs leading into the pedestal room of his re-birth. On the steps was a fragile young woman with raven black hair. Her hair, braided into aponytail that extended well beyond her shoulders, covered a complicated expression.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He sat beside her silently in hopes to gauge her mood before ruining it further. At first, her head tilted away towards the horizon, but with a deep breath she got up and turned around revealing a freckled face and fragile figure. ¡°My name isSithriVidua, betrothed to you,FinacMinare. Our journey is long, and the days gets shorter, so we must get to the nearest town¡± With a forced smile she motioned him to follow her down the steps. They walked in silence as the man gathered his thoughts. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that this woman¡¯s life wasexhaustinglytragic. Many of the details still eluded him, but from what he figured Sithri andFinac, betrothed, had traveled to this temple tosummonhim. From her introduction, and current emotion crisis, it seems thatshe had known about the details of the ritual. Furthermore, Sithri was taking it upon herself to guide him through effectively replacing her dearly departed. The ritual itself seemed almost illogical. A soul was summoned from the afterlife. Instead of being summoned as a ghost, he now resided in Finac''s body. He assumed their journey had a goal, meaning the ritual would helpattainthat goal. What gain is there in replacing your soul with a stranger? All of it appeared unnecessarily tragic. ¡°You don¡¯t have to call meFinac¡± The man said. ¡°Calling me by the name of your dead partner is a bit too sad¡± He was rather unattached to the name of hispreviouslife, and he felt that bringing it along would hamper his ability to immerse himself in this new world. ¡°You can call me Finn¡± ¡°... I know you mean well, Finn, but I should let you know that was a common nickname for Finac¡± With a well-timed stumble,Sithri let out a soft laugh. The manknew not the subtleties of comedy, but he knew how to play the fool. ¡°That just means I need some titles, right? Like Finn, Slayer of Goblins, or Finn, Chaser of Chickens.¡± ¡°No. I think Finn will suffice.¡± Playing the Couple The forest cleared toreveala calm stream of water. Finn had been eager to finally inspect the last details of his person. He hunched over by the river and displayed a clear lack of amazement. A stern looking young man peered back at him. Just likeSithri, his skin was soft and pale, the likes of a young master of nobility. Their appearances were well-groomed, requiring more time tomaintainthanhe could bother. His gaze was sharp and serious, a look completely unsuited for his personality. ¡°It may not be of your taste, but I¡¯m rather fond of your appearance¡± Or rather she was fond of Finac''s appearance. Sithri was clearly struggling with complementing a stranger. ¡°Oh?¡±. Slowly he approached with a crooked smile as if asking for more compliments she wouldn¡¯t be able to make. Realizing it was a losing battle Vi had turned and started walking upriver. ¡°Well, it¡¯s yours now so tend to it as you see fit¡± Finn grinned as he celebrated his first strategic victory. ********************** A commotion trailed the couple into the town. Even beast of labor eyed them as they walked up into the Inn. A quick self-inspection reminded him that neither could pass forsimpletownsfolk. Gossip would be made from the most menial impressions. They had planned to momentarily settle half a day¡¯s walk north in the town of Redding, where they wouldresideuntil he could function as an ordinary citizen. Finn followed half a step behindSithri as she opened the wooden doors. A scrawny, fidgety man had appeared from under the counter. He brandished a large mustache, a common trap aging men fell into as theirhairlinesreceded. The mustache was brown and burly and proved a comical juxtaposition for a figure of his size. Noticing the young couple, the men had locked eyes, despiteSithri clearly leading the way. His guard visibly raised when he noticed that Finn would be taking a backseat in introductions.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°We require food and lodging for several days,¡± She said commandingly, as the Inn-keeper had still been shifting his eyes to Finn. ¡°Right¡± The scrawny man had started leaning back in defense. Their approach had been way too brazen. ¡°Will that be one room or two?¡± Realizing her mistake, she looked back to exchange glances. Her voice softened ¡°My name isSithri and this is Finn. We are adventurers who are looking for work in the midst of our travels. We have gold to pay for a room, but are willing to work for our keep as well¡± The inn-keeper loosened up and proceeded with negotiations for lodging. It was then that Finn had begun to understand how vastly he underestimated the effort expected of him in his journey. They spent mornings gathering goldand supplies. Money was short, and the town was fortunately low onmanpower. Often the farmer¡¯s wife requested help with rebuilding broken aspects of her land and the inn-keeper with cleaning during the more traveled part of the year. Eveningswere reservedfor learning magic.Finachad been capable and trained as a magician, but his mastery failed to transfer over. It would be no different fromstarting from scratch. Spells required concentration and mental preparation unprepared by hispreviouslife. Magic training wouldn''t last long. It didn''t take many spells for his mind to lose its sharpness. Often, a collapsed Finn would be carried back to the Inn for lessons of language and culture. While the language was familiar enough, almost mimicking the pseudo-medieval speech seen in late night campaigns of dungeons and dragons, the written language was almost runic.Reading had proved easy enough. Lettersweresimply sounded out in order. Writing, however, could only be challenged with experience. There were multiple sequences of letters thatshared the same sound, and only by memory could one learn the proper form. Nightwould finally come, and he would relish its release. They shared a bed in a small wooden room in the corner of the Inn. He had hoped for a separate room but considered how accustomedSithri would be toFinac¡¯scompany in bed. He still knew little of the young woman brushed up against his back as well as her relationship to the man he had replaced. A sense of agitation welled within him towards his growing expectations. Sithri was little more than a stranger to him, yet she asked for so much. Even worse, he had yet grown attached his new life. To the villagers, everyday taskwerebestoweda significance denied to him. He had already died and cared little about dying again. Simply put, he felt as if he was playing another person¡¯s save file, having to deal with outcomes of choices that he¡¯s never made. He would continue nonetheless. Only a fool quits before the journey starts. Playing the Cards Two blue rings appeared in his mind, each etched with complicated runic designs. One slip in concentration and the image blurred. Slowly each ring had begun to spin. He took a breath and raised his hand. Magical rings identical the images in his mind manifested at the palm of his right hand. Slowly, he aimed it at the black-haired women silently waiting at the river. Jistrathar sular digas Flames erupted from his hands. It formed a massive ball of destruction, violently spinning while leaving a trail of dark smoke. With a loud roar, it continued straight on its path, until it fizzled far from its destination. ¡°Oh! I think I felt the heat from that one at least¡±Sithri made sure to grin hard enough to been seen from the across the river. ¡°Maybe a little more mana and it might make it halfway¡± She had repeated the same instructions for the past couple of days. It had the same effect as telling an athlete to run faster, or a student to think faster. Nonetheless, he would continue his routine of tossing a plethora of spells, each one completely harmless six yards away. He had been quite excited at the start of his magic training. Casting a spell for the first time would always amaze him at what he was capable in doing. The emotion was short-lived after discovering each spell had the same destructive reach.Sithri had made of habit of watching his training while reading a book down-range of his targets, just out of his reach. Finn couldn¡¯t help but think how much more effective a crossbow would be in actual combat. He wouldn¡¯t have to worry about losing his concentration, or forgetting the runes and chants for each spell. He could aim it much more clearly, with a range thatSithri would have to respect. While reloading he wouldn¡¯t have to panic about his next spell or the effectiveness of his current one. He had given up learning new spells, flipping through the pages of Finac¡¯s spell book in disappointment.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. [Shocking Touch] [Poison Lance] [Fan of Flames] [Ice Shards] [Grease] [Fireball] [Hold Person] [Scorching Ray] [Ray of Frost] ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ve read tried every spell?¡±Sithri pointed to the darkened pages at the end of the book. [Disguise Self] [Mage Hand] [Magic Mouth] [Minor Illusion] [Dancing Lights] [Darkness] [Mirror Image] [Dark Vision] [Alarm] ¡°These spells don¡¯t travel the same way elemental spells do¡±she noted. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to cast them for their full range¡± Playing the Hero The beast pressed its snout into the ground. Sniffing around the field, it could have chosen just about anywhere to dig and find food. It opted to wait for the perfect scent, something that would finally appease its palate. Little did it care for stealth and restraint. Massive tusks uprooted the earth to reveal the season¡¯s crops, which it devoured along with massive chunks of dirt. Beside it was a smaller bipedal creature. At first, Finn mistook it for a goblin. Goblins didn¡¯t have claws, right? It turned around to show a rather serpent-like tail. From what he could guess it was a young lizardman. Upon reaching the farm it chose a spot immediately. While it wasn¡¯t as picky as his hooved companion, he took several moments to peel the onions before stuffing his mouth. They were now grunting and chewing in unison. If he attacked right now, he could easily land a hit or two before they retaliate. But then what? He had thought little about using targets to practice his magic. Anything within his range of six yards he could easily hit. As such his practice was little more than aiming at Sithri as she read her books, hoping that the spell would travel an extra bit of distance to warrant her attention. This practice, however, told him little of the damage he could inflict. He couldn¡¯t imagine himself taking down a boar with only a couple of hits. Of all the times Sithri wasn¡¯t accompanying him it had to be now. When they arrived in Redding she didn¡¯t seem to have issues spending the entire day babysitting, making sure he followed his routine. Recently Sithri had been disappearing on him more and more often. Wait, can Sithri even fight? Her ponytail often wrapped around a bow she carried just about everywhere, to her dismay. Various daggers were also holstered on each side of her waist. From that he assumed her to be a ranger of sorts, but his experience gave no evidence of the sort. She was always watching him train, never partaking in her own. Wait, can anyone in this village even fight? An image appeared in his mind of the farmer¡¯s wife running and screaming for her life. The villagers would come out to defend her. He would no longer be able to control the situation while simultaneously losing this opportunity to strike. If anyone would have to die in the village, he would prefer it be himself. He could always tell C¡¯Thulu he tried his best. Besides, it¡¯s not like he promised anything in the first place.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Silently, he leaped over the wooden fence. Nal bolar ast Green liquid formed into a lance and launched right into the lizards back. Its force knocked him flying forward with his face flying into the ground. Jistrathar sular digas The boar hadn¡¯t the time to react before the spell smashed into the side of its face. It squealed in agony, but as expected it was far from subdued. The lizardman had gotten up and hopped on top of the boar. Finn raised his arm to prepare another spell, waiting for the pair to charge. Instead, the boar turned abruptly and started charging towards the opening it had made to get into the field. Was it fleeing, or making a tactical retreat? Either way, he didn¡¯t want to find out. Chasing would be pointless. He was losing ground fast. Not to mention the further out they managed to get the more he risked running into an ambush. If he had to do something it had to be now. The problem was that they were already out of reach for his elemental spells. [Mage Hand]? I¡¯m sure I could give a tail a nice tug and annoy them as they get away. [Darkness]? It might stop them, but then what? Being enveloped in the dark fog would eventually only help them escape. Qaziem suh kair Each of its hooves dug straight into the ground. It came to a complete stop within moments. The rider was sent flying yet again, this time landing flat on its back. A wall of ice had erupted from the ground in front of them, protruding large spikes that threatened impalement. The wall stretched wide and thick, blocking an escape both on the path and into the forest. The only way out was into the river or back into the farm. Of course, if you asked Finn the details of the spell [Ice Wall], he would have to consult Finac¡¯s spell book first. He hadn¡¯t actually bothered to learn any defensive magic whatsoever. Anyone familiar with the actual spell would immediately notice several unusual aspects about the wall and its incantation. The spell he had used was [Minor Illusion]. He had practiced it all evening thanks to its lowered mana cost. He started off replicating small objects off the top of his mind. While he couldn¡¯t cast images of living things, at least convincingly, most inanimate objects were quite possible. He had experimented with the image of a lit candle. The fire on the candle was convincing at a distance. Without paying close attention one could overlook how it gave off no light or heat. Another test, without the candle, and he flung imaginary fires similar in pattern to his elemental magic. With further test, he discovered that he could imitate just about any low leveled spell in his arsenal. And so, the massive wall of ice threatened the boar. For another 50 seconds it will continue to glisten like the massive poker face it was.