Toren Daen

Sunlight and pain woke me up quickly. I weakly picked myself up from my position on the ground, wincing at the pain in my shoulder and the tears in my forearm. Where was I?

Looking about sobered me quickly, bringing me back to the land of the living. The coppery smell of blood was thick in the air, and flies already buzzed around the bodies of the mana beasts. The sight made my stomach churn, but I held back the need to vomit.

Right. I was in another world that shouldn’t exist. And nearly died last night. Again.

The pain was notably less, however, from what it was yesterday. Sparing a look at the torn flesh of my forearm, I noticed a significant buildup of mana around the wound. I felt like it was healing me, but at a faster rate than was natural.

My mana sense was a strange thing. The more I felt, the more I remembered, for lack of a better term. I could recognize the ebbs and flows within my body with more clarity and certainty as I adapted to my new body.

But I had more glaring concerns right now. I was very, very thirsty. And as far as I could tell, there was no water in sight.

But I needed to move. The smell of blood would undoubtedly draw more predators. I was lucky enough to last the night without any.

Before I left, however, I ripped a strip of cloth from my already ragged shirt. It was far from clean; covered in grass stains, blood, and dirt. But it was better than letting my arm continue to bleed. I gingerly wrapped my eviscerated forearm in the cloth, wincing every time it touched the raw flesh. I didn’t think I had ever been hurt this badly in my life. In either life.

Red spots immediately began to soak through the thin cotton-ish material, along with renewed bouts of pain. I ignored them as best I could, finally setting out from my first battlefield. I couldn’t stay near the corpses.

I walked along the wall of earth, taking my time now that the sun was up. The danger of mana beasts was still absurdly high, but in the daytime, I would have more time to react to any perceived threat.

But one thing was for sure: I wouldn’t be able to survive for very long with my weaker body. I didn’t know how much more forest I needed to cross, but I wasn’t holding my breath. I didn’t have the endurance or strength to face mana beasts for long, and I wasn’t a prodigy in the sword like Arthur to fight unenhanced. I barely escaped my first fight alive.

Once I put some distance between me and the site of my previous battle, I tiredly sat down in the dirt and leaned my back against the wall. It provided a modicum of cool shade, distracting me from the throbbing in my arms.

“Lady Dawn?” I asked aloud tiredly, closing my eyes. “I need advice. Please.”

My voice was scratchy and worn to my own ears. I was dehydrated and barely past a near-death experience, after all.

When I pried my eyes open a few seconds later, my vision was once more clouded in darkness. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind and morning birdsong once dulled as if I was underwater. Eddies of mist swirled about the ground, and my perception narrowed.

Lady Dawn stood before me, looking down at me with the same stern face. Her orange dress, inferno eyes, and feather-red hair hadn’t changed in the slightest. Despite her neutral expression, I could almost feel the disappointment radiating off her.

“What need have you of me, lesser?” she asked.

I groaned at her calling me ‘lesser’ once more but shelved it away. “I won’t survive this forest without some sort of way to defend my body,” I said tiredly. “And I might need your help with that.”

Lady Dawn cocked her head. “You wish for me to defend you?” she asked, something in her tone that made me shiver. “Unfortunately, in this… diminished form I have, I cannot. You are on your own.”

I shook my head. “No, not that.” I took a deep breath. “Dicathian magic and Alacryan spellforms are not incompatible, as far as I know. The Alacryan runes just tend to be more efficient, so they neglected to train in mana arts the same way mages across the continent do.”

Lady Dawn narrowed her blazing eyes. “That is true.”

I was quickly learning this phoenix was a bird of few words. “So I could theoretically strengthen my body and create a protective layer of mana, just as augmenters do across the ocean?” I asked hopefully. If I had that kind of protection, I might just survive this forest.

Lady Dawn hummed thoughtfully. “You could. It would be unprecedented, however. I have heard nothing of a fusion of these two magics.” The phoenix was looking at me with renewed interest now that made my spine tingle.

I took a deep breath, leaning my head back against the rock face. “I’m going to try it. Any help you could lend would be very appreciated,” I said.

Lady Dawn said nothing, continuing to observe.

I closed my eyes, looking internally at my mana core. It was a solid orange color, and unsurprisingly full. That was to be expected: telekinesis didn’t use much mana. Floating within was a red feather. It was doing something to my core, and it felt positive. With a bit of heightened concentration, I could identify the connection between my core and the spellform on my back.

I found my next target with surprising ease. My mana veins, the semi-spiritual conduits that allowed me to absorb mana from the outside world, were noticeably more developed than my mana channels. Mana channels, I knew, were what allowed mana to spread across the body and strengthen it. It seemed this body was fitter for conjuring, but even Dicathian conjurers could lightly strengthen their bodies.

With an effort of will, I pulled mana from my core. I tried to filter it through my mana channels, which I knew would strengthen my muscles, but I faced some strange sort of resistance.

I tugged again, confused. The resistance wasn’t natural, I was sure. I felt like I should be able to do this, but something held me back. As I tried to force my mana to follow the natural pathways of my body, so too did the resistance build. But that made the source more noticeable.

My crest? I realized with a bit of incredulity. It seemed like my crest was actively preventing me from spreading my own mana across my body, causing it to somehow fight against the action. I grit my teeth and pushed harder, straining against the force. If I just broke through…

Mana flooded from my core in increasing waves, trying and failing to break the barrier to strengthening my body. I felt myself sweat, my breathing picking up. I started to flag, losing force as my willpower began to wane.

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No! I thought with a bit of desperation. I felt close, but the mana of the crest fought me at every turn, matching me push for push. I was losing.

Then something changed. A foreign influence began to push on my mana, reinforcing my own actions. It felt warm and smoldering; a heavy and subdued presence. The feather in my core glowed with a pinkish light, resonating with the alien intent. The outwards pressing force doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. The crest ramped up its resistance as well, but not fast enough.

Something cracked, and my mana finally rushed into my channels in a flood. Warmth suffused my whole body as my muscles unconsciously clenched. Sounds became a bit clearer, and the scent of blood, sweat, and dirt became an overwhelmingly pungent smell to my nose.

I opened my eyes, the mana flooding them allowing me to see the most minute of details. It was almost intoxicating.

I pushed a bit more mana from my core, which now flowed with ease across my body. A slight glowing light emanated from my skin, evidence of a mana shroud covering my body. I grinned at Lady Dawn, who raised a brow in return.

I cut off the flow, the extra strength and perception draining away as I reabsorbed as much as I could back into my core. With a push, I tested my crest once more. I could push and pull just as normal, with nothing out of the ordinary. I exhaled in relief.

I was worried that I had somehow broken my spellform when I felt that crack across my mana, but nothing seemed out of order.

“Fascinating,” I heard Lady Dawn say. She was peering at my sternum, seeming to see right through to my core. “I see now why Dicathian–no, asuran–method of magic is nonexistent on this continent,” she said with a hum.

I slowly got to my feet, stretching gingerly to avoid jostling my still-recovering shoulder and bloody forearm. “What do you mean?” I asked a bit absently as I slowly tested the strengthening effects across my body. I felt stronger than I had ever been, and I was willing to bet I could outmuscle people far outside my weight class. The drain was more significant than my telekinesis spellform, but I could keep this up for a long while.

“The spellform you have tried to deny specific usages of mana manipulation beyond the rune’s intended purpose,” she said primly. She walked forward slightly, still peering at my sternum. “But that restriction has been broken. Forcefully.”

I let the strength fade from my body again. “Thank you,” I said, nodding to the phoenix. “I wouldn’t have been able to break that hold without your help.”

Lady Dawn seemed unfazed. “Helping you is tantamount to helping myself, lesser,” she said, her fiery eyes boring into my own. “If you perish, so do I.”

I gulped at that. “Still, thank you.” I paused as a thought occurred to me. “The mana pushback is likely higher the more runes a person has as well,” I said. “And the more powerful those runes are. The more powerful you get, the less chance there is to break free of the rune’s restraints.”

Lady Dawn turned to look at the sky. “So it would seem. Agrona’s control is unprecedented.”

She looked almost sullen in the pinkish light that shone around her like a brilliant outline. The most emotion I had seen from the phoenix had been whenever Agrona came up in conversation. As I thought about it, I became more and more certain that this world had some differences from the one I had read about. From what I knew, Lady Dawn had been slain by the Legacy, her mana absorbed until there was nothing more to siphon. Left as an empty husk.

But she was here with me—or at least some part of her. But the animosity towards the High Sovereign of the Vritra remained.

“He isn’t all-powerful,” I said. “His control isn’t perfect; not from what I know. There are cracks.”

Lady Dawn frowned at me, the most expression I had seen in our two meetings. “And, pray tell, how do you know this? A lesser from another world, detached from the workings of this one? What right have you to preach to me when you have not suffered as we have?” Lady Dawn asked, a note of tension in her tone. For all that the words sounded accusatory, the phoenix presented them as valid questions.

I opened my mouth, then closed it with a click. I didn’t know if my knowledge was perfect, and already one divergence lay before me. And the phoenix was right: I hadn’t suffered as she did. As the people of this world had. My wounds were proof of that; of my comparatively easy-going life. Last night’s battle had been my only life-or-death struggle.

I looked at the dirt, feeling chastised. “I’m sorry,” I said mutely. “I didn’t want to offend you.”

Lady Dawn scoffed. Then the encroaching darkness vanished as it had come, whisking the phoenix away with it.

I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face. Dried blood and sweat caked my body, and I knew from my previously enhanced sense of smell that I reeked. One of the first things I would do when I got back to civilization was take a shower.

Alacrya had showers, I knew. For that I was thankful.

I turned around, looking at the sheer rock face. It stretched up a good forty feet, denying my forward journey. But even with the strength mana could grant my body, I didn’t know how long I could last without food or water. Escaping this forest was still my top priority.

With mana coursing through my limbs, I began to climb.

—

A couple of hours passed in silence. My trek northward continued at a slightly sedated pace. I wasn’t sure what could be waiting for me, and I was going to be ready for whatever crossed my path.

A familiar noise made me pause, however. I halted at the bottom of a slight hill, giving my tired legs a light rest as I tried to focus on whatever I was hearing. I funneled mana to my ears, wincing internally at the inefficiency of the flow. It took far more mana to strengthen my hearing than it should have due to a loss of mana along the way from my sternum to my ears. Part of that was because I was an inexperienced mana user, and another part was because of my underdeveloped mana channels. I could eventually remedy the first, at least.

I felt a grin split my face as my suspicions were confirmed. I heard running water a bit to my left, a sweet song that would soon quench my thirst. I turned on my heel, walking towards the sound at a brisk pace. Before long, I finally reached my destination.

The creek I found flowed northwest to southeast, likely towards a larger body of water. It was a slow, meandering thing, but it gurgled to me invitingly. I stood in the treeline still, cautious to approach. This was likely a common source of water for the mana beasts around.

I searched the tree line and the banks of the creek, keeping an enhanced eye peeled for any mana beasts that might try and ambush me. The coast was clear.

I approached the creek, cupped my hand within the flow to withdraw a bit of water, and drank greedily. The water was cool and crisp as it trailed down my throat. Some of it splashed onto my shirt in my haste, but I didn’t care. It was the most heavenly drink I had ever had.

I had to slow down once I began to cough from drinking too fast. But damn, did it feel refreshing. Once I had my fill, I did another perimeter check with enhanced eyesight. Feeling secure once more, I splashed water on my face, the cool liquid scrubbing away just a bit of the dirt and grime on my face. My hair was next, and the sheer amount of red that tainted the water as I washed my scalp spoke to how much blood had caked it. I washed my arms, too, and took special care to avoid my wound.

I had been hasty when I wrapped it before. I just needed to stop the bleeding, but I knew that infection was a terrible possibility. Theoretically, the mana in my body strengthened my immune system as well, but bacteria hopped up on mana could exist here as well. It was better to be safe than sorry, so I didn’t dunk my arm into the water.

A rustle of nearby branches had me immediately perk up from my crouch by the water. Across the creek, a few familiar-looking beady eyes watched me.

A jolt of fear coursed through my body as the monster stalked forward, followed by two others. They were about twenty feet away, and I knew from experience what those glistening talons and serrated teeth could do. I felt my heart rate skyrocket, and I knew that if I hadn’t just washed my face I would be able to feel beads of sweat.

But there was another emotion in my gut this time, too. Anger. I was utterly terrified of the mana beasts as they slowly stalked toward me, but a fury grew to match it, burning like Lady Dawn’s eyes. These creatures had nearly killed me once before. They had killed me before, technically. And I hated the fear they instilled in me.

I slowly stood to my feet, withdrawing a few rocks from my pouch once more. It was time for a rematch.