《World Warriors》


 Asgard - Chapter 1

    I paced back and forth impatiently on my large flying carriage, which flew above the face of the planet below. I grew more antsy with every passing minute, a battle awaited for my comrades and Ibelow, but we could not initiate unless we had the consentof the people below. I curse Raghoth for bestowing such lawsupon our society.


    ¡°Agh! What is taking Ohden so long? He should have given the word by now.¡± I received shocked looks from my comrades.


    Two of my friends face grew red from embarrassment, the ones who fought wolverines and bears for me to attend this battle. However, my captain Erida did not hold back in displaying her disapproval, her face even mildly shook in frustration.


    ¡°Anastasia,¡± She started with pause, she always paused like that to build up tension. Whydid she dothat? I would probably never know, but it served its purpose in annoying me.


    Erida sighed, ¡°Never mind, there is no point in arguing with you.¡±


    I grinned from my little victory, Erida knew very well anything she would have had said would be next to zero value to me. So I continued with my restless pacing,but was interrupted when Merida stopped me and pulled me tothe side of the carriage.


    She was silent for a short while which was always annoying to me, but since she was my best friend I stood beside her in silence. She stared in awe at the sunset, the way how the rays of light gave varying hues of color.


    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Merida remarked.


    ¡°The sun or rays of light?¡± I asked innocently.


    ¡°Both.¡±


    After having contemplated on the horizon for a moment, even I had to admit that it was a remarkable sight to lay eyes upon.


    Merida gave me comforting shrug, ¡°I like to think of you as a sun.¡±


    I felt offended; even though we were friends, I thought she would be a bit more encouraging, ¡°You mean hot headed and snappy.¡±


    She gave a humored giggle, ¡°No silly. You are reliable and dependable, like the sun. A beacon of light and a source of contagious life.¡±


    I smiled with pride, ¡°Well, I guess I am dependable.¡±


    ¡°Although, you are little bit of a hot head and snappy.¡±


    I laughed, ¡°Yeah, I guess I am that too.¡±


    A powerful goat-horn bellowed from the land below. Finally, the signalto go.The three of usran at the same time towards the back of our flying boat-shaped carriage, freefalling three-thousand feet into battle.


    My two friends and Icrashed onto the ground with an earth-shattering explosion, sending debris flying everywhere. Erida appeared from thin air besides us using her self summoning magic, proceeding to chant a spell that empowered us further. I felt the magic coursing through my veins, the way they pulsedpower into every one of my fibers. The feeling was exhilarating, but now was not the time for me to be smashed from the power.


    I drew magic and manifestedit into my hands, giving it a solid form of dual-axes. My right ax was imbued in elemental fire, while myleft was elemental earth. The fire was for the offense and the earth was either initiative or defensive, so that way I could take up almost any role in battle while giving up little on any facet.


    ¡°Convene assault formation, spread out!¡± Erida commanded us.


    Asgardian battle formations is simplistic in retrospect, but extremely effective in action. Teams are almost always composed of two members,and formations are what all the teams set out to achieve. For example, my partner is Merida isa Hunter Valkerie just like me, however her weapon selection was amystical bow. So she was much more supportive in battle, while I had more capabilities in fighting the front.


    I initiate dby jumping to a horde of a bunch of ugly looking dark shadowy looking beings,unable totell if they were clones or not. Their look of surpriseas I jumpedat them was priceless,but it only lasted for a moment as I smashed my fire-axe onto the ground. A giant wall of fire blew up high into the sky and then spread out in a menacing ball of fire, obliterating all of the invading species in my wake.


    ¡°Remember, the Tovens are not far from here! We don¡¯t want to hurt them Taia!¡± Merida warned me.


    I grunted in frustration, but Merida was right. Of course, the fire attack was a lot stronger than usual because of the support magic that Erida enchanted, so I underestimated how powerful my attack was going to be.


    A small bar of a glowing blue light missed my face by inches from behind, I knew it came from Merida and that she was signaling where to strike next. The Frost Arrow struck a horde that was running towards my location, freezing almost everyone in place. I struck my earth-axe onto the ground, shattering the earth around the invaders; A huge group of theugly things wassucked underground and crushed. Small frozen pieces of them blew in the air.


    I then heard a warning cry from Erida, ¡°Eyes on your dafts!¡±


    I looked all around me and saw that we were being cut off from Erida and Toya, as well as being surrounded of a horde that spread as far as the horizon from all directions.


    ¡°Regroup!¡± Merida ordered me.


    I smashed the ground with my right axe before leaping far back, sending a massive shockwave before a giant wall rose from the ground in front of me. I thought the wall would have held them back for a while, but I quickly saw that I was wrong when they scaled the wall in moments. I continuously smacked the ground in retreating steps, forming mile deep fissures between I and the creatures that are starting to overwhelm me. And again, I saw it was futile when they simply leapt the expanse, almost as if they were flying over it.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°There seems to be no limit to their numbers!¡± I hollered back at Merida.


    Worried from the lack of a reply from her, I momentarily turned to see how she was doing. Icould now see our situation was much more dire, they were closing in on her much faster than I had anticipated. So I ran to aid her much more directly, smacking and burning several of the creatures into ashes along the way. The instant I got in front of her and whacked away the creatures that were on top of her, she summoned a low grade magic barrier.


    My heart raced as the barrier was completely enveloped from top to bottom of the creatures, they were relentless and simply brute-like in their attacks. Regardless of how ineffective they werein a one on one, their staggering numbers were like nothingI had ever seen before. The magic barrier would give away in just a few moments. If it were a higher grade barrier, then they would have been held back for a few minutes.


    ¡°Merida, you should have summoned a higher grade barrier.¡± I commented.


    Again, she did not give me a reply, this time I saw she was in deep concentration and summoning a familiar magic to me, removing any little anxiety I had.


    Her eyes lit brightly as she held her hands over her chest after having finished the summon, ¡°Asgard¡¯s Gust!¡±


    I closed my eyes from what was coming, her body was already covered ina layer of light. Two more pulses of light enveloped her, then I caught the slightest glimpse of her stretching her arms out. Suddenly a powerful wave of gale winds surged from her, and at that same instant the barrier was destroyed and the creatures came falling in like a torrent. However, they were all tossed back far and high before they could lay a finger on us.


    The enchantment that Erida had bestowed on us ebbed, we were at our limit and our magic was waning. I noticed something, some had turned to dust. Mostly those her were closer to her, which was the proximity of fatality. Seemed to me that when they become incapacitated they turned into their basic building blocks, in this case dust.


    To test this theory out, I ran up to the closest one and did a swift blow to cut off one of the limbs. I heard the creature shriek but quickly stopped, seemed to be that my theory was accurate.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to kill them to stop them! Tear a hole in their flesh, they break and ashen!¡± I informed my comrades in a clear voice.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if that it is all it takes to rid one of them, they¡¯d simplyoverwhelm us.¡± Cried back Erida, in her pessimistic but realistic attitude as always.


    We all turned to Merida as she beckoned us all, ¡°Seems like we don¡¯t have to do anything, look!¡± She pointed towards the sun.


    At first I could not tell what was it she was pointing at, but a small dot coming from the center of the light grew larger into the shape of a man. I let out a gasp, a sight to remember, a story everyone irks to lay ears on in the halls of Valhalla. Ohden had come to our aid!


    ¡°Father Ohden! We can handle this.¡± Cried Erida. Her pride had been trodden all over, she would not admit defeat even to the Mighty Allfather Ohden.


    ¡°That matters not Erida, time has come to our favor and so we will take it.¡± Boomed his voice. He never spoke forcefully, but his voice was naturally powerful and awe striking. Every aspect about him was inspiring and fear striking.


    He lifted his Halberd and spun around before striking the ground, a powerful thunder echoing across the entire planet. My blood ran still for a moment, I swore that my heart skipped a beat. Even the invading species stopped in their tracks. Did they realize that they faced their demise? I may never know, but at least they would be gone forever now.


    Ohden lifted his head, ¡°Fourth Seal of the Heavens Judgment, release!¡± A similar aura to that of Merida enveloped Ohden, only this one glowed yellow.


    Lighting exploded from the clouds over him and thunder boomed everywhere. Then a powerful whistle rose from the pressure that Ohden built around him, compressing the magic and preparing to release it. Then one final powerful thunder had boomed its boom, following a shockwave that blew past all of us and annihilating them monsters from the entire face of the planet.


    My friends and Iwere completely unaffected by it,;after all, it was Asgardian magic. Asgard magic does not affect a fellow Asgardian as it does foreign species.


    The battle field was completely different from what it was engulfed in just minutes ago, I saw that it was no more than a wasted land. From the distance though, I could see the nativesof this planet coming out from their refuges. It is not long that they wereall running out, cheering and hooting happily towards us, allhoping to touch us as if we would pass them some good luck in doing so. They all settled down and stepped aside to let an elderly man clothed in royal robes through, he limped to Ohden with his branch looking walking stick. He bowed his head in respect to Ohden, and Ohden did the same in return as it was habit to give the same formalities as the foreign species.


    These were a peculiar species, with their long pointy ears that spread upwards as if they were little antennas. Skinny body forms disguised their actual fit conditions, butthe oddest thing wastheir blue hair that camein all sorts of shades. Never had I seen pointy ears or blue hair, until today and now. I never had known how they looked like until Ohden himself had requested me to aid in this noteworthy battle.


    Ohden spoke with the elder Toven, who I assumed was the leader to their species, ¡°Are your people saved?¡±


    His nodded gracefully but then drooped sadly, ¡°Yes, however we had lost some thousand souls. I regret for not heeding your counsel sooner, you have my sincerest apologies and gratitude. We are in your debt.¡±


    He knelt humbly to Ohden, at which everyone had followed in doing. Ohden lifted him by the shoulder and shook his headsadly.


    ¡°The apologies are mine, for failing in providing truth to my frail words. The honest truthis thatwe are in your debt. We merely wish to offer our protection so you may prosper at peace.¡±


    There was a glint of pride restored in the Toven¡¯s eyes, ¡°I fail to word my emotions. All I can say is this, thank you.¡±


    Ohden then smiled and waved his hand, signaling us to group up. We convened and awaited our flying carriage to come down to our location. Everyone looked in awe as they saw our horseless flying carriage fly down, coming to an easing stop before our feet. We climbed out from behind the carriage, and Ohden who was the last to walk in was stopped as the elder Toven grabbed his garment.


    ¡°How would we call upon your aid if we are to be invaded again?¡±


    He grinned, ¡°We will know, you can trust in our pact unlike those Birr¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°How about seeing you before then? In a more peaceful and cheerful of conditions.¡±


    Ohden laughed out loud, clearly amused of how childish he was behaving, ¡°Very well then, we shalt have festival to emphasize in our alliance. Say in a weeks time, is that good to you Ovaar?¡±


    Ovaar nodded in agreement, ¡°In a weeks time at the eve then.¡±


    They held each other by the shoulder, showing their trust in each other in public. There was a loud cheering that chorused from the crowd, as they hooted cheerfully from this much more beneficial alliance that had been formed.


    We all rode our carriage that flew straight up, riding the waves of applause and cries of joy. This is my life and I was proud of it, every last moment was a worthwhile memory. Including the stomach aching streaks of lights that ran past us, we were now heading back home. To Asgard.

 The Southern Skies - Chapter 1

    Finch looked up into the sky, a strange sensation rippling through his spirit. Something had changed, and the chief would need to be informed. The head priestess had been ailing for many years, and he had taken on her responsibilities as augur since. Now it seemed he would finally be able to exercise some of his newfound abilities


    Rushing down the heavily forested path he started releasing some of his spores, allowing them to propagate outwards into the surroundings. Best to check if there were any untoward effects before reporting in, the chief wasn¡¯t the most patient of men. Fortunately Finch didn¡¯t have to communicate with the man much, it was much more convenient to send one of the acolytes to get yelled at. He chuckled, it wasn¡¯t so long ago that he himself had been one of those unfortunate acolytes, working like a slave for the chance to awaken as a priest himself. The joyful poppies adorning his brow flowered, releasing a pleasant scent. That life was behind him now, from here on out the world was his delectable oyster.


    For now though, he had a job to do. The forest had not been disturbed, and no core systems had suffered damage, but all around him people were feeling the effects of the shockwave. More than one seemed to have suffered more severe injuries as confusion set in. Most people seemed to have suffered only bouts of mild confusion and fear, but a few were going out of control. Finch activated the local defensive measures to keep the peace, he didn¡¯t have time to babysit some spoiled sprouts.


    Making his way to the chief¡¯s not so humble abode, Finch navigated through the sea of glowing blue leaves to the enormous world tree. A squadron of indigo wraiths had posted up outside of the entrance to the inner sanctum of the magnificent organism, tensing for a moment before parting to let him in. Nodding at the squad¡¯s captain, he walked into the palace of his people''s¡¯ leader, head held high and whiskers perked up. The man before him might have been the chief, but he was the keeper of the sacred grove, the first lord of the underworld, and today was his day to finally make use of his impressive array of powers.


    ¡°Finch, I¡¯ve been waiting for you,¡± the thin sprite called out to him from a rather impressive throne, ¡°What happened? Just a little while ago I felt a strange disturbance and now the elders tell me the entire world is in chaos. Did something happen at the core?¡± He paused for a moment, as if considering what to say next. ¡°I don¡¯t have to bring mother into this, do I? I was hoping you would be able to deal with this yourself.¡±


    ¡°Chief, there¡¯s no cause for immediate alarm,¡± Finch reassured the weary looking man, ¡°Everything is working within acceptable parameters. Whatever that was, it came from somewhere beyond, outside of our sensor range.¡± A look of relief crossed the chief¡¯s heavy set face before passing quickly.


    ¡°So what do you think happened Finch? This sort of thing is your specialty right?¡± Now the man had a slight condescending look on his face, his eyes glinting mischievously and grass-like hair rippling madly. Even in such troubling times it seemed that his peculiar sense of wit was unchanged. Perhaps that was why Finch had never found him to be as bad as the others seemed to think, he had never liked the political maneuvering that was so common among the hierarchy, and this chief was a refreshing change from the man that ruled all those decades ago when he was just a child with dreams big enough to cover the starry sky.


    ¡°Something bad chief,¡± Finch sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what it was but I don¡¯t think we could handle something like that if it got worse. The blast came from somewhere in the center, we should make our way outwards and make sure we can handle the situation the next time it happens.¡±


    ¡°Is that likely?¡± the chief asked, fidgeting atop the gilded monstrosity he called the seat of his power, ¡°It¡¯s never happened before, and I don¡¯t see why you think it would happen again.¡±


    ¡°Chief, this isn¡¯t just some isolated incident,¡± He insisted, ¡°Something¡¯s changed, and I¡¯d bet my life this won¡¯t be the end of our problems.¡±


    Walking past the throne he started feeling around the walls of the room as the shorter sprite peeked curiously around his seat. After a minute of searching and enduring the chief¡¯s yawns, he found what he was looking for and the throne room started to transform.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± the ivy-covered sprite asked, ¡°Even if you¡¯re right, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re in any danger right now, right?¡±


    ¡°You may very well be right chief,¡± Finch walked over to one of the the smaller emerald green thrones now arranged in a semicircle before his liege, ¡°but let''s not take any chances. We don''t know enough about the situation right now to take it easy.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Sitting on the somewhat less than comfortable chair, a pop up appeared before him. ¡®welcome high priest¡¯ it read, and he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction before dismissing it and getting to the task at hand.


    ¡°Mimameior,¡± he commanded, shifting to find a comfortable position, ¡°plot a course to the outer reaches, and restrain any citizens acting up. Also, activate experimental measure 1.072, and 1.546 as well.¡±


    ¡°What are 1.546 and 1.072 again?¡± the chief asked, ¡°it¡¯s so hard to remember which is which with no proper names.¡±


    ¡°1.072 is the special spores I developed your honor,¡± Finch leaned back in his chair, ¡°and 1.546 is the shield your mother was working on before she passed the position on to me.¡±


    ¡°The¡­ shock absorber things you were talking about? I didn''t know the specters were involved.¡± Finally Finch could see the man taking the situation seriously.


    ¡°Not the specters chief,¡± he corrected the now rather somber sprite, ¡°but you''re not too far off. Unfortunately, this might not be so easy a problem to fix as the wraiths were all those decades ago, not if we felt it from so far away.¡±


    The man was silent for a moment, ¡°And the prisoner?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way there once we¡¯re finished chief,¡± he assured the man, ¡°but I don¡¯t anticipate any problems.¡±


    ¡°Alright Finch, you''ve convinced me. Keep me informed if something new comes up. And be a little more concise next time, we could have gotten this over with faster if you''d just gotten to the point immediately about the wraiths.¡± Finch¡¯s hair went yellow in embarrassment at the last jibe as he was clearly dismissed. He could hear the chief busting his gut as he made his way out of the room, clearly enjoying his discomfort.


    ¡°Had a good time in there?¡± the wraith captain, clearly distinguishable by his pureblack eyes, chortled.


    ¡°Oh shut up and get back to guard duty Bernard,¡± he snapped back with a grin. His longtime friend was always ready to push his buttons, but he supposed he wasn¡¯t much better. Pointing out towards the west he decided to have a little fun with the lithe wraith captain, ¡°Hey, keep a whisker out for anything that feels like a specter. There shouldn''t be any left in this region, but there''s a few we''ve kept prisoner under the nemeton on top of that mountain over there, and I have a feeling they¡¯re not going to be happy. Im headed there myself at the moment though, so no need to worry.¡±


    Bernard gaped at him, ¡°What do you mean we have specters under the nemeton? Why wasn¡¯t I informed of this before? Seems pretty fucking important for you to just hide from everyone else don¡¯t you think?¡± He paused for a bit before coming to a decision. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you, you¡¯ll need the extra muscle and the chief isn¡¯t in any danger at the moment. My men will take care of security.¡± Looking around at the men around him he barked, ¡°I¡¯d better not see any of you dumbasses slacking off when I get back, keep an eye out for anything suspicious.¡±


    The two headed for the sacred grove among a chorus of ¡°Yes Sir¡±s, breaking into a jog at Bernard¡¯s urging. By the time they had gotten halfway however, Finch had already started to wilt from exhaustion and had to be carried by the wraith captain. ¡°You really should consider becoming a wraith yourself Finch, this routine is starting to get old and you¡¯re way too heavy for me to carry like this every time we go out¡± The disgruntled captain managed to grunt out from under the Priest¡¯s weight.


    ¡°Fuck you too man, I¡¯m a prime specimen among the normals, this mountain is just too damned tall for anyone to actually climb.¡± Finch groaned back at him, still slightly shrunken from exertion.


    ¡°And here we are!¡± Bernard exclaimed as he dropped Finch down into the crater at the top before falling in himself, rolling ten feet down before bumping into the disgruntled augur and coming to an abrupt halt. The two lay there panting for a few minutes before finally pulling themselves together and getting up.


    Walking towards the entrance of the nemeton the wraith turned to Finch, ¡°So what¡¯s the plan bro? How much specter ass are we going to have to kick before we¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°None probably,¡± The now sullen plant man muttered as he gestured to the guards lining their path to the gate grown out of two surrounding trees, ¡°You¡¯ve probably done more damage to me by throwing me down that wall then I¡¯ll take for the entire next week¡±


    ¡°Cheer up man, it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t recover already, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± The bestial looking indigo plant laughed as he clapped Finch¡¯s back before a more serious look crossed his oaken face, ¡°And I hope you¡¯re right about that, I don¡¯t want to be the first Sprite to fall to a specter in the last hundred and fifty years.¡±


    The somber mood was infectious and the two walked in silence through the gate, finding themselves among a couple dozen spruce monstrosities. Tramping through the thick vegetation and are patches covered in brownish needles they made their way to a black colored tree with red leaves. After feeling around the sides to check the logs Finch pressed his hand against a bulbous protrusion on the north face of the tree. Accompanied by a few tiny rumbles the bark slid apart revealing a partially hollow interior and a set of stairs leading down into the depths of the earth. Gulping in anticipation and fear, the two descended into darkness.

 Xam - Chapter 1

    The galaxy is waiting to be explored. Men and women from every planet across the galaxy have been captured by the wanderlust of the stars. Since time immemorial people have stared up into the night¡¯s sky, their souls enraptured by the adventure of another world. The idea of a distant star where the hopes that dwell in your heart can be achieved.


    Xam is one such person. A child on the edge of the galaxy. Today he turned 15 and had his magical aptitude tested along with hundreds of other children. This year no one on this planet had any magical readings. That is just they way things go. Even with the galaxy waiting for him, he could do nothing. If he had only had some kind of magical power then he could get off this rock and see the outside.


    All people are slaves to society, no matter the time they live in. For Xam this meant that he would never experience the wonder of the galaxy, but instead spend the rest of his days toiling away on this lonely rock at the edge of the galaxy.


    Stars fell around him in a meteor shower as he sat underneath an apple tree in the night. There is no moon at all above his planet, only a sea of stars. The cooling night wind whisked his bangs across his face and fluttered the blades of grass. An apple fell to the ground with a light thud, rolling away on the uneven ground.


    It has been said before that on nights like these the falling stars have the power to grant wishes.


    ¡°I¡­ I want to escape this place,¡± Xam whispered to himself.


    In that moment his wish was answered by the heavens. A meteor crashed down just a short distance away, shaking the ground with an awesome force and sending out an incredible sound. The vibrations made Xam jump up from his resting position. He looked down the hill from where he was standing, towards the meteor, resting on the bottom of the hill. The ground had been torn asunder by the impact, rocks and dirt throw around in the chaos of the crash.


    The meteor was a strange brown rock with yellow streaks through it, perhaps some unknown mineral from the stars. Xam approached it cautiously, reaching out his hand. The meteor gently radiated heat, warming Xam¡¯s hand slowly. When he touched the rock it slowly yelled to his fingers, as if it were rubber.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Xam asked himself.


    Before Xam could ponder the question any further the yellow streaks in the rock began to move. Xam jumped back, frightened by the sudden movement. It was as if the meteor was coming to life. Stubby yellow arms pulled their bodies out from the rock. Strange star shaped creatures emerged one after another, their bodies were impossibly flexible and moldable, fitting into any space easily. Each of them had an exaggerated human face, some with large eyes and mouths, others with features too small, and even one that was just a giant nose. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Xam had only heard of these creatures before in textbooks and myths. Tricksters, gods from beyond the stars bent on filling the galaxy with chaos. Xam stared at their freakish bodies and they stared back at him. Some quickly started to scurry off, running into the underbrush of a nearby forest. They were only about two feet tall, but they could move quickly. Finally one of the trickster¡¯s approached Xam. He was somewhat more normal looking than the others, with big eyes, a large smile across his face, and no nose.


    ¡°I heard you, human.¡± It spoke to Xam, by opening it¡¯s mouth, but it¡¯s tongue didn¡¯t move, it¡¯s lips made no motions. It could speak to him directly through telepathy.


    ¡°W..WHat?¡± Xam sputtered, caught off guard by the whole situation.


    ¡°I heard that you want to leave this planet,¡± The sound echoed through Xam¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Y..Yes, I want to explore the galaxy!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you in exchange for something,¡± the trickster told him.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Xam said, cautiously.


    ¡°I¡¯d like your life.¡±


    Xam froze.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten years to explore the galaxy to your heart''s content before I take my due. It¡¯s a fair price for someone in your position wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    ¡°My whole life! That can¡¯t be fair!¡± Xam shouted at him.


    ¡°You might die before the ten years are up my friend,¡± The trickster replied quickly, ¡°The price is high because the risks are high.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xam told him, ¡°There has to be another way.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself, human.¡±


    The trickster jumped into the air and floated, magic flickered from it¡¯s body, sending out a faint light. With a sudden burst it flew away like a rocket, disappearing into the trees. Xam locked back towards the meteor. All the tricksters had left the area, and the rock and begun to liquefy. In a few seconds the ground where the crash had been was repaired by the melting rock, as if the crash had never even happened at all.


    It was all so surreal to Xam was left wondered if it had just been his imagination. Was he going crazy? Nothing in life felt right to him anymore.


    Xam¡¯s walk back to the city was a somber one. The future for him was looking bleak. He had no money to continue his schooling any further, and would most likely have to find a job with a mining company. Rain was beginning to patter down on the sidewalk as he got home to his room at the colony homefront. The government allowed some older orphans like Xam a small studio apartment and a megre allowance on which to sustain themselves. As soon as he was inside he flung himself onto his mattress, in the corner of the room. Neglecting to even turn on the lights. He didn¡¯t want to eat. He didn¡¯t want to do anything. So he just laid there in the darkness.


    Suddenly he heard a sound come from outside. The sounds of screaming. Bright flashes of light pierced through the window and illuminated the inside of the small room.


    Someone else had taken the trickster¡¯s deal.

 Asgard - Chapter 2

    Asgard, the homeland. I am back home at long last, although I had not been gone for more than an hour and the travel in itself was no more than a moment. There was one thing I hated the most about the Bifrost, and that was Bifrost sickness.


    My mouth bulged as I began to hurl, I ran to the side of the carriage and let out my entire morning feast. My head throbbed in pain from my pumping veins. This happened every time I traveled on the Bifrost, going to and coming from.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Erida groaned in disgust.


    I would have had some witty comeback for Erida, but I bent over in another hurling bout. Merida patted me on the back reassuringly, she knew how much I hated this and how little control I have over it.


    ¡°Well done today, Anastasia.¡± Ohden approached from behind me. I gave him a thumbs up, unable to break away from my roost.


    ¡°Bifrost sickness.¡± Whispered my friend. I do not know if she knew I had Valkerie¡¯s instinct or not, my senses I higher than that of the average Asgardian.


    ¡°Apologies, my regards into your well-being Anastasia. And well done on your behalf too Merida.¡±


    I finally quit hurling at this point, but I leant over the edge, occasionally spitting the bile taste from my tongue. That was when my ears perked up, one of Ohden¡¯s personal messengers had approached him and conveyed a silent message. My instincts were going off, big time. I could not tell what it was exactly, but something something big was happening.


    I was going to ask Merida what was it she thought that was going on, but her eyes were fixed on something I could not see. Then her eyes widened, exchanging glances with me and then tugging me along with her. We shoved Erida aside as we crossed the path that led to Valhalla, the warriors gathering area.


    ¡°Merida! Act decent for Valkerian sake!¡± She reprimanded us. However, even her daughter had payed her little mind.


    She whispered excitedly as we ran, I could barely make out what she said when we picked up more speed, ¡°They¡¯re having a High Warrior meeting, something very important had passed.¡±


    ¡°How could you have come to know that?¡± I asked her. Messenger had conveyed the message by means of Soothe Speech, the ability to speak or pass along information by means of the mind and magic. The only way she could have known those details if she herself hada€| I gasped in surprise.


    I rasped quietly, ¡°Erida, you developed Soothe Speech yourself?¡±


    She looked back at me with a grin, ¡°By chance, yes.¡±


    I jumped over a food crate in the plaza, ¡°And a high level too if you had skill in intercepting one of Ohden¡¯s personal Oracles. When did you achieve this ability?¡±


    ¡°Just a week a past.¡±


    ¡°And when were you planning in telling me?¡± It is not usual for her to have had kept something like this in secret for so long, especially from me.


    ¡°Today if you would believe it. I was to invite you for a frolic this afternoon, then I would had tossed the stone.¡±


    I laughed in mockery, ¡°Of course you¡¯d be taling that you were to be confessing. Too little, too late.¡±


    She exchanged a sorry glance with me, ¡°I swear, it¡¯d be the truth.¡±


    I gave her a little fist bump on the shoulder, ¡°Aye, if you say it¡¯s the truth, I¡¯d give you the doubt.¡±


    She nodded appreciatively, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I followed her around the corner that led out of the plaza into the main entry of Valhalla, the chambers where the warrior gathered and eventually led to the No King''s Palace. The Palace was the gemstone of Asgard, our greatest pride and feat.


    We ran through the main hall of the Valhalla, going past countless of smaller halls that served as branches that break into meeting rooms. Oh how I wish I could spend my time in one now, every meeting room when in use had a charred Pork to feast and Asgard¡¯s finest ale it had to offer. I could be in there right, storytelling my battle right now and enjoying the good food with good drinks. But no, instead, I am stuck in following Merida.


    ¡°How is it you plan to stealth pass the Palace guards? They¡¯re our finest warriors, so sneaking is of little use.¡±


    She had not given me a reply and I for a moment had thought that she had not heard me, until when he had reached the end of the hall and took a sharp turn to the right. Then and on then had she made a peep, apparently she had a select few of naughty secrets.


    ¡°I will tell you how, no, I will show you how if you swear to me to stay silent about it.¡±


    I nodded solemnly, I never had failed my friend before and I do not intend to ever.


    ¡°Good. There¡¯s a chamber that is sensitive to every sound that goes through the Palace, almost as if it grabs them sounds and converts them into streams of Soothe Speech.¡±


    My eyes gawked from this revelation, this was big news! Something that in fact should be alerted to the Royal Family.


    ¡°Had you not told anyone, not even Erida?¡± I asked her.


    Her eyes drooped sheepishly, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why? There could be countless others who use these chambers to pry them eyes and ears where they do not belong, had you thought about that?¡±


    Her eyes challenged me, ¡°Of course I had! I spent several nights stationing in private from that chamber, but I had learnt that they were not used by anyone else. I made sure to check during other important meetings, and still no one had come.¡±


    Of course she would have checked, I should have known better. But after this tidbit of information, my heart started beating harder. I bit my tongue to better control my emotions, but it seems Merida had noticed my expression.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You want to see, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I nodded slowly.


    Merida gave me a mischievous grin, ¡°It is this way, past the gardens in a caverned chamber.¡±


    I trailed behind her into the gardens, sticking close to her all the same while as I tried to remain low and out of sight of anyone else, especially from any Valkerie or Templar. A recollection had just popped in my head about warriors who developed Soothe Speech, if I recall properly they also develop telepathic abilities.


    ¡°Merida, are you able to read my mind as well?¡±


    She laughed out loud in amusement, ¡°No silly, Soothe Speech does not grant me telepathy. It does however give me the ability of Empathetic instinct. I can sense your emotions.¡± I could not help but let out a relieving sigh, which merited another laughing bout from Merida.


    ¡°Do they affect your emotions in some way?¡±


    She gave a thoughtful hum, ¡°Mmm, no. It is no different from me seeing gestures and expressions, I could react accordingly as if it were so.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± I thought out loud. I was always under the impression that those who were sensitive to others thought would be subject to it, but Merida¡¯s comparison brought a new clarity to me. I made a mental note to probe her some more over this subject.


    For now, I followed her silently into a small hollowed-out chamber, probably formed throughout the ages of erosion. Inside I saw a small light-blue glow, and when the the chamber opened up I saw the source of the glow. Rag Roots. These roots were magic sensitive, often used in catalysts for potions or even for the finest of ales.


    The glows would stream brightly from the top of the roots and drop down to the floor and beyond, almost as if it were drops of water being pumped through them.


    ¡°These roots stretch all the way from Yggdra, and we know Yggdra¡¯s roots stretch beneath the Palace and past further away. My theory is the the noise from the chambers in the Palace is perceived as a vibration to the tree, and the tree converts this vibration into Soothe Speech for whatever reason.¡±


    I pondered on this fact for a moment, ¡°Ok. Then... How is it this room makes it possible for you to tap into Yggdra¡¯s roots? Much less how is it you hear the Soothe Speech from it.¡±


    She swung her arms out, ¡°This whole room is almost only made from Soul Stone, and that serves as a medium for almost any form of magic. It¡¯s metal we use to imbue our weapons and armor with magic.¡±


    Awe had struck me, it made so much sense now. This room had everything that one needed to be capable of prying ears in secret conversations. The reason why it probably was not more well known is because this cave is well out of the way, so most of Asgard would not care to venture here to begin with. Not to mention the fact that there were only a handful of Soothe Speech skilled warriors, it takes a degree of skill to intercept another Soothe Speech message.


    My eyes brightened, ¡°What are we waiting for?¡±


    Erida sat with her legs crossed, so I had done the same. We sat across from each other, face to face.


    ¡°This may sting a little at first, but you¡¯ll be fine in the end.¡± She warned me.


    I nodded in understanding, an Asgardian can take a sting.


    ¡°I will need to hold your hands,so that way I would be relaying to you what I hear. First I would need to pin the right conversation, then I will be able to concentrate on that one.¡±


    I gave another nod.


    She took my hands and then her eyes went deep into concentration. I thought nothing was happening at first since I did not feel or hear anything different, then the world darkened and the noises of hundreds of simultaneous conversations took place. It was like standing in a grand chamber and everyone was speaking at the same time, just absolute unnecessary noise!


    Thinking that I my head would explode from the noise, I was about to let go of hands and sever the connection. This was more than just some sting! Just when I was going to let go, that is when only one conversation became focused and all the other conversations became silent background noise.


    ¡°...and that was all to be seen Ohden. You should have come yourself, such sight could only be understood if seen in person.¡± Seems like we had just missed the start and apparently important part of the conversation, if I had not wasted time in asking Merida those questions then we would have had known more. But that did not matter now.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± I recognized Ohden¡¯s voice. It was so paranormal in hearing people talk in such clarity, but seeing nothing but black. I could feel emotions though, it was just as Merida had said, they felt more like expressions and gestures in comparison to sight.


    ¡°That could not be possible, power at such a scale had not been seen since the time the Titans had reigned our realm. Could the Titans had been revived in some way or another?¡± It was Frigga who spoke, my idol and hero. I wish to be like her someday, pride grew in me as I heard her in person.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± I yelped. Merida pinched my hand, I guess she wants me to stay focus since that she is now Empathetic my feelings are distracting her.


    ¡°No, if they had returned, they would have come straight for us as we slept. But I do feel it is an ancient enemy and as for who it would be, I can not say.¡±


    A warrior whose voice I did not recognize spoke up, ¡°Even though we reached the civilization belated, the aura it left behind trailed through the skies. It does not travel through any Bifrost, it travels through the physical expanse. Whatever it is, it speeds in the heavens as if it were hanging on to Raghoth¡¯s wings.¡± I could sense deep fear in him, a feeling of dread that something had instilled into him.


    A second warrior I recognize and I from whom I also sensed fear from spoke, ¡°We believe it may be headed to a planet under our protection at the fringes of our borders.¡± I assume these two Templars, well, at least assume they are Templars were the ones who encountered this thing.


    A heavy clang rang in my ears, ¡°Agh!¡± I wanted to let go and rub on my ears, but I wanted to listen on.


    Ohden gave out orders, ¡°Very well, you two may go. You had both been valiant in your efforts.¡±


    The feelings of fear had left, I guessed the two Templars had left. I scoffed at Ohden¡¯s praise to these two, if it were I, I would have had chased and hunted and slayed this being. Then brought it back as a trophy.


    It was Frigga with a slight sense of worry in her tone, ¡°What could have done that? Certainly no being originating within our borders.¡±


    ¡°No. Without it doubt it came from beyond our borders. As for how it evaded Heimdall¡¯s sight is what concerns me. It has power and abilities that we are yet not aware of its extense.¡±


    ¡°So what are we to do?¡± Boomed Tor¡¯s voice. It took all of my willpower to not sigh in glee from hearing the voice of my crush, I am sure I will grow out of it but for now I intend to enjoy it no matter how childish it seems.


    ¡°We will send two teams to wherever the trail leads, you will take the point Tor. Find out what this thing is, if you are able to slay it then do so. If you are unable to do so, report back immediately.¡±


    ¡°As you wish Alfather. Am I to select who is to daft me?¡±


    ¡°Your tag companion you may, though I could guess already who you are going to say. But I have two others already at mind.¡±


    ¡°May I ask who they are to be?¡±


    Ohden chuckled lightly, ¡°Impatient as always, Tor my son. They are certainly on their way.¡±


    Their conversation took a surprising turn, Ohden began storytelling about his battle for Tovens we had just fought earlier. It did not seem like anything of importance at this point, even though Merida and I glowed at his compliments about us. However, it was time we sever the connection and get about doing our duties, someone was bound to be missing us sooner or later.


    As soon as Merida broke free I made sense from what I heard, ¡°So from what I could gather in this short bit of tell. Something big had happened in one of warriors scouts to one of the planets, as for which one we don¡¯t know. It had also left Frigga a bit worried and Ohden concerned, but Tor seemed slightly excited.¡± I probably piped up a little too loudly over Tor¡¯s name, but I did not care if my friend knew this or not.


    She just shook her head in amusement, ¡°Yes, that mounts it up.¡±


    A unexpected voice echoed from us, ¡°So you have taken a liking to my brother Tor, have you now.¡± We both jumped around to see who had sneaked upon us.


    I nearly leapt out of my skin in fear, I did not expect to have met this man ever in my lifetime and yet here he stood before us both.


    We both shouted in shock and in full alert, ¡°Loki!¡±

 The Southern Skies - Chapter 2

    Flying down the dimly lit emergency tunnel, the intrepid duo whooped their way down to the heart of the underground complex, a sprawling system of caves stretching from the equator to both poles of the superterran planet. The organic stairway grown from the tree they were descending down had quickly proven to be a challenge for the less physically accomplished augur, and so the two had decided to ride the emergency lift to the bottom.


    ¡°Finch, let¡¯s go again!¡± The bulky wraith exclaimed, ¡°I haven¡¯t had that much since Karoth.¡±


    ¡°Maybe later man, we still have that wraith to take care of remember?¡± Finch reminded him as they regained their wits. They still had a long way to go before reaching tartarus, the prison block he managed as part of his domain.


    The two walked past the entrance and made their way to the airways, waving aside groveling guards all along the way. Finch couldn¡¯t help but grin as they entered the giant wooden tube that glowed blue from the copious amounts of pollen used to lift travelers off the ground and propel them great distances in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°I never get tired of that,¡± the smug sprite gloated to his friend, ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll experience the feeling one day too if you work hard enough Bernard, but probably not right?¡± He ended in a mocking tone.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not a power hungry monster like you,¡± He grinned back, jumping out of the station and into the embrace of the force distribution network of microscopic spores. ¡°But I can still beat you all day in here, last one to there¡¯s a withered augur!¡± He called back as he hurtled down the tunnel.


    Grumbling a little at his friend¡¯s early start, Finch shot off the platform and propelled himself hundreds of meters per second after his friend. The airways were seldom used by the various personnel living and working in the underground complex, and most couldn¡¯t handle such high speeds anyways. These tunnels were made for transporting troops and allowing the various lords to maintain their territories, though obviously Bernard had bestowed upon them a new calling. After several minutes of traveling he finally reached their destination, crashing into his previously gloating friend to break his momentum.


    ¡°God, you fucking asshole,¡± the younger sprite complained, ¡°what do you think the stabilizers were made for? You¡¯re gonna get us both killed one day you know that?¡±


    ¡°I thought the great wraith captain could handle it, you did beat me in that race right?¡± Finch grinned. Ignoring his annoyed friend¡¯s muttering he exited the rather plain station, a single cavern with only a few seats to rest and recover in, leading the way to the gargantuan prison they had been making their way towards.


    After inserting his whiskers into the scanner, the still grinning lord of the underworld led his friend through a set of doors and onto a high walkway over a massive prison block. ¡°This is it bro, time to get serious,¡± He cautioned his friend as he summoned an overseer to attend to them. Bulbous on one side and flat on the other, a floating bot flew up and out of the prison, intercepting them as they crossed over the brightly lit chasm.


    Inserting his long, slender fingers into the edges on the flat side of the robotic prison warden, Finch started going through the prison¡¯s private network, searching for the specter that was the cause of his worries. Unfortunately, it seemed that destiny had different ideas about what should happen. At precisely the time that the strange ripple reached the planet, the ghostly being had gone berserk and escaped somehow from its confinement.


    ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll have to go hunting,¡± he shook his head, ¡°that thing is definitely on the loose. And angry too by the looks of it.¡±


    ¡°Perfect,¡± Bernard made a rather painful expression, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve got any other good news for me, do you? Let me guess, the inmates are also out right?¡±


    ¡°Actually yes,¡± Finch replied after a moment of looking through the overseer¡¯s report, though with none of the usual glee that would normally accompany such a statement, ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll have our hands full for a little while.¡±


    ¡°Well isn¡¯t this just perfect,¡± the ape-like wraith repeated himself, the feelers growing from his limbs and spine rippling with dissatisfaction, ¡°I swear this system never seems to work when we really need it.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°When it rains, it pours right?¡± Finch walked over to the ledge, ¡°It¡¯s actually intentional though, we don¡¯t want the thing getting hungry and coming up before we can send someone to take care of it right?¡± Grinning he glanced over at the somewhat uncomfortable soldier, ¡°Now drop us down to the bottom, we need to hurry up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a real slave driver you know that?¡± Bernard picked up the smug augur and shoved him in an uncomfortable position down a newly formed pouch on his midrift, taking on a vague resemblance to the kangaroo¡¯s of earth. ¡°Comfortable?¡± he asked while growing shock absorbers inside and around various parts of his body, ¡°because ready or not, here we go.¡±


    Taking a plunge from the walkway, the two left the overseer far behind as they hurtled down into the chasm that decorated the enormous cavern known as tartarus. For eighteen seconds they fell, going much farther down than they had down the tree to get to the underground caverns. After several hundred meters of free fall the behemoth of a sprite landed on his feet before promptly falling onto his ass, his whole body vibrating and several vines thrashing to get redirect the excess momentum.


    ¡°Remind me never to do that again,¡± Finch groaned as he stuck his head out of the pouch, ¡°I think i¡¯m gonna puke.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be such a baby,¡± Bernard retorted, ¡°it wasn¡¯t that bad. I handle worse pretty much every other week. And didn¡¯t you say to get serious? Get out man, we don¡¯t have all day¡±


    Clumsily crawling out and then proceeding to fall on his face, Finch finally started to collect himself. With a slight sway in his step he walked towards another tree, one of the few that graced this area. Pitch black with pure white leaves, the monochromatic monstrosity loomed over the even a fifteen foot wraith like Bernard.


    ¡°Time to finally get this show on the road,¡± Finch muttered to himself as he walked through the rippling trunk of the enormous tree. Before going all the way through he turned and looked back at his friend with a grin, ¡°Follow me Bernard, I doubt you¡¯ve ever been inside of the actual prison, and it would be bad if you got lost.¡± Then, without another word, he was gone.


    Bernard stared agape at the now very inconspicuous tree, he had never thought the entrance to the prison would be hidden behind such advanced technology, or even that this apparent portal even existed. After a few more moments of staring, he hurried to follow Finch through the portal.


    Walking inside the tree proved to be a strange experience even compared to the warrior¡¯s expectations. As he walked inside the trunk he could feel reality shifting and warping around him, causing his body and even spirit to ripple. This strange passage to the prison was completely dark except a bright spot of light at some point ahead of him, and without any sign of Finch he could only try to get to the source of that light. With each step images would flash across reality, scenes of his childhood as a rather small sprout living in the capital city of their glorious planet, alfheim, his life as a soldier fighting the rival tribe of slimy freaks that had been vying for their territory, and everything in between. After what seemed to be the entirety of his life was displayed around him, the glowing speck of light started to glow brighter and flew into his chest.


    ¡°So it was an actual speck, not a door,¡± Bernard pondered while stroking his whiskers, ¡°but now what do I do?¡±


    ¡°You open your eyes,¡± came a voice from behind him. Jumping up in shock the wraith sprang away from the presence before realizing who it was. Strangely enough he found he had his eyes closed as well, and when he opened them he found himself in an even stranger place than before.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± a monochromatic Finch grinned at him, obviously reveling in his confusion, ¡°Perfect place for a prison right?¡±


    ¡°Where are we?¡± the big man managed to stutter out, obviously a bit overwhelmed by the place, ¡°How did you manage something like this?¡±


    ¡°The miracles of science my friend,¡± the augur¡¯s grin grew even wider, ¡°I created these trees myself a couple centuries ago, it¡¯s why I¡¯m the lord of the underworld today.¡± Allowing the grin to fade away Finch reminded his friend of the dangers, ¡°Right now though we need to get to work, this entire area is infested with imprisoned invaders, and once they know we¡¯re here things will start to get messy.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± the wraith gave a short reply, scanning their surroundings for any hostiles. As a seasoned veteran of  the last 3 wars, he had plenty of experience fighting enemies in unfamiliar environments. He would be ready when the fighting started, and they would get out of this alive.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be that serious man,¡± Finch reassured the big man, ¡°We won¡¯t be dealing with the rabble. Watch,¡± he gestured around them as their surroundings started to warp, ¡°there¡¯s only a few people in this godforsaken place that could get past this shield, and even then they would be easy to pick off with your strength once they got inside. The only problem is the wraith, that thing is going to be a little more trouble to take down.¡±


    ¡°I should have expected this,¡± Bernard murmured, ¡°then let¡¯s get going and finish the job, I¡¯d rather not be wherever we are for long if I can help it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry bro, I got this,¡± Finch drawled, unaware of the danger that would inevitably come after so much buildup, ¡°now let¡¯s go.¡±