《RE: DIVINE》 Chapter 1: The Prize (and sort of a prologue) One thing a lot of people say if they were to be reincarnated, they¡¯d wanna be reincarnated in a fantasy world. Well, right now I¡¯m living that dream I also had shared. Most people imagined being born and growing up to be great warriors, fighters, even royalty. I woke up to become god. Yeah, I¡¯m god and this is the tale of my various doings in the realm that I woke up ruling. Before we start, I suppose skipping the whole ¡®start¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be nice, after all some of the best parts in these tales happen then. So let us start with how I died. . .. ... ¡°Damn I hate this shitty city.¡± Sighing as I kicked a can to the side of the road, hitting a passing car. The car screeches to a stop and a guy in a nice tailored red suite, hopped out fuming. ¡°Yo, who the fuck do you think you are punk?! You just threw something at my car!¡± He runs at me, grabbing my collar and throws me against a wall and pulls out a gun, obviously one, not caring its in the middle of the day and two we¡¯re in downtown on a busy street. ¡°Think you¡¯re funny punk? Gonna talk about how big and bad you are to your friends?!¡± An onlooker, unwilling to stand by idle while a kids getting threatened at gun point, uses a stealthy approach and attempts to grab the gun, however the moment the asshole feels a pull at the gun pulls the trigger. The bullet plunges through my flesh at the lower abdomen. My attempted savior attempts to wrestle the gun away however by pure chance in mid wrestle, the gun is fired again, and by chance hits my heart. I was too far in shock to do anything. I was just thrown against a wall, then had a gun pulled on me, and then shot not once, but twice. I slid to the ground as darkness consumed my sight, my last thought was ¡°life sucks, fuck you god¡±, I closed my eyes uncaring my worthless excuse of a life was over...or at least that is what should have happened except for the fact I heard a faint whisper ¡°fuck you too kiddo¡±, hearing that I opened my eyes to a white room, across from me was a guy in a white suite, and sunglasses. He sat in a white chair staring at me. Unsure what to do and generally creeped out ¡°Uhm, where-¡± ¡°Fuck you too kiddo.¡± He leaned forward in his chair ¡°Every single day I have millions of shitty kids praying to me ¡®just kill me¡¯ and what to I get for doing so?! I get a good old fashioned ¡®fuck you god¡¯ In response. I bust my holy ass every single day for you ungrateful children of mine and what do I get in return? Nothing!¡± The man continued to drone on as such, my mouth quite literally dropped unsure of this situation I woke up to. Time passed and this stranger kept rambling on about his ¡®mistreatment¡¯ and all sorts of other topics. He eventually stopped talking and removed his sunglasses. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Do you know who I am kiddo?¡± I shook my head no ¡°I¡¯m fucking god.¡± ¡°Bullshit, if you¡¯re god prove it then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± the guy put his hand outright and opened it, palm facing the ceiling. From his hand a flower bloomed, a single yellow tulip. ¡°I grew a flower out of thin air. Believe me?¡± I rubbed my eyes, this guy was probably doing some fake magician shit or I was dreaming, to satisfy him I just said I believed. ¡°Good, anyways normally when people die they get sent to the pearly gates for judgment, can you guess why you aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Mismanagement? ¡° ¡®God¡¯ chuckled ¡°A guess as valid as any, but no there¡¯s never been a ¡®miss sort¡¯ before. The reason is because you¡¯re the 100,000,000,000,000,000th person to die. So you won a prize.¡± I start laughing, I won a contest for dying. Its hysterical to think honestly. Trying to calm down my roaring laughter ¡°S-so what did I win hehehe...¡± ¡°Your own universe.¡± I stopped laughing ¡°My what.¡± ¡°Congratulations, for being the 100,000,000,000,000,000th person to die you get to become the god of your very own universe! You will be instantly transferred to your domain where ¡®your word is law¡¯ free from the influence of anything else, after all everything there is yours!¡± I was completely lost ¡°What the fuck do you mea-¡± God snapped his fingers and everything went dark. --------------- Hello, this is my first ¡®professional¡¯ work. I¡¯ve written a lot of short stories but this is my first attempt at writing a full one. I take any and all criticism, trust me I NEED it lol. Chapter 2: A world where I rule I opened my eyes to be greeted by an unusual sight. Before me lay a fluffy white expanse, Greek style architecture was everywhere, none in ruins. However it seemed deserted, as it was utterly silent from the sound of my own breathing and heartbeat. At least they were signs that I was of the living. I was unsure what to do, however I felt my gaze pulled to a single point. A top of a hill coated by this white fluff, was a mansion. It had no special styling like the other buildings that were noticeable from a distance. I felt myself drawn to it, and began walking. As I took my first step I looked down and noticed my feet, or rather lack of. I looked for my hand and arms to find nothing there, however I felt them. Though I couldn¡¯t see them I knew they were there. Though I was terrified when I saw the lack of appendage, the fact they were just invisible reduced it to unease. I decided to ignore it and took step for step to this house on a hill. I reached the top of the hill to not only confirm it had no special design, but rather no design at all! It was a block of pure white with windows and doors. The surface seemed to be just a mirror, of course due to my lack of visible limbs showed nothing but a faint outline of me. Like I was looking at a character creator. I began to think of how I looked before, but it was like I didn¡¯t remember. To be truthful I wasn¡¯t vain and little cared of my own image, but it was strange I couldn¡¯t think of what I looked like. I decided to pass it off as a side effect of dying and coming back. After standing there in thought, I turned and approached the front door of the house. It, like the rest of the house, was seamless. The only difference was the door frame and the noticeable seem giving way of it being possible to open, and a bright golden doorknob that greatly contrasted to the white. My hand grasped the know firmly and a deep sense of excitement and...homecoming overtook me. Homecoming? Was this home? I tried to remember my past but the more I tried the more it was wiped away. I thought that should be awful, but rather it gave me a sense of peace. In my mind came the thought of ¡°a new slate, a new me¡± and it was comforting to think. I didn¡¯t quite understand why but I felt this was...necessary? All I remembered of my past was I died and won a prize by doing so. Of course, I also remembered my prize was becoming a god of my own universe. I was indifferent, as the me that would have given a response had died in another world. That body would soon rot in a grave in some cemetery. I was however glad that only my personal memories, and not my learned knowledge was erased. I still knew great events in history, the various countries, current events, things of factual nature. I broke out of my train of thought from staring at the doorknob and turned it, slowly opening to the room within. Inside the house was a well lit living room. Three white couches sat around a glass coffee table, the table itself had nothing on top of it. In front of this sitting area was an unused fireplace. It protruded ever slightly out of the wall. Above it was a small shelf like mantle to hold picture frames and other memorabilia as was common. The room itself had a carpeted floor. Unlike the white walls, the carpet was a faint gray color. Suddenly a voice appeared. ¡°Are you satisfied with your accommodations my lord?¡± I spun around towards the direction of the voice but saw nothing. ¡°Forgive me my lord, you have yet to give me visible form, as such there is nothing to see.¡± I was confused, the voice was feminine and the source of the voice was very much there. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± My eyes looked around a bit, looking for the faint trace I had noticed outside on the wall of the house. I eventually found it standing about four feet away or so. ¡°I am to look as you so desire, if you wish to bestow me a viewable form I would be honored to have such.¡± I began to realize what the voice meant. My imagination began to wonder ever so slightly. Different women appeared in my head till a specific one stayed. A bodacious slender redhead with snow white skin and brown hazel eyes cropped into my head. I began imagining her smiling at me, and formally bowing as well. ¡°Is something the matter my liege?¡± I snapped back and realized the bowing and smiling weren¡¯t of my imagination, rather the voice had taken form of what I had pictured. When I say pictured, I mean in its entirety. I felt my face warm exponentially, I adverted my eyes. ¡°Uhm, you¡¯re not wearing any clothes, like at, um, all.¡± The women cocked her head to the side. ¡°Is the form you granted not to your liking at all?¡± I swallowed tightly and I felt a special pal begin saying hello. ¡°No, quite the opposite in-fact, however I would be ever so pleased if you would put on some clothing.¡± ¡°I do not posses that, you have not granted me anything to adorn my new form with.¡± This women had no sense of shame or subtlety with her body. In response to this I pictured a plain white t-shirt and blue jean covering the respective places on her body. ¡°I am honored by your generous gift my lord.¡± I finally return my eyes to find her in another formal bow, her head faced slightly forward so I could still see her facial features, her very well endowed area pulled the shirt forward so a slight gap was viewable at the collarbone. This woman, which one could with high plausibility say was from my own mind, was gorgeous. Though in my head she was already, in person it was a beauty cataclysmic difference. As she stayed hunched over my eyes began devouring her looks, as I continued a single word popped in my head ¡°pervert¡± my already still prevalent, if not invisible blush, probably covered my face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to bow before me, I don¡¯t even know who you are.¡± The woman raised herself back up. ¡°My apologizes, I have no name as my entire existence is up to your desire. This is your realm of rule as you are the god here. The realm currently looks as this from your thoughts upon receiving godhood. You may change anything, including myself and the world below, as you wish at any moment.¡± I frowned ¡°World below?¡± ¡°We currently reside on a divine cloud sitting on top of the highest mountain. Similar to the Greeks of your world belief that the god¡¯s resided on Mt. Olympus.¡± It was understandable, if my thought of how a gods realm would look was influenced by the Greeks than it was understandable to think other things was also influenced as such. However something else occurred to him as he thought about it. ¡°What else was influenced by my thoughts?¡± ¡°A sort of ¡®skills¡¯ system exists in this world similar to the many VRMMORPG stories you have read for the mortals down below. Perform certain actions, do certain tasks, etc and you earn a skill pertaining to such. However this does not affect you as you are god, you have access to all skills and can bend the laws of this world as you wish as you are law. This world is also similar to stereotypical ¡®fantasy¡¯ worlds like you have seen in various games and books. There are different races, magic, and no ¡®modern¡¯ weaponry. The most common and basic weapons are swords, bows, and others that one would expect to find in such a realm.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I raise my eyebrows in shock ¡°You know a lot about my old world.¡± ¡°I have been given knowledge to better serve you and aid you in adjusting into your new role as a god.¡± ¡°What is my ¡®role¡¯ exactly?¡± I fold my invisible arms ¡°Anything you wish it to be. You can be a mere spectator, an avid influence on the realm, or you can go down there and enjoy yourself amongst the mortals as you deem fit, or you can do nothing and simply enjoy yourself in your realm. If you so wish it is possible to acquire items from your old world for yourself, however the god of that realm has requested if you do so do not take them out of here since he likes to keep a monopoly on his universes creations.¡± ¡°Is there a ¡®religion¡¯ about me then?¡± ¡°Yes, the various races know of your superior existence and have worshiped you from the beginning of this world.¡± I was confused, I didn¡¯t make this world why do they know of me? ¡°But I never made this world?¡± ¡°As I had mentioned, you influenced this world. In-fact had you not influenced it, you would have come to a blank slate. You have made everything here, myself included. This realm has never had influence from outside beings save the god of your former world to send you here. You are the artisan and this world is your painting my liege.¡± I nodded, not completely understanding but understanding enough to get by. ¡°Well considering I don¡¯t actually have to do anything, might as well goof off down there.¡± I was about to just walk out of the house I only stepped into the living room of when I realized I had no clue where I was going. ¡°By chance do you know how to get down there?¡± ¡°I do, but may I suggest you give yourself physical form first?¡± I smile embarrassed and reply sarcastically ¡°No I was just going to go around yelling BOO and pretending to be a ghost, how do I give myself physical looks?¡± ¡°Same as you gave me mine.¡± I frowned slightly. All I had done was use my imagination-oh. I chuckle slightly and begin imagining a body. Since this was a fantasy world I decided looking human was boring and overused, yet so was being an elf, and a dwarf, and an orc. Pretty much anything would be considered overused, so it was lose-lose on the initial coolness factor of things. I decided I would go dwarf, mostly because they were more Elder Scrolls dwarf style than Tolkien dwarf style. After gaining the base template, I decided to have long blonde hair because stereotypical elf-like character is always the best choice. Also deciding to be vain and make my character look more statuesque and other-worldly beautiful, I decided I would be one the best looking dwarfs ever because I¡¯m god and I can. That probably sounds childish, which it is, but it was just what felt good at the time. I kept altering my looks till I was satisfied and ¡®adorned¡¯ the form. Immediately I noticed I was taller than before by at least one foot. My arms and legs were longer making them harder to control, or at least they should have because they felt completely natural. I cooked it up as just a god thing instead of wasting my mental power on internally debating it. I then imagined myself in a green Skyrim style tunic as clothing with fur boots and gloves to top it off. ¡°Now how exactly do I reach the ground?¡± ¡°Simple my lord, you imagine yourself in the place you wish to go.¡± I furrowed my new made brow. Imagine myself there? How do I do that if I don¡¯t I know where or what ¡®where¡¯ would be? As if she knew the answer to my question ¡°My lord forgive my rudeness but you know every nook and cranny of this world, you just to think about opening your divine ¡®map¡¯ if I were to put it into a term.¡± I did as she said and it popped up into my head, I explored this mental map and found that not only it showed me every location in the world, but I could see it in real time. I could see everything in 3D, people selling things in a large city in the south, a hunter in the north loosing an arrow towards an elk. A monster taking a nap in a deep cavern in the east. Nothing was out of sight! It was like the largest scale reality TV show ever made. I close the mental map and looked at my servant who I realized I had yet to name. I already had a name I always liked in mind. ¡°Your name shall be Elyisia by the way.¡± If I were to be honest, I probably should have thought about it longer than I did, however considering I kind of ¡®made¡¯ her she was pretty much my daughter in a weird sense. She smiled greatly, obviously liking the name ¡°By your will my lord. Since you are going down, do you wish me to accompany?¡± I shrugged, considering she knew the ins and outs of everything and she was attractive, not that beauty had anything to do with it of course, she¡¯d probably make a great traveling partner. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go together.¡± She smiled warmly ¡°Well since I¡¯ll be going with you, make sure you imagine me being there with you as well otherwise I¡¯ll have to find another route down.¡± ¡°Wait a minute you¡¯re the groundskeeper right?¡± ¡°Yes, that is my role for your realm is a caretaker.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to take care of the realm if you and I aren¡¯t here?¡± ¡°Remember how you had to search to see my outline?¡± ¡°...Yes?¡± ¡°The town isn¡¯t empty at all my lord.¡± I smiled a bit embarrassed and look down slightly. I than put the fact that I walked by a whole lot of people with out realizing away, including the fact none of them made a sound which was sort of disturbing. I decided to forget this strange fact and instead on traveling, wanting subtlety, my first location would be on not very auspicious. It was a border town between the kingdoms of man and dwarf, thus seeing both races together was normal there. I thought of us being in an empty part of the forest and the green foliage suddenly appeared before my eyes. --------------------------------------------- I hope you enjoyed this second chapter! Once again please give any criticism you have I¡¯ll gladly take it. On a side note, if you read the description you¡¯d notice I mentioned how its partially a parody. In truth this is just me saying where the story¡¯s inspiration came from. Since people complained about an mc¡¯s development being to quick in power progression I decided to make a story about a character without power progression since he has it all from the start. On a side note I have no real plot at this time, for now it¡¯ll just be our Gods antics in the mortal realm as I flesh it out (I have an idea but I don''t know if it''ll work well enough) Once again I hope you enjoyed! Chapter 3 Already moving towards something The moment I was suddenly in a forest scared me utterly shitless. I immediately lost my balance and fell on my rear, my heartbeat was a million miles an hour. On the other hand, Elyisia was seemingly unaffected by this unlike myself and stood there eyebrows raised with an amused smirk on her face. ¡°Are you alright my lord? You seem to have fallen and can¡¯t get up. Do you want me to contact Life Alert for you?¡± My face went red in embarrassment, not from the fact I feel and teased over it, but from the fact I died when I was 19 not 65 god dammit. I sighed and got up with no trouble, at least her poking fun at me like this calmed me down from my initial freak out session. I may be a god now but literally yesterday I was human, cut me a little bit of slack, eh? ¡°I thought servants of the lord were meant to be respectful to him?¡± ¡°Forgive me, from my knowledge of you and the way you ¡®are¡¯ it was a good quick way to calm you efficiently.¡± I found it sort of weird she had this knowledge. Truth be told I didn¡¯t know that if I was freaking out, embarrassing me was a good method to undo that sudden terror. I shrugged it off, not wanting to think a woman I just met knew more about me, than I knew of me. I patted the dust off my tunic and began walking towards the city, Elyisia following closely behind. Because the town was a major trade depot, and it being a border town, entrance was a little more strict compared to other locations. In most places, they simply verify you aren¡¯t on the wanted list, and your cargo for illegal goods. Here however, you must have a ¡®pass¡¯ these passes are easy to obtain, you simply have to visit a major town of man or dwarf¡¯s government building. They make sure your not on the wanted list, you pay two gold coins and you have a pass for the year. This knowledge sort of ¡®popped¡¯ into my head, I guess it¡¯s one of the perks of being god? I imagine in my hand a valid border pass, after all if all the other uses of my power involved imagination, shouldn¡¯t creation be as well? I looked at my hand and there sat two white pieces of paper, one with Elyisia on it, the other Daxen. I frowned mostly because I hadn¡¯t thought of what to call myself. It certainly wasn¡¯t something like ¡°Daxen¡±. Instead, as the line moved, I thought of a better name. I would go by Fallion, a dwarven name meaning careless tinkerer. I didn¡¯t care for the meaning behind it, I just liked the way it rolled off the tongue. As we got closer I realized the other pass still read Daxen, I imagined it changed to Fallion and thankfully it did. The guards stopped us and checked the current wanted posters, seeing none matched us they asked for our passes which we showed. Satisfied since we had no goods, we were allowed to pass into the city. Inside the city were great stone structures, and great metal ones. Obviously it was meant to be representing of this being a border city. I noticed along the wall, dwarven guards were stationed at points, and then humans in a sort of interval fashion. This was probably to represent the ¡®trust¡¯ between the two kingdoms. In truth this town was one of the unique towns in several ways. First off the towns was separated into four districts. The Maos, Veruk, Loddel, and Farras districts respectively. The kingdom of dwarves controlled the Maos and Loddel while the kingdom of man controlled the Veruk and Farras. As I was about to suggest we find an inn before we explore the city, a town crier was heard. ¡°Hear ye, hear ye. Upon this day war has been declared! The Orc Empire and the Beast-men Conglomerate have declared war on our great kingdom of dwarves. Our king, his Majesty Sartiunk has asked the king of men, his lordship King Borus to aid him in fighting these terrors. As of now all male and female, dwarf and human alike shall be conscripted if deemed fit for service. This is due to the lack of standing army of the two kingdoms since there has been no war in hundreds of years. All humans are to report to the Veruk government building while Dwarves must report to the Maos government building! Failure to do so will be considered treason and offenders will lose citizenship status! You have five days to report and sign up. That is all!¡± The crier stepped down from the makeshift podium, receiving some boos and indifference. A war? Sounds fun! Of course the only problem relies in that I¡¯m god so I could technically just force them to make peace, also I can¡¯t die, and any weapon I pick I instantly master in every way possible. I turn toward Elyisia who¡¯s obviously indifferent to it all. She simply was awaiting my orders. ¡°Do you have combat experience?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. She nodded ¡°I have full mastery of all conventional weapons to better serve you my lord.¡± I bobbed my head slightly up and down and sighed ¡°Very well, I suppose we will travel a lot in war, so to adventure!¡± I point my finger high and head to the Maos government building, while Elyisia headed to the Veruk building. Upon arrival not many had lined up, obviously wanting to wait the forced summons as long as possible. It went relatively quick, mostly because I was one of ten dwarves total in line. After 30 minutes or so it was my turn. ¡°Next!¡± a gruff voice spoke and I stepped inside The room was well lit, papers in neat piles all around, a dwarf in a uniform of sorts was writing something on the desk. He looked up and motioned for me to sit in the chair in front of him. ¡°Name?¡± ¡°Fallion.¡± ¡°Age.¡± Unsure how to respond, I knew it was common for dwarves to live several hundred years, and one was considered young until nearly 200. ¡°104¡± The dwarf nodded and scratched his nose ¡°Preferred armor and weaponry?¡± ¡°Heavy and any.¡± The dwarf looked up a bit eyebrows raised ¡°Now what do you mean by ¡®any¡¯ boy-o? As in all weapons or the most common weapons for battle?¡± ¡°Any as in all.¡± The dwarf chuckled ¡°I dunno if you¡¯re being serious or not, but for the sake of me filling this here form out I¡¯m simply gonna put sword, shield, claymore, and bow. Good enough?¡± I nodded not really caring, technically being what I am I just go unarmed and punch everyone to death while the song ¡°You¡¯re the best around by Joe Esposito played in the background. The dwarf leaned back and sighed ¡°Alright kid time to do your physical, come with me.¡± The dwarf got up and led me to a door, he opened it and ushered me in ¡°Wait here for your name to be called.¡± He left and shut the door, likely to continue his task at hand. Time went by for what felt like an hour or so before my name was called. ¡°Fallion, its time for your checkup.¡± I stood up and walked to the doorway where the voice came from. Inside was a much younger dwarf then the one before. His voice wasn¡¯t gruff and didn¡¯t have as hard features. ¡°Sit down in front of me please.¡± I did as he asked, and he began checking various parts of my body from my muscle mass, to my responsiveness mentally, and emotional health. The exam itself wasn¡¯t too long and when he finished he took the card the previous dwarf filled it and stamped it with an official seal with a symbol. The symbol meant ¡®approved¡¯. ¡°Take this card out that door, you¡¯ll see a dwarf wearing heavy battle raiment and a long black claymore on his back, hand the card to him. He¡¯s the one who¡¯ll give you your assignment.¡± I nod and walk out the door, whistling as I do thinking about how fun war will be. Though of course he also remembered old veterans tell him ¡°wars nothing but a pointless massacre¡± and ¡°there¡¯s no honor there¡±. However being this was his world and a fantasy one at that, he held high hopes. He turned a corner a found the dwarf the last one mentioned. He was watching several dwarves in combat practice, some hitting mannequins, others sparring with fellow trainees and even more being given verbal instruction. I approached the man and coughed gaining his attention and gave him the card. The dwarf nodded ¡°I¡¯m lieutenant Ruckgevir, welcome to the army kid.¡± ------------------------- Thank you to those who have given criticism so far, I wish to address a part of one. Someone mentioned how I had the world ¡®pre-made¡¯ and I have a reason for such. In my original take of this story I had him shape the world as he wanted, however it was dreadfully boring and dull. I spent a good month testing various things to make it ¡®¡±interesting¡± with no luck, thus why the world was conveniently already there. Once again thank you for your criticism, as I¡¯ve said this is the first non-short story I have written so I hope you continue to offer advice and recommendations so I may improve my own quality of writing. Interlude 1: its NOT A PYROMANCY GOD DAMMIT This isn''t really ''canon'' to the story. It was something I thought up while writing chapter 3 abd didn''t want to lose the idea. I found a little stupid but felt like sharing it. This story is far ahead into the story so you won''t understand some of the changes for the characters (especially Elyisias changes) till the story reaches that point. Hope you enjoy! --------------- One day Elyisia and I were walking through the Elven coastal city of Morsalio, near the Sea of Razuth Pig, a famous explorer from long, long ago. This city was HOT, utterly blistering level heat. I began to crave one thing and one thing only, ice cream. The only problem was ice cream doesn¡¯t exist the land. We kept walking and I kept grumbling, shifting my armor to attempt to make myself more comfortable. As we kept walking we saw a mage doing tricks on the street to entertain. He conjured up bits up light, flowers, and many other things. Then he conjured snow, I mean it melted near instantly but it was snow. An idea hit me like a truck, I could make a spell to make ice cream! I pulled Elyisia to a nearby park that was relatively empty for my attempt at making this spell. Even though I¡¯m god and could just force the world to make me a spell, I wanted the feeling of accomplishment god dammit, on a side note it still feels weird knowing I¡¯m swearing at myself in a weird way. After an hour of thinking up the various layers, words, and wei¡¯s necessary, I attempted the spell. I cast the spell into my hand and success! The only problem was, like the snow it melted instantly and made my hand a sticky nasty mess with no ice cream to it. While I was doing all this ridiculous spell making, Elyisia was entertaining herself by watching a Vundervipp try and crack an acorn on its skull, why it was doing such a bewildering thing, she¡¯d never know. This is especially understandable when its tail is specifically made to crack acorns. Its tail wasn¡¯t visibly damaged yet it kept hitting itself. Then she realized what it was doing when it fell over. It was trying to commit suicide. The only response the redhead could give was a slight ¡®huh¡¯ before walking back to her beloved master. Why she followed an idiot of a man none would know but her. The truth was she was ¡®born¡¯ to love him no matter what. You could say he made her to love her, though she knew all that he made most the time was an accident of him not fully grasping his powers as god. Of course even though one could argue she was ¡®forced¡¯ to love him, she didn¡¯t much mind. His goofy idiotic ways and highly teenagish perverted but innocent ways would probably made her fall for him anyways. Of course she¡¯d never admit it unless he asked her too. As she approached she heard him shout ¡°aha!¡± and ¡°I¡¯m a genius!¡± of course, he didn¡¯t tell her why they went over here. When he pulled her over he had that ¡®I¡¯m gonna make something look¡¯ that usually ended up being stupid or something so stupid its amazing. This time it was the latter. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Do you know what this spell is?¡± I stood up and held at my hand, a red spell swirled in my palm waiting to be cast ¡°Its a pyromancy of sort?¡± I smacked her ¡°WRONG-O guess number 2.¡± She sighed a bit from my antics, already quite used to this childish manner ¡°Its a pyromancy, its red, red means fire. YOU are the one that made it so the spells had a certain color in categories.¡± I smacked her again ¡°Still wrong, its not a pyromancy.¡± She threw her arms up ¡°Well then by the sky is actually a carriage!¡± I smirked ¡°You wanna know?¡± ¡°No I just wanna sit here confused all day.¡± she shot back ¡°Its ice cream.¡± ¡°Its what?¡± ¡°Ya know, ice cream. You have all the knowledge of the old world.¡± ¡°I do, and that¡¯s not ice cream, that¡¯s a pyromancy spell waiting to be cast.¡± For the third time I smacked her ¡°No, its ice cream.¡± She opened her palm revealing a ready to be cast fire wall ¡°Wanna know what these spells have in common? They are red, swirling in motion, and are PYROMANCIES!¡± ¡°God dammit this is fucking ice cream not a pyromancy!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t eat a fucking spell, they¡¯re intangible!¡± I looked her hard in the eye ¡°Watch me.¡± I took a bite out of the spell. The spell gave no reaction and continued swirling like it didn¡¯t have a chunk taken out of it. ¡°Mmm, nice and cold ICE CREAM!¡± She threw her arms up in the air ¡°And once again god triumphs logic because god can. I¡¯m tired, can we get an inn?¡± I release the spell and cross my arms on my chest ¡°So you admit it then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t admit shit.¡± she walked off back towards the street, with me following behind laughing idiotically. When we returned she began talking about the various inn¡¯s their pros, their cons, stuff I most definitely care about. After what I swear is ten minutes of my immortal life I grab her shoulders, and slowly put my mouth to the side of her ear and seductively whisper ¡°I don¡¯t caaaaaaaare.¡± I slowly pulled back a wide smile on my face, turned around a Nazi marched away. I wasn¡¯t taking my spell being insulted and being lectured about something as ridiculous as inns for hours in one day. In my head all I heard where the words ¡®fuck this shit I¡¯m out¡¯ being sung. Thus ended most of our first day in the coastal city of Morsalio --------- As always criticism is highly appreciated Chapter 4: Show me your War Face As you saw at the end of the last chapter, the POV is now changing to a sort of 3rd person. This was intentional as the rest of the story, unless otherwise stated, shall be in this format. Thank you ------------------------------ Fallion smiled at he lieutenant slightly, trying to seem friendly. Lt. Ruckgevir motioned for him to follow, which Fallion did ¡°This here sits one of the nine training grounds of the dwarven armies. While not the biggest, that belongs to the capital o¡¯er course.¡± at the end of his statement, Fallion noticed he fell into a country like drawl for a second. Not paying heed he had, the lieutenant led Fallion to and walked down a stairway leading to the field. He led Fallion to a large cerulean tent. The tent, besides its color, had no other features. Obviously made for the sake of war and quick placement. The lieutenant entered the tent and motioned for him to wait outside a bit. Talk was heard faintly from outside, and to most anyone else, it would be unhearable. Of course, Fallion being god it was a clear as if they were talking in his ear. ¡°So how goes the recruitment, Ruck?¡± ¡°Smooth as can be I suppose.¡± then with heavy sarcasm ¡°Shockingly it¡¯s like no one wants to go to war after 700 years of peace? Can you believe that!¡± The other dwarf laughed heartily ¡°Well it really is no surprise, some were thinking war would become a long gone thought since it¡¯d been so long. After all, it was ages ago when you and I stood side by side on the field of battle. What do they call that there battle now? Battle of the Red Bull, I think it were?¡± ¡°Its the Battle of Yellow Bull, you mixed red with the battle of the Red Sun.¡± ¡°Bah, all these battles with colors involved. If anything, Yellow Bull shoulda been called the Brighttown Massacre.¡± Ruckgevir chuckled ¡°It was a massacre wasn¡¯t it.¡± his voice trailed off and silence fell over for a moment. Ruckgevir interrupted it when he remembered his initial purpose for coming ¡°Well, I have another recruit outside the tent to be set up for training.¡± ¡°Yes, yes bring him in already, poor sap probably thinks we were talking about him behind his back.¡± Ruckgevir poked his head out and ushered Fallion inside. ¡°Now, let me see your form, eh?¡± Fallion handed over his conscript papers. ¡°Oho, a berserker type, eh? Not many dwarves suit the bill for that. Most can¡¯t stand the heavy armor. Well o¡¯er course that excludes our dear lieutenant now don¡¯t it?¡± The other dwarf chuckled ¡°The names Gravin by the way. Quartermaster of the ninth army, at yer service lad.¡± The dwarf did a little bow, obviously teasing a little. ¡°Now before I get ye fitted, I have to check yer skills with a blade. This is also to see what kind of training ya need.¡± Looking at the parchment he approached a rack of wooden weapons. First thing he grabbed was a long sword. He handed the sword to Fallion and pulled him outside. ¡°Oi, Nerxus!¡± A dwarf sitting on the side looked up ¡°Come here!¡± Gravin motioned the dwarf to come. The dwarf apparently named Nerxus jumped up and ran over. ¡°Yes Quartermaster? What is it?¡± ¡°I need you to check the skills this here er.¡± He checked the card again ¡°Lad Fallion has with a longsword.¡± Nerxus nodded and looked at Fallion up and down, sizing him up. He then held out a hand for a handshake which was politely returned. ¡°Nerxus.¡± ¡°Fallion.¡± ¡°Well, get to the ring already!¡± Gravin slapped them both in the back, Nerxus then led Fallion to where he had seen two dwarves sparring earlier. The ¡®ring¡¯ as it was called, was four long sticks and rope around it. It was a makeshift fighting ring at its finest. Taking up two opposite ends, Fallion took the wooden sword from Gravin. The knowledge of the weapon flowed into him instantly. However, as to not make it seem he was as skilled as he was, he took up a ¡®novice¡¯ fighting stance. Nerxus on the other hand had a more skilled stance, obviously at the least, adept with this sort of blade. ¡°And begin!¡± ¡°Sword charge!¡± Nerxus smiled brightly as yelled out the name of his skill, it was popular to do so. For one it made the skill far more focused and generally stronger than if one didn¡¯t. However, your opponent would then know your next move. So, it was a battle of subtlety vs more power. Fallion, noticing Nerxus was wanting a good fight, replied in kind ¡°Dashing Blade strike!¡± The two swordsmen rushed at each other and as the weapons hit, a loud thwack was heard from the wood striking each other. They stood at an impasse for a moment, Fallion purposely matched Nerxus¡¯s strength without the other knowing. Nerxus on the other hand thought he found the perfect sparring partner from the first strike. He always had good instincts. Though of course had Nerxus known the truth he would probably cry that he was sparring god, as he was a devout worshiper. Nerxus jumped back and charged in again ¡°Furious strikes!¡± Fallion of course returned the attack ¡°Multiple slashes!¡± The swords smacking each other resounded in the field, of course no one really cared two guys were going at it as it was a common enough sight to see on a daily basis. After several more ¡®encounters¡¯ Gravin put his hand up ¡°Alright that¡¯s good enough.¡± Fallion and Nerxus didn¡¯t hear and kept going at it ¡°Enough that¡¯s good!¡± Gravin began getting a little upset he was being ignored. He wasn¡¯t going to be ignored a third time. Taking his war hammer from its hilt, he jumped and smashed into the ground ¡°Hammer Shatter!¡± the ground shifted like it was struck by a small earthquake. Of course, Gravin had held back severely, but it was enough to cause the two fighters to fall to the ground. ¡°Next time when I saw stop, ye stop! Got it boys?¡± Fallion and Nerxus nodded smiling a bit embarrassed. ¡°Alright Nerxus, you can go back to what you were doing.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. They both exited the ring and Nerxus returned to the spot he was sitting at. Fallion on the other hand stayed with the Quartermaster, waiting further instruction. ¡°Alright yer at least adept at a blade, which is the minimum for the army to be in its fighting force. There is no real need to keep you here save learning drills for battle. O¡¯er course we are going to keep you here till ya learn those.¡± Gravin scratched his chin ¡°Now follow me, time to check yer archery. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to see you with a claymore, since you were adept with a longsword, I¡¯ll just trust you were honest.¡± He walked over to the other side of the field. Three dwarves each had a bow in hand, trying to hit the target. To the side of these dwarves, was a trainer Fallion guessed. ¡°Come on you call that archery? Let me show you archery!¡± He ripped a bow from the closest one¡¯s hands and took an arrow from his quiver, he quickly notched and released the arrow, hitting a bulls-eye on the target. Mentally the words ¡®quick scope¡¯ popped into Fallion¡¯s head before disappearing. The dwarf handed back the bow and looked over noticing the Quartermaster and Fallion approaching. He ran over saluting ¡°Duven Schrolin Verdin, sir!¡± Duven was a dwarven rank akin to a sergeant from the old world. ¡°Calm down Schrolin, you and I went for a pint just last night! What¡¯s with all the formality my old friend.¡± Gravin slapped the Duven on the back. Putting his hand down ¡°This is a military camp, with all due respect sir, acting ¡®normal¡¯ isn¡¯t fitting of such a place. One must instill order, directive, mission, mot-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah I gotcha Schrolin, you hard ass.¡± Fallion chuckled inwardly at this display. ¡°Who¡¯s the recruit?¡± ¡°This here is Fallion, need ya to check his bow skills real quick.¡± ¡°Follow me boy, I¡¯ll get your test set-up.¡± Schrolin led Fallion to the end of the archery practice area. There laid a bow and twenty-one arrows in a quiver. ¡°Get as many bulls-eyes as possible in one minute alright? Go, go, go!¡± Fallion, not expecting to be rushed like this went to grab the bow, but it fumbled through his fingers. ¡°What the bonderun are you doing boy?! Did I say you could drop your bow?¡± ¡°N-no sir. You didn¡¯t.¡± Fallion felt himself getting increasingly uncomfortable ¡°Did I say you could talk either?¡± ¡°N-¡± ¡°GRAB YOUR BOW AND SHOOT THE LUVEN ARROWS SON!¡± Seeing Fallion bend down to pick up the bow but drop it as he stood up, he grabbed Fallion by the shoulder and jerked him up, forcing him to stand face to face with him. ¡°SHOW ME YOUR WAR FACE!¡± ¡°M-my what?¡± ¡°YOUR WAR FACE! LIKE THIS!¡± He then proceeded to yell loudly with an angry look on his face. ¡°NOW YOUR TURN!¡± Fallion completely bewildered meowed like a cat, causing him to receive a fist in his gut ¡°DON¡¯T TRY THAT VUNDERVIPP SHIT WITH ME BOY, I SAID YOUR WAR FACE!¡± He once again yelled in his face Fallion did the same albeit quieter. ¡°LOUDER!¡± He then yelled again, without stopping Fallion joined in ¡°THERE YOU GO, NOW LET THOSE ARROWS FLY!¡± Fallion grabbed the bow from the ground feeling strangely pumped, like he wanted to fist fight a bear or lion, and notched the arrows in rapid succession getting all shots dead on their target. ¡°NOW THAT¡¯S ARCHERY!¡± He smacked Fallion upside the head ¡°NOW GET YOUR ASS BACK TO THE QUARTERMASTER! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!¡± Fallion began running back to the Cerulean tent Schrolin turned back to see the other dwarves had stopped shooting to watch ¡°DID I SAY YOU COULD STOP FIRING THOSE ARROWS?! TWENTY LAPS ALL OF YOU, LETS MOVE IT!¡± Meanwhile Fallion reached the tent and entered to see the quartermaster reading a book, without looking up ¡°So what¡¯d he say?¡± Unsure how to respond with what happened ¡°He yelled, now that¡¯s archery, hit me in the back of my head, and told me to run back here.¡± ¡°Oh so you passed, good.¡± Passing seemed like a strange way to simply put it. ¡°Yeah, passed.¡± Fallion parroted back ¡°Well now it¡¯s time for you to receive your arms and armor for your military service. This is probably going fast, but truth be told we only train you fighting wise if you lack. O¡¯er course that doesn¡¯t mean you get no training. Now it¡¯s time to also get your assigned squad, eh?¡± He walked over to a wall a pulled down steel heavy armor, a wooden bow with arrows, a steel long sword, and an iron claymore. He placed them on the table and motioned for Fallion to go behind some nearby drapes and put on the equipment. Fallion did as he was instructed and quickly put it on, draping the bow and quiver over his back. He placed the sheathes for the two blades on his back as well. ¡°Good now you look like a dwarven warrior. I¡¯m gonna have you assigned to the 33rd platoon. The 33rd is a part of the fourth squadron. You¡¯ll be taught all the important bits of the army by your ¡®toon leader. Go have Nerxus show you the way, he¡¯s also in your platoon. Oh and put this on your helmet.¡± He handed a ribbon with a green lion on the top of it and a yellow tulip on the bottom ¡°That there is the symbol of the 33rd, helps distinct you from the other groups and armies. O¡¯er course the flower is the symbol of the ninth army. Don¡¯t ask why its a flower, it¡¯s a long story no one enjoys telling. If you ever run into equipment trouble, come to my tent as long as its not near time to mobilize.¡± Fallion nodded and left the tent. ------------------------ Thank you for reading this chapter! Once again please give any criticism you have. Chapter 5: Platoon Mates Fallion felt still a bit bewildered. For one he had become the ¡®bitch¡¯ of that Duven for a moment. A regular guy made god himself unable to react normally. Fallion chuckled wryly at this notion. ¡®Guess I¡¯m just not used to being a god yet¡¯ he thought inwardly, which was true enough. He had just gone from loser human to all mighty god in the span of the last thirteen or so hours. It¡¯d be strange if he acted like a god all of a sudden so soon if it were realistic. ¡®People don¡¯t change over the course of a night¡¯ was quote that came to mind. Though he was unsure where he heard it, the memory was hazy and unclear. He frowned and tried harder to remember, but it kept slipping away. He then realized it must have been a ¡®personal¡¯ memory, leaving only the quote behind. Before this he didn¡¯t really care that godhood cost him his past, but the lack of placement made him begin to ask questions. The whole ¡®who what where when¡¯ ran through, none answerable. He kept the mental problem present as he approached Nerxus, of course not going to tell him his problem. He he looked over in Fallion¡¯s direction ¡°I guess your over here to say you¡¯re a member of the 33rd as well?¡± Fallion nodded once ¡°The Quartermaster said you¡¯d lead me to the tents.¡± Nerxus paused before a moment before sighing and standing up ¡°Bit of an inconvenience really but follow me.¡± ¡°Why such an inconvenience?¡± Fallion asked slightly insulted ¡°I was in the middle of doing something important.¡± ¡°And whats so important on the ground that simply helping a new platoon mate is a bother?¡± ¡°I was talking to god.¡± Fallion frowned, he heard all the prayers the mortals gave, though they weren¡¯t a bother. They were like whispers in his head, some asked for good health, others valor in the coming war, and more asked to just see the next dawn, and a couple asked for a painful death to those that had wronged them. However, Fallion never payed much attention to them. They were just another part of being god and it wasn¡¯t like they intruded on his own thoughts, in fact he could just cut himself from their prayers instead of listening to them always. However, he thought that would be a little inconsiderate if their god didn¡¯t at least hear their desires. ¡°What were you talking to him about?¡± ¡°Why should I tell you that? That¡¯s something a bit personal after all, albeit we¡¯ve sparred once but we aren¡¯t close friends or anything.¡± he looked Fallion up and down, while he did consider Fallion a good sparring partner, that was it. He didn¡¯t know, or care to know anything about him. To Nerxus, Fallion was just another dwarven swordsmen. ¡°Fine, fine I understand. Well at least lead on.¡± Nerxus didn¡¯t reply, instead began quickly walking away, obviously wanting to be rid of such a pointless task. His time was much better spent praying or practicing, not playing Shepard. Fallion followed closely behind, noting the obvious difference between when a fellow soldier talks to Nerxus versus a commanding officer. Fallion instantly labeled this fellow as a kiss-ass. Why the quick labeling? Fallion was purposely listening for Nerxus¡¯s prayers, which currently involved ¡®getting rid of this guy¡¯ and ¡®quick advancement in rank so he could have subordinates¡¯. Oh he was gonna ¡®advance¡¯ towards something, maybe he¡¯ll curse him with only being able to talk in reverse, or maybe so when ever he talks to a woman, she¡¯ll be instantly disgusted. That¡¯ll show this fucker. Of course Fallion wouldn¡¯t do so, for one that¡¯s beyond petty, and this guy doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s insulting god. Fallion would still get payback, don¡¯t misunderstand, just not with his powers. Fallion began thinking of different petty tricks to use. After all, being petty with powers is stupid. Petty with tricks and traps was creative, definitely not showing a low IQ or anything. Fallion could lay a rope trap so when Nerxus walked over it, he¡¯d be hanging upside down, or he could even put bugs in his pillow, if he had one of course. He could even toss a bucket of cold water on him while praying, now that was a good one. He started laughing silently at all his ingenious ideas at payback. He then realized they were approaching a gate of some sort, putting his revenge on hold for a bit, he decided this might be important. Nerxus led Fallion out the gate to outside the city walls. Then what one could describe a ¡®tent city¡¯ laid before him. Rows upon rows of fabric homes sprawled for a couple miles in all directions but behind. Upon some were flags, representing the different platoons main tent. This main tent was also the Platoon leaders tent, it was a lot bigger than the standard tent, which was enough for two people to sleep. The ¡®leaders¡¯ tents were easily able to fit all members of a platoon, easily thirty or so members, usually varying between groups. Of course these tents were also where the leaders handed out orders, rations, and the ¡®plans¡¯ for battle. Thus the size was somewhat understandable due to its importance as a hub place. ¡°You remember the symbol of the 33rd, right?¡± Fallion nodded ¡°See that tent there?¡± He pointed, to which Fallion noticing the flag, nodded again ¡°Good, guide yourself there, and introduce yourself.¡± Nerxus then turned and went back to the training field. Mentally Fallion imagined a huge rock crushing him over and over again until he turned a corner and was out of sight. Fallion then turned to face the tents, and began walking in the direction of the 33rds hub tent he saw from afar. It was a lengthy walk of about ten minutes before he reached it. He entered the tent to find himself face to face with a taller dwarf with dark red skin. Dwarfs themselves were usually light yellowish in color, red being common for the dark elves, this of course singled the dwarf was of a mixed lineage. The dwarf looked at Fallion for a moment ¡°I take it either your here with orders or a new member of out unit?¡± ¡°Recruit, mam.¡± She nodded ¡°Good, I¡¯m Borderal Neumien Daros, your platoon leader and I¡¯m short soldiers, glad they hadn¡¯t forgot about my unit.¡± She motions for Fallion to follow her to a desk in the center of the tent ¡°I was about to grab dinner, but lets get you set up first. Handed me your forms.¡± Fallion pulled out the conscript paper, and the new piece from the Quartermaster signifying Fallion¡¯s fighting skills were up to par, as well as what equipment was given. ¡°Mhm, well I don¡¯t have any heavily armored fighters besides you now, so I¡¯m glad to have you join.¡± She set the papers down and pulled out another from a drawer, she mumbled to herself ¡°Now, where to put you.¡± She looked over what Fallion guessed was a roster for tents. ¡°I¡¯ll have you bunk with Valder, he¡¯s one of our scouts. He¡¯s three tents down that way, he keeps a rabbit mounted outside the tent due to superstition, can¡¯t miss it.¡± Fallion nodded and left the tent to search for his new place of respite. He came across it fairly quick, mostly due to the smell of rotting flesh. The ¡®rabbit on a stick¡¯ was had clearly died at least a week prior and obvious signs of it being taken down were apparent from the numerous holes in the ground around it. Fallion poked his head into to the tent to be greeted by a surprisingly pleasant aroma. Inside were various flowers, candles and a small stack of paper. Written on the paper was Braun, the native language of the dwarves. All races had their own language, for the orcs and goblins it was Greunvuric, for humans it was Coun. However, around 500 or so years ago a ¡®common language¡¯ was made to be taught along the native one. This was to prevent any misunderstandings due to a silly barrier like speaking, which was one of the problems that caused the war that had ended 200 years prior to its inception. Seeing it being written was normal, generally signs and store names were usually in native tongue, with the universal symbols underneath for foreigners to understand. Laying on a cot snoring slightly was a male human sprawled out. Unsure what to do, Fallion stands there a second when the human opens his eyes ¡°You could¡¯ve said hello instead of standing there like an idiot you know.¡± The man sits up laughing a bit ¡°Ah forgive my rude greeting, names Valder¡± he puts out a hand ¡°and betting from the insignia on your helm you¡¯re my new roomie, I hope to get along with you comrade.¡± Fallion shakes the fellows hand who then pulls him into a big bear hug ¡°Sorry, sorry. Forgive that tendency of mine. It¡¯s a traditional to greet those you meet with such an action.¡± Fallion smiled a bit enjoying this sudden occurrence This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°My name is Fallion, I just got assigned.¡± He paused for a moment ¡°I too hope to get along with you.¡± The man gave a big smile in response ¡°Wonderful! New friends in time of battle, such a wondrous thing, don¡¯t you agree? To smile at smile while together you smite all that dare do you harm.¡± He laughed heartily ¡°I suppose such a thing can be.¡± ¡°Ah well, this over here is your roll.¡± He pointed to a large folded fur. ¡°Its at least more comfortable than the hard ground and keeps you somewhat warm in the cold, better than nothing, but I¡¯m not one to complain. I find myself to be of a simple sort human.¡± He noticed Fallion still standing in the tent entryway. ¡°Well come on, sit down and let us talk about each other, after all, it¡¯s is easier to defend a friend than a stranger, eh?¡± Fallion grabbed the roll and set it out, sitting upon it ¡°Should I start or you?¡± ¡°By all means you, I have already talked a little, and of course shall continue.¡± Fallion nodded, sighed, and put together his thoughts ¡°Well, I¡¯m 104 to be 105 in a few months. My family were miners from Krant hills, though they died when I was 56. The walls suddenly caved in, not something I wish to discuss if I¡¯m honest.¡± This of course was a lie but Fallion didn¡¯t have a way to properly go ¡®Hey guys, guess what? I¡¯m god!¡¯ That¡¯d make for a ¡®wonderful¡¯ conversation. ¡°I was born in Theros, a town near the hill. Lived there till recently when I wanted to explore the kingdom of man, but obviously I am here now due to the war.¡± Valder nodded ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand that you don¡¯t want to talk about your past, it¡¯s not unusual, I hope one day however I may prove worthy of your trust as a friend and comrade.¡± Fallion felt a little guilty from this statement, the man seemed the trustful type as well as friendly. Fallion made up his mind if he felt strong enough about it, having a third person to enjoy the world with would be fun. ¡°Well now, where do I start, hm? Names Valder, as I¡¯ve said. I¡¯m a half-man. My mother was a Sumner Elf, while my father was human. I am currently twenty-six, and hope to live till 202.¡± He laughed at this, obviously joking around a little ¡°I have three siblings to which I am the oldest by a year to my closest of kin. My father is a member of the electoral council, Councilor Mandals Grue 3rd. I take his last name as well, my first however comes from my great great grandfather on my mothers.¡± Fallion listened as Valder enthusiastically talked about himself. Fallion enjoyed this mans company, even if he was beyond a chatterbox. Day fell away to night which fell away into dawn. The two now comrades, talked about various things from themselves to which makes a better mount, a Sipr or a Hurgo. A man entered the tent with the mark of the 33rd on his helm ¡°Up and at it, time for training.¡± He looked over at Fallion ¡°I see the newest recruit is awake, seems he¡¯ll be the first since Paleon to not receive the first day greeting.¡± Fallion shivered at the mention. He¡¯s read enough books, and witnessed something like that to know it wouldn¡¯t end well for the recipient. ¡°Well no matter, seems I¡¯ll have to give Hadvarr his ten copper later though.¡± Valder laughed ¡°Everyone knows Hadvarr will always win a bet, he¡¯s too damn lucky, Tali.¡± The man named Tali laughed from behind his helm ¡°Well get yourselves in gear, or for you Fallion, your helm on since it seems you never removed anything.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep in it did you?¡± Valder laughed ¡°No, we stayed up talking all night.¡± ¡°Ah well, I had hoped not, can¡¯t imagine your weapons would appreciate that, let alone your body. Though I can¡¯t imagine wearing it so long feels to comfortable either.¡± He coughed a second ¡°Well, moving on, get ready and report inside the Borderals tent, can¡¯t keep the lady waiting can we?¡± Chuckling ¡°No my friend, we can¡¯t.¡± Valder stood up and began putting on his armor. Fallion reached over and grabbed his helm, placing it firmly on his head. Fallion got up and went outside, but decided to wait for Valder to come out as well. After a minute, and a couple gruff noises from inside, Valder trudged out of the tent in his heavy armor, the only other member in the platoon to use it, however he preferred a bow over a blade. ¡°Ah, you waited for me, kind of you to do so. Shall we?¡± He motioned ahead and the two walked to the tent. Inside was twelve or so others, Nerxus and Borderal Daros included. After about five or so minutes, no one else came. Considering a normal unit had nearly 30 members, he now understood why she said what she did yesterday regarding not being forgotten. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take it everyone is here, but for formalities as always, roll call. Tali.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Drusis.¡± ¡°Present.¡± ¡°Machun.¡± Instead of a response a gruff ¡®humph¡¯ was heard. Obviously taking it as a response ¡°Nerxus.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Goldor.¡± ¡°Here, mam.¡± ¡°Hastings.¡± ¡°Present.¡± ¡°Valder.¡± ¡°Here as well.¡± ¡°Xolos.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Admier¡± A female voice responded ¡°Present.¡± ¡°Condek.¡± ¡°Yup, yup.¡± ¡°And our newest member, Fallion.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Good, glad you all are here today. We have received orders that we are to begin combat drills today. Today we will be doing Platoon drills, and doing them for the next two months. After that will be full army drills for a month. After that we will receive our first military posts as the ninth army, as long as nothing happens forcing us to come out earlier than expected. Currently we have around 10,000 troops. The end goal is the ninth to have 20,000. Each army is meant to have that same number with 15 armies total. Currently its expected that by next month we will have enough new recruits to at least fill up to the twelfth army. So its no longer ¡®social hour¡¯ as it has been the past six months. Our plan today is for me to personally verify your basic combat skills. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust the forms, it¡¯s just that I well, I don¡¯t actually. The trainers are notorious to claim a soldier is combat ready when he isn¡¯t. This is also coupled with the fact that besides Nerxus and Fallion being a newbie, none really have done any weapon practice. So, it¡¯s time to brush off your skills and potentially improve as well. Until I am satisfied with your combat ability, we won¡¯t be doing platoon drills like I am under orders to do so. So unless you want me to be punished, and in turn you, you better hope I¡¯m satisfied quickly. If even one of you doesn¡¯t meet my expectation, all of you will suffer, so you better work together, and do it well.¡± She then lead everyone outside to the assigned training zone for the 33rd platoon. Story List This is a list with current characters, locations etc. It also includes somethings not mentioned in the story yet. Updated lists will be posted to go with what has occurred so far. You dont have to read this so feel free not to List of characters and places Verandvus- continent (Soldier as of chapter 4)Fallion- MC (Soldier by chapter 4 though not mentioned) Elyisia- Divine servant Lieutenant Ruckgevir Quartermaster Gravin Hastlav Nerxus Duven Schrolin Verdin Borderal Neumien Daros Soldier Valder Soldier Tali Soldier Drusis Soldier Machun Soldier Goldor Soldier Hastings Hastlav Hadvarr Soldier Xolos Soldier Admier Soldier Condek (Dwarven/ man) Military titles(highest to lowest) Grand General General Lieutenant General Liberdal Gaverhik Commander Lieutenant (Quartermaster is of similar status) Borderal Gordubn Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Ferniun Duven Hastlav Soldier Cities/villages/towns/important locations Bous(dwarf/human) Morsalio(Sumner Elf) Theros (Dwarf village) Krant Hills (Dwarf mine) Districts of the Dwarven/human city of Bous Maos Veruk Laos Farras Races Human Dwarf Orc Goblin Dark Elf Sumner Elf Liedersul (Shape-shifters, capable of disguising themselves as various plants) Beast-man (wolf, cat, dog, snake, rat, parrot, eagle, etc) Dracon (Dragon-like race, believed to be extinct) Bunderak (commonly referred as the ¡®grim dark¡¯ race of lore and tales) Languages Common tongue (spoke by most of the major races for easier communication) Greunvuric- Orc and goblin tongue Lunder- Elfish Braun- Dwarf Coun- Human Noalewwye- Northern Beast-men Veundfreye- Southern Beast-men Gid- Dragon Nhuk- Liedersul Chapter 6: These are not the skills you are looking for... Upon reaching the field Neumien turned around ¡°I need to see your status windows.¡± The moment those words were spoken, Fallion knew what she meant. ¡®Status windows¡¯ were displays enabling one to view all the skills, levels, and attributes one has. For the average person, they would be around level ten, have at least twenty to thirty different skills that are generally for farming and household work, and have low amounts of attributes. For a soldier the average was near level thirty, with 60 different skills, and a moderate amount of attributes. For god, its level 999,999, which is the highest possible level, every single skill which was in the millions and all at the ¡®god tier¡¯ rank as well, and an ¡®infinite¡¯ amount in attributes since he can¡¯t die, never gets tired, doesn¡¯t run out of mana, and technically could pick up the world itself with just his pinky toe as easily as a full grown man picking up a grain of sand that¡¯s lighter than a grain of sand. Inwardly, Fallion was screaming, how the fuck was he going to avoid this, outside he was the epitome of calm. Superior officers wanting to see their soldiers status windows wasn¡¯t uncommon at all. In fact, it was encouraged for soldiers to show them, it allowed the leaders to devise better strategies when they know exactly how skilled a group is in say sneak. If everyone is at least adept level 2, than night time sabotage becomes a possibility. Another prime example is the ¡®sight¡¯ skill tree. Sight is an ¡®evolving¡¯ skill. Instead of novice, apprentice, adept, expert, master, and god-like, it has Sight, Great-sight, Grand-sight, Far-sight, and the supposed highest was Full-sight. OF course there is actually one more level, something only Fallion since he¡¯s god could use. That is the skill ¡®All-sight¡¯. All-sight creates a 3D map of everything with no detail left out, this was something he had used when Elyisia had mentioned it back in his realm for using his ¡®world travel¡¯ skill. As the Borderal began going through the status windows of his comrades, Fallion opened a hidden status window, one only he could see. At first nothing seemed different compared to the others in size. It had his name: Unknown, his age: Unknown, his race: Divine, his titles: God, the Almighty, the Great One, the Alpha and Omega, He Who Created All, and The Before and After. Then the list shot up into the sky, the blue box extended from the ground to the stratosphere, this sudden increase in size was because of his skills, his only ability was ¡®all¡¯ because he¡¯s god. However he had every single skill. Skills could be anything. From picking stuff off the ground, to calling spirits from the celestial realm for aid. Hell, Fallion even had a skill for pointing, which was maxed out. The god level of ¡®point¡¯ allowed Fallion to point out anything with 100% success with his index right finger, not his left. The left hand index finger required the use of ¡®left hand point¡¯. Of course the ridiculousness didn¡¯t end there as there were also skills like ¡®basic left hand punch¡¯, ¡®basic right uppercut¡¯, and even ¡®swearing¡¯ was a skill. The god level ability for ¡®swearing¡¯ enabled him to cause a target to become to depressed, instantly preventing hostility, and rendering the target utterly useless permanently. Why such things were skills was a mystery to Fallion, but if he really felt like it, he could easily make it not as simple and spread out. Fallion searched up and down the ridiculous long list for a skill to make a fake status window. During this search he came across certain ¡®skills¡¯ that would be terrifying to meet anyone with expert let alone master in them. The only ones he thought he could afford it were the ones who payed for it, or nobility. After a couple of more minutes he noticed a skill ¡®deceit¡¯ during his scanning the list, and decided to hope this was what he needed. ¡®Deceit¡¯ was a liars skill, commonly used for gambling and con artists. Its novice ability was 5% less chance to be caught lying. However at adept it gained a new bonus, 20% chance to create look-alike items. With the master bonus being 100% to not be caught lying 95% chance to create look-alike items and an ability called alter status. He read what alter status did. Alter status allowed the user to create a fake status window with a 30% chance of not being found out. The fake status window can include any name, age, race, abilities, attributes, and skills as the user wants. However as they may not be the users actually abilities, you still won¡¯t be able to use what you don¡¯t have. At God level it made that 30% chance become a 75%, it had a higher chance, but it unnerved him that he couldn¡¯t have a 100% chance. The Borderal was checking Admiers list currently, and only Machun was left besides himself after that. Caught at all wall, Fallion decided to use the cheat way out, mostly because doing all this thinking was exhausting. When Borderal finished reading Machuns list and came to Fallion, he put his hand in her face ¡°These are not the skills you are looking for.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Pausing a moment ¡°These are not the skills I am looking for?¡± ¡°You do not need to check my list.¡± ¡°I do not need to check your list.¡± she blinked a few times before turning to the group, who I had not realize what had occurred by using what I had on the Borderal as well. ¡°Well, now that I¡¯m done verifying all your lists, its time for you to show me how good you are with your skills, I know that even if you haven¡¯t touched a skill for years you never lose the ¡®ability¡¯ but you still lose your ¡®edge¡¯. Now slice these mannequins till there is nothing left!¡± With a loud ¡®hurag¡¯ of sorts, the soldiers went about using the skills. Eventually it became a sort of contest with ¡®who could be flashier¡¯ and ¡®who had the most devastating results¡¯. Fallion, sticking with his manipulation from earlier, simply hit the mannequin in front of him. Though no one in his group would question what he was doing, no passer-by would find it odd either. He could, after all, be under a different regimen than the others, or he could be receiving a reward or punishment for something. Fallion swung his steel long sword in long diagonal cuts, making sure not to destroy the mannequin at the very least.. The next two days went in a sort of cycle of waking up, roll call with breakfast, any order updates, skill check, ¡®platoon training¡¯, lunch, more ¡®platoon training¡¯, dinner, and bed. However, on the third day after roll call the Borderal announced she was satisfied, and was slightly surprised it took only two days. In the corner, one could see Tali handing something to Hadvarr, fifteen copper coins in fact. What stupid bet the two had once again made wasn¡¯t entirely known, but then again since no one else cared, the sight must have been common enough. Neumien brought everyone out to the field once again, however the training set up was gone with only an empty zone instead. Holes littering the area, were all that showed of the practice dummies and targets. She had everyone line up single file to start and looked across the row deep in thought of how to start. Truth be told, she hadn¡¯t been taught any ¡®tactics¡¯. Her success in the mercenary group she was with long ago was due to her natural ingenuity and creativity. She wasn¡¯t one to plan anything out, much less battle plans. However since there stood a chance of her being forced to ¡®show off¡¯ her strategies, she had little choice but to come up with a few, why she hadn¡¯t done so earlier was up in the air. Honestly, she was just lazy and wanted to put it off as long as possible, now inwardly screaming that the ¡®long as possible¡¯ had ended. Outside she had a hard poker face from her mercenary days, so none knew about the inner freakout she was having, well all but Fallion since she was so intensely praying for a miracle it downed out 83% of the other prayers he received, oh the wonders of procrastination. After a good five minutes, Fallion had enough and just froze time, sick of standing still for so long. He then took two steps back, and made a clone of sorts using the skill ¡®body double¡¯. It enabled the user at the master level, to create a perfect copy of the user and upon ceasing the use of the skill, would acquire all knowledge, and skills that the copy had gained. Using this skill, Fallion the teleported himself back to his ridiculously style-lacking house in the sky, sat on a couch and took a nap, fast forwarding time in perfect unison so when he woke up, it would be time for the ninth army to move out. Army training sucks. ------------------ Apologizes if you found this to be a little pass-over like. It¡¯s intentional, I currently lack Wi-Fi and have been using my phone to post this story via data which I don¡¯t have a lot of, thus I can¡¯t do any research on various trainings and tactics of medieval military¡¯s. The little research I was capable of doing only briefly discussed a knights training, something obviously not happening with a common rabble of soldiers. If you¡¯re worried this story is just some sort of jumbled train wreck, I am working towards something. I can¡¯t spoil it of course but it should be about to happen, if not happen by chapter 20, with possible slight foreshadowing in the next four or so. Once again please give any criticism you may have for my future writing to improve as well as this story as a whole, thank you. Chapter 7: On the road. A prelude to battle Part 1 of 4 Upon opening his eyes again, he immediately warped back to the training grounds his double standing outside to greet him. They walked into each other and ¡®merged¡¯ into one being. The knowledge of the skipped months registered instantly, as if he knew all along. He then headed to the main hub tent, the others already inside. ¡°-Machun.¡± ¡°Hrmph.¡± ¡°Admier¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Fallion.¡± ¡°Present.¡± he spoke as he opened the flaps Valder hit patted him on his back ¡°That was close, you almost gave a repeat of what happened to Tali, my friend.¡± The memory his body double had caused Fallion to inwardly laugh. Tali had been late just barely the month prior, but the Borderal made him run twenty laps around the entire camp as punishment. His body double and Hadvarr had made a bet, Hadvarr bet Tali didn¡¯t finish till dusk, his body double bet he¡¯d finish just around sunset. For once people say Hadvarr relinquishing coin instead of receiving it. The entire time Tali was running, people were laughing and teasing him for being made to run. A punishment normally only in the main training grounds, not the army camps. Tali was silent for the better part of a week after, as well as being the first in the tent for roll call ever since. ¡°Well, time for our first ¡®real¡¯ orders.¡± Neumien leaned back on the desk, unfolding a piece of paper tucked in her breast plate. ¡°As of Grandis 12th, 756, all platoons of the 9th assault force are to mobilize and be ready for combat. Our destination is the Hurrden plains, where we shall intercept a large enemy force currently on its way to the City of Poius. We are to hold back the invading force, and if possible drive them back. It shall take a total of thirteen days from the receiving these orders to travel to the operation zone. All units are to hear-by pack up up move out in accordance to dwarven march code. Signed General Denos, leader of the Ninth Assault Force.¡± She folded the leader and put in back in the gap in her armor. ¡°Well, you have your orders, lets pack it up and move out.¡± Without a word, everyone filed out of the tent, and immediately began packing up. Tents were quickly taken down and folded into packs, a cart was brought and their supplies were placed on it. Another cart was brought as well, this one would serve as the groups transportation. It was obvious the higher-ups didn¡¯t want tired soldiers in the coming fight if they were to be in carts the entire time. The loading was relatively quick, within nine hours of the start, the higher-ups had confirmation in all areas they were ready to depart. The 33rd platoons carriages sat in the middle of the sixth column. The marching line itself was around twelve columns to 35 rows, if it were just the soldiers it likely would have been twelve by twenty-eight instead. Hundreds of horses whined and neighed, anxious to be on their way instead of milling about as they were. Far up ahead, a lone horseman approached the middle of the five leading horsemen. This man was the general himself, and after whispering something in his ear, the newly arrived rider turned around whence he came. The general shot a hand into the sky, blade drawn with a single word carrying over the ambient noise of horses, unnerved soldiers, and nature. ¡°FORWARD!¡± Whips cracked and horses shouted as they lurched forward down the wide trodden path. The dwarves were notorious for ridiculously long roads, and now the reason clicked in the minds of many. Though the dwarves hadn¡¯t been at war since the end of the great war hundreds of years ago, the practice of wide roads for ease of military travel never faded. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The clunking of iron horseshoed hooves, the silent creaking of the wood, the rattle of chains dangling on the side, the light ¡®thunk¡¯ sounds from crates slightly bouncing as the carriages rocked like a cradle as they slowly traveled forward. Not a single man spoke for hours, not out of fear, but a strange buzz of unease and excitement stood in the air almost suffocatingly so. There were no words needed to be shared between any of the men or women, regardless of race. At this moment they were strangely united mentally for absolutely no reason, as if some being had them focus on the task that was far ahead, yet so dastardly close. Amongst all the soldiers was a young boy of thirteen, who appeared to be seventeen if one didn¡¯t look hard. He had heard that war was coming and romanticized the chance at gaining honor and glory, he snuck away from his poor agrarian country family to join this fight. He sat there calm, staring ever ahead as the road turned around bends, around mountains, around rivers. This boy would be one of the only accounts with any stock to it, of an event that would be referred to as the down. By its title, one would assume it to be some sort of phenomenal tragedy, one scholars would debate eternally on how it occurred. This was not the case here. It was an event that was simply eye opening. That was this boys simple account of it. Just the words ¡®it was eye opening¡¯. The one bit of truth every single person who stood on that field in the middle of Grandis of the 756th year since the signing of the grand treaty that ended a war that seemingly would last aeons, would agree upon. It was simply ¡®eye opening¡¯. How one interpreted it as such, was up in the air. --------- Its shorter I know, but I felt the ending was perfect for a chapter and the next paragraph would be a perfect opener for chapter 8. Once again please give any criticism you have Story List Updated Once again you don''t have to read. This includes simple basic information as well as expanding slightly on some unmentioned topics as well as a couple things that haven''t been mentioned yet. This is simply for those who wish to know such info. Chapter 8 should be done by tomorrow or the next day. I have work and woke up a little late in the day so I won''t have much chance to write today. Thus I decided I''d at least post an updated list. ------------------- Verandvus- continent List of characters (Soldier as of chapter 4)Fallion- MC (currently dwarf) (Soldier by chapter 4 though not mentioned) Elyisia- Divine servant (currently human) Lieutenant Ruckgevir (dwarf) Quartermaster Gravin (dwarf) Hastlav Nerxus (dwarf) Duven Schrolin Verdin (dwarf) Borderal Neumien Daros (leader of the 33rd platoon) (dwarf) Soldier Valder (dwarf) Soldier Tali (Half elf half dwarf) Soldier Drusis (human) Soldier Machun (half human half dwarf) Soldier Goldor (human) Soldier Hastings (human)) Hastlav Hadvarr (human) Soldier Xolos (dwarf) Soldier Admier (human) Soldier Condek (human) General Denos(leader of the ninth army) (Dwarven/ man) Military titles(highest to lowest) Grand General General Lieutenant General Liberdal Gaverhik Commander Lieutenant (Quartermaster is of similar status) Borderal Gordubn Ferniun Duven Hastlav Soldier Cities/villages/towns/important locations Bous(dwarf/human) Morsalio(Sumner Elf) Theros (Dwarf village) Krant Hills (Dwarf mine) Poius (Dwarf city) Hurrden Plains (Neutral territory between the dwarven and beast-men lands, located southeast of Poius) Mt. Olis(realm of god) Districts of the Dwarven/human city of Bous The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.Maos Veruk Laos Farras Races Human Dwarf Orc Goblin Dark Elf Sumner Elf Liedersul (Shape-shifters, capable of disguising themselves as various plants) Beast-man (wolf, cat, dog, snake, rat, parrot, eagle, etc) Dracon (Dragon-like race, believed to be extinct) Bunderak (commonly referred as the ¡®grim dark¡¯ race of lore and tales) Languages Common tongue (spoke by most of the major races for easier communication) Greunvuric- Orc and goblin tongue Lunder- Elfish Braun- Dwarf Coun- Human Noalewwye- Northern Beast-men Veundfreye- Southern Beast-men Gid- Dragon Nhuk- Liedersul Months(In order world has extra time in sun revolutions causing 15 months instead of twelve) (Add twenty days to each month as well) Florres Vuenn Quatol Bryiunder Grandis Revlad Fasiet Coround Petres Mouslaav Greuin Noriem Lus Borses Zarav 5 seasons (due to the extra sun travel) Drakious (Planting season) Jerv (Commonly referred to the hunting season) Garuder Hastlaav(Harvesting season, most plants take longer to grow here in this world than our own causing the harvest season to be around our ¡®winter¡¯) Xasden (also referred to as hunting season) Known effects of the ancient treaty of Yort (treaty that ended the Great War) If a battle reaches a third day, the third day shall be a time of rest and all shall be unable to draw there blade except towards uninvolved parties. This shall also occur on the eight, fifteenth, and twenty-second days should it last as long. This does not carry over between battles, this only effects military groups, including mercenaries. Chapter 8: Hello Beastie. A prelude to battle part 2 of 4 I¡¯m not sure what happened but I suddenly went on a roll and before I knew it, I finished this chapter. I hope you enjoy it, I certainly did writing it at least ---------------------- On the third day since their departure, ten days before the expected arrival, chatter finally began to occur. Of course the atmosphere never gave way, people began getting bored from the ceaseless carriage ride, and one could only watch the unending countryside but so long before their mind would go numb from boredom. Besides talking, there wasn¡¯t anything you could do besides watching the scenery making for many idle hands that itched to do ¡®something¡¯ though they didn¡¯t really care what that something was. Some tried to nap, but the noise from the many carts and horses was simply to loud. To people a few miles away, it sounded like a steady, unceasing quiet thunder. One that sought to remain unnoticed by the world at large. Fallion looked around, and eventually ahead, noticing a rider once again approaching the general, being told something, and rushing away from the direction he came. Fallion wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it, but then he remembered this is an army on its way to a fight, so the rider must have been a scout, making sure no unexpected circumstances occurred, and reported whether the next stretch was clear of trouble. After all, even an army can¡¯t be too safe. You never know when an enemy might be around the corner in wait for an opportune strike at the operations heart. Admier sighed, cleaning her sword across from Fallion on the cart ¡°Ten more blasted days of nothing but plains that stretch for near eternity, and the occasional farm house and village. Makes me wish I was still at home learning to be ¡®lady-like¡¯.¡± Admier scoffed at the last bit, she had come from a very powerful noble house, and her father refused to allow her to join the army. At least, that was until it turned out his daughter had far more friends and connections than the house did as a whole, and had no choice but to conceit to his daughters will. Of course, none there but Fallion knew, he had gotten bored earlier and probed the minds of various soldiers, all of his platoon to be exact. Tali on the other hand was a son of a renowned adventurer, and signed up for war wanting to be just as great as the illustrious figure that was his role model and father. Machun was a very indifferent special sort of man. He came from a wealthy merchant house, and he didn¡¯t do much. He was here because he sought to alleviate some boredom. Though he felt more bored in the army than at home, a reason why he never spoke, he was simply too bored to. Everyone else had a tidbit of interesting to them as well, though he already knew Valder¡¯s since he told him and Neumien¡¯s since it was common enough knowledge in the group. Fallion also learned some the more ¡®private¡¯, one could say, thoughts of them as well. One of them was the thoughts of a certain man who nearly always won his bets towards a certain platoon leader of the group that may or may not have been the 33rd. Hadvarr you dirty, dirty man. They all had some sort of reason for being in the army, for Machun and Fallion, it was entertainment. Nerxus, Tali, Admier, and most others it was glory, honor, and rank. For a few it was because they were simply forced due to conscription. All in all, it mattered little for the group. They were all simply being carted along to a possibly once in a lifetime event, an event that would never be seen twice in the long run of how battles go at least. Fallion felt someone tapping his shoulder, he looked over to see Valder using his ¡®left hand point¡¯ skill, pointing towards a large creature high in the sky. ¡°Its a Fydiel, Fallion!¡± ¡°A Fydiel?¡± The knowledge of the creature came to him. A Fydiel was a much larger cousin of the drake, its size is said to have rivaled dragons before their disappearance. Fydiels are herbivores, surprising for its size, and a meal consisted of a single tree once every month. They mostly lived off of mana that was created and absorbed by its body, which was something mages study to this day to reproduce. Fallion of course had this skill, even though he didn¡¯t need it. The reason why these great beasts ate a tree at all, was the fact mana couldn¡¯t replace every single needed nutrient for it body, however a large tree could. One of the more interesting facts is when a Fydiel eats a tree, due to its large mana inside of it, it releases some into the stump, causing the tree to instantly grow. A sort of strange symbiotic relationship if there ever was one. The creature circled in the sky, seemingly just enjoying the wind. Fallion used the Full-sigh form of the sight skill, to see the beast in detail. Fallion sighed before its majesty, wanting to pet it, since these beasts were considered one of the only ¡®friendly¡¯ beasts of such size. Most others wanted to eat everything in their path. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Far ahead, a command was shouted ¡°Company, halt!¡± Fallion turned off his skill and faced the direction it was shouted from. One of the five leaders had a hand up in the air, he looked closer realizing it was Lt. Ruckgevir, or now Lt. General Ruckgevir as he was jumped in promotion for the sake of needing capable commanding officers, something Ruckgevir prided himself as being. ¡°We are to rest for one hour for the horses. Use this time to stretch your limbs, and practice a little bit. Battle is just around the corner!¡± A large ¡®hoorah¡¯ was shouted, mostly from being able to get off the ¡®blasted¡¯ carts as Admier had put it. The carts came to a stop, and platoon leaders were shouting orders like ¡®don¡¯t stray too far¡¯ and ¡®stay with earshot¡¯ as well as ¡®don¡¯t cause any trouble¡¯. Fallion chuckled at how strangely motherly it was, he looked over to see Valder was laughing as well, possibly at the same thing he was. The 33rd sort of conglomerated over in a nearby part of the field they were traveling next to, some stretched in the grass, others, specifically Nerxus, practiced their fighting stances, lashing the blade at invisible enemies. Majority, the Borderal included, laid down in the grass watching the clouds and the Fydiel that circled. ¡°Why do you think its doing that?¡± Xolos asked ¡°Dunno, maybe it¡¯s bored and trying to find something to entertain itself.¡± Laughing ¡°I think you meant yourself Drusis, unless it involves nearly dying, you and Machun are always bored.¡± Tali quipped ¡°Maybe its deciding on a good tree to eat, we might get lucky and see it regrow it.¡± ¡°Ever the curious scholar aren¡¯t you Admier.¡± sarcasm was heavy in the response ¡°Shut your mouth, Hadvarr. There¡¯s a reason you¡¯re still a virgin.¡± A loud laughter erupted from the group, the loudest being the Borderal. Hadvarr sat there dumbfounded, unable to come up with a good comeback, or rather he had one but Admier punched hard, and he very much wanted children later on. As the group settled down, something was noticed ¡°Hey, it stopped circling, but doesn¡¯t it look like its getting closer?¡± Thinking for a second ¡°Aye, it does.¡± A silence came over the group ¡°Aren¡¯t those beasts as large as a city block?¡± ¡°I think so, yeah.¡± Another silence before someone spoke ¡°Its coming right at us isn¡¯t it.¡± Another silence before everyone erupted into movement, moving away from the rapidly descending beast. A sudden loud ¡®shuwuck¡¯ and ground shaking alerted them the beast had landed. Turning around, Fallion noticed it was eying him specifically, cocking its head slightly. It is said that of all beasts of the sky, the Fydiel was the far more intelligent than any other. Fallion froze, not from terror, but curiosity. The Fydiel moved its neck side to side, intensely looking at Fallion, as if trying to discern something. Fallion then slowly approached the beast, even though they were so large, they were quick to flee, not enjoying contact with other creatures and living things. Just as Fallion was in arms reach of it, the beast jumped back, now looking at Fallion even more intensely. Several soldiers from the carts were watching what was occurring. The main reason no one attacked the beast, was the fact everyone knew they were harmless unless someone attacked first. These beasts also knew when someone had hostile intent, and could recognize someone who attacked even years later. Some soldiers were whooping and laughing shouting things like ¡®I bet you won¡¯t get on its back¡¯ and ¡®be careful not to become lunch¡¯. The leaders were also enjoying watching, as none of them gave orders to Fallion to stop. Fallion once again got within arms reach, and instead of simply backing away a bit, it flew off back into the skies. Some soldiers shouted ¡®better luck next time¡¯ others laughed. A few moments later, the signal to return to their traveling was given, and everyone got back into their carts. Some made conversation about the Fydiel, others didn¡¯t care. They were common enough beasts near the Kragumen mountains, second only to the lonely Mt. Olis after all. Fallion looked back up at the ascending beast, and for a second swore it looked back towards him. In the back of his mind, he heard a prayer that wasn¡¯t a prayer. ¡®Thank you for being.¡¯ It was strange, and it had a voice different than others. He had heard these types of voices before, except they were jumbled and didn¡¯t have a real ¡®voice¡¯ to them. He still, however understood what they wanted. It then clicked in his mind, even beasts pray to god. -------- Please give any criticism you have, and to answer a concerned reader, rushing it would ruin a certain ''idea'' I have in mind. Plus theres at least two arcs after this I have thought up. If you can them arcs that is. Chapter 9: Idle hands, Idle chatter. A prelude to battle part 3 of 4 It had been another four days since the Fydiel. They were now only around eight days away from the final destination. During that time, Valder had picked up a large stick he had found on the ground, and had been whittling it ever since. The stick had begun to take the shape of a totem, a common practice of dwarven children and some adults. Fallion eyed the totem curiously, mostly since there was little else of interest. ¡°What are you carving?¡± Though Fallion knew it was a totem, something near any would know, it was more a question of what was being carved to form the totem, a surprisingly common question when it came to such objects. ¡°A totem of home I suppose.¡± Chuckling as he ran the wood across the blade of his dagger, he was an archer after all, even if he were a heavily armored one. ¡°There a specific story to this ¡®totem of home¡¯?¡± ¡°Not really, my friend. Just an old, near forgotten memory of a time of youth and unknown.¡± Valder stopped and smiled, a happy yet far away look carving itself onto his face. It was a moment statuesque in look and feeling. A marble carving of a man on a bench, a half carved totem in hand and look of happy remembering upon his brow. A dagger close to the wood, either ready to shave off another bit, or having just done so. The totem would have several symbols, ones for the viewer to interpret. The moment was captured as such in the mind of Fallion, a moment he would strangely not forget. ¡°I...see.¡± Fallion had no way to respond, and as such Valder took another scratch onto his creation, causing the moment to auspiciously disappear, as if it never occurred to begin with. He turned away from Valder, and once again looked ahead, and to no surprise, saw a rider talking to the General before taking off again, a sight becoming more common as hours drew on. It wasn¡¯t that shocking however, it was reasonable for this army¡¯s leader to have increased worry as drums of battle grew louder as they made approach to take field. Fallion sighed his boredom began making him slightly impatient, he could just leave a body double and travel around for the next days, but he was too lazy to move, out of sheer boredom he lacked the will and drive to do something about it. It was a reminiscent of a commonality in his old world with the increase of advanced technology. After all, why go out do something physical and mentally taxing, when enjoyment was a finger press away? Fallion sighed heavily, causing a few to look his way in mere curiosity. After all, besides Valder with his carving Admier with her cleaning, no one else had much to do. At one point people began telling stories they knew, or events that had happened to them. The one with the best stories was Tali, due to his adventurer lineage. ¡°-and there my father and the beast stood eyes locked, I was but a young boy who had run into those damnable woods, I sat behind a rock as my father drew his ice cold blade. The air was still neither moved a bit. Then the winds screamed, I had to close my eyes, and when I opened them to the sight of blood and death strung about in the trees, and my father slowly returning his blade to its sheath.¡± Some were amazed at the tale ¡°You know Tali, if your father was anyone but the legendary Ice Cleaver himself, I¡¯d have a hard time believing such a tale.¡± Tali laughed ¡°Feel no shame in it, it just goes to show how powerful and the rigorous training my father went through to acquire such.¡± A few grunts went in confirmation to that statement. Godric ¡®Ice Cleaver¡¯ Faront had acquired his legendary status when he managed to kill an Ice Shade, the most dangerous beast of the cold. Only people of great power can kill shades, it was a wide known fact. In fact a single frost shade was on par with the entire power of the ninth and tenth assault forces, truly making one understand how powerful the man that could kill one. If you were to compare the dangers of each of the shades, you¡¯d know that to its brothers and sisters a frost shade was the weakest, the strongest was a fire shade, something to knowledge no one has slain in the past nor present. Fallion studied Talis status card, being god he had access to all cards at any time he wanted, without the other party aware. Tali was 72, him being half elf made him stay looking younger far longer than others, but that also meant that mentally he was only 22. He had two titles, Soldier and Storyteller. Tali also had quite a large set of skills, from tracking and hunting in near any terrain, to reading and writing, to even some more advanced fighting skills. Just goes to show what you can do in seven decades if you try. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. As it went around others began sharing tales, making it much easier for time to pass. Eventually it came to be Fallions turn. ¡°I don¡¯t know any stories though.¡± Valder laughed ¡°Nor did Machun, Goldor, or Condek. Yet they still made a fine attempt. Hell, it was a shock for Machun to even speak.¡± That caused laughter from all, Machun included. ¡°But I¡¯m no story teller.¡± A smile crept on Condeks face ¡°Are any of us, save Tali?¡± ¡°You all aren¡¯t allowing me to wiggle out of this are you.¡± ¡°By god we sure aren¡¯t.¡± I laughed ¡°Well, Drusis, since you and everyone else are so damn insistent on a story from yours truly, give me a moment.¡± Fallion began thinking, his mind drifting slightly as he thought up a good tale. After several moments he smiled having an at least decent tale in mind, though no where as good as Tali or that bastard Nerxus, he was still due a good dose of revenge. He cleared his throat before speaking ¡°In the beginning there was nothing but stone archtrees and everlasting dragons.¡± Fallion wove a tale of monsters and Lords of Light, and cursed warriors, none of course knew it was one of the many tales from his former past time. The soldiers all listened intently, from the ¡®awakening¡¯ in the northern asylum to the slaying of the spider she-demon in the city of poison they listened, absorbing every last detail. ¡°-as the ghosts of the abyss gave a final cry, a fire appeared in the eternal dark, and next to it, a serpent from a near lost age.¡± The story progresses and day turned to night and by the time he told how the lost lord had been slain, and first fire had been lit once more, dawn had began breaking across a dim sky of stars and celestial bodies. ¡°That was¡­incredible.¡± Tali slumped back in his seat, unable to believe the tale that had been told, as it was far superior to his own. ¡°Was this a true tale, I very much doubt it could have been made on the spot.¡± Machun questioned, the story had taken his full attention, something Fallion should feel proud of Fallion smiled ¡°It is real in a way that makes it fake, if that is understandable.¡± Several furrowed brows and confused smiles cropped up in the group of comrades. Neumien sat up ¡°Well, regardless it was a fantastic tale, one I had never heard such likes of in my entire life.¡± Laughing a bit ¡°Well, I must admit I wasn¡¯t the one to make such a tale, however at times I wish I was so lucky.¡± ¡°Do you have more tales like that?¡± ¡°Three more in fact.¡± ¡°By all means share them then.¡± The next few days were spent with everyone entranced by Fallion telling the storyline of the games Dark Souls 2 and 3 as well as Demon Souls, though of course none there knew what a ¡®game¡¯ was and instead took them as tales of long before the great war, that had mostly become lost to all. At times, some gasped in surprise, and on occasion he was interrupted to explain something that didn¡¯t exist in this world. All the group needed now, was to be sitting around a campfire, and some marshmallows over the fire to fit such a picturesque moment. During all this, unbeknownst to all, Talis storyteller skill recorded every word, the tales spoke hear would not be forgotten as long as he lived and shared them. These tales would one day be ingrained in this world, and their popularity would be sky-high for generations. By the time the tale of the third dark souls completed, they were but two days away from the fateful encounter at the Hurrden Plains. --------------------------------------- I had tried coming up with a good tale but failed to do so, thus I used dark souls with its fantastic world and ever confusing lore and back story to do it for me. Once again I hoped you enjoyed and leave any and all criticism you have in the comments, thank you. Chapter 10: Night before arrival. A prelude to battle part 4 of 4 As the sun began to set on the traveling army, General Denos ordered a ¡®company halt¡¯. Once all the carriages had stopped, he turned to face the large group of fighters, some of which, in the next few days would die before there enemies. ¡°Many of you, likely do not know of the ancient army traditions of the Dwarves. I, however, and proud to be of those that do.¡± He cleared his throat ¡°During the Great War, the night before arriving at any soon to be battlefield, they would throw a celebration, a way of lifting moral before the fight, and for the chance to drink with those they may never be able to again.¡± A heavy feeling crept on the soldiers, the idea of not leaving the battle was something none wanted to expect to happen to them, and thus ignored the obviously high possibility there was. ¡°And, like our forefathers, these warriors of old, I shall continue this tradition.¡± A murmur began to develop ¡°We shall make camp tonight and celebrate! Drink to your hearts content, make merry! Enjoy the company of your brothers and sisters, regardless of race.¡± Denos eyes the soldiers before throwing his arms sky high ¡°Let this be a night all shall remember!¡± That was something all soldiers could do gladly. A loud ¡®hoorah¡¯ thundered the area, as soldiers jumped off and pitched tents, nine carts in the back with drapes over them, rode to the side and a soldier in each pulled it, revealing beer, and spirits for all to indulge in. At least 30,000 gallons of it sat in the enchanted barrels. These barrels were enchanted to carry far more than normal, thus made transporting supplies, and replacement gear easy and far more efficient than it otherwise would. Fires were lit, and tables were made in makeshift, and as night finally covered the sky, tankards were clanking and laughter filled the night air. Some soldiers simply sat and drank, otherwise were in charge of cooking food and other treats, all of whom volunteered on the notion they got the first plates, another army tradition Denos happily continued from old. Some soldiers were even dueling, testing their skills against other fighters. Some soldiers had instruments, and began playing for fun, others told stories. This group included Tali, we was telling the tale of the first Dark Souls. ¡°-and through the gate, sat a graveyard of swords-¡± Fallion smiled, enjoying the sight of Tali enrapturing others with the tales he shared. Valder approached Fallion, and slammed a friendly hand onto his back. Turning to face him, Fallion found himself greeting a smiling Valder offering him a tankard, something he gleefully accepted, he had died before the age of 21 after all, and it wasn¡¯t like there were cops around to tell him not to, in this world even young children drank from time to time. They clinked tankards smiling, and began to down the amber liquid like it would disappear otherwise. Finishing, Valder let out a satisfied sigh ¡°Now that hits the spot, eh?¡± Fallion smiled in agreement, quite enjoying the taste of this alcoholic beverage. ¡°It most definitely does, shall we get more?¡± Valder grunted in response, and the two approached a table, refilling their tankards, instantly downing the drink, and refilling it again, not downing it immediately this time. The two walked away from the table to more private part, at Valders insistence, he seemed to have some sort of question or questions he wanted Fallion to answer. Fallion however, was unsure what questions Valder would have, then he remembered that of all the group, Valder had definitely held the most interest to the tale, it was quite possible Valder wanted to know more about it, or even if Fallion had a fifth tale he hadn¡¯t shared before. Neither of those would have surprised him. Valder sat down next to one of the scattered trees in the field, and motioned for Fallion to sit, which he did gladly. Taking a large gulp from his pint, Valder cleared his throat and looked at Fallion ¡°About those, erm tales you shared.¡± Smiling a bit ¡°What of them my friend?¡± ¡°I know a lot of the others mentioned they felt hopeful from the tales, how these unnamed warriors overcame many a difficulty, and in the end achieving their destiny.¡± He cut off for a moment, his eyes seemingly searching Fallions face a bit, as if the words he wanted were there upon his brow ¡°They were tales of hopelessness in truth weren¡¯t they. In the first tale the warrior lit the fire to prevent the coming dark, however in the beginning of the next, the dark still came, and in the end of that tale the warrior of it became ¡®king¡¯ to stop the spread, but then in the third it had spread anyways.¡± Fallions brows curved in slightly, nodding to answer his train of thought ¡°Those warriors were like gods in power, yet they couldn¡¯t stop something, and at times they ¡®ran away¡¯ from certain fights, and in others they seemed fearful...of something...¡± Valders voice trailed off, not continuing his thought This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. After a few seconds of near painful silence, Fallion spoke ¡°Do you think there is anything stronger than god? That god is afraid of anything.¡± Valder looked at Fallion hard, in a searching sort of way, as if something had clicked in his mind ¡°I¡­do...after all, if god had nothing to fear, why doesn¡¯t he come down here and force his children to be good boys and girls? Why does he remain near silent? Why does god allow himself to be a sort of passive existence? If god had nothing to fear, how would he be god?¡± Valder sipped his drink ¡°When I was a boy, one thing my father always said was ¡®son, if you think you are the strongest at anytime, give up on trying to become strong. You aren¡¯t worthy of it.¡¯ he had said that many a time in my youth, and on my fifteenth birthday, I asked my father why, and he merely replied ¡®there is always someone or something stronger than you. If you are considered the strongest, than you just haven¡¯t met the one to put you on your ass¡¯.¡± Fallion nodded, ¡°Wise words, from a wise sounding man.¡± Valder nodded ¡°The reason god doesn¡¯t come down here, is he¡¯s afraid of coming across that stronger being, or maybe that stronger being exists in another realm. God stays on his mountain top, so none can take his title as the strongest. The epitome of weak strength.¡± Fallion stared at Valder in a way he never had before. Previously, Fallion simply considered an extremely friendly dwarf, easy to get along with. However, tonight Fallion began to respect him, he was wise beyond his years, likely wiser than he himself had realized. Fallion had previously considered that after the war, he and Elyisia would form an adventurer party for fun. In that moment he wanted Valder to become member number three, the man had said words that even god had to respect. ¡°Say Valder, once this war is over, what do you plan to do?¡± The dwarf shrugged, taking another gulp from the tankard ¡°I suppose start a family. Maybe build a farm, I hadn¡¯t thought beyond surviving tomorrow.¡± ¡°Do you want to travel with me? You know, form an adventuring party?¡± Valder looked at Fallion with a twinkle in his eye ¡°Promise you¡¯ll share more fantastic tales?¡± Smiling ¡°Promise to have my back, and I yours?¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± the two comrades hugged, in dwarven tradition, forming a party with another dwarf made them ¡®blood siblings¡¯. Since adventuring was built on trust, it¡¯d only made sense you¡¯d trust your life to them, the same as you would your family if needed, and expect them to ¡®catch you if you fall¡¯. ¡°Well¡± raising his tankard ¡°Brothers.¡± Returning the gesture ¡°Brothers.¡± they drank the night away. ------------------------------- If I¡¯m honest, I originally didn¡¯t plan much for Valder, or really any of the 33rd. However, as I¡¯ve been weaving this story, I found myself enjoying Valder as a character, which is weird to say since I am the one ¡®breathing him to life¡¯ as it were. As I¡¯ve gone back and read what I¡¯ve written, at times I forget I wrote it, and I suppose that¡¯s how the feeling arose. The same thing with Tali and the storytelling of his. I began to enjoy his character. I dunno if it is a weird notion or not but I wanted to share that. As always criticism is GREATLY appreciated. As I have said this is my first ¡®professional¡¯ work, which I mean in the full story sense since I normally only write short stories. On a side note I¡¯m really feeling like writing tonight, don¡¯t know why but I came home from work like that, so there may or may not be another chapter, it just depends how the night goes for me. Chapter 11: The first day there It was just past noon when the army arrived near the site of battle, anticipation was in buzzing in the air, and nerves were at an all time high. All were fearful and hopeful at the coming fight. In fact, the army had stopped around 3 miles away, so they could hide their supplies and not worry in case of a potential retreat. All the soldiers dismounted, and orders flew. The 33rd would be in the back of the army, due to its below average numbers. ¡°This is bullshit.¡± Admier clenched her fist, she wanted the taste of battle, and enemies dying at her feet. ¡°Why the hell should us having less soldiers matter! They are the ones that didn¡¯t supply us enough damn fighters!¡± Neumien smacked Admier ¡°First off you seem to forget I am your superior in both rank and experience ¡®soldier¡¯. Secondly there was a chance we¡¯d have been sent to the back even with optimal numbers. Not everyone can be in the front of the damn line you sadist.¡± Admiers face contorted with hate, not even her father had hit her, she stormed off to the groups cart, intensely ¡®cleaning¡¯ her gear. Drusis approached the obviously fuming Borderal ¡°You think you-¡± ¡°Want me to hit you as well boy?¡± Drusis immediately backed off, meanwhile Hadvarr was imagining a very dominating scene involving a whip hitting him. Fallion began praying to himself that Hadvarr would stop sending him these images, praying for them to happen to him. In the distance a horse approached, on it was Lt. General Ruckgevir ¡°Hail Borderal.¡± nodded towards Neumien ¡°Hail Lt. General.¡± She saluted him in response ¡°The enemy has been spotted all platoons are to hear-by form in the ranks and file assigned to them immediately, that is all.¡± He galloped away, informing the other platoons of the new orders. After all, having General Denos shout orders ran the risk of the enemy hearing us, giving them more time to prepare mentally. The army took shape in a standard arc. The curve faced inward, and the platoons stood side by side, facing the enemy. Each brandishing their weapons. To most, the dwarven army looked jumbled up and deformed, no real order or reason to it. However, what made the army of the dwarves in mean was its lack of uniformity in this aspect. Each platoon was like a small army, carrying out individual orders, like a hive and the General the queen bee. Of course, that made most orders rather simplistic due to the need of many given out simultaneously, however there stood the reason for ¡®platoon¡¯ training. This was to allow the leaders time to figure out potentially potent tactics they could have the group do, while following the simple orders from higher-up. It was for this reason Dwarves never once lost territory in the Great War, however neither did they pursue it, finding comfort in the size they had reached back then. During the celebration the previous night, near the departure all the platoon leaders were called for a mass meeting, this was for their orders during the first day of fighting, and how each should make plans around certain occurrences, like retreating or pushing into their lines. The role of the 33rd was simply keeping the enemy from being able to flank them, a role fit for scouts since the Hurrden Plains was surrounded by patches of dense forest leading to the Verous Folly to its front, and the Gumberak Canyon to its left. The main concern was the forests as the only other way into the Canyon was near Poius, a location heavily fortified in case of attack from the canyon. Valder checked his bow, plucking slightly at the string, a nervous tendency of his Fallion had discovered. Fallion slapped a hand on Valders right shoulder, causing him to look up and smile, if a bit forced. Fallion then detached his helm from its strap at his side, and placed it on his head. Others following suit, though only Valder and Fallions faces were no longer viewable, due to the iron helm they wore. Seconds past into minutes, and minutes to what seemed like hours. In the end, three hours had past before the orc and beast-men army crept out of the forest, spreading like ravenous fingers over the plains. No one spoke, the wind had ceased and any sound became rare. Anxiety grew, and so did nerves and the rustle of armor became slowly more frequent as seconds drew on. The air was thick for the upcoming battle, Fallion found it slightly hard to breath. The enemy force was similar in number. Around 11,000 give or take. At least, that is what he heard scouts report. Though the number could have increased without anyone¡¯s knowledge. On the opposing side, flags began to crop up, bearing different insignias. Unlike the dwarves, orcs and beast-men were very standard. Pike men and some archers in front, soldiers behind that, more archers after that, and the possible cavalry unit, however only elves and for the most part used cavalry, it was simply unpopular to the other races, though all knew the uses and drawbacks to them. Six riders came from the opposing lines. The leaders of ours rode forward as well. The ¡®formal greeting¡¯ was one of the magically bound rights in the Treaty of Yort. After several intense moments of ¡®pleasantries¡¯, the group split back off, returning to their respective sides. General Denos, looked at the army a moment before turning back around to face his opponent. He sighed deeply before dismounting and sending his ride away, the other leaders following suite, dwarves face their enemies on their own two feet after all. He paused a moment and then put on his ornate helm, dictating his rank. He drew his blade and pointed sky high, before slicing downwards, the edge towards his enemies. ¡°CHARGE!¡± and a battle cry erupted movement in the ninth assault force. Immediately following that, the 33rd, 78th, and 52nd platoons broke off, moving around to the right to prevent a potential side assault. Returning focus back to the main force, following behind the leaders were the 87th, 23rd, 7th, and 1st platoons, they were the ¡®breaker¡¯ platoons. Once made of mostly beserkers and what was called ¡®bashers¡¯. Bashers had no weapon, except two large great shields instead. The shields fit together like puzzle pieces when closed together allowing the wielder to ¡®crush¡¯ or more commonly ¡®bash¡¯ the enemy to death. Bashers were very useful against standard armies, as they were specifically trained and ¡®made¡¯ to help break those lines. The orc pike men knelled forward, allowing them to absorb more force from the dwarves charge, and put their pike out at 42 degrees, the optimal angel against dwarven infantry, though this number differed towards species. The running force collided into the orc defense net, orcs were the most naturally endowed race when it came to physical labor and fighting, however this was utterly smashed or rather ¡®bashed¡¯ into nothingness as the skilled platoons of beserkers and bashers carved a chunk out of their front line. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Having broken through, the ¡®regular¡¯ platoons began slowly separating from the main group, looking to keep pressure on the sides so no reinforcements could come to the middle. Hours had past since the beginning, and the dwarves eventually reached a stalemate when met by the beast-men ¡®varrigans¡¯ and orcish ¡®koleds¡¯. Varrigans were nimble warriors who wielded massive great axes, and were surprisingly effective, while koleds were heavily armored warriors wielding a great shield and a great sword. Both devastatingly powerful opponents. However the bashers and beserkers made them their match, causing neither side to gain any ground for quite some time. Eventually an orcish horn resounded, calling for a retreat. While the main beast-men and orcish force retreated, the varrigans and koleds kept the dwarven force from pursing, that and the now heavy archer bombardment kept them from being able to do much. Suddenly the arrows grew even more intense in barragement, and the enemy fighters used this cover to retreat safely. Suddenly the arrows thinned out, and General Denos decided it would be best to pursue the enemy into the forest, after all it was more than likely the enemy had no time to do anything but begin trying to regroup, something the General wouldn¡¯t allow his opponents the chance at. Lt. General Ruckgevir approached him ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t think pursing is wise, it could be a trap.¡± ¡°Nonsense Ruckgevir, the enemy just retreated, they haven¡¯t the time, but while you keep me here instead of hunting them down, they do get that chance.¡± ¡°General the retreat in itself could be a trap, don¡¯t you think it wise to retreat and regroup, sir?¡± ¡°Did our forefathers retreat once in the Great War?¡± ¡°Well no sir but-¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t question your orders ¡®lieutenant general¡¯.¡± Denos looked back towards the forest ¡°For the glory of the dwarven and human kingdoms!¡± the general charged in without looking back, with fourteen platoons following behind. Ruckgevir was not blind enough to simply ¡®charge¡¯ recklessly as such. Especially if it risked too many lives. However seven platoons had also stayed behind, one of them, the leader of the 12th platoon approached Ruckgevir ¡°Sir, we are at your command.¡± these commanders had seen the wisdom in his words, and thus thought it better safe than dead. Ruckgevir nodded, already relatively certain of what awaited those who entered the forest ¡°Well, then let us prepare to soon return a favor.¡± Ruckgevir signaled for the groups to retreat, and had the 77th leader sound the horn of retreat. Meanwhile, Denos followed in close pursuit, catching up to the feeling opponents, his mind was racing and his blood pumping. Truth be told, he too saw the wisdom in Ruckgevirs words, but the warrior in him didn¡¯t want to stop fighting. He couldn¡¯t. Ever since he was a boy, he always carved his way through life whether by the fist or the blade. Fighting was his life, and he relished it every chance he had. Suddenly a twig snapped to his left, Denos turned to face the source, but it was too late. Several arrows and thoroughly punctured his body through and through. Thousands of arrows were loosed onto the soldiers following behind Denos and bloodied screams assaulted his dying ears, and as he fell to the ground, the only regret he had was not the death of his men, but he had to stop fighting. Truly a dwarf of ancient tradition. Ruckgevir turned towards the forest, it was a damn shame, over three hundred men dead, because of the now former generals damn inability to keep his blood lust in check when it mattered. He spit on the ground, cursing the folly of the general, but simultaneously thankful. As he was the only lieutenant general among the leaders. The others were only of the rank of Liberdal. If it wasn¡¯t for his sudden promotion by Denos, such a situation wouldn¡¯t have occurred. However, Ruckgevir would be lying if he said he didn¡¯t respect the man, he was a brilliant tactician after all. It was just that all went to the wind when his blood began pumping. For now, it was time to regroup the army. He had to think of a plan to give back what they had received, after all he knew few who wouldn¡¯t throw caution to the wind when they killed the enemy leader. Another problem was what to do about the fact a rumor would quickly sprout the general was slain. Moral would drop severally. He had to something, but what? He looked to his right, and he saw the Gumberak Canyon, and he saw what appeared to be a sort of ¡®shelf¡¯ and an idea sprouted in his mind. Those orcs would regret it if they did become cocky, though he knew that if they caught onto his plan it¡¯d have devastating backlash. He chewed his bottom lip as he ran, a habit since he was a young boy. He tossed several other possible ways, but the one with the best likely results was the canyon, even though it also held the most risk. Thoughts like ¡®is it worth it?¡¯ and ¡®can I save the situation if it fails?¡¯ He reached the main camp, the location where all the carts and supplies were left, and called a meeting of the surviving platoons. Over 2,000 men had already died today, he was determined to limit it the best he could, and of course there was the possibility one of the platoon leader or the other army leaders had seen an angle he had by chance missed, after all one can never be too certain towards anything. Several minutes later, the remaining leaders, or replacements if the leader had fallen stood before him. It was time to make a very battle changing decision. -------------------------------------------------- I honestly suck at battle scenes, and I apologize profusely for it. I didn¡¯t want to ruin anything so I wrote it a bit cautiously, not risking too much detail for the fear of going to far, but I may have gone too little instead. If that is the case, please comment before I start working on chapter 12. The battle should be until chapter 15 or so. Around chapter 18-20 should be the end of the stories ¡®prologue¡¯ as it were. As always please leave any criticism you have. Chapter 12: Returning the favor on the second day The following morning, arguing and some shouting came from the meeting. Not all the platoon leaders liked the plan, they thought the risk too high. Others thought it¡¯d be best to play it safe. When it came for Ruckgevir to ask if anyone had any better bright ideas, no one had any. Ruckgevir sighed, he didn¡¯t want to use this plan either, but it was the best solution they had. ¡°Prepare the trap immediately. 44Th, 96th, 15th, 33rd, and 67th platoons shall be in charge of preparing and ¡®springing¡¯ the trap. 18Th, 52nd, 10th, 27Th, 1st, 9th, 99th, 43rd, and 21st platoons shall follow me so we can lead the enemy into the canyon. All other platoons shall lie in ambush nearby so we can box them in. Let us go return a wonderful favor they have given us.¡± he paused for a minute ¡°Let¡¯s do this for the general.¡± The last statement got a few cries of ¡®hoorah¡¯ and the platoon leaders went and informed their groups. Ruckgevir scratched his head, now all he had to do was pray orcish scouts wouldn¡¯t notice them entering the canyon to prepare the rocks, and get into an optimal position to pelt the unlucky warriors with arrows. He donned his helm set off to make sure preparations on his end went well enough Setting out from the main camp, Fallion hadn¡¯t seen any fighting but from afar, as the orcs and beast-men had refused to come forward at all. Reaching the canyon after running awhile, they found a hidden path mentioned in the dwarven maps of the area, they uncovered the small cave entrance, and lit torches before heading into it, closing the path behind them with a large boulder. The path was very straight forward, no side tunnels appeared once, and ten minutes after they had gone in, they found themselves on the shelf Ruckgevir wanted them to prepare the trap on. Immediately the 44th and 15th took out pickaxes, mining the walls to create large boulders to crush the unsuspecting foes. The 67th had two mages who set about placing ¡®detonator¡¯ rune traps all over the ground. These runes would only activate if the caster willed them to, making them ambush material perfection. The 33rd and 96th on the other had, feathered arrows, and laid quivers all around. Each member had a bow, they would loose arrows like Ruckgevir wanted. ¡°I¡¯m sort of excited.¡± Hadvarr, spoke a wide smile was growing on his face as he worked. ¡°Once you are finished with your task, back into the cave. We can¡¯t risk notice until it is too late for those bastards.¡± Gruff responses came all around, and the 96th platoons leader headed inside. Preparations took the better half of the morning and weren¡¯t complete till early afternoon. The platoons were cramped in the cave, with only one of them outside the cave, laying flat on the ground, holding a pair of binoculars and searching for the Lt. General and company. Nervous whispers echoed in the cave, and on occasion a leader would shush them. Everyone was nervous, they knew the risk if this plan failed. Hours passed, and then their scout finally ran back into the cave ¡°Its the Lt. General! He has the enemy army at his heels!¡± Neumien nodded and gave out orders. The other platoon leaders followed suite. They waited around 10 minutes before crawling out of the cave, the orcish army was nearly in position. Fallion notched an arrow and crouched near one of the many quivers strung about. They allowed the first few ranks of hostile warriors to pass before someone screamed ¡®now¡¯ and they kicked the supports from under the rocks, causing them to roll into the canyon. Scream of pain erupted, and suddenly magic exploded, the runes going off one by one. Immediately following suite, everyone had grabbed a bow and were firing arrow after arrow, volley after volley into crying and bellowing army. Not a single arrow flew back at them, for 20 minutes they kept this barrage up, and when the smoke cleared, only men and dwarves stood in the canyon. The trap had been far more successful than originally planned. The enemy force that had followed was at least 4,000 strong. The orcs had lost around 2,000 the day before as well. Their loses were now over 6,000, more than half their initial number. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Next was the secondary phase. If they did per chance defeat whatever force ran into the canyon, it was time to strike at the main force once again. Ruckgevir shouted orders, and the ¡®trap¡¯ platoons descended from the shelf, conforming back into the main force ¡°Send a runner to have the rest of the force meet in the middle, its time we end this fight.¡± The confidence came from the fact they still had around 10,000 troops, even with yesterdays losses. The orcish army would be crushed in their next charge, he could feel it. It took several hours before the main army returned. Far in the distance, the orcish and beast-men forces appeared, ready to make a last stand. Ruckgevir eyed the enemy, and turned to his forces. This battle was going well, and he had the talented warriors under his command to thank for that. ¡°Men! Women! Dwarf! Human! Today we may end this battle, if not then we shall do so the following day! For tomorrow is the ancient respite enforced by the Treaty of Yort! Neither you or I wish to give those bastards a second to rest! Not after they slew General Denos!¡± Several angry cries rose out ¡°Today we will give those invaders there just desserts! Upon my name, upon my honor, on the glory of our joint kingdoms, today is the day they regret attempting to take our lands! For honor, for glory, for your homes and families!¡± He raised his great sword ¡°CHARGE!¡± A bellowing cry that shook the ground roared life into the army. Not even General Denos was a capable of such an inspiring speech. There was no order to the army this time. Platoons were wherever they wanted to stand. The 33rd stood at the forefront, bows and blades high, and blood thirsty faces all. The orcish and beast-men forces didn¡¯t stay defensive this time, and also charged forward. The two meaty masses collided and bodies flew. Screams and anguished cries once more covered the Hurrden Plains as warriors took their final breath. During the fighting an arrow had pierced Condek, he turned turned and stared at Drusis as he fell to the ground, his heart taking their last beats. ¡°Condek!¡± Drusis tried to approach his dying friend, but in turn received an ax to his neck by the opponent he turned his back on, a foolhardy mistake for a warrior. Eleven of the 33rd remained. Fallion knew they had died, he knew when everyone had finally passed on. He wished their souls eternal rest and peace. The fighting dragged on, neither side winning. The sun had long set, and marks suddenly appeared on the foreheads of all. All sides found themselves unable to swing their blade. The respite had come. Angry looks and spiteful comments were slung back and forth as the two groups returned to their camps. Until midnight the next day, neither group could in any way attack the other. Of course cursing wasn¡¯t considered an attack unless you also used the ¡®swearing¡¯ skill as well. Ruckgevirs face grew grim. He had wanted to end the battle right then and there, but he had no choice but to adhere to the ancient treaty. He sighed, and his gut twisted into knots, he had a bad feeling for the day after. Chapter 13: The third days respite They arrived back at the camp eventually. Many faces were tired and saddened. They had actually taken heavy loses in the charge. 3,000 had perished that day. Fallion approached his platoon, knowing two less faces would be there. No one said anything, they just stared off into nothingness. While Drusis and Condek were only really close with each other, everyone had lost comrades nevertheless. No tears were shed however, it¡¯d tarnish there memory if those that lived cried tears for them. Everyone knew they had the chance of dying. They just hoped they¡¯d live to see the end of the war. Eventually over the morbid sadness, people crept into their tents, hoping to find comfort in dreams, since for the day they were safe from harm. Lt. General Ruckgevir however wasn¡¯t one of those warriors. He instead was determined to end it the following day with no more than 500 more dead. It would take a lot of ingenuity to pull such a feat off, and the remaining two Liberdals, one had perished in the charge, began developing strategies to use. They weren¡¯t going to allow a defeat, not after all they¡¯ve done. Far into the forest sat the enemy encampment. There sat two figures talking and arguing. One was the leader of the Beast-men, Freqs Juroi Gurvnr and the other was the orcish leader Loslov Goro Bragslkand. Both ranks, Freqs and Loslov were the equivalent of General. ¡°Damn thossse pesssky dwarvesss.¡± Juroi was a female cobra beast-men. Her scales shined red in anger from their heavy losses over the fights ¡°Hrmph, it was your idea to attack Poius first, I had suggested we attack smaller villages leading away from the city, before turning back and leading an assault on the town. You said it would take too much time, but look what was happened Juroi! Because of your damnable impatience I¡¯ve lost too many brood brothers and sisters in this fight! Even if we win we have no choice but wait for reinforcements! When and if we return, I¡¯m reporting your failures to the high council!¡± A blood vessel popped in Goros neck, the cobra woman always pissed him off with that ever irritating habit of drawing out her words. He imagined wringing her neck and snapping it, watching the life drain out of her corpse and then burn ing her body in offering to god. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°You sssseem to forget Goro, we are bottthhh held accountable for the resultsss here.¡± A dark, fanged smile filled her vile face. Truth was spoken, but Goro didn¡¯t care as long as this she-demon was out of commission ¡°Besides, we won¡¯t need reinforcements. We already have a way to win both fightssss.¡± A chilled laughter came from her. She stood up and motioned him to follow, Goro did, not out of any trust, which he held none towards her, but he knew tales of her cunning and genius inventions. They arrived outside of the forest, and 20 wheeled structures sat before him ¡°What are these?¡± Juroi laughed, gladly answering his question ¡°If...if that¡¯s true, then no army can stand in our might...¡± ¡°Now you begin to underssstand Goro.¡± ¡°Are the preparations for these new machines of yours made?¡± ¡°But of courssse. I alwaysss make sure I am ready for annnnything.¡± Goro laughed heartily, he thought to himself ¡®it is time for your rude awakening you damn dwarves. A new age of fighting has dawned.¡¯ He walked back to the camp for a nap, he would enjoy the screams tomorrow. ------------------------------------- Short on purpose, meant to be a quick cliff hanger. Hope you enjoyed. Always leave any criticism you have, I greatly appreciate it. This also will probably be today¡¯s final update. Next chapter with be either tomorrow or very late tonight. Chapter 14: War, war never changes...or does it? The morning dawn streaked across the sky, the respite had concluded. The two armies faced each other, both sides grimly knowing only one would leave. The day before yesterday, the orcs and beast-men had managed to even the number during the stalemate. As such, both armies held only 2,000 soldiers, humongous losses for any army especially since both had well over 10,000 only a couple days prior. Many warriors were unable to rest and relax properly the day before. Even though they were safe from harm, their warrior instincts had prevented them from acquiring needed sleep. Ruckgevir stood in front of the army, eyeing the enemy carefully. They had returned to a defensive strategy, their backs right on the forests edge for a tactical retreat. Ruckgevir was tired, and from his fatigue he missed obvious signs of a trap. He came to the false conclusion that his gut feeling was wrong, it was just bad rations. If this was two days ago, he¡¯d have known to immediately retreat the army to Poius. This was a mistake that would forever haunt his career, a nearly irredeemable folly. Fallion sighed and stretched in place slightly. Just enough to get the blood pumping, but not enough to disturb the surrounding fighters. Everyone was tense, after Condek and Drusis died, most had begun to consider they might die today, well, all except the bastard Nerxus. He was too arrogant and sure of his skill. Neumien was more skilled then him, and even she was certain she¡¯d die today. The tension in the air was unbearably brutal and harsh. He began wanting to just read a good book, and sip hot tea in an easy chair looking over beautiful scenery, than be in the army anymore. He thought when he signed up it be a lot more fun. Guess life is full of disappointments, hm? Fallion took notice of their surroundings, they were standing in the middle of the plains without any nearby cover. A bad feeling grew immediately as Ruckgevir began to give the signal to charge. Then something happened. Just as they were about to attack them, the enemy army retreated into the forest. No one was sure what to do, and Ruckgevir wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. ¡°By gods hand, the hell is this?!¡± He was fuming, orcs were not the kind to just leave a fight. They would fight to death or unconsciousness, fear wasn¡¯t something you could associate with the race. So what by Jo¨¹rmunggers ax was this?! Orcs retreating before battle even started?! There had to be tactic here. But they lacked mages. Even if they had them, the orcs would devastate the forest, something the elves wouldn¡¯t be keen on hearing as the forest was unspoken elvish territory, all forests were. He shook his head and furrowed his brow fuming. He felt disgraced, angry even. This was an insult from one ¡®warrior¡¯ to another. No, he could not call his so called opponents warriors now. Cowards, pussies, milk-drinkers the lot. Dragoth, he¡¯d even go as far as to call them Gunnervaggs, a derogatory term for the poor, cripple, and disabled. Of course, he loathed the word, as it once would have described his families wealth, which was none, but in this situation, Ruckgevir couldn¡¯t damn care. The normally calm and collected leader he was, was insulted. This was not a transgression he would take lightly. But what could he do? After all, when our dear General Denos charged in their, they were annihilated, and they had a whole day worry free. There could be hundreds of traps waiting to be sprung by his forces. He cursed silently, he considered this was bait to destroy his forces. He wouldn¡¯t fall for it. No, he¡¯d sit here doing nothing, forcing those pigs to crawl back out here and fight like the damn already should be instead of cowering in the forest sucking on their mothers teat. He gave orders to his commanders to wait them out, as well as send a messenger to Poius for supplies, who knows how long the fight would be dragged on for after all? He sat down and began twiddling his thumbs, ordering all soldiers to stay alert. He drew plans in the grass and dirt mentally. Deciding how best to make those spineless warriors pay for this embarrassment. Orcish camp This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. She smiled fangs bared and a throaty laugh escaped her twisted muzzle, they had done a little research on the acting commander and they had discovered he only had one single flaw when fighting. Warriors pride. Something only those with delusions should have, and definitely not a commander. Juroi sent the orders for the ¡®fun¡¯ to begin. She climbed a tree, as many others of her kind did, to watch the gruesome show. Goro felt guilty, after knowing what kind of commander he faced, he wished to fight him one on one, to sate both their honors. However, the council demanded results, even their king said to cast aside their honor this fight. It showed how serious he wanted the first punch to be. He cast the spell eagle-eye, a spell any commander had to know to reach a high rank. He watched intently for the massacre to begin 9th assault force It happened quickly, the day was clear and large shadows suddenly cast and began to grow upon the army. They fell, it was likely a mountain was falling on top of them, some screamed, others stood still in fear. The earth itself was launching towards them. Rocks large enough to demolish a fair sized house crushed the army. Admier was hit by the very first one, she didn¡¯t even get a chance to respond. Just a second ago, she was venting at Fallion for being forced to stand there, then there was stone, only inches from Fallions nose. He turned and looked in shock, a single word came to mind ¡®catapults¡¯. It was a type of weaponry the world had yet to see, until now that is. Some began crying and praying. The army was a mess, it couldn¡¯t be recovered. Others died, Fallion couldn¡¯t think straight, he hadn¡¯t expected this. He wanted to go home to his computer, his technology his family. His mother was probably...the memory disappeared. Right now it wasn¡¯t Fallion the god thinking, it was Fallion the feeble human he once was. Divinity wasn¡¯t something he had completely embraced mentally, he couldn¡¯t after all. It is inconceivable a mortal could ever reach a divine mentality, right? He stepped back, rocks that should crush him diverted last second. As such the only members of the 33rd platoon was Neumien, Fallion, Valder, Nerxus, and Tali. Everyone was dead. The army in mere minutes was nearly gone, but the rocks kept coming. He began hyperventilating, fear gripped his mind. He began losing his grasp on reality. He began praying to god for this to...why? Why did he feel the need to pray for some miracle? Why did he want something else to save him. He IS god, yet why couldn¡¯t he do anything. Nerxus beside him suddenly fell to his knees, and cried out prayers for salvation to ¡®god¡¯ unknowing he was just as useless as him at the moment. Nerxus cried out for a divine crusader. Then something happened, Fallion stood still, his eyes began glowing a dim gold, and the illusion that made him not look as beautiful as he was faded. He had put it on before arriving into the border city. It would be problematic if he was being starred at all the time, yet he removed it. The man in the body wasn¡¯t Fallion the mortal anymore. The switch was flipped. He was The God of the Realm, Avantiour as many called him. He turned towards Nerxus ¡°And what is god, Nerxus?¡± his voice was soft, yet the words carried over to every dwarf still alive. Nerxus turned, facing upwards to Fallion. His eyes filled with tears and fear, his mouth agape from terror, his mind was blank from the golden stare. Power, knowledge, mercy, and pity now radiated from every pore of ¡®Fallion¡¯. Nerxus could not do any form of response. After all, he was in front of God himself, in all his righteous glory. ---------------------------- I was reading other people stories procrastinating a little when boom, the chapter hit me and here it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as always leave any and all criticisms you have in the comments, or better yet leave me a review so I can see as a whole what needs to be done to improve. Story list update Since a lot has happened, time for an update on the whole story list. I also did a little bit of pronouncements for a few ranks, let me know if you want that for everything in the comments Verandvus- continent List of Characters (Soldier as of chapter 4)Fallion- MC (currently dwarf) (Soldier by chapter 4 though not mentioned) Elyisia- Divine servant (currently human) Lieutenant Ruckgevir (dwarf) Quartermaster Gravin (dwarf) Hastlav Nerxus (dwarf) Duven Schrolin Verdin (dwarf) Borderal Neumien Daros (leader of the 33rd platoon) (dwarf) Soldier Valder (dwarf) Soldier Tali (Half elf half dwarf) *dead* Soldier Drusis (human) *dead* Soldier Machun (half human half dwarf) *dead* Soldier Goldor (human) *dead* Soldier Hastings (human)) *dead* Hastlav Hadvarr (human) *dead* Soldier Xolos (dwarf) *dead*Soldier Admier (human) *dead* Soldier Condek (human) *dead* General Denos(leader of the ninth army) Loslov Goro Bragslkand Freqs Juroi Gurvnr Known Creatures Vundervipp Fydiel Horse Sipr Hurgo (Dwarven/ man) Military titles(highest to lowest) Grand General General Lieutenant General Liberdal Gaverhik Commander Lieutenant (Quartermaster is of similar status) Borderal Gordubn Ferniun Duven Hastlav Soldier Orcish ranks Friedle Loslov Nurmonggerver Corspeo Unranked Beastmen ranks (beastmen have no equivalent for high general and instead have a round table of generals) Freqs Salvious Fewednera Varskquiousle Columdbermaniosu(column-burr-me-an-easy) Berfvidenalyf(burr-f-vid-in-a-life) Graceolummner Forsgtunth (four-st-gun-eh) Canviousltui Cities/villages/towns/important locations Bous(dwarf/human) Morsalio(Sumner Elf) Theros (Dwarf village) Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.Krant Hills (Dwarf mine) Poius (Dwarf city) Hurrden Plains (Neutral territory between the dwarven and beast-men lands, located southeast of Poius) Mt. Olis (realm of god) (tallest mountain. ¡®Lonely¡¯ mountain) Kragumen Mountains (contains second- sixth tallest mountains. Tallest mountain range.) Gumberak Canyon (Canyon connecting Hurrden Plains and the city of Poius) Verous Folly (forest next to Hurrden Plains) Districts of the Dwarven/human city of Bous Maos Veruk Laos Farras Races Human Dwarf Orc Goblin Dark Elf Sumner Elf Liedersul (Shape-shifters, capable of disguising themselves as various plants) Beast-man (wolf, cat, dog, snake, rat, parrot, eagle, etc) Dracon (Dragon-like race, believed to be extinct) Bunderak (commonly referred as the ¡®grim dark¡¯ race of lore and tales) Languages Common tongue (spoke by most of the major races for easier communication) Greunvuric- Orc and goblin tongue Lunder- Elfish Braun- Dwarf Coun- Human Noalewwye- Northern Beast-men Veundfreye- Southern Beast-men Gid- Dragon Nhuk- Liedersul Months(In order world has extra time in sun revolutions causing 15 months instead of twelve) (Add twenty days to each month as well) Florres Vuenn Quatol Bryiunder Grandis Revlad Fasiet Coround Petres Mouslaav Greuin Noriem Lus Borses Zarav 5 seasons (due to the extra sun travel) Drakious (Planting season) Jerv (Commonly referred to the hunting season) Garuder Hastlaav(Harvesting season, most plants take longer to grow here in this world than our own causing the harvest season to be around our ¡®winter¡¯) Xasden (also referred to as hunting season) Known effects of the ancient treaty of Yort (treaty that ended the Great War) If a battle reaches a third day, the third day shall be a time of rest and all shall be unable to draw there blade except towards uninvolved parties. This shall also occur on the eight, fifteenth, and twenty-second days should it last as long. This does not carry over between battles, this only effects military groups, including mercenaries. Chapter 15: What is God? It seems luck happened, Heavenly lmao ------------------------------- Nerxus couldn¡¯t respond. The being before him, was beautiful. Like a statue of a great warrior of old, no, he was far more beautiful then those. To him, they were jagged rocks of slate. The being starred at him with golden eyes, they were intoxicating, soul sucking. As if they knew absolutely everything, while giving away nothing. The being looked towards the rocks, and with a flick of his hand they froze in the air. He turned towards Nerxus, and repeated his question. ¡°What is god, Nerxus?¡± Nerxus nearly worked up a response, but before he could attempt to say it, his voice caught. The deity caught this hesitation and gave a quiet sigh, that was more like a low rumble. The earth itself seemed to give way to his breath. ¡°Is he a savior? A hero? A moderator? What is god?¡± He raised his head towards the sky, his eyes searching the rocks as if pining for an answer from them, one they were not capable to give. ¡°Is god meant to be a fatherly figure? A motherly one? A who pampers the children, and scolds them for stealing candy? Is god meant to simply be a wise grandfather? One who keeps stories of old? Or is god simply meant to be an onlooker, watching the children squabble over petty rivalry and desire?¡± He turned towards Nerxus again ¡°What is your idea of god? Do you think god is a savior? Or per chance do you arrogantly declare to be one of his successful ¡®chosen¡¯ one who will be tossed great prowess and knowledge. Like a horse being led to water?¡± The god raised his hand and Nerxus paled, the rocks in the sky had suddenly increased, nearly blocking out the sun, all were now in small chunks ¡°Every piece here represents ones idea of ¡®god¡¯, and even more are out there? Who is right? The church? The kings of the races? The Vundervipp resting in a tree after a long day? The miner who barely supports his family with back breaking labor, and even then he has to go without so his children will live on? Or is it the necromancer who despises gods makings and would rather be his own god? What is god?¡± He waved his hand once more, and now the sky was clear except for a small speck of dirt in front of his face ¡°No matter who they are, compared to the vast scene of rock you saw, that speck of dirt represents how much even the wisest will come to understand that which is ¡®god¡¯, Nerxus. No matter how many people you gather, and tell of your perception. Some will call it blasphemy, refusing to believe, even if that small bit of truth was real. After all, we all have our own little bit of truth none else will understand. Sometimes it makes men into devout, other bits make them turn from god. Why? Why can we not understand god? What is god?¡± A sad smile appeared upon the gods face, it made an unending sadness well up in Nerxus, one he would never feel, or understand. ¡°God is the alpha and the omega, he is the beginning and the end. Is the before and after. He both creates and destroys. He gives kindness and brutality. Trust and disloyalty. Life and death. Why? Why is god such a being of contradiction. You understand don¡¯t you Nerxus, after all. This is your meager truth.¡± The tears rushed down faster than ever. Nerxus did know. This was a truth he never wanted to admit. He wanted to scream the fact to the world, but his throat choked on his saliva. God simply nodded, understanding in his eyes. ¡°I ask you again, what is god Nerxus?¡± Finally the warrior was able to respond ¡°God is all and nothing. He cares for everyone and no one. He hates everyone and no one.¡± The god laughed ¡°So wrong but so very right child.¡± His eyes were alight with amusement and strangely cold indifference, as if what Nerxus had to say, mattered but also had no meaning to begin with. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Orcish and beastmen camp Juroi couldn¡¯t move. She knew what she was seeing. She didn¡¯t want to believe her eyes. God had descended on the world. She breathed heavily, her heart thumping. Though she never would admit it, she was considered a ¡®fanatic¡¯, something beyond merely devout. Fanatics were known to kill people over even a slight comment against god. Of course she had no hatred for those using gods name in vain, in her mind it symbolized gods power that people would use it to curse their enemies. A show of his power. However god was there in the dwarven army, immediately she thought they had done so sort of irredeemable wrong, and they would be punished for eternity. She was drowning in both fear and acceptance. After all, why should a mere mortal attempt to go against the divine creators will? It was not their place. At first she was shocked when the rocks disappeared, then multiplied, only to vanish again from thin air. This was a display of power she had never before witnessed. She was awestruck from it. Thus, Juroi sat there in a tree awaiting the punishment her maker would dole out to her. The face of relief when she would latter know she would not receive any divine judgment, and thus was not ¡®in the wrong¡¯ in gods eyes, scarred some people for life. Remains of the 9th assault force The being stood there for a while not talking. All the remain soldiers who were also still conscious were bowing on the god, prostrating before god. However, the only conscious member of the 33rd was Nerxus, the others were knocked away and out cold from the landing blast of a rock, it was also the reason they were still alive, as moment latter, rock were lying where they stood. God looked once more to Nerxus ¡°You will accompany me once this is all over, yes?¡± Nerxus sat wide eyed, his eyes still from crying before vigorously nodding his head ¡°And you will not tell the others what happened, yes?¡± This was definitely a threat as he motioned towards the other members of the 33rd. Once again, Nerxus vigorously shook his head yes. ¡°Good.¡± The god nodded. ¡°I have grown bored of this squabble between the two sides at the moment.¡± He raised a hand and a message was cast to all high priests of his church. A vision which would show his wrath set upon the world if the war continued. There would simply be peace. No treaty or terms of surrender. The kids would have to play nice for a while if they enjoyed life and its pleasures and burdens. Satisfied, he turned and began walking away. After a few steps, he turned his head back to Nerxus, still on the ground in a praying pose. As he placed the illusion back on him, transforming his looks back to ¡®Fallion¡¯ he smirked, his eyes returning to a natural hue. ¡°Well, you coming?¡± Nerxus never did or ever would jump to action like he did at that moment. Later on, when people asked about this battle, the only responses they would get from him was two sentences. ¡°It was eye-opening.¡± and ¡°What is god to you?¡± Just as many others would as well. It was simply, eye-opening. ------------- This ends the beginning of it all. Prologue arc, completed. Though honestly I don''t consider this an arc of any sort. Just a stupidly long prologue, even though I have a chapter that says prologue, but then again it was only ''sort'' of a prologue so loophole woot woot. As always leave any critics you have. Chapter 16: New beginnings Unknown At first, there was nothing. Only me. It was a calm darkness, void of everything. For a long time, before ¡®time¡¯ even existed, I was content to be in the dark. Silence as powerful as symphonies. This was everything I ever needed. It seemed at first I would always be here like this, formless and content. However even the sturdiest rock shifts over time. City of Poius Cheering overtook the city, as the remainder of the army entered. Although there were only over 500 soldiers left, an ironic number considering Ruckgevir only wanted to lose no more than 500, the city praised the ¡®hero¡¯s¡¯ who fought back the enemy forces from their door. Floors were tossed into the streets. The surviving members of the 33rd looked ahead only, as if their fallen comrades were there doing the same. Fallion imagined Admier puffing her chest, exuding the air of the pampered noble girl she is, or rather was now. Of course, Fallion could bring them back to life, but they didn¡¯t want to. For Condek and Drusis, it was simple acceptance for death. For Machun, Xolos, and Hadvarr, it was the ¡®next adventure¡¯. For Admier, it was pride. Hastings and Goldor, well lets just say they wanted an entire reset instead of pure resurrection. Of course, none of them knew that Fallion was god, after all his divine form apparently looked VERY different. Though he never would be able to see it himself, he¡¯d have to die for that. That¡¯d be paradox level idiocy right there. They reached the town square, were Ruckgevir officially declared the dissolving of the 9th assault force, due to Gods declaration. It kind of surprised Fallion, because only Nerxus was looking at him, no one else realized he was god. It was a coincidence of far too convenient proportions. Of course, it made things easier then him simply erasing the memories of everyone and creating an alternate timeline where he still meets everyone, but the war never occurs. After that, people began going their separate ways, it was strange really. Of course the real reason for the dissolution of the army was that they started with over 10,000 forces, reduced down to 500 in just a few days. Seems it was time to start from square one. Since Fallion would no longer need to do military stuff, he decided to call back Elyisia for the next big adventure, especially since was a damn disappointment. There was also the fact that he missed the redhead. He didn¡¯t know her well, but still, she was good company so far. The final 5 of the 33rd decided where to go next. ¡°Why don¡¯t we form an adventuring party?¡± It might be fun you know? Fallion imagined all the crazy possibilities that could occur. Immediately Nerxus and Valder agreed. For one, Valder already promised to join his as an adventurer during the celebration, and Nerxus might as well be considered a slave, worshiping Fallions every breath. Tali on the other hand immediately refused. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to start my own inn, I was too close to death for my own health, I¡¯d rather avoid battle for now.¡± A wry smile appeared on his face. He wanted to join, but he was terrified of death. No one pushed him to join, after what had happened it was understandable. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Neumien on the other hand, didn¡¯t decline or agree rather had some important questions ¡°Who¡¯d be the leader?¡± ¡°You, you led mercenaries, anyone else in a group would be an ill suited match in comparison.¡± She nodded, if she led then she wasn¡¯t as disinclined to join ¡°Why should I join then? Why shouldn¡¯t I go off alone and find my own adventure?¡± A big smile creeped on Fallions face as he held up two fingers ¡°Two reasons, one, because traveling alone is never as enjoyable as with comrades.¡± Neumien nodded, knowing that to be true ¡°And two, just because you fucking can.¡± He slung his arms out wide, laughing. It elicited from everyone else, Neumien included. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll join I suppose. Beats doing odd jobs honestly. Of course there¡¯s also the tried and true fact that parties always rank up in the guild faster than solo fighters.¡± She folded her arms across her chest, a new question in mind ¡°So what¡¯s our goal? Surely you didn¡¯t just decide to have form so mashed team with no objective?¡± ¡°Our objective? Why, to do the jobs no one else will take due to their utter impossibility! To soar past expectations because fuck your expectations! To go an adventures no one in their wildest dreams could imagine! To have those stories no one else ever will! To experience the unknown! Find amazing shit! Do-¡± ¡°Ok, ok I get it. By the brow of Avantiour, you are a goddamn chatter box at times you know?¡± She scoffed, but she was merely joking around. Fallion laughed ¡°Well, lets get to the adventurers guild office here in town, eh?¡± The group nodded, and unknown to them, a certain red-head had appeared out of nowhere. None of them thought her out of place however. Wasn¡¯t she the fourteenth member of the 33rd? The memory was fuzzy but they remembered her name was Elyisia, all were slightly embarrassed they had forgotten her. Fallion walked ahead of the group, smiling for the soon to be found adventures, and the fact his memory alteration went without a hitch. It is a very complicated process after all. One slight mistake and the hardest warrior could suddenly be trying to dance ballet. It was a funny thought, imagining some old war veteran suddenly jumping gracefully in full armor in the middle of a fight. Oh the wonders of imagination. They had to ask directions from guards to find the building they were searching for. A large marble structure, much like the rest of Poius, stood on a slight hill. The banners held the mark of the adventurers guild. A sword in a bundle of flowers. An odd choice of insignia, but it was to represent they were the blades for the people. They walked inside, and a new story was about to unfold. Chapter 17: The paperwork Unknown Eons upon eons passed in the unchanging void. Nothing stirred, nothing could after all. However, after a long, long time, a new feeling I never had before weld up in me. ¡®Curiosity¡¯ is what many call it now. I wanted something more than eternal dark, so to see what I could make, made what they call ¡®light¡¯, and it was good. Poius Adventurer Guild The inside of the building was just a beautiful if not even more so than outside. Ornate carvings were everywhere. Statues depicting hero¡¯s of old stood on both sides of the entry hall, greeting new visitors with their weapons held high. The long entryway broke into a large room, separated by a counter. The wall farthest from them held two boards. One said JOBS in bright blue, the other said BOUNTIES in bright red. It was interesting to see them separate bounties from regular jobs, something he hadn¡¯t heard about before. Nerxus sighed softly in anticipation. He was know a companion to god himself, of course just two days prior, if Fallion had told him he was god, he would have challenged him to put him in his place with such blasphemy. In truth, part of him didn¡¯t believe, but after yesterday, there was too much proof. It was impossible to deny what had happened on the battlefield. The group stepped over to the counter, where a young female Liedersul sat, organizing paperwork. ¡°Welcome to the Poius adventurer guild hall. As I have never seen you before, either you are wishing to join, or have a job request?¡± Fallion nodded, ¡°We wish to form an adventuring party with the guild.¡± Smiling professionally ¡°Wonderful!¡± She pulled out five small stacks of paper ¡°I believe you are forming a party of five? Each of you must fill this out. Who is the leader of the group?¡± Neumien stepped forward ¡°That would be I.¡± The receptionist pulled out a single piece of paper from a different drawer ¡°You will need to fill this out as well. Once you have filled out the paperwork, we can get started, yes?¡± The group nodded and walked over to a nearby table. The paperwork was standard stuff. It asked things like your name, age, and combat experience, as well as explaining various guild functions, services, and how the ranking system worked. Since they were a party, they got to skip rank F and were automatically Rank E. While this level skip is nice, getting out of rank F was very easy, in fact even unskilled people would be rank E within four days of signing on, as well as the fact its well known for groups to take longer to rank up. This was due to the group was not ranked E but the members. Thus each member had to prove themselves worthy of the rank increase. The ranks were F, E, D, C, B, A, S, X, Z. Rank Z was equivalent to an elder dragon in fighting prowess, a beast several very well trained armies, filled with fighting experts would be needed to slay with great difficulty. Of course only two people currently were ranked Z. The female Mountain Cleaver Valarioz, and the King of the Dwarves. Of the two, only Valarioz was still capable of action, as the Dwarf king was old and weak after living for twelve centuries, long lived even for dwarves. After about half an hour, Neumien finally got to the extra paper she was given and frowned ¡°What should our party name be?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Fallion laughed ¡°Is that a question? The 33rd of course!¡± The others found that identifying themselves as their former platoon would be a bit wrong. However, they also felt it honored their fallen comrades so they ended up agreeing rather quickly as it for the name. Bringing back the forms to the receptionist, she once again gave her professional smile as she reviewed the paperwork, before stamping ¡®approved¡¯ on all the documents. She pulled out a basket that held small button-like badges. ¡°These are your official guild badge. Do not lose, as you cannot receive a replacement easily. These badges will be tuned to your life force, and will grow more ornate the higher your rank. As you may have read, since you are a group larger than two, you shall start at rank E, and as such can take any job up to D. To rank up to D, you either must complete two D ranked missions successfully, complete five rank E jobs, or ten rank F jobs. May I interest you in some special gear? The guild sells communication crystals for groups, and pretty much anyone who wants one. Don¡¯t worry about eavesdropping from others, as the crystals will be attuned to each other.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Valder stroked his beard curious ¡°We give a small discount to groups, as such it will be only one white stone piece.¡± Everyone flinched, most people barely earned a gold piece in a year, let alone a white piece! Fallion reached into his pocket, manifesting a white stone piece. Who says being god doesn¡¯t pay? ¡°Here you are.¡± He drops the coin as it clinks onto the counter. The women grabs the coin and studies it, checking to make sure it wasn¡¯t fake. Satisfied she pulled out five blue and white crystals, each with a hole near the top to be put on a belt if one had one. ¡°These are your crystals, a pleasure doing business. On a side note, any jobs you complete you must bring to me. Once you complete a job, the contract will have a symbol appear, as all contracts are magically bound. Once I make sure the symbol is there, you shall receive all payments due. Also please show what job you are taking, as some clients want to know who is doing it.¡± The receptionist, who they eventually learn is named Vortunia, gave them other pieces of guild gear, such as a few backpacks in case they went on any gathering missions, or needed to transport supplies on a long trip. Eventually though, it was time to pick a job. They needed money, and everyone was pretty sure Fallion didn¡¯t actually have a lot of it, even though he had a white stone piece. Well, all except Nerxus at least. ¡°What kind of job should we do?¡± Fallion turned towards Neumien, she was the leader after all ¡°Well, for now lets try to rank up quickly. So, lets pick a good D rank mission right off the spear.¡± Everyone nodded in agreement, and Elyisia noticed a bounty mission for rank D ¡°Dead or alive, the Bandit One-eyed Jacs? Wanted for theft and attempted murder.¡± Neumien decided we would undertake this job, it could be fun after all. -------------------- As always leave any comments and criticism you have, I am slowly becoming worried from the lack of it honestly. Story list update I have added several new pieces of information and decided to just go ahead and post the next list update ------------------------- Verandvus- continent List of Characters (Soldier as of chapter 4)Fallion- MC (currently dwarf) (divine name- Avantiour) (Soldier by chapter 4 though not mentioned) Elyisia- Divine servant (currently human) Lieutenant Ruckgevir (dwarf) Quartermaster Gravin (dwarf) Hastlav Nerxus (dwarf) Duven Schrolin Verdin (dwarf) Borderal Neumien Daros (leader of the 33rd platoon) (dwarf) Soldier Valder (dwarf) Soldier Tali (Half elf half dwarf) *dead* Soldier Drusis (human) *dead* Soldier Machun (half human half dwarf) *dead* Soldier Goldor (human) *dead* Soldier Hastings (human)) *dead* Hastlav Hadvarr (human) *dead* Soldier Xolos (dwarf) *dead*Soldier Admier (human) *dead* Soldier Condek (human) *dead* General Denos(leader of the ninth army) Loslov Goro Bragslkand Freqs Juroi Gurvnr King Hirrodin Female Mountain Cleaver Valarioz Emperor Titus Zaxved Derx Grupoli Lovusy Xardfradinve Faskion Badrioutyl Verkyinglhuos. Poleraisas Beafiuou Durgendiar Cardivous Olvion- just like the race, is believed to be a myth Vortunia Bandit One-eyed Jacs Rulers of the Races Dwarven King Hirrodin Human Emperor Titus Beastmen Councilors Zaxved Derx, Grupoli Lovusy, Xardfradinve Faskion, and Badrioutyl Verkyinglhuos. Sumner Elf Yyggdras Poleraisas Beafiuou Orc and Goblin King Durgendiar Cardivous (Liedersul, Dark elf, Dracon have no leaders) Supposed Bunderak leader from the ancient tales Olvion Known Creatures Vundervipp Fydiel Horse Sipr Hurgo (Dwarven/ man) Military titles(highest to lowest) Grand General General Lieutenant General Liberdal Gaverhik Commander Lieutenant (Quartermaster is of similar status) Borderal Gordubn Ferniun Duven Hastlav Soldier Orcish ranks Friedle Loslov Nurmonggerver Corspeo Unranked Beastmen ranks (beastmen have no equivalent for high general and instead have a round table of generals) Freqs Salvious Fewednera Varskquiousle Columdbermaniosu(column-burr-me-an-easy) Berfvidenalyf(burr-f-vid-in-a-life) Graceolummner Forsgtunth (four-st-gun-eh) Canviousltui Cities/villages/towns/important locations Bous(dwarf/human) Morsalio(Sumner Elf) Theros (Dwarf village) Krant Hills (Dwarf mine) Poius (Dwarf city) Hurrden Plains (Neutral territory between the dwarven and beast-men lands, located southeast of Poius) The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Mt. Olis (realm of god) (tallest mountain. ¡®Lonely¡¯ mountain) Kragumen Mountains (contains second- sixth tallest mountains. Tallest mountain range.) Gumberak Canyon (Canyon connecting Hurrden Plains and the city of Poius) Verous Folly (forest next to Hurrden Plains) Districts of the Dwarven/human city of Bous Maos Veruk Laos Farras Races Human Dwarf Orc Goblin Dark Elf Sumner Elf Liedersul (Shape-shifters, capable of disguising themselves as various plants) Beast-man (wolf, cat, dog, snake, rat, parrot, eagle, etc) Dracon (Dragon-like race, believed to be extinct) Bunderak (commonly referred as the ¡®grim dark¡¯ race of lore and tales) Languages Common tongue (spoke by most of the major races for easier communication) Greunvuric- Orc and goblin tongue Lunder- Elfish Braun- Dwarf Coun- Human Noalewwye- Northern Beast-men Veundfreye- Southern Beast-men Gid- Dragon Nhuk- Liedersul (The language of the supposed Bunderak is unknown) Months(In order world has extra time in sun revolutions causing 15 months instead of twelve) (Add twenty days to each month as well) Florres Vuenn Quatol Bryiunder Grandis Revlad Fasiet Coround Petres Mouslaav Greuin Noriem Lus Borses Zarav 5 seasons (due to the extra sun travel) Drakious (Planting season) Jerv (Commonly referred to the hunting season) Garuder Hastlaav(Harvesting season, most plants take longer to grow here in this world than our own causing the harvest season to be around our ¡®winter¡¯) Xasden (also referred to as hunting season) Known effects of the ancient treaty of Yort (treaty that ended the Great War) If a battle reaches a third day, the third day shall be a time of rest and all shall be unable to draw there blade except towards uninvolved parties. This shall also occur on the eight, fifteenth, and twenty-second days should it last as long. This does not carry over between battles, this only effects military groups, including mercenaries. Adventurer Guild Ranks (least to greatest) F E D C B A S X Z Known Rank Z warriors Dwarven King Hirrodin (incapable of fighting due to age) Female Mountain Cleaver Valarioz Universal Currency Cotor Ranking of Cotor Bronze piece- one Cotor Orange Stone piece- five Cotor Yellow stone piece- fifteen Cotor Silver piece- fifty Cotor Purple Heart stone piece- one hundred Cotor Gold piece- five hundred Cotor White stone piece- two thousand Cotor Rainbow stone piece- ten thousand Cotor (The coins are made of metal and are colored using special magic to prevent counterfeit coin. The difficulty scales with the coins value, you have to be very skilled to make a fake bronze piece, and almost no one can plagiarize a silver.) Posting update Considering my work schedule, I have decided that I shall only post on my days off, so possibly 1-2 chapters a week. The next chapter following this new rule shall be Monday. I''m exhausted and need sleep right now lol Chapter 18: The first mission part 1 It was bright, but empty. However for a long, long time, it was enough. I simply existed in this vast endless canvas of white. However, like before curiosity came, and in the white I brought back the dark. I made the stars, and they too, were good. ----------------------- The group filed out of the guild hall one-by-one, a sort of silent anticipation amongst the group. Most of them had at one point in their lives dreamed of becoming adventures and having a grand tale that¡¯d be passed down generation after generation, to have such fame and wealth none could come close. We all have to dream right? ¡°All right¡± Neumien turned to the group following behind her ¡°Lets get information and supply up. This is our first job as the adventuring group ¡°the 33rd¡± and lets make a damn good impression, eh?¡± Everyone nodded, it was common enough knowledge a group of soldiers were equal of a low C rank adventurer, however their training made them seek preparation. After all, a highly trained group of 500 could defeat a group of 5000 who were poorly trained. Numbers aren¡¯t everything after all. First stop, was the tavern of course. Anyone with a brain knew that information could be gained there, for a price. Of course, there was often a loose-lipped drunkard, or one who was on the verge that only needed a well-gifted extra glass as coating. The tavern was called ¡®The Nightingale¡¯ a reference to an old bandit tale of a giant nightingale that haunted the mountains, a song would accompany the beasts arrival, the last sound you heard, or so they say. However a tale was a tale, just like the Bunderak were. Not even Fallion knew for certain if they existed, he was once got bored and attempted but he received rather...mixed results. Thus the Bunderak were an utter mystery as they likely always would be. There will always be the stories to scare the little children to behave. Neumien approached the tavern keep, and placed a yellow piece on the counter, before whispering hush, hush with him. After a short span, she returned. Jacs apparently was a bandit that worked solo, he refused to work in a group, one of the only things keeping the job from being C ranked in fact. Neumien also learned from other rather unknowing sources of sightings of the wanted scum. Usually in the valley located northwards of Poius, to be exact. Thus their first area to check was decided, if by some chance One-eyed Jacs wasn¡¯t in the area, since he was often there setting up a hidden camp to hunt him down was a possibility. There was also the option to scout the other zones, however it was highly likely he wasn¡¯t towards the canyon they had come from. It was a highly unpopular path, due to rock slides that often occurred. A chuckle came from Fallion at the thought of the trap Ruckgevir had them place during the battle. Now it was time to supply up, they could be out there for a few weeks hunting him, best to be prepared. The group made their way towards the Market District. Unlike Bous, Poius did not have special names for the districts. In fact it was simply Noble, Residential, Military, and Market respectively. Once in the market district, they decided to split up to acquire the needed food and other needs. Fallion and Elyisia were sent to purchase horses, to make the journey there quicker. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. This job took them right outside of the city gates, to the stable called ¡®Hooves of Glory¡¯. Poius is actually well known for their mounts, and have not only horses but Sipr, Hurghos, Cortobovs, and even Canoliles. One of the jobs at the guild was the request for a Borvus captured alive, they likely wanted to have the Canolile and the Borvus mate to have a Mioul, arguably the best land mount-beast one could buy. However they are rare due to the required parents are a demonic beast and heavenly beast respectively. Entering the stable house, walk up to the wooden counter, as there was no one within sight, Fallion hit a bell sitting on the counter. From the back of the building someone shouted ¡°Coming!¡± before loud crashing noises were heard. Out of no where a man shot up to the counter, his chin resting on the counter, with his glasses tilted awkwardly as he attempted to stand back up, his right foot was caught in a bucket. ¡°Well, sorry about that. Names Daaren, proud 7th generation owner of the ¡®Hooves of Glory¡¯. How may I help you?¡± ¡°We are looking to acquire five mounts. We would need these mounts to also be able to bear the burden of a potentially moderately heavy load, and be able to traverse changing terrain without major difficulty.¡± The man fixed his glasses, eyebrows raised ¡°Those are expensive mounts you¡¯re wanting friend. No offense, but are you sure you can afford what I can offer? Not even the nobility here can buy my best without a strain in their pockets after all.¡± Fallion at first thought he was boating, but the man held a serious expression, neither doubting nor being rude, rather it was courteous in a way. As if to make sure Fallion knew what he was asking. Fallion formed ten rainbow stone pieces in his hand and held them towards the man ¡°I have plenty more if needed.¡± ¡°No, no. Well, you can afford it so follow me.¡± He motioned the two to follow him outside, the metal bucket clunking as he walked. He led the two to the large stable next door, and ushered them in. After they first entered, he asked them to wait here. After seven or so minutes, he reappeared with five Miouls. Fallion was rather surprised, taming Miouls to actually be mounts was something even masters had difficulty doing due to their demi nature. However, the five beasts obiedently followed Daaren with no trouble. ¡°These beats cost a rainbow piece a head. This is coupled with the fact that my Borvus to mate with the Canolile I had passed recently due to age. Of course, I doubt I need to explain such renowned mounts to either of you, so, do we have a deal?¡± Fallion mentally proped the beasts for any defecienties, however they were all little over two years, and would likely live for decades more. All were strong and very healthy, much care given to them. Fallion nodded and walked over handing five of the ten pieces ¡°That we do, I look forward to future buisness.¡± Daaren smiled tossing the five up before catching them again ¡°As do I.¡± The three people and five beasts left the stable with the clopping of hooves and the thunking of metal. ------------------------ I''m back! Been having to pull double shifts, but for the near future I don''t. As always leave any criticism, thank you