《The Third Life》 Prologue - The Old Man The sound of snow being trampled blended with a light whitsling wind and a white canvas to create a world devoid of life. An old man with hair as white as the snow he treaded walked up to a small rusted gate and pushed, the metal whined as it rubbed and scraped on it''s joint. "Heh.. even the gate cries here" the old man let out a small chuckle and proceeded deeper into the white haze. Rows of headstones made up most of the grounds, besides a few scattered wild willows and the groundskeeper''s lodge. Nothing could be made out on the stones as they had all been encased by the snow, only the paths in between were cleared and navigable. The old man slowly crept up towards a certain grave, even in the snowstorm he knew exactly where he had to go. The old man knelt in front of the grave and streched out his wrinkled bare hands to the stone, cleaning the accumulated frost from it.
SERALIN LANTIS
Here rests the smiling queen of our hearts
Passed away 23rd April 2138, Aged 94 Years
"I am glad I could convince the namecarver to use your game alias, I know it was what you wanted." It would be wrong to use your birth name he thought. Still kneeling on the freezing earth underneath, hands red from cold, the old man could only grin and let out a few brief laughs. "You know I''ve visited you more times in real life after you died than I ever did when you were alive Seral, go figuire right? Only death could bring us together." The old man leaned in once more to gently caress the edge of the stone like a lovers neck. Tears streamed down, warm against the cold ridges of his aged face. "i''ll never forget you Seral...." the old man looked at the falling white sky. "Never!" the cry could be heard across the whole yard, dark birds scattered into the storm cawing at the sky. The old man knelt frozen for what felt like hours but in reality was only around ten minutes. The tears had stopped a while ago and last drops had frozen onto his skin, he stared blankly into the everwhite sky looking for something. He didn''t know what, but he was searching for it. "Hey! Old beggar do you have a death wish!" a voice boomed behind the old man who still knelt at the grave. He turned around to see a ragged middle aged groundskeeper walking towards him with a snow shovel in one hand and a flashlight in the other. "I... err... ehm.. I lost track of time, you''d do the same at my age!" he retorted trying to pull his mind back together while thinking of a responce for the groundskeeper. The old man slowly got up and wiped away much of the snow that had gathered on him, his bones ached and his skin had become red and non-responsive. The groundskeeper walked up to him with some relief that the old man was able to get up and shake himself off. "Come inside, I''ll make you some tea and you can warm up by the fireplace. Can''t have anyone dieing in my graveyard now can I!" The groundskeeper gestured for the old man to follow and he obliged, a warm room was what the old man ached for at the moment and he was the savior granting his pain some relief. The wooden door opened and warm air quickly rushed out. They both entered swiftly and the old man closed the door behind them. He took off his thick overcoat and it cracked as the sheet of ice that had formed on it snapped in several places, making a crackling noise that only served to make him feel stupid for staying out in such harsh conditions. The groundskeeper motioned for the old man to sit down and he took him up on his offer without hesitation. This place was warm, not just in terms of heat but in terms of how it was put together, looking around the old man saw aged carpets, a slightly dusty mirror and finely crafted yet rather worn furniture. Yes, this place was a home. "Thank you for inviting me into your home, my name is Brandi... I mean Malcolm. Old habits die hard." The groundskeeper raised an eyebrow to Malcolm, knowing what he meant when he nearly said another name. That other name must have been his game alias judging by how he almost said it by accident. "An old fart like you plays a VRMMORPG? I don''t believe it!" He said grinning and patting Malcolm on his shoulder before taking the seat opposite to him. "Heh I''ve been playing since long before you were born, I''m 93 young lad and I''ve been going at it since I was 6!" With renewed vigor Malcolm announced his pride and joy, if he had the choice he wouldn''t take a single second away from the time he spent online, not one. "87 years?! Does that mean you were around for the launch of Zagon?!" The groundskeeper shot up with eyes giddy in disbelief. "I was young lad, actually I still carry the pendant that came with the original collectors edition." He made a smile as he gently grasped the metal pendant that was hidden under his shirt and revealed it to the groundskeeper who was shocked and still in awe. "That thing is worth my yearly wage! I''ve never seen one in real life before, I can''t believe I am getting to see one here, in my own graveyard of all places!" "Hey sonny you never did tell me your name, oh and that kettle is boiling over." The groundskeeper turned around and jumped quickly at the boiling kettle, he got so caught up in the moment that he forgot. He quickly made two cups of tea and sat back down, handing one to Malcolm. "It''s Alex.. my name is Alex." He said still flustered at seeing such a rare treasure in real life and he gave out a small sigh to calm himself before taking a sip of his tea. "How long have you been playing Alex?" Malcolm asked with a clear motive in sight. "Hmm, I think around 32 years now. Nothing in comparison to you but I have accomplished a fair bit of my own!" he said proudly. "Oh? Do you solo play or party up?" a wry smile painting onto Malcolms face. "I''m in a party of three, been together for the past couple decades at least by my reckoning. Why do you ask?" Malcolm thought for a second before saying "So was I lad, we adventured together for over 60 years, the three of us. Me, Seral and Wendal were like a single body, we laughed together and cried together. In fact I can''t really remember much of my life without them, you wouldn''t believe what we''ve seen and done. Wars between dragons and the land itself! The death of a tarrasque and the cries of thousands of wisps as they entered the ethereal plane and do you know what? Those moments die, the fear and the love. In the end they all become forgotten, my friends are gone now and only I''m left. The last one holding on to those cherished memories, but I''ll be gone too soon enough and then no one will remember those times. Kid if there is any advice I can give you it would be to live now, the past will wilt and fade and the future is always tantalizingly out of reach." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Malcolm finished his tea and glanced out the window to see the storm had quelled. His hands had returned to normal and he felt less rigid. "I''ve got one more grave to tend to, remember kid, life is fleeting." I grabbed my coat and left Alex''s home with a single destination in mind. With renewed vigor Malcolm strode towards the second grave he had intended to visit today, quickly arriving at his destination he cleaned the snow off the gravestone.
Wendal Curt
Here sleeps the kindest of us all
Passed away 17th December 2139, Aged 95 Years
"Hey Wendal, you know it''s tough me being here you asshole. We used to visit Seral''s grave together and you were there when I first cried infront of her grave, I guess I saw this coming but it''s still your fault! How could you leave me here alone!" Furious he glared at the unmoving stone, a faint glistening set of tears gathering in each eye, he wiped them away. "I forgive you Wendal" Malcolm''s heart gave a pulse of sadness to his entire body but he resisted the urge, giving the outside world a smile in return. Malcolm turned away and walked confidently to the gate that granted him access to this plane of painful memories. Each step harder than the one before it. After reaching the gate Brandish stopped, rising his hand he softly said "goodbye, dear friends." ----------------------------------- The walk home was a blur, his mind was a mess of emotion and his chest didn''t help. He walked back home purely on instinct, a man without a motive. Upon arriving to his detached home he entered and headed straight for his bedroom, hunting the object that was the focal point on which his lives revolved. A jet black helmet with several lights and cables surrounding it, placed neatly on his bed. It was a virtual reality device, the name Sphere etched into it. Old hands clutched the device and he pulled it close into his chest. He stayed like that for a while. He placed the headset on and layed down on his bed. "Enter" his vision went black as all of his senses cut off and he came to the familiar darkness.
Welcome to Zagon!
Player Recognised "Brandish Vester".. logging in ..
A world of green and blue quickly shot into the view of Brandish, a sight he had seen just before leaving for the graveyard. This was the cliffs of Ayhen, the sea crashed against them with massive force and the skies drifted calm fluffy clouds overhead. Brandish looked down to the three graves on the edge of cliff, no players could be seen in this area because it had no value for xp or loot in any way. Nothing spawned here, this was where Brandish, Wendal and Seral used to spend hours relaxing and resting after long days of dungeon raiding or resource gathering. The smell of Wendal''s cooking came to his nose and a whispering giggle found it''s ways to his ears. Brandish took a deep breath and got down onto the soft grass, his head up against the central gravestone and his arms streching around the non-material bodies of his loved ones. "Logout"
Logout Successful, Thank you for playing!
Malcolm opened his eyes, took off his Sphere and stood up to scan the contents of his room. On his table was a series of papers detailing his will and other things. In the corner of the room was a chair with a hangmans noose swaying above it. Malcolm Stood on the chair and attached the noose around his neck, with a single kick his senses disconnected once more and the darkness embraced Malcolm a final time. His last thoughts were of the first moment he, Seral and Wendal met. A sunny day in the planes of the starter zone, smiles and curiosity were on all of their minds as they embarked on what was to become their lives. A voice entered his mind while he bathed in the empty darkness. "Hello Brandish, I''m the goddess Beltrix. I have a proposition for you, my little waif." Chapter 1 - Rebirth A/N: This is my first real attempt at writing, so I''m still learning. Please be gentle. I''ll likely be writing chapters at a fairly quick pace although I''ll be slow with the plot, I''m good at being slow. I once ran a DnD campaign and after 80 hours the party hit level 4. Also if you see ''text like this'' it is the thoughts of the protagonist. Not sure if that is normal practice, just saying it''s what I did. Thanks for reading : > ------- "Hello Brandish, I''m the Goddess Beltrix. I have a proposition for you, little waif." The voice echoed in his head, an emptyness enveloped everything around him and he couldn''t quite say where or what he was. "I can''t think with this voice reverberating in my head!" Could a consciousness shout? Well if one could this one managed it. It appears he got a responce and the world around him became real, two bodies appeared near eachother, both somehow standing on an empty dark void. "Hello Brandish, you''re dead." Hit like a ferry carrying a freight train falling from a jet at 10,000 ft, Brandish just looked at her in front of him. Unable to process what she said he resorted to processing what she was. A 4''6" girl with long ashen hair extending to her lower back, eyes of deep hazel and a calm expression painted on her face. As if she knew exactly what he was doing she gave him a playful twirl and a somewhat sinister smile. "You know, currently I''m inside your mind so you are actually fawning over yourself mister, what a narcissistic little waif you are." "I''m de.. dea.... de..." Stuttering at the attempt the little Goddess interjected "Dead, passed on, kicked the bucket, kaput. I''m hoping your only dead and not deaf because if your weren''t listening to me before I said that I have a proposition for you!" Finally calming down Brandish could now understand what had happend, he was dead now, he must be in some other realm. "Why do I get this feeling you''re going to try and sell me afterlife insurance little miss?" Now filled with curiosity he turned to his humour to lighten the mood. "Because I am! Sort of atleast, you stand before Beltrix the Goddess of reincarnation and I have an offer for you little waif. I''ve seen your life Brandish, it is rare to see anyone that dedicated to anything, especially a game. My job is to look into someones life and according to their karma award them another, but you are odd. Two lives in one soul, in one you lived like a hermit ignoring everything and anything around you, garnishing your karma with apathy and negativity." "In your other life you were opposite to that, always outgoing and friendly. If I were to judge you based on your first life you''d be reincarnated as a flea but your second life was where you truly lived. So here''s my proposition, I''ll reincarnate you into a world completely different from your last but it will cost you. You''ll have to start from the bottom of the human world and rise up. That or I reincarnate you as something equally useful in the earth as you were previously for it. Which do you choose?" "Obviously I choose the other world! Who would even think about choosing to stay in a world where they never fit in." "Good choice, see you then little waif." The cute goddess waved as he was seemingly sucked back into the void, her image growing smaller and smaller until it became a distant light, tiny in contrast to the void. ----------------------------------- The light began to grow, becoming brighter and brighter. All that could be felt was pain, as the light grew closer and closer the pain only deepend and finally the light became the world, bodily sensations returning and pain easing "Aaaaaaaa *cough* *cough* ~crying noises~." Hands embraced the young child as it came upon the world, the cries weren''t the only sounds in the room though, but they were the only sounds the child could make out. ''I can''t see, I can''t see!'' The baby cried louder as it tried to talk. After a few moments enough strength was mustered to allow the baby to use it''s eyes, the sight that fell upon them was not a pleasant one. A middle aged man was writhing and sobbing while collapsed on the unmoving body of a middle aged woman who looked calm and asleep on the bed, the floor was coated with blood and other worse smelling bodily expulsions. The only other person in the room was out of sight to the baby, holding it and standing still, somewhat frozen by something the baby had yet to understand. ''I''m a baby?'' ''I was just born, that''s it. I never thought it would happen so fast, I barely even just registered it.'' The baby was thinking about this bizarre situation when it finally became apparent what was wrong in this room. "Don''t leave me! Not now Ves, not now! We have a child to raise Ves, you can''t leave me... a child." After a while of senseless babble, moans and cries the man pulled himself up like a puppet on strings and looked towards the baby, eventually walking in it''s direction and gesturing to take hold. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "It''s.. it''s a girl Jeral but I eh, I checked her ehh, there''s a small tail.. and ehm.. how do I say this? Demo..n she''s a.. demon Jeral." Still in shock the woman handed the baby to the man, she looked unnerved and agitated as she did so. The man received the baby in his arms and a shot of grief ran through him. ''Did she just call me a girl? Wait she said demon too.. a tail? I''m not human? My parents look human, no red skin or horns that I can see atleast. This man is looking at me weird, he''s my father isn''t he?'' "Status Check" Jeral said directly at his daughter, a blue screen materialised out of thin air infront of both him and his daughter. ''What is this? It looks like a UI straight out of Zagon, I was just born wasn''t I? This is just like the game, it''s in english and everything. Actually now that I think about it, my father and that woman both spoke english too, odd.''
TITLE : N/A
NAME N/A LEVEL 1
RACE Human SUBRACE Demon
HEALTH 100/100 MANA 100/100
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INTELLIGENCE 1 STRENGTH 1
WISDOM 1 AGILITY 1
DEXTERITY 1 CONSTITUTION 1
CHARISMA 1 ENDURANCE 1
-----------------------------------------------------
MAGICAL AFFINITY
FIRE 0% WATER 0%
EARTH 0% AIR 5%
LIGHT 5% DARK 0%
ORDER 0% CHAOS 10%
-----------------------------------------------------
STATUS EFFECTS
The man trembled as his eyes quickly shot to the three abnormalities on the status screen. "A demon. A cursed one, why fates! Why! You took my beloved and gave me a demon!" He yelled but it all ended up fading into whimpers as he took a stronger hold onto his daughter, holding her close. "Jeral, I''ve got to go. Do you want me to..." interupted by the mans firm voice from across the room, "No one learns that my newborn child is a demon. No one. Not your mom or dad, not your friends or your lovers. No one. If someone turns out to know that my daughter is a demon without them finding out for themselves I''ll kill you." He stared as if straight through her, his gaze was intense and his sincerity clear. "... They will find out when she comes of age" The woman took a step back, fear in her eyes. "When the time comes I''ll prepare for it. Until then I will not hear a word of this, or I will hunt you down and kill you, be sure of that." A few moments of eternity passed and the distance between the two felt so close to the woman that she was about to scream, instead some semblance of logic took hold. "I understand Jeral, I understand you fully." Her hands facing outwards at chest level, she quickly darted for the door and left. Jeral remained in the bloodsoaked room with his daughter and dead wife. He moved over to her bedside once more, leaned in and kissed her still warm forhead. "I''m sorry Ves, I''m sorry for being away so much on the watch, I''m sorry for leaving dirty clothes scattered around, I''m sorry for going to the tavern and leaving you alone on my nights off, I''m sorry you won''t be able to see our daughter grow up. I''m sorry for everything Ves, I''ll make it up to you by being a better father to our beautiful daughter than I ever was as a husband to you." Tears streamed down his face, tears of pain at the loss of his wife and tears of joy at the birth of his daughter. Chapter 2 - A New Home A/N I''m starting to get into the flow of this story now, quite a lot of stuff will be coming up in the next 4 chapters. I hope to write and release around one chapter for day for a while. Thank you all for reading and extra thanks to those who followed and favourite, you guys are the best. ------- Jeral took his first steps outside of his home since the labour had begun, in his hands was his daughter. She was just slightly bigger than one of his hands, she smiled up at him. "At the very least I can keep you happy heh?" Stroking her soft head he returned the smile. The baby turned to look away from Jeral with the little strength its current body allowed it. ''So bright, much better than that last room. I wonder how big this village is, the houses all look like cottages with the standard being a stone frame and thatched roof along with a wooden door. What a nice little place, I could enjoy growing up here. So much information to process though, my mother died before I even saw her and what was all that business about demons? My status said human but demon too, it must be some sort of curse I guess.'' Full of thought the young child parsed the lands in itsimmediate vicinity. After gathering some much needed fresh air Jeral moved back into his home, bringing the child to a small room with little in it bar a small table, a low crib and an open window with light curtains fluttering from the breeze. ''I guess this is my room then, I like it.'' "My precious little bundle of joy, I''ll have to leave for now. I''ll be back soon, don''t run away while I''m gone!" Jeral said lovingly to his daughter as he put her down in the crib kissing her forehead. He left the room with much more morbid matters flooding his mind, if he had it his way he would have just stayed in that room forever. ''So I guess this is it now, I can''t believe how quickly this just happend. Yesterday I was an old man living by himself and tired of life and now this! Seriously one of the most extreme life developments I''ve ever heard of. This world has magic it seems, although I haven''t seen any the status message before did have something about that. Not just that but I''m a girl now, I don''t know how I feel about it but I guess it''s sort of fine, what''s the worst that could happen? Nothing I can do for a while, I guess I''ll just try to sleep.'' ---------- In the center of the village a festival had begun, most of the folk who were not otherwise occupied were there, adding up to a crowd of nearly eighty. Men and women of all ages were there and ale was plentiful, most of the commotion was centered near a large house built of stone with intricate wooden frames as decoration and support. The evening was slowly coming into view as a myriad of torches, oil lamps and candles were lit. The twilight of the night was decending on the crowd and the moment they had all gathered for was about to come. A middle aged man approached a hastily put together stand in front of the manor followed by a much younger woman holding a young child, still an infant. "Thank you all for coming to the naming ceremony of my first daughter! I''m sure you''ve all being counting this day by each night you were woken up in the middle of the night by our little troublemaker!" a chuckle could be heard in several places in the crowd. "Well then, onto it!" He took the child from his wife and held her to be in view of the crowd. "I decided on the name this morning and with the first sundown of her first year of life I proclaim her name to be Joan!" The man on stage was beaming as a thunderous cheer that could only be replicated by a half drunken, half angry at drunken partner crowd resounded through the village. ---------- In a world of white stood a series of large marble pillars which seemingly touching the infinitely high sky of light blue. They formed a path between two figuires, one of a very young baby which floated in the air and the other of an everchanging cloud of colours, the appearance of the cloud changed shape so often it never had a real form, an incomprehensiblemess to the mind. "Hello little one, I am Kaw''Keth. I have blessed you because I took interest in your unsual soul and mind. It is not common to find a fully functionalconsciousness trapped within the body of an infant and for it to have a soul torn in twain is another mystery to me. Not many things have caught my interest in the eons little one, you have accomplished that much. We are currently connected telepathically and I have a question for you, what are you?" ''What am I? I guess that depends on who is asking doesn''t it. For now I think I''ll be me, an infant with a wanderlust'' "Well I guess the times will tell then, little one. I''m glad I managed to stake first claim on you before the other gods noticed though. The amount of curiosities that surround you are very numerous little one. The most distinctive of them is that you seem to have an open soul, something like that only happens once in the lifespan of an empire and normally the individual in question would have to have gone through events so traumatic that their own soul divided. I''ve never seen anyone survive the process for long. Here you are though, an infant born like you should not have happend naturally, I am sure that there has been a lot of divine influence in your conception. That rises even further questions about why none of the other gods took interest in you though, so I''m awfully curious. I''ll ask you another question little one, what do you want?" ''Magic, I want to try to use magic. I saw in that status window that there was something about it, I currently know nothing more than it likely exists here.'' "Quite to the point little one, someone who had a different set of morals to me might think you have some ulterior motives. You are right though, magic is present in this world but normally someone would have to train atleast a year to be able to chant the basic spells, only a small percentage in this world ever end up learning it. Since your body is incapable of the complex speech that would be needed to chant the spells it would normally be completely out the question for one of your age to learn magic. With your unique soul though I think I could patch your mana flow to your open soul and mind, this would allow you to cast without chanting at all, the downside being you would have to learn magic from the ground up, instead of relying on chants to guide you through the motions you would have to use imagination and logic." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ''You think you could? I don''t know if I should let a jumble of multicoloured gas mess around with my soul and my mind on a theory.'' "Heh, little one have some trust, I am a deity afterall. What do you say, want to use magic sooner than later?" ''Alright I''ll do it, what could possibly go wrong?'' ''PAIN! SO MUCH PAIN! ARGH! MY BODY IS BURNING FROM THE INSIDE AND SWORDS ARE STABBING MY MIND! ARGH AHHHH! ~internal screams~'' The newly born child awoke crying up a storm, outside the windows a crowd could be heard cheering. It was dark inside the infants room and the moonlight was starting to shine through a still open window, the curtains still softly swaying in the air. Jeral heard the cries of his baby from the kitchen where he sat head down and his face twisted by somber thoughts. Rising from his chair he walked over to the room opposite to his current and gazed into the crib to see a squirming infant, eyes sore from tears. "Scared in your new room huh? I guess that makes two of us. Maybe your hungry too." Therejuvenated Jeral gently picked up his screaming daughter and tried to comfort her by humming and rocking her in his arms. After a while he walked towards the kitchen and retrieved a bottle he had recently procured from the local alchemist. He placed the bottle on the side and put a soft cloth on the kitchen table, laying the bundled child on top of it. ''Oh thank the fates it stopped, Kaw''Keth you asshole! You could have warned me that it would hurt more than being pushed through a set a rusted serrated hot knives while drowning in a vaccum causing your skin to boil''. The childs mind continued to go through strangely exact scenarios of painful encounters for a little while before she realised she had been moved. ''Huh I guess Jeral must have brought me here when I was crying. Is this the kitchen? Now that I think about it I am actually quite hungry.'' Now that a smile had been achieved on his daughters face he proceeded to change the cloth that had surrounded her with the one he had placed underneath her. After unraveling the cloth he stepped back, mouth gaping and eyes shaking. Jeral had expected to see the start of a small tail and nothing more, no this was wrong. So wrong. Her hands each had a black gem rooted into their palms, the tops of her feet were the same and a large crimson gem was dug deep into her chest, they all seemed to have fused seamlessly with her skin and flesh and each had a thin line of twisting black and white connecting them to the gem in her chest. The tail was also present, it was only the length of her tiny hand but it was there, it ended with an arrowhead shape. All of this contrasted with her little tanned supple skin and smiling face. Jeral knocked over the bottle he had placed in the table as he stumbled back, it shattered into many small glass fragments and a milky residue spread across the stone floor, the noise snapped him back into reality. "What is this?! Status Check".
TITLE : N/A
NAME N/A LEVEL 1
RACE Human SUBRACE Demon
HEALTH 110/110 MANA 100/100
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INTELLIGENCE 1 STRENGTH 1
WISDOM 2 AGILITY 1
DEXTERITY 1 CONSTITUTION 2
CHARISMA 1 ENDURANCE 1
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MAGICAL AFFINITY
FIRE 0% WATER 0%
EARTH 0% AIR 5%
LIGHT 5% DARK 0%
ORDER 0% CHAOS 15%
-----------------------------------------------------
STATUS EFFECTS
"What is this? I never heard of this god before yesterday and now this. What does it want with my daughter? Is this its sick idea of a blessing, warping her body with freakish additions?! This day just keeps getting worse. Wait how has an infant managed to raise two stats? Is that even possible?" ''hoho, look at that. A new wisdom and constitution point, my health went up too, I guess that must relate to my constitution level. I wonder what faith can be used for in this world, I hope it has a better use here than it did in the last.'' Jarel grabbed his hair and pulled, this day is just about to make him go mad, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have to clean up this mess.." As he went about picking up the shards and mopping the floor his daughter stayed still staring at her status window, excited beyond words. After ten or so minutes past Jeral got back to the task of feeding his daughter with a second bottle, she drank it but her first taste was the last thing on her mind. Chapter 3 - Strangers A/N Some good chapters are coming up, hope you like how introduced magic, I like the way it ended up looking. I''m trying to build more characters into the story and any feedback on how you think my story is going is greatly appeciated. Thanks for reading, commenting, following and everything else! A new chapter should be out tomorrow as well Night had long since decended on the town after an evening of celebration for the naming of the town mayors daughter. A peaceful quiet had taken hold in the manor allowing Ferald and Anna to get some much needed rest with their newly named daughter Joan. They sat near a fire nestled together, Joan slept peacefully in Anna''s arms. "Anna, this right here is what I live for. If I had the choice to be the emperor or sit here with you and Joan I would choose here every single time." The feeling was mutual with Anna and she merely replied with a heartfelt "I love you dear." As the fire flickered its embers and crackled in the silence and Ferald thought of what he had heard about Jeral earlier today. Jeral had a good relationship with the mayor and Ves was a friend to Anna. When Ferald was training with the guard, as was required of all nobility in the empire, Jeral was his junior. Ferald always remembered finding Jeral running around the camp or digging ditches as punishment for one too many witty remarks at the instructer. It actually became a habit for Ferald to talk to Jeral as he went about his menial tasks. One of the things about being nobility in a noble controlled training camp is you often found yourself with little to do. "I can''t believe Ves is gone honey, Jeral must be in an utterly terrible state. I can understand how he couldn''t make it tonight, I''ll just have to bring Joan over to him tomorrow." Ferald said while stroking Anna''s brunette hair. "I''ll come too, can''t have you saying something stupid like you normally do." Anna pushed her husband lightly and a grin appeared on her face for all of a fraction of a second before it turned into a frown. "Ves always was a source of encouragement to me, I guess she would have to be considering the stuff Jeral used to do. She didn''t deserve to die, it''s just unfair." Tears fell onto Anna''s cheek from above, Ferald gave her a reassuring kiss. "I know honey, I know." -------- After feeding his daughter, having recovered from his discovery, Jeral layed her back down to sleep and went straight to a clothes chest in his bedroom. As he opened the chest he let out a quick whimper as if he had something stuck in his throat, he bit his lip and carried on. "I thought buying all of these little second hand clothes was a stupid idea Ves. You were so happy everytime someone gave you some little second or third hand mitten or scarf. You dragged me around on days off to get everything perfect for our child. You needed everything to be perfect." As Jeral carefully unpacked lovingly folded and stacked baby clothes of various sizes he just got too caught up in the mood. Everything reminded him of Ves and it didn''t help one bit that all of this came so quick. Lesser trauma has led better men to insanity, but Jeral was strong. He had to be strong, for his daughter, for Ves. After gathering up a set of tiny clothes of mostly wool origin he laid them out. A woolen bleached white babygrow, a light red dyed jumper and white long socks along with a pink skirt of linen and a pair of deep pink silk mittens. "I can''t thank you enough Ves, even now you help me more than I could have ever hoped for." Jeral was getting into the habit of talking to the walls in the absence of his late wife. After all of this was done Jeral hit his bed like a log, his body and mind needed rest after today. A lot of rest. -------- After being put the bed a little infant tossed and turned, her mind was in turmoil and her movements reflected that. ''Why fates! Why! Why am I a fucking walking chandelier, I didn''t sign up to be a christmas tree! Kaw''Keth is there anything else you didn''t mention would happen, you knew all this and thought mentioning it wouldn''t be a good idea?! I did not give consent to made into a damned light fixture!'' Many more blasphemies were internally yelled at the ether, even Kaw''Keth didn''t know that there were so many insults you could spew about a gaseous appearing entity, he was proud of his work for it to garnish so much attention. It took most of the early night for her to calm down and start to attempt to think of solutions to the problem, to little effect. ''Argh, how am I going to hide this? This body is barely a day old, there''s no way I could do it physically. I simply don''t have the ability to get the clothes, or do anything for that matter. I was wrong, I''m not a walking chandelier, I''m an immobile chandelier, wait isn''t that just a normal chandelier? Argh! Actually in Zagon you could use illusion magic to change your form but I never saw anyone do anything so precise as to be able to hide only minor details of the body. Normally it was used to change into a monster or tree I think. Maybe in this world it might be possible but how would I even go about that? There was no illusion affinity in that status window so it might be impossible. I guess the only way to find out is to actually try learning magic then, here''s hoping I don''t burn the house down or open a portal the the dimention of pain.'' The infants body became still as she closed her eyes and focused on thinking various keywords for spells she knew of in Zagon. Nothing happend after a minute and she opened her eyes again. ''Hmm well I guess I''ll have to try something specific, what did that stupid God say again? I think he said he patched my mind and soul to my mana, I guess he did that with these lines and gems. Thinking logically these gems on my extremities must be drawing in something from this central core, unless it is the other way around. Perhaps if I try and focus on sending my energy out from my heart and gather it up in one of my hands I might be able to get an effect.'' Again the infant closed her eyes and focused, now with a theory in mind she was ready to test it. After only a few moments a fizzling blue-white bubble materialized in her left hand and her eyes quickly opened, giddy at the discovery. [tr]
Mana Mastery {Apprentice lvl.1}
--------------------- The ability to manipulate raw bodily mana in a basic manifestation.
You have gained 1 intelligence point!
You have gained 1 intelligence point!
''hoho, look at this! Status windows everywhere! Looks like I can conjure mana just by feeling how it flows with this body, this is really overpowered. Thank you Kaw''Keth, you''re the best cloud of gasses I know of, bar helium. Looks like my intelligence is going up too, I hope mana recovers over time naturally or else I have another problem on my hands. For now I''ll assume it does and just cast this spell for a while, my min-max senses are tingling.'' The bubble in her hand popped in and out of existence for a minute or two before she began to feel very tired and fatigued. [tr][tr][tr]
Mana Mastery {Apprentice lvl.3}
--------------------- Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.The ability to manipulate raw bodily mana in a basic manifestation.
Mana has been fully depleted. Mana lethargy active.
''Mhmm... sleep sounds pretty gooo...'' She passed out almost right away as the stress on her mind took over. -------- The light of dawn entered Jeral''s room, bringing him unwillingly back into the world of the living. A long yawn followed by the creaks of an old bed frame beckoned him to get dressed and leave for the town well. He felt like he was living in a dream world, people he knew were giving him odd looks as he went to get a bucket of water. Whispers could be heard and sullen gazes were everywhere, he said nothing as he returned home having accomplished what he set out to do. As if on cue he heard muttering coming from his daughters room. "Huh, talking to yourself already. I guess you take after your old man." Jeral retrieved his daughter and brought her to where he had placed her new outfit the night before. After some meager struggles on the behalf of his daughter he managed to put the new set of clothes on, they really added some weight to her but thankfully the fabrics were loose and would allow for growth. ''Well I guess this solves the problem for now dad, but I do not want to live my life as a baked potato. I have already resolved myself for a future life as a demon chandelier, adding to my list of attributes is not a good thing. I will have to figuire out how to use cooling magic sooner than later it seems.'' *knock* *knock* The front door, which was attached to the kitchen, was being knocked. "Come in!" Jeral yelled, trying to reach their ears from his bedroom. The door creaked a little as it was opened and two people walked in, one holding a young child in her arms. Jeral, having finished dressing his child in enough insulation to negate the entropy of the universe, came to greet his visitors. "Ferald! Anna! it''s good to see you, sorry I couldn''t make it to the ceremony last night." Ferald looked like he was about to say something before his wife quickly strode to Jerals side, cooing and awwing. "Awww! So cute!" Joan, being dragged along was curious about the other child as it was the first other child Joan had seen in her life. Joan reached out to touch the wrapped potato but could only feel the layers of fabric on it. "It''s a girl, she''s a cute one too. When she woke up this morning she was just muttering to herself, no cries, isn''t that right my little potato." ''Argh! Enough with the potato! I did not choose this life, the baked potato life chose me!'' "Aww, she looks a little dismissal of being called a vegetable, she couldn''t be cuter if the gods willed it. Oh I almost forgot! This is Joan, I''m sure she and your daughter will make great friends." Ferald perked up at the mention of his daughters name and closed the gap between him and his wife. "I picked the name myself, quite proud of my own creativity actually. It''s a combination of Anna and my mothers name Josephine." Jeral snickered, "Ferald you''re about as creative as a pen with no ink, I remember once in camp you tried to solve the problem of running out of nails by smashing the wood together." Ferald laughed with Jeral, "Well I guess I''m no carpenter heh heh." "Please take a seat, do you want some water?" Jeral motioned to towards the table where there were four seats, Ferald and Anna both sat down. "Do you want to hold her Ferald?" "Yes I do, I won''t let you keep the hot little potato to yourself now will I." Ferald recieved the child in his arms with great care, like he was holding a cloud. Ferald quickly sat down and placed their mugs of water on the table. Anna placed a hand on Jerals knee while deftly holding her child with the other arm. "We heard about Ves, we''re very sorry for your loss. If there''s anything we can do to help just ask, we''ll be happy to do so." Those words hit Jeral harder than he thought they would, he knew something like that would be said on the matter but he didn''t think it would hurt that much, he dropped is head a little as troubling thoughts flooded his mind. "I''m ehm.. Thank you Anna.. It''s just that, I well.. I''m just coming to terms with what happend now and what with everything else, I''m just overwhelmed." A few seconds passed before Ferald responded. "Everything else? Don''t tell me those damned nitwits at the guard have you pulling hard work at a time like this! I''ll gut them!" radiating angrily at seeing his normally happy and socialable friend being turned to misery Ferald said all his thick head could scramble together. "No, it''s not that, if anything they''ve been sympathetic, even gave me a couple paid days off to get everything sorted." Jeral was now starting to realise the hole he was digging himself into. "If not work then what else? Don''t tell me, it''s the hemorrhoids isn''t it, I got the same problem. I can recommend a good cre..." Ferald glanced at his wife to see the raging eyes of a hungry and very angry dragon, a vein could be seen pulsing on her forehead and steam was about to escape her ears, it was a face that said if you keep talking I''m going to destroy you, honey. He grinded to a full halt mid-sentence, cowering like a beaten dog. Anna changed her facial expression back to a loving and empathetic friend and switched her gaze back to Jeral. "If you''re having trouble finding someone to look after her when you''re at work I can help you with that, she''s so cute I couldn''t refuse spending more time with her." She sent a sweet smile towards the baby in her husbands hands. Jeral had been backed into a corner, he never was good at talking or thinking and it showed here. There was no going back now, he just had to hope that he could really trust Ferald and Anna. "There''s something I have to tell you, it''s about my daughter. I don''t know how to say this, I don''t want to say it either but I was going to have to eventually anyway. I guess it''s good you two are the ones to find out, I feel like I can trust you as family. My daughter has some sort of curse, when I looked at her status there was also a blessing from a weird god I''ve never heard of and worst of all she was born a demon. It''s so much information I''m having trouble letting it out, I don''t know what to do but I do know I love her from the depths of my heart and that I owe Ves to protect her. I need help." Anna gave another smile and a giggle "Hehe that''s all, nothing like that could stop me loving such a cute little baby!" she said confidently. Her husband on the other hand was apprehensive of all this information. "Demon.." He recieved another look of distain from his wife and quickly changed form. "We''ll have to keep this from the rest of the village I mean, they wouldn''t understand. I''d do anything to help you Jeral, more now than ever. We''ll help you raise this child as good as can be done Jeral, I stake my name on it." His wife smiled, "Finally something smart came out of that big loud mouth of yours, it was bound to happen someday, what with the law of averages and such." All three of them laughed and even Joan gave her best attempt. "How do you feel about having a little sister Joan, I''m sure you''ll love her to bits." Anna snuggled her nose against Joans, rewarded by another little giggle from the cute baby. ''Hello uncle Ferald, hello aunt Anna.'' Chapter 4 - The Hunt A/N These chapters are starting to get longer, I think they might end up being 3000 words each soon if I''m not careful. I can feel the world growing the more I think about it, really getting into the feel of this story now. Thanks for reading, leaving comments and everything else! You guys are awesome! A couple days had passed with little event after the visit from Ferald and Anna, they had both fully been shown the situation Jerals daughter was in but nevertheless they both kept quiet on the subject and accepted it for what it was. Ferald was much more aware of the later ramifications that all of this could reap but with some encouragement from his wife he also vowed to keep the secret, something he wanted to do but knew he should not. Jeral was finally starting to pull himself together from the loss of his wife and was able to act as a functioning person again with the help of his two close friends. It was too soon for real recovery to happen but he did not have the luxury of much free time. He had been called back to work today and had resumed his day shift on the guard watch. Today was to be the day of Ves'' funeral, as was tradition it would not begin until sundown. Earlier this morning he had left his daughter at Anna and Feralds home before leaving to go to work. She was fine with being parted with Jeral which had stung him a little bit but it also gave him hope that she would integrate fine with the rest of the village, even though deep down he knew what the future would have in store for his daughter. ------- Anna stood in the doorway holding Jerals daughter in her arms along with some things Jeral had brought for his daughter, like a change of clothes and a bottle. Joan had recently began to walk and she had quickly taken to it, being able to stand on her own now she followed her mother back into the livingroom. On their way they passed many expensive things, it gave more of an image of a palace than a village manor. Intricate paintings, wooden and metal ornaments displayed on marble pedestals and detailed archways intersecting the rooms and hallways. ''This house is so luxurious, in my old life all of this stuff would cost more than a decades wages! This building alone would be out of the price range of everyone, bar the extremely well off. I can finally be at home with my fellow chandeliers now, I hope they don''t bully me and instead accept me as their equal. All this moving around is a great change of pace from being with Jeral all day. Even though it has only been a few days I''ve quickly become bored with the life of an infant, I''m very glad I chose to learn magic, even though there are some downsides. My only highlight during these long days is using my magic until I run out of mana, I have no idea how much mana I currently have but my mana mastery spell has reached level 5 and it has started to become easier for me to feel my mana inside of my body. I think in a few days I might try experimenting, it could be dangerous though. An infant accidently conjuring fire could end up badly, I think I might have to be cautious with that for now. Although finding some illusion magic would be a great help.'' The three of them spent the rest of the day going around the manor, Joan was really curious of her new little sister and Anna spent a lot of time doing general chores. Anna never enjoyed doing chores like anyone but refused to get a maid because she was afriad that maid might go on to become Feralds mistress. Around halfway through the day Anna sat down with Joan and her newly acquired potato, she breastfed the both of them. This activity brought up some very confusing and underdevoloped emotions in the potato but she eventually resolved that she was indeed an infant girl now and may as well take the benifits, not like she had a choice. ------- After dropping off his potato with Anna Jeral went straight to the guard barracks on the outskirts of the village. He carried a sword on his hip in its sheath and a buckler strapped to his back. He wore a mix of leather and cloth armour, with the leather armour protecting his vitals. The crest of the village was sewn onto his armour near his heart, it was the image of a bow firing at the sun. The walk took ten minutes and Jeral was in no rush to arrive, after twenty minutes he was standing outside the front door of the barracks. "Jeral! You''re back, we''ve been overworked since you left. I thought Demroy was going to have a heart attack if he had to pull another double shift." "Jeral, how are you feeling? I heard your kid''s a girl, I''m so happy for you man!" As Jeral entered he was accosted by the voices of his work friends, all dancing with great agility around the elephant in the room. None of them wanted to be the first to mention it and they had deemed it better for Jeral to bring the subject up himself when he was ready. As he was bombarded by shoulders and faces Jeral put on his best acting face and assumed the form of the jovial working man. A smile on his face and wit in his mouth he began to one by one demolish all of his opponents. "Demroy on doubles? Hell I aint ever seen that fool do singles before, I can imagine the sorry state he''d be in towards the end of that, I can just see him pulling swords on little old ladies and patting dragons on the head." Laughter erupted in the entrance hall as the chatter went on. Eventually the talk settled down as everyone grouped up and went on their patrols, Jerall was told to go to the officers station along with Yrel and Tal''hid. After arriving, a well dressed man greeted them and they held their fists to their chests in respect. "At ease, I''ve asked you three to come here because you''re our best scouts. Recently the forest monsters movements in this area have become far more agressive and forward, I want you to go and find out why. Our most up to date information says they appear to be fleeing the forest for an unknown reason, report back to me later today with your findings. Oh and try not to die, although if you come back with nothing I may just gut you myself. Dismissed soldiers."Yes sir" they said in unison. "Just our luck eh Yrel, Jerall''s not a day back and the old man gives us a day recon mission." Tal''hid spoke while stretching his arms behind he leather helmet. "The forest always has me on edge, I hate it. Every step I take I freak out because I stepped on a branch and it snapped, this is giving me a headache." Yrel almost cried with her hands to her face. "I''m worried too, don''t know if I like going towards something that has dire bears running from it." Jerall took the last part in the somber trio of moans. After provisioning at the quatermaster the three left for the forest which was an hours walk away, it approached midday when they saw the treeline. "Tal''hid, if you don''t make it out of here alive, put in a good word for me will you." Yrel giggled at the agitated Tal''hid. "Hey why me! You have just as much of a chance to kick the bucket as I do!" Jerall saw an opening and pounced, "Yeh, but I don''t think Yrels word would mean much in the afterlife." They all laughed, lightening the mood that the looming forest had cast down on them. Before they entered Jerall glanced at Yrel, "if you would do the honours." Yrel focused and began chanting a spell she had cast often before, it was the dark magic spell *Shadows Embrace*. "Malae tenebrae Orci Sed ad nostram."
Shadows Embace [ACTIVE]
The spell would last until either Yrel made it end by breaking the channel or until another magic dispelled it. This was an essential spell used in all scouting operations, it allowed the affected to pass into dangerous places without notice. Only a more powerful mage or extremely strong monster could see through it, making it extremely valuable to have. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The three guards maintained a close formation so as not to lose each other in the forest, Tal''hid knew this forest well and would be able to guide to other two back to the exit at a moments notice. The forest normally wasn''t this loud, birds were flocking and crashing through the leaves, small animals were howling and the ground itself had a light tremor in it. There was obviously someone or something disturbing the balance of nature and it wasn''t some adventurers hunting monsters. "Whatever this is, the more I think about it the less I want to find out." Yrel was getting a bit shaky at the thoughts of what could possibly be causing this much chaos. "I suppose it must be powerful for it to be having this reaction, but as long as we keep distance from whatever it is I think we''ll be fine in the shadows." The forest floor was trampled, leaves and twigs turned to mulch. The three treaded on deeper into the forest, fear pleaded for them to flea however their reckless fervor for completing the job pushed them on. An hour into their scout they started to slow in pace, a presence had fell on them and they knew it was close. "What could possibly be exuding so much power? I really don''t know if it''s a good idea to go into that next clearing." Yrel was at her wits end, every fiber of her body told her to run. "I know, but we can''t leave now. All we have to do is see what it is then we can run back home. I am not going back empty handed, we''d be made a laughing stock." Tal''hid was playing the voice of reason but he knew exactly how the others felt because he felt it too. The trio cautiously crawled towards the source of the overwhelming pressure, in the middle of a clearing slept a huge figuire. Its feathers of red and green turned to black at their tips, a razer sharp beak was the length of Jeralls arm and looked as sharp as enhanted mithril. Talons dug into the earth like it was sand and wings pulsated their impressive mass as it took each breath in its sleep. "That''s an elder griffon guys, I''ve only ever heard myths about those things. I for one do not want to be around when it wakes up. We should head back and warn the guard." Jerall whispered to the other two, making great care he was as quiet as possible. The other two nodded and turned to make their leave. The three guards all ran back to the treeline, taking only a third of the time it took them to get to the elder griffon. After leaving the forest they fell to their knees, grasping for breath, panting in the process. The walk back to the village was a blur, they were just now realising how close they came to death. If that creature had noticed their presence they would have had no hope of survival, that thought that haunted them all the way back. When they got back to the barracks their comrades were in disbelief, more so their officer. No one could fathom why such a powerful beast would be here, a normally rather peaceful village. The three were sent home early, they couldn''t do any reliable work in the current state they were in. Jeral came to Feralds home and was greeted by Anna. "Hello Jeral, you look a bit shaken up. Did something happen?" Anna saw his pale face and had thought something bad happend straight away. "Yes, very bad. I''ll have to talk to Ferald about it too. How was my daughter? I hope she wasn''t too much trouble for you." Anna gave a smile, "not at all! She was the sweetest little thing, always looking around and pointing at things. Her and Joan are sleeping happily together in Joans room. When I tried to seperate the two of them Joan started to cry, I couldn''t bare it for long.." "It''s good to hear they are getting along, I hope they stay close. I''d feel relaxed if my daughter grew up with someone she could confide in, I never had that as a child but always wanted it." The two of them talked as they walked into the livingroom, there they met with Ferald. Ferald was enjoying a drink as they entered and quickly motioned for them to sit. "Ferald you''re going to here this from the guard soon enough anyway, when I was out on a scouting mission with Yrel and Tal''hid this morning we spotted an elder griffon sleeping. I don''t think I''ve ever ran so fast in my life." Ferald spat out his drink, "an elder griffon?! Here! What would such a beast want with us, don''t they normally live on the frontier mountains?!" Ferald didn''t have an answer to give him. "Yes they do, normally, but this one is here. That thing is a big threat, it could easily take out the whole guard." Ferald was growing uneasy at the thought. "I''ll have to put in a high tier request at the adventurers guild in Barrok quickly, just thinking of such a beast roaming freely around here gives me chills." Anna asked Jerall questions about what the monster was and he described what he saw to her, making it out to be much worse than it was. "Ves'' funeral will be tonight, I''ve already arranged everything. I hope you two will be coming." "That goes without saying Jerall, Ves was a great friend, the best I ever had. If the griffon came now I''d still find a way to make it to see her and say goodbye." Anna was trying to be strong while holding the floodgates back, Ferald comforted her and nodded to Jeral, assuring him that they would be there. "I''ll be bringing my daughter, she deserves to be there." "We''ll bring Joan too, I don''t think she would like all of us leaving her with a stranger while we went off." The three nodded and Jerall parted from them, going to Joans room and retrieving his sleeping daughter. Joan and her were nestled together, it seems Joan doesn''t care about how his daughter looks. The two of them layed together and Joan had her arms around her little sister, her little sisters head curled up in Joans chest. After going through the subtle and careful motions required to seperate the two without waking them he wrapped his daughter up and headed to the plains outside the village. ------- On the grass was a funeral pyre, a body wrapped in fine cloth was layed on its summit. All that could be seen around was grassland, mostly farms and farm animals. A few couple of hours of silence passed as everyone gathered together. The barns in the distance and the village behind were bathed in the last light of day as the sun fell low in the sky, it flickered on the horizon. The world was painted orange for a short while before darkness took hold. In total twenty-seven people had arrived, all friends of Ves. Ves was loved by many, a face that was at the center of the village. Jeral handed his daughter to Ferald as he himself was given a lit torch. As was tradition the closest to the departed lit the pyre. Sobbing could be heard across the plains as a new light was born. Jeral stayed closest to the pyre until the moment the fire enveloped his wife. ------- ''Goodbye mom, sorry I never got to know you.'' The fire kept burning in the distance. ''This is real isn''t it? That really is my mom up there. That was my fault? If I had not chosen to come to this world she would be alive.'' The fire waved and danced in the infants eyes. ''I don''t think I was ready for this world, was I? Up until a few moments ago I was treating this like a game.. I had treated my last life like it was a game.'' The fire calmed in her eyes as she forged her new will. ''This time I''ll truly live, my mom died so I could be here, I will become strong for you mom. I will not make the same mistakes I made in my last life. I will live.'' Chapter 5 - A Name A/N It is really hard to write in the third person when your MC has no name, really hard. Why I did that to myself I will never understand. This chapter was a bit short, made it to mostly make writing easier in the future, also to reload my Chekovs gun. Thanks for reading and commenting! --------------- A year had passed since Ves'' funeral Joan had been growing fast, just a couple days ago she had become two years old. She now had light brown hair that was down to the middle of her neck, matching her hazel eyes. After learning to run, jump and climb no place was sacred to her now. Joan was a very physical child, but today she ran around the house with new found vigor and excitement. She had been looking forward to this day, today would be the day her little sister would get a name. "Mommy, when can we go see little sis?" A pleading Joan looked up at her mother, giving her the watery eyes and stuck out lips that every child hones as an essential survival skill. "Not until tonight sweetheart, you''ll have lots of time to play her then, I promise." This was the fifth time Anna had been asked the same question by Joan, each time she looked into those little evil eyes her spirit waned slightly, she would break soon. ''I''m doing this for you Jeral, but I don''t know how much longer I can hold out in this war of attrition'', Anna sighed to herself mentally. ------- Her first year would come to an end tonight and Jerall would give her a give her a name. He had spent this past year in bliss, his daughter was truly a perfect child and Ferald was a great friend to have. "I was never any good with names, I''m going to screw it up, I just know I will." Jerall was pacing back and forth in his kitchen. Having put off picking a name to last day he had no idea what to pick now. He began sounding out random ideas in hope to find a good name. "jes... no no.. Kater... no.. Bre... nope. FUCK. ren..." His daughter had been observing her father fail terribly at the most basic of creative tasks, that last one had taken her attention and she finished it off for him "Renata.. daddy, Renata." His daughter had been learning to speak from a younger age than usual, a month ago she had said her first words and now she was starting to piece together phrases. Unknown to him his daughter was able to speak fluently now, she just hid it from everyone. "Renata? You like that name huh, it sounds pretty good actually, that''ll do." Jerall picked up his little daughter and spun her around in relief, she enjoyed the experience. Jeral and her ate lunch, afterwards they both washed and got ready for the event later tonight. Anna had sewn a special outfit for Jerals daughter to wear tonight, it was a light sundress style with a cream colour, it came with little grey leggings and gloves which looped around her middle fingers, concealing the oddity in the palms of her hands. Her hair had started to grow, it was still short and barely covered her head. The colour was peculiar though, white. Jeral had deemed it fine as there was no real stigma attached to white hair, it was just odd. On the other hand it matched her blue eyes very well. After everything was ready for tonight, Jeral decided it was a good idea for the both of them to get a little rest before the festivities. He put his daughter down to bed for an hour while he took a nap himself. After a little bit of shifting they both fell asleep. ------- A world of white was before her, with pillars of marble steching to the sky as if becoming one with it. She had been here before. Unlike the last time she was here she was now able to stand, this place looked larger now, as if she had become smaller since her last visit. She knew that could not be true, she had grown to nearly twice her last size. ''This place has gotten bigger? Kaw''Keth why have you brought me here?'' The unstable mess of chaotic gas was ever present, always changing. There was beauty in his form, contrasting colours flickered in and out of existence around him like a light show. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "The size of this place reflects the current state of the mind observing it, the more chaos present in their minds; the smaller it is, the more order; the larger. For me it is so small I am trapped here forever, for the god of order it would be so large they would never see anything other than emptyness. As for why I brought you here, that is a much more complicated matter, little Ren." Renata was deep in thought, last time she was here she made a mistake. She did not want to make another, whatever Kaw''Keth was going to tell her was likely going to make her situation more difficult, she had to be on the defencive. ''I am not your servant Kaw''Keth, it was you who blessed me, I did not ask for that.'' The figure flinched, as if repulsed by what she said. "Little Ren, you''ve changed. Now caution is strong in your mind, you are going down the path of order. That is why I brought you here, that path is not all that it seems. Laws and rules are the devices of the apathetic, they hide behind them so they never have to face what they really are or what they have really done. If you continue down the path of caution, if you put your own rules and that of the world above the greater good, the ending you find will not be the one you sought." ''What do you mean? I don''t want my family to be hurt more is all, I will not be a burden any more than I already am. Joan, Anna, Jeral, Ferald, for them I will try my best. Throwing caution to the wind will only make things worse than they already are.'' "If you had been cautious before then there would have had no reason for Jeral to ask Anna to look after you, you would have got a nanny instead. If that happend Jeral would not have been able retain his strong friendship with Ferald. This would have led him to depression, to stress. When you embraced chaos you changed your fate from that misery to this little Ren." ''I.. I.. I can''t take that risk! I won''t take risks anymore, I can''t..'' The world began to grow, eventually Kaw''Keth went out of sight, from the distance she heard his last message. "We will meet again, until then goodbye little Ren." ------- She awoke in Jerals arms, they were outside. "Oh hello there, it''s almost time you know, I''ll give you your name in a few minutes. Then you can go play with Joan." They were in the middle of the village and dusk was only a little while away. Less people had gathered than were at Joans naming ceremony but still around half the village was here. The guard had managed to sell the idea to the old man that they should all go in case a fight breaks out. Jeral got up on the stage and the crowd became quiet. "Thanks for coming everyone, I''m sure that this is the safest place this side of the continent right now." The thirty guards laughed from the sidelines. "Anyway I''ll get on to it" Jeral held up his daughter in view of the crowd. "My daughters name will be Renata." A brief moment of silence passed before thunderous cheers could be heard all across the village. Jeral put Renata down so she could walk around by herself, just as she got down from the stage Renata was tackled to the ground by a speeding Joan, thankfully she landed on a patch of dry dirt, so as not to ruin her dress. Wild eyes stared down at her, "Rennnat.. Ren! Let''s play Ren!" The two of them happily ran outside the village to the grass to play together. ------- Two hours later, Jeral and Anna found a pair of very young children sleeping under the stars in the grass, both with an arm around the other. Chapter 6 - [Interlude] The mighty Thanks for reading and commenting! Six years in the future Ramparts of impressive height curved around around the sprawling streets of a thriving city. Merchants, travelers and wayward souls came and went in mass. This was the city of Barrok, a beacon of trade in the empire. On the far side of the city was its reason for being, a harbour filled with cargo ships. This was no mere cargo either, the majority of those ships held a precious and highly valuable commodity, demon slaves from the forsaken continent of Reliqui. The city is split into four parts. Near the gates is the mercantile sector, on the other side the harbour holds the majority of the industry in the city. In between the two was the residential areas, the closer to the center, the higher the social rank. Directly in the middle of the city are two huge buildings rising above the rest, one is the dukes palace, the other is the cathedral. The city had recently acquired four new guests, a step above the common folk in power and presence. They strode through town with just one destination in mind, the adventurers guild deep within the city. They were made up of two men, one woman and one elf. The first man, who led the group, was tall and boasted a brutish strength as he casually sauntered along wearing full plate armour that covered most of his features. The second man wore a rugged brown robe, contrasting his blonde hair. The woman, was clad in thick leather armour and on her back a bow and quiver bounced as she followed along. At the very back of the party walked an elf of indicernible gender, many had tried in the passed to work it out, all had failed. The elf wore light cloth and wielded a long staff with a gem embedded in its top. The time was late afternoon when they arrived at the adventurers guild. The majority of adventurers had returned from their various quests and day work by now and the hall was packed. Conversation could be heard accompanied with clanking tankards bashing against wooden tables. The aroma of freshly cooked meat was wafting around the tables as more was brought out from the kitchen in the back. The large doors creaked open as the four stepped in, the doors magically closed after them with a slam. The adventurers sitting at the tables surrounding the entrance turned in a haphazard unison. Although it wasn''t unusual for newcomers to show up in the guild, what was unusual was for seemingly experienced and well equiped newcomers to appear without anyone knowing who they are. Every step they took glances were stolen without mercy, some even staring. People of lesser confidence would be cut apart by the sharp eyes but not these four, they were used to the adoration and attention their presence granted them. The plate wearing man caught a familiar sight in the corner of his eye, he directed his party towards it with haste. A large wall of wood stood before them and on it were placed hundreds of pieces of paper, each detail a seperate request. One such paper stood out from the rest as it had four red skulls stamped onto it, as the four read the paper they verified it was indeed what they had come here for.
Monster Slaying : Elder Griffon [RANK SS 3] Kill the Elder Griffon Located in the forest outside of Gehna Village
The man in full plate armour pulled the piece of paper down from the board. All of the pieces of paper were enchanted to only come down when someones rank or party rank either exceeded or equaled the quests level. In doing so he silenced the room. He walked over to a counter filled with papers and ink jars with a man behind it. He placed the piece of paper on the table weighing it down with a card that had his basic status on it, including name, rank, party and party rank. The man swept up the two objects and looked back at the adventurer, "I have to warn you all before you take this quest. Four parties have already failed and died in completing this quest, do you still wish to accept it?" The man grinned and nodded his head. The clerk put the piece of paper in a filing cabinet and as he did the status card changed to read the quest details on it. After completing their goal for the day the party left the guild and headed out into the city to search for an Inn for the night. Finding a guard they slipped him a few silvers and he guided them to a high class Inn near the middle of the city. Outside the Inn was a large sign with the name "White Mane Inn". Upon entering the four were hit with a blast of warm air. The building itself was as ornate as they come, marble detailings aswel as thick wooden support beams elegantly carved with shapes of leaves and flowers. Everything about this place screamed high class, exactly what the party had wanted. "Greetings sir, we don''t get too many adventurers here. That will be four rooms yes? For how long are you with us?" The man in a clean suit held nothing but the best manners and held them perfectly. "Yes four rooms, just for tonight." "I see that will come to 6 gold and 4 silvers Sir." The butler was given the money and proceeded to show them to their rooms, before he left the four informed him that they would be down to the dining room in a few minutes after they changed and to have a table for four ready. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After helping their leader take his plate armour off the other three left for their rooms, "See you in a bit Brian" the three said as they left the room. Before the elf could leave Brian yelled from across the room, "Going to be wearing the same robe downstairs like you always do Aewyn?" "You know I always do Brian, why must you ask me so much? This robe is fine, it''s enchanted to always be clean." Brian furrowed his eyebrows and waved Aewyn off. Not long later the four of them were all downstairs in fresher clothes, except Aewyn who still wore the same robe as always. The table in front of them had all kinds of meat, slow cooked vegetables and fruit. While eating Brian started the conversation. "This will likely be the hardest monster we''ve ever faced you know. I doubt the basilisk we fought a month ago even compares. I am thankful for not having to drink any more of that foul anti poison though, what do you think about fighting an elder griffon Amy?" The girl who was delicately eating a stick of meat lifted her head to face the group. "I''m sure we''ll be fine, the only thing I''m worried about is it flying away. I think bringing some strong nets might help. I think as long as we have Vackan to heal us we''ll be fine." They all nodded to that and went on to discuss strategy for the rest of their meal. After eating they all retreated to their own rooms and slept for the night. ------- The next morning the four, all equiped in their combat gear, left the inn. "Amy, you can go get us transport to Gehna, any information on the place you can find would be great. Aewyn, go to the alchemists and mages guild to get us the potions and scrolls we''ll need. I''ll leave the camping supplies and tools to you Vackan. I''ll go to the slave market and get us two slaves for load bearing in the forest. See you all at the gate in two hours." An hour and a half had passed since they split up and all but Brian had arrived. Rackan had put all of the trips required supplies on a horse cart that Amy had hired to travel to Gehna. Aewyn found the two after getting several healing, mana and stamina regeneration potions along with scrolls of the Advanced tier magic *Full body bind*. In the other side of town Brian was still negotiating with the slaver he intended to buy from. "No no, that one is too weak, I am looking for someone that will not fall over after a miles walk." The slaver had gone through 6 others prior to this one and only one had Brian deemed fit for use. "Alright then follow me, I have some more in the back." The two walked through dark stone halls with iron doors at the sides, crying and whimpering could be heard from inside the cells. The slaver eventually opened one of the cells and a fairly strong looking demon came into view of the light. "Yes, that one will do." "Good. This one and the one from the front, that''ll come to 135 gold." After finishing the transaction Brian made for his party near the entrance of the city. The four of them left in the horse drawn cart together at around noon. Their destination was the village of Gehna where they intended to slay the elder griffon. "So Amy, what did you manage to find out?" Brian asked after the four had all got as comfortable as one could on a horse cart travelling on a dirt road. "The mayors name is Ferald, seems like he''s the one that put this request in. That griffon has been troubling them for quite a few years, stealing livestock and forcing monsters out of the forest. People say it just came out of no where around six or so years ago. So far it is yet to attack any people directly it seems. The village itself is fairly small too, only around 500 residents in total. The village guard seems to know where the griffon is so I think we should go them first thing." "Sounds fine, what about this mayor then, think we''ll be able to squeze some extra reward out of him?" Brian was ever the businessman. "It might be possible, this griffon has been troubling them for a long time as Amy said. We''ll be rich after this anyway regardless" Vackan replied. Aewyn hearing the talk of money gave his opinion, "Yeh, the mana stone out of that thing would be huge. I read about elder griffons in the mages guild today, turns out they are griffons that have lived in magic rich areas like ley lines for hundreds of years. I think the stone by itself will be worth well over 4000 gold." After a few whistles and moments of silence Brian held out the harsh truth to them all. "Alright then, I know getting rich is what we all want but I know something we want more than that. Not dieing. That creature has already felled four other S class parties in the past, they went in thinking the same thing about getting rich and they all died. We will not fall for that mistake and we will not get carried away, at any point if it looks like we will lose the battle we will retreat. Got that?" Variations on "yep" came from the other three as they quieted down for the rest of the journey. NOTICE! NEW CHAPTERS AVAILABLE! I have re-written sections of the story up to current and beyond where this was left off, they have been posted to the following fiction "The Third Threnody" https://royalroadl.com/fiction/11228 I have to make this beyond 500 characters soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. 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