《The Nightmare Raider》 Prologue It becomes rather strange to think of it now, the things I¡¯ve done in the past. I suppose two hundred years ago, the events which led me to seek out the God of the Night were rather commonplace, but as far as I know, none had ever taken revenge, at least not on the scale I did. -From the Nightmare Journal Charles looked up at the castle towering over his small village, imagining what it would be like to live in a castle like that. The Lord of the land had always been known to be benevolent and kind, leaving the people mostly to do what they wanted. Charles closed the curtains over his window before turning over in bed and going to sleep --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fourteen years later¡­ Charles slipped on his gloves, completing his outfit. Tonight was finally the night he would sneak into Lord Nightblood¡¯s castle and rob him blind. With his preparations complete, he slipped out through his window, heading for the castle through the woods. Getting through the woods didn¡¯t take much stealth. Next was crossing the moat and entering the castle itself. Charles climbed to the top of a tree, looking for an open window. Lo and behold, he found one after only a couple minutes. He threw his grappling hook, and with the luck of Fate, it stuck. Steeling himself for what he was about to do, Charles jumped off the tree and swung on the rope of the hook.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Slamming into the wall of the castle, Charles barely managed to hang on. He begun climbing, slipping through the window. Once inside, Charles breathed a sigh of relief. ¡®Time for phase 2.¡¯ Calling forth his affinity to Darkness, Charles weaved a net of shadow around him as he opened the door to the rest of the castle and began his infiltration. Setting his goal as the basement, Charles worked his way down, avoiding the strangely small amount of guards rather easily. Once he found the stairs, he went down cautiously, feeling for any traps of the more magical nature. Finding none, Charles entered the basement. Strangely, the only thing there was a door locked with both a physical and magical lock, of the Darkness variant. Grinning at his luck, Charles set to work on the physical lock while inserting a tendril of dark energy into the magical lock. Unlocking both rather easily, he opened the door, only to find a single display case with nothing but a dusty old leather-bound journal. Slipping inside and closing the door behind him, Charles took the book out and began to read. ¡®It becomes rather strange to think of it now, the things I¡¯ve done in the past. I suppose two hundred years ago, the events which led me to seek out the God of the Night were rather commonplace, but as far as I know, none had ever taken revenge, at least not on the scale I did.¡¯ Chapter 1 - Compliance Looking back, I don¡¯t regret my choice at all. The only thing I regret is the length of time it took for me to accomplish my goal. The years since have long passed out of all living memory except for mine, and I am left with just my title and solitude. Selvar looked up at the temple built in the desert. According to everything he¡¯d learned, this was the spot where the God of the Night first spoke to man, many millennia ago. This was the spot where the God of the Night¡¯s power was strongest. This was the spot where Selvar would gain the power to take down the Holy Empire of Andstine. Selvar walked into the temple, breathing a sigh of relief and taking his facemask off. Now out of the sands, he wouldn¡¯t need it for a while yet. Climbing to the topmost portion of the temple, he set to work cleaning the area around the altar. Cleaning hundreds of years of dust off the altar was painstaking work, but it would be worth it. As he finished the cleaning of the altar, the sun began setting. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Selvar took several items out of his bag: five candles, a lantern, and two torches. Setting the torches in the holes on either side of the altar, the lantern in the center, and the five candles around it, Selvar lit them all with a match. The timing was crucial for this ritual. Selvar needed to blow the lights out one by one, with the final light going out at the exact moment the sun sunk below the horizon. Selvar spent the final few minutes before sunset steeling himself, for he was about to speak with a god. Selvar first blew out the two torches, then slowly blew out the candles until just the lantern remained. Checking the sun¡¯s position, Selvar blew the lantern¡¯s flame out just as the sun finished sinking below the horizon. Left in darkness, Selvar closed his eyes. Sight wouldn¡¯t mean much now anyways. After a few minutes, Selvar still failed to sense anything, so he turned to step back down the stairs, when a voice rang directly into his head. ¡®A human seeks me out now, of all times, when the largest kingdom in the world seems dedicated to wiping out worship of all other gods. Either you¡¯re desperate or foolhardy. So tell me, human, which is it?¡¯ Selvar¡¯s heart beating fiercely, he spoke. ¡°Desperate. I seek the power of the Night¡¯s Champion, so I may take vengeance on those who have wronged me.¡± ¡®The power of a Champion isn¡¯t one suited for everyone. I shall grant you access to the Trial, but one condition: destroy this Holy Empire of Andstine.¡¯ Selvar grinned. ¡°Done. Give me this trial, so I may bring terror to the Empire.¡± The voice said nothing else, but the darkness gathered around Selvar and he could tell he was being transported elsewhere. When the darkness faded, Selvar found himself on a silver platform, lit only by the light of a moon, high in the sky. The platform was empty, save for a single silver blade in a pedestal in the center. Selvar walked towards the blade and placed his right hand on the hilt of the blade. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the blade out. Almost instantly, darkness swirled around the platform and several armored figures of darkest black stepped forth from the darkness. One of these figures stepped forward even more, and a black sword and shield appeared in its hands. The blade in Selvar¡¯s hand morphed to fit his hand, becoming slightly shorter. Selvar stepped forth to meet the shadowed figure that stepped forth. Seeing the acceptance of its unspoken challenge, the figure charged Selvar. Slipping out of the way, Selvar slashed at its back as it charged past him. He slammed the point of the blade into its back and it dissolved into shadow.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Another shadowed figure stepped forth, this one with a greatsword. Approaching Selvar cautiously, it waited for him to make the first move. Selvar raised his own blade to a defensive position as well, waiting for the shadow to make the first move. Eventually, the shadow swung at Selvar. Selvar parried the strike, then reversed his grip on the blade and slammed it into the shadow¡¯s chest. It, too, dissolved into shadow. This went on for a while, with Selvar repeatedly killing shadowed figures. After several dozen shadows, Selvar was breathing heavily, but all the figures had vanished. The platform began trembling and cracking, the edges falling. Selvar rushed for the center with the pedestal, but before he could reach it the cracks reached the center and the pedestal fell into the darkness below. The darkness around the platform faded, only to reveal a series of smaller platforms a bit away from the platform that held the pedestal. Selvar rushed for the platforms, as they were not cracking and falling apart. Just before he reached the edge, the part he was about to jump off crumbled and fell. Selvar leaped off the crumbling platform, reaching for the silver platform. Catching the silver platform with one hand, Selvar slammed into the side of it, before quickly pulling himself up. As he stood up on the new platform, it elongated. At one end, there was light. At the other end of the rather long platform, was darkness blacker than any of the other darkness in this area. Selvar sat down on the silver, catching his breath as nothing seems to be happening. After a few minutes, Selvar stood up and looked at the light and darkness. ¡°This has to be some sort of test as to the nature of the night.¡± Selvar thought out loud. ¡°If it¡¯s asking whether the night is part of light or darkness, the answer would be neither. The night is brought about by the absence of light, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s of darkness either. There¡¯s light in the night, in the form of stars and the moons. Therefore, the answer is somewhere between these two¡­¡± Selvar looked at the blade in his hand. Getting an idea, he raised the blade above his head and gripped the hilt with both hands. Bringing the blade down, Selvar pierced the platform in the center with the silver blade. The silver blade sunk in far further than expected, and a third path that stretched far into the distance extended in front of him. Pulling it out of the platform, Selvar started walking the path. Several hours later, the path started to turn into stairs that stretched as far as Selvar could see. Sighing, Selvar started climbing the stairs. Eventually, Selvar reached the top of the stairs and stepped onto the moon that had been lighting the area since he arrived. There, Selvar found a rather tall man, dressed entirely in black. ¡°Um¡­ hello?¡± The man turned around, and Selvar saw his eyes that were entirely black, including the parts that would normally be white. ¡°Selvar, I take it? You are the first to have reached the end of the trial in a very, very, very long time. So long, in fact, that you are only the second Champion I will name. Congratulations.¡± Selvar dropped to a knee. ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡± ¡°Rise, Champion of the Night. Now, walk with me while I explain to you what your abilities as my Champion shall entail.¡± The God of the Night started walking, and Selvar hurried to keep up. ¡°You shall have the ability to call upon the night to enshroud an area. This will be highly useful. The next ability you¡¯ll use is the ability to bring nightmares of your opponents to life. No matter the creature in their imagination, you will be able to bring it to the material world. Third, you shall be able to travel between connected shadows. Finally, the dreams of men shall be open to you.¡± Selvar nodded. ¡°Makes sense. And the terms of becoming your Champion?¡± The God of the Night looked to Selvar. ¡°Destroy the Holy Empire of Andstine. So long as you do not fall in combat, you shall be immortal. Until you choose to give up this power, you shall keep the immortality so long as you complete the task.¡± Selvar stopped walking. ¡°I¡¯m ready to begin.¡± The God of the Night smiled, then darkness shrouded Selvar once more. When the darkness faded, Selvar found himself back at the altar in the desert. Testing out his newfound power to travel through shadows, Selvar melted into the shadows and appeared back at the entrance to the temple. Looking back at the temple, Selvar began travelling through the shadows towards his home of Serace. Approaching home at nearly midnight, Selvar thought it best to simply go to sleep. When he woke in the morning, there would be hell to pay for the Lord of Serace. Chapter 2 - Blood I was obsessed with revenge in those days. The God of the Night, whose name I shall not write here, was always keeping an eye on me, to make sure I never stepped foot over the line of no return. ¡®Selvar. Are you sure it''s smart to attack a castle already? It''s been only one day since you became my champion.¡¯ ¡°Yes I''m sure, what else would I even attack? Besides, not like I plan on sneaking in. Those you kill should always have a chance to defend themselves.¡± ¡®Don''t overestimate the power of nightmares. Against those with true faith or courage, even the deepest fear can fail.¡¯ The voice faded from Selvar¡¯s head, leaving him with nothing but his own thoughts. Shaking his head, Selvar stepped out from his hiding place and continued walking towards the castle. Pulling out the silver blade he received in the Trial of Night, he called forth the essence of Night. With a single gesture, the Night erupted from behind Selvar, covering the entire castle in the dark embrace of night as all of the color drained from Selvar¡¯s eyes, leaving them pure black. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°M¡¯lord Galvin, there are several peasants in Serace asking for tax relief, claiming the burden is too high.¡± A servant said to Baron Galvin of the Serace area. ¡°I''ve already lowered them twice this year, the Emperor won''t be happy with me if I lower them again. I''d love to lower them more, but I must get the crops out to the rest of the Empire.¡± Lord Galvin said, sighing. ¡°Wait, why is the sky darkening? It''s barely noon!¡± At the gateway to the castle, the guards who had seen the eruption of darkness were lighting torches and preparing for anything. ¡°Someone get a message to Lord Galvin! Tell him this darkness isn''t natural!¡± Someone shouted out, most likely the commander posted at the entrance. Selvar smiled as he stepped onto the drawbridge. ¡°Everything seems to be going well, yeah? Well, your day just got a lot darker.¡± As he finished speaking, two creatures formed from the darkness. One was a massive troll with demon horns curling out the top of its head with a massive spiked club made of a red metal. The other was an absolutely enormous spider with hairs as hard as spikes and venom dripping off its fangs. The troll rushed across the drawbridge to attack the gateway, while the spider simply reached over the moat and climbed onto the castle, picking guards up and eating them. ¡°Kill the guards. Leave noncombatants alive.¡± Selvar walked through the castle, summoning more creatures from the nightmares of any guards he encountered. Eventually, he reached the hall where Baron Galvin resided. ¡°Baron Galvin! So nice to see you, my lord! I hope you haven''t grown scared, I''m merely a peasant of Serace, driven to anger because I can remember. Oh, I remember the days before this ¡®Holy¡¯ Empire of yours came rushing in, casting those spells upon the people of my village! If you thought for even one second your little brain-rewiring trick had no flaws, you were sorely mistaken. I''ll give you a chance to defend yourself, of course. The Champion of the Night always allows his target to meet him in single combat!¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Galvin sat, stunned. The message his guards had sent had mentioned monsters of nightmarish properties, not a man with pitch black eyes and a silver sword. ¡°You appear to know me, ¡®Champion,¡¯ yet you refuse to introduce yourself properly. I am Baron Fasel Galvin, Baron of Serace!¡± Selvar bowed. ¡°Selvar, son of Irlo, Champion of the Night. You should know as well as I that peasants don''t have last names in the Holy Empire of Andstine.¡± With his introduction complete, Selvar took up a stance. ¡°Now, Fasel Galvin, come face me as a man!¡± Galvin stood up and drew the steel blade at his side. ¡°I accept your challenge then, ¡®Champion.¡¯ The one God in this world is Andstine, and He is with me!¡± Galvin¡¯s blade burst into flames as he began to charge at Selvar. Darkness swirled around Selvar as he lithely twisted around Galvin¡¯s blade, bringing his blade for the Baron¡¯s stomach. To his credit, the Baron didn''t flinch and blocked Selvar¡¯s blade with a reorientation of his blade. Selvar used the force of the block to reverse the direction of the blade and spin around to attack Galvin¡¯s back. The Baron leapt forward to avoid the blade, then turned to face Selvar once more. Selvar completed his spin without meeting flesh, bringing his blade back into a position he could slash from quickly. Directing the darkness around him to spread out and settle slightly above the floor, Selvar charged the Baron. Bringing his blade from low to slash across the Baron¡¯s chest, the Baron found it easy to block the blade before it even came close to reaching him. However, just before the blades met, Selvar sunk into the shadows below his feet created by the darkness he had spread. Baron Galvin spun around, but it was too late, for Selvar¡¯s swing had been completed as he rose from the darkness behind the Baron, slicing his chest open. Baron Fasel Galvin stumbled back in shock before falling back onto the ground, never to rise again. Selvar flicked the blood off his blade, turning to face the rest of the hall. ¡°All those who would wish to die, you may remain as nightmares rip you to shreds. If you would wish to live, I would suggest leaving now. And if you think to warn the rest of the Empire, go ahead. Tell them I''m coming. Tell them to close the gates and barricade the windows, but I shall always find a way in. I am far worse than any monster, any army, any enemy. I am the Andstine Empire¡¯s worst nightmare.¡± Selvar walked out through the front gate of the castle. Dissipating the shroud of night, the darkness that had covered the castle, the nightmares dissolved as the light of day hit them. Walking back towards Serace, Selvar left behind a scene of a castle covered in blood. ¡®Were either of those speeches really necessary? You took them both too far, especially the first. I understand you hate the Empire, but that was a bit over the top.¡¯ Selvar shrugged. ¡°Yeah yeah, I get it. I''ll shorten the speech next time. Besides, should you really be criticising me? You told me I had to destroy the Empire, and I will. You never told me how to go about it.¡± ¡®Fair point. I suspect major nobles will have some sort of bodyguard. How exactly do you intend to break the spell placed on the civilians though?¡¯ ¡°I was hoping you could tell me. I don''t suppose my powers include spell neutralization?¡± ¡®Unfortunately not. You''d have to seek out anti-enchantment spells attuned to Dark somewhere. Perhaps in another country¡¯s library?¡¯ ¡°Maybe. Perhaps Lesron? That''s where I found the texts that led me to your altar.¡± ¡®Sounds as good a place as any to start.¡¯ Selvar began walking. It was still midday, and Lesron was several days away. There wasn''t much left in Serace for him until he found a way to break the spell anyways. Several days and suspiciously no bandit or animal attacks later, Selvar came around the final hill before Lesron, only to find something else was there first. The Holy Empire of Andstine had Lesron under siege. Chapter 3 - Divinity I suppose I could have been called insane. My speech to Lord Galvin certainly wasn''t the speech of a sane man. It certainly helped me, since the Empire underestimated me. At first, that is. They soon learned I wasn¡¯t someone to be underestimated. Selvar stared at the scene in front of him. ¡°Siege towers, catapults, and thousands of soldiers¡­ there''s no way in hell I''m getting into Lesron right now.¡± ¡®Adram told me to pass a message to you when you got to Lesron. He wishes you good luck.¡¯ ¡°The God of Day wishing the Champion of Night good luck? That''s a first. I''m guessing my first action should be to shroud this in night but I get the feeling my little shadow manipulation isn''t going to cut it here.¡± ¡®Probably not. Using their nightmares will probably be your best bet if you actually plan on attacking them.¡¯ ¡°My thoughts exactly. Let''s see how close I can get without being challenged, shall we?¡± Selvar began walking towards the army. A fair distance from the start of the sprawling mass of humans, a squad intercepted Selvar. ¡°Halt! State your name and business!¡± Selvar looked at the army first, then at the squad¡¯s leader who had stopped him. ¡°Selvar, Champion of the Night. My business? Currently, to destroy this army.¡± With those words, darkness erupted from behind Selvar once more, his eyes fading entirely to black. The squad immediately charged at him, but Selvar vanished into the shadows, only to appear suddenly behind one of the soldiers, immediately impaling the unfortunate soul with his blade. Reaching into his mind before he died, Selvar pulled the soldier¡¯s nightmare into reality. Darkness swirled besides Selvar, coalescing into the form of a maroon-colored fanged horse with a twisted black horn on its head, with legs jutting out at strange angles. Selvar pulled his blade out, letting the soldier slump to the ground. The rest of the squad turned to face him and the bizarre creature beside him. Two soldiers immediately broke off from the squad, running away from Selvar. The twisted creature took off after them, leaving Selvar to face the remaining five soldiers. ¡°I don''t suppose any of you have some nice nightmares to bring to life?¡± He said with a maniacal smile, only made more unsettling by the fact that his eyes were pitch black. Selvar wiped the blood off his blade. There was currently something very similar to a ghoul eating away at the six corpses around him. Selvar set his sights on the largest tent in sight, flying the Andstinian flag. At a wordless command, the nightmarish creatures ran at full speed towards the army. Selvar followed them, merely walking. He was only one man, charging in with the monstrosities would only cause his death. By the time Selvar reached the part where the army proper begun, about two hundred bodies were littered around the ground, some dead, some dying. Four of the six creatures had died already, but the twisted unicorn and ghoul were still alive. As Selvar walked through, darkness coalesced around those who were on the brink of death, forming even more monstrosities. Commanding these new creatures to sow chaos among the thousands in the sieging army, Selvar took a moment to analyze the sight around him. Bodies all around, the ground covered in blood. Bones here and there, and the odd severed limb as well. The grotesque bodies of the dead nightmares were nowhere to be seen, as they dissolved into shadows upon death. Selvar did not regret causing this. This was only the beginning, and the atrocities would only increase from here. While Selvar was considering the carnage he had wrought, a fireball broke through the shroud of night, coming directly towards Selvar. Slipping to the side, the fireball exploded on the ground where Selvar was previously, immolating several nearby bodies instantly. After the explosion, a figure could be seen where the fireball landed. The figure stood up as the flames decreased in intensity, allowing enough light to reveal the figure¡¯s form. Standing a couple of inches shorter than Selvar, the girl was holding a spear. His clothes were somehow unharmed, and she looked no older than seventeen. With bright blue eyes and blonde hair, she wore mostly red, and had a very lithe body. Selvar recognized the girl by her entrance and weapon. ¡°Leyra Nilsen, the Phoenix. Fancy meeting you here.¡± The girl, Leyra, turned to Selvar. ¡°This your doing?¡± Selvar nodded. ¡°Selvar, Champion of the Night. You nearly hit me there, you know.¡± Leyra started. ¡°Selvar??? I thought you were only capable of manipulating shadows!¡± Selvar shrugged. ¡°Yeah, then I got the power of Champion of the Night. Anyway, mind helping me here? I''m pretty sure Adram has no more love for Andstinians than I do.¡± Leyra cocked her head. ¡°Adram¡¯s the God of the Day though. I''m pretty sure you''re like, his number two enemy right after the God of the Night.¡± ¡°Tell that to Adram, he wished me luck. Anyways, mind doing your little meteor thing elsewhere? It interferes with my shadows, Miss Disciple.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This time, Leyra shrugged. ¡°Alright. See ya after the crisis.¡± With that, fire surrounded Leyra and she leapt into the sky, presumably to obliterate Andstine¡¯s soldiers elsewhere. Selvar sighed and continued making his way towards the tent. Along the way, he created more nightmares from those at the brink of death that he passed, using the ever-increasing numbers of nightmares to clear his path. Selvar strode into the tent to find a rather-important-looking man in a full suit of steel plate armor, with a rather large greatsword already drawn. ¡°I am Selvar, Champion of the Night. Might I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the man I face?¡± ¡°General Hurvik Delg of the Holy Empire of Andstine.¡± Dalg slammed shut his visor immediately after introducing himself, then stood motionless. Selvar nodded his head once in acknowledgement. The silver blade in his right hand, knowing a regular sword would be all but useless against platemail, morphed into a rapier. Selvar directed the shadows in the room to cover the ground. Selvar made the first move, rushing Dalg. Aiming for one of his shoulders, Selvar was forced to jump back by the swing of the massive greatsword. Selvar used the shadows to travel behind Hurvik and stab at the gap between plates at the knee. The General bent his knees though, so the rapier found no way through. Hurvik whirled around with his blade, forcing Selvar to drop to the ground. Using the shadows to escape, Selvar changed the rapier in his hand to that of a large warhammer. If the rapier trying to strike the gaps didn''t work, then he''d just make some. Charging at the General, Selvar swung the warhammer horizontally. Before he reached the target, Selvar shadow-walked behind him to smash the warhammer into the right side of Hurvik¡¯s breastplate, cracking it. Immediately stepping back, Selvar dodged the greatsword that whirled out at him. Once again facing his opponent¡¯s front, Selvar grimaced. ¡°That armor is incredibly tough. It has to weigh what, four hundred pounds or something?¡± Hurvik said nothing, instead electing to take a jump, an impressive feat in that armor, and slam his greatsword down on where Selvar was standing. Selvar rolled to the side and began to swing his warhammer, only to have to jump back to avoid the greatsword that changed its trajectory to a diagonal instead of vertical. Melting into the shadows again, Selvar began swinging the warhammer at Hurvik¡¯s back, only to melt back in immediately to reappear in the space he was just in to avoid the spin. Once again slamming the warhammer into Hurvik¡¯s armor, the breastplate cracked even more, showing cracks on all sides. Selvar morphed his weapon once more, this time into a mace. Now that the armor had been cracked so thoroughly, not as much force would be needed to destroy it. Hurvik once again took the offensive, lunging for Selvar. Selvar met the attack with his mace this time, deflecting the giant blade. Reversing his grip on the mace, Selvar quickly slammed the mace down into the General¡¯s breastplate before melting into the shadows to escape. The cracks had progressed further, but hadn¡¯t yet broken the breastplate entirely. Hurvik tossed away his greatsword and instead grabbed a sword and shield from the nearby weapon rack. Selvar rushed him, slipping to the side his shield was on and smashing the mace into the breastplate from under the shield. This final blow proved too much for the breastplate and it finally fell apart, leaving the sweat-soaked clothes of the General exposed. Slipping away again via the shadows, Selvar morphed his mace back into a rapier. Charging the General, Selvar stabbed towards his chest, before twirling his hand so the blade pierced through Delg¡¯s lower right stomach. Pulling his blade out and leaping back, Selvar smiled. This was where he truly excelled. Several feints, locks, and dodges later, Hurvik¡¯s upper body was riddled with holes he had managed to keep from being fatal. The blood loss had started to catch up with him however, and he was beginning to slow. Selvar¡¯s thrusts slowly got closer and closer, until eventually he finally hit Hurvik¡¯s heart. The General stumbled back and lifted his visor for his final moments. ¡°You have¡­ fought well.¡± Moments later, the General crumpled to the floor, the light gone from his eyes. Selvar thumped his right hand onto his chest in a warrior¡¯s salute. ¡°And so have you.¡± The fight against the General finally won, Selvar stepped outside the tent to survey the results of his nightmare¡¯s attack on the army. Selvar stepped out to see absolute devastation. The only thing untouched was the tent where he had fought Hurvik, but everything else was completely annihilated. There were thousands of bodies, both charred and mutilated, and the earth changed between scorched and blood-covered. Seeing no reason for it to remain, Selvar dispelled the enshroudment of night, letting color return to his eyes. The few remaining nightmares dissolved in the light, leaving only a single tent, Selvar, and Leyra in the area that once held an entire army. Leyra made her way over to Selvar. ¡°Those creatures of yours are terrifying. They ripped soldiers apart wherever they went, and left blood everywhere. The power of a Champion really is frightening.¡± Selvar gazed over the field a bit more. ¡°A couple hours ago there was an army here. Now there''s corpses. I personally killed seven of these. That means my abilities annihilated most of an army in just a couple hours.¡± ¡°Look at it this way, you broke a siege of an entire city almost on your own. All I did was support your creatures here and there, so really you protected the entire city.¡± Leyra placed a hand on Selvar¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come on, let''s get you in the city.¡± The gates opened as Selvar and Leyra approached them, and a man in chainmail with a sun insignia on his chest rushed out to meet them. ¡°Lady Nilsen! What in the world happened inside that dome?¡± ¡°Selvar happened. I''ve never seen such terrifying power.¡± Leyra walked forward, past the guard. ¡°Come on Selvar, you must be exhausted from exertion.¡± Selvar walked with Leyra, entering Lesron for the first time in about a month. ¡°I don''t suppose the library¡¯s open right now?¡± ¡°Nope. The librarian¡¯s been up with Lord Kine, coming up with strategies to destroy the army that was camped outside the walls. It''ll probably be open tomorrow. Come on, let''s go inform Lord Kine of what happened.¡± Leyra lead Selvar to the palace in the center of Lesron, passing by a few burned down or smashed buildings, likely products of the siege. ¡®Selvar. You might be receiving a visit in your dreams tonight. A certain someone wants to speak with you.¡¯ Confused, Selvar responded to the god in his head. ¡°Okay, but who?¡± ¡®Andstine.¡¯ Chapter 4 - Rage It''s odd. I killed men in cold blood with figures that represented their worst fears, and yet never felt a thing. I guess the most sensible explanation was that rage overtook me. That, or Night was regulating my emotions. Leyra led Selvar to the Lord of Lesron¡¯s mansion in the center of the city. Elite guards stopped the two at the entrance. ¡°Lady Leyra, who is this man with you? Is he cleared to enter the estate?¡± ¡°Of course he is, he''s the Champion of the Night. I doubt you could keep him out if he wanted to be in there.¡± ¡°Very well then. Lord Kine will be expecting your report on the status of the siege.¡± ¡°Of course he will be. Get a message to him, tell him I''ll report later. I''ll be showing Selvar around.¡± ¡°Okay. I''ll make sure he knows.¡± The two guards stepped aside, letting Leyra and Selvar in. ¡°First stop should probably be the Champion¡¯s Hall. There are 12 rooms there, each corresponding to one of the major gods. The doors will only open for the respective Champion, so your room will probably be untouched.¡± Selvar followed Leyra to the Champion¡¯s Hall. Strangely, none of the doors in the room had any handles, but did have markings above them. He found his door rather easily, as it was marked with a crescent moon symbol. ¡°So I just walk up to it, or what?¡± ¡°Place your hand on it, it should open.¡± Placing his hand upon the door marked with a crescent moon, it creaked open with the sound of hinges that hadn''t been oiled in centuries. A strangely thin layer of dust coated the room. ¡°Those hinges need to be fixed and the room needs to be dusted¡­ how old is this room anyways?¡± ¡°Several centuries. Nothing has been in there since the first Champion of the Night gave up the powers of Champion. He might have left some things behind, but probably not many.¡± Selvar stepped into the room, looking around. Apart from a few very old books on the bookcase, there was a single book on the desk. Curious, Selvar wiped the dust off the cover to discover it had no title. Opening it, there was only a single paragraph on the first page. I leave this book to my successor, whoever and whenever he may be. The secrets of my greatest efforts are here, usable only by you. The few spells contained here can only be used within a Night Domain, meaning only a Champion of Night can properly use them. I wish you luck in whatever your endeavor may be. ¡°I''ll get a maid to bring you some oil and a duster. Lord Kine will expect you in a couple hours for dinner, so I''ll be back then.¡± ¡°Alright. It looks like the previous Champion of Night left a few spells behind, so I''ll probably study those in the meantime. Thanks, by the way.¡± ¡°Not a problem, Selvar. See you later.¡± Selvar turned back to the book, turning the page. The second page listed three spells and the pages on which to find them. Turning the page to the first of three, Selvar began reading about the spell Nightmare¡¯s Reign. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About two hours later, Leyra stopped by again. ¡°Time for dinner, Selvar. Lord Kine¡¯s waiting.¡± Leading Selvar back into the bowels of the estate, the two came to the dinner hall. In the hall, there were already two people, one male and one female. The male was getting on in years, looking to be in his late forties. The girl on the other hand didn''t look a day over twenty, and had long, vibrant red hair with matching eyes. Upon seeing the girl, Selvar instinctively knew she was a Champion. Meeting his eyes, it appears the girl knew he was as well. ¡°Oh wow, you really are a Champion. Bout time old Night took a new one. I''m Veren Felsa, Champion of the Sun. Nice ta meet ya.¡± Selvar bowed lightly. ¡°Selvar, Champion of the Night. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± ¡°Don''t be so formal. Us Champions are all regarded to be of equal status. So what''s your family name?¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Don''t have one.¡± ¡°Ah, rose from a peasant? Probably a bit overwhelmed then. I take it the annihilated remains of an army out front of the city was your doing? Impressive.¡± Selvar shrugged. ¡°Almost all of it was the nightmares and Leyra. All I did was kill a single patrol and the general.¡± Leyra chose to jump in here. ¡°He says that, but all I did was support those nightmares of his whenever it looked like one of them was about to be taken down.¡± Niren cocked her head. ¡°Nightmares?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can take the nightmares of those I face and create a monstrosity from them. I can also give them vague commands but that''s it.¡± Veren looked genuinely surprised. ¡°Wow, that''s¡­ terrifying. I''ll help you catch up with everything else after dinner, but Lord Kine has been patiently waiting while we''ve been talking. You can sit now, by the way.¡± Lord Kine nodded at her while Selvar sat across from Veren while Leyra sat at the other end of the table. ¡°Thank you, Lady Felsa. Lord Selvar, I would like to offer my gratitude on behalf of the entire city of Lesron for breaking the siege we have been under for the last week.¡± Selvar shrugged. ¡°Please, just Selvar. And I needed to enter the city. The army was blocking my way, so I had no choice.¡± ¡°Be that as it may, you still broke the siege. Even though Lady Felsa arrived just an hour ago, her abilities aren''t nearly as good at cutting down large swathes of opponents. May I ask why you needed to enter?¡± ¡°I need a spell of either the Shadow or Subconscious affinity, meant to revert memory changes caused by spells.¡± Lord Kine frowned. ¡°I don''t think there are any in the Shadow affinity, but perhaps in Subconscious. You''re welcome to enter the library and search, but if we had found one this war against the Empire would be less one-sided.¡± ¡°Well, that''s what I''m here for. My goal is to destroy the Holy Empire of Andstine.¡± Veren coughed suddenly, drawing Selvar and Kine¡¯s attention to her. ¡°I''m sorry, but by goal do you mean the one Night gave you at the end of the trial?¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± Veren let out a small laugh. ¡°Oh that''s fantastic! If anyone could do it it would be someone who has the Subconscious affinity but those who have it tend to be terrible fighters. Add in the Shadow affinity and a Night Domain and it''s like your abilities were tailored just for this!¡± Selvar shrugged. ¡°I didn''t really plan it, Night was the only god without a Champion besides Andstine and there was no way in hell I was going to ask him.¡± Lord Kine cleared his throat. ¡°At any rate, with the siege problem cleared up our librarian will be free to return to taking care of the library soon. You''re welcome to stay in the Champion¡¯s Hall until you decide to leave Lesron, of course.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Kine.¡± Kine clapped his hands once. ¡°I believe it is time for dinner.¡± Servants came out carrying food as Kine finished speaking, placing trays of food on the table before leaving the four to eat. After dinner, Selvar headed back to the Champion¡¯s Hall with Veren. ¡°Hey, Selvar. You''ve been in the Room of Night, right? What''s it like in there?¡± ¡°The door¡¯s hinges creaked extremely loudly, there was dust everywhere, and quite a few books in the bookcase. The previous Champion did leave a spellbook for me, but it only contains three spells. Other than that, it''s pretty extravagant compared to what I''m used to.¡± ¡°Makes sense. You were a peasant before you became a Champion, right? As for the dust and hinges, it HAS been over a millennia since the first Champion of the Night lived. A word of advice, get familiar with magical theory for your domain. It''s almost a requirement for Champions.¡± Selvar looked strangely at Veren. ¡°Yeah, I was. And why do I need to get familiar with magical theory?¡± ¡°Because your current abilities can be used as a base to create more abilities that can be passed down to future Champions. Don''t worry about the time required for learning magical theory, Champions live a long time.¡± ¡°Immortal until we choose to give it up, right?¡± ¡°Yup. I''ve been studying magical theory for about eighty years now. That meteor spell Leyra uses was created by me.¡± ¡°Wait, eighty years? You don''t look a day over twenty!¡± Veren laughed. ¡°Well yeah, being immortal does that. Wouldn''t be much use if it didn''t stop us from aging, after all. Also, a side note: at the start, your eyes will only change color while in your domain, but eventually they''ll change permanently.¡± ¡°Ah. That''s why your eyes are red.¡± ¡°Yup. And don''t worry about not having a family name, as a Champion you''ll probably pick up a title or two during your life. Your family will probably be amazed.¡± ¡°My hometown was captured by Andstine. I was out hunting at the time, but my family was in town. You can probably guess what happened.¡± Veren stopped walking. ¡°I¡­ I''m sorry. I didn''t realize¡­¡± ¡°It''s fine, you had no way to know. It''s the reason I decided to seek out the God of Night.¡± The two walked the rest of the way in silence, finally reaching the Champion¡¯s Hall. ¡°Good night Lady Felsa, I''ll see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°I would say the same to you, but the night belongs to you. See you in the morning.¡± Selvar entered the Room of Night, leaving the door open by a crack. Changing into the nightwear he had brought with him in his backpack, Selvar slept, prepared to meet the god he had declared as his worst enemy. Chapter 5 - Gold When Selvar opened his eyes, he found himself in slightly familiar territory. Selvar stood upon a golden platform with a pedestal in the center, and a wall of molten gold surrounding the platform. Upon the pedestal in the center was a golden shield. Recognizing the scene, Selvar gritted his teeth and picked up the shield. Almost instantly, figures covered in gold stepped through the veil of molten gold, to either side of Selvar, with only one side having any sort of weapons. ¡°So that''s how you wanna play this, huh Andstine? All right, I''ll play your game.¡± Selvar walked over to the side without weapons and raised the shield. ¡°Your attributes are supposed to be honor and defense of the weak, right? Hah.¡± Stepping forth, one of the figures with weapons charged him. Meeting the charge head on with the shield, Selvar lowered the shield and slammed it into the figure. Raising the shield in a throw, Selvar threw the figure into the wall of molten gold. Selvar raised his head to look at the group with weapons. ¡°Who¡¯s next? I''m not in the mood to play around.¡±
About half an hour later, Selvar had beaten every gold figure that came at him. He had disarmed one and picked up its blade, allowing Selvar to smash the other figures. Once the final one went down, the blade and the unarmed figures dissipated, along with the curtain of gold. With the curtain dissipated, Selvar could see the eight paths leading into infinity from the main platform. One figure stood in front of each path. Selvar instantly understood what to do. Stepping forth to one of the figures, it spoke. ¡°The two paths beside me are not the ones you seek.¡± Sighing, Selvar first went towards the figure on his left. ¡°The path to my right is not the one you seek.¡± Selvar almost laughed. Just from these two alone, he already knew the correct path was one of these two. Next, he headed to the figure to the right of the first one. ¡°The path to my left is not the one you seek.¡± Selvar broke down laughing. ¡°Come on! This is absurdly easy! Where¡¯s the trial?¡± Walking back to the first figure, Selvar pushed him aside and stepped onto the path. The path lasted for nearly forever. Eventually, the path came to another golden platform, this one with a single figure on it. Reaching the platform, Selvar stopped. ¡°So, you wanted to talk?¡± The figure¡­ nay, Andstine turned to face Selvar. ¡°Thank you for completing the Trial of Honor.¡± Selvar spit. ¡°I''m not becoming your Champion. I''m already the Champion of Night.¡± ¡°Please, hear me out.¡± ¡°Alright, then speak. Explain exactly why the hell you haven''t done anything about this ¡®Holy Empire¡¯ of yours.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Andstine looked down. ¡°I¡­ have no control over them. If I speak to anyone and send them to deliver my message to the Empire, they¡¯re declared a heretic and murdered. I even spoke to the Emperor, but while he''s doing this in my name, he doesn''t care for my worship at all. He''s just using my name to further his own cause.¡± ¡°Your former Champion is still alive. You could have reinstated him and sent him. If the Empire literally can''t declare him a heretic. You LET the Empire continue on this path. There''s no such thing as no control, you''ve held the power to stop this before it even started. But, because you didn''t want to just give a ring to your old Champion, thousands of people have been brainwashed in your name.¡± Andstine¡¯s head sunk further. ¡°I¡­ please, just don''t murder them all¡­ my worship has grown unpopular everywhere else, and they''re all I have left¡­¡± ¡°You brought this upon yourself.¡± Selvar threw the shield to the ground. ¡°Please! I''m begging you! They''re not all bad! Some are innocent!¡± Selvar reached out to his side, Night energy swirling around him. ¡°Those innocents have been brainwashed into ¡®worshipping¡¯ you. I''ll shatter that spell with my power.¡± The Night energy condensed into a familiar silver blade, which Selvar grabbed the grip of. ¡°I will not become your Champion. I, Selvar, Champion of the Night, refuse your request!¡± And with that, Selvar slammed the point of his blade upon the Shield of Andstine¡­ and the shield shattered. Andstine¡¯s pleading face turned to horror, as the Trial started crumbling. ¡°What¡­ have you¡­ done¡­¡± All went black.
Selvar woke up in the Room of Night at Lesron. Blinking a few times, he went to get up¡­ and found a girl in his bed. Recognizing the girl as Veren, he shrugged and got out of bed, being careful not to disturb her. Pulling a fresh set of clothing out of his pack, he put it on. Looking once more at Veren, he decided he couldn''t just leave her in his room. Shaking her side lightly, Selvar tried to wake her up. Veren slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Selvar. ¡°Good Morning Lady Felsa.¡± After a moment, Veren¡¯s eyes snapped open wide and she scrambled back away from Selvar. Unfortunately, she moved a bit too far and actually fell off the bed, landing on the floor with a rather loud thump. ¡°Why am I in your room!¡± ¡®Selvar, she climbed into your bed last night. I do believe she was sleepwalking. Also, what the hell happened last night? Andstine¡¯s Trial just¡­ crumbled!¡¯ ¡°Night says you were sleepwalking and climbed into my bed.¡± Selvar spoke, then sent a message back to Night. ¡®He pulled me into his Trial. I completed it, then we spoke. Eventually, I shattered his Shield. Why?¡¯ ¡°I don''t sleepwalk anymore! I only did that when I was younger!¡± ¡°Evidently you do. Anyways, mind going back to your room? I have some studying to do.¡± Veren huffed and ran out of Selvar¡¯s room, closing the door behind her. ¡®You¡­ shattered the shield? How in the twelve hells did you do that???¡¯ ¡®I summoned your blade and pierced the Shield. Then the Trial fell down around us.¡¯ ¡®You destroyed a Relic. The Trials are linked to the Relics. You shouldn''t have even been able to summon mine, since energy of other gods shouldn''t be able to enter our respective domains¡­¡¯ ¡®Really? I just kind of did it. Either way, what happened?¡¯ ¡®Andstine is missing. Entirely. If we try to talk to him, he''s just¡­ not there. We have no idea WHAT happened.¡¯ ¡®So¡­ I basically just destroyed the god I hate most.¡¯ ¡®I have no idea. I need to confer with the other gods about this. I''ll talk to you later.¡¯ Feeling the connection shut off, Selvar left his room to head to the main hall. He needed to head back to the library, to research some Mind magic. Interlude 1 Charles shut the book. He had discovered a gold mine: the journal of the Nightmare Raider himself! The real question is, what was Lord Nightblood doing with this? Turning to leave the room, Charles opened the door to the vault to find himself staring straight at someone. Mildly tall, lithe, and well built, a good three inches taller than Charles himself, and possessing a single feature that gave Charles no doubt as to his identity: pitch-black eyes. Charles stumbled back, falling on his butt. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ uh¡­¡± And then the figure simply vanished, as if it had never been there to begin with. Standing back up, Charles decided to get the hell out of the castle before any other figures of legend came to meet him. Cloaking himself in shadow once more, Charles half-ran back to the room he entered the castle in. Climbing down the grappling hook and jerking the hook off the window¡¯s ledge, he climbed down the castle and slipped into the forest. There''s no way in hell he was going to stay in this place after seeing the Nightmare Raider. Once safely out of the castle, Charles headed back to his home in the village. Two hundred years ago, his village had been at the center of the most famous war in known history. Of course, the term ¡®war¡¯ is only a loose definition, as for the most part, it was one man facing the largest nation in the world. Charles climbed into his house via the window and changed into his pajamas, hiding his thieving gear and the book in his normal spot under the floor. He''d read the rest of the book tomorrow. A firsthand account of the Nightmare Raider¡¯s actions, written by the Raider himself! This was worth a fortune!
Charles woke up about two hours after dawn. After getting dressed, Charles headed downstairs to eat breakfast. His master looked upon the field of artificing very fondly and would not tolerate Charles being late to the store without a very good reason. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Right as Charles finished eating, there was a knock on his door. Before he could get up to do anything, the door opened to reveal a rather tall man in a very noble cloak that stretched down nearly to his ankles, and black hair poking out from beneath a hat that covered his eyes. ¡°Charles Drinerum, correct?¡± Charles stared, stupefied. The description and voice matched the profile of Lord Nightblood, during his few visits to the town. ¡°Y-yes sir, that''s me.¡± ¡°Good. May I come in?¡± Charles could practically hear his heart hammering. ¡°Of course, milord. But how can a simple artificer like me help you?¡± ¡°I don''t require an artificer, Charles. I simply wish to meet the man who had the audacity to steal my journal.¡± Charles¡¯ mind shut down for a moment trying to register what Lord Nightblood had said. ¡°Wa-Wait, you''re the Nightmare Raider? How?¡± Lord Nightblood¡­ no, Selvar Nightblood, smiled as he took off his hat, revealing pitch black eyes. ¡°Yes, I am. Selvar Nightblood, Champion of Night, Lord of Serace, and the Nightmare Raider. Now boy, tell me. How much audacity does it take to steal from a legendary figure known to have wiped an entire country off the face of the world, and who single-handedly stopped an invasion of bizzare creatures hell-bent on destroying the entire race?¡± Charles swallowed. ¡°Presumably a lot, sir. It sounds like a monumentally stupid choice.¡± Selvar laughed. ¡°You''d be right there.¡± Selvar stood and walked towards the door, putting his hat back on. ¡°Very masterful use of your ability, I might add. I should know, it was mine as well. Now, best hurry up. You don''t want to be late, do you?¡± And with that, the Nightmare Raider walked out of Charles¡¯ house, leaving behind a very terrified young man. Charles¡¯ jaw finally dropped, as his mind finally realized what had happened. He had stolen from the Nightmare Raider¡­ and lived.