《The Chronicles of the Watcher(Dropped)》


 Prologue: On the Beginnings of Eliara

    Before time and space, life and death, light and darkness, and order and chaos, there was only the One. The one traveled the limitless void that was yet was not, facing no challenge. Growing tired of the endless journey, The one first made the land to rest upon. Once the land had been shaped, the stars,burning with fire and light, burst into existence to heat the land while the water, darkness, and air formed to cool it. Seeing the beauty of creation, the one began to build more and more, forging solar systems and nebulae, mysteries and wonders, beauties and terrors.


    When everything imaginable had been built, the One grew lonely, tired of endlessly travelling a beautiful world with none to share it. Gathering all her remaining powers of creation, the one made the 13 Novum, living gods endowed with the powers of creation, and the seed of life, a single source of life for one planet in the universe. With her powers spent, the One gave the Novum a single task: cultivate the seed, and spread its life among the stars.


    Taking council amongst themselves, the Novum quickly took their own forms and dividing the powers of the universe between them. Arghan, the eldest, chose the sun and light, Meiko, his wife, chose the moon and shadow. Terum, Vern, Pyran, and Avos moved down upon the planet and ruled the Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water respectively. Merac followed Terrum and took Metal, Legh, the fastest of the Novum, took lightning while Fyrick chose Ice and Lerrin ruled magic. Elae, the most tenderhearted, chose to govern life and nurture the seed while Moran, the most protective, chose to rule Death and guard his wife¡¯s beings even past their end.


    Finally, abandoned by the rest of the Novum, was the youngest, Zerren. With all the powers of the world being taken, he left and flew out into the void to take space itself as his seat of power. From there, he could not touch or affect the living world: leaving him only the ability to watch as the ages unfolded below.


    First came the Age of Creation. The 12 Novum worked together to protect and harness life on the world. First, the oceans were filled. Teaming schools of fish danced between giant forests of kelp and fortresses made by coral. Sharks and dolphins hunted while on a much smaller level, trillions of microbes fought constant battles for survival. Then out of the land rose the plants and animals. Jungles and forests covered the one continent as animals roamed freely. This primordial world was beautiful, but only eleven of the twelve novum contributed to it. When it came time for Lerrin to unveil his creation, a new age was born.


    Lerrin¡¯s work was twofold. Firstly, massive lines of mana grew into each element dispersing pure power into every last molecule of the planet. Then secondly, he gave life the ability to use this power: he created intelligence. His first intelligent creation took aspects from each element. Weak and clumsy, it satisfied him as a first attempt for a magic wielding race, but it was nowhere near perfect. Giving each of the other novum a few of these beings, humans as he called them, he dropped the rest onto the untamed world and left them to fend for themselves.


    Each of the Novum built a race to suit their own ideals, Arghan created the proud, mighty dragons, Meiko the elegant angels, Terrum the hardy Dwarves, Vern the flighty Elves, Pyran the passionate Infernals, Avos the mysterious Mer, Merac the brawny giants, Legh the stealthy halflings, Fyrick the Honorable Weres, Elae the joyful faeries, Moran the guardian Shades, and finally he himself made the Elementals, beings of pure mana that attuned to different elements.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Releasing these beings onto the world, the Novum brought civilization. Each race built its own empire, even, rather surprisingly, the unfinished humans. For a while, there was peace as the young races worked in harmony to tame their world. But of course, as with all life competition led to conflict, and the races descended into war, bringing the Novum with them.


    Mountains fell into the oceans as storms raged and fires blazed. Of the races only two, the dragons and angels remained neutral. The wars dragged on for decades as the Novum would dash armies aside with the wave of a hand and ravage the world. All of of this, Zerran watched, and remembered.


    Once the world reached the brink of collapse, Arghan and Meiko intervened. Stopping the other 10 tired Novum, they ended the war into 1 day and set their children as the rulers of the world. This gave rise to the second great age of peace, although it could just as aptly been called an age of slavery. The eleven warring races worked under the two ruling races as a penance for destroying the world they had worked to build. Of course, even this time could not last forever.


    The dragons grew tired of sharing power with the haughty angels. Taking matters into their own hands, they struck a surprise blow against the citadel of the moon. Arghan, not knowing of the plan until it was far too late, was pulled into war against his own beloved wife. This time, the Novum took sides: Vern, Pyran, Legh, and Lerrin sided with Arghan as Terrum, Avos, Merac, and Fyrick sided with Meiko. Elae and Moran, horrified by the loss of life remained apart from the battle.


    The second great War was far deadlier than the first. Whereas before, the inexperienced gods had only slaughtered armies and brought upheaval to the world, now they fought each other and brought ruination. Every blow reverberated throughout their element, and the planet itself began to come apart. Seeing that the war could continue no longer, Arghan himself called a council on the Plains of Twilight.


    Asking his wife to see reason, he apologized for the behavior of his dragons. However, Meiko was not satisfied. Tens of thousands of her angels had passed on to Moran, and their lost lives demanded retribution. Breaking the truce, she moved to strike down Arghan her husband from time immemorial. Then, just in time to save her eldest¡¯s life,, the One returned. Stopping Meiko easily, she subdued all 12 of the Novum in an instant. Ashamed of the way her children acted, she then threw back to their thrones with a burst of strength.


    To make sure that no war of the Novum ever occurred again, she created a disc inscribed with the nature of all 13 Novum and planted it at the center of the continent, in the Twilight plains. There each Novum could choose champions to be blessed with their power. Only one champion could be chosen per year for each Novum, and in exchange, the Novum could no longer walk upon the physical world.


    Sealed away in their palaces, the Novum led the shattered remains of their races to begin rebuilding their empires. Champions pushed out into the wild, fighting back against the wild monsters and having occasional skirmishes between the races. Of course, one race did not have this advantage. Abandoned by the Novum, humans were pushed out from the fertile lands and onto the desolate Plains to eke out a miserable existence.


    Slowly, but surely the other races rebuilt, and once they each had around a million members, conflicts began to arise again. Champion clashed with champion and the world again trembled in anticipation of war. The humans, hit hardest by all of the previous wars, wept with sorrow and turned their eyes to the heavens for aid. They believed that this would be another great War just like the previous two. Another brutal brawl between gods as the races got caught once mar, in the middle.


    They were wrong. For this time, something was different. As they looked pleadingly to the stars, the stars themselves looked back upon them and found something worth protecting, something worth nurturing. This time The Watcher Zerran, forgotten thirteenth member of the Novum has decided to intervene.

 Chapter 1: A New Beginning

    ¡°Get him!¡±


    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re dead now street rat!¡±


    Arrin quickly dashed through the dirt streets of the beggars town. Daring a glance behind him, he saw that the three boys who had chased him this far were gaining on him. It was only logical after all, they were nobles, the highest rank a human could be and got to train and do more mundane things such as eat, daily. He on the other hand, was a scholar¡¯s abandoned son. Not blessed with great strength or stamina, he¡¯d almost starved when he was turned out into the streets. Fortunately, living thirteen years with his eccentric father had sharpened his mind and taught him many things. Offering his services to the various gangs that ruled the lower town, over the past three years he had made a living for himself as a consultant and bookkeeper for the less reputable citizens of Reft.


    Of course none of this mattered when the mayor¡¯s son and his two cronies came down into the beggar¡¯s town to try out their brand new swords. With the guards firmly in their pocket and no gang member kind or daring enough to save him, he was on his own as they fabricated a slight and moved to cut him down. Fortunately, although his childhood had not prepared him for the deadly streets, three years on them had honed his reflexes enough to see what was going to happen. Taking off, he had been quickly followed by the murderous bullies.


    Dashing in between pedestrians, he desperately tried to make it to the main gate. There was a battalion of Imperial guards, elite soldiers loyal only to the emperor, stationed there, and they were the only ones in this city who might shelter him. Turning a final corner and making it to the main street, he saw the gate and guards up ahead. Looking back over his shoulder once more, his eyes opened wide in surprise as he saw the nobles no more than an arm''s length away. Leaping forward with the final remnants of his strength, he suddenly crashed into a heavily armored figure.


    Dazed by the impact, he fell back and landed on the ground. Looking up, He stared straight into the eyes of a scarred Wolven. With short white hair and a snarling snout, he cut a terrifying figure as he reached for the wicked axe that hung at his side. Serrated and notched with over a hundred tallies, the weapon matched its grizzled wielder. Still dazed from his fall, Arrin could only stare helplessly as the axe fell downward. A single thought flashed across his mind.


    After all that¡¯s happened to me, this is how I die? Really?


    ¡°Stop!¡± a light, tinkling voice sounded through the air.


    The axe halted its progress, mere inches away from Arrin¡¯s head. The wolven turned back to look at figure behind him and answered in a rumbling yet surprisingly polite voice.


    ¡°Why, Lady Seeker? It is merely a human after all,¡± sniffing and curling up his lip, he continued,¡± an unwashed one too.¡±


    ¡°He has potential. All of us in the seeker¡¯s guild have taken an oath to bring in all potential candidates or have you perhaps forgotten that Warren?¡± The voice responded, undaunted.


    Sighing, Warren turned back to look at Arrin. Looking him over once more, he grumbled,¡± By the looks of him, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll even survive the march.¡± Shaking his head slightly, he hung his axe back at his waist and practically snarled out,¡± Come on human, you¡¯re coming with us.¡±


    By now, Arrin had gathered his wits enough to realize what was happening. The seekers were an ancient order, founded to discover potential champions and bring them to the Rock of the One. If they were saying he had potential, he might as well go with them. If nothing else, it was a free ticket out of the slums and away from the nobles. Having no more than the money in his pouch, the clothes on his back, and a locket around his neck, he quickly nodded in acquiescence while standing up and dusting himself off.


    ¡°Are you alright young human?¡± unlike Warren, the voice held no contempt when it called him that. Merely stating facts instead of treating him like an animal. Quickly glancing over to the voice¡¯s origin, Arrin found an elderly Kitsune looking at him with a faint expression of concern.


    Her fur was matted blond, but had slight streaks of gray, showing her great age. Seeing that she was expecting an answer, he quickly spoke up.


    ¡°Yes I am quite well, Lady Seeker.¡± With a slight bow to her, he turned to Warren and kneeled down. ¡°To you lord seeker, I offer my most sincere apologies. I was fleeing for my life and did not look forward to see who lay in my path. I would offer anything I have upon my person as way of apology, but unfortunately, since I currently have nothing that would please one as you, I will have to impose upon your honor to forgive me.¡±


    Arrin had been educated with the impeccable manners of a scholar and new exactly how precarious his position was. As children of Ferick, Weres were often prickly, to say the least, about what they viewed as insults. Many a human had died to their powerful magic or ferocious fangs over an ¡°insulting¡± greeting.


    Blinking in surprise at the correct greeting and apology, Warren nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. Not full acceptance perhaps, but with that gesture Arrin knew that he would at least not die in the immediate future to Warren¡¯s axe.


    Smiling rather pleasantly, the elderly Kitsune asked,¡± Please, I am too old for such titles. Call me Mae. Now that I have introduced myself, may I have your name young human?¡±


    ¡°I am Arrin, Lady Mae.¡± Arrin responded neutrally. Keeping his face blank had been a key skill to develop when dealing with either his father or the gangmasters, and therefore he had quickly perfected it.


    Chuckling softly, she replied,¡± I suppose I won¡¯t be able to persuade you to drop the Lady eh? Very well Arrin,¡± extending her hand she gestured through the open gate towards the Plains of Twilight and continuing in a much more formal tone,¡± will you accompany us to our caravan and to the stone beyond?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Simply nodding as an answer he followed behind them as they walked, unobstructed through the gates. A few steps out from the gates, he looked back at his hometown of Feran. It had not treated him well. He had been beaten, robbed, abandoned and used far more times than he could count yet, he still found himself feeling a small amount of nostalgia for the place. A very small amount. Quickly quashing it, he continued onward with a smile on his face glad to finally escape as he reached the caravan of the Seekers.


    The caravan traveled through each kingdom yearly, collecting all of the young ones who were touched by the gods. Of the millions of beings in the world, only about a thousand made it this far. These thousand were all brought to stand upon the Rock of the One, the ancient testing ground set down by the one herself after the end of the second Great War. There the Novum would choose 12 beings to be endowed with their full powers for that year. The rest would receive minor blessings and abilities from a patron god. Each of the lesser blessed would enter one of the 12 academies while the 12 champions would train upon the Blessed mountain that rose behind the stone. In the legends and tales told to the children of all races, all of the young would dutifully march in quiet contemplation to the stone.


    Reality, as Arrin found it, was far different. The camp was chaos as hundreds of beings from ages 10 to 20 crowded together. Arguments were frequently seen, with fights interspersed throughout as the ancient conflicts between the races manifested. Clear groups had formed as each race clumped up for safety in numbers. Naturally, however, there were no humans. After informing Arrin of his berth, giving him a badge to identify him as a candidate, and pointing out the general layout of the camp, Mae and Warren left him to his own devices ass they strode purposefully towards the grand pavilion that likely housed the Seeker¡¯s quarters.


    Hmmh, they just brought me here and I¡¯m abandoned. I suppose the Seekers aren¡¯t as kind as the stories make them seem to be, but then again, I suppose I can¡¯t blame them. I am ¡°just a human¡± to them after all.


    Silently making his way around the empty outskirts of the camp, Arrin quickly reaches the wagon they had pointed out. Built as a small wooden cabin on wheels, it looked to be able to house about 8 beds comfortably. Knocking quietly on the door and then pushing it open, Arrin enters his new sleeping quarters.


    The interior was sparsely appointed, but cozy and well made. A small living room took up half of the space as four doors, likely leading to bedrooms, split off to take up the rest of the space. Immediately his eyes fell upon his three cabin mates.


    An angel, a dwarf, a halfling, and a human. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. Arrin thought to himself as he quickly looked over the three of them.


    The angel was male and had two wings, signifying that he was of common blood. Wearing a light blue tunic, he had long blond hair tied back in a tail. Reading a book, he briefly glanced over the top of it, only to snort in contempt and return to the text.


    Then there was the dwarf. Barely reaching up to Arrin¡¯s chest, he was built as sturdy as a mountain and had a thick braided red beard. Currently biting into a massive roast, he didn¡¯t even notice Arrin enter.


    Finally, there was the halfling. With light brown hair and a height similar to that of the dwarf, his face was currently twisted into a mischievous grin as he played a copper coin across his fingers. Immediately sizing Arrin up as well, the pair shared an immediate moment of amusement as they realized exactly what the other was doing.


    Standing up from the armchair he had been sitting in, the halfling loped over to Arrin and extended his hand with an easy-going grin.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Ert. Ert Hightail if you wanna be formal.¡± pretending to lean in, he theatrically whispers loudly,¡± It¡¯s good to see that there¡¯s someone with brains in this cabin even if you are a human! I mean, between beefy over there and Mr. Holier-than-thou I had thought I¡¯d be talking to myself the entire trip!¡±


    Chuckling slightly as the indignant dwarf almost chokes on his roast, Arrin replies,¡± It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Ert. I was afraid that i¡¯d immediately get that greeting from everybody,¡± tilting his head slightly towards the angel, who is still calculatingly ignoring them.


    Laughing broadly, the halfling pats Arrin on the side seemingly as a gesture of friendship, but far more likely checking for hidden weapons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Beefy and I wouldn¡¯t do that to you! Isn¡¯t that right Beefy?¡± He asks openly looking to the dwarf for confirmation.


    By now, Beefy as Arrin had come to know him, finally managed to swallow the chunk of meat he had been working on and stood up, wiping his greasy hand on the side of his tunic. Walking forward, Arrin could see that the dwarf was actually not obese. Instead he was completely covered by churning muscles that made him seem far larger than he actually was.


    In a surprisingly elegant voice he introduces himself,¡± Greetings, my good human! I am Berthran Eligian Englebert Faron the third of house Yeren!¡±


    Shaking the Dwarf¡¯s hand, Arrin replies,¡± Ah it is a pleasure Yeren Berthran!¡±


    Lighting up with pleasure, the dwarf continues,¡± Ahh you know how to speak names the proper way! I had thought I would never hear the end of the presumptuous speakers! Come, come! Sit down with us! We were just eating!¡±


    Nodding gladly, Arrin sat down across Berthran and Ert making small talk as he ate. Of course under it all, he was already thinking deeply about the situation he was in.


    With thirteen years spent living with his father, he had learned quite a few tidbits of information about the other races. Tidbits, that helped him realize he was placed in the cabin with the misfits. The angel was a commoner, the very lowest ranking of angel. Were he in his home realm, he would be working as the bottom of society, scooping manure and cleaning the streets as a daily task. The halfling? Clearly a street rat just like Arrin. He had immediately analyzed Arrin, and even though he had determined him not a threat, he had still checked him for a concealed weapon. Paranoid, sharp, and cunning: he had talent that would make him rise quickly amongst the gangs, until, that is, he stepped on one foot too many and got thrown to say, a seeker¡¯s caravan. The dwarf was a simple matter of research and memorization. The dwarves lived together in clans, placing the well being of the clan far above that of themselves. Therefore, the position of the clan formed the position of the individual. And Yeren clan, while not technically the lowest, was also not very highly ranked. Not even miners, but instead simple diggers, they worked all day for their entire lives just to survive. That probably is what accounted for his muscles.


    Unfortunately, I have no explanation for his well developed speech. I¡¯ll have to find that out later. However, right now it is irrelevant. This is perhaps the perfect cabin to be placed in. Eventually, when the angel comes around to us, the four of us will be able to work together for the betterment of our people. With a common goal, We might even become friends and gain enough influence for me to survive the years ahead.


    Concluding his thoughts, Arrin turns his full focus to the conversation as the three of them tell stories and build bonds throughout the night.


    ??????


    Yes¡­ unlike all of these other god-touched he watches. He thinks. His race only needs slight improvements as well to be my own. A win-win I suppose. That¡¯s that then. He will be my hand...

 Chapter 2

    Rising early, Arrin calmly made his bed and walked outside. The gentle breeze blowing the crisp night air fully woke him up as he quietly climbed up on top of the cabin. Perched on the peaked roof, he quietly gazed out upon the camp. It didn¡¯t escape him how unfavorably placed his cabin was. The camp itself had been set up in a bend on the river Fyr, a rapid and dangerous body of water that snaked its way to the rock of The One itself. With the dangerous river protecting them on three sides, all that was left was to fill in one side. The Seeker¡¯s had done this using a chain of ten cabins that formed a makeshift barricade. These cabins were the ones most likely to get destroyed by any raid, be it bandits or dark political maneuvers. Of course, his cabin was in the very center of the wall.


    Snorting at the Seeker¡¯s obvious prejudice, he turned south to look towards their destination. In the final battle of the second great war, where Meiko had attempted to strike down Arghan, The entirety of each race had been gathered to do battle. When the set foot upon the world, it had been completely cleansed of all the buildings and cities that the races had built upon it, leaving them to scramble to find a new homeland. Moving out from the Plains, the races had gone south east and west. The now forcibly reconciled dragons and angels, had gone into the far south and settled the floating mountains of moon and sun. Still to the south of the Plains but North of them, the Fae and Shades lived together in the foothills at the edge of the plains.To the West, the land fell into the great Ocean. The Mer had settled into the reefs and deep trenches here while the halflings built large cities on the coastline and the elves grew hidden holds in the forest. To the east, the dwarves, giants, and infernals had settled the volcanic mountain ranges. Finally, the weres and elementals had scattered, living nomadic lifestyles in all parts of the known world. That left only the humans.


    With all other directions taken, the humans had been forced North into a beautiful yet brutal land. The ground was rocky and infertile, while numerous magic geysers caused huge numbers of magic beasts to be born. Often starving yet forced into massive wars against the hordes of brutish monsters, the humans had suffered greatly and were very low in numbers, only 400,000 to the millions that made up the other races. Luckily for Arrin, he had grown up in the southernmost city of the empire, Fyran, and had not had to deal with the near constant creatures that attacked the other human lands.


    Gently pulling out his only keepsake, a small necklace with an oval locket, he pulled it open and gazed at a face not much unlike his own. Gently flowing long brown hair framing two inquisitive eyes and a small pert mouth, slightly upturned into a one-sided mischievous grin. His father had always said that his mother had been a beautiful woman, and from the small portrait, Arrin could see why many had thought that. After a few moments of reminiscing, he shook himself out of his small trance, and tucked the locket back under his shirt. Silently making his way back onto the ground, he walked over to the river to wash up and properly start the day.


    After cleaning himself and his clothes in the shallows of the river, he sat down on a rock to dry himself in the light of the newly risen sun and meditate. While weaker in nearly every aspect, humans had one advantage over every other race: They had equal affinity for each element. Having been created from a mix of all elements, they could just as easily use any of them. The other races, except for rare occasions when a god¡¯s champion was chosen from a different race, could only wield their God¡¯s power. Unfortunately, even with this seeming advantage, humans could not stand up to other races in magic either. Whereas the other races could draw from the power source of their god, Humans had no Novum and could not. Nevertheless, Arrin continued to use up his limited mana pool every morning. Serving more as a calming exercise than anything actually effective, he used it as time to think about what he would accomplish that day.


    It was about two week¡¯s journey to reach the Rock of The One. In that time, Arrin knew he had to stay unnoticed by the highest ranked members of each race. They were trained from birth to be the most powerful, most intelligent, and as a side effect: most arrogant. Able to kill him without anyone batting an eye, he would rather not take the risk of trying to befriend them. Second, he had to cement his friendship with his cabin mates. Although, none of them were in any way likely to be chosen as a champion, having Berthran, Ert, and Oliadel the angel, would give him connections in three different academies, any of which he could be chosen for. A one out of four chance was far better than no chance to be with an ally. Third, he should try to ask the seekers about any other humans who had been potential champions. Although he could not say that he knew the full course of the past two centuries, he had not heard of anyone before him being chosen to receive even minor powers. Finally, fourth, he had to find out more about the Academies and the Blessed Mountain. As a human, his very survival around this many members of other races depended entirely on how prepared and unobtrusive he could be. Learning about the places he could potentially be living in for the next few decades would be a very important part of this.


    Cementing his four objectives into his mind, he gently rose and made his way to the mess hall and picked up five portions of food. Carefully balancing the tray of gruel and eggs that the seekers served to common members of each race, he made his way back to his cabin. Setting the food down on the table, he began to slowly eat, pacing himself and making enough noise to wake up his new friends.


    The first, unsurprisingly, was Ert. Wide awake, he mischievously remarks,¡± I know you humans are supposed to be stupid, but really? 5 bowls?¡± Sighing dramatically and setting himself, he inspires a chuckle from Arrin who gladly plays along.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Oh but there are Five of us: Me, you, Oliadel, Berthran, and Berthran¡¯s stomach!¡± As the two continue their merry banter, the other two occupants of the cabin wake up. Oliadel nods and silently takes his food while Berthran heartily bellows and practically leaps forward to inhale his food.


    After breakfast, the five of them each carried their plate back to the cantina. Afterwards, the many dwarven and giant Seekers would start the caravan moving. The dwarves gently made the ground rise as the giants carefully sped up or slowed the metal wheels of the caravan to dash across the land at a frantic pace. Staring out the cabin¡¯s window at the land dashing past, Arrin was left agape as he pondered the speed they were going at. He had assumed the wagon train was pulled by horses and had based his calculations along the slow pace set by burdened carriages. With this speed they could get their much sooner.


    ¡°We shall arrive tonight after resting at 3 hours past midday. We shall be tested as the sun sets and the moon rises. ¡± Oliadel¡¯s calm voice rings out, confirming Arrin¡¯s suspicions. Nodding his thanks, Arrin returns to his room. Sitting down on his bed, he once more begins to meditate. Letting the hours pass by, he merely cycles his mana around, striving to improve his efficiency while not actually burning away his mana. Sensing the trailers slow to a stop, Arrin exits his room.


    Seeing Ert alone in the common room, he asks him,¡± Hey Ert! Care to go for a jog around the camp? We¡¯re probably going to have to get into better shape at the academies anyways.¡± Nodding brightly Ert joins him as they quickly make their way around the edge of the camp. Breaching the real point of this jog directly, Ert bluntly asks,¡± Are you a leader or a follower Arrin?¡±


    Arrin had seen Ert glancing at him with slight suspicion on many occasions. The jog was just a pretense to get the halfling alone and clear the waters. ¡° Don¡¯t worry Ert, I¡¯m neither. I was a consultant bookkeeper and scribe if you understand me.¡± Relaxing slightly, Ert nods, accepting the explanation.


    Gangs on the streets always had a legitimate business or two to fall back upon if the season was bad or as a home base. Unfortunately, to be legitimate, these had to have the right paperwork and bribery delivered to the city officials. While many tried to make do, others hired the services of Consultants: bookkeepers who would gladly cook said books, for a price of course. While they could occasionally run gangs of their own, many viewed that as simply too much work and simply stuck to what they do best: being shadows that simply worked and got payed.


    With the simple discussion concluded, the two finished their lap and made their way to the cantina to collect their early dinner. Sitting down together at a table, they eat the poorly cooked meal together. As the two quietly eat, the rest of the cantina burst into mocking whispers.


    ¡°Haa a Human! Look how tiny it is!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so ugly too!¡±


    ¡°Look at it¡¯s mana! It could barely budge a toddler with that kind of power.¡±


    ¡°Look at that halfling too! He¡¯s probably straight from the streets!¡±


    ¡°Ha fitting! Two pieces of trash naturally come together.


    Ignoring the taunts, Arrin and Ert quickly finish their meal and return to their cabin as stealthily as possible. Closing themselves inside once more, they stay in the common room with Berthran and Oliadel. Merrily playing cards, they each eventually peel off and return to their rooms to prepare however they may for the testing. For the non humans this would be simple: pray fervently to their Novum and send as much mana with that prayer as they could. Arrin however, was left clueless. None of the Novum had ever helped either him or his people. It didn¡¯t quite feel right to specifically pray to them and grant them strength when they had given him nothing. Instead, he simply chose to lie down and get as much rest as he could.


    ¡°Arrin, quickly! Get up we¡¯re here!¡± Arrin was shaken awake by the enthusiastic Berthran.


    ¡°Alright, alright I¡¯m up.¡± he replies as he stands up and stretches with a slight yawn, he exits his room while gently scratching his head. Joining his friends at the window, he looked out upon the center of the plains of desolation. Twelve academies could be seen forming a distinct semicircle around the place where Arrin presumed the Rock was located. Rising behind them, the Blessed mountain provided an imposing backdrop to the individual schools. Passing under an arch connecting the schools of light of light and darkness, the convoy makes its way down into the crater the surrounds the rock itself.


    Once the caravan reached a stop, the candidates all pour out, a sea of various creatures formed into convenient racial blocks as the young naturally clustered together with others of their own kind. Standing at the very back of the crowd, Arrin and his friends were part of the forty ¡°odd-men-out¡±. Rejected by their own people, they clustered together forming a thirteenth group. The entire crowd is halted by the seekers, as an ancient dragon lumbers up to a podium in his drakonid form to address this year¡¯s candidates.


    ¡°Greetings young ones! This year, it is my honor as one of the twelve headmasters to welcome you to the Rock of the One. Every year, you all shall return to this very spot and compete in a tournament for the glory of your Novum! Be merry for today your life is changing! After this night you will not be the same being! No, you will be a chosen of , for a lucky few, a champion! Go, young ones! Go and meet your gods!


    With a gesture from the elder, the gate in the wall surrounding the Rock opens and the young beings, Arrin included, Rush in to receive their blessings.


    P.O.V. ?????


    Ha ha ha! It''s finally time... I can''t wait to see the look on their faces...

 Chapter 3

    Slowing down once he passes the walls, Arrin looks around to observe the space he¡¯s just entered. Hundreds of seekers, likely the teachers at the academies, lined the tall stone walls. The ground curved downward until finally reaching the rock itself. Massive in size, the rock could easily hold a few thousand beings. Coated in runes and channels flowing with mana, it was split evenly into two parts. On The half away from Arrin, the rock was further divided into 12 spaces. Each space resonated with the power of the respective Novum¡¯s element. At the very edge of each space was a statue of the Novum that element belonged to.


    Climbing onto the near half, the candidates immediately began to meditate. Shrugging to himself, Arrin sat down to meditate as well. He had no idea which Novum would ever decide to bless him, a ¡°mere human¡±, but he decided that there was no sense in coming this far to just not try. After all, the seekers had said that he was touched by the divine.


    One-by-one the other candidates flared with an element¡¯s power. Walking toward the statue of the Novum, they would touch it and the element would flare and join with them. Sitting down, they would meditate to discover the nature of their blessing. When about one tenth of candidates had been blessed, a disturbance happened. Instead of touching the statue of Legh, a halfling had been grabbed by it! Raising the him to eye level in the palm of it¡¯s hand, the statue touched foreheads with the halfling, transferring much of its power to the candidate. Turning him around, the statue revealed a very startled Ert.


    Speaking in a loud, booming voice, it declared,¡± Behold! The Champion of the Halflings!¡±


    Smiling with genuine joy, he waved to his friend and joined the general cheering that greeted his appointment. After the cheering had gone for a few second, it ended as quickly as it began while the remaining candidates turned back to their meditation. Slowly but surely, the near half of the Rock emptied of candidates. Arrin knew none of the other eleven champions, but he could see Ert looking at him worriedly. At this point he was one of the few people remaining on his side.


    Finally he was alone, staring at all of the chosen of the year. He felt a small sense of disappointment. Chastising himself for daring to hope that any of the Gods would ever care for the abandoned race, he stood up stiffly and met the many taunts and jeers coming his way with stony ignorance.


    ¡°Ha! Look at the filthy human! How could he ever think any God would bless him!¡±


    ¡°Look at his mana pool! I could barely pick my teeth with that power!¡±


    ¡°Go home monkey! You¡¯re just a waste of space here¡±


    ¡°See I told you all he would always just be trash.¡±


    Snorting at the pitiful insults, he readied to turn himself and walk away when time around him froze and a rumbling voice spoke in his mind.


    Hahaha! Hold Fast Young Human! Not all of the Novum lack the compassion to care for an abandoned race. We¡¯ll show these fellows true power together: if you¡¯ll be my champion that is.


    Shocked by this voice, Arrin immediately thinks,¡± Who are you? All of the Novum have already chosen a champion!¡±


    I am the thirteenth Novum, just like your race, I too was thrown away by the twelve. Now, I can¡¯t hold you here forever, choose. Become my champion, and build the human race to something worth mention, or refuse and return to your slums. It is entirely your decision.


    With a bitter smile, Arrin asks himself if there was ever any choice there, and replies,¡± Very Well, I¡¯ll be your champion. You¡¯ll have to explain yourself in greater detail though.


    Ha! You too know that knowledge is power. Very well, I shall endeavour to give you a full explanation when we have more time, as for now: let¡¯s start this show! It¡¯s about time I came to a family reunion!


    Returning to normal time, Arrin shook himself and looked around in confusion. Nothing had changed. All of the Chosen were still mocking him, and there was no Statue behind him to name him champion. He was wondering if he had imagined the voice, or if perhaps it had been a final cruel trick of the Novum, when suddenly, the rock began to shift. Lines of runes formed at the edges of the empty half. Moving inwards, they formed a glowing spiral of silver mana.


    Slowly, the spiral begins to spin leaving tracks of power behind each arm as it moved. Individual runes collided, shattering apart and taking new combined forms. After a few moments of pure chaos, a large sphere of runes begins to develop at the spiral¡¯s outer edge. Slowing, it eventually stops at the point on the circle furthest from all the other Novum. Suddenly, it shrinks in upon itself drawing in all of the strange mana that had appeared only to blast it upward in a column of pure power.


    At its very peak, the geyser of power compresses taking the shape of a helmet. The helmet was spectacular: Made out of a dark steel, it had a 13 pointed crown built into it. Each point held a sphere of a Novum¡¯s power, with the tallest spike topped by the silvery mana of the newly revealed thirteenth. Coming downward, it had a plate reaching downward covering the wearer''s nose and cheek plates that reach down to his chin, leaving where his face should be exposed. However, instead of blank stone features, two fierce silver beams of light pierce through a dark, empty void.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Intimidated by the power behind those eyes, Arrin looked down to observe the rest of the statue. The chestplate was made out of hundreds of overlapping metal plates. Reaching up to articulate with the helmet, and down to the bearer¡¯s hands and waist, it left absolutely no open weaknesses. The Novum¡¯s standard, a solar system held within a massive hand, adorned the broad central plate.The Novum¡¯s legs were also plated in thick dark armor down to a set of thick hardened boots boots.


    Most impressive however was the weapon he held in his right arm. The closest parallel Arrin could draw to it was a massive halberd, however that paled in comparison to this monstrosity. At its upper end, it terminated in a long spear point. Close to the handle however, was a truly massive axe head. Almost a third as tall as the shaft itself, it stuck out and formed a huge semicircle with massive serrations. Near the top of the blade, a hole in the metal held a floating sphere of mana that looked almost eyelike. However even that was not enough, at the opposite end of the dark metal shaft, a warhammerhead served to counterbalance the massive weight on the upper half.


    Stricken by the appearance of the new being, all beings in the area fall silent. The owners of the mocking voices were left silent as the entity bent down, and used its left hand to lift Arrin into the air gently. Exhaling steadily, it envelops Arrin in energy. The power feels completely alien to him. Seeming to burn but also freeze, kill but also revive, it triggers every nerve and his body, leaving him frozen stiff from the intense stimulus. Still unbelieving, He is turned around by the statue to face the other twelve Novum.


    Speaking openly in a voice tinged with pride, it declares,¡± I Zerran, thirteenth and youngest of the Novum declare this human, now named Arrin Starkeeper, to be my champion. With his coming I declare my own.¡±


    Arrin notices tension build in the hall. Instead of cheering, the Seekers are all reaching for their weapons. Arrin guessed it was only logical: an unknown being had just crashed into one of the most sacred ceremonies they held and declared itself one of their gods. Shifting position, Arrin readied himself as best he could to run away. He had just barely obtained his power, and if it came out to a brawl between the Gods, he didn¡¯t really want to be on the losing side of a 12 vs 1 battle.


    Fortunately, it did not come to that as the other twelve Novum acknowledged his claim with strained nods or other similar symbols of agreement. Turning to the head seekers, the statue of Arghan commands,¡± Take the chosen to the academies and lead the champions to the Blessed mountain. We twe¡­ thirteen shall have our yearly council.¡±


    Kneeling down and bowing his head, the eldest inquires respectfully,¡± And what of the thirteenth champion, great First?¡±


    Zerran answers quickly,¡± I have already made arrangements for his stay in the blessed mountains. He has a room, instructors, and is fully provisioned with food and instructors.¡±


    Backing away and bowing even more deeply, the ancient dragon replies,¡± As you will it, exalted thirteenth.¡±


    With the Eldest¡¯s public acceptance of the new God, all remaining tension dissipated. The seekers efficiently corralled the blessed off through the same path they entered. Zerran set Arrin down on the ground and motioned for him to follow the other champions who were already moving towards the crater¡¯s far exit.


    Giving Zerran one last inquisitive look, Arrin jogs over to the other Champions. Pausing momentarily, he yells back over his shoulder,¡± Don¡¯t forget your promise Zerran!¡±


    Chuckling and shaking his head, the Novum replies,¡± Ha ! I¡¯m almost as old as time itself! I won¡¯t forget a promise I made this very day. Now go on!¡±


    Satisfied with Zerran¡¯s public acknowledgement of his promise, Arrin quickly catches up with the other champions. After he passes under the walls he pauses for a moment. Looking back one last time, he could swear he saw a silvery grin on the Zerran¡¯s face but before he could check, the gate had firmly shut.


    P.O.V. Zerran


    Ahh, that was the most fun I¡¯ve had in a millennium! That kids mind is as sharp as any I could have hoped for! Making me confirm my promise before the other Novum? Even daring to bargain with me when I¡¯m offering him champion hood for free. Genius! Enough on that though, I suppose it¡¯s time I got serious.


    Looking around the chamber, I see that, surprisingly enough, I already have somefriendly facesArghan, Meiko, and Elae are actually smiling honestly! Hmm, If I¡¯d known they actually remembered me, I¡¯d have done this reunion a lot sooner! The rest of my family seems either neutral or slightly guarded, except for Lerrin that is. I caught a glimpse of a fair amount of ¡­ fear? Anger? Disgust? Hmm, I¡¯m not quite sure what that emotion was, but I suppose I¡¯ll have to watch him more closely from now on. He may just be the one who is starting the war.


    Since I am the intruder here, and since we would probably stand here staring at each other for the rest of the year if I don¡¯t, I speak up first.


    ¡°Hello Everybody! It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± I cringe slightly at my awkward greeting. I seem to be a bit out of practice: likely because It¡¯s hard to have conversations when you are quite literally alone in space.


    ¡°Yes, it has been far too long little Brother! Why haven¡¯t you ever visited us?¡± Arghan kindly replies. Hmm, I may have judged him a bit harshly when I was younger. Then again, he was the one who chose me to be the one that stayed behind in the void. I suppose I''ll just have to reserve judgement.


    responding politely, I try not to let milenia''s worth of anger seep into my voice,¡°Oh, I was just blocked by the limits of my power and the seal that you all andMother put on this world. Fortunately,¡± I continue, raising a hand to forestall any questions,¡± I¡¯ve persuaded her to allow me in.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lerrin asks bluntly. No hint of emotion anymore, but I¡¯m now almost certain he is not very happy to see me here. But back to his question¡­


    I snort derisively and respond,¡± Many reasons I suppose.¡± Ticking them off on my hand, I continue,¡± I was getting bored of watching you all, I was lonely, I want my own empire of beings that worship me,¡± pausing for a second and then continuing in the most deadpan, cold voice possible, I conclude,¡± Oh, and saving the race all of you abandoned from dying in the crossfire of your comingthird war.¡±


    Leaving them with that sally, I fade back to my palace. I had accomplished what I needed to do for today. Sitting down on my throne, I look out upon the thrivingworld below me, smiling and sighing contently as my plan to save it falls perfectly into place.