27.

“You will have to forgive me, for I am weary,” Sulian’s voice was muffled by the blankets but still carried easily enough. The camp had settled down, with only the handful of sentries I had ordered still left awake. It was amazing how fast something disruptive like an ambush from a fantasy race could be pushed to the back of the mind when exhausted people wanted to sleep. Only two hours ago, knives had been at throats, and now snores filled the night.

“I can only imagine. I’ve been healed before and it left me exhausted,” I told her. I wanted to establish a modicum of trust by sharing an experience. She got burned three quarters to death, and I got a sword wedged in my gut. Great bonding material.

“My brother’s flame is strong. The magic still clings to the wounds. I will need more of the draught you gave me to purify myself.”

“Thrush said it was your brother. Can you tell me why you were fighting?”

“This is a new world. I believe that the oaths of the old world no longer bind us. My brother disagrees. Vehemently.” Could that have been a trace of humor in her tired voice?

“Your brother is the leader of your faction?”

“He and the other two children of the sun.”

“Children of the sun? Like, the big fiery star?”

“Yes. Their house are sun worshipers. They have been changed over the eons. As have mine and those with me.”

“Could you explain to me? Are you not the…same?” It was hard to bring this up, was I wandering into a massive cultural minefield?

“Once. Maybe. Hard to tell, so much of our history has been changed. The House Solaris worshiped the sun. Did so for millenia, it was a religion. They wove their magic into their prayer to the sun. Eventually, the sun responded back to them. Changed them and their magic. They rule all the Houses now, forcing us to swear oaths of loyalty and obedience of our patrons.”

“You got here and decided to ditch bondage. Got it.” She was not going to take an oath of loyalty then. It also sounded like her brother wasn’t the type who would bend the knee either.

“Yes. Torien chases us now. My House is more numerous, but his is more powerful. He only has a pair of his brethren with him while there are scores from the other Houses.”

“How many of you all together came here?”

“Ten score.” About two hundred then. Same as us. Same as the mountain region too. The number bothered me, it was just too few to really participate in the type of conquering that the tutorial seemed to encourage. Unless, the type of fighting the tutorial would introduce us to was beyond my current conceptions. Already seeing the gains from adding stat points, I could hypothesize that the eventual increases as people doubled or even tripled their original stats could change my views on how fighting happened.

“Your House is the largest?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know by how much? Two to one? More? Less?”

“My house composes half of all elves.”

“Half the population?” That was incredulous. How was half the population being suppressed?

“House Solaris began their rise to ascendancy generations ago. They insure that they stay at the top through oaths, binding magics, marriages, and mixing of the blood. I myself am a symptom of this. My father was a powerful leader amongst my House. So my Mother took him as a paramour until I was born and then used me as a hostage to insure that his actions would benefit her. It is a common practice.”

Horrifying. Effective. Noted.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Would any of the other Houses be willing to do the same as you?”

“Doubtful. It would be death to you and your bloodline to break these oaths. If we return home, all who we love will be put to death for us seeking our freedom.”

“We will have to make sure they don’t return then.”

“You would aid us in this?”

“We can’t have someone like your brother and his House running around. It wouldn’t be long till they were trying to tie us all up in these oaths and other restrictions.” To say nothing of not wanting the competition. She wouldn’t take an oath of fealty, even bringing it up could threaten our burgeoning alliance, but good deeds didn’t have to be selfless.

“Rest. In the morning we will have to plan. You are not the only ones dealing with chains from the old world.”

“You have foes here?”

“Possibly. Those who would wish to see us kept down and subservient to them.”

“Then there is a possibility of aiding one another. A balance of the scales.”

“Yes. We will discuss it in the morning. For now, just rest and recover.”

Sulian fell quiet, not speaking and soon the slow and steady rise of the mound of blankets she was buried under was the only sign she was alive. Healing took a lot out of a person. Exhaustion and hunger would be plaguing her for the next few days. Her loss, my gain. I would prioritize building bonds with her House while she rested. People who could move in and out of shadows seemed to be very convenient. If nothing else, magic instructors would be a decisive edge in any upcoming battle.

I drifted a few feet away, too wired to fall asleep. Warring elvish Houses that were dictated by magic. Magic that changed them. Altered them. Would that happen to us? Would how we use our magic change us physically? So many questions and not a single person to answer them. Part of me even wondered if the elves were real or part of the tutorial. Wouldn’t that be a twist. Following that train of logic would lead to insanity though. Real Matrix vibes. I would just go with the assumption that the non-respawning sentients were real and not made from the tutorial.

“We’re going to work with them?” Agatha’s raspy voice sounded from right behind me. I managed not to jump as my heart rate spiked. Managing to maintain the simulacrum of dignity, I turned and took her in. The most powerful person in my faction. Maybe the entire tutorial. All based on her bloated mana stat. That she had no training in.

“Yes. It’s the right thing to do.”

“You don’t care about the right thing to do. You care that it doubles our numbers and gives you another weapon to use.”

“Close enough.” Agatha was a sharp woman, if it wasn’t for her unending worry about her granddaughters I doubted she would have joined my side. There was an edge of moral accusation in her tone as she spoke to me. I was the devil she knew though, and she had Olivia sleeping only a few feet away to prove I could deliver. Even if I had very little to do with finding her. Pure luck.

“I want to learn how to use this mana. To be able to protect them.”

“You’ll be the first in line tomorrow.”

“I won’t be a pawn for you to use either. I won’t be a killer for you.”

“Oh, I never planned on asking you to be.” Like Hell would I give up the levels by having her kill my enemies. I could do it myself. Maybe not fair and square, but I could get the job done. I had already done it once. The feeling of his hot blood was still fresh on my mind. The feeling of bones breaking. The sounds. The levels.

“Don’t involve my girls either. Or Miguel.”

“Bobby is fine though?”

“She’s a grown woman. She knows what you’re about.”

“I can deal with my problems myself.”

“You’re creating problems.”

I laughed at that. A dark chuckle that I kept purposefully low. No need to wake the others after all. Maybe if I had gone along with Dan nothing would have happened. I would have been a little toady for him to use. Just another tool in his tool chest. It had been like that most of my life. Most of everyone’s lives, we were just small pieces in bigger pictures. Dictated to. Powerless. No hope for real change.

No, Dan and his ilk would have always been a problem. Those who were Something in the world. Wealthy or connected, it mattered not. I wasn’t going to allow myself to be dictated to anymore. I had my plans and those who rode with me would aid me in them.

“Dan was the one creating problems. You do remember what those soldiers were doing to those in the fort? Sweatshop like conditions. All to further his own power.”

“And you killed him. To further your own power.”

“Yes.”

“I just want to make sure you know that we see you. Really see who you are. Maybe not Miguel, not yet anyways. Kids are adaptable.”

“I don’t mind you seeing me. I prefer it that way. I’m not one for hiding. I protect what’s mine. Right now, you’re the strongest person here. You could probably wipe me off the face of the planet with just a fraction of effort. You’re not like that though. You don’t have that edge. I do. But, those unsavory things that you don’t want on your hands or the hands of your girls. I will do it. I will stain my hands. All I ask for in return is support.” The words were a rush. An outburst of what had been long brewing in my mind. It felt good to say them, to admit it out loud. I was a monster by the standards of the old world. Here though, I was an asset.

“You keep the girls safe and away from it. Then…yes, I’ll support you.” She’s giving something away here in the dark, the only light coming from the dim fires. The fighting and flashes of lightning had ended hours ago and now dawn was only a little ways away. Agatha was carving something precious out of her soul and offering it to me. Not just complacent to what I was going to do, but cognizant and a silent supporter of it. A heady feeling.

“I’ll do my best to keep them safe. As safe as this world is anyway. They will need to gather levels to be truly safe. Be strong on their own. We can do it in a controlled manner though.”

“That’s acceptable. As long as the girls are kept away from more of the nastier business I’m sure you’ll be doing.”

“I’ll be working to keep that at a minimum anyway. No point in pissing off everybody. Better to be a scary friend than a scary, hated enemy.”

“Good. Night.”

Agatha walked off as silently as she had arrived. She was moving smoothly, no sign of the weaknesses of old age anymore. The boosts to vitality were really apparent and desirable. Soon I would have to use my accumulated stats. There was no way around it, I hadn’t gotten as far as I wanted with our mana heart harvesting, nor had I gained as many levels as I wanted. It would be a massive burst of stats though, enough to put me far and away the strongest in this group, beyond the mountain squads. No more of having to rely on bribery or threats to get others to obey me. I could inspire that with pure strength. Or, at least, have the strength to back up my threats.

I walked to the center of the camp and crouched down by the flame. The gentle warmth of the fire was pleasant. My higher constitution took away the bite from the cold, the actual pain and numbing, but still let me experience the pleasant feeling of a fire’s warmth or the cooling effects of a breeze. I remained crouched there, thinking about how much the world had changed. How much more it was going to change. How I was changing. Dawns rising was a welcome relief.