Worry Not

When was the last time you saw your daughter?

I tucked her into bed last night. Eight o' clock as always!

Have you seen anyone suspicious wandering around the town lately?

Well, no! Who would come out this far-- wait, you don't suppose it was bandits, do you?

Ma'am, that's--

Those Heronite dogs! If I said it once, I've said it a thousand times, a border town is no place to raise our children!

Mrs. Merrow, I assure you bandits have never ranged into Resta before. Even without the Desmond clan to provide a mighty deterrent, I don't suspect they would come just to steal a child from her bed in the dead of night.

Well, who else could it be?

For the moment, there remains no evidence that Melany didn't leave of her own volition--

She would never go out on her own at night, especially not in this weather!

In that case, a good place to start would be with family members and acquaintances. Most kidnappings are committed by someone the victim knows.

It can't be anyone in the family! All we've got are my husband and his mother. Dianna is too old to travel and Frederick is serving in the crusade!

Worry not, ma'am. I promise we're going to find her by magic or investigation. Your husband will not come home to tragedy. For now, I'm going to need you to tell me everything you can about your family's immediate acquaintances, those your children see most frequently.

Merric, you stay where I can see you!

...

You need to tell her about the fox.

We did! She didn't believe us!

Then tell her that Mel left to follow it!

She still won't believe me! Mel is afraid of the dark! She doesn't like the cold either!

It's been two days, Merric! Do you have any idea what is happening to her right now?

No!

No one does! And no one's going to find out unless we tell your mum the truth! That spellwarrior is just going to waste her time talking to my family! Then he's going to to talk to everyone else in the town! By the time she realizes no one around her knows where she is, it'll be too late!

I'm going to be in so much trouble.

We both are! And it's only going to get worse the longer we wait!

Meet the Phoenix Blade

While the story of The Phoenix Blade is told primarily through the point of view of its leader, Bolreck. The guild is full of various characters with varying levels of development and involvement in the lives of other Comalanians. So, for our next post, I'd like to talk a little about some of the other members of the Phoenix Blade.

Saayuko Dreadkiller

Once a member of a gang of Heronite bandits, Saayuko fled the country after killing the leader of her gang. This monstrous archer, known as the Dread Arrow, was spoken of in whispers by the people of Heron and Tanis alike. Unable to tolerate the brutality he carried with him for any longer, she led him into a trap that caused him to fall to one of his own arrows. While this feat earned her the gratitude of the various regions their gang once terrorized, her resulting fame made her a target of every bandit in Heron. Branded a killer of the free people, she immigrated to the Desmond Foothills of Resta. There, she learned of this new country and began to travel with the local hunting parties. As she began to grow more confident in her safety within the kingdom's borders, she ranged further and further until she had eventually explored the entirety of Resta. Thus began a mercenary career as a retrieval expert, which would eventually lead her into Bolreck's path. As a senior member of the Phoenix Blade, she is known as The Fetcher for her skills in resource acquisition.

Moruay Rainwalker

As the first employee under Bolreck's business in Resta, Moruay Rainwalker would become a founding member of the Phoenix Blade. She was born on the island of Katrine as the daughter of an emissary who frequently treated with the Restan throne. She lives in frequent fear of the Third Archknight because of the ways her father, Ranin, have fallen afoul of him and his friends. This makes things tense between her and Takaa, a longtime friend of Gyanda's. She is otherwise a friendly face to all of the guild. While the guild all affectionately refers to Bolreck and Saayuko as the parents of the guild, Moruay is considered the older sister-- even by Benedicte, who is measurably older than she is. She offers her skills as a survivalist to the guild in the form of fine leather goods for the customers and delicious food for her friends.

Takaa of Ravager

Takaa was once a gunsmith working out of a solitary workshop in the south of Ravager until he crossed paths with Gyanda Maloran. After aiding the magister who would become the Archknight, Takaa set out for Resta in search of further adventure that went beyond hunting dangerous game on his home island. While he continued to aid Gyanda and his friends on multiple occasions, he found a day job as a member of the craftsman's stable that would become the Phoenix Blade. He has an avid disdain for most magic after watching his own brother become devoured by the seductive influence of dark magic but tends to make an exception for people he especially likes, including Gyanda, Volt, and his best friend Oogura. He is also taken with Tir Apollo--not for her Avatar prestige, but for their mutual fascination with engineering.

Oogura of Sister

Oogura was once a disciple of the Landsworn, a druidic cabal devoted to guarding her island's ecosystem from within. While she excelled at blending into her environment, she eventually grew bored with life on Sister. Thirsting with a desire to see the world beyond her shores, she moved to Resta. She stopped first in the capitol's Royal Library in the hopes of gathering knowledge she would need to proceed.  It was there she learned to read and wield a pen from a patient scholar by the name of Melany Winstrom. But as Madam Winstrom began to fall ill, Oogura desperately took a job under Bolreck to take care of her benefactor. While that illness would take the old woman's life, Oogura would find a new home among the newly-founded Phoenix Blade where she applies her skills as a scribe. She is a friendly soul who, unlike Moruay, bonds easily with strangers and often appears as the face of the guild. Her love for everyone in the guild is intense, but far less so than it is for Takaa. Unfortunately this passion is unrequited due to Takaa's attention toward the Avatar of Crane.

Benedicte Zeringue

Prior to his death, Benedicte, or Bene as he is known more casually, made most of his living conning the citizens of Resta City and trying his best to avoid running afoul of the authorities. This is actually how he came to know Bolreck originally, though they wouldn't reunite and become friends until after they both became sai'mul. Though Bene's death greatly increased his talent for dark magic, he still finds ways to profit off of swindling people in addition to charging for genuine goods and magical services. Personality wise, he fancies himself quite the charmer and prides himself on his charisma. Despite his penchant for moral ambiguity, Bene is friendly with the other members of the Phoenix Blade and and generally avoids grifting his own comrades. He is particularly close with guild leader Bolreck, though also notable was his rather close relationship with Eione Astersong prior to her treason. The nature of the relationship was notoriously ambiguous, but those who know him well would be able to detect how hurt the usually-unflappable sai'mul was by Eione's defection.

Zara of Ravager

Like Takaa, Zara hails from the Midanian island of Ravager. Beyond that, his past is largely unknown. He is most notable for his close friendship with the Avatar of Kerun, Voltairine Maloran, and is said to have been her companion for years before she entered the spotlight. Like the Avatar, Zara is known as a free spirit who eschews authority and comes and goes as he pleases, though his entry into the guild along with his then-lover Eione Astersong provided a home base for him. After Eione's departure left him heartbroken, he bonded strongly with his fellow Ravager Takaa, who he spends much of his time with when he isn't abroad. While he cares for Takaa, he harbors a secret desire to uncover the shy engineer's wild side.

Eione Astersong

Once a respected Theian Priestess of Iris Isle, Eione was raised alongside her brother, the famously pious Avatar of Salica, Atunis Astersong. As a girl, she thirsted for knowledge and adventure, though she wouldn't experience this until she ran away from seminary life, traveling Mortanis and embracing her wild side. She would be inducted into the guild alongside her lover at the time, Zara, and quickly win over the rest of the guild with her witty, outgoing nature. Things seemed rosy until her deep curiosity led her to consort, secretly, with a cabal of dark magicians, starting a chain of events that would lead to the betrayal of her brother and the rest of the guild.

Flint Brokamac

Flint Brokamac is an eccentric blacksmith who is believed to be the last living descendant of the ill-fated Brokamac tribe. He lives among the Restans in the hope of gathering information for a hypothetical revenge plot against the killers of his tribe. With this in mind, he does not get along well with Bolreck, Benedicte, or Eione-- he prefers the company of those who did not originate from Resta. Saayuko looks down on him because she doesn't believe he is truly a Brokamac, who were almost certainly wiped out by the Restans with any survivors surely being abandoned by the other houses of Heron. Despite this, Flint works hard at the Phoenix Blade forge because his plot requires money. Too bad he keeps wasting it on ill-considered sports bets. A long-running joke within the compound is that Flint's greatest ambition is to sneak into the equipment manufacturing team for the Freeform Fencing League so he could influence fights with sabotaged swords and finally build up a nest egg large enough to take over Ridge.

Adar "Lugsbonk" Cogfate

Despite the implications of his name, Adar Cogfate is NOT an engineer. He is descended from a long line of researchers at the Fides Academy of Engineering, but to put a machine into his hands is to invite destruction. This inspired his nickname, Lugsbonk. As a technological illiterate, he doesn't get along well with Takaa, who often has to guard his work from the dangerous mishaps that seem to follow him. He looks up to Benedicte because they have a similar passion for alchemy, but the rest of the guild worries that Bene's greed might rub off on him.

Hu-yin Dreamwalker

Hu-yin couldn't have joined the Phoenix Blade at a worse time-- she entered the guild just two months before a disastrous calamity struck their compound and scattered many of its members to various corners of the continent. Despite this, she has stuck around in the hopes of finding adventure under the company's new leadership. Hailing from the Lost Lands far across the ocean to the south of Mortanis, Hu-yin has had a long journey. She continues to press on through the roughest time in the guild's existence in search of a truly epic tale she can someday take back to her homeland. If you were to ask where she came from, though, she would pretend not to remember. The truth behind this faked amnesia is only known to Saayuko who saw through her lies and pulled the truth out of her at knifepoint. Since then, neither woman has revealed the truth to anyone. She is a monk and a scribe by trade.

Can You See Through The Snow?

Did you see the Snow Fox running around outside last night?

Yeah! It was weird to see one of those this far south!

Don't be silly! Obviously, it was a ridgewolf!

Nuh-uh! Ridgewolves are so much bigger! It wasn't much bigger than a field lynx!

How do you know what a field lynx looks like?

We saw some on the way to Gran's last summer for the festival!

That was the best! I wish I could have some firecrab now!

You always change the subject! Stop doing that!

You don't believe us anyway!

Well if you did see a Heronite Snow Fox, what do you reckon it's doing in Resta?

I don't know! It was kind of just poking around for something in the snow!

That's not all! It looked up and saw I was watching it and it just stared at me!

Animals do that when humans are looking at them. It must've thought you were going to attack it!

I wasn't, though!

Oh, I'm sure! But the animal wouldn't know!

I think it did, though! We stared at each other for a long time. Then it started to spin!

What do you mean "it started to spin"?

It was just walking around in a circle! It always lowered its head when it faced my direction, but lifted its nose when it was looking to the north!

Maybe it wanted to show you something! Did you see what it was pointing towards when it was looking up?

Ridiculous! There was a blizzard last night! Can you see through the snow?

Lenny's right, brother! I couldn't see anything!

Maybe it wanted you to follow it!

In a blizzard?

Argh! You're right! Why couldn't it come when it was actually safe to go out?

I heard Snow Foxes are tricksters. It was probably only trying to lead you to your death.

And what if you were right about it being a ridgewolf?

If it's a ridgewolf, it could be a spellwarrior's companion, trying to lead someone to their master in distress. If you see it again, you should just tell your mum and be done with it.

But what if it's something else! Mum told us about a wolf that led a girl just like you to a legendary spear that she used to hold back the worst blizzard in history!

That was just a bedtime story, Merric! Don't believe everything you hear!

If it was a snow fox, it has to be here for a reason! If you see it again, you HAVE to follow it!

I don't know what I'm going to do yet, or even if it's even going to show up again! No sense arguing about it now!

Mel's right! We're here for a game! Now... whose turn is it?

Blood Magic Codex

Hey guys! The new job has been kicking my head in this week so the weekend post this time is actually a re-post from our Patreon page! Subscribe now for more Comalan content and enjoy this glimpse into the abilities of a blood mage!

Notable Spells

Blood Blade- The caster focuses their blood into the shape of a blade that can cut through anything with ease. Additional blood added to the spell can increase the size and even number of blades, creating a sinister and powerful close range offense.

Blood Drain- A mid-range spell which allows the caster to drain any nearby blood. While it is possible to draw blood from any open wound, it is considered an ethical obligation to only draw blood that’s already on the ground. Blood taken from this spell is drawn into the caster’s body, increasing their vitality and providing additional resources for their more powerful spells.

Blood Scrying- Using someone else’s blood, a caster trained in Intalan magic can see into the past of the person who owned said blood. This spell is notably used to discover the circumstances which led to the blood being spilled.

Blood Shield- A significant amount of the caster’s blood is used to create a dense shield that rivals solid steel in its strength and is most effective as long as the caster doesn't move. Additional blood added to the spell can expand its radius, creating the perfect defense.

Circulatory Purification- This healing spell is capable of curing nearly any blood-borne illness. It is activated by making a small incision from which to draw blood, then stimulating the patient’s blood vessels to push out any toxins or harmful microbes. A tiny bit of the caster’s own blood is then used to speed up the healing of their incision.

Corrosion- The caster imbues some of their blood with a corroding power that can quickly dissolve armor and flesh more efficiently even than Maulan toxins. This power is speculated to be a threat even to the gods since the Fourth Archknight used it to defeat the Second Avatar of Chaos.

Phlebotomy Grenade- A unique spell developed by Gyanda Maloran in which an exploding lump of blood is lobbed at an enemy. The shrapnel resembles countless tiny blood blades, which embed themselves in anything nearby. If the shrapnel makes contact with someone else’s blood, a vacuous force drains the victim of all of their blood through their wounds. This spell is described as a combination of the blood drain and blood blade spells enhanced with Arcane magic.

Transformations

Spellwarriors who are trained in blood magic can find their signature transformations altered by the foreign blood they imbibe with the blood drain spell.

• Bloodfist Style- Silverfist transformations become incredibly deadly when imbued with blood magic as their fists take on the property of blood blades, allowing their punches to penetrate any defense.
• Bloodhawk Style- Phoenix transformations combined with blood magic increase both their destructive and healing power. While phoenix wingbeats would usually drop motes of fire that burn their foes and heal their allies, the bloodhawk instead unleashes splashes of blood that apply Corrosion to enemies while accelerating the natural healing of their allies.
• Bloodtusk Style- When a blood mage transforms into a pachyderm, their rough skin becomes reinforced with the power of a blood shield, making them nearly impervious to harm without sacrificing any mobility.

The Skysworn

By the light of the kilg, Comalan's sun, there is a cabal of warriors who swear to uphold the values of Tanis' Serene culture. Based in Fort Kieransgard, the elves of the Skysworn are a counterpart to Resta's templars, differing primarily in their solitary focus on Doctrines of Serenity. All Serene Doctrines are represented, namely Tranquility, Love, Dreams and-- to a much lesser extent-- Shadows. Those who join the Skysworn are taught to live by a particular ideal; all life in Tanis is to be protected. This informs various responsibilities including nature conservation, hunting for casters of dark magic native to the Bog of Anguish, offering safe harbor to Restan and Galean pilgrims, and collaborating with rangers to protect the land from their Heronite enemies.

This order owes its origins to a Restan templar by the name of Kieran Hawke, who once saved Tanis while escorting a group of pilgrims from his monastery in the year 2E87. He was unaware of the dangers of the Bog of Anguish, and so attempted to lead his people through it to Boggarde so that they may pay homage at a Serene temple there. This might have ended in the death or corruption of his entire group if not for a chance encounter with a ranger from Medear named Nalan. It was she who led the Templars safely through the bog, skirting known locations of sinister magical activity. Upon reaching their destination, Kieran bestowed a gift of prayer beads engraved with the markings of the Shadow Doctrine. Nalan initially rejected this gift for its association with Chaos, but a long and respectful discussion ultimately convinced her that the Shadow Doctrine was just as much a part of Serenity's wisdom as it was the war god's.

With the acolytes' charge to pray at the Boggarde temple completed, Kieran would thank his new elven friend once more before setting off toward Medear on a journey that would lead them back to Resta. Along the way, they would encounter an army of demons that bog witches had been cultivating in secret for over three decades. Although the rangers expected him to escape in order to protect his charges, Kieran led the acolytes to join the rangers in defense of Boggarde. While many acolytes would distinguish themselves as strong candidates for priesthood and knighthood in the ensuing battle, Kieran alone suffered a mortal wound from the horn of a crazed fever morph that took the form of a human-bull hybrid.

Understanding that this wound would finish him, Kieran surrendered his body to the gods for a powerful blast of divine energy that eradicated the remaining demons and rent a massive hole in the forest canopy. Elves who studied this miracle would find traces of Serenity in its aftermath as it opened up the sky not by harming the treeline above, but shoving thee branches aside. This exposed part of the Bog of Anguish to the sky for the first time and inspired many rangers to declare the site of this battle holy land. They would build a tower in this spot that reached beyond the treeline and swore to honor their newfound hero by adopting some virtues of his order. The Blackstone Order would send a commendation to the garrison of this new tower fifty years later, declaring them the Skysworn, Tanisian allies of the Blackstone Order. Nalan accepted this honor as the Skysworn's first Grand Master, pledging to uphold the honor that Kieran Hawke showed as a templar.

Tales of the Starlight Crusade: The Watch List

The walls of the Morta nearly vibrated with activity in the midst of its pre-launch testing. Between the hum of its engines and the frantic pounding of footsteps from Restan soldiers still working out where they needed to be, this was the only time Ellie could get aboard unseen. As the vice-captain of the fleet's recently-designated flagship, she could have requested access to the information she required easily through the fleet commander, but the captain she was dealing with was quite tricky. Going through the normal channels seemed like the thing any Avatar would insist on, but with two so firmly opposed, she couldn't trust any information Captain Maloran freely gave her. The Archknight had to be making moves against Tir ever since she began to insist her mentor's betrayal was not dealt of his own will. There was no way she could find evidence by demanding to see his files upfront.

The Windlord stopped just before entering the Tactical Information Terminus to apply a new Lightbend mantra to herself before she became visible again. Then, she took in a sharp breath and rushed in after Clint, the Morta's own vice-captain, just as they had arranged. Every move she made had to be perfect. Even if Sir Maloran lacked the fully-honed senses of any other spellwarrior, he would more than make up for it with a mountain of external security measures.

Esia, she quickly murmured, causing her eyes to glow with the magic that would allow her to see other magic.

As she thought, the walls were lined with similar glyphs to the one inscribed on her mantra. Hugging the walls would probably dispel her magic and make her visible once more. Worse still, she also spotted magical-cantrips on the ceiling which were likely invisible to the naked eye. These traps would probably spring on any cluster of magical energy that passed beneath it. This explained the sign outside forbidding the use of magic on the bridge, which was ironically unique to the ship owned by a kingdom that virtually founded the practice of magic. Ellie wanted to curse as she studied the area above the captain's chair. It was surrounded by these traps, so approaching it herself or even collecting the tablet she so desperately needed with her wind powers wouldn't work.

Carefully maneuvering around the cantrips, she sneaked into the launch bay for the Voidwalker and Hermes armor units and opened one of the lockers within. Inside, she found the uniform for a bridge officer that would suit her needs. She removed her own yellow-trimmed coat and sash and replaced it with the white-trimmed coat that was specific to this ship. Then she removed her mantra and applied a quick glamour to make her hair dark brown, thinking that the rampant use of such magic would be enough reason for the Archknight to make an exception for it. With a more presentable appearance, she strode back onto the bridge casually, but with purpose. Sure that no one was paying attention to her, she made a beeline for the captain's chair. Gyanda nearly turned in her direction as she passed, but was quickly distracted by Clint, who had stopped to ask him something about the navigational synchronization tests that she herself would be involved in later.

Ellie picked up the command tablet and, with the code she was supplied by Clint, scrolled quickly to find what she needed. Within moments, she found the security code that would allow her into the Captain's Office. She then swabbed the chair with a blank Identify mantra and returned to the launch bay to retrieve her original uniform and apply a new Lightbend mantra. She then crept surely through the ship until she found the source of her quarry. With the Identify mantra wrapped around her wrist, she punched in the security code and, with the panel believing she was the captain, the door slid open.

Rifling through his files was full of enlightening information about the Restans who served on the Morta's crew, but that was not her concern. It would take her ten minutes, twice as long as she would have liked, to find what she was looking for. Here, sandwiched between two innocuous personnel files, was a list of some crewmembers from across the fleet that Gyanda had marked as potential sympathizers of the so-called "Betrayer". The Commander's name topped this list of course, she found her own name as well as that of Clint plus dozens of Galeans, Restans, and Tanisians all helpfully coded by which ship they served on. Curiously, she found the name of an S-rated soldier known only as Bolreck who was serving as a mercenary for the Amologra. As far as she had been able to gather, Broger had never had any contact with this man, but her investigation only went back fifty years. Could the two sai'mul have met each other in life? If so how did Gyanda get access to this information before the windlords?

Troubled with the notion that Gyanda might have been any number of steps ahead of her, she put the list to a Copy mantra and escaped the ship as quickly as possible. Though this list didn't say much about the Archknight's plans, what she found needed to be reported to Tir as soon as possible.

It Comes for Those Who Don't Run Part 16

Back to the Beginning

Previous

Aennin's day of drinking with Katim and Landah was a fateful one in that it seemed to start a tradition. From that point on, Aennin would be compelled to sit down at the bar for a round of flux whiskey whenever there was no work for him to do. This soon became a nearly weekly occurrence with mixed results. Even on the worst days, it was hard to complain because he was paid for his time and didn't need to do much besides stay conscious-- which was immediately paid into his family's debt. As he considered this during a particularly raucous occasion two months later, he thought to ask how much he and his sister still owed them.

Katim shrugged moodily. The flux wine had not been strong with him that day. "I don't carry the damned bill around with me! I only see on it pay days when I'm striking your month's pay from it."

Aennin frowned and slapped his glass on the table, which Landah quickly refilled. "I feel like I should know this information! Where do you keep the bill?"

Katim took a deep gulp straight from the bottle. "Gods damn! Why do we still drink this stuff? I'm not going to get it right now and you're not going into my office. If you want to know, ask your sister. She pesters me about it every month, so I can't imagine anyone more likely to remember your debt than her."

"It's about time for her shift," Landah slurred lazily. "You could-- you should go ask her now and check.. check on her. See if she's gonna be here."

"She'd better be," Katim growled before smashing the bottle behind the bar. "I'm not paying her to leave us high and dry in the week before Tey Bola ul Handeen. There are going to be hundreds of people pouring in! I might have to stick an apron to you two and put you both to work as well!"

"This one'd look good in the serving uniform," Landah said as he threw an arm around Aennin and pulled him in. "Imagine how much we could make with a red-haired version of Kana!"

Aennin ducked under Landah's arm and shot him a venemous glare while Katim said, "Those legs are for running, not for showing, you idiot!" Turning to Aennin, he added, "You seem to be doing better than this drunken lech right now. Maybe you could put those legs to work right now and get your sister. The first wave of celebrants will start pouring in any minute!"

"All I'm saying is if we're going to pay him to get drunk here, he may as well be making us money!" Landah protested. 

Whatever was said after that, Aennin didn't wait to hear. He darted out of the bar before Landah could start sizing him up for a skirt and jogged home as quickly as his drink-addled body could carry him. He took a shortcut he had discovered over months of repeating this route in order to avoid any nosy guards. He stumbled into the house to find Kana sitting on his mother's old armchair with a stony expression on her face.

"Have fun?" she said waspishly.

"Another day, another handful of gold," Aennin said weakly as he fell into the sofa.

"I'm not sure being drinking buddies with our mom's killer is what I'd call work," Kana hissed with hardly concealed contempt.

"Nor is getting your ass pinched by his customers," Aennin said a little hotly. "But we do what we must to get him off our case. How much do we still owe, anyway?"

"Nine hundred and fifty seven promises as of yesterday," Kana said with her face contorted in anger. "How much are you getting paid to drink with Katim and Landah?"

"Five a day," Aennin replied with a sigh. "Half what I make for each delivery. Fair, considering I don't actually do any work when I'm there."

"I wouldn't socialize with those two for ten times that much!" Kana snapped.

"It's not like I have a choice! We agreed that we'd do whatever they want until they wipe our debt," Aennin shot back. "Don't judge me for having a few drinks! I'm lucky they don't make me shuffle around the pub, serving drinks in the same uniform you wear! And considering what I just went through, I do mean that literally! Talk about something they couldn't pay me to do!"

"Yes, it's humiliating, but how do you think that makes me feel?" Kana shouted as she jumped out of the chair. "I'm angry every damned day! And I use that to motivate me to actually pay this damn debt and put this behind me! How are you supposed to do that if you become friends with these monsters?

"I'M NOT THEIR FRIEND!" Aennin roared, kicking the sofa over in a rage as he jumped to his feet as well. "I'm not getting close to Katim because I admire him, I'm doing it because I want him DEAD!"

Kana let out a gasp of shock. "You're not... planning to kill him, are you?"

Realizing his mistake, he shook his head. "No! I just--"

"I need to go to work," Kana said as she grabbed her apron from the coat rack and hurried to the door. "Whatever you're doing, forget about it! We never talked about this!"

Kana slammed the door in her haste to get away, leaving Aennin alone to contemplate what had just happened. Of course he wasn't going to kill Katim, he was waiting for Maula to do it! She wanted him to learn something from his employer, but the fact that Katim still drew breath meant he still had yet to learn it. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time by spending it in the way he had and what it would take to see his tormentor dead.

Adventures in Comalan: The Untouched City

Somewhere in the deep woods of Tanis lies a lone bunker that seems to lead to one of the elves' many subterranean settlements. This city is not plotted on any map and doesn't appear to have a name. No one seems to be aware of its existence save the scant few who have managed to discover it. The place is completely empty and even those who once swore to have explored it eventually forget all of its details. Concrete evidence of its existence can only be found in the journals of travelers who have seen there, but even those are rare and prone to strange mishaps. The last known recording of such an expedition only reports:

I have seen no one since I arrived, but there seems to be evidence of occupants all around. The shops are fully stocked, food is plentiful and fresh, and you can hear voices when you stop and listen. It's impossible to make out what any of them are saying because it's like standing in the middle of a large crowd. What bothers me about this place isn't that no one can be found here, but that it's emptiness seems clearly deceptive. It is hard to believe this place can even be real.

This is a passage that has only survived because the page on which it has been recorded is carefully preserved by a historian from the city of Setria by the name of Ayriel. She once collected many accounts of this unknown city until the majority of this collection vanished along with any memory of why she kept it. Among these recordings, only the words that are detailed above survived the series of random mishaps that collected the others. The author of the page is unknown and it is unclear why Ayriel has even chosen to keep it. When asked about it, she only replies "It's a very interesting writing. I'm curious about what it's for."

The researchers of Adventures in Comalan have determined that this is a city waiting to be explored, but an unintelligible curse exists to protect the secret of its existence. However, with our mass-produced format, it will someday be possible to attract enough adventurers who are interested in solving this mystery to investigate the city. Unfortunately, information of its location is limited to somewhere in the deep woods of northern Tanis. Given the power that has sealed away this place, it is assumed to be highly dangerous, but we are committed to providing leads to the most exciting adventures this world has to offer, no matter how dangerous even publishing our information might prove to be.

The Robber Was Slain

To Grand Master Blackstone:

As ordered, I have dispatched twenty of my knights to Seres in pursuit of the fiendish witch referred to as Annette Skye. I shamefully admit to my skepticism that it was necessary to send so many and am humbled to report that of the twenty men and women I have sent, only one has returned. There is solace in the report of the lone templar to return from this mission, which is that not all of them were killed in the attempt to apprehend their foe. It seems that the many months of practice we have allowed the Robber in Robes have caused her power to grow to the point of corrupting even some of the most devout men under my command. Per your instructions, I hereby relay the report of the knight, Sir Reginald Hawke, who shall be commended for his exemplary work in the Gods' names in accordance with the Southriver Charter.

The company reached Seres little over an hour past the dawn of the second day which followed their dispatch. Their leader, Knight-Commander Gerald Marle ordered a stay of our customary purge protocol out of misguided concern for innocent civilians. There was some disagreement from another Knight-Commander in the unit, one Elizabeth Winstrom. She felt compelled to remind her colleague of the dangers of dark magic as well as the very necessity of the purge protocol. For the record, I must express that the ensuing discord was quite understandable for it is unclear which idea is more entrenched in our order: the sanctity of Crane's holy city or the absolute prejudice with which we must handle dark magic. An accord was reached on the premise that to purge a holy city required acknowledging that the gods could not protect their most favored settlements, which would be a stain on the honor of us all. However, this dispute was all that was needed to alert the witch to their presence; a sad punishment for their sin of imprudence near the seat of Crane.

Sir Hawke was the knight who was dispatched to gather information on Madam Skye's whereabouts. It was only through this miracle of happenstance that he happened to be separated from the group when the Robber in Robes saw fit to ambush them. Upon returning with knowledge of the heretic's location, he arrived just in time to witness what transpired. Before Hawke could intervene, the witch used her dark magic to corrupt Knight-Commander Marle with an uncontrollable lust for her, which she exploited to manipulate him into turning his blade on his own men. Sirs Ronald and Bartholomew Whitetree, Sebas Gold, and Lady Martha Desmond were all felled in the initial attack. In the heat of the moment, Knight-Commander Winstrom struck down Marle before he could harm anyone else. Unfortunately, it was she who was selected as the next victim of the witch's magic. She was afflicted with a powerful rage and unable to stop herself from striking Sirs Harold Midas, Grant Harret and Ladies Reina Midas, Victoria Whitetree, and Gloria Desmond with this unnatural wrath. It took the combined efforts of Sir Matthew Blackstone and Lady Pomona Clark to defeat the second Knight-Commander, but they both sustained mortal wounds in the process. In a fit of desperation, Lady Rosaline Gold tried to finish off the witch only for the latter to afflict all five of those who remained in the room at once with an unholy tide of magic. 

Screaming her disappointment at this embarrassing failure on their part, she left each of them groveling pitifully for the touch of her flesh. This included Sirs Anthony Winstrom, Red Desmond, Wendell Clark, and Ladies Clara Gold, and Emily Clark. Sir Hawke, who remained unseen up to this point managed to strike the witch down unawares with a blow to the back of her head with his mace. He then rushed to check on the survivors, but their corruption was sadly so complete that they could do little more than flee at the sight of him. He enlisted the help of the Town Guard to apprehend these corrupted templars and deliver them into the Grand Temple of Crane where they are currently being treated. The body of the witch was also taken by the clerics of the temple, citing a desire to study any trace of residual dark magic in hopes of developing an effective countermeasure into the future.

The only thing that troubles me more than the tragic loss of fourteen of my greatest knights is the result of Hawke's search of the witch's home. There he found a second set of bedding, but no clue in regards to who had previously used it. I have dispatched more men to watch the house in secret in hopes of spotting this potential accomplice, but no one has been seen going in or out all week. While we do not intend to leave Seres without a templar presence in the near future until we discover who was staying with Madam Skye, the fact remains that the Robber in Robes is no more. Thus, I am happy to declare the Gods' will has been carried out on this twelfth day of Serda in the thirty-first year of the post-war age.

With Both Pride and Regret,

General-Commander

William Skye

I Know What You Did

Dear Mother,

You must be surprised that I have chosen to write to you. The truth is that, despite everything, I am not sure why I am even bothering to do so. It may be true that I accepted all of your lies when last we spoke, but surely there must have been a reason you asked me to write you only in times of desperation. Perhaps this is a desperate letter. I cannot truly hope to accomplish anything by writing to you, but the smallest part of me wishes for any of what I have learned about you to be falsified. I hope that the irreparable damage you have done to our family, and now Auntie Deidre's, was the worst of your crimes. But, as I understand things now, this may be hope against hope.

You see, I have heard rumors that seemed to follow you back west. Stories of lives ruined by violence and base depravity that defy explanation. People have started to change in this land and the most damning thread to connect each of these events is the fact that they all began after you left. Once I began to consider this fact, which should be little more than coincidence in a fairer world, what happened to us began to make more sense. You told me you had to leave because father was unfaithful to you. I didn't want to believe what I heard, knowing what I did about the good man I knew my father to be. From the lips of anyone else, I wouldn't have. I now suspect there may have been some truth to that. Father has brought many women to his bed since you left while professing attachment to none of them. What one could interpret as the acts of a philanderer who was liberated by the revelation of his true self seemed oddly similar to these haunting tales from across the country. Such a condition seems to be an isolated case in the capitol, but placing him at the fore of the list of the warlock bandit's crimes works a little too well.

Of course, this is a purely circumstantial claim, so I had to find out more. Thus I decided to look through that trunk you left behind. You did well to hide it considering what was inside, but you did not do well at hiding it. I discovered all of the notes you had collected as well as the documentation of your earliest experiments. There is an entire book's worth of secrets about "dark magic" here! I am horrified to now know what this is and you should be ashamed of the interest you took in it. You can't just meddle with the Gods' designs however you please and expect there to be no consequences! We were all made to perfectly suit their needs and what you have been doing perverts their goals. I cannot look the other way!

That is why you will no doubt be seeing knights of the Blackstone Order soon. In fact, another reason I am sure the writing of this letter is futile is that I am writing it after I have made them aware of your malicious deeds. Thus, you may never find this letter. On the off chance you do, however, I want you to know that I am ashamed to call you my mother. To me, you are now only Annette, the Robber in Robes. It is with some hope that I expect the clergy can undo what you have inflicted on Father and all of your other victims. But for me, things can never go back to normal because I can't stand the idea of ever seeing you again. If you come near Father, Ronald, or me again, I will not hesitate to summon the templars again. May you burn in the Forge for this!

With regret,

Cecilia Skye

Death Touch Chapter 35 (But Better)

Introducing Chapter 35 of Death Touch, now with a better ending in which the point of view character actually does stuff! The original version will remain up for posterity, but it's no longer canon.

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

Mia

Frustration pounded in Mia’s head as she felt herself awaken at the sound of someone brushing through foliage. She rolled groggily onto her back as she tried to make sense of her position. She saw that the sun was low on the horizon and cursed herself for her mistake. Then she cursed Sara with double the anger for falling for her own tricks. A whole day, lost!

The rustling among the flowers grew louder, stirring her ever closer to full alertness. She turned to see what appeared to be five large men with thick coal black skin towering above her. Seeing the three horns and spiked tail were enough for the assassin to identify these creatures according to Sara’s prior description. Maulans!

Her drowsiness quickly forgotten, Mia willed herself to her feet as quickly as her momentarily numb body would allow her and looked around wildly for her unlikely companion. Sara didn’t seem to be in the vicinity. In fact, Mia didn’t appear to be anywhere close to the pond that had been nearby when she fell asleep. She staggered backwards while considering running. She should have whipped out her gun and started firing into their necks-- the creature’s only known weak point. But while caught in the grip of this valley’s pacifying magic, fighting back didn’t even occur to her.

Mia watched as the maulans flicked their tails dangerously, daring her to stand still so they could strike. She felt helpless as she began to back away more quickly. The maulans should have been rendered harmless by the fey as well, but it was starting to look like they weren’t even affected at all. Run, damn it! 

Mia finally shocked herself into turning around and running more quickly than she ever had before, realizing as she did just how unusual it was for her to be running away from something. She had only done so for the first time in years a few short days ago when she had to escape from her cell in Beldor. But this was the first time she felt genuinely terrified. Spellwarriors chasing her through open streets could never have hoped to catch her, but this was much different. The flowers in her way slowed her down, but the creatures who pursued her streaked rather quickly through the field by following in her wake. I’m not fast enough!

She was at a loss. They were close to catching up and didn’t appear to be tiring in the slightest. She was alone and unable to fight back. Her only hope was to clear Flora Field and make her stand outside the confines of this damnable pacification. But there was no telling how far she would have to run. She dared not look up to figure out which way she was going, fearful of slowing down or--

She then tripped over an exposed root to one of the field’s larger, tree-like flowers. She cursed as she scrambled to her feet in a panic, but the chase was over before she could begin to run again. They were already whipping their tails at her. Years of evasion practice was all that protected her now. Or so it seemed.

Mia’s heart felt like it was about to explode as her panic reached a fever pitch. But just then, a strong gust began to sweep the surrounding plant-life away. The ensuing wind caused the maulan’s tails to flail around slightly, causing their tail jabs to miss even more wildly than before. Although, a more logical Mia would have recognized this as a sign of good luck, the gust only intensified her alarm. What the hell now?

As the wind intensified with the assassin’s fear, she could see the creatures struggling to maintain their footing. It was at this point that Mia realized what was happening to her. More storm magic that she’d have to learn to control.

Mia began to laugh as the first of the maulans was pulled toward the tornado small that now circled the ground before her. “I should find myself a phobia!”

Soon, all five of the creatures were drawn into the vortex, but curiously the champion was unaffected by the wind. This didn’t make her completely safe, however, as she learned when they began to whip their tails out at her as she passed. These bastards are persistent!

Mia watched her pursuers as her apparent magic tossed them around for several minutes. She might have used this time to plan her next move if she weren’t taking so much satisfaction in the spectacle before her. Unfortunately, her returning calm began to slow down the wind. She was close to running again when something else she didn’t expect happened. Clusters of thorned roots exploded from the ground and began to ensnare the maulans. All 20 limbs, 15 horns and 5 torsos and tails were bound in stems. Okay, why not?

“I must not have made myself clear the last time!” A familiar voice called out from behind.

Mia turned to see Millie the fey spellwarrior, stomping up to the cluster of wrapped maulans with a livid expression.

“I told at least two of you that maulans are not welcome here!” She raged as she held her hands up in what Mia assumed was some sort of spellweaving gesture. “This is supposed to be a safe space of communion for mortals and fey, but your kind never follow the fucking rules!”

Mia finally found herself starting to like the floral sprite as she walked right up to the struggling beasts. With a swipe of her arm, all five of the maulans instantly disappeared and the roots that held them began to sink back into the ground. Mia whistled as the spellwarrior turned back to her with a smirk.

“What did you do?”

Millie smiled and glanced somewhere to the east. “A quick targeted translocation. They won’t be back for a loooong time!”

“Where are they?” Mia asked, duly impressed with what she was hearing.

“On the ocean floor, hundreds of miles away from our coast.”

Mia snickered and shook her head. “Well, thanks for the assist and… uh…” She began to survey the carnage that had stricken the plants around them. “Sorry for the tornado. I didn’t know I could do that.”

Millie gave the champion an appraising look and chuckled. “Really? An instinctive user of storm magic sounds very uncommon. In fact, since I don’t know anybody who’s heard of one, I’d even be willing to call you unique."

Mia shrugged and nodded awkwardly. “Well, for some reason, Salica thinks I need to be able to do that. She’s shown a lot more faith in me than I deserve.”

“Interesting!” the spellwarrior chirped with an inquisitive stare. “You know, Hem Academy put out the word that we were all to assist some people favored by the Gods as champions. My plan was to put the safety of my home first, but if you’re to be believed, I may have followed that order by accident!”

Mia shook her head impatiently. “This is too weird for me. Two days ago, I was no friend to any spellwarrior, but now you people are all over my business!”

Millie shook her head and chuckled. “Actually, two days ago, you were still asleep.”

“What?!” Mia barked suddenly. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost a week,” the spellwarrior said with a shrug.

“A week?!” Mia screeched in renewed alarm. “If you knew, why didn’t you try to wake us up?”

“Should I have?” the spellwarrior asked indifferently. “Lots of people meet with members of the Serene clergy to have themselves put to sleep here. For all I knew you were both suffering from nightmare-induced insomnia!”

“Wait! What about my--” the next word got stuck in her throat for a moment. “--friend?”

“The woman who put you to sleep carried her out of the valley, somewhere to the north.”

“And you didn’t think that there was anything wrong with two women you knew were looking for one of Maula’s cronies being knocked out and separated?”

“Yeah, I might have been a little distracted in my duties,” Millie replied with a frown. “I may as well redeem myself by helping you find your friend, since I’m supposed to be protecting you anyway.”

Just like that, Mia started to dislike Millie again.

“If you know which way they might have gone, just tell me,” the champion grumbled. “If they’re outside this field, there’s absolutely no reason I can’t save her on my own.”

Millie shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t. Unless you have some experience in tracking, you’re going to need my help and I’m happy to give it!”

Mia sighed and growled, “Fine, but you’d better not be wasting my time!”

“I’m hurt!” Millie whined. “I haven’t given you no reason to suspect I’m not good at my job, have I? How was I know that I’d need to protect anyone from a mortal here?”

Mia glared at the spellwarrior. “Save the excuses! I’m not really in the mood! If you want to help, now would be a good time to get started!”

“Oh fine!” the sprite said as she reached into the cleavage of her dress. 

Moments later, she withdrew one of those tiny, curved cones that Mia recalled were used by spellwarriors to summon their mounts. She blew into the narrow end, but no sound came out. Mia watched as flowers in the distance began to rustle.

“C’mere, Vinca!”

In response, a large wolf with a beautiful mane of white hair flecked with green bounded gracefully into the clearing that Mia had made. The beast seemed to float as she galloped to the spellwarrior and began to nuzzle her affectionately.

“Come on, girl!” Millie said, giggling madly. “I just saw you a few minutes ago! Stop!”

Mia watched impatiently as she struggled to get the enthusiastic wolf under control. When she was finally atop Vinca’s back, she offered a hand to the champion. Mia swallowed her chagrin and climbed aboard and took a seat behind the spellwarrior.

“Hang on!” Millie shouted excitedly.

With the help of the spellwarrior’s lupine companion, it only took an hour to find where Sara had been dragged: a small cavern that Millie had referred to as Resbroka Grotto. Mia felt a surge of excitement as the predatory urges that she had become so used to returned to her. Together, she and Millie dismounted and were just about to enter the cave when a boy approached them from behind and called out to then.

“Sen na sai crana eka grag Maula,” he said with a smile.

Mia narrowed her eyes as she studied the boy who had come to follow her. He appeared to be a teenager--maybe two years younger than her--whose skin was brown and completely hairless and who was dressed only in white cotton shorts that were impossibly clean for all the dirt that surrounded them. He seemed to be marked from head to toe with white tattoos that Mia could surmise were druidic patterns thanks to the expertise of Camellia, one of her fellow compatriots in the Scarlet Starlings. Yes, yes, they’re druidic! No need to go thinking about old memories now!

“I don’t know ancient, kid!” the champion called back. “Can you even speak with real people?”

The boy shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry! I have been speaking the old language for so long that it’s become second nature! I don’t even realize I am doing it sometimes!”

“What do you want?” Mia snapped. “We’re kind of in the middle of something!”

“I only mean to warn you that a servant of Lady Maula is hiding within this cave!” the boy said with a cringe. “It falls to me to confront her, but I must urge you to leave this place for your own safety.”

“I know about the witch,” Mia growled impatiently. “I’m actually here for her, so if you want me to leave, you’d better be prepared to make me.”

“I cannot stop you if you wish to rush into such danger, but please at least stay behind me,” the boy said as he began to walk into the cave.

Millie and Mia shared a look of confusion before jogging to catch up with the boy, who seemed to stride into the relative darkness with a sense of purpose.

“Wait a minute!” Mia hissed. “What does this have to do with you?”

The boy stopped in his tracks and bowed slightly. “I have been chosen by Lord Kerun to help stop his sister and her servants from destroying this land.”

Mia smacked her forehead impatiently with her palm. “Another champion? Who the hell are you?”

Recognition seemed to flood the boy’s face. “I see! You must have been chosen by one of the other gods! Let’s see… I think I feel Lady Salica’s solidarity in you!”

“How perceptive,” Mia grumbled. “How about you answer my question instead of your own?”

“I am called Kevin,” the newfound champion said with a friendly smile.

“Kevin what?”

“Oh, I have no family name,” Kevin said with a shake of his head. “The druidic commune that found me as a baby didn’t see any need to give me one.”

“Kevin’s a pretty funny name for a druid,” Millie said as she conjured a ball of light to illuminate their way forward.

“My name is all I have left of my family,” Kevin said with a shrug.

“Well, Kevin the druid, it’s nice to meet you!” Millie said with a friendly smile.

Who the fuck has time for this? “Yeah, yeah, let’s get acquainted later! I’m trying to rescue someone!”

Kevin nodded and strolled deeper into the cave silently. He seemed to be an awkward kid, not that Mia came to think of it. He didn’t seem to care that anyone else was there. He appeared to be concerned with his mission and little else. Without any engagement from Millie or Mia, he seemed perfectly content to focus on his objective. It’s nice to have such an efficient ally for a change! As they watched the boy walk from behind, Millie leaned in to whisper to Mia.

“Hey! Do you want to hear something cool about that boy’s ink?”

Mia didn’t bother to speak, but looked at her with her eyebrows raised. 

“Those tattoos are like welcoming messages to me and other fey,” Millie said with a grin. “I think he’s made a contract with the elder of some fey village.”

“Oh, then it’ll probably look pretty when he decides to make himself useful,” Mia grumbled.

Just then, Kevin disappeared around a corner that Mia had nearly missed in the semidarkness. As she turned to follow, she found what she was looking for. The oni priestess who had put her in her current predicament stood near a brazier positioned under cave paintings Mia didn’t care to do more than glance at. She leered over Sara’s prone form, muttering to herself as she waved her hand over the other champion. When she saw the three people who invaded her dank sanctum, she stood up and regarded them with a cruel smile.

“Well! I was planning to come back for you once I finished with this one. Thank you for saving me the trouble of carrying you,” she said with a smile that looked innocent, but reeked of intent that was anything but.

Millie, who had been staring at Sara, asked, “What are you doing to her?”

“There is great power in the soul of one who is favored by the gods,” the witch said with a roll of her eyes. “This is something that appeals to me. Feel free to use your imagination.”

“No need!” Mia growled threateningly. “It’s going to stop now if you’re interested in keeping the same amount of blood in your body!”

Adaling laughed mirthlessly as she gave Mia a lazy wave of her hand. “The Death Goddess dubs thee… Rego! Wargo! Lugo!”

The witch’s incantation caused three burly maulans to appear in the narrow space between herself and her foes, causing Mia to click her tongue impatiently. She was in a position to fight back this time, but she wasn’t left with nearly enough space to move around. Avoiding their tails would be a problem. She had to think about how to work around this, but she didn’t have long to consider her strategy before Kevin stepped forward and began to approach the maulans. He did so casually, seemingly without any fear of their tails. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Mia shouted in disbelief.

Kevin made no effort to dodge the maulans’ tail strikes, which in turn failed to even penetrate his skin. He only continued his apparently pleasant stroll until he was close to touch the creatures. When he pressed his palm to the torso of the first, the creature screamed in agony as his body began to dissolve as if affected by his own poison. Kevin repeated whatever he had done twice more, leaving Adaling alone with her prisoner once more. With a snarl, she whipped her arm across the room, causing a cold feeling to come over Mia and everyone else in the room.

“I’m not sure what the hell that was, but it looks like you’re outmatched here,” the assassin said with a smirk as she tried to get closer to the witch, only to be stopped in her tracks by Millie.

“Wait! Don’t move!” Millie shouted urgently as she pointed to the ground beneath them.

Mia followed the spellwarrior’s gaze down to her feet, between which a black stalactite seemed to be protruding. She nudged the spike with her foot, which seemed to cause it to grow slightly. 

“If you don’t hold absolutely still, that thing is going to keep growing from your own shadow until it impales you,” Millie said breathlessly. “I hate this spell! It’s so evil!”

Kevin continued to stare Adaling down for a moment longer before opening his mouth. From it, a dozen tiny winged creatures with white fur swarmed out toward the witch. With a hiss of frustration, Adaling floored the majority of them with a spell which conjured a sickle of black light that Mia might have remembered seeing Seth use in one of his RGT matches. Only one of these new creatures remained flying after this assault and, considering the way it began to bob through the air, it didn’t seem unharmed. The creature retreated to Kevin, who opened his mouth and swallowed it once more. Once he did so, the druidic markings that covered his entire body changed from white to black. 

“Those were eversprites!” Millie whispered excitedly to Mia. “Oh my gods! He’s a feykin!”

As Kevin began to walk once more, a spike began to grow from his shadow as well. But he seemed unconcerned as it grew and grew until it should have skewered him. Instead of harming him, the shadow began to phase harmlessly through his body.

“Thanks to those eversprites he conjured, he’s immune to her shadow magic!” Millie added to Mia’s slight irritation.

“Okay, what’s a feykin?” Mia grumbled, more out of frustration with finding herself helpless again than genuine curiosity. 

“Feykin are mortals who have formed a connection with the fey,” Millie explained while Adaling lashed out with her shadow claw spell. “That means he can use our powers! His hands pulse with the light of a kerunite’s eyes, which explained what happens to the maulans! Hell! I bet he can spit lava like a magmadon or even inflict maulan venom with his touch!”

“Eversprite magic won’t protect you from this!” Adaling hissed! “Amul dala!”

Black flames suddenly erupted from Kevin’s shorts, causing him to jump in alarm, howling in pain.

“He’s going to need our help! How do we get out of this spell?” Mia snapped curtly. 

“There is no escape!” Millie wailed. “We have to wait for the spell to wear off or for the caster to voluntarily remove it!”

Mia was already beginning to feel stiff. “Screw that!” She could feel the insidious spike inching further upward beneath her as she pulled the pistol from her holster and took aim at the witch.

Millie gasped as soon as she saw the weapon. “You can’t! There’s someone innocent in there!”

Millie rolled her eyes as she loaded an unusual round into the weapon. Sometimes, the work of a Starling needed to be public when the target preferred to stick to places that were anything but. When those times came, they had thin glass-tipped bullets filled with a sleeping potion that could be administered when their saturated shards cut into the target’s skin. They were used rarely as assassin tools, but now that she was giving a less deadly lifestyle a try, she would have cause to fire a lot more of these sleep rounds.

“Like I care,” she grumbled as she squeezed in the trigger.

Even in the dimly-lit environment, the Starling’s aim was true. The bullet struck her prey cleanly in the chest, where Mia suspected that the potion would be quickly dispersed. Within moments, Adaling began to falter and her grip on Sara loosened. Millie would then breathe a sigh of relief as the dangerous magic that had rooted them to the spot vanished. The spellwarrior turned toward Kevin and waved the flames that assailed him away with a wave of her hand and an accompanying gust of wind.

“Thank you,” the young druid murmured. “I didn’t count on there being fire. I’ve never been good at handling that.”

Mia ignored the two of them as she went to go check on Sara. She still appeared to be asleep, but didn’t respond to the Starling’s attempts to revive her. When Kevin was reasonably certain that he wasn’t badly burned, he joined Mia at her side and smiled. 

“What was done by the mother can easily be undone by the father. Invigorate!”

Sara suddenly sat bolt upright and looked around in bewilderment. When her eyes found Mia’s, she mumbled. “Where happened?”

“I hope at least one of you knows!” Another voice boomed from behind them.

Mia looked up to see the spellwarrior that she had first seen in the RGT approaching them from behind. Seth Midas looked impatient, and for good reason. A week of waiting for her and Sara can’t have been good for the nerves of the rest of the group.

“This woman is apparently s servant of Maula,” Mia murmured. “She had us knocked out with some Serene magic this whole time. We had to track her down to this spot because she was trying to steal her soul or something.”

Seth studied the woman’s features and groaned. “Shit.”

The others snapped their gazes toward Seth. “What?” Sara said.

“This is Adamora. She’s my second-cousin,” Seth explained darkly. “I ran into another second-cousin very recently who seemed to serve Maula in the same way. Clint says they were guarding Orion’s artifacts.”

The spellwarrior coated his hands in a black light similar to the shadow magic Mia had recently just escaped before driving his hands into the sleeping witch’s chest. Moments later, he pulled out a thick, black, spiked chain that had apparently been resting within her. 

“This is the last piece,” he said solemnly as he seemed to study his relative.

“By the gods!” Sara gulped. “That… was a thing that happened!”

“This is what we were looking for, right?” Mia said eagerly. “This means we’re nearly done!”

Mia hadn’t invested nearly as much time in this quest as Seth or Sara had, but she was eager to be done with it nonetheless. At this point, she was far more interested in eradicating the Scarlet Starlings than participating in some divine whatever-this-was, but she felt compelled to keep the promise she had made to Sara. Therefore, she was more than eager to see this ultimate weapon’s completion. The sooner this ends, the better!

Next Chapter

The Boy Who Shouldn't Exist Part 12

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

Kaleth peered anxiously into Aennin's eyes as the other Avatar stared intensely into his own.

"How am I supposed to do that?" The boy asked nervously. "If saving everyone really hinges on me figuring out these powers we're going to be waiting for a long time!"

Aennin shook his head and pulled Kaleth from his bed. "Bullshit! Your Avatar powers aren't all you have to offer! Do you think Geos would have chosen you if he thought you were too weak on your own?"

"I'm a druid!" Kaleth protested weakly. "A pacifist! What can I do against an undead army?"

Aennin shrugged and raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't they teach druids healing magic? That's pretty much all Volt wants to do most of the time when she's doing stuff with us!"

Kaleth sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, but that's what I was learning to do before the sai'mul crashed into Orion."

"That's no good," Aennin replied with a frown. "Well, either way we can't have you sitting on your hands now that we know you're part of the team. I'll go talk to Volt to see if she can teach you how to heal, but I can think of some ways your transformations can be put to some use too. We have until Spring before we can get out of Heron to do anything useful, so we might as well use this time to help you get ready.

So began a long winter of what Kaleth would come to know as Avatar School. To be even one Avatar short, Aennin declared, was a disadvantage that no one could afford. In the mornings, he would train with Atunis to sharpen his reflexes by sparring just like his father used to do. During these sessions, the Salican Avatar would talk about the Kartal that he knew and how their templar training informed their decision-making as Avatars. During these times Kaleth struggled to resist asking about how the Kartal from this other timeline differed from the father he had grown up with. Atunis seemed constantly stressed by the idea of his dearest friend causing so much damage by abusing Geos' power and Kaleth couldn't see no good in making him think about it any more than he did. In truth, both of them needed the distraction they found in swinging sticks at each other.

When the two tired of sparring, Kaleth would next go to see Tir to learn what she could teach him of Intalan magic. Aennin adamantly stressed that telepathy in particular was an important skill as a scout when used in concert with his transformations. This was a matter of some irritation to Crane's Avatar as she specialized not in telepathy, but in divination and engineering. Still, she relished in the challenge of linking the principles of these disciplines to the skill Kaleth sought to acquire and learning alongside him. It was during these times that Kaleth would learn about what was happening in the world outside Heron. Through her frequent contact with her predecessor, Mr. Broger, they had learned that the Serene Avatar, Ekera, was alive and using the benefits of her sai'mul body to gather information from the enemy. This role wasn't without risk as she had learned that some of the undead army were able to distinguish the mindless sai'mul they had subjugated from those who still thought freely. But with newfound allies among a guild of warrior artisans, she was already making moves against their adversaries that would hopefully lay the groundwork for the Avatars' return from isolation.

After lunch, Kaleth would seek out Volt, a notorious late sleeper whose lunches were actually her breakfasts, to continue his training in healing magic. These were some of the hardest times for him because she was rarely in the best of moods. She had counted on the power of Geos to save her husband from whatever fate had befallen him in the midst of this sai'mul onslaught, but hearing that Kartal caused all of this to happen by doing the same for his wife should have soured her to the idea. This didn't change her mind at all, however. No one seemed more interested in his progress in mastering his Avatar abilities than she did and the fact that he was focusing more on his worldly skills did nothing to cheer her up.

This left Kaleth looking forward to his late afternoons with Aennin. The person he had once known as an acerbic rogue quickly became the most welcoming presence among the Avatars. Unlike the others, who had looked to him to master his powers quickly in the hopes that he would single-handedly fix everything, Aennin was the only one who made him believe that he could be useful with or without Geos' blessing. To Aennin in particular, Kaleth was a valued member of the group he was thrust into just as he was. Instead of forcing him to think of his place among the chosen figures of the divine, Aennin's training felt more like playing. Every day, Kaleth would face the challenge of sneaking on the elf in order to steal something from him, spy on him, or ambush him in whatever beastly form he expected least. This gave him an opportunity to explore Dalaska through the eyes of a falcon, mouse, stag, dog, cat, or crow. Although he rarely seemed to surprise Aennin, the elf was always sure to point out when he believed he would have fooled anyone else.

It was always in the evening that Kaleth spent any time thinking about Geos and his future as his Avatar. It had been a month before he reached an important breakthrough in understanding these dilations of time. As it turned out, finding a pattern in the speed-ups and slow-downs had been besides the point. The more he thought about it, the more random they seemed to be. But as contemplating these powers became routine, he found that he could predict these occurrences more accurately when he was completely relaxed. Eventually he realized that this was the key to controlling his powers. It was during these moments of gentle contemplation that he ceased to predict these changes in the flow of time and began to mentally trigger them. 

He decided to demonstrate this power to Aennin during one of their games. He had been tasked with stealing Aennin's coin purse. Normally he would do this by sneaking up and pouncing as a cat or diving from the rooftops as a bird. But he knew Aennin would be on the lookout for these tricks now and he started to doubt he even needed to do so anymore. So, he merely donned a cloak and shadowed him for most of the afternoon. He was sure that Aennin had spotted him before the time had come to make his move, but it no longer mattered. He took a deep breath and concentrated on slowing everything down. As expected, even the quick reflexes of his teacher weren't enough to stop him from sprinting up and snatching his prize for the first time with his own hands. In his excitement, he lost control of the power and Aennin smirked at him.

"See? I knew it was only a matter of time before you started to pick it up!" he declared proudly. "What did you learn?"

"I'm not sure," Kaleth said uncertainly. "I just stopped stressing about it so much and figured it out naturally."

"That's the trick," Aennin said with a grin. "None of the others would know this because they were already far more confident with themselves than you were when they first found out they were Avatars, even Atunis. But the trick to gaining control of your powers is gaining control of yourself. These abilities are a part of you now and the only way you were ever going to learn that was by sharpening your original skills."

"So, what's next?"

"What's next is continuing to practice with this new skill until you are able to use it confidently and doing yourself a favor by keeping this a secret between us. The more progress you make, the more pressure everyone else is going to put on you which we now both know isn't going to help. Just focus on what you're already doing until you're ready to move on to reversing time."

"Wait, what?"

Aennin sighed. "Your dad wasn't always able to avoid getting hit in battle. He only seemed that way because, as Geos' Avatar, he was able to undo any damage he took by reversing the movements of whoever hit him. It's not the same thing as going back in time, but kind of winding the clock backwards. If you can control the speed at which time flows, eventually you'll get the hang of controlling the direction, right?"

"I guess so," Kaleth replied uncertainly. 

"You have to know so," Aennin emphasized with a roll of his eyes. "Remember that confidence is the key to unlocking your new powers."

Kaleth nodded a little more confidently this time. "I will!"

"Good! You should have extra time to work on it tonight since you finished today's mission more quickly than usual," Aennin said with a smile. "I'll be sure to come up with something more challenging tomorrow.

"Okay! I look forward to seeing what you have in mind," Kaleth replied with a smile. 

The two then prepared to go their separate ways until Volt approached them with some important news.

"Ekera's here!"