《Being Frank》


 Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

    Chapter 1 Introduction


    The morning sun shined brightly across the valley on Altara the only human city in this part of the continent.


    Altara is the southern most city of the kingdom of Joren and during the endless war it had often been attacked as it had been the only piece of land owned by mankind between the two warring states.


    But this has not been the case for the past 20 years which is why you see so very few soldiers in the city right now.


    Though the fact that there were any soldiers on the streets was unusual because ever since 20 years ago there had been peace in these lands.


    Nowadays the primary occupation for the citizens of Altara was either hunter or engineer at the weapon-factory. But the weapon-factory had closed down recently due to a law that was passed by the current king of Joren; banning the production of weaponry.


    To the south were the countries of Jin and Jagun which are still continuing their endless war among themselves and since several years ago the country of Joren has started to sell weapons to the two countries and thus Joren and especially Altara which was at its border has grown very wealthy.


    But because a week ago the king of Joren had outlawed the building of or selling of weapons; there has been social and political unrest as had not been seen since the war ended for the kingdom of Joren 20 years ago. It could be said that this was also the reason why Frank, Isabella and their dad had to move to Altara from the country of Jin where they had lived most of their lives.


    In a classroom at a school in the city of Altara; this is where Isabella is currently residing at. What is she doing you may ask. She is introducing herself to her new class.


    *end of narrative*


    ''Students; quiet please. We have a new student joining us today.''


    As the teacher turned to Isabella: ''Please introduce yourself to the class Isabella''


    After nodding Isabella started her self-introduction;


    ''My name is Isabella Kirkwall I am 16 years of age, I moved here with my father Yoran and twin brother Frank after my mother Ella was killed by assassins.


    We moved here from the capital of Jin which is 3 days travel to the south-west of the southern mountain-pass.


    We used to live in Jin because my father was assigned to be the ambassador there.


    The king of Joren is my uncle which is why my last name is Kirkwall. I hope we can get along despite that I am part of the royal family.''


    Isabella had said all of this; looking at a spot on the opposing wall trying not to make eye-contact.


    She was quite anxious about meeting her new class. The fact that there were two of her guards just outside of the door who had escorted her to the classroom hadn''t helped getting rid of the anxiousness from her new classmates.


    After she had finished introducing herself everybody just stared, not saying anything or rather; they did not know what to say or how to react.


    Isabella had feared that this would happen.


    Then after gathering her wits the teacher said, ''Isabella is new and though she is of the royal family she will not be getting any special treatment from me; so neither should you treat her any different than you would one another. From today on she is just another one of your classmates.''


    The teacher then turned to Isabella;


    ''Nice to meet you Isabella, I won''t point you a place to sit because we spend very little time in this classroom for the rest of the week because we will be going on many hunting trips so just try to find someone you want to sit next to during this time.


    Although I said I wouldn''t give you special treatment it doesn''t mean I won''t give you special treatment due to your loss. Which is truly regrettable, my condolences.''


    The teacher then started giving orders to the class rounding up everybody and giving them tasks to prepare for the hunting trip.


    As everyone was rounded up Isabella was looking around at all the new faces in her new class who were as strangers to her for now. One of her her new classmates walked towards her.


    The girl that came to Isabella was around 5"2 with wavy black hair that went up to her shoulders, she wore a white blouse and her chest was covered with red leather armor as were her pants, her belt was made with black leather and she had a leather pouch attached to the belt.


    This was highly unusual and the girl started talking to Isabella before bowing first and without speaking as one would to royalty. Which was most intriguing because it is stated in the law that you may not speak to royalty unless you''re spoken to or allowed to do so specifically.


    ''I''m Asa Moor the class president, welcome to our class. Have you hunted before?''


    Isabella shook her head and said:


    ''No.'' with a smile.


    ''Just in case the teacher had asked me to pair up with you and to look after you during the hunting trip.''


    Isabella was quite relieved that she had someone to talk to. Life becomes much easier when you have somebody to talk to.


    Isabella replied, "Please don''t call me that just call me Isa, that''s easier. Thanks for looking after me and why not be friends. That way it won''t be considered breaking the law when you start talking to me"


    ''Sure! I had forgotten about that law. Glad that you hadn''t.''


    Isabella then asked: ''So what is the plan for today?''


    Asa replied: ''Today we will be going to the Tamarin jungle. Usually we go hunting in the mountains because its closer but the dragoon riders have been acting strange lately...


    Anyways we''ll be going soon so if you need to use the outhouse or anything before we go now is the best time, the jungle is teeming with insects that make doing your business there very very uncomfortable. Just as a heads up.''


    Isabella chuckled lightly in a dignified manner.


    ''So, I heard you have a twin brother? What is he like?'' Asa Moor asked.


    Isabella answered with a proud look:


    ''He is a true genius in the arts of manageering, (engineering of mana-devices.)


    In fact he was the one who made the first mana-device, the mana-battery allowing one to store up mana for later use.


    Due to his smarts he was able to skip several years of school just because he outsmarted all the teachers that he met and he was doing stuff that was much more useful when he was at home in his lab so when he asked if he could stay at home instead of going to class my parents willingly agreed.


    However this did make him be more of a hermit and thus he had next to no social contact at all.''


    Asa tried to ask something again but before she could Isabellla continued on with talking about her twin brother.


    ''Frank also designed a power transformer that made it possible to harness mana from heat or anything warm. Nowadays it is primarily used by the giants who live on the lavaline which is a string of volcanoes going between Jin and Jagun from the Golden tower all the way out to the ocean and thanks to this mana-converter that Frank designed the giants are now able to harness vast amounts of mana in mana batteries that Frank invented.


    Frank also invented a mana-shield which powered by the lavaline became nearly impenetrable. Because of this the giants can now live in relative peace by keeping up a manashield to protect their cities from the constant fighting between the human nations of Jin and Jagun. ''


    Franks smarts however also had its downsides. Jin and Jagun both saw the potential of Franks inventions. The prospect of generating mana from the lavaline was very tempting since it would provide enough energy for an entire country.


    As the lavaline previously had been an area that was undesirable by either side it had never been the target of their conquest but now with the prospect of harnessing energy from it the two nations then started fighting not only around the lavaline but also to take over the lavaline.


    The war intensified causing more death and destruction. The Giants then went into seclusion and wouldn''t dare to come out of their mana-shields.


    Frank blames himself for it. He also blames himself for the death of his mother.


    This is because he thinks the assassins were trying to capture him.


    But his theory which has caused him to feel regret was quickly disproved by the unfortunate deaths of our diplomats in Jagun. Frank still couldn''t shake the feeling that he had something to do with it though. His gloomy demeanor and lack of social skills made sure of that.


    Plus the fact that he was royalty. Meaning that nobody was allowed to start talking to him by law didn''t help him to fit in that day,


    Franks introduction was much shorter:


    ''Hi, my name is Frank.''


    Asa then replied with with a smirk on her face:


    ''I guess you two aren''t much after all despite being twins.''


    After a quick toilet break Isabella went with the class on the hunting trip.


    She walked with Asa Moor as the class went on their way to the Tamarin Jungle.


    It took almost 3 hours of walking through forests and plains.


    Asa Moor answered all of Isabella''s questions about the things that they had learned at school. Much of the theoretical things Isabella already knew of but Asa also told about them learning about wood carving, crafting, tying knots and how to set up sluices in a river.


    ''What should I know for when we go hunt?'' Isabella asked.


    ''Hey, I''ve explained a ton already and I know next to nothing about you yet. Now its your turn!''


    "I guess you''re right. I''ll start at the beginning.


    As you know our continent has many kinds of people and different races living in it.


    My dad due to his occupation as a diplomat has always made sure that me and my twin brother knew history because as my father says it ''history repeats itself'' since we are of the royal family we are to become diplomats too.


    But this is something that neither me nor my brother are very fond of, sure its got its perks. Like we will never have to worry about money or food or where to live but with how smart Frank is he wouldn''t have to do that anyways.


    But the burden of having the responsibility over villages, cities, tribes, nations, entire races and the relationship between them especially in these troubling times isn''t something anybody would be looking forward to bearing.''


    She then continued after shaking off some of her gloominess:


    As you know the ''endless war'' started when the human kingdom split in three due to the birth of a triplet in the royal bloodline.


    All three were first child of the king and each were given part of the human kingdom and each of these new nations was named after their new king.


    Joren was given the river-delta in the north, Jin was given the fertile and mountainous lands to the south-west and Jagun was given the desert and the steppes in the south-east.


    A desert may not seem like a very nice place ot live in but there are lots of underwater rivers in Jagun and many gems are found along those rivers. So even though it may look like a desert beneath its golden sands there is a bustling nation that has had a grudge against both Joren and Jagun ever since its conception.


    Jagun wanted the fertile lands that his brothers had gotten, Jin wanted the gems of Jagun and the nation of Joren housed the ancient capital where the human kingdom''s previous king lived.


    Joren wanted the woodlands of Jin and the gems of Jagun.


    Or that''s what my dad told me, I''m pretty sure it was just sibling rivalry each wanting to reunite the kingdom but under their own rule.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    But so did their children, and their childrens children and right now we''re at the 12th generation. The successors followed quickly after one another because over the past few decades a lot of the kings and royalty have been assassinated.


    This is also the caused the strict rules which prevents people from interacting with royalty. If there is less interaction then there is a smaller chance of an assassin being able to infiltrate.''


    ''What does your father do?'' Asa Moor asked


    ''My father helped with the establishment of the 20 years of peace that Our nation of Joren has had. He was there when they signed a non agression pact 20 years ago with Jin and Jagun.


    We used to live in the capital of Jin to ensure a friendly relationship, but assassins came after us and our mother was killed. We never found out who had sent the assassins.


    Neither Jin nor Jagun was deemed safe to live in so we left and moved to Altara. This is actually my first time in my home-country.''


    ''Then why did your father choose to move to this small city of Altara? I mean it is practically in the middle of nowhere.'' Asa Moor asked again.


    ''Well Altara is close to the border with Jin so if my dad is to still be a proper diplomat he has to do at least that. Plus this is a big city with ties to the dragoon riders and I''ve heard that Altara even used to trade with the Tamarin. Is that true?''


    ''Hahaha, of course not.


    Nobody can see a Tamarin let alone trade with them; they can bend light around themselves with mana becoming invisible to the eye.


    You only see them if they choose to be seen or you have to catch them by surprise.


    There was one time a crazy hunter in Altara who wanted to capture a Tamarin woman because he had heard that they were very pretty. He saw one and from him we learned that the Tamarin are covered in scales and that they have tails.


    But that''s an old story, I was told that it happened more than 50 years ago and there have been no reports of the Tamarin ever since.''


    ''Why not?''


    ''Well that''s because nobody can get through the Tamarin jungle and the Tamarin retaliated after they found out about that hunter and that scared the people around here so much that they reinforced a new law to ensure nobody would try that ever again.''


    ''Why can''t anybody go through the Tamarin Jungle?'' Isabella asked


    ''Well that''s because they drag anybody who is still in the jungle at night out of it after drugging them.


    Sometimes people try it multiple times so they''re held and returned a year later with amnesia.


    This is also why we left for the jungle straight away because we need to get out before dark.''


    ''Then can you tell me anything about Altara, I''ve only been here for 2 days and spent most of that time unpacking my clothes.'' Isabella asked feeling slightly embarrassed.


    ''You did 2 days to unpack your clothes?'' Asa said with a surprised face that could make people wonder if she dislocated her jaw or that she was a distant relative to the boa constrictor.


    ''Anyways'' she continued; ''The river streaming through Altara provided us with clean drink-water, the power for our houses and it provided us with fish which was bred by those lucky enough to live along the river.


    Fish prefer streaming water to live in and that is what we provided them with the help of some sluices.


    The sluices had originally been built to keep the constant streaming water from eroding the river-banks after the trees that held the earth together were cut to build houses.


    By building the sluices the speed at which the water streamed through Altara was considerably lessened. It was also guided along the city walls through a mote.


    Due to this constant stream of ice-cold water and the height-advantage that the city walls provided the city of Altara had never been breached. In other words, we currently lived in the safest place in the world. ''


    As they were talking Isabella and Asa had already reached the jungle and they happened to get reprimanded by the teacher that they were being too noisy.


    Later that day Isabella came home.


    Frank had already gotten home and had retained his gloominess throughout the day. Both he and Yoran were happy to see that Isabella had come home.


    Because of Franks gloominess the resulting atmosphere was quite oppressive and Yoran did not have the energy or the will to lift Frank up.


    Feeling the gloominess in the room Isabella decided to be extra jolly to lift up their spirits.


    As she came in she made a lot of noise and shouted:


    ''Look what I caught!'' With a proud smile she showed off her new friend.


    In came Asa Moor. ''This is Asa Moor the class president, she taught me about the life in the jungle when the class went hunting.'' she said as she was jumping up and down.


    Dads face quickly lightened up as he put on his signature smile that he showed whenever a guest was around, probably a habit from being royalty in a foreign country;


    ''happy to see that our daughter made a friend, nice to meet you Asa, I am Yoran glad to see that you''ve become Isabella''s friend, I know she can be quite a handful at times but please do take care of her.''


    Asa nodded in reply; quite excessively.


    Isabella replied with a voice:


    ''I am not a handful!'' *pout*


    Yoran seeing that his words had hurt his daughters feelings; or so he thought; quickly apologized.


    Isabella smiled to him and said:


    ''I forgive you''. before walking to her chair with a spring in her steps.


    ''Thank you, and what else have you found and caught today?'' asked Yoran


    Asa replied as they sat down for dinner which was being served by the servants after they had noted the arrival of Isabella;


    ''Well we didn''t catch anything today which is understandable since it is Isa''s first time in the wild.


    Or so I presume based on how many animals she scared away with her inconspicuous stalking skills.''


    Isabella then asked; ''what animals did I scare away? I didn''t see any animals''


    With a knowing look Asa simply said: ''exactly!''


    Everybody laughed, Isabella felt slightly embarrassed but she was able to grin while looking down at her food.


    It was a nice evening with good food. Asa stayed till the sun started to set after which she went home. Yoran made sure that she was escorted by a couple guards just to make sure she was safe.


    Isabella and Frank went to bed soon after. Yoran simply proceeded with the work that he had left at his desk after wishing me and my brother a good nights sleep. This had become a habit of Yoran.


    Sleeping in a bed all alone made him miss his wife. Because of this he stayed out of bed as long as possible and due to that he also slept out till late too.


    There were also a lot of letters that he had to answer, letters for work, letters for condolences, letters from old friends in Jin whom wanted to stay in touch.


    Many letters, much to read and write; a welcome distraction and the condolence letters and the letters from his old friends in Jin were very comforting.


    Then he opened a letter that bare the royal seal. In it was a letter containing a message from the king.


    ''Dear brother,


    First off condolences. It was a big loss for our nation, our family and especially for you.


    I wish that this would be all I had to write but a situation has come up that needs your immediate attention.


    As you had suggested I ordered that no more weapons would be exported to Jin and Jagun.


    There were many naysayers and it took time to convince them but I succeeded in getting the majority vote in the referendum.


    Jin and Jagun were both made aware of this but the nomads in the east are still smuggling weapons to Jagun.


    Jagun has used this against us. They have fed information to the spy network of Jin that we are still supplying Jagun with weapons.


    Jin has now threatened us with war and word is that they are already moving some of their troops from their eastern front north to the white tip mountains.


    To prevent the endless war from coming back to our lands we must act now. Therefore I order you to go to Jin and fix this situation because if you don''t many more will die.


    Make sure to bring big enough of an escort with you. The dragoon riders in the white tip mountains have cut every tie with us and I don''t know why.


    Yours Truly,


    Joren''


    The next morning contrary to what Frank and Isabella had expected to see; their father was awake. Both Frank and Isabella were surprised and also worried since this probably meant that our father couldn''t sleep; or that is how they reasoned it in their heads.


    Frank asked his father;


    ''why are you awake so early?''


    Their father then asked us to sit down; seeing as it seemed to be something serious Frank and I sat down at the breakfast table without asking any questions. Yoran then after sitting down himself proceeded to tell of the letter that he had gotten from his brother the king;


    ''You know how I helped convince Joren to stop selling weapons to Jin and Jagun in an attempt to stop the war?"


    We both nodded, wondering what this had to do with not sleeping at night.


    Yoran then continued:


    ''Well the nation of Jin is now very upset about us not providing them any weapons and so was Jagun but Jagun is pretending that we are still providing them with weapons.


    Jin has therefore threatened us with war and to mend our relationship with JinI have been asked to go back to Jin as quickly as possible before war breaks out.


    Because it is a long and dangerous journey I''ll be leaving tomorrow early in the morning and I''ll be leaving you two here but I will be back as soon as possible.''


    Yorans eyes had slowly grown more and more gloomy looking down at his feet as his dad was telling this, it was clear as day to see that he understood what this meant.


    Yet he couldn''t say a thing while Isabella cried and pleaded her father not to go but in her heart she knew he was doing the right thing.


    Namely being responsible for a nation; it is never without risk.


    After Isabella cooled down from throwing a tantrum she and Frank went to school not having eaten breakfast due to the tears and not being able to concentrate on anything that school day; the day went by very slow.


    Frank didn''t have any friends to talk to about it but Asa got an entire bucket load of emotions, worries and tears from Isabella.


    For Isabella it felt as if her head would literally explode if she didn''t throw out all of her worries and fears at someone even if that someone was Asa who she had only met the day before.


    When Frank and Isabella came home early they found that their father had prepared a big meal for them. As they sat around the table quietly the servants brought in the 3-course meals consisting of fresh salads made with various exotic vegetables from the jungle, a main course made of guava meat and as a desert chocolate flavored snow.


    Frank, Isabella and Yoran ate quietly and though they were hungry and though the food was delicious they couldn''t really enjoy it nor was anybody able to speak.


    The next morning Frank and Isabella went to school again. The house had seemed awfully quiet that morning. The absence of our father weighed heavy upon us. Isabella was able to get some comfort from her new friend.


    http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6289</a>

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2 Being Frank


    I felt tired, very tired.


    My mother died less than a week ago after which we moved to this strange country that my father calls home.


    I had to leave behind my beloved research facility where I had tinkered for hours on end often spending all my free time figuring out how stuff works.


    Now in this new environment and with father gone, I had nothing to distract me from this emptiness inside of me.


    This heavy sadness on my shoulders and the fear of losing my father had already caused me to cry many times during the night.


    I hadn''t slept much last night and I could only eat a couple bites for breakfast because my throat felt all clogged up because of all of this stress.


    While my sister Isabella has her new friend to talk to all I could do to clear my head a bit was to take a walk.


    I asked my homeroom teacher if I could leave as I wasn''t feeling too well and was allowed to take a sick leave.


    My baggy eyes and messy hair resulting from a long sleepless night probably helped with convincing the teacher that I wasn''t feeling well.


    As I walked I went up along the city wall having decided to walk around the city. From the wall it was easy to take in the new city that we had moved to. I was trying to enjoy the fresh air. much of my walk was spent counting the number of steps it took to walk around the city but each time I''d get caught up in my emotions again and lost count.


    While making my third round around the city and having walked for what felt like ten minutes I saw a wounded soldier on a horse riding towards the southern gate.


    Because of the distance and because the sun was coming from the west from where the soldier came from I was unable to make out what emblem the soldier had on its armor..


    Worried I ran for the city gates and hurried down the stairs inside the gatehouse as I held onto any hope of the soldier not belonging to my fathers regiment. Hoping that my fears of losing my father right after having lost my mother and the place I called home.


    Not again.


    As I reached the gate I immediately recognized the emblem on the wounded soldiers tattered armor.


    It was an eagle with an olive branch in its claws. It was a soldier that had accompanied my father to Jin.


    My knees became weak as they collapsed from under me and I fell to my knees.


    My back bent as I lacked the strength to sit upright. Pressing my face to the ground as the tears started to fall uncontrollably. I started wailing and crying I knew what this meant. It was not my hope but my worst fears that had become reality.


    The guards that had rushed to help the injured soldier off his horse couldn''t help but notice me but noticing the clothes I wore were bearing the royal emblem; no one dared approach me.


    All I felt was pain. My throat, my back, my stomach, my head, everything hurt from the inside out.


    Besides the sniffing and no sound came out of my throat as I felt a knot appear in my throat.


    ---


    I arrived home late that night.


    After calming down a bit the injured soldier reported what had happened after which I spent another hour or maybe more wandering around the city aimlessly. My mind was completely blank and all I could think of was what the soldier had told me. My dad wouldn''t be coming home.


    Upon arriving home I was met by a servant of the Moor family. His name was Kaito.


    "Your sister was invited to stay at my masters place by young master Asa Moor, thus I was asked to tell you that she won''t be home tonight."


    Kaito then awaited me to reply.


    But I didn''t hear him as my thoughts were still continually repeating what the wounded soldier had told me:


    "We were traveling to Jin through the valley escorting Yoran.


    I was part of the rearguard.


    Our captain told us to remain diligent and on guard but despite that we weren''t expecting an attack while still in Joren.


    When we entered the mountain-pass boulders came falling down from the mountain killing some and separating the back of the column that I was a part of from the rest of the troops.


    Right after the boulders before we could even react we were attacked as a rain of arrows came down from the mountain. Many died in that first volley. Shortly after followed the next salvo''s from the Dragoon Riders that came flying down from the mountaintops.


    My direct superior had no choice but to give the order of retreat. So we fled back to Altara immediately.


    As we fled we were chased by dragoon riders picking us off one by one until the city was in sight and I was the only one still alive.


    I kept riding as fast as my horse could carry me."


    Waking up from his thoughts Frank looked up as if awoken from a dream to see Kaito giving him an inquisitive but mostly confused look. Frank wanted to speak but no words would leave his mouth.


    Tears welled up again as he remembered what had caused him to lose his ability to speak.


    Kaito''s became only more confused as he began to wonder if he had said anything wrong for Frank to cry.


    After a while, Frank signaled for Kaito to enter the house with him. Frank walked into his fathers office and then walked to the desk as he got rid of the tears.


    He then took a piece of paper from the drawer of his father''s ornate desk but he couldn''t find a pen.


    After a few too many frustrating moments Frank slumped down onto the chair after which he crumpled up the paper shooting a mana bolt to incinerate it startling Kaito who was now wondering if Frank had become angry about what he had said.


    In the past whenever Frank had been bored or stressed, his dad would throw some paper at him to dispose of.


    Yoran saw that exerting his mana gave Frank stress-relief while Isabella got stress-relief from having someone to talk to.


    Frank suddenly got an idea, he gathered mana from his surroundings and started trying to control the movement of the mana bolt which didn''t work very well and it dispersed as quickly as it had emerged.


    Then after gathering more mana he tried to make the mana stand still in the air which wasn''t that hard. He then spread it into a square followed by a triangle, circles, orbs and finally he started making letters.


    Kaito''s jaw dropped as he could make out the letters ''y'', ''e'' and ''s''.


    Kaito hadn''t seen something this amazing ever before.


    Making letters or even forms out of mana had been completely unheard of up till now.


    Most anyone has ever done is chain mana from an output to an input through and in doing so one is considered a master if they can chain it more than 5 consecutive times.


    Yet here was Frank a young teen doing what many had thought impossible.


    -


    Before we go on you must first know what mana is;


    Mana are the particles that give matter energy; though to call it particles would be wrong since it is energy itself.


    Normally matter and its energy (mana) only separate under very specific conditions but the sentient races have a lobe in their brain that allows them to control and separate matter from mana to a certain degree.


    Matter that has lost its energy will have different attributes or change into a different matter entirely, often the remaining matter will also try to draw its mana back thus separating mana from matter is only the first step.


    To do this one needs to choose an entry and an exit point and get the mana to chain from one matter to another.


    This however is hard to control and the more mana you use the more radical it becomes. But before you chain it you need to learn how to draw out mana and by focusing on one point you can create a mana orb but the moment you lose focus the orb dissappears.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The real professionals can hold up to 3 orbs at the same time.


    A mana orb consists of its center where the mana and matter is separated and the outer rim where it reconnects with its matter. Then the matter that regains its mana is drawn back into the orb due to the vacuum created by removing mana from the matter in the center thus the cycle continues.


    These orbs can also be created by drawing mana from a power source by use of machinery and storing it in a mana battery.


    For the past 20 years Joren has had the peace it needed to develop various means of drawing out mana from natural sources like the flow of the water in the rivers and using it to heat houses or move objects.


    We had entered into an industrial age which gave us more power than our cousins in the south who could do nothing more than devise more ways to kill one another.


    When the Kirkwall''s lived in Jin Frank had been the first to devise a way to make a mana shield by making a machine able to continually draw mana from the air in a line or circle.


    The giants on the lavaline were the first to use it to defend their cities against the war between Jin and Jagun. I still remember how happy Frank was to find out that what I had tinkered on in my room actually helped save an entire race from eventual destruction.


    Franks father then gave Frank his own lab in the basement of their house under one condition.


    That Frank was to never make weapons of mass destruction. So instead Frank focused on improving his mana shield.


    -


    Regaining his composure somewhat Kaito asked Frank if he needed to repeat what he had previously said seeing as Frank had been daydreaming before.


    Frank then responded with a ''yes''.


    But he had made the mana a bit too bright due to his excitement and relief that he had regained his ability to freely communicate.


    Due to this Kaito was blinded for a few seconds and as he was rubbing his eyes he repeated that which he had previously said:


    "Your sister was invited to stay at my masters place by young master Asa Moor, thus I was asked to tell you that she won''t be home tonight."


    When Kaito regained his eyesight and looked up to Frank he saw that Frank had written ''sorry'' with  mana with way less brightness than before, it was barely visible.


    Frank then having heard what Kaito had said, thought to himself:


    ''Maybe its better if Isabella doesn''t find out about this till I figure out what happened to father, maybe he was captured and is still alive.''


    Frank still held onto the hope that his father was fine as the wounded soldier hadn''t been a witness of the demise of Yoran and only see the attack.


    Frank then took another piece of paper from the drawer and started to try and burn a message into the paper using mana, the first tries set the paper on fire.


    Frank needed to decrease the mana output even further. but on his 8th try (the first 7 got incinerated leaving burn marks 3 of those 7 burst into flames because Frank got frustrated) eventually Frank was able to make a line on the paper without burning the house down.


    Then with pen-point accuracy he made connecting dots of charred paper to create letters as he wrote out a letter to Isabella. After the first paragraph he had to recline back into his fathers chair taking a short break and  after gathering the next load of mana to be used for writing Frank tried to figure out what to write next.


    Obviously Frank felt that he had to go and find out what had happened to his father.


    It was also quite curious for the dragoon riders to prevent peace from being formed since a war could devastate their lands.


    There had to be an ulterior motive and Frank felt compelled to find out what it was.


    With regained vigor and mana he continued writing the letter even faster than before.


    Kaito''s eyes were fixed on the paper as he saw an almost continuous burst of mana moving on the paper burning it ever so slightly at the slightest touch of mana.


    It almost resembled a pencil made out of pure mana.


    A little over an hour later Kaito arrived back at the house of Moor with a message from Frank to Isabella.


    Frank had done a decent job at writing the letter though the writing didn''t look as neatly written as it would''ve been with a pen and his signature at the bottom looked kind of childish but as he didn''t feel like redoing the entire letter Frank left it as it was.


    Kaito walked into the living room, Isabella was sitting at the fire-place with some tea as she gazed into the fire. Kaito walked towards her and handed her the letter and saying


    "I have notified Frank of your stay here and he gave me this letter for you."


    Isabella wasn''t expecting to receive a letter from her brother but when she saw in what manner the letter had been written she became even more surprised. On the paper was burnt/written:


    "Dear Isabella,


    I am happy to hear you made a new friend and I want to ask you to stay at their house for the next couple days.


    This afternoon I was called to follow father and will do so this very night and I will be taking our guards and servants with me as an escort.


    It is of utmost importance that I go now before a war breaks out and I will do my best to bring father back too.


    Father has had a head-start so I don''t know how long or if I can even reach him before he reaches Jin.


    take care;


    Your brother,


    Frank"


    Isabella was shocked, she thought to herself


    "First mother then father and now my brother is leaving me."


    She stood up and under her breath she said:


    "I''m going too"


    Having said that to herself she found courage and she bolted for the door through the hallway and out the house towards her home in the hope of catching up to Frank before he left.


    Asa was startled by Isabella''s sudden departure. After she regained her composure she ordered Kaito to follow Isa and bring her coat with him as it was still quite cold outside.


    Isabella arrived home but she was too late.


    The lights were out and not so much as a bird could be heard from her home.


    The gate was shut. Isabella then knocked which didn''t help so then she violently bashed on the door with her fists and to her surprise the door opened and in the doorway stood a guard who after recognizing who was at the door opened it up completely; letting her in as he asked;


    "is there anything I can help you with?"


    Between heavy breaths Isabella replied;


    "Yes where is my brother?".


    To which the guard replied,


    "He left as he was ordered to take the rest of the guards with him to follow after Sir Yoran, he left me behind to guard the house till he returned."


    Isabella then asked,


    "how long ago did they leave?"


    "Maybe 30 or 40 minutes, They left quickly so that they could leave the city before the gates closed. They''ve started to close the gates much earlier ever since we moved here. Probably due to the worsening relations with Jin."


    "hello?"


    Asked Kaito as he walked in through the door. Seeing Isabella Kaito handed her her jacket.


    "Its getting late and dinner will be served soon, it''d be best to return to the estate, unless you would want to stay here of course."


    Isabella quietly stared at her feet as a feeling of loneliness slowly clutched around her little chest even making it hard to breath.


    She then turned around through the gate and walked with Kaito following close behind to the Moors estate leaving behind the guard who closed the gate shut again.

 Chapter 3 *EDITED*

    Chapter 3


    It was already late in the evening and the sun started to set as Frank was walking down the road with 7 of his fathers guards and 3 servants in their carriages.


    Following them was a cart filled with the necessary supplies there were also 2 carriages to carry the people.


    They had only just left the city before the gates closed behind them.


    Frank had told his fathers men that he had received an order to follow after Yoran his father.


    Thus they had rushed to pack all that was necessary for the trip so they could leave before the gates closed.


    As Frank saw the sun slowly set he ordered his men to set up camp and prepare for dinner. Because packing had been rushed the supplies still needed to be organized.


    They had just gotten out of the woods and the mountains now lay before them, there was a pasture to their right where they put the carriages and cart in a circle around the place where they were going to put a campfire upon which dinner was to be made.


    The guards organized themselves for the night-shift and made the sleeping quarters in order by pulling a big canvas between the carriages and the cart to keep the warmth of the campfire inside the circle, though it looked more like a triangle.


    Frank went up the mountain a bit further to look around practicing the alphabet with his mana as he went up. It also acted as a way to light up the hillside before him which was becoming less visible by the minute due to the setting sun. The sky and surroundings turned to a pretty evening red which were always followed by rain.


    Frank had ordered the guard captain to hide the weapons in the compartment under our benches.


    Because bearing weapons openly while going into a potential war-zone is never a good idea.


    Another reason was that Frank didn''t want the servants to notice that there would be potential danger up ahead.


    But for good measure Frank told the guard captain to treat this as a training mission. This wasn''t odd as the guards that Frank was able to bring with him were all new recruits which is why they didn''t come with Yoran to Jin in the first place.


    Frank also installed a mana shield that he had been tinkering with to the 2 carriages and the supply cart. Because Frank had also secretly installed a manashield onto his fathers carriage he was able to rationalize that his father survived the dragoon rider attack.


    Frank had set it to activate to repel high velocity projectiles but if a boulder had hit the carriage it wouldn''t be able to hold. This was because mana had little to no effect on boulders, or rocks in general, this is also why city walls were such an effective defense against mages and why warfare was still largely wrought with weaponry rather than mana.


    After having looked around and not seen any foreseeable danger I headed back to camp. As I went down again I was met by the pleasant mouth-watering smell of stew, I hadn''t eaten in a while increasing my saliva production two-fold.


    For dinner we had a stew with meatballs wrapped in turkey-bacon. The proteins were good for the muscles and the stew itself did a good job of warming up our bodies.


    Shortly after I went to bed, the rest stayed up longer talking about various things like the possibility of war and of course about the grand sage.


    20 years ago the grand sage appeared with incredible powers.


    The grand sage was born in Joren close to Jagun.


    The constant war ravaged the lands that he called his home, he had thus come to hate war.


    That is why he sought out a way to end it.


    In 30 years time he became world renown for his might and magic; he made it to the palaces of Jin and Jagun and threatened them into signing a peace treaty with Joren. After coming back he was welcomed a hero but when Joren started producing weapons for Jin and Jagun the great sage disappeared.


    He did not want to be part of a country that made a living off of other peoples misery.


    My father Yoran had told this story many times to his children and his aspirations had been to succeed in bringing peace to Jin and Jagun as well.


    Yoran however wasn''t a great tactician or talented at warfare but he did what he could to bring peace through diplomacy. So far with little success.


    Hearing about the great sage made Frank remember about the stories that he had heard from his father, causing him to tear up but even then not a sound could be heard from him.


    With that thought he fell asleep.


    It was the middle of the night and Frank had to go pee, probably because of the stew and since he hadn''t had an opportunity to do so earlier.


    Frank went out of the encampment to the closest bush that he could find which was quite far away. When Frank returned to the encampment ready to go back to bed he noticed a shadow as the fireplace was still somewhat smoldering; someone was running away from the encampment towards the jungle but he wasn''t sure about what he had seen.


    So Frank went to take a closer look carefully running towards where he had seen the shadow. Due to the darkness and the drowsiness he stumbled a couple times and almost fell once till he got to the place where he had seen someone run.


    Frank knelt down to inspect the ground for footprints but it was too dark to see anything. Ready to turn back to the encampment he had an idea; Frank lit up his surroundings with mana to inspect the ground again and what he found surprised him.


    It was a footprint but not from a human. It had 4 long tows and it was the size of Franks chest (which isn''t that big but still).


    It was shaped like the footprint of a giant bird.


    Now fully awake Frank spread out his mana to light up a large area in the direction that he had seen someone run to just in time to see the person.


    She was right at the forest edge and the sudden burst of light made her turn around and look back and our eyes met.


    Her eyes were gleaming red which indicated that she was from the Tamarin clan, the largest clan in the Tamarin jungle.


    For the past 20 years only a handful of people had ever seen them since they had secluded themselves in the Tamarin jungle.


    Shortly after their eyes met she turned around again and disappeared into the forest.


    Where Frank had expected to see an afraid startled look he instead saw a worried face. What would make a Tamarin worry?


    Wondering what just happened Frank stood there with his mana still lighting up a large part of the land between him and the forest. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder causing him to jump up to which also startled the guard captain who had this shift of the night-watch.


    Frank calmed down a bit and realizing what the guard captain meant Frank made the mana light smaller.


    Then guard captain the asked;


    "what are you doing up so late? and why all that light?"


    Then with mana Frank said:


    "I saw a person of the running from our encampment and after finding the footprint I lighted up the area to see who it was. It turned out to be someone from the Tamarin clan.".


    The guard captain Kees looked at Frank and the mana letters alternately with wide eyes wondering if Frank had had a bad dream or that he was telling the truth but even for a dream this would be too unbelievable.


    After a while Kees said:


    "regardless of that we''ll still need to sleep, we''ll look in the morning if we can find out what he was doing here."


    Frank replied;


    "it was a she"


    Kees smiled and said;


    "Sure, as if you can see that from this distance. The people of the forest have always been protective of their female counter parts nobody has seen one in centuries."


    They then walked back to the encampment. Wondering what this all meant Frank went back to bed and after a long time of thinking and over thinking he fell asleep.


    The next morning Frank had overslept, everyone had already woken up and taken down the camp and dried clothes and blankets up in the morning sun because it had rained that night.


    Frank was so tired that he hadn''t even notice it; even the tent he was sleeping in had been taken down.


    Kees had gone to the nearby water stream to find a solution; since Frank wouldn''t wake up through any ordinary method he got a bucket of cold water in which he placed Franks feet which sent an immediate chill down Franks spine.


    Frank woke up immediately to see many smiling faces.


    Frank was quite confused and felt disoriented but when he looked around and saw that the carriages and cart had already been taken to the road he quickly stood up; dried off his feat using his blanket and changed into his socks and boots.


    The servants took the bed and Franks belongings that they couldn''t yet pack because Frank had been lying on them and brought them to the cart.


    Kees looked at me with a big grin on his face and said;


    "Your breakfast is waiting for you in the carriage but if we are to catch up to your father we must leave now so I hope you don''t mind me waking you up like that."


    Rubbing out the sleep from his eyes and yawning Frank simply nodded a bit while walking towards the carriage. Then having gotten rid of the sleepiness I asked Kees with mana letters:


    "and what about the Tamarin women? Any sign of what she was doing?"


    Kees looked at me with a silly look in his eyes saying;


    "we had a night shift all night and none of us saw any Tamarin, let alone a women passing through our encampment but I can provide you with another bucket of cold water to clear up your head because it seems like you''re still dreaming."


    Kees only dealt with Frank so nonchalantly due to him being something like an uncle to Frank as he had been the guard captain of the Kirkwall''s family for many years.


    Seeing as everyone had seen what Frank had asked Kees he could see that he wasn''t taken serious.


    Frank then walked by the place where he had seen the Tamarin run and looked at the ground but saw no footprints. The rain had washed it all away.


    Seeing as there was no evidence, no witnesses besides himself Frank decided to let the matter drop since nothing was taken nor was anybody hurt.


    Besides, trying to prove that he was right wouldn''t gain Frank anything but funny looks. He wasn''t socially adept and knowing that he knew that he wouldn''t be able to convince others of what he had seen. Especially now that he wasn''t able to talk normally. Talking through mana-letters had become easier but it still strained him; especially this early in the morning.


    They then continued onwards after packing the last of the belongings.


    As Frank was eating his breakfast, it was still an hour or two away from the entrance to the pass where the wounded soldier had said that the battle had been waged and lost.


    Arriving at the entrance I was surprised to see that we hadn''t met with any boulders nor any resistance.


    Frank had expected to have to move the boulders and prepared a bogus story to convince the guards that it wasn''t anything serious. But when Frank looked out the window he saw the entrance to the pass but no boulders were blocking the way; nor were there any arrows or bodies.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Not knowing what to think or say Frank sat back and tried to organize his thoughts.


    That''s the second time now that he had seen something strange today.


    The carriages continued onwards into the pass seeing a couple boulders oddly out of place Frank quickly commanded everyone to stop lighting up the words with mana letters.


    After they had stopped, Kees looked at Frank with a look demanding an explanation. Yesterday they had had to hurry to leave as soon as possible but now they stopped after a late start.


    I then signaled:


    "I want us to enjoy the view of our home country, it may be a long time before we are able to do so again."


    Taking it to heart Kees agreed thus we all went out of the carriages and as the others did exactly that, looking back to Altara. The land; our home for which we were making such an arduous journey.


    Frank then ran sneakily towards the boulders. The rain had washed away most traces but it could still be clearly seen that the boulders had been dragged and rolled to their current positions.


    Frank then started going over the events of the day as he drew closer to the boulders.


    Yesterday there was a Tamarin in our encampment, Frank overslept and these boulders were moved.


    What if the Tamarin had given us something so that Frank would sleep longer so that they would have enough time to move the boulders while there was rain to wash away their tracks?


    It seemed quite plausible but a few problems immediately arose with this conclusion.


    Why would they do that?


    Frank also wondered how he could possibly explain it while keeping the rest of the story about the wounded soldier and the attack on his fathers escort a secret.


    As Frank pondered on this after having checked the boulder he walked back to the cart he then noticed something shining from under the tracks where the boulders had moved.


    He knelt down and with his hands he started moving the mud.


    From afar Kees looked at him wondering what he was up to now.


    Frank quickly discovered that what he had found was a metal inlay-ed door. It wasn''t a very big door. It had no hinges and though the door had a clear split in the middle where he supposed it would open up but there were no handles to pull on.


    Almost as if the door was made so that it wouldn''t be opened.


    Not knowing what to do he flashes a quick ''I found something''.


    Kees had already started walking towards Frank and as he arrived he asked:


    ''what did you f...''


    he stopped his question when the obvious came into his view.


    After quickly examining the door Kees said:


    ''Well what do ya know, its one of those cursed doors. How did you find it?''


    Frank then replied


    ''I just thought that boulder looked out of place and then I found this under the mud.''


    After thinking about something Kees said:


    ''We better leave this place, they''re called cursed doors for a reason. Staying around one of these is never a good thing to do.''


    Said Kees as he walked back towards the carriages. As he turns around he sees something in the corner of his eye that catches his attention.


    ''Dragoons!!!'' he yells as he runs to the carriages warning the others.


    Frank jolts up from his crouching position from which he had been examining the door and starts preparing mana bolts to fend off the flurry of arrows from the dragoon riders that are coming down from the sky and the mountains.


    Frank pulls out the mana shield device from under his cloak and turns it on just in time to block the first couple of arrows and spears that were aimed at him. Kees had reached the carriages having barely dodged the projectiles and started taking out the weapons for the servants while the guards set up their shields above their heads as they were trained to do in case of a dragoon raid. The mana shield of the carriages had also activated and prevented the servants and guards from getting hurt by the surprise attack.


    The guards shields were all standard format, big wooden rectangles with obsidian around the edges. They weren''t made of metal because metal conducts mana as none of them were mages they wouldn''t profit from mana being able to pass through their shields. Mages use metal shields so they can shoot mana at enemies from the relative safety of their shields.


    But none of the guards training could have prepared them for what came down the mountain with the dragoon riders. Preceded by a thunderous roar came boulders the size of houses falling and rolling down the mountain. As they rolled down they caught more debris causing an avalanche of debris.


    This was the same tactic that the dragoon riders have used to safeguard their homes. They had lived safely in the white tip mountains despite the endless wars that had been waged on their lands.


    Kees shouted ''take cover!!!'' but it was too late, there were too many rocks and boulders falling down, arrows being shot and there was too little time and no place to take cover from the boulders.


    Frank then ran to the boulder that had been pulled away but as he ran over the cursed door the manashield he was carrying reacted to the cursed door opening it causing Frank to fall.


    It was not a long drop down, just a couple meters and as soon as the manashield got out of reach of the cursed door it closed automatically.


    When he hit the floor the manashield got drained by the floor and it caused a pathway to appear with lights on each side of the path powered by the mana that got drained. Frank looked up to see where he had fallen through but the light didn''t reach up that far making it too dark to see the ceiling.


    "Now what..." Frank thought to himself.


    All alone in a dark cave past a door named ''cursed door'' as his family is in need of help. The only people that know that Frank was there were about to die and Frank still had no idea why it was called the "cursed door".


    What else could go wrong Frank thought to himself as the lights that lit up the path turned off after flickering for a few seconds.


    For some reason Frank then started laughing to himself due to the irony; the agony.


    This had become his way to deal with it all.


    This was because blaming yourself for misfortunes never works out well neither does being sad and quiet. That too only causes regret; regret for not having bonded with his father while he was still around.


    ''So much irony, only now that I am truly alone do I want to be around people.'' thought Frank.


    "All these feelings swirling around my head.. Seriously annoying" Frank thought as he bowed down while gathering up all his strength.


    He then let out a roar sending waves of mana swirling everywhere lighting up the hall that he had fallen in, most of the mana got absorbed again and many lights lit up all around him.


    This allowed Frank to see that he was in a spherical structure with stairs leading up to the cursed door.


    But the stairs were old and rotten and they were covered by roots from the plants above which covered most of what should be the western wall of the sphere.


    In the center where Frank stood was a metal raster circular of shape with metal raster pathways leading to the east and to the west. The mana he had sent swirling lit up many lights that were attached to the metal raster. The railing that was attached to the raster had long since rusted away as there was water seeping in through the top ceiling from the rain of last night.


    ''east or west, where do I go'' Frank thought to himself.


    ''east corresponds with the white-tip mountains and the dragoon riders that tried to kill me and my father and to the west we have the jungle of no return.''


    ''Not the best of odds'' I said with a hoarse voice.


    Only after hearing the echo of my own voice did I realize that I had regained my voice again.


    Letting go of all that pent up frustration really did help.


    Though now that he thought about it, he had just let out a massive roar before. Perhaps Frank hadn''t become a complete mute after all, or it had something to do with that door.


    "Going east will let me question those dragoon riders perhaps so I can ask what they did to father"


    Frank had decided, as he started walking to the east a sound could be heard from one of the metal tables that had fallen to the bottom, the echo carried the sound to Franks ears and said


    ''welcome what is your name?''


    Having regained his voice Frank replied:


    ''Frank''.


    The machine box then replied:


    ''which race?''


    Quite surprised by this question and how a metal box was talking, of course there was that too.


    Frank then replied


    ''can I be any other race but a human?''


    After Frank said that the metal box said


    ''adjusting, do not move''


    Suddenly mana of many different colors came from all sides of the room enveloping him.


    Frank felt it touching his neck after which he immediately blacked out.


    Frank then woke up.


    The lights had gone out so he gathered some mana up and lit up the room. What he saw scared him a lot (massive understatement) he had turned into a dragoon rider.


    The metal box as if coming alive again due to the mana continued on where it left off;


    "Process completed, you are now all races but human;


    your interface for switching between races can be found on your right-arm."


    "WHAAAAT!!!" Frank yelled as he looked at his right arm.


    His arms had grown thick with sharp nails now protruding from his fingertips with green hands.


    Frank had also grown to twice his previous height plus due to his increased height his body-mass likewise increased when he moved the metal raster under him made cracking noises then suddenly the entire metal raster that he stood on just fell down into the water.


    The cold water had been gathered at the bottom due to the rainfall of the night before and Frank couldn''t swim or stand because he hadn''t grown accustomed to his new big sluggish body.


    Struggling to keep his head above water he splashed around but couldn''t keep it up for long. His head was racing to find a way to preserve his life. There was not way that he was going to give up his life without putting up a fight.


    Taking a last deep breath Frank went under and looked at his right wrist. There was a bracelet around his wrist so he pushed it but nothing happened.


    He pushed it several times until he decided to try mana. But underwater that''s a really bad idea.


    He received a massive jolt but at least the interface turned on. The jolt forced the air out of his lungs as he pressed ''waterman'' on the interface.


    Again mana enveloped him and faster than before he turned into a water-man able to breathe underwater through the gills that appeared at the sides of my neck. But the mana that enveloped him caused shocks to hit him knocking him unconscious after he confirmed that he had changed into a waterman.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    "look he''s waking up!"


    "Never knew you could use salt like that."


    "Salt has thousands of uses plus it tastes good with almost anything."


    Frank then  opened up his eyes and was met by a pair of yellow gleaming eyes set in human-shaped bald metal head.


    Behind him or her or... it? Frank saw her,


    The Tamarin lady from the night before.


    Her eyes fiery red contrasting to her naturally green scales and she was wearing a long black cloth dress. The dress also had a hood and there were lots of wears and tears.


    The metal one was also wearing a black robe but his had no wears and tears.


    "Hello boy, what is your name?" asked the metal one.


    "My name is Frank Kirkwall; prince of Yoren; son of Yoran."


    "Oh..." said the metal one as he looked back at the Tamarin lady. "You were right, he could be useful."


    "And who are you?" Frank asked


    "Ah forgive me, I am Boren from the Golden tower, I''m sure you''ve heard of it and this is Mys Tara my colleague."


    Frank then  looked around the room that he was in.


    It was very light, there were white walls, no windows, the ceiling and the floor lit up where Boren and Mys Tara stood and Frank was lying in a white bed under white sheets.


    Franks hands and arms were the same as always except when he checked his face he noticed that he now had very round retractable ears and gills on the sides of his neck.


    "Can you stand?" Boren asked while he stepped back from the bed to give me some space.


    Frank then pulled off the sheets noticing that he was now wearing different pants then before and instead of feet there were a pair of what looked like penguin feet.


    "Oh... " Frank said as he stared at his feet.


    "It was quite hard to put those pants on you with your feet like that" Boren said.


    "That''s gonna take some getting used to" Frank replied.


    Frank then turned and planted his feet on the floor. It felt strange wiggling the 3 toes that made up his feet. Frank then slowly stood up towering above Boren. Mys Tara however was nearly as tall as Frank now was.


    "Good, now can you walk for a bit?" asked Boren.


    Frank then hesitatingly took a couple of steps.


    "yeah, much easier than I thought it would" replied Frank.


    Seems that these feet will still function fine.


    Boren then turned and started walking to an opening in the wall,


    "lets go have breakfast shall we."


    *growl* - Franks stumache.


    "We can talk while having a meal".


    Frank then eagerly followed them out into the next room which was much larger than the previous one.


    This room had the same floor and ceiling but there was a couch, a fire place, a kitchen,  and outside you could see the white tip mountains below.


    Ever since the endless war started mankind or any other race for that matter had not been allowed inside the golden tower. The ones that lived here were said to have technology far beyond most peoples wildest imaginations. Some even speculate that the Ancients who lived in the golden tower made the world that we live in and even created all the species.


    "So you''re an ancient then?" Frank asked


    Boren replied


    "We both are, only Mys Tara here ''temporarily'' transformed herself into a Tamarin to oversee that the people of the forest don''t join the war of the humans as the dragoon riders already have.


    But due to you breaking the only known transformer machine her transformation has become permanent"


    Mys Tara face turned into a scowl for a moment before she walked towards the dining area.


    Boren walked towards the kitchen and asked,


    "is there anything you prefer to eat, for breakfast."


    "I would like egg on toast with some sausage.... uhmm. Or... Whatever is good for this new body of mine. I figure whatever I am now doesn''t normally eat things like that."


    Turning to Mys Tara with a smile on his face Boren said:


    "He is smart too."


    Then turning back to Frank:


    "Anyways please sit down, we''ve got a lot to discuss."


    Boren pressed on the kitchen-counter a couple times, then as Boren looked up the center of the dinner table opened up and from the opening arose two glasses both filled with some kind of white liquid accompanied by the smell of both meat and fish.


    Mys Tara took both and checked which one was fish and which one was meat by smelling and gave Frank the one that smelled like fish as she drank up her.... breakfast.


    Frank hesitantly took the glass and just stared at it.


    "What is this? It smells like fish but it doesn''t look like fish."


    "Just try it" said Boren; "If you don''t like it I''ll get you something different."


    Frank then after clearing his throat a bit closing his eyes and pinching his nose to not let the fish smell in he let some of the ''breakfast'' into his mouth.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings."It actually tasted pretty good."


    Frank immediately took another swig but bits of it fell out of his gills onto his clothes.


    Boren laughed, which looked very awkward because his mouth wouldn''t move.


    Mys Tara just grinned and said;


    "I had that too the first time, gotta close those gills before you eat or drink or it''ll all drop right out again. at least no fish-bones got stuck in your gills like it did for me."


    Frank gave a light smile. "Sorry for getting your clothes dirty"


    "Ah no worries, besides you can keep those clothes smelling like fish since that will make you popular among the ladies of your current species."


    Frank immediately frowned but he let it go.


    ''So if I understand it correctly I cannot turn back to being a human, due to the transformer breaking, right?''


    "That''s somewhat true, we can repair what you broke but we haven''t even assessed the damage yet. The most we can say is that it''ll take at least 10 years to fix it simply because nobody knows how to make those transformers anymore so we''d have to research the thing.


    It could also turn out to be irreparable if the hard drive was damaged. There is nowhere to get the software from besides from the central back-up file but we''re not authorized to access it and because the transformer was deemed illegal by our new government we can''t really go around looking for the people that made the transformers anymore."


    "You mean the ones that made the transformer thing are still alive? How is that possible, it looked ancient, at the very least 200 years old. I read once that even giants only grow up to be a 140 at most."


    "Well; that is sort of a long story.. in short I can tell you that our people collectively downloaded our conscience to a database and from there we control and live in these metal bodies of ours.


    We have to stay in range of the signal but it does mean that we can live as long as we keep the database running. And just in case we made three back ups just in case anything would would happen to the one we are currently using..'' Said Boren.


    ''This is also why the transformer was deemed illegal; because if one were to die while in biological form they would lose all the memories of what had happened during their physical life and go back to their last virtual memory. "


    ''Okay, but why did you bring me here? How long have I been out?'' Frank asked.


    "We brought you here because you have to pay for the damages.


    Another reason is that since you''re able to switch between races we deemed it possible for you to take over Mys Tara''s task of monitoring the various races that inhabit these lands. And you weren''t out for that long, Mys Tara found you shortly after your encounter in the fields."


    "Does monitoring the races mean that I can still go to Jin and look for my father?"


    ''Why are you looking for your father?'' Boren asked.


    "My father was heading back to Jin for diplomatic reasons but was attacked by Dragoon riders as was I before I fell into your transformer room. I don''t even know if he''s still alive."


    "He is alive.." said Mys Tara before Boren interrupted her by holding up his hand.


    "what if we can tell you where he is; will you promise to help us if we do?'' said Boren.


    ''You know where he is? Tell me!'' Frank replied excitedly.


    "I will only tell if you promise to help us out of this mess that you''ve created by blowing up our transformer." Boren replied sternly.


    *silent moment*


    Franks thought: ''Should I agree? But for what purpose do they keep a watch over the races? Why are they so intent on this? Why are they doing things contrary to their government? Would it be illegal to help them? But then I did cause them to be in this predicament... What to do what to do...''


    ''Okay how about this. We flip a coin, heads is you promise to help us first and we have you sign a contract but if it''s tails we tell you all we know and then you decide if you will help us or not.''


    ''Seems fair but let me do the tossing'' I replied.


    Seeing as Frank didn''t have any coins on him Mys Tara opened her backpack that had been laying on the floor and from it she took out an obsidian coin which seemed to be from the giant-race,


    As it was the size of Franks entire hand. On one side was a single line signifying the lava line where it was forged and on the other the face of the giant that had forged it.


    "Heads" said Boren


    Frank took the obsidian coin from Mys Tara with great difficulty and threw it up into the air as best he could flipping it. It was quite difficult because it was a big and heavy coin.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    please comment below what you are thinking about the story so far; would be very much appreciated.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    The coin flew up high and landed right on Mys Tara''s head as she was still glaring at Frank she noticed too late and had no time to dodge it.


    Boren: ''See it is heads''


    ''okay, I promise.'' Frank said still stuck between deciding to chuckle or apologizing.


    ''okay, well we''ll first tell you of our goals and what we''ll be expecting of you.'' said Mys Tara as she was rubbing a sore spot on her head glaring at Frank even more intently then before.


    ''Lets start with the beginning shall we.


    First off; Us Ancients, the ones from the golden city are not from here. We came here to find the way to make peace. A long time ago we created many different species here who were all vastly different from one another. Think for example the giants; the Tamarin and the people of the sea which you are now one of.


    It took us a long time to make this place inhabitable too.


    We then started to let humans live here we set one ruler over all humans just like we did for the other races. We first started to try and attain peace between all of the races and people. Because where we are from the smallest difference between people have caused many conflicts and wars.


    By finding the answer to peace here where the differences between nations due to there being different species is much larger we hoped to more easily find peace and to use it when we are from. But it soon became apparent that out of all the races only the humans were hard to forgive and quick to anger.


    As you probably already know we have been successful in keeping the other races out of the wars.''


    ''Successful!?'' Frank said loudly;


    ''What about those dragoon riders that attacked us?''


    ''Those dragoon riders have allied themselves with Jin.


    Because your father was able to convince king Joren to halt the weapon-trade. This made Jin furious and that is why they sent assassins to kill your family. They had planned to capture your father. We don''t know why or what they plan to do next now that they succeeded.


    Anyways; it is again because of humans that the Dragoon Riders joined the conflict. This had nothing to do with a grudge between the dragoon riders and the humans.''


    Mys Tara took a swig of her breakfast and as Frank was contemplating about all the answers he was getting he noticed that Boren had actually hooked himself up to the breakfast counter with some kind of wire from where with humans their bellybutton would be.


    ''You should also know that us two are the only ones of our faction within the golden tower. Everyone else thinks peace can be achieved by putting all under one ruler again and they''ve chosen Jin to be the one to do so.


    This is also why we don''t have much Intel on Jins further plans all we know is that your father is in Jin and for as long as he has a use for them they''ll take good care of him.''


    ''Then why was I attacked?'' Frank asked. ''It didn''t look like they wanted to capture me.''


    ''We don''t know everything.'' Boren said. ''We were merely trying to get the Tamarin to ally themselves with Joren but they''re reluctant to do so and it seems that the southern forest dwellers, the Klaver have also allied themselves with Jin. All we were able to do is prevent Tamarin from also joining them. If that had happened the nation of Joren would''ve already fallen.''


    ''Just because a few races help them doesn''t mean that Joren would fall to Jin though right?'' Frank asked.


    ''You do know that the Tamarin jungle reaches all the way from Jin to the capital of Joren right? If they''re able to go through the jungle they can skip the walled city of Altara and arrive right at the capitals doorstep while there are still quite a few walled cities between the white tip mountains and the capital.'' said Mys Tara.


    ''But isn''t Joren more advanced than Jin?''


    ''That may be'' said Mys Tara; ''but if 2 million Tamarin and half a million dragoon riders take Jins side then the 150000 soldiers of Joren have no chance to win this fight. Jin is already moving 70000 of their battle hardened soldiers to Joren.''


    ''So what is it that you want me to do?'' Frank asked.


    ''Mys Tara tried to keep Tamarin neutral, you will be taking her place. But first we must train you in the ways of the Tamarin and you need to change into one too.''


    Seeing that he had no choice in the matter Frank realized that he had to help them to further the causes that his father had fought so hard to pursue. So Frank gathered some mana and sent it to the device on his arm. He then selected ''Tamarin'' and it changed his skin to that resembled that of a Guava. ''I wonder if my meat tastes as good as that Guava I had in Altara when dad was still home''  Frank thought to himself.


    After selecting the race he also grew a bit taller than before, the Guava skin seems to only cover certain parts of the body. Frank also still had pieces of his body that seemed to have normal human skin that  transitioned to black leathery skin and then to dark green scales.


    Boren stood up, ''I''ve got things to do, Mys Tara will explain what she was doing in the jungle and how.


    She will also give you the names of the ones she was in contact with. She''ll be teaching you their customs and she''ll train you in combat.


    Combat is a big deal in the jungle since a persons status in the tribe is determined by their combat prowess. You''ll also need to learn how to stealth since even the little children in Tamarin are able to do that. I''ll be back next week, good luck.'' Boren went off through a door after saying goodbye to Mys Tara.


    ''It will be a busy schedule since it is of paramount importance that we finish your training as soon as possible. Is there anything you are talented at?'' asked Mys Tara.


    ''Yeah I''m a genius at mana control and an engineer. I made those mana shields for the giants.''


    ''Oh, sounds promising. So stealthing shouldn''t be much of a problem for you then. All you need to do is change the skin color and add finishing touches by super heating parts of the air around you. Once you do that you''ll need to learn how to do that while moving around.''


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ''How does one change their skin color?'' Frank asked.


    ''Well the mechanism should be automatic and once you get a feel for it you should be able to do it on command.''


    ''Stand against the white wall, that should work'' Mys Tara said.


    So Frank went to the white wall and as he turned around a knife was thrown straight at his head, Frank immediately ducked and dodged the knife that bounced off the wall and fell into the floor. I looked up to Mys Tara.


    ''See it worked'' she said.


    Checking his hands Frank saw that they had turned white;


    ''so it really is a defensive mechanism that triggers when you feel threatened... You could''ve just told me, no need for enacting your anger on me. I already said sorry for destroying the transformer.''


    ''Ah right, there was that too. I just threw that knife because I didn''t like your smug stuck up face.''


    She said adding fuel to the fire as she picked up the dagger and swung it around playfully.


    ''Lets skip to the combat part'' she said with a smirk on her face.


    ''But you''re a girl, I don''t hit girls.'' Frank said.


    ''I was just kidding, you are no match for me anyways. Besides we''ve got a training area for you to train in. I used it to get used to this body and it only took me a month. But I''ve done it before for several other races so since you are still inexperienced you will probably take much longer to finish the training schedule.''


    Mys Tara then started walking and Frank followed from a safe distance.


    Going through a sliding door we arrived in the hallway that went along the side of the golden tower. We then went through another sliding door and Mys Tara after confirming that the doors had closed and that Frank had gotten in pushed a number on the side and suddenly the room went down at an incredible speed. Frank jumped up in surprise.


    ''Whaaat is this!?''.


    ''This is an elevator, You didn''t expect us to have carried you up a flight of stairs right?'' Mys Tara replied.


    As Frank regained his bearings he began looking around wondering how it all worked.


    Slowly through the tinted glass Frank could see that they were descending to the height of the white tip mountains, and lower, and lower and then suddenly they were under ground but still hadn''t showed any signs of stopping. Then after 30 or so seconds the elevator slowed down and opened up showing that there was another white room here.


    ''So does this elevator also go to the surface? I mean above this world we live in.'' Frank asked as he got out of the elevator.


    ''Not entirely, it does come very close but the builders have chose to seal off the entrance so that the elevator won''t get closer than a couple hundred feet from the surface. Anyways to the left is the living area, kitchen, shower, bathroom and to the right is the training area. There are requirements for each section. Straight ahead is the contact room. I will be staying in touch through there to teach you about the Tamarin jungle and its inhabitants. The training schedule will be posted on the wall this includes time to learn about the Tamarin.''


    ''You mean I''ll be here all by myself?'' Frank asked.


    ''Yes you will, I''ll show you around a bit but I''ve got stuff to do also.''


    So we walked into the kitchen; ''As you can see this kitchen is much like the kitchen we have above except that it only gives the meals that correspond with your current race. Make sure to eat twice a day to make sure that your muscles grow properly.''


    We then walked through the kitchen to the 2nd door at the far right of the kitchen. Mys Tara opened the door, ''this is the bedroom where you will be resting'' then she went to the other door; there were two door to the right and the door that we entered through. ''This is the bathroom where you can do your business, I''m sure you know how that works otherwise there''s an instruction manual for all races in the contact room.''


    ''Well that''s awkward...''  Frank grumbled.


    Next we walked out the kitchen into the main hall and went across to the training room.


    The training room was a very big white room with a high ceiling and we actually had to go down a small flight of stairs to get to the ground. To the right on the wall was a screen much like the kitchen table. Mys Tara turned to it as she pushed a few buttons where she selected the basic training for Tamarin starting today.


    ''All is set'' she said,


    ''If you have any questions you can ask me through using the screen in the contact room, good luck with your training. Also, don''t think I need to tell you this but don''t slack off!'' She said with a commanding voice before she went up the stairs as the white room slowly turned into a forest.


    On the ground appeared a bow with 3 arrows and in the distance 3 targets, each target was further than the last. Then as Frank was looking around at the forest a Tamarin man appeared out of thin air.


    ''Hello my name is Tamarin, I am your mentor modeled after Tamarin the founder of the Tamarin tribe. We will start with learning how to shoot bow and arrow. The first level you have to be able to hit all three targets in the bulls-eye. If you don''t know how to do that you can select the help button on the panel behind you.''


    Tamarin then dissipated into thin air.


    Frank looked around not knowing what to do, he then picked up the bow and noticed that he didn''t feel the touch nor was it heavy yet somehow he could still pick it up. The arrows felt the same.


    He then placed the arrow on the string and pulled it back as far as he could which went quite easy since the bow had no heaviness to it at all and I aimed at the closest target.


    *sigh...*


    ''Oh well, here I go'' Frank said.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    I took aim and fired off the arrow at the first target releasing the string.


    *pew*


    The arrow flew towards its target only to drop down due to gravity, hitting the ground only 5 meters from him.


    ''You missed'' said the Tamarin as he reappeared;


    ''Your arrow did not get shot high enough or your strength stat is not high enough.''


    Tamarin disappeared again.


    ''That is one advanced machine, I wonder how it works.''


    My true character surfaced once again; namely my curiosity and a need to tinker. I turned to the screen on the wall behind him and walked towards it.


    As I did the bow in my hand disappeared and reappeared in the spot where it had originally appeared.


    As I reached the screen I just pressed a random button. Yes there was a button that actually said ''random''.


    ''To understand this machine I must first find out what each button does'' I mumbled to myself.


    The forest disappeared,


    ''you have chosen random'';


    ''Training that has been randomly chosen is...''


    The room turned back into the forest before with only one difference; the bow and the Tamarin were on the other side of the room.


    ''Dodge training! Stand in the yellow spot and say ''ready'' when you are ready'' a cymbal sounding voice said.


    ''I wonder...'' I said standing still pondering for a moment; then I walked towards the yellow spot which was at the same spot as the bow had previously been at.


    ''READY!'' I said loudly.


    In the distance Tamarin picked up his arrow and readied to shoot it when I started standing on the yellow plate and released the arrow the moment I said ''ready''.


    The arrow was released with great force and hit Frank right in the face before he could react.


    Then a deep cymbal like voice ominously said ''Damage registered; you lost 30 hp''.


    ''What is hp?'' I asked but I was then hit by another arrow.


    ''Damage registered; you lost 30 hp''.


    I then walked off of the yellow plate so as to not be hit again but Tamarin was too quick and had already released another arrow that went straight for the screen at the back; as it was hit the cymbal like voice said:


    ''Difficulty level increased to 100''. followed by evil laughter that made me feel a chill go up my spine.


    Then as I turned around I was met by a flurry of arrows shot towards me as I was being hit by every single arrow as there were now 100 Tamarins shooting arrows at me at an even greater speed than the previous Tamarin had. The yellow spot had also become much larger to where I stood almost at the center of it. Compared to previously having moved off of the spot.


    *aaaah!* I yelled as I felt the pain of being shot a hundred times by what turned out to be mana arrows as the pain level had also gone up on each of them.


    The pain I felt can be described as being deep paper cuts down to the bone at every point where he was shot which was basically everywhere.


    As I then dropped to the ground due to the pain; the shooting stopped and the same voice said


    ''Damage registered you lost 3000 hp, hp now at -2560; punishment, Grub for 6 days''


    ''WHAT! Being shot by 100 of those mana arrows isn''t enough punishment? What is grub anyways?'' I yelled.


    I then quickly stumbled back to the screen as the forest dissipated once again and lowered the level to 1 again and after a moment of hesitation I pressed the random button again but nothing happened instead the screen displayed;


    ''Hp too low''


    Wondering what this meant I looked and found the help button


    After pressing it, it revealed a long list of frequently asked questions appearing divided up in categories. ''hp'' I said contemplatively as my eyes scanned through the list. Thanks to voice activation the ''hp'' category was lit up so I quickly found it and pressed on the screen where it had appeared. Revealing the following information:


    ''HP is short for health points.


    HP gets lowered when you are hit, when you are hit for more damage than your base hp then it will go in minus and will take even longer to regenerate.


    HP is recovered by your base value when you sleep once a day and by eating.


    *When your hp goes below 0 in a level 50+ area you will receive the penalty of eating only grub.*


    You can increase your hp by increasing its level with stat points.''


    Seeing as there was nothing else to do anymore Frank went up the stairs as he calculated what was meant by base hp and how much he had. -2560 + 3060dmg = 500 base hp.


    As I was walking towards the kitchen I thought:


    ''Strange... I wonder what that grub is, it says here that its food but also a penalty. But if my hp is -2560 right now that means it''ll take at least 6 days to recover enough hp to participate in another training. But then it also says that I get hp by eating, I guess I''ll have to eat that grub thing if I want to hurry.''


    Having reached the kitchen I walked towards the counter and pressed the button for food on the table and up came a glass filled with some kind of green substance. It did not look appetizing like the ''meal'' that he had before. But at least that one tasted quite alright. This one is seen as a punishment which would make one wonder what it would taste like.


    As I picked up the grub I quickly closed my nose moving the glass far away from myself as I had noticed how absolutely horrible it smelled.


    Just the smell alone was more than sufficient to be counted as punishment.


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


    ''I have to do this.... FOR FATHER!'' I shouted as I quickly downed the glass gulping it down in one go; but soon I noticed how bad of an idea that was.


    I immediately started convulsing as my body started rejecting the grub. So I quickly ran towards the adjoining bathroom and threw up in the toilet.


    The same ominous cymbal voice resounded once more:


    ''You are now under the effect ''sickness'', you take 30 hp damage. punishment increased to 7 days. Wisdom stat lowered.''


    As I finished throwing up he slowly slid against the wall and sat on the floor feeling absolutely horrible. The toilet then automatically flushed but the vomit had clogged the toilet causing it to overflow spreading its gross contents. Noticing this I quickly jumped up and ran out of the bathroom and closed the door.


    I quickly ran to the kitchen and got a couple towels; as I ran back to the bathroom door but it could already be seen that water was coming up from underneath the door. I then tried to quickly seal that off with the towels.


    ''I am going to need help cleaning up this mess....'' Frank said as he once again closed his nose as the smell started to permeate through the wall.


    Checking one last time if I had properly sealed off the bathroom I walked out the kitchen and through the hall to the elevator. There was only one button with an upwards arrow on it so Frank pressed it;


    A female cymbal voice then announced:


    ''Access denied for people below level 50''


    ''WHAT!, Mys Tara never said anything about this. What is my current level anyways?''


    Checking the device on my arm I gathered some mana to power it up as I had done in the transformation room. A holographic screen appeared like a gauntlet and it said ''download complete''.


    -


    level 0


    hp -2590hp


    strength: 10


    endurance: 12


    Agility: 10


    Accuracy: 10


    Intelligence: 100


    Wisdom: -1


    -


    ''Why is wisdom at -1? I don''t get it...''


    Then I recalled their being a communication room; so I then turned around and with big strides I slumped towards the communication room.


    Feeling the urge to press every single button out of frustration I raised my arm but after a moment of reconsideration decided not to do that and instead search for the help button as I said to myself:


    ''I better not do that or else my wisdom points will drop again...''


    Then a message showed up on Franks gauntlet:


    ''Wisdom went up by 1 due to self-control''.


    After some searching I found:


    ''To make a call press ''link'', to send a distress signal press


    ''DANGER!'', to learn more about your race press ''info''.''


    I pressed ''back'' and then ''link'' in the bottom-right corner.


    ''Attempting link......''


    ''Found link....''


    ''Linked''


    Then I saw Mys Tara sit at the dining table; ''That was quick, tired already?'' Mys Tara asked.


    ''Hmmm, well where to start...'' Frank mumbled.


    ''Speak up a bit I can''t hear you'' Mys Tara said.


    ''First off, why is the elevator locked?''


    ''Well that is because you are currently in a restricted area, if anyone of my kind finds you there they will execute you. You''re really not supposed to be here but we need you to take my place.''


    ''Why didn''t you tell me about it being locked?'' I asked.


    ''Well that''s because you''d make a fuss about it; ad that would be annoying?''


    ''Yea, can you come help? The bathroom is flooded. The kitchen is only giving me grub and my hp is down by 2590 hp so I can''t even train.'' Frank said with a big frown on my face


    Mys Tara had an incredulous look on her before bursting out laughing her head off; she actually fell of the chair and rolled around for a bit thus furthering the frown on Franks face.


    After a solid 5 minutes Mys Tara regained some of her bearings and said:


    ''Yea I''ll send Boren to help you out'' she said as she reappeared above the table. Her hand went to the camera as she turned off the screen.


    ''And now we wait..''


    The communication screen signaled


    ''Incoming link; accept?''


    After pressing accept Boren appeared with the elevator in the background.


    ''Hi Frank, I heard about your trouble. To regain your hp you should just head to the training room and press the reset button under settings. I''m on my way to fix the problem in the bathroom so see ya in a bit. '' then he hung up.


    I looked at the screen, wide-eyed and a gaping mouth for a moment before I raced towards the training room.


    Immediately turning to the screen in the training room I pressed the now very apparent ''reset'' button which was right next to the ''help'' button he had previously used.


    After resetting I checked his status again on his gauntlet:


    -


    level 0


    hp 500


    strength 10


    endurance 10


    agility 10


    accuracy 10


    intelligence 100


    wisdom 10


    -


    ''Hmm, interesting how intelligence is still so high. I guess its because I tinker a lot.''


    I then again started browsing through the list of training-modules seeing that some were still unavailable and that there was also some kind of natural theme in the ones that were available seemingly set specifically for my current race.


    Then the elevator arrives sounding a light but resounding sound.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    ''Hello Boren'' I said as he walked towards me.


    ''Hi Frank, what happened?''


    ''Well, a lot actually, most of it is fixed but the bathroom is still completely full with water due to me puking in the toilet.'' I said.


    ''Yeah I can smell that, I''ll fix the bathroom as fast as possible, you should eat some mint leaf to get rid of that horrid smell that you exude.'' said Boren as he turned away while holding his nose.


    We walked into the kitchen where I went to look for mint leaves in the kitchen menu while Boren went to the door and opened it. He was met by a rush of bad smelling water that spilled across the room.


    The rooms defensive mechanism made it that gutters in the floor appeared by floor panels pulling back and the water quickly subsided. The smell however did not subside. Boren ran out the kitchen yelling with a loud voice ''AAAH, the smell, the smell, its off the charts!.''


    As he got outside he sent mana into his right wrist and a menu appeared where he lowered his sensitivity to smell. Oh all the perks of being a metal-man. I had to deal with the smell though. So I just kept looking for mint leaves and when I found ''m I set the quantity to max and spread them around the room as I was chewing on a handful. Not sure if it''ll help but at least my mouth felt better now.


    ''Well thanks Boren!'' I said with sarcasm;  ''This is much better... Sorry though, I should''ve told you to what extent the bathroom had been flooded.''


    ''Your welcome, just don''t throw up in the toilet again.'' as he went back to the bathroom to check up on the toilet itself. There it smelled even worse which forced Boren to lower his sensitivity to smell even further. He then gave a yell, ''Frank! Come see this.''


    Wondering what had him surprised I walked towards the bathroom and having noticed that it smelled even worse the closer I got to the bathroom I kept a handful of mint leaves in front of my mouth and nose. As I walked into the bathroom trying to be careful not to slip on the floor I saw what Boren meant.  There was a hole in the left wall.


    Through the hole we could see bed-rock; when we went to take a closer look we saw that it was a huge cave.


    ''Where does that lead to?'' I asked.


    ''Well seeing as it is turned to the south I''d say that its an old path to the giants in the lava line. Its dangerous territory.''


    ''Oh I know the giants, I built mana shields for them'' I said; ''Would be nice to go visit them and see how they''re doing I guess.''


    ''But first you must fulfill your debt to us do you not?'' Boren said.


    ''And what happens when I don''t?'' I asked.


    ''Then we''ll forget about you and you''ll never turn back to being a human ever again. Plus its not good to have us being your enemies.'' Boren said.


    ''Fair enough'' I said as I looked around thinking of the million and one ways they could force me to do what they wanted me to do with all this technology that they had on their hands. ''not fair at all'' I said. ''now that I think about it, can''t we use some of this technology to deter any war from happening. I had heard that all major rivers spring from this tower. Why not just stop giving water to whichever nation is at war?''


    ''We can''t do that because of two reasons; 1. The majority of our race wants Jin to win and thus war is temporarily necessary and 2. We have though of that plan but we chose to only use it in the most dire moment; when our tower is attacked for example.'' Boren replied.


    ''Well it was worth a try I thought... So lets check out that cave''


    ''We could do that or, I could simply close off the cave...'' Boren said.


    ''Nah that would be way too boring, don''t you want to know what''s down there?'' I asked.


    ''Maybe I don''t, maybe we shouldn''t waste any more time than we already have.''


    ''But Boren, what if there is something down there that could help us?'' I asked.


    ''I doubt it but I have to admit that I''m also quite intrigued where this cave leads to, it almost seems as though it was cut out of the bedrock.''


    Boren held his left hand to the menu on his right arm as he looked in the database for caves and maps of caves. ''Strange, this cave isn''t noted on the database.''


    ''Then it is our duty to find out where this cave goes so we can add it to your database thingy... right?''


    ''Sure... lame excuse but you''ll keep nagging me about it regardless of my opinion and actions right?''


    ''true, true'' I replied with a grimace on my face as I victoriously marched towards the cave entrance. It was a bit smaller than I was so I turned to my menu as I asked Boren: ''what is the smallest race that I can turn into?''


    ''You could turn yourself into a Druid, they''re a smaller subspecies of the people of the forest. This way the changes to your body will be minimal and thus not as hard to get used to.'' Said Boren.


    ''Sounds logical'' I said; so I used my gauntlet to change myself into a Druid. It basically was a smaller version of what I looked like before. I still had scales, leather and skin but I felt lighter; as if I could jump and run twice of what I could before. Given that I was half-size I guess it compensated. ''Ah! I haven''t eaten yet, better do that before we go into that cave.'' I said as I walked to the kitchen to get myself some food. Boren took that time to fix the toilet. Not that I could''ve done it since the smell would force me to use only one hand and it was definitely a task that you would need at least 2 hands to fix.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    As I was eating and Boren had fixed the toilet we went into the cave, Boren eyes lit up the way as we went down the cave. It spiraled down for several hundred feet till it opened up to a big large cave. From where we stood we could see the base of the golden tower going from the top of the cave all the way to and probably through the ground.


    ''NO WAY!'' Boren yelled. ''Incredible, this is where the database is at. Good thing that we went to check. Do you have any idea what this means?''


    ''Not yet but I''m sure you''re gonna tell me'' I said.


    ''This means that we can upload people into the database without needing to use the interface that the council has monopolized. We can now use the system covertly. Woohoo!''


    ''I was wrong I still don''t know what it means'' I said as I made a confused face.


    ''The database allows you to access any data that we have accumulated plus you can communicate telepathically with anybody who''s also got their consciousness in that machine.'' Boren turned to me, ''We can upload you too now. The schematics for the necessary cyborg parts should also be in the database. By going into it manually from here we can access even the dark files; files that nobody is allowed to see basically.''


    ''That sounds interesting. Just so ya know; I have no intention of turning into a machine man. But... Does that mean you''ll also be able to access the schematics for the transformation machine that I broke?'' I asked hoping that I''d get an early release from our agreement.


    ''Yes it could be so. I''m not certain what''s in the database on that though. But I''ll try and find it as soon as possible. But just in case it doesn''t work out we better get you up to speed on how to be a proper Tamarin. Also, we could link your bracelet with the database. That way when you''re done with your training and in the field you''ll still be able to contact us.''


    ''So how do we do that?'' I asked.


    ''Just a second, I''m gonna go see where the manual database panel is at.''


    We walked to the golden towers foundation where the database was supposed to be. Then several turrets sprang out from the golden tower and started shooting mana bolts at us. My mana-shield was able to hold off the first volley but it dissipated after reaching its maximum capacity. Though the mana-shield dissipated it had given us enough time to run for cover before the second volley got shot at us. We were stuck. There was nowhere to run to. After a minute the turrets stopped firing. So Boren peeked over the edge but the volley restarted due to his reckless action. He did duck but one of the mana-bolts grazed him scorching his metal hairs turning them black. He actually looked better now; it smelled bad though.


    ''so now what do we do? Doesn''t look like they want us to reach the manual panel.'' I said.


    ''Well I guess this much is to be expected. So lets think of a way to get out of here. So we''re being shot at by automatic turrets that track movement from their own position. Thus if we block their view we should be able to get past. Or we could dig the ground under us and get away that way. There also seems to be a maximum range since it only started shooting as we approached it.''


    ''So how will we block the view of those turrets?''


    ''Maybe you can block a few of those mana shots with that mana shield you had just now.'' Boren said.


    ''Sorry but the mana-battery is empty and because it was such a large surge of mana the mana battery went completely dry so recharging it is a real hassle and will take more time. If I had had my equipment with me I would''ve been able to fix it no problem but I lost those in the transformer machine.''


    ''Okay, so I thought of an idea; now its your turn. What do you think we should do?''


    ''Well lets first think of the things we can do before we think of what we should do.''


    ''You''re made out of metal but as long as you stay grounded you shouldn''t receive too much damage from those mana-bolts right?'' I said with a hopeful look in my eyes.


    ''Nope, that won''t do. My internal circuits won''t take more than a couple hits before this body starts breaking down. Also, why is me taking the hits the first idea you come up with?''


    The volley of mana-bolts had halted due to lack of perceivable motion.


    ''My turn for an idea.'' Boren said. ''You are currently one of the forest people. You should be able to stealth yourself in order to avoid detection by the mana-turrets.''


    ''I might be able to do that. But how? I didn''t complete any training.''


    ''Ah, that could be a problem... I guess we''ll have to retreat then. I''ll ask Mys Tara to try getting through, you should work on your mana shields and learning that stealth skills in the training room.''


    ''ready? We have to do this simultaneously so that the mana bolts are spread amongst the both of us. That way we will halve the damage and danger done to us. I''ll do a countdown, when I say GO we run back as fast as we can.''


    3


    2


    1


    ...

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    ''GO!'' Boren shouts,


    I had already crouched into a position from which it was easy to start running and as I heard the ''GO'' I started running as fast as I could staying close to the ground. I heard the turrets shooting so I changed direction and rolled over the ground as a flurry of mana shot all around me. I kept running till I reached the cave that went up but no further mana was shot at me.


    As I looked back I saw that Boren was still lying on the ground behind the bit of cover. Then I realized that I had been used. Boren just wanted to check if I could make it before he would try it out.


    ''What are you doing!?'' I yelled to Boren.


    ''I don''t think I can make it, I can''t run that fast!'' Boren yelled.


    ''Go get Mys Tara and ask her to turn these turrets off! She knows how to stealth, should be no problem. I''ll just wait here.''


    ''I''ll be right back'' I yelled.


    I guess due to his entire body being made of metal he lacks the speed to go over rough terrain fast enough. Maybe that is why they almost never leave their tower. Its not safe for them to be anywhere else. Is what I thought as I went up the cave into the bathroom.


    I then walked straight to the contact room and contacted Mys Tara.


    ''Hi, busy day it seems. So what did you break this time?''


    As I was about to give an honest answer I figured I''d make a joke; ''Boren''.


    ''What about Boren?'' she asked.


    I wanted to joke about Boren being the one I broke but I figured that it is a joke not to be made in a serious situation like this. Or its more like I got kinda scared by the fury with which Mys Tara said ''what about Boren''. Instead I said; ''Boren is in trouble and he asked me to contact you.''


    ''WHAT! I''ll be on my way, don''t you move!'' she said as she broke off the connection.


    Seeing her reaction I wondered if Mys Tara and Boren were more than just colleagues. But imagining a Tamarin and a metal man together made that idea go away quite quickly. Though, Mys Tara was originally also a metal woman. I should ask them what I should call their species, it just sounds strange to call ''m by the stuff they''re made of.


    I exited the contact room and saw that the elevator was already on its way down by the sounds I heard coming for the elevator. This sure had turned into one very very long day. Once we get that database thing figured out I wanna get good food and a good night sleep. Hopefully training will be easier tomorrow.


    ''Where is he?'' Mys asked with a stern look as she stepped out of the elevator.


    ''He''s in a cave below us.'' I answered leaving out the important bits just to see the confused face she''d make. Boren is safe as long as he doesn''t try anything strange.


    Her face went from a stern look to a confused look almost instantly.


    ''We found a cave when a wall in the bathroom broke due to the water pressure of the toilet that didn''t flush. Also, how do you call your race? I was just wondering.''


    ''You may call us the Ancients. So he''s down in a cave and can''t get out or something?'' Mys Tara said having calmed down a bit she continued; ''please focus on the problem at hand.''


    ''Why should I do that? It helped you calm down did it not? I heard that you need to be calm and composed if you want to stealth. Which is also why I was asked to call you here. We stumbled upon the database of the golden tower but upon approaching it we were detected and its defensive mana turrets started shooting at us. If it weren''t for my mana shield we wouldn''t have had enough time to jump for cover. But from where we took cover it was too far for Boren to run to safety due to his heavy body.''


    ''I see'' said Mys Tara.


    Then she turned and walked through the hall into the kitchen; upon entering she couldn''t help but say ''Whoa! It stinks in here; what did you do?'' as she held her nose.


    Then when she took her first step into the bathroom she said ''Ah! Gross, its so bad here that I can even taste it!'' After which she also covered up her mouth.


    Then she went into the cave as I followed her. Its a good thing that I was covering up my mouth and nose because the grin I had because of Mys Tara''s funny responses would''ve ticked her off for sure. I don''t think she likes me very much.


    As the end of the cave came into sight Mys Tara stealthed. I stopped quite surprised as she had literally and completely disappeared.  Then I walked a bit further and as Boren saw me standing there he yelled


    ''Hey I though you were going to get Mys Tara! Where is she!?''


    ''I brought her, she''s going to try and take out the turrets.'' I yelled back.


    ''Hey, don''t yell'' said Mys Tara who reappeared right in front of me. It seems like I sorta yelled into her ear without noticing it. ''Sorry, didn''t see you there.''


    ''Good'' said Mys Tara. ''Test-run is complete, now for the real deal.'' She disappeared again.


    It was silent in the cave. Nothing could be heard and nobody moved. Well Mys Tara was probably moving but I couldn''t see nor hear her. I so want to learn how to stealth. It''d make so many things so much easier. I could effectively hide away from my duties as a member of the royal family, I could stealth and get in and out of school without anyone noticing. Of course there are a ton of bad things I could do... Not like that ever crossed my mind. No I am not like that. Definitely not like that. I thought to myself as I shook my head.


    ''What is wrong?'' Boren yelled. ''Why are you shaking your head?''


    ''Hey I said not to yell!'' Mys Tara replied as she reappeared right next to him.


    ''I''m sorry, didn''t expect you to be so fast.''


    ''What do you mean so fast?'' I yelled''


    ''You could understand what we were saying?'' Boren said.


    ''Yes loud and clear.''


    ''Ah right I forgot, that''s another specialty of the Druid. Excellent hearing. I guess I didn''t need to yell after all.'' Boren replied.


    ''Should''ve realized that before'' Boren said as he turned to Mys Tara. But she had already stealthed and moved forward.


    ''What do you mean by so fast?'' I repeated


    ''I mean that maintaining stealth is already really hard. Moving while concentrating on your stealth is even harder. Only the true masters are able to freely run around while stealthed.''


    ''Oh I see, so its just like how you need to concentrate when you use mana.''


    ''Yes exactly like that.''


    We then heard Mys Tara yelling ''I did it, you can come out now.''


    ''YAY!'' Boren said as he jumped up from his crouching position.


    We then walked to where Mys Tara was, at the base of the golden tower.


    ''It seems you need to activate it since it requires the mind of an Ancient to open it.''


    ''Why that?'' I asked.


    ''Well you see that hole over there? Its a head-scanner that scans what is in your head and if you aren''t an ancient in a metal body your head will get stuck automatically and the council will be notified of the security breach. In other words its not something you would want to happen to you.''


    Boren then stuck his head in and within seconds the golden wall dissipated revealing the control panel. There were a lot of buttons and screens and lights and more holes like the one Boren stuck his head in.


    ''Oh wow, this is gonna take a while to decipher. Its all in the Ancient language and not in the general one. I''ll have to look up how to read that language in the database. I guess we won''t be getting what we want for free.'' Boren said.


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    ''Well at least nobody got hurt by the mana turrets.'' Mys Tara said.


    ''So, what should I do?'' I asked.


    ''You''ll have to start training again just in case. Also, I read from the database that changing races too often will lead you to slowly lose your memory due to your brain structure changing all the time. So don''t change until we''ve uploaded your mind and memories to our special section of the database. We don''t want other ancients to be prying in your brain now do we?''


    ''They can do that!? Wait, you mean you two can do that too?'' I asked kinda worried since I didn''t like people knowing what I thought.


    ''We could but we have no idea how to do it plus it is quite dangerous to do so we refrain from it.'' Boren answered as he turned and while looking at the database being displayed on his wrist he tried to decipher what everything meant.


    ''I guess I should go back to training then. That stealthing looked like a very handy skill.'' I said as I turned around somewhat waiting for an answer but both Boren and Mys Tara were totally engrossed by the prospect of entering the hidden files of the database. Thus I just went back up the cave and to the training room.


    Once at the training room I browsed through the list of available training till I found the stealth-training. ''Necessary level: 10''


    The room stayed the same so I guess I''ll have to complete a couple other training schedules. Would be nice if I finished up the training before they figured out the database. It just didn''t seem like a good idea to download my brain to a machine no matter how intriguing it may seem. Maybe I''m just being childish.


    I then picked a running training, I turned around and Tamarin reappeared. On the ground I could see the track that was to be run. ''Sprint or marathon?'' Tamarin asked.


    ''What is marathon?'' I asked.


    Then the tracks changed from a straight line into a track that went around the edges of the training room.


    ''Stand in the yellow circle to begin''.


    So I went into the circle and a countdown started. Right when the countdown reached 0 Tamarin started running so I started running too. But there was no way for me in my untrained body to effectively keep up with Tamarin.


    Much training would be needed I guess. But I kept going regardless. After a 5 rounds I got a notification:


    ''You''ve gained a level, you gained 5 points to put in either endurance or agility. Do you want to do this training again?''


    Seemed to be easy enough to gain a level. Mys Tara had done this type of training before, I wonder what level she is at. Maybe she can give me some tips. So I went out the training room again and went to look for Mys Tara in the cave below ground.


    ''Mys Tara, I just gained a level by doing the marathon training, what level are you now?''


    ''I''m currently level 100 but its not your level but your stats that matter. Your stats actually show your true ability. So if you raise your true ability through training your stats will go up accordingly and by doing a training you''ll gain a level. Also, something you should know. You can ask Tamarin the trainer how he does what he does by saying


    ¡°help me sensei¡± ;okay?''


    ''Its in the manual but I guess you hadn''t found that yet'' she continued with a smile;


    ''Though I should''ve told you about it if I had then all of this wouldn''t have happened and we wouldn''t have found this cave. So I guess we should thank you.''


    ''Thank me? For what?'' I replied; quite confused for being thanked since all I had done so far was break things.


    ''Thank you for throwing up in the toilet and thus breaking the bathroom wall.'' She said with a big smile.


    ''Seeing as it was quite a long day we better go sleep. Boren doesn''t need to sleep so he''ll just continue to work here.''


    We then said goodbye to Boren and went up the cave to the training facility''s kitchen for dinner. We had a proper meal this time which was nice, filled up my belly nicely. Turns out they had the juicer function on just to tease me.


    As we were eating I asked;


    ''So why are you two working around the system? It almost seems as though you are enemies of the council of the Ancients.''


    ''I guess we owe you a full explanation. Our race is here to learn how to build peace as I think I told you before; sorry a lot has happened today so I may be repeating some things.''


    ''that''s okay'' I replied.


    ''Well in our race there are several factions that have different beliefs of how lasting peace can be achieved and each faction tries to guide the races of these lands to follow that way to peace that they believe will bring lasting peace.


    The faction that me and Boren are in used to be the major faction that believed that dividing up the continent and splitting it up into small harmless nations was the way to go but ever since the endless war of the humans started we have booked very little to no success and our faction has lost members. Now its just me and Boren, everyone else is in the unity faction that believes that to achieve lasting peace all must be under one rule.


    We did however book one victory 20 years ago by training the great sage and sending him out to achieve peace. But eventually due to Joren the only peaceful country producing weapons that success was thwarted very fast. That is how we lost our last bit of influence we had on the council.


    There are still other small factions but the faction that wants to achieve unity is by far the most prominent one and their most recent work has affected you and your family. I have no hard evidence but it could be that the assassins that were sent to kill you and your family were payed to do so by the council. That is why we''re doing our best to keep you hidden from the others and that is also why we use old facility''s like this training center and that transformer that you broke. Besides that we only still have our old house.''


    ''Wow, that is quite a history. So all major geopolitical happenings were ya''lls doings?''


    ''Yeah pretty much all of it was planned by Boren.''


    ''How come you''re not sure if the council sent assassins? Do you know of anybody else who could''ve done it?''


    ''Could''ve been the people that produce those weapons that your father forbade. Or Jin, or Jagun. It could''ve also been an attempt to capture you.''


    ''No, if that were so then why did they also kill the ambassadors in Jagun if they wanted to capture me.''


    ''It could''ve been a cover-up that whether they failed or succeeded they wouldn''t be blamed for it.''


    I still couldn''t believe it but I understood what she meant and I did consider it as a remote possibility.


    ''But in the end you''re not sure.'' I asked.


    ''Nope, but I''m sure that if the council has investigated the incident which I am sure they have we will find information about it in the secret files that Boren is trying to decipher downstairs.


    Its gotten quite late; we better go sleep, you''ll have to pick your pace with your training tomorrow so I''ll be assisting you in the mornings and don''t you dare slack off.''


    We had then finished our dinner and after cleaning up we said goodnight and she went to their house through the elevator and I went to bed after a long adventurous day.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    The next morning I woke up early; I couldn''t sleep well because I kept having a nightmare about grub. Somehow in that nightmare the grub came to life and kept on growing until I couldn''t escape anymore then I got eaten when it opened its big nasty smelly mouth and that''s when I woke up. I tried to go back to sleep but that failed so I went to the training room early instead. Just to get my mind off of things. I went through the system to look for the manual and when I found a button that said ''manual'' I pressed it and a drawer appeared from under the screen within which was a very very thick book. I couldn''t pick it up with my feeble arms so I changed myself back to a Tamarin with my transformer gauntlet. Having grown in stature and strength picking up the manual was still a very tough task but I completed it none-the-less. I then brought the manual to the kitchen so I could have my breakfast as I was reading it.


    For breakfast I had some oatmeal, turns out the manual talks about every single race that has ever existed so only a relatively small part of it is specifically about the Tamarin and the training that a Tamarin must undergo. Nothing about the Tamarin as a people or their culture though. I guess that information can only be found in the Database. I was wondering why but after I imagined how big the manual would''ve been if all of that had also been included I just smiled and shrugged at the absurdity of that thought.


    What I already knew was that the Tamarin, Druid and the Klaver tribes were originally one race. Druid are small lizard-men that can run fast, jump high and are very agile. The Tamarin are a little bigger than the average humans, they look just like the Druid but are twice their size and they tend to live in cities within and under the forest. The Klaver are just very odd. They live in giant colonies under the ground creating giant mounds on the surface from the dirt that they dig up. They have very tough hides, they''re strong and have very high endurance which allows them to dig up dirt from amazing depths and bringing it up all the way to the surface for hours on end without taking a break. Things they all have in common is that they are all allied to one another, they can all stealth and they all dislike humans because a lot of the jungle has been burnt during the endless war leaving them less and less room to live in. Now they form a joint front to defend the jungle that they have. The Druid dislike Joren and the Klaver dislike Jin due to their proximity to them and past conflicts.


    What was found in the manual was much more specific information. I learned that the people of the forest (Tamarin, Klaver and Druid) all secreted a certain substance from their scales which when turned into mana allowed them to bend light around themselves thus becoming invisible for the eye. Then I also learned about the minimal requirements for each of their abilities.


    Some Druid races strung tiny ropes from their hips to their hands and in between and would then secrete the invisibility substance along the ropes. Then by a special chemical reaction by turning the substance into mana it connected itself to the ropes thus forming wings with which the Druid with their light weight bodies could fly around. Some Tamarin had previously attempted to copy this technique but the Tamarin are too big and heavy to achieve a similar result. The first and last attempt ended with a fatality. The Tamarin also tried to copy the Klaver by digging cities underground but because the Tamarin aren''t as strong they could only dig up to a certain depth before it became too long of a walk to effectively expand their cities so instead they built upwards through the base of a tree to live in the tree. To protect their city they use invisible blades, the pores in the hands of the Tamarin are bigger than those of the other races allowing the Tamarin to hide their daggers or weapons for a short time by covering it with the invisibility substance and continuously applying mana-conversion to it. There sure was a lot of things that were plainly unknown to me. Not just the Tamarin but all races had their own special abilities that go far beyond what any human can do. Maybe it wouldn''t be so bad to be hooked up to the database. Just being able to access the information on all these different races and how they use mana could greatly increase my knowledge. With that knowledge I could maybe make new machines. Like an invisibility machine perhaps. If only I could figure out how to make that substance.


    As I was deep in thought I hadn''t noticed that Mys Tara had already arrived. I didn''t even hear the elevator open its doors.


    ''What are you having for breakfast?'' she asked.


    ''oatmeal'' I answered as I woke up from my deep thoughts.


    ''I see that you''re reading the manual as I told you. Quite a lot to take in isn''t it.''


    ''It sure is, the more I come to know the less I seem to know.'' I said while making an overly serious and contemplative facial expression.


    ''They grow up so fast. I have to continually remind myself that you''re still a kid and not blame you for the irresponsible things you say and do. But I''m glad to have met you.'' It was silent for a while as she looked at me with a meaningful smile. I have no idea what the meaning was though.


    ''Well though the timing was awful I am glad to have met you too. I think its safe to say that you and Boren are my first two friends.''


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    ''What! Your first? But you''re so funny!'' she answered all surprised.


    ''Yeah I used to not really care but now that I seem to have lost those that I did care for I have started to care more for those around me when they''re around me instead of after they''re gone.''


    ''What is up with you today, you say all this stuff that only adults should say and think about. Where did your childhood go?''


    ''I was a child for but a while. Last time I was a child was when I went with my father to a science fare in Jin. It fascinated me what science and technology could do. I was all enthusiastic about it and worked long and hard to make various machines and contraptions. Not that many of the actually worked. But at one moment in time. I am not sure when exactly, I just started taking things very seriously. I didn''t really do science for fun anymore. I stopped being a kid a long time ago.''


    I was staring at a random spot in the emptiness of space reminiscing about my childish enthusiasm for science only to later find out that science can also take lives and that taking lives is the current focus of all scientific leaders. Very discomforting, sad and it completely demotivated me for a long time. This was shortly after I had made the mana shields I think.


    ''Well since I am your friend now, I guess I''ll be there if you need someone to talk to. After you finish your breakfast we''ll have to go downstairs to check how far Boren is with his work. Maybe he''s got it working already. Or that''s what I''m hoping for anyways.''


    So after I finished my oatmeal and put away the manual we went down the cave to where Boren was. He had built a strange contraption in the middle of the cave with what seemed to be parts of what used to be the mana turrets.


    ''Is that what I think it is'' asked Mys Tara as she beheld the metal orb like contraption.


    ''I hope so.'' Boren answered. ''Its not finished yet but I hope I can give a small demonstration around lunchtime.''


    ''What am I looking at?'' I asked wondering what they were thinking and talking about.


    ''You''re looking at the beginnings of a transformer.'' Mys Tara said; then turning to Boren: ''Do you have everything you need? Are there any parts that you need me to get for you?''


    ''In fact, my processor is getting clunked up because of the long day so I need to run a cleaner and rest for a bit. While I do that you can get the missing parts. I knew you''d come so I made a list.'' Boren answered.


    ''I thought you could show how it worked around lunchtime yet you are still missing parts; how does that work?'' I wondered out loud.


    ''Well I know that Mys Tara will be able to bring me the necessary parts before lunch time and after running the cleaner it should be much easier to finish things.


    ''What is a cleaner?'' I asked


    ''Its a program on my mainframe that cleans up the clutter that builds up from my thought processes. Its something I need to do daily but if its a day where I think more than other days I need to do it more often. This day has been especially long and I have had to think a lot. Especially with deciphering the plans for the transformer. Due to that my thought processing speed is almost halved.'' Boren explained as he looked for a nice place to lay down.


    ''Well see you both in a bit, I''ll be taking a rest now.''


    ''Sure, I''ll wake you up when I got the parts.'' Mys Tara said right before Borens red eyes turned off. Then they turned back on but they weren''t red anymore. Instead they were replaced by green flickering lights.


    ''What is that?'' I asked Mys Tara.


    ''Oh that just means that he''s offline, his mind is now active in the database instead of his metal body. This way he stays awake while his physical mind is being refreshed.'' She then turned and headed to the cave-exit again. I obediently followed. ''I guess I''ll just be training and reading then. What should I train first?''


    ''You should train speed first, This way you can build your leg muscles first which is a good basis for future training. So just keep doing that marathon thing and switch it up from time to time with the sprint one. I''ll see you before lunch, I got things to do and find. Good luck on your training'' she said as she walked off at a high pace to the elevator and up to where ever she was off to. I of course went back to the training room and selected the running training. I trained diligently and gained 12 agility and 6 endurance this includes the 5 points I previously got from running I also gained 3 more levels.


    I am now level 5 also somehow my wisdom went up by 40 which could explain my witty remarks and deep thought process this morning. My stats as of now are:


    hp 750


    strength 10


    endurance 16


    agility 22


    accuracy 10


    intelligence 110


    wisdom 50


    Intelligence also rose due to me reading the manual this morning I guess. The hp or health points also seem to go up by 50 every time you gain a level. Seems I learned a lot about how these stats work. But as long as I don''t gain any actual abilities I won''t be of much use yet.


    But it was almost lunch time so I turned off the training and went to get something to drink, running sure does make one thirsty.

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    I was drinking some water as I wondered how I was going to get privacy in my bathroom since it had now become a passage way. I figured that I could just put a cloth there. Ow wait, I am a Tamarin, I can just learn how to stealth through activating mana on the secreted substance from my scales. So I started by focusing on my hands where the biggest pores were and from where I could produce the most of the invisibility substance. of course nothing was gonna come out by focusing on it. Maybe there is a muscle or something that pushed the substance out. As I was trying to figure out how my unfamiliar body worked Mys Tara walked in.


    ''Goodmorning Frank''


    ''Goodmorning.'' I replied still focused on my hands trying to find where the muscles and tendons were and how to use each individual one which was harder than I thought.


    ''What are you doing?'' Mys Tara asked.


    ''I''m trying to get that invisibility substance to come out so that I can use the bathroom undisturbed.''


    I answered still focusing on my hands.


    Mys Tara laughed; ''Well that is an interesting application of a race''s ability. I''m guessing you''ll need some guidance on how to do that. You did get it right that its easiest to start from the hands.''


    She then showed me how to do it. Turns out that the glands for the substance are hidden behind your ears protected by your skull which is why it is slightly protruding their compared to other races. By focusing on that part of the body my ears twitched and the invisibility substance started coming out. I then tried to activate it with mana which was quite hard but after a couple failed tries I succeeded.


    ''Good job. You did that quite easily. Next you''ll have to do it with all your pores and be accurate with mana all over your body.'' Mys Tara said as she hinted that we should go down the cave to bring the goods to Boren.


    ''I don''t think the mana is going to be all that difficult. I finished a new manashield when I was in Jin and I still know how to make it. It covers the body with mana strenthening the skin but if I recalibrate it slightly it''ll be able to affect only the invisibility substance. I can try to make it with the broken mana-shield but I''ll need several of them and a mana-battery.''


    ''I can arrange that. Manashields aren''t actually new. We''ve got quite a few of them here.''


    We then walked down the cave.


    ''That is good to hear. Didn''t you say that you were going to bring parts to Boren?''


    ''Yes I did.''


    ''Can I see them?''


    ''You can see them when Boren gets them, it''d be nice if we finished all of this as quickly as possible and get a move on things. There''s been word this morning that Jin has allied itself with one of the tribes in the Tamarin Jungle. I don''t know which tribe it is or how they did it but we need to go see and fix things as quickly as possible. If at all possible the day after tomorrow.''


    We walked into the cave downstairs and were greeted by Boren. Mys Tara then opened the pouch that was on her leather belt and from it she took cables colored in red and blue and several metal parts. Then she stretched the pouch to open even bigger and a chair came out of it. As they did that they looked at me expectantly and just smirked when they saw my surprised face.


    ''What. How. Nooo, are you a magician too?'' I said.


    Boren and Mys Tara laughed at my reaction. I started wondering if I had said something wrong. Then Boren answered, that''s an inventory bag though to call it a bag is wrong. Its more like a portal or a duplicator. In it are the base elements to make anything and after scanning items that you need you can use the inventory bag to duplicate that item and all other items you have ever scanned in. It is quite handy but the base elements needed to refill the bag are very expensive so usage of it is limited.


    ''Wow, I had no idea that was possible.'' I said earnestly.


    ''Can I have one?'' I asked.


    ''No.''


    ''Can I just study one then? Maybe I can make one myself.''


    ''We could arrange something so that you can see the blueprints which can be found in the secret files but that will take a while and it is not high on the priority list. Lets just say that you''ll get it as a reward for completing this quest of peace for us.'' Boren said as he went back to putting the parts Mys Tara provided to good use.


    I tried to learn how this transformer worked but I didn''t even understand what the parts were let alone what they were for. To me they seemed like just plain metal. After a couple minutes Boren was finished and asked Mys Tara to sit in the chair that she brought which was now at the center of the new transformer machine. A familiar voice coming from the machine then asked: ''Who are you?''


    Mys Tara answered ''Mys Tara''.


    ''Would you like to change back or do you want to change to a different race?''


    ''Change back.'' she said.


    The rings of the machine then started glowing sending particles that shone brightly into Mys Tara''s body. She then also stated to light up and after a matter of seconds the light stopped shining and Mys Tara had changed from being a Tamarin into a metal woman like Boren.


    Her face stayed the same but then metal like instead of with scales. She had also shrunk so that she was a little shorter than Boren. Even though I was younger I was adult sized due to the Tamarin growing up at a younger age. This of course is so that the they can survive in the jungle easier.


    It made me feel uncomfortable. But I''m glad those days are over now. After Mys Tara got out of the machine I went to sit in.


    Then Boren said:


    ''No, not yet. You must first complete the request we have given you. We have a contract for which you have to be a Tamarin. You can''t do much of a peace keeping mission if you change back to a human.... Sorry.''


    I stopped and after running it through my mind I figured that he was right. I want to bring my father home but if my home-country is decimated by an alliance between  Jin and multiple other races then there wouldn''t be a home to return to. So I got out.


    Boren gave me a sorry look, seems like he''s been practicing using his face more. I guess they hadn''t needed to do so due to the fact that there was nobody around here that payed any attention to emotions. Kinda like how I used to be, not caring about emotions and feelings of loneliness.


    ''Anyways I''ve learned how to secrete the invisibility substance from my hands and I''ve learned how to activate that with mana. I am sure that after I learn how to secrete it from my entire body I''ll be able to stealth. But to make moving around easier while stealthed I''m hoping to use my newest mana shield to activate the substance.''


    Boren and Mys Tara were quiet trying to figure out what I meant.


    ''I mean that I''ll be needing some parts for it. I''ll make a list shortly. If it is something that allows me to finish the contract faster you''d do that, right?''


    Boren smiled, ''Good thinking, using more technology where ever possible to quicken the process. But didn''t your mana shield break when those turrets shot at you?''


    ''True, but won''t the stealthing be enough?'' I asked.


    ''But if you are hit once while stealthed you''ll lose your ability to stealth. We''ll have to think of a way to prevent that from happening. But you should continue your training. You''ve got 2 days to be ready for the trip to the Tamarin.''


    Mys Tara then took me by the arm and dragged me back to the training room before I could say or ask what Boren meant with ''thinking of a way to prevent that from happening.''


    It wasn''t like I''d get attacked on a diplomatic mission with the peaceful Tamarin right?


    As we reached the training room I decided to ask Mys tara what she had prevented me to ask Boren.


    ''Why is combat important if I go to the Tamarin for a diplomatic or reconnaissance mission?''


    ''That is because if you want to be allowed to be a decision maker in the Tamarin tribe you need to be an adult. You are not an adult but you must first go through the trial to prove that. If you don''t go through the trial you will not be considered an adult and nobody will listen to you. If you finish the trial within record time you''ll be allowed one wish to be granted. That is what we''re trying to do. This also involves combat in the form of hunting the Thornwolverines.''


    ''Okay, so I just need to beat a couple thornwolverines and then I can tell them to not ally with the humans. After that I can come back here, change back to being a human and go find my father in Jin.''


    ''Its not just a couple thornwolverines. It is one. We have a simulation training that involves thornwolverines so you can get a feel for them.''


    Mys Tara then turned to the screen and selected the Trial from the trainings list.


    The room changed into a jungle again and again there was a circle to stand on. So I did, within seconds I was hit and my health points dropped to zero after which the training area dissipated.


    ''See what I meant Frank? The Thornwolverines can stealth and they are highly dangerous. Just finding one of them is already incredibly hard let alone fight and beating it.''


    I was still regaining my composure from the surprise attack that came out of nowhere; ''So that''s a thornwolverine. You''ve been a Tamarin, how were you able to beat the thornwolverine?'' I asked as I looked up to the now somewhat unfamiliar face of Mys Tara.


    ''I cheated, Boren also turned into a Tamarin and he assisted me while being stealthed. He had been looking for the thornwolverines for months and notified me to request to participate in the trial when he did. Our plan was to beat the thornwolverine in record time to be allowed to speak but the Thornwolverine was too strong. We had thought that it would be easy since we had found it prior to the trial beginning. But the thornwolverine is not only stealthy but also extremely fast. I was completely caught by surprise by its speed and Boren jumped in to save me. This was noted by the Tamarin and thus I was disqualified and kicked out of the tribe. I found you shortly afterwards. After finding you I put a note where you slept warning you of the Dragoon Riders but I guess you overlooked it. Now you know why I was there that night.''


    We were quiet for a while. I was kind of shocked, beating the thornwolverine and finishing this quest seemed ever more impossible to me. Unlike Mys Tara I wouldn''t have the benefit of being able to find the thornwolverine beforehand because I had to hurry. Then there was the fact that my men and servants hadn''t had to have died at the hands of the dragoon riders if I had just woken up properly and found the note. The note probably got lost due to us being in a hurry and the servants having to clean up my sleeping quarters in a hurry. But there seemed to still be something that Mys Tara was hiding from me. If she wasn''t able to beat it even after training here then how did the Tamarin themselves beat the thornwolverine?


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''I know what you are going to ask and you should know that we don''t know the answer to that. If we had we wouldn''t have gone to such an extent to get to the thornwolverine. Don''t underestimate it like we did. This training with the thornwolverine was made after we came back with the info about it recorded in our minds so this is the only edge you have. You get to practice finding and fighting a thornwolverine here so you won''t be taken by surprise when you''re in the jungle.''


    ''I just hope that this will give me the edge I need. Any other tips on how to beat it?''


    Mys Tara stayed silent. ''You will have to figure that out by yourself. I gotta go, I''ll be back for dinner so you better train and make a list of the parts you need for the mana-shield.''


    Distraught that there were no tips on how to beat the thornwolverine I looked down with a frown and said ''sure, I''ll do that.''


    Mys Tara then left the room and I pressed the reset button again losing all the experience and stats I had gotten before but as I was told, those stats are not my abilities only a representation of what the machine thinks my true abilities are. Then I did the same training again which ended much in the same way. I repeated it again; and again; and again; and again resetting to regain my health points each time that I died and never did I survive more than a couple seconds nor was their any sign of any improvement on my part. So I went back to the kitchen to cool off and to make the list of materials I needed for the mana shield. Then it struck me. One of the parts I needed for the mana shield allowed the machine to monitor where the mana was being activated. If thornwolverines used the same technique to stealth then it ought to be possible to monitor its movement based on the mana that it used to stay stealthed.


    I made a small victory dance.... correction an over the top victory dance. There was finally some progress, I had thought of a grand new idea for a mana-machine and this also meant that I would be ever closer to finding my father.


    I then went on to design how the mana-monitor should work. The mana monitor for the mana-shield had a very short range and was specifically designed for the mana-shield. To be able to see mana I would need to change the mana-monitor and make it user friendly. But how? I had no idea... I figured that since Boren was so apt at making the transformer he might also have some knowledge on mana-machines that I could use. Plus I am pretty sure that his metal body is run by mana-machines though I can''t be entirely sure.


    I went down the cave and saw that Boren had gone back to deciphering the secret files in the database.


    ''Hey Boren, can you help me out with something?''


    Boren turned around and said happily; ''Hey Frank, I was about to call you out. I figured out how to hook you up to the database. This way you can access all our race''s information instantly and be able to communicate with us while you''re in the Tamarin jungle.''


    ''Will that help me build mana-machines?'' I asked; expecting a ''no'' but instead he said;


    ''Yes, I mean our entire bodies are built out of mana-machines and so is that transformer; otherwise you wouldn''t have been able to activate it right? Though we don''t call it mana; we call it electricity.''


    ''Elec... what? I hope you don''t mind me just calling it mana; much easier to remember.''


    ''Sure suit yourself but if you''re going to look in the database for it it''d be best to know the term that you''re looking for right?'' He replied; he then pressed a button and a hole opened up.


    ''It is time to hook you up. Also just in case I will classify your existence within the database as ''classified'' thus the Ancients won''t find out about you being here. If they did find out we would be in some serious trouble; thought you''d like to know that.'' Boren said with a monotonous tone as if he didn''t really care.


    Seeing as it had become a necessity and since Boren took the necessary precautions I just placed my right hand with the bracelet into the hold that had appeared. After which the rim around the hole lit up green. Boren then pressed a couple things on the screen which made the lights turn white for a couple seconds and then they turned off.


    ''Finished'' Boren said.


    ''That was all? I don''t feel very different.'' I replied.


    ''Well that is because the access was given to your bracelet. So as long as you have that bracelet you retain your access to the database. This way when you turn back to a human you will automatically lose that bracelet and any access to the database. Nothing for the Ancients to trace back to you.'' Boren explained.


    ''Sounds fair''; I then applied some mana to the bracelet to activate it and saw that a new button had been added to the main menu. It now also included ''database''. So I opened the ''database''. After I opened it a list appeared of files, Ancients, access files to things in the golden city and more.


    Boren took my right arm and clicked on something that said ''settings'' he then pushed a couple more buttons and then a hologram appeared. He did it quite fast and sudden giving me no choice nor a chance to respond to what he was doing. The hologram then asked ''may I help you?''


    ''Electric devices'' Boren said to which the bracelet reacted with a long constant buzz which went on for quite a while.


    ''What is it doing?'' I asked Boren.


    ''Its finding all files that talk about electric devices for you.''


    ''How long does that take?''


    ''It depends, sometimes just a couple minutes and sometimes a couple hours. This will allow you to train a bit more right?'' Boren said.


    '' I have heard about the trial from Mys Tara, I now know that no matter what training you two did you were still unable to beat the thornwolverine.'' I replied.


    ''You are wrong, we were able to chase it away with the two of us.'' Boren replied.


    ''But how long did you train to be able to do that?''


    ''3 months... I guess you are right. Its impossible to cramp 3 months of intense training into 2-3 days... But there is no other way.''


    ''This time you are wrong Boren, there are other ways and I''m gonna try and do it my way since I''m most familiar with my way as you are with your way of doing things.'' I replied with a smirk.


    ''So does that have anything to do with your sudden interest in mana-machines?''


    ''It sure does but I won''t share the specifics until I am certain that it will work.''


    Right as I said that the buzzing noise from the bracelet stopped and it displayed but one sentence:


    ''Error, too few search criteria''


    ''What does that mean?'' I asked Boren.


    ''That simply means that we need to be more specific when saying what we want to find in the database.''


    Boren took my arm again pressed okay and search. The hologram reappeared and asked ''may I help you?''


    Boren then turned to me; ''So what was it you were looking for specifically?''


    ''Electricity sensor.''


    The search result appeared immediately, there was but one file that talked about electricity sensors or rather mana sensors.


    ''Oh I see, smart thinking there Frank; so your plan is to detect where the thornwolverine is to be able to find it easier.''


    ''You aren''t far off but that''s not all that I''m planning to do. I am also going to beat it by detecting it.''


    I pressed the file and information and schematics appeared on how to make them.


    ''You don''t happen to have one of these laying around do you?''


    ''Normally not no but the mana turrets that we broke had mana-sensors on them. As you know your brain and central nervous system produce and use very minute amounts of mana and these mana sensors are able to pick up even that little bit of mana. The range is somewhat limited but within that range it can register all mana.''


    ''Then why didn''t it see us when we duck for cover in that ditch?''


    ''That is because it can''t register the little bit of mana from our bodies through the rocks that we were hiding behind.''


    We then proceeded to the wreckage of the turrets and after comparing the various parts with the schematics shown on the bracelet we were able to find one of the mana-sensors.


    I had no idea how to work with mana sensors so I left making it user-friendly to Boren since he had more experience in that field. Not surprising since he has been living in this tower for centuries, maybe even millennia.


    I then drew up a list of things I needed for the mana-shield. I decided to use one of the mana sensors from another turret wreckage since these sensors were way more accurate than the ones I had used previously with the margin of error being so little that it was completely negligible while the ones I used to work with had a margin of error that was so big that if I used too much mana I would set my hair on fire.


    After giving the list to Mys Tara I looked through the database for more mana-machines and through looking at the schematics I was able to come up with ways to improve on my mana-shield design which would come in handy since the schematics were of the parts that Mys Tara was going to provide me with. The size of the device became quite small too so I should be able to carry multiple shields on me and maybe some spare mana-batteries in case they were used up. The mana-batteries of the Ancients seemed much easier to charge than the ones that I had designed.


    I decided to go sleep a bit earlier since I woke up way too early I would need the extra sleep if I was to make all that I planned to make tomorrow. If it all works out I might be able to test it a couple times in the training simulation against the thornwolverine and then if its a success I could leave for the Tamarin straight away. Its all quite exciting and it did help me get my mind off of things like the loss of family, the loss of my own body and the loss of my normal life. For the first time since all of that happened I felt content and happy to be alive.


    I went to bed and I knew that I was going to sleep well, less worries and more good stuff happened today after all.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    ''Goodmorning'' proclaimed Mys Tara to me as I slowly woke up from my slumber. I had some warm milk last night because I couldn''t sleep. I woke up around midnight and was too restless to go back to sleep so I went to the kitchen and drank some warm milk after which I went back to bed. The warm milk contributed to me sleeping out.


    ''Wakey Wakey, eggs and bakey'' Mys Tara joked as she got ready to throw a bucket of ice-cold water in my face. I could barely see it coming through my squinched eyes but it was too late. I tried my best to protect myself with my arms and hands. But the cold water came rushing and I got drenched. My hair; my face; everything was wet and cold. I looked at Mys Tara grudgingly as she let out a maniacal laugh.


    Her laughter sounded very metallic, as if her abdomen was empty and hollow. Her laughter woke me up more than the rush of ice cold water I thought to myself as I got my drenched pillow and pulled ''m over my head to cover my ears. I then said ''Stoooawn'' I was trying to say stop but somehow it turned into a yawn. This attempt to stop Mys Tara from hurting my ears with her laughter only made things worse as Mys Tara dropped to the floor rolling around laughing even louder than before. I had had enough; this was not how I had wanted to wake up so I stood up and was on my way to the bathroom to dry myself off with a towel but Mys Tara stopped me by saying ''Wait'' in between her laughter as she was gasping for air she continued; ''Your clothes are wet.''


    ''That is what happens when you drench someone with ice-cold water'' I replied sarcastically. ''Boren has a new set of clothes for you to wear. It is for when you go to the Tamarin Jungle tomorrow. He''s in the kitchen.'' She then covered her mouth with her hands again to prevent the next outburst of laughter reaching me but I heard her laugh anyways. I guess Mys Tara is the visualization type. One who visualizes situations after they have happened reliving whatever it was that they or in this case she has gone through.


    After concluding that I turned around and went to the kitchen where I saw Boren.


    As Boren noticed me coming into the kitchen he said worryingly ''You''re wet! Are you alright? Did you pee in your bed?''


    My face turned red as I loudly proclaimed ''NO! It was Mys Tara! She threw ice cold water in my face!''


    Boren chuckled to which I replied with a glare showing that I did not approve of such jokes nor did I appreciate them nor do I appreciate people laughing about it. Especially not if they are older than me and thus ought to be more mature. But I guess being older doesn''t inadvertently mean that you''re going to be more matured.


    ''I was told that you found a change of clothes for my quest.'' I said to Boren. ''Could you maybe get it for me since walking around in these wet clothes isn''t good for my health. I could catch a cold from it.


    ''Ah yes, I''ll go get your clothes. I''ll be right back. I put them in the training room.''


    Boren stood up and went off to the training room so I took this opportunity to go to the bathroom to dry off my face. After drying my face and putting my hair in order which was all over the place; probably because of the restless night;  I went back to the kitchen. Boren had already rushed back and was putting the clothes in order. Mys Tara had also arrived in the kitchen to put the bucket back where it belonged. ''I''ll get her back for that'' I thought to myself. Then I walked to the table on which my new clothes laid as I said ''So those are my new clothes.'' Then I recognized what they were. ''Those aren''t clothes! That is a Dragoon Riders armor! Why would I ever wear that!'' I said. I started getting upset. ''What is this? Some kind of sick joke!? Trying to make me wear the clothes of they who killed my servants guards and kidnapped my father?''


    ''No, No! It''s no joke; It''s part of the plan. You need it as a reason for being unknown to the Tamarin.'' Boren said.


    ''What do you mean? Don''t you think it is about time that you tell me about this plan?'' I said with an angry tone of voice; ''I mean I am a part of it am I not?''


    Mys Tara and Boren then looked at one another for a moment and after some non-verbal communication in the form of shrugging and nodding Boren conceded.


    ''Okay I''ll tell you about our plan. Why not come sit with us first?''


    So I went to sit down at the table trying to calm down so I could listen more carefully. When we had all taken a seat Boren started talking. ''This is the plan: First we drop you off in the Tamarin jungle where you will sit at a campfire. The Tamarin, Druid and Klaver don''t use open fires in the forest in fear of forest-fires so they will find you in no time.''


    Mys Tara then took over as she thought Boren was taking too long to explain; ''There is actually a forth tribe of the people of the forest. They lived in the jungle a long time ago but due to the war and deforestation they lost their home and decided to become nomads. They stealth themselves or wear disguises most of the time. But from time to time they come back to the jungle to participate in the trial of hunting a thornwolverine. You will pose as one of them that was living with the Dragoon Riders. Your alibi will be that you used to hide amongst the dragoon riders but due to their recent involvement in the upcoming war you fled. You will have fallen, hit your head and lost most of your memories.''


    ''That sounds pretty far-fetched...'' I reply; Don''t you have any better ideas? Also what is this fourth tribe called? ''


    ''They are called the Huin Seseum'' replies my bracelet. ''So I should change into a Huin Seseum right?''


    ''Yeah you should but you can''t. The Huin Seseum is one of 3 races that you are unable to change into due to a lack of information.''


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    ''So they are even more elusive than the people of the forest?''


    ''They definitely are. The northern part of Jin is where they used to live; They lived in the jungle on the floating rocks. Because those rocks are constantly moving and they provide a constant amount of mana they stay permanently stealthed. But the place has become inhabitable due to Jins continual effort to dominate the world.'' Boren answered somberly.


    ''That is sad. So what about the other 2 races that I''m unable to change into. Which are they?''


    ''One is the dark elves, the place they inhabit is toxic and they have never come out of their toxic environment. We only know of them from hear-say. Then there is also a race that lives on Lunar Isle to the north.''


    ''Why do you have no information on the race on Lunar Isle?'' I asked.


    Lunar Isle is part of the kingdom of Joren but has its own government due to it being too far from the mainland to be properly governed from here but it shouldn''t be so remote so that even the Ancients can''t get there right?


    ''It is out of the range of the Golden Towers signal so we can''t get there.'' Boren answered.


    ''Oh'' I laughed a bit, ''didn''t expect that. So is it dangerous for you to go out of range of the signal?''


    ''That is classified tactical information that we cannot just share with anyone. But I think we can trust you.'' Mys Tara said. She glanced at Boren who seemed to agree so she continued: ''When we lose signal to the golden tower the bodies we then inhabit stop functioning because our minds which are in the database can''t keep the connection. It is like our minds are in a different place. But we are only able to access the database when we are in this form that we hold right now but the database is able to connect with us even when we transform into a different body. So regardless of the body we cannot get out of range. As for how far that range actually is... Sorry can''t tell you simply because nobody has tried to find out except theoretical that is.''


    Then we stayed silent. In my head I went back to where this conversation started. The Dragoon Rider armor. ''I guess I can understand why I should wear this. Where did you get it at anyways?''


    ''I stole it from the Dragoon Riders when I was gathering Intel from them; plus it was a little payback for what they did to you and your father.'' Mys Tara said; I can almost imagine her Tamarin face grinning but her metal face shows very little emotion. Kind of like how I used to be. Perhaps changing bodies has changed me. The chemical make-up is different and that could be affecting my brains; I wonder if I''ll change back to my sulky quiet self if I change back to human.


    ''So this must have happened pretty recently, did you do that while I was training or something? What sort of Intel did you gather? Anything about my father?'' I asked.


    ''Well I did it while I was waiting for some of the equipment for the transformer since I had some time to kill. I did gather some Intel on your father but...'' she looks at Boren again.


    Boren shakes his head.


    ''Anyways, what do you want to eat?'' Mys Tara asks out of the blue.


    ''Wait, what just happened? Don''t play tricks on me, if its about my father I have a right to know.'' I reply. I have to know, what could it be I wonder.


    Mys Tara looks at Boren again; ''I think it is better if you don''t know, it could interfere in you completing your quest. But I can promise that completing the quest will get you closer to your father.'' Boren says seeing that Mys Tara didn''t know what to say in this type of situation.


    ''I can decide that for myself; just tell me and I''ll know if its good to know or not. I need to know regardless.'' I say slightly frustrated. They seem to look down on me because I''m a kid. I don''t like that, it hurts my pride.


    Boren sighs; ''True enough, you have a right to know but I want you to reconsider, we are doing this because we care for you. You mean a lot to us and we don''t want to see you hurt.''


    My eyes widen after these words; what could it be that they would think I would feel hurt.


    ''Now I really need to know.'' I say.


    Boren sighs even more looks to Mys Tara hoping that she knew a way to convince me but he could see it in her red eyes that she had no idea either. It almost seemed as if they were able to talk to one another with words. Though if I think about it; since they are both connected to the database it wouldn''t be very surprising if they could.


    Boren then finally decides to reply; ''Mys Tara found out from hear-say that your father wasn''t captured but defected to Jin due to which his life was spared by the Dragoon Riders. He is now in the Tamarin Jungle trying to convince the people of the forest to join Jin''s cause of taking over Joren. I am sorry but it seems like your father is the enemies diplomat and you two will have to wage a war of words to prevent a war from breaking out. You will need to protect your family and country in this quest.''


    My mind had gone blank after hearing that my father defected. Sure he had a lot of friends in Jin but he always talked fondly of Joren and his older brother the king. He was one of the key corner stones that made up the royal family that led Joren to prosperity; why would he ever take all of that away? I need to find out. I need time to think, I need... I stood up; ''I''m going to go to the training room''


    I didn''t need to say much more; my face said it all so they let me go.


    I went and tried looking for a training that would allow me to clear my mind and to get rid of frustration.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    I picked a training called ''PUNCH!''


    100 Tamarin appeared in the training room so I went to the closest one and went into a stance from which I could throw a punch with all my might so I could get rid of these cluttered up thoughts that I''m breaking my head over.


    I then threw my punch aiming for Tamarin''s stomach since he was quite a bit taller than I was but my fist went right through without giving me the sensation that I hit something. The Tamarin that I hit disappeared after its hp dropped to 0 from that one punch but it left me with a very unsatisfied feeling. This wasn''t going to help me get rid of these frustrations. The screen then displayed ''1 down, 99 to go; press I for information''


    The doors then closed shut; I worried and went to the door but I couldn''t open it so I started hitting and yelling but there was no answer. I kept doing that for a couple minutes but seeing that it didn''t reap any results I went and checked the information on the display screen: ''Due to over-use of the ''reset'' button you have received this training as punishment. To exit you must complete 3 trainings including your current one. The other two will be chosen randomly.''


    That seemed annoying but easy enough; haven''t been able to do much training because of various reasons and since I didn''t have breakfast yet I wanted to get this finished as soon as possible. It seems that yelling and hitting the door for a couple minutes helped me get rid of most of my frustrations; it felt good to be able to think clearly again. I just had to do what I could when I can and not worry about tomorrow. I''ll have plenty of time when that time comes I figured.


    So I went to the closest Tamarin again and hit it but its hp only barely dropped so I hit it again and again and again. It took 10 hits before its hp dropped to 0 and disappeared. This had me confused and since the training screen didn''t give an explanation on this training I checked the database through my bracelet and this is what it said about ''PUNCH:


    PUNCH is a training where you practice punching as fast as possible, if you take too long it will take more hits to take down the target, You have to hit once more for every minute that you are participating in the training.''


    Wow, so I have to hit all 98 Tamarin 10 times to get out of here. Or wait, I won''t be able to do that within a minute so it will probably be even more and harder the further I go. I then rushed to the next one and hit it as quickly and often as I could. Then I ran to the next and the next and the next. By the third one I already noticed that I had to hit 11 times instead of 10 so I increased my speed but by the 10th I noticed that this wasn''t going to work. I was already tired and my speed had dropped plus I had to hit them 13 times now. It was going up slowly but my endurance won''t be able to last me through the 90 that were left; I had to figure a way to cheat the system without using the reset button.


    So I am not physically fit, endurance is low but the stats say that my intelligence is well above average but what good will that do me? It only helps while controlling mana.... I face-palmed; mana! of course! The system here is probably set up with mana detectors to check how the system is supposed to react to my movements so if I use mana it will register it as me hitting.


    I then started shooting a volley of mana bolts at the closest Tamarin. I was able to conjure and shoot 10 bolts per second which would mean I''d be able to beat one every 1 ? second so within 2 minutes I should be able to finish all of ''m and so I did. Didn''t take long at all. After I finished the training a new random training was picked after I went back to the screen. The name for this training was displayed on the screen: ''Stealth-training''


    ''AARGH!'' I screamed, I hadn''t gotten the part for the device to help me stealth yet.


    I quickly checked the information on this training on my bracelet since it appeared to show more specifics than the information on the training screen itself. After finding it this is what I read: ''Stealth-training, stealth for 1 second; required amount of time will double for every minute that you are unable to complete the training. Time goes up by 10 seconds for each consecutive training session.''


    Wow, the creators of this training were very unoriginal. Pretty much the same mechanics as last training. Anyways I first focused on secreting the solution out of my hands and rubbed the front of my body from top to toe, I had just dried myself off so the solution stuck to me quite easily. Then I went to a corner and tried to activate the solution with mana. It didn''t work so well but the parts that I did activate with mana stayed stealthed for quite a while even without reapplying mana. This gave me hope. This is the plan I came up with:


    1. I stand in the corner so I only need to stealth the front part of my body. This is also because I found it extremely hard to apply the invisibility secretion to my back with my hands without missing a spot.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.2. I cast a wall of low density mana and just scan my body from top to bottom within 10 seconds because that seems to be the limit at which I need to reapply the mana-conversion to keep myself stealthed.


    So I gave it a try but by the time I finished the stealthing the requirement had raised by one second meaning that I had even less time to stealth my entire body.


    So sat down in the corner so that it would take less time; I reapplied a bit more of the invisibility-secretion and reactivated it in a similar manner as before and thus I stayed stealthed for 3 seconds and thus completed the training.


    Phew, these training sessions sure force one to find creative uses for ones abilities however much lacking I may be. After the stealthing wore off I could see that I had slightly burned my clothing, I''m just glad that my new set of clothing is already waiting for me after the next training otherwise I would''ve been in trouble.


    The third and final training was dodging arrows. I checked the information on the database again and this is what it said: ''Dodge-training:


    Depending on the preferred level a certain number of Tamarin copies will shoot mana-arrows. When you are hit you lose health points. When your health points drop to 0 you will lose. You need to dodge 5 arrows in a row. This number will rise by 2 for every extra minute that it takes you to accomplish this trainings goal.''


    5 arrows shouldn''t be too hard I thought as I was facing the wall but when I turned around I see that there is a slight problem. The level at which I had previously done this training seems to have carried over I concluded after seeing 100 Tamarin with bows and arrows on the ready.


    Maybe this will make it easier, since they all shoot at the same time I only need to dodge the first 5 arrows to complete it right? That is how I tried to give myself some courage, losing all my hp and having to wait for my hp to regenerate would mean that I''d be stuck here even longer. Not something I''m particularly looking forward to.


    So I step onto the spot and get ready. 100 arrows are aimed at me and contrary to my hopes all of them come at me as one giant mass; there was no way to dodge 5 and not get hit by all the others. It was literally a wall of mana arrows. As I got hit my health points dropped to 0. It was over, I was never going to get out.


    Then the door opened... I was very surprised so I looked at the database again searching for an explanation and thus I learned that ''completing'' a training also includes losing one. So I could''ve just lost all three and gotten out... All that stress and pressure for nothing... I heard a sigh of relief, Mys Tara was standing in the door-way.


    ''Hey Mys Tara! I''m hungry!''


    Mys Tara laughed; ''Already got you a breakfast then I noticed that you were stuck here. Sorry about that! I forgot that I had prepared a second prank for you...''


    Wait what! So this wasn''t my fault but hers? Oh of course, she was the one who told me about the reset button but left out what happens if you overuse the reset button... I wanted to think that it couldn''t have come at a worse time but after mauling it over in my head I couldn''t wholeheartedly agree since the stress- and relief from this training did help me get things straightened out. I also now understood what was meant with ''completing the quest will get you closer to your father.''


    I may end up on opposite sides but it does allow me to convince him to return.


    With renewed strength I reply to Mys Tara as I walk to the door again; ''Its okay; I guess I sorta needed it. Now lets get some food!''


    The rest of the day was spent making the stealthing devices and practicing with them in the stealth training. After several hours we finished the machine and its design was flawless. I wore it under the dragoon rider armor to protect it and I grounded the dragoon armor chest piece with the use of copper wiring to the ground. We encapsulated the copper wires with stone beads so that the mana that would get redirected wouldn''t instead go through me while being grounded. That would be painful and it can cause for temporary and in rare cases permanent paralysis. Boren also copied the final product of the mana-shield/invisibility device several times so that I would have some spares. It was set to match with my body so Boren and Mys Tara couldn''t use it without first heavily modifying the parameters which was the most arduous task in making one of these mana-shields because it had to also react to the bodies movement by sensing the fluctuations of the mana-flow in ones nervous system which is slightly different for each and every individual. After dinner we go over the details of the plan, we pack our things and we will leave tomorrow before sunrise so that our campfire is easily seen. I made sure to drink warm milk before going to bed and not at midnight thus I slept well and woke up on time.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    When I woke up the next morning I felt quite excited. I was kind of tense, I had never gone on an adventure like this. I mean thousands if not millions of lives were hanging in the balance. If I succeeded I could prevent my home-country from entering a war of which there was no end. But the challenges that lied ahead seemed hard to overcome. It is hard to have confidence when it is unsure what you''ll be facing. It is very easy to succumb to fear. But I had made up my mind yesterday. I have to do all I can when I can and right now that involves having a good large breakfast; who knows what I''ll get to eat when I arrive in the jungle. I picked a couple things from the kitchen menu and had started eating when Boren and Mys Tara arrived. They had brought some more equipment for me.


    ''Hey Frank, you''re up early.'' Mys Tara said as she emptied a bucket full of ice-cold water in the kitchen sink. It was probably meant for me. I had already changed into my Dragoon Rider armor. It was kind of big; especially around the stomach area. I guess those Dragoon Riders have plenty to eat which isn''t surprising since they are riding predators. They are quite literally on top of the food-chain. It felt kind of uncomfortable but it did allow the space for my equipment to be hidden.


    Boren put a pair of glasses on the table and Mys Tara put down a couple more of the mana shields.


    ''Here are the final pieces of equipment.'' says Boren.


    I understood about the mana shields but; ''What are those Goggles for?'' I asked.


    ''Those are the modified mana-sensors, you''ll be able to see the thornwolverine and the Tamarin move around even when they''re stealthed with that. I''ve tested it out and it works like a charm.''


    Says Boren as he sticks out his chest. I guess he''s pretty proud of this.


    But I can''t disagree with that; its truly amazing to think he''d get the mana sensor to fit inside a pair of glasses let alone have it actually display mana in real time.


    Boren was totally waiting for me to praise him or something; thus it felt kinda arbitrary since he''s sort of praising himself already with his attitude but I praised him for it anyways.


    ''Nicely done, couldn''t have done it better myself. Thank you for doing this, I am sure that we''ll be able to beat the thornwolverine this way.'' I said as I tried them on and saw the insides of Boren and Mys Tara which made me quickly take them off.


    ''What do you mean with ''we''?'' said Mys Tara; then turning to Boren: ''Didn''t you tell him?''


    ''Tell me what? I thought you guys would be following me into the jungle.'' I said.


    ''I guess I hadn''t yet'' says Boren in reply to Mys Tara; then he starts talking to me: ''We won''t be joining you; I have to work on figuring out the database and Mys Tara is going to keep an eye on the Dragoon Riders to make sure that they don''t do anything stupid like attacking Altara or something.''


    I was quiet for a bit, my confidence in completing this quest dropped a bit. My responsibility in this matter just tripled and if anything went wrong I would have nobody to turn to...


    So just in case I asked: ''Can we go over the steps in the plan just in case that I forgot something?''


    ''Sure'' says Mys Tara;


    ''Step 1, you make a campfire in the jungle and wait for the Tamarin to come to you.''


    ''What if they don''t come?''


    ''Then you just use your new goggles to locate them.'' Boren said.


    Mys Tara continued: ''Step 2, you tell them your alibi of being of the Huin Seseum. ''


    ''I think I have difficulty just remembering that tribe name...''


    Boren laughed, ''They don''t really call themselves that though, they tend to just call themselves the traveling merchants.''


    ''Oh, now that''s easier to remember. Good thing to know.''


    ''May I continue?'' Mys Tara says, slightly irritated at being interrupted twice.


    I nod so she continues: ''Step 3, you go to the elders to ask for permission to take the trial. This is only as per tradition so don''t worry.


    Step 4, going through the rite of initiation which is basically eating up as much as possible before you go off into the jungle.


    Step 5, find and kill a thornwolverine. You will be watched so no cheating like how we did it.


    Step 6, Return with your kill and go through the rite of becoming and adult. We do not know how things work after this but basically it will allow you to have a say in the council meetings which will take place in 3 days and after that every 7 days. So time is of the essence.''


    ''That was a lot to take in all at once, good thing I recorded it with my bracelet in case I forget.''


    I had finished my breakfast and picked up the mana shields and put them in what had become something of a pouch and put on the goggles. I need to get used to wearing this anyways.


    ''Lets go, I''m ready.'' I said as I looked at Boran and Mys Tara. We checked if we had everything one last time and then went to the elevator. Instead of up what I had been expecting the elevator went further down. When we arrived at the bottom floor we went out the elevator and we entered a damp room. ''What is this place?'' I asked.


    ''This is the engine room for the elevator.'' Mys Tara answered while Boren kicked open a drainage shaft. It was big enough to crawl through and it was very dirty but that''s what Boren did; he crouched and then started crawling into the drainage shaft. Shortly after his legs disappeared into the drainage shaft Mys Tara followed and well... I wasn''t asked to follow them  into a damp dirty drainage shaft so I just stood where I was fiddling my thumbs. Didn''t feel like going into that.


    ''Hey Frank; why you not following us?'' I hear Mys Tara''s voice coming out of the drainage shaft.


    ''Oh you want me to follow you into that dirty dark drainage shaft?'' I yell as I crouch to look into the drainage shaft. I was quite surprised by what I saw; Mys Tara wasn''t there. Then part of Mys Tara''s face appeared. ''Its not a drainage shaft; the real drainage is that pit in the middle of the room; this is a secret room where we''ve got our transportation pods.'' Her face went back into whatever it was she was looking through. ''Oh so that''s an invisibility screen or something. That''s cool.'' I said as I started crawling into the what I previously thought to be a drainage shaft. After a bit I felt that I had reached some type of curtain even though I didn''t see anything there besides the continuation of the drainage pipe. So I peeked my head through and saw that right behind this curtain was a set of stairs that went down to a giant hall with tunnels going out of it in all directions. In the center of the room stood a small circle of metal boxes with big white round orbs at the end of every track that went to the tunnels. I then pulled myself through the invisibility curtain and went down the flight of stairs. I had never witnessed such a large room before. All of the walls were gold coated; just like the outside of the tower and the floor was made up of large marble slabs. ''What is this place?'' I called out.


    ''This is our secret pod-room and it is also the very base of this tower; When you build up high into the sky you need to make an even bigger, heavier and deeper foundation. This room is at the center of that foundation with a network of tunnels in all directions to balance the tower. These tunnels are big wide and heavy. They reach to the ends of this continent and can bring us to every corner of these lands. This is also how Mys Tara brought you all the way from the mountain-pass to the tower.


    This place is simply amazing; I slowly went down the stairs as I didn''t want to fall while I was looking at the ceiling and the walls wondering about all the technology and architectural designs that went into making this place. Boren and Mys Tara were already heading for the center of the room so I quickly followed. Having reached the center Mys Tara started pushing things and pulling handles on one of the metal boxes in the center as Boren went to one of the big white orbs that now seemed to be much bigger up close than they had seemed when I was still heading out of the drainage shaft. As Boren approached one of those white orbs he simply touched it and golden lines went out from where he had touched it and the white orb opened up revealing places where we could sit. ''This way Frank; we''ll be taking this pod. Mys Tara is inputting what station we''re going to. I will lead you out to the surface from these tunnels when we arrive. Mys Tara will be staying here to wait upon my return.''


    I stepped in, waved at Mys Tara who seemed to be way too focused on what she was doing and as Boren was urging me to hurry up I just went in and sat down. Boren sat across of me and before I could say my proper goodbyes the doorway that had previously appeared just as easily disappeared. There was a small opening at the other end of the orb that allowed one to see through it. As I stood up to see what was through there Boren said ''sit down!''.


    I quickly sat down and as I did I was strapped in place and the orb suddenly started to move. After a few corners I could see that the lighting of the big room we had been in before was now behind us. We were now in the tunnel that would lead me to the Tamarin Jungle. ''To your destiny'' Boren said. It sounds pretty corny but as long as you have a destination I guess you do have a destiny so I couldn''t disagree.


    ''How long till we get there?'' I asked.


    ''What do you mean? We''ve just arrived'' Boren replied. The orb seemed to have stopped. But it only seemed a couple seconds. Boren touched the outside of the orb and we got out of the opening that appeared. Both ways I could see nothing but tunnel. ''It didn''t feel like we traveled that fast'' I said


    ''We didn''t, it only seemed that way because the time within the orb slows down making long trips seem very short. Its one of the more practical uses of time travel.'' Boren replied.


    ''What! Time travel!?'' I had not expected that, let alone Boren saying it as if it was no big deal.


    ''Yeah, time travel; The Ancients are time travelers from the future here to learn how to build peace.''


    Thought you might have wanted to know that. Boren said as he looked back to me. He then touched a part of the tunnel wall and it gave away from the cavity that appeared I could see a stairway going up. ''This is the way up to the jungle. Good luck Frank.''


    ''Okay'' I was still somewhat stunned about the big revelation; sure they had high tech things in their tower but time traveling.. After taking a step onto the staircase I turned to Boren. ''So if I fail this quest you''ll still be able to fix it if you travel back in time right?'' I ask.


    ''Haha, if that were so then we''d be able to do it ourselves. Sadly that is not the case. It takes a very long time to gather the appropriate amount of mana to turn back time. Right now our tower is only generating enough mana to support slowing down time in very little amounts in very limited space. We''ve been gathering mana for a long time now so that we may be ready to travel back to our time once we find out how to build peace. If time traveling had been that easy we could''ve just gotten peace in our own time by trying it continually and repetitively. The balance of the world isn''t so broken to allow that.''


    ''That''s too bad.'' I replied as I let down my head.


    '' You''ve got one shot so give it all you got. ''Boren said as if he was trying to cheer me up. It only made me feel the responsibility weigh even heavier upon me.


    ''Go on then'' Boren said as he slapped on my back forcing me to take a few more steps up the stairs.


    ''Goodbye...'' I said as I turned around one last time but the opening had already closed off; I was saying goodbye to a wall. The wall then started moving towards me forcing me to go up the stairs so I turned around and kept moving. I guess time is like that wall. It will force you to stay on the move regardless of your doubts and fears regarding the unknown future ahead of me.


    After about a minute of going up the stairs it stopped, there was a door above me similar to the door that I initially had fallen through. I tried opening it by activating it with mana and as the doors opened the floor went up carrying me outside. It was pitch dark, I couldn''t see a thing. I really needed to get that fire going fast. Made me wonder how it is that the people of the forest can live in this dense jungle without using fire to light their way. As I thought of that I recalled how I could just light things up with some mana. The uses for mana really are quite broad. Lighting, moving stuff, stealthing etc. Don''t know how life would turn out if there was no mana; was what I was thinking as I gathered a small orb of mana in front of me. As it started giving more and more light I was able to make out my surroundings. I was under a tree in the tree-trunk. I then turned around looking for a way out and I saw an opening behind me through which I went out into the jungle. My mana light allowed me to see the giant roots left and right of me that came out of the tree that I had come out of. There was not much vegetation around. Probably because the tree had drained the ground from its nutrients and it also blocked out all of the sunlight permitting nothing to grow under its branches.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.It seemed like the tree I just came out of is of the Giganticus species. They are known to grow bigger and taller than other trees. Some are known to be more than 3 times as tall as ordinary trees. But here in the jungle they seemed to have grown even larger. This particular one I estimated to be 3 times as tall as the city walls of Altara. As I looked around amazed by the size of the tree-trunk and roots I remembered my quest.


    I was to find wood and start an open fire, if possible in an area where people can see me. My Dragoon Rider armor had metal claws on its gauntlet and since the ground was moist I would need to use these claws to climb up the tree and get some firewood. I thought it was a good plan and I kept thinking that but after 10 minutes of non-stop climbing I''m starting to realize that I might have picked a wrong tree to climb. But having gotten as high as I have it is no small feat to head back down. But then I have nearly reached the canopy. The lowest branches of the tree are also its largest each being about the size of a normal tree. After a couple more minutes I finally reached the lowest branch and sat on it trying to catch my breath again. My arms felt numb and getting down wasn''t going to be very pleasant if I wasn''t going to regain my strength before starting on my descent.


    As I was resting I stopped lighting my surroundings with mana.


    ''I wonder if I can see things if I turn on my goggles.'' I said to myself. I then put on my goggles and I could see little streams of mana going through the tree-trunk into its branches and twigs all the way to its leaves. It was a light green colored mana. The world looked quite a bit different. a lot prettier I''d say. I then looked around but because the regular range on the mana detectors is 200 meters I couldn''t see anything except parts of the tree that I sat on. Thus I activated the zoom function with which I can focus to things further away but it made my field of vision shrink more and more the further I looked. I tried adjusting the focus but that went way too fast. My vision shrinks considerably and all in the distance where I was looking I see a tree heavily zoomed in on its organic structure. I then looked over the edge down to the base of the tree I was on to see if I could see the mana-lines of the tree-roots but instead I saw a group of thornwolverines.


    I couldn''t believe my eyes. Thornwolverines the very beings that I had been looking for had found me before I even started looking for them. It seemed like they had noticed my presence; now how am I going to take advantage of this situation? First step in situations like this is taking in all the information and structuring it like I do when I try to figure out solutions while mana-geering.


    1St; the pack of thornwolverines has 9 of ''m, 3 of which are right beneath me and the other 6 are sniffing around the roots of this tree. It might be that they saw my mana light; how else could they have found me.


    2nd I''m up a couple hundred meters above the ground; they can''t get to me but getting to them isn''t very easy either.


    So the problem to be solved is 9 targets at a long distance. Possible solutions: Either I get close or I use ranged attacks. Getting close would take me another 10 minutes after which I''d be too tired to battle with all 9 of them. Plus they may have already run off if I were to try that. So I would have to figure a way to attack them from range but how do I get all 9 of ''m? I''m afraid that if I don''t then they''ll just lay in wait for when I get down. I could shoot mana bolts but those are highly visible especially at night so they could easily dodge them. It would also scare the others away. I needed something that could hit all 9 of ''m at the same time.


    ''Ah!'' I had an idea, I started using my mana to burn a hole into the tree. The training I had done with making letters would come in handy, I''m now able to shape things so if I shape a stairway on the inside of the tree I can easily, stealthily and safely get down. I wouldn''t go all the way down but getting closer from where I could safely and more accurately hit them with mana seemed like a good option. I did it right above the branch I was currently at so that the light would get blocked and not scare off the thornwolverines. I still checked but after having made sure that they didn''t see it I picked up the pace and within 2 minutes I had opened up a hole big enough to step into the tree. But the tree was way tougher than I had previously thought. Plus sometimes the wood-chips would catch fire due to the mana. Sparks+fuel+air= fire thus cutting wood with mana is like playing with fire. I stopped working on the hole, it was too dangerous and it was going to take way too long. At this rate just climbing down would''ve been a better option.


    There remained but one option in my mind. Fire. I was going to go all out. surprising them with a flashy attack might alert them but it could also scare them. My mana shields could hold off their first couple attacks my claws could be reinforced with mana to burn the tree and slow down my descent to a rate at which it wouldn''t be dangerous. Reinforcing it with mana would also make it cut through the tree faster. It''d be similar to rappelling I guess.


    The couple minutes of burning a hole in the tree had given me enough time to where my arms weren''t tired anymore so I went ahead with this Leeroy Jenkins attack on the thornwolverines below. I looked down but I could only see 5 of them now. at least they won''t be attacking me all at once. I then reinforced my claws and lodged my right-handed claw into the tree. I had already scanned the surroundings with the zoom in function and knew that nobody was watching so I changed my left-arm to the giant-racial arm. Giants had very tough skin so I was hoping to fend off and defend with my left arm as a shield I had also covered myself with the invisibility liquid so that I could stealth after I landed. Preparations seemed complete so I jumped off the branch slowing down my descent with my reinforced claw I went down at a dazzling speed lighting up the tree-bark that had been cut up by my claw I almost seemed like a shooting star. The loud noise of ripping and burning wood combined with the fire made all the thornwolverines look up in surprise. The mana that I reinforced my claw with also seemed to have activated my stealth-liquids so all the thornwolverines could see was an extending strip of burning wood. They weren''t sure what to do; right before I reached the ground I kicked off of the tree-trunk and jumped towards one of the thornwolverines still stealthed. I then formed a sword of mana in my hand with which I slashed down upon the first thornwolverine splitting it right in half without giving it a moment to react. The instincts of these thornwolverines was top notch, they all stealthed the moment they saw my mana-sword through which they had also located me. The closest two already jumped towards me; just like in training I dodged with help of the mana-sensing goggles of course. Switching the mana-sword to my giant-hand and using my claw I retaliated seriously wounding and crippling the initial 2 aggressors. Of the 9 there were now only 2 completely healthy and 4 more should be nearby. The two crippled aggressors shouldn''t pose too much of a danger anymore was what I thought as I heard sounds behind me, I looked back and saw the 4 thornwolverines coming out of the trees-base where the door had been approaching me stealthily. They instinctively stealthed and crawled towards me making as little noise as possible but some burnt wood-chips had fallen from above and they made a pretty loud crisp noise when they were stepped on. The thornwolverines had very tough skins so they didn''t even notice the burning wood-chips that they walked over.


    The best defense is offense I thought to myself as I shot two mana-bolts to the two thornwolverines that had stood by the two wounded thornwolverines while I charged the other 4 that had appeared. I slashed in front of me, 3 of them dodged it entirely but the fourth was a young thornwolverine with no combat experience whatsoever. The two that I had left behind me dodged the mana-arrows and came straight at me with a loud growl; I shielded myself with my giant-hand but fell to the ground due to the weight behind their attacks. I then quickly activated my second mana-shield and rolled away. The thornwolverines attacked again but didn''t bite through anything but thin air. Visibly confused they looked around still on guard but my plan now came into practice. I had previously burnt a large portion of the branch that I had stood on so I sent another mana bolt to a vulnerable spot of the tree-branch through which it broke off and fell towards me. I then changed my hand back and ran as fast as I could. The thornwolverines heard the noise above them but due to the darkness they couldn''t make out what they had heard fast enough. The tree-branch fell right on top of all 6 of them with a loud thump and cracking of wood leaving only the two crippled thornwolverines. I then shot mana-arrows to the remaining two who were crippled and distracted by the big falling branch leaving them no time to defend themselves.


    This just comes to show that a battle is made through preparations and not only through fighting. I had used up one mana-shield which is a very low expense compared to having taken down 9 thornwolverines. Also I didn''t need to worry about making a campfire anymore since the trail that I had left on the tree was still burning nicely having a much bigger effect than any single campfire could. I wasn''t too worried that it would cause a forestfire though since the tree was way too big for the fire to consume. It could take several days before the tree was consumed by the fire and due to its size and prominence there was no nearby vegetation that could carry on the fire after the tree was finished burning.


    I then got out my rations, the climbing and the battle had left me hungry. I needed a campfire to warm my food on, I used the fallen burning wood-chips for that, gathering them and with the assistance of some mana I was able to heat up my sausage on a stick quite nicely. I had never cooked before but not much could go wrong with heating up a sausage. It had already been prepared earlier this morning so it really was just warming it up. Cold sausage is also edible just not as good. Today was the day of firsts. First time getting up this early, first time on a time traveling device, first time cooking and first time encountering and beating real-life thornwolverines. Ah, how could I forget; first time climbing up a giant tree as well. Plus first time in the Tamarin jungle.


    My sausage had warmed up enough so I started eating it and as I was eating it I could feel my senses turn on; ''Who are you?'' I heard in my head. I turned around and as if I instinctively knew where the voice came from I zoomed in and saw a Tamarin approaching me.


    They had come; if I messed it up now there would be no hope of either safely returning let alone preventing a war.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    As a Tamarin your hairs are quite thick and thorn-like. Much like the Thornwolverines but then without the dangerous pointy ends. It seems that Tamarin are able to communicate with one another through these. They work like some type of antenna. I had previously noted that there was a strange different compartment in my neck that seemed to have a connection with this. So I tried using it and though I couldn''t hear what I was saying I could sense it. Thus I replied: ''I am a traveling merchant; I came to participate in the trial.''


    ''I am doing the trial right now.'' signaled the Tamarin to me as he was quickly approaching. Behind him were 2 more who stayed at a distance. I guess I can presume that they are overseers of the trial; possibly they two overseers who caught Boren and Mys Tara in their attempt to cheat.


    They Tamarin had reached the edge of the brush and came out into the opening created by the big tree I was under. He looked up to see the line of fire that was still burning brightly and noted the huge tree-branch that lay split in pieces at its roots. As he approached he also noted the dead Thornwolverines that lay all around. He was visibly taken-aback by it.


    The overseers had also reached the edge of the brush but they stayed in the brush when they saw the open field and that the other Tamarin was slowly walking towards me.


    ''What happened here?'' said the strange looking Tamarin to me.


    ''I came to this jungle and was stalked by these thornwolverines so I went up into the tree but when it was morning and they were still around I figured it to be best to take them down. There had initially been 9 of them but when I saw only 5 I jumped down and took them out. While I was doing that the other 4 appeared from a hole under the tree but luckily that branch fell down from above.'' I replied.


    ''What is your name?'' he asked.


    ''My name is Frank; or that is what they have chosen to call me. I lived with the Dragoon Riders before but they seem to have gotten themselves in an odd position so I had to leave. This place was closest by. What is your name?''


    ''Ah where are my manners, I am Mathijs of the Tamarin and I am becoming and adult today. Could I maybe borrow one of those thornwolverines? They are very hard to find and you''ve got several already.'' Mathijs said with a grin.


    ''You do know that you''re being watched, right?'' I replied with a grin of my own.


    Mathijs kept grinning but I could see in his eyes that he had no idea that he was being watched; kind of despaired he asked ''Did they hear what I said?''


    ''Nope, they''re too far away for that, you''re still safe and won''t be accused of your fraudulent nature. Besides; what is up with your outfit? Why all the leaves?'' I asked, it was quite silly looking.


    ''That is for camouflage!'' he said.


    ''Can''t you just stealth?'' I asked.


    ''of course not; it is very hard to learn how to stealth only a few are able to do it and even fewer are able to do it while moving around which is a necessary action when you''re going hunting. You know moving to find prey and such...''


    ''I can stealth while moving around and I can see all who are stealthed. '' I replied; seems like I have gained some great abilities in these past couple days. Wouldn''t have dared to dream of these things just a week ago.


    The two overseers had seen that something was amiss and came out of hiding; still stealthed they approached us. ''I see, so these two are able to move while being stealthed.'' I yelled in their direction. Mathijs twitched; he probably thought they came to disqualify him but I need all the allies I can get so I was planning on covering for him. I had spotted a tenth thornwolverine approaching. As it goes with all stealthed creatures (including these two Tamarin) they are confident that they can move around undetected. This particular thornwolverine seemed to have been the pack leader as it was vastly bigger than the others; he was walking straight towards me.


    The two overseers unstealthed after being surprised by me having noticed their presence so easily. I then turned to Mathijs and requested him to swing his sword as hard as he could 2 steps behind him, he saw the intention in my eyes and after having heard that I could see all those who are stealthed he seemed to have trust in what I was saying and thus did exactly what I had told him. He quietly and quickly unsheathed his sword and as he turned he made a big jump backwards slashing his sword side-ways as fast as he could cutting off the neck of the thornwolverine who had jumped up in surprise. As the head was severed it unstealthed. All except me were surprised.


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    ''Wow!'' said Overseer A.


    ''Huge!'' said Overseer B.


    Mathijs after standing still for a moment sheathed his sword again turned to me and whispered ''thanks'' before the overseers got too close to hear it.


    ''How did you see a stealthed thornwolverine behind your back?'' They asked Mathijs.


    ''I.. uhm... knew it was there.'' He seems to have made something up.


    ''How did you know it was there Mathijs? We were following you and we didn''t even notice.''


    ''I had noticed the movement in the brush which is why I slowly walked towards Frank here and as I turned my back to where I knew it was; it was sure to approach at a certain speed from a certain angle all just as I had planned. It was a gamble but my hunting instincts never fail.''


    He was very good at bluffing.


    Both overseers were slightly nodding their heads in admiration and then turned to me; ''and you. Who are you?''


    ''I''m Frank and I wanted to participate in the trial but after taking down these 9 Thornwolverines I don''t feel like that it is that big of a deal anymore.'' I said with a prideful grin.


    ''Who are you? As in where are you from?'' expounded the other overseer; ''it is obvious that you aren''t from around these parts otherwise we would''ve know you for your skill and you wouldn''t be wearing those awful clothes.''


    ''I''m a traveling merchant and these clothes are a necessity when you trade with the Dragoon Riders.'' I replied sternly, my grin had disappeared after seeing that these guys couldn''t take a joke.


    ''How did you notice us?'' Asked the other Overseer; Their eyes now slightly squinched as I was questioned.


    I wasn''t going to give away my secret that fast. Besides mana-shields and mana-detectors hadn''t reached these lands yet so even if I did tell them the truth they wouldn''t understand. I guess it was time for me to bluff;


    ''I was taught by the dragoon riders to sense other living beings, through this sense dragoon riders are able to ride on dragoons but my ability is only at the level where I can sense others approaching.'' The best way to bluff is by making it seem like no big deal.


    ''Wow, didn''t know that Dragoon Riders could do that.'' Said Mathijs who was listening intently.


    We then noticed that it had become lighter, the sun was coming up. ''Lets continue the talk in the city; follow us.'' Said Overseer A to us both. It seems that I was able to find the city and beat the trial all at the same time; I might also be able to discuss peace with the elders today.


    The Overseers then started running to the west, I went with Mathijs following after them as best we could. I had never run much before. Happens when you stick to a lab for half of your life.


    ''Oh, you''re quite slow.'' said Mathijs as he looked back to me. It seems that he was keeping pace with me. ''Well if you can ride dragons then running isn''t something you do very often.'' I replied as we went into the brush. Maybe I should have done the running training more often is what I thought. The two overseers who were now not stalking someone quickly cut the vegetation in front of them with their swords without slowing down their running. Me and Mathijs simply followed in their paths. It was quite useful since I wasn''t able to keep up with them I would''ve surely lost sight of them.


    ''How far is it?'' I asked


    ''Its about half an hour to get to the village where we''ll be having breakfast; we''ll be heading to the city afterwards.'' Mathijs answered. It seemed like he was quite in shape as he had no trouble speaking while running while I was unaccustomed to this. Thus I set my mind to running and asked no further.


    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


    Thank you RR for the spelling check, it is very helpful since the software I am using doesn''t include the English dictionary for some reason.


    Also for you dear readers who have made it all the way to chapter 14; here''s a little fun fact bout me:


    I used to be an avid gamer but ever since I started writing this story gaming in general has become very boring to me and I tend to much rather think or theorize about the world and story.


    I am trying to bring a message of peace hope and happiness in my story but for some odd reason there is war, confusion and regret going on in this story instead. But I am sure you know that a good ending only comes after the troubles have been washed away; with ice cream! though I''m allergic to cream.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    We arrived in the village, There were houses built in the trees and on the branches. The trees supporting these houses were similar if not larger than the tree that I had tried to climb. It seems that they built platforms attacked to the branches in the tree with ropes so that people could pull themselves up or let themselves down using the ropes. Simple yet effective. There were also some red-brick houses built on the ground and Mathijs told me as he saw how I was looking around with wonder;


    ''There are more houses below ground, the ones here aren''t that impressive though; the ones in the capital are much bigger and more impressive. I''ll show them to you when we get there.''


    I had read about the Tamarin cities but seeing it is a whole different thing entirely. Thus I didn''t need to act surprised while I was genuinely surprised at how different everything was. It wasn''t what I had expected to see of the people of the forest. We then stopped at what seemed to be an Inn where the two overseers ordered some food.


    As the waiter came to take our order as we sat down at a table in the corner of the Inn. We were the only customers while it was still early in the morning I figured.


    ''I would like to order a sloan please.'' said overseer A


    ''Ah, I would like the same'' said overseer B. The waiter then looked to me.


    ''Uhm... what is a sloan?'' I asked.


    ''Its a specialty around these parts; you don''t seem to be from around here so you should try it. Its really good.'' She said.


    ''Okay, I guess I''ll be having a sloan then.''


    ''Well if all three of you are getting one I might as well get the same too.'' said Mathijs with a grin on his face.


    ''4 Sloans!'' the waiter yelled to the kitchen then with a friendly voice and smile ''anything to drink?''


    ''No thanks; we''ll be heading to the capital so that won''t be needed.'' said overseer B.


    The waiter then went to the kitchen.


    ''How far is the capital?'' I asked.


    ''Its about 4 hour run from here.'' said Mathijs. He grinned.


    ''I don''t think I''ll be able to run that far. I said.'' worriedly.


    ''Who said we''re going to run? We''ll be taking the zip-line of course.'' said overseer A; ''oh so you''ve never been to this jungle before?'' asked overseer B as I looked at Mathijs grudgingly for scaring me like that. Then I answered the overseers:


    ''Nope, first time. I grew up amongst the dragoon riders as I''m sure you can tell by my armor. But because they have joined Jin in their effort to take over the world I fled. I did not want to take part in any war. So I came here but didn''t know where to go and then I was ambushed by those thornwolverines.'' I explained, the waiter had returned with our Sloans and gave each of us one. I stopped talking and was completely distracted by what was presented on my plate.


    ''Uhm... What is this exactly?'' What I saw on my plate was a hot steaming sludge with what looked like frog-legs drifting in it. As royalty I was not too keen on eating frog-legs...


    ''That is Sloan'' Mathijs said, he again showed off a stupid smile as he without a doubt had realized that I wasn''t used to this... food? Not sure if I can even call it that. I kept staring at it as the others dug in making all sorts of gross noises.


    Then with his mouth half full and a frog leg hanging half out of his mouth one of the overseers said: ''We were following Mathijs to make sure that he completed the trial of defeating a thornwolverine. Its been 2 months since he''s started.'' I couldn''t help but look away and I did my best to keep my breakfast of before inside. The smell had also now reached my nostrils and it was horrid.


    ''I am sorry but I need to step outside for a bit.'' I said as I stood up and walked away hunched over with a hand in front of my mouth.


    The waiter came to me; ''are you alright? You look sick.'' With a worried look she continued; ''Maybe eating some Sloan will help.''


    I threw up; it seems I have a weak stomach for these things. The waiter kindly escorted me outside by the arm yelling to the kitchen to help clean up. After I was outside I sat down with my head between my knees. The waiter stuck around for a bit and signaled to Mathijs en the overseers that I was alright.


    ''Who are you?'' the waiter asked;


    ''I''m Frank, you?''


    ''I''m Angela and why did the golden tower send you?''


    ''huh!'' I looked up all surprised; ''how do you?''


    ''I am just good at noticing things, those metal devices in your coat; I saw them when you were all hunched over. It is also common knowledge now that Mys Tara and Boren who were the last traveling merchants were actually Ancients so another Ancient revealing itself wouldn''t be very farfetched now would it.''


    ''ha.'' I smiled; ''so that''s how it is. Well I hope you can you keep it a secret.'' I asked.


    ''Why?'' she asked pulling a questioning facial expression; ''We like the Ancients, if those two would have come back we would have welcomed them immediately purely based on the fact that they are Ancients like you.''


    ''I am not an ancient; I''m a human.'' I answered as I looked at her face which went from a happy questioning face to a distressed questioning face. I don''t blame her. The humankind had wrought a lot of destruction and even after 20 years of peace in these borders the grudges from that time had not disappeared.


    ''Ah...'' was all she could say then as she was thinking; ''Why should I keep your secret?''


    ''I was asked to come here by Boren and Mys Tara as per request of the Ancients. Now that the war is about to reignite on this front and I have come to prevent that from happening. To prevent war from reaching your people; So what you should be asking is: why should you not keep my secret.'' I replied, I then breathed a bit heavier than usual. Did not know that I had that in me. I was very surprised by my own powers of persuasion.


    ''So despite all that why should I keep your purpose here a secret?'' Angela replied unfazed by my powers of persuasion; the force is strong in this one. ''Well my purpose here ought not be a secret since it fits perfectly with my alibi of having escaped from the Dragoon Riders. Though I would prefer to reveal it myself.'' I replied as I looked up to the trees above further contemplating on how I was going to go around doing that.


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    Angela then said: ''Well as you know soon there will be another council meeting and all who have past the trial and have something to contribute to the council is permitted to attend. So I''ll be heading off to the capital soon as well so if you need any help just let me know.''


    My eyes widened as she spoke, it seems I''ve gained an important ally. From what I have heard there aren''t a lot of Tamarin that have passed the trial so each and every ally that I could gain in the council would be a huge help towards furthering my message of non-aggression.


    ''Thank you!'' I said with a big smile as Angela turned away due to the bad smell from my mouth.


    ''You''ll have to wash out that mouth, let me get you something to drink.''


    ''But I don''t have any money'' I replied.


    ''No this one is on the house; don''t want you to scare off any customers with that smell.'' She replied with a smile as she stood up and went back into the restaurant.


    I felt a lot better now. It was a welcome distraction from the nauseous feeling plus I was able to gather some valuable information. I had no idea that the Tamarin looked up to the Ancients like that. The humans in general are just too busy waging war and making weapons to really care about the other races, including the Ancients... That is until now. It seems like Jin has chosen to disregard the treaty of diplomacy isle where every nation was forced to sign a treaty to not involve other races into their war. I thought about it some more and I think I figured out what loophole they are using. As long as they don''t fight in the war as an army its alright but ambushes and assassinations can''t be called a war. The Dragoon Riders have proven themselves to be masters of ambushes and I am sure that these people of the forest are masters of assassination and information gathering with their stealthing capabilities. So even if this quest ends up going wrong and the Tamarin assist Jin, they will still not be accused of war-crimes.


    I sighed and closed my eyes for a bit enjoying the morning sunlight that shone through an opening in the canopy on my face. The jungle turned out to be quite cold in the early mornings so it was nice to warm up a bit.


    Then Angela came back out with a drink in a ceramic cup. It was red-brownish of color but it smelled nice. I had once heard that 70% of the taste is actually smell but then I did hear that from a perfume salesman who specialized in perfumes for food.


    I had grown quite thirsty, besides the sausage I had nothing for breakfast since I left the golden tower and that little bit that I had eaten I had thrown up. The aftertaste of puke is also quite bad and it dries up the mouth and throat so hydrating is very important. It was a warm drink so I sipped it ever so slightly. Angela was still watching close by making sure that I liked it and I sure did like it. It gave a slight burning sensation in my mouth and throat and then filled it with warmth and comfort finished by an aftertaste of sweetness. It was kind of like honey but it didn''t taste like honey and it didn''t look like honey.


    ''What kind of drink is this Angela?'' I asked as I looked up.


    ''Its a sugary substance that we harvest from the trees; do you not like it?'' she asked as she slightly nudged her head to the side.


    ''No I love it, its great. If I had money I''d buy as much as I could.'' I replied quickly and enthusiastically.


    ''That''s good.'' Angela said; ''Just don''t over-drink or you''ll get drunk.'' she said as she turned around and went back into the store.


    I was shocked, I had never drank alcohol before. I was still too young is what my father said. He also said that leaders ought not could their minds with alcohol telling us a story of a foolish king who did and thus led his kingdom to ruin. Later I found out that that foolish king was his own father. But I guess nobody here will notice that I am too young to drink due to this adult-like body. I thought as I looked down at my body. Plus alcohol affects ones bodies more if the body is small and my body is much bigger now so I think it''ll be fine; I took another sip; and another. Then the Overseers came back out with Mathijs. Mathijs was still chewing on a frog-leg.


    Overseer A:''We will be heading to the stables now, can you walk?''


    I gulped down the remainder of the cup and said; ''sure I can walk'' and I stood up. Shortly after I started flailing. It seems that drinking that much so fast had an unexpected effect on my body and mind. The world was turning and words seemed to weave together into one long humming sound. The colors became more lively and I felt as if there were no boundaries.


    ''I guess that is a no.'' said overseer A.


    Mathijs was grinning again and overseer B went back into the Inn and reserved a room for me to stay in.


    He came back out with Angela.


    ''Please take care of him, we will come back to get him for the council so that he may complete the final part of the trial.'' said overseer A to Angela.


    ''That won''t be necessary, I am planning to attend the council too so I can take him there with me.'' Angela replied.


    I didn''t catch any of that I just went along with whomever was pulling my arm. I felt tired and my eyelids felt like they were heavy like stones and thus I fell asleep. not the hunger.


    /////////////////////////////////////////////


    just so ya know I''ll be reading all the comments and I have read all your comments which at the moment total up to a number of 0 comments ^_^

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    Next thing I know was that I am waking up in a small but comfortable bed covered by a couple white blankets which I took off as I woke up. I turned my head and noted that there was a bucket-load full of puke besides my bed. I also noted that I was very very hungry but the first food that I thought of was the Sloan of yesterday which made my appetite go away. Don''t get me wrong; I was still very very hungry. After being mildly disturbed by the bucket and its contents I got out of bed, my clothes were on a chair at the other end of the room next to the door. My eyes felt kinda sleepy still so I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I stretched out while standing up. It was a good morning, the temperature was just right and the sunlight was coming in through the windows.


    I finally felt my senses returning to me and with it the memories of the day before. By the time I remembered getting drunk and falling asleep almost instantly my face had grown serious. Next I was worried and quickly checked my clothes on the chair to check if everything was still there including the mana-shields and such. I opened my jacket and was relieved to see that there were no mana-shields missing. I then picked out the mana-shield that had broken down during the Thornwolverine assault and some tools from my bag and put them on the desk.


    Fixing things always helped me clear my mind. I was starting to get a massive headache. I had heard about these things from my father once and later I saw him have it too. After mom died he went and drank a lot one night and the next morning he was groaning while grabbing his head.


    Later that day he turned to me and Isabella and said: ''Do not ever over drink! EVER!''


    Now that I was experiencing similar symptoms I couldn''t help but agree.


    My countenance dropped a little as I was thinking of my father again. So I sat down at the desk and started disassembling the mana-shield as I had done a couple times over the past weeks. This was however the first time that I was going to replace a mana-battery. I felt as if I was floating instead of sitting in the chair and my head-ache was very bad so I supported my head with my left arm as I continued tinkering with my right hand. It wasn''t very hard to disassemble if you knew what you were doing. After removing the outer-shell I removed the protection layer and the anti-conduction layer. I then swirled some mana and put it in place of where the mana-battery was. This was the tedious part. I had to continuously add mana to it till it was filled up. The first time that I charged a mana battery it took me over an hour because I kept losing my concentration.


    I wonder how Isabella is doing; she had made a friend and she had always been quite independent. Still, I miss her overly social behaviour. I chuckled a bit remembering all the times that I dreaded having her around and all the times that she would jump into my lab distracting me by asking about all the things that she could find. As I was charging up the mana battery I decided to check the database to see if there was any Intel on my sister. As I pressed and held the search button I said ''Isabella Kirkwall'' and the search started.


    I had found and read the manual for the bracelet and the database. There is far more that I can do with it than I had previously thought. With it I can temporarily shape soft metals into any shape. I haven''t found many uses for that function yet but it came in quite handy if I needed a spoon, knife and or fork... or a backscratching device. Maybe I can find some information on metals in the database.


    Ping, a sound came from the bracelet signaling that it had completed it search. There was only one file specifically about Isabella Kirkwall, there was a long version and a summary. The long version included how the information was acquired, when exactly every single action or situation occurred in short there was a lot of unnecessary information compiled into the longer version file so I selected the summary:


    ''After Frank and Yoran Kirkwall''s disappearance due to hostilities from the Dragoon Riders and Jin entering Joren through the mountains with the Dragoon Riders assistance the royal family fled leaving Isabella Kirkwall to take the reign temporarily.''


    Wow, so Isabella has become queen. It didn''t surprise me much though. I had expected the king to hide. Due to the many assassinations in the past few generations it had become protocol to keep the main family''s royalty in hiding during war times while having a lower member of the royalty on the throne to ensure the continuation of the monarchy.


    It is quite a strange situation now. I lifted my head as I reminisced of the times past. Not long ago we were all eating together, staying together. Within such a short time frame we now have a queen, an undercover agent for the Ancients and a diplomat turned traitor in our little family. I miss mom. She had always been there to keep us together, we were the blockheads and she was the glue that bound us together. After she died Isabella tried to fill in the emptiness that she had left but the size of the hole left in our hearts and our family was too big for any of us to fill.


    My head hurts, my stomach hurts from hunger, my throat is parched and now my heart aches too.


    The mana-battery was almost full so I left it as is. It won''t function at a full 100% but it''ll do; there are back-ups. So I reassembled the parts after which I put it back inside my jacket.


    I was still in my pajamas so I changed clothes and put on my dragoon rider armor again. I also searched for metallurgy in the database with the bracelet specifically the soft metal but there was so much to find that it was still searching even after I had already changed clothes.


    I then looked around making sure that I hadn''t forgotten anything. I saw that I had left my tools on the table so I packed them in my bag put the bag on my shoulder and walked to the door.


    I grabbed the door handle and tried to turn it but it didn''t budge, then I tried pulling, pushing. Nothing worked. Ping, the database had finished its search. I automatically took a look and saw an interesting file on how to make soft metal as strong as hard metal. It described a technique of folding metal while heating it thus aligning the parts into a stronger structure. I took out my fork and a tool that I had and changed the fork into the tool in my other hand. Then I hit both of ''m against one another and the one that had been a fork bent immediately. Then I tried the folding. It took more effort and time. I wasn''t able to make a precise representation but that wasn''t very important yet, I was trying to test its hardness. I hit both of ''m again and this time the softer metal held up beautifully. I put back my tool in my backpack and my fork in my pocket. I was going to practice that more later. I checked the door handle again but it seemed to be locked shut.


    ''oh well.'' I said; I had noted that the lock was made of a soft metal so I adjusted it with my bracelet unlocking it. I laughed; ''that is nice''. I then went through the doorway and entered the hallway which went left to right. I looked right and saw stairs going up at the end of the hallway, to the left were the stairs that winded down to the floors below. I went to the left and down the stairs. I thus entered another hall-way that I went through. It opened up to the dining area that I had previously eaten at. Angela was standing at the counter staring aimlessly at the front door obviously bored.


    ''Hi Angela.'' I said as I walked in. I then saw her surprised face.


    ''Ah you''re awake!'' She said with a smile. Wasn''t expecting it to be a genuine smile. The door was locked so I had assumed that she had wanted to lock me up. Maybe I should retract that assumption.


    ''Why was my door locked?'' I asked inquisitively.


    ''That was so that nobody would bother you in your sleep and to keep thieves out.'' She said the last bit a lot louder as she turned to the kitchen.


    ''I wasn''t stealing! Just looking'' said a voice from the kitchen.


    ''My father helped me bring you upstairs and after putting you in bed he came down with your devices. He had no idea that you were an Ancient.'' she said while giving me a meaningful look.


    ''I see'' is all I could say. A rather young looking man came out of the kitchen looking at me with a smile. ''Hi my name is Richard; I must first apologize for taking your stuff without asking. I made sure to lock the door so that no guests would accidentally stumble upon your stuff. It is still quite early so we hadn''t thought you''d be up already.''


    I was still unsure what to say. Perceiving this Richard continued; ''Shall I get you something to eat perhaps? Please have a seat.''


    My stomach growled loudly in return. ''Can I also get something to drink, water perhaps.'' recalling what happened yesterday I glared at Angela. Noticing this Angela replied; ''Hey, I didn''t think you were going to drink it all up in one go. Nor did I know that you were so bad at holding your liquor.''


    I simply sighed. Given their hospitality and it was kind of my own fault I couldn''t help but forgive. ''Seeing as I threw up so often I might actually be the one that should apologize.'' I said with a slight grin signaling to Angela that it was forgiven and forgotten. I then went and sat at the nearest table.


    Richard came back with a cup and a jug filled with water which I gladly accepted. I poured it into the glass and quickly started drinking.


    ''So what would you want for breakfast? Some sloan perhaps?'' said Richard to which I replied by spouting out the water in my mouth; ''NO!'' I said while looking at him all wide-eyed.


    ''HAHAHAHA!'' Richard laughed loudly with his deep voice to the point where I could feel it in my bones. I quickly started feeling that it was funny too and chuckled a bit at the hearty laughter of Richard.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.''I am sorry'' Richard exclaimed his face was booming with a big smile; ''I just had to make that joke after hearing what happened yesterday. I hope I didn''t offend you.'' He calmed down considerably. Though his cheeks were still red from laughing so hard he made quite a serious face as he asked if I wasn''t offended.


    ''Its fine, I just want to eat normal food.'' I replied.


    ''Well I don''t know what the Ancients regard as normal food.'' Richard replied as he slight nudged his head sideways and looked at me with half-open eyes.


    ''hmm'' I hummed while in thought. Honestly I hadn''t payed much attention to Boren and Mys Tara regarding what they ate as Ancients so I had no idea what Ancients normally ate. ''Let me see what you have in your kitchen, maybe I''ll recognize some of it.'' I said as I stood up.


    ''Okay, just don''t throw up while you are in the kitchen. It''d be troublesome to clean it up again.'' Richard said as he smiled at me playfully before turning around. Angela was still smiling about the Sloan joke that her dad pulled off. Then a guest came in whom she quickly attended to as I went with Richard into the kitchen. There were some counters made with white granite slabs with gutters made out of wood as a lining around the counter-tops. Probably so that Richard could easily clear the kitchen table when he had to prepare a different dish from before. Then Richard went past the counter to the left and opened a door. ''Here is where I keep the ingredients.''


    Through the door I saw a hole in the ground. ''You keep your ingredients underground?'' I asked.


    ''Yes of course, its so that they keep cool and well preserved.'' Richard replied as he went ahead and jumped down the hole. I hesitantly followed after him and jumped down as well. I landed on a thick pillow breaking my fall for which I was thankful. When I looked around I saw that the storage area was many times bigger than the Inn. Everything was neatly lined up in wooden boxes and light was provided by lightning bugs that flew around.


    ''Won''t those lightning bugs eat up your food?'' I asked


    ''Nope these are carnivorous lightning bugs that eat any pest that enters so be careful of pestering me.


    I sighed and let down my head, I thought it was a funny but very silly pun and didn''t want Richard to see me laugh about it. Though I don''t exactly know why I didn''t want that. Then as I remembered what I was here for I looked up and looking from left to right I could see that everything was just placed everywhere randomly. There was no order to it at all.


    ''Where do I start?'' I asked as I turned my gaze to Richard.


    ''Well for that you would need to tell me what you feel like eating.'' he replied.


    ''Well any fruit would do, my stomach has been quite upset the past couple days so that would probably be best.'' I answered as I pursed my lips making a thinking expression.


    ''Fruits? I don''t have many of those; actually just have one box.'' Richard answered as he went a couple rows to the left and started walking down that aisle. I followed him Richard stopped at a big red box that was sealed off.


    ''Here it is. Not many around here eat fruit so this sealed box hasn''t ever been opened these past months but they should still be edible.''


    ''I would like to try them.'' I said.


    ''But if I open it then they''ll go bad faster so you''ll have to eat up as much as possible after I open it up regardless of how much you like it okay.'' Richard said.


    Already regretting my decision Richard swiftly unsealed the box after which a sweet aroma was spread out from the box. Richard could be seen holding his nose saying ''Ah what a gross smell don''t you think.''


    ''I think it smells nice'' I said somewhat surprised by Richards reaction to this awesome sweet smell that seemed to really permeate the air. I then reached and grabbed one of the fruits. They were round and the stem was shaped strangely. I tried biting into it but it was too hard.


    ''hahaha'' Richard was laughing again with his deep voice. ''You have to push the stem and remove the shell before you can eat it.'' he said while laughing.


    So then I pushed the stem which caused the shell to split in 4 after which I could pull of the stem easily which also took away the top half of the shell opening up the front. Inside the shell was a shiny red fruit which I put into my mouth. It tasted sweet but it wasn''t overly sweet. It was kind of like candy but instead of making your mouth all sticky it was refreshing. It also helped lessen my thirst. I was instantly addicted. After eating just that one I took another one; pushed the stem, pulled it out and ate the fruit. Repeating this process continually. After a bit I got skilled at peeling off the shell and with almost superhuman speed I ate the fruits till I was filled.


    Richard was quite surprised at my enthusiasm and speed of eating them after which he gave it a try himself. He slowly pushed the top after which more sweet smell came off of the fruit. When he pulled off the top part by the stem the smell seemed to have become unbearable for him so he gave me his fruit urging me to take it quickly. He was slightly wheezing. It seems that Tamarin really aren''t used to sweet stuff.


    ''A sloan is much much better than this sweet stuff.'' Richard said as he pulled away from the box.


    ''I''ll be upstairs if you need anything; I''ll probably have to prepare something for that guest who just came in.'' Richard said as he had thought of the perfect excuse to flee form the sweet aromas that started to fill the area.


    I simply glanced over my shoulder as I saw him walk away after which I quickly focused on eating the next fruit. I hadn''t eaten in a while and this is definitely the best thing I''ve ever eaten. Though it could just be exaggerated due to the lack of food from the last couple days. Or it could be because the last food I came in touch with was that gross Sloan thing.


    As I was mindlessly eating away I failed to notice that Angela had come downstairs. It seems that Richard didn''t want to have to endure the smell anymore so he sent Angela to get the ingredients for whatever it was that he was making. Angela showed a similar reaction of disgust after having noticed the sweet smells from the fruits. I just kept eating them while showing an innocent face as I looked towards Angela. After confirming her disgust I turned back to the fruit only to see that I had finished over half of its contents. I then noted that my stomach felt like it was going to burst so I stood up from my kneeling position and waddled towards the exit. Angela had gathered the ingredients and jumped up through the hole to the doorway up above. It seems like they didn''t bother making stairs since the Tamarin have good jumping capabilities already. Having filled my stomach to the brim I jumped but failed. I had gained too much weight and my muscles had always been underdeveloped so there was no way for me to jump up all the way. I wasn''t worried though. There was no hurry and there were still plenty of fruit here to eat.


    ''Hey, I''m stuck can you guys help me?'' I called out upstairs. After a moment Richard looked over the edge immediately holding his nose again and he said. ''with that smell you''ll just scare off all the customers so please stay down there till the smell wears off.''


    Having seen Richard and Angela''s reactions I understood his reasoning. ''But then what should I do down here. I''ll be bored.'' I said back to Richard.


    ''What about tidying up the storage room?'' Richard replied. ''It isn''t ordered correctly; everything is all over the place so maybe you want to help with that as a repayment of staying at our place and eating that entire box of fruits.''


    I adamantly went back into the storage. I pulled out my bracelet and scanned the contents of each box to find out what was in them thus making a map of what was to be found in the storage. After mapping it out I set the meats with the meats, the vegetables with the vegetables and I put the fruits in a separate place and sealed it back up as best I could. It was a lot of work but it was relatively easy to do plus it was good to pass the time with. After finishing up I went to the opening again and called up again ''I''m done, can I come up now? I need to wash myself.'' I had sweated a lot and it had been quite a while since I last washed myself.


    Richard peeked over the edge again and after noting that he didn''t need to hold his nose again just said ''sure, jump on up.''


    I tried and failed, I couldn''t even reach the edge with my arms stretched out.


    ''Oh, so that is why you couldn''t.'' Richard said. He then went and got a rope and let it down. I then held onto the rope first making sure that Richard had it fastened and that he held it tightly. Then I started climbing up as best I could as I pulled myself up with my arms as I walked the wall on my feet. It was still very tough but not as impossible as jumping up and down. Plus if I fell there would still be the pillow to break my fall.


    I had a full stomach, worked a sweat and after washing myself I felt all refreshed. The day had gone by quite quickly and after warming up around the fireplace hearing about the stories of Richard and his childhood we all went to bed. I hadn''t had such a great time for a long time. The family atmosphere helped relieve my soul of some of its burden. When my mothers life was taken by the assassins I thought that life was over. Life wasn''t over; it still continued but it was never the same. Until now. I guess one only truly feels alive when you''re with family. With those thoughts I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I was happy here.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    The next morning I wake up feeling way better than I did the past night, I finally had a good nights sleep. Today is the day we''re going to the capital, the river that goes by this village will lead us there and because I had told Angela that I wasn''t fast or strong she suggested that we use a canoe last night. I agreed.


    I then pack my things inside my armor pouch With some mana I cut out strings from the armors front and use it to string the front to the back so that my stuff in my pouch wouldn''t fall out side-ways. I made holes in the back and the front through which I pulled the string after which I tied a knot to prevent it from falling out. It was a simple solution but it would prevent people from easily seeing my mana-shields which would inevitably give away my identity... somewhat because it seems they think that I''m an Ancient after seeing it. Angela and Richard didn''t seem to mind it but I can''t be sure if that counts for all the Tamarin. I looked around the room once more. I had tidied up the bed, checked my equipment and put the rest in my bag.


    I went out the room for the last time and down the hall and stairs. I was the first one awake and the sun had only barely gone up from the horizon. Towards the east lay the river, the village was near a corner in the river allowing a far-view from the front of the Inn. From there I watched the sunrise in the blood-red skies. There were strips of clouds above it  which looked beautiful. The sun also came through the leaves on the other river bank making the forest come alive. I wasn''t the first one up in the village. There were already some Tamarin gathering to go hunting and fishing for the day. They went in groups. Even though the Tamarin are the lords of the forest it was still a dangerous place, one mistake could end up being your last mistake even if you were a well trained Tamarin.


    I sat in front of the Inn where I had sat previously as I was recovering from the Sloan replacing that bad memory with this good memory of the rising sun. It felt like a new beginning. I had find something of a sanctuary here. An unchanging place in this ever changing world. A place where I could feel at home with people that I had started to care for. It wouldn''t be so bad to settle here. But I was filled with a sad feeling because whatever the case was I had to keep moving forward. It was now not only to find my father and to bring back together the remainder of my family but also to prevent war from reaching my home country. A war that could ravage these lands and these people. I wasn''t only doing this for myself anymore I was doing this for all of the Tamarin.


    ''I just hope it all turns out alright.'' I said as I gazed up at the sky and sighed.


    I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the warm sunlight and a slight breeze on my skin. I dozed off a bit but before I went back to sleep I heard some steps inside so I stood up stretched out and rubbed out the sleep from my eyes. That all made me yawn so I covered my mouth with my hand. I then turned around and went back into the Inn.


    ''Good-morning'' said Angela who was wearing the traditional Tamarin armor similar to the overseers and Mathijs. ''Have you had breakfast yet?''


    ''No, not yet.'' I answered.


    ''Well you can take the remainder of that sweet fruit that we abhor, just make sure to wash yourself afterwards; I wouldn''t want to travel with you if you smelled like that.'' Angela said.


    Instantly a smile appeared on my face as I recalled the taste of the fruits. ''Okay.'' I said as I walked to and through the kitchen to the storage area in a hurry.


    I quickly ate my breakfast and left the remainder in my bag for later. When I jumped up again which I could only barely do as I had to pull myself up with my arms. Richard had already awoken. He was bidding Angela farewell and told her to be careful; then he noticed me and with a big smile gave me a hug and said ''Good luck with the council. They''re quite obstinate folk and if they make it too difficult for you just tell ''m that Richard sent you.''


    ''Not sure what that will do for me but thanks anyways; also thanks for your hospitality and the fruits. They were delicious.'' I replied.


    ''I seem to have grown somewhat accustomed to the smell now'' Richard said, Angela was already backing away from me. ''I guess I''ll go wash myself in the river. I''ll see you there right?'' I said to Angela. She nodded.


    As I reached the river I cast a mana-shield on my clothes and my equipment and bag as to protect them from the water. I didn''t feel comfortable taking them off and leaving them on the shore. Who knows if they people here will take a peek or something. So I walked into the river with the activated mana-shields to wash myself. Since the water current wasn''t so strong and I didn''t go in too deep the mana shields used up a negligible amount of mana. After washing up I went out of the river again and saw that Angela had already prepared the canoe. Richard didn''t come to say the final goodbyes because he had to tend to the Inn. Plus Angela would be back within a couple of days so it shouldn''t be that big of a deal.


    I turned off the mana-shields again. Boren had made it so that I could calibrate and turn on/off the mana-shields with the bracelet I was wearing. It was a quality of life thing. As I approached Angela it seems she was rubbing the outside of the canoe.


    ''Ah good you''re done, could you help rub in the canoe?'' Angela said without looking up from her work.


    ''What are we rubbing it in with?'' I asked.


    ''With the cloaking substance of course. This way we won''t be bothered by the river monsters.'' Angela said.


    ''Monsters? I thought those were eradicated before the endless war.'' I asked with a surprised face.


    ''That is only partially true. The monsters in the rivers here in the jungle weren''t eradicated which is why each tribes borders is by a river.'' Angela answered.


    I then focused and started extruding more of the substance with which I started rubbing in the canoe from the glands on my hands. ''Will we be alright with just some cloaking?'' I asked.


    ''We should be alright but we''ll have to take a break every 3 hours to recharge our mana.'' she said.


    ''Recharge your mana?'' I asked.


    ''Yeah, with some training you can keep it up for a bit longer but the longest I can keep it up is 3 hours after that I need to recharge for at least 15 minutes. So we''ll have to take at least 3 but probably 4 breaks on our way to the capital. We''ll arrive there late in the evening and we can stay at the Inn owned by my grandfather who lives in the capital.''


    Angela then stopped rubbing it in to give me directions on what spots she had missed.


    ''There all finished up.'' Angela said looking at the canoe. We then pushed it into the river as we jumped in. The stream then carried us downstream and as we reached the outer edge of the village Angela started focusing and activated the stealth with her mana.


    ''I had no idea that there was a maximum limit to using mana.'' I said. ''Not many humans use mana all that often so that might be why.''


    ''So you don''t use mana very often?'' Angela said while trying to stay focused.


    ''I use mana all the time, I have practiced mana daily to pass time. Ever since I was a kid.'' I replied.


    ''Well then that is why, since you''ve practiced it so often your capacity to use mana is bigger better and possibly infinite depending on how much you use it at a time.'' Angela said.


    ''Now can you please stop talking to me or else I''ll fail with keeping the boat invisible.'' Angela said.


    ''I''m sorry, I''ll just lay down and enjoy the ride.'' I said as I laid down in the boat looking up to the sky that had now turned to a deep blue instead of the morning red of before. The slight movement of the boat due to the small waves in the river and the small breeze that blew through the leaves on the trees made it a serene ride. I was still tired from the last couple nights thus I fell sound asleep within minutes.


    Next thing I know I was being woken up by Angela.


    ''Hey, sleepy head; its time for lunch. Did you bring any?'' Angela asked.


    ''Yes but I''m not hungry.'' I grumbled as I turned around and went back to sleep.


    Angela had pulled the boat to the shore and after preparing a camp fire prepared lunch for herself. She didn''t know what I''d like for lunch which is why Richard and Angela had told me to get whatever I needed from the storage in their Inn last night but I only got the fruits since everything else just smelled wrong. After finishing her lunch Angela pushed the canoe back into the water, jumped in as silently as possible and stealthed the canoe again. I had already slept through the first break and the stream was quite a bit faster due to the rain that had fallen in the mountains a couple days ago because of which we only needed a total of 3 breaks. By the time we stopped for the third break I was wide awake. It was late in the afternoon.


    ''So what is this council like? What can I expect to see?'' I asked Angela as I took some berries to eat.


    Angela sat as far away of my berries as possible; ''The council is only allowed to be attended by those who have past the trial. Anyone of the people of the forest is allowed to attend so not just the Tamarin but because it is held at the capital and the capital is primarily inhabited by the Tamarin it is always the Tamarin that hold the majority in the council.''


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Then she looked up at the sky and said ''This will be my first time at the council so I am not sure what to expect myself. After completing the trial I just went straight back to my fathers Inn because it was the high-season. Whenever there''s a council meeting it is often much much busier at the capital and the cities around.''


    ''Ah I see, so you haven''t been able to go because it was always busy at the Inn. Will Richard be alright this time around?'' I asked.


    ''Yeah, he''ll be fine. It is hunting season after all so there won''t be a lot of people at the council this time around.'' Angela replied. She then stood up; ''I hear something.'' and out of the water came a monster, it had 4 feet with 3 claws on each of its feat, in its mouth he had a huge fish the size of our canoe. The monster itself was huge but it payed no attention to us. Instead it just sat down and started eating the fish. The problem was that he was right in between us and our boat.


    ''Now what?'' I asked. The monster hearing my voice immediately turned to the direction that the voices had come from. We had both reflexively stealthed so it couldn''t see where we were.


    I could still see where Angela was at though due to my stealth-detection abilities. Thus I could see that she had turned her back towards the monster and started applying the cloaking stuff to her bow and an arrow. Her back being cloaked prevented the monster from seeing a floating bow. Then when she had finished she activated her mana on the bow and turned around. She then drew the arrow to the bow and aimed at the monsters head.


    The arrow was shot; ''HEAD-SHOT!'' I yelled as I saw that the monster was hit and fell.


    We then deactivated our stealth and approached the dead monster. Monster meat is unhealthy to eat but its skin and bones can still be used to make tools and such. Not that I would need them since all of my equipment is top of the line. The fish however seemed edible.


    ''How about we take the fish with us?'' I asked.


    ''Sure we could do that.'' Angela said; ''but only part of it otherwise we won''t fit in the boat with it.''


    Hearing that I used mana to cut the head and tail off, then I burned the skin and only the skin till it was burnt black after which the skin just blew away as ashes into the wind. Then I cut off the revealed parts of the fish leaving out the organs.


    ''Wow, nice mana control.'' said Angela.


    ''I did say that I practiced a lot.'' I replied ''But you''re not so bad yourself as you moved while you were stealthed and you were even to stealth your bow and arrow too.''


    ''Well those things are prerequisites for being allowed to participate in the trial as I''m sure you know.'' Angela said as she took back her arrow from the monsters head.


    ''Nope, didn''t know that'' I said as I cut the meat into pieces with more mana.


    After Angela gave me a questioning look she decided to let it slide since it seemed quite odd to try and participate in the trial but not be as prepared as not even knowing the prerequisites to attending the trial.


    We then moved the pieces of fish into the canoe and left the monster to rot. Angela once again stealthed the boat as we went with the streaming water to the capital city. The sun was slowly setting and I could see the jungle slowly coming to life in the dark. a lot of lightning bugs started to fly around; way more than I had seen in the storage of the Inn, it looked like a starry sky but then with sunlight still streaming through the canopy above. After a couple hours it had gotten completely dark but I could hear the sounds of a waterfall.


    ''We''ve arrive'' Angela said as she guided the canoe back to the shore using some sort of mana-propulsion technique which I hadn''t noticed that she had used before. We safely made it to the shore where we left the canoe. We put the fish in our bags where our meals had previously been and walked along the shore towards the waterfall. As we reached the edge we could see the jungle opening up to reveal a big wide valley in which the capital city of the Tamarin lay. But before we got there we had to climb down this cliff from which the waterfall dropped down several hundred meters.


    ''You know how to prevent yourself from getting wet with mana right?'' Angela asked.


    ''Yes, I tried that out as I was washing up before we left.'' I replied.


    ''Good now I want you to do that for your whole body and make it a bit stronger so it can take a hit.''


    ''You mean like a mana-shield?'' I asked as the description fit the description of my own invention.


    ''Yea something like that. Can you do that?''


    ''Yea, easily.'' I said as I activated 2 mana-shields.


    ''Good then follow me.'' Angela said with a mischievous grin.


    She walked towards the edge and jumped down.


    I followed her with my eyes and looked over the edge where I could see her activate her mana-shield and hit the water below. After a while she resurfaced and swam to the edge of the pool below.


    I never cared much about heights but this was really scary. I looked left and right trying to see if there was a less scary way to go down but there wasn''t. The cliff went on for quite a long ways in both directions. It''d take hours if not days to get down through those routes. So I activated 2 more mana-shields and prepared to jump.


    I couldn''t; it was just too scary. My body wouldn''t allow it. So I used my mind to blast myself off the edge with mana. I had to, I would not allow myself to be a laughing stock to Angela or anybody for that matter. Though I guess throwing up because of Sloan doesn''t count. Is what I thought as I blew myself off the cliff. Afterwards a lot of doubts and fears started to fill my mind.


    ''Would the mana-shields hold from the impact with the water?


    Will I crash into the bottom of the pool with this velocity?


    Will I ¡­.''


    There were no more thoughts as I hit the water. Though I didn''t get wet I could feel the coldness of the water through my mana-shield. The pool was much deeper than I could have ever hoped it to be. Even though I jumped from that high the bottom was nowhere in sight. I then swam up and after looking around while I caught my breath I swam to where Angela was. I wasn''t that good at swimming though so it looked rather clumsy which made Angela laugh. Even though I pushed myself to jump I had once again become the laughingstock. It hurt my pride and ego and there was nothing I could do about it too.


    After finally reaching the shore Angela guided me to the Inn where I met her grandfather. He looked just like Richard but he used a cane to help him walk around. It seems that he has a scar right under his right-knee which is probably the cause of the need for a cane.


    ''Hello Angela, good to see you. If I had known you were coming I would''ve come to greet you. What brings you here?'' ¨C Grandfather


    ''I am here for the council meeting together with Frank.'' said Angela as she moved to introduce me to her grandfather; ''This is Frank; Frank this is my grandfather Beakie or otherwise known as freaky Beakie.''


    ''Nice to meet you.'' I said as I greeted Beakie.


    ''Nice to meet you; you''re not from around here are you? Where are you from?'' Beakie asked to which Angela said; ''We''ve had a long trip so could you save those questions; we brought some fish for dinner.''


    Angela kept talking while guiding Beakie to the kitchen. I wasn''t sure if I should follow them or not. Having noticed that Beakie half turned around and called me over to follow them.


    We put the fish we had on the counter top and started to wash it, season it and bake it on the biggest pan I''ve ever seen. It filled up half of the counter top which was as big as a queen sized bed.


    ''I will take the fish as payment for your rooms.'' said Beakie as he prepared all of the fish we had brought in one go.


    ''Why prepare all of the fish? Can''t we save some for later?'' I asked.


    ''We''re preparing it and then salting it so that it can be preserved for a couple more days. Since I''ll be using it for the guests. I was short on supplies, not majorly but a little bit due to there being slightly more people that came for the council than I had previously expected.'' Beakie answered.


    The answer was satisfactory and after eating some fish we went to bed. It had been a long day for Angela but since I had slept most of the day I went to ask Beakie something.


    ''Do you have any fruits in the storage?''


    ''Nope, most guests don''t like fruits so there is no need to keep them.''


    Slightly down I went back to my room and recharged the mana shields again which had been used more than usual. I used up 2 mana-shields due to the stealthing and the jump down the waterfall. I should probably start thinking of upgrading the mana-shields because this way in a real survival situation I wouldn''t be able to last that long. Plus charging them up takes a lot of time.


    After charging the mana batteries to full capacity again it had gotten late and I went to bed.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    The next morning I woke up a bit late. I stayed up late last night recharging the mana-batteries but because I had been able to sleep a lot yesterday I wasn''t feeling sleep-deprived. Today was the day of the council and I could already hear sounds of talking downstairs in the main room of the Inn. The Inn was set up similarly to the one that Richard and Angela lived in but this one had a much larger central area where the people ate. The sleeping quarters were on the first floor to the sides with rooms for men on one side and girls on the other side. Coming from the side where the men had slept I walked towards the central area of the Inn and as I stopped at the balustrade and looked down into the central area I could see that there were well over 20 guests who were eating their breakfast; some had even already finished eating. I then looked up and on the opposite side I saw Angela standing at the balustrade as well. I guess I wasn''t the only one who slept out.


    I then went to the stairs as did Angela and we picked a place to sit at after waving to Beakie to signal that we had awoken and were ready for breakfast. It was already past the busiest point so Beakie came to our table immediately;


    ''Did you sleep well?'' he asked.


    ''I sure did, though a tad bit short.'' I answered.


    ''I slept nicely as well; thanks for giving me the big room.'' Angela said.


    ''of course I''d do that, it was the only free room on the female side anyways.'' Beakie replied.


    ''So what do you want for breakfast?'' Beakie asked.


    Looking at me Angela saw that I was slightly distressed since I hadn''t had a very good experience with the Tamarin cuisine so she said; ''We''ll have some of the fish that we brought yesterday.''


    ''Oh, alright. Want me to add some lemon juice and honey?'' Beakie asked.


    ''Yes, that would be wonderful.'' Angela said.


    Seems there was no need to worry. I wouldn''t know what to do if I had come here alone.


    Angela then turned to me; ''The council won''t be until later today so we can take the time to look around the city. We''ll need to buy supplies for the trip back anyways.''


    ''I won''t be going back to the village, I said. I have to return home.''


    ''What for?'' Angela asked.


    ''To make sure that my family is safe. I also need to find father.''


    ''You have a family? I didn''t think you were that old.'' Angela said.


    ''No no I meant my sister and father when I said family.''


    ''oh...'' said Angela.


    It was quite for a bit and we saw that Beakie was already returning with breakfast.


    ''That is quick.'' I said to Beakie.


    ''Well some of the guests this morning also had some so I didn''t have to prepare it for you since it had already been prepared.'' Answered Beakie. Before he could say anything more he was already being called upon by another tenant. ''Excuse me'' he said as he walked to help the tenant.


    I took a bite of the fish and it seemed to taste a lot different from yesterday. Much saltier. I wonder why. ''Why is the fish salty? I thought it was a fresh water fish.'' I asked.


    ''It is because you can use salt as a preservative for perishables.'' Angela answered. ''We do that back at our Inn too though I guess you didn''t have the chance to try it. Salt is a very bad combination with the Sloan and besides the Sloan you only had fruit which is sweet and not that good of a combination with salt.''


    ''Ah that is right. You have a lot of experience in the kitchen. Salt really does have a lot of uses. It helps people from waking up, it works against snow and snails and its used as a preservative.''


    ''Do you like salt?'' Angela said.


    ''Yeah, why ask that?'' I replied.


    ''Well its because you have only taken one bite of your fish. If you don''t like it I can eat it.'' Angela replied with a smile as she looked at my plate longingly. Somehow without me noticing she already finished her fish.


    ''You are a fast eater.'' I said as I took a bite of the fish while looking at Angela''s empty plate.


    ''Well I had to be a fast eater because there would always be guests during breakfast, lunch and dinner time thus I never had much time to eat.'' Angela said. ''Not that I''m in a hurry now but it has become a habit of mine to eat fast.''


    ''Ah.'' I said.


    ''Here, I''ll help you finish that.'' Angela said as she stole the remaining fish with lightning speed. I had no time to react. ''Ah!'' I said with a mouth full fish reaching out my hand but I was too late. She had eaten it all in one bite. My eyes widened. I had never seen anyone take such a huge bite before.


    After swallowing the fish I had in my mouth I said ''Why did you take my fish?''


    ''Well that is also a custom of the Tamarin. The strongest and fastest get to eat. You weren''t fast enough and so I ate.'' Angela said with a matter of fact demeanor.


    I frowned.


    ''I guess you were not familiar with that but you will need to since you''re undercover here so.. But I guess its too much since you haven''t eaten a lot lately.''


    I was still frowning. Angela laughed. ''Well I''m glad that you disliked that. I have actually come here to the council to promote equality. The weak and slow members of our nation are always hungry, after all due to our customs only the strong are to survive. Since you reacted that way about being treated like that you''ll support my law proposition right?''


    ''What proposition is that?'' I asked while still frowning.


    ''It is to share the caught food equally amongst the weak so that they may become stronger so we can grow as a society and as individuals.'' Angela said excitedly. I was not amused.


    ''You could''ve said that without taking my fish.'' I said while still frowning and with a grumpy voice.


    ''I''ll make it up with you. I will buy some of those fruits at the market for you before we go to the council.'' Angela said


    My face lit up immediately ''If that''s the case what are we waiting for!?'' I immediately stood up as did Angela and we headed out. I was a bit faster than Angela as she turned around and waved to Beakie ''See you later.''  When she turned back she saw that I had already exited the building.


    Today is the day of the council so the market place was quite crowded. It was a large opening where the ground was hard because of people walking on it for centuries. There were a lot of stores all over the place selling various goods. Salt from the oceans to the west, fish from the rivers and the sea, various swords, bows and arrows at the weapon-store. But after walking around for an hour we had still not found any of those delicious fruits. We did however find a bookstore.


    ''Ooooh a bookstore!'' I said as I noticed a sign saying bookstore at the entrance of what looked like an underground clay hut.


    ''Do you want to go inside?'' Angela asked.


    ''Yes!'' I felt like a bookworm in a library so excited was I to find a bookstore. We went inside and as my eyes got used to the dark I noticed that there was a flight of stairs that circled around against the circular wall down. I quickly and happily went down as Angela tried to keep up. Once downstairs I saw countless books all neatly arranged in row after row of bookcases. It seemed to go on forever in every direction. It almost seemed like the size of the market-square which was huge in and of itself. Kind of like the size of the room at the bottom of the golden tower where I last saw Mys Tara. I wonder what they''re up to.


    Stolen novel; please report.Angela caught up as I was standing still at the bottom of the stairs looking around excitedly not knowing where to start.


    ''Anything particular you''re looking for?'' Angela asked.


    ''How come there are so many books here?'' I asked.


    ''Well, as the kingdom of Joren has taken these years of peace to develop weapons we have used that time to gather knowledge into these books for knowledge to be preserved for future generations. There used to be a lot of people that would only fight during the war but during the times of peace they didn''t know what to do. Some became hunters, others became merchants or writers and those scarred by the wars or injured during hunts roam around the city without purpose nor means to reach any purpose.''


    My mind blocked out the final words that Angela said to me as I was too excited by all the books to think of anything else.


    ''I wonder if they have ''that'' here too.''


    ''What do you mean with ''that''?'' Angela asked.


    ''My favorite book. I got it when I was young and I''ve read it over and over again. It has formed me to be who I am today.''


    ''What was the title of that book?'' Angela asked.


    ''Iphiaeneira Grandsage'' I said; ''Its a story about the grandsage Iphiaeneira who stopped the war with the help of her two golems Annie and Kannie she was able to make illusions of herself with those golems and she was able to change places with them. She was then able to teleport all the way to the capitals of Jin and Jagun and threaten their leaders to sign a peace treaty with Joren. They had no chance against Iphiaeneira and whenever they would make any move against Joren she would repeat the proces of teleporting and threatening the heads of state. I started making machines to try and make a golem as awesome as Annie and Kannie. I also made these mana-shields though I haven''t ever made a golem yet.''


    ''You seem to be a grand-fan of the grandsage. But with the coming threat of war why aren''t you relying more on the grandsage?'' Angela asked.


    ''That is because the nation of Joren started producing and selling weapons. Iphiaeneira did not want to support war and because Joren profited from the war in the south she stopped supporting us and disappeared. My father used this as an argument against the king to stop selling weapons to the southern nations but that plan backfired.'' I said.


    ''Your father must be in a high position to be able to do that.'' Angela said.


    ''Yeah, my father was the diplomat of Joren in Jin. He always tried to complete the task that Iphiaeneira could not. That is to bring peace to the whole continent by mediating between Jin and Jagun but Jagun used the weapon embargo against us.'' I looked down again. Seeing that Angela decided to try and cheer me up. ''Well if we are to see if ''that'' is here we better go to where the books are which titles start with the letter ''I'' right this way.'' she said as she walked into a direction as she looked down on the floor. In the floor letters were engraved at certain irregular intervals. I quickly followed as she did not wait for me I had to tread a bit faster to catch up. Having reached the ''I'' she started to look at the bookshelves in the bookcases looking at the title of the books in each row which were written on the sides of the books. They all seemed like relatively new books. I wonder how they were able to write so many books so quickly.


    ''Found it!'' Angela said as grabbed a book off the shelves and turned around to give it to me.


    It was a shabby looking book but it was in better quality than the one I had at home which had been worn out because of my fervent reading time and time again. Seeing the book in such good condition brought a smile to my face as I recalled the time when my book still looked so new.


    ''Ara, aren''t you going to buy the book?'' Angela said;


    ''Nope, I''ve read it a lot already so I must leave it here for others to enjoy the story as well.''


    ''Ow well.... are there any other books that you would be interested in?'' Angela asked.


    ''Nope, I just wanted to see this book due to some nostalgia or something.'' I had little interest in the knowledge stored here since I am sure there is more knowledge to be found in the database which I have permanent access to through my bracelet.


    ''Lets go find those fruits.'' I said as I handed back the book to Angela.


    ''Sure.'' Angela then put the book back and we went back to the market-square.


    The market-square was square but with the library at the bottom and the shops up in the trees above it was much more than just a square. After going by all the shops in the actual square on the ground we concluded that they sold no fruits here whatsoever.


    ''Maybe they don''t sell them here because you people don''t like the smell?'' I asked


    ''No, I''m sure they sell there somewhere. But maybe in a less crowded area.'' Angela answered. She then looked around to find a less crowded area and thus she saw a group of people going up to the branches above.


    ''Oh, of course. They''re saving the fruits up in the trees. That is the least crowded part of the market-square. Thus we went up. We used one of the platforms that were attached to the trees above with ropes. We waited for a bit to see if anyone else needed to go up but nobody did so we went up and we took turns pulling the ropes. What would normally be a climb of 20 minutes was now only a trip of maybe 10 minutes. Though going down should be a lot easier. It did not however bring us to the lowest branch but all the way to the canopy. Through an ingenious use of ropes the platform was guided around the branches all the way to the top from where we had a view of the entire jungle surrounding us. The tree we were in was by far the tallest and at the horizon I could barely make out the white-tip mountains. I really did end up way far from home. Though we lived there for way too short so it didn''t feel like I was starting to get home-sick or anything.


    Just as Angela had said there were all sorts of fruit shops here, she bought me a couple different kinds but none tasted as good as the one I had at the Inn of Richard and Angela. Eventually we found them and we bought as many as I could carry. Angela didn''t want to carry any for obvious reasons. The look of the store-owner that sold us the fruits was very surprised. It seems that the people in the capital normally only use these fruits as a means to get rid of flies which get attracted by the scent or as a way to season meat though they use very little of it.


    After getting back to the Inn Beakie asked me to keep the fruits in my room in fear of scaring off the customers with the smell. After I ate a bunch for lunch we went off to participate in the council which was set to happen inside the central tree which was located at the center of the capital. They had cut out a big hall that could house thousands of Tamarin with room to spare or so Angela said as we left the Inn once again. I was quite excited but also nervous for the upcoming events.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    ''Ah! Almost forgot.'' said Angela as we were walking towards the council-tree.


    ''What is it?'' I asked.


    ''Remember the guy and the two overseers who dropped you off at our Inn?''


    ''Yea, Mathijs but I don''t recall hearing the names of the two overseers.''


    ''Before they left Mathijs wanted to give you his support and thanks. To submit a proposition to the council you need 3 people to support it.''


    ''3 people. So its you me and Mathijs right?''


    ''No that won''t do. Since you''re the one submitting it you need 3 more people to submit it officially. So we need one more.''


    ''Can''t your grandfather help with that?'' I asked calmly.


    ''He can''t be present at the council thus his support wouldn''t be of any help.'' Angela answered.


    ''I see, then we''re in a bind aren''t we...'' I looked down at my feet deep in thought. Then I heard a familiar voice.


    ''There you are!'' said Mathijs as he approached us. He was wearing all black clothes and he held the hand of a lady with his left hand as he waved at us with his right.


    ''Hey Mathijs, how are you doing?'' I asked.


    ''I am doing great! Thanks to you I was able to marry my wife!'' Mathijs replied.


    ''Here this is Patricia my wife.''


    ''Hello'' said Patricia as she greeted us.


    ''Congratulations on getting married. But what do you mean; thanks to me?'' I asked


    ''Well that is because Tamarin customs prevent anybody who hasn''t killed a thornwolverine of becoming a true adult and if you''re not an adult you''re not allowed to marry.''


    ''Oh, so that is why you participated in the trial.'' I replied.


    Then Angela said; ''Hi I am Angela; nice to meet you Patricia.''


    ''Hi.'' Patricia replied.


    ''So since Mathijs said that he''d give Frank his support does that mean that you will too?'' Angela asked.


    ''Yes.'' Patricia answered. She seems to be a lady of few words. But more importantly; this means I''ll be able to submit the proposition officially.


    ''Then lets go to the council-tree!'' I said with a big smile on my face.


    It was still quite far away on the way I talked to Mathijs hearing about where he was from and trying to keep the conversation as far away from me being the topic as possible. Continually asking questions and letting him talk as much as possible. I had always thought that conversations were tiresome since you need to constantly think of what to say but letting the other talk made the conversation very comfortable. I should keep doing it like that.


    We then arrived at the base of the council-tree. We had previously bought fruits all the way at the top of the tree but the entrance to the council area was on the other side of the tree-trunk so it was still quite a long walk. There were stairs cut into the roots that blocked the way. They were several stories high and we had to climb over 5 of them before arriving at the place where the entrance was.


    It was a gigantic door with several layers of ornaments carved into the tree around the entrance. If we were to stand side by side we wouldn''t even fill up a quarter of the doorway and there were Tamarin, Druids and Klavers continually going in and out of the doorway. Looking up and around at the ornaments carved into the wood I could see that it was a story. The story of how the founder of these people Tamarin lived and died. It reminded me of the doorway to the palace in Jin. It had a similar thing going on at their gate but not as grand as this nor as well-kept. It seems that the wood is still alive and thus it doesn''t wear out. Instead at places it looks like the image faded out because the tree didn''t stop growing but grew new layers of wood on top layer after layer slowly changing the carved images.


    We then entered the hall. Angela seemed to know where we needed to go so we just followed her. Inside was an egg-shaped room. At the bottom was the central stage with around it layer after layer of benches on which many Tamarin were already sitting. I could also see that it was divided in 4; one for each race. But I was the only one there of my race. After Angela pointed out where I had to sit I went there but it felt pretty awkward. I basically had one forth of all the seats to myself. Angela and Mathijs and Patricia were sitting in the front row of the Tamarin section. For some reason nobody wanted to sit at the front row. Since the front row of each section was the closest to one another I decided to sit at the front row too. It would feel pretty strange to sit all the way in the back though. There was a lot of talk and after I sat down I could feel the gazes coming at me from every direction. At the center on the stage there were 3 Tamarin who looked pretty old. They had dried up grey scales and skin on them but they looked like they were in top shape and all three had a six-pack and a powerful gaze with which they stared right at me. They seemed to each represent their race. One was a druid, one was a klaver and the third was a Tamarin. After a while one of them came towards me.


    ''Hello, my name is Bregader the eldest of the Tamarin. Since you are the eldest of your tribe you should come up on the stage to represent your race.''


    ''Ah, of course.'' I stood up and followed after Bregader as he turned around and climbed back on the center stage.


    ''Hello'' said the Klaver elder; ''My name is Klaver.''


    ''As in the founder of the Klaver?'' I asked surprised.


    ''Yes, we don''t die of old age. Only in battle.'' Klaver replied.


    I had no idea that that was the case. Sounds very convenient.


    ''Hello I am the leader of the Druid; my name is Stoon.''


    ''Nice to meet you.'' I replied.


    Then it was quiet for a while.


    Finally the Tamarin leader Bregader asked; ''May we hear your name?''


    ''My name is Frank I lived with the dragoon riders but when they joined the war of the humans I left them and came here.'' I replied. I hope they don''t ask me to shape-shift otherwise they''ll catch on that I''m just a Tamarin.


    ''We have heard of the human war. A man by the name of Yoran came by here a couple days ago. He was a diplomat who we used to have ties with. He''s grown old and after visiting with us for a couple days he left.'' said Bregader.


    I tried to restrain myself as I heard that, I didn''t want to show my surprise on my face but it seems that Stoon noticed. But for reasons unknown he said nothing of it.


    ''lets begin.'' said Klaver. He was the oldest of us 4 and his tribe held the largest portion of the jungle; that is if you count the underground levels that they made.


    ''Everybody settle down!'' said Klaver with a loud voice as he spoke through a large horn that he had picked up from the table at the center of the stage.


    Everybody became quiet and went to sit or to find a place to sit. Cold sweat was running down my spine as I felt the pressure on me. Somehow the responsibility of a tribe that I did not know fell on me. I was representing a race or tribe that I had not known existed a couple days ago. But I was not alone and that did make me feel reassured. I thought as I looked to the front row of the Tamarin section where Angela, Patricia and Mathijs were sitting.


    After everyone sat and settled down Klaver continued with the introductions. ''I am Klaver as many of you know; I am the leader of the Klavers; the three behind me are the representatives of each of your races. Bregader of the Tamarin and Stoon of the Druid. Lastly we have Frank with us who despite not being an elder is the representative for the Huin Seseum.'' After hearing that there were some sounds of whispers and reactions from all sides. It seems that Huin Seseum doesn''t show up very often.


    ''We will now begin the council meeting in the same format that Tamarin, I and Druid have set up since old times. Huin Seseum was not a co-founder of the council but they did participate in the past before their lands were taken by the wretched humans. This is the first time ever since that time that the race of Huin Seseum has participated as to address this fact I would like to give the word to Frank so he can tell us about his tribe and his purpose here.''


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Klaver then handed me the horn through which he had spoken. I hesitantly took the horn and after scraping my throat and formatting that which I wanted and had to say I started to speak.


    ''My name is Frank of the Huin Seseum. I am a youth of the tribe and have never met anyone of my tribe. I lived with the Dragoon Riders in the white-tip mountains. My purpose here is related to the fact that the Dragoon Riders joined Jin in the humans strife. They have attacked several diplomatic convoys of Joren seemingly instigating a war between the nations. Thus I left them and came here.


    I have just learned that until yesterday a diplomat by the name of Yoran was here.''


    I took a short break looking around in the room. Everyone seemed to tentatively listen to my words.


    ''I do not know with what purpose Yoran was here but I have a proposition to submit. The ones supporting me to submit such a proposition are Angela, Mathijs and Patricia.'' After saying that the three of them shortly stood up showing that they supported and were present at the council.


    ''My proposition and my purpose here is the following; I wish that the people of the forest will collectively stay out of the strife of the humans. Nothing good will come from joining either side and we should continue to alienate the humans as to not let them into your lands. My people lost their land and I do not wish to see you all go through those same ordeals of traveling and hiding in lands that are not yours.''


    I did not know what to say next so I was racking my brain trying to think of what to say next. Then a big man amongst the Klaver stood up and said ''I support this proposition. Who is with me.''


    Klaver then stood next to me and said ''I do'' Stoon and Bregader followed suit as did Angela, Mathijs and Patricia. Followed by the majority of each tribe. In the end nobody remained seated.


    Klaver then asked me to give him the horn and so I did. I stepped back and Klaver then said: ''The proposition of Frank of the Huin Seseum is hereby accepted by the council. None are allowed to join in the strife of the humans through military or other means.''


    Everyone then started to clap. It was done. I had succeeded in my quest. After everybody sat down Klaver asked his race to com forth with propositions. There were some propositions about underground roads being expanded between the tribes to decrease the time to commute. Currently it seems that the Klaver had a vast underground infrastructure but it only covered their lands. Some of the Tamarin did not like this proposition but it gained slightly more than half of the votes therefore this proposition also was agreed to. The Tamarin did not have any propositions except for Angela; her proposition was to increase equality and though I supported it the proposition was not even able to be submitted because there was nobody else to support it. It seemed like Mathijs and Patricia didn''t feel obligated to help Angela with it either plus they did not agree with her proposition.


    The Druid after hearing that the underground infrastructure was to be increased proposed that a secondary infrastructure would be realized in the tree-tops. It would take less time to make but it is a less direct and safe road to take since it wasn''t safe to travel during storms while underground would be safe but due to the Klavers proposition being passed the Tamarin felt obligated to agree to the Druid proposition thus they gained 2/3rds of the votes and that proposition was also passed.


    ''Then we will take it upon ourselves to put these propositions to fruition.'' said Klaver.


    ''Hereby the council-meeting has come to an end.'' Klaver then put down the horn on the table and everybody started talking to one another.


    Klaver turned to me, Stoon and Bregader.


    ''Well since we have 3 propositions and 3 elders I guess it''ll be easy to divide the work. Frank will not be working on these propositions since he has no real authority nor people to enact the propositions. I will set workers to dig the underground infrastructure. Bregader will take some of the Tamarin and strengthen the borders and Stoon will work on the secondary infrastructure.''


    Stoon and Bregader nodded and turned around and walked off. I followed suit and walked towards Angela and the gang. Angela was angrily talking to Mathijs and Patricia.


    ''We did it!'' I said happily as I got into their hearing range.


    ''Yes we did;'' Angela said. ''But more importantly. These two wouldn''t even support my proposition.''


    ''That is because your proposition is stupid and against all the customs of the Tamarin.'' Mathijs replied. He had a pretty angry face. I felt that I had to do something about it.


    ''I''ll buy you all dinner to celebrate that my purpose here is fulfilled.'' at hearing about food all three looked at me happily. ''Lets go!''


    ''I know a good place to eat.'' said Patricia. ''Follow me!'' she then grabbed the hand of Mathijs and pulled him along. She was surprisingly strong and fast so without being able to reply me and Angela quickly followed through the crowd. After leaving the council-tree through the entrance it took some time for my eyes to get used to the sunlight. It had been pretty dark inside due to a lack of windows. There had been some fireflies but that didn''t give off very much light.


    Patricia instead of going straight went directly to the right from the entrance of the council-tree and we went along a walk-way that circled around and up the tree. There were more rooms just like the council-meeting room carved into the tree. Then after a couple minutes of walking at a high pace we reached the place. It had a lot of windows made by putting glass into carved out holes and the tree then partially grew around the glass fixating it. They were very long windows that went up several stories. We then entered through a proper door and entered a restaurant of some sort. It was still empty so we took the table on the first floor by the window. A waiter quickly came to us and asked if we wanted anything to drink.


    ''4 beer please.'' I replied.


    The waiter left and shortly after he came back to give us the menus carved on wooden panels. After which he left to get our drinks.


    ''Just wondering.'' said Angela; ''but how are you going to pay this?''


    ''ah... I forgot.'' I said.


    I didn''t have any money but luckily. ''Then I will pay.'' said Angela and Mathijs simultaneously.


    surprised they then looked at each other. ''I feel obligated to pay since we got married today.'' said Mathijs as he looked lovingly at Patricia.


    ''Oh, then we''ll let you pay.'' said Angela with a smile. She had originally planned to treat us if her proposition was to be accepted thus she had a lot of money with her.


    Then the beers arrived but we hadn''t picked what we wanted to eat yet so we just drank the beer, enjoyed the view and talked a bit. Mostly about what Mathijs and Patricia were planning on doing. They were from different villages and had to decide where to live. Mathijs was a traveling merchant and sold all sorts of miscellaneous items. On one of his business trips he met Patricia and fell in love. That was 2 years ago and after proposing he went off to participate in the trial. Patricia then took his business and waited for him while working here in the capital.


    Angela was going to go back to her village and work at the Inn waiting for an opportunity to gather more supporters for her next attempt at submitting her proposition. I didn''t know what I was going to do. I was thinking of asking the leaders of the tribes about my father since they seemed to know him they might''ve known where he traveled to. After eating and drinking we separated. Me and Angela went back to the Inn while Mathijs and Patricia went to their Inn where they lived temporarily before buying a house. It had been a good day and I went to bed with a smile on my face and a heavy burden had lifted off of my shoulders replaced by an uncertain future ahead. I was to make my own decisions now. I had properly become an adult.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    The next morning I woke up to a lot of noise. The people in the dining area seemed to be quite troubled and there were people yelling and discussing things. Wondering what it was I quickly dressed and with my sleepy eyed demeanor I headed out.


    ''How could this happen!'' random person 1


    ''I don''t know!'' random person 2


    ''It seems to have happened 2 days ago when that strange human diplomat left!'' random person 3


    ''Humans aren''t to be trusted!'' random person 4.


    I wasn''t the only one who had woken up due to the noise. There were already a couple Tamarin near me that were observing to find out what happened.


    ''Hey, what''s going on?'' I asked one of them.


    ''It seems that the human diplomat did not only talk to the leaders but also to the people in the slums who went and followed him to join the war despite yesterday''s proposition.'' he replied coldly.


    ''No way!'' That means that it was never Yorans purpose to ally Jin to the entire people of the forest. Even if he only gathered a couple the psychological attack that the Dragoon Riders and the people of the forest had joined Jin would devastate the moral of the troops of Joren. Plus there is the dangerous stealthing ability of the people of the forest. This means that my quest had not yet ended.


    ''Are you alright?'' said the guy who I had previously inquired. He looked at me worryingly. It seems that I had quite a shocked facial expression.


    ''Yeah, I''m alright..''


    First I need to find out in which direction they went to go and stop them. I thought to myself. I then ran down the stairs out the Inn and headed towards the council-tree. I was going to ask it to the leaders of the tribes. They must know of a method of finding them.


    After reaching the council-tree I saw that the door had once again opened and from inside I could hear loud discussing so I headed inside and upon seeing me Bregader called me over. He left the stage and approached me.


    ''You must''ve heard what has happened.'' said Bregader.


    ''Yes I have.''


    ''What is your plan?'' Bregader asked.


    ''Well since it was my proposition I was going to find and stop those who betrayed us.'' I said with a stern voice.


    ''They went to the north towards Joren. They have a 2 day head-start and they seemed to have stolen a couple birds.''


    ''Birds?'' I asked. Why would they steal birds?


    ''Yes, they are big birds similar to the dragoons of the dragoon riders. Due to the council-meeting of yesterday nobody seemed to have noticed the theft nor their absent till just this morning.''


    ''to the north'' I said to myself.


    ''We will give you a couple birds. Gather some people and pursue them.'' Bregader said.


    He then turned around and signaled to a big Tamarin guy who came at his command.


    ''Solane, show Frank where to find the birds and do all that he asks of you.''


    ''Yes sir'' said Solane. He was a very colorful Tamarin and nearly twice my size. Very imposing. After receiving and accepting the command he walked up the stairs and out the entrance.


    ''thanks.'' I said to Bregader and I quickly followed after Solane. We went over a root and arrived at a hole in the ground. Solane jumped down and I followed. There were several birds that were twice the size of even Solane. Some of them had saddles on them and there were some Tamarin standing around discussing things. Probably talking about the recent theft.


    ''Hey!'' said Solane to the Tamarin.


    ''By order of Bregader elder of the Tamarin I command you to escort Frank northwards to the edge of the jungle to follow after the traitors.''


    ''Sir, yes sir!'' said the Tamarin instantly and simultaneously.


    They quickly ran to their birds and mounted them. Solane turned to me and helped me mount a bird too. After sitting in the saddle the bird followed after the rest of the Tamarin. One after the other they took off to the skies through the hole that we had previously jumped through. Leading the charge was a Tamarin with a black-greyish countenance. It seemed that he was the oldest of them all and where he went with his bird the rest followed. I did not have to do anything but tightly hold onto the bird as we flew to the north. Slowly we started to gain altitude. Due to me getting more and more accustomed to riding the bird the increasing altitude seemed not as scary. Then when we reached the lowest tree-branch of the council tree we headed towards the waterfall and over it. I could see the canoe down below. We then turned and kept increasing in altitude till we were flying above the canopy and then we headed north.


    To the left I could see the end of the jungle and the ocean in the distance. To the right I could now clearly see the white tip mountains. It was a clear blue sky and the sun shined brightly. Luckily the goggles I was wearing prevented the sunlight from shining right into my eyes so I wasn''t too bothered by it. I was then reminded that I had forgotten to tell Angela that I had left. Everything happened so suddenly. I hope that she doesn''t get offended. But she''s completed what she agreed to do for me. There was no need for a continuation of our relationship but I sure do hope to see them again someday. She was trustworthy and I felt at ease at the Inn of both her father and her grandfather. Maybe its because they looked at me with pure intentions whereas everyone that I had met previously during my relatively short human life were people that saw me as a member of the royal family, they saw me for what I stood for and not as a person; not for who I am. They saw what I was but never who I was. They wanted the things I made and the connections I had. Never were they interested in getting to know me. That is why it was very refreshing to meet people who were interested in who I was. I was happy to have learned what it was like to get to know people normally.


    ''On to the next adventure'' I said with a smile then as I went on to cheer but bugs flew into my mouth. Big bugs which were very prevalent here in and seemingly also above the jungle.


    It was still a long flight and as the view was barely changing and the ride on the bird became more and more comfortable I started feeling what all people in my situation would feel. Bored. Nobody talked in fear of swallowing bugs, there was nothing to do and finally; my but had started to hurt. The ride was relatively comfortable but the same can''t be said for the saddle that I was sitting on. They were not made for comfort. Or rather, they were made precisely so they wouldn''t be comfortable. The curves where you put your knees felt more like a slab of leather put on the corner of a wooden table. At first it was no problem but the longer you sat the more it felt like the corner of the saddle was digging into your inner thigh and knee cutting off the bloodstream to my feet.


    I wanted to complain but the bugs that had previously flown into my mouth had tasted so bad and they were so big that I wouldn''t dare. Even now I was still dodging the constant onslaught of bugs. The bird didn''t seem to mind and occasionally opened its mouth to eat a few.


    After a couple hours of non-stop flying there was still no end to the jungle below but the birds started to descend. I guess even birds can''t fly forever. We approached a large group of giant trees. The birds started slowing down in their descent but instead of landing on the ground below the birds landed on a branch. After landing on the branch I could make out lots of Druid people. They were on the branch we landed on closer to the tree-trunk. There was a large opening in the tree trunk where the branch and trunk joined together. On either side of the opening were Druid guards posted. I saw some Druid jumping from branch to branch in the canopy of the tree while our birds orderly walked to the hole. The guard Druids kindly welcomed us and after disembarking the birds I finally got to stretch my legs. After taking a couple steps I could see that the Druids had already prepared a fresh batch of birds for us to fly on. I quickly ran; as best I could;  to the Druids.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.''Hey, wait! Can you maybe provide me with a more comfortable saddle?'' I asked.


    The Druids smiled; ''sure.''


    They then grabbed a batch of blankets and laid them on top of the saddle of one of the birds. It looked like it was going to fall off so I looked around to see if there was something to bind it with. I saw some rope hanging on the wall and asked the Druids:


    ''Can I take that bit of rope?''


    ''What for?''


    ''It is urgent.'' I said; not wanting to explain more I grabbed it after the Druid nodded while making a silly face.


    I don''t know nor care what kind of impression I made on them but I really really just needed to ride comfortably. Who knows how much further we were going to fly. Since the people of the Forest are so xenophobic few have ever traveled to the edge of the jungle let alone beyond it so even after I asked the squad leader how long it was going to take he just shrugged.


    After safely strapping the batch of blankets to my saddle I jumped on and sat much more comfortable than before. I wonder why nobody did this before. That is until...


    Squad-leader: ''Hey Frank, you can''t take all those blankets with you.''


    ''Why not!?'' I asked.


    The squad-leader sighed; ''The bird won''t be able to fly carrying all of that and even if he is able to he''ll fly much much slower than the rest of us.''


    reluctantly I took down the blankets and untied the rope with a red face due to the shame and the Druids around laughing at me. I should''ve known better. Instead I reinforced the padding in my pants along my inner thighs to protect the blood-flow in my legs. I was still kinda wobbly due to the ride. The squad was quickly eating some food and after I made sure that the padding was in place I went to join them. The padding was a bit too thick resulting in my waddling towards them instead of properly walking. The squad tried to be respectful when they saw me waddling but couldn''t help but smile at my shameful display of self-preservation.


    After eating some nuts and fruits we reembarked on our birds flying further north. Part of the way some Druid followed us through the canopy as we flew through the giant trees but where the giant trees ended and the normal trees started we began gaining altitude and the Druids simply waved us goodbye. I tried to wave back but due to the bird flying up I was more focused on holding the reigns as to not fall off than waving the Druid goodbye. The sun had started its descent signaling that mid-day was over and afternoon had come. We had been flying all morning and there was still no end in sight. At this pace we''ll be sure to catch up to Yoran and his followers.


    He seems to have promised wealth and goods to the weaker Tamarin to convince them to come with him. They had been mistreated by the general populace. They were too weak to catch their own prey but flying birds or stealthing did not require strength so they would still be useful to Jin in an assassination attempt or reconnaissance missions. They were however untrained and they hadn''t been able to switch birds along the way like we did so they must have also dropped in speed. The squad-leaders guess was that we would be twice as fast as them meaning we''d catch up to them by the end of today. But since we weren''t exactly sure which route they were taking we just took the direct route to the palace. I was certain that their objective was to take out the royal family of Joren to usurp the country. Maybe this was Yorans plan all along. Finally after several more hours we reached the edge of the jungle. We then again descended. After we landed near the edge the squad started smearing the birds with their invisibility-liquid which they later activated with mana. I was asked to join on the squad-leaders bird since I wasn''t able to stealth my own bird while flying. All I needed to do was to remain unseen myself. The plan was that I would take on the appearance of a normal human when we arrived at the palace to easily infiltrate into the royal quarters. From there I would be in the perfect position to prevent any attempt at the lives of the royal family. Because the Huin Seseum were shape-shifters I am supposed to be able to do that but... I am not a Huin Seseum. I am a human in a Tamarin body. I can''t even change into a human.


    Still worrying about how I was going to get out of this mess we took of and because we flew in a direct line in formation at the same speed we didn''t bump into one another when we started stealthing ourselves and the birds. We went for a small test-round. There were no collisions so we flew out of the jungle. The moment we left the jungle I could see the capital in the distance. With the setting sun providing the air and lands around us with a red hue I could make out a big palace on top of a hill with the capital Joren having been built all around it. Through years of expansion the city even went up and over the surrounding mountains only stopping at the lakeside. In the lake were many ships and boats of all sizes and there were roads going on in every direction. It was less than an hour to reach the capital but it would take another 30 minutes to reach the palace.


    So we stayed quiet and kept our mouths closed no matter how beautiful the sight was none of us wanted the sensation of bugs flying into our mouths. The bugs here were smaller but they were in much greater numbers. The birds were quite elated and the squad did their best to keep them from breaking the formation by chasing after the bugs.


    Due to my mana-detector glasses I could see where everyone was but I was the only one who enjoyed this luxury. I could probably use this when I infiltrate the palace.


    Darkness set in over the capital of Joren as we flew over the outer-walls which due to the recent quick expansion didn''t consist of more than a movable palisade and an shallow ditch. The capital too was called Joren and though I was of the royal family of this kingdom I had never been to the capital much less the palace. at least I won''t have to feign ignorance about the palace''s interior to my Tamarin comrades. The palace was up ahead. Soon I would be reunited with my father. I decided not to think about it too much in fear of getting too emotional. There were now many emotions rampaging within the confines of my heart. Part of me missed him, another part of me was afraid of what he might have become. But I knew that his love for me and my sister was real and I hoped that that still remained.


    //////////////////////////////////////////////////


    This is all that I have written so far (15 dec. 2014) I''m looking forward to the next chapter just as much as you guys (I hope you''re looking forward to the next chapter :p)


    Its kinda busy in real life for me at the moment but I''ll try writing on a more regular basis. Though I have not completely figured out how the next part will go. Need to figure out what the capital and the palace looks like first. If you have any suggestions and I have not yet put up the next chapter please post them below and you may very well see those suggestions being used in the upcoming chapters.


    I might even borrow (steal) your names to be used in the story since I lack the creativity to think of all of the names myself.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    The sun had set as we approached the palace. Torches were lit and newly made mana-lights lit up the palace below us allowing us the view we needed to make a safe descent into the courtyard.


    There were guards posted all along the outer walls and on either side of the gate. The courtyard was separated into two grass fields by a gravel road that led from the gate behind us to the inner gate leading to the palace in front of us. After landing on the soft grass making as little noise as birldy possible we got down from our birds. This time my legs didn''t feel like rubber.


    Each of the squad members took off on their birds while me and the squad leader kept on our stealth. The squad leader then took a piece of stealthed rope and tried to feel where I was at. I could see what he was doing so I just took the rope from his hand. It was so that we wouldn''t get separated. After he affirmed that I was holding the rope he led the way towards the inner gate.


    I followed and looked up to see the darkening skies and the Tamarin flying by.


    Nobody was able to see us but they would be able to hear us so we stayed close and quiet while we walked through the inner gate.


    The guards were having a conversation;


    Guard A: ''But how can you survive an ambush like that?''


    Guard B: ''I don''t know. Maybe he got lucky.''


    Guard A: ''You need more than luck to survive a barrage of Dragoon Riders. If that was all you needed the Dragoon Riders would''ve long been beaten.''


    Guard C: ''If you are so interested why not ask Yoran yourself. He''s here now isn''t he?''


    Guard A: ''You know that I can''t.''


    Guard D: ''Isabella must be glad to see her father again.''


    Guard B: ''I just hope that they suddenly decide to send us with the army to take revenge on the Dragoon Riders.''


    Guard A: ''Maybe if sir Yoran found a way to beat the Dragoon Riders we would but I doubt that they would do something so stupid as throwing away the small army that we have at a war we can''t win while the nation of Jin is gathering their troops near our borders.''


    Guard D: ''That is true.''


    I had stood still wanting to hear what the guards were saying when I felt that the squad leader was tugging at the rope signaling me to follow along. Seeing as my dad was already here I wonder what we should do next. He was supposed to come with an army of Tamarin but we hadn''t seen any of them yet. We kept walking straight ahead to the palace''s main building. In the center was a very tall door made out of very dark wood. On either side were glass windows with similar proportions. Both were made out of tinted glass. With the tinted glass an image of a fairy holding up her hands in the air to release flower petals into the wind were made with a black-tinted background. We drew closer to the gate as I looked and awed at the two fairies guarding the gate. Then when we reached the gate we stopped. We didn''t know who was on the other side of the door and couldn''t just barge in without getting noticed even if we were stealthed.


    The squad leader was already going to the side to look for another way in when I simply knocked on the door.


    Immediately I could hear sounds of scraping feet and a wooden chair scraping on the floor. Shortly thereafter the doors opened with two guards standing as in salute but when the looked and didn''t see anyone they closed the doors again. Luckily this was after we had already entered.


    Guard 1:''Must''ve heard wrong.''


    The guards went back to their chairs next to the doors where they were playing a game of cards. When the doors were opened the table and its contents were completely hidden from view. Quite a crafty bunch those guards. Then when I looked around I saw that we had arrived in the throne room. Besides the guards it was empty but when I looked up I could see the glass roof with the same tinted glass as the windows up front but this time it portrayed a starlit sky. Along the walls were openings through which I could see hall-ways several stories high. What really caught my eye though was that on one particular floor beyond the throne there were a group of stealthed Tamarin bunched together in front of a door. Whatever it is; that is where we ought to find it. I let go of the rope and headed to the door in the right-back corner of the room leaving behind the squad leader whom would''ve probably just gotten in the way if I took him with me. He couldn''t see the stealthed individuals plus he would get suspicious of me if he knew I could see them and even more suspicious if he found out that I can''t change into the appearance of the people here. The door hadn''t been closed properly so I opened it a bit wider and squeezed through. Behind the door I could see stairs that led up to the left and the hall-way continued onwards with a stairway that went down at the end of the hall. These were probably the quarters for the servants. I went left and up the stairs. I had seen the Tamarin on the 3rd floor. These mana detector goggles are very handy. I reached the top of the stairs and when I looked to the right I saw 5 stealthed Tamarin due to them activating their invisibility-secretion I was able to make out their statures and that they were each holding a rope. So if I were to take them out I needed to take all of them out simultaneously.


    Killing is not an option though. I have never killed before and my promise to father was not to make weapons of destruction indirectly implying not to kill innocent people. These Tamarin were just unlucky leading them to be easily deceived.


    So instead of being all sneaky I decided to make a big ruckus. I didn''t get -1 on the wisdom stat during the training by accident. I activated my bracelet and changed into a Dragoon Rider. I grew a lot but the invisibility secretion was still active. The mana shield was also able to expand with the size of my body. The ground however had a hard time bearing my new weight to the point where the tiles I was standing on cracked making a large noise.


    There was no way that they didn''t notice it so I charged them and pushed them all away. I tore at the rope breaking it. They could see where I was standing due to the tiles breaking where ever I stood but due to them not knowing what I was what they did end up knowing was that I was big heavy and not their friend. Obviously they made a run for it while bumping into one another further increasing their hysteria. They did do a good job of concealing their voices though. I then changed back to Druid, a smaller body-frame would help me slip away if they were expecting something big. I opened the door and entered the room. I was immediately met by several pairs of eyes in this brightly lit room. My bracelet made a small ping sound. I moved away from the door along the wall. The people were still looking towards the door which was still half-open. Seeing that they didn''t know. I turned my back towards them and activated my bracelet. This way my invisibility would also cover the bracelets holographic screen from their prying eyes.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ''Discovered a Huin Seseum; Huin Seseum has been added to database. Do you wish to change into a Huin Seseum?''


    I then pressed the information button which was in the form of a round button with a question mark in the middle.


    ''You have been in close proximity of a Huin Seseum whom your device has scanned, analyzed and cataloged.''


    I then selected yes and changed into a Huin Seseum. I regained some height compared to my Druid form allowing me to see face to face to the people in the room who had turned back to one another. At one end of the long table was Isabella. It was obvious that she had cried. Then in the chair closest to me was a head with a familiar hair-style. I slowly and quietly walked along the wall to see who it was.


    It was my father. I deactivated my mana-shield but remained out of his field of vision. Isabella however immediately saw me in my Huin Seseum form and let out a yell.


    ''AH!''


    ''what?'' asked Yoran looking around after which he was quick to notice me standing in the shadows.


    I just stood there staring at Yoran. To prove who I was I used mana to form letters above my head spelling out ''Frank Kirkwall.''


    Isabella''s eyes just widened after reading it; she had seen the letter. I am sure that she understands it. Yoran however just looked very confused.


    Besides us there was nobody in the room. According to my mana-sensors.


    Yoran asked: ''Where did you come from?''


    ''ah.'' I was lost for words; how was I going to prove who I was?


    ''I am Frank.'' is all I could say.


    Father looked at me inquisitively; ''I am here to take over for Jin.''


    ''Why?'' I asked


    ''Because Sir Bo Xi of Jin has willed it.'' he replied.


    Sir Bo Xi is the ruler of Jin behind the scenes. Not many besides the inner circle know of it. My father was part of the inner circle and he also had noted that Jin the king was completely witless when it comes to wielding his political power leading to him relaying his absolute political power to Sir Bo Xi in secret.


    ''If he is behind this then that would mean that you want to join Jin and Joren together?'' I said it half-questioning and half as a statement.


    Isabella quickly rubbed out her eyes to get rid of any lingering tears as it had become apparent to her that it was not a joyous return of her father.


    ''Well since you know about Sir Bo Xi you are definitely not of the people of the forest. It seems you really truly are Frank.'' Yoran said with a small smile.


    ''Guards!'' Yoran yelled. Immediately guards came from hidden doors in all 4 corners of the room.


    ''Take these two to the tower and guard them; do not be afraid of the person of the forest. By some sick twist of fate the Tamarin have changed Frank Kirkwall to look like one of them.''


    The guards then looked at me surprised, some looked more relieved than surprised seeing as I was much bigger than most of them. My claws and teeth must''ve also been quite the deterrent. Neither of us said a word as we followed the guards out the room. The guards kept a close eye on me and had their hands on their weapons at all times.


    It was pretty strange since I came here to help my country but since I am in this form I guess they can''t help it. But now at least we know a few more things. Father is alive.


    If it was him then it was surely possible to rule Joren effectively. But what would happen if the true king and the rest of the royal family returned? Also why did my bracelet register a Huin Seseum? Was it maybe one of the Tamarin that I pushed away who were actually Huin Seseum?


    ''Are you really Frank?'' Isabella asked. My thoughts about father and the Huin Seseum stopped as I looked at Isabella.


    ''Will you be asking me about my newest inventions if I was?'' I said; playfully hinting to her since just blatantly saying that I was had already been done twice she needed to hear more circumstantial evidence.


    ''So you are Frank. What happened to you?'' Isabella asked with a gleeful smile.


    ''I somehow got changed into the people of the forest by the Ancients and after doing something for them in the Tamarin Jungle I headed here as fast as possible.''


    We then reached the tower. There were more guards posted at the gate to the tower which was opened as we were guided inside. ''I am sorry'' said one of the guards as he closed and locked the gate behind us.


    Isabella looked surprised and somewhat anxious but my presence seemed to have brought her back from her worrying train of thought.


    ''I guess we both messed up then.'' Isabella said.


    ''What do you mean?''


    ''I declared war on Jin in retaliation for fathers death and disappearance. But now that he''s back he turns out to be working for Jin. I became an enemy of father which is why he locked us away in the tower.'' Isabella then looked down at her feet visibly distressed.


    Outside unbeknownst to us was a battle going on. An invisible battle. Not of wits or political powers but of Tamarin trying to gain the upper hand. But the Tamarin I brought were outnumbered and soon taken and imprisoned by the large number of Tamarin that Yoran had brought with him.


    I however still had hoped that they would have seen me be captured and come to free us.


    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


    Authors note:


    This is the final chapter for this month I will continue to write and probably post a new chapter every 15th of the month.


    Let me know what you think of that. I could also post every week or every other week but I think it''d be more fun for you readers if I posted a bunch of chapters in bulk every month instead.

 Updates

    Good day dear readers,


    First off I want to thank you for your patronage in coming to read my fiction.


    Every increase in the average view is carefully monitored by me and I''m always very very happy when it does increase.


    You can only imagine how happy I am when I get a comment, rating, favorite or follower.


    For you new readers; I post chapters every Sunday.


    If however a chapter is not posted on Sunday it is probably because of RL stuff.


    At this moment I''ve got two crippled parents at home unable to do groceries for themselves.


    I work 3 jobs, study web-designing and trying to start up my own company.


    So please be considerate when a chapter is either short (which they usually are) or doesn''t appear on the appointed time.


    My reason and motivation for writing is the following:


    When I was 10ish years old I had trouble sleeping. Thus I decided to have dreams where I was the hero going around saving people This continued on for several years. Then since I was an avid reader myself (read most of the children books in the library) I decided to try and make an actual book/story out of my dreams. Thus began my passively procrastinating work on the story. First I had the superhero then I added in the history of how the superhero came to be and then how his trainers came to be and where they came from and why they were there etc. etc. etc.


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


    This is also why the first chapter is called ''a new beginning'' because over the years I kept thinking up new beginnings and thus this is my 8th time of starting to write the story. With thanks to NaNoWriMo for the first 20 chapters.


    For those who don''t know what NaNoWriMo is.


    It is an online challenge where you write a lot in the month of November. If you are a writer you should definitely check it out.


    But as I have not planned out everything there is still a lot of room for changes so if you have any suggestions or thinks you liked or disliked in the story so far please let me know. I know it is hard to think of things like that but please do because it helps me immensely. (sorry for being selfish)


    Yours Sincerely,


    Dresdam (<- is the name of the main hero that I dreamt about)

 Chapter 22

    Author''s Note:


    Finished what I needed to do, finished up some theorizing about how the story should go next. Hoping to finish writing 8 more chapters by the end of this year.


    Takes me around 3 hours non-stop writing and correcting to finish one chapter so I would very much appreciate hearing what you think of what I wrote so please leave comments below.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Chapter 22


    ''Well even if you did mess up by declaring war on Jin I surely didn''t mess up.'' I replied in an attempt to make a joke. I failed horribly as I saw tears forming in Isabella''s eyes. I was not good with people which is why I generally avoided talking to them. But she was still my sister so I had to keep trying.


    ''I was joking, I messed up too.''


    She then simply hugged me as tears started to dirty my clothes. Not that it mattered since it was cluttered with the remains of bugs. After a while Isabella calmed down and stepped back only to notice that some of the bug remains were now on her dress too.


    ''EEEW!'' she tried to brush it off but instead smudged it over her dress all the more.


    Due to the sound there were some people coming down the stairs to see who the new arivals were.


    ''Hello, come on upstairs.''


    We were invited up by a man in royal clothing. He looked to be a duke or something as he had an important looking family crest on his shirt. He also wore a pretty long cape that went all the way to knee-height. After confirming that we were taking up his offer though we didn''t reply. Isabella couldn''t because she was still somewhat sobbing after being rejected by father and I just couldn''t say anything because the crying of my sister made me blank out completely.


    The last time I had seen her cry was at my mothers funeral which isn''t a recollection I am very fond of.


    We walked up the stairs that went along the wall. The tower was circular and the stairs were steep and not very wide. There was also no safety railing so I went ahead up the stairs. I did not know what or who would welcome us once we got upstairs so if it had been something dangerous my manashield would protect us. Luckily that was not the case. Instead when we reached the 1st floor I saw more royalty. Including someone whom I had not expected to see. The king and queen of Joren.


    They were supposed to have hidden somewhere where they wouldn''t be noticed, far away from the palace yet here they were.


    I had never met him in person before but due to him resembling our father alot we were able to recognize him instantly. We weren''t sure what to do since we were never told what to do when we would meet other royalty. Our etiquette only included how we ought to behave in front of dukes, counts and their female counter parts. So we improvise; I performed a small bow and Isabella a curtsy.


    Obviously everybody was eyeing me suspiciously due to my appearances but after I performed the awkward bow their cold looks seemed to have warmed up a tiny bit. Then the king raised his hadn signaling everyone to be silent.  Within seconds it was deadly silent in the circular room.


    ''Who art thou man of the forest?''


    ''I am Frank Kirkwall. My appearance was bestowed upon me by the selfish Ancients who used me to keep the people of the forest out of human affairs. I seem to have failed.''


    ''How do I know that you are Frank?''


    I thought for a bit and then activated my mana shields. The regular mana shield not the one used for activating the stealth because that would''ve only made them more on edge.


    Having seen the mana shield and the amazingly small dimensions of the device the believed me. The only mana shields that they knew of were the size of a cart. Seeing a mana shield that would fit in my palm could only be developed by one person and that was me.


    ''It is good to see that you are well Frank. We thought you were lost like your father.''


    ''Father isn''t lost'' Isabella replied.


    ''But he is; he defected therefore the brother and your father whom we knew is no more.'' the king replied with a stern voice. Even though he said it strongly I could hear his voice waver somewhat. It was his own brother after all whom betrayed him. I can''t imagine how I would feel if Isabella betrayed me. It would be unimaginable to say the least.


    ''So how did you two end up here?'' Joren asked


    ''Father sent us here after I revealed myself.'' I said.


    ''Where were you Frank Kirkwall. All we know is that you went after your father but never returned.''


    I then told them the whole story; I had nothing to hide form them after all.


    Then when I was talking about how we flew on birds to reach Joren the queen interrupted me.


    ''Were the two Ancients you helped perhaps Boren and Mys Tara?'' she asked.


    ''Yes; how did you know?'' I asked.


    ''They trained me when I was just a child. It was thanks to their training that I became the grand sage.¡±


    My mouth fell open; the grand sage, he who I have idolized since I was a child. He who surpassed my father who meant the world to me. He turns out to be a she.


    I was not the only one suprised. The majority of the nobles had similar facial expressions at this new revelation despite most of them not having shown any emotions at hearing my story.


    She then continued before anybody would cause an uproar: ''This ofcourse is highly confidential and you are not to share it with anyone. But I have long lost my powers. My golems Annie and Kannie through whom I channeled my power were taken from me by the opposing faction of the Ancients. Frank and Mys Tara tried to get it back but due to the opposing party coming up with valid points they were unable to retrieve the golems. Without them I am just an ordinary woman.''


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    People calmed down a bit. A few had wanted to accuse her for not doing anything about their current situation but seeing as she had lost her powers there was nothing she could''ve done thus she regained the trust of the nobles that she would still do what she could to improve their situation.


    ''I see that you are wearing a communication bracelet. Have you tried asking the Ancients for help?'' she asked.


    ''This is a communication bracelet?'' I asked holding up my hand with the bracelet as I looked at it.


    ''Yes; what else did you think it was?'' Iphiaeneira asked.


    ''I use it to change races, like so.'' I then inserted some mana and changed into a Dragoon Rider which better fit my armor plus the people here would be able to recognize the race.


    ''So how do I communicate with them?'' I asked.


    ''Just say communicate. It should voice-activate upon hearing the users commands.'' she replied.


    ''communicate'' and sure enough the bracelet reacted but pulling up a holographic screen. The screen said:


    Who do you wish to communicate with?


    _


    With a blinking line under it, I guess this is also voice activated.


    ''Mys Tara''


    Connecting to Mys Tara.


    Connecting....


    Connection found....


    Connection made.....


    Call intercepted:


    ''Who are you!?''; an unknown metal face was projected into space.


    ''This line is only to be used by those in the alliance; who are you to have access to this line?''


    ''I am Frank Kirkwall; I wish to speak to Mys Tara.'' I replied. In the distance I saw Iphiaeneira perform a face-palm at my response. I looked at her questioning. The metal face seemed to have noticed and turned his gaze to her. Seeing her he immediately recognized her. ''Ah, the grand sage.'' he said sarcastically with emphasize on the ''grand''


    ''I see what is going on here. So they were working on interrupting our work behind our backs. Good to know. I must thank you Frank. But we will be coming to retrieve that bracelet so you better stay put. We don''t want to exert excessive force.'' Then the hologram dissapeared.


    It was quiet in the room again.


    Iphiaeneira then broke the silence. ''Frank, you have just done the worst possible thing you could''ve done.''


    ''What do you mean?'' I asked.


    ''Do you have any idea who that was?'' Iphiaeneira asked.


    ''None.'' I said


    ''That man is the leader of the oppossing faction. Basically the arch-rivals and something like enemies to Mys Tara and Boren. They will restrict them even more and take away even more of their authority. They will then hunt you down to the ends of the earth. Or attleast nearly the ends of the earth. The only place that they can''t reach no matter what; the only place that you must reach to remain out of their grasps is Lunar Isle. To there you must go without fail.''


    ''But we are stuck in this tower, how can we possibly get to Lunar Isle?'' I interjected.


    ''Just change into a giant and bash down the wall here. With a Giants strength this wall should be easy. Then you ought to change into some race that can fly. Are there any flying races you can change into?'' she asked hopefully. She had gotten closer to us together with the king as the nobles around us started whispering to one another about the recent developements.


    I then inserted more mana into my bracelet and pulled out the list of races I could turn into.


    Peoples of the Forest


    Dragoon Riders


    Elves


    Waterpeoples


    Giants


    Each divided in their subspecies and all the way at the bottom was a species I had not thought to be sentient. A species that I used to see as food but would do so no more. It was Guava.


    Guava was a bird that could fit in your stumache if you ate it minus the bones and organs. That was all that I knew about it.


    ''Well I guess this might just work.'' I said looking up to the king and queen again.


    ''Well go on then, we do not know how close their servants are and if they have already contacted them. It is best to hurry. Lunar Isle is hard to get to by flight due to the turbulent weather so once you reach the cliffs in the north you should change into one of the waterpeoples and swim across along the islands to Lunar Isle.''


    I then looked back to the list and selected the giant race after which I grew.


    ''But what do I do once I get there?'' I asked


    The king then once again spoke; ''Show them this'' he said as he handed me his signet ring as you could hear the people around gasping for air for all knew that the kings signet ring was the most valuable belonging in the kingdom of Joren for it held the power to rule the lands.


    ''Take this and you should be able to procure the castle that our royal family owns there. Be prudent not to show yourself to others or else they will send people for you. The Ancients might not be able to reach you but their servants most certainly will.''


    I then took the signet ring looked at Isabella one last time as she looked up to me with new tears forming in her eyes once again.


    ''I will come looking for you as soon as possible.'' she said.


    Seeing as this wouldn''t be a goodbye but a see you later I pushed on without wasting any more time. With my hand ready to select Guava as my next race I rushed into the wall breaking through. I immediately changed into a Guava and flew off heading north away from the palace, my family and the Ancients who were already plotting their pursuit.

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    As I realized that the sound of a breaking wall would attract a lot of attention I looked back to Isabella as I turned into a Guava bird.


    ''Wow so pretty.'' said Isabella. Though she had seen Guava''s before it was only after they were prepared for dinner. Never had she in her sheltered life seen a live Guava which basically looked like flying balls of colorful cotton. Then I heard guards opening the heavy doors downstairs and I could hear their clattering armor as the came up the stairs. Isabella and Iphiaeneira were urging me to fly off. But I was unrecognizable in my current state so I decided to stick around for a bit. I flew past the wall and landed in front of a window from where I could look inside without there being any danger of being caught. I held the signet ring in my hand and the bracelet had somehow gone around my neck. As I looked I saw the guards surprise at the giant gaping hole in the tower. Next I heard muffled yelling of the guards asking what has happened. As it all happened relatively fast nobody had figured out a way to explain it yet. Then the guards noticed that I was gone. I had been a strange guest due to my foreign appearance and as they knew that I could stealth they started to look around them nervously screaming to the guards downstairs to keep the door shot and only open when they came fearing that I would stealth and escape. But there was no reply.


    I then heard the sounds of mana shooting. The guards immediately backed away from the stairs. Their faces turned pale as they readied themselves. Some were gathering mana orbs while the rest gathered in a line with their shields up and their spears at the ready. But nothing could prepare them for what came next. The ground beneath them received a huge shock from below as the dust blew up into the air. Then as the dust started to settle there appeared some very strong looking men. They were scarcely clad as they had pulled back their robes to where it looked like they were wearing capes. Their skin was the same color as what they were wearing. Black. But not an ordinary black but a deep ashen black. Their skin also seemed dried up and shriveled. Then as they appeared the ground beneath the guards they were facing fell away after which they were swallowed up by something very dark.


    I was now nervously looking around to check where Isabella was but when I found her in the crowd of nobles it was only after one of the dark men had gotten to her grabbing her by the arm and pulling her with him while the 2 other ashen men seemed to be shooting mana at the nobles who after several casualties rallied and shielded off the mana-shots with mana of their own. Seeing my sister being taken I felt a rage coming up from the deepest parts of my soul. I had seen people with this countenance once before. It had been a warm day as I returned from my lab to the kitchen where I saw one of them. They were standing over my mother who lay bloodied on the kitchen floor. I sought to release that rage from that time when my mind had gone blank as I grew a pair of mana-orbs in the air above them and started raining down mana at them from the orbs. After getting hit by the onslaught of mana-arrows I noticed that after the initial volley all the other volleys went off target while the first volley didn''t cause nearly enough damage to warrant their surrender. I kept shooting and saw that all my mana was sucked into the dark orb beneath the floor. It acted as a divergent but it was quickly shrinking. It seemed to be anti-mana of some sort.


    Seeing that it was quickly shrinking I blasted even more arrows fueled by my frustration and rage I grew an extra pair of balls of mana which was my limit due to the size of my bird-brain I was limited in the use of mana. To increase the output. The immense concentration it required made my head feel like it was bursting but I didn''t relent and kept shooting. Then without any effort one of the Ashen men raised his head and a black orb appeared at the center of each of my mana orbs and swallowed them up. They then left. Isabella was well out of sight. I then jumped from the window and flew around through the hole I created to give chase but by the time I had flown down the hole in the floor to the towers entrance they were nowhere in sight. Guards were lying on the floor everywhere. It was a slaughter.


    Feelings of helplessness overflowed from within me replacing the gap that my rage had previously filled. Tears started to well up in my small bead-like eyes as I cried making chirp sounds. After crying for several minutes I flew up again to check on the state of the palace and my father.


    As I flew to the room where I had previously seen my father I saw him sitting on the throne in the throne room. But that was not all.


    There was another person standing in front of him who had the exact same appearance as him.


    Confused I flew down and landed on the balustrade of one of the upper hallways looking down to try and figure out what I saw.


    ''We now have both your children and it would be unfortunate if they had to bear the punishment for disobeying us. Wouldn''t it?''


    ''Are they alright?'' asked the Yoran on the throne.


    ''I assure you that they are fine but not for long if you don''t sign the treaty.''


    The Yoran on the throne then looked down at the paper that was thrown onto his lap by the other Yoran; I couldn''t see his face but judging by the shivering of his back I could only imagine what the treaty said.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''Sign it now and we will make sure that no harm befalls upon your son and know that once you sign that treaty it will be permanent. If you are to break that treaty at a later time the destruction upon your people will be swift and thorough.''


    The Yoran on the throne then signed the treaty. Judging by the way they talked I guessed that the Yoran on the throne is my father and the other one isn''t.


    The other Yoran checked the signature and grinned; ''good. Now just sit on that throne and look pretty.'' followed by obnoxious laughter as he put the treaty-scroll in his jacket.


    Then the wall opened up to the right revealing a secret passage. Through it an Ancient entered the room holding a plate with a golden bracelet on it much like the bracelet I was wearing.


    ''You will be wearing this and listen to our orders that we will be giving through it.'' The Ancient said as he presented the bracelet to Yoran looking at Yorans surprised face with his red eyes. Hesitating momentarily he said: ''You are too cruel.'' when he looked at the other Yoran. The Ancient then took the bracelet and put it on Yorans right hand.


    Afterwards the other Yoran shone a bright green light. After the light dissipated it revealed a Tamarin. Or... There was no way a Tamarin could do that. Then I remembered. My bracelet had picked up a Huin Seseum when I met father. Then; he is a Huin Seseum!?


    I wanted to head down to save father from them. But I was sought after by the Ancients. Having seen the ashen men take Isabella specifically they might have something to do with the Ancient and Huin Seseum downstairs too.


    Then I heard a loud crashing sound as the massive door to the throne room was smashed into little pieces. The resulting shock-wave pushed me off the balustrade and into the wall behind me. My whole body hurt as I tried to stand up I noticed that I had lost my sense of balance and besides a constant high pitched sound I heard nothing. I then steadied myself with my wings on the floor. I slowly looked up to the balustrade I had previously fallen from and after trying out my wings I jumped up trying to land on the balustrade again. But I miscalculated and flew over it. So I then used my wings to stay flying but then another shock-wave blasted me into the wall behind me. This time the drop was a lot more painful as I fell all the way to the ground floor. In preparation of hitting the ground I fluffed up my feathers holding my legs downwards. As I hit the ground I could feel that my legs snapped from the force.  Spreading out my wings hadn''t been able to bring my falling speed within reasonable ratios. I then lay on the ground; unable to move anymore than my wings.


    All I could do was look as I saw the Ancient and Huin Seseum fight against the ashen men that had blasted the door. There were only two of them and Isabella wasn''t amongst them.


    The Ancient and the ashen men hid behind pillars. The ashen men were shooting mana towards the Ancient and occasionally at the Huin Seseum whom seemed to lack any combat ability. Then suddenly the mana-shots stopped and a group of Tamarin appeared.


    ''We have taken care of the assailants.'' said one of the Tamarin.


    The Ancient then said; ''Thank you; I had not expected to see our arch-nemesis the dark elves in these parts. Go and find out what they were doing here. I highly doubt they came here to assassinate just me.''


    Then a guard came in through the door behind me running to Yoran.


    ''Sir the prisoners have been attacked by ashen men. All the guards are dead and Isabella is missing.''


    Then before Yoran could reply the Ancient said; ''Ah I see, thank you for your report guard, you may go now.''


    The guard looked warily to the Ancient but seeing as he was an Ancient he left without asking any further questions.


    ''What is going to happen to my daughter?''


    ''I do not know. All the more reason for you to help us. The dark elves live in the realm of Jagun. Allying yourself with Jin and subjugating Jagun is the quickest way to save your daughter.''


    ''Then what about Frank? Is he alright?''


    ''As there was no report of Frank being capture I am certain that he is fine. But until you follow through with our orders you will not be allowed to see him. We cannot risk it.''


    I of course couldn''t hear nor understand any of it due to still being deafened by the two shock waves.


    I just lay their in pain. Slowly the pain ate away at my mind forcing me to pass out.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authors note:


    It took me quite a bit longer to write this. It went through several revision and I completely scrapped what I had first written. As we approach the end of volume 1 I want to make the setting to start volume 2. I also tried to clearly define the powers at play which I had been reluctant to do in the previous chapters.


    This is all thanks to a certain comment I got on chapter 20 and I''m hoping for more comments like that so that I can further improve on the story and how it is written. Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    After the Dark Elves had been beaten I ordered the Huin Seseum to lead the Tamarin and search the palace for any remaining Dark Elves.


    ''Your covert skills have proven to be more than useful.''


    ''We only did what we were asked to do. Also what do you want us to do with the Tamarin we captured?''


    ''Leave them in the dungeon for now. We will deal with them later. First priority is making sure that there are no further dark elves in the palace. They are a dangerous race and the arch enemy of us Ancients since old times.''


    ''I am hesitant to ask but; what are the dark elves?'' asked the Huin Seseum.


    ''They are the ancestors of all of you. Based on their genetic make-up we made all of you.''


    ''gene-what?''


    ''We Ancients made all races based on the dark elves that existed here. They did not like that so they attacked us.''


    The Tamarin and Huin Seseum were quiet for a while.


    ''So they don''t like that we exist?'' asked one of the Tamarin.


    ''Indeed they don''t. Which is why it is important to get rid of them on sight.'' I said.


    How could it have come to this. I wondered. I then turned around to see if Yoran Kirkwall was still doing alright.


    Yoran was looking around with shifting eyes.


    I guess he became quite nervous. I could use this in our favor.


    Then something glistened on the ground behind Yoran''s throne.


    ''So now you know why we need your help.'' I said to Yoran as I walked towards him while looking at what was glistening on the floor.


    ''I do not. But I will never the less.'' Yoran said half mumbling.


    Then I recognized what I saw on the ground. My eyes widened and I sped up to grab it.


    What I saw was a Guava bird with a piece of Ancient technology around its neck.


    Ancient technology was prohibited to be shared with other races because of its potential of destruction which would inevitably result in a repeat of what happened in our future.


    I reached and grabbed the guava bird from the ground and accessed its memory by using the master key that was embedded in my body. I thus accessed all information that was stored.


    -


    Owner: Frank Kirkwall.


    Level: 5


    hp 750 (-50 due to Guava body)


    strength 10 (-9 due to Guava body)


    endurance 16 (+10 due to Guava body)


    agility 22 (+20 due to Guava body)


    accuracy 10 (+10 due to Guava body)


    intelligence 110 (-50 due to bird brain)


    wisdom 50 (-50 due to bird brain)


    Status:


    Transformation status: Guava


    Previously: Human


    Age: 16


    Ability:


    Primordial alignment (Adept level)


    Mana proficiency (Grandmaster level)


    -


    How did Frank get his hands on Ancient technology?


    Also why does it not show his maximum mana? Well at least he''s not a threat anymore.


    I removed the bracelet from the Guava and then put the Guava in my preservation compartment which was a small metal box on my hip. After closing it the contents were instantaneously frozen for preservation.


    I then walked back to Yoran as I had to sort out my business with him.


    After finishing up the details the Tamarin reported that no further Dark Elves had been found but that Isabella had been taken by them and that the Tower had been damaged. After ordering them to move the captives from the tower to the dungeons I went back through the secret passage.


    After having closed the door in the wall sealing it shut I locked it. It would be disastrous if others were to find or use this passage way.


    I then went down the stairs that led to an odd shaped pod. After entering it the time-capsule activated shortening the time that it took to reach the golden tower again. It still took the same amount of time but it didn''t feel that long. Exiting the pod upon arrival I was welcomed by my comrades.


    ''Brother Rose. It is good to see you. How was the business in Joren?''


    The one who asked was my long-time friend and ally Scar.


    ''A lot happened and I would prefer to talk about it in my office.''


    ''Oh, must be something serious then.'' Scar answered.


    We then went onto a platform that was carried by a conveyor belt. It took us to the outer rim of the arrival hall. From there you could look over all the lands surrounding the golden tower.


    The conveyor belt then pushed the platform onto another conveyor belt that went diagonally along the outer rim of the tower. My office was at the very top of the tower.


    After the critical failure of the Great Sage project the Ancients joined my faction en-mass. Due to this the faction which previously only consisted of me and Scar became the most prominent one. As the leaders of the most prominent faction in the tower we were then given the accommodations and support that accompanied such a position. That is why our offices were at the top of the golden tower.


    Slowly the platform sped up but due to its gradual acceleration the ones on it did not experience much of the speed besides that the floors that they were passing blurred and it almost looked like it was a solid wall.


    Then after a couple minutes the platform started decelerating again till we reached the top.


    ''Every time I see this it takes my breath away.


    To think that Boren and Mys Tara were enjoying such a view while we were down in the basement.'' Scar said as they both looked out the golden glass wall into the space beyond.


    The top of the tower reached to the upper levels of the stratosphere where it cooled down the inner Peltier tube due to the temperature difference between this end and the bottom end which struck through the earths crust into the lava below it generated lots and lots of power.


    It powered everything in the tower and more. More than 90% of the energy was stored in the Time Travelers core. This core needed a lot of power because soon we would achieve our goal and return to the future that we left behind and fix it.


    The platform then finally stopped. The ceiling of the tower was above us.


    It was a golden glass dome with at its center the pump that pumped the molten gold from the bottom up to the top from where it would slowly slide down the edge of the tower downwards to prevent dirt or rust from forming on the tower.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.It was also a really good conductor which allowed a mana-shield to encapsulate the tower preventing any harm from being done to it.


    This really proved its usefulness when the Dark Elves in times long past attacked the tower in an attempt to overthrow it (pun). But they could not. In retaliation the Ancients hunted down the Dark Elves.


    Because the Ancients could upload themselves into new bodies after being defeated they were able to beat and push back the dark elves who could not.


    They now only lived in the Death-valley where nothing could live. The Ancients then terraformed the rest of the continent and the races they made spread and prospered with their guidance.


    Scar and Rose went through the door by opening it with the master-key and entered the office.


    After Scar and Rose sat down at the desk;


    ''Scar. I have seen and fought Dark Elves today.''


    Scars jaw dropped. ''So they have returned.''


    ''That is not all; I also found this.'' Rose said as he put down the bracelet that he took from the Guava.


    ''It seems to be a transformation bracelet. The one who wore this changed himself into a guava.''


    ''That is regrettable.'' Scar said.


    ''Indeed it is. I brought him with me. He probably was an ally of Boren and Mys Tara. His name was Frank Kirkwall. The son of Yoran.''


    ''wow''


    ''Exactly. Those old coots sure had an ace up their sleeve.''


    ''But now we have him right? Can''t we use that in our advantage?''


    ''Remember, he''s a Guava. He can''t speak nor can he change back.''


    ''So then what do we do with him?''


    ''I think we ought to bring him to where we put Boren and Mys Tara.''


    ''Why would we do that? Wouldn''t that be helping them?''


    ''Think about it Scar. It is their ally who ended up in his current state due to their mistakes. They broke our laws and thus they must bear the consequences. Also with them being busy with Frank they will spend less time with plotting against us and more time taking care of Frank.''


    ''I see. I guess that would be beneficial. Even if they are in the dungeons I doubt that it will hold them for much longer but with a distraction of such proportions it should keep them there long enough for us to finish up our plans...''


    ''Exactly. So now that we have that figured out. What should we do about the dark elves?''


    ''Same that we''ve always done. Only now we have armies to help us quench their rebellion.''


    ''We don''t know how much they''ve grown over the past millennia. We ought to be more careful even if we have Jin, Joren, the Tamarin and the Dragoon Riders to back us up. The Dark Elves have always been a fearsome foe and I expect them to be all the more fearsome in the battles to come.''


    ''Too bad that they still hold a grudge though. I would''ve very much liked it if they stayed peacefully hidden away in their valley.''


    ''Maybe they still do; maybe it was an act of but a few?''


    ''Maybe, but Rose. What were they doing at the palace? Did they take anything?''


    ''Well Scar... They took Isabella. It would be troublesome if they used it against us to convince Yoran to help them. That is if I hadn''t told Yoran that the Dark Elves want to get rid of all the races.''


    ''Good thinking Rose. Seems you''re on a roll today. So to sum it up:


    Frank goes to distract our competition.


    Yoran with renewed vigor will add the weaponry and armies of Joren to our ever growing army.


    The Dark Elves will soon be taken care of after we take over Jagun and Once the Elves in the golden desert join us we will have unified the continent. Once that is finished there will be peace.''


    ''You forgot one thing Scar.


    Frank did not come to the palace alone.


    He brought Taramin with him.


    This could mean that the Tamarin have stopped being xenophobic and have tried to affect the humans.


    The Huin Seseum Yoran tried to convince them to join us but they would not ally themselves with us.


    With this recent move it seems we''ll have to take care of them first.''


    ''I would rather not. A war with them would weaken our allies.''


    ''We have no choice in the matter Scar. They have already made their move. Before it escalates any further we must strike. All those who are not for us are against us. They are against peace.''


    ''Are you certain about this? The Tamarin have always kept peace even at the cost of the lands of the Huin Seseum.''


    ''Indeed they have. Maybe you are right. Maybe we should give them a second chance.''


    ''Then I will go to convince them.'' said Scar.


    ''Good, then I guess we''ve got it all figured out. We still have some time to rest before we put all of these plans into action. So how about a game of chess?''


    ''Wow, that takes me back. Haven''t played that in a long time. Lets do it! But don''t cry about it when I win alright.''


    ''Yeah sure...''


    Rose pressed a couple buttons on the desk and a holographic chessboard appeared between them.


    ''Chess is quite a lot like decision making in these peace keeping missions isn''t it.''


    ''Indeed it is. There are two opposite sides and there won''t be peace till they are joined as one. With every peace I take from you the fewer pieces are at war. But in real life the war isn''t over till all the races are taken. Even if we leave just one of them out of our unification plan it will result in conflict which will result in war.''


    ''A war to end all wars. Now and in the future.'' Scar said while trying to make it sound as epic as he possibly could with his deep voice.


    --------------------------------------------------


    Author''s note:


    Peltier effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect</a>


    Took me a while to figure all of this out but I am quite happy with how it turned out.


    Have got the next chapter and volume partially planned out already. Sorry that it took a while but I hope you enjoy it.


    If you have any questions about the story so far. Suggestions for the story to come or just want to encourage please comment below :).


    I would also very much appreciate it if thou could rate this fiction as I''m wondering if I''m doing well.

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    After the game of chess Scar and Rose left the office together going down to the arrival hall once again. After going over the traits and customs of the Tamarin again with Rose in preparation of Scars travels to the Tamarin jungle he entered a capsule and left the Golden Tower. Rose however with Frank in his preservation pack went back to the platform. After entering his master-key he entered a new destination for the platform as it was by default set to go between the office above and the arrival hall.


    After setting the destination the platform once again started moving but this time in the opposite direction. Along the wall of the golden tower spiraled two different conveyor belts. One went up, the other went down. Rose was on his way down to the dungeons. Once again the platform started speeding up but not as fast as it had previously gone up as it could not exceed the speed at which  gravity pulled otherwise Rose would be lifted off from it.


    Through the window Rose could see the ground coming closer rapidly but right before he reached the underground the platform stopped. Most Ancients were not involved in the building of the Golden Tower. In fact only 5 people had designed the entire tower; Boren, Mys Tara, Rose, Scar and a fifth one who disappeared during the Dark Elven war.


    Rose and Scar had been in charge of designing the bottom half of the tower that reached into the earth while Boren and Mys Tara built the upper half that reached into the sky and beyond. This is why a different transportation system was in place for the bottom half. This was also due to the danger of the outer shell of the tower reaching very high temperatures. Rose then walked from the outer rim to a tube that was in place in the center. In it was a circular pod big enough to hold one person. There were several of these tubes which all could go up and down with the use of air-pressure.


    Rose entered and entered his master-key after which he selected the bottom-most floor. There laid the entrance to the dungeons below.


    After the Dark-elven war the Ancients picked up the speed at which they created new beings and races to fill up the lands around them. They did this with the Dark Elves as a basis because they had something in their genetic code that the Ancients had not. People in the future had no powers to control mana. After capturing one Dark Elf the Ancients took a sample from her and used the genetic make-up to create new species. The species that were made closest to the dark elves were the elves or the true elves as the humans ironically named them. This of course did not happen without failures. Those failures were put in the dungeons where they could live peacefully. Many of the Ancients thought it too cruel to kill of the new lives that they had made.


    The failures that survived however were not true failures. They were merely species that were too volatile, too strong and unbalanced to share the continent with the other races. There were 384 of them. With the addition of the latest three; namely Boren, Mys Tara and Frank it would bring the number up to 387. Knowing the inhabitants of the Dungeons Rose knew that they would not join Boren and Mys Tara in their ventures thus making it the only place to safely keep them in the tower.


    Rose finally reached the bottom most floor.


    ''Good day sir.'' said an Ancient guard who was embedded into the wall to the right while the one embedded in the wall to the left was quiet and had his eyes closed.


    ''Good day Prometheus, Aegis. Do you have anything to report?''


    ''Nothing sir, except that we will need extra provisions for the new arrivals.''


    ''You have my permission. I leave this with you. Throw it into the dungeon and make sure that Boren and Mys Tara know that it is Frank.''


    ''Yes sir.''


    After affirming the order Prometheus the Ancient to the right stepped out of the wall and took Frank from the hands of Rose and carried him towards the Dungeon doors. Because of the beings that were in there the dungeon door was perhaps the largest door in the entire tower. It was 50 meters high and 40 meters wide made out of a solid metal. Prometheus and Aegis however were special Ancients. They were given bodies that allowed them to go through walls. This was something that the Ancients had figured out during one of their many experiments. Using mana to its limits they were able to warp space and matter around themselves and whatever else they had close to them. The range however was greatly reduced compared to the normal use of mana.


    The one specimen in the dungeons that had this same power was locked in a special cell at the very bottom of the dungeon safely hidden away from the other inhabitants and even if he did make it out these two Ancients would be more than enough to stop it.


    ''I will take care of Frank. Is there anything else?''


    ''There is not. I will take my leave now.''


    Rose went back up to the top to work out his plans and maybe get some sleep. The Ancients did not need rest but it did help clear out their systems. During the sleep mode their minds would run diagnostic programs simulating dreams but really it just cleaned up the system. The system inside of the Ancients could not understand irregular or in-comprehensive behavior. It was a system based on logic and the world was filled with illogical things. To prevent those things from clogging up the system the Ancients after having entered the world and left the golden tower would need to regularly sleep.


    The exceptions were Aegis and Prometheus. While one was awake the other was asleep. Though he was not really asleep. His mind was inside the dungeon observing it and taking care of it.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    I woke up, it was cold very cold but after a blast of hot steam that blasted warmth into my body all the way to my bones I felt warm again but also very very sleepy. I looked around and saw that I was yet again in an unfamiliar place. The one carrying me then gave me to a similar being. They were Ancients but not like Boren and Mys Tara. These were larger. Much larger. The being that had previously held me now went away again while the one now carrying me walked towards a giant gate. I could barely move my neck and look up. Then I remembered that I had changed into a guava which would explain why the Ancients looked so huge.


    In the corner of my eye I could see something getting closer. After turning my head I saw that it was the door. The door did not move but we moved ever closer to it. Righ before hitting the door I hid my head under my wing as to guard it but nothing happened. After a moment I figured that the door would''ve opened so I looked from behind my wing but all I saw was metal behind a blue glow of mana that surrounded me and the hand I was carried in. After a while I ended up on the other side of the door. It was very dark but then the moment the Ancient put his foot on the floor the mana that surrounded him activated the lights. I could now see that I was in a hall that was just as high and wide as the door that we had just gone through. Beyond the hall was another door to which and through which the Ancient walked.


    After that I saw familiar faces. Boren and Mys Tara seemed to have noticed that someone was coming but at the strange sight of an Ancient carrying a Guava they couldn''t help but stare at me.


    The Ancient carrying me then said:


    ''Boren, Mys Tara. It is good to see you. I have spoken with Rose and provisions will be provided to you three. I leave Frank with you.''


    Boren and Mys Tara were then looking around and past Prometheus.


    ''I can see that you brought us the provisions but where is Frank?'' Mys Tara asked. I thought she was joking but after seeing her serious face I realized that she wasn''t. Hearing this I felt Prometheus hand shaking slightly as he laughed.


    ''These are not your provisions. This is Frank who turned into a Guava using the device that you illegally gave him.''


    Prometheus answered.


    Borens and Mys Taras eyes were now completely focused on me with unbelief and sorrow in their eyes. I did not know why though. After a short silence Boren and Mys Tara came over and Prometheus handed me over to them.


    ''I shall leave you three alone for now. Provisions will be provided tomorrow.''


    After saying what he needed to say Prometheus went back through the wall and back to his post.


    Boren and Mys Tara still hadn''t said a word to me. I was slightly worried that they might start eating me so I tried to talk.


    ''Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp ''


    Ah right... I forgot about that.


    I then activated my mana and with it I said:


    ''Hi, long time no see.''


    Any doubts they had were now washed away but the sorrow remained.


    ''Just a moment, I''ll change back to a more human form.'' I said in mana.


    Then when I tried to bend my neck I found that the bracelet was nowhere to be found.


    ''I seem to have lost the transformation device.'' I said again. Boren and Mys Tara could no longer stay silent and answered.


    ''It wouldn''t have helped. Guava is the one race that you can''t change back from. Their genetic and anatomic structure is far too different for it... I am sorry.''


    ''What do you mean? I asked. Feeling that the answer would tell me the reason for their sorrowful looks.''


    Mys Tara took over as Boren couldn''t speak.


    ''It means that you will stay as a Guava till you die. Which given that Guava''s have very short lifespans would be in a maximum of 2 years.''


    I couldn''t believe what I had just heard. My life only just really began and the end was already in sight. I just could not believe it and as an automatic reaction I froze up and didn''t say a word. My thoughts were frozen as well since I did not know what to say, think, feel or do. What was there to do? I now knew why they were sorrowful but it might have been better if I had not known.


    We then stood there for what felt like hours. Silently staring in each others eyes. None of us cried because nobody had died but the impending end of my life was more than enough to silence our very thoughts.


    I recognized this sorrow. It was very similar to the sorrow I felt after I had talked to fathers guard who told me of the ambush. After that talk I also walked home mindlessly. If I hadn''t met Kaito at that moment I might have never gone out after my father and stayed in that vegetative state for who knows how long.


    Can I really afford to stay in this vegetative state any longer? I have just a few more years to live. Every day, hour and second matters for it is one step closer to my end. I must make it a meaningful end. There is much I need to fix and accomplish.


    I had never lived with the intention to start a family and get married all I wanted was to change the world for the better. With two years left to live I could still do that.


    ''It is alright Boren, Mys Tara. It is time we get serious about changing the world.''


    I said in mana. This woke them up and light returned to their eyes. They too realized that I was not yet lost. I was still alive and able even as a Guava bird.

 Chapter 26 - The darkness within.

    Chapter 26 ¨C The darkness within.


    ''Isabella!'' is the last I heard as I was knocked out and taken by the guys that looked as if they had been covered by the ash of our old fireplace. Next thing I remembered is being carried by my waist. One of the ashen men was carrying me under his muscular arm as he ran at unbelievable speeds across the plains east of the capital.


    Or so I thought as when I looked back I noticed that it was not the slightly familiar lands of Joren that I saw but it was the golden tower and to our right was a long line of volcanoes from which dark clouds arose raining ash on the ground below. It was difficult to breathe because of the ash but my captors seemed to have no trouble with the highly polluted air.


    Despite not wanting to alert my captors I coughed. I had thought it''d be a small girlish cough as I usually did but it turned out to be a loud cough that you''d normally only hear from a 70 year old heavy smoker. It felt as if with each cough my insides would come out of my throat but all that left my mouth was the loud cough and to my horror some blood.


    Alerted by the cough my captor turned to me and after calling to the other ashen men they stopped running immediately. I couldn''t understand what they were saying though. It sounded like they were talking but I knew not of any other tongue than the human tongue. I had heard that some races had their own languages but it was only from hear-say since it had never been recorded. From this I knew that these ashen men weren''t mere men but form an entirely different race. The pointy ears had seemed quite out of place though they did not seem to be elves due to their vastly different skin-tone. Normal elves had shining white skin which helped them survive in the desert by reflecting most of the light and heat but these ashen men had dark greyish skin with a slight hue of blue.


    Then one of them turned to me and spoke to me but this time in our own language though his pronunciations were slightly off:


    ''Hellow, are you alreight?


    ''I am not alright. I was taken captive to a strange land where it is difficult to breathe away from my family after finally being reunited with them. How can I be alright and who are you!? Why... ugh''


    I couldn''t finish my sentence and started coughing and wheezing to which the ashen men reacted worriedly. Patting me on my back trying to get me to stabilize my breathing. Then a third ashen men appeared and scolded one of my captors. I did not know what they were saying however. The newly arrived ashen men grabbed me and I felt a tingling feeling all over my body the moment he touched me.


    Suddenly it was easier for me to breathe; the coughing and wheezing stopped almost immediately and I looked up to my supposed rescuer with wide eyes for I had never seen such magic before. Even my genius brother hadn''t. Curiosity quickly swept away all doubts, fears and worries I had been having ever since I woke up.


    Then before my curiosity wore off  we had arrived at what seemed to be their settlement. I saw  a big black gate but instead of a wall with a gate it was a black metal fence with the gate also being a fence but instead of having the straight black metal bars the bars were bent into various shapes. As my carrier walked towards it he said something in their strange tongue to which the two kidnappers reacted and while holding up their hands they cast mana on certain parts of the gate after which it automatically opened up.


    Behind the fence the black fog and ash was very thick. Much thicker than it had been before. I looked back up to my carrier wondering if his protection would let me live beyond the ash-cloud. Seemingly unworried my carrier walked onwards and into the blackness.


    -------------------------------------------------


    ''Why....'' is all I could think of ever since the dragoon riders who had caught me flew me off to Jin.


    I could not understand it. Why would the Dragoon Riders ally themselves with Jin? Why after all these centuries of war in which the other races did not mingle even when Jin attacked the lands of the Huin Seseum. Why did the Dragoon Riders join Jin now?


    Or rather; to have gained such a valuable ally against Joren in such a short time after the threat of war between us had arisen seemed very strange. It was almost as if all their reasons for this war were a mere ruse while their actual goal was to take over Joren right from the start. As if they faked everything that I had known.


    Also. Why had I not been more careful. My household servants. All of them..... dead....


    As I finished this thought the dragoon that was carrying me made a loud shrieking cry. I was flying with the leader of the Dragoon Riders tribe that captured me and it seemed like they signaled for their descent into the capital of Jin.


    Jin the capital city started out as any ordinary capital city but with the onslaught of war at its borders many had fled to its capital giving birth to its vast slums that had almost choked the capital to death. But it had not. The people after seeing their dire situation banded together in a never before seen event they improved upon the infrastructure of the whole city. They rebuilt the slums so that the people there could have decent housing and they started a welfare program for those less fortunate people who came back from war wounded and job less.


    It was what I loved about the people of this land. It was a strong community that was dependable and depended upon one another. There was no place for selfishness. Whenever the community found selfish people amongst them who would not adhere to the laws of their community and not give money to the poor they would be kicked out of the city and added to the blacklist.


    The dragoon riders went in circles flying descending upon the palace of Jin. Jins main palace was encircled by a large stone wall only within these walls was there a remnant of what the capital used to look like. There used to be many houses and villas like it but they had been taken down for their resources to build houses for many. The architecture had thus become one of a kind. Only the central house had white walls with red wooden beams holding up the black metal rooftops.


    All around it were walk-ways and dining halls and various other rooms. But to call them rooms wouldn''t be completely accurate since they only had the red beams separating them from the outside and no wall to speak of.


    Jin had a warm climate which is why having the shade of a roof over your head without losing out on the cool breeze from the northern white tip mountains was preferable to having a closed off house. I had been here before. I knew these people but I wonder if I ever truly knew them.


    After the dragoon riders landed outside of the palace along the insides of the wall the leader of their tribe jumped off and pulled me off with him. My hands and feet had been chained and thus my landing turned into a tumble.


    The tribe-chief quickly lifted me up back on my feet and with a quick swing of his axe he broke the chain on my feet and hands. It seems like they aren''t afraid of me running anymore. Can''t say that they''re wrong since I am now at the heart of the enemy kingdom.


    ''Welcome my friends'' said a familiar Jin official as he approached us.


    ''We have brought him. He arrived at the exact time that you had predicted.'' answered the tribal chief.


    ''I am glad to hear that. Did anything unexpected happen at all?''


    ''One of the guards of the rear-guard escaped and reported the situation to Altara. Attacking them will be more challenging now. They are currently on high alert and have sent for reinforcements from Joren.''


    ''We had expected as much. But no worries we will finish this before those reinforcements enter your lands. Won''t we Yoran.'' said the official as he turned to me with a big smile.


    ''Please come with me. Agun; we will provide your men with food and have prepared for a place to stay before the next trip.''


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ''I will not be staying; I must return to my people in case a team is sent to pursue this one.'' said the tribal chief as he hinted at me.


    ''That is not what we had planned Agun.'' said the official; his smile had disappeared and in its place was a very stern look.


    ''I can keep however many dragoon riders you need here but I and the majority of my men must return.'' Agun replied. I could see a hint of fear in his eyes. I wondered where that came from.


    ''We will need only 2 dragoon riders as carriers and however many you can send with them to ensure their protection for our further plans.''


    ''Then I will send 20 dragoon riders for protection and two mammoth dragoon riders as their commanders. Would that be sufficient?''


    ''I hope it will; if it isn''t enough then the resulting catastrophe will first and foremost befall your own people. You know that.''


    ''Then I will give my orders and leave.''


    The official then turned to me and gestured for me to follow him. I hadn''t been too fond of Agun; he hadn''t spoken much yet I felt less comfortable following this familiar official who spoke so much then I ever was with following Agun. But I did so because it was the only thing I could do to find out what was happening here.


    The official led me to an empty hall which was not closed off but was still very secluded from the other halls. There were bamboo bushes all around to give privacy to whoever came and talked here.


    ''I will be quick about it since you probably want to rest from your long and arduous journey.''


    This was familiar territory to me; I straightened my back and looked him in the eye. His eyes were red. This was not the familiar official that I had thought him to have been.


    ''Who are you?''


    To this the official reacted with a blueish mana-like glow that obscured him from my vision. After it faded away it was as if I was looking in the mirror. His facial features, his clothes. Everything was the exact same of how I looked.


    ''I will be impersonating you to take over Joren. If you have any love or care for you country you will accommodate a smooth take-over. We do not wish for it to turn into a war.''


    ''You ask of me to betray my country.''


    ''I do not ask of you. I am merely stating the facts because despite your loyalty you will betray your country.''


    ''I will not do such a thing.'' I replied.


    ''But I will and what I do; that you have done also.''


    My eyes widened as I started understanding what he meant. I had thought that my words could somehow get this matter fixed but tears started welling up in my eyes as I realized the futility of that thought. This all was beyond my powers, out of my hands. The decision had never been mine to make. I was merely a bump in the road that could either shake things up a bit but in the end I am just a tool...


    I did not say a word after this realization and merely looked down at the ground.


    The man facing me then continued:


    ''First we will gather forces from the Tamarin after we meet up with our contact in Altara. Hopefully he''ll be able to bring your kids with him as to rid you of some of your worries. While in Tamarin I will go in and bring any Tamarin willingly with me on their big birds. When the dragoon riders see that they will leave you to us and take off. We will then head to Joren where I will usurp the throne and plant you in it. Soon after you will have to sign a declaration stating that Joren surrenders to Jin and will join forces with them. Any officials that speak up against you will have to be persuaded.


    I leave that to you. If you fail they will die.''


    I was still quietly staring at the ground. I now knew their plans and I knew that there was no choice in the matter. If I escaped any time along the way the Tamarin and Dragoon Riders joining forces with Jin would unquestionably take over Joren at the cost of many lives. This was not an option. Signing the surrender and joint forces treaties would then be my only option after which persuading the officials of Joren was again the only option because the other option would result in their deaths.


    I simply nodded.


    The man facing me then continued.


    ''Well here we go then, there isn''t much time and there is a lot to do. I am sure that my master will be pleased when we finish this task.


    After the talk we again flew with the dragoon riders to the north. Agun had left during our talk seemingly. Maybe the fear in his eyes were similar to what can be seen in my eyes now. He too after all was a mere speed-bump who could either speed up the process or face the destruction of his people. A war between our two nations would no doubt bring collateral damage to his tribe. He had no choice in the matter also. Nor will the Tamarin.


    We then flew off north. I fell asleep as it had been a long and arduous day and I only woke up when we started our descent over Altara landing to the west of the city. Shortly after landing a man came running as I heard alarm bells go off in the distance.


    ''I see that you failed your mission Kaito. Where are the children?''


    ''I am sorry sir but Frank had already left and Isabella was heavily protected by my masters servants.''


    ''Why would they protect her?''


    ''It seems that Isabella became friends with my masters daughter. I tried to get her unnoticed but after her father and brother disappeared all eyes were on her.''


    ''I see. Well it was not the most vital part of our plan. We will deal with Yoran without them. Isabella will probably soon be whisked off to the capital.''


    ''Thank you sir.'' Kaito then got enveloped by a blueish mist of mana shedding his skin and turning back into a Huin Seseum.  He then mounted the spare dragoon as I was riding with the other Huin Seseum who had changed into me. ''Kaito; you carry him.'' He said as he pulled me up by my collar and threw me as a bag of nuts to Kaito who without much trouble caught me.


    After this we flew off to the west into the Tamarin jungle where I was left alone with the dragoon riders as the two Huin Seseum walked into the Tamarin capital. After half a day I saw a flock of gigantic birds flying off. One of them landed next to me. My doppelganger then signaled me to come on. And so I did.


    After leaving behind the Dragoon Riders we flew off north to Joren.


    Much happened in Joren but in the end I had done just as they had planned for me to do. Frank and Isabella has both appeared in the capital but soon after both of them were taken away leaving me alone again. A puppet on its strings with no free will.


    I miss the carefree days I thought as I fell asleep in a bed too large for me as tears flowed freely from my eyes for the loss of spouse, children and the betrayal towards the rest of my family and country.


    --------------


    Authors Note:


    Here is the end of the first half of the first planned book. I started near the end of October with writing this after 12 years of planning out the story. Despite that the story ended up going in a slightly different direction than I had planned revealing many plot lines that I had previously never thought possible.


    I find it just as enjoyable to write this and think of the story as you do with reading it. (I hope.)


    I hope that you have liked what you have read so far and am hoping to hear about your reading experience in the comments below.


    I would also like to request one thing from you:


    There are currently many chapters without actual titles. I would ask of you to come up with titles for the chapters and post them in their respective chapter. Only the first one posted will be chosen; looking forward to seeing your creativity.


    Also note the following rule when submitting chapter titles: (Will not be chosen when it does not aptly describe the contents of said chapter or if it is offensive in any form or manner).

 Chapter 27

    After I had told Boren and Mys Tara my resolve we moved to make use of that resolve.


    Yet the fact remained that I was still a bird stuck in a dungeon in one of the most heavily fortified towers ever constructed. But I was confident we could do something worthwhile since I have Mys Tara and Boren with me.


    Having somewhat regained their composure Mys Tara started rambling.


    ''So with this new resolve we should have a goal. Something like making it out of this dungeon alive.


    Making it out alive would first mean staying alive which also includes you; Frank.


    I say we make ourselves a set of priorities:


    1. lengthening your life-span.


    2. Escaping from this dungeon


    3. Getting your family back together.''


    ''I had never even considered the possibility of lengthening my life-span. But what about your objectives?'' I answered.


    ''Our objectives have already been proven to be preventing peace rather than providing peace.'' Boren answered.


    ''I see...'' I could kind of understand them but it still felt wrong that all of our priorities were to help me rather than to help them. Thus in my heart I swore to return the favor and help them even if they didn''t think that they would need help.


    Then as Boren again turned to me. ''We are not only helping you though. We want to get out of this place too.''


    ''What is this place anyways?'' I asked with my mana.


    ''This place is where us the Ancients throw our trash from experiments.'' answered Mys Tara.


    ''Why would they throw that away in the dungeon?'' I asked.


    ''That is because most of those experiments had resulted in the creation of very volatile products of destruction. Thus they have been deemed to be too hazardous to leave the tower. So instead we store it all in this dungeon which actually was never meant to hold people (or Ancients or Guava''s... etc. etc.) in it.''


    ''I still do not understand how this will help lengthen my lifespan. Wouldn''t it be more likely to shorten it instead? I mean; I can see the piles of the trash from here.''


    ''Well this what you see here is the trash of the war against the dark elves. Behind this pile of trash is the remnants of our experiments on living beings which includes life-preservation pods which we no longer used as our current bodies do not require it.''


    ''I see; so those are from back when you created the sentient races.'' I said. At this point I was starting to feel very excited and my urge to tinker started to surface again.


    ''Well we didn''t really create them. We just combined two races of which we had the DNA. Humans from our own heritage and the Dark Elves who already inhabited these lands. We also tried to combine the DNA of the monsters but the results weren''t usable in our plans. Except for the Guava which we designed as a food-source.''


    ''I see....'' I looked down at my body wondering how I would taste. From being a prince of one of the mightiest nations of the world I somehow ended up as food. Quite ironic.


    ''Lets go!'' said Mys Tara. And so we did. We went through the last bit of the entrance and entered the room that held all of the trash. The size of the room was incomprehensibly large with trash blocking our views in every direction. There were some indistinguishable paths that led through the trash which Boren was able to make out easily. While Mys Tara and Boren went off to look for a way through this mess I opted out and stayed behind.


    Why you may ask. Well that is because the smell was horrible.


    I do not know when the war with the dark elves took place but if I had to guess based on this smell it would be at least a couple centuries. Boren and Mys Tara had no trouble walking through it and they told me that I would eventually get used to it as my race was specifically built to be able to live in any environment. Somehow this also included bad-smelling areas.


    After a couple hours Mys Tara and shortly after Boren too came back with nothing to show for their efforts. They had gotten lost and were only barely able to come back. They did however find a gas mask which they gave to me.


    It didn''t fit as it was made for humanoids so Boren went to get some tools that he had seen laying around so that we could adjust the gas mask to fit my face... or beak.


    After returning with a tool and some scrap metal and leather Boren started working on the gas-mask carefully bending it and strengthening it with the scrap metal and leather that he had brought. Then he sent Mys Tara to look for some rubber to seal the gas-mask.


    After he attached the rubber which Mys Tara had no trouble in finding he put the gas mask on me.


    It fit but... It was far too heavy. I could still move my head around but walking or hopping let alone flying became impossible to me. But the bad smell was gone which was great. Seeing how I moved around awkwardly Boren and Mys Tara couldn''t help but snicker at how odd I looked.


    After noticing that they were laughing at me I almost decided to take off the gas-mask but decided not to as it was a hassle to put it back on and being relieved from the bad smell was more important than my looks.


    ''Could you help me out here?'' I flashed in mana. My ability to write in mana had become more sophisticated and easy. So I decided to add some art to the first letter as I had seen being done in very old books.


    ''Yeah we should probably build some sort of framework so that you can at the very least move around properly.'' Mys Tara answered.


    ''I''ll get right to it then.'' Boren said as he went off again into the maze of trash.


    ''Mys Tara.''


    ''Yes Frank?''


    ''Its not really the right timing but since I don''t know much about you is it alright if I ask some questions?'' I flashed in mana.


    ''Well.. I don''t see why not.'' Mys Tara answered.


    ''So what is your relationship with Boren?''


    ''We''re colleagues and used to be classmates in our world. We were also involved in designing the upper half of this very tower.''


    ''That is not what I meant, I mean is there any romance between you two?''


    Mys Tara stopped talking and stared at me wide-eyed. Then after a moment or two she turned her head away. It was obvious that she hadn''t even thought of it like that and was too embarrassed to even reply.


    I knew she''d respond like this. That''s for snickering at me for wearing a gas mask. Behind the gas mask a grin appeared on my face.


    Boren returned with a canvas filled with a variety of things dragging behind him.


    ''Could you come here for a second Frank?''


    So I moved over.


    ''This that we will be putting on you will be permanent so is there anything particular that you want us to do?''


    ''What do you mean?'' I asked in mana as I tried to look up to him.


    ''Well see it as a permanent set of clothes. What do you want to look like?''


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.After Boren expounded I looked down at the ground again contemplating any and all cool looks.


    I was thinking of looking like a human again though that would probably be hard to achieve. But why would I want to be human? I was never happy as a human.


    ''Maybe a Tamarin'' I said.


    ''You mean you want the ability to transform?'' Boren asked.


    It wasn''t what I meant but it sounded really cool.


    ''Can you do that?'' I asked with mana as I tried to write it in a way that conveyed my feelings which I had no experience in doing at all. For now I settled for smooth edges.


    ''Ofcourse we can. It will take some time but we have done similar things before. Would you like that?''


    ''Yes very much so!'' In the end I conveyed my feelings through adding an exclamation mark though it felt quite awkward to use it as a means to talk.


    ''Then what do you want to be able to transform into?''


    ''Human, Giant, Elf, Tamarin.... all races?''


    Boren laughed loudly.


    ''I am sorry'' said Boren; ''Though I said you could pick anything to transform into it would be inconvenient to have so many things to transform into.''


    ''Why?'' I asked.


    ''Well you would be carrying the metal part for each of those with you at all times. If we were to do all of the ones you mentioned you wouldn''t even be able to move.''


    ''Then what if we used mana to move?'' I asked after contemplating on the predicament.


    Boren was silent for a moment. Mys Tara then interjected after recovering from the embarrassing thoughts. ''I think that should be possible since Frank has the firstborn trait.''


    ''What is the firstborn trait?'' I asked seeing as it was something specific that they pointed to.


    ''Its your ability to use unlimited amounts of mana.''


    ''There''s a limit to mana usage?'' I asked surprised.


    ''Well for ordinary people and most of the other races they can only use certain amounts of mana for certain periods of time. They can''t keep using mana indefinitely. You and all the firstborns of the human royalty have the ability to control as much mana as your concentration will let you.'' Mys Tara answered while Boren was still contemplating seemingly drawing designs and system-outlays in his head.


    Then he turned to me again.


    ''Frank; I have a great idea; leave it to me. I will make sure to make you look awesome.''


    After saying this Boren went off into the maze of trash again without waiting for a reply. Me and Mys Tara looked at him bewildered.


    After being brought to the dark elven refuge I was taught basic corporeal mana-control. I learned from my appointed master all the ways that mana surges through a body reaching every fiber and tissue within it. I wanted to immediately start using it on my body but I was stopped by her.


    My master was a large dark elven woman who was extremely muscular and always sitting with her legs crossed.


    ''Isa! not yet! You have not mastered your mana enough yet. If you are to use it now you would ruin your body and any hope of seeing your family again will be gone.''


    I quickly stopped doing what I had been trying. I wanted to try and move my toes with only my mana-control but instead I had felt a burning sensation in my ankles as the mana was too large to make it through the ever smaller growing channels to the feet.


    ''Here take this.''


    My master handed me a needle.


    ''What do I do with this?'' I asked.


    ''Your first assignment is to cast mana through the eye of the needle.'' she calmly answered.


    As I was holding the needle in my hand I went through the standard procedures of making an entry and dissolving point for the mana-arrow. I hadn''t done this very often though. I then shrunk both points and shot a miniscule mana-arrow towards the needle but right before it went through it diverted its trajectory and hit the needle instead shocking my hand in the process.


    ''OUCH!'' I said


    ''This is impossible! The metal needle attracts my mana.''


    ''Indeed it does.'' she answered. Her calmness was slowly starting to get on my nerves.


    ''Here let me show you how it is done.''


    She then took another needle from her pouch and held the eye of the needle up so that I could see.


    She then followed through the standard procedures except for one difference. The dissolving point was a large black orb where all mana flowed to.


    ''What is that?'' I asked as I pointed to the black orb.


    ''That is anti-mana, it draws in mana just like the needle does. Once it is strong enough it will overpower the conductivity of the needle.''


    Shortly after the explanation the dark orb shrank as a tiny mana-arrow went right through the eye of the needle without hitting the rim.


    I was fascinated and started trying the same with my needle immediately.


    I created a giant black orb to the left of the needle. My teacher froze and looked at it with a fear-stricken facial expression which I didn''t see as I was focusing on making a tiny mana-arrow to fit through the eye of the needle.


    Then I condensed the anti-mana and made the tiny mana-arrow spin like I had seen my brother do once. It increased accuracy is what he had told me.


    Then in one straight line the mana-arrow shot right through the eye of the needle giving off a bright white flash while it did and both the arrow and the anti-mana orb dissipated upon contact.


    I was breathing heavily. I wasn''t accustomed to using so much mana at the same time but it did make me feel empowered. Soon I wouldn''t have to constantly depend on others for my safety. Maybe one day I could also provide safety to others as others had done for me.


    Soon I would see my family again. As soon as I mastered these dark arts and flee from this wretched place which I can only call by one name. Hell.


    Lava flowed in the caverns below leading it to the river of lava at the bottom of the crevice. From it gasses flowed freely throughout the crevice or earths but-crack as the dark elves liked to call it.


    All around us were circular holes made into the walls in which there were innumerable dark elves all sitting in the exact same posture as my master. All extremely muscular after having trained the corporeal mana or ''qi'' as they call it.


    It seemed as though they had trained it for centuries without rest. There was one odd one though. A single kid who was flying through the center of the cave. He had no bulging muscle mass. He seemed like an ordinary boy as he went from dark elf to dark elf giving them encouragement as he smiled a bright smile to each and every one of them. He seemed very much out of place.


    Obviously my curiosity was nearly killing me but I refrained from asking my master about him as I needed to train my skills first. Maybe I would be able to fly like that too one day.

 Volume 2 chapter 1

    Author''s note:


    So it is November again which for me means that I''ll be binge-writing for an entire month.


    Wasn''t able to fully edit the last volume but I did come up with a great plan for this second volume.


    This second volume is still part of the main story but it can be read as its own separate book.


    Only near the end will you figure out how everything is connected.


    Enjoy!


    p.s. this will be much more slow-paced.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    CHAPTER 1


    ''... and that is the end of class, I hope you all have a great summer vacation and see you next year.''


    ''Yaaaay'' Frank grabbed his backpack and with one clean swipe shoved his books, paper, pen and eraser into his backpack.


    After closing it he and all the other kids with him left the classroom saying goodbye to the teacher. Some even hugging the teacher goodbye.


    Running down the hall Frank couldn''t help but wear an enormous grin on his face.


    Many other classroom doors opened up at the same time unloading the student body into the wide halls of this small high-school in the state of Washington, USA.


    As one giant mass of children excitedly talking to one another; hearing the occasional goodbye here and there the students went through the main front door and down the steps into the front courtyard where many parents were already waiting to pick up their children.


    Frank however had to take the schoolbus to get home. His parents were still working when Frank got out of school. Even on normal days. Today classes just ended early.


    Frank got on the bus and took a seat near the bus driver with whom he often conversed. Frank enjoyed talking with older people, older people somehow always had more things to talk about than younger people.


    The busdrivers name was Jack and he had 3 children who were all grown ups now and lived on their own. Jack is old and retired and likes to drive the schoolbus and be around children as their liveliness helps him stay young he says.


    ''Excited for your trip to asia Frank?'' Jack said as he turned around facing Frank as some students hadn''t reached their bus yet.


    ''Very excited; a whole week that I get to spend with my father and mother!'' Frank said after which he grinned sheepishly making Jack laugh.


    When the bus was about 90% full Jack closed the door and started driving away from the school doing his regular round.


    After we left the town there were a lot of windy roads going up and down hills making it impossible to drive very fast.


    Frank liked this part of the ride as you could see the rivers and mountains that make Washington state the beautiful state that it is.


    ''Where are you going to go to for vacation?'' asked Ella who had sat down next to Frank.


    ''I am going to go to Japan, we''re going to visit Kyoto there and have sushi, what about you?''


    ''I am going to go to Europe.'' Ella replied, ''my dad is from the Netherlands and he wants to show where he grew up.''


    ''That sounds like a lot of fun.'' Frank replied.


    ''When are you going to Japan?'' Ella asked.


    ''We will be flying out later tonight...''


    ''Frank, this is your stop.'' Jack said as he parked the bus.


    ''Okay, see you later Ella.'' Frank said as he got up.


    ''Bye Frank.'' Ella replied.


    ''Have fun in Japan'' Jack said.


    ''Thanks Jack, I''ll try and find a souvenir to bring for you.'' Frank replied as he got off the bus turning around to wave goodbye.


    The busdoor closed, Jack smiled and waved as the bus drove off into the distance.


    Frank turned around and headed towards his home. They had a very long driveway with trees on either side. Franks parents bought it because it reminded them of a house in a movie named Forest Gump. Except you could actually see some mountains as we lived in a small valley.


    On his way as per usual Frank climbed into on of the trees in their garden in a well practiced and methodical way he made his way to the canopy hanging his backpack on one of the branches he reached out and grabbed one apple.


    ''An apple a day keeps the doctor away'' Frank mused as he first checked for any holes or brown spots on the apple that would indicate if the apple had worms in it which it didn''t.


    This was Franks usual spot from which he waited for his parents. In the winter or when it was raining Frank would stay in the barn instead. The house was locked whenever his parents were out of the house and Franks parents deemed him not old enough to have the keys yet.


    The sun was still at its highest and except for some streaks of white from planes that had flown over there were no clouds as far as the eye could see. It was a perfect day.


    Frank then started to hum a random song that he had once heard but couldn''t remember from where to pass the time.


    After a couple hours a car drove into their driveway; it was his parents car. They only owned one so his father had to go pick up Franks mother before heading home.


    Frank grabbed his bag and carefully made his descent as going down a tree is far more dangerous and hard to do than going up a tree.


    The car honked twice as it pulled into their regular parking spot.


    Frank having reached the ground bolted towards the car as fast as he could getting there as his parents got out of the car.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.''DAD!'' Frank yelled as he jumped into his fathers arms.


    ''Hey Frank.'' he said as he smiled. Franks mother looking at the two lovingly while she went and took their bags out of the car.


    ''So are you ready to go on the trip of a lifetime?'' Franks father asked excitedly.


    ''YES!!'' Frank said as he started to skip about towards their house.


    They had already packed their bags early in the morning as they would leave with the plane to Asia that very same evening. Dinner had also already been prepared and only needed to be warmed up.


    ''Let us first go take a shower shall we.'' Franks father said.


    ''Okay, dad.'' Frank said as he bolted up the stairs to get his towel and put his schoolbag on his desk. Picking out the clothes that were prepared beforehand from his drawer he met up with his dad who had done the same and was just as fast at the bathroom door.


    ''A tie, once again.''


    After a light giggle Frank replied. ''I am getting faster than you.''


    They turned on the shower first as the boiler needed some time to warm up the water as they both got undressed putting their clothes and towels in their usual spots.


    After a quick dip into the shower Franks father grabbed the shampoo and shot a whole glob onto Franks head and then his own. Frank started rubbing his head trying to spread the shampoo around.


    Franks father then got a brush and rubbed it on a bar of soap giving it to Frank before grabbing a brush for himself repeating the act. After thoroughly applying soap and shampoo Frank and his father went back into the shower to rinse it all off.


    Drying off and putting on clean clothes Frank and his father exited the bathroom and headed downstairs to take over what Franks mother was doing so she could take a shower too.


    For some reason Franks mother always needed more time to shower.


    Franks father went to the kitchen to warm up dinner.


    ''You can go and take our luggage to the car.''


    Frank quickly went to the front door where 6 bags were set, ready for their departure and grabbing 2 per time he rushed back and forth to the care filling up the trunk and one of the backseats.


    After having done that Frank locked the car went back inside just as his father was putting dinner on table.


    ''Dinner is ready!'' Frank yelled.


    ''Coming'' Franks mother replied from upstairs.


    Frank then went and got the dishes and tableware ready for the three of them.


    Franks mother came in with a pot of steaming hot chili while Franks mother came in her bathrobe with a towel in her hand still drying her hair.


    ''Tara dear, it is ok. We can wait while you get dressed.'' said Franks father.


    ''Nah it is fine; I can eat like this.'' Franks mother replied.


    Franks father shrugged while smiling to Tara. Frank went and sat down as did his parents.


    ''You going to ask for the blessing over the meal Frank?'' asked Franks mother.


    ''No, I think dad should do it.'' Frank replied.


    ''Sure; I''ll do it this time.'' Franks father said.


    ''Dear God, thank you for this family, the food and the love and joy that we share.


    We would like to ask for you blessing over this meal and our long trip to Asia later tonight that we may have an awesome and safe holiday to renew our spirits so we can get to work extra hard when we get back. Your will be done as it is in heaven so be it on earth in Jesus Christs name; Amen.''


    ''Amen'' Frank and Tara repeated.


    ''Dig in!'' Franks father anounced as all three of us took our spoons putting food on our plates trying to get as much meat out of the pot and onto our own plates as we possibly could.


    After finishing up dinner Frank and his father went and did the dishes one last time whilst Franks mother Tara went upstairs to get dressed.


    Frank dried the dishes and put them away while his father washed and rinsed them.


    After finishing up the dishes Frank and his father went upstairs to the bathroom to brush their teeth resulting in all three being in the bathroom at the same time doing the same thing all three with a grin on their face.


    As they finished up Frank gathered the rinsed toothbrushes and toothpaste and put then in a small bag. Franks father took the bar of soap and after putting it in a seperate plastic bag together with the brushes that they had used to wash themselves. Franks mother had a slightly bigger bag with all of her make-up, different kinds of soaps and parfums. It is no wonder that it took her longer to get showered when you have to apply all of that stuff every single day.


    Going downstairs Franks mother went by each of the rooms to do a final check while Franks father did the same downstairs. Frank took the three bags and brought them out to the car. As he still had some time he went to the apple tree and picked an apple for on the way.


    As he walked back to the car he checked the apple for any holes. It was summer so the sun was up pretty long even though it was evening.


    Franks father and mother exited the house and locked the door one last time after which they all got into the car and drove off to the airport. It was still quite a long drive during which Frank did nothing but look out the window and daydream about the adventures that he read about in some of the asian novels that he found online wondering if he would be able to experience anything similar.

 Volume 2 chapter 2

    Author''s note:


    So I said the first chapters would be slow... I got bored of writing a slow story so this chapter will make it pick up speed a bit more. I thought one chapter would be plenty of an introduction to the characters after all.


    ------------------------------


    CHAPTER 2


    At the airport.


    A man in suit and tie went into one of the offices in customs.


    ''What is the report we got from the bot we sent to the schoolbus?'' asked the man behind the desk.


    ''It seems they will be going to Japan this very night sir.''


    ''Seems we will have to begin immediately... schedule the Hawk.''


    After a moment of silence the man behind the desk stood up and said: ''you are dismissed, let me know if anything comes up.''


    In another part of the airport.


    ''Got your passports and bags at the ready?'' asked Franks father.


    After briefly checking Frank replied: ''affirmitave''


    ''Are you excited?'' asked his mother.


    ''Of course I am!!'' frank said.


    All three went to the check-in to get their luggage checked in and ready to go.


    ''Here are your boarding passes Mr. Sanders.''


    ''Thank you''


    Frank and his parents walked off towards their gate.


    Just as they arrived the people started getting into the plane and everyone stood in the line so Frank and his parents joined them.


    ''First time in a plane for you isn''t it Frank.'' asked his mother.


    ''Yes, I wonder what it is like.''


    ''Guess you''ll find out soon.''


    Frank and his parents went up as a family to the counter as families were allowed to board the plane first. After showing their boarding passes and passports they were allowed onto the plane.


    Frank was looking around excitedly even before they had boarded the plane. As they entered Franks father showed the flight attendant his boardingpass which prompted her to point out that we were sitting all the way in the back.


    Frank''s family went down the aisle but had to stop from time to time due to some passengers trying to get their carry-on luggage into the compartiments above.


    After finnaly reaching their seats Frank got the window-seat.


    This seat is both the seat from which you can most easily look out the window as the seat where it is most difficult to get your food and drinks or even get out of your seat to get to the toilet. Next to Frank sat Franks mother.


    ''Excuse me passengers, due to some technical difficulties we will have to delay our departure while the technicians do a thorough secondary check as we are getting some uncertain readings. Please bear with us and we will get you to Japan as soon as possible.'' The pilot said over intercom.


    ''Seems we''ll be sitting here for quite a while.'' said Franks mother.


    ''I don''t mind; we are in an airplane!!!'' Frank said excitedly while he almost jumped up and down in his chair. But not excessively as that would earn him some scolding from his parents.


    After a couple hours Franks excitement slowly died down as there was still no sign of the plane moving anytime soon. Frank slowly fell asleep and so did his father and mother.


    Frank slowly opened his eyes; the sun was coming up and was shining brightly into Franks eyes.


    Frank looked to his right and saw that his parents were still fast asleep so Frank decided to close draw down the window-blinds so that they could continue sleeping.


    Having done so Frank decides to try and fall asleep again which he is able to do easily as it is deathly silent on the place except for the constant humming of the turbines.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After some time Frank feels someone tug on his shirt.


    ''Frank'' whispers his mother; ''Frank, wake up.''


    ''hmmm, no not more apples.'' Frank says


    ''Frank, come on boy.''


    His mother then unbuckles him and takes him up in her arms as she starts following Franks father.


    As Frank slowly but surely woke up he was put down to walk for himself but Tara wouldn''t let go of his hand as she pulled him along.


    As Frank was pulled along he looked left and right to see that all of the seats were empty. There was nobody else on the plane it seemed like. Up ahead Frank saw his father walking searching for flight attendants or anybody else.


    ''HELLO, ANYBODY THERE?'' yelled Franks father.


    ''HELLO!'' Frank and his mother chimed in.


    As my father walked past a set of toilets to the first class area of the plane he saw someone sitting in one of the seats.


    ''Hey!''


    We followed and as my father came to the row that the guy was in he gave a questioning look.


    Then the head turned around showing a face like a manequin and it opened its mouth showing a speaker within.


    ''Hello Mr. Sanders, we must apologize for the way we have come to recruit you but we need help with a secret project of ours and we think you can help us with it.


    More will be explained on arrival; enjoy your flight.''


    The head of the doll turned back to look in front as it closed its mouth.


    ''What is that dad?'' Frank asked.


    ''I am no sure..''


    ''Was this because...'' Franks mother asked.


    ''Yea probably. Can''t think of anyone else who could do this.''


    ''Who did this?'' Frank asked.


    ''Someone wants me to work for them.''


    ''Does that mean that we''re not going on vacation to Japan dad?''


    ''I am afraid not.''


    Frank could hardly hold back his tears and started quietly sobbing.


    Franks mother and father then hugged him neither knowing what was to come.


    After a couple of minutes Franks father let go and walked down the aisle back to their seats;


    ''Where are you going dad?''


    ''Just going to get our stuff. Might as well sit in first class, right?''


    Franks mother smiled as she turned to look at Frank.


    ''Just try to stay calm and collected, you think you can do that Frank?''


    ''What does collected mean?''


    ''It means that you keep your wits and don''t let yourself get bullied into submission by anything; it means to never give up and seek joy and life in everything. It means to be at peace even if there is war. Do you understand?''


    ''Yes mom, I will try.''


    ''Do or do not, there is no try.'' Franks mother replied quoting one of their favorite movies.


    Frank giggled a bit.


    ''Look what I found.'' Franks father said as he returned.


    ''Food, how did that get back there?'' Franks mother asked.


    ''I just checked one of the foodcarts and there were meals for the three of us.'' Franks father replied as he gave Frank and his mother each a meal.


    Frank looked at his meal and saw that it was a salmon salad with baked potatoes.


    ''Seems that my new employer knows how to take care of his employees. Good food, private jet; I haven''t even started working yet.'' Franks father said.


    After eating their meals Frank and his parents each took a 1st class seat and went to sleep again as they were still quite tired and didn''t know how much sleep they would get when they arrived.

 Volume 2 chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    Frank woke up due to the shock and thud of the airplane landing on a runway in an unknown location.


    ''Whoa, look at those mountains!'' Frank loudly exclaimed waking up his parents in the proces.


    The plane was braking while on the runway and slowly came to a stop. To the left of the plane all you could see were mountains and forests. To the right there was a large square building a good ways away and on the runway Frank could see a couple jeeps and people standing around.


    ''I am guessing they are here to welcome us.'' Franks father said.


    We then heard some noise from the front of the plane and stood up to see what it was.


    We then saw a robot coming out of the cockpit, its movements were oddly fluid.


    Buzz ''This way family Sanders, I will be opening the door for you.'' said the robot as it headed to one of the exits.


    Franks father was the first to get out of the daze of seeing something so futuristic.


    Franks father took his carry-on bag and signaled for his wife and son to do the same.


    Frank took his backpack and after strapping it to his back he followed his parents towards the front-exit.


    As the door opened they were met by a warm evening breeze as the sun was slowly setting behind the mountains in the distance.


    The stairs were still being moved to accomodate their descent giving them apt time to observe their surroundings.


    As the airstair got into position the robot as if it was sensing it said: ''Have a nice day and watch your step.''


    ''Thanks'' Franks said almost out of reflex.


    ''You''re welcome'' the robot replied startling Frank somewhat.


    Frank and his family went down the stairs and were met by a man in a scientists robe followed closely by a military escort.


    ''Hey Bertho, long time no see my friends.'' said the scientist.


    ''Hello Jacob, fancy meeting you here. Are you the owner of this place?'' Bertho asked.


    ''No, I am like you. A scientist whom they needed for their projects.''


    ''Then I am guessing we are working on some sort of AI?''


    ''Almost correct, this is however not the time nor the place for us to have this talk. Please follow me and I will show you your temporary dwellings.''


    ''So we can leave once the project is done?'' Franks mother asked.


    ''That is correct; this is in fact my third time being... invited.'' Jacob said.


    We then started following Jacob while the military personel walked up behind us.


    Except for our footsteps and those of the people near us we heard absolutely nothing. No birds or people or traffic. It was very eerie.


    ''So how long have you been here, Jacob?'' Franks father asked.


    ''I myself have been here for a mere 3 months and because we are still getting nowhere with the project they called you in and several others who will be arriving shortly.''


    ''Interesting, must be something big if even you need help with it. Who else is coming?''


    ''John Debbs, Anne Dijkman, Christopher Burns and some others whom I don''t remember the names of. Just can not remember those asian names for some reason.''


    ''Same here, and all of them are also coming over with their families?''


    ''As much as possible. My wife is here too. She''d like to meet you and your family.''


    ''So have you done this before too Bertho?'' asked Franks mother Tara.


    ''I have once but it was only for a month that time.'' Franks father Bertho answered.


    ''Why had you not told me about it?''


    ''I could not risk it, you. These people are everywhere. You saw what they can do. They are everywhere and there is no hiding from them.'' Bertho said with a strong somewhat shaky voice.


    In the distance Frank saw someone he knew.


    ''Ella....'' Frank said while staring towards one of the jeeps where she was seated in looking back at him.


    ''Someone you know?'' Jacob said as he saw Franks gaze.


    ''Yes, she is from my school... I think.''


    ''For me it was a barman at a shop I used to frequent.'' Jacob replied; ''What about you Bertho? Who was your first scout?''


    ''I would rather not talk about it...'' Bertho replied


    We then reached a large jeep. Jacob jumped in the back first followed by Franks father who then helped his wife and son up the back of the jeep while two soldiers went to the front and two more stayed behind making sure we were in the vehicle. Their looks were stern and showed they showed no emotion whatsoever.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The engine was then turned on and the jeep closely followed by a second smaller jeep.


    Frank looked back at the small jeep following them seeing that Ella sat shotgun. When she saw Frank looking at her she avoided his gaze looking away.


    ''So where did they bring us to this time Jack?'' asked Franks father.


    ''According to the constellations that I''ve seen I would say we are in Korea, probably North Korea.''


    ''Wow, then this is one strange top-secret building that we are going to be working in.''


    ''Definately, who knows what strings they had to pull to get this going. It also seems that parts of the building were made a long time ago, probably twenty to thirty years ago while the newer parts are from the last year or two.'' Jack said.


    The jeeps then left the clearing and entered the forested area following a dirt track. There were some trees that confirmed that they were in Asia as they didn''t grow in America.


    After a couple minute drive; ''Welcome to your new home.'' Jack said.


    The building was nothing more than a huge square, the dirt road then turned into a concrete road that slowly descended below ground. After a while the jeeps slowed down and stopped. The soldiers in the front reported to the guards that had stopped us and handed over some paper work.


    ''This is where we get off.'' Jack said as he stood up.


    After Jack jumped out of the jeep he gave a hand to help Frank and his mother and he did the same to Franks father jokingly.


    A guard signaled for us to follow and so we did. Looking back Frank saw that Ella was still sitting and hadn''t come out of the jeep.


    Soon Frank had to look in front again following along with a thoughtful look.


    The guard led them through a side-door. They then entered a hall with 4 doors, 2 on either side.


    The guard opened the door to the first to the left which we then entered.


    This too was a hall with another door at the very end of it.


    ''Frank you stand here, Bertho you here and Tara here.'' Jack said as he showed us dots on the floor that we were supposed to stand on.


    ''Now face the wall to your right; hold up your hand with your thumbs facing forward.''


    So we did and as we did the entire wall flashed. Recovering from the daze we belatedly realized that the wall was now a giant screen showing our house.


    ''What is this? Is this our house?'' Tara asked.


    ''Yes it is; you can now each pick 10 items right after you put on these.'' Jack took 3 vizors and gave them to each of us.


    Then as soon as we put them on, faced the screen and thought of what we wanted to bring we could see the screen changing to each of the items we thought of. Soon enough Frank had chosen 9 of his favorite books and the apple tree then he heard.


    ''Do you confirm Frank Sanders?''


    ''Yes'' Frank replied.


    ''Quick one aren''t you'' Jack asked as he came over to get the vizor back.


    Moments later Franks father was also done picking stuff and only Franks mother seemed indecisive.


    ''So do these vizors have anything to do with what we are going to be working on?''


    ''Yes indeed, this was one of the products that came from our research as a byproduct.''


    ''Interesting...'' Franks father said.


    Frank didn''t know what to do and just wandered around the room occasionally glancing at the screen to see what his mother was looking at.


    She was browsing through various dresses and kitchen appliances at the same time as her part of the wall turned into a split screen.


    ''Whoa mom can think of multiple things at the same time.'' Frank loudly exclaimed.


    ''Seems all three of you are pretty good at this.'' Jack said after seeing what Frank had seen on the wall.


    Franks mother then finnaly decided to pick a pair of her favorite shoes as her final choice.


    Jack then went and took the final vizor and put all three of them in a compartiment to the right of the door at the end of the hallway.


    Bzzz  the door then unlocked after which Jack opened it. This way please.


    Frank and his family then walked through the door and saw a desk with another guard sitting behind it with 3 forms spread out on his desk facing towards Frank and his family. There were also three pens and three chairs.


    ''See you on the other side.'' Jack said as he closed the door.