Though the holes in our hearts cannot be filled, we will carry on.
Though our broken spirits cannot be healed, we will carry on.
No matter how many times we are knocked to the ground, we will carry on.
-Old Hardlands Hymn
Winesap Moon, Day 12
Week of the Centaur (Archery Units +1 Range)
When the light finally faded, I saw that the howler was gone. However, I could feel its confused, scared, and angry feral presence in my gauntlet as the monster’s strength was added to my own. Warmth that felt just like slipping into a hot bath after a hard day’s work flooded my body, and the persistent ache in my chest that I’d had since regaining consciousness vanished.
I looked down at my arm, and saw that there was a new silver square floating above my hand. When I touched it, it floated up to my eyes and expanded.
There were three pictures inside. The first was a portrait of my own face – free of wounds and looking stern – and the two next to it were squares for the creatures in my stack. One of them was empty, but the other had been filled with the howler’s avatar. As part of the process, its wounds had been healed, and it looked more like a regular wolf than a formless monstrosity, though it now had peculiar red streaks running down its back and sides that I’d never seen before.
A small gold star was flashing in the top right corner of the howler’s image. I tapped it, and my stack vanished, replaced by the howler’s creature information.
[Creature Name: Howler Alpha]
[Avatar Strength: 1]
[Creature Tier: 3]
[Creature Color: Gray]
[Color Bonus: Inactive – requires (2) Gray creatures!]
[Creature Clans: Howler, Beast Demon]
[Clan Ability (Howler): Strength In Numbers (+ 1 Melee Damage for every 3 points of Avatar Strength)]
[Creature Health: 54]
[Damage Type: Melee]
[Melee Damage: 6-8]
[Melee Range: 1]
[Counterattacks Melee: Yes]
[Counterattacks Ranged: No]
[Counterattacks Magic: No]
[Movement Points: 4]
[Melee Defense: 2]
[Ranged Defense: 2]
[Magical Defense: 0]
[Bigger and stronger than most of its kind, Howler Alphas are vicious beasts capable of great destruction.]
Following a newly formed instinct, I dismissed the creature information with an aggressive flick of my finger and snorted at that last bit.
The howler was a vicious beast capable of great destruction, huh? I’d already figured that out for myself.
Turning around, I walked back to Davion’s body and looked around at the rest of the village. There were bodies everywhere. My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. It wouldn’t do to leave so many good people out in the elements to be eaten by the birds and beasts; I had to bury them.
They deserved at least that much.
Unfortunately, digging graves required a tool, and as great as my new sword probably was, I doubted that it’d be much use when it came to the task before me now. I needed a shovel.
Following roads that no longer existed, I made my way over to where I thought I might find one: the remnants of the village smithy. While I had fond memories of it as a bright, warm place, all that was left of it was a scorched anvil and a few dented pieces of metal.
My hands were stained by soot and filled with splinters by the time I pulled aside enough charred bits of wood to find what I was looking for, but I didn’t care. The tool’s handle was broken, and its head was warped, but those were both things that ultimately didn’t matter. The shovel would move dirt, and that was all I needed.
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Shouldering the pathetic thing, I straightened back up and walked over to the far side of my village. Alternating between my shovel and my sword – which I used to cut away bits of underbrush that was in my way – I cleared space for a makeshift graveyard, and started my grim task in earnest. As I worked, I sang old hymns that I’d never been fond of, finding a surprising degree of solace in the mournful words.
I didn’t pay attention to how long it took, but the stars were bright in the sky by the time I finished. My back and shoulders burned with fatigue, and my cheeks were soaked with tears. My stoicism lasted until I buried Erwin next to his wife Elena, when I’d noticed the slight bump of her stomach.
I’d never been one for prayers, but I muttered one all the same for all the people I’d buried as I patted down the last piles of dirt and let my shovel fall. It was a simple thing, and not particularly devout.
“If there’s an afterlife, I hope you all have a better time of it there than you did here. I promise I won’t forget you. Please watch over me.”
And with that, I felt the weight fall away from my shoulders. I’d done all I could for my village, which meant it was time to go. I didn’t have a particularly clear plan of my next steps, but I’d decided to head toward Doolen, the village closest to mine. As long as the weather cooperated, it’d be no more than a two day walk.
Once I was there, I’d think about my long term plans more seriously, but for now I just wanted to keep my goals small and obtainable. Nothing was as important as continuing to move forward.
After scavenging for provisions, I fastened my sword across my back and headed into the night.
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Winesap Moon, Day 15
Week of the Gnome (Spells cost 5 less mana)
My first taste of fighting as a [Champion] happened just before I reached Doolen.
Heavy rains had transformed the old trails and paths I knew like the back of my hand to a thick sludge, and my progress had been much slower than I would have liked. I was frustrated and not paying attention, which meant that I failed to notice the pack of razorbeaks following me until one of their namesakes nicked my cheek.
I covered my face with one arm while I grabbed my sword with the other, and closed my eyes to protect them against the flurry of beaks and talons. Thankfully, the attack ended almost as quickly as it began, and I was mostly okay. I had a few little cuts here and there, but none felt particularly serious.
Razorbeaks were small, stupid creatures that looked an awful lot like crows. While they generally weren’t considered much of a threat in small numbers – they were easy to scare off with loud noises, after all – every once in a while they formed a murder big enough to worry about, and it was one of these that I found myself facing.
I couldn’t even count how many of the little squawking bastards there were because they all flapped together, and I didn’t much fancy my chances of cutting them out of the air with my sword. I could have tried using a sling or throwing stones, but I was terrible at both those things and remembered that I had a new way to fight now.
What was the point of becoming one of the Blessed if I didn’t use my powers?
“[Hexgrid Sphere]!” I bellowed, and I felt the skill activating in my chest.
A ball of golden light appeared above my head, and like water flowing over river rocks, a webbed dome surrounded me. The razorbeaks struck it with screeching cries, and the murder turned into a pair of avatars before my eyes. One had an avatar strength of fifteen, while an eight floated above the other.
I’d heard a little bit about that process from my grandpa, who’d described it as having his sense of self stripped away for a greater purpose. As his body was added to the avatar’s strength score, he’d felt his hopes and dreams fade to nothing when they were replaced by a sense of duty and willingness to perfectly follow orders even if it meant his demise. Though he’d been aware of his fellows, he was emotionally detached from them, and barely registered when they were slain in battle.
Was the process similar for animals? I didn’t know, and ultimately it didn’t matter. These razorbeaks were my foes, and I was going to kill them.
Blue hexagons appeared on the ground around me, and my stack materialized on the row nearest my feet. As just a single avatar with a strength score of one, it was hardly an impressive army – or even really an army at all – but I didn’t feel even a hint of worry as I stared at my enemies. I knew that the howler would make short work of the razorbeaks, and feeling a peculiar giddiness, I gave my first order as a [Champion].
Sensation-wise, it was somewhat difficult to explain. When I looked into the rectangle of light floating above my gauntlet, I felt as if I were staring down at the battlefield from on high. I could see myself, the lay of the land, and all of the avatars currently involved.
My howler was glowing red, and when I focused on it, I saw the words Desperate Last Stand! +3 to melee damage! flashing underneath it. When I clicked on the creature, a field of four hexagons in every forward direction lit up, representing how far it could move. Not seeing any real difference between them – the terrain was all the same – I selected the middle route, and my howler leapt forward before growing dim. To my surprise, my own body then started flashing. I couldn’t move my legs or anything, but I could click the razorbeak avatars, so that’s what I did.
“I” ran forward and swung my sword at the eight-strength razorbeak avatar. There was a satisfying thunk, and the number above the creature’s head decreased to six.
What a cold way to fight, I thought bitterly as the birds took their turn. It was said in the Texts that [Champions] brought order to a chaotic world, which apparently meant combat was a dignified, orderly affair where everyone took turns. I wasn’t sure that I liked it. Make no mistake, I didn’t miss the frantic scramble of physical combat, but I couldn’t help but think that it’d be easy to see the world as nothing more than numbers for anyone who spent much time like this.
Problems for another time, though. For now, I had a battle to win.
The razorbeaks flew forward, though they each only moved by three hexes apiece. My battlefield was small, and after this first round of combat, there was only one empty hex left between my howler and the fifteen-strength razorbeak.
I directed my creature forward, and it attacked on its own. With a mighty swipe of the howler’s wicked claws, the birds were reduced by eleven. I slew two more from the second avatar four on my next turn, and when both four-strengths tried to attack my howler, they were slaughtered by the wolf’s furious retaliatory bite.
As they faded, the System’s voice filled the air.
[Battle Complete! You are victorious!]
[You have gained +1 Renown! 9 Renown to next level!]
With the razorbeaks dealt with, my [Hexgrid Sphere] dissipated. My howler vanished too, and the hexagons on the ground were gone by the time I blinked.
Looking through my own eyes once more was strange, but also soothing. It took me a few moments to get my limbs to move the way I wanted them to, but eventually I was back to normal. Wondering if I’d get desensitized to that too, I resumed my trek to Doolen.
When I got there, I was met by a ring of spears.