The next several days progressed filled with troops training, fighting, and growing. Duke took his daily recon flight every morning to see if there were any obvious threats within range. He spent some time in his personal training range but for some reason he just didn’t feel his heart in it. The rain had come and lasted for three days straight. It made for rather miserable flying conditions but that didn’t dissuade him. The only significant event outside of the gains his troops were making was the army had fully broken camp from the tower area and headed back in the direction of the city. Duke hadn’t known it was the direction of the city but as he followed them back day after day, he eventually arrived over the city.
Duke spent a several hours flying over the city in the rain. He knew the best time to do so was during the rain because no one would be looking up. He could observe from much higher with clear skies, but guards might eventually spot him. In the rain, he could be stealthy – a dark figure against a dark background with the movement of the rain masking his own movements. Even his LASTING DISGUISE Ability helped somewhat conceal him from anyone who might look up.
The downside of the rain is that it made visibility downright awful and very few people were out and about. He did note two guard changes on the castle walls and one on the city walls. The most notable thing about the guard changes was that the guards came and went through an internal structure within the walls. Duke didn’t know how that could be exploited but it was worth noting.
When he returned, he headed straight into the Inn and used his CLEANSE/RESTORE combination to get his rain-soaked-self feeling better. He then proceeded to sit at a table near a fireplace to soak in some heat. He might be dry, but being out in the rain was just miserable regardless of how tough he had become. He could endure it for an indefinite time, but that didn’t mean he liked it. His mood improved greatly when a server brought over a meal consisting of a bowl of hearty soup with some bread and an ale.
Before long, Elaine and Grat joined him. “Anything new out there?” Grat asked.
“Not really. Just a lot of rain. I never liked flying in the rain, but now…now it’s thoroughly unpleasant. The cold still soaks into my bones despite even my ARMOR SKIN. It’s insidious.”
“Nature has a way of getting into things no matter how much you try to keep it out.” Grat agreed.
“We had a phrase in my world: Nature will find a way. It meant no matter what you did, nature would find a way to survive and prosper.” Duke added.
“A fitting phrase indeed.” Grat nodded. “Has your training slowed down?”
“How could you tell?” Duke responded.
“Because you’re sitting by the fireplace eating soup and bread.” Elaine answered.
“Fair enough. I can’t gain experience from the dungeon now and that was my biggest advantage – it is what drove me to this level so quickly. I don’t know where to find something that would actually give me any benefits fighting and it’s starting to weigh on me.” Duke sighed.
“At this point, there’s nothing in the forest that could challenge you. There might be something up in the mountains or deeper in the underworld caverns, but we don’t know about either place in any detail.” Grat explained.
“And we don’t know if or when the king will discover us or move his army out somewhere.” Duke continued. “I feel trapped here even though I have the freedom to do whatever I want. It’s frustrating and I don’t know what to do about it. I fly patrol after patrol and find nothing. We have this great threat looming over the horizon but there’s nothing for me to do now. Sure, I can train Skills and Abilities and I’m still doing that but it’s not enough. I’m restless and I really don’t want to admit to boredom.”
Elaine fixed Duke with a stare. “No, you most certainly do not want to admit to boredom. Maybe you should look for some female company for a while. That will brighten up your days a bit.”
Duke looked a bit flustered. “Everyone here is in my chain of command. Even entertaining such a thought is a terrible idea.”
Both Grat and Elaine looked at him as if he had completely lost his mind. “Why should that matter?” Elaine asked. “I’ve seen how Aurelia looks at you. You should give her a chance.”
Duke stared at them both incredulously, years of military leadership training kicking in fiercely. “She is directly in my chain of command. She is the General of my army. Anything other than a fully-professional relationship would be highly inappropriate.”
“If the both of you are adults and share feelings, what’s the problem? Some of your notions are truly bizarre.” Elaine countered.
Duke steeled himself for this argument. He knew he was right, but he also knew that Elaine had won every argument he had seen. “The simple fact that such a relationship might cloud my judgement in a military action. I might hesitate to deploy her and her troops for fear of something happening to her and that could cost us dearly. I cannot hesitate on the battlefield.”
“So what if something happens to her. You can bring her back, remember?” Elaine responded. “You told us all about that crazy Soul Title and the ability to resurrect someone that came with it. Try another argument, because I’m not buying that one.”
Duke paused, his next argument locked in his mind with the reminder of what he actually could do. His mouth opened and closed as he stared blankly back at Elaine.
She smiled at him and decided to go in for the kill. “We also have something to ask you. If you don’t mind.” Grat’s demeanor grew more anxious and excited as Elaine continued. “There is a tradition amongst the people of Teldin that Grat and I would like for you join us in.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Duke’s mind raced in all sorts of crazy ways at where this conversation was going. First, she’s telling me to get some female company now where in the world is this going?
“We would for you to be the Free Uncle for our child.” Duke’s face clouded with confusion and then sudden realization.
“You’re pregnant?”
“I am. And we would like for you to be our child’s Free Uncle.” Elaine continued.
Duke looked confused. “Is that like being a Godfather?”
“You would look over our child should something happen to us.” Grat replied, ignoring Duke’s strange idiom.
“Of course, I would. This is amazing news! I’m so happy for you!” Duke leapt from his chair and came over to give Elaine a hug. His mood had immediately changed, having found something incredibly positive to celebrate.
Grat and Elaine celebrated with him for the next hour or so before they went off on their own. Duke set back outside not caring about the rain only to discover that the rain had come to a halt. The ground was still soaked but Duke was able to take to the air without rain drenching him and his smile continued to spread. He launched into the air as clouds started to thin and the sky opened above. Duke didn’t care and launched himself higher and higher.
He rose above the remaining clouds and continued to rise. In minutes, he was staring down at the world from a dizzying height. He had expected the air to thin out and for it to become hard for him to breathe as he climbed higher and higher. Somehow, that wasn’t the case, and he knew he had risen over 10 kilometers in the air.
The view from this height was amazing and continued to reinvigorate Duke. He could see the clouds retreating towards the horizon beneath him to his left, but to his right, things were all clear. He flew higher in that direction, straining his senses to see as far as he could. As he pushed more effort into making things out, his vision shifted to a new spectrum. The world shifted to a negative view with colors washed out, but contrast and definition increased.
The more he looked, the more he could see things moving below him. He could see further into the distance than he had thought possible. First, he spotted the end of the forest and flew higher and faster in that direction, revealing open fields far, far below him. He could see the curvature of the planet from this height and would be getting more and more concerned with what should be a thinning atmosphere, but his new sight was revealing things moving below him.
He focused his sight downward and was able to see things swirling closer to the ground. To be so clear from this height, Duke figured they were tremendous. He descended to check them out.
When he got closer, he discovered that it was multiple creatures he was looking at in this new spectrum. There was a single serpent glowing white that was nearly ten meters long fighting off dozens of smaller creatures that appeared to be winged wolves. The serpent was clearly losing as the winged wolves were swarming around it, attacking from too many angles for the serpent to cover.
Duke had a thing about wolves. Namely, he didn’t like them, so he decided that he would enter the fray on the serpent’s side. He shot a bolt of LIGHTNING at a wolf to see it pass straight through and hit the ground. Well, that’s not going to work. What’s going to work on these things? Guess I have to try a few more things. He cycled through his other available elements and found the LIGHT had some minor effect, but of all his elemental Abilities, FORCE was the most effective.
Duke rained FORCE DARTS down upon the pack of winged wolves. Their reaction was immediate and savage. They turned on him and rushed at him at alarming speed. Duke continued to fire at them, getting two more off before they reached him. The first winged wolf that attacked Duke went right for his throat. but he was expecting the move had placed an arm in place to block it. His ARMOR SKIN had been getting stronger and stronger which gave Duke the expectation that it would easily handle a bite. The winged wolf passed right through his arm, his throat, and straight out the back of his neck. The attack was painful to a degree that Duke was not prepared for. He felt as if his body had been dropped into a vat of freezing water, the chill making his bones ache.
Immediately, he TELEPORTED away from the onrush of the other winged wolves, setting himself below them. FORCE DARTS blanketed the area where the winged wolves had charged to reach him. Rather than putting additional Mana into a single FORCE DART, Duke had opted to launch as many as he could manage as fast as he could using his SIMULCASTING Ability. More than 100 darts blanketed the area of the winged wolves, shredding their bodies.
As Duke stabilized himself in the air, preparing for the next attack, the wolves’ bodies began to dissipate and fade away. “Well, that was easier than I expected.” Duke remarked to himself.
“The winged wolves are a nuisance at best but in numbers they can become quite the nuisance. For that, you have my thanks.”
Duke slowly turned to see the white serpent floating next to him. “You are welcome. I saw a single being surrounded by multiple attackers, so I acted. That, and I really fucking hate wolves.”
The serpent laughed which sounded all kinds of weird with fangs and a forked tongue. “I do not enjoy the company of the winged wolves either. But, beyond that, I am intrigued by your presence and actions. It is vanishingly rare for a human to be able to see a guardian serpent, let alone be able to interact with the Spiritual Plane. Who are you, my new friend.”
“You can call me Duke. I’d offer you a hand to shake, but you don’t have hands. So, this is the Spiritual Plane. I’m seeing here.” This must be the Soul Sight that came with the Redeemer of Souls Title. Pretty cool.
“Indeed it is. You may call me Seshwashi. I am the Spiritual Guardian of this village of Rahmfar. It is my purpose to protect this village from spiritual dangers such as the winged wolves. Should they have gotten past me, they would have taken the soul of at least one of the villagers.”
“That sounds bad.” Duke responded.
“Yes, a human without a soul dies of a withering disease that cannot be cured without the return of their soul. It is a terrible thing to watch. To be truly honest, I am surprised the wolf that struck you did not take your soul.”
“Now, that’s scary. I guess I have better defenses against such things than most. Being able to see into the Spiritual Plane is probably helpful with that in some way.” Duke surmised.
“Perhaps. Perhaps. What brings you to Rahmfar, Duke? You are truly welcome here, but visitors such as yourself are never expected.”
“I literally was passing by when I saw the fight and decided to step in. I’m exploring the area and was attracted to the unusualness of the situation I saw.” Duke confessed. “What can you tell me about Spirit Guardians and the dangers of this Spiritual Plane?
“Oh, there is much I can tell you, and since you have proven to be an ally, I will tell you much of us and our tale.”
Seshwashi continued to tell Duke about the Spiritual Plane in general and Spiritual Guardians in specific over the next several hours. It turned out that whenever a group of sapient beings gathered together for a length of time, their own spiritual energy would combine to form a Spiritual Guardian. The more people that gathered together and the more they shared similar ideals, the stronger the Serpent’s potential. Duke also learned that coloration and type of the Guardian are highly reflective of the people that manifested it. When he did eventually head back, it was armed with a much greater understanding of a world that few ever were exposed to seeing or understanding. He was not sure how to use that knowledge, but he was sure it would come in handy at some point.