《A Bag Of Bones》


 Let The Summons Begin

    Well, I am Somer, some would call me the most unfortunate person on Earth and some would repeatedly associate my name with bad luck. But, to me all of my accidents and unfortunate events are a daily occurrences of life. I take it all in strides and try to have a rather normal life. It''s true I''m an Orphan and don''t tend to mix well with other due to my introverted nature, but I get by.


    This one day, while on my way to the university I suddenly blacked out. Actually, it''s more like I noticed a speedy truck lose its balance and hurl itself towards me like couples would during their first night.


    Ah, I thought I was on my transit to heaven or hell it was all black, I guess it was to heighten the suspense. Man, it''s been forever would someone please hurry it up?


    Yes, I did repeatedly cry during this phase and cursed myself for many of my regrets, no one would actually miss me. I didn''t make many friends and was mostly by myself. Ah, what a tragedy


    But, eventually I sobered up and started wondering what''s happening. That''s when I heard this voice, " Please destroy this world" and that''s when I blacked out and woke up to where I am now.


    Well, I would''ve screamed if I could but the only noice that came out of my were *clacks*clacks*


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.I was turned into a skeleton!!!!


    "What? Is this hell? What''s this nonsense?!!"


    I was lying on some slab of bones within a circle made of corpses tied with ropes, eerie. And it seemed to be in some sort of underground chamber because It was dark and damp as hell.


    I first got used to the feeling of moving my body/skeleton around and making sure my bones just don''t simply fall off. That''s when the message hit me again.


    It was in a language I couldn''t understand but I got the gist of it, this place belonged to a very strong person who was betrayed by the people of the kingdom where he was from, lost his family and summoned me as a last resort with his dying breath to destroy the kingdom.


    And truthfully I don''t want to become a part of someone''s plot for revenge. I''m not the type and he screwed up his calculations because instead of a monster I got pulled here.


    Also, I was scared here, from what I could see it seems Individual power triumphs over the concept of morals or democracy. Shit!!!!!


    I made my way towards the door of this place and gently pushed it open and what presented itself before me was a cave of some sort and alot of skeletons such as myself just walking around clacking at each other.


    No one bothered to even look at my direction even though this huge door fell with such a loud ''thud''.


    Ah, this is crazy.....

 The End?

    Well, it''s been two days since I''ve been here and observed everything there is to within the cave system.


    Incidentally there are many types of skeletons, the stronger once living deep within and weaker ones such as myself left here at the entrance, bare naked I might add.


    It seems like a nice life, I don''t do much other than simply walk around and observe my fellow brethren.


    It was on the night of the second day that I heard these voices,


    "Ah, it''s so boring let''s just kill a few of them to let off some steam, I heard the Shrew Caves recently gave off some magic energy"


    "Seriously? There''s this new move I always wanted to try"


    "Haha, lets let''s"


    It hit me then, how can I understand this language it''s like nothing I''ve heard before and these guys are going to massacre us here. I had enough knowledge about games to know what would happen next and just rushed past everyone carefully making sure not get disassembled if I ever bumped into someone, towards the magicians cave. But, the entrance was not there anymore, just a plane cave wall, what the hell?!!!This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    That''s when I heard it, and saw it, even though I had no eyes or ears. Humans holding fire and shooting fire at my brethren. I got it, these guys are mutants of some sort and are going to wipe us out completely.


    My kind rushed at them but got cut down by one human with a blond hair holding a shiny sword and another red headed person breathing fire.


    My sense of self preservation hit its peak and I just ran deeper into the cave, all the while hearing the noises of these crazy genocidal maniacs and them eradicating my lesser kind.


    I ran until I came across this skeleton that looked like it had better intelligence than the rest and was holding a shield and sword, and I tried screaming at him to go out and fight but then I remembered I had no tongue and just kept clacking, shit. The weird skeleton kept looking at me like I had gone nuts and that''s when it happened, my back felt this intense heat and I just blacked out and horrified as my final sight was that of my shielded brethren torn to pieces by a sword.


    SEAL RELEASED, AUTOMATIC REGENERATION INITIATED.


    REPAIR INITIATED, MERGING WITH THE ALPHA EYE OF THE GREAT SEER MAJUS ALEXANDER.


    DESTROY THOSE WHO HAD BETRAYED ME.

 An Unprepared Debut

    Somer had found himself in a new world, a world devoid of any color except a harrowing whiteness. His body/skeleton, nowhere to be found, no cave, none of his fellow brethren, just the whiteness.


    ''Ah, I died again. How unfortunate, just when I was coming to terms with my new self a disaster strikes. Maybe I should look around, the last time it was a world of darkness and now this, a complete opposite, maybe it''s all connected...''


    Just when Somer was ready to bury his grief and busy himself with his newfound world a faint whisper almost as if speaking to his soul could be heard, "It is".


    Somer was stunned, he looked back at the origin of the voice and what he found was an old man with his face hidden behind a hood and donned in a splendorous ankle length golden robe, embroidered with a five petal flower of an unknown origin sewed at his left chest area, perhaps an indication of his origins or rank? He was barefooted simply floating on the whiteness of the world.


    "This should be out first official meeting my dear friend, I must say you got murdered earlier than I had anticipated, Ho Ho Ho..." said the old man as he continued without giving a chance to reply "Anyway, that''s good, I can finally pass my legacy on to you, my prot¨¦g¨¦, my spear against this broken corrupt kingdom and my final salvation"


    As the old man moved to touch Somer''s head with his forefinger, Somer willed his consciousness to move back and immediately retaliated, "Hey!!!!! Hold up for a second, Who are you? What is this? What salvation? and most importantly how is any of this connected?"


    "Ah, of course, in my zealous state of mind I entirely forgot my manners. Well, as far as introductions go I am Majus Alexander, one of the most talented Mage of The Safret Kingdom, a father and a husband. But, I was betrayed by my own people, my own kind, when I lead them to victory after victory against the Beasts Of Oblivion, the emperor jealous of my achievements and worried of popularity and the stakes I could hold for the Crown against the nobility plotted my downfall. He killed everyone that I ever cared for and bribed those that were strong and turned them all against me, I lost everything... Oh my dear Sara...."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Somer felt awkward watching the old man shed tears as he looked away, a sense of nostalgia emanating from him.


    "I was gravely wounded and needed a way to repay them in kind. I had found an ancient tablet that spoke of a way of making one immortal, but not invincible, one would never age but could be fallen in battle, of a method of regeneration that would even put the reptilian beats to shame, that would regenerate you as a whole as long as a miniscule part remains. But, we humans were not compatible with it in both body and soul, and a soul of a beast was too unstable to use, so my only alternative was to pull a suitable one out from the great river of souls of reincarnation, and gave you a body best suited for regeneration and thus you are here...."


    Majus gave me some time to let these details sink in, he was giving me great strength but at the cost of freedom.


    I had no qualms about fulfilling his request, but I was grossly unprepared both emotionally and physically, after all wasn''t I killed by some brats not too long ago?


    "I understand you a lot of questions to ask but this is just my projection, and my time is limited, I used my dying breath to get you here. I have only one request, Please kill those who betrayed me as I''ve been subtly reminding you about it....."


    ''Subtle my ass, you''ve been screaming that into my head ever since I got to this world''


    "Also, The Alpha Eye was my most priced creation, it allows you to see the flow of Soul Force, use it with care and Somer you''re free from any bonds with me once you revenge me.... and..... be... careful...... nobil......"


    "What?!!!! Hey, wait a minute..... Hey, how do I get out of here?!!!"


    I willed myself towards his disappearing visage, pissed to the extreme with his sly grin as he finally vanished.

 Meeting Another

    In an empty, dark and damp cave littered with skeletons of various sizes and various shades of white, as if suggestive of a graveyard, there was a very conspicuous event occurring, a skeleton slowly awoke with a flickering of its eyes, this seemingly undamaged skeleton suddenly made a loud *Clack*


    ''Ahhhhhhh, that crazy old moron. How many years was I stuck in that white hell and why did that golden door appear after so long?''


    All sorts of questions crossed Somer''s mind and suddenly as if realizing something the skeleton began touching every part of its body, or rather what constitutes the bony anatomy of one.


    ''Hmm, I am whole again.''


    After a bit more touching of himself *Cough* in a manner that would put a break-dancer to shame, it made another *Clack*


    ''Ah, even my back has healed. Does the length of time I spend in that white hell depend on how severely my body is damaged? Do I go there even for the most trivial of injuries or amputations? Can''t I be conscious throughout this process? Otherwise it would make me a very easy target, who knows I might even become the subject of some horrid experimentation if I ever get caught.'' thought Somer.


    ''That old man didn''t even bother explaining how I''m supposed to get stronger, or rather, did he not know it himself? I am a unique existence after all.'' *Sigh/Clack* ''I''m on my own again''


    Thinking this Somer started walking deeper into the caves hoping for an answer as only death awaited him if he ever left the caves.


    The caves were of quite an intricate design and complex one at that with many branching pathways, but Somer never felt lost. It was as if the cave itself was guiding him inwards. How Somer knew this was the right path? Well the carnage left behind by the two marauders might have been a big clue to anyone willing to acknowledge it.


    As Somer walked deeper and deeper he noticed how the walls became less irregular and jagged and more uniform and the path turned into a corridor of sorts.


    The walls had some very curiosity provoking designs, hieroglyphs of some sort, a femur here, a pelvis there and some other bones put together made a weird design of sorts. Somer couldn''t make head or tales of these designs but knew that these were the language of his brethren, also, the number of dismembered skeletons had reduced significantly and were not seen anymore.


    ''HALT!!!''


    A thunderous roar could be heard in Somer''s head which almost made him self-destruct and then a new pain began...


    ''Alpha Eye Analysis complete : Ability to make noises with spacial vibrations created, integrating with subject, kindly hold on''


    ''Ahhhhhhh.......''


    After a few more moments of rough clacking sounds Somer managed to get a hold of himself and realized that there was some extra information in his head, one which would make communicating with others possible, the joy however was overcome with fear of how open he was to an attack, a fatal one.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "You managed to survive that? Aren''t you an interesting one?"


    Somer looked at the direction of the sound and could make out a Skeleton much larger than himself with a complete set of fine black colored armor donned on him and standing behind some sort of a thin blue screen.


    He spoke again, "It doesn''t matter. You''re a low ranked foot soldier who somehow managed to survive the earlier battle or cowardly hid somewhere right? You probably can''t even reply no less understand what I''m saying. A real pity"


    Somer realized that the Alpha eye had scrutinized the other skeleton''s speech and added more information into his head regarding the language and the method of conveying thoughts through it, though this time it only gave him a mild headache and not the brain splitting one from earlier.


    As Somer took his time digesting the new information and the implications it held he noticed that the guard like skeleton having gotten bored of him started moving back to where he came.


    "What battle?" Somer used the magic to manipulate the air to create is first words he had truly spoken since coming here, sadly it wasn''t eureka.


    The guard skeleton shocked at the revelation that the lesser one could speak took a look at the skeleton again, a long hard one at that.


    "Did you just speak?" he questioned.


    "I suppose so, though I''m currently having a hard time figuring out what happened earlier. Everyone seems to have perished while I lay unconscious..... I''m not sure for how long. Can you please help me in that regard?"


    *Pfffftt*"Hahahahahahahahahaha, so you got so beaten up you mutated huh? Hahahahahahaha, that''s a first. Though I''m glad you''re alive I can''t let you in'' you need to be stronger, to show your worth to join our ''Order''.


    But yeah, two spoiled human brats came here a month ago hoping to get a good score and started killing the lesser ones, but unfortunately for them they ran into one of our Order guards and got beaten within the inch of their life.


    Hmm, I think they were nobles or something because a whole brigade came here next and started a whole new massacre. We the guards were forced to take action and pushed them back for a while until their mage showed up *sigh*.


    We had to finally hole up ourselves here and three of our mages had to sacrifice their lives to put up this shield that eventually saved us. We Beats of Oblivion live longer than these human, se we''ll take our sweet time planning out our revenge, but for you I can''t simply pull the shield down for you, you''re on your own."


    Somer realized that this was getting out of hand and immediately replied, "Wait, just tell me how can I get stronger? Being turned into bone paste by crazy genocidal brats isn''t exactly a good experience"


    "Ah, lesser one we ''The Beats Of Oblivion'' get stronger by training or experiencing battle with our own kind or humans, if not then bathing in the blood of the human victims that fell to our hands and blades. The humans are like cockroaches everywhere so that might not be an issue, the latter one that is."


    "Then be off lesser one, you could get killed by stronger beats if you loiter here for too long, you are after all near the core of Shrew Caves."


    Somer however lost all interest in the guard skeleton after he had heard one month, ''So, it takes a month to heal from a miniscule part of myself and this Alpha eye is really too amazing....''


    ''Alpha Eye activated :


    Shield too complicated to completely analyze at current level, however a simpler version is being created.


    Skeleton breathing movements and sword capabilities scrutinized, appears complicated, simpler version created...''


    All of a sudden Somer''s eyes had a blue spark which seemed permanent and also his posture got more upright and his breathing got more controlled and uniform His bones exuded a little bit of dirt outside and got a shade fairer. Though his clumsy movements reduced they weren''t entirely overcome.


    Somer however was overjoyed, this gave him a fighting chance, a way to survive.


    The guard had left long ago wondering if he wasted his time since he doubted that the lesser of his kind understood anything at all.


    Somer silently made his way back towards his previous location preparing himself mentally for the things he had to do.


    A new journey had indeed begun

 First Contact

    In a conspicuous corner of a darker region within a cave one would notice a weird humanoid, well almost humanoid, like creature jumping up and down, sometimes swinging a sword, sometimes just rolling around, sideways mostly, with a few bones falling off recurringly, with a weird *clack* accompanying it.


    This extremely embarrassing existence was Somer.


    It had been a month since his fateful meeting with his higher brethren who was helpful(maybe?) enough to impart some words of advice regarding the greater world beyond and the events the transpired in the Shrew Caves earlier.


    -Somer-


    Well, it has been thirty days since my recent adventure into the caves and I''ve managed to get a hold of myself. My footing seems to have balanced itself out and weirdly I can feel my bony structure get congealed well. I feel whole now unlike before when I had to concentrate to prevent my bones from indiscriminately falling off.


    And my breathing, my ability to take in the soul force around and make my own, that seems to have gotten better. I don''t feel fatigued even after an entire day of training. And that weird shield, my only hope against the unfair world now seems to become imprinted into my mind, it feels natural to use it now, but I better use it only at tough times, what''s the point of putting all your cards on the table from the get go, right?


    Even so, should I go outside the caves? It''s so scary out there, but I never know when those genocidal maniacs will return? And considering they got defeated there''s no possibility of them showing me any mercy whatsoever.


    Ahh! Blasted Majus Alexander and his antics, stupid people and their unwanted revenge......


    I had a normal life and this happens, well death isn''t really a happy thing but now that moron went and gave me near immortal powers, even then death is painful and scary... Can I kill off the entire human race like he wants me to? Can I become someone capable of killing without remorse or any form of sadness?


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Ugh, time will tell I guess, I have to take my first steps out of this graveyard first. Ah, I hate this aloneness, it''s annoying. Well, I don''t have a choice now do I?


    Well, here goes.


    ---30 minutes later----


    A skeleton was seen running towards the entry of a very large cave, almost at top speed it would seem.


    ''Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh''


    *clack**clack**clack*


    ''No way in heavens was that possible, what on earth was that heaven defying existence, I don''t believe my eyes......


    Wait, I have no eyes... that doesn''t matter now. That strange thing, like scythes all over and over two meters, that was the most craziest thing I''ve ever seen....''


    "Hello comrade, nothing like a good morning jog to roust you for the day eh?"


    "No......" Somer articulated magically almost going pale, err, as pale as a skeleton can be, figuratively of course, as it saw the haunting creature right behind him staring intently at him as if almost measuring him up to decide how to devour him.


    "No? Oh right, you seem to have been running, well, to each his own then eh? Who am I to judge?" The creature replied smiling or so it thought.


    Somer simply fainted, the emotional and mental shock was too much for him.


    ''Alpha Eye integrating new language, language interpreted, language added''.


    "What are you doing there Jones, Shrew Caves was recently ransacked, not good to stay near here. We need to report this to Altidor."


    "Well, Remser I happen to come across this skelly, a possible survivor of this unfortunate ordeal. We might learn much from him. Also, I suppose he mutated somehow, he seems smarter than the rest and ran faster than the lesser skelly kind usually do. Almost gave me a run for my money this one and stranger still he seems to have fainted, when was the last time you saw a skelly faint? They''re too stubborn for that sort of thing"


    "Hmm? Well, we do need every beast we can get if this battle is going to be won, and we can get new intel on the matter. Skellies were on friendly terms with us after all. Fine, let''s take him to Altidor and leave before more humans come hunting here, it''s too close to the walls"


    "Commendable call my comrade, let''s make haste..."


    And in a such a manner two creatures, of a different nature took Somer and made for their base deeper into the forest towards a deeply hidden location.

 A Brief Respite

    In a bustling corner of a densely vegetated area of a large forest one could see a camp, a camp filled with atrocities of sorts, creatures so terrifying it¡¯d make anyone question one¡¯s very own eyes, that is, if they have any.


    In a large tent of the center of the camp, one would even term it as beautiful and resplendent, Alas in front of it lay spikes with the beheaded bodies of humans torn in the most grotesque manner possible, not less that 6.


    ¡°Jolly good day captain¡± remarked Jones.


    ¡°Shut yer trap you moron, what¡¯s with that damn fleshless thing you got with yer? Its got the camp in rows. Or, do you swing that way?¡± replied a more terrifying looking beast of a similar look to Jones in a surprised look.


    ¡°No, no Captain, never would¡¯ve considered such a thing! Well, during our scouting mission Remser and I came across this skelly which was surprising considering the recent ¡®cleansing¡¯ the humans had performed on the skellies.....¡±


    ¡°So?!¡±


    ¡°Er... well sir we thought why not bring him here to enquire about any survivors, and also to get a more detailed version of what actually transpired there. And.....¡±


    ¡°Hmm, And?¡±


    ¡°To make use of his assistance in our beleaguered situation regarding Tenes city, I mean surely noncombatants are as important, especially in deadlock situations, sir. He could be our informant after a little tweaking here and there or even a decoy if you will, every little bit counts eh?¡±


    ¡°Me be damned Jones, sure skellies were ¡®the¡¯ things of reckoning back during Lord Rook¡¯s reign but now, they¡¯re just play things for humans, something to hunt during their spare time, a damn toy in their eyes. It¡¯d be a joke to see one among our veterans in a war, and to train one up from scratch, I¡¯ll be damned if I even entertain such a thought even for a wisp of my precious time. And, where the hell did you keep this mutt? Not to mention where the hell is Remser?!!¡±


    ¡°The skelly is in my tent sir and Remser, well he is....... eh, relieving himself, sir¡±


    ¡°........¡±


    ¡°Coitus sir, he¡¯s having......¡±


    ¡°I GET THE DAMN INNUENDO JONES!!!!! TELL HIM TO MEET ME NOW!!!¡±


    -Somer-


    Ugh


    Hmm, where on earth did I end up in. This place it looks like some sort of laboratory..... wait, how did I get here, oh no, it¡¯s that knify creature, it brought me here, are they going to dissect me? Oh no, wait, I don¡¯t have organs anymore and I¡¯m practically naked in the truest sense, what¡¯s there to dissect?


    And this tent, it¡¯s very well made and sturdy not to mention the books littered here and there, what is all this?


    Okay, calm yourself Somer you need to revaluate your situation now, first I¡¯m in enemy territory and second I¡¯m practically clueless regarding this world. Well, these two are fatal separately and now I got the bonus deal, I¡¯m seriously screwed.


    Okay, no time to freak out and faint like last time I¡¯ll die without knowing anything.


    Hmm, Oh My God it came back!!!


    Cool cool, you¡¯re alive, you¡¯re alive, there¡¯s still hope...


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Make our lord happy


    For he is supreme


    Make our lord happy


    And his throne agleam


    Here they come, our warriors


    Glorious are they


    Here they come, our warriors


    Victorious witnessed by fey


    Eradicate the lands of human taint


    Their greed abound


    The self titled saints


    Their minds unsound


    Here they come


    The servants of our lord


    Here they come


    Of their own accord


    Here they come


    Their lives their reward


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Both a skeletonised creature and a being like the scythed companion of the grim reaper himself just started at each other in the tent, the skeleton seemed to almost be wincing, if a skeleton could wince, at the song that just entered his ear while the creature looked overjoyed, and then it remarked, ¡°Hahaha, so Striker team made it eh, well that¡¯s something, don¡¯t you think comrade? Ah, I almost forget you¡¯re a skeleton, you have your own language, you folk always seemed aloof not mingling with the other beasts going as far as to make your own language, well you do know that since the purge of the skellies after Lord Rook¡¯s death by the humans you guys are nearing extinction? That¡¯d be a shame. Anyway, you just compounded the difficulty of my task my dear comrade, *sigh* so I should teach you the language of The Beasts Of Oblivion now....... hmm, how do I put it.... I know I have a book somewhere here..... give me a moment comrade I must polish my skelly..... been a while since I¡¯ve learnt it..... Ah, there we go,¡¯ A Report On The Prideful Rook¡¯ by Jean Clad¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    -Somer-


    What the hell was that song, it seemed like someone with long nails was scratching a gravel board, ah the mental pain, damn it. And that loud cheer after, they¡¯re celebrating.....


    What the hell is up with this guy, I can understand him just fine, what¡¯s he going on about.....


    Wait, does he think I can¡¯t understand him, is he serious, is it the Alpha Eye? That makes sense, it even helped me understand that big version of myself then in the caves.


    Hmm, should I just come clean?


    Will that be preferable?


    What should I do?


    Screw this!


    ¡°Hmm, I can understand you....¡±


    :Silence:


    Just when Somer spoke the creature stopped opening the book and stared in surprise, just then another similar looking creature except sweating and covered with yellow shell on its head just barged in.


    ¡°Jones, remember that human Roselton, that dastard brigadier captain who took out our defences last week, he¡¯s dead, man he¡¯s deader than dead. Hahahahaha, finally some good news, we even got some captives to play around with this time around¡±


    The laughter of the second one got drowned by the awkward silence in the room.


    Remser in his ecstasy muddled head didn¡¯t really catch on to it until he didn¡¯t get a reply, ¡°Oi Jones, you alright?¡±


    ¡°He spoke our language Remser¡±


    ¡°Jones, we Beasts speak the same language¡±


    ¡°No no, Lord Rook created a new one for these skellies alone during the warring era to discourage saboteurs and spies¡±


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t you say he¡¯s mutated or something, I mean skeletons are knows to be quite tenacious and mutation prone¡±


    ¡°Yes, that could explain a couple of things that I¡¯ve been observing with our guest here, quite remarkable indeed. So, do you get what we¡¯re talking about Skelly?¡±


    [Somer]¡°Yeah, sort of. Though it¡¯s still a bit unclear sometimes. Hmm, am I a prisoner?¡±


    [Remser]¡±Well do you feel the need to constantly remind everyone that you skeletons where the supreme rulers time and again?¡±


    [Somer]¡±No, not particularly¡±


    [Remser]¡±Then you¡¯re fine by me¡±


    [Jones]¡±Remser take this a bit seriously. *sigh* Well, this saves me a world of trouble comrade, I¡¯ve got a lot of things to ask you but I have the nagging suspicion that you just recently mutated with no knowledge of what transpired earlier, am I to assume I¡¯m right?¡±


    [Somer]¡±I suppose so, if you¡¯re talking about the caves I can only tell you that it¡¯s the work of the humans....¡±


    [Remser]*Snort*


    [Somer]¡±... and I was unconscious until I woke up recently¡±


    [Jones]¡±Ah, you have the most untimely fainting sessions comrade, something we must work on. The world is too chaotic to let you chose to fall asleep at the most inappropriate times¡±


    [Somer]¡±Sorry about that, I¡¯m yet to overcome that flaw of mine¡±


    [Jones]¡±Hahahaha, at ease comrade, we mean no harm to you as we consider all beasts our allies especially now more than ever, a war is brewing, and...........¡±


    -AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHH *gasp* AHHHHH NO PLEASE NOOO!!!!!!!-


    -silence-


    [Remser]¡±God damn it Jones, the human games have begun and I¡¯d be damned if I let Felic get one over me again, common you¡¯re going to be my wingman, we¡¯re taking the price home tonight¡±


    [Jones]¡±*sigh* Alright Remser, lets go Somer it¡¯s time to introduce you to our camp¡±

 Shocking Reality

    As soon as Somer reached outside he was shocked, not by the appearance of these creatures, no he was accustomed to it for a while now, it was the organised manner in which they conducted themselves and the way their tents were put up, this would be the pinnacle of discipline, if a psychologist were here he¡¯d remark it as a plague version of OCD.


    The tents were put in a circumferential manner to the center and there was a gap between two tents, roads perhaps and the tents themselves seemed to be made out of mud, almost as if carved into the earth and each was at least as big as a regular sized truck, in front of each tent was at least one spear with the mangled headless body of what once would¡¯ve been a human being or resembled one.


    [Jones]¡±Hmm, Remser I just remembered, the cap wanted a word with you, I wouldn¡¯t keep him waiting....¡±


    [Remser]¡±Shit Jones, that should¡¯ve been the first thing you told me, I¡¯m late, we¡¯ll talk about this later, I need to go now¡±


    And the creature with the weird yellow shell on his head ran ahead towards what seemed like the center of the camp.


    [Jones]¡±Well, personal introductions have been delayed, I¡¯m Jones, the second chief strategist of our Troops, not much I know but with the Khol on our side now we¡¯ve got a huge fighting chance with the mages of the humans and the knights. And the other one, that was Remser, one of our best scouts and arguable the most promiscuous Drathean alive, hahaha, he shines in the most unexpected places¡±


    [Somer]¡±Can you please sort of elaborate on everything? I have little to no knowledge about anything here. And I¡¯m Somer by the way, also what was that screaming just now, I didn¡¯t really get it¡±


    ¡¯That¡¯s strange, was that English?¡¯


    [Jones]¡±Ah, that¡¯s the human tongue, as they term it, literally. They use their throats like some tube and push air through it to make some weird noises, it isn¡¯t like the magical construct we have you see, they¡¯re weird that way, it does make talking possible when you¡¯re low on mana though so that¡¯s a plus, but very inconvenient when you have your throat crushed *giggle*. It takes a while but you¡¯ll eventually learn it, Cap Altidor made it mandatory for all his soldiers, so you¡¯ve got to learn it too and by the way I should add on the fact that you¡¯ve got quite and aptitude in magic, those who pick up language easily, well let¡¯s say it¡¯s an indicator for talent in magic, crude I know but it¡¯s time tested.


    It¡¯s still too early to tell but yeah I gues you get the bit don.... Not there Bill the trench should be a little to the left, yeah thanks.... oh where was I? yeah, these humans captured were the Brigadiers of Jiset and Carth, they¡¯ve been a thorn to us ever since we started our campaign to overthrow Tenese City, them going down is a big boon for us all comrade, and the timing couldn¡¯t have been perfect¡±


    Jones was a very amicable person, he did explain most of what I needed to know. The first being the current situation of the Drathean and Khol trying to take the city of Tenese together, since that would be a strategically one of the most successful mission due to the string of defeats they¡¯ve been having recently. The current war was going on because the new Beasts Of Oblivion Lord Hector wished for total annihilation of all humans and made it a mandate to kill them at sight. Following that, what he expected of me, well, he was being extremely direct here, he wanted me to infiltrate the city and weaken their city wide barriers, of course it was a plan it came up with just now, and it depended heavily on me being a magically endowed being and probably days, weeks, months or years of practice, how ever long it might take. At least I¡¯m one of the alternate plans, so no pressure, I suppose?


    [Jones]¡±This war has been going on for 130 years now and I¡¯m fed up with the stalemate we¡¯ve been stuck with here at Tenese since the last 10 years, we need a bloody breakthrough or the Lord won¡¯t be pleased and trust me, never get on the bad side of your bosses Somer, it¡¯s a death wish...... Somer? Comrade?¡±


    -Somer POV-


    What is that thing? It looks like a Panda but it¡¯s atrocious, those read crimson eyes, those fangs and its fur, can it even be termed as fur anymore? It¡¯s more like the scales of an armour. And what¡¯s with his height he¡¯s easily 5 meters and that thing besides him, that failure of a Panda is at least 3 meters, what the hell are they?!! And what is that Panda nibbling on?!! Is that a human leg?!!


    Dude, you¡¯re collapsing my universe man, Panda are some of the cutest loving creatures, why would you tarnish that image in my head, you¡¯re hurting my brain, no this cannot be, no no no....


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Jones]¡±Ah, he got your attention didn¡¯t he? That mighty young thing there is Rafael, he¡¯s impressive even by Khols¡¯ standards. At the young age of 7 he managed to kill his first knight trainee, at the age of 12 he took out a whole platoon of knight trainees and got us the head of a noble, don¡¯t quite remember his name though, Oh and at the age of 16 he took out a group of 3 mage apprentices during the siege of Kilendo, it took us just 3 days to dethrone that stupid city thanks to him. As Tender as he might look he¡¯s a capable beast¡±


    [Somer]¡¯Tender!!! Tender my ass, he looks like the most feral thing nature could¡¯ve conjured up, an utterly huge mistake of genes and divine intervention married and divorced the same day, that¡¯s no ¡®Tender¡¯ thing, that¡¯s an abomination!!! Wait... actually you all look like abominations to me, maybe it¡¯s time I get accustomed to this..¡¯


    ¡°Hahaha, yeah Jones he¡¯s impressive.....¡±


    [Jones]¡±Ah, and the blockhead next to him chewing on the human leg is Fistidus, he must¡¯ve won the first round of the Human Games, he always gets something, sly one that, tend to yourself around him comrade. Ah I forget, the Human Games is basically done when we get prisoners, we choose the four most strong looking, leave them half dead in front of their kith and kin and slowly and gradually wear them down, it¡¯s a war of attrition haha. You have to draw lots and place bets, my luck here is abysmal at best *sigh*¡±


    Just then Somer noticed the Human prisoners, there were twelve bloodied and injured humans kept in a cage of sorts which gave out sparks every now and then and in front of the cage a cleared out field on which four humans, two men and two women, were suspended by a bar flying magically mid air, one of them, the male on the extreme left was conspicuously missing a leg and the other three were shivering, their screams stifled by magic and the sparks jumping about their bodies.


    As Somer was observing the magic applied on the bar, he noticed something from the corner of his visual field, a beautiful woman at the centre of the prisoner group, almost as if being hidden and protected from the eyes of my beastkin, she looked..... civilised, with her creamy brown skin colour, dull brown hair, her upturned nose, grey iris and her extravagant armour, she was definitely of a dignified status, not a commoner at all and the way these people are protecting her despite being terrified, devotion. Hmm, interesting.


    -Melissa¡¯s POV-


    Blasted beasts, we let ourselves underestimate them and got caught in this poor excuse for an ambush, Roselton even went and got himself killed, he was supposed to usher us ¡®The Maidens Of Jiset¡¯ into the limelight after having caught this Khol responsible for the death of a nobel and now he¡¯s dead, these men can never be accounted for. Our first mission was supposed to be a shining success.


    We made ourselves into a joke and I¡¯ve even lost Isabella, Colonel Jesper is going to chew me a new one, that is, if I manage to make it out of this ordeal alive and the most shocking news is going to be the fact that the Drathens and the Khol have joined forces, we are too unprepared to be able to handle such a force, it could be bad, very bad.


    But, I¡¯m stuck here and damn it they have Rose hanging on that blasted bar, she was our only capable mage, we could¡¯ve orchestrated a jailbreak somehow......


    What the hell, why is that skeleton looking at me like that, is it a mage, why is it¡¯s eyes burning that eerie blue..


    [Random Soldier whispers]¡±Ma¡¯am you need to stop making eye contact with that thing, if he sees through us and you get killed the army will truly abandon us and they¡¯ve never get the intel we have and this might be bad for all the cities in line after Tenese....¡±


    ¡°I get it, I get it calm down. Is it still observing me?¡±


    [Random Soldier] *gulp* ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°God damn it, what did I do to stand out¡±


    [Random Soldier]¡±Ma¡¯am your armour, it¡¯s your armour¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t strip here that¡¯d be even more conspicuous¡±


    -Somer¡¯s PoV-


    She¡¯s definitely suspicious, she¡¯s gotten even more constricted in her movements since I started observing her.


    Just then a large shadow loomed over Somer and he looked in front to see the most terrifying creature yet, a Drathen like creature but more scythes than it¡¯s fellow brethren at least a little taller than Rafael and what¡¯s more, just one look was enough to make one feel as if their eyes were being sliced into thin pieces.


    [Altidor]¡±Yer the mutt Jones picked up eh? Hmm, looks like you¡¯ve got some magic in ye and yer weaker than ye look¡±


    [Jones]¡±Exactly sir, with a little bit of tweaking I¡¯d say he¡¯s ready for duty as our mage gu....¡±


    Just then Jones was cut off and a resolute and terrifying whisper was heard.


    [Altidor]¡±He has to earn his place Jones, send him to Aric, but before all that, let him witness the fate of prisoners and failures at our camp!¡±


    [Jones]¡±Of course sir¡±


    It felt odd, being spoken about without having a say in it. But, they were right, I was at the bottom of the ¡®food¡¯ chain, there wasn¡¯t much I could¡¯ve claimed here, not to mention here strength speaks for itself.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.Just when I was musing my plight in this new world I noticed that Altidor walked in front of the female prisoner hanging on the bar with a circlet on her head.


    [Altidor] In a thick voice ¡°Your captain who?, talk or she die, slowly and screamily¡±


    [Somer]¡¯Scremily?! What the hell is that a new ice cream flavour I¡¯ve never heard of? It is definitely English and he needs to work on it¡¯


    Some of the prisoners seems to have found it amusing and were now stifling laughs rather than screams.


    Just then without waiting for a reply he bit down on her left year and tore of a chunk of her face including some teeth, that immediately shut everyone up.


    [Altidor]¡±Captain?¡± In beast tongue ¡°Eren heal this soft skin, I¡¯ve yet to get the information I need¡±


    [Melissa]¡¯Son of A bitch, Rose is our key out of here don¡¯t kill her yet, damn it¡¯


    [Arlina]¡±Ma¡¯am I¡¯ll go, I can¡¯t watch this happen and I did swear to do everything you ordered me to and I know, we ¡®The Maidens Of Jiset¡¯ will rise again, but you need to live for that, so please....¡±


    [Somer]¡±Captain if I may?....¡±


    [Jones *whispers*]¡±Somer don¡¯t the cap looks considerably upset....¡±


    [Altidor]¡±Hmmmmm....¡±


    [Somer]¡±If I¡¯m not mistaken their captain must be that person with that purple armour in the centre of the group, she doesn¡¯t fit in, she looks too refined and her disposition too...¡±


    [Altidor]¡±Yer basing this on her being pretty!!!¡±


    [Somer]¡±That and the fact that when you said who among them was the captain all of them subconsciously turned towards her, I know sir I¡¯m weak but my eyes are worth their weight in gold, they see things clearly¡±


    Just then, a woman from the right of the group stood up and claimed that she was the captain.


    Altidor just observed everything for a moment, how could the fact that the woman who Somer claimed to be the captain suddenly relax her body excape the eyes of the veteran, Altidor, a ruthless leader who rarely failed in his tasks.


    There was a long paused moment of silence after which Altidor pointed at the woman at the center and said, ¡°Take her out¡±


    Just then, Pandemonium broke loose in the cage, the prisoners had realised that their ruse was up, they were caught and they would die protecting their leader in this perilous situation, at least in death there would be some dignity.


    -Melissa¡¯s POV-


    Arlina, your sacrifice will be remembered by all, I will surely inform everyone at the Citadel including your family and friends about this courageous act. Who would¡¯ve known, a woman of common birth could¡¯ve accomplished as much as you have.


    But wait, why is there this silence, why isn¡¯t that big ugly thing doing anything? Wait, why is it¡¯s finger pointed at me?


    [Random Soldier]¡±Ma¡¯am the facade is up, they know, I don¡¯t know how but they know, please stand behind us and under no circumstances come to our aid¡±


    ¡®Wait, but how, click and bait, they were given everything and then how, this doesn¡¯t make sense. Wait, it¡¯s that blasted skeleton!!!¡¯


    [Altidor]¡±Hahahahaha, wonderful fleshless, just blasted wonderful. Eren if yer done healing that damp petrify these fools and bring that one out¡±


    Somer relished at the sight of his first contribution to the force and while still in high spirits he was congratulating himself endlessly in his head and just then a gaze so fierce, it would¡¯ve given a beast run for its money was directed at the skeleton, it was the woman, the very same woman who had her fate sealed by a mere skeleton, a thing humans use as bloody toys!!


    [Somer]¡¯Eh, what¡¯s this icy feeling, oh my God it¡¯s that woman, she scaring the hell out of me. What is she up to?¡¯ Just then a scythe was placed on Somer¡¯s shoulder ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    [Jones]¡±Ah comrade, got the jump on me too, why so twitchy mate? But quite the remark Altidor gave you, he hardly ever graced us with such remarks. So Cheers!¡±


    [Altidor]¡±Jones, get to interrogate this wench, I need all the information I can get from her, do whatever you have to¡±


    [Jones]¡±At it sir¡±


    Now in English ¡°Welcome to our humble adobe human, now before you go spitting and retaliating to everything I say please do keep this in mind, this is not a negotiation, THIS IS AN INTERROGATION, and today myself ¡®Jones¡¯ will be at your service...¡±


    [Melissa]¡±Screw your mother, I¡¯ll burn you and your kind and I¡¯ll begin with that damn skeleton!!!!¡±


    Jones simply pointed at the Human on the far left who has only one leg remaining, oops not anymore as Fastidius simply ripped it out and started nibbling on it, all the while Rafael laughing at the entire scene and the human screaming even more with Eren trying to stop the blood loss.


    Melissa just looked even more angered by it.


    Jones looked even more menacing and serious after this.


    [Jones]¡±That Skeleton, is my dear friend and possibly the lone survivor of the Shrew Caves Disaster you humans orchestrated. He¡¯s angry and he¡¯s got new magic tricks I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be willing to perform on each and every single one of you, now either you talk with the more civilised version of a beast, that is me of course, or be contended with dealing with a more vicious and revenge thirty version of the beast, that is of course my good friend here. I¡¯ll make it worth your while, let¡¯s keep it civil, I won¡¯t touch a hair on your body, not even stand anywhere near you and I can vouch for my brethren doing the same, however the same cannot be said of your soldiers, both of your brigade and what¡¯s left of the other one, my kin are..... not good at holding themselves back you see, they revel themselves in less.. than.. humane.. activities... after all it comes naturally to us.¡±


    [Melissa]¡±My soldiers are trained to fight until the bitter end, we do not give up, we do not yield and we do not give in to intimidation, you and ¡®your friend¡¯ can go f*** yourselves¡± she spat.


    [Somer]¡¯Wow, she¡¯s got a bit of a temper and the way she looks at me is very uncomfortable, damn woman, get your stuff together.¡¯


    Just then Remser had come and spoke with Altidor in hushed magic tones and he walked up to Somer almost beaming with a smile, ¡°Haha, mage eh? I¡¯ll be damned, we need mages, you skeletons were the pioneers in beast magic, so all the best fella, make us beasts proud¡±


    [Jones]¡±Remser, do you still have an appetite?¡±


    [Remser]¡±Oi Jones, always do, all this running needs recompense eh? Haha¡±


    [Jones in a steely voice]¡±The lady with the half ripped face is yours, do it here in front of this woman¡±


    [Remser]¡±You¡¯re scary when you get like this Jones...¡±


    Somer noticed as Remser walked up to the woman with the half bitten face and in front of everyone just tore her away from the bar and.... and.... gave the woman his ¡®Tender¡¯ love.


    Everyone got silent and only the noise of the woman screaming as Remser torn himself into her with rhythmic movements of his hip and his scythes cutting her everywhere as he forced her into the ground with renewed vigour with every thrust, she got bloodied soon, blood soaking her clothed, blood splashed onto her near vincinity and most of all her screams of agony and suffering echoing throughout the camp, after a while she gave a final loud screech and went limp all the while Remser was doing his thing.


    [Melissa]¡±ROSE NOOO!!!! YOU BASTARDS LEAVE HER ALONE, STOP IT!!!!! ROSE ROSE ROSE!!!! SPEAK TO ME, ROSE!!!¡±


    *sob**sob*


    Almost in a whisper, ¡°Leave he be, please......¡±


    Somer was looking at the whole scene in shock, one moment Remser was the most charming beast that he ever spoke with and in another he was the insatiable champion of coitus, this guys, he¡¯s a bloody maniac.


    As Somer was deep in though and musing on how life can take a drastic turn in seconds and you¡¯d be none the wiser he saw another shadow looming over him, this one larger than the previous one and almost as if...... outlining a Panda¡¯s figure?


    [???]¡±Hahaha, toying with humans is the best aint it skelly?¡±


    [Somer]¡±.......¡± all that was seen was Somer turning around and his jaws open at the sight that visited him... A beast like Rafael but as tall as Altidor and just as imposing, his fur a deep red and almost looked impenetrable and his teeth a gleaming red colour and as sharp as Altidor¡¯s scythes.


    [???]¡±You mute buddy?¡±


    [Altidor]¡±Haha, Borus congratulations, ye have secured our first major victory in months¡±


    [Borus]¡±Haha, it¡¯s your strategists meticulous planning that got us here, the ambush went on perfectly, only two casualties whereas the humans were nearly wiped out, hahaha, it¡¯s a been a long time since I¡¯ve had my fill of 80 bodies in me tummy. Also, this is a weird skelly you¡¯ve got here¡±


    [Altidor]¡±This is Somer, our newest Mage recruit, he¡¯s a promising fleshless. Bill take him to Aric, learn from him Somer, he¡¯s our leading Mage in our troops, he¡¯s one of our best¡±


    [Somer] [Bell] ¡°Yes sir¡±


    [Altidor]¡±Now then Borus, lets go to Kien, he¡¯s got a new strategy planned out for us, we need to discuss that at length, strike the iron while it¡¯s hot eh?¡±


    [Borus]¡±Sure, RAFAEL, come along, it¡¯s time you learn a thing or two about planning and strategies, it¡¯ll give you an early promotion¡±


    [Rafael]¡±Yes sir¡±


    As such Somer was taken away to a tent in a deeper portion of the camp with the air filled with screams of humans being tortured endlessly.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Jones]¡±I hate to cut short your mourning but you see, time is of the essence here, to you that is, I¡¯m as free as a bird can be¡±


    [Melissa]¡±Shut up *sob*¡±


    [Jones]¡±Remser start eating the corpse after you¡¯re done and do it right here and make sure you¡¯ll crunch it as loud as you possibly can¡±


    ¡®Haha, you look like a nobel woman, have you ever seen war, have you ever seen torture up close? Being brought up protected from the hardships of life do you think you can overcome it all with just bravado and the false sense of security that nothing can happen to you? I know you humans, the fact that you¡¯ll be unharmed is the key leverage, you need to believe that you¡¯ll be safe and you will give me what I need¡¯


    ¡°So then *crunch* Human, what will *crunch* it be? Cooperation and safety *crunch* for all your soldiers *crunch* or a pointless un*crunch*dig*crunch*nified *crunch*death¡±


    [Melissa]¡¯No these monsters, these bastards, these assholes¡¯ ¡°Please make it stop, please....¡±


    [Jones]¡±Oh but it will dear, as long as you cooperate¡±


    [Melissa]¡±..........¡±


    [Jones]¡±I see, Remser that decoy capital is yours...¡±


    [Melissa]¡±Wait!!!!¡±


    [Jones]¡±Too late¡±


    *AHHHH*-Woman screaming


    [Melissa]¡±Please No, I¡¯ll tell you what I know just please make it stop!!!¡±


    [Jones]¡±That was a penalty, I don¡¯t like hesitation captain¡±


    [Melissa]¡±I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry please please please.... I¡¯ll tell you¡±


    [Jones]¡±That¡¯s more like it, oh and one tidbit we already have intel and your statements will be used as confirmation, any gross differences will lead to the leash on my friend there being a bit more loose, now since that¡¯s out of the way, oh wait, where are my manners introductions are delayed, I¡¯m Jones it¡¯s a pleasure....¡±


    As such darkness descended both on the lands and the mind and weak hearts of any human that had heard of what transpired on the land which in the future would be dubbed as ¡®Tragic¡¯ and subsequently forgotten.

 Magic At Last

    Somer was led into a tent, the tent looked similar to the ones that preceded it but with the stark difference of there being an upright stick of sorts in front of the entrance of the camp with an eerie purple glow aflame above it, which was against the norm of having a mutilated, headless human body on a spike in front of the entrance.


    Either way, Somer was led inside and what he found amazed him, all across the tent were pieces of papyrus with some sort of drawings. Some circles with complex inscriptions inside and some triangular with beasts of various sorts drawn therein. All either hung on a string or plastered on the walls of the tent. And what lay in the middle of it was the corpse of what looked like a ¡®canine¡¯ beast similar to a dog but with five limbs laid down on the table being studied by a Drathen standing at its ride side.


    [Bill]¡±Hey Aric, got a Skelly for you. Altidor sends his regards, he wants you to teach it magic¡±


    [Aric]*sigh*¡±How many times have I told him not everyone has the talent or the patience or the predisposition to.... wait did you say skeleton?¡±


    The Drathen Aric leaving the ¡®specimen¡¯ aside walked right in front of Somer and began inspecting him. Sometimes his scythes shivering in excitement, sometimes looking disappointed, and then measuring and counting every bone.


    [Bill]¡±Please don¡¯t experiment with him¡±


    [Somer]*shivers*


    [Aric]¡±Bah!!! I¡¯m not so barbaric as to do such a thing. And yes, you may tell Altidor I have considered his request and this will be the last time, we Drathens simply weren¡¯t meant to be mages!! Now be away with you¡±


    Somer felt his bones creak under the inspection of the Drathen in front of him. However, he felt no malevolence, but the Drathen was strange, he could see a glow on him that was vastly different than the other ones he had seen thus far. Maybe his Alpha eye had been the cause of him being able to view this glow?


    This was the first time Somer had been so close to a mage and it certainly seemed strange to him.


    [Aric]¡±Hmm, you do seem to have some potential in magic. Alright then, let¡¯s hear it, I want to know everything about what happened?¡±


    [Somer]¡±What happened? As in? I don¡¯t follow..¡±


    [Aric]¡±Ah, don¡¯t be apprehensive little one, all I need to know is how you came to posses this magic?¡±


    And like this Somer explained to this adept being everything that happened to him only from the incident involving the genocide and also leaving out about possible survivors within the deeper parts of the cave, after all since no distress signals were sent clearly no one would consider his brethren to still be alive within and it might¡¯ve been on purpose, who knows?


    [Aric]¡±Ah, so you¡¯re one of the mutated ones... Well, something is better than nothing I suppose¡±


    [Somer]¡±What exactly do people mean when they say that I¡¯m mutated?¡± ¡®I obviously don¡¯t have such a huge gene pool, only bones after all¡¯


    [Aric]¡±Well, lets put it this way, you see all my magical constructs on papyrus here? You¡¯re a being of magic meaning there are these tiny circles within you but only a thousand times more complex and at least a billion in each bone and they work together to make you whole and survive without you needlessly disassembling into many parts. Let¡¯s say, humans being or this mutated dog a ¡®game companion¡¯ as Humans term it, it is made of many many organs within in and their nourishment is form this red fluid or blood. So if each organ of it represents a magic circle then this dog is nothing but like you but it depends on its eating to enrich the blood that in turn nourishes it¡¯s organs. Whereas for you, the energy of the earth and air are the replenishment you seek that keep the power of your tiny circles up and keep you whole.


    ¡°This is also the reason why you¡¯re so versatile, that is, your magic circles can be easily manipulated to suite your existence in a particular environment, in this case you being bombarded by magic, the magic circles probably mutated to cushion any future such attacks by increasing its absorption capacity of magic of the earth and air. In other words, you didn¡¯t have an aptitude of magic, you, though by great luck, somehow survived a fatal attack and mutated into this, having an aptitude.


    ¡°Though I won¡¯t deny it, you gaining this mutation did bless you with an aptitude for magic, the amount of magic that you can learn and the lengths you will go is entirely undetermined since all information about your kind was lost after Rook was killed. So, I will guide you now and teach you the basics after which you¡¯re on your own¡±


    [Somer]¡±Well.......... shit¡±


    [Aric]¡±Yup, though I would¡¯ve loved to guide you more I¡¯m currently overburdened by work, we hardly have a hundred mages throughout our camp of which 28 are healers.


    And I might add that non-skeleton mages are terrible at this stuff, we need to use a lot of our energy to pull anything off. And I must add, I respect humans on this regard, they¡¯re very good at this magic stuff, by the time I pull off three fireball they would¡¯ve decimated me with eighteen. So we¡¯re at the short end of the stick here, so please make do on your own. Common inside, I¡¯ll give you your own experiment table¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    As such, Somer was led into the corner of the camp where there was a small table on which were certain circles drawn.


    Aric said, ¡°This will be your work place until you can stabilise your magic field and activate this circle, I¡¯ll hand you some books in our language as well as that of some beginners in Human tongue guide, do your best¡±


    As such Somer was given two sets of books, one which had hieroglyphics, a pictorial representation of what needed to be done to use magic, it looked like what a seven year old kid would doodle up to impress his mother and the other books which were in the Human tongue contained complex literature something that hurt Somer¡¯s brain deeply.


    [Aric]¡±Also, one last piece of advice don¡¯t worry about the whole chant thing, we¡¯re beings of magical construct so we use tiny simple circles on a day to day basis, after you get to a higher level you won¡¯t even need to draw these circles. Humans however need to draw circles to harness the energy of the heaven and earth, sometimes they use enchanted weapons or gloves or scrolls to bypass that, nevertheless its one advantage and the only one for us sadly, we don¡¯t need to chant. Ah almost forgot, except the Khol, you see since they¡¯ve intermingles with the humans for a long time their bodies have mutated to resemble those humans so they¡¯re even worse than us at the moment¡±


    Saying this Aric went back to dissect the creature placed on his table.


    Somer felt like a big headache would soon assault him, too much had happened in the past few days for him to feel whole and hearty.


    Just then he felt a buzz in his head and all of a sudden his vision became haze of blue with the circle on his experiment table turning white, all of a sudden his vision was filled with information regarding the circle, its origin, its flaws and how to activate it. It even showed him if his magic reservoir was sufficient to activate it.


    The flaws was tremendously helpful, he could pinpoint that 90% of the entire circle was utter crap and only a small portion of it was needed.


    But Somer felt conscious of the fact that if he showed too much of his ability he might trigger greed in the beasts around him, he needed to be prudent regarding the whole situation.


    Similarly Aric had kept a close eye on what Somer was doing, he felt extremely suspicious of this skeleton, his explanation of the whole event felt perfect, too perfect. So he led him towards the table with the broken circle to observe if what he said was the truth. After having seen him stumble repeatedly with the circle he finally released a breath of relief and continued on with the experiment.


    Five days after being introduced to the magic circle Somer noticed a change in the sixth day, one of the unnecessary circle was removed and the circle had fewer flaws now as determined by the Alpha eye.


    He still stumbles with it for three tries until he lit it up, but weekly on the fourth try.


    [Aric]¡±Impressive, it took me the same number of days before I could lite it up myself¡±


    [Somer]¡¯This guy definitely tampered with the circle, I need to be careful¡¯ ¡°Yeah, it was really hard, I had no idea what this was at first but I got an epiphany at the end¡±


    [Aric]¡±Haha, come come, lets introduce you to the rest of the magical entourage¡±


    As such, Somer was taken by Aric to a part of the camp which housed all the Mage oriented Drathen, the tents were similar to Aric¡¯s with staffs placed in front with orbs of various colours glowing on them, all of them arranged in a square manner around a central field on which tables were kept with Drathen experimenting on them with circles, there short introductions were done and everyone greeted Somer and were happy to have an additional hand in the overworked situation they had been placed in.


    Somer was given a home at the back of the gridded place and was always provided with a small table to perform his experiments. He was told that to do experiments of a higher order or complex ones or if he felt stuck somewhere he could come here to the central tables and place it up to have someone help him solve it.


    As Somer was going about his chores to settle himself into his new home he felt an eerie sensation as a Drathen with a shorter build than the rest walked up to him


    ¡°My my, look at you, a skeleton in all his prime?¡±


    He noticed a lithe Drathen walk towards him, the Drathen looked shorter than the rest and had an almost feminine feel to her. She was followed by a bunch of her followers who gave the human equivalent of a giggle when she said that and besides her stood a Drathen with a more masculine personality.


    [Somer]¡±Greetings...¡±


    ¡°Haha, look it even talks¡±


    That won her another round of laughter which seemed to have made her happy and when she was about to say something more a pressure seemed to have been applied on the area that made everyone there to be paralysed by fear.


    [Jones]¡±Really now, kids these days¡±


    [Bill]¡±Worthless punks, should I teach them a lesson¡±


    [Jones]¡±No need Bill, they¡¯ll learn eventually¡±


    [Bill]¡±Kiara, stop acting so juvenile, Aric didn¡¯t raise you right, you want me to teach you a thing or two¡±


    Just then the male besides Kiara retorted


    [Darrel]¡±What¡¯s so special about a dumb bone for you to come here? You want to play fetch with his bones?¡±


    [Bill]¡±You son of a......¡±


    [Jones]¡±A second Bill, hi you must be Darrel right?¡±


    [Darrel] replied in the most haughty manner¡±Yes¡±


    [Jones]¡±How do you want to die?¡±


    [Darrel]¡±What?¡±


    Darrel suddenly felt a heavy feeling on his chest, his body shivering all over, his mind blacking out repeatedly, finally he fell unconscious. However Kiara and her companions were none better, they all fainted after.


    Just then Aric came rushing towards the location, he became furious seeing what happened to his beloved daughter.


    ¡°Jones have you gone mad?¡±


    [Jones]¡°Hello there comrade, you see Kiara needs to learn certain mannerisms she seems to have missed out on¡±


    [Aric]¡±What nonsense, this is it, this is the final straw, get out of the mage camp¡±


    Aric looked with unfriendly eyes at Somer he waved his staff and a water like mist congealed out of nowhere and woke the fallen Drathen, all of them looked at Somer in an unfriendly manner and then looked at Jones and Bill fearfully and then left.


    Somer felt indignant, he had done nothing from the start until now, he had done absolutely nothing, not even moved a finger or uttered a word, these beasts were strange!!!


    [Jones]¡±Haha, doesn¡¯t matter. Come Somer, Altidor wants to speak with you.¡±