After I found a cemetery among the ruins and set the fallen to the best rest I could give them, I extended the sense of my Sovereign Authority for the first time. It was an odd feeling. I had a sense of the land like I always had. That same sense that lets you walk through familiar lands while thinking of other things and never get lost, only on a much larger scale. I didn’t feel everyone on the land but I was aware of where the village was and the outlying farms as well. I also felt a weird itch, like there were insects crawling over my skin but on the land instead. Neither of them were near the settlement so it couldn’t be people. One of them was quite close, inside the city.

I followed this itching tug across the city to one of the terraced farm plots on the far side from the devastated noble district. I climbed up the embankment, noting that there were still the descendants of the crops once grown here peaking through the weeds. Up on the highest terrace I found what was causing me to itch. A gray mountain eagle roosted in the shade of an ancient wall. It was almost as big as me and a hunter through and through. It had wings and a belly the color of a storm cloud with its head and back being the black of rich earth. These beasts were one of the great terrors of the mountains and peddlers often spoke of having to take cover for days under a heavy tree canopy or overhanging abutments while birds like this one would circle waiting for their prey to emerge. They were known for their uncanny speed, dropping from the sky in the time it would take a normal man to swing a sword.

I lowered myself back under the terrace wall and pulled my atlatl and javelins from my pouch. It was definitely an awakened beast and if I could take it down on the ground it would give me that last push to get to level four. It would also eliminate a threat for when I did help people settle here.

I set myself crouched low. My shield was on my left arm with my spare javelins in hand. I rose and sighted my target, I arched back and then with explosive strength threw myself forward launching my deadly missile with enough force to split a small tree. It flew straight at the resting bird’s heart, but some instinct must have warned it. It took flight at the last moment, the strike that would have pierced its heart and lung instead lodging it the thigh.

The beast’s cry echoed from the surrounding cliffs as it struggled to gain altitude with my barb still protruding from its leg. It spotted me in a moment as I fit another javelin to the pocket of my atlatl. It made a rushed and ungraceful dive just as I threw again. I missed but the bird banked close to the ground and came up with its good claw slashing at my gut. I managed to drop my shield in time but got knocked back so far I almost fell from the terrace. The eagle didn’t escape unscathed as the attack tore free the javelin in its leg along with a chunk of its flesh.

I moved back to the center of the field and looked around for the bird. At first it was nowhere to be seen but I soon traced it by the drops of blood hitting the ground. It had managed to climb quite high and was mostly camouflaged against the evening sky save the one spreading red spot. I was in trouble, it was too high for me to hit it and when it came down it would be with a speed unparalleled. It could stay above me waiting to strike for days, and I doubted it would look for other prey now that I had attacked it in its nest.

I suddenly had an idea, a terrible idea. It was used to harrying opponents and only coming in for the kill once they were exhausted. I threw my javelin at it as best as I could, missing by a wide margin. It dove again as I entered the battle trance. I blocked with my shield again and was knocked down. I dropped my atlatl and struggled to get up. I rolled over and crawled toward my last javelin. I heard the eagle scream as it dived for the last time and spun around. The eagle struck and the ground around me was covered in blood. My sword arm was at full extension, having let the bird impale itself. I heaved and rolled the dead beast off my sword. Soon I had cleaned the worst of the blood off me and knelt in a meditative pose to cultivate the creature’s Essence.

-You have reached Level 4-

A wave of ecstasy hit me that I had not felt for years overtook me. I felt more complete and limits I hadn’t even reached yet were pushed further away. The feeling soon faded and I looked at my sheet for the first time in a long time.

Status of Tarkhan Sel’Andur

Age: 18.2 Years

Height: 5’11”

Level:4/4

Trier: 0

Class: Patrician

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Path Grade: N/A

Available paths : Enforcer(incomplete) 45% compatibility.

Ether Capacity: 400 Pure ether / 130 Mana / 180 Ki

Titles: King of Borinal, Battle Born, Hand of Justice, Aegis

Traits: Noble Leadership

Strength 16

Vitality 14

Constitution 18

Agility 15+1

Dexterity 16

Intelligence 22

Wisdom 13

Willpower 20

Charisma15

Presence 17

Free points: 16

Skills:

Aegis 3, Battle Trance 3, Sword Mastery 7, *counter 4, *parry 3, *repost 2, *disengage 3, Leadership 24, Shield Mastery 4, *block 4, *shield wall 3, *bash 2, Power Strike 2, Endurance 11, Athletics 6, Hunting 8, *tracking 3, *dressing 3, *skinning 4, Trading 6, Construction 4, more...

My sword mastery had gone up for the first time in recent memory, I wonder why I couldn’t raise it with all my training but a few fights and all of a sudden it is rising again.

I butchered and skinned the body of the bird, taking care to preserve the feet since I heard they were valuable. I found a withered, misshaped core in the bird's chest. I remembered what was in the crown prince's letter but doubted this would turn into a dungeon. I took it anyway.

It was late and I was tired from the fighting, so I decided to make camp here. I found the remains of an open shed to one side to use as a windbreak, gathered what firewood I could this high up, and even took advantage of the half wild carrots and potatoes to make a pot of eagle soup. I then pulled out my lamp and the red book, settling back to read until sleep claimed me.

====

The next morning I resolved to check on the other itchy spot before heading back to the village. It was about a half a day east of a direct line from here to the village. Which meant it was too close. It was already a day and a half of hard hiking to the village but with the lay of the terrain it would only delay me a few hours at most to check it out. I thought about the advice to awaken people I trusted and figured if it was a tribe of monsters like the goblins I could take those I awakened to get them skills and Essence. If it was a tribe it was far too close to the village for my liking to begin with.

On the way there I thought about next steps. I agreed with my ancestors, I would need people I could trust but, other than my siblings, only two came to mind who were suitable for awakening. Kelder, my de facto captain of the guard, and Gavel Cob, the youngest son of Elder Cob and a frequent hunting companion of mine. I would of course awaken my brother but the Red Book warned against doing it too young as much as it did too old. If I could reliably awaken the elderly I would take Old Gran Cosh in a heartbeat, that woman was eighty summers and took guff from nobody. I thought of those who had come more recently. I wanted to consider Amala but I knew I would make a fool of myself if I was stuck in a group with the striking beauty for too long. Though, she was of old mountain stock even if she did grow up in the lowlands. The same could be said for Zaya S’Morinon, and she was a good healer and herb woman. She was already taking over for Old Gran when the Elder was busy. It was all too much, but I had time, at least until after harvest. That was the earliest I could justify leading a party to the lowlands to go adventuring in a dungeon.

I camped that night in a cave I have often used when hunting Highland Elk and the other big game you find in the wild places of the mountains. I set out early and soon came to a steep sided wooded valley that eventually opened up to the northern fork of the pass. I had never hunted here as the large game I favored avoided the place. I always assumed it was because of the steep slopes, but now I wondered if something had laired down there for a while now.

I moved down the scree with sure feet. I reached the treeline and was a little surprised. The trees were thicker than I would have expected from the other woodlands I had seen, in some places growing so thickly that it was like having walls on both sides. It was dark enough at times that my darkvision activated over my normal vision. I moved cautiously with my shield on my arm and my javelin at the ready. I made it maybe a half mile before I saw it. Standing in front of me in a beam of light was a wolf. It was smaller than some I had seen but still quite large enough for me to take it seriously. I stared at it and it stared back as if waiting for something. Then I knew.

I launched my javelin at the wolf in front of me and brought my atlatl around like a club at the wolf I knew was trying to flank me. I heard a pained yelp from the bait wolf as my eyes registered not one but two other attackers. I struck the one to my right with a backhand swing, the treated hardwood caving in its skull. The other I slammed with the rim of my shield as it tried to go for my leg, stunning it. I then brought my improvised club down on the back of its neck with a sickening crack. I turned back around and couldn’t see the first wolf but my javelin was lying on the ground. I went over to retrieve it and see where the wolf had slunk off to when I froze. Next to my javelin was a small knife and above it was a cloud of Essence. I looked back at the other two I had killed and saw that their bodies had vanished as well. I breathed in the Essence quickly, doing a poor job of it. Only seven parts in ten made it to my dantian and I lost another two. I couldn’t help it, I was scared and amazed, and I was in a dungeon.