“Cure who?” I asked as I sensed the magics in the distant tombs disperse. Something began to move, but something pushed back against my senses from the darkness.
“The seven fallen knights of Olmucaid.” Grandmother Celia said staring distantly. Her trembling grew worse as she fell into a chair in the entry hall. Her hands clenched at her staff to stop them from shaking. “When the kingdom of Caerleon forced the ancient elves from this land, and broke the hold of the sidhe court...Seven of Olmucaid’s greatest knights fell further than any in the long history of the elves. They embraced the power of Ard Namhaid in their desperation, and sought to purge humanity from the world.” she said.
Mother’s eyes went wide and she gasped at the mention of Ard Namhaid. “They...they were destroyed! King Heracaid destroyed them for their heresy tens of thousands of years ago.” she said stepping forward from the crowd.
“Hrm...An elf...” Celia said looking at mother closely. “Aye, even the elves of old wouldn’t stand for it; Ard Namhaid getting a foothold in our world would have spelled their ruin.” she said shaking her head, “But Heracaid couldn’t destroy them...they had taken too much from the dark tyrant, and had grown too strong for death to claim them. Heracaid’s high priest cursed them for their treachery, and subsumed them within the veil of death. Their power sprang from the abyss, but they were still mortal. A plague wind was made as a great working, and their towers became their tombs, which Heracaid buried in the earth for all time.” she said.
“Would someone like to explain what exactly you’re talking about?” I asked becoming irritated at the seemingly never ending parade of ‘unfortunate coincidences’. I was beginning to regret setting my luck rating so high, as I was starting to think it was behind most of my headaches of late.
Mother looked at me and winced, glancing back at Grandmother Celia. “The seven fallen knights of Olmucaid were...boogiemen, Faith. Stories told to elven children as warnings against delving too deep into the darkness of our past.” she said, clenching her hands tightly.
“And they were little more than boogiemen...desiccated corpses left eternally on the edge of death, an evil sealed away for all time. The spells that sealed them should have been inviolate; only the power of a god should have been able to break their curse...alas, perhaps the ages have worn away the power of the great working.” Grandmother Celia said staring at the horizon as lightning began to crack from the earth, shooting toward the sky.
As Grandmother Celia mentioned the ‘power of a god’ I winced. I definitely needed to do something about my luck stat...I had thought it’d just give me a better chance at lotteries or something. “Well...is there anything we can do to deal with them now?” I asked wearily, “These guys don’t sound like they’d make for great neighbors.” I added.
Grandmother Celia looked at me with wide eyes, and started laughing, “Deal with them? They were sealed away at the height of the power of the ancient elven kingdom, when their magics bordered on the divine! Sealing them cost the lives of the greatest elven mages of the day! And I don’t imagine they’ll fall for the same trick twice.” she said the last wearily, almost hopelessly.
“Well...you said they got their power from this Ard person. Who’s he?” I asked looking at Mother again, though she just stared at Celia.
“The dark tyrant...he sought to usurp the power of the Áine, by channeling the power of the fallen creators. For his arrogance, he was cast into oblivion...but he could not be destroyed. He sought to create an eternal reign of darkness.” Mother said with a frown, “His acts led to a war that split the heavens of old. Since then the gods have been silent in the world.” she said.
The entire crowd was watching us, and listening to our conversation. The looks of dread and horror on the face of the crowd was matched only by the looks of confusion. I looked over at Hope, Ethan, Lily, and Aisha. I struggled with the decision for a moment, before sighing. “I’ll take care of it.” I said shaking my head.
Mother’s eyes went wide as she turned to look at me, “Absolutely not!” she said.
“You take care of it? Don’t you think you’ve done enough already?” Grandmother Celia asks, her voice rising.
“Enough!” I shouted, anger building in my gut. “It was my power that woke them, I’ll be the one to seal them.” I said moving toward the chateau entrance.
Mother bolted toward me, wrapping her arms around me. “What are you thinking? These aren’t mortal thugs! These are immortal monsters, and I’m not letting you get yourself killed! We’ll call the magi from Karn.” she yelled, her voice breaking from near hysteria.
Hope and Aisha rushed to my side, grasping at me. “You’ll die!” Hope exclaimed, her voice cold. “You’re like level ten!” she hissed in my ear. “You’ll get us both killed.” she said in a whisper as I tried to shrug everyone off.
“...I’m level twenty!” I hissed back at Hope indignantly.
Grandmother Celia looked at us and considered for a few quiet moments, before tapping her staff on the floor. “Your magics...” she said, and then paused. “The curative spell you cast...It shouldn’t have been able to do this.” she said with a frown.
I wasn’t stupid, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. My spell was divinely cast because I was a goddess, and the fallen knights had hijacked it to break their curse. I wasn’t omnipotent...but I wasn’t powerless either, and I couldn’t stand by while whatever insane evils I had unwittingly unleashed on the world ran amok. Mother was right, walking into that fight with my current power was probably suicide, but I could feel the raw magics pouring out of the earth. There were monsters clawing up from the depths...things which, while powerful, weren’t world ending. If I played it right, I could raise my level. Besides, if no one went to fight them, the monsters in the depths would overrun the area...maybe the world.
“I don’t have to fight them right now...I can trap them in an illusion, or at the very least the hoard of monsters that are crawling their way out of the depths.” I said as Mother clenched me tight to her chest.
“You almost lost yourself in your illusionary world.” Mother said with a frown.
“I didn’t have control over that before; I will this time.” I said reassuringly, “They hijacked a magic item, it wasn’t a spell I was actively controlling. If there’s interference this time, I can end the spell.” I added.
“Fool girl, you think to trap ancient dark elves with illusions? The fae of old were the masters of illusions, whose glamours cast whole cities into raving madness. Only the relics once wielded by the ancient kings of man were capable of breaking them.” Grandmother Celia said glaring at me.
Celia’s tone and derision was clawing at my nerves, and I thoughtlessly reached into my bag and pull out an ornate hilt. A glimmer of power ran down my arm as the sword I’d claimed from the statue weeks ago came alive in a halo of green fire. The four and a half foot long over-sized broadsword radiated power, the ash grey metal crackling as the green veins in the metal began to shift in the metal, weaving patterns on the face of the blade. Mother and Aisha fell back, while Hope just looked at me conflicted.
“That sword...” Mother said, staring at the blade which so strongly resembled that wielded by the statue of Áine in the depths of Caliburn. I had pulled it from the grip of a different statue in a strange alchemist’s shop, but hadn’t cared to wield it yet, but something told me it would be necessary soon.
“Aye...that blade would do, but could you keep it from the hands of the fallen? If not, what power might they wield...” Grandmother Celia asked, startled at the sword’s appearance. She glanced toward the horizon again and seemed torn. “The village’s wards won’t hold long, but the seven are likely still waking. Ard Namhaid’s blessings will aid them little during the light of day. We can push back their hoards until imperial forces can arrive. If you have magic’s girl, come with me to strengthen the wards I placed on the Village, and help me reinforce the walls of Montevue. We will secure some measure of safety for the villagers.” she said pulling herself to her feet, her staff grinding into the marble floor.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Young lady, you are not to risk your life under any circumstances.” Mother said glaring at me, a look of worry in her eyes. As I looked up at her I could see the fear of losing her daughters written on her face. I loved her, and at times I thought it was just a reflection of Hope’s love...but there really wasn’t a Hope and a Faith...we were the same person, and we were her daughter, and she knew it even if I sometimes didn’t.
“I’ll be careful...For now I’ll just help setup protections.” I said with a sigh, while the darkness was spreading at the edge of my divine perception.
*********
Name: Faith Lusatra Age: 13 Race: Half-Elf (Immortal) Sex: Female Classes: God (Rank 1), Martial Artist 20, Wizard 12 Subclass: NONE Abilities: Strength: 190, Dexterity: 440, Endurance: 265 Health: 2650 HP HP Regen: 26.5 HP/second Intelligence: 660, Power: 760, Luck: 600 Mana: 6840 MP MP Regen: 152 MP/second Ki: 1160 Ki Regen: 5/second Skills: -/400 Combat Skills: -/400 Athletics 203, Climbing 30, Engineering 300, Manufacturing 153, Mathematics 200, Medicine 10, Occult 150, Pain Tolerance 170, Perception 90, Persuasion 67, Singing 200, Survival 53, Swimming 30 Swordsmanship 150, Aikido 220, Tai Chi Chuan 80, Wing Chun 70 Blessings: Blessing of Aphrodite, Divine Beauty, Divine Presence, Enchanting Voice Traits: Traits: Alter Reality (Limited), Creative Aptitude, Extreme Precision, Heroic Perseverance, Heroic Strength, Divine Abilities, Divine Aegis, Divine Alacrity, Divine Health, Divine Immunities, Divine Limits, Divine Magic Recovery, Divine Providence, Divine Regeneration, Divine Resistance, Domain Powers, Immortal, Improved Accuracy, Inhuman Reflexes, Intellectual Aptitude, Knowledge Absorption, Mental Fortress, Perfect Memory, Superior Magic Regeneration Divine Abilities: Arcane Mastery, See Magic, Fabrication, Divine Identify [br]
Domain Powers: Divine Senses, Remote Sensing, Create Magic Items, Communication, Remote Communication
I stared at my status sheet as I trudged through the night a short distance behind Grandmother Celia, trying to take stock of my assets. I knew everyone was scared about the risk, but I was a goddess. Not an impressive one, but supposedly a divine being none the less. It was true that my level was still low, but I had a large advantage against even large groups of mortals my same level. Not to mention that I had the amount, if not potency, of the magic I could throw around. While assessing the few increases to my stats, I closed distance with Grandmother Celia.
We were passing outside the walls of montevue, toward the wards she had placed near the border. I could see them glowing faintly in the air, the light in them weakening like fading embers.
“I don’t think they have long.” I said gazing upward. The wards extended up like a dome, but one that seemed to grow translucent the further it extended from the ground.
“Of course not, you silly girl. These were meant to keep stray beasts at bay, or stall a small force of men. They were never meant to hold back the type of evil you’ve released.” Grandmother Celia spat as she lifted a hand to brush the wards. As she touched them she chanted under her breath, releasing a stream of mana from her palm.
“For fuck sake, would you lay off? I just put a healing aura on the area to help the town, and you act like I intentionally started summoning demons.” I said growing irritated. I understood that Grandmother Celia was scared for her people, but I was in no mood to deal with her attitude.
“Watch your tone!” Grandmother Celia spat, turning toward me as she finished pouring energy into the ward. “Girl, you use magic like it was a child’s toy. Just put a healing aura on the town? Do you imagine such magics go unnoticed? Even the smallest of spells can have unintended consequences, and can tilt the balance of magics in the world around us. That you have somehow managed to learn such magics as your age is unimaginable. That you’ve managed to learn such magics without the slightest concepts of their consequences and risks is horrifying beyond words. I’m frankly surprised you haven’t destroyed yourself and those around you.” she said, her tone only slightly more sociable than growling.
“It was a fucking healing spell!” I spat back, my nerves fraying as a distant voice whispered angrily in the back of my head.
Grandmother Celia looked at me, staring hard and unbelieving. “You ignorant and foul little girl. Just a healing spell? The spell you’re talking of required places of great elemental power to establish for longer than a few hours, and even then the area they affected was little more than a single room. No sane magi, were they powerful enough to do so, would have done such a thing. Had you surveyed the local geomancy to make sure there was no conflict? Had you considered the effects of establishing such a potent affect long term? The metaphysical distortions created? Had you even considered the consequences of placing a massive bubble of healing around an entire township? The mind boggles! Did you believe the magics came without cost? That they could not be depleted? That nature around it would survive such costs?” she asks her tone shifting from irritated anger, to a disappointed lecturing.
“It’s...magic.” I said a tad confused. She was making sense but...”The magic texts I read in the elven library didn’t really cover conflicting magic in the environment...” I said, pausing to consider. I had assumed that being a deity gave my spells the power they needed, but that power had to come from somewhere. Was I creating magic pollution? When I wanted to cast a spell I learned, I knew ‘how’...but I suddenly got the feeling that there were implications that I simply hadn’t learned from absorbing spellbooks.
“The mind boggles. Listen girl, the first lessons a mage teaches their students or apprentices are not spells, but observations. How to know when magics are safe, or what costs are involved...costs sometimes far greater than simple mana.” Grandmother Celia said before sighing wearily. “This ward will hold for a while, but there are many others. Some will need to be strengthened, and others dispersed to prevent interference with the wards we’ll be raising around Montevue.” she said motioning toward the ward. “Do you recognize the spell?” she asked.
“It...looks like forbiddance, but that targets elementals and spirits...this looks different.” I said looking over the spell. It was similar, not so much a new spell, but like certain variables had been changed.
“Yes. In this case it targets spiritual and elemental energies. For physical beasts that have been tainted by magic, it will place extreme discomfort. For mages, it creates an inhibition of existing spells. Few mages willingly step wards that restrict or diminish their protective magics. Within that is a simple alarm, allowing me to know what and who is crossing.” Grandmother Celia said as she moved toward the next ward.
As I followed Grandmother Celia, I began to spot connections between the wards: Groves of energy etched into space. The wards appeared to form a kind of network, but one that was fraying at the edges. As Grandmother Celia and I poured power into them, the power spread into the network, but never far. The bleeding of power continued as if something were trying to leach it dry.
“This...isn’t working. They’re still draining.” I said looking at one of the connections closely.
“I know...” Grandmother Celia said nervously. “It’s the dark forces from the tombs, but if we can hold them until morning, the force of daylight will lessen their drain.” she said, reaching into her pocket to pull out a small glowing gem. She muttered to herself, and began to pull mana from it.
As I turned my gaze from Grandmother Celia and the wards, I saw something moving in the darkness. The shadows shuddered, and were suppressed from a mere dimming of night, to pitch black. A form stepped from the pitch black shadows, that looked like a small child. A girl of perhaps four or five walked calmly forward, black hair hanging down to her knees and obscuring her face, except for black eyes sharp white teeth. “Come play with me.” the girl said, holding up clammy dead hands. As her hand extended the wards dimmed visibly. Behind her another shadow moved, and another child appeared, this one baring twisted and tortured features. “Come play with us.” the second child said, its voice choked and harsh. As the shadows drew back more children appeared in the forests beyond town, and the skies above dimmed with the dissipating wards.
Clouds drew closed across the horizon as far as the eye could see. The moonlight illuminating the back of the clouds faded into perfect darkness as the moon itself turned black. With a crack the wards all shattered, and a backlash of energy snapped into Grandmother Celia causing her to drop like a puppet with its strings cut. In the distance a dark fog began to spread, flickers of purple light visible, and a scent of death.