《The Skeleton God》


 Chapter 1 - When One Dies Another Is Born

    Rahkim trudged along one of the main streets with the hood of his robe pulled up over his face. Wherever he went anyone on the roads would quickly move out of the way to let him pass with a look of reverence towards him, or more like his kind. Rahkim was a Magician, though only an Apprentice, and Magicians were considered the guardians of the Under Realm and the city of Jotenheim. Sending a smile to the people around him Rahkim took in the sights of Jotenheim yet again, and couldn''t help but be amazed by the sheer awe of his home city.


    The cobbled streets were lined on either side by stone buildings that gave the appearance of something that was carved from a single piece of stone, and tall metal poles held Mage Lights within tinted glass casting light down onto the streets. The architecture of the city was simple, but sturdy as everything was built to last down here in the Under Realm that lies beneath the Divide. In the air above the city a massive crystal spun slowly in the air as it shined with a light that paled only in comparison to the sun as it showed the time of day.


    Shaking his head Rahkim returned to the present and looked ahead towards the Council Tower that stood out like a lone mountain at the center of the city. The Council Tower was Jotenheim''s seat of power, a place of study for magicians, and where he was taught magic along with all the other Apprentice magicians.


    Unlike the rest of the city the Council Tower was designed, and built to give off a more majestic appearance as a symbol of power and inspiration to the people of the Under Realm as a whole. The entire tower was surrounded by slow moving crystals similar to the Sun Stone though carved into rooms to act as the homes of all city officials and lords. The Tower itself was built from a rare type of stone that was drawn up from the depths of volcanoes called night stone, and was adorned with intricately carved statues of countless past lords or heroes.


    Finally stepping into the shadow of the Tower Rahkim found himself at the gates of the wall that surrounds the tower with two guards standing silently to either side. Reaching into his robes he pulled out a small plaque carved from night stone that bore his name, and proof of his rank as an Apprentice Magician. Showing it to the guards who simply nodded in his direction, he headed inwards towards the main entrance of the Tower in silence as he began to ponder about today''s lesson.


    His master had said that today they would be covering the basics of the magic formulas required to for one to achieve Disciple rank, and be accepted as an official magician of the Under Realm. If he could achieve Disciple rank then he would finally be able to receive his own study in the Tower, and truly begin studying the true magic that a Magician was capable of. With the Apprentice level formulas he knew the most he could summon up was a ball of fire or ice shard to hurl at opponents while true magic  involved manipulating the elements at will not performing cheap tricks.


    With a sign Rahkim resigned himself to the fact that it would probably be months if not years before he managed to gain basic mastery of Disciple formulas. As he trod along the cobblestone path to the entrance Rahkim failed to notice the guard stumbling towards him at first, but when he did he quickly understood something was off as the man''s armor was covered in blood on the right side.


    Filled with worry that something might have happened inside the Council Tower Rahkim started towards the guard as he called out.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright? Is the Tower under attack, or somethi-¡±


    His words died in his throat as the guard lunged forward and a silvery flash cut through the air before a sudden pain started in Rahkim''s chest. Looking down he noticed a blood stained sword pushed up to the hilt in his ribcage as dark blood poured to either side of the blade staining his grey robes. Rahkim turned to look at the guard''s face with a question forming in his mind only for it to die as well when he finally saw his attacker.


    The ''guard'' in front of him stared at him with eyes of fire stuck in the sockets of it''s stark white skull as it moved its jaw soundlessly as if attempting to laugh at Rahkim''s misfortune. With a shove the skeleton pushed Rahkim from its blade and sent him crashing to the ground where he gasped for breath in the pathetic hope that it might prolong his life. However, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn''t seem to breath as he continuously coughed up blood.


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    ''Haha ¡­ ha ¡­ why today of all days? Why did I have to die when I was so close to obtaining the power I needed? Mom, Dad ¡­ I''m sorry. I really wanted to try ''that'' but it looks like I won''t even get far enough to attempt it all. I really wanted to see you one more time, who knows though, we might meet in death ¡­''


    With tears falling down his face Rahkim''s vision began to grow dark, but before it faded completely the Gods seemed to have deemed it fit to show him something even worse. With a flash the Sun Stone turned from a pale white to a dark, crimson red, and the heart of Jotenheim began to fall down onto the Council Tower as whatever ancient spell held it into place failed. Without the Sun Stone the possibility of farming was a distant dream to Jotenheim.


    ''What cruel Gods these are, to allow an entire kingdom to fall in a single moment ¡­''


    Rahkim stayed awake just long enough to see the initial impact as the Sun Stone fell, and saw even the durable night stone begin to crack and shatter as his vision finally turned black. Slowly even his hearing began to fade though before the pain began to recede and death finally took him into it''s embrace he could vaguely here countless metal clad feet thudding onto the cobblestones near him.


    -


    In a single day the nation that was once hailed as the second greatest power to ever exist on the continent of Alurgaia was destroyed. No one is quite sure what exactly happened, but refugees from the Under Realm spoke of a blinding flash of crimson light before the world suddenly turned upside down. As the Sun Stone fell upon the city of Jotunheim it is said that undead monstrosities seemed to pour out of nowhere as if the legions of the dead had came from the afterlife.


    Now the Under Realm has another name, the Realm of the Dead, as the caverns and tunnels once occupied by the living have become the haunt of endless undead and even numerous beasts that have migrated down from the Divide which the Under Realm was built to pass. In the current age there aren''t many who choose to dare the dangers of the Under Realm in the hopes of traversing to the far side of Alurgaia. No, now those he venture down into this realm of the dead go in search of the treasures of the fallen nation of the Under Realm, or are exiled from the nations above down into the depths where only death lurks.


    For those who come down into this place in search of treasures the ultimate trove is that of Jotenheim, the tomb of the magic users who called themselves Magicians. Of course those who reach the fallen city either never return, or come back to tell of armies of the dead walking the streets of the city endlessly in search of living beings and fearsome creatures of the Divide who seem to thrive in this dark place.


    Yet in the heart of this fallen city where the undead are a rare occurrence a pile of rubble suddenly shifts slightly before a robed hand claws its way out. Furiously digging a figure finally frees itself from the chunks of night stone that acted as its grave, and looked around in shock at the ruined courtyard strewn with rubble and withered trees.


    Breaking the eerie silence of the place is an ancient and hoarse voice.


    ¡°What happened? How am I alive?¡±


    Suddenly patting his chest the figure looks down at the dried bloodstain where his chest had been run through with a sword before freezing in place. Where there should have been a hand there was nothing, but skeletal fingers without a hint of flesh or muscle. For some reason the thought of this caused the robed figure to feel a deep sadness, but it couldn''t think of why it cared that it didn''t have either.


    So many questions entered it''s mind as it stared at the skeletal hand. Why did it care about having no skin so much? Why did it feel sad when it looked at the ruins around it? Why did it feel like so much was missing now? Who was it? ¡­. What was it?


    Just as the figure was about to move away in search of something to answer its questions a worn slab fell from its robes, and clattered against the cobblestones at its feet. Picking up the slab out of curiosity it found it could read the words carved onto the slab,


    Rahkim Valtar


    Apprentice Magician

 Chapter 2 – What Lies Within

    The skeleton looked down on at the small piece of stone as something came back to it. Something about the words on it caused a memory to click back into place, an almost peaceful scene of a brown robed old man stooped over a book as he explained the wonders of magic to an eager youth.


    - - -


    ¡°Magic is a power drawn from the energy of the world that every being contains within themselves, Rahkim. It is a miracle that our forefathers discovered long ago in the days where our people traveled the world in nomadic tribes to flee from beasts greater than any man could dare face. However, like everything this power has a price to it, to power magic all magic users are forced to draw on their God given life force.


    This life force is a gift from the Mother Gaia who sacrificed her life to create the world, and the Father Aluria who set his soul aflame to shine light forever on the tomb of his beloved. Without life force no being can continue to live, and due to this magic users walk a thin line between life and death. If we make even one mistake then our life is the cost Rahkim, it is why the ranking system was formed for all schools of Magic.¡±


    - - -


    The skeleton turned away from the carving and looked around at the ruins in the hopes that something out here might trigger another of memory. When looking at the random bits of stone proved pointless he turned his focus inwards,


    ''So I''m this Rahkim? It certainly sounds familiar, and it would make sense if I was when I add the fact that I can actually read the words on this stone. However, there is still one thing I don''t understand ¡­ how do I use magic? If I was a magician before then surely I would''ve known how.''


    Letting out a tired sigh the skeletal Rahkim turned his attention to the almost familiar ruined tower before him as he began to think that maybe some of the answers were in that. Since he woke up so close to this tower then surely it was connected to him somehow, right?


    With a sense of purpose Rahkim began to pad slowly towards a set of rotting wooden doors laid into the side of the tower, the clacking of bones against stone the only thing to break the silence. By the time he arrives in front of the doors the feeling that this place was important had grown stronger to Rahkim, and he hesitantly lifted his hand to shove at doors in front of him. However, as soon as his hand touched the aged wood it seemed to disintegrate and the entirety of the right door fell apart into a cloud of rotting wooden chunks, and dust.


    Past the door was a long hall covered in fallen pieces of masonry and a thick coating of dust that led on to believe that nothing had been here in countless years. The entire hall was pitch black compared to outside, but much to Rahkim''s surprise he could see just as clearly as he had before if not better than before. Looking around the hall curiously he made his way inside slowly in an attempt to disturb the centuries thick layer of dust that covered everything too badly.


    Among the piles of masonry that had fallen from both the ceiling, and several supporting pillars Rahkim could see what looked like rusted pieces of armor sticking from underneath ever so slightly. If they had once had occupants the remains had been eroded by time, or removed from here though something in the back of his mind said they might well have simply climbed out like he did.


    With every step Rahkim kept an eye out for anything that might be useful as he proceeded deeper into the hall towards a staircase that spiraled upwards around one of the pillars supporting the floor overhead. No matter where he looked though there appeared to be nothing in a condition that could be called usable let alone recognizable. Where rubble was not present then the floor was spotted with age worn robes that looked ready to crumble, or rotting bundles of paper bound in leathers.


    Convinced that there was likely nothing here Rahkim headed upwards and took the shallow stone steps two at a time hoping that whatever was above might be helpful. What awaited at the top was a far cry from the spacious hall below as the stairwell opened into a long narrow hallway with rooms, or halls branching off to either side.


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    Poking his head into the first room Rahkim found an empty office, bookshelves devoid of anything lined either wall and several large stones probably meant to act as tables were left bare. Disappointed Rahkim continued on to the adjacent room to find it just as barren as the last, with a sudden sinking feeling he continued on down the hall. With each room he checked he began to feel more and more disappointed as he found one empty room after another until he finally arrived at another hallway connected to this one.


    Looking down the hallway Rahkim was met with the sign of several skeletal remains smashed to pieces with deep rifts carved into the walls, and floor. For all the shattered skeletons there were several rusted swords scattered on the ground, and patches of a drying dark red substance covering the hall.


    ''Blood? I don''t see any fresh corpses around here so how is there blood all over the place unless whatever it was hid in one of the rooms. With this amount all over the place I doubt whatever it was could survive what happened.''


    Rahkim thought as he paced down the hall trying his best to muffle his foot steps, and being careful to look into each room he passed. The closer he came to the shattered center of the skeletal remains the more dried blood stained the hall until he arrived in front of a door way covered in claw marks with the signs of a horrific fight inside.


    Inside the room was the corpse of a beast almost as tall as Rahkim and completely surrounded by the remains of what looked like dozens of more skeletons. Its bright orange fur was stained with blood all over and the black quills that ran along its back were broken in places by the handles of numerous weapons that had been torn from their wielders'' hands.


    The beast had been surrounded and with no way out it apparently decided to take as many of its attackers with it as it could. Even in death the beast seemed to give off a predator like aura that would make one think it was the king of beasts and yet it had fallen here alone. Feeling disgusted at the scene Rahkim turned to leave but stopped as something caught his eye, or to be precise something flashed brightly as he turned.


    Looking towards the direction of its mouth Rahkim noticed the weapon that likely claimed the beast''s life. At first the sword the was stabbed into the beast''s eye seemed plain, but upon a closer look the pommel of the sword turned out to be a silvery gem with pale flashes of blue appearing across its surface from time to time.


    Stepping closer Rahkim looked at the exposed part of the blade and noticed a series of runes carved into it. The runes seemed familiar, but no matter how much he examined them Rahkim could not understand what they meant. Convinced that he would come to regret it if he didn''t take the sword Rahkim swiftly grabbed the hilt and began to pull it free from its last victim. After numerous tries the sword finally slides free with a layer of blood dried onto it, but otherwise in seemingly perfect condition.


    With the sword in hand Rahkim hefted it up to eye level before slashing at the air a few times to test if his body could even wield the sword decently enough for it to be of use. Surprise flashed through his mind as he effortlessly slashed the blade a half a dozen times and felt the blade seemed almost weightless in his hands. He could feel it well enough when he simply held the blade, but when he went to slash the weight seemed to disappear and the sword acted like a part of him.


    Confused Rahkim went to test he blade a bit more when a sound suddenly started to echo through the halls, the sound of bones clattering against the stone floor. Whoever it was that stayed in this tower was coming towards him ...

 Chapter 3 – First Encounter

    With the sword clasped firmly in his hand Rahkim edged towards the doorway and peered around the corner into the hall beyond. At far side of the hall away from where he had come in there were three skeletons walking down the hallway dressed in scraps of leather fashioned into crude armor, and with rust covered swords in hand. A faint sense of dread seemed to gnaw at Rahkim''s mind and fear of being cornered by these unknown figures spurred him into action.


    With a lurch he dashed out into corridor and started sprinting down the hallway back towards the stairwell he had come from in the hopes of escaping. Almost the moment Rahkim left the room one of the skeleton''s pointed towards him and started gnashing it''s teeth as if urging the other two onwards after him.


    Fear of these undead grew stronger as the three began to close on Rahkim despite the head start he had previously had, their steps were determined and fast while Rahkim seemed disordered as he frantically dashed around the corner. With the stairwell in sight the fear in his mind abated and his steps quickened as he passed the eight or so doorways between him, and freedom just in time for his pursuers to turn the corner.


    Rahkim took the steps down two at a time and a sense of joy started form only to be crushed by the sight of what lay below in the previously empty hall. Where before only rubble and junk occupied the hall there were now countless skeletons stumbling about in a pattern almost as if they were patrolling to some mastermind''s order. As Rahkim''s hope of escaping from the hall below died the trio of skeletal soldiers finally caught up to him, and one of them took a leap as he skipped past several steps and plunged at the exposed magician.


    Looking at the sword wielding warrior in front of him the previous fear resurfaced and a thought began to run through his mind,


    ''Is this where I die again?''


    ''No, not here, I cheated death once so why not a second time?''


    As the last word rang in his mind the world seemed to pause for a second and the the fear that Rahkim felt suddenly seemed to recede almost as if it was being repressed, instead what replaced it was a grim determination. With a roar loosed from a skull that should have long ago been unable to speak, Rahkim''s body twisted as one arm swept upwards towards the falling skeleton and the rest of him twisted to the side. The falling skeleton was met head on as the sword sliced straight through it''s shoulder as if it was paper while its own sword stabbed pathetically at the air where Rahkim''s head once was.


    Before the skeleton could process what happened it''s body crashed against the stairs behind Rahkim, and slid off to fall to the floor far below.


    ''One down, two to go.''


    Rahkim thought as he turned his attention to the other two pursuers who watched their companion''s death impassively as they hurriedly closed on him. Though the two skeletal warriors seemed to be on the same side they attacked with almost no sense of cooperation as they both hacked towards Rahkim''s head and left plenty of space for him to maneuver. Leaping to the side Rahkim quickly jammed his sword up to the hilt into one of the pursuers'' ribcage before kicking out at it''s leg to send it falling downwards.


    It wasn''t until right after that he realized how terrible an idea the move was and Rahkim was forced to watch as his sword was torn from his grip as it fell down with it''s victim. He watched nervously as the skeleton crashed down several steps before coming to a halt near the edge of the stairwell where it lay motionlessly. Seeing an opportunity the last pursuing skeleton slashed at Rahkim in his moment of weakness and the sword managed to easily cut through the rag like robe he wore to leave a deep rift cut into his shoulder.


    Without putting much thought into it Rahkim threw his survival behind one act as he grabbed a hold of the skeleton''s sword arm before it could draw back to attack again. What followed could only be called an act of desperation as Rahkim furiously kicked at his attacker while the two grappled for control of the sword. Somewhere between kicks he noticed the world spin as the pair tripped and rolled further down the stairwell as they continued their struggle.


    Before either of them really noticed they found themselves halfway down the stairwell wrestling for control of a sword near the unmoving remains of the second pursuer. Noticing this an idea came to Rahkim''s mind and before his opponent could react he stopped trying to take the blade, and instead aided his attacked in burying it into chest. He could feel a tinge as a rib broke as the blade struck against it, and a sudden shock of pain as the tip stabbed into his spine.


    Rahkim didn''t focus on the strange sense of pain though as he quickly grabbed up the fallen skeleton''s sword and began smashing its pommel against the skull of the last pursuer. He kept bringing the sword hilt down without pause until bone gave way and cracked under the fifth blow. The small blue flames that burned in the skeleton''s eyes began to fade as the right side of the skull crumbled to pieces.


    Looking down at the two that had almost shattered his hope of finding out what he was, the absurdity of the situation kept coming to him, but really what did he have to compare to? Suddenly he could feel himself begin to laugh,


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    ¡°Hahaha, I don''t even ¡­. ha, what the hell kind of place did I wake up in?¡±


    Rahkim asked before finally pulling the sword still lodged in his chest free and tossing it to the ground beside him. Strangely enough Rahkim felt perfectly fine as he stood there looking towards his first two ''kills'', and felt curious as to why he didn''t seem tired.


    ''Then again isn''t it even stranger that I am wondering that when I''m clearly dead now? I suppose this might be an upside to being dead, I might never grow tired.''


    Rahkim thought as he stooped down and pushed the second pursuer''s body over in order to free his sword from underneath. As the hilt comes into view he quickly grabs a hold and with a tug the sword slides out with surprising ease, and the silvery gemstone turns a pale shade of blue before turning back to normal. A sense of ease seemed to come to him with this sword in hand and so Rahkim coldly turned his gaze to the hall below to see if any of the patrolling undead noticed the fight.


    The number of skeletons who seemed to notice his fight was rather low as only around six of them stood huddled around the bottom of the staircase. If the rest knew about the fight they seemed uncaring as they continued their patrols unceasingly. With a weary sigh Rahkim started to move down the stairwell only to stop as a sudden surge of ¡­ something came from behind him and for a brief second he could almost feel an axe hanging above his head ready to fall.


    Confused he turned, looked up the stairwell, and froze in shock as yet more skeletons stepped out to fill the top landing while a figure clad in scratched up platemail stood in the center. Of course the shock he felt from this figure was due to the fact that his exposed skull, in which the same pale blue flames burned, seemed to have a grin plastered across it. The grinning ''knight'' let the tower shield in his left hand crash against the floor before it''s voice broke the stand still between both sides.


    ¡°All of you, take that lost soul alive. The Master wishes to see why a lone soul would enter his territory after all these years.¡±


    As the skeletons hear his words both groups begin to rush towards Rahkim, six from below and eight or more above as that plateclad ''knight'' watched it all from on high. Grasping his sword in hand he prepared to make his last stand but the situation seemed to connect something else as Rahkim''s second memory surfaced.


    - - -


    An old man sat on the floor as young Rahkim sat in front of him waiting patiently for his teacher to start his first lesson. The old man looked at Rahkim with a smile before speaking up,


    ¡°The first step on the path to becoming a Magician is learning to tap into the pool of life energy, and then drawing that forth before projecting it onto the world itself. Finding this pool of life energy, or the Life Well as our kind call it, is simple enough as it appears to us like an endless sea of power that gives a feeling of strength and hope. When you successfully find your Life Well the next step is to will a part of it to drain outwards through your body, and then send it out beyond you.


    After that comes the hard part, see no matter where a being''s life energy exists it will retain a connection to them. The problem is once our life energy passes from our body into the real world it we have to focus to weave that energy into runes, symbols, and patterns to complete a magical formula. We magicians do not wield out magic through brute force or the aid of external factors, but instead we shape our life force into a pattern that fits the laws of the world to achieve magic.


    Of course now this might seem confusing to you, but as you advance down the road to becoming a Magician you will come to understand that the world is governed by numerous higher concepts. When one understands those concepts then magic is a simple thing, but of course lets get to the focus of today''s lessons.


    The rules of the Magician Order, and the Council Tower''s history.¡±


    As the man''s last sentence came to a finish the young Rahkim frowned and he began to protest loudly ¡­


    - - -


    With that memory came something else, a sliver of understanding about magic. Rahkim wasn''t sure if his understanding came from his past or was simply a fresh enlightenment, but as he looked down at the ascending skeletons a faint hint of joy appeared. Turning his focus inward Rahkim stretched towards a place in his mind where he knew his Life Well would be, but as he drew near what he found seemed to contradict with his master''s teachings.


    The vast sea of energy inside Rahkim seemed to exude a malicious aura, and from it most would feel a sense of despair but to Rahkim it was oddly comforting. With a thought a tendril of black energy seemed to pull away from his Life Well, and as he turned his sight back to the outside world he found his hand outstretched. Black light flickered along his palm, but quickly began to reach out into the air as he willed it into the shape of a circle.


    Under Rahkim''s direction the black energy quickly turned into a simplistic circle hovering in the air with a single rune flickering at it''s heart. Without hesitation Rahkim spoke aloud the rune''s name,


    ¡°Ice.¡±

 Chapter 4 – An Act of Defiance

    As soon as Rahkim finished the word the very air surrounding the skeletons on the staircase below seemed to turn white with shadow like snowflakes drifting in the air listlessly. In an instant the white space seems to ripple and then everything within begins to freeze over as ice crystals spread along the floor, and even begin to form on the skeletons themselves. By the time Rahkim had begun to run down the stairs the black light in his hand had faded and the six skeletons below had frozen in place with their bodies covered in a pale blue ice.


    With every step Rahkim took in his dash down the steps he could begin to feel a sense of mental fatigue starting to take over and his connection to the Life Well within growing hazy.


    ''Shit, I used too much Life Energy in that spell. If my luck is good I can maybe cast that twice more, but I''m not sure if I can stay awake afterwards ¡­ Not to mention  with the difference in my Life Well, I''m not even sure it functions like a normal one, however it is they work in the first place that is.''


    Giving out a sigh Rahkim arrived at the bottom of the staircase and jumped past the frozen skeletons at the bottom as he looked for a way out of the hall. Off to the right side Rahkim could see another set of doors set into the wall similar to the one he had came in through. Looking back up the stairwell the other eight skeletons seemed to have disappeared on the far side of the pillar, but the grinning knight still sat silently at the top just staring down at Rahkim.


    Seeming to notice Rahkim''s gaze the knight''s grin seemed to grow wider as he spoke again, his voice strangely clear even all the way down at the hall below.


    ¡°Run little mage, run. Go as fast as your feet can take you, but know that no matter where you hide in your little act of defiance that we''ll find you. This city belongs to the Master, and undead within bend to his will. The Master is in no rush, so run, let me enjoy a hunt once again.¡±


    With that the grinning knight turned and walked into the doorway behind him leaving his minions to chase after Rahkim. Confused by his words Rahkim turned, and started to run towards the set of doors in front of him with only one skeleton standing guard his chances of escaping seemed solid enough. When he drew close to the door the skeletal guard finally took action as it grabbed its spear, and stabbed towards Rahkim.


    Throwing caution to the wind Rahkim didn''t even try to dodge the incoming spear and simply let the weapon slash through his robe. He could vaguely feel the spearhead stab into his ribs, but paid it no attention as he brought his sword down on the shaft smashing it apart and leaving the guard weaponless. Seemingly enraged the skeleton through the useless remains of the spear shaft at Rahkim before lunging out to try and punch him.


    It''s bones creaked and the molding leather strips it called armor tore slightly as it leaned into the attack, but before it could connect the skeleton saw the blade of a sword appear in front of it, and Rahkim simply jammed his sword through it''s skull. The flames in it''s eyes died out almost instantly as Rahkim jerked the blade and caused the skull to break off from the rest of the skeleton.


    Rahkim ran around the collapsing guard and slammed into the door in front of him causing parts of it to break off as it slowly opened to reveal an empty courtyard leading out to a small gate. Barely paying the decrepit surroundings Rahkim started running towards the open gate as he reached inside, and began to draw from his Life Well once more. When black light began to flicker around his hand once more he stopped, and turned back towards the door to find several skeletons starting to make their way out of it. Raising his hand up the magic circle formed in the air much faster than before, and Rahkim spoke the trigger word for a second time,


    ¡°Ice.¡±


    Like before the air around the skeletons turned white, but this time the snowflakes created in the white space seemed more real. A deep feeling of exhaustion crashed over him, but he continued fueling the spell as the white space rippled once more. In seconds the door way he had escaped through was covered in ice, and the skeletons who had made their way through served to slow down their companions as their statue like remains blocked the way.


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    With that done Rahkim turned back to the gate, and began to run once more though this time he noticed his pace was slowed and he couldn''t help but to stumble in a few spots. Even stranger he could feel something gnawing at his mind, an urge that he thought he would never have to experience, hunger. However, he knew he couldn''t stop to ponder why he felt this, he had to get away from here before more of this ''Master''s'' minions showed up.


    Past the gates he could see a sight similar to the tower behind him, the street ahead was littered with chunks of stone, and the buildings that lined either side seemed ready to collapse at the slightest disturbance. Unsurprisingly the street seemed completely devoid of anything, but rubble as Rahkim began to stroll down it, weaving from one pile of rubble to the next.


    Unsure of where to go Rahkim began to look at the buildings around him for a suitable place to get a look at whatever surrounded this street. A fitting place came into sight soon after, it was built of the same stone as the rest of the buildings around it, but carved into the stone next to the door was a large circle with several runes carved into its center. Though most of them seemed foreign to Rahkim he did notice one, and his hand instinctively reached out to trace it.


    ¡°Ice. This place must have been related to magic back when this city was thriving, there might be something in here that can be of some use. Might as well look around before going up to find somewhere to go, it only looked like a few of those skeletons were even after me once I froze that door.¡±


    Rahkim mumbled as he stepped through the empty doorway into a small dusty room. All around him the walls were lined with shelves and countless items were lined up on the ones that weren''t bashed, or shattered. Pots containing withered plants, decaying books, strange crystals, and much more though time seemed to have destroyed what use much of this had previously had. Looking through the shelves for a way to carry stuff Rahkim quickly found a stack of robes very similar to his own, grey colored with black runic design along the edges.


    ''This will have to do for now.''


    Rahkim thought as he sifted through them to find the least eroded of them before tying the sleeves together, and then tying the hood and the bottom of it to either sleeve. It was rather crude, but would work well enough so he put it over his neck and turned back to the shelves. Deciding it was best not to waste too much time he looked only for things that seemed to stick out to him, and the most prominent of which was a book that seemed mostly unaffected compared to the rest.


    Once Rahkim picked it up he found out why as the title was ''No Dust, and Other Utilities: A Book on Low Grade, Disciple Rank Enchantments''. While the title seemed to verify its questionable use the fact that it could survive intact till now might be connected to some of the enchantments inside being placed on it, no to mention that it was his only real lead on magic at the moment. Rahkim placed it in makeshift bag, and started to look through the last of the shelves which primarily contained seemingly useless grey stones and withered plants.


    Most of them seemed completely useless except for a single stone that unlike the others seemed to have retained its color. Crammed into the back of a box full of these stones there was a black gem-like one that seemed to give of a very faint feeling of power which is what had drawn Rahkim''s gaze. The power wasn''t like that of the grinning knight''s, or the power Rahkim''s teacher had spoken of, but rather felt similar to his Life Well. Without hesitation Rahkim quickly picked it up, and was almost overwhelmed as a sense of comfort washed over him causing the hunger, and exhaustion to lessen a bit.


    Looking at the stone in his hand curiously Rahkim quickly noticed a faint trail of black light shifting from the orb into his hand. It was almost like the orb was helping restore his Life Energy!

 Chapter 5 – Beware the Darkness that Devours the Light

    ''Does this restore Life Energy? If it does then I''ve found quite the treasure, but I can''t keep it in my hand like this, who knows if that damned ''Master'' and his minions can sense the power its giving off.''


    Sighing Rahkim shoved the black stone into the bag, and felt his hunger and fatigue return as the flow of power cut off. With a feeling of uncertainty Rahkim turned away from the shelves and went to a door at the back of the former store. Giving the door a light push he was greeted by the sound of squeaking hinges as the door opened up just enough for Rahkim to squeeze through. The room beyond the door was unlit, but Rahkim could see it all clearly, it was rather small with little more than a wooden rack filled with what must have been brooms and a steep stone stairwell leading up to the floor above.


    Looking up the stairwell Rahkim could see a landing with a faint light shining through, and a sense of apprehension filled him as he took the first few steps slowly. Filled with tension he climbed up slowly and held his sword with both hands as he aimed it point first towards the doorway above. When he finally reached the top he stopped, and stood there unmoving as he listened for the slightest sound only to find complete silence.


    As he peered around the doorway the tension seemed to melt away as he was met with the sight of a room similar to the one below. However, on this floor all the furniture and shelves were in pieces with the boxes they used to hold scattered across the floor along with their contents. What had filled the boxes were small crystals about the size of Rahkim''s palm and though most of them were clear there were a few that seemed to contain a pure, white light inside. It was these still shining crystals that caused the light that was far brighter than anything Rahkim had seen since awakening.


    Rather than being comforting the presence of so much light made Rahkim feel discomfort, and he paused only long enough to grab four of the still lit crystals before looking for the next stairwell. As he made his way up the next three floors were similar to the others with anything of use long since deteriorated or looted. However as Rahkim made his way up onto the roof of the building what lay before him shocked him completely.


    Spreading out from the wall and still imposing remains of the tower behind him was a city so vast that it seemed to cover all in sight. Though he could only see the city from this side of the tower Rahkim felt that he would find the same on the far side as well with crumbling buildings, and wide roads stretching as far as the eye could see. In a few streets close by Rahkim could see small groups of skeletons patrolling the city, and even a column of over a hundred of them walking down the adjacent street as they headed away from the tower.


    This sight crushed all hope of escape that Rahkim had mustered and he couldn''t even bear to stand any longer as he collapsed onto the roof with a clatter.


    ¡°Ha ¡­ That grinning Knight bastard was right, there is no way I could escape from here. I don''t even know which way to head to get out of the city let alone which streets are crawling with those damn skeletal soldiers. Even if I''m not really alive anymore I really don''t want to die, there is just so much about this that I need to understand ...¡±


    Rahkim sighed as he stared up at the cavern ceiling that loomed far above as a sense of hopelessness seemed to completely consume his mind. Without really thinking about it Rahkim reached within and began to draw power from his Life Well once again as it flowed out to cover both of his skeletal hands in a black light that seemed to eat what little light there was. With one hand Rahkim pulled his sword to his chest and the other reached upwards as the familiar formula of Ice carved itself in the air. Rahkim looked at the circle with a peaceful expression as the air around him turned white, and snowflakes drifted downwards.


    He watched impassively as ice crystals began to form all around him, and frost started to spread along his bones causing a chill that even he could feel.


    ''Surely this is better than being hunted for the rest of my ''life'' in this damned hellish city.''


    With that thought the flames in Rahkim''s eyes began to dim and his vision began to fade entirely as the bitter feeling of cold that seemed to invade every part of him turned to soft warmth. Before long the only thing Rahkim could see was an endless expanse of void with only that feeling of warmth to accompany him.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Is this what death feels like? Its oddly comforting.¡±


    Rahkim said as he relaxed and enjoyed the comfort he hadn''t felt even once since he awoke. He didn''t have long to enjoy it however as the sound of someone speaking caused him to start.


    ¡°No, Rahkim, this isn''t death my young, foolish disciple. This is your mind and your Life Well, or what it has become since your reawakening as a soul that has been cut off from the Cycle. I know what you awoke to was probably a harsh place, but really? Too try and take your own life? I thought I taught you better.¡±


    As Rahkim listened to that voice sadness and joy seemed to come to him equally as he turned towards the source, and found a familiar figure. There standing in the void along with him was an bald old man with a long white beard, blue eyes that seemed to hold centuries of wisdom, and wearing black robes with crimson runic trim. Despite the man''s aura that gave off a feeling of weakness he was truly unmistakeably to Rahkim, after all he was the one person that he could remember.


    ¡°Teacher, how ... how are you here? I thought you were gone, I thought I was alone why didn-¡±


    Before Rahkim could finish his Master interrupted.


    ¡°I am gone Rahkim, I am here simply as the last fragments of a dying soul who gave up everything for a chance to see his student one last time. Whether my soul fades, or continues on to the Cycle is up to the Gods now, but either way the price was worth it to be here for you now when you need it the most. My time is in this world is short, it took almost all of my power to stop your spell, so I need you to understand that what I am about to say is something you must take to heart.


    Do you Rahkim?¡±


    Rahkim gave his Master a nod in reply which caused a small smile to appear on the old man''s face as he continued.


    ¡°Good, then let me give you what I know as my last gift to you. When this city fell I found you at the foot of Tower dying, whatever had happened to you had damaged your very soul, and as tried to save your life I realized that if I did nothing then your soul would dissipate and never again would you live. After so many years how could I watch my beloved disciple who had struggled so hard to reach where he had to disappear like this?


    ¡­ I couldn''t, I truly could not stand the thought and so I performed a forbidden form of magic that tapped into the soul. Pouring every ounce of power I had into the spell I severed your tattered soul from the Cycle and sealed it in your body so that it wouldn''t dissipate after you passed away. From that process I also separated a part of my soul and attached it to you so that we could have this meeting, so that I could explain.


    What I''ve done was for you, it might be hard to accept, but what you''ve become it truly the fault of this teacher''s selfish desire for his disciple to live on. I''m not sure what you''ve become, but I do know that so long as your soul remains intact you will live on. This skeleton is nothing, but a vessel for your soul and thus as long as your soul exists it too will continue to.


    Ha, it seems my time''s up ¡­ Goodbye Rahkim, and child, with an immortal''s lifespan beware the darkness that devours the light. It has brought low far greater men.¡±


    As his Master finishes speaking the old man before him began to disappear, and the empty void seemed to collapse as Rahkim could feel himself starting to reawaken once more. With the void disappearing Rahkim could do nothing, but stretch out his arm as he tried to grasp at his Master''s disappearing figure.


    ¡°No, master! Please don''t leave me alone here, please!¡±


    However his master only replied with a sad smile before his body faded completely, and Rahkim awoke with a start to the sound of ice cracking as his body jumped up. Looking around Rahkim found himself alone in the ruins of the city once more. Sadness and an even greater sense of hunger seemed to eat at him as he stared into the air, and muttered.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do all alone, Master?¡±

 Chapter 6 – The Void Stone

    As Rahkim voiced his question he was met with only silence to answer him. Sighing Rahkim sat back down without bothering to move to a part of the roof that wasn''t covered in ice with the everything that happened finally beginning to sink in. For what seemed like hours he sat there in total silence staring at the slowly melting ice all around him as he processed everything. When he finally moved again the ice had completely melted away, and whatever water it left behind had begun to evaporate returning the roof to its previous desolate look.


    Walking to the far side of the Rahkim looked back towards the ruined tower and scanned the street where he had entered from to check for any signs of pursuers. Strangely enough there was nothing there, not even guards positioned on the walls around the tower or at the gate in front of him as if they had been ordered not to chase him ¡­


    Looking at the odd scene Rahkim finally decided on his course of action as he left the roof, and went down to the floor below. Taking one look at the ruined room Rahkim quickly started to clear some of the stuff out of the way as he moved the more intact shelves towards the door way. After a long struggle as he pulled and shoved a handful of the shelves into place the door was completely blocked off by half a dozen shelves.


    ''Not exactly a masterpiece, but it should slow anyone who wants to get through down long enough for me to get to the roof, or attack them. Since master is the one who gave me this chance then I''m going to make the most of it. I will find out who caused this city''s fall, and then I will make them pay for my death and the price master had to pay no matter how long it takes.


    However, if I want to do that I need to regain my strength and learn more about what this city has become. Master said I have an immortal''s lifespan so I might as well make the most of it, and it all starts with this ¡­''


    Rahkim thought as he set down his makeshift sack and pulled out the pitch black stone to hold it in his hand. The moment the stone touched his palm Rahkim could feel a small thread of strength start to flow into his Life Well as whatever method the stone used to restore strength began to work automatically. Ignoring this Rahkim started to focus as if to cast his senses inward to connect to his Life Well, but instead of that he cast it towards the black stone in his hands.


    Somewhat unsure of what would happen when he did this Rahkim began to gently probe the black stone with his mind as he was hesitant to stretch to far in, and it to turn into a trap. However as he began to probe the black stone''s surface he could clearly feel that interacting with the stone was right, and that he and the stone were a match for one another. As he relaxed into this sensation and started to go deeper into the stone he quickly realize that what he thought was a uniform black was actually three separate powers existing in a form of harmony.


    On the outside was a darkness that felt as if it could only exist in this presence of light, and its surface seemed to shift slowly and smoothly as it roiled around the other two powers protectively. This first power seemed to represent the very essence of shadows and as Rahkim connected with it he could feel his senses expand.


    Before he could see the room around him, but now he could feel it as if every shadow in the room was a part of him as they fed him the information they could sense. Rahkim could not enjoy the feeling for long as soon after it started he could feel his Life Energy begin to drain, and so he sadly cut his connection to the first power.


    Delving deeper into the stone Rahkim came into contact with the second power, and he was quickly overwhelmed as a sense of pure maliciousness washed over him. Almost as quickly as it started the maliciousness turned to comfort and Rahkim could sense the form of this second power, it looked like a stream of black that was almost grey as it gave off an aura of death. Like the darkness before Rahkim formed a connection with this power of death, and like before he felt a change though this time in a far different manner.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    As Rahkim''s sight turned outwards to the room where he sat he could see a familiar black light covering his palms though this time his mind seemed to tell him that it was different. He instinctively felt that with enough strength he could cause life to be extinguished with only a slight touch, and the will to wipe it from the world. Unlike the first power he could tell that the second would only use Life Energy when he wielded it against something living though the stronger their Life Energy the higher the price.


    Rahkim relinquished his connection with the second power in the stone, and paused to stare at it for a moment as he muttered.


    ¡°This stone is truly a godly treasure with just these two powers let alone a third, and yet until now it has sat in what was likely a minor store gathering dust for who knows how long. Is it my ability to connect to this somehow related to my unique soul, or is it simply an act of fate?¡±


    Leaving the question unanswered Rahkim cast his senses into the stone for a third time and he quickly went deeper as his desire to interact with the third power grew. However compared to the other two powers the third was truly startling as its form was so vastly different from the other two. While the first two powers attempted to exist in harmony the third struck wildly outwards at the other powers as tendrils of what can only be described as the void lashed out.


    Whenever these tendrils of void struck at the second power the death like aura would seem to fall apart, and then quickly be consumed by the void. However no mater how wildly the third power tried to devour the death aura its opponent would always seem to restore whatever it had lost to the void in moments. Seemingly drawn to this void Rahkim forged a connection just as he had done with the other two, and his senses quickly returned to the outside world as the third power immediately took effect.


    With the connection made Rahkim could feel a sudden pressure on his mind as something seemed to scream at him to destroy, to devour everything in sight. In sync with this feeling the air around him began to ripple as his Life Energy started to be used up rapidly to fuel his connection to the void power.


    Rahkim watched in surprise as the stone floor underneath him began to disintegrate at a rapid pace, the air around him turned to a void of nothing, and then he could truly feel it. While the void power seemed to consume everything around him at a rapid pace he could feel his own body being devoured along with it. Startled Rahkim cut the connection to the void power and suddenly the world turned upside down as his body collapsed backwards with the stone still clutched in his hands.


    Rahkim''s vision blurred and his mind seemed to slip for a moment only to be brought back into focus as a surge of energy flowed into him from the orb in his hand. Sitting up Rahkim looked down on the black stone with a mixture of joy, confusion, and fear as he realized just how strong this could be if he used it correctly. Lifting it up in front of his face Rahkim started to talk,


    ¡°Any true treasure of worth should have a name, and certainly this qualifies as one, but what to call it ¡­ How about the Void Stone, after the strongest of the powers inside of it?¡±


    Pondering over it for a moment Rahkim decided that calling it the Void Stone was truly fitting, and with a sense of satisfaction he cast his senses into the Void Stone once more. Sitting in silence Rahkim watched the powers inside the Void Stone curiously as he began to meditate over just what the Stone could be as his Life Energy slowly grew. Once he had gathered enough Life Energy he would move on to the next stage, scavenging.


    With a renewed sense of purpose Rahkim quickly fell into the paces of his meditation, and time began to pass without the notice of the undead mage.

 Chapter 7 – The Hunt Begins

    As Rahkim continued his meditation, and greedily absorbed the energy that the Void gem produced, he slowly began to realize that he didn''t really have a sense of time. He was certain that he had sat in meditation for many hours if not a day, and yet he felt as if to him that time was like a second to the time that would pass in his existence. It was strange, but he was sure that the passage of time would have no effect on him, after all his skeletal remains continued to exist long after this city had begun to crumble.


    Somewhat unsettled by the idea, Rahkim turned back to the Gem and started to contemplate over what he had discovered during his mediation.


    ''The Void Gem''s three powers which I, for now, shall call Darkness, Death, and Void appear to exist in a strange harmony with each other. Darkness obtains energy from the outside world which then feeds Death which in turn feeds Void allowing the three to exist in a perfect balance. Of course, you would think that Void would grow stronger as it fed off Death with nothing to feed off of it, but strangely enough it seems to devour even itself.


    What I gain from the Void Gem seems to be leftover remnants of energy from all three of the powers, but even when I first obtained it the energy it gave off was the same amount ... perhaps it always releases the energy it makes to ensure a balance? If that''s the case then there might be a way to store this energy in something when I''m not holding it, after all my Life Well can only hold so much energy and it feels almost full right now.''


    Pulling his senses out of the Void Gem, Rahkim turned them inwards and examined his Life Well to find it filled with Life Energy though he could feel that it was somehow more expansive than the last time he had used it. Satisfied by what he had gained from his meditation Rahkim returned his senses to the outside world, and found himself back in his hastily claimed room with the feelings of hunger and exhaustion gone entirely.


    ''So the Life Energy I have is connected to whether I feel hunger, or not? The exhaustion I can understand since the Life Energy quite literally represents my life force, but to feel hunger from exhausting it seems a bit strange ..''


    Rahkim thought as he returned the Void Gem to its place in his bag. However, as he placed it in the bag he noticed a faint light flickering out from within one of the tears at the chest of his robes. Driven by curiosity Rahkim took off the robe to reveal the entirety of his skeletal frame, and was instantly shocked by what he found. The damage he had sustained against the other skeletons had been repaired completely leaving no sign of a struggle, and hovering in the middle of ribcage was a small black and white flame.


    Rahkim stared at the flame in confusion and attempted to cast his senses into it only to find himself reaching towards his Life Well once again. The moment he felt that a realization started to dawn on him, and Rahkim retracted his senses to try and directly touch the flame with his hand. As his finger came into contact with the flame Rahkim could feel nothing, it was like the flame didn''t even exist as he tried to grasp it in his hand.


    With that Rahkim had come to a conclusion, and one thought filled his mind.


    ''This is my soul, or what became after Teacher cut it from the ''Cycle''.''


    Following that he sat in silence just staring at the black and white flame as an idea started to form in his mind with the tiny flame as the catalyst. Seemingly have decided on something Rahkim stood up, and his bones audibly creaked after having sat still for so long. Throwing his robe on and snatching up his sword that sat off to the side, Rahkim muttered to himself,


    ¡°And now, let the hunting begin.¡±


    Turning to the stairwell leading upwards Rahkim quickly made his way up to the roof, and began to examine the area around his building looking at the few patrolling groups of skeletons he could find. After standing their in silence he finally found what he was looking for, a group of three skeletons who split off from a group heading out into the city to patrol the alleyways a street over. Feeling a sense of excitement building up inside of him Rahkim rushed down the stairs, and made just enough room in the shelf barricade for him to squeeze out of.


    With nothing else to obstruct his way he quickly made it out of the building, and out into the adjacent alleyway where he stepped into the shadows and crouched down low. He wasn''t sure if the other undead could see as well as he could in the dark, but on the off chance that they couldn''t he slowly started moving from shadow to shadow as he headed to intercept the small patrol.


    It wasn''t long before Rahkim came close enough to hear the patrol''s feet clattering against the rough stones that lined the alley up ahead. Pressing his back against the wall of a junction that the patrol was soon to cross as he clutched the sword hilt tighter, and waited for the sound of their steps to get closer. When he felt the guards were almost right on top of him Rahkim burst from corner, and dashed out into the alley as he grabbed the sword''s hilt with both hands.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The patrol of three skeletons was only a foot, or so away from Rahkim and before any of them could react the skeletal mage stabbed his sword at the face of the middle soldier. As Rahkim started to pull the sword blade up he lashed out with one of his feet at the target''s legs causing the unprepared soldier to fall. The sound of bones cracking filled the air as the skeleton''s skull got caught on the blade and the opposing forces caused its neck to shatter along with portions of the skull.


    By the time the first patrolman was dead the other two had launched themselves at Rahkim, one stabbed at him from the side with a spear while the other came at him with a battleaxe raised over its head. Feeling the axeman was the greater threat Rahkim ignored the incoming spear entirely as he raised his sword to clash with the falling axe. Sparks flew through the air as the blades locked skid across each other, and Rahkim fell to one knee as the force of the axe blow pressed him downwards causing the spear he had ignored to stab into his shoulderblade.


    Grunting, Rahkim felt his right hand loosen its grip as his entire right arm suddenly refused to move after the blow he had taken. With a slight clatter his right arm fell to his side and hung limply causing a bit of anger to well up inside of him. A growl seemed to utter forth from Rahkim as he threw himself upwards and twisted his body in the direction of the spear wielding skeleton. His left arm which had been holding the off balance blade whipped towards the axe wielder and smashed against the skeleton''s forearm causing the bones to shatter.


    Rahkim could almost feel himself grinning as he pulled the hilt of the sword towards his chest to put the blade between him, and the head of the spear. Clashing against the spear caused Rahkim to stumble back a step, but created an opening as the skeleton overextended himself after the spearhead skidded off the blade and to the side. Rahkim took advantage of this and stepped forward as he brought knee up against the stumbling skeleton''s leg and smashed the pommel of his sword against the back of it''s skull sending it crashing to the ground. With the spear wielder incapacitated he spun back to face the last patrolling skeletal soldier to find it struggling to lift the battleaxe up with one arm.


    Almost effortlessly Rahkim strolled over to it, and slashed at the skeleton''s chest with all the force he could muster. The blow allowed the sword to tear through the patrolman''s armor with ease, and easily shearing through several rib bones before stopping as it lodged itself in another. Letting go of the sword, Rahkim raised his free hand and grabbed a hold of the skeleton''s skull.


    With a bestial roar he ripped the skull off and tossed it to the side as the rest of the patrolman''s remains crashed to the floor. Yanking his sword free, Rahkim turned to the spear wielder and found it crawling down the alley trying to escape. He walked towards it slowly as he raised the sword with one hand, and spoke to it,


    ¡°This ''Master'' thinks the city is his, but just wait a little while, even if I have to reduce the entire thing to rubble I will ensure that he rules over nothing. Before you pass let me thank you for the aid your remains will offer.¡±


    As the last word rang out Rahkim''s blade fell down, and the skeleton ceased it''s movement. Looking at the skeleton''s remains with mild anger, Rahkim knelt down and started to tear off the armor covering it''s chest with his good arm. He wasn''t sure, but he had to check if he was right, he had to see if they have a flame just as he did ¡­


    After a short struggle the molding leathers that passed as an excuse for armor fell away to reveal a pale white ribcage in which sat a flame similar to Rahkim''s. However, unlike his this flame was smaller, maybe the size of a thumb, and it was a mixture of black and crimson. Looking down on that flame there was only one thing Rahkim''s mind, a sudden all encompassing urge that told him to devour the flame, to make it his own.


    In answer he stretched out his hand towards the small flame and as it grew closer he could feel his Life Well begin to surge before the black light emerged around his hand. When the tiny flame came into contact with that black light it seemed to suddenly retreat backwards only for the light to surge out, and devour it. The flame grew smaller with every moment as the black light devoured it, and Rahkim could feel the energy inside of himself expanding as even his Life Well grew to accommodate the influx of energy.


    When the flame was no more the black light receded back into his Life Well and a new feeling of strength surged through Rahkim.


    ¡°Sorry to those whose bodies these used to be, but now I have a need to destroy them. With those flames I can grow stronger.


    Let the ''Master'' of this city''s soldiers become my strength, and in turn the blade that I slay him with. Your Knight was too confident ''Master'', now watch as a hunter is let loose among your city.¡±


    Rahkim said as he stalked towards the other two skeleton remains. The first of many to come ...

 Chapter 8 – Danger Abound

    Rahkim spent a short time to devour the flames in the remaining skeletons before turning his focus towards his Life Well. As his senses brushed against the seemingly pitch black sea of energy there was a feeling that it had grown compared to the Life Well he had originally had. While his Life Well was full of energy its size was almost twice the original size, and Rahkim was certain that it''d take over a dozen casts of the basic form of Ice to drain it. Satisfied with the results of the hunt he turned and began to sprint down the alley hoping to get far away from the scene of his fight before it was discovered.


    Reaching into his makeshift bag, Rahkim withdrew the Void Gem and cast a part of his sense into as he stretched towards the power of Darkness contained within it. With a thought he forged a connection and his world seemed to explode outwards as the shadows became his eyes and ears. Not only the entire alleyway, but even the adjacent streets and roads became clear as day to Rahkim revealing a much larger patrol passing by the entrance ahead.


    He could sense about ten of them in the patrol ahead and he knew that hiding was not an option, after all he was standing completely out in the open far from any other pathways. However, as Rahkim thought about it there really was no point in hiding, he might as well accept this gift from the Heavens and devour the meal delivered before him. With a sense of joy welling up inside of him, Rahkim raised up his hand and forced his Life Energy out into the world to form the one spell he knew how to work.


    As the magic formula finished the patrol was already at the entrance and the first of the skeletons had noticed Rahkim, though far too late. The air rippled for a moment and then the world turned white as the six of the skeletons were entombed in ice, the flames in their eyes growing dim as the cold invaded their very being. Without giving the survivors a moment to respond, Rahkim grasped the hilt of the sword he had plunged into the ground before charging towards the closest soldier.


    Unable to respond in time the soldier''s remains collapsed to the ground as a sword sheared through its neck separating the skull with ease. Turning from the first kill, Rahkim slashed upward and stopped the descending axe of his would be killer before throwing himself forward with arm raised to slam into the attacker''s chest. In an attempt to regain his balance the axe wielding skeleton backpedaled a few steps, but before it could raise its weapon to attack a second time Rahkim swung his blade down.


    The sound of bone and metal grinding against each other filled the air before a series of cracking took the skeleton''s axe holding arm at the elbow. Before Rahkim could finish off the disarmed skeleton he sensed the other two soldiers had closed in on him and dove to the side to dodge the two spear thrusts meant for his back. As Rahkim avoided the stabs they cut through the air where their target stood and stabbed into their one armed ally, with a clatter the one armed skeleton seemed to crumble as its body fell apart.


    Unable to do anything to stop him the last two skeletons watched as Rahkim turned and sliced down on the spears with all his might causing the shafts to split apart. Having effectively disarmed his opponents Rahkim turned to raining as many blows as he could down on the two skeletons causing them to falter, entirely unable to fend off his attacks. Within moments he had dispatched them and had begun to look down at the recently slain undead as if he was looking at some great treasure.


    Kneeling down beside a corpse, Rahkim quickly took his sword to the skeleton''s armor and revealed the small flame hidden away underneath. With a thought the black light began to surround his hand and he stretched it out to devour the flame in the hopes of gaining yet more strength, and as the flame began to disappear Rahkim could feel a sense of fullness and power. However, mere moments after he devoured the flame an intense pain crashed through his mind and he fell to the ground as it began to feel like his mind was tearing itself apart. Confusion and fear filled Rahkim''s thoughts as he turned his sight inward to his Life Well to find the usually black sea roiling as flashes of red tore across its surface.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The red lights in his Life Well seemed to move in time with the waves of pain that that stabbed into his mind, and the more he watched the black sea seemingly crashing against its confines, the more he began to notice cracks starting to form in his mind.


    ''No, dammit! I did not expect the foreign energy to fight against me, at this rate its going to shatter my Life Well and everything will be pointless...''


    Unsure of what lasting damage this would cause, Rahkim could only think of forcibly trying to will his life energy to suppress and purify the rampaging energies. With difficulty Rahkim brought his full focus on the energies within his Life Well, and began to enforce his will upon the malicious power within thus forcing it to seemingly surround the red energies. In moments the red energies were all forced into the heart of his Life Well and the black sea had ceased its assault on his mind, but despite that the foreign power was still fighting against him.


    Turning his sights on these rogue energies, Rahkim forced his own life energy into motion as it started to churn around the red lights and began to grind these ferocious elements down into usable energies. The process was slow and crude, but that was to be expected as Rahkim was sure that something like this wasn''t supposed to happen to a Magicians Life Well. With his limited experience it took Rahkim hours to refine the red lights, but when he was finished he felt his power was more stable and had grown if only slightly.


    Sighing, Rahkim brought his focus back out to the real world, and looked at the numerous undead he had slain before muttering,


    ¡°I was hoping that I could devour all their life energy and make a decent jump in power, but if I''m right I can only devour three of their flames before I need to refine them like I just did. If I try to devour all of them the chances are that my Life Well will shatter with the damage it''s already taken ...¡±


    After devouring the flames from the three unfrozen skeletons, Rahkim looked at the remains of the patrol with a hint of sadness before reluctantly dashing across the main road into the far alley. After going down a few more side streets and allies Rahkim made his way into a random building, and slowly checked the building for any enemies before sitting down to refine the rogue elements once again.


    --------


    First time actually leaving a message, but I wanted to let those of you who have read this story so far know that I am sorry for the gap in updates. I will be getting back to updating this as often as I can, and am hoping to get three chapters out a week at the least. Thank you all of those who have read this so far, and I hope you are enjoying it.

 Chapter 9 – Answers in Sight

    Time passed by quickly as Rahkim set the energies within is Life Well in order with ease as unlike last time he had not consumed more of the rogue elements than his mind could withstand. Shortly after finishing refining the life energy he had consumed, Rahkim looked around the ruined bedroom he had occupied with a sense of apprehension as he began to think,


    ''Ever since I awoke to this world I have been acting almost on instinct with nothing to go on, but vague memories and feelings. However, I know to little of what this world truly is and the rest of my memories are gone or simply to far away from me to grasp ¡­


    There are so many questions, and too few answers. Where am I? Is the rest of the world like the ruins of this city, infested with undead ruled by some hidden puppet-master?


    I want to know who caused my Master''s death, I want to understand what this ''Cycle'' is, but first I need to learn about this world I''ve forgotten. This city seems to have been a place where magic thrived, so surely something must have survived that can answer my questions right?''


    With that thought in mind, Rahkim stood up and grabbed the silvery sword he had left leaning against the bed with one hand before seemingly weighing it in front of him.


    The sword''s hilt was wrapped in simple leather and fit more for two hands than one, but despite the evidence that pointed toward it being a two-handed sword, the blade seemed light in Rahkim''s hands. He knew that the blade was truly heavy and that it wasn''t the sword itself that made it light, but something about his current form made such weight seem ¡­ insubstantial.


    Running his bone fingers along the blade Rahkim muttered,


    ¡°And you, you are just yet another unanswered question that I can''t even begin to understand. The appearance of a normal sword, but a far superior quality that seems to border on magical yet all that seems to set you apart is excessive durability and sharpness. Sometimes I can''t tell if the gods of this world wish to damn, or bless me ...¡±


    With a shake of his head the undead wizard left the ruin he had claimed as a temporary home and set out into the city once more with a solid goal in mind. He needed power now, but even more important was his need for knowledge. A city this large that had contained even a small group of magic users would surely have at least one home that contained books, he just needed some of those to be even partially intact.


    Keeping that in mind Rahkim forged a connection with the Darkness inside of the Void Gem, and felt his senses expand to fill the alley he was standing in and beyond. He spent a few moments simply rejoicing in the feeling of freedom this expansion of senses gave him before beginning to stalk through the alley leaving a small triangular notch at the bottom of the walls as he left.


    ''Even if I don''t seem to forget anything I learn after waking up it''s probably best not to test whether that is based on having so little to remember, or not.''


    Done with that Rahkim set out into the nearby ruins in search of anything that might be of use to him in the days to come, and while the house he had chosen wasn''t the best of bases it would have to do for now.


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    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    With each building Rahkim searched he began to become more and more impressed by how outright skilled the craftsmen of this city seemed to have been. Even now, after such a long time of neglect so much of the city was still standing, and quite a bit of what had been made to fill it was still intact if somewhat eroded by the passage of time.


    By now he had seen dozens of different homes in the multistory buildings and thought a fair amount of furntiure was made from wood that had long began to rot there was even more made of finely carved stone.


    Of course with the city seemingly built deep underground there was an abundance of stone around to work with, but despite the quality of the stone furniture it was not the item Rahkim was glad to find. Whatever this city used to be it''s people seem to have been fairly fond of reading, or very well educated as he could find numerous books in most homes though very few had managed to survive their sworn enemy.


    Even in spite of this he had managed to salvage some readable materials from the many buildings he searched along with various odds and ends that might come in handy later.


    Of course in a bid to ensure his safety Rahkim had left the Void Gem''s Darkness aspect active so by the time he had returned back to the temporary home he was already feeling slight exhaustion. With his makeshift bag full and a number of items slung over his shoulder, Rahkim stumbled his way up the stairs to the bedroom before unceremoniously dumping it all onto the rotting straw mattress.


    Looking down at the rather haphazard collection he had obtained, Rahkim felt the desire to grimace but quickly realized he didn''t have the face to show that. Letting out a sigh he began to mutter out loud as he went through it all,


    ¡°So far I managed to find a hammer, a length of rope about ten feet long, a pile of rusty nails from old furniture, a few heavily rusted knives, a flint and steel ¡­


    Now that I hear myself saying all of this I''m starting to feel like this stuff is more junk than actually useful, but it''s not like there was much else to choose from ¡­¡±


    Releasing yet another sigh Rahkim turned to the cloak turned bag as he began to pull out what he considered the more valuable finds of his search. From the bag he pulled out several pieces of partially decayed paper, two very badly damaged leather bound books, and a very yellow, faded piece of what could only be a map. Though the map was only a small fragment of a larger one by Rahkim''s estimation it was likely to be useful, after all the map had several unique landmarks surrounding what it labeled as a guard barracks.


    If he could find that and this ''Master'' hadn''t claimed it as his own then perhaps it could become Rahkim''s base of operations though by his account that day was still far away. Turning his sight onto the two books he felt a small hint of joy as he read the faded covers.


    ''A Brief History of the Under Realm'' and ''A Commoner''s View on the Rulers of Jotenheim, Magicians''

 Chapter 10 – The Under Realm

    A sense of anticipation seemed to hang in the air as Rahkim picked up the remains of ''A Brief History of the Under Realm'' before sitting down on the floor. Rahkim very gently opened the book in his hands and began to read the legible sections of the book,


    ¡°The nation that we have come to know as the Under Realm wasn''t always as impressive as it is today, in fact the capital of Jotenheim started as nothing more than a way station on a route that lead from the western side of the continent to the eastern side.


    The Under Realm was brought into being by the Founding Emperor of the Gaia Empire, Valheim, as a method to cross the Divide from underground rather than sea. Back in those days it was known as the Causeway, a meandering underground highway that cut through the caverns beneath the Divide allowing Valheim to march his armies to the eastern portion of the continent.


    With the Causeway Valheim was able to perform a feat that had never occurred before his time, and that has yet to come again since the fall of the Gaia Empire. Of course after Valheim united the continent under his rule the small way station known as Jotenheim began to flourish as most of the Empire''s trade began to flow through it.


    Of course the rise in wealth was not Jotenheim''s only rise to power as it''s central and rather unique location led to Emperor Valheim declaring the newly forged city as the seat of the Imperial Magicians. These Imperial Magicians would become the predecess-


    ¡­


    The Under Realm was truly formed during the fall of the Gaia Empire, as the surface was embroiled in civil war and power struggles countless refugees fled underground to the stable power of Jotenheim. While the surface dwellers set about slaughtering each other the remains of the Imperial Magicians and the ruling elite of Jotenheim came together, and began to discuss the future of the city.


    After a long period of discussion it was decided that the Jotenheim would declare itself an independent power, and it would come under the rule of the Council Tower which would be run by the most prominent Magicians. Shortly after this a Magician came forward and created the Light Stones which came to be the s-¡±


    With a sigh Rahkim threw the book off to the side before cursing,


    ¡°I got lucky enough to find these damned books, but what remains is a pathetic amount of information in the end ¡­ It looks like I can''t rely purely on luck, I''ll just need to steadily piece together whatever I manage to discover from this city.¡±


    Rahkim impatiently turned his attention to the second book as numerous thoughts began to fly through his head at the title. ''A Commoner''s View on the Rulers of Jotenheim, Magicians'', a simplistic and straightforward title, but the chances that it held answers for him seemed so high. Even though he could use magic and even though the tile said he was a Magician, he still didn''t truly understand what a Magician was supposed to be.


    His movements were extremely careful and a sense of utmost care, and caution seemed to float over him as he started to read the ragged book.


    ¡°All those who live in the Under Realm know that Magicians are like benevolent demi-gods who watch over us commoners and lead us down the path to further prosperity, but even then we don''t truly understand their might without seeing it for ourselves. I have always held the Magicians of the Under Realm in high esteem, but it was only during my time working as miner for the Council that I came to see just how much our rulers should be revered for what they do.


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    It was a month into our dispatch to a mine that had been established on the border of the Under Realm, our mining group had an escort of a hundred soldiers led by a Magician that the soldiers called a Magician Adept. While we were mining out a vein of iron ore the camp was attacked by a group of creatures called Trolls, these terrifying monstrosities that were almost ten feet tall.


    I have never been as terrified in the entirety of my life as I was when I saw those grey skinned monsters with their arms that were almost as long as their bodies wielding weapons that seemed to have been hammered out of ore rather than pure metal. Their mouths spouted yellowed tusks while beady, blood red eyes glared down at us and the quills covering their scalps seemed to shiver in anticipation of killing us.


    When the soldiers saw the four charging trolls their captain screamed for them to form a defensive line, and ordered his men to hold them back until the Magician could arrive. I will never forget the look of terror I saw in those soldiers eyes, they had battled the predators of the Under Realm for years but before these monsters even they trembled ¡­


    Us miners were forced to watch in horror as the archers fired volley after volley at the charging figures only for their arrows to shatter or bounce off skin that seemed to be as hard as iron. The arrows seemed only to enrage the trolls even more as they let loose roars that shook the cavern we were in before colliding with the ranks of soldiers in front of us.


    It took only moments before blood soaked the cavern, wherever the troll weapons swept only death would follow and dozens of soldiers were slaughtered before the Magician arrived. Despite the losses caused by the trolls the soldiers seemed to rally at the Magicians appearance, and we watched on in awe as a radiant white light seemed to burst forth from the man''s hands to begin to carve a circle in the air in front of us.


    Dozens of symbols just seemed to form from nothing as that white light spread out and all I could feel was a sense of joy as if the magic itself was comforting me. As the circle finished the Magician said a phrase that stays with me to this day as the profoundness of it amazes me, ''Wind is like time, before it all will give way.''


    In the next moment the air stirred to life and ripples were visible as cyclones seemed to surround the trolls before beginning to furiously spin, grinding rocks that got caught up in it to dust. The cyclones lasted for minutes, but when they faded all that rema-


    ¡­


    It was only later that I understood that when the soldiers had referred to him as a Magician Adept it was his level of skill in manipulating something Magicians called Concepts. I had the lucky chance to have an apprentice magician explain to me the various ranks that a Magician could reach; Apprentice Magician, Magician Disciple, Magician Adept, Expert Ma-¡±


    As if to mock Rahkim the book cut off there, and the skeletal mage could only sigh once more before tossing the book back onto the bed and reclining back against the stone wall. It really was not such a simple matter to obtain knowledge ...

 Side Story – A Noble Ambition

    A young blonde haired man stood upon the top of a tower overlooking a bustling city far below while behind stood an elderly scribe that looked upon the man in reverence. Despite the man''s youth he seemed to impose a feeling of awe and servility on those who were nearby, and though his features were average the way he held himself made him feel charismatic. Glancing down at the worn plate mail he wore the young man frowned before grasping the hilt of his sword, and turning towards the old scribe.


    Seeing the young man''s attention fall on him the scribe hastily straightened his back as much as his aged body would allow before speaking up,


    ¡°My Lord, it took a while, but we''ve done as you have ordered. One hundred men have been handpicked from your army by General Vahn himself, chosen for their ability, and loyalty to the cause above all else. However ¡­ are you sure of this, Lord Raven?


    You are sending away a portion of your army that could decide the war, and sending them through the Under Realm, the chances that they make it through are slim let alone for them returning. If we just turned out sight towards the Blacksteel Kingdom surely we coul-¡±


    Before the scribe could finish the so called Lord Raven shook his head and cut in,


    ¡°This isn''t simply about winning this war, Jed. If we cannot unite the people of the kingdoms we conquer, if we cannot give them a symbol to back that will spark in them the desire for a better life then how can we ever achieve a land at peace?¡±


    Jed seemed to pause at the Lord''s question for a moment before his body shook a few times and he hoarsely replied,


    ¡°But my lord, if your men do manage to retrieve the sword then your death is assured! What is the point in us uniting everything this side of the Divide if you are not there to lead us to our dream!? The dream that you instilled in us!?¡±


    Lord Raven turned his sight out past the city to the wall shielding it to the north, and sadly looked at the field beyond that seemed to be set aflame by the dozens of campfires dotting it. A sad smile crossed his face as he answered,


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    ¡°Like Emperor Valheim once said, ''A kingdom is forged by a valiant leader, but an Empire is built upon the bodies of martyred saints''. My death will simply lay the foundation for what we are to achieve, if my death will bring peace then isn''t that a small price to pay Jed? Don''t I owe the people at least that much?


    ¡­ My mind is set Jed, send the men into the Under Dark before dawn arrives and tell them to obtain the Emperor''s Blade from our contact to the west without any detours. All we can do is wait, and buy them as much time as we can here, all I hope is that even if we fall then another will stand up with that sword is hand to unite us.¡±


    With that said Lord Raven fell silent and continued to stare towards the wall where a storm was brewing, the young man at that moment looked as if he bore the weight of a mountain on his shoulders. Jed looked at the young lord with sadness written on his face and he opened his mouth a few times to voice words against his plans, but in the end nothing came. Finally the old man stooped forward in a bow, and a tired voice leaked out,


    ¡°As you wish my lord, the men will set out tonight.¡±


    With that the old man turned and began to hobble his way towards the stairs leaving the young lord alone once more. As the old man left Lord Raven walked over to the far side of the tower and looked down into the courtyard below where a disorderly group of men and women bustled about.


    They sat talking amongst themselves while taking care of their weapons, and armor that bore signs of heavy use. With a faint smile the young man muttered,


    ¡° ''And so a hundred brave souls will march forth into the Dark below on a mission to obtain the Ruler''s sword, but along the way they shall meet many dangers. However, in their darkest hour they shall meet a being in the Dark, it will be one with the Dark but not ¡­ It''s visage will be that of Death, but with it comes the chance for hope. We can only hope those brave souls will see good where most would see evil.''


    ... I pray that they do ...¡±

 Chapter 11 – A form of Enlightenment

    Rahkim sat in his room in utter silence as he held his skeletal hands out in front of him watching the black lights dance around them as he channeled from his Life Well. Though he was silent there were countless thoughts racing through his mind as he tried to recall the feeling that casting magic left him. Every now, and then he would start to build the circle for Ice only to stop, letting it collapse into life energy before dispersing completely.


    ''It is almost like I''m calling on something, not just Life Energy, but something ¡­ far greater. It''s like a concept, a forced form of something ¡­ but what?


    My understanding of ''Ice'' seems almost phantasmal, it feels like what I know is just a drop of knowledge in an entire endless ocean of truths behind it. Not only that, but now that I contemplate it the fact that I can use my understanding of ''Ice'' to form a spell seems impossible, I can''t even control it like this ¡­. The thing I cast is simply a pale shade of the true concept that I am bringing forth to run rampant.''


    Once again Rahkim turned his concentration back to observing the black light as he hurriedly began to form magic before letting it scatter. He seemed to have fallen into a trance as a circle slowly etched itself into the air only to collapse before another circle followed it. Form, release, form, release, form, release. It was just a mindless cycle but the two faint balls of fire that formed Rahkim''s eyes began to shine brighter as he performed the actions over, and over.


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    Suddenly Rahkim paused before stretching one hand out and allowing the black light to surge outwards to rapidly form the magic symbol for Ice again. Rahkim''s voice broke the silence as the circle shined brighter,


    ¡°Ice.¡±


    Once again the familiar magic began to take shape, but unlike previous times a single strip of the air in front of the circle began to ripple before snow formed and began to drift to the floor below. Shortly after the air rippled again before suddenly seeming to freeze solid in several places causing six fist sized chunks of ice to crash to the floor.


    Where the ice chunks fell they shattered, but Rahkim''s focus was on the floor around them where snow seemed to lightly cover the area. Rahkim began to laugh as he spoke his thought''s allowed,


    ¡°I guess recognizing flaws can be a form of enlightenment! I released control of the circle too soon, though I can cast magic by releasing the symbol after it forms I lose my ability to control where it occurs, and the circle has nothing to guide its use of Life Energy causing it to waste some. Though this way requires more attention it also allows me to use ''Ice'' more ...¡±


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    A bit of a short chapter I know, but I felt this is where it cut off best. However, since this chapter is short I''ll also be posting another thread that will have some more basic information on the setting to try and make up for it a bit.

 Setting Info, Questions, etc.

    This will be a bit of a small post more focused on explaining a bit about the world, how strength is measured in it and a bit on the various forms of teaching that exist. Of course I''ll try not to reveal much as I would prefer most to be revealed as the story progresses, but I felt that some of the simpler terms and ideas should be explained ahead of time.


    In the world of Alurgaia, life is hard almost everywhere, but only a handful of places can be considered as dangerous, or inhospitable to the people who live on this continent (the place Rahkim is being one of them obviously).


    Due to the relative safety of the rest of the world strength isn''t something that is sought after with one''s full concentration for the most part. Most people would be fine with simply having enough to fill their stomachs and keep them warm, but this wasn''t always the case. There was a time on Alurgaia when the sentient races were constantly at war with the beasts that lived in its wilderness, and back then all sentient beings had to strive to become stronger simply to live.


    During that time the sentient races founded what are now known as Orders which relied of techniques and methods that utilized the Life Energy within every being to bring forth great strength. Among those Orders there are three different kinds; Martial Branches, Magic Schools, and Mystique Arts each of which were created to allow their users to fight back against the fearsome beasts that once ruled.


    Martial Branches concern themselves with using Life Energy to reinforce the body allowing its users to far surpass their limits, or to project raw Life Energy out as a form of attack allowing them shatter through materials that normal weapons could not. The Martial Branches are considered the easiest of Orders to follow due the fact that they can progress through training, and sheer willpower alone.


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    Magic Schools are focused more on the manipulation of Life Energy to effect or change the world around the user to perform what one could only consider miracles. Those who train under one of the Magic Schools are believed to have the most potential for pure, unbridled destruction as those who have progressed far enough could be capable of wielding a strength that could demolish entire cities. However this comes with many downsides, not only is the chance of death for Magic practitioners higher, but to progress down the path of Magic requires one to be of exceptional intellect.


    Finally there are the Mystique Arts under which all of the Orders that cannot be classified under the other two fall. Mystique Arts practitioners are generally isolationist, and most are part of ancient clans, sects, or factions who have existed since before the Gaia Empire was founded. The uniqueness, and unpredictability of Mystique Arts practitioners makes them somewhat feared by other practitioners as you can never be sure if their Art doesn''t rely on blood shed to progress ¡­


    Alongside that all Orders have internal rankings that are almost always split into eight ranks which are there to measure the strength, and progress of a practitioner. Due to the various names Orders have for each their own ranks people from outside of that branch of study will generally refer to someone as being of a practitioner of the X Order (where X is the number of the ranking instead of the name).


    Example: A Novice Fighter would be called a First Order Fighter by an Archer practitioner.


    If you guys have any questions about the world, story, or anything like that feel free to ask me and I''ll try my best to answer if I feel it won''t spoil some of the story :)

 Chapter 12 – When Death Calls

    Rahkim set in silence for a long time after he had come to understand some of the flaws he had been causing when actually using magic in an attempt to think of any other flaws he displayed. However just as he began to find a thread of inquiry to follow the sound of bones clattering against cobblestones, and of metal scraping against metal began to overshadow all other sounds.


    Feeling confused, Rahkim stood up and glanced out from the side of a window into the alleyway only to see a sight that shocked him beyond belief. From the alleys connecting to the main street skeletons in rusty chain-mail, and wielding corroded swords and iron shields began to pour in towards the building Rahkim was hiding in.


    A hint of confusion flitted through his mind before he realized just how they found him,


    ''Dammit, how could I be so stupid to have cast magic without confirming if they could detect it!? I can''t escape from those alleyways without fighting my way through them, there has to be a way to escape from the higher levels surely ¡­''


    In a flurry of movement Rahkim charged over to the bed and crammed the books into the bag along with the rope before taking up the sword lying against the wall. He didn''t have the time to care for anything else as he turned back to the window with one hand covered in black light as he roared at the skeletons below,


    ¡°Ice!¡±


    The moment the magic circle began to activate Rahkim released his control over it and turned to flee up the stairs with all his might as he took the stone steps two at a time. After a minute he had managed to run up five flights of stairs before the wooden door leading to the room came into sight, and forgoing any attempt to open it directly Rahkim grasped his sword in two hands. Charging forward he struck downwards at the door''s lock causing the blade to shear through the bolt and straight through the rotting wood in one stroke.


    Pulling the sword back with his right arm Rahkim turned his left towards the door and slammed into with out missing a step. As his arm crashed against the door it began to screech open, but the brutal impact was met with the sound of bones cracking and he quickly felt his ability to control it fade somewhat. Bursting out onto the roof Rahkim felt the desire to grin as he laid sight on the floor across from the entrance being open to the air as it''s top half had collapsed long ago.


    All that separated him from the far side was a gap a few feet wide between the buildings and then he could escape dow-


    Before he could finish the thought he jerked to a halt as he heard a series of soft twangs, and almost instantly a hail of arrows tore through the space he would''ve been had he not tried to stop. Confused, Rahkim turned in the direction the arrows came from only to freeze as a familiar figure glared down at him from the roof nearby.


    Staring down at him from above was the same hulking skeletal knight as he had met in the tower ruins flanked to either side by four archers wielding bows that were nearly as tall as them. The grinning knight''s eyes seemed to flare brighter as he looked down upon Rahkim before laughter broke the silence.


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    ¡°Kekeke, what did I tell you little mage? In this city there is nowhere that you can hide from the Master especially with you constantly casting magic to lead us straight to you this entire time. Of course your small attempt at escaping has changed the Master''s mind, he said he''s quite find with letting me inflict as much harm as I wish so long as your soul remains intact.


    I wonder how long you''ll last when the Master begins to pry into your soul to see its secrets, ah I can still remember the last people the Master did that to. Those humans from the surface, their screams of pain were so refreshing after so long of having nothing to play with but beasts, and rogue trolls. Now little mage why don''t we play a game, you fight against my minions and we see how long it takes for your fledgling little soul to give out.¡±


    As the grinning knight finished he began to laugh again and skeletal soldiers began to pour out onto the roof of Rahkim''s would-be escape route followed by yet more pouring from the stairwell near him. Seeing all of this Rahkim suddenly let out a long sigh and dropped his sword letting it clatter t the floor without a care in the world. Seeing the sight the grinning knight''s laughter cut off as he watched the skeletal mage before him take out a pitch black stone that could easily fit in one''s palm.


    The black stone seemed completely ordinary, but as Rahkim held it and began to channel his Life Energy into it the surrounding undead suddenly paused there advance as a sense of dread seemed to spread outwards. At the same time Rahkim''s wounded left arm tore open his robe at the chest as the black light covered his hand once again as it stretched towards the flickering flame in his ribcage.


    As the grinning knight saw this he suddenly yelled out in alarm,


    ¡°Stop him you imbeciles! The damned fool is trying to destroy his own soul!¡±


    However the knight''s words came a step to late as Rahkim''s hand grasped that weak looking flame and began to devour it, funneling every last bit of his power into that seemingly harmless stone. As his vision began to fade he turned towards the grinning knight and laughed as a thought ran through his mind,


    ''When death comes you might as well take it with you right? At least allow me to leave you this small parting gift, Void Stone take this power and destroy them for me.''


    With that thought Rahkim connected with the power he called the Void within that small stone, and suddenly a scorching pain spread seemed to encompass his entire being like he was being torn apart bit by bit. The pain pressed down on Rahkim''s mind forcing his vision to fade even faster and his thoughts to become sluggish, but he clearly saw his blurry skeletal arm beginning to crumble along with everything around him as the Void Stone began its work.


    A final thought came to Rahkim as he fell into the embrace of death,


    ''It looks like maybe I won''t be getting revenge for you my master, sorry about how pathetic your apprentice has become. Perhaps we will meet in another life, if there even is such a thing for me ...''

 Side Story: El – Into the Dark

    Elya looked around at the others in her group with a frown as she held a whetstone in one hand, and an arrow in the other. While the most of the others were in small groups chatting amongst themselves she sat off to the side in silence, slowly sharpening each arrowhead before placing it in a small pile on her left. As she worked she was reminded once again of how moronic this mission seemed,


    ''Even the smallest groups that go into the Under Dark usually have at least four people of the Fourth Order with everyone being above the Second, but this group ¡­ most of them don''t barely pass as Second Order even if they were Fighters. I really don''t understand why Alrick took this damned job, so help me Gods above, if this idiot gets me killed I''m going to hunt him down in the afterlife.''


    Shortly after that thought came to her Elya noticed a tall man walking over, the dull black armor covering his chest and strangely shaped red tattoos that stretch halfway up his arms giving away who he was,


    ¡°Think of the demon and he''ll appear, any news from that Lord who hired us, Alrick, or is he still set on sending almost a hundred of his men to die?¡±


    Upon hearing Elya''s statement the man nervously runs his hand across his bald head, tracing a scar that went from above his eye back to his ear, as he laughs and shakes his head. Seeing the action Elya''s frown let up slightly as she remembered he''d gotten that scar saving her life ¡­


    Seemingly noting her change Alrick sat down on the ground beside her and started talking as a slight grin started to creep on his face,


    ¡°Oh, come now this job ain''t that bad El, I mean we''re getting paid eighty thousand gold just to lead some fellows through the Under Dark, and back. With that kinda payment you could head to the Gral Trade Union, purchase yourself a noble title, a nice mansion, and be set to live the rest of your life in luxury that few people ever get to experience.


    Besides, we both know that even if this job goes badly that you and me have pretty good chances of making it out of the Under Dark alive with that hazard pay Lord Raven was so kind to provide ahead of time. Of course out of all of us you''re the most likely to survive aren''t you Ms. Peak Fourth Order Archer, with your background what risk do the creatu-¡±


    The moment Alrick brings up Elya''s background she glares at him as her hand seemed to blur before reappearing near his throat with an arrow pressed against it. Alrick takes a moment to look down at the arrow before waving his hands in the air in a show of surrender.


    ¡°Fine, fine El, I won''t bring it up, but you''re going to have to learn to talk about it someday. It''s been almost six years El ...¡±


    With a sigh Alrick trailed off and let the discussion drop as he turned his attention to a hunched figure making its way into the courtyard with four knights in full plate trailing behind him. Seeing the scene he remarks,


    ¡°Looks like they''ve brought out four Third Order practitioners to come with us, probably Knights by their looks though me, and you have seen plenty of warriors or even fighters prancing around in that kinda armor.¡±


    Elya nodded as she continued to sharpen her arrows, but part of her attention was on the old man as he looked about to make some kind of speech. She had a feeling they were about to get under way.


    Almost on cue the old man''s voice seemed to echo throughout the courtyard reaching every single one of them with ease.


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    ¡°Our Lord Raven has entrusted upon you all a task of such importance that it could decide the outcome of the very war fight in order for our cause to come to fruition. We all seek peace, we have all gathered in service of Lord Raven to throw off the shackles of slavery that the Vandine Kingdom has tried to force us to wear. In this perilous time when their forces bear down upon this place of freedom we''ve carved out the Lord has seen that we must obtain an item from the far side of the continent.


    Your journey will be dangerous, many may yet die in the darkness that you are about to descend in, but that which you go in search of must be obtained at all cost. To ensure that it is our Lord has ordered four of his most trusted Beast Knights to command you ¡­ and hired two experts of the Under Dark to guide.¡±


    At the old man''s last word he turned in the direction of Alrick and Elya causing El to hastily pull her dark green hood up to try, and cover her face from sight. As the group''s eyes fell on them she growled lowly to Alrick,


    ¡°You know I hate being the center of attention you bastard, you came over here just to make sure that old foggy looked towards me didn''t you!?¡±


    Alrick laughed and gave her a sheepish grin before nodding towards the direction of the soldiers gathered around them,


    ¡°We''re going to have to lead them anyway so I figured I''d let them know you were one of the hired guides before we got down there, and you could start hiding out of sight. Its bad to only communicate with me El, you''re going to have to learn to talk to others aside from me ¡­ Plus, for how strong you are supposed to be your reaction to others attention is priceless.¡±


    Elya glared at the tattooed warrior before waving her left hand over pile of arrows next to her causing them to turn to fragments of black light before converging hastily towards a plain looking wooden ring on her middle finger. The sight caused most of the soldiers to stare at her in utter shock which only served to enrage her more as her voice cut through the air, it was no longer cheerful or angry but ice cold and devoid of emotion.


    ¡°Old man, I assume you''re hear to tell them that we''re departing now otherwise you wouldn''t have brought those four along, so let us skip to it. All of you get ready, we''re leaving in ten minutes to go to the Under Dark, if any of you don''t have your gear together by then I''ll put an arrow in you and leave you behind.¡±


    With that she hopped up from the rock she sat on and seemed to gently float to the ground before turning to walk out of the now dead silent courtyard. Everyone stared at that small figure obscured by a dark green cloak with a bow that seemed to be taller than her strapped to her back, and all of them could feel sweat pouring down there back at the killing intent she had left in her words.


    As Elya left the courtyard Alrick simply took a small jug that seemed to appear out of thin air, and took a small sip from it before muttering,


    ¡°And into the Dark we go once more, perhaps this time she''ll be able to shake off the weight she carries. I''d like to see that before ...¡±


    Hesitating Alrick dropped into silence and looked at the red tattoos engraved on his skin. As he stared at them black blood seemed to slowly ooze out of them, and he couldn''t help but sadly smile as he took another sip from the jug.