Prologue
“Missiles, missiles, missiles! Break left! Release chaff and flares!” Andy’s wingman’s voice thundered through his headset. His instinctive reaction was to wince at the volume, but years of practice had expunged that reaction. Instead, he yanked his joystick hard over to the left and slammed his thrust forward while his thumb trigged the defensive chaff that would distract the radar-guided missiles sent to shoot him down.
Andy strained his body against the G-forces that tried to strip his brain of blood and send him straight to sleep. The training to do so had been extensive and continued to this day. It was unnatural and required muscular control that few who didn’t fly could really understand. Today, the training proved out as he remained conscious through the 8-G turn.
The airframe shuddered under the strain as well as he completed his turn, smiling as the enemy missile lock tone vanished. OK, round one to you, asshole. Now it’s my turn! Andy glanced at his HUD radar and located the plane that had ambushed them from behind a freaking mountain.
“Coltrane, you got this bastard on radar?” Andy called out to his wingman for confirmation that he also was seeing the same thing on his scope.
“Roger, Duke, I got him on the scope. Still have no IFF or ID on what he’s flying. You got a visual?”
“Negative, I got no eyes on him.” Without warning, the enemy plane vanished off Andy’s radar. “I lost contact! Where the fuck did he go?”
“Negative contact here. He vanished. Did he drop below the ridge? Who the fuck is this guy?”
Another voice came over comms, calm and deep. “Intrepid four and five, this is overwatch. Exfil immediately. I repeat, disengage and return to base.”
Andy shook his head at the bizarre order. “Negative, overwatch. We have this bandit contained and will splash him.”
“Intrepid four and five, disengage. I repeat. Disengage and return to base.” The voice of the overwatch operator was starting to show strain, yet he held to professionalism. Barely.
“Overwatch, this is Intrepid four. I agree with Duke. We’ve got this bastard painted and splashed the second he pops back onto radar.”
The overwatch operator finally lost his cool. “Goddammit you two get your asses out of there now. This is not a motherfucking suggestion. You have a fucking dozen more bandits inbound. They’ll be in range to see you in seconds. Turn and burn. Now!”
It was at this moment that Andy knew he’d fucked up as he’d turned away from the exfil and had burned towards the last known location of the mystery jet with his wingman in tow. His radar lit up with multiple fighters incoming and the sound of their radar locks was suddenly blaring in his ears.
His training had not fled him, and his reaction speed was still top-notch. Both he and his wingman turned away from the oncoming fighters and punched their throttles to full afterburner. He was slammed backwards into his seat, the entire jet shuddering as it accelerated at emergency speed.
“Shit, shit, shit! Duke, we’re toast! Birds in the air! Too many to count!”
Andy did the only thing he could, he launched all of his flares and chaff in a desperate ploy to distract the missiles coming for him and his wingman. He juked and dodged in every way his mind could imagine. Time slowed to a crawl as one eye stayed locked onto the radar screen tracking the inbound missiles. There were too many missiles coming in. There was no way they were making it out of this jam.
“Coltrane, break for the deck!” Andy’s voice held despite the shaking of his nerves. He knew what had to be done.
Coltrane didn’t hesitate, knowing just how good his wingman’s instincts were. He broke for the deck, burning fuel at an obscene rate. He knew he could only keep it this low for a short time at this speed, even though they had broken out into the desert, flying this low at this speed just plain burned fuel. Still, he kept the throttle pegged, heading for friendlier air as fast as he could manage.
Andy also broke for the deck, right behind Coltrane. As he set up behind his wingman, missiles just seconds away now that more than half of them had passed through the flares and chaff and had re-locked in on him. He slammed his throttle back to zero and slammed his stick back while hitting all his flaps. His jet virtually stopped in the air relative to everything else flying around him. His final act in the cockpit was to pull the ejection handle, launching himself out of the jet moments before it slammed into the ground.
The explosive ejection system launched him into the air above the instant wreckage of his plane. The breaking sensation in the cockpit had been tremendous, giving him the illusion that his plane had slowed down. It had, in fact, slowed down significantly. It had dropped from supersonic to a mere three hundred fifty knots.
In his time-slowed sensation, he tumbled through the air watching missiles slam into the exploding wreckage of his plane. He was overjoyed that his ploy had worked, and Coltrane was able to break free of the engagement.
His parachute deployed a microsecond before he splattered across the desert floor. It wasn’t particularly helpful.
Chapter 1
Clouds had rolled in to obscure the stars, but Eglin knew that they were properly aligned. The countless factors that he had calculated over the past decade had all led to this moment. Each and every brazier was set in the perfect configuration around his ritual diagram. The Ifrit standing before each one nodded back at him in acknowledgement of the perfection of his ritual array. They would all vanish once their contract was fulfilled and the portal opened but for now, they stood sentry over the flames. His smile grew into a maniacal grin as he traced the final lines of the diagram in the purest blackened gold dust.
As the sands in his enormous hourglass sifted down to the final hours, his frantic preparations increased. More lines were drawn, circles completed, and ingredients added to the braziers in just the right order. The ritual had to be perfect, and Elgin would not let anything interfere. Especially not something as inconsequential as a little wind. He stilled the breeze with a thought not noticing, or caring for that matter, the cost of his expenditure of power.
Preparations continued and Elgin scrambled around his ritual, ensuring everything was in its perfect spot. With a final careful step, he poured the container of divine blood he had obtained into the channel that surrounded the ritual. The spells placed on the blood kept it flowing evenly until it completed the circuit, triggering the ritual to finally commence.
The clouds that had been darkening throughout the preparation of the ritual finally released the pent-up lightning – one bolt into each brazier to open the way between worlds. This is what was shown to him so many years ago when his summoning ritual was barely functional. Now, with everything he had learned, his skill with rituals, specifically summoning rituals, was unparalleled in this world.
Elgin cackled with joy as every element of his ritual engaged, building up to the opening of the summoning portal. The portal opened with a fiery glow and a figure of flesh, metal, and fire burst forth screaming violence into his world.
Elgin whispered in rapture, “I call for the Eldritch, and it comes. The cycle is complete.” He collapsed to his knees in worship.
*************************************************************************************
Elsewhere, a figure stood in its metaphysical and metaphorical kitchen making a cup of coffee. A being of infinite age and near unlimited power, it has seen the formation and destruction of countless worlds. No small number of fallen worlds were attributable directly to its influence and an even greater number were the result of its indirect influence.
As it sipped its coffee, it felt a pull. Someone was calling for it, drawing it to yet another world to devour. This pull was different than those before. It was tainted by delicious madness, madness that it recognized as a product of its own influence. Had it already tasted this mortal, this world? If so, why hadn’t it consumed it like the others? Was it tainted by something from the Lords of Order? No, we shall not answer this call. We shall send…another. An agent with a seed of our power. Yes, a hint. But leave its will intact - mostly. That will be fun to watch. Yes.
The being sipped its coffee and swiped a being from an unnamed world an instant before its death to cast it through the portal. Yes, this being’s world was even devoid of magic. Oh, this is going to be fun to watch. Yes, giving the powerless power always led to Chaos. A smile graced its features, an expression unknown in countless millennia.
*************************************************************************************
Elsewhere still, another being of Power stirred from its inactivity. Its white robes fluttered as it raised its hand with a slight gesture. With a voice that could still galaxies it made a simple statement, “Me too.” And then devolved into incomprehensible mirth.
*************************************************************************************
Back on the magic-rich world of Teldin, the madman known as Elgin remained kneeling as chaos erupted around him. The being of metal and flesh skipped across the ground and came apart, spraying the area with all manner of burning parts and debris. He saw none of this as he kept his head bowed in worship.
Andy, on the other hand, didn’t see this as he was in the middle of this mess, tumbling through the air and slamming into the soft loam face first. Somehow, he managed to stay barely conscious throughout the entire twisting and tumbling ordeal. There were a few things he knew at this point and even more that did not make sense to him. He ran through the list in his head.
Everything hurt. His bell had been rung pretty hard despite his helmet and he was sure that at least one arm and one leg was broken. He also was sure there were some internal injuries. He didn’t think rescue was going to make it to him in time as he was barely able to hold his head up out of the soft dirt and grass he had come to rest in. Dirt? Shouldn’t it be sand? I crashed in the desert. Wait a minute. I crashed so hard into the desert floor I should be a puddle. What’s going on here?
“Rise, master and show me your full glory oh great and eldritch one of flesh and steel!” The voice was high-pitched and tight. It drilled into Andy’s nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. The voice continued with some sort of incomprehensible mumbling about not being worthy or something. Andy, himself, was distracted by his heads-up display coming to life. And the pain. The overwhelming pain of broken bones, snapped ligaments, and punctured skin was a grand distraction.
***GPS SIGNAL LOST – NAVIGATION UNAVAILABLE***
“Well, that’s not a big fucking surprise. Shit’s scattered all around me.” Andy muttered to himself, afraid to actually speak for fear of a broken rib piercing something else vital. How the hell am I still alive?
***SYSTEM INITIATION COMMENCING***
Andy's muttering continued, “Shit’s broken, computers have to be in pieces. Ain’t nothing gonna initiate. There ain’t nothing TO initiate. And it should be initialize anyway.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
***ELDRITCH SEED OF CHAOS DETECTED. SYSTEM INTEGRATING***
***ERROR***
***ELDER SEED OF LAW DETECTED. SEED CONFLICT DETECTED. SEED MERGE INITIATED***
Andy groaned as messages that made no sense traversed his Heads-up Display. He closed his eyes to keep the headache from worsening. The messages continued despite his closed eyes. Wait, what?
***SEED MERGE SUCCESSFUL. NEW SEED CREATED – SEED OF ANOMY CREATED. INTEGRATING SEED INTO SYSTEM INITIATION***
***SYSTEM INITATION COMPLETE***
***Welcome to Teldin, traveler. You have journeyed an impossible distance to get here and as such, your experience on this planet will be unique. You have been touched by Powers beyond your possible comprehension and you are forever changed as a result. It will take time to understand yourself and your impact on this world.
The Powers have left some simple warnings and instructions for you. Take heed as these will not be repeated:
First, guard your true name – knowledge of your true self is for you alone and sharing it will give others power over you.
Second, you are unique in this world – the rules of this world do not necessarily apply to you. What this means is ultimately for you to discover.
Third, have fun. We will be watching but will not intervene for you. Entertain us for we have given you life from death and in doing so invested you with power. Use it.
Your first gift is the gift of XENOGLOSSIA – you can now understand all languages.
Your second gift is the Ability of TELEPORTATION – In time, you may grow this Ability to take you anywhere on this world you desire.
Your final gift is the Ability of REGENRATION – You will heal over time. This is now an innate ability and will always be active.
We wish you good fortune. Entertain us enough and perhaps we shall grant you additional gifts in the future. Or not.
END OF MESSAGE***
What in the actual fuck was that all about? Andy struggled to his feet out of instinct to be ready for whatever next was coming his way. He didn’t understand what was going on, but his training told him that staying where he crashed was definitely not the thing to do. As he stood, he suddenly realized that he was actually standing on broken legs but was not feeling any pain from them. This is too much. A minute ago, I was in so much pain I could barely breathe, now I’m standing. He looked down at himself and realized that he was still wearing his helmet with his mask on, preventing him from seeing much of anything. Sighing, he unclipped his mask and removed his helmet. Looking around himself, he was determined to get a quick lay of the land, but his thoughts interrupted again as he saw that his flight suit was terribly shredded and soaked with blood. That much damage to the suit and blood loss should have crippled me. How am I still alive and standing, let alone not bleeding out.
Once again, words appeared in his vision.
***Current Health: 41
***Maximum Health: 61
As he watched, his Current Health increased by about two points per second. So, that’s something. I still don’t believe any of this but the ache in my back just went away. And my headache is gone. And my arm feels better. Over the course of the next ten seconds, every ailment and ache seemed to leave Andy’s body. Well, strange or not, I could get used to this. For sure.
His attention was immediately refocused by the movement of a pile of rags nearby. The pile of rags stood up and revealed itself to be a man. A horribly dirty and disheveled man, but a man, nonetheless.
“Greetings great Master from Beyond!” The homeless man spoke up, his voice high-pitched and immediately annoying.
Andy instinctively reached for his sidearm which, of course, had been lost in the crash. He winced and prepared to fight or run before his brain processed what the figure had said. Andy decided to play along for now. Master from Beyond has a sweet ring to it. Time to play along.
“Hold and identify yourself!” Andy spoke in his best “command voice” that he had been taught in the academy.
The figure cringed and hunched further, averting his eyes from Andy’s gaze. “Master speaks but Elgin does not understand. Please do not punish Elgin. Elgin brings Eldritch Master to this world to offer Elgin in service.”
Andy shook his head in confusion. Didn’t that gift say I could understand every language? Shit. Yes, it did say that. It didn’t say anything about speaking them. Son of a bitch. You assholes! He decided to voice that one out loud. “You assholes! That language thing is bullshit!”
Elgin cowered further, taking a shuffling step backwards and lifting up a tiny blue crystal as he slid to his knees. His voice was much quitter but still annoyingly pitched. “Please take crystal so that your servant can understand Great Master.”
Andy shrugged. Nothing ventured. Nothing gained. He took the crystal from Elgin’s trembling hand.
***You have gained a Crystal of Learning – Common Trade Language. Would you like to absorb the Crystal to learn the Common Trade Language?***
Andy didn’t think overly long about it and accepted the language. Immediately, his mind was filled with words and concepts heretofore unknown to him. He spoke again, this time concentrating on the new language, “Who are you?”
The reaction was immediate. “Elgin hears Master and obeys. Elgin is Master’s servant. Elgin begs Master to impart wisdom and knowledge upon his humble self.” Elgin pushed himself downward, practically pushing his face into the loamy grass. “How is Elgin to call Master?”
Oh, this is either going to be fun or a royal pain in the ass. Might as well see where this goes. Andy smiled, “Rise loyal one. You may call me…Duke or Master. That works too.” Oh yeah, that’s putting it on thick. Too many damned movies. “Perhaps I shall impart knowledge upon you but first, tell me what you know of this world.” Is he gonna buy it? Fingers crossed!
***ALIAS NOTED. DUKE SHALL BE YOUR ALIAS WITHIN THIS WORLD***
What the fuck? Oh right. Guard my true name. Got it. Duke it is for now. It was a cool callsign anyway.
“Of course, Master. Yes, yes, yes. You have come to the world of Teldin. It is a glorious world with great workings of magic. I, your humble servant, Elgin have created such a working to bring you here.”
“Continue.” Duke tried to keep his voice level even as he inwardly was coming to terms with the insanity of the situation.
“Yes, Master. We are in the Kingdom of Chopie. They don’t like me here. Something about some idiotic law or something I violated. But I’ll show them. I brought you here so you can feast upon them all. Master is great and powerful. Powerful and great! I will serve you, Master.”
Yep, going well off of the rails here. This guy is nuttier than a, than a, than a nutty thing. Oh geez, I must really be losing it when I can’t even come up with an analogy. Can of mixed nuts. Really? That’s the best I can come up with? Oh wait, he’s talking again.
“Elgin asks Master. Is Master hungry? Please don’t eat Elgin. That hurt Elgin last time.”
“Last time?” Duke’s curiosity was piqued.
“Yes, Master, last time I did a summon. Different Master came through. Ate my soul they tells me. But Elgin still here, still have soul. You better Master - not eat me.”
Duke shook his head, not sure how to process all of this. “No, Elgin, I’m not going to eat your soul. Not right now, at least.” Duke snickered inwardly. He didn’t know why it felt so good to make Elgin squirm, but it really did feel good.
“I need more practical information. Where is the nearest town? What is used for currency? What do I need to know to blend in?”
“Elgin tells Master. Elgin has copper and silver and gold. Elgin shows Master.” Elgin fumbled in his rags and produced coins of various colors, handing them to Duke. They were all of similar size, and it was fairly evident based on the color which coins were which. “Gold is best. Copper is least. Silver buys me ingredients!”
“OK, that tracks with everything ever written before. Nothing original about this world’s economy then.” Duke groused.
Elgin perked up at that, his eyes strangely bloodshot. “Master knows the crystals too?”
“Crystals?” Duke inquired
“Yes, yes yes.” Elgin ran around Duke in a circle bobbing his head up and down, his incredibly thick and long hair tied in some strange braid and flapping behind him towards the still glowing portal. “Crystals are bestest best. Must be charged. Must be charged. No try uncharged crystal. Bad. Very bad. Make chase. Make hurt. No bad crystals, no not for me.”
The way Elgin’s personality kept shifting along with the intelligence of his speech patterns was starting to get to Duke. It seemed the longer he spoke with him, the more primitive Elgin became. It was certainly odd and, even given everything that had happened to this point, well outside of Duke’s frame of reference.
Duke tried to get a handle on the situation, stopping Elgin’s stumbling with an outstretched hand. Elgin folded over his arm, feeling like little more than bones and rags. Elgin’s head turned toward Duke and his bloodshot stare was completely vacant as Duke watched the strength leave his limbs and blood begin to seep out of his eye sockets.
“Elgin. Elgin! What’s the matter? What’s going on with you?” Duke raised his voice as he spoke. Elgin’s body fell forward, but his head was somehow jerked backward, ultimately pulling the entire body backwards. It was then that Duke realized that there was something attached to Elgin’s head. It was not thick hair but a grey, pulsing tentacle of some kind that led back to the crash wreckage, the fiery portal that Duke had come through. Oh god, it’s sucking his brains out! Nope! Nope! Nope! I’m out!
Duke backpedaled quickly, trying to put some distance between himself and whatever was there, repulsed by the sucking sound he could now hear. The portal flared bright red and winked out, leaving a afterimage on his retinas in the darkening night. The tentacle seemed to have been severed when the portal closed, but it was still moving, wrapping itself around Elgin’s head. The severed end started to change, growing sharp, needlelike, bloody teeth and wriggling towards Duke.
Duke instinctively triggered his TELEPORTATION Ability. It wasn’t more of a conscious thought than a single thought – get the hell out of here, now! In less than the blink of an eye, Duke was more than 25 meters away from where he had previously stood. He stumbled slightly, imbalanced by the shift in terrain and perspective.
Well, that was something. Wonder how many times I can do that in a row? Duke tried to TELEPORT again and again. He found out that four was his limit as the fifth attempt greeted him with a message.
***MANA TOO LOW FOR TELEPORTATION***
Well, that answers that. Hey, system, how do I know how much mana I have? He started to jog away from whatever the thing was behind him as he started to interact with the system.
***CHARACTER STATUS INQUIRY RECEIVED. PRODUCING VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS DISPLAY***
Name
Andy "Duke" Ellington
Race
Seeded
Class
N/A
Level
1
Max Health
61
Current Health
61
Max Mana
63
Current Mana
11
Experience
0
EXP Needed
2,000
Ok, that’s pretty basic. It looks like I have used 52 mana. Assuming the only thing I have used it on is the TELEPORTs, they cost me 13 mana each. So, what determines how much mana I have and how do I get it back? Since this system is so videogame-like, there has to be some underlying characteristics driving all this. Hey, system, can you explain any of this to me?
***CHARACTERISTIC QUERY NOTED. PROCEEDING WITH VISUAL REPRESENTATION***
Characteristic
Value
Agility
12
Strength
13
Endurance
16
Reason
12
Intuition
15
Psyche
15
Got it. Some of these seem to be pretty self-explanatory. Well, alright, the first three make sense of some sort. The last three, however, seem a bit wonky. What do they mean?
***CHARACTERISTIC EXPLANATION REQUEST RECEIVED. PROCEEDING***
The system proceeded to throw walls of text up in front of Andy, nearly making him trip and fall:
Agility represents your ability to move quickly and precisely. It includes gross motor dexterity as well as hand-eye coordination and small muscle control.
Strength represents the amount of physical power you can apply through your muscles. How much you can lift and how hard you can strike a target physically are affected by this characteristic.
Endurance represents how long you can sustain physical exertion as well as your overall resistance to disease, poisons, and similar ailments.
Reason is your ability to apply logic through your thought processes. It also impacts your memory of events and facts. Finally, it represents your ability to make rapid calculations in your head.
Intuition is your ability to notice things in your surroundings. It is directly linked to your senses, natural or supernatural. Your capability to apply what you have experienced in the past to understand whatever your current situation is showing you is also incorporated in this Characteristic.
Psyche is the force of your will. You have already seen things that would drive many insane, yet here you stand, resilient and steadfast. Or, more precisely, running for your life. That part was your Reason kicking in.
For context, what is considered normal for a human in each of these Characteristics is a score of 10. You are currently ranked higher than normal in all Characteristics because of what your SEED has granted you. There is a drawback from having a unique SEED, however. You cannot take a Class. Your SEED will grow as you nurture it with experience and your level will increase in accordance. At each level, you will be given six Characteristic points to spend as you see fit. You may also increase these Characteristics through strenuous activity related to each of them.
Your Maximum Health is a primary factor of your Endurance with Strength and Agility also having some effect. Your Current Health will fluctuate as you are injured. You would do well to not allow this number to fall to zero. You may be able to Regenerate, but you are not immortal.
Your Maximum Mana is primarily derived from your Psyche but is also influenced by your Reason and Intuition. Allowing your Current Mana to fall to zero will not kill you, but it will make your mind significantly more sluggish and that will most likely get you killed.
***END OF CHARACTERISTIC EXPLANATION***